Wednesday 22 February 2012

Confirmed death toll reaches 21 after four bodies, including that of a young girl, recovered from capsized cruise ship

Four bodies, including that of a small girl, have been recovered from the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia by divers searching the submerged section of the vessel.

The discovery on Wednesday brings to 21 the number of confirmed dead among the 4,200 passengers and crew of the ship, which struck rocks on the Italian island of Giglio on 13 January.

The location of the four bodies, which have not yet been identified, leaves 11 people still unaccounted for.

The young girl found is likely to be Dayana Arlotti, a five-year-old Italian who was travelling with her father and his partner. Both father and daughter are missing.

Divers from Italy‘s fire fighting service found the bodies on a section of the vessel’s fourth deck, which has hitherto not been searched, a spokeswoman for the civil protection agency said.

“Because of closed doors it was hard to get to, and the water sealed inside the area was unsafe for divers in normal wetsuits and masks because of the chemicals, food and other remains trapped,” she said.

Divers wearing sealed suits and helmets entered the area after statements by passengers suggested they might find bodies there, she added.

“We will be searching areas on the third deck for the same reason.”

The bodies will be taken to a hospital in Grosseto on the mainland for identification.

The divers were in action despite rough seas that forced the suspension of work underway to extract fuel from the Costa Concordia’s tanks.

Salvage workers have extracted 1,300 cubic metres of fuel from six tanks, equivalent to two-thirds of the total on board, with work expected to resume on Thursday.

As passengers prepare legal action against cruise ship operator Costa Crociere and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, an investigation continues into the vessel’s captain, Francesco Schettino, who is under house arrest suspected of abandoning ship and manslaughter.

A theatre in Grosseto has been rented out to hold a preliminary hearing on 3 March at which all passengers will be allowed to attend. At what is strictly a technical hearing, a judge will instruct experts nominated by investigating magistrates on what tests they need to carry out on the Costa Concordia’s black box.

Under Italian law injured parties are allowed to be present to nominate their own experts to follow the tests. “We have no idea how many passengers will show up,” said a court official.

By

JOSE DE CORDOBA

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

A day after 44 inmates died in Mexico’s worst prison riot, authorities said they believed the massacre was a cover for the escape of 30 drug-gang members.

Nuevo León Gov. Rodrigo Medina said that 30 inmates, all members of the Zetas drug cartel, used the massacre on Sunday as cover for an escape from Apodaca state prison, a few miles from the state capital of Monterrey.

“Without a doubt there was premeditation,” said Mr. Medina, speaking at a news conference. “This was planned.”

Mr. Medina said all the dead prisoners were members of the rival Gulf Cartel. The Zetas and the Gulf Cartel have been warring for two years for control of drug routes and lucrative drug markets, especially in the northeastern Mexican states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas.

Enlarge Image

CloseXinhua/Zuma Press

Relatives of inmates clashed with police on Sunday following a riot at the Apodaca prison near Monterrey, Mexico, that left at least 44 dead.

Mr. Medina said prison personnel appeared to have been involved in the massacre and escapes. He said four top prison officials had been fired from their jobs, as had 18 guards on duty at the time of the incident. All were being investigated for complicity, he said. As police and soldiers combed the state searching for the escaped prisoners, Mr. Medina said the state was offering a reward of about $800,000 for information leading to their capture.

“It’s difficult for us to confirm the treason, corruption and complicity of some can obstruct the good work of police, soldiers and sailors who everyday risk their life,” Mr. Medina said.

Since President Felipe Calderon declared war against Mexico’s drug traffickers in 2006, Mexican prisons have often become killing fields for members of warring drug gangs captured by security forces. Last month, 31 inmates died in a similar prison riot in neighboring Tamaulipas.

The Zetas, once enforcers for the Gulf Cartel, have a history of orchestrating massive prison breaks to free gang members and to recruit inmates for their organization. The Apodaca escape is the largest prison break since the Zetas helped 141 inmates to escape from a prison in the border city of Reynosa, in Tamaulipas, in 2010.

Mexico’s prison system has been left behind amid Mr. Calderon’s ambitious attempt to remake the country’s judicial system and security forces in order to meet the challenge posed by the country’s powerful organized-crime and drug-trafficking organizations, analysts say.

Family members of prisoners faced off with Mexican police after a prison riot kills dozens of inmates.

“Prison reform is a pending agenda item in Mexico,” says Eric Olson, at the Mexico Institute at Washington’s Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. “The strategy has been to arrest a lot of people, but when you warehouse prisoners in prisons that are overcrowded and poorly managed, you are likely to have this kind of warfare break out inside prisons.

Many of Mexico’s prisons are run by one cartel or the other, which use them as sanctuaries. Two years ago, the government arrested the prison director and guards at one facility in the state of Durango, where officials provided arms and transport for Sinaloa gang members who were allowed out every night to kill their Zeta rivals. The inmates, who were involved in a number of drug-related killings, including the massacre of 17 people at a restaurant, would then return to sleep at the prison.

Apodaca prison has a capacity to house 1,700 inmates but is now filled with some 2,700, said Jorge Domene, Nuevo Leon’s state security spokesman. On Monday, Mr. Medina asked the federal government to help relieve the stress on Nuevo Leon’s prisons by taking as many prisoners as possible who have been arrested or are serving time for federal crimes, to federal institutions.

He called for reform of Mexico’s prison system, which has been overwhelmed by a high number of arrests in the government’s antidrug efforts.

Most other Latin American countries face a similar prison crisis. Conditions throughout Latin America have deteriorated as governments incarcerate more people in an attempt to deal with a wave of violence linked in part to drug cartels. Last week, a fire swept through a jammed prison in Honduras, killing 359 people. Last year, in Venezuela, 30 people died in a 27-day riot and siege of a notoriously overcrowded prison.

Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director of Washington-based Human Rights Watch, says governments throughout Latin America have abandoned their responsibility for running prisons. “Inmates in many prisons run the prisons as they wish,” said Mr. Vivanco. “In the last two decades in Latin America, most of the violence, the worst abuses, committed with total impunity, has been prisoners against prisoners.”

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!!

This is interesting.
After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit.

It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression:

According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power:

200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert..

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey.. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness:

Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight

and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a ‘cooling’ fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):

Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, ‘A banana a day keeps the doctor away!’

PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS

PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe…polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit!!!

Monday 20 February 2012

Brent crude at $121.15 a barrel following news of Iran’s oil export ban to UK and French companies

Brent crude hit its highest point in eight months on Monday as Iran halted exports to British and French companies ahead of a European Union embargo.

Oil prices edged above $121 a barrel. Traders also said that policy developments in China and hopes that Greece’s second financial package will be agreed on Monday were helping to push up prices.

Over the past month fears of supply disruption in Iran and upbeat economic data from the world’s largest oil user, the United States, have helped raise oil prices including Brent, which is sourced from the North Sea. The combination of factors driving demand took the price to $121.15 a barrel during Monday morning trading, a level not seen since mid-June last year.

Opec’s second largest producer, Iran, stopped oil sales to British and French companies on Sunday, retaliating against tightening EU sanctions imposed over its disputed nuclear programme. European oil buyers had already made big cuts in purchases from Iran in recent months ahead of sanctions.

While the move is unlikely to have a large effect on UK oil refiners – they source less than 1% of their oil from Iran – it remains emotive in oil markets. “This is supply related so it had a psychological impact,” Ken Hasegawa, a Tokyo-based commodity sales manager at Newedge Japan, told Reuters.

The EU has already slapped sanctions on Iran and has vowed to stop buying all Iranian oil by July. Iran was supplying more than 700,000 barrels a day to the EU last year but this had already been cut back by 300,000 before Sunday’s move, according to industry website liveoilprices.co.uk. BP is among a number of major companies that have already stopped importing oil from Iran, triggering speculation that Sunday’s announcement was merely political posturing.

Meanwhile, analysts at investment bank JP Morgan Chase have raised their 2012 price forecast for Brent crude by $6 to $118 a barrel because of supply risks and rising economic growth. It also hiked its forecast for 2013 to $125 a barrel, up from $121, arguing that geopolitical issues are creating increased demand for crude.

Investors’ appetite for riskier assets after China’s central bank boosted lending capacity by more than $50bn (£32bn), as well as a softer dollar against the euro on expectations Greece would secure a debt bailout this week, are also supporting oil prices.

Buoyant prices have also pushed shares in BP to their highest level for almost a year.

SCOTT: I am a great believer in this concept.

Why just stop at commodities? Why not use all value in society as a nation’s worth for currency issue?

HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN RE-DESIGN THE SYSTEM?
WILCOCK: What are your personal feelings about how best to re-design an economic system that benefits humanity and the Earth in the most genuine way possible?

(I personally do not see the need to reduce population, however we do have the technology to migrate off-planet — and that will obviously be necessary if people want to have the comforts of the Western world on a larger-scale basis.)

SCOTT: Economics are fundamentally very simple. I drafted a short paper on this and will add it.

Fundamentally, it is really a simpler vision of the Bretton Woods plan — with a clean management.

The simplicity of it is scary, and it is a little arbitrary, but much less so than the current system that nobody understands.

One of the main issues is transparency.

People can believe in what they can see, rather than believe what the market leaders are telling them — which is usually just a ruse to allow the financial system to cheat them.

DO YOU THINK THEY SHOULD ALL BE PUT ON TRIAL?
WILCOCK: How do you see this system unfolding and unraveling in the real world? Do you agree with the idea of a Nuremberg / South African truth and reconciliation committee?

SCOTT: No. Simply expose them and then take their money away.

WILCOCK: Will there not be a tidal wave of people attempting to locate and pillage these gold holdings as soon as this goes public?

SCOTT: No.

WILCOCK: How do you plan on addressing the criminal elements of our society once they become aware of the amount of plunder that is potentially available?

SCOTT: There is no chance to plunder if a new system is established correctly.

HOW DO YOU PROTECT THE ASSETS IN A MASSIVE UPHEAVAL?

WILCOCK: If the enforcing arm of the groups protecting these accounts is crippled by a massive international upheaval, how do you protect those assets?

SCOTT: It will remain in the system. All that will change is the management structure.

WILCOCK: Is it even possible to protect those assets?

SCOTT: Yes, too easy. The system was structured with certain weaknesses. All we need to do is tighten it up.

WILCOCK: Do you think the average person will ever be able to understand why these actions were originally taken and deemed necessary, or will most people become furious and take to the streets?

Will the top people involved be able to have a fair trial, or will they most likely be executed by angry mobs?

SCOTT: I would not blame people who have been cheated out of their homes taking revenge. This is bound to happen in many cases.

Yes, I can see angry mobs literally hanging bankers off whatever they can find. However, this is not our intention — and it can be avoided.

HOW DO WE AVOID GOING THROUGH SUFFERING IN THIS TRANSITION?

WILCOCK: How do we avoid going through profound economic suffering in the midst of this transition?

Will all legitimate monies in all legitimate banks be protected as this happens, by some sort of international consensus via an emergency stimulus program?

SCOTT: America does not have to go through any period more painful than now. (I will attach part of a plan I sent to various authorities who can be trusted in America.)

The solution to the so-called debt problem can be eliminated almost overnight.

In the attachment you will need to go down a little, as the first part is the same as some of the information you already have.

WILCOCK: If the toxicity is pulled out of the system, shouldn’t the average person have much greater ease and comfort in life than at present? It certainly doesn’t seem right that so many people are in such adverse poverty.

SCOTT: Absolutely. Prosperity will greatly increase once the stealing stops. Specifically, there will be 100 Trillion dollars a year that can be devoted to improving the planet and its people’s welfare.

WILCOCK: Are you trying to tell humanity that there is a need to continue using fiat currency, albeit in a more regulated and transparent fashion? Does the global collateral accounts of gold have any relevance in this new system?

SCOTT: A fiat currency, yes… but it must be booked with equivalent asset value.

The official Oathkeepers website has a list of ten “Orders We Will Not Obey”. Here is the short summary of those ten points. You can click here for more information.

http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2009/03/03/declaration-of-orders-we-will-not-obey/

1. We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people.

2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people.

3. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal.

4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.

5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.

6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.

7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.

8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control.”

9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.

10.We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

THE NDAA ACT IS A DIRECT ATTACK AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION

Remember — the first line of the Oath of Enlistment tells the soldier his responsibility is to defend the Constitution of the United States of America — regardless of what foreign or domestic enemies may do to threaten it.

That responsibility can include going against direct orders from the highest levels of the unelected and / or occult government.

KC

: So you’re working with this group and one of the reasons you came to me was actually because of this [National] Defense Authorization Act?

BW

: Yes, that sent shock waves through the community that I’m involved in.

Basically that is the final straw of the complete erosion of Constitutional Rights.

It literally has government giving itself permission to violate the rest of the Constitution and that has a lot of people concerned.

A lot of people would like to see something done about that; it’s my opinion and their opinion that something could be done about that.

Because, quite honestly, we are one false-flag away from enacting all of that legislation that’s just been created.

KC

: Right, I would agree with you on that. [snip]

BW

: The popular belief is that there is a very, very easy way to prevent that from happening, and to get that information out to the public.

It has been surmised that… if we address the issue directly via our Constitutional Rights, and begin to notify the public in general that this is a problem that needs to be dealt with, [change will occur].

The way it’s been proposed to me — and to a lot of people — is to create a petition that calls for the impeachment of every political person in Congress and the Presidency that enacted this legislation as treasonous.

It is treason to attempt to alter the Constitution through an unconstitutional means.

If you create a law that circumvents the Constitution, you commit treason.

KC

: Fair enough.

GAME OVER

While I agree with Bill’s statement about the petition, I have also heard there is a much deeper and more compelling initiative at work.

Therefore I would like to speak directly to the people who are continuing to perpetrate Financial Tyranny.

Guys… This is it. Game Over. You can rape us, beat us, kill us, detain us and silence us, but you cannot stop The Avalanche.

It’s here. It’s real. It’s much bigger than you could ever possibly imagine.

A paper-thin layer of fear is the only thing holding back The Avalanche right now.

You know that. I know that. We’re not stupid. We’re adults. We know what happens in history when this occurs. It’s called a coup.

It’s going to happen no matter what. I have nothing to do with it.

I believe the plan is so comprehensive and brilliant that there is no possible way for you to stop it.

I know you’re scared — but the best thing you can do is STOP LYING.

You still have a chance to give humanity the greatest gift of all time — an end to secrecy — and the most mind-blowing awakening in the planet’s history.

So far you haven’t done this. I’m going to help you finish the job — by telling the rest of the story of Financial Tyranny.

Now no one needs to stick their necks out. It’s already public.

No secrets left for anyone to be threatened for speaking out about. This is it.

Earlier today as I write this piece, Fulford just posted his next update into this fascinating, ever-changing story. Here is a small excerpt from his paid blog:

Cabal struggles desperately to create fascist world government as multiple criminal investigations zero in on them

The fascist cabal known as the Bilderbergers, CFR, committee of 300 etc., is desperately and without hope trying to start WW3 and install a fascist world government in an attempt to pre-empt criminal investigations closing in on them from all sides.

Their efforts will fail because the Pentagon and the agencies in the US (with the exception of homeland Gestapo) are preparing to remove them from power, according to CIA and other sources.

For example, multiple investigations are closing in on alleged President Obama, including one for illegally declaring war on Libya. A count among US representatives show the votes necessary to impeach him are there, US law enforcement officials say.

In addition, evidence of bribery and other forms of illegally tampering with government is being compiled against George Soros, among others. There is also a lot going on under and on the surface in Europe, Japan and the Middle East….

In the US, as mentioned last week, the Obama regime has asserted the right to murder and imprison Americans without due process, meaning he has declared the US to be a fascist dictatorship. Again, it looks on the surface like the plans for a world fascist government are proceeding smoothly.

Fortunately for the rest of the human race, the fascist power grab is really just a sign of desperation….

The problem is that almost the entire leadership structure in Washington D.C. is corrupt and compromised, but people in the Pentagon and the agencies are so used to taking orders that they do not know what to do when their leaders become dysfunctional.

For example, there are enough votes in the US Congress and Senate now to impeach Obama, but the problem is nobody can agree on a replacement.

The various corruption investigations against the Obama regime can remove him [and the greater architecture of corruption behind the scenes] from power, but nobody knows what to do next.

The only answer is for the military to set up a temporary government headed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff until the garbage can be removed from Washington D.C. and Wall Street. The military rightly claim that armies are not good at governing. However, they are good at cleaning up a mess — and restoring constitutional order.

The US military also worry about being able to meet the payroll, but the backers of the new financial system have already promised generous financing to ensure a restoration of US economic might — and a gradual transition of the military industrial complex into something that can be self-supporting and good for the planet.

DON’T LET ALL THIS FREAK YOU OUT

Thirty years’ worth of dedicated research into the greatest hidden mysteries of science, and of the Universe, led to the creation of my magnum opus, the encyclopedic The Source Field Investigations, which debuted as a New York Times bestseller in August.

In this work, I reveal compelling proof that life on Earth is being guided by a Universal consciousness I call the Source Field — the ultimate author of space, time, matter, energy and biological life.

This is no longer a speculative, “woo woo”, “New Age” discussion — it is squarely rooted in a great wealth of scientific facts that have never been fully understood.

The Universe is not a “dead”, unthinking and unfeeling void. It is vast, vibrant and full of life — written directly into the quantum level.

In this book, I reveal that dozens of ancient cultures around the world were given prophecies about a coming Golden Age of peace and prosperity. The focal-point for when this would come about was the year 2012.

Regardless of what else may or may not happen around this time, it is remarkable to see the real-world evidence of this mass, international uprising against the Powers that Were coinciding so neatly with prophecies that are thousands of years old.

WE ARE BEING GUIDED INTO A GLORIOUS FUTURE — BY A UNIVERSAL INTELLIGENCE

Some people do get it. The Source Field wants to let you know that it exists. Many people have sent in testimonials about the incredible synchronicities that begin happening in their lives once they find out about this stuff.

If you’re laughing right now, it’s only because you haven’t had this happen to you yet. Or, more likely, the ‘confirmations’ have happened to you, but you simply blow it off.

We all grow up in an educational system that demands we be “right”, and punishes us with bad grades and “failure” if we are “wrong.” For this same reason, we all have strong conditioning to avoid shame.

Now we have the science to prove that this is not ridiculous nonsense. The case stands perfectly well on its own without the addition of the Fulford / Dragon Family / Keenan material — but I see all of this as part of one vast, interconnected tapestry.

So many people are living in fear and terror of the future. We now have the science to prove that things are getting better, and in fact they must get better — it’s written into the design of the Universe, and is a fundamental aspect of what we’re now going through.

I believe we are being intelligently guided through a planetary awakening at this time — and as we head into 2012, it seems that the public downfall of the Old World Order will be a key part of that process.

Relieved U.S. congressional bargainers say they’ve reached agreement on compromise legislation extending payroll tax cuts and benefits for the long-term unemployed through 2012, edging a white-hot political battle a major step closer to finally being resolved.

Rep. David Camp, R-Mich., and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the two top negotiators, strode from a conference room minutes after midnight Thursday to say that only technical issues and the drafting of legislative language remained. The bill would assure a continued tax cut for 160 million workers and jobless benefits for several million others, delivering top election-year priorities for President Barack Obama.

“It’s a very good deal for the country,” said Baucus, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee.

There were disconcerting hints that last-minute problems might still crop up. Neither Baucus nor Camp would predict whether Congress would approve the legislation by Friday, the original goal. And aides did not distribute summaries of the bill to reporters, which is usually routine when major accords are reached.

Even so, Baucus and Camp – and a handful of other lawmakers who helped craft the package – expressed confidence that their work on the roughly $150 billion measure was virtually complete.

“We’re moving forward,” said Camp, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee.

The temporary payroll tax cut and extra unemployment coverage initially ran into GOP resistance, some of which lingers.

But Republicans have largely concluded that it would be politically damaging to oppose the package, particularly in this presidential and congressional election year. That contrasted with December, when House Republicans refused to back a bipartisan Senate bill providing a two-month extension of the tax cuts and jobless benefits while bargainers completed a yearlong deal – only to retreat under barrages of criticism from Republicans and conservatives around the country.

Underscoring that they had learned the consequences of seeming to block a middle-class tax cut, House Republicans removed the major hurdle to the legislation earlier this week when they agreed that the payroll tax cut – comprising about two-thirds of the measure’s cost – would not have to be paid for with spending cuts.

The bargainers spent Wednesday trying to extinguish last-minute brushfires as some members of Congress sought changes in a tentative agreement that aides had described Tuesday.

Chief among the late disputes was a proposal to save around $15 billion – about half the $30 billion cost of the bill’s extended jobless benefits – by requiring federal workers to contribute an additional 1.5 percent of their pay to their pensions.

Democrats, including Sen. Ben Cardin and others from Maryland, home to many government employees, resisted that plan, holding up a final handshake among congressional bargainers. The provision was ultimately changed to target the boost only at newly hired federal workers, requiring them to contribute 2.3 percent of their salaries toward defined benefit pensions.

There was little controversy over the main thrust of the bill.

A 2-percentage-point cut in the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax, which is deducted from workers’ paychecks, would run through 2012. For a family earning $50,000 a year, the cut saves them $1,000 annually.

Extra unemployment benefits for people out of work the longest would be extended for the same period, and a 27 percent slash in federal reimbursements for physicians who treat Medicare patients would be averted.

Unless Congress acts, the tax cut and added jobless benefits would expire and doctors’ Medicare payments would be reduced – all on March 1.

In a GOP win, the bill would phase down the current maximum 99 weeks of jobless coverage to 73 weeks in the hardest-hit states by autumn, though most states would get no more than 63 weeks.

Besides increasing new federal workers’ pension contributions, more savings were supposed to come from government sales of parts of the broadcast spectrum to wireless companies. The spectrum auction was supposed to raise about $15 billion – even after $7 billion would be spent for a new communications network for emergency workers.

The government’s main welfare program would be continued through this year. Republicans won a provision barring welfare recipients from using their electronic cards to withdraw cash from teller machines in liquor stores, strip clubs and casinos.

The $20 billion price tag for preventing the cut in doctors’ Medicare reimbursements would be covered partly by trimming a fund Obama’s health care overhaul created to help prevent obesity and smoking. There would also be reductions in Medicaid payments to hospitals that treat high numbers of uninsured patients.

Dropped from the final compromise were proposals to renew expiring business tax cuts; a GOP plan to require unemployment recipients to work toward high school equivalency diplomas; and another Republican provision, aimed at illegal immigrants, requiring low-income people to have Social Security numbers before they can get checks from the Internal Revenue Service for the children’s tax credit.

Given the testimony from today’s court case in Georgia, Obama has a
lot of explaining to do. His attorney, Jablonski, was a NO SHOW as of
course, was Obama.

The following is a nutshell account of the proceedings.

Promptly at 9 am EST, all attorneys involved in the Obama Georgia
eligibility case were called to the Judge’s chambers. This was indeed
a very interesting beginning to this long-awaited and important case.

The case revolved around the Natural Born clause of the Constitution
and whether or not Obama qualifies under it to serve. More to the
point, if found ineligible, Obama’s name would not appear on the 2012
ballot in Georgia.

With the small courtroom crowded, several in attendance could be seen
fanning themselves with pamphlets as they waited for the return of the
attorneys and the appearance of the judge.

Obama himself, who had been subpoenaed to appear, of course was
nowhere near Georgia. Instead, Obama was on a campaign swing appearing
in Las Vegas and in Colorado ignoring the court in Georgia.

Over the last several weeks, Obama’s attorney, Michael Jablonski, had
attempted several tactics to keep this case from moving forward. He
first tried to have it dismissed, then argued that it was irrelevant
to Obama. After that, Jablonski argued that a state could not, under
the law, determine who would or would not be on a ballot and later,
that Obama was simply too busy with the duties of office to appear.

After all these arguments were dispatched by the Georgia Court,
Jablonski, in desperation, wrote to the Georgia Secretary of State
attempting to place Obama above the law and declared that the case was
not to he heard and neither he nor his client would participate.

Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, fired back a letter hours later
telling Jablonski he was free to abandon the case and not participate
but that he would do so at his and his clients peril.

Game on.

5 minutes.
10 minutes.

15 minutes with the attorneys in the judge’s chambers.

20 minutes.

It appears Jablonski is not in attendance as the attorneys return; all
go to the plaintiff table 24 minutes after meeting in the judge’s
chambers.

Has Obama’s attorney made good on his stated threat not to
participate? Is he directly ignoring the court’s subpoena? Is he
placing Obama above the law? It seems so. Were you or I subpoenaed to
appear in court, would we or our attorney be allowed such action or,
non-action?

Certainly not.

Court is called to order.

Obama’s birth certificate is entered into evidence.

Obama’s father’s place of birth, Kenya East Africa is entered into
evidence.

Pages 214 and 215 from Obama’s book, “Dreams from My Father” entered
into evidence. Highlighted. This is where Obama indicates that, in
1966 or 1967 that his father’s history is mentioned. It states that
his father’s passport had been revoked and he was unable to leave
Kenya.

Immigration Services documents entered into evidence regarding Obama Sr.

June 27th, 1962, is the date on those documents. Obama’s father’s
status shown as a non-citizen of the United States. Documents were
obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Testimony regarding the definition of Natural Born Citizen is given
citing Minor vs Happersett opinion from a Supreme Court written
opinion from 1875. The attorney points out the difference between
“citizen” and “Natural Born Citizen” using charts and copies of the
Minor vs Happersett opinion.

It is also pointed out that the 14th Amendment does not alter the
definition or supersede the meaning of Natural Born. It is pointed out
that lower court rulings do not conflict with the Supreme Court
opinion nor do they over rule the Supreme Court Minor vs Happersett
opinion.

The point is, to be a natural born citizen, one must have 2 parents
who, at the time of the birth in question, are citizens of the United
States. As Obama’s father was not a citizen, the argument is that
Obama, constitutionally, is ineligible to serve as President.

Judge notes that as Obama nor his attorney is present; action will be
taken accordingly.

Carl Swinson takes the stand.

Testimony is presented that the SOS has agreed to hear this case, laws
applicable, and that the DNC of Georgia will be on the ballot and the
challenge to it by Swinson.

2nd witness, a Mr. Powell, takes the stand and presents testimony
regarding documents of challenge to Obama’s appearance on the Georgia
ballot and his candidacy.

Court records of Obama’s mother and father entered into evidence.

Official certificate of nomination of Obama entered into evidence.

RNC certificate of nomination entered into evidence.

DNC language does NOT include language stating Obama is Qualified
while the RNC document DOES. This shows a direct difference trying to
establish that the DNC MAY possibly have known that Obama was not
qualified.

Jablonski letter to Kemp yesterday entered into evidence showing their
desire that these proceedings not take place and that they would not
participate.

Dreams From My Father entered.

Mr. Allen from Tuscon AZ sworn in.

Disc received from Immigration and Naturalization Service entered into
evidence. This disc contains information regarding the status of
Obama’s father received through the Freedom of Information Act.

This information states clearly that Obama’s father was NEVER a U.S.
Citizen.

At this point, the judge takes a recess.

The judge returns.

David Farrar takes the stand.

Evidence showing Obama’s book of records listing his nationality as
Indonesian. Deemed not relevant by the judge.

Orly Taitz calls 2nd witness. Mr. Strump.

Enters into evidence a portion of letter received from attorney
showing a renewal form from Obama’s mother for her passport listing
Obama’s last name something other than Obama.

State Licensed PI takes the stand.

She was hired to look into Obama’s background and found a Social
Security number for him from 1979. Professional opinion given that
this number was fraudulent. The number used or attached to Obama in
1979, shows that Obama was born in 1890. This shows that the number
was originally assigned to someone else who was indeed born in 1890
and should never have been used by Obama.

Same SS number came up with addresses in IL, D.C. and MA.

Next witness takes the stand.

This witness is an expert in information technology and photoshop. He
testifies that the birth certificate Obama provided to the public is
layered, multiple-layered. This, he testifies, indicates that
different parts of the certificate have been lifted from more than one
original document.

Linda Jordan takes the stand.

Document entered regarding SS number assigned to Obama. SS number is
not verified under E Verify. It comes back as suspected fraudulent.
This is the system by which the Government verifies ones citizenship.

Next witness.

Mr. Gogt.

Expert in document imaging and scanners for 18 years.

Mr. Gogt testifies that the birth certificate, posted online by Obama,
is suspicious. States white lines around all the type face is caused
by “unsharp mask” in Photoshop. Testifies that any document showing
this, is considered to be a fraud.

States this is a product of layering.

Mr. Gogt testifies that a straight scan of an original document would
not show such layering.

Also testifies that the date stamps shown on Obama documents should
not be in exact same place on various documents as they are
hand-stamped. Obama’s documents are all even, straight and exactly the
same indicating they were NOT hand-stamped, but layered into the
document by computer.

Next witness, Mr. Sampson a former police officer and former
immigration officer specializing in immigration fraud.

Ran Obama’s SS number through database and found that the number was
issued to Obama in 1977 in the state of MA. Obama never resided in MA.
At the time of issue, Obama was living in Hawaii.

Serial number on birth certificate is out of sequence with others
issued at that hospital. Also certification is different than others
and different than twins born 24 hours ahead of Obama.

Mr. Sampson also states that portion of documents regarding Mr.
Sotoro, who adopted Obama have been redacted which is highly unusual
with regards to immigration records.

Suggests all records from Social Security, Immigration, Hawaii birth
records be made available to see if there are criminal charges to be
filed or not. Without them, nothing can be ruled out.

Mr. Sampson indicates if Obama is shown not to be a citizen, he should
be arrested and deported and until all records are released — nobody
can know for sure if he is or is not a U.S. Citizen.

Taitz shows records for Barry Sotoro aka Barack Obama, showing he
resides in Hawaii and in Indonesia at the same time.
Taitz takes the stand herself.
Testifies that records indicate Obama records have been altered and he
is hiding his identity and citizenship.
Taitz leaves the stand to make her closing arguments.
Taitz states that Obama should be found — because of the evidence
presented — ineligible to serve as President.
And with that, the judge closes the hearing.
What can we take away from this?
It’s interesting.
Now, all of this has finally been entered OFFICIALLY into court records.
One huge question is now more than ever before, unanswered.

WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY?

Without his attorney present, Obama’s identity, his Social Security
number, his citizenship status, and his past are all OFFICIALLY in
question.
One thing to which there seems no doubt. He does NOT qualify, under
the definition of Natural Born Citizen” provided by SCOTUS opinions,
to be eligible to serve as President.
What will the judge decide? That is yet to be known, but it seems
nearly impossible to believe, without counter testimony or evidence
— because Obama and his attorney chose not to participate — that
Obama will be allowed on the Georgia ballot.
It also opens the door for such cases pending or to be brought in
other states as well.
Obama is in it deep and the DNC has some, maybe a LOT, of explaining
to do unless they start looking for a new candidate for 2012.