Thursday, September 25, 2014

NVIDIA's new GPU proves moon landing truthers wrong

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, there still exist some people on planet Earth who believe it's the only celestial body humanity has ever walked upon. You've heard it before -- the moon landing was a hoax, a mere TV drama produced by Stanley Kubrick presented as fact to dupe the Soviet Union into giving up the space race. This deliciously ludicrous conspiracy theory has been debunked countless times, but now its advocates have one more refutation to deny: NVIDIA's Voxel Global Illumination tech demo. It's a GPU-powered recreation of the Apollo 11 landing site that uses dynamic lighting technology to address common claims of moon-deniers, and it's pretty neat.

GALLERY|13 PHOTOS

NVIDIA's Apollo 11 lighting demo

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Mark Daly, NVIDIA's senior director of content development told Engadget its Apollo 11 demo was created as an answer to Sponza -- a popular global illumination model frequently used in by the academic crowd. It's a good model, he says, but it's not very interesting to watch. "Jen-Hsun [Huang], our CEO, looked at it and said 'Isn't there something better?' Anyway, one of our research engineers happened to put this slide up of Buzz Aldrin on the moon in a meeting and said 'this speaks global illumination to me because of all the hoaxers and deniers of the moon landing." Conspiracy theorists say that Aldrin simply couldn't have been lit up the way he is in the picture. NVIDIA took it as a challenge.

Buzz Aldrin (right) next to his computer-generated doppelganger (left)

NVIDIA chose to create a 3D rendition of a photograph showing Buzz Aldrin descending a ladder to the moon's surface. Folks that insist the landing was a hoax claim that without the light-diffusing effect of an atmosphere, the shadow of the lander should cast Aldrin in almost complete darkness. "You can explain it," Daly says, "and say light bounces around even on the moon... or you can show it. We decided to take the approach to show it, but it turns out that it's not that easy -- there isn't a lot of light on [Aldrin]." Daly's challenge was not in placing lights around a computer simulated scene of the Apollo 11 landing, but in using NVIDA's Voxel Global Illumination to make a single light source, the simulated sun, correctly reflect off of every material in the scene. To do this, he had to research the materials of NASA's lander, the brightness of our local star and even the reflectivity of the moon's surface.

"It turns out there is a lot of information about the astronomical bodies floating out there in space," he explains. "Starting with the sun. The sun itself is 128,500 lux -- that's lumens per square meter - but it turns out the moon is a crappy reflector of light." Daly discovered that the moon is only 12-percent reflective, and absorbs most of the sunlight hitting it. On the other hand, 12-percent of 128,500 lux is quite a lot. "It's the equivalent to ten 100-watt lightbulbs per square meter of light bouncing off the moon." More than enough make Aldrin visible under the lander's shadow.

While this exercise showed that the moon was reflective enough to highlight Aldrin, something was still wrong. Daly noticed that the astronaut's side wasn't lit the same in NVIDIA's simulation as it was in NASA's photograph, but he wasn't sure why. "A couple of people really into the moon landing told me, 'by the way, you should take into account Neil Armstrong and the light coming off of him.' At first I was like, yeah, whatever -- the sun is doing all the work -- something the size of a guy in a space suit isn't going to contribute much light." He quickly learned his assumption was wrong: the material on the outside of the astronaut's suits is 85-percent reflective. "Sure enough, we put him in there, adjusted the reflectivity of his suit, put him in the position where the camera would be... and it contributed another 10% or so of light to the side of Buzz Aldrin."

Daly found that his own doubt mirrored the claims of some landing-deniers. Some claim that because Aldrin is in shadow, there would need to be some sort of auxiliary lighting behind the camera; supposed proof that the image was taken in a studio. "As it turns out, yes! They're right -- there was a light there, it was the sun reflecting off of Neil Armstrong's suit. I really didn't believe it would contribute that much."

It's the dynamic nature of Voxel Global Illumination that allows NVIDIA to poke fun at these hoax claims: the entire scene renders light reflection on the fly, based solely on the illumination provided by the simulated sun. "We learned a heck of a lot about how all these materials reflect light and put them into the material descriptions, the BRDF (bidirectional reflectance distribution function)," Daly said, explaining how developers create a VXGI lighting environment. "The VXGI we've integrated into Unreal Engine 4reads all those materials you've given it and, based on the reflectivity of those materials, constructs a lighting module." It's a lot of work to set up, but it makes adjusting the lighteasy after the fact. NVIDIA is able to drag the sun to new positions, add new elements to the scene or even remove the moon's natural reflectivity to create the false conditions moon-truthers think represent the lunar surface.

This versatility allowed NVIDIA to address one more hoax-claim before our demo ended: the stars. If NASA really landed on the moon, why can't we see the stars in any of the Apollo 11 photographs? Well, that's more of a matter of film exposure than lighting trickery. Because the unfiltered sun is so ridiculously bright (128,500 lux, remember?), the astronauts' cameras were set to use a small aperture, letting in only a fraction of the available light in order to keep the picture from blowing out. NVIDIA was able to simulate this too, and widened the virtual camera's aperture to reveal the demo's simulated stars. It worked, but at the expense of the camera's true subject matter: Aldrin's descent to the lunar surface became a blown out, over-exposed mess.

Science has been able to debunk these moon hoax theories for decades, but it's nice to see a simulation that can help illustrate those explanations in real time. Better still, Daly says NVIDIA is currently building a consumer UI for the demo, and will release it to the public sometime in the next several weeks. It's also a project that has become important to him. "Because I got to see a lot of this live when I was a kid, it has a special meaning to me. I know in Apollo 1 three men died, and other men risked their lives to get into these crazy contraptions to actually do this. It's kind of offensive to me when people say this didn't happen," he explains. "I want to show that it really happened and these people risked their lives. They actually did go to the moon."

PLEASE SHARE WITH EVERYONE.

Subject: PLEASE SHARE WITH EVERYONE.

Every one that has children should pass this on and discuss it with them-- Do they want to become a MUSLIM ????

PLEASE SHARE WITH EVERYONE..

If there was ever a doubt I think this clears it!

Did you know that Hilliard, Ohio has a special room for Muslims to pray in the High School?
YES, call the school if you aren't believing.
Sorry NO CHRISTIAN, Jewish or any other religion available.
This was checked out on Politi facts and confirmed.
I can't begin to tell you how livid I am
over this. Our children are not allowed to recite the Lord's Prayer,
not allowed to bring a Bible to school,
not allowed to wear a Christian themed
T-Shirt,
not allowed to have Bible study classes at
school, not allowed to display a picture of
Jesus, and now this
Piece of Crap President is going to use federal tax dollars to promote Islam to our children.

Enough is ENOUGH ! Where are all these
"Christian-hating, separation of church and state" atheists?
Why aren't they lining up the to sue the
federal government over the use of federal tax dollars to promote a religion in our public schools?
I would be willing to bet that nobody will
hear a peep out of the "Freedom From Religion" organization.

Obama Administration Announces Nationwide
Muslim Outreach Program For Children Grades
K-12
American children gathered around a Muslim
learning about the Qur’an... for school credit.Washington, DC — At a
press conference Friday afternoon, President Obama announced plans
for the first ever federally funded Muslim outreach
program

The program will be available nationwide for
all elementary school students grade K-12 beginning February 1st,
2014The program is designed to educate children about the
fundamentals of the Muslim religion and Islamic belief. President
Obama spoke with reporters to explain why it is so important that
these outreach programs exist. “The Muslim community deserves our
full understanding and respect,” Obama said. “We have killed
millions of Muslims overseas since the September 11th
attacks

These folks are not all bad. In fact, most
of them are hardworking citizens just like you and me. I encourage
every student in Americato participate in your school’s Muslim
outreach program. Learn about the Muslim community, the beauty of
the Sunnah and the magic of the
Qur’an.

35-year-old Paul Horner, a teacher
at   Starks   Elementary
School   in Louisiana , told MSNBC he is
excited about the new programs. “I think anything a child can learn
is good. We need more learning in this country. And, these classes
are not mandatory but children can use them as extra credit towards
other classes.

For example, if Becky has a D+ in math she
can simply take a three week after school class on the Qur’an and
now Sally has an A in Math. How great is
that?”

The Muslim youth outreach program is
designed to help young people from different cultures work together
to break down ethnic barriers. Their goal is to help promote a
greater respect for other cultures, understanding while at the same
time learning about all that culture has to
offer

Khaled Matei, who is a member of the Muslim
Brotherhood‘s Freedom and Justice Party, told CNN he is pleased with
Obama and his actions. “I spoke with President Obama by telephone
yesterday and personally thanked him for what he is doing for the
Muslim community,” Matei said. “This is definitely a step in the
right direction I explained to him. Praise Allah.” If any parents of
students would like to volunteer to teach the Muslim religion you
can call the United
States   Muslim
Outreach hotline at (785)
273-0325

(785)
273-0325 .

Do we do this for other cultures and
religions?  NO
Do we federally fund religion for other
religions?  NO
PLEASE SHARE WITH
EVERYONE . . . ..
I JUST DID!

Speaker-Rep. James Traficant, Jr. (Ohio) addressing the House: The Bankruptcy of The United States United States Congressional Record, March 17, 1993 Vol. 33, page H-1303

Posted on September 25, 2014 by V.K. Durham Leave a comment

The Bankruptcy of The United States
United States Congressional Record, March 17, 1993 Vol. 33, page H-1303
——————————————————————————–
Speaker-Rep. James Traficant, Jr. (Ohio) addressing the House:
“Mr. Speaker, we are here now in chapter 11.. Members of Congress are official trustees presiding over the greatest reorganization of any Bankrupt entity in world history, the U.S. Government. We are setting forth hopefully, a blueprint for our future. There are some who say it is a coroner’s report that will lead to our demise.
It is an established fact that the United States Federal Government has been dissolved by the Emergency Banking Act, March 9, 1933, 48 Stat. 1, Public Law 89-719; declared by President Roosevelt, being bankrupt and insolvent. H.J.R. 192, 73rd Congress m session June 5, 1933 – Joint Resolution To Suspend The Gold Standard and Abrogate The Gold Clause dissolved the Sovereign Authority of the United States and the official capacities of all United States Governmental Offices, Officers, and Departments and is further evidence that the United States Federal Government exists today in name only.
The receivers of the United States Bankruptcy are the International Bankers, via the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. All United States Offices, Officials, and Departments are now operating within a de facto status in name only under Emergency War Powers. With the Constitutional Republican form of Government now dissolved, the receivers of the Bankruptcy have adopted a new form of government for the United States. This new form of government is known as a Democracy, being an established Socialist/Communist order under a new governor for America. This act was instituted and established by transferring and/or placing the Office of the Secretary of Treasury to that of the Governor of the International Monetary Fund. Public Law 94-564, page 8, Section H.R. 13955 reads in part: “The U.S. Secretary of Treasury receives no compensation for representing the United States?’
Gold and silver were such a powerful money during the founding of the united states of America, that the founding fathers declared that only gold or silver coins can be “money” in America. Since gold and silver coinage were heavy and inconvenient for a lot of transactions, they were stored in banks and a claim check was issued as a money substitute. People traded their coupons as money, or “currency.” Currency is not money, but a money substitute. Redeemable currency must promise to pay a dollar equivalent in gold or silver money. Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs) make no such promises, and are not “money.” A Federal Reserve Note is a debt obligation of the federal United States government, not “money?’ The federal United States government and the U.S. Congress were not and have never been authorized by the Constitution for the united states of America to issue currency of any kind, but only lawful money, -gold and silver coin.
It is essential that we comprehend the distinction between real money and paper money substitute. One cannot get rich by accumulating money substitutes, one can only get deeper into debt. We the People no longer have any “money.” Most Americans have not been paid any “money” for a very long time, perhaps not in their entire life. Now do you comprehend why you feel broke? Now, do you understand why you are “bankrupt,” along with the rest of the country?
Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs) are unsigned checks written on a closed account. FRNs are an inflatable paper system designed to create debt through inflation (devaluation of currency). when ever there is an increase of the supply of a money substitute in the economy without a corresponding increase in the gold and silver backing, inflation occurs.
Inflation is an invisible form of taxation that irresponsible governments inflict on their citizens. The Federal Reserve Bank who controls the supply and movement of FRNs has everybody fooled. They have access to an unlimited supply of FRNs, paying only for the printing costs of what they need. FRNs are nothing more than promissory notes for U.S. Treasury securities (T-Bills) – a promise to pay the debt to the Federal Reserve Bank.
There is a fundamental difference between “paying” and “discharging” a debt. To pay a debt, you must pay with value or substance (i.e. gold, silver, barter or a commodity). With FRNs, you can only discharge a debt. You cannot pay a debt with a debt currency system. You cannot service a debt with a currency that has no backing in value or substance. No contract in Common law is valid unless it involves an exchange of “good & valuable consideration.” Unpayable debt transfers power and control to the sovereign power structure that has no interest in money, law, equity or justice because they have so much wealth already.
Their lust is for power and control. Since the inception of central banking, they have controlled the fates of nations.
The Federal Reserve System is based on the Canon law and the principles of sovereignty protected in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In fact, the international bankers used a “Canon Law Trust” as their model, adding stock and naming it a “Joint Stock Trust.” The U.S. Congress had passed a law making it illegal for any legal “person” to duplicate a “Joint Stock Trust” in 1873. The Federal Reserve Act was legislated post-facto (to 1870), although post-facto laws are strictly forbidden by the Constitution. [1:9:3]
The Federal Reserve System is a sovereign power structure separate and distinct from the federal United States government. The Federal Reserve is a maritime lender, and/or maritime insurance underwriter to the federal United States operating exclusively under Admiralty/Maritime law. The lender or underwriter bears the risks, and the Maritime law compelling specific performance in paying the interest, or premiums are the same.
Assets of the debtor can also be hypothecated (to pledge something as a security without taking possession of it.) as security by the lender or underwriter. The Federal Reserve Act stipulated that the interest on the debt was to be paid in gold. There was no stipulation in the Federal Reserve Act for ever paying the principle.
Prior to 1913, most Americans owned clear, allodial title to property, free and clear of any liens or mortgages until the Federal Reserve Act (1913)
“Hypothecated” all property within the federal United States to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, -in which the Trustees (stockholders) held legal title. The U.S. citizen (tenant, franchisee) was registered as a “beneficiary” of the trust via his/her birth certificate. In 1933, the federal United States hypothecated all of the present and future properties, assets and labor of their “subjects,” the 14th Amendment U.S. citizen, to the Federal Reserve System.
In return, the Federal Reserve System agreed to extend the federal United States corporation all the credit “money substitute” it needed. Like any other debtor, the federal United States government had to assign collateral and security to their creditors as a condition of the loan. Since the federal United States didn’t have any assets, they assigned the private property of their “economic slaves”, the U.S. citizens as collateral against the unpayable federal debt. They also pledged the unincorporated federal territories, national parks forests, birth certificates, and nonprofit organizations, as collateral against the federal debt. All has already been transferred as payment to the international bankers.
Unwittingly, America has returned to its pre-American Revolution, feudal roots whereby all land is held by a sovereign and the common people had no rights to hold allodial title to property. Once again, We the People are the tenants and sharecroppers renting our own property from a Sovereign in the guise of the Federal Reserve Bank. We the people have exchanged one master for another.
This has been going on for over eighty years without the “informed knowledge” of the American people, without a voice protesting loud enough. Now it’s easy to grasp why America is fundamentally bankrupt.
Why don’t more people own their properties outright?
Why are 90% of Americans mortgaged to the hilt and have little or no assets after all debts and liabilities have been paid? Why does it feel like you are working harder and harder and getting less and less?
We are reaping what has been sown, and the results of our harvest is a painful bankruptcy, and a foreclosure on American property, precious liberties, and a way of life. Few of our elected representatives in Washington, D.C. have dared to tell the truth. The federal United States is bankrupt. Our children will inherit this unpayable debt, and the tyranny to enforce paying it.
America has become completely bankrupt in world leadership, financial credit and its reputation for courage, vision and human rights. This is an undeclared economic war, bankruptcy, and economic slavery of the most corrupt order! Wake up America! Take back your Country.”
——————————————————————————–
Image: United States Congressional Record, March 17, 1993 Vol. 33, page H-1303
{ Back to Citizens for Better Government
Last Modified March 5, 2001

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A MAN OF THE PEOPLE.. former congressman, James Traficant Jr. 73, is “sedated and he’s not doing well,” his wife told The Vindicator a few minutes before heading back to the St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, where he was taken after first being rushed to Salem Regional Hospital.

Posted on September 25, 2014 by V.K. Durham Leave a comment

Date: Thursday, 25-Sep-2014 14:00:37
http://www.vindy.com/news/2014/sep/24/update-jim-traficant-very-critical-condition-after/
Traficant ‘critical;’ doctors to make determination within 72 hours
GREENFORD — Ex-U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. Is in “very critical condition” after an accident on his family farm, his wife, Tish Traficant, said today.
The former congressman, 73, is “sedated and he’s not doing well,” his wife told The Vindicator a few minutes before heading back to the St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, where he was taken after first being rushed to Salem Regional Hospital.
Traficant was driving a 1943 Ford tractor about 7:50 p.m. Tuesday at his family farm on West South Range Road about 140 feet into a large pole barn when the vehicle struck a large steel blade on the ground, said Goshen Police Chief Steve T. McDaniel.
That caused the tractor to flip with Traficant still in the vehicle’s seat, but trapped with the tractor on top of him, McDaniel said.
Andrew Thomson of Mercer, Pa., was looking at farm equipment with Traficant, when he saw Traficant go into the barn and was talking with the former congressman.
When Thomson didn’t get a response from Traficant, he checked the barn, saw Traficant under the tractor and called 911, McDaniel said.
It is believed that Traficant suffered a heart attack on the tractor, said Linda Kovachik, a longtime family friend and former aide when Traficant was in Congress.
“Jim Traficant would have jumped off the tractor” under normal circumstances, she said.
Traficant is in a medically-induced coma with numerous tests and scans being done, said Kovachik, who spent several hours today with members of his family at the hospital.
Doctors will determine if there is any brain activity about 72 hours after he was brought to St. Elizabeth, Kovachik said.
“If anyone can come out of this, it’s Jim Traficant,” she said.
After the accident, emergency responders were there in minutes, lifted the tractor and administered CPR to Traficant, McDaniel said. They also got Traficant out of the barn because gas was leaking from the tractor, he said.
Elizabeth H. Traficant, one of his daughters, is the owner of record of the 76-acre farm at 6908 W. South Range Road since Dec. 10, 1999.
Her father, the Mahoning Valley’s most famous and infamous politician of the last half-century, was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 4, 2001.
The farm was a key location in Traficant’s political corruption trial in 2002. Among his convictions was having contractors do work at the farm for political favors, and having congressional staff members work there while on federal time.
Traficant served more than 17 years in the U.S. House as a Democrat before being expelled in July 2002. That came after a federal jury convicted him of 10 felony counts including racketeering, bribery, tax evasion and obstruction of justice.
He unsuccessfully ran for re-election from prison in 2002, and in 2010, the year he was released, as an independent losing both times to Democrat Tim Ryan, a former Traficant aide.
Vindy.com will post further updates as they become available.
– See more at: http://www.vindy.com/news/2014/sep/24/update-jim-traficant-very-critical-condition-after/#sthash.WxhWvaTK.dpuf

Driver nearly crashes when her car suddenly shut down on a busy interstate because auto lender hit remote kill switch when she missed a payment

· T. Candice Smith had to have her car pushed out of on-coming traffic

· Starter Interrupt Devices allow auto lenders to 'shut down borrower's cars at any moment'

· The devices emit flashing lights, beeping noises and then shuts down the car and prevents it from starting

· These devices have been installed in more than two million vehicles

T. Candice Smith, 31, and her friend were driving down a three-lane Las Vegas interstate in 2012 when her steering wheel began to lock up. The car's engine stopped and Smith's friend had to push the car to the side of the highway to avoid being hit.

Smith told the New York Times that the car's shutdown wasn't due to a mechanical failure -- it was her auto lender.

Smith's story is similar to that of many people who have borrowed from auto lenders that utilize what are called 'Starter Interrupt Devices.'

These devices enable auto lenders to prevent a borrower's car from starting with the push of a button, according to the Times.

Starter Interrupt Devices: These devices emit flashing lights, beeping noises and then shuts down the car and prevents it from starting

If a borrower misses an auto payment, lenders may activate a device installed in the car in an attempt to 'remind' the borrower to make the payment.

The device emits flashing lights, loud beeping noises and may even prevent the car from starting.

The Times reports that the devices are being utilized for many borrowers with credit scores 640 or below.

The devices are said to be a way to help repair poor credit and encourage borrowers to consistently make payments on time, according to the Times.

David Sailors, executive vice president of Lender Systems Inc., one company that makes starter interrupt devices, said the devices are a 'tough love approach' to helping borrowers make their payments on time.

'We want to help [borrowers] get on their feet,' Sailors told the Times, 'but sometimes it does require a very consistent reminder and in some cases the disablement of the start of their vehicle if they haven't made their payment on time.'

Borrowers with a credit score at or below 640 are considered 'subprime,' and the Times reports that roughly 25 percent of auto loans made last year were considered subprime. This has since increased.

Starter interrupt only: Many starter interrupt device manufacturers like PassTime and Lender Systems Inc. say the devices do not shut down moving vehicles, but prevent them from starting

The Times refers to this as the 'subprime boom' and the devices enable lenders to give auto loans to high-risk borrowers.

So, borrowers can get auto loans a little easier, but not without having one of these devices installed in their vehicles, ultimately giving lenders final control. The Times reports that these devices have been installed in more than two million vehicles.

The Times tells of lender Lionel M. Vead Jr., the head of collections at First Castly Federal Credit Union in Covington, Louisiana, who has once even 'disabled a car while [he] was shopping at Walmart.'

The Times reports that Vead can monitor more than 800 borrowers at a time via a computerized map that uses a red marker to show the borrower's locations.

Easy loans: Borrowers can get auto loans a little easier, but not without having a starter interrupt device installed in their vehicles, ultimately giving len (stock image)

Vead can spot borrowers on the map who have not made their payments and remotely shut down their vehicles at any time. Vead told the times that using the device 'gets [borrower's] attention.'

Though the device's purpose is to ultimately benefit borrowers, many have reported lenders shutting down their vehicles at inconvenient times.

Many state laws prohibit lenders from seizing cars until the borrowers are in default, which means they have not made a payment in at least 30 days, the Times reports.

Many starter interrupt device manufacturers like PassTime, which Smith had in her car, and Lender Systems Inc. say the devices do not shut down moving vehicles, but prevent them from starting.

Smith told the Times that her auto lender's (C.A.G. Acceptance) use of the device made her feel helpless.

'I felt like even though I made my payments and was never late under my contract, these people could do whatever they wanted,' Smith said, 'and there was nothing I could do to stop them.'

Victory at last for the butchered Navajo Nation: Tribe gets $550 million from US government in largest ever tribal settlement

· The Navajo Nation said leases on its land, once largely overseen by the government, were mismanaged and the revenue not properly invested

· Public meetings will be held to ask Navajos how they think the money should be spent

· Tribal members have suggested that it be set aside for future generations or used for business development

· Tribes across the country have filed more than 100 breach-of-trust cases against the U.S. government

· Since April 2012, the federal government has resolved about 80 cases, totaling $2.5 billion

The Navajo Nation is poised receive half a billion dollars from the federal government over mismanagement of tribal resources in the largest settlement of its kind for a single tribe.

The tribe has fought government legislation for decades for proper compensation for its people - many of whom live in abject poverty - after companies were allowed to use its lands.

Much of the land on the 27,000-square-mile reservation - in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah - has been leased for farming, grazing, oil and gas development, mining and housing.

The leases once were largely overseen by the government, which mismanaged the revenue and failed to properly invest and account for it, according to the tribe.

Scroll down for video

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Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly (left) and Vice President Rex Lee Jim (right) sign the agreement for a settlement of $554 million from the federal government in Window Rock, Arizona in May. The settlement was awaiting signatures from federal agencies to be finalized

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A Navajo family outside their traditional dwelling called a hogan on a Navajo reservation - the tribe sued the U.S. government over a mismanagement of tribal resources and won

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Navajo women and children sell jewelry for tourists in the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in a reservation blighted by poverty. The government has just agreed to pay the Navajo Nation a half a billion dollar settlement - which tribal members suggest should be set aside for future generations or used for business development

The accord will be formally signed at a ceremony on Friday in Window Rock, Arizona, the capital of the sprawling Navajo reservation.

The tribe, which has a population of 250,000, agreed to settle the case earlier this year but was awaiting signatures from federal agencies before the $554 million deal could be finalized.

The Navajo Nation originally sought $900 million when the lawsuit was filed in 2006.

'We had a strong claim,' said Navajo Nation Council Delegate Lorenzo Curley.

Public meetings will be held to ask Navajos how they think the money should be spent, Curley said. The first meeting is scheduled for October.

Already, tribal members have suggested that it be set aside for future generations or used for business development, he said.

The deal does not preclude the tribe from pursuing future trust claims, or any separate claims over water and uranium pollution on its reservation, Navajo Attorney General Harrison Tsosie said.

An investigation in 2012 found that 40 per cent of the tribe were living without electricity and running water.

Navajo Nation wins $550m pay-out from government

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Much of the land on the 27,000-square-mile Navajo reservation - in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah - has been leased for farming, grazing, oil and gas development, mining and housing

+10

An old house stands near sandstone formations south of Rock Point on the Navajo Reservation, Arizona. The tribe, which has a population of 250,000, will hold meetings to decide where the settlement money will be spent

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A Navajo boy sits in his bedroom at the family's hogan. In a 2012 report, it was found that 40 per cent of the tribe were living without running water or electricity

A LONG AND BLOODY WALK TO JUSTICE FOR THE NAVAJO NATION

The Navajo Nation - whose lands encompasses parts of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico - stretches across 27,000 square miles and is larger than ten American states.

The land holds some of the U.S. most dramatic scenery including Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly.

In the beginning, the Navajo were hunters and gatherers who took up crop farming when they learned techniques from the native Pueblo people.

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A group of Navajo riders on horseback pass through a desert canyon in 1904

Archaeological work has revealed that the Navajo and Apache peoples were present in the Southwest region of the U.S. from around 1400 AD.

Navajos traded with the Pueblo community in the 16th century and then by the 18th century, the Spanish were reporting on Navajo farming communities.

In 1846, the Navajo first made contact with the United States of America when General Stephen W. Kearny and his troops marched into Santa Fe during the Mexican-American War.

A peace treaty was signed in 1846 but it was not honored on either side.

In the next decade, the U.S. comandeered more and more of Navajo land, building forts and setting up trading posts.

In 1861, a series of military campaigns started against the tribe including the scorched earth campaign - where U.S. troops killed Navajo men and women and burning their crops.

Facing starvation or being killed, the Navajo surrendered and were imprisoned in 1863.

From 1864, 9,000 Navajo people were forced into what is referred to as the 'Long Walk' - when the tribe were marched at gunpoint 300 miles from their original lands by the U.S. government to be interred at Bosque Redondo.

The move was a catastrophic failure - there was not enough food and water for the thousands of Navajo and disease was rampant among the tribe.

Finally two years, later a treat between Navajo leaders and the federal government allowing the surviving Navajo to return to a reservation on a portion of their former homeland.

Andrew Sandler, one of the Navajo Nation's attorneys on the case, said the tribe has taken on much of the responsibility for leasing on its land.

If further disputes arise with the federal government, the settlement outlines a process to resolve them.

'This was viewed as an appropriate and respectful settlement where the federal government acknowledged its responsibility and acted in an honorable way,' Sandler said.

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Navajo people protest along the highway near Cameron, Arizona, on June 23, 2013 to protest Florida aerialist Nik Wallenda's tightrope walk over the Little Colorado River Gorge. Wallenda plans to perform the stunt without a safety harness on the Navajo reservation

'It was a good result for all parties, and appropriate result for all parties, and it creates finality.'

Tribes across the country have filed more than 100 breach-of-trust cases against the U.S. government.

The Navajo Nation settlement is the largest, exceeding the next highest amount by $170 million, Sandler said.

The Interior Department said it is working to resolve cases with other tribes without going to trial.

Since April 2012, the federal government has resolved about 80 cases, totaling $2.5 billion.

Sandler said the Navajo Nation should receive its money within 60 days.

+10

A Navajo Chapter Meeting circa 1890. The tribe has fought the U.S. government for generations to be properly compensated for use of their land - and have finally been awarded half a billion dollars

+10

Navajo women shearing sheep in the late 19th century. The tribe has battled the U.S. government for generations to be fairly compensated for the use of its lands

Mailman17 "We Are Finally At The End Of This Ride"

9/25/2014

Post emailed to Recaps

Mailman17   VERY RARE, IF EVER HAS THE POP MET WITH THE CBI GOVERNOR REGARDING ANY MATTER.

I BELIEVE THIS MEETING WAS THE CBI TELLING JABOURI TO GET THESE LAWS PASSED THIS WEEK...AS THEY INDEED ARE NEEDED FOR HIM TO MAKE A RATE CHANGE. THAT GOES FOR THE BUDGET AS WELL.

HYPER SPEED HAS BEEN THE ONLY SPEED THE GOI HAS BEEN AT...AND I THINK THEY ARE EVEN GONNA GO FASTER THAN THAT.   OCT 1 IS STILL A DATE TO LOOK FOR.

AS FAR AS THE DEFENSE MINISTER AND THE HCL...I EXPECT THOSE TO BE DONE AS WELL BY OCT 1.

WE ARE FINALLY AT THE END OF THIS RIDE...

AND UNLIKE THE OLD DAYS WHERE WE EXPECTED THE ROLLER COASTER TO COME TO A HALT...

THIS ONE IS GAINING SPEED AND WILL BREAK THROUGH THE GUARD WITH THE RV AT THE FRONT...JMO.
~~~

http://www.dinarrecaps.com/our-blog/mailman17-we-are-finally-at-the-end-of-this-ride

Court Ruled DOJ to Turn Over Fast and Furious Docs Days Before Holder Announced Resignation

Court Ruled DOJ to Turn Over Fast and Furious Docs Days Before Holder Announced Resignation

So just days before Eric Holder decided to announce his resignation, a Judge ordered that the DOJ much turn over all the documents that he had been held in contempt, by the House, for not providing earlier this year.

My guess is that he is about to go down hard, and this is an attempt to distance the Obama administration from the fallout.

I don't think it will help much honestly.

[link to www.thewestwire.com]