Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Idaho House Approves Bill to Make Gun Confiscation a Criminal Offense

Idaho House Approves Bill to Make Gun Confiscation a Criminal Offense

By on March 12, 2013
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by Mikael Thalen
The Idaho House has approved a measure that makes it a misdemeanor for government and law officials to enforce any new federal firearms laws including bans and registrations.
H.B. 219, or the “Idaho Federal Firearm, Magazine and Register Ban Enforcement Act,” approved Monday 55 – 13, could bring fines of up to $1,000 and a year jail time to any local officials who engage in confiscation, including assistance in such acts with any federal agents.
The bill’s Statement of Purpose also explains the bill’s job in protecting police:
“The legislation also protects Idaho law enforcement officers from their supervisors ordering them to violate this statute. Supervisors doing so would be in violation of this law and officers would not have to follow such an order. Idaho law enforcement officers are partners with Idaho citizens in protecting the rights as outlined in both the U.S. and Idaho Constitutions. This bill demonstrates the commitment of Idaho’s law enforcement officers to Idaho citizens and the legislature’s commitment to protect Idaho law enforcement officers from being forced to violate their oath of office.”
“We do have the authority to protect our first responders and our citizen police forces throughout the state so they don’t have to break their oath of office, putting them in the face of citizens who expect them to protect citizens’ constitutional rights,” said Rep. Mark Patterson (R).
“(Idaho) citizens are pleased they can feel safe Idaho’s law enforcement will not be kicking in their front doors to take their firearms.”
Rep. Holli Woodings (D), an opponent to the legislation, says state police take an oath requiring them to uphold federal and Idaho law and that this bill could force officers to violate their oath of office.
In light of recent shootings, a wave of gun control measures have been introduced nation wide, despite the number of violent crimes in the U.S. being at a 40 year low. FBI statistics also show that violent crime has plummeted over 50 percent in the last 15 years with a murder rate drop of over 60 percent as well as a drop in gun crime.
The push for gun control has also caused over 348 sheriffs, including several in Idaho, to state that they will oppose any new gun control legislation that they feel goes against the U.S. Constitution.
The bill will now head to the Idaho State Senate.
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NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012


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00:00:00 ADD THAT SENATOR LIEBERMAN WOULD HAVE GONE FURTHER THAN YOU, AND NOBODY I RESPECT MORE THAN SENATOR LIEBERMAN, BUT TRYING TO FIND A BALANCED WAY.
00:00:06 SO IN SUMMARY HERE, 1032, THE MILITARY CUSTODY PROVISION, WHICH HAS WAIVERS AND A LOT OF FLEXIBLE, DOESN'T APPLY TO AMERICAN CITIZENS.
00:00:16 1031, THE STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY TO DETAIN, DOES APPLY TO AMERICAN CITIZENS AND IT DESIGNATES THE WORLD AS THE BATTLEFIELD, INCLUDING THE HOMELAND.
00:00:25 ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE PADILLA CASE.

Senators Demand the Military Lock Up of American Citizens in a “Battlefield” They Define as Being Right Outside Your Window

Senators Demand the Military Lock Up of American Citizens in a “Battlefield” They Define as Being Right Outside Your Window

By Chris Anders, Senior Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 10:46am
UPDATE III: The Senate rejected the Udall amendment 38-60.
While nearly all Americans head to family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Senate is gearing up for a vote on Monday or Tuesday that goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans. The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield — even people in the United States itself.
Senators need to hear from you, on whether you think your front yard is part of a “battlefield” and if any president can send the military anywhere in the world to imprison civilians without charge or trial.
The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night’s Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.
The worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial provision is in S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which will be on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing.
I know it sounds incredible. New powers to use the military worldwide, even within the United States? Hasn’t anyone told the Senate that Osama bin Laden is dead, that the president is pulling all of the combat troops out of Iraq and trying to figure out how to get combat troops out of Afghanistan too? And American citizens and people picked up on American or Canadian or British streets being sent to military prisons indefinitely without even being charged with a crime. Really? Does anyone think this is a good idea? And why now?
The answer on why now is nothing more than election season politics. The White House, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General have all said that the indefinite detention provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act are harmful and counterproductive. The White House has even threatened a veto. But Senate politics has propelled this bad legislation to the Senate floor.
But there is a way to stop this dangerous legislation. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is offering the Udall Amendment that will delete the harmful provisions and replace them with a requirement for an orderly Congressional review of detention power. The Udall Amendment will make sure that the bill matches up with American values.
In support of this harmful bill, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) explained that the bill will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial “American citizen or not.” Another supporter, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) also declared that the bill is needed because “America is part of the battlefield.”
The solution is the Udall Amendment; a way for the Senate to say no to indefinite detention without charge or trial anywhere in the world where any president decides to use the military. Instead of simply going along with a bill that was drafted in secret and is being jammed through the Senate, the Udall Amendment deletes the provisions and sets up an orderly review of detention power. It tries to take the politics out and put American values back in.
In response to proponents of the indefinite detention legislation who contend that the bill “applies to American citizens and designates the world as the battlefield,” and that the “heart of the issue is whether or not the United States is part of the battlefield,” Sen. Udall disagrees, and says that we can win this fight without worldwide war and worldwide indefinite detention.
The senators pushing the indefinite detention proposal have made their goals very clear that they want an okay for a worldwide military battlefield, that even extends to your hometown. That is an extreme position that will forever change our country.
Now is the time to stop this bad idea. Please urge your senators to vote YES on the Udall Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.
UPDATE I: Don’t be confused by anyone claiming that the indefinite detention legislation does not apply to American citizens. It does. There is an exemption for American citizens from the mandatory detention requirement (section 1032 of the bill), but no exemption for American citizens from the authorization to use the military to indefinitely detain people without charge or trial (section 1031 of the bill). So, the result is that, under the bill, the military has the power to indefinitely imprison American citizens, but it does not have to use its power unless ordered to do so.
But you don’t have to believe us. Instead, read what one of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Lindsey Graham said about it on the Senate floor: “1031, the statement of authority to detain, does apply to American citizens and it designates the world as the battlefield, including the homeland.”
There you have it — indefinite military detention of American citizens without charge or trial. And the Senate is likely to vote on it Monday or Tuesday.
UPDATE II: The debate on NDAA has begun. Your Senator needs to hear from you RIGHT NOW! >>
Learn more about detention: Sign up for breaking news alerts, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

BOO FUCKING HOO WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET IT OBAMA IS SETTING UP OUR TROOPS SO THEY CAN DIE NONE OF THEM WILL MAKE IT OUT ALIVE

5 US TROOPS DIE IN BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER CRASH IN SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN...

​ KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan has killed five American service members, officials said Tuesday.
Monday night's crash brought the total number of U.S. troops killed that day to seven, making it the deadliest day for U.S. forces so far this year. Two U.S. special operations forces were gunned down hours earlier in an insider attack by an Afghan policeman in eastern Afghanistan.
The NATO military coalition said in a statement that "initial reports" showed no enemy activity in the area at the time. The cause of the crash is under investigation, the statement said. Continue reading via the Associated Press...

Video: John Bolton – Obama Administration Is Holding Talks With Taliban In Doha And Qatar

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore
Former UN Ambassador John Bolton was on with Greta Van Susteren tonight to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. Bolton told Greta that he believes the Obama administration has been talking to the Taliban for some time now…

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/T71kmgUNMeA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Watch video here:

See a related story HERE where President Karzai of Afghanistan has alleged a conspiracy between the US and the Taliban.
Read more from this story HERE.

Read more: http://joemiller.us/2013/03/video-john-bolton-obama-administration-is-holding-talks-with-taliban-in-doha-and-qatar/#ixzz2NLXe4gko

Freedom of the Press Foundation Publishes Leaked Audio of Bradley Manning’s Statement


March 11, 2013
By Trevor Timm Follow @TrevorTimm Rainey Reitman Follow @RaineyReitman
Today, Freedom of the Press Foundation is publishing the full, previously unreleased audio recording of Private First Class Bradley Manning’s speech to the military court in Ft. Meade about his motivations for leaking over 700,000 government documents to WikiLeaks. In addition, we have published highlights from Manning’s statement to the court.
While unofficial transcripts of this statement are available, this marks the first time the American public has heard the actual voice of Manning.
Bradley Manning's Full Statement

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He explains to the military court in his own cadence and words how and why he gave the Apache helicopter video, Afghanistan and Iraq Wars Logs, and the State Department Diplomatic Cables to WikiLeaks. Manning explains his motives, noting how he believed the documents showed deep wrongdoing by the government and how he hoped that the release would "spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general as it related to Iraq and Afghanistan." In conjunction with the statement, Private First Class Manning also pleaded guilty to 10 of the 22 charges against him.
Freedom of the Press Foundation is dedicated to supporting journalism that combats overreaching government secrecy. We have been disturbed that Manning’s pre-trial hearings have been hampered by the kind of extreme government secrecy that his releases to WikiLeaks were intended to protest. While reporters are allowed in the courtroom, no audio or visual recordings are permitted by the judge, no transcripts of the proceedings or any motions by the prosecution have been released, and lengthy court orders read on the stand by the judge have not been published for public review.
A short film by Laura Poitras
A group of journalists, represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), has been engaged in a legal battle to force the court to be more open. While the government has belatedly released a small portion of documents related to the case, many of the most important orders have been withheld—such as the orders relating to the speedy trial proceedings or the order related to Manning’s prolonged solitary confinement.
Michael Ratner, president emeritus of CCR, called the government "utterly unresponsive to what is a core First Amendment principle." Ratner noted this is a public trial, the information being presented is not classified, and that contemporaneous access to information about the trial is necessary to understanding the proceedings. Nonetheless, the lawsuit has been tied up in the appeals court for months.
Freedom of the Press Foundation’s mission is to support and defend cutting-edge transparency journalism by supporting those organizations that publish leaks in the public interest. We often report on news surrounding government secrecy, educating the public about the important relationship between leaking and independent journalism. When we received this recording, we realized we had a unique opportunity to bring some small measure of transparency directly by allowing the world to hear for itself the voice of someone who took a controversial and important stance for government transparency.
We hope this recording will shed light on one of the most secret court trials in recent history, in which the government is putting on trial a concerned government employee whose only stated goal was to bring attention to what he viewed as serious governmental misconduct and criminal activity. We hope to prompt additional analysis of these proceedings by other journalistic institutions and the public at large. While we are not equipped (technically or as a matter of human resources) to receive leaked information nor do we plan on receiving them in the future, we are proud to publish and analyze this particular recording because it is so clearly matches our mission of supporting transparency journalism.
The information provided by Manning has uncovered stories of wrongdoing by the United States, as well as by leaders and politicians around the world. The cables were reportedly one of the catalysts that led to the Arab Spring and sped up the end of the Iraq War. To this day, more than two years after their release, the information provided by Manning is used every day by journalists and historians in major publications are the world to enlighten and inform the public, both in the United States and around the world. In a time when the extent and reach of U.S. government secrecy is unprecedented, and there are credible reports that the government has abused its secrecy and classification systems to cover up numerous illegal and unconstitutional activities, Manning’s actions should be seen as an overdue sliver of sunlight into an overly secret system rather than as a basis for a prosecution seeking decades of imprisonment.
By releasing this audio recording, we wish to make sure that the voice of this generation's most prolific whistleblower can be heard—literally—by the world.
Regardless of whether one believes that Manning’s acts were right or wrong or a mix of both, he has taken responsibility for them by pleading guilty to ten charges, for which he faces up to twenty years in prison. The government however, is continuing to pursue all of the charges against him, including charges under the Espionage Act and "aiding the enemy" —which could have huge consequences for press freedom and the First Amendment. The ACLU has expressed concern that this "aiding the enemy" charge could criminalize speech for all sorts of active military members, noting that "In its zeal to throw the book at Manning, the government has so overreached that its ‘success’ would turn thousands of loyal soldiers into criminals."
And Harvard Law professor Yochai Benkler has argued that this prosecution could decimate national security journalism by outlawing whole categories of journalist-source relationships in the future: "[T]he prosecutors seem bent on using this case to push a novel and aggressive interpretation of the law that would arm the government with a much bigger stick to prosecute vaguely-defined national security leaks, a big stick that could threaten not just members of the military, but civilians too."
Extreme secrecy in our courts, just like in our government’s policies and our politics, is an anathema to democracy. Whether military or civilian, this type of closed-door legal process impairs the public’s right-to-know and journalists’ ability to report on matters of deep public concern. The courtrooms of America should be open to the public, so they can see and hear what is being done in their name.
You can donate to aggressive journalism outlets dedicated to transparency and accountability on our homepage. You can learn more about Bradley Manning’s case by visiting the Bradley Manning Support Network.

New DHS Informant Leaks a Shocker

In a passionate warning to his global listeners, TruNews host Rick Wiles revealed the latest in a series of startling information leaked to him through a source who knows a contact deep within U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“There’s a Russian, Chinese, Islamic military invasion coming to the U.S.A,” Wiles forcefully told his audience, Wednesday.
“I was told something, today, that I almost hesitate to repeat on the air,” Wiles continues.  “You know, people pass on to me lots of rumors I can’t verify, therefore, I never mention them on the radio.”
In previous broadcasts, the 12-year Christian radio veteran has passionately pleaded with his listeners to prepare for startling changes coming to the United States—changes so horrific, that even he admits may sound crazy if the information wasn’t being told to him by long-time, credible and proven sources.
“But I spoke with a close friend, whom I’ve known for many years.  This couple is well-connected to important business and political people.  They have a personal friend who is an agent for [the Department of] Homeland Security.  The agent promised to alert them if he ever heard anything significant that warranted immediate preparation.
“For years, he said nothing until now.  He told them there’s talk inside Homeland Security offices that Russian Spetsnaz commandos are infiltrating into the U.S.A from Canada.  He said it’s been underway all summer, and he estimated the number of commandos at the present time inside the U.S.A to be in excess of 20,000.”
The most intimate knowledge of the coming danger to the U.S. comes to him off air, Wiles says, as his sources seek to distance themselves from the information for the purposes of their own safety as well as the safety of their families.  Because of his position as a journalist, radio host and trusted leader of the Christian community, Wiles receives the most sensitive information ‘off the record’ in the hopes that others who speak ‘on the record’ will be taken seriously.
“If I didn’t know the integrity and the high-level connections and the social standing of my friends, I would never pass this on to you on the radio,” Wiles explains.  “But I know this couple.  Let me tell you, financially, socially, I’m at the bottom of their friends list.  They run with the big dogs.  Therefore, when they tip me off that they got a call from a friend inside DHS with this kind of information, I don’t dismiss it lightly as a conspiracy rumor.”
Previous reports of Russian military personnel participating in joint ‘civil drills’ with local law enforcement at Ft. Carson, Colorado between May 24 and 31 of this year may have had something to do with the ongoing clandestine immigration of Russian commandos alleged by Wiles’ source, but a possible reason for the stealth entry into the U.S of 20,000 troops wasn’t ventured during Wiles’ Wednesday’s disclosure.
However, a source to Wiles of more than a decade ago offers the possibility of a much more nefarious explanation for the infiltrating Russian commandos that can be traced back more than 30 years.
“I spent several days with Colonel Stanislav Lunev in 1999,” says Wiles.  “He was my guest when I lived in Dallas/Ft. Worth.  Colonel Lunev is the highest ranking Russian GRU military spy ever to defect to the West. . .
“One of his assignments was to find places to hide nuclear suitcase bombs inside the U.S.A.  You can read about it in his book, Through the eyes of the enemy.
“Colonel Lunev personally told me that the Russians were bringing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons into the U.S.A throughout the 1970s and 80s by smuggling them over the Mexican border.
“Colonel Lunev said there are Russian Spetznazs commandos coming in and out of the U.S.A every month disguised as tourists, professors, doctors, reporters; they come and go.”
The implications of, even, an attempted ground invasion by sleeper Russian commandos, in addition to other hostile sleeper cells rumored to be hibernating on American soil, are staggering, but also raise the possibility that a false-flag of an invasion may be planned as the excuse to lock-down America during a currency crisis.
Could something as bizarre as an attack by foreign rebels lurking in wait the plan for legitimizing a decree of martial law from the White House?  Would another bigger and more horrific 9/11-like event of that magnitude be planned to mask the real reason for a dollar collapse?  How else would Washington divert the wrath of an irate citizenry armed to the teeth when food and basic necessities go wanting for days, weeks or maybe months?
Trends Research Institute Founder Gerald Celente told Lew Rockwell of the von Mises Institute, Tuesday, “I believe we’re facing another 9-11 moment of some sort.  Whether it’s false-flag [or] real.  Whether it’s economic or geopolitical, something in my bones is telling me that you better be prepared now, because this thing is coming down fast.”
Celente strongly suggests Americans follow the “Celente’s 3-G’s” for survival during these extraordinary times of American history.  The 3-G’s include: Gold, Guns and a Getaway plan.
Wiles may suggest another ‘G’ to Celente’s 3-G’s:  Gold, Guns, Getaway plan and God, not necessarily in that order of importance.
Source: TruNews Radio Aug. 15, 2012 broadcast, with host Rick Wiles and guest Gerald Celente

Read more: http://www.beaconequity.com/new-dhs-informant-leaks-a-shocker-2012-08-17/#ixzz2NLTViBR9