Homeland Security Exercise Targets “Free Americans Against Socialist Tyranny”
Leaked documents reveal plan to counter online dissent during martial law
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
March 24, 2014
Leaked Homeland Security documents obtained by Infowars reveal details of a joint DHS/FEMA national exercise set to take place this week, one of the components of which revolves around an effort to counter online dissent by a group called “Free Americans Against Socialist Tyranny,” which is disgruntled at the imposition of martial law after an earthquake in Alaska.
The document again underscores the federal government’s obsession with characterizing libertarians and conservatives as some kind of extremist radical threat.
The document (PDF) was leaked by an individual affiliated with Stewart Rhodes’ Oathkeepers organization and passed on to Infowars. It is entitled National Exercise Program – Capstone Exercise 2014 – Scenario Ground Truth.
The document is intended for “U.S. Department of Homeland Security Trusted Agents Only” and is “disseminated only on a
need-to-know basis.” Even the role players involved in the exercise itself are prohibited from seeing the files.
Vatican Chief Justice: Obama’s Policies ‘Have Become Progressively More Hostile Toward Christian Civilization’
March 24, 2014 11:14 AM
VATICAN CITY (CBS St. Louis) — The Vatican’s chief justice feels that President Barack Obama’s policies have been hostile toward Christians.
In an interview with Polonia Christiana magazine –and transcribed by Life Site News — Cardinal Raymond Burke said that Obama “promotes anti-life and anti-family policies.”
“It is true that the policies of the president of the United States have become progressively more hostile toward Christian civilization. He appears to be a totally secularized man who aggressively promotes anti-life and anti-family policies,” Burke told the magazine.
The former archbishop of St. Louis stated that Obama is trying to “restrict” religion.
NYT reporter: Obama administration the ‘greatest enemy of press freedom’ in a generation
New York Times reporter James Risen called the Obama administration “the greatest enemy of press freedom that we have encountered in at least a generation” on Friday, explaining that the White House seeks to control the flow of information and those that refuse to play along “will be punished.”
Poynter reports that Risen made the remarks while speaking at Sources and Secrets conference — a meeting of journalism and communication professionals held in New York City. The foreign policy reporter, who is currently fighting a fierce court battle with the federal government over his protection of a confidential source, warned that press freedom is under serious attack in today’s America.
In a speech kicking off the conference, Risen claimed that the Obama administration wants to “narrow the field of national security reporting” and “create a path for accepted reporting.” Those who stray from that path, he cautioned, “will be punished.”
Bill Would Put Undocumented Residents on Road to Driving Privileges
Advocates cite improved safety, access to work; opponents complain that it encourages illegal residency.
Legislation that would extend New Jersey driving privileges to the state’s estimated half-million undocumented immigrants has once again been introduced by lawmakers, though the bill’s final shape and when it might be considered remain up in the air.
The legislation –- A-2135 and S-1696 — would create a driving privilege card that could be used only for driving and not for other purposes, such as government identification. To qualify for the card, which would be valid for four years, potential drivers would have to prove both identity and residency, pass a written driver’s test similar to the exam required for other New Jersey drivers, and then pass a road test. (Kalet/NJSpotlight)
Proposed N.J. cap on college tuition faces stiff resistance
A bill to mandate a fixed-rate four-year tuition at the state’s colleges and universities would, if made into law, put New Jersey in the vanguard of states trying the tactic in an effort to hold down college costs.
But the measure — introduced as the “signature piece” of a 20-bill higher education reform package last week — is likely to face stiff opposition from the schools and critics who say there is no evidence that it will stem tuition in the long run.
“There’s reason to oppose any bill that caps tuition,” said Paul Shelly, spokesman for the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities. “We’re already at 1990s levels of state funding and now you’re going to handicap the colleges from raising the money they need?”
There are different variations of fixed-rate tuition plans around the country. Rates can be locked in for four, five or even six years. Some colleges just fix tuition and not fees, while others include housing. Some schools charge more for the fixed-rate plan at the outset, with families hedging against future tuition increases.
The trend is still small, with less than 7 percent of the nation’s colleges and universities offering fixed-rate plans last year, according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. But the numbers are growing. The legislatures in Illinois and Texas have both approved bills requiring that public colleges offer a fixed-rate plan. (Alex/The Record)
In New Jersey, rising flood insurance rates not just an issue at the shore
BURLINGTON CITY — If flooding were a real concern for Taylor Rambo, he said he wouldn’t have built a bar in his basement.
Yet he pays about $2,700 each year for flood insurance he is required to have as part of his mortgage, and the amount is likely to rise quickly as the federal government raises premiums paid by home and business owners through the subsidized National Flood Insurance Program.
“It worries me a lot because it makes my escrow go up and I can’t afford it,” said Rambo, who said he hasn’t had any water in his basement in the 17 years he’s owned his house in Burlington City, a blue-collar town between Philadelphia and Trenton and about 45 miles from the New Jersey shore, where flooding has become a high-profile and expensive problem.
More than 1,000 property owners in Burlington City, which is situated along the Delaware River, paid $1.5 million in premiums subsidized by the program last year. In the 40 years the community has been part of the program, residents have received payouts of only about $500,000.
That’s a sharp contrast with several towns on the shore — including Toms River, Union Beach and Sea Bright — where the historic payouts have been 50 times the premiums collected there each year. (Associated Press/Press of Atlantic City)
Ridgewood High School varsity wrestling team win their second straight District 6 team championship.
Ridgewood Nj, For the second year in a row, the Ridgewood High School varsity wrestling team enjoyed a very successful post season, winning their second straight District 6 team championship. This is the second time in school history that the team has won this tournament. With this effort the team sent a record nine medal winners to the Region 2 tournament. District medal winners were third place finishers Roger Toral at 126 lbs. and Nick Saglimbeni at 132 lbs.; and second place finishers Austin Purritano at 170 lbs. and Michael Antosiewicz at 285 lbs. *
The team also had five District Champions, the most they have had in a year in RHS history. The 2014 District 6 champions were Joe Oliva at 138 lbs., Stephen Gerdner at 145 lbs., Kyle Inlander at 182 lbs., Andrew Moras at 195 lbs. and Sukmin Yoon at 220 lbs.
Congratulations also go to Joe Oliva for his second place finish in the Region 2 tournament. This is Joe’s fourth straight top-three finish in the Region 2 tournament and his fourth straight qualification for the NJSIAA individual state tournament. This is a feat that has never been accomplished by an RHS wrestler.
Torre Watson is the varsity coach.
* Another third place finisher at 160 lbs. does not have permission to be named.
Reader says the Village Council needs to stop allowing special interests like Valley Hospital and other real estate developers to determine our agenda
Our leadership needs to start thinking beyond the next election cycle and stop allowing special interests like Valley Hospital and other real estate developers to determine our agenda. We have been in a reactive mode for too long and need an elected official without a personal agenda to map out a vision for the future in a more collaborative way.
Right now we have 3 council members that vote as a block – since they have a majority, they get to decide which of their individual pet projects will get approved first. Do we want these 3 people or ANY 3 people to be able to decide what happens to our town? What they are doing is just wrong. I’m sure that some lawyer out there will say that it’s legal, but that doesn’t make it any less wrong.
Readers says Light sentence implies Mr. Rica is in possession of information that the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office views as invaluable
It is becoming increasingly apparent that Mr. Rica is in possession of information that the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office views as invaluable. Perhaps information pertaining to others who were stealing parking meter revenues, and/or information about miscellaneous shenanigans at Village Hall, and/or information about the illicit activity to which the money was being funneled (I personally don’t buy his story that the money was used to help out with family expenses) . The public outcry associated with his receipt of a light sentence will certainly make it difficult for prosecutors to ask for harsh sentences going forward unless there are special circumstances associated with Mr. Rica’s case (that is, he’s dropping the dime on a fish bigger than he is).
No-jail plea deal for Ridgewood coin thief dismays officials
MARCH 23, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014, 9:52 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Questions are being raised over the plea deal with a former Ridgewood official who was convicted of stealing nearly a half-million dollars in parking meter quarters but is likely to be spared any jail time.
“It’s startling to see that type of plea bargain,” said defense attorney Frank Lucianna, of the deal given to Thomas Rica of Hawthorne. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
The deal, which was orchestrated by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and Rica’s attorney, Robert Galantucci, calls for the former Ridgewood public-works inspector to receive five years’ probation when he is sentenced June 6. Rica also will have to repay the $460,000 in parking meter quarters he stole over a two-year period.
The proposed sentence also caught village officials off-guard.
In a statement, Mayor Paul Aronsohn said that “the Prosecutor’s Office was clear with us that this was their investigation and their decision, and that we had no say in the matter.”
Aronsohn added: “We were surprised and disappointed that he wasn’t going to get jail time, but I appreciate the prosecutor’s determination to recoup all of the money stolen from Ridgewood taxpayers.”
Meet Noelle and Baby Hal, Valley’s Medical “Robots”
March 10, 2014
Ridgewood NJ , In a private room at The Valley Hospital Center for Childbirth, Noelle is about to give birth to her first child. One minute everything seems fine; the next the labor and delivery team spring into emergency response mode as the obstetrician detects the signs of shoulder dystocia, an obstetrical emergency in which the head is delivered but one of the shoulders fails to pass through the pelvis and is “stuck.”
As they have been well-trained to do, the team responds quickly and baby Hal is delivered safely. But Noelle is in no condition to appreciate their work. Noelle is essentially a robot — a full-sized, blond mannequin that can give birth and be used to simulate a wide range of obstetrical, medical and surgical emergencies.
Valley purchased the Noelle Maternal and Neonatal Birthing Simulator and Newborn Hal through grants from The Van Houten Foundation and The Valley Hospital Foundation. A five-year-old Hal mannequin has also been purchased. The high-tech mannequins are the cornerstone of Valley’s simulation training program, which has been underway for about a year. Future plans include the establishment of a Simulation Laboratory funded by a $2.5 million grant from the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
Simulated emergencies have been implemented in the OR and Center for Childbirth and are planned to expand into other areas of the hospital. The obvious benefit of simulation training is that it may be accomplished with absolutely no risk to the patient and allows nurses, physicians and other members of the healthcare team to practice and review their performance before being faced with a live patient. “This is particularly valuable in the case of high-risk, low-frequency occurrences, which staff may not see often in their careers,” said Beth McGovern, clinical practice specialist at Valley and one of the simulation educators.
“It also fosters teamwork between different disciplines as all members of the team work together on the simulation exercises, which can improve processes and patient safety,” McGovern said. The Institute of Medicine has recommended interdisciplinary team training programs as one way to encourage a “culture of safety” that makes patient safety a top priority. “In a simulation exercise, we have physicians, nurses, techs, and other members of the healthcare team working training side-by-side, which mimics what happens in a real medical emergency,” McGovern said.
Above photo : Medical simulator “Noelle” gives birth to a healthy baby boy as part of a simulation training drill in The Valley Hospital’s Center for Childbirth. Baby “Hal” was delivered by OB/GYN Roger Coven, M.D., with the assistance of Beth McGovern (left) clinical practice specialist, and labor & delivery nurse Jamie DeVisser. During the drill the team ran through the steps required to respond to shoulder dystocia, an obstetrical emergency in which the head is delivered but one of the shoulders fails to pass through the pelvis and is “stuck.”
By Carol Morello and Karen DeYoung, Published: March 23 | Updated: Monday, March 24, 4:25 AME-mail the writers
SIMFEROPOL, Crimea — U.S. and Ukrainian officials warned Sunday that Russia may be poised to expand its territorial conquest into eastern Ukraine and beyond, with a senior NATO official saying that Moscow might even order its troops to cross Ukraine to reach Moldova.
The warnings came as Russia was finalizing its takeover of Ukrainian military bases in Crimea, the peninsula it occupied at the start of March and subsequently annexed.
The White House began to notify Congress of the new deployments as they began Sunday night.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya, appearing on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” said the prospect of war with Russia is growing.
“We don’t know what [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has in his mind and what would be his decision,” Deshchytsya said. “That’s why this situation is becoming even more explosive than it used to be a week ago.”
Reader says the current problems obviously start at the top with our very ambitious Mayor and his dubious team.
While our choices are few in the upcoming election, we should all be aware that one candidate, Mr. Albano appears to be aligned with the Mayor. Like Mrs. Hauck, Mr. Albano is a decent person that is passionate about a single issue but has no other real qualifications for the job. The current voting block of 3 needs to be broken up, not added to.
Mr. Sedon on the other hand has covered countless meetings for the Ridgewood News and is intimately familiar with the budgeting process and all municipal departments. He is an independent thinker and has a healthy skepticism for less than credible “expert” testimony about the Hospital and high density housing.
Mrs. Kundson is also an independent thinker who will not just vote with the establishment. She appears to be unafraid of the political retribution that Mr. Aronsohn, Mrs. Hauck and Mr. Pucciarelli have wielded over the past year against their adversaries.
Please do your homework – all of the candidates are very approachable. Please ask each one where they stand on Valley and the apartments. Get it in an e-mail if possible. The 3 incumbents are masters of saying one thing but meaning another. They are political hacks at best and have succeeded this week in converting Ridgewood from a local laughingstock into a national laughingstock. Bravo.
Readers Says People do, year after year, fall in love with “small town” Ridgewood
People do, year after year, fall in love with Ridgewood and chose buy their homes and raise their families here. According to money magazine, 2013 report, Americas top 50 small towns are not only thriving economically, they’ve also got all you could want in a place to raise a family: plenty of green space, good schools, and a strong sense of community. Ridgewood is not on the top 50 list and that is not surprising. But maybe we should strive to acquire some of the attributes that land a community on this list. The majority of towns on this list all seem to have same words sprinkled throughout their descriptions: nature, open space, recreation, preserved, protected, conservation etc. Every singe town on this list mentions some sort of recreational option and seemingly recognizes the importance of open space. Read the list and take note.
These small towns range in size from 10,000 residents to about 50,000. In Ridgewood, we are a population of 25,000, so we land somewhere in the middle. Our Village government needs to seriously consider what is it that makes a town a more attractive place to live. They need to start using the words, “nature, protect and preserve’, a little more in their planning efforts. If these are such important factors in some of the best places to live, why do we seem to put such little value on them in our Village? There are serious efforts in this town to ridicule those who value open space and preservation. Community views in Ridgewood are often belittled behind closed doors and disregarded in public forums as well. It seems as if this town is moving farther and farther from the top 50 list and our Village leaders are leading the way. Do we value money and little else? Sure seems like we do.
