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updated 1840PST U.S. DEBT CLOCK World & National News U.S. falls to 47th in press freedom rankings Sweeping protests around the world made it an extremely difficult year for the media, and tested journalists as never before, the annual report into press freedom reveals. The annual report by Reporters Without Borders has been released, showing the United States fell 27 points on the list due to the many arrests of journalists covering Occupy Wall Street protests. The slide in the United States places it just behind Comoros and Taiwan in a group with Argentina and Romania. Fading Newt Attacks Romney in ad Newt Gingrich struggled to regain momentum in the Republican presidential race on Friday as two new polls showed him falling behind rival Mitt Romney, who was seen as the winner of the final debate before the Florida primary. The White House contenders courted Florida's sizable Hispanic vote, many of them Cubans, with appearances on Friday at the Hispanic Leadership Network, where Romney received an unusually warm reception and the reaction to Gingrich was more sedate. Navy wants commando 'mothership' in Middlel East The Pentagon is rushing to send a large floating base for commando teams to the Middle East as tensions rise with Iran, al-Qaeda in Yemen and Somali pirates, among other threats. In response to requests from the U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, the Navy is converting an aging warship it had planned to decommission into a makeshift staging base for the commandos. Unofficially dubbed a “mothership,” the floating base could accommodate smaller high-speed boats and helicopters commonly used by Navy SEALs, procurement documents show. Fitch cuts credit ratings Fitch just cut the long-term issuer ratings of 5 EU sovereigns: Belgium: AA+ to AA Spain: AA- to A Italy: A+ to A- Cyprus: BBB to BBB- Slovenia: AA- to A It affirmed Ireland's BBB+ rating with a negative outlook. While Fitch says that it supports EU leaders actions to address the crisis so far, a lot more has to happen before these countries are out of trouble: Is President Obama Creating A Nation Of Dependents? If the Republican primaries are any indication, one big debate in the upcoming election will be whether President Obama is pushing the country toward a European-style welfare culture. Mitt Romney, for example, argues that "over the past three years, Barack Obama has been replacing our merit-based society with an entitlement society." Gingrich Campaign Whines about Audience Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich rode a strong performance and crowd enthusiasm at a debate in South Carolina to victory in that state’s primary, but the crowds at two debates in Florida this week haven’t been as wild for Gingrich. Now his campaign is claiming that rival Mitt Romney’s campaign stacked the audience at Thursday’s debate with its supporters to shift the energy toward Romney, the Huffington Post reported. “They definitely packed the room," Kevin Kellems, a Gingrich adviser, told the Post. But that’s not the case, according to both the Florida Republican Party and the Romney campaign. The party, which doled out 900 of the 1,200 tickets, says most of them went to “rank and file” Republicans. U.S. growth quickens, but speed bumps ahead The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in 1-1/2 years in the fourth quarter of 2011, but a strong rebuilding of stocks by businesses and a slower pace of business spending hinted at softer growth early this year. U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 2.8 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday, a sharp acceleration from the 1.8 percent clip of the prior three months and the quickest pace since the second quarter of 2010. It was, however, a touch below economists expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3 percent rate, and two-thirds of rise in output was due to the build-up in business inventories. Obama decries rising cost of college education President Barack Obama called Friday for an overhaul of the higher education financial aid system, warning that colleges and universities that fail to control spiraling tuition costs could lose federal funds. The election year proposal was also a political appeal to young people and working families, two important voting blocs for Obama. But the initiative faces long odds in Congress, which must approve nearly all aspects of the president's plan. GOP Debate Features Brawl over Immigration and Health Care In the last debate before Florida Republicans cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary, the remaining four candidates--Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum--vying for the GOP presidential nomination, attacked each other as much as President Obama on immigration, housing, foreign policy, trade with Latin America, health care, and job creation. “Our problem isn’t 11 million grandmothers.” The first shot fired in Jacksonville was over immigration which should come as no surprise given that the Sunshine State is the first primary where Latino voters’ participation is significant. The field’s top contenders, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, went mano a mano in the CNN-sponsored debate over how to deal with the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. The former Speaker of the House, who was the first candidate to outline a “compassionate” approach in the Fall, continued advocating for a guest worker program, insisting English be the official language of the U.S. government, and offering residency--not citizenship--to undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for decades and have citizen children and grandchildren. Families of Somalia kidnap victims are grateful and relieved The families of an American woman and a Danish man rescued by U.S. Navy SEALs from their Somali captors say they are grateful for all the efforts made to rescue the two. A statement on Friday from the Danish Refugee Council on behalf of the families said that family members are relieved that both escaped unharmed. Stewart, Colbert ridicule Gingrich's moon base idea Earlier this week, presidential candidate New Gingrich promised that, if elected, he would establish a permanent American colony on the moon by the year 2020. On Thursday night, Gingrich's ambitious proposal drew the jeers of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. The moon colony idea was Gingrich's way of embracing contentions leveled by his rival Rick Santorum in South Carolina last week that he is a "grandiose" thinker. GOP Senators Ready to Block Some of Obama's Judicial Nominees Angry Senate Republicans are ready to block the nominations of federal appeals court judges in retaliation for President Barack Obama's recess appointments. The idea was discussed at a private retreat held Wednesday at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate in Virginia, Business Week reports. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told Business Week that the plan was selective blocking rather than an across-the-board holdup of all judicial nominations. That idea was discussed, Cornyn said, "but we're also very aware he would like us to play into his narrative, and we're not going to take the bait." Panetta's Pentagon Shift Favors Subs, Bombers, Tankers The Pentagon’s shift to forces focused on Asia and the Middle East in a budget outlined today may protect from deep cuts U.S. makers of aircraft carriers, submarines, surface-combat vessels, electronic-warfare sensors, drones, long-range bombers and tankers. While the plan would slow the pace of shipbuilding, its emphasis on naval forces in an era of budget-cutting may help vessel-makers Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., General Dynamics Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Austal Ltd. It also may provide opportunities for aircraft companies Northrop Grumman Corp. and Boeing Co. and missile maker Raytheon Co. FirstEnergy Closing plants Over Federal Mandates Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. plans to shut down power-generating units at six old coal-fired plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, rather than install federally mandated pollution control devices, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The power company said it would completely shut down the Armstrong Power Plant in Adrian, Pa.; the Ashtabula, Oregon and Eastlake, Ohio, plants; and another facility in Williamsport, Md. One generating unit at a fifth plant, in Bayshore, Ohio, will be closed, leaving a remaining unit at that plant open. Mitt Keeps Mising the Message If Romney wins Florida, it won't be because he's becoming a more effective candidate. Newt Gingrich's South Carolina bump is fading, and polls show Mitt Romney again leading in Florida. A Romney victory in the Sunshine State could sew this up. It won't be because Mr. Romney has become a better or more effective candidate. Primaries exist to help with that process, to let contenders read signals from the political landscape, to adapt, become stronger. Successful politicians absorb the signals and change up. Not Mr. Romney. If politics were evolution, the governor would still be swimming in the primordial soup. No Need to Panic About Global Warming There's no compelling scientific argument for drastic action to 'decarbonize' the world's economy. Editor's Note: The following has been signed by the 16 scientists listed at the end of the article: A candidate for public office in any contemporary democracy may have to consider what, if anything, to do about "global warming." Candidates should understand that the oft-repeated claim that nearly all scientists demand that something dramatic be done to stop global warming is not true. In fact, a large and growing number of distinguished scientists and engineers do not agree that drastic actions on global warming are needed. In September, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Ivar Giaever, a supporter of President Obama in the last election, publicly resigned from the American Physical Society (APS) with a letter that begins: "I did not renew [my membership] because I cannot live with the [APS policy] statement: 'The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring. If no mitigating actions are taken, significant disruptions in the Earth's physical and ecological systems, social systems, security and human health are likely to occur. We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases beginning now.' In the APS it is OK to discuss whether the mass of the proton changes over time and how a multi-universe behaves, but the evidence of global warming is incontrovertible?" Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest award
for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed
upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United
States.
Generally presented to its recipient by the President of the United States of America in the name of Congress. The first award of the Medal of Honor was
made March 25, 1863 to Private JACOB PARROTT.
The last award of the Medal of Honor was made September 15, 2011 to Sergeant DAKOTA MEYER.
Since then there have been:
• 3458 recipients of the Medal of Honor. • Today there are 85 Living Recipients of the Medal of Honor. ADAMS, LUCIAN Rank and organization: Staff
Sergeant, U.S. Army, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division.
Place and date: Near St. Die, France, 28 October 1944. Entered
service at: Port Arthur, Tex. Birth: Port Arthur, Tex. G.O.
No.: 20, 29 March 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry
and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of
duty on 28 October 1944, near St. Die, France. When his
company was stopped in its effort to drive through the
Mortagne Forest to reopen the supply line to the isolated
third battalion, S/Sgt. Adams braved the concentrated fire of
machineguns in a lone assault on a force of German troops.
Although his company had progressed less than 10 yards and had
lost 3 killed and 6 wounded, S/Sgt. Adams charged forward
dodging from tree to tree firing a borrowed BAR from the hip.
Despite intense machinegun fire which the enemy directed at
him and rifle grenades which struck the trees over his head
showering him with broken twigs and branches, S/Sgt. Adams
made his way to within 10 yards of the closest machinegun and
killed the gunner with a hand grenade. An enemy soldier threw
hand grenades at him from a position only 10 yards distant;
however, S/Sgt. Adams dispatched him with a single burst of
BAR fire. Charging into the vortex of the enemy fire, he
killed another machinegunner at 15 yards range with a hand
grenade and forced the surrender of 2 supporting infantrymen.
Although the remainder of the German group concentrated the
full force of its automatic weapons fire in a desperate effort
to knock him out, he proceeded through the woods to find and
exterminate 5 more of the enemy. Finally, when the third
German machinegun opened up on him at a range of 20 yards,
S/Sgt. Adams killed the gunner with BAR fire. In the course of
the action, he personally killed 9 Germans, eliminated 3 enemy
machineguns, vanquished a specialized force which was armed
with automatic weapons and grenade launchers, cleared the
woods of hostile elements, and reopened the severed supply
lines to the assault companies of his battalion.
The first ever GAO(Government Accountability Office) audit of the Federal Reserve was carried out recently due to the Ron Paul, Alan Grayson Amendment to the Dodd-Frank bill, which passed last year. Audit of the Federal Reserve Reveals $16 Trillion in Secret BailoutsThe first ever GAO(Government Accountability Office) audit of the Federal Reserve was carried out in the past few months due to the Ron Paul, Alan Grayson Amendment to the Dodd-Frank bill, which passed last year. Jim DeMint, a Republican Senator, and Bernie Sanders, an independent Senator, led the charge for a Federal Reserve audit in the Senate, but watered down the original language of the house bill(HR1207), so that a complete audit would not be carried out.Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, and various other bankers vehemently opposed the audit and lied to Congress about the effects an audit would have on markets. Nevertheless, the results of the first audit in the Federal Reserve’s nearly 100 year history have been posted on Senator Sander’s webpage. What was revealed in the audit was startling: $16,000,000,000,000.00 had been secretly given out to US banks and corporations and foreign banks everywhere from France to Scotland. From the period between December 2007 and June 2010, the Federal Reserve had secretly bailed out many of the world’s banks, corporations, and governments. The Federal Reserve likes to refer to these secret bailouts as an all-inclusive loan program, but virtually none of the money has been returned and it was loaned out at 0% interest. Why the Federal Reserve had never been public about this or even informed the United States Congress about the $16 trillion dollar bailout is obvious - the American public would have been outraged to find out that the Federal Reserve bailed out foreign banks while Americans were struggling to find jobs.To place $16 trillion into perspective, remember that GDP of the United States is only $14.12 trillion. The entire national debt of the United States government spanning its 200+ year history is "only" $14.5 trillion. The budget that is being debated so heavily in Congress and the Senate is "only" $3.5 trillion. Take all of the outrage and debate over the $1.5 trillion deficit into consideration, and swallow this Red pill: There was no debate about whether $16,000,000,000,000 would be given to failing banks and failing corporations around the world. In late 2008, the TARP Bailout bill was passed and loans of $800 billion were given to failing banks and companies. That was a blatant lie considering the fact that Goldman Sachs alone received 814 billion dollars. As is turns out, the Federal Reserve donated $2.5 trillion to Citigroup, while Morgan Stanley received $2.04 trillion. The Royal Bank of Scotland and Deutsche Bank, a German bank,split about a trillion and numerous other banks received hefty chunks of the $16 trillion. "This is a clear case of socialism for the rich and rugged, you’re-on-your-own individualism for everyone else." - Bernie Sanders(I-VT) When you have conservative Republican stalwarts like Jim DeMint(R-SC) and Ron Paul(R-TX) as well as self identified Democratic socialists like Bernie Sanders all fighting against the Federal Reserve, you know that it is no longer an issue of Right versus Left. When you have every single member of the Republican Party in Congress and progressive Congressmen like Dennis Kucinich sponsoring a bill to audit the Federal Reserve, you realize that the Federal Reserve is an entity onto itself, which has no oversight and no accountability. Americans should be swelled with anger and outrage at the abysmal state of affairs when an unelected group of bankers can create money out of thin air and give it out to megabanks and supercorporations like Halloween candy. If the Federal Reserve and the bankers who control it believe that they can continue to devalue the savings of Americans and continue to destroy the US economy, they will have to face the realization that their trillion dollar printing presses will eventually plunder the world economy. The list of institutions that received the most money from the Federal Reserve can be found on page 131 of the GAO Audit and are as follows.. Citigroup: $2.5 trillion ($2,500,000,000,000) Morgan Stanley: $2.04 trillion ($2,040,000,000,000) Merrill Lynch: $1.949 trillion ($1,949,000,000,000) Bank of America: $1.344 trillion ($1,344,000,000,000) Barclays PLC (United Kingdom): $868 billion ($868,000,000,000) Bear Sterns: $853 billion ($853,000,000,000) Goldman Sachs: $814 billion ($814,000,000,000) Royal Bank of Scotland (UK): $541 billion ($541,000,000,000) JP Morgan Chase: $391 billion ($391,000,000,000) Deutsche Bank (Germany): $354 billion ($354,000,000,000) UBS (Switzerland): $287 billion ($287,000,000,000) Credit Suisse (Switzerland): $262 billion ($262,000,000,000) Lehman Brothers: $183 billion ($183,000,000,000) Bank of Scotland (United Kingdom): $181 billion ($181,000,000,000) BNP Paribas (France): $175 billion ($175,000,000,000) and many many more including banks in Belgium of all places View the 266-page GAO audit of the Federal Reserve(July 21st, 2011): http://www.scribd.com/doc/60553686/GAO-Fed-Investigation Source: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-696 FULL PDF on GAO server: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11696.pdf Resolution Group International AIDING WOUNDED SERVICE MEMBERS, THEIR FAMILIES AND THE FAMILIES OF THE FATALLY WOUNDEDATLANTIC CAPTAIN'S ACADEMYGOLDEN RAM SPORTSMAN'S CLUBThe History of the Atlantic Union and World Federalist Movement"For all your VIP aircraft needs, please call Ken Lux at 916-802-5589"MILITARY.COM |
  
     
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