Gitmo general told Iraq WMD search team to torture
It’s one thing if, as former Vice President Dick Cheney keeps saying, the United States brutally interrogated people to keep our kids safe from another strike by Osama bin Laden. If folks got tortured to provide a rationale for going to war with Iraq, though, that's a whole different story.
Pentagon Preps Soldier Telepathy Push
Forget the battlefield radios, the combat PDAs or even infantry hand signals. When the soldiers of the future want to communicate, they’ll read each other’s minds.
Euro-Zone Economy Posts Sharpest-Ever Fall
The euro-zone economy suffered its sharpest slump on record in the first quarter of 2009, underlining the severity of Europe's recession
New York closes schools as swine flu cases surge
New York City authorities closed Friday three schools following a swine flu outbreak as the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported more than a 1,000 new cases around the globe in 24 hours.
Authorities probe insider trading at SEC: source
Two U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission employees are under investigation by federal criminal authorities for allegedly using insider information to trade stocks, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Al Gore 1984 (With Video)
There are already proposals in Congress and federal agencies to vastly increase taxes and regulations in order to address the so-called global warming crisis. But as a growing number of scientists are openly declaring, there is no crisis.
Charlie Veitch vs. Armed Police at USA Embassy London
This is what happens when you film at the USA Embassy in Grosvenor Square, central London. After they grabbed my camera off me they held me by the wrists and watched the footage to see if it could be used by terrorists. They decided my footage was shite so they let me go after busting me under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act. I love the final 5 seconds of the film: SUDDENLY ARMED POLICE EVERYWHERE!!!!
UK repossessions up 50% in a year
The number of homes repossessed in the UK rose to 12,800 in the first three months of the year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said.
Israel ups war training despite US discontent
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) is training against warplanes in service with Arab nations and Iran amid worries in the White House that Tel Aviv would start a war without US consent.
Each day the evidence piles up - highlighted by the unconvincing (and self-incriminating) rants of Dick Cheney
Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, said, "the administration authorized harsh interrogation in April and May of 2002 -- well before the Justice Department had rendered any legal opinion -- its principal priority for intelligence was not aimed at pre-empting another terrorist attack on the U.S. but discovering a smoking gun linking Iraq and al-Qa'ida."
Judge Condemns 'Mosaic' of Guantánamo Intelligence and Unreliable Witnesses
Judge Kessler ruled last Monday that the government had failed to establish, “by a preponderance of the evidence,” that Alla Ali Bin Ali Ahmed was “part of, or substantially supported, Taliban or al-Qaeda forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners,” and stated that the government “should take all necessary diplomatic steps to facilitate“ his release.
CODEPINK Protesters Confront Rumsfeld
Video has emerged showing two protesters confronting former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the White House Correspondents dinner on Saturday night.
Deconstructing Obama's Excuses
In trying to explain his startling decision to oppose the public release of more photos depicting detainee abuse, President Obama and his aides yesterday put forth six excuses for his about-face, one more flawed than the next.
Ron Paul's Son Announces Candidacy for Senate
Dr. Rand Paul, son of 2008 Republican Presidential candidate and fundraising juggernaut Ron Paul, announced his candidacy for US Senator from Kentucky in 2010. He teased the announcement on his Twitter feed, but let the cat out of the bag on the Rachel Maddow Show
Tucker: Bilderberg Owns Obama
Bilderberg luminaries all appeared grim-faced as they stepped from their limos on to the grounds of the Nafsika Astir Palace Hotel in Vouliagmeni, Greece.
Republican lawmakers back carbon tax scam (yes, that's right)
Reps. Bob Inglis of South Carolina and Jeff Flake of Arizona on Wednesday became the first Republican lawmakers to introduce legislation imposing a carbon tax on producers and distributors of fossil fuels.
Prudential Among Insurers Cleared for U.S. Bailout
Prudential Financial Inc. and Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. are among six insurers granted access to U.S. aid as the government moves to shore up an industry battered by investment losses.
Ex-Government Worker Sues for Immunity in CIA Rendition Case
A former U.S. government employee, accused by Italy of participating in a CIA-organized kidnapping of a militant Egyptian-born cleric in Milan, has sued the State Department demanding that it invoke diplomatic immunity to quash any prosecution.
Obama moves to restart tribunals
Administration officials say President Barack Obama will restart Bush-era military tribunals for a small number of Guantanamo detainees after adding some legal protections for the terror suspects.
Taiwan's opposition to march against China in mass rally
Taiwan's pro-independence opposition will take to the streets this weekend in what they say will be the biggest anti-China rally since the island's Beijing-friendly administration came to power.
Lab didn't tell police 22 vials stolen
No one from Winnipeg's National Microbiology Laboratory bothered to report the theft of 22 vials of biological material to police, despite an international uproar over a former researcher accused of smuggling the substances across the U.S. border.
To Save Our Economy From Destruction
By Murray N. Rothbard
To save our economy from destruction and from the eventual holocaust of run away inflation, we the people must take the money-supply function back from the government.
(This article originally appeared in the November 1995 issue of The Freeman)
Dr. Doom: Capitalism Could Fail Like Communism
A sustainable recovery will occur only when the corporate system will be cleaned of losses and capitalism risks collapsing if this does not happen, Marc Faber, the author of "The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report," told CNBC Friday.
Pro-Israel Mouthpiece Says Freedom of Speech Dangerous
ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL voices of the pro-Israel lobby has published a shocking essay suggesting that, in the future, there should be “military attacks” on journalists and media outlets that oppose American military ventures on behalf of Israel.
Death to undesirables: Brazil's murder capital
With year-round sun and some of Brazil's best beaches, Recife draws a million foreign tourists a year, many of them on new direct flights from Britain and the rest of Europe. It seems odd then to find an electronic sign in the middle of the city which records the daily murder toll. But behind the narrow stretch of beach restaurants and high-rise apartments shown in the tourist brochures lies a violent city. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in Recife in the past year – up to 12 murders a day - making it Brazil's murder capital. Incredibly many of those who are doing the killing are the police.
Bilderberg blackout, media more obsessed with Hoggs moat costs
The London Daily News has been receiving dispatches from its Athens correspondent that armed security officials have maintained the secretive Bilderberg Group session in an atmosphere of almost hysterical paranoia, to keep all media out.
Mexico wants "financial compensation" for revealing flu
Mexico on Thursday was considering a request to the World Health Organization (WHO) for 'financial compensation' for countries that go public with epidemics to their own detriment.
Former president of Mexico calls for a North American Union
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox pushed Tuesday for forming a union between Canada, Mexico and the United States. Fox was the keynote speaker at Kennesaw State University's inaugural summit on the Commission of North American Prosperity, or North America 2050.
80% of Medical Bills Have Errors
Read those bills from doctors and hospitals carefully! According to a report cited by Consumer Reports Health, up to 80% of all such bills contain errors. CRH recommends insisting on an itemized bill — and reading it carefully.
CIA denies Cheney request to declassify memos
The CIA says it has denied a request by former Vice President Dick Cheney to declassify secret internal government memos that detail whether valuable intelligence was gained from the use of harsh interrogation techniques under the Bush administration.
Trillions in Financial Bailouts: After 2 years, the major Beneficiaries are Banks and Wall Street. What other Proof do you need that we are Focusing on Bailing out the Banking Oligarchy? Foreclosure Filings at All-Time Record High
Banks, take the blue pill. Public, please take the red pill. If I had to characterize the current economic environment, it would have to consist of two completely different sets of beliefs. On one hand, you have banks and Wall Street receiving massive bailouts from the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve, bailouts of the magnitude that would gear up for a Great Depression and imply that the banking system of our country is insolvent. Then on the other hand, you have Wall Street and the crony banks trying to convince the public that this is a minor recession and all will be well in Q3 and Q4 of 2009. The problem of course is that this is not your typical recession yet the public is being led to believe that all is well while bailouts are being dolled out by the truckload to the wrong locations. The actions we are taking keeps in place the banking oligarchy and sacrifices the public under the guise that this is good medicine for the general economy.
Hacking the Economy
The economy we live in is a rigged game, established around the time of the Renaissance in order to promote the welfare of early-chartered corporations and the monarchs who gave them license to monopolize world business. Until that time, there were many kinds of money in use simultaneously. People used centralized currency to conduct long-distance transactions, and local currency to transact on a more day-to-day basis.
House Passes War Bill Amid Criticism of Obama Policy
The U.S. House passed a $96.7 billion war spending bill that includes money for President Barack Obama’s troop buildup in Afghanistan, a strategy some Democrats said they doubted would work.
New Hampshire man jailed for legally photographing courthouse lobby
Dodson, a professional videographer, independent journalist, and member of the libertarian Free State Project, was at the Keene District Court on April 13, 2009, to cover the arraignment, ironically enough, of Dave Ridley, another Free Stater, for video recording at court.
Who Rules America?
By Paul Craig Roberts
What do you suppose it is like to be elected president of the United States only to find that your power is restricted to the service of powerful interest groups?
Unions vs. Taxpayers
The real power of the public sector is showing through in this economic crisis. Some five million private-sector workers have lost their jobs in the last year alone, and their unemployment rate is above 9% according to the BLS. By contrast, public-sector employment has grown in virtually every month of the recession, and the jobless rate for government workers is a mere 2.8%. For anyone who thinks such low unemployment numbers are good news, remember that the bulging public sector must be paid for with revenues that most governments don't currently have.
The Torture Enablers
By Robert Scheer
Should the members of the 9/11 Presidential Commission not have been informed that two of the "key witnesses" upon whom their report was based had provided the information critical to the report's conclusions only after being waterboarded a total of 266 times? On Page 146 of that report, there appears a boxed disclaimer that even the commissioners, possessed of high security clearances, were not allowed to meet, let alone cross-examine, the witnesses or even talk with those who did the interrogations.
As the presidential commissioners conceded in their report, "We submitted questions for use in the interrogations, but had no control over whether, when or how questions of particular interest would be asked. Nor were we allowed to talk to the interrogators so that we could better judge the credibility of the detainees and clarify ambiguities in the reporting."
In short, the basic narrative of the origins and conduct of the 9/11 attack that so fundamentally perverted American politics relied on cherry-picked information that the White House and its operative in the field chose to release to the commission. As a result, we the public still know nothing of certainty about the financing of the terrorist organization emanating from Saudi Arabia and the UAE or the logistical support supplied to the Taliban and Al Qaeda by agencies of the government of Pakistan.
Inside Guantánamo Bay: Desperate prisoners ask ‘where is freedom?’
The man’s bearded face appeared at the narrow cell window, eyes dark and raging, his arms gesticulating wildly. From the confines of the 12ft by 8ft cell at Guantánamo Bay’s Camp V — the maximum security unit for the “least compliant” inmates — he made violent slashing motions across his wrists, pounded the side of his head, and jammed imaginary feeding tubes up his nose. “Alpha-3,” he kept mouthing as he tried to tell us that the inmate in Alpha-3 cell was suicidal and on hunger strike.
CIA chief in secret Israel talks on Iran
CIA chief Leon Panetta has held secret talks in Israel with top officials who assured him the Jewish state would not launch a surprise strike on Iran, a report said.
Reviewing Ellen Brown's "Web of Debt:" Part III
By Stephen Lendman
This is the third in a series of articles on Ellen Brown's superb 2007 book titled "Web of Debt," now updated in a December 2008 third edition. It tells "the shocking truth about our money system, (how it) trapped us in debt, and how we can break free." This article focuses on global debt entrapment.
FDIC Planning For Huge Bank Failure?
Late reports this evening are citing an anonymous source that says the FDIC is preparing some sort of superfund that could handle the failure of a large “systemically important financial institution.”
Christians to disrupt 'Demons' screenings
The Christian media watchdog group The Resistance says it plans to have members disrupt screenings of the film "Angels & Demons" at U.S. theaters.
Training Explorer Scouts To Fight Terrorism
Many law enforcement officials, particularly those who work for the rapidly growing Border Patrol, part of the Homeland Security Department, have helped shape the program’s focus and see it as preparing the Explorers as potential employees.
Bildenberg club meeting starts in Athens
During the following three days (May 14-16), the Athenian hotel “Aster Palace” will be e “forbidden zone.” An unusual coincidence is the fact that the premiere of the movie “Illuminati – the enlightened” (AKA Angels & Demons) coincides with the meeting of the “heirs of … the Enlightened.”
America's growing surveillance state
By Matthew Harwood
Yes, there is a paranoid style in American politics, but sometimes that helps protect civil liberties rather than hinder them. Sometimes paranoia promotes the common good.
California formally asks Geithner for TARP assistance
California Treasurer Bill Lockyer asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday to authorize assistance for his state from the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program, warning that depressed tax revenues may cut into basic services and halt the building of infrastructure.
Chinese imports could bring GM political troubles
As thousands of General Motors workers await word on more U.S. plant closures, reports that the company plans to import Chinese-made vehicles to the U.S. have created a political problem for the automaker and the White House.
US 'sham' bank bail-outs enrich speculators, says buy-out chief Mark Patterson
The US Treasury’s effort to stabilise the banking system through the TARP programme is a hopelessly ill-conceived policy that enriches speculators at public expense, according to the buy-out firm supposed to be pioneering the joint public-private bank rescues.
Hyperinflation And Deflation Of Non-dollar Assets
Deflation isn't limited to paper money (dollar, pound, etc...). In fact, deflation has nothing to do with paper money: it is about the destruction of credit money. Below is an extract from the Wikipedia's explanation of the history of money which explains what credit money is.
How human genes become patented
Here's a little-known fact: Under current law, it's possible to hold a patent on a piece of human DNA, otherwise known as a gene.
A Summary of Q1 Bank Earnings: World, You Just Got Hustled
On March 10, a Citigroup (C) memo from CEO Vikram Pandit “leaked” and its content– about Citi’s “capital strength and earnings power”– sparked a massive rally in financials that carried over six weeks.
Forty-five authors call for a global referendum on democratic world government
An NGO called Vote World Government has released the names of 45 authors who have published books or articles on the issue of globalizing democracy and who have agreed to set aside their philosophical differences in order to encourage the holding of a global referendum on the general goal of democratic world government.
Bush's 'Smoking Gun' Witness Found Dead
A prisoner who was horribly tortured in 2002 until he agreed - at the demand of Bush torturers - to say that al-Qaeda was linked to Saddam Hussein is suddenly dead. Several weeks ago, Human Rights Watch investigators discovered the missing inmate and talked to him. He had been secretly transferred by the administration to a prison in Libya after having been held by the CIA both in secret “black hole prisons” and in Egypt.
A Short History of the Gold Cartel
Governments want a low gold price to make national currencies look good. Gold is recognizable the world over as the ‘canary in the coalmine’ when it comes to money. A rising gold price blurts the unpleasant truth that a national currency is being poorly managed and that its purchasing power is being inflated.
WHO says no evidence virus was a lab creation
There is no evidence to support a theory that the new influenza A(H1N1) virus was created in a laboratory, a World Health Organization official said Thursday.
Schumer on torture 2004: 'Do what you have to do'
New audio unearthed of Sen. Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) comments at a 2004 Senate Judiciary hearing is likely to cause to heartburn for the New York Democrat.
Now Pelosi says CIA misled her
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused CIA officials Thursday of misleading her in 2002 on the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” such as waterboarding, which simulates drowning and has been described by critics as torture.
S&P: Banking Crisis Could Go Until 2013
A day after saying big U.S. banks probably needed to raise only one-fourth the capital demanded by the government, Standard & Poor's said the nation's banking crisis has "merely entered a new phase" and might not end before 2013.
How U.S. Officials Circumvented the Bill of Rights
By Jacob G. Hornberger
In another embrace of President Bush’s war-on-terrorism policies, President Obama has announced that he might retain the Pentagon’s military-commission system to try people accused of terrorism. Apparently, the president, like the U.S. military, lacks confidence in the federal judicial system established by the Framers to handle criminal cases involving terrorism.
U.N. rights chief urges Obama to prosecute torturers
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday welcomed the election of the United States to the top United Nations rights forum and urged it to prosecute those accused of torture and other abuses.
We wouldn't want to inflame anti-American sentiment
By Glenn Greenwald
If we're actually worried about inflaming anti-American sentiment and endangering our troops, we might want to re-consider whether we should keep doing the things that actually spawn "anti-American sentiment" and put American soldiers in danger.
The significance of the successfully developed GM food vaccine
A string of news articles on vaccines contained in GM food have hit the media over the last few days. The articles talked about research being carried out to see if it would work. But that is exactly what it is, re-search.
ESA en route to the origins of the Universe
Two of the most ambitious missions ever attempted to unveil the secrets of the darkest, coldest and oldest parts of the Universe got off to a successful start this afternoon with the dual launch of ESA’s far infrared space telescope Herschel and cosmic background mapper Planck on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
Schwarzenegger wants to sell L.A. Coliseum, San Quentin
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to sell the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, San Quentin State Prison, the Orange County Fairgrounds and other state property to raise cash amid the state's growing fiscal crisis, according to a copy of a proposal reviewed by The Times.
NYPD Cop Charged in Drug Money Scheme
A veteran NYPD patrolman has been arrested on charges he plotted to steal a small fortune hidden in a former drug den.
Obama's latest effort to conceal evidence of Bush era crimes
By Glenn Greenwald
Slowly but surely, Obama is owning the cover-up of his predecessors' war crimes. But covering up war crimes, refusing to prosecute them, promoting those associated with them, and suppressing evidence of them are themselves violations of Geneva and the UN Convention.
Bilderberg Group Meets In Athens Amid Tight Security
Some of the world's top business and political leaders started annual secret talks with the Bilderberg group Thursday in a suburb of Athens, under tight security control.
Obama Considers Detaining Terror Suspects Indefinitely
The Obama administration is weighing plans to detain some terror suspects on U.S. soil -- indefinitely and without trial -- as part of a plan to retool military commission trials that were conducted for prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Fewer than a third in US would get swine flu jab
Fewer than a third of U.S. adults would get a shot especially made to protect against the new H1N1 swine flu virus, according to a poll released on Thursday.
One of the largest fleets of ships ever gathered idles here just outside one of the world’s busiest ports, marooned by the receding tide of global trade. There may be tentative signs of economic recovery in spots around the globe, but few here.
Obama warns Netanyahu: Don't surprise me with Iran strike
U.S. President Barack Obama has sent a message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding that Israel not surprise the U.S. with an Israeli military operation against Iran.
Chrysler Seeks to Reject 789 Dealership Agreements
Chrysler LLC is seeking to reject 789 automotive dealership agreements, many located in the suburbs of major U.S. cities, according to court papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.
Sony makes first loss in 14 years
Electronics giant Sony has reported its first annual loss in 14 years, after being hit by a big drop in sales.
U.S. Producer Prices Rose in April, Led by Food
Prices paid to U.S. producers rose in April as food costs surged, pushing back risks that extended price declines may take root in the economy.
New jobless claims show surprise jump to 637,000
New jobless claims by American workers rose to 637,000 in the past week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, in a sign of continued caution by US business in the face of a weak economy.
Christians for Torture
By Laurence M. Vance
The most ardent atheist would be rendered speechless should he hear of Christians for abortion, profanity, adultery, or drunkenness. Of all people in the world, it is certainly Christians – and especially the conservative, evangelical, and fundamentalist kind – that atheists, agnostics, and infidels expect to be opposed to these things.
Cheney's Role Deepens
By Robert Windrem
An extensive analysis I conducted as a reporter for NBC News of the 9/11 Commission's Final Report and its monograph on terrorist travel showed that much of what was reported about the planning and execution of the terror attacks on New York and Washington was based on the CIA's interrogations of high-ranking al Qaeda operatives who had been subjected to "enhanced interrogation techniques."
Chimpanzee Was On Anti-Anxiety Drug Xanax
Travis the chimpanzee — whose presence in a Stamford home had been called an "accident waiting to happen" months before he attacked Charla Nash — had the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in his system, according to the state's attorney's office.
Paulson gave banks no choice on government stakes: memos
Documents made public on Wednesday confirm former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson gave nine major banks no choice but to allow the government to take equity stakes in them as the Bush administration moved to address turmoil in the financial industry.
Lucifer Rising
During my investigations into the Illuminati Brotherhood and their diabolical machinations to cull and enslave mankind, I had until quite recently been oblivious to an aspect of the Global Conspiracy which in it's breadth, depth and scope is like no other. I am speaking about the New Age Movement and it's plan to introduce a World Religion.
Free Speech: Citizens United (Hillary: the Movie) v. Federal Election Commission
The so-called Citizens United case offers the Supreme Court a chance to severely curtail the free speech abuses of the Federal Election Commission. John Samples, Director of the Cato Institute's Center for Representative Government, Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Steve Simpson and George Mason University law professor Allison Hayward weigh in.
Man arrested for taking picture of ATM
Their whole reason for freaking out at me is that they didn’t know who I am or what I planned on doing with that picture.
Roche steps up production of Tamiflu
The Swiss pharmaceutical company said it would be able to produce 36m packs a month by the end of this year as governments add to stockpiles and begin using it for treatment, raising the prospect that it will again become a $1bn-a-year blockbuster drug after a recent drop in demand.
Big Increases for Intelligence and Pentagon "Black" Programs in 2010
By Tom Burghardt
Continuing along the dark path marked out by his predecessors in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama's Defense and Intelligence budget for Fiscal Year 2010 will greatly expand the reach of unaccountable agencies--and the corporate grifters whom they serve.
Geithner Urges Electronic OTC Derivatives Trading
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner proposed requiring increased transparency in the over-the- counter derivatives market by making prices available on centralized computer platforms.
Gerald Celente Trends Alert - The "Bailout Bubble" - The Bubble to End All Bubbles
The biggest financial bubble in history is being inflated in plain sight, said Gerald Celente, Director of The Trends Research Institute. "This is the Mother of All Bubbles, and when it explodes," Celente warns, "it will signal the end to the boom/bust cycle that has characterized economic activity throughout the developed world."
Microchip Man Named as Pentagon’s New Geek-in-Chief
For years, Zachary Lemnios helped spearhead the military’s advanced research into turbo-powered microelectronics, labs-on-chips, and learning machines. Now, the electrical engineer is set to become the Pentagon’s geek-in-chief.
Torture debate prompts evangelical soul-searching
A number of evangelical leaders have made opposition to torture without exceptions a moral cause over the past three years, part of a broadening of the movement's agenda beyond traditional culture war issues. Others in the movement, including many Christian right leaders, have largely resisted or stayed silent.
Woman is forcefully arrested for trespassing on her own property
Dawn Welsh thought her house was paid off. She received paperwork from her bank showing it was paid off, but through a series of her mortgage being bought and sold, Wachovia Bank was the final owner of the mortgage and claimed Welsh was still owed on her home despite papers showing otherwise.
Karl Rove: Nancy Pelosi was an accomplice to 'torture.'
Someone important appears not to be telling the truth about her knowledge of the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs). That someone is Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The political persecution of Bush administration officials she has been pushing may now ensnare her.
Greece bans Google Street View
Google's controversial Street View mapping service has been banned in Greece until the company comes up with extra privacy guarantees.
China deploys secure computer operating system
China has installed a secure operating system known as "Kylin" on government and military computers designed to be impenetrable to US military and intelligence agencies, The Washington Times reported on Tuesday.
Eurozone industrial output plunges
Euro zone industrial production plummeted by more than a fifth year-on-year in March, data showed, setting a record and indicating first-quarter economic output could have contracted more than expected.
U.S. credit rating at risk: former agency chief
The United States is at risk of losing its triple-A credit rating unless it starts putting its finances in order, a former head of the agency in charge of fiscal accountability said in the Financial Times on Wednesday.
Get Rid of The Fed And Purge The System
By Bob Chapman
The Secrets of the Federal Reserve: The Federal Reserve Act was legislated in 1913 to end recessions, panics and depression. Over that almost 100-year period they have been eminently no more successful then their predecessors.
Freddie Mac Loses $10 Billion for Quarter
Freddie Mac yesterday reported that it lost $10 billion in the first three months of the year, as investments in mortgages continued to fall in value at the federally run housing finance giant.
Gene Revolution: Big Brother is Watching
We are beginning a genetic revolution. Babies are tested and families can learn their health risks. But what are the risks of taking the test? Could your employer ask you to take one? What about your health insurer? Could it be the next form of discrimination? Who is looking at your DNA?
"Happy Talk" Can NOT Fix the Economy
Many people in government, the media and the general public believe that if there is enough "happy talk" about the economy, and enough people believe the economy is improving, it will improve.
West looked the other way as Afghan drug trade exploded
Locals call them "poppy palaces," the three- or four-story marble homes with fake Roman columns perched behind razor wire and guard shacks in Afghanistan's capital.
Most are owned by Afghan officials or people connected to them, men who make a few hundred dollars a month as government employees but are driven around in small convoys of armored SUVs that cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Entitlement Lifespans Get the Axe
In just seven years (2016), the Social Security trust will enter deficit. Eight years at the current pace and Medicare will be totally wiped out. When do you think we’ll start worrying about it… 2015? What a mess.
‘90% of the last million years, the normal state of the Earth’s climate has been an ice age’
We have heard much of the dangers of global warming due to carbon dioxide. But the potential danger of any potential anthropogenic warming is trivial compared to the risk of entering a new ice age. Public policy decisions should be based on a realistic appraisal that takes both climate scenarios into consideration.
Criminalizing Citizen Activism: The Chris Pentico Case
By William N. Grigg
Chris Pentico, a quiet, self-possessed 42-year-old resident of Mountain Home, Idaho, has a disposition as mild as tapioca. Yet the description offered by a state prosecutor at his sentencing hearing today (May 11) would lead you to believe that beneath his docile exterior, Mr. Pentico -- who looks a bit like a younger, clean-shaven, presentable version of Hank Willams, Jr. -- is a churning urn of burning rage.
U.S. to reopen TARP to small banks: Geithner
The U.S. Treasury Department plans to reopen a $700 billion bailout fund to small banks once larger ones repay some of the government money they received, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.
McChrystal Choice Suggests Special Ops Strikes to Continue
The choice of Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal to become the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan has been hailed by Defence Secretary Robert Gates and national news media as ushering in a new unconventional approach to counterinsurgency.
Ex-FBI interrogator says harsh methods didn't work
A former FBI man who interrogated an al-Qaida leader said Wednesday extreme techniques used by the Bush administration were "ineffective, slow and unreliable" and caused the prisoner to stop talking.
Scientist arrested for smuggling vials used in Ebola research into US
A Canadian scientist has been arrested for smuggling 22 vials stolen from Canada's National Microbiology Lab, used in Ebola and HIV research, into the United States, Canadian and US officials said Wednesday.
Cheney to Mainstream Media: Terrorists Blew Up WTC
Former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld each have made curious 9-11 statements on camera that are well worth pondering. Two particular video clips (see links at bottom) have some observers saying that these comments constitute 9-11 “blurt outs” suggesting inside knowledge of what actually happened on 9-11—Freudian slips, if you will.
Pipelineistan goes Af-Pak
By Pepe Escobar
As United States President Barack Obama heads into his second 100 days in office, let's head for the big picture ourselves, the ultimate global plot line, the tumultuous rush towards a new, polycentric world order.
Krauthammer: I will say things in my column even if I don’t believe what I’m saying
On May 1, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer conceded in a column that waterboarding is torture. Krauthammer argued that torture is justifiable “under two circumstances” and that in those cases “you do what you have to do. And that includes waterboarding.” But in an interview on Dennis Miller’s radio show today, Krauthammer said that he didn’t mean it when he wrote that waterboarding is torture.
Governments Will Need to Issue $15-33 Trillion in Bonds
I need to put the $33 trillion into perspective, because it is so big that it is almost incomprehensible. According to Wikipedia..., total private wealth across the world today is about $37 trillion less the losses incurred in 2007-09, so the real number is probably closer to $30 trillion now.
Afghan official: 95 kids died in U.S.-Taliban clash
Ninety-five Afghan children are among the 140 people said to have died in a recent U.S.-Taliban battle in western Afghanistan, a lawmaker involved in the investigation into the deaths said today. The U.S. military disputed the claim saying the graves they saw looked too small to contain so many victims.
Fed-up states see explosion in sovereignty movement
A movement to reclaim for states all rights not specifically designated to the federal government in the U.S. Constitution is exploding across the nation, with 35 states already acting or at least considering such proposals – and one state lawmaker estimating the nation as a whole could save $11 trillion in coming years if it would succeed.
Billions Withdrawn Before Madoff Arrest: Records
About $12 billion was pulled out of accounts at Bernard L. Madoff’s firm in 2008, according to several people briefed on an analysis of Mr. Madoff’s business records.
Galloway sues Canada over entry ban
British anti-war lawmaker George Galloway is taking legal action against Canada because he was prevented from entering the country in March.
Pentagon official charged with plotting to spy for China
A Pentagon official has been charged with conspiracy to communicate classified information to a person he believed represented China's government, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday.
Only one in eight terror arrests result in conviction
The figures, released by the Home Office for the first time show that only 23 per cent of those arrested since September 2001 were charged with terrorist-related offences and only 13 per cent convicted.
Welcome to the New Total Security State
The U.S. government has at its disposal a technological arsenal so sophisticated and invasive as to render any constitutional protections null and void. Yet all is not lost. In this week’s vodcast, John Whitehead points the way toward resisting the government’s insidious slide towards totalitarianism.
Obama administration threatens Britain to keep torture evidence concealed
Ever since he was released from Guantanamo in February after six years of due-process-less detention and brutal torture, Binyam Mohamed has been attempting to obtain justice for what was done to him. But his torturers have been continuously protected, and Mohamed's quest for a day in court repeatedly thwarted, by one individual: Barack Obama.
Actual Bailout May Exceed $10 Trillion
The current block of taxpayer money that has been pledged by the US government and the Federal Reserve to prevent the system from collapsing, according to an analysis by Bloomberg News, is roughly $12.8 trillion as of March 31. This money has been lent, spent or guaranteed to prevent a systemic collapse.
Russia to charge NASA $51 mln for seats on Soyuz spacecraft
Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and NASA have agreed on a new price for ferrying U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) after 2012, a Russian space official said on Wednesday.
If you can't trust a Cheerios box...
Those toasted Os may be crunchy. They may go great with milk. You could go so far as to say they're part of a nutritious breakfast. But perhaps promoting them as a drug that can lower cholesterol is going too far.
Tillman's parents want general's record reviewed
The parents of slain NFL star Pat Tillman say senators should scrutinize a general's role in mischaracterizing their son's death before putting him in charge of military operations in Afghanistan.
U.S. retail sales fall again in April
Sales at U.S. retailers fell for a second straight month in April, pulled down by sluggish gasoline and electronic goods purchases, government data showed on Wednesday.
