Who's Messing with my Facebook?

Since most of us can remember, we have received our information from either television, radio or paper. However, since the advent of the internet and social networking, most of us now receive our information, true or false, through our social contacts and the information shared via such sites as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and several other mainstream sources. The upside of such networking is the ability, with the press of a key, to send information out into the world for all to see. The downside is that making ourselves so transparent in this age of technology leaves the door open for misuse of information, the spreading of false information, and the ability to interrupt the transmission of information by the companies who control access to that information.

As we speak legislators are considering, behind closed doors but with the advice of large corporations, agencies and other right-wing sources and no from the '99%') to limit, restrict and eavesdrop on our posts and comments. We seem to have no say in this legislation and are most likely, not going to like the results.

But on another front, we are already seeing the influence of political, governmental and corporate control as they control our posts and comments on Facebook, deleting them, posting distracting comments, and spamming our pages with false information. All this tends to accomplish one thing - it creates distrust of information - the obvious goal of our "owners". Yes, our owners, the people who really run this country, tell us what to think, what to do, what to say, and control our economy and lives to the point that there no longer exists the "American Dream" that so many people hope for.

Recently there have been a rash of viruses unleashed on Facebook that have the potential to wipe out a hard drive or disable a computer within seconds should one click on the links they provide. I firmly believe that this sudden rash of misinformation and destructive posting is not the work of "hackers" out for some fun, but the deliberate and malicious attempt by our owners, those who control us, to disrupt and destroy the unstoppable flow of information that contradicts their ideologies and contributes to their loss of control over our lives. Hackers usually place viruses and other software bits online to perform a certain destructive function for a clear purpose. These posts, not able to be seen on the users profile wall, are precise, directed at those who are the most vocal about current issues and providing correct information versus the information fed to us by the right-wing establishment on FOX and other media sources.

One thing is for certain...the quality and quantity of correct information is being subverted by, as of this moment, unknown sources that have no apparent interest in making their demands or needs known. This is the scarey part of this new, devious movement. At some point, given enough misinformation, the serfs will no longer know what to believe except for what their owners tell them and the sheep will be led to slaughter with a smile on their face.

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Senate Approves Jobs Benefits for Veterans - TIME

In an unusual bipartisan 95-0 vote, the Senate today passed a small part of President Obama's Jobs Bill that, so far, has been stuck in the mud of politics.

The passage today of a bill that will give tax credits of up to $9,600 to companies hiring disabled vets who have been jobless at least six months, and improve job training and counseling for veterans is a much needed shot in the arm for employers and veterans alike. In addition, it will provide new tax credits of up to $5,600 for employers hiring veterans who have job hunted at least half a year and $2,400 for those out of work for four weeks or more.

Of course this doesn't mean that the Republicans have in any way caved into pressure, "it was just the right thing to do." NOT! In essence, pressure from grassroots organizations is beginning to have an effect on someone at least.


Happy Veterans Day coming up to all those who have and are serving to defend our freedom (you know, the ones we are trying desperately to hold onto at home while you defend us in other places.)

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More Useless Seat Warming : Tina Dupuy

This article by award-winning writer and managing editor of Crooks and Liars appeared in a local paper this morning. I share this because of the relevance to issues I've blogged about lately and that are so "in-the-face" of Americans today.

Wednesday November 9, 2011 :  Tina Dupuy

I asked an Occupier in D.C. namedRob Wohl, why the movement he’s a part of is resonating with people -- why as over 3,000 Americans have been arrested in demonstrations and even journalists and vets have endured tear gas and rubber bullets, the movement is still growing.

His answer? "Because we are analytically correct."

What does that mean? Apparently, they believe they have the facts on their side. History certainly is. And as author Michael Lewis said when asked about the Occupy Wall Street movement, they also have justice on their side.

New census data released shows we have record high poverty in this country. It’s up to 16 percent or 49.1 million Americans (that’s over five New York Cities). We have the worst wealth inequality in the industrialized world (meaning we’re on par with some third world countries). We have the highest health care costs in the world. And a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute notes, "U.S. productivity grew by 62.5 percent from 1989 to 2010, far more than real hourly wages for both private-sector and state/local government workers, which grew 12 percent in the same period." Basically Americans are working much (much) harder for much (much) less. Pair that with the fact U.S. businesses are making record profits and that’s why Americans have taken to the pothole-laden streets to protest. It’s not just about the bank bailout. It’s not just about Wall Street. It’s about the goal of the wealthy to milk their fellow citizens until they’re completely dry. And while regular Americans are condescended to about their proverbial bootstraps, the U.S.government has helped the wealthy at every turn. So it’s no surprise they’ve won. And now that people are brittle and dusty -- there are encampments all over the country.
The question isn’t, "Why are there so many people sleeping in parks?" The question is, "Why aren’t there more?"

In the wake of this massive protest -- right in the middle of the tenure of the lowest rated House in our nation’s history -- a group of men and women whose approval rating of 9 percent is hovering just above the margin of error -- what do they do? They pass another symbolic (think: busy work) nonbinding resolution to reaffirm "in God we trust" as the national motto.
I could have made that up as satire and I’d get a letter saying I was being too harsh.
Time spent on a bill (of which there are FOUR versions) reaffirming a phrase already on every denomination of money, every courthouse and most public buildings is about as contemptuous as this body of seat-warmers can get.

It’s "let them eat cake" with a little of King George III’s "the colonies will submit" thrown in for flavor.

Yes, the do-less-than-nothing House has passed a whopping 54 bills originating in their chamber in their nearly full year in office. Their counterparts in previous congresses usually author and pass three times that. And if you subtract passing go-no-where bills to defund NPR, Planned Parenthood and other specters like Obama Czars and take into account their days off (next year they’re only set to work 109 days out of the entire year) -- they’ve put in a lot of effort to be ineffective.

Which is what you’d expect from self-hating government workers like the House leadership. They’re illustrating how lazy, stupid and useless government can be -- by example.
To sum up: The American people are paying more for less, working more for less and asking more ... and Congress is doing (wait for it) less.

The Occupiers are right. They are "analytically correct" in their assessment. Their government is failing them. As another Occupier put it, maybe it’s "time to replace Congress with people."

Tina Dupuy’s column is distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. She is an award-winning writer and the managing editor of Crooks and Liars and can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com.

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The Prophets of Doom : We Are In Far More Than A Depression

I'm just watching a TV program first aired in the spring of 2011 called "The Prophets of Doom" (link to the entire show) on the History Channel. Discussing the current problems facing our world are six experts from several fields -  financial, environment, energy, computers - who are talking about the crisis we are in now as a country and drawing the parallels to past civilizations and their demise.  

It's extremely important that people do wake up before the dam has burst, so to speak. In fact, one of them used a dam bursting as an example. People who live several miles downstream from a dam about to rupture worry, fret and try to do something to rectify it. Those a little closer are not as worried, still are concerned, but don't really react in time. But those who live the closest to it don't believe that anything will happen and don't react at all. Their thinking, a protective reaction of the brain that "it can't happen to me", don't say or do anything because they trust that someone built the dam strong enough to not rupture.

Our society is in a crisis in every form -  financially, politically and environmentally. But the basic thesis of their discussion is that historically, people refuse to believe that anything can or will happen to them because we are the biggest, we are the strongest, we have everything and dominate by buying, taxation, having the biggest military, and even the best technology. 

At some point our country's system, which one of them calls a ponzi scheme, will reach a point of insolvency in which we cannot recover, and by definition, will collapse. This has been shown to be true in every civilization that has risen to the length and breadth that we have. However, due to the level of our technology, our collapse will be different in that it will not be able to recover due to the draining of our natural resources and the fact that they cannot be replaced (oil, water, etc.), the pollution of clean drinking water and food from chemicals and pesticides, the collapse of our financial system, the most obvious one of all at the present that people can relate to. One of the participants proposed an very interesting thought. Dr. Hugo DeGaris thinks that through the vast improvements in the area of Artificial Intelligence, we may be creating the society of the future, which consists of robots and machines that not only can think for themselves, but will do so at the speed of light, a thousand times faster than the fastest human brain operates. His theory postulates that if this point is reached, this new society may consider humans as being inferior and make a logical decision to eliminate us as a species. Of course this is farther down the line than the pressing issues of financial collapse we face now. 

Yet even with all this knowledge, a greater percentage of the people still refuse to believe that this can or will happen to us. 1 in 4 Americans is considered to be at Level 1 in the table of literacy. That means that there are roughly 44 million people in America that cannot read, write or express their thought well enough to communicate. A staggering number at the very least. They are among those that live closest to the dam and believe that the politicians and government know more than they do and will always take care of them.

This is a very interesting and relevant look at our forthcoming political, financial and environmental collapse and the discussion was much more than I could express here. I feel that I live way downstream and I'm worried that those who live next to the dam are not waking up fast enough to be able to get to higher ground before the dam bursts and they drown.


So, once again I say to those who live within a few miles of the dam, get up, get involved, participate, get informed, vote, complain, pursue, and let those who believe they are in charge of us that we are here and we are not going to go down with their ship.

In addition to Dr. DeGaris, here are a few names of those involved in the discussion: Michael Ruppert, Dr. Nathan Hagens, John Cronin, James Howard Kunstler.

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Government and Law Enforcement Twist Google’s Arm For Data, Google Complies | Addicting Info

One by one the Constitutional freedoms Americans supposedly "enjoy" are being eroded slowly away without most people even knowing it. In this Google issued Transparency Report, Google was requested by the government, courts, local and state police to erase from its database:

Everything from videos of police brutality, to information supposedly pertaining to national security were among the requests.  The report also states one request from American authorities was to remove a video it believed to be critical of the government.

Separately, the report declares American law enforcement requested data from Google on 11,057 different users or accounts.  Google said it complied with 4,700 of those requests. Almost all of this data sharing was done without a warrant.

 (from Addictinginfo.org)

Google complied with the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, enacted by the United States Congress to extend government restrictions on wire taps from telephone calls to include transmissions of electronic data by computer.

The ECPA has been met with criticism through the years including its failure to protect all communications and consumer records. Under the ECPA it is relatively easy for a governmental agency to demand service providers hand over consumer data that has been stored on servers. All that is required of the agency is a written statement certifying that the information is relevant to an investigation of foreign counterintelligence with no judicial review required. It also increased the list of crimes that can justify the use of surveillance as well as the number of judicial members who can authorize such surveillance. Data can be obtained without a warrant on traffic and calling patterns of an individual or group allowing an agency to gain valuable intelligence and possibly invade privacy without coming under fire because the actual content of the communication is left untouched. While workplace communications are in theory protected an employer must simply give notice or a supervisor must feel that the employee’s actions are not in the company’s “interest” to gain access to communiqué. This means that with minimal assumptions an employer can monitor communications within the company. The ongoing debate is where to limit the government’s power to see into civilian lives while balancing the need to curb national threats. The ECPA falls directly in the middle of this debate both sides wanting revisions and clarifications made by the courts and legislation.   



You might want to consider what you say online with any computer entity, send over the line, or even think of commenting on.

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New Bill Being Considered In Congress Could Shut Down Social Media Sites Crucial To ‘Occupy’ Protests | Addicting Info

This is a little "off-topic" for me, but so important that it needs to be passed on so Americans will smarten up/wake up/ stop the apathy/ get involved in what's going on. Our self-appointed ruling class (aka Republicans, Wall Street, corporate thugs) are quickly attempting to shut down the internet in response to the OWS movement and severely restrict public access to information while making it illegal and a felony when you do.

This is a step too far towards the totalitarian government that we almost have now. Sign the petition, call your senator(s), become active in what's going on now before it's too late and you have no voice, no vote, no freedoms, and no money because the 1% have it all.

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Occupy Wall Street's Battle Against American-Style Authoritarianism

After reading the article several times, I think that, in general speak, the author is on target. I believe that over many years, even before Reagonomics pulled the rug out from under us without the people realizing it, we have been fed a stream of capitalistic 'logic' that has led us, much like the sheep mentioned, into a false sense that all is well. 

Meanwhile our individual freedoms were gradually replaced by the rules of the ruling class with the thought that we shouldn't question such changes as everything we do is necessary for 'our protection', and that we should not question this self-authorized authority. When you take a look at the policies of the last 4-5 administrations you can see the pattern of 'dumbing-down' of America by the false media-controlled "truths" shoved down the throats of the people by the ruling class. Unable to distinguish between real and fake because of lack of education, control of information, and upper class "secrets", we have been slowly reduced to the point of being that herd of sheep, ready to accept anything told to us. 

The OWS movement is something that has sprung out of the realization that individual freedom no longer exists, the Constitution can be applied as necessary by those who rule against those who don't understand, and that the current political system is evidence that the system is not only broken, but is the cause. So much of this is evidenced daily by the reaction of the police in each state to the OWS movement (e.g. using violence against peaceful protesting, the Republicans motto - "NO" - to anything involving social and financial reform), the reaction of the political machine as it changes reasoning and direction daily according to the corruption of power and the controlling hand of the super rich, and the disassociation of thought in so many comments on so many blogs and social networks left by people of a generation that were fed capitalistic dreams while their freedoms and bank accounts were being slowly, patiently drawn down behind their backs. The next generation seems to be unwilling to accept this, thankfully, and is now fighting against this broken system, but as the article mentions, is not forging ahead with a slogan or single sign, but as a "movement" that will hopefully change the entire system and bring back the capability, and ability, for a free-thinking people to bring socialism and capitalism together to function for the good of all. 

That's my opinion only...agree or disagree, but only time is going to tell, and most of us that are commenting seem to be from the baby boomer generation. One I suspect won't be around long enough to see the final outcome of this new change. History does have a tendency to repeat itself.

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US House group files motion in gay marriage suit - KiiiTV3.com South Texas, Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend

Posted: Oct 15, 2011 4:56 PM EDT  
Updated: Oct 15, 2011 7:26 PM EDT  
By SUDHIN THANAWALA
Associated Press 

It's getting confusing when it comes to whether the White House is defending or supporting DOMA. This is the case they apparently have based the order not to defend DOMA on, yet it seems to be being enforced in many circumstances. Hopefully this case will produce some sort of direction when it comes to DOMA and lead to its repeal, allowing those who have married (same-sex) to be recognized in every state.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Gays and lesbians are not entitled to the same heightened legal protection and scrutiny against discrimination as racial minorities and women in part because they are far from politically powerless and have ample ability to influence lawmakers, lawyers for a U.S. House of Representatives group said in a federal court filing.

The filing Friday in San Francisco's U.S. District Court comes in a lesbian federal employee's lawsuit that claims the government wrongly denied health insurance coverage to her same-sex spouse. Karen Golinski says the law under which her spouse was denied benefits - the Defense of Marriage Act - violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.

Golinski's case has received support from the Obama administration. In a brief filed in July that urged the court to find DOMA unconstitutional, the administration argued that it reflected Congressional hostility to gays and targeted an immutable characteristic - sexual orientation - that has nothing to do with someone's ability to contribute to society.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press

Daily Kos: House Republicans ignore jobs bill while tripling funding for defense of anti-gay legislation

Once again the House Republicans are showing their true colors. They have voted to increase their legal defense of DOMA by one (1) million dollars to a firm of attorneys (probably friends) and refuse to discuss the creation of jobs in America. This is out and out war on the LGBTQ community, an outright illogical move, and shows the true side of what the GOP is all about. Misdirection, lies, ignorance, and lack of care about the 98% of Americans that need help the most.

Apparently they don't read the media they so love to control that is saying that America is in trouble economically and every other way. They would rather divert money to fighting a dead battle and their rich cronies while demanding cuts from social services to the needy to pay for it.

Once again I say to the people, WAKE UP! If you don't get involved soon the rights you think you have will not exist any longer and we will be ruled by a small group of people who will command when you live and when you die!

Team Obama2012

Another hypocritical Republican Senator, well known for his anti-gay, anti same-sex marriage rhetoric, has been outed by his rent boy. Don't 'ya just love this sort of thing in our government? I'm sure that the next one will be right along after Hinkle is forced to resign from his district (we hope.)

Obama administration to deport gay spouse of AIDS patient | News Blog from 365gay.com

This is NOT RIGHT! This damn administration is so wishy-washy. First Obama says they won't defend the DOMA act, and yet they continue to enforce it. After being together for 19 years and then getting legally married this administration is going to deport this guy...unbelievable!

Teen Fights Bullies Like a Washington Lobbyist | Advance | The Advocate

I had to stop my entering of eBay items to comment and pass on this story. It's a prime example of a young man,Caleb Laieski, who, after being bullied at his school in Arizona and dropping out, decided that being a victim was not for him. He embarked on a hasty round of trips to as many Senators as he could fit in in 22 days...seeing almost 200 of them in the process.

His efforts did not go unrewarded as he was invited to the White House where he met President Obama and even asked for a job. It's too bad that more young people don't get involved in like manner instead of being made to feel inferior, even taking their own life as a result. As you grow older one realizes that life is about choices. But at a young age, those choices aren't always part of their capacity to weigh and make a logical decision. Many of them end their lives at their own hands after the relentless bullying and tormenting taking place in our school systems today. Much of that torment occurs with the sight and approval of teachers and administrators. Hopefully this young man will be the one, with the introduction of a new bill he has crafted, to help put an end to the bullying and suicides amongst LGBTQ and others "different" students.

The Coming Second Civil War in the United States: Will We be Enslaved by Corporate Governance? | BuzzFlash.org

This is an extremely new, but inevitable thought...one that I've been thinking and talking about for some time now. I believe that this country, now led and owned by the GOP and backed by corporate greed and lobbyists, will soon become known as a Third World country and will be replaying history with a civil war. Americans' confidence in government is at an all-time low with an estimated 80-82% of the people dissatisfied with their congressional representatives and Washington politics. In some ways it might be the best thing that could happen, but in other ways, it could be the worst. We are already at war in more countries than we ever have in the past, we have a president that supports Republican ideologies behind the backs of the people who elected him believing that he would keep his promises to make changes in Washington politics that would be favorable to the American people, and now we are more in debt to China than ever before in history. There is little to feel good about in recent months except that LGBTQ rights have advanced somewhat. But I feel, as many do, that those rights will be short-lived with extreme right-wing "religious" zealots such as Michelle Bachmann in the running for president.

Our country is now governed by the rich one percent and is being led down a path of self-destruction that, as this article talks about, will eventually lead to a repeat of one of the worst times in our history...the bloody rebellion of the people against a well equipped, well funded group of corporations (a.k.a. our government).

All of this is like watching a well staged  play as it moves forward faster and faster towards an uncertain future. This is the legacy we intended to leave our children?

Rash of Gay Suicides in Bachmann’s District: Her Homophobia at Fault? :: EDGE on the Net

It's one thing that some people are so afraid of homosexual people in general that they react with disgust, fear, or even emotional harassment, but Michele Bachmann has become the center post in her fight against gay people by using any means necessary to label, harass, bully, even push them to suicide.

Is this the quality of a Presidential candidate for the USA that we want in office? One that acts more like a psychotic, Nazi regime leader of past that murdered hundreds of thousands of people because they didn't fit into a group of zealots, and who now, in her run for the presidency (in this case hiding behind religion) is hell bent on killing so many of our young, vulnerable kids. Like so many psychopathic murderers who show no remorse for their murderous way, Bachmann has, is, and will pursue this issue at any cost to promote her beliefs on this country.

In my personal opinion I think she's mentally ill and should be put where she wants to put so many other who don't fit her definition of "human beings"...in reparative therapy for straight people in a mental institution with a loudspeaker blasting gay words, phrases of hate and threats of murder into her locked room. Her openly hate-filled attitude towards the gay community is so vindictive and hateful that should she ever become president of this country it would signal the breakdown of society in general and send us back into the religious crusades of history to kill and murder those that don't conform to her views. I guess that the most important question to ask is: what is the Republican party hoping to gain by allowing her to continue? There has to be some unearthly reason that she hasn't been squashed by this point in time!

On the News With Thom Hartmann: If Boehner’s Plan Passed, Standard and Poor’s Will Immediately Downgrade US Credit Rating, and More | Truthout

If Boehner’s Plan Passed, Standard and Poor’s Will Immediately Downgrade US Credit Rating, and More!

Bonuses for Billionaires - NYTimes.com

This article was just too good to pass up. It explains exactly why the Republicans (in general) have a vested interest in so many of the politics of finance and making the rich richer and does it in a way that is understandable and even satirical. Great read!

We'll see if it really happens...this time...again....once more!

DADT Certification Coming Friday, Say WSJ, NBC | News

www.advocate.com

Reports from both The Wall Street Journal and NBC News say Defense secretary Leon Panetta and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will announce Friday that the military is ready to officially repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

365gay.com | Historic anti-DOMA hearing at the Senate airs pro-, anti-gay sides

It's time this controversy was over with. If everyone but the GOP wants it repealed, why pussyfoot around its repeal along with the DADT that was supposed to be all over with?

Gay teen suicide case probed - PinkPaper.com

I hope this case is taken seriously for a change by some who can and will make some changes at least this school district. This 13 year old teenage suffered too much and so did his family...unfortunately a scene too many families have had to endure at the hands of homophobic authorities and uneducated individuals in authority who pass bullying along as a "rite of passage" between kids. 

I really hate to even think of this or even say it, but I wonder sometime what would change if a few of those individuals had to go and cut down one of these kids hanging from a bed, or pick up a teenager who chose to end his or her life with a gun. Maybe something would sink in if they felt the accountability of their actions...I don't know. Then again, a lot of kids these days don't seem to care about much of anything as long as it's not them being bullied, picked on, or whatever it may be. 

I have personal experience with all aspects of this and all I know is that we have to keep up the struggle to educate the kids, adults, authorities, even people in power at the highest level of government. 

Senate votes to Repeal DADT Finally!

FINALLY!

The Senate has finally voted 65/31 to repeal the Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy today at 3:30PM EST.

17 years of discrimination has ended for gays and lesbians to serve in the military.

The next step is the President's desk for signature.