The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health funded the study, the largest of its kind, to conduct a survey of 15,000 seventh-to-ninth grade students, from 1995 to 1996. Typically, much data about crime is found using an e-discovery tool, but in this case the survey asked the students to tell if they had committed non-violent crime, of which 29 percent indicated that they had at least once. 18 percent had used illegal drugs at least once.

The researchers then looked for correlations between the level of happiness the students expressed and their involvement in crimes and drug usage. They found that happier students were less likely to have committed crimes or used drugs, while depressed students seemed to be inclined toward these activities. Since adolescents are known to waver between happiness and depression, the study also found that adolescents who said they were happy more often than they were depressed had lower involvement in crime and drug use.

The implications of the study appear to tip the scales in favor of programs designed to help teens with depression and encourage overall happiness. Because of the wide range of issues that affect happiness, the findings could eventually impact everything from education to health care.

The technique uses data from communication files along with the general data about the criminals to discern a pattern of movement and criminal activity. By aggregating information from emails, phone calls, and other data, the algorithm analyzes the patterns and variables and comes up with reasonable conclusions about possible locations of suspects and predictions about future movement.

The tracking system outputs a probability map that highlights zones where the suspects, criminals, terrorists, or persons of interest are likely to have been or could be operating. Every zone is assigned a level of statistical probability indicating the likelihood of a connection with the suspect. Law enforcement personnel can then concentrate their efforts on the higher level zones and work their way to lower level probability zones as their search continues.

The researchers work at the Department of Industrial Engineering at Tel Aviv University and have been using their algorithm to help officials locate criminals and also present other possible uses for the technology. Companies often need online e-discovery tools to help them better automatically generate recommendations for customers, track movement of digital downloads, and numerous other applications.

So, where’s the problem?

Between 1962 and 1971, the United States military sprayed 21,000,000 gallons of chemical herbicides and defoliants in Vietnam, eastern Laos and parts of Cambodia, as part of Operation Ranch Hand. The program’s goal was to defoliate forested and rural land, depriving the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army of places to hide. Another goal was to destroy the food crops, which affected both the Viet Cong enemy and the South Vietnamese “friendlies.” But no distinction was made between them. And, as the world now knows, the use of dioxin-based herbicide contaminated our own troops stationed in Southeast Asia.

Much of the massive application of the herbicides on the foliage eventually washed down streams and rivers, to the bays, harbors and offshore waters where the Blue Water Navy lived and worked, providing direct combat and combat support to the War effort. Their fresh water for eating, drinking and bathing was made from that water by techniques completely unable to eliminate any dioxin from the water. Several research studies show that the process of making fresh water aboard ships actually enhanced the toxicity of any dioxin trapped in the on-board water system by a factor up to 10 times.

There is currently a Bill in the Senate that would re-instate the health care and compensation to the disabled Blue Water Navy personnel, returning them to equal status with other Vietnam War veterans disabled by dioxin. That Bill was introduced on September 23 as S-1629, “The Agent Orange Equity Act of 2011.” But in order to get through the legislative process and be signed into law, the voters of America need to contact their Senators and Representatives to let them know there is strong support for this Bill. Methods for contacting Legislators by phone, fax and email are easily found on http://www.contactingthecongress.org/ and   http://capwiz.com/military/dbq/officials/?lvl=C .

Agent Orange was a 50:50 mixture of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D, and because of this combination, it was  unlike anything that had ever been used in domestic agriculture.  Agent Orange was manufactured for the U.S. Department of Defense primarily by Monsanto Corporation and Dow Chemical. The herbicides used to produce Agent Orange were later discovered to be contaminated with 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD), the most highly toxic form of  dioxin. Because of the large military demand for Agent Orange, the manufacturing processes were accelerated to maximize corporate profits, resulting in higher levels of dioxin contamination than in 2,4,5-T produced for civilian applications. It was given its name from the color of the orange-striped 55 gallon barrels in which it was shipped, and was by far the most widely used of the so-called “Rainbow Herbicides”. Prior to spraying, the contents of the 55 gallon drums were mixed in a 50:50 ratio with fuel oil to help the Agent Orange stick to the leaves. Because of the fuel oil, the Agent Orange and accompanying dioxin molecules were able to float much longer than otherwise.

John Paul Rossie, Executive Director
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association

The development of Asia is the definition of economics gone right. They have become a major economic player. What this means for the rest of the world was the first topic to be discussed. The balance of power between Asian countries, particularly China, and countries in the West, particularly the United States, has been the most prominent feature in world wide attention. However, the people of many countries in Asia have experienced a transformation as quality of life shifted away from poverty. Many of the problems currently in focus are short term issues, but there are some long term issues such as the future shrinking of China's population and existing instability in some regions. Also, despite general economic growth, there is still a great deal of variation culturally and in terms of government between countries in Asia.

Arguably, countries in the Asian market are described as developing rather than developed, so there is a potential for instability. However, this is more likely to be represented in the economic interaction with the population rather than the interaction between the Asian market and the rest of the world. Historically, more attention has been dedicated to countries in East Asia rather than more western Asian countries, so there has been some failure on the part of non-Asian countries to interact with these western Asian nations.

Generally speaking, the panel is optimistic about the increasing development of Asia. However, there are some reservations from all of the guests. Concerns cover a wide range of issues. There is still very little focus on Asia in terms of education. The prevalence of various Asian language studies and historical learning about Asia is very small compared to Western history. Also, Islamic Asian culture and growth is largely ignored in favor of East Asia. Additionally, despite the lack of dedication to Asian affairs, it is unlikely that the countries of Asia will wait for the rest of the world to catch up, so other countries may fall behind in political and economic interaction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Gwd7FuACs

Frequent doctor visits benefits patients with diabetes by lowering the potentially deadly risks that come with high blood glucose levels, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. Improvements in these key areas are due in part to the increased level of attention received when you are in more constant contact with your doctor, as well as more opportunities for doctors to adjust medication levels and remind patients about positive lifestyle enhancements.

Alexander Turchin, endocrinologist and the study's senior and corresponding author, said that these meetings create a more consistent opportunity for doctors to prescribe new medications or adjust existing dosages. Additionally, physicians meeting more often with diabetes patients can more effectively persuade the patient to make important lifestyle changes in diet, exercise and overall weight – all of which can seriously hinder efforts to control diabetes.

These new findings might prompt an adjustment in the way standard maintenance care for a diabetic patient is defined. Normally, doctors test a patient’s blood glucose every 90 days or so. Based on the findings from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital study, researchers are now proposing that those with severe diabetes should meet with their physician every two weeks.

Based on analysis of approximately 26,500 patient records, Turchin and his team’s findings show that those with Type 2 diabetes who met with their doctor in person or via phone every week were the quickest to get their blood pressure, glucose levels and cholesterol levels in a healthy range.

The difference between patients seeing their physician every week as opposed to those patients who checked in every 90 days is as follows:

·    Patients not taking insulin who visited every week took approximately 4.5 months to reach glucose goals, while non-insulin users who visited every 90 days took more than two years.

·    Patients taking insulin and visiting every week took 10 months to hit glucose goals while those visiting every 90 days took almost 4.5 years.

·    Patients seeing physicians every week achieved blood pressure goals in about 1.3 months, while those seeing physicians every 90 days took more than a year to reach blood pressure goals.

·    Similarly, cholesterol levels in patients seeing doctors once a week reached goal in about 5 months and those visiting every 90 days took nearly 3 years to reach the same goal.

In fact, researchers found that extending the time between visits dramatically increased the amount of time it took patients to hit their glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol marks.

From our position as a pharmacy in Canada, the implications of this study seem to indicate a significant advancement in the management of diabetes and could signal a sea change in the treatment of diabetic patients, as well as how and when physicians prescribe appropriate medications.

The fact that more frequent interaction between doctor and diabetes patient usually means a much faster improvement in key health indicators is a boon for both physician and patient. However, this research underscores the importance of getting those 7 million undiagnosed diabetes patients in the U.S. on the road to treatment. And, furthermore, those remaining 19 million diagnosed patients would likely better manage their diabetes and overall health by meeting with their doctor more frequently than the standard 90 day interval.

Written by Lori Janeson. Check out Lori's Google+ profile.

The trick is to do this carefully; otherwise, the toll of our weakness is the fatal consequence of war. And it is this choice, which we so recklessly use to empty the bath water, that we must step back from because global war could inevitably mean extinction or, as Jonathan Schell so vividly puts it, “the death of death itself.”1 So what alternatives do we have to ensure that the bathtub is emptied at a rate commensurate with the capacity to keep the international pain and suffering of the depression to a minimum?

Not many. But two, if simultaneously adopted, do come to mind. First, we must find the means of keeping American labor gainfully employed, for in the long run it is far less debilitating to the fabric of our society to keep people at work than it is to have them unemployed and paid less than subsistence-level dole-outs.2 Secondly, we must find the will to distribute the accrued wealth of our society more equitably across all strata of our society.3 The rich stay rich—they have the knack of doing so—but the poor must never be allowed to fall through the cracks, if for no other reason but the selfish one that in the future we would find it hard to endure the scorn of our children for being less than civilized.

But there is a third alternative, perhaps the most obvious and significant. If we are all together in the overflowing bathtub and since we cannot step out, no matter how much we would care to do so, working together to eliminate the overflow must become a collective priority. America must face global issues, not just parochial ones.

International bickering is childish. Talk earnestly, particularly with those who don’t like us: Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, etc. Our leaders must be discussing cooperation rather than conflict as if it were the only issue worth discussing, which it is. International agreements on eradicating nuclear warheads, working toward interfaith harmony, living beneficially with all life forms, limiting human population growth, preserving fresh water supplies—these are but a few examples—must be made and acted upon with national self-interest taking a back seat. Russia, China, and India must be full partners in this debate, since there is reliable consensus that these societies have built-in cushions that make the depression created by unbridled capitalism easier for them to endure. Most important, the West must refrain from the arrogant view that global capitalism as an economic model has everything to offer mankind, and instead pick over the pearls of wisdom of other far-from-moribund economic systems that we can utilize to our collective advantage.

The National Dilemma

Our first national responsibility must be to face the fact that we can no longer pretend to maintain a Defense Department when in reality it is a War Department. This would be the first but essential step away from the imperialistic tendencies we have cultivated since destroying the Native Americans’ way of life a couple of centuries ago. Only by eliminating spending on the wars we are presently waging, and never again engaging in wars (unless it is the legitimate will of the people), will we ever begin to attain a national maturity. And since our war (defense) budget has doubled since 2001, according to just-retired Secretary of War (Defense) Robert Gates, it is imperative that this national insanity be reversed immediately.

Well before 9/11, Osama bin Laden made it clear that as a citizen of the world he was opposed to three iniquities: infidel troops stationed on Arab soil (after the First Gulf War, America left troops stationed in Saudi Arabia), Israel’s rejection of United Nations Resolution 242, and US support of dictators ruling the Middle East, most notably Egypt and the Saudi royal family’s governance of his own homeland. While the world abhors the alleged outcome of bin Laden’s wrath, America’s irrational response, to invade both Afghanistan and Iraq on the flimsiest of reasons, inflamed that region. The result: the death of hundreds of thousands of Afghans and Iraqis, the uprooting of hundreds of thousands more over the whole region, now including Pakistan and Libya. It spurred the growth of Hamas and Hezbollah, the rise of the Taliban and militant Islam, and the decay of a once-proud nuclear nation we knew of as Pakistan, while sowing the seeds of our own economic chaos at home. Like a bear breaking into a honeycomb, America is now plagued by a furious horde of stinging bees we call terrorists, who in reality are expressing their outrage against our invasion and occupation of their countries. Like all nations with grandiose imperialist aspirations, America has to realize it is now at a turning point. Like Rome, its weakness comes from within. Our economic might has been exposed as a chimera.

To even begin to be able to call ourselves a civilized society, we must learn the meaning of humility. Our response must be the immediate pull-out of all foreign troops—US and NATO forces—from the entire Middle East. This in itself will still not negate the Theatre of the Absurd we adhere to: that a nuclear war is winnable. Why do we maintain the largest nuclear weapons arsenal the world has ever known, along with corresponding worldwide supersonic and underwater delivery systems? Reducing this colossal number of terrifying weapons unilaterally will be a welcome start to minimizing the risk that our human existence may be extinguishable by mistake. It will also put the world on notice that we are learning to respect it.

America still maintains a global empire of well over 700 acknowledged military bases with more than 2,500,000 US personnel serving across the planet. How many additional installations we maintain, using predominantly local forces and mercenaries under our command or influence, is unknown. But the size of our military empire must number well over 1,000 overseas bases, far greater than the British Empire in its heyday 100 years ago, and perhaps only comparable to the Roman Empire 2,000 years ago. Yet we are loath to label ourselves “imperialists,” even though much of the world witnesses our imperialistic ways each day. Since the end of the Second World War, both Japan and Europe have grown to tolerate the US presence only for the additional income it guarantees. It is time to come home from there too.

Firm realistic commitments to remove our global military presence and to remain behind our national borders must become the mainstay of our defense strategy. Nothing less makes moral or economic sense. America, as the greatest supplier of munitions the world has ever known, has a moral obligation to allow the world to cautiously dream of a future. If we are to live up to the standards of our freedom-loving forefathers, we must remember their intent, best stated by Thomas Jefferson: “Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.”

As Ron Paul states in The Revolution: A Manifesto, “the principles enshrined in the Constitution do not change. Today’s complex world cries out for the moral clarity of a noninterventionist foreign policy.”4

1. Jonathan Schell, The Fate of the Earth (1982–ISBN 9780394525594)

2. http://thepersonalsecurity.com/archives/fool%E2%80%99s-gold-of-u-s-foreign-policy

3. http://thedebtweowe.com/paying-the-piper

4. Ron Paul, The Revolution: A Manifesto (2008–ISBN 9780446537513)

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The preceding was a guest article for Personal Security by author Jim Knapton.  To know more about Jim Knapton’s new book, Changing Our World: Solutions for a Future, visit his website at http://www.ottolinepublishing.com/. You can send him mail at info@ottolinepublishing.com.

But if you think that’s lunacy, consider the consequences at home.

Out of nowhere in late 2008 we ran into a national financial crisis, reminiscent of the 1929 Wall Street Crash but caused this time by a sub-prime mortgage scare. Looking back now, how such a scam could have been considered legal is beyond comprehension. Apparently, with plenty of easy money sloshing about for customers with less-than-perfect credit, who cared? Certainly not the banksters and their friends, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal regulators. So when variable mortgages began to shoot upwards, as they were designed to do, many new homeowners found they could not afford to pay their monthly bills and foreclosures grew rapidly. This led to home values in decline for the first time in years. Home sales sagged; real estate profits plummeted. So what did the Fed do to halt the oncoming recession? They cut interest rates in double-quick time. While this policy put more money into the economy, it ignored the fundamental flaw of the charade: there wasn’t any money. All we had as collateral was debt, the “pretense of money.” Bernanke hadn’t noticed that the economy was a house of cards on the brink of collapse. God knows why, because it was obvious to many others. Notwithstanding, Time magazine named him 2009 Person of the Year.

Now Bernanke is worried about inflation—the hidden tax on all of us, particularly the poor—and the next-to-useless dollar. The Dow Jones is all over the place but generally in decline. Our European partners are equally troubled with their sinking euro. Japan’s economy is in dire straits, not helped by a hugely devastating earthquake and tsunami with dreadful lingering consequences. Unemployment in both the US and the EU is at record high levels, showing little signs of improvement. Even China is grumbling, not surprising when it is beginning to wonder how the US is to pay off the $14 trillion debt which is being largely carried by China. Meanwhile, those in the know are hoping and praying that the floodgates are strong enough to hold back the self-inflicted increasing pressure caused by our past greed. It’s as if we all fell off our trolleys, running in the same tracks at the same time, and we haven’t a clue as to how to get back on.

The Soundness of Reason

If they want to be reelected, Washington politicians need to concentrate on two policies: creating sound money and caring for the welfare of the common people. Few of them realize this. Some are trying, but they have been brainwashed by the propaganda of economists who advocate getting out of the hole created in the autumn of 2008 by bailing out the banks, directly (Bush-Paulson) or indirectly (Obama-Geithner). Since these are reckless policies, relying on spending our future wealth now, they further the creation of unsound money in total disregard of the needs of the people. We see the rich winning at our expense and wonder why. Obama’s campaign mantras are quickly beginning to sound fraudulent.

Nobel Prizes for Economics (and now Peace) are a farce. Physics, Chemistry, Literature are all worthy endeavors. Economics is a game of chance predicting differing outcomes, none of which are certain. So why should Obama’s gang be any better than Bush’s gang? That’s why spending our future on a stimulus package that might work is not only risky, it’s criminal, particularly when it’s exactly how Bush tried and failed.

There are alternatives, Mr. Obama. Why not hone in on the problem and develop solutions? That’s what a physicist or a chemist would do. Economics is far too imprecise.

Answers to national problems are rarely found on the political Right or Left anymore but in the common sense of reason, the amalgam of principles and well thought through argument so necessary for our survival. Instead, contemporary debates are shouting matches on Sunday morning Fox TV programs, no longer the rational, lively discussion of disagreements presented on William F. Buckley’s Firing Line show thirty-odd years ago, particularly with guests such as Noam Chomsky or John Kenneth Galbraith. More recently, we could watch an engaging dialogue on Bill Moyers Journal on PBS on Friday evenings until Bill decided enough was enough. Now there is little that even approaches the intelligent discourse characteristic of a democracy that once was the pride and joy of the Western world. Nowhere is the present dearth of meaningful political discussion so conspicuous as on C-Span TV where congressional “debates” aired in three-quarters empty chambers are absolutely soporific, so different from the carnival atmosphere of the British House of Commons on Prime Minister’s Question Time.

So is the argument for getting back on the gold standard, or any other standard that does not create debt, the way forward?

To contemplate resolving such an enormous issue requires more than debate, even if we ever got around to it. It requires debts to be paid off, willingness to accept no new debt, everyone to live within their means, and exceptional hardship for a long time. In other words, it isn’t likely to happen because no one considers it a debatable issue, except Ron Paul. On the issue of even considering single payer healthcare, there was Dennis Kucinich until he gave up spectacularly by voting for the Obama healthcare bill at the very last minute, to squeak the president over the fence, the biggest about-face seen in politics in years. This is the decline of America in its most naked form.

Before the Lights Go Out

We need to listen not to economists (who bicker among themselves instead of providing any real guidance) or reactionary radio and TV pundits (who behave obnoxiously and enrich themselves at the expense of our penury) but to sound thinkers of uncommon rectitude—so far, the only one among contending presidential hopefuls being Ron Paul—with no axe to grind but, rather, consistent adherence to his principles as well as policies to steer America back to its worthy place as the hope of the world.

In addition, here is a blueprint for getting Americans back to work, a guarantee that  eliminates the annual deficit, a plan for reforming America’s sickcare system, and an obvious change in the way we manage our wealth.(2, 3, 4, 5) An argument for a noninterventionist foreign policy is next in line.

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1. Ron Suskind, The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill (2004–ISBN 9780743255462)

2. http://thepersonalsecurity.com/archives/fool%E2%80%99s-gold-of-u-s-foreign-policy

3. http://thedebtweowe.com/paying-the-piper

4. http://organichealthadviser.com/archives/reforming-americas-sickcare-system

5. http://thedebtweowe.com/management-by-knowing

To know more about Jim Knapton’s new book, Changing Our World: Solutions for a Future, visit his website at http://www.ottolinepublishing.com/. You can send him mail at info@ottolinepublishing.com.

Somehow, the government expects to be able to create 100,000 jobs to bring down an unemployment rate at 14.7%.  Perhaps they plan on hiring 100,000 new workers to go around the country and collect the tax.

It reminds me of what I saw in Bolivia a couple of weeks ago– there’s a tax or toll or fee for nearly everything you do. Driving on the highway (if you can call it that) outside of Santa Cruz, you pay a toll… obviously not for the maintenance of the road, but to pay the salary of the toll collector.

At the airport, you have to pay an airport tax before departure… obviously not for the upkeep and efficiency of the airport (it took 2-hours to make it to my gate), but to pay the salaries of the guys who collect the airport tax.

This is what politicians consider ‘job creation,’ yet these positions only serve to destroy value.  That they would stick up the retirement funds of hard working people is even more immoral.

Here’s the best part, though. If you are a government worker in Ireland, your pension is exempt. They’re only going after people in the private work force.  It’s truly disgusting logic to force private workers to pay for years of political incompetence while absolving government employees.

Coincidentally, there are a few other loopholes as well, particularly for non-residents and non-resident funds. Apparently those Irish who saw the writing on the wall and got busy moving themselves and their assets offshore will get to keep all of their savings.

Ireland is not the first country to call this play, nor will it be the last. Pension funds are attractive targets for politicians who have wide eyes and the most carnal thoughts at the site of any large pool of cash.

Think it can’t happen where you live? Think again. Late last year, the French government went through an elaborate process to change its pension laws, ‘legally’ allowing politicians to steal retirement funds from the public in order to pay off other debts.

In the US, public pensions have been raided for years, Congress routinely ‘borrows’ from Social Security to make up budget shortfalls.  This is what talking heads mean when they play down concerns of a $14 trillion debt “because we owe it to ourselves–”  $4.6 trillion of the debt is owed to intragovernmental agencies like Social Security.

Chances of this money being repaid to Social Security in full? Slim.  The trend is more debt, not paying off existing debt. In fact, I’m convinced that politicians have their eyes firmly fixed on the trillions of dollars in private, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) in the United States to fund new spending.

Here’s how it will go down:

First, there will be some event… some sort of financial cataclysm, similar to the market meltdown we saw in 2008 after Lehman.

Bear in mind that most IRAs are managed by boneheads at big financial institutions; they get compensated not based on the performance of their portfolio, but on the total amount of assets under management.  Your interests and their interests do not align.

As such, most IRAs are callously tossed into S&P index funds or some such generic vehicle, citing the safety of broader market diversification, as if that nonsense they teach in MBA finance classes is how the real world actually works.

When a big crash occurs, these unhedged broad market positions get hammered the most. Don’t worry though, your fund manager will still get a big fat bonus check, because his performance is irrelevant.

This is when Congress will step in. Citing its desire to ‘protect’ the American people from future market shocks, the politicians will mandate that a portion of all managed retirement funds be invested in the ‘safety and security’ of US Treasury bonds. And, just to be on the safe side, let’s park them in 30-year bonds that yield 4.35%.

Sound fair? Well who asked you anyways… just be a good citizen and turn over your money already. The important part is that the big financial institutions still get their big fat fees, and the government gets its hands on the mother lode.

This is how US taxpayers will end up being forced to loan their hard earned retirement savings to the government at rates far below any expected inflation.

Right now, there is a window of opportunity to take action; US taxpayers with retirement accounts can set up a special kind of IRA structure that allows you to take control of your retirement savings, and even ship it offshore if you want to, completely legitimately.

After taking control of your IRA, you can do any number of things– buy and store gold and silver coins overseas; hold foreign currencies in an offshore bank account; buy securities on international stock exchanges; purchase agricultural property overseas, or even a beautiful apartment on the beach in some sunny country.

The possibilities are incredible… but the most important thing is that you get this retirement money off the radar of the politicians before they pull an Ireland and announce some new measure, virtually overnight. These things can happen very, very quickly.

I’ve talked about this before a number of times, and every time I read the news of yet another country taking this approach, it serves as a reminder to take action.

If what I’m saying makes sense to you, my recommendation is to check out Terry Coxon’s book on this subject, Unleash your IRA.  As one of the world’s foremost experts on this strategy, Terry walks you through the process of protecting your retirement savings quickly and legitimately. You can read more about it here.

I’ll be out tomorrow looking at some fantastic deals on agricultural property in Chile’s beautiful Central Valley, stay tuned for more.

Original article can be found here: http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/how-the-us-government-will-seize-your-retirement-account

Simon Black, a.k.a. SovereignMan, is a permanent traveler, international businessman and, most importantly, a free and sovereign man. Tens of thousands subscribe to the Sovereign Man’s excellent free newsletter, which is short, actionable and comes out daily.

*****

Turning the Clock Back Isn't Enough: The Nasty Surprise Awaiting the GOP on Health Care and the Deficit By Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson, Authors of Where Does the Money Go? Rev Ed: Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis.

© 2010 Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson, authors of Where Does the Money Go? Rev Ed: Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis.

Author Bios

Scott Bittle, author of Where Does the Money Go? Rev Ed: Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis, is the executive editor of Public Agenda Online and has won two Golden Quill awards for feature articles and was honored by the Philadelphia Press Association for daily newspaper writing.

Jean Johnson, co-author of Where Does the Money Go? Rev Ed: Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis, is the Executive Vice President of Public Agenda, Jean Johnson has more then 20 years of experience understanding public attitudes on a broad range of issues. She has also written for various publications such as USA Today, Education Week, and the National Institute of Justice Journal.

For more information please visit  PublicAgenda.org and follow the authors on Facebook and Twitter

The world is getting crazier every day.  People simply are not as moral as they used to be.  There are literally millions of criminals and predators out there, and at some point either you or a member of your family could encounter one of them.  Are you and your family ready for that day?

The following are 10 of the best self-defense gifts for the 2011 holidays....

#1 Black Cat Self Defense Keychain - This is great for anyone, but especially for women.  It only costs a few bucks, it is very easy to carry, and in a tight spot it can be an absolute life saver.

#2 Streetwise 700k Volt Stun Gun w/ Alarm and Holster - There are very few things that will do more to get potential attackers to back off than showing them that you have a stun gun on you.

#3 Point Blank Patrol II Body Armor NIJ Level II size Medium 44R ONLY - Bulletproof vest - Body armor can literally save your life.  If you think you will ever be in a position where people will be firing bullets at you, then you should really consider investing in some body armor.

#4 Combatives for Street Survival: Volume 1: Index Positions, the Guard and Combatives Strikes - A great book with some very practical tips on how to survive in street fight situations.

#5 Get Tough - This is an old book but it is an absolute classic when it comes to self-defense techniques.

#6 SABRE Compact Pepper Spray with Pink Key Case - Supports National Breast Cancer Foundation- By purchasing this small pepper spray unit, you can defend yourself against attackers and support breast cancer research at the same time.

#7 4 oz. Ounce Pepper Spray With Nylon Holster - This pepper spray unit is a bit more "manly" and it is for those who think they may need something a little more "serious".

#8 Expandable Self Defense Baton 16 Inch Black - When it comes to self-defense, you want something that you can carry with you anywhere but that can also pack a big punch.  This expandable baton definitely does the trick on both accounts.

#9 Hardcore Self-Defense - The title of this book says it all.  There is a reason why so many of these books have been sold.

#10 Slap Hat Extreme Self Defense Cap - These caps look like regular baseball caps, but they make very versatile self-defense weapons in a pinch.

But the debate about these full body scanners continues to grow.  In fact, some travelers are getting downright angry.  Just consider the following quote from a recent USA Today article about these machines....

"The system takes three to five times as long as walking through a metal detector," says Phil Bush of Atlanta, one of many fliers on USA TODAY's Road Warriors panel who oppose the machines. "This looks to be yet another disaster waiting to happen."

But the truth is that "inconvenience" is only a small part of the debate.

Security officials admit that these full body scanners can see the most intimate details of our exposed bodies right through our clothing, and now there comes word that these machines may be far more hazardous to  our health than previously believed.

Scientists at Columbia University have found that the dose of radiation from these new full body scanners could be up to 20 times higher than originally estimated. 

Yet the TSA is not even slowing down their installation of these machines.  Federal authorities seem to have no concern that millions of travelers could soon be getting fried with massive doses of radiation by these scanners.

What in the world is happening to America?

The truth is that it is getting downright humiliating to travel by plane in America.

Just watch the video news report about TSA security abuse below.

What you are about to see will blow your mind.

Is it worth going through this type of abuse just to get on an airplane?....

Yes, personal security is important, but isn't human dignity important as well?

What does it say about our society when we all line up and allow gawking security officials to examine our entire naked bodies just so that we can get on an airplane?

Okay, so perhaps you say that you just aren't going to fly.

Well, what happens when these full body scanners start being installed in bus, train and subway stations all across America?

You don't think it could ever happen?

Think again.

The truth is that our country is changing.

In fact, a new bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would require all U.S. airports to use the new full body scanners.

Once we get used to them there, could one day they be required for every bus station and train station as well?

Yes, very easily.

We are on a very slippery slope and our land which once cherished freedom and liberty so much is rapidly turning into a locked-down Big Brother police state.

But at least we will all feel safe, eh?

The following are some really sobering statistics about crime in the United States....

*There are nearly 12 million crimes committed in the United States every single year.  That is by far the worst in the world.  No other country has more than about 6 million reported crimes per year.

*There are currently over 2.2 million people in prison in the United States.  The U.S. leads the world in the number of prisoners and in the percentage of the population in prison. The United States has 5% of the world's population, but 25% of the world's incarcerated population.

*The United States also has 100,000 rapes every single year.  That is the highest number for any of the countries in the United Nations.

*There are approximately 500,000 robberies in the United States every single year.  However, this is only the second highest number among the countries belonging to the United Nations.

*There are about one million police officers in the United States - the highest number in the world.

*There are over 17,000 murders in the United States every single year, and that number is only going to go up as the economy crashes and people become more desperate.

*There are over 1.2 million car thefts in the United States every single year - by far the most in the world.

*One out of every five people is a victim of a crime every year in the United States.  Once again, this is the worst rate in the world.

The following is from the manufacturer's own description of this toy set.....

The woman traveler stops by the security checkpoint. After placing her luggage on the screening machine, the airport employee checks her baggage. The traveler hands her spare change and watch to the security guard and proceeds through the metal detector.

While this may seem like a perfectly innocent toy to most people, the reality is that it is just another example of how even the youngest Americans are being conditioned to submit to the emerging Big Brother police state.  Fascists thugs dressed in black will rule over us as we cower before our technocratic overlords - all in the name of safety.

Do you think that we are overreacting to this toy?  Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion.

In addition, for our daily world news updates, please visit The Most Important News.

Overall, there were allegations of sexual abuse of inmates by prison staff at all but 1 of the 93 prison sites under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Prisons.  In addition, there were allegations of sexual abuse of inmates against staff in every single occupational category except human resources.

So what does this all mean?  It means that this is a very, very widespread problem. 

The rape and sexual abuse of prisoners by U.S. federal prison staff is a systemic problem and it is growing.

But of course the sexual abuse by prison staff pales in comparison to what prisoners are doing to each other.

In 2007, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) released a report entitled: “Sexual Victimization in State and Federal Prisons Reported by Inmates, 2007”.  According to that report, a whopping 4.5 percent of the state and federal prisoners surveyed actually admitted that they had been sexually victimized during the past 12 months.  The shame of being raped is a huge factor in cases, such as these, so it is likely that even this number understates the reality of the problem. 

But even if you just take the 4.5 percent number, the implications are staggering.  Assuming a national prison population of about 1.5 million prisoners, the BJS report suggests that in just one year alone more than 70,000 prison inmates were raped or sexually abused.

So the next time that you consider doing something that could end up with you behind bars, perhaps you should consider these statistics.  The reality is that U.S. prisons and NOT safe and they are full of sexual perverts.  It is a silent tragedy that goes on every single day across the nation, and government officials have been extremely slow to do anything about it.

So now that addicts do not have to fear going to jail, is this going to help solve Mexico's drug problem or is it going to make it worse?

Are the drug gangs that are terrorizing northern Mexico and the southwestern U.S. suddenly going to stop selling drugs?

Hardly.

If anything, this will make things worse, because now people in Mexico will not be afraid to buy drugs, so there will be more of a market.

As if the gang problem in the U.S. and Mexico was not bad enough already.

U.S. authorities claim that there are now over 1 million members of criminal gangs inside the United States. According to federal statistics, these 1 million gang members are responsible for up to 80% of the crimes committed in the U.S. each year.

Those numbers are absolutely staggering.

And the reality is that gangs are not just for the big cities anymore either. Smaller U.S. cities such as Omaha, Nebraska and Nashville, Tennessee have a devastating gang problem. According to USAToday, 58% of state and local law enforcement agencies reported that violent criminal gangs were active in their local areas last year, up from 45% in 2004.

The truth is that urban America is absolutely overrun with gang violence. When the gangs are not killing each other, they are raping, murdering and intimidating the peaceful communities around them. Wherever gangs are active, home invasions are very common and drug dealing is rampant.

Now there are many areas in the U.S. where you simply DO NOT go out of your house at night. People in those areas are literally prisoners in their own homes.

The current economic turmoil is just making the situation that much worse. You have a horde of young men that cannot get jobs and that do not see a positive future for themselves in American society.

So what do they do?

In many cases, they join gangs.

The United States pushed God out of their schools and out of public life, so this is one of the results.  We now live in a nation where an increasing number of young men are turning to gangs and crime.

The young men of America have become godless, brutal and violent.  This is another sign that the U.S. is quickly becoming a cesspool of godlessness.  In 2 Timothy 3:1-4, it describes how people will be in the last days.....

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God"

The reality is that this nation is becoming more dangerous every day.

So what do you do if you live some place where gangs have taken control?

Well, either you move or you get some serious security.  Things are not going to get any better any time soon, and we all need to understand that.

Once upon a time, Americans would have never thought that they would be endangered at a public political event. Back in the old days, Americans were civil with each other and while they certainly did debate the issues hard, they generally never attempted to threaten, intimidate or physically attack the other side.

But the reality now is that the Democrats and Republicans absolutely HATE each other, and an increasing number of people hate both political parties.

Trust is breaking down. People don't trust the government and the government does not trust the people. Employers don't trust their employees and employees don't trust their employers. People even seem less likely to trust their own family and friends than ever before.

The truth is that you can't have society without trust. As trust continues to break down, society will continue to unravel.

And the sad thing is that the American people have very good reasons not to trust politicians anymore. Both political parties have lied to the American people over and over and over and over, and ordinary Americans are waking up and are getting completely sick and tired of it.

Perhaps you are skeptical. The following is a collection of YouTube videos that should prove to you beyond any doubt that the American people are getting angrier at both political parties than we have ever seen in our lifetimes.....

#1) Tampa, Florida

#2) Elkhart County, Indiana

#3) Detroit

#4) Austin, Texas

#5) Philadelphia

#6) Arkansas

#7) St. Louis

#8) Romulus, Michigan

#9) Denver

#10) Mehville, Missouri

#11) Troy, Michigan

#12) Maryland

The reality is that the American people are steamed. They are upset about health care, cap and trade, taxes, deficits, personal security, jobs and a whole host of other issues that members of both parties have been lying about for years.

Instead of addressing those concerns, the politicians in Washington are dismissing the protesters and in some cases even calling them names.  That is not going to help things.

Perhaps the politicians could try something different and actually listen to their constituents.  But we all know that is very unlikely to happen.

As you watch this video, try to think about what you can do to improve the security of your home and workplace.....

What do you all think about this safety video? Feel free to leave a comment below.....

 
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