Big Storm to Hit Gulf of Mexico ... All Oil Relief Operations Will Be Suspended ... Cap Will Stay On, Unattended A hurricane, or even a tropical storm, will cause 10 days to 2 weeks of delay. Yesterday, [Admiral Thad] Allen said that the decision whether to open the capping stack or leave it closed was currently being discussed. Without monitoring, there is fear of a major leak causing serious damage to the wellhead endangering future containment efforts.
Russia aims to topple the 'last dictator in Europe' Alexander Lukashenko, the moustachioed former collective farm manager often described as "the last dictator in Europe", could be about to see his iron grip on power in Belarus turned to jelly by an intervention from his domineering neighbour and erstwhile ally, Russia.
U.S. to resume aid to Kopassus, Indonesia's controversial military forces The special forces had been barred from receiving U.S. aid because of human-rights abuses in East Timor, where about 1,400 people were killed in the 1990s. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Indonesia's government has made strides in cleaning up the special forces.
Websites biggest terror threat, says watchdog David Cameron should abandon his threat to ban the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir and turn his attention instead to websites that openly advocate violence, Lord Carlile, the terrorism watchdog, urged yesterday.
Chavez cuts Colombia ties but fight seen unlikely Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez cut ties on Thursday with Colombia in an escalating dispute between the two Andean neighbors over Bogota's charges that leftist Colombian rebels shelter in Venezuela.
Moscow prepares sanctions workaround On July 14 in Moscow, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi announced ambitious plans for bilateral cooperation, short-term and long-term.
UK seeks war crimes law change If approved, amendment will enable Israeli politicians, IDF officers to travel to Britain without fear of being arrested. Livni: Free world must differentiate between real war criminals, those who fight terrorism
EU envoys endorse sanctions against Iran The European Union reached agreement Thursday on a package of sanctions against Iran which targets Tehran's energy sector over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear work, an EU diplomat said.
Women Prepare to Set Sail Past Israel The 'Maryam', an all-female Lebanese aid ship, currently docked in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli, is getting ready to set sail for Gaza in the next few days. The ship, which aims to break Israel's siege on the Palestinian territory, will carry about 50 aid workers, including some U.S. nuns keen to deliver aid to the long-suffering women and children of Gaza.
Workers on Doomed Rig Voiced Concern About Safety A confidential survey of workers on the Deepwater Horizon in the weeks before the oil rig exploded showed that many of them were concerned about safety practices and feared reprisals if they reported mistakes or other problems.
'Israel needs war to exist' A former Israeli lecturer has said the entity depends on wars for its existence, warning that the hostility only invites disaster for Tel Aviv.
N Korea calls US-South drill 'a threat' North Korea has warned against US plans to hold a joint naval exercise with South Korea in the Sea of Japan, saying the military drill poses a threat to regional security.
House Panel Will Try Rangel in Ethics Cases A House investigative panel has found “substantial reason to believe” that Representative Charles B. Rangel violated a range of ethics rules, dealing a serious blow to Mr. Rangel, a Harlem Democrat, in the twilight of his political career.
Democrats pull plug on climate bill Senate Democrats pulled the plug on climate legislation Thursday, pushing the issue off into an uncertain future ahead of midterm elections where President Barack Obama’s party is girding for a drubbing.
Consumer group: Insurers kept surplus while hiking premiums Non-profit Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans stockpiled billions of dollars during the past decade, yet continued to hit consumers with double-digit premium increases, Consumers Union found in an analysis of 10 of the plans' finances.
37 states join probe into Google Wi-Fi data collection A multistate investigation is raising more questions about how Google Inc. may have improperly gathered people's private information through their unsecured wireless networks while collecting data for its Street View feature.
"It Fell in Silence: The Collapse of World Trade Center 7" (With Videos) Many Americans are unaware that three buildings within the World Trade Center complex fell on Sept 11, 2001. Located just 300 feet from the North Tower,World Trade Center Building 7 (WTC 7) was a forty-seven story steel framed building, which collapsed vertically in 6.5 seconds more than 6 hours after the collapse of the Twin Towers.
DOJ drops the dime on CIA, State Department wrongdoing Attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice have filed a motion in federal court indicating that Congress has been notified officially of corruption allegations involving the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department. The motion further substantiates a prior report by Narco News published July 4 that revealed at least one Congressional committee has launched an investigation into alleged CIA and State Department deceptions that surfaced in a lawsuit accusing officials from those agencies of spying on a DEA agent.
Three of every four oil and gas lobbyists worked for federal government Three out of every four lobbyists who represent oil and gas companies previously worked in the federal government, a proportion that far exceeds the usual revolving-door standards on Capitol Hill, a Washington Post analysis shows.
How Jay Bybee Has Approved The Prosecution Of CIA Operatives For Torture Last Thursday, Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan), the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, released the previously undisclosed testimony of Jay S. Bybee, delivered to the Committee on May 26 as part of its investigations into advice given by Justice Department lawyers to the Bush administration regarding the use of torture in the “War on Terror.”
Congress Ranks Last in Confidence in Institutions Gallup's 2010 Confidence in Institutions poll finds Congress ranking dead last out of the 16 institutions rated this year. Eleven percent of Americans say they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress, down from 17% in 2009 and a percentage point lower than the previous low for Congress, recorded in 2008.
Study: Cap and Trade Could Cost 1.9 Million Jobs The proposed Kerry-Lieberman cap-and-trade bill could cost 1.9 million jobs and slash the U.S. gross domestic product by up to $2.1 trillion, according to an analysis released today.
Overcoming GOP blockade, Senate OKs jobless aid The Senate approved legislation to extend unemployment benefits Wednesday for 2.5 million jobless Americans, clearing the way for House passage and President Obama's signature this week.
Homeland Security Bill Passes House This time, it's the 2010 Homeland Security Science and Technology Authorization Act, which among other things, would double the cybersecurity research and development budget to $75 million for each of the next two years and authorize another $500 million for a study to find ways to promote industry best practices.
T-Ray Tech Spots Bombs, Drugs from a Mile Away Start investing in metal underwear. Scientists from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have found an ingenious way to replicate Superman’s X-ray vision.
Astronomers discover 'monster' stars Imagine a star so luminous that it would burn the Earth up if it were anywhere near, a star that outshines the sun as much as the sun outshines the moon. A monster even in the abyss of space.
Economy set for triple whammy, admits Bank chief The British economy faces a triple whammy of higher inflation, lower growth and rising unemployment, according to one of the Bank of England's most senior policy makers.
Bad credit? GM buys AmeriCredit to do sub-prime loans Aching for a Camaro, but your credit is a little spotty? General Motors now has a deal for you. It announced this morning it was buying AmeriCredit., an auto finance company with a strong sub-prime loan specialty. Owning a finance company also will let GM do more leases. (thank you, Uncle Sam)
The story of the gold curve, so far FT Alphaville cited John Kemp last week regarding increasing evidence that the so-called ‘cash for commodity’ trade (aka contango trade) might be getting crowded. Which is interesting, given that peculiarities have been emerging in the world’s most consistent and established contango market: the gold market.
Gold Makes Dead Portuguese Dictator Top Investor Without Gains Former dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar might have been remembered as Portugal’s best investor had central bank rules allowed the country to benefit from his shrewdest trade: Europe’s biggest gold pile.
Without Hoopla, Fair-Value Rule Is Readied Among the ripple effects of the global credit crisis is the rewrite of the controversial fair-value accounting rule once known as FAS 157. The revised standard could be in place by the end of the year.
Bernanke says Fed to act if U.S. recovery stalls The Federal Reserve stands ready to ease monetary policy further if the budding U.S. economic recovery withers, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday, describing the outlook as "unusually uncertain."
More Poverty By Any Measure 15 million unemployed, homelessness has increased by 50 percent in some cities More than 15 million Americans are unemployed, homelessness has increased by 50 percent in some cities, and 38 million people are receiving food stamps, more than at any time in the program’s almost 50-year history.
20% of Americans hit by major economic loss A new study released Wednesday estimates that 20% of Americans suffered a significant economic loss last year - the highest level in the past 25 years.
Global Banks Face $5 Trillion Credit Squeeze Banks across the globe had to raise trillions of dollars in capital as a result of the financial crisis, and now the bill for that borrowing is coming due.
Michigan Says Enough To Fed: Takes Matters Into Own Hands As It Starts Using Own Currency…And Gold Either in anticipation of QE2 which will cut the value of the dollar by another 50% once another $2 trillion in toxic crap becomes the “assets” backing the viability of the dollar, or just because they are sick of Fed policies, mid-Michigan has taken monetary matters into their own hands, and in one simple act, completely bypassed the destabilizing influence of the domestic currency printers.
Countrywide VIP loans reached deep into Fannie Mae The former Countrywide Financial Corp. gave preferential loans to more than three dozen employees of Fannie Mae while the two giant housing enterprises were locked in an expanding, multi-billion dollar business relationship in subprime mortgages, documents show.
BP To Drill 80-100 New Oil Wells In Iraq's Rumaila Field Along with partners South Oil Co., the Iraqi state-run oil company, and China National Petroleum, BP (NYSE:BP) will be issuing tenders to drill up to 100 oil wells in the giant Rumaila oil field in Iraq over the next two years.
Total US govt financial system support seen at $3.7 trllion Increased housing commitments swelled U.S. taxpayers' total support for the financial system by $700 billion in the past year to around $3.7 trillion, a government watchdog said on Wednesday.
One Economic Chart That You Should Permanently Burn Into Your Memory Today most Americans are completely obsessed with the silliest of things. They wonder how Lindsay Lohan is going to fare in jail and they agonize over who LeBron James is going to play basketball for. But when it comes to the things that really matter, most Americans are completely clueless.
COMMENTARY
Why This Gigantic “Intelligence” Apparatus? Follow the Money
By Robert Higgs What we see here is not really an “intelligence” or counterterrorism operation at all. It’s a rip-off, plain and simple, fed by irrational fear and continually stoked by the government plunderers who are exercising the power and raking in the booty to “fight terrorism.”
Ending the Gaza Blockade Might Help Israel as Much as Gaza
By Ivan Eland In the wake of Israel’s botched attack on a Turkish ship bringing relief to Gazans from Israel’s (and Egypt’s) economic blockade of Gaza, the Israelis have responded to intensely negative world opinion by relaxing the blockade. That move may help Israel as much as Gazans. Ending the counterproductive economic embargo and blockade would help both parties even more.
Tortured by Self-Pity: The Sociopathic Judge Jay Bybee
By William N. Grigg Of those in the dock at the Nuremberg War Tribunal, Franz Schlegelberger was considered the most sympathetic, writes historian Doug Linder. In fact, he was the model for the character of Ernst Janning, the penitent German jurist portrayed by the incomparable Burt Lancaster in Judgment at Nuremberg.
TARP Criticism Misses the Point
By Bob Adelmann When TARP Inspector General Neil Barofsky criticized the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) as being ineffective, he blamed the Treasury Department for not setting clearer goals for that part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Gerald Celente: Washington is Paid Off, Only Ron Paul Has Credibility
Talking about the recently passed financial reform bill, Celente says that this is only going to harm and will not do enough to change Wall Street. Talking on the politicians in Washington, Celente comments: “They’re not out of touch. They’re in bed and paid off (by Wall Street).” Celente says "Ron Paul is the only one he sees with any credibility".
Tarpley: 'China will lap the US' This is the fourth time that cap and trade has failed in the United States Senate and each of the votes there has barely been any support. By 2025, China will be the world leader in production and consumption of energy according to Webster Tarpley. He also says that the administration will rely on lame ducks who will make up Congress later this Fall.
Obama Is Preparing to Bomb Iran
By Webster G. Tarpley After about two and a half years during which the danger of war between the United States and Iran was at a relatively low level, this threat is now rapidly increasing.
Maidhc Ó Cathail: Myth-Debunking Snopes Obscures Israel’s Role in 9/11 Snopes purports to debunk a claim that “four thousand Israelis employed by companies housed in the World Trade Center stayed home from work on September 11, warned in advance of the impending attack on the World Trade Center.”
Somalia's Strategy Headed Backwards Dr. Michael A. Weinstein, Professor of Political Science at Purdue University, has unleashed a scorching critique of Washington’s internal workings on Somalia. Believing that the present strategy led directly to the Kampala bombings and that no change in strategy has followed, Weinstein concludes, “Washington has no policy, that is, no mediation between vision and tactics, no plan of action.”.
Censorship: Labor's hidden policy Labor's internet filtering policy isn't being discussed in the run-up to the election but its impact on Australia is significant.
Rendell Wants To Spy On Highways Part of Gov. Ed Rendell's plan to raise money to repair Pennsylvania highways includes using cameras on state roads to catch car-insurance dead beats.
EYE ON THE NEWS
Gold Coin Sellers Angered by New Tax Law Those already outraged by the president's health care legislation now have a new bone of contention -- a scarcely noticed tack-on provision to the law that puts gold coin buyers and sellers under closer government scrutiny.
Google's Wi-Spying and Intelligence Ties Prompt Call for Congressional Hearing Citing new information about Google's classified government contracts and the Internet giant's admitted Wi-Spying activity, Consumer Watchdog today said it is more imperative than ever for the Energy and Commerce Committee to conduct hearings into possible privacy violations by Google.
U.S. Government to America’s Vets: Drop Dead From 1991 to 2003, hundreds of thousands of our bravest men and women sought help from the Veterans Administration, from the Defense Department, from the White House, all to no avail.
Growing Number of Prosecutions for Videotaping the Police That Anthony Graber broke the law in early March is indisputable. He raced his Honda motorcycle down Interstate 95 in Maryland at 80 mph, popping a wheelie, roaring past cars and swerving across traffic lanes.
BP Moves the Goalpost for the Oil Well Integrity Test As Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen has explained, sustained pressure readings above 8,000 pounds per square inch (psi) would show that the wellbore is more or less intact, while pressures of 6,000 psi or less would mean there could be major problems
Top Secret America - A hidden world, growing beyond control The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.
Tim Shorrock Asks Why It Took the Washington Post So Long to Investigate the US Intelligence System "With all due respect to the Washington Post—and Dana Priest and Bill Arkin are very good reporters—we have to ask, why did it take them seven years to do this story?" says Tim Shorrock, an investigative journalist and author of Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing. "Anyone who’s been covering intelligence or national security in Washington knows that intelligence has been privatized to an incredible extent."
Can the Financial Reform Bill Fix the Economy? If you’ve been too busy to pay attention to the details, and if you’re hoping that the financial reform bill which has just been passed will fix the economy, this essay will bring you up to date.
Rockefeller Study Envisages Future Dictatorship Controlled By Elite Global pandemics that kill millions, mandatory quarantines, checkpoints, biometric ID cards, and a world of top-down government control. These things are not lifted from the latest sci-fi blockbuster movie, they're part of the Rockefeller Foundation's vision for what the globe might be like in 15-20 years' time under a new world order tightly controlled by the elite.
Senators Knew Gulf of Tonkin Attack Was a False Flag What do the Viet Nam War and the Iraq War have in common? The U.S. was dragged into both conflicts on the basis of lies, and thousands of Americans died as a result. Here, the Newspaper of Record comes out and admits that the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which persuaded Congress to commit the U.S. to the Viet Nam War, “never happened.”
Under Threat: A Free and Open Internet First some background. As a candidate, Obama pledged support for "network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet." As president, he reneged across the board, including for Internet freedom and openness,
Oxford Research Group Concludes Israeli Attack On Iran Would Start Long War According to the report, it might take three to seven years for Iran to develop a small arsenal of nuclear weapons if it decided to do so. Also, the report wisely states that an Israeli strike would be focused not only on destroying nuclear and missile targets but would also hit factories and research centers and even university laboratories to damage Iranian expertise. Shockingly, this would cause many civilian casualties. Oxford believes Iran's retaliation would include withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the production of nuclear weapons to deter further attacks.
U.S. paid Iranian nuclear scientist $5 million for aid to CIA, officials say The Iranian nuclear scientist who claimed to have been abducted by the CIA before departing for his homeland Wednesday was paid more than $5 million by the agency to provide intelligence on Iran's nuclear program, U.S. officials said.
U.S. banks laundering Mexican cartels' drug money A report in the August 2010 issue of Bloomberg Markets magazine sheds light on the role that U.S. banks have played in helping to finance the violent drug trade that has plagued the U.S. - Mexico border for years, resulting in over 22,000 dead on both sides of the border since 2006.
Why BP is readying a 'super weapon' to avert escalating Gulf nightmare In a desperate attempt to stop a huge area of the Gulf ocean floor from possibly rupturing due to subterranean methane gas (leading to a calamity no human has ever seen) BP has ripped a page from science fiction books.
NASA Flight Director Confirms 9/11 Aircraft Speed As The "Elephant In The Room" The airplane was UA175, a Boeing 767-200, shortly before crashing into World Trade Center Tower 2. Based on analysis of radar data, the National Transportation and Safety Board reported the groundspeed just before impact as 510 knots. This is well beyond the maximum operating velocity of 360 knots, and maximum dive velocity of 410 knots.
Psychopaths in the Gulf It’s the elites that we have to be most careful about for they have sociopathic goals and have no compunction against using psychopathic means.
Conficker, Cyber Emergency, and the Internet Kill Switch Conficker is a computer worm which has been infecting PC's on the Internet since November 2008. Worryingly, nothing is publicly known of its mission, because it has yet to do anything of great note.
WMD claims were lies says former envoy Britain and the US did not believe Iraq's weapons programmes posed a "substantial threat" before launching the 2003 invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein, the inquiry into the war has heard.
More and more Americans preparing for social unrest From the outside, Jerry Erwin's home in the northwestern US state of Oregon is a nondescript house with a manicured front lawn and little to differentiate it from those of his neighbors.
New BP Data Show 20% of Gulf Spill Responders Exposed to Chemical That Sickened Valdez Workers In an under-the-radar release of new test results for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill workers, BP PLC is reporting potentially hazardous exposures to a now-discontinued dispersant chemical -- a substance blamed for contributing to chronic health problems after the Exxon Valdez cleanup -- among more than 20 percent of offshore responders.
