[email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013

news Orford daily This paper is dedicated to protecting our Republic, The U.S. Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and the TRUTH as can best be ascertained. We are also a Voice of the People who believe that Patriots are Heroes, and that the present ENEMIES of our Republic are Big Government Progressives, SOCIALISTS, COMMUNISTS, JIHADISTS, ANARCHISTS and our own elected officials who are members or believers in any of those groups or philosophies; better known as TRAITORS, attempting to destroy our Republic from within.

Republican & Democratic parties are now being mostly controlled by

members of those groups listed as enemies mentioned above !

weekly Published

Port

(Thwill Probably be Published on an Irregular Basis At Least 2-4 Times a Month, depending on the Health, Time & Whims of the Editor, and other Projects) The Printed Copies, #1-69 were available in Port Orford, Langlois, Bandon and a limited basis by eSubscription - Ended 4 Sep 2013. The totally digital version starts with #70, and is available by eMail, and all recent issues are now available online (and past ones soon).

The Port Orford daily news is now officially online and we will be constantly making changes based on readers suggestions and my whims - past issues - historical docs - etc. [we also more than doubled our paper distributions] http://portorforddailynews.com

[email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 We are happy to report Now for a few notes about what has that things are going pretty happened over the last couple of weeks - well since we changed to Our paper has more than doubled in the all digital and stopped the distribution we had with our printed one. physical printing of the PODN. It stopped most of Our paper is also getting much larger the hassles we had with than was possible with our printed one. the vicious radical left (not to mention, easier to read, and with Marxist/Communist igno- better photos, and much easier to pass rant morons that threatened me, Chris- on to your friends and relatives. That tine, all of our advertisers and those that last one is very important as it is the allowed us to distribute our paper in their way we are growing. If you like the stores. work we are doing, then PLEASE pass it on to your friends and relatives. This We had been spending a great deal of may not be possible soon, and if we are money for about a year and a half, but all in the habit, then we will know when we usually came close to breaking even, the government has gone too far and is so that was satisfactory to both me and shutting down communication...and Christine. Even breaking even was cost- maybe we’ll even be prepared enough to ing us for gas, food on the road, and time survive and thrive and get our country but it was worth it too us to be doing this back! Please Prepare for the Worst! service for others. Even the idiot dems who believe that if they don’t like some- Also during the last couple of weeks: thing, then they have the right to prevent - The prez made a bad deal with Iran others from having it, didn’t discourage - The prez honored more radical people us. Since I was a Scoutmaster for over - An idiot jihadist tried to bomb an Airport 25 years, the term ‘be prepared’ was part with explosives bought from the FBI of my living standard. Being in and - The prez bragged about his health care around others that were military was also - The prez made a budget deal that isn’t a help in my mindset. - The gov’t spent more $$ we don’t have I have always believed that as a good citi- - The war on CHRISTmas continues zen, we should be willing and able to help And many more events are reported on ourselves and others when in any kind of in this issue, so enjoy reading this on danger, so I am not helpless if attacked your computer - I hook my laptop to my by some idiot who believes a man with a tv so it is easier to read. -- Editor cane is easy prey. I might mention that I was on two different shooting teams and also a fencing team, so I am familiar with which end the bullet comes out and which end of the sabre to hold. During my lifetime, I have prevented several acts of assault on others that couldn’t defend themselves. I consider that is my duty as well as the duty of all good citizens.

2 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 Do you recall how the unions ple have allowed ourselves to become inden- as a group gave more money tured slaves, and the terms of our servitude is to Obama than anyone else, stretching through the next several generations and he stood up in their meet- of our progeny! ings and said he would always Now for the newest push for the public unions support them? to gain some more money and POWER. It He put them in front of all the investors when seems that 87% of all firefighting units in this GM was going under, even though that violated country are volunteer departments, and thus established federal bankruptcy laws. are not employees, and not falling under the heavy hand of Obamacare, unless it is through He used the first XXXXX that was supposed to other jobs or private insurance, most of which pay for the imaginary ‘Shovel Ready’ jobs to will be driven out of business by the new regu- pay for the public unions retirement funds, lations. which left very little to go for any public benefit except the few ‘pork’ projects for specific con- So the 13% of unionized firefighters are now gressmen that helped to get it past the ignorant getting their way by having new regs passed public, deceived by politicians and their willing that will demand that ALL firefighters, even if cohorts, the press. they aren’t being paid, must be covered under their fire department by Obamacare. Most lo- He backed the unions all the way, even though calities can barely afford the equipment needed the unions and politicians (local, county, state for their fire departments. They will not be able and federal) were more than willing to make to afford tens of thousands of dollars per year deals that increased the unions money and the per person. politicians kickbacks, and increasing the power and wealth of the politicians and the union If the Feds get their way, there will soon be a leaders, and knowing that it would be impossi- lot of old fire trucks on the market. And poor ble for the public to pay for the future payments towns will not be allowed to have unpaid that were being promised, but were still more VOLUNTEER firefighters protecting them. than willing to leave it up to innocent taxpayers Just like many localities, under federal pressure in the future to suffer their disastrous decisions. have made it illegal to grow your own food or to The unions in turn helped Obama to pass the give food to the poor. Democratic Socialism is bill that the democRats had been trying to do on supposed to be completely controlled by der a slightly lesser scale for years, the takeover of Führer, and not by the citizens! the entire health system - more ~Editor’s Rant about PUBLIC than one seventh of our entire UNIONS! economy. ************** The public unions are gaining in The same prudence which in wealth while the private sector private life would forbid our suffers with decreasing salaries paying our own money for un- and increasing taxes. But those explained projects, forbids it in same public unions didn’t seem the dispensation of the public to care when Obama used his of- moneys. fice to wipe out the entire coal in- ~Thomas Jefferson, letter to dustry, even though they had a very strong union. But that was a Shelton Gilliam, June 19, union in the private sector, and is 1808 [Only a TRAITOR would not the one that is promised all intentionally destroy the economy the taxpayer money for the next of his own country ~Editor] several generations. We, the peo- 3 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 previously snail-mailed on to friends in oth- The PODN PAGE er areas of Oregon and other states across the nation. Now they are spared the expense Since this is a FREE service. I am asking and merely have to hit the ’forward’ button everyone that receives this paper to in their email. Please let us know about “PLEASE send them on to others On Your new areas that are receiving our paper, Own email Lists! And ask the receivers to either from the ones that we are sending or do the same. It is FREE and won’t take too those that have received them from friends. much time. I have been informed of papers being sent to Then please send an email to me and put the following areas by our supporters: Arizona California Canada your own number of how many people Idaho Oregon New York you sent your own copy to. Just put “I New Jersey Texas Utah sent my PODN Copy to XX people.” Washington S. Dakota Nevada New Mexico Arkansas Oklahoma OR, if you prefer, just send us the email ad- Georgia Alabama Tennessee dress of someone you think would enjoy Afghanistan Germany Florida an eSubscription to our paper - I will send Mexico them one, and it will be stated that their I know this is not a complete list, and if you know address was sent by one of our supporters, of others, please let us know along with the number but I will never divulge any names or you personally send from your own email list. email addresses of any of our eSub- I still owe the (very patient) printer for 5 4 issues, but as it went up to 6 after issue #69, we are on our scribers without their expressed per- way down. Donations are always welcome, but mission. never necessary. ~Editor I will announce on this page our success or failure, so that we will all know what is the probability of it continuing. Our best estimate, based upon a sample of many of our readers, is that we are now reach- ing more than double our previous readership when we were printed on paper. This is only possible because many of our readers are helping us by ‘forwarding’ each issue to many of their friends - two of them are send- ing it to over 100 other vets! (And most are sending it on to at least 15-25.) Classified ads We are now putting our paper in front For now, our classified and graphic ads are of more readers than we ever accom- being priced at an extremely reasonable plished with the paper edition! Thanks cost to encourage a small but steady pay- Everyone For Your Help In Forward- down to our previous printer bill. The ing It To Others. Although the majority of Cost is whatever you think it’s worth, these are going to the same areas we had been or choose to donate. Personals/Sales/ serving with the printed paper (Port Orford, Rentals or ? Just keep it LEGAL. Langlois and Bandon); and many of those that were delivered in that limited area were being The Editor has the right to REFUSE or MODIFY or Delay any Ad Submitted 4 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 Christine’s Column destruction of the Jews. They are racist and 12/6/13: Many of the love hurting people and animals. They have differences between been brainwashed in the schools with Marx- Conservatives and ism, socialism, communism, progressivism, Liberals: and now Common Core and C-Scope. Conservatives study You can have an intelligent conversation all news media – they with Conservatives. If you try to have an will spend many intelligent conversation with a liberal, they hours studying what the President and his will start yelling and have no understanding Administration is saying and doing, they of what they’re yelling about. have good memories and can recall what's Conservatives understand what the Dictator been said on the TV when Obama gave his Obama and his Administration have planned teleprompter speeches from years back. for the future; they know all about FEMA Liberals are not able to do anything but part- camps, Civil unrest and Martial Law. This ly watch the news, if ever - not able to re- administration has set up the government to member anything afterward as they have take away our Constitutional rights making a very short memory's, and can't remember new constitution very much like Russia's. anything their President has said, except for You can forget any freedoms or rights. slogans. Liberals believe in their Progressive Unions Conservatives know how bad Agenda 21, and have no idea it is communist and they ICLEI, taxes, big government, Marxists, will end work in this country if they’re al- Communists, Socialists, and the Muslim lowed to keep doing their foolish thuggish Brotherhood are and how they will destroy practices. If you want to be around good our Country. Christians, knowledgeable people who really Liberals have no idea what’s going on and know what's going on in our newly Marxist are ready to shoot themselves in the foot be- country, then make friends with Conservative cause they want free stuff and will believe people. Listen to them. Don't start freaking any lie the dictator tells them. out and yelling; there's so much you need to learn, and you can’t hear while you’re yell- Conservatives believe in the Constitution, the ing. ~Reverend Christine. Bill of Rights, the Republic that our found- ing fathers set up for our individual freedom. Liberals want to take away all individual freedoms, not understanding what living in a Communist country would be like. I think they need a one way trip to North Korea. Conservatives understand how priceless indi- vidual freedom is and how hard it is to keep. Liberals are violent - shootings at places of businesses, school shootings, etc. It was Liberals that have threatened my life and at- tempted to kill me. Whereas Conservatives have always treated me very well. Liberals yell and scream with so much ha- tred. They want to end the Christian faith, beliefs, and traditions, along with the

5 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 This is a letter to the Editor (It has been printed which is now acting in a manner that is uncon- in many papers, and passed around the internet stitutional. and many think it is a fake, but I have talked to The people of New York City have every right him in person and gotten his permission to print to own a rifle, shot gun and any magazines that it with his personal information - he is also now hold 30 rounds. This is allowed by the 2nd one of our readers and will pass it on to others Amendment. I have already informed the Gov- on his email list ~ Editor) ernor of New York State we will not comply 2 December 07:20 - Open letter from with this illegal and unconstitutional SAFE Act. Senior Chief Ross US Navy (ret) to The SAFE act only emboldens criminals and Homeland Security and the US Secret drug dealers and creates a black market for 30 Service Agents. round magazines and disarms law abiding citi- zens. We will not comply. Dear boys and girls at the US Secret Service and Homeland Security, I hope you are all well and Dear Secret Service and Homeland Security. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My name is Sen- want you to stand down and discontinue the ior Chief Petty Officer Geoff Ross, US Navy re- protection of the illegal immigrant president tired. I spent 30 years in the US Navy defending Barack Hussein Obama. He has no constitution- and protecting this Republic from all enemies al authority for protection from you due to his foreign and domestic. The oath I swore has not constant evisceration of the US constitution, his been rescinded since I retired. In fact it has been illegal status in the country and his relationship reinforced. with illegal immigrants infesting this nation. We must also include his treasonous association The US constitution is a God given right to the with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas American people. The current president of the and his arming of Al Qaeda forces in Syria. United States is using you as a future army against we, the American people and I am giving I want you to walk away and resign your posts you an opportunity to reject his Communist tyr- in the White House, Camp David and Air Force anny and stand with us on the side of goodness, 1 and Marine 2. I ask this of you because you liberty and freedom. have a duty to uphold your oath of office to protect the Constitution from all enemies for- Do you not agree that the current occupant of the eign and domestic. We have both in the White White House is living in this country under a House which is the peoples house. fake Social Security number registered in Con- We do not have a Congress with any leadership necticut? Do you not agree his birth certificate is and Speaker of the House, Mr. John Boehner, fake? It does not matter if Barack Hussein has failed in his duties to initiate impeachment Obama was born in Kenya, Hawaii or even at actions against Mr. Obama. He is a failure and the foot of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. The should be removed as soon as possible from his fact that his father was a Kenyan/Marxist/ post for dereliction of duty. Muslim disqualifies him from holding the office of president. President Barack Obama violated the Constitu- tion when he bypassed the Senate last year to I ask all you agents in Homeland Security, the appoint three members of the National Labor US Secret Service and other alphabet agencies to Relations Board, a federal appeals court ruled stand down and refuse to initiate any actions Friday. As such, the president was in violation against we the people. This includes the confis- of Section 5 of Article 1 of the Constitution that cation of weapons such as in New York City stipulates that a president cannot make appoint- ments without the consent of the Senate.

6 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 Nobel Peace Prize winner President Barack Obama’s military attacks against Libya consti- tuted acts of war. On March 27, 2011, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated that Libya never posed an “actual or imminent threat to the Unit- ed States.” He further stated that Libya has never constituted a “vital interest” to the United States. Obama had no constitutional authority to attack Libya, a sovereign nation. This is an impeacha- ble offence. President Barack Obama, in flagrant violation of his constitutional oath to execute his office as President of the United States and preserve and That would only be an awkward moment protect the United States Constitution, has if the realization was that his supporters usurped the exclusive authority of Congress to would no longer support him, but that authorize the initiation of war, in that on March 19, 2011 President Obama initiated an offensive just ain’t so, ...is it? military attack against the Republic of Libya *********** without congressional authorization. Kenyan Socialist State Health System’s Public Ambulance In so doing, President Obama has arrested the rule of law, and saluted a vandalizing of the Constitution that will occasion ruination of the Republic, the crippling of individual liberty, and a Leviathan government unless the President is impeached by the House of Representatives and removed from office by the Senate to face charg- es for his crimes against Americans. To Homeland Security and the US Secret Ser- vice. The usurper in the White House has more than enough money to pay for private security. I request that the tax payer be relieved of this bur- Conservative Blogger Loses Health Insurance den and that Mr. Obama protect himself at his Amid Terrifying Medical Issues - 13 Dec 2013 own expense. by Erica Ritz If you would like to discuss this feel free to call Well-known conservative blogger Jim Hoft at me at 850-313-1893. I also request that if your Gateway Pundit suffered terrifying health is- are ordered to fire upon American citizens that sues roughly three months ago. instead you arrest and or fire upon those who “I became very sick with what I thought was a give you that order. We the people are now go- cold,” he wrote in a candid post earlier this ing to prepare to defend ourselves from what ev- week. “After a few days I lost vision in my left er unconstitutional assault Mr. Obama may initi- eye and I checked into the hospital. I soon ate upon us. All I ask is that you pick the right found out that what I thought was a summer side if this event happens. God Bless America. cold was actually Strep bacteria poisoning my Sincerely, Senior Chief Geoff Ross, US Navy blood stream. The bacteria blinded my left eye, Retired, Surface Warfare/Air Warfare, ate a hole through my heart, caused five strokes Navarre FL ******** on both sides of my brain and forced the re- moval of my prosthetic left knee.” 7 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 Hoft appeared on the Glenn Beck Program Friday with guest host Dana Loesch, explain- ing how he has now become one of the mil- lions (so far) to lose their health insurance in the aftermath of the Affordable Care Act. “I get this notification that I’m going to lose my insurance,” he said. “This insurance that I bought, that I purchased, and I was paying a good premium, (and) covered most every- thing.”

condition doesn’t “get kicked off” their health in- surance mid-treatment, but his health complications are not short-term. “It’s just, again, something I really didn’t want to suffer through at this time,” he said. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft speaks with Dana Sebelius listens as she Loesch on the Glenn Beck Program Dec. 13, testifies on Capitol Hill 2013. (Photo: TheBlaze TV) in Washington, Wednes- Hoft, who is still in a wheelchair, said he has day, Dec. 11, 2013, be- a number of “major surgeries” in the near fu- fore the House Energy ture and was “very pleased” with his insur- and Commerce Commit- ance of choice. tee hearing on the imple- “So to get this news on top of my recovery, mentation failures of the on top of trying to make a living, has been Affordable Care Act. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) obviously a very difficult thing to take on at Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft added that the Afforda- this time,” he said, the emotion clear in his ble Care Act was “based on lies,” and said he is one voice. of the millions of Americans who is asking, “why Hoft has written about Health and Human is our government doing this to us?” Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ asser- Hoft has scheduled a “wheel-in rally” outside Mis- tion that people who have lost their insurance souri Senator Claire McCaskill’s (D) St. Louis of- are “thrilled” with the options they have fice on Saturday from 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. in available to them, and on Friday he repeated an effort to find out. his message that she can “go to hell” because He stresses that while the focus of the Affordable that is “absolutely not true.” Care Act’s implementation has been the failed web- “I don’t have the options I had,” Hoft told site, the website is not the issue — it is the law it- Loesch. “I pray to God that I get the same self. doctors, who saved my life three months ago. “I can’t believe that so many people still today are I pray that I’ll be able to see them.” just taking this and sitting at home,” he concluded, Thankfully, Hoft said, there are already “laws saying he hopes a few people join him on Saturday. on the books” ensuring that someone in his *************** 8 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 “And on this anniversary of a day we will nev- er forget, that’s the example we should contin- ue to follow. Because we haven’t yet done enough to make our communities and our country safer,” he added. “We have to do more to keep dangerous people from getting their Largest Selection of Ammo in Southern Oregon hands on a gun so easily. We have to do more to heal troubled minds.” “We have to do everything we can to protect our children from harm and make them feel Wasn’t enough when all loved, and valued, and cared for,” Obama con- the mass media used the tinued. Newtown school shoot- ing for political purpos- The president, who will participate in a mo- es - now the prez is do- ment of silence Saturday to honor of the vic- ing it to try to draw at- tims of Sandy Hook, concluded his address by tention away from his asking Americans to continue pushing for failing Obamacare, and change. maybe he can use it to again pass more legis- “As a nation, we can’t stop every act of vio- lation and regulations which will not affect lence. We can’t heal every troubled mind,” he crime one iota, nor will it do anything to re- said. “But if we want to live in a country where duce the shootings in our schools - Gun Free we can go to work, send our kids to school, and Zones mean Safe Haven to Criminals!!! walk our streets free from fear, we have to keep ______trying.” ‘We Have to Do More’: Obama Marks One ************* Year Anniversary of Newtown Massacre to Suggest More Gun Control - 14 Dec 2013 by Oliver Darcy - President Barack Obama marked the one year anniversary of the New- town massacre that claimed the lives of 20 young children and six school workers to sug- gest the implementation of more gun control Saturday. The president, who said “our hearts were bro- ken for the families that lost a piece of their heart,” used his weekly Saturday address to call for change. “[B]eneath the sadness, we also felt a sense of resolve – that these tragedies must end, and Revisited In Riverside County, Kalifornia that to end them, we must change,” Obama Police Pose As 11th Graders, Then Arrest 22 said. Calif. Students During Drug Sting “We have to do more to keep dangerous peo- 14 Dec 2013 by Oliver Darcy ple from getting their hands on a gun so easi- Undercover police officers posing as 11th ly.” grade students arrested 22 students for “narcotic related arrest warrants” at two Calif. Share: high schools Thursday, authorities announced. 9 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013

FCS Protection Services LLC Forest Simpson were a result of a male and female police of- ficer posing as 11th graders during a semester- Firearms & Ammunition long investigation. 600 11th St SE, Student Anthony Rodriguez, 16, said officers were only on campus for a short period of Bandon OR, 97411 time as they executed the arrests. “They knew who they were looking for and (541) 404-1217 exactly how to get there,” he told The Press- Enterprise. Oregon & Utah Another student, Trevor Steinrichter, 16, said he saw his friend get arrested by authorities. Concealed Carry Classes “Scary. I saw my friend get arrested,” he told “The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s The Press-Enterprise. Special Investigations Bureau (SIB) complet- According to the Press-Enterprise, authorities ed a long-term investigation into reports that in the area have previously executed similar juvenile students were selling illicit drugs on sting operations. (H/T: The Huffington Post) the campuses of Perris High School, located in ************* the city of Perris, and Paloma Valley High 18-year-old arrested for beating, raping el- School, located in the city of Menifee,” the derly nun outside church - 14 Dec 2013 by police department said in a statement. Victoria Taylor of New York Daily News “During the course of this investigation, depu- Andrew Bullock, of Aliquippa, Pa., has been ties seized various illegal narcotics; including accused of attacking a 70-year-old nun in the marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, metham- parking lot of St. Titus Church on the morning phetamine, hashish, and various types of pre- of Friday the 13th. scription pills,” the statement added. “…deputies seized various illegal narcotics; including marijuana, cocaine, crack co- caine…” Investigators said they also identified Serina Ramirez, 18, and Erick De La Cruz, 19, as “two adults students between the two schools that were involved in the illegal drug sales.” Serina Ramirez, 18, and Erick De Andrew Bullock covers his face as he leaves La Cruz, 19, are his arraignment Friday night. accused of selling drugs. (Image A Pennsylvania teen was arrested Friday after source: Riverside he allegedly attacked and raped a 70-year-old County Sheriff’s De- nun in a church parking lot, authorities said. partment) Andrew Bullock, 18, admitted to assaulting Those two were taken to the Southwest Deten- the elderly victim, police told the Pittsburgh tion Center, while others were processed at an- Post-Gazette. He was arraigned Friday night other station before being booked. According to The Huffington Post, the arrests 10 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013

Collectibles Credit* Cards OK Buy Buy Sell* * Trade Used* & The nun's injuries left her unable to speak PERSONAL TREASURES when police arrived, so she wrote on a piece of paper that she had been assaulted, the Post- THRIFT STORE Gazette reported. 541-329-0472 The victim, who is a member of the Sisters of Raleigh 541-260-0940 St. Joseph of Baden, suffered a broken jaw and was treated at Allegheny General Hospital, ac- Robert 541-217-9858 cording to KDKA. She is reportedly in stable 1 mi S of Bandon condition. Investigators said they were able to match the (across Hwy & 100yds S of Billy soles of Bullock's shoes with a footprint found

Smoothboars Steak House) in the snow at the scene of the attack. and faces at least 10 charges including felony rape, aggravated assault and sexual assault. (Aliquippa Police) Andrew Bullock was ar- rested after investigators matched his boots to foot- prints found in the snow by the scene. The nun was walking in the parking lot of St. Titus Church in Aliquippa, Pa., around 11:30 a.m. on Friday morning when a man came up to her from behind. He asked her if she needed help The Prez Promised: before exposing himself and then grabbing her 1) If you liked Your Plan, You can keep it. neck and choking her on the ground. 2) If you liked Your Doctor, You can keep him. Police said the attacker also punched and sex- 3) If you liked Your Drugs, You can keep them. ually assaulted her. BUT: (1) The prez has already weazled out of that by saying that the plans had to be qualified to be good under the new regulations. Then, by exec- utive order, there were new regulations that were required to be put into each insurance pro- vider’s contract, which made it different from your previous plan which is no longer qualified - and even if it was, the new regs will make it so difficult that those that aren’t willing to give the dems their ‘juice’ will be driven out of business anyway! A 70-year-old nun is recovering after she was (2) The majority of doctors are leaving the sys- physically and sexually assaulted in a church tem - some are retiring early, and the good ones parking lot. 11 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 with ethics are leaving the country so they M. A. Scott Bits of Wisdom: can do their job without asking for a govern- ment stooge to give them permission with Here’s a Wise Saying each stroke of the scalpel - “which will lead to many useless deaths on the operating ta- From Thomas Jefferson ble” (quoted from a noted brain surgeon), so if you had one of the better doctors (above a “We must not ‘C’ in med school) then it is very likely that your doctor will be unavailable to you unless you can pay for travel outside of the country let our rulers and for whatever they are charging in his new situation (probably much less than here, but it load us with is unlikely that Obamacare will allow your insurance plan to pay for care outside of the perpetual debt.” country).

(3) See the next article taken from Forbes:

Pharma & Healthcare-12/09/2013 by Scott Gottlieb No, You Can’t Keep Your Drugs Either! patients will face. The second issue may be The President famously promised that you even more significant. could keep your health plan and doctor. For Simply put, many drugs may not be covered at many people, both of those pledges are turn- all, and the costs patients incur by buying them ing out to be false. And now, you might not with cash won’t count against out of pocket be able to keep your medicine, either. caps. This has repercussions for drug makers There are two reasons why. The first has to with big portfolios of specialty and primary do with the higher out of pocket costs that care drugs (more on that later). But most of all, it has implications for patients. Drugs on your health plan’s formulary will typically have fixed co-pays. These costs usu- ally count toward your deductible and the out of pocket and lifetime limits on the total amount of money that your health plan can ask you to spend. As the Wall Street Journal recently reported, these co-pays can already be substantial, push- Signs Banners Logo Design Forms ing people quickly to their annual out-of- Vehicle Lettering Screen-printing pocket limits — $6,350 for individuals and Business Cards Rack Cards Labels $12,700 for families (after which insurers pay the full tab). Purchase 1000 business cards People whose annual income is at or below and get 250 free 250% of the Federal Poverty Level will qualify for cost-sharing reductions. (That comes out to 165 Alabama Ave., Old Town Bandon families of four earning less than about $60,000, or individuals earning less than 541.329.0495 $30,000). But people qualify for these cost- sharing subsidies only if they enroll in a higher 12 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013

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Forest Simpson - (541) 404 - 1217 costing, “silver” Obamacare plan. [And The out of pocket caps on consumer spending that’s now, in the beginning – it will change only apply to costs incurred on drugs that are later in ways that will cost you much more included on a plan’s drug formulary. This is the with fewer benefits and larger co-pays! Just list of medicines that the health plans have look at the other countries that they were agreed to provide some coverage for. bragging about and how they are giving less care every year! ~Editor] If the drug isn’t on this formulary list, then the patient could be responsible for its full cost Take, for example, the drug Copaxone for (with little or no co-insurance to help offset that multiple sclerosis. If you buy the highest cost cost). Moreover, the money they spend won’t platinum plan, the out of pocket costs drop to count against their deductibles or out of pocket $792 a month. But you’re probably better off limits ($12,700 for a family, $6,350 for an indi- with the cheaper bronze plan anyway. vidual). Since you’re going to hit your out of pocket These are the ways that Obamacare cheapens cap regardless of your plan, you might as the health coverage in order to pay for all of its well save money on the premium (which expensive mandates. Obamacare is a throwback doesn’t count against your deductible or out to the old HMO model of the 1990s, which of pocket limits) and race to the $12,700 promised a broad package of coverage for pri- spending cap as quickly as your family can. mary care benefits like vaccines, and routine After all, the provider networks (and formu- doctor visits. But to pay for these benefits, the laries) used by low cost “bronze” and high Obamacare plans skimp on other things – prin- cost “platinum” plans are often the same. The cipally the number of doctors you’ll have ac- only thing that varies between different cess to, and also, the number of costlier brand- “metal” plans is typically the co-pay struc- ed drugs that make it onto formularies. ture. Why pay higher premiums just to lower Many Americans rejected these restrictive your co-pays when you’re going to hit the out HMO model plans in the 1990s, in favor of of pocket caps anyway. PPO-style plans that had higher cost sharing for By purchasing a costlier, gold or platinum routine health services, but offered broader ac- plan, you typically can’t “buy up” to a high- cess to doctors and have bigger drug formular- er benefit. What you’re really doing is just ies. What Obamacare says, in effect, is that prepaying the cost sharing. But consider the Americans made the wrong choice when they even bigger problem lurking inside the law. rejected those HMO plans in favor of PPOs. 13 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 The President thinks the more comprehensive, They could choose from: 1) One of the three but restrictive HMOs were the better choice after largest small group plans in the state by enroll- all. ment; 2) one of the three largest state employee health plans by enrollment; 3) one of the three In response to the drug formulary issues, and the largest federal employee health plan options by potential for important drugs to remain com- enrollment; or 4) the largest HMO plan offered pletely uncovered, staff at the Centers for Medi- care and Medicaid Services is arguing that pa- in the state’s commercial market by enrollment. tients will have the option to appeal formulary Because there’s a wide variation in the breadth decisions — to try and compel a health plan to of the drug formularies maintained by these cover a given drug. four options, there is also wide variation in the But this appeals process can take months. And Obamcare plans. there is no sure chance of winning. The formulary you’ll get depends most of all on which state you live in (and which benchmark If a drug costs tens of thousands of dollars a year, how many patients will be able to foot that was chosen by the state regulators). bill out of pocket until they win an appeal. Or It also appears that the final regulation on all take the chance that they could lose the appeal, this, issued by the Department of Health and and be stuck with the full cost of the drug? Human Services, gave states some latitude to nix drugs that might otherwise be listed on the The biggest problem in all of this is that con- benchmark formularies they selected. That reg- sumers will have a very hard time figuring out ulatory wiggle room seems to undermine the where they stand. In many cases, the health plans being offered in the Obamacare exchanges whole idea of having a benchmark plan. don’t make information about their drug formu- So can you find a good drug plan in Obamac- laries readily available. In some cases, it doesn’t are? seem to be published anywhere. It’s difficult. The government was supposed to mandate that Generally speaking, the benchmark plans that plans made this information easily accessible. are part of the Federal Employees Health Bene- But that never happened. fits Program have the best drug formularies, In fact, state and federal regulators must have some of the large HMOs, the worst. In many approved the health plans without reviewing fi- cases, states benchmarked their Obamacare nal drug formularies. Many plans are also not plans to state employee health programs, which publishing information about their networks of usually fall in the middle. doctors, or when they do; the information is un- But there is a lot of variability. reliable (listing, for example, doctors who argue that they aren’t part of the plans). For example, when it comes to costly, molecu- larly targeted cancer drugs, some benchmark There are some things we know about these for- plans cover 11 drugs, but other plans cover as mularies. few as seven. I found one plan in North Caroli- Under the law, the Obamacare plans bench- na that doesn’t cover Actonel for osteoporosis, marked their drug formularies off of one of the Aubagio for multiple sclerosis, or Xeljanz for health plans already operating in each state. severe rheumatoid arthritis, among other “non In selecting this benchmark, they would have to formulary” drugs. select from one of four options: In California, a state that Obamacare’s archi- tects are holding up as the model of success, some of the major exchange players—including 14 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 Anthem, Blue Shield of California and Health Net —have posted their exchange formularies on their websites. Unfortunately, they’re not easy to find — and incomplete. As another excellent analysis finds, a lack of standardization and on-line tools makes it hard for consumers to compare between plans. Some of the published lists do not show all of the covered drugs. For instance in California, Blue Shield’s document states that only the most commonly prescribed drugs are shown in its published formulary. Anthem’s published list is also not comprehensive. Some analysts have tried to look across the plans, but comparisons are as hard for experts to make as they are for consumers. One study by Avalere Health of 22 carriers in six states looked at the benchmark plans that the Obamacare plans would be tied to. It found that the numbers of drugs listed as available on for- class. But these firms may have been focused mularies ranged from about 480 to nearly 1,110. on the wrong proviso. Even if your drug makes it onto the Obamcare Many formularies are shaping up to be very re- plan’s formulary, getting access to a medicine strictive even while meeting that minimum can still be a costly affair for patients. standard. The biggest challenge will be in get- In the same study, researchers found that 90% of ting new drugs onto existing formularies. The the lowest-cost bronze plans require patients to process is likely to be long, slow, and austere. pay 40% (on average) for drugs in tiers 3 and 4, Health plans are cheapening their drug formu- compared with 29% co-pays in current commer- laries – just like they cheapened their networks cial plans. Most of the Obamacare silver plans of doctors. That’s how their paying for the ben- also require patients to pay 40% for the highest- efits that President Obama promised, every- tier drugs. thing from free contraception to a leveling of Drug makers with big portfolios of specialty and premiums between older (and typically costlier) primary care drugs, for their part, will have to beneficiaries, and younger consumers. fight on a state-by-state level to make sure that But the need to fund these promises will put the benchmark formularies that state regulators drug formularies in play for the long run. New adopt allow open access to their medicines. medicines will remain off formularies, or make There’s word that companies like Pfizer it on after long delays. Patients will find that [NYSE:PFE] and Merck [NYSE:MRK] have costlier specialty drugs are simply not covered. been beefing up their state operations for just Like a lot other parts of Obamacare, uncertainty this purpose. They are late to the challenge. around drug costs and coverage is becoming Drug makers were focused on a condition that another one of the scheme’s unpleasant surpris- health plans must have more than one drug per es. ************ 15 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 Christine’s Journal From an original supporter, D 12/5/13 - My friend One could only hope!!! and fellow conserva- An airplane was about to crash; there were 5 pas- tive, Ava Peterson, sengers on board, but only 4 parachutes. The 1st passed away 1/28/13. passenger, Holly Madison said, “I have my own A friend called me, reality show and I am the smartest and prettiest mentioning that he woman at Playboy, so Americans don’t want me heard it over the to die.” She took the 1st pack and jumped out of scanner. The next the plane. day Ava's boyfriend The 2nd passenger, John McCain, said, “I’m a called me to tell me of her passing into the spir- Senator, and a decorated war hero from an elite itual world. I talked to him about it, and then Navy unit from the United States of America.” So gave him a warning about her crazy friends he grabbed the 2nd pack and jumped. and kinfolk – relatives descending like locusts onto a field of wheat. The 3rd passenger, Barack HUSSEIN Obama said, “I am the President of the United States and I I don't know why but death brings out the am the smartest ever in the history of our country, worst in people – mostly greed and hate. Her some even call me the ‘Anointed One.’” So he Sister treated her with extreme hatred. One of grabbed the pack next to him and jumped out. her crazy friends called and lied to me to pull me into the mess they were making. I had to The 4th passenger, Billy Graham said to the 5th tell her I don't want anything and I don't want passenger, a 10-year-old girl schoolgirl, “I have any of their BS!! I was hoping she would call lived a full life and served my God the best I me back the next day to ask if she could talk to could. I will sacrifice my life and let you have the me, as I was going to tell her OK but if she lies last parachute.” I would hang up, and of course she would say The little girl said, “That’s okay, Mr. Graham. she doesn't lie and then I would hang up on There’s a parachute left for you. America’s smart- her, but she didn't call me again – too bad, it est President took my schoolbag.” would have been funny. ************ When I first started my church "Metaphysical why women should be afraid when alone Life Church" Ava was one of the first members. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3HlbgYQLE0 We spent a lot of time in meditation. On the Another reason to prepare when alone back of Ava's business cards it said: "We are all http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1cZdvJUf-k travelers. From birth till death we travel be- Hannity has guest that demos weapons for women tween the eternities. May these days be pleas- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpOX7ICsnJk ant for you, profitable for society, helpful for those you meet and a joy to those who know If a liberal lady sees these videos and still wants and love you best." [not needs] to remain unarmed, she just may be Ava was a good friend of mine and I will miss too far gone. her, every Sunday night we would get together How much do you want to bet no smart thug for our HBO shows, we did this for about four wants to break into Sarah Palin's house? years. She would bring me dinner. Ava and I ************ would have a lot of fun, we knew each other for Wild Bill: “Operation Stupid Eagle” about seven years. I found her to be a happy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05b7wDGKrKI childlike soul. May God Bless You My Dear Wild Bill: “Don’t Benghazi Me, Bro!” Friend Ava. ~Reverend Christine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh12x5vfqCc ************* 16 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 From the Milwaukee – It would be months before the young men Wisconsin JOURNAL learned the whole thing was a setup. The SENTINEL – Watchdog guys running Squid's were actually un- Reports - By John dercover ATF agents conducting a sting Diedrich and Raquel Rutledge of the Journal to get guns away from criminals and Sentinel -7 Dec 2013 drugs off the street. ATF uses rogue tac- The tattoos had been sponsored by the tics in storefront U.S. government; advertisements for a stings across nation fake storefront. A Journal Sentinel in- The teens found out as they were arrested vestigation uncovered mistakes and fail- and booked into jail. ures in an undercover sting in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood by the U.S. Bu- Earlier this year when the Milwaukee reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Journal Sentinel exposed a botched ATF Explosives – stolen guns, sensitive docu- sting in Milwaukee — that included ments lost, wrong people charged and a agents hiring a brain-damaged man to burglary of the sting storefront. promote an undercover storefront and then arresting him forhis work — ATF of- Aaron Key wasn't sure he wanted a tattoo ficials told Congress the failed Milwau- on his neck. Especially one of a giant kee operation was an isolated case of in- squid smoking a joint. adequate supervision. But the guys running Squid's Smoke Shop It wasn't. in Portland, Ore., convinced him: It would be a perfect way to promote their store. The Journal Sentinel reviewed thousands of pages of court records, police reports They would even pay him and a friend and other documents and interviewed $150 apiece if they agreed to turn their dozens of people involved in six ATF op- bodies into walking billboards. erations nationwide that were publicly Key, who is mentally disabled, was praised by the ATF in recent years for swayed. nabbing violent criminals and making cit- ies safer. He and his friend, Marquis Glover, liked Squid's. It was their hangout. The 19-year- Agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, olds spent many afternoons there playing Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives em- Xbox and chatting with the owner, ployed rogue tactics similar to those used "Squid," and the store clerks. in Milwaukee in every operation, from Portland, Ore., to Pensacola, Fla. So they took the money and got the ink etched on their necks, tentacles creeping Among the findings: down to their collarbones. 17 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 ■ ATF agents befriended mentally disa- rewiring electricity — then stuck land- bled people to drum up business and later lords with the repair bills. A property arrested them in at least four cities in addi- owner in Portland said agents removed a tion to Milwaukee. In Wichita, Kan., ATF parking lot spotlight,damaging her new agents referred to a man with a low IQ as $30,000 roof and causing leaks, before "slow-headed" before deciding to secretly they shut down the operation and disap- use him as a key cog in their sting. And peared without a way for her to contact agents in Albuquerque, N.M., gave a brain them. -damaged drug addict with little ■ Agents pressed suspects for specific knowledge of weapons a "tutorial" on ma- firearms that could fetch tougher penal- chine guns, hoping he could find them ties in court. They allowed felons to walk one. out of the stores armed with guns. In ■ Agents in several cities opened under- Wichita, agents suggested a felon take a cover gun- and drug-buying operations in shotgun, saw it off and bring it back — safe zones near churches and schools, al- and provided instructions on how to do it. lowed juveniles to come in and play video The sawed-off gun allowed them to games and teens to smoke marijuana, and charge the man with a more serious provided alcohol to underage youths. In crime. Portland, attorneys for three teens who ■ In Pensacola, the ATF hired a felon to were charged said a female agent dressed run its pawnshop. The move widened the provocatively, flirted with the boys and pool of potential targets, boosting arrest encouraged them to bring drugs and weap- numbers.Even those trying to sell guns ons to the store to sell. legally could be charged if they knowing- ■ As they did in Milwaukee, agents in oth- ly sold to a felon. The ATF's pawnshop er cities offered sky-high prices for guns, partner was later convicted of pointing a leading suspects to buy firearms at stores loaded gun at someone outside a bar. In- and turn around and sell them to under- stead of a stiff sentence typically handed cover agents for a quick profit. In other down to repeat offenders in federal court, stings, agents ran fake pawnshops and he got six months in jail — and a pat on readily bought stolen items, such as elec- the back from the prosecutor. tronics and bikes — no questions asked — "To say this is just a few people, a few spurring burglaries and theft. In Atlanta, bad apples, I don't buy it," said David agents bought guns that had been stolen Harris, a professor at the University of just hours earlier, several ripped off from Pittsburgh School of Law and an expert police cars. on law enforcement tactics and regula- ■ Agents damaged buildings they rented tion. "If your agency is in good shape for their operations, tearing out walls and with policy, training, supervision and ac-

18 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 countability, the bad apples will not be The agency won't say how many under- able to take things to this level." cover storefronts it operates every year or The ATF refused the Journal Sentinel's re- disclose their locations. Agency officials quest for an interview with Director B. don't publicize all of the busts. Court rec- Todd Jones or other agency officials to ad- ords in many districts are sealed by judg- dress findings of the investigation. In- es or otherwise unavailable to the public. stead, the agency provided a written state- If an operation is flawed, as in Milwau- ment that failed to answer any questions, kee, there may be no publicity at all. and spokeswoman Ginger Colbrun sug- Concerns about planning and oversight of gested reporters read ATF news releases undercover operations date to at least the issued after the stings. late 1990s when the ATF was part of the In an email, Colbrun wrote that the ATF Treasury Department. Discussions were — the primary agency entrusted with en- held by top officials not only from Treas- forcing the nation's gun laws — uses ury but from the Department of Justice storefront stings to target violent crimi- and others in hopes of bringing ATF in- nals. vestigations in line with other federal agency standards. "Long-term undercover investigations are one of many tools used by ATF in loca- "It was a source of frustration for every- tions that have high levels of violence oc- body," said Rory Little, a former longtime curring in the demographics and a mecha- federal prosecutor who participated in the nism is needed to rid the area of a large meetings. volume of individuals (as) opposed to a Nearly 20 years later, many of the same handful of individuals," she wrote. problems exist. It's impossible to know the scope of the Butbecause much of the agency's work is problems within the $1.2 billion agency. done secretly, the public hasn't known. Problems with storefront stings surfaced publicly earlier this year when the Journal Sentinel followed up on a tip from a Mil- waukee landlord that the ATF had dam- aged his building and left behind sensi- tive documents revealing details about undercover agents and their operation. The newspaper's investigation found the operation, dubbed Fearless Distributing, was marred by far more than the landlord knew. A machine gun and other weapons

19 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 had been stolen from an agent's car, the "Unfortunately, when it comes to report- storefront was burglarized, agents arrested ing to Congress for budget reasons, the the wrong people and hired the brain- numbers are all that count," the agent damaged man, who had an IQ of 54, to set said. "It is hard to define in a meaningful up gun and drug deals. way to Congress that arresting one person The machine gun has not been recovered. with a long criminal history of 15 felo- nies is better than arresting 15 people Members of Congress from both parties with one felony each." demanded answers, sparking an internal investigation by the ATF and a review by The way it works the Department of Justice's Office of the The storefronts generally sell items such Inspector General. Eight months later, the as hip-hop clothing and shoes, cigarettes ATF has not released its findings and the and drug paraphernalia. Justice Department investigation is not ATF agents offer their goods at steep dis- complete. counts, hoping to generate traffic. Ciga- In a briefing with congressional staffers, rettes might sell for $2 below retail. Hun- ATF officials acknowledged the failures in dred-dollar jeans might go for $10. Milwaukee but indicated they were isolat- When it comes to pawnshops, agents ed incidents. At the same time, agency of- might buy just about anything, paying top ficials admitted they had no written proce- dollar, and welcome stolen items. dures, policies or guidelines for running such undercover operations. They prom- No matter the type of store, they wire the ised to create a written policy. places with high-resolution cameras and build secret closets with recording equip- For years, agents have been setting up ment. everything from phony pawnshops and tattoo parlors to recording studios and Growing scraggly beards and speaking thrift stores with no official protocol. street lingo, agents work to build trust among potential targets, spreading the It's no surprise that, with few rules and lit- word they are looking to buy guns and tle oversight, stings have gone astray, said drugs. They print up fliers and pump a veteran ATF agent who asked that his neighbors for leads. name not be published because he was not authorized to speak on the issue and feared And then they make deals, dishing out retribution. cash for pistols and shotguns, heroin and ecstasy, sometimes repeatedly from the Many of the problems stem from poor same "customers." management in the field divisions coupled with pressure on agents to make cases and After several months, sometimes a year, prove their worth, he said. they shut down and bust those who came

20 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 in and conducted illegal business. They was later busted in a storefront sting for tally up the weapons seized and tout the being a felon in possession of weapon. number of defendants — the more the bet- But in many cases examined by the Jour- ter — displaying guns and drugs before nal Sentinel, the people charged in the local TV cameras and print journalists, stings had minor criminal histories or showcasing their work. nonviolent convictions such as burglary With defendants caught on camera, the or drug possession. cases typically lead to guilty pleas and In several of those cases, defendants still swift convictions. Seldom do the cases go got stiff sentences, but others resulted in to trial. little or no punishment. In Wichita, nearly Instead,theyquickly disappear from public a third of the roughly 50 federal cases attention. charged led to no prison time. Defendants "There is enough crime out there, why do got probation or had their case dismissed, you have to manufacture it?" said Jeff records showed. One was acquitted by a Griffith, a lawyer for a defendant in Wich- jury. ita. "You are really creating crime, which Not the results federal agents typically then you are prosecuting. You wonder trumpet. where the moral high ground is in this." Former prosecutors and other experts say To be sure, the operations have led to hun- the success of storefront stings should be dreds of convictions and long prison sen- measured by the capture of high-level tar- tences for offenders, some with violent gets, not street-level criminals looking to records. make a quick buck. In Albuquerque, for example, a man who "For street crime in the federal system, was twice indicted on first-degree murder we want cases to take us beyond the im- charges, once for killing a man in prison, mediate person into a more significant, dangerous group," said defense attorney Rodney Cubbie, former head of the orga- nized crime unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Milwaukee. "It seems like these cases stop with the particular individual. That is a waste of federal resources." Cubbie called the stings ineffective and lazy law enforcement. He and others said it's unsurprising that stings failed to take down criminal organizations or nab many major offenders. Federal stings work best

21 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 when they are tailored to a specific person ferred to him as "slow-headed," accord- or group, they said. ing to Griffith, Bruner's attorney. "To open a storefront and just have an ad "It was essential to have someone like hoc potluck kind of a hope that maybe Tony or your low-IQ guy in Milwaukee you'll find somebody who might commit for this operation," Griffith said. "These crimes in your presence, that makes no 30-something bearded and tattooed white sense to me," said defense attorney Frank- guys aren't going to knock on doors in the lyn Gimbel, a former assistant U.S. attor- hood and say 'Do you have guns?' They ney who prosecuted Milwaukee mob boss had to get someone to do it for them." Frank Balistrieri. "They got a bunch of ta- Agent Jason Fuller hired Bruner to hand ble scraps, that's what they got, when it out cards in the neighborhood; do odd comes down to it." jobs, such as clean up the parking lot; and Agents ensnare 'slow-headed' man watch out for police. The agents paid him Tony Bruner was looking for a job when in cigarettes, clothing from the store and he noticed a new store opening a few cash — $20 to $50 in commission to find blocks from where he lived with his them electronics and other goods. And grandmother in a lower-income neighbor- they took him to McDonald's when he hood in Wichita just east of Interstate 135. was hungry. With an IQ in the mid-50s — considered Eventually they asked him to find guns. extremely intellectually deficient — Brun- Bruner said he didn't have any but he er hadn't been able to hold down a job. His would try to find some. He ended up bro- 2009 felony burglary conviction didn't kering dozens of gun sales. help. Still he was under pressure from his And then, they arrested him on more than probation agent and grandmother to find 100 counts of being a felon in possession work. of a weapon. Bruner hadn't heard of Bandit Trading, but "I thought I was doing, I was just doing the thrift shop full of hip-hop clothes and my job. I didn't think I was doing any- shoes looked like a good prospect when he thing wrong," Bruner told the judge. walked in. "And they tricked me into believing I was The 20-year-old Bruner was just what un- doing a good job. And they'd tell me I dercover agents running the store were was doing a good job, pat me on the looking for. back, telling me, 'You're doing a good Agents could see Bruner was intellectually job.' We'd hug each other and stuff like disabled. On a video of one of their first that, and they treated me like they cared meetings in November 2010, agents re- about me. I told 'em I had a felony, I'm trying to stay out of trouble."

22 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 While other defendants suspected the store People with mental disabilities "have a was a front — one was captured on video responsibility to be law-abiding citizens saying, "You are straight-up police!" — like anyone else," said Leigh Ann Davis, Bruner kept telling the people in the a program manager for the Arc, a national neighborhood that the agents were his advocacy organization for people with guys, "his bosses." developmental and intellectual disabili- Glenda Thomas, Bruner's grandmother, ties. "The question that comes into play is said the ATF officers duped him. She 'How much do they know they were com- warned him to stay away — just like a mitting a crime, and were they used?'" grandmother in Milwaukee warned her People working in the justice system — brain-damaged grandson about Fearless from street cops to federal judges — need Distributing. to give additional consideration to cir- "Those guys kept preying on him about cumstances involving people with disa- everything — giving him a shirt, a pair of bilities, Davis said. "This is a population pants, shoes, and a pair of shorts —that's of people that are easy to get to do things. how they paid him," Thomas told the Jour- They are easy prey.... They can't make nal Sentinel. good judgment calls. That's a serious is- sue if an ATF agent comes up and wants "I told him, I said, 'Tony, those people are to be your friend." not real. Why would they pay you to look out for a police car?' I said, 'Tony, you Anything for a Buck snags 'Little need to stop messing around with them.' Squirrel' in Pensacola He said, 'Oh, Grandma, those are my Jeremy Norris wasn't a felon. He wasn't friends.'" prohibited from owning or selling weap- The judge found Bruner legally competent ons when he put his guns up for sale in to proceed in his case. March 2010 in a local weekly newspaper. Bruner told the judge he worried he would be killed in prison because the government made it look like he was working with the agents, and most of the defendants be- lieved it. He was sentenced to three years in prison. The judge told him he was getting a big break because he could have gotten 10 to 12 years. Advocates for the developmentally disa- bled called the ATF's tactics disturbing. 23 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 The unemployed 24-year-old Norris — and sold them to Renaud at the storefront who lived with his parents and girlfriend for a profit the same day, according to — got into trouble when he answered a court documents. phone call from someone inquiring about The agents called Norris "Little Squirrel." the guns. Surveillance video captured one of them He didn't know the caller was working for saying, "I can use his desperation against an undercover federal sting. Norris has an him," according to court documents. IQ of 76, defined by experts as diminished "They were abusive to him," Hart said in mental capacity, bordering mental retarda- an interview. "These are federal agents. tion. Jeremy was like shooting fish in a barrel In hours of ATFsurveillance video, Norris for them. Jeremy Norris is mentally re- can be seen stumbling around, at one point tarded and the agents in this case used with his girlfriend leading him around by that to take advantage of him." the back of his shirt, according to Norris' Renaud told the Journal Sentinel that no- attorney Jennifer Hart. body took advantage of Norris. Although Norris didn't have a car, so ATF agent he and agents joked that Norris was "half Craig Saier — assigned to a fake pawn- retarded," he knew what he was doing, shop called Anything for a Buck — went Renaud said. to him. And he brought along the opera- "He was money-hungry," he said, adding tion's top asset, a felon named Gary Re- Norris was willing to do anything to get naud. money for drugs. "He wanted them drugs Anyone who sold to Renaud — knowing and he wasn't afraid to let anybody know he was felon — could be criminally it, either." charged. Citing Norris' low IQ, the judge sen- That first day, Renaud bought guns from tenced him to probation. Norris — but because he never said he Norris was not the only mentally dimin- was a felon, Norris could not be charged ished defendant involved in the Anything with a crime. for a Buck operation. The next time was different. Renaud told John Molchan, a state prosecutor in Flori- Norris he was a felon. Norris sold him a da, said his office reviewed and prosecut- gun anyway. And Renaud and agents went ed several of the storefront cases. He said back. they decided not to pursue cases against a Again and again. Each time paying far number of low-mental-functioning de- more than retail for the guns. So much that fendants. sometimes Norris, his parents and his girl- friend went to gun stores, bought firearms 24 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 They didn't even arrest those people, Mol- When undercover ATF agents running the chan said, noting prosecutors have great store offered him $400 for his gun, he discretion when deciding whether to saw an opportunity. He didn't sell it then charge in such cases. — he said he needed it — but over time "I tell all the assistants, 'Do the right he developed a relationship with the thing.' What is the right thing when deal- agents, bringing them guns he would get ing with someone who is not as gifted as from trading drugs on the street. everybody else?" Molchan said. "There is When they asked for a machine gun, a great deal of responsibility placed on us Medel thought he had one for them. to deal with that kind of problem." One problem: he didn't know what a ma- Attorney says defendant got 'tutorial' chine gun was. on gun Medel had brain damage. Hit by a drunk- Guillermo Medel was a heroin addict and en driver when he was 7, Medel had drug dealer hoping to make some cash to spent months in the hospital and never support his habit when a friend brought fully recovered. him to Jokerz Traderz pawnshop in a strip Agents took advantage of that and his mall in a working-class neighborhood on drug addiction when they offered such San Mateo Blvd. in Albuquerque. high prices for guns, Medel's attorney, The 28-year-old Medel, who had been Brian Pori, said in court. convicted of felony drug possession and Pori told the Journal Sentinel he is conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, "certain that the agents were aware that carried a revolver for protection but had Guillermo was a drug-addicted, brain- never dealt in guns, according to court rec- damaged street hustler who never traf- ords. ficked guns in his life." "He wouldn't know how to use a machine gun to save his ass," Pori said. Pori said agents gave Medel a "tutorial" in the back room of the pawnshop to help him distinguish a machine gun from a semiautomatic weapon. ATF agent Brandon Garcia acknowledged in court Medel didn't know how to identi- fy a machine gun. Garcia said he "field tested" the machine gun in front of Medel to determine whether it was a machine

25 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 gun but wasn't teaching Medel how to use Warren Phillips did the same thing, it. breaking into cars and homes, snagging "And even though he saw me do it he still GPS devices, satellite radios and even a doesn't know how to do it," Garcia said in U.S. Navy-owned computer, racing im- a March 2, 2011, hearing. mediately to the undercover pawnshop to make quick cash, as much as $500 at a Garcia denied knowing Medel was brain time, according to police reports. damaged. On several occasions, Phillips told the Ultimately Medel brought them a fully au- agents the goods were stolen. And one tomatic machine gun, the only one seized time he sold them back a DVD player in the sting. Medel was sentenced to eight that he had actually stolen from them. years in federal prison. Maurice Rembert, too, knew about Any- In another case stemming from the Albu- thing for a Buck and on a June afternoon querque sting, federal charges were dis- in 2011 grabbed a bike outside of a missed against a defendant with "an exten- Walgreens and rode it straight to the store sive psychiatric history." for $25. Beating a path to storefronts with One of the larger thefts linked to the op- stolen goods eration was that of engagement and wed- Aside from ensnaring mentally disabled ding rings, worth $15,000, that were sto- people in their stings, ATF storefronts in len four months after the store opened. several cities stimulated a market for sto- "It requires no great thinking to know if len goods, boosting the appeal of theft and you accept stolen goods in a pawnshop ... burglary. people are going to sell you stolen In Phoenix, James Arthur Lewis was goods," said Harris, the professor from charged with selling 11 weapons to agents Pittsburgh. "You're asking people who at an undercover storefront. Lewis frequent that place to rob and burglarize "obtained most of the firearms during resi- their neighbors." dential burglaries he committed in late It's unclear how many of the stolen items 2010," according to a May 16, 2012, U.S. were returned to their rightful owners. Department of Justice news release. The Escambia County Sheriff's Office put In Pensacola, Roderick Jones committed thousands of items on display at an open seven burglaries in six weeks, stealing house after the bust and invited the public generators, air compressors, leaf blowers, to come in to claim their belongings. Lap- oxygen tanks and pressure washers from tops, GPS devices, tools and jewelry workers' trucks, reaping more than $2,000 filled the room. from Anything for a Buck.

26 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 According to local news accounts at the time, just 23 items — not including guns — were returned to 10 people. The sher- iff's office refused to answer Journal Sen- tinel questions. An undercover operation in Atlanta, a smoke shop called ATL Blaze, experi- enced similar problems. Some defendants came to the store as many as 20 times af- ter stealing weapons and other goods. Some guns were stolen from police squad cars. ATF agents said in court documents they tried to deter such thefts by paying less for police guns. The burglaries associated with ATL Blaze caused other problems for local law en- forcement. Sheriff's deputies and local police — unaware the weapons had al- ready been recovered by federal agents — scrambled around to solve the burgla- ries, spending untold resources interview- ing witnesses. At times, they never solved the case. And the weapons never made it back to the owners. A Hi-Point pistol stolen from a car just after Christmas in 2010, for example, was still listed as stolen by the Fulton County Police Department when the Journal Sen- tinel contacted the department last month. ATF agents bought the gun at their secret storefront a week after it was taken. "If the ATF recovered this weapon, it should be in our system." said Lt. G.T. Johnson, of the department. "We have not

27 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 received any notification that it was recov- It wasn't the only time federal agents let ered." armed felons leave their sight. The lack of communication not only af- In Albuquerque, agents said they didn't fects the clearance rate for the police de- know one man was a felon when they let partment but also is a problem for whoev- him leave with a revolver. It took them er has the gun now, Johnson said. two weeks to figure it out. Molchan, the state prosecutor in Pensaco- In Wichita, agents running Bandit Trad- la, said there were worries at the outset ing let felons leave the store with guns at that the sting might encourage more bur- least three times. glaries, but agents in charge concluded the In the case of Keandre Johnson, prosecu- risk was worth it. tors noted in a news release after the bust "That is one of the concerns that you have that he sold 16 guns to agents. The news going into something like this," he said. release didn't mention that agents turned "That is certainly worrisome." away one of his guns because it was not And it's not just residents that got hit by sawed-off. the thieves. Anything for a Buck itself was Johnson and his friend Jeremy Love ripped off, just like the agency's Fearless brought a shotgun into Bandit Trading in storefront in Milwaukee. The Pensacola mid-2011, but the agents weren't happy sting was burglarized at least twice, rec- with it, according to attorneys for the ords show. men. "I remember hearing that and kind of The agents told Johnson they wanted a laughing about it, 'We got burglarized,'" "shorty" — meaning a sawed-off shot- Molchan said. gun. Having such a gun — more deadly Despite those problems, Molchan said he at close range and easier to conceal — is thinks the operation was successful. illegal and can mean additional prison time. Johnson left with the gun to go saw "We did accomplish getting the bad guys it off, but then called the agents to ask off the street and incarcerated them," he what kind of saw to use, said Steve said. "Certainly no operation is perfect, Gradert, attorney for Johnson. The agent but overall we view it as a major success." told him how to do it, Gradert said. Armed felons allowed to leave stores In another case, Johnny E. Griffith In Milwaukee, agents let a felon with a vi- brought in two AK-47s to sell. But agents olent history leave their undercover store only had enough money to buy one, ac- armed with a gun, saying he needed it for cording to court documents. Griffith, a retaliation. felon, was allowed to leave with the oth- er. Agents never recovered it.

28 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 ATF officials acknowledged to Congress Beyond letting armed felons loose on the in April that Operation Fearless in Mil- streets, ATF stings examined by the Jour- waukee had no counter-surveillance set up nal Sentinel shared another similarity. to monitor or take down targets when they They left unhappy landlords in their left the store — even armed felons threat- wake. ening to shoot someone. They called the As agents did in Milwaukee, their Port- failure the result of poor judgment and land counterparts damaged a building and planning. stuck the landlord with the bill. "It's basic police work," said Peter Hen- Jan Gilbertson, who owns the building ning, a law professor at Wayne State Uni- where agents set up Squid's Smoke Shop, versity and a former federal prosecutor. said she had no idea she was leasing to "The agency needs to develop experts and federal agents. She found out from news come up with some protocol." reports after they had made the bust and Landlord left with the bill cleared out. And when she saw what they had done to her building, it all made sense. The agents cut holes in the walls for cameras, damaged the carpet and left behind junk. Worst of all, they tore out a large spotlight and in the process punctured a new $30,000 roof that then leaked and had to be repaired. The security deposit didn't cover it and the agents were nowhere to be found, she said. "They know what they're do- ing when they do it and not telling you anything and then they disappear. It's not like they come back and fix it," she said. "It is the U.S. gov- 29 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 ernment. It's real difficult to figure that all your homework to find everything you out. What do you do? ... It ended up being can, you're as bad as the criminals." a real bad situation for us." Squid's was one of at leasta half-dozen Portland sting across from school storefronts opened in safe zones, the The ATF opened Squid's Smoke Shop in Journal Sentinel investigation found. 2010 in an aging strip mall near a tax ser- Laws that increase penalties for selling vice, hairdresser and a coffee shop — and guns or drugs within 1,000 feet of a across the street from H.B. Lee Middle school include an exception for law en- School. forcement officers who are acting in their ATF agents said the location near a school "official capacity." — which allowed enhanced penalties for Multnomah County Deputy District At- selling in a safe zone — was an accident. torney David Hannon, who prosecuted 17 Agent Ben Ziesemer told defense attorney people on state charges, most with selling Kathleen Dunn he didn't realize it was drugs within 1,000 feet of a school, said across the street from the school. When the operation was a benefit to Portland they toured the property, he said he en- and that area of the city. He called the tered the building through a different door sting an effective tool against illegal ac- and didn't see the school. tivity and said there were advantagesto having it close to a school. Ziesemer, who ran the store and went by the name "Squid," also said it was the only "We might not have been aware of all the place in that part of town that they could activity next to a school without the un- find that offered month-to-month rent, dercover operation in place," he said. Dunn said. But Gilbertson, the owner, told James Shanks, 54, who has lived in the the Journal Sentinel the ATF signed a one- area for nearly five years and had two year lease. sons attending Lee Middle School at the Those charged with dealing drugs and time, was not happy to learn the ATF set weapons near a school can't use ignorance up a gun- and drug-buying operation of their location as a defense, experts said. nearby. If agents didn't realize they were near the "I think it is OK to do it, but did they school, it is a damning indictment of the have to put it there? Couldn't they find planning of the operation. somewhere else?" he said. "It's too close "That won't hold water," said Little, the to the school. When you have kids around former prosecutor who is now a professor guns, anything can happen." at the University of California Hastings Agents suggest — and pay for — tattoo College of the Law. "It shows they are not doing their homework. If you're not doing 30 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 With a school nearby and an Xbox video "They humiliated us," he said. "They game console to play for free, Squid's fre- were making a mockery of us." quently drew a crowd that included juve- Glover was ultimately charged with trad- niles. ing an ounce of marijuana for clothing at At least three juveniles were arrested and the store. The charge included selling charged in children's court in the sting. drugs within 1,000 feet of a school. Squid's was among at least four ATF store- Little, who spent eight years as a federal fronts investigated by the Journal Sentinel prosecutor in California and a year as as- where kids were ensnared in the operation. sociate deputy attorney general in Wash- "These are kids who don't have positive ington, D.C., said he had never heard of adult connections in their lives and if such out-of-bounds behavior by federal someone takes an interest in them it's go- agents. ing to be extremely influential," said Mark "That's about as far over the line as you McKechnie, executive director of Youth, can imagine," Little said. "The govern- Rights & Justice, which represented three ment shouldn't be encouraging people to juveniles in Portland. "I think we were all permanently disfigure their bodies." just disturbed that they (ATF agents) seemed to be focusing on low-hanging Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge fruit." Karin Immergut, who handled Glover's case, chided the agents as well, asking the Glover and Key, both 19 at the time, were state prosecutor to "send a message back regulars at Squid's. Glover lived right (to the ATF)" about the tattoos. around the corner and spent hours at a time playing video games with Squid and "It's really a bad idea," she said. "They people he thought were store workers. should not be recommending that." One day the idea of getting a tattoo came In federal court, a prosecutor who han- up, Glover told the Journal Sentinel. dled several of the ATF cases, including Key's, tried to explain to a judge why the Glover said he was reluctant, but that he agents employed the tactic. was persuaded by the guys at Squid's, who he thought were his friends. The agents said they thought Key and Glover were testing them to see if they "It was like, 'Now you guys are honorary were law enforcement, Assistant U.S. At- members of the club,'" Glover said. "We torney Scott Kerin said in a January 2012 was young at the time ... I was so naive." sentencing hearing. After they got the tattoos, he said agents Key and Glover supposedly did this by took pictures and posted them on the pho- suggesting they all smoke marijuana. ny storefront's Facebook page and web- site. 31 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 Kerin said the agents then proposed Key if you had a tattoo.' This was suggested and Glover get tattoos as a way to get and paid for by the government." them off their trail. The severity of Key's mental disability The explanation didn't make sense to U.S. was not listed in the documents, but the District Judge Michael Mosman, a former prosecutor left no doubt he was intellec- federal prosecutor. tually challenged. "I guess I don't make the connection," "The one thing we do agree on is the Mosman said. "They're concerned that if, Court can and should take the defendant's among other things, they don't smoke ma- low-intellectual functioning into account rijuana with this guy that they'll be given in determining a proper sentence in this up as law enforcement, so they think a case," Kerin wrote in a sentencing memo. way to derail that is to suggest that he get Mosman sentenced Key to 18 months in a tattoo?" prison for selling a sawed-off shotgun Kerin tried again to explain. and arranging for prostitutes to come to a "Mr. Key and Mr. Glover were trying to party being thrown by the undercover identify them as law enforcement or possi- agents. bly testing to determine if they were law He then asked Key if he wanted the squid enforcement." tattoo removed. The judge cut in: "I think I understand that "Yes," Key told the judge. part. I just don't understand why you put Mosman ordered the tattoo be removed someone off your trail by suggesting they after Key was released from prison. get a tattoo. How does that help?" "And I require the ATF to pay for the re- Kerin didn't answer directly. He said moval," he said. agents were looking for people to promote ______the store. They paid one person to hold up HOW WE REPORTED THIS STORY a sign on the street. Others to get tattoos. In the wake of a flawed storefront sting in They told their customers: "Hey, we're Milwaukee, reporters from the Milwau- looking for people to advertise, we're kee Journal Sentinel sought to examine looking for people to get tattoos," Kerin similar operations around the country. said. The ATF refused to provide a list of past "That simply is not a legitimate law en- stings. Reporters discovered the stings, in forcement tactic," said Key's attorney, Ali- part, through tips, court records, news son Clark. "This wasn't simply just a sug- coverage and news releases issued by the gestion: 'Hey, you would look really great ATF, the U.S. Department of Justice and local law enforcement. Reporters limited

32 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 their examination to stings that were pub- The report has been sought by the Milwau- licized since 2010. kee Journal Sentinel and members of Con- Using the online federal court records sys- gress since its completion earlier this year. tem, Pacer, the reporters pieced together The internal review was launched after a the cases and then combed through thou- Journal Sentinel investigation revealed nu- sands of pages of documents — indict- merous foul-ups in the operation. For nine ments and criminal complaints, plea months, the ATF also has refused to pro- agreements and sentencing transcripts. vide any documents to the Journal Senti- Where transcripts were not available nel, which has filed a dozen requests under online, the Journal Sentinel ordered them. the federal Freedom of Information Act, In some districts, nearly all documents re- including the cost of the operations and lated to stings were either sealed by judges rules on agents keeping guns in their vehi- or unavailable. cles. The reporters also reviewed hundreds of In late November, Department of Justice pages of state court records, police reports attorney Anne D. Work affirmed the ATF's and other records in several states. In addi- position that its entire internal report on the tion, the reporters interviewed dozens of closed Milwaukee operation should be kept defense attorneys, prosecutors, defendants secret and not released to the public. Work and their families, people who lived and wrote that releasing the investigation worked near the stings, legal experts and "could reasonably be expected to interfere insiders at the ATF and other law enforce- with (law) enforcement proceedings." ment agencies. *********** *** What could go wrong? ■ Agents pay for tattoos to promote store ■ Mentally disabled used, then charged ■ Stings near schools and churches ■ Felons hired to boost arrest numbers ■ High gun prices spur thefts ■ Buildings damaged, landlords unpaid ■ Felons leave storefronts with guns *** INFORMATION NOT RELEASED The ATF has refused to release its internal investigation into the failures of its flawed Fearless Distributing sting in Milwaukee.

33 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013

FILE – In this file image provided by the U.S. Navy, crewmen of the USS Nevada still fight flames on the battleship, battered in the Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. It was hit with at least six Japanese bombs and a torpedo that opened a 45-by-35 foot gash in the side of the ship. It was intentionally run aground, but its crew con- tinued to fight and was the first to shoot down a Japanese aircraft. At the end of the battle, 50 Nevada crew members died and 140 were wounded. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, file)

Ceremony to Mark 72nd Anniversary of At- The Navy and National Park Service are co- tack on Pearl Harbor - Dec. 7, 2013 by A P hosting the ceremony, which is open to the pub- lic. Their theme for the event, “Sound the PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — About 3,000 Alarm,” will explore how Americans answered a people were expected to gather at Pearl Harbor on Saturday to commemorate the anniversary of call to duty in the wake of the attack. the 1941 Japanese attack that launched the U.S. Former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia is into World War II. scheduled to deliver the keynote address. About 70 World War II veterans and survivors of The Vietnam War veteran is now secretary of the the Dec. 7 bombing, planned to attend the morn- American Battle Monuments Commission, ing ceremony on the shore overlooking a memo- which is responsible for managing overseas rial to the USS Arizona battleship that sank dur- cemeteries for fallen American troops. ing the attack. The current U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, Adm. The event began with a traditional Hawaiian Harry B. Harris, Jr. will also speak. blessing. There was a moment of silence at 7:55 Later in the day, Pearl Harbor survivors will join a.m., the minute the bombing began 72 years military and government officials in a parade ago. A guided missile destroyer passed by and rendered honors to the USS Arizona and its through Waikiki. And may God have crew. mercy on their souls. ~ Editor 34 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 The comment nevertheless pointed to the diffi- cult talks that await as the U.S. and its negotiat- ing partners — Britain, China, France, Germa- ny and Russia — work toward a final pact next year. The goal is to eliminate the possibility of Iran assembling a nuclear arsenal, even if any deal might let Iran continue enriching uranium at lower levels not easily convertible into weap- ons-grade material. Obama’s appearance at the Brookings Institu- Obama’s SECRET DEAL WITH IRAN tion forum appeared directed as much at an Is- Obama: Chances for Final Iran Deal 50/50 or raeli audience as an American one. The discus- Worse - Dec. 7, 2013 by Dave Urbanski sion was broadcast live on Israeli television, WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack with analysts there viewing it as an effort to Obama said Saturday he believed the chances patch over Obama’s public differences with Is- for a comprehensive nuclear agreement with raeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Iran are 50/50 or worse, yet defended diplomacy as the best way to prevent Tehran from acquiring Netanyahu has called the nuclear agreement in atomic weapons. Geneva the “deal of the century” for Iran. In an appearance Friday at the same forum, his for- During a question-and-answer session with a pro eign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, repeated Is- -Israel audience, Obama said he wasn’t naive rael’s objections. about the odds for success for a final agreement between world powers and Iran next year, build- Obama acknowledged some “significant tacti- ing on the recent six-month interim deal. cal disagreements” with Netanyahu, but said U.S. and Israeli bottom-line goals were the “If you ask me what is the likelihood that we’re same. able to arrive at the end state … I wouldn’t say that it’s more than 50-50,” Obama said. “But we Obama said the six-month interim agreement have to try.” President Barack Obama speaks at halts and rolls back central elements of Iran’s the Saban Forum dur- nuclear program, compelling Tehran to elimi- ing the Brookings Insti- nate higher-enriched uranium stockpiles, stop tution’s 10th annual adding new centrifuges and cease work at a Saban Forum titled heavy water reactor that potentially could pro- “Power Shifts: U.S.- duce plutonium. It also provides time to see if Israel Relations in a the crisis can be averted through negotiation. Dynamic Middle “What we do have to test is the possibility we East,” at the Willard Hotel in Washington, Sat- can resolve this issue diplomatically,” Obama urday, Dec. 7, 2013. The President spoke about said. topics including Iran. (Image source: AP/ “If at the end of six months it turns out we can’t Jacquelyn Martin) make a deal,” Obama said, “we are no worse The president’s remark was somewhat startling. off.” U.S. sanctions against Iran will be fully Obama has tried to allay the fears of many Israe- reinstated and even tightened if Iran fails to up- lis and some Americans that his administration hold the agreement, he pledged. last month promised to ease economic pressure Secretary of State John Kerry was to speak later too much in return for too few Iranian conces- Saturday, and Netanyahu was on the agenda for sions. Sunday. 35 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 Beyond Israel, Sunni Arab countries have ex- The Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot pub- pressed concerns about what America’s Iran en- lished a startling report Monday detailing a gagement might mean for the balance of power message it says was conveyed by the Obama in the region with Shiite-dominate Iran. Saudi administration – via two European countries – Arabian officials even have talked about their to Iranian officials. The request: if Israel de- own potential nuclear ambitions. cides to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, the Echoing Obama’s effort to reach out to con- U.S. will not support it and the Islamic Repub- cerned allies, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel lic should refrain from retaliating on U.S. mili- renewed a U.S. push for the sale of missile de- tary installations in the Persian Gulf. fense technology and other weapons systems to From the report by the well-connected diplo- U.S.-friendly Gulf nations to counter the threat matic correspondent Shimon Schiffer of Iranian ballistic missiles. [translated via hard copy by TheBlaze in Isra- In a speech Saturday in Bahrain, Hagel made el]: clear that any final deal on Iran’s nuclear pro- The message that the U.S. conveyed to Iran via gram wouldn’t end the threat posed by a country the most sensitive secret channels is unequivo- the U.S. considers the world’s leading state cal: if Israel attacks, we won’t stand behind her sponsor of terrorism. and we won’t be drawn into war. On Mideast peace hopes, Obama echoed an opti- In recent days, senior American administration mistic assessment provided by Kerry during a officials turned to their Iranian counterparts via trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories this two countries in Europe which act as a back- past week. channel during times of crisis. They made clear The president said his administration had spent to the Iranians that the U.S. does not intend to much time working with Netanyahu to under- be sucked into a campaign if Israel decides to stand Israel’s security needs as part of any two- strike unilaterally and without advance coordi- state solution. nation [with the U.S.], and they said that they expect from Iran that it will not attack strategic “I think it is possible over the next several American targets in the Persian Gulf. That months to arrive at a framework that does not means, among other things, Army bases, Navy address every single detail but gets us to the ships and aircraft carriers sailing in the region. point where everybody recognizes it’s better to move forward than move backward,” Obama The secret contacts with the Iranians combined said. with a public statement last week by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Demp- Still, he said tough decisions await both sides, sey that he won’t be “complicit” in an Israeli including the Palestinians’ understanding that a attack is being interpreted in Israel as a mes- transition period will be necessary so no situa- sage from the U.S. that the Jewish state is on its tion arises similar to Hamas’ takeover of the Ga- own in stopping Iran from obtaining a dooms- za Strip after Israel’s 2005 military pullout. day weapon with which to threaten the very ex- “The Israeli people can’t expect a replica of Ga- istence of Israel. President Mahmoud Ahmad- za in the West Bank,” Obama said. “That is un- inejad and other Iranian leaders have articulated acceptable.” a desire to wipe Israel off the map. Schiffer **************** writes: “Israeli sources point to the unprece- dented low-point in relations between the U.S. Paper Details Obama Admin’s Alleged Secret and Israeli defense establishments. It appears Note Sent to Iran: If Israel Attacks, We Won’t that the Obama administration decided to warn Get Involved - 3 Sep 2012 by Sharona Schwartz decision-makers in Israel of the destructive re-

36 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 sults of an attack without coordinating with the U.S. […] If true, the report begs the question: If he truly wants to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability, why is President Obama in- vesting in secret contacts with Iran about an Is- raeli strike aimed at destroying – or at least set- ting back – the nuclear program? Wouldn’t his efforts be better focused on warning Ahmad- inejad of the dire consequences of his apparently accelerated efforts at one day possessing a mili- tary nuclear capability? The Wall Street Journal may have an answer in an editorial this weekend. Though President Obama likes to say he has Israel’s “back,” “his Administration tries to sell to the public a make- believe world in which Iran’s nuclear intentions Israeli outlet Yediot Ahronot shows strategic are potentially peaceful, sanctions are working U.S. military installments in the Middle East. and diplomacy hasn’t failed after three and half Accompanying the article, the newspaper creat- years.” ed a graphic map (pictured above) of various Also on Monday, The New York Times reported U.S. assets in the region including troops in Af- that President Obama is trying to find non- ghanistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Sau- military ways to stall an Israeli attack and re- di Arabia as well as U.S. vessels in the Gulf. strain Iran’s nuclear march, including naval ex- ercises and new antimissile systems in the Per- sian Gulf. The Times reports that Obama offi- religious freedom more broadly. cials are also considering implementing previ- ously rejected covert activities as well as a new declaration by the president over what would prompt a U.S. military strike. *************** ‘He Doesn’t Care’: Wife of Detained Ameri- can Pastor Blasts Obama’s Silence on Her Husband’s Plight in Iran - Dec. 14, 2013 by Billy Hallowell - Naghmeh Abedini, wife of im- prisoned American Pastor Saeed Abedini, told TheBlaze on Friday that she believes President Barack Obama has “shown in his heart that he doesn’t care” about her husband’s continued de- tainment in Iran — and that, to date, no high- ranking U.S. officials have contacted her to Naghmeh and Saeed Abedini (Credit: ACLJ) speak about Saeed’s plight. “I’ve recently heard him make great speeches Abedini specifically expressed disappointment on Nelson Mandela and people who have been over Obama’s silence on her husband’s detention in prison, because of what they believe in and and his failure to use the opportunity to defend the change they brought to this world … and 37 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 here’s an American citizen standing up for his mainly worked with a desk officer at the State faith and rotting in an Iranian prison and yet Department. It’s mainly me providing infor- there’s silence,” she said. “And silence, for me, mation on how he is doing.” speaks volumes.” Abedini learns of her husband’s well-being By not speaking out about her husband’s ongo- from visits his Iranian relatives make to the ing captivity, Abedini said that Obama is send- prison; she has not seen Saeed in person since ing “a very powerful message” regarding where he first left for Iran to work on an orphanage he stands. back in June 2012. “You say you honor those who stand up for hu- The grieving wife also said that she generally man rights issue … and yet here’s your chance isn’t given much information about Saeed’s to show that you honor that … but yet you’ve condition — and that whatever details she does kept silent — you haven’t been vocal about it,” receive are generally the same reports that are Abedini added. “For me, words don’t mean given to media. much. “As a wife I expect to be given more infor- Directly appealing to the president, she said that mation,” Abedini said. she hopes Obama will stand up and advocate for TheBlaze has highlighted Abedini’s plight over Saeed. the past year, including barbaric treatment and “For me thus far he’s shown in his heart that he horrific abuse he has reportedly received as a doesn’t care, but I hope in my heart he shows me result of his Christian faith. and the American people he believes otherwise,” Pastor Saeed Abedini Abedini added. (Credit: ACLJ) While she said there have been “some efforts” to His wife said that inter- seek Saeed’s release, Abedini believes securing nal bleeding, infections his freedom isn’t a priority for U.S. officials. and other related inju- “Part of my disappointment is that I would have ries as a result of beat- thought my government would have been proac- ings continue to plague tive and it would not (require) a lot of pressure Saeed — and that she from me,” Abedini said. “I haven’t felt like they doesn’t know how long have been proactive. They have been reactive.” her husband will survive his current conditions She also said that over Saeed’s 15 months in in prison. brutal Iranian prisons, no high-ranking Obama In addition to the obvious impact the situation administration officials, including the president has had on her husband, Abedini said that she himself, have reached out directly to her to dis- and her two young children are feeling the cuss the dire situation. emotional and physical toll of the ongoing situ- U.S. President Barack Obama ation. is being criticized for failing to “I’m sure a lot of people realize, it’s really a speak out about Pastor Saeed heavy burden for a 5 year old and a 7 year old Abedini’s ongoing detention in Iran (Credit: Saul LOEB SAUL to carry,” she said. “It actually gets harder (with LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) time). Again, we’re approaching another Christ- mas without him.” “Outside of Congress and a number of senators who have been very vocal, I have not really re- Abedini joined American Center for Law and ceived any communication from the president or Justice attorney Jordan Sekulow in testifying (Secretary of State) John Kerry,” she said. “I’ve before Congress on Thursday about her hus-

38 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 band’s ongoing fight for freedom. See a speech Abedini delivered at Liberty Uni- versity earlier this year: She also met with businessman Donald Trump this week; he offered up support for Abedini and her family and spoke with TheBlaze extensively about his own frustration over its handling of the situation. The real estate mogul and businessman called the agreement reached last month between Iran and the international community, in which Iran Egyptian Muslims protest violence against Christians agreed to curb its nuclear development in return in April 2013 demonstration. (Image source: AO/ for limited easing of sanctions, “the stupidest YouTube) The violence was sparked by an ar- deal I’ve ever seen.” gument when locals accused Christians of dese- crating an Islamic school, a charge they denied. This deal did not include a demand securing Saeed’s freedom. [In point of fact, there is no The official, speaking on condition of anonymi- proof of any kind that he actually even brought ty because he was not authorized to speak to the subject up - similar to never mentioning the reporters, said nine Muslims were sentenced to tortures of prisoners, the slavery of women, up to five years for vandalizing Christian prop- men and children and their abuse and some- erties. times murder - but he probably did mention No one was tried for the deaths of at least six something about how bad our society was com- Christians. [It’s almost like the State has a pared to Iran’s, and how he was succeeding in bounty on Christians - but not vandalizing be- changing it so it would be more suitable to their cause after the Christians leave, their buildings people - yeah, that’s what he’d talk about ~Ed.] become mosques, so that is wrong, but killing *************** the Christians - Even Obama wouldn’t speak up Egypt: 3 Chris- about that! How do I know? Because it has tians Get Prison been happening for several years, and has ac- Sentences for celerated since he has shown his sympathy for Killing Muslim their government, and he hasn’t said a word — and Guess about the Christians being slaughtered, but he Who Was Tried spoke volumes about a lousy amateurish video for Deaths of 6 upsetting them - and even helped to put a man Christians? in jail for producing it - but killing the Chris- 14 Dec 2013 by Dave Urbanski of A.P. tians is okay with him because that only upsets CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian judicial official us, and that is great as he doesn’t like us any- says a criminal court has convicted three Chris- way! ~Editor] tians of killing a Muslim man in a dispute that set off some of the country’s worst sectarian vio- lence this year and left nine dead. The official said the court sentenced one Chris- tian man to life imprisonment, and two others to 15 years for killing a Muslim resident of Kho- soos, a town north of Cairo in April.

39 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 Judge Rules Baker Must Provide Wedding which happened to be against his beliefs, so Services to Gay Couples Despite Religious why can the court order him to do manual la- Convictions - Dec. 7, 2013 by Oliver Darcy bor which is against his beliefs? Because they A Denver baker who adamantly refused to pro- no longer care about religious freedom, and vide a cake for a same-sex wedding must offer they’re showing that by doing something to his services to gay couples, a judge ruled Friday. close down religious worship and hide the icons that traditionally have been shown since Judge Robert N. Spencer said Masterpiece before this country broke away from the other Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips must comply with country that tried to control everything! ~Ed.] the order despite his religious beliefs or pay FILE – This June 6, 2013 file photo shows fines, according to the Associated Press. Dave Mullins, right, sitting for a portrait [When I went to law school, this was called SLAVERY, and frowned upon by the Supreme Court - of course, since slavery is fine with the Muslim Brotherhood and Sharia, then it is probably becoming okay with our court too.] The order report- edly said his shop discriminated against a couple “because of their sexual orientation by refusing to sell them a wedding cake for their same-sex marriage.” with his husband Charlie Craig, in Denver. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File) No fines were imposed this time, but Spencer’s order said Phillips must “cease and desist from Amanda Goad, a lawyer for the ACLU, argued discriminating” against same-sex couples. this has nothing to do with Phillips’ religious beliefs. “But treating gay people differently be- The baker’s lawyer, however, said the order cause of who they are is discrimination, plain forces him to violate his religious beliefs. and simple,” she reportedly said. “He can’t violate his conscience in order to col- Colorado has a constitutional ban on same-sex lect a paycheck,” Nicolle Martin reportedly said. marriage, but allows for civil unions. Phillips “If Jack can’t make wedding cakes, he can’t can appeal the judge’s decision. ****** continue to support his family. And in order to make wedding cakes, Jack must violate his be- lief system.” “That is a reprehensible choice,” she added. “It is antithetical to everything America stands for.” The case was brought to court after the Ameri- can Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Phillips when he reportedly refused to bake a cake for the wedding of Charlie Craig, 33, and David Mullins, 29. [It might make a slight dif- ference if they just came into his shop and tried to buy one off the rack, but they wanted a cus- tom cake made for their religious ceremony 40 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013

China Successfully Carries Out Act That Hasn’t Happened in Nearly Four Decades Dec. 14, 2013 by Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — State media say China has safely carried out the world’s first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four dec- ades. State television showed pictures of the moon’s surface as the Chang’e 3 lander touched down Saturday evening.

Xinhua News Agency, shows a picture of the moon surface taken by the on-board camera of the lunar probe Chang’e-3 on the screen of the Beijing Aero- space Control Center in Beijing, capital of China. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Wang Jianmin) China is the third country to carry out a lunar soft landing after the United States and the for- mer Soviet Union. The last one was in 1976. China’s ambitious space program is an enor- This Saturday Dec. 14, 2013 photo released by China’s mous source of pride for the country. China Xinhua News Agency, shows a picture of the moon sur- plans to eventually land people on the moon. face taken by the on-board camera of the lunar probe *************** Chang’e-3 on the screen of the Beijing Aerospace Con- Chinese Naval Vessel Tries to Force U.S. trol Center in Beijing, capital of China. (AP Photo/ Warship to Stop in International Waters Xinhua, Wang Jianmin) The lander carries a moon rover called “Jade Landing ship sailed dangerously close to U.S. Rabbit” that will separate from the lander and guided missile cruiser - BY: Bill Gertz of The embark on a three-month scientific exploration. Washington Free Beacon - Dec 13, 2013 A Chinese naval vessel tried to force a U.S. [Maybe now we know the real reason that our guided missile warship to stop in international great leader disemboweled our NASA Space Pro- gram - to let the Chinese go ahead and use all of waters recently, causing a tense military stand- off in the latest case of Chinese maritime har- our experience and data and pass us! ~Editor] assment, according to defense officials. This Saturday Dec. 14, 2013 photo released by China’s 41 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 The guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens, which of the Cowpens and stopped, forcing the recently took part in disaster relief operations in Cowpens to abruptly change course in what the the Philippines, was confronted by Chinese war- officials said was a dangerous maneuver. ships in the South China Sea near Beijing’s new According to the officials, the Cowpens was aircraft carrier Liaoning, according to officials conducting a routine operation done to exercise familiar with the incident. its freedom of navigation near the Chinese car- The USS rier when the incident occurred about a week Cowpens / AP ago. Chinese Land- The encounter was the type of incident that sen- ing Ship sailed ior Pentagon officials recently warned could dangerously take place as a result of heightened tensions in close to U.S. the region over China’s declaration of an air de- guided fense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East missile cruiser. China Sea. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint The USS Chiefs of Staff, recently called China’s new air Cowpens at defense zone destabilizing and said it increased Dock the risk of a military “miscalculation.” “On December China’s military forces in recent days have dis- 5th, while law- patched Su-30 and J-11 fighter jets, as well as fully operating KJ-2000 airborne warning and control aircraft, in international to the zone to monitor the airspace that is used waters in the South China Sea, USS Cowpens frequently by U.S. and Japanese military sur- and a PLA Navy vessel had an encounter that veillance aircraft. required maneuvering to avoid a collision,” a The United States has said it does not recognize Navy official said. China’s ADIZ, as has Japan’s government. “This incident underscores the need to ensure Two U.S. B-52 bombers flew through the air the highest standards of professional seaman- zone last month but were not shadowed by Chi- ship, including communications between ves- nese interceptor jets. sels, to mitigate the risk of an unintended inci- Chinese naval and air forces also have been dent or mishap.” pressing Japan in the East China Sea over To- A State Department official said the U.S. gov- kyo’s purchase a year ago of several uninhabit- ernment issued protests to China in both Wash- ed Senkaku Islands located north of Taiwan and ington and Beijing in both diplomatic and mili- south of Okinawa. tary channels. China is claiming the islands, which it calls the The Cowpens was conducting surveillance of Diaoyu. They are believed to contain large un- the Liaoning at the time. The carrier had recently dersea reserves of natural gas and oil. sailed from the port of Qingdao on the northern The Liaoning, China’s first carrier that was re- Chinese coast into the South China Sea. fitted from an old Soviet carrier, and four war- According to the officials, the run-in began after ships recently conducted their first training ma- a Chinese navy vessel sent a hailing warning and neuvers in the South China Sea. The carrier re- ordered the Cowpens to stop. The cruiser contin- cently docked at the Chinese naval port of Hai- ued on its course and refused the order because nan on the South China Sea. it was operating in international waters. Defense officials have said China’s imposition Then a Chinese tank landing ship sailed in front of the ADIZ is aimed primarily at curbing sur- 42 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 veillance flights in the zone, which China’s mili- and the rest of the island chain they are part of. tary regards as a threat to its military secrets. “The U.S. and Japan should also step up their The U.S. military conducts surveillance flights rearmament of the Philippines,” Fisher said. with EP-3 aircraft and long-range RQ-4 Global The Cowpens incident is the most recent exam- Hawk drones. ple of Chinese naval aggressiveness toward In addition to the Liaoning, Chinese warships in U.S. ships. the flotilla include two missile destroyers, the The U.S. intelligence-gathering ship, USNS Shenyang and the Shijiazhuang, and two missile Impeccable, came under Chinese naval harass- frigates, the Yantai and the Weifang. ment from a China Maritime Surveillance ship, Rick Fisher, a China military affairs expert, said part of Beijing’s quasi-military maritime patrol it is likely that the Chinese deliberately staged craft, in June. the incident as part of a strategy of pressuring During that incident, the Chinese ship warned the United States. the Navy ship it was operating illegally despite “They can afford to lose an LST [landing ship] sailing in international waters. The Chinese de- as they have about 27 of them, but they are also manded that the ship first obtain permission be- usually armed with one or more twin 37 milli- fore sailing in the area that was more than 100 meter cannons, which at close range could heav- miles from China’s coast. ily damage a lightly armored U.S. Navy destroy- The U.S. military has been stepping up surveil- er,” said Fisher, a senior fellow at the Interna- lance of China’s naval forces, including the tional Assessment and Strategy Center. growing submarine fleet, as part of the U.S. Most Chinese Navy large combat ships would be policy of rebalancing forces to the Pacific. out-ranged by the 127-millimeter guns deployed The Impeccable was harassed in March 2009 on U.S. cruisers, except China’s Russian-made by five Chinese ships that followed it and Sovremenny-class ships and Beijing’s new Type sprayed it with water hoses in an effort to 052D destroyers that are armed with 130- thwart its operations. millimeter guns. A second spy ship, the USNS Victorious, also The encounter appears to be part of a pattern of came under Chinese maritime harassment sev- Chinese political signaling that it will not accept eral years ago. the presence of American military power in its East Asian theater of influence, Fisher said. Adm. Samuel Locklear, when asked last sum- mer about increased Chinese naval activities “China has spent the last 20 years building up its near Guam and Hawaii in retaliation for U.S. Navy and now feels that it can use it to obtain its ship-based spying on China, said the dispute political objectives,” he said. involves different interpretations of controlled Fisher said that since early 2012 China has gone waters. on the offensive in both the South China and Locklear said in a meeting with reporters in Ju- East China Seas. ly, “We believe the U.S. position is that those “In this early stage of using its newly acquired activities are less constrained than what the naval power, China is posturing and bullying, Chinese believe.” but China is also looking for a fight, a battle that China is seeking to control large areas of inter- will cow the Americans, the Japanese, and the national waters—claiming they are part of its Filipinos,” he said. United Nations-defined economic exclusion To maintain stability in the face of Chinese mili- zone—that Locklear said cover “most of the tary assertiveness, Fisher said the United States major sea lines of communication” near China and Japan should seek an armed peace in the re- and are needed to remain free for trade and gion by heavily fortifying the Senkaku Islands shipping. 43 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 Locklear, who is known for his conciliatory 10 warships behind four nuclear-powered ice views toward the Chinese military, sought to breakers to the base on the Novosibirsk Islands play down recent disputes. When asked if the — a show of force as it resumes a permanent Chinese activities were troubling, he said: “I naval presence in the thawing region. would say it’s not provocative certainly. I’d say The flotilla was led by Russia‘s flagship nucle- that in the Asia-Pacific, in the areas that are clos- ar-powered cruiser, Peter the Great, along the er to the Chinese homeland, that we have been Northern Sea Route, which connects Europe to able to conduct operations around each other in Asia across Russian waters from the Kara Gate a very professional and increasingly professional to the Bering Strait. manner.” The Pentagon and U.S. Pacific Command have sought to develop closer ties to the Chinese mili- tary as part of the Obama administration’s Asia pivot policies. However, China’s military has shown limited interest in closer ties. China’s state-controlled news media regularly report that the United States is seeking to defeat China by encircling the country with enemies while promoting dissidents within who seek the ouster of the communist regime. The Obama administration has denied it is seek- ing to “contain” China and has insisted it wants “A” represents the Novosibirsk Islands, also known as continued close economic and diplomatic rela- the New Siberian Islands. (Photo: Google Maps) tions. “Our troops left there in 1993, and yet it is a President Barack Obama and Chinese President very important location in the Arctic Ocean, a Xi Jinping agreed to seek a new type of major new stage in the development of the Northern power relationship during a summit in California Sea Route,” Putin told a meeting of Russian de- earlier this year. However, the exact nature of fense officials. the new relationship remains unclear. “We will not only reopen the military base but *************** restore the airfield to working order and make it Russian Warships possible for the emergency services, hydrolo- Are Returning to A gists and climate specialists to work together to Place They Haven’t ensure the security and effective work of the Been Since the Cold Northern Sea Route.” War - 17 Sep 2013 by Russia Today quotes Army General Arkady Erica Ritz Bakhin, Russia’s First Defense Minister, as go- MOSCOW, Sept 16 (TheBlaze/Reuters) – Rus- ing a step further: “We have come, or rather sia is reopening the Soviet-era military base in permanently returned, to where we belong, be- the Arctic it abandoned after the Cold War, Pres- cause it is originally Russian land.” ident Vladimir Putin said on Monday, as part of The move comes as Russia grows increasingly a drive to make the northern coast a global ship- dominant on the world stage, propelled forward ping route and secure the region’s vast energy by its handling of the Syria crisis. Conservative resources. commentator Rush Limbaugh said mockingly Two decades after abandoning it, Russia has sent before President Obama’s much-anticipated Syria speech last week that it should have been 44 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 Putin addressing the nation, not Obama, while this, Norway (which ratified the convention in Glenn Beck told listeners that “this is the week 1996), Russia (ratified in 1997), Canada that America lost its superpower status.” (ratified in 2003) and Denmark (ratified in There is considerable strategic interest for Rus- 2004) launched projects to establish claims that sia in the Arctic, and the country has staked certain sectors of the Arctic seabed should be- much of its future growth on mining the area’s long to their territories. vast energy resources. On August 2, 2007, two Russian bathyscaphes, MIR-1 and MIR-2, for the first time in history descended to the Arctic seabed beneath the North Pole and placed there a Russian flag made of rust-proof titanium alloy. The mission was a scientific expedition, but the flag-placing during Arktika 2007, raised concerns of a race for control of the Arctic's vast petroleum re- sources. Foreign ministers and other officials represent- ing Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States met in Ilulissat, Greenland on May 28, 2008 at the Arctic Ocean Conference and announced the Ilulissat Declaration, block- ing any "new comprehensive international legal Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in the regime to govern the Arctic Ocean," and pledg- Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bish- ing "the orderly settlement of any possible over- kek, Kyrgyzstan Frisday, Sept. 13, 2013. (Photo: AP) lapping claims." Warmer summers have thawed more of the fro- As of 2012, Denmark is claiming the continen- zen waterways, rendering it navigable for longer tal shelf between Greenland and the North periods and raising hopes the maritime passage Pole. The Russian Federation is claiming a could become a shorter alternative to southern large swath of seabed along the Lomonosov routes, but industry analysts and mariners say Ridge but confined to its sector of the Arctic.] poor infrastructure, ice floes, narrow straits, *************** shallow waters, and stormy winters remain ob- stacles to safe and profitable shipping. [Both Russia and Canada are trying to get in place to acquire additional land in the Arctic, primarily for the natural resources which are huge, but in Russia’s case, also for the strategic access to others and the security it adds by keep- ing others at a greater distance. At the moment, Canada, Denmark (via Green- land), Iceland, Norway, Russia and the United States are all limited to controlling 200 nautical miles(230 miles) of an ‘economic zone’ from their own coastlines or borders. Upon ratification of the United Nations Conven- tion on the Law of the Sea, a country has ten years to make claims to an extended continental shelf beyond its 200 nautical mile zone. Due to 45 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 Indiana State Police Reportedly Paid $373K for Mysterious Cell Phone Tracking Device, Won’t Say How They Are Using It 8 Dec 2013 by Oliver Darcy - The Indiana State Police paid $373,995 for a device that could al- low authorities to capture cell phone data from unsuspecting individuals, according to a newly released document obtained by the Indiana Star. The device, known as a “stingray,” may work by tricking an individual’s cell phone into thinking it is a cell tower, which results in the phone con- necting to it. The stingray could possibly then capture location data and call records, among other information. [That other data includes eve- ry word, intonation and nuance of the voices at both ends of the conversation - and if you don’t believe that, you really are stupid and deserve the government you’ve gotten! ~Editor] Indiana State Police report- edly purchased a device that could allow them to capture the data of unsuspecting individual from their cell phones. (Image source: Shutterstock) According to the Indi- pose?” Lanosga told the Indiana Star. “I think ana Star, which obtained the information there are a lot of serious questions about that through a public records request, “officials at In- that demand the agency publicly address what diana’s largest police agency aren’t saying what it’s doing with these types of techniques and they do with the technology; they’re mum on equipment.” whose data they’ve collected so far; and they’re *************** not talking about what steps they take to safe- ObamaCare now directing unqualified peo- guard the data.” ple to Medicaid - 12 Dec 2013 by Dan Calabrese “[T]hey won’t even say whether they ask a judge "It's a very, very unfortunate state of affairs." for a search warrant before they turn the equip- So you decided to be a good citizen and go on ment on,” the newspaper reported Sunday. HealthCare.gov to get that ObamaCare. You Instead, officials reportedly insist they can’t dis- make upwards of $50,000 a year, which is de- close such information because doing so may cent but not so much that you can't get a subsi- endanger public safety. [Yeah, their own! ~Ed.] dy in the age of Obama. So you figure you'll Legal director of the ACLU of Indiana Kenneth find out what your subsidy is and sign up. Falk said the device could raise serious ques- But imagine your surprise when tions. HealthCare.gov informs you that you are eligi- “What sort of reassurances can the agency make ble for Medicaid! This, of course, renders you to those people their data is being destroyed, not ineligible for any ObamaCare subsidy - alt- maintained indefinitely, not abused for any pur- hough you're welcome to pay full price if you like. But there's another small problem. You are 46 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 not eligible for Medicaid. But because South African Leader Nelson Mandela Bur- HealthCare.gov thinks you are, there's no way ied in Home Village - 15 Dec 2013 by A.P. you can get your ObamaCare subsidy unless you, ...er, "file an appeal" with the system. ************ Federal exchange sends unqualified people to Medicaid - 9 Dec 2013 by Jayne O’Donnell of USA Today - Brokers are reporting that some of their clients are in insurance limbo as they wait for the error to be corrected by HHS or their states. State and industry officials haven't quantified the problem yet, but the National Association of State Medicaid Directors may release infor- mation next week after following up on reports QUNU, South Africa (AP) — Anti-apartheid from around the country, says Executive Direc- champion Nelson Mandela was buried in his tor Matt Salo. home village on Sunday after a funeral that Here's what happens: When consumers applying mixed ancient tribal rituals with a display of the for insurance put their income information into might of the new, integrated South Africa. subsidy calculators on HealthCare.gov — the Military officers, both black and white, rolled exchange handling insurance sales for 36 states Mandela’s flag-draped coffin to the family buri- — it tells them how much financial assistance al plot in the village of Qunu. Formations of they qualify for or that they are eligible for Med- planes and military helicopters, South African icaid. If it's the latter, consumers aren't able to flags flapping from the bellies, flew over the obtain subsidies toward the insurance, although green hills where thousands of mourners had they could buy full-priced plans. gathered. If the Medicaid determination is wrong, consum- Unlike a public memorial service on Tuesday at ers should file an appeal with the federal market- a stadium that was rife with problems, the fu- place, says Department of Health and Human neral and burial — broadcast on many TV Services spokeswoman Joanne Peters, but she channels — went smoothly, although behind says she does not have an estimate on how long schedule. The ceremonies mixed solemnity that would take. with joy at Mandela’s accomplishments, lasted Brokers are reporting that some of their clients all morning and into the afternoon and were fit are in insurance limbo as they wait for the error for African royalty. Mandela, South Africa’s to be corrected by HHS or their states so they first black president, is descended from royalty. can reapply. Former South Afri- can President Nel- Jessica Waltman, top lobbyist for the National son Mandela’s cas- Association of Health Underwriters, says she's ket is taken out of heard a number of reports from around the coun- the makeshift tent try of people making as much as $80,000 a year by military pall being told they qualify for Medicaid on bearers following his funeral service HealthCare.gov. in Qunu, South Af- ************** rica, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Kopano Tiape, GCIS) [He was treated like royalty and Mandela Died Dec 5th at age of 95 Communist, Marxist and Socialist leaders 47 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 from around the world came to pay homage to handshake with Raul Castro. 78.7 percent had him - this man was no Gandhi, not even a Mar- negative sentiment toward the picture with Brit- tin Luther King, he was a vicious terrorist to ish Prime Minister David Cameron and Danish anyone who defied him. He went to jail for killing a lot of people when he was the head of a violent Communist gang of thugs, and while in jail, his wife, Winnie, surpassed him in being cruel to any who disagreed with her. The arti- cle I was printing here was drivel put out by fellow communists and I refuse to print it. However, I will mention that our own media seemed to find only 3 things of import at his fu- neral - Obama shook hands with Castro, took a ‘selfie’ photo of himself for his twittering fol- lowers, and a crazy man was acting as a sign interpreter - paid $85 to do it.] Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. ************* US President Barack Obama shakes hands with Blaze Analysis: Guess What Percentage of Cuban President Raul Castro at the FNB Stadi- Liberals Approved of Obama’s Castro Hand- um in Soweto, South Africa, in the rain for a shake - 13 Dec 2013 by Steve Krakauer memorial service for former South African President Barack Obama, former Presidents President Nelson Mandela, Tuesday Dec. 10, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter 2013. The handshake between the leaders of the and dozens of other world leaders made the trip two Cold War enemies came during a ceremony to South Africa this week for the memorial ser- that’s focused on Mandela’s legacy of reconcili- vice of Nelson Mandela. Besides the fake sign ation. (AP Photo) language interpreter standing by his side, Presi- dent Obama made news for two specific inci- On the left – self-identified Democrats and dents that occurred while he was in the crowd – those identified as left-leaning non-affiliated the handshake and the selfie. voters – opinions were mixed. 42.3 percent had a positive reaction to the handshake, pointing to What do you, and others, think was a bigger it being a sign of diplomacy. 36.4 percent deal? Here’s our exclusive information on what viewed it negatively, however, and 21.3 percent Americans thought. remained somewhat neutral. Of the selfie, more Through exclusive data obtained by PsyID, a were positive, with 48.9 percent liking it, and company which collects “actionable social me- just 14.8 percent who had something negative dia intelligence and analytics,” we are able to to say. see what those on the left, right and center Then there was the truly independent. 42.9 per- thought about each of the actions. The stats were cent had a positive view on the handshake with obtained through looking at 50,000 individuals Castro, actually a slightly higher percentage for each topic, with 70% acquired from Twitter than the left. But the negative percentage was and 30% from Facebook. higher too – at 47.4 percent. The independents The results give some insight into what all were less inclined to support the selfie, with Americans feel about the two actions. Let’s start just 27.1 percent having a positive sentiment with the right: as is to be expected, 89.3 percent and 43.2 percent having negative things to say. of self-identified Republicans or non-affiliated What does that tell us? The right had a problem right-leaning voters thought negatively about the with both, somewhat unsurprisingly, but more

48 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 so with the handshake. And the left, to a lesser "Then again, it's not surprising that the life- extent, agreed – more negative reaction to the challenged are attracted to him as he was a handshake, and very little to the selfie. But the fierce advocate for voting rights for the dead independents liked the handshake more, and had when he lived in Chicago." less positive sentiment about the selfie. We also Other staff members told us that similar saw that, no matter the party affiliation, people "crashing" incidents have become such an an- feel stronger about the handshake than the selfie noyance for the president, he has ordered his – there was far more neutral stances about the staff to avoid having him appear anywhere picture than the moment with the Cuban leader. where there could possibly be a memorial ser- ************* vice of a minor political figure going on. And now for a better interpretation of the event. "He was all set to go to London last June when we found out that whats-her- name Thatcher had died," said a White House travel planner. "We just knew her people would be rolling her casket into the camera shot while Mr. Obama was signing autographs. After all, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. What did she ev- er do besides running a drug store?" Reluctantly, the president agreed to can- cel the trip. "It was hard to deny London the privilege of being with Barack, but what could he do? Suppose one of those idiots ran over his foot with the hearse; he could've been out of action for weeks!" Mandela Crashes Obama’s Johannesburg Despite his staff's efforts, such episodes are Appearance 10 Dec 2013 by Opiate of the People likely to increase as Mr. Obama's presidency An international incident was touched off yester- comes to a close with the success of his crown- day in Johannesburg, South Africa, when a ing achievement - universal health care - even goodwill appearance by President Obama was as more anonymous, relatively unimportant interrupted by an impromptu funeral. people continue to die. Mr. Obama was generously posing for souvenir Ironically then, Barack Obama finds himself a pictures of himself with fawning admirers at the victim of his own success; but in a racist socie- FNB Stadium (Soccer City), when security peo- ty like this one, how could it be any other way? ple rolled in Nelson Mandela's casket and de- *************** manded to have a memorial service. When ques- Mandela’s Memorial – Sign Interpreter is fake (with tioned as to why they were disrupting Mr. correct interpretation of signs on Jimmy Kimmel)

Obama's appearance, the security men offered http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUa6vGFO9ty8v5KZJXQxdhaw&v=X-DxGoIVUWo no explanation aside from "we reserved the sta- dium last week for this." *************** Fire Sale: Genuine Mandela Brand Necklac- "This kind of thing is a constant problem for Mr. ing Kits [In truth, it was Winnie’s favorite ac- Obama" said one of his staff. "Everyone wants tivity and she did it much more than Nelson.] to bask in his sunshine, even the deceased." According to the international media, the 49 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013 scramble for control of the Mandela brand after In public, they would hold up a box of matches the man's death will involve the ruling African and shake them in front of people for intimida- National Congress (ANC), the Nelson Mandela tion (even at those in wheel chairs) while saying Foundation, and his large family, some of whom to them “We’ll necklace you!” already use the Mandela name and image to For a factual short history of Nelson and Winnie market everything from clothing to political Mandela: posters to bottles of wine to kitchen aprons to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tfMLAWdkWE reality TV. From Jim Kuhn: A Tale of Two Cities We also decided to get into the fray and make a quick buck with affordable Mandela Brand A Comparison Chicago vs Houston Population 2.7 million 2.15 million Necklacing Kits before the dust settles. Median HH Income $38,600 $37,000 % African/American 38.9% 24% % Hispanic 29.9% 44% % Asian 5.5% 6% % Non-Hispanic 28.7% 26% Pretty similar until you compare the following: Concealed Carry Gun Law NO Yes # of Gun Stores 0 184 Dedicated gun stores plus 1500 legal to sell guns - Walmart ______sporting goods, etc Homicides - 2012 1,806 207 Homicides per 100K 38.4 9.6 Avg January High Temp (F) 31 63 The only possible conclusion from liberal scientists and statisticians (same ones used for Global Warm- ing) is that COLD WEATHER CAUSES HIGHER Made in China. Perfect for Winter Solstice. MURDER RATES (although it has been previously accepted as scientifically proven that temps around a Leave Your Political Opponents Speechless with 100 degrees cause more murders). Mandela Brand Necklacing Kits! The Kit In- cludes genuine Mandela Tire & Gas Can and five free one-gallon gasoline coupons. Win a Po- litical Argument Every Time! "It always seems impossible until it's done." - Nelson Mandela “With a box of matches and a necklace, we will liberate this nation.” ~Winnie Mandela (the one that really made ‘Necklacing’ popular when her husband was in prison. Her personal Mercenary bodyguards were popularly known as her ‘Football Club’ because they kicked a lot of heads. They also used them as footballs when removed from their former owners.

50 [email protected] - vol 2 #27 (#77) Fri, 13 Dec 2013

The Moon at full perigee. Red dots indicates the landing spots of the various Apollo missions.

12/5/13 Port Orford Observatory: Most people when they get a telescope, the first thing they look at is the Moon. Have you ever studied the Moon, spending a lot of time look- ing at it, taking photos of craters, mountain ridges, valleys, and plains? Looking at areas where Apollo landings took place. Using different filters will help. If you haven't looked at it in a long time take a nice long look at it again. Over the many years since the first telescopes were made we have learned so much about our nearby neighbor and there's still a lot to learn. Stopping the Apollo program and the manned space program is by far the biggest mistake we could have ever made. We should have a base on the Moon with people there all year long and flying Astronauts to Mars by now. Our technology is extremely diminished because of bad decisions like this. Comet ISON destroyed itself exploding near the Sun's surface. The Comet's nucleus was the size of a large shopping mall exploding into fragments from the size of a car down to dust particles; some being thrown out into space again, no longer a comet. But we still have two more comets to be seen later this month and the next. Before its fiery death Comet ISON flew past Comet 2P/Encke. I found it very interesting in the Solar telescope. ~Astronomer Reverend Christine. 51