Prosecution-Lynching-Conviction of Jasmine Abdullah Richards, Black Lives Matter Organizer in Pasadena

Dear Feminists,

 

"I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept."

~Dr. Angela Davis

As many of you have heard, BLMLA/DENA organizer Jasmine [Abdullah] Richards has been charged with felony lynching. As students of Cal State LA and advocates of a social justice politic, please consider signing the petition to Free Jasmine Richards from political imprisonment.

If you are unfamiliar with what is happening to Jasmine, please read on & watch the videos below.

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/freejasmine-no-jail-time-black-lives-matter-activist-accused-lynching/?sp_ref=202796652.176.169279.e.535248.2&source=em_sp

Black Lives Matter Organizer Jasmine [Abdullah] Richards Convicted of "Attempted Lynching"

"The charge stems from an August incident where Richards and other Pasadena, California, activists tried to remove a Black woman from police custody. Black Lives Matter Pasadena founder Jasmine Richards was found guilty of a felony on Wednesday (June 1). As Mic reports that Richards was charged under a California law that—until last summer when legislators amended it to omit the racially-charged word—defined lynching as "the taking by means of a riot of any person from the lawful custody of any peace officer." The charges stem from an August 2015 incident when Richards led a march highlighting Pasadena police officers' 2012 killing of Kendrec McDade. When Richards and other activists saw police arresting a Black woman at a nearby restaurant, they surrounded her and tried to remove her from their custody. Activist and New York Daily News journalist Shaun King shared a video of that incident in his own article about Richards' charges. This isn't the first time the law has been used to prosecute an activist. In January, Maile Hampton was charged under the same statute for attempting to free a fellow protestor from police custody. The Sacramento Bee reports that prosecutors dropped the charge in April. "A law that was enacted for the purposes of defending Black people against hangings and torture is now being used against Black people who are fighting for the lives of Black people who are killed by the police," Richards' attorney, Nana Gyamfi, told Mic. Gyamfi also said that no Black people served on the jury that convicted Richards."

--Sameer Rao, Colorlines, June 3 2016

Read the whole article here: https://www.colorlines.com/articles/black-lives-matter-organizer-jasmine-richards-convicted-attempted-lynching

Watch this video of the pretextual incident (warning: police violence):

"Political prosecution and the attempted lynching of Jasmine Richards." 

-- Nana Gyamfi, attorney of Jasmine Richards. 

"Jasmine is a political prisoner and represents probably the hugest threat to the state in that folks at the bottom can recognise their own oppression and rise up against it." 

--Melina Abdullah, Chair and Professor, PanAfrican Studies, California State University, Los Angeles, Black Lives Matter organiser

You can watch "Democracy Now" broadcast about Jasmine Abdullah Richards here: http://www.democracynow.org/2016/6/2/black_lives_matter_activist_convicted_of

Watch interview on "Uprising with Sonali" with Patrice Cullors and Jasmine Abdullah Richards about forming Black Lives Matter.

Ref.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G_5mZP_kZM&feature=youtu.be

Habeas Quaestus' analysis of the history of CA Penal Code § 405a : 
https://habeasquaestus.com/2016/06/02/freejasmine-how-a-black-woman-was-charged-with-lynching/?platform=hootsuite
​

Please consider signing and forwarding; please spread the word.

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/freejasmine-no-jail-time-black-lives-matter-activist-accused-lynching/?sp_ref=202796652.176.169279.e.535248.2&source=em_sp

Judge Elaine Lu presided over the case and is set to sentence Jasmine on Tuesday, June 7th. The charge could bring as much as 4 years in state prison. Will you please quickly sign the petition before Tuesday?

Text of the petition:

In a perverse misapplication of a 1933 California law intended to stop lynch mobs from forcibly removing detainees from police custody and engaging in public murders of Black people, Black Lives Matter organizer Jasmine "Abdullah" Richards was convicted of attempted felony "lynching" on June 1, 2016.  

The 29 year-old lead organizer for the Pasadena Black Lives Matter chapter was found guilty of charges related to an attempt to shield a Black woman from what she believed to be unlawful detainment by Pasadena police, following a "Peace March" that she and the chapter organized.  While there are no allegations of violence and no injuries suffered, the peaceful gathering of 15-20 children, mothers, and community members was dubbed a "riot" by the prosecutor - a necessary element to the "lynching" charge.  

Jasmine's story is incredibly inspiring. Growing up in Pasadena, she has said she felt 'lost' until having a political awakening inspired by the Ferguson protests in 2014. Jasmine traveled to Ferguson as part of the 'Black Lives Matter Rides' and returned home feeling the call to fight back against police violence.

Unfortunately, her newfound purpose was met with aggressive harassment by law enforcement. Jasmine was repeatedly targeted for arrest and faced exorbitant bail amounts and excessive charges. Now local police and prosecutors have taken the extreme step of convicting Jasmine of felony attempted lynching - labeling her 'Peace March' a riot and comparing Black Lives Matter to the Klu Klux Klan in the process.

Judge Elaine Lu presided over the case and is set to sentence Jasmine "Abdullah" Richards on Tuesday, June 7th.  Jasmine is currently being held in Los Angeles County jail.  The charge could bring as much as 4 years in state prison. Jasmine has been fighting for her community. Please join us in standing with her and demand "No Jail Time for Jasmine."


This is the letter we will send to Judge Lu.

Dear Judge Lu,

I am writing you to ask that you not sentence Black Lives Matter activist, Jasmine 'Abdullah' Richards, to any jail time for the preposterous 'attempted lynching' she has been convicted of.

As you know, the law that Jasmine was convicted under was created to protect Black people from race-based mob violence at the height of America's lynching epidemic. It is incredibly insulting to Pasadena's Black communities and all people of conscience to use this law to incarcerate a non-violent Black political activist. 

As a Judge, you are sworn to uphold the constitution including our rights to peaceful assembly and free speech. Regardless, of how you may feel about the cause of police accountability, imprisoning Jasmine for what happened at the Peace March she organized in 2015 would set a dangerous precedent and only exacerbate the lack of confidence Black communities have in the criminal justice system.
Please do not allow your courtroom to be used as a tool of intimidation and retaliation. Refuse to sentence Jasmine to jail time.

Thank you,
[YOUR NAME]
http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/freejasmine-no-jail-time-black-lives-matter-activist-accused-lynching/?sp_ref=202796652.176.169279.e.535248.2&source=em_sp

--
Posted by Jai Krishna Ponnappan 

In Solidarity with Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance at Cal State L.A.

@fmlacsula & http://facebook.com/fmlacsulapage

STOP THE OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS ON FACTORY FARMS

It’s Time to Save Antibiotics

At least 23,000 Americans die every year from antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that the widespread overuse of antibiotics on factory farms is making them less effective. Medical experts, including from the World Health Organization, now warn that if we don’t stop the overuse of antibiotics they could stop working — with potentially grave consequences for public health.

Antibiotics are meant to be given in precise doses to treat specific types of infections. When they are used in mass quantities by farming operations it increases the likelihood that all kinds of bacteria, including the ones that make people sick, will develop resistance, and our life saving medicines won’t work.

We must urge President Obama’s task force to push for more stringent regulations about antibiotic use on factory farms in their five-year action plan. Join our effort to convince the Obama Administration to stop the overuse of antibiotics on healthy farm animals!

STOP THE OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS ON FACTORY FARMS

OUR HEALTH AT RISK

If you’re like most Americans, you have probably relied on antibiotics to treat an illness. Maybe it was a simple ear infection, or strep throat. Or maybe you, or someone in your family, had to rely on antibiotics to treat a potentially life-threatening illness like pneumonia or a post-surgery infection.

We assume that when we get an infectious illness the antibiotics our doctors prescribe will help us get better. But medical experts, including from the World Health Organization, now warn that if we don’t stop the overuse of antibiotics they could stop working — with potentially grave consequences for public health.

FACTORY FARMS ARE RECKLESSLY OVERUSING LIFE-SAVING DRUGS

Despite the threat to public health, many large factory farms are giving huge quantities of antibiotics to livestock. Why? It’s not just about treating animals that are sick. It’s also about preventing disease often caused by crowded and unsanitary conditions. Farming operations have also discovered that by giving a regular dose of antibiotics to their animals, it makes them grow bigger, faster. And now more than 70 percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States are sold for use on livestock.

INCREASING ALARM FROM PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS

The calls for action from the public health community are growing louder, and more urgent. For instance, in a recent report the World Health Organization wrote: “Without urgent, coordinated action by many stakeholders, the world is headed for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill.” And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that “Much of the antibiotic use in animals is unnecessary and inappropriate and makes everyone less safe.”

CALLING ON THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO TAKE ACTION

In September, President Obama issued an executive order to address the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. However, it didn’t go far enough to recommend tougher measures against antibiotic overuse on factory farms, and instead focused on creating incentives for development of new drugs, tighter regulation of existing ones, and improvements in tracking and monitoring antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This is a good thing, but we need to do more. We have between now and when his task force delivers a five-year action plan, to push for more stringent regulations about antibiotic use on factory farms.

With thousands of Americans dying, and millions more getting sick from antibiotic resistant infections every year, ending the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms is a commonsense step. Yet big agribusinesses, and the pharmaceutical companies that supply antibiotics to farming operations, are lobbying hard to keep the current, weak voluntary rules.

Please help end the harmful overuse antibiotics.

Sign our petition today!

Ref., http://uspirg.webaction.org/o/502/c/36/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=9155

Subject: Stop the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms

I am concerned that the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms is putting public health at risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that, already, more than 2 million people per year fall ill from drug-resistant infections. Please stand up for public health, and direct the FDA to stop the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms.

PSA: "Antibiotics are a miracle of modern medicine, and are designed to be given in precise doses, to treat specific illnesses and infections. But once big farming operations discovered that a regular dose of antibiotics promoted rapid growth and prevented disease in their livestock, they started to routinely put lifesaving medicines into the daily feed of healthy animals.

The result? Bacteria that come into contact with those animals grow resistant to antibiotics. We can be exposed to these bacteria through our food, water and the air we breathe, putting us at risk of getting an infection that antibiotics may no longer treat. Already 2 million people fall ill, and 23,000 people die each year from drug-resistant infections.

Please tell the Obama administration to protect public health, by directing the FDA to stop the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms."

For, 

http://www.njpirg.org/

https://www.facebook.com/njpirg

http://uspirgedfund.org/ 

By 

Jai Krishna Ponnappan

About NJPIRG: 

AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR CONSUMERS

NJPIRG is a consumer group that stands up to powerful interests whenever they threaten our health and safety, our financial security or our right to fully participate in our democratic society.

For decades, we’ve stood up for consumers, countering the influence of big banks, insurers, chemical manufacturers and other powerful special interests.

For more info on this issue, Please visit USPIRGEdFund.org/abx 

FILM CREDITS:

Director: Quinn Wilson

Producer: Caullen Hudson

Producer/PIRG Advocate; Dev Gowda

Director Of Photography: Jamieson Mulholland

Assistant Camera: Allen Lee

Gaffer: Mark Barry and Amy Limpinyakul

Key Grip: Colin Heffernan

Sound: Tim Calistro

Art/Music: Julia Luckenbill

Assistant Director: Phil Bogdan

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Editor: Ryan Brennan

Sound Mix: Tim Calisto

Graphics/VFX: Dave Johnson

Color: Kelly Armstrong

Camera Vendor: Teletech Video

G&E Vendor: Sem-Q Productions

Whistle-Blower Edward Snowden: A Man with a Few New Friends on The Hill ?

Being a Hero is About the Rarest/Shortest-lived profession on Earth

 


           A comment in response to a related article on RT news, http://rt.com/usa/snowden-nsa-whistleblower-fate-492/

            In this case the UN Convention against ‘Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment’, however, does apply, so as an asylum seeker he can make claims to the government under it. Snowden’s whistle-blowing gives us the possibility to roll back a key part of what has amounted to an ‘executive coup’ against the U.S. Constitution. Since 9/11, there has been, at first secretly but increasingly openly, a revocation of the Bill of Rights for which this country fought over 200 years ago.
 
Refer to this as an instance of a similar violation: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/bradley-manning-torture

             “I’m not a lawyer, but based on what I know so far, I don’t think he should be prosecuted,” Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a self-styled libertarian, told CQ Roll Call on Monday. “If someone reports illegal activity as a whistle-blower, they shouldn’t be prosecuted.

“Whether or not this program was authorized by Congress, it seems to me that this is an unconstitutional activity,” he continued, “which would make it illegal, and he should have some kind of immunity.” *

Ref. https://www.facebook.com/repjustinamash/posts/557946720911405

                    

“My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results... but it is the effort that's heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight.”― George R.R. Martin

                With the maturation of Human rights law and current policies of relocating migration management warrant a legal restatement of the concept of extraterritorial asylum. The various manifestations of pre-border migration management question the extent to which existing discourse on diplomatic asylum can be extrapolated to a more general theory on the legality of extra-territorial asylum. ‘The present-day importance of Human rights, including the acceptance that Human rights obligations may bind a state’; this thus requires a determination of whether there can be circumstances under which the petitioned state is ‘under a Human rights obligation’, for an individual, to grant protection and how such an obligation can be accommodated with possible concurrent and conflicting obligations the petitioned state may have with the territorial state. In extraterritorial situations, the scope of these protection duties is informed not only by the duty of non-refoulement, but also involves the preliminary issue of whether and under what circumstances the asylum-seeker may or may not be granted the right, as in other cases or as in this case, forced to physically bring himself within the territorial jurisdiction of the desired state, for example by allowing him to present himself at the border of that state. He has a universally applicable right to seek asylum, that is to be understood as the right to relieve himself from the authority of one country in order to be able to request territorial asylum with the authorities of another.

Sincerely,

Jai Krishna Ponnappan

                                  “Unconsciously we all have a standard by which we measure other men, and if we examine closely we find that this standard is a very simple one, and is this: we admire them, we envy them, for great qualities we ourselves lack. Hero worship consists in just that. Our heroes are men who do things which we recognize, with regret, and sometimes with a secret shame, that we cannot do. We find not much in ourselves to admire, we are always privately wanting to be like somebody else. If everybody was satisfied with himself, there would be no heroes.”― Mark Twain


Ref. Original post on social media,
https://www.facebook.com/RTnews/posts/10151633575744411

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/bradley-manning-torture

*Courtesy of U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, Michigan's Third District |
http://amash.house.gov/
http://twitter.com/repjustinamash
https://www.facebook.com/repjustinamash/
 
Read More,
Bipartisan Coalition Proposes Fix To AP Phone Hack
http://amash.house.gov/press-release/bipartisan-coalition-proposes-fix-ap-phone-hack

Russia is willing to consider granting political asylum for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who blew the lid on the US PRISM program, Russian media reported. 


“If we receive such a request, we will consider it,” Kommersant daily quoted President Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov as saying. 

Ref. http://rt.com/news/russia-consider-asylum-snowden-517/

US leaker Edward Snowden 'defending liberty'

          An ex-CIA employee has said he acted to "protect basic liberties for people around the world" in leaking details of US phone and internet surveillance.
Ref. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22842837

Julian Assange on Edward Snowden,
"Prism Leaker Is A Hero".

Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Corruption ~ Changing Scenarios that Define the Corrupt

      
          The Harvard Business Review is running a very interesting and insightful story on how money in politics is having a deleterious and increasingly eroding effect on U.S. innovation and the economic environment that fosters the same.


How Corruption Is Strangling U.S. Innovation
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/12/how_corruption_is_strangling_us_innovation.html

An excerpt from the original entry:

" If there's been one topic that has entirely dominated the post-election landscape, it's the fiscal cliff. Will taxes be raised? Which programs will be cut? Who will blink first in negotiations? For all the talk of the fiscal cliff, however, I believe the US is facing a much more serious problem, one that has simply not been talked about at all: corruption. But this isn't the overt, "bartering of government favors in return for private kickbacks" corruption. Instead, this type of corruption has actually been legalized. And it is strangling both US competitiveness, and the ability for US firms to innovate.

The corruption to which I am referring is the phenomenon of money in politics.

..Somehow, it seems that every time that [Mickey Mouse] is about to enter the public domain, Congress has passed a bill to extend the length of copyright. Congress has paid no heed to research or calls for reform; the only thing that matters to determining the appropriate length of copyright is how old Mickey is. Rather than create an incentive to innovate and develop new characters, the present system has created the perverse situation where it makes more sense for Big Content to make campaign contributions to extend protection for their old work.if you were in any doubt how deep inside the political system the system of contributions have allowed incumbents to insert their hands, take a look at what happened when the Republican Study Committee released a paper pointing out some of the problems with current copyright regime. The debate was stifled within 24 hours. And just for good measure, Rep Marsha Blackburn, whose district abuts Nashville and who received more money from the music industry than any other Republican congressional candidate, apparently had the author of the study, Derek Khanna, fired. Sure, debate around policy is important, but it's clearly not as important as raising campaign funds.

       ..Ars Technica reports that Derek Khanna is getting axed over his memo detailing the conflict between laissez-faire-oriented free market ideals and the regulatory monopoly that is copyright. 'The Republican Study Committee, a caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives, has told staffer Derek Khanna that he will be out of a job when Congress re-convenes in January. The incoming chairman of the RSC, Steve Scalise (R-LA) was approached by several Republican members of Congress who were upset about a memo Khanna wrote advocating reform of copyright law. They asked that Khanna not be retained, and Scalise agreed to their request. "

“Greed & Power-lust is a weed that grows only in the vacant lots of an abandoned mind. ” ~Ayn Rand

           The multifaceted Intent and the efforts to control and curb corruption increases levels of trust in the ability of institutions to effectively enforce laws/rules of trade in a fair manner. With varied periods of time pervasive bureaucracy and increasing red tape also tends to create a stagnant climate where corruption can and will flourish, with officials often demanding bribes for the myriad permits needed to carry on business among several other things. Entities and groups with a political and financial upper hand often tend to dominate and predate in a market such as this. High handed corruption as a result continues to remain a major deterrent to distributed and diverse economic activity. Often a better control of corruption has been historically associated with rising levels of innovation and entrepreneurship. Absence of such a critical and defining trust, would invariably restrict the scale and scope of trade and inversely effect productivity and investment in innovation and entrepreneurship.

        Yes, the puzzling relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation, and corruption suggests corruption is inversely correlated to economic growth, entrepreneurship and innovation. That is, beyond all debates and arguments several studies across the globe conclude that as corruption goes up, economic indicators go down. The scope/effects of corruption on business is mediated and outlined by several factors, all of which are related to the ability to reliably enforce rules that promote fair trade and transparency.

“Political corruption, social greed, and Americanized quasi-socialism can ruin even the most wonderful places. California proved that.” 

~Tiffany Madison

         Entrepreneurs and innovators are motivated by the portion of the value created by the venture that they are able to capture for themselves. As corruption increases, entrepreneurs face the risk of losing some of those profits to opportunists taking advantage of the corruption on the value chain. As a result, some potential entrepreneurs become discouraged and abstain from pursuing new business opportunities. The dampening effect of corruption has often been compared with that of taxes. Under this school of thought, corruption would differ from taxation only in the lack of public revenue generated. No matter the depth or potential of their innovations, all of their efforts to solve challenging industrial/social/economic problems could be stymied and nullified by corruption and unscrupulousness that favor the connections and short-term gain of a few over the long-term benefit of the industries they serve, the economy and the populace. Corruption is one of the most restrictive and intractable issues around the world, It is comparable to a wider and deplorable socio-economic disease that pervades and plagues entire cultures and economies  It inhibits the development of a stable and prosperous economy and the flourishing of an active democracy and citizen sector. Demanding transparency and fostering a culture in the public and private sector of accountability and  rule of law is perhaps the only real feasible approach to tackling this issue in the United States.

Sincerely,

Jai Krishna Ponnappan

------------P.S-------------

Blessed is The Fruitful Hand

“Among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot long exist.” 
~Edmund Burke

“Evil is not just a theory of paradox, but an actual entity that exists only for itself. From its ether of manifestation that is garlanded in perpetual darkness, it not only influences and seeks the ruination and destruction of everything that resides in our universe, but rushes to embrace its own oblivion as well.

To accomplish this, however, it must hide within the shroud of lies and deceit it spins to manipulate the weak-minded as well as those who choose to ally themselves with it for their own personal gain. For evil must rely on the self-serving interests of the arrogant, the lustful, the power-hungry, the hateful, and the greedy to feed and proliferate. This then becomes the condition of evil’s existence: the baneful ideologies of those who wantonly chose to ignore the needs and rights of others, inducing oppression, fear, pain, and even death throughout the cosmos. And by these means, evil seeks to supplant the balance of the universe with its perverse nature. 

And once all that was good has been extinguished by corruption or annihilation, evil will then turn upon and consume what remains: particularly its immoral servants who have assisted its purpose so well … along with itself. And within that terrible instant of unimaginable exploding quantum fury, it will burn brighter than a trillion galaxies to herald its moment of ultimate triumph. But a moment is all that it shall be. And a micro-second later when the last amber burns and flickers out to the demise of dissolving ash, evil will leave its legacy of a totally devoid universe as its everlasting monument to eternal death.”
~ by Adam Turquine. The excerpt is taken from the sequel to 'Beyond Mars Crimson Fleet'

“When one gets in bed with government, one must expect the diseases it spreads.” ~ Ron Paul

CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX 2012

            Looking at the Corruption Perceptions Index 2012, it's clear that corruption is a major threat facing humanity.


         
           Corruption destroys lives and communities, and undermines countries and institutions. It generates popular anger that threatens to further destabilize societies and exacerbate violent conflicts.

            The Corruption Perceptions Index scores countries on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). While no country has a perfect score, two-thirds of countries score below 50, indicating a serious corruption problem.

           Corruption translates into human suffering, with poor families being extorted for bribes to see doctors or to get access to clean drinking water. It leads to failure in the delivery of basic services like education or healthcare. It derails the building of essential infrastructure, as corrupt leaders skim funds.

          Corruption amounts to a dirty tax, and the poor and most vulnerable are its primary victims.

So, How do we Counter the Effects of Public Sector Corruption?

              *Governments need to integrate anti-corruption actions into all aspects of decision-making. 
              *They must prioritize better rules on lobbying and political financing. 
               *They must make public spending and contracting more transparent, and make public bodies more accountable.

              After a year with a global focus on corruption, we expected more governments to take a tougher stance against the abuse of power. The Corruption Perceptions Index results demonstrate that there are still many societies and governments that need to give a much higher priority to this issue.

~ Jai Krishna Ponnappan

Toward Soviet America ? | An Appeal to Learn from the Mistakes of the Past

        

                This is a comment in response to a very interesting take on America by Xavier Lerma of Pravda posted on Liberty Newswire. It is easy to forget the past and to keep on persisting forward illogically, but there is quiet plainly a lot that needs to be learnt from history, not just our own but theirs as well. I apologize to many of my liberal friends reading this and especially those who work in the media industry. I believe that one can really learn a lot no matter where they are from, in that you have grown and done really well as directed and instructed to successfully propagate and promote all the many strong sentiments to the contrary and to give shape and power to this blinding and overpowering fanaticism over the last few years. It is indeed really hurtful and baffling to be labelled illiterate. I'd like to think and imagine that perhaps being gullible, irrational and willing is what has portrayed us with an otherwise undeserving, uncharacteristic and shameful identity such as this.

My response to the article,

Obama's Soviet Mistake

        

                   "Whatever concept one may hold, from a metaphysical point of view, concerning the freedom of the will, certainly its appearances, which are human actions, like every other natural event, are determined by universal laws. However obscure their causes, history, which is concerned with narrating these appearances, permits us to hope that if we attend to the play of freedom of the human will in the large, we may be able to discern a regular movement in it, and that what seems complex and chaotic in the single individual may be seen from the standpoint of the human race as a whole to be a steady and progressive though slow evolution of its original endowment." 

~ Immanuel Kant.

Taken from, "Idea for a Universal History from a Cosmopolitan Point of View" (1784)

             Perhaps it ought to be considered more of a concise summary and a gist, outlining the World's perspective of this country and the tough times and challenging position it finds itself in. Strong Words of Advice and more importantly a very well defined Warning to all the powers that usurp Freedom and dare to prevail against Free men. The only thing a lot of Americans would do well to read over and over again is what Putin said regarding the military, "...instead of solving the problem, militarization pushes it to a deeper level. It draws away from the economy immense financial and material resources, which could have been used much more efficiently elsewhere." , he has all the backing this country and the NWO can never even imagine or dream of at this stage. They hate what happened to them in their painful history and they rarely ever try to conceal the facts, their pain or their shame..... It's only beneficial and apt that such voices of solidarity and concern be heard.

"Mankind is so much the same, in all times and places, that history informs us of nothing new or strange in this particular. Its chief use is only to discover the constant and universal principles of human nature." 

~ David Hume

Here's the original post as seen on Pravda,


            "Putin in 2009 outlined his strategy for economic success. Alas, poor Obama did the opposite but nevertheless was re-elected. Bye, bye Miss American Pie. The Communists have won in America with Obama but failed miserably in Russia with Zyuganov who only received 17% of the vote. Vladimir Putin was re-elected as President keeping the NWO order out of Russia while America continues to repeat the Soviet mistake.

After Obama was elected in his first term as president the then Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin gave a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January of 2009. Ignored by the West as usual, Putin gave insightful and helpful advice to help the world economy and saying the world should avoid the Soviet mistake.

Recently, Obama has been re-elected for a 2nd term by an illiterate society and he is ready to continue his lies of less taxes while he raises them. He gives speeches of peace and love in the world while he promotes wars as he did in Egypt, Libya and Syria. He plans his next war is with Iran as he fires or demotes his generals who get in the way.

"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." 

~ George Santayana 

Putin said regarding the military,
"...instead of solving the problem, militarization pushes it to a deeper level. It draws away from the economy immense financial and material resources, which could have been used much more efficiently elsewhere."

Well, any normal individual understands that as true but liberalism is a psychosis . O'bomber even keeps the war going along the Mexican border with projects like "fast and furious" and there is still no sign of ending it.  He is a Communist without question promoting the Communist Manifesto without calling it so. How shrewd he is in America. His cult of personality mesmerizes those who cannot go beyond their ignorance. They will continue to follow him like those fools who still praise Lenin and Stalin in Russia.  Obama's fools and Stalin's fools share the same drink of illusion.

Reading Putin's speech without knowing the author, one would think it was written by Reagan or another conservative in America. The speech promotes smaller government and less taxes. It comes as no surprise to those who know Putin as a conservative. Vladimir Putin went on to say:





"...we are reducing taxes on production, investing money in the economy. We are optimizing state expenses.

 The second possible mistake would be excessive interference into the economic life of the country and the absolute faith into the all-mightiness of the state.

There are no grounds to suggest that by putting the responsibility over to the state, one can achieve better results.

Unreasonable expansion of the budget deficit, accumulation of the national debt - are as destructive as an adventurous stock market game.

During the time of the Soviet Union the role of the state in economy was made absolute, which eventually lead to the total non-competitiveness of the economy. That lesson cost us very dearly. I am sure no one would want history to repeat itself."

President Vladimir Putin could never have imagined anyone so ignorant or so willing to destroy their people like Obama much less seeing millions vote for someone like Obama. They read history in America don't they? Alas, the schools in the U.S. were conquered by the Communists long ago and history was revised thus paving the way for their Communist presidents. Obama has bailed out those businesses that voted for him and increased the debt to over 16 trillion with an ever increasing unemployment rate especially among blacks and other minorities. All the while promoting his agenda.

"We must seek support in the moral values that have ensured the progress of our civilization. Honesty and hard work, responsibility and faith in our strength are bound to bring us success."- Vladimir Putin

The red, white and blue still flies happily but only in Russia. Russia still has St George defeating the Dragon with the symbol of the cross on its' flag. The ACLU and other atheist groups in America would never allow the US flag with such religious symbols. Lawsuits a plenty against religious freedom and expression in the land of the free. Christianity in the U.S. is under attack as it was during the early period of the Soviet Union when religious symbols were against the law.   

Let's give American voters the benefit of the doubt and say it was all voter fraud and not ignorance or stupidity in electing a man who does not even know what to do and refuses help from Russia when there was an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Instead we'll say it's true that the Communists usage of electronic voting was just a plan to manipulate the vote. Soros and his ownership of the company that counts the US votes in Spain helped put their puppet in power in the White House. According to the Huffington Post, residents in all 50 states have filed petitions to secede from the Unites States. We'll say that these Americans are hostages to the Communists in power. How long will their government reign tyranny upon them?

Russia lost its' civil war with the Reds and millions suffered torture and death for almost 75 years under the tyranny of the United Soviet Socialist Republic. Russians survived with a new and stronger faith in God and ever growing Christian Church. The question is how long will the once "Land of the Free" remain the United Socialist States of America?  Their suffering has only begun. Bye bye Miss American Pie!  You know the song you hippies. Sing it! Don't you remember? 

The 1971 hit song by American song writer Don McLean :)

"And, as I watched him on the stage my hands were clenched in fists of rage.

No angel born in Hell could break that Satan's spell

And, as the flames climbed high into the night to light the sacrificial rite, I saw...

Satan laughing with delight the day the music died

He was singing, bye bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing...

This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die

So, the question remains:

How long will America suffer and to what depths?"

"History is for human self-knowledge ... the only clue to what man can do is what man has done. The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is." 

~ R. G. Collingwood 

Thoughts, Prayers.....

& Best Regards,

Jai Krishna Ponnappan

Ref. http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/19-11-2012/122849-obama_soviet_mistake-0/

Image: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=511381688880848&set=a.370676586284693.91483.275406119145074&type=1

Caught Colluding with the Gas Industry ~ New Testimony Alleges Corruption at the Pennsylvania DEP

           The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has created incomplete lab reports and used them to dismiss complaints that Marcellus Shale gas development operations have contaminated residential water supplies and made people sick, according to court documents and other sources.

          As a result, state Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, today called on state and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate the DEP for "alleged misconduct and fraud" described in sworn depositions in a civil case currently in Washington County Common Pleas Court.

         "This is beyond outrageous," Mr. White said in a press release. "Anyone who relied on the DEP for the truth about whether their water has been impacted by drilling activities has apparently been intentionally deprived of critical health and safety information by their own government."

Ref: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/marcellusshale/state-representative-calls-for-probe-of-dep-water-testing-reports-660215/#ixzz2B7hEvjsl

THE SKY IS PINK 

by Josh Fox and the GASLAND Team

        This  is an emergency short film from Josh Fox, the Oscar-nominated director of GASLAND addressing the urgent crisis of drilling and fracking in New York state. 

Go to NYAgainstfracking.org for more info and to get involved. Connect with us at https://www.facebook.com/NewYorkersAgainstFracking
http://twitter.com/#!/NYAgainstFRACK

Posting this via Josh Fox (Filmmaker, Activist) Follow and find out more at,

http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/

Outrage, But No Surprise At DEP Corruption Charge

         Fellow citizens of Pennsylvania, we have a serious problem.  The suspicion that PA DEP is colluding with the gas industry, a belief long held by many living in the Marcellus Shale, has just been supported by the sworn testimony of two whistleblowers.  

      
        Two employees from within the PA DEP, Taru Upadhyay and John Carson, have given depositions describing outrageous breaches of trust by the PA DEP, alleging they deliberately failed to report the presence of metals, which are known hydrofracking-related contaminants, in water wells it tested in the Marcellus Shale:

Aluminum
Copper
Silicon
Lithium
Molybdenum
Zinc
Nickel 
Cobalt
Titanium
Boron
In addition, the following volatile organic compounds commonly found in the Fracking process were also found in the wells and not reported:
Acteone
Chloroform
T-butyl alcohol

         Don Hopey has been reporting in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the DEP has systematically been producing incomplete lab reports on water wells affected by hydraulic fracturing and has been using those tainted reports to refute the claims of those Pennsylvanians whose water has been affected by drilling operations.
       
        These are VERY serious allegations.  People in PA usually only request water testing by the DEP because they suspect their water has been contaminated.  PA Rep. Jesse White is rightly calling for a State and Federal investigation.  If the PA DEP has been deliberately altering or obstructing test data and telling people their water was safe, then, as Rep. White says "anyone who relied on the DEP for the truth about whether their water has been  impacted by drilling activities has apparently been intentionally deprived of critical health and safety information by their own government".

         Many throughout PA have waited months for DEP water test results, only to find out that they were mysteriously hung-up in Harrisburg.  many have experienced disceprancies between the costly independent water tests they ordered from private labs and "official" test results from the DEP.  As a result, many have long suspected misconduct or some form of obstruction at work within the DEP.  I'm one of them.  But this week's revelations are jaw-dropping for even the most jaded conspiracy theorist.   They leave me shocked and outraged.
          
         This egregious behavior represents a naked example of putting corporate profits ahead of public health and safety, even at the cost of poisoning our water and our faith in government.
What a sad contrast with what we've seen in the last week as federal, state and municipal governments mobilized an unprecedented and moving response to Hurricane Sandy.  All across the eastern seaboard we are mourning the lives taken by this storm and sending our thoughts to those whose loved ones have been lost.  While we reel from its effects, we're also aggrieved that these extreme weather events, which grow in intensity and destructiveness every year, are only beginning to be acknowledged as effects of climate change.  


         Fracking and other extreme techniques for extracting and increasing our reliance on fossil fuels only stand to make it worse.
         
         Pennsylvania's citizens have had enough of being exploited by big oil and gas.  They deserve an immediate and thorough investigation into this brazen, and what seems to be illegal conduct of Krancer and Corbett's DEP.  If the whistleblower's allegations and the Post-Gazette's reporting turn out to be true, we should call for the impeachment and/or recall of the Corbett administration.

Posted by Jai Krishna Ponnappan

Blessed are the Peacemakers

         
        This a comment in response to an interesting article pertaining to a very important subject seen on Truthout.org . You'll find the original post here.

"It's Not About Religion: A Conversation With Author and Middle East Expert Gregory Harms

Image Ref. http://truth-out.org/news/item/11967-its-not-about-religion-a-conversation-with-author-and-middle-east-expert-gregory-harms "

 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." 
~ Matthew 5:9 

             I understand why there is always a perennial chain of thought speculating and theorizing around the facts that visit this subject with time. One can only sincerely appeal to others that they never fail to consider and examine all of the many key multi-billion dollar industries that have vested interests and more subtle agendas. These are well and truly here to stay and are linked from both here in the West to much of the middle east. Off course, there are always serious concerns that need to be addressed with a multi faceted and multi-lateral approach, aside from this both Geo-politics and strategic military advances are merely manipulated fronts and manufactured cases that take care of several interests and self serving benefits. 

Always try to think critically while getting to the roots of why, when and how these destabilizing and volatile social upheavals and turbulence have come about. There is always an intrusive nose searching for opportunities to dominate and enter through the crack and commence with a clearly defined and demarcated cycle of exploitation. 

The big questions: Why Not? Who is to Stop? ~ We are not men we are advanced primates, slaves of our own habits... with a really long... long way to go before we become fully Human. I greatly admire some of the voices coming from the Left here in America, the only problem is they seem to be a little ahead of their time and out of place in world that promotes hate, manipulation and war. We can only prepare with prayers for peace and hope. It is sad indeed how some war mongering monsters can't even do that.

Thoughts & Prayers For Peace, Love and our higher needs as Humanity.

Sincerely,

Jai Krishna Ponnappan.

Taxes and Leadership ? It's Your Money ~ Demand Fiscal Responsibility and Transparency !

        
        
          This is a comment in response to an interesting statement by Angus King, a Maine independent for US senate.

The original message, 

"I will not sign any pledge that limits my ability to represent Maine. "

Image Ref. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=438060762898471&set=a.351838554854026.76499.344010372303511&type=1&relevant_count=1 

         This is a highly debatable and crucial subject of great concern and grave consequences for many of us and this Nation. Given national politics and the directions taken at the center, it's easy to understand why many might be inclined to follow suit and make such ill-conceived associations. I agree that it plays an essential role but taxes alone don't make or break leadership. 

Taxes factor into the economic climate and environment, and eventually impact/affect people, investors, enterprises, their sentiments and the decisions they make. 

Governments have a responsibility towards All people, they are answerable the most when it comes to hindering growth and progress in the pursuit of excessive governance, regulation, taxation and similar socialist agendas.


P.S ~ This is an educational and insightful video, but it still does not touch upon or factor in the Human component and volatility stated above,




Sincerely,

Jai Krishna Ponnappan

P.S ~ I hope others can learn from this, it can be understandably difficult to walk that thin line. I'd like to add that Angus has outlined his plans and intentions for a lowered tax rate here,

Ref.http://angus2012.com/issues/#TaxReform

" Implementing tax reform :

Federal tax law is too complex – it takes over 73,000 pages for the Standard Federal Tax Reporter to explain the federal tax code. 

The tax structure must be simplified and reformed to lower rates, close loopholes, and ensure that everyone is paying their fair share – this includes the wealthiest Americans. 

I was in favor of ending the Bush-era tax cuts immediately, but after continued poor employment numbers, we need a more nuanced approach. 

We should consider pegging the sunset of these tax cuts to something non-arbitrary, like a certain amount of GDP growth, or a lower level of unemployment. This would avoid the unproductive brinkmanship that Congress engages in over this issue – and could prevent our fragile recovery from being further slowed down."

Polar Bear S . O . S ~ A breakthrough for polar bears if we can mobilize today

            

Last Friday the Russian Federation sent a letter to the Obama Administration promising that Russia would support a resolution to ban the international polar bear fur trade if the U.S. government introduces it.

Now we must prevail on the Administration to seize this extraordinary opportunity -- and we must do it quickly. The deadline for our government to submit a resolution is this Thursday, October 4.

The White House needs to hear from you immediately.




       
             Please send a message urging President Obama to lead the way globally by proposing a ban on the commercial trade in polar bear parts at the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

This ban could help end one of the biggest threats to polar bear populations. Despite the growing threats of climate change, toxic pollution and oil development that jeopardize the very existence of polar bears, hunters continue to kill hundreds of them every year -- and are allowed to sell their body parts legally in the international market.

That madness must end -- for the sake of polar bear survival. But time runs out this Thursday.

Urge President Obama to champion global polar bear protection right now -- so that Russia and other nations will follow.

Unless we are ALL still living like.... 

We should all be against fur.

       There is NO way someone can justify the brutal treatment and then murder of animals JUST FOR FASHION! it's absolutely appalling  when we have made so many synthetic fibers that require no abuse of animals and look EXACTLY the same! I cannot wrap my mind around why someone would ever wear the fur of an animal that was hunted down or treated so terribly and then killed, and actually support all of this!

        It is environmentally damaging, cruel, unsustainable and unnatural. Fur trappers  and hunters disrupt the ecosystems by trapping animals and create imbalances. Fur farmers raise the animals in such unclean conditions that feces and urine among other filth is dumped directly into the ground and water supply. Many species of animals have also gone extinct or become endangered due to the fur industry's practices. It's gross and insulting. Many people who wear fur are examples of people who are willing to spend thousands of dollars for all of the above to happen, just so they can show off their wealth.  Humans hunt down, kill and skin animals for fur.... for mere luxury. There is an end in sight to this madness. Choose an end before it's too late and you've slipped down enough to become unworthy of that choice.

PLEASE HELP STOP THE HUNTING OF POLAR BEARS FOR PROFIT!

      Polar bears are well and truly threatened.  Their lives are affected by any change in global climate.  Such a climate change may be caused by several factors including humans introducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.  Polar bears require the large amounts of ice present in the Arctic for survival.  Although most polar bears live far from heavily populated human areas, pollution still has adverse effects.  Chemical pollutants travel by wind and precipitation, eventually reaching even the most remote arctic regions.  These pollutants will then carry through the food chain and accumulate within predators like polar bears, resulting in disease and eventually death.  Drilling, mining, fishing, hunting and the broad spectra of other human interactions also threaten the lives of polar bears.

Cruelty for Profits and 

the Vanity of Ugly Hearts

          People who kill animals and make coats out of their skins make money out of it, and people who wear the coats think they look glamorous. The fur trade tries to advertise fur as ‘natural’ to hide the horrific and unnatural way that the animals are imprisoned on fur farms, hunted or trapped in the wild, and then killed.

It's Time for a ban on the Commercial Trade in Polar Bear
Put an end to this sickening Cruelty

        Despite the growing threats of climate change, toxic pollution and oil development that jeopardize the very existence of polar bears, hunters continue to kill hundreds of them every year -- and are allowed to sell their body parts legally in the international market.

Call on President Obama to lead the way globally by proposing an urgently-needed ban on the commercial trade in polar bear parts at the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Please add your signature to the petition available on the link below,

https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2887&autologin=true&JServSessionIdr004=af1l6w9kx9.app304a

Letter of appeal,


"Dear President Obama:

The Russian Federation recently promised that it would support a resolution to ban the international polar bear fur trade if your administration introduces it. I fervently hope you will seize this opportunity for global polar bear protection.

With polar bears gravely threatened by climate change, we must take all possible measures to limit other deadly pressures on them, including the international trade in their body parts. Scientists estimate that rising temperatures will cause two-thirds of the world's polar bear populations to go extinct by 2050. Their populations cannot afford to be hunted simply to meet the international demand for polar bear rugs.

At the last meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) two years ago, your administration sponsored an urgently-needed proposal to ban the global trade in polar bear parts. That initial effort failed to get enough votes and since then, the situation for polar bears has only gotten worse. 

In advance of the next meeting of CITES in March 2013, please lead the way again. With Russia now willing to vote for a ban, we are in striking distance of success if you move the issue. Please do so now for the sake of polar bear survival. "

Thank you for answering the polar bear’s SOS. 

Sincerely
Jai Krishna Ponnappan

P.S ~ JOIN US AND SAY NO TO THIS SICKENING, CRUEL, HEARTLESS AND BARBARIC TRADE

https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2887&autologin=true&JServSessionIdr004=af1l6w9kx9.app304a


UPDATE as of 9th October 2012: 

A copy of the letter I received, 

" Dear Jai Krishna,


VICTORY FOR POLAR BEARS! 



I have great news to share. 

The Obama Administration has just announced that it will support an upgrade in international protection for polar bears. 

If it passes, that increased protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will help end trophy hunting and stop the global trade in polar bear body parts.

This breakthrough would not have happened without your activism. In recent weeks more than 100,000 of you wrote to the White House, asking President Obama to stand up for polar bears. 

And you were heard! 

I’m asking you to send a message to President Obama right now and thank him for doing the right thing for the sake of polar bear survival. 

But please know that this fight is far from over. 

Between now and March 2013, when the CITES treaty talks take place, we will have to expand our campaign to make sure that other key nations line up with America’s pro-polar-bear position. 

So much is at stake: each year hundreds of polar bears are still being hunted as trophies, with their pelts and body parts traded globally. Canada, which is home to two-thirds of the world’s polar bears and includes some of the world’s most important polar bear habitat, still allows both trophy hunting and commercial trade. 

If the polar bear is to survive, we must end these destructive practices by upgrading polar bear protection under CITES. 

Around the world, NRDC has played a leading role on this issue. Our team recently traveled to Geneva to advocate polar bear conservation with the CITES Standing Committee, and we partnered with allies in Norway and the European Union to build international momentum. 

Most importantly, our team helped secure the support of Russia -- a key player in polar bear conservation -- for the US proposal. 

Over the next few months I’ll be updating you as the CITES treaty talks approach -- and asking you to take more action to maximize our chances of success. 

In the meantime, please take a few minutes to savor this victory -- and please send your thanks to President Obama for leading the way internationally. 

Thank you again for helping to make this breakthrough possible. 


Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President  "