Ukraine Teeters as Citizens Blame Banks and Government
Steel and chemical factories, once the muscle of Ukraine’s economy, are dismissing thousands of workers. Cities have had days without heat or water because they cannot pay their bills, and Kiev’s subway service is being threatened. Lines are sprouting at banks, the currency is wilting and even a government default seems possible.
THE SECRET GOVERNMENT
A small number of extremely wealthy people, descendants of wealthy families in Europe and the U.S, own a major part of the material wealth of the world. This power is concentrated in London which is the centre of the world banking system. The control they exercise is kept within the original families and passed down from generation to generation. They are highly organised, operating in secret through a web of 'private' organisations.
AIG Price Tag: $1,400 per Taxpayer Family
How much will each American family pay, on average, to bail out beleaguered insurance giant American International Group? Try more than $1,400.
Obama 'ready to drop shield plans for Russian help on Iran'
Washington has told Moscow that Russian help in resolving Iran's nuclear program would make its missile shield plans for Europe unnecessary, a Russian daily said on Monday, citing White House sources.
The nation's big grocery chains contend that food manufacturers have raised prices too fast and too far, considering large drops in prices for fuel, corn, wheat and other important commodities in recent months.
Trade representative nominee Ron Kirk agrees to pay back taxes
Ron Kirk, the nominee for U.S. trade representative, has agreed to pay about $10,000 in back taxes, becoming the latest top-level appointee in the Obama administration to face the embarrassment of dealing with an income tax problem.
Global Food Crisis Called 'Ticking Time Bomb'
Although prices for cereal grains have dropped since their spike last spring, the crisis has not gone away, according to Rajul Pandya-Lorch, chief of staff at the International Food Policy Research Institute and the head of the institute's initiative, Vision 2020 for Food.
The Creature From Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve (Audio Format)
G. Edward Griffin is a writer and documentary film producer with many successful titles to his credit. Listed in Who’s Who in America, he is well known because of his talent for researching difficult topics and presenting them in clear terms that all can understand.
New 'Iron Curtain' will split EU's rich and poor
Eastern European countries gave an apocalyptic warning yesterday of hordes of unemployed workers heading west as a new Iron Curtain divides rich from poor inside Europe.
Major economies eye boost to gold reserves
Major emerging economies are seeking to raise their central banks' gold reserve holdings as fears of a sharp depreciation in the U.S. dollar mount, senior industry officials said on Monday.
CIA destroyed nearly 100 interrogation videotapes
The CIA destroyed nearly 100 videotapes of interrogations and other U.S. treatment of terror suspects, far more than previously acknowledged, the Obama administration said Monday as it began disclosing details of post-Sept. 11 Bush-era actions.
EU upholds Austria, Hungary right to ban GM crops
Austria and Hungary reaffirmed their sovereign right on Monday to ban growing genetically modified maize after EU environment ministers squashed more attempts by the European Commission to lift the restrictions.
Obama DOJ Defies Federal Judge
Late on Friday, the Justice Department’s lawyers filed a brief with a federal district court in California challenging the court’s power to carry out its own order. The government lawyers insisted that the court has no right to make available to the opposing lawyers in the case a classified document regarding the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, even though the document is critical to the lawsuit, the lawyers can obtain the necessary top-secret security clearances, and the document would not be released publicly.
Media companies may challenge extract linking
Unnamed media companies may start taking to court blogs and sites that quote extracts and links, according to a report by the New York Times.
Flu viruses growing resistant to key weapon Tamiflu
Evidence that flu viruses are becoming more resistant to the drug Tamiflu has sown deep concern among doctors who are worried that their best flu treatment is losing its punch.
Cost of locking up Americans too high - Pew study
One in every 31 U.S. adults is in the corrections system, which includes jail, prison, probation and supervision, more than double the rate of a quarter century ago, according to a report released on Monday by the Pew Center on the States.
INTERPOL issues denial of reported Iranian request seeking arrest of 15 senior Israeli officials
While INTERPOL does not ordinarily comment on false stories reported in the media, in light of the nature of recent erroneous articles reporting that INTERPOL is being used by Iranian authorities to seek the arrest of 15 senior Israeli officials on alleged charges of war crimes in Gaza, the Organization is taking the unusual step of making the following public statement:
“INTERPOL has neither been requested to issue by Iran, nor has it issued on behalf of Iran or any of its 187 member countries any Red Notices for persons wanted internationally or other requests seeking the arrest of senior Israeli officials for alleged war crimes in relation to the Gaza offensive in December and January.”
Dow industrials fall below 7,000; lowest since '97
The Dow Jones industrial average has fallen below 7,000 Monday for the first time in more than 11 years as investors grow even more pessimistic about the health of banks, and in turn the economy.
MI5 ALERT ON BANK RIOTS
TOP secret contingency plans have been drawn up to counter the threat posed by a “summer of discontent” in Britain.
The “double-whammy” of the worst economic crisis in living memory and a motley crew of political extremists determined to stir up civil disorder has led to the extraordinary step of the Army being put on standby.
EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Hatch's secret drug firm links
The pharmaceutical industry that long has benefited from Sen. Orrin G. Hatch´s legislative efforts has directed large sums of money to a charity he helped found - and still raises money for - while also hiring the Republican lawmaker's son as a lobbyist.
Tax green propaganda?
The Washington Post again editorialized today in favor of taxing us by the mile driven instead of by the gallon of gas purchased.
Beginning Now: The Panic Phase of the Collapse
By Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D.
The panic phase is an acceleration in the economic decline … a chain reaction of debt explosions … a free-fall in the financial markets … and a series of rude awakenings that will accelerate the decline even further.
Another Bright Shining Lie
By Michael Gaddy
The state has many weapons in its arsenal to keep Boobus ignorant of their illegal, unconstitutional activities and in compliance with its confiscatory tax and slavery system. In all likelihood, the two most often used of these weapons are fear and prevarication.
Majority of Government Actions are Unconstitutional
By Andrew C. Wallace
My purpose is not to agitate a civil war, that may already have started, but to prevent one at all costs, except for our freedoms. Americans were betrayed by a majority in congress of both parties for money and power. Our jobs, benefits, prosperity, and freedom are gone, or disappearing rapidly because government officials and judges openly violate our constitution.
U.S. takes another crack at AIG rescue
Wracked by turmoil in the credit markets, insurance giant posts $62 billion quarterly loss. Government amends bailout to insulate financial system.
“Homeland Security USA” shows how to travel without ID
The new “reality” television show Homeland Security USA has prompted a Facebook group calling for it to be taken off the air, and protests against its bigotry outside the ABC-TV / Walt Disney Corp. offices in Burbank, even while ratings and viewership have been falling steadily since the first episode.
Black Hole Alert: AIG to Get as Much as $30 Billion More
Let's see, the credit default swaps market, due to some netting, is now somewhere north of $30 trillion (as opposed to its earlier "north of $60 trillion" level). Investment banks were believed to have hedged most of their exposure via offsetting contracts, but AIG wrote naked protection. And as jAIG itself is at risk of getting downgraded again, the collateral posting requirements keep rising.
Citi may need more capital despite government move: Deutsche
Citigroup Inc (C.N) may need to raise additional capital despite the U.S. government's move to bolster its capital base, said an analyst at Deutsche Bank, who sees a 2009 loss of about $4.5 billion for the company excluding any preferred share dividend payments.
AIG enters record books with $61.7 billion loss
American International Group Inc posted a $61.7 billion fourth-quarter loss the biggest quarterly loss in corporate history after reaching a revised rescue deal with the U.S. government that wards off for now the prospect of crippling credit rating downgrades.
Banks earn $900m with state-backed debt
The world’s biggest banks have earned more than $900m in fees in less than four months by selling government-guaranteed bank debt to investors.
Right.org: Bailout Prize Patrol
Taxpayers Clearing House Prize Patrol delivers large checks to Citibank and Amtrak, gets them signed by Sen. Snow, Sen. Schumer, confronts Tim Geithner with wads of cash and delivers invoices to taxpayers.
Worst job losses in 60 years expected
The recession tightened its grip on U.S. businesses and consumers in February, according to economists, who are predicting the largest one-month job loss in almost 60 years.
Prison sentence for taking photos in UK
A new law in the UK makes it an offence to take pictures of policemen or any other law enforcement officers. Civil libertarians say Gordon Brown's Britain is becoming like George Orwell's Big Brother state.
Revealed: Scientific evidence for the 2001 anthrax attacks
KEY forensic evidence in the US anthrax attacks of 2001 has been revealed. The FBI had previously prevented the scientists involved from speaking publicly about their findings in case this interfered with court proceedings, but last August, after chief suspect Bruce Ivins committed suicide, the case collapsed and the FBI lifted many of the restrictions. This week, some of the scientists involved revealed their results at a scientific meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
A voice in the wilderness no more
At CPAC, Ron Paul's critique of the monetary system and the Republican party is surprisingly more popular than ever
NATO can't defeat Afghan insurgency, PM says
The United States must come up with a viable Afghan exit strategy before asking Canada to rethink its plan to pull out of the country in 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says.
Interpol issues arrest warrants for 15 Israelis
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) has issued a circular calling for the arrest of 15 top Israeli officials over war crimes.
Israel Threatens 'Uncompromising' Retaliation Against Gaza Militants
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert threatened a painful response to Palestinian rocket fire menacing southern Israel, suggesting Sunday that the blistering offensive against Gaza Strip militants fell short of its goals.
Iran "not close" to nuclear weapon: Gates
Iran is not close to having a nuclear weapon, which gives the United States and others time to try to persuade Tehran to abandon its suspected atomic arms program, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday.
Bloggers Can't Fill the Gap Left by Shrinking Press Corps
Packs of lobbyists fill two rooms outside the House and Senate chambers in Richmond every afternoon, watching the proceedings on big video screens, zapping legislators with e-mails the instant the lobbyists sense that one of their bills might be in trouble. The interest groups that hire lobbyists can rest easy; they've got the legislature covered.
Down the hall, the people's representatives have a hangout of their own, the press room. But there, nearly half the desks are empty. Reporters have been called home, reassigned, bought out, laid off. Only one TV station in Virginia still has a reporter at the capital. Many newspapers have decided to cover the capital by phone, if at all.
How Radio Wrecks the Right
Limbaugh and company certainly entertain. But a steady diet of ideological comfort food is no substitute for hearty intellectual fare. Romney wins CPAC straw poll
In one of the opening skirmishes in the long – and almost certainly bloody – GOP battle for the 2012 nomination, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won the annual Conservative Political Action Convention straw poll Saturday.
Mortgage Delinquencies Jump 50 Percent
More U.S. consumers are filing for personal bankruptcy or relying on credit cards as the recession deepens and unemployment rises, a top credit bureau executive told Reuters on Thursday.
Pension bombs going off
Exploding pension fund shortfalls are blowing billion-dollar holes in the balance sheets of some of the Chicago area's biggest companies, forcing them to make huge contributions to retirement plans at a time when cash flow and credit are already under stress.
Mugabe wants Zimbabwe's white farmers out
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said Saturday that land seizures would continue, and he called for the country's last white farmers to leave.
UN attacks Britain over torture claims
Britain may have broken international law on torture, ministers have been warned by the United Nations. Professor Manfred Nowak, the UN's special rapporteur on torture, has alerted ministers to a range of concerns, including claims that MI5 officers were complicit in the maltreatment of suspects.
Obama's Chief Vetter Has His Own Tax Problem
White House general counsel Gregory Craig has seized control of Obama's vetting process after a series of nominees with unpaid taxes. But his wife's business may also have avoided taxes. Who vets the vetter?
Rand's Atlas Shrugged Sales Skyrocket
Sales of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged have almost tripled over the first seven weeks of this year compared with sales for the same period in 2008. This continues a strong trend after bookstore sales reached an all-time annual high in 2008 of about 200,000 copies sold.
“Americans are flocking to buy and read Atlas Shrugged because there are uncanny similarities between the plot-line of the book and the events of our day” said Yaron Brook, Executive Director at the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. “Americans are rightfully concerned about the economic crisis and government’s increasing intervention and attempts to control the economy. Ayn Rand understood and identified the deeper causes of the crisis we’re facing, and she offered, in ‘Atlas Shrugged,’ a principled and practical solution consistent with American values."
Second Amendment Under Fire: Gun Ownership in the Obama Era
And there is something truly alarming about a president who will risk the lives of police officers and informants and remove the teeth of our Republic in a career-long pursuit to gut a key element of the Constitution as if it threatens his long-term political agenda.
John Bolton at CPAC: The Benefits of Nuking Chicago
Former UN Ambassador John Bolton believes the security of the United States is at dire risk under the Obama administration. And before a gathering of conservatives in Washington on Thursday morning, he suggested, as something of a joke, that President Barack Obama might learn a needed lesson if Chicago were destroyed by a nuclear bomb.
California Jobless Rate Jumps To 10.1 Percent
California's unemployment rate jumped to 10.1 percent in January, the state's first double-digit jobless reading in a quarter-century.
Expert predicts Eurozone collapse
Hayman Advisors LP, famous for its mortgage crisis prediction, now is warning of the imminent collapse of the European monetary union.
Obama seeks $205 bln for Iraq and Afghan wars
President Barack Obama requested about $205 billion in war funding through the end of fiscal 2010 on Thursday, as he sought to withdraw tens of thousands of troops from Iraq and boost forces fighting a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.
U.S. to yield marijuana jurisdiction to states
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is sending strong signals that President Obama - who as a candidate said states should be allowed to make their own rules on medical marijuana - will end raids on pot dispensaries in California.
Has Back Door Debt Monetization Already Begun?
he answer to the title is “yes” but it is not back door and should have been obvious to any observer of the markets as early as last October. What if the United States Treasury under Hank Paulson set up a policy for the banks that received government financial assistance to ask them to use their offshore affiliates to purchase U.S. Treasury instruments to keep 10 year yields and thus mortgage rates artificially low?
AIG's woes persist despite aid
Nearly six months after American International Group Inc. got its first massive bailout from the government, it's still stumbling.
Berkshire Hathaway Reports Worst Year Ever
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reported Saturday that 2008 was the legendary investor's worst year ever. It also reported a grim fourth quarter, though it eked out a slight gain.
Last bid for broad gov’t collapses in Israel
Last-ditch efforts to form a broad-based Israeli coalition failed on Friday, paving the way for a rightist government and fuelling concerns about prospects for peace with the Palestinians.
Washington police officer beat 15-year-old girl on video
Seattle is a-buzz -- rightfully so -- over video footage that has surfaced of a King County Sheriff's deputy thrashing a teenage girl as she was confined in a holding cell.
Kucinich on Iraq Troop Withdrawal: You Can’t be In and Out at the Same Time
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who led the effort in the House of Representatives against the war in Iraq as far back as 2002, today made the following statement after President Obama announced that the combat mission in Iraq will end by August 31, 2010. The President also indicated that between 35-50,000 troops will remain in Iraq to advise and train Iraqi security forces and protect American civilian and military personal.
Ron Paul: We killed a million Iraqis and that pleased bin Laden
The conservatives attending this weeks Conservative Political Action Conference are generally hawkish when it comes to foreign policy, but they applauded Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) on Friday when he told them the US has no choice but to get out of Iraq.
How 'Canadians' almost ignited a war
The audacious Israeli plan was to spray deadly nerve gas into the ear of the then-middling Hamas operative. This, they managed – but as the stricken Mishal took ill in the Jordanian capital of Amman, the "Canadians" were captured. And that is when all hell broke loose.
John Kinsman: Nation's food system nearly broke
As our government enacts a stimulus package and President Barack Obama announces bold initiatives to stem home mortgage foreclosures, disaster threatens family farmers and their communities.
Sibel Edmonds Documentary - Kill The Messenger
Sibel Edmonds, a 32-year-old Turkish-American, was hired as a translator by the FBI shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 because of her knowledge of Middle Eastern languages. She was fired less than a year later in March 2002 for reporting shoddy work and security breaches to her supervisors that could have prevented those attacks.
Found in Translation
FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds spills her secrets.
Most Americans have never heard of Sibel Edmonds, and if the U.S. government has its way, they never will.
The Two Documents Everyone Should Read to Better Understand the Crisis
The FBI correctly identified the epidemic of mortgage control fraud at such an early point that the financial crisis could have been averted had the Bush administration acted with even minimal competence. To understand the crisis we have to focus on how the mortgage fraud epidemic produced widespread accounting fraud.
Apartment Buyers Abandoning 6-Figure Deposits
The real estate market in Manhattan has become so unnerving to buyers that some are forfeiting six-figure deposits rather than close on deals they have made.
NKorea Warns Again of Conflict on Korean Peninsula
North Korea accused the U.S. military of making provocative moves along the tense border on the divided Korean peninsula, warning Saturday of "unpredictable military conflicts."
Is Nancy Pelosi Really Against War Crimes?
By Alexander Cockburn
Is it even remotely possible that senior officials in the Bush administration - maybe even at least one of the top two - will be the target of public war crime hearings and even criminal prosecutions, here in the United States?
Pros Say: U.S. Recession Looks Endless
The Economic Cycle Research Institute's Lakshman Achuthan said figures can be made to say anything you want them to say, but here's the reality: there is no end in sight to this profound recession.
In hard times, more U.S. women try to sell their eggs
Drawn by payments of up to $10,000, an increasing number of women are offering to sell their eggs at U.S. fertility clinics as a way to make money amid the financial crisis.
US braces for more bank busts, ups insurance fee
A deepening recession is now expected to more than double the projected cost of protecting customer deposits at failed U.S. banks, leading regulators on Friday to raise the insurance premiums paid by banks.
Federal regulators ignored problems at IndyMac, report finds
Federal regulators ignored repeated warning signs about Pasadena's IndyMac Bancorp., and their failure to prevent the mortgage lender's collapse last summer cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. $10.7 billion, according to a government report released Thursday.
Ex-Stanford employee warned regulators about fraud
A former Stanford Group Company employee told broker-dealer watchdogs in 2003 that the financial services firm was engaged in fraud, about five years before U.S. securities regulators charged the firm's chairman, Allen Stanford, with an $8 billion fraud.
More seeds for 'doomsday vault'
Almost 90,000 food crop seed samples have arrived at the "doomsday vault" in the Arctic Circle, as part of its first anniversary celebrations.
Grim news sends Wall Street to 12-year low
Stocks tumbled Friday on worries about the government taking a bigger chunk of Citigroup and a bleak reading on the economy, again touching 12-year lows.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 119 points, or 1.7%, according to early tallies. It was the lowest close since May 1, 1997.
Citigroup's Latest Bailout Gives the US More Control
The US government agreed to boost its stake in Citigroup to as much as 36%, shoring up the bank's capital and taking on far more control of the ailing banking giant.
Class-action suit filed in corrupt judges case
Two Luzerne County judges used youths as "commodities that could be traded for cash," attorneys for more than 70 juveniles and their parents alleged in a lawsuit filed yesterday in federal court in Scranton.
The 15 Strangest College Courses In America
College is viewed by many people these days as a diploma factory. You show up go to certain classes in a certain order, and eventually receive a diploma. There’s not a lot of love for learning for learning’s sake anymore.
Porn in the USA: Conservatives are biggest consumers
Americans may paint themselves in increasingly bright shades of red and blue, but new research finds one thing that varies little across the nation: the liking for online pornography.
Firms defraud government but get new US contracts
Companies that defrauded the United States and jeopardized American lives received new government work despite rulings designed to stop them from receiving federal contracts, government investigators report.
UK rules out charges against Pentagon hacker
British prosecutors said on Thursday they would not bring charges against a computer expert accused by a U.S. attorney of the "biggest military hack of all time," dealing a blow to his bid to avoid extradition.
The Department of Homegrown Security
By Chip Ward
Now that we've decided to "green" the economy, why not green homeland security, too? I'm not talking about interrogators questioning suspects under the glow of compact fluorescent light bulbs, or cops wearing recycled Kevlar recharging their Tasers via solar panels. What I mean is: Shouldn't we finally start rethinking the very notion of homeland security on a sinking planet?
19 Georgia lawmakers behind on taxes, state report says
Nineteen members of the state Legislature have failed to pay state and federal income taxes, some of them dating back to 2002, according to a Georgia Department of Revenue report given recently to legislative leaders.
U.S. Economy Shrank 6.2% Last Quarter, Most Since ’82
The U.S. economy shrank in the fourth quarter at a faster pace than previously estimated as consumer spending plunged, companies cut inventories and exports sank.
Obama to extend Iraq withdrawal timetable; 50,000 troops to stay
Amid complaints from has own party that he's moving too slowly to end the war in Iraq, President Barack Obama will announce Friday that U.S. combat troops will be withdrawn by Aug. 31, 2010, but that as many as 50,000 Marines and soldiers would remain until the end of 2011.
Couple Charged By NY Drug Police For Having Organic Chocolate
Feel like a little nip of organic chocolate while you’re heading to the Big Apple, Chicago or San Fran? Careful now. If you’re crossing the border with a fair trade sweet, you may get busted for drugs.
Moody's predicts default rate will exceed peaks hit in Great Depression
A bigger proportion of non-investment grade companies will go bust in the US and overseas in the coming years than during the Great Depression, according to Moody's, one of the world's foremost experts on credit.
How the global financial crisis was created
Contrary to the Constitution for the United States, we have a fiat currency in this country -- a paper currency backed by ink and coercion.
CNBC guest calls for World Bank and Currency
Pushing the agenda for a World Bank and World Currency, favoured CNBC guest Stephen Gallo gives talking points that support the idea of a Global World Central Bank. This would be a huge win for the elite and pushing forward for a World Currency and a one World Government.
THE TAXPAYER TEA PARTY MOVEMENT IS GROWING
FreedomWorks is helping to organize “Taxpayer Tea Party” protests around the country, in the wake of Rick Santelli’s (CNBC) call for a “Chicago Tea Party” to protest the ridiculous economic policies of President Barack Obama.
Fannie Mae to draw on Treasury after $25.2 bln loss
Fannie Mae the government-controlled company seen by President Barack Obama as a key conduit to stabilize U.S. housing, on Thursday reported a $25.2 billion fourth-quarter loss, forcing it to draw capital from the Treasury.
Harmful Chemicals Found in Liquid Medicines for Babies
A study published in the Fetal & Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood has revealed that newborns who consume liquid medications may be exposed to dangerous toxins which are added to improve their effectiveness, taste and appearance.
China nears deflation trap as rail freight collapses
Railway freight in China’s Shanghai region plunged 31pc in January and industrial production fell 12pc, dashing hopes that Beijing’s stimulus policies will soon begin to fuel recovery.
The war on Wall Street terror
By Jerry Mazza
It’s funny that during the run-up to the first War on Terror, Wall Street had such an active hand in exploiting the tragedy of 9/11.
Calling All (Soon To Be) Criminals
By Michael Gaddy
As my grandfather was fond of saying: "it’s time to fish or cut bait." As predicted here, the Obama administration intends to put a new Assault Weapons Ban (AWB) on the fast track.
Illegals targeted sheriff as gang initiation
The attempted assassination of a South Carolina deputy sheriff was a gang initiation carried out by three illegal immigrants including a 15-year-old boy who was supposed to "kill a cop" in order to be admitted as a member, according to a confidential Department of Homeland Security advisory.
'We're Not Paying For Your Crisis!'
Anger rises in Germany as the economy falls. Trade unions and globalization-critical protesters are planning demonstrations in Berlin and Frankfurt under the banner: "We're not paying for your crisis."
Bank Failures Take Toll on Insurance Fund
The federal insurance fund that protects most bank deposits is being drained by a sharp rise in bank failures and has dwindled to its lowest level since 1993, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported yesterday.
Former CIA exec gets more than 3 years in prison
The highest-ranking CIA officer ever convicted of a federal felony was sentenced to more than three years in prison Thursday as part of a bribery and fraud investigation that previously resulted in the conviction of a California congressman.
Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who as executive director held the CIA's No. 3 rank from 2004 to 2006, had asked the judge to spare him jail time, citing his covert work on behalf of the country over two decades at the CIA, including a supervisory stint in Iraq after the Sept. 11 attacks.
U.S. problem banks soar to 252 in 4th quarter
The number of problem U.S. banks and thrifts jumped to 252 in the fourth quarter of 2008, up nearly 50 percent from the third quarter and the most since June 1995, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said on Thursday.
Government commission urges taxing drivers by-the-mile
A week after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood floated the idea of taxing drivers by-the-mile-driven rather than by-the-gallon-of-gas-purchased and the White House’s near-immediate denial that such a tax was under consideration, a federal commission has recommended just such as tax.
Big bailouts for 'higher-ups' anger left-out middle class
Despite his best efforts in his Tuesday night address to Congress, President Barack Obama isn't going to convince Jerry Shimmel that government bailouts are going to the people who deserve them.
Neo-Nazis plotting 'Fourth Reich' in Germany
A defector from Germany's hard-core neo-Nazi party the NPD has painted a chilling picture of the rise of new Hitler worshippers and their plans to build the "Fourth Reich".
UK sued over arms sales to Israel
The UK government is being sued over its policy of selling arms to Israel, which human rights activists say violates international law.
CIA Adds Economy To Threat Updates
The daily White House intelligence report that catalogs the top security threats to the nation has a grim new addition, reflecting the realities of the age: a daily update on the global financial crisis and its cascading effects on the stability of countries through the world.
Cash-Strapped Communities Suffer as Corporations Target Water Systems
A new report released today by Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., reveals that many cash-strapped communities across the country are experiencing rate hikes and a decrease in public services after selling their water and wastewater systems to private corporations.
TARP Said to Be Ripe for Fraud
The U.S. government's rescue of the financial system is vulnerable to fraud that could potentially cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, government watchdogs warned lawmakers Tuesday.
Mexico sending extra troops to violent border city
Mexico will deploy extra troops and federal police to this violent city across the border from Texas where the police chief recently bowed to crime gang demands that he resign, the government said Wednesday.
After threats, Juárez mayor in El Paso
Police are investigating threats against Juárez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz, who moved his family to El Paso for safety, El Paso police Detective Carlos Carrillo said Monday.
Netanyahu Set to Fight Recession With Repeat Dose of Tax Cuts
Benjamin Netanyahu plans to apply the same small-government policies when he becomes Israel’s prime minister as he did six years ago as finance minister. Then, his tax and spending cuts helped lift the economy out of recession.
Obama forecasts $1.75 trillion deficit this year
President Barack Obama forecast the biggest U.S. deficit since World War Two in a budget on Thursday that urges a costly overhaul of the healthcare system and would spend billions to arrest the economy's freefall.
The Iran-Israel nuclear endgame is now much closer
In recent days, four key developments have clicked in to edge Iran and Israel much closer to a military denouement with profound consequences for American oil that the nation is not prepared to meet.
A Planet at the Brink
The global economic meltdown has already caused bank failures, bankruptcies, plant closings, and foreclosures and will, in the coming year, leave many tens of millions unemployed across the planet. But another perilous consequence of the crash of 2008 has only recently made its appearance: increased civil unrest and ethnic strife. Someday, perhaps, war may follow.
The Deep Politics of Hollywood
By Matthew Alford and Robbie Graham
As Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Professor Ben Bagdikian puts it, whereas once the men and women who owned the media could fit in a “modest hotel ballroom,” the same owners (all male) could now fit into a “generous phone booth.”
Why the U.S. Economy is Designed to Fail
By Richard C Cook
Neither President Obama, nor his Democratic supporters or Republican antagonists, should feel badly about what is happening. This is because the system they have been given to work with was designed to fail. The U.S. was saddled long ago with a debt-based monetary system, whereby the only way money can be introduced into circulation is through bank lending. It was the system that was instituted in 1913 when Congress gave away its constitutional power over money creation to the private banking industry by passing the Federal Reserve Act.
