Wyoming Legislature Passes the Firearms Freedom Act
Posted on 05. Mar, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Gun Control, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
Today, on its 3rd reading, the Wyoming Senate passed HB95, the Firearms Freedom Act, by a vote of 30–0. (h/t Kristy Tyrney, Wyoming10A.org)
The bill states:
A personal firearm, a firearm action or receiver, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in the state to be used or sold within the state is [...]
Ancient Greenland Gene Map Has a Surprise
Posted on 11. Feb, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Rob Belatucadros, Science and Technology, Top Stories
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists have sequenced the DNA from four frozen hairs of a Greenlander who died 4,000 years ago in a study they say takes genetic technology into several new realms.
Surprisingly, the long-dead man appears to have originated in Siberia and is unrelated to modern Greenlanders, Morten Rasmussen of the University of Copenhagen and [...]
Former Texas Rep. Charlie Wilson dies at 76
Posted on 10. Feb, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Politics, Real History, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
DALLAS – Charlie Wilson, the former congressman from Texas whose funding of Afghanistan’s resistance to the Soviet Union was chronicled in the movie and book “Charlie Wilson’s War,” died Wednesday. He was 76.
Wilson died at Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin after he started having difficulty breathing while attending a meeting in the eastern Texas town where he [...]
New Credit Card Fees Coming
Posted on 10. Feb, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Economy, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
With new regulations starting in less than a month, you may need to take stock of your credit card portfolio to determine which cards’ terms are changing to your benefit and which feature changes that can hit you in the wallet.
The most important thing to do, says Lauren Bowne, staff attorney at San Francisco-based Consumers [...]
Least-Trusted Banks in America
Posted on 10. Feb, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Economy, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
The bottom seven of this year’s rankings, first to last, are Bank of America, Chase, Capital One, TD/Commerce, Fifth Third, Citibank, and in last place, HSBC.
Among Bank of America customers, 33 percent agreed with the statement above, while 31 percent of Chase customers agreed, 29 percent of Capital One customers agreed, 28 percent of TD/Commerce [...]
“They Just Want the Aid”
Posted on 10. Feb, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
“I personally think that a lot of information being given to the public by the government is estimates,” said Haiti’s chief epidemiologist, Dr. Roc Magloire.
Many citizens are even more cynical, accusing the government of inflating the numbers to attract foreign aid and to take the spotlight off its own lackluster response to the disaster.
“Nobody knows [...]
Rebuilding a Nation of Independent Riflemen
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Gun Control, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
I’ve been hearing for years from friends I respect about the Appleseed Project, which is a two-day weekend program (though you can get a lot out of just one day) that teaches dual lessons of American History and riflery. The history focuses on April 19, 1775 and the events that surrounded “the shot heard ’round [...]
Will Germany Secede From the Euro
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Europe News, Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
Germany faces a terrible dilemma. Either Europe’s paymaster agrees to underwrite a Greek bail-out and drops its vehement opposition to a de facto EU economic government, treasury, and debt union, or the euro will start to unravel, and with it Germany’s strategic investment in the post-war order.
The spike in yields on 10-year Greek bonds [...]
Scientist convicted of trying to kill Americans
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Israel & Jewish Issues, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
“This is a verdict coming from Israel, not America.” Well one would have to wonder if she is right.
NEW YORK – A U.S.-trained Pakistani scientist was convicted Wednesday of charges that she tried to kill Americans while detained in Afghanistan in 2008, shouting with raised arm as jurors left the courtroom: “This is a [...]
Breaking Down Obama’s Budget
Posted on 02. Feb, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Economy, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
Perhaps the most obvious of financial truisms is that there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all national budget. And with the economic forecast looking more incoherent than ever, it’s also the most problematic of truisms for President Barack Obama and his $3.8 trillion spending plan for 2011.
On the one hand, the economy is stumbling back [...]
Appalachia Drilling Risks
Posted on 02. Feb, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Business & Finance, Health, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
HARRISBURG, Pa. – A drilling technique that is beginning to unlock staggering quantities of natural gas underneath Appalachia also yields a troubling byproduct: powerfully briny wastewater that can kill fish and give tap water a foul taste and odor.
With fortunes, water quality and cheap energy hanging in the balance, exploration companies, scientists and entrepreneurs are [...]
Banks Shut in Fla., Mo., NM, Ore., Wash.
Posted on 24. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Economy, Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
WASHINGTON (AP) – Regulators shut down banks Friday in Florida, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, bringing to nine the number of bank failures so far in 2010, following 140 closures last year in the toughest economic environment since the Great Depression.The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the five banks: Charter Bank, based [...]
There Is No Freedom of Choice in America
Posted on 23. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
We have no freedom of choice in America; it’s an illusion. The federal and state governments regulate every single market in this country which means that everything any American thinks he is freely choosing is something that in fact has been “approved” by the state for American consumption and Americans may only “choose” from that [...]
Offend Obama?
Posted on 23. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Free Speech, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
One of the most intense controversies of the Bush years was the administration’s indefinite imprisoning of “War on Terror” detainees without charges of any kind. So absolute was the consensus among progressives and Democrats against this policy that a well-worn slogan was invented to object: a “legal black hole.” Liberal editorial pages routinely cited the refusal to charge [...]
After ‘CIA Coup,’ Agency ‘Runs Military’
Posted on 23. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Audio-Video, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
The murdering, lying, drug-dealing, secret spending, war-starting agency must go.
US House Rep. Ron Paul says the CIA has in effect carried out a “coup” against the US government, and the intelligence agency needs to be “taken out.”
Speaking to an audience of like-minded libertarians at a Campaign for Liberty regional conference in Atlanta this past weekend, [...]
Biden: US to appeal dismissal of Blackwater case
Posted on 23. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories, War Coverage
BAGHDAD – The U.S. will appeal a court decision dismissing manslaughter charges against five Blackwater Worldwide guards involved in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday.
Biden’s announcement after a meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani shows just how diplomatically sensitive the incident remains nearly three years later. A lawyer for [...]
Racist Camera Explained
Posted on 22. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Race, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
This is just to funny.
When Joz Wang and her brother bought their mom a Nikon Coolpix S630 digital camera for Mother’s Day last year, they discovered what seemed to be a malfunction. Every time they took a portrait of each other smiling, a message flashed across the screen asking, “Did someone blink?” No one had. [...]
Obama Wants Record $708 Billion For Wars
Posted on 20. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Audio-Video, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories, War Coverage
Wasn’t really surprised when I seen the headline, thought it hypocritical but wasn’t surprised. I remembered him, during his campaign saying how when he got in office, he was going to end the wars. Now here he is asking for more money to keep them going. This again is not my issue with this article. [...]
States’ Rights Protesters Rally for Change at Capitol
Posted on 19. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
Al Hays said he was a longtime Republican Party precinct chair in the Houston area, cheerleading for Gov. Rick Perry and the state’s GOP leadership.
No more.
On Saturday, Hays drove to Austin to join more than 600 fellow Texans at a grass-roots State’s Rights Rally on the Capitol grounds that roused more than two hours of [...]
Customs Wants Your Laptop, Too…
Posted on 19. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
U.S. customs authorities have assigned themselves the authority to copy all data on your laptop or other electronic device when you cross a U.S. border. I wrote about this policy last year.
Now, customs authorities in Canada (and other countries, especially the U.K.) are getting into the act. I’ve received reports from several sources (among [...]
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
Posted on 19. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
I heartily accept the motto, “That government is best which governs least”; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe – “That government is best which governs not at all”; and when men are prepared for it, that [...]
Ex-housekeeper alleges abuse by Israeli PM’s wife
Posted on 17. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Hidden Crimes, Israel & Jewish Issues, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
Sara Netanyahu, a former flight attendant who is now a practicing psychologist, also stirred during her husband’s first term as prime minister from 1996 to 1999. She came under fire several times for squabbling with her staff, flaunting her young children in public and meddling in state affairs. Among the scandals, she was accused of [...]
The Need to Strengthen Catholic-Jewish Relations.
Posted on 17. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Religion, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
Several prominent Jews had said they would boycott, but Benedict received warm applause throughout the 90-minute visit. The temple sits in the Old Jewish Ghetto, the Rome neighborhood near the Tiber where for hundreds of years Jews were confined under the orders of a 16th century pope.
Relations between Jews and the Vatican have at times [...]
Wall Street to Pay Record $145B in Bonuses
Posted on 16. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Business & Finance, Economy, Rob Belatucadros
To be sure, the banks are on track to post a year of record revenue — $449.6 billion, according to The Journal – but critics say that’s thanks largely to the Federal Reserve’s easy money policies and other government programs designed to support the banking system after the near collapse and bailouts of 2008.
2009 “was [...]
Credit-card firms profit from Haiti donations
Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Economy, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
As a massive human tragedy unfolds in Haiti, relief organizations are soliciting credit-card donations through their hotlines and websites. About 97 percent of these donations will actually make it to the designated organizations — but the other 3 percent will be skimmed off by banks and credit card companies to cover their “transaction costs.”
Thanks to [...]
Obama: ‘We want our money back’
Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Economy, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama told banks Thursday they should pay a new tax to recoup the cost of bailing out foundering firms at the height of the financial crisis. “We want our money back,” he said.
In a brief appearance with advisers at the White House, Obama branded the latest round of bank bonuses [...]
The Coming Food Shortage
Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Economy, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
Global food prices are rising again with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) food price index hitting 168 points in November, the fourth consecutive month of increase and the highest since September 2008.
While this is still about 21 per cent lower than the most recent peak in June 2008 when the index hit [...]
CO2 Emissions Irrelevant in Earth’s Climate
Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Science and Technology, Top Stories
For years now, we have been told that science is dedicatedly attempting to find out how the Earth’s Climate works. With all possible seriousness, the most publically vocal of these scientists, those working for the UN’s IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), have for the last several years blamed the warming they “found” on Carbon [...]
CIA Drives Reporter to ‘Suicide’
Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
Five years ago, a tragedy occurred in American journalism: Investigative reporter Gary Webb – who had been ostracized by his own colleagues for forcing a spotlight back onto an ugly government scandal they wanted to ignore – was driven to commit suicide. But the tragedy had a deeper meaning.
Webb’s death on the night of Dec. [...]
Obama and Afghanistan: America’s Drug-Corrupted War
Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories, War Coverage
The presidential electoral campaign of Barack Obama in 2008, it was thought, “changed the political debate in a party and a country that desperately needed to take a new direction.” Like most preceding presidential winners dating back at least to John F. Kennedy, what moved voters of all descriptions to back Obama was the hope [...]
Child Prostitution Out of Shadows in Seattle
Posted on 13. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Health, Hidden Crimes, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
Some change comes quietly.
But something has changed, those who watch such things will say, in the way Seattle and its environs view the girls and boys selling their bodies from the cities’ sidewalks and hotel rooms.
Those who make it their business point to the concrete — a first-of-its-kind shelter for prostituted youth, a new law [...]
Secession Possible in Vermont Future
Posted on 13. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
SHELBURNE, Vt. – Peter Garritano thinks it’s time for Vermont to call it quits with America.
The way the 54-year-old automobile salesman sees it, the “empire” is about to implode and tiny Vermont can lead the way by becoming its own independent republic. So he’s running for lieutenant governor, topping a slate of secession-minded candidates seeking [...]
‘Avatar’: The White Messiah Fable/ Vatican says ‘Avatar’ is no masterpiece
Posted on 12. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Israel & Jewish Issues, Race, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
I find this most difficult to understand, “the white hero once again saving the primitive natives”; it does make me wonder if the lead in the movie were of another race would they still be crying racism. I mean no one was crying racism when Morgan Freeman played god in Bruce Almighty, and its sequel. [...]
Political Spycraft Seen in Nixon Papers
Posted on 12. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Israel & Jewish Issues, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
WASHINGTON – In newly released papers from his presidency, Richard Nixon directs a purge of Kennedy-era modern art — “these little uglies” — orders hostile journalists to be frozen out and fusses over White House guest lists to make sure political opponents don’t make it in.
As his lieutenants built an ambitious political espionage operation that [...]
IRS Loses in Tax Court
Posted on 12. Jan, 2010 by Rob Belatucadros in Business & Finance, Economy, Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, Israel & Jewish Issues, Politics, Rob Belatucadros, Top Stories
Few taxpayers decide to go toe to toe with the IRS as Ms. Singleton-Clarke did, arguing her case without a lawyer. For good reason: In 2009, individuals won only about 10% of about 300 such cases, according to data from Tax Analysts. Ms. Singleton-Clarke fought her case in Tax Court, a venue where taxpayers don’t [...]
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