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Terror Watch Uses Local Eyes |
Hundreds of police, firefighters, paramedics and even utility workers have been trained and recently dispatched as "Terrorism Liaison Officers" in Colorado and a handful of other states to hunt for "suspicious activity" — and are reporting their findings into secret government databases. The vague nature of the TLOs' mission, and their focus on reporting both legal and illegal activity, has generated objections from privacy advocates and civil libertarians. full story |
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How Dare This Fascist Blood-soaked Murderer….. |
The Unitary Executive is scheduled to disgrace the grounds of Thomas Jefferson’s house, Monticello, in Charlottesville, Va., making a speech on the morning of July 4, 2008. If you support the complaints against the first King George III enumerated on the first Fourth of July in the Declaration of Independence, I encourage you to attend the event. Go early. Wear an impeachment shirt. full story |
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Ron Paul: Iran War Will Triple Energy Prices |
"In the last several weeks, if not for months we have heard a lot of talk about the potential of Israel and/or the United States bombing Iran. Energy prices are being bid up because of this fear. It has been predicted that if bombs start dropping, that we will see energy prices double or triple". "This resolution, House Resolution 362 is a virtual war resolution. It is the declaration of tremendous sanctions, and boycotts and embargoes on the Iranians." full story |
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"Thought Crime" Bill Dead in Senate |
The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act (H.R. 1955) passed by an overwhelming 404-6 in the House last October. However, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee does not plan to consider the bill this year. Grassroots activists' calls seem to have moved the bill to a very slow track for the time being. full story |
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Supreme Court: No Inalienable Right to Bear Arms |
Today the U.S. Supreme Court released their ruling on the District of Columbia gun ban case. The court ruled that the Second Amendment did guarantee an individual’s right to bear arms, but also went on to say that the government still has the right to control and regulate firearms. The mainstream press is hailing this as a victory for gun owners and a defeat for anti-American gun control advocates. full story |
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Officials: 30,000 Troops Heading to Iraq in 2009 |
The Pentagon is preparing to order roughly 30,000 troops to Iraq early next year in a move that would allow the U.S. to maintain 15 combat brigades in the country through 2009. The deployments would replace troops currently there. But the decisions could change depending on whether Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, decides in the fall to further reduce troop levels in Iraq. full story |
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U.S. and Europe Near Agreement on Private Data |
The US and the European Union are nearing completion of an agreement allowing law enforcement and security agencies to obtain private information, like credit card transactions, travel histories and Internet browsing habits, about people on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Negotiators, who have been meeting since February 2007, have largely agreed on draft language for 12 major issues central to a "binding international agreement". full story |
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Le Téléprésident: Sarkozy Tightens His Grip
over French State TV |
Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to increase govt. control over state TV yesterday sparked an outcry from his political opponents who accused him of tightening a Berlusconi-style grip on the airwaves and dragging France back into its dark age of postwar censorship and propaganda. His proposed "cultural revolution" for France's 5 state TV channels prompted an uproar when he announced that in future, he and his cabinet would appoint the head of French state TV, instead of an independent body. full story |
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US Wars Have Helped Al-Qa'eda, Says Report |
American military intervention in Muslim countries has bred a generation of "angry young men" vulnerable to al-Qa'eda recruitment, a report from a leading security analysis group has said. The Senlis Council, which has an extensive network of researchers in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, said frustration with war and unemployment was underpinning the insurgency against western forces. full story |
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Honey Bee Crisis Could Push Food Prices Even Higher |
Food prices could rise even more unless the mysterious decline in honey bees is solved, farmers and businessmen told lawmakers Thursday. "No bees, no crops," North Carolina grower Robert D. Edwards told a House Agriculture subcommittee. Edwards said he had to cut his cucumber acreage in half because of the lack of bees available to rent. About 3/4 of flowering plants rely on birds, bees and other pollinators to help them reproduce. full story |
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Hitting Home: New Faces Join Ranks of the Homeless |
A single mother of five, Mosely is on the brink of homelessness after the house she's rented for a year fell into foreclosure and was sold at auction. Mosely, a part-time restaurant hostess, came up with $500 for a security deposit on another place. But she says all the landlords she's contacted want $1,000 or more. She doesn't have it. full story |
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Sugar for Biofuel to Displace Kenya's Tana Delta Wildlife |
Kenya's Tana River Delta, inhabited by 350 species of birds, lions, elephants, rare sharks and reptiles, is about to be converted to sugar cane production over the objections of conservationists and local communities. The government is behind the project, with President Mwai Kibaki expressing his personal approval at a public rally in Garsen last year. full story |
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Mexicans Urged to Reclaim Part of Texas |
Texan estate agents are heading south of the border to drum up the interest in buying cut-price land and property in the foreclosure-hit state. Thanks to a rising Mexican peso and an economy which is growing faster than that of the US, a country that has previously been looked on by America as a source of cheap labour is now seen as a potential source of rich investors. full story |
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Technological Enslavement Is All around Us |
Moving on to the next subject of technological enslavement, Google and Microsoft are amongst a handful of companies already working on the creation of a driver’s license styled identification card that will be required for Internet access. According to a NY Times report, it appears as if they will sell this system as a way to eliminate multiple online passwords and identity theft. full story |
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Government Permission Required for Parents to Kiss Children |
Sweeping new policies set to be introduced in the UK will mandate parents to get govt. permission to kiss their children or take them to the swimming pool in public. A quarter of the entire adult population of the UK will be mandated to pass a state check operated by a newly formed government agency to have any physical contact with children under the age of 16 in public, including their own kids. full story |
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Airport Tyranny: Introduction of "Behavior
Detection" Technology at US Airports |
But it's going to get worse. The TSA aims to have 500 “behavior detection officers” (BDOs) in airports by the end of this year. The job of the BDOs will be that of examining passengers for “body language and facial cues, for signs of bad intentions.' They look for what the experts call 'micro-expressions.' Fear and disgust are the key ones, he said, because they're associated with deception. full story |
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FISA Flippers See More Telecom Cash |
House Democrats who flipped their votes to support retroactive immunity for telecom companies in last week’s FISA bill took thousands of dollars more from phone companies than Democrats who consistently voted against legislation with an immunity provision, according to an analysis by MAPLight.org. The 94 Democrats who changed their positions received on average $8,359 in contributions from Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. full story |
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Supreme Court Finds Individual Right to Own Guns |
For the first time in U.S. history, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that individual Americans have the right to own guns for personal use, and struck down a strict gun control law in the U.S. capital. The landmark 5-4 ruling marked the first time in nearly 70 years the country's high court has addressed whether the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, rather than a right tied to service in a state militia. full story |
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Is Britain on the Slippery Slope to Dictatorship? |
It does feel as if some of our science fiction dystopias are gradually coming true. In an estate near me, George Orwell's CCTV cameras are actually trained on the residents' doors and driveways. Ray Bradbury's wall-sized TVs flicker in small living rooms. Aldous Huxley's Brave New Labour govt. pushes through a bill allowing experimentation on embryos and all British citizens will have to carry an expensiveID card with biometric information on it linked in to humming computer databases in anonymous buildings. full story |
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Mexican Army Members Busted for Home Invasion and Murder |
Police reports show that three men arrested in a Phoenix home invasion and homicide Monday may have been active members of the Mexican Army. While on the J.D. Hayworth show, Phoenix Law Enforcement Association President Mark Spencer said that the men involved were hired by drug cartels to perform home invasions and assassinations. full story |
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Hats Banned from Yorkshire Pubs over CCTV Fears |
Pubs in Yorkshire have been ordered to ban people from wearing flat caps or other hats so troublemakers can be more easily recognised. The measure, designed to prevent people from obscuring their faces from CCTV cameras, has been questioned by Barnsley's former Test umpire Dickie Bird, 75, well-known for his favoured white flat cap. He said: "Asking a Yorkshireman to take off his flat cap - whoever heard of anything so silly. full story |
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Faster Inflation May Unleash 'Financial Tsunami' |
"Whether it is anecdotal or statistical evidence, I see inflation everywhere, and this is where the financial tsunami cometh,'' Sedacca wrote in a report published yesterday. "A battered, over-indebted consumer, if forced to retrench, could create even more problems for the banking system as loan delinquencies would begin to rise even further. All sorts of delinquencies are rising. This is now a systemic issue.'' full story |
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Pelosi Supports 'Fairness Doctrine' |
"The speaker of the House made it clear to me and more than forty of my colleagues yesterday that a bill by Rep. Mike Pence (R.-Ind.) to outlaw the "Fairness Doctrine" (which a liberal administration could use to silence Rush Limbaugh, other radio talk show hosts and much of the new alternative media) would not see the light of day in Congress during ’08." full story |
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New Big Brother London Underground Signs Stir Controversy |
Britain is acknowledged as the world leader of Orwellian surveillance. An estimated 4.2 million closed-circuit TV cameras observe people going about their everyday business, from getting on a bus to lining up at the bank to driving around London. It’s widely estimated that the average Briton is scrutinized by 300 cameras a day and that there is one camera for every 14 people in the country. Ah yes, TFL says we should relish the chance to be constantly reminded that we are under total surveillance at all times. full story |
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At Last, Some Truth about Iraq and Afghanistan |
After a sea of lies and a tsunami of propaganda, the ugly truth behind the Iraq and Afghanistan wars finally emerged into full view this week. Four major western oil companies, Exxon, Mobil, Shell, BP and Total, are about to sign US-brokered no-bid contracts with the US-installed Baghdad regime to begin exploiting Iraq’s oil fields. full story |
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Taguba: Bush Administration Tortured
Detainees, 'Committed War Crimes' |
The U.S. general who led the Army's investigation of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal says the Bush administration "has committed war crimes" as a result of what happened to detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay "when the Commander-in-Chief and those under him authorized a systematic regime of torture." full story |
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Is War Good for the Economy? In Short: No. |
The idea that warfare helps the economy is a prime example of Bizarro logic, which has pervaded our collective consciousness since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, ideological fallout from the explosion of national hysteria that followed. In Bizarro World, as we all know, the laws of nature and logic are inverted, so that up is down, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength. full story |
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LA Seeing More People Living in Cars |
Having lost her job and her three-bedroom house, Darlene Knoll has joined the legions of downwardly mobile who are four wheels away from homelessness. She is living out of her shabby 1978 RV, and every night she has to look for a place to park where she won't get hassled by the cops or insulted by residents. Amid the foreclosure crisis and the shaky economy, some Calif. cities are seeing an increase in the number of people living out of their cars, vans or RVs. full story |
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McCain Campaign Hopes for Terror Attack to Swing Vote |
In an article entitled The evolution of John McCain, Black notes that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December "helped" the McCain campaign because it gave the Senator an opportunity to grandstand as a tough would-be Commander-in-Chief. Black then brazenly points out that another 9/11-style attack would give the McCain campaign the boost it needs to claw back Barack Obama's estimated 7% lead over the Senator. full story |
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Bush Behind Bars? |
President George W. Bush's conduct in taking the U.S. military to war against Iraq under false pretenses in March of 2003 qualifies him to be prosecuted for murder in any state in the nation. The victims in the case would be all the soldiers from that state that were killed in the war against Iraq. Bugliosi lays out his case in a devastatingly logical and methodical manner, weaving together all the relevant facts to paint the definitive portrait of just how reckless and criminal was the behavior of President Bush in his push for war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq. full story |
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Warming Climate Outpaces Long-Distance Migratory Songbirds |
Many bird species migrating to Massachusetts from points south are arriving earlier each spring as temperatures warm along the east coast of the United States. Some of those species migrate thousands of miles from South America, but a new study shows that the farther the birds travel, the less likely they are to keep pace with the rapidly changing climate. full story |
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Bomb Iran? What's to Stop Us? |
Unlike the attack on Iraq 5 years ago, to deal with Iran there need be no massing of troops. And, with the propaganda buildup already well under way, there need be little, if any, forewarning before shock and awe and pox, in the form of air and missile attacks, begin. This time it will be largely the Air Force's show, punctuated by missile and air strikes by the Navy. Israeli-American agreement has now been reached at the highest level; the armed forces planners, plotters and pilots are working out the details. full story |
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Fear Pols, Don't Let Them Scare You |
Government is not always like an ordinary mugger, who puts a gun to your head and demands your wallet (although some government officials operate that way). It often comes in the form of a slick salesman, exploiting the natural imperfections of society – "Hey, there's inequality, poverty and crime in our midst!" – to convince you to give him more power and money to uplift, improve, equalize, protect, enhance or empower. full story |
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Bush 'War Crimes Conference' to Convene in
Mass., Plan Prosecution of Admin. Officials |
"This is not intended to be a mere discussion of violations of law that have occurred," stated Velvel in a press release. "It is, rather, intended to be a planning conference at which plans will be laid and necessary organizational structures set up, to pursue the guilty as long as necessary and, if need be, to the ends of the Earth. full story |
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The Mass Media Division of UNESCO |
According to Huxley, the guiding philosophy of UNESCO should be what he termed, World Evolutionary Humanism. Part 1 in this series described this philosophy and its relation to eugenics. The second article outlined the purpose of UNESCO, which is to mentally prepare the world for global political unification under a single world government. Part 3 described the use of education by UNESCO, as an essential technique of forming the minds of the young as well as the old. full story |
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Kristol: Bush Might Bomb Iran If He
'Thinks Senator Obama's Going to Win' |
On Fox News Sunday this morning, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol said that Bush is more likely to attack Iran if he believes Barack Obama is going to be elected. However, "if the president thought John McCain was going to be the next president, he would think it more appropriate to let the next president make that decision than do it on his way out,” Kristol said, reinforcing the fact that McCain is offering a third Bush term on Iran. full story |
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Dyson Working on New Generation of Fast, Green Cars |
Britain's most famous inventor, Sir James Dyson, is working on a project that could lead to the creation of a fast, green car. Engineers at his research laboratory in Wiltshire are developing a powerful lightweight motor that could enable electric cars to zoom along for hundreds of miles without causing pollution. Solar panels on their roofs or in garages would charge them with renewable energy. full story |
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Senate Housing Bill Requires All Credit Card
Co.s to Report Transactions to the Govt. |
Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd's 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America's small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill's managers without debate this week, would require the nation's payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government. full story |
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Robo Cop on Rails: It's Not about Illegals, It's
about Keeping You on the Reservation |
SBI stands for "Secure Border Initiative." It's not about stemming the flow of illegals. It's about implementing elements of the control grid and the “free trade" farrago piece by piece, ePassports, the Registered Traveler Program, NEXUS, Free And Secure Trade, and other components of the emerging North American Union. It's all about NAFTA, CAFTA, and the dissolution of our national sovereignty. full story |
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Carte Blanche to Illegally Spy on Americans |
Under the proposal, U.S. intelligence agencies will be allowed to issue broad orders to U.S. phone companies, ISPs and other online service providers to cough-up all communications if it is "reasonably believed" to involve non-citizens outside the country. To boot, the plethora of spy agencies who make up the U.S. intelligence "community" will neither be bothered by naming their "targets" nor will they have to obtain prior approval by any court to continue their driftnet-style surveillance. full story |
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Dangerous Crossroads: Congress Approval
before Attacking Iran No Longer Required |
Representative Ron Paul says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi removed a section from a bill passed by Congress which would have barred the U.S. from going to war with Iran without a congressional vote, claiming she did so at the behest of the leadership of Israel and AIPAC. “She [Pelosi] removed it deliberately," Paul says. “And then, the astounding thing is, when asked why, she said the leadership in Israel asked her to. full story |
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Ex-State Dept. Official: Hundreds of Detainees
Died in U.S. Custody, at Least 25 Murdered |
At today's House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Rights hearing on torture, Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, told Rep. Jerrold Nadler that over 100 detainees have died in U.S. custody, with up to 27 of these declared homicides. A Feb. '06 Human Rights First report found that although hundreds of people in U.S. custody had died and 8 people were tortured to death, only 12 deaths had "resulted in punishment of any kind for any U.S. official." full story |
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Congress Poised to Grant Telcoms Spying Immunity |
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act update would amend the spying law which regulates the president's ability to conduct domestic and international surveillance. The most controversial aspect of the new legislation is a section which, if passed, would give retroactive legal cover for telecommunications companies that may have broken laws and privacy contracts by giving the government access to customers' records and data. full story |
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Socially Engineering the Public for Martial Law |
The terrorists in the federal govt. are continuing their push to have a fully functioning martial law apparatus. The city of Denver was recently invaded by a large number of military helicopters without any sort of warning given to the general public. It was originally speculated that this training exercise had something to do with the upcoming Democratic National Convention, but a spokesman with Special Operations said that it wasn't related and that the exercises would last all week. full story |
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UK Supports Organ Harvesting without Permission |
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced his support for the harvesting of organs from dead patients without prior consent, and said that he hopes for such a policy change to take place within the year. The government admits that a conflict of interest might occur when doctors are encouraged to view still-living patients as potential organ sources. full story |
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FBI & Homeland Security behind Martial Law
Exercises in Indianapolis |
For over two weeks 2,300 Marines have been using the city of Indianapolis and its civilian population as a “simulated urban combat zone” under the direction of FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. The exercises began on June 4th when Mayor Greg Ballard surrendered 26 sites around the city. The corporate press, Marine spokesmen, and officials with the city of Indianapolis have all been using the same talking points in an attempt to pacify local citizens and moderate any dissent. full story |
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Dr. No Marching on Minneapolis |
In Nevada when Las Vegas Republicans saw that Paul supporters outnumbered them, they shut down the convention to prevent a vote. By now you know that Republican bosses perpetrated similar electoral atrocities around the country. Because Texas is Texas, at the George R. Brown Convention Center they were worse. Of course, all of these outrages are motivated by the Republican Party's fear and loathing of Ron Paul. full story |
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RBS Issues Global Stock And Credit Crash Alert |
The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to brace for a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets over the next three months as inflation paralyses the major central banks. "A very nasty period is soon to be upon us, be prepared," said Bob Janjuah, the bank's credit strategist. Such a slide on world bourses would amount to one of the worst bear markets over the last century. full story |
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One-third of People Shot by Taser Need Medical Attention |
In three years worth of reports obtained under Access to Information legislation, people suffered injuries including burns, puncture wounds from the probes, and head wounds from falling. In many cases, however, the person was not taken for medical treatment. More recent forms had the sections on injuries blacked out. The investigation suggests some of those incidents resulted in injuries that are not included in the 28% figure. full story |
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Federal Trade Commission Bullies Natural Health Ministry |
The battle for free access to vitamins, minerals, and supplements continues as the Federal Trade Commission attempts to use its regulatory powers to push its own political agenda. They are demanding an unobtainable standard of proof from supplement manufacturers that their statements regarding vitamins, supplements, and minerals are true. full story |
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Spying on Americans: Democrats Ready to Gut the Constitution |
Without clear standards for determining whether immunity for these privateers is even justified, the courts will be forced to issue virtual get-out-of-jail-free cards to corporate executives and their shareholders, thus freeing them from any and all liability, should companies claim they had "received assurances" from the state that its spying program was "legal." full story |
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Government 'Strike Teams' Invade Homes, Harass Flood Victims |
Shocking footage out of Cedar Rapids Iowa shows cops and government employee "strike teams" breaking into houses of flood victims and threatening anyone who questions their actions in complete violation of the 4th amendment right that protects against unlawful search and seizure. No warrant, no knock home invasions are being carried out on the flimsy pretext of "checking for structural damage" as cops harass and threaten with arrest people who refuse to have their homes ransacked by thugs in uniforms. full story |
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Lawmaker Takes 9/11 Doubts Global |
In January '08 Fujita, a member of the Democratic Party of Japan, asked the Japanese Parliament and Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to explain gaping holes in the official 9/11 story that various groups, including those who call themselves the "911 Truth Movement", claim to have exposed. Fujita, along with a growing number of individuals, including European and American politicians, are leading a charge to conduct a thorough, independent investigation of what happened on Sept. 11, '01. full story |
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'Big Brother' Snooping Law Stirs Outrage in Sweden |
The Bill would grant the country's intelligence agencies access to cross-border e-mails, phone calls, text messages and faxes, and empower them to monitor websites visited by Swedish citizens. Since Scandinavia's telephone network often routes local phone calls through exchanges in neighbouring countries, internet data and calls passing through Sweden on its way between two other countries would also fall within the jurisdiction of the new law. full story |
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TSA's New Policelike Badges a Sore Point with Real Cops |
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is starting to equip its 48,000 screeners with 3-inch-by-2-inch, silver-colored, copper and zinc badges that will be worn on new royal-blue police-style shirts. The attire aims to convey an image of authority to passengers, who have harassed, pushed and in a few instances punched screeners. "Some of our officers aren't respected," TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said. full story |
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Faux And Bolton Team Up to Tell Lies about Iran |
An idiotic Faux News anchor, Gregg Jarrett, claims an Iranian Shahab-3 missile can "easily" hit the United States. Neocon John Bolton, former U.N. ambassador, who should know better, does not refute this absurd claim. Of course, this is a natural, as the neocons are notorious for cooking up fantastic and murderous lies, for instance that Saddam Hussein was capable of hitting the United States with chemical weapons within 45 minutes.. full story |
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Report: U.S. Gave Green Light for Taliban Prison Attack |
Reports out of the Middle East indicate that U.S. forces gave the green light for the Taliban to attack a government prison in Kandahar this past Friday and stood idly by while Taliban fighters violently freed more than 1000 inmates. "They say it is questionable - how could the militants dare attack the prison with US-led troops stationed just northeast of the jail?" full story |
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Military Choppers Fly over Denver during Top Secret Drill |
A half-dozen military helicopters flew low over parts of Denver Monday night as part of a security drill organized by the U.S. Department of Justice. Denver police said they were aware of the operation, but could provide no details. The secret drills coincided with preparations for the Democratic National Convention, which will take place in Denver in late August. The military aircraft "buzzed above the Pepsi Center," the site of the convention. full story |
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Washington, D.C., Puts Itself under Surveillance |
Seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is trying to set up one of the most comprehensive centrally controlled visual surveillance systems in the world. In the nerve center, which opened last month, the city's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency can monitor video from four city agencies, covering streets, schools, housing projects, parks and roads, for threats and other nefarious activities. full story |
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Protesters Clash with Police in Attempt to Storm Whitehall |
Police wielding batons clashed with protesters last night when a demonstration against George Bush's farewell visit to Britain turned violent a few hundred metres from where the US President was dining with Gordon Brown. Within the shadow of the Houses of Parliament, officers dressed in riot gear skirmished with several hundred demonstrators who had been attending a rally organised by the Stop the War Coalition. full story |
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U.S. School District to Begin RFID Tracking Students |
The Middletown School District, in partnership with MAP Information Technology Corp., has launched a pilot program to implant RFID chips into the schoolbags of 80 children at the Aquidneck School. Each chip would be programmed with a student identification number, and would be read by an external device installed in one of two school buses. The buses would also be fitted with global positioning system (GPS) devices. full story |
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Fuel Riots and Protests around the World |
Video showing riots and protests about the rising price of gas around the world. full story |
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FEMA: It's Not About Floods, It's About Martial Law |
As Allen Roland writes for Salon blogs, reposted on the Global Research website, "the real purpose of FEMA is to not only protect the government but to be its principal vehicle for martial law" and this is why "FEMA could not respond immediately to the Hurricane Katrina disaster, humanitarian efforts were no longer part of its job description under the Department of Homeland Security." full story |
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The TSA Peep Show |
It's bad enough that TSA has turned the experience of flying into a total nightmare. But now they want to ogle our private parts! Yes, that's right voyeurism is part of the TSA "experience." No you don't get to uh.. enjoy it. They do. In the interests of providing even more "security" TSA is installing charming scanning booths that see-through clothes! Oh boy, now the filthy little TSA pervs can see what goodies you have hidden. full story |
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Child-slaves: No School, Only Work
"In Order to Buy Bread" |
In Central Asia, hundreds of thousands of children, even as young as seven, leave school for gruelling and poorly paid jobs, in the cities and in the countryside. In Uzbekistan, it is the government that every year, in September, closes the schools and sends thousands of children to harvest cotton. In exchange, they are given lodging, meagre meals, and a small salary, and are sometimes monitored by the police. full story |
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Agreement Reached on Spy Bill |
White House and congressional negotiators have reached a tentative agreement on an anti-terror spy bill that would permit court dismissal of potentially billions of dollars in lawsuits against phone companies. Under the possible accord, a federal court could immunize a company by ruling it had been given written assurances that its participation in the U.S. govt's warrantless domestic spying program was legal and authorized by George Bush. full story |
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President Obama Won't Change NAFTA |
In a recent article from washingtonpost.com, there are suggestions on what Obama should do as president. It included using the European Union as an example for economic and political integration. It talked about, “A functioning American Union that pools sovereignty.” It went on to say that this would not be possible by tearing down NAFTA. The SPP is continuing this process, further laying the foundation for a North American Union. full story |
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Texas Corridor Detour: Officials Nix Land Grab |
Opponents of a plan to build a Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) road and rail system from Mexico to Oklahoma received welcome news this week, as Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) officials announced their strategy would no longer include building new highway routes southwest of Houston, a plan that would have annexed huge tracts of private land. full story |
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Maliki Raises Possibility that Iraq
Might Ask U.S. to Leave |
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki raised the possibility that his country won't sign a status of forces agreement with the U.S. and will ask U.S. troops to go home when their U.N. mandate to be in Iraq expires at the end of the year. Maliki made the comment after weeks of complaints from Shiite Muslim lawmakers that U.S. proposals that would govern a continued troop presence in Iraq would infringe on Iraq's sovereignty. full story |
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McCain, Hillary And Obama, Birds of a Feather |
Its recent losses of special Congressional elections in formerly safe districts indicate that the Republican Party may be in the process of self-destruction. Deservedly so. The past eight years have constituted a disaster the likes of which America has never before suffered, a disaster for the practice of constitutional government and the rule of law; for common Americans' economic well-being; and for America's true “homeland security”, both abroad and especially at home. full story |
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Nature Laid Waste: The Destruction of Africa |
Using "before and after" satellite photos, taken in all 53 countries, UN geographers have constructed an African atlas of environmental change over the past four decades, the vast majority of it for the worse. In nearly 400 pages of dramatic pictures, disappearing forests, shrinking lakes, vanishing glaciers and degraded landscapes are brought together for the first time, providing a deeply disturbing portfolio of devastation. full story |
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Activists Preparing Against Use of
'Brown Note' at Dem Convention |
Cohen, who described Brown Note as a "sonic weapon used to disrupt people's equilibrium ," cited eyewitness accounts of its use during free-trade agreement protests in Miami in 2003. "I think these weapons were mostly intended for military use and so their use for dealing with innocent protesters seems highly inappropriate," he said. "The idea that they might be field testing them on people who are doing nothing more than exercising their first amendment rights is disturbing." full story |
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Nevada DHS Says Domestic Terrorists Threaten Schools, Casinos |
It's not members of the supposed blue eyed, blond haired al-Qaeda the government snoops. It's antiwar protesters and other such malcontents. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation has collected extensive information on the tactics, training and organization of antiwar demonstrators and has advised local law enforcement officials to report any suspicious activity at protests to its counterterrorism squads." full story |
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An Ominous Warning That the Rapid Rise
in Oil Prices Has Only Just Begun |
In Spain, the regional government of Catalonia enacted an emergency action plan to bring in fresh food and fuel supplies after nearly half of its forecourts ran dry and supermarkets shelves were left bare. The situation was the result of the second day of an "indefinite" nationwide strike staged by lorry drivers in Spain seeking their government's help to contain the effects of expensive petrol. Scattered protests by drivers and fisherman in France and Portugal also continued yesterday. full story |
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"Big Brother" Presidential Directive:
"Biometrics for Identification and Screening" | |
The latest Big Brother police state measure emanating from the Bush administration, with virtually no press coverage, is NSPD 59 entitled Biometrics for Identification and Screening to Enhance National Security. NSPD is directed against US citizens. It is adopted without public debate or Congressional approval. Its relevant procedures have far-reaching implications. full story |
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Hate Speech Or Free Speech? What Much
of West Bans is Protected in U.S. |
"In much of the developed world, one uses racial epithets at one's legal peril, one displays Nazi regalia and the other trappings of ethnic hatred at significant legal risk and one urges discrimination against religious minorities under threat of fine or imprisonment," Frederick Schauer, a professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, wrote in a recent essay called "The Exceptional First Amendment." "But in the US all such speech remains constitutionally protected." full story |
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Supreme Court Backs Guantanamo Detainees |
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have rights under the Constitution to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts. In its third rebuke of the Bush administration's treatment of prisoners, the court ruled 5-4 that the government is violating the rights of prisoners being held indefinitely and without charges at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. The court's liberal justices were in the majority. full story |
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Secret Plan to Kill Internet by 2012 Leaked? |
ISP's have resolved to restrict the Internet to a TV-like subscription model where users will be forced to pay to visit selected corporate websites by 2012, while others will be blocked, according to a leaked report. Despite some people dismissing the story as a hoax, the wider plan to kill the traditional Internet and replace it with a regulated and controlled Internet 2 is manifestly provable. full story |
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Security Scans Will Show Sex Organs |
Security scanners that can see through passengers' clothing and reveal details such as their sex organs, colostomy bags and breast size, are being installed in 10 US airports. A random selection of travellers getting ready to board airplanes in Washington, New York's Kennedy, Los Angeles and other key hubs will be shut in the glass booths while a three-dimensional image is made of their body beneath their clothes. full story |
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Some Call It 'Counterinsurgency' It Sounds
Better Than 'Brutal Military Occupation' |
So an insurgent by definition is trying to overthrow a government, usually his own. Therefore if a population is resisting a foreign military occupation (or fighting other sects) they are not insurgents and it is not an insurgency. Is this just semantics? No. The point is that it is a natural human reaction to resist by force an alien foreign military occupation whereas people are inclined to be more tolerant of their own government, before they take up arms, no matter how badly they act. full story |
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Revealed: Secret Plan to Keep Iraq under US Control |
A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November. The terms of the impending deal are likely to have an explosive political effect in Iraq. Iraqi officials fear that the accord, under which US troops would occupy permanent bases, conduct military operations, arrest Iraqis and enjoy immunity from Iraqi law, will destabilise Iraq's position in the Middle East and lay the basis for unending conflict in their country. full story |
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D.C. Police State: Is Philadelphia Next? |
For Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, "stop and frisk" without probable cause is not enough. He apparently hankers to turn the "City of Brotherly Love" into a police state, based on the District of Criminals model. "During his primary campaign, Mayor Michael Nutter called for a crime emergency which would have banned hanging out on street corners in certain neighborhoods and limit traffic." full story |
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Mind Reading by MRI Scan Raises 'Mental Privacy' Issue |
Employers, the military and intelligence services may soon be using computerised mind-reading techniques and there is a need for a public debate about "mental privacy," a leading neuroscientist said yesterday. Scientists have taken MRI scanning equipment normally used in hospital diagnosis to detect lying, racism, and even identify which image a person is looking at, suggesting one could visualise scenes from a person's dreams or memory. full story |
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Is the Government Compiling a Secret List of
Citizens to Detain under Martial Law? |
Few Americans, professional journalists included, know anything about so-called Continuity of Government programs, so it's no surprise that the president's passing reference received almost no attention. COG resides in a nebulous legal realm, encompassing national emergency plans that would trigger the takeover of the country by extra-constitutional forces, and effectively suspend the republic. In short, it's a road map for martial law. full story |
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Bush Pushes Biometrics for National Security |
A presidential directive issued June 5 requires the increased compatibility of methods agencies use to collect, store and share fingerprints, face and iris recognition data and behavioral characteristics to identify and screen “known and suspected terrorists.” The directive also applies to other categories of individuals the directive said would be identified soon who may also pose a threat to national security. full story |
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Report: Olmert to Urge U.S. Attack on Iran |
Ehud Olmert will urge President Bush to prepare an attack on Iran, an Israeli newspaper reported. Citing sources close to the Israeli prime minister, Yediot Achronot reported on its front page Wednesday that Olmert, who is due to hold closed-door talks with Bush in Washington, will say that "time is running out" on diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear program. full story |
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The Truth Is Out There |
When Cynthia McKinney speaks the words of Martin Luther King Jr, they resound through the church with some of King’s cadence. "A time comes," declares the former US congresswoman, "when silence is betrayal." before the packed pews of the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in LA, McKinney is speaking of the American govt's war on its own people. The shock and awe phase of this conflict, we had been told earlier, began on 9/11, when the Bush admin. launched attacks on New York and Washington, or at least waved them through. full story |
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Conspiracy of Silence: Corporate Media
Refuses to Cover Bilderberg Confab |
Fire up the Google News search engine and enter “Bilderberg” and check out the results. Not one corporate media source -- not the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, et al -- deemed it appropriate to mention, even in passing, the 56th Bilderberg meeting in Chantilly, Virginia, this week. full story |
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Cheney May Get Secret Service after Office |
A bipartisan bill the House is scheduled to take up next week would require the Secret Service to protect Vice President Dick Cheney for 6 months after he leaves office. The Homeland Security Department would be authorized to determine if additional protection is necessary after the initial deadline ends. The legislation would require the Secret Service to protect the vice president and his or her spouse, as well as any children 16 or under, for 6 months after leaving office. full story |
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10 Airports Install Body Scanners |
Body-scanning machines that show images of people underneath their clothing are being installed in 10 of the nation's busiest airports in one of the biggest public uses of security devices that reveal intimate body parts. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently started using body scans on randomly chosen passengers in Los Angeles, Baltimore, Denver, Albuquerque and at New York's Kennedy airport. full story |
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Legislating Tyranny |
The George W. Bush admin. responded to the 9/11 attack on the WTC and Pentagon with an assault on U.S. civil liberty that Bush justified in the name of the “war on terror.” The govt. assured us that the draconian measures apply only to “terrorists.” The word terrorist, however, was not defined. The govt. claimed the discretionary power to decide who is a terrorist without having to present evidence or charges in a court of law. full story |
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Arabs Shocked by Obama Speech |
Arab leaders have reacted with anger and disbelief to an intensely pro-Israeli speech delivered by Barack Obama, the US Democratic presumptive presidential nominee. Obama told the influential annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Council (Aipac): "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided." full story |
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Machiavelli Was Right |
Do you really believe that the men who had just fought a long and bloody war against the British and were writing what we call the Bill of Rights had this conversation: "Well, let's see. We've guaranteed freedom of assembly, of religion, of speech and of the press. Oh, my gosh, we've forgotten the duck hunters. They'll raise heck if we leave them out, so we'd better write an amendment for them." full story |
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Depleted Uranium - Iraq |
Video showing the horrors of the use of depleted uranium in Iraq. full story |
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Obama's Office Won't Deny Senator Attended Bilderberg |
Senator Barack Obama's office has refused to deny that the Democratic nominee attended Bilderberg last night following reports that he and Hillary Clinton were present at "an event in Northern Virginia." Obama's press entourage were not informed of his secret meeting with Hillary Clinton in Northern Virginia until they were literally locked inside a plane that was taxiing down the runway on its way to Chicago. full story |
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Israeli Surveillance Society
Inspires Face-Scanning Billboards |
Technology inspired by Israeli surveillance has led to camera-equipped billboards that can track viewers' faces to gather reliable viewing data for digital displays and screens. A company in Paris offers similar tracking. Software behind a billboard on Eighth Avenue near Columbus Circle in Manhattan, for example, can determine when a person is looking at the billboard, and what that person's age, gender and, soon, race is. full story |
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Choice in November -
Nader v. Twiddle Dee or Twiddle Dum |
Obama claims to be an up from the grassroots activist. In fact, he cashed in on opportunism all the way - to the Illinois Senate in 1996. Then after failing to win a US House seat, it was up a notch to the Senate in 2005 after his November 2004 election. He promised hope but delivered betrayal. He's beholden to power and doesn't relate well to ordinary constituents who backed him, including his black community base. full story |
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Air Force Aims for 'Full Control'
of 'Any And All' Computers |
The government is growing increasingly interested in waging war online. The Air Force recently put together a "Cyberspace Command," with a charter to rule networks the way its fighter jets rule the skies. The Department of Homeland Security, Darpa, and other agencies are teaming up for a five-year, $30 billion "national cybersecurity initiative." full story |
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Equity in Americans' Homes Falls to Historic Low |
The equity Americans have in their most important asset, their homes, has dropped to its lowest level since the end of World War II. A homeowner's equity is the market value of a property minus the mortgage debt. Experts expect equity to decline further as falling home prices erode the value of Americans' largest asset, dragging more homeowners “upside down” on their mortgages. full story |
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Christians Accused of Hate Crime |
Spencer says this is all part of the Islamic supremacy movement which very few westerners really understand. "Islamic supremacism is the impulse to impose Islamic law over non-Muslims. Since we're only concentrating as a society and in terms of law enforcement on terrorism, we are not resisting in any way the non-violent initiatives. And that means they'll just continue to advance," Spencer explains. full story |
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Israel to Attack Iran Unless Enrichment Stops: Minister |
"If Iran continues with its program for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack it. The sanctions are ineffective," Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz told the mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. "Attacking Iran, in order to stop its nuclear plans, will be unavoidable," said the former army chief who has also been defense minister. It was the most explicit threat yet against Iran from a member of Olmert's government. full story |
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D.C. Police to Check Drivers in Military-style Checkpoint |
D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced a military-style checkpoint yesterday to stop cars this weekend in a Northeast Washington neighborhood inundated by gun violence, saying it will help keep criminals out of the area. Starting on Saturday, officers will check drivers' identification and ask whether they have a "legitimate purpose" to be in the Trinidad area. The Neighborhood Safety Zone initiative is the latest crime-fighting attempt by Lanier and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. full story |
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Barack Obama's First Test: Will He Confront
Proposed 'New Powers to Spy on Americans'? |
As the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama faces his first real leadership challenge. The choice is this: Obama will either support or he will oppose GOP attempts to grant George W. Bush and the GOP 'new powers to spy on Americans'. If one is either a part of the solution or a part of the problem, this is Obama's first opportunity to prove himself a part of the solution. full story |
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White House Has No Info on Hundreds of
Kidnapped, Executed Americans in Mexico |
A follow up email to the White House requesting specific information on legal action concerning 128 documented cases of murders and executions of Americans in Mexico in the last two years was met only with a recommendation to contact the attorney general of Mexico. The Justice Department and the State Department have also both previously stated that they have no information on any arrests, prosecutions or convictions related to the murders. full story |
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McCain: I'd Spy on Americans Secretly, Too |
If elected president, John McCain would reserve the right to run his own warrantless wiretapping program against Americans, based on the theory that the president's wartime powers trump federal criminal statutes and court oversight. "Neither the Administration nor the telecoms need apologize for actions that most people, except for the ACLU and the trial lawyers, understand were Constitutional and appropriate in the wake of the 9/11 attacks." full story |
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Time Warner Tries Metering Internet Usage |
You're used to paying extra if you use up your cell phone minutes, but will you be willing to pay extra if your home computer goes over its Internet allowance? Time Warner Cable Inc. customers, and, later, others, may have to, if the company's test of metered Internet access is successful. On Thursday, new Time Warner Cable Internet subscribers in Beaumont, Texas, will have monthly allowances for the amount of data they upload and download. full story |
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Ahmadinejad Says Israel Will Soon Disappear |
"I must announce that the Zionist regime (Israel), with a 60-year record of genocide, plunder, invasion and betrayal is about to die and will soon be erased from the geographical scene," he said. "Today, the time for the fall of the satanic power of the United States has come and the countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started." full story |
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Amazon Indians Lead Battle against
Power Giant's Plan to Flood Rainforest |
At stake are plans to flood large areas of rainforest to make way for the huge Belo Monte hydroelectric dam on the Xingu river. The government is pushing the project as a sustainable energy solution, but critics complain the environmental and social costs are too high. For people living beside the river, the dam will bring an end to their way of life. Thousands of homes will be submerged and changes in the local ecology will wipe out the livelihoods of many more. full story |
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DC Police to Get AR-15 Machine Guns |
Officers will be given AR-15 rifles this summer as a way to combat dangerous criminals on the streets, The Washington Post reported Saturday. It is reported 352 officers completed training programs to handle the weapons, which have not been used in street patrols until now. Critics argue the weapons only increase the threat of danger on the street and are unnecessary. full story |
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US Accused of Holding Terror Suspects on Prison Ships |
The US is operating "floating prisons" to house those arrested in its war on terror, according to human rights lawyers, who claim there has been an attempt to conceal the numbers and whereabouts of detainees. Details of ships where detainees have been held and sites allegedly being used in countries across the world have been compiled as the debate over detention without trial intensifies on both sides of the Atlantic. full story |
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"Worst Vaccine Bill Ever" Seeks
Compulsory Shots For All Children |
A pending NY State Assembly Bill dubbed, the "worst vaccine bill ever" by one activist group, would see all vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made mandatory for all children, including infants and toddlers. Bill 10942, introduced at the request of Richard Daines, the Commissioner of the NY State Dept. of Health, calls for changes to the law in order to make recommended inoculation compulsory in order for children to attend school. full story |
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34 Convicted in Display at U.S. Supreme Court |
Thirty-four people were convicted yesterday of misdemeanor charges stemming from a demonstration at the Supreme Court in January in which they decried conditions at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. D.C. Superior Court Judge Wendell P. Gardner Jr. said the demonstrators violated the law by protesting at the plaza of the Supreme Court, where such activities are banned. full story |
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Download a Book Get Arrested,
Call for Terror Attacks - No Problem |
A University employee downloads a document from the Internet about Al-Qaeda for a colleague in the politics department as part of the University's required reading list, meanwhile, a former Speaker of the House publicly laments the fact that more Americans have not been killed in terrorist attacks. Who gets arrested under terrorism legislation? The University employee of course! full story |
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