"All truth passes through 3 stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident." - - - Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860 Whatever the evil (poison) is, it must be presented in a mix of something good, or good for you. Rat poison is like this, 99.5% of the ingredients are tasty and nutritious for the rat (otherwise, they wouldn't eat it, would they?).  Only .5% (1/2 percent) is deadly.   Use of outside materials, on this site, is by "fair use" for educational purposes, not for profit, and is NOT a violation of copyright [17 USC 107 et seq].

of News, Current Events & Comment for February 2004 October 2003 <==== November 2003 <==== December 2003 <====  January 2004 the URL for this page can be found by returning to the previous page (if a contributing editor, wishes recognition, they should so indicate with their submission) Best printing w/a black only printer is accomplished when your settings are for "black text and black lines"

To save on the amount of forced emails that consume MEGA bytes of HD space,  these pages are created for your convenience. Pictures can be saved by right clicking then follow the yellow brick road, and original of reports can be located by available links in the articles and saved as you would other web pages. I am reminded of Dad's special brownies.  It is the same truth.

I have previously seen this video segment and wondered about the object which could have come from the crashing airplane or been debris from the building.  But I think even the people who put this on their web site have missed what is visible at about 10-13 seconds in this video. They say "When watching the video look closely for the shadow that the F-15 causes on the extreme top right corner of the South Tower"

http://www.attackonamerica.net/f-15atwtc.mpg  (1.9Mb)
from this site
http://www.mycountryrightorwrong.net/f-15.htm

HINT:  Watch at the near right corner of the left building.  And watch in the smoke just to the left of that corner.

The presenters at the above site start your attention as the object moves beyond the right building, which is AFTER the time sequence I am directing you to check.

 -- Tribble
 
 

I saw the movie “The Passion of the Christ” on Monday, February 23, 2004.  On that day, I wanted to write about it, and contribute my 2 cents worth to what many others had said after early viewing.  I knew if I waited, I might not capture the intensity.  But, I waited because I did not want to be viewed as yet another self-absorbed mouth thinking they could say more than the next mouth.

Now, after the official opening and viewing yesterday, and seeing and reading some of the reviews that are now spewing forth, I thought to comment not just on the movie, but also on the commentaries.

First, I say GO SEE THE MOVIE.  Not because it is good, not because it is well performed or produced, not because it is gory, not because I agree with any or all of it, but because you should have the experience.

The experience is in the great graphics and in the message if you know what to discern.  If you are an emotional creature, then you will miss some things and I suppose if you are not emotional, you also will miss some things.

If I had anything negative to say it is first in the beatings being so long lasting.  The beatings start in the garden near Cedron, when Judas betrays Yahshua with a kiss.  Why would these men of the temple desire to beat anyone, especially on a mission of retrieval?

I know that Scripture indicates that Peter cut off the ear of one of the temple servants (John 18:6).  This is the point, he did not attack a Roman military/police agent.  Then Scritpure mentions that these men were agents of the Jews, NOT Romans (John 18:12).
 

John 18:6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.
 7 Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
 8 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:
 9 That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.
 10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
 11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
 12 Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him,
 13 And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.

If it was a Roman band of abductors, then maybe it could make sense that they desired to beat someone.

I know the idea was to show that Yahshua endured a LOT of pain.

Took too Long to Depict Beatings

Some have complained that “this movie goes on for two hours portraying what can be read in a few minutes”.  But, another perspective is the movie depicts in 2 hours what Yahshua endured for about 720 minutes.  So, if one is to complain that what they experience on the silver screen is too much, then they are certainly saying that what Yahshua is reported to have experience is truly horrendous.

I have almost universally hear people comment on the silence that follows the show.  People exit the theater and talk very little.  Some have said “Nobody from the audience was speaking, other than in hushed tones.  Everybody seemed to sense that something truly significant had just taken place”.

It is true that people are not talking after the show, but while some are emotionally bound in confusion, most people are in fact unable to find words to express themselves, because anything said will invite criticism and possibly attack.  So everyone is being polite and protective, even if they do not understand this themselves.

You could exit the theater and compliment the great graphics and find yourself the brunt of evil stares for not expressing an emotional comment.  You could comment on how horrible the scenes were, and hear silent comments of “duh, you thnk?”.  You could comment on how wrenching the scenes were and expose your emotions and the tears you shed (if you were one of those whose did) and show your vulnerability.

The point is, no comment promptly after the show is safe.  That is why there is silence when leaving the theater.

Then there are people complaining that Mel Gibson and others might make a buck from this movie.  One such comment was “I also don’t think that Yahweh ever intended for anyone to make millions on the portrayal of Yahshua being crucified. Keep in mind that not only will Mel Gibson make millions on this movie, but so will many non-Christian and yes, even, anti-Christ theatre owners.”

As of this writing, Mel Gibson invested around 30 – 40 million to make the movie and as of the first day showings, the receipts are around 30 million.  If we consider the middle man draws, Mel Gibson still has a long way to go to break even.

I must wonder why these people who are complaining of Mel Gibson and others making money on a very good effort, do not complain about their own business groups (called churches) who make billions from telling lies to the masses.  The names of the CEO’s of these business groups are the likes of (no specific order)
 

Benny Hinn, Fred Price, Creflo Dollar, Rod Parsley, TD Jakes, Rodney H. Browne, Jack Hayford, Paul Crouch, Joyce Meyer, Jesse Duplantis, John Avanzini, Oral Roberts, Billy Graham, Charles Stanley, Kenneth Copeland, Randy and Paula White, Robert Schuller, Juanita Bynum , James Dobson , Jay Sekulow, Jerry Falwell, John Hagee, Pat Robertson, Dave Hunt, Hal Lindsey, Jack Van Impe, Thomas Ice, Tim LaHaye, Perry Stone

These people (and others) tell lies and sell false hope, all of which are easily provable as lies and false hope.  Yet they are sanctioned by some of the same peoples condemning Mel Gibson and those selling “The Passion of the Christ”.

Then I read things like “The scripture that kept coming to mind throughout the movie was John 20:29 – “…blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” Furthermore, it’s the Scriptures themselves that Yahweh promises will convict men’s hearts and bring them to faith and repentance, not a Hollywood movie. If someone hasn’t fallen in love with the Savior as result of reading the Bible, I doubt that they are going to do so by watching this movie.”

There is such a thing as BLIND FAITH.  This is what we have in the world today.  People who blindly follow teachers of falsehoods, like those listed above.  They follow the party line and will even die for it.  What is to be said of all the many versions of the Bible, which do not agree with each other?  What of those people who read from a false translation?  What of the BIG lies told in the “left behind” series of books and movies?  Do they get the same ridicule as Mel Gibson and company?

Remember, that in addition to the pains Yahshua suffered, he had to die so he could remarry his bride.  He had to grab our attention prior to getting Israel back on track.

The pain and suffering is not the whole of the story of Yahshua.
 
 

H U M O R

Dear Abby
contributing editor - Bob

My husband is a liar and a cheat. He has cheated on me with women from the beginning, and when I confront him, he denies everything. What's worse everyone knows he cheats on me. It is so humiliating. Also since he lost his job two years ago he hasn't even looked for a new one. All he does is buy cigars and cruise around and bullshit with his pals, while I have to work to pay the bills.

Since our daughter went away to college he doesn't even pretend to like me and hints that I am a lesbian. What should I do?

--  Signed, Clueless
 

Dear Clueless:

Grow up and dump him.  You don't need him anymore.  For Pete's sake, you are now a United States Senator from New York.
 
 

[These kind of statistics abound.  The same statistical realization is true for cars killing people.  If guns kill people, the scalpels kill people and matches start fires.  --  Tribble]

SCALPELS
   A.  The number of physicians in the US is 700,000.
   B.  Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year is 120,000.
   C.  Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171.
   (US Dept. of Health & Human Services)

GUNS
   A.  The number of gun owners in the US is 80,000,000.
   B.  The number of accidental gun deaths per year is 1,500.
   C.  The number of accidental deaths per gun owner 0.0000188.

Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.

FACT:  NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat.  We must ban doctors before this gets out of hand.  As a public health measure, I have withheld the statistics on lawyers for fear that the shock could cause people to seek medical attention. (commentary from unknown)
 
 

The Flat Earth Report

Bush Covered It
contributing editor - Bob

[I might question the true motivations for uSA aggression in the Middle East, by any elected servant.  The following shows 1 of 2 things.  It shows the 2 character play being performed for the entertainment of the masses or it shows the pandering of 1 character and the decisiveness of the other character.  In either case, the political parties (generally, but not exclusively Democrat and Republican) are simply marionettes of the same puppeteers.  When the audience shows signs of disinterest the actors are switched to help recapture the interest of the audience, but the story line remains the same and the surprise ending is unchanged.  --  Tribble]

Enough sickening info to make women weep and grown men cry !!!!!!!

You know, it is easy to forget the 'promises' that Bill and Hillary made
while in office. It strikes home when it is listed like this:

After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six and injured
1000; President Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted
down and punished.

BUSH COVERED IT!
 

After the 1995 bombing in Saudi Arabia, which killed five U.S. military
personnel; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and
punished.

BUSH COVERED IT!
 

After the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 and
injured 200 U.S military personnel; Clinton promised that those responsible
would be hunted down and punished.

BUSH COVERED IT!
 

After the 1998 bombing of U.S embassies in Africa, which killed 224 and
injured 5,000; Clinton promised that those responsible! would be hunted
down and punished.

BUSH COVERED IT!
 

After the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 and injured 39 U.S.
sailors; Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and
punished.

BUSH COVERED IT!
 

Maybe if Clinton had kept his promise, an estimated 3,000 people in New
York and Washington, D.C. that are now dead would be alive today.

BUSH TOLD THOSE FIREMAN -- THEY WOULD HEAR US TOO!

And, now that Bush is taking action to bring these people to justice, we
have Democrats charging him with being a war monger...

AN INTERESTING QUESTION: This question was raised on a Philly radio call-in
show. Without casting stones, it is a legitimate question. there are two
men, both extremely wealthy. One develops relatively cheap software and
gives billions of dollars to charity. The other sponsors terrorism. That
being the case, why was it that the Clinton administration spent more money
chasing down Bill Gates over the past eight years than Osama bin Laden?

THINK ABOUT IT!

It is a strange turn of events. Hillary gets $8 Million for her
forthcoming memoir. Bill gets about $12 Million for his memoir yet to be
written This from two people who have spent the past 8 years being unable
to recall anything about past events while under oath!

Sincerely, Cmdr Hamilton McWhorter USN(ret)

_____________________
God Bless America
 
 

a r t i c l e   /   c o m m e n t a r y

Have You Had Enough Yet?
editor  --  Tribble

For about 2 weeks now, Gavin Newsom, the Mayor of San Francisco, and the clerks of his office have been violating the law.  It does not matter whether you agree with the law, the fact is these people have been violating the written law, which the majority of the population of California voted into law.  The Mayor and his clerks have been issuing license to violate the law, for same sex people to claim to be married.

For 2 weeks no “law enforcement” agent has taken action against the law breakers.  Finally, on February 19, 2004, the police made arrests in the matter.  Why did it take the “law enforcement” agents this long to take action against someone?  Because no one was actively protesting the Mayor and clerks.  That is correct, the “law enforcement” agents arrested protesters who were picketing the Mayor and his clerks.

Have you had enough yet?  Are you ready to take a stand and be a real patriot, not a couch patriot?  Probably not.

A point of legal order here is to tell you that “Law” is superior to “legal” and “licenses” are tools for license to get around Law.  This is the use of license.  By definition, license is permission to do something that is unlawful.  Whoever issues a license is offering their protection to the receiver of the license if ever the conduct is brought into question.  Therefore, by definition, the Mayor and his clerks are offering themselves as protection of those to whom they issued licenses.
 
 

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."   - Benjamin Franklin

"Juris precepta sunt haec: honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique." [These are the precepts of Law: To live honorably, to hurt no one, to render everyone their due]

A year before the attacks in New York and D.C., We The People were already under gestapo guard, euphemistically called security, and not for our protection.  Since 9/11/01, the invasion of the privacy of We The People, has only gotten more absurd.  Almost none of the measures practiced prior to or after 9/11/01 protect We The People, but did provide for collection of revenue and increased power of the political forces.

This is a story of a man named Dudley Hiibel from Nevada and his arrest in 2000.  On the 22nd of March 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to decide whether Dudley and the rest of us live in a free society, or in a country where we must live in fear of the gestapo and "show papers" whenever a cop demands.

It does not matter whether you would do what Dudley Hiibel did, what matters is 2 fold.  First, it matters whether Dudley Hiibel may be allowed to assert his privacy and liberties, and the second is whether the cops should be allowed to arrest a person who stands on his liberties - without evidence of a committed crime.

In this case, Dudley Hiibel was only charged with "failure to cooperate" for refusing to show ID on demand.  Let us first consider the refusal to show ID.  Do we in the "land of the free and home of the brave" have the right to not respond to cops?  YES.  The US Supreme court in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966) said

1. You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions.
2. Anything you do say may be used against you in a court of law.
3. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future.
4. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish.
5. If you decide to answer questions now without an attorney present you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney
6. Knowing and understanding your rights as I have explained them to you,

The application of the Texas statute to detain appellant and require him to identify himself violated the Fourth Amendment because the officers lacked any reasonable suspicion to believe that appellant was engaged or had engaged in criminal conduct. Detaining appellant to require him to identify himself constituted a seizure of his person subject to the requirement of the Fourth Amendment that the seizure be "reasonable."

Hiibel was never charged with anything related to an investigation already in progress.  He was only arrested and charged with "failure to cooperate" for refusing to show ID on demand.

If you visit the site http://www.papersplease.org/hiibel/ you can read and learn about Dudley Hiibel and his arrest for not identifying himself.

You can download copies of the police video of the incident at http://papersplease.org/hiibel/video.html.  If you do not have high speed internet this could take a while, even for the smallest file at 10Mb.

REMEMBER, you do not have to agree with what Dudley Hiibel did, what matters most is whether he is allowed to do it and whether the cops and courts are allowed to punish him for it.

"Juris precepta sunt haec: honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique." [These are the precepts of Law: To live honorably, to hurt no one, to render everyone their due]
 

H U M O R

Aviation Smiles
contributing editor Jeanne

[I can not say for certain these are based on true events, but they are good reading .  --  Tribble]

#####
(Note: For those that don't know, "The Sled"is the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane from the 1960's.)

In his book, Sled Driver, SR-71 Blackbird pilot Brian Shul writes: "I'll always remember a certain radio exchange that occurred one day as Walt (my back-seater) and I were screaming across Southern California13 miles high. We were monitoring various radio transmissions from other aircraft as we entered Los Angele sairspace. Though they didn't really control us, they did monitor our movement across their scope.

I heard a Cessna ask for a readout of its ground speed."90 knots" Center replied. Moments later, a Twin Beech required the same. "120 knots,"

Center answered. We weren't the only ones proud of our ground speed that day as almost instantly an F-18 smugly transmitted, "Ah, Center, Dusty 52 requests ground speed readout." There was a slight pause, then the response, "525 knots on the ground, Dusty." Another silent pause.

As I was thinking to myself how ripe a situation this was, I heard a familiar click of a radio transmission coming from my back-seater. It was at that precise moment I realized Walt and I had become a real crew, for we were both thinking in unison. "Center, Aspen 20, you got a ground speed readout for us?" There was a longer than normal pause.... "Aspen, I show 1,742 knots" (That's about 2004.658 mph who don't know)

No further inquiries were heard on that frequency.

#####
In another famous SR-71 story, Los Angeles Center reported receiving a request for clearance to FL 600 (60,000ft). The incredulous controller, with some disdain in his voice, asked, "How do you plan to get up to 60,000 feet?

The pilot (obviously a sled driver), responded, "We don't plan to go up to it; we plan to go down to it." He was cleared.

#####
The pilot was sitting in his seat and pulled out a .38 revolver. He placed it on top of the instrument panel, and then asked the navigator,

"Do you know what I use this for?"

The navigator replied timidly, "No, what's it for?" The pilot responded, "I use this on navigators who get me lost!"

The navigator proceeded to pull out a .45 and place it on his chart table.

The pilot asked, "What's that for?" "To be honest sir," the navigator replied, "I'll know we're lost before you will."

#####
When Hillary Clinton visited Iraq in 2003, the Army Blackhawk helicopter used to transport the Senator was given the call sign "broomstick one".

And they say the Army has no sense of humor!

#####
[This one is a sign of the times and education]

Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6 miles!" Delta 351: "Give us another hint! We have digital watches!"

#####
One day the pilot of a Cherokee 180 was told by the tower to hold short of the runway while a MD80 landed. The MD80 landed, rolled out, turned around, and taxied back past the Cherokee. Some quick-witted comedian in the MD80 crew got on the radio and said, "What a cute little plane.

Did you make it all by yourself?"

Our hero the Cherokee pilot, not about to let the insult go by, came back with: "I made it out of MD80 parts. Another landing like that and I'll have enough parts for another one."

#####
There's a story about the military pilot calling for a priority landing because his single-engine jet fighter was running "a bit peaked." Air Traffic Control told the fighter jock that he was number two behind a B-52 that had one engine shut down.

"Ah," the pilot remarked, "the dreaded seven-engine approach."

#####
A student became lost during a solo cross-country flight. While attempting to locate the aircraft on radar, ATC asked, "What was your last known position?"

Student: "When I was number one for takeoff."

#####
Taxiing down the tarmac, the 757 abruptly stopped, turned around and returned to the gate. After an hour-long wait, it finally took off.

A concerned passenger asked the flight attendant, "What was the problem?"

"The pilot was bothered by a noise he heard in the engine," explained the flight attendant," and it took us a while to find a new pilot."

#####
"Flight 2341, for noise abatement turn right 45 degrees."

"But Center, we are at 35,000 feet. How much noise can we make up here?"

"Sir, have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it hits a 727?
 
 

[The idea of thought police has historically been about what could be proved by your admissions or actions, and extrapolating your intent.  Now, we can, and will, determine if you have the capacity for certain types of thought.  No doubt the contention will be that if you have the capacity for a certain thought, then surely you have had that thought and must be punished for it, before you act on it.  OR, you will have that thought and must be prevented from acting on it.  A logical extension of this is that we must do some kind of brain alteration, whether surgery or chemical, to FIX you.  --  Tribble]
 

The technique relies on electrical signals in the brain

A controversial technique for identifying a criminal mind using involuntary brainwaves that could reveal guilt or innocence is about to take centre stage in a last-chance court appeal against a death-row conviction in the US.

The technique, called "brain fingerprinting", has already been tested by the FBI and has now become part of the key evidence to overturn the murder conviction of Jimmy Ray Slaughter who is facing execution in Oklahoma.

Brain Fingerprinting, developed by Dr Larry Farwell, chief scientist and founder of Brain Fingerprinting Laboratories, is a method of reading the brain's involuntary electrical activity in response to a subject being shown certain images relating to a crime.

Unlike the polygraph or lie detector to which it is often compared, the accuracy of this technology lies in its ability to pick up the electrical signal, known as a p300 wave, before the suspect has time to affect the output.

"It is highly scientific, brain fingerprinting doesn't have anything to do with the emotions, whether a person is sweating or not; it simply detects scientifically if that information is stored in the brain," says Dr Farwell.

"It doesn't depend upon the subjective interpretation of the person conducting the test. The computer monitors the information and comes up with information present or information absent."

Brain fingerprinting is admissible in court for use in identifying or exonerating individuals in the US.

Maximum security

A few days ago Dr Farwell ran the test on Jimmy Ray Slaughter at the maximum security state prison in Oklahoma.

A jury convicted Slaughter of shooting, stabbing and mutilating his former girlfriend, Melody Wuertz, and of shooting to death their eleven-month old-daughter, Jessica.

The crimes for which he is sentenced to death took place in a house that he is very familiar with. The results were revealing.

"Jimmy Ray Slaughter did not know where in the house the murder took place; he didn't know where the mother's body was lying or what was on her clothing at the time of death - a salient fact in the case," says Dr Farwell.

During the test, the suspect wears a headband equipped with sensors to measure activity in response to recognition of an image relating to the crime - for example, a murder weapon or possibly a code word in the case of a spy.
 

Dr Farwell claims some tests were 100% accurate

"In research with the FBI, we presented words and phrases that only an FBI agent would know and we could tell by the brain responses who was an FBI agent and who was not; we could do that with 100% accuracy," says Dr Farwell.

Brain Fingerprinting has profound implications for the criminal justice system.

Any decision relies on more than just the outcome of a forensic test such as brain fingerprinting. However, in the light of these findings, the case for appeal hopes that Slaughter will either be granted a pardon, clemency or a retrial.

Critics of brain fingerprinting believe it needs far more refinement before its use becomes widespread and cases are won and lost on its evidence.

Needless to say, Dr Farwell disagrees.

"What I can say definitively from a scientific standpoint, is that Jimmy Ray Slaughter's brain does not contain a record of some of the most salient details about the murder for which he's been convicted and sentenced to death," says Dr Farwell.
 
 

Stress Relief
contributed by Wendell

You know you like popping those plastic bubble wrap sheets?  Someone has offered this on the web.

http://gdcny.com/catalogs/bubblewrap.swf
 

...

...

...
 

a r t i c l e   /   c o m m e n t a r y

Sons of the Gestapo

Do you remember the "Son's of Gestapo"?  Do you remember October 9, 1995 and the derailment of an Amtrack train in Arizona?  Do you remember a note in pristine condition was found on the rails after the wreck?

You say NO, then shame on you for doing exactly what the powers and elite want you to do.  You say YES, then what have you done about it?  Have you reminded your friends of the scam perpetrated on the public?  That is why every few months starting in October 1995, "The Browser" (the printed version of The RockyView) and the "RockyView" have reminded you of this incident.

You must remember this was a high point in the demonization of many freedom loving people.  This was a time when the government and media were picking on conservatives and those patriotic minded people.  This was a time when there was a spook next door.  This was when a 3 piece suit by day was a camouflage by night.

The note read

"Who is policing the ATF, FBI, state troopers, county sheriff's and local police?  What federal law enforcement agency investigates each and every choke hold killing committed by a police officer?  each and every beating of a drunk wether (sic) or not a passerby videotapes it?  ... each and every killing at Ruby Ridge?  The Gestapo accounts to no one.  This is not Nazi Germany.  All these people had rights.  It is time for an independent Federal agency to police the law enforcement agencies and other government employees."

This situation is very much like the MiddleEastern 2nd man in the Ryder truck at Oklahoma City.  The note and the 2nd man are clearly confirmed and then quickly and quietly never mentioned again.

After the Amtrack derailment, the government controlled media has announced a toll free telephone number to call if you have any leads on this “terrorist act”.  Maybe if anyone has information about which government agent(s) hurt those people they should call -- 1 (800) 905-1514.

Though it has been a while, one piece of news is still where it was when last reported.  Where are the Sons of the Gestapo?

No one has ever heard of the “Sons of the Gestapo” outside of this train wreck.

The best way to NOT draw attention to a scam is to quit talking about it, to quit bringing attention to it, drop it.  Just sweep it under the rug.
 
 

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back..  From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed?  Does the word "refrigeration" mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half hour?"  She would gas up and stammer, "I can't.  I have clothes on the line.  My hair is dirty.  I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain."  And my personal favorite:  "It's Monday." ..She died a few years ago.  We never did have lunch together. Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches..  We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Stevie toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet.  We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older.  The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer.  One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on, and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips.  She keeps an open mind on new ideas.  Her enthusiasm for life is contagious.  You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years.  I love ice cream.  It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process.  The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker.  If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day.  Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you.

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground?  Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night?  Do you run through each day on the fly?  When you ask "How are you?"  Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head?  Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow." And in your haste, not see his sorrow?  Ever lost touch?  Let a good friendship die?  Just call to say "Hi"?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift.! Thrown away... Life is not a race. Take it slower.  Hear the music before the song is over.

You are LOVED & your friendship is cherished.
"Life may not be the party we hoped for...  but while we are here we might as well dance!"

*Bobbie*

To forgive is to set the prisoner free – and then discover the prisoner was you.
 

[The RockyView has reported, in several back issues, about the matter of RFID’s and related items.  The January issue http://tellme1st.net/rockyview/200401/200401index.htmlhad an article with pictures.  This new articles has a statement that Wal-Mart and the military have set January 2005 as a deadline for pallets to be marked with RFID’s.  Many Patriot type people and news sources have been relating stories about car immobilizers, and while such circuits are on the market, RFID’s can make the task more selective and easier.  Such devices are already available for your pets and children.  You are next.  --  Tribble]

On November 15, fifteen privacy and consumer organizations called for manufacturers to voluntarily hold off on their plans to equip consumer goods with wireless tracking devices. These devices, called Radio Frequency Identification tags, are based on the same technology that lets cars pay E-ZPASS tolls without stopping. The fear of these activists is simple: They're worried that instead of being used to track boots, bluejeans and books, these so-called RFID systems will be used to track us.

RFID isn't a household word today, but within the next few years manufacturers hope to put it into many household products. Last January Gillette announced plans to order 500 million RFID chips from a California manufacturing firm called Alien Technology; Gillette plans to put the tags into packages of its razors and blades so that the high-value consumer goods can be tracked as they move from the factory through distribution and eventually to the store shelf. Last March Benetton announced similar plans to weave RFID tags into its designer clothes; the company reversed itself after a grassroots consumer group launched a worldwide boycott of Benetton products.

As its name implies, RFID systems are based on radio waves. Each tag is equipped with a tiny radio transmitter: When it "hears" a special radio signal from a reader, the tag responds by sending its own unique serial number through the air.

This wireless technology could save American businesses billions of dollars. With RFID readers at the loading docks and on the store shelves, retailers could know precisely how many packages of, say, lipstick had been received and how many had been put on the shelves. And once every product in the store is equipped with an RFID tag, stores might even be able to have an automated checkout: Shoppers could just push their carts through a doorway and have all the items in the cart automatically totaled and charged to the RFID-enabled credit card in their pocket.

Both Wal-Mart and the US military have already told their hundred largest suppliers that cartons and pallets must be equipped with unique RFID tags by January 2005. Meanwhile, MasterCard and American Express have been testing RFID-enabled credit cards. Mobil has been pushing its RFID-based "Speedpass" since 1997. And most high-end cars now come with RFID "immobilizer" circuits that won't let the cars start unless the correct RFID-enabled car key is in the ignition.

So why did the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, The World Privacy Forum and a dozen other organizations ask for a voluntary moratorium on RFID technology in consumer goods? Because this use of RFID could enable an omnipresent police surveillance state, it could erode further what's left of consumer privacy and it could make identity theft even easier than it has already become.

RFID is such a potentially dangerous technology because RFID chips can be embedded into products and clothing and covertly read without our knowledge. A small tag embedded into the heel of a shoe or the inseam of a leather jacket for inventory control could be activated every time the customer entered or left the store where the item was bought; that tag could also be read by any other business or government agency that has installed a compatible reader. Unlike today's antitheft tags, every RFID chip has a unique serial number. This means that stores could track each customer's comings and goings. Those readers could also register the RFID tags that we're already carrying in our car keys and the "prox cards" that some office buildings use instead of keys.

The problem here is that RFID tags can be read through your wallet, handbag, or clothing. It's not hard to build a system that automatically reads the proximity cards, the keychain RFID "immobilizer" chips, or other RFID-enabled devices of every person who enters a store. A store could build a list of every window shopper or person who walks through the front door by reading these tags and then looking up their owners' identities in a centralized database. No such database exists today, but one could easily be built.

Indeed, such warnings might once have been dismissed as mere fear-mongering. But in today's post-9/11 world, in which the US government has already announced its plans to fingerprint and photograph foreign visitors to our country, RFID sounds like a technology that could easily be seized upon by the Homeland Security Department in the so-called "war on terrorism." But such a system wouldn't just track suspected Al Qaeda terrorists: it would necessarily track everybody--at least potentially.

Despite these fears, the privacy activists aren't saying that RFID technology should be abandoned. As it is, the technology is already in broad use currently for the tracking of pharmaceuticals (and the elimination of dangerous drug counterfeits), for tracking shipments of meat (so that contaminated batches can be rapidly identified and destroyed) and even for tracking manufactured goods to deter theft and assist in inventory control.

But companies that are pushing RFID tags into our lives should adopt rules of conduct: There should be an absolute ban on hidden tags and covert readers. Tags should be "killed" when products are sold to consumers. And this technology should never be used to secretly unmask the identity of people who wish to remain anonymous.

I was proud to be one of the people endorsing the position statement on the use of RFID in consumer products. If companies do not voluntarily abide by these principles, we should push to have them incorporated into the laws that protect our privacy rights at the state and federal level.
 

a r t i c l e   /   c o m m e n t a r y

A Couple Free Books
thanks Wendell

These 2 sources are offering a book and literature free.  There are in the nature of Scriptural material.

http://www.cbcg.org/special_offer.htm
This site is offering a book entitled A Harmony of the Gospels: The Life of Jesus Christ.  You may also get a couple pamphlets.  One of the pamplets will be on the origins of christmas and one about the church - cbcg.  they claim this is a limited-time offer and you should be one of the first 1,000 to get a FREE copy

http://biblestudy.org/puzzad/freebook.html
This site is offering a book entitled God's Puzzle Solved.
 

Rules of Administration
thanks D
If other aspects of our lives and business were run the way the "war of terrorism" has been run, we all would be out of business.

"Tofu Shrinks Brain!" Not a science fiction scenario, this sobering soybean revelation is for real. But how did the "poster bean" of the '90s go wrong? Apparently, in many ways -- none of which bode well for the brain.

In a major ongoing study involving 3,734 elderly Japanese-American men, those who ate the most tofu during midlife had up to 2.4 times the risk of later developing Alzheimer's disease. As part of the three-decade long Honolulu-Asia Aging Study, 27 foods and drinks were correlated with participants' health. Men who consumed tofu at least twice weekly had more cognitive impairment, compared with those who rarely or never ate the soybean curd. [1,2]

"The test results were about equivalent to what they would have been if they were five years older," said lead researcher Dr. Lon R. White from the Hawaii Center for Health Research. For the guys who ate no tofu, however, they tested as though they were five years younger.

What's more, higher midlife tofu consumption was also associated with low brain weight. Brain atrophy was assessed in 574 men using MRI results and in 290 men using autopsy information. Shrinkage occurs naturally with age, but for the men who had consumed more tofu, White said "their brains seemed to be showing an exaggeration of the usual patterns we see in aging."

To read the remainder of this article goto http://mercola.com/2000/sept/17/soy_brain.htm

Soy May Cause Cancer and Brain Damage
http://mercola.com/2000/aug/20/soy_dangers.htm

Two senior US government scientists, Drs. Daniel Doerge and Daniel Sheehan, have revealed that chemicals in soy could increase the risk of breast cancer in women, brain damage in both men and women, and abnormalities in infants.

    *      The scientists decided to break ranks with colleagues in the FDA and oppose its decision last year to approve a health claim that soy reduced the risk of heart disease.
    *      They wrote an internal protest letter warning of 28 studies revealing toxic effects of soy, mostly focusing on chemicals in soy known as isoflavones, which have effects similar to the female hormone estrogen.
    *      They claim that research has shown a clear link between soy and the potential for adverse effects in humans.
    *      Soy may lead to health problems in animals including altering sexual development of fetuses and causing thyroid disorders.
    *      Some studies show that chemicals in soy may increase the chances of estrogen-dependent breast cancer.

According to their letter:

    *      'There is abundant evidence that some of the isoflavones found in soy demonstrate toxicity in estrogen sensitive tissues and in the thyroid.'
    *      'During pregnancy in humans, isoflavones per se could be a risk factor for abnormal brain and reproductive tract development.'

According to one of the scientists, parents who give their children soy milk or formulas "are exposing their children to chemicals which we know have adverse effects in animals. It's like doing a large uncontrolled and unmonitored experiment on infants.'

The soy industry insists that the adverse effects seen in animals do not apply to humans.

The Guardian August 13, 2000
 

When NASA first started sending astronauts into space, they quickly discovered that ball-point pens would not work in zero gravity.

To combat this problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 million developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300 C.

The Russians used a pencil.

Do you enjoy paying taxes? -- they're due again.
 

Janet Jackson has admitted today, that the incident revealing her breast was planned.  In the article "What is the Big Deal, it is only a Breast", previously on this page, it was posed that if the incident was planned that "If the exposure was planned for shock value and ratings, or if it was an act of violaton by Timberlake, or was something other pre-meditated or intentional act, then we must be justly outraged.  If it was planned with Jackson's foreknowledge, then we must remember she chose to pose in Playboy.  Then the only people to protect is the non-witting audience."

There seems little doubt that the act was intended for its shock value.  Now you judge whether it is the image or the motivation that should raise your ire.
 

a r t i c l e   /   c o m m e n t a r y

What is the Big Deal, it is only a Breast

As you no doubt already know, during the half time show of the 38th Super Bowl, Justin Timberlake exposed the right breast of Janet Jackson.  Recently the FCC authorized the use of the word F??K (you will have to fill in the spaces).  Now, they and CBS, and many others are raising their media eyebrows in mock horror and shame at the exposure of Jackson's breast.  Is it the exposure of her breast that is a problem?  I think not.  The naked breast is a thing of beauty.  The human form was created by the God as a thing of beauty, a clean thing. Man should not declared a clean thing to be unclean (Acts ???).

The point here is everyone in high places is makiing issue with the exposure of Jackson's breast, but the issue is not the exposure, the issue is the MOTIVATION for the exposure.  If it were some kind of accident, then ooops.  BUT, if it were deliberate, then we have an issue of concern.

If the exposure was planned for shock value and ratings, or if it was an act of violaton by Timberlake, or was something other pre-meditated or intentional act, then we must be justly outraged.  If it was planned with Jackson's foreknowledge, then we must remember she chose to pose in Playboy.  Then the only people to protect is the non-witting audience.

But, with a society so fixated on instant gratification and dealing with transient matters like habitual patterns, or heat of the moment like pre-mediation, over reacting to things which should not affect them, then it is easy to understand why the real reason for concern is focused (literally) on the wrong point.

Once the cause is determined, then condemnation should prevail upon the proper party or thing.  But, surely we should not make the thing or viewing of it the crime.
 

Justin Timberlake(R) performs with Janet Jackson during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas(AFP/Getty Images/Donald Miralle) Use of outside materials, on this site, is by "fair use" for educational purposes, not for profit, and is NOT a violation of copyright [17 USC 107 et seq].

On September 27, 2015,  Christopher Spencer appears to have used a “bot” to find selected content.  It looks like he has exercised draconian action, in violation of copyright laws, to force the hosting agent of this site to force removal of this image under threat of suspending this site. It is confusing whether Spencer is claiming DMCA (digital millennium copyright) or California statute. Claiming DMCA in light of “fair use” is a violation of MY rights, but what does my hosting agent (whom I pay) care about MY rights. Claiming California statute limits the claim to California and carries no weight on the remainder of the planet. There are at least 2 rights to “freedom of speech (expression)”.  One is protected by the Constitution for speaking about government and the other predates as commonly understood from the first spoken word, to exist except for slander and liable.  It appears, some corporate rights are more protected than people rights. If you wish to be EDUCATED (a “fair use” right for using an image) on what such a draconian claim looks like click this (pdf) or the link next to it.

Janet Jackson reacts after fellow singer Justin Timberlake ripped off one of her chest plates at the end of their half time performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, February 1, 2004. An outraged Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) Chairman Michael Powell on Feb. 2 ordered an investigation into the broadcast of the Super Bowl's halftime entertainment show, during which Jackson's right breast was exposed. Photo by Win Mcnamee/Reuters REUTERS/Win McNamee  Image was removed 09-30-2015 by threat of suspension of this site.  This is the letter prompting it (pdf). Use of outside materials, on this site, is by "fair use" for educational purposes, not for profit, and is NOT a violation of copyright [17 USC 107 et seq].

Singer Janet Jackson, left, covers her breast after her outfit came undone during a number with Justin Timberlake during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2004. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) Use of outside materials, on this site, is by "fair use" for educational purposes, not for profit, and is NOT a violation of copyright [17 USC 107 et seq].

[Blows the "Out of Africa" evolutionism out the window! If you haven't read the book Seven Daughters of Eve, it goes into this subject, of mitochondrial DNA. Interesting. - Dan]   Plural Lineages in the

Human mtDNA Genome

ABSTRACT: Analysis of recent research indicates a plural  genealogy for the human mtDNA genome: an African, and two indigenous Eurasian lineages that are NOT derived from the African. This falsifies the 'Out of Africa' radiation and replacement theory, and means there is NOT one, African 'Eve', who is ancestral to all modern humans.

In addition to the plain text below, the paper may be viewed at http://www.rafonda.com   Attached Fig.2 is from the Innan & Nordborg paper, Recombination or Mutational Hotspots in  Human mtDNA  http://walnut.usc.edu/~magnus/papers/InnanNordborg02-MBE.pdf

Data from Natural selection shaped regional mtDNA  variation in humans (Mishmar, et al.,)  is also analyzed in  this paper. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/100/1/171.pdf

Plural Lineages in the Human mtDNA Genome

Consider this sentence, from the first paragraph of the Innan-Nordborg paper, "The argument for recombination is based on the observation that the pattern of polymorphism in mtDNA is incompatible with a single genealogical tree and unique mutations." Thus, there are three things that might account for the observed pattern of polymorphisms: 1) recombination, 2) more than one lineage, or 3) multiple mutations at many sites. Look at Figure 2 of the Innan paper and you will see that the possibly recombined or repetitively mutated sites are scattered throughout the genome, and do not occur only in the hypervariable region. Note that the quote from Innan & Nordborg implies that the less recombination or repetitive, same-site mutation has affected the mitochondrial genome, then the LESS likely it is that there is a single genealogy for the human mtDNA genome. In other words, unless there has been enough repetitive mutation or recombination to account for the observed pattern of polymorphism, then not all mtDNA is from the same source, as claimed by proponents of the 'African Eve' or African radiation and replacement theories.

On the other hand, the more recombination, or repetitive mutation that has occurred, then the more Eve's age has been under-estimated. That is because the effect of either repeated mutations at one site or recombination is to make the mtDNA genome appear younger than it really is. If we knew Eve's era from historical or anthropological data, we could compare that date with the one derived from the mtDNA coalescence algorithm. The difference between the calculated coalescence result and the historical date would reveal the combined effect of recombination and repetitive mutation. If that combined effect is obviously insufficient to account for the observed pattern of polymorphism, then we may  infer a plural genealogy for the human mtDNA genome.

There is nothing in the historical or anthropological record to independently establish the era of a (supposed) speciation of humans in Africa. However, the situation in Eurasia is very different. There we can calibrate the coalescence date of Eurasian strains of mtDNA with an historical event, anthropological evidence, and research on the human y-chromosome. Thus we can infer the effect (hence extent) of recombination and repeated mutations, by comparing those other dates with the result of the mtDNA coalescence calculation. If the fit on these dates is fairly close we can be assured that little recombination or repetitive mutation has occurred, hence the observed pattern of polymorphism must reveal a plural genealogy for the mtDNA genome.

Refer to the Mishmar paper (second full paragraph, right-hand column, on the first page) for a brief description of the M and N mtDNA lineages. Technically, one can't say that these are 'Eurasian specific' lineages, only because they have found their way into the African population. Note Mishmar's admission concerning the afrocentrists' assertion that M and N evolved and diverged in North Africa. This paper's authors come about as close to admitting that is implausible as they can, while remaining politically correct and afro-orthodox. To sum up: on the afro-view, M and N lineages diverged from the African Eve's lineage, while on my view they are the oldest surviving Eurasian lineages. Either way, it doesn't affect the argument I am making in regard to determining the relative contribution of repeated mutation and/or recombination versus plural genealogy.

With either theory, there's a coalescence date for the M and N lineages. Mishmar calculates the M and N lineages are both 65,000 years old. I regard it as significant that these Eurasian Eves' ages are the same, as will be explained below. And whether M and N split off the African lineage then, or they are the most ancient, indigenous Eurasian lineages still extant: either way, they are 65kyr old, as calculated by the coalescence algorithm.

There was a lot going on in Eurasia around -65 kyr. The last common paternal ancestor of Europeans lived at -59 kyr, as calculated from y-chromosome data. So we have a date for the male counterpart of Eurasian Eve, calculated from a different genome, at a date within 10% of agreement. Then, 'modern' human artifacts are found in Eurasia by -50kyr. Considering that it is unlikely we have found the very first artifacts, and that people may have been genetically modern for awhile before developing human (Homo sapiens sapiens) culture, those dates are in remarkable agreement. Add to that, radiation into Australia by anatomically modern humans occurred at a date that may be as early as -60 kyrs, and no doubt that radiation took some millennia.

It begins to look like that -65kyr coalescence date is right on target, and we could claim there is no influence from recombination and repeated mutation, so all the sites reflected in Figure 2 are evidence for plural genealogies: QED! However, that would be disingenuous, because I believe there has been some recurrent mutation, though it is possible they have fully accounted for it in their model, and some recombination, which they probably have not explicitly factored in. So, I would expect that coalescence date to be a little more recent than the era of a genetically significant event, which actually caused modern humans to differentiate from a relatively advanced population of archaic sapiens.

One reason we can expect the loss of lineages existing before the modern type differentiated, is that there must have been a population 'bottle-neck' associated with speciation itself. Moreover there must have been a severe population loss in temperate or higher latitudes when Mt. Toba erupted around -74kyrs and caused a nuclear winter in Eurasia. That savage selection event alone would account for the loss of more-ancient Eurasian mtDNA lineages: all the more so if it was followed by the constriction attendant to speciation. Earlier, I said it is significant that the two oldest Eurasian mtDNA lineages are the same age. The fact that they both date from the same era makes it most plausible that more-ancient lineages were lost in a specific selection event and/or population bottleneck, rather than merely through 'lineage sorting'. It is comparatively unlikely that two mtDNA lineages would simultaneously diverge from a putative African lineage, and both (but only they) migrate from Africa and survive to the present. It is far more reasonable and parsimonious to assume that no older Eurasian maternal lineages survived two severe bottlenecks, and subsequent lineage sorting, in the indigenous Eurasian population.

So, even if we assume that the actual population constriction occurred prior to the coalescence date, and associate it with the obvious selection event of Toba's eruption, a -65kyr coalescence date still calibrates quite closely. Note that -65 kyrs is only about 12% less than the putative genetically significant date of -74 kyrs. So, both recombination and repeated mutations can only have had a small effect on the calculation of a coalescence date, hence there are not many sites in the mtDNA genome that have experienced recombination or repeated mutation.

But, look at Figure 2, where it is evident that many of the sites show evidence of either recombination or repeated mutation, or else they are evidence of more than one genealogy for the mtDNA genome! Therefore, most of the sites graphed in Figure 2 must be considered as evidence for more than one mtDNA genealogy. Therefore, M and N lineages are not derived from the African genome, but represent the most ancient, surviving lineages of the Eurasian type. Hence M and N are Eurasian specific lineages that only entered Africa through radiation, rather than coming from Africa.

In conclusion, recombination and repetitive mutations are not enough (by a wide margin) to explain the observed pattern of polymorphisms in the mtDNA genome. Therefore, there is more than one genealogy: there are two Eurasian maternal lineages, associated with the speciation of modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) in Eurasia, and another, African lineage. This refutes the 'Afro-radiation and replacement' theory, and the politically correct shibboleth that 'we are all Africans'. As explained in Age and Origin of the Human Species (Fonda, Mankind Quarterly, Dec2000; & posted at rafonda.com) the evidence already pointed to a recent, Eurasian origin for modern humans. Only the assertion of a single genealogy for mtDNA could be construed to supported the afro-replacement theory, and that assumption is now revealed to be false.

Mishmar et al, are probably correct to attribute variation, in lineages derived from M and N, to natural selection. One supposes that Mishmar et al., theorize that mtDNA selection took place in the last 50kyrs (Wallace's date for an African radiation, quoted in NY Times, "Ice Age Ancestry .") in order to accommodate their theory to the constraints of assuming an African origin for modern humans. However, it is more plausible that such selection took place in very ancient times (when pre-human species were adapting to a cold climate) and was only retained at high latitudes, among people living at low culture levels, as the adaptations come at a fitness cost, and thus were lost when and where physical adaptations were superceded by elaborated clothing and shelter, in the temperate zone and the recent era.
 

the offices of Dewey, Cheetum & Howe

Why was this not publicized?
contributing editor Bob
http://1stholistic.com/Reading/liv_justice-shoebomber-verdict.htm

Justice

United States vs. Richard Reid ('shoe bomber'): Ruling by Judge William Young

U.S. District Court Judge William Young made the following statement in sentencing "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to prison. It is noteworthy, and deserves to be remembered far longer than he predicts.

January 30, 2003  --  United States vs. Reid.

Judge Young: Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General.

On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive with the other. That's 80 years.

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million.

The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.

The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statues. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence. Let me explain this to you.

We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here. And I say that to everyone with the utmost respect.

Here in this court, where we deal with individuals as individuals, and care for individuals as individuals, as human beings we reach out for justice, you are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist.

And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not treat with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders.

In a very real sense Trooper Santigo had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were and he said you're no big deal. You're no big deal.

What your counsel, what your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today? I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing. And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you. But as I search this entire record it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose.

Here, in this society, the very winds carry freedom. They carry it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely.

It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their, their representation of you before other judges. We are about it. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden, pay any price, to preserve our freedoms.

Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow it will be forgotten. But this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done.

The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged, and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. You know it always will.

Custody Mr. Officer. Stand him down.
 

a r t i c l e   /   c o m m e n t a r y

Lost Liberties
contributing editor Viv

http://1stholistic.com/Reading/liv_justice-shoebomber-verdict.htm

"This is not America"
In Miami, police unleashed unprecedented fury on demonstrators -- most of them seniors and union members. Is this how Bush's war on terror will be fought at home?

Salon editor's Note: This is the first installment of "Lost Liberties," a series of stories that will be published in the months ahead exploring the erosion of civil rights and personal freedom in the United States since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
 
 

While one policeman forcibly subdues a demonstrator, another takes aim during the FTAA protests in Miami on Nov. 20.

By Michelle Goldberg

Dec. 16, 2003  |  On Saturday, Nov. 22, a few dozen policemen on bicycles rode by the warehouse that activists protesting Miami's Free Trade Area of the Americas summit were using as a welcome center. The big protest had taken place on Thursday, Nov. 20, and most demonstrators had already dispersed. Some were in jail, others were nursing their injuries. But the cops wanted to deliver a final message to those still around. "Bye! Don't come back here!" shouted one. A pudgy officer gave the finger to an activist with a video camera. "Put that on your Web site," he said. "Fuck you."

It was the end of two days of what many observers called unprecedented police vindictiveness and violence toward activists. Certainly, complaints about the police have become a standard ritual after each major globalization protest. But what happened in Miami, say protesters, lawyers, journalists and union leaders, was anything but routine.

[Salon notice: Want to read the whole article? You have two options: Subscribe now, or watch a brief ad and get a free day pass. If you're already a subscriber log in here.]
 

H U M O R

Daddy's Ten Rules Of Dating
contributing editor D

[OK, some of this is pretty tongue-in-cheek, but all the paternal angst and stomach upset would probably be avoided if parents would teach their children the practice of courtship and betrothal, with the mate(s) of God's own choosing, and if you live in any sort of community of believers, you KNOW which boys are 'bad news' and which are not. The former are usually rubber stamps of their parents, and by the time they hit puberty, the family is SHUNNED out of the community. Tough talk? You bet. Insures order and harmony? You bet. Tough love. Thanks Marc.  --  D]

If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up.

You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.

I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise:

You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes to big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact come off during the course of you date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "Barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is: "early"

I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process than can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do  something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter:

Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to introduce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka -- zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which features chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better.

Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless God of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun. a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit the car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car -- there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.
 

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