Michigan house resolution would prevent being forced onto a public health care plan

This proposed amendment to Michigan’s constitution would affirm that you can not be forced to buy health insurance, and you can’t be penalized for paying directly for health care services.

It would preserve the freedom to choose what kind of health-related services you want to pay for on the open market.

It should be noted that this would not preclude the expansion of Medicaid to include preventative care.  This still allows for a public OPTION.  (Read: option.  this is not Communist China)

All Michigan residents need to get behind this resolution. I’ll post an update when I know more about this and will try to get some contact info up here so we can call in when it goes up for a vote.

Download PDF

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION CC

September 9, 2009, Introduced by Reps. Calley and McMillin and referred to the Committee
on Health Policy.

A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the state  constitution of 1963, by adding section 28 to article I, to provide  a right to independent health care.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the  state of Michigan, That the following amendment to the state  constitution of 1963, to provide a right to independent health  care, is proposed, agreed to, and submitted to the people of the state:

ARTICLE I

SEC. 28. (1) EVERY PERSON HAS A RIGHT TO PROVIDE FOR HIS OR  HER OWN HEALTH CARE.

(2) A FEDERAL LAW OR RULE SHALL NOT COMPEL, DIRECTLY OR  INDIRECTLY, ANY PERSON, EMPLOYER, OR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER TO  PARTICIPATE IN ANY HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.

(3) A PERSON OR EMPLOYER MAY PAY DIRECTLY FOR LAWFUL HEALTH  CARE SERVICES AND SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO PAY PENALTIES OR FINES  FOR PAYING DIRECTLY FOR LAWFUL HEALTH CARE SERVICES. A HEALTH CARE  PROVIDER MAY ACCEPT DIRECT PAYMENT FOR LAWFUL HEALTH CARE SERVICES
ROVIDED AND SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO PAY PENALTIES OR FINES FOR  ACCEPTING DIRECT PAYMENT FROM A PERSON OR EMPLOYER FOR LAWFUL  HEALTH CARE SERVICES.

(4) SUBJECT TO REASONABLE AND NECESSARY RULES AND LAWS THAT DO  NOT SUBSTANTIALLY LIMIT A PERSON’S OR EMPLOYER’S OPTIONS, THE  PURCHASE OR SALE OF HEALTH INSURANCE OR COVERAGE IN PRIVATE HEALTH  CARE SYSTEMS SHALL NOT BE PROHIBITED BY FEDERAL LAW OR RULE.

(5) THIS SECTION DOES NOT DO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

(A) AFFECT WHICH HEALTH CARE SERVICES A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER  IS REQUIRED TO PERFORM OR PROVIDE.

(B) AFFECT WHICH HEALTH CARE SERVICES ARE PERMITTED BY LAW.

(C) PROHIBIT CARE PROVIDED PURSUANT TO, OR PROHIBIT PARTICIPATION UNDER, WORKER’S COMPENSATION LAW OR AUTOMOBILE NO-FAULT LAW.

(D) AFFECT LAWS OR RULES IN EFFECT AS OF JANUARY 1, 2009.

(E) AFFECT THE TERMS OR CONDITIONS OF ANY HEALTH CARE SYSTEM  TO THE EXTENT THAT THOSE TERMS AND CONDITIONS DO NOT HAVE THE  EFFECT OF PUNISHING A PERSON OR EMPLOYER FOR PAYING DIRECTLY FOR  LAWFUL HEALTH CARE SERVICES OR A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FOR ACCEPTING  DIRECT PAYMENT FROM A PERSON OR EMPLOYER FOR LAWFUL HEALTH CARE  SERVICES.

(6) AS USED IN THIS SECTION:

(A) “COMPEL” INCLUDES PENALTIES OR FINES.

(B) “DIRECT PAYMENT” AND “PAY DIRECTLY” MEAN PAYMENT FOR  LAWFUL HEALTH CARE SERVICES WITHOUT A PUBLIC OR PRIVATE THIRD  PARTY, NOT INCLUDING AN EMPLOYER, PAYING FOR ANY PORTION OF THE  SERVICE.

(C) “HEALTH CARE SYSTEM” MEANS ANY PUBLIC OR PRIVATE ENTITY  WHOSE FUNCTION OR PURPOSE IS THE MANAGEMENT OF, PROCESSING OF,  ENROLLMENT OF INDIVIDUALS FOR, OR PAYMENT FOR, IN FULL OR PART,  HEALTH CARE SERVICES, HEALTH CARE DATA, OR HEALTH CARE INFORMATION  FOR ITS PARTICIPANTS.

(D) “LAWFUL HEALTH CARE SERVICES” MEANS ANY HEALTH-RELATED  SERVICE OR TREATMENT, TO THE EXTENT THAT THE SERVICE OR TREATMENT  IS PERMITTED OR NOT PROHIBITED BY LAW, RULE, OR REGULATION, THAT  MAY BE PROVIDED BY PERSONS OR BUSINESSES OTHERWISE PERMITTED TO  OFFER THOSE SERVICES OR TREATMENTS.

(E) “PENALTIES OR FINES” MEANS ANY CRIMINAL OR CIVIL PENALTY,  FINE, TAX, SALARY OR WAGE WITHHOLDING, SURCHARGE, OR ANY NAMED FEE  WITH A SIMILAR EFFECT ESTABLISHED BY LAW OR RULE BY A GOVERNMENT-ESTABLISHED, -CREATED, OR -CONTROLLED AGENCY, THAT IS USED TO  PUNISH OR DISCOURAGE THE EXERCISE OF RIGHTS PROTECTED UNDER THIS  SECTION.

Resolved further, That the foregoing amendment shall be  submitted to the people of the state at the next general election  in the manner provided by law.

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2009-2010/jointresolutionintroduced/House/pdf/2009-HIJR-CC.pdf

Tea contains high levels of fluoride

From Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute

Green and black teas (dried and often fermented leaves of Camellia sinensis) have been popular drinks throughout the world for many hundreds of years, but recently tea has been promoted in the health literature as being beneficial in preventing a wide range of diseases including cancer. Such literature usually focuses on the fact that teas contain families of chemical compounds called catechins and polyphenols, which are potent antioxidants. [5a]

While these antioxidants may indeed have the beneficial properties claimed for them, whole plant products generally consist of complex combinations of thousands of biochemical compounds. If one neglects to investigate the presence of other compounds with potentially significant physiological actions, the health benefits and risks of consuming the whole plant product may be very different from the picture presented by focusing on only a small subset of the plant product’s biochemistry.

It turns out that both green and black tea products contain high amounts of naturally occurring fluoride. Tea leaves accumulate more fluoride (from air and soil pollution) than most other edible plants. Fluoride content in tea has risen dramatically over the last 20 years (probably due to increasing levels of pollution) as has tea consumption. Various studies within the past few decades show levels of fluoride in tea leaves to range from 50 to 340 ppm; recently, average levels of fluoride in a typical cup of tea exceeded 1 mg, or approximately 4 times the recommended amount for fluoridated drinking water. One cup of such tea would exceed amounts formerly prescribed by physicians as a treatment for hyperthyroidism, due to the effect of fluoride as a thyroid gland poison. And, the fluoride in tea is absorbed by the body in similar manner to fluoride in drinking water. [5g]

Almost all information about tea promoted by the tea industry either ignores tea’s fluoride content entirely, or gives brief mention of the fluoride as a health benefit in preventing dental caries and ignores all of the serious side effects of fluoride consumption. [5a, 5b, 5c, 5e, 5f]

Most of the research literature on anticancer properties of green and black teas focuses on the effects of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound that belongs to a family of anti-oxidants known as polyphenols. The negative effects of the fluoride content of teas are so severe that any beneficial effect from the catechins and polyphenols may be negated; however, not much scientific evidence is available on the interaction between fluoride and polyphenols, although fluoride is known to adversely affect the action of many antioxidants. Research studies of green tea consumption reveal only weak anticancer effects at best, and some studies show ambiguous or actually negative results. [5g]

Fluoride is known to be correlated with increased incidence of the numerous diseases and conditions [5m - 5u]: Alzheimer’s disease (especially in combination with aluminum; fluoride combines with aluminum and increases the rate of aluminum absorption by the body and brain tissue); dental fluorosis; degenerative CNS diseases; hypothyroidism; Down’s syndrome; ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder); psychosis and manic depression; osteoporosis and arthritis; irregular menses and infertility; crippling skeletal fluorosis; calcification of joints and ligaments; lupus; fibromyalgia; nephrosis and nephritis; cancers of thyroid, bone, and other tissues; SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Many of these diseases are closely associated with the hypothyroid aspect, which is a primary effect of fluoride poisoning. CNS symptoms of fluoride ingestion from drinking water include impaired memory and concentration, lethargy, headache, depression and confusion. [5q] I have observed many clients over the years obtain almost immediate relief from arthritic pain, chronic urinary infections, weak digestion, fatigue and other symptoms after stopping all black and green tea consumption.

While black and green teas have been in traditional use for many centuries, their moderate caffeine content has been long known to be addictive. Addictive potential plus promises of health benefits are a potent marketing combination, and history is replete with examples: opium and cocaine-containing elixirs of good health from snake-oil salesmen in 1800′s America, and more recently, promises of quick weight loss from herbal products high in ephedrine, a constituent of the plant Ephedra sinensis. It appears that green and black teas, long a source of enjoyment for the mild buzz and quiet contentment they gave to generations of Chinese, Indians, and Englishmen, have become dangerous in the hands of Americans, who have added a health spin to their marketing of tea products, increasing sales by orders of magnitude at a time when the commercial product has become laden with dangerous concentrations of fluoride.

Former head of CDC lands lucrative job as president of Merck vaccine division

(NaturalNews) You’ve heard it before, how the pharmaceutical industry has a giant “revolving door” through which corporations and government agencies frequently exchange key employees. That reality was driven home in a huge way today when news broke that Dr. Julie Gerberding, who headed the CDC from 2002 through 2009, landed a top job with Merck, one of the largest drug companies in the world. Her job there? She’s the new president of the vaccine division.

How convenient. That means the former head of the CDC was very likely cultivating a relationship with Merck all these years, and now comes the big payoff: Heading up a $5 billion division that sells cervical cancer vaccines (like Gardasil), chickenpox vaccines and of course H1N1 swine flu vaccines, too.

So what’s the problem with all this? The problem is that private industry and government health offices such as the CDC or FDA should never be so cozy. When they are, it creates an environment of collusion between Big Government and Big Pharma. We’ve already seen this with the government-led push for swine flu vaccines that are manufactured (and sold) by drug companies like Merck.

You might even say that the CDC already functions as the marketing division of the pharmaceutical industry. It was the CDC that pushed so hard for swine flu vaccines, even amid the obvious realization that swine flu was no more dangerous than seasonal flu. To this day, the CDC still hasn’t bothered to recommend vitamin D for the prevention of either seasonal flu or swine flu. It remains heavily invested in the lucrative vaccine approach — an approach that just happens to financially benefit the very corporations that are hiring ex-CDC employees like Dr. Gerberding.

How to triple your salary by selling out to industry

Getting a job offer from Big Pharma, by the way, is one of the most-desired career paths for many CDC employees (and FDA workers, for that matter). It’s easy to accomplish it, too: Just operate in your government position as if you were a Big Pharma lackey. If you produce enough good business for the drug industry, sooner or later they’ll offer you a lucrative position that doubles or triples your government salary (or even better).

Now, I don’t want to lump all CDC employees in this same pathetic group, because there are indeed a great many bright, honest scientists working at the CDC who do excellent work tracking pandemics and trying to save lives. They are overshadowed, however, by those ambitious profit seekers who see their CDC job as merely a stepping stone for a far better-paying job at a major drug companies. And by any measure, Dr. Gerberding just cashed in big.

Her actual salary at Merck hasn’t been publicly released yet, but given that she’s heading up a $5 billion vaccine industry, it’s probably not chump change. I’d bet she’s now making at least ten times the salary of the President of the United States (and probably a lot more).

So now, Dr. Gerberding’s new job involves the incessant promotion of yet more vaccines — a job not very different from the one she held at the CDC, come to think of it. More vaccines for more diseases afflicting more people… it’s just another day at Merck, where the world is never so healthy that it doesn’t need one more mandatory vaccine.

As a special bonus to Merck in all this, Dr. Gerberding has a wealth of contacts not merely throughout the CDC, but also at the World Health Organization. When you’re the former head of the CDC, the top public health officials of the world are literally just one call away. But starting today, that call is a commercial, corporate-sponsored call, not a public health call. There’s a huge difference.

Does Dr. Gerberding suffer from an “ethics deficiency?”

My question in all this is whether Dr. Gerberding has any real ethics when it comes to issues like vaccines and public health. If she does have such ethics, why would she accept a job with a company that has been engaged in outright scientific fraud? (http://www.naturalnews.com/027582_M…)

Why would she go to work for a company that maintained a “hit list” of doctors to attack and “neutralize?” This is true — it came out in recent court documents (http://www.naturalnews.com/027116_M…).

Why would she take a job with a company that has a pattern of threatening doctors who speak out against its drugs? (http://www.naturalnews.com/026420_M…)

Why would she be okay with the idea of working for a company that commits scientific fraud by hiding documents showing its drugs to be dangerous? (http://www.naturalnews.com/024072_Z…)

Why would she feel okay about working for a company that dumps chemicals and vaccine waste products into the public water system? (http://www.naturalnews.com/023124_w…)

Why would she want to collect a paycheck from a company that has been caught hiring ghost writers to pen “independent” science papers submitted to science journals, when they were actually crafted by Merck? (http://www.naturalnews.com/023052_M…)

Why would she feel comfortable representing a company that committed blatant scientific fraud with its Vytorin cholesterol drug study? (http://www.naturalnews.com/022485_s…)

Maybe Dr. Gerberding is fine with all this. Maybe she has really “flexible” ethics. Or maybe she suffers from an “ethics deficiency” — an epidemic disease for which Merck apparently has no vaccine at all.

In any case, she’s now allied herself with a company engaged in so many repeated acts of fraud that in my opinion all its executives should be arrested and prosecuted for crimes against humanity. Those executives will now include Dr. Gerberding, it seems.

Did the CDC cover Merck’s back?

You might say, though, that she hasn’t done anything yet for Merck. But check this out: As a previous NaturalNews story explains, when a fourteen-year-old girl named Jessica died following a cervical cancer vaccine injection (made by Merck), the CDC covered for Merck and pointed the finger at the girl’s birth control pills.

Care to guess who was heading the CDC at the time of this maneuver? Dr. Julie Gerberding, now a top Merck executive.

You pat my back and I’ll pat yours.

For years, under the lead of Dr. Gerberding, the CDC has maintained a rather bizarre position that Merck’s vaccines are so safe that all side effects should be dismissed outright. This is explained in a Dallas Morning News article (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon…), among other places.

The CDC, in other words, has been running defense for Merck for many years, downplaying vaccine side effects and insisting that Merck’s vaccines are safe. Now that the president of Merck’s vaccine division and the former chief of the CDC are one and the same, it brings up obvious questions of whether there was some level of ongoing collusion between the CDC and Merck and how deeply Dr. Gerberding might have been involved.

Some of the word games played by Dr. Gerberding demonstrate amazing Clintonian-like speech patterns designed to deflect blame from Merck’s vaccines. Listen to this exchange where Dr. Gerberding indirectly admits that vaccines can cause autism (or as she says, “Autism-like symptoms,” which is exactly the same thing, as the symptoms define the disease in the first place). Watch it yourself in this segment on YouTube — this is a must see video segment on the link between vaccines and autism:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh-n…

Who else is on the Merck team at the CDC?

That the CDC’s chief would be offered one of the very top jobs at Merck now makes me wonder just how deep the culture of collusion between Merck and the CDC really goes. How many other CDC employees are in line for future job offers from Merck — and what might they do in order to win those jobs?

There’s a solution to all this, of course: Pass a law that bans employees of the CDC, FDA, FTC, EPA or USDA from ever working for pharmaceutical companies. The people who run the regulatory agencies and public health offices should never be allowed to leap into employment at the very same companies they were once regulating. There’s just too much risk of cross-contamination of influence, which is why we have the corruption and collusion problems we’re seeing today with the FDA, FTC and CDC, all of which seem to be operating as marketing extensions of the pharmaceutical industry.

As long as the revolving door remains wide open between Big Pharma and Big Government, there will be a strong tendency towards corporate collusion that betrays the people whom government is supposed to serve. Instead of our government serving the People, in other words, it increasingly exists to serve the interests of Big Business. And big business doesn’t get much bigger than Big Pharma.

After all, inventing fictitious disease, creating pandemic panics, then selling questionable patented drugs to gullible consumers is a lucrative business model. And now the official job of the former head of the CDC is to make sure it all stays that way. So roll up your sleeves, folks: There’s a vaccine with your name on it, and Dr. Gerberding is here to make sure Merck sticks it to ya.

Sources for this story include:
http://www.naturalnews.com/023792_H…

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon…

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS…

CDC: Two-thirds of cocaine seized on US borders cut with cancer drug

Raw Story
By Stephen C. Webster
Sunday, December 20th, 2009

If you’re doing cocaine, chances are this story will not make you quit. But it may make you think twice about your supplier.

A new report by the Centers for Disease control follows 21 cases of the otherwise rare disorder known as agranulocytosis, which is hallmarked by a severe weakening of immune function.

The condition is brought on by the drug levamisole, which used to be given to colon cancer patients. It is also widely used to deworm cattle.

Citing the Drug Enforcement Agency, the CDC report claimed that 69 percent of all cocaine seized at US borders contains levamisole. The average concentration was near 10 percent. Tainted cocaine was also seized in New Mexico and Washington.

While only one death is known to have been caused by the substance, the report warned that other cases may have gone unnoticed since the DEA first began tracking the increasing rate of levamisole contamination in 2002. Cocaine users, the CDC said, may be less likely to seek medical treatment; and even if they did, the patient may not disclose cocaine use to their doctor.

As for why the drug taints such a large portion of cocaine in the United States, the CDC does not venture a guess. “The reason why levamisole is added to cocaine remains unclear,” the agency said. It added that levamisol was found in less than three percent of heroin seizures, and it was at much lower concentrations than those typically found in cocaine.

“Some studies suggest it intensifies the high by boosting dopamine levels in the brain,” Bloomberg News noted. “Other reports say it is used to dilute, or cut, the drug.”

The CDC said almost all of those suffering from agranulocytosis experienced “fevers and most also had sore throats,” MedPage added. “Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and mouth sores were common. A few patients reported pain and/or sores elsewhere in the body.

“CDC has begun national surveillance for agranulocytosis in association with suspected cocaine or heroin use, collecting information via medical abstraction form and patient interview,” the CDC added. “As of December 15, eight states had agreed to participate.”

Opening video for Copenhagen AGW conference less than scary

Anyone else find this video tremendously annoying and disingenuous?

Obama gives diplomatic immunity to Interpol by executive order

On December 17th, by executive order, president Obama removed all exceptions that in the past would have allowed domestic law enforcement agencies access to Interpol’s records and possessions in their US offices.

Now we can add Interpol to the list of organiations such as the UN, IMF, and World Bank, that we are ceding our national sovereignty to.

In other Interpol news:  FDA dupes Interpol to achieve illegal kidnapping and deportation of herbal formulator Greg Caton

———————————————————-

International Organizations Immunities Act, December 9, 1945 made “international organizations” immune from taxation and discovery.

Reagan’s EO made Interpol an official “international organization” but not immune from taxation and discovery.

Obama’s EO made Interpol immune from taxation and discovery.

Thus anything in Interpol’s files cannot be gotten at by legal process. Anyone accused by Interpol cannot use legal process against it to defend himself.

Executive Order — Amending Executive Order 12425

EXECUTIVE ORDER
- – - – - – -
AMENDING EXECUTIVE ORDER 12425 DESIGNATING INTERPOL
AS A PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION ENTITLED TO
ENJOY CERTAIN PRIVILEGES, EXEMPTIONS, AND IMMUNITIES

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288), and in order to extend the appropriate privileges, exemptions, and immunities to the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), it is hereby ordered that Executive Order 12425 of June 16, 1983, as amended, is further amended by deleting from the first sentence the words “except those provided by Section 2(c), Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, and Section 6 of that Act” and the semicolon that immediately precedes them.

BARACK OBAMA

————————————————————-

Executive Order 12425

Ronald Reagan’s Executive Orders
Executive Order 12425
by Ronald Reagan

International Criminal Police Organizations
Delivered on 16 June 1983.

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, including Section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (59 Stat. 669, 22 U.S.C. 288), it is hereby ordered that the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), in which the United States participates pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 263a, is hereby designated as a public international organization entitled to enjoy the privileges, exemptions and immunities conferred by the International Organizations Immunities Act; except those provided by Section 2(c), the portions of Section 2(d) and Section 3 relating to customs duties and federal internal-revenue importation taxes, Section 4, Section 5, and Section 6 of that Act. This designation is not intended to abridge in any respect the privileges, exemptions or immunities which such organization may have acquired or may acquire by international agreement or by Congressional action.

RONALD REAGAN
The White House,
June 16,1983.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:59 a.m., June 17, 1983]

http://www.answers.com/topic/executive-order-12425

———————————————————

International Organizations Immunities Act, December 9, 1945

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/decad034.asp

SEC. 2. International organizations shall enjoy the status, immunities, exemptions, and privileges set forth in this section, as follows:

(a) International organizations shall, to the extent consistent with the instrument creating them, possess the capacity-

(i) to contract;

(ii) to acquire and dispose of real and personal property; (iii) to institute legal proceedings.

(b) International organizations, their property and their assets, wherever located, and by whomsoever held, shall enjoy the same immunity from suit and every form of judicial process as is enjoyed by foreign governments, except to the extent that such organizations may expressly waive their immunity for the purpose of any proceedings or by the terms of any contract.

(c) Property and assets of international organizations, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, unless such immunity be expressly waived, and from confiscation. The archives of international organizations shall be inviolable.

(d) Insofar as concerns customs duties and internal-revenue taxes imposed upon or by reason of importation, and the procedures in connection therewith; the registration of foreign agents; and the treatment of official communications, the privileges, exemptions, and immunities to which international organizations shall be entitled shall be those accorded under similar circumstances to foreign governments.

SEC. 3. Pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Commissioner of Customs with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, the baggage and effects of alien officers and employees of international organizations, or of aliens designated by foreign governments to serve as their representatives in or to such organizations, or of the families, suites, and servants of such officers, employees, or representatives shall be admitted (when imported in connection with the arrival of the owner) free of customs duties and free of internal-revenue taxes imposed upon or by reason of importation.

SEC. 4. The Internal Revenue Code is hereby amended as follows:

(a) Effective with respect to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1943, section 116 (c), relating to the exclusion from gross income of income of foreign governments, is amended to read as follows:

“(C) INCOME OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS AND OF INTERNATIONAL, ORGANIZATIONS.-The income of foreign governments or international organizations received from investments in the United States in stocks, bonds, or other domestic securities, owned by such foreign governments or by international organizations, or from interest on deposits, in banks in the United States of moneys belonging to such foreign. governments or international organizations, or from any other source within the United States.”

(b) Effective with respect to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1943, section 116 (h) (1), relating to the exclusion from gross income of amounts paid employees of foreign governments, is amended to read as follows:

“(1) RULE, FOR EXCLUSION.-Wages, fees, or salary of any employee of a foreign government or of an international organization or of the Commonwealth of the Philippines (including a consular or other officer, or a non-diplomatic representative), received as compensation for official services to such government,. international organization, or such Commonwealth-

” (A) If such employee is not, a citizen of the United States, or is a citizen of the Commonwealth of the Philippines (whether or not a citizen of the United States); and

” (B) If, in the ease of an employee of a foreign government or of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the services are of a character similar to those performed by employees of the Government of the United States in foreign countries or in the Commonwealth of the Philippines, as the case may be; and

” (C) If, in the case of an employee of a foreign government or the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the foreign government or the Commonwealth grants an equivalent exemption to employees of the, Government of the United States performing similar services in such foreign country or such Commonwealth, as the case may be.”

(e) Effective January 1, 1946, section 1426 (b), defining the term “emploviiient” for the purposes of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, is amended (1) by striking out the word “or” at the end of paragraph (14), (2) by striking out the period at the end of paragraph (15) and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon and the word “or”, and (3) by inserting at the end of the subsection the following new paragraph:

(16) Service performed in the employ of an international organization.”

(d) Effective January 1, 1946, section 1607 (c), defining the term “employment” for the purposes of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, is amended (1) by striking out the word “or” at the end of paragraph (14), (2) by striking out the period at the end of paragraph (15) and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon and the word “or”, and (3) by inserting at the end of the subsection the following new paragraph:

” (16) Service performed in the employ of an international organization.”

(e) Section 1621 (a) (5), relating to the definition of “wages” for the purpose of collection of income tax at the source, is amended by inserting after the words “foreign government” the words “or an international organization”.

(f) Section 3466 (a), relating to exemption from communications taxes is amended by inserting immediately after the words “the District of Columbia” a comma and the words “or an international organization”.

(g) Section 3469 (f) (1), relating to exemption from the tax on transportation of persons ., is amended by inserting immediately after the words “the District of Columbia” a comma and the words “or an international organization”.

(h) Section 3475 (b) (1), relating to exemption from the tax on transportation of property, is amended by inserting immediately after the words “the District of Columbia” a comma and the words “or an international organization”.

(i) Section 3797 (a), relating to definitions, is amended by adding at the end thereof a new paragraph as follows:

(18) INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION.-The term ‘international organization’ means a public International organization entitled to enjoy privileges, exemptions, and immunities as an international organization under the International Organizations Immunities Act.”

SEC. 5. (a) Effective January 1, 1946, section 209 (b) of the Social Security Act, defining the term “employment” for the purposes of title 11 of the Act, is amended (1) by striking out the word “or” at the end of paragraph (14), (2) by striking out the period at the end of paragraph (15) and insertiDg in lieu thereof a semicolon and the word “or”, and (3) by inserting at the end of the subsection the following new paragraph:

” (16) Service performed in the employ of an international organization entitled to enjoy privileges, exemptions, and immunities as an international organization under the International Organizations Immunities Act.”

(b) No tax sliall be collected under title VIII or IX of the Social Security Act or under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act or the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, with respect to services rendered prior to January 1., 1946, which are described in paragraph (16) of sections 1426 (6) and 1607 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, and any such tax heretofore collected (including penalty and interest with respect thereto, if any) shall be refunded in accordance with the provisions of law applicable in the case of erroneous or illegal collection of the tax. No interest shall be allowed or paid on the amount of any such refund. No payment shall be made under title 11 of the Social Security Act with respect to services rendered prior to January 1, 1946, which are described in paragraph (16) of section 209 (b) of such Act, as amended.

SEC. 6. International organizations shall be exempt from all property taxes imposed by, or under the authority of, any Act of Congress, including such Acts as are applicable solely to the District of Columbia or the Territories.

FBI recants story about 9/11 calls

David Ray Griffin on CBC’s 5th estate

An unsurprisingly disingenuous look at “marijuana”