06/3/12

‘Venezuela’s Chavez Bans Gun Ownership and Firearms Sales’

By: Arlen Williams
Gulag Bound

The warning for America from the land of Venezuela, a focus of Barack Obama’s friend Bill Ayers and his devious little charge, Chesa Boudin: Hugo Chavez was able to become Venezuela’s Marxofascist dictator while it was permissible to own firearms and now he can do this.

From Jim Kouri, Law Enforcement Examiner:

In a move sure to make the American gun-control lobby green with envy and Second Amendment advocates wary, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s new gun law, which totally bans the commercial sale of firearms and ammunition to civilians, went into effect on Friday, June 1, a police source in Washington, D.C. told the Law Enforcement Examiner.

Until this ban became law, anyone in that South American country with a gun license could purchase firearms and ammunition from privately owned gun shops or sporting goods stores.

With Chavez’s new gun-control law, only the Venezuelan army, police officials and certain groups such as security and private detective firms are allowed to buy firearms, and then only from state-owned weapons manufacturers and importers.

continues

Obama & Chavez at Trinidad Summit, 2009, source unknown, possibly AP

06/3/12

Hunger Games Reflected part 3, Breaking the Mockingjay

Gulag Bound

Berit Kjos
crossroad.to

The third of Ms. Kjos’ series in review of the books and movie, Hunger Games

Background: The heartless president of the fictional nation of Panem uses the annual “Hunger Games” raise up victorious human “idols” that would unify the masses and distract its hungry slaves. According to his rules, twenty-four youths are chosen by lottery to kill each other until only one is left. And while they fight for their lives, the eyes of every household across the land are glued to the televised killing fields. That’s the law!

George Orwell’s 1984: “Behind Winston’s back the voice from the telescreen was still babbling away…. The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. …You had to live…in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard.”[1]

 

The Hunger Games are far more than a fictional fantasy. They serve as warnings that illustrate the corruption of our human nature and the duplicity of today’s trusted leaders.

In the first book, the deadly games ended with two winners instead of one: Katniss and Peeta. They had disobeyed the rules; each refused to kill the other. The masses loved it, but President Snow was furious. Instead of building solidarity, the games had fueled a growing rebellion against the wealthy and well-armed Capitol, the control center of Panem.

In the third book,[2] the seventeen-year-old Katniss becomes the symbol of the rising rebellion. Dressed in her triumphant Mockingjay uniform, she is televised and celebrated across the country by rebel leaders.

In the end, the rebels win. But it’s a sad victory! Coin, the female rebel leader proves to be more corrupt than Snow, her predecessor. And when she gains control of the nation, Katniss is no longer wanted and kept out of sight.

Human history is full of such outcomes. The Soviet Union is a good example. Most of Lenin’s revolutionaries were eventually killed by Stalin, who tolerated no competition. In England, where elite financiers funded the Bolshevik revolution, only a few voices dared speak up in alarm. George Orwell may have been one of the most effective critics of Soviet communism and its British supporters.

Aldous Huxley was more subtle. The powerful Huxley family had long been steeped in the socialist vision of a totalitarian world government, and his brother Julian became the first head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Remember, Alger Hiss, the communist who advised President Roosevelt to cede eastern Europe to Stalin (Yalta, February 4-11, 1945). Some months later he presided over the first gathering of the United Nations in San Francisco.

Neil Postman, who wrote “Amusing Ourselves to Death”, understood their goals and strategies well. To illustrate brainwashing, he drew an interesting contrast between Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984:

“Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies….

[In 1984] people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.”[3]

Postman’s insights fit our times. Today’s spiritual war against God, His people and their freedom is being waged on both fronts. The oppressive assaults on liberty, privacy and traditional values fit Orwell’s vision. The flood of images and suggestions that distort beliefs, twist values and trivialize Christianity, fit Huxley’s vision.

Yet, while Orwellian oppression intimidates the masses into silence and conformity, its terror also awakens faith and stirs resistance. In contrast, Huxley’s “feelies” simply dull our thinking and distract our attention until myth and trivia become the norm, while Biblical conviction becomes an intolerable expression of deviance and extremism.

The Discarded Mockingjay and Her Sad Reflections

Badly burned in a fiery explosion that killed her sister, Katniss tries to understand what happened. The final battles between the Rebel forces and the Capitol have blurred together in her tormented mind. Who did what? Why? Nothing made sense!

She agonizes over the lies and deceptions — especially the unconscionable killing of countless innocent children:

“That a Capitol hovercraft manned by rebels bombed the children to bring a speedy end to the war. But if this was the case, why didn’t the Capitol fire on the enemy? Children are precious to 13, or so it has always seemed. Well, not me, maybe. Once I had outlived my usefulness, I was expendable.

“And why would they do it [bomb the children] knowing their own medics would likely respond and be taken out by the second blast? They wouldn’t…”[p.359-360]

But that doesn’t make sense either! As she keeps seeking answers to the horrible violence, she suddenly realizes the truth.

“…there’s [Snow’s] assessment of [rebel leader] Coin. What’s irrefutable is that she’s done exactly what he said. Let the Capitol and the districts run one another into the ground and then sauntered in to take power.”

“I recall Boggs’s response when I admitted I hadn’t put much thought into Snow’s successor. ‘If your immediate answer isn’t Coin, then you’re a threat. You’re the face of the rebellion….”

“No, now I am going crazy, slipping into some state of paranoia…. I badly need help working this out, only everyone I trust is dead.”[p.360-361]

When Snow is removed, Coin, the calculating rebel leader, takes over — but not for long. Though still medicated, Katniss is well enough to attend the inauguration of the new president. For her, the war had not yet ended:

“I…grasp the arrow. Position it…. I release the string. And President Coin collapses over the side of the balcony and plunges to the ground. Dead.”[p.372-373]

No Hope?

Placed in solitary confinement, Katniss plots her suicide:

“Why am I not dead? I should be dead. It would be best for everyone if I were dead…. Jumping to my death’s not an option—the window glass must be a foot thick. I can make an excellent noose, but there’s nothing to hang myself from. …I’m sure I’m being watched round the clock. For all I know, I’m on live television at this very moment….The surveillance makes almost any suicide attempt impossible….

“What if they’re not going to kill me? What if they have more plans for me? A new way to remake, train, and use me?…

“Snow thought the Hunger Games were an efficient means of control. Coin thought the parachutes [the explosives that killed the children] would expedite the war. But in the end, who does it benefit? No one.” [p.375-377]

A short trial is held, and Katniss is released to go “home.” A plane brings her back to District 12, then she travels by cart through her devastated home region:

“As I near the ruins of my old house, the road becomes thick with carts. The Meadow’s gone, or at least dramatically altered. A deep pit has been dug, and they’re lining it with bones, a mass grave for my people…

“We learn to keep busy again….A few hundred others return because, whatever has happened, this is our home. With the mines closed, they plow the ash into the earth and plant food. Machines from the Capitol break ground for a new factory where we will make medicines….”[p.385-388]

War is horrible! But that fact is easily forgotten by those who have spent their lives in the safety of America. In contrast, Eastern Europeans who suffered through the consecutive reigns of Hitler and Stalin may never forget! (See the Bombing of Dresden and Soviet depravity)

But There Is Still Hope!

How dark and deceptive the world is without God! The people of Panem think and act like hopeless people today. Those who dare take a stand against evil may win for a season. But freedom without genuine faith never lasts long. Today’s battles against Biblical Christianity illustrate the problem. And the natural result is cultural corruption and crumbling liberty. If only our leaders would follow these guidelines:

“Jesus said… ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'” John 8:31

The world’s pagan cultures have always included some kind of occult or unbiblical worship, but so has Western culture. The historical list of idols is endless: the sun, moon, trees, rocks, fictional gods, politicians, kings, talented singers, beautiful entertainers, military leaders… or simply oneself. [Twist of Faith, chpt.7]

Today’s blend of human imagination and digital communication is fast multiplying that list. Do you wonder how many hours a week the average teen spends with his mind immersed in digital fantasy worlds featuring man-made idols that can be manipulated? How prepared will he or she be to handle the challenges ahead?

Alger Hiss co-authored of the UN Charter. The blueprint for America’s replacement was written over sixty years ago, but few ordinary Americans saw the danger. After all, our media and entertainment industries are masters at distracting the masses and creating feel-good fantasy versions of a Brave New World or the more Orwellian Hunger Games.

Huxley and Orwell illustrate two different kinds of seduction and tyranny. A seducer will blind and deceive us, while the tyrant may control our bodies but not our minds. Orwell’s totalitarianism may seem more deadly, but Huxley’s “feelies” and trivia is a far greater threat to clear thinking, moral values, biblical faith and the strength of our nation.

In other words, what Huxley described in Brave New World laid the foundation for today’s amoral choices, sensual seductions, occult deceptions and rising Orwellian tyranny.

The pattern — not the details –of Israel’s ancient history (on the right) will continue until the wonderful moment when our Lord returns.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven…. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17


1. George Orwell, 1984 [also titled Nineteen Eighty-Four], published in 1949. www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/books/transformation/orwell.htm

2. Suzanne Collin, Mockingjay (Scholastic, 2012)

3. Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death (NY: Viking Penguin, Inc., 1985), vii-viii.

4. [See Spiritual Warfare, Part 3: Hating Truth and Primed for Deception!]


06/3/12

Silencing the Clarions

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

The Indy Star: Picture from One of the Speedway Bomber Scenes

Bloggers are being actively silenced by paid domestic terrorists. SWATting, the tactic of calling in phony emergency calls in order to have a SWAT Team dispatched to someone’s home, is on the rise and all you hear from the FBI is crickets, although they could stop this if they wanted to. Maybe a moan from some innocent blogger or his family who was just ‘accidentally’ gunned down might carry on the wind, but is more likely to be drowned out by the shredding of the Constitution.

From Patterico:

BREITBART TOLD THE STORY JUST BEFORE HE DIED

In the last radio interview Andrew Breitbart ever gave, on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, Breitbart talked about a new ruthless tactic used by thugs against political opponents:

[O]ne of the things they’ve done to people who have worked with me in the past, including an L.A. prosecutor, is to “SWAT.” That means that they’re spoofing phones, pretending to be somebody else’s phone, calling 911, and saying “I killed somebody” and then the person’s home is met with the guns drawn, the SWAT and the helicopters, in a horrifying act. It’s happened twice: once in New Jersey, once in Los Angeles, with an L.A. County . . . prosecutor who [is] associated with me.”

I am that L.A. County prosecutor. And in this post, you’ll hear the hoax call that sent police to my house, pointing loaded guns at me.

And it just happened again to Erick Erickson of RedState for blogging on Kimberlin. Remember the names Ron Brynaert, Neal Rauhauser and Brett Kimberlin, because they are actively hunting conservative bloggers and terrorizing them. These same conservative bloggers are the clarions that let the rest of America know when tyranny is crushing the life out of our country. They are the last line of defense in news and they are being threatened at every turn with arrest and death. The Speedway Bomber is once again running in a tight, close-knit wolf pack these days and they have a taste for conservative bloggers.

This last week, Aaron Walker was hauled out of court in handcuffs for blogging against Kimberlin as well. It would appear that blogging is now a crime in some instances – so much for the Constitution.

Kimberlin has a long history of harassment and terrorism. And his backers and protectors have very deep pockets. You should not be surprised that he receives the backing of George Soros, Barbara Streisand, The Heinz Foundation and indeed, Barack Obama himself. I have at least two anonymous sources in Indiana who tell tales that would curdle your blood dating from 1978. I’ve also noticed that some in-depth articles on Kimberlin on the web are disappearing. Kimberlin blogs under the name ‘Expose Breitbart.’ Active efforts are on-going by others to connect him to even more crimes, specifically murder. In 1981 he was sentenced to 50 years for the Speedway Bombings and yet he is now free to terrorize those who would stand up against the Progressives.

Here’s a peek into the workings of Kimberlin from Mark Singer at The New Yorker in 1996:

ABSTRACT: A REPORTER AT LARGE about Brett Coleman Kimberlin… Writer completed and published a story on the eve of the last Presidential election, in which Kimberlin was described as an unlikely American political prisoner. The writer stands by this story, but also goes more into depth about why Kimberlin was in prison in the first place, and what it was he did to get there… He was 5’5″, and while in prison had become a competitive power lifter… He was released in Nov. 1993, aged 39… He had been sentenced to serve 50 years and had served 15… Writer tells about traveling with him on a Greyhound bus to his mother’s house in Washington, D.C…. Writer describes Kimberlin’s incarceration… He signed a contract to write a book about Kimberlin’s life. He agreed to cooperate, and in exchange he would receive a share of the book’s royalties. This venture was predicated on the idea that there was a richer story to tell than the one I had previously told. Looking back, I think we both assumed that we had the same story in mind–an assumption that now strikes me as both conspiratorial and naive… Who he was and where he’d been had begun to seem ambiguous; where he was now heading was impossible to predict. Verities that I had filed away as tangible and solid now struck me as hazy and transient. There were questions I could pursue endlessly, their answers growing yet more elusive. I knew for sure only that I was witnessing the middle passage of a long and strange American voyage… Tells about his career, beginning at 15, as a marijuana dealer… Tells how he was implicated by police in the murder of Julia Scyphers; her granddaughter, then aged 9-12 accompanied Kimberlin alone on vacations… Police theorized that Kimberlin had her murdered in order to stop her from blowing the whistle on his drug smuggling and relationship with her granddaughter… Tells about a string of bombings which perplexed the Scyphers’s area directly after the murder & which were later tied to Kimberlin… Kimberlin meanwhile was arrested on a marijuana smuggling charge & later convicted of the bombing spree as well as attempting to forge the Great Seal of the President of the United States… Tells about his time in prison as a model prisoner and a jailhouse lawyer… Tells how Kimberlin fought the bombing case all the way to the Supreme Court… Describes how Kimberlin claimed to have sold marijuana to Vice-Presidential candidate Dan Quayle while in prison… Tells about the opinions of people writer spoke to who described Kimberlin as a psycho…. Writer started a new file called “megalomania,” which included some of the things that he was picking up: that Kimberlin regarded the police as idiots; that, just before the Gulf War, be became convinced that his own interventions with the Iraqis could bring Saddam Hussein to his senses; that he grew irritated with Vincent Foster, Jr., when he committed suicide, because it might keep the Clinton Administration from focusing on his own case… Tells about Kimberlin’s attempt to become a pop icon… Writer grew weary of Kimberlin’s narcissism… Tells about Kimberlin meeting Dan Quayle at a book signing… Writer’s original story was an account of an individual’s civil rights abused by politicians and bureaucrats who were protecting their interests. I still stand by the essentials of that story. But the injustices it describes must stand alongside the history of injustices I kept discoveringof law, of humanity, of life: injustices that dwarfed this little man’s original complaints. And that story is true, too.

So you see, this is not the average run-of-the-mill leftie… This is a very dangerous psychopath who is actively stalking bloggers such as Stacy McCain of The Other McCain who is now in hiding trying to protect his family after blogging about this monster. So far, he has called for the arrest of Karl Rove, Andrew Breitbart, Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue, Massey Energy Chairman Don Blankenship and other high-profile public figures. But his most recent hits include Aaron Walker, Patterico, Liberty Chick, Stacy McCain and Erick Erickson.

Fox News sheds light on his financial dealings:

A review of tax filings for Kimberlin’s blogs, “Velvet Revolution” and “Justice Through Music,” raises troubling questions about whether his “nonprofit” operations are dedicated to public activism — or are just a new facade for a longtime con artist.

Though neither website publicly reveals Kimberlin’s role, tax and corporate documents show that he is one of four directors who incorporated the Velvet Revolution, and that he is the registered agent for the tax-exempt, non-stock company, which is registered at his mother’s house in Bethesda. In 2008, the last year for which tax records are available, Velvet Revolution took in $83,000 in gifts and contributions.

Kimberlin is also one of two incorporators of Justice Through Music, as well as a $19,500-a-year employee of the non-profit, whose purpose is to “shed light on some of the injustices of the world through music” and which took in more than $550,000 in contributions in 2008.

Kimberlin has raised millions in the last few years to fuel his terror campaigns. He is partial to lawsuits, but violence is his forte. And, in my opinion, he bears an uncanny resemblance to Bill Ayers. Psychos of a feather…

But as digging continues on Kimberlin, more and more weird facts (yet to be verified) keep popping up. His folks owned a health food store in Broad Ripple, a village in Indianapolis. With money from his family, he opened a vegetarian/health food store in Broad Ripple, which is a village located in the north part of Indy. His father was an attorney I understand. Another tidbit says that he lived in Russia for some time. Not sure if he attended university there, but it is said that he owned a Jolt Cola franchise there. As I said, no verification yet, so if anyone has details on this let me know. I’m also hearing whispers about those who are protecting Kimberlin. Very interesting whispers indeed. More uncorroborated tips include a penchant for impersonating law enforcement and drug dealing. His home was raided for bomb making materials, but all that were found were illicit drugs which the warrant did not cover at the time – another fact that should be looked into. There are also whispers of a connection to Tony Rezco – still needs verification. Whatever is found and verified, it looks like a lot of powerful people looked the other way because of intimidation, extortion and blackmail. We will let you know as more facts come to light.

A special thank you goes to Michelle Malkin who has the courage and the determination to unite the blogosphere against Kimberlin and his ilk.

One wonders why this is not all over the major media outlets. Only Fox News has covered it so far with the help of major talk show hosts such as Glenn Beck. If the silencing of the clarions continues, there will soon be no voice to warn Americans of the tyranny that is descending. We must all surely stand together or we will hang separately.

—————-

In Observance of the National Day of Blogger Silence — This Friday, NoisyRoom will go dark and silent. No posting, no Facebook, no Twitter… There may be a message to our Congressmen, but other than that, we stand in solidarity with other bloggers on Friday this week in protest of the violation of our Constitutional rights.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin – Contempt: Free speech-trampling judge in Kimberlin case exposed; help Aaron Walker fight back

Patterico – Audio and Transcripts from the Hearing Where Aaron Walker Was Arrested for Blogging About a Public Figure (Hat Tip: The Jawa Report)

American Power – Ali Akbar Targeted by ‘Breitbart Unmasked’

Ace of Spades – National Day of Blogger Silence — This Friday

Twitchy – National Bloggers Club president targeted by Brett Kimberlin supporters; National Day of Blogger Silence planned for Friday