From 9/11 To PRISMgate - How The Carlyle Group LBO'd The World's Secrets

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From 9/11 To PRISMgate - How The Carlyle Group LBO'd The World's Secrets

Posted By: esu333
Date: Tuesday, 11-Jun-2013 12:37:36

Source: Zero Hedge The short but profitable tale of how 483,000 private individual have "top secret" access to the nation's most non-public information begins in 2001. "After 9/11, intelligence budgets were increased, new people needed to be hired, it was a lot easier to go to the private sector and get people off the shelf," and sure enough firms like Booz Allen Hamilton - still two-thirds owned by the deeply-tied-to-international-governments investment firm The Carlyle Group - took full advantage of Congress' desire to shrink federal agencies and their budgets by enabling outside consultants(already primed with their $4,000 cost 'security clearances') to fulfill the needs of an ever-more-encroaching-on-privacy administration. Booz Allen (and other security consultant providing firms) trade publicly with a cloak of admitted opacity due to the secrecy of their government contracts ("you may not have important information concerning our business, which will limit your insight into a substantial portion of our business") but the actions of Diane Feinstein who promptly denounced "treasonous" Edward Snowden, "have muddied the waters," for the stunning 1.1 million (or 21% of the total) private consultants with access to "confidential and secret" government information. Perhaps the situation of gross government over-spend and under-oversight is summed up best, "it's very difficult to know what contractors are doing and what they are billing for the work — or even whether they should be performing the work at all." First, Diane Feinstein's take on it all... “I don't look at this as being a whistleblower. I think it's an act of treason,” the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee told reporters. The California lawmaker went on to say that Snowden had violated his oath to defend the Constitution. “He violated the oath, he violated the law. It's treason.” So how did all this get started?... (via AP) The reliance on contractors for intelligence work ballooned after the 9/11 attacks. The government scrambled to improve and expand its ability to monitor the communication and movement of people who might threaten another attack. "After 9/11, intelligence budgets were increased, new people needed to be hired," Augustyn said. "It was a lot easier to go to the private sector and get people off the shelf." The reliance on the private sector has grown since then, in part because of Congress' efforts to limit the size of federal agencies and shrink the budget. Which has led to what appears to be major problems. But critics say reliance on contractors hasn't reduced the amount the government spends on defense, intelligence or other programs. Rather, they say it's just shifted work to private employers and reduced transparency. It becomes harder to track the work of those employees and determine whether they should all have access to government secrets. "It's very difficult to know what contractors are doing and what they are billing for the work — or even whether they should be performing the work at all," ... And to the current PRISMgate whistleblowing situation: Of the 4.9 million people with clearance to access "confidential and secret" government information, 1.1 million, or 21 percent, work for outside contractors, according to a report from Clapper's office. Of the 1.4 million who have the higher "top secret" access, 483,000, or 34 percent, work for contractors. ... Because clearances can take months or even years to acquire, government contractors often recruit workers who already have them. Why not - it's lucrative!! Snowden says he accessed and downloaded the last of the documents that detailed the NSA surveillance program while working in an NSA office in Hawaii for Booz Allen, where he says he was earning $200,000 a year. Analysts caution that any of the 1.4 million people with access to the nation's top secrets could have leaked information about the program - whether they worked for a contractor or the government. For individuals and firms alike. Booz Allen has long navigated those waters well. The firm was founded in 1914 and began serving the U.S. government in 1940, helping the Navy prepare for World War II. In 2008, it spun off the part of the firm that worked with private companies and abroad. That firm, called Booz & Co., is held privately. Booz Allen was then acquired by the Carlyle Group, an investment firm with its own deep ties to the government. In November 2010, Booz Allen went public. The Carlyle Group still owns two-thirds of the company's shares. Or, a full-majority stake. Curiously once public, The Booz Allens of the world still operate like a psuedo-private company, with extensive confidential cloaks preventing the full disclosure of financial data. But don't worry - we should just trust them. Via Bloomberg's Jonathan Weil. Psst, here's a stock tip for you. There's a company near Washington with strong ties to the U.S. intelligence community that has been around for almost a century and has secret ways of making money -- so secret that the company can't tell you what they are. Investors who buy just need to have faith. To skeptics, this might seem like a pitch for an investment scam. But as anyone who has been paying attention to the news might have guessed, the company is Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. ... "Because we are limited in our ability to provide information about these contracts and services," the company said in its latest annual report, "you may not have important information concerning our business, which will limit your insight into a substantial portion of our business, and therefore may be less able to fully evaluate the risks related to that portion of our business." This seems like it would be a dream arrangement for some corporations: Not only is Booz Allen allowed to keep investors uninformed, it's required to. I suppose we should give the company credit for being transparent about how opaque it is. And while the media and popular attention is currently focused on who, if anyone else, may be the next Snowden struck by a sudden pang of conscience, perhaps a better question is what PE behemoth Carlyle, with a gargantuan $170 billion in AUM, knows, and why it rushed to purchase Booz Allen in the months after the Bear Stearns collapse, just when everyone else was batting down the hatches ahead of the biggest financial crash in modern history. From Bloomberg, May 2008: Carlyle Group, the private-equity firm run by David Rubenstein, agreed to acquire Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.'s U.S. government-consulting business for $2.54 billion, its biggest buyout since the credit markets collapsed in July. The purchase would be Carlyle's biggest since it agreed to buy nursing-home operator Manor Care Inc. last July for $6.3 billion. Deal-making may be rebounding from a 68 percent decline in the first quarter as investment banks begin writing new commitments for private-equity transactions. Buyouts ground to a halt last year because of a global credit freeze triggered by record U.S. subprime-mortgage defaults. The Booz Allen government-consulting unit has more than 18,000 employees and annual sales of more than $2.7 billion. Its clients include branches of the U.S. military, the Department of Homeland Security and the World Bank. Carlyle, based in Washington, manages $81.1 billion in assets [ZH: that was 5 years ago - the firm now boasts $170 billion in AUM]. Rubenstein founded the firm in 1987 with William Conway and Daniel D'Aniello. The trio initially focused on deals tied to government and defense. Carlyle and closely held Booz Allen have attracted high-level officials from the government. Carlyle's senior advisers have included former President George H.W. Bush, former British Prime Minister John Major, and Arthur Levitt, the ex-chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. R. James Woolsey, who led the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency from 1993 to 1995, is a Booz Allen executive. Mike McConnell, the U.S. director of national intelligence, is a former senior vice president with the company. ... Carlyle last year sold a minority interest in itself to Mubadala Development Co., an investment fund affiliated with the government of Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. And in addition to the UAE, who can possibly forget Carlyle's Saudi connection. From the WSJ circa 2001: If the U.S. boosts defense spending in its quest to stop Osama bin Laden's alleged terrorist activities, there may be one unexpected beneficiary: Mr. bin Laden's family. Among its far-flung business interests, the well-heeled Saudi Arabian clan -- which says it is estranged from Osama -- is an investor in a fund established by Carlyle Group, a well-connected Washington merchant bank specializing in buyouts of defense and aerospace companies. Through this investment and its ties to Saudi royalty, the bin Laden family has become acquainted with some of the biggest names in the Republican Party. In recent years, former President Bush, ex-Secretary of State James Baker and ex-Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci have made the pilgrimage to the bin Laden family's headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Mr. Bush makes speeches on behalf of Carlyle Group and is senior adviser to its Asian Partners fund, while Mr. Baker is its senior counselor. Mr. Carlucci is the group's chairman. Osama is one of more than 50 children of Mohammed bin Laden, who built the family's $5 billion business, Saudi Binladin Group, largely with construction contracts from the Saudi government. Osama worked briefly in the business and is believed to have inherited as much as $50 million from his father in cash and stock, although he doesn't have access to the shares, a family spokesman says. Because his Saudi citizenship was revoked in 1994, Mr. bin Laden is ineligible to own assets in the kingdom, the spokesman added. ... People familiar with the family's finances say the bin Ladens do much of their banking with National Commercial Bank in Saudi Arabia and with the London branch of Deutsche Bank AG. They also use Citigroup Inc. and ABN Amro, the people said. "If there were ever any company closely connected to the U.S. and its presence in Saudi Arabia, it's the Saudi Binladin Group," says Charles Freeman, president of the Middle East Policy Council, a Washington nonprofit concern that receives tens of thousands of dollars a year from the bin Laden family. "They're the establishment that Osama's trying to overthrow." ... A Carlyle executive said the bin Laden family committed $2 million through a London investment arm in 1995 in Carlyle Partners II Fund, which raised $1.3 billion overall. The fund has purchased several aerospace companies among 29 deals. So far, the family has received $1.3 million back in completed investments and should ultimately realize a 40% annualized rate of return, the Carlyle executive said. But a foreign financier with ties to the bin Laden family says the family's overall investment with Carlyle is considerably larger. He called the $2 million merely an initial contribution. "It's like plowing a field," this person said. "You seed it once. You plow it, and then you reseed it again." The Carlyle executive added that he would think twice before accepting any future investments by the bin Ladens. "The situation's changed now," he said. "I don't want to spend my life talking to reporters." We can clearly see why. We can also clearly see why nobody has mentioned Carlyle so far into the Booz Allen fiasco. A U.S. inquiry into bin Laden family business dealings could brush against some big names associated with the U.S. government. Former President Bush said through his chief of staff, Jean Becker, that he recalled only one meeting with the bin Laden family, which took place in November1998. Ms. Becker confirmed that there was a second meeting in January 2000, after being read the ex-president's subsequent thank-you note. "President Bush does not have a relationship with the bin Laden family," says Ms. Becker. "He's met them twice." Mr. Baker visited the bin Laden family in both 1998 and 1999, according to people close to the family. In the second trip, he traveled on a family plane. Mr. Baker declined comment, as did Mr. Carlucci, a past chairman of Nortel Networks Corp., which has partnered with Saudi Binladin Group on telecommunications ventures. As one can imagine the rabbit hole just gets deeper and deeper the more one digs. For now, we will let readers do their own diligence. We promise the results are fascinating. Going back to the topic at hand, we will however ask just how much and what kind of confidential, classified, and or Top Secret information is shared "behind Chinese walls" between a Carlyle still majority-owned company and the private equity behemoth's employees and advisors, among which are some of the most prominent political and business luminaries currently alive. The following is a list of both current and former employees and advisors. We have used Wiki but anyone wishing to comb through the firm's full blown roster of over 1,000 employees and advisors, is welcome to do so at the firm's website. Business G. Allen Andreas - Chairman of the Archer Daniels Midland Company, Carlyle European Advisory Board Daniel Akerson -CEO of General Motors, Board member at 7 companies, Managing director at Carlyle Joaquin Avila - former managing director at Lehman Brothers, Managing director at Carlyle Laurent Beaudoin - CEO of Bombardier (1979-), former member of Carlyle’s Canadian Advisory board Peter Cornelius - Managing Director of Nielsen Australia. Paul Desmarais - Chairman of the Power Corporation of Canada, former member of Carlyle’s Canadian Advisory board David M. Moffett - CEO of Freddie Mac, Former Senior advisor to the Carlyle Karl Otto Pöhl - former President of the Bundesbank, Former Senior advisor to the Carlyle Group Olivier Sarkozy (half-brother of Nicolas Sarkozy, former President of France) - co-head and managing director of its recently launched global financial services division, since March 2008. Political figures North America James Baker III, former United States Secretary of State under George H. W. Bush, Staff member under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, Carlyle Senior Counselor, served in this capacity from 1993 to 2005. George H. W. Bush, former U.S. President, Senior Advisor to the Carlyle Asia Advisory Board from April 1998 to October 2003. Frank C. Carlucci, former United States Secretary of Defense from 1987 to 1989; Carlyle Chairman and Chairman Emeritus from 1989 to 2005. Richard G. Darman, Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Bush Administration; Managing director from 1993, later Senior Advisor William E. Kennard, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 1997-2001 and United States Ambassador to the European Union; Carlyle managing director from 2001-2009 Arthur Levitt, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under President Bill Clinton, Carlyle Senior Advisor from 2001 to the present Luis Téllez Kuenzler, Mexican economist, former Secretary of Communications and Transportation under the Felipe Calderón administration and former Secretary of Energy under the Zedillo administration. Frank McKenna, former Premier of New Brunswick, Canadian Ambassador to the United States between 2005 and 2006 and current Deputy Chairman of Toronto-Dominion Bank; served on Carlyle's Canadian advisory board. Mack McLarty, Carlyle Group Senior Advisor (from 2003), White House Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1994. Randal K. Quarles, former Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury under President George W. Bush, now a Carlyle managing director Europe John Major, former British Prime Minister, Chairman, Carlyle Europe from 2001–2004 Asia Anand Panyarachun, former Prime Minister of Thailand (twice), former member of the Carlyle Asia Advisory Board until the board was disbanded in 2004 Fidel V. Ramos, former president of the Philippines, Carlyle Asia Advisor Board Member until the board was disbanded in 2004 Peter Chung, former associate at Carlyle Group Korea, who resigned in 2001 after 2 weeks on the job after an inappropriate e-mail to friends was circulated around the world Thaksin Shinawatra, former Prime Minister of Thailand (twice), former member of the Carlyle Asia Advisory Board until 2001 when he resigned upon being elected Prime Minister. Media Norman Pearlstine - editor-in-chief of Time magazine from (1995–2005), senior advisor telecommunications and media group 2006- and across the entire globe? Complete article with visuals:

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What Causes Heart Disease (Research Says It Isn't Cholesterol)

What Causes Heart Disease  (Research Says It Isn't Cholesterol)
Let's go back in time for a moment, back to the 16th century. Up until that time, people believed that the Earth was flat...and if you ventured out too far, you'd fall off into the abyss. That includes many of the great thinkers and philosophers of that time. They too assumed it was flat, since they couldn't conceive of it being any other shape. Then guys like Copernicus and Plato came along and suggested it might be round...and people thought they were nuts. Never! How could you even THINK such a crazy thing? Everyone knows the Earth is flat. But eventually the real truth started to unfold. The evidence became undeniable. The great mathematician Pythagoras even came along and proved it mathematically. And then the explorer Ferdinand Magellan sealed the deal by sailing around the world without falling off the edge.   Another myth debunked Not since the assertion that the Earth was flat has there been such a closed-minded, widespread and misguided issue as the current popular understanding of cholesterol and heart disease. Currently, the impressions most people have are: 1) Elevated cholesterol is always harmful 2) Cholesterol causes heart disease 3) Statins have saved many lives Well, my friend, the Earth is about to become round again because NONE of those statements is true.   Here's what I mean -- let's take a look at the... 5 Major myths and facts about cholesterol & heart disease Myth #1: Cholesterol is a harmful, artery-clogging substance Fact: Cholesterol is a health-enhancing substance that your body NEEDS. Here are some of cholesterol's most vital functions: 1- Cholesterol is actually a powerful antioxidant that protects you against free radical damage and cancer. 2- Cholesterol is Nature's healing ointment that's used to repair wounds, including tears and irritation in your arteries. 3- Many hormones are made from cholesterol, including those that regulate mineral metabolism and blood sugar (and thus protect you against osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes, among other things), the stress hormones and all of the sex hormones. 4- Your brain and nervous system MUST have cholesterol to function properly. 5- Cholesterol plays a role in your body's utilization of serotonin, thereby protecting you against depression. 6- Cholesterol is needed by your liver to manufacture bile salts, which help digest fats. 7- Your body uses cholesterol to manufacture Vitamin D in your skin when you're out in the sun. 8- It makes your cells waterproof so they can function properly and maintain the delicate chemistry inside and outside of the cell membrane. 9- Cholesterol helps your body fight infections.   Myth #2: Cholesterol clogs arteries Fact: Chronic inflammation in the arteries causes a repetitive "signal" for cholesterol to come on the scene and do its repair work. However, it's not a cholesterol buildup that will clog an artery. On the contrary, when your body goes into overdrive trying to heal an inflamed area, not only is cholesterol present, but that area also becomes a "magnet" for fibrous proteins called fibrinogens, calcium deposits, and wastes and toxins in your blood. All of these substances can keep building up and building up until eventually you have the blob called "plaque." Plus when your arteries are inflamed, that interrupts your body's cholesterol drop off/pick up cycle. You see, when your body is working the way it should, low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) carry cholesterol through your bloodstream and drop it off to your cells where it's needed. Then high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) come through, "mop up" excess cholesterol and bring it to your liver to be recycled. But when this perfect cycle is messed up, that's when you can get into inflammation trouble and become an attractive home for a clog. So in a nutshell, it's INFLAMMATION that's the true culprit behind clogged arteries--not cholesterol.   Myth #3: Eating foods rich in cholesterol and saturated fat will cause cholesterol levels to rise and make you a greater heart disease risk Fact: Numerous studies show NO relationship between diet and cholesterol levels. Consider this--natives of France who enjoy a very rich traditional diet of meats, butter and cream-laden sauces also have very LOW rates of heart disease. At the same time, as we Americans have continued to cut back on cholesterol-rich foods, our heart disease rates have continued to SOAR.   Myth #4: People with high cholesterol are more prone to heart attacks Fact: Young and middle-aged men with cholesterol levels over 300 are SLIGHTLY more at risk for heart attacks. Those who have cholesterol levels just below 300 are at no greater risk than those whole cholesterol levels are very low. And for elderly men and for women of ALL ages, high cholesterol is associated with a LONGER--not shorter--lifespan.   Myth #5: Cholesterol lowering drugs have saved lives Fact: Numerous studies, including two recent ones involving over 10,000 participants, have shown that cholesterol-lowering drugs did NOT result in any improvements in outcome (i.e. they did not lead to fewer heart attacks, etc.).   What DOES cause heart disease Now that I've hopefully opened your eyes to the truth about cholesterol and heart disease, here's a look at the factors that many scientists believe ARE behind our heart disease epidemic: 1) Deficiencies of Vitamins A and D In the 1930's Dr. Weston Price observed that rates of heart attack rose during periods of the year when levels of these fat-soluble vitamins in local butter went down. And in our current time of sun-shunning due to skin cancer fears (which by the way is largely due to you being TOXIC on the inside and not because of the sun), our body's natural Vitamin D production has decreased...while our heart disease rates have increased. 2) Deficiencies of Vitamins B6 and folic acid Kilmer McCully, MD, PhD demonstrated that these deficiencies lead to elevated levels of homocysteine, which IS a marker for heart disease. 3) Trans-fats Countless studies have linked heart disease to the replacement of Nature's saturated fats with trans-fats (like I mentioned in yesterday's email). 4) Mineral deficiencies Deficiencies in magnesium, copper and vanadium have all been linked to heart disease. 5) Stress Heart attacks often occur after a period of extreme or chronic stress, which depletes your body of many nutrients. 6) Chronic inflammation Like I explained above, it's inflammation that is the main factor behind atherosclerosis (as well joint pain, etc.).   How to REALLY help prevent heart disease If you really want to help prevent heart disease (and keep dangerous statins far away from your reality), here are 4 tried and true ways you can help enhance the health of your ticker and its vessels for years to come: 1- Eat real (not processed) foods & encourage good digestion Having a diet of real (not processed) foods is the single biggest bang for your buck when it comes to heart health. First of all, when your diet is comprised mainly of real foods, the trans-fats found in processed foods become a non-issue for you. Secondly, you'll be getting good sources of crucial antioxidants to help fight any existing artery-destroying free radicals you may have cruising around. You'll also get natural sources of crucial nutrients which can help prevent heart disease from the nutrient deficiencies I mentioned above. And when you have a healthy diet and good digestion, this helps minimize waste accumulation in your blood, which cuts off a major source of inflammation and clogging! The Great Taste No Pain manuals will show you exactly what to do, step by simple step. The GTNP manuals will teach you the simple principles of smart food pairing which will help improve your digestion and reduce accumulation of acid wastes. Plus, they'll tell you exactly which foods are inherently acid-waste creators and which are alkaline so there's no guesswork. And you'll get loads of delicious suggestions for enjoying real foods which will soon become your family's favorites.   2- Quit smoking Smoking robs your body and blood of needed oxygen, it causes free radicals to multiply like rabbits and leads to serious inflammation in your cells. So if you don't want to become a heart disease statistic, it's time to quit. I know, it's not easy. But don't make the mistake of thinking you have to go cold turkey. There are many smoking cessation aids, groups and programs out there. Do some homework and pick the one that's right for you. And if you don't succeed the first time, don't despair! Most ex-smokers report having tried several times before they finally kicked the habit for good. Stop the excuses and just do it already. Your body will say thank you in ways that you can't even imagine.   3- You got to move it, move it Yup--I'm talking about the dreaded "E" word. Exercise. When it comes to exercise, it's hard to argue with its impressive resume of ways it helps your ticker. Exercise can help: - Lower your resting heart rate - Strengthen your heart function - Lower your blood pressure - Improve oxygen delivery through your body - Increase blood supply to your muscles (including your most important muscle--your heart!) - Enlarge the arteries to the heart to help keep them wide open and clear - Lower stress (which is another factor behind heart disease) Pick an activity you like or at least will tolerate and do it 3-4 times a week.   4- Get enough of Nature's anti-inflammatory--Omega-3 EFAs Omega-3 essential fatty acids have shown to be an important tool to help fight heart disease in these 3 ways: 1. They've been medically PROVEN to help lower blood pressure. Studies show that daily fish oil supplementation alone can lower your systolic (the top number) pressure by five points or more and your diastolic (the bottom number) pressure by three points or more! 2. Omega-3 EFAs have anti-inflammatory properties, which may help counteract any inflammation you might have building up in your arteries. 3. They also help keep clots from forming by reducing the stickiness in your platelets and curbing the production of the fibrinogens which are part of clogged arteries.   Problem is, our food supply doesn't contain a fraction of the Omega-3 EFAs that it used to (thanks to our heavy reliance on processed foods, vegetable oils and grain-fed animals). So one of the best ways to help prevent heart problems is to take a very pure, high EPA/DHA fish oil formula like VitalMega-3. The suggested 2-capsule daily serving packs a heart-loving 1,200 mg. of EPA, DHA and other Omega-3 fatty acids, which more than satisfies the levels recommended by many experts for heart health.   Today is a great day for you, my friend, because now you know TWO very important truths. The Earth is indeed round and now you know the truth about cholesterol and heart disease, as well as some VERY effective ways to preserve the health of your ticker. May you be blessed with great health and vibrant energy well into your golden years as a result. To your health, Sherry Brescia PS:  We're now on Facebook! Like us here: - https://www.facebook.com/GreatTasteNoPain.HolisticBlendsInc PPS: Kenneth's completely off statins! Sherry, I have to share with you my latest blood work results. Not only have I been able to manage by heartburn, but also my asthma and now my cholesterol. My cholesterol level went from 199 to 159 within 3 months. The doctor took me off simvastatin and will watch it over the next few months. So, I'm off the purple pill, the asthma medicine, and the cholesterol drugs. Besides that, my weight is holding steady at 130 and I feel great. The only meds I am on is thyroid. Not bad for 67. All I need now, is to get off my lazy butt and pump up the exercise! Thanks for all your help. Kenneth ******************** Check out THOUSANDS of Great Taste No Pain success stories here. ===================== Want the best probiotic on the market today? Then learn why Super Shield outshines all the rest here.  ==== Got low energy? Brain fog? CRS disease? You just may be low in in just one vitamin. One out of four people are. Read more about this deficiency and how you can help turn that around FAST. ====   Years of junk foods, meats, alcohol and soft drinks results in a decrease in your body's ability to produce digestive enzymes. This can result in daily painful gas, bloating, heartburn and constipation no matter how otherwise healthy your diet is! Digestizol Max can help turn that around for you fast. Its effective blend of 14 plant-derived enzymes and soothing herbs will help carry out the job of digestion and keep you feeling great! Learn more about Digestizol Max here. ====   Gluten has been linked to hundreds of health problems, including autoimmune diseases. If you are gluten sensitive or have an autoimmune disease, see what avoiding gluten can do for you.  Great Taste No Gluten will make gluten avoidance easy, while giving you 160 of the world's tastiest gluten-free recipes to make you love every bite of your gluten-free life. Learn more about Great Taste No Gluten here. Want case studies?  Here are a few THOUSAND health turnarounds for you to marvel at. Haven't taken the Great Taste No Pain test drive?  Why not?  Get over to - http://www.greattastenopain.com/freereports/ and feel the power of Great Taste No Pain. Want to read past articles? Here they are. * Forward this email to the people you care about the most! (c) copyright 2013 Holistic Blends   - http://www.greattastenopain.com/great.asp - http://www.greattastenogluten.com/great.asp - http://www.bluerockholistics.com Orders: 1-315-295-1236 ====================   **The FDA has not evaluated all of these statements. The contents of this email are not to be considered medical advice and are for educational purposes only. If you are experiencing health challenges, always consult your doctor for medical advice and follow it even if it contradicts the contents of this email.** ================================= Pain-Free Living is a permission-based newsletter. The only way to receive it is to request it here

Assange-They`re trying to erect a precedent that speaking w/media is communicating with enemy,a death penalty offense

Assange-They`re trying to erect a precedent that speaking w/media is communicating with enemy,a death penalty offense

Posted By: RumorMail [Send E-Mail]
Date: Monday, 10-Jun-2013 01:48:44

http://www.france24.com/en/20130608-assange-us-rule-law-suffering-calamitous-collapse Assange: US rule of law suffering 'calamitous collapse' WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (L) speaks to the media after leaving the High Court in London on December 5, 2011. Assange said Friday that the US justice system was suffering from a "calamitous collapse in the rule of law", as Washington reeled from the sensational exposure of vast spy agency surveillance programmes. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Friday that the US justice system was suffering from a "calamitous collapse in the rule of law", as Washington reeled from the sensational exposure of vast spy agency surveillance programmes. Speaking in an interview with AFP at Ecuador's London embassy, where he has been holed up for almost a year, the founder of the whistleblowing website accused the US government of trying to "launder" its activities with regard to the far-reaching electronic spying effort revealed on Thursday. "The US administration has the phone records of everyone in the United States and is receiving them daily from carriers to the National Security Agency under secret agreements. That's what's come out," said the 41-year-old Australian. Two damning newspaper exposes have laid bare the extent to which President Barack Obama's intelligence apparatus is scooping up enormous amounts of personal data -- on telephone calls, emails, website visits -- on millions of Americans and foreigners. Obama has defended the programmes, saying they are legal, necessary to combat terror, and balance security with privacy. Assange, whose website has enraged Washington by publishing hundreds of thousands of US diplomatic cables and classified files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the Obama administration was engaged in a bid to "criminalise all national security journalism in the United States". US soldier Bradley Manning is being court-martialled for leaking the huge cache of government files to WikiLeaks, while there has been an outcry in the US media after the government seized the phone records of journalists at the Associated Press and Fox News in a bid to root out government sources. Commenting on Washington's spying on journalists and members of the public, as well as his own treatment by US authorities, Assange said: "Over the last ten years the US justice system has suffered from a collapse, a calamitous collapse, in the rule of law. "We see this in other areas as well -- with how Bradley Manning has been treated in prison, with US drone strikes occurring -- even on American citizens -- with no due process." Manning's long-awaited military trial finally began on Monday at the Fort Meade military base outside Washington. Assange blasted the court martial as a "show trial" and warned that the future of journalism was at stake over US prosecutors' argument that by leaking the files, 25-year-old Manning had helped Al-Qaeda. Aiding the enemy is punishable by death in the US, though prosecutors are not seeking this sentence in Manning's case. "What's at stake in this trial is the future of press in the United States and in the rest of the world," Assange told AFP. "They are going for Bradley Manning to erect a precedent that if any person in the US government speaks to a journalist, they are then speaking to the public, they are then speaking to Al-Qaeda. "They're trying to erect a precedent that speaking to the media is the communicating with the enemy -- a death penalty offence." Critics say the Obama administration has launched an unprecedented war on government officials who leak information to the media, prosecuting more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act than all previous administrations combined. This is an absolutely runaway process," Assange said. A former computer hacker, Assange has not left the Ecuadoran embassy since June 19 last year, when he walked in claiming asylum in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over alleged sex crimes. Ecuador granted him asylum but British authorities refuse to allow him safe passage out of the country, leaving him stuck inside amid a diplomatic deadlock. Ecuador's foreign minister is due to fly to London for talks over Assange with his British counterpart on June 17. http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=279274

PRISM whistleblower Edward Snowden may have left Hong Kong hotel, whereabouts unknown

CGI's Dave404: PRISM whistleblower Edward Snowden may have left Hong Kong hotel, whereabouts unknown

Posted By: CGI_admin [Send E-Mail]
Date: Tuesday, 11-Jun-2013 00:19:59

PRISM whistleblower Edward Snowden may have left Hong Kong hotel, whereabouts unknown "A MAN staying at the Mira Hotel in Hong Kong under PRISM whistleblower Edward Snowden's name has reportedly checked out. The Wall Street Journal reports an American named Edward Snowden checked in to the Mira Hotel in a waterfront area of Hong Kong on June 1, staying for more than a week before checking out yesterday afternoon. The man, reached in a room booked under Snowden's name, said he was not the person reporters were looking for and then hung up. Hotel reception then said the room was no longer receiving calls and, a few minutes later, that Mr Snowden had checked out. It was unknown where Mr Snowden was yesterday evening." Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/red-faced-us-probes-huge-intelligence-leak/story-e6frfro0-1226661542985#ixzz2VrUluHRr Dave404. http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=279359

Obama pressured over NSA snooping as US senator denounces 'act of treason'

CGI's Dave404: Obama pressured over NSA snooping as US senator denounces 'act of treason'

Posted By: CGI_admin [Send E-Mail]
Date: Tuesday, 11-Jun-2013 00:23:16

In Response To: CGI's Dave404: PRISM whistleblower Edward Snowden may have left Hong Kong hotel, whereabouts

unknown (CGI_admin)

Obama pressured over NSA snooping as US senator denounces 'act of treason' Information chiefs worldwide sound alarm while US senator Dianne Feinstein orders congressional review of NSA program "Barack Obama was facing a mounting domestic and international backlash against US surveillance operations on Monday as the administration struggled to contain one of the most explosive national security leaks in US history. Political opinion in the US was split with some members of Congress calling for the immediate extradition from Hong Kong of the whistleblower, Edward Snowden. But other senior politicians in both main parties questioned whether US surveillance practices had gone too far. Dianne Feinstein, chairman of the national intelligence committee, has ordered the NSA to review how it limits the exposure of Americans to government surveillance. But she made clear her disapproval of Snowden. "What he did was an act of treason," she said." http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/10/obama-pressured-explain-nsa-surveillance Dave404. ----------------------------------------------- Revealed: internet surveillance rates Revealed: internet surveillance rates "Federal police are obtaining Australians' phone and internet records without warrants nearly 1000 times a week, it has emerged as controversy rages over a vast US surveillance program. Revelations in a recent Senate estimates hearing include efforts by the Australian Federal Police to access Facebook and Google data of the kind gathered under the US National Security Agency's controversial PRISM program. The revelations draw Australia into the furious global debate about secret surveillance, which has erupted since US whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked sensitive details of the NSA's spying program. Mr Snowden, 29, a former CIA technical assistant, outed himself on Monday as the source of the leaks about the PRISM program, which taps into the data of the world's biggest technology firms including Google, Facebook and Apple. Advertisement Experts and privacy advocates said Australians' data would undoubtedly be among the huge amounts collected and monitored by the PRISM program. They have also raised questions about whether Australian law enforcement and intelligence agencies are receiving data from the US program." Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/government-it/revealed-internet-surveillance-rates-20130610-2o07f.html#ixzz2VrWbaQNv Dave404. http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=279361

Weird Murder - Professor Beaten, Stabbed to Death With Stilletto Shoe - Suspect Mexican National

I would watch this one, since Obama has always had Holder and whoever interfere with the prosecutions of his illegals. Of course, the people ought to slap all costs concerning the illegals to Obama and Holder. Obama opened our borders knowing what he was doing. Holder and Obama with the fast and furious ought to be charged with all the illegals and sued for the harm they do.

Weird Murder - Professor Beaten, Stabbed to Death With Stilletto Shoe - Suspect Mexican National

Posted By: Infoeditor [Send E-Mail]
Date: Tuesday, 11-Jun-2013 00:06:22

Monday, June 10, 2013 Weird Murder - Professor Beaten, Stabbed to Death With Stilletto Shoe - Suspect Mexican National Of all the murders and hit and runs I've posted this one may be the weirdest yet. A Mexican national, Ana Trujillo, is suspected of stabbing and bludgeoning University of Houston research professor Stefan Andersson to death with the stiletto heel of a shoe recently. Early this past Sunday morning investigators found what appeared to be a bloody scene at the 18th floor Museum District apartment where the professor had dozens of puncture wounds, some to the head as much as an inch to an inch and a half deep, etc.. The suspect, Trujillo, is mentioned as the professor's girlfriend and had lived at a motel he had managed. Now the taxpayers must shell out for a court-appointed attorney for this Mexican immigrant. If the professor was showing his affections toward this gal it certainly wasn't very sporting of her to kill him. She could, instead, have bonged him with a skillet or something. If it costs your life it's not cheap to entertain foreign labor is it? ___________________________________________________________________ Jessica Willey story Prosecutor describes scene, victim of fatal stiletto beating http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=9134258 Man stabbed to death with stiletto in Museum District highrise apartment http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=9132446 Prosecutor describes scene, victim of fatal stiletto beating

Awkward questions face Australia after US spy row

CGI's Dave404: Awkward questions face Australia after US spy row

Posted By: CGI_admin [Send E-Mail]
Date: Tuesday, 11-Jun-2013 00:22:01

In Response To: CGI's Dave404: PRISM whistleblower Edward Snowden may have left Hong Kong hotel, whereabouts unknown (CGI_admin)

Awkward questions face Australia after US spy row "Unease over a clandestine US data collection program has rippled across the Pacific to two of Washington's major allies, Australia and New Zealand, raising concerns about whether they have cooperated with secret electronic data mining. Both Canberra and Wellington share intelligence with the United States, as well as Britain and Canada. But both Pacific neighbours now face awkward questions about a US digital surveillance program that Washington says is aimed primarily at foreigners. In Australia, the conservative opposition said it was "very troubled" by America's so-called PRISM program, which newspaper reports say is a top-secret authorisation for the US National Security Agency (NSA) to extract personal data from the computers of major internet firms. The opposition, poised to win September elections, said it was concerned that data stored by Australians in the computer servers of US internet giants like Facebook and Google could be accessed by the NSA, echoing fears voiced in Europe last week over the reach of US digital surveillance in the age of cloud computing." Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/security-it/awkward-questions-face-australia-after-us-spy-row-20130610-2nzfz.html#ixzz2VrVQRttG Dave404. http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=279360

This is called other peoples money, and this is why they have made the people pay illegal taxes, double all of our utilities, etc.

This is called other peoples money, and this is why they have made the people pay illegal taxes, double all of our utilities, etc. The corporation has been doing this for many years. And they all think that they are ABOVE THE LAW !!

They bought corporate 'partner' influence with our own tax money. Archie called em 'prevoits'

Posted By: Infoeditor [Send E-Mail]
Date: Tuesday, 11-Jun-2013 00:18:00

In Response To: The 4th Amendment Violations Will Continue Until Morale Improves (Lion)

And to think how it was our own tax dollars they purchased their so-called 'partners' influence with. There are so many corporations out there who have 'partners' why wouldn't every filthy damned snitch FBI, CIA, NSA, DIA, etc. have a 'partner' clause with these telecoms. My phone's been tagged so many times I can't count them all and have to keep switching. And the telecom customer help tells us that the phones and texts, etc. are secure? Baloney! Wonder how much CAFR money goes to support these fat government corporate bums who sit behind the consoles getting their jollies from reading what their former classmates, spouses, and strangers, etc. are emailing. The cop-spy perp mentality is truly a 'prevoit', as 'Archie Bunker' would say, personality. "Ya prevoits, there". : -------------------------- Sovereign Man : Notes From The Field : June 7, 2013 : Maule Region, Chile : For some, it's hard to even fathom... as if the headlines were : ripped from the Onion instead of Atlas Shrugged or 1984: * : NSA Is Wired Into Top Internet Companies’ Servers, : Including Google and Facebook : * NSA reportedly collecting phone records of millions : * Former NSA head defends agency reportedly spying on millions : of Americans : * US gov't defends NSA surveillance, slams 'reprehensible' : journalists : Even more, just within the last few weeks we've seen the : Justice Department confiscating news reporter phone : records... the IRS caught bullying political opposition : groups... and now this. : It should be as plain as day at this point. Yet some people : still have a hard time understanding that they're living : under an oppressive, destructive, unaccountable government. : Most other cultures get it. If you go to Argentina, Vietnam, : Italy, or China, people there have absolutely no trust or : confidence in their governments. : It's something that's -almost- uniquely American-- a lifetime : of steady, bombastic propaganda that inculcates a deep : belief that our system is the 'best'. : And, even in the face of such overwhelming evidence, it's : still hard for people to break from this programming and : acknowledge that their government is just as corrupt as : Mexico's... albeit slightly more sophisticated. : The politicians running the nation are sociopathic criminals, : plain and simple. If you or I were to tap people's phones : or hack their Facebook accounts, or use our authority to : bully opposition groups, we would be tossed in the slammer : in no time... and branded by the media as moral : delinquents. : Yet politicians get away with it. They even have prominent : members of the press championing their criminality, like : this quote from Forbes today: "this is in fact what : governments are supposed to do so I'm at something of a : loss in understanding why people seem to be getting so : outraged about it." : The simple reason is because the system is a total failure. : In the 'free world', society is based on a principle that a : tiny elite should have the power to kill. To steal. To wage : war. To debase the currency. To deprive certain people of : freedom. All in their sole discretion. And for the good of : everyone else. : We're just supposed to trust them to be good guys and be : proficient at their jobs. And in case they happen to : completely screw it up and wreck the nation, they get a : pass. : It's a completely absurd. We're ruled by criminals, plain and : simple. : This is a hard lesson for an entire society to learn, but : perhaps the most important. : Unfortunately, the second lesson is even harder: that there's : absolutely nothing we can do about it. : We've also been led to believe that direct democracy and : grassroots movements can be a force for change. Yet it : rarely, if ever, happens. : Short of outright revolution, the system isn't going to : change. It has to completely crash... and hit rock : bottom... before it can be rebuilt. And we're still a : loooong way off from that. : Like ancient Rome before, the Land of the Free can look : forward to being governed by a long series of criminals in : the foreseeable future, notwithstanding the occasional : sage. : Nations rise and fall. This cycle is inevitable. And history : shows that the world's most dominant nation typically has a : long, grinding decline. It's going to take a while. : That's why, instead of trying to change the system, it's so : important to invest time, energy, and capital in the things : that set up you and your family for maximum freedom and : prosperity. : You can't stop a speeding train by standing in front of it. : You just want to make sure you're not on it as it heads : towards the cliff. : Until tomorrow, : Signature : Simon Black : Senior Editor, SovereignMan.com : --------------------------

US GOVT GOLD SCANDAL WORSE than IRS SCANDAL! - video

The Rumor Mill News Reading Room 

US GOVT GOLD SCANDAL WORSE than IRS SCANDAL! - video

Posted By: glasc
Date: Tuesday, 11-Jun-2013 08:53:26

US GOVT GOLD SCANDAL WORSE than IRS SCANDAL! - Bill Murphy found at investmentwatchblog.com http://investmentwatchblog.com/us-govt-gold-scandal-worse-than-irs-scandal-bill-murphy/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRp-EpvWxBU&feature=player_embedded uploaded by FinanceandLiberty

Obama’s Peace Partners Behead Two Children 10 And 16 in Kandahar

Obama’s Peace Partners Behead Two Children 10 And 16 in Kandahar

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/06/obamas-peace-partners-behead-two-children-10-and-16/

Posted by Gateway Guest Blogger on Monday, June 10, 2013, 12:51 PM

Posted by guest contributor Andrew Marcus. Director, Hating Breitbart

 

The Daily Mail is reporting that Obama’s peace partners in Afghanistan, the Taliban, have beheaded a 10 year old boy and a 16 year old boy for the crime of scavenging for food.

The Taliban was accused of beheading two boys for spying in southern Afghanistan yesterday. (M) Afghan officials said the boys, aged 10 and 16, were kidnapped by Taliban fighters while scavenging for food in rubbish bins near the police headquarters in Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second largest city and a key base for Western forces.

The boys are suspected to have accepted food from the police in exchange for information and to have been killed for colluding with police, Kandahar provincial government office said last night.