Why Syria and Saudi Arabia are talking again
Saudi Arabia's steps to end its bitter dispute with Syria appear to be aimed at unifying Arabs against a trio of growing concerns: Iran's spreading influence in the region, the uncertainties of a US drawdown in Iraq, and the prospect of a right-wing government in Israel.
Web inventor warns against third-party internet snooping
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the world wide web, today warned MPs and peers that they should not allow third parties, including commercial companies, to snoop on people's internet browsing.
The Martial Law Mind-Set
By William N. Grigg
While Archimedes is rightly revered for his many imperishable contributions to science, he could also be considered the first recorded victim of lethal police brutality.
Mystery solved as tests prove Tsar's entire family was murdered
In the early hours of a July day in 1918, one of history's most infamous murders was perpetrated on parents, their five children and their loyal servants in a cellar in the city of Yekaterinburg, central Russia.
The gunshot-and-bayonet murder of the Romanovs the family of the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia spawned countless conspiracy theories, including the belief that at least one child had survived to escape abroad.
Hidden homeless: U.S. families living in motel rooms
As the recession has deepened, long-time workers who lost their jobs are facing the terror and stigma of homelessness for the first time, including those who have owned or rented for years. Some show up in shelters and on the streets, but others, like the Hayworths, are the hidden homeless living doubled up in apartments, in garages or in motels, uncounted in U.S. homeless data and often receiving little public aid.
The Drug War vs. American Civilization
By Anthony Gregory
If you cherish America, if you cherish humanity, if you believe in our heritage as a people who stand up for their liberty you must oppose the murderous drug war root and branch.
Mexico drug lord on Forbes rich list with $1 bln
Mexico's most wanted man Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, blamed for thousands of deaths in a drug war, has made it onto the Forbes Magazine list of the world's richest people with an estimated $1 billion fortune.
Freedom on the global Internet still a pipe dream
Reporters Without Borders is an anti-censorship watchdog organization. As blogs and news Web sites have grown in popularity, the group's focus has similarly migrated to the Internet. Unfortunately, the report again paints a grim picture of Internet freedoms in parts of the world where it says the authorities regularly chuck bloggers in jail for online posts that displease the regime.
Ron Paul: GOP Leaders Need to Read Constitution
Given the GOP’s electoral losses in 2006 and 2008, former presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) told CNSNews.com that Republican leaders in Congress should “read the Constitution and follow it.” Paul added that some Republicans and Democrats alike do not really understand freedom in America and “don’t really believe in it.”
The predictions in a 298-page report from Numis Securities, a City investment bank, are the bleakest yet on the deteriorating state of the British property market.
Serfing The Third Wave
Our dreams have been invaded, a frightening reality has been developed, our leaders, our teachers, none of them are as they seem, they have been unknowingly, turned from the inside, and we are just lead along. It is not new, it has been going on for many generations. We are in the midst of a merger of the Russian and American models, a step closer to forming the perfect system of control.
Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh describes 'executive assassination ring'
At a “Great Conversations” event at the University of Minnesota last night, legendary investigative reporter Seymour Hersh may have made a little more news than he intended by talking about new alleged instances of domestic spying by the CIA, and about an ongoing covert military operation that he called an “executive assassination ring.”
Obama Targets 'Earmarks' in New Spending Bill
President Obama agreed to sign an "imperfect" spending bill to keep the government running, but he called for a crackdown on lawmakers adding "earmarks" or pet projects to legislation.
Homeowner Rip-Offs Spark Scores of Lawsuits
Many of the biggest mortgage lenders in the U.S. have engaged in widespread, systematic schemes that ripped off hundreds of thousands of families seeking to buy a home, refinance or foreclose, according to lawsuits filed on behalf of consumers.
Obama Caves to Israel Lobby
By Ray McGovern
“The aim of this Lobby is control of the policy process through the exercise of a veto over the appointment of people who dispute the wisdom of its views…and the exclusion of any and all options for decision by Americans and our government other than those it [the Lobby] favors.”
The mission of the Beltway journalist
By Glenn Greenwald
What kind of country does one expect to have where (with some noble exceptions) it is journalists, of all people, who take the lead in concealing, protecting and justifying government wrongdoing, and whose overriding purpose is to serve, rather than check, political power?
U.S. Tax Receipts Cliff Dive to 14 Year Low
U.S. federal government budget widened to $192.8 billion in February ... the second largest monthly deficit on record ... receipts dropped 17% to $87.3 billion, the lowest since February 1995.
A New Low in Drug Research: 21 Fabricated Studies
We’ve followed plenty of controversies around drug trials, from ghostwriting to keeping quiet about unflattering results. But the latest news is particularly eye-popping: A prominent Massachusetts anesthesiologist allegedly fabricated 21 medical studies involving major drugs. Yikes.
Credit agency names 283 US firms most likely to go bust
Today Moody's published a list called “The Bottom Rung.” This list consists of the names of the 283 U.S. companies that companies that Moody's believes are the most likely to default on their debt.
The Criminal Injustice System
By Paul Craig Roberts
Ronald Cotton spent 11 years in prison because Jennifer Thompson provided eye witness testimony that he was the person who raped her. On March 9, National Public Radio revisited the story.
Shadow Secrets
This film looks at the origins and history of the Afghan Mujahedin & al-Qaeda and their associations with various intelligence agencies including the CIA, FBI, MI6 and those of Saudi Arabia & Pakistan.
Officials: Taliban ops chief once held at Gitmo
The Taliban's new top operations officer in southern Afghanistan had been a prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, the latest example of a freed detainee who took a militant leadership role and a potential complication for the Obama administration's efforts to close the prison.
U.S. authorities handed over the detainee to the Afghan government, which in turn released him, according to Pentagon and CIA officials.
Obama Makes Use of Signing Statements
Democrats often criticized the Bush White House for its use of the presidential signing statement, a means by which the president can reject provisions of a bill he deems unconstitutional without vetoing the entire legislation. Now the approach is back.
Sanford: Use $700M to pay debts
South Carolina would use $700 million of its federal stimulus money to pay down debt if Gov. Mark Sanford gets his way, the Republican governor wrote in a letter to state legislators Tuesday.
If President Barack Obama denies the request, Sanford said he will reject the money instead of allowing it to go toward funding state government services, according to the letter obtained by The Post and Courier.
Life insurer laundered drug money
A now-closed Florida insurance company whose executives have been charged with running an investment scam also laundered drug cartel money, authorities allege.
Iraq’s Tariq Aziz, ‘Chemical Ali’ Get 15-Year Terms
Former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and Ali Hassan al-Majid, a senior official in Saddam Hussein’s Baath party known as “Chemical Ali,” were sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes against humanity in the killing of Baghdad merchants in the 1990s.
AIG cash disaster: London branch may have lost half a trillion dollars in bad debts
The disastrous deals were built over in a decade as a small team of traders risked huge sums to insure dodgy US mortgages and other loans, according to American TV reports Joseph Cassano, the American who ran the British operation, is said to have made £200million on the London office's deals. He retired as the credit crunch crisis hit.
Budget deficit reaches $765B in 5 months
Lower tax revenue and massive government spending on the bank bailout pushed the federal deficit to $765 billion in the first five months of the budget year, well on its way to hitting the Obama administration's projection of a record annual imbalance of $1.75 trillion.
U.S. queries Israel's toilet-paper rules for Gaza
The United States is protesting to Israel over seemingly random restrictions on deliveries to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip of harmless goods such as soap and toilet paper, diplomats said Wednesday.
Pakistan bans rallies, arrests 100s before march
Pakistan rounded up hundreds of opposition activists Wednesday and banned protests in two provinces hoping to thwart an anti-government march on the capital, saying it would not allow "the law of the jungle" to cause instability.
Nicolas Sarkozy ignores enemy fire as he marches France back into Nato
Forty-three years after General de Gaulle threw American forces out of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, his political descendant, is expected to explain to a sceptical nation today why he is taking the country back into the core of the US-led Nato alliance.
Under the Cloak of Questionable Premise
By Robert Johnson
The official account of the events of September 11, 2001 is the linchpin in the narrative that supports today's war and surveillance cultures. This story is the premise for the current shape of the world and provides cover for calamitous mischief.
South AL gunman identified, death toll now at 11
Police have now identified the man behind Tuesday's deadly south Alabama shooting spree. Police say Michael McLendon of Kinston went on a two county rampage before turning the gun on himself.
U.S. Army soldiers from Ft. Rucker patrol the downtown area of Samson, Alabama after a shooting March 10, 2009.
Cops Start “Liaison Program” with U.S. Army
Fort Lewis and Lakewood police are working together to build a better understanding of what happens on ‘the other side.’ Lakewood police are enlisting the help of Fort Lewis for times when city cops need to cooperate with the Army, including when soldiers get in trouble off post.
New airport security rules to require more personal information
You may have been patted down at airports or suffered the indignity of having your dirty laundry from a vacation searched at screening checkpoints. Now prepare yourself for security to get a little more personal.
Nobel-prize winner backs world currency
KAZAKH President Nursultan Nazarbayev has won backing for his plan for a single world currency from an intellectual architect of the euro currency, Nobel-prize winner Professor Robert Mundell. Banks counted on looting America's coffers
Sixteen years ago, two economists published a research paper with a delightfully simple title: "Looting."
The economists were George Akerlof, who would later win a Nobel Prize, and Paul Romer, the renowned expert on economic growth. In the paper, they argued that several financial crises in the 1980s, like the Texas real estate bust, had been the result of private investors taking advantage of the U.S. government. The investors had borrowed huge amounts of money, made big profits when times were good and then left the government holding the bag for their eventual (and predictable) losses.
Deadly Iraq bombings set off alarm bells
Two major bombings in two days in Iraq have left scores of people dead and sparked new security concerns as United States forces prepare to pull out.
U.S. official slams Israel 'lobby' after withdrawing from post
Charles (Chas) Freeman, who was slated to be picked as the new chairman of the National Intelligence Council, slammed the Israel 'Lobby' Wednesday after withdrawing his candidacy for the post the previous day.
Grand Illusion - The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank
The American public is being misled by government officials, politicians, and the Federal Reserve regarding the causes of this crisis and the solutions needed to solve our economic tribulations.
Iran nuclear plant to open for tourists
Iran says it is ready to host tourists who wish to visit its nuclear power plant in Bushehr during the Persian New Year holidays.
Google's 'interest-based' ads sure to stoke privacy fears
Google announced this morning that it is going to more and more sophisticated tracking of its users online browsing patterns in the interest of displaying to them advertising that will presumably be of greater interest. And while the company made all the requisite assurances about privacy and transparency, that's not stopping industry observers from predicting a showdown over the practice.
China's trade surplus shrinks as exports plunge
China's exports tumbled in February as the world's third-largest economy felt the full force of the global financial crisis, but capital spending accelerated with the help of the government's massive stimulus package.
Worst collapse in UK manufacturing in four decades
The “horrendous” scale of Britain’s industrial recession has been laid bare by figures showing that manufacturing output is declining at the fastest rate since records began more than 40 years ago.
Thousands in town that Obama visited line up to get free supplies
In this job-starved city where President Barack Obama last month made a public appeal for his economic stimulus plan, hundreds of volunteers and an agency that specializes in handing out food worked together Tuesday to feed 5,200 hungry families.
Global Confidence Drops as Economies Crumble, Bailouts Needed
Confidence in the world economy dropped in March as the slump proved deeper than forecast and the Obama administration launched new rescues of financial institutions, a survey of Bloomberg users on six continents showed.
Pimco Predicts Inflation, Joining Buffett, Marc Faber
Pacific Investment Management Co. which runs the world’s biggest bond fund, joined investors Warren Buffett and Marc Faber in saying inflation will quicken, sounding a warning for Treasury investors.
British govt asks EU to gut Net Neutrality
The UK government's reps in the European Union are pushing to gut the right of Internet users to access and contribute to networked services, replacing it with the "right" to abide by EULAs
Iran has no weapons-grade uranium, Congress told
Iran lacks weapons-grade highly enriched uranium and has not yet made a decision on whether to produce any, US intelligence officials told Congress.
Police: Disabled forced into school's 'fight club'
State officials ordered the immediate suspension of admissions to Corpus Christi State School on Tuesday after a police investigation revealed at least 11 employees had forced profoundly mentally-disabled men to engage in video “fight club”-like battles at the facility.
Madoff Employees Helped Dupe Investors, U.S. Prosecutors Say
U.S. prosecutors shed new light yesterday on how they believe Bernard Madoff’s subordinates helped him operate a $64.8 billion Ponzi scheme, without saying whether those employees knew they were defrauding investors.
Madoff Whistleblower Lawyer Calls For New Finance Court
The lawyer who represents Harry Markopolos, who tried to tell the Securities and Exchange Commission that something was amiss with Bernard Madoff’s business, is part of an international movement calling for an international financial court.
I don’t know what to say
By Jerry Mazza
Will we each have to memorize a book as the good people did in Fahrenheit 451, as those in power continue to burn books, erase torture tapes, and bury documented crimes?
Health Care Reform, Obama Style
By Stephen Lendman
Instead of explaining both sides fully and accurately, the major media ignore public opinion, filter news, suppress truths, marginalize dissent, and support business as usual for the powerful.
Fears over security for London 2012
EU and Nato help should be called upon to boost security at the London 2012 Olympics, an influential group of peers has said.
Greenspan: Fed Didn't Cause the Housing Bubble
Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said lower rates on long-term, fixed-rate mortgages and not the Federal Reserve's policies are to blame for the U.S. housing bubble.
Report slams 'crude' effort to fight Web militants
Western governments have overstated the role the Internet plays in the recruitment of militants, and measures to block extremist material are "crude, expensive and counterproductive", a report said on Tuesday.
Alabama Police Seek Motive After Man Kills 10 in Gun Rampage
Authorities in southeastern Alabama are trying to learn why a man killed his mother and set her body alight, then went on a shooting spree and killed nine more people, including relatives, before taking his own life.
Gunman shot by police after massacre in Germany
A school shooting bloodbath near Stuttgart in Germany has left at least 16 people dead - with the gunman dying in an exchange of fire with the police
How German school shooting unfolded
A teenage gunman who launched a shooting spree in a school in southern Germany killed 15 people before being shot dead by police.
Senators tell AG to back off on gun control
Democratic Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester have a message for the Obama administration: they will oppose any gun restrictions the new administration may be considering.
The Story of Deep Capture
In 2006 a CJR editor (a seasoned journalist formerly with Time magazine in Asia, The Wall Street Journal Europe, and The Far Eastern Economic Review) called me to discuss suspicions he was forming about the US financial media. I gave him leads but warned, “Chasing this will take you down a rabbit hole with no bottom.” For months he pursued his story against pressure and threats he once described as, “something out of a Hollywood B movie, but unlike the movies, the evil corporations fighting the journalist are not thugs burying toxic waste, they are Wall Street and the financial media itself.”
Swedish government to raise fuel taxes to cut greenhouse gases
Higher taxes on vehicles and fuel are in store for Swedish motorists, transport companies and industry as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the government said Tuesday.
Belief and the brain's 'God spot'
Scientists say they have located the parts of the brain that control religious faith. And the research proves, they contend, that belief in a higher power is an evolutionary asset that helps human survival.
Researchers Suggest Insufficient Evidence of Efficacy of HPV Vaccine
There is not enough evidence to confidently state that two popular vaccines against the human papillomavirus (HPV) will reliably prevent against the development of cervical cancer, according to two articles published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
DID A MILITARY JUDGE DEFY OBAMA'S EXECUTIVE ORDER?
Five Guantanamo suspects have filed a six page document stating that they are "terrorists to the bone" and declared that the charges against them are "badges of honor, which we carry with pride." Judge Col. Stephen R. Henley has accepted the filing and released it to the public, an act which the ACLU claims is in defiance of President Obama's executive order mandating the halt of all military commissions for review.
A forerunner of credit-card debt helped spawn the Revolutionary War
Most of us know the Revolutionary War was about more than just life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Like most uprisings in fact, it was the expression of a people who felt their economic lifeline was being pinched by the British and their tax schemes.
Overvalued euro set to plunge 'within months'
Spread betting companies have reported a huge wave of short euro trades in the last two weeks, leading to speculation that a significant correction in the currency will come in the next few months.
Ahmadinejad: World economic system 'unfair'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the world monetary system serves the interests of global economic powers in an "unfair" way.
The Future of Food
There is a revolution going on in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America, a revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat. THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.
Senate Approves $410 Billion Bill to Fund Federal Government
The Senate gave final approval last night to a $410 billion spending bill to fund most of the federal government for the remainder of the year after overcoming a resilient Republican opposition and several Democratic defections.
The bill, which includes thousands of controversial earmarks inserted by members of both parties, was approved on a voice vote after eight Republicans joined 54 Democrats in backing a procedural measure to bring the long and rancorous debate to a close.
Pelosi: Congress Needs to 'Keep the Door Open' to Another Stimulus Package
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that Congress needs to "keep the door open" to a another stimulus package -- raising the question of how much the government could eventually spend on top of the $787 billion already allocated to rescue the country from dire economic straits.
Armed guards stood by as Brit soldiers shot at Northern Ireland base
ARMED SECURITY guards employed to protect the military base in Northern Ireland where two soldiers were shot dead did not open fire on the terrorists, even when they stood over the injured men and fired further shots.
Seeking justice, Chinese land in secret jails
They are often tucked away in the rough-and-tumble sections of the city's south side, hidden beneath dingy hotels and guarded by men in dark coats. Known as "black houses," they are unofficial jails for the pesky hordes of petitioners who flock to the capital seeking justice.
Madoff to plead guilty, could face 150 years prison
Fallen Wall Street baron Bernard Madoff confirmed Tuesday he is set to plead guilty to a massive multi-billion dollar fraud and prosecutors said he should spend the rest of his life in prison.
Freeman withdraws name from intel post
Mounting bipartisan pressure led Charles "Chas" W. Freeman Jr. to withdraw Tuesday as head of the body that prepares U.S. intelligence estimates, as questions mounted over Mr. Freeman's ties to Saudi Arabia and China.
We are being spoon-fed stupid again...
Can someone explain to me how 5 suspected members of Al Qaeda (although there is no question regarding KSM) suddenly got their own PR machine from inside Gitmo and at the hands of a military judge, not to mention getting a world stage through which to frighten Americans some more?
In a blow to organic almond producers and handlers, the Washington, D.C.-based judge rejected challenges to pasteurization requirements designed by the Almond Board of California. The Agriculture Department formally imposed the rules in March 2007, setting off sparks.
AIPAC Universal Hilton Protest March 8
Demonstrators protest the AIPAC donor arrivals at the fund raiser dinner held at the Hilton Universal March 8.09. The scene mocks the Israeli checkpoints that are all too common for the Palestinian people.
Economic Crisis = USA Riots
As the global economy continues its downward spiral, rioting due to this Wall Street led meltdown is spreading through the globe like wildfire.
Iran still lacks arms-grade nuclear material: U.S.
Iran still lacks weapons-grade highly enriched uranium and has not yet made a decision on whether to produce any, U.S. intelligence officials told Congress on Tuesday.
