XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World: June 2012

Friday, 29 June 2012

France to require all drivers, including tourists, to carry hand-held breathalyzers in all vehicles -

France on Sunday will become the first country to require all drivers, including tourists, to carry hand-held breathalyzers in all vehicles — a move to help the wine-loving country crack down on drunken driving.

The law takes effect July 1 and was approved in March 2011. It is aimed at convincing drivers to check their blood alcohol level before starting their vehicles.

The law is being watched closely by auto safety advocates in the United States. In the U.S., 10,228 people were killed in 2010 in alcohol-related crashes, down 4.9 percent over 2009

France had about 4,000 road deaths in 2011, down from 16,000 annually in the early 1970s. Nearly 30 percent of road deaths in France are alcohol-related — or about 1,150. That's about the same percentage in the United States.

Fines for not carrying one are small — 11 euros — or about $14 and begin in November. France has also instituted stricter drunk driving laws and tougher penalties in recent years.

France requires drivers to carry a first-aid kit, fire extinguisher and spare light bulbs for headlamps.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120629/AUTO01/206290424/1361/French-to-require-all-drivers-to-carry-breathalyzer-to-curb-accidents

The Megapixel War Is Over - highest pixel count in a point-and-shoot camera is 16 megapixels -

For the first time since you could afford a digital camera, megapixel counts have stopped rising. There is finally an armistice in the Megapixel War of 1996-2011.

At the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show—over a year ago—the highest pixel count in a point-and-shoot camera was 16 megapixels, up from 14MP the year before, 12MP the year before that, so on and so forth back into the late 1990s.

But at the 2012 edition of CES, something miraculous happened: The maximum pixel count plateaued. It stayed at 16MP—unchanged from the year before. If anything, the average pixel count across all cameras dropped a bit. It might be a little bit early to declare victory—another round of announcements usually comes in February—but there’s at least a lull in the battle.

Read more -
http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/News/The-Megapixel-War-Is-Over.htm

Earth adds leap second Saturday night -

Saturday night will stretch longer by a second. A leap second.
International timekeepers, directed from headquarters in Paris, are adding a second to the clock at midnight universal time Saturday, June 30, going into July 1. That's 8 p.m. EDT Saturday. Universal time will be 11:59:59 and then 11:59:60.
U.S. Naval Observatory spokesman Geoff Chester said a leap second is needed because the Earth is slowing down a bit from the tidal pull of the moon.
Timekeepers add a leap second every now and then to keep the sun at its highest at noon, at least during standard time. This is the first leap second since January 2009 and the 25th overall.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/06/29/wait-for-it-earth-adds-leap-second-saturday-night/

17 Reasons To Be EXTREMELY Concerned About The Second Half Of 2012 -

What is the second half of 2012 going to bring? Are things going to get even worse than they are right now? Unfortunately, that appears more likely with each passing day. I will admit that I am extremely concerned about the second half of 2012. Historically, a financial crisis is much more likely to begin in the fall than during any other season of the year. Just think about it. The stock market crash of 1929 happened in the fall. “Black Monday” happened on October 19th, 1987. The financial crisis of 2008 started in the fall. There just seems to be something about the fall that brings out the worst in the financial markets. But of course there is not a stock market crash every year. So are there specific reasons why we should be extremely concerned about what is coming this year? Yes, there are. The ingredients for a “perfect storm” are slowly coming together, and in the months ahead we could very well see the next wave of the economic collapse strike. Sadly, we have never even come close to recovering from the last recession, and this next crisis might end up being even more painful than the last one.
The following are 17 reasons to be extremely concerned about the second half of 2012….
#1 Historical Trends
A recent IMF research paper by Luc Laeven and Fabián Valencia showed that a banking crisis is far more likely to start in September than in any other month. The following chart is from their report….

So what will this September bring?
#2 JP Morgan
Do you remember back in May when JP Morgan announced that it would be taking a 2 billion dollar trading loss on some derivatives trades gone bad? Well, the New York Times is now reporting that the real figure could reach 9 billion dollars, but nobody really knows for sure. At some point is JP Morgan going to need a bailout? If so, what is that going to do to the U.S. financial system?
#3 Derivatives
Last week, Moody’s downgraded the credit ratings of 15 major global banks. As a result, a number of them have been required to post billions of dollars in additional collateral against derivatives exposures….
Citigroup’s two-notch long-term rating downgrade from A3 to Baa2 could have led to US$500m in additional liquidity and funding demands due to derivative triggers and exchange margin requirements, according to the bank’s 10Q regulatory filing at the end of the first quarter.
Morgan Stanley – which Moody’s downgraded from A2 to Baa1 – said a two-notch downgrade from both Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s could spur an additional US$6.8bn of collateral requirements in its latest 10Q. The bank did not break down its potential collateral calls under a scenario where only Moody’s downgraded the bank below the Single A threshold.
Royal Bank of Scotland estimated it may have to post £9bn of collateral as a result of the one-notch Moody’s downgrade to Baa1 in a statement on June 21, but did not detail how much of this additional requirement was driven by margin for swaps exposures.
The worldwide derivatives market is starting to show some cracks, and at some point this is going to become a major disaster.
Remember, the 9 largest U.S. banks have a total of more than 200 trillion dollars of exposure to derivatives. When this bubble completely bursts it is going to be impossible to fix.
#4 LEAP/E2020 Warning
LEAP/E2020 has issued a red alert for the global financial system for this fall. They are warning that the “second half of 2012″ will represent a “major inflection point” for the global economic system….
The shock of the autumn 2008 will seem like a small summer storm compared to what will affect planet in several months.
In fact LEAP/E2020 has never seen the chronological convergence of such a series of explosive and so fundamental factors (economy, finances, geopolitical…) since 2006, the start of its work on the global systemic crisis. Logically, in our modest attempt to regularly publish a “crisis weather forecast”, we must therefore give our readers a “Red Alert” because the upcoming events which are readying themselves to shake the world system next September/ October belong to this category.
#5 Increasing Pessimism
One recent survey of corporate executives found that only 20 percent of them expect the global economy to improve over the next 12 months and 48 percent of them expect the global economy to get worse over the next 12 months.
#6 Spain
The Spanish financial system is basically a total nightmare at this point. Moody’s recently downgraded Spanish debt to one level above junk status, and earlier this week Moody’s downgraded the credit ratings of 28 major Spanish banks.
According to CNBC, Spain’s short-term borrowing costs are now about three times higher than they were just one month ago….
Spain’s short-term borrowing costs nearly tripled at auction on Tuesday, underlining the country’s precarious finances as it struggles against recession and juggles with a debt crisis among its newly downgraded banks.
The yield paid on a 3-month bill was 2.362 percent, up from just 0.846 percent a month ago. For six-month paper, it leapt to 3.237 percent from 1.737 percent in May.
Needless to say, this is very, very bad news.
#7 Italy
The situation in Italy continues to deteriorate and many analysts believe that it could be one of the next dominoes to fall. The following is from a recent Businessweek article….
The euro zone’s third-biggest economy is seen as the next domino at risk of toppling after the European Union’s June 9 deal to lend Spain $125 billion in bank bailout funds. Yields on Italy’s 10-year government bonds reached 6.2 percent on June 13, up from just 4.8 percent in March. By pushing up Italy’s borrowing costs out of fear of default, investors are making a default more likely.
A recent Fortune article detailed some of the economic fundamentals that have so many economists deeply concerned about the Italian economy right now….
The main glaring risk threats that could propel Italy down the path to become Europe’s next domino is the size of country’s outstanding debt (at €1.9 trillion or 120% of GDP); the mountain of debt it has to roll over in the next 12 months (nearly €400 billion); and the market’s cracking credibility around Prime Minister Mario Monti’s ability to reduce the country’s fiscal footprint and spur growth.
Further, fear around Italy’s creditworthiness, which has recently been expressed by near cycle highs in sovereign CDS spreads and government yields on the 10-year bond, foll ow some rather glaring negative fundamentals over recent quarters and years: declining GDP over the last three consecutive quarters; a rising unemployment rate (especially among its youth); deterioration in labor market competitiveness; and increased competition for export goods to its key trading partners.
#8 Greece
I have written extensively about the financial nightmare that is unfolding in Greece. Unemployment has soared past the 20 percent mark, youth unemployment is above 50 percent, the Greek economy has contracted by close to 25 percent over the past four years and now Greek politicians are saying that a third bailout package may be necessary.
#9 Cyprus
The tiny island nation of Cyprus has become the fifth member of the eurozone to formally request a bailout. This is yet another sign that the eurozone is rapidly falling apart.
#10 Germany
German Chancellor Angela Merkel continues to promote an austerity path for Europe and she continues to maintain her very firm position against any kind of eurozone debt sharing….
Merkel, speaking to a conference in Berlin today as Spain announced it would formally seek aid for its banks, dismissed “euro bonds, euro bills and European deposit insurance with joint liability and much more” as “economically wrong and counterproductive,” saying that they ran against the German constitution.
“It’s not a bold prediction to say that in Brussels most eyes — all eyes — will be on Germany yet again,” Merkel said. “I say quite openly: when I think of the summit on Thursday I’m concerned that once again the discussion will be far too much about all kinds of ideas for joint liability and far too little about improved oversight and structural measures.”
In fact, Merkel says that there will be no eurobonds “as long as I live“. This means that there will be no “quick fix” for the problems that are unfolding in Europe.
#11 Bank Runs
Every single day, hundreds of billions of dollars is being pulled out of banks in southern Europe. Much of that money is being transferred to banks in northern Europe.
In a previous article I included an extremely alarming quote from a CNBC article about the unfolding banking crisis in Europe….
Financial advisers and private bankers whose clients have accounts too large to be covered by a Europe-wide guarantee on deposits up to 100,000 euros ($125,000), are reporting a “bank run by wire transfer” that has picked up during May.
Much of this money has headed north to banks in London, Frankfurt and Geneva, financial advisers say.
“It’s been an ongoing process but it certainly picked up pace a couple of weeks ago We believe there is a continuous 2-3 year bank run by wire transfer,” said Lorne Baring, managing director at B Capital, a Geneva-based pan European wealth management firm.
How long can these bank runs continue before banking systems start to collapse?
#12 Preparations For The Collapse Of The Eurozone
As I have written about previously, the smart money has already written off southern Europe. All over the continent major financial institutions are preparing for the worst. For example, just check out what Visa Europe is doing….
Visa Europe is holding weekly meetings to discuss scenarios in the event the euro zone collapses, joining other companies that are preparing for a potential breakup of the currency bloc.
Chief Commercial Officer Steve Perry said Tuesday that management at the U.K.-based credit-card company meets weekly to explore various possible outcomes, including a total collapse of the euro zone.
#13 Global Lending Is Slowing Down
All over the globe the flow of credit is beginning to freeze up. In fact, the Bank for International Settlements says that worldwide lending is contracting at the fastest pace since the financial crisis of 2008.
#14 Sophisticated Cyber Attacks On Banks
It is being reported that “very sophisticated” hackers have successfully raided dozens of banks in Europe. So far, it is being estimated that they have stolen 60 million euros….
Sixty million euro has been stolen from bank accounts in a massive cyber bank raid after fraudsters raided dozens of financial institutions around the world.
According to a joint report by software security firm McAfee and Guardian Analytics, more than 60 firms have suffered from what it has called an “insider level of understanding”.
What happens someday if we wake up and all the money in the banks is gone?
#15 U.S. Municipal Bankruptcies
All over the United States there are cities and towns on the verge of financial disaster. This week Stockton, California became the largest U.S. city to ever declare bankruptcy, but the reality is that this is only just the beginning of the municipal debt crisis….
Stockton, California, said it will file for bankruptcy after talks with bondholders and labor unions failed, making the agricultural center the biggest U.S. city to seek court protection from creditors.
“The city is fiscally insolvent and must seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection,” Stockton said in a statement released yesterday after its council voted 6-1 to adopt a spending plan for operating under bankruptcy protection.
#16 The Obamacare Decision
The U.S. economy is already a complete and total mess, and now the Obamacare decision is going to throw a huge wet blanket on it. All over America, small business owners are saying that they are going to have to let some workers go because they cannot afford to keep them all under Obamacare. It would be hard to imagine a more job killing law than Obamacare, and now that the Supreme Court decision has finally been announced we are going to see many businesses making some really hard decisions.

#17 The U.S. Election
It is being reported that Barack Obama is putting together an army of “thousands of lawyers” to deal with any disputes that arise over voting procedures or results. It certainly looks like this upcoming election is going to be extremely close, and there is the potential that we could end up facing another Bush v. Gore scenario where the fate of the presidency is determined in court. This campaign season is likely to be exceptionally nasty, and I fear what may happen if there is not a decisive winner on election day. The possibility of significant civil unrest is certainly there.
We definitely live in “interesting” times.
Personally, I am deeply concerned about the September, October, November time frame.
The other day, Joe Biden delivered a speech in which he made the following statement….
“It’s A Depression For Millions And Millions Of Americans”
And what Biden said was right for once. Millions of Americans are out of work right now and millions of Americans have fallen out of the middle class in recent years. If you have lost everything, it does feel like you are living through a depression.
When people lose everything, they tend to get desperate. And desperate people do desperate things – especially when they are angry.
A whole host of recent opinion polls have shown that anger and frustration in the United States are rising to unprecedented levels. The ingredients are certainly there for an explosion. Someone just needs to come along and light the fuse. We truly do live in frightening times.
Let us hope for the best, but let us also prepare for the worst.

Read more -
http://www.prisonplanet.com/17-reasons-to-be-extremely-concerned-about-the-second-half-of-2012.html

More People Killed By Bees or Drowning In Bath Than From Terrorism -

An independent review of terrorism legislation in the UK notes that government rhetoric regarding terrorism is “exaggerated for political or commercial purposes” and that many more people are killed each year by bee stings.
The report by barrister David Anderson QC, highlights the fact that the average number of annual deaths as a result of terrorism or at the hands of terrorists in the UK this century is just five.
“During the 21st century, terrorism has been an insignificant cause of mortality in the United Kingdom.” Anderson writes.
“The annualised average of five deaths caused by terrorism in England and Wales over this period compares with total accidental deaths in 2010 of 17,201, including 123 cyclists killed in traffic accidents, 102 personnel killed in Afghanistan, 29 people drowned in the bathtub and five killed by stings from hornets, wasps and bees.”
Anderson also points out that not a single person in Britain has even been injured by a terrorist for over two years.
The report notes that in the year to March 2011, arrests of individuals suspected of being terrorists numbered just 141, the lowest figure since 2001/2. In addition there was only one conviction in a UK court on charges related to terrorism.

“Those figures compare with a total number of arrests for recorded crime in England and Wales alone of almost 1.4 million in 2010/11, including some 431,000 for offences of violence against the person, 37,000 for sexual offences, 34,000 for robbery and 93,000 for burglary.” the report notes.
The report suggests that the threat from terrorism is hugely over exaggerated and that draconian terrorism related laws should be reassessed.
“Terrorists are first and foremost criminals. Where possible and as a general rule, they should be prosecuted under the ordinary criminal law, to underline the fact that no special laws are necessary for the purpose and to prevent them from glamorising or politicising their offences…” the report states.
“The values of a liberal democracy deserve support from laws against terrorism, but the same values require that those laws be subject to strict scrutiny.” Anderson writes.

Read more -
http://www.prisonplanet.com/report-more-people-killed-by-bees-drowning-in-bath-than-from-terrorism.html

U.S. Army Developing Laser That Shoots Lightning -

Soon, superheroes such as Thor won’t be the only ones who are able to use lightning to destroy their target.

U.S. Army personnel at Picatinny Arsenal are developing a military weapon that is able to shoot lightning bolts down laser beams, destroying any potential target with enough power to fuel a large metropolitan city.

The development of the Laser-Induced Plasma Channel comes as the military places more emphasis on eliminating targets that conduct electricity at a better rate than their environmental surroundings in the air and on the ground, according to the U.S. Army.

“We never got tired of the lightning bolts zapping our simulated (targets),” George Fischer, the lead scientist on the project, told Army.mil.

Though the actual time of the lightning only goes for two-trillionths of a second, the amount of energy generated by the LIPC is jaw-dropping, estimated to be more than enough power to fuel a large city, Fisher said.

“If a laser puts out a pulse with modest energy, but the time is incredibly tiny, the power can be huge,” Fischer said. “During the duration of the laser pulse, it can be putting out more power than a large city needs, but the pulse only lasts for two-trillionths of a second.”

The lightning, which equates to 50 billion watts of optical power, is still in development mode as scientists continue to hammer out details for how to synchronize the LIPC with the high voltage, toughen up the device to survive extreme conditions and make the LIPC sustainable for the long term.

Read more -
http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/06/28/army-developing-laser-that-shoots-lightning/

Coke and Pepsi contain ALCOHOL - Tests reveal more than half of leading colas contain minute traces of alcohol -

Coca-Cola and Pepsi contain minute traces of alcohol, scientific research published in France has revealed.
The revelation will cause concern among those who chose the carbonated soft drink for religious, health or safety reasons.
According to tests carried out by the Paris-based National Institute of Consumption (INC) more than half of leading colas contain the traces of alcohol.

These include the brand leaders Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola, while it is mainly only cheap supermarket versions of the drink which are alcohol-free.
‘60 Million Consumers’, the French magazine, publishes the results of the tests in its latest issue.
They suggest that the alcohol levels are as low as 10mg in every litre, and this works out at around 0.001 per cent alcohol.

But the figures will still be enough to upset the thousands of Muslims who regularly drink Cola because their religion forbids them from drinking alcohol.
Those who are teetotal and drink Coke regularly will also be worried, as will those who choose it as an alternative to alcohol when they are driving.
Of 19 colas tested, the nine which did not contain alcohol were made by brands including Auchan, Cora, Casino, Leader Price and Man U-Cola.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2165422/Coke-Pepsi-contain-tiny-traces-alcohol-reveals-French-research.html

Thursday, 28 June 2012

15 Reasons Why The Obamacare Decision Is A Mind Blowing Disaster For America -

You can almost always count on the Supreme Court to do the wrong thing. In fact, just about every major decision by the U.S. Supreme Court over the last 40 years has been bad for America. Many were hoping that the Supreme Court would strike down Obamacare, but the truth is that we all should have known better than to expect them to get something right. So now America is headed for a complete and total disaster as Obamacare is fully implemented over the next several years. Obamacare is going to absolutely shred the infrastructure of our medical system, it is going to send health insurance premiums soaring, it is going to dramatically expand the size and the scope of government, it is going to fundamentally alter the relationships between doctors and their patients and it is one of the largest tax increases in U.S. history. Not only that, it is also going to add about a trillion dollars to our national debt over the next decade. So no, the Obamacare decision is not good news. Obamacare was one of the worst pieces of legislation in American history, and now we are stuck with it.

It was a 5-4 decision to uphold Obamacare, and the swing vote was Chief Justice John Roberts who was appointed by George W. Bush.

After the vote today, it is hard to have any faith in the U.S. Supreme Court. Many constitutional conservatives kept voting for Republicans in the hope that the direction of the Supreme Court would change, but it hasn't.

Prior to the Obama administration, Republicans controlled the White House for 20 out of 28 years. If Republicans were going to fundamentally change the nature of the Supreme Court, that was their opportunity.

But it didn't happen.

Instead, what we have is a Supreme Court that is dominated by judges that have very little respect for the U.S. Constitution. When I was in law school I got to study the Supreme Court pretty closely and I quickly realized that most of the time they simply do whatever they want to do and they make up whatever reasons they can to justify their decisions.

That sounds really bad, but that is the truth.

And thanks to the Supreme Court, we are stuck with Obamacare - at least for now.

The following are 15 reasons why the Obamacare decision is a mind blowing disaster for America....

#1 According to the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal government has the power to force you to buy private goods and services. Now that this door has been opened, what else will we be forced to buy in the future?

#2 Obamacare is another step away from individual liberty and another step toward a "nanny state" where the government dominates our lives from the cradle to the grave.

#3 The IRS is now going to be given the task of hunting down and penalizing millions of Americans that do not have any health insurance. In fact, the Obama administration has given the IRS 500 million extra dollars "outside the normal appropriations process" to help them enforce the provisions of Obamacare that they are in charge of overseeing.

#4 Obamacare imposes more than 20 new taxes on the American people. You can find a comprehensive list of Obamacare taxes right here. If you love paying higher taxes, then you are going to absolutely love Obamacare once it is fully implemented.

#5 In an attempt to "control costs" and "promote efficiency", Obamacare limits the treatment options that doctors and patients can consider. This is likely to result in a decrease in life expectancy in the United States.

#6 Obamacare is going to impose nightmarish paperwork burdens on doctors, hospitals and the rest of the healthcare system. This is going to significantly increase our healthcare costs as a nation.

#7 Obamacare is going to send health insurance premiums soaring. This is especially true for younger Americans.

#8 Many small businesses are going to be absolutely crushed by the provisions in Obamacare that require them to provide expensive health insurance coverage for their employees. This is going to make them even less competitive with companies in other countries where businesses are not required to provide healthcare for their workers. This is also going to make it even less attractive for businesses to hire new employees.

#9 Obamacare is going to make the emerging doctor shortage in America a lot worse. Surveys have found that we could potentially see hundreds of thousands of doctors leave the medical profession because of Obamacare.

#10 Obamacare has already forced the cancellation of dozens of doctor-owned hospitals.

#11 Obamacare is going to result in a much bigger federal government. In order to fully implement all of the provisions of Obamacare, hordes of new government bureaucrats will be required.

#12 Thanks to Obamacare, you are going to have to wait much longer to see a doctor. Just look at what happened once Romneycare was implemented in Massachusetts....

In fact, we have already seen the start of this process in Massachusetts, where Mitt Romney’s health care reforms were nearly identical to President Obama’s. Romney’s reforms increased the demand for health care but did nothing to expand the supply of physicians. In fact, by cracking down on insurance premiums, Massachusetts pushed insurers to reduce their payments to providers, making it less worthwhile for doctors to expand their practices. As a result, the average wait to get an appointment with a doctor grew from 33 days to over 55 days.

#13 Obamacare contains all kinds of insidious little provisions that most people don't even know about. The following is one example from the Alliance Defense Fund....

"Did you know that with ObamaCare you will have to pay for life-saving drugs, but life-ending drugs are free. One hundred percent free. If this plan were really about health care wouldn't it be the other way around?"

#14 As if the U.S. government was not facing enough of a crisis with entitlement spending, it is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls. You and I will be paying for all of this.

#15 The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Obamacare will add more than a trillion dollars to government spending over the next decade. Considering the fact that the U.S. government is already drowning in debt, how in the world can we afford this?

So what do you think about the Obamacare decision?

Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below....

Read more -
http://www.blacklistednews.com/15_Reasons_Why_The_Obamacare_Decision_Is_A_Mind_Blowing_Disaster_For_America/20275/0/0/0/Y/M.html

13 Reasons Why The Revolution Might Start with Obamacare -

Has any of the Supreme Court Justices read the Constitution lately? I can say five of the justices will have to be held accountable for how they ruled. There is no reason why Obama care should be ruled Constitutional. Many Americans read the Constitution and know with no doubt what is said in simple terms. The Constitution was meant to be understood by the common person. It is not complicated to understand. It does not take a Harvard Law Degree to understand with clarity what the Constitution says about Obamacare. Only lawyers can screw it up with their own twisted thinking and word manipulation to stretch the meaning beyond the intent..Does anyone think the American people will let the US Supreme Court be the final word on a flawed ruling? Let the public backlash begin, the American people by an overwhelming majority will rule Obamacare unconstitutional by non compliance in mass.

I will tell you why Obamacare is unconstitutional, I do not have a law degree, I did not attend collage. I am just a high school graduate. Even a 5 year old child being home schooled can say why the Affordable Heath care act is unconstitutional. Here is why it is unconstitutional applying my knowledge of history, reading the Constitution:

1. The Obamacare individual Mandate is a direct Tax which is unconstitutional under Article 1 section 9:

No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

2. It violates State’s right since the Federal Government does not have the Constitutional Authority to take over Healthcare as stated in the 10th Amendment outlined in the Bill of Rights.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

3. This mandate is involuntary servitude or slavery to the big banks and the insurance industries. The 13 amendment states:
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

4. It benefits certain industries in a crony capitalist or a monopoly system is illegal in the Constitution under Article 1 section 8:

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

5. Justice Kagan is not supposed to hear this case because of conflict of interest. The reason is; she was part of drafting and passing the Affordable Healthcare Act. I would recommend many state Attorney Generals invalidate the ruling from the High Court on the bases Justice Kagan did not recuse herself as the law prescribed.

6. The American people overwhelmingly reject the Government taking over the Healthcare industry.

7. This July 4. We celebrate Independence Day breaking all political ties with the King of England because of taxes and government oppressing the colonist as written in the Declaration of Independence stating:

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

Get ready for IRS agents to come and collect unjust taxes trying to force us to pay for something we do not want.
8. The Individual Mandate is a tax imposed on us, just as the early colonist said in their grievance against the King Stated again in the Declaration of Independence.

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.

We went from no taxation without representation to TAXATION WITHOUT HESITATION 235 years later

Obamacare was rammed down our throats without our consent.

9. Remember the Whiskey and Shays rebellions. The people will resist and revolt than pay for a tax they never consented to nor are not legally bound under the Constitution. The people back in our early history were the final check on government power.

10. the American people will be the final check on government power as stated again in the famous document signed by 56 people on July 4, 1776:

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

11. States can ignore the supreme court ruling under this landmark decision Prinz Mack vs. Brady Bill victory for the 10th Amendment with Justice Scalia giving the majority opinion writing saying the several states “are not subject to federal direction” reinforcing the Federalist papers quote:

” The great innovation of this design was that-our citizens would have two political capacities, one state and one federal, each protected from incursion by the other”

With another Federalist quote:
” Just as the separation and independence of the coordinate branches of the Federal Government serve to prevent the accumulation of excessive power in any one branch, a healthy balance of power between the States and the Federal Government will reduce the risk of tyranny and abuse from either front”

12. States will reject implementing Obamacare for the reason, it cost too much. It will wreck the economies of already on the brink in many states hit hard by the economic depression. It will increase the number of people out of work. Many states will balk,

13. This ruling will also give fuel to people running for state legislators. The people will demand the states to nullify Obamacare with other draconian illegal Federal incursions like the TSA with more intensity.

This ruling might be the spark America needs to find within themselves to take their country back from socialist control freaks. Firearms sales are rising to record levels. The reason is the people see the government as a threat to their safety and security. They do not see the phony enemy of radical Islam as a threat it was years ago. Al Quada is not groping people at the airport and forcing us to pay for health insurance. It is our own government.

This ruling might be a blessing in disguise that could be the best thing to happen for America. This is a good reason more then ever to push back government inside the confines of the Constitution. Are you motivated to take back America? Just face facts, we can no longer sit on the sidelines being a spectator. We no choice but to push back or we will be slaves. I am no slave, are you?

Read more -
http://www.blacklistednews.com/13_Reasons_Why_The_Revolution_Might_Start_with_Obamacare_/20274/0/0/0/Y/M.html

Houston strip clubs hit by new 'pole tax' to fund rape investigations -

The city of Houston is turning to an unusual source to help fund rape investigations: strip clubs.
The City Council of the nation's fourth-largest city passed an ordinance Wednesday that requires strip clubs to pay a $5-per-visitor fee to help pay for the analysis of biological evidence collected from rape victims in hopes of identifying their attackers.
Police in Houston, and in many other parts of the US, lack the money to promptly analyze evidence such as hair particles and blood specimens, gathered by investigators in packets known as rape kits. Houston estimates it has 6,000 rape kits that have yet to be scrutinized by crime laboratories.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/06/28/houston-strip-clubs-hit-by-new-pole-tax-to-fund-rape-investigations/?test=latestnews

The United States Department of Agriculture suggests food stamp parties and games to increase participation -

While spending on the food stamp program has increased 100 percent under President Barack Obama, the government continues to push more Americans to enroll in the welfare program.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has embraced entire promotional campaigns designed to encourage eligible Americans to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps.

A pamphlet currently posted at the USDA website encourages local SNAP offices to throw parties as one way to get potentially eligible seniors to enroll in the program.

“Throw a Great Party. Host social events where people mix and mingle,” the agency advises. “Make it fun by having activities, games, food, and entertainment, and provide information about SNAP. Putting SNAP information in a game format like BINGO, crossword puzzles, or even a ‘true/false’ quiz is fun and helps get your message across in a memorable way.”

Read more -
http://dailycaller.com/2012/06/27/usda-suggests-food-stamp-parties-games-to-increase-participation/#ixzz1z3yLo8Ai

World's first Genetically Modified human babies born -

The world's first geneticallymodified humans have been created, it was revealed last night.
The disclosure that 30 healthy babies were born after a series of experiments in the United States provoked another furious debate about ethics.
So far, two of the babies have been tested and have been found to contain genes from three 'parents'.
Fifteen of the children were born in the past three years as a result of one experimental programme at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science of St Barnabas in New Jersey.
The babies were born to women who had problems conceiving. Extra genes from a female donor were inserted into their eggs before they were fertilised in an attempt to enable them to conceive.
Genetic fingerprint tests on two one-year- old children confirm that they have inherited DNA from three adults --two women and one man.
The fact that the children have inherited the extra genes and incorporated them into their 'germline' means that they will, in turn, be able to pass them on to their own offspring.
Altering the human germline - in effect tinkering with the very make-up of our species - is a technique shunned by the vast majority of the world's scientists.
Geneticists fear that one day this method could be used to create new races of humans with extra, desired characteristics such as strength or high intelligence.
Writing in the journal Human Reproduction, the researchers, led by fertility pioneer Professor Jacques Cohen, say that this 'is the first case of human germline genetic modification resulting in normal healthy children'.
Some experts severely criticised the experiments. Lord Winston, of the Hammersmith Hospital in West London, told the BBC yesterday: 'Regarding the treat-ment of the infertile, there is no evidence that this technique is worth doing . . . I am very surprised that it was even carried out at this stage. It would certainly not be allowed in Britain.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-43767/Worlds-GM-babies-born.html#ixzz1z1zp19fQ

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

Guardsman accidentally impaled by his bayonet - during the Changing of the Guards ceremony on Parliament Hill -

Guardsman accidentally impaled by his bayonet - during the Changing of the Guards ceremony on Parliament Hill -
Frank Ronnels

A member of the Governor General’s Foot Guards was seriously injured during the Changing of the Guards ceremony on Parliament Hill Wednesday morning.

A 20-year-old male suffered a severe stab wound from his rifle-mounted bayonet after falling during the parade. Medics from the Canadian Forces immediately provided first aid to the injured man, applying pressure to his wound until paramedics arrived.

In addition to his wound, paramedics treated the man for severe blood loss.

He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he is currently in serious, but stable condition.

“It was terrifying,” said a bystander who witnessed the moment when the man fell, at approximately 10:30 a.m. “You could see a lot of blood covering the bayonet, and all over the ground where he fell.”

Devron Gaber, from Victoria, B.C., also witnessed the incident.

The man was screaming in pain for several minutes, but went silent once the medics began to treat him, said Gaber.

Dozens of tourists remained on the scene, taking photos of the guard while he was wounded on the ground.

The man, who was marching in the last group of guards, had fallen as he was turning by the main gates of Parliament Hill. A few seconds before he fell, another guard had also slipped in the same spot, but managed to recover and continue marching, said Gaber.

Gaber believes both men had slipped on the manhole cover, located in the spot where the guards turn.

“There is a flaw in the ceremony,” said Gaber. “It’s the fact that the guards have to turn on that manhole. With the shoes they wear, several of them were slipping and losing their footing as they turned. It’s dangerous.”

Read more -
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/27/ceremonial-parliament-hill-guardsman-accidentally-impaled-by-his-bayonet/

Majority of Americans, nearly 65 percent, say Obama is better suited than Romney to handle an ALIEN invasion -

Americans may be split on which presidential candidate can fix the economy, but President Barack Obama trounces Mitt Romney in one out-of-this-world scenario — an alien invasion.

The majority of Americans, nearly 65 percent, say Obama is better suited than Romney to handle an alien invasion, according to a new National Geographic Channel poll, USA Today reports.

The survey, conducted to promote “Chasing UFOs,” a TV series premiering Friday, also found that almost eight in 10 people, 79 percent, believe the government has kept information about UFOs a secret from the public. In addition, 55 percent believe agents similar to those played by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in the film “Men in Black” — their mission is to hide information about extraterrestrial beings — actually exist.

Meanwhile, more than a third of Americans, 36 percent, believe UFOs exist.

Read more -
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=40AD0C95-BA8A-4DA9-AD05-57328D0EB5FA

Pedestrian thrown in jail for holding up sign warning drivers about police speed trap -

A woman in Houston, Texas, was arrested and jailed for 12 hours after she held up a make-shift sign to warn drivers about a speed trap.
Natalie Plummer was officially charged with walking in the roadway -- jaywalking, essentially -- though she says the police officers who arrested her were just angry that she had tipped off speeders.
Miss Plummer was riding her bicycle along a road near downtown Houston on Thursday when she spotted police officers pulling drivers over.

She told KTRK that it looked like the officers were targeting cars at random, so she recorded some the activity on her cell phone.
Then, she said, she turned around and wrote 'Speed Trap!!' in large letters on a piece of grocery bag to warn oncoming traffic.
'I was simply warning citizens of a situation ahead,' she told the TV station.

The officers didn't see it that way. Shortly after she took up her post, a squad car pulled up to Miss Plummer and an officer grabbed her backpack off her shoulder and began rifling through it.
Then, he handcuffed her and told her she was under arrested for felony obstruction of justice and that she would spent three to five years in jail, at minimum.

She ended up being charged with misdemeanor 'walking in the road where a sidewalk is present,' through she was in jail 12 hours before she was able to bail out.
Miss Plummer said she wasn't obstructing justice, and she wasn't in the roadway, either -- she was on the sidwalk.
'He couldn't take me to jail for holding up this sign or he would have. So all he could do was make up something fake about it,' she said.
The Houston Police Department wouldn't speak on camera about the arrest, but stood by the officer's report that she was walking in the road and a danger to herself and others.
A KTRK legal analyst says Miss Plummer should not have been arrested.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2165792/Natalie-Plummer-arrested-holding-sign-warning-drivers-police-speed-trap.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

A Texas woman claims a United Airlines maintenance worker dripped superglue into her hair while fixing an overhead bin -

A woman aboard a flight from San Diego to Houston said a United Airlines maintenance worker dripped superglue in her hair.

"When the flight attendant said, 'Hey, you got superglue in her hair,' he totally ignored the comment, wouldn't look at me, wouldn't make any comment and replaced the seat cushion and walked out," said Karen Reed, the passenger.

Reed said the worker needed to fix a portion of the overhead bin above her seat. The glue, she said, dripped everywhere, including in her hair.

She filed several complaints with United and the Department of Transportation because she said the airline did nothing.

A United Airlines representative told Local 2, "We are reaching out to Ms. Reed to apologize and offer compensation as an appreciation of her business."

"I don't know if I'd fly United again," Reed said.

Read More -
http://www.click2houston.com/news/United-Airlines-passenger-says-superglue-dropped-on-hair/-/1735978/15315644/-/2crfs6/-/index.html

Store clerk was fired after she refused to take a customer’s Welfare card to pay for cigarettes -

Jackie R. Whiton of Antrim had been a six-year employee at the Big Apple convenience store in Peterborough until a single transaction sent her job up in smoke.
The store clerk was fired after she refused to take a customer’s Electronic Balance Transfer card to pay for cigarettes.
Whiton said a young man came in to the store to buy two packs or cigarettes on May 29. When she asked him for his ID, he handed her his EBT card.
EBT cards are used for both food and cash assistance programs. There are two types of cards: one can only be used for food. The other can be spent on anything and used just like a debit card.
Whiton said she did not think EBT cards could be used to purchase cigarettes and refused to sell to him. The two “had a little go-around” as the line got longer behind him, said Whiton.
“I made the statement, ‘do you think myself, that lady and that gentlemen should pay for your cigarettes?’ and he responded ‘yes,’ ” Whiton said.
The next day Whiton said the customer’s foster mother came to the store to complain. Whiton received a call later that day from the company’s home office in Maine, telling her it had received a complaint about her and reprimanded her.
“I said I would bow out gracefully and give my notice because I didn’t want to be a part of it. I’m 65 years old, you know?” Whiton said.
Charles E. Wilkins, the general manager of the C.N. Brown Co. that runs the stores, said the EBT cards in the cash phase could be used for any items, including alcohol, tobacco and gambling. Wilkins said the company gave Whiton the option of staying but she said she would not accept the cards anymore.
“She didn’t think it was right and just wasn’t going to sell to people in that program anymore,” Wilkins said.

Read more -
http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/clerk-loses-job-over-stand/article_87627ed5-5d4e-5ff0-a781-f14deb034771.html

New US Disability Regulations Require Businesses to Admit Mini Horses as Guide Animals -

Although the Justice Department has extended the deadline for America’s hotels to comply with regulations regarding handicap access to swimming pools, new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines are already being applied at miniature golf courses, driving ranges, amusement parks, shooting ranges and saunas.

Among the provisions in the "Revised ADA Standards for Accessible Design," which went into effect on March 15, is one requiring businesses to allow miniature horses on their premises as guide animals for the disabled. Another limits the height of slopes on miniature golf holes.

“The new standards, for the first time, include requirements for judicial facilities, detention and correctional facilities, and recreational facilities,” Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez said during a conference in Baltimore on June 7.

“We expect the implementation of these accessibility standards to open up doors for full participation in both the responsibilities, such as jury duty, and the benefits, such as playing at city parks, of civic life for people with disabilities,” he said.

Read more -
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/new-disability-regs-limit-slope-mini-golf-holes-require-businesses-admit-mini-horses

Women's Tennis Association to crack down on grunts -

With Wimbledon in full swing, the Women’s Tennis Association yesterday announced a crackdown on players who shriek, shout and grunt as they hit the ball.
Some super-grunters, such as top-ranked Maria Sharapova can top 100 decibels. A lion’s roar is only 110.
The solution? A hand-held device for umpires to measure sound levels on the court.
The WTA’s players council and representatives of the International Tennis Federation and the four grand-slam events approved the crackdown at a meeting this month in Paris.
“It’s time for us to drive excessive grunting out of the game for future generations,” the WTA’s CEO, Stacey Allaster, told USA Today.
But it won’t apply to the current generation.
After consulting coaches, experts in sports science and top players past and present, including Billie Jean King and Serena and Venus Williams, officials determined it would be unfair to force today’s grunters to change the way they play.
Nor will the new policy affect men — whose ranks have included world-class grunters like Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/06/27/women-tennis-association-announces-crack-down-on-grunting/?test=latestnews

Dessert with breakfast HELPS your diet -

Good news for dieters - having a sweet treat at breakfast can actually help you lose pounds and keep them off for longer.
Scientists followed 200 non-diabetic obese adults who were randomly assigned to eat one of two low-calorie diets.
Although both diets had the same number of daily calories - about 1,600 for men and 1,400 for women - one included a large breakfast with a sweet treat such as a doughnut while the other allowed for a larger meal later in the day.
The researchers from Tel Aviv University said those who consumed the carbohydrate and protein-rich 600 calorie breakfast were more successful at sticking to their diets than those who had the 300 calorie morning meal.
They found that halfway through the eight-month study, participants in both groups lost an average of 33 pounds per person.
However, in the last four months of the study, the small-breakfast group regained an average of 22 pounds while the participants who ate the dessert with breakfast went on to lose another 15 pounds each.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2164976/Dessert-breakfast-HELPS-diet-beating-cravings.html

Google’s Virtual Brain Goes On YouTube And Looks For Cat Videos -

Inside Google's secretive X laboratory, known for inventing self-driving cars and augmented reality glasses, a small group of researchers began working several years ago on a simulation of the human brain.
There Google scientists created one of the largest neural networks for machine learning by connecting 16,000 computer processors, which they turned loose on the internet to learn on its own.
Presented with 10 million digital images found in YouTube videos, what did Google's brain do? What millions of humans do with YouTube: looked for cats.

The neural network taught itself to recognise cats, which is actually no frivolous activity. This week the researchers will present the results of their work at a conference in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The Google scientists and programmers will note that while it is hardly news that the internet is full of cat videos, the simulation nevertheless surprised them. It performed far better than any previous effort by roughly doubling its accuracy in recognising objects in a challenging list of 20,000 distinct items.
The research is representative of a new generation of computer science that is exploiting the falling cost of computing and the availability of huge clusters of computers in giant data centers. It is leading to significant advances in areas as diverse as machine vision and perception, speech recognition and language translation.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/googles-brain-simulator-16000-computers-to-identify-a-cat-20120626-20zmd.html#ixzz1yx7zvNoX

Tuesday, 26 June 2012

Tourist gored and then flung by bison in Yellowstone -

Officials in Yellowstone National Park say a Massachusetts man was gored by a bull bison that threw him 10 feet in the air and then pinned him to the ground.
The man, who is in his mid-50s, suffered a broken collarbone, shoulder blade, several ribs and a groin injury in Saturday's encounter near the Norris campground. He was airlifted to an Idaho Falls, Idaho hospital and is expected to recover. His name was not released.
Park officials say the man was not taunting the animal, but let the bull approach within a few feet of where he was sitting.
Park rules require visitors to stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves and at least 25 yards away from all other animals. If an animal approaches, it is the visitor's responsibility to move a safe distance away.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/26/tourist-gored-flung-by-bison-in-yellowstone-national-park/?test=latestnews

Man Says TSA Spilled Grandpa’s Ashes -

The Transportation Security Administration said they are investigating a report that one of their workers spilled the ashes of an Indiana man’s grandfather at a checkpoint inside the Orlando International Airport.

John Gross, of Indianapolis, said he was carrying home the remains of his grandfather, Mario Mark Marcaletti, a Sicilian immigrant. The remains were in a sealed jar marked “Human Remains.”
Gross said that a TSA agent allegedly opened the urn, sifted through the ashes with her finger and the spilled about a third of the contents.
TSA spokesman David Castelveter told Fox News Radio that to his knowledge Gross has not filed a formal complaint with the agency. The investigation could also be hampered because that particular checkpoint did not have a video camera.
“We have been conducting an internal review and have not been able to draw the same conclusions,” Castelveter said. “The claims that have been made are quite the opposite of some very rigidly enforced procedures that we have in place as it relates to the handling of human remains.”
Gross told TheIndyChannel.com that the remains were tightly sealed in a jar marked “Human Remains.”
During the inspection, he said the worker spilled some of the contents onto the floor.
“She started laughing,” he said. “I was on my hands and knees picking up bone fragments. I couldn’t pick up all, everything that was lost.”
Gross said he wants apologies from the TSA as well as the security worker.

Read more -
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/man-says-tsa-spilled-grandpas-ashes.html