Judge approves settlement for 9/11 first responders A U.S. district judge in New York approved a settlement Wednesday that could pay more than $700 million to thousands of 9/11 first responders exposed to toxic dust at ground zero.
TILT: The illness afflicting workers exposed to BP's oil disaster? Workers cleaning up the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico have reported suffering from flu-like symptoms that may be the consequence of exposure to chemicals in the oil as well as the petroleum-derived solvent being used to disperse the spill.
Big Brother Is Watching You -- And He Has Ice Cream! If you happen to be going to Cannes this summer (and, really, if you aren't, you should be) mega-conglomerate Unilever is ready to tempt you with a treat straight out of Minority Report. The company has set up a vending machine that lets anyone who walks by score some free ice cream.
Taliban endorses General Petraeus, say new US Afghanistan war chief 'not smarter' than McChrystal It seems the evildoers were just biding their time to see how the Rolling Stone flap would play out. Now that President Obama has sacked his top war boss in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, and replaced him with Iraq surge hero Gen. David Petraeus, the Taliban has finally weighed in.
Trial Delayed in New Fake Terror Case We are in the middle of another manufactured-terrorism case, this one in Newburgh, and it was going very smoothly until last week, when the presiding federal judge postponed the scheduled trial indefinitely, ordering the government to turn over more evidence that might be helpful to the defense.
Pakistani anti-terror court convicts 5 Americans Five American men were convicted Thursday on terror charges by a Pakistani court and sentenced to 10 years in prison in a case that heightened concerns about Westerners traveling to Pakistan to contact al-Qaida and other Islamist extremist groups.
Mass strike against pension reform hits France A mass strike against the French government's plan to raise the retirement age disrupted transport and shut down schools on Thursday, with unions saying millions of protestors took to the streets.
Aussies Get First Woman PM After Rudd Quits Welsh-born Julia Gillard has become Australia's first female Prime Minister, after a swift party revolt saw Kevin Rudd stand down from the job.
War crimes suit filed against Barak, Livni in Belgium Among those targeted in the suit are Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni, who also has an arrest warrant out against her in Britain for her role as foreign minister during the Gaza offensive, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, and other Israelis in the IDF and Israel's intelligence services.
How the ultimate BP Gulf disaster could kill millions Disturbing evidence is mounting that something frightening is happening deep under the waters of the Gulf of Mexico—something far worse than the BP oil gusher.
Gulf oil spill: Boat captain, despondent over spill, commits suicide William Allen Kruse, 55, a charter boat captain recently hired by BP as a vessel of opportunity out of Gulf Shores, Ala., died Wednesday morning before 7:30 a.m. of a gunshot to the head, likely self-inflicted, authorities said.
'Mossad hit men targeted Erdogan' The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has failed in an attempt to assassinate Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a Jordanian weekly says.
Report: IAF aircraft land at Saudi base Israeli Air force aircraft landed during the past weekend at a military base in Saudi Arabia and unloaded large quantities of military gear, according to a report published Wednesday by Islamic website Islam Times.
Israel selling weapons to Azerbaijan fuels possibility of new war A dangerous pattern is emerging in the Caucasus with new reports that Israel is continuing to sell advanced military armaments to Azerbaijan, costing hundreds of millions of dollars, said Jirair Haratunian, former Chairman of the Armenian Assembly of America Board of Directors.
IDF draws up new Gaza war doctrine Ahead of a potential new conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the IDF has drawn up plans to evacuate entire Palestinian villages and refugee camps from areas of conflict in the event of an Israeli incursion, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
UN blasts razing of Jerusalem homes The UN secretary general has criticised municipal authorities in Israel for pressing ahead with a plan to raze Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, calling it illegal.
Afghan poppy blight a small hit Earlier this year, the UNODC released a long-awaited Afghan cannabis survey that confirmed suspicions that Afghanistan is now the world's number one producer of two illicit narcotics: opiates and cannabis resin, known better as hashish.
Britain Unveils Emergency Budget Setting the scene for years of potential strife with the powerful public-sector unions and their allies in the Labour Party, Britain’s new coalition government on Tuesday unveiled the most severe package of spending cuts and tax increases since the early days of Margaret Thatcher’s era.
Leaked documents show PA undermined Turkey's push for UN flotilla probe he Palestinian Authority attempted to neutralize a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution condemning Israel's deadly attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, leaked UN and Palestinian Authority documents obtained by The Electronic Intifada show. Israel's 31 May attack killed nine Turkish citizens, including a dual US-Turkish citizen, and injured dozens of others aboard the Mavi Marmara in international waters.
Radio satirists known for targeting politicians are fired Prominent French public radio station France Inter has fired two of its most famous satirists, Stéphane Guillon and Didier Porte, both known for providing biting commentary targeting top politicians.
Palin Fund Illegal; Donors Will Get Money Back Thousands of donors who contributed to a $390,000 legal defense fund for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will get their money back after an investigator said Thursday the fund was illegal because it was misleadingly described on a website.
Blagojevich Trial: Obama Had 4 Senate Successors In Mind Jurors in ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial got a purported look Thursday at a short list of candidates President Obama favored to replace him in the U.S. Senate.
Dems short on details but pledge unity on energy ahead of White House meeting Senate Democrats emerged from a caucus meeting Thursday afternoon with a political message that they’re jazzed up about moving ahead with an aggressive energy bill, but major questions about the shape of the package remain unanswered.
House passes campaign finance bill Overcoming opposition from within their own ranks, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic House leaders pushed through a controversial campaign finance reform bill Thursday on a 219-206 vote.
Confidence Waning in Obama, U.S. Outlook Americans are more pessimistic about the state of the country and less confident in President Barack Obama's leadership than at any point since Mr. Obama entered the White House, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.
Al Gore A "Crazed Sex Poodle? In a bizarre statement to police, the Oregon woman who claims that Al Gore fondled and groped her during a massage session described the former Vice President as a giggling "crazed sex poodle" who gave a "come hither" look before pouncing on her in a Portland hotel suite.
Judge Faces Death Threats After BP Gulf Oil Drilling Moratorium Ruling While many Americans undoubtedly agree with the decision of U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman to overturn the Obama administration’s moratorium on deep water drilling, not everyone is happy. In fact, the Judge is now receiving death threats in the aftermath of his bold ruling.
Abramoff, From Prison to a Pizzeria Job Like any new employee, Jack Abramoff is trying to keep a low profile — or as low a profile as a cause célèbre disgraced lobbyist and convicted felon can keep when news cameramen keep staking out his new workplace.
Harris: Obama knew of Blagoje A top aide to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he believed Barack Obama knew of Blagojevich's plot to win himself a presidential Cabinet post in exchange for appointing Valerie Jarrett to the U.S. Senate.
Bin Laden hunter arrives back in Colorado Gary Faulkner is back home in Colorado after his personal quest to track down al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden ended with his arrest in a northern Pakistan woods.
Kagan Calls Israeli Activist Judge 'My Hero' New video of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan praising an activist Israeli Supreme court judge as "my judicial hero" has Republican senators and conservative groups doubting administration claims that the former Clinton aide has an open mind and isn't interested in changing the Constitution.
Tillman mother sought to warn Obama of McChrystal The mother of the slain football player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman sought to warn President Obama against making General Stanley McChrystal his commander in Afghanistan.
Salazar seeks to reimpose drilling moratorium Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he will issue a new order imposing a moratorium on deepwater drilling after a federal judge struck down the existing one.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Report: Toxins found in whales bode ill for humans Sperm whales feeding even in the most remote reaches of Earth's oceans have built up stunningly high levels of toxic and heavy metals, according to American scientists who say the findings spell danger not only for marine life but for the millions of humans who depend on seafood.
Now scientists read your mind better than you can Brain scans may be able to predict what you will do better than you can yourself, and might offer a powerful tool for advertisers or health officials seeking to motivate consumers, researchers said on Tuesday.
Bee decline could be down to chemical cocktail interfering with brains A cocktail of chemicals from pesticides could be damaging the brains of British bees, according to scientists about to embark on a study into why the populations of the insects have dropped so rapidly in recent decades
It's methane wot done it! Warmists have been riding the wrong horse. A new paleoclimate study shows that it is methane, not CO2 that affects warming. CO2 levels are tied to ocean circulation.
Gulf Oil Gusher: Danger of Tsunamis From Methane? The danger of loss of buoyancy and cascading tsunamis in the Gulf of Mexico -- caused by the release of the massive methane and poisonous gas bubble -- has been a much lower probability in the early period of the crisis, which began on April 20th. However, as time goes by and the risk increases, this low probability high impact scenario ought not to be ignored, given that the safety and security of the personnel involved remains paramount.
MONEY & MARKETS
Greece puts its islands up for sale to save economy Now Greece is making it easier for the rich and famous to fulfill their dreams by preparing to sell, or offering long-term leases on, some of its 6,000 sunkissed islands in a desperate attempt to repay its mountainous debts.
U.S. isolated on spending at G-20
In the days ahead of this weekend’s summit, President Barack Obama and his economic team have pressed Europe and Congress alike on the need for more spending to drive economic growth.
European Banks Step Up Reliance on ECB Banks in Europe’s periphery are stepping up their reliance on European Central Bank funding, economists at RBS conclude in a research note.
Federal Reserve cautions on US economic growth The US Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady at record lows as it cautioned that Europe's debt problems could slow American economic growth.
New-home sales plummet nearly 33% in May from April
Commerce Department says new homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000 units in May, a record low and an 18.3% drop from a year earlier. Sales in the West were down by more than half.
Russell: This Is One Of The Largest Tops In Stock Market History Richard Russell has grown very vocally bearish in recent months. Earlier this year, Russell warned that the stock market was once again becoming grossly overvalued despite its relentless new highs.
New Aussie PM Rethinks Unpopular Mining Tax Julia Gillard began her job as Australia’s first female prime minister by promising to smooth relations with mining, its biggest industry.
Small Banks and Big Risks Congress is planting the seeds of the next big bank bailout. Attention is focused on the House-Senate conference on a once-in-a-generation rewrite of the rules of finance. Meanwhile, a provision added, almost unnoticed, to a help-small-business bill that passed the House last week would allow all but the 100 largest banks to pretend they haven't made bad loans. The goal is to prompt them to lend more readily to small businesses.
Soros Says the Euro is a Flawed Construct The euro is a flawed construct and Germany's budget savings policy is making it harder for other countries in the currency bloc to regain competitiveness, billionaire investor George Soros said on Wednesday.
Keiser Report: Gold grows on Armageddon In Episode №53 Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, look at the latest scandals of financial news presenters speaking in tongues, EU commissioners threatening the return of dictatorships and European fund managers piling into Australian property. In the second half of the show, Max talks to the Financial Time's John Authers about his new book, The Fearful Rise of Markets.
Kagan: Pro-State Shill The common assertion by democrats, and even by some libertarians who buy into the left-right paradigm, that liberals are better on civil liberties is obviously mistaken. (
Creating the Great ‘Union’ Divide According to Glenn Beck, the reason Obama can not allow the cleanup in the Gulf from the oil leak is the “Jones Act”, which gives the Unions power to effect control over who works on boats. No foreigners are allowed. Yet, Obama has no problem with allowing illegal immigrants. Good point Glenn, or is it?
Mike Papantonio: BP Spill as Organized Crime "I know what a thug corporation looks like," says lawyer and radio host Mike Papantonio, who is busy building a RICO case against BP for the oil devastation in the Gulf. "These people are sociopaths and the GOP are apologizing for them."
The End of The Great Bailouts is Approaching
By Bob Chapman Broke central banks, UK must monetize or collapse, 20 major countries on the edge of insolvency, No way but down for the Stock markets, defaulting on bailout payments, Fed audit going through Senate, shrinkage of high-end properties, VAT coming.
Taliban’s Time Horizon Longer Than America’s
By Ivan Eland In contrast to World War II and Desert Storm—which had clear goals, even though those of the latter were limited—the war in Afghanistan resembles the Spanish-American War and the Vietnam War.
Making It McChrystal Clear
By Butler Shaffer The war system’s response to Gen.McChrystal’s Rolling Stone interview is instructive. It is a reminder that every Memorial Day should begin by honoring the first victim of every war: truth.
Iran, BP and the CIA
By Dr. Lawrence S. Wittner The offshore oil drilling catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico brought to us by BP has overshadowed its central role over the past century in fostering some other disastrous events.
General Stanley McTerror: The Shocking Admissions the Media Treated as Unremarkable If one were to look closely at the massive media coverage around the now infamous and notorious quotes emanating from U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and those of his aides, speaking to Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone, one should start to notice a pattern. It is a familiar one, an important statement of mainstream American ways of not seeing.
Preparing for flotillas like on eve of war
By Ron Ben-Yishai Current Israeli preparations ahead of the arrival of the Lebanese and Iranian provocation flotillas are reminiscent of war preparations. The Israel Defense Forces and political rank are engaged in the drawing of lessons from the previous Navy raid. Still, the commissions of inquiry appointed by the IDF chief of staff and the prime minister have yet to complete their reports and the state comptroller has yet to even commence his investigation.
'Free Palestine', Not Only Gaza
By Hasan Afif El-Hasan One thing is missing in the 'Free Gaza' movement. Activists and civil societies and journalists who support the Palestinian cause are rightfully angry at Israel’s murderous campaign against the aid-loaded 'Freedom Flotilla' that was going to the besieged and starved residents of Gaza, but they ignore the overall conditions in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the refugee camps.
Palestinians Versus The Samson Option Blackmail Zionist-awakening scenario: “In one Israeli Jews come to their senses and accept that their best and actually only hope for a future with security and peace is the One State solution – a single, democratic state in which all of its citizens, Jews and Arabs, would have equal civil and political rights.”
Obama and Chavez, Birds of a Feather
By Jacob G. Hornberger Most everyone is familiar with the term “the rule of law.” Many people, however, don’t understand what it really means. They think that it means that people should obey the law.
Sheep For Slaughter: Is the Elite really trying to KILL us? There has been much in the mainstream news recently about population control. In fact, there seems to be a concerted effort by the Elite to introduce the idea as a legitimate debate about dealing with the “problem” of over-population.
Fascism - American Style How left and right, socialism and capitalism, democrat and republican, are both part of the same system fueling the money vortex - the real choice we should be focused on--big vs. small, republic vs. empire, Jefferson vs. Hamilton - the political quadrant--the key is to differentiate between politicians serving the banking system vs. those serving the republic.
(The complete Renaissance 2.0 series can be found here.)
G20 lockdown cuts into downtown business The G20 security zone won’t just separate world leaders from the rest of us. It’s also cutting off downtown Toronto businesses from their usual summer profits.
NY Cop Batters Iraq War Veteran On Video Shocking video footage of a New York City policeman repeatedly clubbing an Iraq war veteran with a baton has been shown to jurors.
Darpa Taking Fire for Its Cyberwar Range Two years ago, the White House and the Pentagon launched a massive, secretive $17 billion effort to shore up the nation’s defenses, and assigned Darpa a crucial role: build a replica Internet — a “National Cyber Range” — that could not only be used to test out information attacks, but could “emulate human behavior on all nodes,” as well.
EYE ON THE NEWS
WHO to tax your internet usage to fund vaccines in third-world countries The United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO) is pushing hard to impose global consumer taxes to help fund its various programs, including a new proposal that would tax the internet in order to pay for vaccines and other pharmaceutical medicines for third-world countries.
US Navy Drills in Preparation For Iranian Strikes The armada of 10 US warships plus an Israeli and German battle vessel each, which transited the Suez Canal Friday, June 18, has reached the Persian Gulf, debkafile's military sources report.
Experts: BP Lowballing Size of Leaking Oil Reservoir The size of the reservoir is important for several reasons. Specifically, the more oil in the Macondo reservoir, the longer the oil leak will flow if the efforts to cap it fail.
FCC Moves to Regulate Internet The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on Thursday to begin the formal process of bringing the Internet under greater federal control – a move sought by both President Barack Obama and FCC Chairnman Julius Genachowski--even though federal law calls for an Internet "unfettered by Federal or State regulation."
WikiLeaks Founder Has Massacre Video After several days underground, the founder of the secretive website WikiLeaks has gone public to disclose that he is preparing to release a classified Pentagon video of a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan last year that left as many as 140 civilians dead, most of them children and teenagers.
Internet 'kill switch' proposed for US TechAmerica, probably the largest US technology lobby group, said it was concerned about "unintended consequences that would result from the legislation's regulatory approach" and "the potential for absolute power".
UK Eugenicists: We need a global initiative for population reduction A growing number of scientists are going where politicians fear to tread by calling for a wider public debate on the sensitive issue of the global human population, which is set to rise from the present 6.8 billion to perhaps 9 billion by 2050.
Afghanistan Mineral Deposits Was “Economic Prize” All Along — Brzezinski News of the “Stunning discovery” of vast minerals in Afghanistan, first reported by James Risen in Sunday’s New York Times article, U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan, is rapidly spreading as “good news.” Well, unfortunately for mainstream media, this is old news and a well-documented motivation for the War in Afghanistan by the global elite.
Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency linked to Taliban Pakistani military intelligence not only funds and trains Taliban fighters in Afghanistan but is officially represented on the movement's leadership council, giving in significant influence over operations, a report said.
Could WikiLeaks secrets destroy US foreign relations A video released by the website WikiLeaks shows an American helicopter attack in Baghdad in 2007 that left 12 people dead, including two employees of the news agency Reuters. The video then shows the soldiers celebrating their exploits but now that the "whistleblower" has been arrested, it turns out there is a lot more that might be made public by WikiLeaks.
Daniel Ellsberg Says He Fears US Might Assassinate Wikileaks Founder Daniel Ellsberg, the former US military analyst who released the pentagon papers in 1971, appeared on MSNBC today with Dylan Ratigan. He said he fears for the safety of Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, who is reportedly on the verge of leaking secret State Department cables. The Daily Beast reports that Assange is currently being sought by the Pentagon, and Ellsberg advises him not to reveal his whereabouts.
Bilderberg 2010: Jim Tucker’s Final Report Bilderberg boys were so depressed as they gathered at the Dolce luxury hotel in Sitges, Spain June 3 that “many important people are not showing up,” because “they always find out and we get into trouble at home,” said one, echoing the sentiments of all.
U.S debt to rise to $19.6 trillion by 2015 The U.S. debt will top $13.6 trillion this year and climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015, according to a Treasury Department report to Congress.
Helen Thomas resigned? Nothing surprising here She went out with a flash and a bang, kicking with her boots and, as Tun Dr. Mahathir remarked recently, essentially, we may have lost the skirmish, but we have won the battle on principle, and they have shown their true colors.
Brain scans ‘could be used to snoop on thoughts’ The use of brain scanners must be regulated in order to prevent them being used to invade privacy and threaten civil liberties, a legal expert has warned.
