To the government of the state of Israel.  We are Anonymous.  For too long we have tolerated your crimes against humanity and allowed your sins to go unpunished.  Through the use of media deception and political bribery, you have amassed the sympathies of many.  You claim to be democratic, yet in reality, this is far from the truth.  In fact, your only goal is to better the lives of a select few while carelessly trampling the liberties of the masses.  We see through the propaganda that you circulate through the mainstream media and lobby through the political establishment.

Your Zionist bigotry has displaced and killed a great many. As the world weeps you laugh while planning your next attack.  All of this is done under the veil of peace, but so long as your regime exists, peace shall be hindered. You label all who refuse to comply with your superstitious demands as anti-Semitic and have taken steps to ensure a nuclear holocaust. You are unworthy to exist in your current form and will therefore face the wrath of Anonymous. Your empire lacks legitimacy and because of this, you must govern behind a curtain of deceit.  We will not allow you to attack a sovereign country based upon a campaign of lies. Your grip over humanity will weaken and man will be closer to freedom. But before this is accomplished, the people of this world will rise against you and renounce you and all your worth.

Our crusade against your reign of terror shall commence in three steps.

Step one will be initiated after the release of this video and will be comprised of systematically removing you from the internet. Step two will be later disclosed and is already in initiation; and, as for step three, well, think of this one as a present from Anonymous to you – we will not stop until the police state becomes a free state. We are Anonymous, we are legion, we do not forgive, we do not forget. Israeli government expect us.

It is not known whether Anonymous will actually follow through on the threat, as the collective has been known to abandon some plans, while misunderstanding others.  Additionally, an operation is sometimes thwarted when it’s been discovered to be the scheming of a rogue Anon.

But there has already been plenty of cyber-warring amongst hackers in the region, if this is any indicator.  Earlier in the week, Israeli hackers identifying themselves as the “IDF Team” attacked several Arab websites, including the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency and the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange, after Arab hackers launched a distributed denial of service attack on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and El Al airlines.  One of the lead hackers in Monday’s attack on Israeli targets told the Jerusalem Post that attacks would cease only “if the Israeli government apologized for what he described as a ‘genocide in Palestine.’”

A collective of Saudi hackers also hacked one of Israel’s largest sports sites and published the details of thousands of Israelis’ credit cards online.

According to Agence France Presse, a statement by “anonymous Saudi Arabian hackers” from Group-XP, the “largest Wahhabi hacker group of Saudi Arabia,” appeared on Israeli sports website One.co.il yesterday, announcing that the customer databases of multiple Israeli sites had been hacked.

Visitors were then redirected to another page, where they were invited to download lists of thousands of names, addresses, credit card numbers, expiration dates and security codes. Cards used to make payments to “Judaism” websites or “Israeli Zionist Rabbis” were among those listed, Haaretz reported.

The hackers’ statement described the attack as “a gift to the world for the new year” that they hoped “would hurt the Zionist pocket,” according to Ynet:

“It will be so fun to see 400,000 Israelis stand in line outside banks and offices of credit card companies to complain that their cards had been stolen. To see banks shred 400,000 cards and reissue them. To see that Israeli cards are not accepted around the world, like the Nigerian cards,” the hackers wrote.

Coincidentally, the incidents come at a time when some are speculating that Hamas leaders are pushing for another ‘Arab Spring’ in the region in light of their recent signing of a unity agreement with Fatah, a deal that was denounced by Israel’s prime minister.

Steve understands that while we’re trying to work our way out of this economic crisis, we have to hold the financial industry accountable to prevent the next one. That’s why Steve wrote a bill that would have taken back the bonuses paid to top executives at Wall Street firms – like AIG – that received federal bailout funds. (Source: Steve Israel For Congress Website)

Did you ever wonder where a self-proclaimed corporate raider and Occupy Wall Street supporter such as Congressman Steve Israel gets his campaign donations from?

According to Open Secrets, Israel has raised $1,581,081 for this election cycle (2011-2012), of which $15,790 comes from small donors, the “average Joe” like you and me.

Another $965,850 was raised from his top 100 donors, an all-star team of big labor and big business; many of those businesses from industries, which based on his committee assignments, Israel is supposed to be overseeing (including those Wall Street firms he talks about on his campaign site). The following takes a look at the donations to his reelection campaign and political action committee (PAC).

Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Service Employees International Union, AFSCME, Asbestos Workers Union, Teamsters Union, United Transportation Union, Plumbers/Pipefitters Union, Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association,  Air Line Pilots Association, American Federation of Teachers, Sheet Metal Workers Union, National Electrical Contractors Association, Mason Tenders District Council of NY, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen,  National Air Traffic Controllers Association, National Association of Letter Carriers, Boilermakers Union,  Operating Engineers Local 138,  Operating Engineers Union, American Postal Workers Union, Communications Workers of America, Credit Union National Association and National Association of Postal Supervisors.

Among his defense contractor donations are; BAE Systems, Honeywell International,  Northrop Grumman,  Stidd Systems,  L-3 Communications,  Lockheed Martin, Boeing Co, Dasnet, AmerisourceBergen Corp, General Electric, United Technologies, Curtiss-Wright Corp,  and ITT Industries.

Israel also receives almost $39,000 from Big Health-related Corporations such as Henry Schein Inc, the Community Oncology Alliance, the American Hospital Association, US Oncology and Sandata Technologies. I am sure that it has nothing to do with his work in pushing through that big healthcare bill he didn’t read before he voted for its passage.

Big Law Firms: Speaking of healthcare, do you want to know why there is no tort reform in the Obamacare bill? Democratic leaders like Steve Israel will tell you it’s because tort reform hurts the little guy. Sadly that has nothing to do with it, because Tort reform brings down healthcare costs, thus helping the little guy.

The real reason is that for the lack of tort reform is the Democrats get lots of cash from the legal industry. According to Open Secrets almost $1.5 trillion dollars was donated by the legal industry since 1990. Over 71% of those donations have gone to Democratic Party candidates and PACs. So don’t look at the $66,000 Steve Israel got from giant law firms as he is somehow being owned by these firms, think of as he is just following a Democratic Party tradition.

Long Island Congressman Steve Israel can be called Mr. Big. He gets the bulk of his campaign donations, from Big Labor and Big Corporations. Some of these companies operate in the very industries Congressman Israel is supposed to be overseeing.

DNCC Chair Israel’s reliance on campaign donations from the industries he is supposed to be overseeing cannot be good for his constituents. In the end, what is going to sway Steve Israel more, the $965 thousand from big labor and giant corporations, or the $15 thousand he got from folks like you and me? I think you know the answer.

Today marks the 101st anniversary of Reagan’s birth. If you miss him and wish for another like Reagan, join The Heritage Foundation in sharing your thoughts in their new Facebook app:

And be sure to check out the Reagan Library for more information.

I have watched Ron Paul for a very long time and one trend I see over and over is the split that emerges between people of roughly under the age of 40 and those who are older when his name is mentioned. I have no polling data to back this up, but young people seem to like Ron Paul and older people seem not to.

This is by no means uniform. I know plenty of older folks who love the good doctor and plenty of young people who do not like him, but generally the above statement holds I think. Why is this?

Fundamentally I believe it comes down to faith in the markets and whether or not one is playing for the future, or if one is clinging to the past.

Young people have much to lose in the economic quagmire we find ourselves in, namely their future. They recognize that times have changed, that the old economic regime is corrupt, and in order to get things going in any real way (not government stimulated) fundamental reforms must be implemented. Many, including myself would embrace a gold standard or a standard based on a basket of commodities. This is a radical departure from the Fed centered fiat currency regime. It would disrupt the current economic order, but a reset is needed and many young people recognize that it is vital that we head in this direction before it is too late. The economic hubris of the 20th century has come home to roost. We would like a real economy.

Older people understandably believe they have much to lose with a reality based economic system(I know this is a loaded term) such as the one Ron Paul advocates. In fairness they likely do.

If one has spent a lifetime compiling paper currency, amassing sums large and small in IRAs and retirement plans, a gold centered revolution could be pretty scary. For many people, especially those who are just now retiring, they have lived their entire lives with the understanding that the money they have saved will provide for their future. It’s a pretty reasonable assumption.

They, and even many long committed “conservatives” believe in the current system. The truth is, they like a large state. They like Social Security, and indeed many rely on it (which makes economic sense if one believes that the current New Deal based system is sustainable and they had always been told that it was.)

The baby boomers are also children of the Cold War where a massive military in the face of the Soviet threat seemed to, and arguably did, make sense. A large state is deeply engrained in the grey matter of the older generation and this is completely understandable.

However even older people must adapt when the alternative is catastrophe.

We are not yet at the point where a majority of thinking people understand the extent of the economic challenges that lay before us. My sense is that many smart older people know that there is much that is wrong, and that something must be done, but that the regime to which they have given so much of their lives can still be saved without real change. In fact many bristle at the thought. Ron Paul is an agent of change, and so they bristle at Dr. Paul.

Aside from the new economic paradigm Ron Paul introduces, something that is at least equally as scary for some is Ron Paul’s foreign policy stance. The thought that the United States should dominate the world, and that it would be dangerous for it not to, runs deep in the baby boomer generation.

For a generation that it is said to not only recognized the folly of Vietnam but brought an end to it, the boomers seem pretty keen on keeping the war machine going. The concept of the military as “big government” is lost on many baby boomer conservatives.

It doesn’t seem lost on many active duty members of the military however, who have given more to Ron Paul than to any other presidential candidate in this election cycle. But most of those active duty folks are young.

What I write here is probably moot of course. It looks like the establishment has gotten Mitt-”I don’t worry about the poor” -Romney, just as it wanted. But Ron Paul will collect enough delegates to make noise at the convention that is for sure.

Also, though the Republican establishment may feel that it has effectively put down the libertarian uprising, liberty oriented Republicans are the future if the GOP wishes to remain viable.

The libertarians are young, committed, information savvy, economically correct, and they are going to see their time in the sun like it or not.

The smartest, most innovative political thinkers on what is called the “right” aren’t in the Romeny, or Gingrich camp, they are in the Ron Paul camp. And the GOP knows it. But the party will fight this reality every step of the way. The real question is whether the Dick Cheney types would rather commit party suicide than capitulate to the New Wave. We’ll see.

Just as the Goldwater Republicans overtook the Rockefeller Republicans, the Ron Paul Republicans will take things further down the freedom path as they eclipse the Bushies.

Time may not have come today, but it is coming.

This article was originally posted at AgainstCronyCapitalism.org.

Over 100 entries were involved in the parade including marching bands, motorcycle groups, and military units. In addition, some 600 veterans, many in military uniforms and fatigues, marched down Market Street waving and giving salutes and thumbs-up to the crowd.

Organizers estimated the turnout reached 100,000. It was truly an honor and a privilege to be able to attend this parade and help welcome home and honor our brave soldiers. More photographs from the parade can be seen here.

When parades happen in downtown St.Louis, it is customary that many businesses along the parade route allow spectators to use their front steps in order to gain a better view of the parade. This access is incredibly helpful to those who are elderly or suffer from disabilities. A good example of this is the Peabody Opera House at 1400 Market Street as pictured in the background below:

The parade route stretched from 4th St. & Market St. down along Market St. to Union Station.
Click to Enlarge

Absolutely all of the businesses along Market Street allowed such access during Saturday’s parade welcoming home our U.S. military, well, all except the Bank of America Plaza. Bank of America was so adamant about denying access to their precious “patio”, as one security guard described it as he repeatedly told me to leave, that they made sure these large barricades were in place before many arrived.

This additional elevated vantage point would have been greatly appreciated by spectators to last Saturday’s parade wanting to show their support for our troops whether they were elderly, disabled, veterans or not.

For a bank that is already suffering from the image of being “against our troops” by their recent illegal foreclosure tactics against our U.S. servicemen, last Saturday was a real missed opportunity. As ABC News reported on Nov. 11th, 2011:

At least 160 active members of the U.S. military had their homes “illegally foreclosed upon” by the Bank of America, according to the Justice Department.

One thing the execs at Bank of America could have done was spend a few dollars and help area veterans, who could not easily make it to this event, and position them on their patio so they could enjoy the parade and show their support as well. I guess the brain trust at BofA missed that one.

Oh, but that would cost more than just requesting barricades to keep out those wanting to welcome home our brave servicemen and servicewomen. I suppose when you have presidents bail-out your bank to the tune of $45 Million, you don’t have to worry about PR or doing the ‘right thing’ like other businesses. No fear of failure here.

The Texas Congressman has made the assertion several times during the past few years, and reiterated it last night during the Republican debates in Florida when he argued that the U.S. had committed an act of war by “blockading” Iran (which the U.S. is not doing).

“We’re blockading them,” Paul said to a Tampa audience. “Can you imagine what we would do if someone blockaded the Gulf of Mexico? That would be an act of war–so the act of war has already been committed and this is retaliation.”

But Amir Fakhravar, a pro-democracy freedom fighter who was imprisoned and tortured by the Islamic Republic, disagrees.

Fakhravar, who spoke to Big Government today, says: “Sanctions weaken the government so much it will eventually empower the people of Iran to change their own regime without war,” and added that ”Ron Paul’s foreign policy toward the Islamic Republic is wrong. If we don’t have hard sanctions against the regime they will have more money to buy weapons, and then we will definitely have war.”

Fakhravar was imprisoned in 2002 for calling to rescind the powers of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and the Council of Guardians. During part of his sentence he was taken to a military detention camp where he underwent the first known example of “white torture.” He escaped in 2006 and came to the United States. Fakhravar is now a Research Fellow and Visiting Lecturer at the Center for the Study of Culture and Security at The Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C.

“If the United States lifts sanctions and Iran eventually gets the bomb, that means war,” he added.

Paul’s argument presents problems under international law and from a historical perspective. First, under international law sanctions are not considered “acts of war.” Second, if any incident can be pinpointed as the first “act of war” between the blossoming Islamic Republic and the United States it was the November 4, 1979 violent takeover of the American Embassy by pro-revolutionary student radicals.

Ron Paul has argued in the past that the United States is responsible for acts of war against Iran, and even implied during the December Iowa Caucus that Iran was justified in building it’s nuclear program to “gain respect from (Israel).”

Prior to the passage of the “Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010,” Paul took the floor at the U.S. House of Representatives and argued that America’s threat not to trade with countries that traded with Iran was also an act of war.

Paul said the following:

Sanctions are very serious. Sanctions are literally an act of war–when you prevent certain goods and services going into a country, it’s like a blockade. There’s no advantage to us to do this. The sanction bill literally says that any country that trades or sends oil into Iran, we would no longer trade with them… so often well intentioned foreign policy procedures backfire they have unintended consequences and too often there’s blowback… Sanctions lead to hostilities. If you’re committing to sanctions then you’re committing to the next step… The sanctions on the 1990’s and the year 2000, the sanctions in Iraq eventually led to the hostilities and the war and the invasion.

Yet the United States is not the only entity that has implemented sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

On June 9, 2010, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1929 implementing restrictions on missiles and other materials that could be used to build destructive weapons in the post-revolutionary state.

U.S. sanctions began in 1979 after the embassy takeover when President Carter implemented Executive Order 12170 freezing $12 billion in Iranian assets, and during the 1980’s, President Reagan implemented a number of sanctions against the Islamic Republic ranging from weapons trading bans to the importation and exportation of goods.

Still, Paul blames the United States for responding appropriately to the violent, anti-American hostilities that the fundamentalist revolution has fostered ever since the overthrow of the Shah and the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

The United States of America has not committed an act of war against Iran. Her actions have been cautiously measured in response to violent hostilities and threats repeatedly emanating from a hostile and oppressive regime that has been fundamentally anti-American from its origin. If the U.S. does not enforce sanctions against Iran it only increases the chances of an actual “hot war” since the Islamic Republic has repeatedly made threats against America and Israel.

The collective of hackers known as Anonymous attacked numerous government and recording industry websites this evening, shutting the sites down for hours as of this posting.

The attacks stem from a two year investigation into content sharing website Megaupload.com.  The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment today (after waiting an extra day to avoid coinciding with the SOPA protests), shut down the Megaupload website and arrested up to eight people in connection with the bust, including Megaupload founder Kim “Dotcom” Schmitz.  The actions provoked anger and triggered retaliation from Anonymous, according to Twitter accounts that regularly tweet news related to the collective of hackers.

The list of affected targets includes the Department of Justice, the FBI, Recording Industry Association of America, UniversalMusic.com, and others.  There are also reports that the US Patent and Trademark Office may have been targeted as well.

From the Washington Post:

Federal authorities Thursday indicted two firms and shut down one of the Web’s most popular sites for sharing illegally pirated material, triggering a quick response from hackers who claimed credit for taking down the Web sites of the Justice Department, Recording Industry Association of America and other media companies in retaliation.

The grand jury indictment, which caps a two-year investigation, charges seven people and Megaupload.com and other related sites with running an international organized criminal enterprise. Investigators said the group generated more than $175 million in income and cost copyright owners more than $500 million.

Justice Department officials said yesterday that the timing of its indictment was coincidental and had nothing to do with a debate on Capitol Hill over a bill that took aim at piracy online.

“This action is among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States,” the Justice Department and FBI said in a statement.

Nevertheless, the federal action angered hackers, escalating the growing battle between the Web’s powerbrokers, both legitimate and illicit, and Washington, which has been seeking ways to clamp down on pirated content.

The Department of Justice released a statement on its website tonight, stating in part (since the DoJ site is down, portions of the statement are available at Mercury News, Silicon Valley):

“The Department of Justice web server hosting justice.gov is currently experiencing a significant increase in activity, resulting in a degradation in service,” the agency said in a statement. “The Department is working to ensure the website is available while we investigate the origins of this activity, which is being treated as a malicious act until we can fully identify the root cause of the disruption.”

…

“Our website and many others, including the Department of Justice, were attacked today and the hacker group Anonymous is taking responsibility for the attacks,” the statement read.

“The motion picture and television industry has always been a strong supporter of free speech,” the statement added. “We strongly condemn any attempts to silence any groups or individuals.”

You can read the complete 72-page indictment here or below:

Megaupload Indictment –

This story is still developing, so be sure to check back with Big Government for more on Anonymous’ activity and on the Justice Department’s investigation and indictment of  Megaupload.com.