Genetic Engineering of Humans – What Will Prevent It?

By Sally Painter | 12/21/13

With the mapping of the human genome and the advancement of stem cell research, the next question to be answered is what will prevent science from altering the genetic material or DNA in humans to create super humans or designer babies? Some scientists argue that the best possible use of such research is to use it as a preventative or cure tool. Many point to the past decade of advances in this field.
Others believe that the 2001 genetic manipulation of 30 children was the beginning of what might be the point of no return with such interference in the natural order. And many scientists worry that the next step will be “designer babies” or super humans.

Types of Human Genetic Engineering

This type of HE or human cloning is the “what-if hypotheses” that science fiction books are made of.
One HGE method employs a virus-type organism that is inserted into a new gene and introduced into the human body. As a viral organism, the new gene enters human cells and replicates itself, creating an entirely new gene within the person’s genome.
The fictionalized stories of this type of science always result in nightmarish mutations. Some scientists warn while these scenarios are the extreme, they aren’t far off the mark.
Of course, it isn’t as simple as it sounds, especially when there are two choices of application for such genetic manipulation. One application is somatic. It targets specific organs and genes, yet can’t alter human eggs or sperm.
The somatic application is strictly used to address and treat existing genetic disorders. The altered gene corrects or modifies the harmful gene, but doesn’t change the patient’s actual genome. This means that the change cannot be passed on to the next or future generations. The genetic alteration is made only to the individual treated.
The other application is germline and targets human eggs and sperm. Germline can also be used to target early stage embryos. The germline application changes genes on a cellular level and alters the individual’s genome. The change will then be passed on genetically to the next generation and future generations.
Some argue that such genetic manipulation of the human genome could result in a split in the human species. It’s hypothesized that such a split could literally create a new human species that is incapable of relating, much less mating with the non-HGE humans.
In fact, some speculate that the new humans would possibly be repulsed by the original humans or unable to view them as belonging to the same species.

Three Types of Human DNA Cloning

Cloning is another type of genetic engineering. The kinds of cloning that can be achieved are DNA cloning, therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning.
When most people think of reproductive cloning they think of the famous clone sheep, Dolly and subsequent animal clones.
There are two additional types of clones. One is DNA cloning that transfers DNA to become self-replicating within foreign host cells. The second type is embryo cloning, also called therapeutic cloning. The embryo cloning is also highly controversial since it creates human embryos solely for research purposes.
First Genetically Altered Human Beings
In May 2001, the BBC reported that scientists at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science of St Barnabas in New Jersey confirmed that they had performed the first genetically altered human beings before birth. 30 fetuses (15 born in America) had been created in infertile women by using genes from healthy women donors.
Two of the babies tested positive for minute quantities of additional genes that hadn’t been inherited from their parents. When tested at one year old, the children’s genetic makeup showed that they carried two mitochondria DNA. Mitochondria DNA is passed down from the mother
The DNA from the two children showed that they had two mothers. This occurrence is known as mitochondrial transfer and can also happen naturally.
The experiments were very controversial and critics warned that the additional genes could alter the children’s germline. It meant that they could possibly pass on the additional genes to their own children and future generations. In some cases, where the natural mixing of mitochondrial DNA has occurred, the double dose of maternal DNA has often caused life-threatening illnesses. This condition is known as “mitochondrial heteroplasmy”. This condition can strike the person at any stage of life.
Japanese Grow Sperm and Chinese Grow Hybrid Human Embryos from Rabbit Eggs

In 2000, Japanese scientists were successful in growing sperm in laboratories. Many researchers believe that therapeutic cloning offers a solution to infertile couples.
In September 2001, Chinese scientists at the Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences in Guangzhou inserted a boy’s DNA into “empty” rabbit eggs and grew hybrid human embryos. The purpose of the experiment was to increase the availability of transplant tissues used in therapeutic cloning since human eggs aren’t abundantly available. The cloned cells were then used to grow stem cells.

Dangers of Genetically Engineering Humans

Scientific ethic groups condemn this type of research and the scientific applications of HGE. Human genetic engineering still bears the stigma of the torturous inhumane experiments that Nazi doctors carried out on the Jewish people in concentration camps during World War II. As early as 1990, some countries took stances against such research, including Germany with the Embryo Protection Act.
While many European countries have passed laws against cloning that ban germline genetic engineering and reproductive cloning, it’s very difficult to stop science once the procedures have been proven possible.
The current debates over mitochondrial transfer are very similar to debates over a decade ago when the first results of DNA research were revealed. Science pursues discoveries and society attempts to control science by providing a moral conscience.
With the leaps and bounds made in medical science over the past decade the line between scientific pursuits and moral code often blur. Even self-imposed checks and balances within the scientific community can’t rein in what many feel is inevitable. Ultimately, the question remains that simply: Because it can be done, should it be done?

Image Credits:
(1) Sergiu Bacioiu via Compfight cc
(2) Wikimedia: Human DNA Diagram
(3) Wikipedia: Nazi Experiments

Washington Secrets

Be prepared: Wall Street advisor recommends guns, ammo for protection in collapse

By PAUL BEDARD | DECEMBER 26, 2013

Topics: Washington Secrets Gun Control Obamacare NSA Surveillance Wall Street Socialism

Image from Marotta's website warning investors to prepare a "bug-out" bag in case of a fiscal...

Image from Marotta's website warning investors to prepare a "bug-out" bag in case of a fiscal...

A top financial advisor, worried that Obamacare, the NSA spying scandal and spiraling national debt is increasing the chances for a fiscal and social disaster, is recommending that Americans prepare a “bug-out bag” that includes food, a gun and ammo to help them stay alive.
David John Marotta, a Wall Street expert and financial advisor and Forbes contributor, said in a note to investors, “Firearms are the last item on the list, but they are on the list. There are some terrible people in this world. And you are safer when your trusted neighbors have firearms.”
His memo is part of a series addressing the potential for a “financial apocalypse.” His view, however, is that the problems plaguing the country won't result in armageddon. “There is the possibility of a precipitous decline, although a long and drawn out malaise is much more likely,” said the Charlottesville, Va.-based president of Marotta Wealth Management.
Marotta said that many clients fear an end-of-the-world scenario. He doesn’t agree with that outcome, but does with much of what has people worried.
“I, along with many other economists, agree with many of the concerns expressed in these dire warnings. The growing debt and deficit spending is a tax on those holding dollars. The devaluation in the U.S. dollar risks the dollar's status as the reserve currency of the world. Obamacare was the worst legislation in the past 75 years. Socialism is on the rise and the NSA really is abrogating vast portions of the Constitution. I don't disagree with their concerns,” he wrote.
In his latest note, he said that Americans should have a survival kit to take in case of a financial or natural disaster. It should be filled with items that will help them stay alive for the first 72-hours of a crisis, including firearms.
“A bug-out bag is a good idea depending on where you live even if the emergency is just power outages, earthquakes and hurricanes. And with your preparedness you will be equipped to help others who might be in need,” he wrote. “Be prepared. Especially because it keeps you from being scared.”
He provided a list of items and even a link to bug-out bags on Amazon.

Libor Lie – A Black Swan?

By Greg Hunter On July 16, 2012

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 
The Libor interest rate rigging scandal is being called the biggest financial fraud in history.  Libor is a key interest rate that is used globally to set as much as $800 trillion in transactions.  It is used to set interest rates for things such as credit cards, student loans, mortgages, corporate bonds and hundreds of trillions of dollars in derivatives.   Libor stands for the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate.  It is supposed to be an estimate of what it would cost for some of the biggest banks in the world to borrow money from one another.  Sixteen global banks are involved in setting the rate, three of which are in the U.S. (JP Morgan, B of A, and Citi.)  It was recently revealed by Barclays Bank (in the UK) that this key interest rate quoted by most of these banks was nothing more than a gigantic rate rigging scheme.  
In a financial system reeling from one fraud after another, this is the mother of all rip-offs by the banksters.  Karl Denninger of Market-ticker.org calls this, “the largest organized theft ever committed in human history.”  This has already brought out lawsuits by the dozens from investors and institutions who say they were cheated by Libor rate rigging.  Who’s suing the big banks?  A better question might be who’s not suing?  Let’s start with investors both big and small.  CNN reported last week, “With Libor’s alleged suppression, Charles Schwab says, it was deprived of the higher interest payments it deserved.  In another complaint, individual investor Ellen Gelboim claims she purchased corporate bonds that paid variable interest based on Libor, and suffered lower returns as the banks held the rate down.”  (Click here for the complete CNN story.)  These lawsuits and others have been combined into one in federal court in New York, but avalanches of new cases are coming. 
Several state AG’s are also suing, right alongside municipalities and cities around the country, and that is just in the U.S.  Remember, this scandal is global.   Hedge funds trading in derivatives are going to line up to sue the big banks if they were on the losing end of a trade.  Libor affects $550 trillion in derivative contracts.  Some investors got hurt when Libor was manipulated up, and some took losses when Libor was manipulated down.  There is something for everyone, and that equates to very big exposure to the banks involved in the alleged rate rigging.  If the banks are responsible for just 1/10 of one percent of the $800 trillion in Libor transactions, it would represent $800 billion in liability to the banks.  I’ll bet the total cost will be much higher, and some banks will go under as a result of litigation and loss of reputation.  Ron Hera of Hera Research told me last week, “Truth is, if you take back more than 1% of what the banks have stolen, they’re busted.” 
On top of that, there are going to be big fees paid to lawyers to defend lawsuits against the big banks.  There are going to be fines and penalties paid by the banks.  (Barclays paid more than $450 million in the UK to settle rate rigging charges.)  There will also be loss of business to the banks involved in the scheme.  There will surely be derivative contracts voided because rates were rigged and were not the honest interbank lending rates those contracts were based on.  The big banks are already allowed to lie about the value of the assets they hold on their books to look solvent.  I’m talking about underwater real estate and “toxic” mortgage-backed securities.  (FASB 2009 “mark to myth” instead of “mark to market” as the IRS requires.)  
The cheap Libor rates also made the big banks look more solvent than reality because they were understating their funding costs by rigging low rates.  Reggie Middleton of BoomBustBlog.com told me Libor was, “A lie perpetrated in broad daylight,” and regulators should have “looked for fraud” long ago.   How solvent will the big banks appear when rates are no longer manipulated downward?  
Another unintended consequence of the exposure of the Libor rate rigging scandal may have an effect on the value on the almighty U.S. dollar.  Rob Kirby wrote a great piece you can read at Goldseek.com that said, “Libor . . . is one of the lynch pins in setting [rigging] global U.S. Dollar interest rates.  This is why a larger discussion needs to be had about the Libor rigging – it is not a London or Barclay’s centric story.  It has EVERYTHING to do with making the American Dollar look viable as the world’s reserve currency.”  (Click here for the complete post.)  How are the U.S. dollar and Treasuries going to fare when the manipulation of Libor stops cold? 
Maybe everything is rigged, and there are no free markets anymore.  That’s a point the Business-Standard.com brought up last week when it said, “. . . investigations have started to discover other examples of rate-fixing in multiple countries. These enquiries are likely to cover a wide range of indices that have hitherto been believed to be set by “the market”. These indices include ones that set the worldwide prices for natural gas, crude oil, metals, wheat and many, many other commodities, all of which are set by clubs similar to the one that sets Libor.” (Click here for the complete story.) 
The banks are surrounded legally on Libor rate rigging.  Some are already saying the financial damage is going to be so hard to calculate that the banks involved won’t be on the hook for much money.  I say, this is going to drag the banks down like an oversized boat anchor in a thousand feet of deep blue sea.  The damage may not be felt immediately, but it’s there, and it will drag on for years or until the next financial collapse.  Yesterday, one visitor to the site asked, “Do you think that these bankers will be indicted for the LIBOR scandal?”  I replied, “Not only are the big banks “too big to fail,” but the banksters are “too big to jail!”  That does not mean there will not be big consequences for this sort of fraudulent criminal activity.  Unfortunately, we will all take a big hit.” 
The Libor scandal is another in a long line of lies that are undermining the confidence in the financial system.  MF Global, PFGBest, foreclosure fraud, Lehman Brothers collapse, EU debt crisis, toxic assets, TARP and JP Morgan’s London Whale trading scandal are just a few of the things that are causing people to lose faith.  The economy cannot thrive, let alone recover, in an environment of fraud and corruption.  Both debt and criminals need to be flushed from the global economy.  The Libor rate rigging scandal is coming at a time when the Federal Reserve is worrying about a sinking economy, fiscal cliffs and a crushing EU debt crisis.  Is the Libor lie the black swan that finally sinks the system?

China bans journalists from writing about its $24 trillion debt bubble the biggest in history

  24 December 2013 http://www.arabianmoney.net/gold-silver/2013/12/24/china-bans-journalists-from-writing-about-its-24-trillion-debt-bubble-the-biggest-in-history/

The Financial Times reports that China has banned journalists from writing pessimistic articles about its economy, the latest in a desperate effort to prevent the $24 trillion Chinese debt mountain from imploding as local interest rates skyrocket.
Blame the Fed for its reduction of QE money printing last week. The three-month Chinese Shibor interest rate is up 80 points to 5.5 per cent over the past month. This is a credit squeeze as hot money is pouring out of China.
Wealth management
Most vulnerable are China’s so-called ‘wealth management products’ that are highly leveraged to juice gains. Fitch Ratings says this ‘hidden second balance sheet’ totals around $2 trillion. Indeed the sums of money involved in the Chinese credit expansion are huge.
Credit has been expanding at 20-30 per cent per annum for the past five years since the global financial crisis. That’s way ahead of 7.5-8 per cent official GDP growth
Total credit has ballooned from $9 trillion to $24 trillion in five years, and is now equal in size to the US and Japanese banking systems added together, the biggest bubble in history. It is obvious to many observers that much of the GDP expansion of the past five years is simply monetary inflation and an illusion created under a cloud of acrid smog.
The problem with any debt bubble is that all seems perfectly well until the bubble suddenly goes pop. China is now coming closer and closer to that point. The rich have gotten as much as they can out of the country before this happens in a movement of money unlike anything since the Russian oligarchs in the late 1990s. London’s two top real estate owners are Chinese, for example.
Chinese gold rush
Chinese older ladies, the famous aunties, are converting their money into gold in a rush that has taken advantage of falling gold prices this year. Really they are buying gold after the inflation has happened and not before, but should still have the last laugh if China’s paper money collapses as it has so many times in the past.
But as with the subprime crisis in 2008 the final ‘black swan’ event is most likely to be a bank collapse or failure of a financial institution, like Lehman Brothers or Northern Rock. And it is impossible to predict with any certainty when that might happen.
However, there are rumours that some of the wealth management concerns are already bankrupt on paper. Half of their liabilities have to be refinanced every three months. Could there be a Chinese-style TARP rescue plan very soon? That looks inevitable but what will the damage be to financial markets in the meantime?

The Stock Market Has Officially Entered Crazytown Territory

By Michael Snyder, on December 26th, 2013

 

It is time to crank up the Looney Tunes theme song because Wall Street has officially entered crazytown territory.  Stocks just keep going higher and higher, and at this point what is happening in the stock market does not bear any resemblance to what is going on in the overall economy whatsoever.  So how long can this irrational state of affairs possibly continue?  Stocks seem to go up no matter what happens.  If there is good news, stocks go up.  If there is bad news, stocks go up.  If there is no news, stocks go up.  On Thursday, the day after Christmas, the Dow was up another 122 points to another new all-time record high.  In fact, the Dow has had an astonishing 50 record high closes this year.  This reminds me of the kind of euphoria that we witnessed during the peak of the housing bubble.  At the time, housing prices just kept going higher and higher and everyone rushed to buy before they were "priced out of the market".  But we all know how that ended, and this stock market bubble is headed for a similar ending.
It is almost as if Wall Street has not learned any lessons from the last two major stock market crashes at all.  Just look at Twitter.  At the current price, Twitter is supposedly worth 40.7 BILLION dollars.  But Twitter is not profitable.  It is a seven-year-old company that has never made a single dollar of profit.
Not one single dollar.
In fact, Twitter actually lost 64.6 million dollars last quarter alone.  And Twitter is expected to continue losing money for all of 2015 as well.
But Twitter stock is up 82 percent over the last 30 days, and nobody can really give a rational reason for why this is happening.
Overall, the Dow is up more than 25 percent so far this year.  Unless something really weird happens over the next few days, it will be the best year for the Dow since 1996.
It has been a wonderful run for Wall Street.  Unfortunately, there are a whole host of signs that we have entered very dangerous territory.
The median price-to-earnings ratio on the S&P 500 has reached an all-time record high, and margin debt at the New York Stock Exchange has reached a level that we have never seen before.  In other words, stocks are massively overpriced and people have been borrowing huge amounts of money to buy stocks.  These are behaviors that we also saw just before the last two stock market bubbles burst.
And of course the most troubling sign is that even as the stock market soars to unprecedented heights, the state of the overall U.S. economy is actually getting worse...
-During the last full week before Christmas, U.S. store visits were 21 percent lower than a year earlier and retail sales were 3.1 percent lower than a year earlier.
-The number of mortgage applications just hit a new 13 year low.
-The yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries just hit 3 percent.
For many more signs like this, please see my previous article entitled "37 Reasons Why 'The Economic Recovery Of 2013' Is A Giant Lie".
And most Americans don't realize this, but the U.S. financial system and the overall U.S. economy are now in much weaker condition than they were the last time we had a major financial crash back in 2008.  Employment is at a much lower level than it was back then and our banking system is much more vulnerable than it was back then.  Just before the last financial crash, the U.S. national debt was sitting at about 10 trillion dollars, but today it has risen to more than 17.2 trillion dollars.  The following excerpt from a recent article posted on thedailycrux.com contains even more facts and figures which show how our "balance sheet numbers" continue to get even worse...

Since the fourth quarter of 2009, the U.S. current account deficit has been more than $100 billion per quarter. As a result, foreigners now own $4.2 trillion more U.S. investment assets than we own abroad. That's $1.7 trillion more than when Buffett first warned about this huge problem in 2003. Said another way, the problem is 68% bigger now.
And here's a number no one else will tell you – not even Buffett. Foreigners now own $25 trillion in U.S. assets. And yet… we continue to consume far more than we produce, and we borrow massively to finance our deficits.
Since 2007, the total government debt in the U.S. (federal, state, and local) has doubled from around $10 trillion to $20 trillion.
Meanwhile, the size of Fannie and Freddie's mortgage book declined slightly since 2007, falling from $4.9 trillion to $4.6 trillion. That's some good news, right?
Nope. The excesses just moved to a new agency. The "other" federal mortgage bank, the Federal Housing Administration, now is originating 20% of all mortgages in the U.S., up from less than 5% in 2007.
Student debt, also spurred on by government guarantees, has also boomed, doubling since 2007 to more than $1 trillion. Altogether, total debt in our economy has grown from around $50 trillion to more than $60 trillion since 2007.

So don't be fooled by this irrational stock market bubble.
Just because a bunch of half-crazed investors are going into massive amounts of debt in a desperate attempt to make a quick buck does not mean that the overall economy is in good shape.
In fact, much of the country is in such rough shape that "reverse shopping" has become a huge trend.  Even big corporations such as McDonald's are urging their employees to return their Christmas gifts in order to bring in some much needed money...

In a stark reminder of how tough things still are for low-income families in America, McDonalds has advised workers to dig themselves "out of holiday debt" by cashing in their Christmas haul.

"You may want to consider returning some of your unopened purchases that may not seem as appealing as they did," said a website set up for employees.
"Selling some of your unwanted possessions on eBay or Craigslist could bring in some quick cash."

This irrational stock market bubble is not going to last for too much longer.  And a lot of top financial experts are now warning their clients to prepare for the worst.  For example, David John Marotta of Marotta Wealth Management recently told his clients that they should all have a "bug-out bag" that contains food, a gun and some ammunition...

A top financial advisor, worried that Obamacare, the NSA spying scandal and spiraling national debt is increasing the chances for a fiscal and social disaster, is recommending that Americans prepare a “bug-out bag” that includes food, a gun and ammo to help them stay alive.
David John Marotta, a Wall Street expert and financial advisor and Forbes contributor, said in a note to investors, “Firearms are the last item on the list, but they are on the list. There are some terrible people in this world. And you are safer when your trusted neighbors have firearms.”
His memo is part of a series addressing the potential for a “financial apocalypse.” His view, however, is that the problems plaguing the country won't result in armageddon. “There is the possibility of a precipitous decline, although a long and drawn out malaise is much more likely,” said the Charlottesville, Va.-based president of Marotta Wealth Management.

So what do you think is coming in 2014?

War Games in Cyberspace: NATO’s Cyber Defense Exercises Coincide with “Anonymous” Cyber Attacks against Ukraine

NATO Cyber Defense Center in Tallinn, Estonia features a fusion of modern technology with outdated cold war ideology

By Peter Adams

Global Research, December 26, 2013

Region: Europe, Russia and FSU

Theme: Militarization and WMD, US NATO War Agenda

Barely acknowledged by the mainstream media, NATO launched in late November its largest-ever cyber defense exercises  “Cyber Coalition 2013″   to test the Alliance ability to defend its networks from attacks.

The exercises involved some 500 experts – more than 100 participants from the NATO Cyber Defense Center for Excellence and over 300 cyber defense experts from 32 states-members and partners of the Alliance, who worked remotely.

Cyber Coalition 2013 continued the line of NATO exercises Steadfast Jazz 2013, which were held in Poland and the Baltic states in the beginning of November.

Coincidence?

Besides repulsion of aggression against Estonia from an imaginary state Botnia, the exercises also featured testing NATO cyber defense mechanisms. By an amazing coincidence, in the very beginning of the exercises a number of Ukrainian, Russian, Polish and Baltic state sites underwent an attack . Even the site of NATO Cyber Defense Center in Tallinn was down for some hours.

 OBSCURE GUESSWORK.

It’s not still clear who was behind the attack, though there were some reports of a notorious hacker group Anonymous Ukraine, who cracked some NATO servers in 2011, claiming responsibility for it.

The day before the attack Anonymous Ukraine published a video to announce the beginning of the “Independence”  operation against both Russian and European options for Ukraine integration. Up to here everything seems quite clear. However, it’s strange that after the Estonian authorities lost control of the Ministry of Defense site for almost 24 hours (!), they decided not to conduct an investigation of the incident under the pretext of major expenses necessary. Quiet a strange statement to come from a country which hosts NATO Cyber Defense Center, which was created to defend Estonia against cyber attacks.

In Ukraine, things were different. The hacked sites of Ukrainian government bodies (the Prosecutor General, SBU medical service, etc.) featured a banner of NATO Cyber Defense Center in Tallinn warning that the sites didn’t correspond to NATO security standards. Despite the hype in the social networks, there was no official reaction to the incident. Obviously, Kiev decided to swallow that to avoid “unnecessary consequences”.

It’s clear that Yanoukovich didn’t have enough guts to accuse NATO of cyber terrorism or conduct an independent investigation. By the way, while some Polish, Latvian and Estonian sites were also attacked, only Anonymous Ukraine managed to give an appropriate reaction.

Brussels, naturally, denied any involvement in the incidents. In the midst of the exercises NATO Cyber Defense Center in Tallinn officially announced that someone just used its name to discredit the work of the alliance. However, the perpetrator was never named (https://www.ccdcoe.org/453.html).

What is not possible for the official bodies becomes real with the help of the expert community, namely, the International Center for defense studies in Tallinn (again) under the direction of a notorious informational provocations specialist, a retired U.S. diplomat and political scientist Matthew Bryza. Piret Pernik, an expert of the Center, made a thorough chronological research of the Steadfast Jazz 2013 incidents only to come to a staggering conclusion: the trace goes to Russia.

On the one hand, it’s quite clear that from the Estonian point of view Russia is the only possible perpetrator. On the other hand, there should be at least some evidences. Pernik is sure that she has it.

In her opinion, the basic evidence is that Russian journalists reporting on this unfortunate incident dared to came with a hypothesis of what happened. Since Pernik is sure that Russia media are controlled by the FSB, their hypothesis is, evidently, a product of the Russian special services, which were certainly involved in the hack. A wonderful example of impeccable logic.

In fact, Russian media only proposed the evident – the attack was deliberately or non-deliberately executed by NATO in the course of the Steadfast Jazz 2013 exercises which tested the Alliance cyber defense capabilities. This conclusion becomes obvious after viewing the hacked sites, which displayed a banner claiming that the resource didn’t correspond to NATO cyber security standards. The banner also included the logo of NATO Cyber Defense Center in Tallinn and telephone numbers of the contact persons.

Also, possessing some internet search skills proves to be enough to check that the “FSB-controlled” Russian media reports were, in fact, secondary information, since they provided only a digest of the wide discussion on blogs and forums.

Pernik also believes that the attack on Ukrainian and NATO sites was carried out from a Georgian IP-address. In her opinion, it provides yet another evidence of Russian trace. Well, firstly, what a Georgian IP has to do with Russia? Secondly, there was no investigation. That’s why Pernik cites an anonymous cyber expert, and it sounds as ridiculous as “FSB-controlled Russian media”. There was no explanation of the origin of the IP and it’s not clear why the IP is mentioned by an independent expert, while the NATO Center remains silent.

 A HUMILATING REPROACH FOR TALLINN

As it happens, some Ukrainian experts we contacted on conditions of anonymity are absolutely sure, that the sites of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General and SBU were attacked from an Estonian IP-address. The experts say that this is why the Ukrainian authorities had to keep silence. Naturally, Kiev saw the attack as a warning send by NATO Cyber Center to its state-partners to inform them about the vulnerability of their internet resources.

Pernik also tries to prove Russian involvement by saying that the incidents got a wide coverage only in Russian media. That’s just not true, and anyone can check it after a bit of googling. It is hard to miss a publication of Jane’s Defence  magazine, which points out that the incident is a humiliations for a country which started to receive huge financial support to develop cyber security after a serious cyber attack in 2007.

It should be noted that Tallinn was chosen as the NATO Cyber Defense Center HQ due to Estonian pressing requests to ensure its cyber security, caused by an outspread of computer attacks after the popular protest followed the dismantling of a Soviet Soldier monument in 2007. At that time, Estonian government also blamed Russia and demanded NATO to defend the country against the cyber attacks.

So, who is the real culprit behind the attacks on Ukrainian, Russian and Baltic sites in November? The cyber security experts agree that it is very difficult to investigate the activities of hacker groups and individuals. Cyber wars are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and it’s almost impossible to check, confirm or disprove the information on the internet. That’s why the state special services are collaborating with hackers or acting on their part.

Thanks to Edward Snowden the world is now aware of the illegal actions of the American special services, including computer piracy, stealing of personal information and hacking foreign state and private informational resources. As a matter of fact, the U.S. Cyber Command and NSA don’t care about keeping their work secret anymore – it’s enough to remember the speech delivered by Keith Alexander in Florida in the summer of 2013.

A SPUR TO HACKERS

As mentioned above, the cyber incidents got a wide coverage in the Ukrainian social networks and specialized hacker forums. The popular opinion is that Anonymous Ukraine is a pseudonym for some special service, probably even NSA or NATO Cyber Security Center itself. It is also believed that the cyber attacks were in fact carried out as training for NATO Center experts in the course of the Steadfast Jazz 2013 exercises, which aimed at testing the methods on “dummies”, who could not provide an adequate response.

Another version states that the attack that involved NATO Cyber Center could have happen due to a computer mistake. Finally, it may well be that NATO cyber security experts executed a prepared scenario in cooperation with their counterparts from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Estonia.

It is likely that we would never know who was behind these attacks – Ukrainian hackers, NATO cyber security experts or someone else. However, there is a general impression of a wide-scoped and sophistically planned provocation, carried out by two centers in Estonia in order to display Russia as an insidious cyber aggressor, draw some attention to its activity and provide a reason for increasing NATO cyber security budget.

Meanwhile, Russia is still behind the U.S. and other NATO members in the sphere of cyber security. The announced formation of cyber units is still to happen and there is no news about cyber security exercises.

It is not a coincidence that Russia promoted an UN initiative of limitation of the arms race in the informational sphere and offered other countries to join the Convention of International Informational Security.

While the U.S. and NATO are paying great attention to cyber warfare and refusing to treat other countries as equals, they, in fact, only encourage the interest of terrorist organization in asymmetric response and spur hackers all over the world. On that background, Tallinn centers blaming Russia seems as a failed attempt of shifting responsibility for strategic errors, technological mistakes and wrong choice of partners. As for the eloquence of the Estonian analysts, it is probably explained by an uneasy conscience, which, as it is known, betrays itself. 

Peter Adams <freelance5media@gmail.com>

IP Advisor: Hold ISPs Responsible For Facilitating Piracy

• Andy
• December 26, 2013

While laying the blame firmly at the feet of entertainment companies for failing to keep pace with technology, the recently appointed IP advisor to the UK Prime Minister says that should education and new products fail to have the desired effect on illegal downloading, ISPs should be held responsible for their users’ actions.
Early September UK Prime Minister David Cameron appointed a brand new intellectual property advisor.
Conservative MP Mike Weatherley, a former record label worker and Vice President of the Motion Picture Licensing Company, began with a brief to focus on intellectual property enforcement issues relating to the creative industries.
With the appointment of Weatherley, a chartered accountant and former finance director of record producer Pete Waterman’s empire, there can be little doubt that the Government is looking to tighten things up on the IP front.
Writing for the World Intellectual Property Organization magazine, the 56-year-old says that he faces a key question of whether the solution to the piracy problem requires government and/or industry involvement, or a partnership of the two.
Weatherley begins by touching on the complex issue of content licensing and the domestic issues raised by the Hargreaves Review. However, he soon moves on to what many believe is one of the main drivers of infringement over the past decade – a failure by content distributors to move forward with technology.
“At the end of the day, the creative industry must take responsibility for its failure to keep pace with the digital age. Technology will always open up new ways to access content. If creators do not begin to embrace these technologies they will lose out, and by default, the market will be dictated by ‘open rights’ interest groups. The creative industry alone is responsible for not evolving fast enough. The music industry, for example, has spent years saying ‘no’ instead of ‘how?’,” Weatherley says.
Interestingly, the MP also says that the creative industries are very good at talking to themselves but notes they are doing little to educate the public and are even “losing the propaganda war.”
“In 2010, at the UN Worldwide Internet Governance Forum in Vilnius (Lithuania) it was shocking to see that no one from either industry or government was present to make a case for supporting the protection of IP rights. The Pirate Party, however, was there in full force arguing that all content should be made available for free,” Weatherley notes.
Echoing growing sentiments of many in the digital domain, the MP says that the “efficient and plausible way forward” would see the industry not only educating consumers but meeting their demands by offering “simple, affordable and legal access” to copyright-protected works.
“Proponents of piracy say downloading content legally is too complicated. Industry, therefore, needs to find innovative ways to ensure that content is easily available and in so doing make piracy a less attractive option. We need to let go of old dogma and identify and further develop new, workable solutions, Weatherley says.
But what if education plus fresh and innovative offerings can’t do the job of seriously reducing copyright infringement? Legislation can, it seems.
“Government must back up industry by putting the necessary enforcement mechanisms into place. This would include holding Internet Service Providers responsible if they knowingly facilitate illegal downloading practices and do not take steps to stop this form of piracy,” the MP states.
The issue of liability for third-party infringement has been well-trodden in the past 12 months, with both the music and movie industries taking the leading ISPs to the High Court in order to hold them responsible for the unauthorized file-sharing of their customers.
The evidence of subscriber infringement on sites such as The Pirate Bay is now considered enough to put ISPs on notice that they need to block sites to stop it. The big question now is what Weatherley envisions on the legislative front that isn’t already covered.
Will ISPs be expected to warn and disconnect infringing customers in order to maintain their safe harbor? Or perhaps actively blocking a wider range of sites once wide-scale infringement is established will be acceptable? A combination of the two might seal the deal but all options are very much political hot potatoes.
Time will tell, but in the meantime Weatherley signs off with a note to the industry.
“The creative sector needs to show greater flexibility and to be part of the solution,” he concludes.

NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE NEFARIUM DEC 26, 2013

NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE NEFARIUM DEC 26, 2013

Wide, Open Space Dedicated to the Aerospace Industries of the Future!
The Oklahoma Spaceport
Ready to Meet Your Needs Today!

The Oklahoma Spaceport Specializes in horizontal take-off and landing for Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLVs). The Oklahoma Spaceport received its Launch Site Operators License from the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) on June 12, 2006, becoming only the sixth recipient to receive a Launch Site Operators License from AST. The Oklahoma Spaceport became the first inland spaceport to establish a flight corridor for space operations in the national airspace system clear of military operating areas or restricted airspace. This arrangement means that space vehicles will not need military permission to operate because the spaceport will have its own airspace.

This information is published by the FAA, Office of Commercial Space Transportation in their 2009 U.S. Commercial Space Transportation Developments and Concepts: Vehicles, Technologies, and Spaceports Report which is produced annually.

 

• Providing opportunities for space-related business in Oklahoma
• Promoting math and science education supporting the space technology of the future
• Growing commercial development of the former Clinton-Sherman Airpark
• Current test and evaluation location for Armadillo Aerospace http://www.armadilloaerospace.com/n.x/Armadillo/Home

The Oklahoma Spaceport offers fully operational facilities:

• 2700 acre facility centrally located on major East/West and North/South thoroughfares Interstate Highways I-35 and I-40
• One of the longest runways in North America, 13,503’ x 300’ concrete runway with additional 1,000’ over-runs
• Precision and Non Precision Approaches
• Unobstructed and non-congested airspace
• 96 acres of parking ramp able to support large commercial aircraft
• Favorable climate for flight testing operations
• Quick-turn refueling capabilities for military aircraft
• Fixed Base Operator (FBO)
• DOD contract fuel service
• Crash and Rescue Units on site
• Six commercial aircraft hangars available at favorable rates
• 50,000 square foot manufacturing facility with loading docks adjacent to main line rail spur
• Large number of building sites available
• On-site Golf Course
• Tech Center on-site

8 Spaceports That Are America's Gateway to the Stars

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We are so, so close to commercial orbital tourism. We sit on the cusp of a new space age—an age of convenience rather than exploration, where anybody—really, anybody—can become an astronaut.

To date, only eight non-governmental facilities in the entire country have received FAA licensing approval to operate as spaceports. These spaceports have grown largely from former military and NASA installations—because why build a multi-million dollar launch facility when you can just buy one? But space travel (not unlike pimpin') ain't easy, and it ain't cheap—yet. This handful of pioneering spaceports aim to change that.

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Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS)

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NASA's Laser Satellite Could Deliver Fiber Optic Speeds from Lunar Orbit

For all of their advanced technologies, modern satellites still rely on low-bandwidth radio transmitters to communicate with ground control. But they … Read…

NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, located on Virginia's eastern shore, was established in 1945 as an aerodynamics test-bed and orbital launch facility. In the 68 years since, more than 16,000 rockets have taken off from Wallops, including early prototypes for the Mercury Project and LADEE. These days, in addition to acting as one of NASA's two remaining launch pads, Wallops is also home to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS).

Governed by the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, MARS utilizes a pair of launchpads: Pad 0A, which is licensed by the FAA for delivering payloads up 11,100 pounds into Lower Earth Orbit, and Pad 0B, which supports 8,400 pound payloads and is more suited to smaller vehicles like the Minotaur IV or Minuteman rockets. It also accommodates both liquid and hybrid fuel vehicles in addition to the more conventional solid-fuels.

MARS recently hosted the inaugural launch of Orbital Sciences Corps' autonomous Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft, aboard the company's Antares rocket. The Cygnus, a competitor to Elon Musk's Dragon Capsule, successfully launched on September 18th, 2013. Four days later it reached the ISS, docked, and delivered 1,500 pounds of supplies. [MARS Spaceport - Image: AP Photo/NASA, Bill Ingalls]

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The California Spaceport

In operation since 1999, the California Spaceport at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, CA is the oldest licensed "Commercial Space Launch Site Operator" in America. What's more, it's the only fully-commercialized facility in the country—it operates entirely without government funding.

The “Space Launch Complex 8” or SLC-8 (the area with the orange construction crane, above) is the primary launch site. It's capable of supporting both polar and ballistic launch trajectories using smaller Minotaur class boosters, but as of 2011, had only hosted a total of nine launches. [Calspace - Image: AP Photo/Spaceport Systems International, Bruce Fall]

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The Oklahoma Spaceport

Tucked away in the middle of Oklahoma's nowere resides one of the longest runways in North America—the 13,503 foot main drag at the Oklahoma Spaceport. That much tarmac, combined with the virtually plane-free Oklahoma skies—it's the first inland spaceport to completely avoid military and restricted airspace—this spaceport is ideally suited as a commercial facility for HTOL (Horizontal Take Off and Landing) vehicles. The Oklahoma spaceport is also home to Armadillo Aerospace, even though its lunar lander prototype is strictly a VTOL. Best of all, the OK Spaceport even features a 9-hole golf course. [OK Spaceport]

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Cape Canaveral Spaceport

In addition to Wallops Island in Virginia, NASA also maintains its flight facilities in Cape Canaveral, Florida. But since the demise of the shuttle program, both the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) and Kennedy Space Center (KSC) have been opened up to additional commercial endeavors. Together, these facilities feature three active launch pads and two active runways for horizontal launches between them.

Launch Complex 46 and Launch Complex 20 are Cape Canaveral's primary launch platforms. LC 46 is designed to accommodate medium class rockets like the Lockheed Athena or Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Taurus class as well as ballistic missiles like the Trident II and Minuteman rockets. LC 20 on the other hand is built to handle small, suborbital launch systems such as the LiteStar, Terrier, Orion, and ASAS rockets. [Space Florida - Space Ref - Image: AP Photo/John Raoux]

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Cecil Spaceport

America's newest spaceport is located at Cecil Airport in Jacksonville, Florida—at the site of the decommissioned Naval Air Station Cecil Field. Cecil Spaceport has only been licensed since 2010, but already operates the necessary facilities for supporting horizontally launched recoverable vehicles. The spaceport has 12,500, 8,000, and 4,000-foot long runways already and is currently developing additional taxiways and spaceport-specific facilities. The improvements should be complete by the end of the decade. [Space Florida - Jacksonville Aerospace Auth - Image: AP Photo/Oscar Sosa]

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Mojave Air & Space Port

Built at a decommissioned Navy airfield and WWII gunnery training range, the Mojave Air and Space Port has become one of the country's premiere test sites for private space vehicles. Beginning with the rotary rocket program in the early 1990's the Mojave facility has hosted some of the biggest names in commercial space travel including SpaceShipOne, which won the Ansari X Prize in 2004, XCOR Aerospace, Masten Space Systems, and Orbital Science Corp. [Wikipedia - Image: (AP Photo/Laura Rauch]

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Spaceport America

Located in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin of New Mexico, Spaceport America is billed as "the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport" and is home to private space luminaries such as Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, UP Aerospace, and Armadillo Aerospace.

The LEED Gold-certified facility covers approximately 670,000 square feet in total and includes a pair of 47,ooo square-foot double-height hangars as well as an on-site mission control center. The spaceport is accessible via a short shuttle ride from the nearby town of Truth Or Consequences, NM. [Wikipedia - Spaceport America]

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Kodiak Launch Complex

The 3,700 acre Kodiak Launch Complex is the only high altitude, full service spaceport in the country. Located on the 54th latitude at Narrow Cape, Kodiak Island, the KLC specializes in polar launches—those commonly used for putting satellites into orbit. The state-of-the-art facility includes dual launch pads (one for orbital launches, the other sub-orbital), a 17-story rocket assembly building, and a clean room for preparing satellites. The KLC is currently building a third pad that will allow an incredibly tight launch schedule—less than 24 hours from go-ahead to liftoff. [Alaska Aerospace - Image: AP Photo/U.S. Navy, John F. Williams]

Crossing Obama Can Be Deadly!

truther December 12, 2013

Mysterious Deaths Surround Obama! 

Obama’s “Dead Pool”
Deaths connected to the Obama White House
By NACHUMLIST

Andrew Breitbart  -  Died of a massive heart attack, walking outside late at night, alone, in the dark approximately one week before he was to produce tapes of Obama’s extremist activities in college.  More speculation: Breitbart: “Wait ‘Til They See What Happens March 1st”,  Breitbart’s Footage Shows Obama ‘Palling Around’ With Terrorists….. Sheriff Joe Arpaio: I Spoke with Andrew Breitbart Shortly Before he Died ……An Eyewitness Speaks Out About Andrew Breitbart’s Death Scene… Breitbart’s skin color described as bright red. … Was Andrew Breitbart assassinated?…More murder speculation: Was Andrew Breitbart Murdered?  Los Angeles Coroner:   Breitbart Died of Heart Failure.

Steve Bridges Dies At 48  – Impersonator Who Offended 0bama …Steve Bridges as President Obama – August 2011 ….It appeared that he died of natural causes…

The deaths of Seal Team Six …who never would fly an entire company in one helicopter alone.

Kam Kuwata -   was found dead inside his Venice home after friend — concerned that they had not heard from him for a few days — alerted police. Political consultant in California.  Democratic insider.  Possibly the Obama consultant referred to in the Ulsterman Report: Allegedly viewed bizarre drug induced behavior from Obama during the the 2008 campaign: “The Troubling Timeline”…. The Death of a Political Operative – The Troubling Timeline… (UPDATED)

Did Obama Assassinate Clinton delegates? Bill Gwatney and Stephanie Tubbs Jones?………… Hollywood Producer Bettina Viviano: Bill Clinton Directly Told Me Barack Obama Not Eligible – ….Caucus death threats (audio)… also reported by Jerome Corsi at WND: Hillary supporter’s untold Obama horror stories Allegations of intimidation, manipulation, sudden death

Bill Gwatney, a close friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton and a Clinton super delegate at an upcoming convention in Denver and was fatally shot in 2008.  Shooter had a post-it note with a mystery phone number.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones: found brain dead in 2008.  Democratic Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Cleveland, a super delegate and one of Hillary Clinton’s most prominent black supporters, was found in her car unconscious

Obama’s grandmother, [Madelyn Payne Dunham], died 2 days before the general election.  Flew up to see her for one hour – alone.

Lieutenant Quarles Harris Jr.- A key witness in a federal probe into passport information stolen from the State Department was fatally shot in front of a District church

Christopher Kelly -Committed suicide, under pressure to testify against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich

John Wheeler III-  former presidential and Pentagon aide John Wheeler III was found in a Delaware garbage dump. Wheeler’s cell phone discovered – Cause of death released in Wheeler case, blunt force trauma — Wheeler’s cell phone found in a taxi — His family wants information – John Wheeler was assassinated by a hitman in a targeted killing, his widow has claimed – Who killed Jack Wheeler?

Donald Young- Openly gay friend of Obama’s at  Murdered at Trinity Church in Chicago-…Key Witness In Obama Passport Fraud Case  -  Video report: Obama-Donald Young murder (December 24, 2007)……….All 3 Homosexual Members Of Obama’s Trinity Church Murdered Within 6 Weeks.

Larry Bland and Nate Spencer: Two other black members of Trinity Church Murdered at the same time – Report: Mother Of Obama’s Murdered Gay Lover Speaks Up – With Video

Beverly Eckert,  Continental Flight Victim, Was 9/11 Widow (VIDEO, SLIDESHOW), was at the White House with Barack Obama, part of a meeting the president had with relatives of those killed in the 2001 attacks

Michael Scott – Although Chicago school board president Michael Scott’s death had been ruled a suicide by the Cook County medical examiner’s office, Chicago police characterized the case as a death investigation, and have not concluded that Scott’s death was a suicide- was subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury looking into the admissions practices of Chicago’s elite schools.  -also was under scrutiny over Olympics-related real estate dealings.
David Koschman, murdered in a Chicago Rush Street brawl by Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko, a nephew of Mayor Daley and White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley-  Homicide case involving Daley nephew closed without charges, Witness to Killing Involving Daley Nephew: Deceased Didn’t Start It

Ashley Turton, wife of the Obama administration’s House of Representatives liaison, Dan Turton, was found dead in a burning car Monday morning, Roll Call and other news outlets are reporting. Fire officials said it appeared the car crashed as it was pulling in or out of the garage behind a rowhouse in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., at about 5 a.m. Neighbors dialed 911 after spotting the fire. The body was discovered after fire crews doused the blaze. The fire also charred part of the garage. Nobody in the house was injured, fire officials said.  Ashley Turton worked as a lobbyist for the utility giant Progress Energy, according to Politico. She was a former staffer for U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. The Rahm Emanuel Connection to the Deceased Ashley Turton, — The ATF investigates – Ashley Turton Crashed Under the Influence

Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz,   Obama’s First Dog Trainer Dies At 52.  Rumored to be salaried at over $102,000 per year at tax-payer expense

“Mama Lois” Anderson, 79, and her 52 year old daughter Zelda White:  Two US women aid workers were shot dead in Nairobi in Kenya (2008) were the retired Presbyterian Church missionaries of Pennsylvania (USA), known to thousands of Africans.  The suspected killers of the US women, who were travelling in a car with diplomatic license plates, allegedly shot dead by police later.  They were well known for their work.  There is speculation that they possibly had knowledge of the birth and care for Barack Obama in Kenya and were later murdered to cover the trail. When murdered, the Husband had his full wallet which the thieves/car jacker didn’t take, and there was never a connection made to the said attackers the police later shot dead, but blamed for the double homicide/car jacking.  Their church was burned in 2008, possibly to destroy any possible birth records there. Then police chief Mohammed Hussein Ali was later removed from office by Obama supported Kenyan strongman Odinga.  All possible witnesses ended up dead, all possible records of the care of infant Obama burned in the church fire, and the public official responsible out of office.

The Rumor Mill….

Obama Death List

“SARAH BERKLEY – Author of “The Jihad at the Ballot Box” – a book examining Obama’s relationship with radical Islam. Died in a mysterious car crash in 2003.

RUSSELL MCDOUGAL – Former FBI operative, January 23rd, 2007. McDougal was known to hold sensitive information about meetings Barack Obama had with arms smugglers. His wife was murdered March 2006 after he went public with his initial reports. His father died July 8, 2006 four hours after McDougal presented his findings on the Savage Nation.  Suffered administrative retaliation after reporting discussions by jihadist groups concerning Obama to his superiors.

RODRIGO VILLALOPEZ, a television news camera man who shot the footage of Obama describing small town voters as “bitter” and “clinging to their guns during the primary season.

BRIAN GORING – A defense attorney for Obama patron Antoin Rezko during his trial for extortion and bribery. Died of apparent “natural causes.”

MERCEDES HUGLEY, one of Obama’s many white, female conquests while at Harvard.  Filed sexual assault charges against Obama for date rape in 1990. Because “date rape” was not considered a crime like it is today, she ended up dropping the charges. Two years later, she was found dead of an apparent cocaine overdose.

TAMIKA HILL – A former secretary for Obama’s office in Chicago was murdered July 6, 2005 at a rib shack in the south side. Hill had spoken off the record with a reporter from the Chicago Sun Times about meetings Obama had with black militants in the city. She was murdered before she could ever be properly interviewed.

HASAD AL SHAREEZ – FBI informant.  Reported to his handler in January 2001 that he had a tape of a person named simply “B. Hussein” meeting with 9/11 hijacker Mohatma Atta in Prague. Was found shot in the basement of a mosque in Dearborn, MI in October, 2001.

DARSANO RAHARDJO – Childhood classmate of Barack Obama when he attended a madrassa in Indonesia. Was found with his head cut off in a Jakarta alley way in 1970. Many children at the school attributed Rahardjo’s murder to the young Barack Obama. It was likely done as an initiation ritual, since Islam demands that a boy spill another’s blood before the age of ten to prove their loyalty to Allah.

REVEREND DAVID MANNING – Former head of the Trinity Baptist Church in Chicago. Was murdered during the apparent robbery of a catfish restaurant in 1972.   Shortly afterwards, Rev. Jeremiah Wright took over as head of Trinity and a many parishioners (who later left the church) suspected Wright in having a hand in Reverend Manning’s death.    Decades later, Manning’s son JAMAL MANNING was found dead of an apparent crack overdose in 2004. It was rumored he was going to bring evidence of Wright’s complicity in his father’s death. His testimony was timed to coincide with Obama’s first senate race.

CHRISTOPHER HARGROVE, a former lover of Larry Sinclair. Found dead in a hotel room of apparent auto-erotic asphyxiation in January 2001. Was said to have been enraged when he found out that Sinclair had cheated on Jackson with Obama in the back of a limousine. To get revenge, Jackson planned to release digital pictures Sinclair had taken of the encounter on the Internet.

PAUL ROTHCHILD – Democrat National Committee Political Director found dead in a hotel room in Washington DC in 2003. A “friend and trusted advisor” to senatorial candidate Barack Obama. Dead of an apparent suicide.

CURTIS “POOKIE” JACKSON – Chicago drug dealer. Was the subject of a police investigation in which he was suspected of funneling money to Obama’s many various community projects. Killed in 1998 in an apparent gang murder.

HARVEY KENYON – Head of Obama’s senatorial security team in Chicago. Gunned down in his car at a deserted intersection outside of Grant Park in 2005. Kenyon’s son said his father was building a dossier on Obama. He allegedly threatened to reveal this information. After he died the files were mysteriously removed from his house.

SHEILA BAUGH – A Washington DC madame.   Died from a gunshot wound. Reported to have a black book of people containing names of influential people who visited the prostitutes in her brothel. One of those names was allegedly Barack Obama.

KEYSHAWN “SPOON” CALWORTH – Was found dead of an apparent heroin overdose May 18, 1997. Was reported to have ties to Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

LAWSHAWNA MARTIN- 26 year old mother of five, a Cabrini Green resident with a history of substance abuse. Told two of her co-workers at the Blue Peppermint Gentleman’s Club that she would have to quit work because she was pregnant again. Strongly implied that the “baby daddy” was Barack Obama. The next week, she was reported missing. No body was ever recovered, but Lawshana has not resurfaced since making those remarks.

BILL FERGUSON- Senior aide to Barack Obama. Found dead of an apparent heart attack.

GANDY BAUGH – Attorney for Obama friend Antonin Rezko died by falling out an eightieth story window of the Hancock Tower, January, 2003.  His client was a convicted Chinese spy.

Larry Grathwohl -  “We have just learned that Larry Grathwohl was found dead in his Cincinnati apartment,” colleague Doug Hagmann wrote in an email to Canada Free Press (CFP) this evening.

“Many of us are in shock tonight,” Tina Trent wrote in her blog.

The lifelong courage of Larry Grathwohl brought him legions of fans, many of whom will be heartbroken upon hearing this news. More Here #Link

Michael Hastings – Journalist Michael Hastings, who was killed in a fiery Los Angeles crash in June, died of “traumatic injuries” as a result of the accident and had traces of drugs in his system, Los Angeles coroner’s officials said Tuesday. More Here