(Video was from Last Year)

(CNN) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned home Friday after a sometimes controversial nine-country tour and said he had purchased weapons from Russia.

Chavez appeared on Venezuelan news channel Globovision in Caracas, and he had a message about a purchase he made in Russia. Read the full story

Andrew Breibart’s BigGovernment.com has got to be the strangest anomoly to hit Holllywood since Reagan was elected President.   A conservative website smack dab in the middle of the liberal capital of the world, Hollywood California, BigGovernment.com is becoming more than just a thorn in the side of the left.

The buzz all over the internet this morning is BigGovernment.com’s exlusive of the transcript from James O’Keefe’s investigation that uncovered the Baltimore ACORN chapter promoting fraud and perpetuating child prostitution.

The fact that this had to be exposed by an independent film maker and broke on an internet site is just one more example of the entrenched media’s kid glove approach to all things politically left.  The recent Van Jones fiasco but another.

It’s one thing to swoon for a candidate so much you use your power to sway a national election, tis totally another to completely shirk responsibility to investigate and report on ovbiously fraudelent organizations because it might hurt the image of the man you put in power.

From Dan Rather at the Aspen Institute to the the Marburger brothes in the L.A. Times the entrenched media is constant in it’s lamenting of, and crying for, the saving of “quality”, “investigative”, journalism and news.

They whine of the internet stealing their profits, leaving them withouth the financial resources to do the hard hitting investigative reporting required for a free republic.

Yet a 25 year old independent film maker has just exposed yet another fraud from that Obama favorite organization ACORN.

I wonder how O’Keefe’s budget compares to that of the L.A. or New York Times news budgets?

The lesson to be learned in this whole mess, is not whether a media outlet is right or left, old or new, but rather if it is willing to just report THE TRUTH.

After all the slobbering from the entrenched media over the President’s speech last night and CNN’s misleading poll (45% democrat to only 18% republicans polled) reporting, is there any doubt the only truth report is the administration’s version?

No doubt Breitbart and O’Keefe will be trashed by ACORN and their supporters, but somehow I don’t think they’ll mind.

http://www.examiner.com/

ACORN Officials Could Face Criminal Charges for Trying to Help ‘Pimp’ and ‘Prostitute’

Staffers for the community organizing group ACORN could face criminal charges after being caught on video encouraging a man and woman posing as a pimp and prostitute to commit federal tax fraud and offering to help them — for a fee — to establish a child brothel, legal experts say.

In a video made public Thursday, two visitors to an ACORN office in Baltimore told staffers they needed assistance securing housing where the woman, a 20-year-old who called herself “Kenya,” could continue to run her prostitution business.

An ACORN official told the couple how to falsify tax forms and seek illegal benefits for 13 “very young” girls from El Salvador that they said they wanted to import as prostitutes.

Though no tax forms were filed and the child prostitutes didn’t exist, the ACORN official engaged in “numerous acts of criminal facilitation,” said Judge Andrew Napolitano, FOX News senior judicial analyst.

“Criminal facilitation occurs whenever a person encourages, enables, entices, or explains to another how to commit crimes with the real purpose of helping that person to commit those crimes” — a violation the ACORN employee “committed in full,” he said.

Napolitano said the worker could also face charges for criminal conspiracy, though each charge would require a heavier burden to prove: a so-called “act of furtherance” — a concrete move that makes the conspiracy active.

Napolitano outlined eight crimes the ACORN worker could potentially have committed that could bring a total sentence of 24 years in prison, including criminal facilitation and conspiracy to:

• (a) commit prostitution

• (b) operate a prostitution ring

• (c) file false documents with taxing and other government authorities

• (d) file false documents with a bank [also known as bank fraud]

• (e) violate numerous immigration laws

• (f) transport children into the U.S. for immoral purposes

• (g) transport women into the U.S. for immoral purposes [also known as violating the Mann Act]

• (h) impair the welfare of minors.

But not all legal experts agreed that ACORN had committed a crime. Trial attorney Lee Armstong said that the employee had engaged in “repulsive … disgusting behavior,” but nothing illegal occurred because the entire scenario was a sham.

“For aiding and abetting tax evasion, for aiding and abetting child prostitution … you need the actual crime,” said Armstrong, an attorney for Jones Day in New York. “That’s what’s missing here.”

Armstrong said that the videotape appeared to show the ACORN official hatching a conspiracy, but no violation occurred because the 25-year-old filmmaker was only “pretending” to be a 25-year-old pimp.

“You need an actual agreement between two people to commit a crime. If one person is just faking it, you don’t have a meeting of the minds, you don’t have a conspiracy,” Armstrong told FOX News. “How do you clap with one hand?”

ACORN — the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — calls itself a network of families “working together for social justice and stronger communities,” according to its Web site.

But the organization has been accused by conservatives and Republicans of committing fraud in voter registration drives around the country, and reaction to the videotape came swiftly after its release on Thursday.

“Taxpayers should be outraged that their money has gone to an organization that, in addition to facing charges of voter fraud and tax violations, is willing to facilitate prostitution,” said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.

“As this video confirms, ACORN continues to operate as a criminal enterprise.”

In a selection from the video, ACORN officials treated the “pimp’s” illegal schemes with nonchalance and offered to help further what they knew to be crimes.

“It’s illegal. So I am not hearing this, I am not hearing this,” said an ACORN staffer who identified herself as an accountant. “You talk too much. Don’t give up no information you’re not asked.”

Because the group receives millions of dollars in federal grants, Napolitano said, “ACORN agents and employees are required by law to adhere to high standards of lawful and ethical behavior; standards akin to those required by law of federal employees.”

ACORN suggested a plan of action for the purported pimp and prostitute, but did not fill out tax forms with any false information. But because the official sought a $50 fee for ACORN’s services, a conspiracy charge could still be considered, a defense attorney told FOX News.

“Conspiracy requires an agreement to do something unlawful and an act in furtherance,” said Mark Eiglarsh, a New York-based attorney. “There’s an agreement to assist in creating the brothel, in tax evasion, a number of other offenses.”

The act in furtherance, he suggested, could be the staffer’s seeking payment for the work. “I think that a prosecutor … would agree to go forward on a conspiracy count,” he said.

Whether or not prosecutors charge any ACORN officials in Baltimore, the filmmaker himself could be in hot water.

A Maryland state statute requires consent from all parties whenever a conversation is taped, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Violations of the law are punishable by a maximum of five years in jail and a fine up to $10,000.

But that statute does not apply to videotape recordings — only to phone calls or other electronic “communications,” Napolitano argued — meaning the filmmaker is likely in the clear.

http://www.foxnews.com/

Passengers Freed From Hijacked Jet in Mexico

MEXICO CITY — Three hijackers threatened to blow up an Aeromexico Boeing 737 that landed at Mexico City’s airport from Cancun Wednesday afternoon, Transport Minister Juan Molinar told Mexican radio. Read the full story

(CNN) — What would you see if you could fly over Mars in a plane and look out the window?

It must be something like the thousands of curious, intriguing and spectacular images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera mounted on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The University of Arizona, Tucson, which operates HiRISE, has just released a new batch of these photos taken in the last several months. Read the full story

What a coincidence. These businessmen not only have the same taste in suits but exactly the same black hands. Which is a bit odd, considering one of them is white.

Of course it’s not a medical marvel, just a rather clumsy editing job by Microsoft. Read the full story

Now this is interesting. CNN has an article (click to read) on their website that “debunks” rumors about the health care bill (found here)….There’s one problem though….they aren’t being completely honest.

Here’s the opening paragraphs from CNN.com’s article:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A woman asked Rep. Allen Boyd at a town hall meeting the other day if health care reform proposals would force people to let the government access their bank accounts.

“That’s not true,” the Florida Democrat responded. “When someone sends you something on the Internet that sounds crazy, how about just checking it a little bit?”

The CNN Truth Squad, which fact-checks political claims, has debunked the bank-access rumor as false. Yet that claim, and others that have been disproved, keep coming up in the national debate on health care reform, inflaming an already emotional issue.

Representative Allen Boyd, I agree with your suggestion that each citizen should check what they hear to prove fact or false. When you start calling something “crazy”, maybe you, sir, should read the actual bill and do some checking yourself.

Let’s flashback to Peter Parker’s post about health care: Why should you care about the Health Care Bill?

Peter touched on this topic already.

Page 59, lines 21-24 of the Health Care Bill:

21 ‘‘(C) enable electronic funds transfers, in

22 order to allow automated reconciliation with the

23 related health care payment and remittance ad

24 vice;

So….its still just a crazy internet rumor….right? Representative Boyd, I suggest you do your own research. CNN might also want to write a new article “debunking” the current one they have up.

CNN’s “Truth Squad” is looking more like the “Propaganda Squad” right now.

…

I posted the article about the protesters in Phoenix displaying their right to bear arms, and now MSNBC is taking a new spin to the topic. Have a look at the two videos:

When did race become the issue?

Let’s take a look at the video I posted yesterday:

Phoenix Citizens Peacefully Protest Obama Speech With Assault Rifles

And the Washington Post has this article today:

White House Backs Right to Arms Outside Obama Events

But Some Fear Health Talks Will Spark Violence

The Washington Post ran this picture with the above article:

NewsBusters even has an article on their site discussing MSNBC:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2009/08/18/msnbc-no-mention-black-gun-owner-among-racist-protesters

and another on the guns in Phoenix:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/ken-shepherd/2009/08/19/bonnie-erbe-open-carry-laws-letting-kids-play-live-hand-grenades

Loaded assault rifles at Obama protest? It happened in Phoenix at during a protest where Obama gave another speech….and it was 100% legal. A peaceful protest.

Man carrying assault weapon attends Obama protest

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9A4SU8G1&show_article=1

PHOENIX (AP) – About a dozen people carrying guns, including one with a military-style rifle, milled among protesters outside the convention center where President Barack Obama was giving a speech Monday—the latest incidents in which protesters have openly displayed firearms near the president.

Gun-rights advocates say they’re exercising their constitutional right to bear arms and protest, while those who argue for more gun control say it could be a disaster waiting to happen.

Phoenix police said the gun-toters at Monday’s event, including the man carrying an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder, didn’t need permits. No crimes were committed, and no one was arrested.

The man with the rifle declined to be identified but told The Arizona Republic that he was carrying the assault weapon because he could. “In Arizona, I still have some freedoms,” he said.

Phoenix police Detective J. Oliver, who was monitoring the man at the downtown protest, said police also wanted to make sure no one decided to harm him.

“Just by his presence and people seeing the rifle and people knowing the president was in town, it sparked a lot of emotions,” Oliver said. “We were keeping peace on both ends.”

Last week, during Obama’s health care town hall in Portsmouth, N.H., a man carrying a sign reading “It is time to water the tree of liberty” stood outside with a pistol strapped to his leg.

“It’s a political statement,” he told The Boston Globe. “If you don’t use your rights, then you lose your rights.”

Police asked the man to move away from school property, but he was not arrested.

Phoenix was Obama’s last stop on a four-day tour of western states, including Montana and Colorado.

Authorities in Montana said Monday they received no reports of anyone carrying firearms during Obama’s health care town hall near Bozeman on Friday. About 1,000 people both for and against Obama converged at a protest area near the Gallatin Field Airport hangar where the event took place. One person accused of disorderly conduct was detained and released, according to the Gallatin Airport Authority.

Heather Benjamin of Denver’s Mesa County sheriff’s department, the lead agency during Obama’s visit there, said no one was arrested.

Arizona is an “open-carry” state, which means anyone legally allowed to have a firearm can carry it in public as long as it’s visible. A permit is required if the weapon is carried concealed.

Paul Helmke, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said people should not be allowed to bring guns to events where Obama is.

“To me, this is craziness,” he said. “When you bring a loaded gun, particularly a loaded assault rifle, to any political event, but particularly to one where the president is appearing, you’re just making the situation dangerous for everyone.”

He said people who bring guns to presidential events are distracting the Secret Service and law enforcement from protecting the president. “The more guns we see at more events like this, there’s more potential for something tragic happening,” he said.

A call to a Secret Service spokesman was not immediately returned Monday.

The National Rifle Association also did not return a call for comment.

(CNN) — The price of big screen televisions has been coming down, but this was ridiculous.

Early Wednesday morning, BestBuy.com listed a 52-inch Samsung HDTV for $9.99 — a savings of more than $1600.

As customers jumped on the Web site trying to take advantage of the offer, Best Buy announced it was a “pricing error” and was no longer available. Read the full story

LONDON, England (CNN) — Russia said Wednesday it is hunting for a cargo ship which vanished after being involved in what appears to be an unprecedented incident of piracy in European waters.

The Russian-crewed Arctic Sea, carrying a 6,500-ton cargo of timber from Finland to Algeria, was last heard of two weeks ago when it passed through the English Channel, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

Moscow’s Presidential Press service told CNN that Russian naval vessels in the Atlantic Ocean and “space-based” detection systems were searching for the missing boat after its failed to make its destination as expected on August 4. Read the full story

BEIJING, China (CNN) — A massive mudslide unleashed by Typhoon Morakot spilled into a coastal China town, crushing a half dozen buildings and burying an unknown number of people, state-run media reported Tuesday.

The mudslide occurred at about 10:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. GMT) Monday in Pengxi Township within Zhejiang province — one of eastern China’s regions hardest hit by Morakot, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing local authorities. The incident destroyed apartment buildings standing four stories tall at the foot of a mountain. Read the full story

Now this is interesting news coming out of China. Healthcare for only $0.15? Wow.

Chinese villages eye health care for 1 RMB

XINSHUI, China (CNN) — One of the most telling things about China’s health care is a quote I once read from a construction worker who earns about $150 a month: “If you get cancer in China, don’t bother going to the hospital. They might not cure you, but you will go broke.”

That pretty much sums up the current state of health care for millions of people in this country. Read the full story

(CNN) — A gunman walked into an LA Fitness gym outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, turned off the lights and fired off 50 rounds, killing three women before killing himself Tuesday evening, police said.

The man didn’t speak but was carrying a gym bag with a note inside it. He was found dead in the gym lying on top of one of his guns near a victim, said Charles Moffatt, Allegheny County police superintendent. Read the full story