WEST CHESTER, PA — A microcosm of what is going on globally can be found at the corner’s of Gay and Church Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It is the County Seat and has a university within the Borough — a collision of humanity and hypocrisy. Musicians, and artists of a wide variety, often come together at the corners of Gay and Church. Though the name Gay Church Band was meant as a location not a political statement, it is ironic that art and spirit are under attack at the corner. Police brutality in conspiracy with bureaucracy is unfortunately a reality.
WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA — Civil rights violations and hate crimes have been occurring within the borough of West Chester, PA. An existing noise ordinance was used by corrupt cops and a few businesses (Penn’s Table, Malena’s, and Malcolm Johnstone of the West Chester Business Improvement District) to commit crimes of hate. After the civil rights violations, a conspiracy to cover-up the illegal activities ensued. When that failed, a new ordinance was adopted that further violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution of the United States of America:
Street Performing — Includes, but is not limited to, the following activities: acting, singing, playing musical instruments, pantomime, juggling, magic, dancing, reading aloud, puppetry and reciting.
THE MARSHALL ISLANDS — If your home is going underwater, you have no doubt about human induced climate change. This is the case for Bikini islanders. In the 1940’s, Bikini island was used for atomic bomb tests. The United States conducted at least 23 nuclear tests including the Bravo hydrogen bomb (the largest weapon of mass destruction at that time.) In 1946, the US relocated residents of Bikini island to another of the Marshall Islands and set up a trust fund. However, by 2011 floods, high tides and encroaching salt water began threatening their existence.
“The people of Bikini came back to us and asked us to take this proposal to the US, to request the resettlement trust fund be used to settle people in the US not just the Marshall Islands,” said Tony de Brum, Foreign Minister of the Marshall Islands. “We have not seen the final text of the legislation but the request that went in was on the basis of Kili being uninhabitable because of climate change.”
This could be the first wave of climate change refugees. It is possible that coastal cities worldwide will need to relocate during this century.
The FED tries to control our spending… and that ain’t easy.
It seems to happen around election time — all these wacky posts about the FED. (Luckily, I’ve a degree in international economics for just such an occasion.) If you are posting about the FED, please remember these facts:
* The FED regulates banks to the best of their ability. (They also try to keep inflation and employment under control.) It is called “monetary policy”.
* No one owns the FED as it is part of our government oversight.
* Those that borrow money from the FED fund the FED (usually banks foot the bill.)
* The FED has too little power and no control over fiscal policy (spending).
* If we control our own spending, the FED doesn’t do anything.
Though I hated it happening, thank God the FED went beyond their powers. When the Fiscal Policy of “us” USA citizens was (and still is) in crisis, the FED was forced to intervene in an unprecedented manner; however, even under these circumstances the FED made money for USA citizens. (The “bailouts” made billions of dollars for the Treasury. OUTFLOWS: $617 billion / INFLOWS: $681 billion) Please blame us before blaming the FED. Check out your responsibility for fiscal policy.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) is a free trade agreement being negotiated by twelve countries:
Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, United States, Vietnam, Chile, Brunei, Singapore, and New Zealand. The TPP will eliminate over 18,000 taxes, tariffs and other trade barriers.
One of the largest benefits of the TPP will be protecting the environment. Participating countries will need to adopt tougher pollution standards similar to the USA. “TPP includes the most robust enforceable environment commitments of any trade agreement in history,” according the United States. “TPP requires countries to play by fair environmental rules if they want to send their goods to the United States, and upgrades NAFTA by putting fully enforceable environment obligations at the core of the agreement.” In addition, TPP helps improve conditions on the ground in TPP countries by requiring them to:
* Fulfill their obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to protect and conserve iconic species, such as rhinos and elephants.
* For the first time in any trade agreement, prohibit harmful fisheries subsidies, including those that contribute to overfishing, and work to restrain new subsidy programs or enhancements to existing subsidy programs.
* Combat illegal fishing, promote sustainable fisheries management practices, and protect wetlands and important natural areas.
* Promote the long-term conservation of whales, dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, and other marine species at risk.
* Combat wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, and illegal fishing through enhanced national and regional actions.
* Protect the marine environment from ship pollution, including by implementing their obligations under MARPOL (an international agreement to prevent marine pollution).
Another benefit of the TPP will be the recognition of Intellectual Property (IP) Rights. Countries would be required to adopt standards inline with the USA. TPP copyrights are proposed to be “for the author’s life plus 70 years.”
The Agreement covers more than 40 percent of global GDP. Of the international economists questioned, the only complaint about TPP is — it doesn’t include the entire world.
US federal judge, George King, ruled that the original copyright was only granted for specific arrangements of the music, not the song itself.
The original copyright was filed in 1935 under the name Good Morning To All by Mildred and Patty Hill. Warner/Chappell acquired the copyright in 1988; however, the Judge said, “The Hill sisters gave Summy Co the rights to the melody, and the rights to piano arrangements based on the melody, but never any rights to the lyrics.”
A free music video about the attacks on New York City and Washington DC in DivX, MPEG4, MPEG2, Real Player and OggVorbis file formats.
The week before September 11, 2001 I was part of a peace project that met at the World Trade Towers. A week later I watched.
Those perpetuating the conspiracy myth tend to leave out the other two sites. The plane that came down in Pennsylvania was occupied by the former quarterback of West Chester University. He is the one that yelled “Let’s roll!” (before the passengers tried to take the plane back.) He has become a local hero. There are also witnesses in Washington at the the Pentagon. If you have a doubt, try explaining Cantor Fitzgerald.
The Supreme Court over-ruled one of the Obama administration’s environmental protections — an Environmental Protection Agency regulation that limits emissions of mercury and other pollution from coal-fired power plants.
Writing for the majority, in the 5-to-4 decision, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote: “It is not rational, never mind ‘appropriate,’ to impose billions of dollars in economic costs in return for a few dollars in health or environmental benefits. Statutory context supports this reading.”
In dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote: “The agency acted well within its authority in declining to consider costs at the opening bell of the regulatory process given that it would do so in every round thereafter — and given that the emissions limits finally issued would depend crucially on those accountings.”
“The E.P.A. will have to do more homework on costs,” said Sean Donahue, representing environmental groups. “But I’m very confident that the final rule will be up and running and finally approved without a great deal of trouble. This is a disappointment. It’s a bump in the road, but I don’t think by any means it’s the end of this program.”
Though copyrights and patents are generally thought to protect the creator from the public, sometimes they may be thought to protect the public from the creator.
A copyright offers protection to literary and musical works. In the United States a copyright’s duration is usually for the life of the author plus 70 years. The laws vary from country to country. Mein Kampf is a book written by Adolf Hitler while he was in prison. When Hitler died, the rights passed to the Bavarian authorities. Some people consider Mein Kampf to be the most dangerous book ever written. The expiration of the copyright is in December 2015. “The Bavarians have used copyright to control republication of Mein Kampf but that control is coming to an end – what happens next? This is still a dangerous book – there are issues with neo-Nazis, and a danger of people misinterpreting it if it’s not put into context,” says John Murphy, whose grandfather translated the first unabridged English language version in 1936.
In the United States, a utility patents’ term is 20 years. Monsanto says, “The first-generation Roundup Ready® soybean trait – the world’s most widely adopted biotech trait, planted by farmers on billions of acres since 1996 — comes off patent in 2015.”
The United States’ Senate Intelligence Committee released a 6,000 page report detailing how the CIA tortured prisoners at Bagram, Guantanamo Bay, and Abu Ghraib. A 480 page summary gives a troubling overview. The BBC reports:
Were the interrogation methods – torture if you like – more extensive and more brutal than previously admitted? It looks like the conclusion is “Yes”
Did these interrogation techniques deliver life-saving intelligence to the US? That answer appears to be “No”
Were CIA officials at the time honest with the White House about the program? Again, “No”
Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, referred to “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” as torture.
