When you need a distraction, RAVE! (video)

Caitlyn Trudnich (kroq.cbslocal.com); Dev, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

(Tove Lo) "Habits (Stay High)" She's Not on Drugs, just in love. See Sunset Strip Music Festival

Summer concerts, Los Angeles (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images/kroq.cbslocal.com)

Sigh. Coachella, Outside Lands, and HARD Summer have officially come and gone.  We’ve hung up our flower headbands and put away our wellies.  But don’t worry, there are still plenty of awesome music festivals coming up in a nearby location. From indie rock, to hip hop, to EDM, these upcoming events have something for every type of music-lover.

DIY Fest, Pomona

What's so "spiritual" about a concert? It's a communal experience with matching physical moves to a single cue, dancing to the beat. That's a way of peacefully nonverbally communicating, NVC, it's fun, it's a distraction, it can even be a celebration. We get out of our left brains and into our bodies. Then there are the lights, the stars, the other people coming together for a single purpose. It doesn't have to be a spiritual experience, but it can be!

• Dead Kennedys' singer Jello Biafra
• Unlocking The Truth to play Hollywood! (Coachella)
• Sweden's Lykke Li in L.A. ("Get Some")

Together Pangea

Echo Park Rising – August 15th-17th

Now in its fourth year, Echo Park Rising is a FREE festival, combining live music, art, food, and activities celebrating the eclectic neighborhood that is Echo Park.  Live performances from over 200 of LA’s best up-and-coming acts, including Local’s Only band Together Pangea. Enjoy strolling the local businesses and restaurants, including Blue Bag Records, Origami Vinyl, and Mohawk Bend. And it wouldn’t be a festival without yummy food!  Food trucks in attendance include Coolhaus and The Grilled Cheese Truck – mmm!

Located on main routes of Sunset Blvd., Glendale Blvd., Alvarado Ave. and Echo Park Ave. Friday 4:00-10:00 pm, Saturday 12:00-10:00 pm, Sunday 12:00-10:00 pm. Free Admission.

(Courtesy of Getty Images/Kevin Winter)

Uforia Music Festival – August 16th

Sponsored by the Hispanic American music service Uforia, this festival includes two stages, featuring popular acts in both Latin and hip hop genres, including Kid Cudi, Ludacris, and Mexican rock group Camila. Held at LA’s Exposition Park, the festival will also include a Vendor’s Village and tons of food-trucks all day.

Exposition Park, 700 State Dr., Los Angeles. 2:45 pm-12:00 am. Gen. Admission $46.05 + fees.

(Courtesy of Getty Images/Robyn Beck)

Venice Beach Music Fest – August 23rd

Whenever we visit Venice Beach, it’s guaranteed we’ll find an eclectic mix of cultures and unique arts.  The 9th Annual Venice Beach Music Fest perfectly reflects the spirit of the area, with an all-day fun and FREE experience! Live performances include legendary singer Willie Chambers, funk rockers Zen Robbi, and Middle Eastern bellydancing from Ya Harissa Bellydance Theater.  And don’t forget to hit up the after-party, featuring a founding member of Black Flag, Chuck Dukowski!

Windward Plaza Park, 1 Windward Ave., Venice Beach. 11:00 am-7:00 pm. Free admission.

(Courtesy of Getty Images/Trixie Trextor)

FYF Fest – August 23rd-24th

What began as a small music event in Echo Park created by an 18 year-old Sean Carlson, has now become a massive music festival that tons of LA festival goers look forward to every year!  Now in its 11th year and located at The LA Sports Arena and Exposition Park, this upcoming SOLD-OUT festival (like all other sellouts has lots of tickets available at the window, scalpers out front, people with a few extras, dealers, brokers, and craigslisters) promises to be a massive talent fest. With names like The Strokes, Phoenix, Interpol, Haim, Against Me!, and more, it’s sure to be a blast.

 

LA Sports Arena and Exposition Park, 3939 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles. Saturday & Sunday, 2:00 pm-12:00 am.

Long Beach Psyclone August 29th-31st

SoCal rockabilly lovers will definitely love this music festival, featuring tons of rockabilly and psychobilly performances happening all Labor Day weekend long. Held at the Seaport Marina Hotel, the weekend includes internationally known performers like The Sharks (UK) and The Long Tall Texans (UK), as well as fun record hop events, and a pool party and BBQ to culminate the weekend!

Seaport Marina Hotel, 6400 E. Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach. Weekend Pass Admission $80 + fees.

Shoreline Jam Music Festival – August 30th-31st

This awesome, Labor Day Weekend event, sponsored by KROQ, features a jam-packed live music lineup, including KROQ favorites The Dirty Heads, Pepper, and Seedless!  Located at the historic Queen Mary in Long Beach, festival-goers can enjoy a cold drink and yummy food as you stroll through the many vendors and take in the scenic views of the Long Beach harbor!

The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach. General Admission $25.  VIP Admission $75 (includes 2 drink tickets, VIP Lounge access, and access to explore the Queen Mary!)

(Courtesy of Getty Images/Theo Wargo)

Made In America Festival – August 30th-31st

Co-created by hip hop mogul Jay Z in 2012, this successful festival originated in Philadelphia. But this year marks the first time the festival will be held in Los Angeles at Grand Park. The Rocky Stage, Liberty Stage, and Freedom Tent will feature performances from some of the best in rock, hip hop, and EDM, including Imagine Dragons, Kayne West, John Mayer, Iggy Azalea, Weezer, Rise Against, Capital Cities, Steve Aoki, and many more.

Grand Park, 227 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles. 2-Day Pass Admission $200 + fees.

Mad Decent Block Party – September 13th

Created by Mad Decent founder Diplo in 2008, this Block Party tour will be visiting Los Angeles in September. Taking place at the LA Center Studios, this vibrant event will include performances from members of the Mad Decent family, including Laidback Luke, singer Elliphant, and Diplo himself!  Hey, who knows?  Maybe even rapper Riff Raff will make a guest appearance.

LA Center Studios, 1201 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles. Doors 1:00 pm

(Britt Bickel)

Sunset Strip Music Festival – September 20th-21st

One of the most happening music events in LA is the SSMF! Since 2008, the iconic Sunset Strip has been filled with performances on the street and on the legendary stages of venues such as the Whiskey A Go-Go, The Roxy Theatre, and Rainbow Bar & Grill. This year, expect the Strip to get rocked with major performances including, Jane’s Addiction, Empire Of The Sun, Cold War Kids, Mayer Hawthorne, Tove Lo of "Habits (Stay High)" fame, and more.

Saturday, 2:00-11:00 pm, Sunday, 2:00-10:00 pm. 2 Day Pass Admission $125 + fees.

LA Police Dept. kills, Ferguson burns (cartoon)

Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells, Pfc. Sandoval, Sheldon S., Wisdom Quarterly; Tom Tomorrow (This Modern World); Branden Caldwell (dayandadream); Earl Ofari Hutchinson

"Officer Friendly, why are you dressed like Darth Vader?" (thismodernworld.com)*

Our tax money funds all U.S. imperial wars. It's about time the military-industrial complex bring the equipment/tactics back and use them on US from Ferguson to L.A. (occupy.com)

Words from Malcolm X in 1964 still resonate in 2014 for Michael Brown, Renisha McBride, Trayvon Martin, Ezell Ford, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Amadou Diallo, Abner Louima, Steve Biko, Eleanor Bumpurs, Michael Strewart, Rodney King, and for all the names we don’t know. #WeAreTargets #HandsUp #DontShoot (cashmerethoughtsss/tumblr.com)

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C'mon, Brown (occupy.com)

It's easy when the U.S.-backed Israeli government is committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other assorted atrocities to blame "Jews."

If we were Trayvon Martin then, we're Michael Brown now!

But there are a few who are not to blame -- brave individuals who stand up, speak truth to power, shout "Not in my name!" and work for peace and equity -- and so it is better not to cast the net so wide as to seem to be blaming someone for something just because of their religious/cultural baggage. (Take CODEPINK/codepink.org, for example, or IJAN/ijsn.net).

Ferguson father on police brutality (DAAD)

The same is true of P.D.-backed police agents committing civilian crimes, crimes against humanity, and other small-scale atrocities.

 

To blame "cops" casts the blame a little too widely, as if all of them were to blame.

Granted, they are mostly all corrupted -- at least a little bit:

Riot to full mili (socialesteemmedia.com)

They are insofar as they are engaged in criminal conspiracies, protecting other criminal-cops behind a "code of silence," roughing up "undesirables" who can't do anything about it, and generally shirking their oaths to obey and enforce all laws rather than picking and choosing which ones to break and which to enforce, singling out certain races or groups for enhanced enforcement, and breaking laws left and right knowing that no one is going to hold them to account unless they fall afoul of the BIB (Boys in Blue) gang or the Police Protective League, with sub-gangs being their racist cliques, fellow union members, the Brass, you know, the guys down at the station...

Killing Ezell Ford: Police commission leader says LAPD, MO slayings not comparable

 .

Hands up, don't shoot (TMW)

It is amazing to find even one good cop. Of course, the majority of police seem good, very nice, respectful, honest, conscientious -- well, not behind the scenes when they don't think anyone is looking, but up front when they feel someone is paying attention. Most police we've ever met seemed like fine people, hardly the monsters that show up on TV, in court, on the streets swinging batons with glee and impunity. Now we see that they have triggers, thresholds, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde buttons that can be pushed then, stand back, sociopath in the room!

As L.A gathers to march on LAPD HQ on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014, maybe you should call Brother Sergeant De Lacy Davis to intervene, educate, and retrain abusive cops (973) 926-5717.

.

Black Cops Against Police Brutality (b-cap.org)

But back to the few, the proud, the honorable. Look at this organization, "Black Cops Against Police Brutality" (b-cap.org). It's amazing. The founder not only admits what police are really like, he knows it from first hand experience, and still talks about it. (He must be off the force because the Men in Blue would kill him otherwise; no one breaks the code of silence, the wall of conspiracy where crimes are planned, carried out, and covered up with a wink and a nod. It's gotten so bad that the Internal Affairs officers leak the names of tattletales to officers being exposed so that they can close out the investigations themselves in a way that Stalin would approve of, "No person no problem" or as our Stalins in America like to say, "Dead men tell no tales [or at least give no credible court testimony]."

*THE CARTOON: (TMW) The first draft of this "Officer Friendly" cartoon was actually written a month ago, inspired by this ACLU report and this New York Times article. [Tom Tomorrow] was saving it as a backup for some upcoming travel, but timing is everything, and as the events in Ferguson began to unfold, this went from evergreen to needing to be posted as soon as possible.

Aren't President Obama's words beautiful? He dissembles so elegantly. He addressed the "situation" in Ferguson: No one should disobey police and, of course, police probably should not, you know, kill unarmed teens or arrest reporters doing their job bringing us the news... It reminds one of the time he admitted to and authorized more U.S. torture. No one noticed.

• VIDEO: Michael Brown: MO Gov. finally addresses "situation" in Ferguson (AP/KPCC) Earlier in the week, the president issued a statement saying that Brown's death is stirring "strong passions," and he appealed for reflection.
• VIDEO: Police State: Ferguson, Missouri riots
• LAPD kills Ezell Ford, protests start up (SCPR)
  
• Another African American man killed by police, LAPD...
• Justice for LAPD murder victim Ezelle Ford (tumblr) 
• Better cover-ups? L.A. police panel revises officer shooting reviews
• California's Deadliest Cops (Facebook)

Officer Friendly get militarized (TMW)

Add the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. to the recent [and yet long running] string of unnecessary [murders] at the hands of the police.
 
The Missouri teen was gunned down by an officer early Saturday afternoon. His grandmother discovered his body sprawled along the pavement minutes before he was set to return home from the store. Reports vary...

[Why would] police [want] to open fire on the boy? [It's] believed that police were called to the area looking for someone who had shoplifted from a store in the area. [But as the police chief has clarified that the murderer, Officer Daren Wilson, did not know of any such crime at the time he shot the victim in the back. Officer Wilson was merely harassing unarmed teen Michael Brown for walking off the sidewalk.]

Might there be racism on the force or in the courts? (Ezelle Ford/tumblr)

 

Brown, whose body laid in the street for several minutes before it was even covered by authorities, was unarmed. [He had his hands up, he was moving away, he apparently said, "Don't shoot" implying that he posed no threat whatsoever.]
 
Louis Head, Brown's stepfather, immediately wrote on a sign, "FERGUSON POLICE JUST EXECUTED MY UNARMED SON." There were chants from a crowd of onlookers who protested the boy's death and the [unjustified] actions of the police. The move, along with unconfirmed reports [useful as a pretext] of shots in the crowd, led to authorities from surrounding areas to assist. By the time a crowd had gathered to march down to the police station in Ferguson, police had mobilized in tanks and held dogs to try and combat any potential unrest in the area.

We're gonna bring this war home (Kemi Filani)

[NOTE: The reason they were likely so quick to deploy their arsenal is that the government program that armed them can rescind the weapons on loan if they are not used, which encourages use, abuse, and any excuse to bring out the big guns. It leads to the militarization of civilian policing, not accidentally but apparently by design. Why else would the federal government purchase so much ammunition, millions of rounds, to arm each of its agencies, most of which have no enforcement arm?] More
 

Protests return to Ferguson over cover up

A Disturbing Pattern
Why it’s nearly impossible to nail cops for using deadly force 
Earl Ofari Hutchinson (PasadenaWeekly.com, Aug. 14, 2014)

Unarmed victim Michael Brown, 18

Mike Brown is the latest name on the growing list of victims of brazen overuse of deadly force by cops. The 18-year-old Brown had his hands raised when he was gunned down by a Ferguson, Mo., police officer after a stop. Brown fit the usual pattern of those killed. In almost all cases the victims are unarmed and not accused of committing a crime. Their killings also occur in broad daylight and with witnesses present.

S. Africa's tragic anniversary

Another part of this familiar and deeply disturbing pattern is that they are young African Americans or Latinos. The officers who commit these deadly acts are placed on paid administrative leave, and police officials, when confronted with demands from civil rights and community leaders for an investigation, make solemn promises to do just that. They assure us their investigations will be thorough and impartial. That’s the start of the problem. More

When white cops get weapons of war (video)

Pat Macpherson, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; Sadhbh Walshe (Guardian via Occupy)

CIA-trained Chilean cop patrolling on horseback, medieval (nocaptionneeded.com)

The war on Americans. Sniper sits training military-grade weapon on unarmed U.S. civilians with the audacity to protest being killed in the streets by killer cops. Michael BrownFerguson protestsPolice brutalityPolice killingsRacial killingsPolice militarization

  .

"Enemy combatants" getting uppity in USA?

We can argue about the looting and brick-throwing. We can argue about what constitutes a race “riot” these days -- and why in the world we are seeing teargas being shot every other evening in the suburbs, or why Jim Crow-reminiscent police dogs are being released in the year 2014.

 

Charlie-Bravo-Haji, we see them coming. Arm up the MRAP before they lawyer up.

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There are a lot of things worth arguing about now that the world’s eyes are focused on Ferguson, Missouri, a town where two-thirds of the population is black yet 50 of the 53 police offers there are white and where one of those officers infamously gunned down an unarmed black kid in broad daylight.

• Police State: Ferguson, Missouri riots
• Post Traumatic Slavery Syndrome (Prof. DeGruy) 
• Mass Incarceration for ALL U.S. "troublemakers" (Dr. Michelle Alexander/newjimcrow.com) 
• The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance...
• White Supremacy and Slavery (Prof. Gerald Horne/Salon)

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome

But here is something that makes no sense: Ferguson (population 21,135) has about 40 robberies per year, a couple of homicides, almost no arson cases, and a crime rate only a bit higher than the national average. Indeed, the town’s crime rate was going down as of two years ago, when the last major data set is available. Ditto in neighboring St. Louis.

Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAP) save military lives while killing lots of bystanders and civilians. Oh well. Survivors share stories. Since it was established in October 2006, the Joint MRAP Vehicle Program has delivered more than 26, 000 MRAP vehicles to Iraq and Afghanistan. This is the largest acquisition program for the Department of Defense since World War II. Video courtesy of Marines TV (player.theplatform.com). Still want to glorify war? Then visit jieddo.dod.mil or why not follow the militants on Twitter (twitter.com/JIEDDO) while being spied by Facebook (facebook.com/TheJIEDDO)?

 

Occupy together (occupy.com)

Now St. Louis isn’t exactly the ideal of safety, but two years ago the St. Louis Police Department acquired a Lenco BearCat armored military vehicle, a “tactical support vehicle,” and a helicopter that’s popular with the Korean Air Force. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security donated a 22-ton Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle -- the thing the US military used on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan -- to the police department in nearby St. Charles, Missouri (population 66,463). More - Latest - Most Read - Did you miss it...
 

The Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) is a tracked armored engineer vehicle  specifically designed for conducting in-stride breaching of minefields  and complex obstacles (armyrecognition.com). The ABV is built on the same chassis as the General Dynamics-built  M1A1 Abrams main battle tank. The Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) is a  single platform that will provide deliberate and in-stride breaching  capability to the assault force of the Marine Air Ground Task Force. Army Recognition online Defence & Security magazine (eurosatory.com).

The Militarization of U.S. Police: Finally Dragged Into the Light by the Horrors of Ferguson

America now has a domestic police force that looks, thinks and acts more like an invading and occupying military than a community-based force to protect the public. More

Shift Change: A Film About Worker-Owned Businesses And Why They Work

This new documentary highlights worker-owned enterprises in North America and the remarkable Mondragon cooperatives in the Basque region of northern Spain. More

How Crony Capitalism and Deregulation Poisoned Toledo's Water

Like other water-related crises this year in West Virginia and Detroit, the poisoning of Toledo's water is tied to corruption at the highest levels of state government by corporate special interests. More
  

Edward Snowden, The Most Wanted Man in the World

"I’m an engineer, not a politician. I don’t want the stage. I’m terrified of giving these talking heads some distraction, some excuse to jeopardize, smear, and delegitimize a very important movement.” More

 

"The Kill Team" U.S. in Afghanistan (film)

Pfc. Sandoval, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Dan Krauss (killteammovie.com); Nuart

Why do we as Americans kill around the world? We join "kill teams" and commit atrocities and, rarely, we get prosecuted for it. Why does our government do it to us, leading us to our worst potential as human beings? It is -- as revealed by the high ranking U.S. military man Smedley Butler -- because WAR IS A RACKET!

WARNING: Graphic photos and candid discussion of killing not in warfare but for amusement!

(The Young Turks) Ben Mankiewicz, Wes Clark Jr., and Michael Shure discuss a new report in Rolling Stone magazine about a "rogue" U.S. military Kill Team in Afghanistan that sought out and murdered helpless civilians for fun and terrorist glory. At Minute 2:37 the American soldiers seem to have done more to this child than murdered him: homosexual rape is indicated by removed trousers and blood stains. Do Americans really commit war crimes and crimes against humanity? Do they really chop off fingers (Angulimala- and War on Vietnam-style) and keep them as "trophies" of their murders? Do American soldiers develop PTSD? Moral injuries? Savagery while hypocritically calling innocent Afghans trying to defend themselves and their families against another brutal invasion "barbarians"?

Climate Chaos: Landslides kill in Nepal and L.A.

Pat Macpherson, Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly; PasadenaStarNews; Los Angeles Times (World Briefing, 8-4-14); Rob Simone (Coast to Coast, 8-2-14)

They're all dead? So, what, I load this thing then press it against my head? (Jos Martin/flickr)

As a consequence of climate chaos -- brought about by geoengineering, weather modification, and the military-industrial complex's aerosol dispersion/chemtrail programs now extended worldwide -- Nepal and Los Angeles have been flooded by unexpected rain bursts. The downpours, following periods of drought conditions that kill off supportive vegetation that usually holds the ground in place, caused landslides that buried many alive and led to control efforts.

Scores of people lost in landslide

Rural North Nepal, Pangboche Khombu (wiki)

There was no chance of finding any of the more than 150 people believed to have been buried by a massive landslide in northern Nepal, an official said.

Rescuers had recovered only eight bodies since the landslide early Saturday blocked a mountain river, causing the water to form a lake that was threatening to burst and sweep several villages. Rainfall Sunday hampered search attempts.

"We have no chance of fiding any of the missing people alive under this pile of debris," said Yadav Prasad Loirala, who heads the government's Department of Natural Disaster Management. "We have names of 159 people who ar3e believed to be missing and buried, but there could be even more people."

Mt. Baldy (L.A.'s own Everest) hit by flooding

A worker clears the road after a flash flood swept across Valley of the Falls Drive on Sunday in Forest Falls. (Micah Escamilla/PasadenaStarNews.com)

  

Heavy rains in Southern California bring flash floods, mudslides, closures

City News Service, AP, and staff reports (pasadenastarnews.com) Aug. 3, 2014, 10:33 pm

Truck sits in mud after flash flood swept LA

Northern foothills of Los Angeles - A thunderstorm that lasted only about an hour and dropped more than 4 inches of rain Sunday [after sprinkling on Saturday night] from Glendora to Oak Glen and Angeles Crest Highway near Wrightwood.

It caused flash floods, mudslides, evacuations, washed away cars, created massive debris flows that choked roadways, stranded residents and campers, and caused at least four people to be rescued from surging floodwaters, law and fire enforcement agencies said.

 

The storm’s fury did the most damage in the Mt. Baldy area and the community of Forest Falls in San Bernardino County.

 

In the Angeles National Forest, a rock slide covered all lanes of the Angeles Crest Highway at mile marker 66 near Little Jimmy Road west of Wrightwood around 4:15 pm, and a smaller slide was reported a few minutes later on San Gabriel Canyon Road at Crystal Lake Road above Glendora, according to the California Highway Patrol.

 

A slide near the Mt. Baldy Fire Station, reported at 5:18 pm, closed Mt. Baldy Road, the CHP reported.

 

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning through 7:00 pm Sunday in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains.
 

Four to five people and dog became stranded by raging floodwater and were unable to reach their vehicle, Sgt. Rebecca Rodriguez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station said. They were airlifted to safety by a sheriff’s helicopter about 5:30 pm, she said.

 

An overturned vehicle was found near the intersection of Bear Creek and Mt. Baldy roads, but no one was inside, Rodriguez said.

 

In San Bernardino County, flash flooding washed out parts of Forest’s Falls main road, causing evacuations, and one resident had to be saved by swift water rescuers, authorities said. More

Climate Chaos: Geoengineering and Weather Manipulation
Rob Simone, Dane Wigington, Scott Stevens (coasttocoastam.com)

One Killed, Thousands Stranded Clean up crews are clearing debris, trying to reach those stranded by sudden Southern California storms yesterday.

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Climate engineering, also referred to as geoengineering, is the deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climatic system.
 
Host Rob Simone welcomed two experts on Saturday night, Dane Wigington and Scott Stevens, for a discussion on how the Earth's weather systems are being deliberately manipulated and used to disrupt the world's climate, rain patterns, snowfall, seasons, ability to grow food, and more.

 
Beyond the damage that tampering with the atmosphere has on the environment, Wigington declares that weather manipulation, conducted by the military-industrial complex (MIC) via clandestine programs such as HAARP and chemtrail spraying, also constitutes an "all out assault on life on Earth."

The weather is being used as a weapon by U.S. MIC (thelivingmoon.com)

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To that end, he contends that the rise in deaths caused by respiratory illnesses as well as the explosion in both autism and Alzheimer's disease coincide with the emergence of chemtrail contamination.
 

You're destroying my world (Clarke)

On a broader level, Wigington suggests that natural disasters, such as hurricanes, typhoons, and earthquakes, are being created by programs like HAARP as a way of allowing the United States to gain a foothold in foreign territories under the cover of "humanitarian" relief. But this is actually covert war. He points to Buddhist Thailand refusing to let the U.S. build an airbase in their country in 2011 then subsequently being afflicted/attacked with record flooding shortly thereafter. (The same happened with much worse consequences for Buddhist Japan, which was threatened then hit with quakes, a tsunami, and the subsequent nuclear disaster at Fukushima.

In addition, Wigington theorizes that Middle East nations are subjected to intense droughts as a means of destabilizing unfriendly-to-the-West regimes the U.S./MIC wishes to topple. "This whole situation is such a tangled web of corruption and insanity," he laments, noting that those who control the weather are using their power and knowledge to benefit financially from the hardships they create.

Joining the program in the second half , meteorologist Scott Stevens talked about the origins of secret weather modification and the agenda behind it. According to Stevens, the desire to control the weather arose in the Soviet Union at the advent of the Cold War as the Russians were desperate to gain a military advantage over the U.S. This experimenting with geoengineering, Stevens explains, culminated in the mid-1970's where the U.S. experienced bizarre weather conditions such as snow in Miami.
 
Based on Stevens' research, the U.S. Army revealed this secret weather war to Pres. Reagan in 1984, which resulted in the creation of the U.S.'s Strategic Defense Initiative as well as America's entering the dirty game of geoengineering.
 

Shuttle shoot down using weather

Stevens also claims that the disasters that befell the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles were not  accidents. What were they instead? "They were shoot downs," spawned from the ongoing international battle for control of the environment. Stevens alleges that, at the time of the Challenger launch, there were Soviet ships off the coast of Cape Canaveral that insisted on being in the area for reasons that remain unknown.
 
However, he added, "72 seconds later, they blew the O-ring, and we lost the shuttle." Regarding the Columbia re-entry explosion, he cites an explosive photograph taken by an amateur astronomer that shows a "right-angled, corkscrew lightning strike" that intercepted the path of the shuttle and caused it to disintegrate. Listen 

• geoengineeringwatch.org 
• weatherwars.info

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