Daily Archives: October 4, 2013

10/4/13

America -14 Months Later

By: Gerald Loeffers

Here’s a possible glimpse into America if things continue the way they are and more people don’t rise up and make themselves be heard. We’re already hearing reports of more and more police districts getting free armored APCs from the Defense Dept. Also, things like armed up drones and the fact that they are buying up both AK rifles and magazines is coming out. Now that Obamacare is here and up and running (sort of) we will see full enforcement of doctors snooping into your personal life… asking questions about your sex life or your gun ownership and then the mandatory RFID tracking chips being implanted. What? You thought those chips were just for Fido? With more and more power being given to the DHS, IRS, EPA and FEMA and with the steadfast rumors of prison camps and gallows in place all over this country, along with a federalized national police force in place by DHS that’s been fully working for a year or more, nothing would surprise me. We’re also looking at the intentional collapse of the American economy through both the massive welfare and food stamp programs and through the Fed and its printing of funny money and buying up of stocks and housing markets. Just look at the Obama White House’s inexcusable use of the American people to teach them a lesson and to cause as much pain as possible, so we go running to them begging. I for one will never do that. Screw them! I am an AYN RAND, small government, Constitutional Libertarian and I know now that neither party has my self interests in their plans or has the health of the traditional American in their hearts.

THE MARTIAL LAW PLAN

Well, we’re already seeing proof that DHS plans to go the way of Nazi Germany if the change of leadership or lack there of is any indication. More and more members of Obama’s pals, the Muslim Brotherhood, are being injected into more positions in Washington and a major player from Dallas, TX is getting a top ranked job at DHS. We’re going to be seeing, sooner rather than later, more and more suburbs being patrolled and controlled by DHS or more militarized police forces — first in small batches, but as months move on and people get used to it, then BAM! You will be asked for your papers or I.D. and entire neighborhoods will have had all personal firearms, ammo and knives removed door to door, “FOR YOUR SAFETY.” And if you think the economy sucks now, wait a year when your cash is worthless and the only way to feed yourself is to be forced on a government food stamp program. Don’t look to a supermarket or a fast-food restaurant. Most will be out of business by then or their shelves will be empty. All the food and farms will be under government control. You won’t even be allowed to grow your own food. Self defense will be a thing of the past; gun ownership will only be for the elite among the government and the rich, who are their friends, just like it was in Nazi Germany. Hell… even the rank and file law enforcement or soldiers won’t be able to own their own personal firearms (what if they rebel?). And as children, we grown ups will be given a curfew and we won’t be able to stay up late. We’ll have to be in bed at a set time just like mama Obama tells us.

LOSING YOUR RELIGION

So, are you a Mormon, a Catholic, a Jew or a Christian believer of any kind? It’s your lucky day! Your new religion is either Islam or Obama worship. That’s right… for a limited time only, you get two choices — convert or prison with a short wait time for the gallows. Just like Hitler and Stalin, your racist religious beliefs will be completely outlawed. It’s the government’s belief that all Christians are the cause of all wars and violence and need to be outlawed for a “safe and secure society.” We already have noticed the Obama flags around and we know that historically, Hitler had all of the churches that he allowed to be open, replace their crosses and other symbols with the Nazi flag. He placed SS officers in all the churches to keep tabs on all preachers or priests to ensure that they were teaching the gospel according to Hitler. So, be prepared to practice in secret… in basements or way out of town without telling anyone because that’s part of the plan. And part of this plan is to replace the Constitution with Islamic Sharia Law, which is socialist in nature. That’s right… you guessed it! Just like the Nazi Party, but pay no attention to the historical alliance of radical Islam and the Nazi party or Hitler’s friendship with the Muslim Brotherhood. There’s just no relation between that and Obama’s dealings. You can just watch some reality show and forget about this little coincidence.

COMPLY OR DIE

This will be the next step within the year… they are already pushing with the Monument closings, the Barrycades and armed guards. Remember, NUDGE, SHOVE AND THEN SHOOT! We are also seeing an increase in police over use of force on children and the disabled, as well as the over militarized police all over the country. When you have a communist-supporting, asshole movie actor leading a SWAT team in Arizona, the overkill is tremendous. You shouldn’t let Steven Seagal back in the country after his many visits to Putin, who is his close friend. Then you have the on purpose removal of any Constitutional knowledge throughout the entire field of law enforcement at both the local and federal levels. They know case study law basics, but not the Constitution itself, which everybody should know == it’s only four pages! We will see in the next year less community minded patrol cops and more of the turtle shell looking black, heavily armed ninja cops. That’s not the way original law enforcement was designed to be. We see an increase of more and more people being arrested and imprisoned for speaking out and non-compliance of ridiculous regulations that are meant to pound you into the sand. Then, if they suspect you of terrorism, look out! You won’t be water boarded… it will be worse. They will take your children away and you won’t see them again. They will force you to watch your wife get tortured or worse.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO…

It doesn’t matter to me what rank and file party member you are… you know what’s going on (I HOPE SO ANYWAY). You know what both parties are doing is a game to them. They think the American people are a clown show and they are the ring leaders, giving you crumbs for payment. So, is that what you really are? A circus side show or an American? We are sick and tired of the game and the phony gridlock reports we get from the media. You need to get prepared with food, water, arms, first aid and new skill sets because this will be a new America next year period. We slept too long and have woken up a little late. It’s time for catching up. There are things moving along as we speak. THE OATHKEEPERS are getting operational teams going in parts of the country and are mobilizing, but we need you as well. Again, I could care less about your party ties… cut them. You should be done with them and rely on yourself. Make no mistake, we will have to be the helper in the community. We need each other now more then ever.

10/4/13

Locksmith Industry Run like a Police State

By: T F Stern
T F Stern’s Rantings

Locksmiths around Texas are getting used to being herded, branded and then put out to pasture at the beck and call of the Department of Public Safety/Private Security Board (DPS/PSB). Ever since the State mandated licensing of the locksmith industry with all powers being handed to a select board of overseers, none of whom are locksmiths, there has been a steady amount of pressure applied to individuals to remind them that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are not guaranteed to all individuals; you have to get permission from a licensing board, not exactly the America envisioned by our founders.

Over the years locksmiths have been instructed on how to jump rope, balance on beams and properly bow before our masters, the DPS/PSB. We’ve been treated to mandated continuing education regardless of how absurd the requirement relates to journeymen locksmiths followed a couple of years later with additional mandated hours of this same meaningless exercise simply because members of the board thought it was a good idea; never mind that an individual’s license to compete in the market place hinges on well meaning but delusional ‘do gooders’ forcing others to bend to their desires without regard for rhyme or reason.

This morning an email from the Texas Locksmith Association (TLA) arrived in my email box advising me of an Emergency PSB Meeting to be held in Austin, Texas, on October 8th, that’s four days from now; not exactly a timely message for anyone trying to schedule an event.

What constitutes a reason for an Emergency Meeting of the DPS/PSB? Is there something so important it can’t wait until the regular quarterly meeting scheduled for the end of October? Quarterly meeting are when locksmiths are normally ignored and told to sit there and shut up so this is an extra opportunity to run rough shod over individual rights and destroy the free market a little bit more.

I remember the local news media interrupted a ball game with an
Emergency Alert Screen to tell everyone the President has signed an Executive Order prohibiting ICE from deporting illegal aliens – Now back to your regularly scheduled program. I suppose anything constitutes an emergency now; like that couldn’t have waited until the regular news hour.

The request which requires this Emergency Meeting (translate request to mean firm instructions from our Masters), is intended to mandate all locksmiths submit a new set of fingerprints to the DPS/PSB when ever they wish to renew their locksmith licenses.

“35.187 deals with Renewal Applications. Under current rule, all security company employees only have to submit fingerprint cards to the DPS when first hired. The DPS wants a new fingerprint card to be submitted upon each renewal of pocket cards.

The Rules Committee has been working on a solution for a few months and will report their findings at the Oct. 8 meeting.”

Excuse me while I barf in the trash can; but the Rules Committee has been working on a solution for a few months? How hard is it to tell the DPS/PSB to shove this one where the ‘sun don’t shine’? (I worked very hard to word that without swearing by the way)

Did the DPS misplace everyone’s fingerprint files or do they think we all go around altering those little lines and indentions on our finger tips just to throw the authorities off when they’re looking for a specific locksmith?

There’s another rule somewhere in the DPS/PSB system requiring locksmith’s fingerprints be recorded and submitted only at specific ‘authorized’ locations. The charge for this ‘service’ (that’s the same term prostitutes use when they do the same thing to their customers) is around $30 (give or take); but that’s not the point.

Fingerprint file cards don’t change over the years and this is one more example of the Police State Mentality of the DPS/PSB as they pull the puppet strings of everyone they have been given authority over.

The original reason for licensing locksmiths supposedly was to protect the public from unscrupulous fly by night crooks posing as locksmiths. If that really was the case, and I seriously doubt that, then it would appear the DPS/PSB is going after folks who are already licensed. Honest law abiding locksmiths who have already proven they are not a threat to society are being treated as if they were unscrupulous fly by night crooks.

The real threat to our society, or so it seems, is the DPS/PSB.

This article has been cross-posted to The Moral Liberal, a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government & The American Constitution.”

10/4/13

Media Coverage of Benghazi Leans Toward Political Theater

By: Bethany Stotts
Accuracy in Media

Accuracy in Media recently held a conference on last year’s tragic attacks on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. This event not only served as a launching pad for a new group called the Citizens’ Commission on Benghazi, but also called attention to some largely unknown facts about Benghazi that have been covered up by the administration and the mainstream press.

First, we learned from the Obama Administration that it was a YouTube video that sparked the protests—a false narrative gladly perpetuated by the media as long as possible. Currently, the media and the administration are pushing the story that attempts to investigate Benghazi constitute a Republican vendetta, the perpetuation of a “phony scandal” to incite the populace against the President and former Secretary of State—and presidential hopeful—Hillary Clinton.

To this end, it is not surprising that key details of the recent congressional hearings on Benghazi went largely unnoticed by the mainstream media. Instead, media consumers are left with the narrative that this is a political battle rather than a search for the truth, and that Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and his Oversight and Government Reform Committee are composed of belligerent politicians who care little about decorum or etiquette. (That, according to Politico, seemed to be the greater takeaway.)

What inspires headlines on the topic of Benghazi today? Political theater, such as Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) tweet that the World War II Monument had more security on hand than Benghazi did that terrible night.

“Displaying an increasingly hostile tone, Republicans Thursday sought to discredit the findings of a report on last year’s deadly assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and criticize former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s response,” reported Ginger Gibson for Politico in September (emphasis added). “California Rep. Darrell Issa, the committee chairman, cut witnesses off, interrupted fellow lawmakers and accused the administration of withholding witnesses from the panel and obstructing his investigation,” she wrote (emphasis added).

Gibson took the time to point out that “Most Republicans focused their questions on [former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michael] Mullen, virtually ignoring the two witnesses who conducted a separate best practices investigation and focusing only a handful of questions on [Thomas] Pickering.” But she failed to report on one key instance which might have called Mullen’s “independence” into suspicion, and which was a subject of many inquiries during the hearing. As outlined in Darrell Issa’s Committee report (pdf), Admiral Mullen apparently chose to call up Hillary Clinton’s Counselor and Chief of Staff, Cheryl Mills, to give her a friendly “heads up” that he didn’t think Charlene Lamb would comport herself well in front of Congress. Lamb was scheduled to testify on October 10, 2012, before Congress; the Accountability Review Board (ARB), of which Admiral Mullen was Vice-Chair, had been announced on October 3 by Hillary Clinton. Admiral Mullen had just interviewed Lamb for the investigative purposes of the ARB, and went out of his way to make this friendly call to Mills. The call to Mills occurred just days after she had called Mullen to ask him to be the co-chair of the ARB.

“If this is so independent [a board] why are you giving the State Department a heads up about a witness coming in front of this committee?” asked Rep. Jim Jordan at the hearing. Also, Breitbart reported that “He [Mullen] was asked if he ever alerted officials at the State Department or Department of Defense about ARB activities.”

“He told them they contacted Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s chief of staff, ahead of time because it may be a difficult appearance for the State Department.”

MSNBC didn’t mention these telling moments with Admiral Mullen, either. But then again, they chose to ignore a whole lot of information that would be important in determining whether the ARB was actually independent. As mentioned in the hearing, the ARB investigators did not transcribe their interviews, they only took “diplomatic notes.” Neither Politico nor MSNBC found this newsworthy. Thomas Pickering explained during the hearing that he felt that transcribed interviews for the ARB would have hindered the kind of give-and-take he was soliciting from those he interviewed. It does, however, diminish the objective record of what happened during this investigation.

“The State Department’s refusal to turn over documents and materials reviewed by the ARB has limited the Committee’s ability to evaluate the thoroughness and accuracy of the ARB process,” stated the report from Issa’s Committee.

“Pickering pushed back on the accusations that the committee assembled to testify before the review board about Benghazi did not contain any ‘true outsiders,’ and that the report was biased,” wrote Traci G. Lee for MSNBC. What she failed to mention is that the Secretary of State chose four out of five investigators, and then the investigative board found that it wasn’t necessary to interview Clinton at all for her role in the Benghazi attacks.

Lee’s piece from MSNBC doesn’t address other concerns, such as the fact that the report from Issa’s committee asserts that the mid-level employees targeted by the ARB may have been unfairly targeted (instead of Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy, or even more senior officials), and that they received little due process at the hands of the State Department. However, Lee cites the report in the first line of her article. Perhaps she hasn’t read it? It is, after all, 99 pages long—too long, perhaps, for the drive-by media.

On the preceding day, Ambassador Kennedy had outlined what was happening to the four State officials who were previously on administrative leave: “One of them has been reassigned to a lower-level position in the Bureau of African Affairs. One is the Director of the Office of Foreign Missions and the other, the other two are in the process of being reassigned to positions of lesser responsibility with no worldwide purview,” he said. According to Issa’s report, the latter two may be considered for positions of some prestige. When asked about this, Kennedy didn’t give a straight answer.

Instead, Lee writes: “As a result, four State Department officials were relieved of their duties.” The link goes to a 2012 ABC News article. She doesn’t even bother to educate the reader that these officials were recently reinstated to lower positions by Secretary of State John Kerry, after a “thorough review” of their performance which didn’t include talking to their supervisors. One wonders, does she even know?

Considering the mainstream media’s dismissive attitude about facts they don’t agree with, it’s little wonder that the American people know so little about what went on in Benghazi.

Bethany Stotts is a freelance writer, and former staff writer for Accuracy in Academia. She blogs at http://bethanystotts.wordpress.com/.

10/4/13

OSCE Warsaw: Early Recommendations

By: ICLA Admin
ICLA

The following was first published at Gates of Vienna:

As reported here over the past few days, the International Civil Liberties Alliance and allied groups (including Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa, the Center for Security Policy, the Stresemann Foundation, Women for Freedom, ACT! for America, and ACT! for Canada) descended on Warsaw last week to speak out at the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting on topics related to Shariah and Islamization.

“But why the OSCE?” you might ask. “Why bother with a little talk-fest like that? It’s of no importance in the larger scheme of things.”

And in a way, you’d be right. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has no formal power over the “participating states” (as its members are called). Its recommendations are not binding.

However, like the UN, it’s a place where fashionable trans-national political and social programs are hatched, discussed, and disseminated. It is a reputable venue where non-governmental organizations can publish papers and materials, which thereby gain a sheen of respectability and substance. They may be cited later in other bodies and within the participating states as effectively having the imprimatur of the OSCE.

A relevant example is the “Guidelines for Educators on Countering Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims: Addressing Islamophobia through Education”, which was mentioned here earlier and figured prominently in the ICLA paper “The Problematic Definition of ‘Islamophobia’” [pdf]. The “Guidelines” booklet was published jointly [pdf] by OSCE/ODIHR, the Council of Europe, and UNESCO in 2011. Without even a working definition of “Islamophobia” — its authors admitted at this year’s side events that they have none — the booklet is being used a training document for educators within the OSCE region, helping teachers and day care workers combat Islamophobia among their young charges.

So the OSCE matters; it has an effect, even though it flies mostly under the radar.

It has another important advantage: any NGOs that are registered as non-profit organizations in one or more of the participating states may register and speak at OSCE conferences. Unlike the UN, the OSCE is open to ordinary people who belong to non-profit organizations. If they want to become a part of the proceedings, they may simply register at the OSCE website and pay their way to Warsaw or Vienna. There is no charge to participate in the conference itself.

This offers an opportunity for Counterjihad-minded citizens to make their own contribution, however small, in resistance to the tide of Islamization that is flowing over Europe and North America. If enough like-minded people take part, their influence can make a difference.

One measure of effectiveness is whether an NGO’s recommendations appear in the official reports on the conference. It’s too early for the final document with its list of recommendations — the conference just closed its doors this afternoon — but the preliminary summaries, each known as a “Rapporteur’s Report”, have been published at the OSCE website.

The initial indicators are auspicious: recommendations derived in whole or in part from the work of ICLA, BPE, CSP, ACT!, WFF, the Stresemann Foundation, etc. are showing up in the rapporteur’s summaries. Below are some excerpts from the reports published so far. The red text represents recommendations made by one or more of the above groups; blue text indicates results that will be of interest to our movement.

Many thanks to Chris Knowles of ICLA for compiling these excerpts:

Working session 1: Tolerance and Non-Discrimination I

Some participants described a negative trend in parts of the OSCE region when it came to the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, and warned against a rise of aggressive nationalism, Nazism, extreme xenophobia and chauvinism. Refuting this criticism, other participants outlined measures taken to ensure respect, protection and promotion of rights of persons belonging to minorities in their respective countries and efforts to counter extremist ideologies. Concerns were raised that some of the criticism was politically motivated, rather than based on the assessment of implementation of commitments.

Working Session 2: Tolerance and Non-Discrimination II

A number of participants highlighted the challenge in ensuring that both freedom of speech and freedom of religion or belief are respected, including in relation to the use of the Internet. Two participants called for the withdrawal of ODIHR’s Guidelines for Educators on Countering Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims on the basis that they hinder free speech, while a number of participants saw the Guidelines as a useful tool that should be further used by participating States…

Recommendations to the participating States:

Fully utilize the ODIHR’s education tools and guidelines;

Notice here the contradictory recommendations: that the “Guidelines” be withdrawn, and that they be promoted. The former is a result of interventions by ICLA, while the latter is presumably due to EMISCO and other Islamic groups as well as their Progressive allies.

Recommendations to the OSCE, its Institutions and Field Offices:

For ODIHR to withdraw from distribution the Guidelines for Educators on Countering Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims;

For the OSCE to promote the Guidelines for Educators on Countering Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims across the OSCE region;

For the OSCE and ODIHR to avoid using contentious terms and instead use agreed-upon terms from the documents;

Working Session 3: Tolerance and non-discrimination II (continued)

Many speakers stressed the importance of combating violence against women and children. A number of participants referred to the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention in this respect… Furthermore, several speakers stressed the importance of combating practices that harm women and girls, including forced marriage, female genital mutilation, and honour killings. One delegation expressed concern about the abuse, sale and trafficking of children after adoption.

Working Session 4: Fundamental freedoms I

Ms. Mijatović continued to remind participating States that the obligation to protect the freedom of expression extends beyond merely the editorial office and includes online media and open journalism. The increasingly common practice of filtering and blocking websites in parts of the OSCE, often aimed at silencing critical voices under the pretext of national security, represents another major challenge to the participating States in living up to the commonly agreed standards of open societies. Ms. Mijatović concluded by calling on all participating States to muster up the political will and courage to jointly counter these worrisome trends…

Numerous speakers called attention to the potentially conflicting relation between the freedom of expression on the one hand and efforts to combat intolerance and non-discrimination on the other. Some organizations expressed concern over the presumably restricting effect of hate crime legislation on the freedom of expression, in particular due to the often imprecise and controversial scope of application of such legislation.”…

Recommendations to the participating States:

To repeal provisions criminalizing and restricting the exercise of the freedom of expression both online and offline;

To reform hate speech legislation with the aim of rendering it consistent with freedom of expression;

Working Session 5: Fundamental Freedoms II

In his introductory remarks, Ambassador Janez Lanarčič, Director of ODIHR, noted that freedom of movement was a pre-requisite to ensure the free exercise of other fundamental freedoms. He highlighted the importance of human contact across borders and drew attention to the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on this topic earlier in 2013. He also stressed the vital role of NHRIs and civil society and noted the risks and challenges that many civil society representatives and human rights defenders faced as a result of their work. In this context, he noted that ODIHR is currently preparing recommendations or the protection of human rights defenders. He also drew attention to ODIHR’s ongoing activities in the field of human rights education.

Participants who spoke on the issue of civil society stressed the vital importance of them being able to operate freely and without hindrance. A number of participants expressed concern at restrictions being imposed on human rights defenders and civil society organizations (CSOs) in some participating States, ranging from outright harassment to damaging administrative, financial and fiscal measures and the use of overly burdensome registration systems to undermine certain CSOs or their activities. Some participants shared concerns about perceived undue restrictions on some CSOs resulting from the receipt of foreign financing. Several speakers commented favourably on ODIHR’s work to develop recommendations for the protection of human rights defenders.

Recommendations to the participating States:

Create a safe and enabling environment for civil society and human rights defenders to operate in, without undue interference;

Working Session 6: Freedom of religion or belief

One NGO touched upon the question of some anti-extremism laws, which broad definition of extremism led to persecution of religious minorities…

Other issues that were raised by the speakers include the right to conscientious objection, the negative impact of anti-blasphemy laws, propagating beliefs unduly considered as incitement to hatred, harassment of LGBTI people in connection with some beliefs, and the need to return the confiscated holy sites and not to transform them into museums…

Recommendations to the participating States:

Abolish blasphemy laws, as well as any ban on apostasy;

Focus on FoRB as an individual right and not a collective right;

Recommendations to the OSCE, its institutions and field operations:

Focus on FoRB as an individual right and not a collective right;

Abandon the use of the term “Islamophobia” in ODIHR guidelines;

Review OSCE standards to take into account cultural values and in view of intolerance against Christians;

Working session 7: Freedom of religion or belief

Many NGOs highlighted the problems for Christian communities in some countries. Despite laws guaranteeing freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), there were practical obstacles to exercising this freedom. Registration is often mandatory for practising one’s faith in community with others…

Some delegations stressed the link between FoRB and other rights, as freedom of expression, assembly and association. Religion must never be used to restrict the enjoyment of other rights, as women’s rights.

One delegation stated that freedom for one group must never interfere with the freedom of others. Freedom for some must not threaten traditional moral values. Traditional religions must not be discredited. A balance must be found…

“It was stated that it should be legitimate to discuss the norms and practise of all religions and this should not be met with accusations of intolerance (as Islamophobia).”

Some speakers regretted the negative descriptions of one religion (Islam) by a few speakers.

Working Session 8: Freedom of Assembly and Association (specifically selected topic)

While in a networked society, Dr. Hamilton pointed out, there are today numerous channels and opportunities to voice opinions and messages, free assembly is more than that: individuals physically present are constituting “the people”, an essential element of thriving democracies. He also stressed that the law and practise of OSCE participating States should not treat assemblies as a ‘public order problem’ but should facilitate peaceful assemblies as a fundamental human right. This means, he explained, providing access to public space, and protecting peaceful protesters especially when conveying controversial messages (positive obligation). It also means that States refrain from interfering with peaceful assemblies unless absolutely necessary and based on law (negative obligation). The imposition of burdensome and extensively interpreted notification procedures which do not allow for spontaneous or untraditional forms of assemblies today presents one of the main challenges to free assembly in the OSCE region, according to Dr. Hamilton…

Authorities would also often cite public order or safety for denying assemblies, particularly those with controversial messages, in highly frequented and thus prominent spaces. Moreover, authorities would often judge the purpose or message of an assembly, and deny or restrict its taking place, by openly referring to the protection of ‘traditional or moral values’ to be protected, or giving more opaque reasons…

Recommendations to the OSCE participating States:

Ensure that the notification process for the holding of assemblies is not cumbersome; any restrictions on the time, place, or manner of an assembly should be content-neutral and reasonable; the substance of speech or other expressive content should not be restricted or banned without compelling reason;

Protect peaceful assemblies from counter-assemblies;

Reaffirm that cultural, traditional or religious values cannot be used as a reason for restricting or denying the right to peaceful assembly or association.

Working session 9: Freedom of assembly and association

18 speakers took the floor during the session. They highlighted the following: fundamental character of FAA in any democracy; using different mechanisms for increasing the role of civil society in the decision-making process, including referendums; existing problems in the registration of NGOs; restrictions for some of the groups, including national minorities and LGBT; lack of notions of national minorities in the legislation and the prohibition of the use of certain words, which create problems in the registration of NGOs; limitations in conducting peaceful assemblies; disproportional use of force by police; persecution of organizers of rallies, imprisonment of demonstrators.

“Participants also stressed lengthy, bureaucratic or financially restrictive character of the registration process, some cases of imprisonment of activists for exercising their rights to assemble and associate, several unreasonable refusals to organize an assembly on the pretext of the risk of counter demonstration conducted by anti-fascist movements.”

Recommendations to the OSCE participating States:

Ensure that peaceful assemblies take place without undue interference;

Take into account the difference between violent and peaceful demonstrators. If intervention is legitimate, restrict the use of force to those participants that are violent and train police officers.

10/4/13

“Revolution Beyond Borders” Comes to America

By: Cliff Kincaid
Accuracy in Media

The famous GOP strategist Karl Rove, who lost $300 million betting on a Mitt Romney victory in 2012, says it appears that President Obama is on an “ideological crusade” against the Republican Party. Congratulations to Rove for recognizing the obvious. But where does Obama’s ideology come from? This is where Karl Rove, most Republicans, and even many in the conservative media fear to tread.

Professor Paul Kengor has the question: Has Obama ever been influenced by Marxist ideology? The answer in the affirmative helps explain why Obama is so determined to crush the political opposition and take complete control over the budget process in Washington, D.C.

Obama claims that the Republicans, who have the power of the purse in the House of Representatives, are the ones pursuing an “ideological crusade.” But Rove, who has a basic understanding of the ideological struggle, comments that Obama “wants to dramatically increase the size of the federal government” and that his party’s control over matters such as raising the debt ceiling without spending cuts is crucial to that effort. Blaming the government “shutdown” on the Republicans and getting the GOP to back down is what this is all about.

But what explains this determination on Obama’s part and his refusal to compromise? Paul Kengor wrote a recent column on the far-left campaign for New York City mayor being waged by “progressive” Bill de Blasio, whose support for communism in Central America was recently exposed by the liberal New York Times. Kengor noted that the Times ran a follow-up story which said de Blasio was asked whether he had ever agreed with Marxist ideology and that he replied, “It’s 2013. I’d like to note, I’m not going to stoop to Joe Lhota’s [the Republican mayoral nominee] level here.”

Kengor commented, “All of which leads to a more intriguing question that should be directed not at de Blasio, but at Obama, namely: Has Barack Obama ever agreed with Marxist ideology?”

The professor noted that “conservatives like myself have been pushing this question for a long time, but never with access to Barack Obama. We can’t get this question asked, and thus it has never been answered.”

Kengor wrote a 400-page book on Obama and his mentor, Frank Marshall Davis, a literal card-carrying member of the Communist Party USA. He also interviewed Dr. John Drew, who knew Obama at Occidental College in the early 1980s. Drew was a Marxist at the time, and he says that Obama was as well.

Kengor wonders why journalists never posed to Obama the question that was asked to Bill de Blasio. He adds, “We’re waiting less on Barack Obama than we’re waiting on just one honest mainstream journalist with access to the President. If the inquiry is okay for the potential mayor of New York, then why not for the leader of the free world?”

Of course, de Blasio tried to deflect the question by insisting that things have changed and today it’s somehow dirty campaign tactics to ask about such matters. Because registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by six to one in New York City, de Blasio seems poised to win that election with the support of what Sol Stern calls the “old Popular Front” of liberals, Marxists, and others.

The city thus faces not only higher taxes and spending, but major new restrictions on a police force on the front lines of safeguarding citizens from criminals and jihadists.

However, former pro-communist activist Tom Hayden expressed concern in a Huffington Post column titled “Defend de Blasio Now” that de Blasio’s past could come back to haunt him, saying that there is a fear that Marxism could taint their “progressive” candidate and that his election is not a sure thing.

But Hayden, who achieved notoriety as Jane Fonda’s husband and eventually became a politician, also has a lot to answer for. Like Communist terrorist Bill Ayers, Hayden was a key member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the violence-prone group that laid siege to college campuses in the 1960s. One of their main goals was making sure the communists conquered South Vietnam.

On June 4, 1968, Hayden wrote a “Dear Col. Lao” letter to a North Vietnamese official that ended, “Good fortune! Victory!” So Hayden was someone who was cheering for the communist enemy killing Americans. The communists won.

De Blasio also worked on behalf of the communists, namely the Sandinistas in Central America, who took power in Nicaragua in 1979.

At that time, top Sandinista Tomas Borge said, “This revolution goes beyond our borders.” Another top Sandinista, Comandante Bayardo Arce, said, “We cannot cease being internationalists unless we cease being revolutionaries.” By 1986, the Sandinistas were closing down independent newspapers such as La Prensa, leaving only pro-Sandinista papers in circulation such as Barricada, the Sandinista party paper, and the regime-subsidized el Nuevo Diario.

According to The New York Times, de Blasio subscribed to Barricada, even after the Sandinistas lost power in a free election. As Paul Berman notes at the New Republic, this “was the most hardline of the Sandinista publications.” Today, de Blasio still describes aspects of the Sandinista Marxist program as “inspirational.”

Although Obama hasn’t been asked about his communist mentor Frank Marhall Davis and how Davis’s Marxist ideology influenced the future President, we can anticipate that he would adopt the de Blasio technique of blaming his political opponents for bringing the subject up.

The current budget impasse provides an opportunity to educate the American people about the “Revolution Beyond Borders” that has come to America. The evidence cannot be denied, despite the media’s failure to ask the President about his background in Marxism. We are faced with a Marxist in the White House who is determined to crush the opposition. Can the Republican Party hold up under the pressure?

Cliff Kincaid is the Director of the AIM Center for Investigative Journalism and can be contacted at [email protected]. View the complete archives from Cliff Kincaid.

10/4/13

Note to the GOP: Do Not Negotiate With Progressive Thugs

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
Cross-Posted at Right Wing News

Chris Muir at Day by Day Cartoon: Barrycade

Our Progressive government is very intent on punishing America for not following their edicts. The acolytes who work for the government and the Obama Administration have been given their marching orders:

“It’s a cheap way to deal with the situation,” an angry Park Service ranger in Washington says of the harassment. “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”

It is becoming increasingly evident that the Progressive Left (and I might add, the Progressive Right), don’t give a crap about Americans. Witness all the blather from the floor this week on Republicans being extremists, terrorists, Jihadists, anarchists and whatever other slander they can throw our way. They are specifically aiming at Constitutional Conservatives and the Tea Party. Message received loud and clear. Harry Reid was among the loudest asshats using this divisive language. But it’s not just that incendiary throw down that is being bandied about, no… Harry takes it even further:

Harry is at the breaking point, weary from exhausting his thesaurus for synonyms for “arsonist” and “terrorist” and “pillager.” Everyone could see the cracks in his exchange with Dana Bash, a reporter for CNN, who asked why, if he is concerned about children with cancer who are unable to enter clinical trials for new drugs because Mr. Obama shut down the National Institutes of Health, why stifle Republican attempts to grant a little relief?

“If you can help one child who has cancer, why wouldn’t you do it?” the reporter asked.

“Why would we want to do that?” Mr. Reid snapped back. “I have 1,100 people at Nellis Air Force Base that are sitting home. They have a few problems of their own. This is — to have someone of your intelligence to suggest such a thing maybe means you’re irresponsible and reckless.”

How very collectivist of you Harry… Then he tried to walk it back and apologize today for his nasty tone on the Senate floor. Too late… No repentance for the damned, Harry. I don’t care if you are senile – you will have to answer for your evil deeds. The closer you get to that event, you would think you would repent a bit more and, you know, maybe not keep doubling down on evil. Just sayin’.

While Obama and his lackeys were busy threatening 80 and 90 year-old WWII Vets on the National Mall and shutting down monuments that had nothing to do with the government, violence arrived on Capitol Hill yesterday. A young hygienist rammed her car into a barrier with her 1 year-old in the car. She was unarmed, but hurt two police officers with the car. They shot her dead. The child, however, is safe. Probably unrelated, but my first thought was that with the McDonald’s workers and the SEIU and Planned Parenthood goons they are paying, was she one of them too? Did it get out of hand? We’ll probably never know. She was probably just mentally disturbed, but who knows any more. But I would bet she was a Liberal.

Meanwhile, the feds have wired shut the WWII Memorial. Let me see… where did I put those wire cutters? That should be fairly easy to rectify. Other businesses such as the Pisgah Inn, a private hotel that holds a concession on the Blue Ridge Parkway, has become a national sensation as it defies “intimidation” and a National Park Service order to close its doors. Good for them.

While the government keeps all things Obama enjoys, such as Camp David, open, they are punishing the troops overseas by cutting off NFL and baseball coverage. What a bunch of petulant, evil Marxists.

Americans across our great country seem to be waking up and displaying the courage and tenacity they are known for. Our GOP leaders, however, are another thing entirely. They are getting ready to cave to Obama. They are actually about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Predictable. In a fight over the budget and debt ceiling that dates back to the Founding Fathers, our illustrious leaders are intent on collecting their 30 pieces of silver and nailing America in the process. And who is leading these treasonous bastards? Why, John Boehner of course:

WASHINGTON—Senior Republicans in Congress, frustrated over their inability to strike a deal to reopen the government, began shifting from their drive to undercut the 2010 health-care law, which has been the central element of the dispute, toward a broader budget deal.

The new focus comes as Congress is beginning to confront the need to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, which the Treasury said must be done this month in order to pay the nation’s obligations. With federal agencies largely shuttered for a third day, some GOP lawmakers were exploring whether the political stalemate over funding the government could best be resolved by crafting a broader fiscal package that would include an increase in the debt ceiling.

House Speaker John Boehner, (R., Ohio), on Thursday signaled he would follow that course. He told a group of his closest allies over lunch that he doesn’t want to broker a deal to fund federal agencies and reopen the government only to face an immediate negotiation over raising the debt ceiling, participants said. The speaker expressed optimism at the lunch that he might be able to combine the two issues to embark on broader budget negotiations with the White House and Senate Democrats.

What a farce! Three days and Boehner is ready to roll over. He simply made a phony show on all this. It was a distraction to have his Obamacare cake and eat it too. That’ll be with Amnesty icing please…

But the true Conservatives in the Senate and the House are not done yet and are not so easily defeated. They will not knuckle under to the default extortion ploy so quickly. The rest need to grow a backbone and fast. Note to the GOP: do not negotiate with Progressive thugs – on either side of the aisle. Hold the line — don’t negotiate away our freedoms and future. Chris Wallace is right… the White House debt message is ‘bull.’