Twenty-four of 500 government witnesses appeared at the National Press Club almost ten years ago - members of every branch of military service, the CIA, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), astronauts and scientists - all with proof and/or experience with UFO's. Yet, NONE of the media have reported on the project, the proof, the testimony or the incidents. Why?
Because the media in America is controlled. Don't believe me? Then check out the witnesses and the facts yourself here:
http://speedstream.netro.ca/netrostream113/npcc.wmv
or to to:
http://disclosureproject.org then see how ABC News treated the information:
http://www.disclosureproject.org/peterjenningsdefrauding.htm
PETER JENNINGS DEFRAUDING:
INSIDE THE ABC NEWS UFO DOCUMENTARY HOAX
Dr. Steven M. Greer.
Director, The Disclosure Project
March 2005
http://www.disclosureproject.org
Copyright 2005
NOTE: PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO POST AND DISTRIBUTE WIDELY, SO LONG AS THIS ARTICLE APPEARS IN ITS ENTIRETY OR IS EXCERPTED ACCURATELY.
Of course, the title of the show was 'Peter Jennings Reporting…' - if only that were so. This is the story of how, once again, the corrupt Big Media has defrauded the American people, from one who had a front row seat to the spectacle.
In the summer of 2004, as founder and director of The Disclosure Project (www.DisclosureProject.org) I was approached by Jennings Productions producer Jordan Kronick. He explained how ABC News was going to make history by doing a serious expose of the UFO matter - for the first time on network news.
Initially skeptical - we have seen and heard this song and dance before - I agreed to meet with Kronick at our offices in Washington DC. Over the course of several hours, we discussed the subject and how The Disclosure Project had identified several hundred top secret military and government witnesses to UFO events and projects.
Kronick expressed great interest and repeatedly stated that this is exactly what Jennings, chief producer Mark Obenhaus and he were looking for. I offered to provide, pro bono, ALL Disclosure Project digital videotape interviews and full access to ALL Disclosure Project witnesses willing to cooperate with ABC News - including those witnesses not yet taped by us.
The reader at this point needs to know that these are not fuzzy, blacked-out deep throats anonymously telling stories of the night. These are hundreds of military, government and corporate insiders who have been identified by us over the past 14 years. They range from Generals, to Astronauts, to senior FAA officials who were privy to events, projects and cover-ups involving UFOs. Additionally, we have thousands of pages of uncontested official government smoking gun documents and physical evidence, photos, videos, landing trace events and other unambiguous proof.
The ABC News production team claimed to want exactly this type of evidence - and especially the high-level government and military insider whistle-blowers who could credibly blow the lid off of decades of secrecy.
As a two-hour news special, ABC claimed that they could, at long last, give the subject the focus and rigor needed to achieve this objective.
But as discussions continued, it became more and more clear that Obenhaus and Jennings really wanted to do a human interest story - including anecdotal civilian witnesses, man-in-the-street interviews and the general silly season and carnival atmosphere surrounding most things ufological.
We agreed to cooperate with the filming of a CSETI (Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence) research expedition to Mt. Shasta in August of 2004, at which time we were able to have discussions with Obenhaus, the senior producer in charge of the project.
We were incredulous as Obenhaus revealed to us that he was sure the matter was not really being kept secret but had just 'fallen through the cracks' due to lack of follow through, laziness and so forth on the part of the government! It was clear he had not studied the data or evidence given to him, and had his mind made up to do a 'light', human interest piece and not a real expose or research project.
This was later confirmed when, as summer turned to fall, the long promised serious research and interviews they claimed they wanted to do with these top-secret government witnesses were never followed up. I spoke a few more times to Kronick, who promised a sit down interview and follow-up with these high-ranking and conclusive witnesses. They never did.
Instead, the final ABC News show was weaker in evidence than most tabloid cable channel pieces on the UFO subject - with the bulk of the 'documentary' being interviews with UFO personalities, debunkers and the carnival atmosphere of UFO hotspots like Roswell.
They fraudulently appeared to be ' balanced' by having both skeptics and 'believers' - with the clear implication that the skeptics were 'real scientists' and the 'believers' were misguided flakes. Using the ruse of media 'objectivity', ABC News would asymmetrically show, say, a Harvard scientist skeptic juxtaposed against a civilian who thought he had been sexually assaulted by aliens!
The few, very brief interviews with pilots and military people were overwhelmed by the spurious, carnival-like pseudo-ethnography of the UFO subculture mixed in with long segments of scientists pooh-poohing the entire matter.
While appearing objective and 'balanced' to the general viewer, the project was, rather, a disinformation piece, carefully crafted to give the mere appearance of objectivity.
Otherwise, why spend so much air time interviewing UFO personalities, media figures and the like - while completely leaving out ALL high-ranking military, government and scientific witnesses and evidence given directly by us to them?
In light of the range and scope of material that we personally gave them, it is incomprehensible why ALL of it would be omitted - unless it was their intent from the beginning to do a disinformation and cover-up piece.
Why else would Peter Jennings state that the US Government has been out of the UFO matter since 1969, when Project Blue Book was closed, even though he and his team were directly given by us official US government documents, senior government whistle-blower testimony and physical evidence - including radar tapes - to the contrary? Why would Jennings feature uninformed scientists rhetorically asking 'where's the physical evidence' when abundant physical evidence is available and was offered to him?
Why indeed. We have received a CIA document from 1991 that clearly states that the CIA has contacts in the Big Media to change, kill or spin stories. From this document, dated 20 December 1991, and released 1 April 1992, to the Director of Central Intelligence from the Task Force on Greater CIA Openness, on page 6:
"PAO [the Public Affairs Office] now has relationships with reporters from every major wire service, newspaper, news weekly, and television network in the nation. This has helped us turn some intelligence failure stories into intelligence success stories…In many instances, we have persuaded reporters to postpone, change, hold or even scrap stories…"
And from a CIA document regarding the psychological warfare implications of UFOs, we find a reference to Disney Studios, now the parent company of ABC, being used as a source for doing cartoon-like portrayals of the subject for psychological warfare purposes. Can we be surprised ABC News has, again, defrauded the American people - only pretending to do news and real investigative reporting when in reality they are purveying disinformation to an accepting public?
Obenhaus, without any research or foundation in fact, went so far as to personally assert to me that the hybrid government - corporate complex is not keeping new energy, propulsion and related technologies hidden from the public! His prejudice on the matter was profound and unwavering: forget the facts, my mind is made up.
It is hard to reconcile ABC News' claims to doing a serious expose and investigative report when the senior producer of the project, without any investigation or research, espouses such closed-minded conclusions at the outset.
Those who know me know that I like to stay positive, present the affirmative facts and present the promise of an advanced, sustainable civilization on Earth benefiting from the knowledge of these new technologies. But it is time for the American people to wake up to the fact that the Big Media and their corporate masters are the central problem blocking the truth from coming out. As a former board member of Time Warner told me, the Big Media has become scribes taking dictation from the right hand of the king - and the fourth estate is essentially dead.
A CALL TO ACTION
The American people must demand that ABC News correct its fraudulent assertions - and do a real investigative report on the serious evidence, government documents and courageous military whistle-blower testimony that The Disclosure Project and others have identified. The reader may obtain much of this evidence from www.DisclosureProject.org.
Write ABC News at: abc.news.magazines@abc.com or support@ABCNews.go.com and demand an honest investigative report.
Additionally, please contact the FCC and register your complaint regarding the transparent fraud perpetrated by ABC News on the American public. Remember: ABC News, as a broadcast network, is given by the FCC access to the public airwaves. In exchange, we have the right to hold ABC News, as well as the other networks, to fairness, accuracy and honesty - and certainly to avoid blatant fraud and corruption. This was not the ABC entertainment division that perpetrated this fraudulent report on the American people, but its news division. That they would sanitize such an important two hour report of nearly all credible evidence and government insider witnesses requires that we demand a hearing on the matter by the FCC immediately. Who induced Obenhaus and Peter Jennings to cover up this important evidence? Why? ABC News cannot claim ignorance on the matter as they were directly given extensive testimony and evidence, none of which appeared in the program.
Contact the FCC at www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html and demand an immediate investigation into this matter and demand that the FCC require ABC to retract its false statements and present the evidence which they possess but are hiding from the American public.
And lastly, support Disclosure in any way you can. Help us get the truth out. Tell people about http://www.DisclosureProject.org where they can find the truth about this important matter. And help us identify backers who will help us start a new - and honest - news outlet that will truthfully report on these and related projects that are illegally kept secret from the public. Is it not time for us to form a news network - The Disclosure Network - that will produce and air real investigative reports on a wide range of government and corporate corruption? Matters now left completely hidden by the complicity of Big Media need to be known by the people if we are to renew and protect democracy and disclose the technologies now hidden and suppressed that could replace oil and nuclear power and give us a sustainable, peaceful world.
We can no longer trust ABC news or the rest of the Big Media to do this. We, the people, must take on the task of getting the truth out - and salvaging what is left of our democracy and planet. Big Media, who have become shills for their corporate masters, are incapable or unwilling to tell the truth. It is time we did it for them.
Steven M. Greer MD
Director and Founder
The Disclosure Project
Albemarle County Virginia
March 2005
http://www.DisclosureProject.org
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Richard Davis wins suit - now on to EEOC action
Photographer Richard Davis was successful in his bid for unemployment rights against the Danville Register & Bee. Outright lies by those testifying on behalf of the R&B failed to convince the judge - who, as I was told, also had access to this blog as part of the court proceedings.
Congratulations to Richard - too bad about the paper trail of lies and letters that BURIED the Register & Bee. It's so much easier to TELL THE TRUTH. It will come back to bite you guys....and the bite will be bigger in the EEOC suit....What will really be interesting is seeing if the attorney will choose to pursue FORMER R&B employees separately now that they don't work for the R&B. Will Richard go after them? It means they'll have to pony up legal expenses themselves. So, since this is largely about the PRINCIPLE of the way he was fired, lied about and cheated....Should he go after those who caused him so much head and heart ache?
This is a man who's fed the birds and cats around the Register & Bee for years - long before Media General owned the paper. Yet - Ann Austin threatened him for being in the parking lot feeding a stray cat and the birds as he had done for decades.
Heartless isn't it? When you threaten to call the police on a former employee who's just feeding the stray animals he's always fed? Kind of reminds you of Jerry Gwaltney tearing down the Bluebird houses (illegally I might add). But then again, this is a company who printed the front page story about an alcoholic drink being a "REAL PANTY DROPPER." That's cutting edge news - courtesy of Steve Kaylor. Thanks Steve. What would Danville do without your brilliant news assessment? Perhaps if more reporters were actually sitting THROUGH city council meetings instead of hopping up to go take a picture of a wrecked car in a ditch because wrecks sell more papers - although city council meetings have more impact on the city....we MIGHT support the Danville Rag and Bitch.
Congratulations to Richard - too bad about the paper trail of lies and letters that BURIED the Register & Bee. It's so much easier to TELL THE TRUTH. It will come back to bite you guys....and the bite will be bigger in the EEOC suit....What will really be interesting is seeing if the attorney will choose to pursue FORMER R&B employees separately now that they don't work for the R&B. Will Richard go after them? It means they'll have to pony up legal expenses themselves. So, since this is largely about the PRINCIPLE of the way he was fired, lied about and cheated....Should he go after those who caused him so much head and heart ache?
This is a man who's fed the birds and cats around the Register & Bee for years - long before Media General owned the paper. Yet - Ann Austin threatened him for being in the parking lot feeding a stray cat and the birds as he had done for decades.
Heartless isn't it? When you threaten to call the police on a former employee who's just feeding the stray animals he's always fed? Kind of reminds you of Jerry Gwaltney tearing down the Bluebird houses (illegally I might add). But then again, this is a company who printed the front page story about an alcoholic drink being a "REAL PANTY DROPPER." That's cutting edge news - courtesy of Steve Kaylor. Thanks Steve. What would Danville do without your brilliant news assessment? Perhaps if more reporters were actually sitting THROUGH city council meetings instead of hopping up to go take a picture of a wrecked car in a ditch because wrecks sell more papers - although city council meetings have more impact on the city....we MIGHT support the Danville Rag and Bitch.
Bullying bills pass in more states!!!
Workplace Bullying Bills Pass NY & IL Houses
Bullying is so epidemic that more and more states are looking at the problem and opting to act on legislation to prevent it. The Illinois House of Representatives and New York State Assembly have passed bills calling attention to the problem of workplace bullying. In New York, A 2247 passed with a vote of 142-1 on May 6. In Illinois, HRJ 40 passed 114-0 on April 30. Both bills commission statewide studies of the problem.
In New York, A 2247 (Mark Schroeder, D-145) directed the Department of Labor to conduct a study of hostile workplace behavior and to make recommendations within a year. Comprehensive versions of the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) Healthy Workplace Bill (HWB), which would prevent abuse by employers, have been introduced in the Assembly (A 5414A) and Senate (S1823A).
In Illinois a $100,000 Task Force to study fiscal and employee health impact of bullying on private sector companies will be comprised of eight lawmakers with support from the Department of Human Services. Rep. Arthur Turner (D-9) was the sponsor of HJR 40 and the prime sponsor of a more comprehensive bill for public sector employers. HB 374, the WBI HWB, has not advanced in the House.
The positive House/Assembly votes send both study bills to the respective Senate chambers. This progress is encouraging for the anti-bullying legislative movement.
"We only began citizen lobbying in 2003," said WBI Director Gary Namie.
"The historical business lobby mantra of "no regulation" prevails in all legislatures. The economic meltdown and subsequent populist outrage may give lawmakers the push to do something for American workers."
In 2009, the WBI Legislative Campaign, the national network of State Coordinators, produced some version of the WBI HWB in 12 states. Since 2003, 16 states have introduced such legislation.
Namie states, "We are prepared for a long-term campaign because domestic violence, civil rights, women's rights, and schoolyard bullying were problems decades before lawmakers took action."
History of the WBI HWB is found at -- workplacebullyinglaw.org and healthyworkplacebill.org
Workplace Bullying Institute | Campaign Against Workplace Bullying | Workdoctor.com | (360) 656-6630
Bullying is so epidemic that more and more states are looking at the problem and opting to act on legislation to prevent it. The Illinois House of Representatives and New York State Assembly have passed bills calling attention to the problem of workplace bullying. In New York, A 2247 passed with a vote of 142-1 on May 6. In Illinois, HRJ 40 passed 114-0 on April 30. Both bills commission statewide studies of the problem.
In New York, A 2247 (Mark Schroeder, D-145) directed the Department of Labor to conduct a study of hostile workplace behavior and to make recommendations within a year. Comprehensive versions of the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) Healthy Workplace Bill (HWB), which would prevent abuse by employers, have been introduced in the Assembly (A 5414A) and Senate (S1823A).
In Illinois a $100,000 Task Force to study fiscal and employee health impact of bullying on private sector companies will be comprised of eight lawmakers with support from the Department of Human Services. Rep. Arthur Turner (D-9) was the sponsor of HJR 40 and the prime sponsor of a more comprehensive bill for public sector employers. HB 374, the WBI HWB, has not advanced in the House.
The positive House/Assembly votes send both study bills to the respective Senate chambers. This progress is encouraging for the anti-bullying legislative movement.
"We only began citizen lobbying in 2003," said WBI Director Gary Namie.
"The historical business lobby mantra of "no regulation" prevails in all legislatures. The economic meltdown and subsequent populist outrage may give lawmakers the push to do something for American workers."
In 2009, the WBI Legislative Campaign, the national network of State Coordinators, produced some version of the WBI HWB in 12 states. Since 2003, 16 states have introduced such legislation.
Namie states, "We are prepared for a long-term campaign because domestic violence, civil rights, women's rights, and schoolyard bullying were problems decades before lawmakers took action."
History of the WBI HWB is found at -- workplacebullyinglaw.org and healthyworkplacebill.org
Workplace Bullying Institute | Campaign Against Workplace Bullying | Workdoctor.com | (360) 656-6630
Friday, May 8, 2009
Military Muster on mall June 13, 2009
In the aftermath of hurricane Katrinia they disarmed American citizens. They locked American citizens into the Super Dome, blockaded the only bridge out of town and refused to allow victims (mostly black) to cross the bridge into a predominantly white neighborhood. They turned away truck loads of water, food and supplies. They simply obeyed orders most of them knew were wrong. And they didn't understand why.
Then, when President Obama recently announced that he thought veterans should have to pay for their own medical care, (while bailing out car companies and corrupt AIG, banks and others) and that both the military and the police would be expected to disarm Americans in a "national emergency," and that all military veterans were considered "potential terrorists" and a threat to America, and bills were introduced to forbid any veteran diagnosed with PTSD or brain damage (basically anyone returning from Iraq) to ever own a gun for life - including some veterans who are now police officers - this tribe of brothers rebelled.
They formed a new organization called "The Oath Keepers" and on June 13 of 2009 they will assemble in Washington, DC to protest. And THEIR brothers-in-arms - the standing U.S. Military, and police will be tasked with having to "control civil unrest." It will be band-of-brothers against band-of-brothers. One of the tightest, most loyal, fiercest and passionate tribes against their own protesting against their commander-in-chief - President Barack Obama.
Police and military are both waking up to the fact we STILL DO have a Constitution and they swore to defend it AND the Bill of rights when they swore their oath of office. Will they keep that oath? We'll see.
Then, when President Obama recently announced that he thought veterans should have to pay for their own medical care, (while bailing out car companies and corrupt AIG, banks and others) and that both the military and the police would be expected to disarm Americans in a "national emergency," and that all military veterans were considered "potential terrorists" and a threat to America, and bills were introduced to forbid any veteran diagnosed with PTSD or brain damage (basically anyone returning from Iraq) to ever own a gun for life - including some veterans who are now police officers - this tribe of brothers rebelled.
They formed a new organization called "The Oath Keepers" and on June 13 of 2009 they will assemble in Washington, DC to protest. And THEIR brothers-in-arms - the standing U.S. Military, and police will be tasked with having to "control civil unrest." It will be band-of-brothers against band-of-brothers. One of the tightest, most loyal, fiercest and passionate tribes against their own protesting against their commander-in-chief - President Barack Obama.
Police and military are both waking up to the fact we STILL DO have a Constitution and they swore to defend it AND the Bill of rights when they swore their oath of office. Will they keep that oath? We'll see.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Bye Bye Civil Rights.....in North Carolina and????
In Oxford, NC 16-year old Ashton Lundby is being held under the Patriot Act - accused of terrorism. Yet other than WRAL, no media, and certainly no national media will touch this story. Why? You read it and tell me.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
DUH - breaking news from ABC news...
Breaking News from ABCNEWS.com:
Schools No Longer Need to Close Because of Swine Flu, Says CDC [1:55 p.m. ET]
DUH. Didn't I tell you all that this was bogus? Swine flu pandemic? Huh. The drug companies WISH!!!!
Okay....you can get on with your lives now. The government has successfully probed the American public to find out what our reaction to a "PANDEMIC" would be and is now prepared for when they decide to use their chemtrail technology.
But wait - there's more. This from the Health Sciences Institute:
Don’t Panic: 7 FACTS About ‘Swine Flu’
With all the sensationalized news about the so-called swine flu flying around, I figured we’d better set all the facts straight.
1. So far, only 82 cases of so-called swine flu have been definitively identified worldwide, mostly in Mexico (26 confirmed, 7 deaths) and the U.S.(with 40 confirmed, no deaths). (Though about 1600 suspected cases, including 159 deaths, are reported in Mexico.) That does not add up to a pandemic swine flu outbreak.
2. This virus has nothing to do with swine. In fact, it hasn’t been seen in a single animal. And you can’t possibly get it from eating pork.
3. No existing vaccines can prevent this new flu strain. So no matter what you hear - even if it comes from your doctor - don’t get a regular flu shot. They rarely work against seasonal flu…and certainly can’t offer protection from a never-before- seen strain.
4. Speaking of this strain, it doesn’t seem to have come on naturally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this particular strain has never before been seen in pigs or people. And according to Reuters, the strain is a ‘genetic mix’ of swine, avian and human flu. Was it created in a lab? We don’t know yet.
5. The drug companies are getting excited…and that’s never a good thing. According to the Associated Press at least one financial analyst estimates up to $388 million worth of Tamiflu sales in the near future - and that’s without a pandemic outbreak.
6. Let’s not forget that Tamiflu comes with its own problems, including side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, fatigue, cough…the very symptoms you’re trying to avoid. And let’s not forget that Japan banned this drug for children back in 2007, after links to suicidal behavior.
7. Vaccines for this flu strain probably won’t have to jump through all those annoying hurdles like clinical trials for safety and effectiveness. That won’t, however, stop the government from mandating the vaccine for all of us - a very likely scenario. And if the vaccines are actually harmful…killing people, for example…the vaccine makers will be immune from lawsuits.
Your best defense - your only real defense in any flu season - is a bulletproof immune system. You can learn about the best ways to strengthen yourself in the HSI archives.
Schools No Longer Need to Close Because of Swine Flu, Says CDC [1:55 p.m. ET]
DUH. Didn't I tell you all that this was bogus? Swine flu pandemic? Huh. The drug companies WISH!!!!
Okay....you can get on with your lives now. The government has successfully probed the American public to find out what our reaction to a "PANDEMIC" would be and is now prepared for when they decide to use their chemtrail technology.
But wait - there's more. This from the Health Sciences Institute:
Don’t Panic: 7 FACTS About ‘Swine Flu’
With all the sensationalized news about the so-called swine flu flying around, I figured we’d better set all the facts straight.
1. So far, only 82 cases of so-called swine flu have been definitively identified worldwide, mostly in Mexico (26 confirmed, 7 deaths) and the U.S.(with 40 confirmed, no deaths). (Though about 1600 suspected cases, including 159 deaths, are reported in Mexico.) That does not add up to a pandemic swine flu outbreak.
2. This virus has nothing to do with swine. In fact, it hasn’t been seen in a single animal. And you can’t possibly get it from eating pork.
3. No existing vaccines can prevent this new flu strain. So no matter what you hear - even if it comes from your doctor - don’t get a regular flu shot. They rarely work against seasonal flu…and certainly can’t offer protection from a never-before- seen strain.
4. Speaking of this strain, it doesn’t seem to have come on naturally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this particular strain has never before been seen in pigs or people. And according to Reuters, the strain is a ‘genetic mix’ of swine, avian and human flu. Was it created in a lab? We don’t know yet.
5. The drug companies are getting excited…and that’s never a good thing. According to the Associated Press at least one financial analyst estimates up to $388 million worth of Tamiflu sales in the near future - and that’s without a pandemic outbreak.
6. Let’s not forget that Tamiflu comes with its own problems, including side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, fatigue, cough…the very symptoms you’re trying to avoid. And let’s not forget that Japan banned this drug for children back in 2007, after links to suicidal behavior.
7. Vaccines for this flu strain probably won’t have to jump through all those annoying hurdles like clinical trials for safety and effectiveness. That won’t, however, stop the government from mandating the vaccine for all of us - a very likely scenario. And if the vaccines are actually harmful…killing people, for example…the vaccine makers will be immune from lawsuits.
Your best defense - your only real defense in any flu season - is a bulletproof immune system. You can learn about the best ways to strengthen yourself in the HSI archives.
Gee - notice the swine flu hysteria dying down?
Gee - notice the swine flu hysteria is dying down now? Yeah - the media will milk it for a while longer then be on to some other hysteria to sell their papers. But consider this - it was a probe - a test - a way to see how people react in the face of a "possible pandemic."
But know what? The drug companies are itching to get out and do more - like sell large scale vaccines. But consider this - Bayer, the "trusted name" in medicine right? Think about a company who, when "finding out" that their drug was infected with the HIV/AIDS virus that was killing American - dumped the drug into other countries so they wouldn't lose money. Sure it cost lives!!! But no one here in America was ever prosecuted.
Remember - these are the people who will be giving the vaccines IF there is ever any kind of pandemic. And the U.S. Congress has passed legislation saying "in the event of a pandemic a need arises for emergency vaccines, that even if the vaccines kill, maim, destroy or cause birth defects in those who are FORCED or volunteer to get the vaccine - that the drug company CAN NOT BE HELD LIABLE." Sure you want to get that vaccination or drug now?
Watch this:
In 2006 Bayer Sold an AIDS-Infected Drug Banned in U.S. in Europe, Asia - Unearthed documents show that the drug company Bayer sold millions of dollars worth of an injectable blood-clotting medicine -- Factor VIII concentrate, intended for hemophiliacs -- to Asian, Latin American, and some European countries in the mid-1980s, although they knew that it was tainted with AIDS. Bayer knew about the fact that the drug was tainted and told the FDA to keep things under wraps while they made a profit off of a drug that infected its patients. If these allegations are true, then both Bayer and the FDA are at fault for this catastrophe. FDA regulators helped to keep the continued sales hidden, asking the company that the problem be ''quietly solved without alerting the Congress, the medical community and the public,'' according to the minutes of a 1985 meeting.
But know what? The drug companies are itching to get out and do more - like sell large scale vaccines. But consider this - Bayer, the "trusted name" in medicine right? Think about a company who, when "finding out" that their drug was infected with the HIV/AIDS virus that was killing American - dumped the drug into other countries so they wouldn't lose money. Sure it cost lives!!! But no one here in America was ever prosecuted.
Remember - these are the people who will be giving the vaccines IF there is ever any kind of pandemic. And the U.S. Congress has passed legislation saying "in the event of a pandemic a need arises for emergency vaccines, that even if the vaccines kill, maim, destroy or cause birth defects in those who are FORCED or volunteer to get the vaccine - that the drug company CAN NOT BE HELD LIABLE." Sure you want to get that vaccination or drug now?
Watch this:
In 2006 Bayer Sold an AIDS-Infected Drug Banned in U.S. in Europe, Asia - Unearthed documents show that the drug company Bayer sold millions of dollars worth of an injectable blood-clotting medicine -- Factor VIII concentrate, intended for hemophiliacs -- to Asian, Latin American, and some European countries in the mid-1980s, although they knew that it was tainted with AIDS. Bayer knew about the fact that the drug was tainted and told the FDA to keep things under wraps while they made a profit off of a drug that infected its patients. If these allegations are true, then both Bayer and the FDA are at fault for this catastrophe. FDA regulators helped to keep the continued sales hidden, asking the company that the problem be ''quietly solved without alerting the Congress, the medical community and the public,'' according to the minutes of a 1985 meeting.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Pharmacies taking your children??
Depression is a real situation. But it's not as common as the medical community would have us believe. If your child IS put on anti-depressives or other drugs - make sure you get several opinions from DIFFERENT doctors in DIFFERENT TOWNS who don't know each other.
And - find a good attorney because if your child reacts as SOME do - ie. shooting up a high school or college, you're in trouble. If you try to get them off the drugs you can also be in trouble - and even LOSE them as these people did. Extreme cases? No. Common? Not yet - but once the bill to make mental health screening MANDATORY - your happy, well-adjusted, moody but normal kid COULD become a zombie, a shooter or a victim of suicide or worse. Do you really want your children going into a psychiatrist's office - getting a mental health assessment - most likely from a new doctor or medical intern because no one else will work for that kind of pay - and that diagnosis - right or wrong, will follow your child FOR LIFE! Do you want that? It can potentially keep them out of the military, or med school or police work, or any kind of job because some over-worked, undertrained, undereducated mental health or social worker THOUGHT they were ADD or depressed. Scary isn't it? So contact your congressman and tell him you DON'T want mandatory mental health screening for your child.
Why is this happening? Who benefits? Why the big pharmaceutical companies of course! The more mental illnesses they can come up with, "diagnose" and "treat" the more money they make! And guess who pays the bill? YOU DO!! Here are two YouTube Videos. Watch others and hear and see the heartbreak out-of-control psychiatrists and social workers are causing!!
And - find a good attorney because if your child reacts as SOME do - ie. shooting up a high school or college, you're in trouble. If you try to get them off the drugs you can also be in trouble - and even LOSE them as these people did. Extreme cases? No. Common? Not yet - but once the bill to make mental health screening MANDATORY - your happy, well-adjusted, moody but normal kid COULD become a zombie, a shooter or a victim of suicide or worse. Do you really want your children going into a psychiatrist's office - getting a mental health assessment - most likely from a new doctor or medical intern because no one else will work for that kind of pay - and that diagnosis - right or wrong, will follow your child FOR LIFE! Do you want that? It can potentially keep them out of the military, or med school or police work, or any kind of job because some over-worked, undertrained, undereducated mental health or social worker THOUGHT they were ADD or depressed. Scary isn't it? So contact your congressman and tell him you DON'T want mandatory mental health screening for your child.
Why is this happening? Who benefits? Why the big pharmaceutical companies of course! The more mental illnesses they can come up with, "diagnose" and "treat" the more money they make! And guess who pays the bill? YOU DO!! Here are two YouTube Videos. Watch others and hear and see the heartbreak out-of-control psychiatrists and social workers are causing!!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Government wants to FORCE mental health screen on children
The media keeps reporting on the possession of guns among those people who shoot up schools and malls. They write thousands of stories about how critical it is that we take away guns - that guns are dangerous - yet they NEVER talk about the fact that 9 out of 10 shooters were also on anti-psychotic drugs for depression or anxiety. They never call for the banning of drugs. As a matter of fact, the media has also refused to educate and inform America that there are very real and current efforts to REQUIRE ALL CHILDREN from BIRTH up to get MANDATORY mental health testing. The government wants to force you to take your toddler in for mental health screening so they can put them on drugs! Gee, does a first grader really need to be on anti-psychotics? No. Congressman Ron Paul gave this speech Thursday:
Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Parental Consent Act. This bill forbids Federal funds from being used for any universal or mandatory mental-health screening of students without the express, written, voluntary, informed consent of their parents or legal guardians. This bill protects the fundamental right of parents to direct and control the upbringing and education of their children.
The New Freedom Commission on Mental Health has recommended that the federal and state governments work toward the implementation of a comprehensive system of mental-health screening for all Americans. The commission recommends that universal or mandatory mental-health screening first be implemented in public schools as a prelude to expanding it to the general public. However, neither the commission's report nor any related mental-health screening proposal requires parental consent before a child is subjected to mental-health screening. Federally-funded universal or mandatory mental-health screening in schools without parental consent could lead to labeling more children as "ADD" or "hyperactive" and thus force more children to take psychotropic drugs, such as Ritalin, against their parents' wishes.
Already, too many children are suffering from being prescribed psychotropic drugs for nothing more than children's typical rambunctious behavior. According to Medco Health Solutions, more than 2.2 million children are receiving more than one psychotropic drug at one time. In fact, according to Medico Trends, in 2003, total spending on psychiatric drugs for children exceeded spending on antibiotics or asthma medication.
Many children have suffered harmful side effects from using psychotropic drugs. Some of the possible side effects include mania, violence, dependence, and weight gain. Yet, parents are already being threatened with child abuse charges if they resist efforts to drug their children. Imagine how much easier it will be to drug children against their parents' wishes if a federally-funded mental-health screener makes the recommendation.
Universal or mandatory mental-health screening could also provide a justification for stigmatizing children from families that support traditional values. Even the authors of mental-health diagnosis manuals admit that mental-health diagnoses are subjective and based on social constructions. Therefore, it is all too easy for a psychiatrist to label a person's disagreement with the psychiatrist's political beliefs a mental disorder. For example, a federally-funded school violence prevention program lists "intolerance" as a mental problem that may lead to school violence. Because "intolerance" is often a code word for believing in traditional values, children who share their parents' values could be labeled as having mental problems and a risk of causing violence. If the mandatory mental-health screening program applies to adults, everyone who believes in traditional values could have his or her beliefs stigmatized as a sign of a mental disorder. Taxpayer dollars should not support programs that may label those who adhere to traditional values as having a "mental disorder."
Madam Speaker, universal or mandatory mental-health screening threatens to undermine parents' right to raise their children as the parents see fit. Forced mental-health screening could also endanger the health of children by leading to more children being improperly placed on psychotropic drugs, such as Ritalin, or stigmatized as "mentally ill" or a risk of causing violence because they adhere to traditional values. Congress has a responsibility to the nation's parents and children to stop this from happening. I, therefore, urge my colleagues to cosponsor the Parental Consent Act.
Don't get scammed by these folks!!
Seth Godin is pissed, and with good reason. There's a company out there scamming small businesses - and YOU could be at risk. Read this post from Seth today and click on the links to read more:
The banal brazenness of telescammers
I got a call a few weeks ago from a telemarketer at Premier Impressions. (Her number is 800-778-6304). She told me she was selling ads for a free directory being published by my local library. Actually, first she said she was calling from "Westchester County," but when pressed, said she was working with the County, and then when pressed further, acknowledged that she was working with the local library. I was Googling and taking notes the whole time. I told her I was concerned about her approach, and that I was going to write a story about what she was doing. I even read to her from a website complaining about stuff like this her firm had done in the past.
Well, I know the folks at the local library and asked who she was working with. She told me the head of the library's name (!) and I said I'd check with her and call back. The telemarketer insisted on giving me her full name and number so that after I checked, I could call her back and do business.
You've already guessed this: My library had never heard of these guys. But plenty of other organizations have. I called the company for comment, was transferred to their parent company and they refused to comment.
I'm just astonished by this organization. Astonished that the telemarketer would be willing to do this all day--defrauding small businesses in the name of a local charity or institution. Astonished that a company in the US can do this for years and years without someone shutting them down. Most of all, amazed at how trivial the whole thing is. Drip, drip, drip it apparently ends up with enough money on the table for people to sacrifice their ethics.
************
Moral? Be VERY careful about ANY telephone pitch from anyone, but especially careful about these guys. Matter of fact? Just hang up on them.
The banal brazenness of telescammers
I got a call a few weeks ago from a telemarketer at Premier Impressions. (Her number is 800-778-6304). She told me she was selling ads for a free directory being published by my local library. Actually, first she said she was calling from "Westchester County," but when pressed, said she was working with the County, and then when pressed further, acknowledged that she was working with the local library. I was Googling and taking notes the whole time. I told her I was concerned about her approach, and that I was going to write a story about what she was doing. I even read to her from a website complaining about stuff like this her firm had done in the past.
Well, I know the folks at the local library and asked who she was working with. She told me the head of the library's name (!) and I said I'd check with her and call back. The telemarketer insisted on giving me her full name and number so that after I checked, I could call her back and do business.
You've already guessed this: My library had never heard of these guys. But plenty of other organizations have. I called the company for comment, was transferred to their parent company and they refused to comment.
I'm just astonished by this organization. Astonished that the telemarketer would be willing to do this all day--defrauding small businesses in the name of a local charity or institution. Astonished that a company in the US can do this for years and years without someone shutting them down. Most of all, amazed at how trivial the whole thing is. Drip, drip, drip it apparently ends up with enough money on the table for people to sacrifice their ethics.
************
Moral? Be VERY careful about ANY telephone pitch from anyone, but especially careful about these guys. Matter of fact? Just hang up on them.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Consider this -
Of the 149-150 deaths in Mexico that the MEDIA is saying are related to Swine Flu ONLY 20 have been CONFIRMED (through lab tests) to be from Swine Flu. Of the 129 to 130 OTHER cases NOT caused by Swine Flu - the deaths are believed to be from pneumonia!!! OR "OTHER VIRAL ILLNESSES." Huh? So WHY isn't the world all freaked out over the 129-130 PNEUMONIA OR OTHER VIRAL illnesses....but is spazing over 20 Swine Flu deaths? Seems to me that there's something MORE dangerous if it's killing 129-130 people and all they know is "it's viral but it's NOT swine flu."
GET A GRIP PEOPLE. 36,000 people a year EVERY YEAR die from the flu. The flu is a serious illness. It kills. Swine flu IS JUST another version of the flu. PERIOD. Get a grip!! Take the precautions you would normally take and get on with your lives. Most of the people lining up at hospitals and several of those who have died have died from things other than swine flu. One died from tuberculosis!! MUCH more dangerous than the flu and more contagious. This is the media's attempt to stir up newspaper sales.
HIV/AIDS is a pandemic. It kills and infects MILLIONS every year. How come we don't hear more about that? Cancer is about to surpass heart attacks as the number one killer. How come we don't hear more about that? Malaria is a world wide epidemic - killing thousands of people a week and a simple $10 mosquito net would save those lives yet we don't hear about that!! Why not? Because nothing gets people more stirred up and panicked than "a pandemic"!!!!
Seriously. Get over it and LOOK at the numbers. Actually LOOK at the facts. We're all NOT going to die from swine flu.
GET A GRIP PEOPLE. 36,000 people a year EVERY YEAR die from the flu. The flu is a serious illness. It kills. Swine flu IS JUST another version of the flu. PERIOD. Get a grip!! Take the precautions you would normally take and get on with your lives. Most of the people lining up at hospitals and several of those who have died have died from things other than swine flu. One died from tuberculosis!! MUCH more dangerous than the flu and more contagious. This is the media's attempt to stir up newspaper sales.
HIV/AIDS is a pandemic. It kills and infects MILLIONS every year. How come we don't hear more about that? Cancer is about to surpass heart attacks as the number one killer. How come we don't hear more about that? Malaria is a world wide epidemic - killing thousands of people a week and a simple $10 mosquito net would save those lives yet we don't hear about that!! Why not? Because nothing gets people more stirred up and panicked than "a pandemic"!!!!
Seriously. Get over it and LOOK at the numbers. Actually LOOK at the facts. We're all NOT going to die from swine flu.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Flu vaccines contaminated with LIVE Virus
You won't see the story in any local media, but according to Canadian and Czech papers, the Swine Flu vaccines distributed to millions of people in 18 countries were contaminated with the live Swine Flu virus!!
It's NOT the first time American Drug Companies have done this. Bayer Corporation - yes, the company that makes Bayer Aspirin, found out they had a product contaminated with HIV and they sold it anyway - to another country!!! See the video here:
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Czech newspapers are questioning if the shocking discovery of vaccines contaminated with the deadly avian flu virus which were distributed to 18 countries by the American company Baxter were part of a conspiracy to provoke a pandemic.
The claim holds weight because, according to the very laboratory protocols that are routine for vaccine makers, mixing a live virus biological weapon with vaccine material by accident is virtually impossible.
“The company that released contaminated flu virus material from a plant in Austria confirmed Friday that the experimental product contained live H5N1 avian flu viruses,” reports the Canadian Press.
Baxter flu vaccines contaminated with H5N1 - otherwise known as the human form of avian flu, one of the most deadly biological weapons on earth with a 60% kill rate - were received by labs in the Czech Republic, Germany, and Slovenia.
Initially, Baxter attempted to stonewall questions by invoking “trade secrets” and refused to reveal how the vaccines were contaminated with H5N1. After increased pressure they then claimed that pure H5N1 batches were sent by accident. This was seemingly an attempt to quickly change the story and hide the fact that the accidental contamination of a vaccine with a deadly biological agent like avian flu is virtually impossible and the only way it could have happened was by wilful gross criminal negligence.
According to a compiled translation from Czech newspaper stories, the media over there is asking tough questions about whether the contamination was part of a deliberate attempt to start a pandemic.
“Was this just a criminal negligence or it was an attempt to provoke pandemia using vaccination against flu to spread the disease - as happened with the anti-B hepatitis vaccination with vaccines containing the HIV virus in US? - and then cash for the vaccines against H5N1 which Baxter develops? How could on Earth a virus as H5N1 come to the ordinary flu vaccines? Don’t they follow even basic precautions in the american pharma companies?” states the translation.
The fact that Baxter mixed the deadly H5N1 virus with a mix of H3N2 seasonal flu viruses is the smoking gun. The H5N1 virus on its own has killed hundreds of people, but it is less airborne and more restricted in the ease with which it can spread. However, when combined with seasonal flu viruses, which as everyone knows are super-airborne and easily spread, the effect is a potent, super-airbone, super deadly biological weapon.
As the Canadian Press article explains, “While H5N1 doesn’t easily infect people, H3N2 viruses do. If someone exposed to a mixture of the two had been simultaneously infected with both strains, he or she could have served as an incubator for a hybrid virus able to transmit easily to and among people.”
There can be little doubt therefore that this was a deliberate attempt to weaponize the H5N1 virus to its most potent extreme and distribute it via conventional flu vaccines to the population who would then infect others to a devastating degree as the disease went airborne.
The Canadian Press article states, “That mixing process, called reassortment, is one of two ways pandemic viruses are created,” but then claims that there is no evidence that this is what Baxter were doing, despite there being no clear explanation as to why Baxter has samples of the live avian flu virus on its premises in the first place.
However, to reiterate, the key aspect of this story is that it is virtually impossible for live avian flu virus to find its way into a vaccine by “accident”.
As health expert Mike Adams points out, “The shocking answer is that this couldn’t have been an accident. Why? Because Baxter International adheres to something called BSL3 (Biosafety Level 3) - a set of laboratory safety protocols that prevent the cross-contamination of materials.”
As explained on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosaf…):
“Laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic and potentially lethal agents, and are supervised by competent scientists who are experienced in working with these agents. This is considered a neutral or warm zone. All procedures involving the manipulation of infectious materials are conducted within biological safety cabinets or other physical containment devices, or by personnel wearing appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment. The laboratory has special engineering and design features.”
Under the BSL3 code of conduct, it is impossible for live avian flu viruses to contaminate production vaccine materials that are shipped out to vendors around the world.
This leaves only two possibilities that explain these events:
Possibility #1: Baxter isn’t following BSL3 safety guidelines or is so sloppy in following them that it can make monumental mistakes that threaten the safety of the entire human race. And if that’s the case, then why are we injecting our children with vaccines made from Baxter’s materials?
Possibility #2: A rogue employee (or an evil plot from the top management) is present at Baxter, whereby live avian flu viruses were intentionally placed into the vaccine materials in the hope that such materials might be injected into humans and set off a global bird flu pandemic.
Spreading bird flu would create an instantaneous surge of demand for bird flu vaccines. The profits that vaccine companies such as Baxter International could reap out of such a panic are astronomical.
In addition, as we have previously reported, those that have a stake in the Tamiflu vaccine include top globalists and BIlderberg members like George Shultz, Lodewijk J.R. de Vink and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Authorities in both Europe and the U.S. have openly detailed plans for martial law, quarantine and internment should a bird flu pandemic occur.
The other motivation, as we have exhaustively documented on this website for years, is the fact that elites throughout history have openly stated that they want to see a world population reduction of around 80 per cent. Shocking stories like this take the plausibility of that narrative out of the realms of conspiracy theory and into the dangerous reality of conspiracy fact.
“Baxter is acting a whole lot like a biological terrorism organization these days, sending deadly viral samples around the world. If you mail an envelope full of anthrax to your Senator, you get arrested as a terrorist. So why is Baxter — which mailed samples of a far more deadly viral strain to labs around the world — getting away with saying, essentially, “Oops?”, Adams concludes.
This is not the first time that vaccine companies have been caught distributing vaccines contaminated with deadly viruses.
In 2006 it was revealed that Bayer Corporation had discovered that their injection drug, which was used by hemophiliacs, was contaminated with the HIV virus. Internal documents prove that after they positively knew that the drug was contaminated, they took it off the U.S. market only to dump it on the European, Asian and Latin American markets, knowingly exposing thousands, most of them children, to the live HIV virus. Government officials in France went to prison for allowing the drug to be distributed. The documents show that the FDA colluded with Bayer to cover-up the scandal and allowed the deadly drug to be distributed globally. No Bayer executives ever faced arrest or prosecution in the United States.
Wait. It gets worse:
Flu Mist, a popular over the counter live flu vaccine has been found to contain two H5N1 DNA markers, these markers seem to have been sewn into the flu mist vaccine to ensure that H5N1 or another strain of Avian Flu goes pandemic.
This is going to cause major problems before long, it is imperative that people are warned about Flu mist.
It's NOT the first time American Drug Companies have done this. Bayer Corporation - yes, the company that makes Bayer Aspirin, found out they had a product contaminated with HIV and they sold it anyway - to another country!!! See the video here:
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Czech newspapers are questioning if the shocking discovery of vaccines contaminated with the deadly avian flu virus which were distributed to 18 countries by the American company Baxter were part of a conspiracy to provoke a pandemic.
The claim holds weight because, according to the very laboratory protocols that are routine for vaccine makers, mixing a live virus biological weapon with vaccine material by accident is virtually impossible.
“The company that released contaminated flu virus material from a plant in Austria confirmed Friday that the experimental product contained live H5N1 avian flu viruses,” reports the Canadian Press.
Baxter flu vaccines contaminated with H5N1 - otherwise known as the human form of avian flu, one of the most deadly biological weapons on earth with a 60% kill rate - were received by labs in the Czech Republic, Germany, and Slovenia.
Initially, Baxter attempted to stonewall questions by invoking “trade secrets” and refused to reveal how the vaccines were contaminated with H5N1. After increased pressure they then claimed that pure H5N1 batches were sent by accident. This was seemingly an attempt to quickly change the story and hide the fact that the accidental contamination of a vaccine with a deadly biological agent like avian flu is virtually impossible and the only way it could have happened was by wilful gross criminal negligence.
According to a compiled translation from Czech newspaper stories, the media over there is asking tough questions about whether the contamination was part of a deliberate attempt to start a pandemic.
“Was this just a criminal negligence or it was an attempt to provoke pandemia using vaccination against flu to spread the disease - as happened with the anti-B hepatitis vaccination with vaccines containing the HIV virus in US? - and then cash for the vaccines against H5N1 which Baxter develops? How could on Earth a virus as H5N1 come to the ordinary flu vaccines? Don’t they follow even basic precautions in the american pharma companies?” states the translation.
The fact that Baxter mixed the deadly H5N1 virus with a mix of H3N2 seasonal flu viruses is the smoking gun. The H5N1 virus on its own has killed hundreds of people, but it is less airborne and more restricted in the ease with which it can spread. However, when combined with seasonal flu viruses, which as everyone knows are super-airborne and easily spread, the effect is a potent, super-airbone, super deadly biological weapon.
As the Canadian Press article explains, “While H5N1 doesn’t easily infect people, H3N2 viruses do. If someone exposed to a mixture of the two had been simultaneously infected with both strains, he or she could have served as an incubator for a hybrid virus able to transmit easily to and among people.”
There can be little doubt therefore that this was a deliberate attempt to weaponize the H5N1 virus to its most potent extreme and distribute it via conventional flu vaccines to the population who would then infect others to a devastating degree as the disease went airborne.
The Canadian Press article states, “That mixing process, called reassortment, is one of two ways pandemic viruses are created,” but then claims that there is no evidence that this is what Baxter were doing, despite there being no clear explanation as to why Baxter has samples of the live avian flu virus on its premises in the first place.
However, to reiterate, the key aspect of this story is that it is virtually impossible for live avian flu virus to find its way into a vaccine by “accident”.
As health expert Mike Adams points out, “The shocking answer is that this couldn’t have been an accident. Why? Because Baxter International adheres to something called BSL3 (Biosafety Level 3) - a set of laboratory safety protocols that prevent the cross-contamination of materials.”
As explained on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosaf…):
“Laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic and potentially lethal agents, and are supervised by competent scientists who are experienced in working with these agents. This is considered a neutral or warm zone. All procedures involving the manipulation of infectious materials are conducted within biological safety cabinets or other physical containment devices, or by personnel wearing appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment. The laboratory has special engineering and design features.”
Under the BSL3 code of conduct, it is impossible for live avian flu viruses to contaminate production vaccine materials that are shipped out to vendors around the world.
This leaves only two possibilities that explain these events:
Possibility #1: Baxter isn’t following BSL3 safety guidelines or is so sloppy in following them that it can make monumental mistakes that threaten the safety of the entire human race. And if that’s the case, then why are we injecting our children with vaccines made from Baxter’s materials?
Possibility #2: A rogue employee (or an evil plot from the top management) is present at Baxter, whereby live avian flu viruses were intentionally placed into the vaccine materials in the hope that such materials might be injected into humans and set off a global bird flu pandemic.
Spreading bird flu would create an instantaneous surge of demand for bird flu vaccines. The profits that vaccine companies such as Baxter International could reap out of such a panic are astronomical.
In addition, as we have previously reported, those that have a stake in the Tamiflu vaccine include top globalists and BIlderberg members like George Shultz, Lodewijk J.R. de Vink and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Authorities in both Europe and the U.S. have openly detailed plans for martial law, quarantine and internment should a bird flu pandemic occur.
The other motivation, as we have exhaustively documented on this website for years, is the fact that elites throughout history have openly stated that they want to see a world population reduction of around 80 per cent. Shocking stories like this take the plausibility of that narrative out of the realms of conspiracy theory and into the dangerous reality of conspiracy fact.
“Baxter is acting a whole lot like a biological terrorism organization these days, sending deadly viral samples around the world. If you mail an envelope full of anthrax to your Senator, you get arrested as a terrorist. So why is Baxter — which mailed samples of a far more deadly viral strain to labs around the world — getting away with saying, essentially, “Oops?”, Adams concludes.
This is not the first time that vaccine companies have been caught distributing vaccines contaminated with deadly viruses.
In 2006 it was revealed that Bayer Corporation had discovered that their injection drug, which was used by hemophiliacs, was contaminated with the HIV virus. Internal documents prove that after they positively knew that the drug was contaminated, they took it off the U.S. market only to dump it on the European, Asian and Latin American markets, knowingly exposing thousands, most of them children, to the live HIV virus. Government officials in France went to prison for allowing the drug to be distributed. The documents show that the FDA colluded with Bayer to cover-up the scandal and allowed the deadly drug to be distributed globally. No Bayer executives ever faced arrest or prosecution in the United States.
Wait. It gets worse:
Flu Mist, a popular over the counter live flu vaccine has been found to contain two H5N1 DNA markers, these markers seem to have been sewn into the flu mist vaccine to ensure that H5N1 or another strain of Avian Flu goes pandemic.
This is going to cause major problems before long, it is imperative that people are warned about Flu mist.
The truth about the Swine Flu
Ah....the truth. Another orchestrated swine flu outbreak by our government. How convenient.
Gee, is Donald Rumsfeld making money on this flu outbreak? You bet he is. See Snopes for the background: http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/tamiflu.asp.
But wait!! There's more! What about the article in Salon?. They have the guts to point out all the problems the last time the government tried to pull the wool over our eyes on this.
Don't forget - more than 25 Americans died of the vaccine for swine flu in 1976 and only one died from the swine flu....so says Congressman and physician Ron Paul.
Google the names of anyone in the Bush administration, Haliburton or any politician and the name Tamiflu or Gilead and see how many stories there are. They didn't mind killing Americans in the World Trade Center in 2001, they sure won't blink at killing millions world wide. Ask the families of the 20,000 men and women who died from the forced anthrax vaccine. Less than a half a dozen people died from anthrax.
Gee, is Donald Rumsfeld making money on this flu outbreak? You bet he is. See Snopes for the background: http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/tamiflu.asp.
But wait!! There's more! What about the article in Salon?. They have the guts to point out all the problems the last time the government tried to pull the wool over our eyes on this.
Don't forget - more than 25 Americans died of the vaccine for swine flu in 1976 and only one died from the swine flu....so says Congressman and physician Ron Paul.
Google the names of anyone in the Bush administration, Haliburton or any politician and the name Tamiflu or Gilead and see how many stories there are. They didn't mind killing Americans in the World Trade Center in 2001, they sure won't blink at killing millions world wide. Ask the families of the 20,000 men and women who died from the forced anthrax vaccine. Less than a half a dozen people died from anthrax.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Swine flu panic is STUPID and BOGUS....
Congressman Ron Paul talked about getting a handle on Swine flu. He's right. The media is doing its usual panic and freak out coverage on the government's attempt to divert our attention away from other stuff. Odd that this swine flu thing happened as the military had a 747 and two fighter jets fly over Manhattan today isn't it? Anyway, it's DR. Ron Paul - he's not only a congressman, but a medical doctor - actually a fight surgeon for the military at one time. Watch this and quit yer freaking over the media's hype about swine flu. As Ron Paul said - the last time this happened ONE PERSON died from the flu - MORE THAN TWENTY-FIVE PEOPLE DIED FROM THE VACCINE!! Expect the Register and Bee to get their panties in a wad and talk to doctors around town about the SERIOUSNESS of it, but don't expect a commonsense approach like Ron Paul has. THAT won't sell newspapers.
Monday, April 20, 2009
No Rugby coverage?
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Tradition means players "bare all" and run the field naked as they did in Danville this weekend. Photos courtesy of Richard Davis, FORMER Register & Bee photographer
DANVILLE - Over 600 MBA students from around the world gathered in Durham, NC and in Angler's Park, Danville,Va. for the 29th annual MBA Rugby World Championship this past weekend. Teams from as far away as Sydney,Australia (AGSM) and Fontainebleau,France(INSEAD) were in town for this years tournament. As part of the tradition, those who score the first goal have to run the field naked ... too bad for Media General reporters, the tradition doesn't apply to the women's teams.
The annual wine festival and several other events took place around the city - but the newspaper was filled with Associated Press accounts of anything but Danville news. Apparently Steve Kaylor, who claims to have been a reporter at one time, isn't able to spend time pitching in to help cover the news front until the paper can bring in another reporter or two...although I understand with half of the reporters on forced, unpaid furlough - only Robert Benson, the editor, and Charles, the assistant editor - not ever a reporter - had to cover all of Danville.
Another Lay-off scheduled
Apparently the blood-letting isn't entirely over. Look for the Register and Bee to cut services even more this week or next when they reduce the front desk hours.
Major newspapers around the country are folding. It's just a matter of time until Media General follows suit. The question most folks have is why cut 30 little people - the ones who actually DO THE WORK, instead of cutting the $200,000 and $300,000 salaries of the big dogs in Richmond who weren't tech and media savvy enough to figure out how to make papers make money without advertising? By 2012 there will not be a major newspaper printed on paper.
The newspaper industry as we know it will have ceased to exist. The internet is changing the world we live in and the way we do business. When is Media General going to get on board and quit longing for the good old glory days? Answer? Never. They didn't even know enough to apologize to the women of Danville OR THE WOMAN their reporter filmed.....it's too late in the game for them to do anything but sit back and wait for the final axe.
Major newspapers around the country are folding. It's just a matter of time until Media General follows suit. The question most folks have is why cut 30 little people - the ones who actually DO THE WORK, instead of cutting the $200,000 and $300,000 salaries of the big dogs in Richmond who weren't tech and media savvy enough to figure out how to make papers make money without advertising? By 2012 there will not be a major newspaper printed on paper.
The newspaper industry as we know it will have ceased to exist. The internet is changing the world we live in and the way we do business. When is Media General going to get on board and quit longing for the good old glory days? Answer? Never. They didn't even know enough to apologize to the women of Danville OR THE WOMAN their reporter filmed.....it's too late in the game for them to do anything but sit back and wait for the final axe.
Losing Money
Media General Inc is still losing money. The company reported a huge net loss on Friday - an 18 percent drop in revenue. Reason? Falling newspaper advertising sales. The fall sent shares down 12 percent.
The publisher of newspapers such as the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Tampa Tribune said its first-quarter net loss was $21.3 million, or 96 cents a share, compared with a loss of $20.3 million, or 92 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 18 percent to $159.5 million.
Publishing revenue fell on a 25 percent drop in ad revenue.
Excluding employee severance costs, Media General's loss would have been 77 cents a share. Few analysts offered estimates on the company, making an average expectation difficult to project.
Media General cut 300 jobs and suspended its dividends and has said it would freeze its pension plan, effective May 31.
Shares fell 35 cents to $2.62.
The publisher of newspapers such as the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Tampa Tribune said its first-quarter net loss was $21.3 million, or 96 cents a share, compared with a loss of $20.3 million, or 92 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 18 percent to $159.5 million.
Publishing revenue fell on a 25 percent drop in ad revenue.
Excluding employee severance costs, Media General's loss would have been 77 cents a share. Few analysts offered estimates on the company, making an average expectation difficult to project.
Media General cut 300 jobs and suspended its dividends and has said it would freeze its pension plan, effective May 31.
Shares fell 35 cents to $2.62.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Fired on Main Street - plight of the carriers
Considering making extra money as a newspaper carrier at the Register & Bee? Better ask someone who's done it...or talk to Pat - a carrier there for five years.
Pat says she never missed a day, took a vacation or called in sick. As a reporter I know she called in dozens of story tips - many which made the front page of the paper. She did it because she loved her job and loved being part of the community. You may remember a story about a swarm of bees in a yard in Danville that a local bee-keeper was called to remove. That was a Pat tip. When a local church was flooded, a dog needed rescuing, or whatever it was, Pat was often the person who gave us our first heads up.
Shootings, an arrest of a naked man outside a hotel, a business closing....Pat was our woman on the street. She brought good news as well as bad and loved her job. She had the worst route in town - through bad neighborhoods where she was confronted a time or two with guns, gangs and threats. Many of her papers were stolen after she delivered them - and she had to pay for each one!!! Because if someone calls The Danville Register & Bee and says they didn't get their paper - the CARRIER has to pay for that paper!! If your neighbor steals it, or it's under a bush - or whatever happens....the carrier must eat the cost. And Pat paid for a lot of papers she delivered.
Well, Pat was fired recently. But no one told her. She showed up for work only to find someone else had taken her papers and her route. No one would tell her what was going on. Then later that morning she was on Main St. and her manager saw her driving and told her NOT to come back to work, that she was fired for "being a bad carrier." FIRED ON MAIN STREET?? WHAT kind of jackasses are running the newspaper that they fire their carriers or any contractor when they run into them outside of the business??? Just how far up their butts are their heads over at Media General??? Not only that, she was told not to set foot on the property or risk being arrested. Other carriers have come into the Register & Bee offices - one paper carrier who was arrested because he shoved an employee WHO WOULDN"T GIVE HIM HIS PAYCHECK! Media General forgot to tell him that they CHARGED him for every rubber band and plastic bag used on the papers!!
Three days later she got a letter telling her she was fired. In the meantime, she said, she never got the $1,000 she says the newspaper allegedly owes her. She's preparing her paperwork and looking for a lawyer to file against the paper. If you are a current or former newspaper carrier - you know who she is. Contact her with YOUR story about YOUR TREATMENT at the paper. It would help her, you and future carriers protect themselves.
Reasons not to carry papers for the Register & Bee
You're a contractor - not an employee. You are responsible for your own taxes, insurance and supplies. You don't get mileage. You will drive hundreds or even thousands of miles a month and will need to factor in your cost of insurance, repairs, tires, gas and risk - remember - two carriers have been killed and others who deliver in so-called "rough" neighborhoods have been threatened.
You will have to sit around and wait on your papers - often in the cold and dark and in a high crime neighborhood
You will not have access to a bathroom while waiting. But hey - the world can be your urinal....or at least the R&B parking lot carriers say....
If a neighbor or stranger STEALS the paper from someone you've just delivered it to - YOU will be required to pay for the paper. If the resident just doesn't like you and calls and complains and SAYS they didn't get their paper, you will still have to pay for the paper.
You can be fired at any time for any reason, without even knowing what is going on...and maybe even get fired on Main St., like Pat.
The Register & Bee cannot give their side of the story - they'll cite "Employee confidentiality. But the fact is, they treat their employees poorly and no one is safe. Ask anyone who was recently laid off if THEY had any warning their head was on the chopping block.
Our sympathy is with Pat - who was and is still very supportive of the news - who has given tips to Susan Elzy, Denice Thibodeau, myself, and Arnold. She has saved a life, stopped flood damage to buildings by sounding the alarm during early morning hours when no one else was awake and she was delivering papers. If anything - the city or someone ought to be giving her an award for her tips - not firing her in passing on Main St. Geesh Steve.....don't you TRAIN the managers you hire? Leadership in action...Steve Kaylor and Media General....pissing off and screwing over as many people possible as quickly as possible.
Pat says she never missed a day, took a vacation or called in sick. As a reporter I know she called in dozens of story tips - many which made the front page of the paper. She did it because she loved her job and loved being part of the community. You may remember a story about a swarm of bees in a yard in Danville that a local bee-keeper was called to remove. That was a Pat tip. When a local church was flooded, a dog needed rescuing, or whatever it was, Pat was often the person who gave us our first heads up.
Shootings, an arrest of a naked man outside a hotel, a business closing....Pat was our woman on the street. She brought good news as well as bad and loved her job. She had the worst route in town - through bad neighborhoods where she was confronted a time or two with guns, gangs and threats. Many of her papers were stolen after she delivered them - and she had to pay for each one!!! Because if someone calls The Danville Register & Bee and says they didn't get their paper - the CARRIER has to pay for that paper!! If your neighbor steals it, or it's under a bush - or whatever happens....the carrier must eat the cost. And Pat paid for a lot of papers she delivered.
Well, Pat was fired recently. But no one told her. She showed up for work only to find someone else had taken her papers and her route. No one would tell her what was going on. Then later that morning she was on Main St. and her manager saw her driving and told her NOT to come back to work, that she was fired for "being a bad carrier." FIRED ON MAIN STREET?? WHAT kind of jackasses are running the newspaper that they fire their carriers or any contractor when they run into them outside of the business??? Just how far up their butts are their heads over at Media General??? Not only that, she was told not to set foot on the property or risk being arrested. Other carriers have come into the Register & Bee offices - one paper carrier who was arrested because he shoved an employee WHO WOULDN"T GIVE HIM HIS PAYCHECK! Media General forgot to tell him that they CHARGED him for every rubber band and plastic bag used on the papers!!
Three days later she got a letter telling her she was fired. In the meantime, she said, she never got the $1,000 she says the newspaper allegedly owes her. She's preparing her paperwork and looking for a lawyer to file against the paper. If you are a current or former newspaper carrier - you know who she is. Contact her with YOUR story about YOUR TREATMENT at the paper. It would help her, you and future carriers protect themselves.
Reasons not to carry papers for the Register & Bee
You're a contractor - not an employee. You are responsible for your own taxes, insurance and supplies. You don't get mileage. You will drive hundreds or even thousands of miles a month and will need to factor in your cost of insurance, repairs, tires, gas and risk - remember - two carriers have been killed and others who deliver in so-called "rough" neighborhoods have been threatened.
You will have to sit around and wait on your papers - often in the cold and dark and in a high crime neighborhood
You will not have access to a bathroom while waiting. But hey - the world can be your urinal....or at least the R&B parking lot carriers say....
If a neighbor or stranger STEALS the paper from someone you've just delivered it to - YOU will be required to pay for the paper. If the resident just doesn't like you and calls and complains and SAYS they didn't get their paper, you will still have to pay for the paper.
You can be fired at any time for any reason, without even knowing what is going on...and maybe even get fired on Main St., like Pat.
The Register & Bee cannot give their side of the story - they'll cite "Employee confidentiality. But the fact is, they treat their employees poorly and no one is safe. Ask anyone who was recently laid off if THEY had any warning their head was on the chopping block.
Our sympathy is with Pat - who was and is still very supportive of the news - who has given tips to Susan Elzy, Denice Thibodeau, myself, and Arnold. She has saved a life, stopped flood damage to buildings by sounding the alarm during early morning hours when no one else was awake and she was delivering papers. If anything - the city or someone ought to be giving her an award for her tips - not firing her in passing on Main St. Geesh Steve.....don't you TRAIN the managers you hire? Leadership in action...Steve Kaylor and Media General....pissing off and screwing over as many people possible as quickly as possible.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Steve Kaylor
Someone asked what Steve Kaylor is doing these days - what he's up to. Our readers responded and sent me a photo. This looks like a smart thing to be doing....praying!! Pray for Steve folks. And pray for the Register & Bee - especially the new editors.
One of them wants and welcomes your prayers. The other tore up a photo of Jerry Falwell someone in the newsroom posted after Falwell's death, and he hates Christians. They both need your prayers - like the prodigal son - one more than the other. Seriously. They hold the news of the paper and the future of it in their hands. Robert has a difficult and hard task ahead of him....Charles....well, he plays with stuffed penguins, annoys staff with his musical button that plays the Jeopardy theme over and over and over and over and over all day, and thinks that car wrecks and fires are better news than city council meetings or other decisions. But he's young....He'll figure it out....so PRAY hard!!!
One of them wants and welcomes your prayers. The other tore up a photo of Jerry Falwell someone in the newsroom posted after Falwell's death, and he hates Christians. They both need your prayers - like the prodigal son - one more than the other. Seriously. They hold the news of the paper and the future of it in their hands. Robert has a difficult and hard task ahead of him....Charles....well, he plays with stuffed penguins, annoys staff with his musical button that plays the Jeopardy theme over and over and over and over and over all day, and thinks that car wrecks and fires are better news than city council meetings or other decisions. But he's young....He'll figure it out....so PRAY hard!!!
Why Macintosh and Apple are NOT a good buy
I got a MacBook almost three years ago. I got the full Apple protection plan - the one that promised to fix, repair etc. any problems for three years! Well, My Macintosh Apple turned out to be a huge LEMON. Not a problem - all equipment has its failure rate. But for the last two plus years, Apple has refused to replace my laptop. They've replaced the hard drive and sent me an external hard drive - but those two haven't worked any better than the first one that crashed.
The "Genius" guy (that's what Apple sales tech guys are called) told me it was a lemon, that everything in it was "screwed" and that Apple "Should just replace it," but HE didn't have the power to make that decision and that Apple only gave him 20 minutes to work on repairs covered under ANY plan....and that I'd have to leave it with them for a month if I wanted it fixed.
So.....they're willing to replace every component in the laptop....pay for his time, make other customers wait....and....me wait - so they don't have to replace a lemon laptop? What sense does that make? This is why you should NOT buy an Apple computer. Not only does their customer service fail to serve - unless of course you have "drunk the Steve Jobs is God" kool-aid and fawn appropriately over the phone....but the machines are buggy. Mine constantly crashes, there's no way to learn to work on them yourselves, technicians are hard to find and expensive when you do find them.....and if you get a BAD Mac....your life will definitely be more difficult. Mine works sporadically, kind of like the Register & Bee, but overall - if I had to buy a new computer - it wouldn't be a Mac. If you still want a mac - then DEFINITELY buy the protection plan because you're going to NEED it. It's only an extra $300 dollars.....Better yet? Don't buy an Apple.
The "Genius" guy (that's what Apple sales tech guys are called) told me it was a lemon, that everything in it was "screwed" and that Apple "Should just replace it," but HE didn't have the power to make that decision and that Apple only gave him 20 minutes to work on repairs covered under ANY plan....and that I'd have to leave it with them for a month if I wanted it fixed.
So.....they're willing to replace every component in the laptop....pay for his time, make other customers wait....and....me wait - so they don't have to replace a lemon laptop? What sense does that make? This is why you should NOT buy an Apple computer. Not only does their customer service fail to serve - unless of course you have "drunk the Steve Jobs is God" kool-aid and fawn appropriately over the phone....but the machines are buggy. Mine constantly crashes, there's no way to learn to work on them yourselves, technicians are hard to find and expensive when you do find them.....and if you get a BAD Mac....your life will definitely be more difficult. Mine works sporadically, kind of like the Register & Bee, but overall - if I had to buy a new computer - it wouldn't be a Mac. If you still want a mac - then DEFINITELY buy the protection plan because you're going to NEED it. It's only an extra $300 dollars.....Better yet? Don't buy an Apple.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sewage in your drinking water?
A reader from North Carolina, concerned the local paper there won't cover it, since the reporters are all covering mostly car wrecks and fires, writes:
"Due to the public health risks, it is currently illegal in North Carolina to inject treated sewage into our groundwater. However, this week the state legislature is likely to begin committee hearings and could vote on a measure to unravel this public health protection.
"House Bill 643 would allow incompletely-treated wastewater (also known as “reclaimed water”) to be injected into North Carolina’s groundwater aquifers. This legislation would overturn a longstanding law that protects vital drinking-water sources and could potentially pose a significant health risk to millions of North Carolinians who depend on clean groundwater for use in their homes and businesses. Click here to stop H643: http://ncconservationnetwork1.org/campaign/dwi09
"House Bill 643 was introduced just last week and is expected to be up for debate in the House Committee on Water Resources and Infrastructure as early as tomorrow! Take action right now: Tell your state representative that you don’t want treated sewage in your drinking water."
"Due to the public health risks, it is currently illegal in North Carolina to inject treated sewage into our groundwater. However, this week the state legislature is likely to begin committee hearings and could vote on a measure to unravel this public health protection.
"House Bill 643 would allow incompletely-treated wastewater (also known as “reclaimed water”) to be injected into North Carolina’s groundwater aquifers. This legislation would overturn a longstanding law that protects vital drinking-water sources and could potentially pose a significant health risk to millions of North Carolinians who depend on clean groundwater for use in their homes and businesses. Click here to stop H643: http://ncconservationnetwork1.org/campaign/dwi09
"House Bill 643 was introduced just last week and is expected to be up for debate in the House Committee on Water Resources and Infrastructure as early as tomorrow! Take action right now: Tell your state representative that you don’t want treated sewage in your drinking water."
You're invited....to a tea party
The Register & Bee won't be there (or will they?) But on April 15, 2009, Americans around the country will be attending "Tax tea parties." After all - they supported Obama. Watch THIS if you need to know more about Obama.
Is there a tea-party near you? You're invited if you are. If you're in Richmond you can find out more about Richmond's tea party here. Check it out:
http://www.taxpayerteaparty.com/
Is there a tea-party near you? You're invited if you are. If you're in Richmond you can find out more about Richmond's tea party here. Check it out:
http://www.taxpayerteaparty.com/
There's no business like show business...
What will happen now? The Danville Register & Bee is a vehicle to sell advertising. They have little or no interest in actually reporting on the news or information that affects us all. Few corporate owned newspapers do. To get your news you need to be online, reading as much as you can, getting information from ALL SIDES, and then drawing your own conclusions. Here's a good place to start.
"Former pro wrestler and Governor of Minnesota Jessie Ventura said it best.
There's no difference between US politics and professional wrestling.
Democrats vs. Republicans. Conservatives vs. Liberals. It's all a big joke.
Anyone who has their hopes pinned on Obama is going to be in for a rude awakening."
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/593.html
If you think Obama is going to save America, watch this.
"Former pro wrestler and Governor of Minnesota Jessie Ventura said it best.
There's no difference between US politics and professional wrestling.
Democrats vs. Republicans. Conservatives vs. Liberals. It's all a big joke.
Anyone who has their hopes pinned on Obama is going to be in for a rude awakening."
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/593.html
If you think Obama is going to save America, watch this.
What has become of Steve Kaylor?
A reader asks - "What has become of Steve Kaylor?" Don't know....other than he is now running the advertising department since Rob's departure for greener grass. He obviously isn't controlling his people - since all the staff reported not to publisher Steve Kaylor, but to Managing Editor Joe Stinnett in Lynchburg. Steve must be a lame duck - on his way out - if someone else is determining who works for the Register & Bee and who doesn't. That - IN THE PAST - was his job. Now he's an ad flunkie.
The woman over him...is over Joe....Terry Jamerson. Hmmmm...... whipped for sure now.
So, the DANVILLE paper is now operating out of Lynchburg. Layout, editing, design, ads, obituaries.....ALL out of Lynchburg. Do you really think a Danville, let alone a Reidsville paper, can really do justice to a LOCAL newspaper from Lynchburg?
The new assistant editor - Charles Wilborn has - what? NO reporting experience...and spends most of his time squealing and sending reporters to go to gang and drug shootings and car wrecks. Sorry Charles - that's not news. It sells newspapers - but it's not NEWS. People want to know what city council is doing, what's happening in the schools, what business is coming to Danville - what business is leaving.
I understand there is a lot of Mormon/LDS recruiting going on that staffers aren't happy with - but that no one will complain about.
How long can an office with so many problems and the only real power management in Lynchburg survive? We're about to find out.
The woman over him...is over Joe....Terry Jamerson. Hmmmm...... whipped for sure now.
So, the DANVILLE paper is now operating out of Lynchburg. Layout, editing, design, ads, obituaries.....ALL out of Lynchburg. Do you really think a Danville, let alone a Reidsville paper, can really do justice to a LOCAL newspaper from Lynchburg?
The new assistant editor - Charles Wilborn has - what? NO reporting experience...and spends most of his time squealing and sending reporters to go to gang and drug shootings and car wrecks. Sorry Charles - that's not news. It sells newspapers - but it's not NEWS. People want to know what city council is doing, what's happening in the schools, what business is coming to Danville - what business is leaving.
I understand there is a lot of Mormon/LDS recruiting going on that staffers aren't happy with - but that no one will complain about.
How long can an office with so many problems and the only real power management in Lynchburg survive? We're about to find out.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Blood bath is over for now
Rumor has it that Robert Benson is the new editor of The Danville Register and Bee. That's possibly the BEST thing that could have happened to the newspaper. Robert has toiled hard behind the scenes, kept his mouth shut when he was supposed to and opened when it was expedient. An award winning writer he knows Danville, has solid values and COULD quite possibly turn the newspaper around if Lynchburg doesn't hamstring him. Look for good things from Robert once things settle down. He's waited a long time for this. Congratulations Robert!!
Arnold Hendrix has obviously opted not to give up control and be demoted if Robert has moved up. And we hear that the last of the folks who laughed at the "girls gone wild" video reporter Mac McLean joked about making - are ALL gone. Someone at Media General pulled their head out of their nether regions long enough to recognize a great chance to get rid of some liabilities and did. However....there is ONE more wart on the hog - the employee who has been sending me the snotty, whiny emails remains. Media General? Are you sure you want to make that promotion? Or do I need to go after that too?
Bye bye Darren Sweeney. Now you REALLY CAN take that looooong vacation. Lesson? Never dip your pen in the company ink. It WILL come back to bite you.
Arnold Hendrix has obviously opted not to give up control and be demoted if Robert has moved up. And we hear that the last of the folks who laughed at the "girls gone wild" video reporter Mac McLean joked about making - are ALL gone. Someone at Media General pulled their head out of their nether regions long enough to recognize a great chance to get rid of some liabilities and did. However....there is ONE more wart on the hog - the employee who has been sending me the snotty, whiny emails remains. Media General? Are you sure you want to make that promotion? Or do I need to go after that too?
Bye bye Darren Sweeney. Now you REALLY CAN take that looooong vacation. Lesson? Never dip your pen in the company ink. It WILL come back to bite you.
Register and Bee - alive or dead?
Today is the day employees at The Register & Bee get their boxes shoved in their hands and their computers shut down and are told, "You have 15 minutes to vacate the building," - or they're escorted out by police....no exaggeration - it has happened before...to long time employees no less.
For those who remain...good luck. We'll see you, box in hand, in a few months.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Richmond-Times cuts 90 jobs!
The blood-bath has begun. Monday will tell if the Danville Register & Bee has lied to its employees or not. Another Media General newspaper - The Richmond Times Dispatch sent 90 employees packing last Thursday. The Register & Bee will tell its workforce who has a job and who does not on Monday.
Thursday's layoffs mean Media General will have 602 full-time and part-time employees. Last year about this time they had 772. Twenty-eight of Thursday's layoffs were newsroom jobs. While the Register and Bee says they're actually HIRING extra reporters other areas of the paper may be not be so fortunate.
Employees at the paper have ALL had to interview for their jobs and say that the position of managing editor - Arnold Hendrix's job, will be cut - leaving only the position of editor to be filled - putting all power and decision making into the hands of a Lynchburg based Managing Editor who will decide on what is best for Danville in terms of news and other decisions. And people wonder why the paper is failing? Yeah - send your ads, editorial, copyediting and management to India or Lynchburg and see how relevant your news is then!! But remember, this is a company that thinks it's okay that their male reporters videotape the breasts of female advertisers and show them around the newsroom and laugh at them.
Thursday's layoffs mean Media General will have 602 full-time and part-time employees. Last year about this time they had 772. Twenty-eight of Thursday's layoffs were newsroom jobs. While the Register and Bee says they're actually HIRING extra reporters other areas of the paper may be not be so fortunate.
Employees at the paper have ALL had to interview for their jobs and say that the position of managing editor - Arnold Hendrix's job, will be cut - leaving only the position of editor to be filled - putting all power and decision making into the hands of a Lynchburg based Managing Editor who will decide on what is best for Danville in terms of news and other decisions. And people wonder why the paper is failing? Yeah - send your ads, editorial, copyediting and management to India or Lynchburg and see how relevant your news is then!! But remember, this is a company that thinks it's okay that their male reporters videotape the breasts of female advertisers and show them around the newsroom and laugh at them.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Lost lettermen
This is definitely an "off-topic" post, but I just found a great site for all those sports fans out there. I know a lot of you are fans of this blog - so here's one for you:
http://www.lostlettermen.com/
Ever wonder what happened to all those college jocks? If they lettered and were a part of the team at a major college or university - now you can find out! Great new start-up business that tracks what happened to former sports stars. Great site and fun reading for anyone who likes sports. I have no interest or connection to it other than it's a fun new website. Enjoy!
http://www.lostlettermen.com/
Ever wonder what happened to all those college jocks? If they lettered and were a part of the team at a major college or university - now you can find out! Great new start-up business that tracks what happened to former sports stars. Great site and fun reading for anyone who likes sports. I have no interest or connection to it other than it's a fun new website. Enjoy!
A whole new Register & Bee????
For a week now people (who are in a much better position to know) have been telling me the Register & Bee will not be the same newspaper - if it exists at all after April 6, 2009.
Reporters, well actually EVERYONE at the paper has been interviewing this week for their own job or others. Some of the people laying out the newspaper will not be returning to work as their jobs have moved to Lynchburg.
As a matter of fact, the "job interviewing" has been done by Joe Stinnett - of Media General in Lynchburg. Everyone has been "reassured" their jobs are safe (where have we heard THAT before??" so my question is:
Why is a Lynchburg supervisor INTERVIEWING Danville reporters about their job?
Why are DANVILLE employees - particularly REPORTERS and EVERYONE in the newsroom - including editors and managers, now going to be reporting to a Lynchburg supervisor?
Where is Steve Kaylor? He's taken over advertising since Rob saw the light and abandoned ship and headed to greener grass in Arkansas.
Could it be that Media General wised up to what's happening in the newsroom and is cleaning house?
Do any of you REALLY believe that you'd interview with a Lynchburg supervisor if the paper was going to remain in Danville? C'mon. Grow up.
Five reporters are being hired - layout, advertising, obituaries, everything else about the paper - even circulation is heading north. The building is being SOLD - or is at least UP for sale. Seriously. What does all this mean to Danville?
That all the advertising and subscription sales are going to Lynchburg - not here. The jobs? Lynchburg. Control of a local paper? Lynchburg.
That's what happens when your managers don't know how to listen to what people want - LOCAL LOCAL LOCAL NEWS.
Reporters, well actually EVERYONE at the paper has been interviewing this week for their own job or others. Some of the people laying out the newspaper will not be returning to work as their jobs have moved to Lynchburg.
As a matter of fact, the "job interviewing" has been done by Joe Stinnett - of Media General in Lynchburg. Everyone has been "reassured" their jobs are safe (where have we heard THAT before??" so my question is:
Why is a Lynchburg supervisor INTERVIEWING Danville reporters about their job?
Why are DANVILLE employees - particularly REPORTERS and EVERYONE in the newsroom - including editors and managers, now going to be reporting to a Lynchburg supervisor?
Where is Steve Kaylor? He's taken over advertising since Rob saw the light and abandoned ship and headed to greener grass in Arkansas.
Could it be that Media General wised up to what's happening in the newsroom and is cleaning house?
Do any of you REALLY believe that you'd interview with a Lynchburg supervisor if the paper was going to remain in Danville? C'mon. Grow up.
Five reporters are being hired - layout, advertising, obituaries, everything else about the paper - even circulation is heading north. The building is being SOLD - or is at least UP for sale. Seriously. What does all this mean to Danville?
That all the advertising and subscription sales are going to Lynchburg - not here. The jobs? Lynchburg. Control of a local paper? Lynchburg.
That's what happens when your managers don't know how to listen to what people want - LOCAL LOCAL LOCAL NEWS.
Reparations are back on the Congressional Agenda - BAD NEWS FOR BLACKS
It's pretty easy to throw the term "racist" at any one who looks at a bigger picture that encompasses long term vs short term benefits. It's akin to criticizing parents who discipline their children rather than catering to their every whim. For those blacks or whites who want to call me racist for opposing reparations - take time to read the following and do the research.
A few thousand dollars in your pocket now will only hurt blacks for generations to come. Why? Read on. Trust me - you won't see this discussion in the Danville Register & Bee. In the 60's reporters actually helped hold the hoses who washed black protestors in the streets, they subtly forced out the one black reporter they had by ignoring him and freezing him out and making racist remarks behind his back. They are too busy hand-wringing the victim angle and populist view to take a dispassionate and educated stance on why reparations are bad.
The economy is tanking, people all over the world are circling their wagons in anticipation of a U.S. economic collapse, our economic structure is morphing into a whole new world (order), people are screaming about bank bonuses and bailouts and what pops up next on the Congressional agenda? Reparations. Yep. A commission to study reparation proposals for African-Americans has been introduced into the house. For those who aren't familiar with the idea, it means, in essence, tax dollars paying about 4 million African Americans "blood money" to appease the national white guilt (and political machinations) for slavery that happened between 1619 and 1865.
Forget the fact that racism is still an issue in this country, that membership in the Klu Klux Klan has been steadily on the rise, that our government has been covertly and legally enslaving black men and women for decades with the prison structure and discrimination.
Forget the fact that black men and women have hit a glass ceiling in America, even though we do have a black president. Forget that less than 3% of all television news stations are owned by people of color and that our government is DOING NOTHING TO ADDRESS THOSE RACIST ISSUES....or to punish the white corporations and government structures that allow THAT discrimination to flourish.
And while the majority of Americans will sit by with their mouths shut, afraid of offending their black neighbors, those who truly care will speak out. $8 million in reparations won't change what happened to blacks in America because it will NOT empower them. These are not the people who were enslaved. Yes, they suffered as a result of their skin color, but why not pay all the women who suffered as a result of their gender? Where's the money that women have been denied since 1619?
At a time when the American people are at the very edge of economic collapse from bailing out institutions that should be allowed to go bankrupt, why are we pouring money into the study of reparations? Am I missing something? Is this not the ultimate straw breaking the camel's back? In a time when we should be pulling together, empowering each other we're going to step in and denigrate 4 million people?
During his campaign Obama said he was opposed to reparations. Was he just hedging his bets to get the vote? Or does he too see how it would hurt, not help America? It's not just me who feels this way.
Project 21 has immense resources, articles and a history of empowering communities/tribes - NOT the government.
Among the arguments made against reparations:
1) One injustice (slavery) cannot be corrected by another injustice (taking money from an innocent party). No one alive today owned slaves legally in the United States. Millions of non-black Americans don't even have ancestors who lived in the U.S. at the time of slavery.
2) It would be impossible to administer fairly. Most Americans don't know their lineage well enough to assert, let alone prove, harm from slavery (or the converse, that their ancestors are responsible for or benefited from slavery). This means -- and most reparations advocates seem to concede -- that reparations would be paid to black Americans by other Americans simply on the basis of race. This would result in reparations payments not only by the distant descendants of actual slaveowners, but of post-Civil War immigrants, such as Vietnamese "boat people" refugees and now-elderly survivors of Nazi concentration camps.
3) Reparations payments based on race alone would be perceived by nearly everyone forced to make payments as a monstrous injustice, embittering many and inevitably setting back race relations. Apologetic feelings many whites hold because of slavery and past civil rights injustices would to a significant extent be replaced by anger. Yet, would one of the goals of the reparations movement: A supposed lessening of black anger (to the extent it exists) because of slavery really abate if reparations were enacted? Evidence is scant.
And finally - an excellent article on Ten Reasons why Reparations are Bad for Blacks and Racist too, from Frontpage Magazine.
If you support reparations - please post a logical, factual response why. Racist rants from whites or blacks won't be published. For those who haven't seen the Act, here it is:
Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act (Introduced in House)
HR 40 IH 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 40
To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 6, 2009 Mr. CONYERS (for himself and Mr. SCOTT of Virginia ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
___________________________________
A BILL
To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act ' .
> SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) Findings- The Congress finds that--
(1) approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 1865;
(2) the institution of slavery was constitutionally and statutorily sanctioned by the Government of the United States from 1789 through 1865; (3) the slavery that flourished in the United States constituted an immoral and inhumane deprivation of Africans ' life, liberty, African citizenship rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the fruits of their own labor; and
(4) sufficient inquiry has not been made into the effects of the institution of slavery on living African-Americans and society in the United States .
(b) Purpose- The purpose of this Act is to establish a commission to--(1) examine the institution of slavery which
existed from 1619 through 1865 within the United States and the colonies that became the United States , including the extent to which the Federal and State Governments constitutionally and statutorily supported the institution of slavery;
(2) examine de jure and de facto discrimination against freed slaves and their descendants from the end of
the Civil War to the present, including economic, political, and social discrimination;
(3) examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery and the discrimination described in paragraph (2) on living African-Americans and on society in the United States;
(4) recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the Commission ' s findings;
(5) recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Commission ' s findings on the matters described in paragraphs (1) and (2); and
(6) submit to the Congress the results of such examination, together with such recommendations.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES. (a) Establishment- There is established the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the `Commission ' ).
(b) Duties- The Commission shall perform the following duties:
(1) Examine the institution of slavery which existed within the United States and the colonies that became the United States from 1619 through 1865. The Commission ' s examination shall include an examination of--
(A) the capture and procurement of Africans;
(B) the transport of Africans to the United States and the colonies that became the United States for the purpose of enslavement, including their treatment during transport;
(C) the sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in interstate and instrastate commerce; and (D) the treatment of African slaves in the colonies and the United States , including the deprivation of their freedom, exploitation of their labor, and destruction of their culture, language, religion, and families.
(2) Examine the extent to which the Federal and State governments of the United States supported the institution of slavery in constitutional and statutory provisions, including the extent to which such governments prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of freed African slaves to repatriate to their homeland.
(3) Examine Federal and State laws that discriminated against freed African slaves and their descendants during the period between the end of the Civil War and the present.
(4) Examine other forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed African slaves and their descendants during the period between the end of the Civil War and the present.
(5) Examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery and the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) on living African-Americans and on society in the United States.
(6) Recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the Commission ' s findings.
(7) Recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Commission ' s findings on the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4). In making such recommendations, the Commission shall address among other issues, the following questions:
(A) Whether the Government of the United States should offer a formal apology on behalf of the people of the United States for the perpetration of gross human rights violations on African slaves and their descendants.
(B) Whether African-Americans still suffer from the lingering effects of the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4).
(C) Whether, in consideration of the Commission's findings, any form of compensation to the descendants of African slaves is warranted.
(D) If the Commission finds that such compensation is warranted, what should be the amount of compensation,
what form of compensation should be awarded, and who should be eligible for such compensation.
(c) Report to Congress- The Commission shall submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the Congress not later than the date which is one year after the date of the first meeting of the Commission held pursuant to section 4(c).
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. (a) Number and Appointment- (1) The Commission shall be composed of 7 members, who shall be appointed, within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, as follows:
(A) Three members shall be appointed by the President.
(B) Three members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(C) One member shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate.
(2) All members of the Commission shall be persons who are especially qualified to serve on the Commission by virtue of their education, training, or experience, particularly in the field of African-American studies.
(b) Terms- The term of office for members shall be for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Commission shall not affect the powers of the Commission, and shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.
(c) First Meeting- The President shall call the first meeting of the Commission within 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, or within 30 days after the date on which legislation is enacted making appropriations to carry out this Act, whichever date is later.
(d) Quorum- Four members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings.
(e) Chair and Vice Chair- The Commission shall elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. The term of office of each shall be for the life of the Commission.
(f) Compensation- (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each member of the Commission shall receive compensation at the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS-18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United
States Code, for each day, including travel time, during which he or she is engaged in the actual
performance of duties vested in the Commission.
(2) A member of the Commission who is a full-time officer or employee of the United States or a Member of Congress shall receive no additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of his or her service to the Commission.
(3) All members of the Commission shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties to the extent authorized by chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. (a) Hearings and Sessions- The Commission may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and at such places in the United States, and request the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents, as the Commission considers appropriate. The Commission may request the Attorney General to invoke the aid of an appropriate United States district court to require, by subpoena or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or production.
(b) Powers of Subcommittees and Members- Any subcommittee or member of the Commission may, if authorized
by the Commission, take any action which the Commission is authorized to take by this section.
(c) Obtaining Official Data- The Commission may acquire directly from the head of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the Government, available information which the Commission considers useful in the discharge of its duties. All departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the executive branch of the Government shall cooperate with the Commission with respect to such information and shall furnish all information requested by the Commission to the extent
permitted by law.
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. (a) Staff- The Commission may, without regard to section 5311(b)
of title 5, United States Code, appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as the Commission considers appropriate.
(b) Applicability of Certain Civil Service Laws- The staff of the Commission may be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service,and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that the compensation of any employee of the Commission may not exceed a rate equal to the annual rate of basic pay payable for
GS-18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code.
(c) Experts and Consultants- The Commission may procure the services of experts and consultants in accordance with the provisions of section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the highest rate payable under section 5332 of such title.
(d) Administrative Support Services- The Commission may enter into agreements with the Administrator of General Services for procurement of financial and administrative services necessary for the discharge of the duties of the Commission. Payment for such services shall be made by reimbursement from funds of the Commission in such amounts as may be agreed upon by the Chairman of the Commission and the Administrator.
(e) Contracts- The Commission may--
(1) procure supplies, services, and property by contract in accordance with applicable laws and regulations
and to the extent or such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts; and
(2) enter into contracts with departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Government, State agencies, and private firms, institutions, and agencies, for the conduct of research or surveys, the preparation of reports, and other activities necessary for the discharge of the duties of the Commission, to the extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts.
SEC. 7. TERMINATION . The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the date on which the Commission submits its report to the Congress under section 3(c). SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. To carry out the provisions of this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated $8,000,000.
A few thousand dollars in your pocket now will only hurt blacks for generations to come. Why? Read on. Trust me - you won't see this discussion in the Danville Register & Bee. In the 60's reporters actually helped hold the hoses who washed black protestors in the streets, they subtly forced out the one black reporter they had by ignoring him and freezing him out and making racist remarks behind his back. They are too busy hand-wringing the victim angle and populist view to take a dispassionate and educated stance on why reparations are bad.
The economy is tanking, people all over the world are circling their wagons in anticipation of a U.S. economic collapse, our economic structure is morphing into a whole new world (order), people are screaming about bank bonuses and bailouts and what pops up next on the Congressional agenda? Reparations. Yep. A commission to study reparation proposals for African-Americans has been introduced into the house. For those who aren't familiar with the idea, it means, in essence, tax dollars paying about 4 million African Americans "blood money" to appease the national white guilt (and political machinations) for slavery that happened between 1619 and 1865.
Forget the fact that racism is still an issue in this country, that membership in the Klu Klux Klan has been steadily on the rise, that our government has been covertly and legally enslaving black men and women for decades with the prison structure and discrimination.
Forget the fact that black men and women have hit a glass ceiling in America, even though we do have a black president. Forget that less than 3% of all television news stations are owned by people of color and that our government is DOING NOTHING TO ADDRESS THOSE RACIST ISSUES....or to punish the white corporations and government structures that allow THAT discrimination to flourish.
And while the majority of Americans will sit by with their mouths shut, afraid of offending their black neighbors, those who truly care will speak out. $8 million in reparations won't change what happened to blacks in America because it will NOT empower them. These are not the people who were enslaved. Yes, they suffered as a result of their skin color, but why not pay all the women who suffered as a result of their gender? Where's the money that women have been denied since 1619?
At a time when the American people are at the very edge of economic collapse from bailing out institutions that should be allowed to go bankrupt, why are we pouring money into the study of reparations? Am I missing something? Is this not the ultimate straw breaking the camel's back? In a time when we should be pulling together, empowering each other we're going to step in and denigrate 4 million people?
During his campaign Obama said he was opposed to reparations. Was he just hedging his bets to get the vote? Or does he too see how it would hurt, not help America? It's not just me who feels this way.
Project 21 has immense resources, articles and a history of empowering communities/tribes - NOT the government.
Among the arguments made against reparations:
1) One injustice (slavery) cannot be corrected by another injustice (taking money from an innocent party). No one alive today owned slaves legally in the United States. Millions of non-black Americans don't even have ancestors who lived in the U.S. at the time of slavery.
2) It would be impossible to administer fairly. Most Americans don't know their lineage well enough to assert, let alone prove, harm from slavery (or the converse, that their ancestors are responsible for or benefited from slavery). This means -- and most reparations advocates seem to concede -- that reparations would be paid to black Americans by other Americans simply on the basis of race. This would result in reparations payments not only by the distant descendants of actual slaveowners, but of post-Civil War immigrants, such as Vietnamese "boat people" refugees and now-elderly survivors of Nazi concentration camps.
3) Reparations payments based on race alone would be perceived by nearly everyone forced to make payments as a monstrous injustice, embittering many and inevitably setting back race relations. Apologetic feelings many whites hold because of slavery and past civil rights injustices would to a significant extent be replaced by anger. Yet, would one of the goals of the reparations movement: A supposed lessening of black anger (to the extent it exists) because of slavery really abate if reparations were enacted? Evidence is scant.
And finally - an excellent article on Ten Reasons why Reparations are Bad for Blacks and Racist too, from Frontpage Magazine.
If you support reparations - please post a logical, factual response why. Racist rants from whites or blacks won't be published. For those who haven't seen the Act, here it is:
Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act (Introduced in House)
HR 40 IH 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 40
To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 6, 2009 Mr. CONYERS (for himself and Mr. SCOTT of Virginia ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
___________________________________
A BILL
To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act ' .
> SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) Findings- The Congress finds that--
(1) approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 1865;
(2) the institution of slavery was constitutionally and statutorily sanctioned by the Government of the United States from 1789 through 1865; (3) the slavery that flourished in the United States constituted an immoral and inhumane deprivation of Africans ' life, liberty, African citizenship rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the fruits of their own labor; and
(4) sufficient inquiry has not been made into the effects of the institution of slavery on living African-Americans and society in the United States .
(b) Purpose- The purpose of this Act is to establish a commission to--(1) examine the institution of slavery which
existed from 1619 through 1865 within the United States and the colonies that became the United States , including the extent to which the Federal and State Governments constitutionally and statutorily supported the institution of slavery;
(2) examine de jure and de facto discrimination against freed slaves and their descendants from the end of
the Civil War to the present, including economic, political, and social discrimination;
(3) examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery and the discrimination described in paragraph (2) on living African-Americans and on society in the United States;
(4) recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the Commission ' s findings;
(5) recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Commission ' s findings on the matters described in paragraphs (1) and (2); and
(6) submit to the Congress the results of such examination, together with such recommendations.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES. (a) Establishment- There is established the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the `Commission ' ).
(b) Duties- The Commission shall perform the following duties:
(1) Examine the institution of slavery which existed within the United States and the colonies that became the United States from 1619 through 1865. The Commission ' s examination shall include an examination of--
(A) the capture and procurement of Africans;
(B) the transport of Africans to the United States and the colonies that became the United States for the purpose of enslavement, including their treatment during transport;
(C) the sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in interstate and instrastate commerce; and (D) the treatment of African slaves in the colonies and the United States , including the deprivation of their freedom, exploitation of their labor, and destruction of their culture, language, religion, and families.
(2) Examine the extent to which the Federal and State governments of the United States supported the institution of slavery in constitutional and statutory provisions, including the extent to which such governments prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of freed African slaves to repatriate to their homeland.
(3) Examine Federal and State laws that discriminated against freed African slaves and their descendants during the period between the end of the Civil War and the present.
(4) Examine other forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed African slaves and their descendants during the period between the end of the Civil War and the present.
(5) Examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery and the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) on living African-Americans and on society in the United States.
(6) Recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the Commission ' s findings.
(7) Recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Commission ' s findings on the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4). In making such recommendations, the Commission shall address among other issues, the following questions:
(A) Whether the Government of the United States should offer a formal apology on behalf of the people of the United States for the perpetration of gross human rights violations on African slaves and their descendants.
(B) Whether African-Americans still suffer from the lingering effects of the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4).
(C) Whether, in consideration of the Commission's findings, any form of compensation to the descendants of African slaves is warranted.
(D) If the Commission finds that such compensation is warranted, what should be the amount of compensation,
what form of compensation should be awarded, and who should be eligible for such compensation.
(c) Report to Congress- The Commission shall submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the Congress not later than the date which is one year after the date of the first meeting of the Commission held pursuant to section 4(c).
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. (a) Number and Appointment- (1) The Commission shall be composed of 7 members, who shall be appointed, within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, as follows:
(A) Three members shall be appointed by the President.
(B) Three members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(C) One member shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate.
(2) All members of the Commission shall be persons who are especially qualified to serve on the Commission by virtue of their education, training, or experience, particularly in the field of African-American studies.
(b) Terms- The term of office for members shall be for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Commission shall not affect the powers of the Commission, and shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.
(c) First Meeting- The President shall call the first meeting of the Commission within 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, or within 30 days after the date on which legislation is enacted making appropriations to carry out this Act, whichever date is later.
(d) Quorum- Four members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings.
(e) Chair and Vice Chair- The Commission shall elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. The term of office of each shall be for the life of the Commission.
(f) Compensation- (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each member of the Commission shall receive compensation at the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS-18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United
States Code, for each day, including travel time, during which he or she is engaged in the actual
performance of duties vested in the Commission.
(2) A member of the Commission who is a full-time officer or employee of the United States or a Member of Congress shall receive no additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of his or her service to the Commission.
(3) All members of the Commission shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties to the extent authorized by chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. (a) Hearings and Sessions- The Commission may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and at such places in the United States, and request the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents, as the Commission considers appropriate. The Commission may request the Attorney General to invoke the aid of an appropriate United States district court to require, by subpoena or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or production.
(b) Powers of Subcommittees and Members- Any subcommittee or member of the Commission may, if authorized
by the Commission, take any action which the Commission is authorized to take by this section.
(c) Obtaining Official Data- The Commission may acquire directly from the head of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the Government, available information which the Commission considers useful in the discharge of its duties. All departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the executive branch of the Government shall cooperate with the Commission with respect to such information and shall furnish all information requested by the Commission to the extent
permitted by law.
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. (a) Staff- The Commission may, without regard to section 5311(b)
of title 5, United States Code, appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as the Commission considers appropriate.
(b) Applicability of Certain Civil Service Laws- The staff of the Commission may be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service,and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that the compensation of any employee of the Commission may not exceed a rate equal to the annual rate of basic pay payable for
GS-18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code.
(c) Experts and Consultants- The Commission may procure the services of experts and consultants in accordance with the provisions of section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the highest rate payable under section 5332 of such title.
(d) Administrative Support Services- The Commission may enter into agreements with the Administrator of General Services for procurement of financial and administrative services necessary for the discharge of the duties of the Commission. Payment for such services shall be made by reimbursement from funds of the Commission in such amounts as may be agreed upon by the Chairman of the Commission and the Administrator.
(e) Contracts- The Commission may--
(1) procure supplies, services, and property by contract in accordance with applicable laws and regulations
and to the extent or such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts; and
(2) enter into contracts with departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Government, State agencies, and private firms, institutions, and agencies, for the conduct of research or surveys, the preparation of reports, and other activities necessary for the discharge of the duties of the Commission, to the extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts.
SEC. 7. TERMINATION . The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the date on which the Commission submits its report to the Congress under section 3(c). SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. To carry out the provisions of this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated $8,000,000.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Relief at last....
Finally, MORE reporters at The Danville Register & Bee. Maybe someone somewhere figured out that two people wasn't enough to cover the NEWS? There are more people in sports than news - so as long as all you care about is baseball, football and basketball - you're probably okay...but don't expect any extensive coverage of the minor sports - like girls, junior varsity, swimming, wrestling, little league etc. There just aren't enough reporters!
But, now the paper is hiring enough to bring it up to FIVE reporters. Yay! MAYBE we'll get more real LOCAL news. We can hope.
But, now the paper is hiring enough to bring it up to FIVE reporters. Yay! MAYBE we'll get more real LOCAL news. We can hope.
Fold or remodel?
Well, which will it be? Fold or remodel? Apparently the decision HAS BEEN MADE to move the editorial layout to Lynchburg. Advertising layout and the obits and other layout functions have already been moved. That means more Danville dollars are trickling to the north and out of the local economy. Circulation keeps losing people - one-by-one. Local people who once laid out the paper will either have to commute or find other jobs. NOT surprising.
The newsroom hasn't been shuffled around yet, but since some editing is going to India, obits and ads are in Lynchburg and now the newspaper layout itself is in Lynchburg as of April 1, 2009 (not a joke), pretty soon we'll all have to go to Lynchburg to read the Danville News!
Maybe the NORTHERN end of the county will finally get some coverage now that the Danville paper is mostly stationed in Lynchburg eh?
The newsroom hasn't been shuffled around yet, but since some editing is going to India, obits and ads are in Lynchburg and now the newspaper layout itself is in Lynchburg as of April 1, 2009 (not a joke), pretty soon we'll all have to go to Lynchburg to read the Danville News!
Maybe the NORTHERN end of the county will finally get some coverage now that the Danville paper is mostly stationed in Lynchburg eh?
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Newsroom at Register & Bee all terminated.....
Seems like the entire Newsroom has been terminated effective as of April 1, 2009...so former employees at the paper say.
I've heard this from several credible sources who say it's NOT just the layout department being shuffled to Lynchburg, but in fact - the paper folding. We won't know until April 1, or until I get the memo via my Media General sources in Richmond...but, doesn't look good.
Looks like Arnold can enjoy his stay in Florida a little longer.
I've heard this from several credible sources who say it's NOT just the layout department being shuffled to Lynchburg, but in fact - the paper folding. We won't know until April 1, or until I get the memo via my Media General sources in Richmond...but, doesn't look good.
Looks like Arnold can enjoy his stay in Florida a little longer.
Bye Bye Register & Bee.....Gone as of April 1, 2009
Circulation is being moved to Lynchburg, but the "semi-official" word that Arnold (On vacation in Florida....hmmm....) got via phone this week is that the Register & Bee newsroom will be GONE April 1, 2009. A poor April Fools Day joke....or just business as usual at The Register & Bee.
We'll see. The "rumor" from Richmond - that the ENTIRE NEWSROOM will be WITHOUT JOBS as of April 1.
Survey says???? What do you think?
We'll see. The "rumor" from Richmond - that the ENTIRE NEWSROOM will be WITHOUT JOBS as of April 1.
Survey says???? What do you think?
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Don't expect to read about this in the Register & Bee
News from a reader asking why The Danville Register and Bee hasn't covered this story. Hmmmm...could be because they supported Barack Obama and may be pro-union???? The Register and Bee doesn't do a lot of reporting on business issues like this. They're down to just two reporters for news - although there are what? Three or four for sports? We know where the priorities are - and it's not politics, uranium or business reporting. Anyway....
This reader writes:
Late Friday Feb. 6, President Barack Obama issued an executive order encouraging the federal government to require wasteful and discriminatory union-only project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal and federally funded construction projects over $25 million. This executive order also repealed Executive Order 13202, which has prohibited the government from mandating PLAs on all construction projects receiving federal dollars or financial assistance since February 17, 2001.
The Obama pro-PLA executive order encourages merit shop contractors be locked out from federal construction opportunities unless contractors agree to the onerous “union-friendly” terms and conditions found in union-only PLAs. Contractors signatory to labor unions will have an incredible advantage in winning federal construction projects.
ABC member contractors and your workforce should be outraged by the Obama executive order because it will eliminate you from federal construction contracts paid for by your very own tax dollars. As a result of this executive order, local and state contracts that receive federal funding or assistance may be subject to PLA requirements as well.
In addition, the Obama Order is sure to waste taxpayer dollars. Credible academic studies have found that inefficient union work rules and decreased competition as a result of PLA requirements increases construction costs by as much as 20 percent when compared to projects bid without PLAs. In these tough economic times, it makes no financials sense for the federal government to build four schools, bridges and hospitals for the price of five.
Send a letter by clicking below OR call President Obama at (202) 456-1111 and tell him that union-only PLAs are wasteful, discriminatory and keep skilled people like you from working in their own communities.
Readers are urged to call Tom Perriello - who is not expected to do a damn thing about it because he's a democrat. But that's okay. Virgil is running again next year and he won't have a turn-coat homosexual in his office selling him down the river, faxing documents and selling out Virgil for political favors this time. We know who you are and what you did - and so do the Congressmen who like Virgil. Lot of people aren't happy about it. Of course the Register and Bee won't report on that either - since Sarah, "Oh I love Obama I hate Virgil Goode," is gone. Convenient eh? Come in, slam Virgil, then resign after the election....that way you don't have to report on what went on behind the scenes do you....Don't expect Steve Kaylor to pay attention. He has to run the circulation department and advertising now that Fia was laid off and Rob abandoned ship to take a better job elsewhere.
But there's a chance you might find a politician who's not taking pay-offs, hob-nobbing with the pharmaceutical industry, back scratching, cheating on their wives and boyfriends, or partying hardy. Good luck. If you find one and they actually have time to listen to you before their next junket, party or meeting with a lobbyist, you should also say:
Union-only PLAs have no place on taxpayer funded, federal construction and infrastructure projects;PLAs inflate costs by as much as 20 percent and discriminate against 84.4 percent of the U.S. private construction workforce;
PLAs have a public record of poor performance. PLA proponents’ claims of cost savings, avoidance of delays and or improved performance under proposed PLAs have been repeatedly contradicted by the actual project performance under such union-only requirements; Explain why merit shop contractors won’t bid on projects subject to PLAs
We encourage you to forward this action alert to your fellow employees, friends, state and local public officials and the media. We need your help in spreading the word about this special interest-driven policy.
To learn more about union-only PLAs and the Obama executive order, please visit www.abc.org/pla
This reader writes:
Late Friday Feb. 6, President Barack Obama issued an executive order encouraging the federal government to require wasteful and discriminatory union-only project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal and federally funded construction projects over $25 million. This executive order also repealed Executive Order 13202, which has prohibited the government from mandating PLAs on all construction projects receiving federal dollars or financial assistance since February 17, 2001.
The Obama pro-PLA executive order encourages merit shop contractors be locked out from federal construction opportunities unless contractors agree to the onerous “union-friendly” terms and conditions found in union-only PLAs. Contractors signatory to labor unions will have an incredible advantage in winning federal construction projects.
ABC member contractors and your workforce should be outraged by the Obama executive order because it will eliminate you from federal construction contracts paid for by your very own tax dollars. As a result of this executive order, local and state contracts that receive federal funding or assistance may be subject to PLA requirements as well.
In addition, the Obama Order is sure to waste taxpayer dollars. Credible academic studies have found that inefficient union work rules and decreased competition as a result of PLA requirements increases construction costs by as much as 20 percent when compared to projects bid without PLAs. In these tough economic times, it makes no financials sense for the federal government to build four schools, bridges and hospitals for the price of five.
Send a letter by clicking below OR call President Obama at (202) 456-1111 and tell him that union-only PLAs are wasteful, discriminatory and keep skilled people like you from working in their own communities.
Readers are urged to call Tom Perriello - who is not expected to do a damn thing about it because he's a democrat. But that's okay. Virgil is running again next year and he won't have a turn-coat homosexual in his office selling him down the river, faxing documents and selling out Virgil for political favors this time. We know who you are and what you did - and so do the Congressmen who like Virgil. Lot of people aren't happy about it. Of course the Register and Bee won't report on that either - since Sarah, "Oh I love Obama I hate Virgil Goode," is gone. Convenient eh? Come in, slam Virgil, then resign after the election....that way you don't have to report on what went on behind the scenes do you....Don't expect Steve Kaylor to pay attention. He has to run the circulation department and advertising now that Fia was laid off and Rob abandoned ship to take a better job elsewhere.
But there's a chance you might find a politician who's not taking pay-offs, hob-nobbing with the pharmaceutical industry, back scratching, cheating on their wives and boyfriends, or partying hardy. Good luck. If you find one and they actually have time to listen to you before their next junket, party or meeting with a lobbyist, you should also say:
Union-only PLAs have no place on taxpayer funded, federal construction and infrastructure projects;PLAs inflate costs by as much as 20 percent and discriminate against 84.4 percent of the U.S. private construction workforce;
PLAs have a public record of poor performance. PLA proponents’ claims of cost savings, avoidance of delays and or improved performance under proposed PLAs have been repeatedly contradicted by the actual project performance under such union-only requirements; Explain why merit shop contractors won’t bid on projects subject to PLAs
We encourage you to forward this action alert to your fellow employees, friends, state and local public officials and the media. We need your help in spreading the word about this special interest-driven policy.
To learn more about union-only PLAs and the Obama executive order, please visit www.abc.org/pla
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