MAY 2010

Today In History Monday May 31, 2010
1792 - Kentucky became the 15th state of the U.S.
1796 - Tennessee became the 16th state of the U.S.
1861 - The first skirmish of the U.S. Civil War took place at the Fairfax Court House, Virginia.
1869 - Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric voting machine.
1877 - U.S. troops were authorized to pursue bandits into Mexico.
1921 - A race riot erupted in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 85 people were killed.
1939 - The Douglas DC-4 made its first passenger flight from Chicago to New York.
1942 - The U.S. began sending Lend-Lease materials to the Soviet Union.
1943 - During World War II, Germans shot down a civilian flight from Lisbon to London.
1944 - The French resistance was warned by a coded message from the British that the D-Day invasion was imminent.
1954 - In the Peanuts comic strip, Linus' security blanket made its debut.
1958 - Charles de Gaulle became the premier of France.
1963 - Governor George Wallace vowed to defy an injunction that ordered the integration of the University of Alabama.
1968 - Helen Keller died. She had been deaf and blind since the age of 18 months. During her life she learned to speak, ride horses, and the waltz. She also graduated from Radcliffe cum laude.
1978 - The U.S. reported the finding of wiretaps in the American embassy in Moscow.
1980 - Cable News Network (CNN) made its debut as the first all-news station.
1989 - Disney World's "Typhoon Lagoon" opened.
1998 - In the U.S., the FDA approved a urine-only test for the AIDS virus.
1998 - A $124 million suit was brought against Goodyear Tire & Rubber that alleged discrimination towards black workers.
2008 - The Phoenix Mars Lander became the first NASA spacecraft to scoop Martian soil.

3 original Thoughts of the Day from our friend Mike Tawse in the UK:
 * Do Not Be Constrained By Your Plan - If you have a plan for your future, be guided by it, but never constrained. If your life takes a new direction, you will still succeed if you accept the opportunities and overcome the challenges of your life.
 * You Will Never Be Truly Alone - No matter how much time you spend alone, when loneliness strikes, remember all those people in whose hearts you are held and all those whom you hold dear to your own. You will never be truly alone, with so many people in your heart and mind.
 * Miracles: Unexpected Opportunities - I believe that miracles are given to us as gifts. They are not to be passively accepted, but they provide unexpected opportunities to gain new understanding.

Tropical Storm Agatha blows a hole in Guatemala City -- Hundreds dead as torrential rain sweeps Central America. Sinkhole in Guatemala swallows three-storey building!

The U.S. Economic Collapse Top 20 Countdown -- So just how bad is the U.S. economy? Well, the truth is that sometimes it is hard to put into words. We have squandered the great wealth left to us by our forefathers, we have almost totally dismantled the world's greatest manufacturing base, we have shipped millions of good jobs overseas and we have piled up the biggest mountain of debt in the history of mankind. We have taken the greatest free enterprise economy that was ever created and have turned it into a gigantic house of cards delicately balanced on a never-ending spiral of paper money and debt. For decades, all of this paper money and debt has enabled us to enjoy the greatest party in the history of the world, but now the bills are coming due and the party is nearly over.

Experts Puzzled at Red Gulf Oil Slick - This occurrence is highly unusual -- Is this Rev. 8:8-9 or what? Remember, the bad guys read the Bible too! One of the most defining traits of any oil spill is the fact that it's black. The tar and crude cover the surface of land or water in a thin, black layer, which causes a lot of damage, and also gives the slick its characteristic look. But this does not appear to be the case with the most recent disaster of this nature...Read More!

U.S. believes it killed al Qaeda No. 3 -- "We have strong reason to believe ... that al-Masri was killed recently in Pakistan's tribal areas," a U.S. official in Washington said on condition of anonymity. "In terms of counterterrorism, this would be a big victory." A Pakistani security official said Yazid was most probably killed in a missile strike in North Waziristan on the night of May 21. "We had a report at the time that one Arab was killed in that strike with some of his family members and I think it was probably him," said the official, who declined to be named. Comment: The word "probably" in the article means we have another official with nine (media) lives. Stay tuned; he'll be killed again (and again). (Thanks Jimm)

6.1 earthquake shakes Costa Rica's Pacific coast -- The quake was centered in the Pacific Ocean 46 miles southwest of the capital San Jose at a depth of 18.2 miles below the sea.Costa Rican radio said the quake was felt along the Pacific coast and in the center of the country, including the capital, but reported no casualties or damage.

Shot by sniper in Iraq, billed for $3K by military in U.S. -- A former Oregon National Guard soldier and Purple Heart recipient is being billed for military-issued equipment he believes was lost in Iraq after he was shot and evacuated from the country.

One Out Of Every Ten U.S. Banks Is Now On The FDIC’s Problem List – Do You Know If Your Bank Is Safe? -- Do you know if your bank will be there next month? For a growing number of Americans, that is becoming a very real question. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that 775 banks (approximately ten percent of all U.S. banks) are now on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's list of "problem" banks. This year we have already seen more than six dozen banks fail, and the frightening thing is that we are seeing a rapid acceleration in bank failures even though we are supposedly in a "recovery" right now.

Stocks Fall as China’s Manufacturing Growth Slows; Bonds Rise -- Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 1.5 percent at 10:44 a.m. in London, while the MSCI World retreated 0.9 percent. Crude oil and copper slipped for a second day, while gold traded within about 2 percent of a record high. BP Plc sank 13 percent, its biggest drop since 1992, while its bonds traded in line with debt of companies rated as many as five levels lower, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch index data.

Hidden Dollar Swap Hammer -- Hats off to the Wall Street financial syndicate. They arranged a 1000-point stock market descent precisely on the day (May 6th) the Financial Regulatory bill had a key provision being scripted for auditing the US Federal Reserve. The US Senators blinked, watered down the provision, and will force an audit but only for certain TARP-related events. At least it is a foot in the door to the corrupted halls. The Flash Crash, as it is known, has turned the US stock market even more into a round robin competitive backyard for Wall Street firms, where 73% of the NYSE trading volume used to be derived from their computer program trades.

Estimated Cost of Afghan, Iraq Wars Tops $1 Trillion -- The rising cost of theth Afghan and Iraq wars is always a serious concern, though it really only gets discussed when a major new spending bill is passed or a new milestone is hit.

VIDEO: Israel Raids Humanitarian Flotilla

Obama Administration Concerned About Gaza Incident -- President Barack Obama voiced "deep regret" over Monday's deadly Israeli commando raids, and the White House said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed by phone to reschedule White House talks "at the first opportunity."

Israel Stations Nuclear Missile Subs Off Iran -- Three German-built Israeli submarines equipped with nuclear cruise missiles are to be deployed in the Gulf near the Iranian coastline.

South Korea Holds War Games Near Tense North Korean Border -- South Korea staged war games near the tense border with North Korea on Monday as Seoul worked to persuade doubters at home and abroad that Pyongyang was responsible for sinking one of its warships.

Mexican Pirates Terrorize Popular Texas Border Lake -- Falcon Lake is famous for its monster bass and for the maniacal obsession of the fishermen who come from all over Texas — and the world — to stalk them.

Energy Expert: Nuking Oil Leak 'Only Thing We Can Do' -- As the latest effort to plug the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico meets with failure, the idea of nuking the immediate area to seal the oil underground is gaining steam among some energy experts and researchers.

Phoenix-Area Hospitals Fight Highly Toxic 'Supergerm' -- Maricopa County health officials have confirmed that a relatively new, extremely toxic strain of bacteria has been found in hospitals and other health-care facilities in the Valley.

Spain Loses AAA Rating at Fitch as It Struggles to Cut Debt -- Spain lost its AAA credit grade at Fitch Ratings, which said the country’s debt burden is likely to weigh on economic growth.

Dollar Primed for Collapse by End of June? -- The dollar's recent strength has been explained by most market analysts as a result of the euro weakness rather than any fundamental support for the greenback. In fact, a closer look at the dollar's chart - particularly the dollar index - suggests the currency may be primed for a collapse.

Michigan Considers Law to License Journalists -- A Michigan lawmaker wants to license reporters to ensure they’re credible and vet them for “good moral character.”

Agenda 21 Alert: Science and Sewage -- Agenda 21 Sustainable Development is the overarching blueprint for depopulation and total control, using the environment as the excuse for that control.

Proposed Bill Would Require ID's for Prepaid Cell Phones -- Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Senator John Coryn (R-Texas) have proposed a piece of legislation that would require consumers to present an ID before purchasing a prepaid cell phone, and would force direct providers to keep those customers’ information on file for 18 months after deactivation.

Homegrown Terrorist Threat to be Part of National Security Strategy -- Homegrown terrorism will be part of the United States' National Security Strategy for the first time, according to President Barack Obama's chief counterterrorism adviser, who called it a new phase of the terrorist threat.

Experts Puzzled at Red Gulf Oil Slick -- One of the most defining traits of any oil spill is the fact that it's black. The tar and crude cover the surface of land or water in a thin, black layer, which causes a lot of damage, and also gives the slick its characteristic look.

Is BP Trying to Cap the Gulf Oil Well, Or Keep It Flowing? -- Today, I spent my time interviewing people on the Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Louisiana.

Los Angeles May Require New Homes to Capture Rainwater -- The City of Los Angeles is considering a law that would require all new homes and large developments, along with some redevelopments, to harvest all rainwater that falls on site.

BP Top Kill Method Fails As Cleanup Workers Are Hospitalized From Vapors -- BP officials have announced today that the "top kill" effort to stop the Gulf oil leak has failed. Unanticipated problems doomed the project, which involved trying to pump tens of thousands of gallons of mud, shredded rubber tires and other "junk" into the hole to try to halt the outflow of oil.

Uncertainty Over Medicare Pay Sets Doctors on Edge -- For the third time this year, Congress is scrambling to stave off a hefty pay cut to doctors treating Medicare patients - even as the Obama administration mails out a glossy brochure to reassure seniors the health care program is on solid ground.

Normal Human Problems Are Turned Into Medical Conditions, Spiking Healthcare Costs -- Mainstream medicine has a huge new growth industry underway -- the "medicalization" of the human condition.

MAY 2010 

Special note from the Webmasters: We will be traveling the entire week of May 24-31st to attend Rolling Thunder in Washington DC. Please be patient as to the internet connections are very unreliable in some areas. Please think about subscribing to The Power Hour E-Mail Newsletter for all up to date news and scheduling information.

Today In History Wednesday May 26, 2010
1835 - A resolution was passed in the U.S. Congress stating that Congress has no authority over state slavery laws.
1836 - The U.S. House of Representatives adopted what has been called the Gag Rule.
1864 - The Territory of Montana was organized.
1865 - Arrangements were made in New Orleans for the surrender of Confederate forces west of the Mississippi.
1868 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson was acquitted, by one vote, of all charges in his impeachment trial.
1896 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average appeared for the first time in the "Wall Street Journal."
1938 - The House Committee on Un-American Activities began its work of searching for subversives in the United States.
1940 - The evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, began during World War II.
1946 - A patent was filed in the United States for an H-bomb.
1946 - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed a military pact with Russian leader Joseph Stalin. Stalin promised a "close collaboration after the war."
1948 - The U.S. Congress passed Public Law 557 which permanently established the Civil Air Patrol as the Auxiliary of the new U.S. Air Force.
1958 - Union Square, San Francisco became a state historical landmark.
1961 - Civil rights activist group Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee was established in Atlanta, GA.
1961 - A U.S. Air Force bomber flew across the Atlantic in a record time of just over three hours.
1969 - The Apollo 10 astronauts returned to Earth after a successful eight-day dress rehearsal for the first manned moon landing.
1972 - The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) was signed by the U.S. and USSR. The short-term agreement put a freeze on the testing and deployment of intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles for a 5-year period.
1978 - The first legal casino in the Eastern U.S. opened in Atlantic City, NJ.
1994 - U.S. President Clinton renewed trade privileges for China, and announced that his administration would no longer link China's trade status with its human rights record.
1998 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Ellis Island was mainly in New Jersey, not New York.
1998 - The Grand Princess cruise ship made its inaugural cruise. The ship measured 109,000 tons and cost approximately $450 million, making it the largest and most expensive cruise ship ever built.

Hair, Hay & Nukes -- Russian science editor Vladimir Lagowski has written a column in which he claims that the U.S.S.R. used nuclear devices to plug underground fissures several times with success - most of the time. The author cites one failure, where a 1972 gas blowout was not extinguished by a nuke. But at least it was only 4 kilotons.

Evidence Continues to Mount That the ECB and Federal Reserve are Attempting to Crash the Markets -- There has been simply no growth in the Federal Reserve U.S. money supply (M2) for months. And as previously announced the European Central Bnak drained E26.5 billion from the banking system in a one-week liquidity absorbing operation.

Case-Schiller Index Shows Sixth Consecutive Month of Seasonally Unadjusted Housing Declines -- March Case-Shiller data has been released: the seasonally-unadjusted Case-Shiller index has now declined for 6 straight months after peaking at 146.7 in September of 2009, for the composite 20 index, and is now back to 143.4, a level last seen in June of last year.

US Expands Secret Military Missions -- The United States has expanded secret military activities in the Middle East, Central Asia and east Africa to break militant networks, The New York Times said, citing a military document.

One Slice of Commercial Real Estate Signals the Upcoming Slaughter -- Apartment building loans are experiencing soaring default rates, in what could be a signal of things to come for the broader commercial real estate sector.

Based On The BP Live Cam, It Looks Like Leak Just Got a Lot WORSE -- Blogger Monkeyfister has been watching the BP Live Cam all week and commenting on strange disruptions and gas explosions.

US Plays Down European Crisis but China Worried -- The United States suggested Europe's debt crisis would have minimal impact on global growth, but China took a more pessimistic view, warning it would impact demand for its exports and other regions would suffer too.

Private Pay Shrinks to Historic Lows As Gov't Payouts Rise -- Paychecks from private business shrank to their smallest share of personal income in U.S. history during the first quarter of this year, a USA TODAY analysis of government data finds.

US Has Approved 19 Environmental Drilling Waivers Since Oil Spill -- On May 14, President Barack Obama announced that oil companies would no longer be given license to bypass environmental reviews of their drilling projects.

BP Refuses EPA Order to Switch to Less-Toxic Oil Dispersant -- Reporting from Los Angeles and Elmer’s BP has rebuffed demands from government officials and environmentalists to use a less-toxic dispersant to break up the oil from its massive offshore spill, saying that the chemical product it is now using continues to be "the best option for subsea application."

It Is Raining Oil in Florida -- Making this quick, don't feel well. About 4:15pm or so eastern, coming back from Tampa, Florida north on Veteran's Expressway...about 7 miles perhaps from SR 54...it sprinkled some gray watery and solid black oil on my car.

Congress Gets Ready to Quadruple Tax on Oil -- Responding to the massive BP oil spill, Congress is getting ready to quadruple -- to 32 cents a barrel -- a tax on oil used to help finance cleanups. The increase would raise nearly $11 billion over the next decade.

Unbelievable: GOP Senators Want A BP Bailout -- Republicans in the U.S. Senate want American taxpayers to foot most of the bill for the cleanup of the disastrous, ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In other words, they want us to bail out BP.

North Korea Severs All Ties With South Korea -- North Korea declared Tuesday that it would sever all communication and relations with Seoul as punishment for blaming the North for the sinking of a South Korean warship two months ago.

Jackboot to the Throat - FDA Claims Citizens Have No Right of Access to Certain Foods -- In yet another arrogant display of the federal government's jackboot to the throat of America and of its troubling disregard for the rights of citizens, the Food and Drug Administration now claims that Americans have no fundamental inherent right of access to certain foods.

Vitamin E Effective Treatment for 'Silent' Liver Disease -- Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common, "silent" liver disease. Although it occurs in people who drink little or no alcohol, it causes damage that resembles alcoholic liver disease, including inflammation.

Heinz Blasted Over Outrageous Claims in Infant Formula Ads -- The H.J. Heinz company, most famous for producing Heinz brand ketchup, has been reprimanded by the United Kingdom's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over an ad for its Nurture-brand infant formula.

Verterra Dinnerware, The Completely Sustainable Alternative to Disposable Dishes -- Picnics, camping trips, hikes and nights when you really do not feel like doing any dishes; these are some of the many reasons why we buy disposable dishes. At best, we might use paper plates, and at worst, a plastic or styrofoam variety.

Martial Law & The US Post Office Secret Room - PDF File.

Obama Will Use Memorial Weekend for a Trip Home to Chicago -- With the long Memorial Day weekend on the horizon, President Obama is finally addressing one of the great broken promises of his administration: his early pledge to return home to Chicago every six weeks or so.


Today In History Tuesday May 25, 2010
1844 - The gasoline engine was patented by Stuart Perry.
1844 - The first telegraphed news dispatch, sent from Washington, DC, to Baltimore, MD, appeared in the Baltimore "Patriot."
1895 - James P. Lee first published "Gold in America -- A Practical Manual."
1927 - Ford Motor Company announced that the Model A would replace the Model T.
1946 - Jordan gained independence from Britain.
1953 - In Nevada, the first atomic cannon was fired.
1961 - America was asked by U.S. President Kennedy to work toward putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade.
1968 - The Gateway Arch, part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, MO, was dedicated.
1977 - An opinion piece by Vietnam veteran Jan Scruggs appeared in "The Washington Post." The article called for a national memorial to "remind an ungrateful nation of what it has done to its sons" that had served in the Vietnam War.
1985 - Bangladesh was hit with a hurricane and tidal wave that killed more than 11,000 people.
1986 - Approximately 7 million Americans participated in "Hands Across America."
1989 - The Calgary Flames won their first NHL Stanley Cup by defeating the Montreal Canadiens.
1992 - Jay Leno debuted as the new permanent host of NBC's "Tonight Show."
1997 - U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond became the longest-serving senator in U.S. history (41 years and 10 months).
1997 - Poland adopted a constitution that removed all traces of communism.
2008 - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander landed in the arctic plains of Mars.
2009 - North Korea announced that it had conducted a 2nd successful nuclear test in North Hamgyong. The United Nations Security Council condemned the reported test.

US Military Told to Get Ready in Korea Standoff --The White House said Monday that President Barack Obama "fully supports" the South Korean president and his response to the torpedo attack by North Korea that sank a South Korean naval ship.

MMR Doctor Struck From Register -- The doctor who first suggested a link between MMR vaccinations and autism is to be struck off the medical register.

Ex-Counter Terrorism Czar: Next Terrorist Threat Will Be Those Resisting Technology -- Resistance is futile — or so Richard Clarke, former counter-terrorism czar, wants everyone to believe.

'Secret Ops' Cause of US Deaths in Iraq --- An international anti-war organization, the War and Peace Foundation, says continued fatalities of US troops in Iraq is a sign of their involvement in secret operations.

Blood in Streets for Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan -- As the European sovereign debt crisis continues to unfold, it is increasingly obvious from the width and depth of the
irresponsibility of all involved, that banks like Citigroup (NYSE:C), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), which are getting hammered today, will suffer fro
m the shoring up of the socialist, progressive, welfare states of Europe, whose citizens they’ve socialized into thinking the rest of us should support their above-market wages, perks and lifestyles.

House Votes to Expand National DNA Arrest Database -- Millions of Americans arrested for but not convicted of crimes will likely have their DNA forcibly extracted and added to a national database, according to a bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Intelligence Chief Fired: Who Was Dennis Blair? -- No stranger to controversy, Dennis Blair wracked up plenty of trouble that ultimately cost him his post as director of national intelligence after only 16 months on the job.

Have Aliens Hijacked Voyager 2 Spacecraft -- It left Earth 33 years ago, now it’s claimed the Voyager 2 spacecraft may have been hijacked by aliens after sending back data messages NASA scientists can’t decode.

Burden of Irish Debt Could Yet Eclipse That of Greece -- It is no longer a question of whether Ireland will go bust, but when. Unlike Greece, our woes do not stem from government debt, but instead from the government’s open-ended guarantee to cover the losses of the banking system out of its citizens’ wallets.

The Toronto G20 police State Crackdown -- It appears as if the G20 summit in Toronto is shaping up to be a showdown between anarchists and police. Caught in the middle of the security circus are local residents. If there is violence and property damage, peaceful protesters will also be demonized. The recent bombing of a bank, perpetrated by a so-called anarchist group, has given an excuse to enact more police state measures during the summit.

Obama Exporting Chicago's Misery to a City You -- If you want to get a good glimpse of what America will look like if President Obama continues to push his “change” agenda, take a close look at Chicago. But brace yourself: it is not a pretty picture.

US Born Cleric Wants Americans Dead -- A U.S.-born cleric, who is hiding in Yemen and has been added to the CIA’s list of targets for assassination, called for the killing of U.S. civilians in an Al Qaeda video released Sunday.

Stealth IRS Campaign Mandates Millions of New 1099 Tax Forms -- The massive expansion of requirements for businesses to file 1099 tax forms that was hidden in the 2,409-page health reform bill took many by surprise when it came to light last month. But it's just one piece of a years-long legislative stealth campaign to create ways for the federal government to track down unreported income.

Giant Plumes of Oil Under Gulf of Mexico -- Scientists are finding enormous oil plumes in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, including one as large as 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick in spots. The discovery is fresh evidence that the leak from the broken undersea well could be substantially worse than estimates that the government and BP have given.

Oil Makes Landfall, Cops Blocking Beaches -- MoJo reporter Mac McClelland is getting one hell of a chilling story in Louisiana right now. This morning she headed down to the area where, according to online maps, oil from the BP fiasco was headed.

Awful News From The Gulf: Explosions Collapse Seafloor At Deepwater Horizon Well Head -- A series of explosions appears to have collapsed the seafloor and blown up the BOP at the well head. Oil and gas are billowing out of a depression in the seafloor where the BOP used to be at an exponentially greater rate than anything seen before.


Today In History Monday May 24, 2010
1908 - In England, the first Boy Scout troop was organized by Robert Baden-Powell.
1922 - Christian K. Nelson patented the Eskimo Pie.
1924 - The Russian city of St. Petersburg was renamed Leningrad. The name has since been changed back to St. Petersburg.
1935 - Krueger Brewing Company placed the first canned beer on sale in Richmond, VA.
1942 - "Abie’s Irish Rose" was first heard on NBC radio.
1965 - Winston Churchill died at the age of 90.
1972 - The U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws that denied welfare benefits to people who had resided in a state for less than a year.
1978 - A nuclear-powered Soviet satellite plunged through Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated. The radioactive debris was scattered over parts of Canada's Northwest Territory.
1980 - The United States announced intentions to sell arms to China.
1985 - Penny Harrington became the first woman police chief of a major city. She assumed the duties as head of the Portland, Oregon.
1986 - The Voyager 2 space probe flew past Uranus. The probe came within 50,679 miles of the seventh planet of the solar system.
1987 - In Lebanon, gunmen kidnapped educators Alann Steen, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill and Mitheleshwar Singh. They were all later released.
1989 - Ted Bundy, the confessed serial killer, was put to death in Florida's electric chair for the 1978 kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach.
1990 - Japan launched the first probe to be sent to the Moon since 1976. A small satellite was placed in lunar orbit.
1995 - The prosecution gave its opening statement at the O.J. Simpson murder trial.
1996 - Polish Premier Jozef Oleksy resigned due to allegations that he had spied for Moscow.
2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Missouri law that limited the contributions that individuals could donate to a candidate during a single election.
2002 - The U.S. Congress began a hearing on the collapse of Enron Corp.
2003 - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security began operations under Tom Ridge.

US appoints first cyber warfare general -- The US military has appointed its first senior general to direct cyber warfare – despite fears that the move marks another stage in the militarisation of cyberspace. The newly promoted four-star general, Keith Alexander, takes charge of the Pentagon's ambitious and controversial new Cyber Command, designed to conduct virtual combat across the world's computer networks. He was appointed on Friday afternoon in a low-key ceremony at Fort Meade, in Maryland.

Bank Failures in Brief -- This list not only shows the failed banks, but also the amount of money that it defaulted with.

Rape suspect deported 4 times -- The man accused of raping a woman behind an Edmonds grocery store has been deported at least four times in the past 15 years, reports KIRO Radio.

CONSERVATIVES TAKING BACK MAINE REPUBLICAN PARTY By: David Deschesne of the FORT FAIRFIELD JOURNAL -- Maine’s Republican Senators No Longer in Compliance with Maine Republican Party Platform!

State Law Allows Police Acting as Teachers to Taser School Children By: David Deschesne of the FORT FAIRFIELD JOURNAL -- The SAD #20 school board is currently considering a proposal that would place uniformed police officers, armed with loaded handguns and Tasers, in the Elementary, Middle and High School classrooms, functioning as teachers under a grant from the Department of Homeland “Security.” However, Fort Fairfield Police Department policy on Taser use doesn’t address officers functioning as school teachers and how Title 17-A would affect Taser usage against the student body.

Exclusive Interview: Hugo Salinas-Price on the Nature of Money and Why Silver Should Be Legal Mexican Currency -- The Daily Bell is pleased to present an exclusive interview with Hugo Salinas-Price. Read More...

The Codex Poisoning Begins -- Remember the contaminated food that was killing dogs? And remember the contaminated baby formula that was sickening the babies it was supposed to nourish?

Texas Cops Mistake Actual Weed for Marijuana, Spend Hours Doing Yard Work -- However, remind a police officer in Corpus Christi, Texas of those famed Cookie Monster lyrics and they're likely to give you an annoyed look.

17 States Now Filing Versions of Arizona's Immigration Law -- One of America's national organizations fighting against illegal immigration is announcing that 17 states are now filing versions of Arizona's SB 1070 law which is designed to help local police enforce America's existing immigration laws.

Blackfeet Woman Sees End to 14 Year Govt. Fight -- Elouise Cobell sat behind her cluttered desk here in the windblown heart of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and peered at a visitor through dark glasses that couldn't quite hide the deep bruise that ran down her cheek to her jaw.

Senators: Obama Administration Keeps Congress in Dark On Intel -- The Obama administration has failed to keep congressional intelligence officials in the loop on the investigation into the botched Times Square bombing, as required by law, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate intelligence committee charged in a letter this week.

32 States Have Borrowed From the Federal Government to Make Unemployment Payments -- EconomicPolicyJournal.com has learned that 32 states have run out funds to make unemployment benefit payments and that the federal government has been supplying these states with funds so that they can make their payments to the unemployed. In some cases, states have borrowed billions. As of May 20, the total balance outstanding by 32 states (and the Virgin Islands) is $37.8 billion.

BP Calls in Costner's $26 Million Vacuum Cleaners to Mop of Huge Oil Spill -- Desperate times call for desperate measures. So with hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil still spewing into the Gulf of Mexico each day, and its corporate image starting to resemble the tar-covered sea creatures now washing on to Louisiana's fragile shoreline, BP has called on Kevin Costner to help stave off environmental Armageddon.

Cracks Appear in EU Unity As Fears Spread for Future of Eurozone -- Europe’s governments struggled to mask sharp differences yesterday even as they backed new sanctions for indebted countries in the battle to prevent a debt crisis from spiralling into an emergency that threatens the very survival of the euro.

AIG Executives Won't Face Criminal Charges -- Federal prosecutors will not bring criminal charges against current and former American International Group Inc. executives for their role surrounding financial contracts that nearly brought down the insurer about two years ago, according to people familiar with the matter.

Wealth Gap Spurs Revolts in Asia -- While Thailand's "Red Shirt" rural poor have been in bloody confrontation with troops in central Bangkok for nearly three months, there have been similar rebellions all over Asia by people who believe they have been left out of, or excluded from, the region's economic miracle.

Obama Speaks of New International Order -- President Obama on Saturday pledged to shape a new "international order" as part of a national security strategy that emphasizes his belief in global institutions and America's role in promoting democratic values around the world.

BP Gets Pass From Obama Administration to Potentially Pollute Lake Michigan -- The Obama administration, already charged with providing political cover for BP in the Gulf of Mexico mega-oil disaster, is also charged with allowing BP to renege on agreements between the firm, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the state of Indiana to prevent pollution of Lake Michigan from the firm's Whiting, Indiana refinery near Hammond.

Senate Passes Wall Street Permanent Bail Out, It's a Job Killer -- The Senate passes the Wall Street Reform Bill (S. 3217) by a 59-39 vote, if it passes the House it will kill jobs by making it difficult for small businesses to succeed and it will give permanent and unlimited bailout authority for the big banks on Wall Street. It would also do nothing to solve problems in the financial system and won’t prevent the next financial crisis.

US Vows Punishment for North Korea Over Ship Sinking -- The US state department says there "will definitely be consequences" for North Korea following the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.

FDIC: 'Problem' Banks at 775 -- A total of 775 banks, or one-tenth of all U.S. banks, were on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s list of "problem" institutions in the first quarter, as bad loans in the commercial real-estate market weighed on bank balance sheets.

TD Ameritrade Clients Unable to Log In, Trade -- Some clients of online brokerage T.D. Ameritrade Holding Corp. were unable to log into their accounts during Thursday's market slide.

If Ultrasound Destroys Sperm, Why Is It Safe for a Fetus? -- Ultrasound is extremely damaging to the health of any unborn child (fetus). The natural health community has been warning about ultrasound for years, but mainstream medicine, which consistently fails to recognize the harm it causes, insists ultrasound is perfectly safe and can't possibly harm the health of a fetus.

The Best, and Worst, Laundry Detergents -- One of the major issues being tackled by consumer watchdog groups this year is the presence of 1,4-dioxane, a synthetic petrochemical carcinogen, in consumer products.

Coca-Cola's Murderous Record pf Anti-Union Activity in Columbia Exposed -- Coca-Cola: to many, it is simply the all-American cola that everyone grew up drinking.

Wild Foods on Camera: Saguaro Cactus Fruit Picking with David Wolfe -- If you've never seen a band of raw foodists picking wild saguaro cactus fruit, you're in for a real treat.

US Implies North Korean Leader in Attack -- A new American intelligence analysis of a deadly torpedo attack on a South Korean warship concludes that Kim Jong-il, the ailing leader of North Korea, must have authorized the torpedo assault, according to senior American officials who cautioned that the assessment was based on their sense of the political dynamics there rather than hard evidence.


Today In History Friday May 21, 2010
1881 - The American branch of the Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton.
1881 - The United States Lawn Tennis Association was formed in New York City.
1891 - Peter Jackson and Jim Corbett fought for 61 rounds only to end in a draw.
1906 - Louis H. Perlman received his patent for the demountable tire-carrying rim.
1927 - Charles A. Lindberg completed the first solo nonstop airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The trip began May 20.
1929 - The first automatic electric stock quotation board was used by Sutro and Company of New York City.
1934 - Oskaloosa, IA, became the first city in the U.S. to fingerprint all of its citizens.
1941 - The first U.S. ship, the SS Robin Moor, was sunk by a U-boat.
1956 - The U.S. exploded the first airborne hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean over Bikini Atoll.
1961 - Governor Patterson declared martial law in Montgomery, AL.
1968 - The nuclear-powered U.S. submarine Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, was last heard from. The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
1970 - The National Guard was mobilized to quell disturbances at Ohio State University.
1982 - The British landed in the Falkland Islands and fighting began.
1991 - In Madras, India, the former prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a bouquet of flowers that contained a bomb.
1998 - Microsoft and Sega announced that they are collaborating on a home video game system.
1998 - In Miami, FL, five abortion clinics were hit by an butyric acid-attacker.

On the lighter side - Funny Animals with Quotes .....ENJOY!!

How the euro might collapse -- Markets around the world plunged on Wednesday, after Spain announced that the cost of bailing out its beleaguered mortgage lenders would amount to more than 250 billion euros. The country was immediately downgraded by both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s, triggering fears of default or devaluation in both Spain and Portugal. Stocks fall by more than 5% in all major markets, including the US. Read More...

Mortgage delinquencies drag on economic recovery -- More than 10 percent of homeowners with a mortgage had missed at least one payment in the January-March period, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. That's a record high and up from 9.1 percent a year ago.

Yoga for Cancer Patients Provides Benefits of Sleep, Vitality -- While yoga doesn't cure the disease, its stretching and breathing exercises did improve sleep, reduce dependence on sedatives and help cancer patients resume the routine activities of everyday life, according to a 410-participant study being highlighted at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in Chicago next month.

Goldman Sachs Settlement May Hinge on How SEC Justifies Penalty -- Analysts predict Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will pay $1 billion or more to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission fraud suit that triggered a 26 percent drop in the firm's stock. Extracting such a record-setting penalty may be easier said than done. When it comes to presenting a settlement for court approval, the SEC will have to "have a good explanation and justification for the number," said Donald Langevoort, a former SEC attorney who teaches securities law at Georgetown University in Washington.

Army veteran is back doing his part for Minnesota's homeless vets -- Army veteran Terry Pieper, 49, has set up 3,000 small U.S. flags at his fundraising encampment in South St. Paul. Each flag is meant to represent a Minnesota veteran who last year was homeless or on the brink of being homeless. (

Father of Minnesota boy in chemo controversy has cancer, too -- A Minnesota man whose son fled the state because his parents wanted to avoid court-ordered chemotherapy said Wednesday that he has cancer but isn't ruling out chemotherapy. Anthony Hauser, 55, of Sleepy Eye, told reporters at his farm that he was diagnosed last month with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia. Read More...

Cramer: Europe to Collapse in 48 Hours or Never -- If we don’t see total capitulation in Europe over the next two days, Cramer said during Wednesday's Stop Trading!, investors may have to admit that the Continent is “merely” suffering a downturn.

'All Out War' Threatened Over North Korea Attack on Warship Cheonan -- North Korea has threatened “all-out war” if there Seoul retaliates for the torpedo attack that sank the South Korean warship Cheonan in March.

Bloodbath -- The correction, soon to be crash, is here -- The market had a bigger relative open to close move today than it did on May 6.

What's Really Behind SEIU's Band of America Protests -- Every journalist loves a peaceful protest-whether it makes news, shakes up a political season, or holds out the possibility of altering history. Then there are the ones that show up on your curb--literally.

Anarchists Say Firebombing of Ottawa Bank Part of Attack Against Corporate 'Kanada' -- Anarchists who claimed to have firebombed a bank in Ottawa are vowing to take their protest to the upcoming G8 and G20 summits in Ontario.

Professor of Mechanical Engineering Estimates That 4 Million Gallons of Oil Are Leaking Every Day -- The Gulf oil spill is much worse than originally believed.

It's Official, Oil is in the Loop Current, Florida Braces for Impact -- NOAA announced this morning that fears oil from the Deepwater leak would reach the Loop Current have become real.

Market Plunge Guaranteed With Critical German Vote Tomorrow, Merkel Warns of EMU Failure If Bundestag Vote Doesn't Pass -- Just like two Thursdays ago the market plunged to give Europe a heads up on what will happen if the $1 trillion bail out contemplated that weekend is not passed, so in advance of tomorrow's critical Bundestag vote to ratify the European aid package we will likely see another unprecedented market collapse.

Live Feed From Athens As 100,000 Greeks go On Strike, Consider Storming Parliament Again -- The last time Greeks were shown to be storming their parliament on live TV, we got a 1,000 point drop on the Dow Jones.

More Americans Unexpectedly File Claims for Jobless Benefits -- More Americans unexpectedly filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, showing firings remain elevated even as employment climbs.

Spying for Dollars: Military Contractors and Security Firms Reap Huge Profits -- The Obama administration is seeking to increase the obscenely bloated U.S. Defense Department budget to a whopping $708 billion for fiscal year 2011, 3.4% above 2010's record level, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Tensions Rise as South Korea Says North Korea Torpedoed Ship -- South Korea accused the reclusive North on Thursday of torpedoing one of its warships, heightening tension in the economically powerful region and testing the international position of China, Pyongyang's only major backer.

Leaked Doc Proves Spain's 'Green Policies'...the Basis for Obama's - An Economic Disaster -- Pajamas Media has received a leaked internal assessment produced by Spain’s Zapatero administration. The assessment confirms the key charges previously made by non-governmental Spanish experts in a damning report exposing the catastrophic economic failure of Spain’s “green economy” initiatives.

Goldman Sachs Hands Clients Losses in Seven of Nine 'Top Trades' -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. racked up trading profits for itself every day last quarter. Clients who followed the firm’s investment advice fared far worse.

Senators Press for National Guard Troops on Border -- Homeland Security and Pentagon officials are at loggerheads over a plan to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, even as President Barack Obama is pledging to bolster security there.

North Korea Warns of War If Punished for Ship Sinking -- Tensions deepened Thursday on the Korean peninsula as South Korea accused North Korea of firing a torpedo that sank a naval warship, killing 46 sailors in the country's worst military disaster since the Korean War.

State Dinner Crashers Stopped Near White House -- Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan says the White House party crashers, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, were stopped in a limo near the White House Wednesday evening.

Lenders Agree to Prop Up Ailing Shore Bank -- Some of the nation's largest banks have agreed to contribute enough money to save Chicago-based ShoreBank, the community lender with strong ties to the Obama administration, FOX Business has learned.

Pig Virus Contaminates Rotavirus Vaccines, FDA Says No Problem -- Rotavirus vaccines are commonly given to children, and this year's batch of vaccines made by GlaxoSmithKline and Merck are contaminated with a pig virus, the FDA recently discovered.

Fish, Nuts and Olive Oil Reduce Age-Related Blindness Risk -- Good news: researchers have found that regular consumption of fish, nuts, olive oil and other foods containing omega-three fatty acids and avoiding trans-fats may significantly lower the risk for Age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Natural health news gets nuttier: research shows eating nuts lowers cholesterol -- now there's even more reason to be nuts about nuts -- scientists have found new evidence that nuts are heart healthy because they dramatically improve blood cholesterol levels, without drugs.

Nutty news from scientists: pistachios reduce lung cancer risk -- According to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference held in Houston recently, eating a handful of pistachios daily may protect you from lung cancer.

How Toxic Are Dispersants Being Used in Gulf Oil Spill? -- The two types of dispersants British Petroleum is using to clean up the Gulf oil spill are approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency but banned in the United Kingdom, ProPublica reports.

Hurricane Season May Make Spill Worse -- As hurricane season looms, forecasters, scientists and residents along the Gulf Coast worry that a major storm could make the oil spill worse.

Benzene the Killer! Plans to Evacuate the Gulf Population -- Benzene, incredible amounts of Benzene are being released into the atmosphere and is a clear and present danger not only for the old and people with respiratory problems but the general Gulf population as a whole.
 

Today In History Thursday May 20, 2010
1775 - North Carolina became the first colony to declare its independence.
1830 - The fountain pen was patented by H.D. Hyde.
1861 - North Carolina became the eleventh state to secede from the Union.
1861 - During the American Civil War, the capital of the Confederacy was moved from Montgomery, AL, to Richmond, VA.
1874 - Levi Strauss began marketing blue jeans with copper rivets.
1875 - The International Bureau of Weights and Measures was established.
1899 - Jacob German of New York City became the first driver to be arrested for speeding. The posted speed limit was 12 miles per hour.
1902 - The U.S. military occupation of Cuba ended.
1902 - Cuba gained its independence from Spain.
1926 - The U.S. Congress passed the Air Commerce Act. The act gave the Department of Commerce the right to license pilots and planes.
1927 - Charles Lindbergh took off from New York to cross the Atlantic for Paris aboard his airplane the "Spirit of St. Louis." The trip took 33 1/2 hours.
1932 - Amelia Earhart took off to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She became the first woman to achieve the feat.
1933 - "Charlie Chan" was heard for the final time on the NBC Blue radio network, after only six months on the air.
1939 - The first telecast over telephone wires was sent from Madison Square Garden to the NBC-TV studios at 30 Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. The event was a bicycle race.
1939 - The first regular air-passenger service across the Atlantic Ocean began with the take-off of the "Yankee Clipper" from Port Washington, New York.
1942 - Japan completed the conquest of Burma.
1961 - A white mob attacked the Freedom Riders in Montgomery, AL. The event prompted the federal government to send U.S. marshals.
1969 - U.S. and South Vietnamese forces captured Apbia Mountain, which was referred to as Hamburger Hill.
1970 - 100,000 people marched in New York supporting U.S. policies in Vietnam.
1978 - Mavis Hutchinson, at age 53, became the first woman to run across America. It took Hutchinson 69 days to run the 3,000 miles.
1980 - The submarine Nautilus was designated as a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
1985 - The Dow Jones industrial average broke the 1300 mark for the first time. The Dow closed at 1304.88.
1985 - The FBI arrested U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer John Walker. Walker had begun spying for the Soviet Union in 1968.
1985 - Radio Marti was launched.
1990 - The Hubble Space Telescope sent back its first photographs.
1993 - The final episode of "Cheers" was aired on NBC-TV.
1996 - The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Colorado measure banning laws that would protect homosexuals from discrimination.
1999 - At Heritage High School in Conyers, GA, a 15-year-old student shot and injured six students. He then surrendered to an assistant principal at the school.

Fort Hood Victims Recognized as Combat Casualties -- Army and civilian personnel wounded or killed in the Nov. 5 terror attack on Fort Hood were designated combat casualties in House Armed Services Committee action on Wednesday after seven months of lobbying by House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter, who represents the Fort Hood area in Congress.

Research Links Flea Bites with Chronic Infections, Possible Birth Defects -- A researcher in North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine has discovered that bacteria transmitted by fleas–and potentially ticks–can be passed to human babies by the mother, causing chronic infections and raising the possibility of bacterially induced birth defects.

Recruiting Lags for Avandia Drug Trial -- GlaxoSmithKline PLC is facing difficulties recruiting patients in the U.S. for a large clinical trial of its diabetes drug Avandia, in the wake of several studies linking the medicine to an increased risk of heart attack. Wonder why? :)

Landmarking Could Foil Plans For Mosque Near the World Trade Center Site -- The city plans to hold a public hearing on landmarking 45 Park Place, the former Burlington Coat Factory building. The group that wants to build a mosque on the site of the former Burlington Coat Factory building could face yet another obstacle: landmarking. The Cordoba Initiative plans to tear down the five-story building at 45 Park Place, two blocks north of the World Trade Center site, to build a new $100 million, 13-story mosque and community center. Read More...

Rand Paul: “We have come to take our government back” -- “I have a message, a message from the tea party, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: We have come to take our government back,” Paul, with his parents and the rest of his family by his side, declared to roaring supporters at a posh country club here in his hometown.

Okinawa residents protest at US air base -- Thousands of people formed a human chain surrounding a US Marines air base on Okinawa in a protest to demand the closure of the unpopular military facility on the southern Japanese island. Organisers said 17,000 people turned out in pouring rain to form the 13-kilometre (eight-mile) chain as emotions ran high against the heavy US military presence on the island.

Constitution takes hit from Supreme Court -- Citing unapproved treaty is 'act of most fundamental reordering of legal system' - "It is bad enough for the Supreme Court to engage in judicial activism," said Michael Farris of the Home School Legal Defense Association. "It is far worse when the justices employ international law in support of their far-reaching edicts.

Fidelity and BofA Say Participants in 401(k)s Increase Savings -- Participants in 401(k) retirement plans increased their contributions in the first quarter as the equity markets recovered, according to reports by Fidelity Investments and Bank of America Corp. About 7.5 percent of investors in Fidelity 401(k) plans increased their contributions, up from 5 percent in the last quarter, according to the Boston-based company, which has 11 million U.S. participants. It was the fourth straight quarter where more investors increased rather than decreased their savings rate, said the firm, the largest 401(k) provider. Comment: Nothing like leading the sheep to the upcoming financial slaughter.

New optimism of the rich may be leading indicator -- The rich may be different. But they could also be a leading economic indicator. The corridors of wealth and finance are alive with new optimism. The Federal Reserve, though, doesn’t seem to share it. The U.S. central bank seems to have no intention of raising interest rates any time soon. The trouble is, if the Fed is behind the game there’s a good chance the rich will not be the only ones to suffer.

'Angry' Voters Propel Specter to Senate Defeat, Paul to Victory -- American voters may not know exactly what they want, though they seem to know what they don’t like. They showed their discontent with both parties in the May 18 primaries by rejecting Democratic Senator Arlen Specter’s bid for a sixth term in Pennsylvania, ignoring the recommendations of Kentucky Republican leaders by nominating a favorite of the Tea Party movement for the Senate, and forcing Senator Blanche Lincoln, a Democrat, into a runoff in Arkansas.

36,000 firms at high risk of collapse -- Credit agency Dun & Bradstreet has delivered a blunt warning to SMEs about the patchy state of the economic recovery, warning it downgraded the risk profiles of a staggering 80,000 firms during the March quarter – a greater number of firms than were downgraded during the first quarter of 2009. D&B now has 36,000 firms rated as being at "high risk" failure over the next 12 months, with the majority of those being smaller and young firms (less than four years of operation).
Comment: But happy days are here again, so we should be putting more money into 401Ks. It appears the "double dip" is certainly on the horizon.

Dubai World, Creditors Reach $23.5 Billion Debt Deal -- Dubai World, the state-owned holding company, reached an agreement with creditors to restructure $23.5 billion of liabilities as it seeks to resolve a debt crisis that roiled global markets last year. Dubai World will pay $4.4 billion of the loans in five years and the remaining $10 billion over eight years, the company said in an e-mailed statement today. Dubai’s government, which pledged $1.5 billion in March for the restructuring, will convert $8.9 billion of its loans to Dubai World into equity.

Navy Sued For Refusing to Release ManTech Contracting Data -- On Tuesday, May 18, the American Small Business League (ASBL) filed suit against the Navy in Federal District Court, Northern District of California. The case was filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) after the Navy refused to release quarterly sub-contracting reports for contracts awarded to ManTech Systems Engineering.

Doyle vetoes raw milk bill -- Gov. Jim Doyle has vetoed legislation Wednesday that would have legalized the sale of raw milk to consumers." I don't think this was an absolute easy question one way or the other but I think in the end it was one I had to make a decision on," Doyle told reporters. "I think I clearly in those cases have to rely on what the public health people are telling me." Doyle initially signaled he was likely to sign the measure. "Unless there is something that's going to surprise me when I really get into the bill, I would assume I will sign it," Doyle told reporters April 23, just hours after the Legislature passed the bill.

US War Crowd Losing Steam? -- We try to analyze the elite's dominant social themes here at the Bell; but it has occurred to us that when it comes to the victory of Rand Paul in Kentucky, we would tend to believe the elite doesn't know how to spin it. Rand Paul is an anti-foreign war, anti big-government kind of guy, and this is the establishment's nightmare. The rhetoric and substance of the views of Rand and Ron Paul are increasingly popular in America.

From Modern Mechanix, July 1933: Cancer Treated With Stale Butter -- RANCID butter, or rather the chemical called butyric acid which bacteria form in fresh butter, is the newest cancer treatment reported in England by a famous surgeon. The acid of rancid butter is not to be eaten or injected but is applied directly to the cancerous growth. For some reason, which still is mysterious, the butyric acid bites much more viciously into the cancer tissue than into the healthy tissues which surround it. A graduated dose of the acid can kill and eat away all of the diseased cancer cells without damaging the nearby healthy ones. This is the same way that radium attacks cancer.

More U.S. Homeowners Behind on Payments -- The mortgage crisis is dragging on the economic recovery as more homeowners fall behind on their payments. Analysts expect improvement soon, but the number of homeowners in default or at risk of foreclosure will have a lingering effect on the broader economy. More than 10 percent of homeowners with a mortgage had missed at least one payment in the January-March period, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. That's a record high and up from 9.1 percent a year ago.

Suppressing the Cognitive Dissonace of a Bogus Recovery -- A massive outbreak of economic cognitive dissonance is being suppressed with wave after wave of manufactured "good news."

Volcker: What You're Seeing in Europe Is the Future of America -- Europe's current problems should be a huge wake-up call for America, says former federal reserve chairman Paul Volcker.

The Greek Tragedy Is Just a Sneak Preview of What's Coming to Washington -- The coming repudiation of Greek debt and the credit contagion that will spread among the weaker members of the European Union, including the UK, will ultimately slop over onto the U.S.

VIDEO: Arizona Immigration: The Real Truth

Coast Guard Under 'BP's Rules' -- Kelly Cobiella reports that a CBS News team was threatened with arrest by Coast Guard officials in the Gulf of Mexico who said they were acting under the authority of British Petroleum.

Coast Guard: Despite BP Efforts, Gulf Oil Spill is Getting Worse -- The massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill is growing despite British Petroleum's effort to siphon some of the spewing crude from its ruptured deepwater well, the U.S. Coast Guard official leading the cleanup warned Tuesday.

Financial Reforms 'Cosmetic,' Won't Stop More Crises -- Current efforts to reform financial regulation are “cosmetic” and won’t prevent another crisis, economist Nouriel Roubini told an audience on Tuesday at the London School of Economics.

Mortgage Applications Plummet to 13 Year Low As Tax Cuts Expire -- The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier....

Man Loses License After Drink-Driving in Toy Barbie Car -- A man who was caught drink-driving in a toy car with a top speed of 4mph has been banned from driving.

Pentagon, Police Stage Terror Attack Exercise in Long Beach -- First responders from across California will practice their skills during a hypothetical terrorist attack Wednesday at the Port of Long Beach.

New Drug Reverses Even 'Untreatable' Cancers -- Reovirus, which lives in human respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts without causing any symptoms, can help magnify the effects of radiotherapy in treating even the most advanced cancers, laboratory tests have shown.

China Organ Trafficking Trial Exposes Grisly Trade -- A Beijing court is prosecuting a man for illegal organ trafficking, local media reported, putting the spotlight on a grisly black market in body parts in a country where demand for transplants far outstrips supply.

UC Berkley Asking Incoming Students for DNA -- UC Berkeley is adding something a little different this year in its welcome package -- cotton swabs for a DNA sample.

The Global Economy is Now Out of Control -- Yes this is it! We have crossed the Rubicon and events in the world economy are now likely to unfold in a totally uncontrollable fashion.

Hack Attacks On Car Control Systems -- The computer systems used to control modern cars are very vulnerable to attack, say experts.

Euro Collapse Continues, Germany Bans Speculation on Naked Swaps -- Credit-default swaps rose as German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s curb on using the contracts to speculate on European sovereign debt sparked concern among investors about increasing government regulation.

TSA Agent Accused of Stealing Cash From Wheelchair Bound Woman -- A Transportation Security Administration agent has been arrested for allegedly stealing $400 dollars from a wheelchair bound passenger as she passed through a security checkpoint at Newark Airport.

Sony's Energy Saving TV's Watch You While You Sleep -- The next time you fall asleep in front of the TV, someone, or rather something, could be watching you – and all in the name of saving energy.

Gates Foundation Suggests Sterilizing Males With Ultrasound -- Among the 78 research projects to receive $100,000 grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation earlier this week as part of the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, is an effort by researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to develop a non-invasive, reversible form of birth control for men — using ultrasound.

Gaia Herbs Achieves Industry Breakthrough Into Herb Potency, Safety and Traceability -- I'm a big fan of herbal products, but have you ever wondered whether the ingredients that are supposed to be in those products are actually present in their correct potency?

Breast Cancer Breakthrough: Broccoli Component Zaps Cells That Fuel Tumor Growth -- University of Michigan (U-M) Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists say they've found a compound that could help prevent and potentially treat breast cancer. It's not a drug or a new radiation treatment but a natural component of broccoli and broccoli sprouts.

Placebo Works As Well As Antidepressant Drugs -- In many cases of depression, antidepressant drugs provide little or no benefit over the effect of a placebo, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Lawsuit Seeks to Ban Genetically Modified Sugar Beets -- A group of Oregon farmers are seeking an injunction against this year's planting of Monsanto's genetically engineered sugar beets.

BPA Plastics Chemical Damages Intestines, Study Shows -- The widespread toxin bisphenol-A (BPA) damages the intestines and may lead to a painful condition known as leaky gut syndrome, according to a study conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Agronomic Research researchers in Toulouse, France, and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences.

Diet Soda Now Promoted as Medicine to Stop Kidney Stones -- The "most retarded science journal of the year" award goes to the Journal of Urology which has published an article suggesting that diet soda is actually an effective type of medicine for preventing kidney stones (April 19, 2010 issue).

New Research: Olive Oil Can Prevent Ulcerative Colitis -- Ulcerative colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that brings untold pain and misery to about 120,000 people of all ages in the UK and over a million in the US.

Lemon Grass Halts Headaches Much Like Aspirin -- Popping an aspirin or an ibuprofen to relieve a headache has become commonplace in the industrialized world, but there are actually natural plants and herbs that are capable of helping to relieve pain as well.

Obama May Personally Greet Each Graduate: Kalamazoo Central Seniors To Fill Out Paperwork for Secret Service -- Seniors are being asked to provide their birthdates, Social Security numbers and citizen status to the Secret Service so background checks could be performed.

Girl Outs Mom's Citizenship Status During First Lady's Visit -- A second-grader may have unwittingly blown the whistle on her mother's citizenship status during Michelle Obama's visit to a Silver Spring, Md., school -- and right in front of Mexico's first lady.

Mexican President Knocks Arizona Law From the White House Lawn -- ABC News: Mexican President Felipe Calderon took the unusual step Wednesday morning of criticizing an American law while visiting the White House, saying cooperation is needed to fix the US-Mexican immigration issue but "such laws as the Arizona law that is forcing our people to face discrimination. If we are divided, we cannot overcome these problems."

Power Play Over Immigration Law -- An Arizona utility commissioner said he's willing to pull the plug on Los Angeles if the city goes through with a boycott of his state.


Today In History Wednesday May 19, 2010
1847 - The first English-style railroad coach was placed in service on the Fall River Line in Massachusetts.
1857 - The electric fire alarm system was patented by William F. Channing and Moses G. Farmer. .
1864 - The Union and Confederate armies launched their last attacks against each other at Spotsylvania in Virginia.
1906 - The Federated Boys' Clubs, forerunner of the Boys' Clubs of America, were organized.
1911 - The first American criminal conviction that was based on fingerprint evidence occurred in New York City.
1912 - The Associated Advertising Clubs of America held its first convention in Dallas, TX.
1921 - The U.S. Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act, which established national quotas for immigrants.
1926 - Thomas Edison spoke on the radio for the first time.
1926 - Benito Mussolini announced that democracy was deceased. Rome became a fascist state.
1926 - In Damascus, Syria, French shells killed 600 people.
1928 - The first frog-jumping jubilee held in Calaveras County, CA.
1935 - T.E. Lawrence "Lawrence of Arabia" died from injuries in a motorcycle crash in England.
1935 - The National Football League (NFL) adopted an annual college draft to begin in 1936.
1943 - Winston Churchill told the U.S. Congress that his country was pledging their full support in the war against Japan.
1958 - Canada and the U.S. formally established the North American Air Defense Command.
1962 - Marilyn Monroe performed a sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday" for U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The event was a fund-raiser at New York's Madison Square Garden.
1964 - The U.S. State Department reported that diplomats had found about 40 microphones planted in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
1967 - The Soviet Union ratified a treaty with the United States and Britain that banned nuclear weapons from outer space.
1967 - U.S. planes bombed Hanoi for the first time.
1989 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average passed 2,500 for the first time. The close for the day was 2,501.1.
1992 - In Massapequa, NY, Mary Jo Buttafuoco was shot and seriously wounded by Amy Fisher. Fisher was her husband Joey's teen-age lover.
1992 - The 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect. The amendment prohibits Congress from giving itself midterm pay raises.
1993 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed about 3,500 (3,500.03) for the first time.
1999 - Rosie O'Donnell and Tom Selleck got into an uncomfortable verbal issue concerning gun control on O'Donnell's talk show.
2000 - The bones of the most complete and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton went on display in Chicago.
2000 - Disney released the movie "Dinosaur." 
2003 - It was announced that Worldcom Inc. would pay investors $500 million to settle civil fraud charges over its $11 billion accounting scandal.
2003 - Hundreds of Albert Einstein's scientific papers, personal letters and humanist essays were make available on the Internet. Einstein had given the papers to the Hebrew Universtiy of Jerusalem in his will.

Insurgents attack Bagram air field -- Insurgents have launched a brazen pre-dawn assault against the giant US-run Bagram Air Field one day after a suicide bomber struck a US convoy in the capital of Kabul, killing 18 people.

Pfizer to trim 6,000 jobs, shut 8 plants worldwide -- Pfizer Inc. said Tuesday it will cut 6,000 jobs as it trims manufacturing capacity for health care products worldwide after acquiring smaller rival Wyeth last year. The world's biggest drugmaker and producer of Viagra says it will cease operations at eight plants in Ireland, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. by the end of 2015, and reduce operations at six other plants over the next several years. The plants make a range of pharmaceutical and consumer health products. Overall, the company operates 78 plants internationally and employs about 116,000 workers.

All Hell Breaking Loose In Thailand, Stock Exchange On Fire -- There are now multiple locations in Bangkok where protesters are angry and burning tires, burning buildings, and clashing with security forces.

Candidate’s Words on Vietnam Service Differ From History -- At a ceremony honoring veterans and senior citizens who sent presents to soldiers overseas, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut rose and spoke of an earlier time in his life.
  * Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3KgsgRfjhQ

Uh-oh! Katla Volcano Just Rumbled -- On May 17, 2010 08:32 UTC, The Icelandic Met office earthquake map indicates that a small earthquake has occurred at the Katla location. In what could be an early indication of the event that is expected to occur (an eruption of Katla), a small earthquake is reported at the site. Although a single earthquake is not a precursor of an eminent eruption, it could be the first ’sigh’ of the awakening powerful giant.
* Related Article: Will Iceland’s Katla Volcano Blow Next?

Rick Perry Rental Mansion Costs Texas $600,000 Amid $11B Budget Shortfall -- With the state facing a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has spent almost $600,000 in public money during the past two years to live in a sprawling rental home in the hills above the capital, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.

Sen. Arlen Specter loses Pennsylvania primary; Rand Paul wins in Kentucky -- On a busy primary election night that put the political establishments of both parties on the defensive, Specter fell to two-term Rep. Joe Sestak. In the Republican Senate primary in Kentucky, Paul, a political novice and a son of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), stormed past Secretary of State Trey Grayson, who had the support of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and much of the Bluegrass State's political establishment. With almost all of the vote counted, Paul had 59 percent, a sign of the power of his and the tea party's small-government message within the GOP.

THE FLUORIDE FREE AUSTIN READING ROOM -- Hats off to the Fluoride Free Austin group for caring about YOUR family's health.

Texas doctors opting out of Medicare at alarming rate -- Texas doctors are opting out of Medicare at alarming rates, frustrated by reimbursement cuts they say make participation in government-funded care of seniors unaffordable.

TSA Agent Accused of Stealing Cash from Wheelchair-Bound Woman -- Print Share Buzz up!49retweet18diggsdiggFACEBOOK
A Transportation Security Administration agent has been arrested for allegedly stealing $400 dollars from a wheelchair bound passenger as she passed through a security checkpoint at Newark Airport.

UC Berkeley Asking Incoming Students For DNA -- The students will be asked to voluntarily submit a DNA sample. The cotton swabs will come with two bar code labels. One label will be put on the DNA sample and the other is kept for the students own records. Once the DNA sample is sent in and tested, it will show the student’s ability to tolerate alcohol, absorb folic acid and metabolize lactose. Huh???

Conspiracy of Banks Rigging States Came With Crash -- A telephone call between a financial adviser in Beverly Hills and a trader in New York was all it took to fleece taxpayers on a water-and-sewer financing deal in West Virginia. The secret conversation was part of a conspiracy stretching across the U.S. by Wall Street banks in the $2.8 trillion municipal bond market.

Euro, Stocks, Copper Tumble as Germany Bans Naked Short Sales -- The euro slid to a four-year low against the dollar, and stocks and copper tumbled after Germany banned certain bearish investments, fueling speculation the European debt crisis will worsen.

Google Faces German Deadline on Street View Data -- German regulators are investigating how cars Google employed to drive around taking pictures for Street View ended up with private data from Wi-Fi networks that weren't password- protected. Google said yesterday it deleted data mistakenly gathered from Wi-Fi networks in Ireland and was reaching out to do the same in other countries. The Mountain View, California-based company is increasingly colliding with Europe's data regulators who say it is neglecting privacy as it introduces features such as Google Buzz and Street View. Google, which has 79 percent of the search-engine market in Europe, will likely face further scrutiny and restrictions on the continent.

"Panicking German dealers" on a "Gold Rush Frenzy" -- Over the past few days multiple sources are reporting that German banks are getting cleaned out of their gold bullion supplies. They are being forced to seek additional stock outside of Europe, in particular from South Africa and its popular krugerrand coins.

Phoenix Examiner: The real reason we are becoming poorer -- There is no doubt that the world is in the midst of a financial crisis which it has never seen before. Many blame capitalism or lack of oversight in the financial markets. The REAL reason why the value of our dollar is being eroded is the Federal Reserve. The roots of our economic ills can be traced to central banking, not any specific political figure or administration. (Video accompanies article.)

Special Report: How the White House learned to love the drone -- Under a secret directive first issued by former President George W. Bush and continued by Barack Obama, the CIA has broadly expanded the "target set" for drone strikes. As a result, what is still officially classified as a covert campaign on Pakistan's side of the border with Afghanistan has in many ways morphed into a parallel conventional war, several experts say. Killing wanted militants is simply "easier" than capturing them, said an official, who like most interviewed for this story support the stepped-up program and asked not to be identified. Another official added: "It is increasingly the preferred option."  Comment: As The Who once sang, "Meet the new boss...same as the old boss".

Johnson & Johnson Details Medicine Recall Troubles -- New details about problems with Johnson & Johnson's production and recall of certain children's medicines are emerging as the company faces growing scrutiny in Washington, D.C. Some samples of recalled infants' Tylenol were tested to contain as much as 24% more active ingredient than shown on the label, according to a letter that J&J's McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit sent to doctors and poison-control officials that was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The company said the suspect medicines hadn't reached the marketplace, and its testing of other batches that had been released to the market didn't find any problems. "But we cannot confirm that all the individual bottles were within specification or that 24% would have been the maximum," according to the letter, which didn't indicate when or how the testing was done.


Today In History Tuesday May 18, 2010
1798 - The first Secretary of the U.S. Navy was appointed. He was Benjamin Stoddert.
1802 - Great Britain declared war on Napoleon's France.
1828 - Battle of Las Piedras ended the conflict between Uruguay and Brazil.
1897 - A public reading of Bram Stoker's new novel, "Dracula, or, The Un-dead," was performed in London.
1917 - The U.S. Congress passed the Selective Service act, which called up soldiers to fight in World War I.
1933 - The Tennessee Valley Authority was created.
1934 - The U.S. Congress approved an act, known as the "Lindberg Act," that called for the death penalty in interstate kidnapping cases.
1942 - New York ended night baseball games for the duration of World War II.
1944 - Monte Cassino, Europe's oldest Monastic house, was finally captured by the Allies in Italy.
1949 - Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America was incorporated
1951 - The United Nations moved its headquarters to New York City.
1953 - The first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound, Jacqueline Cochran, piloted an F-86 Sabrejet over California at an average speed of 652.337 miles-per-hour.
1974 - India became the sixth nation to explode an atomic bomb.
1980 - Mt. Saint Helens erupted in Washington state. 57 people were killed and 3 billion in damage was done.
1983 - The U.S. Senate revised immigration laws and gave millions of illegal aliens legal status under an amnesty program.
1994 - Israel's three decades of occupation in the Gaza Strip ended as Israeli troops completed their withdrawal and Palestinian authorities took over.
1998 - The U.S. federal government and 20 states filed a sweeping antitrust case against Microsoft Corp., saying the computer software company had a "choke hold" on competitors which denied consumer choices by controlling 90% of the software market.
1998 - U.S. federal officials arrested more than 130 people and seized $35 million. This was the end to an investigation of money laundering being done by a dozen Mexican banks and two drug-smuggling cartels.

Third Time’s the Charm? Obama Announces Another Nominee to Head TSA -- The White House announced this afternoon that President Obama will nominate John S. Pistole to serve as the head of the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA). Pistole is the president’s third nominee for this position.

Files reveal Britain's secret biological weapons trials in second world war -- British scientists experimented with ways of spreading foot-and-mouth disease, and lethal infections such as dysentery, cholera and typhoid in secret biological warfare trials during the second world war. An extensive list of the contagious agents and plagues that could be turned into weapons of mass destruction is revealed in files from a War Cabinet committee released to the National Archives.

Confiscation by Jason Hommel -- "In fact, for those people who know of Bible Prophecy, and even for the atheists and agnostics among us, gold ownership should be the key factor keeping people alive through the coming 7 year tribulation predicted in the Bible in Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation. There will be people who will not ever take the mark of the beast required to buy and sell, and it is those people who will likely have silver and gold who will survive to populate the earth after the tribulation and during the millennium, whether believers, atheists, or agnostics alike! Zechariah 14:16-19. Revelation 13:16-18, Rev 14:9-12, Rev 15:2, Rev 19:20, Rev 20:4-6."

Ron Paul: See I Told You, Paper Money Is Worthless -- Rep. Ron Paul spoke with CNBC about the sovereign debt crises facing Europe, and how they might soon be coming home to America. I bought gold in 1971, knowing that paper would lose its value, and now its come to be and a lot of people are jumping on board.

Fed Audit Under Fire (Ron Paul) -- Taxpayers are sick and tired of bailing out privileged, dysfunctional institutions that should be allowed to fail in order to stop their ability to wreak havoc on our economy. Perpetuating these corporations at taxpayer expense is not just wasteful, it is actively harmful. It would be good to know what went on in the past, but what about accountability in the future? A one-time disclosure now will not do us a lot of good down the road when the cycle repeats itself and friends of the Fed find themselves in trouble again.

Study suggests processed meat a real health risk -- Eating bacon, sausage, hot dogs and other processed meats can raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a study that identifies the real bad boys of the meat counter. Eating unprocessed beef, pork or lamb appeared not to raise risks of heart attacks and diabetes, they said, suggesting that salt and chemical preservatives may be the real cause of these two health problems associated with eating meat.

Kenyan Aunt of President Obama Wins Asylum in U.S. on Second Try -- A U.S. immigration court has granted asylum toPresident Obama's Kenyan aunt, Zeituni Onyango, who was ordered deported from the U.S. in 2004 but stayed and appealed for the right to live here.

Farm fight sprouting over Wisconsin products -- A city farm family in Minnesota that sells pumpkins and Christmas trees grown in Wisconsin plans to file a federal lawsuit Tuesday in the Twin Cities, claiming its constitutional right to engage in free trade is being violated. The suit against the Lake Elmo City Council by the Bergmann family challenges an ordinance that threatens a 90-day jail sentence and $1,000 fine if the family sells products grown outside the city limits. Comments: Obviously this family is not sending blood money contributions to the right political people.

Worry That Gulf Oil Spill Spreading into Major Current -- BP said Monday it was siphoning some of the oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, but worries escalated about the ooze reaching a major ocean current that could carry it through the Florida Keys and up the East Coast.

Israel Plays Wargame Assuming Iran Has Nuclear Bomb -- A nuclear-armed Iran would blunt Israel's military autonomy, a wargame involving former Israeli generals and diplomats has concluded, though some players predicted Tehran would also exercise restraint.

'Mummy" Merkel Battered As Germans Lose Faith in EU -- GISELA and Susi, thirty something civil service secretaries, were shivering over their sausages in what the tabloids labelled the “most miserable May of the millennium” and planning their summer holidays.

Detroit Police Shoot 7-Year-Old in House Search -- Mertilla Jones recounted the horrific death of her granddaughter this evening outside the home where the 7-year-old was killed by a police bullet.

With Local Gold Inventories Depleted, Panicking German Dealers Stage Run On Krugerrands -- Last week we noted that several prominent Austrian and German gold dealers had run out of inventory and were no longer transacting with a European population that has suddenly discovered gold religion.

Weatherman: The Military is Spraying Our Spies -- The video below features a weatherman talking about the military using aircraft to spray "chaff". The video has been getting cheers from those of us who look up and notice the spraying of our skies, but it is less likely a rogue weatherman uncovering the big chemtrail mystery and is more likely a script to pacify the masses.

The Postal Service Is Essential to Democracy - It Should Be Re=Imagined, Not Shrunk -- Domestic policy debates of late have degenerated into an absurd argument about whether government can do anything right. Even Democrats can be heard mouthing the false premise that private markets are always the answer to the nation's public problems.

Scientists Find 'Baffling' Link Between Autism and Vinyl Flooring --Children who live in homes with vinyl floors, which can emit chemicals called phthalates, are more likely to have autism, according to research by Swedish and U.S. scientists published Monday.

IBM, Positive ID and Verichip Hope to Get All Humans Tagged With Microchip Implants -- Scientists tag animals to monitor their behavior and keep track of endangered species. Now some futurists are asking whether all of mankind should be tagged too. Looking for a loved one? Just Google his microchip.

New Gov. Program Recruits Meter Maids in Anti-Terrorism Watch -- In light of the recent attempt to set off a bomb in New York’s Times Square, extra eyes are keeping watch over possible terrorist targets. A national program is training parking attendants to watch for suspicious people.

Think Eating 'Organic' Meat is Ok? Think Again -- An undercover investigation into an organic slaughterhouse has challenged the assumption that ethically certified meat is any better than the regular kind.

Massive Underwater Oil Cloud May Destroy Life in Gulf of Mexico -- Over a week ago, I published an article here on NaturalNews questioning the media spin on the massive oil spill in the Gulf.

Now Independent Thinkers Are Considered Diseased by Psychiatry -- Psychiatrists have been working on the fourth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and, in it, they hope to add a whole slew of new psychiatric disorders.

Feces and Body Fluids Detected on New Clothes Bought in Stores -- Clothing purchased new off the retail rack may be contaminated with potentially disease-causing organisms from bodily secretions, according to an investigation conducted by "Good Morning America."

Study Links ADHD in Kids to Pesticide Exposure -- Studies linking environmental substances to disease are coming fast and furious. Chemicals in plastics and common household goods have been associated with serious developmental problems, while a long inventory of other hazards are contributing to rising rates of modern ills: heart disease, obesity, diabetes, autism.

Obama Signs Press Freedom Act, Declines to Take Questions -- President Obama welcomed Daniel Pearl's family to the Oval Office today for the signing of the Freedom of Press Act named in honor of the Wall Street Journal reporter who was killed by terrorists in 2002.


Today In History Monday May 17, 2010
1792 - The New York Stock Exchange was founded at 70 Wall Street by 24 brokers.
1875 - The first Kentucky Derby was run at Louisville, KY.
1877 - The first telephone switchboard burglar alarm was installed by Edwin T. Holmes.
1926 - The U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires was damaged by bombs that were believed set by sympathizers of Sacco and Vanzetti.
1940 - Germany occupied Brussels, Belgium and began the invasion of France.
1946 - U.S. President Truman seized control of the nation's railroads, delaying a threatened strike by engineers and trainmen.
1973 - The U.S. Senate Watergate Committee began its hearings.
1985 - Bobby Ewing died on the season finale of "Dallas" on CBS-TV. He returned the following season.
1987 - Eric ‘Sleepy’ Floyd of the Golden State Warriors set a playoff record for points in a single quarter with 29.
1987 - An Iraqi warplane attacked the U.S. Navy frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf, killing 37 American sailors. Iraq and the United States called the attack a mistake.
1996 - U.S. President Clinton signed a measure requiring neighborhood notification when sex offenders move in. Megan's Law was named for 7-year-old Megan Kanka, who was raped and killed in 1994.
1998 - New York Yankees pitcher David Wells became the 13th player in modern major league baseball history to throw a perfect game.
2000 - Thomas E. Blanton Jr. and David Luker surrendered to police in Birmingham, AL. The two former Ku Klux Klan members were arrested on charges from the bombing of a church in 1963 that killed four young black girls.
2000 - Austria, the U.S. and six other countries agreed on the broad outline of a plan that would compensate Nazi-Era forced labor.
2001 - The U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp based on Charles M. Schulz's "Peanuts" comic strip.
2006 - The U.S. aircraft carrier Oriskany was sunk about 24 miles off Pensacola Beach. It was the first vessel sunk under a Navy program to dispose of old warships by turning them into diving attractions. It was the largest man-made reef at the time of the sinking.

Obama Trial in Harlem - Day 4 -- Day 4 of the big public trial of Barack Obama in Harlem, New York is now in the record books.

Vermont farmer draws a line at US bid to bolster border -- Vt. farmer draws a line at US bid to bolster border.

Message from Rick Caylor of Rick's Satellite regarding his parents murderer -- The hearing is now set for next Tuesday, May 18th and is currently 2nd on the docket at 10:00am.

VIDEO: America Rising -- Please forward to your lists. This is powerful and may be removed soon. It says it like it is.

Day 1: 60 Days to a Hallelujah Waistline -- I am participating in the weightloss program, there is weightloss and ultimate health program. I'm encouraging
all of you to please consider joining and participating. Thanks, Joyce Riley.
 * RECIPE: Raw Non-Dairy Whipped Cream recipe from Hallelujah Acres

Are Prozac and Other Psychiatric Drugs Causing the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America? -- An interview with investigative reporter Robert Whitaker, about the dramatic increase in mental illness disability and its surprising cause.

Army recalls 44,000 helmets -- The Army is recalling 44,000 Advanced Combat Helmets amid concerns that they offer substandard ballistic protection.
All the helmets are made by ArmorSource LLC, formerly Rabintex USA LLC.

Obama Administration Proposes Rolling Back Fifth and Sixth Amendment -- President Obama’s legal advisers are considering asking Congress to allow the government to detain terrorism suspects longer after their arrests before presenting them to a judge for an initial hearing, according to administration officials familiar with the discussions.

Gigantic Plumes Of Oil Are Forming Under the Gulf -- More good news about the Gulf oil leak from Justin Gillis at the New York Times: huge plumes of oil are forming in the water and taking their time about rising to the surface. So the leak is much worse than it appears from the air (and it looks bad enough already from there).

Barack Obama Sends Nuclear Experts to Tackle BP's Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak -- The US has sent a team of nuclear physicists to help BP plug the "catastrophic" flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico from its leaking Deepwater Horizon well, as the Obama administration becomes frustrated with the oil giant's inability to control the situation.

Oil Gusher Plug and Play -- Hang onto your hats folks, here come the oil gusher plug and play experts.

US Rights Group Sues to Protect Right to Swear -- An American rights group is suing the police in Pennsylvania for issuing tickets, which carry a jail sentence, to people for swearing.

Meet the Nano-Spiders: The DNA Robots That Could One Day Be Walking Through Your Body -- Scientists have created microscopic robots out of DNA molecules that can walk, turn and even create tiny products of their own on a nano-scale assembly line.

US Approval of Killing of Cleric Causes Unease -- The Obama administration’s decision to authorize the killing by the Central Intelligence Agency of a terrorism suspect who is an American citizen has set off a debate over the legal and political limits of drone missile strikes, a mainstay of the campaign against terrorism.

President Nicolas Sarkozy 'Threatened to Pull France Out of EU' -- President Nicolas Sarkozy slammed his fist on the table and threatened to pull France out of the euro at a meeting of European leaders deciding Greece's aid package last Friday, according to Spain's El Pais newspaper.

US State Department to Aggressively Confront GM Critics -- When the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) met in Chicago last week they were, no doubt, elated to hear that the U.S. State Department would be aggressively confronting critics of agricultural biotechnology.

Disaster Unfolds Slowly in the Gulf of Mexico - Pictures -- In the three weeks since the April 20th explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and the start of the subsequent massive (and ongoing) oil leak, many attempts have been made to contain and control the scale of the environmental disaster.

VIDEO: Meltup

UN Agenda 21 and the New World Order -- Here is a continuation of the trail from across the internet on UN Agenda 21 and the forces that seem to be driving this initiative. The UN Agenda appears to be the evolution of the principles and ideas of the Progressive and eugenics movements of the early 1900′s.

Greece Considering Legal Action Against US Banks for Crisis -- Greece is considering taking legal action against U.S. investment banks that might have contributed to the country’s debt crisis, Prime Minister George Papandreou said.

Joe Lieberman's Fascist Agenda to Strip Americans of Their Constitutional Rights -- Senator Joe Lieberman is sponsoring a Bill with Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown called the “Terrorist Expatriation Act” that would strip terrorist suspects on their citizenship.

Low Vitamin D Tied to Depression in Older People -- Older men and women with lower levels of vitamin D in their blood are more prone to become depressed over time, new research shows.

Suggestion for Prepandemic Vaccine Ignites Debate -- An influenza specialist who previously led the World Health Organization's (WHO's) flu program and now works for Novartis, has recommended that developing a prepandemic vaccination to get a grip on the next flu endemic, a thought that other experts are welcoming with concern or cynicism.

FDA: Glaxo, Merck Vaccines OK Despite Pig Virus? -- Rotavirus vaccines made by GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Merck & Co Inc are safe to use despite being contaminated with a pig virus, U.S. health regulators ruled on Friday.

Times Square Bombing Part of CIA False Flag Against Pakistan -- Veterans Today realized some time ago that Pakistan would be the key to US security. Toward that end, we formed a partnership with Opinion-Maker ( http://www.opinion-maker.org ), one of the most influential publications in that country and one that takes courageous stands in a country new to democracy.

Schwarzenegger's Solution to California's Budget Woes: End Welfare -- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday unveiled plans to plug California's budget deficit by slashing billions of dollars worth of funding for services designed to help the state's poor.

Bank Failures Exceed 2009's Pace -- State regulators closed four community banks Friday, bringing the total number of failed banks for 2010 to 72. Year-to-date bank failures were more than double the pace for the same period in 2009, when there were 33 bank closures.

Euro Breakup Talk Increases as Germany Loses Its Currency Proxy -- What was conceived as a club for Europe’s strongest economies was expanded for political reasons, leaving the currency union with minimal powers to police deficit spending and no safety net for dealing with countries, like Greece, that veer toward default.

Detroit to Destroy 10,000 Abandoned Homes -- Wrecking crews are preparing to tear down a landmark 5,000-square-foot house in the posh neighborhood of Palmer Woods in the coming weeks, a sign that Detroit is finally getting serious about razing thousands of vacant and abandoned structures across the city.

Euro Plunges As France Downgrade Rumor Emerges -- The country that Zero Hedge has long claimed is the glossed over black sheep that will take down the core of the eurozone is about to be downgraded.

Medical Journal Warns of 'Tidal Wave' of Mental Trauma Among Servicemen -- The Lancet report said the “absolute number” of troops needing treatment was increasing as a result of more people being deployed on operations.

The Bailout of Big American Banks Has Cost Trillions More Than We've Been Told -- Granted, the $700 billion dollar TARP bailout was a massive bait-and-switch. The government said it was doing it to soak up toxic assets, and then switched to saying it was needed to free up lending. It didn't do that either. Indeed, the Fed doesn't want the banks to lend.

Autistic Boy Charged With Making Terrorist Threats Over Stick Figure Sketch -- A fourteen-year-old autistic boy is facing terrorist charges after a sketch he made in school.

Giant Hexagon of Clouds Spins on Saturn -- Here at NaturalNews, we normally report on Earthly events, but right now some rather grand events are taking place in our solar system that you may want to know about.

Smoke Flavoring May Be Toxic to Humans -- Several concentrated smoke flavorings may pose health risks in humans, according to the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA's) panel on flavorings.

Why US Lawmakers Oppose Renewable Energy Grants -- With the economy in shambles throughout the past year or two, lawmakers have been scrambling to find ways to spur growth and increase American jobs. However many are opposing stimulus efforts that create jobs overseas, including renewable energy grants that end up creating manufacturing jobs in China rather than in the U.S

Soda Fountains Contaminated With Fecal Bacteria -- The soda that comes out of fountain machines in restaurants may be widely contaminated with fecal bacteria, according to a study conducted by researchers from Hollins University and published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology.

Do Healing Foods Work Better Than Big Pharma's Drugs? -- The drug industry is constantly trying to convince you that drugs are good for your health while nutritional supplements and healthy foods are somehow bad for you. This same line of nonsense is also repeated by the FDA, which goes out of its way to censor the truth about the healing properties of natural foods like walnuts, cherries and berries.

Are Honey Bees Being Killed Off By Chemically Coated Crop Seeds? -- A class of insecticide that is applied to seeds and taken up into plant tissue may be responsible for much of the widespread decline in honeybee populations, increasing numbers of researchers and environmentalists are suggesting.

1,200 Patients Killed in Hospital, Abused by Staff, Lying in Filth -- A huge U.K. health care scandal recently shocked the public with reports that up to 1,200 patients in a British hospital needlessly died from abuse and neglect. And the worst part is that not a single worker involved has been prosecuted for his crimes.
 

Today In History Friday May 14, 2010
1787 - Delegates began gathering in Philadelphia for a convention to draw up the U.S. Constitution.
1796 - The first smallpox vaccination was given by Edward Jenner.
1811 - Paraguay gained independence from Spain.
1853 - Gail Borden applied for a patent for condensed milk.
1862 - The chronograph was patented by Adolphe Nicole.
1878 - The name Vaseline was registered by Robert A. Chesebrough.
1879 - Thomas Edison incorporated the Edison Telephone Company of Europe.
1897 - "The Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Phillip Sousa was performed for the first time.
1897 - Guglielmo Marconi made the first communication by wireless telegraph.
1904 - In St. Louis, the Olympic games were held. It was the first time for the games to be played in the U.S.
1913 - The Rockefeller Foundation was created by John D. Rockefeller with a gift of $100,000,000.
1935 - The Philippines ratified an independence agreement.
1940 - The Netherlands surrendered to Nazi Germany.
1942 - The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) was established by an act of the U.S. Congress.
1948 - Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the independent State of Israel as British rule in Palestine came to an end.
1955 - The Warsaw Pact, a Easter European mutual-defense treaty, was signed in Poland by eight communist bloc countries including the Soviet Union.
1961 - A bus carrying Freedom Riders was bombed and burned in Alabama.
1973 - Skylab One was launched into orbit around Earth as the first U.S. manned space station.
1975 - U.S. forces raided the Cambodian island of Koh Tang and recaptured the American merchant ship Mayaguez. All 40 crew members were released safely by Cambodia. About 40 U.S. servicemen were killed in the military operation.
1980 - U.S. President Carter inaugurated the Department of Health and Human Services.
1999 - North Korea returned the remains of six U.S. soldiers that had been killed during the Korean War.
2005 - The art exhibit "Gumby and Friends: The First 50 Years" opened at the Lynn House Gallery in Antioch, CA.

Luke Helder - The Smoking Gun: Archive Smiley face bomber -- This is a copy of a bizarre six-page manifesto, of sorts, written by Luke Helder and sent last week to a college newspaper in Wisconsin.

Investigators: Obama uses Connecticut Soc. Sec. Number -- Two private investigators working independently are asking why President Obama is using a Social Security number set aside for applicants in Connecticut while there is no record he ever had a mailing address in the state.

VIDEO: Houston teacher caught on video beating a student

VIDEO: No Arms, No Legs, No Worries - Inspirational -- Trust me, you will be blessed by viewing.

Nassim Taleb: 'We Are To Have, At Some Point a Failed Auction' -- Set aside the stupidity about Taleb causing last week's sell off for a minute and you have 14 minutes of very relevant insight not only into last week's crash, but into the real events that precipitated it: namely market structure, European contagion and the precarious US economic situation.

Roubini: 'The US Economy is Unsustainable' -- Yesterday Nassim Taleb said that his primary concern about an upcoming "Black Swan" is a failed Treasury Auction.

Headcams Give Calif. Police New Way to Fight Crime -- A new headcam being tested by San Diego police offers a new way to fight crime.

New Zealand Dad in Coma Still Has to Pay Child Support -- Recently, I’ve posted various pieces about the many and various depredations of child support enforcement authorities.

US Posts 19th Straight Monthly Budget Deficit -- The United States posted an $82.69 billion deficit in April, nearly four times the $20.91 billion shortfall registered in April 2009 and the largest on record for that month, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

Nine Indicted on Charges of Accessing Obama's Student Loan Records -- Nine people were indicted Wednesday on federal charges of accessing President Barack Obama's student loan records while they were employed for a Department of Education contractor in Iowa.

Soldier's 'Joked About Killing Women and Children' -- An Iraq War veteran who served with the company shown in the "Collateral Murder" video released by whistleblower web site Wikileaks says the military trained him to dehumanize Iraqis.

Euro Loses Bounce From $1 Trillion Bailout -- The euro soared after the EU announced a startling $1 trillion financial rescue package earlier this week. But that respite has evaporated - a sign that worries remain about the heavy debts burdening European governments.

Immigration's Surprise Villain -- As Arizona Governor Jan Brewer tries to kill ethnic studies, Bryan Curtis says there’s an unexpected force behind the state’s awful immigration bill: Mexico's President Felipe Calderon.

Fed Marshals Violently Arrest FIJA Activist, Violate DHS Policy -- "George attempted to video what was happening. Seconds later, they assaulted George and wrestled his video camera away. Thugs piled on George. One even put his knee on George's face."

1,000 Page Climate Bill is Unveiled -- Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on Wednesday unveiled their nearly 1,000-page climate change bill, flanked by environmentalists, religious and ex-military leaders and energy industry officials.

EU Bids for Power Over National Budgets -- Senior administrators of the European Union proposed on Wednesday that they be given unprecedented power to scrutinize the spending plans of countries before national parliaments vote on those budgets.

Senators Call for Sanctions Against Contractors Doing Business With Iran -- At least seven foreign companies doing business in Iran's energy sector also have won U.S. government contracts during the past five years, according to new findings released on Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office.

Housing Never Really Improved -- To put it bluntly, the U.S. housing market today is in deep water.

US Home Seizures Reach Record as Recovery Delayed -- U.S. home foreclosures climbed to a record in April, a sign that government mortgage relief efforts have yet to turn the tide of property seizures, according to a report by RealtyTrac Inc.

The Next 2,000 Page Bill -- Big Brother wants to watch you more closely. Especially how you spend your money

The Panic Is On! -- As the Great Depression of the 1930’s was getting underway, President Herbert Hoover refused to acknowledge it.

Foundation Funds 78 New Innovative Global Health Projects Including Cell Phone Blood Tests, Carnivorous Plants and Sweat-Triggered Vaccines -- Grants include the development of a low-cost cell phone microscope to diagnose malaria, study of the strategic placement of insect-eating plants to reduce insect-borne diseases, and investigation of nanoparticles to release vaccines when they come in contact with human sweat.

White House Aims To Use Deepwater Disaster to Win Votes for US Climate Bill -- Senators are set to take a last run at producing a climate and energy law tomorrow, betting on the spectre of environmental disaster raised by the BP oil spill to build support for a comprehensive overhaul of America's energy strategy.

They Walk, They Work, New DNA Robots Strut Their Tiny Stuff -- For the first time, microscopic robots made from DNA molecules can walk, follow instructions and work together to assemble simple products on an atomic-scale assembly line, mimicking the machinery of living cells, two independent research teams announced Wednesday.

Panic Buying Of Physical Gold in Europe Threatens Depletion of Austrian Mint -- When global governments refuse to act responsibly toward their currency, the people will create their own currency. Welcome gold.

Video: Raw Footage of Violent Bailout Protests in Ireland -- It's not just Greece. Via The Daily Bail, here's what the Irish street looks like, as protesters attempt to storm parliament in protest of bank bailouts.

Maca is the Ancient Superfood of the Incas -- Superfood enthusiasts know all about the incredible nutritional powers of maca.

Bodies of Pregnant Women Polluted With Chemicals Found in Consumer Products -- Every pregnant woman's body is probably contaminated with multiple toxic substances, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Washington Toxics Coalition, the Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center and the Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition.

FDA Finally Sued Over Its Illegal Suppression of Raw Milk -- Recently the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization devoted to protecting family farms and their customers from unconstitutional government intrusion, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over its unconstitutional ban on the interstate sale of raw milk.

3 More Lone wolves Nabbed for Times Square Bomb Plot -- Federal authorities have arrested three men living in the greater Boston area in connection with the attempted Times Square bombing, Fox News has learned.

Lawyers: Rig Workers Asked to Sign Statements -- Workers aboard an exploding offshore drilling platform were told to sign statements denying they were hurt or witnessed the blast that rocked the rig, killed 11 and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the ocean, their attorneys said Tuesday.

Food Stamp Tally Nears 40 Million, Sets Record -- Nearly 40 million Americans received food stamps -- the latest in an ever-higher string of record enrollment that dates from December 2008 and the U.S. recession, according to a government update.


Today In History Thursday May 13, 2010
1779 - The War of Bavarian Succession ended.
1821 - The first practical printing press was patented in the U.S. by Samuel Rust.
1846 - The U.S. declared that war already existed with Mexico.
1854 - The first big American billiards match was held at Malcolm Hall in Syracuse, NY.
1861 - Britain declared its neutrality in the American Civil War.
1865 - The last land engagement of the American Civil War was fought at the Battle of Palmito Ranch in far south Texas, more than a month after Gen. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, VA.
1867 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis became a free man after spending two years in prison for his role in the American Civil War.
1873 - Ludwig M. Wolf patented the sewing machine lamp holder.
1880 - Thomas Edison tested his experimental electric railway in Menlo Park.
1888 - Slavery was abolished in Brazil.
1911 - The New York Giants set a major league baseball record. Ten runners crossed home plate before the first out of the game against St. Louis.
1913 - Igor Sikorsky flew the first four engine aircraft.
1918 - The first airmail postage stamps were issued with airplanes on them. The denominations were 6, 16, and 24 cents.
1927 - "Black Friday" occurred in Germany.
1940 - Winston Churchill made his first speech as the prime minister of Britain.
1949 - The first gas turbine to pump natural gas was installed in Wilmar, AR.
1954 - U.S. President Eisenhower signed into law the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Act.
1958 - French troops took control of Algiers.
1958 - U.S. Vice President Nixon's limousine was battered by rocks thrown by anti-U.S. demonstrators in Caracas, Venezuela.
1967 - Mickey Mantle hit his 500th homerun.
1968 - Peace talks between the U.S. and North Vietnam began in Paris.
1981 - Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter's Square by Turkish assailant Mehmet Ali Agca.
1982 - The Chicago Cubs became the first major league baseball team to win 8,000 games.
1985 - Tony Perez became the oldest major league baseball player to hit a grand slam home run at the age of 42 and 11 months.
1985 - A confrontation between Philadelphia authorities and the radical group MOVE ended as police dropped an explosive onto the group's headquarters. 11 people died in the fire that resulted.
1998 - India did a second round of nuclear tests. The first round had been done 2 days earlier. Within hours the U.S. and Japan imposed tough economic sanctions. India claimed that the tests were necessary to maintain India's national security.
1999 - In Moscow, the impeachment of Russian President Boris Yeltsin began.

Walgreens won't sell over-the-counter genetic test after FDA raises questions -- The nation's largest drugstore chain backed out Wednesday of plans to sell a saliva test that promised to scan a customer's DNA to assess his or her risk for breast cancer, heart attacks and a host of other diseases.

20 Things You Will Need to Survive When the Economy Collapases and the Next Great Depression Begins -- Today, millions of Americans say that they believe that the United States is on the verge of a major economic collapse and will soon be entering another Great Depression. But only a small percentage of those same people are prepared for that to happen.

8 Ways the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Is Going To Be Felt For Decades -- Seafood is a 2.4 billion dollar industry in the state of Louisiana. In fact, Louisiana produces more than 30 percent of the seafood originating in the continental United States.

Drifting Satellite Threatens US Cable Programming -- A TV communications satellite is drifting out of control thousands of miles above the Earth, threatening to wander into another satellite's orbit and interfere with cable programming across the United States, the satellites' owners said Tuesday.

CBO Doubles Some Health Care Spending Estimates -- The Congressional Budget Office has doubled the estimated increases of some costs resulting from the sweeping health care reform legislation passed this year.

Explosive Report Shows Kagan Supports Censorship of TV, Radio, Posters and Pamphlets -- According to an explosive special report on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's views on the First Amendment right to free speech, in September of 2009 Kagan encouraged the Court to adhere to a new philosophy on the First Amendment that would allow the government to censor posters, pamphlets, and TV and radio content--and the Internet.

Federal Mutual Fund -- Democrats have obliquely admitted they covet Americans' pensions. Last week, congressional Republicans told them to stay away. The shame is that they had to do anything at all.

Basically Every Major Bank Went The Entire Quarter Without a Single Losing Trading Day -- Well, this is good news for Goldman Sachs (GS). They weren't the only major bank to go all of Q1 without a single day of trading losses. In other words, the game isn't necessarily rigged in their favor.

Intervention Alert - Here Comes the Bailout Bailout: European Central Banks gobbling Up Portugese, Irish, and Greek Government Bonds -- And so the European private banks win the overnight battle with the Central Banks again: after shorting the EURUSD all the way to almost 1.25, they have forced the European Central Banks to buy ever more of their worthless Government bond holdings.

Hersh: US Troops Executing Prisoners in Afghanistan -- The journalist who helped break the story that detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were being tortured by their US jailers told an audience at a journalism conference last month that American soldiers are now executing prisoners in Afghanistan.

The Second Leg of the Great Depression Was Caused by European Defaults -- Many Americans know that the Great Depression was started by the bursting of the giant Wall Street bubble of the 1920’s (fueled by the use of bank deposits on speculative gambling, which is why Glass-Steagall was passed) , which in turn caused a run on American banks.

Russia Says May Build Nuclear Power Plant in Syria -- Russia may help build a nuclear power plant in Syria, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko told Reuters on Tuesday as the Kremlin moved to strengthen ties with a Soviet-era ally in the Middle East.

Challenger Investigation Got $175 Million, Columbia $152 Million, Lewinsky $30 Million, 9/11 $15 Million, Financial Crisis Gets Only $8 Million -- And how much has the government authorized for the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission? You know, the commission charged with getting to the bottom of what caused the financial crisis?

Influenza Vaccine Sends Children Into Convulsions -- Influenza vaccines have sent 57 children into life-threatening convulsions, reports The Age out of Australia. These influenza vaccines were being give to children under five to "protect" them from seasonal flu, but after receiving the shots, these children started going into convulsions.

Vitamin K Protects Against Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma -- Non-Hodgkin lymphomas belong to a large group of immune system cancers involving lymphocytes (white blood cells).

Call for Ban on BPA Chemical in Baby Bottles -- Seven leading scientists have sent a letter to the United Kingdom's Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, urging him to ban the use of the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) in products intended for use in feeding infants.

Resignation of top Pharma Lobbyist Reveals Deep Corruption of Health Care Reform Process -- The President and CEO of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Billy Tauzin, recently announced that he will be resigning from the organization on June 30, 2010. The organization, which represents top drug companies like Pfizer and Merck, has been one of the primary backers of the Democrats' health care reform legislation, making Tauzin's resignation a significant setback.

Schwarzenegger Preps 'Terrible Cuts' to Close Deficit -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will seek “terrible cuts” to eliminate an $18.6 billion budget deficit facing the most-populous U.S. state through June 2011, his spokesman said.

VIDEO: Mojave Cross Mystery


Today In History Wednesday May 12, 2010
1780 - Charleston, South Carolina fell to British forces.
1831 - Edward Smith became the first indicted bank robber in the U.S.
1847 - William Clayton invented the odometer.
1870 - Manitoba entered the Confederation as a Canadian province.
1881 - Tunisia, in North Africa became a French protectorate.
1885 - In the Battle of Batoche, French Canadians rebelled against the Canadian government.
1926 - The airship Norge became the first vessel to fly over the North Pole.
1926 - In Britain, a general strike by trade unions ended. The strike began on May 3, 1926.
1932 - The infant body of Charles and Anna Lindbergh's son was found just a few miles from the Lindbergh home near Hopewell, NJ.
1937 - Britain's King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey.
1940 - The Nazi conquest of France began with the German army crossing Muese River.
1942 - The Soviet Army launched its first major offensive of World War II and took Kharkov in the eastern Ukraine from the German army.
1943 - The Axis forces in North Africa surrendered during World War II.
1949 - The Soviet Union announced an end to the Berlin Blockade.
1950 - The American Bowling Congress abolished its white males-only membership restriction after 34 years.
1965 - West Germany and Israel exchanged letters establishing diplomatic relations.
1975 - U.S. merchant ship Mayaguez was seized by Cambodian forces in international waters.
1978 - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that they would no longer exclusively name hurricanes after women.
1982 - South Africa unveiled a plan that would give voting rights to citizens of Asian and mixed-race descent, but not to blacks.
1984 - South African prisoner Nelson Mandela saw his wife for the first time in 22 years.
1992 - Four suspects were arrested in the beating of trucker Reginald Denny at the start of the Los Angeles riots.
1999 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin dismissed Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and named Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin as his successor.
2002 - Former U.S. President Carter arrived in Cuba for a visit with Fidel Castro. It was the first time a U.S. head of state, in or out of office, had gone to the island since Castro's 1959 revolution.
2003 - In Texas, fifty-nine Democratic lawmakers went into hiding over a dispute with Republican's over a congressional redistricting plan.
2008 - In the U.S., the price for a one-ounce First-Class stamp increased from 41 to 42 cents.

Nuts May Help Lower Cholesterol Levels -- Eating nuts improves cholesterol and other blood lipid levels, which may help stave off heart disease, researchers found.

Testing Your Genes, Right at the Drugstore -- Personal Genetics Tests Can Determine Risks for Cancer and Diabetes, but Critics Worry What Patients Will Do with the News. In a controversial move, the company's genetic tests will now be sold in 6,500 Walgreens stores as of Friday.

EU to set up rescue fund for euro-zone members -- EURO-ZONE LEADERS opened the door for the immediate creation of a permanent rescue fund for distressed euro countries and for the European Central Bank to buy government bonds.

Organic milk: Pint of the right stuff -- Campaigners say swapping regular milk for organic could transform Britain's wildlife. But can pesticide-free dairy farming offer the huge benefits its advocates claim?

Cause of Plunge Elusive as Circuit Breakers Pushed -- A big U.S. exchange operator said on Tuesday there was no "smoking gun" to explain Thursday's mysterious market plunge, while regulators and exchanges solidified plans to adopt circuit breakers.

Iraq Boosts Security After Deadliest Day This Year -- Iraqi forces beefed up checkpoints, conducted house-to-house searches and rifled through cars Tuesday looking for suspects behind a devastating string of attacks across the country that killed 119 people a day earlier.

UN Rights Experts Criticize Arizona Law -- Arizona's new law on illegal immigration could violate international standards that are binding in the United States, six U.N. human rights experts said Tuesday.

US Orders Blackout Over North Korean Torpedoing of Gulf of Mexico Oil Rig -- A grim report circulating in the Kremlin today written by Russia’s Northern Fleet is reporting that the United States has ordered a complete media blackout over North Korea’s torpedoing of the giant Deepwater Horizon oil platform owned by the World’s largest offshore drilling contractor Transocean that was built and financed by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., that has caused great loss of life, untold billions in economic damage to the South Korean economy, and an environmental catastrophe to the United States.

EU Emission VAT Fraud Investigation -- Cap and trade just ended in a giant farce. This is just too funny. The whole trading system turns out to be driven almost solely by skimming taxes.

Andy Stearn Leaves SEIU $85 Million in Debt, Joins Obama's Deficit Commission -- Andy Stern, Chief Thug President of the infamous Service Employees International Union, more commonly known as SEIU, left the union $85 million in the hole when he resigned.

Elena Kagan: The Latest on What is Being Unearthed -- The case concerned a statute that made it criiminally unlawful to depict animal cruelty. The Court rejected Kagan’s reasoning, but had the justices accepted her assertion, it would have effectively repealed the First Amendment’s protection of speech and replaced it by granting government the authority to decide what speech should be permitted.

VIDEO: 'Knowing" Movie and the Oil Rig Explosion in the Gulf of Mexico

Is Photo Radar Affecting the 2010 Census in Arizona? -- By now, almost everyone in Arizona knows that you must be served with a photo ticket for it to be legally valid.

World Health Organization Moving Ahead on Billions in Internet and Other Taxes -- The World Health Organization is moving full speed ahead with a controversial plan to impose billions of dollars in global consumer taxes on such things as Internet activity and everyday financial transactions like paying bills online — while its spending soars and its own financial house is in disarray.

Obama's Supreme Pick Kagan is a Bankster Operative -- Democrats are going gaa-gaa over Obama’s Supreme pick Elena Kagan. “Democrats praised Kagan as ‘razor sharp’ and impeccably qualified for the lifetime appointment on the nine-member bench, but Republicans promised to vigorously vet a ’surprising’ choice, noting she had never been a judge,” reports Agence France-Presse.

Starving Yogi Astounds Scientists -- An 83-year-old Indian holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water has astounded a team of military doctors who studied him during a two-week observation period.

Ron Paul Backs Fed Audit Compromise -- No politician has been more closely associated with the populist assault on the Fed over the last few decades than Dr. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Republican congressman from Texas.

Beneath the Surface - Nashville's Flood of 2010 -- The rain came on May Day without mercy, drenching Middle Tennessee for nearly two days. The downpour finally let up on Sunday—May 2—immediately drawing disaster-tourists with cameras in hand.

Five Dead, dozens Injured in Oklahoma Tornadoes -- Violent weather flipped mobile homes and sent baseball-size hail crashing through windshields, officials said.

Oil Spill Swells to 4 Million Gallons -- Black Hawk helicopters peppered Louisiana's barrier islands with 1-ton sacks of sand Monday to bolster the state's crucial wetlands against an epic oil spill, 4 million gallons and growing, in the Gulf of Mexico.

As Tennessee Copes With Flooding Disaster, FEMA Faces Own Financial Crisis -- This little noticed story is a huge heads up. I have warned for years both with news items and in Dare To Prepare that government and charities are getting harder pressed to deliver aid due to manpower shortage and funds depletion. This becomes more critical as government spends us into the ground while bailing out other countries.

Fannie Mae Seeks $8.4 Billion in Taxpayer Aid After First Quarter Loss -- Fannie Mae has again asked taxpayers for more money -- this time $8.4 billion -- after reporting another steep loss for the first quarter. The taxpayer bill for rescuing Fannie and its sibling Freddie Mac has grown to $145 billion -- and the final tally could be much higher.

Presidential Cancer Advisors Find Courage to Warn About Environmental Risks of Cancer Chemicals -- When a government panel of experts finds the courage to tell the truth about cancer, it's an event so rare that it becomes newsworthy.

Terminal Cancer Patients Spend Final Days Suffering From Radiation Therapy That Does Nothing -- A new analysis just published in the journal Cancer concludes that a significant proportion of terminally ill cancer patients spend most of their final days and weeks subjected to grueling radiation therapy (radiotherapy).

Curcumin and Black Pepper Combine to Stop Breast Cancer Tumor Cells -- Natural chemicals found in the spices turmeric and black pepper appear to stop the growth of breast tumors, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

Children's Temper Tantrums to be Reclassified as Disorders -- Proposed changes to the U.S. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) could include reclassifying childhood temper tantrums, teenage angst, and binge eating as psychiatric disorders.

CVS pharmacies Selling Expired Products -- CVS drug stores are becoming notorious for leaving expired food and drug products on their shelves, a practice some critics claim is deliberate and widespread.

AFP Editor Reports On Secret Gathering of Trilats in Ireland -- AFP has learned that the advance staff of the Trilateral Commission (TC), appearing here at the Four Seasons resort in Dublin on May 6, appeared gloomy. In other years, they had shown a more festive mood as they prepared for the arrival of 300 high officials of Europe and North America and international financiers to plan the global economy behind closed doors.

HPD: Man Killed in Home Invasion After Suspect Poses as Census Worker -- A man was killed and his family members beaten after three suspects barged into a north Houston home Saturday afternoon, police said.


Today In History Tuesday May 11, 2010
1792 - The Columbia River was discovered by Captain Robert Gray.
1812 - British prime Minster Spencer Perceval was shot by a bankrupt banker in the lobby of the House of Commons.
1857 - Indian mutineers seized Delhi from the British.
1858 - Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd U.S. state.
1860 - Giuseppe Garibaldi landed at Marsala, Sicily.
1894 - Workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company in Illinois went on strike.
1910 - Glacier National Park in Montana was established.
1927 - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded.
1934 - A severe two-day dust storm stripped the topsoil from the great plains of the U.S. and created a "Dust Bowl." The storm was one of many.
1944 - A major offensive was launched by the allied forces in central Italy.
1947 - The creation of the tubeless tire was announced by the B.F. Goodrich Company.
1949 - Siam changed its name to Thailand.
1967 - The siege of Khe Sanh ended.
1985 - More than 50 people died when a flash fire swept a soccer stadium in Bradford, England.
1995 - The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty was extended indefinitely. The treaty limited the spread of nuclear material for military purposes.
1998 - India conducted its first underground nuclear tests, three of them, in 24 years. The tests were in violation of a global ban on nuclear testing.
1998 - A French mint produced the first coins of Europe's single currency. The coin is known as the euro.
2001 - U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced his decision to approve a 30-day delay of the execution of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. McVeigh had been scheduled to be executed on May 16, 2001. The delay was because the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had failed to disclose thousands of documents to McVeigh's defense team.

Can anyone explain these anomalies? -- Relating to the Nashville floods - Radar anomalies over southern states.

Obama Administration Targets Military for Pay Reductions -- President Barack Obama — who came to power with the help of government employee unions across the nation and has lavished on them hundreds of billions in stimulus funds to keep them on federal, state and local payrolls with no strings attached — is moving to cut spending on salaries for military personnel.

Fed Set to Go Nuke to Help Bailout Europe -- The Federal Reserve has announced that it will re-establish the temporary U.S. dollar liquidity swap facilities with the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the Swiss National Bank that it first implemented in the early part of the financial crisis.

EU Crafts $962 Billion Show of Force to Halt Crisis -- European policy makers unveiled an unprecedented loan package worth almost $1 trillion and a program of bond purchases to stop a sovereign-debt crisis that threatened to shatter confidence in the euro.

Fannie Mae: $11.5 Billion Loss, Sees No Profits for "Indefinite Future' -- Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) reported a net loss of $11.5 billion in the first quarter of 2010, compared with a net loss of $15.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Trend of US Mortgages Underwater Grows -- A growing percentage of U.S. homeowners were saddled with "underwater mortgages" in the first quarter, accounting for almost one in four homes in a trend that poses a serious threat to the housing market's recovery, real estate website Zillow.com said on Monday.

BP Sprays More Chemicals Into Main Gulf Oil Leak -- A remote-controlled submarine shot a chemical dispersant into the maw of a massive undersea oil leak Monday, further evidence BP expects the gusher to keep erupting into the Gulf of Mexico for weeks or more.

Obama Taps Kagan to Give Court Historic 3rd Female -- Introducing his Supreme Court nominee to the nation, President Barack Obama on Monday portrayed Elena Kagan as a guiding force for a fractured court and a champion of typical Americans. She would be the youngest justice on the court and give it three women for the first time in history.

Kagan Supported Detaining Terror Suspects Indefinitely Without Trial -- Elena Kagan, President Obama's selection for the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, says she supports holding terror suspects without trial -- indefinitely, in some cases.

Raw Milk Battle Reveals FDA Abandonment of Basic Human Right to Choose Food -- The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF), an organization whose mission includes "defending the rights and broadening the freedoms of family farms and protecting consumer access to raw milk and nutrient dense foods", recently filed a lawsuit against the FDA for its ban on interstate sales of raw milk.

A 'New Level' of Disaster: BP's 70 Ton Oil Containment Dome Floats, No Plan B -- With the impending threat of a growing oil slick just offshore, US Gulf coast states are seizing at all straws to avert disaster, with police in north Florida even suggesting protecting beaches with rolls of hay.

Video: LA Teacher Calls for Mexican Revolt in US

A Simple Way to Clean Up the Oil Spill -- CW Roberts employees demonstrating the use of hay to assist in a defense against the oil spill in the Gulf. This is the method that is included in the Walton County Plan of Action.

Pakistani Taliban Behind Times Square Bomb Plot -- The investigation into the Times Square bomb plot has revealed that the Pakistani Taliban were behind the failed attack, top Obama administration officials said Sunday.

Cyber Attack Could 'Fell' US in 15 Minutes -- The US must prepare itself for a full-scale cyber attack which could cause death and destruction across the country in less than 15 minutes, the former anti-terrorism Tsar to Bill Clinton and George W Bush has warned

Utah Uses Eminent Domain to Seize Land of Uncle Sam -- A new eminent domain law in Utah authorizes seizure of some of the federal government's vast land holdings. It's designed to pick a fight with Uncle Sam.

Pedophile Symbols and Codes -- "I recently posted a comment left by a supposed self-proclaimed pedophile, in which he suggests my pedophile symbol collection is outdated by listing variants he and his ilk often use to fool the public."


Today In History Monday May 10, 2010
1775 - Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold led an attack on the British Fort Ticonderoga and captured it from the British.
1794 - Elizabeth, the sister of King Louis XVI, was beheaded.
1796 - Napoleon Bonaparte won a brilliant victory against the Austrians at Lodi bridge in Italy.
1840 - Mormon leader Joseph Smith moved his band of followers to Illinois to escape the hostilities they had experienced in Missouri.
1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union troops near Irvinville, GA.
1872 - Victoria Woodhull became the first woman nominated for the U.S. presidency.
1898 - A vending machine law was enacted in Omaha, NE. It cost $5,000 for a permit.
1924 - J. Edgar Hoover was appointed head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
1933 - The Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany.
1940 - Germany invaded Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
1941 - England's House of Commons was destroyed by a German air raid.
1941 - Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's deputy, parachuted into Scotland on what he claimed was a peace mission.
1942 - U.S. forces in the Philippines began to surrender to the Japanese.
1943 - U.S. troops invaded Attu in the Aleutian Islands to expel the Japanese.
1960 - The U.S.S. Triton completed the first circumnavigation of the globe under water. The trip started on February 16.
1968 - Preliminary Vietnam peace talks began in Paris.
1986 - Navy Lt. Commander Donnie Cochran became the first black pilot to fly with the Blue Angels team.
1994 - The state of Illinois executed convicted serial killer John Wayne Gacy for the murders of 33 young men and boys.
1994 - Nelson Mandela was sworn in as South Africa’s first black president.
1997 - An earthquake in northeastern Iran killed at least 2,400 people.
1999 - China broke off talks on human rights with the U.S. in response to NATO's accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia.
2000 - 11,000 residents were evacuated in Los Alamos, NM, due to a fire that was blown into a canyon. The fire had been deliberately set to clear brush.
2001 - Boeing Co. announced that it would be moving its headquarters to Chicago, IL.
2001 - In Ghana, 121 people were killed in a stampede at a soccer game.
2002 - Robert Hanssen was sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole. Hanssen, an FBI agent, had sold U.S. secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
2002 - Taiwan test fired a locally made Sky Bow II surface-to-air missile for the first time. They also fired three U.S.-made Hawk missiles.
2002 - Dr. Pepper announced that it would be introducing a new flavor, Red Fusion, for the first time in 117 years.

VIDEO: Check out what these two farmers prove here!! -- A Simple Way To Clean Up The Oil Spill In The Gulf

EU Pulls Out Nuclear Option: Proposed 500 Billion Euro Bail Out Package Is Largest In History -- Germany proposed on Sunday evening the establishment of a comprehensive plan of financial aid can be used for countries in the euro area, totaling 500 billion euros and involves the IMF, told AFP European diplomatic source. Read More...

Attorney General Blasted for Wanting to 'Kill Miranda Rights' -- The Obama administration has been criticized by conservatives for providing the failed Times Square bomber his Miranda rights hours after he was taken into custody.

Internal parasite removal with calcium bentonite clay -- The vast majority of Americans in today's society have parasites. I'm talking about hookworms, pinworms, roundworms, tapeworms, and countless other nasty creatures. Read More...!!!  (The Power Mall carries Bentonite Clay)
 * Related Article: Symptoms: Parasites in Your Body

US Gulf Oil Spill Spreads West Toward Texas -- BP Plc engineers desperately explored options on Sunday to control oil gushing from a ruptured well deep under the Gulf of Mexico after a setback with a huge undersea containment dome fueled fears of a prolonged and growing environmental disaster.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's Mussolini-Like Internet Power Grab -- “Fascism” was a much overused term 2001-09 by the Left. In 2010, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is accomplishing by dictatorial fiat what can’t be accomplished by legislation or through the courts: the heavy-handed and complete regulation of the Internet. This is not rhetoric: this is what real Fascism looks like.

Feds Probing JPMorgan Trades in Silver Pit -- Federal agents have launched parallel criminal and civil probes of JPMorgan Chase and its trading activity in the precious metals market, The Post has learned.

2010 Annual Trilateral Commission Held This Weekend -- Overshadowed by the on-going financial crisis is this weekend's annual meeting of the Trilateral Commission a semi-secretive organization that has promoted globalization for several decades.

Tainted Nuke Plant Water Reaches NJ Aquifer -- Radioactive water that leaked from the nation's oldest nuclear power plant has now reached a major underground aquifer that supplies drinking water to much of southern New Jersey, the state's environmental chief said Friday.

Earthquake Hits Indonesia's Province of Aceh -- Indonesia has issued a tsunami alert after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck near the province of Aceh.

Medvedev: Chance of New World War Exist -- As Russia celebrates Victory Day over Nazi Germany, the Russian President gives his views on that historic conflict to the correspondent of the Russian newspaper “Izvestia”

The 'Real' Unemployment Rate Jumps to 17.1% -- The BLS's U-6 number, which is sometimes called the "real" unemployment rate, because it takes into discouraged workers who aren't looking for work ticked up in April from 16.9% to 17.1%.

Stock Market Collapse: More Goldman Market Rigging -- Last week, Goldman Sachs was on the congressional hot seat, grilled for fraud in its sale of complicated financial products called “synthetic CDOs.”

Food-Stamp Tally Nears 40 Million, Sets Record -- Nearly 40 million Americans received food stamps -- the latest in an ever-higher string of record enrollment that dates from December 2008 and the U.S. recession, according to a government update.

Romania Braces for Austerity -- ROMANIA braced on Friday for a wave of protests after the president unveiled austerity cuts in public sector wages and pensions to meet a deficit target set by the IMF and avoid a Greek emergency scenario.

Plan for Congressional Audits of Fed Dies in Senate -- Last-minute maneuvering in the Senate allowed the Federal Reserve to sidestep legislation that would have exposed its interest-rate decision-making to congressional auditors.

The Cover-Up: BP's Crude Politics and the Looming Environmental Mega-Disaster -- WMR has been informed by sources in the US Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Florida Department of Environmental Protection that the Obama White House and British Petroleum (BP), which pumped $71,000 into Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign — more than John McCain or Hillary Clinton, are covering up the magnitude of the volcanic-level oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and working together to limit BP’s liability for damage caused by what can be called a “mega-disaster.”

Amazing Audio From the S&P 500 Pits As the Market Goes Into Complete Collapse -- Amazing audio from the epicenter of the crash yesterday from Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge.

Greek Protesters Encircle Parliament as New Austerity Measures Approved -- Tens of thousands of Greek citizens marched in the center of Athens on Thursday afternoon, encircling the parliament building, while inside the bill on the new austerity measures was approved.

CIA Allowed to Kill Terrorist Suspects Without Identification -- The CIA received secret permission to attack a wider range of targets, including suspected militants whose names are not known, as part of a dramatic expansion of its campaign of drone strikes in Pakistan's border region, current and former counter-terrorism officials say.

Whistleblower: BP Risks More Massive Catastrophes in Gulf -- A former contractor who worked for BP claims the oil conglomerate broke federal laws and violated its own internal procedures by failing to maintain crucial safety and engineering documents related to one of the firms other deepwater production projects in the Gulf of Mexico, according to internal emails and other documents obtained by Truthout.

Rep. Andre Carson: Tea Party Protesters Are 'One of the Largest Threats to Our Internal Security' -- As our readers have already learned, Rep. Andre Carson gathered Capitol Hill reporters around him and told the tale of racial slurs and menacing crowds on the verge of hurling rocks at the congressmen.

New Recycling Bins With Tracking Chips Coming to Virginia -- Alexandria residents soon will have to pay for larger home recycling bins featuring built-in monitoring devices.

Why Did CBS Scrub a Story About Army Spy Planes Capturing the Times Square Bomber? -- Don’t ask me who this person is, but he responded. He calls his response a SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess), but let’s just say that this person’s wild ass guess would be much more informed on these matters than your or my wild ass guesses would be.

When Will Tim Geithner, Who Has The 'Biggest Conflict of Interest', Recuse Himself of Fed Audit Deliberations? -- Alan Grayson storms back to the stage by asking just why is Tim Geithner, who has the biggest conflict of interest when it comes to Fed matters, even be allowed to have an opinion on Fed transparency issues.

Raw Milk Battle Reveals FDA Abandonment of Basic Human Right to Choose Your Food -- The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF), an organization whose mission includes "defending the rights and broadening the freedoms of family farms and protecting consumer access to raw milk and nutrient dense foods", recently filed a lawsuit against the FDA for its ban on interstate sales of raw milk.

Dead Doctors Still Making Millions From Medicare Billings -- Medicare issued as much as $92 million in payments between 2000 and 2007 for medical procedures or devices ordered under the names of doctors who had already died, according to a 2008 Senate committee report.

Companies Exploding Socially-Networked Children to Push Junk Like Drug Dealers -- In response to recent bans on junk food advertising in the U.K., junk food manufacturers like Fanta, which is part of Coca-Cola, have found a loophole to the restriction.

Alzheimer's Drug Clinical Trail Halted After Nine Deaths -- Elan Corp. and Transition Pharmaceuticals have called a premature halt on trials on the two highest doses of their experimental Alzheimer's drug ELND005 after the deaths of nine study participants.

FDA Continues Dragging Its Feet on Bisphenol-A Decision -- The FDA has missed three self-imposed deadlines to re-evaluate its approval of the endocrine-disrupting chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA), after originally promising in June 2009 to deliver a finding in "weeks not months."

Drinking Coffee May Lower the Risk of Severe Form of Prostate Cancer -- Men who drink coffee regularly may reduce their risk of the most dangerous form of prostate cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers from Harvard Medical School and presented at a Houston conference of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Drink to Your Kidney Health With Lemonade to Avoid Kidney Stones -- Kidney stones are solid pieces of material that form in a kidney. They can stay there or they may travel down the urinary tract until they are eliminated naturally. Unfortunately, kidney stones can also get stuck in the ureter, bladder or urethra.

Holder: Feds May Sue Over Arizona Immigration Law -- Attorney General Eric Holder said Sunday that the Justice Department was considering a federal lawsuit against Arizona's new immigration law.


Today in History Friday May 7, 2010
1789 - The first U.S. Presidential Inaugural Ball was held in New York City.
1800 - The U.S. Congress divided the Northwest Territory into two parts. The western part became the Indiana Territory and the eastern section remained the Northwest Territory.
1847 - The AMA (American Medical Association) was founded in Philadelphia.
1912 - Columbia University approved final plans for awarding the Pulitzer Prize in several categories.
1912 - The first airplane equipped with a machine gun flew over College Park, MD.
1926 - A U.S. report showed that one-third of the nation's exports were motors.
1939 - Germany and Italy announced a military and political alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.
1940 - Winston Churchill became British Prime Minister.
1942 - In the Battle of the Coral Sea, Japanese and American navies attacked each other with carrier planes. It was the first time in the history of naval warfare where two enemy fleets fought without seeing each other.
1943 - The last major German strongholds in North Africa, Tunis and Bizerte, fell to Allied forces.
1945 - Germany signed unconditional surrender ending World War II. It would take effect the next day.
1946 - Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corp. was founded. The company was later renamed Sony.
1951 - Russia was admitted to participate in the 1952 Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee.
1954 - French Colonial Forces surrendered to the Vietminh at Dien Bien Phu after 55 days of fighting.
1954 - The United States and the United Kingdom rejected the Soviet Union's bid to join NATO.
1960 - Leonid Brezhnev became president of the Soviet Union.
1975 - U.S. President Ford declared an end to the Vietnam War.
1984 - A $180 million out-of-court settlement was announced in the Agent Orange class-action suit brought by Vietnam veterans who claimed they had suffered injury from exposure to the defoliant while serving in the armed forces.
1992 - A 203-year-old proposed constitutional amendment barring the U.S. Congress from giving itself a midterm pay raise was ratified as the 27th Amendment.
1996 - The trial of Serbian police officer Dusan Tadic opened in the Netherlands. He was later convicted on murder-torture charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
1998 - Daimler-Benz bought Chrysler Corp. for close to $40 billion. It was the largest industrial merger on record.
1998 - Residents of London voted to elect their own mayor for the first time in history. The vote would take place in May 2000.
1999 - In Belgrade, Yugoslavia, three Chinese citizens were killed and 20 were wounded when a NATO plane mistakenly bombed the Chinese embassy.
1999 - In Guinea-Bissau, the government of President João Bernardo Vieira was ousted in a military coup.
2000 - Russian President Vladimir V. Putin named First Deputy Premier Mikhail Kasyanov as premier.
2003 - In Washington, DC, General Motors Corp. delivered six fuel cell vehicles to Capitol Hill for lawmakers and others to test drive during the next two years.

DOW SWINGS 1010 POINTS, 2ND LARGEST IN HISTORY -- A bad day in the financial markets was made worse by an apparent trading glitch, leaving traders and investors nervous and scratching their heads over how a mistake could send the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a 1,000-point tailspin.
 * Related Article: Selling Spree: Dow Dives 900 Points on Euro Fears -- The Dow plunged 900 points and was on track for its worst point drop ever as images of protests in Greece reinforced growing fears that Europe's sovereign debt crisis will spiral out of control and further damage the crumbling euro.


Overview of Cover Crops and Green Manures - Fundamentals of Sustainable Agriculture -- . In this publication, it summarizes the principal uses and benefits of cover crops and green manures. Brief descriptions and examples are provided for winter cover crops, summer green manures, living mulches, catch crops, and some forage crops.

VIDEO: Copy Machines, a Security Risk? -- This year marks the 50th anniversary of the good, old-fashioned copy machine. But, as Armen Keteyian reports, advanced technology has opened a dangerous hole in data security.

A Free Press for a Free People -- Independent conservative news website with an emphasis on aggressive investigative reporting. Founded by Joseph and Elizabeth Farah.

Romaine Lettuce Recall Details: E. Coli Linked To 23 States' Romaine Supply -- Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio, said it was recalling romaine lettuce sold under the Freshway and
Imperial Sysco brands in 23 states and the District of Columbia because of a possible link to E. coli.

California Kids Blasted for Wearing American Flag Shirts on Cinco de Mayo -- A handful of California students got an unexpected lesson at their high school this week: Don't wear your stars and stripes on Cinco de Mayo.
 * Related Article: Whose country is it, anyway? -- A group of California students who dared to wear the American flag on Cinco de Mayo learned a hard lesson about the corruption of citizenship and sovereignty this week. They were sent home for their show of U.S. patriotism.

Nashville Flooding: The Not-Ready For Prime Time Disaster -- Nashville TN has experienced what may be the largest non-hurricane disaster in U.S. history. Where’s the news coverage? It’s down at the Gulf, waiting for the spill to roll in. Meanwhile, Tennesseans are largely handling the aftermath by themselves.

Cincinnati-area foreclosure rates trend upward -- The March foreclosure rate for the metro area was 2.53 percent of all outstanding mortgage loans, according to a news release. That compares with 1.95 percent in March 2009. The 90-day delinquency rate rose to 6.67 percent from 4.75 percent in March 2009.

Freddie Mac Reports First Quarter 2010 Financial Results -- First quarter 2010 net loss was $6.7 billion. Net loss attributable to common stockholders was $8.0 billion, or $2.45 per diluted common share, reflecting $1.3 billion in senior preferred stock dividend payments to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury).

National Institutes of Health panel foolishly insists Alzheimer's can't be prevented (are they demented?) -- An independent panel of supposed experts recently met at the National Institutes of Health near Washington, D.C., to discuss whether or not Alzheimer's Disease can be prevented through dietary and lifestyle changes. After evaluating a handful of studies that deal with the subject, the panel basically concluded that there is no way to avoid Alzheimer's Disease. Either that, or they all forgot to bring their science notes and couldn't remember what to say, so they defaulted to their traditional "It's not proven" mantra and ended the conference early.

Urban Farming Issue Draws Dozens To City Hall - Kansas City, MO -- Kansas City is mulling the idea of letting so-called urban farmers sell produce from their homes. Dozens of people showed up for a Planning and Zoning Committee meeting at City Hall Wednesday afternoon. Read More...

'Phantom Tumors': a Growing, Painful Epidemic in Children -- Ever heard of a phantom brain tumor, or pseudotumor cerebri? A fast-growing number of mostly adolescents and some younger children are being diagnosed with this puzzling and complex condition that appears to be - but is not - a tumor. The symptoms are characterized by chronically increased pressure in the head and include severe headaches, dizziness and, in the most debilitating cases, loss of eyesight. With a frightening number of children - 80 last year alone - diagnosed at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, the facility recently launched the first clinic in the country dedicated to treating pseudotumors in children.

Use Your Favorite Plants To Repel Mosquitoes -- Summer is just around the corner. It is not too late to begin growing some herbs and flowers that can serve mulitple purposes. All of your guests will be thanking you for your thoughtfulness and forethought of keeping the nagging mosquitoes away during their visit!

Retail Sales Confirm That Wall Street Got Way Too Optimistic About the Recovery -- After March same store retail sales (SSS) rose by a 9.1% year over year thanks to an early Easter, analysts had far more subdued expectations of 1.7% growth for April according to Reuters.

Dead Man Walking...The Euro is Finished -- One of the incidents that I remember from my youth was the first time I saw a chicken slaughtered and running around headless for quite a few minutes before it keeled over and died. The euro is at that stage.

Couple Arrested At US Border For Asking Questions -- In another perfect illustration of why the U.S. tourist industry is in free fall, audio has emerged of a Canadian couple who were interrogated and arrested by immigration officials after they dared to inquire as to why they were being asked such pointless and invasive questions.

New Airport Security high-tech screener triggered fight over manhood insult -- A Transportation Security Administration screener is facing an assault rap after he allegedly beat a co-worker who joked about the size of the man's genitalia after he walked through a security scanner.

Last Navy SEAL acquitted of abusing Iraqi terrorist -- He was the only one of the three charged with actual assault, and even so, it took just an hour and 40 minutes to acquit him.

Euro Bank CDS Go Vertical -- Major European banks are feeling the pressure from the Greek crisis and starting to show significant signs of market worry in their CDS. BNP Paribas, which has seen its CDS dramatically rise throughout April, announced $6.4 billion in exposure to the Greek market this morning.

Seriously, Democrats, Can You Get Any Creepier Than the BELIEVE Program? -- As part of a comprehensive Immigration bill, Democrats are planning to make everyone who wants to work in this country get a national ID embedded with biometric data. This will be a requirement for both citizens and immigrants.

Chokecherry Extract Regulates Weight -- Where I grew up the chokecherry was an indigenous weed tree that was the main occupant of the old fence rows.

Modern Sex Slave Trade Numbers -- These numbers come of a site that is tackling the problem of human trafficking for the sex trade and their numbers are certainly rough estimates. It does show us the present scope of outright modern slavery.

UK Budget Deficit 'To Surpass Greece' As Worst in EU -- European commission's spring forecasts put UK budget deficit this year at 12% of GDP – the highest in the European Union and worse than Treasury estimates.

Times Square Bomber Linked With CIA -- A man arrested in Pakistan in connection with the Times Square car bombing attempt who had traveled with accused bomber Faisal Shahzad is a member of a terrorist organization that is controlled by British MI6 and the CIA.

VIDEO: Bloomberg: Deny Second Amendment to People on Terror Watch List

Freddie Mac Asks US For $10 Billion As Losses Pile Up -- Freddie Mac, the bailed-out mortgage-finance giant, reported Wednesday that it continues to lose money and needs an additional $10.6 billion in assistance from U.S. taxpayers.

Extending the Life of Donated Organs -- The 100,000-plus U.S. patients waiting for organ transplants face a perilous race against time.

Wal-Mart Toxic dumping Case: $27 Million -- Walmart has agreed to pay $27.6 million to settle a lawsuit over waste-handling violations in stores throughout the state -- including improper disposal of hazardous waste in Orange County.

Obama: 'Begin' Immigration This Year -- President Obama repeated his call for "common sense comprehensive immigration reform" on Wednesday during the White House's Cinco de Mayo reception.

Poisonous Chemicals Used to Fight Gulf Oil Slick -- As they struggle to plug a leak from a ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, BP and federal officials are also engaging in one of the largest and most aggressive experiments with chemical dispersants in the history of the country, and perhaps the world.

China May 'Crash' in Next 9 to 12 Months -- Investor Marc Faber said China’s economy will slow and possibly “crash” within a year as declines in stock and commodity prices signal the nation’s property bubble is set to burst.

New Research Shows Grapes Reduce Risk for Heart Disease and Diabetes -- The millions of Americans with heart disease and type 2 diabetes didn't develop these diseases out of the blue.

Drug Side Effects 'Neglected, Restricted, Distorted and Silenced' -- New research shows that information on potentially lethal side effects of the blockbuster painkiller Vioxx was "neglected, restricted, distorted and silenced" by pharmaceutical giant Merck, writes London-based physician and author John Briffa in The Epoch Times.

Chocolate Can Help Prevent Strokes -- Researchers from the University of Toronto recently conducted a study in which they observed measurable health benefits in people who eat chocolate. The study involved roughly 50,000 participants and it revealed that those who eat a serving of chocolate a week are 22 percent less likely to suffer a stroke.

New Hampshire Police Investigate Bomb Threat on Bus -- Police say all passengers but one on a Greyhound bus involved in a New Hampshire bomb scare have been safely removed and that the one person still aboard is being questioned.


Today in History Thursday May 6, 2010
1835 - James Gordon Bennett published the "New York Herald" for the first time.
1840 - The first adhesive postage stamps went on sale in Great Britain.
1851 - The mechanical refrigerator was patented by Dr. John Gorrie.
1851 - Linus Yale patented the clock-type lock.
1861 - Arkansas became the ninth state to secede from the Union.
1877 - Chief Crazy Horse surrendered to U.S. troops in Nebraska.
1882 - The U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. The act barred Chinese immigrants from the U.S. for 10 years.
1889 - The Universal Exposition opened in Paris, France, marking the dedication of the Eiffel Tower. Also at the exposition was the first automobile in Paris, the Mercedes-Benz.
1915 - Babe Ruth hit his first major league home run while playing for the Boston Red Sox.
1937 - The German airship Hindenburg crashed and burned in Lakehurst, NJ. Thirty-six people (of the 97 on board) were killed.
1941 - Joseph Stalin assumed the Soviet premiership.
1941 - Bob Hope gave his first USO show at California's March Field.
1942 - During World War II, the Japanese seized control of the Philippines. About 15,000 Americans and Filipinos on Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese.
1946 - The New York Yankees became the first major league baseball team to travel by plane.
1957 - U.S. Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his book "Profiles in Courage".
1959 - The Pablo Picasso painting of a Dutch girl was sold for $154,000 in London. It was the highest price paid (at the time) for a painting by a living artist.
1960 - U.S. President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
1962 - The first nuclear warhead was fired from the Polaris submarine.
1981 - A jury of international architects and sculptors unanimously selected Maya Ying Lin's entry for the design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
1994 - The Channel officially opened. The tunnel under the English Channel links England and France.
1994 - Former Arkansas state worker Paula Jones filed suit against U.S. President Clinton. The case alleged that he had sexually harassed her in 1991.
1997 - Army Staff Sgt. Delmar G. Simpson was sentenced to 25 years in prison for raping six trainees at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
1997 - Four health-care companies agreed to a settlement of $600 million to hemophiliacs who had contracted AIDS from tainted blood between 1978-1985.
1999 - Britain's Labour Party won the largest number of seats in the first elections for Scotland's new Parliament and Wales' new Assembly.
1999 - A parole board in New York voted to release Amy Fisher. She had been in jail for 7 years for shooting her lover's wife, Mary Jo Buttafuoco, in the face.
2001 - Chandra Levy's parents reported her missing to police in Washington, DC. Levy's body was found on May 22, 2002 in Rock Creek Park.

Power outages slow Nashville flood cleanup -- Residents and volunteers in Nashville Wednesday dug through ruined possessions, mud and debris inundating flood-hit homes and businesses, with the recovery from deadly weekend storms hampered by power outages. Nearly 1,000 people in Tennessee were living in emergency shelters, according to the Red Cross, and 10,000 were without power. This affected WWCR & their employees. Please keep them in your prayers for a speedy recovery to this disaster!

More American Expatriates Give Up Citizenship -- Amid mounting frustration over taxation and banking problems, small but growing numbers of overseas Americans are taking the weighty step of renouncing their citizenship. "What we have seen is a substantial change in mentality among the overseas community in the past two years," said Jackie Bugnion, director of American Citizens Abroad, an advocacy group based in Geneva. "Before, no one would dare mention to other Americans that they were even thinking of renouncing their U.S. nationality. Now, it is an openly discussed issue."

The Housing Bubble Blog: A Perfect Wave Morphed Into A Perfect Storm -- Millions of Americans facing foreclosure have turned to the government for help but a congressional report is showing mortgage aid programs aren't doing much to help stop the housing crisis. For every person who got help, 10 others lost their homes. Here in El Paso County about 54-hundred families foreclosed last year.

Chicago apartments buildings: 125 foreclosures a week -- More than 125 apartment buildings in Chicago went into foreclosure each week of 2009, affecting tenants in more than 20,000 rental units, according to a new report. The study, by the Lawyers' Committee for Better Housing, found that 6,560 multi-unit rental buildings went into foreclosure last year, some 4,000 more filings than there were made for single-family homes and condominium units.

Greek Riots Threaten to Scare Tourists Key to Economy -- The protests and riots in Athens threaten to undermine tourism, one of Greece's few growth industries and the country's best hope of easing the pain of its unprecedented austerity program. "People will think twice about going to Greece," said Ian Gamse, a director at London-based Otus & Co., which advises Marriott International Inc. and Hilton Worldwide. "People who have booked are going to start calling their tour operators. If Greece can't get the situation under control, it is going to be a big problem."

Confirmed, White Substance Mailed to Governor Brewer -- I just spoke with Chief Andrew Staubitz of the Capitol Police in Phoenix, Arizona. This morning, police and the fire department responded to a call from the first floor of the executive tower of the Arizona Capitol.

Bureau of Land Management Was Doing An Surprise Inspection On Oil rig 2 Hours Before It Exploded -- Exclusive interview of Zac Zimmerman of Zimmerman Oil reveals little-known fact that the Bureau of Land Management was doing uncharacteristic surprise inspections the day of the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, and they were on THAT VERY RIG (Deepwater Horizon) just 2 HOURS before the disaster started!

Police Cameras to Flood Manhattan to Prevent Attacks -- New York officials say they could stop attacks like the attempted Times Square car bomb by expanding a controversial surveillance system so sensitive that it will pick up even suspicious behavior.

Less Educated Men Face Brutal Job Market -- It's hard to exaggerate how bad the job market is. Here's one arresting fact: One of every five men 25 to 54 isn't working.

Phoenix Suns to Wear 'Los Suns" on Jerseys on Cinco de Mayo -- The Phoenix Suns will wear "Los Suns" on their jerseys in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday night, owner Robert Sarver said, "to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation."

Town Bans Bottled Water Sales -- The town of Concord has banned the sale of bottled drinking water in town beginning in 2011.

European Union, Currency Are Headed for Collapse -- The current European debt crisis likely will not end until the euro collapses as a currency and takes the entire European Union with it, said Dennis Gartman, hedge fund manager and author of "The Gartman Letter."

Gun Control Politicians Pushing Gun Owner Black List -- Despite their patriotic-sounding name—the “Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009”—H.R. 2159 by Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) and S. 1317 by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) aren’t intended to contribute to the war on terrorism.

Huge Violent Riots in Greece, 20 People Trapped Inside Burning Athens Bank -- How on earth can you convince other countries to bail you out, when this is your reaction to budget cuts?

US Deploys 1000s Drones in Afghanistan -- The US is deploying thousands of drones in Afghanistan, raising suspicions as to whether the move is aimed at monitoring militants or targeting another country.

German Bank Exposure to Greece Is Nothing When Compared to Spain and Italy -- German banks' exposure to Greece is huge, at 33 billion euros as shown in the graphic from Der Spiegel below, but their exposure to Italy and Spain is far larger at 123.5 and 156.4 billion euros respectively.

Fed Documents Reveal Secret Lobbying Effort Against Audit Provisions -- The Federal Reserve is secretly engaged in an intense lobbying effort in an attempt to stave off moves to have the Government Accountability Office audit it, internal documents reveal.

Stocks, Euro Slide on Debt Concern; MSCI World Erases 2010 Gain -- The MSCI World Index of stocks erased its 2010 gain, the euro slid to a 14-month low and Treasuries rose as concern European nations will need to restructure debt outweighed growth in U.S. jobs and service industries.

London Telegraph Reports: Osama bin Laden 'Living in Luxury in Iran' -- Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted man, is living in the lap of luxury in an apartment in Iran and spends his time falconing, according to a new documentary.

Congressman Waxman Sneaks Anti-Vitamin Amendment Into Wall Street Reform Bill -- Of all the sneaky tactics practiced in Washington D.C., this recent action by Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) is one of the most insidious: While no one was looking, he injected amendment language into the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 4173) that would expand the powers of the FTC (not the FDA, but the FTC) to terrorize nutritional supplement companies by greatly expanding the power of the FTC to make its own laws that target dietary supplement companies.

Times Square Bomb Used Non-Explosive Fertilizer -- New York City police investigating a botched car bombing in Times Square say the bomb contained fertilizer that was incapable of exploding.

Bureau of Land Management was doing an surprise inspection on oil rig 2 hours before it exploded -- Exclusive interview of Zac Zimmerman of Zimmerman Oil reveals little-known fact that the Bureau of Land Management was doing uncharacteristic surprise inspections the day of the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, and they were on THAT VERY RIG (Deepwater Horizon) just 2 HOURS before the disaster started!

Americans Are Ratting Out Their Neighbors to the IRS at a Record Pace to Reap Cash Whistleblower Rewards -- Americans seeking reward money are turning in neighbors, clients and employers they suspect of cheating on taxes to the IRS at a rate of nearly eight per day, the director of the agency’s whistleblower program said.

US Food Prices 'Spiraling Out of Control' -- U.S. food prices jumped by 2.4% in March 2010 in the largest monthly leap in more than 26 years, and the sixth consecutive monthly increase.

FDA: Drug Maker McNeil Knew of Contamination -- Food and Drug Administration inspectors found in April that McNeil Consumer Healthcare, which has voluntarily recalled certain lots of its children's and infants' Tylenol products, knowingly used bacteria-contaminated materials to make them, a report posted Tuesday by the agency says.

Why Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt is So Much Better for Your Health Than Processed Table Salt -- If you've been reading NaturalNews for long, you've heard me talk about the importance of switching from processed table salt to a "full spectrum" salt. Table salt -- or "white salt" -- is to real salt as table sugar is to dehydrated cane juice. Both white table salt and white sugar are devoid of the full spectrum of minerals and other nutrients that protect and enhance your health.

Dairy Industry Pushing Hard to Outlaw Raw Milk -- The mainstream dairy industry has gone on the offensive against raw milk, aggressively lobbying Congress to impose further regulations upon unpasteurized milk producers.

Youtube Censors Video Interview With Jeffery Smith About GMO's -- Within hours after posting our video interview with Jeffrey Smith, creator of Seeds of Deception and author of Genetic Roulette, YouTube pulled the video. Attempts to play the video are now met with the following message: "This video has been removed due to terms of use violation."

GMO Alert: US Attempting Global Censorship of GMO Food Labeling -- I received an urgent alert from Jeffrey Smith today about a dangerous situation taking place right now at the international CODEX conference.

Would American Medicine Ever Follow Australia's Lead and Halt a Potentially Dangerous Vaccine? -- Shares of Australia's CSL plunged earlier this week after word that the influenza shot Fluvax is potentially dangerous for children and could be linked to hundreds of adverse reactions in that country. And experts are now saying that exposure to last year's swine flu outbreak may have predisposed children to the severe reactions they now are exhibiting in response to influenza vaccinations, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Disorganization at Banks Causing Mistaken Foreclosures -- Sometimes the communication breakdown within the banks is so complete that it leads to premature or mistaken foreclosures. Some homeowners, with the help of an attorney or housing counselor, have eventually been able to reverse a foreclosure. Others have lost their homes. Read More...

UK sends warships to rescue stranded Britons -- Britain sent Royal Navy warships on Monday to rescue those stranded across the Channel by the volcanic ash cloud, and the aviation industry blasted European transport officials, claiming there was "no coordination and no leadership" in the crisis that shut down most European airports for a fifth day.

Goldman Sachs steps up defence against $1bn fraud allegations -- Embattled Wall Street bank insists its actions were 'entirely appropriate' and says it will 'vigorously contest' the charges.

Nigerian President Yar'Adua has died -- Nigeria's ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua, who gave amnesty to armed militants in the troubled oil-rich Niger Delta region, died Wednesday, the country's information minister said. He was 58.

Our Undocumented White House Resident -- "Can anyone dispute this?"

French bread spiked with LSD in CIA experiment -- A 50-year mystery over the 'cursed bread' of Pont-Saint-Esprit, which left residents suffering hallucinations, has been solved after a writer discovered the US had spiked the bread with LSD as part of an experiment.

Italy hosts its first divorce fair -- Italy is holding its first divorce fair, offering services such as life coaching and beauty advice to a booming number of separating couples in the Catholic country. The organizers said the fair (www.puntoeacapo.it), which will be held in Milan on May 8-9, aims to help divorcing people start a new, happier life.


Today in History Wednesday May 5, 2010
1814 - The British attacked the American forces at Ft. Ontario, Oswego, NY.
1821 - Napoleon Bonaparte died on the island of St. Helena, where he had been in exile.
1834 - The first mainland railway line opened in Belgium.
1847 - The AMA (American Medical Association) was organized in Philadelphia, PA.
1862 - The Battle of Puebla took place. It is celebrated as Cinco de Mayo Day.
1865 - The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery in the U.S.
1886 - A bomb exploded on the fourth day of a workers' strike in Chicago, IL.
1891 - Music Hall was dedicated in New York City. It was later renamed Carnegie Hall.
1892 - The U.S. Congress extended the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act for 10 more years. The act required Chinese in the U.S. to be registered or face deportation.
1901 - The first Catholic mass for night workers was held at the Church of St. Andrew in New York City.
1904 - The third perfect game of the major leagues was thrown by Cy Young (Boston Red Sox) against the Philadelphia Athletics. It was the first perfect game under modern rules.
1912 - Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda began publishing.
1916 - U.S. Marines invaded the Dominican Republic.
1917 - Eugene Jacques Bullard becomes the first African-American aviator when he earned his flying certificate with the French Air Service.
1925 - John T. Scopes, a biology teacher in Dayton, TN, was arrested for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.
1926 - Eisenstein's film "Battleship Potemkin" was shown in Germany for the first time.
1926 - Sinclair Lewis refused a 1925 Pulitzer for "Arrowsmith."
1936 - Edward Ravenscroft received a patent for the screw-on bottle cap with a pour lip.
1942 - General Joseph Stilwell learned that the Japanese had cut his railway out of China and was forced to lead his troops into India.
1945 - The Netherlands and Denmark were liberated from Nazi control.
1945 - A Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon. A pregnant woman and five children were killed.
1955 - "Damn Yankees" opened on Broadway.
1955 - The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) became a sovereign state.
1956 - Jim Bailey became the first runner to break the four-minute mile in the U.S. He was clocked at 3:58.5.
1961 - Alan Shepard became the first American in space when he made a 15 minute suborbital flight.
1966 - Willie Mays broke the National League record for home runs when he hit his 512th.
1978 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds registered his 3,000th major league hit.
1981 - Irish Republican Army hunger-striker Bobby Sands died at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland. It was his 66th day without food.
1987 - The U.S. congressional Iran-Contra hearings opened.
1991 - In New York, Carnegie Hall marked its 100th anniversary.
1994 - Michael Fay was caned in Singapore for vandalism. He received four lashes.
2000 - The final episode of "Boy Meets World" aired on ABC.

Interesting articles regarding Faisal Shahzad - the Times Square Car Bomber:
 * NYC Bomber was on the No Fly List -- Security slip let suspect on plane, near takeoff!
 * Faisal Shahzad: Who is the terror suspect behind the Times Square car bomb? -- Follow the story - 25 different photos.
 * Faisal Shahzad, Times Sq. bomb suspect, nabbed within 'minutes' of escape; 2 held in Pakistan

Ron Paul Editorial: Congress Freezes Its Own Pay -- Of course, Congress ignores economic reality all the time. But if Congress can freeze salaries as a first step towards fiscal sanity, it can freeze - if not drastically cut - a vast array of federal expenditures. At the very least, Congress could freeze current spending levels, instead of constantly increasing them. We could stop increasing the debt ceiling every few months, as has become our habit. We could freeze regulations that add to the burden on our struggling small businesses. We could freeze intrusive bailouts that upset the balance of the market and cost us billions - billions we could instead use to eliminate the oppressive income tax! We could freeze the money supply and stave off the tsunami of inflation the Fed has been generating for years.

Komen Giving to Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Down as Donations Drop -- The amount of money Komen for the Cure gives to the Planned Parenthood abortion business in grants declined from 2008-2009. According to new research from pro-life activist Jill Stanek into Komen's annual report, Komen donations to Planned Parenthood is down slightly. The organization has had close ties to the abortion business for years. The Susan G. Komen Foundation decreased its giving to Planned Parenthood by 10% from 2008 to 2009. That's not much, but it may be an indication their bond is weakening," Stanek says.

China - the Gorilla in the 3rd gold war -- So how is the 'war' being fought covertly - on the one side by keeping the market off-balance avers Mylchreest. Intervention to prevent sharp upwards price movements which can cause continual price corrections and this can shake out weak holders. The 'war' is also being fought largely with paper gold rather than physical gold using futures and options.

Latest Update From My Serrapeptase Adventure - HealthSpace: Service, Security Risk And Confusion -- Sent by Mike Tawse (in UK)

Another ‘Mike Tawse Original’ Thought For The Day -- Every Day Holds A Gift.

Containment Fails: European CDS Explodes As Market Looks to Future Bail Outs, Bank Runs -- Now that Greece is thoroughly irrelevant, the market just told the ECB, the IMF, and the EMU to prepare another $1 trillion in bailout packages.

Strategic Defaults Accounted for 31% of Foreclosures -- Strategic default accounted for 31 percent of foreclosures during the first quarter of 2010, according to the Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index.

Ah, So Here's What's Going On In Europe: The Bailout is Already Not Enough, and Protesters Have Taken Over the Acropolis -- As we noted just a moment ago, you can usually reverse engineer the overnight news just by looking at a chart of the euro.

Why A Eurozone Break-Up Would Trigger the Mother Of All Financial Crises -- Barry Eichengreen, author of the National Bureau of Economic Research paper "The Breakup of the Euro Area", explains why joining the eurozone currencyunion is essentially irreversible.

Census Bureau Mindful of Dangers to It's Workers in 2010 After 6 Die in Traffic Accidents -- The Census Bureau said Monday it is being watchful about potential dangers to its workers — ranging from anti-government sentiment to everyday accidents — after six died in auto incidents in the last week.

Couple Arrested For Asking Directions -- WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team reporter David Collins said Joshua Kelly and Llara Brook, of Chantilly, Va., got lost leaving an Orioles game on Saturday. Collins reported a city officer arrested them for trespassing on a public street while they were asking for directions .

Sen Mike Bennett Caught Looking at Porn on Senate Floor -- On Thursday morning, Sunshine State News captured exclusive video of Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, looking at pornographic material on his state-issued computer on the Senate floor.

Surprise! Obama Was Top Recipient of BP Donations in 2008 -- No wonder it took him nearly two weeks before getting on the ball with the Gulf oil spill. He's the top recipient of British Petroleum donations in the last election cycle. Now watch him demonize them every chance he gets. If he wants to lead by example, he should return their money.

'Smart Dust' Aims to Monitor Everything -- In the 1990s, a researcher named Kris Pister dreamed up a wild future in which people would sprinkle the Earth with countless tiny sensors, no larger than grains of rice.

GMO Alert: US Attempting global Censorship of GMO Food Labeling -- I received an urgent alert from Jeffrey Smith today about a dangerous situation taking place right now at the international CODEX conference. The U.S. is attempting to push its agenda to censor all GMO labeling of foods everywhere around the world.

Women Given Useless and Dangerous HRT Drugs to Prevent Heart Disease -- Despite lack of evidence that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs could reduce the risk of heart disease in postmenopausal women, potentially millions of women were given the drugs to reduce these risks during the 1990s, according to a study conducted by researchers from Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Preparedness Goes Mainstream: 'Preppers' Come From All Walks of Life -- Back in the 1990s, the idea of growing food in the suburbs, getting "off the grid," and learning survival skills was thought to be something only militia members and lone rangers living in the woods would do. Today, a new type of survivalism has emerged in light of economic and political turmoil that people from all walks of life are embracing.

New Research: Omega-3's May Treat Male Fertility -- More than two million married couples in the U.S. are unable to conceive a child and, according to the National Institutes of Health, male infertility is the cause about 40% of the time.

Aspirin Myth Busted: Its Does Not Prevent Cardiovascular Disease Deaths At All -- Aspirin is unhelpful in preventing heart-related death in those "at risk" of cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB).

Mexico Rejects US Beef as Unsafe -- How do high levels of copper, arsenic, and penicillin get into beef in the first place?  (for those that missed this article yesterday)


Today in History Tuesday May 4, 2010
1776 - Rhode Island declared its freedom from England two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
1814 - Napoleon Bonaparte disembarked at Portoferraio on the island of Elba in the Mediterranean.
1863 - The Battle of Chancellorsville ended when the Union Army retreated.
1886 - Chichester Bell and Charles S. Tainter patented the gramophone. It was the first practical phonograph.
1916 - Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare after a demand from U.S. President Wilson.
1932 - Al Capone entered the Atlanta Penitentiary federal prison for income-tax evasion.
1942 - The Battle of the Coral Sea commenced as American and Japanese carriers launched their attacks at each other.
1942 - The United States began food rationing.
1946 - A two-day riot at Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay ended. Five people were killed.
1961 - Thirteen civil rights activists, dubbed "Freedom Riders," began a bus trip through the South.
1970 - The Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on students during an anti-Vietnam war protest at Kent State University. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded.
1979 - Margaret Thatcher became Britain's first woman prime minister.
1981 - The Federal Reserve Board raised its discount rate to 14%.
1987 - Live models were used for the first time in Playtex bra ads.
1989 - Oliver North, a former White House aide was convicted of shredding documents and two other crimes. He was acquitted of nine other charges stemming from the Iran-Contra affair. The three convictions were later overturned on appeal.
1994 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed a historic accord on Palestinian autonomy that granted self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
1998 - Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, CA. The sentence was under a plea agreement that spared Kaczynski the death penalty.
1999 - Several severe tornadoes hit the Midwest U.S. overnight. At least 45 people were killed.
2000 - Londoners elected their mayor for the first time.
2003 - Idaho Gem was born. He was the first member of the horse family to be cloned.

Mexico Rejects US Beef as Unsafe -- How do high levels of copper, arsenic, and penicillin get into beef in the first place?

The Harmonica Man -- Andy Mackie has survived 10 heart surgeries and numerous heart attacks. His love of music and teaching kids keeps him going. Heaven Can Wait for Andy! If you would like to support Andy Mackie’s efforts to teach and share music with kids you can do so through the Andy Mackie Music Foundation.

U.S. citizen from Pakistan arrested in Times Square bomb case -- Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old American, was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he tried to fly to Dubai on Monday night.

Firearm Safety Program Coming to Virginia Elementary Schools? -- In addition to budget issues, Virginia lawmakers are looking at changes to various bills during Wednesday's one-day session, including a bill that brings gun safety programs to elementary schools.

Fears grow as animal disease spreads in S.Korea -- South Korea stepped up major quarantine efforts Monday as a highly contagious animal disease threatened the centre of its livestock industry.

Nashville Starts Flood Recovery - Curfew Imposed -- As Middle Tennessee tries to begin recovering from historic floods that left thousands without power and untold numbers of cars, homes and basements filled with water, a key step today is to begin to assess the scope of the damage.

VIDEO: Gerald Celente on the Breakup of the US -- Hyperinflation and other government crimes, and how to protect yourself. Interview with Bill Meyer

Worse than 1789? by James Howard Kunstler -- It seems to me lately that the crack-up we've entered is liable to play out more gruesomely for our privileged elites than the orgy of bloodletting that attended the French Revolution. That historical moment was a sharp transition between old, settled social relations and the new political realities of imminent industrialization and a rising middle class. The elites in charge of things to that moment, an ossified aristocracy, responded to rising discontent with utter feckless stupidity.

Commercial real estate pushes $7.4 billion in FDIC Losses in one day -– Hard to hear the CRE collapse with investment banks finally being called out in the court of public opinion. $3 trillion CRE market will keep Fridays busy for the FDIC.

Mega-buyouts could return soon -- There is a lot of chatter about a sizeable potential deal which banks are scrambling to get involved in to finance, one banker who declined to be named said, without naming the target. Speculation about LBO targets has become rampant and a number of stocks over the last few months have seen their shares jump on takeover rumors. Those include motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG.N) and supermarket operator Supervalu Inc (SVU.N), while analysts have noted that buyout rumors also involved names like GameStop Corp (GME.N), RadioShack Corp (RSH.N) and Hologic Inc (HOLX.O).

U.S. voter unrest sparks rash of primary challenges -- A rising tide of voter anger has produced serious primary challenges in both parties this year, with Republicans facing a political revolt that could sweep away powerful U.S. incumbents like Senator John McCain. Three crucial Republican showdowns in May could provide a test of the strength and staying power of the conservative Tea Party -- loosely organized activists who have rallied to demand lower taxes, reduced spending and more limited government.

Office survival guide sees humor in job misery -- Sometime during the recession, work -- or the lack of it -- became funny. From oversleeping and missing a job interview to being fired for no reason, job woes are now a great source of humor, say Gregory Bergman and Jodi Miller, authors of "WTF? Work: How to Survive 101 of the Office's Worst F*#!-ing Situations," a new book that offers tongue-in-cheek job advice.

Mother of All Gushers Could Kill Earth's Oceans -- I went to some effort to dig this information out for you to see. I grew up in the oil business, so am not ignorant of the enormous pressures that come from the depths of the earth.

Why We Need Fed Transparency -- The Fed knew about the housing bubble, and both Alan Greenspan and BEN BERNANKE intentionally suppressed any public discussion of same by The Fed.

Office, Mall and Lodging Investment -- Here are graphs of office, mall and lodging investment through Q1 2010 based on the underlying detail data released by the BEA today ...

Private Construction Spending Declines in March -- Overall construction spending increased in March, with a boost from public spending, however private construction spending - both residential and non-residential - declined in March. From the Census Bureau: March 2010 Construction at $847.3 Billion Annual Rate.

Gulf Coast Oil Spill May Take Months to Contain -- Officials from the Obama administration and oil giant BP say it might take up to three months to seal off a leaking oil well 5,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico that has created a massive environmental crisis that could affect much of the Gulf Coast.

On Auditing the Fed: The Doddering Senate -- Retiring Senator Chris Dodd's financial reform bill is now open for debate in the U.S. Senate.

Facebook's Eroding Privacy Policy: A Timeline -- Since its incorporation just over five years ago, Facebook has undergone a remarkable transformation.

Laser Creates Clouds Over Germany -- A laser has been used to generate small clouds on demand in lab, and real-world experiments suggest this could be a way to call down rain when it's needed.

Judge Orders Release of 9 Hutaree Militia -- A federal judge in Detroit today ordered the release of nine members of a Lenawee County Christian militia group freed on bond over the objections of federal prosecutors.

Greece Crisis Fallout: Will Greeks Step Up Riots Over Austerity Measures -- Greece’s eurozone partners and the IMF this weekend agreed to a $146 billion bailout to stem the Greece crisis. But in return, the country’s leaders have been forced to implement a harsh austerity program.

Clinton, Ahmadinejad to Face Off at UN Over Nuclear Proliferation -- Secretary Clinton will declare the 40 year-old Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty threatened by Iran and North Korea, while Iran's Ahmadinejad is expected to criticize world powers for failing at disarmament.

The Government Official In Charge of Responding to the Oil Spill Was the Official in Charge of Responding to Hurricane Katrina -- I have provided a balanced overview of the oil spill.  I have tried to diffuse partisan comparisons of the oil spill with Hurricane Katrina.
 
Toledo Activists Occupy Foreclosed Home -- On Monday May 3rd, Keith Sadler a former UAW Autoworker (who lost his job) of Stony Ridge will be evicted from his home. But unlike many in a similar situation, Mr. Sadler intends to resist his foreclosure and stay in his home illegally.

Commercial Real Estate Pushes $7.4 Billion in FDIC Losses in One Day -- The $3 trillion commercial real estate market is still in a state of economic turmoil.

EU Agrees $146 Bailout for Greece -- The European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed a $146.2bn bailout package over three years to rescue Greece's indebted economy.

Leaked Report: Government Fears Deepwater Horizon Well Could Be Unchecked Gusher -- A confidential government report on the unfolding spill disaster in the Gulf makes clear the Coast Guard now fears the well could become an unchecked gusher shooting millions of gallons of oil per day into the Gulf.

Third of US Bee Colonies Did Not Survive the Winter -- Disturbing evidence that honeybees are in terminal decline has emerged from the United States where, for the fourth year in a row, more than a third of colonies have failed to survive the winter.

DynCorp Running 'Counter-Narcotics' Missions Along Pakistan/Afghanistan Border -- The airspace along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border is pretty crowded these days: Along with U.S., Afghan and Pakistani military missions, the CIA is running its own covert drone ops.

'Back From Dead' Pakistan Taliban Leader Threatens US Cities -- Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud has vowed to attack major US cities in two purported new videos released months after his reported killing in a US missile strike.

New Government Pay-For-Performance Policies Punish Doctors Who Care for Obese Patients -- Pay-for-performance reimbursement of surgeons, intended to reward doctors and hospitals for good patient outcomes, may instead be creating financial incentives for discriminating against obese patients, who are much more likely to suffer expensive complications after even the most routine surgeries, according to new Johns Hopkins research.

AIDS Fraud: The Marketing of An Epidemic -- The global AIDS epidemic being pushed by the AIDS industry is a fraud. Key pioneers from the industry now speak out against "the false marketing of the AIDS epidemic" in an exclusive video clip from the highly controversial documentary House of Numbers
(http://www.HouseOfNumbers.com).

Eco-Labels on Products are Often Just Lies -- In a recent feature, Mother Jones Magazine calls attention to the fact that many "green" or "socially responsible" claims made on product labels are meaningless or deceptive, even when accompanied by a certification seal.

Eat Brown Rice to Prevent High Blood Pressure -- The rate of cardiovascular disease is much lower in Japan than in the U.S. and now scientists at the Cardiovascular Research Center and Department of Physiology at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia think they know why.

Frankincense (Tree Sap) May Be A Cure For Cancer -- Frankincense may bring to mind thoughts of the three wise men, one of whom brought this valuable tree sap as a gift for the newborn baby Jesus. According to recent research, this ancient commodity, long considered to be worth its weight in gold, may actually be a cure for cancer.

Chokeberry Extract Found to Stop Weight Gain, Regulate Blood Glucose and Halt Inflammation -- Native Americans have traditionally used dried chokeberries that grow in eastern deciduous forests of the U.S. to make teas.
 

Today in History Monday May 3, 2010
1802 - Washington, DC, was incorporated as a city.
1855 - Macon B. Allen became the first African American to be admitted to the Bar in Massachusetts.
1859 - France declared war on Austria.
1888 - Thomas Edison organized the Edison Phonograph Works.
1921 - West Virginia imposed the first state sales tax.
1926 - U.S. Marines landed in Nicaragua and stayed until 1933.
1933 - The U.S. Mint was under the direction of a woman for the first time when Nellie Ross took the position.
1944 - Wartime rationing of most grades of meats ended in the U.S.
1944 - Dr. Robert Woodward and Dr. William Doering produced the first synthetic quinine at Harvard University.
1948 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks and other minorities were legally unenforceable.
1952 - The first airplane landed at the geographic North Pole.
1968 - After three days of battle, the U.S. Marines retook Dai Do complex in Vietnam. They found that the North Vietnamese had evacuated the area.
1971 - Anti-war protesters began four days of demonstrations in Washington, DC.
1971 - James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King's assassin, was caught in a jailbreak attempt.
1986 - In NASA's first post-Challenger launch, an unmanned Delta rocket lost power in its main engine shortly after liftoff. Safety officers destroyed it by remote control.
1988 - The White House acknowledged that first lady Nancy Reagan had used astrological advice to help schedule her husband's activities.
1992 - Five days of rioting and looting ended in Los Angeles, CA. The riots, that killed 53 people, began after the acquittal of police officers in the beating of Rodney King.
1997 - The "Republic of Texas" surrendered to authorities ending an armed standoff where two people were held hostage. The group asserts the independence of Texas from the U.S.
1999 - Mark Manes, at age 22, was arrested for supplying a gun to Eric Harris and Dylan Kleibold, who later killed 13 people at Columbine High School in Colorado.
2000 - The trial of two Libyans accused of killing 270 people in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 (over Lockerbie) opened.
2006 - In Alexandria, VA, Al-Quaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui was given a sentence of life in prison for his role in the terrorist attack on the U.S. on September 11, 2001.

Car Bomb Scares Times Square But Fails to Explode -- Police found an "amateurish" but potentially powerful bomb that apparently began to detonate but did not explode in a smoking sport utility vehicle in Times Square, authorities said Sunday.

Report suggests nearly 50,000 Indiana jobs have moved overseas since recession began in 2007 -- Nearly 50,000 Indiana jobs have moved overseas since the recession began in December 2007, and few workers expect them to return. A U.S. Labor Department report shows 163 plants, warehouses and offices have sent jobs abroad, more than double the rate in the 1982 recession.

The Price Of Carbon: 27c Per Gallon -- Point Carbon's North American Research division has forecast a price of $31 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in a U.S. Emissions Trading System (US ETS) from expected parameters of the forthcoming Kerry-Graham-Lieberman (KGL). Point Carbon is projecting an increase of 27 cents per gallon of gasoline at the pump for the average U.S. consumer. Would have been 30 cents a gallon except for ethanol's carbon reductions (a gallon of pure gasoline contains 0.0097 tons of carbon, or 19.4 pounds).

Greece Outlines Harsh Spending Cuts Before Bailout -- Greece’s finance minister outlined deep spending cuts and tax increases Sunday to free up a multi-billion-euro rescue by the International Monetary Fund and European Union, the first bailout for one of the 16 countries using the euro.

Obama Opines on Love _ and Birth Certificates -- Pearls of wisdom from President Barack Obama: Few things in life are harder to find and more important to keep than love.

Web of Cameras Raising Privacy Fears -- In a park in El Mirage, a surveillance camera allows the city's assistant police chief to watch the scene from his desk, operating a zoom lens so powerful he can see softball players, picnickers and potential crime suspects two blocks from the camera.

Autopsy Uncertain in County Shooting -- The state medical examiner’s office said Monday that an autopsy on the victim of a police shooting in Aroostook County was inconclusive.

Greece Police Tear Gas Anti-Austerity Protestors -- Greek riot police have used tear gas to disperse angry protesters in Athens, during a march against government cuts to tackle the country's crippling debt.

Chicago: Homes lost to foreclosure here spike in first quarter -- The number of Chicago metropolitan area homes lost to completed foreclosure auctions jumped 56 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier to the highest level since the beginning of the mortgage crisis in 2006. That is according to a Woodstock Institute report that indicates foreclosure prevention efforts haven't worked for many. There were 9,302 completed foreclosure auctions in the six-county region the first three months of this year, the report showed.

China, Russia, Canada again top USTR piracy list -- The United States on Friday placed Russia on its list of countries with the worst records of preventing copyright theft for the 13th straight year, just days after the two nations agreed to intensify talks on Moscow's bid to join the World Trade Organization. The U.S. Trade Representative's office also put China on its "priority watch list" for the sixth consecutive year and Canada for the second. The list carries no threat of sanctions, but aims to shame governments into cracking down on piracy and updating their copyright laws.

Group says Army Symbol Is Religious, Should Be Changed -- A religious watchdog group says a cross and motto on the emblem of an Army hospital in Colorado violate the constitutional requirement for separation of church and state and should be removed. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation asked the Army this week to change the emblem of Evans Army Community Hospital at Fort Carson, outside Colorado Springs. The emblem says "Pro deo et humanitate" or "For God and humanity."

Citigroup Says Ex-Employee Told Deutsche Bank Secrets -- Citigroup's suit comes after Merrill Lynch & Co. sued Deutsche Bank for allegedly raiding its bankers and misappropriating trade secrets last year and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc fired its Singapore-based chief currency trader in May last year for sending e-mails allegedly containing confidential data. The cases highlight the intense rivalry among banks for bankers who can "bring across a decent book of clients," said Siraj Omar, head of litigation at Premier Law LLC in Singapore, who isn't involved in the suit. "The idea is to make things as difficult as possible for the bankers who are leaving, which is only logical from the banks' perspective."

Mad Money: Buy Gold to Defend Against Greece? -- Cramer doesn’t think that Europe’s debt woes are a reason to sell North American stocks, but the ailing countries of Greece, Spain and Portugal may warrant a look at the gold miners.

National Institutes of Health Has Given Priority to Bioweapons Research -- The priorities of the National Institutes of Health(NIH) in the area of bacteriology have been “catastrophically re-ordered” by emphasizing bioweapons research over non-bioweapons research, a prominent authority states.

Good Morning America - 25% of ABC Staff Fired -- Today ABC News, made the news, with massive job cuts. Please consider Job Cuts at ABC Leave Workers Stunned and Downcast.

96.5% of Mortgages Backed Government Entities in Q1 -- Government-related entities backed 96.5% of all home loans during the first quarter, up from 90% in 2009, according to Inside Mortgage Finance.

European Central Bank President Favor Global Governance -- The President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, told Forbes that global governance is extremely necessary if we want to prevent another financial crisis.

Brewer Signs Bill Revising Immigration Law -- Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday signed a follow-on bill approved by Arizona legislators that make revisions to the state's sweeping law against illegal immigration- changes she says should quell concerns that the measure will lead to racial profiling.

Costly US Mandate Slipped into Health Bill -- Most people know about the individual mandate in the new health care bill, but the bill contained another mandate that could be far more costly.

Second Rig Overturns in Gulf of Mexico -- The rig overturned in inland waters near Morgan City off Louisiana on America's southern coast.

Census Workers Get Ready for Door-to-Door Count --It sounds simple enough. Knock on some doors, ask some questions, get some answers.

American Meat Infused with Heavy Metals, Veterinary Medications, Agricultural Pesticides -- In 2008, Mexican authorities rejected a shipment of U.S. beef because the meat exceeded Mexico's regulatory tolerance for copper. The rejected meat was returned to the United States, where it was sold and consumed, because the U.S. has no regulatory threshold for copper in meat.

New 'Black Box' Plan for US Cars -- New cars and lorries would be required to carry black boxes to record crash information and manufacturers would help fund the US government’s motor industry safety agency, under a series of proposals following Toyota’s massive recalls.

Oil Slick: Pentagon Approves Chemical Plan -- The Pentagon said it had approved the operation to break up the slick using chemicals dropped by two C-130 Hercules cargo planes.

Bailout Bill Would Require Banks to Track and Report Personal Checking Accounts to Feds -- It’s amazing to watch the civil libertarians hide when Democrats propose the most sweeping intrusions of privacy in generations. In addition to the litany of bad policies contained in the Dodd Financial Reform bill is this nugget on pages 1039-1040. In short, it extends government reach to every deposit account of every citizen.

Cub Scouts Give Up Entirely, Offer Video Game Badge -- Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts may complete requirements in a family, den, pack, school, or community environment. Tiger Cubs must work with their parents or adult partners. Parents and partners do not earn loops or pins.

Scientists Develop Spray to Make Men Cuddle More -- Wish your husband or boyfriend would show his caring side more often?

Children's Tylenol Recalled Over Tiny Particles and Out-of-Control Manufacturing Process -- Johnson & Johnson has issued a recall of over 40 Tylenol brand children's products, including Concentrated Tylenol Infant Drops, Children's Motrin, Children's Zyrtec, Benadryl and other over-the-counter products. The recall was triggered by what the FDA calls "manufacturing deficiencies." Douglas Stearn, a senior FDA official, said the manufacturing process was "not in control", which is the FDA's polite way of saying it was "out of control."

Fructose Fueling Childhood Obesity, Diabetes -- Widespread use of the sweetener fructose may be directly responsible for some of the ongoing increase in rates of childhood diabetes and obesity, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of California-Davis and published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Men Remain Oblivious to Cancer Risk of Processed Meat -- Men eat much more processed meat than women and are less likely to know that processed meat consumption has been linked to bowel (colorectal) cancer, according to a poll conducted for the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF).

Rheumatoid Arthritis Linked to Vitamin D Deficiency -- A new study led by a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) environmental health expert came up with an unexpected conclusion. The researchers were investigating why women living in the northeastern United States are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and they suspected they would find an association with air pollution.

Will Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Jeopardize Obama's Offshore Drilling Policy, Energy Bill? -- As some Democratic lawmakers call on President Obama to suspend his plans to expand offshore oil drilling, the White House today said that there will be no new domestic offshore drilling until the investigation into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is complete.

Proposed Law in Mexico Would Send Doctors Who Don't Suggest Abortion to Jail -- Doctors who fail to inform their pregnant patients that they have the legal right to have an abortion -- or who refuse to refer women to doctors who perform abortions -- could be thrown into the slammer for up to four years, if the dominant political party in Mexico City's legislature has its way.

US Congress Holds START-3 Hearings -- The US Congress has held the first hearings in the run-up to the ratification of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, signed by the presidents of Russia and the US in Prague on April 8th.

VIDEO: Orwellian Big Brother Tax Collection Commercial Airs in Pennsylvania -- We’re not living in an Orwellian Police state; it’s all just a conspiracy theory. However, that’s not what Pennsylvania’s government is telling their citizens.

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