San Bernadino Shooting : Another mass shooting attack targeted 'gun-free zone' where Active shooter drills carried out on a regular basis. Coincidence?

   

NaturalNews

 

Another mass shooting attack targeted 'gun-free zone' of California, knowing citizens would be powerless to defend themselves... California is a human shooting range

Thursday, December 03, 2015 by: J. D. Heyes  

(NaturalNews) At the time of this writing, news about the horrific mass shootings in San Bernardino, Calif., is still unfolding. There are a great many details that have not yet become clear, except that more than a dozen people have been killed, many more wounded, and that the shooters targeted the Inland Region Center, which provides assistance and care for disabled persons. Also, at this writing, a terrorism link has not yet been established or ruled out – understandable given the recent attacks in Paris, where ISIS-sponsored gunmen killed 130 people and wounded scores more. Authorities are also fairly certain there was more than one gunman, that they were heavily armed, sporting military-style gear, hoods and semi-automatic rifles. What is less certain – in fact, what is a downright mystery, both to me and tens of millions of my countrymen – is why, oh why, there continue to be "gun-free zones" in a nation whose founders sought to ensure that none of their progeny would be without a means to protect themselves and their families unless they made the personal choice to be vulnerable.

Doubling down on stupidity – and vulnerability

And honestly, California is one of the worst offenders, featuring strict gun control laws, byzantine gun licensure processes and a ruling class that is at once protected by men and women with guns but disavowed of any obligation to allow those they rule the same right. Police are continuing to sort through evidence as I write this. They have yet to identify the perpetrators of this violence, let alone locate them. Soon, families of the victims will begin to mourn, with many angrily denouncing the assailants and, sadly, many calling for even more laws and regulations that will result in more deaths, more funerals and more heartbreak for more families in the future. Like Parisians in November, San Bernardinians victimized by this latest attack had no choice but to cower in place and wait for armed police to rush in and save them. Only, as usual, armed police are never at the locations where the deranged come to slaughter, at least not initially. They do get there, eventually, but not before the maximum carnage is inflicted on bewildered and vulnerable citizens, many of whom became victims against their will. Not that it made a difference in Paris, of course, where police, who are unarmed, themselves, have no option but to cower in the face of armed and determined criminals and terrorists. The irony is not so sweet; in the U.S., following such incidents, cops that resemble soldiers fill the streets following such mass murder events. In France, actual soldiers, with body armor, are deployed.

Will anyone in power do the right thing – finally?

But what are they protecting, really? Because by the time these assets are deployed, the murderers are often long gone, and while they are most often found at a later date, in another location, the carnage has been committed, the damage done. And there is no going back in time to reverse it. Yet our "leaders" keep doubling down on vulnerability. And stupidity. And taking chances with our lives. They force companies to spend scarce resources to provide employees with training in "active shooter drills," and require them to "practice" responding to a situation that, honestly – unless you've been around "active shooting," as in a war zone – most will have no idea how they'd really react. How about, for a change, we alter our direction? How about instead of mandating more gun-free zones, we start building some "universal protection zones," where citizens are free to utilize their Second Amendment right to protect themselves, and their spiritual right to self-preservation? We've done the vulnerability thing time and time and time again; let's try the "self-defense" and "self-protection" thing, okay? Is anyone in Washington – or Sacramento – listening? It's doubtful; they're too busy looking for a way to exploit this tragedy for political gain to do the right thing.


 Sources:

LATimes.com

HotAir.com

Bugout.news


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Active shooter drills carried out EVERY MONTH at San Bernardino Inland Regional Center... staff tweeted 'drill started' as police raid began

Thursday, December 03, 2015 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger  

(NaturalNews) Get this: The location where the shooting was carried out in San Bernardino -- the Inland Regional Center -- has been subjected to monthly active shooter drills, we're now learning. This adds even more evidence to the notion that this may be a staged false flag event to provide Obama justification for outlawing private firearms ownership among law-abiding citizens. From the LA Times: At the Inland Regional Center, where she's a nurse, the staff works with clients and parents of clients who are sometimes angry. They have active-shooter drills every month or so. "Drill started," she texted her husband, Mark, around 11 a.m. She walked to a window nearby and filmed a video as law enforcement sprinted toward the building.

Astronomically unlucky shooters?

Yes, this woman actually texted, "Drill started." She recognized the pattern of movement that law enforcement has drilled countless times before. It's the same thing they've been drilling for every single month. What are the mathematical odds that a building where law enforcement has been "active shooter" drilling month after month would be randomly hit by active shooters? Nearly zero, of course. Similarly, of all the buildings in Los Angeles, how many are used by police as training grounds for monthly shooting drills? Virtually zero. Maybe these active shooters are just incredibly, astronomically unlucky, huh? They chose to be active shooters in the exact same building where LA law enforcement has been training in active shooting drills for months! Anyone who believes this is sheer coincidence is delusional.

"They know it's going to happen..."

That same LA Times story quotes the woman's husband: Mark Vong said he told his wife to stay calm and not to panic. "They train for this," he said, standing outside a police barricade Wednesday afternoon. "They know it's going to happen." Of course they know it's going to happen! They've been drilling the scenario for months! How blatant do these staged shootings have to get before people wake up and realize it's all a tragic manipulation of public emotions in order to confiscate guns from private citizens and unleash an Obama totalitarian regime that will soon be handed off to Hillary Clinton for the "full tyranny" crackdown? .................................................................................................

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Learn More About Natural News Here

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San Bernardino Shooting Hoax : Active Shooter Drill Days BEFORE Attacks 100% PROOF (Redsilverj)

Redsilverj

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Published on Dec 2, 2015

https://www.facebook.com/redsilverj San Bernardino Shooting Hoax : Active Shooter Drill Nov 30th Days BEFORE Attacks 100% PROOF (Redsilverj)

You had them do drills days before and the day of the fake shooting..

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• ACTIVE SHOOTER EXERCISE

  VVC students help law enforcement in campus drill

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  Zoom

  | Victor Valley College school police officers gather outside the library after a a multi-agency active shooter training drill on Monday. American Medical Response, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and the county Fire Department also participated. James Quigg, Daily Press
  
  

  
• By Charity Lindsey Staff Writer

  Posted Nov. 30, 2015 at 4:46 PM Updated Nov 30, 2015 at 4:47 PM
  

  VICTORVILLE — San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies, unloaded guns drawn, shouted “Get down! Get on the ground!” as they cleared the Victor Valley College library on Monday morning during an active shooter exercise.

  Meanwhile, students with pretend injuries acted as victims of a campus shooting.

  Staff and students received advance notice of the drill, in which the VVC Police Department joined the county Sheriff’s Department, Fire Department and American Medical Response.

  As the sound of gunshots blared through a speaker playing a looped soundtrack, students of the VVC Corrections, Paramedic and Fire academies were given their assignments in the practice scenario.

  About a half-dozen students sported torn and bloodied clothing and some fake flesh wounds. They awaited help until the all clear was given by officials, and students were able to assess and treat their wounds after escorting them from the building.

  “Just as if this were a real shooting, what we’re doing now is pulling out everyone who’s not a suspect from the building,” campus police officer D.H. Jones said as the "victims" emerged from the library. They were led to the parking lot behind it, where emergency vehicles waited.

Read More Here

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BREAKING: SWAT Team Drill Turns into REAL Mass Shooting Scenario in San Bernardino, CA

By Matt Agorist on December 2, 2015

 

San Bernardino, CA — An active shooter situation is currently underway in the 1300 block of South Waterman Avenue in San Bernardino, California. The shooting apparently took place at the Inland Regional Center, which is a facility that provides services for people who have developmental disabilities. The facility had just celebrated its Christmas party. While details are scarce, what we have been told by authorities is that police are looking for 1-3 shooters and there are approximately 20 victims, with 12 being presumed dead.

 Fox Los Angeles reports that the suspects are “white males” in “military gear” and armed with “rifles.” According to KTLA, police have warned people not to talk to the media. At one point during the KTLA live stream, the reporter attempted to interview a witness and multiple officers rushed up and pushed the reporters and the witnesses apart. Below is a screen grab from the live stream showing confrontation. image: http://tftppull.freethoughtllc.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Capture3.jpg After the shooting began, San Bernardino Police Department Lt. Richard Lawhead said that their SWAT team happened to be conducting training nearby. The team was suited, “ready to roll” and responded rapidly, Lawhead said.

 

  Read More Here


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Time - Line for San Bernadino Shooting

San Bernardino: At least 14 people killed in mass shooting; suspect identified http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/02/us/san-...


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Shooting in San Bernardino Kills at Least 14, Wounds 17

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/us/...

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Police storm Inland Regional Center

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRNJN...

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Male and Female Suspects Killed After Mass Shooting That Left 14 Dead, 17 Wounded

http://ktla.com/2015/12/02/authoritie...


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Two Suspects Killed by Police after Mass Shooting in San Bernardino, CA

http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/55238...

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Woman describes scene near San Bernardino shooting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUbz0...

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Obama speaks on San Bernardino shooting

Townhall Media

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Published on Dec 2, 2015

The President makes his first comments on the shooting in San Bernardino, Ca

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San Bernardino Shooting Hoax: Inland Regional Center Attack is 100% FAKE! Wake UP! (Redsilverj)

Redsilverj

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Published on Dec 3, 2015

https://www.facebook.com/redsilverj San Bernardino Shooting Hoax: Inland Regional Center is 100% FAKE! Wake UP! (Redsilverj) 

Why Have There Been More Mass Shootings Under Obama than the Four Previous Presidents Combined? http://truthstreammedia.com/2015/12/0... 

Dead shooters ID'd as Muslim husband–wife team http://www.wnd.com/2015/12/dead-shoot... 

Geraldo Rivera on San Bernardino Shooting: ‘2nd Amendment Is Stupid’ http://www.breitbart.com/big-journali...

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TPP a Disaster for Natural Health

 

TPP Deal Finally Revealed

By anh-usa on December 1, 2015 

Details of the long-secret Trans-Pacific Partnership are public at last: it will undermine the safety of our food supply, make medicine more expensive, and give power to the biotech monopoly. Action Alert!

A few weeks ago, the full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal was finally released after many years of closed-door negotiations between officials from the US and eleven other countries, all of whom border the Pacific Ocean. Its provisions were apparently kept secret from all but the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.

Leaked documents during the trade negotiations provided reason to be concerned about the final agreement. And now, a review of the deal’s twenty-nine chapters and five thousand pages proves these early concerns were completely justified. The final package now awaits a vote in Congress, which is likely to take place in Spring 2016.

Here are some of the most pressing concerns for natural health advocates:

It Undermines the Safety of the Food Supply

 

The TPP contains a number of provisions that threaten current food safety laws.

Generally speaking, passage of the TPP would mean that any US food safety law concerning things like pesticides, food additives, or labeling that is more stringent than “international standards” may be considered an “illegal barrier” to trade, and subject to enforcement. We have learned to beware of such “international standards.” They are largely determined by global special interests.

The TPP expands corporate power in other ways. The deal includes an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system in which multinational corporations can challenge a host company’s regulations in an international court. ISDS has been a fixture in other trade treaties, including NAFTA (the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement), and has been used to challenge countries’ economic policies, anti-smoking efforts, and environmental preservation laws. It is another giveaway to Big Food and other powerful multinational interests—a recurring theme throughout the TPP document.
The trade agreement also undercuts US efforts to inspect food imports. The agreement limits food import inspections at the border “to what is reasonable and necessary,” and if an issue arises, a country must also provide an “opportunity for a review of the decision.” This provision, referred to as the Rapid Response Mechanism, may give exporting countries the right to challenge basic food safety provisions in the US.

It Gives New Patent Protections to Big Pharma

 

The TPP contains an entire chapter on intellectual property rights, with many provisions relating to pharmaceutical patents. No doubt heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry, the trade deal will force signatory countries to accept many of the same patent laws that have kept drug prices so astronomically high in the US.

The deal would extend and broaden certain patent and data protections for the pharmaceutical industry, which Big Pharma can then use to keep prices high and delay competition from generics. It is a wonderful gift to the pharmaceutical industry—but a grave loss to patients in developing countries looking for access to affordable drugs.

The TPP also allows a practice known as “evergreening,” which lets drug companies extend a patent on an old drug when it can be used to treat a new condition—another boon for Big Pharma’s monopoly power.

Even when Big Pharma loses in the TPP, it wins. One of the more controversial topics in TPP negotiations concerned patent and data protections for biologic drugs—medicines derived not from inert chemical compounds but from living organisms. Big Pharma wanted twelve years of exclusivity— they already have this in the US—and US trade officials pushed hard in the negotiations to make this the standard. Instead, the deal grants them at least five years of exclusivity and as much as eight.

It’s Also a Gift to Biotech Seed Companies

 

Finally, the TPP deal expands biotech’s monopoly over the seed industry. The deal requires all twelve countries to join a number of global intellectual property treaties. One of these treaties is the 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV91), which emphasizes the rights of seed companies over farmers. Among other things, UPOV91:

• Requires intellectual property (IP) protection for all plant species;
• Provides IP protection for 20 to 25 years; and
• Stops farmers from exchanging seeds—a common and important practice in many developing nations and indeed throughout human history.

In countries that have not already turned agriculture over to the biotech industry, this could mean a substantial rewrite of regulations meant to protect farmers.

Other treaties that signatory countries are compelled to join make it easier to apply for patents—making it very likely that more plants and seeds will be patented.

If these gifts to industry were not enough, President Obama moved earlier this summer to have the deal “fast-tracked”—that is, Congress will be given a fixed period to review the agreement, after which time legislators must make a yes/no vote without the possibility of amending the deal. Essentially, it’s “take it or leave it.”

We say: leave it. And if the US does reject it, do not worry about losing the reduction of tariffs that is already included. There will just be a second (and, we hope, a better) version to replace it.
Action Alert! Write to your members of Congress and urge them to oppose the TPP deal, which undermines consumers and farmers and extends monopoly rights to major industries. Please send your message immediately.

U.S. to tighten airline security after crash of Russian plane. Brings to mind the infamous words of Rahm Emanuel "Never let a good crisis go to waste".

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"You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before." Rahm Emanuel
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The Washington Post

 

U.S. to tighten airline security after crash of Russian plane

 

 

By Ashley Halsey III November 6  

 

People mourn as they lay flowers in memory of the plane crash victims at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St. Petersburg. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

As investigators search for the cause of a plane crash that killed 224 people over the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday and Russia suspends all flights to Egypt, U.S. officials said they are taking unspecified precautionary measures to enhance the security of flights from the Middle East.
“While the facts and circumstances surrounding the tragic October 31 crash of Metrojet Flight 9268 on the Sinai Peninsula are still under investigation, Transportation Security Administrator (TSA) Peter Neffenger and I, out of an abundance of caution, have identified a series of interim, precautionary enhancements to aviation security with respect to commercial flights bound for the United States from certain foreign airports in the region,” Jeh C. Johnson, secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement.

Johnson said the enhancements, also adopted by European aviation authorities, “are designed to provide an additional layer of security for the traveling public, and will be undertaken in consultation with relevant foreign governments and relevant passenger and cargo airlines.”
[Russia halts Eygpt flights amid widening probe into plane crash]

They include expanded screening and other “seen and unseen” security measures.

Read More Here

Keystone XL pipeline on hold as builder asks U.S. to suspend permit process

 

The Washington Times

But green groups criticize TransCanada request as bid to take final decision away from Obama

President Obama arrives at the TransCanada Stillwater Pipe Yard in Cushing, Okla. on March 22, 2012. (Associated Press) more >

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times - Updated: 9:28 p.m. on Monday, November 2, 2015

The company proposing to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline asked the State Department on Monday to halt indefinitely its ongoing review of the massive project, adding new delays and uncertainties, and possibly ensuring that final word will come from President Obama’s successor.
Amid legal challenges in Nebraska — ground zero in the fight over the project — TransCanada officials sent a letter to Secretary of State John F. Kerry and called on the administration to cease immediately its Keystone approval process.

The move raises a real possibility Mr. Obama will not be the one to make a decision on the pipeline and that the next president, perhaps one more inclined to back new oil-and-gas infrastructure in the U.S., will be the final arbiter.

Powerful environmental groups quickly condemned TransCanada’s request and said it’s clear the company simply wants to delay a decision until January 2017, when a Republican may enter the White House.

Read More Here

First Senate Agricultural Committee Meeting in 10 Years Cheers GMOs, Ignores Dangers

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Is there a conflict of interest?

 

 

by Christina Sarich
Posted on October 27, 2015

 

 

The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a biotechnology hearing for the first time in 10 years last week to discuss the future of food technology as the industry responds to increased demand, production challenges, and consumers’ calls for a safe and transparent food supply. But the meeting came up short on transparency and carried on more like a Monsanto share-holders meeting than an unbiased inquiry into the pros and cons of biotechnology where it concerns the food supply.

Senator after senator praised biotechnology and genetically modified foods, claiming they had ‘come a long way’ in ten years. Pamela Bailey, president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association said:

“The Senate Agriculture hearing reaffirmed the broad consensus among scientists and regulators that GMOs are safe and highlighted the real world negative impacts a patchwork of state labeling mandates will have on farmers, businesses and consumers. Action by Congress is urgently needed this year to pass a national, uniform labeling standard.”

The senate hearing was scheduled shortly after the US House of Representatives passed the “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015,” otherwise known as the DARK Act (Deny Americans the Right to Know) by a vote of 275-150.

Read More Here

Court Ruling to Halt DEA from Harassing Medical Marijuana Shops

A 'promise' Obama made years ago

 

by Christina Sarich
Posted on October 28, 2015

 

 

 

In a huge legal win, a federal judge in San Francisco has issued a landmark ruling that could serve to halt the DEA’s overly liberal interpretation of laws that have allowed them power to conduct search and destroy missions for medical marijuana.

In possibly the first-ever federal decision of its kind, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, slapped more than the DEA’s wrists. His decision stated that the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment clearly prevents the Justice Department from spending taxpayer money to hunt and chase marijuana users in states that have established medical marijuana programs.

 

The federal ruling comes from a case involving the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana founder, Lynette Shaw, who was forced to close down her medical marijuana dispensary in 2011 after the Justice Department served her with a federal injunction.

Read More Here

Did the UN Really Install a Global Police Force at the Local Level?

Activist Post

Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Program

October 5, 2015

By Amanda Warren

While people were in a daze of reverie following the lunar eclipse and the Pope’s U.S. visit, a very important yet overlooked announcement was made by the Department of Justice.

“Launch of Strong Cities Network to Strengthen Community Resilience Against Violent Extremism” rang the bell to usher in a global-local initiative to ferret out extremism at the local level – yes, in the United States. Symbolically, it could also signal a turning point when it comes to local authorities and their treatment of the residents at large. Indeed, it is a global enmeshment that most Americans are either a) in the total dark about, or b) going hysterical over, if they’ve heard about it.

Honestly, either of those reactions is understandable when you start digging into the announcements and its sponsors only to find the typical convoluted, global-psycho-babble that signals to the astute that they are about to lose their rights and be perceived as domestic terrorists. But can anyone really say for sure? Of course not. Not when the message is written in Newspeak gibberish.

 

What is the Strong Cities Network and why did some U.S. cities join up?

On the face of it, SCN is to strengthen the bond between cities in the U.S. and global cities in the fight against violent extremism, internationally and at the local level. It will funnel help to local authorities of those cities which hop on board.

Read More Here

The "disastrous" pro-corporate trade deal finalized Monday (TPP) could kill the Internet as we know it

Published on

Tuesday, October 06, 2015

by

Common Dreams

Groups Issue Warning: Pro-Corporate TPP Could Kill the Internet

"What we're talking about here is global Internet censorship."

by

Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

 

 

Digital rights groups warn that TPP "will criminalize our online activities, censor the Web, and cost everyday users money." (Photo: Getty)

The "disastrous" pro-corporate trade deal finalized Monday could kill the Internet as we know it, campaigners are warning, as they vow to keep up the fight against the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement between the U.S. and 11 Pacific Rim nations.
"Internet users around the world should be very concerned about this ultra-secret pact," said OpenMedia's digital rights specialist Meghan Sali. "What we’re talking about here is global Internet censorship. It will criminalize our online activities, censor the Web, and cost everyday users money. This deal would never pass with the whole world watching—that’s why they’ve negotiated it in total secrecy."

"The TPP will criminalize our online activities, censor the Web, and cost everyday users money. This deal would never pass with the whole world watching—that’s why they’ve negotiated it in total secrecy." —Meghan Sali, Open Media

TPP opponents have claimed that under the agreement, "Internet Service Providers could be required to 'police' user activity (i.e. police YOU), take down Internet content, and cut people off from Internet access for common user-generated content."
Among the deal's provisions are rules that could criminalize file-sharing, whistleblowing, and breaking digital locks, even for legitimate purposes. Of course, because the contents of the pact have been negotiated largely in secret, the exact implications of the TPP on user rights is yet to be seen.
However, Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) Maira Sutton wrote on Monday, "We have no reason to believe that the TPP has improved much at all from the last leaked version released in August, and we won't know until the U.S. Trade Representative releases the text. So as long as it contains a retroactive 20-year copyright term extension, bans on circumventing DRM, massively disproportionate punishments for copyright infringement, and rules that criminalize investigative journalists and whistleblowers, we have to do everything we can to stop this agreement from getting signed, ratified, and put into force."
Furthermore, "The fact that close to 800 million Internet users' rights to free expression, privacy, and access to knowledge online hinged upon the outcome of squabbles over trade rules on cars and milk is precisely why digital policy consideration[s] do not belong in trade agreements," Sutton added, referring to the auto and dairy tariff provisions that reportedly held up the talks.

"The fact that close to 800 million Internet users' rights to free expression, privacy, and access to knowledge online hinged upon the outcome of squabbles over trade rules on cars and milk is precisely why digital policy consideration[s] do not belong in trade agreements."  —Maira Sutton, EFF

With a major protest against the TPP and other secret trade deals planned for November in Washington, D.C., EFF is crowdsourcing slogans related to how the TPP threatens digital rights and freedoms around the world.
"Successive leaks of the TPP have demonstrated that unless you are a big business sector, the [U.S. Trade Representative, or USTR] simply doesn't care what you have to say," wrote EFF's Jeremy Malcolm.
"Enough's enough," reads the group's call-to-action. "The time for whitepapers and presentations is past. The USTR has failed us, so now it's time for the public to rise up and take their message about the TPP's threats to user rights to Congress, which has the ultimate authority to approve or reject the deal for the United States."

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

Congress is a mess

	Fight for the Future

Evan from FFTF

info@list.fightforthefuture.org

We gave every member of U.S. Congress a “grade” based on how they’ve voted on laws that affect your privacy and freedom. Click here to see how yours scored! You might be surprised.

So many politicians blatantly push for policies that harm all of us, just because the special interests that fund their campaigns want them to.

Because of this, Congress tries to hide -- taking vague positions, pushing for watered down legislation, or remaining silent at critical moments.

This week, they’re expected to renew debate on CISA, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, a bill that would give corporations sweeping legal immunity when they share your data with the government.

Now more than ever, it’s so important that we don’t let our lawmakers hide in the shadows.

Click here to find out where your members of Congress stand on government spying and abuse!

This scoreboard is a tool we can use to hold politicians accountable and demand they stand up for our basic human and Constitutional rights.

Surveillance will define our future. Let’s make sure the future isn’t terrible.

Click here to see how your representatives measure up, and tell them to oppose CISA!

For the Internet,

 
~Evan at Fight for the Future

P.S. As much as we’ve talked about how bad CISA is for expanding mass surveillance, there’s another side to the law that just made it even worse. Late last week, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island introduced an amendment to expand the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the law that has been used time and again to persecute digital activists, including our friend Aaron Swartz. That’s despicable, and needs to be quashed immediately — so take action now to help kill CISA.

---

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* Like us on Facebook
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* Keep us fighting, chip in what you can.

TTIP : The Fleecing of a Nation. US Citizens sold out yet again by their government.

Published on
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
by

Warning: TTIP Aims To Defang Local Rules Against Hazardous Chemicals

New report finds that the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership poses a threat to state regulations against hazardous pesticides, products, and fracking chemicals

by
Sarah Lazare, staff writer

Fracking wells in McKenzie County, North Dakota. (Photo: Tim Evanson/flickr/cc)

The mammoth Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) under secret negotiation between the United States and European Union is poised to slash the power of local governments to regulate toxins—from pesticides to fracking chemicals—the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) warned in a report released Tuesday.

Preempting the Public Interest: How TTIP Will Limit US States’ Public Health and Environmental Protections (pdf) is based on an analysis of the European Commission's proposed chapter on regulatory cooperation from the April 20 round of negotiations. The report follows other analyses of the text which conclude that the TTIP poses a threat to human rights, environmental protections, and democracy on both sides of the Atlantic.

Beyond the regulatory cooperation chapter, little else is known about the content of the closed-door negotiations over what is set to be the largest bilateral "trade" deal in history.
The chapter's contents, warns CIEL, highlight the direct threat the TTIP poses to public health and environmental protections on the U.S. state level. This is especially troublesome, the report argues, because federal regulations under the Toxic Substance Control Act have proven "egregiously ineffective"—and could be even further eroded, thanks to the influence of the chemical industry in Congress.

"The bottom line is if you're trying to make the U.S. compatible with an international standard, and you have minimal federal regulations on the U.S. side, and you have states that go beyond that, the provisions will be used to attack state chemical and pesticide regulations."
—Sharon Treat, report co-author

In contrast, some state governments have taken the lead in responding to the dangers posed by fracking chemicals, pesticides, and hazardous products by adopting "more than 250 laws and regulations protecting humans and the environment from exposure to toxic chemicals," the report says.+

However, so-called "harmonization provisions" in the EU's proposal could force states to conform to the lowest common denominator—in this case weaker federal guidelines. As Sharon Treat, attorney, co-author of the report and former Maine state legislator, explained to Common Dreams, "The bottom line is if you're trying to make the U.S. compatible with an international standard, and you have minimal federal regulations on the U.S. side, and you have states that go beyond that, the provisions will be used to attack state chemical and pesticide regulations."

What's more, the report asserts, the proposed chapter calls for an imposition of "multiple procedural mandates—from an early warning system to regulatory exchanges to the trade and cost-benefit impact assessments—that will lead to a regulatory chill caused by delay, increased costs for government, fear of legal challenges, and heightened industry influence and conflicts of interest."
Beyond their demobilizing effect, such requirements could also expand the power of private interests in corporate tribunals, known as the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) systems.

"If you are requiring state and federal governments to do more studies to review whether a regulation could be done in a way that is less of an imposition on trade or big business, then you could bolster the case of the ISDS systems to block regulations," explained Treat. "That would be tipping the scales even further in favor of international corporations running roughshod over regulations and procedures to protect public health and the environment.

Given the continued secrecy of the talks, it is not known how the U.S. responded to the proposed chapter, but the researchers at CIEL say the EU's language alone is cause for alarm. CIEL warns that the "largest chemical and manufacturing corporations on both sides of the Atlantic" are playing a role in pressing the TTIP's regulatory agenda—and that the U.S. is likely pressing for a similar race to the bottom for EU member states.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration is negotiating the TTIP alongside two other secret trade deals: the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trade in Services Agreement. All three have come under stiff opposition from social movements and civil societies across the globe concerned that they will bolster corporate power at the expense of people and the planet. Some observers argue that these deals could collapse, in part due to their unpopularity and internal contradictions.

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Ukrainian military simulate gunfight near Kramatorsk and now under UN investigation for using UN symbols in East Ukraine.

ITAR-TASS News Agency

Ukrainian military simulate gunfight near Kramatorsk — self-defense militia

World

May 15, 21:35 UTC+4
The man who witnessed the events said “they were shooting at nowhere, in the sky and into the open field as there aren't any woods nearby”

© EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY

KRAMATORSK, May 15. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukrainian military “simulated armed clashes” against a self-defense group on the outskirts of the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, a representative of voluntary guard of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic told ITAR-TASS on Thursday.

Ukraine’s army and security forces kill three civilians near Kramatorsk

“A ten-vehicle-strong armored column under the cover of six helicopters entered the township of Solntsevo” and the entry was followed by brisk fire involving large-caliber automatic weapons,” he said.
The man who witnessed the events said “they were shooting at nowhere, in the sky and into the open field as there aren't any woods nearby.” Upon hearing the shooting, locals “took shelter in cellars.”
“There were no self-defense fighters in this area, to say nothing of bases,” he said.

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Ukrainian military storm Kramatorsk, 1 dead, 9 injured

Published time: May 02, 2014 20:05
Edited time: May 03, 2014 03:58

The Ukrainian army’s assault on Kramatorsk has finished, witnesses say, adding that the military did not enter the town. Preliminary reports say that one self-defense activist was killed and nine were injured.
It is unclear whether there are any casualties on the army’s side.
Meanwhile coup-appointed interior minister Arsen Avakov has said on his Facebook page that Kiev is not planning to stop the special military operation in Kramatorsk, adding that the military assault will continue at sunrise. He added that the military took control of a TV tower in Kramatorsk overnight.
“The military attacked the barricade on the road to Yasnogorka (town adjacent to Kramatorsk),” an eye-witness in Kramatorsk told RT when the assault started late on Friday. “The lights have been turned off on the nearby street. Shots are being heard across the city, signal rockets light up the sky from time to time. People are saying the Ukrainian army is shooting at everything that moves right now.”
Medics told RIA Novosti that 10 people sustained wounds, one of whom died in hospital. At least one of the injured is a woman. It was earlier reported that dozens had been killed or injured.
Meanwhile, the army has resumed its special operation in Slavyansk on Friday evening. The headquarters of the people’s self-defense is under snipers’ fire, according to Itar-Tass. There are reports of injuries among protesters.

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Three injured as Ukrainian military take control of Kramatorsk military airfield in Donetsk Oblast

April 16, 2014, 1:02 a.m. | Photo — by Anastasia Vlasova,

The poster reads "Don't shoot the citizens of Kramatorsk."
© Anastasia Vlasova

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine -- For 30-year old Oleksiy, April 15 wasn't a good day. He was one of 300 or so Russian-backed militants from Kramatorsk who attempted to take over the Ukrainian military airfield in Donetsk Oblast's Kramatorsk.
But Ukraine's army repelled them, in one of the first -- and Ukrainians hope not the last -- battlefield victories since April 6, when Kremlin-supported and heavily armed insurgents started taking over key government buildings and installations throughout Ukraine's most populous oblast.
But contrary to Russian media reports that 11 people were killed, the Ukrainian military operation left only three wounded -- including Oleksiy, who refused to give his full name. He was lucky to get away with a grazed hip when Ukrainian officers shot him. Two others weren't so lucky and were hospitalized with more serious gunshot wounds. They are expected to live, however.
"Our guys only had three machine guns with them, and they weren't the first to shoot. The soldiers started shooting at us when we just tried to enter the base," said Oleksiy, who sounded surprised that he couldn't enter a Ukrainian military base with a machine gun. His side got off some gunshots, but all missed their targets.
However, the crowd was ready for more violent attacks: They prepared dozens of Molotov cocktails, but never used them -- just left them there, near the airfield gates.
The military airfield near Kramatorsk, a city of some 250,000 people, has been out of use for years.
However, when pro-Russian separatist protests escalated in Donetsk Oblast over the weekend, the old airfield sparkled suspicion among the local protesters. They expected the Ukrainian army to put it to use to bring troops to suppress the uprising, so they kept watch over it since April 12 and tried to gain entry on April 15 -- which turned out to be a poor decision.

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ITAR-TASS News Agency

Response to Ukraine’s use of UN symbols near Ukraine’s Kramatorsk matter of UN secretariat

World

May 15, 14:09 UTC+4

"This (use of UN symbols) is inadmissible according to UN rules," Russian deputy minister of foreign affairs said

A helicopter seen in the background of a UN flag (archive)

© EPA/MAZEN MAHDI

UN to verify information about helicopters with their logo in east Ukraine

ST. PETERSBURG, May 15. /ITAR-TASS/. A response to Ukraine’s use of UN symbols on helicopter gunships which Ukrainian military forces use in a punitive operation near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk is a matter of the international organization’s secretariat, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told reporters on Thursday.

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