Obamacare's "Advance Care Planning Consultation" (Pages 425-430 of the Health Care Bill -- Death Planning?)

It is amazing to hear the executive spinsters try and push the health care reform. Because the Obama team has dispatched Linda Douglass to track "disinformation" about the health care reform bill, she will likely send someone from her team to this site. If you are hearing here pursuant Ms. Douglass' edict or even Ms. Douglass herself, then I welcome you to this site and invite to browse its contents.

As for Ms. Douglass' rebuttal to the alleged disinformation, her rebuttal is completely insufficient. She points and cites to some speeches that Barack has given to show that our health care will not be socialized. Those speeches are irrelevant. What is relevant is the information in the FULL TEXT of the full 1,018 page bill. This text will control, not Obama's speeches.

They say that the bill will not require you to plan the end of your life. They are wrong! While I cannot analyze the entire bill, I can analyze certain important aspects and the bill's "Advance Care Planning Consultation" provisions are quite important. To me it appears you will be required to plan the end of your life especially if you suffer a major illness.

Your plan MUST be approved by the physician, so if the physician does not agree with something in the plan, then he/she will not approve it. Therefore in order to get your end-of-life plan approved, you must agree with what your physician says. This same physician will be paid by the government through the plan, so the physician's interest will be conflicted.

Basically, the portion of the bill provides the map for which you provide an end of life plan. How do you want to die? You can download the full America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 bill here, but here is my analysis of pages 425-430. I have highlighted in bold and emphasized the relevant portions.

Advance Care Planning Consultation

‘‘(hhh)

(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the term ‘advance care planning consultation’ means a consultation between the individual and a practitioner described in paragraph (2) regarding advance care planning, if, subject to paragraph (3), the individual involved has not had such a consultation within the last 5 years. Such consultation shall include the following:

‘‘(A) An explanation by the practitioner of advance care planning, including key questions and considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to.

‘‘(B) An explanation by the practitioner of advance directives, including living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses.

‘‘(C) An explanation by the practitioner of the role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.

‘‘(D) The provision by the practitioner of a list of national and State-specific resources to assist consumers and their families with advance care planning, including the national toll-free hotline, the advance care planning clearinghouses, and State legal service organizations (including those funded through the Older Americans Act of 1965).

‘‘(E) An explanation by the practitioner of the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice, and benefits for such services and supports that are available under this title.

‘‘(F)

(i) Subject to clause (ii), an explanation of orders regarding life sustaining treatment or similar orders, which shall include—

‘‘(I) the reasons why the development of such an order is beneficial to the individual and the individual’s family and the reasons why such an order should be updated periodically as the health of the individual changes;

‘‘(II) the information needed for an individual or legal surrogate to make informed decisions regarding the completion of such an order; and

‘‘(III) the identification of resources that an individual may use to determine the requirements of the State in which such individual resides so that the treatment wishes of that individual will be carried out if the individual is unable to communicate those wishes, including requirements regarding the designation of a surrogate decisionmaker (also known as a health care proxy).

‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall limit the requirement for explanations under clause (i) to consultations furnished in a State—

‘‘(I) in which all legal barriers have been addressed for enabling orders for life sustaining treatment to constitute a set of medical orders respected across all care settings; and

‘‘(II) that has in effect a program for orders for life sustaining treatment described in clause (iii).

‘‘(iii) A program for orders for life sustaining treatment for a States described in this clause is a program that

‘‘(I) ensures such orders are standardized and uniquely identifiable throughout the State;

‘‘(II) distributes or makes accessible such orders to physicians and other health professionals that (acting within the scope of the professional’s authority under State law) may sign orders for life sustaining treatment;

‘‘(III) provides training for health care professionals across the continuum of care about the goals and use of orders for life sustaining treatment; and

‘‘(IV) is guided by a coalition of stakeholders includes representatives from emergency medical services, emergency department physicians or nurses, state long-term care association, state medical association, state surveyors, agency responsible for senior services, state department of health, state hospital association, home health association, state bar association, and state hospice association.

‘‘(2) A practitioner described in this paragraph is—

‘‘(A) a physician (as defined in subsection (r)(1)); and

‘‘(B) a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant who has the authority under State law to sign orders for life sustaining treatments.

‘‘(3)

(A) An initial preventive physical examination under subsection (WW), including any related discussion during such examination, shall not be considered an advance care planning consultation for purposes of applying the 5-year limitation under paragraph (1).

‘‘(B) An advance care planning consultation with respect to an individual may be conducted more frequently than provided under paragraph (1) if there is a significant change in the health condition of the individual, including diagnosis of a chronic, progressive, life-limiting disease, a life-threatening or terminal diagnosis or life-threatening injury, or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a long-term care facility (as defined by the Secretary), or a hospice program.

‘‘(4) A consultation under this subsection may include the formulation of an order regarding life sustaining treatment or a similar order.

‘‘(5)

(A) For purposes of this section, the term ‘order regarding life sustaining treatment’ means, with respect to an individual, an actionable medical order relating to the treatment of that individual that—

‘‘(i) is signed and dated by a physician (as defined in subsection (r)(1)) or another health care professional (as specified by the Secretary and who is acting within the scope of the professional’s authority under State law in signing such an order, including a nurse practitioner or physician assistant) and is in a form that permits it to stay with the individual and be followed by health care professionals and providers across the continuum of care;

‘‘(ii) effectively communicates the individual’s preferences regarding life sustaining treatment, including an indication of the treatment and care desired by the individual;

‘‘(iii) is uniquely identifiable and standardized within a given locality, region, or State (as identified by the Secretary); and

‘‘(iv) may incorporate any advance directive (as defined in section 1866(f)(3)) if executed by the individual.

‘‘(B) The level of treatment indicated under subparagraph (A)(ii) may range from an indication for full treatment to an indication to limit some or all or specified interventions. Such indicated levels of treatment may include indications respecting, among other items—

‘‘(i) the intensity of medical intervention if the patient is pulse less, apneic, or has serious cardiac or pulmonary problems;

‘‘(ii) the individual’s desire regarding transfer to a hospital or remaining at the current care setting;

‘‘(iii) the use of antibiotics; and

‘‘(iv) the use of artificially administered nutrition and hydration.’’

FLASHBACK: 1918 Spanish Flu Comparison (Will Vaccines and Aspirin Spread H1N1 "Swine" Flu?)

Let me first say that I am not a medical doctor. I don't even attempt to play one on television. Therefore, any information presented here is for educational analysis purposes only and should not be used as medical advice.

History is the key to many future answers. Unfortunately, most people have no sense of history and continually wander aimlessly around like a chicken with its head chopped off. As we get the continual hype and evolution of the H1N1 "swine" flu, there is no way to know what effect it will ultimately have on mankind. At this point, it has killed less people than the regular flu virus.

The medical community and health organizations beg to differ and feel that this flu may rival and surpass the legendary Spanish flu in 1918-1919 which killed an estimated 50,000,000 people worldwide. If the H1N1 mutates to become more severe, then anything is possible.

What will you do if you get the "swine" flu? Will you take over-the-counter medicines such as aspirin? Will you attempt to reduce your fevers with Tynenol? If history is the key, then taking aspirin and other over-the-counter medicines may actually make the "swine" flu worse -- perhaps even deadly.

Following is an excerpt from Eleanor McBean’s eyewitness account as memorialized in Chapter Two of her book, "Vaccination Condemned."

All the doctors and people who were living at the time of the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic say it was the most terrible disease the world has ever had. Strong men, hale and hearty one day would be dead the next.

The disease had the characteristics of the black death added to typhoid, diphtheria, pneumonia, smallpox, paralysis and all the diseases the people had been vaccinated with immediately following World War I. Practically the entire population had been injected "seeded" with a dozen or more diseases - or toxic serums. When all those doctor-made diseases started breaking out all at once it was tragic. That pandemic dragged on for two years, kept alive with the addition of more poison drugs administered by the doctors who tried to suppress the symptoms. As far as I could find out, the flu hit only the vaccinated. Those who had refused the shots escaped the flu...

When the flu was at its peak, all the stores were closed as well as the schools, businesses—even the hospital, as the doctors and nurses had been vaccinated too and were down with the flu. No one was on the streets. It was like a ghost town. We [who didn’t take any vaccines] seemed to be the only family which didn’t get the flu...

There was seven times more disease among the vaccinated soldiers than among the unvaccinated civilians, and the diseases were those they had been vaccinated against. One soldier who had returned from overseas in 1912 told me that the army hospitals were filled with cases of infantile paralysis and he wondered why grown men should have an infant disease. Now, we know that paralysis is a common after-effect of vaccine poisoning. Those at home didn’t get the paralysis until after the world-wide vaccination campaign in 1918.

Homeopathy also gained quite a reputation during the 1918 flu pandemic. Raymond Seidel, HMD (homeopathic medical doctor), decided to be a homeopathic doctor during the 1918 flu epidemic when he was a 10-year-old delivery boy for a local homeopath. He said, "I saw that the people who were taking aspirin were dying, about half those who were drinking a lot were dying, and those that received homeopathic remedies were living."

In Julian Winston’s article, Influenza-1918: Homeopathy to the Rescue (The New England Journal of Homeopathy, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1998), he noted that most of the deaths were caused by a virulent pneumonia that was especially devastating to those who depressed their system with analgesics, especially aspirin. The following citations from his article prove this point:

Three hundred and fifty cases and lost one, a neglected pneumonia that came to me after she had taken one hundred grains of aspirin in twenty-four hours. ~Cora Smith King, MD, Washington, DC

I had a package handed to me containing 1,000 aspirin tablets, which was 994 too many. I think I gave about a half dozen. I could find no place for it. My remedies were few. I almost invariably gave Gelsemium and Bryonia. I hardly ever lost a case if I got there first, unless the patient had been sent to a drug store and bought aspirin, in which event I was likely to have a case of pneumonia on my hands. ~J. P. Huff, MD, Olive Branch, Kentucky

One physician in a Pittsburgh hospital asked a nurse if she knew anything better than what he was doing, because he was losing many cases. "Yes, Doctor, and go down to a homeopathic pharmacy, and get homeopathic remedies." The Doctor replied: "But that is homeopathy." "I know it, but the homeopathic doctors for whom I have nursed have not lost a single case." ~W. F. Edmundson, MD, Pittsburgh

There is one drug which directly or indirectly was the cause of the loss of more lives than was influenza itself. You all know that drug. It claims to be salicylic acid. Aspirin’s history has been printed. Today you don’t know what the sedative action of salicylic acid is. It did harm in two ways. It’s indirect action came through the fact that aspirin was taken until prostration resulted and the patient developed pneumonia. ~Frank L. Newton, MD, Somerville, Massachusetts

Aspirin and the other coal tar products are condemned as causing great numbers of unnecessary deaths. The omnipresent aspirin is the most pernicious drug of all. It beguiles by its quick action of relief of pain, a relief which is but meretricious. In several cases aspirin weakened the heart, depressed the vital forces, increased the mortality in mild cases and made convalescence slower. In all cases it masks the symptoms and renders immeasurably more difficult the selection of the curative remedy. Apparently aspirin bears no curative relation to any disease and it ought to be prohibited. ~Guy Beckly Stearns, MD, New York

The deaths occurred among those who stifled their body’s attempts to heal itself by taking allopathic potions such as aspirin and other inappropriate treatments.

Source: Idaho Observer

Sarah Palin Blasts Obamacare and "Death Panels" in Facebook Post!

Things must be getting tough if the people at or near the top are throwing shots and disses at each other. I guess since Palin quit being the Governor, she has time to play on her Facebook page and diss the President.

For once though, I actually agree with Mrs. Palin. Obamacare is terrible! His plan is just an excuse for the federal government to get its grubby hands on 1/6th of the economy by controlling health care. Here is what Palin had to say.

As more Americans delve into the disturbing details of the nationalized health care plan that the current administration is rushing through Congress, our collective jaw is dropping, and we’re saying not just no, but hell no!

The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

Health care by definition involves life and death decisions. Human rights and human dignity must be at the center of any health care discussion.

Rep. Michele Bachmann highlighted the Orwellian thinking of the president’s health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the White House chief of staff, in a floor speech to the House of Representatives. I commend her for being a voice for the most precious members of our society, our children and our seniors.

We must step up and engage in this most crucial debate. Nationalizing our health care system is a point of no return for government interference in the lives of its citizens. If we go down this path, there will be no turning back. Ronald Reagan once wrote, “Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” Let’s stop and think and make our voices heard before it’s too late.

- Sarah Palin

Rep. Bachmann's speech can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CHBvKGmevI

Source: Facebook

Japanese Fishermen Kill Thousands of Flipper Dolphins Every Year

I recall Japan issuing an arrest warrant a few years ago for that cheerleader girl from "Heroes" who was protesting the dolphin slaughters. I happen to agree with Miss Panettiere. Japan's killing of dolphins is quite sad. Dolphins are very intelligent animals who may or may not have their own form of self-awareness. To simply capture and/or slaughter them for meat is quite unconscionable! However in Japan, there is no concern for the dolphins' welfare. They are merely another form of simple sea-life like a lobster, shrimp or crab meant to be harvested in large numbers for corporate profit.

As the documentary says, this is Japan's dark secret and needs to be stopped immediately. Instead of environmentalists fighting for a carbon tax or polar bears drowning, why isn't this issue being pressed? Why aren't we putting political pressure on Japan to end this practice or else?

It turns out these intelligent and charismatic creatures don't do well in captivity -- half of all captive dolphins die within two years. They're used to swimming 40 miles a day, diving hundreds of feet deep and hanging out with their close-knit pod. Apparently jumping through hoops and swimming with tourists in a pool just isn't an adequate substitute...

In this quaint fishing village, each fall, tens of thousands of migrating dolphins are captured, some of which are sold into captivity (for up to $150,000 a piece), and the rest are taken to a secret cove and slaughtered (to be sold for their meat -- sometimes falsely described as whale meat).

Source: Alternet

U.S. Bank Holiday to Happen on August 26, 2009? (FDIC Almost Out of Money)

***UPDATE9 (August 30, 2009). I just noticed something very interesting with the numbers. I'll let a financial guru tell me if it is significant or merely a coincidence. In the August 22 2009 blog post, "FDIC is Officially Out of Money (Insurance Fund Has Negative Balance of $5.5 Billion)!," I stated that the FDIC insurance fund had a negative $5.5 billion balance ($5,514,200,000 to be exact). In the recent 2nd Quarterly Report, the FDIC admitted that it had to charge an emergency fee to raise $5.6 billion. Coincidence?

The surge in failures prompted the agency to charge the industry an emergency fee in the second quarter to raise $5.6 billion to replenish its insurance fund, which fell to $10.4 billion as of June 30 from $13 billion in the previous quarter, the agency said.

Source: Bloomberg

You can view that spreadsheet by reading below.

FDIC Failed Banks Insurance Fund Balance ($5.5B Negative Balance as August 21, 2009)


***UPDATE8 (August 27, 2009). The FDIC insurance fund balance as of June 30, 2009 according to the FDIC is $10.4 billion. A total of 416 banks are listed as "problem banks" according the FDIC 2nd quarterly report released today. This is far from the dire predictions that have been on this site and on others over the last few weeks, but $5.6 billion in emergency fees were charged to banks last quarter which helped keep the fund replenished. However, we still do not know the FDIC insurance balance as of today's date. There have been several major bank failures since June 30, 2009 which will have further depleted the insurance fund balance.


***UPDATE7 (August 26, 2009). I listened to today's FDIC board of directors public session, and it was a FAIL. I did not learn anything nor were any relevant quarterly reports discussed. However, Reuters is reporting that the FDIC will hold its quarterly briefing tomorrow on Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 10:00am EDT/7:00am PDT.

On Thursday, the FDIC holds its quarterly briefing that provides critical information about its outlook for bank failures and the state of the deposit insurance fund.

You can read the FDIC's FULL PRESS RELEASE by clicking the following link: FDIC to Hold Its Quarterly Briefing on Thursday, August 27, 2009.

You can watch the briefing LIVE tomorrow at:
http://www.vodium.com/goto/fdic/quarterlybankingprofile.asp


***UPDATE6 (August 25, 2009). There are still no signs of a pending holiday. Would we get any warning if there is going to be one?

The following information may or may not be related, but there is a 3:30pm (Eastern Time) FDIC open board meeting tomorrow with the below agenda. You can watch the LIVE webcast tomorrow at 3:30pm by clicking anywhere on this link:

Agenda
(1) Memorandum and resolution re: Final Statement of Policy of Qualifications for Failed Bank Acquisitions;
(2) Memorandum and resolution re: Final Rule on the Extension of the Transaction Account Guarantee Program;
(3) Memorandum and resolution re: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Risk-Based Capital Guidelines; Impact of Modifications to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; Consolidation of Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Programs; and Other Related Issues.

***UPDATE5 (August 22, 2009). Guaranty Bank did indeed close yesterday along with three (3) other banks. The bigger news is the FDIC insurance fund has a negative $5.5 billion balance at this time! Therefore, the FDIC is now out of money, and we are looking at either a bank holiday, bank run or another billion dollar government bailout in the near future! Otherwise, the FDIC will not be able to cover a bank's deposits up to $250,000 as it guarantees.

***UPDATE4 (August 21, 2009). I just heard that Guaranty Bank may be closed by the FDIC today. If true, this will be the 2nd largest bank failure this year. I will update this entry when the FDIC releases the latest list.

***UPDATE3 (August 21, 2009). The FDIC is now taking extraordinary measures to find private equity investors for the numerous failing banks in this country. Uh-oh, that means the FDIC may be out of money! I wonder how many banks will fail today when the latest Friday Night Feast numbers are released.


***UPDATE2 (August 14, 2009). The FDIC closed five (5) more banks today, including Colonial Bank with 346 branches spread across Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas. Colonial Bank is the largest bank failure this year with $26 billion in assets. Also, there are 150 banks in imminent trouble.

As of March 31, 2009, there was only $13 billion left in the FDIC insurance fund to cover America's failing banks. The latest balance numbers have not yet been released. However, the FDIC believes that up to 500 more banks may fail this year, so it is quite likely that the FDIC may be insolvent at this point. When will the latest insurance fund balance numbers be released by the FDIC?


***UPDATE1 (August 13, 2009). Apparently, a lot of corporate insider trading action has been happening over the last two weeks. This story may be a sign that the rats are abandoning ship. Further, Steve Quayle received an email from one of his listeners who said that the bank holiday will occur regionally beginning during the week of August 24, 2009.

"As to your Bank Holiday information of this morning, the following is from a close CIA connection, the way it will come down is that starting 8/24, groups of banks will be closed in certain regions of the country for a week or so. They will open again, and then other groups of banks in different regions will be closed; and on and on it will go, until all the banks in the country have gone through that process.

The banks will be opened with a new global currency. Indeed the ratio will be 1 to 6, or 1 to 12. Thus, if you had formerly $6M in the Bank, after a ratio of 1 to 6 with the new currency, you will get 1M value in the supposed new legal tender."

As of today, the FDIC has closed 72 banks in 2009, and it will not be opening up any new banks anytime in the near future.

***

Here's an update to one of this blog's most popular posts, U.S. Bank Holiday Planned for August or September 2009? Now it appears that we have the first predicted date for when this holiday is supposed to happen. According to The Harry Schultz newsletter and Jim Sinclair the unscheduled United States banking holiday will occur on August 26, 2009.

Conclusion: Stand by for a possible bank run & bank holiday on Aug 26th, after the news breaks on the 25th. (FDIC 2nd Qtr. Report)

This is in line with the HSL prediction of a US bank holiday in Aug/Sept.

If you live in the US, get 3 to 6 months household expense money out of banks now.

Further, FDIC chairwoman Sheila Bair said back in March that the FDIC may run out of money before the end of the year.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said the fund it uses to protect customer deposits at U.S. banks could dry up amid a surge in bank failures, as she responded to an industry outcry against new fees approved by the agency.

“Without these assessments, the deposit insurance fund could become insolvent this year,” Bair wrote in a March 2 letter to the industry. U.S. community banks plan to flood the FDIC with about 5,000 letters in protest of the fees, according to a trade group.

I wonder if this alleged bank holiday news is related to the recent incident a couple of weeks ago where the Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner cussed out Sheila Bair along with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro. The next couple of weeks should be quite interesting.

Source: Jim Sinclair's Mindset via the Harry Schultz Newsletter; Bloomberg

FDIC Closes Two Florida Banks and One in Oregon!

Here's the weekly Friday Night Feast brought to you by the FDIC. Two (2) Florida banks are no more as well as the Community First Bank in Oregon.

Bank Name	City	State	CERT #	Closing Date	Updated Date
Community First Bank	Prineville	OR	23268	August 7, 2009	August 7, 2009
Community National Bank of Sarasota County	Venice	FL	27183	August 7, 2009	August 7, 2009
First State Bank	Sarasota	FL	27364	August 7, 2009	August 7, 2009

Source: FDIC

Another Top U.S. Cybersecurity Official Resigns (2nd One This Week)!

Is this a sign of things to come? It has been predicted that we are one huge cyberattack away from martial law -- namely because it appears that there is a on-going power struggle between Obama's cybersecurity team and the National Security Agency. Nevertheless, Mischel Kwon, the director of the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, is the 2nd top cybersecurity official to resign this week.

Kwon, who is the fourth US-CERT director in five years, was frustrated by bureaucratic obstacles and a lack of authority to fulfill her mission, according to colleagues who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Her departure follows the resignation of the lead White House cybersecurity official, Melissa E. Hathaway, who said last week that she would step down.

In March, another Homeland Security cybersecurity official, Rod Beckstrom, resigned, citing a lack of support inside the agency and what he described as a power grab by the National Security Agency.

Source: Washington Post

Secretary Sebelius Makes No Mention of Black Patriot Attacked by SEIU in Missouri!

Secretary Sebelius had a conference call today with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) where she hailed them as her “brothers and sisters” and urged them to show up at town hall meetings. Unfortunately, Sebelius does not address the vicious attack on Kenneth Gladney last night in Missouri.

She gave the same stultifying mini-lecture about the sanctity of Medicare. “Change is not easy,” she droned. “We need to roll up our sleeves.”

No mention of how SEIU thugs rolled up their sleeves and attacked a black...protester in St. Louis or ran interference in Tampa Bay.

Just a note, I am no fan of Michelle Malkin, because she defends internment camps. Nevertheless, I am citing her information, because it is relevant to this topic.

Source: Michelle Malkin

Another Cyberattack Coming This Weekend to South Korea?

There is a warning about an upcoming cyberattack in South Korea this weekend, but the article does not cite any evidence for this warning. Therefore, take the information for what it is.

South Korea's telecom watchdog said Friday that the country may face another online attack similar to what occurred in early July, calling for precautions.

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said that personal computer users should be extra careful as they use the Internet amid warnings of the so-called distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Georgian Blogger Blames Russia For Cyberattack That Hit Twitter, Facebook and LiveJournal

***UPDATE - The Los Angeles Times is now reporting the same thing.***

The cyber attack that brought down Twitter for several hours Thursday was aimed at a single blogger located in the country of Georgia.

If you are a fan of Twitter (which I am not), then you were likely affected by the denial-of-service attack that affected the site. Now a blogger in Georgia is claiming that Russia is the cause of the attacks.

The Georgian blogger known as Cyxymu, who was yesterday the victim of a cyber assault that affected hundreds of millions of web users around the world, has blamed the attack on the Kremlin.

Speaking to the Guardian from an office in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, he said he believed the denial-of-service strike that hit LiveJournal, Facebook and Twitter stemmed from an attempt to silence his criticism over Russia's conduct in the war over the disputed South Ossetia region, which began a year ago today.

"Maybe it was carried out by ordinary hackers but I'm certain the order came from the Russian government," said the blogger...

Source: Guardian ; Los Angeles Times

Great Pacific Garbage Patch - World's Largest Rubbish Dump!

I first heard about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch a couple of years ago. This story is now starting to get mainstream news coverage. Basically, it is a HUGE patch of ocean (as large as the United States) where all our rubbish and plastics end up after we dispose of them. It is a huge swirling trash vortex like something out of a bad science fiction movie.

A "plastic soup" of waste floating in the Pacific Ocean is growing at an alarming rate and now covers an area twice the size of the continental United States, scientists have said.

The vast expanse of debris - in effect the world's largest rubbish dump - is held in place by swirling underwater currents. This drifting "soup" stretches from about 500 nautical miles off the Californian coast, across the northern Pacific, past Hawaii and almost as far as Japan.

Charles Moore, an American oceanographer who discovered the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" or "trash vortex", believes that about 100 million tons of flotsam are circulating in the region."

Source: The Independent

SEIU Thugs Beat Black Patriot Kenneth Gladney at Obamacare Town Hall in St. Louis

I'll be writing more about this story shortly. The raw video is scary. Apparently, some jack-booted union thugs beat up an African-American patriot who was handing out "Don't Tread on Me" flags at a recent Congressional town hall in St. Louis, Missouri. These town hall meetings are getting wild and people are pissed. It appears that things will only get wilder as we approach the Fall season.

As reported by Infowars.com:

During a demonstration Thursday evening outside a forum on aging called by U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, in Mehville, Missouri, a patriot was viciously attacked by union thugs.

“Health care reform opponents felt cheated after being locked out of the town hall,” writes Ryan Witt for the Examiner. “Some believed that SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members were being let in instead of them… From my personal observation the Carnahan office was allowing people who had RSVP’d beforehand to go in ahead of others"...

Union thugs viciously attacked a patriot, Kenneth Gladney, who was handing out Gadsen flags outside the stage-managed event. The St. Louis Tea Party was also demonstrating against Democrats attempting to force Obamacare through Congress.

As the video above documents, the “disrupters” were pro-Obamacare supporters, not Gladney or the St. Louis Tea Party.

“Kenneth was attacked on the evening of August 6, 2009 at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall meeting in South St. Louis County,” writes Gladney’s attorney, David B. Brown, in an email sent to Infowars. “Kenneth was approached by an SEIU representative as Kenneth was handing out ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ flags to other conservatives. The SEIU representative demanded to know why a black man was handing out these flags. The SEIU member used a racial slur against Kenneth, then punched him in the face. Kenneth fell to the ground. Another SEIU member yelled racial epithets at Kenneth as he kicked him in the head and back. Kenneth was also brutally attacked by one other male SEIU member and an unidentified woman. The three men were clearly SEIU members, as they were wearing T-shirts with the SEIU logo.”

“Kenneth supports conservative ideals, although he subscribes to no particular political party,” Brown continues. “We are calling on the SEIU, Representative Carnahan, and President Obama to condemn the racist actions of these union thugs. In the days to come, we will be investigating whether these thugs are working at the behest of Representative Carnahan and how strong their alliances to various organizations — such as ACORN — may be… We hope the St. Louis Tea Party and tea party organizations around the country will protest Representative Carnahan’s offices and also protest SEIU offices in every major city across the U.S. These Democratic strong-arm tactics must end now.”

Brown characterizes the attack on Gladney, who was hospitalized with multiple injuries, as “a truly senseless hate crime.” According to Democrats, however, the hate criminals and “astroturfers” are citizens opposed to Obama’s plan to hijack health care and force all Americans into a mandatory government program at gunpoint.

Source: Infowars

Visalia Officer Closes 8-Year Old Girl's Lemonade Stand For Not Having a Business License.

The last act always seems to be to loot the people. In Visalia, you better not dare have a lemonade stand without paying your fair share to the State. This is ridiculous. Once you see governments cracking down on kids, you know you are not living in a FREE NATION. However, if you are a banker who steals trillions, you are praised and appointed to a high government position.

A lemonade stand to raise funds for a trip to the happiest place on Earth turned sour for a Tulare girl and her family Monday.

With her mother's help, Daniela Earnest, an 8-year-old who attends Tulare Christian School, set up a lemonade stand at Cartmill Avenue and Hillman Street to raise money for a trip to Disneyland.

The problem: The lemonade stand didn't have the proper business license.

"Everybody needs to be in compliance," Tulare code enforcement Officer Richard Garcia said.

I am quite sure that Officer Richard Garcia feels he did the right thing, but did he really? At some point, a person saying "I was just doing my job" does not excuse such nonsensical behavior and it certainly does not excuse this Officer's behavior. Instead of harassing a young girl, why isn't this Code Enforcement Officer citing abandoned home owners, toxic waste dumpers and illegal businesses? It certainly isn't against the law to sell lemonade.

Luckily, local radio host Davey D of KSEQ Q97 gave the family four tickets to "Disneyland" after hearing about the girl's confrontation with Officer Garcia.

Source: Visalia Times-Delta

Twitter Knocked Out by Denial-of-Service (DOS) Cyberattack

No one seemed to really care when the government computers were taken out by a cyberattack last month, but I guarantee that people will start to notice now that Twitter has been hit by a cyberattack.

Twitter was inaccessible for several hours on Thursday morning, followed by a period of slowness and sporadic time-outs (and more outright downtime). The company is blaming an "ongoing" denial-of-service attack but has not said anything further.

Source: CNET

MV Princess Ashika Ferry Sinks Off Coast of Tonga (Families Want National Emergency Declared)

***UPDATE2 (August 30, 2009) --> Mass Burial at Sea for 74 MV Princess Ashika Victims


***UPDATE - MV Princess Ashika Update (List of Confirmed Missing Passengers / New Zealand Navy Finds Wreckage). Ninety-three (93) people are thought missing in the tragedy.

***

This is a news story that needs to get some coverage here in the United States. Nevertheless, it appears that New Zealand is providing assistance to determine if there are any people floating around in the ocean right now trying to survive. The MV Princess Ashika ferry sank fifty-three (53) miles off the Tongan coast last night near Nuku'alofa. While fifty-two (52) people have been rescued, unfortunately there are 27 people still missing.

Tonga Broadcasting Corporation has been inundated with family and friends within the country and offshore wanting information on the rescued passengers...The ferry MV Princess Ashika was heading from Nuku'alofa to Ha'afeva, in the Nomuka Islands group, when it issued a mayday call just before 11pm last night.

Click here for the full audio report from 3news.co.nz!

Source: Fiji Times Online ; 3news.co.nz

How Did Obama Travel to Pakistan in 1981 on U.S. Passport (Where's Obama's Long-Form Birth Certificate)?

This is another "birther" question that the mainstream media refuses to address. It has been stated by President Obama that he traveled to Pakistan in 1981. How was this possible? In 1981, Americans were not allowed to travel to Pakistan similar to how Americans cannot travel to North Korea or Cuba today. Did Obama travel on a U.S. passport or did he travel under some other country's passport? No one had addressed this obvious question, but now an international newspaper is asking the question .

What makes this so interesting is that the U.S. State Department had Pakistan on a “no travel” list in 1981. Pakistan was under martial law at the time and Americans were prohibited from entering the country. A U.S. passport would not have allowed him to enter Pakistan, but the country accepted an Indonesian or British passport at that time. So the question is: If he could not use a U.S. passport, what passport was Obama offering when he passed through Customs and Immigration on his trip as a young college student?

There are only two possibilities: 1) If he used a British passport it would provide proof that he was either born in Kenya, as the Birther's claim, or he accepted the citizenship of his Kenyan father; or 2) if he was traveling with an Indonesian passport, that would tend to prove that he was adopted by his Indonesian stepfather in 1967, and he relinquished whatever citizenship he held, American or British.

As I continually say, this matter can only be resolved by Obama authorizing the release of his long-form birth certificate. No matter what Rachel Maddow, MSNBC, Bill O'Reilly, Anderson Cooper, Bill Maher or others may say, President Obama has NOT released his long-form birth certificate. He has only released a short-form birth certificate which is NOT THE SAME.

Other posts on this issue:

1. Frank Marshall Davis - Barack Obama's Real Father? (A "Star Wars" Level Conspiracy Theory)

2. WND: Hawaii Did Not Destroy President Obama's Original Long-Form Birth Certificate (Conflicts With CNN & Lou Dobbs Report)!

3. CNN: State of Hawaii Destroyed President Obama's Long-Form Birth Certificate in 2001!

4. President Obama's Indonesian Fransiskus Assisi School Registration (Including Nationality & Religion)?

5. Presidential Executive Order 13489 -- Forbids the Release of President Obama's Long-Form Birth Certificate.

6. Conspiracy Theory: Where is Obama's Long-Form Hawaiian Birth Certificate?


Source: Saipan Tribune

Air Force 16th Munitions Squadron Activated to Oversee Nuclear Weapons Maintenance

Hopefully, this new Air Force squadron will do a better job than the previous groups responsible for maintaining our nuclear weapons, because many other groups seem to lose nuclear weapons on a regular basis.

A new squadron was activated at Malmstrom Air Force Base on Tuesday to help oversee the maintenance of nuclear weapons.

The 16th Munitions Squadron was formed as part of a re-alignment of responsibilities from Air Force Space Command to the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center.

The squadron is part of a larger munitions maintenance group under the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center.

Source: CBS-Montana

Alabama County Ready to Deploy National Guard for Law Enforcement

There are so many different topics to discuss these days. In the last few weeks, I have covered H1N1, cyberattacks, GMO food, vaccinations and martial law at depth. It appears that Posse Comitatus is becoming a major issue again. This appears to be the year when everyone wants to deploy the National Guard to solve EVERY problem.

I have covered Posse Comitatus in past blog posts, but here's a short summary. Earlier this year, the town of Schenectady, New York proposed deploying the National Guard. There were troops on the street in California conducting checkpoints, as well as in Tennessee. Even the NAACP is calling for martial law and troops on the street.

Ironically, the military was investigated when it deployed troops in the recent Alabama shooting for no real apparent reason. However, due to the financial crisis, Jefferson County, Alabama is now considering using the National Guard for law enforcement due to the fact that police budgets are being cut.

The sheriff in Alabama's most populous county may call for the National Guard to help maintain order, a spokesman said Tuesday, after a judge cleared the way for cuts in the sheriff's budget and hopes dimmed for a quick end to a budget crisis.

Circuit Judge Joseph L. Boohaker ruled that leaders in Jefferson County — now trying to head off a municipal bankruptcy filing of historic proportions — could go ahead with plans to slash $4.1 million from the budget of Sheriff Mike Hale, who had filed a lawsuit that temporarily blocked spending cuts for his office.

Source: Yahoo ; Infowars ; CNSNews

Russian Submarines Patrolling Waters Off U.S. East Coast

I just posted about the rumored new Saudi/Russian alliance. I wonder if the information that Russian submarines are patrolling off the East Coast is related.

Two nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines have been patrolling in international waters off the East Coast for several days...Russia, meanwhile, conducted naval exercises with Venezuela last year in the Caribbean and sent one of its warships through the Panama Canal for the first time since World War II. The exercises with Venezuela were the first deployment of Russian ships to the Western Hemisphere since the Cold War.

Don't forget that Russia also recently went back to Cuba for the first time since the Soviet Union days.

Source: Yahoo

Saudi Arabian Prince Bandar Bush's Coup d'Etat Against King Abdullah Fails?

There was a potential coup d'état in Saudi Arabia, and I have not heard a peep about it on the mainstream news. However, I did hear Dr. Webster Tarpley talking on The Alex Jones Show today about how this coup is related to a potential Saudi Arabia/Russia alliance (you can listen to the entire Tarpley-Alex Jones interview here). I do not know what effects a potential Saudi/Russian alliance would have on the United States, but if true, that type of alliance certainly will not benefit this country.

Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the kingdom's former ambassador to the United States, is reportedly under house arrest over a conspiracy against the monarch...after Saudi officials discovered that he had provoked 200 agents working for the Saudi security service to stage a coup against King Abdullah, he was put under house arrest.

Source: Press TV

Secretary Geithner Cusses Out Bernanke, Schapiro and Bair Over Obama's Proposed Financial Regulatory Overhaul

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner is getting quite upset! I wish they recorded these meetings, because a Geithner profanity-laced tirade would garner some huge viewing numbers on YouTube. Apparently, Geitner cussed out Obama's other top financial regulators over the faltering financial plan in a recent meeting.

Geithner is no fool. He realizes that the bankers are running out of time to implement the globalist banking agenda. His frustration is now spilling out to his minions.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner blasted top U.S. financial regulators in an expletive-laced critique last Friday as frustration grows over the Obama administration's faltering plan to overhaul U.S. financial regulation, according to people familiar with the meeting.

Among those gathered in the Treasury conference room were Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair.

Source: Free Republic; Wall Street Journal

Easy, Simple Guide To What Is In Obama's Healthcare Bill (America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009)!

Download the full text of the 1,018 page America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (a/k/a/ the HealthCare Bill) by clicking anywhere on this sentence.

If you are like Senator Specter and do not want to read thousands of pages, you can read this simple guide to the gems in the healthcare bill.

• Page 16: States that if you have insurance at the time of the bill becoming law and change, you will be required to take a similar plan. If that is not available, you will be required to take the gov option!
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!
• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!
• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
• Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.
• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.
• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.
• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.
• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (example: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)
• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.
• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)
• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens
• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.
• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.
• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.
• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.
• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives.
• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families.
• Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll.
• Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll.
• Page 167: Any individual who doesnt' have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).
• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.
• Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it really says that.
• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected."
• Page 241: Doctors: no matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!).
• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc.
• Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries.
• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.
• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!
• Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.
• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.
• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies!
• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.
• Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on "community" input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN.
• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.
• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.
• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.
• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone).
• Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?
• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.
• Page 425: Goverment provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.
• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.
• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.
• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.
• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage.
• Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and rationing those services.

Source: Free Republic ; The Health Ranger; U.S. House of Representatives

Obama "Joker" Socialism Poster Waking People Up in Los Angeles?

Is this picture going to be the 2009 version of Shepard Fairey's "Hope"? No matter what happens with this picture, it certainly seems to be causing a stir on the Los Angeles city streets.

The Obama-Joker poster [as Heath Ledger's character in the "Dark Knight" movie] shows President Obama with white face paint, dark eye shadow and smudged red lipstick and also has the word "socialism" printed in bold, dark letters under the image of his face.

It's unclear who created the image and who is posting it across the city. No one has taken credit so far.

Source: KTLA ; Daily Paul

U.S. Tomato Crops Face Major Late Blight Fungus Risk! (Northeast & Mid-Atlantic States)

I love tomatoes. I do not know what I will do if tomatoes become hard to get. However, it appears that tomato costs may soon be rising if not worse. It appears that a fungus similar to the one that caused the Potato Famine in Ireland back in the day is spreading to tomato crops and there may be no defenses. One professor has said that he has never seen such a widespread fungi tomato infection.

A highly contagious fungus that destroys tomato plants has quickly spread to nearly every state in the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic, and the weather over the next week may determine whether the outbreak abates or whether tomato crops are ruined, according to federal and state agriculture officials.

Source: The New York Times

Olympiacos Reportedly To Offer Allen Iverson $10 Million to Play in Euroleague

I do not usually post a lot of sports stories, but I had to post this story, because it directly relates to a previous blog article I wrote called Iverson Should Play Overseas in the Euroleague if NBA Teams Don't Want to Start Him in 2009-10 back in April, 2009. No one really picked up on that article, but I suggested that the best bet for Allen Iverson in 2009-2010 would be overseas.

Lithuania-based Basketworld.lt is today reporting that Olympiacos will be extending a contract offer to Allen Iverson.

Source: Ballin Europe

New Hazardous Waste Dump Opens Up in Palm Springs (Riverside County Regional Permanent Household Hazardous Waste Facility)

UPDATE (April 16, 2011) - The below links from 2009 have expired, but it appears that the waste location is still open as evidenced by this recent article.

That's why a new Household Hazardous Waste Facility in Palm Springs has opened up.

The facility on 1100 South Vella Road is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m October through May and 7 a.m. until noon in June through September.

Source: KPSP2 - Cathedral City

###

If you have some hazardous waste, then Palm Springs and Riverside County, California have a FREE place for you to properly dispose of it. The facility is located at 1100 Vella Road and is open to the public on Saturdays. The hours are 7 a.m. to noon June through September and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. October through May.

Riverside County residents looking to dump motor oil, paint, batteries, computers, televisions, telephones and other hazardous waste will soon have a new place to take their items.

However, if you have any of the below items and are looking for disposal, then you are out of luck!

Appliances, explosives, radioactive waste, ammunition, asbestos, compressed gas cylinders more than 40 pounds, and infectious or medical waste — other than sharp materials — are not accepted.

Source: The Desert Sun

Myanmar - Future Axis of Evil Member? (Defectors Reveal Burma's Secret Nuclear Reactor Facility)

What's the over/under on how long it takes Secretary Clinton to use this information to add Myanmar to the Axis of Evil membership list with Iraq, Iran and North Korea now that it is being revealed that Myanmar may have secret nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction facilities? I guess membership has its privileges. Iraq has been demolished, Iraq is being threatened and North Korea is isolated. I wonder how long before we are landing troops on the shores of Myanmar.

BURMA’s isolated military junta is building a secret nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction facilities with North Korean help, with the aim of acquiring its first nuclear bomb in five years...

The secret complex, much of it in caves tunnelled into a mountain at Naung Laing in northern Burma, runs parallel to a civilian reactor being built at another site by Russia...

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Gas Shortages in Calgary, Alberta Canada.

I do not know if this is really a bigger story or if this fuel shortage is indeed caused by a storm knocking oil refineries offline.

Dozens of gas stations across the city were hit by shortages after two Edmonton-area refineries were shut down by a severe storm in mid-July.

Although both refineries have since resumed operations, the situation came at the peak of summer driving season. Petro-Canada and Imperial Oil have been working to replenish gas stations that ran dry. But the situation only worsened as motorists hit the highways for the long weekend.

Source: Calgary Herald