Even MORE on APF.

William Grigg, who is infinitely more verbose than me has summed up quite nicely some of the things I couldn't.
I follow Mr Grigg closely, because he has much wisdom, and it is inherently unwise not to learn from someone much wiser than you. ;)

Go and read.

Martial Law Is Their Business, And Business Sure Is Swell

Even more on APF!

Seems they've got an IT problem, because, all of a sudden:

The page you tried to access does not exist on this server. This page may not exist due to the following reasons:

1. You are the owner of this web site and you have not uploaded (or incorrectly uploaded) your web site. For information on uploading your web site using FTP client software or web design software, click here for FTP Upload Information.

2. The URL that you have entered in your browser is incorrect. Please re-enter the URL and try again.

3. The Link that you clicked on incorrectly points to this page. Please contact the owner of this web site to inform them of this situation.

Huh... interesting!

This is panning out all sorts of weird, now. More info to follow, as long as info can be provided.

Also, This states that They were using Serbia's Coat of Arms. LOL!

Take a look at This Wiki Page. Strikingly Similar, if'n I do say so myself.

Deliver Us, Obama!

at about :52, "Hear our Cry, Obama!" As these whackos pray to the Almighty Messiah.

And they think we're nuts?!

By the way: got it from Breitbart.tv, and this is only a preview of the full video.

More on APF

Here's a news story from local (To Hardin) KULR8 news.




Interesting information.

Also, the most fascinating piece by far is this:

defenseproductsolutions.com is hosted on the same IP (97.74.186.121) as americanpolicegroup.com. Both sites feature the same logo. Click on the Catalog link on defenseproductsolutions.com and say ‘hello’ to Edward Angelino. Other business names associated with him: Allied Defense Systems, Inc.

(allieddefensesystems.com) and Defense Consulting Group, Inc. There are almost certainly many more. I only spent ten minutes on this. I looked through a couple of the sites that use the same template and noticed this:

allieddefensesystems.com/aboutus.htm:

Founded in 1990, ADS and its veteran team have serviced a variety of contracts under extreme conditions in the Middle East. Our projects have ranged from base camp construction operations to supplying world-class military vehicles. In the midst of international tensions, ADS will perform.

defenseproductsolutions.com/aboutus.htm:

Founded in 2004, DPS and its veteran team have serviced a variety of contracts under extreme conditions in the Middle East. Our projects have ranged from base camp construction operations to supplying world-class military vehicles. In the midst of international tensions, DPS will perform.


HAHA.

Searching eangelino@aol.com will bring up more links for anyone who’s interested in unraveling these antics. Oh yeah! Do you have a, “2002 Lamborghini Murcielago tail winng or spoliler”[sic]? You might have a buyer. Guess who? Yep, that’s right. There are many addresses, phone and fax numbers associated with all of this. I’m not sure why the Associated Press and others haven’t made these connections, but it’s all available on Google.

Link to the rest of the interesting article here.

So, the guy is a scam artist extraordinaire! I'll lean that way, anyway. Seems more likely than some shadow-ops nonsense. Although, truth be told, the APF website is a little creepy.. but maybe it's meant to be. Plus, having a typo on the main page of such a 'professional' website is my first and last red flag. I mean, seriously? A company as big as that and they can't have an editor or a decent IP guy who can spell? Pfft.

I should have stayed up 10 more minutes last night so I could finish, this all would have been one post. But two works, because I hate editing. And being a spelling Nazi.

Who is APF (American Police Force)?

I ran across this tonight in my meanderings, and I take everything on Steve Quale's site with a seriously large grain of salt. But I thought I'd look into it anyway..

Quip from the article in question:

Things are moving so quickly and we are out of time! The spirit of Pharaoh has entered our land! We have found out that our little town of Hardin is the 'test town' for President Obama’s new law to privatize the police force of local communities. Last night, the city council voted to disband our sheriff’s department and to bring in a private security company to police the town.

Interestingly, earlier in the day, the mayor when asked in an interview about the privatization of our police department completely denied it and said that would not be done with out a council meeting. Then that evening, a council meeting was held in regards to that very thing. At the beginning of this month, our local prison signed an agreement with the American Police Force which is a subsidiary of a larger private security force that the U.S. used in the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina.

Now, usually, about the time someone spouts 'The spirit of the pharaoh has entered our land!' I end up with glazed-over eyes and thinking about the farcical 'Mummy' movies... But I said, 'wait a sec.. what's this American Police Force  they're yammerin' about?'

Thought I'd give a look see, being as how I'm curious and all.

Well, turns out there are a couple of articles about Hardin, its troubles, and about APF. Huh. Wtfer? I've never heard of them. Don't mean squat, though, I haven't heard of a lot of things. Still...

American Police Force leverages the talent and expertise of their extensive global network to provide local, regional, and national security solutions to the United States Government and other clients who are in need of customized private investigative services. Some of our servces include highly sophisticated background checks, asset searches, undercover investigations both domestic & international, and much more.

Ok, I thought, Servces? This is a quickly flung-together website meant to make whomever is looking for it believe they've found something...

Well... I'm out of time tonight... tune in next time, for another episode of... is it real?

Seriously, though, have a look at the articles in question, put together some dots, and tell me what you think... farcical nonsense, or truth, ye be stranger than fiction?

BTW: Images taken from their website.

So... is this for real? I've done about as much research as what I've told you, and plan on going to bed.. maybe since I have tomorrow off, I'll look into it a little further... their website seems a bit... generic, to say the least, so I'm leaning towards at least the website being a front... but for what? I know they exist now, they're in the news! So were 10's of thousands of tea party protesters (Tangalor rolls 2 six-sided die; 11! Tangalor wields Scimitar of Sarcasm!).

Anyhowl... what say you?


Sleep tight.

III % Bump

Here.

Quip:

We are the people that the collectivists who now control the government should leave alone if they wish to continue unfettered oxygen consumption. We are the Three Percent. Attempt to further oppress us at your peril.

Dark Tower Wiki

I was searching for possible movie news about my favorite book series when I happened upon the wiki entry.

Thorough, and pretty good, too.

Here.

---------------------------------

The Dark Tower (series)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see The Dark Tower.

The Dark Tower
"The Dark Tower" painting by Michael Whelan
The Gunslinger (1982) The Drawing of the Three (1987) The Waste Lands (1991) Wizard and Glass (1997) Wolves of the Calla (2003) Song of Susannah (2004) The Dark Tower (2004)
Author	Stephen King
Illustrator	Michael Whelan, Phil Hale, Ned Dameron, Dave McKean, Bernie Wrightson, Darrel Anderson
Country	USA
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy, horror, western
Followed by	The Dark Tower (comics) The Little Sisters of Eluria

The Dark Tower is a series of seven books written by American author Stephen King between 1970 and 2004. The series incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy fiction, science fantasy, horror and western elements. They describe a gunslinger's quest toward a tower whose nature the books call both physical and metaphorical. King has described the series as his magnum opus. Besides the seven novels that compose the series proper, many of his other books relate to the story, introducing concepts and characters that come into play as the series progresses. After the series were finished, a series of comics prequels has followed.
The series was chiefly inspired by the poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning, whose full text was included in the final volume's appendix. In the preface to the revised 2003 edition of The Gunslinger, King also identifies The Lord of the Rings, the Arthurian Legend, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as inspirations. He identifies Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name" character as one of the major inspirations for the protagonist, Roland Deschain. King's style of location names in the series, such as Mid-World, and his development of a unique language abstract to our own (High Speech), are also influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien's work.

[edit] Plot summary

In the story, Roland is the last living member of a knightly order known as gunslingers and the last of the line of "Arthur Eld," his world's analogue of King Arthur. The world he lives in is quite different from our own, yet it bears striking similarities to it. Politically organized along the lines of a feudal society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the American Old West but is also magical. While the magical aspects are largely gone from Mid-World, some vestiges of them remain, along with the relics of a highly advanced, but long vanished, society. Roland's quest is to find the Dark Tower, a fabled building said to be the nexus of all universes. Roland's world is said to have "moved on", and indeed it appears to be coming apart at the seams — mighty nations have been torn apart by war, entire cities and regions vanish without a trace and time does not flow in an orderly fashion. Even the Sun sometimes rises in the north and sets in the east. As the series opens, Roland's motives, goals and age are unclear, though later installments shed light on these mysteries.
For a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for each book.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of characters from the Dark Tower series

Along his journey to the Dark Tower, Roland meets a great number of both friends and enemies. For most of the way he is accompanied by a group of people who together with him form the Ka-tet of the Nineteen and Ninety-nine, consisting of Jake Chambers, Eddie and Susannah Dean, and Oy. Among his many enemies on the way are The Dark Man and The Crimson King.

[edit] Places

Main article: Places in The Dark Tower series

[edit] Language

Main article: High Speech

King created a language for his characters, known as the High Speech. Examples of this language include the phrases Thankee, Sai ("Thank you, Sir/Ma'am.") and Dan-Tete ("Little Savior"). In addition King uses the term 'Ka' which is the approximate equivalent of destiny, or fate, in the fictional language High Speech (and similarly, 'Ka-tet,' a group of people bound together by fate/destiny). This term originated in Egyptian mythology and storytelling and has figured in several other novels and screenplays since 1976.

[edit] Series

1. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982)
2. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987)
3. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991)
4. The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997) - Locus Award nominee, 1998^[1]
5. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003) - Locus Award nominee, 2004^[2]
6. The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004) - Locus Award nominee, 2005^[3]
7. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004) - British Fantasy Award winner, 2005^[3]

[edit] Illustrations

Each book in the series was originally published in hardcover format with a number of full-color illustrations spread throughout. Each book contained works by a single illustrator only. Subsequent printings of each book in trade paperback format usually preserve the illustrations in full, except for books I and IV. Pocket-sized paperback reprints contain only black-and-white chapter or section header illustrations.The illustrators who worked on each book are:

1. Michael Whelan, multiple award-winning science fiction and fantasy painter. The Dark Tower is among his early notable works.
2. Phil Hale, the only Dark Tower illustrator who created a second set of illustrations for a later printing of the book he illustrated.
3. Ned Dameron.
4. Dave McKean, graphic designer noted for working in many media, including photography and film. The only Dark Tower illustrator to work in photocollages.
5. Bernie Wrightson, established illustrator for 1960s and 1970s horror comics.
6. Darrel Anderson, the only Dark Tower illustrator who used digital illustration techniques.
7. Michael Whelan, returning more than 20 years later as the only recurring Dark Tower illustrator.

[edit] Reception

The Washington Post's Bill Sheehan called the series "a humane, visionary epic and a true magnum opus" that stands as an "imposing example of pure storytelling," "filled with brilliantly rendered set pieces... cataclysmic encounters and moments of desolating tragedy."^[4] The Boston Globe's Erica Noonan said "there's a fascinating world to be discovered in the series" but noted that its epic nature keeps it from being user-friendly.^[5] The New York Times' Michael Agger was disappointed with how the series progressed; while he marveled at the "sheer absurdity of [the books'] existence" and complimented King's writing style, he said preparation would have improved the series, stating "King doesn't have the writerly finesse for these sorts of games, and the voices let him down."^[6] The San Francisco Chronicle's Michael Berry, however, called the series' early installments "highfalutin hodgepodge" but the ending "a valediction" that "more than delivers on what has been promised."^[7]

[edit] Other media

[edit] Tie-in books

The series has prompted related non-fiction books by authors besides King. Robin Furth has published the two-volume Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance, an encyclopedia-style companion to the series that she originally wrote for King's personal use. Bev Vincent has published The Road to The Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus, a book containing back story, summary and analysis. Stephen King has endorsed both books.

[edit] Prequel comic series

Main article: The Dark Tower (comics)

A prequel to the Dark Tower series, set around the time of the flashbacks in The Gunslinger and Wizard and Glass, has been released by Marvel Comics. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by Peter David, and illustrated by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove. The project is overseen by King. The first issue of this first arc was released on February 7, 2007. A hardcover volume containing all 7 issues was released on November 7, 2007.
The second arc in the Dark Tower comic series was released by Marvel Comics, and it is called The Long Road Home. The first issue was published on March 5, 2008. A hardcover volume containing all 5 issues was released on October 15, 2008.
The third arc in the Dark Tower comic series was released by Marvel Comics, and it is called The Dark Tower: Treachery. The first issue of the six issue arc was published on September 10, 2008.
Following the completion of the third arc a one-shot issue titled The Dark Tower: Sorcerer was released April 8, 2009. The story focuses on the history of the villainous wizard Marten Broadcloak.
Marvel Comics has also published three supplemental books to date that expand upon characters and locations first introduced in the novels. The Dark Tower: Gunslingers' Guidebook was released in 2007, The Dark Tower: End-World Almanac was released in 2008, and The Dark Tower: Guide to Gilead was released in 2009. All three books were written by Anthony Flamini, with Furth serving as creative consultant. End-World Almanac and Guide to Gilead feature illustrations by David Yardin.

[edit] Film adaptation

IGN Movies has reported that a film adaptation is in the works; whether it is for a movie or a television series is unknown. J. J. Abrams, co-creator of the television show Lost, is supposedly attached to produce and direct.^[8] Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, who co-created the show Lost with J. J. Abrams, have optioned the Dark Tower series from King for a reported nineteen dollars, a number that mysteriously recurs throughout the Dark Tower series of novels.^[9] According to issue #923 of Entertainment Weekly, King "is an ardent supporter of the desert-island show and trusts Abrams to translate his vision" into a film franchise with Lindelof being "the leading candidate to write the screenplay for the first installment."^[10] In a July 2009 interview with C21 Media, Lindelof revealed that he and Cuse had indeed optioned The Dark Tower's rights, but said he was wary about committing to such an ambitious project: "The idea of taking on something that massive again after having done six seasons of Lost is intimidating and slightly frightening, to say the least." ^[11]
King also reported that he had turned down long-time collaborator Frank Darabont, creator of such films as The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, after he had asked to do the film.

Roland as depicted in the opening credits of another Stephen King movie, The Mist.

Multiple mock trailers have appeared on YouTube. Also, the official Grand Prize winner of Simon & Schuster's (King's Publisher) American Gunslinger contest,^[12] "Roland Meets Brown",^[13] by Robert David Cochrane,^[14] can be found there.
In King's 2007 film The Mist, the main character, David Drayton, can be seen painting a movie poster with Roland in the center, standing in front of a trans-dimensional Ghostwood door, with a rose and the dark tower to each side.
In April 2009, both Abrams and Lindelof revealed that they would most likely begin adapting the series when Lost concludes in 2010.^[15]
In May 2009, rumours emerged that Christian Bale was the top contender to play Roland.^[16]

[edit] Connections to King's other works

Main article: Stephen King works related to The Dark Tower series

The series has become a linchpin that ties a lot of King's work together. The worlds of The Dark Tower are in part composed of locations, characters, events and other various elements from many of King's novels and short stories.

[edit] Intertextual references

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009)

As with most of Stephen King's novels many elements of real life popular culture are mentioned in each of the Dark Tower novels including other books, poetry, songs, and movies. These works may be mentioned in passing or often as important plot devices.
Included here is a list of such references. All works mentioned below occur within the books' narrative and do not include any mentioned in the foreword or afterword of the books:
Books

• Shardik by Richard Adams (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands and The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah)
• The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• The Plague by Albert Camus (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Browning by Robert Browning (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands and The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass)
• 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King (The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla and The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah)
• The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (The Dark Tower V: Wolves of Calla)
• Watership Down by Richard Adams (The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower III:The Waste Lands)
• The Door into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein (The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla)
• Carrie by Stephen King (The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah)
• The Shining by Stephen King (The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower II:The Drawing of the Three)
• Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah)
• Insomnia by Stephen King (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• The Collector by John Fowles (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• The Magus by John Fowles (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)

Poetry

• Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• The Waste Land (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)

Movies

• The Shining (The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three)
• Halloween (The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three)
• The Terminator (The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three)
• The Last Starfighter (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• The Dark Crystal (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• Journey to the Center of the Earth (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• War of the Zombies (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• Hud (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• RoboCop (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• Wizard of Oz (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands and The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass)
• The Magnificent Seven (The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah)
• Flash Gordon (Serials) (The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah)
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (The Dark Tower V: Wolves of Calla and The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• Rebel Without a Cause (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• Blood Work (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• Child's Play (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• Cujo (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• Westworld (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• The Lost Continent (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• Stalag 17 (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)

Songs

• Hey Jude by the Beatles (The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger, et al.)
• Shall We Gather At The River? by Robert Lowry (The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger)
• Ease on Down the Road by Charlie Smalls (The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger)
• Oxford Town by Bob Dylan (The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three)
• America by Simon & Garfunkel(The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three)
• Velcro Fly by ZZ Top (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• Careless Love by Janis Joplin (The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass)
• Someone Saved My Life Tonight by Elton John (The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla)
• 19th Nervous Breakdown by The Rolling Stones (The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla)
• Man of Constant Sorrow, traditional (The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah)
• Hang on Sloopy by the The McCoys (The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah)
• Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again by Bob Dylan (The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah)
• The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• Hurt by Nine Inch Nails (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• Bad Company by Bad Company (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)

Other

• Hand in Glove, a short story by Robert Aickman (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)
• Maverick, the television series (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• Christina's World, the painting by Andrew Wyeth (The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower)
• The Lottery, the short story by Shirley Jackson (The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands)

Props to Tam..

..over at View From The Porch for propelling me into 1200+ visits. Never thought I'd see that many visits.

Be sure to check her site out. I envy her Snarkiness.

Words of Wisdom

This from George Ure in this morning's Urban Survival report.

My personal take on the danger of non-lethal weapons is that they provide a 'migration path' (to use the marketing term) which provides the increasing intertwined military/police complex on American soil a way to edge soldiers who would never begin use of lethal force against U.S. citizens a way to slowly work up to it.

............................

The use of 'migration pathing' is also clear as the New World Order of the Bush Era is being rolled out under the context of 'maintain global economic order'.  Reuters has a pretty good piece on how the "New world economic order takes shape at the G20."

What are we going to do tonight, Brain?

..The same thing we do every night, Pinky, Try to take over the world.

...or blow it up.

Well. Yes. Russia has a Doomsday device. Has for 25 years. Wired story link below.

Inside the Apocalyptic Soviet Doomsday Machine

All your Wii are belong to us!

N00bs. They are teh sux0rz.


Teh story:

BARTOW, Fla. (AP) - A Florida sheriff says he is embarrassed that investigators from a narcotics task force were caught on camera playing a video game while searching a convicted drug dealer's house.

Video obtained by WFLA-TV in Tampa shows several officers enthusiastically playing a Nintendo Wii bowling game after the task force entered the house to execute a search warrant.

Sheriff Grady Judd from Polk County said Tuesday the incident is being reviewed and disciplinary action will be taken if necessary.

A motion-sensitive video camera on a computer in the house recorded the officers, who came from several agencies including the sheriff's department. Convicted drug dealer Michael DiFalco was already in custody at the time. His lawyer declined to comment on the video.


---------------

Flawless Victory.
Finish Him!

*Chortle*

"This information was properly withheld from you."

Federal Reserve Admits Hiding Gold Swap Arrangements, GATA Says

MANCHESTER, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Federal Reserve System has disclosed to the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. that it has gold swap arrangements with foreign banks that it does not want the public to know about.

The disclosure, GATA says, contradicts denials provided by the Fed to GATA in 2001 and suggests that the Fed is indeed very much involved in the surreptitious international central bank manipulation of the gold price particularly and the currency markets generally.

The Fed's disclosure came this week in a letter to GATA's Washington-area lawyer, William J. Olson of Vienna, Virginia (http://www.lawandfreedom.com/), denying GATA's administrative appeal of a freedom-of-information request to the Fed for information about gold swaps, transactions in which monetary gold is temporarily exchanged between central banks or between central banks and bullion banks. (See the International Monetary Fund's treatise on gold swaps here: http://www.imf.org/external/bopage/pdf/99-10.pdf.)

The letter, dated September 17 and written by Federal Reserve Board member Kevin M. Warsh (see http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/bios/board/warsh.htm), formerly a member of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, detailed the Fed's position that the gold swap records sought by GATA are exempt from disclosure under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

Warsh wrote in part: "In connection with your appeal, I have confirmed that the information withheld under Exemption 4 consists of confidential commercial or financial information relating to the operations of the Federal Reserve Banks that was obtained within the meaning of Exemption 4. This includes information relating to swap arrangements with foreign banks on behalf of the Federal Reserve System and is not the type of information that is customarily disclosed to the public. This information was properly withheld from you."

When, in 2001, GATA discovered a reference to gold swaps in the minutes of the January 31-February 1, 1995, meeting of the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee and pressed the Fed, through two U.S. senators, for an explanation, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan denied that the Fed was involved in gold swaps in any way. Greenspan also produced a memorandum written by the Fed official who had been quoted about gold swaps in the FOMC minutes, FOMC General Counsel J. Virgil Mattingly, in which Mattingly denied making any such comments. (See http://www.gata.org/node/1181.)

The Fed's September 17 letter to GATA confirming that the Fed has gold swap arrangements can be found here:
http://www.gata.org/files/GATAFedResponse-09-17-2009.pdf
 
While the letter, GATA says, is far from the first official admission of central bank scheming to suppress the price of gold (for documentation of some of these admissions, see http://www.gata.org/node/6242 and http://www.gata.org/node/7096), it comes at a sensitive time in the currency and gold markets. The U.S. dollar is showing unprecedented weakness, the gold price is showing unprecedented strength, Western European central banks appear to be withdrawing from gold sales and leasing, and the International Monetary Fund is being pressed to take the lead in the gold price suppression scheme by selling gold from its own supposed reserves in the guise of providing financial support for poor nations.

GATA will seek to bring a lawsuit in federal court to appeal the Fed's denial of our freedom-of-information request. While this will require many thousands of dollars, the Fed's admission that it aims to conceal documentation of its gold swap arrangements establishes that such a lawsuit would have a distinct target and not be just a fishing expedition.

In pursuit of such a lawsuit and its general objective of liberating the precious metals markets and making them fair and transparent, GATA again asks for financial support from the public and from all gold and silver mining companies that are not at the mercy of market-manipulating governments and banks. GATA is recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit educational and civil rights organization and contributions to it are federally tax-exempt in the United States. For information on donating to GATA, please visit here:
http://www.gata.org/node/16
 
People also can help GATA by bringing this information to the attention of financial news organizations and urging them to investigate the Fed's involvement in gold swaps particularly and the gold (and silver) price suppression generally.


-------------

Quick! Look surprised!

Sensing

There's a tenseness in the air. Restlessness in the slumber of millions.

You could cut it with a knife, and will probably have to.

It's the deep breath before the plunge.

It won't be long now.

Prepare.

IronKey

I want.

Friggin EXPENSIVE but I still might buy one.

https://www.ironkey.com/demo-personal

A self-destruct mechanism on a flash drive? Friggin' Sweet.

Hardware encryption and central management meet the needs of sensitive military, government and enterprise users. The only flash drive validated to meet Security Level 3 requirements of the FIPS 140-2 standard, it keeps data secure with AES 256-bit hardware encryption while intelligent anti-malware protects PCs and networks.

Military-grade hardware encryption safeguards your personal files while stealth Web browsing, anti-malware and password management protect your privacy and prevent identity theft. Requires no drivers or software.

https://www.ironkey.com/personal

Hardware-Level Key Management and Defenses

When an IronKey drive is plugged into a laptop or desktop computer, the user must authenticate with a password before data and applications are accessible. Unlike software-based encryption, the IronKey Cryptochip prevents encryption keys from being transferred and stored on PCs, where they are vulnerable. IronKey protects against brute force password guessing attacks by using non-volatile access-failure counters stored on the Cryptochip. If a thief tries to break into an IronKey and enters 10 incorrect passwords, the Cryptochip will securely erase all of the encrypted data with patent-pending Flash Trash technology. This ensures no trace of your data can be recovered from the device.

Rugged and Physically Secure

Your IronKey is an investment that will last for years. Its rugged metal casing protects against physical damage, and the internal components are sealed to protect against tampering. Also, your IronKey drive has passed and exceeded military waterproof testing requirement.

..Friggin' Sweet.

Birthday Update

Solly Cholly... Did not get the riot gun...




I did, however, get 2 troy ounces of silver. Close enough for government work.


And a 20 FRN, as well as a 25 FRN GC for Home Despot. Chicken Coop, here we come.


We put the rain barrel and gutter up. In the rain, no less. Works. Garden next.


Go Steelers. Or some such.

Sipsey Street Has a Powerful Message

Go read it... here's a great quote that will never leave me:

We face the greatest challenge of our time and it will not be met by timid souls who fear to let go of the hearth, the hem of the skirt or the cradles blanket. We must know and accept that our presence in that world of relations and temporal pleasure make us but temporary lodgers waiting to bid last farewells and shed final tears before we embark on the true reason for our being.

Moving.

So it's my birthday...

...and all I asked for was nothing, but you know certain people demand a list or two, so I came up with one. We'll see how that pans out :P

Which is why I just write a generic list, so people can fill in the blanks. I do not expect a riot gun on my birthday.. did I ask for it? Not exactly, but the hints were dropped.

I usually just want to have a few beers and relax on my birthday, and spend some time with my wife and kids... but now that we've moved in to a new house, it looks like I'll be doing yardwork in lieu of the relaxing thing... Setting up a garden, and a rain barrel (this house has no gutters, so some must be put up) among other tasks, are on the agenda. Hard work never killed anyone, so the saying goes.

We're off to visit my parents, they have something for me... I think it's a Home Despot Gift Card.. which is fantastic, because I need to build a small chicken coop this weekend, too.

My favorite funny so far..

My Threeper Birthday cake

My wife loves to bake and use fondant on cakes and such..( and she's fiendishly good at it).. Well, she made me a 30th (huzzah for me, I reached ripe/stink of 30 years) birthday cake, and here is a picture of said cake. I'm sure she could have done better (I've seen it! I'll post some others that were quite good), but I was harassing her the entire time, telling her it was 13 stars, not 30, and the same for the stripes ;) (I'm kidding, and she is right now kicking my rump for the detailed foolishness.)

Enjoy.

Well, I will, because it's cake... you get nothing. :P

Okay, enough about me, on with her other B-day cakes... Dude, didn't you know I sponsor Ace of Cakes? Seriously, though...

                                   Her first Fondant (Expirement) Cake                                

 My moms dogs... second Fondant Cake,

The Boy's (Step-Son, her real son) Cake, her third.

Told you she got better. Dunno what happened to mine... she must have been upset, like I said, you know, I was harassing her and such :P

No, she's fantastic, I love her creativity. Two thumbs up, in my book. :)  

               

The latest from Celente

Racism? Pfah.

And wtf is a progressive Libertarian?!...

I still think he's mostly on target, though.

Acorn San Diego Videos

Here's part, what, 4, in a series of 7, I believe.

Pot on High Street

... ... ... Someones sense of hilarious irony is not going unnoticed.

Story here.

MILLVILLE, N.J. - Maybe this is why they call it High Street. Police confirm the odd-looking plants they pulled last week from a flower basket in Millville's business district were indeed marijuana.

The plants were discovered by a passer-by. Police responded to the scene with a ladder and confiscated the 3-foot-tall plants, which were growing in a basket hanging from a lamp post.

The city's parks and recreation department, which tends to the baskets, says it has no idea how the pot plants got there.

Uhh... Business District?? Again with the irony... Maybe that towns formal 'businesses' aren't doing so hot, so the ever clever 'businessmen' have ventured into the horticulture industry, in the hopes of developing a second form of income via cash crop... No, not that kind.

...

Or maybe the seeds were deposited via bird droppings from another cash crop within the area.

Beware, giant birds!

Either way, still ironic and hilarious.

Google Government Cloud. Is this Good news or Bad?

Here's the link.

Google in 2010 will launch a government cloud that will include Gmail, Google Docs and other software products Google hosts on its servers and provisions to consumers and businesses as a service. Google made the announcement in concert with the launch of the Apps.gov Web store, unveiled by Federal CIO Vivek Kundra at NASA's Ames Research Center.

Google, which is seeking broader adoption of its Google Apps collaboration applications, said Sept. 15 it plans to create a dedicated cloud computing system for the U.S. government in 2010.

The government cloud will include the Web services in Google Apps, a suite that comprises Gmail, Google Docs and other SAAS (software as a service) products Google hosts on its servers. Google offers these applications as an alternative to collaboration applications such as Microsoft SharePoint and IBM Lotus Sametime.

The government cloud will constitute a "dedicated parallel environment" to Google's commercial Google Apps cloud for consumers and enterprises, Matt Glotzbach, director of product management for Google Enterprise, told eWEEK in an interview.

Data created in this cloud by federal, state and local government agencies will be hosted on separate servers within existing Google data centers in the United States. Storing such data on separate servers makes sense, given all of the sensitive information the government generates.
Resource Library:

A Pragmatic and Effective Approach to Cloud Computing -- Real Benefits From the
Seeding the Clouds: Key Infrastructure Elements of Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing Infrastructure and the Need for a Service Delivery Platform
IBM Perspective on Cloud Computing

Google made the government cloud announcement in concert with the launch of the Apps.gov Web store, which Federal CIO Vivek Kundra unveiled at NASA's Ames Research Center Sept. 15. Apps.gov is an online storefront through which federal agencies can search for and buy cloud-based IT services from providers such as Google.

Kundra is well-acquainted with Google Apps. As the CTO for the District of Columbia, Kundra in June 2008 inked a contract worth $500,000 a year to give 38,000 government employees Google Apps as an alternative to Microsoft Office. Kundra discussed the switch to Google Apps in this September 2008 video.

With this kind of support and Kundra's promotion to commanding the nation's federal IT systems, it's no surprise that Google is tailoring a government cloud system.

"The goal is to meet the unique requirements and policies that the government has," Glotzbach said. "That being said, it will still be cloud computing in its truest form—a multitenant cloud."

Google aims to target the 300 million U.S. government users creating and sharing information on 10,000 IT systems. That is a fat market for Google, or any enterprise software maker, to target.

Glotzbach said city government employees for the district are heavily using Google Docs for word processing, spreadsheet and presentation purposes, as well as the Google Sites wiki application and Google video for businesses. Some of these users are using Gmail; some are also still using Microsoft Outlook.

Details about Google Apps adoption on the federal level are murkier, given the sensitivity inherent in anything with that classification. Glotzbach said more than a dozen agencies are in various stages of pilot and rollout for Google Apps, but declined to specify which agencies were using what.

Meanwhile, Google isn't the only company cheering on Apps.gov, as Amazon.com CTO Werner Vogels blogged about the Apps.gov launch and counted "the federal government among our customers."

Techmeme has more stories on the government cloud and the Apps.gov store here. Google Sept. 15 also launched a Google public-sector Website to help local, state and federal government officials reach out to citizens.

Ok, one thing struck me as hilarious:

Google aims to target the 300 million U.S. government users creating and sharing information on 10,000 IT systems. That is a fat market for Google, or any enterprise software maker, to target.

According to this we're only at 307 million... Apparently we're ALL Government employees. Sweet, I'm retiring early.


Kidding aside, this strikes me as a bold move, considering everything on a network as vast as that has a potential backdoor.

Hackers, get to it.

FBI to Cops: Watch for Bomb Ingredients

..Seriously?

Police departments are being urged to be on the lookout for specific indicators of terrorist activity.

"I believe it's prudent to put that information out. We welcome it," said NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly.

The directive speaks of the possible use of hydrogen peroxide in bombs, and to look for people who may have burns on the face, hands and arms.

Watch out, Kevin Spacey!

Well, there goes my plans for world domination via hair coloring... and I suppose buying it for my med cabinet is now out of the question.

"This is an ongoing investigation that is being treated very, very seriously by the highest levels of the government," Rep. Peter King [aka Gomer Pyle] said.

Your tax dollars hard at work. For the love of Pete....

Constitution Day

....is today. Go read it.

Embattled Acorn is gonna what?

Embattled ACORN orders independent investigation


Ok. Uh. Hmm.. How Independent do you think this investigation will be?

I can see the headline now: SEIU runs Acorn investigation; finds nothing wrong. "There's nothing to see here, folks. Move along."

By SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writer Sharon Theimer, Associated Press Writer – Thu Sep 17, 12:01 am ET

WASHINGTON – The community organizing group ACORN said Wednesday it is ordering an independent investigation after its employees were caught on camera appearing to advise a couple posing as a prostitute and pimp to lie about the woman's profession to get housing help.

The group, which came under fire from conservatives for alleged voter fraud in 2008, said it is refusing new admissions into its service programs.

The group, which advocates for poor people, conducted a massive voter registration effort last year and became a target of conservatives when some employees were accused of submitting false registration forms with names such as "Mickey Mouse." ACORN has said only a handful of employees submitted false registration forms and did so in a bid to boost their pay.

ACORN will work with its advisory council, which includes prominent supporters of President Barack Obama, such as John Podesta, president of the nonprofit Center for American Progress, and Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, to name an independent auditor and investigator, ACORN chief executive Bertha Lewis said in a written statement.

The investigation will examine all the systems and processes called into question by the video, Lewis said.

In addition, ACORN won't accept new admissions into its community service programs, effective immediately, and within the next few days will conduct staff training, she said.

Lewis said the steps were being taken in response to "the indefensible action of a handful of our employees."

The moves are among several developments in recent days involving ACORN, a liberal-leaning group that is a popular target for Republicans. In addition to the hidden-camera video, it is under scrutiny for several voter-registration fraud cases.

Some Republicans are urging the Justice Department to investigate ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now . The Senate voted Monday to block the Housing and Urban Development Department from giving grants to ACORN, and the Census Bureau last week severed its ties with the group for the 2010 national head-count.

Asked Wednesday about the controversy, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that "obviously the conduct that you see on those tapes is completely unacceptable."

"I think everyone would agree with that. The administration takes accountability extremely seriously," Gibbs said. "I think the Census Bureau evaluated and determined that this group could not meet the bureau's goal of achieving a fair and accurate count in 2010."

Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., said he's asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repeal a nearly $1 million grant it awarded to ACORN earlier this month.

FEMA awarded $997,402 to ACORN in New Orleans on Sept. 4 as part of its Fire Prevention and Safety Grants program. The group plans to use the money to assess fire safety in the homes of low and moderate-income families and hand out smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and other fire prevention gear, ACORN's Brennan Griffin said.

FEMA had no immediate comment on Bilirakis' request.

Gibbs said he assumed that federal agencies "constantly evaluate to ensure that any grantee is living up to what has to happen in order to fulfill that grant application."

The video released Monday was among several that have prompted the firing of at least four ACORN employees in Baltimore and Washington. It was created by James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles and posted on BigGovernment.com, where O'Keefe identifies himself as an activist filmmaker.

In the film, O'Keefe and Giles enter an ACORN office in Brooklyn and O'Keefe can be heard stating that "we have a unique life situation" and asking if the pair qualify for housing help.

The ACORN housing coordinator and office administrator apparently urge the couple to lie about the woman's profession, with the housing coordinator suggesting that the woman launder the money.

"We have all been deeply disturbed by what we've seen in some of these videos," Lewis said, adding that the group "will go to whatever lengths necessary to re-establish the public trust."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called on California Attorney General Jerry Brown to investigate ACORN's activities in the state. The most recent hidden-camera videos came from San Diego and San Bernardino and feature two filmmakers posing as a pimp and a prostitute and asking ACORN workers for advice.

Brown spokesman Scott Gerber said the attorney general's office would review the video and investigate or refer it to the local district attorney if it is believed there is any wrongdoing.

The Los Angeles office of ACORN said Wednesday that the filmmakers had tried to shoot a similar video there in July, but "highly suspicious" ACORN staffers asked them to leave.

"We are hoping that the behavior of a handful of employees and these doctored tapes do not overshadow the actual, effective and critical work ACORN is doing on a daily basis," said Millicent Hill, a member of Los Angeles ACORN.

___

Associated Press writers Ben Feller and Eileen Sullivan in Washington contributed to this report.

Want a Threeper Flag?

I know I do.



Head over to Western Rifle Shooters for info on how to get one.

My favorite picture so far

Acorn is History.

...I have no words...


Go to http://biggovernment.com/2009/09/10/chaos-for-glory/ for more vids... but I'll post the first two here...


WTF, dude... just.... wtf.












And Glenn Beck's take on it... and I have to say, I'm just as flustered as him.






Seriously... have you no shame? Have you no soul? Acorn, you're goin' down.

Climate change, or faulty equipment?

Got this from urbansurvival.com today. One of his readers sent him this...

"Anthony Watts is a meteorologist for KPAY-AM with a different take on "global warming." He wondered about the accuracy of the official NWS stations collecting the nation's climate data. So he actually went out and inspected a few stations and was shocked. Now he has a website called http://www.surfacestations.org/.



1003 of 1221 stations have been examined in the USHCN network and 66% of them have > 2°C (3.6°F) error rates. He posits that global warming is really just bad data collection. The maps and pie charts on his website say it all. See the picture of the weather station with the air conditioner exhaust blowing on it. What if there's one in an Omaha feedlot measuring cow farts?"

Well well well... C'mon Al Gore, quit fogging up the equipment with all of that hot air comin' outta yer head.







I'd head over to that site and check it out.. lots of data, and pics of these things in the strangest of places.