The strange purchase date and price of Sandy Hook homes

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Dr. Eowyn

Some of those in the blogosphere who maintain or at the very least suspect that the official story of the Dec. 14, 2012 Sandy Hook massacre isn’t true, have raised the matter of the rather strange sale date and price of the homes of some of the victims. See, for example, this discussion on a Godlike Productions chat forum.
Their hypothesis goes something like this:
If the massacre, wholly or in part, were a contrived conspiracy — for example, a drill (or a drill that went very bad) — then the major participants or “players” in the elaborate charade would have to be paid off in some way or another.
Indeed, a year ago, in February 2013, I had noticed the same thing — that some of the homes of Sandy Hook victims all had an odd sale/purchase date of 12/25/2009, and an equally odd sale/purchase price of $0.
I had found that information on the website of Vision Government Solutions (VGS), a company that calls itself “a leading supplier of land parcel management software technology and services to local government organizations, enabling efficient assessment, billing, collections, mapping, and permitting.” One of the services provided by VGS is an online database of residential properties in nine states in the northeastern and eastern U.S., one of which is the state of Connecticut. If you know the address of a home in, say, Newtown, CT, you can look up the property’s value, present owner(s), and price history on VGS’s database.
At the time, in February of last year, puzzled by those strange 12/25/2009 sale date and $0 sale price of Newtown homes, I had sent this email to VGS:

Date: 02/05/13 01:43 PM
Subject: Feedback from the Newtown, CT page
Hello, While browsing real estate properties using this database, I noticed a number of homes have the same “date of sale” of 12/25/2009, and a “sale price” of 0 (zero). Please be so kind as to explain. How can a home be sold or purchased for $0?
Thank you,
Dr. _____

This was the response I received:

Feb. 5, 2013
Thank you for your inquiry Dr ____. In most instances of a sale price of $0 the reason would be because of a family sale where the house ownership is simply transferred. [In other words, no money actually changed hands.] The other reason for that to happen would be a town entering a parcel into their database for the first time they must puta first owner and a sale price. Often times they will put $0 as a filler price. The sale date of 12/25/2009 would be the same thing.
Kind Regards,
Chase Moltedo
Customer Support Representative
Vision Government Solutions
44 Bearfoot Road
Northboro, MA 01532

In addition to emailing VGS, I had also called the Assessor’s Office at Newtown, CT, and left a voice mail asking the same question about the 12/25/2009 sale date and $0 sale price.
An administrative assistant at the Assessor’s Office, Andrea Santillo, promptly returned my phone call. She said that the Newtown city government recently had switched to a new computer system and had not been able to enter the property data for all Newtown homes. So the computer used the 12/25/2009 and $0 as, respectively, a “filler” default sale date and price.
Ms. Santillo’s explanation seemed plausible, and so I did not pursue the matter any further. But that doesn’t mean I’d forgotten about it.
Flash forward a year. I decided to revisit this matter, and went back to VGS’s database. Lo and behold, the strange sale date and price are still there.
So I undertook a systematic investigation into the properties of every Sandy Hook (SH) victim, as well as those of certain non-victims, such as Gene Rosen, who had a prominent media presence in the days immediately after the massacre. What follows is my report on my findings, beginning with my methodology.

Methodology

1. From media accounts, I made a list of the names of all SH victims, including:

• The 20 school children who were killed, as well as the names of their parents.
• The 6 adults who were killed at SHES.
• Nancy Lanza, mother of alleged shooter Adam Lanza.

2. To that list, I added 6 more people who are not victims but had played significant roles in the aftermath of the massacre. They are:

• Gene Rosen, who live next to SHES and gave many TV interviews.
• Laura and Nick Phelps, parents of unharmed SHES students who gave media interviews and who bear a striking resemblance to professional “crisis actors” Jennifer Greenberg Sexton and Richard Sexton. (See “Remarkable resemblance of Sandy Hook victims and professional crisis actors“)
• The three members of Newtown’s governing body, the Board of Selectmen: Elin Patricia Llodra, William Rodgers, and James Gaston Sr. (Newtown does not have a mayor.)

3. Using two people search engines, Email Finder and Spokeo, of which I am a paid member, I found the addresses of the people on the list.
4. I then looked up the price history of those addresses on four websites:

• Vision Government Solutions.
• Trulia, a real estate website.
• Zillow, a real estate website. (Neither Trulia nor Zillow gives the names of property owners.)
• Connecticut Town Clerks Portal, a website of land records — including Newtown’s — which allows only those who have paid a fee to search its records. Interestingly, after I had paid for a 24-hour access to the site, I got this message about Newtown: “The mortgages, liens and probate certificates of the town of Newtown are not available online at this time.” 

FINDINGS

HOMES WITH STRANGE SALE DATE (12/25/2009) AND PRICE ($0):

1. Brian, 38, & Shannon Engel (parents of child victim Olivia Engel, 6):
   84 Berkshire Rd, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says Owner of Record: Brian Engel & Shannon Merlino
Ownership history:

•    Sold to Brian Engel & Shannon Merlino on 12/25/2009 for $0
•    Sold to Brian Engel & Shannon Merlino on 6/25/2004 for $272,00
•    Sold to Constance Chimileski on 1/20/2004 for $0

2. Robert Gay, 54, & Michele Hartman, 41 (parents of child victim Josephine Gay, 7):
    10 Nighthawk Lane, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says Owner of Record: Robert E. Gay & Michelle Hartman
Ownership history:

• Sold to Stephen & Gail Sonne on 1/16/2013 for $678,500
• Sold to Robert & Michele Gay on 12/25/2009 for $0
• Sold to Robert & Michele Gay on 3/7/2006 for $933,000
• Sold to Elite Builders Group LLC on 10/28/2004 for $300,000

Trulia’s price history on this property: 1/16/2013 $678,500; 3/7/2006 $933,000″.
3. Nicole & Ian Hockley (parents of Dylan Hockley, 6):
Rented 39 Yogananda Street, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says Owners are Elizabeth and Kenneth Pheasey who bought the house on12/25/2009 for $0.
Trulia’s price history: 4/30/2004 $725,000; 12/11/1998 $403,200; 8/17/1998 $105,500.
4. John Hsu & Donna Arnold, 46 (parents of Madeleine Hsu, 6):
Curiously, Spokeo says both Hsu and Arnold are “single”
    35 Narragansett Trl, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says Owner of Record: Long-Fong Hsu & Donna Arnold
Ownership history:

• Sold to Long-Fong Hsu & Donna Arnold on 7/16/2010 for $455,000
• Sold to Cherie Bragg & Michael Mastriano on 4/7/2009 for $0
• Sold to Cherie Bragg-Cebry on 6/15/2007 for $628,000
• Sold to Lawrence T. Card on 3/18/2003 for $487,000

5. Matthew, 41, & Jennifer Hubbard (parents of Catherine Hubbard, 6):
    10 Walker Hill Rd, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says Owner of Record: Kevin Casey & Priscilla Wright
Ownership history:

• Sold to Kevin Casey & Priscilla Wright on 7/24/2012 for $365,000
• Sold to Matthew & Jennifer Hubbard on 12/25/2009 for $0
• Sold to Matthew & Jennifer Hubbard on 8/1/2005 for $435,000
• Trulia has only these sale dates: 7/24/2012 $365,000; 8/1/2005 $435,000

6. Stephen, 49, & Rebecca Kowalski (parents of Chase Kowalski, 7):
Note: The Kowalskis had fashioned a very interesting charity poster to memorialize their dead son. See “Illuminati eye symbol in Sandy Hook charity poster“.
    6 Bennetts Bridge Rd, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says Owner: Stephen Kowalski
Ownership history: Sold to Stephen Kowalski on 12/25/2009 for $0
Trulia has only one sale date: 2/24/1994 $170,500
7. Scarlett Lewis (parent of Jesse Lewis, 6):
    6 Great Ring Road, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says Owner: Newtown Forest Association Inc
Ownership history: Purchased by Newtown Forest Association Inc. on12/25/2009  for $0.
Trulia has 2 sale dates: 8/17/1998 $260,000; 8/1/1995 $225,000
8. James S. Greene & Nelba Marquez-Greene (parents of Ana Marquez-Greene, 6):
    29 Buttonball Dr, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says Owner of Record: James S. Greene & Nelba Marquez Greene
Ownership history:

• Sold to James S. Greene Jr & Nelba Marquez Greene on 8/16/2012 for $0
• Sold to James S. Greene Jr on 8/3/2012 for $277,000
• Sold to Deborah A. Makl & David George Makl on 12/25/2009 for $0

Trulia has 2 sale dates: 8/3/2012 $277,000; 9/27/2001 $95,000.
9. Christopher & Lynn Zapf McDonnell (parents of Grace McDonnell, 7):
    4 Bresson Farm Rd, Sandy Hook, CT 06482-1566
VGS says Owner of record: Christopher & Lynn Zapf McDonnell
Ownership history: Sold to Christopher & Lynn Zapf McDonnell on12/25/2009 for $0.
Zillow has one sale date for this property: 3/24/2000 $453,000
10. Anne Marie Murphy, 52:
(Strangely, both Email Finder and Spokeo think Anne Marie Murphy is still alive, age 53)
    37 Great Ring Rd, Sandy Hook, CT 06482-1638
VGS says Owner of Record is Ann Marie Murphy
Ownership history: Sold to Ann Marie Murphy on 12/25/2009 for $0.
Trulia has only 1 sale date: 9/4/1998 $291,000
11. Robbie & Alissa Parker (parents of Emilie Parker, 6):
      13 Country Squire Rd., Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says owner of record: Robert & Alissa Parker
Ownership history:

• Sold to Robert & Alissa Parker on 4/2/2012 for $359,900
• Sold to Robert & Linda Spolar on 12/25/2009 for $0

12. Dean A., 42, & Tricia L. Pinto (parents of Jack Pinto, 6):
      4 Cobblers Mill Rd, Sandy Hook, CT 06482-1458
VGS says Owner of Record: Dean A. & Tricia L. Pinto
Ownership history:

• Sold to Dean & Tricia Pinto on 12/25/2009 for $0
• Sold to Dean & Tricia Pinto on 7/29/2005 for $607,000
• Sold to Carl & Gail Coken on 12/11/2003 for $519,000

13. Veronique, 46, & Lenny Pozner (parents of Noah Pozner, 6):
(Curiously, Noah’s dad, Lenny, was not at his son’s open-casket funeral.)
      3 Kale Davis Rd. Sandy Hook, CT 06482-1537
VGS says Owner of Record: Veronique Pozner
Ownership history:

• Sold to Veronique Pozner on 3/17/2009 for $0
• Sold to Leonard & Veronique Pozner on 6/20/2005 for $470,000

14. Jeffrey W., 42, & Sandra Previdi (parents of Caroline Previdi, 6):
      44 Grand Pl, Newtown, CT 06470
VGS says Owner of Record: Eugene & Helen Previdi (Jeff’s parents)
Ownership history: Sold to Helen J. & Eugene A. Previdi Jr on 12/25/2009 for $0.
There is no Trulia price history on this property.
15. Jennifer Hensel & Jeremy Richman (parent of Avielle Richman, 6):
      41 Berkshire Rd, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS Ownership history:

• Sold to Jennifer & Jeremy Richman on 4/21/2011 for $560,000
• Sold to from MaryJane Wheble on 12/25/2009 for $0

Trulia has 2 sale dates: 4/21/2011 $560,000; 8/19/1999 $360,000
16. Mary Sherlach, 56:
       33 Vintage Rd, Trumbull, CT 06611
VGS says Owner of Record: William D. and Mary J. Sherlach
Ownership history: Sold to William D. & Mary J. Sherlach on 4/30/93 for $0.
Trulia has 1 sale date: 4/30/1993 $307,000.
17. Benjamin, 40, & Cheyenne Wyatt (parents of Allison Wyatt, 6):
      83 Berkshire Rd, Sandy Hook, CT 06482-1427
VGS says Owner of Record: Benjamin & Cheyanne Wyatt
Ownership history:

• Sold to Benjamin & Cheyanne Wyatt on 12/25/2009 for $0
• Sold to Benjamin & Cheyanne Wyatt on 7/1/04 for $461,000

Trulia’s price history: sold 6/26/1998 $275,000; sold 12/27/1994 $242,500
18. Nicholas (“Nick”) & Laura Phelps:
       15 Walnut Trl, Sandy Hook, CT 06482-1148
VGS says owner of record: Zhiwen Ma & Weiyan Xia
Ownership history: Sold to Zhiwen Ma & Weiyan Xia on 12/25/09 for $0
Trulia’s price history: 2/5/2002 $337,500; 6/5/2001 $329,000; 8/24/1999 $247,300; 3/26/1999 $40,000
19. Eugene (“Gene”) Rosen:
       22 Riverside Rd, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says Owner Name: Eugene E. & Marilyn Rosen
Ownership history: Sold to Eugene E. & Marilyn Rosen on 12/25/2009 for $0
Trulia no price history on this property.
Zillow says “historical transaction data is not available for this home.”
20. E. (Elin) Patricia Llodra, 70:
Llodra is the First Selectman and head of Newtown’s 3-member Board of Selectmen who supervise the administration of the town. Like the other two board members (#21 and #22 below), Llodra was elected to a 2-year term (12/1/2011 to 12/1/2013), which means the three were in charge of Newtown at the time of the Sandy Hook massacre. All three were recently reelected to another 2-year term (12/1/2013 to 12/1/2015).
A year ago, when I looked up Ellin P. Llodra on people search engines, her address was listed as 90 Riverside Rd, Sandy Hook, CT 06482.
VGS a year ago and today says Owner of Record: Robert M. & Ellin P. Llodra
Ownership history: Sold to Robert M. & Ellin P. Llodra on 12/25/2009 for $0.
Trulia has no price history on this property.
But when I look up Ellin Llodra on people search today, her address is listed as 3 Primrose St., Newtown, CT 06470, which is the address of the Newtown Municipal Center, and is owned by the Town of Newtown, with a sale date of12/25/2009 and a sale price of $0.
21. William Rodgers (2nd member of Newtown’s Board of Selectmen):
      208 Hattertown Rd, Newtown, CT 06470
VGS says Owners: William & Moira Rodgers
Ownership history: Sold to William & Moira Rodgers on 12/25/2009 for $0
Trulia’s price history: 4/22/1992 $362,000
22. James Gaston Sr. (3rd member of Newtown’s Board of Selectmen):
      18 Main St., Newtown, CT 06470
VGS says Owner: Stephanie A. Gaston
Ownership history: Sold to Stephanie A. Gaston on 12/25/2009 for $0
Trulia’s price history: 10/2/1992 $262,500

HOMES WITH “NORMAL” SALE DATES AND PRICES:

1. Joel, 43, & JoAnn Bacon (parents of child victim Charlotte Bacon, 6):
12 Lyrical Ln, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
Owner of Record: Joel Bacon, JoAnn Bacon
Ownership History:

•     Sold to Joel & JoAnn Bacon on 8/20/2007 for $387,500
•     Sold to Jeffrey & Lisa Fox on 9/13/2004 for 350,000

2. Mark, 49 & Jacqueline Barden (parents of child victim Daniel Barden, 7):
35 Paugussett Rd, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
Owner: Mark & Jacqueline Barden

• Sold to Mark & Jacqueline Barden on 10/19/2007 for $450,000
• Sold to Catherine Austermann on 4/7/2004 for $452,500

3. Dawn L. Hochsprung (aka Dawn A. Lafferty), 48:
Spokeo says Dawn L Hochsprung is “in a relationship” w/ George Hochsprung, 71; lives at 11 Upper Cmns, Woodbury, CT 06798. VGS does not list Woodbury, CT on its online database. Trulia says 11 Upper Commons is a condo that was sold on Sept. 22, 2003 for $136,000.
Email Finder has a George Hochsprung, 71, at 4 Heather Ct, Woodbury, CT 06798. Trulia says 4 Heather Ct is a condo that was sold on Aug. 20, 2012 for $223,500.
4. Mark A., 43, & Cynthia Radley Mattioli, 42 (parents of James Mattioli, 6):
67 Great Ring Rd, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says Owner of Record: Mark & Cynthia Mattioli
Ownership History: Sold to Mark & Cynthia Mattioli on 8/3/07 for $585,000
4. Richard, 36, & Krista Rekos, 36 (parents of Jessica Rekos, 6):
5 Sweetbriar Ln, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says Owner of Record: Richard S. and Krista A. Rekos
Ownership history: Sold to Richard & Krista Rekos on 6/23/2010 530,000
5. Lauren Rousseau, 30:
Email Finder has a Lauren Gabrielle Rousseau, age 31
Address: 1 Osborne St, Danbury, CT 06810-5917
VGS says Owner of Record: Teresa B. Rousseau
Ownership history: Sold to Teresa B. Rousseau, age 63, on 6/15/1994 for $0
Trulia has no price history on this property.
6. Victoria Soto, 27:
Email Finder has a Victoria A. Soto, age 29, at 191 Sherman Ave # 1, Meriden, CT 06450-3353; and 126 Spring St, Meriden, CT 06451-5433. Meriden is 32.5mi (35 mins.) to the east of Newtown. SH school is now relocated to Monroe, CT, 6 mi south of Newtown.
7. David & Francine Wheeler (parents of Benjamin Wheeler, 6):
10 Lakeview Terrace, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says owners are David & Francine Wheeler
Ownership history:

• Sold to David & Francine Wheeler on 7/27/2007 for $365,000
• Sold to Michael Bloxam on 1/9/2004 for $162,500

Trulia has 3 sale dates: 1/9/2004 $162,500; 5/1/2000 $145,950; 9/2/1994 $85,000
8. Nancy J. Lanza, 52:
36 Yogananda St, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
VGS says owner is Nancy J. Lanza
Ownership history:

• Sold to Estate of Nancy J. Lanza on 2/1/2013 for $0
• Sold to Nancy Lanza on 2/8/2011 for $0

Trulia price history: 7/23/1998 $405,900; 7/30/1997 $99,500

TO DO THE PROPERTY SEARCHES ON VGS YOURSELF:

1. Go to Vision Government Solutions’ website: http://www.vgsi.com/vision/Applications/ParcelData/Home.aspx
2. Click “Connecticut” on left side of page. This will take you to:
3. Online Database for the cities of Connecticut:http://www.vgsi.com/vision/Applications/ParcelData/CT/Home.aspx
4. Scroll down until you see “Newtown.” Click “Newtown”.
5. This will take you to the Assessors Online Database for Newtown, CT: http://data.visionappraisal.com/NewtownCT/DEFAULT.asp
6. Click the box “Enter Online Database”.
7. You’ll be taken to the “Property Assessment Search / Newtown CT” page: http://data.visionappraisal.com/NewtownCT/search.asp
8. Type in the number and street name, then click “Search”.

TO CONCLUDE:

The homes of 15 of the 20 Sandy Hook child victims, 1-2 of the 7 adult victims, and all 6 of the Sandy Hook adult non-victims (the Phelps, Gene Rosen, the three Selectmen) have the mysterious sale date and $0 sale price.
At the very least, that is interesting. The three Selectmen are especially interesting because if the hypothesis is that the massacre was a contrived event, then Newtown’s highest governing body would have to be “in the know.”
Your guess is as good as mine as to what all those strange 12/25/2009 sale dates and $0 sale price mean. I’d appreciate input from readers of this blog who are in the real estate business and can shed some light of what the odd sale date and sale price mean.
For the links to all the posts we’ve done on Sandy Hook, go to our “Sandy Hook Massacre” page.
~Eowyn

The Best "Democracy" Money Can Buy: For Every Dollar Spent Influencing US Politics, Corporations Get $760 Back

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2015  http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-16/words-greatest-investment-every-dollar-spent-influencing-us-politics-corporations-ge

The first time we read the recent analysis by the Sunlight Foundation in which it combed through 14 million corporate records, including data on campaign contributions, lobbying expenditures, federal budget allocations and spending, in order to determine the "rate of return" on lobbying and spending to buy political goodwill, we were left speechless.
To be sure, we had previously shown that when it comes to the rate of return on lobbying, the rates were simply staggering, and ranged anywhere between 5,900% for oil subsidies, to 22,000% for multinational tax breaks and even higher for America's legal drug dealers.


But nothing could prepare us for this.
According to the foundation's analysis, between 2007 and 2012, 200 of America’s most politically active corporations spent a combined $5.8 billion (with a B) on federal lobbying and campaign contributions. What they gave pales compared to what those same corporations got: $4.4 trillion (with a T) in federal business and support.
Putting that in context, the $4.4 trillion total represents two-thirds of the $6.5 trillion that individual taxpayers paid into the federal treasury. Said otherwise, by "spending: a paltry $6 billion to bribe the US government, or just a little more than what GM will spend on stock buybacks alone, US corporations are getting the direct benefit of two-thirds of US taxpayers' labor!
And here is the visual representation of this stunning finding: for every dollar spent on influencing politics, the nation’s
most politically active corporations received $760 from the government.

Which translates into an Internal Rate Of Return of, hold on to your hats folks, 75,900%!
Like we said, speechless.
* * *
Some more details from the Foundations' must read report:

Do political donors get something in return for what they give?

Four years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court suggested the answer to that question was no. Corporate spending to influence federal elections would not “give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption,” the majority wrote in the landmark Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision.

Sunlight decided to test that premise by examining influence and its potential results on federal decision makers over six years, three before the 2010 Citizens United decision and three after.

We focused on the records of 200 for-profit corporations, all of which had active political action committees and lobbyists in the 2008, 2010 and 2012 election cycles — and were among the top donors to campaign committees registered with the Federal Election Commission. Their investment in politics was enormous. There were 20,500 paying lobbying clients over the six years we examined; the 200 companies we tracked accounted for a whopping 26 percent of the total spent. On average, their PACs, employees and their family members made campaign contributions to 144 sitting members of Congress each cycle.



After examining 14 million records, including data on campaign contributions, lobbying expenditures, federal budget allocations and spending, we found that, on average, for every dollar spent on influencing politics, the nation’s most politically active corporations received $760 from the government. The $4.4 trillion total represents two-thirds of the $6.5 trillion that individual taxpayers paid into the federal treasury.

Welcome to the world of "Fixed Fortunes," a seemingly closed universe where the most persistent and savvy political players not so mysteriously have the ability to attract federal dollars regardless of who is running Washington.

It's not a "Republican" issue, nor a "Democrat" issue - it is a "Political" issue. Worse, it is a "Democracy" issue. Or lack thereof.

During the six years we studied, newly elected Democratic majorities took control in the House and Senate. Two years later, the White House shifted from Republican to Democratic control, and two years after that the GOP came back to take the House. The collapse of the housing bubble in 2007 led to massive bailout efforts by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board, two massive stimulus bills and the loss of more than eight million jobs. Congress passed laws that overhauled health care insurance and financial industry regulation. Troops surged in Afghanistan and withdrew from Iraq. There were 16 separate “continuing resolutions” to fund the government, a debt ceiling standoff that caused a downgrade in the nation’s credit rating and a “super committee” to wrestle with the federal budget. As middle class Americans lost ground, the Fixed Fortune 200 got what they needed.

What they needed included loans that helped automakers and banks survive the recent recession while many homeowners went under. It included full funding and expansion of federal programs started in the 1930s that, year after year, decade after decade, help prop up prices for agribusinesses and secure trade deals for our biggest manufacturers. It included budget busting emergency measures that funneled extra dollars to everything from defense contractors to public utility companies to financial industry giants. The record suggests that the money corporations spend on political campaigns and Washington lobbying firms is not an unwise investment.

With a 75,900% IRR, we tend to agree.

The Fixed Fortune 200 come from a wide range of industries. There are a host of familiar names among them, like Ford Motor Company, McDonald’s and Bank of America, as well as some less famous, like MacAndrews & Forbes, the Carlyle Group and Cerberus Capital Management. (For the complete list, including what they gave and what they got, click here.) There are retailers and investment banks, construction and telecommunications firms, health insurers and gun makers, entertainment conglomerates, banks and pharmaceutical manufacturers, among others.



Overall, the Fixed Fortune 200’s PACs, employees and their family members gave $597 million to political committees and disclosed spending $5.2 billion on lobbying. They make this enormous investment in politics in large part because their businesses are inextricably entwined with government decisions — including spending decisions.

In short, government is the best "business partner" money can buy:

For example, the federal government issued contracts to purchase goods and services that totaled a little more that $3 trillion during the period; companies among the top 200 corporate political givers won $1 trillion of that, a third of the total. The Treasury Department managed $410 billion in loans and other assistance issued under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, created by Congress to cope with the 2008 financial crisis; of that amount, $298 million, about 73 percent, went to 16 firms among the Fixed Fortune 200. When the Federal Reserve took extraordinary measures in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, it funneled nearly $2.8 trillion through 29 Fixed Fortune firms. The companies that participated the most in politics got huge returns.

Of the 200 corporations we examined, we could sum the financial rewards for 179. Of those, 138 received more from the federal government than they spent on politics, 102 of them received more than 10 times what they spent on politics, and 29 received 1,000 times or more from the federal government than they invested in lobbyists or contributed to political committees via their employees, their family members and their PACs.

As for the other 21 companies on our list, while we could not quantify the financial benefits that some received, we were able to identify them. Some examples:

• Arch Coal lists the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the government corporation that’s the largest public electricity producer, as one of its three biggest customers. TVA does not release data on its coal purchases.
• Forest City Enterprises does not appear as a landlord in the Government Services Agency’s database of federal rental agreements, though its annual report notes that the U.S. government is the third-biggest customer for its pricey New York City office space.
• Occidental Petroleum has leases on federal land to extract natural gas, but the government does not release information on how much that gas is withdrawn or how much it is worth.
• And while the government has so far refused to release information on what retailers get the most purchases via food stamps, Wal-Mart went so far as to acknowledge in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that reductions in the now $78 billion-a-year Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — or food stamps — could have a significant impact on the company’s earnings, which totaled $476 billion in its most recent fiscal year.

Of the 200 companies analyzed for Fixed Fortunes, 28 are in what the money in politics research organization the Center for Responsive Politics classifies as the communications and electronics sector, 21 in healthcare, 13 in defense and aerospace, 13 agribusinesses, 11 in energy and natural resources, and 7 in transportation. The biggest sector, accounting for 48 of the 200, was finance, insurance and real estate, which is consistently the largest source of campaign funds for politicians cycle after cycle. Congress and the executive branch have paid particular attention to the industry, approving hundreds of billions in aid to help it weather the financial crisis. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve advanced trillions in credit, which the nation’s central bank hoped would trickle down through the rest of the economy.

And then there is the military industrial complex:

Weapons
manufacturers like Boeing and Lockheed Martin, both of which disclosed spending more than $10 million each year on lobbying, also made the list. So did McKesson, a pharmaceutical wholesaler that is the biggest vendor for Veterans Affairs, and the Carlyle Group, a wealth management firm started by former government insiders who invest in firms that have significant involvement with government, such as defense, telecommunications and health care.

But nothing, nothing, compares to the return that Wall Street got on their "investment" in government. And the biggest irony: some of the firms bribing, pardon, lobbying the US government and generating the greatest returns were not even American!

Companies with the biggest returns on their political investments include three foreign financial service and banking firms, UBS and Credit Suisse Group from Switzerland, and Deutsche Bank of Germany, all of which benefited from the Treasury Department’s taxpayer-financed rescue of American International Group. Investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as well as commercial banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America also received far more from government than they put into politics: They benefited from the bailouts of the financial industry undertaken by Treasury and the Federal Reserve.

Ironically, one thing the Fixed Fortune 200 did not do, for the most part, was take advantage of the "new opportunities" to spend on politics that the Citizens United decision afforded them.

The 200 corporate donors gave just $3 million to super PACs, with the bulk of that amount a single $2.5 million donation from Chevron to the Congressional Leadership PAC, a super PAC that’s been linked to House Speaker John Boehner. It's important to note, however, that contributions by these companies to politically active nonprofits (a category that includes the Chamber of Commerce) are impossible to track because of tax laws that allow those entities to shield donors.

And while one may be disgusted at the unprecedented crony capitalism and corruption that has taken over DC, the root of that frustration should be the very fabric of what passes for democracy in the US - a fabric that is now mutated beyond recognition in all three branches of government.

More than seven years after Washington passed the first measures to stimulate the economy as the housing bubble started to burst, more and more Americans are living on less and less, without as much savings and other assets to fall back on in hard times. Washington policies that have restored corporate profits and made the stock market boom have left much of the country behind. Perhaps that’s why a whole host of polls, from networks and news organizations and nonprofit groups, show large majorities of Americans, year after year, saying that the country is on the wrong track.

In its Citizens United decision, the court took for granted that “favoritism and influence” are inherent in electoral democracy and that “democracy is premised on responsiveness” of politicians to those who support them. We found ample evidence of that.

“The appearance of influence or access,” the court said, “will not cause the electorate to lose faith in our democracy.”

It appears that the electorate — who stayed away from the polls this year in droves — might not agree.

But don't worry: at least under Obama regime of daily choreographed distraction, gays and lesbians can legally marry, illegal immigrants will no longer be deported and women have never been more "equal" with men. Oh and the repeat invasion of Afghanistan is solely to punish a few head-cutting terrorists (who got their funding, training and weapons with the blessings of Qatar and the CIA).
And don't forget to bash that evil, evil regime in Russia where democracy is being trampled on a daily basis: the mainstream media which is also controlled by a handful of US billionaires, will have you know.
In fact, whatever you do just please ignore what is happening in the US right under everyone's noses.
And just in case what is happening is still unclear, here is the breakdown of the Top 25 contributors (full data set can be found as spreadsheet, html, or csv), or rather beneficiaries, of America's so-called "democracy."

inShare58

Out of control Russian spacecraft plunging back to Earth: Official reveals unmanned cargo craft has 'started descending'

Posted by George Freund on April 29, 2015

Nasa reported that a video camera on Progress showed it to be spinning at a 'rather significant rate'. Current estimates suggest it is completing one rotation every five seconds

Progress M-27M will fall to Earth in a matter of days, experts have said
The ISS-bound spacecraft suffered a glitch after launching yesterday
It is now spinning out of control with 'nowhere to go' except down
And one expert told MailOnline there was no chance of saving it

By JONATHAN O'CALLAGHAN and ELLIE ZOLFAGHARIFARD FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 11:16 GMT, 29 April 2015 | UPDATED: 15:24 GMT, 29 April 2015

The Russian spacecraft that went rogue yesterday has begun an unstoppable descent into Earth's atmosphere, experts have said.

Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency, was trying to save the unmanned Progress M-27M spacecraft after a major malfunction caused it to spin out of control.

But an official claimed that the spacecraft had 'nowhere else to go' apart from back into Earth's atmosphere - and an expert told MailOnline: 'It's gone.'

Speaking ahead of an official Roscosmos statement expected later today, the source told AFP: 'It has started descending. It has nowhere to go.

'It is clear that absolutely uncontrollable reactions have begun.'

It emerged yesterday that officials were struggling to contact the spacecraft, meaning they could not be sure what the problem was - or how to resolve it.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

'Almost immediately after spacecraft separation, a series of telemetry problems were detected with the Progress 59,' Nasa spokesperson Rob Navias said during a televised broadcast from Mission Control.

Orbital parameters were due to be sent from a Russian Ground Site, allowing for a eight 'rendevous burns' to be performed over the next five hours of flight.

But, once Progress had arrived on orbit, only confirmation of its solar array deployment and some of the navigational antennas were made.

Meanwhile, Nasa's Mission Control reported that a video camera on Progress showed it to be spinning at a 'rather significant rate.'



Roscosmos' problems began shortly after a Russian Soyuz 2-1A rocket launched the latest Progress resupply vehicle to the ISS. 'Almost immediately after spacecraft separation, a series of telemetry problems were detected with the Progress 59,' a Nasa spokesperson said during a televised broadcast from Mission Control

Progress is not designed to be able to return to Earth, so if it does re-enter Earth's atmosphere it's likely most of it would burn up during the intense heat of re-entry as it lacks a heat shield.

However, if the spacecraft can not be brought back under partial control, and the tumbling spacecraft is left to re-enter of its own accord, then some pieces of it could make it to the ground.

'A safe docking with the ISS is not possible.

We are working out different options for a water landing,' Igor Komarov, head of Roskosmos, was quoted by agency LifeNews as saying at a press conference today.

With more than two thirds of Earth covered by water, and only three per cent of land
containing urban areas, it's highly unlikely any part of the spacecraft would cause damage.

But with estimates for its re-entry ranging from two days to a week and a half, it's not clear yet where it would re-enter and spread its debris.



An expert told MailOnline the spacecraft was unresponsive to commands, most of its sensors had failed and its fuel was heavily depleted - meaning regaining control is difficult.

There also seems to be a debris cloud in its vicinity, possibly from an explosion. All the signs indicate that there will be no chance of recovering it.

‘It’s gone,’ UK space expert Dr Duncan Law-Green from the University of Leicester said.

Current theories as to what happened include a collision with the third stage of the rocket, or an explosion on Progress itself.

The cargo spacecraft was due to dock with the ISS six hours after taking off from Kazakhstan yesterday at 8:09am BST (3:09am EDT), bringing 2.5 tons of supplies including food.

But shortly after launching, an unknown glitch caused the spacecraft to begin spinning wildly out of control, as seen in dramatic footage that showed Earth rotating past the camera.

Flight controllers were unable to receive data from the spacecraft, which appeared to have entered the wrong orbit.



Roscosmos will try to make contact with the spacecraft tonight as it makes another series of passes over Russian ground stations. Docking with the ISS has been abandoned for now

While Russia's Mission Control has failed to stabilise the ship so far, it said it had not yet given up on partially saving the unmanned spacecraft.

Mission Control spokesman Sergei Talalasov told the Interfax news agency on Wednesday that flight controllers were still trying to restore communication with the Progress.

Russia's space agency and Nasa both said the six crew members on board the orbiting space station have sufficient supplies and are in no danger.

A secondary docking date tomorrow had been proposed, but this now seems impossible - as does any other docking date.

'Specialists have recognised that Progress is hopeless. Controlled de-orbiting is impossible,' another source said.

'There have been no improvements,' a mission control spokesman told AFP.

Earlier a Russian mission control source said: 'Only a miracle can save the spacecraft.'

'We have scheduled two more communication sessions to soothe our conscience,' said the official, but hopes are virtually zero of salvaging the craft which contained supplied for the International Space Station.



The dizzying footage (pictured), which was taken from the Progress 59 spacecraft, shows the Earth and sun moving in and out of the frame

Meanwhile, the Joint Space Operations Centre at the US Vandenberg Air Force in California detected 44 items of debris of unknown origin in orbit close to ailing Progress space ship.

This suggests an explosion on the spacecraft during or after the launch.

Deputy premier Dmitry Rogozin admitted: 'We're all worrying about our cargo spacecraft.'

The controllers on Tuesday sought but failed to change the flight plan and extend the vessel's journey to two days instead of six hours in a bid to fix the glitch.

'It's the first time that we have such a combination of emergency situations.'

The spacecraft will only remain in orbit for a matter of days if Russian flight controllers are unable to stabilise the craft and restore the system that allows them to send and receive data.

Because of the loss of connection, the flight controllers were unable to confirm the deployment of the navigational antennas needed for docking, Nasa and a duty officer at Russia's Mission Control said.




The spacecraft was scheduled to dock with the International Space Station six hours after take off, but that plan has now been 'indefinitely abandoned'. Pictured left is a cargo ship in the same family, Progress M-59, as seen from the International Space Station (right) during docking

The Progress is carrying about 2.5 tons of cargo, including fuel, equipment, oxygen and food, to the space station, which currently has a six-person crew from Russia, the United States and Italy.

The cargo ship also is delivering a copy of the Banner of Victory, the banner raised over the Reichstag in Berlin by victorious Soviet soldiers in 1945. Russia is planning extensive celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

Roscosmos' problems began shortly after a Russian Soyuz 2-1A rocket launched the Progress resupply vehicle.

Orbital data was due to be sent from a Russian Ground Site, allowing for a eight 'rendezvous burns' to be performed over the next five hours of flight.

But, once Progress had arrived on orbit, only confirmation of its solar array deployment and some of the navigational antennas were made.



Progress M-27M suffered the major malfunction moments after launch at 3:09 a.m. EDT (07:09 GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan

Meanwhile, Nasa's Mission Control reported that a video camera on Progress showed it to be spinning at a 'rather significant rate.'

The dizzying footage, which was taken from the Progress 59 spacecraft, shows the Earth and sun moving in and out of the frame.

'Almost immediately after spacecraft separation, a series of telemetry problems were detected with the Progress 59,' Nasa spokesperson Rob Navias said during a televised broadcast from Mission Control.

'No confirmation of navigational antenna deploy or of the pressurisation of the manifold system for the propulsion system on the spacecraft was received.'

Russian spacecraft, including those used to send astronauts to the ISS, recently have acquired the capability to take a more direct six-hour route to the orbiting outpost.

But they still have the option of the longer, traditional route lasting two days.

'The crew on board the International Space Station has pressed ahead with maintenance work today as well as biomedical experiment activities,' said Navias.

'Both the Russian and USOS segments of the station continue to operate normally and are adequately supplied well beyond the next planned resupply flight,' Nasa said in a statement.



The cargo ship launched this morning on a Soyuz 2-1A rocket (pictured). Progress is carrying about 2.5 tons of cargo, including fuel, equipment, oxygen and food, to the space station, which currently has a six-person crew from Russia, the United States and Italy

Aside from Progress, there are several other cargo spacecraft available for the ISS.

Two have been taken out of service in the last year - Esa retired its unmanned vehicle, the ATV, while Nasa's other supplier, Orbital Sciences, is still grounded following a launch explosion last October at Virginia.

However, SpaceX's Dragon capsule recently successfully carried cargo to the station, and Japan's HTV is scheduled to take more cargo into orbit later this year - alongside other Progress flights.

So while the potential loss of an entire load of supplies on Progress is a serious blow to the International Space Station, it is not detrimental to the crew on board.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3060656/Out-control-Russian-spacecraft-plunging-Earth-Official-reveals-unmanned-cargo-craft-started-descending.html#ixzz3YizkkIo1

President Obama Demands Critics Tell Him What's Wrong With TPP; Of Course We Can't Do That Because He Won't Show Us The Agreement  ~ folks these ass~pipes & their "elites" controllers/handlers ... gotta fucking gooooooooo !!!    oh  ah  um & LEAVE OUR shit at the door ...u's ass pipe sucking parasitic degenerate  rat bastards  :o    Um gonna do my "Christian" "duty"  ob~li~ga~tion & "pray " fer my "leaders"  O Lord  ..please kill this scum ...as quickly  as POSSIBLE !  ... ah um amen :)r   .. fucking a folks does this shit never end  Lol  which is the God of Love/Honesty/Openness/Straight forward ~ness   & what's that fucks name who IS EVIL??? um ah oh  yea ? Sa~O~bam~ our ass's ~tan  or sum~thin like that  Hehe u know "who" the fuck i mean  Lol or

from the most-transparent-administration-in-history dept ~ Our fucking ass's   Oops

President Obama is apparently quite annoyed by the fact that his own party is basically pushing against his "big trade deals" (that are not really about trade). Senator Elizabeth Warren has been pretty aggressive in trashing the TPP agreement, highlighting the fact that the agreement is still secret (other than the bits leaked by Wikileaks). In response, President Obama came out swinging against the critics of TPP arguing that "they don't know what they're talking about."

He insists that it's unfair to compare TPP to NAFTA because they're different deals:

“You need to tell me what’s wrong with this trade agreement, not one that was passed 25 years ago.”

Well, Mr. President, I would love to do that, but I can't because you and your USTR haven't released the damn text. It takes an insane lack of self-awareness for the guy who once declared his administration "the most transparent in history" to demand people tell him what's wrong with his trade agreement, when that agreement is kept entirely secret.

Furthermore, multiple experts concerning things like the corporate sovereignty ISDS provisions and the intellectual property chapters have gone into great detail as to why the leaked versions have problems. They're not complaining about NAFTA. They're actually complaining about the latest drafts -- but the USTR won't acknowledge them because they're talking about leaked versions.

In fact, the only real complaints I've seen relating to NAFTA concern the fact that the government says one thing about these big agreements, but the reality is something different.

Of course, he attacks the fact that people are complaining about the secrecy as well, by arguing (misleadingly) that the deal is not at all secret:

“The one that gets on my nerves the most is the notion that this is a ‘secret’ deal,” Obama said. “Every single one of the critics who I hear saying, ‘this is a secret deal,’ or send out emails to their fundraising base saying they’re working to prevent this secret deal, can walk over today and read the text of the agreement. There’s nothing secret about it.”

I'm a critic. I can't walk over today and read the text of the agreement. Obviously, President Obama is only talking about elected members of Congress. But that's not what they're complaining about. They're complaining about the fact that the American public cannot see the text of the document or discuss the specifics of what's in there. And that's absolutely true.

And even the fact that members of Congress can actually see the document is tremendously misleading. Yes, members of Congress are allowed to walk over to the USTR and see a copy of the latest text. But they're not allowed to take any notes, make any copies or bring any of their staff members. In other words, they can only read the document and keep what they remember in their heads. And they can't have their staff members -- the folks who often really understand the details -- there to explain what's really going on.

And it all comes back to the point that Senator Warren has been making for a long time: that former USTR Ron Kirk has admitted that a big reason why they keep the document secret is that when they tried being more transparent in the past, the agreement failed. As Warren says, if being transparent with the American public means the agreement will fail, then the problem is with the agreement, not the public.

“When I keep on hearing people repeating this notion that it’s ‘secret,’ I gotta say, it’s dishonest,” Obama continued. “And it’s concerning when I see friends of mine resorting to these kinds of tactics.”

Here's a little test: can we see the current TPP documents today? No? Then it's secret. Claiming otherwise is what's dishonest.   ~  i gotta say it, somebody's gotta stand the fuck UP & say  IT ...ah um excuse me mr. prez ....your fucking pants R on fire   Oops Lol   ... yea no shit   , yer pants  um hum yep yer pants ....

We are on the "Fast Track" to world Fascism

Posted by George Freund on April 26, 2015

Obama and Monsanto lobbyists, and a handful of others have creatively passed the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) on a "Fast Track" to be ratified by the Senate soon, a destructive trade agreement that is "NAFTA on steroids."

Bill Clinton's NAFTA did in-fact create that "sucking sound" of jobs and further caused small business entrepreneurs (the middle class) to close their doors, which America appears to be a third world country as you drive through small towns. Boarded-up windows and weeds growing along the road, America was transformed into the North American Union....and YOU could not stop it !

The borders are wide open and the small time Mexican farmer has been forced out-of-business as a result of NAFTA's agricultural expansion that only benefits large agro.

Now we have the final nail in the coffin...the TPP cannot be debated in the senate and THEY cannot read the treaty, but must pass it first to understand what it actually means for America. However, Obama and his minions agreed to a maximum of 88 seconds for each opposing view, while the yes votes are encouraged to proceed without interruption.

If the TPP is ratified in the senate, we as the former United States, will enter a New World Order phase that (pretty much) destroys many aspects of the Constitution. The details are being hidden from public view....

However....one major and critical aspect of the TPP will give the GMO giant, Monsanto...free reign on the world with their dangerous and tainted seeds. Other food products laced with (Round-up pesticide) a.k.a. Genetically Modified Organisms will be forced-on several countries that currently ban GMO produce.

The pay-off to those countries is more job creation (on their soil) and mega giant corporations in America will benefit by cheap labor, here and there. Farmers that survived NAFTA in the U.S. and refuse to use Monsanto's poisonous seeds, will be pushed-out and finished.

This is nothing more than a corrupt government, controlled by the world globalist elites, selling America to mega corporations (owned by the globalist elites) and will further enslave every American and eventually every person on the planet. This is not only "Fast Track" for the TPP, but is also a "Fast Track" to FASCISM.

IT MUST BE STOPPED.....

DB

THE SPACE JUNK MEME JUST WILL NOT GO AWAY: NASA’S UFO SPACE JUNK, DARPA’S SPACE JUNK AND LASERS

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Joseph P. Farrell • http://gizadeathstar.com/2015/04/the-space-junk-meme-just-will-not-go-away-nasas-ufo-space-junk-darpas-space-junk-and-lasers/

Last week, you'll recall, I blogged about the article in RT complaining about spy satellites disguised as space junk that - in the unusual phrase of RT - was "space affiliated." It seems to be a meme that is being pushed. And that brings us to today's set of articles, shared by various readers, which, when considered together, and with my previous blogs on space junk, add up to a very strange and puzzling picture. Consider, first, this article shared by Mr. N.T:
What NASA Accidentally Caught On Film Outside Of The Space Station Is Chilling
Now, the important little bit of information, as the article itself implies, is that one explanation for the somewhat strange "thing" seen on the video is that it is "space junk":

"The logical explanation here is that the UFO in question is just a piece of space junk. It could also be one of two resupply vehicles that were servicing the ISS at the time. However, according to NASA, both of the resupply ships were docked at the space station when this video was taken. So maybe it really is a UFO, after all"

But calling something "space junk" in the aftermath of the RT article about spy satellites disguised as space junk is no longer quite the dismissive phrase that it used to be, especially since RT made it "clear" that the spy satellites-cum-space-junk were "state affiliated." Now, put that one on the shelf for a moment, and then consider this article, from 2013, shared by Ms. K.M.:
Researchers Want to Blast Space Junk Out of Orbit With a Laser From ISS
The headline says it all: some people want to put a laser weapon on the International Space station to blast such "space junk" from the skies. Now, as if that's not enough, Mr. M.D. shared these articles from 2011, articles reminiscent of the recent deal between the German space agency and an American company to go out and "grab and snab" that "space junk":
DARPA Wants to Recycle Space Junk Into New Satellites
How to Clean Up Space Junk: DARPA's Orbital Catcher's Mitt
As Mr. M.D. put it in his email, and as many of you have probably already guessed, if one suspected that some of this "space junk" was spy satellites with, as RT put it, a "state affiliation," then a perfect way to camouflage a "retrieval" operation of "grab and snab" would be to disguise it as a recovery and "environmentally friendly" recycling effort.
When one puts all this together with what we blogged about last week, an interesting scenario, one in line with our trademark high octane speculation, begins to emerge, having the following components:

1. There are spy satellites disguised as space junk in orbit around the Earth;
2. As was seen last week, these satellites have become a concern to Russia, the US, and Japan;
3. The origin of these satellites appears to be in question, since the Russians referred to them as "state affiliated," raising the following possibilities as to what the meaning of 'affiliation" might be:
   1. they might be corporate satellites with a corporation doing heavy business with a particular nation-state;
   2. they might be satellites of an organization heavily associated by ties of history, culture, or economy, with a nation-state;
   3. they might be satellites of some extraterrestrial origin having an "affiliation" with a particular nation-state (Black Knight satellite?);
4. The Japanese earlier suggested putting laser weapons on the space station to destroy "space junk";
5. recent EVAs on the space station (extra-vehicular activities) jave captured the presence of "something," either a UFO, or "space junk"(which suggests a spy satellite) monitoring those activities;
6. both DARPA and the German Space agency have proposed grab and snab technologies to "recover" and "recycle" space debris, which could be a convenient cover story for the recovery of technology, in order to determine the level of technology and possibly its real origin.

These considerations, plus the possibility that vast amounts of money in the form of "electronic liquidity" are going off planet, suggest that something huge is taking place right about our heads, one affecting the policy decisions of major powers regarding space, and one perhaps having huge financial implications.

74 NASA Scientists Been killed In The Last Two Years. What's Going On?...& Bankers ???

Unusually high number of scientist deaths in recent years

Posted by: Neon Nettle  |@NeonNettle

 on 9th April 2015 http://www.neonnettle.com/sphere/279-74-nasa-scientists-been-killed-in-the-last-two-years-what-s-going-on-

© press

NASA Scientist Alberto Behar died in a plane crash in January (2015) in Los Angeles – making a total of 74 Scientist dead in 2 years. Alberto Behar

NASA Scientist Alberto Behar died in a plane crash in January (2015) in Los Angeles – making a total of 74 Scientist dead in 2 years.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
Alberto Behar had helped to prove that there had once been water on Mars, having worked on two missions to Mars. He was also a robotics expert who researched how robots function in harsh environments (such as under water or inside volcanoes).
The unusually high number of scientist deaths in recent years has made people question whether this death was suspicious or not.
Behar was an expert pilot; he was a flight instructor for both planes and helicopters – the weather conditions were clear and for some reason his plane just started to lose altitude. The Van Nuys Airport pilot Kashif Khursheed said “I can’t see what would be the cause of something like this. He was very knowledgeable, competent and thorough.”
This is just one of the most recent cases of a prominent scientists suspicious death, over the past two years 74 leading medical and NASA scientists havedied, almost all are officially labelled suicide or an accident. Glenn Thomas was a World Health Organisation spokesperson; he was reportedly an expert onEbola and AIDS, he was aboard MH17 when it was shot down with approximately 100 other researchers.
Joep Lange, a leading AIDS researcher and former president of the International AIDS Society (IAS) was also aboard MH17. They were all on their way to an international AIDS conference. With one fell swoop a large portion of the leading AIDS experts were killed before they could attend a global conference.

© press

Shane Truman Toddwas an electrical engineer. He was working on a top-secret “one of a kind” machine for the Chinese when he turned up dead.

Another Dead NASA Scientist "What Do They Know"?

Melissa Ketunuti, 35, was a paediatrician who specialised in cancer; she also worked on an AIDS fellowship in Botswana. She was hogtied and set on fire in the basement of her home in Philadelphia. Dr Anne Szarewski, 53, was a cervical cancer expert; she pioneered the cervical cancer vaccine.
Ketunuti was found dead in her London home in December 2013. Her husband spent hours drilling through the front door that she had locked from the inside, when he found her she was dead, to this day no one knows what killed her. An inquiry into her death was launched but nothing conclusive was ever found.
Perhaps one of the most controversial scientist deaths in the last few years was that of Shane Truman Todd, 31. In June 2012 he was found dead, his body was in morgue in Singapore, he was an electrical engineer.
He was working on a top-secret “one of a kind” machine for the Chinese that was believed to be a defence weapon. Shane told his family that he was not happy with what he was doing and he feared for his life, he was allegedly being asked to compromise U.S security.
He quit his job and was due to leave China and fly home but died a week before his flight after his last day at work building this unknown machine. Foul play was suspected and his family began campaigning for the truth, Chinese official said they would look into the matter and try and determine if it was murder or suicide but as of yet there are no answers. 
These are just a tiny fraction of the scientist that have died under suspicious circumstances, you can read about mysterious scientist deaths by clicking here. All of these people are either leading medical experts or leading engineers, you have to ask what could they have known that would have led to their deaths? Or could it all simply be coincidence?
In a time where conspiracy is commonplace it is increasingly difficult to differentiate between what could be a conspiracy and what is simply an unfortunate event. It is incredibly suspect why so many of these deaths are so odd, the people who were killed would have access to sensitive informationthat government officials may not want disclosed.