In the news:

Have we seen the last of free elections in the United States?

Thousands of fraud cases just 'tip of iceberg'

A group that monitors elections in Minnesota and roots out fraudulent votes is warning ballot fraud is on the rise across the nation, and if unchecked, the ultimate consequences would be an electorate that simply doesn't believe the system works and refuses to participate – "a total breakdown in the cohesion of American society.

"That's from spokesman Dan McGrath of the Minnesota Majority, which advocates for traditional values in state and federal public policy through grassroots activism. The group also contributes to the work of ElectionIntegrityWatch.com to focus specifically on elections and voter fraud.

This is a story that many of us have been following and it has been getting ominously worse and worse with each election.

"These convictions are just the tip of the iceberg," said Davis. "The actual number of illegal votes cast was in the thousands. Most unlawful voters were never charged with a crime because they simply pled ignorance. We have evidence of these people casting illegal ballots, but in Minnesota, ignorance of election law is considered to be an acceptable defense."

The issue of trouble in American elections was the sole focus of a Whistleblower Magazine issue two years ago, and a new book by Matthew Vadum, "Subversion Inc.: How Obama's ACORN Red Shirts are Still Terrorizing and Ripping Off American Taxpayers," explains how the ACORN organization, under new names in various states, continues its campaign to influence elections.

Remember this?

Minnesota Majority notes that in 2008, the Minnesota U.S. Senate race was decided by just 312 votes.

However, a cloud of doubt still hangs over the results. Post-election analysis showed that hundreds of ineligible felons voted in the election.

Over 17,000 more ballots were counted than voters accounted for as having voted in our Statewide Voter Registration System. Over 23,000 addresses provided by Election Day registrants could not be verified. Voter rolls contained the names of non-citizens and deceased individuals," the organization reported.

What that means is that Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., may not have won, although he has been casting votes from his U.S. Senate seat ever since.

That's just one small example. Voter fraud is widespread:

"Political analysts estimate that voter fraud may account for 3 percent of the vote in any given election. Applying this statistic to Minnesota's 2006 gubernatorial election, that would mean that we would have had over 66,000 fraudulent votes.

Further, it reported in 2008, ACORN registered more than 40,000 people to vote in Minnesota.

While ACORN officially went out of business earlier this year, Vadum has documented how most of the people involved simply reported many times to the same offices and same work desks, just under the name of a new organization.

There is much more to this article; one that is clearly in the "read it and weep" category.

Anti-capitalist protests turn into global movement

There were rallies in 951 cities in 80 countries around the globe on Saturday, building on an campaign launched on May 15 with a rally in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square by a group calling itself "Indignados" ("Indignants").

In Rome, which saw the worst violence of the day, the march quickly degenerated into street battles between groups of hooded protesters and riot police, sending peaceful demonstrators fleeing.

Rome counts costs of worst street violence in years

Italian officials on Sunday said the protesters who ran riot in Rome the previous day had caused one million euros of damage to public buildings. The violence, which broke out at an anti-capitalist protest, injured 135 people.

Interviewed by ANSA in hospital, a police officer who fled from his van shortly before it was set on fire by protesters at the height of Saturday's clashes said he had never seen violence on this scale.

This next article presents a primer on marxism and reveals the movement is alive and well today in these protests:

Marxist Matrix of Occupy Protesters, Obama and George Soros

...one can only sense the underlying group-think structure driving these idealistic yet confused souls into action. The strange fixation on Marxism of George Soros and Obama, attaching them to Occupy’s anti-capitalist anarchism are the topics of this essay.

This is an article that is definitely worth reading. Additionally, at the end of the article one can find a list of organizations that Mr Soros supports. The conclusion:

Marxism is the “freedom” that Soros, Obama and the Occupy protesters would like to deliver to America. But we must be aware and not naive when groups suddenly appear, realizing our times are the Age of Propaganda where precious few things are as they seem.

The madly destructive Soros, like Thomas Kyd’s Personified Revenge, grows restless and vexed not seeing America laid waste in the gutter before his octogenarian heart gives out.

White House Draws Closer To Occupy Wall Street

The White House continued its embrace of the Occupy Wall Street protests on Sunday, using the strongest terms yet to identify President Barack Obama with the growing movement.

Earnest added that while on the trip, Obama will make it clear that he is fighting to make certain that the “interests of 99 percent of Americans are well represented” — the first time the White House has used the term to differentiate the vast majority of Americans from the wealthy.

Obama launches cultural warfare

Obama’s reelection strategy is about more than the haves and have-nots. It appears he is seeking to stir up full-blown cultural warfare against a large and diverse segment of society known as Republicans.

Having failed to lower the unemployment rate to a politically tolerable level, Obama cannot run as most presidential candidates do — on the economy. So he and his advisers seem to have decided instead to mount a deeply polarizing campaign based on “values” — suggesting his vision for America is correct even if the economy is not right yet.

By painting his opposition as not just wrong but evil, Obama risks dividing the nation in a profound and unnecessary way.

U.S. Begins Huge Military Maneuvers Aimed at Iran

The United States will this week commence huge military maneuvers aimed at Iran, with a massive air fleet patrolling middle eastern skies ready to land at any time, in response to Iran’s involvement in an alleged assassination plot that experts have labeled dubious, amidst fears that US and Israeli targets could be hit by attacks.

The US military will respond this week with a series of significant military maneuvers designed to threaten Iran, including, “an American air fleet in Middle East skies ready to land at any moment for any contingency,” reports DebkaFile.

The United States launches a large-scale exercise over the Middle East deploying 41 giant transports of the 22nds Airlift Squadron Monday Oct. 17,” states the report, adding that the aircraft will be packed with fully equipped, battle ready troops.
A further seven warships from the Stennis Battle Group will also “provide ground troops with combat support and strike land and sea targets.”

The Israeli, Egyptian and Saudi armies have also been placed on maximum preparedness, echoing reports that U.S. troops being sent to the region have also been put on full alert.

US worries over China's underground nuclear network

A leading US lawmaker who fears budget cuts could delay modernizing the US nuclear arsenal voiced concern Friday about an extensive tunnel complex designed to house Chinese nuclear missiles.

"This network of tunnels could be in excess of 5,000 kilometers (3,110 miles), and is used to transport nuclear weapons and forces," said Michael Turner, who chairs a House Armed Services Committee panel focusing on strategic weapons and other security programs.

This commentary provides a very interesting perspective:

Israel Celebrates Life-Militant Islam Celebrates Murder

Saturday’s NY Times has 2 articles side by side regarding the emotions of Israeli Jews & Palestinian Arabs surrounding the impending release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was kidnapped 5 years ago by terrorists and has been held hostage ever since.

Amazingly, the world’s media (and Israel PR Machines) have missed so much of this story which the world hasn’t (or doesn’t want to hear). A sickening, usual double standard.

In Israel, Shalit, (who was 19 years old when kidnapped) whose family raised heaven and earth throughout Israel and the world in hopes of saving their sons’ life will be returned.

The response from “Israel’s peace partners?” – Best summed up by 1 of the 1,027 to be released – Ahlam Tamim who planned the Sbarros’ Jerusalem bombing and drove the car to the location. She has said repeatedly she’s not sorry for what she did, and laughed when told children were killed in the attack

The contrasts are obvious:

The Hamas government in Gaza is organizing a major outdoor rally to celebrate the release of these prisoners – which we have been told are security prisoners and not car thieves. The celebrations will include “military marches” by hundreds of gunmen belonging to Hamas's armed wing and the Popular Resistance Committees, one of the groups that took part in the kidnapping. Celebrating murderers and death.

This is a golden opportunity for the Israel Public Relations machine to explain the background that these Palestinian terrorists have – and Israel isn’t taking this action because they want to – but doing so for the belief that life of 1 Jew is holy – and the desire to rescue Gilad Shalit.

What else can we expect from an upside-down world?