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JANUARY 2010

Today in History Friday January 29, 2010

1802 - John Beckley became the first Librarian of Congress.
1845 - Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" was published for the first time in the "New York Evening Mirror."
1848 - Greenwich Mean Time was adopted by Scotland.
1850 - Henry Clay introduced in the Senate a compromise bill on slavery that included the admission of California into the Union as a free state.
1861 - In America, Kansas became the 34th state of the Union.
1886 - The first successful petrol-driven motorcar, built by Karl Benz, was patented.
1924 - R. Taylor patented the ice cream cone rolling machine.
1940 - The W. Atlee Burpee Seed Company displayed the first tetraploid flowers at the New York City Flower Show.
1949 - "The Newport News" was commissioned as the first air-conditioned naval ship in Virginia.
1979 - U.S. President Carter formally welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping to the White House. The visit followed the establishment of diplomatic relations.
1985 - The Dow Jones industrial average peaked at 1,292.62.
1987 - "Physician’s Weekly" announced that the smile on the face of Leonardo DeVinci's Mona Lisa was caused by a "...facial paralysis resulting from a swollen nerve behind the ear."
1997 - America Online agreed to give refunds to frustrated customers under threat of lawsuits across the country. Customers were unable to log on after AOL offered a flat $19.95-a-month rate.
1999 - The U.S. Senate delivered subpoenas for Monica Lewinsky and two presidential advisers for private, videotaped testimony in the impeachment trial.

A Vision for Fort Fairfield: Declare Itself Off Limits to Federal Income Tax Editorial by David Deschesne -- my suggestion; vigorously enforce the Constitution, protect the inhabitants in Fort Fairfield from encroachments by the Feds and make room for the thousands of motivated, goal oriented people and businesses who will be beating a path to our doorstep. Remember, there are no stupid ideas.

Pontiac Vibe Recall: 2009-2010 model years recalled -- They have the same problem the recalled Toyotas are having, yet we've heard nothing about this on the news.

Published by the Church of Scientology International - Ill Wind – Desert Storm Blows Back with a Fury -- Evidence pointing to chemical and biological warfare — and to communicable illness stemming from the Gulf War, whether generated by sprayers or not — has long since warranted urgent attention.

Israeli scientists show that DNA evidence can be fabricated -- (now that's scary) Scientists from the Tel Aviv, Israel-based company Nucleix have demonstrated that it is possible to create fake DNA samples and plant them as evidence at a crime scene, in a paper published in the journal Forensic Science: International Genetics.

Hacker breaks into 49 House websites: Insults Obama -- hacker broke into 49 House Web sites of both political parties to post a crude attack on President Barack Obama after his State of the Union address.

Risk of Child Trafficking Increases in Aftermath of Haiti Earthquake -- Trafficking networks are springing into action, taking advantage of the weakness of local authorities and relief coordination to kidnap children and get them out of the country.

Recall: 2 Million Infusion Set Needles [Manufactured by Nipro for Exelint] -- Hospitals, clinics and patients who have needles from these lists should immediately stop using these affected products and return any unused products to Exelint International Corporation. There are more than 2 million units impacted by this recall in distribution nationwide. Recalled needles were manufactured from January 2007 to August 2009. Units subject to recall have a lot number that begins with “07,” “08,” “09,” and one of the product codes or catalog numbers noted in the FDA news release.

Yamaha Recalls Snowmobiles Due to Loss of Steering Control -- This website gives product safety recall that was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Starbucks Recalls Glass Water Bottles Due to Laceration Hazard -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Lakota Sioux Lose heat & Storm Takes Steep Toll on Destitute Tribe -- Jan. 28, 2010 - Thousands of Downed Power Poles Leave South Dakota Sioux Reservation Without Heat, Water; Melting Snow to Use in Toilets.

Even medical students want conventional medicine to include alternative therapies -- 75 percent of medical students surveyed think it would be beneficial for conventional Western medicine to integrate with complementary and alternative medicine.

California cities dumping red light cameras -- In Moreno Valley on Tuesday, the city council voted 3-1 to shut down the automated ticketing machines that have been operating since 2008.

NYC to cut 700 library positions in budget cut -- All told, over less than two years, the three libraries—New York Public Library, Queens Library, and Brooklyn Public Library—face 464 layoffs and 225 positions cut through attrition, for a total of 689 jobs lost.

Rutgers sorority beat pledges during hazing -- Rutgers police said they had arrested six members of the sorority on charges of aggravated hazing, alleging they repeatedly beat at least three pledges between Jan. 18 and Jan. 25.

PETA proposes robotic ground hog to replace Punxatawny Phil -- An animal rights group wants organizers of Pennsylvania's Groundhog Day festival to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robotic stand-in.

Hillary Clinton raises prospect of resignation -- Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, has complained of the tiring nature of her job and said she will step back from the role before the end of Barack Obama's presidency.

Haiti aid efforts go awry in convoy to nowhere -- Trucks conked out. Communication with the U.S. military broke down. Traffic snarled the streets. Hungry crowds made handing out food unsafe.

WHO wants the people of Haiti to get a whole bunch of vaccines ASAP -- (What better way to get rid of the H1N1 vaccine that no none wanted) If the WHO has their way, the people of Haiti will soon be vaccinated for a whole array of diseases. According to a new report by the World Health Organization, the plan is to vaccinate all them for tetanus, measles, diphtheria, polio and pertussis as quickly as possible. In addition, the report also mentions the H1N1 swine flu as a potential threat in Haiti, so presumably the WHO plans to get most of the Haitian population to take that vaccine as well.

Canada to donate 5 million H1N1 vaccines to WHO -- The Government of Canada today announced it will make a donation of five million doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine, as well as a $6 million contribution to support the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global pandemic relief efforts.

Middle school forces girl to get H1N1 vaccine over parents objection -- The San Ysidro School District is investigating how a 13-year-old middle school student received the H1N1 flu vaccination last week over her objections and against the will of her parents.

Secret banking cabal emerges from AIG shadows -- The idea of secret banking cabals that control the country and global economy are a given among conspiracy theorists who stockpile ammo, bottled water and peanut butter. After this week’s congressional hearing into the bailout of AIG you have to wonder if those folks are crazy after all.

'Safe schools' chief recommends porn for children -- We were unprepared for what we encountered. Book after book after book contained stories and anecdotes that weren't merely X- rated and pornographic, but which featured explicit descriptions of sex acts between preschoolers. A new report is raising alarms that the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, a homosexual advocacy organization founded by Kevin Jennings, now head of the U.S. Office of Safe Schools for the Obama administration, is recommending XXX-rated sex writings for children as young as preschoolers.

VIDEO: This is a heartbreaking video: Homeless in America -- Homelessness in our own backyard. How can this be....??? (also check out some of the other videos)

Did an 8.6 quake hit China? Holly Deyo -- We don't know what happened yesterday, but two seismic monitoring stations – some 1300 miles apart – both reported an 8.6 earthquake in China.

Ron Paul video: USA is bankrupt, quit buying bombs or we're done -- Ron Paul on C-Spam 1-22-2010.

Fewer honey bee colonies and beekeepers throughout Europe -- As other pollinators such as wild bees and hoverflies are also in decline, this could be a potential danger for pollinator services, on which many arable crops depend, according to what an international team of scientists have written in a special edition of the Journal of Apicultural Research.

Energy harvesting rubber sheets could power pacemakers, mobile phones -- Power-generating rubber films developed by Princeton University engineers could harness natural body movements such as breathing and walking to power pacemakers, mobile phones and other electronic devices.

In the "Are they nuts!? department - Simulated volcanic eruptions to block sun -- A geoengineering project to block the sun by simulating volcanic eruptions would be 100 times cheaper than cutting greenhouse gas emissions, climate change scientists said.

Editorial: The state of the nation: I am afraid -- Omi­nous devel­op­ments in America have been a long time coming, in part pre­cip­i­tated by “we the people” – a cit­i­zenry that has been asleep at the wheel for too long. And while there have been wake-up calls, we have failed to heed the warnings.

UK: Motorist fined for blowing nose -- A motorist was fined by police for blowing his nose while at a standstill in traffic

The Enumerated Powers Act -- The Enumerated Powers Act (EPA) requires that every bill must specify its source of Constitutional authority.

Mysterious jellyfish light in sky -- A strange jellyfish-shaped object spotted hanging in the sky over Norway, may have been caused by light from the aurora being bounced off a space satellite, experts say.

What does 1 trillion dollars look like?


Today in History Thursday January 28, 2010
1878 - The first telephone switchboard was installed in New Haven, CT.
1878 - "The Yale News" was published for the first time. It was the first, daily, collegiate newspaper in the U.S.
1902 - The Carnegie Institution was established in Washington, DC. It began with a gift of $10 million from Andrew Carnegie.
1909 - The United States ended direct control over Cuba.
1915 - The Coast Guard was created by an act of the U.S. Congress.
1916 - Louis D. Brandeis was appointed by President Wilson to the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming its first Jewish member.
1938 - The first ski tow started operation in Vermont. .
1958 - Construction began on first private thorium-uranium nuclear reactor.
1965 - General Motors reported the biggest profit of any U.S. company in history.
1980 - Six Americans who had fled the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, on November 4, 1979, left Iran using false Canadian diplomatic passports. The Americans had been hidden at
the Canadian embassy in Tehran.
1986 - The U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded just after takeoff. All seven of its crewmembers were killed.
1999 - Ford Motor company announced the purchase of Sweden's Volvo AB for $6.45 billion.
2002 - Toys R Us Inc. announced that it would be closing 27 Toys R Us stores and 37 Kids R Us stores in order to cut costs and boost operating profits.

Farmer cleared of 'raw milk' charges -- Natural foods advocates are claiming a victory today after a court ruling cleared a dairy farmer of a string of charges he faced because of the raw milk he sold to members of a cow-sharing consortium. According to natural foods blogger Kimberly Hartke, Michael Schmidt was found not guilty in a verdict that took a judge more than two hours to read. 

$10,000 reward offered for scientific proof of H1N1 vaccine safety and effectiveness -- In conjunction with NaturalNews, the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center (http://www.ConsumerWellness.org) has publicly offered a $10,000 reward for any person, company or institution who can provide trusted, scientific evidence proving that any of the FDA-approved H1N1 vaccines being offered to Americans right now are both safe and effective.

E-passports allow real time tracking -- Computer scientists in Britain have uncovered weaknesses in electronic passports issued by the US, UK, and some 50 other countries that allow attackers to trace the movements of individuals as they enter or exit buildings.

The 12 worst cars ever built -- These cars all have shoddy engineering, questionable taste, or poor manufacturing quality. Or all of the above.

Price of US wars: 1 Trillion & rising -- The spending was divided between $708 billion for the Iraq War, $345 billion for the Afghan War, and $22 billion for assorted other war activities in other countries.

Vatican bank charged with money-laundering -- The Bank of the Vatican has been accused of laundering USD 200 million by proxy through an Italian creditor, a report indicates.

New Hampshire passes bill banning bank fingerprinting -- HB Bill 299 would add that single line to the state law that dictates what is acceptable required identification when presenting a “negotiable instrument” for payment. Fingerprints would no longer be acceptable if the bill were to become law.

CIA: Terrorists to Nuke US Cities -- Within this context, we find the statements of former CIA agent Rolf Mowatt-Larssen (as so generously reported by Newsmax) perfectly comprehensible and even predictable. Whatever else it may be, it is certainly an attempt to remind American citizens that they must live in terror forever, never knowing when or whether their cities are about to be blown into near nothingness along with their families. And what is indisputable, we believe, is that within this terror-context, Americans (and Western citizens in general) are being driven toward surrendering more and more freedom and privacy.

Gold Bottom is US $1,000? -- There are some very big players who have indicated an appetite for continued purchases - of gold too. China especially seems somewhat disenchanted with its trillions in paper asset reserves and is said to be seeking virtually any alternative. Heck, officials recently announced that China would diversify into the Canadian loonie of all things - and we can only assume that this is actually a backdoor play on that country's abundance of commodities and precious metals.

US banks face risks, could spark downgrades -- Commercial real estate losses could erode capital at U.S. banks, and ongoing government support may be necessary, especially if the economy worsens, Standard & Poor's said on Wednesday.

Court forces Swiss rethink in UBS tax deal with US -- he Swiss government said Wednesday it may have to renegotiate a carefully wrought deal with the United States to hand over thousands of files on suspected tax cheats in return for an end to U.S. legal proceedings against Switzerland's biggest bank, UBS AG.

Karzai Says Afghanistan May Need Foreign Troops for 15 Years -- Governments at the conference will pledge about $500 million, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, to provide jobs, homes and farming help for Taliban fighters who return to civilian life. Alexander Dobrindt, deputy leader of Merkel’s sister party, the Christian Social Union, dubbed the plan a “Taliban cash-for-clunkers” program.

Police, military products execs arrested in historic case -- Twenty-two executives and employees of companies in the military and law enforcement products industry have been indicted for engaging in schemes to bribe foreign government officials to obtain and retain business, according to a report and documents obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police's Fraud Committee.

US judge grants German homeschooling family asylum -- An American judge on Tuesday granted asylum to a German couple who wanted to homeschool their children, bringing international attention to the debate in Germany over the rights of parents to freely educate their children.

Drug firms drive swine flu pandemic warning to recoup money spent on research -- Drug companies manipulated the World Health Organization into downgrading its definition of a pandemic so they could cash in on a swine flu outbreak, it is claimed .

Revealed: see who was paid off in the AIG bailout -- Goldman Sachs alone, for instance, got $14 billion in government money for assets worth $6 billion at the time -- a de facto $8 billion subsidy, courtesy of taxpayers.

Is our food supply the next terrorist target? -- Imagine for a moment a fleck the size of a grain of sand toxic enough to kill an adult — in fact, the most toxic substance on Earth. Now imagine a barrel full of that substance mixed into a shipment of, say, corn, which is then turned into several of the eight zillion processed foods that we so love and shipped to supermarkets all over the country.

30% 0f Americans approach poverty or are already there -- Poverty grew at twice the rate of U.S. population growth from 2000 – 2008, and now encompasses 39.1 million Americans

Pennsylvania House panel approves anti shackling bill -- A legislative panel yesterday took the first step toward ending what critics call a medieval procedure of shackling inmates as they give birth.

Feds remind pilots: Screen Haiti passengers -- Business aircraft operators planning to assist directly in the Haiti relief effort are being alerted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that they are required to screen all passengers before boarding flights to the United States.

Crowds seeking aid in Haiti met with rubber bullets and pepper spray -- The UN’s Brazilian troops are experienced — they have been stationed in Haiti for years — but they were struggling to hold the line. As they began deploying the pepper spray, the crowd broke up and ran back across the road coughing, eyes streaming.

Toxic wastes & Haiti -- Two decades ago, the garbage barge, the Khian Sea, with no place in the U.S. willing to accept its garbage, left the territorial waters of the United States and began circling the oceans in search of a country willing to accept its cargo:14,000 tons of toxic incinerator ash.

WHO slams swine flu critics as "irresponsible" -- The World Health Organization on Monday slammed as "irresponsible" critics who claim swine flu is a fake pandemic created for the benefit of drug companies.

Teen's charity draws ire of McDonalds -- You couldn't blame Lauren McClusky of Chicago if she were a bit squeamish about using her last name in this story without fear of reprisal from Ronald McDonald and his legal posse.

Web censorship in China? No problem says Bill Gates -- Microsoft founder plays down Beijing's attempts to stifle dissent on the internet as 'very limited'.

Turmeric treats candida & colorectal cancers -- Candida infection is caused by a yeast overgrowth in the intestines. It can cause gas, bloating, indigestion and even chronic disease. Known by its Latin name, curcumin, turmeric shows promise as an antifungal for Candida as well as many other fungal infections. According to the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, the herb turmeric may be useful in inhibiting the Candida infection. Research at the Linus Pauling Institute also points to turmeric's curative value in treating colorectal cancers.

20% of US households struggle to afford food -- Nearly one in five U.S. households ran out of money to buy enough food at least once during 2009.

Deadly VHS virus found in Lake Superior killing fish -- Researchers say a fatal fish virus has been found in Lake Superior for the first time, meaning it has spread to all the Great Lakes.

As technology surges radiation safeguards lag -- there is also a growing realization among those who work with this new technology that some safety procedures are outdated.

Bases, missiles, wars: US consolidates global military network -- The advanced Patriot theater anti-ballistic missile batteries in place or soon to be in Egypt, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates describe an arc stretching from the Baltic Sea through Southeast Europe to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Caucasus and beyond to East Asia.

Subway transit workers sport RFID to improve safety -- Bombardier Transportation, McMaster RFID Applications Lab and Ontario Centres of Excellence are teaming up to develop location awareness technology that can be used to notify subway operators of the exact location of track inspectors and workers.

Obama's war for oil in Columbia -- While the U.S. has claimed for years that it is fighting a drug war in Colombia, though having to sheepishly admit year after year that its ostensible efforts have not yielded any decrease whatsoever in the amount of coca grown in Colombia or cocaine exported to the U.S., the real reason for the war has always been the control of Colombia’s rich oil resources.

Wall St Journal: Ivins not the anthrax killer


Could Vancouver 2010 be the next 9-11? -- false flag attack coming?

Housing vacancy in Orlando at 28% -- Orlando had more vacant houses, condos and apartments than any other major U.S. city during the third quarter, driving down rents and sparking landlord concessions just five years after finding an apartment was virtually impossible.
 

Today in History Wednesday January 27, 2010
1606 - The trial of Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators began. They were executed on January 31.
1870 - Kappa Alpha Theta, the first women’s sorority, was founded at Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw University) in Greencastle, IN.
1880 - Thomas Edison patented the electric incandescent lamp.
1888 - The National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, DC.
1926 - John Baird, a Scottish inventor, demonstrated a pictorial transmission machine called television.
1927 - United Independent Broadcasters Inc. started a radio network with contracts with 16 stations. The company later became Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS).
1948 - Wire Recording Corporation of America announced the first magnetic tape recorder. The ‘Wireway’ machine with a built-in oscillator sold for $149.50.
1951 - In the U.S., atomic testing in the Nevada desert began as an Air Force plane dropped a one-kiloton bomb on Frenchman Flats.
1967 - At Cape Kennedy, FL, astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo I spacecraft.
1967 - More than 60 nations signed the Outer Space Treaty which banned the orbiting of nuclear weapons and placing weapons on celestial bodies or space stations.
1973 - The Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris. .
1981 - U.S. President Reagan greeted the 52 former American hostages released by Iran at the White House.
1998 - U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared on NBC's "Today" show. She charged that the allegations against her husband were the work of a "vast right-wing conspiracy."
1999 - The U.S. Senate blocked dismissal of the impeachment case against President Clinton and voted for new testimony from Monica Lewinsky and two other witnesses.
2003 - Altria Group, Inc. became the name of the parent company of Kraft Foods, Philip Morris USA, Philip Morris International and Philip Morris Capital Corporation

ALERT: Obama's State Of The Union Address tonight: Where to watch online -- The Office of Force Readiness and Deployment on their official website is calling for medical workers specializing in cardiac problems. The heading says: "2010 State of the Union Address." The complete announcement reads as follows: "Dear Commissioned Corps Officers of Tier III Roster D: The U.S. Capitol Police and the Office of the attending Physician, through the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Office of Preparedness and Emergency Response, has asked the Office of Force Readiness and Deployment (OFRD) to roster five medical strike teams of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and registered nurses to provide care for Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life support incidents during the 2010 State of the Union Address in Washington, D.C. Capitol Area Provider Team #4 will be working this event but we will need to augment their team with additional clinical assets from Tier III Roster D. A date for the 2010 State of the Union Address has not been set yet, but the proposed dates are 19, 25 and 26 January 2010." The announcement goes on to say that all of these heart specialists will be "in field uniform-Woodland Pattern, USPHS Ball Cap & T Shirt." (13)"
--From Last Trumpet Ministries Newsletter - Click to read the full text (Note special reference to tonight's warning about the State of the Union)(Thanks Joyce and Kathryn)!!

Massive layoffs this weeks:
 * Caterpillar to ay off 20,000
 * Pfizer, tens of thousands
 * Home Depot-7,000
 * Sprint-8,000
 * ING-7,000
 * Phillips-6,000
 * Walmart to cut over 11,000 jobs

Verizon to cut 13,000 jobs -- Verizon Communications Inc., coping with subscriber losses at its fixed-line phone business, plans to cut about 13,000 jobs at the division this year after posting fourth-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ estimates.

Economy flounders, despite the stimulus -- Economic growth is stagnant, unemployment remains higher than almost any time since the Great Depression and millions of Americans are upset that trillions of taxpayer dollars have been committed to numerous government bailout programs with no improvement of the economy within sight.

Time Magazine: How to Disappear from Facebook and Twitter -- Need to disappear from Facebook or Twitter? Now you can scrub yourself from the Internet with Web 2.0 Suicide Machine, a nifty service that purges your online presence from these all-consuming social networks. Since its Dec. 19 launch, Suicide Machine has assisted more than 1,000 virtual deaths, severing more than 80,500 friendships on Facebook and removing some 276,000 tweets from Twitter.

Wisconsin Senate Approves BPA Ban -- The AP (1/27) reports the Wisconsin state Senate "has passed a bill that would ban the chemical bisphenol A from baby bottles and other cups for children." The AP notes that Connecticut and Minnesota enacted similar measures last year. The Olympian (1/27, Dodge) reports state Rep. Bruce Chandler (R-Granger) was the lone vote against the ban, and said that he believed the bill was "just for show." Chandler later expressed a preference for national action, which "he suggested ... was already taking place." The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (1/27, Marley) notes that the FDA's own advisory board "undertook a review of its decision" on BPA late last year, and recently expressed concerns over the chemical. However, "under the current regulatory framework, the FDA is not easily able to regulate the chemical," and "does not have the authority to demand that BPA makers tell it how much of the chemical it makes and where it is used."

Initial foreclosure notices up 84% in Hamptons -- Hamptons and other East End homeowners appear to be increasingly at risk of foreclosure, according to statistics compiled by the online real estate Web site Propertyshark.com. Initial legal notices of new foreclosures - known as lis pendens - increased 84 percent in 2009 compared with the previous year, the Web site reports.

Live pigs blasted in terror attack experiments -- LIVE pigs are being blown up with explosives at Porton Down, the government’s secret military research laboratory, to simulate the effect of terrorist attacks on civilian targets. Read More...

WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON IN HAITI? By Chuck Baldwin -- Simply put, I cannot remember such an all-out "relief effort" by our nation's military and government forces following a natural disaster anywhere—ever! Not even New Orleans, Louisiana, and surrounding Gulf Coast communities here in the homeland received the kind of attention from Washington, D.C., that Haiti is receiving. According to Agence France-Press (AFP), "The US military is ramping up its mission in quake-hit Haiti, with 20,000 US troops expected to operate on ground and offshore by Sunday [January 24], the US commander overseeing the region said."

Haiti's homeless plead for tents after quake -- Haitian President Rene Preval has asked the world for 200,000 tents to provide temporary shelter for earthquake victims.

US credit card defaults hit near records levels -- U.S. consumers defaulted on store-branded credit cards at near-record levels during the holiday shopping season, with 2010 likely to bring more of the same trend, according to Fitch Ratings.

War Criminals: Arrest Warrants Requested -- International arrest warrants have been requested for George W. Bush, Richard (Dick) Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleeza Rice and Alberto Gonzales at the International Criminal Court, The Hague, Netherlands.

Raw Food Diet: Enjoy Nutrition as Nature Designed -- Raw food diets are becoming increasing popular, and with good reason. Foods in their raw state are truly as nature designed and they are the most biocompatible with our bodies.

USDA poised to take away our right to GMO free food -- Barack Obama, despite promising us "change we can believe in," is unfortunately turning out to be just as pro-GMO as the preceding Bush and Clinton administrations, packing the USDA and other government bureaucracies with Monsanto men and biotech cheerleaders such as former Iowa Governor, Tom Vilsack, named biotech governor of the year in 2001, now serving as USDA Secretary.

Compact fluorescent bulbs dumping mercury directly into landfills -- A report released in 2008 from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection revealed that when a CFL bulb is broken, it can release dangerously high levels of mercury into the air.

VIDEO: Americans sign petition to repeal the first amendment!?

Davos world economic forum security chief found dead in apparent suicide -- Reports are streaming in that Dr. Markus Reinhardt, a police captain who was in put in charge of the World Economic Forum's security taskforce, has been found dead.

Ex government lawyers: Iraq war was illegal -- Two of the Government's most senior lawyers at the time of the Iraq war have said they believed it was illegal without a second UN resolution.

Report: US flunks on ability to deal with bio attack -- The United States has made little progress in the past year in improving its ability to blunt the impact of a biological weapons attack, says a new report from the commission Congress established to assess the nation's efforts to prevent and respond to terrorism.

UK anti terror cops stop children's TV stars for carrying glittery hair dryers -- Running around the streets in combat gear, waving around glittery hairdryers and claiming to be 'dork hunters', they couldn't fail to attract attention.  Little did they know they would be issued a warning by four policemen and we were issued with a warning "under the act of terrorism".'

Organic family farms being crushed by rogue factory farms -- Family farmers from around the country, who produce organic milk, are petitioning president Obama, and the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB), for the swift adoption of new strict rulemaking that will rein in the abuses of a handful of factory farms they claim are violating both the spirit and letter of the federal organic law.

US Navy veteran arrested with arsenal, military installation maps at New Jersey motel -- Somerset County investigators seized a cache of weapons including a grenade launcher and hundreds of rounds of ammunition today from the Branchburg motel room of a Virginia man, who also had maps of a U.S. military facility and an out-of-state civilian community.

Neuroscientists say brain scans can spot PTSD -- researchers at the University of Minnesota and the Minneapolis VA Medical Center announced they’d found a distinct pattern of brain activity among PTSD sufferers.

Pentagon report calls for "Office of Strategic Deception -- The Defense Department needs to get better at lying and fooling people about its intentions. That’s the conclusion from an influential Pentagon panel, the Defense Science Board, which recommends that the military and intelligence communities join in a new agency devoted to “strategic surprise/deception.”

The destabilization of Haiti: Anatomy of a military coup d'Etat -- This article was written almost six years ago in the last days of February 2004. It was published on February 29th, 2004, on the same day as the US sponsored coup d'Etat, which led to the kidnapping and deportation of the country's elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Lancet report: Over 34,000 military personnel medically evacuated from Iraq 2004-2007 -- 34 006 personnel were medically evacuated, of whom 89% were men, 91% were enlisted, 82% were in the army, and 86% sustained an injury in Iraq. Read the most common reasons for medical evacuation....Read More...

Obama administration use of military drones responsible for increase in civilian deaths -- Obama administration is ramping up its use of drone unmanned aircraft to execute targeted killings in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and perhaps in other locations - and, in the process, killing civilians along with insurgents.

Agencies probe DuPont plants safety after employee dies from pesticide exposure -- Two federal agencies are considering conducting detailed safety reviews of DuPont Co.'s Belle chemical plant following a series of incidents, including one toxic leak that went undetected by the company for nearly a week and another that left a worker hospitalized after he was sprayed with poison phosgene gas.

UN "peacekeepers" pepper spray hungry Haitians -- Thousands of hungry Haitians spilled into the streets defeating barbed wire and a tiny contingent of blue-helmeted UN peacekeepers distributing food.

Ukrainian black lung death over 1000 -- The mutated version of the H1N1 Swine Flu is truly wrecking havoc throughout Eastern Europe, with the Ukrainian death toll now clocking in at 1005 dead.

TV & trauma based programming -- So what about the general population and television? Does it hurt us individually and collectively to be exposed to a constant barrage of emotional and mental trauma?

101 facts about gold

Budget Office: The government's finances on 'unsustainable path' -- The 2010 federal budget deficit will be $1.35 trillion, nearly as large as last year's record $1.4 trillion budget shortfall, according to the independent Congressional Budget Office.

Revolutionary tiny solar cells -- These cells attain their minuscule size due to the application of the techniques like microelectronic and micro electromechanical systems.


Today in History Tuesday January 26, 2010
1784 - In a letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin expressed unhappiness over the eagle as the symbol of America. He wanted the symbol to be the turkey.
1788 - The first European settlers in Australia, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, landed in what became known as Sydney. The group had first settled at Botany Bay eight days
before. This day is celebrated as Australia Day.
1802 - The U.S. Congress passed an act calling for a library to be established within the U.S. Capitol.
1837 - Michigan became the 26th state to join the United States.
1861 - In the U.S., Louisiana seceded from the Union.
1870 - The state of Virgina rejoined the Union.
1875 - George F. Green patented the electric dental drill for sawing, filing, dressing and polishing teeth.
1911 - Inventor Glenn H. Curtiss flew the first successful seaplane.
1934 - The Apollo Theatre opened in New York City.
1950 - The American Associated Insurance Companies, of St. Louis, MO, issued the first baby sitter’s insurance policy.
1961 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy appointed Dr. Janet G. Travell as the first woman to be the "personal physician to the President".
1962 - The U.S. launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon. The probe missed its target by about 22,000 miles.
1979 - The ‘Gizmo’ guitar synthesizer was first demonstrated.
1996 - U.S. first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton testified before a grand jury concerning the Whitewater probe.
1998 - U.S. President Clinton denied having an affair with a former White House intern, saying "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." .
2009 - The Icelandic government and banking system collapsed. Prime Minister Geir Haarde resigned.

Dangerous Medication Side Effects -- Drug manufacturers have a duty to make sure that medications they sell are not unreasonably dangerous and contain sufficient warnings about dangerous side effects so that physicians and patients can evaluate the risks and benefits before taking the medication. In many cases pharmaceutical companies fail to take simple steps to protect consumers when they place profits before people's safety. Side effect lawsuits are investigated nationwide for users of the following medications who suffered an injury.

VIDEO: That scene from War Games -- "The only winning move is not to play."

Report: US weapon test aimed at Iran caused Haiti quake? -- An unconfirmed report by the Russian Northern Fleets says the Haiti earthquake was caused by a flawed US Navy 'earthquake weapons' test before the weapons could be utilized against Iran.

VIDEO: Americans sign petition to repeal the First Amendment -- Mark Dice encounters some Americans who think it is a good idea to ban free speech.

US Marines end role in Iraq; Biden in Baghdad -- The U.S. Marine Corps wrapped nearly seven years in Iraq on Saturday, handing over duties to the Army and signaling the beginning of an accelerated withdrawal of American troops as the U.S. turns its focus away from the waning Iraqi war to a growing one in Afghanistan.

The US Navy has anchored one of it's prison ships off Haiti -- Over recent years, this amphibious assault ship has been converted into a floating secret prison, forming part of the CIA network of "black sites" used for so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques.

The hope for Haiti telethon scam -- It takes a lot of disdain for the human race to use a catastrophic event such as the earthquake in Haiti to peddle people out of their hard earned dollar.

Mississippi Delta earthquake: America's Haiti waiting to happen? -- Scientists Predict Haiti-Magnitude Quake Along Fault Under Miss. Delta.

Haiti Earthquake: survivors reduced to eating grass -- "We have nothing so we pick up the leaves, boil them in water from the river and eat them," she says. "No-one has come to help us and we cannot live like this. It is not possible to live on leaves."
 * Flashback from 2009: Dirt poor Haitians eat mud cookies to survive

Haiti police shoot scavengers indiscriminately -- Haitian police on Monday shot indiscriminately at scavengers and looters in Port-au-Prince, hitting two in the head as post- quake security deteriorated.

VIDEO: Governor Perry confronted over Texas gun show shutdown -- In this video below, Texas governor Rick Perry talks with Richard Reeves about the close down of the Texas Gun Shows.

Halliburton 4th quarter profit drops 48% -- Halliburton on Monday reported its fourth-quarter profit tumbled 48 percent to end a volatile year and the oilfield services company said that it expects 2010 to be a transitional year for the industry.

States can tell feds to shove it - Sheriff Richard Mack -- If Arizona, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Texas, etc. want nothing to do with National Health care as proposed by Barack Obama or Congress, then all they have to do is say "No!"

Tampa Bay health officials vaccinate homeless people -- (gotta get rid of all that leftover vaccine somehow) While the threat of swine flu still looms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged communities across the country to focus attention on a usually forgotten, medically underserved segment of the population: the homeless.

Girl, 19, left battling blindness after taking Tamiflu -- A teenage girl left disabled by the swine flu treatment Tamiflu did not even have the swine flu it  revealed today.

The war on terrorism and the countdown to the 2010 Olympics -- The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics will be the largest security operation in Canadian history. It will include more than 15,000 Canadian Forces, private security personnel, along with the RCMP and other police agencies. The U.S. will also provide security

Global supply of rare earth elements could be wiped out by 2012 -- So what's the problem with these rare elements? 97 percent of the world's supply comes from mines in China, and China is prepared to simply stop exporting these strategic elements to the rest of the world by 2012.

December home sales decline is worst in 40 years -- Sales of previously occupied homes took the largest monthly drop in more than 40 years last month, sinking more dramatically than expected after lawmakers gave buyers additional time to use a tax credit.

VIDEO: Order 81, Iraq and the decimation of traditional seeds -- Wafaa’ [INEAS] speaks about IRAQ’s Order 81, which was passed by Paul Bremer on April 26, 2004 to award Iraq’s agricultural treasures to multinational corporations such as Monsanto and Cargill.

Tax and Spend: U.N.'s Rx for New World Medical Order -- A member of a World Health Organization (WHO) panel of experts that is pondering new global taxes on e-mails, alcohol, tobacco, airline travel and consumer bank transactions, has charged that she was given only selective information at group meetings, that deliberations were rushed and that group was "manipulated" by the international pharmaceuticals industry.

Scientists concoct 'Frankenstorm' scenario -- As rain, lightning, hail and even tornadoes arrived in the Southland last week, scientists got together at Caltech to dream up a frightening scenario called the "Frankenstorm."

WHO defends pandemic response ahead of Europe hearing -- Just days before a Council of Europe hearing to discuss claims that pharmaceutical companies influenced the World Health Organization's (WHO's) pandemic response, the global body said charges by some European officials that the pandemic is "fake" are "wrong and irresponsible.

Mississippi may make cold medicines prescription only to combat meth problem -- Law enforcement officials and other groups in Mississippi are lobbying lawmakers to require a prescription to buy cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine — a key ingredient in methamphetamine — as the state's drug problem reaches unprecedented levels.

UK: Obese patients encourage to put on weight to qualify for weight loss surgery -- Access to NHS weight-loss operations is inconsistent, unethical and a postcode lottery, says Royal College of Surgeons.

Two dozen states unemployment funds in the red -- The record 20 million Americans who collected unemployment insurance benefits last year landed on a safety net that was already deeply frayed.
 * Unemployment insurance tracker interactive map

No recovery in housing in the immediate future -- The housing market is limping toward recovery. For planners, engineers and contractors whose business is driven by residential construction, the pace is painfully slow.

Obama uses prompters -- Even in a sixth grade class. 

America's impending master class dictatorship -- Thanks to the endless barrage of feel-good propaganda that daily assaults the American mind, best epitomized a few months ago by the “green shoots,” everything’s-coming-up-roses propaganda touted by Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, the citizens have no idea how disastrous the country’s fiscal, monetary and economic problems truly are. Nor do they perceive the rapidly increasing risk of a totalitarian nightmare descending upon the American Republic.

UK author calls for euthanasia booths in street corners to prevent a 'silver tsunami'-- Euthanasia 'booths' should be established on street corners for pensioners to end their lives with 'a martini and a medal', novelist Martin Amis said yesterday.

US to lift 21 year ban on haggis -- Smuggled and bootlegged, it has been the cause of transatlantic tensions for more than two decades. But after 21 years in exile, the haggis is to be allowed back into the US. What is Haggis you ask? Click Here!

Scalar wars: weaponization -- Warfare has been changed forever by the development of these scalar energy longitudinal wave howitzers. To get a basic understanding of scalar waves is to have the imagination suddenly run wild as all the implications and possibilities regarding warfare fall into place.


Today in History Monday January 25, 2010
1799 - Eliakim Spooner patented the seeding machine.
1858 - Mendelssohn’s "Wedding March" was presented for the first time, as the daughter of Queen Victoria married the Crown Prince of Prussia.
1870 - G.D. Dows patented the ornamental soda fountain.
1881 - Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and others signed an agreement to organize the Oriental Telephone Company.
1890 - The United Mine Workers of America was founded.
1915 - In New York, Alexander Graham Bell spoke to his assistant in San Francisco, inaugurating the first transcontinental telephone service.
1924 - The 1st Winter Olympic Games were inaugurated in Chamonix in the French Alps.
1950 - A federal jury in New York City found former State Department official Alger Hiss guilty of perjury.
1959 - In the U.S., American Airlines had the first scheduled transcontinental flight of a Boeing 707.
1961 - John F. Kennedy presented the first live presidential news conference from Washington, DC. The event was carried on radio and television.
1981 - The 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived in the United States and were reunited with their families.
1999 - At least 1,000 people were killed when an earthquake hit western Columbia. The quake registered 6.0 on the Richter Scale.
1999 - In Louisville, KY, man received the first hand transplant in the United States.

HAARP has deleted its records from 2010-1-11

VIDEO: Is Obama really Osama bin Laden

FDIC: Failed Bank List, 5 more this past Friday
 * Related Article: More banks go down on Friday -- Regulators shut down banks Friday in Florida, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, bringing to nine the number of bank failures so far in 2010, following 140 closures last year in the toughest economic environment since the Great Depression

1st time ever: Transfusion-Related Transmission of Yellow Fever Vaccine Virus -- In the United States, yellow fever (YF) vaccination is recommended for travelers and active duty military members visiting endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa and Central/South America (1,2). The American Red Cross recommends that recipients of YF vaccine defer blood product donation for 2 weeks because of the theoretical risk for transmission from a viremic donor (3). On April 10, 2009, a hospital blood bank supervisor learned that, on March 27, blood products had been collected from 89 U.S. active duty trainees who had received YF vaccine 4 days before donation. This report summarizes the subsequent investigation by the hospital and CDC to identify lapses in donor deferral and to determine whether transfusion-related transmission of YF vaccine virus occurred. Read More...

UK: CCTV in the sky: police plan to use military spy drones -- Police in the UK are planning to use unmanned spy drones, controversially deployed in Afghanistan, for the ­"routine" monitoring of antisocial motorists, ­protesters, agricultural thieves and fly-tippers, in a significant expansion of covert surveillance.

Dangerous crossroads: US moves troops and missles to Russian border -- on January 20 the Polish Defense Ministry announced that a U.S. Patriot missile battery, and the 100 American soldiers who will operate it, would not be based on the outskirts of the capital of Warsaw as previously announced but in the Baltic Sea city of Morag, 35 miles [6] from Poland’s border with Russia. The missile battery and troops are scheduled to arrive in March or April.Further deployments will follow.

Iran dispatches 5th fleet of warships to Gulf of Aden -- The fifth fleet of warships is tasked with defending Iranian cargo ships and oil tankers for a period of 40 days, Commander of Iran's First Naval Zone Fariborz Qaderpanah told FNA.

Index to SSRI Stories -- This website is a collection of 3500+ news stories with the full media article available, mainly criminal in nature, that have appeared in the media (newspapers, TV, scientific journals) or that were part of FDA testimony in either 1991, 2004 or 2006, in which antidepressants are mentioned.

One quarter of US grain crops fed to cars - not people, new figures show New analysis of 2009 US Department -- New analysis of 2009 US Department of Agriculture figures suggests biofuel revolution is impacting on world food supplies.

$10,000 reward offered for scientific proof of H1N1 vaccine safety and effectiveness -- In conjunction with NaturalNews, the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center (http://www.ConsumerWellness.org ) has publicly offered a $10,000 reward for any person, company or institution who can provide trusted, scientific evidence proving that any of the FDA -approved H1N1 vaccines being offered to Americans right now are both safe and effective.

New Anti-Smog Restrictions Could Warm Planet -- But Jason West at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill says that when you reduce NOx, you don't just reduce ozone; you change the chemistry of the atmosphere in such a way that you end up increasing the amount of methane in the air. And methane is a potent gas when it comes to global warming. "By reducing NOx, the net effect is you make global warming worse," West says.

Security "red zones" in Haiti preventing aid groups from effectively distributing aid -- As thousands of well-equipped US soldiers pour into Haiti, there is an increasing concern about the militarization of the country, supporting the soldiers and not the people. Or, as one doctor put it, "people need gauze, not guns."

Child trafficking with Haiti orphans? -- UNICEF warned of children disappearing from hospitals and raised fears of child trafficking in the wake of Haiti's devastating Jan. 12 earthquake.

Local homes with Chinese drywall to set bar for remediation -- For months the Norfolk lawyer has worked with scientists and contractors, cutting holes in walls in seven Virginia homes, testing corrosion, and developing estimates for what it will take to remediate homes that contain drywall made in China. The product emits a noxious gas that, government agencies have found, apparently corrodes electrical appliances, and some homeowners contend that it causes illness. Judicial decisions will mean little, however, if Taishan ignores the judgment. "This is becoming a common problem in a globalized world," Nagareda said. "If a company doesn't have assets in the U.S., it could be hard to get at them."

Green jobs not recession-proof -- The Obama administration's call for green jobs as an economic savior initially sparked hope for economic recovery. But the federal funds have only dribbled into the sector, held up by various shades of bureaucratic red tape and the lingering credit crisis. As a result, projects stalled and workers got pink slips as banks froze credit, venture capital firms slowed sector investments and government rebates snagged. By year-end, green-sector job freezes and losses far outweighed gains.

Like Lazarus, Bin Laden Rises -- In fact, no matter what you believe about 9/11, it is indisputable that the horrible event served as a launching pad for a seemingly endless war on terror on which the West is now embarked. As far as Bin Laden goes, we've pointed out numerous times that many believe him to be dead. Most recently we reported on a video featuring a statement by Benazir Bhutto (a few weeks prior to her murder) that can be seen on Youtube.com.

The Painting of the Year! -- Unless you’ve already seen this video, this is probably unlike any you have seen before. This painting should be hanging in our Capitol so our Representatives see it each and everyday they walk through the doors. It would serve as a reminder from what this country was founded on and by whom!!! It is absolutely beautiful and it does touch the heart!! Thanks Trevor!

Article from 2008-Haiti is full of oil -- Scientists Daniel and Ginette Mathurin indicate that under Haitian soil is rich in oil and fuel fossible which were collected by Haitian and foreign experts. "We have identified 20 sites Oil, launches Daniel Mathurin stating that 5 of them are considered very important by practitioners and policies.

Prepare now to escape Obama's retirement trap -- Make no mistake, the government need for current revenue and their frenzied search for a short-term fix to fund a backstop of liquidity to buy future government debt obligations when no credible investors will buy them is an unspoken quest of both political parties. The establishments of both political parties will do anything to stay in power and this will include raiding and pillaging your retirement funds.

David Kelly post mortem to be kept secret for 70 years -- Vital evidence which could solve the mystery of the death of Government weapons inspector Dr David Kelly will be kept under wraps for up to 70 years. In a draconian – and highly unusual – order, Lord Hutton, the peer who chaired the controversial inquiry into the Dr Kelly scandal, has secretly barred the release of all medical records, including the results of the post mortem, and unpublished evidence.

Walmart to axe 11,200 Sam's club staffers -- The terminations represent about 10 percent of the warehouse club operator's 110,000 staffers across its 600 stores.

Burger King to Offer Beer/Burger Combos -- In Miami Beach, one entrepreneur wants you to “have it your way” by enjoying a frosty cold one with your Whopper and fries. (For a mere $7.99.) It’s part of a new Burger King attempt to reinvent the fast-food restaurant’s look and feel. The restaurant will be called the “Whopper Bar South Beach” which, to me, sounds a little hokey. But maybe the name will work just fine in Florida.

Bats dying from white nose syndrome, spells trouble for farmers -- White nose syndrome threatens to wipe out five of Pennsylvania's six bat species, according to bat biologist DeeAnn M. Reeder of Bucknell University, Lewisburg.

Rickets warning from doctors as Vitamin D deficiency widens -- Computer-obsessed children who spend too long indoors and over-anxious parents who slap on excessive sunscreen are contributing to a sharp rise in cases of the bone disease rickets, doctors are warning.

Radiation offers new cures and ways to do harm -- As Scott Jerome-Parks lay dying, he clung to this wish: that his fatal radiation overdose — be studied and talked about publicly so that others might not have to live his nightmare.

Pharma media to squelch probe into H1N1 vaccine fraud & genocide -- The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will hold a secret hearing next week into the apparent manipulation by BigPharma of the World Health Organization's (WHO) global H1N1 flu campaign. Experts predict the secrecy will be maintained by the PharmaMedia that controls mainstream news.

NY Dairy farmer kills 51 cows, then himself -- State police in New York say an upstate dairy farmer shot and killed 51 of his milk cows in his barn before turning the rifle on himself. Local farmers buried the cows outside the barn Friday. They would not discuss the local man or what had happened, but one of the men said these are hard times to be a farmer.

US says it will stay in Haiti long term -- Despite criticism for the US military presence in quake-stricken Haiti, Washington says it has a long-term plan to stay in the country.

US to pay Taliban fighters to lay down arms -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai unveiled an ambitious Western funded plan Friday to offer money and jobs to tempt Taliban fighters to lay down their arms in an effort to quell a crippling insurgency.

Mother who loses son to brain tumor warns of cell phone use -- My Son, Rich Farver, died Oct. 11, 2008 from glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer. He was 28 years old when diagnosed and lived seven months. He was a graduate student at SDSU (San Diego State University). There is a brain cancer cluster on campus.

Call for immediate arrest of 5 Supreme Court justices for treason -- Five members of the Supreme Court declared that a “corporation” is a person, not a “regular person” but one above all natural laws, subject to no God, no moral code but one with unlimited power over our lives, a power awarded by judges who seem themselves as grand inquisitors in an meant to hunt down all hertics who fail to serve their god, the god of money.

Widespread antibiotic use in the 1960s may have sparked MRSA -- A new genetic method of tracking infection suggests that the superbug emerged five decades ago in Europe, just as antibiotics were being widely introduced for the first time.

Obama has suspicious number of letter writing fans named Ellie Light -- In recent weeks, Light has published virtually identical “Letters to the Editor” in support of President Barack Obama in more than a dozen newspapers. Every letter claimed a different residence for Light that happened to be in the newspaper’s circulation area.

Iraq littered with nuclear & chemical contamination -- More than 40 sites across Iraq are contaminated with high levels or radiation and dioxins, with three decades of war and neglect having left environmental ruin in large parts of the country, an official Iraqi study has found.

Military pays for booze for Congressional trips abroad -- When members of Congress travel overseas at the expense of the Department of Defense, they are treated to thousands of dollars worth of alcohol and other amenities.

The coming emergency state -- For now, “end times” or not, the “Emergency State” seems to be the reality in which we will be living under for the next decade or two.

SOS: Katrina & Haiti-by Karl Schwarz -- There are some valuable lessons, moral, social, political and otherwise, in what happened in August 2005 with Hurricane Katrina / New Orleans and what is transpiring right now in Port Au Prince, Haiti. In short, it was then and now failed leadership, failed aid delivery on display in both disasters.

Israel makes waves by simulating an earthquake -- The Seismologic Division of the Ministry of National Infrastructure's Geophysical Institute will attempt to simulate an earthquake in the southern Negev on Thursday. The experiment, financed by the U.S. Defense Department, is a joint project with the University of Hawaii and is part of a scientific project intended to improve seismological and acoustic readings in Israel and its environs, up to a 1,000 km/621 mile radius.

Jobless rate in Las Vegas at 13.1% -- There were 128,200 people who were unemployed, up 9,400 from November.

The 15 most toxic places to live

Paypal freezes Wikileaks account -- WikiLeaks is not the only non-profit organization with this problem. This is a regular occurrence, that from our perspective should not be tolerated by the global community using this payment system.

Batten down the hatches: augmented reality is on it's way -- Who wants to see poor people? Soon, technology will allow us to airbrush them out.

The age of the killer robot is no longer a sci-fi fantasy -- You can't appeal to robots for mercy or empathy - or punish them afterwards. In the dark, in the silence, in a blink, the age of the autonomous killer robot has arrived. It is happening. They are deployed. And – at their current rate of acceleration –
they will become the dominant method of war for rich countries in the 21st century.

US gunman surrenders after eight are killed -- A gunman wanted for eight killings surrendered to authorities after almost shooting a police helicopter out of the sky. Christopher Speight, 39, turned himself in at daybreak yesterday as officers closed in on him in the thick woods of central Virginia.
 * 2 families caught up in Virginia killing rampage -- There was no school the next day, so 15-year-old Emily Quarles had a friend sleep over. As she and her mother took the friend home the next morning, they became targets for a rampaging gunman. When Emily's father and boyfriend went looking for them, they were slain too. Read More...
 

Today in History Friday January 22, 2010
1789 - "The Power of Sympathy," by Philenia (Mrs. Sarah W.) Morton, was published in Boston, MA.
1879 - James Shields began a term as a U.S. Senator from Missouri. He had previously served Illinois and Minnesota. He was the first Senator to serve three states.
1889 - The Columbia Phonograph Company was formed in Washington, DC.
1895 - The National Association of Manufacturers was organized in Cincinnati, OH.
1917 - U.S. President Wilson pleaded for an end to war in Europe, calling for "peace without victory." America entered the war the following April.
1947 - KTLA, Channel 5, in Hollywood, CA, began operation as the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River.
1950 - Alger Hiss, a former adviser to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, was convicted of perjury for denying contacts with a Soviet agent. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
1957 - Suspected "Mad Bomber" was arrested in Waterbury, CT. George P. Metesky was accused of planting more than 30 explosive devices in the New York City area.
1962 - Cuba's membership in the Organization of American States (OAS) was suspended.
1970 - The first regularly scheduled commercial flight of the Boeing 747 began in New York City and ended in London about 6 1/2 hours later.
1973 - The U.S. Supreme Court struck down state laws that had been restricting abortions during the first six months of pregnancy. The case (Roe vs. Wade) legalized abortion.
1997 - The U.S. Senate confirmed Madeleine Albright as the first female secretary of state.
1998 - Theodore Kaczynski pled guilty to federal charges for his role as the Unabomber. He agreed to life in prison without parole.
2000 - Elian Gonzalez's grandmothers met privately with U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno as they appealed for help in removing the boy from his Florida relatives and reuniting him with his father in Cuba.
2002 - Lawyers suing Enron Corp. asked a court to prevent further shredding of documents due to the pending federal investigation.
2002 - Kmart Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy making it the largest retailer in history to seek legal protection from its creditors.

CFB Petawawa field hospital ready to deploy to Haiti -- A military field hospital based out of CFB Petawawa will be deployed to Haiti as early as this weekend to offer medical treatment to earthquake victims desperate for care.

Thought For The Day from our friend Mike Tawse in the UK -- Experts May Be Useful - Experts may be useful, but anyone who claims a thorough knowledge of his subject has failed to understand its potential.

Billboard Located somewhere in Minnesota -- Bush: Do you Miss Me Yet?

Beck rips Brown: ‘This one could end with a dead intern’ -- On Wednesday, Glenn Beck took to his radio program to sharply criticize Brown's remarks. The controversial host suggested that Brown needed to be "monitored" because "this one could end up with a dead intern."

VIDEO: 24 hours later and now Scott is suddenly FOR the health care reform -- Senator Elect Scott Brown (R) the next day after getting elected...!

Air America Radio Goes Silent, Makes Bankruptcy Filing -- Air America Media's announcement Thursday on its website that its live programming is immediately going off the air and that it's filing for bankruptcy protection.

Is There Gold in Fort Knox? -- The Mint won’t comment on exactly how much gold is in there, though. That’s why Ron Paul (R-Texas), a 2008 presidential candidate known for his libertarian streak, wants to have a look around. Paul introduced a bill to audit the Federal Reserve, which includes Fort Knox’s gold. “My attitude is, let’s just find out what’s there,” he says.

25 State Unemployment Funds Bankrupt -- The unemployment insurance system is in crisis. A record 20 million Americans collected unemployment benefits last year, and so far 25 states have run out of funds and been forced to borrow from the federal government, raise taxes or cut benefits. Using near real-time data on states' revenues and the benefits they pay out, we've estimated how long their trust funds will hold up.
 * Related Article: Two Dozen States' Unemployment Funds in the Red, Nine More Within Six Months

Squirming of the Fed -- The Fed's irresponsible money printing led to the great stock market crash of 1929. The Fed, we have been informed by reliable sources, printed far more money in the 1920s than it was legally entitled to print. The point is that the Fed is likely used to acting with great arrogance and those running this institution seem to believe they are not in any sense accountable, even though the Fed is an institution of the state, chartered by law and responsible in various ways to Congress and the executive branch.

The Reality of Scott Brown -- The Tea Party movement can be co-opted, as we explained yesterday, by statist conservatives. But one must look BEHIND the Tea Party movement (and others like it) to find out what is driving the phenomenon. And what is driving it is a toxic mix of anger and, increasingly, (incredibly) substantive ideas about freedom and free-market thinking.

International Seed Saving Institute -- Saving seeds tips - Find links to specific seed saving instructions for 27 common vegetables.

Fears grow as study shows genetically modified crops 'can cause liver and kidney damage' -- According to the research, animals fed on three strains of genetically modified maize created by the U.S. biotech firm Monsanto suffered signs of organ damage after just three months.

USNS hospital ship reaches Haiti -- The largest hospital in Haiti is now anchored off shore and beginning to receive patients.

Imagining a Haitian style disaster in the US -- The chaos in Haiti has been described by those on the ground as “unimaginable.” But let’s try to imagine what the equivalent devastation might look like in the U.S.

PressTV: American Outrage -- This documentary shows how two elderly Native Americans have been denied their right of property and are forced to evict their ancestral lands, leaving them for corporations to take over. Broadcast Date: 06 Feb 2010.

Toothpick Taliban! Restaurant refuses to give diner toothpick because they are too dangerous -- Staff at a luxury hotel chain are refusing to provide customers with the post-meal dental sticks - because they are 'potentially dangerous'. However, sharp metal cutlery on the table is - for now - still acceptable.

Why is the US military occupying 4 airports in Haiti? -- Around 11,000 US military personnel are currently controlling the operations both on the ground and offshore aboard US Navy and Coast Guard vessels, and another 4,000 US troops are expected to arrive in the coming days.

Are we in Haiti because of oil? -- “The Central Plateau, including the region of Thomonde, the plain of the Cul-de-Sac and the bay of Port-au-Prince are full of hydrocarbons,” he said adding that “the oil reserves of Haiti are more important than those of Venezuela.

A Haiti disaster relief scenario was envisaged one day before the earthquake -- A Haiti disaster relief scenario had been envisaged at the headquarters of US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Miami one day prior to the earthquake.

Media disinformation: TV networks give Americans sanitized view of war -- U.S. television networks have given the public a sanitized, largely bloodless view of the war in Iraq, an academic authority on communications writes.

Suicide and the soldier -- According to the US Department of Defense more US military personnel have taken their own lives since 2001 than have been killed in action (KIA) in either Iraq or Afghanistan. In 2009 alone, more than 330 active servicemen and women have committed suicide.

Ron Paul video: We need to take out the CIA

Former Prime Minister of Malaysia says 9-11 was staged -- There is strong evidence that the Sept 11 attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 could have been 'staged' as an excuse to mount attacks on the Muslim world, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Secret bill writing on the rise -- Shutting down House-Senate conference meetings riles those in the minority excluded from the process. In a letter to C-SPAN Chairman Brian Lamb, House Republican leader John Boehner wrote, "Unfortunately, the president, Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader (Harry) Reid now intend to shut out the American people at the most critical hour by skipping a bipartisan conference committee and hammering out a final health care bill in secret."

GE attempts to silence doctor who warned about dangers of medical imaging drug -- GE Healthcare, a British subsidiary of multinational giant General Electric, is suing Henrik Thomsen, a senior radiologist and professor of radiology, for sounding the alarm about the dangers of the company's medical imaging drug, Omniscan.

Study links thyroid disease to non-stick chemicals -- A study by British researchers found that people with high levels of the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in their blood have higher rates of thyroid diseases -- conditions which affect the body's metabolism.

Safe nutritious purslane proves as powerful as western drugs -- Wild purslane (Portulaca oleracea) which most consider a weed is actually a green vegetable with the highest amount of heart-healthy omega 3-fatty acids of any green.

68 year old woman stays healthy without pharmaceuticals or vaccines -- Lily is a 68 year old woman who is living a vibrant and healthy life without the aid of pharmaceutical drugs or vaccines. We think that you will really enjoy her story....

Health bill may impose marriage penalty -- Some married couples would pay thousands of dollars more for the same health insurance coverage as unmarried people living together if the health insurance overhaul plan pending in Congress is passed.

Tolled, privatized Illiana Expressway passes committee -- Indiana state Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, and state Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, filed bills earlier this month in their respective chambers to remove the restrictions on tolling and privatization. A state Senate committee in Indiana has given the nod to turning the proposed Illiana Expressway into a privatized toll road.

Egypt police disperse flood victims with rubber bullets -- Egyptian police used tear-gas and rubber bullets on Wednesday to disperse residents of a Sinai town devastated by floods as they protested against lack of government aid, an AFP correspondent said.

Massachusetts win: Obama vows retaliation against the American people -- Obama & Co will now work even harder to destroy us and our country, folks. He is intensely angry with us for daring to vote into office someone who wants to preserve—not destroy—our worship of God, freedoms and liberties and not replace them with himself.

The Guantanamo "suicides" -- A Camp Delta sergeant blows the whistle.

Surprise rise in US jobless claims -- The number of US workers making first-time claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, as the government worked through a pre -holiday backlog of filings.

Goldman Sachs earns $4.79 billion in 4th quarter -- The company rewarded its employees with $16.2 billion in salaries and bonuses for 2009, up 47 percent from the previous year but still lower than many had expected.

Pawnshops flourish in hard times, draw scrutiny -- With banks reluctant to loosen purse strings and credit-card companies aggressively slashing credit lines, a growing number of consumers are turning to the once murky world of pawnshops for quick cash.

US faces extended power outages, largest grid builder says -- The U.S. faces longer power outages resulting from storms this year after utilities cut spending on maintenance by as much as 50 percent, according to Quanta Services Inc, the world’s largest builder of transmission lines.

Hundreds evacuate as deadly storm batters California -- Hundreds of hillside residents were ordered to evacuate their homes Wednesday as heavy rains battered Southern California and threatened to inundate neighborhoods with mud and debris.

TSA agent planted bag of white powder on passenger as a joke -- In the tense new world of air travel, we're stripped of shoes, told not to take too much shampoo on board, frowned on if we crack a smile. The last thing we expect is a joke from a Transportation Security Administration screener - particularly one this stupid.


Today in History Thursday January 21, 2010
789 - W.H. Brown's "Power of Sympathy" was published. It was the first American novel to be published.
1812 - The Y-bridge in Zanesville, OH, was approved for construction.
1846 - The first issue of the "Daily News," edited by Charles Dickens, was published.
1853 - Dr. Russell L. Hawes patented the envelope folding machine.
1861 - The future president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, resigned from the U.S. Senate. Four other Southerners also resigned.
1865 - An oil well was drilled by torpedoes for the first time.
1908 - The Sullivan Ordinance was passed in New York City making smoking by women became illegal. The measure was vetoed by Mayor George B. McClellan Jr.
1915 - The first Kiwanis club was formed in Detroit, MI.
1927 - The first opera broadcast over a national radio network was presented in Chicago, IL. The opera was "Faust". .
1954 - The gas turbine automobile was introduced in New York City.
1970 - The Boeing 747 made its first commercial flight from New York to London for Pan American.
1977 - U.S. President Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders.
1980 - Gold was valued at $850 an ounce.
1997 - Newt Gingrich was fined as the U.S. House of Representatives voted for first time in history to discipline its leader for ethical misconduct.
1998 - A former White House intern said on tape that she had an affair with U.S. President Clinton.
2003 - It was announced by the U.S. Census Bureau that estimates showed that the Hispanic population had passed the black population for the first time.

Thought For The Day from our friend Mike Tawse in the UK -- When You Face Challenging Times - When you face challenging times be cautious if someone offers you a solution. A person who truly cares will invite you to learn from them, while supporting and encouraging you to find a solution of your own. Anyone else will attempt to impose a solution, but the smartest of them will veil their impositions with kindness and common sense.

Minnesota researchers find way to scan brain to diagnose for post-traumatic stress disorder -- Minnesota researchers say they may know how to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder much more reliably — a breakthrough that could help many Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.

Intelligence chief rips handling of accused plane bomber -- The nation's intelligence director testified Wednesday that it was a mistake for the government to give the suspected bomber in the Christmas airline plot a reading of his Miranda rights and access to an attorney without first using elite interrogators to question him or consulting with top officials in Washington.

Animated unemployment map of the US -- This interactive map serves as a vivid representartion of just how many Americans are hurting.

Top 15 chemical additives in your food -- List of the top 15 chemical additives and their possible side effects will help decipher ingredient lists at your supermarket.

Six Deadly Chemicals You’re Carrying in Your Body -- Six chemicals in particular, found in virtually every person, were identified by the CDC as probable health hazards.

Chevrolet and OnStar Give Volt Owners 24/7 Connection and Control via Wireless Smartphone Application - 1st Car Designed for the Prison Planet? -- Chevrolet and OnStar unveiled the auto industry’s first working smartphone application that will allow Chevrolet Volt owners 24/7 connection and control of vehicle functions and OnStar features remotely. OnStar’s Mobile Application allows drivers to communicate with their Volt from Droid by Motorola, Apple iPhone and Blackberry Storm smartphones. It uses a real-time data connection to perform tasks from setting the charge time to unlocking the doors.
 * Link to see what the cell phone app does: http://onstarmobiledemo.com

TSA nominee withdraws amid 'political agenda' -- In a statement, Erroll Southers said he was pulling out because his nomination had become a lightning rod for those with a political agenda. Obama had tapped Southers, a former FBI agent, to lead the TSA in September but his confirmation has been blocked by Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, who says he was worried that Southers would allow TSA employees to have collective bargaining rights.

Graco Recalls Strollers Due to Fingertip Amputation and Laceration Hazards -- Name of Product: Graco’s Passage™, Alano™ and Spree™ Strollers and Travel Systems Units: About 1.5 million - Manufacturer: Graco Children’s Products Inc., of Atlanta, Ga. - Hazard: The hinges on the stroller’s canopy pose a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is opening or closing the canopy. Incidents/Injuries: Graco has received seven reports of children placing their fingers in the stroller’s canopy hinge mechanism while the canopy was being opened or closed, resulting in five fingertip amputations and two fingertip lacerations.

Mississippi Delta earthquake: America's Haiti waiting to happen? -- One of the strongest series of earthquakes ever to hit the United States happened not in Alaska or along California's San Andreas fault, but in southeast Missouri along the Mississippi River. Geologists consider the New Madrid fault line a major seismic zone and predict that an earthquake roughly the magnitude of the Haiti earthquake (7.0 on the Richter scale) could occur in the area during the next 50 years. That forecast is of particular concern because the New Madrid zone sits beneath one of the country’s most economically distressed areas – the Delta. In many counties in the Mississippi Delta, the poverty level is triple the national average.

N.Y. Governor Wants $1 Billion in New Taxes -- The budget New York Gov. David Paterson proposed Tuesday would cut 5 percent from school aid and add $1 billion in new taxes and fees, creating a plan that analysts mostly viewed as appropriate during hard times.

Haiti TV coverage: Reporters saving lives is good, but selling it on TV feels bad -- When the scope and intensity of the suffering among Haitians seems to grow up by the day, spotlighting a single act by a visiting reporter – like Anderson Cooper of CNN helping a wounded boy across a barricade – feels uncomfortable and, to be blunt, self-serving.

Relatives of missing Americans in Haiti angry -- Family and friends of missing Americans have searched the ruins themselves. They've hired private rescue teams. They've pleaded with the U.S. government to do more to help bring home loved ones who disappeared amid the rubble of earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Obama's TSA pick withdraws -- Erroll Southers, President Obama's pick to head the Transportation Security Administration, withdrew today, claiming his nomination had become a lightning rod for those with a political agenda.

Military outsources rescue ops, secret tagging technology -- In the American military, few missions are considered more important than rescuing missing or kidnapped troops. So it’s more than a little odd that U.S. forces in Iraq have decided to outsource that operation to a private company.

2009 airline revenue; worst drop ever -- The airline industry suffered its largest drop ever in passenger revenue last year as a weak economy grounded many would-be travelers, an industry group said Wednesday.

Innovative South Carolina toll road goes bust -- The first public-private partnership toll road established as a not-for-profit corporation has gone bust.

Another trucking company closes -- A family owned trucking company that’s operated out of Abilene, KS, for 65 years has shut its doors.

Johnson & Johnson engaged in elaborate drug profit kickback scheme -- Drug maker Johnson & Johnson paid tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks to nursing home pharmacies in order to boost the sale of its drugs, says a Justice Department lawsuit.

Exxon hid radiation risk to workers, witness says -- ExxonMobil corporation, the largest U.S. energy company, “knew or should have known” that drilling pipes it sent to a Louisiana pipe yard were contaminated with dangerous radioactive material, a trial witness testified.

Google: Keep user data safe by letting us hoard it forever -- Google has sought to turn its China crisis to its advantage by arguing it demonstrates why it should be allowed to hang onto search logs indefinitely.

Preacher's toe touches school lawn; he gets arrested -- A New Jersey judge has dismissed a criminal case against a volunteer who was preaching the Gospel on public property in front of the Edison, N.J., High School when his toe inadvertently brushed the grass and he was arrested.

Scientists finding many negative impacts of Roundup ready GM crops -- USDA doesn’t want to publicize studies showing negative impacts.

South Korea limits ads for junk food -- South Korea has announced curbs on television advertising for junk food in a bid to cut obesity and promote healthy eating among children.

Singing on prescription? -- First it was exercise on prescription, then it was arts on prescription, soon it could be singing on prescription, as the clinical evidence builds up, and as more and more projects promote the benefits of singing to health and wellbeing.

Electromagnetic weapons timeline -- The following is an overview of the development of electromagnetic research as relevant to weapons, as best we are able to put together, considering the cloak of secrecy that surrounds these weapons.

Dealing with the truth and using it -- Many think daily life is hard and no one has time to do anything about what's going on. For those that think this, consider life during the period of the 1700's in which America's founding fathers lived.  Read More...

Haiti: An unwelcome Katrina redux -- President Obama's response to the tragedy in Haiti has been robust in military deployment and puny in what the Haitians need most: food; first responders and their specialized equipment; doctors and medical facilities and equipment; and engineers, heavy equipment, and heavy movers.

Pentagon disaster relief exercise for Haiti went live after earthquake hit -- On Monday, Jean Demay, DISA’s technical manager for the agency’s Transnational Information Sharing Cooperation project, happened to be at the headquarters of the U.S. Southern Command in Miami preparing for a test of the system in a scenario that involved providing relief to Haiti in the wake of a hurricane. After the earthquake hit on Tuesday, Demay said SOUTHCOM decided to go live with the system.

Defense launches online system to coordinate Haiti relief efforts -- As personnel representing hundreds of government and nongovernment agencies from around the world rush to the aid of earthquake-devastated Haiti, the Defense Information Systems Agency has launched a Web portal with multiple social networking tools to aid in coordinating their efforts.

Blackwater chief accused of murder, gunrunning -- The head of Blackwater and his employees may have killed or ordered the killing of people suspected of cooperating with federal investigators probing their activities, according to an anonymous affidavit filed in federal court Monday.

Gun show owner alleges rights violation -- The controversy centers around a yellow flyer passed out at the Texas Gun Show in North Austin last weekend. It read: "Selling of Firearms" - At the direction of the Austin Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, anyone selling a firearm at this show location will be asked to comply with the following: 1. Any person selling a personal firearm must go through a licensed FFL dealer in the show to transfer the firearm to the new owner. 2. Selling of firearms in the parking lot will not be permitted. Read More...

6 surprising facts about organic food

The surveillance society: trading freedom for the illusion of safety -- Governments, regardless of their political structure or historical background, have always striven to not only control information, but also to gather it from the people by covert means.

Public not worried about increased surveillance -- The use of surveillance cameras on city streets in Canadian cities is "mushrooming," but so far the public appears unconcerned, according to a new report by the Surveillance Camera Awareness Network (SCAN).

What's really behind the Afghan surge? -- "There is evil in the world…we were attacked…" – George Bush (2001) and Barack Obama (2009)

Toyota sees robotic nurses in your lonely final years -- It sees a future where manufacturing robotic workers is the hot new industry and “autonomation” takes on a whole new meaning.

Phone calls from the 9-11 airliners -- Response to Questions Evoked by My Fifth Estate Interview by Prof David Ray Griffin.

The WHO global tax proposals -- the World Health Organization is now considering "innovative" proposals for raising additional revenues, including levying a global tax on internet activity.

Very strange weather in SW Australia

Frustrated air passenger arrested under Terrorism Act after Twitter joke about bombing airport -- A man was arrested and held in police cells for seven hours as a suspected terrorist after making a joke on Twitter about blowing his local airport sky high.

Database of red light camera locations -- Find the red light cameras near you.

To some, sermonizing is a sin, but Christians still value the preacher -- In many churches this most vibrant of moments has withered to little more than 20 minutes of tired droning that serves only to pad out the gap between hymns and lunch. Yet some ember still seems to burn in Britain’s 3.6 million regular churchgoers, for almost all of them feel a sense of expectation for the Sunday sermon, according to researchers at Durham University. Fully 96.6 per cent of those surveyed “look forward” to the sermon, with 60 per cent saying it gave them a sense of God’s love.


Today in History Wednesday January 20, 2010
1265 - The first English parliament met in Westminster Hall.
1801 - John Marshall was appointed chief justice of the United States.
1885 - The roller coaster was patented by L.A. Thompson.
1887 - The U.S. Senate approved an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base.
1891 - James Hogg took office as the first native-born governor of Texas.
1929 - The movie "In Old Arizona" was released. The film was the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors.
1937 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to be inaugurated on January 20th. The 20th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution officially set the date for the swearing in of the President and Vice President.
1953 - "Studio One" became the first television show to be transmitted from the United States to Canada.
1954 - The National Negro Network was formed on this date. Forty radio stations were charter members of the network.
1981 - Iran released 52 Americans that had been held hostage for 444 days. The hostages were flown to Algeria and then to a U.S. base in Wiesbaden, West Germany. The release occurred minutes after the U.S. presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan.
1986 - The U.S. observed the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
1994 - Shannon Faulkner became the first woman to attend classes at The Citadel in South Carolina. Faulkner joined the cadet corps in August 1995 under court order but soon dropped out.
1997 - Bill Clinton was inaugurated for his second term as president of the United States.
1998 - American researchers announced that they had cloned calves that may produce medicinal milk.

Haiti: An Unwelcome Katrina Redux by Cynthia McKinney -- Why did the United States build its 5th largest embassy in Haiti?

China Punishes Some Banks Lending Too Much -- China punished some banks, including Bank of China <3988.HK>, for lending too much, after a surge in new loans this year increased inflationary pressures, sources said on Wednesday citing central bank figures. The punishment, effective for three months, will be either extended or intensified if these banks do not ease their lending pace, the sources told Reuters.

At Least 600, 000 Cribs Recalled After Child Death -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of 20 models of Dorel Asia cribs with both drop sides and fixed front rails. Some of the Chinese- and Vietnamese-made cribs were recalled because their drop sides can detach, creating a space where a child can be trapped and suffocate or strangle. A 6-month-old boy from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, strangled after getting trapped in the crib when the drop-side hardware broke. His parents were using the crib after trying to repair it themselves.

Obama’s Gun Ban List Is Out -- Here it is, folks, and it is bad news. The framework for legislation is always laid, and the Democrats have the votes to pass anything they want to impose upon us. Read More...

Stunning upset in MA as Brown wins over Coakley -- Republican Scott Brown tonight pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Massachusetts political history, defeating Democrat Martha Coakley to become the state’s next United States senator and potentially derailing President Obama’s hopes for a health care overhaul.

No deaths from vitamins, minerals, amino acids or herbs -- There was not even one death caused by a dietary supplement in 2008, according to the most recent information collected by the U.S. National Poison Data System.

Proof lacking on e-cigarettes' safety, experts warn -- There is a worrying lack of safety data on electronic cigarettes, despite their growing popularity with the public, two leading Greek researchers have warned. In the British Medical Journal, they say that without more evidence it is impossible to know if such products actually do more harm than good. Some studies have raised safety fears, but retailers argue e-cigarettes are a healthy alternative to the real thing.

H1N1 swine flu hoax falls apart at the seams -- The great swine flu hoax of 2009 is now falling apart at the seams as one country after another unloads hundreds of millions of doses of unused swine flu vaccines.
 * WHO surprised at lack of interest in swine flu vaccine -- The H1N1 influenza pandemic brought no "devastating surprises," but what has surprised public health agencies is the public's lack of interest in getting vaccinated, Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said yesterday.

Joliet Illinois seeks hike in EPA radium limits -- Some communities pay to dump radium in a landfill, but Joliet and others use a cheaper alternative, mixing it with waste material that is sold to farmers as fertilizer.

Brown unveils new measures to track terrorist suspects -- Gordon Brown has announced enhanced measures to track terrorist suspects and strengthen airport security after the attempted Christmas Day bomb plot.

Take a look at chemicals in processed food -- Americans spend about 90 percent of their total food budget on processed foods - and we wonder why we have a health care crisis.

Thomas Woods, Jr. on Popularizing Freedom, and Why Real Libertarian Conservatives are Anti-State and Anti-War -- (RE: Sarah Palin) People like her, I think, because they see in her a normal, plain-speaking American who doesn't gratuitously ridicule what they believe, and because she is packaged as a maverick of some sort. If only she were. At the slightest prompting she immediately adopted the neoconservative line on foreign policy (and in fact she canceled a meeting with representatives of her pro-life constituency during the GOP convention so she could attend a meeting with AIPAC officials). During the campaign she supported the financial bailouts. Oh, but she had to, someone could reply. All right, then what kind of maverick is she?

Stupid News: Man shot, crashes while driving to hospital, charged with DUI -- A Syracuse man was shot Monday and charged with driving while intoxicated after attempting to drive himself to the hospital.

Socially, What Happens During a Bear Market? -- During bull markets such as in the 1950s and the 1980s, most people are centrists. In bear markets, you see extreme polarization. You get leftists and rightists on one axis, and authoritarians and champions of individual liberty on the other, battling it out for power. When the next general decline in world stock markets takes place, the popularity of all incumbents will suffer. If the markets fall as far as cycles suggest in the next few years, most incumbents will not win re-election. But don’t confuse interesting politics with good fun. It’s usually scary.

Little Christian school out debates them all again -- The Virginia evangelical Christian school, founded by the leading Christian homeschool organization, is the only college or university to win the American Collegiate Moot Court Association national championship more than once.

Is the US economy being tanked by mistake or intent? -- The government wants Americans to believe the greatest economic collapse in history was the result of ineptness and mistakes yet still have confidence in their financial institutions.

IMF to Haiti: freeze public wages -- IMF announced a loan to Haiti; Debt relief activists tell me that these loans came with conditions, including raising prices for electricity, refusing pay increases to all public employees except those making minimum wage and keeping inflation low.

France alarmed over anthrax tainted heroin in Europe -- The French health ministry issued a warning on Tuesday after eight people died and seven fell sick in two European countries from using heroin contaminated by anthrax.

Outsourcing war: the rise of private military contractors -- In The Prince, Machiavelli (May 1469 - June 1527) wrote: "The mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous, and if anyone supports his state by the arms of mercenaries, he will never stand firm or sure, as they are disunited, ambitious, without discipline, faithless, bold amongst friends, cowardly amongst enemies, they have no fear of God, and keep no faith with men.

VIDEO: Phoenix police pepper spray protestors-video -- "Mainstream" media only tell the Phoenix Police's side of the story. Hear from the witnesses and those who were actually sprayed at the rally against thug Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio on January 16, 2010.

The thin blue line -- The “Thin Blue Line”. It describes something much greater than the title of a second rate movie. It describes the thin blue line of civilian law enforcement officers that is the only thing that separates America from utter chaos. It is not too difficult to imagine what would happen if that thin blue line were to disappear or become overwhelmed.

CIA contractor now flying a spy drone over Haiti -- A controversial CIA contractor has found new work in Haiti, flying drones on disaster recovery duty.
When last we heard from Evergreen International Aviation, the Oregon-based firm was offering to post sentries at local voting centers during the 2008 election, “detaining troublemakers" and making sure voters “do not get out of control.”
 * Contractor UAVs in skies over Haiti -- Evergreen International Aviation, a McMinnville, Oregon-based aviation services company is flying at least one of its hand-launched Elbit-made Skylark UAVs in Haiti, and Evergreen’s Sam White tells Ares that the company will “probably work with the press to help them download images.

Balad burn pit harmed troops living one mile away -- When McBreairty got back from Iraq in 2004, she desperately tried to understand what was causing her symptoms: shortness of breath, muscle fatigue, muscle spasms, fatigue and dry eyes. She found that others had similar, often equally puzzling, problems. Among the 40 people in her shop alone, five have neurological or respiratory issues. One thing they had in common was that they all lived in the housing area at Balad known as H6 during their tours of duty in Iraq. H6 sat a mile southeast of the burn pit, and on many days was downwind of the plume.

Valley of the dogbots of war -- Ever heard of the Boston BigDog? No, it’s not a new gourmet sandwich—it’s “the most advanced quadruped robot on earth,” the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics family of robots, designed to walk, run and climb on rough terrain, and carry heavy loads. The name is misleading; the BigDog looks more like a headless deer or donkey than a dog, and it’s certainly not anything you’d want sleeping at the foot of your bed, or hanging around your home. In short, the Boston BigDog is very creepy indeed.

President Obama Establishes Council of Governors -- Council will be reviewing such matters as involving the National Guard of the various States; homeland defense; civil support; synchronization and integration of State and Federal military activities in the United States; and other matters of mutual interest pertaining to National Guard, homeland defense, and civil support activities."

FBI broke law for years in phone record searches -- The FBI illegally collected more than 2,000 U.S. telephone call records between 2002 and 2006 by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not exist or simply persuading phone companies to provide records, according to internal bureau memos and interviews. FBI officials issued approvals after the fact to justify their actions.

Army sets new record for suicides -- With 160 active-duty soldiers killing themselves last year, the US Army set a new record for suicides. As Jason Ditz reports, "This surpassed the previous record of 140 in 2008, and the previous record before that was 115 in 2007.

Study finds RFID readers may affect pacemakers , but pose no urgent risk -- A study published this month in a medical journal shows that while interrogators of passive RFID tags do cause some electromagnetic interference to implantable pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), the devices pose no urgent health risks. However, the study's authors believe that the "continued proliferation of RFID without taking implantable pacemaker and ICD EMC into consideration could potentially cause clinically significant events for patients."

RFID in libraries -- all the books will be equipped with RFID tags, allowing large stacks of books to be placed on a reader to check books in or out.

Judges on trial: How to promote judicial accountability -- "Judicial independence and accountability are key to a sound judicial branch," says Dr. Rick Kearney, co-author of the study and director of NC State's School of Public and International Affairs. "And the judicial performance evaluation (JPE) system makes judges accountable, without affecting judicial independence."

Earthquake threat lurks for US too -- As disaster crews and scientists investigate the havoc wrought in Haiti, questions emerge as to whether such a vastly destructive disaster could happen at home in the United States. In fact, cities are located near dangerous earthquake zones all throughout the country, from the most infamous on the West Coast to potential time bombs in the Midwest and even on the Eastern Seaboard.

Top 15 chemical additives in your food

VIDEO: CON-tinental Airlines Steals Your Bags: A Story of Unsuspected Crooks


Today in History Tuesday January 19, 2010
1825 - Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett of New York City patented a canning process to preserve salmon, oysters and lobsters.
1861 - Georgia seceded from the Union.
1883 - Thomas Edison's first village electric lighting system using overhead wires began operation in Roselle, NJ.
1907 - The first film reviews appeared in "Variety" magazine.
1915 - George Claude, of Paris, France, patented the neon discharge tube for use in advertising signs.
1937 - Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record. He flew from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.
1944 - The U.S. federal government relinquished control of the nation's railroads after the settlement of a wage dispute.
1949 - The salary of the President of the United States was increased from $75,000 to $100,000 with an additional $50,000 expense allowance for each year in office.
1953 - Sixty-eight percent of all TV sets in the U.S. were tuned to CBS-TV, as Lucy Ricardo, of "I Love Lucy," gave birth to a baby boy.
1955 - U.S. President Eisenhower allowed a filmed news conference to be used on television (and in movie newsreels) for the first time.
1977 - U.S. President Ford pardoned Iva Toguri D'Aquino (the "Tokyo Rose").
1979 - Former U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell was released on parole after serving 19 months at a federal prison in Alabama.
1981 - The U.S. and Iran signed an agreement paving the way for the release of 52 Americans held hostage for more than 14 months and for arrangements to unfreeze Iranian assets and to resolve all claims against Iran.
1993 - IBM announced a loss of $4.97 billion for 1992. It was the largest single-year loss in U.S. corporate history.
1996 - U.S. first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury. The investigation was concerning the discovery of billing records related to the Whitewater real estate investment venture.

Wellesley teachers given insulin instead of H1N1 vaccine -- A medical mix-up made some teachers in Wellesley sick. Several staff members at the Schofield School thought they were being given the H1N1 vaccine on Friday. Instead, they were given a shot of insulin.

Soldier Charged With Child Porn Possession After Receiving 'Innocent' Photos of Niece -- The family of an Illinois National Guard soldier said Friday that he's been charged with possession of child pornography in Afghanistan over innocent snapshots of a 4-year-old relative in a swimsuit.

Haiti earthquake 'strange' -- strongest in 200 years.
 * Photos from Haiti
 * Was the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti manmade? -- In her book Planet Earth: The Latest Weapon of War, renowned scientist and nuclear activist Dr. Rosalie Bertell says such electromagnetic weapons "have the ability to transmit explosive and other effects such as earthquake induction across intercontinental distances to any selected target site on the globe with force levels equivalent to major nuclear explosions."
 * Earthquakes; natural or manmade?

Serrapeptase Adventure Update from our friend Mike Tawse in the UK -- Serrapeptase: Understanding The Miracle

U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret 'Jesus' Bible Codes -- Coded references to New Testament Bible passages about Jesus Christ are inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the United States military by a Michigan company, an ABC News investigation has found. Read More...

Despite FDA concern, American Chemistry Council says BPA is still safe for everyone -- The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has never met a chemical it didn't like. The organization is a chemical advocacy group whose members include all the largest chemical producers such as Monsanto, Bayer, Merck, Chevron, DuPont and many more.
 * Meanwhile, new study confirms link between BPA and heart disease -- a new study just published in the journal PLoS ONE provides the most compelling  evidence so far that BPA exposure is dangerous to the cardiovascular system.

Fort Hood Report: More questions than answers -- In their new report on the Fort Hood army base tragedy, the Department of Defense (DoD) may have intended to provide the public with an explanation about what happened and how to ensure it never happens again.
 * REPORT: Protecting the Force: Lessons From Fort Hood

Why is Blackwater/XE in Somalia? -- Press TV reports that “There are . . . allegations of US-sponsored bomb plots in Mogadishu , the capital of Somalia . As of 12 Jan 2010, at least 18 people have been killed in clashes between rival factions in southern and central Somalia , and there are reports that Blackwater/Xe mercenaries have entered the country.” That’s for starters.

Kraft and Cadbury agree $18.9 billion deal -- British candy maker Cadbury on Tuesday accepted and recommended to shareholders Kraft's improved takeover offer worth $18.9 billion, potentially ending a months-long corporate battle to create the world's largest maker of chocolate and sweets.

Irony: Andrew Jackson On a Federal Reserve Note -- Recent events have proved that the paper-money system of this country may be used as an engine to undermine your free institutions, and that those who desire to engross all power in the hands of the few and to govern by corruption or force are aware of its power and prepared to employ it.
 * Full context of Andrew Jackson's Farewell Address:
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=67087

Doctors without Borders plane prevented from landing in Haiti -- Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urges that its cargo planes carrying essential medical and surgical material be allowed to land in Port-au-Prince in order to treat thousands of wounded waiting for vital surgical operations. Priority must be given immediately to planes carrying lifesaving equipment and medical personnel.

Intelligence ties to the underwear bomber -- Could the Christmas day bomb attempt on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 have been a false flag set up by various intelligence agencies with the goal of tightening the grip of governments on its people while enriching a few well-connected individuals and corporations?

US accused of occupying Haiti as troops flood in -- The French minister in charge of humanitarian relief called on the UN to "clarify" the American role amid claims the military build up was hampering aid efforts.
 * Also accused of occupation by Venezuela -- "I read that 3,000 soldiers are arriving, Marines armed as if they were going to war. There is not a shortage of guns there, my God. Doctors, medicine, fuel, field hospitals, that's what the United States should send," Chavez said on his weekly television show. "They are occupying Haiti undercover.

Researchers: Facebook vulnerable to clickjacking -- Researcher Nitesh Dhanjani also said a design flaw in Facebook is granting third-party apps permission to access user profile data without express approval from users. "Using ClickJacking I also could fool users to click whatever I want: adding me as their friend, delete their account, and even open their camera and microphone using flash (Older versions then 10.x), or install Facebook applications that post their Web camera and microphone every time they connected to Facebook," Narkolayev wrote on his blog. He demonstrates an example of an attack in a video on his site and acknowledges that other sites are vulnerable to this type of attack, as well. Twitter was hit by a series of clickjacking attacks last year.

US military is liasoning with extraterrestrial life according to independent sources -- Independent sources have claimed an on-going set of face-to-face meetings between U.S. military officials and extraterrestrial life. The sources reveal that senior U.S. Navy officers have played a leading role in an inter-services working group responsible for the meetings, and that different extraterrestrial groups are allegedly involved.

A North American security perimeter on the Horizon? -- Plans for a North America security perimeter might have seemed like a pipe dream just a short time ago, but it could become a reality sooner than one thinks.

Ancient Chinese herbal remedy more effective for H1n1 than prescription antivirals -- An ancient Chinese remedy that was used to fight the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic may prove effective against the H1N1 swine flu, according to a study conducted by researchers from Kaohsiung Medial University in Taiwan and published in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Natural Products.

Transgene from GM corn detected in soil animals -- Scientists in Canada have found evidence of the transgene present in genetically modified Roundup Ready corn in various soil-dwelling animals, pointing to "serious implications for environmental health and human safety."

Workers in Taiwan protest over toxic exposure to chemical used to make mobile phone panels -- "The truth has been hidden from public view. There are people dying from long-term exposure to the toxicant used in the factory but no one is paying attention to that. The company is a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Wintek Corporation, one of the world's leading producers of small mobile phone panels and touch panels.

Indiana lawmakers push freeway speed cameras -- Lawmakers in Indiana, swayed by the potential budget enhancement that recently convinced California's governor, have introduced legislation that would authorize photo ticketing in the state.

Lock ‘em up: Oklahoma bill would impound certain uninsured vehicles -- The bill would give law enforcement authority to seize uninsured vehicles licensed in the state during traffic stops and accident investigations.

Venezuela's Chavez/Citgo renew cheap heating oil program in US -- Citgo, the U.S. subsidiary of state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA, renewed a program under which it has provided cheap heating oil to hundreds of thousands of U.S. low-income households since 2005.

The world knows little of it's hacker foes -- If the most recent cyber attacks on Google show anything, it is that the world has so far seen only a rough sketch of what it is up against.

Making it hard for you to read the news and be informed -- NY Times prepares to charge it's online users. More than 1,200 news organizations worldwide have signed up with Journalism Online, a new media payment firm whose clients are expected to start rolling out fees soon.

Watch out for weather police and vertical farmers -- A WEATHER police force could be operating in 20 years' time to stop "cloud theft" and surgeons could install extra memory in people's minds, according to a vision of the future endorsed by Ministers today.

Obama's Executive Orders and the Constitutional Militia by Devvy Kidd -- The Internet has literally been melting down the past week over the second, dangerous Executive Order issued by Marxist Barack Obama. Below are links to the documents I wish to bring to your attention. Not only are these Executive Orders an in your face blueprint for tyranny, the timing is what should concern everyone.

Our revolting elites -- Those of us who are not part of the elite's fashionable revolution are "racist, sexist and homophobic." We are fit objects for extermination or re-education because, in the end, we just don't get it.

Platinum, palladium Exchange Traded Funds a bit hit in US -- The recently launched platinum and palladium exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the US have witnessed a huge buying and within a week’s time the ETFs have a holding of over 200,000 ounces.

Tips on Constructing a Farm Pond

Glowing walls could kill off the lightbulb -- Light-emitting wallpaper may begin to replace light bulbs from 2012, according to a government body that supports low-carbon technology.

A sonic blaster so loud it could be deadly -- the Thunder Generator really is a blaster, producing a series of ear-splitting explosions. Some are so loud, they could be deadly.

No skiing at Scottish resort - too much snow -- Cairngorm Mountain in northeast Scotland more often deals with a lack of snow but this year it is grappling with a different problem -- 185 centimeters (73 inches) of snow since Christmas in the worst bout of winter weather since the 1970s.


Today in History Monday January 18, 2010
1803 - Thomas Jefferson, in secret communication with Congress, sopught authorization for the first official exploration by the U.S. government.
1778 - English navigator Captain James Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands, which he called the "Sandwich Islands."
1788 - The first English settlers arrived in Australia's Botany Bay to establish a penal colony. The group moved north eight days later and settled at Port Jackson.
1896 - The x-ray machine was exhibited for the first time.
1911 - For the first time an aircraft landed on a ship. Pilot Eugene B. Ely flew onto the deck of the USS Pennsylvania in San Francisco harbor.
1919 - The World War I Peace Congress opened in Versailles, France.
1943 - U.S. commercial bakers stopped selling sliced bread. Only whole loaves were sold during the ban until the end of World War II.
1948 - "The Original Amateur Hour" debuted. The show was on the air for 22 years.
1950 - The federal tax on oleomargarine was repealed.
1957 - The first, non-stop, around-the-world, jet flight came to an end at Riverside, CA. The plane was refueled in mid-flight by huge aerial tankers.
1978 - The European Court of Human Rights cleared the British government of torture but found it guilty of inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners in Northern Ireland.
1987 - For the first time in history the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) was seen by over 100 million viewers. The audience was measured during the week of January 12-18.
1990 - In an FBI sting, Washington, DC, Mayor Marion Barry was arrested for drug possession. He was later convicted of a misdemeanor.
1991 - Eastern Airlines shut down after 62 years in business due to financial problems.
1993 - The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was observed in all 50 U.S. states for the first time.
1995 - A network of caves were discovered near the town of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc in southern France. The caves contained paintings and engravings that were 17,000 to 20,000 years old.

3 More Banks Failed this weekend -- Check out the list!  Keep checking back for even more failures!

Drugs like Tylenol can be contaminated with mold & chemicals -- A recent recall of the OTC pain reliever TYLENOL Arthritis Pain Caplets has revealed that drugs can be contaminated with mold and chemicals when they are transported and stored on "engineered wood" pallets.

Tylenol recall for contamination -- At the core of the Tylenol Arthritis Recall 2009 is a musty odor caused by 2,4,6-tribromoanisole. What is more concerning is what led to the formation of the chemical to begin with.

Moritz Kraemer: Is the Euro Headed for a Breakup? -- But divergence in creditworthiness is hardly a phenomenon created by the economic crisis: For example, euro-zone sovereign ratings assigned by Standard & Poor's had begun to move apart around five years ago, following downgrades of Italy, Portugal and Greece. Today, investors and commentators appear to be asking more fundamental questions, going to the core of the euro project. Once the preserve of fringe political commentators, speculation about the possibility of a euro-zone break-up has now crept into mainstream economic and political debate.

Willem Buiter warns of massive dollar collapse -- He said that the dollar had been kept elevated in recent years by what some called "dark matter" or "American alpha" - an assumption that the US could earn more on its overseas investments than foreign investors could make on their American assets. However, this notion had been gradually dismantled in recent years, before being dealt a fatal blow by the current financial crisis, he said. "The past eight years of imperial overstretch, hubris and domestic and international abuse of power on the part of the Bush administration has left the US materially weakened financially, economically, politically and morally," he said. "Even the most hard-nosed, Guantanamo Bay-indifferent potential foreign investor in the US must recognize that its financial system has collapsed."

Surveillance Society: Negative Aspects Of Government Data Mining -- The collected information is often analyzed by law enforcement software to create profiles of individuals. Your Facebook page, purchasing habits, hobbies and taste in movies along with other records are carefully scrutinized and analyzed. A combination of this information, surveillance cameras, facial recognition technology, emotional recognition technology and other real time access to information allows for incredibly detailed profiling of the public. Government entities can and do use the personal information they collect to map out social networks, identify behavioral tendencies and to identify potentially undesirable individuals.

Analyst: Adjuvanted H1N1 vaccines helped stir Europe's debate -- The use of adjuvanted vaccines, an unfamiliar technology, helped spark mistrust that may have contributed to the recent allegations in Europe that pharmaceutical companies manipulated governments and international agencies by hyping the H1N1 pandemic threat, according to a British market analyst who follows infectious disease issues.

CDC says 20% of Americans received H1N1 vaccine -- As 2009 ended, an estimated 55 million Americans had been infected with the H1N1 pandemic flu and roughly one in five Americans had been vaccinated against the disease, the CDC said.

Goldman Sachs bankers set for 81% rise in bonuses -- bankers are forecast to enjoy an 81% rise in their pay and bonuses for 2009, even though the bank may be forced to respond to political pressure by reducing the amount of money it sets aside for employee payouts in the fourth quarter of the year.

Security concerns caused doctors to leave hospital, abandon victims -- Earthquake victims, writhing in pain and grasping at life, watched doctors and nurses walk away from a field hospital Friday night after a Belgian medical team evacuated the area, saying it was concerned about security. The decision left CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta as the only doctor at the hospital to get the patients through the night.

Doctors without Borders plane prevented from landing in Haiti -- Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urges that its cargo planes carrying essential medical and surgical material be allowed to land in Port-au-Prince in order to treat thousands of wounded waiting for vital surgical operations. Priority must be given immediately to planes carrying lifesaving equipment and medical personnel.

Haitian quake occurred in complex active seismic region -- The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that triggered disastrous destruction and mounting death tolls in Haiti this week occurred in a highly complex tangle of tectonic faults near the intersection of the Caribbean and North American crustal plates, according to a quake expert at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Industry corruption, shoddy construction likely contributed to Haiti quake devastation -- The death toll in the massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti Jan. 12 is expected to continue to rise in the coming days, likely in large part because of corruption and resulting shoddy construction practices in the poor Caribbean nation, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder seismologist.

Lawyers poised for lawsuit in Massachusetts election -- Lawyers are being positioned even over the weekend to file a legal action quickly in support of the GOP candidate in the Massachusetts special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy should he succeed in defeating a hand-picked Democratic successor.

Obama confidant's spine chilling proposal -- Sunstein advocates that the Government's stealth infiltration should be accomplished by sending covert agents into "chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups." He also proposes that the Government make secret payments to so-called "independent" credible voices to bolster the Government's messaging.

Michelle Obama's toxic garden -- The problem stems from a previous administration’s having used sewage sludge for fertilizer. Which means it will never be certified organic.

Bee expert, chemical rep clash over pesticides -- Some beekeepers believe, as bees pollinate the plants, they are exposed to these pesticides and it eventually kills them. Manufacturers of the chemicals say they are safe.

Body with very long fingers found off Plum Island -- An alleged mutated human body washed ashore on Plumb Island, a small island where the U.S. Government typically studies dangerous animal diseases.

Maine may require cell phones to carry cancer warnings -- Representative Andrea Boland, a Democrat from Maine, has introduced legislation that would require all mobile phones sold in the state to bear a label warning people that the devices may cause brain cancer. Citing studies that highlight such risks, Boland plans to make her case before the legislature in January in favor of the bill which, if enacted, would make Maine the first state to mandate hazard warnings for mobile devices.

Video: Anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom -- Police officers confronted Hawaiian demonstrators who were commemorating the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom.

Airport full body scanners break rules on privacy -- THE introduction of full-body scanners at British airports would breach laws protecting personal privacy, the equality watchdog has warned the home secretary.

Shades of Katrina: 4 days in Haitians asked 'Is anyone coming to help?' -- "It has been four days since this thing," the man, Jean-Claude Hilaire, began. "And nobody has come yet. My area, Bel Air, is devastated. About 200,000 people have lost their homes. Twenty thousand – kids, pregnant women – are sleeping hungry in the local park. That's long enough. I need to know: is anybody coming? Is anybody going to do anything?"

The militarization of emergency aid to Haiti: Is it a humanitarian operation or an invasion -- The overall humanitarian operation is not being led by civilian governmental agencies such as FEMA or USAID, but by the Pentagon. The dominant decision making role has been entrusted to US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).

6 great quakes to come -- what the webbots are seeing.

RAND Corporation advises Army on creating a National Stability Police Force -- The Rand Corporation was asked by the US Army to prepare a report recommending whether or not the US Needed a National Stability Police force. Basically a call for American "Brown Shirts" Rand's answer was a resounding yes.

Thousands of Americans died from H1N1 even after receiving vaccines -- The CDC is intentionally not tracking how many of the dead were previously vaccinated. They want you (and mainstream media journalists) to mistakenly believe that ZERO deaths occurred in those who were vaccinated. But this is blatantly false. Being vaccinated against H1N1 swine flu offers absolutely no reduction in mortality from swine flu infections. And that means roughly 20% of the 11,160 Americans who died from the swine flu were probably already vaccinated against swine flu. That comes to around 2,200 deaths in people who were vaccinated!

Swine flu as elusive as WMD, the real threat is mad scientist syndrome -- Remember the warnings of 65,000 dead? Health chiefs should admit they were wrong – yet again – about a global pandemic.

Nations scrap orders for swine flu vaccine -- Demand for vaccines to combat H1N1 influenza has fizzled out because the pandemic has proven to be less aggressive than was first feared.

Obama executive order seeks to integrate state & federal forces -- In the wake of the Flight 253 provocation, over-hyped terrorism panics, and last year's Big Pharma and media-engineered hysteria over the H1N1 flu pandemic, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13528 on January 11.
 * Related links to article: Executive Order 13528  - Operation Cable Splicer  - Operation Garden Plot

FEMA drowns millions of homeowners in flood insurance premiums -- Many homeowners are getting notices they must purchase flood insurance for the first time, even though they may live in areas never known to flood....as in, never!

Apathy is allowing the death of America -- "Yes, you have our permission to be angry with Washington. I'M MAD AND YOU WILL BE, TOO..." Read More...

For bankers: Who's the boss? -- An informal poll of top economic bloggers seems to indicate that these banking executives are accountable mainly to themselves.

Can the U.S. Navy make jet fuel out of seawater? -- U.S. Navy scientists are investigating a method for transforming ocean water into jet fuel as a way to maintain U.S. military superiority even in the face of dwindling global oil supplies.

Global uranium supply & demand-from Council on Foreign Relations -- Interest in nuclear power is increasing as the world's demand grows for cheap, reliable electricity, along with the need to reduce air pollution.

VIDEO: A message from Transport Canada -- Funny video on airport security.

Nature's Alphabet photos -- Interesting Walt Girdner photos


Today in History Friday January 15, 2010
1777 - The people of New Connecticut (now the state of Vermont) declared their independence.
1844 - The University of Notre Dame received its charter from the state of Indiana.
1863 - "The Boston Morning Journal" became the first paper in the U.S. to be published on wood pulp paper.
1870 - A cartoon by Thomas Nast titled "A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" appeared in "Harper's Weekly." The cartoon used the donkey to symbolize the Democratic Party for the first time.
1892 - "Triangle" magazine in Springfield, MA, published the rules for a brand new game. The original rules involved attaching a peach baskets to a suspended board. It is now known as basketball.
1908 - Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority became America's first Greek-letter organization established by African-American college women.
1936 - The first, all glass, windowless building was completed in Toledo, OH. The building was the new home of the Owens-Illinois Glass Company Laboratory.
1943 - The Pentagon was dedicated as the world's largest office building just outside Washington, DC, in Arlington, VA. The structure covers 34 acres of land and has 17 miles of corridors.
1953 - Harry S Truman became the first U.S. President to use radio and television to give his farewell as he left office.
1955 - The first solar-heated, radiation-cooled house was built by Raymond Bliss in Tucson, AZ.
1973 - U.S. President Nixon announced the suspension of all U.S. offensive action in North Vietnam. He cited progress in peace negotiations as the reason.
1976 - Sara Jane Moore was sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of U.S. President Ford in San Francisco.
2003 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Congress had permission to repeatedly extend copyright protection.

Thought For The Day from our friend Mike Tawse in the UK -- This thought fits The Power Hour very well. Be sure to check it out.

Trade Flows Show China Must Revalue Yuan Soon -- Surging Chinese exports and an expansion in the U.S. trade deficit have shown this week that a revaluation in the Chinese yuan is the most urgent item of unfinished business for the global economy. Most economists believe a modest appreciation in the yuan is inevitable sometime this year. The latest move by the People's Bank of China -- an incremental increase in its T-bill rate last week and a hike in reserve ratios and one-year T-bills on Tuesday -- could even pave the way for this.

The Federal Reserve Paid the Federal Government $46 Billion in 2009. The FED Seeks Control, Not Profits -- The Federal Reserve System is not about making money at the expense of the government. It is about using a government-granted monopoly over money to regulate the economy to the benefit of a handful of large banks. This has always been its primary function. The banking system is a cartel. The Federal Reserve System is the cartel's protector and enforcer.

Are there fake gold bars in Ft Knox & Bank of England? -- A recent discovery — in October of 2009 — has been suppressed by the main stream media but has been circulating among the “big money” brokers and financial kingpins and is just now being revealed to the public. It involves the gold in Fort Knox — the US Treasury gold — that is the equity of our national wealth. In short, millions (with an “m”) of gold bars are fake! Read More...

6,600 properties in Genesee County have overdue taxes, headed to foreclosure -- The county will provide some of the last notices that those properties are sliding into foreclosure in an advertised notice in The Filnt Journal Jan. 21. Without a special exemption or paying off the 2007 taxes and penalties, the county is on schedule to foreclose on about 6,600 properties on March 31. "I can only hope (this is the bottom)," said Jamie Curtis, chairman of the county Board of Commissioners. "The only way out of this is to put people back to work ... It's all about the jobs." Comment: Thank you NAFTA! (Thanks Jimm)!!

Food security collapses in Haiti as machete wielding gangs take to the streets -- Overnight, Haiti has gone from an organized, civil nation to a scenario of total chaos with gangs running wild through the streets, ransacking shops and fighting over food with machetes.But wherever you live, your city is just one natural disaster away from total chaos (Can you say Katrina?)

Homeland Security halts deportations to Haiti after earthquake -- The Homeland Security Department announced Wednesday afternoon that it will halt the deportation of illegal Haitian immigrants in the wake of a devastating 7.0 earthquake in that country. But some lawmakers and immigration advocates are lobbying President Obama go further and grant Haitians in the U.S. a safe haven through a controversial emergency program.

Was the Haiti earthquake a result of weaponized earthquake generation? -- Ask this question...why were there no tsunami warnings?

Health officials, experts reject 'false pandemic' charges -- Leading public health officials and experts have sharply rejected charges from some European officials that pharmaceutical companies used exaggerated claims about the H1N1 pandemic threat to scare governments into buying unnecessary stockpiles of vaccines. (quick! We need to do damage control!)

Merck sat on data showing Vioxx risks for years before pulling drug -- A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine has revealed that information about heart risks from pharmaceutical giant Merck's Vioxx drug was available in 2000, four years before the Merck pulled the drug from the market.

Obama to meddle with your retirement account? -- Assistant Labor Secretary Phyllis C. Borzi and Deputy Assistant Treasury Mark Iwry are planning to stage a public comment period before implementing regulations that would require private investors to structure IRA and 401(k) accounts into what could amount to a U.S. Treasury debt-backed government annuity.

A sorry saga - Obama signs Native American apology resolution; fails to draw attention to it -- Resolution was buried in the Defense spending bill.

Prisoners taking work from private sector -- The president recently held a "Jobs Summit" at the White House. Topping the agenda was the creation of "green jobs." With the unemployment rate in Michigan hovering above 15 percent and the nation at 10 percent, a great deal of hope is being thrust upon the renewable energy industry and the promise of "green jobs." It appears, however, the administration is content with having those jobs performed by prisoners as opposed to law-abiding citizens.

Pentagon weighs cleanup as it plans Iraq exit -- As the U.S. military prepares to leave Iraq, the Pentagon is wrestling with questions about environmental cleanup on the bases it plans to transfer to the Iraqi Army by December 2011.At issue on and around the bases are unexploded ordinance, depleted uranium from munitions, spilled oil and contaminated ash in burn pits..

On the lighter side: You just have to laugh -- Weight Watchers floor collapses under weight of clients The floor of a Weight Watchers clinic in Sweden collapsed beneath a group of 20 members of the weight loss programme who were gathered for a meeting. Luckily, all of the dieters escaped uninjured.

UK: Swine flu task force's links to giant pharma: more than half the 'experts' have ties to drug firms -- Eleven of the 20 members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) have done work for the pharmaceutical industry or are linked to it through their universities.

Household chemicals and drugs found in biosolids from wastewater treatment plants - (that's what they sell as fertilizer to put on your garden) -- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists found that biosolids contain relatively high concentrations (hundreds of milligrams per kilogram) of the active ingredients commonly found in a variety of household products and drugs.

Oh So STUPID NEWS!! White House budget director blames old computers for ineffective government -- A big reason why the government is inefficient and ineffective is because Washington has outdated technology.

Obama information czar calls for banning free speech -- Obama’s information czar wants to tax or ban outright, as in make illegal, political opinions that the government doesn’t approve of.

Obama regulation czar advocated removing people's organs without consent -- Cass Sunstein has advocated a policy under which the government would “presume” someone has consented to having his or her organs removed for transplantation into someone else when they die unless that person has explicitly indicated that his or her organs not be taken.

Obamacare has revealed the moral bankruptcy of the Senate -- Here's where we're at on socialized health care. The House and Senate have passed ObamaCare bills, but the two versions are very different. So, the bill can't go to the President until they iron out the differences. Make no mistake about it. This legislation moves us down the road towards socialism, and it will result in even more gun owners being disqualified from owning firearms.

42 tons of poison to be dumped on island to eradicate rats -- In a radical move to eliminate pests and save local wildlife, pristine Lord Howe Island will be blitzed from the air with poison. this is the first time such a project has been contemplated in a place with a substantial human population. Lord Howe's 350 permanent residents will be given muzzles for their pets and are being told to keep an eye on their children while the bombardment occurs.

Haiti's aftershocks -- Here is a list of the earthquakes located by the USGS and contributing networks for the 10-degree Map Centered at 20°N, 70°W. Most recent events are at the top.

How to survive an earthquake-info sites
           * http://geology.com/articles/earthquake-safety.shtml
           * http://www.ehow.com/how_2264255_survive-an-earthquake.html
           * http://www.secretsofsurvival.com/survival/earthquake.html

The truth about Haiti's suffering -- While Washington spends $1,000 billion on wars allegedly to combat the threat of terrorism, Haiti’s poor – whose country’s economy is valued at $7 billion – show us a sobering perspective on what a real threat to life looks like.

Democrats plan to 'steal the vote" -- A political correspondent is making waves with his stern warning that Democrats are scheming to manipulate the electoral process this election year by implementing a federal mandate to involuntarily register millions of people to vote – making the system ripe for unprecedented fraud and abuse.

Obama staffer wants cognitive infiltration of conspiracy groups -- In a 2008 academic paper, President Barack Obama’s appointee to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs advocated “cognitive infiltration” of groups that advocate “conspiracy theories” like the ones surrounding 9/11.

US preparing the military" just in case" -- The US says it does not want to take military action against Iran but America's top military officer said Thursday it is preparing the military just in case.

Global space warfare technologies -- INFLUENCES, TRENDS, AND THE ROAD AHEAD.

Depleted uranium weapons cause deformed babies in Gaza -- The report attributes this increased number of deformities to the use of weapons containing toxic and radioactive elements.

DARPA takes on suspended animation; zombie pigs, squirrels and hypersleep -- The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is now funding research that may one day bring humans to a zombie-like form of hibernation. The motivation, however, is not so much space travel as emergency trauma care for wounded soldiers on the battlefield.

Scariest chart of the day -- Fallout from the financial crisis will continue well beyond the current recovery. Most critically, it will likely lower GDP for an extended period.

An analysis of common survival strategies

Today in History Thursday January 14, 2010
1639 - Connecticut's first constitution, the "Fundamental Orders," was adopted.
1784 - The United States ratified a peace treaty with England ending the Revolutionary War.
1873 - John Hyatt's 1869 invention ‘Celluloid’ was registered as a trademark.
1878 - Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the telephone for Britain's Queen Victoria.
1882 - The Myopia Hunt Club, in Winchester, MA, became the first country club in the United States.
1943 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to fly in an airplane while in office. He flew from Miami, FL, to French Morocco where he met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to discuss World War II.
1954 - The Hudson Motor Car Company merged with Nash-Kelvinator. The new company was called the American Motors Corporation.
1963 - George C. Wallace was sworn in as governor of Alabama.
1969 - An explosion aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier Enterprise off Hawaii killed 25 crew members.
1994 - U.S. President Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed Kremlin accords to stop aiming missiles at any nation and to dismantle the nuclear arsenal of Ukraine.
1998 - Whitewater prosecutors questioned Hillary Rodham Clinton at the White House for 10 minutes about the gathering of FBI background files on past Republican political appointees.
1998 - In Dallas, researchers report an enzyme that slows the aging process and cell death.
1999 - The impeachment trial of U.S. President Clinton began in Washington, DC.
1999 - The U.S. proposed the lifting of the U.N. ceilings on the sale of oil in Iraq. The restriction being that the money be used to buy medicine and food for the Iraqi people.
2000 - The Dow Jones industrial average hit a new high when it closed at 11,722.98. Earlier in the session, the Dow had risen to 11,750.98. Both records stood until October 3, 2006.
2004 - In St. Louis, a Lewis and Clark Exhibition opened at the Missouri History Museum. The exhibit featured 500 rare and priceless objects used by the Corps of Discovery.

NEW - Bayer Quick Release Crystals -- Check out one of the Inactive ingredients - aspartame!

Haiti earthquake news updates -- Here you will find complete news updates on the aftermath of a 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti.
 * Video from earthquake
 * Haitian News Source
 * Earthquake leaves Haiti more dangerous than a war zone -- Gravely injured Haitians pleaded for help Wednesday after the strongest earthquake to hit the poor Caribbean nation in more than 200 years crushed thousands of structures, from humble shacks to the National Palace and the headquarters of U.N. peacekeepers.
 * How to help victims of the earthquake -- List of Disaster relief and non-governmental organizations.
 * Haiti quake was a disaster waiting to happen -- A massive earthquake devastated Haiti Tuesday, but scientists warned of such an event back in 2008.

VIDEO: Air Force Bugbots -- This is totally unacceptable!!

If government won't break up the giant banks let's do it ourselves -- The only reason that smaller banks haven't been able to expand and thrive is that the too-big-to-fails have decreased competition.

Foreclosures may rise to record 3 million this year -- A record 3 million U.S. homes will be repossessed by lenders this year as high unemployment and depressed home values leave borrowers unable to make their house payment or sell, according to a RealtyTrac Inc. forecast.

Lawsuit accuses bank of seizing wrong house -- West End property owner is suing Bank of America Corp., asserting its agents mistakenly seized a vacation house he owns free and clear, then changed the locks and shut the power off, resulting in the smelly spoiling of about 75 pounds of salmon and halibut from an Alaska fishing trip and other damages.

6.4 unemployed workers for each available job -- There were nearly 6.4 unemployed workers, on average, for each available job at the end of November, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday. That's up from 6.1 in October and a record high. There were 1.7 jobless people for each opening in December 2007, when the recession began.

Sample of Nestlé Cookie Dough Has E. Coli Bacteria -- Nestlé USA said Wednesday that two samples of its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough made at a Virginia factory tested positive for E. coli bacteria this week despite rigorous safety measures put in place after a recall of the product last summer. Samples of Nestlé's Toll House refrigerated cookie dough made in a Virginia factory have tested positive for E. coli bacteria. Nestlé also said the tainted dough had not left the factory and no recall was necessary.

The cashless society -- According to the Telegraph there is the distinct possibility that the ‘cashless society’ may be just around the corner.

TSA: Security fails to spot gun at Mont. airport -- Officials say security screeners at a Bozeman-area airport failed to spot a gun in a passenger's luggage last month, but the man turned himself in when he realized his error.

US farmers plant fewest wheat acres since 1913 -- The Agriculture Department reported Tuesday that the total acres of winter wheat for 2010 is 37.1 million acres, down 14 percent nationwide from last year. The agency blames poor weather, low prices and the late row crop harvest for the decrease.

Obama wants record $708 billion for wars next year -- President Barack Obama will ask Congress for an additional $33 billion to fight unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on top of a record $708 billion for the Defense Department next year.

Army charges mom who refused deployment -- The Army said Wednesday it has filed criminal charges against a single-mom soldier who refused to deploy to Afghanistan last year, arguing she had no family able to care for her infant son.

Homeland Security's "virtual fence" on border is loaded with glitches (are you surprised? Probably not) -- From 2006 through July 2009, Customs and Border Protection paid Boeing Co. $1.1 billion to create and build a border-long network of camera, sensor and radar towers, the Government Accountability Office reported in September. To date, only a flawed test system in Arizona is being used by the Border Patrol.

A dangerous spin on artificial sweetener -- Cancer Prevention Coalition Chairman Dr. Samuel S. Epstein warns that, based on scientific evidence published in peer-reviewed journals and presented to the U.S. Congress, aspartame is both toxic and carcinogenic. The coalition is calling upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban all dietary uses of aspartame.

Freeze kills southwest Florida vegetable crops -- More than a week of frigid overnight temperatures has devastated crops in south Florida, which is the primary source of fresh vegetables in the United States during the winter months, industry representatives said Tuesday.

El Paso police will carry M4 semi auto rifles -- On Tuesday, the Police Department got approval to buy 1,145 M4s, otherwise known as an AR 15 semi-automatic rifle.

Low level radioactive water found near N. Carolina nuclear plant -- Nuclear safety regulators said today that Progress Energy's Shearon Harris nuclear plant in Wake County leaked about 1,000 gallons of water contaminated with tritium, a low-level source of radiation.

Tolled then sold? Lawmakers unveil plan for the Illiana Expressway -- State lawmakers in Indiana are calling for the proposed Illiana Expressway to be built as a toll road and leased to private investors. Current law prohibits tolling or privatization of the roadway.

Walmart taking over the US and world by stealth -- The company has embraced something of a "stealth" approach to growth. Its stores are emblazoned with an array of different names around the world – Maxibodega in Costa Rica, Todo Dia in Brazil, Despensa Familiar in Honduras and the awkward-sounding Best Price Modern Wholesale in India.

MRSA superbug found on public beaches -- Public beaches may provide a home for and mechanism for the spread of the superbug methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Washington and presented to the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

Marcelo's DNA culture results -- by Cliff Carnicom
 * Morgellon's: an environmental source

Organic farmers must embrace GM crops if we are to feed the world says scientist -- The organic movement should overcome its hostility to genetically modified crops and embrace the contribution that they can make to sustainable farming, one of the world’s leading agricultural scientists has told The Times.

Navy wants soldiers wearing brain scanners into war -- The Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery is requesting proposals for a brain-scanning system that can assess a myriad of neuro-cognitive abilities, including reaction times, problem solving and memory recall.

NY police destroy counterfeit clothes rather than give them to the homeless -- the NY Police have admitted to shredding and burning the counterfeit clothes they've confiscated, rather than giving them to the homeless, as had always been done in the past.

Doctors need to become healers (part 2) -- It is a proven fact that the conventional medical drug approach, which treats symptoms and not causes, is unable to solve the problem of ill health in America.
  * Part 3

New Hampshire poised for landmark homeschool vote -- The New Hampshire House of Representatives is scheduled to consider next week an amendment to House Bill 368, which critics say would make New Hampshire’s homeschool law the most restrictive and burdensome in the nation.  (what happened to "live free or die")
 
Geoengineering conference to discuss blocking the sun -- As hundreds of people die worldwide as a result of record low temperatures in the midst of a savage winter, scientists are preparing for a conference in which they will discuss measures to use geoengineering to block out the sun.

What do you do with a dead nuclear reactor? -- On July 23, 1976, Pacific Gas & Electric’s Humboldt Bay nuclear reactor in northern California shut down for refueling — and has not reopened since. The plant is located in an earthquake zone and regulators closed it down due to fear of possible ground movement. Now the facility is a leading candidate to become the largest light-water commercial reactor in the nation ever to be decommissioned


Today in History Wednesday January 13, 2010
1794 - U.S. President Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the union.
1854 - Anthony Faas of Philadelphia, PA, patented the accordion.
1906 - Hugh Gernsback, of the Electro Importing Company, advertised radio receivers for sale for the price of just $7.50 in "Scientific American" magazine.
1928 - Ernst F. W. Alexanderson gave the first public demonstration of television.
1942 - Henry Ford patented the plastic automobile, which allowed for a 30% decrease in car weight.
1957 - Wham-O began producing "Pluto Platters." This marked the true beginning of production of the flying disc.
1966 - Robert C. Weaver became the first black Cabinet member when he was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by U.S. President Johnson.
1986 - "The Wall Street Journal" printed a real picture on its front page. The journal had not done this in nearly 10 years. The story was about artist, O. Winston Link and featured one of his works.
1989 - Bernhard H. Goetz was sentenced to one year in prison for possession of an unlicensed gun that he used to shoot four youths he claimed were about to rob him. He was freed the following September.
1990 - L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, the nation's first elected black governor, took the oath of office in Richmond.
2002 - The exhibit "In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." opened at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. More than 100 artists supplied the collection of 120 works of art.
2002 - U.S. President George W. Bush fainted after choking on a pretzel.

Mystery object to swing by Earth Wednesday -- A mystery object from space is about to whiz close by Earth on Wednesday. It won't hit our planet, but scientists are stumped by what exactly it is.

7.0 earthquake rocks Haiti -- The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 14 miles west from the capital of Port-au-Prince, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
 * Serious loss of life expected in quake

VIDEO: McEwen Says Gold May Reach $5,000 an Ounce by 2012

Obama sets up council of governors -- Obama signed an executive order establishing a panel to be known as the Council of Governors, which will be made up of 10 state governors, to be selected by the president to serve two-year terms. Members will review matters involving the National Guard; homeland defense; civil support; and synchronization and integration of state and federal military activities in the United States, the White House said in a statement. (brought forward from yesterday - worth a repeat)

Strategic grain reserves sold out-by Holly Deyo -- "I received a disturbing email yesterday regarding massive amounts of grain shipping out of the U.S. to foreign countries. Granaries that long stood idle are going full-bore. Miles and miles of rail cars are filled and ready to transport our wheat, oats and corn reserves for shipment out of country."

2010 food crisis for dummies -- triple digit food inflation will lead panicking central banks around the world to dump their foreign reserves to appreciate their currencies and lower the cost of food imports, causing the collapse of the dollar, the treasury market, derivative markets, and the global financial system. The US will experience economic disintegration.

Electronic Harassment Information -- Electronic Harassment comes in many forms and types. This website tries to explain what they are and what to do about them.

Florida homeowners sue U.S. drywall manufacturer -- Drywall manufacturer National Gypsum has been named in a class-action lawsuit claiming the company produced defective wallboard responsible for corrosion of air-conditioning coils, wiring and other metals in affected homes

Obama signs martial law executive order -- This order sets up the framework for the use of federal troops and the combination of state and federal agencies under the Defence Department. This is startling news for many reasons. Why now? Why now?

White House press release -- The President today signed an Executive Order (attached) establishing a Council of Governors to strengthen further the partnership between the Federal Government and State Governments to protect our Nation against all types of hazards.

Terrorist watch lists imperfect experts say -- Experts agree that biometrics, which includes physical traits such as face recognition, are key to ensuring names on a watch list can be matched to a real individual.

USDA approves first UHF tag for Animal Identification System (NAIS) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved a passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tag for cattle tracking that will be used in conjunction with the agency's Animal Identification Number (AIN) system.

BBC: Polio vaccine gave cancer causing virus to millions -- This report highlights information from an assortment of prominent sources, the BBC being first.

VIDEO: Student assaulted by teacher for handing out swine flu vaccine information

H1N1 flu is a false pandemic health expert claims -- "But there is worse to come. The vaccine developed by Novartis was produced in a bioreactor from cancerous cells, a technique that had never been used until now."

Europe seeks to offload flu vaccines -- Western European countries, including Switzerland, are queuing up to shift surplus stocks of the H1N1 flu vaccine after low public demand.

Construction unemployment rate rises to 22.7% -- In a clear sign of construction's persistently severe problems, the industry's jobless rate hit its highest level in at least a decade, climbing to 22.7% in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported.

3D photo technology for driver's licenses -- Laser-engraved 3D portrait technology is difficult to counterfeit and inherently establishes ownership between the ID and its rightful owner. The method used to validate the 3D photo security feature is clear and performed intuitively by examining the image. It is intrinsic to the person being identified and integral to the card structure.

More evidence emerges that Americans are drugged out of their minds -- A study released last fall in the Archives of General Psychiatry documented a dramatic increase in the use of antidepressant drugs like Prozac since l996. In fact, these medications are now the most widely prescribed drugs in the U.S.

Agency to spend $1.2 billion to federalize traffic reports -- Federal agency plans to regulate real-time traffic information.
the new federal rule will force states to offer real-time traffic information already being provided by a number of companies including Google, Yahoo!, Clear Channel, Westwood One and Navteq.

Giving corporations and outsized voice in elections --Corporations are pitching a bizarre product -- a radical vision of the 1st Amendment. It would give corporations rather than voters a central role in our electoral process by treating corporate political spending as protected speech.

Obama received $20 million from health care industry in 2008 election -- Almost three times the amount given to McCain.

Amish families exempt from health insurance mandate -- The Amish, as well as some other religious sects, are covered by a "religious conscience" exemption, which allows people with religious objections to insurance to opt out of the mandate.

Global deep freeze threatens food supply for 2010 -- The global deep freeze now striking North America, Europe, China and other regions may lead to severe food shortages and price hikes throughout 2010. Right now, rare freezing temperatures are destroying root crops in their ground, wiping out citrus orchards and devastating food producers around the world.

IRS commissioner doesn't file his own taxes-too complex -- I find the tax code complex so I use a preparer," Shulman said.

Police fight cell phone recordings -- Witnesses taking audio of officers arrested, charged with illegal surveillance. The police apparently do not want witnesses to what they do in public.

Federal Reserve seeks to protect U.S. bailout secrets -- The Federal Reserve asked a U.S. appeals court to block a ruling that for the first time would force the central bank to reveal secret identities of financial firms that might have collapsed without the largest government bailout in U.S. history.

Poll: 3 in 4 support airport body scans -- Of those questioned, 74 percent said airports should use the controversial machines because they provide a detailed check for hidden weapons and explosives and reduce the need for physical searches. Just 20 percent said the machines should not be used because they see through a passenger's clothing and thus constitute an invasion of privacy.

"Fleshmob" against virtual strip search machines at Berlin airport! -- Don’t like being stripped naked by “whole body imaging” machines or “body scanners”, and then groped to determine whether what they see under your underwear is a padded bra, a mastectomy prosthesis, a menstrual pad, an adult diaper, … or plastic explosives? You could sign this petition … and/or you could organize your own “fleshmob” like this one at Tegel Airport in Berlin. (More links including videos of similar fleshmobs at other airports here.)

"You do not need us to scan" -- Under the motto "You do not need us to scan - We are already naked," took part members of the Pirate Party of Germany on 10th day Januar an Flashmobs auf mehreren deutschen Flughäfen. January, Flashmobs at several German airports.

Inside China's secret toxic unobtainium mine -- Last week it was reported that China - which has a global monopoly on the production of rare-earth metals - is now threatening to cut off vital supplies to the West. A shortage would jeopardize the manufacturing and development of green technologies such as wind turbines and low-energy lightbulbs.

Got too many books lying around? -- Here's some offbeat uses for them.

A very small and unusual library -- Check out this bright red old phone booth which was purchased for just 1 pound and remodeled as the smallest library in the world. Residents line up to swap their already read books for new ones left by other patrons. Over 100 books and a variety of movies and music CDs are available at this tiny library.


Today in History Tuesday January 12, 2010
49 BC - Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River signaling a war between Rome and Gaul.
1773 - The first public museum in America was established in Charleston, SC. .
1882 - Thomas Edison's central station on Holborn Viaduct in London began operation.
1896 - At Davidson College, several students took x-ray photographs. They created the first X-ray photographs to be made in America.
1908 - A wireless message was sent long-distance for the first time from the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
1915 - The U.S. House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote.
1915 - The U.S. Congress established the Rocky Mountain National Park.
1932 - Hattie W. Caraway became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
1942 - U.S. President Roosevelt created the National War Labor Board.
1943 - The Office of Price Administration announced that standard frankfurters/hot dogs/wieners would be replaced by 'Victory Sausages.'
1948 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could not discriminate against law-school applicants because of race.
1966 - U.S. President Johnson said in his State of the Union address that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there was ended.
1973 - Yassar Arafat was re-elected as head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
1986 - Space shuttle Columbia blasted off with a crew that included the first Hispanic-American in space, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz.
1991 - The U.S. Congress passed a resolution authorizing President Bush to use military power to force Iraq out of Kuwait.
1998 - Tyson Foods Inc. pled guilty to giving $12,000 to former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy. Tyson was fined $6 million.
2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, gave police broad authority to stop and question people who run at the sight of an officer.
2005 - NASA launched "Deep Impact". The spacecraft was planned to impact on Comet Tempel 1 after a six-month, 268 million-mile journey.

America slides deeper into depression as Wall Street revels -- December was the worst month for US unemployment since the Great Recession began.

Mike Tawse's website "My Serrapeptase Adventure" -- Latest website Updates for our friend in the UK.

VIDEO: Mark Dice tries to get folks to sign a petition to "increase inflation to 100%" to cause hyperinflation.

Daniel Chapter One Update: STATEMENT OF DANIEL CHAPTER ONE REGARDING RECENT FTC ACTION TO SHUT IT DOWN

Ed Brown - NH tax evader - gets 37 years on weapons charges -- U.S. District Judge George Singal found Brown competent and decided on the sentence because Brown seemed "unrepentant."

Obama sets up council of governors -- Obama signed an executive order establishing a panel to be known as the Council of Governors, which will be made up of 10 state governors, to be selected by the president to serve two-year terms. Members will review matters involving the National Guard; homeland defense; civil support; and synchronization and integration of state and federal military activities in the United States, the White House said in a statement.

Federal Reserve Seeks to Protect U.S. Bailout Secrets -- The Federal Reserve asked a U.S. appeals court to block a ruling that for the first time would force the central bank to reveal secret identities of financial firms that might have collapsed without the largest government bailout in U.S. history. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan will decide whether the Fed must release records of the unprecedented $2 trillion U.S. loan program launched after the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. In August, a federal judge ordered that the information be released, responding to a request by Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News.

China Raises Banks' Reserve Ratio to Cool Economy -- China raised the proportion of deposits that banks must set aside as reserves to cool the world’s fastest-growing major economy as a credit boom threatens to stoke inflation and create asset bubbles. Reserve requirements will increase by 50 basis points from Jan. 18, the central bank said on its Web site this evening.

Army imprisons Iraq vet for hip-hop song -- The Army threw Hall in jail on December 11, 2009, in Liberty County Jail, Georgia. He is charged under Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which covers “all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline” and “all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces.” Army officials considered the song a warning sign and threat.

Truckloads of unused swine flu vaccine -- Truckloads of swine flu vaccines are being returned by counties that say the expected demand for the shots never happened.

Arrow truck drivers dig out from under company collapse -- Some are in the process of finding a new place to live after their homes – their company trucks – were repossessed.

Even in a recovery, some jobs won't return -- Even when the U.S. labor market finally starts adding more workers than it loses, many of the unemployed will find that the types of jobs they once had simply don't exist anymore.

Real time National Debt Clock -- The purpose of the US Debt Clock is to inform the public of the financial condition of the US.

Crack new scanner looks for bombs inside body cavities -- Nesch, a company based in Crown Point, Indiana, may have a solution. It’s called diffraction-enhanced X-ray imaging or DEXI, which employs proprietary diffraction enhanced imaging and multiple image radiography.

VIDEO: George Bush heckled in a pizza restaurant -- Former President George H.W. Bush surrounded by Secret Service agents gets cursed at in Pizza place. (Warning: Rough Language)

US drones collecting too much information -- US remote-controlled spy drones used over Afghanistan and Iraq are producing so much video intelligence that analysts are finding it more and more difficult to keep up with it, according to The New York Times.

Government cover-up of food shortage feared -- the government is intentionally covering up the nature of the food shortage because if the public realized the true extent of the crisis and/or prices rose dramatically, economies could collapse and governments could fall.

A North American Security perimeter on the horizon -- Some of the recommendations from the 2005 report, Building a North American Community co-sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, included a unified border, a North American border pass, a single economic space, as well as a common security perimeter by 2010.

Iraqi doctors demand cancer probe -- Iraqi doctors believe depleted uranium from US military equipment used in the 2003 invasion is spreading cancer through the population. They are recording a shocking rise in the number of cancer victims south of Baghdad, they claim. Outraged, they have demanded an investigation be held into the matter.

Animals fed GM feed are different -- In a landmark ruling, the NZ Commerce Commission has accepted evidence from Prof Jack Heinemann, from an exhaustive review of the literature and on the basis of his own extensive professional experience, that animals fed on GM components ARE different from those which are reared using non-GM feed.

TSA lies exposed: Full body scanners do save & transmit images, secret documents reveal -- secret documents uncovered by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (www.EPIC.org) have revealed that these machines do indeed posses precisely such capabilities. According to TSA specification requirement documents that have been uncovered by the EPIC, all full-body scanners purchased by the TSA must have the ability to both save and transmit the scanned images of air passengers.
 * EPIC posts TSA documents on body scanners
 * Info from TSA site about imaging machines

Privacy activists score victory against more detailed body scanners at airports -- We don't need to look at naked 8-year-olds and grandmothers to secure airplanes," Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said Friday. "Are we really going to subject 2 million people per day to that? I think it's a false argument to say we have to give up all of our personal privacy in order to have security.

New store signs can spy on customers -- Microsoft & Intel have created technology that will allow signs in stores to detect a customer’s gender and which products a shopper looks at.

Government launches secret program to lay eggs -- At clandestine farms across Pennsylvania, thousands of roosters and hens have been toiling away for months in confidential conditions normally reserved for important government ops. Their mission: Fertilize enough eggs to keep supplies of swine-flu vaccine flowing.

VA & Kaiser launch Electronic Health Records Pilot -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Kaiser Permanente have launched an electronic health record (EHR) data sharing program that will eventually lead to the creation of EHRs for all veterans and service members.

Obama and the Global Police; more friendly fascism? -- Obama's recent transformation of Executive Order (EO) 12425 from a document that constitutionally limits the International Criminal Police Organization's (Interpol) activities domestically to one that establishes it as an autonomous police agency within the U.S.  "The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse."-- James Madison

401K/IRA screw job coming -- The U.S. Treasury and Labor Departments will ask for public comment as soon as next week on ways to promote the conversion of 401(k) savings and Individual Retirement Accounts into annuities or other steady payment streams, according to Assistant Labor Secretary Phyllis C. Borzi and Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Mark Iwry, who are spearheading the effort.

The disposable worker -- You know American workers are in bad shape when a low-paying, no-benefits job is considered a sweet deal.

The military industrial complex is ruining the economy -- Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says that the Iraq war will cost $3-5 trillion dollars.

Ex FEMA worker charge in Katrina Fraud -- A former FEMA employee and her cousin are being accused of stealing more than $721,000 in Hurricane Katrina relief money. Former FEMA worker Lashonda Booker and her cousin, Peggy Hilton, have been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud in Mississippi. She is accused of using a government database to get information about storm victims who applied for assistance. Prosecutors say Hilton used the information to get FEMA to send money to a bank account.

Targeting guns: a cops new priority -- "It's not the guy with the kilo of weed in his car, it's the one with the Glock in his waistband."

California quake illustrates force of plate movement -- The powerful earthquake that rocked the seabed off the Northern California coast near Eureka on Saturday underscores the complexity of seismic dangers within the Earth's crust, and is likely to be followed by a large aftershock this week - but it is not expected to exceed the 6.5 magnitude of the temblor that was felt as far away as Reno, scientists said.

Another good reason to kill your television -- Prolonged TV viewing linked to higher risk of death even in those who exercise. Researchers in Australia found that prolonged television viewing was linked to an increased risk of death, even in people who exercised regularly, and recommended more be done to encourage people to spend fewer hours sitting still in front of the TV.

Are chemtrails killing the trees? -- What is the common denominator for deteriorating tree health in so many areas of the United States? Air pollution, white haze, climate change, increasing UV radiation, higher humidity caused persistent jet contrails and chemtrails, jet fuel emissions, lack of sunlight from persistent aging contrails and chemtrails or climate change produced by persistent jet contrails and chemtrails? Chemtrails being intentional barium coating of the sky’s over 36 Nations America included via the “open skies treaty”, our friends at the United Nations. All this and chemtrails spraying is killing the trees.

VIDEO: TV news report confirms barium in chemtrails -- Most interesting is that Kucinich mentioned chemtrails BY NAME in a 2001 congressional report.

Taser adds mobile phone monitoring to it's arsenal (it's for the children you know) -- Stun gun maker Taser wants to help parents, not with jolts of electricity but with a tool which allows parents to effectively take over a child's mobile phone and manage its use.

Today in History Monday January 11, 2010
1569 - England's first state lottery was held.
1770 - The first shipment of rhubarb was sent to the United States from London.
1805 - The Michigan Territory was created.
1815 - U.S. General Andrew Jackson achieved victory at the Battle of New Orleans. The War of 1812 had officially ended on December 24, 1814, with the signing of the Treaty of
Ghent. The news of the signing had not reached British troops in time to prevent their attack on New Orleans.
1861 - Alabama seceded from the United States.
1878 - In New York, milk was delivered in glass bottles for the first time by Alexander Campbell.
1902 - "Popular Mechanics" magazine was published for the first time.
1913 - The first sedan-type car was unveiled at the National Automobile Show in New York City. The car was manufactured by the Hudson Motor Company.
1922 - At Toronto General Hospital, Leonard Thompson became the first person to be successfully treated with insulin.
1935 - Amelia Earhart Putnam became the first woman to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
1938 - In Limerick, ME, Frances Moulton assumed her duties as the first woman bank president.
1964 - U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry released a report that said that smoking cigarettes was a definite health hazard.
1988 - U.S. Vice President George Bush met with representatives of independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh to answer questions about the Iran-Contra affair.
2000 - The merger between AOL and Time Warner was approved by the U.S. government with restrictions.
2000 - The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the second Vietnam Veterans Memorial commemorative stamp in a ceremony at The Wall.

Another Friday bank failure; first of 2010 -- Horizon Bank of Bellingham, Washington was the first U.S. bank failure of 2010.

Will the real underwear bomber please stand up? -- Take a look at these 2 photos on this website link. These are definitely two different human beings. Is there a more sinister meaning to this story or Was the young man in Photo 1 a baby-faced patsy coerced into being the fall guy? OR Perhaps this was just a mix-up from the Ghana News Site???

New clothes could make you sick -- A microbiologist hired by "GMA" found evidence of feces, vaginal secretions and even diarrhea causing viruses when it took cultures from so-called brand new clothes at popular high- and low-end stores in New York City. (ABC did not name the retailers)

Bacteria linked to feces found in nearly half of fast food soda fountains -- A team of microbiologists from Hollins University found that 48% of sodas tested from the fast food fountains contain coliform bacteria, which is typically fecal in origin. And most bacteria found were antibiotic resistant.

HOUSTON - WE HAVE A PROMBLEM -- Domestic espionage alert: spy drone discovered in Houston -- KPRC news in Houston recently filmed a secret experiment by law enforcement agencies including the Dept. of Homeland Security of a drone intended to spy on Americans.

Snow flurries spotted in south Florida -- The National Weather Service in Miami on Saturday night was investigating nearly a dozen reports from West Palm Beach on down to Kendall from weather observers who said they saw snow flurries mixed in with the rain that fell in the afternoon. "We can't deny it didn't happen. We just haven't been able to confirm it," Rothfuss said.

Sharp drop in temperature could spike food prices -- From produce to meat, juice to bread... the sharp drop in temperatures blanketing most of the US could add up to a spike in prices at the grocery store.

The great snow of 2010 -account from Ireland -- "I, at 20, have never seen weather like this. I wasn’t around in to witness the big snow in Dublin in 1982 (really cool, forgive the pun video here) but even for those who were the conditions then didn’t even come close to what we’re dealing with at the moment."

Study looks into effects of full body scanner technology -- Researchers at the Center for Nonlinear Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory have shown that terahertz radiation may be able to do some serious damage to the DNA it encounters when bouncing off your body.

Airport evacuated for jars of honey thought to be explosives -- U.S. Transportation and Security administration screeners turned up five Gatorade bottles full of what they called a "suspicious-looking liquid." Swabs of the bag and bottles tested positive for the explosives TNT and TATP. Further tests showed it was honey.

Toxic metal found in kids' jewelry very dangerous -- Most people get a microscopic dose of the heavy metal just by breathing and eating. Plants, including tobacco, take up cadmium through their roots and people absorb it during digestion or inhalation. Without direct exposure, however, people usually don't experience its nasty side: cancer, kidneys that leak vital protein, bones that spontaneously snap. Cadmium is particularly dangerous for children because growing bodies readily absorb substances, and cadmium accumulates in the kidneys for decades.

US Fed Rigs Stock Market -- So now the whispers about government intervention into the world's largest stock market have reached the point where the mainstream press is writing about them. Way back in 1987, during the Crash, it was common knowledge - or at least a common rumor - that Alan Greenspan had demanded that commercial banks buy stocks directly to help stabilize the market, and had provided funds for that purpose.

California governor pushes speed cameras in California budget -- Schwarzenegger called for the deployment of a massive statewide speed camera program to generate at least $397.5 million in net profit to state and local government.

There is no economic recovery happening -- We cannot recover until we purge the excess debt from the system, and the longer we take to do that, the longer the pain will last and the worse it will be.

More surveillance can make us less safe -- With the attempted terror attack on Christmas, it appears that this focus on doing more surveillance rather than better security was a major part in "failing to connect the dots" that allowed the plot to get as far as it did.  ("They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin )

The coming emergency state -- The Orwellian “Department of Homeland Security”, and Obama’s maintenance of other Bush Administration polices, are but the earliest symptoms of this emerging “Emergency State”.

A frreeeeeezing nation with little relief in sight! -- South Carolina officials called an early end to the shrimping season and Florida citrus growers remained on edge Friday as a cold snap persisted across much of the U.S. Heavy snowfall and icy temperatures prompted dozens of Minnesota schools to close and delayed the opening of some state offices Friday, while wind-chill levels in the Dakotas hovered around 25-degrees below zero.

Venezuelan F-16 fighters intercept US warplane -- Venezuela has scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to ward off a US 'military plane' amid reports of “US trespassing the country's airspace.”

US, NATO expanding Afghan war into the Horn of Africa and Indian Ocean -- Polluting more of the world with depleted uranium. In parallel with the escalation of the war in South Asia - counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan and drone missile attacks in Pakistan - the United States and its NATO allies have laid the groundwork for increased naval, air and ground operations in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden.

Magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattles Eureka in northern California -- Magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattles Eureka in northern California -- The temblor snaps power lines, shatters windows and is felt over a wide area, but no major injuries are reported. 'It was a monstrous one,' a merchant says.

10 reasons you need a pet -- Pets counter loneliness and help you continue to focus on what's going on around you.

Obama risks domestic military intervention -- There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America's military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the "Obama problem." Don't dismiss it as unrealistic. Top military officers can see the Constitution they are sworn to defend being trampled as American institutions and enterprises are nationalized.

Compact fluorescent lights may harm health -- Exposure to compact fluorescent light bulbs may be dangerous to many people's health, a number of consumer advocacy groups have warned the British government.

You could end up a dead peasant -- Employers may have purchased secret insurance policies on your life and then cash in when you die. U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, charges that companies buy the policies solely for the tax advantage.

Latest video on Crow Creek tribe -- The electric company is still cutting their supplies.
 * Crow Creek Souix tribe chairman Brandon Sazue at his encampment on embattled Souix land -- The riders found Sazue holding his own in sub-zero temperatures. The chairman took up residence on the expanse shortly after the auction, intending to fast and pray for its repatriation until the crisis is resolved. “I’m not going anywhere. This land never was and never will be for sale. Not yesterday, not today, not tomorrow. As chairman, I inherited the tax problem and tried to work with the IRS. They claim they ‘consulted’ with us, but all they did was tell us ‘here’s how it's going to go"

Economist was under contract with HHS while touting health care reform -- MIT economist Jonathan Gruber, one of the leading academic defenders of health care reform, is taking heat for failing to disclose consistently that he was under contract with the Department of Health and Human Services while he was touting the Democrats' health proposals the media.

Is Monsanto's corn destroying your internal organs? -- The "data strongly suggests" that after just 90 days of eating GM corn, rats experienced kidney toxicity and showed effects to their hearts, adrenal glands, spleen and blood cells. (The study was published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences.)

Is this the end of food as we know it? -- A new film paints an apocalyptic picture of a world reduced to tinned goods. But could it ever happen here, asks Bee Wilson.

Flashback story - Raw Foodists Arrested for Trafficking Chocolate after TSA dogs think it's hashish

The Constitution will never enforce itself -- It is quite clear the federal government is completely out of touch with those they are supposed to be serving. Yet the Constitution provides for us, the inheritors of the greatest system of government the world has ever known, a way to defend our rights. This is the tenth amendment!

Top 10 wacky Geo-ingineering ideas to save the planet -- The solution to climate change lies not in the hands of politicians, but some seriously nutty scientists
 
Some "cloud" formations you may have missed


Today in History Friday January 8, 2010
1642 - Astronomer Galileo Galilei died in Arcetri, Italy.
1675 - The first corporation was charted in the United States. The company was the New York Fishing Company.
1790 - In the United States, George Washington delivered the first State of the Union address.
1815 - The Battle of New Orleans began. The War of 1812 had officially ended on December 24, 1814, with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. The news of the signing had not reached British troops in time to prevent their attack on New Orleans.
1838 - Alfred Vail demonstrated a telegraph code he had devised using dots and dashes as letters. The code was the predecessor to Samuel Morse's code.
1853 - A bronze statue of Andrew Jackson on a horse was unveiled in Lafayette Park in Washington, DC. The statue was the work of Clark Mills.
1856 - Borax (hydrated sodium borate) was discovered by Dr. John Veatch.
1877 - Crazy Horse (Tashunca-uitco) and his warriors fought their final battle against the U.S. Cavalry in Montana.
1889 - The tabulating machine was patented by Dr. Herman Hollerith. His firm, Tabulating Machine Company, later became International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).
1894 - Fire caused serious damage at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, IL.
1900 - U.S. President McKinley placed Alaska under military rule.
1908 - A catastrophic train collision occurred in the smoke-filled Park Avenue Tunnel in New York City. Seventeen were killed and thirty-eight were injured. The accident caused a public outcry and increased demand for electric trains.
1918 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announced his Fourteen Points as the basis for peace upon the end of World War I.
1929 - William S. Paley appeared on CBS Radio for the first time to announce that CBS had become the largest regular chain of broadcasting chains in radio history.
1935 - The spectrophotometer was patented by A.C. Hardy.
1958 - Bobby Fisher, at the age of 14, won the United States Chess Championship for the first time.
1964 - U.S. President Lyndon Johnson declared a "War on Poverty."
1973 - Secret peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam resumed near Paris, France.
1973 - The trial opened in Washington, of seven men accused of bugging Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, DC.
1982 - American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) settled the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against it by agreeing to divest itself of the 22 Bell System companies.
1987 - The Dow Jones industrial average closed over the 2000 mark for the first time at 2,002.25.
1992 - U.S. President George Bush collapsed during a state dinner in Tokyo. White House officials said Bush was suffering from stomach flu.
1998 - Scientists announced that they had discovered that galaxies were accelerating and moving apart and at faster speeds. .
2005 - The rate for U.S. First Class mail was raised to 39¢.

Move Your Money Info -- People all over the country are choosing to move their money out of bigger banks and into smaller, community-oriented financial institutions that generally avoided the reckless investments and schemes that helped cause the financial crisis. Check out the video, read up on what inspired the idea, connect with others through Facebook and Twitter and then use the tools and links provided to find a community bank or credit union in your area.

Intense cold hits midwest, but heading south -- Freezing People, Crops, Wildlife!!

OSIS (full-body scanners) stock almost 30 now -- It looks like the insiders bought stock the end of October - Check out the chart.
 * Related link: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/it?s=OSIS

Congress Accidentally Gives South Dakota Back to Sioux -- US Congress gave back the state of South Dakota to the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Reports have surfaced that an obscure bill, which was suppose to cede a 100 acre parcel of land in South Dakota back to the Oglala Sioux, had a small typographic error in the official copy which, accidentally, ceded the entire state of South Dakota back to the Oglala Sioux. Read More...

Take a look at what the body scanner sees -- why would anyone in their right mind would subject themselves to this?

Do statin drugs cause vitamin D deficiency? -- Cholesterol is required by the body to synthesize vitamin D and statin drugs are are responsible for eliminating it, leading many to speculate that statin drug users do not have enough cholesterol to process vitamin D.

Big Pharma endures big fines and continues business as usual -- In early September 2009, Pfizer agreed to pay out a total of $2.3 billion, considered a record settlement for a drug company. But the New York Times considers this a sneeze for Pfizer, mentioning that "While the government said the fine was a record sum, the $2.3 billion fine amounts to less than three weeks of Pfizer's sales."

Before you take that antidepressant, look at this website -- The 12-year-old web site lists 3,500 crime related news reports linked to the use of SSRI antidepressants.
  * Website: SSRI Stories - Antidepressant Nightmares -- This website is a collection of 3500+ news stories with the full media article available, mainly criminal in nature, that have appeared in the media (newspapers, TV, scientific journals) or that were part of FDA testimony in either 1991, 2004 or 2006, in which antidepressants are mentioned.

6 heroin users dead from anthrax in Scotland -- Health officials say contaminated heroin may have caused at least a dozen recent cases of anthrax including six deaths in Glasgow.

Unwanted side effect: Cocaine vaccine lead users to take 10 times more cocaine -- Of 58 subjects who received the vaccine, only 11 managed to stay off of the Bolivian marching powder for more than half of the time they participated in the study.

Doctors need to become healers -- Were doctors to become true healers instead of shills for the pharmaceutical industry, maybe then the American people would have a true shot at regaining their health.

Future course of H1N1 still uncertain -- Despite declines in disease, the H1N1 pandemic flu is still in circulation and the "future is uncertain," a CDC official said.

Toxic dust from asphalt sealant travels into homes -- A widely used type of asphalt sealant derived from coal tar may be making its way into the house dust of homes, according to new research. Young children may actually be playing on coal-tar-sealed driveways and playgrounds, potentially raising their exposure to harmful chemicals.

WHO health advisor conceals donation of millions from pharmaceutical company -- A Finnish member of the WHO board, an advisor on vaccines, has received 46 million crowns (6 million euros) for his research centre from the vaccine manufactures, GlaxoSmithKline. WHO promises transparency, but this conflict of interests is not available for the public to see at WHO’s homepage.

California court slams wardens for illegally stopping motorists over lobsters -- The California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District on Tuesday ruled that a state agency may not pull over and search a motorist on a mere hunch that a lobster might be hidden in the vehicle.

Crotch bomber kicks off massive DNA destruction with backscatter terahertz waves -- These virtual strip searches, in addition to damaging our DNAs, will be setting the stage for the expansion of our world-wide cancer epidemic. Any amount of radiation is dangerous, as it is cumulative, and poses a serious threat to all living cells through which it passes, leaving behind a trail of destruction and genetic mutations.
 
Afghan government demands arrests of US "death squad" that handcuffed & executed children - US refuses -- UN Representative to Afghanistan confirmed the Afghan government’s investigative conclusions that US troops handcuffed and then executed eight students enrolled in grades 6 through 10 in a night raid on December 27, 2009. The US military and NATO responded the troops involved were non-official. The most likely source of para-military “non-official” troops in Afghanistan is Blackwater/Xe.

Geithner's Fed told AIG to hide backdoor bailout -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, during its $180 billion bailout of American International Group, Inc., instructed AIG to omit details of its purchase of certain toxic assets from a December 24, 2008, Securities and Exchange Commission filing, according to e-mails between the company and the Fed released Thursday.

Frozen Britain as seen from satellite -- This striking image taken by Nasa's Terra satellite on 7 January shows the UK deep in the clutches of the current cold snap.

State tax revenue in US drops most since 1963 -- U.S. state tax collections fell the most in 46 years in the first three quarters of 2009 as the recession shrank revenue from sources including personal income.

Another amazing duct tape story -- Pilot patches plane together & flies away.

Behind mass die offs pesticides lurk as culprit -- In the past dozen years, three new diseases have decimated populations of amphibians, honeybees, and — most recently — bats. Increasingly, scientists suspect that low-level exposure to pesticides could be contributing to this rash of epidemics.

Website on MRSA epidemic -- Drug-Resistant Staph At Pandemic Proportions In US With Flu-Related Deaths.

University of Illinois to furlough 11,000 employees, freeze hiring -- The University of Illinois will make a series of drastic cost- cutting measures – including furloughs and a hiring freeze – designed to trim $82 million from its operating budget to respond to a financial crisis resulting from a $436 million backlog of unpaid state of Illinois appropriations to the University.

Wave of bankruptcies hits states hammered by housing bust -- In states such as California, Arizona and Nevada, where housing prices soared and then collapsed during the past decade, consumer bankruptcy filings rose roughly twice as much as the national average increase of 32%.

Threats up against federal judges, prosecutors -- the report was issued shortly before a gunman walked into a federal building in Las Vegas and opened fire, killing a court security officer and seriously wounding a deputy U.S. marshal.

TSA agent arrested at Los Angeles Airport -- A TSA agent was arrested on January 3rd in Terminal One at LAX, a source told NBCLA. He had just gotten off duty and was behaving erratically, saying, "I am god, I’m in charge."

Is the Secret Service targeting the birthers -- At least a half-dozen prominent anti-Obama activists who've petitioned various federal agencies or courts to investigate the president's citizenship or publicly questioned his eligibility to serve say they've been visited by Secret Service or Homeland Security agents.

Girls age 12 & 14 hold up Ohio bank -- Two American girls, believed to be aged 12 and 14, are being hunted by police over a bank robbery.

Florida freezes; price of orange juice jumps -- Orange-juice futures surged as a cold snap gripped Florida, threatening citrus groves in the world’s biggest producer of the fruit after Brazil.

US forges alliance with Saddam Hussein officers to fight al-Qaeda  -- American counter-terrorism specialists and Saddam Hussein's former intelligence officers have forged an unlikely alliance in Yemen to tackle al-Qaeda.

Amazon explorers uncover signs of a real ElDorado -- Satellite technology detects giant mounds over 155 miles, pointing to sophisticated pre-Columbian culture


Today in History Thursday January 7, 2010
1558 - Calais, the last English possession on mainland France, was recaptured by the French.
1610 - Galileo Galilei sighted four of Jupiter's moons. He named them Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
1782 - The Bank of North America opened in Philadelphia. It was the first commercial bank in the United States.
1785 - French aeronaut/balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard successfully made the first air-crossing of the English Channel from the English coast to France.
1789 - Americans voted for the electors that would choose George Washington to be the first U.S. president.
1887 - Thomas Stevens completed the first worldwide bicycle trip. He started his trip in April 1884. Stevens and his bike traveled 13,500 miles in almost three years time.
1894 - W.K. Dickson received a patent for motion picture film.
1896 - "Fannie Farmer Cookbook" cookbook was published.
1904 - The distress signal "CQD" was established. Two years later "SOS" became the radio distress signal because it was quicker to send by wireless radio.
1927 - Transatlantic telephone service Service began between New York and London. 31 calls were made on this first day. .
1949 - The announcement of the first photograph of genes was shown at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
1953 - U.S. President Harry Truman announced the development of the hydrogen bomb.
1954 - The Duoscopic TV receiver was unveiled this day. The TV set allowed the watching of two different shows at the same time.
1959 - The United States recognized Fidel Castro's new government in Cuba.
1968 - The cost of a U.S. first class stamp was raised to 6 cents.
1975 - OPEC agreed to raise crude oil prices by 10%, which began a time of world economic inflation.
1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed legislation that authorized $1.5 billion in loans for the bail out of Chrysler Corp.
1996 - One of the biggest blizzards in U.S. history hit the eastern states. More than 100 deaths were later blamed on the severe weather.
1998 - Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky signed an affidavit denying that she had an affair with U.S. President Clinton.
1999 - U.S. President Clinton went on trial before the Senate. It was only the second time in U.S. history that an impeached president had gone to trial. Clinton was later acquitted of perjury and obstruction of justice charges.

Today is also "I'm not going to take it anymore day"

RAND Corporation Blueprint for Militarized “Stability Police Force” -- The SPFOR (to use the inevitable acronym) would be a “hybrid” military/law enforcement unit created within the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) for use “in a range of tasks such as crowd and riot control, special weapons and tactics (SWAT), and investigations of organized criminal groups” — both abroad, in UN-directed multilateral military operations, and at home, as dictated by the needs of the Regime.
   * Click Here for the Complete Document
* STABILITY POLICE FORCE By: David Deschesne -- This is David Deschesne's (of the FORT FAIRFIELD JOURNAL) synopsis of Rand Corporation's Stability  Police Force.

Monsanto Announces Record 11 Project Advancements in Annual Research and Development Pipeline Update -- This year's annual research and development (R&D) pipeline update marks many firsts for Monsanto Company ( MON). Among the record 11 project advancements are the first biotechnology product with a direct consumer dietary benefit and two of the largest commercial product launches in the company's history. These and other projects in the company's R&D pipeline are expected to help farmers meet the unprecedented global challenges facing agriculture.
  * You can also view more info on http://www.monsanto.com

1st 2010 Rabbit Hole - Who is signing your money? -- With confirmation of Rosa Rios as U.S. Treasurer, Secretary Geithner and Rios will appear on new bills later this year. NOTE: Based on how much money the Treasury printed in the same period last year, the names of the two out-of-office signers graced 7.2 billion new notes with a total face value of nearly $120 billion. Though the signatures of the Treasury secretary and Treasurer may seem like a small detail, they are required to make the bills legal tender, according to the bureau.

Locate the best organic food is what's grown closest to you -- Just type in your zip code and it will list all the farmers markets, farms, grocery/co-op and CSA in your area.

Move Your Money Info -- People all over the country are choosing to move their money out of bigger banks and into smaller, community-oriented financial institutions that generally avoided the reckless investments and schemes that helped cause the financial crisis. Check out the video, read up on what inspired the idea, connect with others through Facebook and Twitter and then use the tools and links provided to find a community bank or credit union in your area.

Military scrambles jet because of unruly airline passenger -- The passenger, a 56-year-old man from Salem, Ore., was eventually released without being charged after he was questioned by the FBI.

Stimulus money to be used to install body scanners -- The U.S. government is using $25 million in stimulus money to buy and install full body scanners in airports this year, in an effort to ramp up security and create jobs.

Federal stimulus money going to phantom zip codes -- As much as $9.5 million in federal stimulus dollars went to 14 zip codes in Virginia that don’t exist or are in other states, Old Dominion Watchdog ( http://virginia.watchdog.org ) reports. The fake zip codes were listed on http://www.Recovery.gov, the federal Web site that is supposed to track how the stimulus money is being used.

Soldiers fight in the courts over liability in war zones -- A recent lawsuit brought by a group of Indiana National Guardsman spotlights a controversial legal doctrine that prevents soldiers on active duty from seeking compensation for injuries sustained in war zones.

Call to the people of the world to support Iceland -- Against The Financial Blackmail Of The British And Dutch Governments And The IMF.

Real change is YOU by Karl Schwarz -- The Revolutionary War was fought and won over less offenses, less tyranny, less taxation, less abuse of the public trust, less abuse of the personal freedom and liberties of every man, woman and child, than Washington DC has become. "Real change will happen when you change, get off the butt, and do something about it. There is a reawakening trying to mobilize in America. Join it. "

Common pain medication accelerate growth of tumors -- Two recent studies analyzing the side effects of morphine have revealed that the chronic pain drug and other opiate-based pain medications contribute to the growth and spread of cancer cells.

Help end the US government's silence about Vitamin D -- The natural way to prevent and treat flu.

This has got to stop!! - Cop went wild with Taser, diabetic says -- A suburban Chicago police officer Tasered a man 11 times while he was having a diabetic seizure, and the 56 seconds of needlessly inflicted electric shock, "inflicted ... while he was lying unresponsive on the floor of his bedroom, permanently scarred [him] and caused him neurological damage that has not abated," the man claims in Chicago Federal Court.

Tea Party planning national strike on Jan 20 -- As President Barack Obama's first year in office draws to a close, Tea Party groups are planning to mark the occasion with a national strike - something local leaders say could demonstrate the conservative groups' burgeoning strength.

Former Arrow truck driver reported missing -- The family reportedly has not heard from the trucker since before Christmas, when the Tulsa-based motor carrier suddenly shut down operations and stranded nearly a thousand drivers on the road.

The environmental consequences of war -- Why militaries almost never clean up the messes they leave behind.

Stupid news: Cell phone radiation may prevent or cure Alzheimer's disease? -- A new study now has found that cell phone radiation among other things may serve as a therapy to treat Alzheimer's disease or as a preventative to prevent the development of the disease.

Woman launches into hamburger rage -- Surveillance video from a Midtown McDonald's restaurant on Main Street shows a woman experiencing hamburger rage.

Northern freeze hobbles UK, transport; China rations electricity -- European transport was hobbled, China curbed power use because of coal shortages and Florida citrus growers braced for more nights of freezing temperatures as icy weather continued to grip the Northern Hemisphere.

Natural solutions for pet skin & flea problems -- Many pets are infested with fleas and ticks or have skin problems that can be difficult to treat. Conventional cures include the use of chemical based shampoos and flea repellents which can be toxic. Coat and skin problems can also be exacerbated by a bad diet. Try wholesome, preservative free food and natural pet products to control skin problems, allowing pets to enjoy a happier, healthier life.

The hellish hum/vibration from cell phone towers in Brandon/Riverview FLA -- "THE SOUND IS DEFINITELY COMING FROM THE TOP OF THE CELL TOWERS!"
 * Click here for a website for raising awareness of dangers from cell phone towers

Alaska hosts test of National Emergency Alert System -- Alaska participated at 10 a.m. in the first-ever test of the Emergency Action Notification system, designed to alert the entire nation in the event of an emergency.

Farmer suicides and cotton nightmare unfolding in India -- The Institute of Science in Society (ISS) found that the largest wave of farmer suicides and ecological nightmare unfolding around Bt cotton. Dr. Mae-Wan Ho of ISS exposes the “fudged” data and false claims of ‘successes’ that have perpetrated the humanitarian disaster.

Experts: Pat down search at airport often ineffective -- Aviation experts say the pat-down is often ineffective, in part because of government rules covering where screeners can put their hands and how frequently they can frisk passengers.

Reckless indifference of the American Cancer Society to cancer prevention -- Early this month, top Republican Senator Charles E. Grassley sent letters to the American Cancer Society (ACS), besides the American Medical Association (AMA) and 31 other medical advocacy groups, asking them to provide detailed information on tax-deductible funds that they have received from drug and device makers. Such funds have encouraged these organizations to lobby on behalf of a wide range of industries and strongly influence public policy, says Dr. Samuel S. Epstein, Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition.

Harassed war reporter: We must stand up to these TSA thugs -- “No country has ever treated me so badly,” Michael Yon wrote in a Facebook message. “Not China. Not Vietnam. Not Afghanistan. Definitely not Singapore or India or Nepal or Germany, not Brunei, not Indonesia, or Malaysia, or Kuwait or Qatar or United Arab Emirates. No county has treated me with the disrespect can that can be expected from our border bullies.”

The strategy behind the Guard Home movement -- Bring the Guard Home! It's the law." is a national movement of state campaigns to end the unlawful overseas deployment of our National Guard.
 * Bring the Guard Home website

One third of world's population has tuberculosis bacterium -- More than two billion people, or a third of the world's total population, are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB).

Gas supplies running out as Britain shivers -- The National Grid yesterday issued only its ­second-ever warning that demand for energy is threatening to outstrip available supplies unless industry quickly slashes its consumption and more gas is rushed in from abroad.

Hundreds of Afghans rally against NATO forces -- Hundreds of people, mostly students rallied in central Kabul and eastern Nangarhar provinces against the killing of civilians in foreign forces operations.

European Parliament to investigate pandemic flu scandal -- The Council of Europe member states will launch an inquiry in January 2010 on the influence of the pharmaceutical companies on the global swine flu campaign, focusing especially on extent of the pharma‘s industry’s influence on WHO.

Refugees, deaths, oil -- it's Iraq

Executive Order 13527 --  For postal service to deliver medications during emergency. Establishing Federal Capability for the Timely Provision of Medical Countermeasures Following a Biological Attack.

Amazing cloud roll captured on camera -- This amazing picture shows a rare phenomenon called a roll cloud which tend to form ahead of a cold front and can stretch for miles.



Today in History Wednesday January 6, 2010
1205 - Philip of Swabia was crowned as King of the Romans.
1720 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble published its findings.
1759 - George Washington and Martha Dandridge Custis were married.
1838 - Samuel Morse publicly demonstrated the telegraph for the first time.
1896 - The first American women’s six-day bicycle race was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
1900 - In India, it was reported that millions of people were dying from starvation.
1912 - New Mexico became the 47th U.S. state.
1930 - The first diesel-engine automobile trip was completed after a run of 792 miles from Indianapolis, IN, to New York City, NY.
1931 - Thomas Edison executed his last patent application.
1942 - The first commercial around-the-world airline flight took place. Pan American Airlines was the company that made history with the feat.
1967 - U.S. and South Vietnamese forces launched a major offensive, known as Operation "Deckhouse V", in the Mekong River delta.
1987 - After a 29-year lapse, the Ford Thunderbird was presented with the Motor Trend Car of the Year Award. It was the first occurrence of a repeat winner of the award.
1998 - The spacecraft Lunar Prospect was launched into orbit around the moon. The craft was crashed into the moon, in an effort to find water under the lunar surface, on July 31, 1999.
1999 - The 106th U.S. Congress opened. The first item on the agenda was the impeachment proceedings of U.S. President Bill Clinton. The trial was set to begin January 7, 1999.

GMAC Says Lender Will Post $5 Billion Quarterly Loss -- GMAC Inc., the auto and home lender bailed out by the U.S. government three times, said its combined fourth-quarter loss was about $5 billion as the company tried to staunch mortgage defaults. GMAC cited a previously disclosed $3.8 billion pretax charge tied to revaluing “higher-risk mortgage loans” that it intends to sell, according to an investor presentation today. The firm expects delinquencies to peak next year, and home prices to bottom in the first quarter of 2011, according to the slide show.

Cleveland Unions Have One Week To Accept Concessions Or Face Layoffs -- The mayor sent a total of about 160 layoff notices out just before Christmas in order to meet the a two- week notification deadline to cut employees loose after next Monday. At that time, the Cleveland Fraternal Order of Police – which represents supervisors - had rejected the mayors’ proposed concessions. Shortly after that, the Patrolman’s Union followed suit, as did the EMS union. Those votes will mean the city will lay off just under a hundred officers and paramedics, and demote several higher ranking police personnel. (This is what Bob Chapman was talking about, this past Monday on the PH).

This Year's Housing Crisis -- High unemployment rates also mean that many borrowers who did qualify for aid have been unable to keep up with even reduced monthly payments. As a result, an estimated 2.4 million foreclosed homes will be added to the existing glut in 2010, driving prices down by another 10 percent or so. That would bring the average decline nationwide to about 40 percent since the peak of the market in 2006. A renewed price drop could usher in a new grim chapter in the foreclosure crisis. Already an estimated one-third of homeowners with a mortgage — nearly 16 million people — owe more than their homes are worth; in industry parlance, they are “underwater.”

"The Patriot" movie can be watched online free -- Watch free - The Patriot film online.

States battered with record lows face more frigid weather -- The system will bring blistering cold weather and winds across the country, including many states not used to such temperatures.

Arctic freeze and snow wreak havoc across planet -- There were few precedents for the global sweep of extreme cold and ice that killed dozens in India, paralyzed life in Beijing and threatened the Florida orange crop.

Winter prediction from 2010 Farmer's Almanac -- “People on the coasts shouldn’t think they’re off the hook just because we’re predicting milder winter weather for them. Shovelry is most certainly not dead.”

Asia's worst winter in 60 years -- More than ten inches of snow covered the South Korean capital, Seoul, between the early hours of the morning and this afternoon, the heaviest fall since records began in 1937.

Bomber at CIA base was double agent -- The suicide bomber who killed eight people inside a CIA base in Afghanistan claimed to have information about Osama bin Laden's second-in -command, and was being recruited as a double agent to infiltrate al-Qaida, a former senior U.S. intelligence official and a foreign government official confirmed Monday.

Couple in New York charged for failing to register home schooled children -- The sheriff's department says the two were home schooling their four children, ages 8 to 14 years old, without the required approval from the school district.

DARPA kick starts flying car program -- Military scientists are looking to ramp up research and development of a flying military vehicle that will hold up to 4 people and have the ability to launch vertically and soar when necessary.

Cash strapped seniors in UK buy cheap used books to use for heating homes -- Some cash-strapped British pensioners are buying books from charity shops and burn them to keep warm as freezing temperatures gripped the UK, a London newspaper reported Tuesday.

Just as predicted: Drug companies now pushing vaccines for all kinds of health conditions -- Vaccine sales are expected to double in the next five years, leaping from $19 billion in 2008 to $39 billion in 2013.

Ron Paul: "This is not what America is all about" -- Dr. Paul appeared on Larry King Live last night to discuss terrorism, the TSA, and related issues.

National Guard revives Nazi oath to Hitler-always place mission first, not Constitution -- In 2003, the US Army adapted the “Soldier’s Creed” to program soldiers to shift their Oath of Enlistment from “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” to the heel-clicking, non-thinking, dictator-obeying, “I will always place the mission first.”

Military blogger Michael Yon detained by TSA thugs at Seattle airport -- Yon was escorted to a room elsewhere in the airport where he said he remained silent during much of the questioning. According to Yon, “they handcuffed me for failing to cooperate. They said I was impeding their ability to do their job.”

Personal bankruptcy filings rising fast -- Overall, personal bankruptcy filings hit 1.41 million last year, up 32% from 2008.

Monsanto named company of the year by Forbes magazine -- The publication cites Monsanto's on-going work in the field of bio-engineering to improve crop yields and feed an ever-growing world population.

Robert Rubin: All hell could break loose because of huge government debt -- The United States faces projected 10-year federal budget deficits that seriously threaten its bond market, exchange rate, economy, and the economic future of every American worker and family.

Woman developed cough that won't go away after getting swine flu vaccine -- A lot of people who have developed very severe side effects after receiving the H1N1 swine flu vaccine do not know what to do. This is the story recently posted by a reader named Dawn. She received the H1N1 swine flu vaccine about a month ago, and since then she has developed asthma (she never had it before) and she has had a severe cough.
 * Mother of 8 year old regrets giving child vaccine-she now has uncontrollable body movements -- It seems like every day we receive heartbreaking stories like the one that you are about to read. Thousands upon thousands of lives are being shattered by the H1N1 swine flu vaccine and yet the mainstream media will not report on all of these horrifying side effects that people are experiencing.

Study turns up 10 autism clusters in California -- U.S. researchers have identified 10 locations in California that have double the rates of autism found in surrounding areas, and these clusters were located in neighborhoods with high concentrations of white, highly educated parents.

Obamacare: A runaway fascistic train -- Obama's healthcare legislation is not more socialism, it's fascism, pure and simple, with "our" government fronting for the private International Monetary/Banking Cartel's insurance corporations, at great expense to all taxpaying Americans, who will be receiving far less health care than ever before.

Democrat leaders plan secret health reform deliberations -- Despite their claims to the contrary, the way that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have handled the healthcare bill has been anything but transparent.

Learn Ayurveda remedies -- Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine that considers mind, body, and spirit when diagnosing and treating patients.

Company receives $143 million from US government to develop anthrax treatment -- Elusys Therapeutics, Inc. (Elusys), a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has signed a contract potentially totaling up to $143 million to complete the final development, commercial manufacturing and licensure of Anthim, the company's late stage anthrax therapeutic.

Georgia balances budget with speeding ticket TAX! -- Drivers in Georgia were hit for the first time last Friday with a new tax on speeding tickets designed to raise between $25 and $30 million in annual revenue for the general fund.

Extended period of cold raises fears for Florida crops -- Stock up on orange juice now.

Seattle man seeks to put up tipi at Crow Creek post -- As Crow Creek Sioux tribal Chairman Brandon Sazue continues his lonely, cold vigil on contested land on his tribe’s reservation, a move is afoot to replace his aging trailer with a tipi.

Court to cops: Stop tasing people into compliance -- The physiological effects, the high levels of pain, and foreseeable risk of physical injury lead us to conclude that the X26 and similar devices are a greater intrusion than other non-lethal methods of force we have confronted.

More than 1 in 6 Tennesseans on food stamps -- More and more Tennesseans are turning to food stamps to make ends meet. Nearly 1,186,000 Tennesseans, or more than one in six residents, currently receive some kind of food stamp assistance and the number continues to climb.

Defense 2010 : conflicts, program, technologies -- (check out the interactive map of world conflicts)

Air Force completes killer microdrone project -- The Air Force Research Laboratory set out in 2008 to build the ultimate assassination robot: a tiny, armed drone for U.S. special forces to employ in terminating “high-value targets.”

1000 people homeless on Solomon Islands after tsunami -- Landslides and a tsunami destroyed the homes of about one-third of the population on one of the islands in the Solomons, but lives were likely spared as residents with memories of previous disasters fled quickly to higher ground, officials said.
 * Aftershocks rattles Solomons after earthquake and tsunami -- AFTERSHOCKS continued to shake the Solomon Islands today as officials visited isolated villages a day after a powerful 7.2 magnitude quake and tsunami damaged at least 500 homes.

The airport scanner scam -- The rush toward full-body scans already seems unstoppable. Read More...

From RFID news roundup -- Germany to issue RFID enabled National ID cards in November 2010 (scroll down for story)

Today in History Tuesday January 5, 2010
1781 - Richmond, VA, was burned by a British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold.
1885 - The Long Island Railroad Company became the first to offer piggy-back rail service which was the transportation of farm wagons on trains.
1896 - It was reported by The Austrian newspaper that Wilhelm Roentgen had discovered the type of radiation that became known as X-rays.
1903 - The general public could use the Pacific cable for the very first time.
1914 - Ford Motor Company announced that there would be a new daily minimum wage of $5 and an eight-hour workday.
1925 - Mrs. Nellie Taylor Ross was sworn in as the governor of Wyoming She was the first female governor in the U.S.
1933 - Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began.
1935 - Phil Spitalny’s All-Girl Orchestra was featured on CBS radio on the program, "The Hour of Charm."
1940 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) got its very first demonstration of FM radio.
1948 - Warner Brothers-Pathe showed the very first color newsreel. The footage was of the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl football classic.
1972 - U.S. President Richard M. Nixon ordered the development of the space shuttle.
1998 - U.S. Representative Sonny Bono died in skiing accident.

US Winter of 2009-2010 could be worst in 25 years -- Nearly the entire eastern half of the United States is enduring bitterly cold temperatures not experienced since 1985. Even Florida, which has been hovering around freezing levels overnight recently, is also feeling the almost-nationwide chill.

Vermont Snowstorm breaks record -- Burlington’s largest ever recorded snowstorm buried Vermont’s Champlain Valley region over the weekend.

Six trucks of explosives 'disappear' in Yemen -- In an apparently botched surveillance operation, militants driving six trucks filled with weapons and ordnance succeeded in giving security forces the slip as they entered the city, according to local media.

Group slams Chertoff on scanner promotion -- Since the attempted bombing of a US airliner on Christmas Day, former Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff has given dozens of media interviews touting the need for the federal government to buy more full-body scanners for airports.

New scanners break child porn laws -- The rapid introduction of full body scanners at British airports threatens to breach child protection laws which ban the creation of indecent images of children, the Guardian has learned.

Over 70% of Americans in favor of U.S. troops in Yemen-poll -- If we are to believe a recent poll posted on the Fox News website, more than 70% of Americans favor going into Yemen to get rid of al-Qaeda. “With over 20,000 people taking part in the poll, 71% voted that ‘the problem is not going away,’ and “troops need to be sent there to eliminate Al Qaeda and the threat it poses to national security.”

Retired US General promises an airliner will be down within 100 days -- A retired U.S. General has called for strip searches of all muslim men at airports and “threat-based” profiling, declaring that “in the next 30-100 days,” there is “very high probability a US airliner will come down.”

9-11 Responders left with lung problems, asthma, cancer -- Research conducted during 2009 shows that first responders to the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks suffer from asthma at more than twice the rate of the general U.S. population. They also suffer other ongoing lung problems and may have a higher risk of cancer.

Federal Court blasts cop for Tasering man over seat belt -- A federal court last week handed down guidelines that limit the ability of police to use tasers at will. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made its decision in response to a 2005 incident where Coronado Police Officer Brian McPherson tasered and injured motorist Carl Bryan, then 21, over a minor seatbelt infraction.

10 Sci-Fi Weapons That Actually Exist -- Sure, the gear may look like it came straight out of Avatar or Battlestar Galactica. But all of the laser weapons, robots, sonic blasters and puke rays pictured here are real. Some of these weapons have already found their way onto the battlefield. If the rest of this sci-fi arsenal follows, war may soon be unrecognizable. Read on for a look at some of these futuristic weapons being tested today.

Airport backscatter x-rays destroy DNA...feeling lucky? -- A new model of the way the THz waves interact with DNA explains how the damage is done and why evidence has been so hard to gather.

Third uninvited guest was at White House state dinner -- The Secret Service said Monday that a third uninvited guest gained entry to the dinner at the White House on Nov. 24. A review of video from the party, which was held to honor the prime minister of India, showed that a man wearing a tuxedo entered with members of the Indian delegation.

Drug side effects blamed for 20% of hospital readmissions -- One in every five patients readmitted to the hospital within a year of an inpatient treatment ends up there because of an adverse drug reaction, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Anti-flu drug flows into rivers during flu season -- Scientists report they found the anti-viral medication Tamiflu in rivers in Japanese cities during last year's flu season. The contamination raises serious public health safety concerns about the overuse of antiviral drugs that may lead to development of Tamiflu-resistant flu strains. The results highlight a need for enhanced treatment of wastewater, especially during periods of elevated flu risk.

An American refuses to buy health insurance that supports corrupt medicine -- Even if Obama's health care reform bill becomes law, mandating that all Americans buy health insurance policies for a failed system of "sick care", I will refuse to comply. I've read the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights, and nowhere in that document do I find that the federal government has the power to force consumers to purchase for-profit insurance products from private companies.

Health care nullification & interposition based on the 10th amendment -- Any act, order, law, statute, regulation or rule restricting the ability of New Hampshire citizens to contract with healthcare professionals or facilities for the provision healthcare services or to contract with corporations providing health insurance authorized by the State of New Hampshire for health insurance is unconstitutional, void and of no force. Any attempt to enforce such a law is an affront to the Sovereignty of the States and their Citizens.

Procedural issues lead to ban of Bayer pesticide -- Federal judge banned the sale of a Bayer CropScience pesticide that environmental groups and commercial beekeepers say is potentially toxic to the nation's threatened honeybee population.

Use of potentially harmful chemicals kept secret under law -- Of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States - from flame retardants in furniture to household cleaners - nearly 20 percent are secret, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, their names and physical properties guarded from consumers and virtually all public officials under a little-known federal provision.

Yummy! Ammonia treated pink slime now in most US ground beef -- According to today's New York Times, The "majority of hamburger" now sold in the U.S. now contains fatty slaughterhouse trimmings "the industry once relegated to pet food and cooking oil," "typically including most of the material from the outer surfaces of the carcass" that contains "larger microbiological populations."

China will soon have the power to switch off the lights in the west -- The year is 2050, and a diplomatic dispute between China and Britain risks escalating into all-out war. But rather than launching a barrage of ballistic missiles and jet fighters to destroy key British targets, Beijing has a far simpler plan for defeating its enemy. It simply turns off the lights.

PBOC Official Calls For Oil Purchases Using FX Reserves says Report -- China should set up a special entity to buy oil and other strategically important resources using funds from the country's foreign-exchange reserves, the central bank-run Financial News reported Monday.

Chicago: School bills are due, but state won't pay -- Say the words out loud to get a feel for the size of it: Forty-five million, two hundred and six thousand, six hundred and fifty-four dollars, and sixty-one cents. That's how much the state is behind in payments to your local schools. When the quarterly payments came due at the end of the year, the state again missed its categorical and grant payments to all 871 Illinois school districts. Comment: This is Obama's "home state", right? (Thanks Jimm)

Obama's war on Yemen -- Besides waging direct or proxy wars on multiple fronts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, the Philippines, Sudan, Eastern Congo, elsewhere in Africa, and likely to erupt almost anywhere at any time, Yemen is now a new front in America's "war on terror" under a president, who as a candidate, promised diplomacy, not conflict, if elected.

Is attacking Yemen all about oil? -- Here several things stand out as peculiar when stacked against Washington's claims about a resurgent Al Qaeda organization in the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen straddles one of the world's most strategic oil passages, Bab el-Mandab.

White House probes mole network behind flight 595 terror incident by Webster Tarpley -- Officials in the Obama White House are considering the possibility that the Christmas day attempt by Nigerian terrorist Umar Farouk Mutallab to blow up an airliner about to land in Detroit was deliberately and intentionally facilitated by unnamed networks inside the US intelligence community.

Swine flu still running rampant in Ukraine -- Although the number of reported cases has declined in recent days, the jump of 38 deaths in 24 hours is the highest reported to date for Ukraine and raise concerns that sequences with D225G and D225N are becoming more common and are linked to the rise in deaths.

Last toll collector in Colorado laid off due to electronic tolling -- The last toll collector in Colorado handed in their coin tray for the last time 10pm Dec 31 as the Northwest Parkway went cashless with all-electronic tolling.

Man says judge arrested him on a "hunch" -- Benjamin Marchant claims that General Sessions Judge Durwood Moore admitted that he "routinely drug-screens 'spectators' in his courtroom if he 'thinks' they may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol."

Don't look at this! CIA drone protest -- Cindy Sheehan said Facebook deleted an invitation to the CIA Drone Protest in Langley, Virginia, scheduled for Jan. 16, 2010. Sheehan said "the CIA is becoming overly involved in terrorizing populations." Sheehan joins a powerhouse of women activists to lead the CIA Drone Protest, including Cynthia McKinney, Ann Wright, Kathy Kelly and Debra Sweet. "We had an event with over 250 confirmed guests and it was deleted by Facebook," Sheehan said.

CIA cryptonyms -- CIA documents are peppered with "cryptonyms" - This page provides a handy look-up chart for decoding crypts seen in CIA documents.

Toxic water facility in Iraq killing Us soldiers -- Hundreds of National Guardsmen potentially exposed to toxic chemical at Iraq water treatment plant in 2003.

Inside the military media industrial complex: impacts on movements for peace & social justice -- In the United States today, the rift between reality and reporting has peaked. There is no longer a mere credibility gap, but rather a literal Truth Emergency in which the most important information affecting people is concealed from view.

How constant TV viewing is giving children speech problems -- Nearly a quarter of boys - and one in seven girls - are struggling to learn to talk because thousands of households keep their TV sets on, constantly making it difficult for them to understand the speech of adults around them.

The UN & Interpol; How the UN will gain power -- It is interesting that the man who cast aside the US Constitution like a rag, and imposes his own laws without consent, has agreed to allow an international police authority to overrule the US government. Barack Obama signed an Executive Order giving express permission for Interpol to supersede the laws and police authorities of the USA.

IRS to regulate paid tax preparers -- The IRS plans to require tax preparers to pass a test and register with the government to better police a largely unregulated industry used by most taxpayers.

Courage to Resist-Support the troops who refuse to fight -- Although the efforts of Courage to Resist are primarily focused on supporting public GI resisters, the organization also strives to provide political, emotional, and material support to all military objectors critical of our government's current policies of empire.

Food for Maine's future -- Food for Maine's Future seeks to build a just, secure, and democratic food system which protects Maine farmers and the environment from corporate control.

Mexico's Electronic Vehicle Registration system-Rfid stickers to be read by cameras -- The combined data will be transmitted to a central database of the national vehicle registry agency which can find "vehicles of interest" for law enforcement. The system will enable the various regional enforcement agencies to pick up identified vehicles on a watch list as they travel along the highway.

$340 million blitz launches 2010 Census -- Anyone who doesn't know there is a Census this year will know after Monday. The government's unprecedented $340 million promotional blitz of the 2010 Census launches Monday with the debut of the Census Portrait of America Road Tour in New York City's Times Square. A 46-foot trailer, to be unveiled on NBC's Today show, and 12 smaller cargo vans with 14-foot trailers will crisscross more than 150,000 miles nationwide through April to promote the benefits of responding to the 10-question Census.

The criminalization of protest -- Police and politicians ignore the First Amendment when we need it the most.

DARPA funds spying beetles -- In what is being touted as the first time humans have remotely controlled insects, University of California at Berkeley engineers successfully implanted radio-equipped, “miniature neural stimulation” systems into flying beetles.

North Magnetic Pole moving due to core flux -- Earth's north magnetic pole is racing toward Russia at almost 40 miles (64 kilometers) a year due to magnetic changes in the planet's core, new research says.

Second whislteblower emerges to confirm reality of time travel -- A second whistle-blower, this one a physicist, has emerged to confirm the existence of U.S. government development of time travel technology and emphasize the importance of the real-world application of such technology for achieving planetary sustainability.


Today in History Monday January 4, 2010
1821 - The first native-born American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, died in Emmitsburg, MD.
1850 - The first American ice-skating club was organized in Philadelphia, PA.
1884 - The socialist Fabian Society was founded in London.
1885 - Dr. William Grant performed the first successful appendectomy. The patient was Mary Gartside.
1896 - Utah became the 45th U.S. state.
1935 - Bob Hope was heard for the first time on network radio as part of "The Intimate Revue."
1936 - The first pop music chart based on national sales was published by "Billboard" magazine.
1953 - Tufted plastic carpeting was introduced by Barwick Mills.
1962 - New York City introduced a train that operated without conductors and motormen.
1965 - In his State of the Union address, U.S. President Johnson proclaimed the building of the "Great Society."
1974 - U.S. President Nixon refused to hand over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
1990 - Deposed Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega was arraigned in U.S. federal district court in Miami on drug-trafficking charges.
1999 - Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as Minnesota's 37th governor.
2006 - Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. She was the first woman to hold the position

The Many Uses of Duct Tape -- "Duct tape is like the force: It has a dark side and a light side and it holds the universe together." - Carl Zwanzig 

Baby it's cold outside! Extreme cold grip most of US -- Get Ready!! Residents of the Northeast will have to endure more chilly wind through the middle of next week.
 *
Iowa 30 degrees below normal -- Temperatures stayed below zero for much of Saturday. Des Moines was at minus-1 by 3 p.m.
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Wind chill temperature map
 *
What global warming? -- as Britain struggles to cope with the freezing weather conditions, other countries throughout the world are also finding themselves in the same predicament.

Device turns thought into speech -- Scientists have successfully tested a system that translates brain waves into speech, raising the prospect that people left mute by stroke, Lou Gehrig's disease and other afflictions will one day be able to communicate by synthetic voice.

150 more full-body scanners to go in U.S. airports -- One hundred and fifty new full-body scanning machines are set to be placed in airports across the United States as federal authorities work to close security loopholes exposed by the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner.
*
Passengers on US bound flights face more screening -- Beginning Monday, air travelers flying into the United States from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Yemen and other "countries of interest" will be subjected to enhanced screening techniques, such as body scans, pat-downs and a thorough search of carry-on luggage.

Man skirts NJ screening, delaying flights -- A man walked through a screening checkpoint exit into the secure side of a terminal at one of the nation's busiest airports on Sunday night, and flights were grounded for hours and passengers had to be re-screened while air safety officials searched for him.(and of course they did not find him)

Use of potentially harmful chemicals kept secret under law -- Of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States -- from flame retardants in furniture to household cleaners -- nearly 20 percent are secret, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, their names and physical properties guarded from consumers and virtually all public officials under a little-known federal provision.

Thought For The Day from our friend Mike Tawse in the UK -- Choose For Today With Care - Do not fear the past; you have already survived it, and its lessons may deepen your understanding. Do not fear the future; you have not reached it, but its potential may inspire your resolve. You may choose to change today, but choose with care; by tomorrow your choices will be the lessons of yesterday.

December layoffs, bankruptcies & closings

Are we about to see the end of the much-vaunted eurozone? -- In the 1920s, central bankers like Bank of England governor Montagu Norman were convinced that all would be lost once sterling abandoned the gold standard. In 1992, the British banking and political elite felt the same way about the ERM. But, as Norman Lamont discovered the hard way on Black Wednesday, you can only defy political and economic reality for so long. In the medium term, economies like Greece and Spain are certain to break away from the euro. The refusal of the political elites to recognize this inevitability means that 2010 is going to be very painful, very bloody and very dangerous.

Zombie Dance Party Update: GMAC and the Housing GSEs Get Down -- Keep in mind that the other members of the zombie dance party, including Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Well Fargo (WFC) have been shifting most of the mortgage risk exposure they create to Fannie and Freddie. Through the GSEs and the FHA, you the taxpayer are actually subsidizing the past and current loan origination of most US banks. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA), who refuses to wind-down the GSEs, is the latest and chief architect of this fiasco, but there is plenty of blame to go around for members of both parties in the Congress.

Tylenol recall -- What is more incredible in the FDA announcement is the fact that the FDA has a disclaimer about not endorsing the product or the company involved (in the FDA's own press release). OK, then why do these products have to be tested by the FDA? Why is the FDA approval so important, if there's a retraction by the FDA regarding the products and the companies that make the products? Welcome to what government run health care is going to look like, if this is how a government agency covers its butt. Approvals and disclaimers co-exist happily together.

President Jackson's Veto Message Regarding the Bank of the United States; July 10, 1832 -- Is there no danger to our liberty and independence in a bank that in its nature has so little to bind it to our country? The president of the bank has told us that most of the State banks exist by its forbearance. Should its influence become concentered, as it may under the operation of such an act as this, in the hands of a self-elected directory whose interests are identified with those of the foreign stockholders, will there not be cause to tremble for the purity of our elections in peace and for the independence of our country in war? Their power would be great whenever they might choose to exert it; but if this monopoly were regularly renewed every fifteen or twenty years on terms proposed by themselves, they might seldom in peace put forth their strength to influence elections or control the affairs of the nation. But if any private citizen or public functionary should interpose to curtail its powers or prevent a renewal of its privileges, it can not be doubted that he would be made to feel its influence.

Americans want to be slaves -- Unfortunately, the American ideal has faded in the minds of many. Many no longer know what they are throwing away. It is only when it is gone that they will wake up and realize that the noose is already too tight for escape.

Cherry juice helps arthritis; Vitamin D boosts immune system

WHO: H1N1 may mot be conquered until 2011 -- According to the head of the World Health Organization on Tuesday, the H1N1 flu pandemic may not be conquered until 2011, and continued attention to the virus will be need to be regarded as it still can mutate.

WHO chief has not had her H1N1 vaccine yet...(wonder why?) -- World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan revealed Tuesday that she has yet to be vaccinated against the swine flu virus, which has killed over 11,500 people world-wide.

China tells women to delay pregnancy until H1N1 is over -- Women were advised to delay getting pregnant until after the A(H1N1) flu risk drops, the Ministry of Health said on its website.

Pakistan: Over 700 civilians killed by US drone strikes -- Of the 44 predator strikes carried out by US drones in the tribal areas of Pakistan over the past 12 months, only five were able to hit their actual targets, killing five key Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders, but at the cost of over 700 innocent civilians. According to the statistics compiled by Pakistani authorities, the Afghanistan-based US drones killed 708 people in 44 predator attacks targeting the tribal areas between January 1 and December 31, 2009.

Once again, Wall Street gets big bonuses; $23 billion just st Goldman Sachs -- Along with Wall Street’s resurgent bonuses will come a jump in an ancillary benefit: tax breaks.

While 6 million list food stamps as only income -- State data collected by The New York Times and published Sunday shows these Americans claim that food stamps are the only income they have -- they say they receive no welfare benefits, pensions, unemployment insurance, disability pay or child support.

January effect may set market's tone for new year -- The stock market faces a big test as 2010 trading gets under way: whether its performance will be lifted by the phenomenon known as the January effect, or squelched by uncertainty about the economy.

Health bill could expand role of IRS -- Internal Revenue Service agents already try to catch tax cheats and moonshiners. Under the proposed health care legislation, they would get another assignment: checking to see whether Americans have health insurance.

Is the US government buying stocks? -- Has it happened? Has the government or it's primary dealers really purchased stocks? Read More...

Losing weight cures sleep apnea -- A recent study conducted by scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found that simple weight loss is an effective treatment for sleep apnea in obese men. Published in the British Medical Journal, the study revealed a 50-percent reduction in sleep apnea cases following a rigorous weight-loss regimen where each participant lost an average of nearly 42 pounds throughout the course of the study.

Man almost dies from one spray of deodorant -- Suffers allergic reaction!

Warning: pet food contaminated with high levels of fluoride -- A study conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found high levels of fluoride contamination in eight major national brands of dog food, raising concerns that pets may be at risk of bone cancers and other consequences of fluoride exposure.

Organic or not? -- These foods are not always what consumers think they are. Some are not chemical or pesticide free. Health benefits are questionable. Only certain thing? They cost more.

Safety of beef processing method is questioned -- Eight years ago, federal officials were struggling to remove potentially deadly E. coli from hamburgers when an entrepreneurial company from South Dakota came up with a novel idea: injecting beef with ammonia.

Transportation Worker Identity Card now acceptable for ID at military bases -- The Transportation Worker Identification Credential recently became acceptable ID for trucks visiting military bases.

US shuts embassy as al-qaeda plans attack in Yemen -- The US has indications that al-Qaeda is planning an attack in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, President Barack Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser has said.

Air passengers face two body searches -- A study published by the University of Babel, came out with staggering figures regarding the levels of Poverty in Iraq.

Student sleuths using DNA reveal zoo of 95 species in NYC homes and new evidence of food fraud -- Two New York City high school students exploring their homes using the latest high-tech DNA analysis techniques were astonished to discover a veritable zoo of 95 animal species surrounding them, in everything from fridges to furniture, from sidewalks to shipping boxes, and from feather dusters to floor corners.

Are planned airport scanners a scam? -- The explosive device smuggled in the clothing of the Detroit bomb suspect would not have been detected by body-scanners set to be introduced in British airports, an expert on the technology warned last night.

Poverty in the new Iraq -- A study published by the University of Babel, came out with staggering figures regarding the levels of Poverty in Iraq. Read More...

House Bill authorizes $4 trillion for next bailout, but tells Congress to shut up -- “Best of all,” writes Reilly, “the bill contains a provision that, in the event of another government request for emergency aid to prop up the financial system, debate in Congress be limited to just 10 hours. Anything that can get Congress to shut up can’t be all bad.”

Are US forces executing kids in Afghanistan? -- Read the report on the incident that ran in the Times of London.

News to catch up on from the holiday break that may have been missed or buried due to the underwear plane attack distraction! (broken down into categories)


War & military:
* Afghan soldier kills US service member at army base
* US military is exhausted
* Video: US soldiers are waking up!
* Hillary Clinton: We'll still be in Afghanistan in 50-60 years
* Afghan civilians 'shot dead' by foreign forces
* Pentagon spending for war exceeds that of all states governments
* America charity using recycled (du contaminated) material from the war in Gaza
* Uranium weapons, low level radiation and deformed babies
* Rothchild's control: working toward a real robot army
* Medical experiments on US soldiers video

Congress:
* Bankers get $4 trillion gift from Barney Frank
* Congress raises debt ceiling to $12.4 trillion
* Nullification of health care reform sought in several states

Native American:
* Native Americans suffer in brutal winter, and as usual, ignored
* Remove the Wounded Knee Massacre Ribbon from the US Army Flag!
* Chevron using 6 public relations firms to discredit indigenous groups in $27.3 billion environmental case in Ecuador

Agriculture:
* GM seeds threaten world food supply
* Monsanto, BigAg has troubling control over seed market
* Study proves three corn Monsanto's corn varieties noxiousness to the organism
* Seed shortage in 2010?

Health:
* Health Canada proposes putting anti cancer drug into potatochips & french fries.EWWWW!!!!!
* Ritalin linked with sudden death of children
* Side effects of dental ceramics
* The search for an endangered mushroom that can cure smallpox, TB & bird flu
* Vitamin C is key to creating stem cells
* Your food is being sprayed with viruses and the FDA is ok with that
* EPA announces plans to require disclosure of secret pesticide ingredients

Plane attack:
* Family survives terrorist attempt on plane -- Patricia also expressed anger toward the airline for how she feels they were treated after the flight.
"We're very frustrated with Delta because, once we finally got released and we were able to go, of course, everybody missed their flights, but they did not help us in one way. We were just thrown out there. We had to scramble and look for flights, try to rent cars, whatever we could do. That was very disappointing to us."
* Whistleblowers had tried to warn of plane attacks during Bush administration - Fired airline whistleblowers suppressed for attempts to keep passengers safe before and since 911 are warning passengers that air safety breaches have reached epidemic proportions
* Full body scanners to fry travelers with radiation
* Travelers choice:shed shyness for security
* TSA subpoenas bloggers, demands sources -- the Transportation Security Administration is going after bloggers who wrote about a directive to increase security after the incident.

This one is a must read...There is an area not far from me (Nina) where they built these HUGE warehouses and there are many of them. They go for miles and many of them are empty. You can see them from GoogleEarth. They are near Fogelsville PA near route 100 and I-78. I have often wondered what they may be used for now & in the future.
America's secret ICE castles
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100104/stevens/single

Miscellaneous:
* UN poised for a gun grab
* Arrow Trucking company collapsed before Christmas, cut off fuel cards & left drivers stranded
* Walmart sued for secret bathroom surveillance
* Wecome to Orwell's world 2010


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