TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES. BE WELL, EVERYONE.

THERE IS MUCH GOING ON ALL OVER PLANET EARTH RIGHT NOW.
AS MANY OF US APPROACH THE WINTER HOLIDAYS HERE IN AMERICA, PERHAPS WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN FOR A MOMENT AND STEP BACK AND LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE, COLLECTIVELY, AS FELLOW SPACE TRAVELERS, AS CITIZENS OF PLANET EARTH. 
I AM TAKING A SHORT LEAVE OF YOU AS I GO ABOUT TO VISIT FAMILY, ATTEND MY OLDEST DAUGHTER'S COLLEGE GRADUATION FAR AWAY, BE WITH BELOVED FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOR A MONTH OR TWO, ENJOY HOLIDAY FOODS, SIT ABOUT REMEMBERING WITH OTHERS THE TIMES AND MISSING LOVED ONES WE HOLD DEAR IN OUR HEARTS.

IN THE ANCIENT DAYS OF MY ANCESTORS, THIS WAS A TIME WHEN THEY ALL GATHERED IN THE SMALL "ASI" HUT, EASIER TO KEEP WARM, AND SHARED THE OLD STORIES AND PLAYED GAMES AND RECONNECTED AS A FAMILY.
IT WAS A HARD TIME, BUT ALSO A COMFORTING ONE.  I WISH WE STILL DID THAT.
INSTEAD, WE HAVE TWO HOLIDAYS...THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS.

I LOOKED ABOUT TODAY AS I ALWAYS DO FOR NEWS TO SHARE.
I HOPE THAT, WHILE I AM ON 'VACATION', YOU WILL USE THE LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG TO KEEP UP WITH EVERYTHING.
THE DEFCON WARNING SYSTEM SITE ALWAYS HAS LINKS TO SOME OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT NEWS THAT AFFECTS US GLOBALLY.
THE LINKS I AM DROPPING IN THIS BLOG WILL ALSO ALWAYS TAKE YOU TO THE LATEST UPDATES ON SEVERAL ISSUES.

IT LOOKS LIKE AMERICA AND IRAN HAVE REACHED A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REGARDING IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM.
THIS HAS ANGERED BOTH ISRAEL AND SAUDI ARABIA.
IN SPITE OF THAT, IT SEEMS A SMALL STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION TO MANY.
DARE WE HOPE FOR SANITY? 

I HAVE NEVER QUITE UNDERSTOOD THE AVERSION OF THE "SUPER POWERS" TO ALL NATIONS HAVING NUCLEAR CAPABILITY IF EVEN ONE NATION DOES, BUT I ALSO NEVER UNDERSTOOD THE DRIVE IN HUMAN BEINGS TO UTTERLY DESTROY ONE ANOTHER BY THE MOST HORRIFIC AND BRUTAL MEANS POSSIBLE.

WE KNOW THAT NUCLEAR WEAPONS WOULD OBLITERATE OUR WORLD AND ALL IN IT, BUT YET WE MAINTAIN ARSENALS AND GO BERSERK WHEN ANY NEW NATION WANTS THE SAME CAPABILITY THE "SUPER POWERS" HAVE.
INSANITY REIGNS SUPREME.
EITHER ALL HAVE THEM, OR ALL DON'T. 
IT WOULD BE BEST TO TERMINATE ALL NUCLEAR WEAPONS, ALL NUCLEAR ANYTHING, AND DESTROY OUR MEANS OF EVER PRODUCING SUCH AGAIN.
IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT NUCLEAR THREAT!
NICE IMAGE, ISN'T IT?

WE CAN HOPE THIS IRAN "UNDERSTANDING" HOLDS, THAT THE SYRIAN CONFLICT WILL RESOLVE, THAT THE PEOPLE OF THE MIDDLE EAST CAN STOP TRYING TO KILL ONE ANOTHER, THAT THE NATIONS OUTSIDE THAT AREA CAN LEAVE THE NATIONS WITHIN IT ALONE TO SOLVE THEIR OWN CONFLICTS,  THAT AMERICA, RUSSIA, NORTH KOREA AND CHINA WILL STOP THEIR "ARMS RACE" AND THAT SANITY CAN REGAIN A FOOTHOLD ON OUR FRAGILE PLANET.

OUR WORLD DOESN'T NEED AMERICA, NOR ENGLAND, NOR RUSSIA, NOR CHINA NOR ANY NATION TO PLAY POLICEMAN OR BULLY TO ALL THE WORLD WHENEVER THEY FEEL LIKE AN "INTERVENTION".

IF AMERICA OR RUSSIA, OR ANY OTHER COUNTRY, HAD DEMONSTRATED THEIR OWN PERFECTION, THEIR OWN SOLUTIONS TO THEIR INNER CONFLICTS AND TROUBLES, MAYBE, BUT ONLY MAYBE, THEY'D HAVE A JUSTIFICATION TO BUTT IN TO OTHERS' AFFAIRS.
SUCH IS NOT THE CASE, SO ALL THE SUPER POWERS NEED TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND GIVE ALL NATIONS SOME BREATHING ROOM, GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO HEAL THEMSELVES AS ONLY THEY CAN. 
EVERY NATION IS A SOVEREIGN NATION.
AMERICA, ET AL, NEEDS TO ACCEPT THAT AND JUST KEEP OUT!

FUKUSHIMA LOOMS LIKE A TERRIBLE INSATIABLE, ALL-DEVOURING MONSTER OVER ALL OF US.
NO RADIATION IS GOOD FOR HUMAN BEINGS, NOT ONE SMALL ATOM OF IT.
ANYONE WHO SAYS DIFFERENTLY IS SIMPLY A LIAR OR IN DEEP DENIAL.

THERE SEEMS TO BE NO WAY TO CONTAIN THE CONTAMINATED WATER AT THE DAI'ICHI NUCLEAR FACILITY, NOR THE ESCAPE OF RADIOACTIVE STEAM, NOR ANYTHING THEY HAVE GOING ON THERE THAT IS POISONING US ALL.
IT IS, BY ALL ACCOUNTS OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT IN DENIAL, A POSSIBLE "EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT", A "CHINA SYNDROME", A "RADIATION TSUNAMI" THAT WILL SICKEN AND EXTERMINATE ALL OF CREATION ON THIS PLANET.

MAYBE SO, BUT HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL...
IF WE GIVE UP HOPE, WE GIVE UP ON LIFE.
WE SIMPLY MUST NEVER DO THAT!

AS THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO LIE AND COVER-UP THE TRUTH, RISKING THE PRECIOUS LIVES OF ALL WHO LIVE THERE AND ALL WHO OCCUPY THIS GLOBE, AND AS THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGES THEM TO DO SO, SOMEWHERE OTHERS ARE DESPERATELY SEEKING A SOLUTION, AND WE MUST HOPE, PRAY, WHATEVER, THAT SOMEONE COMES UP WITH A WAY OUT OF THIS FOR ALL HUMANITY.

WE CAN ALSO HOPE THAT THE WORLD CAN LOOK AT THE NATIONS THAT HAVE TURNED AWAY FROM NUCLEAR POWER AND TURNED TO SOLAR, WIND, GEOTHERMAL, AND OTHER FORMS OF ENERGY THAT DON'T KILL PEOPLE 'EN MASSE', THAT AREN'T LETHAL TO THOSE OF US WHO NEED ENERGY, THAT DON'T SICKEN OUR FELLOW CREATURES ON THIS EARTH, SO THAT ALL CAN HAVE CLEAN, EFFICIENT, AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVES TO NUCLEAR, COAL, OIL, AND ALL THE OLD "STANDBY" FUELS THAT HAVE CHOKED ALL OF US FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS NOW AND POLLUTED THE VERY AIR WE BREATHE, THE WATER WE DRINK, THE SOIL WE GROW CROPS IN, AND ARE JUST TOO COSTLY AND INEFFICIENT TO MAINTAIN ANYMORE.
THERE ARE BETTER ALTERNATIVES.

WE NEED TO STOP BOWING TO THE BIG CORPORATIONS WHO DEPEND ON HIGH-COST, BUT TOXIC, FUELS AND LET THEM ALL GO BROKE OR DEVELOP NEW ENERGY SOURCES IMMEDIATELY. 
SOMEHOW, THEY NEED US TO SHOW THEM THAT WE DEMAND BETTER.
WE HAVE A RIGHT TO LIVE WITHOUT TOXIC AIR, WATER, AND SOIL. 
WE HAVE A RIGHT TO USE LESS IN ORDER TO HAVE MORE THAT IS SAFE AND CLEAN.
MANY SMALLER NATIONS HAVE ACHIEVED ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY, HAVE TURNED THEIR BACKS ON OIL AND COAL AND NUCLEAR ENERGY AND NOW USE SOLAR OR WIND OR A COMBINATION EXCLUSIVELY, AND THE PEOPLE THERE ARE HAPPIER FOR IT, AND ARE RICHER IN EVERY WAY!

WE CAN ALSO HOPE THAT ALL PEOPLE LEARN TO LIVE MORE SIMPLY, WITH LESS INSTEAD OF MORE, AND TRY TO COME UP WITH WAYS TO SUSTAIN OUR RESOURCES, TO STRETCH WHAT WE HAVE AND MAKE IT LAST FOR ALL NATIONS, ALL PEOPLE.
WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND IF WE DON'T FIND A WAY TO CURB OUR USE OF THEM, WE CAN ONLY WAIT FOR THE FINAL SCRAPS OF THEM TO BE ALL USED UP. 

LESS CAN BE, MUST BE, MORE IF WE WISH TO SUSTAIN LIFE ON THIS PLANET.
WE HONESTLY DON'T NEED WHAT WE IMAGINE WE DO.
EVERY NATURAL DISASTER THAT TAKES AWAY ALL WE HAVE FOR SHORT PERIODS OF TIME HAVE SHOWN US WE CAN GET BY ON LESS.  WHEN I LOOK AT SOME WHO ARE GETTING BY ON A FEW DOLLARS A DAY AND YET CAN HAVE WHAT THEY NEED TO SURVIVE AND LIVE SIMPLER LIVES, I KNOW THAT OUR AMERICAN HABITS TO OVER-USE AND WASTE ARE WRONG.
WE CAN GET BY ON MUCH LESS AND MUST DETERMINE TO DO SO!

THERE ARE MANY MYSTERIOUS EVENTS IN 'THE HEAVENS' RIGHT NOW. 
I'VE PREVIOUSLY EXPRESSED MY CONCERNS ABOUT NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS, COMET ISON, SOLAR EVENTS THAT CAN CAUSE EARTH TO JUST GO UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE, AND GAMMA RAY BLASTS FROM NEARBY GALAXIES, BUT WE CAN'T CONTROL ANY OF THESE, CAN ONLY BE AWARE OF THEM.

IT IS THE DUTY OF ANY AGENCY, ANY GOVERNMENT, THAT KNOWS OF ANY IMPENDING "DISASTERS" TO NOTIFY THE PEOPLE OF EARTH OF SUCH.
THEY NEED TO STOP THINKING WE CAN'T HANDLE SUCH THINGS, THAT WE MIGHT PANIC AND GO BERSERK.
WE ARE BETTER THAN THAT, ALL OF US!
WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS WITH STRONG SPIRITS, STRONG MINDS, AND WE CAN HANDLE BAD NEWS.
WE CAN ADAPT, WE CAN RE-TUNE OURSELVES TO FACE ANYTHING, BUT WE MUST KNOW WHATEVER ANY POWER ON EARTH KNOWS. 
WE DESERVE THE TRUTH!
NO ONE, NO GOVERNMENT HAS THE RIGHT TO KEEP ANYTHING FROM US!
IF WE ARE, AS SOME SUGGEST, FACING SOME COSMIC CATACLYSM, SOME GLOBAL APOCALYPSE, LET THEM HAVE THE GUTS AND THE DECENCY TO TELL US SO!
WE CAN HANDLE IT!
WE CAN HANDLE ANYTHING!
THAT'S JUST HOW HUMAN BEINGS ARE...STRONG, STRONGER THAN ANY STEEL.

DURING THIS TIME OF REFLECTION, MY THOUGHTS AND HOPES FOR HEALING GO OUT TO ALL IN THE PHILIPPINES AND TO ALL ANYWHERE ON EARTH WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED DISASTERS.
MY TEARS MINGLE WITH YOURS FOR YOUR LOSSES.
MY HEART REACHES OUT TO YOUR HEARTS.
I HOPE THAT YOU WHO HAVE SURVIVED SUCH CATASTROPHES ARE WELL.
I HOPE YOU HAVE ENOUGH OF ALL THAT YOU NEED.
I WISH THAT I COULD SHARE MORE OF WHAT I HAVE WITH ALL OF YOU.
IT SEEMS I CAN NEVER DO ENOUGH, BUT KNOW THAT I AM TRYING TO DO MORE EACH DAY. 

AS EARTHQUAKES INCREASE IN MAGNITUDE AND VOLCANOES INCREASE IN ERUPTIONS, WE MAY TEND TO CRY DOOM AND GLOOM, BUT OUR PLANET GOES THROUGH CYCLES JUST AS WE DO.
EARTH IS A LIVING ORGANISM. 
SHE HAS HER MOMENTS OF PEACE AND OF RAGE, JUST AS WE DO. 

HUMANITY CAN AFFECT HER AND WE MAY AS WELL FACE THAT. 
WHAT WE DO ON HER SURFACE AFFECTS HER AS DEEP AS SHE GOES. 
WE MUST RESPECT HER, CARE FOR HER AS THOUGH SHE WAS A DEAR FAMILY MEMBER, FOR SHE IS!
SHE IS OUR "MOTHER" AND WE MUST TREAT HER WITH THE UTMOST CARE.  

WE MUST ALWAYS STOP AND ASK OURSELVES IF WE WOULD DO WHAT WE DO IF WE WERE DOING IT TO OUR OWN MOTHERS. 
TRULY, WE CANNOT LOVE THE EARTH TOO MUCH, NOR OUR FELLOW CREATURES AND ALL LIFE THAT DEPENDS ON HER AS WE DO.
WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
WE EITHER STAND TOGETHER, FOR ONE ANOTHER, OR WE FALL VICTIMS TO OUR OWN SELFISHNESS AND GREED. 
HONOR THE EARTH. 
SHE HAS SUSTAINED YOU AND ALL YOUR ANCESTORS. 
WE OWE HER.
WE MUST BE CONSIDERATE OF NOT JUST THE EARTH, BUT OF ONE ANOTHER. 
WHAT I DO AFFECTS OTHERS, AND WHAT OTHERS DO AFFECTS ME. 
WE NEED AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN US ALL TO DO AS LITTLE HARM AS POSSIBLE WHILE WE OCCUPY THIS SMALL BLUE PLANET.

WE SHOULD TAKE FROM HER ONLY WHAT WE TRULY MUST HAVE, NOT ONE BIT MORE, AND WE NEED VERY MUCH TO CONSIDER TAKING LESS AND LESS, SO THAT, SOON, ONE DAY SOON, ALL ARE TAKING EQUAL AMOUNTS AND NO ONE IS LEFT WITH NOT ENOUGH SO THAT NO ONE HAS A NEED UNMET. 

WE OWE ONE ANOTHER THIS...WE ARE ALL MERELY RIDING THIS WEE GLOBE ACROSS TIME AND SPACE AND WE DON'T KNOW FOR HOW LONG, NOR WHERE IT WILL ALL END, SO LET US BE CAREFUL FOR ONE ANOTHER. LET US LIVE AS A COMMUNITY, NOT AS SEPARATE NATIONS WITH BORDERS, BUT AS FELLOW PASSENGERS ON OUR "SPACESHIP EARTH".
SHE IS ALL WE HAVE, AND WE HAVE HER TOGETHER, ALL OF US.
NONE HAVE A RIGHT TO MORE THAN OTHERS, NONE HAVE A RIGHT TO CLAIM MORE THAN THEY NEED TO LIVE WELL.
WELL DOES NOT MEAN "WEALTHY", JUST WELL.
WE SHOULD ALL BE HEALTHY, WITH ENOUGH TO EAT, ENOUGH CLEAN WATER, A WELL-BUILT SHELTER FROM THE STORMS, A MEANS TO SUSTAIN LIFE WITHOUT FEAR. 

I HOPE WE CAN ALL FIND THAT!

I APPRECIATE EACH ONE WHO READS HERE, WHETHER OR NOT YOU AGREE WITH WHAT I WRITE, WHETHER OR NOT YOU LIKE WHAT I SAY. 
I RESPECT YOUR RIGHT TO DISAGREE AND I HOPE YOU ACCEPT THAT STATEMENT AS TRUTH.
I WISH YOU ALL WELL. 

WE ONLY GET ONE LIFE, ONE SHOT AT LIVING THIS ONE LIFE (OR SO I BELIEVE) SO LET US DO IT PROPERLY, DO IT AS WELL AS WE CAN, SHIRK NOT ONE RESPONSIBILITY, WASTE NOT ONE PRECIOUS MOMENT.
WE'LL NEVER BREATHE THIS BREATH AGAIN!
IF IT IS OUR LAST DAY, LET US HOPE THAT ALL WHO REMEMBER US CAN REMEMBER US WITH JOY, AND BE GLAD THAT OUR PATHS CROSSED THEIRS.

AS I WATCH OUR ICE STORMS COMING ACROSS THE LAND INTO THESE ANCIENT BLUE MOUNTAINS, AS TEMPERATURES PLUMMET, THESE OLD BONES CRY OUT, BUT I AM WARMED FROM THE INSIDE BY ALL I'VE SEEN AND DONE AND KNOWN.
AS I APPROACH 70 YEARS ON THIS WEE PLANET, I AM GRATEFUL BEYOND WORDS FOR EACH MINUTE, AS "BAD" AS SOME HAVE SEEMED. 
THE WONDERFUL, THE BEAUTIFUL, THE GOOD ALL OUTWEIGH THE 'BAD'. 

MAY YOUR BLESSINGS FALL LIKE A SUMMER'S RAIN, PEOPLE OF EARTH. 
MAY ALL YOUR NEEDS BE MET, AND MAY YOU HAVE HEALTH AND JOY AND PEACE AND ENOUGH OF THE THINGS THAT SUSTAIN LIFE. 

I HOPE THAT I MAY LIVE TO WRITE TO YOU AGAIN...FOR THAT'S ALL THIS REALLY IS, THIS SIMPLE BLOG...IT'S MERELY A LETTER TO ALL OF YOU, TO TELL YOU WHAT I FIND GOING ON ON PLANET EARTH, TO LET YOU KNOW I CARE, AND THAT I HAVE HOPE FOR ALL OF US, THAT I AM STILL WILLING TO FIGHT FOR ALL OUR RIGHTS TO LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. 

TO MY AMERICAN READERS, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
MAY IT BE SO...MAY IT BE SO, PLEASE.

<3

                         A LULLABY FOR ALL OF YOU...SHHHHHHH...GOODNIGHT...

 The incredible Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, "Bruddah Iz"..."Ahi Wela" miss you, Iz. Thank you.

IS THE PATRIOT ACT OR 'OBAMACARE' THE BIGGER ABOMINATION?

LET'S COMPARE THE TWO.
BE AWARE THAT THE TEA ROOM SUPPORTS NEITHER ACT, HAS NO RESPECT FOR EITHER OF THE 2 PRESIDENTS INVOLVED WITH THEIR CREATION, AND IS A MEMBER OF NO POLITICAL PARTY... AS IN NOT PARTY-AFFILIATED.

1~ THE PATRIOT ACT CREATED A POLICE STATE.
OBAMACARE DID NOT.

The TSA can legally grope and paw us all.
We can be pulled over within 100 miles of our borders and searched without a warrant, have our computers, digital cameras, iphones, anything that stores data confiscated, and we can be detained for as long as it suits whomever decides to take us in for 'search and seizure'.

When Homeland Security officers check on a person, within their boundaries on United States soil, they can ask travelers for papers, detain them, question them, bring in drug dogs to search vehicles, etc. They are not required to have probable cause. The question to ask is: does this loophole create/ or should it create concern for Americans regarding their Constitutional rights?

Well, not if you are a brain-dead sheep who will do anything the "shepherd wolves" tell you to do.

And, under the Patriot Act, how many of us really are guilty of being unquestioning scared little sheep?
About 90%?

BUSH SHOULD BE IN JAIL ON TREASON CHARGES!

"Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

HIS PATRIOT ACT MADE THIS COMMONPLACE!
NOW, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAN, AND DOES, AND WILL ON MANY OCCASIONS, TAKE EVEN NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS AND PLACE THEM IN A FEDERAL POSITION AS FEDERAL POLICE.

SEE THE VIDEOS FROM HURRICANES KATRINA AND SANDY.

OUR MILITARY, ALL BRANCHES, EVEN THE STATES' NATIONAL GUARD UNITS, CAN BE CALLED UPON TO GO DOOR-TO-DOOR AND REMOVE US ALL TO "SAFER AREAS", DETAIN US IN HOLDING CAMPS IN "EMERGENCY SITUATIONS" AND EVEN BE USED TO REMOVE "HOARDED FOOD", FIREARMS, MEDICAL SUPPLIES, ETC, FROM OUR PRIVATE HOMES. 

2~THE PATRIOT ACT MARKED AMERICANS AS "POTENTIAL TERRORISTS".
OBAMACARE DOES NOT.

THERE ARE 72 TYPES OF POTENTIAL TERRORISTS THAT WERE LISTED AS SUCH BY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND WE ALL FALL UNDER ONE OF THOSE TYPES!

Are you a conservative, a libertarian, a Christian or a gun owner?  Are you opposed to abortion, globalism, Communism, illegal immigration, the United Nations or the New World Order?  Do you believe in conspiracy theories, do you believe that we are living in the “end times” or do you ever visit alternative news websites (such as this one)?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, you are a “potential terrorist” according to official U.S. government documents.

HERE ARE JUST A FEW MORE OF THOSE CATEGORIES...WITH, I HOPE, VALID LINKS TO SHOW YOU THEY ARE REAL.

57. Anyone that is “anti-nuclear”
58. “Rightwing extremists”
59. “Returning veterans”
60. Those concerned about “illegal immigration”
61. Those that “believe in the right to bear arms”
62. Anyone that is engaged in “ammunition stockpiling”
63. Anyone that exhibits “fear of Communist regimes”
64. “Anti-abortion activists”
65. Those that are against illegal immigration
66. Those that talk about “the New World Order” in a “derogatory” manner
67. Those that have a negative view of the United Nations
68. Those that are opposed “to the collection of federal income taxes”
69. Those that supported former presidential candidates Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin and Bob Barr
70. Those that display the Gadsden Flag (“Don’t Tread On Me”)
71. Those that believe in “end times” prophecies
72. Evangelical Christians
T
HOSE WERE ALL WRITTEN IN 2005-2008 AND DISTRIBUTED 3 MONTHS AFTER OBAMA TOOK OFFICE.

"Potential Indicators of Terrorist Activities Related to Sleepers", WRITTEN BY THE FBI IN 2007, DISTRIBUTED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES ALL OVER AMERICA, NAMED ANYONE WHO HAD DOUBTS THAT 9/11 WAS CONDUCTED BY 'AL QAEDA' AS "POTENTIAL SLEEPERS" INVOLVED WITH THAT GROUP".

OVER 5000 PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED AND HELD WITHOUT TRIAL ON THAT!  

3~THE PATRIOT ACT GAVE THE PRESIDENT POWER THAT HE WAS NEVER MEANT TO HAVE ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION.
OBAMACARE DOES NOT.

I. Vast and Unchecked Powers to an Executive Branch That Has Demonstrated a Flagrant Disregard for the Rule of Law

II. A Wholesale Suspension of Civil Liberties
Political activists who are critical of our government or who maintain ties with international political movements disfavored by our government - especially those who are immigrants - are likely to bear the brunt of these attacks on our civil liberties.

The Silencing of Political Dissent
III. The extent to which the judiciary will defer to the Administration's views on the troubling First and Fourth Amendment issues presented by the USA PATRIOT Act, will tolerate ethnic and ideological profiling by the Administration as it implements the Act

4~THE PATRIOT ACT GIVES THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THE 'RIGHT' TO DETAIN AMERICAN CITIZENS HERE AND ABROAD WITHOUT TRIAL, WITHOUT BENEFIT OF CHOSEN COUNCIL, AND TRIALS ARE HELD IN SECRET IN A 'SECRET' COURT.
THE LIST OF REAL AND POTENTIAL ABUSES OF THE PATRIOT ACT ARE TOO MANY TO ENUMERATE.

OBAMACARE DOES NOT MAKE CITIZENS POTENTIAL TERRORISTS.

The Patriot Act gave the U.S. government sweeping new powers to monitor and investigate its citizens in the name of preventing future acts of terrorism against our country. It made it easier to collect data on phone calls, email communications, banking information and credit card purchases and to track your Internet use.

It also expanded the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism, allowing law enforcement to bypass traditional constitutional processes and apply the Patriot Act instead.

We are now witnessing the results of allowing our government unrestrained overreach; the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative groups, the Justice Department seizing the phone records of The Associated Press and a FOX News reporter in an attempt to ferret out the source of a leak, and the most recent revelation that the National Security Agency has been routinely acquiring phone records and secretly tapping into the Internet.

When the Patriot Act was renewed in 2011, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., made this prophetic statement: “I want to deliver a warning. … When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned, and they will be angry.”

The Senate version of the Patriot Act, which closely resembled the legislation requested by Attorney General John Ashcroft, was sent straight to the floor with no discussion, debate, or hearings. Many Senators complained that they had little chance to read it, much less analyze it, before having to vote.

One of the most significant provisions of the Patriot Act makes it far easier for the authorities to gain access to records of citizens' activities being held by a third party. 

At a time when computerization is leading to the creation of more and more such records, Section 215 of the Patriot Act allows the FBI to force anyone at all - including doctors, libraries, bookstores, universities, and Internet service providers - to turn over records on their clients or customers.

Approximately 5,000 men were rounded up after September 11th and detained for periods ranging from days to more than a year. 

 Nearly all have been either released or deported, and not one has been charged with a connection to al Qaeda. While the men were being held, the DOJ refused to reveal their names.

SEE http://web.archive.org/web/20020210132248/http://www.ccr-ny.org/whatsnew/usa_patriot_act.asp


5~THE PATRIOT ACT HAS COST AMERICA BILLIONS TO TRILLIONS, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT, AND WE GET NOTHING BACK BUT THE VERY EMPTY, IMPOSSIBLE-TO-KEEP 'PROMISE' OF SECURITY.

OBAMACARE WILL MAKE MONEY FOR AMERICA AFTER ITS FIRST 10 YEARS, OR LESS, EVEN REPUBLICANS HAVE HAD TO ADMIT THAT, AND YOU GET INSURANCE THAT PAYS MUCH OF YOUR MEDICAL BILLS. 


Brokerage firms alone will spend $700 million through 2005 to comply with the PATRIOT ACT, says research firm TowerGroup in Needham, Mass.

In the coming months, Treasury Department officials will decide whether the Patriot Act's anti-money-laundering provisions will cover travel agents; auto, boat and aircraft dealers; mutual funds; life insurance firms; dealers in precious metals and stones; and others.

All businesses could be required to verify customers' identification, share records on suspected terrorists with law enforcement and file "suspicious activity reports" to regulators on large cash sales. 

BUT HOW MUCH DOES THE PATRIOT ACT COST AMERICAN TAXPAYERS EVERY YEAR? 
IN ONLY ONE YEAR, 2004, THE PATRIOT ACT COST AMERICAN TAXPAYERS $362 MILLION.
THAT COST HAS GONE UP SIGNIFICANTLY EACH YEAR.

WE KNOW THEY BLEW THEIR BUDGET LAST YEAR!
WE KNOW THEY SPENT ALMOST $70 BILLION IN 2011.
AGAIN, THAT DID NOT INCLUDE THE COST OF THE NO-FLY LISTS! 

AFTER 13 YEARS, WE HAVE NO MORE ASSURANCE OF "HOMELAND SECURITY" TODAY THAN WE HAD DURING WW1 OR WW2; IN FACT, WE HAVE LESS.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "HOMELAND SECURITY", JUST "HOME, BODY AND PRIVACY INVASION".

IN FIGURING COSTS OF THE PATRIOT ACT, ONLY ONE GROUP HAS FIGURED IN THE COST OF THAT "NO-FLY" LIST THAT OTHERS WHO HAVE ESTIMATED COST OF "BUSH'S BABY" LEAVE OUT.
THOSE FIGURES ALONE ARE MIND-BLOWING!

In fiscal year 2011, DHS (DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY) was allocated a budget of $98.8 billion and spent, net, $66.4 billion.

Having estimated the number of individuals involved with the list, the next step is calculating their billing rate and amount of time devoted to the project. 
Turning to rates first, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) provides a yearly salary scale ranging from approximately $17,000 to $124,000. 
  A conservative figure that estimates the cost of government employee benefits is approximately 50 percent (Cox & Brunelli, 1994). 
  That is, if the salary of a federal employee is $50k/year, the adjusted cost to taxpayers, inclusive of benefits, is approximately $75k/year. 
Sources in the security community note that among federal employees working on the no-fly list, there are very few at the lower ends of the pay scale, with most falling somewhere in the top third. 

On the private side, government contracting firms typically bill out their resources somewhere in the $100k-$500k/year range. This number varies depending on the expertise of the contractor, the profit margin of the firm, the type of work being conducted, etc. For the purposes of this article, it is worth using a conservative blended billing rate precisely because there are a large number of factors that lead to billing rate fluctuation. 

A conservative figure of $100k/year, inclusive of both government employees with benefits and private firm contractors, is a reasonable estimate, but is potentially much higher and not likely to be much lower. 

With more than 200,000 employees, DHS is the third largest Cabinet department, after the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

MORE THAN 200,000 EMPLOYEES EVEN AT "MINIMUM WAGE" FOR THAT DEPARTMENT AS STATED ABOVE ...DO THE MATH!!!

Finally, there are other costs associated with the no-fly list that will not be examined thoroughly here because assessing a financial figure for each of them is difficult.


COST OF LAWSUITS? 
UNKNOWN!
Lawsuits against U.S. government agencies, typically DHS, TSA and the FBI, with respect to no-fly list related issues (such as harassment) are numerous and presumably quite costly for both sides of the case. A recent search in the WestLaw database identified fourteen disparate case filings against the U.S. government regarding the no-fly list.

One, JUST ONE, prominent case, filed by the ACLU, resulted in a settlement of $200,000 by TSA and DHS for the victims of unnecessary harassment and detainment.

It is unknown how many resources are spent responding to these cases, but the numbers are likely significant and a potentially fruitful area of further research.

THAT'S JUST ONE SMALL PART OF THE COST OF THE PATRIOT ACT!
A VERY SMALL PART!

The question of TOTAL cost really can't be answered since there is no oversight on the Patriot Act. The politicians don't even care if it is working or not.

I REPEAT, THERE IS NO OVERSIGHT TO COSTS OF THE PATRIOT ACT. 

THE NDAA WAS/IS/WILL BE MERELY A CONTINUATION OF THE REPUBLICANS' BELOVED PATRIOT ACT. 
THERE IS NOTHING NEW IN THE NDAA THAT WASN'T IN THE FEMA ACT OF THE 1970s OR IN THE BUSH PATRIOT ACT.

NOTHING.

SINCE WE KNOW NOW THAT THE PATRIOT ACT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE, WHY DID CONGRESS PASS THE NDAA?

AND IF THE PATRIOT ACT WAS PASSED BY ALMOST 100% UNANIMOUS VOTE FOR IT, WITHOUT ANYONE READING THE WHOLE THING, WHY IS ANY OF THOSE WHO VOTED FOR IT THEN COMPLAINING ABOUT THE OBAMA VERSION? 

In 2002, Bush Administration officials argued that the September 11 attacks made the proposed elimination of employee protections imperative. The plan stripped 180,000 government employees of their UNION RIGHTS.

FORMER DHS SECRETARY, JANET NAPOLITANO, IS NOW SO MUCH AGAINST WHAT THAT STANDS FOR THAT SHE HAS BECOME KNOWN AS ONE OF THE BUSH AND OBAMA ADMINISTRATIONS' HARSHEST CRITICS...JUST OVER THE LIES THE THING PASSED OFF ON ALL OF US. 

She is on record as saying it's all about "excess, waste, and ineffectiveness".
She also warned of cyber-attacks and natural disasters, "the likes of which the nation has never seen".
WHAT DOES SHE KNOW THAT WE SHOULD KNOW???

She's not the only Washington official that has come out against the Patriot Act/NDAA.
Simply Google-search "Congressman against extending Patriot Act" for a real shocker!


Rep. C.L. "Butch" OTTER (R-ID) (Congressional Record, Page H7289, 7/22/2003)

"Mr. Chairman, over 200 years ago when the formulation of this great republic was being put together, John Stuart Mill sat down and probably put the essence of this government in writing better than anyone could. 

‘ A people,’ he said, ‘may prefer a free government, but if from indolence or carelessness, or cowardice, or want of public spirit, they are unequal to the exertions necessary for preserving it; if they will not fight for it when it is directly attacked; if by momentary discouragement or temporary panic, they can be deluded by the artifices used to cheat them out of it; or if in a fit of enthusiasm for an individual, they can be induced to lay their liberties at the feet of even a great man, in all these cases, they are more or less unfit for liberty. 
And though it may have been to their good to have had it for a short time, they are unlikely long to enjoy it.’

American citizens, whom the government has pledged to protect from terrorist activities, now find themselves the victims of the very weapon designed to uproot their enemies. 

Being secure at the expense of our freedom is no real security. Like many Idahoans who have come to me with their concerns about the USA PATRIOT Act and in passionate defense of their freedoms, we must continue to examine our actions to correct our mistakes to guard against the apathy or the indifference to safeguarding our liberties.

To these Federal agencies, it is a house, it is a building, it is a business; but to us, Mr. Chairman, it is our homes, and there is nothing more sacred than homes in America because it is the foundation on which we build our families. It is the arsenal in which the virtue and hope of every generation resides, and it is the fundamental primer of any free people. "


THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS NOW SEE WHAT A MISTAKE THE PATRIOT ACT WAS.
MOST PEOPLE REALIZE THEY GAVE UP ALL THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS THE DAY IT WAS PASSED!

A 2007 AP poll ranked DHS at the bottom of an index of consumer satisfaction among cabinet departments, and two of its agencies, FEMA and TSA, at the bottom, below the IRS.

Although much polling has shown that more Americans disapprove of the 2010 health care law than approve (CURRENTLY, 43% DISAPPROVE) , recent polling has shown that a slice of those who disapprove are critical of the law because it does not go far enough in changing the nation’s health care system.

Overall, 33 percent of Americans found the law favorable, 43 percent found it unfavorable, and 17 percent were unsure or did not give an opinion.

So when we account for those who disapproved because they wanted more expansive reform, the poll shows that support for the law and opposition to it are much more even: 36 percent oppose the law, and 40 percent are in support of some form of federal health care transformation (if one includes the 7 percent who want a more expanded version).


PEOPLE MAY SAY THEY HATE 'OBAMACARE' BECAUSE IT GIVES THE POOR FREE INSURANCE AND THAT MEANS THEY, THE NON-POOR, THEY WHO CAN AFFORD TO PAY $1000 A MONTH FOR A FAMILY HEALTH INSURANCE POLICY, THEY WHO DON'T WORK FOR MINIMUM WAGE, THEY WHO DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHETHER TO PAY THE RENT AND UTILITIES OR BUY FOOD, WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE POOR'S HEALTH CARE.

IDIOTIC THOUGHT, THAT!
WE'RE PAYING FAR MORE RIGHT NOW FOR THOSE WHO CAN'T AFFORD HEALTH INSURANCE TO BE SEEN IN EMERGENCY ROOMS, OFTEN TOO LATE, AND THEN HAVE THOSE BILLS AFFECT OUR OWN RATES. 

FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE NOT AMONG THE "POOR", OUR PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS MUST BE COVERED BY 2014. 

THAT MEANS THOSE OF US WITH CANCER, HEART DISEASE, ALL THE BIG ILLNESSES THAT KEPT US FROM BEING INSURED BEFORE ARE NOT GOING TO BE KEPT FROM BEING INSURED ANYMORE! 
SEE http://havacuppahemlock1.blogspot.com/2013/09/republicans-have-gone-insane-obamacare.html  

FOR ALL WHO WORK, EMPLOYERS CAN NO LONGER CRAM HIGH-PRICED, LOW-PAYING 'CRAP' INSURANCES DOWN OUR THROATS.
THOSE JUNK INSURANCE POLICIES ARE BEING SCRAPPED!
SEE http://havacuppahemlock1.blogspot.com/2013/11/affordable-health-care-law-no-exclusions.html

WE GET MORE "BANG FOR OUR BUCKS".

EMPLOYERS WITH MORE THAN 50 EMPLOYEES HAVE TO FIND BETTER OPTIONS FOR THEIR WORKERS, AND THOSE WITH UNDER 50 EMPLOYEES WILL GET HELP STARTING UP INSURANCE PLANS FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES.

AND NO, UNLIKE IN THE CASE OF THE PATRIOT ACT, NOBODY IS GOING TO JAIL FOR NON-COMPLIANCE, NOT UNTIL LATER DOWN THE ROAD, ANYWAY.

ADD TO ALL THIS THE FACT THAT THE PATRIOT ACT IS AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL AS ANYTHING COULD POSSIBLY BE AND THEN LOOK AND SEE THAT 'OBAMACARE' HAS BEEN RULED CONSTITUTIONALLY SOUND...

THE ONLY REASON THE PATRIOT ACT REMAINS IS BECAUSE SO FEW HAVE CHALLENGED IT!

DID YOU KNOW, THANKS TO THE PATRIOT ACT...

~ To assist terror investigation, the government may monitor religious and political institutions without suspecting criminal activity.

~ The government may prosecute librarians or keepers of any other records if they tell anyone the government subpoenaed information related to a terror investigation.

~ The government may search and seize Americans' papers and effects without probable cause to assist terror investigation.

~ Americans may be jailed without being charged or being able to confront witnesses against them. US citizens (labeled "unlawful combatants") have been held incommunicado and refused attorneys.

~ THE PATRIOT ACT IS NOT LIMITED TO "TERRORISM"!
The Government can add samples to DNA databases for individuals convicted of "any crime of violence." Government spying on suspected computer trespassers (not just terrorist suspects) IS ALLOWED, and all of this and more requires no court order.

~ If you deposit, withdraw, or make a purchase involving more than $10,000 in cash in one day, the other agency involved has to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) with the IRS that reports details such as your name, address, and taxpayer identification number. If you purchase over $3,000 of traveler's checks, money orders, or cashier's checks, such a transaction will also be reported to the IRS via a Monetary Instrument Log (MIL). 

The Homeland Security Act by it's suppression of civil liberties simply makes the country more an image of the society that Al Qaeda espouses, and is in direct opposition to the principles of freedom advanced by the framers of United States constitution. The totality of the Homeland Security Act is nothing more than a well thought out ploy to expand the powers of the executive branch of government. 

Key Part of Patriot Act Ruled Unconstitutional 

September 30, 2004   A federal judge in New York ruled yesterday that a key component of the USA Patriot Act is unconstitutional because it allows the FBI to demand information from Internet service providers without judicial oversight or public review.
Marrero's ruling is the latest setback in the courts for the Bush administration's terrorism policies, which civil libertarians and some lawmakers consider overly broad. The Supreme Court ruled in June that detainees held as "enemy combatants" may challenge their confinement through the U.S. courts. Two rulings by federal courts in California have also struck down portions of statutes making it a crime to provide "material support" to terrorists.


TO SUM IT UP...
1~ THE PATRIOT ACT HAS COST US MORE ALREADY THAN 'OBMACARE' EVER WILL, AND WILL COST US MORE EACH YEAR, FOR AS LONG AS WE LIVE.
2~ THE PATRIOT ACT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. 
3~ THE PATRIOT ACT MADE ALL OF US "SUSPECTED TERRORISTS".
4~ THE PATRIOT ACT HAS GIVEN US NOTHING; WE HAVE NO RETURN ON OUR MONEY.

5~ THE PATRIOT ACT ERASED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, AND 8 AND HAS ERODED THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION TO THE POINT THAT IT IS USELESS AS A DOCUMENT, WON'T RESCUE US IN COURT.

6~ HABEAS CORPUS IS SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY BY THE PATRIOT ACT.

7~ THE SURVEILLANCE AND ILLEGAL, WARRANT-LESS SEARCHES GRANTED IN THE PATRIOT ACT HAVE PROVEN INEFFECTIVE IN PROTECTING ANYONE OR ANYTHING AGAINST "TERRORISM". 

8~ THANKS TO THE PATRIOT ACT, YOUR CHILDREN CAN BE MOVED TO AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION IF THE GOVERNMENT FEELS THEY ARE THREATENED, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE INFORMED, NOR DO YOU HAVE TO BE TOLD WHERE THEY ARE. FEMA MADE THIS POSSIBLE, THE PATRIOT ACT MADE IT A REALITY! 

9~ YOU CAN BE FORCIBLY MOVED TO A "QUARANTINE LOCATION" DURING A FEDERALLY DECLARED "PANDEMIC". 

IF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH (BUSH'S OFFICE, NOW OBAMA'S) CLAIMS A PANDEMIC, NO ONE CAN ARGUE WITH IT. 

YOU CAN ALSO BE REPORTED FOR FAILURE TO BE IMMUNIZED. 

IN NEW YORK, IT'S EVEN WORSE. 

10~ The renewal of the Patriot Act is a case study in how opaque policy and law destroy a people's ability to self-govern. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/08/secrecy-has-already-corroded-our-democracy-in-real-ways/278478/  

"This summer, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, an author and longtime champion of the Patriot Act, emerged as one of the most concerned voices arguing that the law is being used to violate the rights of Americans."

AND 'OBAMACARE'? 
IT IS FULL OF HOLES, BUT IT IS A START, IF A POOR ONE.
HAD THE DEMOCRATIC VERSION BEEN PASSED INSTEAD OF THE REPUBLICAN VERSION, IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN SOMETHING ALL AMERICANS COULD SUPPORT.
YES, THE VERSION OF OBAMACARE THAT PASSED WAS HAMMERED OUT BY THE GOP CONGRESSMEN.
OH, YOU DIDN'T KNOW THIS IS THE REPUBLICAN VERSION?
I WONDER HOW THAT SLIPPED PAST YOU! 

IT WAS, AFTER ALL, THE ONLY REASON THE BILL WAS MADE INTO LAW....

"The Democrats' Version of Health Insurance Would Have Been Cheaper, Simpler, and More Popular (So Why Did We Enact the Republican Version and Why Are They So Upset?)

While Republicans plot new ways to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, it's easy to forget that for years they've been arguing that any comprehensive health insurance system be designed exactly like the one that officially began October 1st, glitches and all.

For as many years Democrats tried to graft healthcare onto Social Security and Medicare, and pay for it through the payroll tax. But Republicans countered that any system must be based on private insurance and paid for with a combination of subsidies for low-income purchasers and a requirement that the younger and healthier sign up.

Not surprisingly, private health insurers cheered on the Republicans while doing whatever they could to block Democrats from creating a public insurance system."

SURPRISE, SURPRISE...
FIRST THE PATRIOT ACT, NOW THIS...
THANK A REPUBLICAN!!!
     
But stop whining about 'OBAMACARE' while you keep swallowing the Patriot Act!

OBAMA HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO ANYTHING THE REPUBLICANS DIDN'T ALLOW.
THEY HAVE CONTROL OF THE HOUSE!

AND THEY (BOTH THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE, BOTH DEMOKATS AND PUBLICANS) VOTED FOR THE PATRIOT ACT....EVERY YEAR IT'S COME UP FOR RENEWAL...

THE NDAA IS MERELY THE OLD PATRIOT ACT RENAMED...

FEMA IS WORSE THAN EVEN THAT...FAR, FAR WORSE, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE!!!  FEMA COMPLETELY SUSPENDS THE CONSTITUTION AND DISMISSES CONGRESS FOR 6 MONTHS!!!http://havacuppahemlock1.blogspot.com/2013/01/power-to-suspend-constitution-fema.html
MAYBE HAVING NO CONGRESS WOULD DO THIS NATION A LOT OF GOOD?
WE SHOULD TRY THAT!

AMERICAN TROOPS TO STAY IN AFGHANISTAN ANOTHER 11 YEARS

THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THERE WHEN WE CALLED ON THEM...

NOW WE MUST BE THERE FOR THEM!
PUT YOUR ACTIONS WHERE YOUR MOUTHS ARE!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AND BRING THEM HOME ALIVE!!!

LIKE ANCIENT ROME, AMERICA IS AFRAID TO BRING HER ARMY HOME. 

AMERICA'S "LEADERS" HAVE JUST DECIDED TO ABANDON THEM TO THEIR FATE IN AFGHANISTAN FOR 11 MORE LONG, GRUELING YEARS!
THEY GET TO LIVE IN A TYPE OF HELL WE HERE WILL NEVER KNOW, WHILE WE PRETEND WE DON'T SEE THE SELL-OUT JOHN KERRY JUST PULLED OFF FOR THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. .


JOHN KERRY APPEARS TO HAVE PERSUADED AMERICA'S SOMETIMES-PUPPET KARZAI TO ACCEPT ANOTHER 11 YEARS OF AMERICAN TROOP PRESENCE IN THE NATION THE U.S. GROOMED HIM TO RUN.

KARZAI HAS OFTEN BALKED SINCE AMERICA INSTALLED HIM AS "PRESIDENT" IN AFGHANISTAN, HAS FLIRTED WITH IRAN AND ACCEPTED MONEY FROM IRAN IN FREQUENT INSTALLMENTS OF AT LEAST MILLIONS OF DOLLARS SINCE TAKING "OFFICE", HAS PLAYED BOTH ENDS AGAINST THE MIDDLE, AND EVEN RECENTLY DEMANDED AN APOLOGY FROM THE U.S. FOR WAR 'MISTAKES' AND WAR CRIMES, FOR THE KILLING OF AFGHAN PEOPLE, AND FOR COLLUSION WITH THE TALIBAN. 

IT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN THE CASE OF ONE WHORE PAYING ANOTHER AND WE MAY NEVER KNOW WHICH ONE, KERRY OR KARZAI, WAS THE HIGHER-PAID OF THE TWO.
I AM SICK OF THE BLATANT WHOREDOM OF OUR POLITICIANS, ALL OF THEM!

LOOKS LIKE THE MONEY CARROT THAT KERRY DANGLED BEFORE KARZAI WORKED AND MADE KARZAI "FORGET" ALL THAT...HE'S BEEN PROMISED TO  BE WELL PAID WITH ANOTHER 11 YEARS OF AMERICAN "FINANCIAL AID" TO 'ALLOW' OUR WEARY TROOPS ANOTHER 11 YEARS THERE TO BE SHOT AT, SPIT ON, AND ATTACKED INCESSANTLY WHILE THEY ARE ALSO UNDER-SUPPLIED AND DON'T EVEN HAVE ADEQUATE WATER SUPPLIES.
[DON'T THINK SO? SEE THIS: "'It's got a lot of turbidity in it -- particles and silt. It's not real dark or anything, but it's not drinkable or fit for human consumption right out of the ground," he said.
"Nobody has deemed it potable water able to drink, but we're working on that. There's really nothing wrong with it," he said. Currently, the base water comes from commercial sources, requiring a fleet of water tanker trucks. '"
AND THIS...AND THIS...(NO MORE HOT BREAKFASTS FOR THEM EITHER!) AND GO READ THIS...HALLIBURTON KNOWINGLY GAVE THEM CONTAMINATED WATER!]


I AM SICK OF READING THE NAMES OF OUR DEAD TROOPS!
WE SHOULD HAVE LET THOSE NATIONS KILL EACH OTHER UNTIL THEY GOT TIRED OF KILLING!
WE NEED OUR TROOPS IN THIS NATION, NOT IN SOME DESERT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD! 

SOME OF THE BEST-KNOWN AND HIGHEST-RANKED MILITARY AMERICA HAS SENT TO THE MIDDLE EAST HAVE LONG ARGUED THAT OUR PRESENCE THERE IS FUTILE, IS UNNECESSARY, THAT THE "WAR ON TERROR" AND THE TALIBAN IS UNWINNABLE, AND IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CONTINUOUSLY FUELS THE INSANITY AND HOSTILITIES ALL OVER THE "BIG SAND LOT".
THAT HAS FALLEN ON DEAF EARS FOR AT LEAST 5 ADMINISTRATIONS.

THERE IS NOT ONE NATION THERE THAT HAS EVER TRULY WELCOMED AMERICAN TROOPS, AND NO NATION HAS EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO KEEP AN AMERICAN MILITARY PRESENCE INSIDE THEIR BORDERS.

OUR TROOPS ARE DESPISED AND ATTACKED 24 HOURS A DAY, EVERY DAY, BY THE YOUNGEST AND THE OLDEST IN THOSE MUSLIM NATIONS.

America is called the Great Satan. 

IT IS A RELIGIOUS FERVOR THAT DRIVES THE ATTACKS AGAINST THE "DEMON, AMERICA". IT IS A RELIGIOUS DUTY TO CONVERT OR TO DESTROY ALL WHO STAND AGAINST ISLAM.

WE CANNOT DENY ANYONE'S RIGHT TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, SO WE MUST NOT BE SURPRISED THAT ANOTHER RELIGION SEES AMERICANS AS DEVILS, AS BEASTS, AS SOULLESS CREATURES THAT MUST SUBMIT TO ISLAM, ACCEPT THE "RIGHT" RELIGION OR BE ELIMINATED.
JIHAD IS AS ACCEPTABLE TO THEM AS EASTER IS TO AMERICANS.

NO MUSLIM NATION WANTS INFIDELS AMONGST THEM, OR CONTAMINATION OF THEIR FAITH BY THE UNFAITHFUL, YOU SEE, AND ALL MUSLIM NATIONS SEE AMERICAN TROOPS AS THE WORST OF INFIDELS.
OUR TROOPS BRING WAR, AND MUSLIMS MUST WIN THOSE WARS. 

BEFORE THE AMERICAN PRESENCE IN AFGHANISTAN, EVERY MAJOR POWER ON THIS EARTH HAD TRIED TO CONQUER THERE. 
THOUGH SOME MAY HAVE SEEMED TO SUCCEED, WE CAN SEE THAT WAS NOT THE CASE IN THE LONG RUN.
PERSIA INVADED, PERSIANS WENT AWAY.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT INVADED, NO GREEKS REMAIN THERE.
GENGHIS KHAN INVADED, NO MONGOLS ARE LEFT.
IN RECENT HISTORY, ENGLAND,  RUSSIA AND FRANCE GAVE UP ON THEIR INVASIONS AND PULLED OUT THEIR MILITARY FORCES, CUT THEIR LOSSES, AND GOT THEIR ARMIES OUT OF THAT PLACE.

USAMA BIN LADEN EVEN LEFT AFGHANISTAN BEFORE BUSH DECLARED WE HAD TO GO INTO THAT NATION TO GET HIM.
BIN LADEN HAD SENSE ENOUGH TO GET OUT...

BUT AMERICA HAS FOUND PROFIT IN WAR.
AMERICA IS DETERMINED TO KEEP THE WAR MACHINE OILED, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE.
OUR IGNORANT ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE PUT THE PROFITS OF MEGA-CORPORATIONS WHO BUILD THE WEAPONS OF WAR, WHO ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF WAR, OVER THE LIVES OF OUR BEST, OUR OWN BELOVED SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHOM THEY SEND TO WAR. 
THESE CORPORATE-LOVING WHORES OF OURS DON'T CARE IF WE LOSE OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS.
THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT PROFITS.

THEY DON'T CARE IF THE COST OF WAR IS TOO HIGH FOR US, THE "COMMON MAN", THE "GUY ON THE STREET", OR THAT THE TAX BURDEN ON US TO FUND THESE WARS OF LIES AND DECEIT BREAKS OUR BACKS AND ROBS US OF THOSE WE SO LOVE.
THEY ARE AFTER CONTINUED PROFITS FOR THEIR WALL STREET 'JOHNS', THE VERY ONES WHO KEEP DONATING TO THEIR CAMPAIGN "WAR CHESTS".

THEY WANT PROFITS TO SHOW UP ON WALL STREET.
EVEN IN POLITICAL ELECTIONS, WAR HAS TO BE MENTIONED..."WAR CHESTS" IS JUST ONE PHRASE THAT PROVES WHAT OUR "LEADERS" ARE ABOUT. 

AFTER ALL THIS TIME, AFGHAN'S OPIUM PRODUCTION REACHED AN ALL-TIME HIGH THIS YEAR. OPIUM HAS BEEN PROTECTED, EVEN BY AMERICAN TROOPS, AS LONG AS WE'VE BEEN IN THAT COUNTRY.
OPIUM IS ALSO A BIG MONEY-MAKER.
"A November 13 press release issued by the UNODC — the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime — stated that opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan rose 36 percent in 2013, which is a record high. Additionally, opium production amounted to 5,500 tons, up by 49 percent since 2012."  
AMERICA'S PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES PROBABLY SMILED ALL THE WAY TO THEIR BANKS.

(Big American banks also launder money for drug cartels. See this, this, this and this. Indeed, drug dealers kept the banking system afloat during the depths of the 2008 financial crisis. And the U.S. drug money laundering is continuing to this day.)

WE'VE LOST THOUSANDS OF OUR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD SENSELESSLY TO THESE CONTRIVED, MISBEGOTTEN ABOMINATIONS, THESE WARS THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN DECLARED, THESE INVASIONS BASED ON UTTER FALLACY.
THEY'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH THINGS LIKE WHAT WAS REPORTED HERE SINCE THESE WARS OF LIES BEGAN!
["Military leaders endangering the health of 13,500 Marines and civilians at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan by burning toxic trash in an open-air pit while choosing not to safely dispose of the waste inside four new, on-base incinerators that cost $11.5 million, says a government report released Thursday."]
AND THIS..."Mystery illness kills Missouri soldier: Josh Neusche died Saturday; his family waits for answers"
AND THIS... "In the past, infectious diseases have produced major disruptions in both military campaigns and humanitarian efforts. "

NOW, JUST AS OUR TROOPS AND THEIR FAMILIES WERE BEGINNING TO CELEBRATE AN END TO THE LUNACY OF THIS NIGHTMARE, JUST WHEN THE REPEATED DEPLOYMENTS FOR WAR-WEARY, UNDER-SUPPLIED, OFTEN FORGOTTEN SOLDIERS SEEMED ABOUT TO END, THE NIGHTMARE IS EXTENDED BY AN ADMINISTRATION WHICH PROMISED US ALL AN END TO THE AMERICAN MILITARY PRESENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. 

TO OUR CURRENT AND PAST PRESIDENTS..."YOU LIED!" 
TO OUR CONGRESS..."YOU SWORE TO THOSE LIES. YOU ALLOWED THIS, YOU TRAITOROUS PROSTITUTES!"
TO ALL OUR ELECTED DOGS, "YOU ARE COMPLICIT IN THE MURDERS, THE WAR CRIMES THAT OTHER NATIONS HAVE ACCUSED YOU ALL OF AND SHOULD BE TRIED FOR THAT AND, IF FOUND GUILTY, TREATED JUST AS THOSE AT NUREMBERG WERE. 

THERE IS NO VALID REASON, NOT ONE, FOR US TO KEEP OUR TROOPS IN ANY SANDLOT NATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
THAT IS NOT OUR 'RIGHT'. IT IS NOT GOING TO HELP ANYTHING BUT THE WAR MACHINE COMPANIES!
WE DON'T HAVE ANY RIGHT TO GO INTO OTHER NATIONS THAT HAVE NEVER COMMITTED AN ACT OF WAR AGAINST THE UNITED STATES!
WE CAN'T JUSTIFY OUR PRESENCE IN 120+ NATIONS ON EARTH!

WE DON'T ALLOW THEIR TROOPS IN OUR COUNTRY TO HELP US "BE A DEMOCRATIC NATION", AND WE HAVE NO RIGHT IN THEIRS!

IF THEY CAN'T ATTEND TO THEIR OWN INTERNAL CONFLICTS, THAT'S SIMPLY THE WAY THE BALL BOUNCES!
IF AMERICA COULD WIN HER FREEDOM AND START A NEW NATION WITH UNDER A MILLION SOULS FIGHTING TO ACCOMPLISH IT, SO CAN THEY!
AT THE LEAST WE SHOULD LET OTHER NATIONS TRY TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR OWN PROBLEMS AND STAY THE HELL OUT OF OTHER PEOPLE'S BUSINESS! 

BUT WAR IS BUSINESS, AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL AND WE'LL KEEP SACRIFICING OUR BELOVED SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO THE GREAT FALSE GODS OF WALL STREET, THE WAR-MAKERS, THE WAR MACHINE THAT DRIVES US TO MAKE THOSE SACRIFICES OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

IT'S A TRULY SAD DAY WHEN AMERICANS ACCEPT THAT WE WILL MAKE SUCH SACRIFICES FOR ANOTHER 11 YEARS! 

I PERSONALLY KNOW MILITARY FAMILIES WHOSE HOPES HAVE BEEN CRUSHED BY TODAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT. 
THEIR TEARS BREAK MY HEART.
I CURSE THOSE WHO HAVE MADE THIS DECISION, I TRULY DO.
IT IS LUNACY AND HIGH TREASON.

THE NEW ROME, AMERICA, NEEDS TO MAN-UP AND BRING OUR WARRIORS HOME!
BRING BACK OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS AND LET THEM HAVE A CHANCE AT LIFE, AT PEACE, AND NO MORE WALL STREET WARS!

AMERICANS, ALL OF US, ARE MORE THAN CAPABLE OF DEFENDING THE "HOMELAND"!
LET ANYONE DARE CROSS OUR BORDERS AND FACE THE WELL-ARMED AMERICAN CITIZENS!
LET OUR TROOPS COME AND STAND BESIDE US!
THEY NEED TO DEFEND THE "HOMELAND" FROM HOME FOR A CHANGE!

I DON'T NEED ONE SOLDIER TO GO TO ANY OTHER NATION ON EARTH FOR ME AND YOU DON'T EITHER!
IF CONGRESS AND THE WHITE HOUSE WANT A FOREIGN WAR, LET THEM BE THE ONES TO GO FIGHT IT! 
IF CONGRESS AND THE WHITE HOUSE WANT TO PANDER TO WALL STREET, LET THEM PROSTITUTE THEMSELVES IN THE OPEN, JUST TAKE THE BRIBES AND THE PAY-OFFS ON PRIME-TIME TV.

OBAMA ALSO, LIKE ALL OTHER POLITICIANS HAVE, PROMISED US TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT. 
WHY DIDN'T HE JUST TELL US IN 2009 THAT HE INTENDED TO BRIBE KARZAI TO LET OUR TROOPS STAY THERE AND GUARD THOSE POPPY FIELDS?
WHY NOT BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT HIS INTENTION TO KEEP OUR MILITARY FORCES ABROAD, AND NEVER LET THEM ALL COME HOME?

I AM SICK OF THE LIES!
I AM SICK OF READING THE NAMES OF THE DEAD AND THE GRIEVING!
I AM SICK OF THE TRAITORS WHO HAVE SOLD US ALL OUT! 
IF WE ALL SIT STILL FOR 11 MORE YEARS OF AMERICAN TROOPS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, THEN I AM SICK OF ALL OF US AS WELL.
IT SHOULD BE OUR CALL ON THIS, NOT THE WHORES IN WASHINGTON!

REMEMBER THIS AT THE POLLS, AMERICA!
REMEMBER ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE FIRST LIES.
REMEMBER THAT IT'S US, WE, THE PEOPLE, WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO GUARD THIS REPUBLIC AND MAKE SURE ITS CONSTITUTION IS FOLLOWED TO THE LETTER!

OUR FLAG IS FLYING UPSIDE DOWN...NATION IN DISTRESS!!!
NATION IN DISTRESS!

WE MUST HELP SAVE HER!

WE MUST HELP OUR TROOPS COME HOME!

AFGHANISTAN'S POPPY FIELDS BE DAMNED!
OIL FIELDS BE DAMNED!
THE MIDDLE EAST BE DAMNED!
BRING OUR LOVED ONES HOME!!!   

ONE MILLION WOUNDED WARRIORS....ONE MILLION!!!!  

WE SENT THE BEST WE HAVE TO THE MIDDLE EAST, OUR GREATEST TREASURE...OUR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD...AND WE GOT BACK AT LEAST ONE MILLION BROKEN BODIES, AND WE NEVER GOT BACK THE THOUSANDS WHO PERISHED THERE!
HOW MANY THOUSANDS WE MAY NEVER KNOW, BUT IT'S MORE THAN HAVE BEEN REPORTED. ONLY THOSE WHO DIED "BOOTS ON THE GROUND" WERE "OFFICIALLY" COUNTED AS "KIA".  IF THEY MADE IT TO A HELICOPTER, AMBULANCE, AND MADE IT OFF THE BATTLEFIELD ALIVE, THEN THEY WERE COUNTED AS HAVING DIED OF "COMPLICATIONS" OF WOUNDS OR OF SURGERIES.
AREN'T YOU SICK OF THIS 'WAR' YET?  

The United States has likely reached a grim but historic milestone in the war on terror: 1 million veterans injured from the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. But you haven’t heard this reported anywhere else. 
Why? 
Because the government is no longer sharing this information with the public.
VA ceased to disclose this data despite President Obama’s second-term campaign pledge that his administration would be open and transparent. Without information about the number of soldiers that have sought government medical help and about the types of injuries they had, policymakers, Capitol Hill and health care professionals may be hamstrung in making decisions about funding for crucial veterans’ health programs and the treatments and diagnostic tools that should be researched and targeted. The reliability of future military strategies could be in jeopardy as well.
VA’s actions are “a gross injustice to veterans and the taxpaying public,” says Anthony Hardie, a Gulf War veteran and veterans’ advocate who has testified before the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Hardie suggests that Congress should tackle the problem, perhaps even legislatively, noting that withholding the data “reflects a VA pattern of abuse and lack of transparency.” 

Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, stopped short of making such a harsh assessment, but just barely. VA’s records on veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq, he says, “were a valuable resource for the committee, and it’s unfortunate that VA has decided to discontinue them for now. We have asked VA to explain what security concerns led to its decision and provide an estimate as to when it will resume production of the reports.”
Miller added: “I hope VA will resolve this issue quickly, because with more than 100 outstanding requests for information from the committee currently pending, the department already has more than enough issues with transparency.”  

Phil Budahn, a VA spokesman, says the department was “unable to get an answer” for this story. But veterans’ advocates, lawmakers and others agree that the information VA is currently withholding is important information that Americans have a right to know. And it isn’t just a matter of acknowledging — or refusing to acknowledge — a shocking numerical milestone: It could also influence the treatment programs, for which funding must be quantified, and provide useful data for reducing future injuries. 

Zacchea sees the potential for disrupting veterans’ programs as unacceptable. “VA must release information about patients and claims among our newest generation of veterans for the year 2013 so Congress makes sure VA has enough funding,” he says.
Linda Bilmes, a Harvard professor and author of ”The Three Trillion Dollar War,” who has testified before Congress about the cost of war, agrees.
“We need accurate data on casualties in order to make decisions about treatment, research, operations and budget,” she says. “But we also need to know how much of our medical effort should be devoted to specific conditions such as psychiatric, pain relief, physiotherapy, substance abuse, etc. And regionally, we need to know where the demand for services is outstripping supply.”  
THEY USE THEM, TOSS THEM ASIDE, AND REFUSE TO TELL US HOW MANY HAVE BEEN SO ABUSED BY THE VERY GOVERNMENT THAT PUT THEM IN HARM'S WAY, THAT SENT THEM TO PAY THIS ENORMOUS PRICE!
WE SHOULD BE ENRAGED!!!
WE SHOULD BE UP IN ARMS AND STORMING WASHINGTON TO STAND FOR OUR FALLEN HEROES, OUR VETERANS, THOSE WHO ARE STILL THERE!!!
WHERE ARE AMERICAN CITIZENS' GUTS?

                                 AND STILL THEY SERVE, OUR BEST, OUR BRAVE!

MEET AMERICA'S FIVE QUADRUPLE AMPUTEE VETERANS, ALL FROM THE IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN 'WARS'....
U.S. Army Sgt. Brendan Marrocco, Marine Cpl. Todd Nicely, Marine Sgt. John Peck, Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Taylor Morris.
FIVE WHO BARELY SURVIVED, BUT FIVE WE OWE A HUGE DEBT TO!
HOW MANY MORE WILL THERE BE?
WHY WOULD WE ALLOW EVEN ONE MORE?????


SUPPORT OUR TROOPS...GET THEM THE HELL OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST!!!
BRING THEM HOME ALIVE!!!

                                             BY A MIRACLE, SOME COME HOME...
                                                       DOUBLE AMPUTEE...

                                                              TRIPLE AMPUTEE

                                                                 ABOVE
                                TRIPLE AMPUTEE MARINE CORPORAL TODD LOVE
                                                                 BELOW

                                               THANK YOU, MARINE, THANK YOU!
                                         THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE SERVED!
                                          YOU ARE MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD.


                                              NATION IN DISTRESS!!! HELP HER!!!

                                                           LISTEN TO THEM!
                                              IF A VETERAN TALKS, YOU LISTEN!!!

FUKUSHIMA 40 YEARS TO SHUT-DOWN, 10,000 YEARS OF MORE RADIATION

TEPCO IS NOW SAYING IT WILL TAKE THEM AT LEAST 5 YEARS TO REMOVE THE FUEL RODS FROM THE DAIICHI NUCLEAR PLANT.
AND AT LEAST 40 YEARS TO BEGIN TO HOPE THEY CAN SHUT IT ALL DOWN...ANOTHER 40 YEARS OF CONTAMINATION FOR ALL OF US!
WHO WILL BE ALIVE TO EVER SEE THIS END?

THERE'S SIMPLY NO WAY THEY CAN DO THAT IN JUST 5 YEARS.

THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THE MELTED CORES ARE AT UNITS 1 THROUGH 3 AND RADIATION LEVELS THERE ARE SO HIGH THAT EVEN ROBOTS CAN'T WITHSTAND IT.

"According to experts, the biggest reason Japanese robots such as Honda’s Asimo were not used early on was their vulnerability to high radiation levels, which could damage their integrated circuits.
The domestic robot industry, in fact, had stopped working on ways to shield robots from extreme radiation around 10 years before the Fukushima crisis, and manufacturers and institutes were caught completely off guard, experts said."
TEPCO ESTIMATES THAT , CONSERVATIVELY, THERE IS NO WAY FOR THEM TO FULLY DECOMMISSION THE POWER PLANT IN LESS THAN 40 YEARS ... 40 YEARS. 

THEY WILL HAVE TO CONTINUE PUMPING WATER IN AND HAVE IT LEAK OUT. 
THEY HAVE STRONGLY SUGGESTED THAT THEY WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO DUMP CONTAMINATED WATER INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN FOR DECADES.

"Dr. Michio Aoyama said radioactive cesium 137 may be leaking into the Pacific at the rate of about 30 billion becquerels per day, not per year."

THEY ARE RUNNING OUT OF WORKERS, BUT NEED AT LEAST 3,000 EACH DAY, EVERY DAY.
WORKERS, HOWEVER, ARE BEING CHEATED BY MAFIA-TYPE EMPLOYERS.
TEPCO HAS BEEN TURNING A BLIND EYE TO ALL THIS.
"Tokyo Electric, widely known as Tepco, says it has been unable to monitor subcontractors fully but has taken steps to limit worker abuses and curb the involvement of organized crime."

“These days one worker or another leaves the plant each day.”
(Former Fukushima plant worker) 

On average, workers at the plant are being exposed to nearly 10 times more radiation than at other plants. The government limits workers’ exposure to 50 millisieverts per year or 100 millisieverts in five years. Those who breach this limit can no longer work at nuclear plants.
The contractor had no choice but to ask two employees approaching the limit to leave the plant. The exposure levels of the remaining 18 workers are also rising each day.

JOB SERVICES ARE CHEATING WORKERS OUT OF PAY, BECOMING THE NEWEST GANGSTERS.

Professor Yune Suh from Seoul National University's Nuclear Engineering department gave his take on the botched science behind the current plans to stem the Fukushima radiation crisis. HE STATED THAT WHAT TEPCO HAS PLANNED IS LIKE SOMETHING FROM A SCI-FI FILM, WON'T WORK, AND WOULD MEAN THE SITE WOULD HAVE TO BE CLOSELY MONITORED FOR 10,000 YEARS OR MORE.
A longer version of that interview is here:
http://youtu.be/x2auXbtQkhY

NUCLEAR EXPERT PAUL GUNTER also says it's not the right thing to do.  

 

Dr. Arjun Makhijani is very concerned by what TEPCO has decided.
It seems there is simply no real science behind the way TEPCO and the Japanese government have handled this for almost 3 years now.
NO ONE can understand the lies and deceit that continues out of Japan. 
NO ONE can understand why Tokyo wasn't evacuated
or why Abe has pretended the threat is over.
THIS THREAT WILL NEVER BE OVER, NOT IN OUR LIFETIMES, NOT IN OUR CHILDREN'S LIFETIMES, NOT IN 10,000 YEARS.

As the environmental damage around the plant and in the ocean nearby continues to accumulate more than two years after the disaster, analysts are beginning to question whether the government and the plant’s operator, known as Tepco, have the expertise and ability to manage such a complex crisis.
In the past, they say, Tepco has resorted to technological quick fixes that have failed to control the crisis, further damaged Japan’s flagging credibility and only deflected hard decisions into the future. Some critics said the government’s new proposals offer just more of the same.
“Japan is clearly living in denial,” said Kiyoshi Kurokawa, a medical doctor who led Parliament’s independent investigation last year into the causes of the nuclear accident. “Water keeps building up inside the plant, and debris keeps piling up outside of it. This is all just one big shell game aimed at pushing off the problems until the future.”
“This is just a tactic to avoid taking responsibility,” said Harutoshi Funabashi, a sociologist at Hosei University who led a critical examination of the recovery efforts by the Science Council of Japan, a group of about 2,000 academics. “Admitting that no one can live near the plant for a generation would open the way for all sorts of probing questions and doubts.”

WE KNEW, THANKS TO FRANCE, HOW SERIOUS THE RADIATION LEVELS WERE IIN AMERICA AND CANADA SHORTLY AFTER THE FUKUSHIMA EXPLOSIONS AND MELTDOWNS IN 2011.

IT'S CLEARLY A COMPLETE NUCLEAR DISASTER...
NO HELP AVAILABLE, NO WAY TO TURN BACK THE CLOCK.

LOCALS ARE ANGRY, FEARFUL...EVERYTHING IS CONTAMINATED, FISHING IS RUINED, 60,000 ARE STILL DISPLACED AND OUT OF WORK. JAPANESE GOVERNMENT DENIES THEIR ILLNESSES ARE FROM THE RADIATION. 


MONEY IS THE REAL REASON JAPAN HAS DRUG THIS OUT THIS LONG, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY, MAKING THE YEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN HUMAN LIVES.

The government is supposed to ask Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the crippled nuclear power station, to pay the bills for decontamination. But as of the end of May, TEPCO had paid only 6.7 billion yen out of 21.2 billion yen the central government told the utility to pay. TEPCO has apparently been making decisions whether to pay the costs while strictly examining the effectiveness of the decontamination work. Therefore, the government apparently is hesitant to put pressure on TEPCO over decontamination projects that are not clearly deemed effective in reducing radiation levels. If TEPCO’s business conditions worsen, there is a possibility of the government shouldering the costs. 
WHAT ABOUT THE COST IN HUMAN LIVES, YOU HEARTLESS LIARS?

TOKYO (AP) -Nov 19, 2013
- It's costly, risky and dependent on technologies that have yet to be fully developed. A decades-long journey filled with unknowns lies ahead for Japan, which took a small step this week toward decommissioning its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Nobody knows exactly how much fuel melted after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems. Or where exactly the fuel went - how deep and in what form it is, somewhere at the bottom of reactor Units 1, 2 and 3.

The complexity and magnitude of decommissioning the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant is more challenging than Three Mile Island or Chernobyl, say experts such as Lake Barrett, a former U.S. regulator who directed the Three Mile Island cleanup and now is an outside adviser to Fukushima operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.

One core melted at Three Mile Island in 1979, versus three at Fukushima, and it didn't leak out of the containment chamber, the outer vessel that houses the reactor core. At Fukushima, multiple hydrogen explosions caused extensive damage, blowing the roofs off three reactor buildings and spewing radiation over a wide area. 

At Fukushima, TEPCO plans a multi-step process that is expected to take 40 years: Painstakingly removing the fuel rods in storage pools, finding and extracting the melted fuel within the broken reactors, demolishing the buildings and decontaminating the soil. 

Also, water must continuously be channeled into the pools and reactor cores to keep the fuel cool. Tons of contaminated water leaks out of the reactors into their basements, some of it into the ground.

Uncertainty runs high as Japan has never decommissioned a full-size commercial reactor, even one that hasn't had an accident.

"This is an unprecedented task that nobody in the world has achieved. We still face challenges that must be overcome," said Hajimu Yamana, a Kyoto University nuclear engineer who heads a government-affiliated agency that is overseeing technological research and development for the cleanup.

Closing the holes and cracks in the containment vessels is the biggest hurdle in the decommissioning process, experts say. Every opening must be found and sealed to establish a closed cooling system. Then, under the current plan, the next step would be to fill the reactor vessels with water and examine the melted fuel.

Because of still fatally high radiation levels, the work will have to rely on remote-controlled robots for years. Scientists are developing robots to spot leaks, monitor radiation levels and carry out decontamination. They are also developing robots that can detect holes and fill them with clay. 

"I doubt if Fukushima Dai-ichi's full decommissioning is possible. Its contamination is so widespread," said Masashi Goto, a nuclear engineer who designed the Unit 3 reactor and now teaches at Meiji University in Tokyo. "We should not rush the process, because it means more exposure to workers. Instead, we should wait and perhaps even keep it in a cement enclosure."

Others say the Chernobyl solution wouldn't be effective, noting that the reactor was a different type without massive water leaks.

"If you just put concrete over this, groundwater still will be flowing and things like that, and you have an uncontrolled situation," Barrett said. "I just don't see that as a plausible option."

Only a small test reactor had been successfully scrapped in Japan, with five others now being decommissioned - two experimental and three commercial. The furthest along is Tokai Power Station's No. 1 reactor, which is 15 years into a planned 22-year process.

Japan also has to worry about future natural disasters.

"There will be many more earthquakes and typhoons," Goto said. "I hope these plans won't fail, but we might just have to pray."