Freedom of Speech? Don't bother. Not in the USA.

Rev. in hospital after anti-war arrest

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- An anti-war minister and U.S. Air Force veteran was treated in hospital after his arrest by Capitol Hill police outside this week’s Iraq congressional hearings.

The Rev. Lennox Yearwood, president of the Washington-based Hip-Hop Caucus, was charged with disorderly conduct and assaulting a police officer after being denied entry to a House hearing room in which Gen. David Petraeus was giving evidence Monday, Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider told United Press International.

But a video of his arrest, posted on the Web site YouTube, does not seem to show any assault. Yearwood shrugs an officer’s hands off his shoulders and is immediately bundled to the floor by five or six policemen.

A spokeswoman for the Hip-Hop Caucus, Liz Havstad, told UPI that Yearwood was treated at George Washington Hospital for injuries to his ankle.

She said he had been released on his own recognizance Tuesday evening and had not had time to weigh whether to make a formal complaint about his treatment.

In a statement Wednesday, Yearwood, who was a U.S. Air Force reserve lieutenant until his honorable discharge in August, called his arrest an example of “democracy while black,” asking how he could “convince other African-Americans to come to Capitol Hill to participate in democracy, when Capitol Police will go so far as to jump me when I question my exclusion from a hearing that is open to the public?”

“We all know what 'driving while Black' is,” he concluded. “Well I'd call this 'democracy while Black.'"

Nine other protesters were arrested during the hearings, mostly for attempting to disrupt the proceedings.

Original article posted here.

The wide breadth of Bush's Executive Order

Bush orders seizure of assets from those threatening Iraq “stabilization efforts” by Joe Kay

In an extremely broad executive order issued on July 17, President Bush authorized the Treasury Department to freeze the property of anyone determined to be hindering US actions in Iraq and the stability of the US-backed regime in Baghdad. The wording is vague enough to encompass not only those resisting the occupation directly, but also US citizens involved in antiwar activity. The executive order, issued under the headline, “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq,” cites powers granted to the President under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA). That act was originally intended to regulate the power of the US president to declare trade embargos on other countries. Beginning with the Clinton administration, powers under IEEPA have been expanded to include blocking financial assets of individuals targeted by the US, including “designated terrorists” and “designated terrorist organizations.” The July 17 order is more broadly written than previous orders. It begins with the declaration that there is an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by acts of violence threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq and to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people.” Following from this declaration, the order grants the government the authority to block “all property and interests in property” of “any person” determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, “to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of (a) threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq; or (b) undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people.” The inclusion in this group of those who “pose a significant risk of committing” acts of violence is particularly significant. It is left to the government to decide who poses such a risk. What is meant by “economic reconstruction and political reform” is also ambiguous. “Economic reconstruction” is no doubt meant to include, among other things, the determination by the US to push through a law opening up Iraqi oil fields to the exploitation of US companies. Also threatened with having their property frozen are all those who are determined “to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.” In other words, it is not just those who commit or pose a risk of committing acts of violence that can have their assets frozen, but also anyone who is determined to have supported such a person in some way. This includes anyone who is found to be “owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.” Who might fall under this extremely broad category? “Goods or services in support of” a person accused of destabilizing Iraq could include everyone from the barber, the doctor, or the lawyer defending his client against the imposition of the order. Moreover, the term “person” is defined to include any “entity”—that is, any “partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization.” Therefore, any individual, party or organization, including an antiwar organization, that is determined either to pose a threat of carrying out an act of violence in Iraq, or is determined to be in one way or another “supporting” another individual, party or organization that poses such a threat, could have their assets blocked. The order would also prohibit any individual under the jurisdiction of the US from donating funds to, or receiving funds from, any individual or organization that is subject to the order. Under the IEEPA statute, a person violating the order could be subject to up to 10 years in jail, and tens of thousands of dollars in fines. There has been very little comment or media focus on the order. When probed, however, the Bush administration has insisted that it is intended to cover a narrow range of individuals in Iraq. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said, “What this is really aimed at is insurgents and those who come across the border” of Iraq. Picking up on this line, an AP story from July 17 said that the order is “a new tool ... aimed at putting a financial squeeze on people who run networks that recruit and send would-be terrorists into Iraq.” This is a completely false presentation, however. First, the order is not limited to “would-be terrorists” in Iraq and surrounding countries, but applies to anyone who is determined by the US government to be working to destabilize the US-backed puppet regime and oppose the occupation. Second, as Washington Post columnist Walter Pincus noted in a July 23 column, “the text of the order, if interpreted broadly, could cast a far bigger net to include not just those who commit violent acts or pose the risk of doing so in Iraq, but also third parties—such as US citizens in this country—who knowingly or unknowingly aid or encourage such people.” Indeed, the only reference to US citizens in the order is intended to specifically deny any additional rights. It holds that for anyone “who might have a constitutional presence in the United States ... prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render these measures ineffectual,” and that therefore no prior notice is required. The July 17 executive order is the latest in a series of orders intended to block financial assets as part of operations in Iraq. These are all based on a state of national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 on May 22, 2003. The IEEPA can be invoked only with the declaration of a national emergency under the National Emergency Act of 1976. The main function of order 13303, however, was to protect US contractors and oil companies working in Iraq. (See “Bush grants permanent legal immunity to US corporations looting Iraqi oil”) This order was subsequently expanded. EO 13315 (August 28, 2003) was issued to allow the Secretary of the Treasury to seize the assets of former members of the Saddam Hussein regime and their family members. EO 13364 (November 29, 2004) expanded the scope of the declared national emergency to include “the extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States” posed by any judicial processes against the Central Bank of Iraq. These orders are part of a broader attempt to target anyone providing “material support” to alleged terrorists or Iraqi insurgents. A similar executive order passed shortly after September 11, 2001 applied very broadly to anyone determined by the president to be “specially designated global terrorists” or to be supporting or “otherwise associated” with terrorist individuals or organizations. In November 2006, a federal judge in Los Angeles struck down the order in a case brought by the Humanitarian Law Association and the Center for Constitutional Rights. The judge ruled that the order was unconstitutionally vague because it gives the president “unfettered discretion” and because someone may be “subject to designation under the President’s authority for any reason, including for ... associating with anyone listed” as a terrorist. The case is still under litigation and appeal. A similar power is included in the “material support” statute, which dates back to 1994, but was broadened by a section of the USA Patriot Act. The law makes it a crime to provide “material support” to organizations declared to be terrorist. Shane Kadidal, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights who represents plaintiffs challenging these provisions, told the WSWS that they give the president broad discretion not only to determine what organizations and individuals are covered, but also what defines “material support.” “A crime of association” has been created, Kadidal said, “and all these statutes are worded very broadly.” The measures can criminalize such actions as providing humanitarian goods and services. Kadidal called attention to the section of the July 17 executive order that prohibits individuals from receiving funds from designated organizations. “Obviously this has nothing to do with cutting off resources to the group in question,” he sad. “It is an attempt to block free association.” Original article posted here.

Email from producer of Zeitgeist

The final version of Zeitgeist is now online and can be found here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5547481422995115331

The new version has had its intro trimmed to be more generally accessible; Part 1 has a few corrections and also a few ideas expanded upon/clarified; Part 2 has been cleaned up graphically with a few small new points included; Part 3 has had its audio improved, typos corrected and some other subtle adjustments.

For those of you who have embedded the prior version into web pages or have uploaded it to You Tube, Please make the update whenever possible. All the holes in the prior version have been filled . The old version on Google video will be deleted eventually.

In the past 2 weeks that Zeitgeist has been online it has received round 250,000 views including its parts. I am very happy with this response, and even more happy with the 100s of intelligent, thoughtful and hopeful emails I have gotten from people. I appreciate everyone's expressions, input, suggestions... and, in a few cases, even apprehension regarding the work.

***

I would like to say one thing in regards to a continual comment/question I am getting, and that is :

"What do we do now?"

Step One: REALIZE FEAR IS AN ILLUSION which is a tool perpetuated by religion and the political system to keep societies under control. Don't worry about "the government
watching you" or any of the general bullying tactics used to keep people from rising up. Ask questions, get in the way, and don't backdown in your march to know the truth about EVERYTHING.

The pursuit of true and the processes of understanding/realization is the only true religion.

As an aside, if you are not familiar with Ed & Elaine Brown who are currently in a stand off with the authorities due to the Income tax fraud, you should be.
They have asked for one thing "Show us the law that says we have to pay the income tax on our wages, and we will pay". The government can't show the law because there isn't one.
I strongly suggest everyone support the Browns. They are setting a precedent that needs to be seen and heard nation wide.
***
Step Two: EDUCATE YOURSELF
The mainstream media is the 4th branch of the US Government and they are going to tow the political line. Granted, they can't control everyone in their structure, but the major
headlines/features you see in the major newspapers and on networks have been filtered by
agents of the corporate/political elite. All major news agencies have top brass belonging to the Council on Foreign Relations. If you are not familiar with the history and agenda of the socialist power house known as the Council on Foreign Relations, I suggest a book called " The Shadows of Power" by James Perloff.
This group is the hidden arm behind American Foreign policy and they seek nothing less than the total destruction of the American Republic and the creation of a socialist system /
world government.
***
Step Three: EDUCATE OTHERS
Create a website/ myspace/ have email lists/call into radio shows, etc. Don't be afraid to engage people, old and young in this points. Talk to your family. Get some of the many DVDs out there on the subjects and copy them and pass them out.
I, for one, will be at Ground Zero on Sept 11th with the NY 911 Truth Movement to help educate the public and 'get in the way' of the media coverage who has almost totally
ignored the work of the movement.

***

Final Point:

The 2 dominant motto's used in the game by those who wish to manipulate and control is

1) Divide and Conquer
2) Order out of Chaos

-Divide and Conquer-
They try to get people at odds with each other in order to keep people distracted and to prevent unity.
The duality put forth by religion, exploited by governments, in the general form of GOOD vs EVIL, is a farce.
There is no good- There is no evil.
There are only degrees of operating "with the current of nature" or "against the current of nature" and when you understand that the 'collective consciousness' is no different in structure than your 'personal consciousness' in that the whole of the species undergoes social 'conflicts of interest', just as an individual battles personal 'conflicts of interests'(pertaining to arrogance/
stubbornness/ poor temperaments, etc) you can understand that the battle against the Elite is a macrocosm of your own PERSONAL internal battle dealing with your own misguided
feelings of superiority, arrogance and the like.
Therefor, change in many ways starts with increased self-awareness and thus the removal of the ego based elitism that we all at one time or another share.
No one is better then anyone else. Period. We are all the same. We are
also One.


- Order out of Chaos-
This is simple. They create problems, instill unrest, then push forward their agenda disguised as a change in the best interest of the public.
911; Katrina; the War on Drugs:; Global Warming; Terrorism in general, Iraqi insurgents, Immigration, Inflation...are all used to whatever advantage they can muster up.

The more real or fabricated problems that arise, the faster the elite can reposition power.
[I.E. After WW1, we had the "League of Nations" .
After WWII, we had the United Nations; After WWIII, we will likely have a full on One World Government.]

In my opinion, the criminal elements behind the US/UK administration want nothing less than World War, as it will be the ultimate "shake up" of things to get their agenda into full swing.

***

I want to thank ALL of you for your interest.

I am working to clean up the final digital transcript so those of you who offered to translate it into other languages will have it soon.
For those whose emails I have not answered yet- I will get to them, I promise.
I will have dvds by request fairly soon.

I will keep everyone posted on things.
thanks again.

Peter J.
"The Revolution Is Now"
www.zeitgeistmovie.com

This Weekend's Anti War Marches

Los Angeles




Washington DC





New York

Saturday in Washington