A Definitive Article on Mississippi's Initiative 26

It was at this point that I intended to feature a Mother Jones article on what the implications of Initiative 26 would be in respect to birth control. However, thanks to a dear reader I can put before you a far more definitive source, not just on the subject of birth control, but of the implications as a whole that this bizarre and extreme proposal would conjure up.

Vote No on 26, Mississippi - Here is why

On November 8th, 2011 in the General Election for Mississippi, there will be three Ballot Initiatives to vote on. 26 - to redefine "person" in our constitution, 27 - to require voter ID (ie disenfranchise voters) and 31 - to restrict the use of eminent domain. The full, actual text of 26 is below. Vote No on 26, Mississippi!

I've put a lot of thought into this initiative. I've tried to keep this updated with the most recent developments. There is a lot of information, so please bear with me and read this through. Where I have supporting documentation, there are links within the text that are blue and underlined.

First, a video.

Rather than embed the video in question, a video I might add, that by its (simple) nature is reminiscent of another, simple message for simple people, that featured many years ago in the next door state of Alabama. But this is but a digression.

No, rather than the featured video, have a look at this one, again linked from the article, but one I would have thought that gives a far starker warning to just what 'Personhood' actually means in real terms in the States that have already enacted this legislation.

The intrusion, by hospitals, prosecutors and law enforcement is absolutely staggering, so much so that I had to replay the clip again to have it confirmed that such nightmare scenarios had indeed come to pass.

Of all the clips that I have ever watched that warn of the effects of religious extremism, nothing but nothing comes close to this one. And this I remind you, is in a country where having a social conscience (socialism) is seen as one step removed from the totalitarianism of a Stalinist state.

I don't know what analogy would best describe what is depicted in these few short minutes, but whatever anyone might choose, they would have to end in, totalitarian state.

The events that are happening in these states is truly frightening, so much so, viewing of this clip should be made mandatory.

The "Personhood" initiative only defines the word "person" in the Mississippi constitution as "every human being from the moment of fertilization." If you think this is an anti-abortion bill, think again. It says nothing about outlawing abortion. It says nothing about outlawing the morning after pill. It says nothing about anything else. All results of the bill will have to be figured out by the police arresting people and the courts deciding what the change to the definition of person means. It might not even outlaw abortion. It might have lots of other, perhaps unintended, consequences.

For instance :

Birth control pills and IUD pregnancy prevention methods would be outlawed by the 'personhood amendment' (because they prevent a fertilized egg - which would instantly become a fully legal 'person' - from attaching to the uterine wall as a rare third stage effect, but it still happens), further increasing these numbers. The "yes" group claims otherwise, even though their own board member, Dr. McMillan says, "I painfully agree that birth control pills do in fact cause abortions." (see the 'lies exposed' link further down for more details)

I have come to believe that the wording of i26 actually targets IVF to put it out of business.


Drinking and smoking during pregnancy would go from just being risky to becoming criminal negligence. Women who have miscarriages would have to endure investigation for possible criminal charges, from negligence up to and including murder. You think not? There is already legal precedent - 15 year old Rennie Gibbs was charged in Mississippi with Depraved Heart Murder in December, 2006 after a miscarriage. (see pregnant women who lose babies face murder charges

A commitment to pre-embryonic personhood would require us to investigate these miscarriages to ensure that no foul play was involved in the loss of these persons. This does not necessarily mean that all women experiencing miscarriages would be prosecuted; however, our legal framework requires an investigation when there has been a loss of life.

26 leaves no exception for rape. more

Jesus and Mo.

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Obama Campaign Won't Attack Romney's Mormonism

Hardly necessary I would have thought, and afterall, one shouldn't mock the afflicted.

An interesting enough article from Jon Ward at HuffPo, highlighting the inextricable link between religion and Yanky politics. I might have passed it over as just another article of the genre, but there are some interesting links leading off, Dowd and Hitchens but to name two.

One link that isn't direct however is the one leading to: The Mormon/Jewish Controversy: What Really Happened. Quite lengthy I admit, but if you only breeze through it, it goes some way to exposing another bizarre practice of the Mormon cult. Not least the amount of effort that must have gone in to something that any sane person might reduce to basics and ask the question, 'why?'

It also, though far from its intention, makes me as a European reflect on how many miles of column inches will be printed about candidates religion before this circus comes to a close twelve months hence. Particularly given that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States, and again as a European, the column inches that one might come across relating to the religions beliefs of European pols that find themselves in similar circumstances, would I think be, zero, a big fat nothing.

And of course there are always going to be some lighter moments, though again not intentional, when the crazies, no matter what stripe, explain some of tenets of there chosen brand of delusion.

From the Maureen Dowd article.

Kent Jackson, the associate dean of religion at Brigham Young University:

As for the special garment that Mitt wears, “we wouldn’t say ‘magic underwear,’ ” Bushman explains.

It is meant to denote “moral protection,” a sign that they are “a consecrated people like the priests of ancient Israel.”

And it’s not only a one-piece any more. “There’s a two-piece now,” he said.

Well that's alright then.

Romney's Mormonism To Be A Bigger Issue In The General Election, Say Evangelicals

WASHINGTON -- The loudest objections to Mitt Romney's Mormonism have not yet been raised, according to evangelical leaders and conservatives.

One month ago, an attack on Romney's faith by a Texas pastor supporting Texas Gov. Rick Perry renewed talk that Romney, who was a high-ranking official in the Mormon church from 1981 to 1994, would lose large chunks of the evangelical vote because of his faith.

That may prove true in Iowa, the first state in the Republican presidential primary process. And Romney's faith does give many protestants pause. But polls, and evangelical leaders, tell another story: If the former Massachusetts governor is the Republican nominee, his faith may be attacked and questioned more aggressively by liberals in the general election than it has been by conservatives in the primary.

"I assume that given the early signs of what an Obama campaign is going to look like, with this class warfare stuff, that every tactic imaginable will be used by the Obama campaign, including attacking the religion of his opponent," said Gary Bauer, president of American Values and a long time leader in the social conservative movement.

Other prominent evangelical leaders told The Huffington Post that they believe Romney will be ambushed by the press.

"The major networks are heavily invested in Barack Obama's reelection," said Richard Land, a leader with the Southern Baptist Convention who heads its ethics and religious liberty commission.

"And they're all going to run detailed specials, now that we have the first Mormon nominee for president: 'What does the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believe?' And they're going to go into all the beliefs of Mormonism, hoping to scare the 40 percent of independents who make up the decisive vote in the electorate to not vote for someone who believes such things." more

Extra: Top Romney Adviser Tied to Militia That Massacred. Mother Jones That's massacred period, not massacred Mother Jones.

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More Cartoon Crazies French Newspaper Firebombed

I can't be arsed with the usual blah blah, I shall leave it to Teddy.

And Jesus and Mo. I've rustled up a few Jesus and Mo cartoons, the subject matter being, what else? Mo cartoons of course.

France: Prophet Muhammad Cartoon Prompts Attack

PARIS -- France's prime minister condemned an apparent arson attack early on Wednesday that destroyed the offices of a satirical French newspaper that had "invited" the Prophet Muhammad as a guest editor this week.

A police official said the blaze broke out overnight at the offices of Charlie Hebdo weekly, and the exact cause remains unclear. No injuries were reported. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because an investigation into the fire is under way.

Police cited a witness saying that someone was seen throwing two firebombs at the building.

The newspaper director, who goes by the name Charb, said the fire was triggered by a Molotov cocktail. He blamed "radical stupid people who don't know what Islam is," for the apparent attack.

"I think that they are themselves unbelievers ... idiots who betray their own religion," Charb said in an interview with Associated Press Television News.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon called on the authorities to find those responsible and bring them to justice.

"Freedom of expression is an inalienable value of our democracy .... No cause can justify a violent action," Fillon said in a statement.

The front-page of the weekly, subtitled "Sharia Hebdo," a reference to Islamic law, showed a cartoon-like man with a turban, white robe and beard smiling broadly and saying, in an accompanying bubble, "100 lashes if you don't die laughing."

Newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in 2005 by a Danish newspaper triggered protests in Muslim countries.

The president of an umbrella group representing France's Muslim community – at some 5 million the largest in western Europe – also condemned the apparent attack.

Mohammed Moussaoui, head of the French Council for the Muslim Faith, said his organization also deplores "the very mocking tone of the paper toward Islam and its prophet but reaffirms with force its total opposition to all acts and all forms of violence."

Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet, even favorable, for fear it could lead to idolatry.

Charb said the current issue, which appeared on newsstands Wednesday morning – after the fire – was centered on last week's victory of a once-banned Islamist party in Tunisia's first free elections and last month decision by Libya's new leaders that Sharia, or Islamic legislation, will be the main source of law in post-Gadhafi Libya.

"It was a joke where the topic was to imagine a world where Sharia would be applied," Charb told APTN. "But since everyone tells us not to worry about Libya or Tunisia, we wanted to explain what would be a soft version of Sharia, a Sharia applied in a soft manner."

A police official said the fire, at about 1 a.m. (2400 GMT), was quickly contained, but a large part of new offices on two levels were heavily damaged and equipment used by journalists to produce the paper were inoperable, a police official said.

Piles of scorched papers and equipment were seen at the weekly and its website was down.

"Our offices were burned by a cocktail Molotov that was thrown inside .... The fire propagated and luckily the firefighters intervened in time before the whole building was burned," Charb told APTN.

The director vowed to continue publishing and Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said the city would help the publication find a new office space. Delanoe condemned "this demonstration of hate and intolerance."

Technicians from the police lab began their investigation several hours after the fire, taking fingerprints and various samples from the site of the paper.

Newspaper employees said they had received numerous threats as a result of the issue.

Page two of the issue is made up of a series of cartoons featuring women in burqas, the face-covering robes. And the paper's tongue-in-cheek editorial, signed "Muhammad," follows on page three, centered on the victory last week of Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party in the nation's first free election – and saying that the party's real intention is imposing Islam not democracy.

Each page contains "a word from Muhammad" in the corner and spoofs the news by twisting it into the weekly's current theme. On the last page, a turbaned and bearded man with a clown-like red nose says: "Yes, Islam is compatible with humor." huffpo

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We Definitely Don't Need No Oakland Yankies Mr Cameron

A follow up to: We Don't Need No Yankies Mr Cameron Written as a reply to Cameron's unstatesman like panic and knee-jerk reactions to the recent riots following the execution of Mark Duggan.

As you are probably aware, Oakland PD have been a tad enthusiastic in beating the shit out of it's citizens in dealing with the Oakland occupy protesters. I might have added: a tad enthusiastic beating the shit out of it's citizens in defence of corporate America. But I don't think that would have been entirely accurate, not judging by their past record and the sound of things. More a case of, because we can, and, because we like it, I would argue.

Oakland PD, having as it does, such a reputation for violence and systematic miscarriages of justice, it operates under the confines a Federal court order, telling it to behave itself.

Just the kind of role model we so desperately need to aspire to here in the UK, dontcha think?

Federal Judge Threatens Oakland Police Department With Court Takeover Over Ongoing Abuses
by Mark Karlin
Oct 1, 2011

Due to past law enforcement abuses, the Oakland Police Department (OPD) has been operating under the monitoring of a federal judge overseeing a consent decree since 2003.

Although it is difficult to set aside the deplorable record of the OPD in dealing with protesters for a moment - including Occupy Oakland advocates last Tuesday - it has a history of using excessive force on a daily basis. This includes the unnecessary drawing of guns, extortion and framing arrested individuals that is so egregious that the department may be put into receivership by the federal courts.

According to a September 11, 2011 article in the Bay Citizen, just a little over a month prior to the infamous Tuesday assault on Occupy Oakland, the federal judge overseeing the police department lambasted their conduct:

In a hearing that exposed the breadth of the problems facing Oakland, a federal judge blasted the Oakland Police Department Thursday for failing to make court-ordered changes designed to reduce police misconduct and abuse.

Before a courtroom full of city leaders and police department brass, U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson highlighted a series of issues that "indicate to me the city and the department still don't get it."

Shortly prior to the assault on Occupy Oakland, the superintendent of the OPD resigned - after the scathing report by the federal judge - and Howard Jordan was appointed as interim chief of police. What was Jordan's prior role as assistant chief of the OPD? According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Jordan:

has been the Police Department's top authority on bringing the force into compliance with a consent decree ordered after four officers were accused more than a decade ago of systematically beating and framing suspects.

The consent decree is the most critical issue facing the department, as a federal judge warned last week that the city faces the possibility of having its Police Department placed in federal receivership due to its failure to fully comply with the court order. Such a move could result in the city losing control over its police budget, its biggest general fund expense.

Jordan, as interim superintendent, oversaw and directed the police action against Occupy Oakland supporters.

This federal consent decree is separate from the accord that the OPD was compelled to reach in 2004, which prohibits the use of potentially lethal and harmful suppression techniques against peaceful crowds, which BuzzFlash at Truthout pointed out they violated last week.

There's a thin blue line in law enforcement between enforcing the law and breaking the law. It's clear to US District Court Judge Henderson that the OPD keeps crossing that line. buzzflash.com

Little wonder then that: The search engine (Google) received a request from police in the US to remove videos it was alleged depicted acts of police brutality, it revealed. Second article in this post.

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Julian Assange Loses Appeal Against Extradition

Now how surprising is that?


Something previous:

But it is that very same treatment of Bradley Manning that may yet be the saviour of Julian Assange. Whereas I don't hold much hope out for Assange at the hands of the crimson robed, bewigged relics of the past that represent the head of our own judicial serpent, he might, as Pilger points out, fair better with the European Court of Human Rights, because I think it is inevitable that this is where Assange will ultimately end up. Because again as John Pilger notes: more

- - -

Julian Assange loses appeal against extradition

High court judges rule the WikiLeaks founder should face accusations of rape in Sweden

The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has lost his high court appeal against extradition to Sweden to face rape allegations.

Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Ouseley handed down their judgment in the 40-year-old Australian's appeal against a European arrest warrant issued by Swedish prosecutors after rape and sexual assault accusations made by two Swedish women following his visit to Stockholm in August 2010.

The decision means Assange could be removed to Sweden within 10 days, though it is more likely that the earliest time he would find himself on Swedish soil would be around 26 November.

Assange has 14 days to seek leave to appeal to the supreme court if he believes there is a wider issue of "public importance" at stake in the decision. If he is successful in persuading the high court of that, he is likely to remain on conditional bail until a hearing, which is unlikely to take place until next year.

If he is denied the right to appeal then British law enforcement officers will be responsible for arranging his removal to Sweden within 10 days.

The decision comes three and a half months after the end of an appeal hearing in July, when lawyers for Assange argued the arrest warrant was invalid because of significant discrepancies between its allegations of sexual assault and rape and the testimonies of the two women he allegedly had sex with.

Ben Emmerson QC, for Assange, had claimed the warrant "misstates the conduct and is, by that reason alone, an invalid warrant".

He recounted evidence of the encounter on the night of 13 August 2010 between Assange and a woman known as AA, who was hosting Assange at her apartment, during which AA said Assange tried to have sex with her without a condom.

Emmerson said there was no evidence of a lack of consent sufficient for the unlawful coercion allegation contained in the arrest warrant.

He argued the court had to decide only on whether the arrest warrant in connection with the events was valid on "strict and narrow" legal grounds.

Acting for the Swedish director of public prosecutions, Clare Montgomery QC said the charges detailed in the warrant were valid allegations and said AA, and another woman, known as SW, had described "circumstances in which they did not freely consent without coercion".

She said the definition of an extradition offence "means the conduct complained of. It has nothing to do with the evidence."

In February, when Assange challenged the extradition moves at Westminster magistrates court, his legal team warned their client could be at "real risk" of the death penalty of detention in Guantánamo Bay because they feared the US authorities would request his extradition from Sweden to face charges relating to WikiLeaks obtaining and publishing hundreds of thousands of classified US government documents.

The senior district judge threw out the appeal and ordered his extradition, and a week later Assange appealed to the high court.

He changed his legal team and adopted a less vocal strategy.

Assange has in effect been under house arrest at Ellingham Hall in Norfolk since December 2010. He has to sign in at a local police station every day, he wears an electronic tag that monitors his movements and he has to be back inside the house by 10pm each night.

Swedish prosecutors said Assange has been "detained in his absence on probable cause suspected of rape (less severe crime), sexual molestation and unlawful coercion." gruniad

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Got PAIN? Let Us Help You with Natural and Custom Remedies

This isn't new news.  I've read and re-read articles on this very topic for years and I have yet to see mainstream medicine, CDC, or even Big PhRMA do anything to address this other than a move to control it by and or through legislation (which really has yet to be effective).

I have yet to see a real patient-centered approach used to focus on a person's real needs for pain treatment and a very directed and proactive appraoch to this issue.

See our Natural Pain Relief information linked below or ask us about Health Forensics or customized pain relief remedies.

Painkiller overdose 'epidemic' strikes US
Kerry Sheridan AFP
November 2, 2011

Lethal overdoses from prescription painkillers have tripled in the past decade and now account for more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined, US health authorities say. The quantity of painkillers on the market is so high that it would be enough to medicate every American with a standard dose of Vicodin every four hours for one full month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "The unfortunate and in fact shocking news is that we are in the midst of an epidemic of prescription drug overdose in this country. It is an epidemic but it can be stopped," said CDC chief Thomas Frieden. "In fact, now the burden of dangerous drugs is being created more by a few irresponsible doctors than by drug pushers on street corners." The CDC Vital Signs report focused on opioid pain relievers, including oxycodone, methadone and hydrocodone, better known as Vicodin, which have quadrupled in sales to pharmacies, hospitals and doctors' offices since 1999. Last year, 12 million Americans reported taking prescription painkillers for recreational uses, not because of a medical condition. The number of deaths from overdoses of opioid pain relievers has more than tripled from 4000 people in 1999 to 14,800 people in 2008.

The epidemic is at its height among middle-aged white men and American Indians or Alaska natives, the CDC said.

Pain Relief Naturally

Rural and poor areas tend to have the highest prescription drug overdose death rates.

Deaths from prescription drugs made up almost 75 per cent of overdose deaths in which a drug was specified on the death certificate, the CDC said, noting that deaths and hospitalisations have increased in parallel with the boost in supply. The sales rate of the three opioids included in the study reached 7.1 kilograms per 10,000 population last year, or the same as 710 milligrams per person in the United States. "Enough OPR (opioid pain relievers) were prescribed last year to medicate every American adult with a standard pain treatment dose of five milligrams of hydrocodone (Vicodin and others) taken every four hours for a month," the CDC said. Even though a relatively small portion of the US population admits abusing prescription painkillers, the costs to health insurance companies are huge, $US72.5 billion per year, according to the report. States could do a better job of regulating the problem via drug monitoring records and insurance claims information that "can identify and address inappropriate prescribing and use by patients", the report said. More laws targeting so-called "pill mills", which are prescribing at higher than normal rates in particularly affected states, could also cut back on the problem, it said. "State policy can make a huge difference in either controlling or allowing this epidemic to proceed," said Frieden. "States should rigorously monitor who is prescribing and to whom."

Selections from Natural Health News

Natural Health News: Hands on Healing for Pain and So Much More

Jul 28, 2011

Hands on Healing for Pain and So Much More. Reading news early this morning I came upon a couple of article that were of interest because they involved energy healing. If you'd like a copy of our Reiki brochure please ...

Natural Health News: Raising Awareness Good, What's Ignored, Not...

Sep 30, 2011

Dr. Oz Raises Awareness of Pain in America! The Dr. Oz Show interviewed top doctors this week about a familiar subject— pain. Dr. Oz was shocked to learn what so many of us live with every day. Pain is prevalent, finding ...

Natural Health News: Pain Relief Short Changes Women

Sep 29, 2008

There are many natural options for people experiencing pain that are as, if not more, effective that pharmaceuticals that may also promote addiction. The key to this, however, remains making the relief of pain tailored ...

Natural Health News: Chili Counters Pain

Apr 28, 2010

To me it is interesting that news of the well known - for a very long time - benefits of cayenne as a pain remedy reports as if no one has ever heard of this benefit. But in case you've been in the dark on this wonderful ...

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Rick Perry Loosing The Plot

He's either cracking up under the pressure, has an undiagnosed brain tumour, or he has found just the right combination of drugs and booze that would be the envy of any serious party animal. The man is totally off his face; he's happy and he ain't feeling no pain. None whatsoever.

Sit down Ricky, I think you've just pissed on your own bonfire.

Move Over, Wacky Cain Ad: Rick Perry Speech Video Deemed "Weird, Rambling, Incoherent" by Press

On Friday night, Rick Perry gave a "loose," "off-the-cuff" speech in New Hampshire that got pundit's tongues wagging over the weekend. What was he doing, exactly?

The Daily Mail rounds up reaction:

Those in attendance said that passion is not a word to describe his performance, off the wall, bizarre and rambling though, were more adequate.

One Republican operative who watched the video called it 'strange and peculiar', and said it could prove fatal to Perry's campaign.

Others questioned whether he was on medication or if he had had a few drinks before he came on stage.

Rachel Maddow tweeted that she thought the video would make her "retract" her predicted Perry comeback, and the folks on Morning Joe digested the video below (second video down), with one guest saying it looked like Perry was doing an impression of Will Ferrell's impression of George W. Bush.

Hardly Presidential. second video

A little bonus clip. Abstinence works but it doesn't.

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