NKorea orders military to be combat ready: state media
North Korea has ordered its military to be combat ready, state media said early Monday, ahead of joint US-South Korean manoeuvres that Pyongyang has repeatedly characterised as a prelude to war.
Russian Scholars: Stalin Planned Ukraine Genocide
Russia has issued the first of three volumes of documents on the Soviet Union's catastrophic famine of the early 1930s. Russian officials claim the widespread starvation was the result misguided Kremlin policies, but in Ukraine the famine is considered an act of genocide.
Barack Obama 'too tired' to give proper welcome to Gordon Brown
Barack Obama's offhand approach to Gordon Brown's Washington visit last week came about because the president was facing exhaustion over America's economic crisis and is unable to focus on foreign affairs.
The War on the Border
By L. Neil Smith
Staggering under the crushing burden of two shooting wars in the Middle East, America now finds herself increasingly involved in a third deadly conflict, this one directly south of her border with Mexico. Nearly eight thousand individuals—goodguys (however you define the term), badguys, innocent bystanders—have been killed so far.
OBAMAVILLES IN AMERICA
By Webster G. Tarpley
In the depression of the 1890s, the term for a breadline was a Cleveland Cafe, named after the Wall Street puppet who turned the government over to JP Morgan, London, and their cross of gold.
In the 1930s, a shanty town was a Hooverville.
In this depression, the wretched victims of foreclosure by Obama’s pals at Goldman Sachs, Citibank, and JP Morgan live and die in OBAMAVILLES. The arrogant elitist in the White House does not care.
From 9/11 Widows: An Open Letter to Senator Patrick Leahy
A "Truth Commission" will not fix the real problems that our country faces, nor will it guarantee that we will get to the truth. The 9/11 Commission, which you want to model your commission after, is a perfect example of that flawed process.
Tobacco users will see big tax hit soon
Starting April 1, large cigars will be taxed at 40 cents apiece, up from 5 cents. Federal cigarette taxes will increase from 39 cents per pack to $1.01. And the tax on roll-your-own tobacco will jump from $1.10 per pound to $24.78.
Battlechips: Darpa's Next-Gen Micromachines
The Pentagon's premiere research shop is working to shrink all kinds of devices from cryogenic coolers to vacuum pumps to radar to infra-red video cameras down to the size of a chip. If it works, it could mean whole new classes of weapons and sensors for the American military and new gadgets for the rest of us.
Dodd laughs at Constitution - Refuses to uphold oath of office.
It is clear that Senator Dodd has no interest in upholding his own oath to defend the Constitution in response to Senator Kennedy’s violation of his oath of office and the Constitution.
Pentagon's Unwanted Projects in Earmarks
When President Obama promised Wednesday to attack defense spending that he considers wasteful and inefficient, he opened a fight with key lawmakers from his own party.
It was Democrats who stuffed an estimated $524 million in defense earmarks that the Pentagon did not request into the 2008 appropriations bill, about $220 million more than Republicans did, according to an independent estimate. Of the 44 senators who implored Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in January to build more F-22 Raptors -- a fighter conceived during the Cold War that senior Pentagon officials say is not suited to probable 21st-century conflicts -- most were Democrats.
Exposed: the banks’ cosy ties to watchdog
A WHISTLEBLOWER has exposed how Britain’s financial watchdog allowed banks to influence the bonuses and career prospects of its staff.
Iraq police academy bomb kills 28
A suicide bomber killed 28 people and wounded 57 on Sunday at the main police academy in Baghdad, the first major attack in almost a month in the Iraqi capital.
Bailout for The Mainstream Media May be Next
One of the silver linings of this economic depression is the collapse of mainstream media companies and the creation of internet blogs along with citizen journalism. While this media shift is ongoing and certain, a question arises - Will the government, in further effort to keep their political-financial-media power in tact, bailout big media?
Tensions high as China braces for Tibet protests
Chinese authorities have imposed a security lockdown in Tibet as the Himalayan region this week marks the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising that sent the Dalai Lama into exile.
World Bank Says Global Economy Will Shrink in ’09
The economic crisis that started with junk mortgages in the United States is causing havoc for poorer countries around the world, not only stifling their growth but choking off their access to credit as well, the World Bank said on Sunday.
Iran test-fires new missile
Iran has test-fired a new air-to-surface missile, Iranian media reported on Sunday, in the Islamic Republic's latest display of its military capability.
Obama hints at talks with Taleban
President Obama has suggested there could be talks with moderate elements of the Taleban in Afghanistan as part of a process of reconciliation.
Climate 'denial' is now a mental disorder
How odd that, last Monday, none of our media global warming groupies should have bothered to report what was billed to be "the largest ever demonstration for civil disobedience over climate change".
Prince Charles: 100 months to save the world
The Prince of Wales is to issue a stark warning that nations have "less than 100 months to act" to save the planet from irreversible damage due to climate change.
Where's global warming?
The United States has shivered through an unusually severe winter, with snow falling in such unlikely destinations as New Orleans, Las Vegas, Alabama, and Georgia.
Obama ends Bush ban on embryo stem cell research
Barack Obama will overturn an important medical research policy of George Bush's presidency on Monday, by ending restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research which scientists consider crucial for the development of new medical treatments.
The 'Summer of Rage' could be Lethal
On 20th Feb 2008 a caucus meeting was held at the German Parliament in Munich to discuss the Lisbon Treaty.
At this meeting a previously unmentioned paragraph was bought to light by Professor Schachtschneider, Humanities Faculty -University of Nuremberg.
Professor Schachtschneider, explained that the undisclosed paragraph means on ratification of the Lisbon Treaty the DEATH PENALTY will be reintroduced to Europe. The Death Penalty will be applicable for the crimes of RIOTING, CIVIL UPHEAVAL and DURING WAR. (When are we not at war and who will define riot and upheaval?)
$5 BILLION IN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS BOUGHT WALL STREET FREEDOM FROM REGULATION, RESTRAINT, REPORT FINDS
The financial sector invested more than $5 billion in political influence purchasing in Washington over the past decade, with as many as 3,000 lobbyists winning deregulation and other policy decisions that led directly to the current financial collapse, according to a 231-page report issued today by Essential Information and the Consumer Education Foundation.
The Reece Committee: Social Science as a Tool for Control
In 1954 the Reece Committee, chaired by Carroll B. Reece, produced its findings regarding the influence of tax-exempt foundations in the field of education.* The report also briefly mentions their influence in politics, propaganda, social sciences and international affairs. The Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, Carnegie Foundation and others were discussed during the Committee hearings.
The Reece Committee was smeared by the media and by John D. Rockefeller the 3rd himself as being wholly inaccurate, but historical hindsight gives us a perspective that shows what the Committee found is far closer to the truth than Rockefeller would have you believe.
World's biggest banks to meet in London
Chief executives of leading Japanese, European and U.S. banks will meet in London to discuss the future of the financial system, the Nikkei newspaper reported, as the global financial crisis prompts a barrage of new regulatory proposals for the sector.
Scholes Advises ‘Blow Up’ Over-the-Counter Contracts
Myron Scholes, the Nobel prize- winning economist who helped invent a model for pricing options, said regulators need to “blow up or burn” over-the-counter derivative trading markets to help solve the financial crisis.
The $700 trillion elephant
Derivative contracts total about three-quarters of a quadrillion dollars in "notional" amounts, according to the Bank for International Settlements. These contracts are tallied in notional values because no one really can say how much they are worth.
Congress Approves Bill to Prevent Government Shutdown
The U.S. Congress approved a stopgap funding measure to keep the government from shutting down as lawmakers work to resolve last-minute disputes over a $410 billion “omnibus” spending package.
Japan leads the world into depression
IF THE world's biggest economies were competing in a race towards total financial collapse, Japan would now be in the lead. Having triggered this crisis and effectively set the pace, the United States is falling behind a nation that has already passed the point of recession, and is well on its way to a potentially great depression.
Is it Science or Honesty that NIST Lacks?
By Dwain Deets
Whether at the Confirmation Hearings of Gov. Locke for Secretary of Commerce, or the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings of Sen. Patrick Leahy, these matters of questionable science and matters of dishonesty at NIST need to come out into the light of day. The public needs to know once and for all, what caused the destruction of WTC7.
Scientists say pandemic is certain
A pandemic is a disease that spreads across a major geographical region including an entire country or countries. Many scientists are now sure that a version of H5N1, or the avian flu, will cause a pandemic in the future.
Cash In A Mattress? No, Gold In The Closet
Analysts say that if stock markets continue to spin out of control and real-estate values continue to sink, more people will want to take shelter in an investment with a reputation for being safe, reliable and not dependent on governments for its value.
Who got AIG's bailout billions?
Where, oh where, did AIG's bailout billions go? That question may reverberate even louder through the halls of government in the week ahead now that a partial list of beneficiaries has been published.
Supreme Court ends al-Marri military case
Six years after President George W. Bush locked Ali Saleh al-Marri in the Navy's brig in Hanahan without charges or a trial, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday quietly ended the case.
Andy Savage, al-Marri's attorney in Charleston, hailed the move. "It means that there is no case law now that can support what Bush did."
"Outlaw the Shadow Banking System!" - Guess Who Said It?
By Matthias Chang
When I read the remarks of President Obama and Prime Minister Gordon Brown after their meeting at the Oval Office on March 3, 2009 and the speech of the latter to the Joint Session of Congress on March 4, 2009, I realized that a growing antagonism has emerged between certain factions of the ruling elites in the City of London and in Washington DC.
George Galloway's Viva Palestina Convoy Nearing GAZA
WE ARE ALMOST THERE
Gaza is within touching distance and the dreams and aspirations of so many members of this magnificent adventure will be realised tomorrow when they enter Gaza carrying not only aid, but also the hopes of the millions to see the siege broken.
N. Koreans vote to elect rubber-stamp parliament
North Koreans voted Sunday to elect legislators to the country's rubber-stamp parliament -- a poll outside observers are watching closely for hints leader Kim Jong Il may be grooming a successor.
Paul: Wars planned to save US empire
Congressman Ron Paul says that the US recession is due to Washington's spending of trillions of dollars to maintain the 'American empire'.
GOLD & THE PANIC PHASE
The breakdown that comes will enable foreign creditors to gather a wide swath of US properties (residential homes, commercial property, factories, etc) from USTreasury Bond and USAgency Mortgage Bond conversion to hard assets.
NY 'mafia cops' get life in jail
Two men have been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of eight murders as well as other crimes while they were New York policemen.
In 1998, Judge Keller wrote the opinion rejecting a new trial for Roy Criner, a mentally retarded man convicted of rape and murder, even though DNA tests after his trial showed that it was not his semen in the victim.
“We can’t give new trials to everyone who establishes, after conviction, that they might be innocent,” she later told the television news program “Frontline.” “We would have no finality in the criminal justice system, and finality is important.”
Jailed for a MySpace parody, the student who exposed America's cash for kids scandal
Less than a minute into the hearing the gavel came down. "Adjudicated delinquent!" the judge proclaimed, and sentenced her to three months in a juvenile detention centre. Hillary, who hadn't even presented her side of the story, was handcuffed and led away. But her mother, Laurene, protested to the local law centre, setting in train a process that would uncover one of the most egregious violations of children's rights in US legal history.
Hedge fund hotel yields up secrets
It is Mayfair's house of financial horrors. Owned by the Abu Dhabi royal family, One Curzon Street is among London's flashiest office blocks. But behind the elegant curves, polished white stone, sweeping windows and panoramic atrium lie billions of dollars in losses that have threatened the global financial system.
US military chief backs counter-insurgency for Mexico
The U.S. military is ready to help Mexico in its deadly war against drug cartels with some of the same counter-insurgency tactics used against militant networks in Iraq and Afghanistan, the top U.S. military officer said on Friday.
Taliban Truce and the Coming Storm in South Asia
By Tom Burghardt
With growing instability and political turmoil inside Afghanistan and Pakistan, due in no small measure to American efforts on both sides of the "Afpak" divide to "stabilize" the region for multinational energy companies, this spring will see the rise of combat operations inside both countries.
Flashback - The Russian-Israeli Mafia: Off-limits to FBI, US intelligence
By Wayne Madsen
The same cancer that bankrupted the Soviet Union and the early Russian Federation, namely the Russian-Israeli Mafia -- the global organized crime syndicate that uses Israeli government protection and passports to cover their illegal worldwide activities -- has so thoroughly permeated the American political and business system that the FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies are virtually powerless to bring the major perpetrators to justice.
Russia pushes for new strategic arms pact with U.S.
Russia called on Saturday for a successor agreement with the United States to replace the START-1 strategic nuclear arms reduction pact, saying this was a priority in 'resetting' their relations as Washington has urged.
Fight Brewing Within GOP Over Soul, Future of Party
This week's dustup between GOP chief Michael Steele and influential radio host Rush Limbaugh underscored the struggle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. The Republican Party might want to try something radically different this time around. If they want to be taken seriously they ought to start supporting candidates that truly believe in the constitution, the rule of law, and a small, limited federal government.
Speaker Pelosi Backs Senate Amendment to Regulate Talk Radio
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told CNSNews.com on Thursday that she supports an amendment to a Senate bill that would force the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “take actions to encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership and to ensure that broadcast station licenses are used in the public interest.”
Top U.S., European Banks Got $50 Billion in AIG Aid
The beneficiaries of the government's bailout of American International Group Inc. include at least two dozen U.S. and foreign financial institutions that have been paid roughly $50 billion since the Federal Reserve first extended aid to the insurance giant.
'Run on UK' sees foreign investors pull $1 trillion out of the City
A silent $1 trillion "Run on Britain" by foreign investors was revealed yesterday in the latest statistical releases from the Bank of England. The external liabilities of banks operating in the UK – that is monies held in the UK on behalf of foreign investors – fell by $1 trillion (£700bn) between the spring and the end of 2008, representing a huge loss of funds and of confidence in the City of London.
Chávez Calls on Obama to Join Him in the Socialist Revolution
“Come on, Obama, align yourself with us on the way to socialism!" said the Venezuelan leader who this week also expropriated plants and lands of Venezuela's Polar, US firm Cargill, and Irish firm Smurfit. "Come on, it’s the only way!”
Court Puts Off Decision On Indefinite Detention
The Supreme Court yesterday vacated a lower court's ruling that the president has the right to indefinitely detain a legal U.S. resident as a terrorism suspect, and put off a decision on one of the most expansive legal claims of the Bush administration.
Federal Courts in Va., N.Y. May Take Some Guantanamo Cases
Federal authorities have finished compiling detailed electronic dossiers on 241 detainees who remain in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and interagency review teams have begun studying the individual files. The process could see some suspects transferred to federal courts, possibly in Northern Virginia and New York City, the jurisdictions where the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks occurred, according to Justice Department officials.
Thoughts of Storm Troopers Filling Spy Case
Legal scholars, the blogopshere and the twitterati have been scratching their heads for a week following the Obama administration's assertion that it might "withdraw" classified documents at the center of a closely watched spy case.
George W. Bush’s Disposable Constitution
By Scott Horton
The language of the memos suggest that much more was afoot, including the deployment of military units and military police powers on American soil. These memos suggest that John Yoo found a way to treat the Posse Comitatus Act as suspended.
Three more Obama nominees withdraw from running
Three of Barack Obama's nominations for key government positions have withdrawn from the running on a single day in another blow to his faltering attempts to fill his administration.
Lloyds Cedes Control to Government, Insures Assets
Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, will cede control to Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government in return for state guarantees covering 260 billion pounds ($367 billion) of risky assets.
The FBI raided a Las Vegas business Thursday because after hours it was the meeting place of the People's Sovereign Court, a libertarian social organization with what some might call extreme anti-government views.
WSJ Exposes Corruption at the FDA
The Journal on page one today shines a bright light on some shady doings at the FDA, finding that Democratic politicians, doing a corporation’s bidding, put pressure on administrators to approve a medical device, causing corners to be cut, lies to be told, and the product to be approved on a fast track.
Whose in cahoots with a circle of financial analyst and reporters to Manipulate Stocks
The story begins when a very highly respected journalist and business editor for the Columbia Journalism Review, Mark Mitchell, decides to look into allegations made by the CEO of Overstock.com, that some top hedge fund managers, in cahoots with a circle of financial analyst and reporters.
Russia says Afghan heroin habit threatens security
Russia has become the world's biggest heroin consumer and the flood of the drug from Afghanistan poses a threat to national security, Russia's drug enforcement chief said on Friday.
Israel annexing East Jerusalem, says EU
A confidential EU report accuses the Israeli government of using settlement expansion, house demolitions, discriminatory housing policies and the West Bank barrier as a way of "actively pursuing the illegal annexation" of East Jerusalem.
Why Did So Few Americans Give a Damn?
The documents currently being released by the Justice Department that demonstrate the Bush administration’s view of the president’s constitutional power in a “state of war” tell us things we suspected but didn’t want to know.
The first seven of these official memorandums issued last week dealt with claimed presidential powers to unilaterally abrogate international treaties; suspend constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and press; and order warrant-less searches, wiretaps and seizures of documents and indefinite imprisonment inside the U.S. without trial or criminal charges. The memorandums claimed that Congress has no overriding authority in these matters.
Call to "Resist and Deter" Nuclear Iran Gains Key Support
A new report on how the United States should "resist and deter" Iran's alleged ambitions to acquire a nuclear-weapons capability by a think tank closely tied to the so-called "Israel Lobby" has been endorsed by two key officials who are expected to exercise major influence on Iran policy in the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama.
FBI Busts Alleged Anti-Government Group
Four people arrested in a raid involving tax evasion and weapons charges appeared in federal court Friday afternoon. Authoritites say the men are suspected of being leaders of an anti-government movement called Soverign Movement.
Morgan Stanley predicts economic collapse worse than depression
Morgan Stanley’s UK equity strategist Graham Secker painted a bleak economic picture for the United Kingdom. In his morning forecast, Mr. Secker warned that UK profits could fall by 60% in the current downturn - a worse performance than the great depression of the 1930s.
Its popularity is increasing as Congress searches for alternatives to the federal gasoline tax, which isn't indexed to inflation and hasn't been raised since 1993.
At a time when the newly laid-off are swelling unemployment rolls to record numbers, the painful surprise for many is that jobless benefits are taxed like income. That leaves many on the hook for hundreds or thousands of dollars because the taxes aren't automatically withheld from benefit checks.
