News You Need to Know – Page 108

Let Accusations of Me Being a Communist Begin

What I’m about to write is likely to result in accusations of me being a communist. I fully support actions like the following:

The building unveiled today as the Victor Martinez Community Library was part of a Carnegie Foundation endowment of four libraries given to the city of Oakland between 1916 and 1918. Oakland’s librarian at the time, Charles S. Greene, believed that the city’s people would benefit most from libraries placed within their communities.

Despite this vision, the building was one of seven branch casualties of budget cuts in the late seventies, severing vital library life-lines in poor and working communities. Since then, the “Latin American Branch” library building located at the corner of Miller and 15th st. has mostly sat empty, despite the fact that the next nearest library is miles away, and increasingly difficult to access in a city like Oakland with an increasingly expensive transit system. With its eroding chain link fence and decaying, armored exterior, the building is much more than an eyesore; the unused, but inaccessible, space creates a life-draining dark vacuum of stability that serves at best as a convenient place for the unscrupulous to dump their old mattresses, couches and assorted garbage.

This morning, a group of activists opened this building again for use as a library. Inside is the modest seed for a library and community center—hundreds of books donated by people who envision the rebirth of local, community-owned libraries and social and political centers throughout Oakland. We’ve named the building after recently deceased author, Victor Martinez, who overcame a young life of hard agricultural work to become a successful writer in the Bay Area. His semi-autobiographical novel, Parrot in the Oven, has become a seminal work of the Latino experience. Martinez died last year at 56 of an illness caused by his work in the fields.

I know, I know, only a dirty communist would support a group of activists opening up an abandoned building for public use. Bear with me for a moment. The building that the activists opened was a sealed up public library. As I’ve stated before I don’t believe the state has any legitimate claim to property ownership and therefore I don’t believe they have a right to take a building paid for by tax victims and seal it up. Why let such a building lie vacant? Why not put it to use? Just because the state doesn’t want to use it doesn’t mean members of the community don’t want to use it.

Hopefully activists in Oakland will spend more time on actions like this and less time on bitching about the nebulous “one percent.”

Fighting Global Warming

Several people including Zerg539 and Rob sent me this solicitation from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for ammunition and shooting targets:

The DOC NOAA National Weather Service – Western Acquisition Division ? Boulder requires the following items, Purchase Description Determined by Line Item, to the following:
LI 001, 16,000 rounds of ammunition for semiautomatic pistols to be factory-loaded .40 S&W caliber, 180-grain jacketed hollow point (JHP). No reloads may be used with these weapons. All service furnished ammunition for issued firearms will be U.S. factory production.
?Inside Delivery? to locations below:
NED:
8,000 rounds to: Ross Lane DOC, NOAA, NMFS, OLE, NED 130 Oak Street, Suite 5, Ellsworth, ME, 04605
8,000 rounds to: Troy Audyatis, DOC, NOAA, NMFS, OLE, NED 53 North 6th Street, Room 214 New Bedford, MA, 02740., 16, Cases;
LI 002, 24,000 rounds of ammunition for semiautomatic pistols to be factory-loaded .40 S&W caliber, 180-grain jacketed hollow point (JHP). No reloads may be used with these weapons. All service furnished ammunition for issued firearms will be U.S. factory production.
?Inside Delivery? to locations below:
24,000 rounds to: Jeff Radonski, A/DSAC DOC, NOAA, NMFS, OLE, SED 263 13th Avenue South, Suite 109, St. Petersburg, FL, 33701., 24, Cases;
LI 003, 6,000 rounds of frangible, 125-grain CFRHT .40 caliber. No reloads may be used with these weapons. All service furnished ammunition for issued firearms will be U.S. factory production.
?Inside Delivery? to locations below:
6,000 rounds to: James Cassin DOC, NOAA, NMFS, OLE, NED 3350 Highway 138, Suite 218, Wall, NJ, 07719, 6, Cases;
LI 004, 500 Transtar II blue 24″ x 40″ paper targets
?Inside Delivery? to locations below:
200 paper targets to: Ross Lane DOC, NOAA, NMFS, OLE, NED 130 Oak Street, Suite 5 Ellsworth, ME, 04605
200 paper targets to: Troy Audyatis DOC, NOAA, NMFS, OLE, NED 53 North 6th Street, Room 214 New Bedford, MA, 02740.
100 paper targets to: James Cassin DOC, NOAA, NMFS, OLE, NED 3350 Highway 138, Suite 218, Wall, NJ, 07719, 500, Items;

That’s a lot of ammunition. At first I just assumed that NOAA was planning a literal war against global warming but it turns out that the weather agency has armed agents and performs raids:

They could be from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Labor or Education departments, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency known for its weather forecasts.

Agents from NOAA, in fact, along with the Fish and Wildlife Service, raided the Miami business of Morgan Mok in 2008, seeking evidence she had broken the Endangered Species Act trading in coral.

The agents had assault rifles with them, and the case documents indicated her house and business records had been under surveillance over a six-month period, says Ms. Mok. Under the 1973 law, the departments of Interior and Commerce (home to NOAA) must write regulations to define what is endangered and how it must be protected. One of those regulations specifies coral.

Why does a weather agency need armed thugs? Because they’re a state entity and the state only knows violence. Apparently they can’t even forecast the weather without the capacity to wield violence.

National Night Out in Anaheim Cancelled

Many communities participate in what is called a National Night Out. For those who haven’t heard of National Night Out it’s basically an excuse for community members to get together, party, and… somehow this raises awareness of crime and tells criminals in the community that the people are fighting back (strangely enough these are not promoted as open carry events). Yeah, I don’t get how it’s supposed to work either. What I do understand is why the National Night Out in Anaheim, California was cancelled:

n cities nationwide, people will gather at block parties, cookouts and exhibits Tuesday night for a National Night Out, a way to meet with first responders and learn about local crime-prevention efforts.

But in Anaheim, a city rocked by protests and violence, the event designed to bridge law enforcement and the public had to be canceled.

It seems the community is unable to effective fight the criminals who now possess body armor, machine guns, grenade launchers, and armored vehicles. The community has been devastated by this heavily armed local gang calling themselves the “Police.”

The Scam of Social Security

You know that scam called Social Security? It’s even more of a scam today than it once was:

People retiring today are part of the first generation of workers who have paid more in Social Security taxes during their careers than they will receive in benefits after they retire. It’s a historic shift that will only get worse for future retirees, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Technically this has always been the case due to inflation. The money paid into Social Security early in your career is worth less when you draw it since the dollar is in constant fall. With that said, even without inflation this was bound to happen. Why? Because Social Security is a big Ponzi scheme (in fact the only reason the state likely pursues individuals running Ponzi schemes is because they’re challenging the state’s monopoly on Ponzi schemes). Like any Ponzi scheme, Social Security can only work so long as more and more new people are signed up to pay into the system. As soon as there are more people withdrawing from Social Security than paying in the entire system collapses. Combing the increasing number of people unemployed with the fact the baby boomers are beginning to withdraw Social Security and their population is higher than new workers beginning to pay into Social Security and you have a collapsing Ponzi scheme.

The FBI Doesn’t Want to be Politically Incorrect

How can you ensure that any crimes you’re planning won’t be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)? Make sure they’re politically incorrect:

In emails to a known terrorist, the man charged with killing 13 people in a 2009 attack at Fort Hood, Texas, expressed his support for suicide bombings and killing civilians — glaring signs that the FBI did not act on but should have, a report has claimed.

Army Maj. Nidal Hasan told a radical Islamic cleric that he advocated using suicide bombers and that he believed it was OK to kill civilians.

And the terrorist, Anwar al-Awlaki, a man well-known to the U.S. intelligence community, told Hasan in an email that the Army psychiatrist should keep his contact details handy.

But the agents on the FBI’s Washington anti-terrorism task force thought the issue of a Muslim soldier talking to extremists was too sensitive to bring up with the Defense Department, Rep. Michael McCaul said after he was briefed on the findings of the independent review on Wednesday.

‘It shows you the length of the political correctness stuff going on,’ he told the Associated Press.

It’s kind of ironic that the FBI demanded more and more spying powers after 9/11, claiming they needed to spy on any foreign communications for the safety of the nation, only to received them and not use them. I guess manufacturing terrorist threats is more politically correct then pursuing existing threats that the FBI has actual evidence of.

The state has to be the only entity so incompetent that they can literally be handed unconstitutional powers to spy on American citizens, actually find a possible terrorist using said powers, and fail to act on it.

Another Shut Up Slave Moment Brought to You by the State

What happens when you catch the police brutalizing the public? You become a target of the state:

Keene, New Hampshire – August 4, 2012 – The controversial felony wiretapping charges journalist and CopBlock.org founder Adam ‘Ademo’ Mueller is facing will go to trial, a situation that has stirred up a hornet’s nest of free speech advocates in New Hampshire. The “Free Ademo” supporters are planning to show their support en masse at Hillsboro County Superior Court when jury selection for the trial begins at 9 a.m. Monday, August 6. This will be the first time an activist has taken a case this serious to trial since the state passed HB 146, a jury nullification law that ensures the defense’s right to inform the jury of their right to issue “not guilty” verdicts when they disagree with the application of the law in question.

According to court documents, the three wiretapping charges stem from a vlog Mueller posted on CopBlock.org, which featured recordings of on-duty public officials being interviewed about alleged police brutality at a local school. Mueller was reporting about a video recorded by a Manchester West High School student’s cell phone, depicting Officer Darren Murphy slamming a handcuffed student’s face into a cafeteria table. The video later went viral.

This is going to be an interesting case due to the jury nullification law recently passed in New Hampshire. Traditionally juries are told that they must rule based on the letter of the law but this isn’t true, a jury may rule in whatever manner it wants without facing repercussions. If members of a jury believe a law is wrong they may give a ruling of innocent. Juries in New Hampshire, thanks to the passage of HB 146, will now be informed of their jury nullification powers and this seems like the case to use such powers on as Ademo is really being charged with catching the police brutalizing people they’re supposed to protect.

Seven Dead at Sikh Temple in Wisconsin

It’s unfortunate that evil people are able to strike anywhere in the world. This is the reason gun-free zones don’t work, because there are no zones you can guarantee to be free of guns unless the location is guaranteed free of people. When discussing gun-free zones many advocates of gun control demand that places of worship be including on the list of places where a gun can’t be carried legally, unfortunately bad people do enter places of worship:

At least seven people, including a gunman, have died in a shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in the US.

The attacker “ambushed” a policeman at the scene, shooting him multiple times, before a second officer returned fire, killing the gunman, said authorities.

The shot officer was among three men critically injured in the attack in Oak Creek, suburban Milwaukee.

My condolences go out to the families of the victims. At this time information is scarce since the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) are declaring it an act of domestic terrorism:

At a press conference, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said they were treating the attack as a “domestic terrorist-type incident”, and that the FBI would take over the criminal investigation.

He said he could not release any information about the shooter, who local media reports said was a white male.

I wonder if this was merely another random act of violence or if the shooter had a grude against practitioners of the Sikh faith.

Roger Pion, a True American Hero

I never heard the name Roger Pion before but the stunt he pulled in Vermont should make him world famous:

Working in a stout former bank building with windows closed and air conditioners humming, Orleans County sheriff’s deputies didn’t know what was happening in their parking lot until a neighbor called 911.

A man on a big farm tractor, angry about his recent arrest for resisting arrest and marijuana possession, was rolling across their vehicles — five marked cruisers, one unmarked car and a transport van.

By the time they ran outside, the tractor was down the driveway and out onto the road.

With their vehicles crushed, “We had nothing to pursue him with,” said Chief Deputy Philip Brooks.

This is why I love farmers, if anybody in this country has fighting spirit it’s them. Not only do they have fighting spirit but the way they seek revenge is usually quite comical. In this case nobody was hurt and laughs were had by all (except the police, but they don’t count because they arrested a man for a victimless “crime”).

I know the police are going to force Roger to pay for their cars again (he already paid once through taxation) and likely will hold the farmer in a cage for some time. If there is a relief fund or somewhere to send letters of congratulations I’d very much like to know.

Something Seems Fishy About this Story

I don’t claim to be the smartest man alive but there is something awfully fishy about this story:

Teresa Carter just doesn’t understand what happened to her son Chavis in the back of a police car. Officers picked him up, said he had drugs on him, and missed a court date on more drugs charges.

“As protocol he was handcuffed behind his back and double locked, and searched”, said Sergeant Lyle Waterworth, Jonesboro Police.

Somehow minutes later police say they heard a thumping noised, turned around and found Chavis dead, shot in the head, in the back of the squad car.

“Any given officer has missed something on a search, be it drugs, knife, razor blades, this instance it happened to be a gun” said Waterworth.

So police officers arrested the man, search him, managed to miss a firearm, and the suspect shot himself? First I must inquire how a gun was missed during the search then I must inquire why the suspect shot himself. Either that or I have to inquire about other means in which the suspect was killed, say by an officer.

It Had to Happen Eventually

With the hysteria surrounding child abductors and pedophiles it was only a matter of time until a father walking down the street with his daughter was accused of being a predator:

We were walking to the library together, and she was holding my hand and trying to pull me into telephone poles and whatnot as we walked, which is a silly game that she enjoys. Suddenly a police car pulled up beside us, lights on and everything. The cop gets out of his car, says “Sir, please step away from the child,” then proceeds to crouch down and ask her if “everything is okay.”

After re-asking a few times, getting a more and more nervous “yes” each time, he stands up and informs me that someone had called 911 reporting what looked like a young girl being abducted. My daughter and I both explained what was really happening, and not only did he not even apologize, he chastised ME for not being, and I quote verbatim here, “More thankful someone was watching out for my daughter.”

I’m actually surprised the officer didn’t begin the engagement by tackling the father to the ground, hand cuffing him, and tossing him into the back of the police car until Child Protective Services to arrive. The state has drummed up so much fear of child predators that one can’t even be seen in public with a child unless the other parent is present.

A tip of the hat to Reason for this demonstration of public hysteria.