Posts Tagged ‘government’

On 9/11/01 America was scared. We had for only the 2nd time in our history, taken a real hit. This one was not a shot to the body like the one we had taken on December 7th, 1941. This was a Punch in the face. Our collective noses were bleeding. Americans were terrified. The whole country had been injured.

Then out of the smoke and darkness, our Government stepped forward and said sign this paper and We will keep you safe! Americans did not look at the paper because they were scared. Nobody thought of the consequences. All we wanted was to feel safe again. No one thought twice when President Bush signed into law The Patriot Act on October 26, 2001. The contrived acronym stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001.

Eventually the smoke cleared, we wiped the blood from our noses, and the fear subsided. We started getting back into our normal routines, although the horror of 9-11 had been permanently etched upon our minds, engraved into our souls.

In 2002, George W signed the “Homeland Security Act” and created the United States Department of Homeland Security. With 9-11 behind us, freedom loving Americans began to wonder if the US Government was using 9-11 as an excuse to infringe upon our constitutional rights. People began to question if, in our state of panic, we’d given away the very rights and freedoms that make America, America! When the Act was first signed, it was suppose to “sunset” by the year 2005. Instead, George W made the Act permanent by signing it into law in 2006.

Now the Government had virtually unlimited power to do whatever it wanted under the disguise of keeping us safe! In our moment of weakness, We had willingly signed away our constitutional right to privacy, our protections against illegal search and seizure? The law is very far reaching and has been criticized as being a threat to our most basic liberties

I just think about the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been sacrificed to protect the very rights the so called “Patriot Act” has taken away. Just the thought makes me sick. It’s an affront to every American Soldier who has fought, been injured, or died to protect these rights for all American Citizens.

Soon after the Act was signed into law, we began seeing the Government use these powers to monitor United States Citizen’s phone logs, Internet traffic records, and bank and credit information. The FBI and other Government Agencies are abusing their newly expanded powers to investigate US Citizens who may or may not be involved in Criminal Activity. In fact, there is solid evidence that certain departments of the US Government and law enforcement are actually using the powers granted to them to stop terrorism to actually “fish” for criminals. As time has passed, more and more groups and individuals are coming forward to complain about the abuses and to demand an end to the US Patriot Act. The governments continued response is, they need the powers to keep us safe.

On November 5, 2009 an Army Psychiatrist opens fire on an Army base killing 12 people and wounding 31. We later learn that the government had been monitoring this person and had knowledge that he was in communication with known terrorists, yet they elected to do nothing.

On December 25th 2009, a Man boarded a plane heading to Detroit tries to ignite a bomb. Luckily, he was stopped by passengers. Again, the Patriot Act did not ensure our safety.

Since the Patriot Act was signed into law, it’s obvious that even though We have given up our freedoms in the name of Safety, nothing had changed. We are no safer then we were on September 10th 2001. All that has Changed is we’ve lost the basic Freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

Today, it appears that the US Government is using the US Patriot Act as a way to ferret out would be criminals, but what about tomorrow? Since 2001, this great nation has been in constant “Crisis”. We had the Financial Crisis, Housing Crisis, Credit Crisis, and we are now in a Health Care Crisis. Seems like there is nothing better than a good Crisis to keep Americans from thinking about De-Industrialization, Inflation, the rise in fuel prices, Joblessness, and the coming consequences of our tremendous debt.

Does anyone remember the Terrorism threat of the late 60’s & 70’s? What about the Civil Rights Activists and Anti-War Activists? I bet if the Government had the technology and the powers they have today, they could have nipped those movements in the bud.

Has anyone ever seen a Homeland Security truck in their neighborhood? You know, the ones with about 20 antennas on them. Do you think there is a possibility that they are driving around your neighborhood eaves dropping on you and your neighbors conversations? Better watch what you say. You wouldn’t want them coming down on you for being some anti government zealot or terrorist for saying what you really think. I wouldn’t want to see you get arrested because you we’re planning on attending a “Tea Party”.

How many rights do we have to lose? How far will we watch this once great Nation fall until we finally say enough? We’re being swindled out of our Children’s futures by the Global Corporations and a corrupt US Government. When do we start to say enough is enough? The time has come for all Americans to stand up for the freedoms and rights that our forefathers fought for and many true Patriots died for. The simple truth is we are stronger and safer as a Free America then We will ever be as a Government/Corporate Controlled America !!!

Do yourself a favor, take a few minutes to read the Bill of Rights and the American Constitution. These are the documents that were crafted by our forefathers to protect us not from terrorism, but from our own government and to ensure that all Americans would enjoy the freedom they worked so hard for.Today, America is still a Free Country, One Nation Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for ALL. Standing on the principles of freedom against a Corrupt Government is Americas Foundation. It seems we’re at a cross roads. We can stand up for what we know to be right, to fight as our forefathers have or we can let America fall.

It begins with a letter to your elected officials. Electing independent candidates who aren’t part of the status quo. Pushing for campaign finance reform so that the Global Corporations don’t control our Government. Participating in Protests, Rally’s and National Strikes!!!

Written by Your Bro LJ James AmericanBikerX.com with Thanks going out to NY-Biker.com for all their help

LJ James is a independent writer on the American Biker Lifestyle and hosts a weekly internet radio Motorcycle Show LJ James has taken many years working to show how great the Biker world is and to let people know while shows like Sons of Anarchy are fun they are Fiction

Food miles is a term which refers to the distance food is transported from the time of its production until it reaches the consumer. It is one dimension used in assessing the environmental impact of food. The concept of food miles originated in 1990 in the United Kingdom. It was conceived by Andrea Paxton, who wrote a research paper that discussed the fact that food miles are the distance that food travels from the farm it is produced on to the kitchen in which it is being consumed (Iles, 2005, p.163). Engelhaupt (2008) states, that “food miles is the distance food travels from farm to plate, are a simple way to gauge food’s impact on climate change” (p. 3482). Food travels between 1,500 to 2,500 miles (4,000 km) every time that it is delivered to the consumer. The travel of products from the farms to the consumers is 25 percent farther now than it was in 1980 (”Counting our food miles,” 2007). Some scholars believe that the pollution is created due to the globalization of trade overseas; the focus of food supply bases into fewer, larger supplies; the drastic change in the delivery pattern; increase in processing and packaging foods; and making fewer trips to the supermarket. Others state that the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions are created by the production phases which create 83 percent, 8.1 tons of CO2 foot printing. (Engelhaupt, E., 2008). Recent studies in America and the UK indicate that about 80% of food emissions are produced before the food leaves the farm gate. [1] The goal of the Environmental Protection Agencies is to make people aware of the environment impacts of food miles and show the pollution percentage and the energy used to transport food over long distances, at this time there are researchers that are working to provide the public with more information.

Overview

The concept of food miles is part of a broader issue of sustainability which deals with a large range of environmental issues, including local food. The term was coined by Tim Lang (now Professor of Food Policy, City University, London) who says: “The point was to highlight the hidden ecological, social and economic consequences of food production to consumers in a simple way, one which had objective reality but also connotations.” [2] However, it has increasingly come under attack as an ineffective means of finding the true environmental impact.[3]

A DEFRA report in 2005 undertaken by researchers at AEA Technology Environment, entitled The Validity of Food Miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development, included findings that “the direct environmental, social and economic costs of food transport are over 9 billion each year, and are dominated by congestion.”

Recent findings indicate that it is not only how far the food has traveled but the method of travel that is important to consider. The positive environmental effects of specialist organic farming may be offset by increased transportation, unless it is produced by local farms. But even then the logistics and effects on other local traffic may play a big role.[citation needed] Also, many trips by personal cars to shopping centers would have a negative environmental impact compared to a few truck loads to neighborhood stores that can be easily accessed by walking or cycling.

Food miles in business

Business leaders have adopted food miles as a model for understanding inefficiency in a food supply chain. Wal-Mart, famously focused on efficiency, was an early adopter of food miles as a profit-maximizing strategy. More recently, Wal-Mart has embraced the environmental benefits of supply chain efficiency as well. In 2006, Wal-Mart, CEO, Lee Scott said, “The benefits of the strategy are undeniable, whether you look through the lens of greenhouse gas reduction or the lens of cost savings. What has become so obvious is that ‘a green strategy’ provides better value for our customers”.[4] Wal-Mart has since made a series of environmental commitments that suggest the company is looking more holistically at supply chain sustainability, such as restricting seafood suppliers to fisheries independently certified as sustainable, a practice that may increase food miles.[4] Still it is undeniable that Wal-Mart’s strategy of using supply chains from as far away as China exorbitantly increases greenhouse emissions. They are often criticized for “green washing” and only adopting large-scale green tactics, which make them appear earth-friendly but actually have little positive environmental impact.[citation needed]

Some other alternatives for reducing food miles are to create Co-op grocery stores. A Co-op is a small business strictly owned and managed by its members. The way that this works is that people come together, they create equity and then they purchase their products. They grow organic food and their food miles are drastically reduced. “Choosing to buy organic has value, the hidden costs of shopping increase substantially when road miles are factored in”(Holt and Watson, 2008, p. 321). The first co-op was created in 1844 in England with twenty-eight people. They started out by selling just sugar, flour, butter and oatmeal. Today there are over 47,000 coop corporations in the United States alone. Not only are Co-op markets reducing the food miles, but they are also providing the consumers with healthy food, organic food. The facts and figures for 2005 state that organic foods contains higher levels of vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and chromium; and 15 percent lower levels of nitrates (Siner, 1996).