More News Today:

Ecuador declares emergency as police protest, president is attacked

(CNN) -- Ecuador teetered on the verge of a government collapse Thursday, as national police took to the streets of Quito, the capital, and physically attacked the president over what police say was the cancellation of bonuses and promotions.

The government declared a one-week state of emergency Thursday afternoon and put the military in charge of security. The military said it will support the president and the nation's democratic institutions.

"This is a coup attempt," President Rafael Correa said in a TV interview a couple of hours after police lobbed tear gas at him.

Correa, who was forced to flee to a nearby hospital, said police were trying to get at him.

"They're trying to get into my room, maybe to attack me. I don't know," he said in a telephone interview with state-run Ecuador TV. "But, forget it. I won't relent. If something happens to me, remember my infinite love for my country, and to my family I say that I will love them anywhere I end up."

A video by CNN affiliate Ecuavisa later showed a defiant Correa standing at an upper floor window, shouting to a crowd of supporters, "If they want me, here I am," and then rapidly ripping his necktie loose.

A broadcast by Ecuador TV showed mobs on the streets and clouds of black smoke rising from burning tires and garbage. Sporadic looting was reported.

Correa had taken to the streets to try to negotiate with police but was soon surrounded and jostled by a crowd and fled after someone fired a tear gas canister at him. Some of those shoving him were dressed as police officers in full gear.

Video from CNN affiliate Teleamazonas showed a man in a tan suit punching Correa and trying to yank a gas mask off the president's face.

The broadcast then showed a hunched-over Correa being led away, his face still covered by the gas mask. Correa, who recently underwent knee surgery, leaned on a crutch with his left arm.

A news photograph later showed him lying on a stretcher.

A government helicopter had tried to evacuate him but was unable to land.

He went on the air from a hospital a couple of hours later to denounce what he called a cowardly attack.

"They fired gas on us -- on the president of the republic," Correa said in a telephone interview with Ecuador TV. "This is treason to the country, treason to their president."

Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino led a large and boisterous pro-government rally at the Carondelet Palace, the president's home. He urged the crowd to take to the streets to peacefully "reject this coup" and "to rescue our president."

Said Patino, "We are not afraid of anyone."

Analysts pointed to the government's precariousness.

"This is the most serious protest that the government of Rafael Correa has faced," analyst Eduardo Gamarra told CNN en Español.

Rank-and-file police took over their agency's headquarters, Ecuador TV said.

There also were reports that the military had taken control of their bases and the airport.

Ecuador has nearly 58,000 members in its military and 33,000 in the national police force, according to Jane's Intelligence Review.

The military, Jane's said, is undergoing a professionalism transformation designed to give it greater flexibility.

The National Civil Police, meanwhile, is the nation's major law enforcement organization.

Government officials tried to quell the rebellion, insisting that the security forces had been misinformed and warning that the nation's democracy was in danger.

"I want to tell the country there has been an attempt at a coup," said Gabriel Rivera of the Country Accord Party.

"This is a Machiavellian plan organized by sectors of the right," Rivera said on Ecuador TV.

Miguel Carvajal, the minister for interior security, said there was no threat to salaries or benefits. He blamed the reports of the benefit cuts on a massive disinformation campaign.

"He who says that is lying," Carvajal said.

"We call on the citizens. We call on the armed forces. We call on other governments to defend our democratic institutions," he said.

A police spokesman went on the air on Teleamazonas to dispute the government's allegations, saying that the security forces were in fact supporting Correa.

"Fellow officers who hear me nationally, stop this action," said the spokesman, identified only as Sgt. Mejia. "Don't close the streets. Return to the streets to work."

The disturbances occurred as Correa threatened to dissolve the national assembly over a dispute about several laws, including public service and education.

Angry police said they were overworked and underpaid.

"We work 14 hours a day," a uniformed officer said on Ecuador TV. "We are the ones who never protest."

Said another: "One hour without police. Let's see what happens."

Diego Borja, director of the central bank, went on the air to urge calm and for people to take care.

"The police are not protecting the people. They are protesting," he said. "There could be problems."

He also sought to prevent a run on deposits.

"The money is safe," he said. "But be careful if making large withdrawals."

Peru closed its border with Ecuador, and messages of support for Correa came from 10 Latin American nations: Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba and Honduras. The Organization of American States also voted to support Correa.

The support from Honduras came a little over a year after a military-led coup toppled the democratically elected president there. Correa had criticized that coup, as did most nations in the world. Honduras has held elections since then and elected a president.

At the United Nations, a spokesperson for Ban Ki-moon said the secretary-general "expresses his strong support for the country's democratic institutions and elected government," was concerned about Correa's physical condition and personal welfare and called on all involved "to resolve the current crisis peacefully, within the rule of law."

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said U.S. officials were closely following the events. "The United States deplores violence and lawlessness and we express our full support for President Rafael Correa, and the institutions of democratic government in that country," she said. "We urge all Ecuadorians to come together and to work within the framework of Ecuador's democratic institutions to reach a rapid and peaceful restoration of order."

In a statement from its base in Atlanta, Georgia, the Carter Center said it was "deeply concerned" about the reports and "expresses its support for the constitutional government of [Ecuador] and its democratically elected President Rafael Correa Delgado. We lament the disturbances and violence. The center urges that the problems be resolved quickly through respect for the rule of law and constitutional means."

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-WOW! -all this because the police who are protesting say they had bonuses and promotions canceled.

I was just thinking, (I'm just thinking now...) what if in the United States, all of the sudden the government canceled...let's say....income tax refunds?...food stamps?...welfare checks?...Social Security?... -most likely everything would break loose and the people here would feel like the people there do. When people depend on what their told they're going to receive and they don't get it, it's scary what that situation can lead to. I hope it never happens here. -me. ♣

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Wait a minute Mr. Postman. An independent rate board that oversees the U.S. Postal Service denied the agency's request on Thursday to raise the price of stamps to 46 cents early next year.

The Postal Service proposed the two cents rate hike for first class postage in July as part of a cost-savings plan to deal with losses that amounted to $3.8 billion last year. Postal officials say part of the problem is the move of many customers to digital communications. But they say the losses have been compounded by the recession.
Because the increase exceeded the inflation rate, the Postal Service needed the approval of the Postal Regulatory Commission, but the five-member panel said no -- unanimously -- on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Ruth Goldway, chairwoman of the commission, said the increase had more to do with long-term structural problems at the Postal Service than with the recession.

"The case they needed to make, as far as we understand the law, is to relate the revenue they're requesting to the losses that were the impact of the recession," Goldway said. But the commission wasn't convinced postal officials had made that case.

The Postal Service can appeal the decision, file a new special rate increase request, or go for a smaller boost -- like one cent -- in the cost of mailing a letter, the AP said. Among the cost-cutting measures, the Postal Service wants to end Saturday mail delivery, although most post offices would remain open on Saturdays under such a plan.

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Hi Everyone! -The first thing I wanted too share with you today is that we need to be ready to vote this November. I really believe it's our responsibility to vote. If we Christians don't do it, the heathen will. We need to do all we can to make sure the United States is run by the best people we could vote for, for ourselves, our children and grandchildren. Here in Colorado the very last day to register to vote is October 4th. The date is different for whichever state you live in.

To register to vote , you can go to : www.votecbc.org/
-You can use this link for WHATEVER STATE you live in.

Wherever you live, please check into that, and
using the words of Larry The Cable Guy..."Get 'er Done"!
You'll be glad you did. In no manner am I going to tell you who to vote for, except that I'm going to ask you to "VOTE THE BIBLE". Vote for the people that uphold the principals and ideals that our Bible teaches. Enough said. ♦

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Here is more news today:

Iranian speaker: Obama is an 'international villain'

By JPOST.COM STAFF
09/26/2010 12:04

Ali Larijani says "US standing against Iran, Obama should know we do not want his messages, rather we need to be able to trust his words."

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani slammed US President Barack Obama as an "international villain" for his comments on Iran and warned that Teheran needs to be vigilant during its confrontation with Washington, according to a Fars news agengcy report on Sunday.

"Today, the US is standing against the Iranian nation, Obama should know that we do not want his messages, rather we need to be able to trust his words," Larijani said during an address in Iran's Southern province of Fars on Saturday.

Larijani spoke about Obama's recent remarks on Iran and asked "how dare Obama announce that he wants to help the Iranian nation? He should know that he is an international villain, he has never sided with the Iranian nation."

Larijani said, according to the report, that Washington has a hypocritical approach towards nuclear issues in Iran, specifically with regards to the supply of nuclear fuel for the Teheran research reactor.

"They [the US and its western allies] sent two countries (Turkey and Brazil) for talks with Iran on the nuclear issue, but then they changed their approach which showed they were only seeking chicanery," Larijani claimed according to the report.

The parliament speaker said the measure sends the signal that the US must be dealt with vigilantly."

Larijani's comments follow messages that Obama sent to Iran, saying that Washington is interested in creating friendly ties with the Iranian nation to topple the Islamic Republic.

Could 'Goldilocks' Planet Be Just Right for Life?

WASHINGTON (Sept. 29) -- Astronomers say they have for the first time spotted a planet beyond our own in what is sometimes called the Goldilocks zone for life: Not too hot, not too cold. Juuuust right.

Not too far from its star, not too close. So it could contain liquid water. The planet itself is neither too big nor too small for the proper surface, gravity and atmosphere.

It's just right. Just like Earth.

"This really is the first Goldilocks planet," said co-discoverer R. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

The new planet sits smack in the middle of what astronomers refer to as the habitable zone, unlike any of the nearly 500 other planets astronomers have found outside our solar system. And it is in our galactic neighborhood, suggesting that plenty of Earth-like planets circle other stars.

Finding a planet that could potentially support life is a major step toward answering the timeless question: Are we alone?

Scientists have jumped the gun before on proclaiming that planets outside our solar system were habitable only to have them turn out to be not quite so conducive to life. But this one is so clearly in the right zone that five outside astronomers told The Associated Press it seems to be the real thing.

"This is the first one I'm truly excited about," said Penn State University's Jim Kasting. He said this planet is a "pretty prime candidate" for harboring life.

Life on other planets doesn't mean E.T. Even a simple single-cell bacteria or the equivalent of shower mold would shake perceptions about the uniqueness of life on Earth.

But there are still many unanswered questions about this strange planet. It is about three times the mass of Earth, slightly larger in width and much closer to its star - 14 million miles away versus 93 million. It's so close to its version of the sun that it orbits every 37 days. And it doesn't rotate much, so one side is almost always bright, the other dark.

Temperatures can be as hot as 160 degrees or as frigid as 25 degrees below zero, but in between - in the land of constant sunrise - it would be "shirt-sleeve weather," said co-discoverer Steven Vogt of the University of California at Santa Cruz.

It's unknown whether water actually exists on the planet, and what kind of atmosphere it has. But because conditions are ideal for liquid water, and because there always seems to be life on Earth where there is water, Vogt believes "that chances for life on this planet are 100 percent."

The astronomers' findings are being published in Astrophysical Journal and were announced by the National Science Foundation on Wednesday.

The planet circles a star called Gliese 581. It's about 120 trillion miles away, so it would take several generations for a spaceship to get there. It may seem like a long distance, but in the scheme of the vast universe, this planet is "like right in our face, right next door to us," Vogt said in an interview.

That close proximity and the way it was found so early in astronomers' search for habitable planets hints to scientists that planets like Earth are probably not that rare.

Vogt and Butler ran some calculations, with giant fudge factors built in, and figured that as much as one out of five to 10 stars in the universe have planets that are Earth-sized and in the habitable zone.

With an estimated 200 billion stars in the universe, that means maybe 40 billion planets that have the potential for life, Vogt said. However, Ohio State University's Scott Gaudi cautioned that is too speculative about how common these planets are.

Vogt and Butler used ground-based telescopes to track the star's precise movements over 11 years and watch for wobbles that indicate planets are circling it. The newly discovered planet is actually the sixth found circling Gliese 581. Two looked promising for habitability for a while, another turned out to be too hot and the fifth is likely too cold. This sixth one bracketed right in the sweet spot in between, Vogt said.
With the star designated "a," its sixth planet is called Gliese 581g.

"It's not a very interesting name and it's a beautiful planet," Vogt said. Unofficially, he's named it after his wife: "I call it Zarmina's World."

The star Gliese 581 is a dwarf, about one-third the strength of our sun. Because of that, it can't be seen without a telescope from Earth, although it is in the Libra constellation, Vogt said.

But if you were standing on this new planet, you could easily see our sun, Butler said.

The low-energy dwarf star will live on for billions of years, much longer than our sun, he said. And that just increases the likelihood of life developing on the planet, the discoverers said.

"It's pretty hard to stop life once you give it the right conditions," Vogt said.

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New Bill Gives Obama ‘Kill Switch’ To Shut Down The Internet

Government would have “absolute power” to seize control of the world wide web under Lieberman legislation -

Paul Joseph Watson
June 16, 2010

The federal government would have “absolute power” to shut down the Internet under the terms of a new US Senate bill being pushed by Joe Lieberman, legislation which would hand President Obama a figurative “kill switch” to seize control of the world wide web in response to a Homeland Security directive.

Lieberman has been pushing for government regulation of the Internet for years under the guise of cybersecurity, but this new bill goes even further in handing emergency powers over to the feds which could be used to silence free speech under the pretext of a national emergency.

“The legislation says that companies such as broadband providers, search engines or software firms that the US Government selects “shall immediately comply with any emergency measure or action developed” by the Department of Homeland Security. Anyone failing to comply would be fined,” reports ZDNet’s Declan McCullagh.

The 197-page bill (PDF) is entitled Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, or PCNAA.

Technology lobbying group TechAmerica warned that the legislation created “the potential for absolute power,” while the Center for Democracy and Technology worried that the bill’s emergency powers “include authority to shut down or limit internet traffic on private systems.”

The bill has the vehement support of Senator Jay Rockefeller, who last year asked during a congressional hearing, “Would it had been better if we’d have never invented the Internet?” while fearmongering about cyber-terrorists preparing attacks.

The largest Internet-based corporations are seemingly happy with the bill, primarily because it contains language that will give them immunity from civil lawsuits and also reimburse them for any costs incurred if the Internet is shut down for a period of time.

“If there’s an “incident related to a cyber vulnerability” after the President has declared an emergency and the affected company has followed federal standards, plaintiffs’ lawyers cannot collect damages for economic harm. And if the harm is caused by an emergency order from the Feds, not only does the possibility of damages virtually disappear, but the US Treasury will even pick up the private company’s tab,” writes McCullagh.

Tom Gann, McAfee’s vice president for government relations, described the bill as a “very important piece of legislation”.

As we have repeatedly warned for years, the federal government is desperate to seize control of the Internet because the establishment is petrified at the fact that alternative and independent media outlets are now eclipsing corporate media outlets in terms of audience share, trust, and influence.

We witnessed another example of this on Monday when establishment Congressman Bob Etheridge was publicly shamed after he was shown on video assaulting two college students who asked him a question. Two kids with a flip cam and a You Tube account could very well have changed the course of a state election, another startling reminder of the power of the Internet and independent media, and why the establishment is desperate to take that power away.

The government has been searching for any avenue possible through which to regulate free speech on the Internet and strangle alternative media outlets, with the FTC recently proposing a “Drudge Tax” that would force independent media organizations to pay fees that would be used to fund mainstream newspapers.

Similar legislation aimed at imposing Chinese-style censorship of the Internet and giving the state the power to shut down networks has already been passed globally, including in the UK, New Zealand and Australia.

We have extensively covered efforts to scrap the internet as we know it and move toward a greatly restricted “internet 2″ system. Handing government the power to control the Internet would only be the first step towards this system, whereby individual ID’s and government permission would be required simply to operate a website.

The Lieberman bill needs to be met with fierce opposition at every level and from across the political spectrum. Regulation of the Internet would not only represent a massive assault on free speech, it would also create new roadblocks for e-commerce and as a consequence further devastate the economy.

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Rush Limbaugh: Obama twisting Holy Scripture

'There's a lot of people who don't know details of their own religious belief'

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Posted: September 29, 2010
9:14 pm Eastern

By Joe Kovacs
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

PALM BEACH, Fla. – Is President Obama, who once demeaned Jesus' Sermon on the Mount as "radical," actively trying to socialize Jesus and corrupt Christianity?

Rush Limbaugh

The answer is yes, according to conservative radio giant Rush Limbaugh, who is claiming the commander in chief is not only trying to socialize America, but also the Christian religion by twisting Scripture.

The top-rated host made the allegation today during discussion of Obama's profession of faith yesterday in Albuquerque, N.M.

Limbaugh focused in on Obama's statement of "being my brother's and sister's keeper, treating others as they would treat me."

"The reason why this is important is there's an effort by the left to say that Jesus was a socialist," said Limbaugh, "and they are using this to turn many evangelical people into global-warming people. We are the stewards of the planet and so forth. There's an ongoing effort here to corrupt Christianity."

During yesterday's backyard town-hall meeting in Albuquerque, Obama had explained:

I'm a Christian, uh, by choice. Um, you know, my family didn't – frankly, they weren't, uh, folks who went to church every – every week. Um, my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't, uh, raise me in the church. Uh, so I came to, to, uh, my Christian faith later in life, uh, and it was because the, the, the, precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead – being my brother's and sister's keeper, treating others as they would treat me ... also understanding that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings, that we're sinful, and we're flawed, and we make mistakes, and that we achieve salvation through the grace of God.

But what we can do, as flawed as we are, is still see God in other people and do our best to help them find their own grace. So that's what I strive to do, that's what I pray to do every day. I think my public service is a part of that effort to express my Christian faith.

Stressing he was not disputing the president's profession of Christianity, Limbaugh went into a detailed analysis of Obama's remarks, noting:

There's a lot of people who do not know details of their own religious belief. But the Golden Rule is not a precept of Christianity. I hate to point this out, but the Golden Rule does not emanate, originate, from Christianity. And this brother's keeper business? That's not Jesus. I hate to say this, but Jesus Christ did not talk about brother's keeper. That is from the story of Cain and Abel, and even that story is misunderstood. The story of Cain and Abel – my brother's keeper does not mean, "I'm going to take care of my brother or take care of my sister." The story of Cain and Abel, Cain killed Abel, and then he said he had no idea. He denied it. He denied killing Abel, and then said to God, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Meaning, "What, is he my responsibility? He's not my responsibility, I didn't kill my brother." Now, a lot of people misunderstand all this, but the Golden Rule doesn't come from Christianity, and Cain and Abel is not, "I'm going to take care of my brother and I'm going to take care of my sister," and Jesus Christ has nothing to do with either one of them.

The Bible actually does talk about the principle of reciprocal care for others, with Jesus Himself stating, "Do for others what you would like them to do for you." (Matthew 7:12, New Living Translation)

Even in the Old Testament, the command is given to "love your neighbor as yourself." (Leviticus 19:18, NLT)

But Limbaugh said similar ideas had been circulated in ancient Babylon long before biblical Scripture is thought to have been written.

"The early incarnations of the Golden Rule are found in the Code of Hammurabi: an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," he noted.

Limbaugh said Obama's voicing of the "brother's keeper" concept is a distortion of Christianity:

"This is where Obama now says that public service is part of an effort to express his Christian faith, that Christianity is socialism, that Jesus Christ was a socialist. Jesus Christ was apolitical. He got involved in no political ideology whatsoever."

Limbaugh took issue with Obama's governing style, suggesting it might not be Christ-like.

"How is his Christian faith guiding the way he's dealing with Republicans? I mean he's urging everybody not to listen to Republicans, don't make arrangements with Republicans."

And saying he was reluctant to point it out, Limbaugh also wondered about Obama's perceived lack of compassion for his own relatives in Africa.

"Obama's brother is still living in a hut – a 6-by-9-foot, un-air-conditioned, no-running-water, no-electricity hut in Kenya, outside Nairobi, somewhere over there. Twenty dollars. Guy lives on a dollar a year. Twenty bucks would be the equivalent of winning the lottery. And Obama has not reached out to keep his brother."

This is not the first time Obama's referencing of the Bible has caused controversy. On June 28, 2006, Obama addressed a conference in Washington, D.C., finding fault with both Old Testament instructions as well as Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount in the 5th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew:

And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is OK and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our Bibles. Folks haven't been reading their Bibles.
As WND reported two years ago, in the wake of repeated comments from Democrats comparing then-Sen. Obama to Jesus and Gov. Sarah Palin to Pontius Pilate, Limbaugh blasted the Democrats' strategy as "pathological" and "insane."

"I know Jesus Christ. I pray to Jesus Christ all the time," said Limbaugh." I study what Jesus Christ did and said all the time, and let me tell you something, Barack Obama, you are no Jesus Christ."

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Engineers Slam Internet 'Censorship' Bill Under Review by Senate

By Judson Berger

Published September 29, 2010

Internet entrepreneurs are in a panic over a Senate bill they say will censor the Web, stifle Silicon Valley startups, damage the United States' credibility on free speech and ultimately trigger the creation of an alternate-universe Internet.

The West Coast engineers say they were blindsided last Monday when the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act was introduced in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill has a bipartisan roster of co-sponsors who say it will be a tool for stopping the worst offenders in the world of online piracy.

The bill would give the attorney general new powers to shut down websites deemed dedicated to counterfeit material -- by going through the courts and by encouraging service providers to go after sites the Justice Department puts on a public blacklist.

According to the bill, a website would have to be "dedicated to infringing activities" to trigger the enforcement.

But Internet advocates warn the legislation would open a door for a handful of people in the federal government to wantonly power off entire websites that may be operating legally under current law. Though senators suggest the bill would save jobs by cracking down on piracy, critics say it will hurt the economy by threatening fledgling companies whenever copyrighted material shows up on their sites.

"If this bill had been law five or 10 years ago, there's a good chance that YouTube would no longer be around," Peter Eckersley, senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told FoxNews.com.

Eckersley said the bill would mark a drastic departure from current law by allowing the government not just to strip copyrighted material off an offending website, but to order the shutdown of a domain name altogether.

Eighty-seven engineers who played a role in the creation of the Internet have sent a letter to the Judiciary Committee urging it to sideline the bill.

"If enacted, this legislation will risk fragmenting the Internet's global domain name system (DNS), create an environment of tremendous fear and uncertainty for technological innovation, and seriously harm the credibility of the United States in its role as a steward of key Internet infrastructure," they wrote. "All censorship schemes impact speech beyond the category they were intended to restrict, but this bill will be particularly egregious in that regard because it causes entire domains to vanish from the Web, not just infringing pages or files. Worse, an incredible range of useful, law-abiding sites can be blacklisted under this bill."

The bill's authors, co-sponsors and supporters disagree. They say it's dedicated to the worst-of-the-worst -- that the Justice Department could not shut down a site without first winning approval from a federal court and that the bill protects website operators by giving them the opportunity to remove pirating activity to get their site back online.

"No one would dispute that online infringement and counterfeiting of American intellectual property drains the American economy and costs American jobs," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who introduced the bill, said in a written statement Wednesday. "No one would defend websites, primarily based overseas, that are dedicated to infringing activities. We continue (to) welcome input from everyone on the best way to attack the problem, but ignoring the problem, or saying it is too complicated, can no longer be an option."

The bill has broad bipartisan support on the committee, including that of Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch. Thirteen of the 16 committee members are co-sponsors, giving the bill a strong chance of passing if it comes up for a vote. It was scheduled to come up for consideration Thursday,. but the chairman postponed it as the Senate prepared to adjourn until after the elections.

Critics are crying foul, saying the panel has not scheduled a hearing for the bill, but committee spokeswoman Erica Chabot noted that the panel held an oversight hearing on intellectual property enforcement in June.

"You can have hearings before you introduce a bill," she said, stressing that Leahy and the co-sponsors are continuing to talk with "stakeholders on all sides."

The biggest supporters of, and contributors to, the proposal come from the business and entertainment communities.

The AFL-CIO, which supports the bill, claims movie and music pirating costs more than 200,000 jobs. A fact sheet put out by the Senate Judiciary Committee claimed intellectual property theft, some occurring on foreign websites, costs the U.S. economy more than $100 billion annually.

Steve Tepp, a piracy expert for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the censorship claims are off-base.

"This bill is a bipartisan effort that targets sites engaged in activities that all 153 countries in the WTO have agreed are illegal," he said. "These websites have no place in a legitimate online market. ... This legislation provides a critically needed tool to try to address what is globally acknowledged as criminal activity to protect America's economic interests."

The Screen Actors Guild and several other entertainment industry groups released a joint statement commending the co-sponsors and claiming the bill would be aimed at "rogue websites" dedicated to "stealing" movies and music.

Specifically, the bill would let the attorney general go through federal court to try to shut down an offending website. If the court approves, the service provider would be required to "suspend" and "lock" the domain name. Those sites would be listed on a public website. Separately, the attorney general would start another public list of offending websites that have not been ordered shut down; the Justice Department would provide immunity to any service provider that takes action against them.

Eckersley called this "outright censorship" and rattled off the names of several prominent file-sharing and file-storing sites -- RapidShare, Dropbox, MediaFire -- that could be affected. He said sites like YouTube would probably survive, but new companies similar to it could easily fall victim to the bill if it becomes law. Plus, he said, people who store files like pictures and music online could, in the stroke of a judge's pen, see those files disappear.

"It's one thing to take down an infringing file. It's another to bully an entire ecosystem of people who are trying to innovate, and that's what this bill is trying to do," he said. "The senators who are well-intentioned haven't realized how much of the astonishing economic value of the Internet they're putting at risk here."

An advocacy group that opposes the bill, Demand Progress, claims 50,000 people have signed its online petition against the bill.

"Censoring the Internet is something we'd expect from China or Iran, not the U.S. Senate," the protest petition says.

Engineers and free-speech advocates have suggested the bill would undermine efforts to press China to unlock the Internet. Plus they warn of a scenario in which engineers will circumvent the law by creating a black-market Internet where outlawed sites could be accessed.

This could create two conflicting Internet worlds, where some sites are accessible to some users and others are not; where commerce, some legitimate, happens in one world and not in the other.

"Errors and divergences will appear," the 87 engineers warned in their letter. "Contradictory addresses will confuse browsers and frustrate the people using them."

Eckersley had a simpler way to describe it: "Chaos."

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China: U.S. bill on yuan would hurt both countries

New York (CNNMoney.com) -- China on Thursday urged the United States to resist protectionism and avoid damaging both nations' economies, following the U.S. House's passage of legislation designed to combat Beijing's manipulation of currency.

"We firmly oppose the U.S. Congress approving of bill. Exercising protectionism only severely damages the relationship and have negative impact on both economies and the global economies," said Jiang Yu, spokeswoman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"We have made our position clear to the U.S. side," she said, when asked whether China planned any retaliatory measures.

The House of Representatives approved the legislation on Wednesday, saying that China's moves result in unfavorable trade conditions for the United States.

The legislation, which authorizes the Commerce Department to impose duties on imports from countries with undervalued currencies, passed by a vote of 348-79.

The bill received support from both sides of the aisle, a rarity in recent sessions, with Democrats framing the legislation as a jobs issue.

"We can talk, or we can act. International trade is a high stakes, cut-throat business, and every time we simply talk, the other side acts, and every time they act, an American loses a job," said Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-California.

China said this year it would allow its currency, the yuan, to trade in a wider range against the dollar. But the currency has scarcely appreciated since then, inflaming critics who charge that the undervalued yuan, also known as the renminbi, helps steal U.S. manufacturing jobs.

Estimates on the undervaluation of the yuan vary, depending on the economic model used, but one estimate by the Peterson Institute of International Economics puts the number at about 24 percent against the dollar.

Such undervaluing makes Chinese goods cheaper to buy in the United States and likewise drives up the price of U.S. goods sold in China.

The House vote caps years of frustration for lawmakers as the United States has continued to shed manufacturing jobs, and promises of reform from the Chinese have failed to result in policy changes.

"If this risks upsetting the People's Republic of China, so be it," said Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan. "Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, a liberal or a conservative -- millions of good-paying jobs have been lost and hundreds of thousands of families across this country have suffered as a result of China's unlawful trade policies."

The legislation now moves to the Senate. Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, says the body will act quickly to move the bill to the president's desk.

"We must take decisive action against China's currency manipulation and other economically injurious behavior," Schumer said Tuesday, noting that the Senate will take up the issue when it reconvenes later this year.

"China is merely pretending to take significant steps on its currency," Schumer said. "This sucker's game is never going to stop unless we finally call their bluff."

But not every member of Congress is convinced, especially after China raised tariffs on U.S. poultry producers earlier this week and accused them of dumping product into the Chinese market.

Citing potential retaliatory measures from China, Texas Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling said the bill was "unwise public policy" during tough economic times.

But trade groups and unions cheered the bill's passage. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued a statement of support and Scott Paul, the director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing echoed the message.

"This is one of the most pleasantly lopsided trade votes in recent history," Paul said in a statement. "Voters are mad and Congress is finally responding.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Obama addressed the issue at a town hall-style meeting.

"The reason I'm pushing China about their currency is because their currency is undervalued," he said, adding that "people generally think they are managing their currency in a way that makes our goods more expensive to sell there and their goods cheaper to sell here."

The resulting imbalance is a major factor contributing to the U.S. trade deficit, the president said.

Last week, Obama urged Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to speed up the revaluation of the yuan currency, telling him in a two-hour meeting at the United Nations that the slow pace of reforms was affecting both global and U.S. economies.

The meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly followed a speech by Wen the night before, in which he told the business community in New York that China will continue reforming and opening its markets under a policy it started in 1978 by officially ending decades of isolation.

However, demands by U.S. lawmakers that China revalue its currency by more than 20 percent would bankrupt Chinese companies and lead to "major unrest" in his country, Wen said in the speech.

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Blessings-Missygirl*

Hi guys and gals! -Well, I started to feel bad because all the news I share with you sounds kind of frightening, ominous, depressing or just plain brutal at times. -Sorry.
That's headline news though. I can remember years back when things weren't like that. (or maybe they were, but maybe my eyes were a little more innocent or naive to the truth then.)
Anyway, I feel more comfortable now with you knowing that I'm not making this stuff up. I report it as I get it. -I am your online friend and I want to get the best information to you that I can! ~
Have a super day and remember God is with us through everything!
On this new day, here we go again...

JAKARTA, Indonesia - The AP reports a 7.4 earthquake off eastern Indonesia could potentially trigger a tsunami.


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Controversial STD drug (Gardasil) tied to
16 more deaths

19-year-old reported chest pain, nausea; died of 'cardiac arrhythmia'

By Bob Unruh

© 2010 WorldNetDaily

The case report is terse about the 19-year-old woman who was given Gardasil, a vaccine intended to guard against a sexually transmitted disease, and reported, "Headache, nausea, dizziness, chilling, tiredness, shortness of breath, complained of chest pain, severe cramps."

She died of "acute cardiac arrhythmia." Said the report, "Attempts to resuscitate her resulted in a sternal fracture, but were unsuccessful and the patient died."

'SCARY MEDICINE: Exposing the dark side of vaccines'

That's just one of the 16 new reports that have arrived since the middle of last year that document deaths linked to Gardasil.

"To say Gardasil has a suspect safety record is a big understatement. These reports are troubling and show that the FDA and other public-health authorities may be asleep at the switch," said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, the government watchdog organization that investigates and reports on government corruption.

"In the meantime, the public-relations push for Gardasil by Merck and politicians on Capitol Hill continues. No one should require this vaccine for young children," Fitton said.

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BORN IN THE USA?

Army judge tells officer: Shut up and be punished!

Defense counsel warns 'fair trial' impossible under military rulings

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Posted: September 28, 2010
9:01 pm Eastern

By Brian Fitzpatrick
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin

FORT MEADE, Md. – An Army judge has made it "impossible" for a career medical officer to get a fair hearing on charges he refused to deploy to Afghanistan because of concern that obeying orders in the chain of command under an ineligible commander in chief would be illegal, his attorney says.

The rulings came today from Col. Denise Lind, who, in effect, told Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin to pound sand. Rocks actually. He faces up to four years at hard labor if convicted in his case.

"We got absolutely slammed today," said Paul R. Jensen, lead counsel for the defense. "It's impossible for us to have a fair trial under these rulings."

Jensen continued, "The judge did what she thought was right, but the result is to deprive us of any opportunity to have a defense."

Lakin believes any order issued under Obama's authority as commander in chief of the armed forces may not be valid because his eligibility to serve as president is unproven. After fruitlessly requesting the Army to verify Obama's eligibility to serve as president, Lakin wrote directly to Obama asking for proof of eligibility.

But without a response, Lakin decided it was his duty to refuse an order to deploy with his unit as part of Obama's Afghanistan surge. As one of the defense briefs states, he "... [took] the distasteful route of inviting his own court martial."

In her decision, Lind, acting as judge in the case, censored the last remaining arguments Lakin planned to make in his defense: motive and duty. Lakin had intended to explain his motive for disobeying the order and contend that it was his duty as a good soldier to disobey orders that he believes to be illegal.

The defense also planned to call as witnesses Ambassador Alan Keyes and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney. Keyes was to explain the constitutional issues involved in the case, and McInerney was to talk about the training soldiers receive regarding when they should question and even disobey orders.

Lind was following up on her rulings from Sept. 2, when she rejected defense plans to introduce evidence concerning Obama's eligibility. The defense also requested for Lakin's defense documents referencing Obama's birth records on file in Hawaii, but Lind refused to allow that either, noting that providing the documents might prove "embarrassing" to Obama.

"Our arms were cut off last time," said Jensen. "Our legs are being cut off this time."

In rejecting Lakin's right to discovery of Obama birth documents, Lind joined a host of other judges – in civilian courts – who have refused to allow plaintiffs suing Obama to obtain his birth records. Jensen told WND he had hoped the court would permit Lakin to go to discovery, because Lakin is the defendant in a criminal case and has the right to mount a full defense.

In objecting to the participation of Keyes and McInerney and the presentation of Lakin's planned arguments, the prosecution argued that all issues related to Obama's eligibility, Lakin's motives and the good soldier doctrine were "irrelevant."

"We have to have the opportunity to present some defense!" Jensen countered.

Just before Lind recessed the hearing to prepare her decision, Jensen asked rhetorically whether the government intended to allow him to call any witnesses at all and thundered, "This is all we had left!"

Jensen's pleas fell on deaf ears. Less than two hours after the court recessed following arguments, Lind returned to the bench to render a lengthy, detailed decision. Reading in a dry monotone, Lind reaffirmed her Sept. 2 decision and ruled out discussions of motive and duty.

Lind, with her rulings, effectively has restricted the scope of Lakin's trial to what the government wanted: the simple questions of whether the officer had received orders to deploy to Afghanistan and whether he complied.

Neither of these facts is in dispute

But Jensen said the trial will not end the case.

"We will look to appellate courts for justice. With these constraints it's not possible here," he said.

When Lind made her earlier rulings, denying Lakin access to potentially exculpatory evidence in his case, Judge Roy Moore, who battled political correctness as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court a decade ago, said Lind has forgotten the Constitution.

Judge Moore, who now operates through the Foundation for Moral Law, has personal experience with challenging the powers-that-be to follow the Constitution. His dispute centered on a Ten Commandments display he put in a state building to recognize the God who inspired the Founders of America. He ultimately was removed from office by those who followed a federal judge's order that the Ten Commandments be removed without questioning whether it was right.

"The highest law in this country is not the order of the Supreme Court of the U.S., not the order of the commander in chief, or any subordinate officer," Moore said.

Instead, it is the Constitution, Moore explained, which in Lakin's case demands that the president be a "natural born citizen."

There have been dozens of lawsuits and challenges over the fact that Obama's eligibility never has been documented. The "Certification of Live Birth" his campaign posted online is a document that Hawaii has made available to those not born in the state.

"Lt. Col. Lakin has every right to question the lawfulness of the orders of the commander in chief," Moore has said.

It doesn't matter, he said, that orders come from a colonel, or a general or even the Pentagon.

"The same thing applies in the military as in the judicial system," he explained. "The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, it's not the order of a higher officer, not the order of a judge."

Lakin has been charged by the Army with missing a movement, disobeying a lawful order and dereliction of duty.

Lind's first round of censorship decisions came just days after a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general who commanded forces armed with nuclear weapons said the disclosure of Obama's documentation is not just critical to Lakin's defense, but to the preservation of the nation itself.

The vehement statements came in an affidavit from McInerney, a Fox News military analyst, that was disclosed by an organization generating support for Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin.

McInerney, who retired in 1994 after serving as vice commander in chief of USAF forces in Europe, commander of the 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing and assistant vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, among other positions, said the chain of command issue is critical, since officers are obligated both to follow orders and to disobey illegal orders.

"Officers in the United States military service are – and must be – trained that they owe their highest allegiance to the United States Constitution," he said in the affidavit.

"There can be no question that it is absolutely essential to good order and discipline in the military that there be no break in the unified chain of command, from the lowliest E-1 up to and including the commander in chief who is under the Constitution, the president of the United States. As military officers, we owe our ultimate loyalty not to superior officers or even to the president, but rather, to the Constitution."

He explained "good order and discipline requires not blind obedience to all orders but instead requires officers to judge – sometimes under great adversity – whether an order is illegal.

"The president of the United States, as the commander in chief, is the source of all military authority," he said. "The Constitution requires the president to be a natural born citizen in order to be eligible to hold office. If he is ineligible under the Constitution to serve in that office that creates a break in the chain of command of such magnitude that its significance can scarcely be imagined."

Lakin is being supported by the American Patriot Foundation, which said the affidavit is for use in Lakin's trial, scheduled Oct. 13-15.

Lakin is a physician and in his 18th year of service in the Army. He posted a video asking for the court-martial to determine Obama's eligibility.

He is board certified in family medicine and occupational and environmental medicine. He has been recognized for his outstanding service as a flight surgeon for year-long tours in Honduras, Bosnia and Afghanistan. He was also awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan and recognized in 2005 as one of the Army Medical Department's outstanding flight surgeons.

The controversy stems from the Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, which states, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."

A number of challenges and lawsuits have been based on the constitutional requirement, some alleging Obama does not qualify because he was not born in Hawaii in 1961 as he claims. Others say he fails to qualify because he was a dual citizen of the U.S. and the United Kingdom when he was born, and the framers of the Constitution specifically excluded dual citizens from eligibility.

Complicating the issue is the fact that besides Obama's actual birth documentation, he has kept from the public documentation including his kindergarten records, Punahou school records, Occidental College records, Columbia University records, Columbia thesis, Harvard Law School records, Harvard Law Review articles, scholarly articles from the University of Chicago, passport, medical records, files from his years as an Illinois state senator, Illinois State Bar Association records, baptism records and his adoption records.

Lakin had posted a YouTube video challenging the Army to charge him over the issue.

In a later video, Lakin said the issue of evidence is important:

My Perspective:

The question is, how much longer can America survive under the crazy leadership of Obama? Can we survive until 2012? Only God knows. I have been wondering when congress will investigate as to where Obama was born. His grandmother said he was born in Kenya, as she was present. Strange that she was not questioned at the time of her statement; and died mere days after making that comment, now no one can question her. -I'm sorry if I'm offending those who truly love Obama as president. I don't. I think we need to make wiser choices for president.
But again, that's just my opinion, we all have our own. (Freedom of Speech laws allow me this.)

(There are none so blind as those who will not see.)
I guess it comes down to...I'm really tired of people calling evil 'good', and good 'evil'. -me •

I wish Mike Huckabee would run for President again in 2012. Maybe. Just maybe.



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Deaf Texan Exonerated of Child Sex Assault Freed

DALLAS (Sept. 29) -- A deaf man exonerated of the rape of a 5-year-old suburban Dallas girl was released Tuesday after serving about 10 years in prison. His release came a day after a judge determined he was innocent.

Drill passes halfway point in Chile mine rescue bid

September 28, 2010

Copiapo, Chile (CNN) -- Rescuers have bored more than halfway through the earth and rock separating 33 trapped Chilean miners from the surface they haven't seen since early August, a spokesman for the rescue effort said Tuesday.

The so-called Plan B drill has chewed through 330 meters of the 623-meter (2,040-foot) depth required to reach the men, Andre Sougarret, a rescue operations spokesman, told reporters. The miners have been stuck beneath northern Chile's Atacama Desert since an August 5 cave-in and have been awaiting rescue since they were found alive 17 days later.

The men have been surviving on supplies funneled to them from above ground through earlier bore holes, each about 4 inches in diameter. If all goes well, they may be brought to the surface in late October or early November.

The miners have assisted the rescue operation by offering guidance for the drill crews. The initial bore hole for the Plan B drill reached them September 17, and the current operation is aimed at widening that hole enough to allow a man to be lifted out.

Plan B is the second of three options for reaching the group. The assembly of the drill to be used in Plan C has been completed, and a high-tech rescue capsule to be used to pull the men out was delivered to the site on Saturday.

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Hello Everyone- This is the news today:

1,000 people could be trapped in Mexico landslide, governor says

September 28, 2010

Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- Up to 1,000 people may have been trapped by a landslide in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca, Gov. Ulises Ruiz said Tuesday morning.

A hill about 650 feet wide (200 meters) collapsed early Tuesday, sending tons of mud over as many as 300 houses, Ruiz told CNN affiliate Televisa.

The government-run Notimex news agency reported that nearly 50 homes in the Santa Maria Tlahuiltotepec municipality were buried by the landslide, according to the State Civil Protection Institute.

Rescue officials, heavy machinery and police and military authorities were on their way to the scene, Ruiz said.

"We expect to get there in time to rescue these people," he said.

Ruiz said several rivers have overflowed their banks due to heavy rain in the area and many roads are blocked by landslides, making it difficult for rescuers to reach the affected areas.

Some residents were complaining Tuesday morning that help was slow in coming.

"Police and rescue officials still have not arrived at the landslide zone and there are many landslides on the road," one person posted on the Twitter internet blogging site.

The region has been plagued by extremely heavy rainfall over the past two weeks, most recently by the remnants of Tropical Storm Matthew, which are still stalled over the area Tuesday, according to CNN Meteorologist Brandon Miller.

Satellite data indicates that nearly 12 inches (300 mm) of rain has fallen in the area of the landslide in the past three days, Miller said.

Many houses are built on the edge of ridges on the steep terrain in the state, which stands 2,000 feet above sea level, making it conducive to landslides in severe weather.

More rain is forecast in the region in the next day and a half, Miller said.

The severe weather led civil protection authorities to declare a state of emergency Monday for the Oaxaca state municipalities of Oaxaca de Juarez, San Felipe Tejalapam, San Jacinto Amilpas, San Lorenzo Cacaotepec, San Pablo Etla, Santa Lucia del Camino and Tlalixtac de Cabrera. A municipality in Mexico is a geographic division within a state, similar to a county in the United States.

{For these people I pray Lord Jesus, please help them, in Your Holy Name I pray. amen. -me }

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Revelation 18:23 (King James Version)

²³And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

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MEXICO CITY (AP) - Disaster officials say at least 8 dead, 100 missing in Mexico landslides.

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U.S. troops accused of killing Afghans for sport

By CRAIG WHITLOCK
Washington Post

AFP/File – The population control law that limits many in China to one child in a bid to improve people's lives …


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The Push to Ordain Women Priests Gains Ground

AP – Pope Benedict XVI, in the pope mobile leaves Lambeth Palace in south London as demonstrators for the …