It Is Now a Crime to Unlock Your Smartphone

The Most Ridiculous Law of 2013 (So Far): It Is Now a Crime to Unlock Your Smartphone

inShare343JAN 27 2013, 10:31 AM ET 808

When did we decide that we wanted a law that could make unlocking your smartphone a criminal offense? The answer is that we never really decided.

Reuters

This is now the law of the land:

ADVISORY 

BY DECREE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS 

IT SHALL HENCEFORCE BE ORDERED THAT AMERICANS SHALL NOT UNLOCK THEIR OWN SMARTPHONES. 

PENALTY: In some situations, first time offenders may be fined up to $500,000, imprisoned for five years, or both. For repeat offenders, the maximum penalty increases to a fine of $1,000,000, imprisonment for up to ten years, or both.*

That's right, starting this weekend it is illegal to unlock new phones to make them available on other carriers.
I have deep sympathy for any individual who happens to get jail time for this offense. I am sure that other offenders would not take kindly to smartphone un-lockers.
But seriously: It's embarrassing and unacceptable that we are at the mercy of prosecutorial and judicial discretion** to avoid the implementation of draconian laws that could implicate average Americans in a crime subject to up to a $500,000 fine and up to five years in prison.
If people see this and respond, well no one is really going to get those types of penalties, my response is: Why is that acceptable? While people's worst fears may be a bit unfounded, why do we accept a system where we allow such discretionary authority? If you or your child were arrested for this, would it comfort you to know that the prosecutor and judge could technically throw the book at you? Would you relax assuming that they probably wouldn't make an example out of you or your kid? When as a society did we learn to accept the federal government having such Orwellian power? And is this the same country that used jury nullification against laws that it found to be unjust as an additional check upon excessive government power? [The only silver lining is that realistically it's more likely that violators would be subject to civil liability under Section 1203 of the DMCA, instead of the fine and jail penalties, but this is still unacceptable (but anyone who accepts payments to help others unlock their phones would clearly be subject to the fine of up to $500,000 and up to five years in jail).]
WHO REALLY OWNS YOUR PHONE?
When did we decide that we wanted a law that could make unlocking your smartphone a criminal offense?
The answer is that we never really decided. Instead, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in 1998 to outlaw technologies that bypass copyright protections. This sounds like a great idea, but in practice it has terrible, and widely acknowledged, negative consequences that affect consumers and new innovation. The DMCA leaves it up to the Librarian of Congress (LOC) to issue exemptions from the law, exceptions that were recognized to be necessary given the broad language of the statute that swept a number of ordinary acts and technologies as potential DMCA circumvention violations.
Every three years groups like the American Foundation for the Blind have to lobby Congress to protect an exception for the blind allowing for books to be read aloud. Can you imagine a more ridiculous regulation than one that requires a lobby group for the blind to come to Capitol Hill every three years to explain that the blind still can't read books on their own and therefore need this exception?
Until recently it was illegal to jailbreak your own iPhone, and after Saturday it will be illegal to unlock a new smartphone, thereby allowing it to switch carriers. This is a result of the exception to the DMCA lapsing. It was not a mistake, but rather an intentional choice by the Librarian of Congress, that this was no longer fair use and acceptable. The Electronic Frontier Foundation among other groups has detailed the many failings of the DMCA Triennial Rulemaking process, which in this case led to this exception lapsing.
Conservatives should be leading the discussion on fixing this problem. Conservatives are understandably skeptical of agencies and unelected bureaucrats wielding a large amount of power to regulate, and are proponents of solutions like the REINS Act (which has over 121 co-sponsors). However, if Congress truly wants to rein in the power of unelected bureaucrats, then they must first write laws in a narrow manner and avoid the need for intervention by the Librarian of Congress to avoid draconian consequences, such as making iPhone jail-breakers and smartphone un-lockers criminals, or taking away readable books for the blind.
If conservatives are concerned of unelected bureaucrats deciding upon regulations which could have financial consequences for businesses, then they should be more worried about unelected bureaucrats deciding upon what is or isn't a felony punishable by large fines and jail time for our citizens. And really, why should unelected bureaucrats decide what technological choices you can make with your smartphone? These laws serve to protect the interests of a few companies and create and maintain barriers to entry.
But there is another matter of critical importance: Laws that can place people in jail should be passed by Congress, not by the decree of the Librarian of Congress. We have no way to hold the Librarian of Congress accountable for wildly unfair laws. There are still plenty of crazy laws passed by elected officials, but at least we can then vote them out of office.
There are numerous other problems with the DMCA. As I explained in an essay for Cato Unbound:

"The DMCA bars developing, selling, providing, or even linking to technologies that play legal DVDs purchased in a different region, or to convert a DVD you own to a playable file on your computer. Because no licensed DVD playing software is currently available for the Linux operating system, if a Linux user wishes to play a DVD that they have legally bought, they cannot legally play it on their own computer.
In order to regulate this anti-circumvention market, the DCMA authorizes injunctions that seem to fly in the face of First Amendment jurisprudence on prior restraint. The DMCA also makes companies liable for copyright infringement if it doesn't remove content upon notification that someone believes the content infringes their copyright - this creates a very strong business interest in immediately taking down anything that anyone claims is infringing to not be liable. Christina Mulligan's essay for Copyright Unbalanced details how in mid-July 2012 a Mitt Romney campaign ad hosted on Youtube was forcibly removed from the site, and in 2008 Youtube blocked several John McCain ads for more than 10 days. As Mulligan details, the ads were legitimate under "fair use." Allowing individual people to veto political speech that they do not like stifles free expression and political dialogue and even if a rare occurrence under the DMCA should not be taken likely. There are also other examples of abuse, Mulligan details that one group had all Justin Bieber songs removed from Youtube as a prank."

And if you thought this was bad, provisions of the DMCA relating to anti-circumvention are part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Treaty -- and the United States is the party asking for it as part of the negotiations. Placing it in the treaty will enact our dysfunctional system on an international level in countries that don't want it, and it will "re-codify" the DMCA in an international treaty making it significantly more difficult to revise as necessary. Copyright laws are domestic laws and they need to be flexible enough to adjust accordingly to not inhibit new innovation.
I for one am pro-choice with regard to my smartphone. Our representatives ought to be, as well.
__________________________
* Specifically this refers to Section 1204 of Public Law 105-304, which provides that "any person who violates section 1201 or 1201 willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain. . .[shall be subject to the listed penalties]." However, given copyright laws broad interpretation by the courts, it could be argued that merely unlocking your own smartphone takes a device of one value and converts it into a device of double that value (the resale market for unlocked phones is significantly higher) and therefore unlocking is inherently providing a commercial advantage or a private financial gain - even if the gain hasn't been realized. In other words, unlocking doubles or triples the resale value of your own device and replaces the need to procure the unlocked device from the carrier at steep costs, which may be by definition a private financial gain. Alternatively, one can argue that a customer buying a cheaper version of a product, the locked version vs. the unlocked version, and then unlocking it themselves in violation of the DMCA, is denying the provider of revenue which also qualifies. There are several cases that have established similar precedents where stealing coaxial cable for personal use has been held to be for "purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain." (See Cablevision Sys. New York City Corp. v. Lokshin, 980 F. Supp. 107, 109 (E.D.N.Y. 1997)); (Cablevision Sys. Dev. Co. v. Cherrywood Pizza, 133 Misc. 2d 879, 881, 508 N.Y.S.2d 382, 383 (Sup. Ct. 1986)).
** The Ninth Circuit recently explained in United States v. Nosal, 676 F.3d 854 (9th Cir. 2012) that under a "broad interpretation of the [Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) you could be prosecuted for personal use of work computers]." The court explained that under this approach "While it's unlikely that you'll be prosecuted for watching Reason.TV on your work computer, you could be [emphasis in original]. Employers wanting to rid themselves of troublesome employees. . . could threaten to report them to the FBI unless the quit. Ubiquitous, seldom-prosecuted crimes invite arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement." The Court rejected this interpretation which would have made regular activity by average citizens as a potential felony and ruled that running afoul of a corporate computer use restriction does not violate the CFAA. It's possible that here a court would use judicial discretion to narrowly interpret the DMCA and reject the broad definitions that are typically advanced by the government.

Around Cape Horn - Irving Johnson 1929 Peking Footage

Published on Oct 1, 2012

Came across this footage for the first time when it was shown to us onboard the Young Endeavour. It was filmed onboard the Peking in 1929 by Capt Irving Johnson, who then narrated the film in 1980. Excellent piece of historical sailing footage, shows the unbelievable conditions around Cape Horn

JOHN'S COMMENTS --- I MET IRVING SEVERAL TIMES --- AWESOME FELLOW

Sandy Hook - Final Evidence - Case Closed - Time to Prosecute

Australia Takes Over U.S. Military As Obama War Crimes Fears Grow

The Rumor Mill News Reading Room 

Sorcha Faal: Australia Takes Over U.S. Military As Obama War Crimes Fears Grow

Posted By: Jordon [Send E-Mail]
Date: Monday, 4-Feb-2013 08:08:44

. A stunning Foreign Military Intelligence Main Directorate (GRU) report circulating in the Kremlin today states that for the first time in United States history, a significant number of American military forces have been put under the command of a foreign general over fears President Obama may, at some future date, be charged with “crimes against humanity.” According to this GRU report, during the past fortnight Australian Major General Richard Burr [photo 2nd left] was named by the Pentagon as the new Deputy Commanding General for Operations at United States Pacific Command (USARPAC) out of Hawaii, an action unheard of in all of American military history. Major General Burr, this report continues, is one of Australia’s most distinguished military officers having spent the majority of his career with his nations Special Forces units, and with the USARPAC command he is now heading gives him total US military jurisdiction in Hawaii, Alaska, the Pacific Ocean, South Korea and Japan. USARPAC also performs missions in Southeast Asia, in the countries such as the Philippines and Bangladesh. With the Obama regime announcing their plans in November, 2011 to establish a permanent military presence in Australia, for the first time since World War II, to counterbalance China’s growing power, this report says, Australian fears have grown over the US Presidents increasing use of “war methods” which have now brought him into direct conflict with the United Nations. The “war methods” Obama is accused of in this report include, kill lists, rampant drone strikes upon civilian targets, and the supporting of torture methods and armaments outlawed by the Geneva Convention. Unlike the United States, GRU military analysts say in this report, Australia, since 1 July 2002 is a signatory member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and should their troops be associated with Obama regime war crimes would face prosecution. The ICC is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression (in 2017) which the United States, under both the Bush and Obama regimes, has yet to ratify. Even worse, this report says, is the Obama regime stating that they will not cooperate with the United Nations drone attack investigation, and which, also, led to the Federal Council (FC) last month considering laws labeling the government of the United States as a “criminal regime.” This unprecedented placement of Major General Burr into direct control over US military personal, this report further states, is a measure insisted upon Australia in order to protect itself against both the ICC and UN as their nation has outlawed the “war methods” currently practiced by the Obama regime. Read more: http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1654.htm

Henson Ong at Gun Violence Prevention Public Hearing - Hartford, CT - 1/28/2013

The Slaves That Time Forgot

The Irish Slave Trade – The Forgotten “White” Slaves. . . another bit of history they didn’t teach us . . . ~J

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Jean

The Slaves That Time Forgot

By John Martin
Global Research, January 27, 2013
Oped News and Global Research 14 April 2008

They came as slaves; vast human cargo transported on tall British ships bound for the Americas. They were shipped by the hundreds of thousands and included men, women, and even the youngest of children.
Whenever they rebelled or even disobeyed an order, they were punished in the harshest ways. Slave owners would hang their human property by their hands and set their hands or feet on fire as one form of punishment. They were burned alive and had their heads placed on pikes in the marketplace as a warning to other captives.
We don’t really need to go through all of the gory details, do we? We know all too well the atrocities of the African slave trade.
But, are we talking about African slavery? King James II and Charles I also led a continued effort to enslave the Irish. Britain’s famed Oliver Cromwell furthered this practice of dehumanizing one’s next door neighbor.
The Irish slave trade began when James II sold 30,000 Irish prisoners as slaves to the New World. His Proclamation of 1625 required Irish political prisoners be sent overseas and sold to English settlers in the West Indies. By the mid 1600s, the Irish were the main slaves sold to Antigua and Montserrat. At that time, 70% of the total population of Montserrat were Irish slaves.
Ireland quickly became the biggest source of human livestock for English merchants. The majority of the early slaves to the New World were actually white.
From 1641 to 1652, over 500,000 Irish were killed by the English and another 300,000 were sold as slaves. Ireland’s population fell from about 1,500,000 to 600,000 in one single decade. Families were ripped apart as the British did not allow Irish dads to take their wives and children with them across the Atlantic. This led to a helpless population of homeless women and children. Britain’s solution was to auction them off as well.
During the 1650s, over 100,000 Irish children between the ages of 10 and 14 were taken from their parents and sold as slaves in the West Indies, Virginia and New England. In this decade, 52,000 Irish (mostly women and children) were sold to Barbados and Virginia. Another 30,000 Irish men and women were also transported and sold to the highest bidder. In 1656, Cromwell ordered that 2000 Irish children be taken to Jamaica and sold as slaves to English settlers.
Many people today will avoid calling the Irish slaves what they truly were: Slaves. They’ll come up with terms like “Indentured Servants” to describe what occurred to the Irish. However, in most cases from the 17th and 18th centuries, Irish slaves were nothing more than human cattle.
As an example, the African slave trade was just beginning during this same period. It is well recorded that African slaves, not tainted with the stain of the hated Catholic theology and more expensive to purchase, were often treated far better than their Irish counterparts.
African slaves were very expensive during the late 1600s (50 Sterling). Irish slaves came cheap (no more than 5 Sterling). If a planter whipped or branded or beat an Irish slave to death, it was never a crime. A death was a monetary setback, but far cheaper than killing a more expensive African. The English masters quickly began breeding the Irish women for both their own personal pleasure and for greater profit. Children of slaves were themselves slaves, which increased the size of the master’s free workforce. Even if an Irish woman somehow obtained her freedom, her kids would remain slaves of her master. Thus, Irish moms, even with this new found emancipation, would seldom abandon their kids and would remain in servitude.
In time, the English thought of a better way to use these women (in many cases, girls as young as 12) to increase their market share: The settlers began to breed Irish women and girls with African men to produce slaves with a distinct complexion. These new “mulatto” slaves brought a higher price than Irish livestock and, likewise, enabled the settlers to save money rather than purchase new African slaves. This practice of interbreeding Irish females with African men went on for several decades and was so widespread that, in 1681, legislation was passed “forbidding the practice of mating Irish slave women to African slave men for the purpose of producing slaves for sale.” In short, it was stopped only because it interfered with the profits of a large slave transport company.
England continued to ship tens of thousands of Irish slaves for more than a century. Records state that, after the 1798 Irish Rebellion, thousands of Irish slaves were sold to both America and Australia. There were horrible abuses of both African and Irish captives. One British ship even dumped 1,302 slaves into the Atlantic Ocean so that the crew would have plenty of food to eat.
There is little question that the Irish experienced the horrors of slavery as much (if not more in the 17th Century) as the Africans did. There is, also, very little question that those brown, tanned faces you witness in your travels to the West Indies are very likely a combination of African and Irish ancestry. In 1839, Britain finally decided on it’s own to end it’s participation in Satan’s highway to hell and stopped transporting slaves. While their decision did not stop pirates from doing what they desired, the new law slowly concluded THIS chapter of nightmarish Irish misery.
But, if anyone, black or white, believes that slavery was only an African experience, then they’ve got it completely wrong.
Irish slavery is a subject worth remembering, not erasing from our memories.
But, where are our public (and PRIVATE) schools???? Where are the history books? Why is it so seldom discussed?
Do the memories of hundreds of thousands of Irish victims merit more than a mention from an unknown writer?
Or is their story to be one that their English pirates intended: To (unlike the African book) have the Irish story utterly and completely disappear as if it never happened.
None of the Irish victims ever made it back to their homeland to describe their ordeal. These are the lost slaves; the ones that time and biased history books conveniently forgot.
http://jhaines6.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/the-irish-slave-trade-the-forgotten-white-slaves-another-bit-of-history-they-didnt-teach-us-j/

THREE KIDS FROM ITALY...

These voices are incredible....

THREE KIDS FROM  ITALY.....

HOLY HUMOR

HOLY HUMOR

During these serious and troubled times, people of all faiths should remember
these four great religious truths:

1. Muslims do not recognize Jews as God's Chosen People.
2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian world.
4. Baptists do not recognize each other at the liquor store.

GOOD SAMARITAN
A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan.
She asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside, wounded and
bleeding, what would you do?" A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, "I think I'd throw up.."

DID NOAH FISH?
A Sunday school teacher asked, "Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing
when he was on the Ark ?" "No," replied Johnny. "How could he, with just two worms."

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible - Psalm 23.

She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter. Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the firstline. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Rick was so nervous, when it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, "The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know."

UNANSWERED PRAYER
The preacher's 5 year-old daughter noticed that her father always paused and bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon. One day, she asked him why. "Well, Honey," he began, proud that his daughter was so observant of his messages. "I'm asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon." "How come He doesn't answer it?" she asked.

BEING THANKFUL
A Rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, "So your mother says your prayers for you each night? That's very commendable.

What does she say?" The little boy replied, "Thank God he's in bed!"

ALL MEN / ALL GIRLS
When my daughter, Kelli, said her bedtime prayers, she would bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past). For several weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, "And all girls." This soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this closing. My curiosity got the best of me and I asked her, "Kelli, why do you always add the part about all girls?" Her response, "Because everybody always finish their prayers by saying 'All Men'!"

SAY A PRAYER
Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When Little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away. "Johnny! Please wait until we say our prayer." said his mother. "I don't need to," the boy replied. "Of course, you do "his mother insisted. "We always say a prayer before
eating at our house." "That's at our house." Johnny explained. "But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook.

THE BIBLE
Did you know that... When you carry the Bible, Satan has a headache. When you open it, he collapses. When he sees you reading it, he faints. Let's read the Bible every day so he keeps on fainting. Maybe one day he'll have a stroke and never wake up.

And did you also know that when you are about to forward this email to others,the devil will try to

discourage you, but forward it anyway.

 

By Printing Money Central Banks Have Already Begun the Next Stage of Warfare

Date: Sunday, February 3, 2013, 5:37 PM

Yahoo! News - My Alerts - Edit Alert

Sunday, Feb 03, 2013 05:36 PM EST

By Printing Money Central Banks Have Already Begun the Next Stage of Warfare Sun, 03 Feb, 2013 10:35 AM PST     Since the Financial Crisis erupted in 2007, the US Federal Reserve has engaged in dozens of interventions/ bailouts to try and prop up the financial system. Now, I realize that everyone knows the Fed is “printing money.” However, when you look at the list of bailouts/ money pumps it’s absolutely staggering how much money the Fed has thrown around.   Here’s a recap of some of the larger Fed ... Forex - EUR/USD weekly outlook: February 4 - 8 Sun, 03 Feb, 2013 08:56 AM PST Investing.com - The euro hit fresh 14-month highs against the dollar on Friday, as expectations for more easing by the Federal Reserve remained intact following U.S. jobs data, while upbeat Forex - NZD/USD weekly outlook: February 4 - 8 Sun, 03 Feb, 2013 06:56 AM PST Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar rose to a six-week high against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as U.S. jobs data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve would maintain its monetary Gold futures - Weekly outlook: February 4 - 8 Sun, 03 Feb, 2013 04:57 AM PST Investing.com - Gold futures ended Friday's session higher, as investors remained focused on the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy following the release of key U.S. labor and Forex - USD/CHF weekly outlook: February 4 - 8 Sun, 03 Feb, 2013 04:56 AM PST Investing.com - The U.S. dollar hit 10-month lows against the Swiss franc on Friday as U.S. jobs data suggested that the Federal Reserve would maintain its easing policies, while stronger U.S. Forex - Weekly outlook: February 4 - 8 Sun, 03 Feb, 2013 02:56 AM PST Investing.com - The dollar hit fresh 14-month lows against the euro on Friday as U.S. jobs data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve would maintain its monetary easing program, while Business Buzz: Texas economy in the positive; The High Ground of Texas taps new leader from area npc-news.reporter-news.com Sat, 02 Feb, 2013 08:00 PM PST Factory activity in the state of Texas rose sharply in January, a report from the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey through Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas indicated. GDP: Gov’t Domestic Product Sat, 02 Feb, 2013 07:45 PM PST Many of us know that the US economy is fundamentally weak; the data don’t really support much of the “Recovery-speak” spun by Washington and its pool of lapdog economists. Held against the light of all the extraordinary measures taken by the Federal Reserve and Treasury over the last several... US growth reverses course Sat, 02 Feb, 2013 07:17 PM PST The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the U.S. economy "paused" in recent months because of temporary factors and reaffirmed its commitment to stimulate growth by keeping borrowing costs low for the foreseeable future. Oil rise ahead of the release of U.S. indicators Sat, 02 Feb, 2013 07:15 PM PST Oil prices were higher Wednesday ahead of the release of more U.S. economic indicators and the conclusion of a meeting of U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers.

Deaths related to the Clintons

  Deaths related to the Clintons

       This is what happens when you have dirt on the Clintons:

         1 - James McDougal, Clinton's convicted Whitewater partner died  of an apparent heart attack, while in solitary confinement.  He was a key witness in Ken Starr's investigation.

         2 - Mary Mahoney - former White House intern was murdered July 1997 at a Starbucks Coffee Shop in Georgetown.  The murder happened just after she was to go public with her story of sexual harassment in the White House.

         3 - Vince Foster - Former white House counselor, and colleague of  Hillary Clinton at Little Rock's Rose Law firm.  Died of a gunshot wound to the head, ruled a suicide.

         4 - Ron Brown - Secretary of Commerce and former DNC Chairman.   Reported to have died by impact in a plane crash.  A  pathologist close to the investigation reported that there was a hole in the top of Brown's skull resembling a gunshot wound.  At the time of his death Brown was being investigated, and spoke publicly of his willingness to cut a deal with prosecutors.

         5 - C. Victor Raiser II and Montgomery Raiser, Major players in the Clinton fund raising organization died in a private plane crash in July 1992.

         6 - Paul Tulley - Democratic National Committee Political Director found dead in a hotel room in Little Rock, September 1992...described by Clinton as a "Dear friend and trusted advisor."

         7- Ed Willey - Clinton fund raiser, found dead November 1993 deep in the Virginia woods of a gunshot wound to the head.  Ruled a suicide.  Ed Willey died on the same day his wife Kathleen Willey claimed Bill Clinton groped her in the oval office in the White House.  Ed Willy was involved in several Clinton fund raising events.

         8 - Jerry Parks - Head of Clinton's gubernatorial security team in Little Rock .  Gunned down in his car at a deserted intersection outside Little Rock. Park's son said his father was building a dossier on Clinton.  He allegedly threatened to reveal this information.    After he died his files were mysteriously removed from his house.

         9 - James Bunch - Died from a gunshot “suicide.†  It was reported that he had a "Black Book" of people which contained names of influential people who visited prostitutes in Texas and Arkansas.

         10 - James Wilson - Was found dead in May 1993 from an apparent hanging suicide.  He had ties to Whitewater.

         11- Kathy Ferguson, ex-wife of Arkansas Trooper Danny Ferguson, was found dead in May 1994, in her living room with a gunshot to her head.  It was ruled a suicide even though there were several packed suitcases, as if she were going somewhere.  Danny

Ferguson was a co-defendant along with Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones lawsuit.  Kathy Ferguson was a corroborating witness for Paula Jones.

         12 - Bill Shelton - Arkansas State Trooper and fiancée of Kathy  Ferguson.  Critical of the suicide ruling of his fiancée, he was found dead in June, 1994 of a gunshot wound also ruled a suicide at the grave site of his fiancée.

         13 - Gandy Baugh - Attorney for Clinton's friend Dan Lassater, died by jumping out a window of a tall building January, 1994.  His client was a convicted drug distributor.

         14 - Florence Martin - Accountant & sub-contractor for the CIA, was related to the Barry Seal Mean airport drug smuggling case.  He died of three gunshot wounds.

         15 - Suzanne Coleman - Reportedly had an affair with Clinton when he was Arkansas Attorney General.  Died of a gunshot wound to the back of her head, ruled a suicide.  Was pregnant at the time of her death.

         16 - Paula Grober – Clinton's speech interpreter for the deaf from 1978 until her death December 9, 1992.  She died in a one car accident.

         17 - Danny Casolaro - Investigative reporter.  Investigating Mean Airport and Arkansas Development Finance Authority.  He slit his wrists, apparently, in the middle of his investigation.

         18 - Paul Wilcher - Attorney investigating corruption at Mean Airport with Casolaro and the 1980 "October Surprise" was found dead on a toilet June 22, 1993 in his Washington DC apartment.  Had delivered a report to Janet Reno three weeks before his death.

         19 - Jon Parnell Walker - Whitewater investigator for Resolution Trust Corp.  Jumped to his death from his Arlington, Virginia apartment balcony August 15, 1993.  He was investigating the Morgan Guarantee scandal.

         20 - Barbara Wise - Commerce Department staffer.  Worked closely with Ron Brown and John Huang.  Cause of death unknown.  Died November 29, 1996.  Her bruised, nude body was found locked in her office at the Department of Commerce.

         21- Charles Meissner - Assistant Secretary of Commerce who gave John Huang special security clearance, died shortly thereafter in a small plane crash.

         22 - Dr. Stanley Heard - Chairman of the National Chiropractic Health Care Advisory Committee, died with his attorney Steve Dickson in a small plane crash.  Dr. Heard, in addition to serving on Clinton's advisory counsel personally treated Clinton 's mother, stepfather and brother.

         23 - Barry Seal - Drug running pilot out of Mena Arkansas, death was no accident.

         24 - Johnny Lawhorn Jr. - Mechanic, found a check made out to Bill Clinton in the trunk of a car left at his repair shop.  He was found dead after his car had hit a utility pole.

         25 - Stanley Huggins - Investigated Madison Guarantee.  His death was a purported suicide; his report was never released.

         26- Hershell Friday - Attorney and Clinton fund raiser died March 1, 1994 when his plane exploded.

         27 - Kevin Ives and Don Henry - Known as "The boys on the track" case.  Reports say the boys may have stumbled upon the Mena Arkansas airport drug operation. A controversial case, the initial  report of death said, due to falling asleep on railroad tracks. Later reports claim the two boys had been slain before being placed on the tracks. Those linked to the case died before their testimony could come before a grand jury.

        THE FOLLOWING PERSONS HAD INFORMATION ON THE  IVES/HENRY CASE:

         28 - Keith Coney - Died when his motorcycle slammed into the back of a truck, July 1988.

         29 - Keith McMaskle - Died stabbed 113 times, Nov, 1988.

         30 - Gregory Collins - Died from a gunshot wound January 1989.

         31 - Jeff Rhodes - He was shot, mutilated and found burned in a trash dump in April 1989.

         33 - James Milan - Found decapitated.  However, the Coroner ruled his death was due to "natural causes."

         34 - Jordan Kettleson - Was found shot to death in the front seat of his pickup truck in June 1990.

         35 - Richard Winters - A suspect in the Ives / Henry deaths.  He was killed in a set-up robbery July 1989.

         THE FOLLOWING CLINTON BODYGUARDS ARE DEAD:

         36 - Major William S. Barkley Jr.

         37 - Captain Scott J. Reynolds

         38 - Sgt. Brian Hanley

         39 - Sgt. Tim Sabel

         40 - Major General William Robertson

         41 - Col. William Densberger

         42 - Col. Robert Kelly

         43 - Spec. Gary Rhodes

         44 - Steve Willis

         45 - Robert Williams

         46 - Conway LeBleu

         47 - Todd McKeehan

[Not mentioned: Arkansas State Troopers that were aboard TWA800.]

Quite an impressive list! Let the public become aware of what happens to anyone who might damage the Clinton machine!

Sandpiper

The Sandpiper by Robert Peterson She was six years old when I first met her on the beach near where I live. I drive to this beach, a distance of three or four miles, whenever the world begins to close in on me.  She was building a sand castle or something   and looked up, her eyes as blue as the sea.  "Hello," she said.  I answered with a nod, not really in the mood to bother with a small child.  "I'm building," she said.  "I see that.  What is it?"  I asked, not really caring.   "Oh, I don't know, I just like the feel of sand."  That sounds good, I thought, and slipped off my shoes.   A sandpiper glided by.  "That's a joy," the child said.  "It's a what?"  "It's a joy.  My mama says sandpipers come to bring us joy."  The bird went gliding down the beach.  Good-bye joy, I muttered to myself,  hello pain, and turned to walk on.  I was depressed.   My life seemed completely out of balance.  "What's your name?"  She wouldn't give up.  "Robert," I answered.  "I'm Robert Peterson."  Mine's Wendy... I'm six."  "Hi, Wendy."  She giggled.  "You're funny," she said.  In spite of my gloom, I laughed, too, and walked on.  Her musical giggle followed me.  "Come again  Mr. P," she called.  "We'll have another happy day."  The next few days consisted of a group of  unruly Boy Scouts, PTA meetings and an ailing mother.   The sun was shining one morning as I took my hands out of the dishwater.  I need a sandpiper, I said to myself, gathering up my coat.  The ever-changing balm of the seashore awaited me.  The breeze was  chilly but I strode along, trying to recapture the serenity I needed.  "Hello Mr. P!" she said.  "Do you want to play?"  "What did you have in mind?" I asked with a twinge of annoyance.  "I don't know.  You say."  "How about charades?"  I asked sarcastically.   The tinkling laughter burst forth again.  "I don't know what that is."  "Then let's just walk."  Looking at her, I noticed the delicate fairness of her face.  "Where do you live?" I asked.  "Over there."  She pointed toward a row of summer cottages.  Strange, I thought, in winter.  "Where do you go to school?" "I don't go to school.  Mommy says we're on vacation"  She chattered 'little girl' talk as we strolled up the beach,  but my mind was on other things.  When I left for home,  Wendy said it had been a happy day.  Feeling surprisingly better, I smiled at her and agreed.  Three weeks later I rushed to my beach in a state of near panic.  I was in no mood to even greet Wendy.  I thought I saw her mother on the porch and felt like demanding she keep her child at home.             "Look, if you don't mind," I said crossly when Wendy  caught up with me, "I'd rather be alone today."  She seemed  unusually pale and out of breath.  "Why?" she asked.      I turned to her and shouted, "Because my mother died!"  and I thought, My God, why was I saying this to a little child?   "Oh," she said quietly, "then this is a bad day."   "Yes," I said, "and yesterday and the day before  and -- oh, go away!"  "Did it hurt?" she inquired.  "Did what hurt?" I was exasperated with her, with myself.  "When she died?"  "Of course it hurt!" I snapped, misunderstanding,   wrapped up in myself.  I strode off.  A month or so after that, when I next went to the beach she wasn't there.   Feeling guilty, ashamed and admitting to myself I missed her,  I went up to the cottage after my walk and knocked at the door.   A drawn looking young woman with honey-colored hair  opened the door.   "Hello," I said, "I'm Robert Peterson.  I missed your little girl today   and wondered where she was."   "Oh yes, Mr. Peterson, please come in.   Wendy spoke of you so much.   I'm afraid I allowed her to bother you.   If she was a nuisance, please, accept my apologies."   "Not at all! she's a delightful child."  I said, suddenly realizing   that I meant what I had just said.   "Wendy died last week, Mr. Peterson.  She had leukemia. Maybe she didn't tell you."   Struck dumb, I groped for a chair.  I had to catch my breath.  "She loved this beach so when she asked to come,  we couldn't say no.   She seemed so much better here  and had a lot of what she called happy days.   But the last few weeks, she declined rapidly."  Her voice faltered,   "She left something for you, if only I can find it.   Could you wait a moment while I look?"  I nodded stupidly, my mind racing for something to say  to this lovely young woman.  She handed me a smeared envelope with "MR. P" printed in bold childish letters.   Inside was a drawing in bright crayon hues -- a yellow beach,   a blue sea and a brown bird.  Underneath was carefully printed:   A SANDPIPER TO BRING YOU JOY.   Tears welled up in my eyes, and a heart   that had almost forgotten to love opened wide.   I took Wendy's mother in my arms.   "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,"  I uttered over and over, and we wept together.    The precious little picture is framed now and hangs in my study.   Six words -- one for each year of her life --  that speak to me of harmony, courage and undemanding love.   A gift from a child with sea blue eyes and hair the color of sand   who taught me the gift of love.   NOTE: This is a true story sent out by Robert Peterson.   It happened over 20 years ago and the incident changed his life forever.  It serves as a reminder to all of us that we need to take time to enjoy living and life and each other.  The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less.   Life is so complicated, the hustle and bustle of everyday traumas   can make us lose focus about what is truly important   or what is only a momentary setback or crisis.   This week, be sure to give your loved ones an extra hug  and, by all means, take a moment...  even if it is only ten seconds,  to stop and smell the roses.   This comes from someone's heard and is read by many   and now I share it with you..... ;May God Bless everyone who receives this!   There are NO coincidences!   Everything that happens to us happens for a reason.   Never brush aside anyone as insignificant.   Who knows what they can teach us?   I wish for you a sandpiper.