The ZetaTalk Newsletter
Issue 109, Sunday, December 14, 2008
Weekly news and views from around the world and beyond.
New ZetaTalkEarth ChangesAnnouncementsSigns of the Times
Posse Comitatus

Posse Comitatus is the federal law which states that the US military cannot be used for domestic purposes.

Posse Comitatus Act

Designed to prevent police state type actions by governors desiring to wield political power, Posse Comitatus ran into trouble after Hurricane Katrina when it was clear that FEMA and local search and rescue teams were not able to rise to the occasion. On September 26, 2006 President Bush requested a change in the Posse Comitatus law to allow the US military to step in after natural disasters. Many saw this as a move by Bush to improve the possibility of his imposing martial law during his term. This was passed by the Republican Congress but repealed after the 2006 elections when the Democrats attained a majority.

Posse Comitatus Act
On September 26, 2006, President Bush urged Congress to consider revising federal laws so that the U.S. military could seize control immediately in the aftermath of a natural disaster, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. These changes were included in the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (H.R. 5122), which was signed into law on Oct 17, 2006. As of 2008, these changes have been repealed in their entirety, reverting to the previous wording of the Insurrection Act.

The Republican law, since repealed, had included language which frankly stated that the US military would be used to enforce federal law. But the use of US troops to aid in search and rescue or other disaster response is not addressed. In fact, reserve units are routinely assigned for such tasks. This issue of clarifying just what the US military would be doing has arisen because of a recent decision to assign 20,000 troops to such emergencies. This is outside of the use of reserve units.

Pentagon to Detail Military to Bolster Security
November 30, 2008
The U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials. The long-planned shift in the Defense Department's role in homeland security was recently backed with funding and troop commitments after years of prodding by Congress and outside experts. There are critics of the change, in the military and among civil liberties groups and libertarians who express concern that the new homeland emphasis threatens to strain the military and possibly undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old federal law restricting the military's role in domestic law enforcement. But the Bush administration and some in Congress have pushed for a heightened homeland military role since the middle of this decade, saying the greatest domestic threat is terrorists exploiting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Per the Zetas, the 20,000 troops trained in crowd control recently being returned to the US homeland was due to the anticipation of rioting during the economic collapse.


The subject of potential martial law within the US is under constant discussion, an indication of how deep worry is on this issue. But per the Zetas, martial law is unlikely to occur, despite the many attempts the Bush/Cheney administration has made.

ZetaTalk Comment 1/12/2008: We have stated that martial law is unlikely to occur in the US because the citizenry is so used to freedom that they would not cooperate for long. By this, we mean cooperation would likely be counted in days. Citizens would sit home and fear being out on the streets, and all work would come to a halt. Schools would not be attended, utilities not maintained, and unless escorted to work by armed guards, emergency work would not be attended to either. Knowing this, the Bush administration is loathe to call martial law too early. However, this past year, seeing their fortunes falling rapidly, Bush did try to declare martial law via the Emergency Action Network, and the fire in Cheney's official offices at the Executive Office Building was done to destroy a phone network Cheney had established there for a second such attempt. Bush and Cheney are being blocked, effectively, from declaring martial law. This all is in the hands of man, and could go in many directions, as we have stated, so predictions cannot be made with certainty.

Food Snatch

An incident in Ohio has raised fears that food stocks are about to be snatched by Gestapo food cops trying to stop the population from growing their own food or creating personal food stocks in anticipation of shortages in the future.

Swat Team Conducts Food Raid in Rural Ohio
December 4, 2008
On Monday, December 1, a SWAT team with semi-automatic rifles entered the private home of the Stowers family in LaGrange, Ohio, herded the family onto the couches in the living room, and kept guns trained on parents, children, infants and toddlers, from approximately 11 AM to 8 PM. The team was aggressive and belligerent. The children were quite traumatized. The family was not permitted a phone call, and they were not told what crime they were being charged with. They were not read their rights. Over ten thousand dollars worth of food was taken, including the family's personal stock of food for the coming year. Presumably Manna Storehouse might eventually be charged with running a retail establishment without a license. Why then the Gestapo-type interrogation for a 3rd degree misdemeanor charge? This incident has raised the ominous specter of a restrictive new era in State regulation and enforcement over the nation's private food supply. After the first contact by state officials, Manna Storehouse reportedly wrote them a letter requesting assistance and guidelines for complying with the law. This letter was never answered.

Food cooperatives and buying clubs have been an active part of the American landscape for over a generation. The state of Ohio boasts the second largest Amish population in the country. Many of the Amish live on acreages where they raise their own food, not unlike Manna Storehouse, and sell off the extras to neighbors and church members. There is a sense of foreboding that this state crackdown on a longstanding, reputable food cooperative operation could adversely impact the peaceful agrarian way of life not only for the Amish, but homeschoolers and those families living off the land on rural acreages. It raises the disturbing possibility that it could become a crime to raise your own food, buy eggs from the farmer down the road, or butcher your own chickens for family and friends - bustling activities that routinely take place in backwater America.

The Zetas have long warned against hoarding for this reason.


But per the Zetas, the Ohio incident was not an attempt to restrict food sales or sharing outside of licensed facilities that could be controlled by the government, nor an attempt to snatch food. It was a licensing issue, solely, but does show the heavy-handed tactics that may be around the corner as food shortages increase.

ZetaTalk Analysis 12/6/2008: This raid was ostensibly to gather evidence that an organic gardener was running an unlicensed business, but it confirms our prediction on the brutal hand of the government when times get tight. We have warned against hoarding food, as those who stock more than they would ordinarily need are of record. The orders made are of record, and the amount normally used is of record, and when starvation begins to press the government can take steps to seize stocks of food to distribute to others. This raid was not yet of that nature, but shows what is to come. We advise, as we have always advised, that people should learn how to grow their own food and how to save seed, as these skills cannot be taken from you.

Chickens as Pets

Speaking of raising your own food, even having chickens in the suburbs may not be all that difficult.

Chickens As Pets: An Urban Farmstead
December 5, 2008

Many municipalities will allow the keeping of a chicken or two or three if they are defined as "pets". As with taking such steps as container gardening or saving seeds from the squash and tomatoes you buy at the grocery store, you are a step ahead toward the days when you must be self-sufficient. Troubled Times has long recommended keeping chickens, goats and rabbits. Saving seed is another important step, as seed needs to be relatively fresh (usually has a shelf life of 5 years) and some seeds, such as tomato, need special handling such being allowed to molder before they will germinate. Gain these skills early! Stocked fish ponds are another excellent acquisition. The entire Troubled Times website is available on twinset CDs for $4.10, with a matching booklet giving an overview of recommended steps for $7.50. Both can be purchased together as a combo for $10.00. The Zetas recommend above all approaching survival with the right attitude.

