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Better Earth

SOTT Focus: 2012 and the 'End of the World' - Sott.net Needs Your Help!




So here we are, 2012, the year when it all comes to an end... or so a lot of people have been led to believe. The idea that a specific day, December 21st 2012, has been ear-marked by fate or god or whoever as the 'end of the world' not only seems implausible in a universe with even a modicum of free will, it also smacks of a set up. The fact that so many people are aware of this 'prophecy', seems to be part of the same set-up.

After all, 'you're all going to die on December 21st' doesn't leave much room for self-determination, and, depending on the nature of a person's gullibility, serves to spread fear of an impending apocalypse or to ridicule the idea that serious earth changes are afoot. From an esoteric point of view, nearly all traditions say something along the line of "you will know neither the day nor the hour." That reflects the fact that, even though there ARE cycles of time, history, cataclysms, the Universe is still OPEN and human beings - the observers in the micro and macro quantum dynamic - do have some input into the outcome.

From a practical point of view, there are very few known factors that could wipe out all or most of life on earth in a single day. Oh, yes, there are factors that we have documented here on SOTT that can bring civilization to its knees, but the geological record shows that events that can take out almost every living thing at once are very rare. Rare, but not impossible.

You may have noticed that one of the main reasons for all of the war-mongering and posturing over the last 11 years is to keep the masses occupied and in a state of fear and distracted from this very real and much more potent threat to ALL life on planet earth. This constant fear and stress can destroy the mind and body and it seems that this is exactly what it is intended to do. As Ivan Pavlov proved, transmarginally inhibited dogs are much easier to program and control.

So, needless to say, it is crucial that we all pay attention and learn what is real and what is not, and more than that, what to DO! This is where SOTT.net can be an invaluable resource for all of those who sense that something 'big' really is on the horizon for our planet and every living thing on it. SOTT.net is, and always has been, dedicated to figuring out, as far in advance as possible, the precise nature of our reality and the future that awaits us, and making the results FREELY available to ALL.

The objective is to keep our finger on the pulse of our reality so that we - and all of our readers - can have some idea of what is coming down in order to be prepared. After all, knowledge protects, being forewarned is being forearmed.

SOTT.net was the first alternative news aggregator/commentary site that pointed out the obvious: that psychopaths rule our world. Today, it is common knowledge in the alt-news/truth communities. SOTT was the first to research and write about Ethnic Specific Weapons after we pulled on a loose thread we found in the David Kelly murder. SOTT was the first alt-news website to come right out and say that Israel dunnit vis a vis 9-11. And, of course, against the most unbelievable resistance, we have been researching cometary disasters that have occurred repeatedly on our planet and may be in the cards in the near future.

So, we see ourselves as a lighthouse that constantly scans and illuminates the darkness. And we do it absolutely with no obligation to anyone or any organization; it's all about Truth that we want to know for ourselves and to share as far and wide as possible. We have turned down many requests from advertisers and groups and individuals who have offered to buy us out in one way or another.

But the lighthouse that is SOTT.net is in serious danger of going out, and we need your help...

Info

Italy Appeal Seeks Retrial of American in '07 Killing

Amanda Knox
© The Associated Press/The Canadian Press/Elaine ThompsonIn this Oct. 4, 2011 file photo, Amanda Knox, standing in front of her father, Curt Knox, and other supporters, speaks at a news conference shortly after her arrival at Seattle-Tacoma
Italian prosecutors filed an appeal to the country's highest court on Tuesday seeking a new trial for Amanda Knox of Seattle and her onetime boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, in the fatal stabbing of a British student in Perugia, Italy.

The appeal was filed four months after an appellate court overturned the 2009 convictions of Ms. Knox and Mr. Sollecito, in the murder of Meredith Kercher, a British exchange student found dead in November 2007 in the apartment she shared with Ms. Knox.

The appeal had been expected as part of the appeals in the Italian justice system, which could stretch out for some time. If it is granted, prosecutors could retry Ms. Knox in absentia, if necessary, and she could ultimately face extradition if convicted. But her lawyers dismissed that outcome as highly unlikely.

"We're not considering that possibility; for us she has been acquitted," said one of her lawyers, Luciano Ghirga. "That's how the system works, but for us it's a hypothesis far into the future."

Carlo Dalla Vedova, who also represents Ms. Knox, denounced reviving the case, saying it would "reopen painful wounds" and again draw attention to a sensational tale of sex and violence. "I am sorry for the two kids," he said of Ms. Knox, 24, who moved back to her hometown, Seattle, after her release from prison, and Mr. Sollecito, 27, who has been living in southern Italy.

"But I am especially sorry for Meredith Kercher; silence would have been better," he said by telephone.

Info

Statue of Carla Bruni as a Worker Angers France

Image
© Reuters/Jacques BrinonFrance's First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy attends a state dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris January 26, 2012.
A French mayor's plan to erect a statue of President Nicolas Sarkozy's former supermodel wife Carla Bruni in worker's attire has angered the opposition and embarrassed the first lady.

Jacques Martin, the mayor of Nogent-sur-Marne to the east of Paris and member of Sarkozy's UMP party, commissioned the statue to honour the mostly Italian immigrant women who used to work at a feather factory in the town.

But when French daily Le Parisien on Sunday revealed the plan for the statue more than two metres (six-and-a-half feet) tall, at a cost of over 80,000 euros, the opposition and even the first lady's friends were up in arms.

A source close to Bruni-Sarkozy said she agreed to model for sculptor Elisabeth Cibot as she admires her work, but that "it was never suggested that her name would appear."

Modelling "is her former job, she no longer does it commercially, but she's often asked to do it, and she often agrees, and always without being paid," the source said.

Gear

They Must Be kidding: Steve Jobs' FBI Files Question His Honesty and Morality

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© Getty ImagesOne interviewee called Jobs "not completely forthright and honest"
The FBI files of Steve Jobs have been released, showing a man who commanded respect as an innovator but was questioned on his honesty and morality.

The file was prepared on the Apple founder as he was considered for a presidential appointment in 1991 during George H W Bush's time in office.

Documents also revealed that Jobs had been the victim of an extortive bomb threat in 1985.

Jobs' files note, too, his conversion to Buddhism and admissions of drug use.

The documents were made public on Thursday through freedom of information laws, and posted to the FBI's website.

Vader

US: Preschooler's Homemade Lunch Replaced with Cafeteria "Nuggets" State agent inspects sack lunches, forces preschoolers to purchase cafeteria food instead

chicken nuggets

Raeford - A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because a state employee told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious.

The girl's turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day.

The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs - including in-home day care centers - to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.

Pistol

Brazil: Anti-corruption newspaper editor Paulo Rodrigues shot dead

Paulo Rodrigues
© APPaulo Rodrigues was the second journalist to be killed in recent days
A Brazilian newspaper editor who campaigned against corruption in Mato Grosso do Sul state has been shot dead, police say.

Paulo Rodrigues was killed by gunmen riding a motorcycle in the city of Ponta Pora, near the Paraguayan border.

The border region is known for drug and gun smuggling, as well as political corruption.

Last week another Brazilian journalist who exposed corruption - Mario Lopes - was shot dead in Rio de Janeiro State.

Pistol

Brazil: Anti-corruption journalist and girlfriend kidnapped and murdered

Mario Randolfo Marques Lopes
© FacebookThe body of Brazilian journalist Mario Randolfo Marques Lopes was found on Thursday.
The body of a Brazilian journalist who wrote about corruption and had survived one attempt on his life was found the day after he was abducted.

Mario Randolfo Marques Lopes had been shot dead along with his companion, Maria Aparecide Guimarães.

Randolfo, editor-in-chief of the news website Vassouras na Net, was kidnapped with his girlfriend on Wednesday by three men in the city of Barra do Piraí in Rio de Janeiro state. Their bodies were found 22 hours later dumped next to a highway.

Randolfo, 50, had frequently written articles accusing local officials of corruption. His most recent article alleged that local judges and courts were corrupt. He was also being sued for defamation by a judge and a police officer.

Cult

400-year-old witchcraft trial resumes in Germany

witch
The trial of a woman burnt at the stake 400 years ago for witchcraft resumed in Germany on Monday in an effort to clear the woman's name.

Katharina Henot suffered her fiery fate in Cologne in 1627 after being found guilty of practicing black magic. Arrested, and tortured to such an extent that the right-handed woman had to scrawl her last letter of defence with her left hand, she was eventually paraded through the city in an open cart before being tied to a stake and burnt.

Now the panel on the city council whose predecessors found her guilty of witchcraft hundreds of years ago will review the evidence. It is suspected that Henot, head of the city's post office, fell foul of a deadly game of political intrigue orchestrated by her rivals and detractors.

Bizarro Earth

Best of the Web: 9/11 Cognitive Dissonance: Why People Are Afraid of 9/11 Truth

Leading Psychologists explain why so many Americans refuse to listen or believe in the overwhelming evidence that the official story of 911 cannot be true. Excerpt from Architects & Engineers for 911 Truth DVD Experts Speak Out


Comment: This concept of congnitive dissonance can be expanded to nearly every action taken by the PTB. They count on the fact that normal people are not able to conceive of committing such heinous crimes, creating the social paralysis that allows them to get away with it. By educating oneself, gathering facts and considering them, sets one free from that paralysis.

The question is whether one loves the truth more than a comfortable, "safe" worldview.


Attention

Why scientists are boycotting a publisher

The scientific community finds itself at the beginning of its own Arab Spring. At stake are values that all Americans hold dear: the free flow of information and the continued betterment of human life. Success is by no means guaranteed, but it's an important protest movement in which Boston should play a special role.

The central character in this emerging drama may seem an unlikely villain: Elsevier, an Amsterdam-based publisher of scientific journals, including the prestigious titles Cell and Lancet, which give researchers a platform to share their most important advances.

But Elsevier has settled on a business strategy of exploitation, aligning itself against the interests of the scientific community. Most of the intellectual work that goes into Elsevier's journals is provided for free, by scientists whose salaries are largely paid for by taxpayers. Then Elsevier charges exorbitant rates for its journals, with many titles running in the thousands of dollars a year. This sharply curtails the sharing of results - the fuel of scientific discovery - and makes it prohibitively expensive for the public to read what appears in its pages. Yet for Elsevier, this looks like success: In 2010 Elsevier reported revenues of about $3.2 billion, of which a whopping 36 percent were profit.