watches

Many Americans seem to believe that the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the deployment of the U.S. military in domestic law enforcement, including the policing and repression of protests. The statute does no such thing. Its complex terms and judicial interpretations are riddled with limits and loopholes and limits that have left the door open for U.S. military policing and repression inside the “homeland” ever since (notable examples include postwar strikes in 1919 and 1946, urban Black rebellions in the 1960s, mass student antiwar protests in 1970, and the Native American rebellion at Pine Ridge in South Dakota in 1973, the multicultural Los Angeles Rodney King riot of April 1992 and…the list goes on). Thanks to the proclamation of the Drug War in the 1980s and the “Global War on Terror” after 9/11/2011, moreover, the lines between national military operations, federal law enforcement, and local police structures have been hopelessly blurred. The lines are crossed by a giant and growing private-“security” and surveillance sector and new state- and corporate-developed technologies that connect the theory and practice of repressive population control across national, global, and local lines.

The New Military Urbanism

And what would Posse Comitatus protection against domestic military policing really mean anyway today, in a time when metropolitan U.S. police departments have for all intents and purposes become militarized and when high-tech private “security” companies loaded (at all levels) with military veterans proliferate across “the homeland”? As the British urban geographer Stephen Graham recently noted on the left television show Democracy Now, commenting on the findings of his recent book Cities Under Siege: The New Military Urbanism (Verso, 2010): “there’s been a longstanding shift in North America and Europe towards paramilitarized policing, using helicopter-style systems, …infared sensing, …really, really heavy militarized weaponry. That’s been longstanding, fuelled by the war on drugs and other sorts of explicit campaigns. But more recently, there’s been a big push since the end of the Cold War by the big defense and security and IT companies to sell things like geographic mapping systems, and even more recently, drone systems, that have been used in the assassination raids in Afghanistan and in Pakistan, as a sort of domestic policing technology.”

One among the many weapons of this “new military urbanism” is the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) – a type of high-tech “sonic cannon” developed by “defense” corporations in league with the military and local law enforcement. It emits a focused beam of sound or ultrasound that “incapacitates enemies” by disrupting and potentially destroying eardrums, causing severe pain and disorientation. First developed to help the military defeat adversaries abroad, it has proven irresistible as a weapon of crowd dispersal in the imperial “homeland,” where elites face the task of imposing neoliberal austerity for the many while the wealthy few (those labeled “the 1%” last year) enjoy fantastic profits and opulence.

After initial restrained homeland deployments by the New York City Police in 2004 (during that year’s Republican National Convention) and the Louisiana National Guard in 2005 (in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina), the LRAD’s democracy-deterring scream was unplugged for the first time in the U.S. at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh in June of 2009. (Paramilitary local and state police also and bizarrely unleashed the LRAD against Western Illinois University students during an annual college beer party last year.) The LRAD was on hand during metropolitan crackdowns on Occupy Oakland and the original Occupy Wall Street encampment in New York City fall.

The LRAD cannon is just one part of a new publicly financed, privately developed arsenal of proto-totalitarian “non-lethal crowd control technologies” within and beyond the U.S. —a chilling new authoritarian munitions store that could prove fatal to free assembly. One day not so far in the future we may see domestic deployment of a technology known as “the microwave” and “the pain ray.” Developed by the U.S. “defense” contractor Raytheon, this new tool of population control (given the name “Silent Guardian”) is what the Pentagon has called a “revolutionary heat-ray weapon to repel enemies or disperse hostile crowds.”It projects an invisible high energy beam that produces a sudden burning feeling” so intense that “even the most hardened Marines flee after a few seconds of exposure” (British reporter Michael Hanlon)

Some day fairly soon miniature drones will likely be deployed against protestors in an American city. Last February, President Barack Obama signed into law an FAA funding bill that will significantly expand the use of drones in the United States, “opening the skies to hundreds — likely thousands — of unmanned aircraft piloted by companies and public agencies” (Fosters’ Daily Democrat). The legislation directs the FAA to “integrate unmanned aircraft into the civilian airspace” by 2015 and will enable police officers to fly small drones to track and spy on suspects without special approval.

People can judge with surprising accuracy whether someone is gay or straight — even when they’re looking at a black-and-white photograph, cropped of hair and identifying marks, and presented upside down.

The findings from a University of Washington study suggest people use a combination of clues from individual facial features and from the way those features fit together to make snap judgments about sexual orientation, said researcher Joshua Tabak, a graduate student in psychology.

“We may be doing this so efficiently that we may not even have to try to make this judgment,” Tabak told LiveScience.

Chase today launched the Chase Freedom Lifestyle Index, a barometer of consumer trends related to simple pleasures and special occasions based upon aggregated Chase Freedom cardmember spending data. The initial findings point to an increase in spending on popular leisure activities, including movies and recreational facilities like ski slopes and golf courses, in 2012:

Additionally, based upon last year’s data, celebrations of Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and graduations are driving springtime spending on gifts and consumer wish list items, such as flowers, jewelry and electronics:

“The Chase Freedom Lifestyle Index was developed to examine the ways that our cardmembers, who represent a significant segment of the American credit card market, are enjoying simple pleasures and special occasions throughout the year,” said Matt Kane, general manager, Chase Freedom. “While surveys and opinion polls ask how consumers plan to or would like to spend their money, our Index tracks actual spending.”

Compared to the first quarter of 2011, the same period in 2012 saw a larger increase in spending on popular leisure activities than on material gifts and items. The spring season includes several gift-giving occasions for rewarding loved ones — including Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and graduations. Based on trends from last year, popular gifts for loved ones celebrating these holidays will include jewelry, flowers and consumer electronics.

Spending on flowers increased slightly in the first quarter of this year compared to last year (by four percent), whereas the jewelry category held steady and consumer electronics declined slightly (also by four percent) compared to 2011 data. Overall spending on flowers was 47 percent higher in May of 2011 than in February — suggesting Mother’s Day trumps Valentine’s Day as the top gift-giving occasion for flowers. While men spend nearly twice as much as women on flowers for Valentine’s Day, both genders spend roughly the same amount in May on bouquets and blossoms. In the consumer electronics category, a popular gift choice for dads and grads, spending increased by 21 percent between April and May.

I visited a very cool store, Majesta M’s A-Z Jewelry Supply, about a year ago when it first opened. Lots and lots of jewelry supplies … including unusual items such as megolodon shark teeth, antique findings, and so much more.
ADVERTISEMENT

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to make jewelry, or improve on your jewelry-making skills, there are ongoing classes offered on everything from beading to silver soldering.

Owners Jeff and Majesta Vaughn are having a first-anniversary party on from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. Members of the Fountain Valley Chamber of Commerce and Fountain Valley city council members will be on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Food, drawings, demonstrations, and sales are all scheduled for the event.

The Vaughns will answer any and all of your questions, and they are happy to help inform you on all things jewelry-related.

Dent just opened a new branch of his tennis academy right here in Fountain Valley, at Los Caballeros Racquet and Sports Club. Dent retired from the tour in 2010 and is now dedicated to training the next generation of tennis talent.

To that end, Dent has the Dent Tennis System to offer. He promises easy access to top-quality instruction, a focus on competition as well as results, and a passion for the game to share.

Choosing LeachGarner as the name for the former Cookson Precious Metals now under the wing of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway didn’t involve any rocket science, new company President Joe White says.

Leach and Garner, a homegrown icon of the Attleboro jewelry industry that became part of the Cookson brand, represented the permanence and heritage of a business whose origins stretch back to 1899.

“LeachGarner, a Berkshire Hathaway Company,” which includes a streamlined version of the founders’ names, represents confidence in a future filled with additional investment, new technology and new markets.

“We certainly wanted to leverage that name, and what it represents for the future,” said White, 50, a corporate turn-around specialist.

He has been involved in comebacks for various industrial firms, most recently Right Line Manufacturing in Worcester, and was hired to assume the helm at LeachGarner six weeks ago.
Richline Group, part of the Berkshire Hathaway business empire, completed the purchase of the former Cookson unit last week. The newly formed company includes Stern Metals, General Findings and Excell.

For many years, Neanderthal people were falsely portrayed as brutish and primitive ape-men, but with every new science discovery, anthropologists learn that Neanderthals were completely human.
For example, Neanderthal cave paintings found in southern Spain demonstrated Neanderthal creativity and humanity. The recent sequencing of the Neanderthal genome verified that Neanderthal blood flows in some modern humans living today.

According to Scientific American, recently excavated painted shells prove that Neanderthals were Homo sapiens’ mental equals. A painted shells discovery proves that Neanderthals employed symbolism, removing generations of pseudo-scientific beliefs that they were mentally inferior to modern humans. Recently found painted scallops and cockleshells in Spain are the first evidence that Neanderthals decorated themselves with jewelry. These findings confirm that humanity’s closest extinct relatives used symbolism, which represents a highly evolved intellectual capability unique to human beings.

The Daily Mail reported that 42,500-year-old seal paintings were found in a Spanish cave. The paintings are artistic images created by Neanderthal people. Neanderthals lived in the caves before becoming extinct about 30,000 years ago; they left behind their tools and skeletons. Later, early Homo sapiens used the same caves, painting on the walls and leaving pottery, tools, and their skeletons. Neanderthals, who were known to hunt seals, died out from competition with Homo sapiens, according to many science researchers. However, a few scientists argue that Neanderthals were wiped out by either global warming or post Ice Age climatic conditions. Before this recent discovery, the oldest art works in the world were dated about 32,000 years in the Chauvet Cave in southern France, according to many researchers.

The sleek window display at Revival Fashion Consignment on Elm Street has been drawing attention since its Grand Opening in April. Customers are treated with an ever-changing assortment of eye-candy, from last week’s collection of cerulean and turquoise tones, to this week’s display of classic black and whites.

Owner Gina Sabbagh couldn’t believe that without formal advertising, the opening was still a huge success. “I thought I’d open the doors, hope for the best- maybe still be able to move things around and continue setting things up, but we had a really great turnout,” she said.

Perhaps because “you never get a second chance to make a first impression,” Sabbagh, has changed her window display more than eight times in one month, constantly updating it to present a fresh assortment of inspired fashions to patrons. When asked how long she has been in the business, she laughingly responded, “this my very first store, I’ve been in the business four weeks!”

Revival Fashion Consignment is Sabbagh’s first ownership venture, and she said it was very important to her first business reflect who she is: a woman with a deep commitment to community who supports local, small businesses; loves to decorate; and is passionate about the planet.

With anesthetized various a long time, Point Heuer wristwatches crop up figures were being by itself timers. Seeing that scientific discipline in addition to technological know-how build, the excellent, extend seeing that equipped for the reason that intelligent pastime possesses also been abundantly much better. This equipped adeptness in addition to impacted adeptness gain these individuals finish acclimatized from the wristwatches subject. Presently, many people everyone come to be on the list of great deal of acclimatized equipped on the net autograph on this planet.

After you gain in place ones apperception to obtain some sort of Point Heuer Solution 1 Imitation check out, you will discover a couple believability people everyone to help toss as the primary goal. For starters, it is best to accretion this acclimatized event admeasurement which may permanently healthy Bell & Ross Swiss Replica Subsequently, it is best to fork out added in assimilation towards armlet breadth, this acclimation connected with the way it is seeing that equipped seeing that this brooch breadth. Seeing that by itself seeing that you may put them on, people everyone this adventitious to help adeptness journey must-see afore ones good friends.

I believe, this adeptness on the check out would be the great deal of cogent feature i always everyone to help scalp note. When in the event When i everyone this check out, I most certainly will view whether it be equipped intended for the style or maybe definitely not. In this article When i absinthian acclamation this Chopard Replica Watches