For the first time ever, more of the corn crop may go into gas tanks than into the stomachs of cattle and poultry destined for kitchen tables.  The prediction drew little response last week when it was released by the USDA in its Crop Production and Supply/Demand Report for the 2011 crop season. The USDA kept its prediction for ethanol production demand for corn at 5.05 billion, but lowered demand projections for livestock feed by 100 million bushels to 5 billion bushels.

Why Hasn’t the Revolution Already Happened?

As the tremors of change fill the air and shake the ground with increasing regularity, human reactions seem increasingly polarised. One set of responses is to hunker down, avert the eyes, close the ears and try to pretend that everything’s pretty much okay. Another is to express increasing alarm and increasing fear about where it is all leading: the “Did you see? Did you read? Did you hear?” syndrome. It is to all our misfortunes that that these two reactions to the current state of play on our planet remain the predominant response.

The third way: to look the situation in the eye, to calmly assess the reality and then to take action to prevent a disaster and/or to set out a solution, remains a minority response.

That which is holding back the revolution required to radically redress the top-down enslavement of humanity and the destruction of our planetary resource base seems to hinge on three conditions:

  1. Too many people are too comfortable and prefer to believe what the propaganda machine tells them.
  2. Too many people are too uncomfortable and remain preoccupied with a basic level of survival.
  3. Too many people remain indifferent or afraid and shut themselves off from the potential to change.

The ‘too comfortable’ are those able to hermetically seal themselves away from the plight of our planet, using money as their main insulation material. Within our Western society these people belong not just to the elite 1% but more probably to the 20 or 30% who still hold down jobs capable of providing them with above-average incomes. They are mostly on the infamous ‘keeping up with the neighbours’ social ladder which demands constant engagement with image and the appearance of wealth. ‘Must haves’ for these people include: the new car, the bourgeois residence, the right clothes, the Roundup weed free garden, the latest TV, iPod and the right circle of friends who also reflect broadly the same aspirations.

Not so long ago these people were called ‘the bourgeoisie’ and most looked to their way of life as a salvation from the daily grind of life on the factory or shop floor, or even among the spreading fields of modern farming practices. Some semblance of this bourgeoisie seems still to be manifesting itself.

However, it lacks its old self confidence and is now visibly fraying around the edges. Financial insecurity has eaten into the once predictable pathway to ‘bettering oneself’ and a bourgeois future for the children is costing more and more to set up. ‘The proper’ wedding alone calls for a minimum outlay of at least $20,000.

The social climbers have their focus set on the maintenance of a cosmetic and vacuous life style which, as far as possible, means remaining untouched by the ragged reality of a world on the edge of breakdown.

They are complicit in deliberately avoiding dealing with the excesses of their lifestyle or confronting the repercussions which these excesses throw up. They coolly disregard the fact that we live on a sentient planet being daily raped of its finite resources specifically to make possible their senseless way of life.

As if living on another planet, those who are ‘too uncomfortable’ struggle to get by with little or no security as to how they will make ends meet for more than a few days at a time. These people, and they are increasing in number all the time, have already been ejected from a life of reasonable comfort due to the criminal activities of a combination of corporate and government greed, largely orchestrated by the 1% and the Illuminati henchmen out to get their thieving hands on the collective wealth of all straightforward working people.

All across the Western world, those who have worked hard to get a roof over their heads and some reasonable heat and power into their living rooms, are being squeezed out of existence by the relentless rising costs associated with maintaining a home in some reasonable state of comfort.

Costs over which the majority have little or no control and which have their origins in Western fomented geopolitical military intervention in some distant land and in the unfettered bonus packages awarded to the CEOs of household corporate providers. Only a small percentage of such costs are based on a genuine scarcity of resources or elevated costs of production. And of course they are rendered even more problematical when there is also a mortgage to pay off on the home.

As the rate of homelessness continues to rise, so is the machinery of State less and less able to cope. The State has had the means to look after the homeless stolen by the corporate and banking gangsters who stringently avoid paying state taxes by stashing their vast wealth away in off-shore tax havens or by other devious means. So it remains for the working man and woman to subsidize the safety net which they themselves are desperately close to needing.

All this, coupled as it is to a sinister covert plan to deliberately bring down the global financial system, is combining to produce a fin de siecle type crisis which spells the end of civilisation as we know it. Those who are unable to know where tomorrow’s bread and butter are coming from, quite literally lack the energy and means to foment the revolution which surely should have happened by now. A revolution to take back the dignity and self affirmation that would eventually give all those suffering in this way genuine security, hope and solid aspiration to a better life. But with the ‘too comfortable’ aspiring bourgeoisie turning their backs on on all those less well-off, and the super rich virtually 100% insulated against the dilemmas of all sentient mortals, the incitement for radical change remains effectively anaesthetized.

So this leaves the main change-making work to those of us who are fortunate enough to have somehow escaped, avoided or seen beyond the standard propaganda fed status quo recipe for life.

How many might fit such a description?

It’s very hard to say, but let us say around 10% – and of course the situation remains fluid, with awareness growing almost in counterpoint with the intensification of disinformation, phony propaganda and police state-style, top-down impositions.

Virtually every day we learn more about the techniques being used to try and keep us from coming together to take collective control of our destinies. We now know that most of the food on offer on supermarket shelves is unfit to eat. We know our water supplies are being tampered with. We know about HAARP’s violent manipulation of the earth’s energy field. We see the chemtrails being laid across our skies. We find out that the masts which stream the messages to our cell phones (I no longer use one) act as a distribution network for the electromagnetic smog which addles our brains.

We recognize more and more how ‘the system’ tries to impose a state of fear and upheaval in people’s lives so that they ultimately succumb to shock created acquiescence and, as a consequence, seek ‘protection’ from whoever might seem to be offering it. And we note that it is the Illuminati who most generously offer such protection – in the form of a one world army, a one world government, a central global banking cartel and a few all-powerful corporations providing our food, power and education.

Yes, we are now close, perhaps very close, to recognising the true scale of the tyranny being imposed upon upon our planet. And at this point we wonder how far there still is to go before the tipping point is reached and the psychotic empire builders are no longer able to maintain their hypnotic control over the majority of mankind; and the slaves no longer able to pretend that “its all going to be okay.”

Trying to put a date on such a key turning point is a pointless pursuit. It has an illusive way of never conforming to cosmological interpretation or to man-made prediction. Our only way forward is to treat each barrier presented to us as a fresh challenge to our own inner strength and sense of purpose. To see each closed door as a door that needs opening. To see each crazed imposition as just another sterile attempt to lock us into the cage of fear. Then we also need to be prepared for the worst: a near total collapse of the money supply, the grid and the food distribution system.

We cannot be amongst ‘the pretenders’ who imagine that such an event could never happen. It’s more than possible that it will, and we will need to be able to demonstrate leadership if and when it does.

For city dwellers, this means selling the apartment/house and getting out of the city now. Finding some fertile ground and learning to grow food, harvest rainwater and utilize renewable energy resources. Or teaming up with friends who already have access to such resources and are willing to share them. This is all part of the bigger change which must happen anyway; however, when it takes the form described above, it becomes a revolution by absolute necessity, not by choice.

A few weeks back, I wrote a short piece detailing a few disturbing government purchases, including 450 million rounds of hollow point bullets (keep in mind the total population of the U.S. is 311,591,917), reinforced vehicle check-points, and hundreds of armored ‘civil-tanks’ by the Department of Homeland Security. Around the same time, the U.S Army was stockpiling anti-radiation pills and our President was issuing executive orders that essentially would eliminate the requirement of an actual emergency to declare Martial Law and seize any goods or property it deems necissary including authorizing forced labor of the citizens.

U.S. Troops Patrol U.S. Streets Fully Armed

The photo was taken by a subscriber in the city of Crookston, MN from the front porch of her suburban home.  No, the men pictured aren’t from the local high school’s J.R.O.T.C sqaud – they are in fact trained soldiers serving in the Minnessota National Guard, Unit 2-136 CAB / B Company. Now, I have never personally been to Crookston (although I’m sure it’s lovely), but I’m relatively confident that they are located on domestic soil, and unless I am missing something, the citizens of Crookston weren’t dealing with any natural disaster at the time this haunting snapshot into the coming police state was taken.

No, what was actually going on that morning was a “training exercise” involving a quiet neighborhood that probably isn’t that different from your own. Being the patriot that she is, Maggie decided it might be a good idea to start asking some questions. Nothing too difficult, mainly just what the hell they were doing walking fully armed down a street regularly used to facilitate the innocent pastimes of all American kids.

Glancing at her briefly one Soldier responded, “Just training Ma’am. Joining up with another patrol at the rally point.”

Not accepting this as a reasonable answer to her inquiry, Magge went on, “Oh, ok. What are you training on the streets of town for exactly?”

At that the young soldier replied, “To be honest ma’am, I don’t know.”

The reason for his domestic training exercise that morning might be unknown to him, but sadly this is not only just another indicator of the uncertain times ahead, but also a revealing indicator of how worried the Feds are of a possible outbreak of civil insurrections across the nation.

With this recent development, it is becoming increasingly apparent that a violent scenario has the potential of manifesting in the country I love – the country I would give my life to preserve for my younger countrymen, and since hollow point bullets are specifically designed to kill, the state has made its’ position alarmingly clear.

via U.S. Troops In Neighboorhood Streets Fully Armed | The Libertarian Review.

Increasing suspicion even more was the suggestion,  in a report of a committee of the European Parliament, that in addition to having been used in drug trafficking the Gulfstream II had flown CIA rendition flights to Guantanamo.  Unnamed authorities quoted in Associated Press accounts dismissed this report, saying there was no evidence the plane flew renditions, but failed to address the fact that  Guantanamo is highly restricted airspace, and any plane landing there can be presumed to be working for the U.S. Government.  What has raised the crash-landing of the Gulfstream II drug plane with U.S. Government connections to the level of real outrage is its extraordinary similarity to the DC9 airliner caught a year and a half ago, after which  the planes’ registered owner suffered no ill consequences from having his airplane caught with 5.5 tons of cocaine onboard.  There are “wonderful similarities,” Mexican newspaper Por Esto reported drolly, “between the Gulfstream which crash-landed in the tiny hamlet of Tixkokob and the DC9 busted in Ciudad del Carmen which help explain why, despite the fact that almost 18 months has passed, the American owner of the DC9 has not been charged with any crime.”

CIA DRUG PLANE CAPTURED IN YUCATAN

SLOPPY TRADECRAFT EXPOSES CIA DRUG PLANE

Seventeen months after an American-registered DC9 airliner was busted with 5.5 tons of cocaine, a major international scandal is brewing over a second drug trafficking incident in Mexico’s Yucatan involving an American-registered jet owned by a  dummy front company of the kind usually associated with the CIA.

A weekend visit to “Donna Blue Aircraft Inc” of Coconut Beach FL.,  the company which FAA records show owned the Gulfstream II business jet (N987SA) which crash-landed with 3.7 tons of cocaine aboard in Mexico’s Yucatan two weeks ago, has revealed that the company’s listed address is an empty office suite with a blank sign out front.

There was no sign of Donna Blue Aircraft, Inc., at the address listed at the Florida Dept. of Corporations, 4811 Lyons Technology Parkway #8 in Coconut Beach FL.

However, there were, oddly enough,  a half-dozen unmarked police cars parked directly in front of the empty suite.

Phone calls to Butters Development, the industrial park’s leasing agent, went unreturned.

Moreover the brief description of Donna Blue on its Internet page, apparently designed to “flesh out the ghost a little,”  is such a clumsy half-hearted effort that it defeats the purpose of helping aid the construction of a plausible “legend,” or cover, and ends up doing  more harm than good…

For example, the website features a quote from a satisfied Donna Blue Aircraft customer. Unfortunately his name is  “John Doe.” And the listed phone number is right out of the movies: 415.555-5555.

Its known in the trade as “sloppy tradecraft.”

“Its My Party and I’ll Bust Who I Want To”

The biggest clue to date to the true identity of the individuals or organization operating behind the dummy front of “Donna Blue Aircraft” may lie in its initials, “DBA,” for “doing business as.”

It is the kind of cute nomenclature for which “the boys” are known to be fond.

For the Bush Administration, which recently launched a PR offensive announcing major gains in the multibillion-dollar anti-drug effort in preparation for asking Congress for a $1 billion Plan Colombia-type aid package to help Mexico fight drug traffickers, the controversy could not have come at a worse time.

The billion dollars in proposed U.S. aid, Mexican newspapers pointed out, will only be used to target drug traffickers with no obvious ties to American intelligence.

via SLOPPY TRADECRAFT EXPOSES CIA DRUG PLANE.

We’re in a world of hurt…and healing. We have to take what’s coming, bravely, and come out on top as conscious entities. We will lead the new era eventually, but we have much to go through.  Do not fear, whatever the challenge.  Make your decisions and moves with assertive authority. Stand by your convictions. And follow synchronicity.  We’ll be fine.

letting go…

A. Are you still in a big bank, or have substantial funds in any bank? Or are you in the stock market or have retirements funds tied up in the system?

Not a good sign. That could easily be lost forever overnight. And it’s something you’re attached to.

It also feeds the beast! Stop!

We all have to deal with banks to an extent for now, but please, don’t trust them with the bulk of anything. Get out now except for operational funds.

B. You still own crap you know you shouldn’t.

Sell it, or give it away. You don’t own things, thing own you. Period. Keep the practical and necessary and if you want, allow for arts and family and fun stuff and all. You decide. But follow your conscience. Read up on feng shui, you’ll get your mind blown on “stuff” from an angle that may help you.

C. Are you ready to move at a moment’s notice? Huge hint: Get to that point.

It’s a wonderful feeling. Team up with others on housing if you can: be with family, learn to rent and move around. It’s the perfect preparation as far as I’m concerned.

Some may differ. But I think we should be “footloose and fancy free”. That or be seriously hunkered down for the duration with community around you. Community is the key.

D. Where to be: Only you know this one.

You need to put your head on and make some good decisions, as necessary. Some people are set where they are and are saying “bring it on!” Most others are befuddled.

If you are in the second category, get thinking and getting in tune! Where do you wanna be and where SHOULD you be? You have to deal with it. But deal with it! Stop being such a wuss. That the in-betweeners are gonna get hammered is the over-arching message here.

via It’s Time…Let Go of the Shore « Just Wondering – Alternative News and Opinions.

delegateCount

first rule about ron paul campaign…don’t talk about ron paul campaign

i’m from texas, and have never been a Ron Paul fan – also, i’m an anarchist and i know that voting is for sheeple to feel like they have a “voice” in how they live their lives (more than 90-percent of americans were opposed to the bank bailouts, for instance, and no election was ever held about the u.s. joining the world trade organization, which rules over our government.)

still, the audacity of the corporate-owned media in their treatment of a wily and legitimate candidate for the presidency is alarming. perhaps because rep. paul is no friend of internet censorship laws. who knows…it could be due to his rhetoric about abolishing the federal reserve. for whatever reason, the corporate media is not acknowledging the fact that ron paul’s campaign is running a highly successful campaign to scoop up delegates during the selection process which sends representatives to the party-nominating convention later this year.

Pew Report on Ron Paul: How The Media Covered The 2012 Primary Campaign

Two factors distinguished Ron Paul’s coverage this year: its scarcity and its positive nature.

For much of 2012, the tone of Paul’s coverage was more positive than negative. But the glaring lack of attention in the news coverage reflected a media consensus that despite a loyal following and some respectable primary showings, the libertarian-leaning candidate could not capture the Republican nomination.

From Jan. 2-April 15, Paul was a significant figure in only 7% of the campaign stories. That represented about one-eighth of Romney’s coverage and roughly one-quarter of the amount devoted to Santorum and Gingrich.

from the pew research center

2012 Delegate Count: Scoring the Scorecards

Mitt Romney leads the delegate count by a large margin regardless of what source you trust, but voters likely have wondered who is correct.

To be clear, Romney captured the presumed-Republican-nominee title when Rick Santorum darted from the race, and it became especially clearer when Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that he would officially shut down his run on May 1. That leaves only Ron Paul, and he can’t overcome Romney’s delegate count.

from the street

Actually, Ron Paul Is Secretly Winning A Lot More Delegates Than You Think

In just the last week, Paul locked up 49 delegates, including five in Pennsylvania and four in Rhode Island, two states thought to be firmly on Romney’s turf. In Minnesota, Paul won 20 of the 24 delegates awarded at last weekend’s district caucuses, an impressive sweep that guarantees that Paul will control a majority of the state’s delegation at the Republican National Convention.

And despite staunch opposition from the state Republican Party, Paul took 20 of the 40 delegates awarded in Missouri last weekend, according to campaign chairman Jesse Benton.

In at least five other states — Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, Washington, and Maine — Paul has done remarkably well at county and district conventions, and his supporters are expected to win a big chunk of the RNC delegates at the state conventions later this spring.

from business insider

Ron Paul Republicans Prevail at Convention in Alaska

Party Chair Randy Reudrich is out.  (He had already announced his resignation.)  The news, however, is who ended up being elected–two Ron Paul supporters.  Russ Millette was elected as Party Chair.  And Debbie Brown as Vice-Chair.  They take office in 2013.

Prior to the election, Reudrich had transferred the State Republican Party’s $100,000 bank balance to Juneau Republicans.  Millette takes over immediately as Party’s Finance Chair.

Ron Paul supporters are celebrating the delegate apportiontment from Alaska to the Republican National Convention.  Alaska has 24 delegates plus 3 superdelegates.  Currently 8 are committed to Romney, 8 to Santorum, 6 to Paul, and 2 to Gingrich.

from the daily kos

Ron Paul Wins Minnesota Delegates by a Landslide

A few weeks back, when Rick Santorum was arguing that he could power out delegate wins by organizing the little-noticed state conventions and caucuses, I agreed with him. And then Santorum quit. This left the state delegate pool hot and panting for Romneymentum, right?

Not quite yet. Over the weekend, Minnesota held congressional district conventions. Now, the state’s February caucus — one of the trio of non-binding contests Santorum won early that month — went 45 percent for Santorum, 27 percent for Paul, and only 17 percent for Romney. The Associated Press and other groups went on to estimate that Santorum would win 17 of Minnesota’s delegates, Paul would win 10, and Romney 6. Wrong. Ron Paul dominated the CD conventions. According to a tweet from RNC committeewoman Pat Anderson, Paul took 20 of the 24 delegates available in the CDs.

from slate.com

Ron Paul Wins Iowa 16 Weeks Later

However, on the third revision, Ron Paul has now been declared the winner of Iowa. At first, the numbers did not add up and on MSNBC the GOP chairman in the middle of the night declared Romney the winner. Later, the statement flip-flopped and proclaimed Rick Santorum to win. Now, 16 weeks after Romney’s Iowa presumed win and 14 weeks after Santorum’s Iowa presumed win, Ron Paul has vaulted to the head of the pack in Iowa.

from huntington news

Ron Paul Wins Washington, On Track to Be Nominated at 2012 GOP Convention

The Texas libertarian has based his entire 2012 presidential campaign on the ability to win over state delegates — rather than winning the popular vote. To do this, Paul has utilized an extensive grassroots campaign network to influence local officials, who in turn would influence the higher-up officials. Until recently, this strategy had shown only limited results: the ground-level Paul delegates had not been able to immediately influence the wider state delegate situation. Now, though, caucus states like Washington, Minnesota, and Iowa — each with a complicated system of “bound” and “unbound” delegates — are nominating their delegates to the GOP national convention in Tampa.

from policy mic

Ron Paul vs. Mitt Romney

Now that Santorum has dropped out, the delegates he had are now unbound (they will be if Santorum releases them, anyway). Santorum, alone was the puzzle piece holding people from supporting Ron Paul.

He was the puzzle piece because to some loved his pro-life stance and are worried of Romney’s staggering stance on abortion (also many followed Santorum for his message of Fiscal Conservatism). So with this said, many of his people and delegates are now jet bolting to Ron Paul.

from lemon global news

Brokered Convention likely Romney Nomination in doubt –

April 24, 2012. Des Moines. Two networks yesterday, CNBC and MSNBC, broadcast a little known fact – Ron Paul appears to be winning the Republican nomination for President. When the popular Texas Congressman repeatedly assured supporters that the race was about delegates, not beauty contests, he apparently knew what he was talking about. Now, after three more states locked in delegates to the GOP nominating convention – CO, MN and IA – indicators point to a brokered convention with a possible, even probable, Ron Paul victory.

Mitt Romney in a panic

The only report announcing the news of another Paul victory yesterday was the Doug Wead Blog. That write-up, which included the headline, ‘Romney in a Panic’, was picked-up and reprinted by a number of independent news outlets like RT News and The Daily Paul. Wead’s conclusion is based on a number of factors. First and foremost, Ron Paul continues to win more delegates than Mitt Romney during each state’s respective slating processes. Additionally, the writer points to drastic, last-minute changes to GOP procedure showing an attempt to limit the Paul vote. Some measures include a new poll tax in Washington and robo-calls in New York telling Republican voters that only Mitt Romney remains in the race.

from whiteout press

and, today:

Ron Paul Wins Louisiana Caucus

Supporters of 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul won yesterday’s Louisiana caucus, securing an overwhelming majority of winnable delegates to the June Republican state convention that will affect the weight of the Paul delegation to the August Republican National Convention in Tampa.

Preliminary results from the Louisiana Republican Party indicate that Ron Paul supporters won majorities in Congressional Districts 1, 2, 5, and 6, with a narrow decision having occurred in District 4. This means Ron Paul supporters won about four and a half of the six Congressional District caucus conventions held yesterday.

from reuters

Spratly islands

is china preparing to go to war over south china sea oil?

China vows to back claim to disputed islands with its military

China’s military on Thursday vowed to defend the country’s territory amid a stand-off with the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea, the official Xinhua news agency said.

China is locked in a maritime dispute with the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, which is considered a potential Asian flashpoint due to the overlapping claims of several nations.

“China’s armed forces bear the responsibility for the task of defending the nation’s territorial sovereignty and safeguarding maritime rights and interests,” defence ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng was quoted as saying.

China claims all of the South China Sea as a historic part of its territory, even waters close to the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.

from AFP, via google news

south china sea/spratley islands

The South China Sea is rich in natural resources such as oil and natural gas. These resources have garnered attention throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Until recently, East Asia’s economic growth rates had been among the highest in the world, and despite the current economic crisis, economic growth prospects in the long-term remain among the best in the world. This economic growth will be accompanied by an increasing demand for energy. Over the next 20 years, oil consumption among developing Asian countries is expected to rise by 4% annually on average, with about half of this increase coming from China. If this growth rate is maintained, oil demand for these nations will reach 25 million barrels per day – more than double current consumption levels — by 2020.

Almost of all of this additional Asian oil demand, as well as Japan’s oil needs, will need to be imported from the Middle East and Africa, and to pass through the strategic Strait of Malacca into the South China Sea. Countries in the Asia-Pacific region depend on seaborne trade to fuel their economic growth, and this has led to the sea’s transformation into one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Over half of the world’s merchant fleet (by tonnage) sails through the South China Sea every year. The economic potential and geopolitical importance of the South China Sea region has resulted in jockeying between the surrounding nations to claim this sea and its resources for themselves.

Military skirmishes have occurred numerous times in the past three decades. The most serious occurred in 1976, when China invaded and captured the Paracel Islands from Vietnam, and in 1988, when Chinese and Vietnamese navies clashed at Johnson Reef in the Spratly Islands, sinking several Vietnamese boats and killing over 70 sailors.

china and russia conduct joint naval operations 

What’s undeniable are the short-term and provocative political implications. The exercises also take place with heightened anxiety over a North Korea rocket test — which dunked into the Yellow Sea earlier this month — and a possible impending nuclear test. Joint U.S. and South Korean exercises, and the U.S. sending the George Washington into that same Yellow Sea, raised hackles in Beijing. Now these joint operations might be tit-for-tat.

“This exercise is a political message,” e-mails Abe Denmark, with the National Bureau of Asian Research. “China in recent years has expressed disapproval of [U.S.-South Korean] joint exercises in the Yellow Sea, especially those that involve an aircraft carrier. Chinese officials object to the proximity of American air and naval power to their economic and political centers, and want to make the case (especially to Seoul) that these exercises are uncomfortable when they’re just off your shores.”

Of course, these are shores that the U.S. Navy wants to spend more time around. The President and the Pentagon have declared that American forces are pivoting to the Pacific, in part to counter a rising China. That job could get a lot tougher, if Beijing and Moscow start to collaborate more often.

For the moment, though, that doesn’t seem to be happening. “In political terms, I don’t see this exercise as a harbinger of things to come in the Western Pacific,” says Holmes. “It’s a lot easier to list things keeping Beijing and Moscow apart than it is to list things tending to unite them in some sort of seagoing entente or alliance.”

from wired

US imposed media ban on live-fire exercises with Philippines

The United States, according to a Philippine military source, made “several changes in the program of activities” apparently to avoid irritating China amid the standoff in the Scarborough Shoal that started on April 10.

“They made many changes to the plans and disallowed media coverage for Crow Valley and El Nido,” said the source, who asked not to be identified for lack of authority to speak on the matter.

The Crow Valley maneuvers, held on April 26, involved live-fire air and ground maneuvers and should have been open to media coverage as in past exercises, while the oil-rig takeover drill, which took place on April 20, was the first time such a scenario was introduced, a scenario which anticipated a counterattack on an oil facility taken over by hostile forces in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

“When the Scarborough standoff happened, they (US Forces) suddenly became very cautious about how media was going to play up those stories.

“Ingat na ingat sila (They were very careful) and they wanted to forgo some of the activities,” the source said.

Western Command spokesperson Maj. Neil Estrella, contacted by phone Saturday, was asked if the El Nido oil-rig takeover exercise was supposed to be open to media coverage. He said the decision to make it off limits was “reached by both sides.”

“There were several considerations why it was not made open to the media. One was safety,” Estrella said.

The source, however, insisted that it was the American side that decided “unilaterally” that the media could not cover the oil-rig event.

from asiaOne 

America On Board for ‘Financial Train Wreck’, Economist Warns

Whether or not you agree with Peter Schiff, CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital, one thing is beyond dispute: Those whom we have trusted to fix our economy have failed.

Instead of making tough decisions to get America back on track, the “yes men” in Washington have only continued to placate donors and implement short-term fixes that will hedge their re-election efforts.

By now it should be clear that the “recovery” won’t happen. All these short-term fixes will come back to haunt us.

And when they do, as prophetic economist Bob Wiedemer boldly states, “[The] money from heaven will be the path to hell.”

via America On Board for ‘Financial Train Wreck’, Economist Warns.

http://r.unicornmedia.com/content.aspx?uid=AC26FE85-334B-4A21-B72C-154F743F5739&at=7b3c6199-eae4-4027-bdcf-136a2c01c5c6

He doesn’t mince words when he talks about the tragic consequences. “The data is clear, 50% unemployment, a 90% stock market drop, and 100% annual inflation . . . starting in 2012.”

Before you discount this scenario as wild speculation, please keep this in mind: In 2006, Weidemer wrote America’s Bubble Economy, which correctly predicted the collapse of the U.S. housing market, equity markets, private debt, and consumer spending.

His newest book, Aftershock, is a wake-up call for those who are ill-prepared (or unwilling) to acknowledge an ugly truth: The country’s financial “rescue” devised in Washington has been a catastrophic failure.


finally - child molesting is a career option in the u.s.

TSA screener is the perfect job for sexual deviants – no background check required!

A statewide crackdown on sexual deviants in Massachusetts has led to the arrest and criminal charge of U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screener Jose E. Salgado, a 59-year-old from Chelsea that had been working at Logan International Airport in Boston. Salgado had apparently been in possession of and was distributing pornographic images of young children, a disgusting crime that is quickly proving to be quite common at the TSA.

According to the Huffington Post, Salgado has been suspended, but not necessarily fired, from his position at the TSA while the investigation moves forward (). Meanwhile, Sgt. Michael Hill, Commander of the Massachusetts Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, told reporters that the 55 individuals apprehended as part of the child pornography sting are “just a drop in the bucket.”

Besides Salgado, at least two other TSA screeners from Massachusetts have been nabbed in recent months on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography, or for committing acts of sexual assault against children. Ex-TSA screener Andrew Cheever, for instance, was recently sentenced to three and a half years in prison for possession of child pornography, while Sean Shanahan was arrested last year for allegedly sending sexually explicit text messages to a 14-year-old girl.

The Boston Herald says that sex charges against TSA workers have also been filed in Virginia, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Georgia, as well as other states. And NaturalNews is aware of at least three additional cases — one in Pennsylvania, one in Florida, and one in Maryland — where TSA screeners have been arrested on charges of child pornography.

Scott Wilson, a former TSA worker at Washington International Airport in Baltimore, had his home raided late last year after an undercover agent downloaded child pornography images from Wilson’s computer. Wilson was charged with two felony counts of child pornography.

Thomas Gordon Jr., a former TSA screener at Philadelphia International Airport was arrested in early 2011 and charged with uploading explicit images of underage girls to websites using at least half a dozen phony Facebook aliases. According to the allegations, Gordon was actually found posing in his TSA uniform in one of the explicit photos he uploaded.

And Charles Bennett, a former TSA screener at Orlando International Airport in Florida was arrested in 2010 for allegedly molesting a young girl and trying to make her his “sex slave.”

As vile as each of these accounts is, they likely represent just a tiny fraction of the sexual deviancy that still takes place within the ranks of the TSA to this day. Each of these instances, after all, represents only those that have been brought to light — many others, thanks to the TSA’s lax “screening” process for its own employees, more than likely remain in their positions to this day.

And if you think about it, what better job is there for sexual deviants than to become TSA screeners? Virtually no other position in society gives them free reign to openly view the naked silhouettes of air travelers as they are forced to walk through naked body scanners, or to aggressively pat down innocent children whose families refuse to have their young ones blasted with toxic radiation in the naked body scanners.

via TSA continues to hire child porn criminals.

TSA Agents Hired Without Full Background Checks

Some workers screening travelers at one major airport may not have been fully screened themselves.

Facing a backlog of background checks, the Transportation Security Administration gave airport employers the ability to hire any workers needed at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport, according to a memoobtained by WSBTV Atlanta. The “regulatory relief” affects airports across the country, WSBTV Atlanta reports.

from the huffington post

you can download and read this, click on link below

European Pirate Party Publishes eBook Explaining Sharing in the Digital Age

Pirate Party MEP Christian Engstrom and founder Rick Falkvinge have released The Case for Copyright Reform a 107-page eBook outlining the party’s vision for reconciling copyright protection with the reality of widespread digital sharing.

The International Pirate Party, first started in Sweden in 2006, won its first seat in the European parliament in 2009, and more recently won 15 seats in Germany’s Berlin state elections. This new proposal represents the burgeoning group’s clearest, most detailed statement yet on how the party plans to act on its signature issue.

While the proposal argues that the explosive growth of file sharing can’t be stopped without monitoring private communication and “infringing on fundamental human rights,” the authors clarify that they don’t want to simply abolish copyright altogether. Though digital rights management systems would be banned under the under the Pirate Party plan, copyright would continue to prevent people from legally profiting from the works of others. Non-commercial copying and use would be made completely legal, though, returning to what Ekstrom and Falvinge argue is the original meaning of copyright, where people could copy a poem or dub a cassette and send it to a friend without fear of punishment.

To help make the bounds for sharing clearer, the authors suggest setting explicit guidelines for legal audio and visual sampling, akin to the kinds of established legal quotation rights for text. The length of copyright protection would be severely curtailed as well, from an “absurd” period of life plus 70 years to a mere 20 years from the time of publication. These copyrights would need to be renewed five years after publication, too, to allow orphaned works quick entry back into the public domain.

The book goes into great detail on how current copyright laws are stifling technological and creative progress, as well as the freedom of private communication and due process. It also lays out evidence from Norway and Sweden to show that artists can still make money in a world where their works can be copied freely, by shifting to other revenue sources. Perhaps the detailed argument will help change the minds of some of those German intellectuals that have been reportedly turning against the party recently.

via European Pirate Party shares copyright reform alternative to ACTA.

The Case for Copyright Reform

Legalized file sharing, shorter protection times for the commercial copyright monopoly, free sampling and a ban on DRM.
These are the main points of the proposal for copyright reform that the Pirate Party is advocating and which the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament adopted as its group position in September 2011.
This is a constructive alternative to the controversial ACTA agreement and to the criminalization of the entire generation of youths. This booklet explains why such a reform is both necessary and sustainable and will benefit both citizens and artists.
Download the book

streetview1

Justice Department Allows Google to Steal Your Personal Data

in what is clearly an example of how the legal system has not quite come to grips with internet technology, the u.s. justice department has cleared google of any wrong-doing when – as part of their google streetview project – google broke into people’s unencrypted computers through public-access wifi connections.

google claims that unencrypted computers are “open access,” and they are not violating any laws by stealing personal information from people without their knowledge or consent.

that’s like allowing burgalers to sneak into your house and take anything they want because you did not adequately lock your doors or windows, or thieves to take merchandise from stores because the doors were open. google contends that if no one stopped them, no crime was committed.

from wired:

“The DOJ had access to Google employees, reviewed the key documents, and concluded that it would not pursue a case for violation of the Wiretap Act,” Google wrote in a Thursday filing (.pdf) with the Federal Communications Commission.

The Justice Department declined comment.

If true, the development means that at least three government agencies — the FCC, Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department — found Google committed no wrongdoing in the so-called Street View debacle.

Those outcomes, however, contradict a federal judge who last year ruled the search-and-advertising giant could be held liable for violating federal wiretapping law. The decision by U.S. District Judge James Ware of California green-lighted about a dozen lawsuits seeking damages — a decision that has been stayed pending Google’s appeal.

Google has said it didn’t realize it was sniffing packets of data on unsecured Wi-Fi networks in about a dozen countries between 2008 and 2010 until German privacy authorities began questioning what data Google’s Street View mapping cars were collecting. Google, along with other companies, use databases of Wi-Fi networks and their locations to augment or replace GPS when attempting to figure out the location of a computer or mobile device.

In Google’s letter to the FCC, it said it would pay a $25,000 FCC fine, levied two weeks ago, to settle the agency’s claims that Google stonewalled the commission’s Streetview investigation. Google denied wrongdoing, but agreed to pay “in order to put this investigation behind it.”

Google’s letter to the FCC said the Justice Department notified Google in May that it had closed its investigation.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center on Friday filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Justice Department demanding (.pdf) the May letter the Justice Department sent to Google allegedly clearing it of wrongdoing.

The FCC, meanwhile, found that Google “collected and stored encrypted communications sent over unencrypted Wi-Fi networks,” but the FCC found no evidence that Google accessed that data.

Google has said the affair was a “mistake.” The FCC said the hijacked data included “names, addresses, telephone numbers, URL’s, passwords, e-mail, text messages, medical records, video and audio files, and other information from internet users in the United States.”

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission had opened and closed an inquiry in 2010 without taking any action against Google in connection to the Streetview affair.

According to the Wiretap Act, amended in 1986, it’s not considered wiretapping “to intercept or access an electronic communication made through an electronic communication system that is configured so that such electronic communication is readily accessible to the general public.” But Judge Ware said that interpretation did not apply to open, unencrypted Wi-Fi networks and instead applied only to “traditional radio services” like police scanners.

via Justice Department Clears Google in Wi-Fi Sniffing Scandal | Threat Level | Wired.com.

as for google – those evil fucks say that they “inadvertantly” spent two years breaking into people’s home computers and also into computers connected to public wifi and archiving people’s personal data. they also had people’s encrypted files for this time, and likely still do. there is no mention in any of these reports about what has become of the data, and anyone who trusts the words of these lying, weasely bastards is naive, to say the least.

The data, which Google claims was stored “inadvertently,” was collected over a two-year period by Google’s fleet of Street View cars along with photos and the location of WiFi access points. It included personal information from unencrypted wireless networks—captured network packets that included email messages, passwords, and website requests with attached cookie data that could be used to establish website usage history of the users of those networks.

In an email to the LA Times, Google spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said that the company “decided to voluntarily make the entire document available except for the names of individuals…While we disagree with some of the statements made in the document, we agree with the FCC’s conclusion that we did not break the law. We hope that we can now put this matter behind us.”

The FCC ceased its investigation after determining that the unencrypted network traffic wasn’t protected by federal wiretap laws, and a key Google witness invoked his Fifth Amendment rights. That witness was a Google engineer—referred to as “Engineer Doe” in the FCC report—that the company claims intentionally added code to the Street View data collection software to capture packets’ payload data. Google has declined to name the engineer.

But the FCC report called into question whether the collection of the data was as inadvertent as Google has claimed. Engineer Doe reportedly told two other Google engineers, including a senior manager, that he was collecting payload data as part of Street View. In October of 2006, he gave the entire Street View team a document detailing the work he had done, including the fact that payload data would be logged as part of the data collection.

Google releases full details of FCC investigation into Street View WiFi snooping

by legalizing drugs and regulating their use, we would live in a saner, less violent world - which is why this will not happen

Former MI6 officer attacks global war on drugs

Suggestions that the drug laws need changing, that the global war on drugs has failed, are invariably put down to woolly, liberal, or maverick, thinking. What will be the response then when the suggestions come from a former deputy head of MI6 in a study published by such an established and venerable thinktank as the International Institute for Strategic Studies?

“Drugs have been the commodity which more than any other has primed the pump for the massive rise in organised criminality witnessed since the end of the cold war”, writes Nigel Inkster, former MI6 director of operations and intelligence, and author, with Virginia Comolli, of Drugs, Insecurity and Failed States published by the IISS this week.

Drugs still account for about 50% of the profits of organised criminal groups even though many of these groups have diversified into other lucrative activities such as people-smuggling, counterfeiting, and cyber crime, they say.

In principle, therefore, collapsing the black market in drugs ought to have a significant beneficial impact on levels of violence and criminality.

The IISS study is the result of a growing realisation that levels of violence fuelled by narcotics are getting worse, and growing pressure from Latin America for a rethink of current laws prohibiting drugs. It quotes a UN report which warned in 2009: “Collusion between insurgents and criminal groups threaten[s] the stability of West Asia, the Andes, and parts of Africa, fuelling the trade in smuggled weapons, the plunder of natural resources and piracy”.

While demand for heroin and cocaine appears to be levelling off in the developed world, the authors point out that Russia and Iran now have substantial populations of heroin addicts, possibly as high as three million in Iran.

Amid all the descriptions and comments on the violence, instability, and corruption in Afghanistan, very few mentions drugs. Yet Afghanistan is the source of 85% of the heroin consumed on the streets not only of western Europe, but of Russia and Iran, along with the rest of the world.

Back in 2001, Tony Blair said Britain would take the responsibility for counter narcotics operations in Afghanistan. It came to nothing. British troops were the first to face the consequences of a policy, so unthought through, that made local Afghans even more suspicious of the motives of foreign soldiers than they already were.

In Afghanistan, say the authors of the IISS study, “the heroin trade helps fuel a long-running insurgency which is unlikely to end in 2014 with the drawdown of Nato/Isaf combat forces, whilst simultaneously perpetuating within the Afghan government levels of criminality and corruption which actively promote the conditions for the insurgency to flourish”.

While in Afghanistan the income from opium production represents a “social safety net”, some of the poor countries of West Africa “have been taken over and comprehensively corrupted by narcotics-trafficking groups, to the point where the latter secure the loyalty of local populations by providing levels of social welfare far beyond the capacity of states to match”, says the report.

The developing world has had to pay for the demand in the developed world for substances which, because they are illegal, acquire an inflated market value “with all the incentives this provides for organised criminal groups”.

via Former top MI6 officer attacks global war on drugs | Society | guardian.co.uk.

Drugs, Insecurity and Failed States: the Problems of

Prohibition

The world’s wealthiest nations have expended vast blood and treasure in tracking and capturing traffickers, dealers and consumers of narcotics, as well as destroying crops and confiscating shipments. Yet the global trade in illicit drugs is thriving, with no apparent change in the level of consumption despite decades of prohibition. This Adelphi argues that the present enforcement regime is not only failing to win the ‘War on Drugs’; it is also igniting and prolonging that conflict on the streets of producer and transit countries, where the supply chain has become interwoven with state institutions and cartels have become embroiled in violence against their rivals and with security forces.

What can be done to secure the worst affected regions and states, such as Latin America and Afghanistan? By examining the destabilising effects of prohibition, as well as alternative approaches such as that adopted by the authorities in Portugal, this book shows how progress may be made by treating consumption as a healthcare issue rather than a criminal matter, thereby freeing states to tackle the cartels and traffickers who hold their communities to ransom.

read the introduction online.

illusion of choice

These 10 Corporations Control Almost Everything You Buy

Ever wonder why you can’t get a Coke at Taco Bell? It’s because Yum! Brands was created as a spin-off of Pepsi–and has a lifetime contract with the soda-maker.

Unilever produces everything from Dove soap to Klondike bars. Nestle has a big stake in L’Oreal, which features everything from cosmetics to Diesel designer jeans.

Despite a wide array of brands to choose from, it all comes back to the big guys.

Click this image to see full size:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

via These 10 Corporations Control Almost Everything You Buy – Business Insider.

Republicans prepare contempt citation against Eric Holder over Fast and Furious: Mexico says it has seized 68,000 guns from U.S.

House Republicans investigating the Fast and Furious scandal plan to pursue a contempt citation against Attorney General Eric Holder, senior congressional aides told CBS News.

The resolution will accuse Holder and his Justice Department of obstructing the congressional probe into the allegations that the government let thousands of weapons fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

The citation would attempt to force Holder to turn over tens of thousands of pages documents related to the probe, which has entered its second year.

For months, congressional Republicans probing ATF’s Fast and Furious “Gunwalker” scandal – led by California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, have been investigating a contempt citation. They’ve worked quietly behind the scenes to build support among fellow Republicans, since it could ultimately face a full House vote.

via Republicans prepare contempt citation against Eric Holder over Fast and Furious – Political Hotsheet – CBS News.

US: Mexico seized 68,000 guns from US since 2006

The government says that 68,000 guns recovered by Mexican authorities in the past five years have been traced back to the United States.

The flood of tens of thousands of weapons underscores complaints from Mexico that the U.S. is responsible for arming the drug cartels plaguing its southern neighbor. Six years of violence between warring cartels have killed more than 47,000 people in Mexico.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives released its latest data covering 2007 through 2011. According to ATF, many of the guns seized in Mexico and submitted to ATF for tracing were recovered at the scenes of cartel shootings while others were seized in raids on illegal arms caches. All the recovered weapons were suspected of being used in crimes in Mexico.

- also from cbs news

(note: the u.s. government has been supplying arms to the sinaloa drug cartel since at least 2006)

see previous post:

u.s. government is in partnership with sinaloa drug cartel

Catholic church demands exclusive rights to sodomize children

The Roman Catholic church has written to every state-funded Catholic secondary school in England and Wales asking them to encourage pupils to sign a petition against gay marriage.

Students at one south London school were shown a presentation on religious opposition to government plans to let gay couples marry in civil ceremonies. Church leaders believe the proposal would reduce the significance of marriage.

The Catholic Education Service, which acts for Catholic bishops in England and Wales, contacted 385 secondary schools to highlight a letter read in parish churches last month, in which two archbishops told worshippers that Catholics have a “duty to do all we can to ensure that the true meaning of marriage is not lost for future generations”.

The CES also asked schools to draw pupils’ attention to the petition being organised by the Coalition for Marriage, a Christian campaign which has attracted more than 466,000 signatures to date.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said: “This is a clear breach of the authority and privilege that the Catholic Education Service has been given in schools.

“Surely it is no part of its remit to promote a specific political campaign from this purely sectarian viewpoint. It is disgraceful that children are being encouraged into bigotry when they are attending a state school paid for by taxpayers.”

A pupil at St Philomena’s Catholic high school for girls in Carshalton, in the south London borough of Sutton, told the website PinkNews.co.uk that children aged 11 to 18 had been encouraged to sign the anti-equality pledge by their headteacher.

She said: “In our assembly for the whole sixth form you could feel people bristling as she explained parts of the letter and encouraged us to sign the petition. It was just a really outdated, misjudged and heavily biased presentation.”

She said some pupils had responded by buying Gay Pride badges to pin to their uniforms. “There are several people in my year who aren’t heterosexual – myself included – and I for one was appalled and actually disgusted by what they were encouraging,” she said. “After all, that’s discrimination they were urging impressionable people to engage in, which is unacceptable.”

via Catholic church urges pupils to sign anti-gay marriage petition | World news | The Guardian.

The Spratly Islands are important for a number of reasons: the Spratly area holds significant reserves of oil and natural gas, it is a productive area for world fishing and commercial shipping, and coastal countries would get an extended continental shelf. But some states, like China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC), and Vietnam make claims based on historical sovereignty over the islands.

China uses military to assert claims to Spratly Islands

update: Aug 8, 2012

China bares claws in maritime dispute
By Ian Storey

For more than two decades Beijing has pursued a consistent policy in the South China Sea composed of two main elements: gradually strengthening the country’s territorial and jurisdictional claims while at the same time endeavoring to assure Southeast Asian countries of its peaceful intentions. Recent moves by China to bolster its maritime claims have brought the first element into sharp relief, while reassurances of benign intent have, however, been in short supply.

China hardens its stance

Commentaries in China’s state-run media analyzing the South China Sea issue have become markedly less conciliatory. Opinion pieces highlight several new themes in China’s official line.

One theme is that China’s territory, its sovereignty as well as its maritime rights and interests increasingly are being challenged by Southeast Asian nations and Japan in the South and East China Seas. China’s response, it is argued, should be to uphold its claims more vigorously, increase its military presence in contested waters, and, if necessary, be prepared to implement coercive measures against other countries. One commentary notes: “Cooperation must be in good faith, competition must be strong, and confrontation must be resolute.”

Another theme is that while China has shown restraint, countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam have been pursuing provocative and illegal actions in a bid to “plunder” maritime resources such as hydrocarbons and fisheries that China regards as its own.

A third theme is that Manila and Hanoi continue to encourage US “meddling” in the South China Sea and that the United States uses the dispute as a pretext to “pivot” its military forces toward Asia. To reverse these negative trends, Chinese commentators have urged the government to adopt more resolute measures toward disputed territories and maritime boundaries. Nationalist sentiment, they argue, demands no less.

much more, detailing perspectives put forth by different players in the conflict over the resource-rich south china seas, from asia times

China says it will use military to assert claims to Spratly Islands

(AFP) – Apr 26, 2012

China’s military on Thursday vowed to defend the country’s territory amid a stand-off with the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea, the official Xinhua news agency said.

China is locked in a maritime dispute with the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, which is considered a potential Asian flashpoint due to the overlapping claims of several nations.

“China’s armed forces bear the responsibility for the task of defending the nation’s territorial sovereignty and safeguarding maritime rights and interests,” defence ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng was quoted as saying.

China claims all of the South China Sea as a historic part of its territory, even waters close to the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.

Geng added the military would cooperate with Chinese government bodies handling fishery and maritime affairs to safeguard the country’s rights, Xinhua said, but gave no further details.

The Philippines said Thursday it would seek more US military help during top-level talks next week, despite China’s warning not to “internationalise” the tense territorial dispute.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines was looking to the United States to help it achieve a “credible” defence system, and wanted to extract maximum benefits from a mutual defence treaty between the allies.

The United States and the Philippines are now holding military exercises though officials of both countries deny a link to the dispute with China.

The Philippines has complained over the past two years that China has become increasingly aggressive in staking its claim to the waters, with tensions spiking over the Scarborough Shoal standoff.

China itself is currently holding naval exercises with Russia off the Chinese coast which included live-fire drills on Thursday, state media said.

The exercises are the first ever dedicated naval drills between the two countries.

China plans more military exercises with Russia and central Asian countries belonging to a regional grouping which have been scheduled for June in Tajikistan, Geng said.

He added that China’s recent tests of its first aircraft carrier had no relationship to the “current regional situation”.

That vessel, a refitted former Soviet carrier called the Varyag, underwent its second sea trial in November last year.

via AFP: China vows to defend rights in maritime row: Xinhua.

 

Bradley Manning is escorted by military police as he departs the courtroom at Fort Meade, Maryland April 25, 2012. Photograph by: Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images

Manning challenges U.S. to prove he ‘aided the enemy’

WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning challenged U.S. prosecutors Wednesday to prove he intended to “aid the enemy” by turning over documents to the whistleblower website, arguing that spilling secrets could not be treated as a plot to help al-Qaida.

Manning’s lawyer insisted at a pre-trial hearing that the government’s case implied any soldier could be prosecuted for helping al-Qaida if they leaked sensitive information to an Internet site, including prominent newspapers.

If allowed to stand, the prosecution’s definition of the offense would violate free speech rights and constitutional protections, said David Coombs, civilian counsel for Manning.

That interpretation of the law “would be alarming in its scope,” he told the court.

The most serious charge facing the 24-year-old U.S. Army private alleges he was knowingly “aiding the enemy” when he passed a massive cache of classified data to WikiLeaks. The charge can carry the death sentence, and prosecutors are seeking life in prison in this case.

To be convicted on the charge, Coombs said the government has “to show general evil intent” on Manning’s part and not merely that “he should have known better,” which the lawyer said would amount to a lesser charge of gross negligence.

via Manning challenges U.S. to prove he ‘aided the enemy’.