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The Arab Street Revolt and the Brotherhood: This Time It’s Different 02/06/2011
Search Engine Friendly URL: http://www.patriotfreedom.org/news_20110206_3001/the-arab-street-revolt-and-the-brotherhood-this-time-its-different/
Jim Kelly
PATRIOT FREEDOM
The Arab Street Revolt and the Brotherhood: This Time It’s Different
By Steven Simpson
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur’an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.
When Mohamed Bouazzi of Tunisia immolated himself on December 17, 2010, the incident barely was mentioned in most news media. After all, who cared about a troubled and insulted man with economic hardships in the barely known Maghrebi (North African) country of Tunisia? But Bouazzi’s desperate act has set off a chain reaction in the Arab world that will either lead to a domino effect of democracy for the Arab peoples, or an Islamist resurrection that has not been seen in centuries. And now with the downfall of Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, it appears that the Ikhwan al-Muslimun (the Muslim Brotherhood) may soon find itself in power and alter the Arab/Muslim world – as well as the world at large—to the extent that the Iranian revolution of 1979 will seem like an isolated incident.
Unlike the bloody and bloodless Arab military coups of the past, the Tunisian “coup” was carried out by the common street people who had decided that enough was enough when it came to the corruption of Tunisia’s dictator, Zine Abidene ben Ali. When the military announced (unprecedentedly) that it would not fire on the citizens, ben Ali knew that his days, if not hours, were numbered. His quick exit to Saudi Arabia took the Arab world by complete surprise. The Egyptian protests on the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, Ismailia, and other cities quickly followed, which has shaken to the very core most, if not all of the Arab dictators from Algeria to Yemen.
While the situation in Tunisia and Egypt is still in a state of flux, it is the departure of Hosni Mubarak after nearly thirty years in power that has caused a political earthquake throughout the region and world. It is Egypt that is at the heart of the Arab world, and with the exception of Jordan, the only Arab country to have made peace with Israel. It might not be an overstatement to say that as Egypt goes, so goes the Arab world. While it is probably too early to prognosticate about Egypt’s future, it appears that at the end of the day, Egypt will either be ruled by the military, or an Islamist government—be it de facto or de jure. At this point, it appears that the Islamists—while not yet at the forefront of this “street revolution”—have the most to benefit. This is bad news for America, the West, and of course, Israel. Indeed, Israel may come out the biggest loser.
The eminent scholar and writer, Dr. Daniel Pipes, Director of the Middle East Forum has written an interesting column, in which he seems to believe that military regimes with a more benign face will come to rule in Tunisia and Egypt. However, there are other factors that are at play here, and which have not been addressed yet.
To begin with, this is the first time in modern Arab history that common, regular people have forced from power corrupt dictatorial regimes without the army coming to the defense of the regimes. While deaths have occurred, there has been no concerted effort on the part of the Tunisian, Egyptian and Yemeni militaries to commit mass murder against its own citizens. This certainly came as a shock to the Arab dictators of these countries. Qaddafi of Libya (who by way of chiding the Tunisians for overthrowing ben Ali was in reality sending a signal to Libyans to stay quiet), Assad of Syria, and Abdullah of Saudi Arabia must now be looking over their shoulders, and sleeping with one eye open. If the armies of other Arab countries will also not fire on their fellow citizens, then what fear do the citizens have in overthrowing these corrupt totalitarian regimes that have oppressed their people for decades? This is a new factor that has never been seen in the Arab world. Without army support, the gates of the presidential palaces of the Arab “leaders” will be left open to the people. If and when that happens, the world is first liable to see extreme violence.
When the people are no longer afraid of the army – let alone the regime – why should they be satisfied with a “benign” military dictatorship? Egypt has been living under a military dictatorship since 1952 when the“Free Officers” under Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew King Farouk. When Nasser unexpectedly died on September 8, 1970, he was quickly replaced by Anwar el-Sadat. When Sadat was shockingly assassinated on October 6, 1981 – by Islamist members of his own military – he was in turn replaced by his vice president, Hosni Mubarak, who has since been in power ruling throughout his reign under a state of emergency. Granted, Mubarak’s Egypt was not the totalitarian Gestapo-like state that Libya, Syria, Yemen and Saudi Arabia are. The same went for Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. It is interesting to note that with the exception of the hereditary Saudi monarchy, the dictators of the above mentioned “republics” were all grooming their sons to succeed them. This begs the question as to why they overthrew the monarchs of these countries in the first place. The Arab “republics” are monarchies in everything but name only. Now with Mubarak’s departure, it no longer seems a fait accompli that this hereditary succession will continue.
Finally, this brings us to the very dedicated, disciplined, and well funded Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt. Founded in 1928 by Hassan al Banna, it reached its zenith under the tutelage of Sayyid Qutb. While currently outlawed in Egypt, members of the Brotherhood are able to run as Independents in Egypt’s Parliament. The“Brothers” are currently led by Sa’ad al-Katatni. While there are factions within the Ikhwan, their supreme goal remains the Islamization of Egypt into a country ruled by the Shari’ah. Their motto is enough to make any civilized person shudder:
Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur’an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.
The Brotherhood—heavily influenced by Nazi ideology —as well as having excellent relations with Iran has learned from its violent past (including the assassination of al-Banna and the hanging of Qutb) that the key to victory lies through “peaceful” methods. If Egypt continues to spin out of control, Egyptians may very well look to them for guidance and leadership. A recent Pew poll showed that Egyptians want “more Islam” in their lives. This is in stark contrast to political pundits and “experts” who have practically discounted the Brotherhood as obsolete.
Indeed, a “useful idiot” as Mohammed el-Baradei , an anti-American, anti-Israeli apologist for Iran’s nuclear weapons program may be the key to the Ikhwan’s dreams of ruling Egypt. Already, they have endorsed him. Iran’s Khomeini used a similar tactic with his first prime minister, Mehdi Bazargan , a respected liberal academic, and then after consolidating power, pushed him aside. With an Ikhwan controlled government, the peace treaty with Israel will no longer exist, perhaps leading to another all-out Arab-Israeli war with Iran in the forefront. The global implications of this nightmare scenario are only beginning to dawn. To put it mildly, America, Israel, and the West are caught between an Arabic version of Scylla and Charybdis.
10 Things That Would Be Different If The Federal Reserve Had Never Been Created 02/05/2011
Search Engine Friendly URL: http://www.patriotfreedom.org/news_20110205_2747/10-things-that-would-be-different-if-the-federal-reserve-had-never-been-created/

Jim Kelly

Patriot Freedom
10 Things That Would Be Different If The Federal Reserve Had Never Been Created
 
The vast majority of Americans, including many of those who believe that they are "educated" about the Federal Reserve, do not really understand how the Federal Reserve really makes money for the international banking elite.  Many of those opposed to the Federal Reserve will point to the record $80.9 billion in profits that the Federal Reserve made last year as evidence that they are robbing the American people blind.  But then those defending the Federal Reserve will point out that the Fed returned $78.4 billion to the U.S. Treasury.  As a result, the Fed only made a couple billion dollars last year.  Pretty harmless, eh?  Well, actually no.  You see, the money that the Federal Reserve directly makes is not the issue.  Rather, the "magic" of the Federal Reserve system is that it took the power of money creation away from the U.S. government and gave it to the bankers.  Now, the only way that the U.S. government can inject more money into the economy is by going into more debt.  But when new government debt is created, the amount of money to pay the interest on that debt is not also created.  In this way, it was intended by the international bankers that U.S. government debt would expand indefinitely and the U.S. money supply would also expand indefinitely.  In the process, the international bankers would become insanely wealthy by lending money to the U.S. government.
Every single year, hundreds of billions of dollars in profits are made lending money to the U.S. government.
But why in the world should the U.S. government be going into debt to anyone?
Why can't the U.S. government just print more money whenever it wants?
Well, that is not the way our system works.  The U.S. government has given the power of money creation over to a consortium of international private bankers.
Not only is this unconstitutional, but it is also one of the greatest ripoffs in human history.
In 1922, Henry Ford wrote the following....
"The people must be helped to think naturally about money. They must be told what it is, and what makes it money, and what are the possible tricks of the present system which put nations and peoples under control of the few."
It is important to try to understand how the international banking elite became so fabulously wealthy.  One of the primary ways that this was accomplished was by gaining control over the issuance of national currencies and by trapping large national governments in colossal debt spirals.
The U.S. national debt problem simply cannot be fixed under the current system.  U.S. government debt has been mathematically designed to expand forever.  It is a trap from which there is no escape.
Many liberals won't listen because they don't really care about ever paying off the debt, and most conservatives won't listen because they are convinced we can solve the national debt problem if we just get a bunch of "good conservatives" into positions of power, but the truth is that we have such a horrific debt problem because it was designed to be this way from the beginning.
So how would America be different if we could go back to 1913 and keep the Federal Reserve Act from ever being passed?  Well, the following are 10 things that would be different if the Federal Reserve had never been created....
#1 If the U.S. government had been issuing debt-free money all this time, the U.S. government could conceivably have a national debt of zero dollars.  Instead, we currently have a national debt that is over 14 trillion dollars.
#2 If the U.S. government had been issuing debt-free money all this time, the U.S. government would likely not be spending one penny on interest payments.  Instead, the U.S. government spent over 413 billion dollars on interest on the national debt during fiscal 2010.  This is money that belonged to U.S. taxpayers that was transferred to the U.S. government which in turn was transferred to wealthy international bankers and other foreign governments.  It is being projected that the U.S. government will be paying 900 billion dollars just in interest on the national debt by the year 2019.
#3 If the U.S. government could issue debt-free money, there would not even have to be a debate about raising "the debt ceiling", because such a debate would not even be necessary.
#4 If the U.S. government could issue debt-free money, it is conceivable that we would not even need the IRS.  You doubt this?  Well, the truth is that the United States did just fine for well over a hundred years without a national income tax.  But about the same time the Federal Reserve was created a national income tax was instituted as well.  The whole idea was that the wealth of the American people would be transferred to the U.S. government by force and then transferred into the hands of the ultra-wealthy in the form of interest payments.
#5 If the Federal Reserve did not exist, we would not be on the verge of national insolvency.  The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that U.S. government debt held by the public will reach a staggering 716 percent of GDP by the year 2080.  Remember when I used the term "debt spiral" earlier?  Well, this is what a debt spiral looks like....
#6 If the Federal Reserve did not exist, the big Wall Street banks would not have such an overwhelming advantage.  Most Americans simply have no idea that over the last several years the Federal Reserve has been giving gigantic piles of nearly interest-free money to the big Wall Street banks which they turned right around and started lending to the federal government at a much higher rate of return.  I don't know about you, but if I was allowed to do that I could make a whole bunch of money very quickly.  In fact, it has come out that the Federal Reserve made over $9 trillion in overnight loans to major banks, large financial institutions and other "friends" during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.
#7 If the Federal Reserve did not exist, it is theoretically conceivable that we would have an economy with little to no inflation.  Of course that would greatly depend on the discipline of our government officials (which is not very great at this point), but the sad truth is that our current system is always going to produce inflation.  In fact, the Federal Reserve system was originally designed to be inflationary.  Just check out the inflation chart posted below.  The U.S. never had ongoing problems with inflation before the Fed was created, but now it is just wildly out of control....
#8 If the Federal Reserve had never been created, the U.S. dollar would not be a dying currency.  Since the Federal Reserve was created, the U.S. dollar has lost well over 95 percent of its purchasing power.  By constantly inflating the currency, it transfers financial power away from those already holding the wealth (the American people) to those that are able to create more currency and more government debt.  Back in 1913, the total U.S. national debt was just under 3 billion dollars.  Today, the U.S. government is spending approximately 6.85 million dollars per minute, and the U.S. national debt is increasing by over 4 billion dollars per day.
#9 If the Federal Reserve did not exist, we would not have an unelected, unaccountable "fourth branch of government" running around that has gotten completely and totally out of control.  Even some members of Congress are now openly complaining about how much power the Fed has.  For example, Ron Paul told MSNBC last year that he believes that the Federal Reserve is now more powerful than Congress.....
"The regulations should be on the Federal Reserve. We should have transparency of the Federal Reserve. They can create trillions of dollars to bail out their friends, and we don’t even have any transparency of this. They’re more powerful than the Congress."
#10 If the Federal Reserve had never been created, the American people would be much more free.  We would not be enslaved to this horrific national debt.  Our politicians would not have to run around the globe begging people to lend us money.  Representatives that we directly elect would be the ones setting national monetary policy.  Our politicians would be much less under the influence of the international banking elite.  We would not be at the mercy of the financial bubbles that the Fed has constantly been creating.
There is a reason why so many of the most prominent politicians from the early years of the United States were so passionately against a central bank.  The following is a February 1834 quote by President Andrew Jackson about the evils of central banking....
I too have been a close observer of the doings of the Bank of the United States. I have had men watching you for a long time, and am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the Bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the Bank and annul its charter I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I have determined to rout you out and, by the Eternal, (bringing his fist down on the table) I will rout you out.
But we didn't listen to men like Andrew Jackson.
We allowed the Federal Reserve to be created in 1913 and we have allowed it to develop into an absolute monstrosity over the past century.
Now we are drowning in debt and we are on the verge of national bankruptcy.
Will the American people wake up before it is too late?
The Economic Collapse
20,000 servicemembers, vets lost homes in 2010 02/05/2011
Search Engine Friendly URL: http://www.patriotfreedom.org/news_20110205_9524/20000-servicemembers-vets-lost-homes-in-2010/

Jim Kelly

Patriot Freedom

 

20,000 servicemembers, vets lost homes in 2010

 
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation."
 
-George Washington-

 
Foreclosure rate in zip codes near military bases increased 32%
By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today-Jim Kelly- Patriot Freedom
Posted : Thursday Feb 3, 2011
More than 20,000 veterans, active-duty troops and reservists who took out special government-backed mortgages lost their homes last year — the highest number since 2003.
The rate of foreclosure filings in 2010 among 163 zip codes located near military bases rose 32 percent over 2008, according to RealtyTrac, a foreclosure research firm. This compares with a 2010 increase in foreclosures filings nationally of 23 percent over 2008.
The housing crisis has hit military families particularly hard in part because of transfers and the loss of civilian jobs left behind by reservists.
About 12,000 military families applied to the Pentagon’s expanded Homeowners Assistance Program. It makes up most of the difference in price for servicemembers who must transfer and sell their homes for less than they owe, or buys their houses outright.
“Our demand, in terms of (military) families coming to us for assistance went up 19 percent in 2010 over the previous year,” says Bill Nelson, executive director of USA Cares, a charity that provides financial assistance to Iraq and Afghanistan war-era troops.
Loans from private banks that are guaranteed by the Veterans Administration have historically outperformed other categories of mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. Through programs that include mortgage counselors, the VA helped 66,000 families avoid foreclosure last year, said Mike Frueh, VA assistant director for loan and property management.
“The 20,000 could have been much higher without that help,” Frueh said.
About 9,000 of some 12,000 military families who sought assistance under the Pentagon’s Homeowners Assistance Program were found eligible, said Don Chapman, an assistant program manager with the Army Corps of Engineers, which administers the plan.
“I hear so many sad stories every day of people calling me and telling me why they should be eligible and why we should be helping everyone and why we should be changing these dates,” Chapman said.
Former Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. William “Tim” Wymore nearly lost his home last year in St. Charles, Mo., after his health declined following six months in Iraq.
Weak, confined to a wheelchair and suffering chronic headaches, Wymore, 44, was forced to quit his job as a machinist. His wife, Shanna, left her job to care for him.
More than $1,800 in grants from USA Cares helped pay utilities and their mortgage. They managed to keep their home.
“There were points where we thought everything we had worked for was going to be gone,” Wymore said.
WOMAN Stars Without Makeup - SEEING IS BELIEVING 02/05/2011
Search Engine Friendly URL: http://www.patriotfreedom.org/news_20110205_9863/woman-stars-without-makeup-seeing-is-believing/

Patriot Freedom

ALTERNATIVE NEWS SECTION
Stars Without Makeup

Jennifer Lopez
She's a diva on the red carpet and wherever she shows up, everyone notices. But she needs to thank her stylist, because without any makeup, she looks extremely pale and quite different from the artist so many girls want to imitate and boys wanna meet.




Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore was named one of the most beautiful people on Earth by PEOPLE magazine; she even graced the cover. In fact, to prove her beauty they published pictures of her without any makeup. They "only" applied base to cover her imperfections and to add a little color.





Alicia Silverstone
After appearing in several music videos with rock band Aerosmith, the cute actress instantly made her way into the dreams of thousand of men everywhere and even won the award for 'Most Desirable Female' at the MTV Movie Awards. Well, we're sorry to turn those dreams into nightmares, but this is how her face looks without makeup.




Jessica Alba
She's one of the most desired women according to AskMen.com. Yes, Jessica Alba has a spectacular body, and also great fashion taste. But we wonder if they ever saw her with no makeup. For the record, we only recommend light makeup for her.




Salma Hayek
Yes, that's Salma Hayek without makeup on a typical beach day. What a difference! It's a rather drastic change. We hope she doesn't go out like that again, otherwise many will be disappointed.



Cameron Diaz
With no makeup Cameron Diaz shows the world her acne. Also, her blue eyes are less noticeable, her skin color very pale, and her nose looks wider. Oh ... the magic of the shades and shadows!




Eva Mendes
As you can see, Eva Mendes knows how not to abuse herself with makeup, although she loves to look tanned. Mendes' makeup gives her that bronze glow.




Halle Berry
Change that little face Halle Berry, because we already saw your natural look and we do see the difference. The sexy actress, also considered one of the most desirable, knows how to take advantage of makeup.




Katie Holmes
They have said that the rumors about Katie Holmes not having a
perfect marriage with Tom Cruise are not true. But she cannot deny her tired look in the image at the left.




Hilary Duff
We know her as the pretty young singer, actress and entrepreneur. Her image, until now, has been radiant. But Hilary Duff's natural look tells us how miraculous makeup can be. At least we can tell many girls that with well-applied color, many flaws can be covered.



Britney Spears
Britney Spears not only doesn't have makeup, she's also pretty untidy. The "Pop Princess" needs to improve her look now!
The Homeland-Security Follies - Al Qaeda openly boasts of using tunnels to smuggle WMD’s into US 02/05/2011
Search Engine Friendly URL: http://www.patriotfreedom.org/news_20110205_9303/the-homeland-security-follies-al-qaeda-openly-boasts-of-using-tunnels-to-smuggle-wmds-into-us/
 
 
 
 
Jim Kelly
 
 
The Homeland-Security Follies - Al Qaeda openly boasts of using tunnels to smuggle WMD’s into US
 
Just after Thanksgiving, a 2,200-foot cross-border tunnel was discovered in San Diego, complete with lighting and ventilation -- and even a rail system.
 
 
 
For most Americans, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's inaugural "state of US domestic security" speech yesterday will be notable mainly for marking the end of the useless "color code" threat system. But such trifling changes can never make up for the simple fact that her department -- despite its 200,000 employees and yearly budget of $56 billion -- isn't up to its task.
 
Just consider our most urgent security challenge: the Mexican drug cartels.
 
By our government's own estimates, the cartels are a deadly multinational conglomerate already present in at least 200 US cities. They've been at war with each other and with their own government for over four years, with no end in sight -- and 30,000 lives lost so far.
 
 
Napolitano: Runs a department that can't do its job.
 
They brazenly defend their interests on US soil -- sometimes with sophisticated military technologies, sometimes with ancient technologies like the huge catapult captured south of the border yesterday. The Texas Rangers are now using armed helicopters against the cartels -- while DHS' Border Patrol choppers are engaged in pointless "catch-and-release" missions against illegal immigrants.
 
Indeed, DHS efforts to secure our southern flank have failed miserably: In October, the department admitted that more than 1,000 miles of the 2,000-mile US-Mexico border were not under "effective federal control." Just after Thanksgiving, a 2,200-foot cross-border tunnel was discovered in San Diego, complete with lighting and ventilation -- and even a rail system.
 
The problem isn't just limited to the cartels: Al Qaeda openly boasts of using drug tunnels to smuggle weapons of mass destruction through our porous defenses. Fortunately, those boasts have proven empty -- at least so far.
 
To improve things, DHS tried to build a high-tech "virtual" border fence covering only a fraction of the border. The effort was recently canceled after wasting a billion taxpayer dollars.
 
The department seems uninterested in cost-effective solutions. For example, it's investing hundreds of millions to adapt the Predator UAV for border surveillance. Howard Whetzel, a retired US Army officer, developed a lower-tech alternative: Sentinel, a commercially produced, powered glider (with state-of-the-art sensors) that could perform Predator missions at a fraction of the cost. (Full disclosure: Whetzel is Allard's occasional business partner.)
 
Ten of the Sentinel gliders could provide stealthy surveillance of the entire border, for roughly $10 million -- while DHS wants 23 Predators to do that job, at a cost of at least $200 million over five years. Although Sentinel could be fully operational in 18 months, DHS won't even consider the idea.
 
The department's problems have nothing to do with which party is in power. Back in 2007, it admitted having made little headway in solving the communications "inter-operability" problems that plagued police and firefighters on 9/11. Yet it continues to waste millions on expensive, top-down, technical "solutions" to deeply embedded organizational and cultural problems.
 
DHS' own audit recently found that the process of providing intelligence reports to local police "fusion centers" is so slow that the information is largely worthless when it arrives. The main culprit: "the lengthy DHS headquarters review process."
 
Congress created DHS after 9/11 out of 22 different federal agencies -- without taking much care to see if the new creature would actually work. History shows this is no easy task. The modern Defense Department, created in 1947, needed three major shakeups over the next 40 years, until the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols reforms finally ended controversies that had simmered for over 40 years. Among the principal benefits: tighter partnership between the armed services -- and quantum leaps in information-sharing and communications interoperability.
 
Congress needs to see if those same lessons can apply to DHS. Just as it does elsewhere in the national security establishment, Congress should scrutinize DHS to determine what works, what does not -- and what must be changed to ensure our survival.
 
This article originally appeared in the New York Post.
 

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