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Know Your Enemy - Part 5 Semiramis/Astarte/Mary

Quotes from Past Presidents Warning about What is Happening Today

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”- George Santayana

 

Past presidents of the United States and other high profile political leaders have repeatedly issued warnings over the last 214 years that the U.S. government is under the control of an “invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people.”

According to a half-dozen of our former presidents, one vice-president, and various high profile political leaders, an invisible government that is “incredibly evil in intent” has been in control of the U.S. government “ever since the days of Andrew Jackson” (since at least 1836). They “virtually run the United States government for their own selfish purposes. They practically control both parties… It operates under cover of a self-created screen [and] seizes our executive officers, legislative bodies, schools, courts, newspapers and every agency created for the public protection.”

As a result, “we have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated, governments in the civilized world—no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and the duress of small groups of dominant men.”

The sources for the above quotes (and more) are listed below. All of the quotes listed in this article have been verified as authentic and have associated links to the source materials. Also included are statements by Federal Reserve Chairman’s Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke that seemingly confirm some of the warnings.

Warnings About the Invisible Government Running the U.S.

The warnings listed below, which appear in chronological order, began with our first president – George Washington. The last president to speak out was JFK, who was assassinated. Read what they and others have said about the invisible government that apparently controls many of our top elected officials and the government agencies that are supposed to serve and protect the people . Some emphasis (bolding) has been added to point out the key phrases.


“It was not my intention to doubt that, the Doctrines of the Illuminati, and principles of Jacobinism had not spread in the United States. On the contrary, no one is more truly satisfied of this fact than I am. The idea that I meant to convey, was, that I did not believe that the Lodges of Free Masons in this Country had, as Societies, endeavoured to propagate the diabolical tenets of the first, or pernicious principles of the latter (if they are susceptible of seperation). That Individuals of them may… actually had a seperation [sic] of the People from their Government in view, is too evident to be questioned.” – George Washington, 1st President of the United States (1789–1797), from a letter that Washington wrote on October 24, 1798, which can be found in the Library of Congress. For an analysis of Washington’s warning, see the article “Library of Congress: George Washington Warns of Illuminati”

“I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.” —Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States (1801–1809) and principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence (1776), in a letter written to John Taylor on May 28, 1816

“A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various powerful interests, combined in one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in banks.” John C. Calhoun, Vice President (1825-1832) and U.S. Senator, from a speech given on May 27, 1836

Note that it appears that Washington’s and Jefferson’s concerns regarding bankers and separation of the people from the government was realized by 1836. This fact was confirmed in a letter written by FDR in 1933 (see below) in which he wrote that “a financial element in the large centers has owned the government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson.” Jackson was the seventh president of the United States (1829-1937). Calhoun served as Jackson’s vice-president from 1829-1932.

“Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.”— Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, An Autobiography, 1913 (Appendix B)

“A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men… [W]e have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated, governments in the civilized world—no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and the duress of small groups of dominant men.” – Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, The New Freedom, 1913

“Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men’s views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.” – Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, The New Freedom, 1913

“The real menace of our Republic is the invisible government, which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy legs over our cities, states and nation… The little coterie of powerful international bankers virtually run the United States government for their own selfish purposes. They practically control both parties, … and control the majority of the newspapers and magazines in this country. They use the columns of these papers to club into submission or drive out of office public officials who refuse to do the bidding of the powerful corrupt cliques which compose the invisible government. It operates under cover of a self-created screen [and] seizes our executive officers, legislative bodies, schools, courts, newspapers and every agency created for the public protection.” - New York City Mayor John F. Hylan, New York Times, March 26, 1922

“Mr. Chairman, we have in this country one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Banks. The Federal Reserve Board, a Government board, has cheated the Government of the United States and the people of the United States out of enough money to pay the national debt…Mr. Chairman, when the Federal Reserve act was passed, the people of the United States did not perceive that a world system was being set up here… and that this country was to supply financial power to an international superstate — a superstate controlled by international bankers and international industrialists acting together to enslave the world for their own pleasure.” – Congressman Louis T. McFadden, from a speech delivered to the House of Representatives on June 10, 1932

“The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States (1933–1945), in a letter to Colonel Edward M House dated November 21, 1933, as quoted in F.D.R.: His Personal Letters, 1928-1945.

“Today the path to total dictatorship in the U.S. can be laid by strictly legal means… We have a well-organized political-action group in this country, determined to destroy our Constitution and establish a one-party state… It operates secretly, silently, continuously to transform our Government… This ruthless power-seeking elite is a disease of our century… This group…is answerable neither to the President, the Congress, nor the courts. It is practically irremovable.” – Senator William Jenner, 1954 speech

“The individual is handicapped by coming face-to-face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists. The American mind simply has not come to a realization of the evil which has been introduced into our midst. It rejects even the assumption that human creatures could espouse a philosophy which must ultimately destroy all that is good and decent.” —J. Edgar Hoover, The Elks Magazine, 1956

“For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence–on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations. Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed.” — John F Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, from a speech delivered to the American Newspaper Publishers Association on April 27, 1961 and known as the “Secret Society” speech. Listen to Kennedy’s speech.

“The Rockefellers and their allies have, for at least fifty years, been carefully following a plan to use their economic power to gain political control of first America, and then the rest of the world. Do I mean conspiracy? Yes, I do. I am convinced there is such a plot, international in scope, generations old in planning, and incredibly evil in intent.” Congressman Larry P. McDonald, November 1975, from the introduction to a book titled The Rockefeller File.

“There exists a shadowy government with its own Air Force, its own Navy, its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of national interest, free from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself.” – Daniel K. Inouye, US Senator from Hawaii, testimony at the Iran Contra Hearings, 1986

The Federal Reserve is Above the Law

In an interview with Jim Lehrer that was aired on PBS’ News Hour on September 18, 2007 that you can watch on YouTube, formal Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said, essentially, that the Federal Reserve was above the law and that no agency of government can overrule their actions:
Jim Lehrer: “What is the proper relationship, what should be the proper relationship between a chairman of the Fed and a president of the United States?”

Alan Greenspan: “Well, first of all, the Federal Reserve is an independent agency, and that means, basically, that there is no other agency of government which can overrule actions that we take. So long as that is in place and there is no evidence that the administration or the Congress or anybody else is requesting that we do things other than what we think is the appropriate thing, then what the relationships are don’t frankly matter.”

The fact that the Fed is above the law was demonstrated by current Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, during his appearance before Congress on March 4, 2009 (as shown in this video). Senator Bernie Sanders asked Bernanke about $2.2 trillion in American tax dollars that was lent out by Federal Reserve. Bernanke refused to provide an answer:

Senator Sanders: “Will you tell the American people to whom you lent $2.2 trillion of their dollars? … Can you tell us who they are?”
Bernanke: “No”

What Can We Do?

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

Blasphemous Jesus 'Rape' Movie Under Fire

Let it be noted that this is the same lie that was told by leaders of the Sanhedrin 2,000 years ago when they continually mocked Jesus as being of illegitimate birth (see the exchange of John chapter 8)  and in their own historical documents refer to the Son of God as "Yeshua Ben Panthezider", or Jesus, son of Panthezider, which was the name of a Roman soldier.  Satan doesn't change his lies much over the years, and his servants love to propagate them.  Remember the trouble Hollywood gave Mel Gibson over the Passion?  Where's the outcry now?  There isn't any, because they love to trash Christianity and Jesus Christ. 

   

     Charisma News Staff

A Christian media watchdog group has launched a campaign against a new movie based on the book jesus of nazareth that depicts Jesus' birth as the result of the Virgin Mary being raped by a Roman soldier.

Paul Verhoeven, the Dutch director known for "RoboCop," "Show Girls," and "Basic Instinct" is slated to direct the film. Verhoeven is also a member of the Jesus Seminar, a group of laymen and scholars that question the truthfulness of the gospels and the miracles of Jesus.

"The liberal media's relentless persecution of the Christian faith shows yet again the double standard of bigotry. There's no way a similar movie would ever be made claiming Muhammad was the product of a rape," says Ted Baehr, founder of the Christian Film & Television Commission, which launched the campaign.

The movie depicts the life of Jesus, but unlike other Biblical epics jesus of nazareth shows Jesus performing no miracles, born as the result of rape, and when Jesus dies He does not come back from the grave.

Paul Verhoeven, the writer of jesus of nazareth is no stranger to offending Christians with statements intended to bully and browbeat: "In my opinion, Christianity is nothing more than one of many interpretations of reality, neither more nor less. Ideally, it would be nice to believe that there is a God somewhere out there, but it looks to me as if the whole Christian religion is a major symptom of schizophrenia in half the world's population: civilizations scrambling to rationalize their chaotic existence. Subsequently, Christianity has a tendency to look like magic or the occult."

The full text of the campaign against this new movie can be read here:www.cftvc.org/121

New ‘Heartland’ virus discovered in sick Missouri farmers

 

Posted by The Extinction Protocol

August 31, 2012 – MISSOURI – Two men in Missouri who became severely ill after sustaining tick bites were found to be infected with a new type of virus, according to a study from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Both men were admitted to hospitals after experiencing high fevers, fatigue, diarrhea and loss of appetite. They were originally thought to be suffering from a bacterial infection, but doubts arose when they didn’t improve after being treated with antibiotics. Further tests revealed their blood contained a new virus, which the researchers dubbed the Heartland virus. It belongs to a group called phleboviruses, which are carried by flies, mosquitoes or ticks, and can cause disease in humans. While the genetic material of Heartland virus appears similar to that of other phleboviruses, the particular proteins it produces are different enough to call it a new species, said study researcher Laura McMullan, a senior scientist at the CDC. Because the Heartland virus causes such general symptoms, it could be “a more common cause of human illness than is currently recognized,” the researchers wrote in the Aug. 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. More studies are needed to identify the natural hosts of the virus, learn how many people are infected with it and find risk factors for infection, McMullan said. Because both men experienced tick bites shortly before they became ill — one man, a farmer, reported receiving an average of 20 tick bites a day — the researchers said it’s likely that the Heartland virus is spread by ticks, although more research is needed to confirm this. The new virus’s closest relative is another tick-borne phlebovirus, called SFTS virus, which was identified last year in China, and causes death in 12 percent of cases. The Missouri men, who were both infected in 2009, recovered after 10 to 12 days in the hospital, although one of the men has reported recurrent headaches and fatigue in the two years since his hospitalization. The researchers suspect a species of tick commonly found in Missouri, called Amblyomma americanum, is one of the hosts of the Heartland virus. –Live Science

Deer deaths in Indiana: Residents of a central Indiana county have reported nearly 100 dead deer in what wildlife officials believe might be a disease outbreak. An Indiana Department of Natural Resources biologist says most of those dead deer have been found in southern Putnam County. Biologist Dean Zimmerman tells the Banner Graphic that 17 counties around the state have had suspected cases of epizootic hemorrhagic disease among deer, although Putnam County seems to have a large outbreak. The illness is a viral disease transmitted by small flies that typically occurs during late summer and early fall. It doesn’t affect humans. Zimmerman says the flies that carry the disease reproduce more successfully in dry weather and that it will take a killing frost to end the outbreak. –NECN

Prayer in Jesus' Name Sees Victory on Campus

     

     Charisma News Staff        

Good News Club (Good News Club)

Praying in the name of Jesus may offend some, but a federal court nevertheless ruled that the Good News Club can intercede according to its religious convictions.

Minneapolis Special School District No. 1 must reinstate the GNC in its after-school program, ruled the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

The federal appeals court determined that the school district engaged in viewpoint discrimination when it ousted CEF, the sponsor of Good News Club, for offering "enrichment programming from a religious perspective."

"We are extremely grateful for this decision and look forward to the opportunity of serving interested students at the Jenny Lind Elementary School," says Tom Levanos, executive director of operations for CEF.

Here's the backstory: Minneapolis Special School District No. 1 removed the GNC from its after-school program in 2009 based on the concerns of a newly-hired site coordinator who overheard a prayer and reference to Jesus Christ during a Good News Club meeting.

The Good News Club had been meeting at the school, after school hours, using the same activities of prayer, Bible lessons and games, without objection since 2000. As a result of the school district decision, the attendance at the popular GNC plummeted from 47 students to 5 by 2010.

This week's ruling overturned the decision by a lower court which misinterpreted the 2001 Supreme Court decision in Good News Club v. Milford Central School. The Supreme Court decision actually upheld the free speech rights of the Good News Club.

According to the Court, "there is no logical difference in kind between the invocation of Christianity by the Club and the invocation of teamwork, loyalty, or patriotism by other associations to provide the foundations for their lessons."

“The only rationale for discrimination against Good News Clubs is ignorance of the law or animosity toward the Christian message,” says Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, who argued the case on appeal.
 
“The law is crystal clear. Christian viewpoints are constitutionally protected. Public schools must provide equal access for Christian viewpoints and Christian clubs. The federal appeals court nailed every point of this case exactly right.”

7.6 magnitude earthquake in Philippines

Gay Agenda Loses Battle Against Same-Sex Study Author

Charisma News Staff        

Mark Regnerus (Mark Regnerus)

Homosexual activists may have thought they had a University of Texas at Austin professor pinned. But Professor Mark Regnerus has been cleared of alleged “scientific misconduct” in his research study that shows the harmful effects of same-sex relationships on kids.

Specifically, Regnerus found kids raised by gay parents, particularly lesbian parents, turned out worse socially, emotionally and in relationships than children who had married, heterosexual parents.
“America’s universities should always serve as truth-seeking, free marketplaces of ideas,” says Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker. “Disagreeing with a study’s conclusions is not grounds for allegations of scientific misconduct; therefore, we are not surprised that those accusations were found to be baseless.”

“America’s universities should always serve as truth-seeking, free marketplaces of ideas,” says Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker. “Disagreeing with a study’s conclusions is not grounds for allegations of scientific misconduct; therefore, we are not surprised that those accusations were found to be baseless.”

The New Family Structures Study suggests that differences exist in outcomes for young adults raised in various environments with different family experiences. University of Texas-Austin conducted an official inquiry after activist blogger Scott Rosensweig (who goes by “Scott Rose”) accused Regnerus of scientific misconduct in the study and in how the results were reported in a scientific article about the study’s findings. Because the inquiry found the allegations to be unsubstantiated, UT-Austin says it will not conduct a formal investigation.

A UT-Austin memorandum stating the inquiry’s findings concludes that “Professor Regnerus did not commit scientific misconduct when designing, executing and reporting the research reported in the Social Science Research article. None of the allegations of scientific misconduct put forth by Mr. Rose were substantiated either by the physical data, written materials, or by information provided during the interviews. Several of the allegations were beyond the purview of the inquiry.”

The memorandum says Rosensweig “inferred that there must be scientific misconduct. However, there is no evidence to support that inference.”

Khamenei: Time for new world order

As Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi visits Iran for first time since 1979, Tehran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes scathing speech against West

Dudi Cohen, Roi Kais

 

"Iran's motto is nuclear energy for all, nuclear weapons for none," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared Thursday, in a speech welcoming Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi to Tehran. Morsi's visit was the first by an Egyptian leader to Iran in over three decades.

Iran's state TV in a live broadcast showed Morsi being received with full red-carpet honors by Tehran's vice president in charge of executive affairs Hamid Baghaei in the capital's Mehrabad airport on Thursday.

The world, Khamenei said "Is in transition towards a new international order and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) can and should play a new role."








The summit (Photos: AFP)



He further underlined the need for solidarity among all NAM member-states, saying it was an "obvious necessity" in the current era for establishing this new order.



Khamenei stressed that Iran "will never pursue nuclear weapons but… will not give up right to nuclear energy," which he called the "given right of every country."



Iran, he said, "regards the use of chemical weapons as an unforgivable sin, but it will not forego its right to use peaceful nuclear energy."



The Ayatollah then accused the "Zionist regime's henchmen" of committing "any and all crimes" adding that it is aided by the West.



NAM nations, he said, believe that the world should not be run "according to the western dictatorship of a handful of countries… This mechanism is unreasonable, unfair and undemocratic.



"The United States and its allies talk about human rights when in fact they are talking about western interest… torture and assassinations are ignored if they are carried out by the United States or the Zionists," he stated.










Khamenei further blamed the "Zionists" for "waging various wars, massacre and state-sponsored terrorism in the last decades."





He blamed the western world for "supporting and defending the Zionist regime of Israel against the oppressed Palestinian nation.



"Iran's called for solution to the Palestinian issue, calling for a "comprehensive referendum to be attended by all the indigenous residents of Palestine, including those refugees who have been away from their motherland for decades to determine the country's fate."



The Iranian leader urged the White House leaders to revise their Middle East policy and "show courage and opt for the referendum solution" and stop what he called the US' "astronomical spending" on Israel.






Ban at the summit



UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is attending the summit, did not protest in any way when Khamenei referred to Israeli leaders as "bloodthirsty wolves."

"We must not fear the West," Khamenei concluded.

Read the full article at - http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4274850,00.html

Chinese industrial fluoride suppliers openly list sodium fluoride as ‘insecticide’

…and ‘adhesive preservative’ in addition to water treatment chemical
Mike Adams
Natural News
Fluoride-pushing doctors and dentists who try to contaminate your water supply with fluoride are promoting their deadly agenda with a clever lie… a lie you will see obediently repeated in every fluoride push. Here’s how it sounds:

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral in the water. Our city’s water is unfortunate enough to have a low level, so we are simply adjusting the fluoride in the water to its optimum levels to improve public health.

This lie is repeated almost verbatim, across every city that seeks to poison its citizens with fluoride. Why is it a lie? Here are the five false deceptions found embedded in the statement:

Deception #1) The fluoride ADDED to the water is not “naturally occurring fluoride.” It’s a chemical byproduct often purchased from chemical plants in China (see below).

Deception #2) The false idea that ingesting fluoride is somehow good for your teeth. At best, fluoride is a topical treatment which should be swished around your mouth and then spat out. And that’s only if it’s truly natural (mineral) fluoride, not the fluosilicic acid toxins being pushed as fluoride.

Deception #3) What cities call “fluoride” is actually a toxic cocktail of over 100 deadly industrial chemicals and heavy metals, many of which are purchased in bulk from China, where industrial processing plants are trying to get rid of their excess toxic waste by labeling it “sodium fluoride.”

Deception #4) There is no such thing as a “low” level of fluoride or an “optimum” level of fluoride in drinking water. Pure drinking water should contain NO fluoride whatsoever.

Deception #5) Fluoride is “safe” for human consumption. Oh really? Then why is sodium fluoride labeled by its industrial manufacturers with stern safety warnings about causing severe harm to humans?

Chinese fluoride manufacturers openly admit to the toxicity of the chemical
Much of the so-called “fluoride” dumped into the public water supply in the USA, Canada, Australia and other nations actually comes from companies like this one in China: Fluoride Chemicals (Yunnan) Co., Ltd.

As you can clearly see on this industrial chemicals listing page of Alibaba.com, the Fluoride Chemicals Yunnan Co. offers a 98% water treatment Sodium Fluoride product with the following description for its uses:

It is used in the manufacture of effervescing steel, and the smelting and refining of light metals. It is also used in fluorination of drinking water, as a wood preservative, an adhesive preservative. An insecticide, a protective coating for metals, a pickle for steels and other metals, a flux for soldering and welding, as well as a flux and pacifier for ceramic, glass and porcelain enamel. (http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/540825136/98_min_7681_49_4_for.html)

This company also manufacturers synthetic cryolite, the fluoride-pesticide that’s being secretly sprayed on grapes and other crops, adding huge quantities of fluoride to your food (http://www.naturalnews.com/036753_fluoride_pesticides_grapes.html).

Here’s the description of synthetic cryolite, right from the industrial chemical supplier that sells it by the ton to U.S. food producers:

Uses: It’s mainly used as a flux in the aluminum smelting by fused-salt electrolysis; also an opalizer in the manufacture of enamel; an opacifier and auxiliary solvent of glass and enamel; an insecticide of crops; a flux in aluminum alloy casting; and in the production of ferrous alloy and effervescing steel; as well as a wear-resistant filler for resin and rubber-boned abrasive wheels.

(http://ynfhx.en.alibaba.com/product/540022489-213372652/Synthetic_Cry…)
“Highly corrosive to human skin”

Another supplier of sodium fluoride to municipal water facilities, the Shanghai Polymet Commodities Ltd. company in China, offers the following description of its bulk fluoride chemical:

Fluosilicic Acid / hydrofluosilicic acid:

Property: Colorless, transparent and smoky liquid with penetrating odor; highly acidic; soluble in water and volatile; with disinfecting action; corrosive to glass, ceramics, lead and other metals; highly corrosive to human skin and harmful to people’s respiratory organs; keep it in a container made of plastics. (http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/523747967/Fluosilicic_Acid.html)

Rich Mullins - Here In America

Know Your Enemy - Part 4 Babylon

The Puerto Rico Trench Tsunami Threat

by Zen Gardner

I’ve written about this little known Puerto Rico trench before, but it’s worth repeating. Especially now, because the quakes in the trench zone are getting not just more frequent, but stronger.
It was startling to find out just how massive and deep this fault line trench is. The consequences of a substantial subterranean landslide and resultant tsunami on the entire heavily populated low-lying island region of the Caribbean is almost unfathomable. And there’s hardly any talk about that lurking danger.

Of course not.

In case you haven’t noticed, the “authorities” don’t seem to want us to be aware of how tentative things are and the imminent dangers we face. Whether it’s earthquake activity, radiation releases, or geoengineering insanity wrecking the planet, we’re supposed to just trudge along with our heads down and not notice.

Recent Uptick in Seismic Activity on the Trench

You’ll notice above that the size of the quakes on the fault has been increasing over the past week. It’s fairly “normal” to see regular activity in this region, but this increase in magnitude is unusual and something to take note of.

About the Trench – Evidence of Enormous Submarine Landslide:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) states that the Puerto Rico Trench is the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean, with water depths exceeding 5.2 miles! The Puerto Rico Trench is also associated with the most negative gravity anomaly on earth, -380 milliGal, which indicates the presence of an active downward force.

 

The region is located on an active plate boundary zone between the North American plate and the northeast corner of the Caribbean plate. The North American tectonic plate is descending under Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, south of the trench.

 

The results of studies involving mapping and seismic profiling of the sea floor off Puerto Rico’s northern shore, have uncovered evidence of an enormous submarine landslide. The the suspect slide extends across roughly 35 square miles, and evidence indicates that a slide of this size would have involved approximately 620 cubic miles of material!

 

Assuming that the slide occurred as a single event, an underwater slide of this magnitude would have generated a tsunami of frightening proportions. The effects of such a tsunami on present day Puerto Rico would be disastrous, and considering that the region is still tectonically active, an event like this could likely occur again at some point in the future. Source

Figure 2. Location of earthquakes as a function of depth and size in the northeastern Caribbean.

The arrows in the map above show the direction the underlying Caribbean tectonic plates are moving, with the resultant build-up of pressure releasing into a myrid of earthquakes in the region over the years. Puerto Rico is the smaller green island in the middle, with the Dominican Republic the larger island to the left. The string of other Caribbean islands is buried under the earthquake markers that flow down the page to the lower right.

You can see the Puerto Rico Trench wraps around the entire zone.

A few little known facts came to the fore as I was researching this area after spotting the recent increase in seismic activity in the Caribbean region.

1. The Puerto Rico Trench is the biggest and deepest such trench in the entire Atlantic ocean.
2. This trench is capable of producing 8.0 earthquakes and above.

3. The risk of a major quake, underwater landslide and mega tsunami are as great as that of the Seattle area. In fact, one recent risk assessment put it at 35 to 55%!

4. The zone hasn’t ruptured in over 200 years and that has geologists seriously concerned.
In other words, something major will happen. No one knows when, but it will happen, as it has in the past there.

Add that to the fact that 35 million people live in surrounding low lying areas and you have a monumental disaster just waiting to happen.

Seismic activity is constant in the region, perched on the trench precipice

But Why No Warning?

What struck is that in everything I’m reading, it’s admitted this risk is huge but it’s hardly known in the area. Even Wikipedia admits:

Knowledge of the earthquake and tsunami risks has not been widespread among the general public of the islands located near the trench.

Why? Would it negatively impact the local economy, much like the idiot mayor’s development worries in the movie Jaws? Are there really such people in charge?
Well, look at the Gulf oil disaster and Fukushima for starters. I don’t think the concern is anyone’s health or well being – it’s preserving the status quo while the disasters take their toll as quietly as possible.

Remember–it’s not crisis prevention, it’s crisis management.

We May Not Know When, But People Should Be Prepared

I watched a moving and very insightful movie called “Tsunami – Caught On Camera” that is really worth viewing. It shows the psychology of human reactions to disaster. It’s a gripping and heart rending tale of several families and individuals who endured the catastrophic effects of the 2004 tsunami in several heavily hit locations.

The human spirit is so beautiful, through triumph and tragedy.

What baffled me was how even locals in some of these locations didn’t realize that when the sea retreats way out, leaving boats stranded and fish flapping on the sand and rocks, something big is coming and you should head for the hills. In some cases people were sleeping or there was very little warning. But I found this disturbing that people didn’t know this clear sign of a tsunami approaching.
But people in 2004 were completely caught unawares. When the tide went out many gathered at various beaches to see what the fuss was all about. When It started coming in and rising so quickly some thought it was cool and still had no idea. Not everybody missed the warning and some did try to warn others, but in general there was a real lack of awareness.

Are people really so ignorant of the world around them in this day and age? After this event I think the world learned a lot, perhaps. The Fukushima tsunami was a strange phenomenon that gave no warnings as to its massive size except the preceding quake, which was semi-routine tor them. Even the quake damage in Fukushima was hard to spot so they just kept about their ways until the ocean just rose and swallowed them up.

Very strange when the Japanese are very alert about this phenomenon and the potential effects from quakes.

We Need To Stay Tuned, Conscious and Continue to Inform

The Powers That Be are not about informing or empowering the people, as you have probably learned. There are wonderful researchers and groups trying to help people take real threats like these seriously, but it’s in spite of the government, not because of them.

If people realize they need to stay conscious and informed on their own and not expect the media to tell them what to do, they can stay a step ahead, or at least know how to read the signs of the times and react in a conscious way.

Whatever you do, don’t follow Hollywood’s pre-programmed panic conditioning. Keep fear out of the equation in whatever you do, think or plan.

But be prepared and keep informing others. Information is empowering.
Love, Zen
www.zengardner.com

Russia is disengaging from Syria: Arms shipments stopped, warships exit Tartus

Strange stuff, as the Russians seem to be acting in a co-ordinated effort with NATO. This would seem to signal an attack by NATO forces very soon. For this to occur, some deal had to be struck behind the scenes. We know Obama has made promises to Putin. We shall see what has been sacrificed to get the Russians to withdraw. Perhaps the nation of Georgia?

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report 

Russian Navy in Tartus

Russian naval vessels have unexpectedly departed the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus and Russian arms shipments to Syria have been suddenly discontinued. debkafile’s military sources reveal that those and other steps indicate that the Russians are rapidly drawing away from the Syrian arena to avoid getting caught up in the escalating hostilities expected to arise from military intervention by the US, Europe and a number of Arab states. Russian intelligence appears to have decided that this outside intervention is imminent and Moscow looks anxious to keep its distance for now.

According to our military and Russian sources, these drastic steps must have been personally ordered by President Vladimir Putin. He is believed to have acted over the objections of some of his army and naval chiefs. This would explain the mixed statements issuing from Moscow in recent days about the disposition of Russian personnel at the naval base in Tartus and Russian military personnel in Syria.
Wednesday, Aug. 22, Commander of the Russian Navy Vice Adm. Viktor Chirkov said that if the fighting in Syria reached Tartus, Moscow may decide to evacuate the base. He stressed that this decision would have to be taken on the authority of President Putin. He was the first Russian official to suggest the possibility of an evacuation.

A week later, Aug. 28, Russian chief of staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov denied anything had changed in the working procedures of Russian military personnel in Syria or that there were any plans to evacuate the Russian naval base in Tartus:

"I think it's too early to draw conclusions [from the situation in Syria]," said the general. "No one is running away from there.”

When a Russian journalist pressed the general and ventured to ask whether Moscow was terminating its military involvement in Syria, Marakov retorted, “Why are you so worried about Syria?"
But he didn’t answer the question.

debkafile's military sources disclose that the Russians have taken five significant military steps with regard to Syria in the last two weeks:

1. They cancelled a large-scale naval exercise dubbed “Caucasus 2012” scheduled to start mid-August in the eastern Mediterranean opposite the Syrian coast;

2. Warships from three fleets - the Northern, Baltic and Black Sea – concentrated opposite Syria have dispersed and returned to their bases;

3. Syrian President Bashar Assad was notified that Moscow was halting military aid to his army - except for intelligence updates and advice on logistics from Russian military advisers;

4. Moscow has not clearly announced a freeze on arms shipments, including replacement parts for Russian weapons, which make up the bulk of the Syrian army's weaponry. Officials have only said, “There are no large Russian weapons shipments planned in the near future to Syria."

5. The only Russian naval ship left in Tartus - a floating Russian Navy PM-138 shipyard – is also under orders to depart Tartus and return to the Black Sea in September.

A Russian source disclosed that all the remaining Russian personnel in Tartus have gathered on the floating shipyard, except for two officers on shore. This vessel and the remaining personnel are evidently packed up and ready to sail at any moment out of the Syrian port.

More Quotes of the Coming New World Order

This is just a sampling of what is available.  It's quite amazing how bold these people have been through the years with their claims.  Perhaps knowing they can control the media and politicians gives them confidence in their ability to escape justice.  At least in this life.  Their own words tell the story (from both the perpetrators and those who have warned us - videos, articles and excerpts for support):

"The world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes." — Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli of England, in 1844.

"The real rulers in Washington are invisible and exercise their power from behind the scenes." — Justice Felix Frankfurter, U.S. Supreme Court.

"Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men's views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it"—Woodrow Wilson, Signed the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.

"The real menace of our Republic is the invisible government which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy legs over our cities, states and nation."— Mayor (1918-1925) John F. Hylan of New York.

"I am concerned for the security of our great nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within." — General MacArthur

“I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong it’s reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.” - President Abraham Lincoln


 

 

"All of the perplexities, confusion, and distress in America arises, not from the defects of the Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation" — John Adams

“Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take it away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money.” — Sir Josiah Stamp, Director of the Bank of England (appointed 1928). Reputed to be the 2nd wealthiest man in England at that time.

"The few who understand the system, will either be so interested from it's profits or so dependant on it's favors, that there will be no opposition from that class." — Rothschild Brothers of London, 1863

“The powers of financial capitalism had a far-reaching plan, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole… Their secret is that they have annexed from governments, monarchies, and republics the power to create the world’s money…” — Prof. Carroll Quigley renowned, late Georgetown macro-historian, author of Tragedy and Hope.

"Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes it's laws" — Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild

“Bankers own the earth; take it away from them but leave them with the power to create credit; and, with a flick of a pen, they will create enough money to buy it back again… If you want to be slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, then let the bankers control money and control credit.” — Sir Josiah Stamp, Director, Bank of England, 1940

"Whoever controls the volume of money in our country is absolute master of all industry and commerce... and when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate." — James A. Garfield, assassinated President of the United States

“In the United States today, we have two governments. We have the duly constituted government and then we have and independent, uncontrolled and uncoordinated government in the Federal Reserve System operating the money powers which are reserved for Congress by the Constitution.” — Rep. Wright Patman, 1893-1976

"In November of 1910, some of these vultures came together at the Jekyl Island Hunt Club on Jekyl Island, Georgia. What were they hunting? The biggest prize of all, the absolute and complete control of all the money in America which means control of all America and with it the power to make slaves of all the people.Those who attended were: Senator Nelson Aldrich (Nelson Rockefeller's maternal grandfather); A. Piatt Andrew, Economist and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury; Frank Vanderlip, President of the National City Bank of New York; Henry P. Norton, President of Morgan's First National Bank of New York; Paul Moritz Warburg, a German who was partner in the New York banking house of Kuhn, Loeb Co.; Benjamin Strong, an aid to J. P. Morgan. Paul Warburg was credited as the architect of the bill which was passed by Congress and signed by traitorous Woodrow Wilson. It was entitled the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. America once again had a central bank but this time they had placed America under an absolute dictatorship… The Federal Reserve was incorporated in 1914 and has been creating a completely unnecessary national debt ever since." — Dr. Ken Matto Former Congressional Candidate, 6th District N.J.

"The financial system has been turned over to the Federal Reserve Board. That Board administers the finance system by authority of a purely profiteering group. The system is Private, conducted for the sole purpose of obtaining the greatest possible profits from the use of other people's money" — Charles A. Lindbergh Sr., 1923

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies . . . If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] . . . will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered . . . The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." — Thomas Jefferson, The Debate Over The Recharter Of The Bank Bill (1809)

“The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has owned the government since the days of Andrew Jackson.” — President Franklin Roosevelt, Nov. 21 1933

“You are a den of vipers! I intend to rout you out, and by the Eternal God I will rout you out. If the people only understood the rank injustice of our money and banking system, there would be a revolution before morning.” — President Andrew Jackson: 1829-1837

‘Virtually Untreatable’ tuberculosis threat rising, study finds

 

Posted by The Extinction Protocol

August 30, 2012 – HEALTH - Almost half of tuberculosis patients who received prior treatment were resistant to a second-line drug, suggesting the deadly disease may become “virtually untreatable,” according to a new study. Among 1,278 patients who were resistant to two or more first-line tuberculosis drugs in Estonia, Latvia, Peru, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and Thailand, 43.7 percent showed resistance to at least one second-line drug, according to a study led by Tracy Dalton at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings were published in the Lancet medical journal today. About 1.4 million people died from TB, the second-deadliest infectious disease globally after AIDS, and 650,000 cases were multi-drug resistant in 2010, according to the World Health Organization. Rising infection rates prompted the U.K. to announce in May it will require pre-entry tuberculosis screening for migrants from 67 countries seeking to enter the country for more than 6 months. “The global emergence of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis heralds the advent of widespread, virtually untreatable tuberculosis,” the study authors said in the published paper. Previous treatment with second-line drugs was the strongest risk factor for resistance to these drugs, the authors said. The prevalence of drug resistance, which ranged from 33 percent in Thailand to 62 percent in Latvia, also correlates with how long second-line drugs have been available in each country. South Korea and Russia had the longest histories of availability — more than 20 years — and the highest rates of resistance. In contrast, Thailand, Philippines and Peru, where second-line drugs were introduced 10 years ago or less, had the lowest resistance rates. Unemployment, alcohol abuse and smoking were also associated with resistance to second-line injectable treatment across countries. This is one of the few studies that have followed patients with the multi-drug-resistant form of TB for several years, Justin Denholm, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, said in a phone interview. Patients not taking their medicines properly is a major driver for resistance, said Denholm, who is studying TB transmission patterns in Australia’s Victoria state. –SF Gate

Major earthquakes strike near north and south poles

 

Posted by The Extinction Protocol

From increased ice melt reported from the Greenland Ice sheet to the sublimation of methyl hydrates near Spitsbergen, to an increased number of swarms and large earthquakes; the dynamics of the Arctic Circle is quickly and ominously morphing.

August 30, 2012 – ARCTIC CIRCLE - A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake erupted in the Jan Mayen Island region of the Arctic Circle, north of Iceland. The earthquake had a depth of 9.9 km (6.2 miles) and was followed by a 5.2 magnitude aftershock. Seismic turbulence has been increasing in the Arctic Circle in the month of August, as seen from the map above. On August 14, a – 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck in the Sea of Okhotsk near NE Russia. Today’s 6.8 magnitude Arctic earthquake was preceded by double moderate tremors along the Western Indian-Antarctica Ridge in the 5.4 and 5.0 range. The seismic dynamism that has the planet reeling, from pole to pole, increases the potential for major seismic disturbances along the Nazca plate of South America, the Cocos plate, along Central America; and, or the SW region of the U.S. near the Gulf of California, where the Pacific and North American plate are experiencing increased agitation. –The Extinction Protocol

Record melt of Arctic sea ice: “It’s hard even for people like me to believe, to see that climate change is actually doing what our worst fears dictated,” said Jennifer A. Francis, a Rutgers University scientist who studies the effect of sea ice on weather patterns. Scientific forecasts based on computer modeling have long suggested that a time will come when the Arctic will be completely free of ice in the summer, perhaps by the middle of the century. This year’s prodigious melting is lending credibility to more pessimistic analyses that it may come much sooner, perhaps by the end of the decade. “It’s an example of how uncertainty is not our friend when it comes to climate-change risk,” said Michael E. Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University. “In this case, the models were almost certainly too conservative in the changes they were projecting, probably because of important missing physics.” –Anchorage Daily News

Fernando Ortega - Sleepless Night

Just in case someone else is up late tonight...

Southern California town declares state of emergency over quake swarm

 

Posted by The Extinction Protocol

August 30, 2012 – CALIFORNIA – The southern California town of Brawley has taken the unusual step of declaring a state of emergency after a swarm of earthquakes rattled nearly 20 mobile homes off their blocks and forced a slaughterhouse to close, the mayor said on Wednesday. It is uncommon for quake-hardy California cities to declare emergencies due to tremors, but Brawley mayor George Nava said the earthquake swarm is a unique case because it has lasted for days and caused millions of dollars in damage. The cluster of relatively small quakes, which are caused by water and other fluids moving around in the Earth’s crust, began on Saturday evening and climaxed the next day with a 5.5 temblor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The tremors were continuing on Wednesday and geologists say there have been hundreds in total. Nava said leaders in Brawley, a city of 25,000 residents south of the state’s inland Salton Sea and 170 miles (275 km) southeast of Los Angeles, declared a local emergency late on Tuesday. Officials with surrounding Imperial County made a similar declaration on Wednesday. Nineteen mobile homes were knocked off their blocks and their residents forced out, Nava said. The auditorium at Brawley Union High School has been damaged and closed off, and the National Beef slaughter plant in Brawley has been temporarily shut down due to damage, he said. Local businesses have suffered millions of dollars in losses from closures and from customers staying away, Nava said. But he could not give an exact account of quake-related losses. The Red Cross and local government agencies will offer services to residents on Friday and Saturday at a local center. The emergency declaration allows Brawley to receive more assistance from Imperial County, Nava said. At one point, about 10,000 residents in the city were without power, and the quakes have also caused water line disruptions, Nava said. “When you don’t have an AC or running water, it’s just not a good thing in this weather,” he said. Jeanne Hardebeck, research seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, said earlier this week that the cluster of quakes is not a sign that a larger temblor is imminent. –Reuters

 

4.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Los Angeles region

 

Posted by The Extinction Protocol

 

August 30, 2012 – CALIFORNIA - The 4.1 earthquake that jolted Yorba Linda on Wednesday afternoon appears to be an aftershock of the cluster of quakes that hit the region earlier this month, seismologists said. The jolted area included southeastern Los Angeles County, Orange County and the Inland Empire. The quake occurred in about the same location of an earthquake doublet, two 4.5 quakes that occurred on Aug. 7 at 11:23 p.m. and Aug. 8 at 9:33 a.m. The area was also hit by a 4.0 quake on June 14. Wednesday’s quake, which hit at 1:31 p.m., was located near the center point of the magnitude-5.5 Chino Hills earthquake that reverberated through the Los Angeles Basin in the summer of 2008, U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones told The Times. Wednesday’s quake appeared to be located in the “Yorba Linda trend,” a seismic area identified by Caltech geophysicist Egill Hauksson in 1990, that might be a buried fault. Many who felt the quake said it was relatively mild. At Vinjon’s Kennel in Yorba Linda, the quake hit just as Carisa Feeney, 22, was giving a bath to a year-and-a-half-old boxer mix. When the quake delivered its single strong jolt, the dog leaped up in the tub –- and both quickly ran outside. “I’m pretty much covered in water,” Feeney said. Nancy Ferguson, who owns SGO Designer Glass in Old Town Yorba Linda, said, “We had a big jolt, just for a few seconds, then everything just kind of swayed.” Ferguson, who has hundreds of pieces of glass on display in her store, said she holds her breath every time there’s an earthquake. “But nothing fell over today, so we’re feeling pretty lucky,” she said. It is unlikely that the earthquake swarm that has hit Imperial County with hundreds of quakes since the weekend is related to Wednesday’s quake in Yorba Linda, Jones said. –LA Times

 

'Digital pill' with chip inside gets FDA green light

By Erin Kim @CNNMoneyTech

Proteus Digital Health's monitoring system includes a mobile app, pills with embedded chips, and a stick-on patch that tracks your body data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Ever wonder if you remembered to take your pills this morning? A medical tech startup has a novel solution: Swallow a computer chip that will help you keep track.
Proteus Digital Health scored a big victory this week when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval for the company's "ingestible sensor" invention. The 1 square millimeter device -- roughly the size of a grain of sand -- can relay information about your insides to you, and if you choose, to your doctor or nurse.

The chip works by being imbedded into a pill. Ingest it at the same time that you take your medication and it will go to work inside you, recording the time you took your dose. It transmits that information through your skin to a stick-on patch, which in turn sends the data to a mobile phone application and any other devices you authorize.

The system's goal is to overcome our forgetful impulses, says Andrew Thompson, the CEO and cofounder of Proteus.

"People live busy and complex lives, and as a result often don't take their medicines correctly," Thompson says. "We wanted to develop a solution that would help make existing medicines more effective in real life."

The European Union approved Proteus' system device in 2010, according to the company. The Redwood City, Calif., company plans to bring its first product, called "Helius," to market later this year in the U.K. in partnership with the Lloydspharmacy chain.

Helius includes Proteus' mobile health app, a supply of its stick-on patches (they last seven days, then need replacing) and a stash of its sensor-equipped placebo chips. The company declined to comment on the system's planned price tag.

The first wave of Proteus products will rely on placebo pills taken at the same time as the patient's medication. The company hopes to eventually get its sensors built straight into common medications, Thompson says.

Proteus' spent four years working through the FDA approval process. Now that it's got a green light, it plans to begin working on a U.S. version of its Helius system.

Contagion Unfolding - Mutated West Nile Virus Spreading Quickly

West Nile virus cases rising; 40% increase in one week: 66 dead in U.S.

Posted by The Extinction Protocol

August 29, 2012 – HEALTH – One of the worst outbreaks of West Nile virus to ever hit the United States continues to expand, with 66 deaths and 1,590 illnesses reported as of Tuesday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases have jumped 40 percent nationwide since just last week, the agency added. Cases have now reached their highest level since the mosquito-borne virus was first found in the United States in 1999, agency officials said in a Wednesday press briefing. While almost all states have reported at least one case of West Nile illness, over 70 percent of cases have come from six states — Texas, South Dakota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Michigan. The outbreak has hit hardest in Texas, where nearly half (45 percent) of the total U.S. cases have been reported. “The number of people reported with West Nile virus continues to rise,” said Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases. “We have seen this trend in previous West Nile epidemics, so the increase is not unexpected,” he added. “In fact, we think the reported numbers will get higher through October.” According to Peterson, of the cases reported so far, 56 percent are what is called neuroinvasive disease, when the virus enters the nervous system causing conditions such as meningitis or encephalitis. The remaining reported cases (44 percent) are non-neuroinvasive. “These numbers represent a 40 percent increase of last week’s report of 1,118 total cases and 41 deaths,” Petersen said. These numbers can be somewhat misleading since most cases of West Nile are non-neuroinvasive and are mostly unreported, the CDC said. That means that the number of unreported cases probably far exceeds reported ones. Neuroinvasive disease is the most serious for of West Nile infection and these patients usually are hospitalized, Petersen said. The size of the outbreak is based on these cases since they are the ones easily identifiable, he added. The only states that have not reported cases are Alaska and Hawaii, he said. “Based on current reports, we think the number of cases may come close to, or even exceed, the total number reported in the epidemic years of 2002 and 2003, when more than 3,000 cases of neuroinvasive disease and more than 260 deaths were reported each year,” Petersen said. The reasons for a major outbreak this year aren’t clear, Petersen said. The drought in Texas may have played a role, but there were probably other factors as well, he added. The best way to avoid the virus is to wear insect repellant and support local programs to eradicate mosquitoes, Petersen said. There are currently no treatment for West Nile virus and no vaccine to prevent it, he added. Speaking at the press conference, Dr. David L. Lakey, Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services said that, “As I look at the data, I am not convinced that we have peaked. Since last week, there have been 197 new cases and 10 more deaths in Texas, Lakey said. “Those numbers will continue to go up,” he added. –US News

Researchers Hack Brainwaves to Reveal PIN Numbers, Other Personal Data

• By Geeta Dayal

• | Edit

The “developer edition” of the Emotiv Epoc headset — if you think you can handle it. Photo: drbakker/Flickr

Don’t you dare even think about your banking account password when you slap on those fancy new brainwave headsets.

 

Or at least that seems to be the lesson of a new study which found that sensitive personal information, such as PIN numbers and credit card data, can be gleaned from the brainwave data of users wearing popular consumer-grade EEG headsets.

 

A team of security researchers from Oxford, UC Berkeley, and the University of Geneva say that they were able to deduce digits of PIN numbers, birth months, areas of residence and other personal information by presenting 30 headset-wearing subjects with images of ATM machines, debit cards, maps, people, and random numbers in a series of experiments. The paper, titled “On the Feasibility of Side-Channel Attacks with Brain Computer Interfaces,” represents the first major attempt to uncover potential security risks in the use of the headsets.

 

“The correct answer was found by the first guess in 20% of the cases for the experiment with the PIN, the debit cards, people, and the ATM machine,” write the researchers. “The location was exactly guessed for 30% of users, month of birth for almost 60% and the bank based on the ATM machines for almost 30%.”

 

To detect the first digit of the PIN, researchers presented the subjects with numbers from 0 to 9, flashing on the screen in random order, one by one. Each number was repeated 16 times, over a total duration of 90 seconds. The subjects’ brainwaves were monitored for telltale peaks that would rat them out.

 

The EEG headsets, made by companies such as Emotiv Systems and NeuroSky, have become increasingly popular for gaming and other applications. For the study, the researchers used the Emotiv Epoc Neuroheadset, which retails for $299.

 

The researchers — Ivan Martinovic of Oxford University; Doug Davies, Mario Frank, Daniele Perito, and Dawn Song of UC Berkeley; and Tomas Ros of the University of Geneva — analyzed P300 peaks, an important component of event-related potentials — electrical potentials that happen after the user is presented with a stimulus.

 

The P300 “occurs approximately 300 milliseconds after an event happens,” said Frank, a postdoctoral researcher at Berkeley, in a phone interview with Wired. “The potential arises if you already prime your thoughts toward a particular event…. An attacker could try to prime the thoughts of the victim towards a particular secret that a victim has in mind. For instance, if you know the face of some person, you might be able to observe a brainwave pattern that is evidence of the user thinking about the face.”

“Brain Spyware”

Emotiv and NeuroSky both have “app stores,” where users of the devices can download third-party applications. The applications use a common API for access to the EEG device.

 

“In the case of the EEG devices, this API provides unrestricted access to the raw EEG signal,” write the researchers. “Furthermore, such applications have complete control over the stimuli that can be presented to the users.”

 

The researchers envision a scenario in which a potential malicious attacker could write “brain spyware” to harvest private information from the user, which could be legitimately downloaded as an app.

 

“We simulated a scenario where someone writes a malicious app, the user downloads it and trusts the app, and actively supports all the calibration steps of the device to make the software work,” said Frank. In these seemingly innocuous calibration steps, which are standard for most games and other applications using the headsets, there could be the potential to harvest personal information.

 

“We realized that these devices are becoming increasingly popular — maybe in five, 10 years, it’s very likely that many households will have one,” Frank said. “At the same time, you can use all kinds of third-party apps for these devices. In this setting, as security researchers, we identified that there is a potential to make some bad stuff, to turn this technology against the user.” He said, however, that there was no immediate threat in using the devices. But the experiments devised by the researchers point to the devices’ darker potential.

 

“The simplicity of our experiments suggests the possibility of more sophisticated attacks,” write the researchers, warning that “with the ever-increasing quality of devices, success rate of attacks will likely improve.”

The Fuel Project Part 3 - Know Your Enemy

The Illusion of Freedom at the Republican National Convention

This has been coming for months, so it's not a shocker, but the willingness to simply change rules at a whim to perpetuate the fantasy of unity in the Republican party is still shocking.  The fact is that the voting records of Romney and Obama are almost identical, along with their primary stances on a number of issues.  We have the illusion of freedom with a two-party system, but it's actually a one-party system where "we the people" have no choice.  Below is a primer to what was going on behind the scenes preceding the RNC.

 

And here is the response as the Maine delegates were essentially evicted from the convention floor in Tampa.

 

Ancient Builders Created Monumental Structures that Altered Sound and Mind, Say Researchers

 By Ian Crossland

The results of recent research suggests that ancient, or prehistoric, builders of the monumental structures found in such diverse places as Ireland, Malta, southern Turkey and Peru all have a peculiarly common characteristic — they may have been specially designed to conduct and manipulate sound to produce certain sensory effects.

Hal Saflieni Hypogeum on the island of Malta

Beginning in 2008, a recent and ongoing study of the massive 6,000-year-old stone structure complex known as the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum on the island of Malta, for example, is producing some revelatory results. Like its related prehistoric temple structures on Malta, this structure features central corridors and curved chambers. But this structure is unique in that it is subterranean, created through the removal of an estimated 2,000 tons of stone carved out with stone hammers and antler picks. Low voices within its walls create eerie, reverberating echoes, and a sound made or words spoken in certain places can be clearly heard throughout all of its three levels. Now, scientists are suggesting that certain sound vibration frequencies created when sound is emitted within its walls are actually altering human brain functions of those within earshot.

“Regional brain activity in a number of healthy volunteers was monitored by EEG through exposure to different sound vibration frequencies,” reports Malta temple expert Linda Eneix of the Old Temples Study Foundation, “The findings indicated that at 110 Hz the patterns of activity over the prefrontal cortex abruptly shifted, resulting in a relative deactivation of the language center and a temporary shifting from left to right-sided dominance related to emotional processing and creativity. This shifting did not occur at 90 Hz or 130 Hz……In addition to stimulating their more creative sides, it appears that an atmosphere of resonant sound in the frequency of 110 or 111 Hz would have been “switching on” an area of the brain that bio-behavioral scientists believe relates to mood, empathy and social behavior. Deliberately or not, the people who spent time in such an environment under conditions that may have included a low male voice — in ritual chanting or even simple communication — were exposing themselves to vibrations that may have actually impacted their thinking.” [1]
Researchers at the University of Malta are confirming the findings in an ongoing study.

Inside Malta’s Hal-Saflieni Hypogeum. Courtesy Old Temples Study Foundation

 

But the Hypogeum is not alone in its peculiar sound effects. A study conducted in 1994 by a consortium from Princeton University found that acoustic behavior in ancient chambers at megalithic sites such as Newgrange in Ireland and Wayland’s Smithy in England was characterized by a strong sustained resonance, or “standing wave” in a frequency range between 90 Hz and 120 Hz. ”When this happens,” says Eneix, “what we hear becomes distorted, eerie. The exact pitch for this behavior varies with the dimensions of the room and the quality of the stone.” Going further back in time, she points to the ancient 10,000 B.C. site of Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey. Built by hunter-gatherers, the site is thought by many scientists to be located in the area transitional to the first development of agriculture and domesticated livestock. Located on a hilltop, it consists of 20 round stone-built structures which had been buried. Those structures that have been excavated feature massive, T-shaped, standing limestone pillars. “In the center of a circular shrine,” she says, “a limestone pillar “sings” when smacked with the flat of the hand. Obviously made to represent a human with a decorated belt and hands carved in relief at its waist, it bears unexplained symbols in the area of the throat.” [1]


And now, new findings of a recent archaeoacoustic study suggests that the ancients of the 3,000-year-old Andean ceremonial center at Chavín de Huántar, in the central highlands of Peru, practiced a fine art and science of manipulating sound with architecture to produce desired sensory effects. With the assistance of architectural form and placement, and sounds emitted from conch-shell trumpets, the “oracle” of Chavín de Huántar ”spoke” to the ancient center’s listeners.

Says Miriam Kolar, Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow, PhD Candidate
 at Stanford University and leader of the study: 

”At Chavín, we have discovered acoustic evidence for selective sound transmission between the site’s Lanzon monolith and the Circular Plaza: an architectural acoustic filter system that favors sound frequencies of the Chavín pututus [conch-shell trumpets] and human voice.” [2]

The Lanzon is a sacred statue or stela depicting the central deity of the ancient Chavín culture. Thought to be Chavin’s central “oracle” for its inhabitants, it is housed in a chamber, part of a series of underground passages within the Old Temple of the ceremonial and religious center of Chavín de Huántar. A central duct was built to connect the area of the Lanzon monolith with that of the Circular Plaza, an open-air place of ceremonial activity and significance. The duct was specifically designed to filter and magnify or conduct to a certain sound range — namely, the special range emitted by the Chavín pututu instrument. The specific reasons for this acoustical configuration are not entirely understood, but studies involving human participants within the ancient architectural and artifact context of the site are indicating that the resultant sound effects may have been related to intentional auditory perceptual effects of sound and space on humans.

So what does all of this mean? What explains these similar, yet geographically and culturally disparate finds?

“How curious that such varied ancient structures, separated by so much time and distance, should have common features which imply sophisticated knowledge”, observes Eneix. “Did the architects of the day each make and develop their own discoveries or did they inherit a concept from some older school of learning? Adding the time element to other fields of comparison suggests human trail-blazing of monumental proportion.” [1]

A detailed article about the acoustical qualities of prehistoric ancient architecture is published in the March 2012 issue of Popular Archaeology Magazine, and a live illustrated presentation on the implications of acoustics in the creation of megalithic structures is in production. More information about the lecture, “Sound and the Onset of Building Monumentally” is available from The OTS Foundation.

More information about the temples of Malta and Gozo can be obtained by going to: www.otsf.org and www.ancientmed.org