Crisis Begets Opportunity

The Purpose of Government is to Exploit — and Exacerbate — a Crisis

"[..] A similarly skewed set of priorities was displayed in the official response to the killing spree at the Washington Navy Yard. A SWAT team from the Capitol Police was dispatched in response to the shooting – but was reportedly ordered to stand down, rather than intervene in an attempt to save the victims. Twelve people were killed before the shooter was stopped. There are roughly 200 SWAT deployments each day in this country – almost none of which involve the protection of innocent people. Apparently, SWAT teams are reserved for low-risk drug raids and killing 107-year-old men armed with pistols, rather than for responding to actual danger." Continue reading →

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Media Buries Psychiatric Drug Connection to Navy Shooter

"Alexis 'had been treated since August by the Veterans Administration for his mental problems.' Alexis also suffered from PTSD, blackouts and anger issues – all of which are treated with SSRI drugs. The most common form of treatment for PTSD is Paroxetine, which is listed as the number 3 top violence-causing drug by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). Despite it being reported that prescription drugs were found in the apartment of ‘Batman’ shooter James Holmes days after the Aurora massacre, it took nine months to find out exactly what those drugs were. Like Columbine killer Eric Harris, Holmes had been taking Zoloft, another SSRI drug linked with violent outbursts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMedia Buries Psychiatric Drug Connection to Navy Shooter

Media Buries Psychiatric Drug Connection to Navy Shooter

"Alexis 'had been treated since August by the Veterans Administration for his mental problems.' Alexis also suffered from PTSD, blackouts and anger issues – all of which are treated with SSRI drugs. The most common form of treatment for PTSD is Paroxetine, which is listed as the number 3 top violence-causing drug by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). Despite it being reported that prescription drugs were found in the apartment of ‘Batman’ shooter James Holmes days after the Aurora massacre, it took nine months to find out exactly what those drugs were. Like Columbine killer Eric Harris, Holmes had been taking Zoloft, another SSRI drug linked with violent outbursts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMedia Buries Psychiatric Drug Connection to Navy Shooter

Navy Yard: SWAT team ordered to ‘stand down’ during mass shooting

"One of the first teams of heavily armed police to respond to Monday's shooting in Washington DC was ordered to stand down by superiors, the BBC can reveal. A tactical response team of the Capitol Police, a force that guards the US Capitol complex, was told to leave the scene by a supervisor instead of aiding municipal officers. The Capitol Police department has launched a review into the matter. Aaron Alexis, 34, killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard. 'I don't think it's a far stretch to say that some lives may have been saved if we were allowed to intervene,' a Capitol Police source familiar with the incident told the BBC." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNavy Yard: SWAT team ordered to ‘stand down’ during mass shooting

Navy Yard: SWAT team ordered to ‘stand down’ during mass shooting

"One of the first teams of heavily armed police to respond to Monday's shooting in Washington DC was ordered to stand down by superiors, the BBC can reveal. A tactical response team of the Capitol Police, a force that guards the US Capitol complex, was told to leave the scene by a supervisor instead of aiding municipal officers. The Capitol Police department has launched a review into the matter. Aaron Alexis, 34, killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard. 'I don't think it's a far stretch to say that some lives may have been saved if we were allowed to intervene,' a Capitol Police source familiar with the incident told the BBC." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNavy Yard: SWAT team ordered to ‘stand down’ during mass shooting

The true raw material footprint of nations

"The amount of raw materials needed to sustain the economies of developed countries is significantly greater than present indicators suggest, a new Australian study has revealed. Using a new modelling tool and more comprehensive indicators, researchers were able to map the flow of raw materials across the world economy with unprecedented accuracy to determine the true 'material footprint' of 186 countries over a two-decade period (from 1990 to 2008). The study was published today in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It reveals that the decoupling of natural resources from economic growth has been exaggerated." Continue reading →

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All Government Policies Succeed in the Long Run

"Many people, for good reason, have concluded that the surest test of whether a politician or public official is lying is to ask, Are his lips moving? An equally simple test may be proposed to determine whether a seemingly failed policy is actually a success for the movers and shakers of the political class. This test requires only that we ask, Does the policy remain in effect? If it does, we can be sure that it continues to serve the interests of those who are actually decisive in determining the sorts of policy the government establishes and implements." Continue reading →

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Law Aimed at Sex Offenders Feeds into the Growing Surveillance State

"ACLU attorney Michael Risher opened his argument by evoking the compelling image of a registrant who wishes to make an anonymous critical comment about his local police department on the online comment section of his local newspaper, 'His speech will be chilled knowing that the police has his online identities down at the station.' There are signs that restricting registrants' access to the Internet, in particular social media, is a growing trend. North Carolina has banned registrants from social networks like Facebook and other chat rooms, and Pennsylvania is considering similar legislation. Earlier this year, a similar ban in Indiana was struck down by a court of appeals." Continue reading →

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Continuity of Operations – Wikipedia

"The George W. Bush administration put the Continuity of Operations plan into effect for the first time directly following the September 11 attacks. The Bush administration did not acknowledge the implementation of the COG plan until March 1, 2002. On July 18, 2007, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), a member of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, requested the classified and more detailed version of the government's continuity of government plan in a letter signed by him and the chairperson of the House Homeland Committee, which is supposed to have access to confidential government information. The president refused to provide the information." Continue reading →

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Obama quietly extends post-9/11 state of national emergency

"Twelve years after the worst terrorist attack in American history, President Obama yet again extended his predecessor’s Declaration of National Emergency for another year. The declaration, which was originally put into place on September 14, 2001, was renewed on Tuesday. Shortly after he renewed the declaration of a national emergency, President Obama obliquely hinted at the gradual accumulation of executive power in his speech on the Syria crisis. The past decade, he said, 'put more and more war-making power in the hands of the president.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama quietly extends post-9/11 state of national emergency