Joke of the day

Reporter Says Obama's Defense Bill Threatens Him With Life in Prison

By ADAM KLASFELD

ShareThis

     MANHATTAN (CN) - Reporter Chris Hedges sued President Obama in a federal class action, claiming the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act aka the "Homeland Battlefield Bill" threatens him and other journalists with life imprisonment without charge or trial for doing their job.
     President Obama signed the bill on New Year's Eve. It authorizes the military to indefinitely detain anyone it accuses of planning or supporting terrorists or "associated forces," anywhere in the world, without charge or trial.
     Co-sponsor Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said during congressional hearings that Obama asked him to preserve language in the bill making Americans subject to indefinite detention.
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Video speaks for itself

New Research: Fluoride Linked to #1 Cause of Death

Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Dees Illustration
Anthony Gucciardi
Activist Post

Groundbreaking new research has linked sodium fluoride to cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide.

Researchers found that fluoride consumption directly stimulates the hardening of your arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis that is highly correlated with the #1 killer.

Sodium fluoride is currently added to the water supply of many cities worldwide, despite extreme opposition from health professionals and previous studies linking it to decreased IQ and infertility.
Read more here 

Indefinite Detention: The NDAA and the Enemy Expatriation Act --Ron Paul is against these Acts

What War With Iran Might Look Like

Philip Giraldi January 17, 2012 0

Iran is clearly the target of choice, just as it was in 2007. Despite President Barack Obama’s assertion that he would open up avenues to talk to the Iranians, he has failed to do so, he has rejected Iranian initiatives to start a dialogue, and he is showing every sign of unwillingness to negotiate on any level. Congress has even moved to block any contact between American and Iranian diplomats.

by Philip Giraldi

Back in September 2007 I wrote an article for Antiwar.com called “What World War III May Look Like.” The article, which presumed that an incident involving U.S. troops on the border between Iraq and Iran could easily escalate into what would eventually become a global conflict, was widely replayed in the alternative media and even in the mainstream. Well, I am pleased to report that no such war has yet started, though there has been a disturbing expansion of U.S. military activity through the deployment of drones to hit targets in assorted countries without having to worry about American casualties or niceties like declarations of war.

Other geopolitical elements that figured in my 2007 analysis have also changed, so I believe that the time has come for an update.

Iran is clearly the target of choice, just as it was in 2007. Despite President Barack Obama’s assertion that he would open up avenues to talk to the Iranians, he has failed to do so, he has rejected Iranian initiatives to start a dialogue, and he is showing every sign of unwillingness to negotiate on any level. Congress has even moved to block any contact between American and Iranian diplomats. The sanctions that recently took effect against the Iranian banking system can be construed as an act of war, particularly as Iran has not provided any casus belli. Further sanctions that will restrict energy imports are impending and will bring the country’s economy to a halt. There are already signs that the Iranian government feels itself compelled to demonstrate to its people that it is doing something about the situation. That “something” might well be a confrontation with the U.S. Navy that will have unfortunate results. In light of all that, it might be useful to imagine just how war with Iran could play out if the Iranians don’t roll over and surrender at the first whiff of grapeshot.

It might start with a minor incident, possibly involving an Iranian armed small craft manned by the Revolutionary Guard. Though the Strait of Hormuz is generally considered an international waterway, the Iranians claim that half of the strait is within their territorial waters. Tehran, in response to intensified sanctions, declares that it can determine who can use the strait and says that it will take steps to keep American warships from entering. The frigate USS Ingraham, patrolling off of Bushehr, is confronted by the small craft and ordered to heave to, an order it rejects. The Iranian commander, ignoring instructions to back off when confronted directly by the U.S. Navy, opens fire with rocket-propelled grenades. The frigate’s Phalanx rapid-fire battery immediately responds by blasting the Iranian boat, killing the entire Revolutionary Guard crew, but two American sailors are also killed in the exchange and four are wounded.

Fighters from the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis are immediately launched under standing orders, and they devastate the naval base that the Iranian boat departed from. President Obama holds a press conference and calls the incident an act of war and vows to do everything necessary to support U.S. forces in the region, but he stops short of a commitment to stage a full-scale attack on Iran. A hastily called meeting of the U.N. Security Council results in a 17–1 vote urging the United States to exercise restraint, with only Washington voting “no.” In the General Assembly, only the United States, Israel, Micronesia, and Costa Rica support possible military action.
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Fukushima Disaster Update & Radiation Fallout

Obvious News Media Bias------Debate survey

Chicago Cops Called Predatory & Abusive

By GLYNIS FARRELL ShareThis      CHICAGO (CN) - A woman claims a Chicago cop sexually groped her during a putative investigation, and when she complained, other officers pressured her to withdraw the complaint, and threw her in jail on bogus charges when she refused.      Tiawanda Moore says defedant Officer Jason Wilson and his partner went to her home on July 6, 2010, "in response to a previously reported domestic dispute."      Moore, 21, says her then-boyfriend allowed the officers into the home "and Officer Wilson went upstairs to the bedroom where Ms. Moore was located to interview Ms. Moore."      The federal complaint continues: "During his interview, Officer Wilson physically groped Ms. Moore's breasts and buttocks.      "Before leaving the bedroom, Officer Wilson wrote his home phone number on a piece of paper and told Ms. Moore to call him because they should 'hook-up'.      Ms. Moore called the Chicago Police Department to report Officer Wilson's misconduct. " Read more here

Nearly Half of All Pharmaceuticals Produced Overseas, Many in Unregulated Chinese Factories

Anthony Gucciardi
NaturalSociety
January 16, 2011
Nearly half of all pharmaceutical drugs within the United States were not only produced overseas, but a shocking 81% of the 3,765 foreign factories have never been inspected by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Of these mystery drug factories, many are unregulated and stationed in China. To top it all off, the percentage climbs even higher when looking at the active ingredients for pharmaceuticals. About 80% of these active ingredients are created overseas.
The findings show that you really do not know the quality, or perhaps even the full ingredient list, of any pharmaceutical drug that you may be taking. What’s more is that a 2008 GAO report revealed that the FDA took 2 to 5 years to even follow up with foreign plants that had been cited for safety issues. That is if they followed up with the plants at all. Even when the FDA knows that the plants are affecting your safety, they fail to do anything about it — at least for about 2 to 5 years.
Read more here

Stun device needed to board a plane

Want some torture with your peanuts?

By P. Jeffrey Black and Jeffrey Denning
Just when you thought you’ve heard it all...

A senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a police Taser®. According to this promotional video found at the Lamperd Less Lethal, Inc. website, the bracelet would be worn by all airline passengers (video also shown below).
This bracelet would:
• Take the place of an airline boarding pass
• Contain personal information about the traveler
• Be able to monitor the whereabouts of each passenger and his/her luggage
• Shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing him/her for several minutes

The Electronic ID Bracelet, as it’s referred to, would be worn by every traveler “until they disembark the flight at their destination.”  Yes, you read that correctly. Every airline passenger would be tracked by a government-funded GPS, containing personal, private and confidential information, and would shock the customer worse than an electronic dog collar if the passenger got out of line.
Read More Here

[Increase] [Normal] [Decrease] US police arrest 8 Occupy protesters

Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:16AM GMT

Boston Police Department officers remove an Occupy Boston protester from Dewey Square in Boston, December 10, 2011.

Police in the United States have arrested eight more Occupy protesters in the state of California, as crackdowns on anti-corporatism protests in the country continue.

In San Francisco, police arrested at least six people who were demanding an end to role of the Wells Fargo Bank in evictions and foreclosures.

The bank occupiers set up a tent, hung banners and demanded a meeting with Wells Fargo CEO John Stump before they were arrested.

Meanwhile, two other Occupy protesters were detained in the city of Oakland during a peaceful anti-police rally outside Oakland City Hall on Saturday night.
Read more here

Joke of the Day

U.S. Media Working With War Profiteering MIC & Politicians To Hype People Up For War

Israel creates a super PAC to attack Ron Paul

We need the MIlitary to come home and Protect us from Police like this

The Colbert Report
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Retired Army Intelligence Col. on Fox News: ‘Ron Paul’s Policy is Accurate’

Iran: a quickly evolving geopolitical imbroglio – part V

Madison Ruppert, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

Events continue to progress at blinding speed and only seem to be getting increasingly dangerous.

While the United States has been building up a considerable military presence in the Persian Gulf region for years, this effort seems to have accelerated in recent weeks and months .

The Pentagon is now shifting a great deal of military assets into the vicinity of the Persian Gulf under the guise of a contingency plan, while continuing to deny that it means a buildup to war.
Read more here 

War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery … and Fighting Back is ‘Aggression’

by Kevin Carson, January 14, 2012

| Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum

The US Department of Defense recently promulgated a new "defense" guidance document: "Sustaining US Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense." I use scare quotes because it just doesn’t seem quite right to use "defense" to describe a document that — like its predecessors — envisions something like an American Thousand-Year Reich.
The greatest shift in emphasis is in the section "Project power despite Anti-Access/Area Denial Challenges." The "threat" to be countered is that China and Iran "will continue to pursue asymmetric means to counter our power projection capabilities."
That refers to a long-standing phenomenon: What Pentagon analysts call "Assassin’s Mace" weapons – cheap, agile weapons that render expensive, high-tech, weapons systems ineffective at a cost several orders of magnitude cheaper than the Pentagon’s gold-plated turds. In the context of "area denial," they include cheap anti-ship mines, surface-to-air missiles, and anti-ship missiles like the Sunburn (which some believe could destroy or severely damage aircraft carriers).
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Donate to Ron Paul 2012 Here

Armageddon Dead Ahead

 

We are living through the death throes of an empire. For those citizens who understand what is occurring, the process is akin to being trapped in a taxicab where the meter is on and running at an infinite pace. We cannot get out; nor will we be able to pay when the bill is submitted.

Government Duplicity
The duplicity and outright lies of government are becoming more apparent. There are too many to list here. Here are a few:

• Favorable forecasts regarding the economy are cruel jokes to everyone, but especially to those unemployed and underemployed. The country is told that the economy is out of the woods and on its way, recovering from the worst recession since the 1930s. No one with an IQ higher than room temperature or the ability to see should believe that.
• Read more here 

Legal Justice

Russia: “Should Anything Happen to Iran … This Will Be a Direct Threat to Our National Security”

January 14, 2012

Print Version

Source: Washington's Blog

Iran and China Would Consider An Attack On Iran – Or Syria – As An Attack On Their National Security
RT notes:

The escalating conflict around Iran should be contained by common effort, otherwise the promising Arab Spring will grow into a “scorching Arab Summer,” says Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s deputy prime minister and former envoy to NATO.
­“Iran is our close neighbor, just south of the Caucasus. Should anything happen to Iran, should Iran get drawn into any political or military hardships, this will be a direct threat to our national security,” stressed Rogozin.

Here’s what Rogozin is talking about (notice how close the Southern tip of Russia is to Northern Iran):

A Chinese general has also allegedly said that China would launch World War III if Iran is attacked. And see this.

 Read more here

Cannabis Treatment Threatens Deadly Painkiller Industry

Anthony Gucciardi
NaturalSociety
January 9, 2012
Pharmaceutical painkillers are now responsible for more deaths in the United States than heroin and cocaine combined. The pharmaceuticals are  responsible for more than 15,000 deaths conservatively in 2008 alone. With no sign of slowing down, the painkiller industry is becoming wildly popular among Americans — as a result, so is the high rate of painkiller abuse. Classified as dangerous by the U.S. government, cannabis (even in THC-free form, or free of psychoactive effects) has been identified as a powerful pain reliever in more than 80 peer-reviewed studies.

You may be aware of the fact that marijuana is usually quite high in THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the compound responsible for the psychoactive effect of cannabis. In contrast, it is also low in CBD (cannabidiol) content. Both THC and CBD are known as cannabinoids, however, which interacts with your body in a very unique way. In fact, cannabinoids are key when it comes to pain relief. While this information alone is enough to shatter the traditional beliefs on government marijuana regulation, the relationship between CBD and THC is even more revealing.
Read more here 

The Gun In The Room

Typical of Town Hall Meeting around this Country ..... Lisbon Falls Maine had their version of this a year ago by Silencing taxpayers at Public Meetings.

Lisbon Falls Maine's "Gun In The Room" (see above)

LISBON HAS LOST TRANSPARENCY


In a move by the town council to keep the residents in the dark and discourage anyone from making comments at council meetings, the town manager has once again left off several agenda documents from the town web site.


Pomelow, who is the author of the Council Working Rules, eliminated citizens from speaking on agenda items prior to having the agenda item explained by the sponsor. Pomelow had the Audience Participation move to the top of the agenda and required residents to only speak during this time in order to shorten meetings. The people were trying to comply with this ridiculous rule by reviewing the agenda documents. Now the town manager has eliminated some of the agenda documents. For example, on this week’s agenda we are missing the documentation on Bates College Signage Project Presentation, Lisbon Connection Update, Parks Department Discussion and his own Town Manager’s report. I can understand not having the Bates College Signage Project Presentation because I believe the representative from Bates College will probably bring the presentation with them. However, this is the second meeting we have not had the town manager’s report.


It is extremely difficult to comment on any agenda item without the sponsor explaining why they recommend their course of action but now the public is totally in the dark on agenda items being considered by the town council. Neither the council nor the town manager wants the people of Lisbon to know what wheeling and dealing they are doing. At prime example of this is under Executive Session is “Acquisition of real property”. I wonder who now is losing their property. Why does this have to be such a mystery? Also, what can be so secretive about Economy Development in the town of Lisbon that the residents are not allowed to know?


Do not look to the town government for any transparency in Lisbon. This is why I had to sue the town for information pertaining to the retirement /rehire of three individuals and information pertaining to all the outstanding loans. The judge decision can down and all information pertaining to the retirement/rehire and all but three items on the loans was granted. This cost the town a great deal in legal fees because the town attorney provided poor advice on the retirement/rehire FOAA and again on the loans FOAA. My lawyer attempted to resolve the issues prior to filing the law suit but Therriault and Eldridge would not have any part of it. Of course, these two individuals do not live in Lisbon or pay any taxes here so what do they care how much it cost the taxpayers.


Wouldn’t it be nice if a taxpayer could understand the reason our taxes are so high. I am only trying to see how my tax dollars are being spent. So far there are two outstanding loans which were scheduled to be paid off in 2008 but are still on the books and no one has a clue why. You would think Scott Benson, Economy Development Director, would know the status of all the outstanding loans in Lisbon. There is a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) but no one follows it.


I realize, from the turnout at council meetings and the lack of interest in where your tax dollars are being spent, people do not care until they receive their tax bills. By the time you receive your tax bill, it is way too late for another year. If you do not do anything about it now, please do not bother showing up once you get your tax bill.


Larry Fillmore
Concerned Citizen

Massive Pesticide Exposure Inflating Global Obesity Crisis

Anthony Gucciardi
NaturalSociety
January 13, 2012
Among the toxic substances that you are exposed to on a daily basis, pesticides are one of the most ubiquitous. Second only to genetically modified ingredients, pesticides inhabit the majority of conventional produce and have been repeatedly found to wreak havoc on your body. New findings have pinpointed growing exposure to pesticides as a contributor to the obesity crisis that is currently sweeping the globe. What’s more is that the study reached these conclusions when studying one of the most commonly used pesticides in the world.
In a study conducted by the Mercer University School of Medicine, researchers examined whether pesticide exposure played a role in worldwide childhood obesity. It is interesting to note that the researchers chose to focus on childhood obesity, as pesticides are damaging to both children and adults. During the study process, the researchers observed nearly 6,800 subjects aged 6 to 19. Individual exposure to environmental pesticides was determined through the use of urine tests, identifying the concentrations of pesticide residues.
Read more here 

U.S. troops quietly surge into Middle East

Washington --
The Pentagon has quietly shifted combat troops and warships to the Middle East after the top American commander in the region warned that he needed additional forces to deal with Iran and other potential threats, U.S. officials said.

Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, who heads U.S. Central Command, won White House approval for the deployments late last year after talks with the government in Baghdad broke down over keeping U.S. troops in Iraq, but the extent of the Pentagon moves is only now becoming clear.

Officials said the deployments are not meant to suggest a buildup to war, but rather are intended as a quick-reaction and contingency force in case a military crisis erupts in the standoff with Tehran over its suspected nuclear weapons program.

Read more here

AIPAC’s “War With Iran”

It is time for more diplomacy not less — even if that means offending a powerful lobby that is hell-bent for war.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Ranking Member Howard Berman (D-CA) spearheaded a number of important pieces of legislation

by M J ROSENBERG

Wasting no time after its success in getting the administration to oppose Palestinian statehood at the United Nations, and still celebrating the UNESCO funding cut-off, AIPAC has returned to its #1 priority: pushing for war with Iran.

The Israelis have, of course, played their own part in the big show. In the last few weeks, it has been sending out signals that it is getting ready to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities (and embroil the United States in its most calamitous Middle East war yet).

But most observers do not believe an Israeli attack is imminent. (If it was, would Israel telegraph it in advance?) The point of the Israeli threats is to get the United States and the world community to increase pressure on Iran with the justification that unless it does, Israel will attack.

Naturally, the United States Congress, which gets its marching orders on Middle East policy from the lobby which, in turn, gets its marching orders from Binyamin Netanyahu, is rushing to do what it is told. (If only Congress addressed joblessness at home with the same alacrity and enthusiasm.)
Read more here 

U.S. troops to Libya?

Cynthia McKinney: Why is President Obama sending 12, 000 U.S. troops to Libya?

My Catbird Seat January 14, 2012 0

Those who create the chaos have a plan and in the midst of chaos, they usually are the ones who will win.  Those who wrote the plan of this chaos were affiliated with the Project for a New American Century–read A Clean Break if you already haven't.

by Cynthia McKinney

It is with great disappointment that I receive the news from foreign media publications and Libyan sources that our President now has 12,000 U.S. troops stationed in Malta and they are about to make their descent into Libya.
For those of you who have not followed closely the situation in Libya, the resistance to the rule of the National Transitional Council is strong.  The National Transitional Council (NTC) cast of characters has about as much support on the ground as did Mahmoud Abbas before the United Nations request for Palestinian statehood or Afghanistan's regal-looking but politically impotent Hamid Karzai or for that matter, George W Bush after eight years.
The NTC not only has to contend with a vibrant, well-financed, grassroots-supported resistance, but the various militias of the NTC are now also fighting each other.  I believe this "sociocide" of Libyan society, as we previously witnessed in Iraq and Afghanistan before it, is part of a carefully crafted plan of destabilization that ultimately serves U.S. imperial interests and those of a Zionist state and its US agents who are bent on Greater Israel's suzerainty over huge swaths of Arabic-speaking populations.  Pakistan is also on the list for neutering in Muslim and world affairs, saddled with its own unpopular civilian leadership that finds itself in the hip pocket of the United States for survival, often getting sat upon by its fiscal guarantor.
Read more here 

S&P downgrades France and Austria

By Gerrit Wiesmann in Berlin, Peter Spiegel in Brussels and Robin Wigglesworth in London

The eurozone debt crisis returned with a vengeance on Friday as Standard & Poor’s, the credit rating agency, downgraded France and Austria – two of the currency zone’s six triple A rated countries – as well as seven nations not in that top tier, among them Italy and Spain.
S&P, under political fire since it announced a review or eurozone debt in December, gave 14 of 16 countries – including France, Italy and Spain – a negative outlook, which it said meant a one-in-three chance for each country of a further downgrade this year or next.
The agency downgraded France and Austria by one notch to double A plus, while it cut Italy Spain and Portugal by two notches. Portugal has now been relegated to “junk” status by the three main rating agencies following similar actions by Moody’s in July and Fitch in November. Ireland held its rating.
Read more here 

How the 2012 candidates stack up against each other on youtube

.Read more here

Why did Mitt Romney erase official emails?

Reports that former senior aides to presidential candidate Mitt Romney took the unusual step of wiping out all four years’ worth of emails from his time as governor of Massachusetts has me wondering: what is Mitt hiding?

Did the erased emails divulge Romney’s previous support for an individual mandate in health care coverage? Did loyal aides purge evidence that Romney once supported LGBT equality and reproductive health care for women? Did they hope to wipe away embarrassing personal tidbits, such as the time Romney tied the family dog to the top of the car for drive to Canada?

Or could it be that the leading Republican candidate for president just has a Nixonian- penchant for secrecy and cover-ups?
Read more here

Complicity in Torture

by craig on January 12, 2012 1:23 pm in Uncategorized

So nobody in the security services was guilty of complicity in torture. Those rendered to torture were in fact whisked off by flying pigs. Or maybe a big boy did it and ran away.
I should say I never had the tiniest bit of doubt that the institutionally corrupt Metropolitan Police would let off the security services. Nobody ever is guilty in these things. It was nobody’s fault that an unarmed and unresisting electrician was shot six times in the head as he sat on a tube train. It was nobody’s fault the police subsequently lied about him. It is nobody’s fault that MI5 and MI6 officers were interviewing detainees with freshly mutilated genitals. It was nobody’s fault that, when I blew the whistle on active UK complicity in torture, I was immediately suspended from duty and charged with eighteen allegations of gross misconduct, every one of which was subsequently adjudged to be false. It was nobody’s fault that David Kelly died a horrible, lonely and mysterious death after letting slip the truth – that there were no Iraqi WMD. It was nobody’s fault that hundreds of thousands died and trillions were squandered due to the lies officially published – by nobody’s fault – about WMD.
I have views on this lying exoneration today which are more complex than you might expect. The MI5 and MI6 officers were following policy set out by Tony Blair and Jack Straw, that we should obtain intelligence from torture. It would have been a hollow justice for some junior spooks to be scapegoated while Straw and Blair are walking around as respected international statesman, coining in the money.
Yhe Met investigation was so remarkably “thorough” it did not approach me at any stage, even though I had given obviously relevant evidence in person to the Council of Europe, European Parliament and UK Parliament.
Do watch my evidence to the UK parliament if you have not already done so. Then judge who you believe.
Meanwhile, there is no sign at all that the so-called Gibson Inquiry into UK Complicity in Torture is ever going even to take the lid off the whitewash bucket and get started.

nts will be closed on January 19, 2012.
Read more here 

Joke of the day

Why are15,000 troops stationed in Kuwait

US stations two aircraft carriers opposite Iran, 15,000 troops in Kuwait
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 13, 2012, 12:00 PM (GMT+02:00)

Tags:  Barack Obama   US military action   Iran nuclear   Israel   Saudi Arabia 

USS Carl Vinson deployed opposite Iran

US President Barack Obama is busy aligning Middle East allies with the next US steps on Iran. Contributing to the mounting sense in Washington of an approaching US-Iranian confrontation, the Pentagon is substantially building up its combat power around Iran, stationing nearly 15,000 troops in Kuwait - two Army infantry brigades and a helicopter unit – and keeping two aircraft carriers the region. The USS Carl Vinson, the USS John Stennis which was to have returned to home base and their strike groups will stay in the Arabian Sea.

Iran is caught up in the same pre-war swirl of activity. Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani spent two days in Ankara this week. But Turkish leaders failed in their bid to sell their good offices as brokers for averting the expected collision between Tehran and the West. Before flying out of Ankara Friday, Jan. 13, Larijani commented: "We have different ways of doing things."

debkafile's Iranian sources quote the Iranian official as telling his hosts that his country is prepared to take on any military aggressors. One of the responses weighed in Tehran to meet the rising military pressure might be an open declaration of Iran as a nuclear power. By accepting a visit by IAEA inspectors on Jan. 28 - to investigate charges that Iran is running a clandestine nuclear bomb program - Tehran may be moving toward that irreversible admission - or possibly its first nuclear test
.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly 528 disclosed exclusively on Nov. 25, 2011 that Iran may soon publicize its attainment of a nuclear weapon, a step still being debated intensely at the highest levels of the Islamic regime in Tehran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who will make the ultimate decision, is very much in favor of facing the world as a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic. He calculates that this fait accompli has a good change of warding off a Western and/or Israeli military attack.

Thursday night, Jan. 12, President Obama put in a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss coordinating US and Israeli moves for a military operation against Iran, which many US media believe to be imminent.
Read more here 

Big Media’s attempt to verbally assassinate Ron Paul is indefensible

Kevin Barrett January 13, 2012 0

The media’s attempt to destroy Dr. Paul’s candidacy, allegedly because it has some magical ability to determine what is “mainstream,” is so absurd that it raises the question: What is the real reason behind the smokescreen?

by Dr. Kevin Barrett

Henry Blodget of Business Insider claims he “told the truth about Ron Paul” when he said the media is right to ignore or disparage Dr. Paul, because Dr. Paul’s ideas are non-mainstream, which makes the good Doctor unelectable.  He is running a selection of emails he got in response. Unfortunately none of them succeeds in showing how ridiculous Blodget’s position actually is. So here goes:

Dear Henry Blodget,
You argue that the media has every right to ignore and/or disparage Ron Paul, because Paul’s positions are “non-mainstream” which makes him unelectable. 

Your central premise is not just faulty, but absurd. Is it really the media’s business to determine what is “mainstream,” and to censor or attack anything that is not? What objective evidence determines what is “mainstream”? Public opinion polls? If so, why does the media label “mainstream” the 16% of Americans who believe the government is telling the truth about 9/11, while consigning the 84% who have doubts to the margins? (source) Obviously the media has created – not reported – the perception that 9/11 truth is “fringe” while acceptance of the official story of 9/11 is “mainstream.”

The same is even more true of Ron Paul’s foreign policy. Dr. Paul’s thesis is that the US should defend its borders, not police the world. This has been the mainstream position of the vast majority of Americans since the founding of the Republic. A tiny activist minority has labeled the majority opinion “isolationist,” and worked hard to create the perception that the minority of activists (or, to put it less kindly, warmongers) represent mainstream opinion, while the vast majority who are “isolationists” are somehow on the fringe. This mendacious project recalls the way the Bolsheviks, when they were a fringe minority, udsurped the term for “majority party.” The difference is that the Bolsheviks really did become the majority party, whereas the war party in the US has always been a tiny minority that can only get its way by telling lies to the majority. (Such lies include Pearl Harbor – google “eight-point plan” – as well as Operation Northwoods, the Gulf of Tonkin, the Kuwait baby incubator hoax, 9/11, and so on.)*
Read more here 

Scientists On Track to Develop ‘Exercise Mimicking’ Pill

Anthony Gucciardi
NaturalSociety
January 13, 2012
Scientists have reportedly discovered a key protein in muscle that is responsible for the healthy benefits of exercise, improving blood sugar and targeting unwanted fat. Naming the newly identified exercise ‘key’ after Iris (the messenger of the Greek gods), scientists have yet to unlock the potential benefits in humans. For now, researchers have only managed to exhibit the effects in mice, though a future exercise-mimicking pill or medical intervention could be on the timetable.
The secret is a membrane protein in muscle cells, which is found both in humans and in mice. Once this compound is broken down during exercise, it is secreted as a hormone. This is the hormone that the researchers have dubbed “irisin” after Iris. Irisin has a “profound” impact on fat cells, and acts as a chemical messenger within your body. The Boston scientists responsible for the study have published their findings in the journal Nature, where they unveil the unique fat-fighting abilities of irisin. According to the scientists, irisin induces ordinary ‘white’ fat cells to convert to something known as ‘brown fat’, which burns a large amount of energy in the process.
Read more here 

Will You Occupy AIPAC?

January 9th, 2012 · Posted by Occupy AIPAC!

Dear friends,
We are excited to announce that plans for OCCUPY AIPAC are under way and we hope you will join us March 2-6 in Washington DC.
With the Occupy movement that has swept the country demanding social and economic justice, many have concluded that AIPAC—the powerful pro-Israeli government lobby that distorts U.S. policy in the Middle East— is a mandatory “occupy target”. Adbusters, the magazine that issued the initial visionary call for the takeover of Wall St. on September 17th, has declared: “The time has come for the Occupy Movement to demand an end to the Occupation of Palestine… We need a hashtag, #occupyAIPAC” (Kalle Lasn).
Timed to coincide with the annual AIPAC policy conference in March 2012, the Occupy AIPAC summit will be a long weekend of teach-ins, cultural performances, protests and creative direct actions, and a sneak preview of the forthcoming film Roadmap to Apartheid. Our Saturday conference will feature educational panels on Iran, Palestine, the Arab Uprisings and the Occupy Movement (see the list of speakers). Sponsors and endorsers include the Institute of Policy Studies, Just Foreign Policy, Interfaith Peace Builders (IFPB), the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Jewish Voice for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine chapters, and over 120 other groups.
Read more here 

Ex-Israeli Intelligence Officer: “Pearl Harbor” Style Attack Will Be Pretext For War On Iran

Former Israeli intelligence officer Avi Perry writes that a “surprise” Pearl Harbor-style Iranian attack on an American warship in the Persian Gulf will provide the pretext for the US to launch all-out warfare against Iran.

Ex Israeli Intelligence Officer: Pearl Harbor Style Attack Will Be Pretext For War On Iran strait of hormuz 12 29 2011
Given the fact that former Vice President Dick Cheney’s office openly considered staging a false flag attack on a US vessel in the Persian Gulf to blame it on Iran as a pretext for war, Perry’s summation of how “2012 will see to a new war,” cannot be taken lightly.
Under the headline ‘The looming war with Iran‘, Perry writes;
Iran, just like Nazi Germany in the 1940s, will take the initiative and “help” the US president and the American public make up their mind by making the first move, by attacking a US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.
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Veteran Returning Home

Thousands Of US Troops To Arrive In Israel This Week

Accompanied by a US aircraft carrier, 9,000 US troops including airmen, missile interceptor teams, marines, technicians and intelligence officers are scheduled to land in Israel in the coming weeks. Many will stay up to the end of the year as part of the US-Israeli Army deployment in readiness for a military engagement with Iran, aiming at a synchronized military front against Iran.

US Third Air Force Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc commented in his visit two weeks ago that the coming action is more a "deployment" than an "exercise,”. The joint force will now be in place ready for a decision to attack Iran's nuclear installations or any combat emergency.

After Tehran had released a bulletin about another Iranian naval exercise at the Strait of Hormuz in February, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the two army chiefs, US Gen. Martin Dempsey and Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz decided to announce the coming of the force on Thursday night, Jan. 5.

Thousands Of US Troops To Arrive In Israel This Week

When Mitt Romney Came To Town — Full, complete version

Mainstream Media Seeks To Bully Bloggers Out Of ‘Fair Use’ Leave a Comment

The Intel Hub
R.F. Goggin
January 12, 2012
The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, along with 28 other news organizations, are launching a company which hopes to further profit on their news reporting, by seeking to make paying customers out of websites or blogs which reproduce their content, either in full or in part.
The new company will go by the ridiculous name of ‘NewsRight’, to make it better appear to the general public that these mainstream media outlets have some kind of exclusivity over the very flow of human existence of any significance (or as equally likely, insignificance) taking place anywhere in the world.
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We had the same problem in the 1970's

Ron Paul becomes lone GOP voice on unequal justice

DeWayne Wickham

Ron Paul must have known the question was coming. For weeks, he had been dogged by charges that newsletters published in his name in the 1980s and 1990s contained racist content.
So he probably wasn't surprised when ABC News' George Stephanopoulos asked him during a televised debate three days before the New Hampshire primary how that could have happened without his knowledge. But no one on the stage with the Texas congressman -- not the other contenders for the Republican Party's presidential nomination who bristle with contempt for their libertarian colleague or the panel of journalists wielding the questions -- was ready for Paul's answer.

Dwelling on something he didn't write but has assumed responsibility for and apologized, Paul said, diverts attention away from the "true racism" in this nation's judicial system that disproportionately imprisons blacks for their involvement in drug crimes.
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Pardons blocked: AG argues state's constitution violated

Miss. Attorney General Jim Hood discusses pardons: Miss. Attorney General Jim Hood discusses pardons made by outgoing Gov. Haley Barbour.

Written byJerry Mitchell

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood talks about the pardons issued by outgoing Gov. Haley Barbour during a press conference Wednesday at his office in Jackson. The departing governor granted 203 pardons to felons as he left office. / Rick Guy/The Clarion-Ledger

Some inmates expecting to be freed from prison on a gubernatorial pardon will remain behind bars, and others others already out could go back.
A judge on Wednesday blocked the pardons made by outgoing Gov. Haley Barbour, citing issues raised by Attorney General Jim Hood of possible constitutional violations.
Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green concluded "there is a substantial likelihood of success" on the claim the pardons violated the state constitution. "There is a sufficient threat of irreparable injury should the subject individuals be released based upon the purported gubernatorial pardons," she said.
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War with Iran? Bank on It!

Anthony Freda

Charlie McGrath, Contributing Writer

Activist Post

Witness the selling of war.  It's not enough that every GOP candidate, with the exception of Ron Paul, is playing the patriotic Commander-in-Chief card, by promising that Iran's ability to wage all-out nuclear war against the entire planet is imminent, and we got to get in there and stop them; but now the mainstream media is jumping on the "Let’s get them dirty bastards" bandwagon. 

In less than 24 hours, we've seen the mainstream drag the usual suspects in front of the camera to scare/sell the hell out of America over Iran.  

John Bolton (former Ambassador to UN) told Fox News that we need military action soon to avoid a nuclear response from Iran (See here).  Oliver North is covering two topics at once in his interview with Newsmax, by playing the red team-blue team game, tossing the Dems under the bus for allowing a potential nuclear Iran (See here).

L/A Police Hits Middle age Woman

America is the most overworked country in the world

Americans, work too many hours. If you don’t believe so, check out the following data points that compare us to our peers around the world.

American Work-Life Balance

• According to the Center for American Progress , “in 1960, only 20 percent of mothers worked. Today, 70 percent of American children live in households where all adults are employed.” I don’t care who stays home and who works in terms of gender (work opportunity equality for all – it’s a family choice). Either way, when all adults are working (single or with a partner), that’s a huge hit to the American family and free-time in the American household.
• The U.S. is the ONLY country in the Americas without a national paid parental leave benefit. The average is over 12 weeks of paid leave anywhere other than Europe and over 20 weeks in Europe.
• Zero industrialized nations are without a mandatory option for new parents to take parental leave. That is, except for the United States.

American Average Work Hours:

• At least 134 countries have laws setting the maximum length of the work week; the U.S. does not.
• In the U.S., 85.8 percent of males and 66.5 percent of females work more than 40 hours per week.
• According to the ILO, “Americans work 137 more hours per year than Japanese workers, 260 more hours per year than British workers, and 499 more hours per year than French workers.”
• Using data by the U.S. BLS, the average productivity per American worker has increased 400% since 1950. One way to look at that is that it should only take one-quarter the work hours, or 11 hours per week, to afford the same standard of living as a worker in 1950 (or our standard of living should be 4 times higher). Is that the case? Obviously not. Someone is profiting, it’s just not the average American worker.
• Read more here 

At a Romney Event Yesterday, I Was Removed and Arrested. I Still Don't Know Why.

I’d been in New Hampshire for the past several days to follow the campaign and see some of the candidates in-person. Yesterday morning, I was chatting up a Romney campaign staffer before an event at the Gilchrist Manufacturing Company in Hudson, NH, when a police officer approached. Sir, we have to ask you to leave the premises.

“Sir, is this about my backpack? I’d be happy to show you – there’s nothing dangerous in there.”

“No, sir – we’ll explain it to you outside.”

I gathered my things and walked past a group of citizens and press, humiliated and confused.

Outside, the officer said, “Sir, the campaign has identified you as someone who was at a protest at Romney’s office in Manchester.”
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Any North Koreans Found Not To Have Cried Hysterically At Kim Jong-Il’s Passing May Spend 6 Months In A Labor Camp

Zero Hedge
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Well, it is a slow news day, so we focus on the patently absurd, such as this news out of Interfax confirming that TheOnion can now close up shop as reality is far, far better. From Interfax: “North Korean citizens, who did not take part in the mourning ceremonies for the country’s late Leader Kim Jong-il, are facing up to six months in labor camps, Interfax reported January 11. According to the South Korean media sources, “People’s Courts” took place all over the country starting December 29 to condemn those who did not show enough emotion after the death of “the great leader” Kim Jong-il. The People’s Court hearings were reportedly over by January 8. The behavior of those people, who criticized the three-generation principle of ruling the country, was also a matter of discussion during the court meetings. It was reported earlier that 2012 calendars were fully taken out of stores because the date of death of the late Leader Kim Jong-il was not marked in them.” That said, we doubt anyone will punish the capital markets for crying hysterically should Bernanke’s printer finally kicks the ghost.
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Consumers Can't Sue Credit Repair Companies

By BARBARA LEONARD

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(CN) - CompuCredit and a bank with which it partnered to market Aspire Visa credit cards can arbitrate claims that they misled consumers, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
Though the consumers had signed arbitration agreements when they applied for the credit cards, they claimed that violations of the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) preclude that agreement's enforce­ment.
Those alleged violations include advertising an unfeasible credit limit and misleading consumers that they could use the credit card to rebuild poor credit. Synovus Bank now owns the original credit card issuer, Columbus Bank and Trust.
In their arguments before the Supreme Court, the consumers had pointed to two provisions of CROA. They said the disclosure provision gives consumers the right to sue, and the nonwaiver provision prohibits the waiver of "any right of the consumer under this subchapter." Since the arbitration agreement waived the right to bring an action in a court of law, they claimed it could not be enforced.
The Supreme Court found otherwise on Tuesday, disagreeing with both a federal judge and the 9th Circuit.
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Comedian gives the truth

Joke of the day

Minister Farrakhan Responds to President Obama's NDAA Bill

Soldiers on Lock Down over theft...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Big Government Legislation to Force Unemployed into Indentured Servitude

Source (click to enlarge)

Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post

After having elected Nikki Haley to the Governor’s office in 2010, South Carolina has served as a hotbed of reactionary politics aimed at cutting and privatizing services, union busting, and attacking the unemployed as lazy criminals and drug addicts. However, for all of the rhetoric spewed from people like Haley and her cohorts in the State House and Senate, it is obvious that their ultimate political goals are no different from that of President Barack Obama.

In 2008, the independent media was on fire reporting the comments by then Obama White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel regarding his mandatory civil service plan that would require every American between the ages of 18-25 to undergo three months of basic training complete with military-style exercises and indoctrination. Later, in 2009, the GIVE Act (also known as the Serve America Act) was passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by Obama. This bill contained much of language bounced back and forth between those such as Emmanuel who would require Americans to engage in some type of mandatory “civilian service.” (Read “mandatory civilian service” to mean slavery.) 

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Are Drones Watching You?

Predator drone and hellfire missile - Wiki image

Jennifer Lynch
EFF

Today, EFF filed suit against the Federal Aviation Administration seeking information on drone flights in the United States. The FAA is the sole entity within the federal government capable of authorizing domestic drone flights, and for too long now, it has failed to release specific and detailed information on who is authorized to fly drones within US borders
Read more here.

Hair-Loss Drug Blamed for Multiple Problems

By MATT REYNOLDS

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     LOS ANGELES (CN) - A man who took the male pattern baldness drug Propecia for four years claims it gave him "severe sexual dysfunction and cognitive impairment."
     Jason McCord sued Merck & Co. in Federal Court.
     Merck has been sued at least 15 times in the past two years for similar claims, according to the Courthouse News database.
     McCord says he was 36 when he was prescribed Propecia, in 2006, and he took it for four years. He says the trade-off wasn't worth it.
     "Male pattern hair loss affects 30 percent of men by the age of 30 years and 50 percent of men by the age of 50 years. Men who suffer from hair loss may be perceived as older and less physically and socially attractive," according to the complaint.
     "Male pattern hair loss is a common condition thought to be caused by a combination of genetic factors and a hormone called dihydrotestosterone ('DHT').
     "DHT is a substance in the body that can shrink hair follicles until a person no longer has hair on top of his head.
     "Finasteride is a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor that decreases the conversion of testosterone to DHT, therefore, preventing hair loss.
     "Propecia, or finasteride, may produce undesirable side effects to patients who use the prescription drug, including but not limited to, sexual dysfunction and cognitive impairment.
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Doctors Urge Fracking Halt Over Health Concerns

Source

Anthony Gucciardi
Activist Post

Doctors are warning United States government officials and gas producers about the dangers of hydraulic fracking, the controversial act of pumping water and chemicals underground in order to facilitate the flow of oil or gas.

As previously admitted by the EPA, reports have revealed that fracking is leading to groundwater pollution that could be endangering your health.

Jerome Paulson, a pediatrician at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, is calling upon gas producers who are heavily involved in fracking to finance studies examining the safety of the process. Until then, he is calling for hydraulic fracking to come to a freeze.

While there are many corporations involved with fracking, top independent producers include Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Devon Energy Corp., both of Oklahoma City, and Encana Corp. of Calgary.

Due to concerns over the process, Paulson is not alone in his quest to end fracking. Adam Law, an endocrinologist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, shares the vision of Dr. Paulson. In an interview, Law discussed how studies are necessary in order to go forward with fracking, if they make way for the continuation of the process at all:
We’ve got to push the pause button, and maybe we’ve got to push the stop button.
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Cancer, Aids, and Vaccinations

by Benedict D. LaRosa

Previously by Benedict D. LaRosa: The Horror of Gun Control in Mumbai

Is there a link between cancer and the polio vaccine? There is a good chance that there is, according to a Baylor University study released on February 18, 1999 and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. At the time, the announcement sent shockwaves throughout the medical establishment and caused a great deal of public alarm. After all, who hasn't had at least one polio shot?
But this wasn’t new knowledge. In 1987, a San Antonio physician, Dr. Eva Snead (1942-2008), stumbled across information linking vaccines to a host of diseases from AIDS and leukemia to other forms of cancer while doing research for a book on AIDS. For her efforts in trying to warn the public, she was vilified by her medical peers, ridiculed by government officials, and ignored by the major media. Even a popular radio talk host, a personal friend, was reluctant to put her on the air until the Baylor story broke.
It was while doing the initial research for her book at the University of Texas Health Science Center library in 1987 that Dr. Snead discovered how the viruses associated with these dreaded diseases are spread. The same evidence convinced her that there was an active cover-up within the federal government and the medical/scientific communities. In 1992, she published her findings in a hefty two volume work titled Some Call it AIDS, I Call It Murder.
The foremost virologists studying AIDS, Drs. Robert Gallo and Luke Montaignard, agree that it is a virus from the African green monkey that causes AIDS. They have designated this virus HIV for human immunodeficiency virus. Another virus carried by the African green monkey is SV-40, or simian virus 40. Its clinical manifestations in laboratory animals are identical to those produced by HIV. In other words, SV-40 causes symptoms similar to AIDS. It is also linked to tumor growth and birth defects. Dr. Janet Butel of the Baylor College of Medicine, the lead author of the Baylor study, stated, "I feel strongly that research is warranted to determine how common human infections by SV40 may be, and what factors might predispose individuals to SV40-related tumors."
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