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POPSMysterious Private Security Firm Gets Control Of Empty Jail In Small Montana Town This is what happens when a town is desperate for money and they have no qualms about selling their soul to a renegade paramilitary force. APF plans to build a training facility “where law enforcement will get sniper training and learn "DNA analysis" skills”. APF refuses to divulge the source of the $30 million that will be used to fund this endeavor. According to their Blackwater-esque website http://www.americanpolicegroup.com/special.html they will be capable of providing training for all types of law enforcement organizations. It seems all those rumors of the ‘coming police state’ have just received another reason to ‘validate’ their fears. http://educate-yourself.org/nwo/nwocomingpoliceindex.shtml http://www.etherzone.com/2005/rose101705.shtml http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/171541-the-coming-police-state http://www.davidicke.com/content/view/26440
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POPSThe Science Fiction of Military Marketing Along with persuading President Obama to withhold photos documenting fog-of-war brutalities at Afghanistan and Iraq prisons, the Pentagon is seeking an opiate to placate the war-averse populace. What better anodyne than a marketing campaign implying wars are fun video games? As the armed forces build more unmanned drones, recruiters are looking to add new remote pilots. It is science fiction to assert that “the frontlines are unmanned.” Claims like that are deeply destructive, beyond their obvious insult to the thousands killed, wounded and/or currently stationed on those very frontlines. By convincing us that violence can be just another innocuous expression of adolescent technophilia, we will have once again forgotten that all wars, even the justifiable ones, are lamentable human tragedies.
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POPSVictory at the Cost of Sanity in Obama’s Forever War The tired old mentality of the U.S. military, actually any military, is “There is no alternative to victory.” What is considered victory, the complete subjugation of the enemy? What would be considered a victory for the U.S. in Afghanistan? If we think we are going to eradicate terrorism and hatred towards the U.S. then we are sadly mistaken. Victory comes in many different forms. At this point in time I would consider it a victory to get our troops home without any further loss of life, our troops as well as civilians at the hands of America’s war machine, accidental though they may be. It really doesn’t matter who rules Afghanistan or Iraq after we leave, assuming there are plans to ever leave. We need to get back home and divert some of the obscene amount of money being thrown at the pentagon and put it towards domestic purposes, like schools and healthcare. We can defend our borders just fine from within our borders.
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POPSWhat Side Are They On? A declaration of war against common sense? What this question says, in the context of this commentary, is that anyone who stands for an ethical America is on the wrong side. When I ask the question “what side are they on?” I mean it as asking why is America becoming a terrorist nation? Why do we have to keep rehashing the ethics of torture? The common sense is that we all want an America that is free from terrorism. We are all on the same side. The common sense is that the use of torture turns the torturer into a terrorist. It can have no other effect. The common sense is that torture is not the only way to get info out of someone. There are more humane methods. We have intelligence gathering protocols in place that have been working for decades without the use of torture. Why is anyone defending the use of torture now? What has changed that now makes it okay for America to compromise its ethics?
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POPSReport Finds Corruption at Waterfront Watchdog The report said the agency became a patronage-laden favor bank where staff members took cars for personal use, a boat that was bought with federal money to fend off a “waterborne attack” mainly ferried V.I.P.’s during Fleet Week, and friends got friends jobs with high salaries and little work. Sounds a lot like many government offices: Governors offices, Senators offices, Congress, the White House. One detective failed his entry exam twice, for example — until Commissioner Madonna himself slipped him the test, and he ended up turning in the highest score in the history of the commission. It’s good to know someone on the inside. :) What perpetuates this is the attitude that “everybody does it so why not get my share?” If people are allowed to operate without transparency and over-sight, this will continue. Out tax money is either given away to thieves in the form of a bailout or they just take it. America, what a country!
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POPSJournalist Threatened For Exposing Cover-Ups The crash of TWA 800 was blamed on a mysterious mechanical malfunction, the Oklahoma City bombing is blamed on a domestic ‘right-wing’ terrorist group, and 9/11 is blamed on al Qaeda. There is a handful of people who believe the true causes behind these have been covered up and they have been labeled conspiracy nuts. Five-time Emmy Award winner investigative reporter Peter Lance is disputing the official findings on all three cases. Lance represents the type of reporter most people would like to see more of but, I fear, have come to expect much less of from main stream media. He brings up some tough questions such as how al-Qaeda agents were able to prepare terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, even while some of them were under surveillance here and abroad by various U.S. government agencies. Could it simply be due to lack of exchange of information between government agencies? We all know this is happens far too often.
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POPSDefense Department sees protests as terrorism So, to their way of thinking, if the public does not agree with pentagon policies, we are considered terrorists. This term ‘terrorist’ is being bandied about by our government a little too freely. This word has been allowed to be used to describe everything from simply voicing an opinion and disagreeing with a police officer or TSA agent to protest. Any disagreeable action directed toward any government official has now been transformed into an act of terrorism. This country will tear itself apart if this type of ‘hate-think’ is allowed to continue.
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POPSThe unequal treatment of two religiously motivated crimes Bias in the media and our justice system is a slap in the face to anyone who respects freedom of the press, truth, and justice. It is a covert form of prejudice and propaganda. The disparate treatment of these two murder cases began right from the first media reports. Most major newswires and major newspapers focused heavily on Mr. Muhammad’s religion very early on. The Associated Press, New York Times and CNN are all ignoring Mr. Roeder’s Christian affiliation or the obvious role his extremist religious beliefs may have played in the killing of Dr. Tiller. This comes from a pro-Muslim news source, with the obvious bias towards Muslims, but it doesn’t lessen the fact that American media has not measured these two murderers by the same yardstick.
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POPSWhy I Turned Down O’Reilly
Another person finally understands how truly dangerous Bill O’Reilly has become. From the clip: “O'Reilly had the opportunity to apologize for his words, and he didn't. He had the opportunity to say that this tragic outcome was something about which he felt sorry. He didn't. When restraint and perspective were called for, he fanned the flames higher.” Before everyone jumps on me as someone who would suppress O’Reilly’s right to say what he wants, please note that I did not say he should not be allowed to exercise his right to free speech. However, I find it very disturbing that advertisers feel a perverse connection to this thug, this hate monger. Sure, I know they advertise on his program because he has such a large audience and money means more to them than their conscience. And how can this pig have such a large audience? Statistically, no matter where I go in public there will be at least a few of these like-minded people around me. Now that is what I call terrorism.
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POPSToday we're all prisoners in the USA You now have to get approval to travel outside of the country! Boy, the links our government will go to in order to protect us. I feel so damned proud I could spit.
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POPS9/11 Happened On Your Watch, Dick Cheney Intelligence gathered before the neocons stole the presidency in 2000 was ignored. Their arrogance refused to acknowledge anything that was produced outside of their party. The result was that the US suffered one of the most terrifying and possibly preventable attacks on US soil in history. Now, Cheney is boasting over empty and unsubstantiated achievements in a desperate attempt to atone for that mistake. Mr. Cheney, you have presented your case to the American public and it has been found to be lacking. The best course of action for you now is to go quietly to your home and be thankful that Obama does not have the intestinal fortitude to prosecute you and your cohorts. Personally, I want you to stand trial but things being what they are it likely won’t happen. I have no doubt that you love your country, but slink away now while you still can.
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POPSWhich are the worst states for tickets? This article reflects what appears to be the majority view of drivers, and that is that cops monitoring our speed on our nations highways are a hassle. The solution to avoid getting a speeding ticket is simple: STOP SPEEDING. The traffic speed limit is clearly posted, everywhere. No one who gets a speeding ticket has the right to complain about it because they brought it on themselves. Those of us who drive the speed limit are constantly terrorized by fools who have no regard for the safety of anyone else on the road. They ride on your tail end as though you have no business being on the same road with them. This is true home-grown terrorism. I think there should be more cops on the roads to bring some sanity and safety to our roadways. Has anyone ever conducted their own study to see how much time they actually save by speeding from one place to another? Mere seconds or perhaps a minute or two at most is saved. And for what?
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POPSFBI Blows It: Supposed NY Terror Plot Is Bogus As a citizen of the US, I expect and demand that those people charged with our protection know what they hell they are doing. To put their trust in some informant for his pitiful personal agenda is not only lazy and haphazard police work but it is criminal. The attitude of the FBI is that they are above suspicion but they are turning out to be the only true terrorists this nation needs to worry about.
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POPSMistrust of the West is stronger in Pakistan than fear of the Taliban To many Pakistani’s, the U.S. engineered a reason to attack Afghanistan, just as they did to attack Iraq. They believe the ultimate goal for America is to dominate the Muslim world. With the lies attributed to Bushco and the general mistrust of U.S. motives, no matter who is president, it is no wonder that Pakistanis prefer Taliban rule over anything they think the U.S. wants. The U.S. military elite are of the mindset that if they pull out of any war they are somehow shamed for not attaining complete and total ‘victory’. This attitude, coupled with the religious zealotry of the Muslim world, will keep the U.S. in Afghanistan and Pakistan for decades to come. If it wasn’t for the fact that Pakistan has nuclear weapons, we wouldn’t even care what happens in that part of the world. No one believes we are trying to find Osama bin Laden.
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POPSScouts Train to Fight Terrorists, and More “This is about being a true-blooded American guy and girl.” This statement is reminiscent of how the Hitler Youth was bolstered into being “true-blooded Germans”. The inference is that if you are not a part of this “elite” group and are not concerned with killing what the police label as ‘terrorists’ or ‘illegal immigrants’ then you are NOT a ‘true-blooded American’. In light of the fact that DHS recently released two letters designed to put the law enforcement community on alert to 1) returning military vets as potential threats and 2) profiling millions of Americans who oppose abortion, illegal immigration, gun control, homosexuality, and expanded govt powers, as associated with neo-Nazis, skinheads and other violent and racist ‘hate groups’, this is scary stuff people. It appears DHS has an agenda to define ‘true-blooded Americans’ as anyone who is in complete lock-step with their policies. Using Explorer Scouts as a recruitment source is a heinous and despicable act.
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POPSAmerican Media’s Double Standard Right now -- as the American press corps celebrates itself for demanding Saberi's release in Iran -- the U.S. continues to imprison Ibrahim Jassam, a freelance photographer, even though an Iraqi court last December found that there was no evidence to justify his detention and ordered him released. One finds only a tiny fraction of news coverage in the U.S. regarding the treatment of al-Haj, Hussein, Jassam and these other imprisoned journalists as has been devoted to Saberi. Arrogant America decries any oppressive/repressive action taken against an American as a blow against freedom and human rights and then commits the same act against a non-American under the cover of protecting America. The irony of this situation is overpowering. How can we claim to care about human rights only if it affects us? Unless we are egocentric. How can we object to infringements of press freedom only when done to Americans? Unless we are arrogant.
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POPSBush-Era Intelligence Saved ‘Thousands’, Cheney Says There truly is no verifiable method to substantiate this statement. Plus, he constantly reiterates his position on controversial surveillance techniques as if he is trying to convince himself that they were necessary and that they worked. He persistently touts himself as the hero in a tale that would have the U.S. bowing to Islamic radical leaders had he and his crew not been in the White House. Dick, the fact that you have to keep promoting this self-hero-worship idea on us should be a clue that we are not buying it.
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POPSFort Hunt's Quiet Men Break Silence on WWII Ah, the good old days, when you softened someone up by gaining their confidence and then stabbed them in the back. :) Of course, people are much different today. I seriously doubt a steak dinner today would get a suspected terrorist to spill his guts. Still, it goes to show that information can be obtained by more humane methods than torture.
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POPSRevenge of the "Waco Gene" This topic is getting a lot of play. In recent months we have heard of tales of FEMA concentration camps: http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/The-Soapbox/Fema-Has-Concentration/510085018 And U.S. Army troops to serve as U.S. policemen: http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin472.htm The general public thinks these are good developments, to be used to control the ‘radical element’ within our society out to disrupt our very way of life. But now with recent Homeland Security re-defining what a terrorist is, we see the cross-hairs being leveled on everyday average citizens. Earlier this month, the ERB issued a nine-page assessment of "right-wing extremism" which, basically, acknowledges that every "local" police agency in the US is now a sensory organ, and enforcement appendage, of the Homeland Security State. State and local police are now being tasked to become Big Brothers “eyes and ears” to gather intelligence on these newly defined “extremists” within their jurisdi
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POPSIs Texas a Terror State? It is the opposition of the "overreaching power of the federal government" that seals Texas's fate as a terror state. Rick Perry's statement on the Governor's website supports states' rights under the 10th Amendment. Perry states: "I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state. That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states' rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union....Millions of Texans are tired of Washington, DC trying to come down here to tell us how to run Texas." Texas is most definitely a terror state in the eyes of Secretary Napolitano and her agency.
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POPSWhat Are They Really Afraid Of? Oppressive new rules are being imposed on small-scale producers in the name of food security. The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 contains language would make home food preservation illegal and requires farmers who sell direct to consumers via farmers markets, market gardens, or other community supported agriculture (CSA) endeavors to get permission from a Government inspector The bill also requires consumers who buy from local producers to fill out a form with their name, social security number, and list how they plan to store the produce and when and how they will consume it. If the Government is so set on protecting what they admit is a vulnerable food supply, why are they allowing unrestricted, undocumented flow of illegals across our southern border knowing they will find employment in the agriculture industry? And, why is the Government focused on small family farms? Why would family farmers be of any concern to the Government?
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POPSDavid Byrne’s Snapshot of UK Police Posters Here’s a reminder for all of you who carry cameras around hoping to catch police misconduct. If they are going to watch us we need to watch them. Photography is not a crime. http://carlosmiller.com/
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POPSYou could be a terrorist if... If you are a puppet-on-a-string assiduously following every law to the letter, enthusiastically nodding in agreement to everything the government tells you, patriotically turning in your neighbors for every infraction of the law (both written and social), then you have nothing to worry about. Many Americans, Republican and Democrat, have grown tired of the direction in which this country is headed. The once occasional lapse in ethics has become common place, greed and irresponsibility by our financial institutions are being rewarded in the form of ‘bailout’ tax dollars, citizens have to watch what we say and do and how we do it, self-interest has supplanted “doing what is right for this country”, special interest groups are favored over national security and welfare, food safety has been jeopardized in favor of profit. Civil unrest is brewing and FEMA detention centers are sprouting up across the nation. http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/FEMA-Concentration-Camps3sep04.htm
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POPSBush Memos On Presidential Power Shock Legal Experts Memos show the extent of GW’s thirst for dictatorial power. This type of tyrannical egomaniac should never again be allowed any where near the presidential office. His supporters claim he was trying to protect the country. This blind devotion to a power hungry president bent on rewriting constitutional law is what helped put Hitler in power. Now we have a clearer picture of how close we came to repeating those same mistakes.
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