Our wonderful "justice" system!

"Former police officer Jon Burge was sentenced to 54 months in prison today for obstruction of justice and perjury, in what his critics and supporters all describe as the closure of a saga that has come to symbolize police-community relations and race relations on Chicago’s South Side."

He tortured young men into to admitting to crimes they didn't commit. Hundreds of them sit in prison today because of his misconduct, but the legal recourse for the people he put into prison is woefully limited. Any conviction that he had any hand in should be immediately overturned, and his victims should be compensated. His 4.5 year sentence for his crimes isn't justice, since many of his victims are spending life behind bars.

He is a prime example of why you should NEVER trust the police.

Do you remember the police shows from the 60s-early 80s? The cops were always shown as righteous, and the exceedingly rare "Corrupt Cop" episode was controversial. By 1990 a dramatic reversal was underway, and in popular media the corrupt cop was often central, even though "Good Cops" would inevitably bust the rogue.

The same shift is now apparent in the real world. Most people look at the police with a wary eye, and would rarely interact with them unless the situation seemed to warrant it. Even then, the results could be fatal for the person that engaged them for help.

Yes, this is what our police force has become.

Detroit — An alleged car thief got more than he bargained for when three women yanked him out of the vehicle he was trying to steal, held him down and made a citizen's arrest.

But when the women repeatedly called Detroit Police, they said nobody responded, so they decided to walk the man to the nearby Central District police station. On the way, they said they encountered a Detroit police officer — who they claim refused to take the man into custody.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110121/METRO01/101210376/Detroit-women-get-no-help-in-arrest-of-alleged-car-thief#ixzz1BiUfP5ys

The prospects for the euro just got bleaker, even though the mainstream financial press seems oblivious. Zero Hedge has an interesting analysis of Ireland's apparently unilateral decision to print 51 billion euro- around 25% of the Ireland's GDP- and give them to their banks to recapitalize them, in violation of spirit (if not law) of the EU treaties. If they do so without repercussion, then I don't doubt Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal will soon follow suit in a vain attempt to save their own ailing banks and underfunded governments. Such (hyper)inflationary tactics will exacerbate the already high tensions the PIIGS have with the rest of the EU nations, especially Germany.

I've been wary of the prospects for the euro since the beginning, but the current crisis seems to be revealing the fiat folly faster than anyone could imagine. Massive printing of euros by the struggling PIIGS would no doubt bring chaos to the economies of the (somewhat) more responsible northern nations, and could catalyze calls by currently marginalized segments of the population for withdrawal from the common currency. Germany already has a sizable minority of euro dissidents, and without Germany the euro would collapse. The actions of Ireland, if repeated by the other struggling nations, would undoubtedly galvanize the thrifty Germans and lead undecided citizens to call for a return to the deutschemark.

Here are 2 snips from the article-

"The Irish Central Bank has crossed the Rubicon in European Union currency terms. They have printed up about 25% of their GDP in electronic credits, and stuffed those credits into their banks. These deposits, if you will, do not have new debt issued behind them."
--------
"While this has happened before in history, it has not happened in the Euro currency project officially before today. This act is going to move the monetary policy of the union, to the individual capitals. The capacity to print electronic credits, with out the creation of cash currency or debt, is a new wrinkle in the economic landscape."

I just finished watching "Toy Story 3" and I have to say that it is one of the most moving, well-directed, superbly acted, visually stunning and heartfelt movies I've seen in years. Kudos to Pixar for crafting another masterpiece in the "Toy Story" oeuvre. The first two are wonderful, but this one is simply sublime.

How does this relate to liberty? Well, the "Barbie" character gets this memorable line- "Authority should derive from the consent of the governed, not from the threat of force!"

No matter, it is a masterpiece, and if the Academy hadn't created an "Animated Film" category a few years ago (which this film will win) it would be a strong contender for Best Picture at the Oscars. It is THAT good!

The Atlantic, a quintessential Power Elite mouthpiece, must be worried about the ascendancy of Ron Paul to a position with the power to directly challenge the power of the Federal Reserve. In a hilariously inept article attacking Dr. Paul and his book "End the Fed", columnist Daniel Indiviglio regurgitates FED talking points about the necessity of the institution without bothering to read , as Robert Wenzel explains-

"Yes, Daniel Indiviglio has pronounced that we do indeed need the Fed. He reached this conclusion by, uh, asking the Fed."

"It is not clear that Indiviglio has ever read the book ("End the Fed"), or that he even has it in his possession, since in telling us about his conclusion that we need the Fed, he does not address any of the issues raised by Congressman Paul in his book as to why the Fed should be ended. Zero."

The banksters at the FED must be shaking in their Bruno Magli loafers.

The seeds of revolution are planted in the most unlikely places, and and take root in unusual circumstances. This simple blog post from the LewRockwell.com blog is innocuous in isolation, but in the context of a government that ignores and tramples "the people", it is illustrative. How long until some seemingly small slight, almost inconsequential to the majority, causes insurrection? What if the people of the town refused to put their mailboxes back up, and protested- loudly- until the offending government parasites provided restitution? In this case, it would be small. But, the "small, inconsequential" slights are coming faster and more furiously, and in the climate we live in I believe the day rapidly comes where "the people" say ENOUGH!

That will be a scary, glorious day.

Glenn Greenwald of Salon is one of the few honest investigative journalists in the world, IMHO. This amazing article illustrates the fearlessness he has in asking the tough questions. If Wikileaks is a terrorist organization, then so is the NYTimes. I wish all liberals were as principled and honest, and cogent of the duplicity of government!

Cute video about how some people, even when presented with clearly superior alternatives, still seek out the trendiest and most socially accepted.

Here is a great article from Zero Hedge titled "Virginia Creates Subcommittee To Study Monetary Alternatives In Case Of Terminal Fed "Breakdown", Considers Gold As Option" with some healthy discussion in the comments.

I've been thinking about this blog for a few days, and decided to restart it. Hope that I can grab a few readers with my keen and insightful observations!!!