Citizens fight back against town's "tank" purchase

Finally.

"We're going to have our own tank."

That's what Keene, N.H., Mayor Kendall Lane whispered to Councilman Mitch Greenwald during a December city council meeting.

It's not quite a tank. But the quaint town of 23,000 -- scene of just two murders since 1999 -- had just accepted a $285,933 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to purchase a Bearcat, an eight-ton armored personnel vehicle made by Lenco Industries Inc.

But those plans are on hold for now, thanks to a backlash from feisty residents. Resistance began with Mike Clark, a 27-year-old handyman. Clark, who said he's had a couple encounters with Keene police and currently faces a charge of criminal mischief, read about the Homeland Security grant in the newspaper. "The police are already pretty brutal," Clark said, claiming he was roughed up in both his encounters with local police. "The last thing they need is this big piece of military equipment to make them think they're soldiers."

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Why Were The Trillions In Fake Bonds Held In Chicago Fed Crates?

While there is precious little in terms of detail coming out of the latest and literally greatest "fake" bond story in history, the BBC has been kind enough to release the pictures of the boxes that the supposedly fake bonds were contained in. While we reserve judgment on the authenticity of the bonds, what we wonder is whether the boxes were also fake. Because while we can understand why someone would counterfeit the Treasury paper itself, what we don't get is why someone would go the extra effort to also create a "fake" compartment in which to store it.

In this case a compartment that is property of the "CHICAGO FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM." Perhaps Fed uberdove and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans will be kind enough to explain why Versailles Treaty Chicago Fed crates are floating around in Europe (and filled with $6 trillion in supposedly fake bearer bonds)?

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Black History Month - Free Black Slave Owner Thomas Day

NC Museum of History Honors Free-Black Slave Owner Thomas Day

Thomas Day was born in 1801 at Dinwiddie, Virginia to free black parents, who moved to Warren County, North Carolina between 1817-1820. There father John Day obtained employment with master cabinetmaker Thomas Reynolds who trained he and his sons John, Jr. and Thomas. The sons would move to nearby Milton, North Carolina in 1823 to open their own cabinet shop, and by 1825 Thomas was sole owner. Thomas became a well-known and expert cabinet maker in his own right, purchasing two African slaves in 1830 to work under him and at least three, perhaps as many as fourteen, by the late 1850’s. The economic panic of 1857 sent Day into bankruptcy and perhaps forcing the sale of his slaves to raise funds.

He died in 1861 and is buried in Milton, North Carolina.

The existence of free-black craftsmen in antebellum North Carolina came from slaves who had been taught a trade by their owners, such as that of carpentry, masonry or cabinetry -- and often these owners did not have enough work on the plantation to keep them employed year round. Neighbors might hire the slave-craftsmen and the practice arose of permitting such slaves to go about the country looking for work.

The slave would carry a written statement to that effect, sort of a license to work at large. Slaves would often bargain with their owners and agree to pay him a certain sum each year in return for the privilege of working whenever they chose, called “hiring his time.” This could ultimately lead to the skilled and often-employed slave to earn sufficient funds to purchase his own freedom, and to purchase his own slaves. (Antebellum North Carolina, Guion Griffis Johnson, page 531)

Understandably, all slaves did not show the ability for skilled trades and “only the most likely were taught a trade. The ordinary procedure in teaching a slave a profession was to bring him up under the tutelage of a slave craftsman or apprentice him to a free tradesman. [Those slaves thought ingenious were bound] to some carpenter or bricklayer.”

These skilled free-black craftsman and tradesmen “were barbers, tailors, tanners, brick makers, carpenters, brick and stone masons, cabinet makers, caterers, blacksmiths and shoemakers,” and they often purchased their own black slaves to help in their businesses (ANC, page 607). The census of 1830 listed 192 free-blacks in North Carolina who owned from one to 41 slaves, while almost half of that number, 92, owned only one (ANC, page 607).

By 1860, there were twenty-four free Negro mechanics plying their trade in North Carolina. Very few of the skilled occupations were without some free Negroes, and many came to be looked upon as efficient and dependable. Free-black Joseph Dennis of Fayetteville, was described by a white citizen as “a mechanic of considerable skill and has frequently been in my employ.” His relative Phillis Dennis owned 4 slaves herself in 1830.

John Caruthers Stanly, a free-black in New Bern, was one of the leading barbers of the community and he “used the profits which he earned at this occupation as his initial investment in plantations and town property, making him one of the wealthiest men and slave owners in Craven County,” owning 14 slaves in 1830. Known as “Barber Jack,” Stanly was said at one time to be worth more than $40,000. His son, John Stewart Stanly, born a slave, was emancipated in 1802 and by 1830 owned eighteen slaves himself. Donom Mumford, a free-black brick mason of New Bern, owned ten slaves whom he employed in his business. (The Free Negro in NC, John Hope Franklin, Page 608)

Free blacks experienced little difficulty in securing employment in North Carolina in the building trades. Masons, brick makers, and stone dressers were in demand in North Carolina’s growing towns, and the protestations of white workers were not strong enough to cause a ban to be placed on the use of free Negro workers in these trades. Free-black slave owner John Y. Green, who owned 4 slaves in 1830, was a well-to-do carpenter and contractor in New Bern who amassed a considerable fortune by securing large jobs in connection with the building programs of his hometown. It was largely through his own industry that James D. Sampson was able to become a respected and wealthy citizen in Wilmington. Almost 500 free-blacks [in North Carolina] made their living in the building trades in 1860.”

Certainly there were free-blacks who possessed slaves for the purpose of advancing their own economic well-being and free-black slaveholders were more interested in making their farms or carpenter-shops “pay” than they were in treating their slaves humanely. The capitalistic-minded free Negro owners of slaves can usually be identified because of their extensive holdings of realty and because of their inactivity in the manumission movement. For thirty years, Thomas Day (of Milton, North Carolina) used slaves to help him in his cabinetmaking business. In 1830, he had two slaves; by 1860 he had three, and possibly as many as fourteen.

And large numbers of slaves owned by free-blacks were not unusual: eleven slaves were held in bondage by Samuel Johnston of Bertie County in 1790; the 44 slaves each owned by Gooden Bowen of Bladen County and John Walker of New Hanover County in 1830; and the 24 slaves owned by John Crichlon of Martin County in 1830. “Free Negroes usually held one, two, or three slaves…"These free-blacks in New Hanover County owned more than one slave in 1830: Mary Cruise, 3; Leuris Pajay, 4; John Walker, 44; Roger Hazell, 5; James Campbell, 2; and Henry Sampson who owned 5 black slaves. (The Free Negro in North Carolina, pp. 140-141)

Black History Month - Free Black Slave Owner Thomas Day

Pinal Sheriff Babeu denies deportation-threat allegations of former boyfriend

And I'm followed him religiously before.

Via Peter

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu on Saturday denied allegations that he and his attorney threatened to deport a Mexican former boyfriend of Babeu's unless the man agreed not to disclose the relationship.

Babeu said the allegations are "completely false" and that the only information mentioned in a Phoenix New Times article that's true is "I'm gay."

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Chairman of JCS: Israeli strike on Iran would not be prudent

Another sane voice crying in the wildness.

Via NC Renegade

Chairman of US Joint Chiefs tells CNN an attack wouldn't accomplish Israel's long-term goals, says Washington views Tehran as a rational actor, believes it hasn't decided to make a nuclear weapon.

An Israeli attack on Iran would be “destabilizing,” the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Army General Martin Dempsey, said Saturday.

“It’s not prudent at this point to decide to attack Iran,” Dempsey said in an interview with CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” scheduled to be broadcast Sunday. The US government is confident the Israelis “understand out concerns,” he said, according to an e-mailed transcript.

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Why Did Russia Vote Against the UN Syrian Resolution? Russian naval base Tartus

Tartus hosts a Soviet-era naval supply and maintenance base, under a 1971 agreement with Syria, which is still staffed by Russian naval personnel. The base was established during the Cold War to support the Soviet Navy's fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. During the 1970s, similar support points were located in Egypt and Latakia, Syria. In 1977, the Egyptian support bases at Alexandria and Mersa Matruh were evacuated and the ships and property were transferred to Tartus, where the naval support base was transformed into the 229th Naval and Estuary Vessel Support Division. Seven years later, the Tartus support point was upgraded to the 720th Logistics Support Point.

In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and its Mediterranean fleet, the 5th Mediterranean Squadron which was composed of ships from the North Sea Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet, ceased its existence. Since then, there have been occasional expeditions by Russian Navy vessels and submarines to the Mediterranean Sea. The naval logistics support base in Syria is now part of the Black Sea Fleet. It consists of three floating docks of which one is operational, a floating workshop, storage facilities, barracks and other facilities.

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Around the world in 36 years: Couple who cast off rat race in 70s and embarked on a 100,000 mile odyssey finally drop anchor back in Blighty

Abandoning the rat race and sailing off into the sunset is the stuff of daydreams for many.

But Bill Cooper and his wife Laurel actually did it – and, 36 years later, can say they have lived the dream.

Mr Cooper, 83, a former City broker who used to advise Harold Wilson, decided to cast off for good as he made his daily commute to work in 1974.

He returned home from the railway station and asked Mrs Cooper to call his office and tell his colleagues he would not be coming in. Ever.

Over the next two years, they built a boat before selling their house, bidding farewell to family and friends, and setting sail for a life of adventure.

Now, after an odyssey spanning more than three decades and 100,000 miles, berthing in 45 different countries, they have returned to drop anchor back home.

Age and ill-health have brought their astonishing journey to an end, although they still plan to remain afloat – on the calmer waters of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent.

It is a well-deserved rest for a couple who have crossed seven seas, negotiated 22,000 miles of canals and rivers, and coped with storms bringing 25ft waves and 100mph winds.

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Is An Ancient Egyptian Curse Killing The Sale Of A 30-Million-Euro Italian Villa?

Villa Altachiara is among the most luxurious residences on the Italian Riviera. After the mysterious death of the last owner, it has become impossible to find a buyer. Superstitious locals blame a curse dating back to ancient Egypt's King Tutankhamun

Perched on a cliff along the Italian Riviera, the Villa Altachiara is one of the Mediterranean’s most luxurious, picturesque – and pricey -- estates.

But beyond its 1000 square meters, 40 rooms and breathtaking views of the sea, some say that this 19th century mansion comes with another feature: a curse, punctuated by the mysterious death of its last resident, the Countess Francesca Vacca Agusta, who fell into the sea on a stormy night in 2001.

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MI6 attacks al-Qaeda in 'Operation Cupcake'

Priceless!

British intelligence has hacked into an al-Qaeda online magazine and replaced bomb-making instructions with a recipe for cupcakes.

The cyber-warfare operation was launched by MI6 and GCHQ in an attempt to disrupt efforts by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular to recruit “lone-wolf” terrorists with a new English-language magazine, the Daily Telegraph understands.

When followers tried to download the 67-page colour magazine, instead of instructions about how to “Make a bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom” by “The AQ Chef” they were greeted with garbled computer code.

The code, which had been inserted into the original magazine by the British intelligence hackers, was actually a web page of recipes for “The Best Cupcakes in America” published by the Ellen DeGeneres chat show.

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Rising Black Social Pathology

Via III Percent Patriots

The Philadelphia Inquirer's big story Feb. 4 was about how a budget crunch at the Philadelphia School District had caused the district to lay off 91 school police officers. Over the years, there's been no discussion of what has happened to our youth that makes a school police force necessary in the first place. The Inquirer's series "Assault on Learning" (March 2011) reported that in the 2010 school year, "690 teachers were assaulted; in the last five years, 4,000 were." The newspaper reported that in Philadelphia's 268 schools, "on an average day 25 students, teachers, or other staff members were beaten, robbed, sexually assaulted, or victims of other violent crimes. That doesn't even include thousands more who are extorted, threatened, or bullied in a school year."

I graduated from Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin High School in 1954. Franklin's students were from the poorest North Philadelphia neighborhoods — such as the Richard Allen housing project, where I lived — but there were no policemen patrolling the hallways. There were occasional after-school fights — rumbles, we called them — but within the school, there was order. Students didn't use foul language to teachers, much less assault them.

How might one explain the greater civility of Philadelphia and other big-city, predominantly black schools during earlier periods compared with today? Would anyone argue that during the '40s and '50s, back when Williams attended Philadelphia schools, there was less racial discrimination and poverty and there were greater opportunities for blacks and that's why academic performance was higher and there was greater civility? Or how about "in earlier periods, there was more funding for predominantly black schools"? Or how about "in earlier periods, black students had more black role models in the forms of black principals, teachers and guidance counselors"? If such arguments were to be made, it would be sheer lunacy. If white and black liberals and civil rights leaders want to make such arguments, they'd best wait until those of us who lived during the '40s and '50s have departed the scene.

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Secret Code in Color Printers Lets Government Track You

"It is no coincidence that the century of total war coincided with the century of central banking."
--Ron Paul, End The Fed.

Via Vox Popoli

Tiny Dots Show Where and When You Made Your Print

San Francisco - A research team led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recently broke the code behind tiny tracking dots that some color laser printers secretly hide in every document.

The U.S. Secret Service admitted that the tracking information is part of a deal struck with selected color laser printer manufacturers, ostensibly to identify counterfeiters. However, the nature of the private information encoded in each document was not previously known.

"We've found that the dots from at least one line of printers encode the date and time your document was printed, as well as the serial number of the printer," said EFF Staff Technologist Seth David Schoen.

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List of Printers Which Do or Do Not Display Tracking Dots

HERE

I Am an American

There is nothing Constitutional about allowing nine elitist, politically appointed officials to define what rights the citizens might have. That is an abuse of power on a monumental scale.

When it comes time to put a stop to the nonsense, it will dawn on many Americans that they were asleep at the wheel, a bunch of blinded patriots. They will awaken and see the light. It is our job, as patriots, to awaken the masses. We will not do this with a new message, or a viral video on YouTube, but by doing things that need to be done.

No one follows a weak leader, they overwhelm him/her, or they undercut them, or they disregard them. We can no longer tolerate the Republican method of governing. The Democrats are at least good at the politics they practice, Republicans are merely fools and wannabes. They are the unpopular kids who will do anything to be invited on Leno, even sell out their entire voting base and if you think Santorum or Romney are any better, you are missing some vital information.

This is not even a conservative or liberal message, those are slots the politicos want you to fill. They seek, the horse race, the competitive debate. We are past that. We are sophisticated enough to understand that the press wishes to guide public opinion, that they champion any government empowerment and no Republican will receive good press unless they turn on their brethren, exposing them as the fools and wannabes they are.

Give me a fight between a staunch communist and an advocate of capitalism before you give me a debate between a cowardly Democrat, which is a communist in modern clothing, and a Republican, which is a socialist in traditional garb.

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Former Congressman and Dukes of Hazzard Star Ben Jones Blasts Nascar Decision

Via SHNV

Former Georgia Congressman Ben Jones, who starred as ace mechanic "Cooter" Davenport on the hit television series "The Dukes of Hazzard", has condemned the decision by NASCAR to prevent the use of the popular "General Lee" 1969 Dodge Charger at the Phoenix Sprint Cup race in March. In a statement Friday, NASCAR said "The image of the Confederate flag is not something that should plan an official role in our sport as we continue to reach out to new fans and make NASCAR more inclusive."

"The General Lee" has a Confederate Battle Flag on its roof.

Jones said in response:

"At a time when tens of millions of Americans are honoring their Union and Confederate ancestors during this Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, NASCAR has chosen to dishonor those Southerners who fought and died in that terrible conflict by caving to "political correctness" and the uninformed concerns of corporate sponsors.

This is also an extraordinary insult to rural Southerners, who are NASCAR's oldest and most fervent fan base, and it sends a message against inclusion and against the need for diversity. Many of us who are descended from ancestors who fought for the South see this as a crude dishonoring of our kinfolks and our heritage. Our ancestors were proud Americans who had fought for our Nation before the Civil War and have served honorably in every conflict since then.

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Dr Thomas DiLorenzo on Lincoln & Secession

Via Bazz

State Supreme Court says 'Roe' should be 'overruled'

Update:

Dedicated_Dad

If you cause the death of a pregnant woman, they'll charge you with *TWO* murders.

If you punch her in the stomach and she miscarries, they'll charge you with MURDER~!

If SHE decides to have its limbs ripped off with forceps and a hole poked in its skull through which to suck out its brain (so as not to stretch her biggest asset unnecessarily during the removal of the remains) -- well...

THAT is simply a "choice."

Put another way, the difference between "choice" and "FIRST DEGREE MURDER" is the whim of the woman.

Is this a great f***ing country or WHAT!

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Via Billy

A stunning ruling from the state Supreme Court in Alabama is suggesting that states simply “reject” the concept of pre-viability abortion-at-will that comes from Roe v. Wade until the U.S. Supreme Court overrules the precedent.

In a powerful statement that appears to affirm the concept of the “personhood” movement, through which pro-life advocates seek to have states recognize the unborn as “persons,” a concurrence from Justice Tom Parker said, “Since Roe was decided in 1973, advances in medical and scientific technology have greatly expanded our knowledge of prenatal life.

“The development of ultrasound technology has enhanced medical and public understanding, allowing us to watch the growth and development of the unborn child in a way previous generations could never have imagined,” he wrote.

“Similarly, advances in genetics and related fields make clear that a new and unique human being is formed at the moment of conception, when two cells, incapable of independent life, merge to form a single, individual human entity.”

He continued, “Of course, that new life is not yet mature – growth and development are necessary before that life can survive independently – but it is nonetheless human life. And here has been a broad legal consensus in America, even before Roe, that the life of a human being begins at conception.”

His concurrence continued, “An unborn child is a unique and individual human being from conception, and, therefore, he or she is entitled to the full protection of law at every stage of development.

“Roe’s viability rule was based on inaccurate history and was mostly unsupported by legal precedent. Medical advances since Roe have conclusively demonstrated that an unborn child is a unique human being at every stage of development. And together, Alabama’s homicide statute, the decisions of this court, and the statutes and judicial decisions from other states make abundantly clear that the law is no longer, in Justice Blackmun’s words, ‘reluctant … to accord legal rights to the unborn..’

“For these reasons, Roe’s viability rule is neither controlling nor persuasive here and should be rejected by other states until the day it is overruled by the United States Supreme Court,” he said.

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War?

Pretty, damn stupid, needless to say.

DumpDC

International II:

Russia sent a message to Washington this week about war in the Middle East. They said openly that if Washington started a war, Russia was within their rights to use nuclear weapons to retaliate on behalf of their own interests. They consider Syria and Iran as their interests. How stupid can DC be?