Bombs, choppers during military exercises startle residents - Louisiana
Residents in and around New Orleans have been hearing the sounds of low-flying helicopters and what sounds like bomb blasts over the past few nights, but the sounds are part of a training exercise for some of America's elite military troops.
Office of Naval Research gets $36 mil. for virtual training
The government has doled out $36 million to the Office of Naval Research in order to manage a "critical, one-of-a-kind futuristic training program" that will create virtual reality-like simulations of small-scale urban conflicts in order to prepare soldiers for the conflict they're likely to encounter overseas. Virtual reality-like simulations are an effective way to desensitize these kids in case their ever ordered to be used on the American people.
Is the US Government Preparing to Send Dissenters to Prison Camps?
By Jim Kouri
Within the last few weeks since Americans witnessed the transition between a Bush Administration to an Obama Administration, some conservatives have noticed an escalation in using the US military and military-style tactics to deal with "national security concerns." Such actions include use of army troops within US borders and the building of camps designed to house and control American citizens.
Greenwald: Cheney setting up Obama in anticipation of another terrorist attack
Rachel Maddow talks to Glenn Greenwald. I think the best argument Glenn made is that Cheney is setting the ground work for the media to attack Obama if we do get attacked and blame him if he ends some of the policies of the Bush administration which he knows were illegal but actually did nothing to keep us safe from terrorism and instead fostered it since the actions of the Bush administration have actually radicalized would be terrorists.
Russia to start Iran nuclear plant by year end
Russia plans to start up a nuclear reactor at Iran's Bushehr plant by the end of the year, the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation said on Thursday.
New Hampshire lawmakers: Obama’s plans would void Constitution
By Jake Jones
Obama’s plans for a federal handgun license, "hate crimes" laws to regulate Christians' speech about their own religious beliefs on homosexuality, President Obama's youth corps for mandatory public service and the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" to "balance" talk radio have New Hampshire Lawmakers telling Obama to basically grow up and get some better ideas. They say that if Obama's plans are implimented, it would constitute a nullification of the Constitution for the United States.
Keys to Understanding the Paradigm of the Founding Fathers
In our efforts to understand various concepts, particularly concepts that tend to be somewhat abstract, it is often useful to list some of the more critical principles upon which those concepts are designed or implemented.
Gun-Rights Testing Planned
Illinois congressman Bobby Rush, from Obama's home state and with a voting record on gun ownership as bad as Obama's, introduced a bill on the first day of the 111th Congress that shows what we can expect. If we don't defeat this bill, and others expected to follow it, gun owners will lose guns and the industry will suffer harm beyond description.
Indicted Miami Beach weapons dealer Efraim Diveroli is still making millions of dollars from the U.S. government.
Three men were arrested for mass murder in what local media dubbed "Albania's Hiroshima." Two of them were alleged accomplices to a 23-year-old Miami Beach-based arms dealer named Efraim Diveroli, who faces trial later this year on 83 counts of fraud and conspiracy for procuring Chinese-made ammo in Albania and selling it to the Pentagon.
Study: 9/11 lung problems persist years later
Researchers tracking Sept. 11 responders who became ill after working at the World Trade Center site found many had lung problems years later in a study the authors said proves persistent illness in people exposed to toxic dust caused by the twin towers' collap
High-Level CIA Officer: It Is Time to Re-Open the 9/11 Investigation
A decorated 20-year CIA veteran, who Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh called "perhaps the best on-the-ground field officer in the Middle East”, and whose astounding career formed the script for the Academy Award winning motion picture Syriana (Robert Baer) said "the evidence points at" 9/11 having had aspects of being an inside job .
Policeman shoots Iraqi journalist after argument
A policeman in Iraq's stubbornly violent city of Mosul shot a local journalist twice in the head on Thursday afternoon, killing him, police said.
The Untold Story Beneath the Daschle Headlines
Though Obama won states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana on promises to challenge Wall Street and reform our trade policies, there has been a deliberate and calculated effort to stack the administration with the very Wall Street Democrats who created the problems he lamented.
Report: Bailed out companies spent $114 million on lobbying last year
How much of your hard-earned money did bailed-out financial firms use for lobbying? USA TODAY's Fredreka Schouten reports on a new analysis of the Troubled Assets Relief Program from the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics.
US Treasury in plans for record debt sale
The US Treasury on Wednesday opened the floodgates of government bond issuance, revealing plans for a record debt sale in February and more frequent auctions in the months to come.
Madoff tipster is worried about his safety
The man who waged a decade-long campaign to alert regulators to problems in the operations of fallen money manager Bernard Madoff told Congress Wednesday that he had feared for his physical safety.
Watchdog: Treasury overpaid for bank stocks
A government watchdog group says the federal government overpaid for stocks and other assets from financial institutions under its $700 billion rescue program.
Officials: France eyeing NATO post in US
France is in talks on taking control of two NATO command posts, including a prestigious one in the U.S. that has never been led by a foreign commander, defense officials said Thursday.
Franken asks Minn. court to put him in Senate now
Lawyers for Democrat Al Franken told Minnesota's highest court Thursday that he should be certified as the winner of his tight Senate race with Republican Norm Coleman without waiting for the outcome of his rival's legal challenge.
Obama warns of need for stimulus bill right away
President Barack Obama warned on Thursday that failure to act on an economic recovery package could plunge the nation into a long-lasting recession that might prove irreversible, a fresh call to a recalcitrant Congress to move quickly.
Numerous States Introduce Legislation Affirming The Constitution
The legislatures of New Hampshire and Washington have just introduced bills declaring that they will not submit to the Unites States Government if the federal government acts unconstitutionally.
Parallels With the Great Depression
By Charles Scaliger
What began early last year as a "credit crunch" and an "economic downturn" is now being characterized as a "long, severe recession." Once upon a time, such a crisis was known as a "depression" before Americans became squeamish about such stark language.
The politics of bollocks
Supporters of the new US president refuse to admit that the "man of change" is, in fact, changing very little. It's time the Obama lovers grew up
Jobless claims surge to 626,000, highest since 1982
The number of new claims for state unemployment benefits surged to their highest level since 1982, according to official data released Thursday, a sign that the U.S. labor market is deteriorating at a rapid rate.
State employee: I get $93,803 for no work
As he tells it, Randall Hinton is paid $93,803 a year to do nothing. He spends much of his workday at the State Insurance Fund donning headphones, listening to rock 'n' roll, blues or classical tunes and his superiors are cool with that.
Who Owns America?
A clip from the 'drama-documentary-musical' "The American Ruling Class".
A New Administration, Tired Old Policies
By Steve Lendman
"....here's the most incredible thing of all: 18 months into the most spectacular man-made financial calamity in modern experience, nothing (that works) has been done (to reverse) bad incentives that (got) us here in the first place."
Madoff/SEC: Bush Holdovers Stonewall Financial Services Committee Investigation
Harry Markopolos testified before the House Financial subcommittee that his warnings as early as 2000 and on four subsequent occasions to the Securities and Exchange Commission about Bernie Madoff's fraud went unheeded, despite his having given them evidence. They could have confirmed as easily as asking Madoff for trade certificates to prove that he was actually making the trades he was representing to his clients - and discovering that he didn't have any. Markopolos said of the SEC investigators, "If you took a busload of them up to Fenway Park - they couldn't find first base."
Rethinking Diversification
By Catherine Austin Fitts
For our entire lives, most of us have depended on highly centralized systems. Our food comes from a thousand or more miles away. Our savings is shipped into distant financial centers and invested by strangers in enterprises run by strangers. We watch highly scripted news that serves the same spin no matter how many channels we try. We bank at impersonal global banks with criminal records that would make a felon blush and have no idea where our money goes, just that the government guarantees that we will get it back.
End the Fed
By Ron Paul
Before the US House of Representatives, February 4, 2009, introducing the The Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act, H.R. 833.
Iraq: Sunni tribal leader says he can prove fraud
A senior Sunni tribal leader claimed Wednesday to have hundreds of documents proving fraud in weekend elections in Anbar province, escalating a crisis that has threatened to reignite violence in the former insurgent stronghold.
Israel admits its troops killed Gaza girls
Israel admitted Wednesday that one of its tanks killed three girls whose father's cries on live television shocked viewers in the final days of the Gaza offensive, but said the action was "reasonable."
Drive-by reader for RFID drivers licenses and passport cards
Hacker and researcher Chris Paget has demonstrated the ability to read the globally unique serial numbers on RFID chips in passport cards and electronic drivers licenses in the purses and pockets of pedestians on the street from a passing car, at least 30 feet (9 m) away, and to make cloned copies that broadcast the same ID numbers, using a laptop computer and commercial surplus hardware bought on eBay for $250.
SEC pummeled as Madoff tipster testifies
Harry Markopolos, a former investment manager who tried to warn U.S. regulators about Bernard Madoff, joined lawmakers in blasting the Securities and Exchange Commission but said he was forwarding more tips to the agency.
Seoul says North's missile test to violate UN resolutions
South Korea warned North Korea Thursday to scrap any plans to launch its longest-range missile, saying this would violate United Nations resolutions passed after the last test in 2006.
'I don't hate Jews:' Chavez on synagogue attack
President Hugo Chavez condemned Saturday's attack on Caracas' main synagogue, which he said was being used by "the bourgeoisie" to fan unrest ahead of a crucial referendum next week on his bid for unlimited reelection.
Obama signs bill expanding children's health care
President Barack Obama Wednesday signed into law a bill that will sharply increase health-care access for children, approving a long-time Democratic priority that Obama called a 'downpayment' on wider health-care reform in the United States
Israel seizes Gaza-bound aid ship
Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora has called on the international community to persuade Israel to allow the shipment through.
Main Core, PROMIS and the Shadow Government (Pt.3)
With the long overdue departure of the Bush administration from the White House it is the hope many that the myriad of transgressions against the Constitution and the people of America will begin to seep out into the public domain.
How Much Is $1 Trillion?
CNN asks a Temple University mathematics professor how much $1 trillion actually is. The story notes Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is correct when he says that if you spent $1 million per day starting in the year 0, you still would not have spent $1 trillion by 2009.
Parasails Can Move Ships
They say that faith can move mountains. Now, faith in the wind has led to a new way to move ships. The technique, developed in Germany, is powerful enough to move today's deep-draught cargo vessels and can reduce fuel consumption by 50 percent.
An adapted parasail is attached to the ship by cables that can be adjusted according to the direction and intensity of the winds. It is activated automatically, guided by an on-board computer.
A 160-square-metre parasail can use the wind to create a traction force of up to eight tonnes, nearly the same push produced by an engine of an Airbus A318 aircraft.
Evidence of torture 'buried by ministers'
The government was accused last night of hiding behind claims of a threat to national security to suppress evidence of torture by the CIA on a prisoner still held in Guantánamo Bay.
An unprecedented high court ruling yesterday blamed the US, with British connivance, for keeping the "powerful evidence" secret, sparking criticism from lawyers, campaigners and MPs, who claimed the government had capitulated to American bullying.
Now Russia gets caught in the credit crunch
The Russian economy, already pummelled by falling oil prices, trade disputes with neighbours and fleeing investors, took another step towards the abyss yesterday as the country's credit rating was downgraded. Russia is the first G8 nation to have suffered a downgrade since the start of the global financial crisis.
But not to worry. Aliens could be alive and well on almost 40,000 other planets.
Somali pirates 'free arms ship'
Pirates who hijacked a Ukrainian ship loaded with weapons have received a ransom and have left the vessel, reports from Somalia say.
The pirates seized the Kenya-bound MV Faina and its crew in September 2008.
They initially demanded a ransom of $20m, but reports suggest that a figure of $3.2m (£2.2m) was agreed, following months of negotiations.
Goldman, JPMorgan Won’t Feel Effects of Executive-Salary Caps
Executives at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and hundreds of financial institutions receiving federal aid aren’t likely to be affected by pay restrictions announced yesterday by President Barack Obama.
Merkel: Iran nuke policy like Nazism
The International Atomic Energy Agency's vote Saturday to refer Iran to the UN Security Council met with the approval of many world leaders.
Italian Lefebvrite priest questions Holocaust
In the wake of a global furor triggered by Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to lift the excommunication of four traditionalist Catholic bishops, including one who cast doubt on the Holocaust, another leader in the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X has questioned whether the Nazis used gas chambers for anything other than “disinfection,” and said that people who hold revisionist views on the Holocaust are not anti-Semites.
Russia Becomes A 'Gangster State'
Democracy campaigners claim Russia has become a 'gangster state' after a human rights lawyer and a journalist were killed in broad daylight on a Moscow Street.
Sarkozy goes prime-time after mass protests
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was to take to the airwaves Thursday in a bid to take the steam out of mounting public anger over layoffs and his strategy to battle the global downturn.
Investigators are not sure whether the bomb was placed on or near Pierce's Lexus hybrid SUV, police said.
Medical pot backers say LA raids betray Obama vow
Several recent federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in California have betrayed President Barack Obama's campaign pledge to halt such busts if elected, medicinal cannabis advocates said on Wednesday.
Rothschilds and Geography
Was Hitler a secret agent of the Rothschilds? Reportedly, some members of the Warburg banking family were given a Nazi escort out of Holland in a sealed train.
Senate seeks to Revise Stimulus Bill
Senate Democratic leaders conceded yesterday that they do not have the votes to pass the stimulus bill as currently written and said that to gain bipartisan support, they will seek to cut provisions that would not provide an immediate boost to the economy.
The War on Terror is a Hoax
By Paul Craig Roberts
According to US government propaganda, terrorist cells are spread throughout America, making it necessary for the government to spy on all Americans and violate most other constitutional protections. Among President Bush’s last words as he left office was the warning that America would soon be struck again by Muslim terrorists.
State may compensate juveniles sentenced by judges in Luzerne
State lawmakers are seeking ways to compensate children sent to detention centers by a pair of Luzerne County judges charged with taking kickbacks for sending juvenile defendants to facilities in Luzerne and Butler counties.
So a planned casino junket for employees of Wells Fargo, New Mexico's largest bank, has been canceled under a storm of criticism.
Are the states really broke or hiding assets?
By Devvy Kidd
Are all these governors stupid? Have they never heard of the 'national debt'? Where do they think this "money" will come from? This worthless fiat currency will have to be borrowed by CON-gress from the "FED."
Foreclosures Now One in Five Home Sales
Home values in the United States fell for the eighth consecutive quarter, declining 11.6 percent during 2008 to a Zillow Home Value Index of $192,119, according to the fourth quarter Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, which encompass 161 metropolitan areas.
City police sued over strip search
A Baltimore man filed a $210 million civil lawsuit yesterday against the city Police Department, a former commissioner and several officers in connection with a 2006 incident during which he says a band of rogue cops held him at gunpoint in the street, stripped him and searched his rectum in front of about 30 onlookers.
UK and US put Iran at heart of the agenda
Iran dominated Hillary Clinton's first meeting as Secretary of State with another foreign minister, as she and David Miliband discussed ways of curbing its nuclear ambitions.
Time seen running out for attack on Iran
Israel has a year in which to attack Iran's nuclear facilities pre-emptively, an Israeli legislator and weapons expert said on Wednesday.
Israeli Spokesman Says We Control Stupid Americans
"Another Israeli spokeswoman, Tzipora Menache, stated that she was not worried about negative ramifications the Israeli onslaught on Gaza might have on the way the Obama administration would view Israel. She said 'You know very well, and the stupid Americans know equally well, that we control their government, irrespective of who sits in the White House.
Madoff whistleblower to slate 'inept' SEC regulators
The man who repeatedly tried to blow the whistle on Bernard Madoff's $50bn (£34.7bn) fraud will this morning brand regulators at the US Securities and Exchange Commission as "inept" and "financially illiterate".
Vatican: Bishop must recant Holocaust denial
The Vatican says it has ordered a controversial bishop who denies the Holocaust to "distance himself" from his views "in an absolutely unequivocal and public manner."
Cheney Warns Of New Attacks
Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned that there is a “high probability” that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and said he fears the Obama administration’s policies will make it more likely the attempt will succeed.
Obama seeks to recover after 'screw up'
President Barack Obama sought to recover on Wednesday from his toughest day in office yet after admitting he "screwed up" in a storm over taxes that forced his pick to lead health reform to withdraw.
Obama: Enough Of This Crap
This is FOUR people who you've appointed that can't pay their damn taxes, including your Treasury Secretary?
I'll tell you what would be change. Since it appears that a huge percentage of the current and former Congressional delegation has cheated on its taxes - after all, what are the odds you only picked the tax cheats, if you want me to believe in your idea of CHANGE you will immediately order all member of Congress in both Houses to undergo full IRS audits all the way back to the Statute of Limitations (three years), along with all of their staff.
Victims of the Tax Code? Not So Fast.
The tax system is complicated. It is, according to many lawyers and tax preparers, in need of sweeping reform.
But the tax code can hardly be blamed for the recent problems of Obama administration appointees who came up short in what they owed the government, several tax experts said yesterday.
How public sector informers are creating Stasi Britain
Sometimes you have to pinch yourself to remember that Britain has historically always been the cradle of liberty. For today we seem to be sliding inexorably into a culture of control which would have been very familiar to the Stasi or the KGB.
Iraq investigating serious vote fraud allegations
Electoral officials are examining serious complaints of vote fraud in Iraq's western Anbar province, where Sunni Arab tribal leaders are disputing provincial election results.
Find may revolutionize computers
Scientists at Edmonton's National Institute for Nanotechnology have made a significant breakthrough that could help pave the way for new generations of smaller, more energy-efficient computers.
North Korea may test-fire missile toward Japan-media
North Korea may be preparing to use the site of its previous ballistic missile launches on the east coast to fire its longest range missile, possibly toward Japan, news reports said on Wednesday.
Arctic Sea Ice Increases at Record Rate
Something I’ve been interested in for the last several months is sea ice data. What makes it interesting is that as I understand it, models demonstrate the poles should be most sensitive to global warming leading the planet temp, especially in the Arctic. Recently I have been able to process the monthly and daily gridded arctic data as provided by NSIDC. The daily values allow a better analysis of trend than can be provided by the monthly data.
Watching Our Rulers Destroy Our World
By Robert Higgs
Our rulers are destroying the economy. Not little by little, as they usually do, but in huge swaths. Each great assault on the free market, whether it be denominated a bailout, a stimulus, or some other species of purported salvation, brings us visibly closer to the complete ruin of an economic order that required centuries to build.
Barack Obama’s strange new political bedfellows
By Wayne Madsen
On the evening of January 31, Washington’s political and business elite met under the aegis of the annual dinner of the Alfalfa Club, billed by the Washington corporate media as one of the nation’s capital’s most secretive and elite groups.
More examples of your STIMULUS programs!
$2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Department of Energy defunded last year because it said the project was inefficient.
A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film. Their playing us for fools!
U.S. Sold Phosphorus Shells Used in Gaza to Israel
The United States sold phosphorus artillery shells made at the Pine Bluff Arsenal to Israel — the same kind of rounds allegedly used against civilians during the recent fighting in Gaza.
Get to know your American police state, one victim at a time
My brother, who lives and tends bar in Pittsburgh, called last night to inform me that Pennsylvania taxpayers apparently are getting quite the value out of their "homeland security" dollars. Not only was the Southside area of the Steel City militarized with police in riot gear, but a couple of his buddies were treated to the full wrath of the police state on Sunday night after the Super Bowl.
Even left now laughing at global warming
So-called "global warming" has shrunk from problem to punch line. And now, Leftists are laughing, too. It's hard not to chuckle at the idea of Earth boiling in a carbon cauldron when the news won't cooperate
