Op/Ed

I heard .

I can’t help but wonder if this is what we have to look forward to with this new healthcare debacle.

The scary part is I see many similarities here. 

A devious, abhorrent UN film is described to emphasize how the UN hasbeen continually used as the handmaiden of genocidal military interventions arranged when predatory investments of the powerful private usurious amoral speculative investment banking industry politically referred to euphemistically as the ‘international community of nations’ read investors controlling the Neo-colonial Powers are threatened or inhibited.

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Investors in war, dominant on Wall St. almost since the birth of the US, must be calculating that it be convenient to have more, not less, people ready to die fighting  a cruel and genocidal desperate American super empire of amoral senseless greedy speculative investment banking governance.
Likely stratagem of investors interested in big wars, not skirmishes. Their trial must happen before the 3rd world conflagration being invested in

It’s difficult to square the sentiments of the author, tomaidh, in “TPP: What You Don’t Know Will Hurt You/ibrattleboro”, November 4, 2013, with the .  

Those pushing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agenda aim to enshrine corporate pillaging and weaken legislative safeguards that protect public interests and the environment. 

We see the same modus operandi at work with smart meters; proponents have introduced legislation to “make ‘smart’ meters mandatory for the entire nation”.

I have distributed the following proposal to Town Meeting Members. It should be noted that any town meeting action that may come about can only deal with the bonding amount. All other aspects of this proposal must be considered separately. Voting to change the bonding does not automatically put anything else into effect. The purpose of holding back on the second bond is to open the scope of the project to far greater possibilities and benefits.

Rethinking the Police/Fire Facilities Project

Do you want F-35 test bombs droping on Vermont? Ten years ago I lived in northern Vermont. My mother’s house and yard was adjacent to the Ethan Allen U.S. Army National Guard Firing Range on Bolton Mountain, the other side of the Mtn. From Bolton Ski Resort. 3.9 miles up a dirt road to get to Mom’s house, and when the Army was doing off M 155s the ground shook and the house shool, Now, even if the F-35 jets only drop 2,000 pound test bombs, the ground is going to shake and your house is going to shake – and they will most likely chose a rural area to drop them, not the city of Burlington.

Prosecutors, Panhandlers, and Politicians
 
Town officials spoke first. Then just like a scene from the movie, up to the mike, came one lone citizen. Central casting could not have been better at selecting just the right person to speak. He looked like every man you see every day, everywhere. Dark hair, about 5′ 7″, a blue T-shirt, denim jeans with a small hole on one knee.
 
 

I once visited the Western Wall in the holy city where notes are stuffed into the cracks, the in-box of God. Imagine, the standing ruins of Roman Jerusalem, and a procession of unique wordsmiths each hand-delivering the edited essence of their ultimate skinny.

In that crumbling courtyard, under protective eye of Uzi-packing soldiers and who-knows-what-else, I remember scribbling my note, eyeing my spot. Can’t remember what I put on paper. Nor do I recall whether my missive was responded to or not, time just washed it away.

The West Brattleboro Association is celebrating another successful barbecue. To raise funds for programs that help our neighbors and our neighborhood, we sold 216 half chickens over Columbus Day weekend.

We could not have done it without the support of our generous members and sponsors, including Joe Jewett, who gave up part of his birthday to mix up his signature marinade and serve as head chef;  Tim Cuthbertson, who coordinated the event and shared chef duties; Helen Robb, who baked many, many beans—and the rest of the Robb family, including Charlie Robb Jr., who helped with the cooking; Mary Durland, whose giant bowls of slaw rounded out a delicious meal; Carl Hirth, Kris McDermet, Stewart McDermet, and Lynette Hamilton for rounding out the crew; and Barbara Gentry, of Dynamic Words, for promoting the event.

Reports are that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is engaged in a massive, military buildup.

An article by the Associated Press () confirmed an open purchase order by DHS for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition.  

This has been confirmed elsewhere by (a private marketing news service).

This is a response to the letter in the Oct, 12th Reformer in regards to the demise of the wild beaver in the West River next to the corn field. Mr. Hamilton refers to killing a “few” beaver when in actuality a whole community was annihilated . Mr. Hamilton refers to killing scavengers such as coyotes, and vermin such as rats, Beaver are neither.

Here’s Fukushima Industries Corp.’s new mascot whose name has been humorously lost in translation.

The Japanese freezer company debuted the smiling, winged-egg creature on Monday.

It would be a more fitting mascot for TEPCO.

Is empathy making a comeback? In Brattleboro and the surrounding area, we have well-established evidence that it is. Since 2005, Daryl Pillsbury and Richard Davis have been running the Windham County Heat Fund, created to help families in financial crisis to heat their homes during the unforgiving, often brutal Vermont winters. Even after applying for fuel assistance from the State of Vermont, many families fall through the cracks, either over-qualifying for sufficient aid or receiving too little fuel to make it through the winter. Luckily, even in our era of government shutdown and drastic economic cuts to almost every social service, vulnerable populations in Windham County can still receive crucial assistance through the caring generosity of their neighbors.

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Equivalent shock for Kenyans as 9/11 was for Americans. Background of these two massacres are pathetically similar. Both were blowback on US genocidal foreign policy. Osama bin Laden in his 2002 Letter to Americans, included “attacks on Muslims in Somalia” in his list of reasons for the al Qaeda 9/11 attack. Synopsis, chronology of US genocide in Somalia given. Every American should consider his or her possible involvement.

For over 10 years I designed and sold Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory control systems. Payment for these systems was justified by reducing the carrying costs of inventory. JIT meant only having on hand (in the warehouse) what you needed to meet sales and nothing more. If you added shelf life to the equation it was further complicated. The best JIT inventory control systems were typically found at our giant grocery stores chains. Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters clearly demonstrated the principles of JIT and just how vulnerable the public is to a disruption in the flow of goods. Usually 3 days was all it took to go from fully stocked grocery store shelves to empty. Guess who is the backbone of this distribution system?

The Brattleboro Selectboard is working at a steady pace to hire a new Town Manager for Brattleboro. The list of applicants has been narrowed over the last month or so, and we’re approaching time for final interviews and a decision. We could be welcoming someone on board within a month.

What skills and attributes do we want in our next Town Manager? What could we do without?

The Brattleboro team that our new Town Manager would be joining is at the top of their proverbial game, having dealt with major infrastructure improvements, fires, floods, and FEMA in recent years. They are very capable, well-trained, and will be an excellent resource for whomever is hired. It takes a bit of the pressure off the new recruit.

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The government may shut down in a few days.

Unlike previous almost-shut-downs, this time no one seems to care.

Perhaps The White House and Congress have cried “wolf” too many times. It could be that the fear has worn off. (“Yawn.”)

Perchance we’ve been taken to the edge of the fiscal cliff too many times. It’s possible that we used to worry that we could go over, but now the edge doesn’t bother us. (“Oh, you again.”)

Kudos to the Tea Party and other Republicans in the House for their heroic efforts to limit food stamps.

They are a waste of money, and really don’t help anybody. The poor are poor before they receive food stamps, and they are still poor afterwards, though they might be a bit less hungry.

Besides, a lot of them squander the aid on unhealthy food like milk and bread.

We can learn a lot from India which has a lot of poor people. They don’t provide a lot of assistance, relying instead on the magic of the free market to solve the problem. (Chris Hedges)

For example, in Mumbai, a whole new hierarchy of entrepreneurial enterprisers has sprung up.

For well over a decade now I’ve enjoyed regular strolls along the West River Trail just past the Marina. The trail is written up in the Audubon Society due to the wide variety of wild birds. In the spring, and early Summer the path is often crossed by turtles off to lay their eggs, until recently a very common sight. Unfortunately I only saw two turtles this year, and both had been run over by the utility trucks working on the I-91 bridge. Over the last few years (probably for a number of reasons) there seems to be a lot less animal , and insect life. Hurricane Irene ,while not entirely, certainly had a hand in the lower numbers of wild life.