Profile in Heroism : Massachusetts State Representative Liz Malia, Others Arrested by Police at Eviction Protest - Video

Representative Malia is a true American hero, a one of a kind in and will go down in history as one of the last true Representatives of the Free American Peoples, just as the despicable, coward cops that arrested her will enter the history books as American traitors and slaves of the corporate kleptocracy that is now The United States of America

The Boston Herald
By Jerry Kronenberg
06/14/2012

Boston police arrested State Rep. Liz Malia and five other activists today at a protest aimed at blocking a Jamaica Plain woman’s foreclosure eviction.

Boston cops that arrested Rep. Malia made a grave mistake

Authorities charged Malia (D-Jamaica Plain) and the others with misdemeanor trespass after they refused to move out of the way of constables evicting Heather Gordon from her home of 20 years.

“Heather Gordon is someone who’s been my constituent for a long time, and she’s a good soul,” Malia told the Herald after police released her on $40 bail. “This is a poor community, and with the amount of resources that are available to (banks), there should have been some way to work this out.”

Some 90 protesters organized by the group City Life/Vida Urbana tried to stop the eviction — something they managed to do when constables first tried to remove Gordon in April.

Representative Malia defied coward cops, who responded by arresting her

Activists chanted “This is what democracy looks like!” as authorities handcuffed the six protesters with plastic ties and took then away in a police van.

Constables then went forward the Gordon’s eviction , although the 61-year-old grandmother had already removed her possessions in anticipation of losing her home.

“This is not the end of the road. I’m still going to fight,” said Gordon, who claims she got a 12.99 percent mortgage rate but none of the cash she expected out of a 2005 “cash-out” refinancing.

Law firm Doonan, Graves & Longoria, which Gordon said oversaw her eviction, did not return calls seeking comment.

Video:  You Tube

Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The 5^th Estate.

Images:  Google royalty free unless otherwise attributed.

This news site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Read more »

Obama's American Worker Paradise : Weekly U.S. Jobless Benefit Applications Rise to 386k

Everything is hunky-dory in psychotic Obama fantasy-land, where he says private sector "doing just fine"

PRESS TV
06/14/2012

The number of the Americans applying for unemployment benefits has risen as the hiring process remains sluggish in the job market.

Your average unemployment line in Obamaland

The US Labor Department said on Thursday that applications for weekly benefits rose by 6,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 386,000, AFP reported.

Nearly six million Americans are currently receiving jobless benefits. But the actual figure would have been much higher if state authorities had not stopped extending benefit programs.

At the same time, job creation has slowed down, with employers having added an average of only 96,000 positions over the past three months, the fewest in a year.

The weak hiring trend pushed up the country's unemployment rate from 8.1 percent in April to 8.2 in May, raising concerns about the pace of the economic recovery.

In fact, things are going so well in Obama's worker paradise that American homeless Senior Citizens are forced to eat cheap dog and cat food just to survive, while Obama gives MILLIONS to informants (probably his campaign staff) to drop the dime on fake "Al Qaeda" operatives

The US economy is still struggling, three years after the recession, which officially ended in June 2009. Wages have not kept up with inflation and state and local authorities have continued to shed jobs.

MN/MHB/HN

Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The 5^th Estate.

Images:  Google royalty free unless otherwise attributed.

This news site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Read more »

Iraq Pilgrimage Security Tight after Bombs Kill 72 - Video

Obama and his CIA murderers busy taking revenge after being forced out of Iraq; look for the same in Afghanistan as the losers lash out, killing innocent civilians in a failed attempt to prove they are "needed" for security

Associated Press
By Kay Johnson and Sinan Salaheddin
06/14/2012

BAGHDAD—

Iraqi authorities banned motorcycles from Baghdad's streets and dispatched tens of thousands of security forces to guard a Shiite pilgrimage Thursday after coordinated car bombings targeted processions across the country the day before, killing 72 people in one of the worst attacks since the U.S. troops withdrawal.

Innocent pilgrims targeted in bombings

Despite the violence, hundreds of thousands of faithful Shiites continued their marches to commemorate a revered saint. The processions of pilgrims carrying green banners filled roads into and around the capital as they made their way toward the twin-domed shrine in Baghdad's Kazimiyah neighborhood where Imam Moussa al-Kadhim is said to be buried.

''The events that took place yesterday will never undermine our determination to go to commemorate Imam al-Kadhim," vowed pilgrim Sayid Ali Jassim, standing near a security checkpoint where heavily armed soldiers peered out from behind barriers.

Main Baghdad streets were closed off with concrete blocks Thursday, and soldiers at roadblocks searched pilgrims as they entered roads leading to the shrine. A senior Defense Ministry officer said motorcycles had been banned to reduce the risk that one might slip a bomb past a checkpoint, and he said at least 30,000 soldiers and police were on the streets. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures.

There is no gain in Muslims killing Muslims, leaving a short list of possible perpetrators

Authorities on Thursday raised the death toll to 72 and said the 22 explosions in seven cities and towns on Wednesday also wounded more than 270 people, according to two officials from the health and interior ministries. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Senseless murders serve to enrage Iraqis who blame U.S.

The attacks around the country came amid political tension over power-sharing. Iraq's Sunnis and Kurds accuse the Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, of consolidating power in his own hands. The sharpening political divisions suggest Iraq has made little progress in healing the breach among its religious and ethnic communities that once pushed the country to the brink of civil war.

No one has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attacks but the bombings bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida and its Sunni militant allies seeking to exploit the sectarian tensions.

Iraqi authorities played down any suggestion that the devastating attacks that have taken place every few weeks or so since the U.S. military withdrew in mid-December portend a return to the all-out, sectarian violence that tore the nation apart in 2006-2007.

Wednesday's blasts were the third in a week targeting the annual Shiite pilgrimage to observe the eighth-century death of al-Kadhim, a revered saint who was the Prophet Muhammad's great-grandson. The commemoration culminates on Saturday.

The level of violence has dropped dramatically in Iraq since the height of the war, though Shiite religious events still are often targeted.

But large-scale bombings still come once or twice a month and security forces have been unable to prevent such the attacks, even though they were on high alert this week.

Video:  You Tube

Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The 5^th Estate.

Images:  Google royalty free unless otherwise attributed.

This news site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Read more »

Obama on Verge of Scandal

The "verge?"  Obama and his entire criminal regime are already there and have been for some time

Chicago Sun Times
By Steve Huntley
06/11/2012

Campaigns ebb and flow, and nothing is settled until Election Day. But President Barack Obama, whose fortunes glowed brightly only days ago, now sees his prospects dimming at least for the moment. For the first time, the possibility of a major scandal tainting his administration has materialized just as job growth has slowed dramatically and the president, noted for his mastery of words, stumbled in declaring something about the economy obviously not true: “The private sector is doing fine.”

After taking over and digesting U.S., Obama wants to rule the world

The potential for scandal arises from New York Times stories with sources identified as in the administration revealing highly detailed national security secrets. One story told how Obama signs off on “kill lists” for drone attacks. A second story confirmed what the world suspected — that the United States and Israel were behind the Stuxnet computer virus and other cyber attacks against Iran’s nuclear weapons program — and offered stunning operational details. Only weeks earlier, another leak exposed a double agent who had helped to stop a plot to blow up a U.S.-bound plane from Yemen.

Such highly sensitive information had been revealed that Democrats such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, openly expressed alarm. She worries that lives were jeopardized and that trust among allies that the United States can keep a secret had been undermined. Republicans, led by Sen. John McCain of Arizona, voiced suspicion that political operatives were burnishing Obama’s national security credentials for the election. Obama called the allegation offensive. But the stories obviously came from sources in the room when the “kill lists” and cyber attacks were discussed, and they painted a picture flattering to the president.

Oh yeah, Obama, the private sector is doing just fine

What’s more, the leaks fit into a pattern established with the administration violating its pledge not to take a victory lap on the killing of al-Qaida master terrorist Osama bin Laden. Obama’s re-election campaign made a crude attack ad suggesting that Mitt Romney would not have ordered the killing. And the administration gave access to the Pentagon to an Obama-friendly Hollywood director and her staff to gather information to make a movie about the bin Laden raid. Right after the raid, Defense Secretary Robert Gates complained too much sensitive administration was being released.

Obama believes world as stupid as he is

Attorney General Eric Holder ordered two investigations, but the Senate and House likely will conduct their own probes.

Hanging over all that will be the question of possible political motives for the leaks. Holder is locked in a confrontation with Congress over accountability for “Operation Fast and Furious,” in which the government let guns flow to Mexican drug cartels, another potentially damaging scandal.



The leaks controversy coincided with statistics making May yet another month for disappointing job growth.

Then Obama’s comment about the private economy “doing fine” made him seem out of touch with the 23 million Americans who are out of work or under-employed.

For America to truly recover, Obama and his criminal crew need to be voted out of office, prosecuted for war crimes and the theft of the U.S. Treasury, the destruction of the U.S. economy and the pauperization of millions of Americans

As his remark came with a pitch for more hiring by local and state governments, he seemed out of touch with the growing public disenchantment over well-compensated public-sector union workers and with the reality that it is business and entrepreneurs, not government, that generate economic prosperity.

Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The 5^th Estate.

Images:  Google royalty free unless otherwise attributed.

This news site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Read more »

MCRP 3-02B - USMC Close Combat Manual

As Americans and especially the protest movements grapple with the violence unleashed on them by the Obama criminal regime, congress, bankers, corporations and their police lackeys, this manual will assist in allowing them to respond to threats against their lives with non-lethal means if they wish; besides this manual being informative and extremely useful, it may possibly replace your exercise regimen to some degree, and is fun and interesting to learn while building self-confidence in all threatening situations

The 5th Estate
By Robert S. Finnegan
United States Marine Corps
06/15/2012

Since the dawn of modern man, when the first human picked up a stick and walloped another over the head and decided this was a great tool, close combat has been a part of warfare, even in our nuclear age.

The astute student of military history will note that ALL wars required, sometimes belatedly, "boots on the ground," or infantry to completely secure the battlefield.  Every war, without exception.

This means getting down in the trenches with the enemy, digging them out and sometimes engaging them in hand-to-hand combat. Being overrun by enemy forces definitely requires hand-to-hand combat and techniques.  Infantrymen of all services that were lazy or slept through CC (Close Combat) lectures and did not apply themselves completely in practical application died later in their holes.  It's that simple.

So, here is the URL to the PDF for MCRP 3-02B - The United States Marine Corps bible on Close Combat.  It should provide hours of interesting reading and actual fun in learning the practical application of the art.  This knowledge will vastly increase your persona;l protection and self confidence when dealing with enemies of any stripe, and you may make it as lethal or non-lethal as you wish.  That determination and the application will, as it should be, your personal choice and assisted according to your level of expertise:


http://judoinfo.com/pdf/USMCcombat.pdf


Happy pounding.  Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.

“Now more than ever in U.S. history, Americans are shielding their eyes against the painful truth…. For myself, I am capable of knowing and willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, accept it, and then ACT ON IT.”

Robert S. Finnegan is a retired investigative journalist,  journalism professor and Marine Corps NCO who resides in Jakarta and Garut Indonesia with his spouse, photographer Imas Kurniawati-Finnegan.  They may be reached at  Indonesia:  +62 812-98-177936, +62 821-23-926857 and rsfinnegan@gmail.com

Read more »

Is Social Security Really "Exhausted?" Not at All : Reuters Reporter Mark Miller Debunks "Entitlement" Propaganda

Credit where it is due:  Kudos to Reuters and reporter Mark Miller for getting it right; now that Americans know that Social Security has been looted by Presidents and congress to pay for illegal wars and CIA murders work may begin on securing this vital, successful program for Americans for future generations to halt the theft of OUR MONEY

Reuters
By Mark Miller
06/14/2012

CHICAGO (Reuters) -

It's rare to see a federal official publicly beg reporters to get a story right, but the commissioner of the Social Security Administration seemed ready to get down on his hands and knees at a Monday press briefing. Michael Astrue was cautioning journalists not to scare the public about the meaning of the word "exhaustion."

Social Security will keep most of us from winding up like THIS

"Please, please remember that exhaustion is an actuarial term of art and it does not mean there will be no money left to pay any benefits" he warned in issuing the trustees' annual report on the financial health of the Social Security program.

"After 2033, even if Congress does nothing, there will still be sufficient assets (from payroll taxes) to pay about 75 percent of benefits. That's not acceptable, but it's still a fact that there will still be substantial assets there," Astrue insisted.

This year's report shows some acceleration of the drawdown of Social Security's vast trust fund reserves. Absent Congressional action, the trust funds of the retirement and disability programs are expected to be exhausted in 2033 as baby-boomer retirements accelerate - three years sooner than projected a year ago.

New laws/legislation required to keep scumbag presidents like Obama and Bush from looting Social Security to kill other scumbag presidents/dictators for their oil and natural resources, finance their illegal wars

But Astrue went out of his way to emphasize that the program is far from broke. Social Security took in $69 billion more than it spent last year, according to the report, when you include tax receipts and interest on bonds held in the Social Security Trust Fund (SSTF). The SSTF had reserves of $2.7 trillion last year.

Retirement does not have to look like this for our Seniors

Yet the press plowed right ahead with stories warning that the Social Security retirement program is running out of money. "There won't be much money left for you" after 2033, warned a public radio reporter - a line that pretty well summed up the coverage and nearly forced me to run my car into a ditch.

Americans need to get this right, because Social Security is the primary source of retirement security for most Americans -- and it will be even more important in the future as we continue to dig our way out of the rubble of the Great Recession.

So, what's really going on with Social Security?

1. Social Security isn't running out of money.

The long-range actuarial shortfall is projected to be 2.67 percent of taxable payroll - in other words, 2.67 percent of all the earnings subject to Social Security contributions. That's a modest shortfall - and it fluctuates over time due to economic cycles and changes in assumptions about growth in taxable earnings. For example, the projected year of SSTF exhaustion was as far off as 2042 in 2003 in the wake of the dot-com bubble; it was as close as 2029 in 1994 due to changed expectations about real wage gains.

2. Yes Virginia, there is a Trust Fund.

Social Security's critics love to argue that the SSTF is a myth, but it's not. Although Social Security was designed as a pay-as-you-go program, every penny it receives is credited to the SSTF, which has been building enormous reserves following benefit cuts enacted in 1983.

The Trustee report confirms - again - that the surplus funds are invested in "special issue Treasury bonds" and that they are "full faith and credit" obligations of the government to Social Security. Since Social Security can't borrow money by law, it uses those reserves to pay benefits whenever cash on hand runs short.

3. This year's news is not about our aging population.

The accelerated SSTF exhaustion date stems from two factors: a 1.6 percent drop in taxable earnings due to the ongoing depressed economy, and a 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment awarded for this year.

Our aging demographics do play a role in the longer range imbalance after 2033, because we have not raised revenue sufficient to match the projected growth in our retired population.

Instead, retirement should look like this for American seniors:  It is entirely possible, as long as Americans display the will and strength to demand legislation preventing criminals like Obama and Bush, to name two, from STEALING OUR MONEY, OUR SOCIAL SECURITY THAT WE WORKED AND PAID FOR; there is no such thing as "entitlement" when it comes to Social Security, that is money WE WORKED FOR and PAID INTO our individual Social Security accounts over our working lives, all propaganda emanating from the White House and congress regarding bogus "entitlement" bullshit must be debunked and the mouthpieces that spew this garbage exposed and "terminated"

"The choice is to either reduce benefits 25 percent, or raise revenues 33 percent to adapt," says Steve Goss, chief actuary of the Social Security Administration. Making reforms sooner rather than later would allow for a more gradual phase-in, giving the public plenty of time to plan and adjust accordingly.

I'm in favor of a modest, graduated payroll tax increase. Social Security benefits are modest, averaging $1,230 per month this year. It's the main source of income for most people over age 65 - more than half for nearly one in two married couples and two in three unmarried individuals, according to the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Americans need to tell Obama to kiss THEIR ASS

A gradual increase in payroll taxes over the next decade would eliminate a sizable portion of the imbalance; another approach is to lift or remove entirely the cap on wages subject to payroll taxes, which currently is set at $110,100.

Perhaps that won't be too exhausting an idea for Congress and the media to embrace.

The writer is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Editing by Beth Pinsker Gladstone.

Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The 5^th Estate.

Images:  Google royalty free unless otherwise attributed.

This news site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Read more »