Our election process is a pathetic laughing stock!

If there was any doubt about that before the current candidates declared, including Donald Trump, that should be long gone now.

There should be little or no doubt that research done by people like James Carville, Frank Luntz and Carl Rove, among many other political strategists, is designed to enable politicians to manipulate voters more effectively instead of actually addressing their concerns; but first it should be made clear what this system is not.

It is not making any attempt to enable the public to participate in the democratic process by providing them with the information they need to make important decisions.

In a Democracy the people control the government and if we do this through a representative Democracy, which we supposedly have, then we elect representatives to do the will of the people and they're accountable to the public.

In order for this to work properly the people have to have reasonable control over the election process and we have to have a media that reports the most important issues. The media should also report on all the candidates that address the issues that concern the public not just those that are bribed through thinly disguised campaign contributions.

A real democracy would have a system that enabled the voters to participate in the interview process of people who are asking voters for a job to represent them. Voters should have an opportunity to ask about the most important issues to them and they should be able to influence the high profile discussion about issues. Applicants, often called candidates should be required to attend interviews controlled by voters if they want to be taken seriously for the job.

If a job applicant for any other job told the people he was asking for a job that he should be able to control the interview process, perhaps with the help of a consolidated media controlled by a relatively small percentage of the public with a conflict of interest, there is no way he would get the job; yet this is exactly how were expected to elect our political representatives.

Few if any of the necessities of Democracy happen in our current system nor is there any attempt by those in power to educate the public and let them know that it is their job to participate in the interview process to look out for their own best interests. No one is trying to remind people that they're supposed to hire a candidate that is actually capable of doing a good job, instead of representing campaign contributors regardless of what the majority wants.

You might think this would go without saying; but when the public is constantly inundated with appeals to emotions and enormous amounts of propaganda without any rational educational information, unless they get it from alternative media outlets then it can be easily forgotten and the lies repeated over and over again begin to seem like the truth.

Also contrary to what the media has been saying the leading establishment candidate, for now at least, is Donald Trump.

The media has been saying that the reason why so many voters like him is because he isn't part of the establishment and they think he speaks his mind instead of consulting with the polls. They repeat this over and over again.

Just in case anyone hasn't noticed this is part of the standard operating procedure for introducing new establishment candidates. First the media gives them enormous amounts of air time so they can say "I'm not a politician;" then if they get elected they start acting like politicians, and cut deals with the establishment.

The ones who really aren't establishment candidates can easily be recognized, assuming you hear about them through alternative media outlets, because their not getting any coverage from the establishment. If there is an exception it might might be someone like Bernie Sanders who gets an enormous amount of grass roots support so eventually the media feels they have to pay at least a token amount of coverage to him. Recently Rachel Maddow implied he has received enormous amounts of coverage from the media in her "Tales of the tape" show; but she almost certainly had to search for the few rare clips they did of him and failed to mention that real establishment candidates get ten times as much coverage and don't have to wait years to get it.

Donald Trump clearly has an enormous amount of support from the commercial media for one reason or another and that is why he's doing so well in the polls, assuming they're accurate, which I doubt. His own former aid raised doubts about what he called unscientific polls that Trump was citing from the traditional media, shortly after resigning or being fired. This is almost certainly accurate and it is probably much more difficult to take statistically representative polls now with modern technology since many people use them to avoid unwanted calls, including pollsters, so most polls don't target a representative portion of the public.

The obsessive focus on polls is some of the strongest evidence that this is a research project to study how to manipulate voters in the most effective way possible. The people running the media are constantly taking polls and talking to what they call focus groups to find out what they think in response to one candidate or another and their ads; and the candidates also do their own polling and focus groups. They use these polls and focus group to find out how to improve their messages so they can manipulate voters and then once they get in office they do what their campaign contributors want.

They have mentioned repeatedly that Donald Trump has the most money because he's a billionaire and has even said he would be willing to spend a billion dollars on the campaign; however ad buys are often the biggest expense in any campaign and he isn't the leading buyer of ads in the New England area, especially New Hampshire, which overlaps Massachusetts and Maine media. John Kasich was the first person to buy a large amount of ads, followed by George Pataki, Chris Christies, Ben Carson, Lindsey Graham, Rand Paul and perhaps a couple other candidate; however Trump has bought few if any ads that I know of. The media is providing him all the coverage he needs to get his message across; why should he bother buying ads?

This provides a perfect opportunity for someone to study how much coverage the media provides and compare it to how those candidates rise of fall in the polls as the coverage changes, assuming they can sort out the polls with the least flaws. It is virtually guaranteed that some of these political researchers are doing just that so they can understand how to more effectively manipulate the public. It is also possible that media researchers like Ben Badakian, Robert McChesney and other academics that have tried to inform the public about how the system is being rigged; however they're less likely to have the resources to do this research and they might also ahve to deal with copyright laws making it harder to do it without permission.


The media has records of all their own coverage so if they want to they can do their own research without worrying about permission but a non-government organization would either have to ask permission or tape them all to do a thorough study. If this were done then the public would know better about how the system is rigged, or at least those that seek out alternative media would since the mainstream media wouldn't expose themselves.

If this isn't part of a research project what is it?


This has become so absurd that even the people controlling it admit that the system is broken but they do nothing to change it; instead they keep getting even bolder and more clownish.

Donald Trump has even repeatedly confessed to bribery and no one is doing anything about it or claiming that he should be disqualified along with the people he bribed, some of whom he is running against, including Republican's and Hillary as well.

During the first debate Brett Baier said, "You explained away those donations saying you did that to get business-related favors. And you said recently, quote, 'When you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do.'” And Donald Trump responded, "You’d better believe it."(Trump’s Triumph: Billionaire Blowhard Exposes Fake Political System 08/07/2015)

If that isn't a confession to bribery what is it?

Why hasn't there been any discussion of prosecuting him or the clowns that he's been bribing?



The segment just before it was one of the rare occasions that they actually mentioned Single Payer health care but they didn't actually discuss how it works and how it could save an enormous amount of money for the public, except for a brief comment from Trump where he says it works in Canada and Scotland, but caves and says he isn't for it here anymore.

This is odd for someone who is not afraid to speak his mind. Instead of explaining to the public that a Single Payer Health Care system would eliminate an enormous amount of corporate expenses and profits that is sending prices through the roof he agrees that he wouldn't support it which contradicts his claims that he will fix the system.

There are plenty of candidates who are much more qualified than the ones presented by the commercial media and there would be even more if they thought they would be treated fairly but the vast majority of the public never hears from them; however the only ones that the media does cover are ones that are involved in enormous scandals often being investigated for one of them or another or related to members of the ruling party.

The media has been trying to rig the nomination for years for Hillary be declaring that she is the front runner even though she doesn't seem to have much if any grass roots support. This is designed to ensure that if people think she's the front runner they're more likely to support her.

They've been studying this tactic for decades, and it has been very successful, to a point; however the reason there are so many people frustrated with the system is because they're doing this.

By giving Trump an enormous amount of attention they're making him seem even more absurd than traditional candidates, at least to some people; but a surprising number of people might actually take him seriously, although he will almost certainly be stopped by the same media establishment that propped him up.They can also make him seem more absurd than the media pundits; however if people think it through it isn't hard to realize that the media helped create his popularity by giving him so much coverage while refusing to provide any coverage for real grassroots candidates that are much more rational but don't collect bribes thinly disguised as campaign contributions.

This could enable them to try to make the candidates that they consider "non-establishment" appear like nutcases; without acknowledging that some of the real non-establishment candidates are much better than the ones they cover.

It is no longer an exaggeration to say that the presidential campaign has turned into a so-called reality TV show as bad as Jerry Springer if not worse. They might not have physical brawls on stage with the candidates, at least not yet, but their antics are worse since they keep the public distracted and avoid addressing the most important issues.



I wouldn't be surprised if many people In Europe are laughing their asses off watching the American political system; however people in the third world watching it might be much more likely to be horrified, since the United States has a bad habit of invading them based on lies and they know it, even if we can't get good news here from the establishment media.

Unless people at the grassroots level recognize this and stop settling for candidates covered by the media for most if not all offices, including the presidential race, then the establishment will continue studying how to manipulate the public into voting for one candidate or another and the candidate that has the best advisers and their campaign contributes will win the chance to rig the system in their favor while buying up enormous amounts of propaganda to appease the public, instead of addressing their issues.

If enough people support the pseudo-populist campaign for Donald trump, which I doubt then the political establishment will have one more demagogue to do their will, at least to a point and they can study his tactics so that they can arrange other candidates to use them again until the public falls for it one time too many.

If there is a short term solution to this it will probably involve either electing Bernie Sanders or another grass roots candidate like Jill Stein, but she would have to get more coverage. If they have to use dirty tricks to smear Sanders or steal the nomination from him then it could provide an opportunity to shift his grassroots support to Jill Stein or another rational candidate.

But even if we do somehow manage to elect a real grassroots candidate despite the overwhelming propaganda advantage from the commercial media, we'll still have to have an enormous amount of grass roots pressure on the rest of the government, hopefully electing more grass roots candidates to congress. Bernie Sanders has even acknowledge that, saying that no matter who wins the presidency, he won't be able to implement reform without a large grassroots organization, not to be confused with the AstroTurf provided for most establishment candidates including Hillary, who is as clownish as the Republicans.

There's an enormous amount of discussion about Joe Biden's Secret Meeting and if it Signals a Biden-Warren Ticket (08/23/2015) among other things. What no one in the media has bothered to mention is that although it doesn't fit the stereotype of a conspiracy theory it does fit the definition of one.

Politicians and the media are constantly carrying on discussions behind closed doors designed to make candidates they support more viable by giving them positive coverage; and make those they don't support by refusing to cover them; although in this case they probably don't discuss them as often even behind closed doors. This guarantees that they can screen candidates and prevent opponents from having much if any control of the government.

The simple definition of a Conspiracy Theory is when two or more people communicate or act about things that effect the public in secrecy. The mainstream media almost never mentions this definition while they repeat the propaganda over and over again ridiculing those that discuss conspiracy theories they disagree with and treating those they agree with as if they're benign and should be accepted without criticism. This gives the most impressionable members of the public the impression that it is acceptable to conduct most political activities behind closed doors.

This is less likely to spur some conspiracy theories like when Dick Cheney held closed door meetings with the energy company executives to develop his plan without inviting environmentalists. However, it might be more insidious since Elizabeth Warren may have attracted the closest thing to a cult following in the Democratic party that I know of, and she isn't nearly as sincere as she seems as I indicated in several previous posts about her including the most recent, Elizabeth Warren steals credit from real grass roots efforts where I indicated that she often supports the agenda of the traditional political establishment often even the corporations she claims to stand up to. And even though she says she is trying to reform the system she has broken fund raising records from people that want to get a return on their investment and reversed herself on several issues for political reasons already.

She previously criticized Hillary Clinton for flip flopping on "that awful" banking bill then supporting it after being elected senator and collecting money from banks; but after winning the Senate seat she encouraged Hillary to run indicating that she would support her among other people in the establishment, including Lawrence Summers, who she also criticized. It is only after it began to appear that Hillary had major problems and there was a growing grassroots movement that she became more vocal for some issues and implied she might not be so supportive of Hillary after all, which indicates that she is turning into a typical politician, like many other ones that pretended not to be that way long enough to get elected.

Conspiracy combined with propaganda and psychological manipulation of the public is standard operating procedure in the system we have; and instead of trying to educate the public about it they use propaganda to ridicule those that question the government. Fortunately many of the most important factors don't involve the strictest definition of a conspiracy since they can't be kept completely secret; however propaganda and psychological manipulation keeps people distracted so they don't pay attention. The media establishment rigs the elections by refusing to cover candidates unless they collect enormous amounts of money from corporations and have the support of the two political parties. They routinely discuss politics behind closed doors and come out with policies that overwhelmingly benefit the campaign contributors.

Activities behind closed doors about policy and how to manipulate the public to support candidates fits the definition of a conspiracy and if people do a good job sorting though the news especially from alternative news outlets there is a reasonably good chance they could develop a viable conspiracy theory about what is going on.

When that happens they could be ridiculed by the media and so-called skeptics like Michael Shermer as I indicated in Are Michael Shermer and Philip Zimbardo trying to be secular cult leaders; Shermer isn't the only one that uses this tactic among others. Rachel Maddow and many other media pundits often promote stereotypes about Conspiracy theorists. often focusing on the worst and most dramatic that do an incredibly bad job developing viable conspiracy Theories so they can make it seem like all those that disagree with the government are incompetent. They conveniently refuse to cover the more rational conspiracy Theorists like they refuse to cover grassroots candidates that really do represent the public at the expense of multinational corporations that donate to campaigns.

This is typical propaganda tactic that seems trivial to most; however a large portion of activities, even by those that seem to be the most devoted advocates for the public, is done in secret and when they make policy decisions the establishment candidate routinely give preferential treatment to their campaign contributors at the expense of the public.

The political and media establishment routinely applies one definition for many terms including conspiracy theories and terrorism for those that they oppose and another for those they support. The definition for terrorism is to use violence to achieve political goals; but that doesn't refer to when the United States does this in wars based on lies.

The war in Iraq alone caused more innocent lives to be lost than the 9/11 attack and if we accept the traditional explanation of that then it was retaliation for past activities our government was involved in; however the traditional media rarely reports on that and those that research the history of things they don't like are ridiculed as Conspiracy Theorists.

Historical documents, including many declassified government files indicate that despite all the rhetoric about "defending freedom" in their activities abroad the US government has overthrown governments with far more political support from their own people in Iran, Guatemala, Vietnam, Chile and many other countries and when the tyrants they support have been overthrown they ahve a history of supporting terrorists that try to restore them or their allies including in Nicaragua and Cuba.

If they used the terms "terrorists" and "conspiracy theory" consistently then the biggest of both would be within our government; however that doesn't support their propaganda purposes or make them seem democratic, which they're not.

There have been hundreds if not thousands of Crop Circles popping up mysteriously for decades and some historical records that indicate they might have been happening for centuries. When they first drew attention as possibly being related to UFOs they were still limited to simple circles. Then they started becoming more complex and there was no doubt that hey could be an unexplained natural phenomena.

This was first explained away years ago as hoaxer when Doug Bower and Dave Chorley confessed to doing it for years as a hoax. They claimed they were responsible for crop Circles dating back decades. The circles have been appearing all over the world and there is no way that just these two could have done it, but there have been more people saying they're creating the hoaxes. They were eventually paid £10,000 for their exclusive interview, which means that if they were telling the truth they were satisfied with their hoaxes for decades without any compensation or attention doing an enormous amount of work and never getting caught or telling anyone.

This is the accepted explanation for the skeptic community.

Farmer David Gwinn seems to accept this explanation and claims Not aliens: 'Clever' crop circle was vandals, says Shropshire farmer 08/12/2015 Why haven't many people been arrested for this vandalism? As far as I can tell there is only one arrest that I've been able to find fifteen years ago.

Police Make First Arrest Over Crop Circles, (By Cahal Milmo 11/04/2000) when they arrested Matthew Williams after photos were sent to them anonymously. According to an article The Anatomy of Deception another group of hoaxers trying to prove that it can be done without getting caught were paid to do at least one Crop Circle shaped like a van over the course of two days with police protection before trying to do one without getting caught at night, and they were caught almost immediately. Supposedly they were unable to reproduce any of the unusual biophysical and electromagnetic features including blown out nodes that are supposedly done as a result of microwaves according to some research.

A quick search of the internet turns up an article supporting Team Satan and one with additional criticism. The supporters "A Circular State of Mind" wrote Crop Circle Challenge 2013: Team Satan Respond, which seems to satirize it more than address any of the details.

The additional criticism was included in Nancy Talbott's Letter to National Geographic TV's Mr. Sydney Suissa about an offer to participate in another TV show, where she claims that Team Satan was involved in additional scams including taking credit for a circle that had already been created as part of their debunking efforts. This letter also includes criticism about bias on the part of National Geographic which seems to be a pattern with traditional media outlets covering Crop Circles, or many other subjects, for that matter. She also claims that they haven't been able to reproduce the blown out nodes which she believes may have been created as a result of microwaves.



Nancy Talbott and several other researchers have all claimed that these are common in Crop Circles and can't be replicated by using the simple planks and ropes that most hoaxers claim to use. From what I've seen the skeptics don't refute this; instead they ignore it when possible or try to distract people from it or use ridicule. On at least one show about Crop Circles someone speculated that may be the ones with the blown out nodes caused by microwaves are just the simple circles caused by an unusual phenomena that they haven't discovered yet and the designs that are clearly done with intent are the hoaxers. They did no obvious follow up on this speculation like checking to see if the facts confirm this; instead they threw it out there, perhaps expecting some to accept this as a possible explanation. However Nancy Talbott's website, BLT Research crop circles sites numerous examples that indicates it isn't the case. Most people that get their information from traditional media might not be aware of this or many of her other claims.

About thirteen years ago the Discovery Channel did a show that attempted to explain how these blown out nodes might have been created. After the show aired there were several articles on the internet claiming there were problems with it, however like most other people that watched it at the time I wasn't aware of this so I'll get back to it. Several MIT students had a microwave generator of some kind which was more difficult to carry in and out of fields than the simple planks of wood other alleged circle makers claim to use. They also had to wear protective clothing made out of lead or something similar since the microwaves could be harmful to people. Part of the show included some clowning around which might serve well for entertainment purposes. This isn't uncommon in UFO shows or many other shows but it distracts from the issue.

After some troubles they claimed that they were able to replicate the unexplained characteristics although there was some indication that they might not be fully convinced. There was no discussion about whether other circle makers might have known this decades earlier or why they would go to such extreme measures to create hoaxes. Nor was there any discussion about the possibility that if hoaxer had been using this for a large number of circles over decades that they almost certainly would have had some kind of accident with this kind of equipment and gotten caught or that the microwaves would inevitably cause health problems.

Even if this really was possible and they could work out the problems it seemed highly unlikely that this experiment could have explained all these crop circles and how the nodes were blown out. that was basically my impression even before I heard about concerns expressed by Nancy Talbott, who was cited in the show implying her approval. Searching the internet for this show no longer turns it up or anything from the Discovery Channel that I can find but there are plenty of articles exposing it as a fraud including one by Nancy Talbott, M.I.T. Kids' Crop Circle Attempt Yields an Interesting (And Totally Inadvertent) Result. She claims that even with all their work they still weren't able to replicate the blown out nodes among other things.

This means that even though they cheated they still weren't able to explain how the Crop Circles are made, which actually fits a pattern for several other unexplained phenomena including how ancient megaliths were moved and how ancient civilizations were able to do enormous volumes of carved sculptures that are difficult if not impossible to replicate by technology allegedly known to people in those times, and even now in some cases.

I went into this more on 107 Wonders of the Ancient World and an old string discussing Megalith moving experiments which failed to move many if any megaliths above ten tons without cheating. The biggest experiments they tried that I know of were 25 and 40 tons and as far as I can tell they cheated and still only had a very limited success. Further explanation is in the two sources cited. this isn't adequate to prove that the megaliths were moved with influence from an unknown intelligence that causes UFOs, assuming a natural explanation can't be found for the UFOs; however it is adequate to indicate that there are major unsolved mysteries and from a scientific point of view it isn't unreasonable to develop theories then try to either confirm or refute them.

I have found that most of the research presented by the media about UFOs is full of incompetent claims from both sides and an enormous amount of their claims are so easy to discredit that I can't help but wonder if they're trying to do an honest job at all. Many of thees mistakes are too easy to recognize so I strongly suspect that they're intentionally doing more to confuse the issue than educate the public. If that is their objective it is successful; however if people take enough time to look at it, with rational skepticism, not to be confused with pseudo-skepticism, then they can find plenty of legitimate unsolved mysteries, even if they can't provide conclusive evidence to fully explain one theory or another. And the one presented by the traditional media always seem to have a large number of flaws that can rule them out to rational skeptics. Which means that sincere rational skeptics might do better to come up with their own theories.

This is why I suspect the government just might have decided to "Recruit a group of crackpots" (further discussion in ATS string about MJ-12) as the semi-fictional Roswell movie speculated about. Whether this is true or not the vast majority of information from the traditional media about this subject, and most others, is very poorly done; and the most reliable information comes from sorting through alternative media outlets. However in this case even most alternative media outlets on the subject also have their problems, and most theories will almost certainly fall apart, although claims that there are no unsolved mysteries also fall apart.



This is why it might help to have hard facts to fall back on when bizarre theories fall apart and the megaliths and crop circles provide that. Megaliths provide rock solid evidence that activities that can't be replicated took place thousands of years ago and if Nancy Talbott is right then crop circles indicate that other unexplained phenomena still occur. It is hard to tell what to conclude from this but the crop circles continue happening so if researchers are sincere they might be able to narrow things down. This could be potential evidence of an unknown advanced intelligence that has been on or near Earth for thousands of years; however filling in the details without additional back up information is speculative and rational skepticism should be maintained.

One claim that people should be especially skeptical of is the assumption that this unknown advanced intelligence might be benevolent, or the most extreme malicious claims. If they were inclined to invade like the war of the worlds, and they've been here for decades, if not thousands of years they would have already done so, and if they were benevolent there would be no need for secrecy. One example of that recently is ‘Aliens prevented nuclear war on Earth’: Edgar Mitchell Former NASA astronaut makes unexpected claim. (08/13/2015) If aliens were benevolent they almost certainly would have opened up a line of honest communication relatively shortly after they arrived, if it was possible.

Shortly after this story came out Edgar Mitchell claimed he was misquoted in another article, The UFOs Didn't Come In Peace! Astronaut Sets Record Straight On ET Nuclear War. 08/27/2015 this is typical of the information available about UFOs which often turns into bickering but Edgar Mitchell has still been claiming for years that he believes that UFOs are real and that they may involve alien intelligence.

The appropriate way to earn trust requires an open line of honest communication. If these aliens really were benevolent and they arrived thousands of years ago they could have provided advise that could have dramatically reduced wars and other atrocities that have taken place since then.

Instead, if they influenced cult structures that may have been associated with the megaliths and religion they might have inspired the religions that helped prop up the authority of many tyrants and maintain a steady state of war, often based on religious beliefs.

Some of the theories about obtaining technology from aliens include assisting with moving the megaliths and more recently according to Philip Corso's book "The Day After Roswell" they reverse engineered alien technology to create some of the scientific advances over the past 6 decades. Bob Lazar also makes similar claims but both of them have credibility problems so their claims can't be entirely true. However if they're party true then this technology is being used primarily to benefit those that control it and a lot of it is being used to increase their control of the public and maintain a permanent state of war. Corso's claims also include sharing technology with companies like Monsanto, which implies the possibility that we're being used as research subjects as part of a genetically engineered development of crops which are fed to people. If this technology isn't from aliens the research is still going on for other reasons so there should still be demands for disclosure, at a minimum.

If people take this hypothesis seriously then the aliens wouldn't be benevolent since they're giving tacit approval, at best, by remaining silent and allowing their technology to be used in such a foolish and authoritarian manner.

This hypothesis may sound a lot like the Ancient Aliens series that has been on the History Channel for the past five or six years. This series has an enormous amount of blunders like in the introductory two hour show one of the leading theorists, Giorgio Tsoukalos, says that when he went into the tunnel of an ancient Egyptian tomb his lighter didn't work because there wasn't enough oxygen; however if this was the case then he shouldn't have been able to breath there clearly indicating his conclusion makes no sense at all. The series is full of one blunder after another. Many of them were addressed in Ancient Aliens Debunked; however even though these skeptics are far more rational than the high profile Ancient Aliens theorists they still don't explain how some of the giant megaliths were moved or some other ancient mysteries.

This would fit in with the "Recruit a group of crackpots" hypothesis; however consideration should be given to other explanations why there are so many blunders from both the theorists and the so-called skeptics, who are often as manipulative as the theorists.

Edgar Mitchell is just one many other astronauts or other government employees including military members that have come out with disclosures about UFOs. the strong implication is that either there is a conspiracy to cover up UFOs or there is a conspiracy to make it seem like UFOs exists and are controlled by aliens. Also It is hard to imagine hoe this could come about without a conspiracy one way or another but I'm sure some skeptics will come up with their ideas.

No doubt this all sounds absurd, and it is. However there are an enormous number of absurd things that actually are happening. It is hard to look at the political discussion that is now typical without thinking it is absurd; yet no one is claiming that their clownish behavior isn't happening.

The truth is as absurd as many bizarre conspiracy theories.



The following related articles include some crop circles that are relatively new; looking in Google news typically turns up more; and the first two sites include crop circles that have been compiled over several decades.

Temporary Temples: Recording the Crop Circles for over 20 years

Lucy Pringle's Home page 25 years of Crop Circles

E.T IN DORSET? Crop circles spark mystery 07/31/2015

After Hungerford UFO sightings, now it's crop circles 08/12/2015

Mystery surrounds second crop circle near Stratford 08/12/2015

Drone captures footage of this creepy crop circle near Stonehenge 07/09/2015

Mysterious Crop Circles Spotted In Wiltshire, Near Stonehenge [Video] 07/04/2015

Amazing drone footage shows 'alien' crop circles close to Stonehenge 07/08/2015

Is this the work of aliens? Drone captures aerial footage of mysterious crop circles in Russian wheat field 06/12/2015

Tenn. Gray hay field sports crop circle 05/28/2015

‘I’m an artist who makes crop circles’ 03/27/2015

If Crop Circles Are Man Made How Come We Never See Arrests For The Criminal Damage To The Crops? 08/29/2015

"Discovery Channel Documentary-The True Story," - 20/06/2003 By GURO K PARVANOVA

Open Minds Production: Biophysicist and crop circle researcher W.C. Levengood passes October 15, 2013

Dr W.C. Levengood, John A. Burke, Lab Report No 18 Crop Circle Skeptics

10 Wickedly Beautiful Crop Circles 08/19/2015

Widowed by cancer, farmer turns mystery crop circle into £5,000 boost for hospital cancer appeal 08/20/2015

Crop circles footage reveals 'mystery' formations in fields 08/14/2015

Crop Circle Artist Matthew Williams

One Woman’s 9-Year Arduous Journey to Unlock the Secrets of Crop Circles 10/24/2014

Walmart never seems to go a month without several shooting incidents including police shootings and usually SWAT stand-offs of some kind and this month is no exception. There were at least five or six gun related incidents including at least one SWAT stand-off and a manhunt that lasted at four hours. One of them started with petty theft and another ended in a suicide in a nearby business after the shoplifter fled Walmart.

They also had the usual number of bomb scares, which never seem to stop, and at least two arson's on their property, including one that was done by a transient that set propane tanks on fire and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. There are a lot of problems with transients around the country and Walmart attracts their share of them; however there is little or no discussion the the traditional media about how much this problem is increasing due to exporting of jobs and suppression of wages led by Walmart.

To find that discussion you have to sort through alternative media outlets which do a much better job, once you sort it out.

There was a knife fight between Walmart employees and one of their husbands; and another stab victim was dropped off at a separate Walmart. Another Walmart employee stole enough money left behind in a car to buy another car for himself.

A customer that went to Walmart for an oil change had to replace it when the technician got the gas stuck and wrecked it. The insurance company left her stranded for a while and it wasn't until the case received an enormous amount of media attention that they realized they had to pay for it or the whole world would know how they treat their customers. Actually this isn't the first time this has happened or something similar, there have been numerous incidents like including one about twenty years ago when their employee stole a truck and looted it. They refused to take responsibility until it received national attention and they threatened their victim with retaliation before he went to the press.

Another Walmart gave their customer a fake hundred dollar bill; and one of their customers that went to the customer complaint department started receiving harassing texts that included threats to see her after the individual gets off work. Apparently the disgruntled employees occasionally take things out on disgruntled customers.

Another one of their employees may be taking a higher ground and is running for Philadelphia Mayor; although it remains to be seen whether he will face retaliation for it since he doesn't seem to be pursuing the Walmart agenda.

They also had an incident where someone found Marijuana and turned it in to the lost and found.

My best guess is that the owner didn't come back to claim it.

Strange things happen at Wal-Mart!

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In 2006 Wake Up Wal-Mart did a study, "Is Wal-Mart Safe?" based on incidents in 2004, (PDF) about crime at Wal-Mart which showed that it increased when Wal-Marts opened up and that crime was higher at Wal-Mart than at other retailers. Since then Wal-Mart Shootings began compiling a list of gun related incidents at Wal-Mart and demonstrated that they have a large number of them, including on average more than one shooting per week somewhere in the country. In January of 2014 another study, "Rolling Back Prices and Raising Crime Rates?" provided additional statistical research indicating that Wal-Mart might be contributing to higher crime rates or at least a slowing of the decline in crime. The study found that. “on average, communities with Walmarts had 17 more property crimes and two more violent crimes per 10,000 people than those communities without Walmarts.” I reviewed this more in Wal-Mart’s crime problem, Rolling Back Safety more than prices? where I explained that although this study is helpful they could have done better with additional data that is available and I reviewed some of that. I also added my own review about why I think that Wal-Mart policies have been contributing to higher crime in a previous blog, Wal-Mart high crime rate continues un-investigaterd and have provided additional information under the author tag Walmart Crime Watch.

Stacy Mitchell has also compiled a list of other studies about Wal-Mart and how they impact society, Key Studies on Big-Box Retail & Independent Business. To the best of my knowledge Wal-Mart has done as little as they seem to get away with, often relying on rhetoric that isn't backed up with action, when it comes to addressing any of their critics concerns, including crime. For regular updates about events at Walmart through the month see Walmart Watch on twitter or check the Wal-Mart Wall; they have helped compile some of this information. The following are a list of incidents that occurred in July 2015. According to the "Is Wal-Mart Safe?" the average store in their sampling had 250 incidents per year, indicating that these are only a fraction of the crime reports at Wal-Mart, and presumably, the ones most likely to make the news on the internet nationwide. This isn't statistically representative, as the 2006 or the "Rolling Back Prices and Raising Crime Rates?" study or some of the studies cited by Stacy Mitchell; but it does provide some additional information that may help recognize how many problems there are at Wal-Mart.

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Jury: Kiester not guilty of groping girl in Flagstaff Ariz. Walmart 08/01/2015

Bomb threat evacuates Plymouth NH WalMart 08/02/2015

Breastfeeding mom says she was berated by Montreal Walmart employee 08/02/2015

Fatal police shooting in Ohio Wal-Mart under review 1 year later 08/02/2015

Woman charged with theft from NY Walmart 08/02/2015



Man Wanted For Ga. Walmart Child Molestation Incident Identified 08/03/2015

Bees swarm and sting construction crew outside Riverside Ca. Walmart 08/03/2015

Residents appeal WV Walmart decision 08/03/2015

Woman, 90, had purse snatched outside North Fort Myers Fla. Walmart 08/03/2015

Aurora Colorado Walmart evacuated due to bomb threat 08/03/2015

Man uses 15 fake 50s at St. Johns Fla. Wal-Mart 08/03/2015

Walmart, Amazon halt sales of toy guns in New York that look real 08/04/2015

Roseville Mich. Walmart evacuated after 2 packages found in bomb scare and unrelated incident with disgruntled former Walmart employee 08/04/2015

Rally planned on anniversary of Ohio Walmart shooting 08/04/2015

Wake Forest Police release photos of suspects in NC Wal-Mart theft 08/04/2015

A third person connected to a Bristow Okla. Walmart heist is behind bars 08/04/2015

Erwin man charged after exposing himself in a Tenn. Walmart parking lot 08/04/2015

Police investigating after 3 televisions taken from SC Wal-Mart 08/05/2015

Women accused of stealing $14K in iPhones from Titusville Fla. Walmart 08/05/2015

Sex offender lists Roseburg Oregon Walmart lot as home 08/05/2015

Surveillance video released of attempted armed robbery at Wisc. Walmart 08/05/2015

Beavercreek Ohio Walmart closes during two Crawford rallies 08/05/2015

I-Team Has Walmart, CVS And Target Looking For Answers 08/05/2015

Chandler police trying to identify Ariz. Wal-Mart robbery suspects 08/05/2015

Police searching for man who stuck phone under woman's dress at Belle Isle Okla. Walmart 08/06/2015

Trucker killed in accident at Paragould Ark. Walmart 08/06/2015

Police shut down meth trafficking in NC Walmart parking lot 08/06/2015

NH1 News Investigates Breast-Feeding Battle: Wal-Mart apologizes after refusing to print NH woman's photos 08/05/2015

A Tornado Has Swept Through a Wal-Mart in Alabama 08/07/2015

Police looking for man who swiped customer's $100 from Pa. Walmart self-checkout 08/07/2015

9 taken to hospital after Raleigh Walmart hazmat scare 08/07/2015

Seven hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning after evacuation of Avalon Park Fla. Walmart 08/0/2015

Construction was happening at Fla. Wal-Mart where 13 got sick 08/10/2015

Argument Leads to Woman Pulling Out Gun at Pine Bluff Ark. Walmart 08/08/2015





Milwaukee man charged in Brown Deer Wisc. Walmart robbery 08/10/2015

Woman struck by vehicle outside Havelock NC Wal-Mart 08/10/2015

Train trestle behind Sherwood Oregon Wal-Mart burning, businesses evacuated 08/10/2015

Part of church could become part of Tx. Walmart 08/10/2015

Tracy Morgan Crash Blamed on Truck Driver Fatigue, NTSB Says 08/11/2015



Two People, one armed with a knife Charged in Fort Dodge Iowa Walmart Robbery 08/11/2015

Woman uses SUV in Colorado Walmart parking lot assault 08/11/2015

Waterville police charge alleged Wal-Mart shoplifter, find items stolen from Augusta Me. store 08/11/2015

Police: Man punched, kicked woman in Pa. Wal-Mart parking lot 08/11/2015

Former ND Walmart employees accused of theft 08/12/2015

Body found near Walmart in west Nashville Tenn. 08/12/2015



Over $14,500 worth of iPhones stolen from Virginia Beach Walmart 08/12/2015

Arrest made in Dumfries Virginia Walmart sex assault 08/12/2015

65 year old Woman arrested in Sand Springs Okla. Walmart theft 08/12/2015

3 Found With $15,000 in Counterfeit Cash at Waterford Conn. Wal-Mart: Cops 08/12/2015



Bank at Killian Road SC Walmart Robbed 08/12/2015

Wal-Mart Truck Overturns, Falls Into River: New York Police 08/12/2015



Niagara Falls woman in a wheelchair charged with NY Walmart shoplifting escapade 08/13/2015

Man Tried to Touch Women in Manassas Va. Walmart, Police Say 08/13/2015



Man attacked at Rotterdam NY Walmart 08/13/2015

Police: Shots fired in Cedar City Utah Wal-Mart parking lot 08/13/2015

Woman spots her own stolen car outside Walmart in Colorado Springs 08/14/2015 Suspect taken into custody after attempting to pull a handgun out of his waistband.

Tenn. Walmart employee catches man touching himself in sock aisle 08/14/2015





Woman loses track of purse after falling in NY Super Walmart 08/16/2015

Deputies: Poinciana Fla. Walmart robbed at gunpoint 08/16/2015

Walmart cuts outlook as profit drops, misses estimates 08/18/2015

Wal-Mart's 2Q Earnings Report a Mixed Bag 08/17/2015 It also reported a 15.1 percent drop in second-quarter profit.



Police search for man accused of robbing two people at Wal-Mart 08/17/2015

Transformer explosion temporarily closes St. Augustine Fla. Walmart 08/18/2015

Jackson Miss. Police Dept. : Woman shoots boyfriends vehicle at Walmart 08/18/2015

Police: Couple left kids in hot car outside Oswego County NY Wal-Mart 08/18/2015

Man accused of inappropriately touching child in North Augusta SC Walmart 08/19/2015

Onslow County Sheriff's Office identifies NC Walmart break-in suspect 08/18/2015

Man reportedly steals from Tx. Wal-Mart, is found hiding in cooler 08/18/2015

Suspect robs bank inside Thomasville NC Walmart 08/18/2015

Iowa Man Arrested For Drugs In Walmart Parking Lot 08/17/2015



Police: Man tried to steal 30 fishing lures in his socks at Iowa Walmart 08/19/2015

Police: Man Pulls Knife While Shoplifting Colorado Walmart 08/19/2015

Columbus Ga. Walmart evacuated after meat freezer catches fire 08/19/2015

Man steals almost $1,000 in infant formula from Tampa Fla. Walmart 08/19/2015

Police: Man leaves Mich. Walmart with $412 in baby formula 08/20/2015

Newton man charged in string of NC Walmart thefts 08/20/2015

2 dead after 5 separate shootings, including one non-fatal at Wal-Mart in Indianapolis Ind. 08/20/2015



Impostor attempts to shame panhandler at Brunswick Me. Walmart 08/21/2015

Serial Ga. Wal-Mart shoplifter asked ex to send her drugs in birthday card while in Bibb jail 08/21/2015

Should Wal-Mart step in during disaster recovery? 08/21/2015

Three men suspected in quick change scheme at Va. Walmart 08/21/2015

Man arrested for taking 'upskirt' photos at Dalton Ga. Walmart 08/21/2015

Fla. Walmart signs off on preventing car tragedies 08/21/2015



NY Walmart at Crossgates Common closed for power outage 08/22/2015



Fla. Walmart cashier accused of keeping customer's phone 08/23/2015

Bear cub spotted near Parker Colorado Walmart 08/23/2015

Oklahoma and Alabama among top U.S. states where people spend the most money at Wal-Mart 08/24/2015 1.Oklahoma, South Dakota, Arkansas, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota and 10.Tennessee

Four men arrested after off-duty officer witnesses them steal from Tx. Wal-Mart 08/24/2015

Police use Taser on man who fled after meth deal at Storm Lake Walmart 08/24/2015

Gunman wearing a Wal-Mart vest robs Northside Fla. Wal-Mart at gunpoint, tosses some cash back before making getaway 08/24/2015 telling them to “keep it for themselves.”

Man stabbed outside North Fort Myers Fla. Walmart 08/24/2015

Police seek help in attempted purse-snatching at Owings Mills Md. Walmart 08/25/2015

Unlicensed workers discovered at Littleton NH Walmart construction site 08/25/2015

Troopers: Men Took Computers, Crossbow from Pa. Wal-Mart 08/25/2015

5 Fla. Walmart employees arrested for thefts 08/26/2015

Man used card scanner at Lake Wylie NC Walmart, sheriff’s office says 08/26/2015

Police looking for Ohio Walmart theft suspect 08/26/2015

Walmart Says It's Pulling Semi-Automatic Rifles — Due to Poor Sales 08/26/2015



Person shot near Glendale Ariz. Walmart, police say 08/26/2015

Two arrested in Okla. Walmart larceny 08/27/2015

Police: Surveillance photograph helps identify Ephrata Pa. Wal-Mart theft suspect 08/27/2015

Man Used Emergency Exit To Steal Walmart Merchandise, Tulsa Okla. Police Say 08/27/2015

12-year-old girl reports sexual assault in Manassas Va. Walmart store 08/27/2015

Aurora Girls Ran Into Ill. Walmart To Avoid Abduction: Police 08/27/2015

Man dies weeks after being injured at a Fort Worth Tx. Wal-Mart in June 08/27/2015

Wife determined to find husband's attackers in fatal Tx. Walmart beating 08/28/2015

Iowa Walmart refuses to print woman’s breastfeeding photos 08/28/2015

Police say woman found getting high on canned air at Knasas Walmart 08/28/2015

Armed Robber sought in La Mesa Ca. Walmart heist 08/28/2015

Kansas Store clerk, Walmart customer testify at sexual assault hearing 08/28/2015

Hit and run fails: Two men assault Tx. Walmart employees in robbery attempt 08/28/2015



Judge finds man insane in knife attack on Ind. Wal-Mart manager 08/28/2015 Authorities say Patterson became agitated while completing a job application last November and cut the manager on the chest, arm and wrist.



Driver found stabbed after crashing car in Walmart parking lot in northwest Harris County Tx. 08/28/2015

Woman dumps kittens in Okla. Walmart lobby 08/28/2015

Thomasville man faces robbery charge after NC Wal-Mart incident 08/29/2015

Half-clothed man fires shots at LaGrange Ga. Wal-Mart 08/29/2015

Police: Man struck employee while stealing TV from Oneida NY Walmart 08/29/2015



Blue Bell returning to Wal-Mart store shelves 08/31/2015 It was previously removed due to a possible connection to an outbreak of listeriosis which isn't even mentioned in this article about it's return.

Walmart Joins List Of Retailers Removing All Blue Bell Ice Cream Products From Shelves 04/07/2015

Partial list of Walmart Product Recalls which doesn't include Blue Bell implying they might not notify people any more than regulation require.

Woman banned from NY Walmart who allegedly stole merchandise valued at $25 faces felony charge 08/31/2015

SC Walmart employee accused of stealing from register 08/31/2015

Forbes: Walmart's Worker Hours Cut Shows It Is Caught In A Classic Retailer Trap 08/31/2015

Woman struck in Colorado Springs Walmart crosswalk has died 08/31/2015

Convenient To Buy A Gun At Wal-Mart, But Not In Chicago 08/31/2015

Two Men Who Robbed Tx. Walmart At Gunpoint Still At Large 08/31/2015

One Year of Jail for Theft of TV from Wisc. Walmart 08/31/2015

Federalsburg woman charged with theft from Md. Walmart 08/31/2015

Cedar Falls police seek help in Iowa Wal-Mart theft probe 08/31/2015

Johnson City, NY Police: Man banned from Walmart returned to steal beer 08/31/2015

Man attempts Tour of Italy in Fla. Walmart, gets caught 08/3/2015

No explosives found by Bomb squad in suspicious package at Laguna Niguel Ca. Walmart parking lot 08/28/2015

Reports: Shoplifter loots Tenn. Walmart for $3,000-plus 08/31/2015

The media has been having a field day with the video of Black Lives Matter protesters chanting “Pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon,” using it to demonize the protest movement without putting it in it's full perspective. They have done little or nothing to report on the root causes of crime and how to prevent it nor have they done much if anything to try to understand why they might have been so angry with police. There have been numerous stories about police brutality and shootings coming out one after another and thanks to grass roots efforts they're finally getting more attention, even in the traditional media that is beginning to realize that if they continue ignoring it they will lose their audience to alternative media outlets.

They have even criticized the protesters for chanting this while the police were protecting them, or so the media and conservative critics say, over and over again. The police are, of course supposed to protect citizens as part of their job description; however the way they protect them is based on laws that provide an enormous amount of preferential treatment to one segment of society, primarily campaign contributors, at the expense of the rest of society, especially the poorest, including minorities, which often get the least protection and are subject to the worst economic inequality.

Even if the media does spread enormous amounts of propaganda about the police protecting people equally those that are routinely targeted by the police instead of being protected by them know it isn't true.

This isn't limited to police shootings. When there are protests about the destruction of the environment, even when there is evidence that corporations are profiting off of pollution that kills thousands, instead of preventing the environmental destruction they arrest the protesters. When they ship jobs overseas to suppress wages and there are protests instead of addressing legitimate concerns they arrest protests. When there are protests about outrageous and abusive labor practices, instead of addressing legitimate concerns they arrest protesters.

One example after another where poor are not receiving nearly as much protection as the propaganda indicates and the police, even good ones that intended to protect people equally, are being used to enforce a rigged system. what receives little attention in the media is that some of the good police do speak out in favor of reform although they aren't nearly as outspoken of the Black Lives Matter movement because they face retaliation from a political system that caters to campaign contributors.

If the public understood this then it would be understandable that people who live with this all their lives might get angry. Unfortunately the media is ignoring an enormous amount of background information they rarely cover at all.

They're also latching onto a couple of the highest profile shootings of police and glorifying them without trying to find out the most effective way to prevent shootings of both police and citizens, including black lives which are disproportionately targeted. The rhetoric coming from the media strongly implies that there is a shocking increase in shootings of police, perhaps even an epidemic. This conclusion is based on a very narrow look at statistics while ignoring the vast majority of historical shootings of police. They only compared shootings for 2014 and 2013 and found an increase.

In a previous post, The threat to police is greatly exaggerated I checked the statistics and found that 2013 had the lowest number of shootings of police in more than sixty years and if you look closer on a per capita basis it was about as low as it has ever been. In order to find statistics that are even close you have to go back to the Civil War era and even then they weren't much if any lower per capita. The highest rates by number were in the 1920s and 1970s; however per capita the 1920s were much worse since the population was much lower then.

For a long time I didn't see the media mention these statistics at all, while covering selective statistics that made it seem like a dramatic increase compared to 2013; however recently they did briefly mention some of these statistics. They didn't repeat them often though and the propaganda making it seem like a dramatic increase continues to be repeated over and over again drowning out the more accurate statistics that only a few pay attention to. The increased threat to police is a media creation; however, by refusing to report on the root causes so they can be prevented, it is conceivable that the threat could become real.

Not that I think it isn't still a problem and that there is a chance at reversing this trend but misrepresenting the history and refusing to look at why the figures have been going down and what other causes could be causing it to reverse, at least temporarily. Looking at the numbers raises the question about whether the bigger increase might be the rhetoric from the media not actual shootings. If they did a better job reporting on root causes and decisions were made on that it is virtually guaranteed that more could be done to keep the numbers going down for both shootings of police and shootings by police, even more.

We don't actually have as thorough records for people killed by police since the government hasn't been tracking it very well, if at all; and it is only recently that grassroots efforts have done a much better job, which might give the impression that police killing are on the rise. However without thorough data from past decades there is no way of knowing whether it is rising or not.

Regardless of the past statistics there is enough evidence to educate the public about contributing causes of crime and how to prevent them. If the media did a better job educating the public and the political establishment used this evidence to make decisions then there should be no doubt that shootings of police and by police can be dramatically reduced, in additional to other murders and violent crime. I did a series of posts about Contributing causes to crime and how to prevent them over the past several years that explored these including Ignored evidence linking corporal punishment, poverty and crime grows and Politicians increase crime; Grass roots efforts reduce crime; Politicians steal the credit. these include rough statistical reviews of my own, which aren't peer reviewed however they also include additional studies that have and they come to similar conclusions.

Unfortunately this research doesn't fit in a thirty second sound bite or on a bumper sticker. If we had a credible media instead of appealing to emotion with propaganda they would take the time to explain things, at least to those willing to listen; and there are a lot more of them than the media implies; not only that if they provided good education the number of people willing to listen would almost certainly increase dramatically. Instead they use infotainment to increase ratings and sell deceptive ads for maximum profit regardless of the best interests of the public.

Instead they use reporting on this as entertainment like Brooke Baldwin interview where she confronts a representative of the Black Lives Matter movement from Minnesota with an accusatory tone as if the video of this chant is all there is to it in #BlackLivesMatter Organizer, Ex-DEA Agent Clash on CNN Over ‘Pigs in a Blanket’ Chant. (08/31/2015) It is difficult if not impossible to explain all the details behind it in the short time they allow for any given segment, especially when it is set up to be a one way interview; however after the initial shock Rashad Turner managed to get a few points in about how this doesn't reflect the whole movement and that much much more black people were arrested than whites even though they're the minority and that they're more likely to be killed by police. he was more respectful than the ex-DEA Agent who seemed much more confrontational.

There didn't seem to be nearly as much concern with the rhetoric that David Katz came out with accusing the shooter in Texas of being racist and implying that it was incited by the Black Lives Matter movement. As far as I know they don't have evidence to indicate that and he even admitted that it was to early in the investigation to determine that, saying that if people from the Black Lives Matter movement accuse police of being racist that he should be able to accuse the shooter of being a racist.

Another Sheriff from managed to come up with rhetoric that was much worse, yet the media didn't pounce on this nearly as much. According to #BlackLivesMatter New Chant: ‘Pigs In A Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon!’ Watch Sheriff Clarke PUNCH BACK! (09/01/2015) Sheriff David Clarke said, “I’m tired of hearing people call these people black activists, they’re not activists, this is black SLIME, and it needs to be ERADICATED from the American society and the American culture.” and he added, “I need every law abiding person in the United States of America to stand up and start pushing back against this slimeness, this filth, that’s disparaging the American law enforcement officer within these communities … demand these organizations get out of their town, there’s no room for it!”

He did absolutely nothing to try to figure out the root causes of crime that leads up to escalating conflict with the public; nor did he make any attempt to figure out whether any of the protesters had any legitimate complaints that should be addressed. Instead he is advising that the critics of the police abandon their first amendment rights and assume that authorities are always right in spite of the enormous amount of cases of police brutalities that keep coming out, even while there are a much smaller number of police being shot that the media is focusing on.

This rhetoric without addressing many of the contributing causes should be considered as antagonistic as the chant by the protesters. It is hard to imagine how they can consider one of them antagonistic without the other. According to the Wikipedia article about David A. Clarke, Jr he has a history of authoritarian views that aren't supported by research, including "a series of public radio ads that said citizens could no longer rely on the police for timely protection and should arm themselves." If more efforts were made to address the root causes in the studies cited above then the police would be much more able to respond to crime as it happens, since there would be much less of it.

One of the studies that I did indicated that states with better gun control have lower murder rates and it like the other studies it is backed up with peer reviewed studies that support this. In the interview that he did with Piers Morgan at that time he was asked if he had any statistics to back up his claims he said, "I don't have those statistics, I don't think we need to go there, to be honest with you." Piers Morgan responded by saying "You haven't got a clue," but the media, including Morgan, has done little if anything to inform the public about the statistics which do indicate that states with reasonable gun control have lower murder rates, and especially lower suicide rates. Sheriff Clarke has been demonizing protesters and those that shoot police as if they were one and the same, while simultaneously advocating policies that make it easier for violent people to get guns that could be used to shoot police and ignoring all the problems with the police.

The crime rates from Milwaukee, Wisconsin where Clarke is sheriff doesn't indicate that he has done the best job in the country handling crime, including murder. Murder rates and other violent crime have been going down across the country for years and when he first took office in 2002 that included Milwaukee, but it is much higher than most of the country including other big cities, rising back up to 17.3 murders in 2013 which is more than three times the national average.

It is even higher than most cities, which typically have higher murder rates, including even Phoenix Arizona which has one of the other most authoritarian Sheriff's in the country; they have a murder rate of 7.9, which is surprisingly low considering the tactics used by Sheriff Joe Arpaio. By comparison, in Madison, Wisconsin where they have much more progressive practices and David Couper was police chief for several decades before retiring they have a much lower rate, 2.1 per 100,000. David Couper (Blog, Improving Police) has dramatically different views on reform, unfortunately he hardly gets any coverage from the traditional media.

Perhaps practical solutions that might reduce crime doesn't make good entertainment that sells ads for profit.

If so we need a media that is more concerned about educating the public then making profits at the expense of the majority with their propaganda.

What is happening in the media is almost entirely propaganda instead of providing the public with the information they need to make decisions. They present the chant as if it was typical of the movement but expect us to believe that when the police get caught doing something outrageous it is a rare isolated incident. It would be just as justifiable to present a story about an Officer who shot his own patrol car, Massachusetts police say 09/04/2015 as being typical of police as it is of claiming that all Black Lives Matter protesters are calling for the shooting of police.

If police were targeted as badly as Black people they not only would call for the shooting of those that target them but already are. There has been plenty of rhetoric from police claiming that they should have more latitude to use force against people without addressing legitimate concerns and a lot of it comes from David Clarke including recent efforts to label Black Lives Matter as A 'Murder' Movement, or 'Hate Group.' (09/07/2015)

If they thought things through then they might realize that troubled people might be more enraged by the rhetoric of the police that refuse to address legitimate concerns than the people in St. Paul that hardly anyone would have known about if the media hadn't turned it into the obsession du jour. If they're so concerned about this rhetoric inciting violence why would they do that? If these troubled people saw honest efforts to address root causes of crime instead of spreading enormous amounts of propaganda they might be much more likely to reconsider extreme measures.

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Edit: Since I posted this there have been growing doubts about the investigation of Lt. Joe Gliniewicz's murder. According to a Washington Post story, Coroner: Illinois police officer killed by single gunshot, (09/09/2015) the coroner "said Wednesday that he can’t yet rule whether the death was a homicide, suicide or accident." Several other reports have also raised doubts about the investigation including a CNN report that said they can't rule out "homicide, suicide or undetermined. They also said that there has been no corroboration of the report called in by Lt. Joe Gliniewicz about two white men and a black man. They claimed that people fitting this description were interviewed and released and are no longer people of interest.

I first heard about this possibility a few days after it happened from Fox News in what sounded like wild speculation, which is common in traditional media now, especially at Fox. They reported on the incident that happened about the same time in Massachusetts where a Mills police officer shot his own cruiser, then reported an update about the Illinois officer who was shot and speculated about the possibility that he might have also faked it and even committed suicide. It sounded like wild speculation at the time; and if he didn't have additional information that he wasn't reporting to come to this conclusion it was. Now, however, it is beginning to sound like a possibility and the reports on this seem increasingly questionable.

For additional information see, 'Single Devastating Gunshot Wound' Killed Fox Lake Police Lieutenant: Coroner 09/09/2015 “This whole thing is getting a little sticky as far as the cause and manner of death,” Lake County Coroner Thomas A. Rudd. One of the comments in this article says that his wife worked as a dispatcher and that standard operating procedure was that he would give a plate number before pursuit and most reports say he was a by the book cop. If this is true them most police can confirm this procedure. Also if it was a planned suicide as some people are now beginning to speculate about, a rural area would be the most likely place for him to get away with it.

By now this should be obvious to anyone that isn't overly religious. Mike Huckabee's religious rally for Kim Davis is becoming typical for the Republican Party.

There is little or no sincere discussion about issues in the Republican Party or at least not based on any rational thought process. Instead a shocking percentage of them allow their religious beliefs which are often dictated by charismatic leaders without rational scrutiny.

These leaders compete to see who can cater to religious beliefs most effectively then they can serve the best interests of their campaign contributors, since their constituency is more concerned about following crowds that don't understand issues. This has even led to political operatives rigging the coverage so that Mike Huckabee can be the apparent spokesperson for Kim Davis without allowing Cruz to share the stage, although he is just as irrational when he does get to express his views. The fact that he doesn't even seem to know that the Dred Scott case was overturned by constitutional amendment as a result of the Civil War doesn't even seem to matter to many of these cult followers who also believe many other irrational things like that Obama is a Muslim who was born in Kenya.



The rally in Washington against the Iran treaty is another of the more blatant examples that re surprisingly common that demonstrate how little many of these people know, often because they only listen to charismatic speakers who manipulate there emotions and refuse to check facts. The vast majority of these people are almost certainly not aware of our history with Iran that includes a coup in 1953 which overthrew a much more democratic government than they have now. In the seventies after decades of being abused and often tortured by the Shah installed by the CIA the United States had another opportunity to support the student protesters but remained in denial which led to the religious theocracy that is partly a creation of our own foreign policy.

The foreign policy towards Iran from their own religious leaders is even more extreme than Obama's treaty, including Reagan's Iran-Contra conspiracy which they don't seem to recognize as being worse than this treaty.

The problem isn't so much that they're wrong about the issues; but that they don't even sort through the details or listen to opposing views; instead they take positions from charismatic speakers and intimidate and ostracize those that don't go along with the program, like a cult which is not compatible with a functioning democracy which allows consideration of all views.

This is as extreme if not more extreme when it comes to environmental protection. In 2008 they were able to use charismatic speaking and other manipulation tactics to convince large crowds to start chanting "Drill Baby Drill" without realizing that some of the greatest environmental damage being done to our country was in the south where there are the most religious people. the worst of this is often in minority neighborhoods but it also impacts poor white people as well. and their bigotry against minorities is often religious based.



Elections seem to be getting more irrational every two to four years escalating with the unusually irrational Tea Party group of candidates in 2010 including Sharon "Second Amendment remedies" Angle, Carl "I'll take you out" Paladino, Christine "Not a witch" O'Donnell and even some candidates that actually won like Rand Paul and later Ted Cruz.

A shocking percentage of the public is taught from an early age to believe what they're told and go along with the crowd instead of teaching them to develop critical thinking skills as I explained in Dobson’s Indoctrination Machine. He recommends using corporal punishment starting as early as eighteen months old to teach children to obey and believe what they're told. This is before they understand what they're being punished for and it teaches them to obey based on fear, not because they understand what is going on or why.

As I explained in numerous posts in the past including American Psychological Association exposed again and Political Psychologist Are Suppressing Democracy political operatives and psychologists have been studying how to manipulate the public for decades and this includes research into cult activity and how to create cult figures like Donald Trump. Amazingly when they realized that a growing number of people were getting fed up with establishment candidates and how they were manipulating the public the establishment seems to have created their own anti-establishment candidate, or at least someone pretending to be an anti-establishment candidate to continue manipulating the cult followers while pretending to stand up to the establishment.



Actually they've been manufacturing establishment candidates pretending to be anti-establishment for a long time, often starting their career with claims that "I'm not a politician," then once they get elected one after another of these anti-establishment candidates demonstrates with their actions that they're just like the others and go along with the establishment demonstrating they were politicians all along. But Donald Trump takes this to a new level. Clearly if he really wasn't an establishment candidate the establishment media wouldn't be giving him obsessive amounts of coverage even playing many of his speeches live with few if any commercials. This is something they practically never do any more; they used to do this for emergencies or major disasters when they still acted as if the commercial media was supposed to provide some kind of public service but that attitude has gradually disappeared over the decades and they no longer let major catastrophes interrupt commercials and profits, however they do for a candidate they keep telling us is anti-establishment.

Donald Trump has flip flopped on several issues for the sake of his campaign like abortion Single Payer Health Care and more clearly indicating he is like other establo8ishment candidates but they keep repeating over and over again that he's against the establishment so many people that have been taught from birth to believe what they're told and respond to emotional appeals believe him. They don't seem to suspect that insulting each other and demonstrating they have no clue about many of the most important issues is an inappropriate way to figure out who is most qualified to run the country.

The establishment has developed a political industry to study how to manipulate people using cult indoctrination practices without addressing the most important issues for the vast majority of the public and this also includes the Democratic Party although they're not quite as extreme as the Republican Party, or at least they don't seem quite as extreme. Hillary Clinton has been relying on the media to present her as the inevitable nominee for the Democratic Party for years so that she can avoid a significant primary. She doesn't have nearly as strong a cult following as the Republican candidates but that isn't because she isn't trying. She has as many advisers helping her present her case and make promises that she almost certainly will never keep if elected as the Republicans. However they seem to be relying on a common strategy of portraying the Republicans as extremists so the public can't afford to take a chance on a third party candidate and allow the greater evil to get elected. this is the strategy they used in 2012 and many other previous elections and a shocking percentage of the public seems to fall for the same scam every time.

This is how they manage to get an enormous amount of people in both parties especially the Republican Party to support positions that are clearly not in their interests.



If there is a candidate that really is trying to address the best interests of the majority of the public that gets some coverage from the establishment media it must be Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders got almost no coverage for decades until after he gained enough grassroots support to get elected in his home state numerous times and they still don't give him nearly as much coverage as Donald Trump even though his crowds are almost always larger. His biggest crowd was probably either in Oregon or the lakes area close to 28 thousand people. Trump's biggest crowds were in Alabama and Texas, where people are much more religious and more likely to fall for cult leaders. If the public applied scrutiny to Bernie Sanders positions almost all of them would stand up; however if they scrutinized Donald Trump's positions almost all of them would fall apart, but Trump's supporters are much more inclined to base their support on emotions.

Of course the most widely covered so-called “consumer advocate” by the media is Elizabeth Warren but she probably has the greatest cult following of any Democrat as I explained in numerous posts including Elizabeth Warren is a charismatic propagandist not the Messiah and Elizabeth Warren steals credit from real grass roots efforts.

If this isn't a system that created cult followers that blindly accept the lies of their leaders it is way to damn close. As long as the most important decisions are based on lies, whoever controls the lies can control the public. Until we get Election Reform and Media Reform (Alternative Media is an Absolute Necessity!!) that enables the public to get a better education and more accurate information about all the eligible candidates then we won't have a Democracy; instead we'll continue having a Plutocracy disguised as Democracy with the establishment manufacturing cult leaders.



Additional related articles:

Armed Christian Militia Promises To Prevent Arrest Of Kim Davis 09/11/2015

Report: Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis Terrorized Staff 09/04/2015

Bernie Sanders is the best candidate that I've seen running for president in the two traditional parties in a long time; and he may be the best chance to get overdue reform; however that doesn't mean that he should be above reproach.

And he has indicated that he might agree with this, at least to an extent; which is part of the reason why he is the best candidate in the two traditional parties in a long time. He has said repeatedly that no president can get reform in Washington without grassroots support; which implies that that support might also be used to keep himself accountable. Or at least that is what I consider a reasonable interpretation of it; and whether he agrees or not if he gets elected I suspect many of his grassroots supporters will.

Some of his supporters may want to look the other way at issues, however few, that he needs to improve on; however the way he handled the Black Lives Matter protest compared with the way Hillary handled it might indicate that it has only improved his campaign and position on the issues. He was a long-time advocate for civil rights, even when Hillary was campaigning for Barry Goldwater, as a young Republican, and he was aggravated the first time they interrupted his rally; but I get the impression he strengthened his position and gained respect from Black people while Hillary lectured them and probably lost respect. Furthermore by addressing the legitimate issues they indicate that unlike his competitors he really is responding to democratic demands instead of sweeping them under the rug while giving the public propaganda and promises that will almost certainly not be kept, unless there is an enormous amount of grassroots pressure for candidates like Hillary to stand up to her campaign contributors.

One of my biggest concern about his campaign is that apparently he hasn't fill out a Project Vote Smart questionnaire; as I indicated previously Project Vote Smart should also be held accountable but at least until there is a better job application candidates should still fill out their questionnaires so voters will have a consistent way to compare candidates and a location where they can find all of them whether they collect a lot6 of campaign money and get media coverage or not. His refusal to fill out the questionnaire is ironic since he filled out the one from his 2012 race and his positions haven't changed much if at all. This includes his support for a single payer system among other things.

Another potential problem might be a recent article, Bernie Sanders Said to Be Close to Signing Fund-Raising Deal With Democratic Party, (09/02/2015) which could potentially indicate that he is relying on the old system to finance his campaign and might be helping the Democrats raise money that could potentially be used to benefit corporate contributors. It isn't clear that this is what happening but efforts should be made at the grassroots level anyway to support Election Reform that enables the public to control the interview process of candidates.

This should also include more discussion about proportionate Representation and Instant Run-Off elections which would give alternative party candidates a better chance. Regardless of who wins this election we need to reform the duopoly system that enables the Democratic and Republican Parties to trade back and forth, while both of them are controlled by multinational corporations, as I previously indicated in Invest in Activism, AND Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein and Grassroots. Getting a good representative is an important part of restoring some degree of democracy but they also need to be pressured by an informed public.

Bruce Gagnon is one of the better informed critics of Bernie Sanders for a while now and recently he expressed one of his concerns in Sanders Wants "Strongest Military in the World." (09/04/2015) Compared to most traditional politicians that actually get much if any coverage from the mass media he is much better about opposing unjust wars; however there is so much propaganda about how they're fighting to defend democracy instead of fighting for one lie after another that a shocking percentage of the public is convinced that this is justified. An argument could be made that he is catering to the wishes of the people, even if they have been indoctrinated by the media, so that he could 3educate them better once he got in office; however peace advocates would see right through this if it was made. Technically it is possible but using the same tactics that traditional politicians use isn't the way to reform the system.

Bruce Gagnon has indicated that he doesn't think it is likely that Bernie will be the nominee and that he thinks he is passing up an opportunity to inform the public about the misinformation about the military from the media and political establishment. I'm not convinced that he won't get elected and don't think it is a good idea to abandon hope even if it is difficult anymore than I think it is a good idea to look the other way about flaws in candidates that I support; however he is at least partly right about passing up an opportunity to inform the public more. But I can't help but wonder how thoroughly the public has been indoctrinated by the corporate press.

There's no doubt that an enormous number of right wing people will just get outraged if inconvenient facts are pointed out to them, as they often have; but there are also a lot of Democrats that seem to believe the lesser of two evils choice that they seem to fall for every time. One way or another if we're going to have a real Democracy we need to find a way to better educate the public and get officials elected that actually try to represent the public, instead of giving them propaganda promises that will be broken for the benefit of campaign contributors as soon as they get in office. It is extremely frustrating to see the same dilemmas over and over again.



Fortunately at least one major reformer, Kshama Sawant who is supporting Sanders; and this isn't likely to be blind support, which Sanders must know; it will be support to get him elected and reform the system, not reverse himself like many corporate puppets routinely do. the Socialist Party has expressed concerns about Bernie Sanders in the past and indicated that some of them think it is more important to expand alternative Parties. However getting one or two percent one time after another isn't going to do that and there is a major movement behind Sanders which could do much more than many people suspect. Ignoring potential problems shouldn't be done but one of those potential problems is that people bicker among themselves and that should be kept to a minimum. if it can't be avoided completely. Concerns should be expressed in constructive manners and without personal attacks.

Even though this post focuses on some of those they're far fewer than the benefits of a Sanders Presidency, or if he doesn't get elected a Jill Stein presidency. If the traditional press that is trying to rig the nomination for Hillary succeeds then this unity could go a long way to help other candidacies like Jill Stein if his grassroots support drops the Democratic Party which sells out to the same corporations as the Republican party continues to ignore the public.

Another good reason for hope is the planned march on Washington D.C. by Sanders supporters that has been growing for weeks despite the medias refusal to cover it. It was originally planned for October 17 trying to get 100,000 marchers or more but has been moved back to November 7 and they've got 121,000 RSVPs and counting so far plus many more that have expressed interest or been invited. It is unlikely that all of the RSVPs will turn into marchers, and the media will almost certainly try to spin that to make it seem like a disappointment when it turns out to be bigger than they expected and they act as if it came from no where, which they usually do about protests; however even if it is much smaller it will be far greater support than any traditional candidate has gotten in recent history.

This could be an unprecedented part of major reform; but only if enough grassroots support pressures elected officials and we elect people that want to do a good job whether the pressure is there or not, and that clearly doesn't apply to Hillary!



Bruce Gagnon expressed a few more concerns in Watching the Political Gate Keepers (09/04/2015) but if we have to chose between Jill Stein and Bernie Sanders it will be the best choice we've had since I can remember; and the more support for reformers the more education of the public that takes place.

Climate Change is one of many issues that Pope Francis has been coming out in favor of reform that is much more progressive than the political establishment. A close review of may indicate that there is an enormous amount of research to indicate that he is calling for the best interest of the majority of the public on these issues which have been the highest profile in the past couple of weeks.

However religious leaders have a long history of using appeals to emotions to convince the public to support many positions that aren't in their best interests, and at times this has included Pope Francis.

The reason why we have so many problems is because a shocking percentage of the public is taught from birth to believe what they're told from their leaders and one time after another those leaders have been betraying them. Now that Pope Francis is supporting a lot of progressive issues that stand up to scrutiny he should receive as much support as possible to get as much progress as possible with the attention that it is receiving; however those that have been working for a long time to inform the public about many of these issues should receive as much if not much more credit than he does.

And caution should be taken to avoid blindly supporting him because of the hype surrounding his visit. It shouldn't be forgotten that this is the same Church that obtained it's power through centuries of supporting tyrants and intimidating and torturing those that chose not to believe what they're told by the Church, most notably during the Inquisitions and Crusades. It wasn't that long ago that there were reports about questions that remain over his role during Argentina's dictatorship when the Church backed the military government that was involved in many of the activities he is now condemning.

While most progressives seem to agree with the Pope's support for action against pollution and Climate Change Steven Pinker, who is often considered a liberal academic, claims "Despite hype, Pope is NOT helping w climate change: Disavows the best solution." He cites a New York Times article which may seem to make sense at first but by the end it is clear that it supports market based solutions like Cap and trade that have already been tried and proven to be a disaster.

Steven Pinker also tweeted about supporting Larry Summers on The importance of global health investment; this is the same Larry Summers that once wrote a memo that said that we should export pollution. This was followed by an enormous controversy at the time and one of his defenders said he was just trying to stir up debate and didn't actually mean to do it. This might make sense if they followed up by doing what they could to prevent this policy; but instead they let the memo fade down the memory hole while Summers pursued policies that did what the memo recommended, indicating that he really meant it. His policies on health haven't been any better, yet academics like Pinker continue supporting him while being portrayed as progressive.

Some of Steven Pinker's own work is about crime including "The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined" where he reviews the history of violence and indicates that it has been declining contrary to common beliefs. this is almost certainly true although many of his statistics probably has a high margin of error; however he does a poor job considering they leading root causes of this reduction, including child abuse escalating to more violence later in life, which is a major contributing cause, but he doesn't review it much until the second half of the book and avoids or downplays any contributing causes that might implicate some of the most powerful people in the establishment. A recent tweet of his, US homicide, after 23-yr decline, will likely increase in 2015 because of post-Ferguson police handicapping, continues this pattern where he ignores root causes of crime when it challenges those with the most political power, in this case it is the police.

The article cited misrepresents the threat to police as I previously pointed out in The threat to police is greatly exaggerated; and both his book and this article avoids much discussion, or downplays, the root causes of crime including an economic system that is shipping jobs overseas and providing selective protection from police to those with the most political power. The article claims, "The irony is that the historic reduction of U.S. crime since the 1990s was predicated on police singling out African-Americans—for protection," implying that the police are responsible for the reduction in violence and the antipolice rhetoric is preventing them from doing their job; however people in minority areas know how they've been treated by the police and they're also aware of the many police shootings of minorities including many where that involve excessive force or even targeting the wrong people. He also avoids discussing how the dominant political powers are selling weapons all over the world that have maintained a permanent state of war preventing violence from decreasing even more.

This isn't a right wing academic that is easy to recognize as catering to corporate interests; Steven Pinker has been portrayed as one of the more liberal academics, including when he favored allowing his class notes to be used on line for free according to a six year old Boston Globe article FreeHarvardEducation.com Does anyone own what universities teach? (12/13/2009) Pinker is portrayed as being liberal, in this article for allowing his noted to be shared but he doesn't discuss the possibility of financing "Intellectual Property" through other means, nor does anyone else in the traditional establishment.

The same goes for many other issues including preventing war, violence in the streets, environmental damage or many other issues. The people and ideas presented by the political establishment tend to be very limited in many ways which a lot of people might not recognize. This doesn't mean that there aren't better ideas or research about many of these subjects, but the traditional media simply refuses to cover them, and the political establishment doesn't take them into consideration when making policies.

Alternative media outlets and political activists have been covering some much better research for years if not decades, but the media simply ignores them or portrays them as rabble; so unless people seek out alternative media outlets they might not know what these ideas are. These organizations also put an enormous amount of pressure on the political establishment to address these issues better, but get little if any credit, even though they do a better job researching or reporting them.

Now that the Pope is speaking out on these issues he's getting much more attention and might be portrayed as the leader that enabled action to take place, assuming the political establishment actually does start addressing some of these issues in a more effective manner.

On any given subject there is almost certainly a much better source than either the Pope or academics like Steven Pinker, who is just one of many watered down academics given more coverage than the better researchers. Jonathan Kozol, did a better job reporting on economic inequality; Alice Miller Philip Greven and others did a better job reporting on how violence at an early age escalates to more violence later; Naomi Klein and 350.org did a much better job than either of them on environmental solutions and there are plenty of peace activists that did a much better job reporting on how the dominant countries are contributing to violence in third world countries with their interference and dealing with dictators, including selling them arms that are routinely turned against us.

The Pope and many academics, on the other hand are much slower to speak out and when they do they have a tendency to down play things and mix it with complements that might not be earned for those with power. This has the result of helping to prop up the current power structure even when it isn't doing a good job at anything.

A large percentage of the public has been indoctrinated to believe that they should blindly follow their religious leaders like cult leaders, although not all of his supporters do this. Some of the supporters of the Pope have said they support him because of his positions on the issues, which implies that they might be thinking the issues through and sorting out which ones to support on their own regardless of what the Pope supports. When this happens this is not what I would call cult thinking. However, some of his other supporter make claims like, "this shows that God cares for Us," which can easily be reviewed for accuracy. If God does exist and has been working through the Church for thousands of years as religious people believe then this would be the same God that inspired the Church during the Crusades and Inquisitions when they propped up a lot of tyrants and were responsible for torturing of thousands if not millions of innocent people. It is also the Same God that inspired the Church when it supported the Argentine Junta while the Pope was a leading religious figure in that country. If this god does exist and didn't intend for these things to happen he could have easily communicated and let people know about the misunderstanding, yet he didn't clearly implying that he doesn't exist or he has other intentions that aren't nearly as benevolent as religious people believe.

Followers that believe that this "God" is benevolent without being willing to review evidence that clearly refutes their beliefs may be cult followers and all the hype that is surrounding the Pope can help to indoctrinate them. It is possible to get them to participate in productive solutions while being pointed in the right direction; but if cult leaders start pointing cult followers in the wrong direction they'll follow without question. Steven Pinker and other people from the so-called "New Atheist movement" do a much better job exposing this than most religious people but they often have other biases that don't typically involve the best interests of the majority.

The Bible warns of false prophets; however it doesn't teach people to defend against this by learning how to think rationally and recognize them before being led astray, since the false prophets look and act the same as the ones that are supposedly not false prophets.

Also the progressive issues against pollution, poverty and war among other things isn't being advanced much by the enormous amounts of hype surrounding his visit unless it is followed up by action. The security and other activities surrounding his visit costs millions of dollars and these expenses don't go to advance his causes. He's getting an enormous amount of credit for a very small amount of action to advance his causes, like feeding the poor when he visits a homeless shelter. Many people have been doing a much better job at that for a long time but they don't get nearly as much credit.

This hype does far more to control who gets the credit for reform activities than it does for the reforms themselves; and the people doing the research without much attention from the commercial media or the political establishment are doing far more to educate the public; and their work is more likely to stand up to scrutiny.

The Pope's visit could help inspire some major reforms which are beneficial to the majority but if they don't include better efforts to educate the public about how to sort through the details and recognize when they're being mislead by their leaders it could only be temporary and the same people that control the ideas people are able to consider will still be in power.

In the long run it will be more important to educate more people about how to represent themselves and stop worshiping celebrities, whether it is religious people sport figures or politicians; otherwise we might implement enough solutions to protect the interests of the elites without doing more than they have to for the poor to keep them complacent.

America’s Legal Order Begins to Fray 09/13/2015

Police Refusal to Accept Criticism And Do Their Jobs Causes Spike in Crime 09/14/2015





"In the face of the emergencies of human-induced climate change, social exclusion, and extreme poverty, we join together to declare that: Human induced climate change is a scientific reality, and its decisive mitigation is a moral and religious imperative for humanity." Pope Francis

Once again a brawl started, this time over an attempt to steal a $7 shirt, which escalated from there. There is almost always at least one petty incident that manages to turn into a major event one way or another at a Walmart somewhere in the country. This month there was also at least one shoplifting incident that led to a chase as well.

There were at least four shooting incidents at Walmart this month, including at least one that led to a death and another that was related to a murder, and at least a couple more armed robberies and an abduction and rape of two teens. they also had a SWAT raid at Walmart that led to the capture of the alleged Arizona freeway shooter. There were also at least one beating death at Walmart and another were a suspect arrested at Walmart died in custody. There was also a police officer indicted for an incident that happened at Walmart months ago.

There were at least two incidents this month involving Employee disputes, including one where a worker shoved a cart into her supervisors motorcycle, and another where the husband of a worker stabbed her coworker in an argument. Walmart has more of these incidents than the post office even though the post office get more attention and this resulted in the phrase, "going postal."

They had another recall, this time for Cucumbers that might have a risk of salmonella. This is just one of many Modern Diseases on the Rise Because of Factory Farming, yet the traditional media financed by advertising from multinational corporations practically never mentions this. Rumors also leaked that Tracy Morgan may have gotten ninety million dollars in his settlement with Walmart over his accident which might explain why he spoke out so favorably of Walmart after the settlement; however the vast majority of the public with grievances almost certainly don't get treated so well. Ordinary people don't draw nearly as much media attention as celebrities so Walmart may not be concerned about the risk to their reputation when they fight them in court.

Don't you hate it when you try to open a package in an attempted theft and accidentally stab yourself? Not that it happened to me or that I would want to admit it if it did.

If you're afraid of spiders and suspect there might be one in your pressure cooker and leave it in a Walmart parking lot don't be surprised if the bomb squad shows up in full bomb squad gear with robots to inspect the spider.

Or if a Black Widow spider shows up in grapes or other produce from Walmart that won't be unprecedented either.

Strange things happen at Wal-Mart!

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In 2006 Wake Up Wal-Mart did a study, "Is Wal-Mart Safe?" based on incidents in 2004, (PDF) about crime at Wal-Mart which showed that it increased when Wal-Marts opened up and that crime was higher at Wal-Mart than at other retailers. Since then Wal-Mart Shootings began compiling a list of gun related incidents at Wal-Mart and demonstrated that they have a large number of them, including on average more than one shooting per week somewhere in the country. In January of 2014 another study, "Rolling Back Prices and Raising Crime Rates?" provided additional statistical research indicating that Wal-Mart might be contributing to higher crime rates or at least a slowing of the decline in crime. The study found that. “on average, communities with Walmarts had 17 more property crimes and two more violent crimes per 10,000 people than those communities without Walmarts.” I reviewed this more in Wal-Mart’s crime problem, Rolling Back Safety more than prices? where I explained that although this study is helpful they could have done better with additional data that is available and I reviewed some of that. I also added my own review about why I think that Wal-Mart policies have been contributing to higher crime in a previous blog, Wal-Mart high crime rate continues un-investigaterd and have provided additional information under the author tag Walmart Crime Watch.

Stacy Mitchell has also compiled a list of other studies about Wal-Mart and how they impact society, Key Studies on Big-Box Retail & Independent Business. To the best of my knowledge Wal-Mart has done as little as they seem to get away with, often relying on rhetoric that isn't backed up with action, when it comes to addressing any of their critics concerns, including crime. For regular updates about events at Walmart through the month see Walmart Watch on twitter or check the Wal-Mart Wall; they have helped compile some of this information. The following are a list of incidents that occurred in September 2015. According to the "Is Wal-Mart Safe?" the average store in their sampling had 250 incidents per year, indicating that these are only a fraction of the crime reports at Wal-Mart, and presumably, the ones most likely to make the news on the internet nationwide. This isn't statistically representative, as the 2006 or the "Rolling Back Prices and Raising Crime Rates?" study or some of the studies cited by Stacy Mitchell; but it does provide some additional information that may help recognize how many problems there are at Wal-Mart.

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University of Wisconsin Official Explains Why Stealing From Stores Like Walmart Shouldn’t Be a Crime 08/26/2015

Decision on NC Walmart complaint in judge's hands 09/01/2015

Jersey City man exposed himself to mother, 2 kids, inside NJ Walmart, cops say 09/01/2015

Deputies: Polk woman with guns shoplifts $1,300 in Fla. Wal-Mart merchandise 09/01/2015

Dollar Tree continues to draw market share from Wal-Mart 09/01/2015

Pa. State Police Looking for Tunkhannock Walmart Burglars 09/01/2015

XX 09/0/2015

Meth materials found outside Owens Cross Roads Alabama Wal-Mart; 4 arrested 09/01/2015

Stabbing outside Lake Delton Wisc. Walmart send man to hospital; three in custody 09/02/2015

Tx. Wal-Mart Employee Impersonator Steals from Store: Police 09/02/2015

Man found dead in Walmart parking lot in Suffolk Va. 09/02/2015

Man arrested after passing counterfeit bill at Ark. Walmart 09/03/2015



Man Arrested After Leaving Baby Alone In WV Walmart Parking Lot 09/03/2015

Orange Park motorcyclist dies after crash Thursday morning near Fla. Wal-Mart 09/03/2015

Triggerman in drug-deal robbery death in Jacksonville Wal-Mart parking lot sentenced 09/04/2015

Winthrop Me. woman sues Wal-Mart over denial of health benefits for wife in 2013 09/04/2015





Judge dismissed legal complaint filed by several opponents of a planned Walmart store in Swansboro NC 09/05/2015

Police looking for two 'people of interest' in suspicious Mich. Walmart fire 09/05/2015

Suspect in Mich. Walmart fire turns himself in 09/06/2015

Douglas Ariz. Walmart reopens after bomb threat Saturday 09/06/2015



Police looking for man who robbed Walmart in Saginaw County Mich. 09/07/2015

Group protests minimum wage at East Peoria Ill. Walmart 09/07/2015



Police arrest Ephrata man accused of stealing GoPro camera from Pa. Walmart 09/08/2015

Wheelchair-bound thief makes off with firefighters’ equipment during Mich. Walmart blaze 09/08/2015

Police Searching for Suspects in Conn. Walmart Thefts 09/08/2015

Weekend roundup: 2 killed in Saginaw; Mich. Walmart robbed before Labor Day 09/08/2015

30-year-old Homeless man found dead in Kalispell Montana Walmart parking lot 09/08/2015

Father Catches Man Secretly Photographing His Daughter Inside Tx. Walmart 09/08/2015

Suffolk Va. police looking for three Walmart shoplifters 09/08/2015

Utah Man Arrested for Taking Inappropriate Pictures at Bismarck ND Wal-Mart 09/08/2015

Woman leaves child in car while stealing from local Fla. WalMart 09/08/2015

Couple Left Kids in Car to Shop at Florida City WalMart: Cops 09/08/2015

Woman found huffing under clothing rack at Pa. Wal-Mart: Police 09/09/2015

Man using lighter to open toy package starts Mich. Walmart fire, records show 09/09/2015

Police Reports: Butte woman reports threats, arrested on warrants; shoplifting at Montana Walmart; stolen motocycle 09/09/2015



New York man charged with burglarizing Pa. Walmart 09/10/2015

Booked: Former Huntsville principal, ex-wife of slain colonel charged for theft of $2,000 in Alabama Walmart 09/10/2015

Ca. Walmart theft suspect threatens guard with scissors 09/10/2015

Wal-Mart finds 'material weakness' in controls over accounting of leases 09/10/2015

Driver faces charges after hitting woman, child in Salem Va. Walmart parking lot 09/11/2015

Burglarized credit card used at Manchester Conn. Walmart 09/11/2015

Police send Nevada Wal-Mart car fatality case to district attorney 09/11/2015

Woman robbed leaving Walmart store in Toms River, Pa. suspects sought 09/12/2015

Ca. Walmart shoplifting suspect wields Taser 09/12/2015

Vandals use construction equipment to mess with inside of new Warrior Way Colorado Wal-Mart 09/13/2015

Wal-Mart suppliers claim squeeze from warehouse fees (Video) 09/14/2015

Chicopee Mass. police: Springfield man arrested for shoplifting at Walmart was in possession of crack cocaine 09/14/2015

Man Assaulted Outside Fort Worth Tx. Wal-Mart in June Dies: Police 09/14/2015



Police looking for Va. Walmart shoplifter 09/15/2015



OPD: Man attempted to steal TVs from Fla. Wal-Mart 09/15/2015



Teen Accused of Exposing Himself to Customers Inside Burlington, New Jersey Walmart 09/16/2015

Rollover crash closes multiple lanes of Bay near Mich. Walmart; road now open 09/16/2015

Suspect wanted for following mother, daughter at Lawrenceburg Tenn. Walmart charged with stalking 09/17/2015

Missing woman from Fort Pierce last seen with unknown man at Fla. Walmart 09/16/2015

Rotterdam NY Police investigating Walmart purse theft 09/16/2015

Saginaw woman assaulted at Mich. Wal-Mart while seeking job 09/16/2015

Walmart partners with Oklahoma Lottery to offer ticket kiosks 09/16/2015

Chicago Ill. Wal-Mart worker group splits in two; both sides vow to continue wage fight 09/17/2015

Abandoned puppy found in Ferguson Missouri Wal-Mart donation box 09/17/2015

Metro woman thankful to be okay after robbery at Okla. Walmart 09/17/2015

Person of interest sought in armed robbery at Farmington's West NM Walmart 09/17/2015

3 arrested for armed robbery of Kokomo Ind. Wal-Mart 09/17/2015





Walmart shopper fractures toe after clerk fails to double-bag groceries, $65k suit says 09/18/2015

State Police are looking for identification of suspect in retail theft at Walmart Super Center in Tunkhannock Pa. 09/18/2015

Two men sought for credit card fraud at Fla. Walmart and McDonald's 09/18/2015

Man steals from Missouri Walmart to support crystal meth addiction, police allege 09/18/2015

City mother who used her kids to steal from Pa. Wal-Mart will spend 2-5 years in prison 09/18/2015

Fired Wal-Mart workers had a right to defend themselves, Utah’s high court says 09/18/2015

Man arrested in Crookston Minn. Wal-Mart parking lot after 'rolling domestic' report received 09/18/2015

Attacker steals man's concealed handgun in Oregon Walmart bathroom, police say 09/18/2015
Man involved in car-wash crash linked to Oregon Walmart restroom robbery 09/25/2015



Driver flees after hitting two people in Walmart lot in Raleigh NC 09/19/2015

Clinton Mississippi Walmart robbed 09/20/2015

Police: Woman attacked Wal-Mart guard, manager 09/20/2015

Fire at Wal-Mart Store in Monroe County Pa. 09/21/2015



Secaucus police find needle on man shoplifting from NJ Walmart, cops say 09/21/2015

Two things wrong with Walmart 09/21/2015

Two north St. Louis County men charged with robbing Missouri Walmart in St. Charles 09/21/2015

Man, 75, dies after being hit by truck in Tenn. Walmart parking lot 09/21/2015

Police looking for suspect in Spokane Valley Washington Walmart robbery 09/21/2015

Anchorage Alaska police investigate stabbing near midtown Wal-Mart 09/21/2015

Man set fire inside Walmart, Casselberry Fla. police say 09/22/2015

Forbes: What Wal-Mart Can Learn From Market Basket 09/22/2015

Salem Va. police deem Walmart safe, lock-downs lifted at Salem HS after bomb threat 09/22/2015

No buses, only pestering homeless, at Fla. Wal-Mart shelter 09/22/2015

Walmart meeting opposition in Poquoson Va. 09/22/2015

Man arrested after found with hemp at Ky. Walmart 09/2/2015

Wal-Mart awards Marshall Police Department $2,500; money will help support National Night Out 09/23/2015

Florida deputies install crime-prevention kiosks in Walmart stores 09/23/2015 The machines show digital images of people wanted for various crimes in the area, including thefts from Walmart.

Forbes: Why Mark Cuban is saying Walmart is ‘in for a nightmare’ 09/23/2015 A patent infringement lawsuit for hoverboards

Newark woman shoplifts from Bayonne NJ Walmart, cops say 09/23/2015



Wal-Mart presses suppliers to share benefits of cheaper yuan 09/23/2015

Police: St. Augustine man tried to sell narcotics in Fla. Wal-Mart parking lot 09/23/2015

Baby found dead in car in Macedonia Ohio Walmart parking lot 09/23/2015



Mount Laurel NJ residents: Wal-Mart broke promise, started construction 09/24/2015

Apple's ad-blocking move causes big problems for retailers like Walmart 09/24/2015

Arrest made in NC $1K Walmart theft 09/24/2015

Man charged with robbery with airsoft gun at NC Walmart 09/25/2015

Pair arrested for stealing from Milford Conn. Walmart 09/25/2015



Plainview Tx. police investigating noon shooting at Walmart 09/25/2015

Former Cranberry couple pleads guilty to Pa. Walmart 'shoulder surfing' ID thefts 09/25/2015

Police: Man, girlfriend arrested for taking woman's purse at Rock Hill SC Walmart 09/25/2015

Walmart Pulls Offensive "Little Amigo" Child's Halloween Costume Off Website 09/25/2015

Women steal two 40-inch TVs from Conn. Wal-Mart 09/26/2015

Wal-Mart hasn’t figured out how to sell a crucial product, Groceries 09/26/2015

Police seek public's help to ID Cumberland County Pa. Wal-Mart theft suspects 09/2/2015



Rockslide Damages Walmart In Breathitt County KY. 09/28/2015

Walmart doubles down on renewable energy with Tx. wind deal 09/28/2015

Augusta police ID suspects in Saturday theft at Me. Wal-Mart 09/28/2015





Poquoson Va. neighbors worry over possible Walmart development plans 09/28/2015

Razor blade bandit targets Fla. Walmarts on Treasure Coast 09/29/2015

Pa. man allegedly caught masturbating in Walmart parking lot 09/28/2015



Woman found dead in SUV at Walmart in Royal Palm Beach Fla. 09/29/2015

Wal-Mart removes controversial 'Little Amigo' kids Halloween costume from website 09/29/2015

Police search for man involved in robbery of SW Oklahoma City Walmart 09/30/2015

Montana Walmart jail plan thwarted 09/30/2015

Drone Popularity Puts Walmart on the Spot 09/30/2015

When Occam's Razor isn't being misused it could be a rational method to review far fetched claims; unfortunately the most common use of it is to jump to absolute conclusions even though that was never what Occam's Razor intended.

The most common variation of Occam's Razor is: "The simplest explanation is usually the correct one." However this wasn't the original quote although it is close and has the same intention. The following is the original according to Wikipedia:



This clearly does not say that other possibilities shouldn't be considered; and it acknowledges the possibility that if the simplest theory is proven wrong then it might be rational to move to the second or third simplest theory. Nor does it say anything about pretending inconvenient evidence doesn't exist at all. If it did then it would be easy to recognize as pseudo-science. However this is exactly how many so-called skeptics treat it.

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Religious people have a long history of ending debate by claiming that unexplained mysteries are "God's will" pseudo-skeptics have a long history of ending debate by saying that can't be true "because of Occam's Razor."

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At the same time many believers often make many claims that are not only absurd but factually flawed where Occam's Razor or other rational skeptical claims really would be justified. From a reasonable skeptical point of view the temptation to ridicule such beliefs should be resisted when possible. Turning Occam's Razor into a pseudo-skeptic tactic wouldn't be helpful in this case and could even play into the hands of fringe believers and scam artists, if people recognize the flawed logic of the pseudo-skeptic and decide to trust the flawed logic of the fringe believer.

There has been an enormous amount of research over the decades into UFOs however the highest profile media coverage that has been presented to the public has been almost useless since it gives plenty of time for fringe believers to present seriously flawed theories that are often full of false facts, mixed in with legitimate unsolved mysteries, and skeptics that often make almost as many blunders as the fringe believers and instead of trying to sort out the legitimate unsolved mysteries so they can be solved they often stereotype them all and ridicule them together.

Most of the coverage of past UFO incidents in the mainstream media only covers one incident at a time and treats it with ridicule, although there are very few of those anymore, at least that is the way they treat it in the mainstream news. However there are plenty of UFO shows on the History Channel, Science Channel, National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel and more; these shows often cover more incidents at a time but the coverage is seriously flawed and it is hard to believe that they're even trying to do a good job.

The best coverage of past incidents are often in older books or reports from when there were more people that actually tried to do a good job covering the subject or web sites that list many of these reports, however some of them are also mixed in with claims that probably should be considered fringe or unreliable. I provided a long list of reports and related links including those to both UFO researchers ranging from the most rational to the fringe believers along with skeptics, including many that seem more like pseudo-skeptics in UFOs and related links.

A couple of the most comprehensive include The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, by Edward J. Ruppelt who was the head of Project Blue Book and other government investigation agencies and actually took the subject seriously and The Condon Report which was headed by Edward Condon who was chosen to head an investigation because he was supposedly unbiased. However critics have raised doubts about his lack of biased for several reasons including his claim that UFO were "nonsense," before beginning his investigation and added, "but I'm not supposed to reach that conclusion for another year." These critics claim that is the reason why his report came to conclusions that allegedly weren't supported by the information within the report. If you ask so-called experts whether the contents of this report actually support the conclusions the answer might depend on which side of the debate they're on; however after reading several reports from the government I have noticed that it isn't uncommon for them to do just that and the most important material is often buried where most people including the highest profile reporters won't notice.

I discussed additional evidence of major unsolved mysteries in Why so few arrests for Crop Circles makers? Is there microwave evidence? and 107 Wonders of the Ancient World. In the case of the crop circles the evidence linking them to UFOs is based on testimony from a relatively small number of witnesses, assuming there aren't many more that the media is ignoring, and in the case of the ancient wonders of the \world it is difficult if not impossible to find hard evidence linking them to UFOs since they happened so long ago and the circumstances weren't well recorded. However experiments discussed in previous posts clearly indicate that the official explanation for how they were moved hasn't been replicated and it is almost certainly false. this means that either they are related to the UFOs or that they're a totally different unsolved mystery; but many theorists have claimed that they also certainly are a result of an unknown advanced intelligence of some sort.

If the skeptic's claims are true then they need to explain a lot of unsolved mysteries to maintain their claims; otherwise it seems justifiable to at least consider other theories, although using Occam's Razor it would be inappropriate to jump to the most bizarre conclusions. This includes time travel theories which often come up, but they always face one paradox or another that almost certainly indicates they're impossible. It may also include many theories about wormholes or alternative universes, which to the best of my knowledge is based purely on speculation, often coming from unreliable sources.

This means that either we need to find another explanation for all these unsolved mysteries that doesn't involve an unknown advanced intelligence or one that does. If it involves an unknown advanced intelligence that is from this planet how could they remain hidden. If it involves an unknown advanced intelligence that isn't from this planet we need to figure out where it came from and how it might have gotten here and what they're trying to accomplish. It will still be necessary to explain how they remained hidden, but their development would have taken place elsewhere so they would have a much easier time remaining hidden, although the fact that they haven't opened up a line of communication probably indicates their motives one way or another, assuming they exist.

Either way explanations to some of these unsolved mysteries will almost certainly have to get more complicated than some advocates for one theory or another might want to admit. It might be worth remembering that the theory of evolution isn't simple at all although the basic principle might seem that way.

Ironically the vast majority of speculation about interstellar travel involves technology that will be necessary to send people into space and keep them alive. However, even though the NASA missions that do involve sending people into space get the most coverage they're only a small fraction of what NASA does and if you track what they say enough it is clear that it is much more efficient to send automated crafts into space and that relying on computers to conduct many activities is much more common.

If it is possible to travel the enormous distances between solar distances it will be extremely difficult and will almost certainly require best technology from a variety of fields, including propulsion, computer technology, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and much more, perhaps even including genetic engineering and many other fields that are currently being developed at surprising rates, although they're usually only reported as one advancement at a time and most people don't realize how fast scientific knowledge has been advancing over the past several decades.

A theory that relies on known technology with reasonable speculation about how they might advanced in the relatively near future will almost certainly be more credible than one that makes w2ild assumptions based mostly on speculation, often contradicting known science. If it is possible for the scientific community to develop this technology then presumably it would be possible for another advanced intelligence that has been developing longer to have done it much sooner, and theoretically they could have used it to get here.

Both Project Orion and Project Daedalus involve relatively known technology that could send automated space craft to other solar systems assuming people were willing to invest enough in it and wait long enough for them to travel for decades if not hundreds or even thousands of years before reaching their arrival. Both these projects, if they work according to plan could reach 10-20% of the speed of light. Some people theorize that more advanced research could theoretically develop technology that could reach 50-80% of the speed of light. Anyone familiar with the Inertia Principal would realize that once they get up to speed they will be able to maintain speed in a vacuum indefinitely assuming there is no resistance; however once they get to their destination they would have to reverse their momentum so they would the same amount of energy to slow down with known technology.

Additional technology has also been developed to create a Gravity assist while passing large planets; presumably if this was developed more it could provide additional assistance in propulsion either speeding up or slowing down.

This technology hasn't been put to the test and proven to work but an enormous amount of preliminary research has been done; and it is reasonable to assume that some form of automated interstellar travel might be possible; however this wouldn't enable transport of advanced life which would require much more technology to keep that life alive and would be difficult if not impossible.

The most advanced computer technology, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and other technologies could also be helpful in sending a long-range space craft to another solar system but unless science develops much further it is unlikely that much if any large commutes or invasions would be possible; it may not even be possible to develop technology like the science fiction stories at all even with the most advanced science after millions of years of research.

James Hansen, one of NASA's most respected researchers on Climate Change created a similar science fiction scenario at the end of his book, "Storms of my Grandchildren." He starts by saying Even though science fiction isn’t my area of expertise, I use the following scenario as a clarion call, and goes on to describe a scenario where an advanced civilization manages to travel to Earth with similar technology that I described. He does assume additional technology will be developed beyond what has already been developed but he seems to keep it within reason that might not include any theories that will never be possible, unlike many fringe theorists or science fiction writers more interested in a dramatic story than realistic science.

He also speculates about the possibility that technology could develop well enough so that a robot with artificial intelligence could operate the spaceship until it gets close to Earth then he could develop life out of DNA samples that would be developed either shortly before arrival or after arrival at the destination and the robot could serve as a surrogate parent. His intention wasn't to develop a science fiction story to advanced an alien transport theory; it was to try to warn people about the damage that Climate Change is doing and convince them to act before it was too late. However intentionally or not he provided what I consider a relatively realistic explanation about how life could travel to different solar system with credible technology that might turn out to be accurate.

The entire book including the relatively short science fiction story at the end is available at James Hansen "Storms of my Grandchildren" [PDF] - Free

Colonel Philip Corso went a step further and claimed that he received access to technology that was retrieved at Roswell and helped distribute it to corporations that developed a lot of the new technology that has been coming out over the past five decades in his book "The Day After Roswell." Like most if not all high profile reports on UFOs this book has some problems, including his cold war beliefs, which are almost certainly distorted, although he might have actually believed them even if they didn't prove to be accurate. And of course he was accused of fabricating his story by many high profile people including UFO researchers Kevin Randle and Stanton Friedman. A close look at just about all high profile research almost always turns up problems including both Corso's books and the efforts to debunk him.

However this should raise other questions about why neither side seems to correct often incredibly simple mistakes. In Why so few arrests for Crop Circles makers? I speculated about the possibility that there might be an effort to "Recruit a group of crackpots" to disclose accurate information through sources that might not seem reliable and release inaccurate information through sources that are considered credible. This hypothesis was based partly on a semi-fictional version of the Roswell incident where Martin Sheen plays a spy that follows Jesse Marcel around. As bizarre as this sounds if it is true it would explain why virtually none of the high profile coverage of UFOs on either side has much credibility. It would also mean that only those that spend an enormous amount of time sorting through the details have a chance of coming close to the truth about what is going on.

Also if the skeptics are right then why don't they express much concerns about the amount of coverage that the media is giving to some of these fringe conspiracy theorists? Many of the best researchers can't get much if any coverage on this subject or any other subject in the traditional media yet the fringe conspiracy theorists and flawed skeptics get plenty of time on the History Channel. This isn't limited to UFO coverage; the political activity in campaigns is now almost as absurd if not more absurd as UFO coverage; and this began before Donald Trump ran for president, and even before the 2010 Tea Party fringe candidates got an enormous amount of coverage while the media ignored rational grassroots candidates.

Absurd things are now standard operating procedure.



Skeptics have been promoting stereotypes about conspiracy theories for so long that they act as if none of them have any credibility; yet if there are no far fetched explanations to UFOs as they seem to believe then doesn't it seem as if there must be an enormous conspiracy to make it seem as if there is?

Some additional information about Corso's claims are available at Colonel Philip Corso and his Critics and Roswell - Colonel Philip Corso Interview. Philip Corso isn't the only one that claims that there has been reverse engineering going on, there are plenty of other people making similar claims in low profile news outlets that report about UFOs; the most prominent other one that I know of is Bob Lazar; however he also has his own credibility problems and Stanton Friedman has also argued that he is a fraud. From what I've seen of Bob Lazar he does seem to have more credibility problems that Philip Corso; but it does seem odd that Stanton Friedman is so concerned about debunking the concept of reverse engineering and occasionally using the same tactics that he has criticized when UFO skeptics use them against him.

It seems reasonable for a good researcher to be concerned about bad researchers that might give UFO research a bad name; however it is also reasonable to assume that if the government did retrieve alien technology that they would try to study it and replicate it. Stanton Friedman has claimed that he does believe that there was a crash at Roswell and that the government retrieved bodies and technology and has been one of the leading investigators claiming this. If Corso's and Lazar's claims are flawed why wouldn't he consider a more rational scenario where the government made at least some effort to reverse engineer as much as they could? This would make sense but instead he is almost completely refuting all reverse engineering claims.

On some occasions Stanton Friedman seems to use some of the same tactics he has previously attributed to skeptics when trying to debunk Philip Corso, including "If one can’t attack the data, attack the people. It is easier." On the "Day After Roswell" episode of the UFO files he spent more time trying to discredit Corso than he did trying to address some of the data, and at one point even claimed that his citation of the alleged MJ-12 documents was a copy of his own work, as if he should have copyrights to control how it is used. He was the highest profile researcher to look into them, but they were apparently given to at least one other researcher, Linda Moulton Howe, before Philip Corso claimed he had access to them at one point.

However, as I said Philip Corso does have some credibility problems and his coauthor is even worse. Bill Birnes went on to host UFO Hunters with an enormous amount of hype and flawed investigation, at one point he even claimed that he considered a hollow moon hypothesis viable, without making any attempt to acknowledge that it would contradict the most basic principles of physics and geology. Unfortunately this is typical of high profile UFO research, which is what makes the "Recruit a Group of Crackpots" hypothesis seem realistic.

Another catch 22 which is rarely considered is that if the claims about reverse engineering are partially true then it means that aliens must have been able to get here one way or another. If these claims aren't true then it means that an enormous amount of technology has developed in a surprisingly short time over the last fifty years. The human race evolved over hundreds of thousands, if not millions or even billions of years; but the industrial revolution only took a couple of hundred years and advances computers, cloning, DNA manipulation, even technology where handicapped people were able to use computers hooked up to their brain to move automated programs and geoengineering, exploring the solar system happened much faster. This is rapidly demonstrating an enormous amount of potential that could include our own ability to travel through space. And if these advances continue to happen then unlike James Hansen science fiction hypothesis where people from the planet Claron had to continue develop for another half a billion years before they could use this technology it seems like a reasonable possibility with this rapid development that we might be able to do it in a few more hundred or thousand years.

Unless of course we destroy the environment as James Hansen is warning us not to do; and the most powerful political people clearly seem to be trying to do just that thanks to what appears to be an insane political and fiscal ideology that is designed to consolidate all their political power and money so they can get it all while the rest of society falls apart.

With or without advanced technology from aliens we're developing science at a fast rate and using new advances for insane purposes, and even if you think this hypothesis is insane it seems reasonable to agree with James Hansen's warning and stop the destruction of the planet.If that doesn't happen then we won't come close to developing the technology James Hansen speculates about on the planet Claron before we destroy ourselves.

Is this theory starting to seem like the simplest one that should be chosen according to Occam's Razor?

Perhaps not; or at least it doesn't seem like it would be the most credible one. However in order for other theories to be viable from a scientific point of view they need to explain all the related unsolved mysteries. If the ancient megaliths or crop circles or many other unsolved mysteries aren't related to UFOs then an explanation for the UFOs doesn't need to address them but other explanations will still be needed to solve those mysteries; and if skeptics have to rely on ridicule or ignore inconvenient facts to explain them then other theories should at least be considered.

If skeptics don't do this then why shouldn't they simply accept the oldest and most common explanation for just about everything, "It's God's will." This sounds like the simplest explanation and I can't imagine why more religious people don't use Occam's Razor to argue in it's favor. But of course simply saying "It's God's will" when ever they can't explain an unsolved mystery doesn't explain anything and is unscientific. Why would it be acceptable to refute everything by simply saying "that must be false because of Occam's Razor," often accompanied by an enormous amount of ridicule and circular argument that doesn't address important unsolved mysteries?



In order to figure out which theory really is the simplest then it will be necessary to organize them all and ensure that they all explain related unsolved mysteries then the simplest one that actually does this should be chosen, at least until a better one comes along. There also needs to be more sincere efforts to review science, which there isn't. This includes the incompetent coverage of The Big Bang which is a Political Theory Disguised as Science as I explained in a previous post. If you applied Occam's Razor to the Big Bang verses the Steady State theory it seems like it would be more rational to consider the possibility that the doppler effect might be less reliable when it comes to checking galaxies more than 2 and a half million light years away, therefore as Fred Hoyle claimed, the Steady State is by far the simplest hypothesis and it has fewer flaws if any; however the big bang seems to have more political support.

The commercial media has been trying to rig the primary election for Hillary since Obama won reelection in 2012 by starting to portray her as the front runner and the leading choice of voters. This was a time when the vast majority of voters weren't even thinking about who should be next; after all it is only political junkies that start pondering about the next election as soon as one is over.

They polled people that were hardly paying attention and didn't have strong preferences, so it was virtually guaranteed that they would make choices based primarily on name recognition; however by repeating the results over and over again they were clearly trying to present her as the presumptive nominee long before voters had any real say or chance to review candidates. They compounded this by simply refusing to cover any other potential candidate in a serious manner.

Ironically the evidence of their attempts to rig the coverage is even stronger against at least the four other leading Democratic candidates in the primary and probably more. This includes the three that were allowed to participate in the debates and Lawrence Lessig who wasn't. It is also even more obvious by the enormous amount of preferential treatment given to Joe Biden who isn't even running. If they're going to allow anyone to have enough coverage challenge Clinton by choice it will clearly be another establishment candidate that won't challenge the status quo!

It doesn't include dozens if not hundreds of other candidates that most people have never heard of who have declared they're running for president. The reason the public never heard of these people is because the media refuses to report on them. The Constitution doesn't say anything about excluding them, nor do they say that those that don't collect bribes thinly disguised as campaign contributions will not be eligible to run for president. However, for all practical purposes that is exactly the system the political parties, the media and multinational corporations is trying to impose on us.

In all fairness some of the candidates listed are satires, and ironically on the rare occasions that the media does mention these candidates they focus on the satires; however if they wanted to sort them out and figure out which ones are reasonably sincere, they could with a small fraction of the resources they use for propaganda.

But somehow Bernie Sanders managed to get much more attention from the grass roots and is now considered the winner of the debate; and Hillary Clinton is now switching positions on many issues, at least for the duration of the campaign to adopt Bernie's' positions.



It is virtually guaranteed that if the media and political establishment do manage to rig the election for Hillary she won't stick with her newfound positions any more than Obama kept many of his promises. It is hard to believe that Wall Street gave her all those donations and speaking fees over the years because they thought she would renege on any promises she might have made them behind closed doors.

How often do traditional candidates betray their campaign contributors in order to keep election promises to voters?

This doesn't appear to have happened because the media wanted to cover Bernie Sanders and if he didn't build up an enormous amount of grassroots support over the decades starting at the local level it is virtually guaranteed that they would have rigged the coverage so that he never would have had a chance to get this attention either.

When he first announced his candidacy they only provided a token amount of coverage for it, which was typical of the coverage they provided for him in the past. It wasn't until he got lots of grassroots support and they pressured the media to provide a minimal amount of coverage that they typically provide any coverage at all. On the rare occasions where grassroots candidates actually win elections, mostly at the local level the media has no choice but to cover them.

They're not even doing a good job pretending that this system is remotely democratic anymore, at least not if their target audience is paying much if any attention at all. In the 2008 election the Clinton Campaign got caught red handed planting a question now Jeb Bush appears to have been caught or at least one of his aides acting on his behalf. These kind of tricks are becoming standard operating procedure and they're so obvious that they can't even hide it anymore. The fact that they do these things doesn't seem to be the exception, the exception appears to be when they get caught.

Attempts to rig the debates or at least keep them to a minimum by Debbie Wasserman Schultz were even blown wide open by Tulsi Gabbard.

If they can't do a better job than this pretending to represent the public without actually doing so and enough people wake up then this could mean the greatest chance to elect a real reformer since I can remember.

The media has been telling for quite a while that Hillary Clinton is winning the polls, among African Americans, against Bernie Sanders by wide margins.

I don't know how reliable these polls are; but I know that there is an enormous amount of evidence to show that Hillary Clinton and her husband have done a terrible job representing them and they're a major part of the reason for the massive incarceration of blacks and shipping jobs overseas among many other things.

When Bill Clinton was president he spent a fair amount of time in black churches and buttered them up a lot and Hillary Clinton is following up with a lot of promises as well; but like everything else her history doesn't back it up at all.

Hillary Clinton has also been best friends with Alice Walton who continues to be one of her best supporters. She is, of course, one of the leading owners of Walmart which has been shipping jobs overseas as part of their efforts to drive wages down for the entire working class, including blacks. Her husband has been one of the leading supporters of globalization that also ships jobs overseas and corporate control of schools,often through Charter Schools but also by encouraging them to rely on corporate advertising which has been proven to interfere dramatically with education. This has impacted lowest income people including blacks the worst.

It should be incredibly obvious that businesses that want to expand and maximize their profits shouldn't be in charge of prison systems since they have a built in incentive to try not to reduce recidivism; but that doesn't seem to stop many of the Republican campaign contributors or Hillary's. The following two articles demonstrate just how terrible she and her husband have been on skyrocketing prison policies and privatization of the prisons:





This is just one of many issues that she has flip flopped on. She also flip flopped on TPP, the Keystone pipeline, immigration, and many other issues and to the best of my knowledge she still isn't making any effort to advocate for Single Payer Health care, nor has she demonstrated any interest in ending arms sales to countries around the world, including many weapons that will almost certainly be turned against us, if things continue happening as they have in the past.



Many of the issues that impact all of us impact those at the bottom of the social and economic ladder the most since they get the worst of it. Minorities, including blacks often have the least job opportunities when jobs are shipped overseas, they wind up with the most pollution when many of the power plants go to those with the least political power, and they often wind up fighting the wars based on lies due to lack of other opportunities.

Her support for corporate interests, at the expense of the majority especially African Americans isn't something new; she supported Barry Goldwater and before that Nixon when she was in school and went into politics immediately afterwards. It's hard to imagine she knew back then that she could be preparing for a run for the presidency but posturing is standard operating procedure in politics and she must have known that back then.



It should be clear which of the two can be trusted more to do what they promise; one of them has a history of doing it the other has a history of spinning.



If these polls giving Hillary a big lead are even close it is only because instead of trying to educate the public with accurate information about their position on issues, the media and political establishment is flooding the airwaves with enormous amounts of propaganda that ignore the most important facts and makes all kind of promises that they almost certainly have no intention of keeping. This is exactly what they did when they gave Barack Obama an enormous amount of good press in 2008 and 2012; then when it came time to keep his promises he broke on after another unless there was an enormous outcry, then he scaled back slightly on efforts to break promises at least until people aren't paying attention.

If alternative media outlets manage to inform the public about how unreliable the media is and how typical establishment candidates routinely betray the vast majority, and ensure that people are able to vote and have their votes counted then establishment candidates, including Hillary Clinton will ahve little or no chance of winning.

Violence is starting to happen at Trump rallies on a semi-regular basis but there is no more than a token amount of news coverage about most incidents, which are treated as isolated. However there is good reason to believe that Trump's rhetoric is attracting racist people and encouraging them to participate in violence and cult-like activity.

On at least a couple of times even his security guards have been involved in it, yet there is little or no consideration of possible charges against them, and in one case they even claimed they were considering charges against one of their victims after he tried to retrieve a sign stolen by a security guard.

The most recent incident that I know of is when protesters interrupted a rally last week in Virginia:



This was covered live on CNN and several other stations when it happened; however the details didn't come out until the next day. The live coverage didn't include any of the protests, instead it almost appeared as if there was an unexplained rant rooting for Donald Trump.

People that haven't been paying attention for a while might not know but this has been common practice when protesters speak out at a rally for a candidate. Someone who has probably been advised to watch for these protests starts a chant to drown out the protest then all the supporters of the candidate join in making it seem like there is a spontaneous chant supporting him. This enables them to prevent protesters from getting any attention or being heard and the security guards can come in and haul the protesters away. Then they can resume with loyal support.

Mitt Romney used this tactic often in 2012 and so have other candidates. This works very well in a crowd full of blind supporters who often have many characteristics of a cult.

There is rarely if ever any attempt to prosecute the supporters when they steal signs shove protesters and even spit on them.

Nor is it even widely reported. The vast majority of these incidents don't seem to get much if any coverage from the traditional media; and when they do report one of them they treat it like an isolated incident and quickly forget it. Think Progress is one of the alternative media outlets that does a much better job compiling information some of which is listed in an article citing this incident and providing a list of quite a few more with additional links in Trump Rally Turns Violent As His Supporters Push And Spit On Immigrant Advocates. 10/15/2015 The total number of incidents they list is probably over a dozen and since they don't have the resources to track them all there are probably many more that they haven't reported.

The traditional media has much more resources but they don't seem to even want to cover it. Instead they're providing a massive subsidy for the Trump campaign by giving him such an enormous amount of coverage for free. This clearly indicates that despite all the claims that he is an "anti-establishment" candidate he has enormous support from the establishment and that also means they're indirectly responsible for his incitement of violence.



One of the few incidents that they did cover, at least for a little while was when Trump's security guard stole a sign from a protester and even punched him when he tried to retrieve his own property at the beginning of September, but they didn't even consider the possibility that the guard should be charged with a crime.



I don't know whether the security guards or traditional media are aware but the first amendment is supposed to protect free speech in this country, not just for the wealthy, traditional media and political establishment but for everyone.

Many people may think that this kind of disruption might be annoying or rude but if they had equal opportunity to get their point across they would almost certainly be much less common. Over ninety if not ninety-five percent of the traditional media is now controlled by six conglomerates that don't allow many views to get any coverage at all; and the traditional political establishment also ignores the same views so it isn't surprising that those that want to raise important issues resort to disrupting events, which they wouldn't have to if they had other ways of getting their views across.

In most cases the protesters are less violent than the racists that Trump is inciting or his own security guards, who do more to disrupt security when they punch people trying to retrieve their own sign after security steals it, which they should be prosecuted for.

When Donald Trump failed to correct man who calls Obama Muslim (09/17/2015) the media made a big deal out of it, which is justified; but when something even more disruptive like shoving spitting stealing signs and racial slurs happen, sometimes by his own guards, they remain silent, most of the time.

However one of the exceptions was when Trump had Jorge Ramos thrown out of his news conference, and even then most of the media misrepresented it. One of the rare reports that did a better job covering it was the following:



The vast majority of the coverage never mentioned that Trump only allowed him to return after other reporters started asking why he wouldn't take his questions. Instead many of them implied he allowed him back to be a good sport or something like that, not that he did so only reluctantly.

Another major problem that wasn't even discussed is that Donald Trump is essentially a job applicant asking the American people for a job as the leader of their country.

Why should this job applicant have authoritarian control over who gets to attend the press conference and ask questions? If any other job applicant, from a dishwasher to high paid computer programmer or doctor acted that way would they be seriously considered for the job?

This outrageous behavior from a job applicant and those working for him shouldn't be accepted under any circumstances especially the most important job in the country yet only political jobs where the public are expected to vote on who is hired accepts this.

In a Democracy this might not be quite as simple since millions of people vote for the person who gets the job but the next best thing would be if the media or some other institution accountable to the public controls the interview process. That's not the situation we have now the consolidated media isn't accountable to the public and they do an awful job. When a reporter actually does better than most then he is treated like this.

Unfortunately many Americans were raised from birth, as I explained previously in Dobson’s Indoctrination Machine to blindly follow their leaders in a cult-like manner and this also leads to escalating violence as also indicated in the following article:



This article does a fairly good job describing the characteristics of Donald Trump's cult-like supporters but it does little to explain how they became that way. I attempted to explain that more in the previous post about James Dobson and in Cause and Effect of Hatred where I attempted to explain that adult behavior is established in early childhood and if nothing is done to correct early abuse then it could lead to indoctrination bigotry and violence instead of developing critical thinking skills that enable them to tell the difference between those that are raising legitimate issues and incredibly obvious con artists.

Donald Trump is the most obvious con artist the media has ever provided this much coverage for in a presidential election; this seems far more like a satire or reality TV show than a serious campaign, as even Jeb Bush points out. However this isn't new, George W. Bush's campaign and many others in recent history also seem like incredibly obvious satires.

Jeb Bush, or should I say John Ellis Bush, which is his real name, is probably more upset that he's losing to an even greater satire than his own family than he is he is concerned about the campaign turning into a reality TV show, which he approves when it benefits his family.

The more appropriate use of the JEB acronym should almost certainly be Just Elect Bernie, this year but that is besides the point.

The Think Progress article cited previously points out some similarity between the activities at Trump rallies and when "xenophobic rhetoric" was present "when right-wing extremism emerged in eastern Germany," or for that matter when Hitler was rising to power, although Donald Trump is no Adolf Hitler and it is virtually out of the question that it would escalate to that level. However Donald Trump is adopting many of the characteristics that enabled Hitler's rise. Fortunately, as I explained in previous posts, a major part of the cause of escalating violence is child abuse and corporal punishment leading to escalating violence and support for authoritarian tyrants like Hitler; and since changes in child rearing often associated with Benjamin Spock or other child rearing experts violence has dropped dramatically and the percentage of the public likely to fall for this rhetoric has also dropped.



The media has reported little or none of the psychology behind this; and it may be because they're providing an enormous amount of propaganda to manipulate the public themselves. Whether they understand it or not by providing an enormous amount of coverage making it seem like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the inevitable front runners they set the stage so that Hillary Clinton could be the new lesser of two evils and more rational people might not dare to allow a fanatic like Donald Trump to get elected enabling the media to rig another election, regardless of how much damage this does to society when they do this every four years and economic, environmental and social destruction continues to escalate for all but the wealthy who appear out of touch with reality.

Eli Roth's "Fear Buried Alive" claims to be a research project to study the reactions of the three people that they buried alive with their consent, presumably with peer review from other psychologists to ensure they abide by what they consider appropriate guidelines; however it is virtually guaranteed that there is another objective behind it; and the sociology and psychology community have a track record of studying people without full disclosure.

A large portion of the past research projects to study a large variety of situations including psychological manipulation has been published in locations that are available to the general public as well as the academic community; however the vast majority of the public doesn't know what to look for or where, nor do they have the time to sort through the details and find out how this could be, and is being used to manipulate people, creating political propaganda or psychological manipulation for advertising purposes, that often scam consumers.

A sample of the sources that describe many of the interlocking research projects that sociologists and psychologists do on people without full disclosure are listed below; and this isn't the first time Eli Roth has been involved in one of them which I reviewed previously in Eli Roth and Milgram's Obedience to Authority experiments much more extensive than most people realize. Whether Eli Roth knows it or not the Obedience to Authority experiments were done with the support of the Office of Naval Research who have a motive to study the most effective ways to obtain obedience from their recruits, which is the opposite of what Milgram claimed he was trying to accomplish. The Office of Naval Research also directly funded Philip Zimbardo's so-called Stanford Prison Experiment which as I indicated in a previous post is part of a series of research experiments to study how to indoctrinate military recruits more effectively among other things.

Anyone who is familiar with all the research projects they come up with about how people react to different situation will almost certainly agree that even though it is technically possible for these psychologists to pass on an opportunity to study the reaction of the audience, there is no possibility that they will do so which indicates that one of the reasons for this show is almost certainly to use audience members as research subjects, although in a subtle, seemingly harmless manner. It is also possible that at least part of this show is fake, which has been common in some of the past research projects including the Obedience to Authority experiments. Some of the people including the person getting shocked in that experiment was actually in on the experiment, and there have been numerous other similar research projects that have done the same thing; so there is plenty of precedent for faking, or partly faking, the burials.

However my best guess is that to make it look as realistic as possible they probably didn't fake too much of it, although the people buried alive were almost certainly not given the impression that they would have a serious threat to their life including poisonous animals being dropped in their coffins.

That doesn't mean that the research being done was competent, or beneficial to the public, though. The vast majority of the best psychological research, that I know of, about a variety of subjects including how violence escalates, advertising to children, how media violence affects children and many other subjects don't involve experiments that have major ethical problems like this does, assuming people fully review how it is being used and why, which might not be likely soon.

Social research on the audience is almost certainly not limited to this show; it must be standard operating procedure and has been going on for years. So-called reality shows have dramatically escalated over the past two decades as they have cut funding for entertainment that is much higher quality and occasionally has some real educational content. Shows like MASH and All In The Family are ancient history and even though they have many more channels what they show is all very low quality, or to put it bluntly, it is crap.

One of the simple methods that the Obedience to Authority experiments might have enabled propagandists or other people trying to manipulate the public is that people are much more likely to stand up to unjust authority if they're not alone and others are also willing to stand with them. Experiments that were intended to study how people react when they see violent situations could also be used to shame people into acting in the way that is considered socially acceptable as indicated previously in Anti-violence social experiments could be part of a slippery slope; and there are many other ways these experiments can be used to study how to manipulate people.

The vast majority of the public spends very little time thinking about these things but sociologists and psychologists go through an enormous amount of research on the subject, including many that work for advertising agencies or political consultants. Ironically sometimes they admit that some of what they're doing can be used for manipulation purposes; however they rarely go into full details so those that don't look through the research might not suspect how thorough and effective it can be. On other occasion some of the people, like Philip Zimbardo, that expose some of these manipulation tactics simultaneously use them to attempt to manipulate people at the same time. Many of these tactics seem very subtle put advertisers and political consultants spend an enormous amount of time studying them; and it is hard to imagine why corporations or other special interests would pay big money for this research if it wasn't effective.

This means that either the manipulation tactics developed with the help of all these research projects are effective or corporations are wasting an enormous amount of money.



I will be going into more detail on this when I cover related subjects mentioned in Steven Pinker "The Better Angels of Our Nature" in a couple follow up posts. I ahve already covered more about how these manipulation tactics have been used in the past in numerous posts including the following:

Fundamentals of Psychology

Philip Zimbardo, Lucifer Effect, Stanford Prison Experiment

Corruption or Bias in the American Psychological Association

Eli Roth’s Milgram/Obedience experiment much more extensive than most people realize

Political Psychologist Are Suppressing Democracy

Human Research Subjects

Anti-violence social experiments could be part of a slippery slope

American Psychological Association exposed again

Manipulation Tactics

The following books describe an enormous amount of research projects that are similar; however since they have been written by people involved in the experiments a reasonable about of discretion is advised, they may not want to fully admit the negative impact their research might do:

Arthur Miller "The Social Psychology of Good and Evil" 2005

Steven Pinker "The Better Angels of Our Nature"

Stanley Milgram "Obedience to Authority" 1974

Philip Zimbardo, "Lucifer Effect" 2007

There ahve also been at least a couple more credible books covering ethics of research including psychological research including the following:

Harriet Washington “Medical Apartheid” PDF at Original People

Peter Singer "Practical Ethics" now in it's third edition

There were more than half a dozen if not at least a dozen gun related crimes at Walmart this month, including one where an armed robber was spotted by a 73-year-old woman who decided to pull her own gun after she lost track of him and went looking for him. At least three of the incidents involved shots fired including one police shooting where the suspect was wounded after he fired the first shots. There were also at least three armed robberies including one carjacking and another where the perpetrators followed someone from Walmart where they saw her conduct a money transaction.

Another report about how the majority of police calls in a Florida town are to Walmart came out. By now this is common knowledge to many police departments but they're only reported briefly to the majority of the public as if it is only one town here and there having this problem. There was also at least one other Walmart worker slashed during a robbery. Reports of these incidents are routine as well, although they're reported as isolated incidents.

Someone bought a gas can at Walmart then filled it up and set himself on fire in their parking lot; there have been at least two similar incidents in the last six years. Another person set fire to the Halloween aisle; another employee got in trouble for filming a fight at Walmart; and one Walmart had a hilarious video of man finding 'gun oil' lube at gun counter. And one shoplifting suspect somehow managed to steal the police cruiser while being arrested.

That police department might be reviewing procedures to make sure this doesn't happen again.

I don't know whether the police officer that let this happened want to talk about it.

Walmart seems to be having more than their share of internal problems this month. some of which are related to their declining profits, or typical business practices, which they're reluctant to change. Previously, Tracy Morgan claimed that Walmart treated him well in his settlement and according to one alleged leak he may have received got $90 million although it was a confidential settlement. It appears as if he almost certainly got much more than most ordinary citizens would receive in a settlement, presumably for public relations purposes. However the insurance agent doesn't want to provide such a generous settlement. Walmart apparently isn't too happy with that.

Blue Bell which had previously pulled its products from Walmart shelves and many other locations has been exposed for having unsanitary conditions. No one has done more to squeeze suppliers than Walmart, yet even though this has been exposed this month they're trying to squeeze other suppliers even more to cover for lost profits. These are , as usual reported as separate and unrelated stories, but it isn't hard to figure out the potential connection. If Walmart and other oligarchies keeps squeezing their suppliers, workers and even consumers it's bound to create a lot of problems.

Now they want to start using drones for their deliveries.

What could go wrong?

Walmart also got caught in another deceptive advertising campaign about made in the USA products. This must have been at least the tenth or more, perhaps much more time they've been caught at that one.

How could anyone believe any of their claims anymore?

One of their suppliers has pulled out as a result of the pressure from Walmart; and another analyst seems to think they've become to big to handle, adding to the list of people that came to the conclusion that they're past their peak.

Walmart and some other fast food chains are trying to improve their image by offering free GED programs for their employees; however many people familiar with corporate attempts to privatize the education system might be highly skeptical of this. There are numerous books including many by Jonathan Kozol or Diane Ravitch that raise major doubts about whether the "school reform" movement is doing more to fix the system or make it much worse.

Someone used a Jimmy Dean sausage to do what?

When ever I hear about shoplifters getting caught putting meat in their pants or even stranger thigns I can't help but wonder if they put it back on the shelf after they retrieve it.

No

Even Walmart wouldn't do that in this case.

Would they?

Strange things happen at Wal-Mart!

---

In 2006 Wake Up Wal-Mart did a study, "Is Wal-Mart Safe?" based on incidents in 2004, (PDF) about crime at Wal-Mart which showed that it increased when Wal-Marts opened up and that crime was higher at Wal-Mart than at other retailers. Since then Wal-Mart Shootings began compiling a list of gun related incidents at Wal-Mart and demonstrated that they have a large number of them, including on average more than one shooting per week somewhere in the country. In January of 2014 another study, "Rolling Back Prices and Raising Crime Rates?" provided additional statistical research indicating that Wal-Mart might be contributing to higher crime rates or at least a slowing of the decline in crime. The study found that. “on average, communities with Walmarts had 17 more property crimes and two more violent crimes per 10,000 people than those communities without Walmarts.” I reviewed this more in Wal-Mart’s crime problem, Rolling Back Safety more than prices? where I explained that although this study is helpful they could have done better with additional data that is available and I reviewed some of that. I also added my own review about why I think that Wal-Mart policies have been contributing to higher crime in a previous blog, Wal-Mart high crime rate continues un-investigaterd and have provided additional information under the author tag Walmart Crime Watch.

Stacy Mitchell has also compiled a list of other studies about Wal-Mart and how they impact society, Key Studies on Big-Box Retail & Independent Business. To the best of my knowledge Wal-Mart has done as little as they seem to get away with, often relying on rhetoric that isn't backed up with action, when it comes to addressing any of their critics concerns, including crime. For regular updates about events at Walmart through the month see Walmart Watch on twitter or check the Wal-Mart Wall; they have helped compile some of this information. The following are a list of incidents that occurred in October 2015. According to the "Is Wal-Mart Safe?" the average store in their sampling had 250 incidents per year, indicating that these are only a fraction of the crime reports at Wal-Mart, and presumably, the ones most likely to make the news on the internet nationwide. This isn't statistically representative, as the 2006 or the "Rolling Back Prices and Raising Crime Rates?" study or some of the studies cited by Stacy Mitchell; but it does provide some additional information that may help recognize how many problems there are at Wal-Mart.

---

Walmart Planning To Slash Hundreds Of Jobs At Arkansas Headquarters 10/01/2015

Smell something? Say something: Westfield Mass. police seeking Walmart cologne thief, counterfiter 10/01/2015



Bomb threat leads to evacuation of Longview Tx. Wal-Mart 10/02/2015

Police need your help finding man who robbed Tx. Walmart 10/02/2015

Walmart to lay off 450 employees at Ark. headquarters 10/02/2015

Photos released of suspects involved in Spencer, West Virginia Walmart theft 10/02/2015

Man wanted for stealing TV from Franklin Walmart 10/02/2015

Two flee police at Detroit Lakes ND Wal-Mart, leave behind 98 grams meth 10/02/2015

2 arrested in Walmart armed robbery, West Melbourne Fla. police say 10/03/2015 Cops: Robber threatened to stab loss-prevention officer with knife

3rd suspect arrested extradited from Texas in purse snatching at Kenner La. Wal-Mart 10/03/2015

Riverdale Ga. police rope off section of Walmart parking lot, investigate shooting 10/04/2015

Fishers police arrest six suspects, prevent Ind. Walmart robbery 10/04/2015

Okla. Walmart evacuated overnight 10/05/2015

Fairlawn Ohio Walmart manager accused of stealing $100,000 10/05/2015



Settlement may end dispute over Walmart in Sarasota Fla. 10/05/2015

Mom paraded boy through SC Walmart in women's clothes after 'homophobic remarks' 10/05/2015

Police identify Wisc. Walmart theft suspects 10/06/2015

Communication between stores halts Ind. Walmart thieves' crime spree 10/06/2015





Ohio Walmart manager surrenders to police after taking $100,000 from safe 10/07/2015

Suspect, 21, arrested after man beaten in Nevada Wal-Mart parking lot dies 10/07/2015

Body of missing woman found in Jonesboro Ark. Walmart parking lot 10/06/2015

Villager sentenced in shoplifting case at Buffalo Ridge Fla. Wal-Mart 10/08/2015 Pizzurro had previously been ordered to take a shoplifting education course.

Police seek identity of Ga. Walmart robber captured on store camera 10/08/2015

Man gets at least a year in county prison for stealing video game controller from Pa. Walmart 10/08/2015

PCSD seeks Ariz. Super Walmart robbery suspects 10/08/2015

Greenacres Fla. police: Woman threatens teen with knife in Wal-Mart parking lot 10/09/2015

Pair Arrested in Connection to Hixson Tenn. Walmart Shooting 10/09/2015

LaGrange Ga. Police seek identify of alleged WalMart shoplifter 10/09/2015

Police accuse employee of stealing giftcard at Teterboro NJ Walmart 10/09/2015





One person killed in head-on crash near Wal-Mart in Danville Ky. 10/09/2015

Meth Lab "Shake and Bake" Mixture Found Outside a Walton County Fla. Wal-Mart 10/10/2015

Raleigh NC Walmart evacuated after fire breaks out in aisle 10/11/2015 Employees also said they were told the fire may have been intentionally set.

Raleigh man charged, another cleared in NC Wal-Mart arson case 10/12/2015

Pokin Around Missouri: What would you do if you found $200 cash in Walmart? 10/11/2015

Hungry man grabs kind woman outside Va. Walmart steals money, police say 10/12/2015

Woman banned from NC Wal-Mart charged with possession of meth 10/12/2015

Police: Rock Hill man tried to steal machete, 50 DVDs from SC Walmart 10/12/2015

NC Wal-Mart employee accused of stealing from store 10/12/2015

Police investigating after mother, daughter duo allegedly steal from Missouri Walmart 10/12/2015

Members of accused counterfeit scheme at ND Wal-Mart plead not guilty 10/12/2015

Teens Arrested For Stealing From Tulsa Okla. Walmart 10/13/2015

Police Search for Man Who Robbed Nebraska Walmart at Knifepoint 10/13/2015

Teens cited with theft from Walmart store in Wilkes-Barre Township Pa. 10/13/2015

Grab-and-run thief stole thousands from an Overland Park Missouri Walmart 10/13/2015





Retail Union Spends Six Figures On Walmart Worker Ad Launch During Democratic Debate 10/13/2015

Peeper suspect in Woodbridge matches description of Va. Walmart peeper 10/14/2015

Woman wanted in Colorado Wal-Mart purse theft 10/14/2015

Sprinkler test triggers Walmart Beavercreek Ohio fire alarm 10/14/2015



Forbes: Walmart's Disappointing Sales And Earnings Forecasts Spell Doom For The Industry 10/15/2015 This disappointing forecast dragged the stock down 10% to $60 per share.



Cheshire man arrested in Conn. Walmart robbery, assaulting officers 10/15/2015



Scammers Target Walmart Customers with Check Fraud 10/15/2015



Report: Staten Island man accused of using fake bills at N.J. Walmart 10/16/2015

Man dies after being struck in Brampton Canada Walmart parking lot 10/16/2015

Chattanooga Tenn. Police investigate shooting at Eastgate Walmart 10/16/2015

LA QUINTA, Calif Walmart given all-clear after bomb threat proven false 10/16/2015

Duo enjoy java from Starbucks after jacking items from Tx. Walmart 10/16/2015



Two arrested for false NC Wal-Mart returns 10/17/2015

Wal-Mart bribery probe finds few major offenses in Mexico - WSJ 10/19/2015



Police: Man attempts to start fire inside Springfield Oregon Walmart using kerosene, propane canisters 10/19/2015

Neighbors say new Edmond Okla. Walmart is breaking rules, encroaching on neighborhood property 10/20/2015

Shooting victim seeks help at Nevada Walmart near Nellis and Stewart 10/20/2015

Walmart in Greensboro NC robbed this morning 10/20/2015

Man cited for fight inside Wilkes-Barre Township Pa. Walmart 10/20/2015

Couple suspected of passing counterfeit $100 bills at Fla. Wal-Marts sought by law enforcement 10/20/2015

Caught on camera: Man allegedly pulls knife on NM Walmart employees 10/20/2015

Police: Shoplifter put 32 iPhones in suitcase, paid for suitcase at Pa. Walmart 10/20/2015



Deputies: Woman leaves toddlers in car, shops for 1.5 hours at Indian Trial NC Walmart 10/21/2015

Lubbock Tx. police officers respond to Wal-Mart robbery 10/21/2015

Fight to keep Walmart store out of Edmond Okla. continues for homeowners after vote 10/21/2015

Man arrested for 'upskirt' photo at Fla. Walmart 10/21/2015

‘People of Walmart’ costumes worn by La. principal, coach cause controversy 10/21/2015

NH Wal-Mart work continues despite homeowner's protest 10/22/2015





Rincon Ga. Police: $700 in fake money spent at Walmart 10/23/2015

Deputies searching for armed shoplifting suspect near Oviedo Fla. Walmart 10/23/2015

Police need help identifying suspects in Nitro WV Walmart thefts 10/24/2015

Police investigate armed robbery in Peoria Ariz. Walmart 10/24/2015

2 in custody for stealing $3.5K from Mt. Juliet Tenn. Walmart 10/24/2015

One Still Missing After Police Lock Down Wisc. Walmart to Search for Armed Robbery Suspects 10/24/2015

Police: drunk road rage suspect uses pumpkins to bash car window outside Tenn. Walmart 10/26/2015



Two Hannibal Missouri residents arrested after Walmart theft 10/26/2015

Pa. State police seek men accused of stealing 4 TVs, other merchandise from Walmart 10/26/2015



Summerlin Square Fla. Wal-Mart seen as mixed blessing 10/26/2015

Police seek suspects in theft of 89-year-old woman's wallet at NH Walmart 10/26/2015

Man wanted for shoplifting at Gallatin Tenn. Walmart 10/2/2015

Police: Couple arrested after trying to return stolen items to Tenn. Walmart 10/26/2015



Walmart Israeli soldier Halloween costume for children sparks outrage 10/27/2015

Walmart Withdraws Hooked ‘Sheik Fagin’ Nose From Halloween Store 10/27/2015

Walmart has a SWAT team for offensive Halloween costumes 10/30/2015

Police: Man flashes woman in Columbus Ga. Walmart parking lot 10/27/2015

Deputies search for Fla. Walmart purse snatchers 10/27/2015



Woman sought after pointing knife at Alabama Walmart security officer 10/28/2015

Chipley Fla. police searching for Walmart thief 10/28/2015

Joliet Ill. police: Wal-Mart purse snatcher caught 10/28/2015

Man attempting to pass counterfeit check abandons child in Missouri Walmart parking lot 10/28/2015



Canadian Man charged in 4 Pennsylvania Wal-Mart bomb threats 10/29/2015

Woman charged with child abuse, stealing at Belmont NC Walmart 10/29/2015

Jacksonville Alabama police seek Walmart robbery suspect 10/29/2015





Walmart employee stole Halloween costume from store, Lake County Fla. cops say 10/30/2015

Walmart files appeal for new location in Edmond Okla. 10/30/2015

‘Several suspects’ involved in armed robbery near Raleigh NC Wal-Mart 10/30/2015

Walmart burglars caught in Ammon Idaho 10/31/2015

Police investigate armed robbery at Okla. Walmart near I-240 10/31/2015

Woman sentenced for embezzling from Mich. Wal-Mart 10/31/2015

We're now being told that the Death of Fox Lake, Illinois, officer is a 'carefully staged suicide' (11/04/2015) in reports that seem to be heavily scripted and repeated all over the traditional media. However some aspects about this story are suspicious, especially the fact that they have already made one arrest in relation to this case a month and a half ago but the recent reports don't even mention it.

According to the following article they arrested former Chicago police Officer Joseph Battaglia for threatening the investigators if they didn't declare his death a suicide. On top of that the coroner made statements indicating that he wouldn't rule it out, yet the carefully scripted media talking points say that they only considered this possibility within the past two weeks and they down played the disagreement with the coroner and didn't even mention that they had made an arrest, which should be considered a major omission.



The latest reports including, Death of Fox Lake, Illinois, officer is a 'carefully staged suicide' (11/04/2015) acknowledge that at least two other people are involved but there is no indication if Joseph Battaglia is one of them. The description of how he allegedly committed suicide is highly suspicious, they claim that "two shots hit Gliniewicz -- one stopped by his bulletproof vest, and another entered his torso at a downward angle."

This hardly seems to me to be the way a 'carefully staged suicide' might be inclined to take place especially if they think he was trying to preserve his image and avoid making it look like a suicide. A murder is highly unlikely to get a shot going under a bullet proof vest at a downward angle. If this was intended as a suicide he could have simply not worn his vest and avoided this problem. Furthermore if this led them to the conclusion that it was a suicide it is hard to imaging why they wouldn't have come to this conclusion much sooner.

It is virtually guaranteed that national politics about police shootings are having as much, if not more, impact on this investigation, one way or another, than the evidence.

With the incompetent information given by the media and flaws it is virtually impossible to know for sure what happened; however there is a strong possibility that there is more corruption that is going on. It also appears to be a reasonable assumption that efforts to cover it up might be ongoing and there might be some police involved in it as well. With the information they're providing I also wouldn't rule out the possibility that others involved in this corruption might have attempted to use him as a scapegoat hoping he would take all the blame. This hardly seems like a rational way that a well planned murder would take place anymore than a well planned suicide, assuming things went according to plan; however if something went wrong then it is conceivable that they shot him in a manner they didn't intend, which could conceivably explain how this happened.

If that is the case then people involved in the investigation must know there are problems with it; however even if there is another explanation there also appears to be problems with the way this is being reported.

Regardless of what the full explanation is the disclosures made have indicated serious problems with their claim that this is part of a war on the police. It also adds to the long list of corrupt events by police that spurred the major protests. It is increasingly obvious that police like Sheriffs David Clarke, Mike Lewis and union representative Patrick Lynch who act as if there are no significant problems with police have little or no credibility.

Many of the critics of police, including myself, may put most of their emphasis on the problems with the police but, it is clear that this doesn't apply to all police and some of the best ones admit they have problems and want to fix them. Quentin Tarantino recently made this point on MSNBC

Also as I indicated in a previous post about The threat to police being greatly exaggerated the fewest number of police were killed in 2013 in decades; and on a per capita basis it was the safest for police since at least the civil war if not the creation of this country. The most dangerous times for police were in the 1920s and 1970s both were times where police corruption was much higher. There is additional evidence that can be easily found to indicate that reducing police corruption will almost certainly also reduce threats to police. I also indicated this in Is the militarization of the police leading to escalation of violence including Vegas shooting?

Also a couple of the most outspoken police about not blaming police include Sheriffs David Clarke and Mike Lewis; and their own jurisdictions have some of the highest murder rates in the country. Their rhetoric doesn't hold up and they clearly seem to be trying to scapegoat their critics without addressing legitimate concerns.

George Stephanopoulos tried to trap Bernie Sanders into supporting the corporate duopoly again this week; and Bernie Sanders may have partially played into this again but if he doesn't stop the establishment from rigging the primaries for Hillary Clinton the grassroots support he has stirred up shouldn't believe that Hillary Clinton will represent them, especially when they have another option with Jill Stein.

But even if we didn't have Jill Stein to support the biggest threat to our democratic process isn't the so-called terrorists that the me4dia has been trying to warn us about for years if not decades; it is the duopoly that only covers candidates that collect enormous amounts of bribes thinly disguised as campaign contributions who routinely make one promise after another to the public to get elected then break almost every one of them once they get elected so they can serve the interests of their campaign contributors regardless of what voters want.

Less than one percent of the population controls more than ninety, if not ninety-five, or more percent of the media; and they use it to repeat their ideas over and over again without mentioning many of the most important issues, which is an extremely effective propaganda tactic. As a famous quote ironically attributed to Vladimir Lenin often says, "A lie repeated often enough becomes the truth," or at least it seems to.

The establishment keeps telling the public that the first requirement to being elected president is to collect enormous amounts of money, which essentially means that unless e4stablishment candidates accept bribes they can't get covered by the media, although they don't mention that part.

George Stephanopoulos repeated his efforts to reinforce the corporate duopoly again this week in the following excerpt; and this is typical of the way the corporate media is trying to rig the election for either Hillary Clinton or one of their other corporate puppets. Support for Bernie Sanders should be based on his support for the Grassroots; if he endorses Hillary Clinton, a corporate puppet then real grassroots voters should abandon this endorsement and either support Jill Stein or another Grassroots candidate.



This isn't the first time that George Stephanopoulos or many other media pundits have attempted to reinforce the lesser of two evils where corporations control candidates from both parties; the first time that he had Sanders on his show after announcing he asked him if he would support the Democratic candidate imp[lying that he had little or no chance of winning. They've been trying to rig the election for Hillary Clinton for years by presenting her as the inevitable nominee since the last election at least without any input from voters.

The best informed voters have made it clear that they're not happy with the media trying to rig the elections which is why Bernie Sanders is doing so well. I fell for this same scam at least to some degree with Bill Clinton and the more I know about what he did during his presidency the worse it is. He made it much easier for the media to consolidate and did an enormous amount to enable corporations to increase their influence over the education system with either advertising or Charter Schools, both of which are disasters.

He also did an enormous amount to escalate the prison industrial complex and maintain a permanent state of war, although it didn't always seem quite as extreme as the Republicans.

By the time Barack Obama came along I recognized he was using the same scams so it wasn't surprising when he abandoned one promise after another.

Bother Bernie Sande5rs and Jill Stein have done much better speaking out against corporate corruption than Hillary Clinton and not only has she demonstrated with her actions that she'll betray the public one one issue after another like her husband with her actions she's also collecting an enormous amount of money from the corporations she pretends she's going to stand up to.

Bernie Sanders has repeatedly said that no president, including himself can get anything done without support from the grassroots. This is almost certainly true but it also means that he'll have to continue supporting the grassroots to keep them on board.

Even with support from the grassroots on many issues Barack Obama sided with corporations one time after another unless under enormous pressure to give a token amount on one issue here and there.

Hillary Clinton has demonstrated that she is no better, and will fight the grassroots tooth and nail before keeping even a couple promises she is making now.

Many of the most important promises are recent flip flops clearly made only for the duration of the campaign.

If we have to choose between Bernie Sanders or Jill Stein that will be the best choice the public has had in a long time and we'll benefit from hearing from both of them. If not it should be clear that either one of them would be far better than falling for the lesser of two evils every time and watching it get worse every time regardless of which one wins!!

Also, although Bernie Sanders still appears to be the best chance for a grassroots candidate to win the office one major aspect of reform is that all candidates should be presented to the public and they should agree to fill out the closest thing to a job application available and for now that is the Project Vote Smart questionnaire which Bernie still hasn't filled out. He filled out the previous one as a Senator so that is better than many presidential candidates, or at least one covered by the media, but support for reform should include filling out this application making it easier for voters to compare and know which candidates refuse to fill it out relying on propaganda instead. Apparently Jill Stein hasn't filled out the updated one either which is unfortunate; I'll have to ask both of them to reply again.

As I've said the application process should also be controlled at the grassroots level and Project Vote Smart also needs to be held accountable but even if they're not fixing all their problems right away they're still the best application available and it shouldn't be up to the candidate to turn them down until they do improve. Both the candidates and the institutions that control the job application process need to be accountable to grassroots, if we're going to become a real democracy.

Barney and Betty Hill

I'll keep my comments to a minimum on this one; but take a good look at these pictures and ask yourself one question; can this be explained without either direct or indirect influence from aliens abducting people?

If your answer is no then what we have here is conclusive evidence of Alien Abduction!



Travis Walton



Dan "Potatoe" Quayle



Bob "Viagra" Dole who says, "We know it's (tobacco) not good for kids. But a lot of other things aren't good. Drinking's not good. Some would say milk's not good."




George "Rats" Bush



Dick "Dark side" Cheney



Sarah "can actually see Russia, from land, here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska" Palin



Christine "Not a Witch" O'Donnell



Sharron "Second Amendment Remidies" Angle



Carl "I'll take you out" Paladino



Michael "I'll throw you off this fucking balcony" Grimm



Rand "bit of a crowd control problem (stomping protester for disagreeing)" Paul



Mitt "Corporations are people" Romney although at least 47% if not over 90% might disagree



Herman "999" Cain



Rick "Oops" Perry



Michele "John Wayne Gacy" Bachmann



Newt "Family Values" Gingrich asking for divorce while wife is in hospital bed.



Rick “do not euthanize me” Santorum



Allen "threat to the gene pool" West“This is it. I’m going to count to five again, and if you don’t give me what I want, I’m going to kill you.”



Ted “It is the job of a chaplain to be insensitive to atheists” Cruz

A False for his claim that "the jurisdictions with the strictest gun control laws, almost without exception … have the highest crime rates and the highest murder rates."



Todd "legitimate rape" Akin



Mike “weird spice, kitchen-cabinet cure” Huckabee



Bobby "Stop being the stupid party" Jindal unless ...



Chris "Teacher hating Bridgegate" Christie



JEB “(Poor) People Need To Work Longer Hours.” Bush



Marco "God has blessed the Republican Party" Rubio



Carly "fully formed fetus" Fiorina



Scott “If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the globe (including ISIS?)” Walker



Ben "Grain Storage" Carson





Donald "Show me the birth certificate we're going to build a wall and Mexico will pay for it" Trump



Hillary "often confused" Clinton

Even if you don't think this is adequate evidence for Alien Abduction it should raise serious doubts about whether the media coverage is more absurd and insane for UFOs or for the politicians that are expected to lead our country, or at least the ones the media is actually willing to cover.

The political leaders that do get elected routinely authorize bombing around the world and selling more weapons than any other country and other countries routinely retaliate, often with the weapons sold to them by us and after the Paris Attack instead of discussing this they argue over whether they should call them "Radical Islam."

Is any sane person really going to consider that more rational than Alien Abduction theories?

The media has been presenting the Republicans and most hawkish Democrats including Hillary Clinton as being far superior on foreign policy than any one who speaks out against one war after another, who they label as "Doves" or "weak on defense," for decades.

They repeat this over and over again!

Like any good propaganda if they refuse to allow peace advocates to tell the public the full truth, at least in the mass media, this portrayal seems very credible to many people that don't check the facts.

There's just one problem with this image.

It is based on lies; and if people start to scrutinize it will fall apart quickly.

The simplest way of refuting it is to simply ask why they haven't been able to keep us out of war one time after another. Another simple point is tracking all the times our so-called allies that we have armed in the past keep turning those arms against us, although listing the details will take more time.

But Bernie Sanders began that in the most recent debate, and a closer look will easily indicate that the reason we keep winding up in one war after another is that our actions, often presented as "strong on defense" often come back to haunt us; and in many cases it hasn't had anything to do with "defense" or "defending democracy" at all.



Bernie Sanders listed a relatively small sample of the tyrants that the United States has supported in the past who later turned against us, one way or another; however the traditional press is very selective about the way they report them, often reporting that we previously supported tyrants only briefly and repeating that they hate us over and over again without reminding people why they hate us.

Iran is one of the most blatant examples. In the late forties or early fifties the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), now BP, negotiated a deal which served their best interests and the best interest of Iran's leadership at the time but not the best interest of the people. After Mohammad Mosaddegh with the help of the Iranian parliament they attempted to negotiate a better deal for the people but the AOIC refused to cooperate and they voted to nationalize their own oil resources then the CIA and the British Secret Intelligence Service carried out the 1953 Iranian coup d'état installing the Shah who abused and tortured his own people while giving multinational oil companies a great deal. Instead of supporting democracy as U.S. propaganda often claims they were suppressing it, as they have done in many cases.

This of course eventually led to the Iranian Revolution which was backlash against the United Stated previous support of a tyrant and in the eighties they alternatively supported both Iran and Iraq during their war arming both sides at one time or another prolonging their war resulting in enormous atrocities which the traditional media rarely ever reports in this country but the Iranians will never forget.

This is standard operating procedure in one country after another. A closer review of the most reliable sources clearly indicates that the United States hasn't been fighting to defend the free world since WWII as their propaganda indicates but to prop up one tyrant after another. The Vietnamese signed a declaration of independence so they could rule their own country but when the French abandoned their efforts to suppress them the United Stated invaded; the United States armed Saddam H7ussien and Manuel Noriega before deciding they were our enemies; they armed the Mujaheddin before they became the Taliban and AL-Qaeda; and many other examples including in 2013 when they were exaggerating the atrocities committed by Assad as an excuse to arm rebels and one of the groups they armed became known as ISIS or ISIL in 2014 although that wasn't the name they chose for themselves.

Hillary Clinton was involved in this as Secretary of State and she supported the Iraq war as senator which helped create the quagmire that led to the rise of what we now call ISIS or ISIL. Hillary Clinton has been strong supporter of the traditional foreign policy practices that routinely arm one tyrant or rebel organization after another even when they routinely turn against us.

Bernie Sanders, on the other hand has begun to acknowledge that these tactics have been backfiring for a long time. His claim that Climate Change will inevitably lead to instability is also true, although if many people don't look into the details it is easy to ridicule. Environmental destruction, related to Climate Change or not, has been escalating for decades, although the mainstream media hasn't reported on the full extent of the damage unless it happens in areas where people have political clout. This creates a growing area where enormous amounts of people are disenfranchised and desperate so they can't support themselves the way they have in the past.

Just one of many examples that have been reported recently is the so-called Somali pirates that have resorted to kidnapping and are often labeled terrorists. What the media rarely ever mention is that many of the pirates are former fishermen who can no longer fish due to over fishing or pollution by multinational corporations with the support of the western world including the U.S.

Many of these so-called terrorists are doing the same thing that the United States routinely does, retaliating for atrocities committed against them, although the media rarely puts much emphasis on that. When the United States drops bombs on countries around the world it terrorizes the local population; however since they have influence with the media we don't call this terrorism.

Amazingly, at times Hillary Clinton occasionally even seems to think it is hilarious when our enemies are defeated and tortured to death like when she famously said, while laughing, "We came, we saw, he died."



Are we supposed to consider this the more rational alternative to Republican insanity?

This isn't an isolated blunder, she makes so many it is hard to keep track of them, including in 2008 when she said “I remember, particularly, a trip to Bosnia where the welcoming ceremony had to be moved inside because of sniper fire,” regarding her 1996 trip to Bosnia. She quickly claimed that it was an innocent mistake; but it is hard to imagine how she could have "mistakenly" come to that conclusion, which of course happened long before Brian Williams became famous for making stuff up.

However when people are part of the establishment like Brian Williams and Hillary Clinton they can keep coming back but those that oppose it need to gather grassroots support for decades before getting any coverage and even then the media still tries to portray them as fringe.



Hillary Clinton once said, “The American people are tired of liars and people who pretend to be something they're not.” ("60 Minutes" Interview, 1992); and of course she was right but they're also tired of the media providing more phony candidates that expose scams and lies only to participate in them once they get into power.

Hillary Clinton said this because it was good politics but since then she has an incredibly long history of lying and supporting corporate interests as bad as the people she criticized.

Wal-Mart started out the month with a bang, literally; they were bombed in Mississippi, although it didn't get much coverage in the rest of the country. Wal-Mart gets an well over a hundred if not several hundred bomb threats every year; however they almost never get any bombs that actually explode. In the past fifteen years there may have been close to a dozen that did explode but the most common are just soda-pop bombs, which might scare people but isn't likely to do damage unless someone gets a heart attack. This one was an improvised devise made out of fireworks, which was more powerful, but still not as serious as the Boston, Atlanta or Paris bombs.

However combined with the Paris attacks it is enough to cause panic especially since during the Black Friday weekend there were dozens more bomb threats around the country in at least seven states plus the usual number of threats between the Mississippi bomb and Black Friday. The bomb in Mississippi was the only one I know of where it was accompanied by a warning and vice versa, that warning was given in person. There are still none that I know of where a threat over the phone wasn't a bluff; however the police take them seriously. Ironically according to one of the reports they don't evacuate when a store is too busy, but if they take it seriously this would be the time when it was most important.

They had a dramatic scare when a couple brazen robbers Entered Walmart with guns drawn demanding money; but they settled for a couple cell phones before running off.

As usual there were at least five or six shooting incidents at Wal-Mart or that were initiated by incidents that started there. There was another police shooting where they killed an armed suspect, which happens just about once a month, if not more often, and at least one more incident that lead to a chase that started when the suspect dragged the police officer. Either something like this happens or a crash also happens just about every month.

There were also more than half a dozen violent incidents where people including one police officer were attacked dragged thrown to the floor, kidnapped or run over and killed in the parking lot. This escalated with Black Friday, however the number of incidents during Black Friday weekend has been dropping since an exceptionally high number of incidents in 2011 and 2011, so high that even the mainstream media felt they had to report on them extensively. this reduction seems to be because more people are shopping earlier or on line; however the number of incidents earlier in November may be growing.

Their sales seem to be going down, at least in the store, but this was partially off-set by an increase in cyber-sales; but these were accompanied by growing complaints about their web site crashing, and some of the complaints from on-line sales inevitably wind up being handled in the store even if they try to get customers to handle them online.

Wal-Mart has had at least two viral complaints about the way they treat their workers or a marine collecting toys for tots. In both cases local management seems to be enforcing corporate policies without any discretion about the details of the case. A poor worker, who was previously homeless, was fired for collecting abandoned cans in the parking lot and turning them in for deposits; this lead to enormous protests and even the New York State legislature is considering getting involved. The marine was told to take his collection out in the cold.

You would think someone in the corporate office would learn since they have at least one scandal like this, usually more, every holiday season.

One shoplifter was allegedly sexually harassed by the loss prevention officer who supposedly said he wouldn't show up in court "in exchange for her company." Another shoplifter apparently didn't realize it would be a good idea to stay awake long enough to get out of the store.

This isn't the first time a Wal-Mart shoplifter fell asleep on the job.

They're now using facial recognition technology to catch shoplifters but this is raising privacy problems since it could be used for anyone as well. This is especially important since they have also been exposed hiring Lockheed Martin to spy on their employees and even working with the FBI treating protesters like potential terrorists.

You would think that in a democratic country they would negotiate a reasonable settlement instead of arranging for the FBI to work on behalf of corporations. By treating union workers and citizens with legitimate complaints the government is raising serious doubts about the legitimacy of the so-called "War on terror." When people see that legitimate methods of protests are treated like terrorism they might not feel like they live in a free country, and even though the vast majority of them don't go to extremes it is inevitable that a few come to the conclusion that legitimate ways of taking care of grievances don't work and some do desperate things.

That doesn't mean it is always terrorism that people do to express outrage; Wal-Mart has had plenty of lesser methods to express outrage and this month they had another customer who urinated on merchandise, whether this is the reason or not.

They also had an example of overreaction to the terrorist scare hyped up by the media when a customer accused a minority worker of being involved in the Paris bombing without and justification.

There are also state lawmakers trying to advance opt out legislation for workman's comp which has a history of eroding workers rights.

Does the government work for citizens or campaign contributors?

Apparently a Georgia man who had no place to go decided that a good way to get free room and board would be to go to Wal-Mart knock over displays and destroy property.

Strange things happen at Wal-Mart!

You would think the political establishment would want to maintain a functioning society so that people don't have to strike out at Wal-Mart to get public housing or earn a fair living.

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In 2006 Wake Up Wal-Mart did a study, "Is Wal-Mart Safe?" based on incidents in 2004, (PDF) about crime at Wal-Mart which showed that it increased when Wal-Marts opened up and that crime was higher at Wal-Mart than at other retailers. Since then Wal-Mart Shootings began compiling a list of gun related incidents at Wal-Mart and demonstrated that they have a large number of them, including on average more than one shooting per week somewhere in the country. In January of 2014 another study, "Rolling Back Prices and Raising Crime Rates?" provided additional statistical research indicating that Wal-Mart might be contributing to higher crime rates or at least a slowing of the decline in crime. The study found that. “on average, communities with Walmarts had 17 more property crimes and two more violent crimes per 10,000 people than those communities without Walmarts.” I reviewed this more in Wal-Mart’s crime problem, Rolling Back Safety more than prices? where I explained that although this study is helpful they could have done better with additional data that is available and I reviewed some of that. I also added my own review about why I think that Wal-Mart policies have been contributing to higher crime in a previous blog, Wal-Mart high crime rate continues un-investigaterd and have provided additional information under the author tag Walmart Crime Watch.

Stacy Mitchell has also compiled a list of other studies about Wal-Mart and how they impact society, Key Studies on Big-Box Retail & Independent Business. To the best of my knowledge Wal-Mart has done as little as they seem to get away with, often relying on rhetoric that isn't backed up with action, when it comes to addressing any of their critics concerns, including crime. For regular updates about events at Walmart through the month see Walmart Watch on twitter or check the Wal-Mart Wall; they have helped compile some of this information. The following are a list of incidents that occurred in November 2015. According to the "Is Wal-Mart Safe?" the average store in their sampling had 250 incidents per year, indicating that these are only a fraction of the crime reports at Wal-Mart, and presumably, the ones most likely to make the news on the internet nationwide. This isn't statistically representative, as the 2006 or the "Rolling Back Prices and Raising Crime Rates?" study or some of the studies cited by Stacy Mitchell; but it does provide some additional information that may help recognize how many problems there are at Wal-Mart.

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Ex-Walmart CEO, Bill Simon lands troubled plane on Arkansas highway 11/04/2015

Three charged in theft of rifle ammo from Saginaw Township Mississippi Wal-Mart 11/04/2015





Police seek suspect in Missouri Walmart parking lot armed robbery 11/04/2015



O’Fallon Missouri residents upset over proposed Walmart development 11/05/2015

Man allegedly stole elderly man's credit cards from gym locker, used at Tx. Wal-Mart 11/05/2015



Kingsport Tenn. police: Man who stole vacuum struck by truck while fleeing from Walmart 11/05/2015

Man arrested for exposing himself to girls outside Oregon Wal-Mart 11/05/2015



$2K Stolen From Wallet at Long Island NY Walmart: Police 11/06/2015

Walmart pumps $20M into 'Greenlight A Vet' advocacy efforts 11/06/2015

Lawsuit dismissal clears way for Louisville Ky.'s West End Wal-Mart 11/06/2015

Montana Police Reports: Browning woman, teen caught shoplifting at Walmart; body-part model goes missing from MT Tech 11/0/2015

2 wanted after stealing credit cards, buying Tenn. Walmart gift cards 11/06/2015

Wal-Mart heir $27B less wealthy than once thought 11/07/2015

Police: Woman caught walking out of Tenn. Walmart with $600 worth of goods she didn’t pay for 11/07/2015



Offer to be Walmart secret shopper too good to be true 11/07/2015

NY Walmart employee arrested for stealing merchandise 11/08/2015 court costs for petty thefts are much higher than the items subsidizing Walmart security with taxpayer money.

Around the Blotter: Items stolen at Kansas Walmart Saturday include fried chicken 11/08/2015

Shoppers say Nevada Walmart display is racist 11/06/2015

Shoplifting incident in Westfield Mass. Walmart leads to drug arrests 11/09/2015

LaGrange Ga. Police seek identity of alleged Wal-Mart shoplifter 11/0/2015

Forbes: Three Social Media Mistakes Walmart Is Making Right Now 11/09/2015



Police seek men who used stolen credit cards at Fayetteville NC Walmart 11/09/2015

Police: Woman uses stolen credit at Franklin Tenn. Walmart 11/09/2015

Dauphin County man left work release for Pa. Wal-Mart, ditched GPS monitoring bracelet: Crime Stoppers 11/10/2015

Deputies investigating stolen license plate at SC Walmart 11/10/2015

Framingham Mass. Cops: Woman admits to Walmart thefts 11/10/2015

Police: Woman attacked during Marion NC Walmart robbery 11/09/2015

Man charged with felony stealing beer from NC Walmart, gas station 11/11/2015

Thieves hit Wal-Mart, Target in West Melbourne Fla. 11/11/2015

South Tulsa homicide suspect found shot in car at east Tulsa Okla. Wal-Mart in attempted suicide 11/11/2015

2 juveniles charged with making bomb threat to South Union Township Pa. Walmart 11/11/2015

Fla. Wal-Mart employee suffers minor injury in scuffle 11/11/2015

Shoplifting suspect flees Macon Ga. Wal-Mart with sex toy in tow 11/11/2015

Forbes: Walmart Black Friday protesters will fast for higher wages 11/12/2015

Man sought in RI Walmart child abductions 11/12/2015



Man claims he stole stereo amplifier from Fla. Wal-Mart to buy food for his child 11/13/2015

Police: Man wanted after shoplifting attempt at Arkansas Walmart 11/13/2015



Would-be shoplifter involved in scuffle with security, police at ND Wal-Mart 11/13/2015

Suspected Shoplifter Pepper Sprays Colorado Walmart Employee 11/14/2015

Shreveport Louisiana PD seeking man caught on camera stealing groceries in Walmart parking lot 11/14/2015

Police: NC Walmart shoplifters stash items in diaper bag 11/15/2015

HCPD: Suspect snatched purse from victim’s cart at SC Wal-Mart 11/16/2015

Pa. Troopers: Bananas Used as Weapon in Walmart Heist 11/16/2015

Louisiana Walmart workers plan demonstrations at Governor’s Mansion, gubernatorial debate 11/16/2015

Police: Handgun reported missing after man left it in Walmart bathroom 11/14/2015

Eagle Point man accused of robbing woman at Oregon Walmart 11/16/2015

Police searching for man who robbed metro Okla. Walmart 11/16/2015



Police: Fla. Walmart shoplifter used shopping cart as weapon in getaway attempt 11/17/2015

Deputies searching for man who robbed Fla. Walmart at gunpoint 11/16/2015

Man allegedly tried to scam Pa. Walmart 11/17/2015

Sheriff: Irmo man stole debit card, tried to use it at SC Walmart 11/17/2015

Man charged with theft of assault rifle ammo at Mich. Walmart told security to 'look the other way,' witness testifies 11/17/2015





Dayton Ohio woman slammed to ground by Wal-Mart shopper 11/17/2015



Flagstaff PD investigates suspicious tanks outside Ariz. Walmart 11/17/2015 A bomb team was called out as a safety precaution

Police: Woman shoplifted $7K in groceries from Fla. Wal-Mart 11/18/2015 How can she do this? Only at Wal-mart is this so common.

Wake Forest PD looking for suspects in NC Wal-Mart thefts 11/18/2015

2 men arrested at Secaucus NJ Walmart during one hour span, police say 11/18/2015

Woman says man attacked her with pillow inside a Florida Walmart 11/18/2015

What's behind Donald Trump's Walmart vote? 11/19/2015 Barb Harkins, a registered Democrat whose grandchildren earn the federal minimum wage, is among those who plan to vote for the real estate billionaire, despite her passion about the need to raise wages.

Man used company credit card to make $3K in purchases at Pa. Walmart, police say 11/19/2015

Man who committed lewd act in Lockport NY Walmart sought by cops 11/19/2015





Cheyenne Wal-Mart worker admits to stealing from retailer 11/19/2015



Walmart offering drive-thru Thanksgiving meal shopping in Orlando 11/20/2015 Customers can place an order online at Walmart.com/grocery, choose a timeslot, and head to a local participating store, where a Walmart associate will load everything into his/her car.

Shoppers furious with Walmart over toy truck 11/20/2015 A comment on the petition by one of the more than 10,000 supporters reads: “As a trucker, seeing these in real life is no treat. The reality is violence. Do not support desensitization of children. This “toy” is no different than a slave train combined with a coroner’s wagon. Auschwitz mentality is immoral & degrading.”

Texas man accused of robbing Wal-Mart employees at gunpoint smiles in mugshot 11/20/2015

Police seek driver who hurt Villa Rica cop in Ga. Wal-Mart parking lot 11/20/2015

Underwear shoplifter arrested at ND Walmart 11/20/2015

PBSO: Man wanted for using stolen credit card at Fla. Chick-Fil-A, Walmart 11/20/2015

Suspect wearing surgical mask allegedly robs several Ga. Walmart stores 11/20/2015

Man carjacked at South Austin Tx. Walmart speaks out 11/20/2015



Firefighters put out electrical fire at Chesapeake Va. Walmart 11/21/2015

Chesapeake Va. Walmart closed until Saturday due to weekend fire 11/25/2015

Deputies: 2 men used counterfeit bills at Fla. Walmart 11/21/2015

Maryland State Police Investigating Armed Robbery Outside of Berlin Wal-Mart 11/21/2015

Two women charged in June theft from NY Wal-Mart 11/21/2015



Man found shot outside Fla. Walmart Neighborhood Market in Orange County 11/23/2015

Logan Police Say Frantic 911 Call About Utah Wal-Mart Shooter Was A Hoax To Get Out Of A Traffic Stop 11/23/2015

Man charged with committing lewd act at Lockport NY Walmart 11/24/2015



Fake bills turn up at Walmart 11/24/2015

Cary NC police charge Walmart clerk was pocketing store’s cash 11/24/2015



Fulton Missouri woman arrested for allegedly stealing from Walmart 11/24/2015

Anti-Walmart union group plans Black Friday protests 11/24/2015

Wal-Mart suspected of bribery in Brazil after U.S. probe, sources say 11/24/2015

Serial Ky. Walmart robbery suspect arrested 11/24/2015

Mobile Alabama Police search for Wal-Mart robber 11/24/2015 Police were told at the scene that a male shoplifter was confronted by a Loss Prevention Officer. The suspect pulled out a knife and attempted to stab the officer.

Police Find Body Behind South Philly Pa. Walmart 11/24/2015

Two charged in Md. Wal-Mart strong armed robbery 11/24/2015

Secaucus NJ Walmart prepares for holiday shopping 11/24/2015

Chesapeake Walmart closed until Saturday due to weekend fire 11/2/2015

Nevada Walmart Stores Pull Toys for Tots Donation Boxes 11/2/2015

Police searching Arkansas Walmart shoplifters 11/25/2015

Police seek help identifying Montana Wal-Mart theft suspects 11/25/2015

Ephrata Pa. police seek tips in Wal-Mart theft 11/25/2015

Police search for man accused of taking pictures of boy inside Va. Walmart bathroom 11/25/2015

Espanola woman claims injury 2012 NM Walmart Black Friday sale 11/25/2015



Rincon Ga. Police: Several shoplifting incidents and a Man has fit in Walmart 11/25/2015 Nov. 15: A 28-year-old Rincon man who said he wanted to return to jail walked into Walmart, knocked over displays, broke a mirror and cut his arm with a razor. An officer used a stun gun on the man, but it had no effect on him. The officer eventually was able to grab the man and get him in handcuffs.

Woman hit by car in Murfreesboro Tenn. Walmart parking lot 11/26/2015

Trade gun for Wal-Mart gift card at Clearwater Fla. buy-back Dec. 12 11/26/2015

Brown Deer Police Investigated a Possible Bomb Threat at Wisc. Walmart 11/26/2015



Shopping frenzy at Dunwoody Ga. Walmart 11/27/2015





Man charged with arson in connection with Tx. Wal-Mart fire released 11/27/2015

Over $1,500 in baby formula stolen from NH Walmart 11/25/2015

SD woman sues Wal-Mart over crash and injuries 11/25/2015



'I don't think he planned to purchase a 'vintage' laptop: Family's outrage after Walmart ships a TEXTBOOK instead of HP Notebook meant as a birthday gift 11/26/2015

Police Blotter: Man arrested for theft, drugs at ND Wal-Mart during Thanksgiving shopping 11/27/2015

3 Sioux Falls ND Walmart evacuated; bomb threat unfounded 11/27/2015

Idaho Falls Walmart responds to threat 11/27/2015 Following established protocol, there was no evacuation of the building. Dogs were not brought in to search the store because the store was so crowded it would have made it difficult for them to pick up a scent.

Watch Black Friday La. Wal-Mart shoppers in frenzy over towel sale 11/27/2015

Group protests for higher wages at Chicago Ill. Walmart 11/27/2015

Troopers: $2,000 Worth of Merchandise Stolen from Wal-Mart in Union County Pa. 11/27/2015

EXCLUSIVE: Black Friday brings grief for family of Long Island NY Walmart worker trampled to death by wild shoppers in 2008 11/27/2015

Bernie Sanders Attacks WalMart on Black Friday 11/27/2015



Man arrested after trying to steal from vehicles at Ventura Ca. Walmart 11/27/2015

Walmart employee suspected of stealing $1,640 in cash: Brooklyn Ohio Police Blotter 11/27/2015

Grand jury indicts woman accused of stealing underwear from Kennesaw Ga. Walmart 11/27/2015

Woman Run Over by Car in WV Walmart Parking Lot 11/27/2015

Napa man arrested after grabbing teen's bottom at Ca. Walmart 11/27/2015

Ponderay Idaho Walmart hit by bomb threat 11/28/2015

Suspect in custody after assault in Cape Girardeau Missouri Walmart parking lot 11/27/2015

Bomb scare causes evacuation at Farmington NM Walmart 11/23/2015







Man accused of cutting Tenn. Walmart employees 11/28/2015

Outrage over Ohio vet forced outside by Walmart 11/29/2015



Police looking for two men suspected of buying items with counterfeit bills at Va. Wal-Mart 11/30/2015

To Protest Walmart on Black Friday, Organizers Are Seeking Food for Underpaid Workers 11/25/2015

Cat rescued from inside Ca. Walmart wall 11/30/2015

Va. Wal-Mart Shoplifter Caught Hiding in Nearby Restaurant Men's Room 11/2/2015

Police: Felon steals ammo from Ca. Walmart 11/30/2015

Man purchases BB gun at York SC Walmart, decides to test fire it in the parking lot 11/29/2015

Two arrested while trying to steal from Nitro WV Walmart during Black Friday 11/2/2015 Employees first spotted a man, later identified as Johnny Burgess, 45, while he was cutting the security features out of the packing. Since Burgess had a knife on him, the employee called the Nitro Police Department.

During the next two hours, the employees watched while Burgess worked with Nathan Spielman, 36, to remove the security features from items they would then place inside a shopping cart.

Lancaster County man charged for exposing himself, peeping at woman under Pa. Walmart stall 11/30/2015

Sheriff’s office seeking help in identifying thieves at Fla. Wal-Mart 11/30/2015

Woman takes in 6 Cubans living outside Fla. Walmart 11/30/2015

Walmart scam arriving in local mailboxes 11/30/2015

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