61% Say Secret Ballot Is Fair Way To Vote For A Union
Sixty-one percent (61%) of Americans say it is fair to require a vote by secret ballot if workers want to form a union. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 18% say it is not fair to require a secret ballot.
New nationwide strike hits France
Hundreds of thousands of French workers are expected to join the country's second nationwide strike in two months.
Unions are protesting against President Nicolas Sarkozy's economic policies. Unemployment has reached two million and is expected to rise further.
State considers return to gold, silver dollars
A bill being considered in the Montana Legislature blasts the Federal Reserve's role in America's money policy and permits the state to conduct business in gold and silver instead of the Fed's legal tender notes.
Forget the bonuses: AIG can't repay its loans, GAO says
Lost in all the shouting over the $165 million in bonuses paid to executives of disgraced insurer American International Group was this sober message delivered to Congress on Wednesday by a government watchdog: AIG's ability repay its $170 billion in loans from taxpayers has eroded significantly.
Obama Knew About AIG Bonuses and is Assaulting Capitalism! (Video)
This was what I immediately reported when Obama faked outrage while he was the one that gave AIG all the tools they needed to rape the public. This does seem all staged to further demonize free enterprise. How much did Obama’s campaign receive from AIG? Over $100,000!
Death of the Internet
More and more I'm hearing alarmism about the "takeover of the internet" or the "death of the internet". Some in the survivalist and patriot movements fear that any day now, the Federal Government is going to move to take down half of the sites on the World Wide Web, and restrict access to the other half.
White House may seek to bypass filibuster rule in Senate
A top White House official threatened Tuesday to use a congressional rule to force some controversial proposals through the Senate by eliminating the Republicans' power to block legislation.
Peter Orszag, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the Obama administration would prefer not to use the budget "reconciliation" process that allows measures to pass the Senate on simple majority votes.
Pentagon to end unpopular 'stop-loss' program
The military will phase out its "stop-loss" program the controversial practice of holding troops beyond their enlistment dates for all but extraordinary situations, Defense Secretary Roberts Gates announced on Wednesday.
U.S. Injecting Billions Into Foreign Central Banks
For more than a year, the U.S. Federal Reserve System has been increasingly acting as the world's central bank, injecting hundreds of billions of dollars into foreign government treasuries in an effort to increase liquidity in those countries.
'The End Of History'
By Peter Lavelle
The world is experiencing a paradigm shift that will fundamentally change how we think and live. Conventional wisdoms, some held in the West since the end of World War II and others dating from the end of the Cold War, are not only being challenged, but swept into the dustbin of history.
Six Jewish Companies Own 96% of the World’s Media
“You know very well, and the stupid Americans know equally well, that we control their government, irrespective of who sits in the White House. You see, I know it and you know it that no American president can be in a position to challenge us even if we do the unthinkable. What can they (Americans) do to us? We control congress, we control the media, we control show biz, and we control everything in America. In America you can criticize God, but you can’t criticize Israel…”
Now We Can See Why Open Government Is the Only Way to Go
By Dave Lindorff
If you thought that the banking mess was a horrible rip-off, just try to imagine what level of corruption there must be in the Pentagon and the Intelligence programs that have been operating in absolute secrecy and with no scrutiny for decades!
Prosecutors Charge Madoff's Accountant With Fraud
Bernard Madoff's longtime accountant was arrested on fraud charges Wednesday as authorities blamed him for failing to make the most basic auditing checks that would have exposed an epic fraud that cost investors billions of dollars.
White House Admits Cap-And-Trade Tax Costs Triple Their Official Estimate
I’ve already explained here on the Forum how the cap-and-trade energy tax works, and would be the biggest tax increase in the history of the country. Now, amazingly, the White House is telling something closer to the truth about this tax hike, admitting that the official budget estimate of $646 billion over 8 years—already a mighty steep price to pay—is far, far lower than the real cost.
US births break record; 40 pct. are out-of-wedlock
More babies were born in the United States in 2007 than any year in the nation's history, topping the peak during the baby boom 50 years earlier, federal researchers reported Wednesday.
Dollar plunges on Fed plan to buy Treasurys
The U.S. dollar extended its dramatic plunge against major rivals Wednesday afternoon following the Federal Reserve's surprise decision to expand its financial-rescue strategy to include purchases of $300 billion in longer-term Treasury bonds.
National Debt Hits Record $11 Trillion
The Federal Government’s flood of red ink hit another high-water mark as the Treasury Department quietly reported today that the National Debt hit $11-trillion for the first time ever.
Ron Paul and Peter Schiff on Freedom Watch 03/18/09
Congressman Paul appeared on Judge Andrew Napolitano's internet show to discuss CEO bonuses, corporate bailouts, and further government economic intervention
Hill panel testimony to accuse ACORN of mob tactics
A lawyer for a whistleblower on the activist group ACORN is prepared to tell a House panel Thursday that the group provided liberal causes with protest-for-hire services and coerced donations from the targets of demonstrations through a mob-style "protection" racket.
ACORN to Play Role in 2010 Census
The U.S. Census Bureau is working with several national organizations to help recruit 1.4 million workers to produce the country's 2010 census, including one with a history of voter fraud charges: ACORN.
LP Missouri Condemns Missouri Highway Patrol Training Document as Political Profiling
The Missouri Libertarian Party, the third-largest political party in the state, issued the following statement regarding a “Strategic Report” issued by the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) on February 22nd, which became known to the public late last week
Fed to Buy $300 Billion of Longer-Term Treasuries
The Federal Reserve plans to buy $300 billion in Treasury securities and acquire more mortgage and agency debt in an effort to bolster housing and hasten the end of the recession.
Netanyahu embraces threat to US security
Israeli prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has tapped a former spy feared by the United States as his national security advisor.
Claim: Civilian security force on agenda again
The issue of a "Civilian National Security Force" – already discussed by President Obama several times – has come up again, this time before the National Defense University. But there's no information from the White House on what was meant.
The long and sadistic history behind the CIA's torture techniques
In the 20th century, there were two main traditions of clean torture—the kind that doesn't leave marks, as modern torturers prefer. The first is French modern, a combination of water- and electro-torture. The second is Anglo-Saxon modern, a classic list of sleep deprivation, positional and restraint tortures, extremes of temperature, noise, and beatings.
Military Laser Hits Battlefield Strength
Huge news for real-life ray guns: Electric lasers have hit battlefield strength for the first time -- paving the way for energy weapons to go to war.
Kentucky counties fined $400,000 for posting Ten Commandments
Two southern Kentucky counties where officials posted copies of the Ten Commandments in courthouses have been ordered by a federal judge to pay more than $400,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union and citizens who successfully challenged the displays.
TSA: More gate searches in store for fliers
A new, more aggressive effort by airport screeners aims to halt randomly selected passengers for a security check just before they step onto their departing plane, according to a government memo obtained by USA TODAY.
Fannie plans bonuses of up to $611K for 4 execs
Fannie Mae is planning to pay retention bonuses of as much as $611,000 each to several top executives of the government-controlled mortgage finance titan. Sibling company Freddie Mac is planning similar awards.
Misplaced Anger
By Jacob G. Hornberger
It’s nice that people are angry and upset over those bonuses paid by taxpayer-bailout beneficiary AIG, but what fascinates me is the lack of anger and outrage over the really horrific things the federal government has done for the past 8 years, including the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the out-of-control federal spending, the inflation, the mortgaging of our nation to the communist regime in China, the terrible assaults on civil liberties, kidnapping and rendition, torture and sex abuse of prisoners and detainees, indefinite detentions, illegal wiretapping and monitoring of telephone calls and emails, and nullification of the Bill of Rights in cases involving terrorism.
In other words, for 8 years U.S. officials have been taking our nation down the road to dictatorship, financial ruin, and moral debauchery. Yet, all too many Americans haven’t been angry or upset with any of it. Then, along come some bonuses paid to the AIG people and everyone goes ballistic.
Blame Republicans for Big Government
By Sheldon Richman
Government power is growing, and unless President Barack Obama and the majority in Congress have a libertarian epiphany, it will continue to grow for years. If the expansion of intrusive government (a redundancy) gives you the willies — it should; the cost is freedom and prosperity — you may be tempted to direct your anger at Obama and the rest of the Democratic leadership. That would be myopic, however.
Warren Rudman to advise CIA on Senate investigation
CIA Director Leon E. Panetta has tapped former Republican Sen. Warren B. Rudman as a special advisor, turning to a respected politician to help guide the agency through a congressional investigation of the CIA's interrogation program.
Obama and the Empire
By Bill and Kathleen Christison
Various people have asked recently, “What are the implications of the global economic crisis for US policies in the Middle East, and will Middle East countries lean more or less toward the US as they suffer their own economic crises?” Not simple questions, but here, presented very briefly, are our first shots at them.
Popular state sovereignty bills draw comparison to Civil War posturing
The threat is only implied in more than two-dozen state sovereignty bills making the rounds in legislatures across the country, except for a New Hampshire bill where the authors didn't hold back. Any law infringing on the state's right to self govern would trigger the dissolution of the nation: "All powers previously delegated to the United States of America by the Constitution ... shall revert to the several states individually."
Former Bush aide gets 30 months in prison
A former Bush White House aide was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for stealing nearly $600,000 from a government program that promotes democracy in Cuba.
Robert Fisk: Why Avigdor Lieberman is the worst thing that could happen to the Middle East
Only days after they were groaning with fury at the Israeli lobby's success in hounding the outspoken Charles Freeman away from his proposed intelligence job for President Obama, the Arabs now have to contend with an Israeli Foreign Minister whose – let us speak frankly – racist comments about Palestinian loyalty tests have brought into the new Netanyahu cabinet one of the most unpleasant politicians in the Middle East.
Bernanke’s Witness Protection Program…
By Mike Whitney
Fed chief Ben Bernanke’s new funding facility is a real doozy. In fact, if the Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility or TALF, which is set to launch on Thursday, doesn’t convince the American people that it’s time to take a wrecking ball to the Central Bank and start over, then nothing will.
Blame the economists, not economics
AS THE world economy tumbles off the edge of a precipice, critics of the economics profession are raising questions about its complicity in the current crisis. Rightly so: economists have plenty to answer for.
Simple Song of Freedom
Children sing for peace. Shot in Kabul, Afghanistan and Palm Springs, CA - this moving anti-war ballad is a reminder that the pleas of children are universal.
U.K. Government launches bid to allay fears over GM food
The Government has asked its top scientist to investigate the merits of genetically modified food in the hope that his verdict will allay public fears about so-called "Frankenstein foods".
Farm to Fork Food Fascism Comes to America
Food is becoming a battle ground like no other: freedom, survival, fascistic take over of a once-free people (more or less, at least), corporate triumph over independent producers - it’s all happening around food. And the mechanism is simple: a set of bills ostensibly devoted to “food safety” and “food security”.
Globalization Driven by New, Apocalyptic Horsemen
By William F. Jasper
Over the past several months, a steady drumbeat in elite media circles has been pounding out a persistent theme: global crises have exposed the limits of national sovereignty and underscored the necessity for nations to embrace "global governance."
Flashback - Smooth Earnings Growth Was Reassuring, but It Was Often Fictional
In some cases, the products arguably complied with accounting rules. But the intent was to deceive investors, and in the post- Enron world that is not permissible. It may be that the biggest error of Maurice R. Greenberg, the deposed boss of the American International Group, was that he did not realize the world had changed.
The Real AIG Conspiracy
By Michael Hudson
It may seem odd, but the public outrage against $135 million in AIG bonuses is a godsend to Wall Street, AIG scoundrels included. How can the media be so preoccupied with the discovery that there is self-serving greed to be found in the financial sector? Every TV channel and every newspaper in the country, from right to left, have made these bonuses the lead story over the past two days.
It was a long-term trial of the antipsychotic drug Seroquel. The common wisdom in psychiatric circles was that newer drugs were far better than older drugs, but Study 15's results suggested otherwise.
Report: IDF chief gave U.S. fresh intel on Iran nukes program
American sources told the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan that Israel Defense Forces chief Gabi Ashkenazi provided fresh intelligence to the United States concerning Iran's nuclear facility in Arak during his visit to Washington earlier this week, according to Israel Radio.
Diebold Admits ALL Versions of Their Software Delete Ballots Without Notice
Even the audit log system on current versions of Premier Election Solutions' (formerly Diebold's) electronic voting and tabulating systems --- used in some 34 states across the nation --- fail to record the wholesale deletion of ballots.
Health care overhaul cost may reach $1.5 trillion
Your lungs may work just fine, but the estimated price for universal health care could take your breath away. Health policy experts say guaranteeing coverage for all Americans may cost about $1.5 trillion over the next decade. That would be more than double the $634 billion 'down payment' President Barack Obama set aside for health reform in his budget.
Obama climate plan could cost $2 trillion
President Obama's climate plan could cost industry close to $2 trillion, nearly three times the White House's initial estimate of the so-called "cap-and-trade" legislation, according to Senate staffers who were briefed by the White House.
Depression Unrest Turmoil Instability Riots all coming and SOON
Marc Faber says: The best bet for investors may be to buy a farm and escape from the cities, as a prolonged recession could lead to war, as the Great Depression did. If the global economy doesn’t recover, usually people go to war.
Army Investigating How and Why Troops Were Sent Into Alabama Town After Murder Spree
The U.S. Army has launched an inquiry into how and why active duty troops from Fort Rucker, Ala., came to be placed on the streets of Samson, Ala., during last week's murder spree in that tiny South Alabama community. The use of the troops was a possible violation of federal law.
China sees opportunity in failure
By Antoaneta Bezlova
Differences between the United States and Europe over how to restore global economic growth have given rise to speculation here on whether a failure to agree on a grand strategy at the upcoming Group of 20 (G-20) summit might create room for China to assert its national agenda.
Obama's War on Recovery
By Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Obama came to power with the idea of repeating the storybook-view of FDR's presidency and how he saved us from the Great Depression. Had he and his friends read the history more carefully, he would have seen how FDR did nothing of the sort. His policies waged war on recovery, perpetuating the problem he said he was solving.
Prison Officials Are Loosening Restrictions on Taliban Supporter
Prison officials are easing restrictions on John Walker Lindh, the Californian captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan who became known as the "American Taliban," according to government documents.
SPIN METER: Cue the Washington outrage
For months, the Obama administration and members of Congress have known that insurance giant AIG was getting ready to pay huge bonuses while living off government bailouts. It wasn't until the money was flowing and news was trickling out to the public that official Washington rose up in anger and vowed to yank the money back.
Wyden: My Bill Could Have Prevented AIG Mess
Senator Ron Wyden said on Tuesday that the furor surrounding AIG's bonus payments could have been avoided had the Obama White House and members of Congress simply backed legislation that he and Sen. Olympia Snowe introduced more than a month ago.
U.S. weighs expanded covert war in Pakistan -report
President Barack Obama and his national security advisers are considering expanding the covert U.S. war in Pakistan far beyond the tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
U.N. panel says world should ditch dollar
The world should ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a U.N. panel of experts will recommend next week.
Russia proposes creation of global super-reserve currency
Russia suggests the G20 summit in London in April should start establishing a system of managing the process of globalization and consider the possibility of creating a supra-national reserve currency or a “super-reserve currency.” The Russian Federation’s proposals for ways out of the ongoing financial and economic crisis and for a post-crisis order of the world financial system have been published on the Kremlin’s website. The proposals have been dispatched to the leadership of the G20 countries, the CIS and international organizations.
Zionism is the problem
It's hard to imagine now, but in 1944, six years after Kristallnacht, Lessing J. Rosenwald, president of the American Council for Judaism, felt comfortable equating the Zionist ideal of Jewish statehood with "the concept of a racial state -- the Hitlerian concept." For most of the last century, a principled opposition to Zionism was a mainstream stance within American Judaism.
AIG and the Posturing Democrats
By James G. Abourezk
My friend, Congressman Mo Udall, used to tell the story of the congressman in the 1930s who introduced Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s court packing plan. FDR wanted to do away with opposition to his recovery plans by the Court.
Illinois Officers Arrested After Beating of Motorist Caught on Tape (Video)
Chicago Tribune: Two Peoria police officers have been arrested in connection with the 2008 beating of a man who claims he was pepper sprayed, kicked, punched and shocked with a stun gun during a traffic stop captured on a squad car video.
Russia to decide on air defence for Iran: report
Russia will decide whether to deliver sophisticated S-300 air defence systems to Iran based on the "international situation," a government source was quoted as saying Wednesday.
Dismantling the Killer Elite
By William Norman Grigg
Sometimes the truth is best told through fictional allegory, especially when a dash of comedy is used to make the parables more palatable. Witness, for example, the variation on the familiar "I'll need your badge and gun" scene from the action farce The Naked Gun.
Japan to ready defense against North Korea rocket: Kyodo
Japan will clear the way for the deployment of ballistic missile interceptors as it prepares for the possibility a North Korean rocket could fall toward its territory, Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday.
Bush refuses to criticize Obama in Canada
Former President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that he won't criticize Barack Obama because the new U.S. president "deserves my silence," and said he plans to write a book about the 12 toughest decisions he made in office.
Hedge funds may benefit from government cash to AIG: report
Some of the billions of dollars the U.S. government paid to bail out American International Group Inc stand to benefit hedge funds that bet on a falling housing market, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter and reviewed documents.
Israel handed new option in attacking Iran
A prominent US think tank has advised Israel to use ballistic missiles against Iran's nuclear sites after deciding on a pre-emptive strike.
Democrats Finally Waking Up to the Ongoing Looting of the Economy
Just as a certain percentage of republicans refused to admit that rotten things were happening under the Bush administration, many democrats have fought to defend the Obama administration against charges of mishandling the response to the economic crisis.
Of Patriots and Assassins
By Patrick J. Buchanan
During Nixon’s historic trip to China in 1972, his interpreter and I, free for a few hours, conscripted a driver to take us on a tour of Beijing. Somewhere in my files are photos from that day we toured the grim city of Chairman Mao in the time of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
The interpreter: Charles Freeman the same Charles Freeman Adm. Dennis Blair chose to chair the National Intelligence Council that prepares National Intelligence Estimates on critical national security issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.
