Federal Officials Take Down 132 Websites in ‘Cyber Monday’ Crackdown

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photo credit: cbp photography

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and European officials seized 132 websites on Monday for allegedly selling counterfeit merchandise in a coordinated crackdown timed to coincide with the holiday shopping season.

It is the third straight year that the government has seized websites on “Cyber Monday” — the marketing term for the Monday after Thanksgiving, when many online retailers offer steep discounts and promotions.

ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit coordinated with officials from Belgium, Denmark, France, Romania, the United Kingdom and the European Police Office to take down the sites.

“This operation is a great example of the tremendous cooperation between ICE and our international partners at the [Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center],” ICE Director John Morton said in a statement. “Our partnerships enable us to go after criminals who are duping unsuspecting shoppers all over the world. This is not an American problem, it is a global one and it is a fight we must win.”

As part of the operation, federal law enforcement officers made undercover purchases of products such as sports jerseys, DVD players, clothing and jewelry from websites suspected of selling counterfeit products.

Read more from this story HERE.

Russia’s Pravda Declares “Communism Won in America with Obama; US Suffering Has Only Begun”

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In an extraordinary column last week, Russia’s de facto government press arm declared that the era of “Miss American Pie” was over in the U.S. Citing Obama’s reelection, Pravda stated that the “Communists have won in America…”

Why? Because the US is “an illiterate society” that continues to buy off on Obama’s “lies of less taxes while he raises them.” The US educational system is also held responsible, with Pravda stating that it was “conquered by the Communists long ago and history was revised thus paving the way for their Communist presidents.”

As you might have gathered, Pravda’s hit on Obama as a communist isn’t a glancing blow. It seems to be the overriding theme of the article:

He is a Communist without question promoting the Communist Manifesto without calling it so. How shrewd he is in America. His cult of personality mesmerizes those who cannot go beyond their ignorance. They will continue to follow him like those fools who still praise Lenin and Stalin in Russia. Obama’s fools and Stalin’s fools share the same drink of illusion.

Pravda also criticizes the growing American attack on religious freedom, saying that “Christianity in the U.S. is under attack as it was during the early period of the Soviet Union.”

The Russian article concludes with a frightening warning to Americans:

Russia lost its’ civil war with the Reds and millions suffered torture and death for almost 75 years under the tyranny of the United Soviet Socialist Republic. Russians survived with a new and stronger faith in God and ever growing Christian Church. The question is how long will the once “Land of the Free” remain the United Socialist States of America? Their suffering has only begun.

There’s no doubt that everything is not right in Russia. Nevertheless, it’s extraordinary that our formerly communist neighbor is now chiding the United States for moving in the same fatal direction of the former Soviet Union.

Morgan Stanley Forecasters Fear Major Recession in 2013

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The global economy is likely to be stuck in the “twilight zone” of sluggish growth in 2013, Morgan Stanley has warned, but if policymakers fail to act, it could get a lot worse.

The bank’s economics team forecasts a full-blown recession next year, under a pessimistic scenario, with global gross domestic product (GDP) likely to plunge 2 percent.

“More than ever, the economic outlook hinges upon the actions taken or not taken by governments and central banks,” Morgan Stanley said in a report.

Under the bank’s more gloomy scenario, the U.S. would go over the “fiscal cliff” leading to a contraction in U.S. GDP for the first three quarters of 2013. In Europe, the bank’s pessimistic scenario assumes a failure of the European Central Bank (ECB) in cutting rates and a delay of its bond-buying program.

But the bank says investors should also be nimble, in case policy action is “convincing and decisive,” leading to a big uptick in growth.

Read more from this story HERE.

Why Governor Palin Is So Dangerous (To the Left)

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photo credit: SarahPAC-USA

Yesterday’s post by Adrienne Ross had a nice recap of Palin’s strengths:

‘Her message is always one of reform, respect for life, and restoration of our founding principles. She has not veered from championing fiscal responsibility, energy independence, and a strong national defense. She always encourages standing by allies, not bowing to enemies, and unapologetically embracing American greatness. She unceasingly begs us to consider future generations, incentivize small business, and support our military. She is not prone to flip-floppery.’

An additional thought is triggered by reading a post-election cri de couer delivered by pollster Pat Caddell. The speech has lots of good stuff, but focus on this crucial point:

‘But one fifth of the people said the most important thing was: Cares about people like me. And Obama won those voters 82 to 17. . . . . you have to have some connection with people, and we didn’t.’

In any fair contest, if one compared Palin’s dedication to the welfare of the people, of all economic classes except the plutocracy and the crony capitalists, she would beat any other candidate in either party on this value of ‘cares about people like me.’

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Gun Store Owner Who Banned Obama Supporters Says ‘Business Is Booming’

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Last week, the owner of an Arizona gun shop made national headlines after it was reported that he had posted a sign and taken out a full page ad in a local newspaper that banned Obama supporters from entering his store. One week later, Cope Reynolds is cashing in on the attention.

Mr. Reynolds, owner of Southwest Shooting Authority says “business is booming” after his sign and newspaper ad caught the attention of various media outlets. The sign read: “If you voted for Barack Obama, your business is not welcome at Southwest Shooting Authority. You have proven you’re not responsible enough to own a firearm.”

Reynolds says he has been inundated with hundreds of calls and emails from media types and supporters. When asked about business, he replied, “I’ve been busier than a cat covering up poop on a marble floor.”

The Arizona Republic spoke with Mr. Reynolds about his sign and the effect it’s had on his business:

“People are saying that I’ve alienated half of our customers,” Reynolds said, laughing. “No, I haven’t. I haven’t alienated any of my customers, because the people who voted for Obama don’t buy guns here. They don’t come here at all. I haven’t alienated. I’ve improved things. I have packages sitting on my desk to be shipped to places like Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Idaho, Nevada and California.”

Read more from this story HERE.

photo credit: mike saechang

Obama Needs More Revenue: Is He Coming For Your 401(K) Next?

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NEW YORK – Two years ago, as WND reported, the Obama administration was proceeding with a novel way to finance trillion-dollar budget deficits by forcing IRA and 401(k) holders to buy Treasury bonds by mandating the placement of government-structured annuities in their retirement accounts.

Remarkably, those financial professionals specializing in private retirement savings and the U.S. citizens investing in private retirement plans now face the possibility the Obama administration and its allies on the political left will impose rules and regulations that effectively abolish the private retirement savings and investment markets.

Recent evidence suggests government officials continue to eye the multi-trillion dollar private retirement savings market, including IRAs and 401(k) plans, eyeing the opportunity to redistribute private retirement savings to less affluent Americans and to force the retirement savings out of the private market and into government-controlled programs investing in government-issued debt.

Government takeover?

An Investment Company Institute study published this month found that U.S. retirement assets totaled $18.5 trillion at the end of the second quarter 2012, of which 3.5 trillion was in IRAs and $5.1 trillion was in 401(k) plans.

Since 2010, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Department of Labor have been holding combined hearings on various plans designed to introduce government-mandated retirement plans and investment options, including government annuities invested primarily in U.S. Treasury debt, into the private retirement savings market.

Read more from this story HERE.

Florida Spends $45K on ‘Incredibly Offensive and Invasive’ Survey of Women’s Sex Lives

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The state of Florida has spent roughly $45,000 on a study of the sex lives of its residents, offering the participants $10 CVS gift cards in return for their answers.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Sunday that the Department of Health sent surveys to 4,100 women between the target ages of 18 and 24, which officials say will help them understand women’s need for family-planning services.

The 12-page questionnaire, sent out in September and October, reportedly had 46 questions. They included, according to the Sun Sentinel:

• How did you feel emotionally when you had unprotected sex — were you trying to get pregnant, were you in the “heat of the moment and just went with the flow,” or did you find the man attractive and “thought it would be nice to have a baby with him?” Did you feel “powerless”? Or was it that you “felt emotionally connected with your partner during sex”?

• How old were you when you first had sex? Last time you had sex with a man, did you do anything to keep from getting pregnant? If not, why not?

Read more from this story HERE.

Governor Parnell, Anchorage Mayor Sullivan Clash on South Central Energy Crisis

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photo credit: jber

Where Southcentral will get its energy in the near future was up for debate between the Anchorage mayor and the governor at the Resource Development Council’s annual conference.

“Everyone needs affordable energy,” said Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan during his opening remarks Nov. 14, and added it was almost a given that Southcentral would be importing natural gas in the near future to bridge supply shortages projected for the 2014-15 winter.

Speaking a few minutes later during the same opening session, Gov. Sean Parnell disagreed.

“Mayor Sullivan, importing gas, I don’t think so,” Parnell said. “We have got to do better than that. And I will work my tail off, to make sure that we don’t have to do that. My hope is that these incentives will work in Cook Inlet so that’s not necessary. Not when our resources here are so vast.

“Importing has got to be a last option, or a last resort.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Canadian Man Arrested After Telling Children ‘Santa Doesn’t Exist’

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In Kingston, it’s not the Grinch but a 24-year-old man who police say stole Christmas.

As Christmas-themed floats slowly rolled down Princess St. during Kingston’s annual Santa Claus parade, an intoxicated man shouted blasphemous lies to shocked children: Santa doesn’t exist.

The man, whose gelled hair “looked like a set of devil horns protruding from his head,” was reported to Kingston police, Const. Steve Koopman said.

Police arrested a 24-year-old man around 6 p.m.

“It was pretty despicable that someone, during this time of the year, would tell kids Santa isn’t real — which of course we would argue,” Koopman said.

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What Privacy? Biometrics Technology Now Being Used in Schools, Hospitals

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At schools in Pinellas County, Fla., students aren’t paying for lunch with cash or a card, but with a wave of their hand over a palm scanner.

“It’s so quick that a child could be standing in line, call mom and say, ‘I forgot my lunch money today.’ She’s by her computer, runs her card, and by the time the child is at the front of the line, it’s already recorded,” says Art Dunham, director of food services for Pinellas County Schools.

Students take about four seconds to swipe and pay for lunch, Dunham says, and they’re doing it with 99% accuracy.

“We just love it. No one wants to go back,” Dunham says.

Palm-scanning technology is popping up nationwide as a bona fide biometric tracker of identities, and it appears poised to make the jump from schools and hospitals to other sectors of the economy including ATM usage and retail. It also has applications as a secure identifier for cloud computing.

Read more from this story HERE.