The Sunday 'Report;' 01/27/2013; Part 3

What the National Pamphleteers Don't Report:
Let elderly people 'hurry up and die'
by Justin McCurry,
guardian.co.uk
January 22, 2013
Japan's new government is barely a month old, and already one of its most senior members has insulted tens of millions of voters by suggesting that the elderly are an unnecessary drain on the country's finances.
Taro Aso, the finance minister, said on Monday that the elderly should be allowed to "hurry up and die" to relieve pressure on the state to pay for their medical care.
"Heaven forbid if you are forced to live on when you want to die. I would wake up feeling increasingly bad knowing that [treatment] was all being paid for by the government," he said during a meeting of the national council on social security reforms. "The problem won't be solved unless you let them hurry up and die."
Aso's comments are [....]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/22/elderly-hurry-up-die-japanese

25 Things I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco
by Jason Evanish,
jasonevanish.com
January 17, 2013
I moved to San Francisco 9 months ago from the East Coast bastion of Boston. Despite having experience living in a major US city, I found quite a few surprises coming here. Some have been great, while others not so much.
If you’re planning the move here, I hope this will help you know better what to expect. And if you already live in SF, this should give you a laugh or two and hopefully inspire you to leave a comment with anything I missed. Consider this the guide I wish someone had given me when I moved here.
It gets cold at 4pm.
On the east coast I got used to it staying warm on a nice day til 10pm. If it was 70 degrees in the morning, you could rest assured that the temperature would be about 70 when you left work that night. That is not the case here.
Working in SoMa, I’ve found [....]
http://jasonevanish.com/2013/01/17/25-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-moving-to-san-francisco/

C4L.... Blasts House GOP Plans to Cave In.... on Debt Ceiling
by Megan Stiles
campaignforliberty.org
January 18, 2013
Campaign for Liberty released the following statement from C4L President John Tate today blasting House GOP leadership after they announced a debt ceiling plan that indicates the GOP retreat will continue when they return to Washington:
 "The Republican retreat was only supposed to last a week, but now it appears it will last the entire 113^th Congress. With a $16 Trillion national debt, it is the very definition of insanity for so-called ‘fiscal conservatives’ to hand President Obama – the biggest spender in our nation’s history – a blank check to continue.... [....]
 http://www.campaignforliberty.org/national-blog/c4l-president-john-tate-blasts-house-gop-plans-to-cave-in-to-obama-and-reid-on-debt-ceiling/

Do Gun Control Laws Control Guns?
by Dr Thomas Sowell,
creators.com
January 21, 2013
The gun control controversy is only the latest of many issues to be debated almost solely in terms of fixed preconceptions, with little or no examination of hard facts.
Media discussions of gun control are dominated by two factors: the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment. But the over-riding factual question is whether gun control laws actually reduce gun crimes in general or murder rates in particular.
If, as gun control advocates claim, gun control laws really do control guns and save lives, there is nothing to prevent repealing the Second Amendment, any more than there was anything to prevent repealing the Eighteenth Amendment that created Prohibition.
But, if the hard facts show that gun control laws do not actually control guns, but instead lead to more armed robberies and higher murder rates after law-abiding citizens are disarmed, then gun control laws would be a bad idea, even if there were no Second Amendment and no National Rifle Association.
The central issue boils down to the question: What are the facts? Yet there are many zealots who seem utterly unconcerned about facts or about their own lack of knowledge of facts.
There are people who have never fired a shot in their life who do not hesitate to declare how many bullets should be the limit to put into a firearm's clip or magazine. Some say ten bullets but New York state's recent gun control law specifies seven.
Virtually all gun control advocates [....]
http://www.creators.com/opinion/thomas-sowell/do-gun-control-laws-control-guns.html

Mexico's Drug War: Persisting Violence and a New President
Staff Report,
STRATfor.com
January 17, 2013
Editor's Note: This week's Security Weekly summarizes our annual Mexico drug cartel report, in which we assess the most significant developments of 2012 and provide updated profiles of the country's powerful criminal cartels as well as a forecast for 2013. The report is a product of the coverage we maintain through our Mexico Security Memo, quarterly updates and other analyses that we produce throughout the year as part of the Mexico Security Monitor service.
In 2013, violence in Mexico likely will remain a significant threat nationwide to bystanders, law enforcement, military and local businesses. Overall levels of violence decreased during 2011, but cartel operations and competition continued to afflict several regions of Mexico throughout 2012. These dangers combined with continued fracturing among cartels, such as Los Zetas, could cause overall violence to increase this year.
A New President
2013 will be the first full year in office for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who campaigned on promises to stem cartel violence. The most significant of his initiatives is his plan to consolidate and restructure federal law enforcement in Mexico. Pena Nieto's ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party has introduced legislation that [....]
Mexico's Drug War: Persisting Violence and a New President | Stratfor

Guns
by Oliver North,
townhall.com
January 18, 2013
    Official Washington has the collective attention span of a fruit fly. This condition is exacerbated by the Obama administration's proclivity for declaring selective events and issues to be crises that require immediate action. The problem is aggravated because the loyal opposition is in nearly total disarray, and few in the so-called mainstream media have any idea what they are talking about.
    That's the summary assessment of many attending the annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show here in Harry Reid's Nevada. Note to editors and broadcast producers: The SHOT Show isn't a gun show. Nobody here can buy or sell a single firearm. There are guns here -- and tents, boats, clothing, boots, camping gear, all-terrain vehicles, SUVs, bows, arrows, fishing tackle and all manner of police and equipment -- even high-tech wheelchairs for outdoor activities. The SHOT Show isn't open to the public -- only to representatives of the industries above, professional outfitters, law enforcement officials and military suppliers and contractors.
My first SHOT Show, in 1992, was as the manufacturer of specialty armor and ballistic protective equipment for law enforcement and our military. This year, I came to represent the Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee of the National Rifle Association. Freedom Alliance sent our outreach coordinator to explore additional outdoor activities to help America's military heroes recover from the wounds of war.
Trade shows are really nothing more than [....]
http://townhall.com/columnists/olivernorth/2013/01/18/guns-n1491991/page/full/

The Growing Terror List and Brainwashing of the Military
by Bob Livingston,
Personal Liberty Digest
January 18, 2013
Members of the U.S. military are increasingly being conditioned (i.e., brainwashed) into perceiving Constitutionalists, Tea Party members, 2^nd Amendment advocates and members of the liberty movement as terrorists. And the list of groups that are “right-wing” terrorists continues to grow.
The Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., is out with a new report titled “Challengers from the Sidelines: Understanding America’s Violent Far Right.” The report lumps limited government activists into three categories it claims [....]
Members of the U.S. military are increasingly being conditioned (i.e., brainwashed) into perceiving Constitutionalists, Tea Party members, 2^nd Amendment advocates and members of the liberty movement as terrorists. And the list of groups that are “right-wing” terrorists continues to grow.
The Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., is out with a new report titled “Challengers from the Sidelines: Understanding America’s Violent Far Right.” The report lumps limited government activists into three categories it claims
Members of the U.S. military are increasingly being conditioned (i.e., brainwashed) into perceiving Constitutionalists, Tea Party members, 2^nd Amendment advocates and members of the liberty movement as terrorists. And the list of groups that are “right-wing” terrorists continues to grow.
The Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., is out with a new report titled “Challengers from the Sidelines: Understanding America’s Violent Far Right.” The report lumps limited government activists into three categories it claims [....]
http://personalliberty.com/2013/01/21/the-growing-terror-list-and-brainwashing-of-the-military/

65% See Gun Rights As Protection Against Tyranny
by Scott Rasmussen,
rasmussenreports.com
January 18, 2013
Two-out-of-three Americans recognize that their constitutional right to own a gun was intended to ensure their freedom.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% of American Adults think the purpose of the Second Amendment is to make sure that people are able to protect themselves from tyranny. Only 17% disagree, while another 18% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Not surprisingly, [....]
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/gun_control/65_see_gun_rights_as_protection_against_tyranny
Until Next Sunday....