The Bailout Needs a Bailout » The Foundry:
"To recap, the Bush Administration’s latest $6 billion bailout of GMAC, bringing the first round of the GM bailout total to $23.4 billion, pushes the total money committed by the Troubled Asset Relief Program past the initial $350 billion authorized by Congress. In other words, TARP now has now made specific promises to spend more money than it actually has the authority to spend. The bailout is now in need of a bailout."
"Religious Jews protest against Israel in New York city; explaining that conflict between Arabs and Jews is political, not religious as Zionist/Israeli propaganda would have you believe. "
BreakthroughAlert.com: Is a volcano big enough to cause an ice age really about to blow its top?:
"
~ Latest Flash (12/31 9:48AM): level of seismic activity still increasing ~ The most potentially destructive volcano on earth, the Yellowstone Caldera in Wyoming (see map), has recently begun experiencing an unusually strong and persistent earthquake swarm that has scientist concerned because it might indicate an impending eruption (see Today's Seismogram Display). Yellowstone is labeled a super volcano, because the pool of magma under the ground is a stunning 34 miles x 45 miles in size. Large enough that an eruption is expected to eject sufficient material to plunge the entire planet into a new ice age. The ridge shown in the photo is the rim of the huge caldera from the last eruption. Ash recovered from sediment over wide areas of North America shows that Yellowstone has had previous super volcanic eruptions 2.1 million, 1.3 million and 640,000 years ago."
GM crops found to affect reproduction in mice: Austrian study - Technology News - SINA English:
"VIENNA – Genetically-modified maize can affect reproduction in mice, an Austrian study has found, although its authors have dismissed warnings by environmental groups that it could also harm humans.
The long-term study, which was commissioned by the Austrian health ministry, found that female mice that had been given a diet consisting of 33 percent genetically-modified (GM) maize had fewer babies and fewer litters than those fed on non-GM food after a few generations."
"I was riding to work yesterday when I observed a female driver cut right in front of a pickup truck, causing him to have to drive onto the shoulder to avoid hitting her.
This evidently angered the driver enough that he hung his arm out his window and 'flipped' the woman off.
'Man, that guy is stupid,' I thought to myself. I ALWAYS smile nicely and wave in a sheepish manner whenever a female does anything to me in traffic, and here's why.......... "
Some Pretty Funny Stuff -- Courtesy of The Freeman Institute...:
"
1. I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn't itch.-Gilda Radner-
2. I've been on so many blind dates, I should get a free dog. -Wendy Liebman-
3. I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb and I also know that I'm not blonde. -Dolly Parton-
4. I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on. -Roseanne Barr-
5. Behind every successful man is a surprised woman. -Maryon Pearson-
6. I want to have children, but my friends scare me. One of my friends told me she was in labor for 36 hours. I don't even want to do anything that feels good for 36 hours. -Rita Rudner-
7. I think -- therefore I'm single. -Lizz Winstead-
8. Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth. -Erma Bombeck-
9. If high heels were so wonderful, men would still be wearing them. -Sue Grafton-
10. You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy. -Erica Jong-"
Retired Black White House Butler Talks About His Experience, Obama « Hello, Negro:
"Eugene Allen, 89, a retired White House butler, tries on his old tuxedo for a photo. Allen, who served eight presidents during a period when America ’s racial history was being rewritten, is marveling at the election of Barack Obama."
New Report: Worldwide Bankruptcy Wave About to Hit:
"Europe and the U.S. are about to experience a significant increase in business failures.
That's the conclusion reached by Paris-based Euler Hermes, the world's largest credit insurer, in a recently released 57-page report on business insolvencies worldwide.
With the exception of Japan, which recently emerged from its own 'Lost Decade,' Euler expects that almost every country in the world will see a rise in insolvencies far greater than previous economic downturns."
"This is the first of two stories about disparities in the way people of different races are treated in the Cuyahoga County courts. "
One-year old boy kept alive by cats! - allvoices.com:
"While the boy was sleeping peacefully around 8 cats were on top on him quite busy licking his body because he was very dirty. She said, ‘When I walked over they became really protective and spat at me. They were keeping the boy warm while he slept.’ The officer also noticed scraps of food near the boy and it was assumed that the boy was probably feeding on those scraps."
CNSNews.com - Democrat Says Fairness Doctrine Should Extend to Cable, Satellite TV:
"‘The so-called ‘Fairness Doctrine’ would restrict free speech on the public airwaves, stifling dissent at a time when an open national dialogue about our country’s future is essential,’ Boehner said in a news release on Tuesday."
"Who can blame Galveston plainclothes police who thought a 12-year-old girl standing outside her house (flipping the switch on the circuit breaker as her mother has asked her to do) was a prostitute? After all, she was wearing 'tight shorts' according to the vigilant officers, and she happened to live only two blocks away from a location where someone had complained that prostitution was taking place.
So the three brave officers did the natural thing: they allegedly jumped the girl and beat her up, according to Courthouse News and the Houston Press.
"
The Raw Story | Bush Administration created executive pay loophole:
"Pressured by constituents who worried that companies would take government aid and continue to pay their executives eye-popping bonuses, Congress inserted a provision that would penalize companies who took taxpayer money and shelled out outsized bonuses.
But at the last minute, Bush officials insisted on a one-sentence provision that stopped the measure in its tracks, according to congressional aides who spoke to the Washington Post.
The change stipulated that the sanction would only apply to firms that sold mortgage backed securities to the government at auction, which the Bush Treasury Department said would be the method they'd use to infuse troubled companies with bailout cash."
Recession seen worsening, deflation a risk | Reuters:
"SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The 'nasty' U.S. recession will tighten its grip next year as unemployment rises and weak home and stock prices imperil consumers, finance firms and debt-laden businesses, a UCLA Anderson Forecast report released on Thursday said.
Additionally, a sustained retreat in prices for goods and services is a very real possibility that would further drag on the economy, according to the forecasting unit's report.
'Where only last quarter we were worried about inflation, we are now worried about its very rare opposite: deflation,' the report said. Falling prices would cut demand and discourage employers from hiring."
The Memory Hole > Henry Ford and the Nazis:
"Henry Ford's reward from Hitler finally came in July 1938, when on his seventy-fifth birthday he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Supreme Order of the German Eagle. Ford was the first American and the fourth person in the world to receive this medal, which was the highest decoration that could be given to any non-German citizen. Benito Mussolini, another of Hitler's financiers, had been decorated with the same honor earlier that year.[128]"
Males of All Species Are Becoming More Female:
"Thousands of chemicals released into the environment are interfering with animal and human endocrine systems, resulting in physical changes. Comprehensive research indicates that these chemicals, nicknamed ‘gender-benders,’ are causing the males in many species to become feminized."
Related Topic: Baby boys born with smaller penises
Sources in this Story
The ill effects of these chemicals have in fact been documented for the human male populations as well. A study led by the Center for Reproductive Epidemiology at the University of Rochester examined baby boys from three different regions of the United States whose mothers had been exposed to substances containing phthalates. Researchers tested expectant mothers for the presence of these chemicals in their urine. Mothers with higher levels of the chemical tended to give birth to baby boys with smaller penises and in some cases, incompletely descended testicles.
Sheriff: Eviction Heartless During Winter, Recession - Local News Story - WLWT Cincinnati:
"HAMILTON, Ohio -- An area sheriff has ordered deputies to ignore eviction orders when people have nowhere else to live.
Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said evictions in winter weather and during an economic recession are heartless and those cases should be sent back to the courts and resolved some other way."
CTV.ca | Worker affidavits allege Taser problems:
"CTV News has obtained court documents that suggest thousands of Tasers may be defective.
The documents are the words of insiders -- factory workers at the Arizona plant which makes the controversial devices.
The workers expressed concern about the stun-guns firing excessive electrical charges in affidavits signed for a 2005 lawsuit.
The lawsuit was brought against Taser International by its own shareholders, who were concerned the company had not disclosed safety deficiencies.
"
"In March 2006 Taneka Talley was stabbed to death while at work. The Fairfield, California Dollar Tree clerk left behind a son who should be getting death benefits. He's not because the man who killed his mother did so because she was black.
The insurance company claims that Talley's death has to do with the colour of her skin which isn't job related.
The man who killed the young mother had never met her before. The death was a random act of violence. It happened on the job. The insurance company, Specialty Risk Services, is taking the low road though and using the theory that had Talley been another race she would still be alive and therefore it's not work related. "
My Way News - Panel urges Obama to consider hacker-response plan:
"WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama should create a new White House office to protect cyberspace from hackers, thieves and foreign agents, coordinating security efforts across U.S. military, intelligence and civilian agencies, according to a new report from a panel of leading government and industry experts.
The report, expected to be made public Monday on Capitol Hill, also urges Obama's new administration and Congress to pass new laws to allow for speedier investigations - and in some cases quicker retaliation once intruders are identified. It proposed online 'data warrants,' for example, rather than traditional search warrants, which it said 'may be increasingly impracticable in the online environment.'"
Laid-off workers occupy Chicago factory, seek pay | U.S. | Reuters:
"CHICAGO (Reuters) - Invoking Main Street resentment of Wall Street's federal bailout, some 200 workers entered their third day of occupying a shuttered Chicago window and door factory on Sunday, demanding that Bank of America agree to pay them severance plus vacation pay.
Workers belonging to the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers union began their peaceful occupation of the plant on Friday after family-owned Republic Windows & Doors said it was closing after Bank of America canceled its line of credit.
The workers said Republic Windows & Doors gave them only three days notice of Friday's closing instead of the 60 days required by law, and owes them roughly $3,500 per worker including unused vacation pay.
A union spokeswoman said Bank of America is not letting the company pay the workers.
'We're just shocked that Bank of America, after receiving $25 billion in bailout money, not only do they refuse to extend credit to companies but, to add insult to injury, they don't allow these companies to fulfill their legal obligations to their workers,' union spokeswoman Leah Fried said."
Op-Ed Columnist - A Killer Without Borders - NYTimes.com:
"As if you didn’t have enough to worry about ... consider the deadly, infectious and highly portable disease sitting in the lungs of a charming young man here, Garik Hakobyan. In effect, he’s a time bomb.
Mr. Hakobyan, 34, an artist, carries an ailment that stars in the nightmares of public health experts — XDR-TB, the scariest form of tuberculosis. It doesn’t respond to conventional treatments and is often incurable.
XDR-TB could spread to your neighborhood because it isn’t being aggressively addressed now, before it rages out of control. It’s being nurtured by global complacency."
Proposed fee on smelly cows, hogs angers farmers - Yahoo! News:
"MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For farmers, this stinks: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if a federal proposal to charge fees for air-polluting animals becomes law.
Farmers so far are turning their noses up at the notion, which is one of several put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases emitted by belching and flatulence amounts to air pollution.
'This is one of the most ridiculous things the federal government has tried to do,' said Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, an outspoken opponent of the proposal."
Pentagon to Detail Troops to Bolster Domestic Security - washingtonpost.com:
"The U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials.
The long-planned shift in the Defense Department's role in homeland security was recently backed with funding and troop commitments after years of prodding by Congress and outside experts, defense analysts said.
There are critics of the change, in the military and among civil liberties groups and libertarians who express concern that the new homeland emphasis threatens to strain the military and possibly undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old federal law restricting the military's role in domestic law enforcement."
Irene Monroe: This Era of Black Women and HIV/AIDS:
"Right here in the nation's capitol, the HIV/AIDS epidemic rivals that of many Third World countries. Washington D.C. affectionately dubbed as 'Chocolate City' is approximately 60 percent of people of African descent. And of it's residents one in 20 is thought to have HIV, and 1 in 50 of its residents to have AIDS. Of the 3,269 HIV cases identified between 2001 and 2006 who tested positive nine of 10 were African American."
"Nick Dial was a police officer who volunteered to be Tasered. Since then his health has suffered to such an extent that he can no longer work. And he's not alone; other police officers have suffered serious health problems, from vertebrae misalignments to heart arrhythmia and stroke. 'In its video, Taser International claims that nobody has suffered a serious injury or death as a result of the Taser, but that just isn't true,' says Dial. "
Prozac Ocean: Fish Absorb Our Drugs, and Suffer For It | Discoblog | Discover Magazine:
"Chemists have found that water downstream of water treatment plants holds a veritable medicine cabinet worth of antidepressants, including venlafaxine, bupropion (Wellbutrin), citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac) and sertraline (Zoloft)."
Medicare to Cover Prescription Handguns?:
"Several weeks ago you were kind enough to blog about the Palm Pistol. We thought you might be interested to learn that the FDA has completed its ‘Device/Not a Device’ determination and concluded the handgun will be listed as a Class I Medical Device, exempt from 510(k) Pre-Market Notification in accordance with 21 CFR 890.5050 ‘Daily Activity Assist Device.’
We have now submitted an application to the CMS contractor Noridian for a DME (Durable Medical Equipment) Coding Verification in order to be assigned an HCPCS code. Once assigned , physicians will be able to prescribe the Palm Pistol for qualified patients who may seek reimbursement through Medicare or private health insurance companies.
"
"Anti-government and bank rage reached a boiling point Monday in the small island nation of Iceland, where residents have seen unemployment and inflation skyrocket following the fall collapse of the Icelandic banking system. Iceland, a nation recently prided as a great example of the ‘Scandanavian Model’ of a prosperous welfare system, has in a matter of months been transformed into the least politically and ecnomically stable nation in Europe. The International Herald Tribune reports below-"
Mets: Citi Field will remain name of new ballpark: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance:
"NEW YORK (AP) -- Citi Field will remain the name of the New York Mets' new ballpark following a government bailout the team believes will help the struggling bank survive its economic crisis.
Citigroup agreed in 2006 to pay the Mets $400 million over 20 years for naming rights to the stadium, scheduled to open next year. Two New York City councilmen said last week that the $800 million ballpark's name should be changed to Citi/Taxpayer Field."
Broader medical refusal rule may go far beyond abortion - Los Angeles Times:
"Reporting from Washington -- The outgoing Bush administration is planning to announce a broad new 'right of conscience' rule permitting medical facilities, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare workers to refuse to participate in any procedure they find morally objectionable, including abortion and possibly even artificial insemination and birth control."
'Crash taxes' add hefty fees for aid - MSN Money:
"Imagine you're cruising down the road when you hit a patch of black ice and slide into a guardrail. A passing motorist calls 911. Soon firetrucks and police arrive.
Weeks later, a $1,400 bill does, too -- for the cost of the police and firefighters who answered the call. What's worse, it's not covered by insurance, and it might scar your credit if you ignore it.
Sound implausible? It's happening in a number of towns, cities and counties in at least 24 states. And given today's cratering economy (and property-tax revenue), more strapped local governments may be tempted to authorize so-called accident response fees."
"(NaturalNews) Up to 90 percent of the infant formula sold in the United States may be contaminated with trace amounts of melamine, the toxic chemical linked to kidney damage, according to recent tests. The FDA's test results, which the agency hid from the public and only released after the Associated Press filed a Freedom of Information Act request, showed that Nestle, Mead Johnson and Enfamil infant formula products were all contaminated with melamine.
The AP is also reporting that Abbott Laboratories conducted its own in-house tests that detected trace levels of melamine in its formula products. Together, these infant formula manufacturers make about 90 percent of the infant formula sold in the United States."
"BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European patients had to pay about 3 billion euros ($3.87 billion) more for medicines in 2000-2007 because pharmaceutical companies deliberately stalled the sale of cheaper generic versions, EU antitrust regulators said Friday.
An investigation of major pharmaceutical companies -- including Pfizer (PFE Quote - Cramer on PFE - Stock Picks), GlaxoSmithKline(GSK Quote - Cramer on GSK - Stock Picks) and Sanofi Aventis (SNY Quote - Cramer on SNY - Stock Picks) -- showed they had blocked or delayed generic drugs from entering the market to prevent losing revenue on their more profitable drugs, the European Commission said. "
The Associated Press: Expert: Small Ark. earthquakes could be warning:
"LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A series of small earthquakes that rattled central Arkansas in recent weeks could be a sign of something much bigger to come.
By this weekend, seismologists hope to install three measurement devices to gather data about future temblors in the area. That information could show whether the rumbles come from heat-related geological changes or from an undiscovered fault — which could mean a risk of substantial earthquakes in the future.
'The potential for generating a high-magnitude earthquake is real,' said Haydar Al-Shukri, director of the Arkansas Earthquake Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock."
Sick babies denied treatment in DNA row - National - smh.com.au:
"BABIES with a severe form of epilepsy risk having their diagnosis delayed and their treatment compromised because of a company's patent on a key gene.
It is the first evidence that private intellectual property rights over human DNA are adversely affecting medical care.
Deepak Gill, head of neurology at the Children's Hospital at Westmead, said he would test at least 50 per cent more infants for the SCN1A gene - which would diagnose the disabling Dravet syndrome - if the hospital could conduct the test in-house.
But rights to the gene are controlled by the Melbourne-based Genetic Technologies, which has already threatened to stop public hospitals testing for breast cancer gene mutations, and the hospital will not risk a similar problem."
"The gunmen were terrifyingly professional, making sure at least one of them was able to fire their rifle while the other reloaded. By the time he managed to capture the killer on camera, Mr D'Souza had already seen two gunmen calmly stroll across the station concourse shooting both civilians and policemen, many of whom, he said, were armed but did not fire back. 'I first saw the gunmen outside the station,' Mr D'Souza said. 'With their rucksacks and Western clothes they looked like backpackers, not terrorists, but they were very heavily armed and clearly knew how to use their rifles."
LewRockwell.com Blog: The Real Ford Position on Bailouts:
"Thanks to Kevin Duffy for a reminder of what the great entrepreneur Henry Ford said on February 11, 1934: 'Let them fail; let everybody fail! I made my fortune when I had nothing to start with, by myself and my own ideas. Let other people do the same thing. If I lose everything in the collapse of our financial structure, I will start in at the beginning and build it up again.'"
Surprise Drop in Power Use Delivers Jolt to Utilities - WSJ.com:
"An unexpected drop in U.S. electricity consumption has utility companies worried that the trend isn't a byproduct of the economic downturn, and could reflect a permanent shift in consumption that will require sweeping change in their industry.
Numbers are trickling in from several large utilities that show shrinking power use by households and businesses in pockets across the country. Utilities have long counted on sales growth of 1% to 2% annually in the U.S., and they created complex operating and expansion plans to meet the needs of a growing population."
FDA Scientists Revolt Against Corrupt Food and Drug Administration Officials:
"(NaturalNews) A group of scientists working in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health division has revolted against the corrupt managers of its own department, accusing them of committing crimes by claiming, 'There is extensive documentary evidence that managers at CDRH have corrupted and interfered with the scientific review of medical devices.'
Read the letter yourself here (PDF):
The letter from the FDA's own scientists goes on to say, 'It is evident that managers at CDRH have deviated from FDA's mission to identify and address underlying problems with medical devices before they cause irreparable harm, and this deviation has placed the American people at risk.'"
Think Progress » Washington state judge admits to calling Mukasey a ‘tyrant.’:
"Richard Sanders, a justice on the Washington State Supreme Court, confirmed yesterday that he called Attorney General Michael Mukasey a ‘tyrant’ at a Federalist Society dinner last week:
After listening to Mukasey defend the Bush administration’s counterterrorism policies — its detainment practices at Guantánamo Bay, its interpretation of the Geneva Conventions’ reach — Sanders stood and shouted ‘Tyrant! You are a tyrant!’
‘Frankly, everybody in the room was applauding or sometimes laughing, and I thought, ‘I’ve got to stand up and say something.’ And I did,’ Sanders told The Seattle Times Tuesday. ‘I stood up and said, ‘Tyrant,’ then I sat down again, then I left.’
Sanders said he didn’t learn until the next morning that, moments after this episode, Mukasey passed out at the podium."
The Raw Story | Bush Labor Department misled Congress in effort to privatize jobs:
"President George W. Bush's Labor Department misled Congress in an effort to prove outsourcing jobs to private companies was more efficient than assigning the jobs to government employees, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Monday.
The report (pdf here) found that the Department used fictional projected numbers to improve 'savings reports' -- even when real numbers were already available. And when the government did find private firms to take a government job, that employee generally was either reassigned to another task with the same title or promoted"
"NaturalNews) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, continuing its campaign of censorship against truthfully-described herbal supplements, seized $71,000 worth of Charantea herbal supplements last week in a raid involving U.S. Marshals. The company, Fulllife Natural Options, was accused by the FDA of marketing an 'unapproved drug' due to the truthful marketing claims that accurately describe the blood sugar lowering effects of the product's main ingredient: Bitter Melon fruits."
Cops track crims through family DNA - The INQUIRER:
"A CONTROVERSIAL NEW law in California is allowing police to track down criminals by trawling through the state's DNA database looking for profiles of close family members.
The LAPD hope that in cases where a perp’s DNA doesn’t match up to any DNA profiles in the database, family members whose DNA is on file may be able to give detectives a clue to his/her whereabouts.
The method is not a new one, having started out in Britain several years ago, but California's newly-approved familial searching policy will be the most far-reaching one in the US and is already making privacy advocates itchy."
Obama Looks to Axe Daylight Time -- NYT Explains Why - Green Daily:
"In order to conserve energy, President-elect Barak Obama wants to eliminate daylight saving time.
"
Man pays for county mistake - PennLive.com:
"When Walter Andre Sharpe Jr. signed for a certified letter from Dauphin County Domestic Relations in 2001, he didn't know he was signing on for a seven-year nightmare.
Since then, the Philadelphia man has been thrown in jail four times, lost his job, become estranged from his four children and spent more than $12,000 to support the child of another man."
'I unwittingly ate human flesh,' caller tells stunned radio DJ | Mail Online:
"She answered: 'It was when I was a child when I lived in Africa. We always went to the same butcher and then suddenly - we were there a couple of years - the meat started to get so much better.
'It was only when we moved back to England a couple of years later that we realised that the butcher had been arrested because he farmed little black girls.'"
Israel Bans International Media from Gaza, Arrests Human Rights Activists - Middle East Times:
"GAZA CITY, Gaza -- Israel has banned foreign journalists from entering Gaza to cover the deteriorating humanitarian situation there as the country 's complete closure of the territory enters a third week."
VS iPhone: iPhone has a built-in spyware module?:
"Today an underground hacker team 'web-Hack' from Russia released a whitepaper with results of iPhone firmware research. They reverse- engineered some functions and published this information. Results of a research shocked community. Russian hackers found a built-in function which sends all data from an iPhone to a specified web-server. Contacts from a phonebook, SMS, recent calls, history of Safari browser - all your personal information can be stolen."
Gulf War illness is real, report finds - Yahoo! News:
"'Scientific evidence leaves no question that Gulf War illness is a real condition with real causes and serious consequences for affected veterans,' said the committee, which has been looking into the problem since 2002."
Bankers Manifesto of 1892 - You Must Read the Bankers Manifesto:
"We (the bankers) must proceed with caution and guard every move made, for the lower order of people are already showing signs of restless commotion. Prudence will therefore show a policy of apparently yielding to the popular will until our plans are so far consummated that we can declare our designs without fear of any organized resistance."
Slashdot | Feds Can Locate Cell Phones Without Telcos:
"schwit1 sends along an Ars Technica report covering the release of documents obtained under the FOIA suggesting that the Justice Department may have been evading privacy laws in their use of 'triggerfish' technology. Triggerfish are cell-tower spoofing devices that induce cell phones to give up their location and other identifying information, without recourse to any cell carrier. 'Courts in recent years have been raising th"
CSI Kitchen Table — The Latest Home Test Kits:
"Home test kits used to be for things like finding out if you're pregnant or checking the hot tub's chlorine level. Now over-the-counter chemical tests can tell you if your spouse is cheating or if your new home ever doubled as a meth lab. Yes, science now makes house calls.
"
John F. Kennedy vs The Federal Reserve | BREAK THE MATRIX:
"On June 4, 1963, a virtually unknown Presidential decree, Executive Order 11110, was signed with the authority to basically strip the Federal Reserve Bank of its power to loan money to the United States Federal Government at interest. With the stroke of a pen, President Kennedy declared that the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank would soon be out of business. The Christian Law Fellowship has exhaustively researched this matter through the Federal Register and Library of Congress. We can now safely conclude that this Executive Order has never been repealed, amended, or superceded by any subsequent Executive Order. In simple terms, it is still valid."
"According to a recent report released by the Justice Department, the number of incarcerated Americans reached an all-time record last year. Local, state and federal officials jailed an additional 62,000 people as of June 2006 sending the prison population to 2.24 million people.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) annual report says the 2.8 percent increase in incarcerations was the largest increase in six years. Black men continue to be imprisoned at record pace. Blacks and Hispanics are the primary people being jailed. Currently, Black men, who are roughly 6 and a-half percent of the nation’s total population, represented 37 percent of those behind bars. African American males have an incarceration rate of 4.8 percent compared to 1.9 percent for Hispanics and 0.7 percent for whites. Amazingly, 11 percent of all Black males between 25 and 34 are in prison."
U.S. physicians apologize to black doctors - International Herald Tribune:
"CHICAGO: The American Medical Association, the largest physicians' group in the United States, apologized to black doctors on Thursday for a history of racial discrimination.
The AMA said it will work to increase the ranks of minority physicians and their participation in the association.
The apology arose from the work of an independent panel of experts commissioned in 2005 to study the history of what the AMA called 'the racial divide in organized medicine.'"
t r u t h o u t | Prescription Drugs Kill 300 Percent More Americans Than Illegal Drugs:
" A report by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission has concluded that prescription drugs have outstripped illegal drugs as a cause of death.
An analysis of 168,900 autopsies conducted in Florida in 2007 found that three times as many people were killed by legal drugs as by cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines put together. According to state law enforcement officials, this is a sign of a burgeoning prescription drug abuse problem. "
Kuruc.info - Korlátlanul magyar: 25 years murder-free in 'Gun Town USA':
"In March 1982, 25 years ago, the small town of Kennesaw – responding to a handgun ban in Morton Grove, Ill. – unanimously passed an ordinance requiring each head of household to own and maintain a gun. Since then, despite dire predictions of 'Wild West' showdowns and increased violence and accidents, not a single resident has been involved in a fatal shooting – as a victim, attacker or defender."
Missing Bees: What's going on?:
"A team of scientists from Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and University of California San Francisco identified both a virus and a parasite that are likely behind the recent sudden die-off of honey-bee colonies. Using a new technology called the Integrated Virus Detection System (IVDS), which was designed for military use to rapidly screen samples for pathogens, ECBC scientists last week isolated the presence of viral and parasitic pathogens that may be contributing to the honeybee loss.
But it now appears that a much more basic culprit has killed the bees -- Bayer Corporation. Colony Collapse Disorder is poisoning with a known insect neurotoxin called Clothianidin, a pesticide manufactured by Bayer, which has been clearly linked to massive bee die offs in Germany and France. "
Techdirt: Bloomberg Sues The Fed For More Transparency Over $2 Trillion In Emergency Loans:
"While plenty of people are focused on the $700 billion TARP bailout/rescue plan that Congress gave the Treasury Department, that's not the only cash the government has at its disposal. In fact, the Federal Reserve has apparently handed out $2 trillion in emergency loans, with almost no transparency over who received the loans and what the collateral is or how it's valued. Bloomberg (the company, not the mayor) is now suing to have the Fed reveal that info. The government has been talking up a storm about how all of these bailout efforts would be very transparent with respect to taxpayer money -- but the reality hasn't lived up to the rhetoric. "
ACLU 'Concerned' After Students Told Not To Say Obama - Commitment 2008 News Story - WAPT Jackson:
"PEARL, Miss. -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi said Friday that it had received numerous reports from throughout the state from parents and students regarding alleged violations of students’ free speech following Tuesday’s election.
On Thursday, the Pearl Schools superintendent said that a school bus driver and a coach were disciplined for allegedly telling students not to say President-elect Barack Obama’s name."
Sarah Palin Blamed by the US Secret Service Over Death Threats Against Barack Obama | | AlterNet:
"Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.
The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of 'palling around with terrorists', citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.
The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling 'terrorist' and 'kill him' until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric."
Drink Tap Water: Bottled Water is Toxic:
"An extra twist has been added to your bottled water!
How about cancer-causing byproducts of chlorination, fertilizer residue, industrial solvents and caffeine.
Laboratory tests conducted for Environmental Working Group at one of the country’s leading water quality laboratories showed alarming results. 10 popular brands of bottled water were tested and the results showed:
an average of 8 contaminants in each brand
38 chemical pollutants altogether
one-third of the chemicals found are not regulated in bottled water
some chemicals exceeded legal limits in California as well as industry-sponsored voluntary safety standards
four brands were also contaminated with bacteria"
Winter is Coming, Stock Up on Honey | YourNaturalWellness.com:
"A research team in Denmark is currently investigating the use of honey instead of antibiotics.
Hippocrates used honey to heal wounds. While we seam to have forgotten its powers honey is still used today in development countries to heal burns and diarrhea.
A pot of honey is a great resource in the kitchen cabinet. Especially during the cold winter months.
Here are some great alternative uses of honey."
"This web site is organising donations to help pay lawyers for a Pittsburgh man who uses no public utilities — and has served three stints in the county jail because of his battles. Now he faces more legal wrangling for refusing to tap into the local sewage system.
Off-Grid was the first to report on William Williams, 78, of Cecil, back in 2006. Now Williams is again pressing ahead with his long- held doctrine that he, not public utilities or authorities, dictates what happens on his property. He describes utility companies and authorities as ‘troublemakers,’ ‘bullies’ and ‘yo-yos with queer ideas’ about encroaching on people’s lives."
Report Rebuts Georgian Claims About Invasion - World news | Newser: Know More. Search Less.:
"(Newser) – Independent military observers have published new accounts that contradict Georgia's claim that it was acting defensively against Russian aggression. The reports suggest instead that the small Georgian army moved into Tskhinvali unprovoked, unleashing artillery and rocket fire without discrimination at civilians and unarmed monitors. It also discounts the claim, made on television the night of the invasion, that ethnic Georgian villages in breakaway South Ossetia were under attack.
"
anti-telemarketing EGBG counterscript:
"The Direct Marketing sector regards the telephone as one of its most successful tools. Consumers experience telemarketing from a completely different point of view: more than 92% perceive commercial telephone calls as a violation of privacy.
Telemarketers make use of a telescript - a guideline for a telephone conversation. This script creates an imbalance in the conversation between the marketer and the consumer. It is this imbalance, most of all, that makes telemarketing successful. The EGBG Counterscript attempts to redress that balance."
oskar lewis weblog » plastic soup:
"A ‘plastic soup’ of waste floating in the Pacific Ocean is growing at an alarming rate and now covers an area twice the size of the continental United States, scientists have said.
The vast expanse of debris – in effect the world’s largest rubbish dump – is held in place by swirling underwater currents. This drifting ‘soup’ stretches from about 500 nautical miles off the Californian coast, across the northern Pacific, past Hawaii and almost as far as Japan."
informationliberation - How Teenage Rebellion Has Become a Mental Illness:
"For a generation now, disruptive young Americans who rebel against authority figures have been increasingly diagnosed with mental illnesses and medicated with psychiatric (psychotropic) drugs.
Disruptive young people who are medicated with Ritalin, Adderall and other amphetamines routinely report that these drugs make them 'care less' about their boredom, resentments and other negative emotions, thus making them more compliant and manageable. And so-called atypical antipsychotics such as Risperdal and Zyprexa -- powerful tranquilizing drugs -- are increasingly prescribed to disruptive young Americans, even though in most cases they are not displaying any psychotic symptoms.
"
PLoS ONE: Sleep Loss Produces False Memories:
"People sometimes claim with high confidence to remember events that in fact never happened, typically due to strong semantic associations with actually encoded events. Sleep is known to provide optimal neurobiological conditions for consolidation of memories for long-term storage, whereas sleep deprivation acutely impairs retrieval of stored memories. Here, focusing on the role of sleep-related memory processes, we tested whether false memories can be created (a) as enduring memory representations due to a consolidation-associated reorganization of new memory representations during post-learning sleep and/or (b) as an acute retrieval-related phenomenon induced by sleep deprivation at memory testing. According to the Deese, Roediger, McDermott (DRM) false memory paradigm, subjects learned lists of semantically associated words (e.g., ‘night’, ‘dark’, ‘coal’,…), lacking the strongest common associate or theme word (here: ‘black’). Subjects either slept or stayed awake immediately after learning, and they were either sleep deprived or not at recognition testing 9, 33, or 44 hours after learning. Sleep deprivation at retrieval, but not sleep following learning, critically enhanced false memories of theme words. This effect was abolished by caffeine administration prior to retrieval, indicating that adenosinergic mechanisms can contribute to the generation of false memories associated with sleep loss."
The Rise of Unwarranted Paramilitary Raids in America | Felonious Ramblings:
"It’s the day after Christmas in 2001. You’re 21 years old. After finally putting your 18-month-old daughter to sleep, you’re relaxing in your favorite recliner, nodding off in the flickering light of the television show you’re only half-watching and the string of Christmas lights around your front window. When you hear the sounds of someone trying to kick in your door, you run to your daughter’s bedroom; when someone does break in and kick down her bedroom door, you shoot.
It turns out the man you shot is the (white) police chief’s son, and as he dies of internal bleeding en route to the hospital you (a black man) are arrested, beaten so badly you bleed from your ear for a week, and are left on death row for five years following the bogus conviction (until a judge overturns what was obviously a wrongful sentence). The drugs the cops were looking for — using a warrant that named no one in your household — were never discovered. This is the case of Mississippian Corey Maye, who is still locked up."
The Memory Hole > Bush Flatly Declares No Connection Between Saddam and al Qaeda:
">>> During one of his rare press conferences, President Bush admitted something which completely contradicts what we've been hearing from him, most other politicians, and the mainstream media. Not surprisingly, the media have completely ignored this; I couldn't find a single article that mentions it in any news source, domestic or foreign."
Copper Shown to Be Effective Germicide in Hospital Setting:
"A study at the Selly Oak Hospital at the University of Birmingham, England has shown that copper surfaces effectively reduce the presence of contagious pathogens that land on them during normal hospital operations.
From the statement issued by University Hospitals Birmingham:
The study found that, when tested, items made from copper had up to 95 per cent fewer micro-organisms on them, compared with the same items made out of standard materials such as stainless steel.
The study, begun in March last year, was led by Professor Tom Elliott, a Consultant Microbiologist and Deputy Medical Director at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Selly Oak Hospital.
He said: ‘What this must mean is that the risk of picking up an infection is reduced, because we know that one of the vehicles where organisms can spread from one surface to another is by touching them. So the results are very exciting.
‘The findings of a 90 to 95 per cent killing of those organisms, even after a busy day on a medical ward with items being touched by numerous people, is remarkable. So it may well offer us another mechanism for trying to defeat the spread of infection.’
"
"Looking further, I saw that the other end of the cable was connected to the integrated ethernet board.
What could this mean? I called Dell tech support about it, and they said, and I quote, 'The intregrated service tag identifier is there for assisting customers in the event of lost or misplaced personal information.' He then hung up.
A little more research, and I found that that board spliced in between the keyboard and the ethernet chip is little more than a Keyghost hardware keylogger.
The reasons Dell would put this in thier laptops can only be left up to your imagination. It would be very impractical to hand-anylze the logs, and very CPU-intensive to do so on a computer for every person that purchased a dell laptop. Why are these keyloggers here? I recently almost found out.
I called the police, as having a keylogger unknown to me in my laptop is a serious offense. They told me to call the Department of Homeland Security. At this point, I am in disbelief. Why would the DHS have a keylogger in my laptop? It was surreal.
So I called them, and they told me to submit a Freedom of Information Act request. This is what I got back: "
Beware of Congress’s Threat to Tax 401Ks at Emac’s Stock Watch | Fox Business:
"With the bear market red in the claw, with an equal opportunity bear market taking out solid stocks right and left, with panicked investors feeling like every headline is an explosion, comes this impenetrable stupidity:
Some Democrats in Congress have held hearings that included discussions of new proposals to tax 401K money. Specifically, the idea would be to eliminate most of the $80 bn in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive. Which means a nearly $80 bn tax hike."
"Optical-scan machines made by Election Systems & Software failed recent pre-election tests in a Michigan county, producing different tallies for the same ballots every time, the top election official in Oakland County revealed in a letter made public Monday.
The problems occurred during logic and accuracy tests in the run-up to this year's general election, Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson disclosed in a letter submitted October 24 (.pdf) to the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The machines at issue are ES&S M-100 optical-scan machines, which read and tally election results from paper ballots."
James Carville Hints at Riots If Obama Loses Election | NewsBusters.org:
"In last night's post-debate analysis on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, James Carville proclaimed that Barack Obama will be the slam dunk winner of the election in November. However, he followed up by hinting at riots if Obama were to lose. Here is the transcript of the discussion. First David Gergen keeps bringing up the race factor as an excuse for a possible Obama loss (emphasis mine):"
"The swindle of American taxpayers is proceeding more or less in broad daylight, as the unwitting voters are preoccupied with the national election. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson agreed to invest $125 billion in the nine largest banks, including $10 billion for Goldman Sachs, his old firm. But, if you look more closely at Paulson's transaction, the taxpayers were taken for a ride--a very expensive ride. They paid $125 billion for bank stock that a private investor could purchase for $62.5 billion. That means half of the public's money was a straight-out gift to Wall Street, for which taxpayers got nothing in return. "
The Law That Never Was -- The Fraud of Income & Social Security Tax -- The Man:
"Starting in January, 1984, Bill went first to the capitols of the New England states and performed his investigative research, using the journals of the various state legislative bodies to find out how these states acted upon the proposal by Congress to amend the U.S. Constitution to permit a federal income tax law. After review of these records, he began to see that serious problems existed as to whether these states had legally ratified the same amendment which had been proposed by Congress. When examination of the records of about 20 states showed that many had not ratified the amendment and that information regarding the action taken by these States had been sent to the U.S. Secretary of State, he determined that records in Washington, D.C. most probably existed to prove the point. "
How to Survive An Economic Depression » Blog Archive » 100 Things That Disappear in a Panic:
"100 Things That Disappear in a Panic
(7)
Posted on October 6th, 2008adminGreat Depression, Health
Compiled by Joseph Almond, this list is applicable from almost everything - from hurricanes to financial hurricanes.
Originally compiled for Y2K survival, it is pretty darn thorough!"
Fruit and Veggie Seeds At Risk | Nature Deva:
"Well this is yet another bit of highly disappointing information I learned today. The Path To Freedom Blog posted today that Monsanto owns about 40% of all the fruit and veggie seeds sold in the U.S. and they are growing. It’s not bad enough that they’ve taken over grain production and made it into frankenfood and are destroying many family farms in the process but now they are invading the fruit and veggie seed market, too."
"Goldman Sachs is on course to pay its top City bankers multimillion-pound bonuses - despite asking the U.S. government for an emergency bail-out.
The struggling Wall Street bank has set aside £7billion for salaries and 2008 year-end bonuses, it emerged yesterday.
Each of the firm's 443 partners is on course to pocket an average Christmas bonus of more than £3million.
The size of the pay pool comfortably dwarfs the £6.1billion lifeline which the U.S. government is throwing to Goldman as part of its £430billion bail-out.
As Washington pours money into the bank, the cash will immediately be channelled to Goldman's already well-heeled employees. "
Economyincrisis.org - America's Economic Report - Daily:
"In the summer of 2007, Congress sent a group of investigators to China to determine the safety of Chinese food imports. Their investigation exposed alarming results: Not only does China’s food supply not meet U.S. food standards, it also does not meet international standards.
Upon discovering the health violations, the investigators recommended that the United States ‘… not impose equivalent safety measures on food imported from China . . . because China would not meet those standards, which would close off Chinese food exports to America,’ according to economist Pat Choate.
Since 2002 officials have testified that over 80 percent of active ingredients in U.S. prescription drugs are imported, yet the FDA only has information on a small minority of these companies. This means that the FDA cannot vow for the safety of our food or drugs, and that our leaders are well aware.
According to Choate, the United States now imports more food than we export. "
Raw Replay - Revisiting History:
"Conservative gun enthusiasts have succeeded in forcing a Montana-based rifle manufacturer to oust its CEO after he revealed his support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Dan Cooper, founder of Cooper Firearms, resigned his position with the company after a wave of condemnation from gun owners who don’t believe Obama’s assurances that he plans to protect gun rights."
Hell Freezes Over: White House Drug Czar Backs Decriminalization | NewsLI.com:
" (Washington, D.C.) The Marijuana Policy Project today congratulated White House ‘drug czar’ John Walters for backing a Mexican government proposal that would remove criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
‘I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but John Walters is right,’ said MPP executive director Rob Kampia. ‘We heartily second his support for eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana users in Mexico, and look forward to working with him to end such penalties in the U.S. as well.’"
Uses for $700B bailout money ever shifting - USATODAY.com:
"WASHINGTON (AP) — First, the $700 billion rescue for the economy was about buying devalued mortgage-backed securities from tottering banks to unclog frozen credit markets.
Then it was about using $250 billion of it to buy stakes in banks. The idea was that banks would use the money to start making loans again.
But reports surfaced that bankers might instead use the money to buy other banks, pay dividends, give employees a raise and executives a bonus, or just sit on it. Insurance companies now want a piece; maybe automakers, too, even though Congress has approved $25 billion in low-interest loans for them."
Twenty-Five Ways To Suppress Truth: The Rules of Disinformation:
"Built upon Thirteen Techniques for Truth Suppression by David Martin, the following may be useful to the initiate in the world of dealing with veiled and half-truth, lies, and suppression of truth when serious crimes are studied in public forums. This, sadly, includes every day news media, one of the worst offenders with respect to being a source of disinformation. Where the crime involves a conspiracy, or a conspiracy to cover up the crime, there will invariably be a disinformation campaign launched against those seeking to uncover and expose the truth and/or the conspiracy. There are specific tactics which disinfo artists tend to apply, as revealed here. Also included with this material are seven common traits of the disinfo artist which may also prove useful in identifying players and motives. The more a particular party fits the traits and is guilty of following the rules, the more likely they are a professional disinfo artist with a vested motive. People can be bought, threatened, or blackmailed into providing disinformation, so even 'good guys' can be suspect in many cases. "
How to Make a Moisturizing Lotion with Only 3 Ingredients | Wabi Sabi Baby:
"Ever wondered which ingredient makes up the largest percentage in lotions? Water! If you look at the ingredients list on product labels, you will notice that water is almost always listed first, meaning it is the most predominant ingredient in the product. And, it is also ‘free’ and readily available. So what all are you paying for?"
"Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Banks getting $125 billion from U.S. taxpayers to unlock the credit crunch are saying they'd rather hoard the money than use it for loans, the head of the largest independent mortgage company said. "
Malcolm X Speech December, 1962 - The Politics eZine:
"This speech was delivered before Malcolm left the Nation of Islam and accepted true Islam -- so his views in this speech do not reflect his own or those he held near the end of his life."
Ugly election incidents show lingering U.S. racism | Reuters:
"KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Two weeks before an election that could install the first black U.S. president, scattered ugly incidents have reflected a deep residue of racism among some segments of white America.
A cardboard likeness of Barack Obama was found strung from fishing wire at a university, the Democratic presidential nominee's face was depicted on mock food stamps, the body of a black bear was left at another university with Obama posters attached to it."
TheHill.com - Police prepare for unrest:
"Police departments in cities across the country are beefing up their ranks for Election Day, preparing for possible civil unrest and riots after the historic presidential contest."
U.S. pilot ordered to shoot down UFO - Space- msnbc.com:
"LONDON - An American fighter pilot flying from an English air base at the height of the Cold War was ordered to open fire on a massive UFO that lit up his radar, according to an account published by Britain’s National Archives on Monday."
San Francisco weighs decriminalizing prostitution:
" SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - In this live-and-let-live town, where medical marijuana clubs do business next to grocery stores and an annual fair celebrates sadomasochism, prostitutes could soon walk the streets without fear of arrest.
San Francisco would become the first major U.S. city to decriminalize prostitution if voters next month approve Proposition K—a measure that forbids local authorities from investigating, arresting or prosecuting anyone for selling sex. "
10 Things the Food Industry Doesn't Want You to Know - Yahoo! News:
"4. More processing means more profits, but typically makes the food less healthy.
Minimally processed foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables obviously aren't where food companies look for profits. The big bucks stem from turning government-subsidized commodity crops--mainly corn, wheat, and soybeans--into fast foods, snack foods, and beverages. High-profit products derived from these commodity crops are generally high in calories and low in nutritional value.
5. Less-processed foods are generally more satiating than their highly processed counterparts.
Fresh apples have an abundance of fiber and nutrients that are lost when they are processed into applesauce. And the added sugar or other sweeteners increase the number of calories without necessarily making the applesauce any more filling. Apple juice, which is even more processed, has had almost all of the fiber and nutrients stripped out. This same stripping out of nutrients, says Ludwig, happens with highly refined white bread compared with stone-ground whole wheat bread."
The Risks Digest Volume 25: Issue 39:
"Police have arrested innocent people due to faulty fingerprint analysis but have not determined how many cases were affected by such errors. The *Los Angeles Times* has obtained an internal police report that notes two cases in which charges were dropped after problems with the fingerprint analysis were discovered, blamed on 'shoddy work and poor oversight'."
The Credit Crisis and the Bailout in Plain English || kuro5hin.org:
"This is an explanation of economics. There's no way to avoid some boring details and glazed eyes when talking about such things. However, I promise to avoid some of the jargon which will send you running to wikipedia, if you in turn forgive me for some oversimplification.
The purpose of this article is to explain specific jargon. It will explain the role of FNMA (Fannie Mae) and FHLMC (Freddie Mac), mortgage-backed securities, Credit Default Swaps (CDS), Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDO), mark to market, prime, subprime, a run, the Community Reinvestment Act, and liquidity in the current situation. These terms will be introduced as gently as possible. There's a lot of ground to cover, but what follows is a resource which will help you to understand these frequently used buzz words. "
Sarkozy bank account raided in internet scam - Telegraph:
"Fraudsters siphoned money out of Nicolas Sarkozy's bank account after obtaining the French leader's user name and password. "
Ontario police arrest man in voter fraud case - Los Angeles Times:
"Jacoby's arrest by state investigators and the Ontario Police Department late Saturday came after dozens of voters said they were duped into registering as Republicans by people employed by YPM. The voters said YPM workers tricked them by saying they were signing a petition to toughen penalties against child molesters."
US Constitution vs. The Patriot Act:
"US Constitution (Bill of Rights)
Wine collectors eye cellars for liquidity | Special Coverage | Reuters:
"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Wine cellars have been taking a hit from the global credit crisis and it isn't because the owners of rare bottles are drinking more -- it's because they have been selling to raise cash.
The selling started with mortgage brokers and has moved to Wall Street as owners turn their collections of coveted vintages into liquid assets."
7 Innocent Gestures That Can Get You Killed Overseas | Cracked.com:
"If you've ever had your penis cut off and/or been executed while on holiday, you'll probably know that it's easy to offend people from other cultures. Unless you learn the ways of the place you're visiting, even the most well-meaning tourist can regularly find his oesophagus stuffed with burning goat. But surely just plain common sense and good manners will save you, right?
Wrong. "
S.C. Sheriff's Department Armored Vehicle with Belt-Fed Machine Gun - News - POLICE Magazine:
"The Richland County (S.C.) Sheriff's Department has acquired an armored personnel carrier complete with a turret-mounted .50-caliber belt-fed machine gun for its Special Response Team."
Father takes son to court for idleness | Oddly Enough | Reuters:
"A father took his 20-year old son to an Islamic court in northern Nigeria for idleness, asking that he be sent to prison for refusing to engage in productive activities, state news agency NAN said Friday."
With Huge Oil Discovery, Cuba Will Beat United States to Energy Independence : EcoWorldly:
"After revising estimates, Cuba now claims it has double the amount of oil in its offshore reserves than previously thought. If the estimates are accurate, Cuba would have just as much oil as the U.S."
"Studying the case of Iceland can give an idea of the upcoming stages of the crisis. That is what our team has been doing ever since the beginning of 2006. This country indeed provides a good illustration of what the US and the UK should be expecting. It can be considered – and that is what most Icelandic people do today – that the collapse of Iceland's financial system came from the fact that it was disproportionate to the size of the country's economy.
"
"At least three early voters in Jackson County had a hard time voting for candidates they want to win.
Virginia Matheney and Calvin Thomas said touch-screen machines in the county clerk's office in Ripley kept switching their votes from Democratic to Republican candidates.
'When I touched the screen for Barack Obama, the check mark moved from his box to the box indicating a vote for John McCain,' said Matheney, who lives in Kenna."
LANL scientist makes radio waves
travel faster than light - SantaFeNewMexican.com:
"Scientist John Singleton insists that Albert Einstein wouldn't be mad at him, even though at first blush Singleton appears to have twisted the famous physicist's theories about light into a pretzel.
Most people think Einstein said that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, but that's not really the case, Singleton said.
Einstein predicted that particles and information can't travel faster than the speed of light — but phenomenon like radio waves? That's a different story, said Singleton, a Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellow.
Singleton has created a gadget that abuses radio waves so severely that they finally give in and travel faster than light. "
“Damn The Man!” The Ability To Sell Second-Hand CDs | The Legality:
"It depends. While Mr. Augusto enjoys the right to sell his legally owned CDs, questions arise in a number of states as to who can purchase them. The music industry, it seems, is foregoing lawsuits in favor of promoting preventative legislation. Recent legislation in Florida, Utah, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island has made it more difficult to sell used CDs in those states than it is to get a driver’s license. In Florida, for example, anyone attempting to sell used CDs to a retailer must present identification and be fingerprinted, and any retailer looking to sell those same CDs must apply for a permit and submit a $10,000 bond with the Department of Agriculture and Human Services. Thankfully, those restrictions do not apply to online or person-to-person sales."
BBC NEWS | The Reporters | Mark Easton's UK:
"It's a mystery that has got British law enforcement officials and others across the planet scratching their heads. Put bluntly, enough heroin to supply the world's demand for years has simply disappeared.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) describes the situation as 'a time bomb for public health and global security'."
Peak Oil: Life After the Oil Crash:
"
My point in relaying all this is that if you want to understand financial warfare (and thus be able to wrap your mind around the events of the last 6 weeks) you are going to miss the boat if you don't include the role of laundered money and narcodollars in your analysis. So this story about half the world's heroin supply simply going missing with no explanation is absolutely huge. "
Homework Hotline - Quotations:
"The high office of President has been used to foment a plot to destroy the
American\'s freedom, and before I leave office I must inform the citizen of
his plight. - John F. Kennedy at Columbia University, 10 days before his
assassination"
Fed isn't nationalizing the banks, says Bush - Oct. 17, 2008:
"Bush said the government would limit its intervention in size and scope, and did not intend to nationalize the banking system. 'The government intervention is not a government takeover,' he said."
"I would not be making a big deal about this incident if it did not suggest a larger problem with John McCain's principles. If McCain is callous about infringing on the natural rights of a citizen for political expedience, if he becomes president, would he likewise trample on the rights of U.S. citizens whenever it suits him?
McCain has never repudiated the numerous violations of the Bill of Rights by the Bush administration, please bear in mind. He's actually defended many of these unconstitutional actions, such as the 'sneak and peak' provisions of the Patriot Act as well as warrantless wiretapping."
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. You have received without payment, so give without payment. - Mathew 10:8
ABC News: N.J. Mandatory Flu Shots for Preschoolers Cause Outrage:
"New Jersey's Public Health Council stopped complaining last year about parents who don't vaccinate their children and took action. Now, New Jersey is the first state in the nation to require a flu shot for all children before they enroll in preschools and daycare centers. "
The New Age...It's Coming! - October 2008 Issue - (Aircraft Maintenance Technology):
"In case you did not notice, the FAA, State Department (Department of Transportation), and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) entered into another aviation bilateral agreement in June. This new agreement is called the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA).
You may also recall that recently Mary Peters, Secretary of Transportation, signed an agreement which is described as the ‘open skies’ agreement that essentially allows the European Union (EU) airlines unfettered access to our U.S. market. In addition, there are many more details to that agreement that do not bode well for our industry. A previous article, Open Skies-European Union – United States Air Transport Agreement (July 2007), touched on that subject. At that time the EU Vice President for Transport stated, ‘the objective of our negotiations will be additional traffic rights (for the EU) and fewer (read that as no) restrictions on European ownership and control of U.S. air carriers.’
This is all done in the name of harmonization. But make no mistake about it … there are some serious implications floating out of this current arrangement that seem to look more and more like an effort by EASA to create a single management agency for all of world aviation."
B*tches Ain't Sh*t A Capella - CollegeHumor video:
""
Mobile phones proven to cause new skin disorder:
"The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) has issued an alert for Doctors to be aware of a new skin rash caused by long periods of mobile phone use.
In the warning the BAD links what is called ‘mobile phone dermatitis’ to an allergic reaction of the phone’s nickel surface. The rash typically occurs on the cheek or ear.
Doctors are being warned to be aware of the allergy, which is thought to be on the increase. Because the condition has only newly been identified, many cases may go unreported or untreated, which has prompted the scientists to share their findings."
What will the NSA whistleblower revelations mean?:
"Two former NSA intercept operators have sparked a firestorm of discussion over the past week thanks to their whistleblowing accounts of the routine eavesdropping that targeted innocent military personnel and humanitarian aid workers overseas. But civil libertarians hoping that the story will prove a game-changing bombshell in the fight over warrantless surveillance may want to dial-down their expectations. As even the ACLU acknowledges, the eavesdropping described in these reports is only indirectly related to President Bush's now-infamous 'Terrorist Surveillance Program,' and is unlikely to have violated the existing FISA law."
Techdirt: Why Is Andrew Cuomo Pushing ISPs To Use Spyware On Everyone's Internet Traffic?:
"He's been sending ISPs a presentation from a company called Brilliant Digital that's offering a 'deep packet inspection' system that could scan every file sent across an ISP's network and try to determine if it was child porn. Yes, Cuomo is suggesting that ISPs spy on every single file sent over their network now, 4th Amendment be damned. Brilliant Digital even claims that its system can trick users into sending files unencrypted, so even those who send encrypted traffic could be spied upon. Cuomo claims that he's not endorsing the product, but just thought ISPs would be interested in looking into it. Yet, given his heavy handed tactics earlier in this effort, it's pretty clear what message he's sending. "
Real Time Economics : Fed Keeps AIG Loan Details Under Wraps:
"Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.), who sought the provision, notes that the two reports he received — on the Fed’s new commercial paper program and its second loan to insurer American International Group Inc. — ‘make the Fed’s actions more transparent, which protects American taxpayers and allows the public and the market to be better informed during these difficult times.’
But he then goes on to acknowledge that the public actually won’t be informed about the Fed’s report about the $37.8 billion offered to AIG last week, on top of the $85 billion in credit extended initially. The central bank is requiring that it be kept confidential. (Most of the details in the report about the commercial paper program have been released publicly already.)"
Bottled Water No Purer Than Tap Water:
"A study by an environmental group of 10 leading brands of bottled water sold in the United States found they contained many of the same chemical and biological impurities as tap water, but an industry body said their bottled water was within regulation standards.
The two-year study was conducted by the non profit, Washington-based, Environmental Working Group (EWG) and was released on their website on Wednesday 15th October."
YouTube - Misconceptions of Obama fuel Republican campaign - 13 Oct 08:
""
Steroid users seen twice as prone to violence - Yahoo! News:
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Young men who use anabolic steroids are twice as likely to engage in violence than those who do not use the muscle-building drugs, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
While many scientists believe anabolic steroids -- synthetic drugs related to male sex hormones -- are linked to aggressive behavior, research has been limited. Some users refer to so-called 'roid rage' fueled by the drugs.
'We're finding that steroid users are more likely to become violent, even above and beyond their prior levels of violence,' said Kevin Beaver of Florida State University's College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, whose study appears in the American Journal of Public Health."
FT.com / Europe - Run on Russian bank heightens fears:
"Globex on Wednesday banned depositors from withdrawing their money as confidence in the Russian banking system began to show signs of evaporating.
Globex, a mid-sized retail bank with assets of $4bn (€2.95bn, £2.32bn), is the first Russian bank to experience a run on deposits during the crisis. It lost 13 per cent of its deposits last month, according to Maxim Raskosnov, an analyst at Renaissance capital, and a further 15 per cent this month according to Emilya Alieva, Globex’s vice-president."
"How likely is it that three neighboring volcanoes would all erupt at the same time -- as the Kasatochi, Okmok and Cleveland volcanoes in the Aleutians did this summer?
About as likely as a storm that only appears once in a thousand years, says Anchorage volcanologist Peter Cervelli, who'll deliver a paper on the subject this winter to the American Geophysical Union.
"
YouTube - David Icke - Predictions He Made, That Have Come True:
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"The most obvious trend which cannot continue today is the maintenance of prosperity in America by means of ever-increasing debt and monetary inflation. The America we grew up in, the America we are used to – in terms of not only prosperity but also world dominance, freedom and human rights at home, respect around the world, and in other ways – that America is already gone, and we are living in the vapors and shadows of its corpse.
Americans and indeed people everywhere will increasingly be asking themselves who caused the epic financial collapse that has already destroyed trillions of dollars in wealth, slowed the economies of nearly every nation on Earth, and generated a surge in unemployment and homelessness in America and elsewhere. I have written about the causes previously; see, for example, Destruction by Paradigm: How the United States wrecked the world’s most robust economy and impoverished its own people from March of 2007 (especially section 3) and will not discuss them in detail here.
The free market (something we don't actually have) has been set up as the fall guy, but the true culprit is government coercion and its results – our unconstitutional central bank; the unconstitutional abandonment of the gold standard; corporatism and resulting corruption of the regulatory process, to name a few highlights. The current nightmare has been over a century in the making, so don't expect it to be solved anytime soon, like 'in your lifetime.' Repair of the damage, assuming it ever happens, will take far longer than that. "
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