APRIL 2015
Monday
- April 27, 2015 - Today in History:
1805 - A force led by U.S. Marines captured the city of Derna, on the
shores of Tripoli.
1813 - Americans under Gen. Pike capture York (present day Toronto) the
seat of government in Ontario.
1861 - U.S. President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus.
1861 - West Virginia seceded from Virginia after Virginia seceded from
the Union during the American Civil War.
1863 - The Army of the Potomac began marching on Chancellorsville.
1865 - In the U.S. the Sultana exploded while carrying 2,300 Union POWs.
Between 1,400 - 2,000 were killed.
1938 - Geraldine Apponyi married King Zog of Albania. She was the first
American woman to become a queen.
1953 - The U.S. offered $50,000 and political asylum to any Communist
pilot that delivered a MIG jet.
1953 - Five people were killed and 60 injured when Mt. Aso erupted on
the island of Kyushu.
1965 - "Pampers" were patented by R.C. Duncan.
1975 - Saigon was encircled by North Vietnamese troops.
1982 - The trial of John W. Hinckley Jr. began in which he later was
acquitted by reason of insanity for the shooting of President Reagan and
3 others.
1989 - Student protestors took over Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
2005 - The A380, the world's largest jetliner, completed its maiden
flight. The passenger capability was 840.
2005 - Russian President Vladimir Putin became the first Kremlin leader
to visit Israel.
2006 - Construction began on a 1,776-foot Freedom Tower on the site of
the World Trade Center in New York City.
2011 - President Barack Obama produced a detailed Hawaii birth
certificate in an extraordinary attempt to bury the issue of where he
was born.
Obama Exempted CIA From Drone Strikes Restrictions in Pakistan says
Reports
Sputnik News - According to the Wall Street Journal, Barack Obama
obliged the CIA to confirm that militants targeted in Yemen and Somalia
posed an “imminent threat” before carrying out drone strikes, but
allowed the agency to waive the same requirement for strikes in
Pakistan. If the "imminent threat" requirement had been extended to
Pakistan, the CIA might have not launched a January 15 strike which
killed US and Italian citizens held hostage by al-Qaeda militants, the
newspaper reported.
MH17: Berlin Knew Ukraine Flight Risks Before Crash - Media
Sputnik News - The German authorities knew the risks of flying over
war-torn east Ukraine before Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot out
of the sky last year but did not inform the airlines, local media
reported Monday. A diplomatic cable by Germany's foreign ministry a few
days prior to the crash warned the situation in eastern Ukraine was
"worrying," and that a transport plane was shot down in the same area at
more than 6,000 meters altitude, but never notified the Transport
Ministry and the airlines, Zuddeutsche Zeitung reported. The foreign
ministry report quoted aviation experts as saying that it took a special
type of weaponry to shoot down a plane flying that high.
UPDATE: Nepal Earthquake Death Toll Reaches 3,700, Over 6,500 Injured
Sputnik News - At least 3,726 people have been killed in Saturday's
earthquake, including 1,302 in the Kathmandu Valley alone, Nepalese
police spokesman Kamal Singh Bam said Monday.... Among victims of the
disaster are tourists from the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom,
Canada and India.
* Related:
Avalanche ripping through Everest camp captured by climbers (VIDEO)
Fighting rages in Yemen's 3rd-largest city, strikes continue
(AP) - Deadly street battles raged in Yemen's third-largest city on
Sunday, as airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite rebels
struck targets in several cities, security officials said. The fighting
in Taiz between government forces and rebels was heaviest around
government and security buildings in the city center, killing some 20
civilians and wounding dozens more, they said, adding that
indiscriminately fired mortar rounds hit several private residences and
landed near a hospital at one point.
The "War On Cash" Migrates To Switzerland
Zero Hedge - It is undoubtedly a huge red flag when in one of the
countries considered to be a member of the “highest economic freedom in
the world” club, commercial banks are suddenly refusing their customers
access to their cash. This money doesn’t belong to the banks, and it
doesn’t belong to the central bank either.
Capital Controls Arrive: Greece Begins Confiscating Deposits Of "Small
Debtors"
Zero Hedge - "Soft" capital controls arrived in Greece last week with
the state decree requiring local governments to transfer reserves to
Athens. Now, Kathimerini reports that debtors are seeing their accounts
frozen in an indication that "hard" capital controls are set to be
instituted amid a deepening cash crunch.... Greek debtors are having
their deposits seized in lieu of payment.
Major Greek bank says to wipe debts of poorest clients
(AFP) - One of Greece's largest banks says it will wipe away the debts
of clients who owe up to 20,000 euros ($21,600) in a one-off gesture to
ease the burden on its crisis-hit customers. The Bank of Piraeus decided
to write off or restructure debts in response to the "humanitarian
crisis" through which its poorest clients were living, the company said
in a statement. Debts of up to 20,000 euros linked to credit cards and
consumer loans would be written off completely, it said, while mortagage
payments would be frozen and any associated interest forgiven.
Nepal 7.9 Quake: Death toll passes 2,500 as aftershocks hinder rescue
efforts
The Guardian - A strong aftershock has caused panic and frustrated
frantic efforts to reach possible survivors of Saturday’s earthquake in
Nepal, with the death toll rising to more than 2,500. More than 5,000
people were injured after the magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck late on
Saturday morning. Local authorities said all but a few dozen of the
deaths occurred in Nepal, and that at least 721 people had died in the
Nepalese capital Kathmandu alone.
* Related:
Devastating 7.9-magnitude quake strikes Nepal, India LIVE UPDATES
2000x Normal Radiation Found In Tokyo Playground, Officials Deny Any
Link To Fukushima
Zero Hedge - When a specially-designed robot dies within 3 hours of
being exposed to Fukushima's radiation, it is clear something is not
quite as propagandized in Japan; and today, as SCMP reports, extremely
high levels of radiation have been discovered in a children's playground
in Tokyo. While two hours of exposure to a child would be equivalent to
the maximum does allowable in a year, Japanese officials say they do not
think it is connected to the disaster at Fukushima.
Australia: everyone must get vaccinated, except the Prime Minister's
daughters
Jon Rappoport's Blog - We’re talking about Tony Abbott, who just ruled
from on high that there are no more exemptions from vaccines in
Australia. No more conscientious objections, no more religious
exemptions. Only the rare medical exemption, permitted by a doctor. And
suddenly, every family who refuses vaccinations for their children will
lose up to $15,000 per year, per child, in federal support money… Back
in 2006, Tony was singing a very different tune concerning his own
daughters.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
11 Explosive Clinton Cash Facts That The Mainstream Media
Confirm are Accurate
Breitbart - Perhaps the most surprising thing about the
forthcoming book rocking Washington right now is the number of
stunning facts liberal media outlets have already confirmed and
verified are accurate. Here, then, are 11 facts that mainstream
media say are true, verified, and facts from the upcoming
blockbuster, Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why
Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary
Rich.
* Related:
Clinton Foundation admits making mistakes on taxes
Un-Pax Americana: Where One Can Find US Special Ops Around The
Globe
Zero Hedge - Over the past year, they have landed in 81
countries, most of them training local commandos to fight so
American troops don’t have to. From Honduras to Mongolia,
Estonia to Djibouti, U.S. special operators teach local soldiers
diplomatic skills to shield their countries against extremist
ideologies, as well as combat skills to fight militants who
break through.... The budget for Special Operations Command in
Tampa, Fla., which dispatches elite troops around the world,
jumped to $10 billion in the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30,
from $2.2 billion in 2001. Congress has doubled the command to
nearly 70,000 people this year, from 33,000 in fiscal 2001. The
Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force provide further funding.
#BlackLivesMatter ‘Protesters’ Attack Innocent Diners, Sports
Fans, Smash Up Restaurants, Loot In Baltimore
Steve Watson - Baltimore descended into chaos Saturday night as
hundreds of people engaged in wanton violence and looting,
prompting a police crackdown and ruining any chance of real or
meaningful protest against police brutality in the wake of the
death of Freddie Gray. Rioters smashed up local businesses and
parked cars, and attacked patrons.
* Related:
Unrest in Baltimore as thousands protest Freddie Gray’s death
California Orange County CPS Sued for Kidnapping More than 5,000
Children
Health Impact News - Attorney Shawn McMillan is continuing his
fight against the corrupt Child and Protective Services in
California, and has now filed a class action lawsuit against
Orange County California for allegedly seizing more 5000
children in State-sponsored kidnappings. This follows his
December 2014 class action lawsuit against CPS in Riverside
County in California, which is also accused of kidnapping
“thousands” of children without cause.
Local Police Refuse to Allow Newly Elected Mayor to Take Office
Daily Sheeple - On April 7th, Betty McCray was elected mayor of
the town of Kinloch, just outside of St. Louis, Missouri.
However, after she was sworn in earlier this week, she headed
toward city hall to start her term, when she was stopped by
nearly two dozen police officers in front of the building (I
should add that there are over 50 members of the police
department for this town of 300 residents). They claimed that
she had been suspended and served impeachment papers for voter
fraud. But in reality, there are a few holes in this story.
* Related Video:
Newly elected Mayor prevented from entering city hall. Impeached
by Mail!
Why Is JP Morgan Accumulating The Biggest Stockpile Of Physical Silver
In History?
Economic Collapse - Why in the world has JP Morgan accumulated more than
55 million ounces of physical silver? Since early 2012, JP Morgan’s
stockpile has grown from less than 5 million ounces of physical silver
to more than 55 million ounces of physical silver. Clearly, someone over
at JP Morgan is convinced that physical silver is a great investment.
But in recent times, the price of silver has actually fallen quite a
bit. As I write this, it is sitting at the ridiculously low price of
$15.66 an ounce. So up to this point, JP Morgan’s investment in silver
has definitely not paid off. But it will pay off in a big way if we will
soon be entering a time of great financial turmoil.
Congress Wants to Put Artisanal Soap Makers Out of Business for Your
Safety - Action Alert!
Daily Sheeple - What! You mean to tell me you don’t use Dial or Zest to
get clean? You use HANDMADE SOAP? The government is VERY concerned about
this. VERY... Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Senator Susan
Collins (R-Maine) love getting kickbacks from corporations that make
cancer-causing products love you and want you to rub toxins on your body
to be safe. Therefore, for your protection, they have created the
Personal Care Products Safety Act (S. 1014). This act will create
requirements for fees, licenses, and inspections that will make it
impossible for small businesses to continue running. Cottage industries
will, quite simply, be regulated right out of business. While the
economy crashes, these senators and their idiotic bills will take away
any possibility of self-employment.
US to launch blitz of gas exports, eyes global energy dominance
The Telegraph - The United States is poised to flood world
markets with once-unthinkable quantities of liquefied natural
gas as soon as this year, profoundly changing the geo-politics
of global energy and posing a major threat to Russian gas
dominance in Europe. "We anticipate becoming big players, and I
think we'll have a big impact," said the Ernest Moniz, the US
Energy Secretary. "We're going to influence the whole global LNG
market."
Bill to ban fining Californians who let lawns go brown in
drought
(Reuters) - Californians who let their lawns go brown to save
water during the state's prolonged drought would no longer face
fines from municipalities for failing to maintain their
properties under a bill passed Thursday in the state assembly.
The bill, which passed unanimously, was filed after residents of
several cities said they were cited for blight after cutting
back on watering. "It is completely irresponsible for a
municipality to penalize its residents [as high as $500] for
conserving water," said Democratic Assembly member Cheryl R.
Brown of San Bernardino, the bill's author.
CIA couldn’t fully use NSA spy program as most analysts didn’t
know about it
ARS Technica - New CIA internal watchdog report from 2009
released as part of New York Times lawsuit. A newly-released
document from the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) own
internal watchdog found that the government’s controversial
warrantless surveillance and bulk data collection program was so
secretive that the agency was unable to make “full use” of its
capabilities even several years after the September 11 attacks.
Initially, only top-level CIA officials were cleared on its use,
rather than rank-and-file “CIA analysts and targeting officers.”
Gardening, Farming & Homesteading |
Increased protection offered as bird flu spreads
(Reuters) - Hundreds of farm workers exposed to a highly
pathogenic strain of bird flu have been offered antiviral
medication as a preventative measure in recent days, U.S. public
health officials said. To date, the virulent H5N2 influenza,
which has infected turkeys and chickens on Midwestern poultry
farms, has not affected humans. But because flu viruses are
highly mutable, there is a worry that those in direct contact
with infected birds could fall ill from the disease.... Dr.
Alicia Fry, a medical officer in the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention’s influenza division, said that while health
officials are cautiously optimistic that humans will not be
affected, her agency has isolated a pure strain of the H5N2
virus for potential use in a human vaccine, should one be
needed.
Minnesota declares state of emergency over bird flu
NY Daily News - Minnesota declared a state of emergency on
Thursday over a fast-spreading strain of avian flu that has led
to the extermination of more than 7.3 million birds in the
country. It followed Wisconsin's action on Monday. The highly
pathogenic H5N2 strain of bird flu has been identified on 46
Minnesota farms in 16 counties and affected more than 2.6
million birds in the state. State health officials said they
were expediting prescriptions for the antiviral drug Tamiflu for
farm workers and others who have been in direct contact with
infected flocks. No human infections have been reported in this
outbreak. Officials have said they believe wild birds are
spreading the virus but they do not know how it is entering
barns.
After Cancer Link Confirmed, EPA Still Doubles Herbicide Use
Natural Society - The EPA recently approved a doubling in the
use of Dow Chemical’s controversial new herbicide Enlist Duo, a
toxic mix of glyphosate and 2,4 D. A mix of glyphosate and 2,4
D, Enlist Duo received the green light for use in nine more key
farming states. After major backlash and lawsuits, the new
herbicide was limited to only six states during its initial
approval in 2014. The EPA has given the go-ahead to spray the
new herbicide on genetically engineered corn and soybeans in
Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Dakota and Oklahoma. It was previously approved
for use in only Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, South Dakota and
Wisconsin.
* Related:
World First Validated Public Testing Set to Increase Pressure
for Ban on Glyphosate
HPV Vaccines and Their Devastating Legacies
Activist Post - One group of vaccine safety advocates, SaneVax, is
dedicated to tracking, documenting, and exposing the harms HPV vaccines
have done not only in the USA, but in other countries of the world.
Their website has an amazing array of information, but the most
remarkable first-glance information is the “HPV Vaccine VAERS Reports Up
to Mar 2015,” which blasts very unsettling statistics regarding only HPV
vaccines...
* Related:
First They Came for the Anti-Vaxxers
Jon
Rappoport’s Interview of an Ex-vaccine Researcher
Vaccination Liberation - Great interview of a former pharma employee who
is now retired...speaking out after realizing the ramifications of
FORCED vaccination.
Diet Pepsi to Drop Aspartame, But Picks Poor Replacement
Natural Blaze - Associated Press has just reported PepsiCo's
announcement to drop the artificial sweetener aspartame from its Diet
Pepsi in response to customer feedback. If that were all to the story,
than it would be great news, as aspartame has been outed as a dangerous
excitotoxin with shady beginnings that involve both Monsanto and Donald
Rumsfeld.... Unfortunately, Pepsi has chosen to replace aspartame with
sucralose, which is no up-trade at all. Sucralose is better known as
Splenda and is another lab created sweetener with questionable
human-health effects.
Is Your Middle Aged Dog at Risk for This Complex Condition That Requires
Medical Treatment?
Dr. Becker - Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (IMT) is a condition in
which the body’s immune system destroys its own blood platelets. IMT is
primarily a disease of middle-aged dogs, and while any breed can be
affected, Poodles, Cocker Spaniels, and Old English Sheepdogs are
predisposed. The disease is quite rare in cats. What most holistic
veterinarians agree on is that while the exact cause of IMT may not yet
be identified, the condition can be triggered or exacerbated by vaccines
-- particularly bacterins like the leptospirosis and Lyme vaccines -- as
well as killed vaccines that contain very strong immune-stimulating
adjuvants, for example, the rabies vaccine.
Friday
- April 24, 2015 - Today in History:
1800 - The Library of Congress was established with a $5,000 allocation.
1805 - The U.S. Marines attacked and captured the town of Derna in
Tripoli.
1877 - Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire.
1877 - In the U.S., federal troops were ordered out of New Orleans. This
was the end to the North's post-Civil War rule in the South.
1897 - William Price became the first to be named White House news
reporter.
1898 - Spain declared war on the U.S., rejecting America's ultimatum for
Spain to withdraw from Cuba.
1915 - During World War I, the Ottoman Turkish Empire began the mass
deportation of Armenians.
1916 - Irish nationalist launched the Easter Rebellion against British
occupation forces. They were overtaken several days later.
1944 - The first B-29 arrived in China, over the Hump of the Himalayas.
1961 - U.S. President Kennedy accepted "sole responsibility" following
Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.
1967 - Soviet astronaut Vladimir Komarov died when his craft crashed
with a tangled parachute.
1989 - Thousands of students began striking in Beijing.
1990 - The space shuttle Discovery blasted off from Cape Canaveral, FL.
It was carrying the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope.
1997 - The U.S. Senate ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention. The
global treaty banned the development, production, storage and use of
chemical weapons.
2003 - A U.S. official reported the North Korea had claimed to have
nuclear weapons.
2005 - Pope Benedict XVI was installed as leader of the Roman Catholic
Church in ceremonies at the Vatican.
Back to old tactics: US envoy tweets ‘Russian BUKs in Ukraine’ with pic
of Moscow show
RT - US ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt has claimed that Russia’s
military is continuing to expand its presence in eastern Ukraine. As for
proof, Pyatt posted a two-year-old picture of an air defense system from
an air show near Moscow. This is the highest concentration of Russia air
defense systems in eastern Ukraine since August,” the ambassador
tweeted, attaching a picture of BUK-M2 missile defense system apparently
taken at the International Aviation and Space Show MAKS-2013, which
actually took place just outside Moscow.
US Fails to Verify Number of 'Russian Troops' in Ukraine
Sputnik News - The United States lacks precise figures and is unable to
confirm the number of Russian military units reportedly stationed in
eastern Ukraine, US State Department spokesperson Marie Harf stated at a
press briefing. “It is really hard to get precise information about
Russian troop numbers specifically, but we know there is a substantial
Russian presence,” Harf said on Thursday.... On Wednesday, the US State
Department accused Russia of violating the Minsk agreement by sending
weapons and forces and conducting joint training exercises with
pro-Russian “separatists” in eastern Ukraine.
Obama regrets drone strike that killed hostages but hails US for
transparency
The Guardian - The White House was forced to concede on Thursday that it
killed two innocent hostages – one American, one Italian – in a drone
strike that targeted an al-Qaida compound despite officials not knowing
precisely who was in the vicinity. The deaths of Dr Warren Weinstein, a
US government aid worker, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian aid worker,
who were being held captive in the Afghanistan and Pakistan border
region, have placed unprecedented pressure on Barack Obama’s secret
program of targeted drone killings.
Puerto Rico officials warn government shutdown imminent
(Reuters) - In a letter to leading lawmakers, including Governor
Alejandro Padilla, the officials said a financing deal that could
potentially salvage the government’s finances currently looked unlikely
to succeed. It warned of laying off government employees and reducing
public services. “A government shutdown is very probable in the next
three months due to the absence of liquidity to operate,” the officials
said. “The likelihood of completing a market transaction to finance the
government’s operations and keep the government open is currently
remote.”
Russia and Argentina Sign $5 Billion in Energy Deals
Sputnik News - Russia and Argentina signed a total of nearly $5 billion
in deals on developing hydroelectric, nuclear and fossil-based energy,
as well as to consider using each other's currencies in trade....
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said the two sides
agreed to conduct thorough consultations on using national currencies in
trade calculations instead of US dollars. A $2 billion deal was signed
to build a new hydroelectric dam and will consider switching to national
currencies for mutual deals. Russia's VEB bank will provide $1.2 billion
of the total investments needed, 35 percent of which will be used to pay
Argentine subcontractors. In addition, Russia will provide Argentina
with access to Russian nuclear power technology.
Fearless Guardian: US Teaches Ukraine to Shoot Soviet-Era Grenade
Launcher
Sputnik News - While Ukraine continues to claim that its officers will
mostly learn “the skills, not weapons” the US military is using in
operations worldwide, videos and pictures reveal quite the opposite:
instead of these skills, it is the weapons the US paratroopers are
teaching Ukrainians to use. Interestingly enough, they are mostly
Russian-made guns.
No man left behind? US citizens fleeing Yemen tell RT of abandonment
(VIDEO)
RT - With the threat of violence continuing to loom over Yemen, Russia
sent two more planes to evacuate people. They carried some 197 refugees,
including 13 citizens of Russia, 80 people from the former Soviet
republics like Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Kazakhstan and 104
people from countries including Cuba, Serbia, Columbia and Lebanon. Also
among them were about 20 American citizens, who became stranded in Yemen
when the US government announced it had no plans to organize an
evacuation.
N. Korea could have up to 20 nuclear warheads – Chinese sources
RT - North Korea could already possess up to 20 nuclear warheads and
have a capacity to double its arsenal by next year, according to Chinese
nuclear experts, the Wall Street Journal reports. Previous US estimates
had put the total between 10 and 16. In April, the head of the US
Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, Admiral
William Gortney, said the US military believes Pyongyang is capable of
launching an ICBM with a nuclear warhead from a hard-to-track mobile
launcher at the US West Coast.
Deutsche Bank hit with record $2.5bn fine for Libor manipulation
RT - Germany’s biggest lender has been fined $2.5 billion by US and UK
regulators for manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR),
the benchmark for interest rates on trillions of dollars of financial
contracts. This is the biggest fine to date over Libor rigging. The
fixing of the interest rates by Deutsche Bank employees in London and
Frankfurt from 2005 to 2009 was deliberate, and the employees were aware
that it was wrong, the New York State Superintendent of Financial
Services Benjamin M. Lawsky said on Thursday.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
Bastrop County, Texas Residents Oppose Jade Helm
Statesman - Officials with JADE HELM 15, as the training is
called, will lay out details of their months-long training to
commissioners at their Monday, April 27 Commissioner Court
meeting. Officials say the training, which will be held in
Bastrop County from July 15 to Sept. 15, will develop techniques
and tactics needed by the military to defend U.S. interests
around the globe.
Baltimore protests: 2 arrested as Maryland gov. sends state
troopers
RT - Baltimore residents and police clashed as people marched
downtown to protest the mysterious death of Freddie Gray in
police custody. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said he will send
32 state troopers to the city in order to oversee
demonstrations. No concrete numbers are in, but hundreds of
protesters took to the streets of downtown Baltimore, rallying
in front of City Hall and the US Courthouse while calling for
justice in Gray’s death. The 25-year-old African-American man
died as a result of a severe spinal cord injury, though it’s
unclear exactly how or when he was hurt. His funeral is set for
Monday.
Legislation that Fines Cops $15,000 for Interfering with
Citizens who Film Them, Passes House
The Free Thought Project - A recently proposed bill in Colorado
imposing legal penalties on police officers who interfere with
citizens filming them could soon become law. The state’s House
Of Representatives passed the bill this week, and it will now
move on to vote in the Senate. If it becomes law, the bill would
reportedly require police officers to have someone’s consent or
a warrant to physically take or destroy a persons camera or
footage. If an officer violates this law, the victim would then
be able to seek damages up to $15,000 plus attorney fees. This
would also be the first law in the country that would guarantee
civil damages to people who have their recording rights violated
by police.
Teacher Sues School Over ‘Surprise’ Active-Shooter Drill
Counter Current News - McLean, 56, and other teachers at Pine
Eagle Charter School in Halfway, Oregon, were subjected to
psychological cruelty at the hands of the school administrators
back in April 2013. The newly filed federal lawsuit by McLean
says that they were never warned that all of this was a just
drill. As this happened only four months after the events at
Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, she had no reason
to imagine it was anything other than very real. McLean is suing
the school district, the principal, several members of the
school board and Alpine Alarm Communications and Construction
LLC as well as Shawn Thatcher, the school’s safety supervisor,
who pointed the gun at her head.
VIDEO: Marines Conduct Riot Control Drill
Paul Joseph Watson - Video footage has emerged of Marines
conducting riot control exercises at the Naval Weapons Station
in Yorktown, Virginia during which angry protesters are kept at
bay by armed troops. The Marines, “Conducted an operational
readiness exercise, which evaluates the team’s ability to
perform riot control,” according to a description which
accompanies the video. “The ORE determines of the marines are
ready to take their final step in pre-deployment training. After
completing and meeting the requirements of the ORE evaluation
the Marines will go to Quantico, Virginia for their final phase
of pre-deployment training.”
9 Members of Idaho Legislature Block International Child Support
Treaty
AllGov - An international agreement to make it easier to enforce
child support orders throughout the world is in danger of not
being ratified in the U.S. because of nine conservative
lawmakers in Idaho. Republican Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll led the
opposition to the measure, testifying that it would subject
Idaho to Sharia law. Nuxoll previously has boycotted a Hindu
prayer in the Idaho senate, saying that Hindus worship false
gods, and compared a proposed state health insurance exchange to
the Holocaust.
VIDEO: Here’s An Actual Ad For A New DC ‘Abortion Spa’
Western Journalism - Okay. Firstly, yes this is a real ad. No,
it’s not from SNL or Comedy Central. At first, I thought that it
was a joke. I mean, it had to be. Until I went to the Carafem
website and saw that they were genuinely presenting an abortion
procedure to be as relaxed as a day at the spa. Watch the video
for context first.
Houston Cop and Former “Officer of the Year” Indicted for
Trafficking Weapons for Los Zetas Drug Cartel
Michael Krieger - What’s so shocking about the story below is
not that a 20-year veteran of the Houston police force, who was
previously named one of the “Officers of the Year” by the
Officers Union, was trafficking weapons for drug cartels. What’s
shocking is that he was actually indicted and faces life in
prison. He should’ve worked for a federal agency like the DEA or
TSA, in which case he might not have even been fired.
McDonald’s to Close 700 Stores
Kit Daniels - The struggling fast food giant recently announced
it was closing 350 poorly performing stores this year, but on
Wednesday McDonald’s admitted it had closed a previously
unannounced 350 stores in the U.S., Japan and China. “Earlier on
Wednesday, McDonald’s reported an 11% decrease in revenue and a
30% drop in profit for the first three months of year, a
continuation of its troubles in the last two years as it has
struggled to compete with new U.S. competitors, a tough economy
in Europe and a food safety scare in Asia,” Fortune reported.
Food workers, janitors walk out on U.S. Senate
(CNN) About 40 contracted workers from the United States Senate
walked off their jobs Wednesday morning and joined more than
1,000 labor activists at a rally calling on President Barack
Obama and Congress to require federal contractors to pay their
workers more. The Senate workers -- employed at the upper
chamber's cafeteria, on janitorial duty and in other food
service jobs -- along with other federal contracted employees,
are calling on the President to sign a "Model Employer Executive
Order" that would give federal contracting preferences to
companies that can pay their workers $15 an hour. Related: I am
a cook in the US Senate but I still need food stamps to feed my
children
Propaganda Works: A Significant Majority Of Americans Think
The Economy Is Good… And Only Getting Better
Mac Slavo - Americans’ perception of President Obama’s economic
policies are on the mend according to a new report from CNN.
“For the first time since President Obama took office,” says
journalist Matt Egan, “a significant majority of Americans give
the economy two thumbs up.” The findings are based on a poll
conducted by CNN/ORC. According to the poll 52% of Americans
described the economy as “very or somewhat good.” By CNN
standards this is considered a “significant majority.” So
significant, in fact, that the network contends it is great news
from Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign because it shows
how successful Democratic programs have been.
Energy & Environment
Man-made earthquakes increasing in central and eastern U.S.,
study finds
LA Times - For the first time, the U.S. Geological Survey has
unveiled a map of earthquakes thought to be triggered by human
activity in the eastern and central United States. Oklahoma is
by far the worst-hit state recently, according to the USGS study
released Thursday. The state last year had more earthquakes
magnitude 3 or higher than California, part of a huge increase
recorded in recent years. Seismic activity in Texas near the
Dallas-Fort Worth area has also increased substantially
recently. Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Ohio have all
experienced more frequent quakes in the last year.
Dirty electricity in the home threatens human health
(NaturalHealth365) These frequencies are known as ‘High
Frequency Voltage Transients.’ The problem is these high
frequencies are believed to cause a number of serious health
problems. This has earned them the name ‘dirty electricity’....
Dave Stetzer, a leading expert on dirty electricity, and other
scientists, have found that these high frequency voltages come
from our computers, printers, copiers, TVs, game consoles, tube
fluorescent lights, compact florescent light bulbs, dimmer light
switches, variable speed motors, treadmills, vacuum cleaners,
sewing machines, wind turbines, solar energy inverters, smart
meters, and other electronic devices. Many modern electronic
devices add high frequency transients to our home electrical
wiring. [Stetzer Filters are available through The Pour Hour
Mall.]
How Can Homeopathy Be Both a Useless
Placebo and Dangerous at the Same Time?
Health Impact News - The FDA wrapped up a two-day hearing this week on
whether or not homeopathic remedies should be regulated like drugs.
Listening to critics of homeopathy try to justify why they don't think
the American public should have free access to homeopathic remedies is
rather comical. The two dominant criticisms are antithetical to each
other, and both of them cannot be true. Critics complain that due to a
lack of regulation homeopathic remedies are dangerous, but then they
turn around and say that homeopathic remedies are simply sugar pills,
and no better than a placebo. Both cannot be true. Is this the new
standard of scientific scrutiny that federal agencies are using to
supposedly protect the public?
FDA Database: 93% of Food Additives Aren’t Properly Studied
Natural Society - Today, thousands of different food additives are
allowed by the FDA, although a 2013 study found that almost 80% of them
lack the relevant information needed to estimate the amount that
consumers can safely eat. In the FDA’s own database, 93% of food
additives lack reproductive or developmental toxicity data. Of the
totality of FDA-regulated additives, both directly and indirectly
allowed in food, almost two-thirds don’t have publicly available feeding
data. The report concluded that in the absence of toxicology data on the
majority of chemicals added to food, their safety in humans may be
questioned. To explain the FDA’s negligence, some cite a decades-old
loophole that allows companies to confer GRAS (generally recognized as
safe) status to the additives they plan to use, without any FDA
oversight.
How Vitamin Studies Deceive the Public into Big Pharma Profits
Natural Society - Some studies claim that vitamins are doing more harm
than good, but the researchers are not telling you it is actually
synthetic vitamins that are harmful.... Let’s examine just one of the
leading vitamin brands, the highly popular Flintstones Vitamins. Not
only is this the number one selling brand of multivitamins for children,
but many adults are taking these as well. As noted researcher and
analyst Sayer Ji documents on his foundation website GreenMedInfo,
Flinstones Vitamins are known to contain the following substances...
Thursday
- April 23, 2015 - Today in History:
1789 - U.S. President George Washington moved into Franklin House, New
York. It was the first executive mansion.
1861 - Arkansas troops seized Fort Smith.
1908 - U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signed an act creating the U.S.
Army Reserve.
1915 - The A.C.A. became the National Advisory Council on Aeronautics (NACA).
1924 - The U.S. Senate passed the Soldiers Bonus Bill.
1945 - The Soviet Army fought its way into Berlin.
1968 - The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church
merged to form the United Methodist Church.
1985 - The Coca-Cola Company announced that it was changing its
99-year-old secret formula. New Coke was not successful, which resulted
in the resumption of selling the original version.
1985 - The U.S. House rejected $14 million in aid to Nicaragua.
1988 - A U.S. federal law took effect that banned smoking on flights
that were under two hours.
1988 - In Martinez, CA, a drain valve was left open at the Shell Marsh.
More than 10,000 barrels of oil poured into the marsh adjoining Peyton
Slough.
1996 - An auction of the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' possessions
began at Sotheby's in New York City. The sale brought in #34.5 million.
1999 - In Washington, DC, the heads of state and government of the 19
NATO nations celebrated the organization's 50th anniversary.
2003 - U.S. President George W. Bush signed legislation that authorized
the design change of the 5-cent coin (nickel) for release in 2004. It
was the first change to the coin in 65 years. The change, to commemorate
the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase, was planned to run for
only two years before returning to the previous design.
2004 - U.S. President George W. Bush eased sanctions against Libya in
return for Moammar Gadhafi's agreement to give up weapons of mass
destruction.
2005 - The first video was uploaded to YouTube.com.
2007 - Boris Yeltsin, the first freely elected Russian president, died
at age 76.
2010 - Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the nation's toughest illegal
immigration measure into law.
US Moves to Counter Gazprom’s Gas Line Offer to Greece
Sputnik News - The United States has moved to counter the Russian energy
giant Gazprom's proposal to Athens to invest in the Greek leg of a gas
pipeline that will bring Russian natural gas to Europe, Greek Foreign
Minister Nikos Kotzias said.
Russia Sends Humanitarian Convoy to Donbass With Gifts for WWII Veterans
Sputnik News - Russia's 25th humanitarian aid convoy has departed for
southeastern Ukraine (Donbass), carrying food and medicine for the
residents of the crisis-hit region, as well as presents for World War II
veterans in Donetsk and Luhansk, a representative of the Russian
Emergencies Ministry told RIA Novosti on Thursday.... Donbass residents
are on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe because of the military
operation that Kiev launched in southeastern Ukraine in April, 2014, to
suppress local independence supporters who refused to recognize the new
coup-imposed Ukrainian government.
Chile’s Calbuco Volcano Erupts Second Time, Red Alert in Force
Sputnik News - Southern Chile’s Calbuco Volcano erupted for a second
time in a day, after being inactive for 40 years, the state’s national
geological service reported. “The second eruption of Calbuco Volcano was
recorded, red alert level remains in force,” Chile's National Geology
and Mining Service (SERNAGEOMIN) wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
Mission Dis-Accomplished? Saudis Resume Bombing Yemen
Zero Hedge - Less than 24 hours after Yemen announced an end to
Operation Decisive Storm and its airstrikes on Yemen - in hopes of
initiating Operation New Hope aimed at resuming a political process -
The NY Times reports, warplanes from a Saudi-led military coalition
conducted airstrikes in the southwestern Yemeni city of Taiz on
Wednesday. Mission Dis-accomplished or Operation 'Empire Strikes Back'?
Saudi Prince Promises Bentleys to Pilots as Civilian Death Toll Mounts
in Yemen
Kurt Nimmo - As Saudi officials announced the country has ceased its
bombing campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, a Saudi prince promised
to give pilots free expensive luxury cars. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal is
the Saudi King Abdullah’s nephew. He has a $300 million stake in the
social media company Twitter and is reportedly worth nearly $40 billion.
“To recognize the one hundred participating Saudi pilots I am pleased to
present them with 100 Bentley cars,” bin Talal said in a tweet. The
Saudi bombing campaign, dubbed Decisive Storm, commenced on March 26
against Shia Houthis. So far, the raids have killed nearly a thousand
Yemenis and wounded 3,487.
Inside Fighting: Athens Faces Local Opposition Over Council Cash
Transfers
Sputnik News - Earlier this week an emergency presidential decree was
issued, calling for 1,500 local government bodies to send their excess
cash reserves to the Bank of Greece, as the country struggles to meet
planned debt and pension payments for April. However, mayors and
district municipality officials have so far refused to cooperate with
the government's requests, with Giorgis Kaminis, the mayor of Athens,
saying he would fight what he believed was an "unconstitutional"
confiscation law, which does not require parliamentary ratification.
EU Commission proposes GM opt-out for member states
RT - The European Commission has proposed a new law which would allow
individual EU countries to restrict or prohibit imported genetically
modified (GM) crops – even if they have been approved by the bloc as a
whole. The US says the move is "not constructive." According to EU Food
Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, the plan would "grant member
states a greater say as regards the use of EU-authorized GMOs in food
and feed on their respective territories."... The proposal – which
covers human food and animal feed – comes as a knock to the US, which
wants Europe to fully accept its GM crops as part of an EU-US free trade
deal.
Canadian Scientists Claim Successful Ebola Vaccine Trial
Sputnik News - Scientists from Vancouver-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals
Corporation claimed the first successful treatment for the current
outbreak of the deadly Ebolavirus as three macaques recovered after
receiving a new vaccine, the Australian reported Wednesday. Following
the successful trial of the new Ebola vaccine, dubbed TKM-Ebola-Guinea,
human treatments in Sierra Leone have began, conducted by a group of
scientists headed by professor Thomas Geisbert from the University of
Texas.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
Trade bill key to Pacific pact clears Senate panel
(Reuters) - Legislation to give the White House "fast track"
authority to nail down a Pacific trade pact cleared its first
hurdle in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday as a committee backed
the bill and sent it to the full Senate for consideration.
Approved by the Senate Finance Committee on a 20 to 6 vote, the
legislation would prohibit Congress from amending trade deals,
instead allowing for just up-or-down votes. It is vital to
closing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement that would
link a dozen economies and cover a third of global trade. TPP is
central to President Barack Obama's strategic shift toward Asia.
* Related:
Protesters Rally in Washington Against US Free-Trade Authority
Legislation
Clintons Failed to Disclose $2.35M Donation from Russian-Owned
Uranium Corp
Breitbart - The headline in Pravda trumpeted President Vladimir
V. Putin’s latest coup, its nationalistic fervor recalling an
era when the newspaper served as the official mouthpiece of the
Kremlin: “Russian Nuclear Energy Conquers the World.” The
article, in January 2013, detailed how the Russian atomic energy
agency, Rosatom, had taken over a Canadian company with
uranium-mining stakes stretching from Central Asia to the
American West. The deal made Rosatom one of the world’s largest
uranium producers and brought Mr. Putin closer to his goal of
controlling much of the global uranium supply chain.
Elizabeth Warren Fires Back at Obama: If You Want a Trade Deal,
'Let Us See It'
Mediaite - Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has been one of the
loudest opponents to the Obama administration’s proposed
Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which earned her a
presidential rebuke on Hardball last night. Warren fired back on
her website this morning, calling for the White House to release
details of the trade deal before Congress grants Obama fast
track authority. “If the American people would be opposed to a
trade agreement if they saw it, then that agreement should not
become the law of the United States,” she wrote Wednesday.
VIDEO: Census: Record 51 million immigrants in 8 years, will
account for 82% of U.S. growth
Washington Examiner - A report from the Center for Immigration
Studies that analyzed the statistics said that by 2023, one in
seven U.S. residents will be an immigrant, rising to one in five
by 2060 when the immigrant population totals 78 million.... The
surge in immigrant population, both legal and illegal, threatens
to slam into the presidential campaign as GOP candidates move to
figure out what their position is and the president tries to use
executive powers to exempt some 5 million illegals from
deportation.
Pharma fascism: California Senate committee approves school
children vaccine bill
ABC News - The Senate Education Committee voted 7-2 Wednesday on
the bill by Sen. Richard Pan, a Democratic pediatrician from
Sacramento, with votes from both Democrats and Republicans. The
proposal would eliminate California's personal-belief and
religious exemptions so unvaccinated children would not be able
to attend public or private schools. Medical waivers would only
be available for children who have health problems.... Hundreds
of opponents again filled the committee room for Wednesday's
vote. The bill now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee for a
hearing next week.
Sacramento Bee: Concealed Permit Holders’ Information Should Be
Public
Breitbart - The information is currently public, but Assemblyman
Adam Gray (D-Merced) introduced legislation on April 21–AB
1154–to make it private. According to the Bee, Gray suggested
concealed permit holders’ names and “contact information” are
currently at risk of exposure. He “wants to remove all addresses
and phone numbers from the public record, as is done now for
prosecutors, judges and other public officials.” Gray cited the
example of New York’s The Journal News to show that information
about concealed permit holders can go wrong when publicly
available.
Supreme
Court: Cops can’t hold suspects to wait for drug-sniffing dog
XrepublicTV - The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that the
Constitution forbids police from holding a suspect without
probable cause, even for fewer than 10 extra minutes. Writing on
behalf of the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg declared that
the constitutional protections against unreasonable search and
seizure prevent police from extending an otherwise completed
traffic stop to allow for a drug-sniffing dog to arrive. “We
hold that a police stop exceeding the time needed to handle the
matter for which the stop was made violates the Constitution’s
shield against unreasonable seizures,” she ruled.
Taxpayers to Pay $650,000 to Suspected Horse Thief Who Was
Beaten By Police
Ben Swann - Earlier this month, BenSwann.com reported on an
April 9 incident, depicted in CNN‘s above-embedded video
coverage, in which a group of San Bernardino County Sheriff’s
deputies were caught on camera by NBC Los Angeles‘ news
helicopter as they appeared to savagely beat a surrendering
horse theft suspect who had evaded police. The Los Angeles Times
is reporting that, less than two weeks after the incident, the
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has agreed to pay the
victim of the beating, 30-year-old Francis Pusok, a $650,000
settlement.
KS and AZ File SCOTUS Petition in Effort to Stop Non-Citizens
from Registering and Voting
Breitbart - The States of Kansas and Arizona, and the
Secretaries of State from those respective states filed a
Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme
Court Tuesday asking the Court to hear a case involving the
issue of noncitizens illegally registering to vote in elections
in the United States.
Report: VA’s Office Colluding with FBI, ATF to Disarm Vets
Adan Salazar - The Department of Veterans Affairs is colluding
with the FBI to conduct a backdoor gun confiscation program
targeting America’s veterans, according to a report from The
Daily Caller. The process typically starts when a veteran visits
a VA hospital seeking treatment. Information regarding mental
health and/or financial status garnered from VA hospitals is
shared with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives (ATF), documents obtained by The Caller reveal.
Flagged veterans are added to the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System (NICS), preventing them from being able
to purchase registered firearms. The sudden change in status
also leads to unexpected home raids resulting in gun
confiscation.
Why Are Oil & Gas Workers Mysteriously Dying Across America?
Zero Hedge - Over the past several years, oil & gas workers in
North Dakota, Colorado, Texas, Montana, and Oklahoma have
mysteriously died while conducting routine checks of oil levels
at tank batteries. In many cases, the fatalities were ruled to
have been the result of natural causes. Now, it appears the real
culprit has been found. The question is: how much did the
industry know and why was the problem not addressed?... As far
as the oil & gas industry’s position on the dangers of manual
tank gauging is concerned, there appear to be two possibilities:
either they did not realize that opening a hatch on top of an
oil tank and looking inside might expose workers to dangerous
fumes, or they did realize this and chose not to do anything
about it.
ExxonMobil to pay $5 million to government over Mayflower oil
spill
RT - In a consent decree filed before a federal court,
subsidiaries of Exxon Mobil have agreed to pay almost $5 million
to state and federal governments over the 2013 pipeline breach
that spilled crude oil into the streets of Mayflower, Arkansas.
US Senators Introduce Legislation to Block Atlantic Offshore
Drilling
Sputnik News - The US Senate introduced legislation to prohibit
drilling for oil or natural gas off the US Atlantic coast, US
Senators announced in a press conference on Wednesday. "We’re
here to tell big oil that America’s coastline is not for sale,
not now and not ever," Senator Bob Menendez said. Menendez added
that the bill delivers “a clear and simple message to big oil:
the Atlantic Ocean is off limits.”
House passes Cybersecurity threat information sharing bill
RT - The United States House of Representatives has approved a
controversial cyber bill that would encourage companies to share
information about computer attacks with the federal government.
On Wednesday afternoon, lawmakers in the House voted 307-116 in
favor of the Protecting Cyber Networks Act. It envisions
expanded legal liability protections for corporations if they
choose to voluntarily share certain kinds of digital data
through a government “cyber portal” administered by the
Department of Homeland Security.
‘Clear’ App Purges Tweets Before they Purge your Career
Breitbart - Going “clear” is in this year. First as a perfect
score for horse jumping; then in Alex Gibney’s Going Clear:
Scientology and the Prison of Belief, which premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival; and now as the new project of Ethan
Czahor, who had to resign as Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of
the Jeb Bush Presidential campaign over some nasty old offensive
tweets. Czahor has just launched a new iOS app called "Clear" to
purge offensive “stuff” you may have posted on social media.
One-Third of Seniors with Dementia Are Being Given
Antipsychotics
Alliance for Natural Health - ...even though such toxic drugs
are not approved to treat dementia! A report from the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) found that nearly one-third of older
adults with dementia who spent more than 100 days in a nursing
home were given antipsychotics through Medicare’s prescription
drug program in 2012. We previously reported that a similar
situation exists with brain-damaged veterans—and even with
infants and young children, especially those treated through
Medicaid. They are all given these very toxic and inappropriate
medications.
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Agree to Remove Flame Retardant Chemical
from Their Products
Dr. Mercola - owing to public pressure, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo
have both agreed to remove brominated vegetable oil (BVO) from
all of their beverages in the near future. BVO was first
patented as a flame retardant, but has also been added to many
American sodas for decades. The problem is recent research shows
that bromine builds up in your body, and in breast milk. BVO has
resulted in some soda-drinkers requiring medical attention for
skin lesions, memory loss, and nerve problems related to bromine
overexposure, which is why Europe and Japan have banned this
chemical from their food and beverages.
Wednesday
- April 22, 2015 - Today in History:
1792 - U.S. President George Washington proclaimed American neutrality
in the war in Europe.
1861 - Robert E. Lee was named commander of Virginia forces.
1864 - The U.S. Congress passed legislation that allowed the inscription
"In God We Trust" to be included on one-cent and two-cent coins.
1876 - The first official National League (NL) baseball game took place.
Boston beat Philadelphia 6-5.
1889 - At noon, the Oklahoma land rush officially started as thousands
of Americans raced for new, unclaimed land.
1898 - The first shot of the Spanish-American war occurred when the USS
Nashville captured a Spanish merchant ship.
1914 - Babe Ruth made his pitching debut with the Baltimore Orioles.
1930 - The U.S., Britain and Japan signed the London Naval Treaty, which
regulated submarine warfare and limited shipbuilding.
1952 - An atomic test conducted in Nevada was the first nuclear
explosion shown on live network television.
1970 - The first "Earth Day" was observed by millions of Americans.
1976 - Barbara Walters became first female nightly network news anchor.
1993 - The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated in Washington,
DC.
2000 - Elian Gonzalez was reunited with his father. He had to be taken
from his Miami relatives by U.S. agents in a predawn raid.
2002 - Filippino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered a state of
emergency in the city of General Santos in response to a series of
bombing attacks the day before. The attacks were blamed on Muslim
extremists.
2010 - The Boeing X-37 began its first orbital mission. It successfully
returned to Earth on December 3, 2010.
ISIL Expanding Into N Africa, Middle East - US Assistant Defense
Secretary
Sputnik News - ISIL is expanding into North Africa and the Middle East
as greater government instability grows in the regions, US Assistant
Secretary of Defense Michael Lumpkin told the US Senate Subcommittee on
Emerging Threats and Capabilities.
EU charges Gazprom with abusing market position in Central & Eastern
Europe
RT - Russia’s biggest gas utility, Gazprom, was hit with an antitrust
case by European Union regulators for “abusing” its dominant position
and overcharging customers for gas supplies. The investigation against
the Gazprom has been ongoing for 2 years. "We find that it (Gazprom) may
have built artificial barriers preventing gas from flowing from certain
Central Eastern European countries to others, hindering cross-border
competition," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said
in a statement.
Operation 'Decisive Storm' in Yemen has ended, new phase under way -
Saudi-led forces
RT - The Saudi-led military coalition has completed operation "Decisive
Storm" against Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen, a statement by Saudi
military command cited by local media, says. All goals set by the
"Decisive Storm" operation have been achieved. These included the
destruction of ballistic missiles the Houthis had taken control of. The
decision to end the offensive comes following a request by the Yemeni
government, according to the Saudi-led coalition spokesman. The anti-Houthi
campaign is now switching into a new phase codenamed "Restoring Hope",
the statement said, as cited by Saudi-owned Arabiya TV. The Saudi
Defense Ministry says it is going to focus on anti-terrorism, security
and finding a political solution to the crisis. This does not, however,
mean a ceasefire will be declared.
* Related:
Oil Tumbles After Saudis Declare End To Yemen Aerial Bombing Campaign
Sabre-Rattling Soars: Poland Buys US Patriot Air Defense System, Gold
Pops
Zero Hedge - Just days after Russia lifts sanctions on Iran and prepares
to send its S-300 missile defense system, it appears Washington has
retaliated. As TASS reports, Poland - on Russia's doorstep - has decided
to buy the US Patriot air-defense system (made by Raytheon) for a total
cost of around $9bn: "The US proposal has been found to be more
profitable from the viewpoint of Poland’s security and implementation of
commitments within NATO framework." Washington, keen to ensure Warsaw
signed up with Raytheon, has decided to loan Poland a battery of
Patriots until the deal is signed.
Grexit: Remaining In The Eurozone Is No Longer ‘The Base Case’ For
Greece
Economic Collapse - According to the Wall Street Journal, Greece staying
in the eurozone is no longer “the base case” for European officials, and
one even told the Journal that “literally nothing has been achieved” in
negotiations with the new Greek government since the Greek election
almost three months ago. In other words, you can take all of that stuff
you heard about how the Greek crisis was fixed and throw it out the
window. Over the next few months, a big chunk of Greek government bonds
held by the IMF and the European Central Bank will mature. Unless
negotiations produce a load of new cash for Greece, there will be a
default...
ISIS Video ‘Execution’ of Ethiopians in Libya Appears Fake
21st Century Wire - A newly released ISIS video allegedly depicts some
30 Ethiopians being ‘executed’ in two separate locations in Libya.
However, one should take note, that this highly produced propaganda
video – fails to provide any conclusive, or remotely credible evidence
of a crime scene. The terror installment said to have been carried out
by ISIS militants entitled, “Until There Came to Them Clear Evidence,”
was reportedly released by Al-Furqan Media, a media arm linked to the
notorious Al-Hayat Media Center, the official media outlet for all
sanctioned ISIS propaganda.
Pumps at Fukushima plant halted, toxic water leaking into ocean - TEPCO
RT - All the eight water transfer pumps at the Fukushima 1 nuclear power
station have been shut down due to a power outage, leading to a leak of
radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, the plant’s operator said.
okyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) reported a power outage on Tuesday,
according to Kyodo news agency. It follows the line of the toxic leaks
that were reported in February, when at one point around 100 tons of
highly radioactive water leaked from one the plant’s tanks.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
DEA chief quits after losing lawmakers’ confidence
RT - Last week, the committee grilled Leonhart over reports by
the DOJ’s Inspector General, which indicated that DEA agents had
been involved in a series of sex parties with prostitutes in
Colombia and at other locations, dating as far back as 2001.
These were paid for by the very drug cartels they were sent to
suppress. Following the hearing, Leonhart claimed 10-day
suspensions were the most severe punishments she could have
doled out to the rogue agents, due to civil service regulations.
The committee issued a statement expressing no confidence in
Leonhart’s leadership and called for her resignation.
* Related Video:
DEA Head Resigns: What They Are Not Telling You
Thousands March in Baltimore After Black Man's Death in Police
Custody
Sputnik News - Protests broke out in Baltimore, Maryland on
Tuesday night, over the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old
black man, at the hands of white police officers. Activists are
demanding that police hand over any footage pertaining to Gray's
custody. "We are in close contact with local organizers in West
Baltimore and will be of support," Linda Sarsour, Co-Chair of
the advocacy group March2Justice, told Sputnik. "TheThy are
organizing a vigil tonight, will be demanding transparency and
release of footage while Gray was in custody."
TPP allows for 'free flow of workers' between countries to
create cheap labor pool for corporations --'Unrestricted
immigration' created by TPP
CLG News - Monday, political commentator Dick Morris said the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) fast track being supported by
many Republicans has a provision that allows for the "free flow
of workers" between countries, essentially creating a backdoor
to "unrestricted immigration." Morris said, "I don't think that
people understand that in this deal which is a trade agreement
among Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, Canada, the United
States, Mexico, Peru, and Chile, there's a provision for free
flow of workers, just like in the European Union. What It means
is unrestricted immigration. It means literally that Congress
would not have the authority to restrict immigration because a
treaty supersedes a statute under our constitution."
Texas Senate Passes $811 Million Border Security Measure
Breitbart - Members of the Texas Senate passed a border security
measure that significantly raises the level of spending in the
state’s effort to secure the Texas border with Mexico. The bill
(SB 3) by Senator Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) passed with
massive bipartisan support in a vote of 26-4.... “In the absence
of the federal government’s constitutionally-mandated duty, the
state of Texas has shouldered the burden of stopping human
trafficking, illegal drug and weapon smuggling, and an influx of
dangerous criminals and potential terrorists,” said Sen.
Birdwell.
Justice Dept. Opens Investigation Into Death of Freddie Gray
NY Times - The Justice Department said Tuesday that it had
opened an investigation into the death of Freddie Gray, a
25-year-old black man who was rushed to the hospital with a
severed spinal cord after being chased and arrested by the
police. The investigation, announced by a department
spokeswoman, Dena Iverson, will look for possible civil rights
violations by the officers involved.
Mysterious Walmart Store Closings Due to Labor Activism
Kurt Nimmo - Recent Walmart store closings are not due to
plumbing issues or even military exercises as some have
speculated. According to the United Food and Commercial Workers
International Union, the closure of five stores is a response to
labor activism at a store in Los Angeles. The union has filed a
claim with the National Labor Relations Board and wants to the
government to force the corporation to rehire employees laid off
during the closings. “Walmart has targeted this store because
the associates have been among the most active associates around
the country to improve working conditions,” the union claim
states, according to The New York Times. Walmart, however, is
sticking to the plumbing story.
Texas Rep Proposes Bill to Boot Lobbyists Out of Classrooms
Breitbart - Texas State Representative Matt Shaheen (R-Plano)
recently introduced House Bill 3219, legislation that would
begin to boot the special interests out of public school
classrooms. It will do so by barring school districts and local
government from using taxpayer dollars to fund lobbying or pay
the “unions” that lobby for them to do so in Austin. Governor
Greg Abbott called on the 84th Legislature to “dedicate this
session to ethics reform” in his Blueprint for the Future of
Texas. It was one of his must-haves. Although, it appears the
House is already dragging its feet on some of the wine and dine
anti-lobbying initiatives proposed under HB 585 and HB 586.
College Students Forced to Take Feminist ‘Re-Education’ Course
to Enroll
Paul Joseph Watson - College students in America are being
forced to undergo three hour feminist re-education courses
before they are even allowed to enroll in their classes.... The
course is provided by a for-profit company called We End
Violence, which says its mission is based on “50 years of
feminist anti-violence work” and is designed to “challenge….men
and masculinity”.
Without Warrant, Cops Block Cannabis Oil Activist Shona Banda
from Entering Her Own Home (Video)
BenSwann - Cannabis oil activist and Crohn's disease survivor
Shona Banda captured video of the moment that she arrived at her
home to find police officers and bureaucrats from the Kansas
Department for Children and Families searching throughout her
front and back yards. Officers on the scene, who at that time
lacked a warrant, denied Banda the right to enter her own home,
despite the fact that a child in her care needed diabetes
medication that was located inside the home.
Slippery Slope? US Army Cadets Ordered to Walk a Mile in Heels
Sputnik News - An event where male-identifying individuals
strapped on high heels to raise awareness about rape, sexual
assault, and gender-based violence was held on Monday at Arizona
State University. Few would deny the event’s good intentions,
but some are not too pleased by the ROTC’s alleged mandatory
involvement.
Major Setback for Jerry Brown’s Water Conservation Plan?
Breitbart - A California state appellate court struck down a
tiered water rate plan used by the city of San Juan Capistrano
as unconstitutional on Monday. The ruling that could represent a
major setback for the state's recently amended water
conservation plan, backed by Gov. Jerry Brown as an answer to
California's crippling, historic drought. The 4th District Court
of Appeals found that the city’s water rate structure, in which
customers are charged a sliding price based on the amount of
water they use, violated voter-approved Proposition 218, which
forbids government agencies from charging customers any more for
a service than what it costs, according to the Los Angeles
Times.
Facebook Changes News Feed Algorithm to Affect ‘Media Content’
Mikael Thalen - Facebook announced its plan to alter users’ news
feeds yet again Tuesday in a move that will allegedly provide
“the right mix of updates” from friends and news pages. In a
post entitled, “News Feed FYI: Balancing Content from Friends
and Pages,” Facebook Product Manager Max Eulenstein and User
Experience Researcher Lauren Scissors lay out how “media
content” will be altered under the site’s newest algorithm.
California Parents Voice Resounding ‘No’ to Forced Vaccines
Natural Society - A line of parents assembled at the SB277
Senate Committee Hearing in California last week running out of
the courthouse, into the hall, and out into the parking lot. The
group was comprised of concerned citizens who don’t want forced
vaccinations for their children. Some parents carried posters
stating “One Size Does Not Fit All” in reference to forced
vaccines whereupon parents would no longer have a ‘personal
belief’ exemption to refuse vaccinations for their children.
Study: Cholesterol-lowering Statin Drugs Worsen Coronary Calcium
Tests
Health Impact News - Coronary artery calcification has been
found to be associated with cardiovascular events. In other
words, there are more cardiovascular events when there is a
higher coronary artery calcification score. The coronary calcium
score can be measured with a coronary CT scan or a coronary
intravascular ultrasound scan. Coronary scans are frequently
ordered by cardiologists and primary care physicians. If the
coronary calcium score on the CT is elevated, the doctor is most
likely to prescribe a statin medication.
Tuesday
- April 21, 2015 - Today in History:
1789 - John Adams was sworn in as the first U.S. Vice President.
1836 - General Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San
Jacinto. This battle decided the independence of Texas.
1865 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train left Washington.
1892 - The first Buffalo was born in Golden Gate Park.
1898 - The Spanish-American War began.
1914 - U.S. Marines occupied Vera Cruz, Mexico. The troops stayed for
six months.
1943 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt announced that several
Doolittle pilots had been executed by the Japanese.
1967 - Svetlana Alliluyeva (Svetlana Stalina) defected in New York City.
She was the daughter of Joseph Stalin.
1967 - In Athens, Army colonels took over the government and installed
Constantine Kollias as premier.
1972 - Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charles Duke explored the
surface of the moon.
1998 - Astronomers announced in Washington that they had discovered
possible signs of a new family of planets orbiting a star 220
light-years away.
2000 - North Carolina researchers announced that the heart of a 66
million-year-old dinosaur was more like a mammal or bird than that of a
reptile.
2000 - The 1998 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act went into
effect.
2003 - North and South Korea agreed to hold Cabinet-level talks the
following week.
2009 - UNESCO launched The World Digital Library. The World Digital
Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and
the United States Library of Congress.
US to give Ukraine $17.7mn extra in humanitarian aid – White House
RT - The US government has agreed to give Ukraine millions of dollars in
aid, including food, shelter and water, the White House confirmed. This
follows a discussion between US Vice-President Joe Biden and Ukrainian
President Petro Poroshenko. “The vice-president informed President
Poroshenko that the US will offer [an] additional $17.7 million,” the
White House said in a statement. The declaration clarified that the
money will be set aside for medical needs, foodstuffs and drinkable
water. Biden also told Poroshenko during their meeting on Monday that
the US is ready to give Ukraine some loan guarantees worth $1 billion as
part of its financial support in 2015.
US Warship Heads to Yemeni Waters; Could Block Iranian Weapons
AP - In a stepped-up response to Iranian backing of Shiite rebels in
Yemen, the Navy aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt, is steaming
toward the waters off Yemen to beef up security and join other American
ships that are prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying
weapons to the Houthi rebels. The deployment comes after a U.N. Security
Council resolution approved last week imposed an arms embargo on the
Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels. The resolution passed in a 14-0
vote with Russia abstaining.
America's Waning Influence: Beijing To Invest $46 Billion In Energy,
Infrastructure For US "Ally"
Zero Hedge - China is looking to succeed where the United States has
failed. Beijing — which, as a reminder, has claimed it will not use its
regional infrastructure development initiatives as a tool of foreign
policy — is now set to facilitate the construction of nearly $50 billion
in power plants, roads, and railways in neighboring Pakistan. The
proposal, which will give China access to the Indian Ocean via the
Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea, is part of President Xi Jinping’s
ambitious “Silk Road” Economic Belt, a plan announced last year that
aims to connect China with Europe via a series of infrastructure
projects.
Stunned Greeks React To Initial Capital Controls And The "Decree To
Confiscate Reserves", And They Are Not Happy
Zero Hedge - Several hours after the Greek government decreed the
confiscation of local government reserves, this order has finally
percolated among the population, and the response to what even ordinary
Greeks realize is now the endgame, is less than exuberant. Bloomberg
reports, that "as Greece struggles to find cash to stay afloat, local
authorities say they oppose a government decision to use their reserves
for short-term financing." “The government’s decision to seize our
reserves not only raises legal and constitutional issues, but also a
moral one,”…
Venezuela Strikes Oil-for-Food Deal with Uruguay, as Caracas Tries to
Restock Empty Shelves
GovSlaves - Uruguay has offered to give Venezuela food in exchange for
oil, the Uruguayan government reported on Thursday, after Vice President
Raúl Sendic met in Montevideo with his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge
Arreaza… As a result, Montevideo is to offer exports of rice, dairy
products, and chicken in exchange for Venezuelan petroleum… The
declarations made by Sendic would appear to contradict the statement
made by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January 2015 that
“Venezuela has enough money for the country to continue as normal.”
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
VIDEO: 6 Baltimore police officers suspended in Freddie Gray
case
WBALTV - This has become a national story, another case in which
an encounter with police has led to a death, raising questions
about police conduct. "We are a community on the edge right
now," Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said during a
news conference Monday afternoon. Baltimore City police have
since suspended six officers involved. During a news conference
Monday afternoon, police showed video from one CCTV camera near
the scene.
Video: Armed National Guard Troops Conduct Exercise Near
Children’s Playground
Paul Joseph Watson - Video footage sent to Infowars by a
listener in Staunton, Virginia shows armed National Guard troops
carrying out maneuvers near a public playground yesterday
morning. “This was a Sunday morning exercise. They appeared to
be heading to carry out PT (physical training) at some other
location,” the man who shot the video tells us. “This was in a
city park and people were walking, jogging, and enjoying the
playground with their children.”
Texas Governor to Sign Open Carry Bill Shortly
The New American - With passage of a bill allowing open carry by
the Texas House of Representatives on Friday, 96-35, Texas will
shortly join the lengthening list of states allowing its
citizens to do so, while reducing to just five those states that
don’t. Governor Greg Abbott said he would sign any bill “that
expands Second Amendment rights.”
Ohio Police Officer Refuses to Shoot Man Attempting Suicide By
Cop
Ben Swann - On Thursday, body camera video captured the moment
New Richmond, OH Police Officer and Iraq War veteran Jesse
Kidder exercised restraint, refusing to shoot at and gaining
control of a double murder suspect who had charged at him,
begging to be shot.
Police Raid Activist’s Home, Confiscate Son After In-school,
Pro-marijuana Comments
Adan Salazar - The State of Kansas is threatening to confiscate
a marijuana activist’s son after the child reportedly disputed
the teachings of one of his instructors during a drug education
lesson. Last month, 37-year-old author and cannabis oil activist
Shona Banda’s Garden City home was targeted for a police raid
after her 11-year-old son made in-school comments suggesting he
favored the marijuana plant as a medicinal treatment. Banda has
reportedly been using the oil as a therapy for Crohn’s disease
since the early 2000s.
St. Louis prosecutors drop charges before spy tool used in
arrests is revealed in court
RT - An officer with the St. Louis Police Department’s
Intelligence Unit had been scheduled to deliver a deposition
under oath on April 9 concerning tactics that authorities relied
on to identify and ultimately charge four suspects with 14
counts of first-degree robbery and armed criminal action
regarding a 2013 crime spree… Yet charges against the three men
were all dropped on April 8, the Post-Dispatch reported,
presumably in lieu of having the cop be asked about Stingray on
the stand.
FBI admits flaws in hair analysis over decades
The Washington Post - The Justice Department and FBI have
formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI
forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in
which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over
more than a two-decade period before 2000… The cases include
those of 32 defendants sentenced to death. Of those, 14 have
been executed or died in prison, the groups said under an
agreement with the government to release results after the
review of the first 200 convictions.
Automakers Want to Outlaw Gearheads From Working on Their Own
Cars
Kit Daniels - Car companies seek copyright restrictions to stop
car enthusiasts, home mechanics. Claiming that modern vehicles
are “too complex” for home mechanics to fix, automakers are
seeking copyright restrictions to prevent gearheads from working
on their own cars. The Association of Global Automakers, a
lobbying firm for 12 manufacturers, is asking the U.S. Copyright
Office to prevent car owners from accessing “computer programs
that control the functioning of a motorized land vehicle,
including personal automobiles, commercial motor vehicles, and
agricultural machinery, for purposes of lawful diagnosis and
repair, or aftermarket personalization, modification, or other
improvement.”
Texas Deputies Punch Pregnant War Veteran Woman While CPS Takes
Her Child
Health Impact News - Deanna Robinson-Katsuki is a decorated Air
Force Veteran, who once received the Airman’s Medal for helping
drag soldiers from a burning plane in Iraq. Yet Deanna recently
came under an investigation by Texas Child Protection Services,
who arrived at Deanna's parents' home with Sheriff deputies from
Hunt County. Deanna is also 9 months pregnant. What followed was
partially recorded by a home security camera, which showed
Sheriff deputies repeatedly punching her in the stomach, because
she did not want them to remove her 18 month old son.... Friends
and family have setup a Facebook Page to support Deanna: They
are requesting that people sign a petition to Recall Hunt County
Sheriff Randy Meeks.
Here is their call to action....
The Bankster War on Cash; JPMorganChase Begins to Prohibit the
Storage of Cash in Its Safety Deposit Boxes
EPJ - Professor Joseph Salerno of the Mises Institute writes: As
of March, Chase began restricting the use of cash in selected
markets, including Greater Cleveland. The new policy restricts
borrowers from using cash to make payments on credit cards,
mortgages, equity lines, and auto loans. Chase even goes as far
as to prohibit the storage of cash in its safe deposit boxes .
In a letter to its customers dated April 1, 2015 pertaining to
its “Updated Safe Deposit Box Lease Agreement,” one of the
highlighted items reads: “You agree not to store any cash or
coins other than those found to have a collectible value.” Just
last week, Citigroup's top economist, Willem Buiter, wrote a
report calling for the abolishment of cash as a sound policy.
JP Morgan Making Millions Off Unregulated Prison Debit Cards
GovSlaves - Unlike consumer debit cards, prison-issued cards are
completely unregulated when it comes to the fees that can be
charged. The result is high transaction and maintenance fees
that bear little relation to the actual costs of the services
provided… The cost of issuing and managing the cards is paid for
solely by the exorbitant fees former inmates must pay, fees that
quickly deplete their already meager balances.
California Lays Out Second Draft of Statewide Water Cutback Plan
Breitbart - In response to Gov. Jerry Brown’s executive order
mandating a 25 percent cut in statewide water use this year, the
Board had prepared an initial plan earlier this month that
created four tiers of reduction rates, with cutbacks ordered
increased or decreased based on communities’ track record of
water conservation… The Board said the new rules would better
take into account factors that the previous outline had not
addressed.
District Attorney Says Encrypted Phones May Make You a Terrorist
Because They “Cannot Be Accessed by Law Enforcement”
Mac Slavo - Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. wants
total access to your personal effects. If it were up to Vance,
you as an individual would have no right to secure your personal
phone or computer data. As far as the DA is concerned, if you
are encrypting your passwords, private messages, and personal
notes you are denying nosy big government operatives the
intrusive access they so desperately need to control you.
When F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Goes Operational this Summer, it
won't Work any better than 40-Year-Old Thunderbolts
AllGov - The money-suck known as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
will go into service this summer with the Marine Corps with less
ground attack capability than the 40-year-old plane it’s meant
to replace, Pentagon officials say… “This [F-35 variant] reminds
me of something before the A-10, not something after the A-10,”
Rep. Martha McSally, (R-Arizona), a freshman lawmaker and former
Warthog pilot, said according to Stars and Stripes.
Paypal Head Wants Brain Chips to Replace Passwords
Paul Joseph Watson - Paypal’s ‘Global Head of Developer
Evangelism’ Jonathan LeBlanc is pushing implantable brain chips
as a replacement for passwords, but insists that such technology
must be made to fit inside “cultural norms” before it is
accepted by the general public. In a presentation called ‘Kill
All Passwords’, LeBlanc admits that the future of authentication
security is “going to get creepy” as traditional passwords are
phased out due to their innumerable security flaws. LeBlanc
envisages using brain chips to measure thought patterns so that
childhood memories could be invoked by the user to unlock their
computer.
Gardening, Farming & Homesteading |
Chicken cull: 5.3mn hens to be slaughtered as huge bird flu
outbreak reported in Iowa
RT - More than 5 million hens will be euthanized at an Iowa
egg-laying facility after the majority of them were found to be
contaminated with a lethal strain of avian influenza, or bird
flu. It is the worst outbreak yet to be recorded in the US. This
is the second time a bird flu epidemic has been reported in
Iowa, which provides almost 20 percent of all eggs that are
consumed in the United States.... "Anybody that has a poultry
operation — whether large or small, whether you've got hundreds
of birds or one bird — this should be a wake-up call," Randy
Olson, executive director of the Iowa Poultry Association, told
the Des Moines Register.
Glyphosate Is Spreading Like A Cancer Across The U.S. (Map)
Health Impact News - American growers sprayed 280 million pounds
of glyphosate on their crops in 2012, according to U.S.
Geological Survey data. That amounts to nearly a pound of
glyphosate for every person in the country. The use of
glyphosate on farmland has skyrocketed since the mid-1990s, when
biotech companies introduced genetically engineered crop
varieties (often called GMOs) that can withstand being blasted
with glyphosate. Since then, agricultural use of the herbicide
has increased 16-fold.... For an animation showing the increased
usage of glyphosate in the U.S. during a 10-year period from
2002 to 2012, click here.
What If The Drought Causes California’s Food Supply to Collapse?
Daily Sheeple - NASA experts claim California now holds less
than 1 year in water reserves, while the drought and water usage
have depleted fresh supplies at a drastic rate. This is a direct
threat to biggest source agriculture production in the country,
with some 80-90% of many key fruit and vegetable crops being
raised in California… The severity of the drought is a wake up
call to take a serious look at our dependency upon the grocery
store for food. There is no better time to think about and start
doing your own homestead, backyard and community gardens, small
scale farms, coops, herd shares and other arrangements that can
change the dynamic of how you eat – with the potential to drive
local economies and transform your health.
Parent Offers Epic Response to Vaccine Homework
Natural Blaze - By now readers to this site have seen some
outrageous indoctrination assignments springing forth from
public schools. Yet wonders never cease when dissecting the
exact mechanism of influencing young, impressionable and
trusting minds. It cannot be by accident. Over the weekend, a
reader sent us an actual homework assignment from an unspecified
elementary grade (below). It's titled "Medicine" and coerces the
young mind to believe that vaccines (and prescription drugs) are
the main route to overall health, if not the only route. That
without them, there would be a gaping lack of health - a vaccine
deficiency?
FLAKKA: A New Dangerous Synthetic Drug on the Rise
(Natural Society) A recent headline appeared as follows: New
Synthetic Drug ‘Flakka’ Triggers Crazed Behaviors. According to
public health and medical authorities, the “use of the
chemical-cousin to ‘bath salts’ appears to be on the rise.” The
extreme symptoms associated with the use of flakka are quite
easy to spot, and therefore its overuse easy to recognize. The
most serious issue associated with them is that there are
various products advertised on the internet under a variety of
labels which actually contain flakka and its various cousin
drugs. There have been many instances where ‘natural’ bath salts
have been misrepresented and buyers are completely unaware of
the tainted salts that they actually received.
Kraft Dumps Artificial Food Dyes After Massive Petition!
Food Babe - The thousands of letters I have received from
parents whose children have benefited from the removal of
artificial food dyes are ringing in my ear this morning. We
finally did it.... A million boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese are
sold everyday – that’s a lot of artificial food dye finally
being eliminated from the North American food supply. We have a
lot more work to do in this area but we are making some serious
progress. Please consider removing this additive from your diet
because artificial dyes…
FOIA Request finds only 11 Consumer Complaints Beneful Dog Food — What's
going on?
Susan Thixton - A Freedom of Information Act request sent to FDA
provided results of only 11 Consumer Complaints for Beneful Dog Food
over a two year period (March 18, 2013 through March 24, 2015). Two
lawsuits against Beneful and thousands of complaints online against the
pet food, but FDA only provides 11 consumer complaints?
Monday
- April 20, 2015 - Today in History:
1775 - American troops began the siege of British-held Boston.
1792 - France declared war on Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia. It was the
start of the French Revolutionary wars.
1832 - Hot Springs National Park was established by an act of the U.S.
Congress. It was the first national park in the U.S.
1836 - The U.S. territory of Wisconsin was created by the U.S. Congress.
1861 - Robert E. Lee resigned from U.S. Army.
1865 - Safety matches were first advertised.
1902 - Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive
element radium.
1912 - Fenway Park opened as the home of the Boston Red Sox.
1916 - Wrigley Field held its first Cubs game with the first
National League game at the ballpark. The Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds
7-6 in 11 innings.
1945 - During World War II, Allied forces took control of the German
cities of Nuremberg and Stuttgart.
1951 - General MacArthur addressed the joint session of Congress after
being relieved by U.S. President Truman.
1953 - Operation Little Switch began in Korea. It was the exchange of
sick and wounded prisoners of war. Thirty Americans were freed.
1962 - The New Orleans Citizens' Council offered a free one-way ride for
blacks to move to northern states.
1967 - U.S. planes bombed Haiphong for first time during the Vietnam
War.
1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial
desegregation in schools.
1972 - The manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.
1981 - A spokesman for the U.S. Nave announced that the U.S. was
accepting full responsibility for the sinking of the Nissho Maru on
April 9.
1988 - The U.S. Air Forces' Stealth (B-2 bomber) was officially
unveiled.
1998 - Kenyan runner Moses Tanui, 32, won the Boston Marathon for the
second time. He also registered the third fastest time with 2 hours 7
minutes and 34 seconds.
US Planes Ferry Arms to ISIL – Iranian General
Sputnik News - The top commander of the Iranian Armed Forces said the US
military planes are making regular flights to and from ISIL-controlled
cities in Iraq to supply the terrorist group with weapons, money and
food. “We have received reports that the US planes visit the ISIL(-controlled)
airports,” Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General
Hassan Firouzabadi told reporters on the sidelines of military parades
held in Tehran on Saturday morning to mark the Army Day, Fars news
agency reported.”The US shouldn’t supply weapons and money to ISIL and
then apologize and say that it has made a mistake. The Americans say
that they want to confront the ISIL (but) we haven’t seen any practical
steps, only reconnaissance and surveillance operations,” he added.
Houthis vow resistance as Saudis claim 80% of priority targets in Yemen
destroyed
RT - Yemeni people have a full right to resist “Saudi aggression” and a
planned occupation by “all means and options,” the Houthi rebel leader
said, as Riyadh wraps-up the “first phase” of an operation that saw more
than 2,300 airstrikes in less than a month.... As part of the ongoing
operation Decisive Storm, Saudis carried out more than 106 strikes on
Saturday and Sunday alone, knocking out the central communication
command of the Houthis, Saudi Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri told the Al
Arabiya television channel. Through more than 2,300 strikes to date, the
Saudi-led coalition has destroyed majority of the Houthi’s weapons
storage facilities, he claimed.
IRCS blast Saudi Arabia for preventing Iran's aids to Yemen
IRAB - The IRCS humanitarian aid consignments are ready to be dispatched
to Yemen, but unfortunately Saudi Arabia prevents their delivery to
Yemen," Shahabeddin Mohammadi Araqi, IRCS deputy managing director for
international and humanitarian affairs, announced on Sunday.
Germany is the Tell-Tale Heart of America’s Drone War
The Intercept - A TOP-SECRET U.S. intelligence document obtained by The
Intercept confirms that the sprawling U.S. military base in Ramstein,
Germany serves as the high-tech heart of America’s drone program.
Ramstein is the site of a satellite relay station that enables drone
operators in the American Southwest to communicate with their remote
aircraft in Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and other targeted countries.
The top-secret slide deck, dated July 2012, provides the most detailed
blueprint seen to date of the technical architecture used to conduct
strikes with Predator and Reaper drones.
VIDEO: Iranian ship convoy moves toward Yemen, alarming US officials
The Hill - U.S. military officials are concerned that Iran's support for
Houthi rebels in Yemen could spark a confrontation with Saudi Arabia and
plunge the region into sectarian war. Iran is sending an armada of seven
to nine ships — some with weapons — toward Yemen in a potential attempt
to resupply the Shia Houthi rebels, according to two U.S. defense
officials. Officials fear the move could lead to a showdown with the
U.S. or other members of a Saudi-led coalition, which is enforcing a
naval blockade of Yemen and is conducting its fourth week of airstrikes
against the Houthis.
ISIS releases video showing execution of 30 Christians in Libya
RT - A new video released by the so-called Islamic State's affiliates in
Libya purports to show the killing of two groups of Ethiopian
Christians. The 29-minute video shows two groups of captives held by the
Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS/ISIL), described by onscreen
text as "followers of the cross from the enemy Ethiopian Church." It
says one group is being held by an ISIS affiliate in eastern Libya and
the other in the south of the country. Each group has about 15 captives.
A spokesman for the Ethiopian government said he cannot confirm his
country's citizens were the ones killed in the video.
European central banks urge ditching Greek assets, as default fears
mount - media
RT - Some European central banks have reportedly called on Greek bank
subsidiaries operating in their jurisdiction to cut their exposure to
Greek assets to avoid fallout should the country go into default. The
central banks of Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have demanded Greek banks’
subsidiaries minimize their exposure to Greek bonds, loans, treasury
bills, and deposits, should the talks between Athens and its
international creditors fail, reports the Greek newspaper Kathimerini.
Mysterious disease that kills patients within 24 hours leaves at least
18 dead in Nigeria
ABC News - "Seventeen people have died of the mysterious disease since
it broke out early this week in Ode-Irele town," said Ondo state
government spokesman Kayode Akinmade. The disease, symptoms of which
include headache, weight loss, blurred vision and loss of consciousness,
killed the victims within 24 hours of their falling ill, he said.
Laboratory tests have so far ruled out Ebola or any other virus, Mr
Akinmade added. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it had
information on 14 cases with at least 12 dead. "Common symptoms were
sudden blurred vision, headache, loss of consciousness followed by
death, occurring within 24 hours," spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
Congress is Attempting to Reauthorize Key
Patriot Act Provisions by Sneaking it Into "USA Freedom Act"
Liberty Blitzkrieg - Yet with Section 215’s lifespan now
stretching to a matter of weeks, supporters of broad
surveillance powers have yet to put forth a bill for their
preservation – evidence, opponents believe, that the votes for
reauthorization do not exist, particularly not in the House of
Representatives. More likely, according to a multiple Hill
sources, is a different option under consideration: making the
major NSA reform bill of the last Congress the point of
departure for reauthorizing 215 in the current one.
“Scary”: Big Spring Residents Report Tanks, Helicopters Arriving
Before Jade Helm
Paul Joseph Watson - Residents of Big Spring, Texas are
reporting the “scary” sight of helicopters and tanks arriving in
advance of Jade Helm, a military exercise that has prompted
concerns amongst some that U.S. troops are preparing for civil
unrest in America. “I saw a train carrying all sorts of military
equipment heading into Big Spring,” said one resident, adding,
“There were also about 14 helicopters flying over the [Big
Spring McMahon-Wrinkle] Airport last night and a tank getting
driven through that open field [near the airport]. It’s scary
seeing that and not knowing what in the world is going on.”
Officials refused to acknowledge whether or not any troops had
already arrived in the area or how many are scheduled to arrive
and when residents can expect to see them.
Conspiracy Theorists, Bloggers Compared To ISIS During
Congressional Hearing
Paul Joseph Watson - The hearing, hosted by the House Foreign
Relations Committee, was titled “Confronting Russia’s
Weaponization of Information,” and accused Russian state
broadcaster RT of weaponizing “conspiracy theories” to spread
propaganda. One of the speakers giving testimony was former RT
host Liz Wahl, who made a public spectacle of quitting Russian
state media last year in an incidentstage-managed by neo-con
James Kirchick, himself a former employee of Radio Free Europe –
a state media outlet. Remarking that the Internet provided a
platform for “fringe voices and extremists,” Wahl characterized
people who challenge establishment narratives as a “cult”.
DC Mayor moves to exempt body camera footage from FOIA requests
WTOP - Bowser says she included language in her budget that
would exempt the videos recorded by police body cameras from
Freedom of Information Act requests in order to protect the
privacy of ordinary citizens interacting with D.C. police and
captured in those videos. She says the government doesn’t have
the resources or staff to look at every hour of footage picked
up by body cameras, redact personal information and release it
to the general public. And she doesn’t want the program to
become swamped by “voluminous” public information requests.
Baltimore Man Dies From Broken Back Incurred During Arrest
(Video)
Sputnik News - Freddie Gray, the Baltimore man who was severely
injured while being arrested last week, died today in what many
are calling yet another example of police brutality. Freddie
Gray was stopped by Baltimore officers the morning of April 12
but tried to run. He was caught and placed in the prisoner wagon
shortly later and transported to the Western District police
station. More than an hour later, an ambulance was called to the
station to treat him. Cell phone video of the arrest shows an
incapacitated Gray being dragged away by police officers while
handcuffed. A voice can be heard warning the officers that he
appears critically injured.
Veteran Loses Over $60,000 to Police, Despite Lack of
Criminal Charges
Forbes - Mark Brewer is a decorated Air Force veteran who fought
in the global war on terror. But last month, he became a
casualty in the drug war. In late March, the U.S. 8th Circuit
Court of Appeals ruled that the federal government could take
more than $60,000 of Brewer’s cash with civil forfeiture, even
though he was never charged with a crime. The decision lets many
Midwestern states continue to take property from people who have
done nothing wrong.
Student Debt Accounts For Nearly Half Of US Government "Assets"
Zero Hedge - Student debt now comprises 45 percent of federally
owned financial assets. Of course, that doesn’t include assets
owned by the Federal Reserve, and it doesn’t include real assets
like land. Still, it’s a startling figure. This trend worries
me. Why? Because when the government owns student loans, it has
every incentive not to fix the country’s student-debt problem.
Consider the sheer size of the revenue that the government earns
from student-loan interest payments. In 2013, it was $51 billion
-- almost 2 percent of total federal revenue for that year.
That’s more than two-thirds of the lifetime cost of the entire
F-22 fighter jet program! With that kind of money on the table,
it’s going to be hard to get the government to take strong
action for debt relief.
Precious waste: 300 tons of gold end up in landfills in 2014
RT - A dangerous amount of toxic waste, 1,000 tons of silver and
300 tons of gold were dumped across the world in 2014 due to
inadequate recycling - says a recent United Nations University
study. Precious metals are used as components for household
appliances and electronic gadgets. Almost 42 million tons of
such 'e-waste' were simply thrown away in 2014. The UNU study
estimates the potential value of the globally wasted resources
at about $50 billion. The volume of gold alone is more than 10
percent of what is mined every year.
Oil Platform has been Leaking into Gulf of Mexico for more
than 10 Years
AllGov - When Hurricane Ivan moved through the Gulf in September
2004, it caused a landslide that buried wells owned by Taylor
Energy Co. Ever since then, those wells have been steadily
sending a ribbon of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. While Taylor
has claimed the leak has released as little as 4 gallons of
crude a day into the Gulf, and the Coast Guard has spotted
sheens averaging 84 gallons a day, some estimates of the total
leak are far larger, running as high as 900 gallons a day.
Smart meter opt-out fees rescinded in Arizona, commissioners
fearing liability
Activist Post - At a meeting last Monday, and after spending an
hour in “executive session” privately discussing the issue with
their lawyers, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC)
rescinded the decision they made last December to allow APS to
charge an extortion fee to people who refuse a “smart” meter.
Last December the ACC had approved a $50 up-front fee for those
not “grandfathered in” with an existing analog meter, and $5 per
month to avoid the harm inherent in “smart” meters. That
misguided, illegal and ill-considered ACC decision was appealed
both by Pat Ferre of Payson, Arizona and I in separate appeals.
In rescinding their previous decision, the slow-learners at the
ACC decided to still allow APS to continue trespassing via their
bio-toxic surveillance devices, AKA “smart” meters.
Montana First State in Nation to Protect Reporters'
Electronic Data Held by Providers
AllGov - Journalists in Montana will enjoy greater protections
for their information stored electronically under a
first-of-its-kind law. The Media Confidentiality Act, signed
into law April 9, expands the state’s shield law by closing a
loophole that allowed state and local governments to contact
Internet service providers and social media sites to obtain
reporters’ emails, notes and other confidential information.
VIDEO: Jacksonville and GE team up to make smart city
First Coast News - General Electric and the city are teaming up
in a pilot program that will start out with street lights using
LED bulbs that operate 70 percent more efficiently. The program
will not cost the city a dime with GE picking up the tab. The
street lights are very high tech and equipped with technology
that has many applications. "What we are going to do is have a
camera in every street light, really a computer in every street
light that will be able to put information about available
parking into the cloud," said Jamie Irick with General Electric.
The city will decide on what information it wants to gather and
use. The technology could also, for example, allow police and
firefighters to access the cameras to see first hand what they
are dealing with.
Gardening, Farming & Homesteading |
Organic Groups Fight for Clean Compost
(CN) - Environmental groups sued the U.S. Department of
Agriculture for allowing organic farmers to compost materials
treated with synthetic pesticides, such as lawn clippings. The
Center for Environmental Health et al. say the USDA should have
allowed public comment before it changed the compost
regulations. With co-plaintiffs the Center for Food Safety and
Beyond Pesticides, the groups challenge the
"Contaminated-Compost decision," which was issued in 2010.
Before the decision, the Organic Foods Production Act prevented
organic producers from composting any materials that contained
synthetic pesticides.
Miso Protects Against Radiation, Cancer and Hypertension
Green Med Info - Miso, or fermented soy bean paste, is a
traditional staple of the Japanese diet. Soy beans are fermented
with sea salt, koji (a mold starter), and sometimes rice, wheat,
oats or other grain. The mixture is fermented for three months
to three years. The resulting enzyme-rich paste contains
vitamins, microorganisms, salts, minerals, plant proteins,
carbohydrates, and fat. But fermented foods are more than the
sum of their ingredients. Fermentation gives rise to compounds
that have amazing healing properties. Fermented foods like
kimchi, natto, apple cider vinegar, and even wine and beer have
been called "medical foods."
What’s REALLY in the Popular Instant Ramen Noodles?
Natural Society - Instant Ramen noodles is known by many
individuals as a cheap food you can buy in bulk and can cook
fast and easily. The average consumer is often drawn to products
like these, which are cheap and seemingly have little downside
when compared to the convenience. But this meal, as many health
food advocates already know, is the complete opposite of
healthy.
GSK Vaccine Recall: Flulaval “Might Cause More Harm Than Good”
Susanne Posel -GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have ordered a recall of
their 4 in 1 vaccine called Flulaval Quadrivalent Thimerosal
“due to effectiveness issues”. GSK said “the vaccine might cause
more harm than good because it is not good enough to protect
someone from the current flu strains present in the US.”....
Anna Padula, spokesperson for GSK claims that this recall is in
no way “a result of any identified safety concern[s].”The
ingredients of Fluval include...
FDA Warns of Illness and Death in Pets
exposed to Topical Pain Meds
Susan Thixton - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting pet
owners, veterinarians, health care providers and pharmacists that pets
are at risk of illness and death when exposed to topical pain
medications containing the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)
flurbiprofen. People using these medications, should use care when
applying them in a household with pets, as even very small amounts could
be dangerous to these animals.
Friday
- April 17, 2015 - Today in History:
1629 - Horses were first imported into the colonies by the American
Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1808 - Bayonne Decree by Napoleon I of France ordered the seizure of
U.S. ships.
1860 - New Yorkers learned of a new law that required fire escapes to be
provided for tenement houses.
1861 - Virginia became the eighth state to secede from the Union.
1864 - U.S. Civil War General Grant banned the trading of prisoners.
1865 - Mary Surratt was arrested as a conspirator in the Lincoln
assassination.
1917 - A bill in Congress to establish Daylight Saving Time was
defeated. It was passed a couple of months later.
1941 - The office of Price Administration was established in the U.S. to
handle rationing.
1964 - The Ford Motor Company unveiled its new Mustang model.
1969 - In Los Angeles, Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of assassinating U.S.
Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
1975 - Khmer Rouge forces capture the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh.
It was the end of the five-year war.
1985 - In Lebanon, the cabinet resigned as Shiites took W. Beirut.
1993 - A federal jury in Los Angeles convicted two former police
officers of violating the civil rights of beaten motorist Rodney King.
Two other officers were acquitted.
1996 - Erik and Lyle Menendez were sentenced to life in prison without
parole for killing their parents.
2002 - At the National Maritime Museum in London, the exhibit "Skin Deep
- A History of Tattooing" opened.
About 300 US Paratroopers Arrive in Ukraine to Train Kiev Forces
Sputnik News - The training mission is funded by a US Global Contingency
Security Fund, approved by the Congress. "The 173rd Airborne Brigade is
here to train with Ukrainian forces. We will be conducting classes on
war-fighting functions, as well as training to sustain and increase the
professionalism and proficiency of military staffs," Maj. Jose Mendez, a
brigade operations officer said in the statement published Thursday.
Donetsk Fears Arrival of US Military in Ukraine Can Escalate Crisis
Sputnik News - The eastern Ukrainian self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s
Republic believes the arrival of US military instructors to Ukraine is
an attempt to escalate the conflict in the eastern regions, DPR
negotiator Denis Pushilin said Friday.... The DPR negotiator also raised
fears that after the US-Ukrainian exercises end, the equipment would
remain in the country. Earlier on Friday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry
announced that joint military training would begin on April 20 in the
Lviv region in the country’s west.
Where is Iridium? Police Find Stolen Van, but Its Radioactive Cargo is
Gone
Sputnik News - A truck with materials for industrial radiography, was
stolen in the city of Cardenas in the southeastern state of Tabasco on
Monday. An alert by federal authorities throughout southern Mexico
remains valid.... The truck, containing materials for industrial
radiography, was stolen in the city of Cardenas in the southeastern
state of Tabasco on Monday after employees parked it near a local mall.
1,000 British soldiers given psychiatric help after consuming ‘zombie
drug’ – new figures
RT - The British military is accused of failing to protect its soldier’s
mental health. Figures show nearly 1,000 have sought psychiatric
treatment after being given the MoD’s budget price anti-malarial drug
Lariam. A Freedom of Information (FoI) request revealed the figure is
much higher than previously thought, with 994 service personnel being
admitted to mental health clinics or psychiatric hospitals since 2008.
The figures only go back to 2007, so the true number may be much higher,
as Lariam, also known as mefloquine, has been in use for much longer.
The MoD has consistently defended the drug, which is one of several it
issues to troops, amid concerns that Lariam is contributing to an Armed
Forces mental health epidemic. This is despite growing pressure from
senior military figures, campaigners and relatives of those affected.
After Rescuing Ukraine, US Taxpayers To Bail Out Iraq Next
Zero Hedge - Having generously (if not obliviously) stepped up to the
plate to bail out Ukraine (with open-ended bond guarantees), US
taxpayers are opening their wallets again - this time for Iraq. As
Reuters reports, cheap oil has ravage Iraq's state finances just as the
government faces rising military spending from the war it is waging
against ISIS; and so it has decided to issue $5 billion in international
bonds. However, Iraq is considering other ways to cover its budget
deficit, including asking the IMF (i.e. US taxpayers) for relief funding
and also requesting the controversial U.S. Export-Import Bank (US
Taxpayers) finance the purchase of 10 planes from Boeing Co, which cost
the government $500 million.
Iran urges India, China & Russia to counter NATO missile system
RT - Iran has announced its readiness to cooperate with Russia, China
and India on the issue of NATO’s missile shield and related threats from
the military bloc, the head of its defense ministry said in Moscow.
Hours later Dehghan was cited by RIA Novosti as saying that Russia,
China and Iran may hold tri-party defense talks.
VIDEO: Japan: Drone captures TONNES of nuclear waste being stored at
Fukushima
Ruptly TV - Millions of tonnes of radioactive soil and debris, filmed by
drone footage, can be seen packed in black bags in a temporary storage
site at Tomioka, Fukushima prefecture, Thursday. The Japanese government
is planning to move the contaminated waste to new radioactive waste
storage facilities in Okuma and Futaba. The new facilities at a size of
16 square km (6.2 square miles) are set to hold 30 million tonnes of
radioactive debris for up to 30 years, at which time it is planned to be
moved outside of Fukushima prefecture.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
Gary Franchi Covers The Oregon Mining Dispute (Video)
Oath Keepers - Gary Franchi, of the Next News Network, did a
video piece on the Sugar Pine Mine, in which he interviewed
Stewart Rhodes, and Mary Emerick, the Public Information Officer
of the Josephine County Chapter of Oath Keepers.
VIDEO: Oregon Mine Owner In BLM Dispute Talks To Local Media
Oath Keepers - Rick Barclay, one of the owners of the Sugar Pine
Mine, in Oregon, spoke with KDRV, a local TV station, concerning
their dispute with the BLM.
Josephine County sheriff will not enforce new Oregon gun control
law
Oath Keepers - Joining the current trend of sheriffs refusing to
cooperate with laws they believe are unconstitutional or
frivolous, Oregon’s Josephine County sheriff’s department will
not enforce (soon to become) a new state law that mandates
firearms purchasers to undergo background checks for private
sales, according to sources in Oregon on Tuesday. Day before, on
Monday, April 13, 2015 at 9 AM Josephine County Oathkeepers
spearheaded by Coordinator Joseph Rice a veteran of Afghanistan
set up a picket in front of the Sheriff’s office because Sheriff
Dave Daniel did not answer Oathkeepers e-mail demanding to know
his stance on SB911.
Signs That 'The Elites' Are Feverishly Preparing For Something
Big
Zero Hedge - What in the world are the elite up to? In recent
days, we have learned that the New York Fed is moving a lot of
operations to Chicago because of concerns about what a “natural
disaster” could do, the federal government is buying 62 million
rounds of ammunition commonly used in AR-15 semi-automatic
rifles for “training” purposes, and NORAD is moving back into
Cheyenne Mountain because it is “EMP-hardened”. In addition,
government authorities have scheduled a whole host of unusual
“training exercises” all over the nation. So are the elite doing
all of this in order to prepare for something really BIG, or
should we just chalk up all of this strange activity to rampant
government paranoia?
Oath Keepers Rally in Oregon to Prevent 139-Year-Old Gold Mines
from Being Seized by BLM (Video)
Ben Swann - Oath Keepers from around the country have begun to
set up camp in the Galice Mining District near Merlin, OR in
preparation for what could become a standoff between local
miners and the Bureau of Land Management after BLM officials
ordered the miners to evacuate the premises by April 25.... As
armed Oath Keepers began to gather at the site on Tuesday, SWAT
vehicles were seen staging nearby, raising fears that a Bundy
ranch style standoff might take place.
Trey Gowdy: Benghazi Committee Lacks Authority To Subpoena
Hillary’s Private Server
Ben Swann - On March 31, the Benghazi Committee formally
requested a transcribed interview with Clinton. The interview
would include questions over Clinton’s use of private email for
government business, along with questions on why Clinton chose
to delete all of the emails on her server, after she was aware
that they had been subpoenaed by the Committee. While Gowdy’s
request said that the Committee was willing to schedule the
interview at a time that was convenient for Clinton, it gave a
deadline of May 1. Politico reported that a spokesperson for the
Committee said that Clinton has yet to answer the request for
either the interview about the emails, or a public hearing on
the 2012 attack in Benghazi.
VIDEO: Armed National Guard Troops Patrol Residential Streets in
California
Paul Joseph Watson - The video, which was shot this past
weekend, features Guard troops marching in formation while
chanting a military cadence. Troops also take turns to practice
blocking traffic. The troops, followed by a humvee, marched
close to an elementary school and single family homes.
Sen. Bob Graham Says FBI went beyond 9/11 Cover-Up to
“Aggressive Deception”
Ben Swann - Florida Senator Bob Graham claims that Saudi Arabia
funded the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and in an
interview with the New York Times, Graham won’t stop until the
truth is out. “Number one, I think the American people deserve
to know the truth of what has happened in their name. Number 2
is justice for these family members who have suffered such loss
and thus far have been frustrated largely by the U.S. government
in their efforts to get some compensation,” said the former head
of the Senate Intelligence Committee to the Times.
* Related:
Best under 5 minute 911 video ever
Chicago Will Pay $5.5 Million in "Reparations" to Victims of
Police Torture
Nick Gillespie - Whenever Chicago Police commander Jon Burge
needed a confession, he would walk into the interrogation room
and set down a little black box, his alleged victims would later
tell prosecutors. The box had two wires and a crank. Burge, they
alleged, would attach one wire to the suspect’s handcuffed
ankles and the other to his manacled hands. Then, they said,
Burge would place a plastic bag over the suspect’s head.
Finally, he would crank his little black box and listen to the
screams of pain as electricity coursed through the suspect’s
body.
Seattle Police to Train Avoiding Excessive Use of Force
Sputnik News - The Seattle Police Department (SPD) will undergo
a tactical de-escalation skills training to improve community
policing, the US Justice Department said in a statement. “All
1,300 sworn officers of the SPD will be trained in tactical
de-escalation skills and strategies through the newly approved
program,” the statement, issued on Thursday, said. The police
officers will learn how to subdue conflict situations with
minimal force or no force at all, according to the Justice
Department.
San Antonio Woman Fined $2000 For Feeding The Homeless
Zero Hedge - ...the completely innocuous act of feeding the
homeless, with a permit, which as San Antonio philanthropist
Joan Cheever, founder of the nonprofit food truck, the Chow
Train, discovered last week was enough to get her ticketed and
fined $2000 for feeding the homeless. ...for the past 10 years,
Cheever has devoted her Tuesday nights to providing hot,
restaurant-quality meals to homeless people in the downtown
area. SAPD officers would routinely pass by and wave. Often, she
jokingly asked if they planned to arrest her, and they laughed.
She was profiled on Rachel Ray's cooking show for her charitable
efforts. But everything changed last Tuesday when he got a
citation which carries a fine up to $2000 issued by four San
Antonio Police Department bike-patrol officers.
Average Fine For Noncompliance With ObamaCare Is $1130
EPJ - As millions of Americans scramble to file their tax returns, many
are shocked by the full cost of ObamaCare’s individual mandate. “Those
who failed to obtain minimum essential health insurance coverage last
year will have had to send the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) a check
for $1,130, on average,” Doug Holtz-Eakin, former director of the
Congressional Budget Office, testified today before a congressional
hearing.
VIDEO: Frustration continues with aggressive tax-refund seizures
CBS News - Over the last year, CBS News has contacted a dozen taxpayers
who say Social Security has taken their tax refunds because a relative
had been overpaid in benefits.... Social Security declined to speak on
camera. In court filings, it said it has the legal authority to go after
the relatives of people overpaid in benefits. However, the agency has
repeatedly denied it has ever done so. In January the agency told
Congress: "We did not...[collect] any...debt that was incurred by a
parent or another family member."
Food Chain Catastrophe: Emergency Shut Down Of West Coast
Fisheries: “Populations Have Crashed 91 Percent”
Mac Slavo - Earlier this week Michael Snyder warned that the
bottom of our food chain is going through a catastrophic
collapse with sea creatures dying in absolutely massive numbers.
The cause of the problem is a mystery to scientists who claim
that they can’t pinpoint how or why it’s happening. What’s
worse, the collapse of sea life in the Pacific Ocean isn’t
something that will affect us several decades into the future.
The implications are being seen right now, as evidenced by an
emergency closure of fisheries along the West coast this week.
Feds Push For Total Control of Property Rights: “Government is
Named as the Owner of ALL the Water”
Jeremiah Johnson - Editor’s Note: The following research and
commentary shows just how far the federal government is willing
to go. With the help of the EPA and State legislators they are
aggressively chipping away at private property rights in America
and as you’ll see from Jeremiah Johnson’s report below, they are
starting with our most precious resource – water. That includes
the creek in your backyard, the well under your house and even
the rain that falls on your roof.
Google Has Patented Ability to Control Robot Army
Nextgov - After getting a patent for giving robots personalities
last month, Google now wants to unleash an army of Rodney
Dangerfield bots on the world. In a patent awarded today, the
company outlines a system for “allocating tasks to a plurality
of robotic devices.” This sounds innocuous enough—it could mean
linking a series of factory robots together, or perhaps a gaggle
of Roombas to clean a large house—but the potential is much
greater.
Gardening, Farming & Homesteading |
Dear Farmers: U.S. is Now Importing Organic Corn to Satisfy
Consumer Demand
Natural Blaze - An analysis of U.S. trade data released
Wednesday by the Organic Trade Association and Pennsylvania
State University shows a spike in corn from Romania and soybeans
from India. The chief executive officer of OTA is prompting
farmers that the market is open for converts. She called it a
"help-wanted" sign for farmers and said, “There are market
distortions that are pretty striking.
Portland Bans Insecticide in Light of Massive Bee Deaths
Natural Society - Portland, Oregon has joined at least seven
other cities in banning the usage of neonicotinoids, a class of
insecticides that many scientists think is behind colony
collapse disorder and the premature death and dysfunction of
many bees and other pollinating insects. The ban applies to all
city lands and will be enforced despite the opposition of some
nearby farmers who claim neonicotinoids are critical for
producing their food crops.
Brain-Damaged Victims of Swine Flu Vaccine Win $63 Million Lawsuit
Natural Society - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is in the news again making
headlines after having to settle another major lawsuit bringing the
latest total to over $9.1 billion since 2003. This time, it is due to
GSK’s product Pandemrix, which was the swine flu vaccine forced upon the
public during the pandemic of 2009 (which is argued by some to have been
fake). As the victims are being compensated in the U.K., the same
neurological mechanisms that damaged the children in the lawsuit are
still potentially at work in the confirmed excitotoxicity that takes
place after many vaccine injections.
Shakedown of Unvaccinated Students Begins in Spokane, Washington
Natural Blaze - Spokane public schools in Washington state began to
audit the vaccine records of students this week to identify those who
are not in compliance with the recommended required vaccine schedule.
Once identified, the students will be detained along with their parents
to be re-educated about vaccines, as well as to receive free jabs to get
in compliance with vaccine schedules. Presumably, parents will also be
provided with the proper waivers to opt out of this medical fascism, but
most of those will have to jump through more hoops like getting a
'health care professional' to sign the waiver.
Gardasil Vaccine Now Promoted To 12-Year Old Boys For Mouth and Throat
Cancers To Double The Market
Dave Mihalovic - What's the best way to attract new patients for a
vaccine heavily marketed to only girls? Why open up the market to boys
of course. The HPV vaccine is possibly the biggest vaccine hoax in the
last century being nothing more than a worldwide exercise in
profiteering at the expense of children's health. Another massively
flawed study (basically routine for the HPV vaccine) will give Gardasil
manufacturer, Merck & Co., the green light to once again create a
vaccine awareness campaign on the pretext that it prevents mouth and
throat cancers.
Thursday
- April 16, 2015 - Today in History:
1818 - The U.S. Senate ratified Rush-Bagot amendment to form an unarmed
U.S.-Canada border.
1862 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis approved conscription act
for white males between 18 and 35.
1862 - In the U.S., slavery was abolished by law in the District of
Columbia.
1900 - The first book of postage stamps was issued. The two-cent stamps
were available in books of 12, 24 and 48 stamps.
1905 - Andrew Carnegie donated $10,000,000 of personal money to set up
the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
1912 - Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English
Channel.
1922 - Annie Oakley shot 100 clay targets in a row, to set a women's
record.
1944 - The destroyer USS Laffey survived immense damage from attacks by
22 Japanese aircraft off Okinawa.
1945 - American troops entered Nuremberg, Germany.
1968 - The Pentagon announced that troops would begin coming home from
Vietnam.
1972 - Two giants pandas arrived in the U.S. from China.
1975 - The Khmer Rouge Rebels won control of Cambodia after a five years
of civil war. They renamed the country Kampuchea and began a reign of
terror.
1982 - Queen Elizabeth proclaimed Canada's new constitution in effect.
The act severed the last colonial links with Britain.
1983 - China shelled the Vietnam border in retaliation for raids.
1987 - The U.S. Patent Office began allowing the patenting of new
animals created by genetic engineering.
1992 - The House ethics committee listed 303 current and former
lawmakers who had overdrawn their House bank accounts.
2002 - The U.S. Supreme Court overturned major parts of a 1996 child
pornography law based on rights to free speech.
2007 - In Blacksburg, VA, a student killed 33 people at Virginia Tech
before killing himself.
NATO Simulating War Against Russia During Drills - Russian General Staff
Sputnik News - Russian General Staff head said that the number of NATO
exercises had almost doubled in 2014. "While in previous years the
issues of crisis settlement and counteraction to terrorism were central
at drills, today the priority is military action against a simulated
enemy, which could easily be guessed as the Russian Federation,"
Gerasimov said. NATO accuses Russia of aggressive foreign policy to
justify its own existence and expansion, head of the Russian General
Staff said.
Series of ‘bizarre suicides’ & murders: Former Ukrainian MP shot dead in
Kiev
RT - A former Ukrainian MP and active anti-Maidan activist, Oleg
Kalashnikov, has been killed in his flat in Kiev. His killing is the
latest in a series of odd deaths plaguing former government officials
and ex-President Yanukovich’s party members.
‘Why do they keep shooting?’ Violence spikes in E. Ukraine, OSCE blames
Kiev forces
RT - The latest OSCE mission report on the Ukrainian conflict has
recorded a spike in violence, with monitors largely blaming Kiev.
However, RT’s correspondent says the shooting pales in comparison to
what locals went through before the Minsk deal.... Military action
between the Ukrainian troops and the self-defense fighters has renewed
in the vicinity of Shirokino, following intense strikes from Kiev’s
military, the daily report by Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe (OSCE) stated on Tuesday.
‘No end to sanctions, no agreement’: Iran sticks to nuclear deal demands
RT - There’ll be no deal on Tehran’s nuclear program without the
simultaneous lifting of all sanctions against Iran, President Hassan
Rouhani stressed, echoing an earlier statement by Iranian supreme
leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "If there is no end to sanctions, there
will not be an agreement," Rouhani said in a televised speech in the
northern Iranian city of Rasht. "The end of these negotiations and a
signed deal must include a declaration of cancelling the oppressive
sanctions on the great nation of Iran."
Europe Will Be Very Angry When It Learns Greece Is About To Buy Russian
Anti-Aircraft Missiles
Zero Hedge - Just days after Russia lifted sanctions on providing
anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, Reuters reports that The Greeks are in
talks with Russia to purchase missiles for the S-300 defense system.
Greece, a NATO member, has been in possession of the advanced
Russian-made systems since the late 1990s and in a defiant show of
independence towards Troika, is now negotiating with Russia for the
purchase of additional missiles and for their maintenance.
China Takes Aim At Dollar Reserve Status: Promotes Yuan In Investment
Bank
Zero Hedge - The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will establish an
AIIB currency basket with China set to push for the yuan to take a
prominent role and for “special currency funds” to be established in
order to issue yuan-denominated loans through the fund. "The AIIB's
grand vision for infrastructure investment [comes] with challenges but
China should do its best to establish the yuan as a currency for
settlement and denomination," one analyst says.
9 of the 11 Ebola Treatment Centers Built by Americans Have Never Seen a
Single Ebola Patient
Vox - “Only 28 Ebola patients have been treated at the 11 treatment
units built by the United States military, American officials now say.
Nine centers have never had a single Ebola patient.” So: the United
States built 11 treatment units in Liberia, drawing from the $1.4
billion allotted for the Ebola mission. Eighty percent of those units
have never seen a single Ebola patient.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
Military Bulletin Labels Patriot Groups, Militia ‘Domestic
Terrorists’
Kit Daniels - A military bulletin called patriot groups and the
militia “domestic extremists” who may launch terrorist attacks,
a claim which follows a trend by the government to demonize
libertarians and constitutionalists.... “Members of the patriot
and militia movements, sovereign citizens and white supremacists
recall April 19th as the date that the battles of Lexington and
Concord started the American Revolution,” the bulletin read.
“Citing (incorrectly) Title 10 USC references to the
‘unorganized militias’ and the constitutional right to bear
arms, these groups believe that they are legally obligated to
oppose the government should it become tyrannical.”
Progressives Take Stand as Fast Track Fight Kicks into High Gear
on Capitol Hill
Common Dreams - With legislation to speed up congressional
approval of the Trans Pacific Partnership and other
corporate-friendly trade deals on the verge of being introduced
in Congress, a coalition of elected officials, labor unions, and
environmental groups gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on
Wednesday to voice their vehement opposition to such a bill....
"The voices of workers will be in the halls of Congress and at
our rally to declare U.S. trade deals have been nothing more
than broken promises of lost jobs and closed factories that are
wiping out middle class American families," said United
Steelworkers president Leo W. Gerard.
Lawsuit: Police Give Lawyer Hard Drive Infected with
Surveillance Malware
Mikael Thalen -A lawyer representing multiple law enforcement
whistleblowers in Arkansas discovered surveillance malware after
receiving an external hard drive from his clients’ department.
After requesting internal emails for the case, North Little Rock
lawyer Matthew Campbell became suspicious when the Fort Smith
Police Department decided to place the files on a hard drive and
send them through Federal Express. Campbell, who normally
receives files via email, told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat
Gazette that the department’s decision immediately raised red
flags.... After carefully inspecting the hard drive, security
consultant Geoff Mueller discovered well known malware capable
of implanting backdoors and logging passwords.
Are You Scared Now? Congress Declares US is Losing Media War
with Russia
Sputnik News - Frustrated with the growing popularity of
international media outlets, such as RT and Sputnik, the US
Congress held the latest in a long list of hearings, trying to
figure out why more and more Americans – and people around the
world – turn to alternative news sources and abandon the
mainstream media. However, Congress wouldn’t be Congress without
a bit of fearmongering, adding a sense of urgency and importance
to the subject. Therefore, a hearing organized by the House
Foreign Relations Committee was titled “Confronting Russia’s
Weaponization of Information.” Listening to speakers invited to
testify at the hearing, one could indeed fall under the
impression that they are talking about combat actions or war
games rather than TV and radio programming.
DHS to Purchase 62 Million More Rounds of AR-15 Ammo
Paul Joseph Watson - The Department of Homeland Security is set
to purchase over 62 million rounds of ammo typically used in
AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, just weeks after the ATF was forced
to back down on a ban on M855 bullets. A posting on
FedBizOpps.gov this week reveals that the DHS is looking to
contract with a company to provide 12.6 million rounds of .223
Remington ammunition per year for a period of five years –
totaling 62.5 million bullets. The solicitation explains that
the purchase is intended, “to achieve price savings over the
current .223 Rem duty ammunition.” The bullets will be used by
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents nationwide for
“training” purposes.
Inaccurate police drug testing kits are a 'secret'
MassPrivateI - The following excerpts are taken from the NHTSA
report "Field Test of On-Site Drug Detection Devices". "We will
be evaluating the accuracy of the devices against the most
accurate laboratory standard available - GC/MS testing. However,
perhaps the key distinguishing feature of this project is that
it is a field test. NHTSA and the Center for Human Toxicology
have already conducted a thorough laboratory test of the leading
on-site drug screening devices. The goal of this project is to
assess how well these devices perform when placed in the hands
of trained law enforcement personnel as they conduct their
routine duties. Techniques that perform well in the laboratory
may falter when brought into the "real world" of law
enforcement. The research will evaluate how law enforcement
officers can use these screening devices as supporting evidence
in the detection of drugs in the driving population."
All Hail Hillary: Students Locked In Classrooms As Clinton
Visits "Everyday Iowans"
Zero Hedge - Yesterday we were told about Hillary's "Everyday
Americans" and exposed the ugly reality of just who stands
behind her. Today she meets with some "Everyday Iowans" but as
you will read... the attendees were carefully selected and
students were locked inside classrooms to avoid any embarrassing
questions being asked... We wonder if Wall Street employees are
locked in their offices when she visits the executives suites.
Somehow, I doubt it.
The VA Hospital that Cost $1.7 Billion to Build…So Far
AllGov - A new veterans’ hospital in Colorado is on track to
become one of the most expensive medical centers in the world
with a price tag so far of $1.7 billion. Like so many other
things associated with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the
hospital in Aurora has been plagued by bad decisions that are
proving very costly. The facility was originally budgeted at
$328 million. The VA says it will now need another $830 million
to finish the project, which is going to take another five
years.
Huge Trouble Is Percolating Just Under The Surface Of The Global
Economy
Economic Collapse - Did you know that the number of publicly
traded companies declaring bankruptcy has reached a five year
high? And did you know that Chinese exports are absolutely
collapsing and that Chinese economic growth in 2014 was the
weakest in over 20 years? Even though things may seem to be okay
on the surface for the global economy at the moment, that does
not mean that big trouble is not percolating just under the
surface. On Wednesday, investors cheered as stocks soared to new
highs, but almost all of the economic news coming in from around
the planet has been bad.
The Collapse Of The Petrodollar: Oil Exporters Are Dumping US
Assets At A Record Pace
Zero Hedge - Back in November we chronicled the (quiet) death of
the Petrodollar, the system that has buttressed USD hegemony for
decades by ensuring that oil producers recycled their dollar
proceeds into still more USD assets creating a very convenient
(if your printing press mints dollars) self-fulfilling prophecy
that has effectively underwritten the dollar’s reserve status in
the post WWII era. Now, with oil prices still in the doldrums,
oil producers are selling off their USD assets in a frenzy
threatening the viability of petrocurrency mercantilism and
effectively extracting billions in liquidity from the system
just as the Fed prepares to hike rates.
Look at how many pages are in the federal tax code
Washington Examiner - As they rush to file their taxes by April
15, Americans are rightfully frustrated with the complexity of
the 74,608-page-long federal tax code. The federal tax code is
187 times longer than it was a century ago, according to Wolters
Kluwer, CCH, which has analyzed the federal tax code since 1913.
Thousands demand higher wages during #Fightfor15 rallies
RT - Thousands of fast food restaurant employees walked off the
job on Wednesday in order to rally for higher wages as part of a
coordinated series of demonstrations held across the United
States and the world. As sit-ins and other acts of civil
disobedience continue from coast to coast, local reports from
mid-Wednesday suggested that planned protests had so far been
largely well attended in cities including New York, Detroit,
Chicago and Los Angeles. Demonstrators had announced previously
that they’d be rallying across the US on Wednesday, April 15, to
push for increasing the nationwide minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The owner of a credit card processing business in Seattle is
raising his employees' minimum wage to $70,000 by cutting his
own salary
Refreshing News - The idea began percolating, said Dan Price,
the founder of Gravity Payments, after he read an article on
happiness. It showed that, for people who earn less than about
$70,000, extra money makes a big difference in their lives. His
idea bubbled into reality on Monday afternoon, when Mr. Price
surprised his 120-pers staff by announcing that he planned over
the next three years to raise the salary of even the lowest-paid
clerk, customer service representative and salesman to a minimum
of $70,000.
Germline engineering could lead to designer babies and
superstrength
Motherboard - In the past month momentum has mounted around a
technology called CRISP R-Cas9, often described as a “search and
replace” tool for DNA. The reason? It’s possible that scientists
are now looking into using the revolutionary technique to
permanently edit the genome of human eggs, sperm and embryos, a
process called germline engineering. This is the new frontier of
genetic engineering, in which modifications made to reproductive
cells—the germline—would be passed down to subsequent
generations. Scientists aren’t sure what the effects of that
might be yet.
The Navy is Preparing To Launch Swarm Bots Out of Cannons
Defense One - The program, which the Navy is called Low-Cost UAV
Swarming Technology, or LOCUST, marks a significant advance in
applications for robotic swarming software. In August, the
Office of Naval Research, or ONR, which is behind the program,
demonstrated a swarming configuration of 13 robotic boats on
Virginia’s James River. The boats were able to perform a variety
of tasks to protect a high-value ship from incoming craft.
Gardening, Farming & Homesteading |
Monsanto is the Dept. of Homeland Security for food
Jon Rappoport - I’ll now quote a very important article Dr.
Joseph Mercola wrote on September 17, 2012, “Organic Foods are
safer and healthier than conventional…true or false?” “…the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) has taken the position that
organic farming, such as free-ranging chickens and cows and
non-GM seeds that you can’t ‘control’ are potential biosecurity
threats. USDA has even begun putting, in writing, directives on
how they want organic farming ‘contained’ – which resembles
turning organic farms into nothing more than factory farms.”
Organic farms represent a bio-security threat to the United
States? What kind of insanity is this?
Powassan Virus: ‘Ticks Now Carrying Virus Worse than Lyme Disease’
Natural Society - Powassan virus has been described by the medical
authorities as a virus “that produces symptoms similar to Lyme disease,
but more severe, and there’s no cure.” The following excerpt clearly
explains why Powassan is considered to be a significantly more serious
infection than Lyme disease. “The disease can lead to encephalitis and
meningitis, and give you permanent neurological issues afterward. And it
can act much more quickly than Lyme disease, giving you symptoms within
hours of being bitten by a tick, according to Fox News. About 10% of
cases that lead to encephalitis are fatal.”
Americans Spent $374 Billion on Big Pharma Drugs Last Year
Natural Society - The latest figure, which comes from the IMS Institute
for Healthcare Informatics as reported by AP, is the highest jump we’ve
seen since 2001 — and even 13% higher than 2013. The astronomical $374
billion figure contributed to record-shattering numbers of prescription
drugs being purchased from pleasantly surprised pharmacies around the
nation. More than 4.3 billion prescriptions were dispensed in 2014, with
Medicaid covering around 17% and pushing heavily on the total increase.
This Allergy Can Make Your Dog Downright Miserable - And May Horrify
You...
Dr. Becker - Many pet guardians are shocked to learn their dog or cat is
allergic to them. But since humans can be sensitive to pet dander, it
makes sense that some pets are also allergic to us. According to Dr. Tom
Lewis, a veterinary dermatologist in Phoenix, when pets are allergic to
humans, "It's never an obvious and direct reaction. They'll scratch and
get a lot of secondary infections. Some of these dogs just are
miserable". And because it takes time and repeated exposure to human
dander for an allergy to develop, the average dog is 2 to 5 years old
before he begins to react.
Wednesday
- April 15, 2015 - Today in History:
1794 - "Courrier Francais" became the first French daily newspaper to be
published in the U.S.
1813 - U.S. troops under James Wilkinson attacked the Spanish-held city
of Mobile that would be in the future state of Alabama.
1817 - The first American school for the deaf was opened in Hartford,
CT.
1850 - The city of San Francisco was incorporated.
1861 - U.S. President Lincoln mobilized the Federal army.
1865 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln died from injuries inflicted by
John Wilkes Booth.
1871 - "Wild Bill" Hickok became the marshal of Abilene, Kansas.
1892 - The General Electric Company was organized.
1912 - The ocean liner Titanic sank in the North Atlantic after hitting
an iceberg the evening before. 1,517 people died and more than 700
people survived.
1923 - Insulin became generally available for people suffering with
diabetes.
1945 - During World War II, British and Canadian troops liberated the
Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen.
1952 - U.S. President Harry Truman signed the official Japanese peace
treaty.
1952 - The first B-52 prototype was tested in the air.
1956 - The worlds’ first, all-color TV station was dedicated. It was
WNBQ-TV in Chicago and is now WMAQ-TV.
1959 - Cuban leader Fidel Castro began a U.S. goodwill tour.
1986 - U.S. F-111 warplanes attacked Libya in response to the bombing of
a discotheque in Berlin on April 5, 1986.
1989 - Students in Beijing launched a series of pro democracy protests
upon the death of former Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang. The protests
led to the Tienanmen Square massacre.
1989 - In Sheffield, England, 96 people were killed and hundreds were
injured at a soccer game at Hillsborough Stadium when a crowd surged
into an overcrowded standing area. Ninety-four died on the day of the
incident and two more later died from their injuries.
2000 - 600 anti-IMF (International Monetary Fund) protesters were
arrested in Washington, DC, for demonstrating without a permit.
Saudi Arabia signs up Egypt for ‘major military maneuver’
RT - Riyadh continues to strengthen ties with powerful regional armies
amid an ongoing air campaign against Houthi fighters in Yemen. It has
signed up Egypt for a joint planning of a “major military maneuver” with
other Gulf states in Saudi Arabia. During the visit of the Saudi Defense
Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Cairo to discuss military
campaign in Yemen, both countries agreed to form a joint military
committee to discuss the “implementation of a major strategic maneuver
in the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, the Egyptian
President's office said in a statement. The statement gave no further
details on the planned military exercise.
Australian Chief of Defense Sends Troops to Iraq But Can’t Name ISIL
Leader
Sputnik News - Australian Defense Minister has been caught by surprise
when asked to give a name of the Islamic State (IS) leader; the chief of
defense seems to be genuinely unaware whom the Australian contingent he
is sending to Iraq is going to fight with.... Interestingly enough, the
interview happened on the same day when the country’s Cabinet announced
that about 330 more Australian troops will begin heading to the Middle
East as early as Wednesday as part of a boosted contingent in the fight
against the IS group.
UN sanctions Houthis in Yemen, ignores Russian calls for all-inclusive
arms embargo
RT - The UN Security Council has imposed an arms embargo against the
Houthi rebels in Yemen and blacklisted the son of Yemen's former
president and a Houthi leader. Fourteen members of the Security Council
voted in favor of the resolution, Russia being the only abstention. The
Russian representative explained the move by saying that not all of
Moscow’s proposals had been included in the final text drafted by Jordan
and Gulf Arab states. "The co-sponsors refused to include the
requirements insisted upon by Russia addressed to all sides to the
conflict to swiftly halt fire and to begin peace talks," Russian UN
Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council after the vote.
Impunity, Death, and Blowback: Report Exposes Illegal US Drone War in
Yemen
RINF - The study by the Open Society Justice Foundation comes as Yemeni
civilians, already under siege, face even greater threat from
international “counterterrorism” efforts as a U.S.-backed attack on that
country has killed an estimated 364 civilians, including at least 84
children and 25 women.
Saudi Arabia’s Alleged Involvement in the 9/11 Attacks. “Red-Herring”,
Propaganda Ploy
Global Research - The key figure behind this new wave of propaganda is
former Senator Bob Graham, who led the joint inquiry of the Senate and
the House intelligence committees together with Rep. Porter Goss, a
career CIA official who was subsequently appointed Director of National
Intelligence (DNI) by the Bush administration. Graham coordinated the
drafting and editing of the report including the 28 classified pages on
Saudi Arabia.
Russia officially joins $50bn China-led infrastructure bank
RT - On Tuesday Russia officially becomes a founder of the China-led
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). It means Russian companies
can take part in infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region, and
could attract foreign investment into Russia. Russia applied for
membership as a founding member of the AIIB 2 weeks ago, along with
another 52 countries. The founding members have the right to establish
the rules guiding the bank’s activities. China reportedly had rejected
requests from North Korea and Taiwan to join the AIIB. The final list of
the bank’s founding members will be announced on April 15.
‘Historic step towards nuclear-free Japan’: Maverick judge forbids
restart of 2 nuclear reactors
RT - A local judge has placed an injunction on the re-opening of two
nuclear reactors at Japan’s Takahama plant, even though it had passed
the country’s new post-Fukushima safety checks. “The new regulations are
not reasonable, therefore there is no need to study whether the Takahama
plant satisfies them,” said judge Hideaki Higuchi in his ruling. “There
is little rational basis for saying that an earthquake with a magnitude
that exceeds the safety standard will not occur. It is an optimistic
view.”
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
Pentagon drafting thousands of ‘cyber forces’ in prep for cyber
emergency
RT - The Pentagon intends to draft personnel for its cyber
reserve force from civilians as well as the National Guard in
the event of a network emergency, a top military official told
the Senate Armed Forces committee on Tuesday.... The Pentagon is
building the Cyber Mission Force under its offensive and
defensive Cyber Command, which, when fully equipped in 2018,
will have 133 teams and nearly 6,200 military and civilian
personnel. Part of the force will be the “surge force,” with “up
to 2,000 Reserve and National Guard personnel.” So far, the
department is half staffed.
#ShutDownA14: Protesters against police brutality barricade
Brooklyn Bridge
RT - Protesters gathered in New York City and around the United
States to rally against police brutality and a peak in officers
killing unarmed black men. Organizers spread the message on
social media using the #ShutDownA14 hashtag.... Protests are
occurring in more than 30 cities in 18 states. Tuesday’s
nationwide event was organized by the Stop Mass Incarceration
Network.\
ISIS Camp a Few Miles from Texas, Mexican Authorities Confirm
Judicial Watch - ISIS is operating a camp just a few miles from
El Paso, Texas, according to Judicial Watch sources that include
a Mexican Army field grade officer and a Mexican Federal Police
Inspector. The exact location where the terrorist group has
established its base is around eight miles from the U.S. border
in an area known as “Anapra” situated just west of Ciudad Juárez
in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Another ISIS cell to the west
of Ciudad Juárez, in Puerto Palomas, targets the New Mexico
towns of Columbus and Deming for easy access to the United
States, the same knowledgeable sources confirm.
* Related:
ISIS Has Camps On The U.S. Border, But Obama Says ‘Right-Wing
Extremists’ Are The Greatest Terror Threat
Potential BLM Fight Brewing In Southern Oregon
Oath Keepers - Investigating information received last night the
Shasta Lantern has been following a potential standoff building
between BLM and a group of miners located near Grants Pass,
Oregon. The property in question, the Sugar Pine Mining Claim,
has existed as a rightful claim since 1876 and is one of the
oldest claims in the country. Reportedly late this week, BLM
officials accompanied by deputies of Josephine County Sheriff
Dave Daniel issued a Cease and Desist order to the mine and it’s
owners. The order has given the miners until April 25th to
remove all equipment, buildings and supplies from the mine. It
has been reported local BLM officials have threatened to burn
the buildings down if they are not removed by the date.
* Related:
“I Have Some Issues With The Constitution” – BLM Contract Deputy
Sheriff Jason Stanton
Weird Nationwide Walmart Closures Spark Conspiracy Theories
Paul Joseph Watson - Theories are flying after Walmart stores
around the country suddenly announced that they were closing
down for six months to deal with “plumbing” issues. Five
different stores suddenly announced they were shutting up shop
all for the same reason. Walmarts in Pico Rivera, California,
Livingston, Texas, Midland, Texas, Brandon, Florida, and Tulsa,
Oklahoma, all made the announcement. The news sparked wild
conspiracy theories, with some linking the closures to Jade
Helm, the upcoming military exercise which some fear is a dry
run for martial law.
Oklahoma deputy charged with manslaughter in fatal Tulsa
shooting
(Reuters) - Oklahoma prosecutors charged a sheriff's reserve
deputy with second-degree manslaughter on Monday in the fatal
shooting of a black man this month in Tulsa, the most recent in
a series of U.S. cases that have raised questions about race
relations and policing. Reserve deputy Robert Bates, 73 and
white, fatally shot Eric Harris, 44, an African-American, on
April 2. Bates thought he was using a Taser instead of his gun,
the Tulsa Sheriff's office said of the incident seen in a video
released over the weekend.
Chris Christie's big presidential idea: torch Social Security
LA Times - Chris Christie, trying desperately to keep his
presidential hopes alive, wants to look bold, and he's not above
throwing millions of elderly Americans under his campaign bus to
do so. That's the only conceivable explanation for the New
Jersey Republican governor's misinformed and dangerous proposals
to "fix" Social Security. In his big campaign speech delivered
Tuesday in New Hampshire, Christie showed that he doesn't
understand what Social Security is for, why it exists, how it's
funded, or who gets benefits and why.
Clinton to spend $37.92 for every vote in $2.5b campaign
The Washington Examiner - Hillary Rodham Clinton and her support
groups are opening a massive fundraising effort to collect an
historically-high $2.5 billion to win the White House, according
to reports. That amounts to $37.92 per vote in the general
election for the Democrat, more than ever spent in a national
campaign. The math is based on the votes received by President
Obama in his reelection, 65,915,796. Obama spent $1.1 billion,
then a record, so Clinton's will be more than double.
More than 2 MILLION of Hillary Clinton's Twitter followers are
fake or never tweet – and she's already under fire for 'buying'
fake Facebook fans
Daily Mail - Although Hillary Clinton boasts a robust 3.6
million Twitter followers, not even a vast right-wing conspiracy
would be able to interact with 2 million of them. According to
two popular online measuring tools, no more than 44 per cent of
her Twitter fan base consists of real people who are active in
using the social media platform. And at least 15 per cent – more
than 544,000 – are completely fake.
Central bankers gather privately in Washington this Friday to
discuss gold
Chris Powell - Attention, mainstream financial journalists!
Here's something else important for you to ignore this week,
thanks to the diligent eye of gold researcher and GATA
consultant Ronan Manly. It's a breakfast meeting to be held
Friday in Washington for "a select group of central banks and
other official-sector institutions," sponsored by the Official
Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum and the World Gold
Council, to discuss "gold, the renminbi, and the multicurrency
system," convened in conjunction with the spring meeting of the
International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group, a United
Nations agency...
The Fortune 500 companies that didn't pay a PENNY in 2014 income
tax despite being worth BILLIONS
Daily Mail - At least 15 Fortune 500 companies, many of them
worth north of a $1 billion, paid zero income taxes in 2014,
says a report out last week from the Citizens for Tax Justice.
According to the report, household names like CBS, General
Electric and Mattel all successfully manipulated the U.S. tax
code to avoid paying taxes on their massive profits. Even more
shocking: some of them even received tax rebates in the tens or
even hundreds of millions.
Cash Banned in Louisiana at Garage Sales, Flea Markets etc.
EPJ - With the passage of House Bill 195 into law, the State of
Louisiana has banned the use of cash in all transactions
involving secondhand goods. State representative Ricky Hardy, a
co-author of the bill, claims that the bill targets criminals
who traffic in stolen goods. According to Hardy, “It’s a
mechanism to be used so the police department has something to
go on and have a lead.” The bill prohibits cash transactions by
"secondhand dealers," defined to include garage sales, flea
markets, resellers of specialty items, and even non-profit
resellers like Goodwill. Curiously, it specifically exempts
pawnbrokers from the ban.
Nestle Still Bottling 80 Million Gallons of Water Amid CA's
Crisis Drought
Natural Society - Nestlé has continued its water bottling
practices even while California has struggled though its worst
drought in history, gaining not only the negative attention of
residents, but also of an enraged nation. Activists have taken
the matter into their own hands, picketing the corporation that
guzzles over 80 million gallons of water form Sacramento
aquifers every year – only to sell that water back to the
public.... Last week, activists physically blocked the entrance
to one of Nestlé’s water bottling plants in Sacramento, holding
pitchforks and plastic torches.
EU formally charges Google over search 'abuse'
RT - The EU has officially filed a complaint against Google for
allegedly abusing its dominance in the European market. The case
could carry a fine of up to $6 billion, which would be the
biggest settlement in EU antitrust history. The EU has regularly
accused the US tech giant of squeezing out smaller competitors
in Europe by making its Google searches favor its own services.
The Commission has sent the company a formal Statement of
Objections, and it has ten weeks in which to respond.... The
antitrust probe will also dig into the relationship between the
Google’s Android mobile platform, which often comes preloaded
with Google applications like Gmail, Google Maps, and other
Google products, which “has illegally hindered the development
and market access of rival mobile operating systems,” the EC
said.
Gardening, Farming & Homesteading |
Man Gets Prison Sentence For Collecting Rainwater On His Own
Property
Counter Current News - His story quickly went viral after a
rural Oregon man was slapped with fines for collecting rain
water on his own property. But now, as of last Wednesday, Gary
Harrington of Eagle Point, has been sentenced to 30 days in jail
and more than $1,500 in fines, all because he had three
reservoirs on his own property, that he used to collect and use
rainwater. Harrington says he plans to appeal the conviction in
the Jackson County Circuit Court. That conviction revolved
around nine misdemeanor charges that come from a 1925 law. That
archaic ordinance bans what state water managers called “illegal
reservoirs.”
The indisputable connection: Your pH levels and cancer risk
(NaturalHealth365) Understanding pH in the body is very simple: the
lower the reading, the more acidic; the higher the reading, the more
alkaline. Although pH levels will fluctuate in your body according to
meals, exercise, stress, hormones, sleep, and a variety of other
factors, a healthy and balanced saliva pH should be between 7.0 and 7.5.
Why is this information so important to know? Simply put, a higher pH
level promotes health while a low pH level creates an environment
conducive to diseases like breast cancer.
How to improve digestion with beet kvass
(NaturalHealth365) According to the National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases, between 60 and 70 million Americans are
affected by a digestive disease, with more than 48 million visiting
doctors or hospitals for their conditions every year. But, this can be
avoided!... Beet kvass is a Russian fermented beverage made from beets,
sea salt and filtered water. Often compared to kombucha, it is a sour
beverage that is often carbonated or used to prepare foods, such as
salad dressings.
Eat These Foods Daily to Help Keep Your Eyesight Sharp for Your Lifetime
Dr. Mercola - Macular degeneration and cataracts can easily cause
blindness, but don't have to be an automatic part of aging. Especially
if you regularly treat yourself to these 15 carotenoid-rich foods - most
notably this #1 zeaxanthin-rich food of the 33 tested in one study.
* Related:
Saffron Protects Against Macular Degeneration
Tuesday
- April 14, 2015 - Today in History:
1775 - The first abolitionist society in U.S. was organized in
Philadelphia with Ben Franklin as president.
1828 - The first edition of Noah Webster's dictionary was published
under the name "American Dictionary of the English Language."
1860 - The first Pony Express rider arrived in San Francisco with mail
originating in St. Joseph, MO.
1865 - President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's Theater
by John Wilkes Booth. He actually died early the next morning.
1912 - The Atlantic passenger liner Titanic, on its maiden voyage hit an
iceberg and began to sink. 1,517 people lost their lives and more than
700 survived.
1918 - The U.S. First Aero Squadron engaged in America's first aerial
dogfight with enemy aircraft over Toul, France.
1953 - Viet Minh invaded Laos with 40,00 troops.
1959 - The Taft Memorial Bell Tower was dedicated in Washington, DC.
1969 - For the first time, a major league baseball game was played in
Montreal, Canada.
1981 - America's first space shuttle, Columbia, returned to Earth after
a three-day test flight. The shuttle orbited the Earth 36 times during
the mission.
1986 - U.S. President Reagan announced the U.S. air raid on military and
terrorist related targets in Libya.
1987 - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev proposed banning all missiles
from Europe.
1994 - Two American F-15 warplanes inadvertently shot down two U.S.
helicopters over northern Iraq. 26 people were killed including 15
Americans.
1998 - The state of Virginia ignored the requests from the World Court
and executed a Paraguayan for the murder of a U.S. woman.
1999 - Pakistan test-fired a ballistic missile that was capable of
carrying a nuclear warhead and reaching its rival neighbor India.
2000 - After five years of deadlock, Russia approved the START II treaty
that calls for the scrapping of U.S. and Russian nuclear warheads. The
Russian government warned it would abandon all arms-control pacts if
Washington continued with an anti-missile system.
2002 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned to office two days
after being arrested by his country's military.
2008 - Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines announced they were
combining.
US paratroops convoy to western Ukraine for 'training mission'
Stars & Stripes - U.S. paratroopers have arrived in Ukraine for
Operation Fearless Guardian, a six-month effort to train Ukraine’s newly
established national guard force. The first troops from the 173rd
Airborne Brigade arrived Friday in western Ukraine, delivering military
cargo after completing a 1,100-mile convoy from their home station in
Vicenza, Italy, the Army said.
Arms embargo & sanctions on rebels: Yemen resolution up for vote at UN
Security Council
RT - The UN Security Council is set to vote on a resolution drafted by
Gulf Arab states seeking to impose an arms embargo on Yemeni rebels.
Russia earlier suggested an all-inclusive ban on arms sales and to push
all sides to the negotiations table. The draft resolution being put to
the vote on Tuesday envisions an asset freeze and a travel ban on Ahmed
Saleh, the former head of Yemen’s elite Republican Guard, and on
Abdulmalik al-Houthi, a top leader of the Houthi rebel group, alongside
several other top figures challenging Yemeni president’s rule, according
to a Reuters diplomatic source.
Greece isn’t preparing default - Tsipras dispels rumor
RT - Greece isn’t planning a debt default, contrary to reports in the
Financial Times, says Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.... On Monday, the
Financial Times reported Greece was ready to default if it didn’t reach
a debt deal with creditors by the end of April, citing an unnamed
government official. The official said that it wouldn’t pay the May and
June payments to the International Monetary Fund. Authorities in Greece
made a €448 million payment to the IMF on April 9, on schedule.
Vladimir Putin authorizes delivery of missile system to Iran
The Guardian - The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has opened the way
for the controversial delivery of a sophisticated anti-aircraft missile
system to Iran which had been under embargo for the past five years. US
Secretary of State John Kerry called his Russian counterpart Sergei
Lavrov to object to the move, and the US government warned that the
delivery could complicate plans to eventually lift sanctions on Iran as
part of a deal over the country’s nuclear programme.
US, UK thank Russia for evacuation of their citizens from Yemen
RT - “We feel like we’re left behind. No support. I called every Embassy
– all the embassies in Riyadh, in Cairo, in Djibouti – to help me and my
family, but they always apologize. They said “help is coming” – but it
never came,” an American citizen evacuated on a Russian plane told RT’s
Paula Slier. “People now think that Yemeni Americans are like
second-class Americans.” An American citizen currently stranded in
Yemen, Summer Nasser, told RT on Monday that “I really want to
appreciate the Russian government, because yesterday I got a call from
the Russian Ambassador in the capital of Yemen. He was attempting to
rescue American citizens. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take the flight at
the short notice.”
* Related:
Lawsuits Accuse Obama Administration of Abandoning Americans Stuck in
Yemen
China, Russia and Saudi Arabia increase arms spending the most in 2014 -
study
RT - Conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and Asia saw China, Russia
and Saudi Arabia increase their defense spending the most in 2014, while
top buyer the US cut it by 6.5 percent, the Stockholm International
Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has reported. Globally, military
spending remained almost unchanged in 2014 at $1.8 trillion, falling by
0.4 percent in real terms since 2013, according to figures released by
SIPRI on Monday.
'No Jab, No Pay' Australia Policy Ends Payouts To Citizens Who Refuse
Vaccines
Brandon Turbeville - In a stunning example of the disregard held toward
the rights of individual Australians, the Australian government has not
only passed measures to “tighten” guidelines on the ability to obtain
religious exemptions to vaccinations but has also passed a “no jab no
pay” policy ending government welfare payouts to those families who
refuse to vaccinate.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
America Goes Large: Obama Wants Huge Budget for His Anti-Russian
Troll Army
Sputnik News - The US government agency Broadcasting Board of
Governors (BBG) has filed its annual Fiscal Year Budget Request
with the US Congress. This year its overall draft budget of
$751.5 million requires some extra funding. Among the notable
areas which require intense investing is “Countering a
Revanchist Russia”, for which it will allocate $15.4 million to
battles in the blogosphere. Interestingly enough, it is more
than twice as much as the agency is prepared to shell out on
“Countering The ISIL Narrative” ($6.1 million).
FBI Investigating Former White House Military Aide
ABC News - The FBI is investigating a former top military aide
to three U.S. presidents and his firm over allegations it bilked
foreign investors out of millions of dollars by touting his
White House ties and making promises of quick U.S. Green Cards
to raise funds for a giant hotel complex, ABC News has learned.
Five years after an elaborate ground-breaking ceremony in New
Orleans, there is only a vacant lot and investors say almost $16
million has disappeared.
Ex-Blackwater guards get life, 30-year sentences for Baghdad
massacre
RT - Four men who worked for the private military contracting
firm formerly known as Blackwater were sentenced in federal
court on Monday, more than seven years after they massacred
Iraqi civilians in Nisour Square, Baghdad. A sentencing hearing
for the four men – Nicholas Slatten, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty
and Paul Slough – began at 10 a.m. ET in Washington, DC on
Monday. Later in the afternoon, the Washington Post reported
that Slatten was handed a sentence of life behind bars, while
his three ex-colleagues were each dealt 30-year sentences as a
result of firearms convictions they were handed last fall.
UAE Gave $1 Million to NYC Police Foundation; Money Aided
'Investigations'
The Intercept - A 2012 tax document obtained by The Intercept
and not intended for public disclosure reveals the mystery
donation, which neither the police foundation nor the UAE
[United Arab Emirates] will give details about. The foundation
had excluded the UAE from the list of donors on its website,
despite it being one of the largest 2012 contributors… A 2012
Schedule A document filed by the New York City Police Foundation
showed a list of its largest donors, which included several
major financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and Barclays
Capital — but also a line item for the “Embassy of the United
Arab Emirates.” Conspicuously, while the financial institutions
are listed as donors on the Police Foundation website, the UAE
is absent despite being one of the largest contributors listed
that year with its $1 million contribution.
Federal court: no liability for PA judge who made up criminal
charge
Rachel Martin - A federal court recently told a Lawrence County
woman she’s simply out of luck and can’t sue local officials,
including a Common Pleas judge who apparently made up a criminal
charge that was used to place her on electronic monitoring. A
judge has absolute civil immunity, even if the action “was in
error, was done maliciously, or was in excess of his authority,”
the three-judge panel ruled in its six-page opinion.
Free-Range Children Kidnapped by CPS to Prevent Potential
Kidnapping
Activist Post - Remember the Maryland parents who were found
guilty of neglect for allowing their children, 10 and 7, to walk
around the neighborhood together but unaccompanied by an adult?
Yesterday those kids were just taken by CPS because they were
playing at the park by themselves. WUSA-9 reports how the
children were seized: The Maryland parents accused of child
neglect for letting their children roam freely are headed to
Child Protective Services after their children were removed from
a park Sunday by police.
Not the Lesser of Two Evils: Why Hillary Clinton Is Unfit for
the Presidency
Webster Tarpley - As the National Journal reported in 2014, even
the pathetically weak anti-war left is not ready to reconcile
with Hillary given her warmongering as Secretary of State. And
with good reason. Scratching just lightly beneath the surface of
Hillary Clinton’s career reveals the empirical evidence of her
historic support for aggressive interventions around the globe.
The Six Too Big To Fail Banks In The U.S. Have 278 TRILLION
Dollars Of Exposure To Derivatives
Economic Collapse - The very same people that caused the last
economic crisis have created a 278 TRILLION dollar derivatives
time bomb that could go off at any moment. When this absolutely
colossal bubble does implode, we are going to be faced with the
worst economic crash in the history of the United States. During
the last financial crisis, our politicians promised us that they
would make sure that “too big to fail” would never be a problem
again. Instead, as you will see below, those banks have actually
gotten far larger since then. So now we really can’t afford for
them to fail. The six banks that I am talking about are JPMorgan
Chase, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley
and Wells Fargo.
"There Are Big, Big Problems" - The Shocker Crushing The Economy
Revealed
Zero Hedge - According to the CMI, the Rejections of Credit
Applications index just crashed the most ever, surpassing even
the credit crunch at the peak of the Lehman crisis: "There is
quite obviously some serious financial stress manifesting in the
data and this does not bode well for the growth of the economy
going forward. These readings are as low as they have been since
the recession started and to see everything start to get back on
track would take a substantial reversal at this stage.... The
signal this sends is that many companies are not nearly as
healthy as it has been assumed and that there is considerably
less resilience in the business sector than assumed."
Wall Street's Wealth Transfer System Is Imperiling the U.S.
Economy
Wall Street on Parade - One facet that all of these wealth
transfer systems have in common is that they all masquerade
under a benign sounding name. The 401(k) plan is viewed by most
Americans as a way to save for retirement. That’s a good thing –
right? It is not a good thing when two-thirds of your savings
over a working lifetime end up in Wall Street’s pocket, as
carefully demonstrated by Frontline and math-checked by us.
US
Forest Service investigates expired Nestle water permit
ABC News - The U.S. Forest Service is investigating an expired
permit that Nestle has been using to draw water out of a
national forest in Southern California for its bottled water
business. An investigation by the Desert Sun found that Nestle
Waters North America's permit to transport water across the San
Bernardino National Forest expired in 1988. The water is piped
across the national forest and loaded on trucks to a plant where
it is bottled as Arrowhead 100 percent Mountain Spring Water....
Environmentalists have raised concerns about the expired permit
and the lack of government oversight in tracking the water being
tapped amid the state's ongoing drought.
Too little too late? NSA starting to implement ‘Snowden-proof’
cloud storage
RT - The NSA is implementing a huge migration to custom-designed
cloud architecture it says will revolutionize internal security
and protect against further leaks by data analysts with
unfettered access to classified information.... A major part of
the system is that all the data an analyst will have access to
will be tagged with new bits of information, including that
relating to who can see it. Data won’t even show up on an
analyst’s screen if they aren’t authorized to access it, NSA
Chief Information Officer Lonny Anderson told NextGov.
Sprint to pay $15mn for overcharging feds as it wiretapped its
customers
Blacklisted News - Telecommunications giant Sprint has agreed to
pay $15.5 million to settle a lawsuit in which the Obama
administration alleged that the company overbilled the
government while conducting “court-ordered intercepts” of its
customers. In 2014, the government sued Sprint, claiming that it
has overcharged by $21 million – a 58 percent markup, according
to the suit – for its services between January 1, 2007, and July
31, 2010.
Mississippi First in Infant Vaccination Rates – Highest Infant
Mortalities
Health Impact News - Lindey Magee of Mississippi Parents for
Vaccine Rights recently commented on an article published in
Mississippi’s Clarion Ledger on their front page... Mississippi
has the highest rate of childhood vaccination because it is one
of only two states in the U.S. that does not allow parents a
choice regarding vaccines, as a requirement for attending
school. Only a medical doctor can provide an exemption, as
religious and philosophical exemptions are not allowed. The
Clarion Ledger was obviously proud of their vaccination rates,
and many around the country want to follow their model and
remove vaccine choice from parents and families.
OTC Pain Reliever Found to Blunt Emotions Like Joy
Natural Blaze - Ohio State University researchers found a
bizarre and previously unknown side effect when taking
acetaminophen - the main ingredient in Tylenol. Although its
damaging effects on the liver are now widely published, its
impact on positive emotion was never even considered by
researchers in the more than 70 years of its use. Geoffrey Durso,
lead author of the study points out that previous research
showed acetaminophen simultaneously blocked physical and
psychological pain, but it wasn't known to reduce the ability to
feel positive emotions until now.
Is the FDA Getting Ready to Ban Homeopathy?
Health Impact News - Worldwide, homeopathy is the second largest
system of health care used behind conventional
pharmaceutical-based medicine. The number of homeopaths
worldwide doubled between 1999 and 2009, and the number of
homeopathic hospitals grew from under 2,000 to over 7,000.
Currently, there are no homeopathic hospitals in the United
States. There are still homeopaths practicing in the U.S...
Their ability to help heal vaccine injuries, for example, is
quite impressive. Soon, however, the FDA may take steps to
further reduce or even eliminate homeopathy in the U.S., as the
Alliance for Natural Health reports below...
Cops Threaten Dog Owner With $750,000 Fine Over ‘Missing Dog’ Posters
Kit Daniels - Washington, D.C., police threatened a dog owner with a
$750,000 fine for posting ‘Missing Dog’ posters across town. After
losing his dog Ollie on March 30, Roger Horowitz was initially
encouraged by police to post ‘Lost Dog’ posters on lamp posts, but a
police officer recently told him to tear them all down. The D.C.
municipal code does in fact regulate ‘Missing Dog’ posters, despite the
First Amendment.
Monday
- April 13, 2015 - Today in History:
1775 - Lord North extended the New England Restraining Act to South
Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. The act
prohibited trade with any country other than Britain and Ireland.
1782 - Washington, NC, was incorporated as the first town to be named
for George Washington.
1860 - The first mail was delivered via Pony Express when a westbound
rider arrived in Sacremento, CA from St. Joseph, MO.
1861 - After 34 hours of bombardment, the Union-held Fort Sumter
surrenders to Confederates.
1943 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson
Memorial.
1960 - The first navigational satellite was launched into Earth's orbit.
1970 - An oxygen tank exploded on Apollo 13, preventing a planned moon
landing.
1976 - The U.S. Federal Reserve introduced $2 bicentennial notes.
1984 - U.S. President Reagan sent emergency military aid to El Salvador
without congressional approval.
1990 - The Soviet Union accepted responsibility for the World War II
murders of thousands of imprisoned Polish officers in the Katyn Forest.
The Soviets had previously blamed the massacre on the Nazis.
1998 - Dolly, the world's first cloned sheep, gave natural birth to a
healthy baby lamb.
1999 - Jack Kervorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, MI, to 10 to 25 years
in prison for the second-degree murder of Thomas Youk. Youk's assisted
suicide was videotaped and shown on "60 Minutes" in 1998.
2002 - Venezuela's interim president, Pedro Carmona, resigned a day
after taking office. Thousands of protesters had supported over the
ousting of president Hugo Chavez.
Only one-quarter of Gaza $3.5bn reconstruction aid delivered says report
RT - Less than 27 percent of the $3.5 billion aid pledged by
international donors to help rebuild Gaza in the wake of unprecedented
destruction caused by last summer's Israeli Operation Protective Edge
has been disbursed, a new report says. The Association of International
Development Agencies stated in its report, "Charting a New Course:
Overcoming the stalemate in Gaza," that while comprehensive data on
individual pledges and disbursement has not yet been made publicly
available, the World Bank found that only 26.8 percent ($945m) of the
funding earmarked for Gaza had been disbursed so far.
Isis video shows complete destruction of ancient city of Nimrud in Iraq
The Independent - Isis has released a video showing militants using
power tools and bulldozers to deface and destroy ancient monuments in
the Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq, before the site is
levelled with explosives. Damage to the site was first reported in
March, but the undated video lays bare the full scale of destruction, as
the city is completely demolished… The latest demolition by Isis comes
after reports that the terrorist group burnt Mosul library to ground,
which contained 8,000 early manuscripts.
Proxy War Crosses Border? Houthis Reportedly Clash With Saudi Troops
Near Najran
Zero Hedge - … reports suggest the Houthis are battling Saudi forces
near Najran, with some contending the rebels have overtaken a Saudi post
which, if true, would appear to mark an escalation in the conflict as it
would indicate the Houthis are willing to take the fight to the Saudis
on their own turf.
US Declines Evacuation Assistance to Citizens Trapped in War-Torn Yemen
Sputnik News - The situation for Americans in Yemen has grown dire as
many are finding themselves stuck in the freshly war-ravaged nation. The
US appears unable or unwilling to help Americans who hope to evacuate.
An unknown number of Americans are still in Yemen where civil war broke
out last month. As the body count continues to climb, many of those
Americans have been left stranded by their government. While other
nations such as Russia have organized evacuation flights for their
nationals, the US has simply offered advice.
Georgia, Denmark, Brazil, Netherlands, Finland Join China's AIIB Bank
Sputnik News - The existing founding members of the China-led Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have accepted applications of
Georgia, Denmark, Brazil, the Netherlands and Finland to join the bank
as founding states, the Chinese Finance Ministry said Sunday… Media
reports suggest that 52 countries, including Russia, have made
submissions to become founding members of the bank. The final list of
AIIB founding members is expected to be announced by mid-April.
Was Germanwings plane crashed by a HACKER instead of co-pilot? Aviation
expert says the jet could easily be accessed remotely
Daily Mail - An aviation expert has questioned whether the doomed
Germanwings passenger plane may had its electronics 'hacked' before it
crashed killing all 150 on board. The theory has surfaced in a letter to
the respected Financial Times newspaper from aviation boss Matt
Andersson, president of Chicago-based Indigo Aerospace.
Bilderberg 2015 in Austria Will Be Like None Before It
Press For Truth - The annual Bilderberg meeting is set to take place in
Austria this June 2015. Today Dan Dicks of Press For Truth is joined on
the line by Paul Joseph Watson of infowars.com to discuss what some of
the key talking points will be on the agenda this year as well as what
protesters and journalists can expect in regards to dealing with the
"cobra anti terror squad", a whole new level of security for Bilderberg!
Mass Whale Beaching Re-Ignites Quake Fears Among Japanese
Zero Hedge - Six days prior to Japan's devastating 2011 undersea
earthquake that killed over 18,000 people, around 50 melon-headed whales
- a species that is a member of the dolphin family - beached themselves
on Japan’s beaches. Now, 4 years later, and despite a lack of scientific
evidence linking the two events, many Japanese took to social media in
fear as the mass beaching of over 150 melon-headed whales on Japan’s
shores has fueled fears of a repeat of the monster quake, which
unleashed a towering tsunami and triggered a nuclear disaster.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
Land for the People: Alaska Passes Bill Returning State Land
from Federal Control
21st Century Wire - All across the western states, a grass-roots
movement has risen to reclaim states’ Constitutionally mandated
public lands from federal government control. Presently,
resolutions and bills are in motion is Nevada, Arizona, Utah,
New Mexico and now Alaska. For decades, significant clashes
between the western states and the federal government over
public land jurisdiction and ownership have led states to press
the issue concerning some 700 million acres of federally
controlled ‘public lands’ which including national parks,
national forests, and national monuments, environmental zones
and other ‘protected areas’. Millions of residents in the
western states believe that this land belong to the states, and
that Washington DC must observe its own legal and Constitutional
limitations as stipulated in Article One, Section 8, of the
United States Constitution.
National Guard Trains To Take on US Citizens
Prison Planet.com - Exclusive footage provided to Infowars from
an attendee of the California National Guard’s “dirty bomb”
exercise in Richmond Saturday shows guard troops training to
take on U.S. citizens. Role players simulating members of the
American public can be seen screaming as guard troops with
batons push them back in what appears to be a crowd control
scenario. A second clip shows troops surrounding two men,
reportedly victims, as they are escorted off scene. The
exercise, which included “more than 200 soldiers, airmen, local
law enforcement and firefighting personnel,” will be followed by
other large scale military drills which some fear are being used
to acclimate the public to martial law during civil unrest or a
national emergency.
Washington State Allows Text Records from 88K Government Phones
to be Wiped Daily
Mikael Thalen - The state of Washington is failing to store
backups of text messages from 88,000 government phones that are
being wiped on a daily basis, a direct violation of state
records retention laws. The shocking discovery began last
November after Fife City Attorney Loren Combs requested four
years worth of text messages from a former city manager.
According to The News Tribune’s Sean Robinson, who broke the
story Saturday, Combs was told to get a subpoena by Verizon, one
of several phone providers to the state, after the city deferred
his request to the telecom.
Medical Choice Under Attack as SB277 Passes CA Health Committee
Activist Post - As parents and concerned citizens rallied in
Sacramento to oppose Senate Bill 277, the Senate Health
Committee advanced the bill with a 6 to 2 vote. In what the
Sergeant at Arms described as “The biggest turnout I’ve seen in
15 years,” the signed bill now faces further challenges on the
way to law.... Before the final vote, Committee Chair Senator Ed
Hernandez (D) West Covina stated for the record “I believe in
the science. I believe vaccines are safe and effective.” Not to
be outdone, Senator Lois Wolk (D) Davis represented the
collectivist, herd immunity crowd by stating for the record,
“Our individual rights aren’t without limits. You insisting on
your right (to not vaccinate) could harm my child or
grandchild.” For pro-vaccine choice parents who wish to still
live in California and maintain their freedom of medical choice,
an amendment will be added to allow homeschooling parents to
maintain their philosophical exemption.
New Mexico Gov. Signs Bill Abolishing Civil Asset Forfeiture
Ben Swann - New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez signed a bill to
abolish civil asset forfeiture Friday. She signed just before
the noon deadline that would have pocket vetoed the legislation.
Civil asset forfeiture is a practice where police can seize your
property and keep it even if they don’t convict or charge you
with a crime. Then, you must go through the difficult, and often
unsuccessful process to get your property–whether it’s a
vehicle, cash or your home–back from the police.
Paul Questions Hillary’s Sincerity on Women’s Rights
Trey Sanchez - On CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, 2016
Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul questioned Hillary
Clinton’s sincerity on women’s rights given the fact that she
may have accepted donations to the Clinton Foundation from
countries with terrible human rights records. Paul noted the
“history” of the Clintons “feeling like they’re above the law.”
Especially in light of touting that they would not accept
donations to the Clinton Foundation during the time she was
Secretary of State when there are accusations that they did.
“There are questions of them taking millions of dollars from
Saudi Arabia, from the Sultan of Brunei,” Paul said. “Countries
that really have an abysmal human rights record and women’s
rights record.”
Hillary Clinton launches 2016 presidential campaign
RT - Hillary Clinton's aide John Podesta officially announced on
Sunday that the former Secretary of State intends to seek the
presidency of the United States for the second time....
Meanwhile, past scandals are likely to surround Clinton’s
campaign. Last month, the erstwhile senator and first lady was
embroiled in a controversy surrounding her use of a
private—rather than government-issued—email account during her
time at the State Department. Clinton’s time as Secretary of
State was also marred by the Benghazi terrorist attacks in 2012
which left four Americans dead at the US compound. Clinton
stands accused of not having done enough to protect US staff.
Military veterans target U.S. drone strikes in TV ads
Sacramento Bee - A group of military veterans is taking aim at
U.S. drone strikes overseas with graphic TV ads directly asking
Air Force pilots to stop flying the unmanned aircraft, calling
the operations immoral and illegal. The ads are the first
commercials opposing U.S. drone operations ever shown on
American TV, according to sponsors, which include the Veterans
Democratic Club of Sacramento County and the Sacramento chapter
of Veterans for Peace. The campaign is spearheaded by an
activist website,
KnowDrones.com.
Puerto Ricans who can’t speak English qualify as disabled for
Social Security
Washington Post - Hundreds of Puerto Rico’s residents qualified
for federal disability benefits in recent years because they
lacked fluency in English, according to government auditors. The
Social Security Administration’s inspector general questioned
the policy this month in light of the fact that Spanish is the
predominant language in the U.S. territory. Under Social
Security regulations, individuals are considered less employable
in the United States if they can’t speak English, regardless of
their work experience or level of education.
* Related:
Social Security disability trust fund projected to run out of
cash by 2016
NY spent $28 million in taxpayer money to create 76 jobs
The Verge - When Governor Andrew Cuomo launched Start-Up New
York in late 2013, his office called it a "game-changing"
initiative that promised "a windfall" of innovation. The program
established 356 tax-free zones in order to "attract high-tech
and other start-ups." However, a new report from the state's
Department of Economic Development found that the initiative
only created 76 jobs in 2014, despite a $28 million ad
campaign.... The zones created by Start-Up New York were tied to
62 sponsoring colleges and universities. The program allowed
companies to operate tax-free for 10 years "on eligible campuses
and spaces." According to the report, those 76 jobs came from 30
companies in industries like software, biotech, and
manufacturing.
Video Shows Chevron Allegedly Covering Up Ecuadorian Amazon
Contamination
Sputnik News - A video provided to the environmental group
Amazon Watch by a whistleblower from oil giant Chevron, appears
to show what the group is describing as “smoking gun evidence”
of corruption, as Chevron attempted to cover up their
contamination of the Amazon… A spokesperson for Chevron
maintained that there was nothing improper happening in the
videos, yet Donzinger has faced what he describes as “stunning
efforts” by Chevron to suppress the footage.
NSA dreams of smartphones with “split” crypto keys protecting
user data
Ars Technica - National Security Agency officials are
considering a range of options to ensure their surveillance
efforts aren't stymied by the growing use of encryption,
particularly in smartphones. Key among the solutions, according
to The Washington Post, might be a requirement that technology
companies create a digital key that can open any locked device
to obtain text messages or other content, but divide the key
into pieces so no one group could use it without the cooperation
of other parties.
Gardening, Farming & Homesteading |
What is Monsanto hiding in secret documents?
Jon Rappoport's Blog - Two days ago, I reported on a scandal
occurring in the Monsanto vs. Maui court case: Namely, heavily
redacted documents, which Monsanto has offered to the court in
defense of its position that it should be allowed to continue
toxic pesticide and GMO experiments in Maui County. Federal
Judge, Susan Oki Mollway, who will decide the case, has read the
full unredacted versions of these Monsanto documents—but the
lawyers representing the people of Maui have not. And they
can’t. The blacked-out information is off-limits to them. This
means they can’t argue their case with full knowledge. They’re
hamstrung. To conclude this situation is unfair and illegitimate
is a vast understatement.
Baker College instructor told students to threaten patients into
vaccinations, lawsuit claims
MLive - FLINT, MI -- A Shiawassee County woman is suing Baker
College after she claims she was kicked out of the school's
nursing program because she questioned lessons she claims
encouraged students to lie to patients in order to get them
vaccinated. Nichole Rolfe filed the lawsuit Monday, April 6, in
Genesee Circuit Court on claims an instructor at the private
school's Owosso campus told students to threaten and panic
patients into immunizations. Rolfe's October 2013 dismissal from
the program came 20 weeks before she was set to graduate.
‘Super Juice Me’ Documents Profound Healing Effects of Juicing
Dr. Mercola - When you drink fresh, live juice, it's almost like
receiving an intravenous infusion of vitamins, minerals, and
enzymes because they go straight into your body without needing
to be broken down. Since juicing is essentially "mainlining"
live nutrients, it's no surprise it can produce rapid and
profound health benefits.... Juicing expert Jason Vale recruited
eight people who collectively suffered from 22 different chronic
diseases and put them on a juice-only diet for 28 days (plus
exercise) in order to explore juicing's potential benefits for
reversing chronic disease. And then he filmed their experience.
The documentary "Super Juice Me" chronicles Vale's 28-day
"super-juicing" experiment. The health improvements seen by
those eight are nothing short of astounding.
16 Incredible Health Benefits of Cayenne Pepper
Natural News Blogs - Cayenne, also known as capsicum, is an
extraordinary spice with remarkable health benefits. From
hypertension and cancer to arthritis and infections, cayenne
treats a slew of your health woes, and all it takes is a dash to
reap the benefits of cayenne. Cayenne pepper has been used for a
variety of ailments including heartburn, delirium, tremors,
gout, paralysis, fever, dyspepsia, flatulence, sore throat,
atonic dyspepsia, hemorrhoids, menorrhagia in women, nausea,
tonsillitis, scarlet fever and diphtheria.
Friday
- April 10, 2015 - Today in History:
1790 - The U.S. patent system was established.
1849 - Walter Hunt patented the safety pin. He sold the rights for $100.
1865 - During the American Civil War, at Appomattox, General Robert E.
Lee issued his last order.
1866 - The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
was incorporated.
1912 - The Titanic set sail from Southampton, England.
1922 - The Genoa Conference opened. The meeting was used to discuss the
reconstruction of Europe after World War I.
1941 - In World War II, U.S. troops occupied Greenland to prevent Nazi
infiltration.
1945 - German Me 262 jet fighters shot down ten U.S. bombers near
Berlin.
1960 - The U.S. Senate passed the Civil Rights Bill.
1963 - 129 people died when the nuclear-powered submarine USS Thresher
failed to surface off Cape Cod, MA.
1968 - U.S. President Johnson replaced General Westmoreland with General
Creighton Abrams in Vietnam.
1972 - The U.S. and the Soviet Union joined with 70 other nations in
signing an agreement banning biological warfare.
1994 - NATO warplanes launched air strikes for the first time on Serb
forces that were advancing on the Bosnian Muslim town of Gordazde. The
area had been declared a U.N. safe area.
2002 - Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before the
U.S. Senate as a representative of the Israeli government. He warned
that suicide bombers would spread to the U.S. if Israel was not allowed
to finish its military offensive in the West Bank. Netanyaho also cited
the goals of dismantling the terror regime and expelling Arafat from the
region, ridding the Palestinian territories of terrorist weapons and
establishing "physical barriers" to protect Israelis from future
Palestinian attacks.
ISIS Is Just Miles Away From Assad's Presidential Palace In Damascus
Zero Hedge - ISIS, in possible cooperation with rival al-Nusra, has
taken control of a strategic Syrian refugee camp in Damascus just miles
from Bashar al-Assad's Presidential palace, prompting Palestinian
militimen to rethink their allegiances and plunging the camp — where
18,000 people are trapped — into what the UN Secretary General calls
"the darkest circle of hell."
Pakistani lawmakers vote to stay out of Yemen conflict
(AP) - Pakistan's parliament on Friday decided not to join the Saudi-led
coalition targeting Shiite rebels in Yemen, with lawmakers adopting a
resolution that calls on the warring parties in the impoverished Arabian
Peninsula country to resolve the conflict through peaceful dialogue.
Military boost: US to urge Canada to upgrade Arctic missile sensors
RT - The US military is planning to ask the Canadian government to
upgrade missile sensors in the Arctic, in order to improve detection of
different types of missiles, according to a senior US defense official.
The upgrade requests for the Canada-US North Warning System and DEW Line
– the distant early warning line – are being directed at the Canadian
government and the US policy leaders, Admiral William Gortney, the head
of the Canada-US NORAD program and of Northern Command, said at a news
conference in Pentagon on Tuesday.
Iran's Khamenei accuses Saudi Arabia of genocide over Yemen airstrikes
RT - Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has attacked the air
strikes by the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels in Yemen,
saying the operation which has caused civilian deaths amounts to
genocide. "The aggression by Saudi Arabia against Yemen and its innocent
people was a mistake," Khamenei said in a speech on Iranian TV. "This is
a crime and genocide that can be prosecuted in the international
courts."
Six Things You Didn’t Know the U.S. and Its Allies Did to Iran
The Intercept - It’s hard for some Americans to understand why the Obama
administration is so determined to come to an agreement with Iran on its
nuclear capability, given that huge Iranian rallies are constantly
chanting “Death to America!” I know the chanting makes me unhappy, since
I’m part of America, and I strongly oppose me dying. But if you know our
actual history with Iran, you can kind of see where they’re coming from.
US-Backed ''TechCamp'' Color Revolution Revealed By Ukraine Official
Brandon Turbeville - As NATO-backed protests were beginning to take off
in Ukraine after then-president Viktor Yanukovich agreed to accept a
financial deal with Russia as opposed to the greater
integration/austerity package proposed by the European Union, evidence
of US involvement in the Euromaidan color revolution began to surface in
the Ukrainian Rada. Indeed, early on, there were individuals in the
Ukrainian government who recognized that there was an international and
NATO-centered plot at work in their country designed to overthrow the
President and other elected officials using “swarming adolescents” and
other more violent elements of protest and destabilization.
Anonymous Posts List of ISIL Websites and the US, UK Firms That Host
Them
Sputnik News - The hacktivist collective Anonymous has published a list
of websites used by the self-proclaimed Islamic State for propaganda and
recruitment along with the companies - many based in the US and Europe -
hosting them, in an effort to push for their removal. This is the latest
in a string of recent actions dubbed #OpISIS, in which the hackers — in
particular an Anonymous faction known as GhostSec — have taken aim at
the online resources of the internet-savvy Islamic State propagandists.
Russia Offers Indonesia Mutual Transactions in National Currencies
Sputnik News - Earlier on Thursday, the 10th Session of the
Indonesia-Russia Joint Commission on Trade-Economic and Technical
Cooperation started in the city of Kazan in the southeastern part of
European Russia. “We [Russia] expect active support in the transition to
the use of national currencies in our trade relations with [a number of
countries] and Indonesia, too" Denis Manturov, Russia's minister of
industry and trade, told his Indonesian interlocutor, Coordinating
Economic Minister Sofyan Djalil during the session. Russia has already
discussed this initiative with India, China, Vietnam and Thailand,
Manturov added.
Italy's Eurosceptics Get 100,000 Signatures for Referendum to Exit
Eurozone
Sputnik News - Italy collected more than 100,000 signatures as it
prepares a referendum on withdrawal from the Eurozone.... We are hopeful
that such a referendum will take place as early as the beginning of
2016,” said Carlo Sybil, a representative of Italy's largest opposition
"Movement 5 Stars", RIA Novosti reported.... “A lot of socio-economic
issues that we raised in the Italian Parliament could not be solved due
to the fact that the Eurozone countries cannot implement its own
economic, fiscal and monetary policy. As a result, we have a situation
in which a number of EU countries may repeat the fate of Greece. In
Italy today there are similar progressions and the situation continues
to deteriorate."
Netherlands Publishes Documents on MH17 Crash in East Ukraine says
Reports
Sputnik News - The Netherlands has published over 500 documents linked
to the July 2014 MH17 flight crash in eastern Ukraine following a
freedom of information request filed by several news outlets, the Dutch
NL Times reported. The documents were released after Dutch NOS, RTL
Nieuws and Volkskrant appealed to the government, citing the Freedom of
Information Act. However, some 150 of the requested documents remained
classified. The 575 documents mostly consist of emails of the National
Crisis Core Team, established shortly after the catastrophe.
Ebola Positive US Citizen Discharged From Maryland Health Facility - NIH
Sputnik News - The Ebola positive US healthcare worker who was treated
at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in the US
state of Maryland has been discharged and is no longer contagious, the
NIH announced in a statement. “The American healthcare worker admitted
to the NIH Clinical Center on March 13 with Ebola virus disease was
discharged today in good condition after having been successfully
treated at the NIH Clinical Center Special Clinical Studies Unit,” the
statement read on Thursday. “The individual is no longer contagious to
the community. At the request of the patient, no further information is
being provided.”
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
Sheriff Orders Immediate Internal Investigation Into Arrest Seen
on "Disturbing" Video
CBS News - San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon ordered an
immediate internal investigation Thursday into an arrest by
deputies after a horse pursuit caught on camera by NewsChopper4.
Deputies appeared to use Tasers to stun a man and then beat him
after the pursuit in San Bernardino County Thursday
afternoon.... In the two minutes after the man was stunned with
a Taser, it appeared deputies kicked him 17 times, punched him
37 times and struck him with batons four times.
Illegal Immigrants in US Army is 'Trojan Horse' in Town -
Advocacy Group
Sputnik News - In September, the US Army announced it would
expand the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI)
program to encourage immigrants with certain language and
medical skills to serve in exchange for fast-tracking their US
citizenship. However, William Gheen, the president of for Legal
Immigration Political Action Committee (ALIPAC), was not too
impressed about the decision.... “Taking illegal immigrants that
have broken into our country and training them in advanced
military tactics and weaponry is as dangerous an idea as
allowing a Trojan Horse into your city."
Montana Legislature Passes Bill to Limit Federal Militarization
of Local Police
Activist Post - A bill that would heavily diminish the effect of
federal surplus equipment programs that militarize local police
was given final approval by the Montana House today. The vote
was 79-20. Introduced by Rep. Nicholas Schwaderer (R-Superior),
House Bill 330 (HB330) bans state or local law enforcement
agencies from receiving drones that are armored, weaponized, or
both; aircraft that are combat configured or combat coded;
grenades or similar explosives and grenade launchers; silencers;
and “militarized armored vehicles” from federal military surplus
programs.
Minneapolis police records shed light on 2014 military training
Daily Planet - In August of 2014, military helicopters flew low
over residential neighborhoods of Minneapolis and Saint Paul,
engaged in a series of night-time training exercises. The
exercises involved the Naval Warfare Development Group - a
"special forces" component of the U.S. Navy - and were aimed at
enhancing urban combat tactics. Just as they had two years
earlier, military personnel had come to the Twin Cities to
conduct counter-terrorism training operations in an urban
environment. And just as before, those operations commenced with
little advance notice to the public.
Conspiracy Theorist Arrested After Calling Sandy Hook Shooting
“Fake”
Paul Joseph Watson - 30-year-old Timothy Rogalski called the
Sandy Hook Elementary School on Tuesday morning and left four
messages on the school’s answering machine before speaking to an
administrative assistant. Using his father’s name, Rogalski said
he wanted to enroll a child in the school but wanted to make
sure no more “fake” shootings would occur. After calling two
other schools in Newtown, police traced the number back to
Rogalski and arrested him at his home.
James Holmes Colorado theater shooting case costs $2.2M before
trial expected to start April 27
KRDO News - Documents show taxpayer costs for the Colorado
theater shooting case have risen to more than $2.2 million
before the trial has even started, and that doesn't include
legal costs for defendant James Holmes.
* Related:
Multiple Shooters Alleged in Aurora Theater Massacre
Reid Changes Story… ‘Big Metal Hook’ in the Wall?
Breitbart - Reid’s latest version of the incident, as told to
Ramos, differs from previous versions advanced by his team in
another very significant way.... As Breitbart News reported
previously, that version of the story, almost certainly told to
Politico by Reid’s staffers with his approval, is not credible.
Now, however, Reid tells Ramos a different story. The exercise
band was not attached to the shower door in his bathroom, Reid
says, but was instead attached to “a big metal hook that came
out from the wall” in an unspecified room in his new Nevada
home.
Swat Team Goes After Shoplifter Who Stole $8.50 Worth Of Goods
Blacklisted News - It was about $8.00 worth of groceries, but it
cost police 7 hours and a lot of resources. SWAT teams, a
mandatory evacuation and a scissor lift–Baltimore County police
pulling out all the stops to arrest a shoplifter who lodged
herself above the highest walls of the Giant store in Arbutus.
Hillary Clinton to launch presidential campaign on Sunday en
route to Iowa says source
The Guardian - Hillary Clinton is planning to officially launch
her US presidential campaign on Sunday while en route to Iowa, a
source familiar with the campaign has confirmed to the Guardian.
The former secretary of state is scheduled to declare her second
run for president on Twitter at noon eastern time on Sunday, the
source told the Guardian, followed by a video and email
announcement, then a series of conference calls mapping out a
blitzkrieg tour beginning in Iowa and looking ahead to more
early primary states. Clinton’s Sunday schedule is booked
beginning with takeoff from New York to Iowa, where speculation
has centered for weeks that Clinton was focusing attention for
an April campaign launch.
Wall Street's Biggest Banks May Have To Make Good On $26 Billion
In Oil Hedges
Zero Hedge - "The fair value of hedges held by 57 U.S. companies
in the Bloomberg Intelligence North America Independent
Explorers and Producers index rose to $26 billion as of Dec. 31,
a fivefold increase from the end of September," Bloomberg
writes, noting that the very same Wall Street banks on the hook
for the hedges also financed the shale boom.
New Study Links Pennsylvania’s Fracking Boom To Increased
Radioactive Gas In Homes
ThinkProgress - Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health asserted that levels of radon — a odorless,
carcinogenic, radioactive gas — have been on the rise in
Pennsylvania homes since 2004, around the same time the state’s
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) began rapidly
increasing the number of permits it issued for unconventional
gas drilling. Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer
in the world after smoking, according to the the Environmental
Protection Agency. Approximately 40 percent of Pennsylvania
homes are believed to have radon levels above the recommended
limits, according to the state DEP.
Detective reveals expansive use of StingRay surveillance in
Baltimore
RT - The Baltimore Police Department used controversial cell
phone surveillance tools more than 4,000 times since 2007, an
officer revealed this week, but has stayed largely silent on the
topic until now upon orders from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. In a rare admission, Detective Emmanuel Cabreja
testified in court on Wednesday that the city has deployed “cell
site simulators,” including the increasingly prevalent StingRay
device, 4,300 times during the last eight years. According to
the Baltimore Sun, Cabreja said he personally used that tool,
and another known as a ‘Hailstorm’, upwards of 800 times during
only a two-year span.
Feds Suspend Funding for Los Angeles Cell Towers
Natural Society - This is an update on the cell tower situation
in Los Angeles, California, that I wrote about earlier... Well,
even more news is breaking regarding those
‘mushroom-like-cropping-up’ cell towers. Activists in LA report
to me that the US Federal government suspended funding of the
Los Angeles arm of the deadly federal surveillance tower roll
out!! According to Fierce Wireless Magazine, we gave First Net a
"black eye" which they may or may not recover from.
How to Make Your Own Thieves Vinegar: Boosting Total Immunity
Natural Society - When you add some antimicrobial herbs to an
already-healthy vinegar (containing the power of fermentation),
you end up with a health tonic that is referenced in the Bible
and the writings of Ancient Greece. The “Thieves” name comes
with many stories. Some argue that condemned criminals were sent
out to bury the dead during the plague, and only those who drank
vinegar infused with garlic lived to tell about it.
Pistachio: Potent Medicine for Heart and Airway
Green Med Info - For thousands of years Ayurvedic medicine has
utilized the galls of the pistachio tree to treat asthma, skin
conditions and heart conditions. Now science is showing us the
proof.
90% of Serotonin is Made in the Gut
Natural Blaze - Although serotonin is well known as a brain
neurotransmitter, it is estimated that 90 percent of the body's
serotonin is made in the digestive tract. In fact, altered
levels of this peripheral serotonin have been linked to diseases
such as irritable bowel syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and
osteoporosis. New research at Caltech, published in the April 9
issue of the journal Cell, shows that certain bacteria in the
gut are important for the production of peripheral serotonin.
More Pet Food Testing, More Problems in Pet Food
Susan Thixton - Some pet food testing in Europe has found 14 of
17 pet foods to include meats not identified on product labels.
Lack of pet food transparency is a worldwide concern. In this
study (and this one was a study), researchers testing 17 popular
brands of pet food sold in Europe. The study looked for animal
protein sourced from cow, horse, pig and chicken. Of significant
concern, “there was detection at substantial levels of
unspecified animal species in most products tested.” Unspecified
animal species could be any animal other than cow, horse, pig
and chicken. Let us hope these researchers will do further DNA
analysis to determine the exact animal that was dubbed
‘unspecified’.
Thursday
- April 9, 2015 - Today in History:
1682 - Robert La Salle claimed the lower Mississippi River and all lands
that touch it for France.
1770 - Captain James Cook discovered Botany Bay on the Australian
continent.
1833 - Peterborough, NH, opened the first municipally supported public
library in the United States.
1865 - At Appomattox Court House, Virginia, General Robert E. Lee
surrendered his Confederate Army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in
the parlor of Wilmer McClean's home. Grant allowed Rebel officers to
keep their sidearms and permitted soldiers to keep their horses and
mules. Though there were still Confederate armies in the field, the war
was officially over. The four years of fighting had killed 360,000 Union
troops and 260,000 Confederate troops.
1867 - The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty with Russia that purchased
the territory of Alaska by one vote.
1905 - The first aerial ferry bridge went into operation in Duluth, MN.
1912 - The first exhibition baseball game was held at Fenway Park in
Boston. The game was between Red Sox and Harvard.
1913 - The Brooklyn Dodgers' Ebbets Field opened.
1940 - Germany invaded Norway and Denmark.
1942 - In the Battle of Bataan, American and Filipino forces were
overwhelmed by the Japanese Army.
1957 - The Suez Canal was cleared for all shipping.
1959 - NASA announced the selection of America's first seven astronauts.
1963 - Winston Churchill became the first honorary U.S. citizen.
1965 - The Houston Astrodome held its first baseball game.
1967 - The first Boeing 737 was rolled out for use.
1968 - Murdered civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., was buried.
1976 - The U.S. and Russia agreed on the size of nuclear tests for
peaceful use.
1983 - The space shuttle Challenger concluded it first flight.
1988 - The U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Panama.
1998 - The National Prisoner of War Museum opened in Andersonville, GA,
at the site of an infamous Civil War camp.
1998 - More than 150 Muslims died in stampede in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on
last day of the haj pilgrimage.
2003 - Jubilant Iraqis celebrated the collapse of Saddam Hussein's
regime, beheading a toppled statue of their longtime ruler in downtown
Baghdad.
President Rouhani: Iran won't sign final nuclear deal unless all
sanctions lifted
RT - Iranian President said Tehran won’t sign a final nuclear deal
unless economic sanctions against the country are lifted first. The
comments contradict Washington’s statement that sanctions would be
lifted gradually, subject to Iran compliance. "We will not sign any deal
unless all sanctions are lifted on the same day ... We want a win-win
deal for all parties involved in the nuclear talks," Rouhani said in a
televised speech on Thursday.
Islamic State Loses Control of Three Large Iraq Oil Fields says Reports
Sputnik News - The Islamic State militant group has lost control of
three large oil fields in Iraq that helped the group finance their
operations, German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung reported Thursday citing
the German Federal Intelligence Service. According to the newspaper, the
ISIL currently controls only the Qayara oil field outside Mosul. The oil
field has the output capacity of 2,000 barrels per day, which amounts to
around 5 percent of the total oil production, previously available to
the ISIL, according to Suddeutsche Zeitung.
Iran Enters Hornets Nest: Parks Two Warships Off Yemen Coast Immediately
Next To Two US Aircraft Carriers
Zero Hedge - The 34th fleet of the Iranian Navy has left for the Gulf of
Aden and Bab al-Mandab Strait in line with the country’s policy of
safeguarding naval routes for vessels in the region. The flotilla, which
comprises the Bushehr logistic vessel and Alborz destroyer, left Iran’s
southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Wednesday, Navy Commander Rear
Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said on the sidelines of a ceremony to deploy
the fleet. And now the punchline: the two Iran warships will now be
located in the immediate vicinity of not only two US aircraft carriers,
CVN-71 Teddy Roosevelt and CVN-70 Vinson, but well as the big-deck
amphibious warship Iwo Jima which as reported before is providing marine
support should the situation demand it.
Red Cross: Saudis Still Blocking Our Aid, Yemen Crisis Worsening;
Washington Increases US Bombs, Ammo Going to Saudi Tyrant
Blacklisted News - Openly US-coordinated-and-assisted terrorist attacks
by Saudi dictator Salman Abdulaziz have killed hundreds of civilians in
Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, over the past two weeks.
The Red Cross continues to try to get Abdulaziz to stop blocking
humanitarian aid from entering the country, saying the situation for
civilians is catastrophic and getting worse. Instead of allowing aid,
Abdulaziz increased his attack by firing explosives into Yemeni cities
from naval vessels, in addition to his airstrikes.
Vietnam Shuns US, Joins Russia-Led Economic Union
Zero Hedge - With many of the world's nations drawing closer to the
China-led AIIB, and The Greeks in Moscow today, the news that Vietnam
has agreed all of the principle aspects in creating a free trade zone
between the countries of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, will
likely come as yet another blow to Washington.
Tsipras: Greece will seek to mend ties between Russia & EU through
European institutions
RT - Greece will use its presence in various European institutions to
promote dialogue between Russia and EU countries, Greek PM Alexis
Tsipras said after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on
Wednesday. Dialogue on a range of European issues, including security in
the region, is not possible without Russia, Tsipras added.... Speaking
after the meeting with Tsipras, Putin also stressed that Athens has not
formally asked Moscow for financial help to pay off its debt.
Former CIA station chief will face murder charges over drone strike,
Pakistan court rules
The Guardian - The former head of the CIA in Pakistan should be tried
for murder and waging war against the country, a high court judge ruled
on Tuesday. Criminal charges against Jonathan Banks, the former CIA
station chief in Islamabad, were ordered in relation to a December 2009
attack by a US drone which reportedly killed at least three people.
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad high court also ruled
charges should be brought against John A Rizzo, formerly the top CIA
lawyer who gave the legal green light for drone strikes.
"Odious Debt" Has Finally Arrived: Greece To Write Off "Illegal" Debt
Zero Hedge - It was back in June 2011 when we first hinted that the time
of Odious Debt is rapidly approaching. Today, nearly four years later,
Odious Debt is now a reality in Greece, where Zoi Konstantopoulou, the
head of the Greek parliament and a SYRIZA member, released two videos
which have promptly gone viral, designed to promote the investigative
parliamentary committee to look into the circumstances surrounding the
signing of the country’s two bailout agreements that led Greece to
implement its austerity measures. According to Greek Reporter,
Konstantopoulou has said that the newly established “Debt Truth
Committee,” will investigate how much of the debt is “illegal” with a
view to writing it off.
TEPCO may evaporate contaminated Fukushima water
RT - Tainted water from Fukushima nuclear plant storage may be
evaporated or stored underground instead of following earlier plans to
release it into the ocean.... Chief decommissioning officer Naohiro
Masuda, told Reuters he did not know when a final decision about
evaporation would be made.
Monsanto Admits Paying for GMO Farmer’s Legal Defense in Australia Court
Case
Sustainable Pulse - In what can only be described as a public relations
disaster for Monsanto, the company has been forced to admit Wednesday
that it financially supported the legal defense of the farmer who
contaminated Steve Marsh’s farm in Western Australia. The GMO
contamination of Steve Marsh’s organic farm has received worldwide
attention over the past few months.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
Hillary Clinton found at the rotten center of the Common Core
national standards initiative
EAG News - A veteran educator says parents can thank Hillary
Clinton for the Common Core national standards that have been
thrust upon schools across the country. Even though most people
probably believe that Common Core was developed during President
Barack Obama’s term in office, the foundation of the initiative
goes all the way back to the 1980s, reports veteran educator and
now-commentator Donna Garner.
Cops trained to justify use of deadly force – former US Marshal
RT - Retired Chief Deputy US Marshal Matthew Fogg, who served as
a law enforcement officer for 32 years, spoke with RT’s Ben
Swann about the recent spate of officer-involved shootings in
which police killed unarmed suspects and claimed they feared for
their safety or for the safety of others. He said the officers’
training is to blame. “The training says that, whenever you use
deadly force, you have to be able to justify it. So to justify
it, you have to say either I feared for the safety of myself or
the safety of the public, and that this person was an extreme
danger to either party,” Fogg said.
"Boston Bomber" Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Found Guilty, Eligible For
Death Penalty
Zero Hedge - As was largely expected, after 11 hours of
deliberations by the jury, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted
moments ago of killing four people and injuring 264 in the 2013
Boston Marathon bombings. While the guilty counts are still
being read (the full list of 30 is presented below), he has
already been found guilty of counts 1-10 all of which carry the
death penalty. Next up: the jury must decide if he gets the
death penalty. A CBS live feed below
Nephew of JFK: Vaccines are a “Holocaust”
Paul Joseph Watson - Robert Kennedy Jr., the nephew of JFK,
caused controversy before the introduction of a bill that would
mandate vaccines for children in California when he asserted
that the number of kids developing autism after receiving shots
represented a “holocaust” for America. The legislation, which
would ban exemptions on vaccines, got its first hearing today in
front of the California Senate health committee. The new law
would prevent parents from citing personal beliefs or religious
reasons to avoid getting their children vaccinated. Opposing the
legislation, Kennedy highlighted the alleged link between
vaccines and autism.
Rand Paul Hits Hillary: ‘Going to Be a Whole Wrath’ of New
Questions on Email, Clinton Foundation Scandals
Breitbart - Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is firing away at Democratic
Party likely 2016 frontrunner former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton right after announcing his presidential campaign,
telling Breitbart News in an exclusive interview—one of just a
handful he’s done since announcing—that he expects a “wrath” of
new questions to unfurl upon her about the Clinton Foundation
and her email scandal before long.
In Chicago, Reports of Voters Receiving Ballots Already Marked
for Emanuel
In These Times - Around 10:30 this morning, Sam Dreessen, a
26-year-old unemployed DePaul University graduate (and former In
These Times intern) who’s been voting in Chicago since 2006,
walked into his polling place at Kozminski Community Academy on
54th and Drexel, a mostly black neighborhood in the city’s 5th
Ward. He approached the election judge at the table and, like
thousands of Chicagoans on this mayoral election day, received a
paper ballot and a felt-tip pen. But, he says, one of the two
blanks—the one you fill in to vote for Mayor Rahm Emanuel—was
already filled in.
Army Seeks to Identify Troops, Veterans Exposed to Chemical
Weapons
Military.com - The Army is reaching out to specific units that
service officials believe could have been exposed to chemical
warfare agents as the Army tries to ensure troops across all
four services receive the right medical support – in some cases,
years after the exposure might have occurred. Soldiers who
served in Iraq with the Army's 702nd, 756th or 710th Explosive
Ordnance Disposal companies, or with "Bushmaster Company," 1st
Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, will likely hear from the
Army in its search for soldiers who may have been exposed to
chemical warfare agents. (Repeat article for more exposure).
19 Signs That American Families Are Being Economically Destroyed
Economic Collapse - The systematic destruction of the American
way of life is happening all around us, and yet most people have
no idea what is happening. Once upon a time in America, if you
were responsible and hard working you could get a good paying
job that could support a middle class lifestyle for an entire
family even if you only had a high school education. Things
weren’t perfect, but generally almost everyone in the entire
country was able to take care of themselves without government
assistance.
Bloomberg Gives $30M to Shut 50% of Coal Plants by 2017
CNS News - At a press briefing at the Sierra Club in Washington,
D.C. on Wednesday, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg,
a Democrat, announced that he is contributing $30 million to the
Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign, which is designed to shut down
the nation’s coal plants. The $30 million is in addition to the
$50 million Bloomberg already gave to the campaign, which has
also changed its initial goal of shutting down 1/3 of the
country’s coal plants by 2020 to shuttering 50 percent of the
plants by 2017.
Fiorina Slams Liberals: Human Beings Are More Important Than
Fish
Breitbart - Potential 2016 presidential candidate and former
Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina recently penned an op-ed in
Time in which she chastises liberal environmentalists for making
a species of fish a priority over human beings, resulting in
billions of gallons of precious fresh water released to the
Pacific Ocean--water that could have been used to help
California during it's fourth year of a devastating drought.
Debunked: CNN’s Never Ending Story Of Glacier Retreat
Breitbart - The glaciers are disappearing. Again. At least
according to CNN they are. The slew of evidence presented in
support of this disaster includes citing a single scientist and
the author visiting a location where the glaciers happen to be
in retreat. Neither is a particularly convincing line of
evidence. For starters, the cited authority is one Atsumu
Ohmura. He claims that not only are “95%” of Earth’s glaciers in
retreat but that they are retreating “20 times faster” than they
did before human influences became visible. Is such certainty
over hysterical claims justified by “the consensus”? No.
The US Gov Can Download the Entire Contents of Your Computer at
Border Crossings
Motherboard - Hundreds of thousands of travelers cross US
borders every day. And none of them—save the precious few with
diplomatic immunity—have any right to privacy, according to
Department of Homeland Security documents recently obtained by
MuckRock.
EXCLUSIVE: Revealed, the terminally ill man set to be first to
undergo the world's first full HEAD transplant pioneered by
doctor branded 'nuts'
Daily Mail - A man with a fatal medical condition has spoken
exclusively to MailOnline about how he is set to become the
first person to undergo a head transplant and hopes it could be
as soon as next year. Valery Spiridonov says he is ready to put
his trust in controversial surgeon Dr Sergio Canavero who claims
he can cut off his head and attach it to a healthy body.... The
new body would come from a transplant donor who is brain dead
but otherwise healthy.
Farming, Gardening & Homesteading |
10 Super-Fast Vegetables For A Late-Spring Harvest
Off the Grid News - If you left your garden planning to the very
last minute or haven’t had as much success as you’d like with
your seedlings, there is still hope you can have a late-spring
bounty. There is a wide assortment of vegetables you can plant
now, for a delicious spring harvest.
5 Foods I Used To Eat At The Office That Made Me Sick, Tired and
Overweight
Food Babe - Don’t let your office be a breeding ground for food
industry toxins! Get these foods out of your office for good...
New Study: How Using Bleach Could be Making Us Sick
Natural Society - study published earlier this month suggests
that a variety of illnesses may be fostered by the use of
bleach, an old-time cleaner. How could that be? Bleach is used
to kill bacteria, just as antibacterial soap and hand sanitizers
are. Each of these products is hazardous to your relationship
with the beneficial bacteria in your gut, and it is these
bacteria that make up the backbone of the immune system. How
ironic that the compounds we have been using to stay clean and
avoid germs could be making us sick
Some US made Jerky Treats linked to Sick Pets
Susan Thixton - The madness continues – some U.S. manufactured jerky
treats are now being linked to acquired Fanconi disease in dogs – the
same kidney disease linked to Chinese manufactured jerky treats.
Veterinary Information Network (VIN) released a story stating that the
FDA has confirmed the agency “is aware of complaints related to USA made
products”. FDA is stating that some of the reported US manufactured
jerky treats contain ingredients “from outside of the US”.
Wednesday
- April 8, 2015 - Today in History:
1789 - The U.S. House of Representatives held its first meeting.
1832 - About 300 American troops of the 6th Infantry left Jefferson
Barracks, St. Louis, to confront the Sauk Indians in the Black Hawk War.
1864 - The U.S. Senate passed the 13th Amendment (S.J. Res. 16) by a
vote of 38 to 6.
1913 - The Seventeenth amendment was ratified, requiring direct election
of senators.
1947 - The first illustrated insurance policy was issued by the Allstate
Insurance Company.
1952 - U.S. President Truman seized steel mills to prevent a nationwide
strike.
1953 - The bones of Sitting Bull were moved from North Dakota to South
Dakota.
1962 - Bay of Pigs invaders got thirty years imprisonment in Cuba.
1994 - Smoking was banned in the Pentagon and all U.S. military bases.
1998 - The widow of Martin Luther King Jr. presented new evidence in an
appeal for new federal investigation of the assassination of her
husband.
2000 - 19 U.S. troops were killed when a Marine V22 Osprey crashed
during a training mission in Arizona.
2005 - World leaders joined pilgrims and prelates in St. Peter's Square
for the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
2009 - Somali pirates hijacked the U.S. flagged Maersk Alabama. (The
crew retook the cargo ship, and Navy sharpshooters killed two pirates
holding the ship's American captain.)
2011 - Congressional and White House negotiators struck a last-minute
budget deal ahead of a midnight deadline, averting a federal shutdown
and cutting billions in spending.
The Iran Nuclear Energy Agreement: Force Again Prevails Over Law
Paul Craig Roberts - The Israel Lobby and its associated neocon war
criminals will block if they can the nuclear energy agreement, worked
out by Putin, Iran, and Obama, which has the promise of bringing to an
end the US orchestrated crisis over Iran’s development of nuclear
energy. As a signatory to the nuclear weapons non-proliferation treaty,
which Israel is not, Iran has the right under the treaty to develop
nuclear energy. Iran, alone of all the signatories to the treaty, has
had its rights under the treaty cancelled by economic sanctions imposed
by the US and by the threat of a US military attack.
Blaming Russia for Everything Becomes New Sport - Kremlin Spokesperson
Sputnik News - On Tuesday night, CNN cited a source that claimed Russia
had hacked the White House’s computers, saying those to blame “worked
for the Russian government.” “In regard to CNN’s sources, I don’t know
who their sources are. We know that blaming everything on Russia has
already turned into some sort of sport. But what’s most important is
that they aren’t looking for any submarines in the Potomac River like
has been seen in other countries,” Peskov said.
Moldova Looks for Missing $1 Bln
Sputnik News - Anti-corruption prosecutors and US auditors are looking
for clues about the mysterious loss of $1 billion in a scandal that
threatens to destabilize the banking system of Europe’s poorest country.
The loss of a billion dollars is no joke and comes as a major
embarrassment for a country of just 3.5 million people on track for EU
membership, Agence France-Presse reported from Chisinau. The case of the
vanishing billion came to light when the Central Bank of Moldova
discovered that three banks had given out loans worth a total of $1
billion, or 15 percent of the nation’s GDP.
VIDEO: Authorities: Plane distress call 'emergency, emergency'
CNN - French authorities say the last words in a distress call from
Germanwings Flight 9525 were "emergency, emergency."
VIDEO: Germanwings A320 Plane Crash Site in French Alps Aerial Video
Published on Mar 24, 2015 - A Germanwings airliner carrying 144
passengers and six crew has crashed in the French Alps. France's
transport minister says there are no survivors.
Jamaluddin Jarjis, 5 others dead in Semenyih chopper crash
Malaysia Insider - Rompin MP and former minister Tan Sri Jamaluddin
Jarjis was among six people who were killed in a helicopter crash at
Jalan Sungai Lalang, Kampung Pasir Baru in Semenyih. The Home Minister
Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told Star Online that Jamaluddin was on
board the ill-fated helicopter.
US Accelerating Arms Shipments to Saudi Offensive in Yemen as Casualties
Mount
Sputnik News - The United States is fast tracking the sale and delivery
of arms to the Saudi Arabian-led coalition that has been bombing rebel
Houthi positions in Yemen, government officials said Tuesday. The United
States will also step up the provision of intelligence to the coalition,
which began airstrikes against the Shia Houthi rebels on March 25.
Iran’s recognition of Israel can’t be part of nuclear deal – Obama snubs
Netanyahu
RT - US President Barack Obama has turned down calls by Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make Iran’s recognition of the state of
Israel a part of a deal on Tehran’s controversial nuclear program....
The US president reminded that “there are a whole host of countries in
the Middle East that don't yet recognize Israel.” “But the most
important thing for Israelis is to know that they can defend themselves,
and that they have America – the world's most powerful country – there
to protect them alongside their military and their intelligence
operations,” he said.
Here is what you need to know about Putin's meeting with Tsipras
RT - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will meet Russian President
Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. Greece could ask Moscow to bankroll a
bailout, Gazprom could agree to a gas discount, or the two sides could
talk about how to sidestep EU sanctions. The new 40-year-old leader of
one of the world’s most indebted countries with meet with Putin on
Wednesday, just one day before the country is due to repay €463.1
million to the International Monetary Fund.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
US aerospace command moving comms gear back to Cold War bunker
(AFP) - The US military command that scans North America's skies
for enemy missiles and aircraft plans to move its communications
gear to a Cold War-era mountain bunker, officers said. The shift
to the Cheyenne Mountain base in Colorado is designed to
safeguard the command's sensitive sensors and servers from a
potential electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack, military officers
said.... Admiral William Gortney, head of NORAD and Northern
Command, said that "because of the very nature of the way that
Cheyenne Mountain's built, it's EMP-hardened."
After Day 1, no verdict yet in Boston Marathon case
Washington Post - A federal jury on Tuesday failed to reach a
verdict in the case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the suspect in the
Boston Marathon bombings, but was scheduled to resume
deliberations on Wednesday morning. U.S. District Judge George
O’Toole Jr. sent jurors home after they spent about seven hours
deliberating. The judge indicated the jury had provided him with
two notes with questions but he did not provide additional
details.
DHS Secretary to Meet Chinese Counterparts in Beijing April 8-10
Sputnik News - US Department of Homeland Security announced that
US Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson will participate
in a homeland security ministerial meetings in China this week
to discuss security-related issues, including counterterrorism
and cybersecurity.
Senator Feinstein Pushes for The Anarchist Cookbook to Be Banned
from the World Wide Web
Ben Swann - After two New York women, who had been given a copy
of The Anarchist Cookbook by an undercover FBI agent, were
charged with attempting to use the information found in it to
make a bomb and launch a terror attack on the United States,
Senator Dianne Feinstein called for a far-reaching ban on the
book that would include purging it from the world wide web.
Former Presidents Warn About the “Invisible Government” Running
the United States
Daily Sheeple - According to six of our former presidents, one
vice-president, and a myriad of other high profile political
leaders, an invisible government that is “incredibly evil in
intent” has been in control of the U.S. government “ever since
the days of Andrew Jackson” (since at least 1836). They
“virtually run the United States government for their own
selfish purposes. They practically control both parties… It
operates under cover of a self-created screen [and] seizes our
executive officers, legislative bodies, schools, courts,
newspapers and every agency created for the public protection.”
South Carolina officer charged with murder after shooting man in
the back
The Guardian - A white North Charleston police officer in South
Carolina has been charged with the murder of a 50-year-old black
man on Saturday, marking a remarkably swift move for justice in
a fatal police incident. Footage of the shooting, which occurred
around 9.30 am after Walter Scott was pulled over for a traffic
violation, shows officer Michael Slager firing eight times at
Scott, who is running away. Slager initially told police he shot
Scott because he feared for his life while the two fought over
Slager’s stun gun. After Scott is shot, the video also appears
to show the police officer picking an object off the ground and
dropping it next to Scott’s body. Scott does not appear in
possession of the stun gun at any point in the video.
Judge Lightens Convicted Child Rapist’s Sentence, Says He Did
Not ‘consciously intend to harm’ 3-year-old
Adan Salazar - Man’s sentence reduced to a mere 10 years… A
California judge has reduced a convicted child rapist’s jail
term by 15 years, claiming the sentence is too harsh because the
man did not “consciously intend to harm” the three-year-old girl
he sodomized. Orange County Superior Court Judge M. Marc Kelly
last Friday moved to lighten 20-year-old Santa Anna resident
Kevin Jonas Rojano-Nieto’s 25 year sentence, asserting the jail
term violates the US Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibiting
cruel and unusual punishment.... The DA’s office says they’re
looking at appealing the judge’s ruling.
Family Threatened with Government Force For Building Cardboard
Fort in their Own Front Yard
Free Thought Project - An imaginative and young-hearted father
is getting a taste of police state USA after he received a
threat of extortion from his local government — for building a
cardboard fort.... According to Yahoo Parenting, shortly after
finishing the construction, which features a centerpiece of a
yellow plastic slide, the city of Ogden delivered a warning,
signed by code enforcer Gordon Sant. Though not a citation, the
official letter noted that Trentelman was in violation for
having “waste materials or junk” in his yard. It gave him 14
days to remove the fort or pay a $125 fee; he also had the
option of paying $25 to contest it. He considered that at first,
but then had a change of heart.
Rand Paul launches 2016 White House bid: ‘We have come to take
our country back’ (Video)
Washington Post - "I have a message, a message that is loud and
clear and does not mince words. We have come to take our country
back!" Paul told a crowd at his official campaign launch in
Louisville, echoing language he used during his 2010 Senate run.
"We have come to take our country back from the special
interests that use Washington as their personal piggy bank, the
special interests that are more concerned with their personal
welfare than the general welfare."
Warmongers Hit Rand Paul With Slander Campaign As He Announces
Presidential Run
Steve Watson - The first warning shot has been fired across the
bow toward Rand Paul by elitist neocon warmongers today, as the
anti-establishment Senator is set to make official his 2016
Presidential run. While Paul will announce he is running for
President at 11.30 am EST, an establishment Republican front
group is set to plough $1 million into a slanderous advertising
campaign designed to depict Paul as ‘dangerous’ and ‘standing
with Obama’.
Army Seeks to Identify Troops, Veterans Exposed to Chemical
Weapons
Military.com - The Army is reaching out to specific units that
service officials believe could have been exposed to chemical
warfare agents as the Army tries to ensure troops across all
four services receive the right medical support – in some cases,
years after the exposure might have occurred. Soldiers who
served in Iraq with the Army's 702nd, 756th or 710th Explosive
Ordnance Disposal companies, or with "Bushmaster Company," 1st
Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, will likely hear from the
Army in its search for soldiers who may have been exposed to
chemical warfare agents. (Repeat article for more exposure).
21 Days: Treasury Says Debt Has Been Frozen at
$18,112,975,000,000
CNS News - According to the Daily Treasury Statement for Friday,
April 3, which was published by the U.S. Treasury on Monday,
April 6, that portion of the federal debt that is subject to a
legal limit set by Congress closed the day at
$18,112,975,000,000—for the 21st day in a row.
$18,112,975,000,000 is about $25 million below the current legal
debt limit of $18,113,000,080,959.35.
Kansas set to exclude welfare recipients from spending govt aid
at pools, movie theaters
RT - Kansas is on the verge of passing a law that would limit
how recipients of welfare could spend state assistance. The bill
would exclude visits to swimming pools or the purchase of
alcohol and tobacco. The bill would also limit daily ATM
withdrawals. Both chambers of the Republican-dominated state
legislature have approved House Bill 2258. Republican Governor
Sam Brownback is expected to sign the bill into law this week.
If signed, the law would go into effect on July 1.
VIDEO: Explosion causes massive power outage in D.C., Maryland
WUSA9 News - An equipment failure is to blame for a region-wide
power outage that impacted the White House, the Capitol, the
University of Maryland and other buildings throughout D.C. and
Maryland on Tuesday afternoon, according to an official. D.C.
Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
spokeswoman Robyn Johnson told the Associated Press that the
outage affected 8,000 customers in the District. The equipment
failure happened at a power switching station in rural Chalres
County. The station is owned by Pepco and SMECO. At about 12:30
p.m. one of the ceramic insulators fell to the ground, causing a
fire as it hit a 230-thousand volt transmission line during its
fall, according to a Pepco spokesperson.
What Drought? California’s Rich Ignoring Water Shortage
Sputnik News - [...] those living in the more affluent parts of
the state are not doing their part according to an investigation
by the Los Angeles Times. In the Beverly Hills area, the paper
notes, are “deep green front lawns stretched out and dotted with
healthy trees and sculpted foliage,” with the only brown spot a
house still under construction. The richer areas of the state
use much more water per capita compared to less-wealthy areas —
150 gallons per day compared to 44 gallons in East L.A.... Water
restrictions in Beverly Hills, for instance, are still
voluntary, although city officials say that may change as the
drought continues.
California Water Authorities Using Smart Meter Data as Evidence
to Impose Fines
Daily Sheeple - Everywhere people’s houses are being fitted if
they already haven’t with smart electric meters and smart water
meters. These meters communicate real-time usage data via radio
frequency (which comes with its own set of health problems).
Essentially, consumption of utilities in your home is being big
brother tracked and traced at all times on the smart grid.
Scientists discover revolutionary method to regrow heart muscles
RT - Prolonging the life of heart attack victims may become a
reality for millions as scientists have successfully tested on
mice a way to activate the regrowth of heart muscle. Human
trials are expected to follow. The combined effort of Australian
and Israeli researchers at the Sydney Victor Change Cardiac
Research Institute and the Weizmann Institute of Science has led
to a regeneration of muscle cell numbers in the heart by as much
as 45 percent.... The growth of cells was accelerated by
“turbo-charging” a specific hormone called neuregulin, according
to Sydney-based Professor Richard Harvey from the University of
New South Wales.
How To Detox From Fluoride
Green Med Info - You're exposed to fluoride if you take
prescription drugs like Prozac, swim in pools, or sit in hot
tubs. It's in conventional produce like lettuce, and commercial
bread and bakery products. It may be in beverages like iced tea,
wine, and beer made with municipal water, or in infant formula.
And of course it's in toothpaste. It may even sneak into your
food from Teflon coated pots and pans. In addition to increasing
the risk of death, fluoride also calcifies the pineal gland and
hardens the arteries. And it increases the risk of
hypothyroidism.
Ginkgo biloba Extract Improves ADHD Symptoms in Children
Green Med Info - Ginkgo biloba has been reputed as an aid to
brain health and neurological conditions for centuries by
traditional doctors. Ginkgo's usefulness for children with
attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder has now been confirmed
by a clinical study from Germany. This is supported by previous
research showing Ginkgo's effects on cognition among the
elderly.
Pet Owners Beware: Animal Control Agencies Killing Dogs Over Unpaid Fees
govtslaves - Keep a close eye on your dogs: animal control agencies
across the US are hitting pet owners with large fines for small
violations – and some are killing the pets of those who can’t afford to
pay up… Pet owners and animal rights attorneys say these brutal tactics
are all about generating money and unfairly impact low-income families.
Tuesday
- April 7, 2015 - Today in History:
1712 - A slave revolt broke out in New York City.
1798 - The territory of Mississippi was organized.
1862 - Union General Ulysses S. Grant defeated Confederates at the
Battle of Shiloh, TN.
1933 - Prohibition ended in the United States.
1945 - The Japanese battleship Yamato, the world’s largest battleship,
was sunk during the battle for Okinawa. The fleet was headed for a
suicide mission.
1948 - The United Nations' World Health Organization began operations.
1966 - The U.S. recovered a hydrogen bomb it had lost off the coast of
Spain.
1971 - U.S. President Nixon pledged to withdraw 100,000 more men from
Vietnam by December.
1980 - The U.S. broke diplomatic relations with Iran and imposed
economic sanctions in response to the taking of hostages on November 4,
1979.
1990 - In the U.S., John Poindexter was found guilty of five counts at
his Iran-Contra trial. The convictions were later reversed on appeal.
2000 - U.S. President Clinton signed the Senior Citizens Freedom to Work
Act of 2000. The bill reversed a Depression-era law and allows senior
citizens to earn money without losing Social Security retirement
benefits.
2002 - The Roman Catholic archdiocese announced that six priests from
the Archdiocese of New York were suspended over allegations of sexual
misconduct.
2003 - U.S. troops in more than 100 U.S. armored vehicles rumbled
through downtown Baghdad and seized one of Saddam Hussein's opulent
palaces.
2006 - The Boeing X-37 conducted its first flight as a test drop at
Edwards Air Force Base, CA.
2009 - Vermont became the fourth state to legalize gay marriage.
Saudi Dictator, Killing Hundreds of Civilians with Support from
Washington, moves to Gunning Down Domestic Anti-War Protesters
Washington’s Blog - Five points on Saudi Arabia that “US officials and
the establishment media are neglecting to talk about”....
Russia Ready to Discuss Gas Discount, New Loan With Greece
Sputnik News - The Russian government is willing to hold talks with
Greece on the possible allocation of new loans and a discount on the
price of gas, the Kommersant newspaper reports. "We are ready to discuss
the issue of providing Greece with a discount on gas: under the
contract, its price is tied to the price of oil, which has dropped
significantly in recent months. We are also ready to discuss the
possibility of issuing new credit to Greece," an anonymous government
source told the Russian daily on Tuesday. According to the source,
Russian authorities are interested in acquiring certain assets in Greece
and that would be the condition for the allocation of additional loans,
should the issue be discussed.
British govt warns superbug epidemic could wipe out 80,000
RT - A new generation of superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics
could eventually kill tens of thousands of people, with many of the
deaths related to illnesses as common as the flu or routine surgery, a
new government report warns. Medical professionals are increasingly
concerned about new strains of bacteria and viruses that are categorized
as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which render obsolete many
antibiotics and antiviral medications largely taken for granted today in
hospitals and medical facilities worldwide.
Fukushima disaster caused at least 1,232 fatalities last year as
radiation death rate accelerates
(NaturalNews) According to the most recent report, deaths in Japan
attributable to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster have continued to
increase. Last year, the number of deaths increased by 18 percent over
the year before.... According to data collected by the Fukushima
Prefecture, 2014 saw 1,232 nuclear-related deaths. The two towns with
the greatest number of deaths were both near the Fukushima plant: Namie,
with 359 dead; and Tomioka, with 291 dead. The term "nuclear-related"
means a death that does not result directly from radiation exposure but
is caused by a disease later caused by that exposure.
Saudi Arabia seeks Pakistani weapons, soldiers in Yemen conflict
DW - Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Monday that Saudi Arabia had
formally asked Pakistan to join the coalition against Yemen's Shiite
Houthi rebels,... Saudi Arabia is one of Pakistan's biggest financers in
the world, and the Pakistani civilian and military leadership have very
close ties with the Saudi monarchs. On the other hand, Islamabad's
relations with Tehran have been tense for many years. The two countries
have border conflicts, and predominantly Shiite Iran is also not very
pleased with Pakistan's alleged support to various Sunni militant
groups..
ISIS Blows Up Historic Christian Church in Syria on Easter
Breitbart - As Assyrian Christians were celebrating Easter Sunday,
militants from the Islamic State blew up the 80-year-old church of the
Virgin Mary in Tal Nasri village in the western countryside of Hasaka
province, in northeastern Syria… According to reports, ISIS jihadists
booby-trapped the church with explosives before detonating it. The
Church of the Virgin Mary was originally built in 1934 and is one of
three main churches in the Assyrian village of Tal Nasri, which is
located to the south of Tal Tamr town that was earlier overrun by ISIS.
China reportedly completes 3 advanced nuclear attack subs
RT - Chinese shipbuilders have completed three advanced
nuclear-propelled submarines that can fire the latest vertically
launched anti-ship missiles, local media reported…Earlier in February,
US Vice Admiral Joseph Mulloy said China had surpassed the US in the
total number of submarines. “They may not be the same quality, but their
submarine forces are growing at a tremendous rate. They now have more
diesel and nuclear attack submarines than we have,” the admiral told a
House subcommittee. “They are producing some fairly amazing submarines
and they are actually deploying them,” he added, explaining the Chinese
vessels are being sent on longer missions to regions located further
from China.
Afghan Mission accomplished: more heroin for the world
Activist Post - The Guardian reports statistics on opium agriculture in
Afghanistan: “…the US counternarcotics mission in Afghanistan stands
out: opiate production has climbed steadily over recent years to reach
record-high levels last year.” … “In December, the United Nations
reported a 60% growth in Afghan land used for opium poppy cultivation
since 2011, up to 209,000 hectares…” … “’[A]ffordable deep-well
technology turned 200,000 hectares of desert in southwestern Afghanistan
into arable land over the past decade,’ the inspector general found,
concluding that ‘much of this newly arable land is dedicated to opium
cultivation’.”
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
DHS Seeks Increase in Domestic HUMINT Collection
FAS - The Department of Homeland Security aims to increase its
domestic human intelligence collection activity this year, the
Department recently told Congress… “DHS is working on increasing
its human intelligence-gathering capabilities at home and
anticipates increasing its field collector/reporter personnel by
50 percent, from 19 to approximately 30, during the coming
year.” “We are also training Intelligence Officers in State and
major urban area fusion centers to do intelligence reporting.
This will increase the human intelligence capability by
additional 50–60 personnel.”
Homeland Security Officials Say They Aren't Building a National
Database; They Just Want to Track Everyone's License Plates
AllGov - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is making
another run at connecting to a database containing the location
of most of the drivers in the United States. DHS is seeking bids
from companies that can connect it to a system of nationwide
license plate readers. Such information would give the agency a
pretty good idea of where most cars, and thus most drivers, are
at any given time.
Fraternity in discredited UVA rape story vows legal action
against Rolling Stone
Fox News - Phi Kappa Psi, the fraternity at the center of the
discredited Rolling Stone magazine story about an alleged gang
rape at the University of Virginia, said Monday it plans to
pursue "all available legal action" against the magazine…
Rolling Stone late Sunday formally retracted the discredited
story about the alleged rape at Phi Kappa Psi after an
independent review dubbed the article a "journalistic failure."
The review, undertaken by the Columbia Graduate School of
Journalism at Rolling Stone's request, produced a 12,000-word
report that documented lapses in standard journalistic procedure
at every level of the magazine during the reporting and editing
of the story.
Massive Bust Honoring Edward Snowden Appears in New York City
Sputnik News - New York residents awoke to find a mysterious new
monument erected in a Brooklyn park on Monday morning, after a
group of anonymous artists illegally installed a 100-pound bust
of whistleblower Edward Snowden.. Just before dawn, three
artists lugged a 4-foot bust through Fort Greene Park. As the
sun rose, they mounted the statue atop a pillar which was part
of a Revolutionary War memorial… Far from a desecration, the
artists see their installment as a way to honor the freedoms
which were fought for during the American Revolution.
American Cops Just Killed More People in March than the UK Did
in the Entire 20th Century
The Free Thought Project - Just last month, in the 31 days of
March, police in the United States killed more people than the
UK did in the entire 20th century. In fact, it was twice as
many; police in the UK only killed 52 people during that 100
year period. According to the report by ThinkProgess, in March
alone, 111 people died during police encounters — 36 more than
the previous month. As in the past, numerous incidents were
spurred by violent threats from suspects, and two officers were
shot in Ferguson during a peaceful protest. However, the deaths
follow a national pattern: suspects were mostly people of color,
mentally ill, or both.
Army Seeks to Identify Troops, Veterans Exposed to Chemical
Weapons
Military.com - The Army is reaching out to specific units that
service officials believe could have been exposed to chemical
warfare agents as the Army tries to ensure troops across all
four services receive the right medical support – in some cases,
years after the exposure might have occurred. Soldiers who
served in Iraq with the Army's 702nd, 756th or 710th Explosive
Ordnance Disposal companies, or with "Bushmaster Company," 1st
Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, will likely hear from the
Army in its search for soldiers who may have been exposed to
chemical warfare agents.
Disaster Is Inevitable When The Two Decade-Old Stock Bubble
Bursts
Forbes - The incessant push to inflate our economy and financial
markets has created an unprecedented situation in which stocks
have been trading at overvalued levels for a record length of
time. Nearly every stock market valuation indicator is giving
the same reading: stocks are currently at levels that preceded
other major historic busts.
America's Poor Spend 60% Of Their Income On Food & Housing
Proving CPI Is Meaningless
Zero Hedge - "For many Americans, the rise in food and housing
prices is a tough squeeze. That’s because even in an era with
low overall inflation low-income Americans spend a
disproportionate share of their money on food and housing," WSJ
notes, proving that once again, poor people aren't allocating
their funds correctly.
Hedge Fund Legend Julian Robertson Warns Of A "Complete
Explosion" Unless Fed Contains "Boiling, Bubble" Market
Zero Hedge - According to hedge fund legend Julian Robertson,
the Fed must act and hike rates soon because “the economy
warrants it and I think [the Fed is] not crazy enough just to
let this thing boil over into complete explosion. I am looking
at a bubble that is almost sure to pop at some time and I don't
know when it's going to happen, but I know it's going to happen.
The bigger this bubble gets, the bigger the burst." What happens
then: "I don't think it's at all ridiculous to think of a
selloff like we saw in 2008."
Oregon governor expands drought declaration
(Reuters) - Oregon Governor Kate Brown declared a drought
emergency on Monday in three southern and central Oregon
counties, expanding upon earlier drought declarations the
Democrat made in March, as the state faces record low snowpack
levels.... According to Oregon's Water Resources Department,
snowpack statewide is at less than 50 percent of its normal
level, and a number of lakes and reservoirs are nearly empty,
posing threats to endangered fish within the region.
UN Climate Change Official Says "We Should Make Every Effort" To
Depopulate The Planet
Steve Watson - Officials within the UN are pushing the notion
that the human population should be reduced in order to
effectively combat climate change. The long standing notion has
been continually pushed by Christiana Figueres, the Executive
Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCC).
Fukushima radiation has reached North American shores
Statesman Journal - Seaborne radiation from Japan's Fukushima
nuclear disaster has reached North America. Scientists at the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution detected small amounts of
cesium-134 and cesium-137 in a sample of seawater taken in
February from a dock on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It's
the first time radioactivity from the March 2011 triple meltdown
has been identified on West Coast shores.
Forget Dams: Let's Store Extra Energy in Rocks on Trains and
Underwater Balloons
Motherboard - The problem with renewable energy isn't getting
it—it's having it around when we need it… ARES built a test
facility in California to prove the concept, and now they’re in
the final stages of building a 50 megawatt facility in Nevada,
which will come online in 2016. For comparison, this facility
alone will add more energy storage than was built across the
entire US in 2013 (44.2 megawatts), according to a recent report
by US Energy Storage Monitor… ARES is part of a rapidly growing
sector—and it’s not the only one. Hydrostor is a Toronto-based
startup that also expects to play a big role in grid-scale
energy storage.
Obama's information website: Try it, you won't like it
Kenric Ward - A redesigned information website launched by the
Obama administration last week looks like a bad April Fool’s
joke. Users can no longer search federal spending by keywords or
find information that was previously available. Type in
“contracts” and the response comes back empty.
Car and Truck Makers Say that when you Own a Vehicle, You don't
Own Computer System that Runs It
AllGov - Ahhhh… you’ve made the last payment, the DMV has sent
you the title and now that beautiful car is all yours…except the
part that the manufacturer says is still theirs. Auto companies,
with the assistance of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act,
restrict car owners and others from tinkering with or even
examining the code that performs many functions in modern
vehicles. They’ve come up with excuses ranging from nanny state
nagging (you can’t repair your car because you might not do it
right) to the ridiculous (you might use a vehicle’s
entertainment system to illegally pirate music).
Former active US Marine demands GMO ban after curing
debilitating health problems by switching to organic
(NaturalNews) A recent letter sent by former active Marine Jon
Abrahamson to Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant tells the likely
all-too-common story of disease progression without apparent
cause. Abrahamson recalls how he suddenly began to develop nerve
problems and numbness in his hands and legs, a degenerative
process that left him almost completely incapacitated. At the
time, Abrahamson wasn't aware of how his diet might be to blame
for his poor health, including sudden weight gain despite no
major changes in what he was eating and drinking. After
investigating the situation further, Abrahamson came to the
realization that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were a
common thread in his disease progression.
Cancer Drug Company Accused of Hiding Cheap Alternative
Natural Society - Pharmaceutical companies have been known to
discredit natural, cheap solutions that compete with their
high-dollar drugs. Now, the British Medical Journal has
unraveled new research revealing how the makers of a cancer drug
are blocking public access to a cheaper, safe, and effective
alternative. The BMJ explains that Novartis, a company which
markets a licensed cancer drug known as Lucentis, which is used
for macular degeneration, tried to derail research on another
treatment called Avastin. Novartis denies this claim, but they
have the market cornered because they sell the only officially
licensed drug in the UK.
Is Your Tea Loaded with Toxic Fluoride?
Natural Society - An increasing percentage of the population has
been getting smart about the dangers of drinking cola and other
kinds of soda pop, and they’re abandoning it in droves. So as an
alternative to soda, individuals are choosing boxed and bottled
tea as a primary substitute beverage. This is no surprise
because tea has a list of health benefits that can’t be ignored.
But unless you know which teas to choose, you may be simply
trading evils and consuming toxic fluoride.
Monday
- April 6, 2015 - Today in History:
1789 - The first U.S. Congress began regular sessions at the Federal
Hall in New York City.
1814 - Granted sovereignty in the island of Elba and a pension from the
French government, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates at Fountainebleau. He
was allowed to keep the title of emperor.
1830 - Joseph Smith and five others organized the Mormon Church in
western New York.
1862 - The American Civil War Battle of Shiloh began in Tennessee.
1909 - Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson claimed to be the first
men to reach the North Pole.
1917 - The U.S. Congress approved a declaration of war on Germany and
entered World War I on the Allied side.
1938 - The United States recognized the German conquest of Austria.
1941 - German forces invaded Greece and Yugoslavia.
1965 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the use of ground
troops in combat operations in Vietnam. 1967 - In South Vietnam, 1,500
Viet Cong attacked Quangtri and freed 200 prisoners.
1983 - The U.S. Veteran's Administration announced it would give free
medical care for conditions traceable to radiation exposure to more than
220,000 veterans who participated in nuclear tests from 1945 to 1962.
1985 - William J. Schroeder became the first artificial heart recipient
to be discharged from the hospital.
1988 - Mathew Henson was awarded honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
Henson had discovered the North Pole with Robert Peary.
1998 - Federal researchers in the U.S. announced that daily tamoxifen
pills could cut breast cancer risk among high-risk women.
2011 - Portugal became the third debt-stressed European country to need
a bailout as the prime minister announced his country would request
international assistance.
As Saudi Dictator Continues US-Coordinated Bombardment, al Qaeda Gains
Yemen Foothold
Blacklisted News - Since Saudi dictator and multi-billionaire Salman bin
Abdulaziz began coordinating with millionaire US strongman Barack Obama
approximately two weeks ago to carry out terrorist attacks against
Yemen, the poorest country in the region, over half a thousand people,
mostly civilians, have been killed. As the UN announced the body count
and massive civilian death and displacement toll, the US began refueling
Saudi (US-made) bombers so they could continue uninterrupted.
Oil Wars: British Companies Find Oil Off Falklands; Argentina Threatens
Prosecution
Andy Tully - The UK and Argentina marked the 33rd anniversary of the
start of their 10-week Falklands War with British energy companies
announcing the discovery of oil and gas off the islands and the
Argentine Foreign Ministry immediately countering with a threat of
prosecution. The energy discovery at the Zebedee well about 200 miles
north of the Falklands was announced by Premier Oil Plc. and Falkland
Oil and Gas Ltd., the first strike in a regional drilling campaign that
began last summer. The discovery included an oil reservoir 81 feet deep
and a gas basin 55 feet deep.
Greece Confirms April 9 Payback to IMF, Reform Talks to Continue Monday
Sputnik News - Greece is ready to issue the planned payment to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) on April 9 and to resume policy
discussions with the creditors on Monday, IMF chief Christine Lagarde
said after a meeting with Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis....
Greece's debt to the troika of international creditors, that includes
the IMF, the European Union and the European Central Bank (ECB), is
estimated to be some $270 billion.
Saudi Arabia rejects all-inclusive arms embargo on Yemen proposed by
Russia
RT - Saudi Arabia has rejected Russia’s amendments to a Security Council
draft resolution which would see an all-inclusive arms embargo on all
parties in the Yemeni conflict, as it continues to spiral out of control
with civilian death toll climbing up. “There is little point in putting
an embargo on the whole country. It doesn’t make sense to punish
everybody else for the behavior of one party that has been the aggressor
in this situation,”Saudi Arabia’s representative to the UN Abdallah Al-Mouallimi
said after a closed emergency UN Security Council meeting on Saturday.
Russia boosts air defense in face of US Prompt Global Strike capacity
RT - Russia’s active steps in boosting its air and missile defense
capabilities are aimed against the potential threat of Prompt Global
Strike which US “under certain conditions” might decide to carry out,
says Russia’s Aerospace Defense Forces’ deputy chief. Russia’s active
steps in boosting its air and missile defense capabilities are aimed
against the potential threat of Prompt Global Strike which US “under
certain conditions” might decide to carry out, says Russia’s Aerospace
Defense Forces’ deputy chief. In this regard an effective air and
missile defense system remains one of Russia’s top priorities, since PGS
initiative aims to deliver a precision-guided conventional weapon
airstrike within less than one hour after Washington deems the target to
be a national security threat.
Iran deal sends ripples through oil market
RT - Oil prices dipped 4 percent on the news oil from Iran, with some of
biggest reserves in the world, could flood the already glutted market.
As the oil cannot enter the market until sanctions are lifted in June,
prices soon rebounded to pre-talk levels… Sanctions on Iranian oil, as
well as other products, will in theory be lifted on June 30, the final
deadline for the negotiations. Naeem Aslam, Chief Market Analyst at Ava
Trade, says the deal could drag the oil price lower after Iran starts
adding to the supply glut… Iran has between 20-30 million barrels of
crude in storage that could potentially come to market in July 2015,
adding to the current global supply glut.
Leader Of Ukraine's Neo-Nazis Appointed As Advisor To Army
Zero Hedge - So while we await to see if Europe's turn to ultra right
wing movements accelerates in the coming months, we just learned of a
very disturbing development in just as insolvent Ukraine, where moments
ago the website of the local Ministry of Defense reported that Dmytro
Yarosh, leader of Ukraine's "Right Sector" political party and whose
political ideology has been described as nationalist, ultranationalist,
neofascist, right-wing, or far right, was just appointed as Advisor to
Chief of General Staff.
India to Use Weaponized Drones for Crowd Control
The Daily Sheeple - The evolution of “non-lethal” weapons has been
disturbing enough (and actually lethal in many cases), but speculation
that this developing arsenal would be attached to drones has generally
been met with accusations of fear-mongering. However, the recent
announcement that India (a constitutional republic) has now
green-lighted drones for controlling “unruly crowds” in its northern
capital Lucknow should get any skeptic’s attention… India already has
embarked on a troubling range of oppressive measures throughout their
society, including another “first” – a biometric national ID program for
all of its 1.2 billion residents, of course in response to the standard
concerns of fraud and cybercrime, but now covering nearly all human
activity.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
When Iran “Deal” Falls Apart, The Pentagon Is Ready
Zero Hedge - So as the world awaits the outcome of next Iran
“deadline”- the June 30 conclusion of the finalization of the
Iran deal – the US is already hedging its bets. According to the
WSJ, the Pentagon has “upgraded and tested the largest
bunker-buster bomb in the U.S. arsenal, senior U.S. officials
said, readying a weapon that could destroy or disable Iran’s
most heavily fortified nuclear facilities should a nuclear deal
fall apart and the White House decide to take military action.”
Are They Arming for Riots Across America? Homeland Stockpiling
“Less Lethal Specialty Munitions”
Mac Slavo - Over the course of 9 pages (PDF), the technical
requirements call for an arsenal of specialized weaponry for
training and deployment against crowds. On top of a wide range
of gas and chemical grenades, rubber bullets and other riot
rounds, the purchase calls for “controlled noise and light
distraction devices,” including flash bangs which set off a 175
dB sound with 6 – 8 million candelas light bursts in 10
milliseconds.
500,000 Illegal Aliens Sign Up for CA Licenses, Escape
Deportation
Breitbart - Almost 500,000 illegal aliens have applied for
California driver licenses within the first three months of
2015, doubling expectations under the state’s new AB 60 law. AB
60 specialist Carlos Leon assures the DMV is not allowed to
share information that would otherwise lead to deportation....
Illegal aliens fearing deportation in the AB 60 driver license
process are being reassured that the DMV will not communicate
their information to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
Man Pulled Over for Window Tint Dies After Police Refuse Him
Access to His Inhaler
Free Thought Project - Internal affairs is investigating a death
in police custody after 24-year-old Anthony Damone Clark Reed
was left dead following a traffic stop. He was pulled over for
the victimless “crime” of tinted windows during a personal
medical emergency around 9 pm on Monday. The father of Reed,
Pastor Kevin Clark, is speaking out and saying that his son’s
death was caused by negligence on the part of the Detroit
police. The pastor also says that the negligence continued after
his death, when they failed to contact the family for over two
hours.
New Govt ''Study'': No Link to War and Suicide - Implies
Opposite is True!
Activist Post - In yet another example of politicized tainted
unreliable junk science, psychology researchers are claiming
that a new study suggests that being in the military and being
deployed to war has no impact on committing suicide! The
researchers claim that a difference between a rate of 18.86
deaths per 100,000 for deployed troops versus 17.78 deaths per
100,000 for non-deployed troops is proof that being deployed is
"only slightly higher." And with that researcher, Mark Reger,
put out his suggestions with very little evidence. In no time
numerous mainstream media organizations jumped on the suggestion
and the study was published in JAMA Psychiatry giving this claim
new authenticity. Oh, and who is Mark Reger working for? None
other than the Department Of Defense National Center for
Telehealth and Technology.
Obama's 'Recovery' Freezes Up Again
Breitbart - At least CNBC’s report only lists “bad weather” as
the first of several variables… The sputtering U.S. economy
created just 126,000 jobs in March as bad weather, weak consumer
spending and flailing corporate profits resulted in the worst
report since 2012… February’s [job] numbers were revised lower
to 264,000 from the initially reported 295,000, while January’s
number fell from 239,000 to 201,000…The jobs numbers come as
both the economy and corporate profits have been weakening
substantially.
VIDEO: Rand Paul Posts 2016 Launch Tease: ‘A Different Kind of
Republican Leader’
Breitbart - On Easter Sunday afternoon, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
released a video that first appeared on the Drudge Report
teasing his upcoming announcement that he’ll run for the 2016
Republican nomination. Paul is expected to formally announce
Tuesday.
VIDEO: Gov Jerry Brown: Californians to Be Heavily Fined for
Long Showers
Breitbart - Brown said, “This executive order is done under
emergency power. It has the force of law. Very unusual. It’s
requiring action and changes in behavior from the Oregon border
all the way to the Mexican border. It affects lawns. It affects
people’s — how long they stay in the shower. How businesses use
water.” Brown said to enforce his order, “Each water district
that actually delivers waters — water to homes and businesses,
they carry it out. We have a state water board that overseas the
relationships with the districts. Hundreds of them. If they
don’t comply, people can be fined $500 a day. Districts can go
to court to get a cease and desist order.
Brown Not Cutting Oil Industry Water Use because of Tax
Collection
Breitbart - Governor Jerry Brown signed an executive order
Wednesday implementing California’s first-ever mandatory water
restrictions that require cities and towns to cut their water
usage by 25 percent over the next nine months. But Brown will
not cut oil company water use for fracking because the industry
pays over $20 billion in state and local taxes. Brown promised
his extreme measures could save up to 1.5 million acre-feet of
water, about enough water to fill Lake Oroville. But in an
unsurprising gift to one of the state’s highest taxpayers, he
exempted the oil industry’s consumption of 2 million gallons of
water each day for production and processing of crude oil.
* Related:
Californians Outraged As Oil Producers & Frackers Excluded From
Emergency Water Restrictions
Californians Point to Big-Ag, Unrestrained Development as
Drought Culprits
Common Dreams - The Detroit Free Press editorial board on Sunday
reminded readers that "those of us living in the other 49 states
won't be exempt from the fallout. California farmers, who
provide about half the country's fruits and vegetables, have
already lost hundreds of thousands of acres of previously
productive farmland. The impact on produce prices at your local
grocery store will only intensify if the drought, already
reckoned the worst in California's recorded history, persists."
NSA Spying to Cost US IT Companies $47 Billion Over Next Three
Years
Sputnik News - A Forrester Research study revealed that the US
National Security Agency's PRISM surveillance program could cost
US-based cloud and outsourcing vendors an overall three-year
loss of $47 billion in revenues.... Forrester stresses, however,
that, while "significant," "these impacts are far less than
speculated" and, since there are other options, besides avoiding
US cloud vendors, the fallout of PRISM is unlikely to cripple
American IT companies.
Russian scientists create ‘bio-cement’ for human bones
RT - Russian scientists have created a new biological material
they called “bone cement”, which after 3D printing into a
fracture or a crack, completely dissolves over time, while in
its place the human body regenerates the missing part of the
bone tissue. The new substance based on biological
hydroxyapatite was created by scientists of the Russian National
Research Nuclear University’s affiliate in the Siberian city of
Seversk, Tomsk region. “We have created material that the
organism takes as original,” professor Vitaly Guzeev said in the
statement. The material is soft and flexible but hardens after
application. The material is not rejected by the body and has
huge broad potential in surgery, ranging from dentistry and
cosmetology.
Feinstein Demands Internet Censorship After FBI “Uncovers” Its
Own Bomb Plot
Kit Daniels - After the FBI “uncovered” another one of its
self-orchestrated “terrorist plots,” leading to the arrest of
two women, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) demanded on-line
censorship of the “extremist” literature the FBI provided to the
suspects. Feinstein called for on-line suppression of the
popular counterculture publication the Anarchist Cookbook as
well as an al-Qaeda publication, which critics characterized as
a slippery slope leading to Chinese-style Internet censorship.
Farming, Gardening & Homesteading |
Free 'Home Grown Food Summit' Starts Today!
The free online event 'Home Grown Food Summit' will run April
6th - April 12th and will feature 30+ leading experts in
backyard food production.
More than two thirds of people taking antidepressants 'may NOT
actually have depression': Doctors discover many do not meet the
official criteria
Daily Mail - Researchers discovered more than two-thirds (69 per
cent) of people taking antidepressants did not meet the criteria
for major depressive disorder, which is also known as clinical
depression. Antidepressants are also prescribed for other
psychiatric disorders. But the researchers found 38 per cent of
those taking the drugs did not meet the criteria for obsessive
compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social phobia or
generalized anxiety disorder either.
Throw This Out of Your Medicine Cabinet: It's Still Prescribed
Today, But Not Worth the Risk
Dr. Mercola - The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) is a landmark
trial showing that hormone therapy with estrogen and progestin
in women who had not had a hysterectomy dramatically increased
strokes, dementia, and breast cancer. WHI also found that in
women diagnosed with breast cancer, multivitamins with minerals
reduces the risk of dying from the disease.
Coconut Oil Pulling Superior to Chemicals for Oral Health
Green Med Info - A new study has proven for the first time that
the oral use of coconut oil is effective in reducing plaque
related to gingivitis, a common form of inflammation in the gum
tissue of the mouth that occurs in response to bacterial
biofilms (known as plaque) adhering to the surfaces of the teeth
and which can lead to more serious oral condition known as
periodontal disease.
Friday
- April 3, 2015 - Today in History:
1776 - George Washington received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from
Harvard College .
1860 - The first Pony Express riders left St. Joseph, MO and Sacramento,
CA. The trip across country took about 10 days. The Pony Express only
lasted about a year and a half.
1865 - Union forces occupy Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
1882 - The American outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back and killed
by Robert Ford for a $5,000 reward. There was later controversy over
whether it was actually Jesse James that had been killed.
1936 - Richard Bruno Hauptmann was executed for the kidnapping and death
of the son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh.
1942 - The Japanese began their all-out assault on the U.S. and Filipino
troops at Bataan.
1946 - Lt. General Masaharu Homma, the Japanese commander responsible
for the Bataan Death March, was executed in the Philippines.
1948 - U.S. President Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan to revive
war-torn Europe. It was $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.
1968 - Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "mountaintop" speech just 24
hours before he was assassinated.
1968 - North Vietnam agreed to meet with U.S. representatives to set up
preliminary peace talks.
1972 - Charlie Chaplin returned to the U.S. after a twenty-year absence.
1985 - The U.S. charged that Israel violated the Geneva Convention by
deporting Shiite prisoners.
1996 - An Air Force jetliner carrying Commerce Secretary Ron Brown
crashed in Croatia, killing all 35 people aboard.
1996 - Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski was arrested. He pled guilty
in January 1998 to five Unabomber attacks in exchange for a life
sentence without chance for parole.
1998 - The Dow Jones industrial average climbed above 9,000 for the
first time.
2000 - A U.S. federal judge ruled that Microsoft had violated U.S.
antitrust laws by keeping "an oppressive thumb" on its competitors.
Microsoft said that they would appeal the ruling.
2010 - The first Apple iPad was released.
Russia Ready to Sell S-300 Missiles to Iran if Sanctions Fall
Sputnik News - Russia may resume a deal to deliver S-300 surface-to-air
defense systems to Iran if only the UN decides to lift its ban on arms
sales to Tehran, a leading Russian defense expert said on Friday.
Key Facts to Understand Why Yemen Has Become a Political Flashpoint
Brandon Turbeville - With the recent military operations on the part of
the Arab League against the Yemeni Houthi rebels, much has been made of
the operation in the mainstream media outlets. Unfortunately, the
overwhelming majority of information provided regarding this act of
military aggression is inaccurate, skewed, or an outright falsehood.
BRICS May Create Unbiased Credit Rating Agency
Sputnik News - China’s rating agency Dagong is currently holding talks
with economic experts in Russia regarding the creation of a new
independent agency, the Russian official said... After sanctions had
been imposed on Moscow by the West over Russia’s alleged role in the
internal conflict in Ukraine, the Big Three credit rating agencies —
Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s – downgraded their rating regarding
Russia’s creditworthiness.
Iran nuclear deal: negotiators announce 'framework' agreement
The Guardian - Iran has promised to make drastic cuts to its nuclear
programme in return for the gradual lifting of sanctions as part of a
historic breakthrough in Lausanne that could end a 13-year nuclear
standoff. The “political understanding”, announced on Thursday night in
the Swiss city’s technical university, followed 18 months of intensive
bargaining, culminating in an eight-day period of near-continuous talks
that went on long into the night, and on the last night continued all
the way through until dawn.
Chaos In Yemen: Chinese Troops Arrive As US-Armed Rebels Set Sights On
Central Bank
Zero Hedge - Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are now in control of the
central Crater district in the key Yemeni port city of Aden despite a
seventh consecutive day of bombing raids by the Saudi-led coalition
which is keen on preventing the city from falling. Aden is the second
largest city in the country with a population of some 800,000 and as
noted by The Guardian, is “the last major holdout of fighters loyal to
the Saudi-backed President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.” Residents have
reported the presence of tanks, sniper fire, and patrolling Houthi
fighters as the militia moves closer to exerting complete control over
the city.
* Related:
Houthis Rebels Take Presidential Palace in Yemen
$45 Billion in Tax Dollars Goes Missing in Afghanistan
The Fiscal Times - A new report from the office of John Sopko, the
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR),
revealed that there’s virtually no way to know what happened to a large
chunk of money the Defense Department spent in Afghanistan before 2010.
The auditors said DOD handed over data only for $21 billion of the total
$66 billion it spent rebuilding the war-torn country. But unlike most
cases of missing money in Afghanistan (of which there are plenty), the
auditors don’t blame this on corruption or waste—but rather on
accounting issues.
Greece draws up drachma plans, prepares to miss IMF payment
The Telegraph - Greece is drawing up drastic plans to nationalise the
country's banking system and introduce a parallel currency to pay bills
unless the eurozone takes steps to defuse the simmering crisis and
soften its demands. Sources close to the ruling Syriza party said the
government is determined to keep public services running and pay
pensions as funds run critically low. It may be forced to take the
unprecedented step of missing a payment to the International Monetary
Fund next week.
China Targets Dollar, Washington Has Conniptions
Wolf Street - Now even Israel – joined at the hip to the US though the
relationship has run into rough waters – has applied to become a
founding member of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Despite US gyrations to keep them from it, over 40 countries, including
bosom buddies Australia, Britain, and Germany, have signed up to join.
Japan is still wavering politely. The US government sees the
China-dominated AIIB as competition to the US-dominated World Bank and
Asian Development Bank.
Germanwings co-pilot 'researched suicide methods in days before crash'
The Guardian - Andreas Lubitz, the Germanwings co-pilot believed to have
deliberately crashed flight 4U9525 last week, did online research into
cockpit doors and suicide methods in the days leading up to the crash,
according to Düsseldorf prosecutors. As French investigators announced
they had found the second black box recorder from the wrecked plane,
Ralf Herrenbrück, the German prosecutors’ press spokesman, said the a
tablet computer found in the co-pilot’s flat had been analysed. “The
browser history had not been deleted, in particular search terms called
up using this device in the time from 16 March to 23 March 2015 could be
reconstructed,” Thursday’s statement from Herrenbrück said.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
What's next in police state America? Why cars equipped with DUI
interlock devices of course!
MassPrivateI - If Big Brother has its way, DUI checkpoints and
DUI police stops will be a thing of the past. Your car won't
start if you've had a drink! The above picture is Nissan's DUI
detection concept vehicle that has alcohol sensors on the shift
lock and EVERY seat in the car! It also has facial recognition,
which monitors how often the driver blinks!... Big Brother also
wants everyone to wear alcohol sensors while you're at a bar or
restaurant.
A year after firestorm, DHS wants access to license-plate
tracking system
Washington Post - The Department of Homeland Security is seeking
bids from companies able to provide law enforcement officials
with access to a national license-plate tracking system — a year
after canceling a similar solicitation over privacy issues. The
reversal comes after officials said they had determined they
could address concerns raised by civil liberties advocates and
lawmakers about the prospect of the department’s gaining
widespread access, without warrants, to a system that holds
billions of records that reveal drivers’ whereabouts.
Teachers Convicted of Inflating Test Scores For Federal Cash and
Promotions: “Up To $5,000 Each In Bonuses”
Mac Slavo - In one of the biggest cheating scandals of its kind
in the U.S., 11 former Atlanta public school educators were
convicted Wednesday of racketeering for their role in a scheme
to inflate students’ scores on standardized exams. The
defendants – including teachers, a principal and other
administrators – were accused of falsifying test results to
collect bonuses or keep their jobs in the 50,000-student Atlanta
school system. The educators fed answers to students or erased
and changed the answers on tests after they were turned in to
secure promotions or up to $5,000 each in bonuses, the court was
told.
Book of songs used by U.S. Air Force contains horrifying lyrics
about rape, pedophilia and homosexuality
Daily Mail - The unofficial 2012 paperback book was revealed by
a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by four sexual-assault victims
who want to stop the practice of sexual assault allegations
within the military being handled by commanding officers. Former
Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Smith, who said she was sexually assaulted
by a fellow airman in Iraq, brought forward the songbook and she
had filed an administrative complaint over the book in 2012.
If Anyone Doubts That We Are in a Stock Market Bubble, Show Them
This Article
Economic Collapse - It would be one thing if stocks were soaring
because the U.S. economy as a whole was doing extremely well.
But we all know that isn’t true. Instead, what we have been
experiencing is clearly artificial market behavior that has
nothing to do with economic reality. In other words, we are
dealing with an irrational financial bubble, and all irrational
financial bubbles eventually burst. And as I wrote about
yesterday, the way that stocks have moved so far this year is
eerily reminiscent of the way that stocks moved in early 2008.
The warning signs are there – if you are willing to look at
them.
These States Will Take Your Driver's License for Not Paying
Student Loans
Bloomberg - Legislators in two states are trying to repeal laws
that let authorities revoke driver’s licenses or professional
licenses when people fall severely behind on their student loan
payments. The Montana senate is considering a bill, which passed
the state's house in March, that would repeal a statute that
made it possible for student debtors to lose their occupational
and driver’s licenses if they defaulted on their student
loans—meaning they had not made payments in at least 270 days.
Iowa legislators introduced a similar bill in February, but it
stalled in the state senate this month because of a procedural
obstacle. The little-known laws exist in at least 22 states and
have been on the books in some states since as far back as 1990.
Advocates for repealing them say they have real consequences for
people who cannot make a dent in their student debt.
US Power Grid Attacked Every 4 Days; Nationwide Blackout More
Likely Than We Thought
Off the Grid News - Gannett and USA Today reporters analyzed
federal energy records and found that a cyber or physical attack
takes place so often – nearly 100 times a year – that government
officials and grid experts are growing increasingly concerned
that it’s just a matter of time before an attack is successful.
The analysis by USA Today and more than 10 Gannett newspapers
and TV stations drew from “thousands of pages of government
records, federal energy data and a survey of more than 50
electric utilities.”
How Many People Will Have To Migrate Out Of California When All
The Water Disappears?
Economic Collapse - The drought in California is getting a lot
worse. As you read this, snowpack levels in the Sierra Nevada
mountains are the lowest that have ever been recorded. That
means that there won’t be much water for California farmers and
California cities once again this year. To make up the
difference in recent years, water has been pumped out of the
ground like crazy. In fact, California has been losing more than
12 million acre-feet of groundwater a year since 2011, and wells
all over the state are going dry. Once the groundwater is all
gone, what are people going to do?
Earthquake Strikes In America’s Heartland
Off the Grid News - The United States Geological Survey (USGS)
confirmed that a 4.0 quake occurred along the New Madrid Seismic
Zone near the Arkansas/Missouri state line just before midnight
Wednesday night (April 1).... No damage was reported from
Wednesday’s quake, which was centered around Steele, Missouri,
but news reports indicate it was felt as far away as Carbondale,
Illinois — nearly 100 miles to the north. The quake was also
felt in Memphis and Jackson, Tennessee (the latter of which is
about 80 miles to the southeast) and DeSoto County in northern
Mississippi, according the USGS.
Monsanto Donates Money to Save the Same Butterflies They’re
Killing
Natural Society - The very company that scientists say has
directly contributed to a 90% reduction in the monarch butterfly
population is now donating to ‘help save the butterflies.’
Monsanto has announced a $4 million donation towards helping
‘fight’ for the monarch butterflies after numerous media
organizations have highly publicized the reality that their
best-selling herbicide Roundup has helped decimate the declining
population (while destroying your health). The total collapse of
the monarchs ultimately led to The Fish and Wildlife Service
spending 2 million dollars just to help repair the damage.
Scientists Have Been Receiving Bizarre Signals from Space, and
They Have No Idea What They Are
Daily Sheeple - Over the past 15 years, scientists from all over
the world have been picking up strange signals from outer space,
and they all have several factors in common. They last a
fraction of a second, and arrive with the same amount of energy
our sun would emit over the course of a month (albeit in the
form of radio waves, so most of us would never notice). What’s
most bizarre about these signals though, is that they don’t
appear to line up with any known natural phenomenon.
Survival Basics: Using Oxygen Absorbers for Food Storage
Natural Blaze - Oxygen absorbers, also known as O2 absorbers,
are a mystery to many. Not a week goes by when I am not asked
for guidance as to how to use them. Rather than answer those
questions individually, today I am sharing an updated primer on
oxygen absorbers with just enough information to get you started
on the road to successfully storing bulk foods for the long
term.
Make your own vitamin C supplement at home - it's easy and costs
you nothing!
The Raw Food World - Homemade vitamin C has live enzymes,
allowing for 100% assimilation in your body. You needn’t bother
with a dosage label or approval by the FDA. Your solution is
citrus peels! In citrus, there are different types of flavonoids,
a compound that exhibits antioxidant properties in the human
body. Naringin, a powerful antioxidant, is a flavonoid found in
the peels of grapefruit, mandarin, and lemons. Several studies
have indicated that naringin is so powerful that it may reduce
radiation-induced damage to cells.
The Leaf's Color Determines The Antioxidant Effect of Lettuce
Mea Chan - The researchers, who published their results in the
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, used electron
paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques to observe the kinetic
behaviour of antioxidants in three lettuce varieties - the
green-leaf 'Batavia', the red and green-leaf 'Marvel of four
seasons', and the red-leaf 'Oak leaf'. The study found that the
green-leaf lettuce contained water-soluble, antioxidant
compounds that acted at a slow and intermediate speed, the
red-leaf variety had compounds with intermediate and rapid
kinetics, while the green-red-leaf of 'Marvel of four seasons'
had three kinds of compounds - rapid, intermediate and slow.
Popular olive oil brand sued for selling fake product cut with
cheap fillers
(NaturalNews) Deoleo USA, Inc., maker of the Bertolli and
Carapelli brands of olive oil, is being accused of deceiving its
customers about the quality of its olive oil, which clearly
doesn't resemble the rich, green-tinted oil that comes naturally
from fresh olives. Plaintiff Scott Koller says applying the
"extra virgin" label to these products is misleading, because
the oil contained is refined and most likely cut with less
expensive fillers.
Thursday
- April 2, 2015 - Today in History:
1792 - The U.S. Congress passed the Coinage Act to regulate the coins of
the United States. The act authorized $10 Eagles, $5 Half Eagles, $2.50
Quarter Eagle gold coins, silver dollars, dollars, quarters, dimes and
half-dimes to be minted.
1865 - Confederate President Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the
Confederate capital of Richmond, VA.
1877 - The first Egg Roll was held on the grounds of the White House in
Washington, DC.
1902 - The first motion picture theatre opened in Los Angeles with the
name Electric Theatre.
1914 - The U.S. Federal Reserve Board announced plans to divide the
country into 12 districts.
1917 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson presented a declaration of war
against Germany to the U.S. Congress.
1932 - A $50,000 ransom was paid for the infant son of Charles and Anna
Lindbergh. He child was not returned and was found dead the next month.
1951 - U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower assumed command of all allied
forces in the Western Mediterranean area and Europe.
1963 - Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King began the first non-violent
campaign in Birmingham, AL.
1966 - South Vietnamese troops joined in demonstrations at Hue and Da
Nang for an end to military rule.
1990 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein threatened to incinerate half of
Israel with chemical weapons if Israel joined a conspiracy against Iraq.
1992 - Mob boss John Gotti was convicted in New York of murder and
racketeering. He was later sentenced to life in prison.
1995 - The costliest strike in professional sports history ended when
baseball owners agreed to let players play without a contract.
2013 - The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Arms Trade Treaty
to regulate the international trade of conventional weapons.
2014 – A spree shooting occurs at the Fort Hood Army Base near the town
of Killeen, Texas, with four people dead, including the gunman, and 16
others sustaining injuries.
Russia Did Not Threaten West With Nukes to Protect Crimea – Kremlin
Sputnik News - Two British newspapers claimed that Russia had intended
to use nuclear force to protect Crimea in March 2014 if NATO had moved
additional forces to the Baltic States.... "This is a classic example of
the continuing hysteria in demonizing our country, that is they are
literally twisting the situation around themselves in their information
plans, while not even being guided by any fundamental information, then
they get scared over what they wrote," Peskov told journalists in
Moscow. He added that "such publications shouldn’t be taken seriously."
Iran nuclear talks ‘moving forward’ 2 days after deadline
RT - Negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program have entered double overtime
as the sides continue talks in Lausanne. Foreign ministers of the P5+1
group hope to hammer out a draft agreement on Thursday.... German
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who has also stayed in
Switzerland, said that Iran was expected to bring forth “new
recommendations” on the sticking points for a possible deal, after
rollercoaster talks stretched long into the early hours of Thursday....
Steinmeier also said that one of the points will include a “mechanism”
for lifting Iranian sanctions, adding that the P5+1 powers had agreed on
that.
Air Force Tech Could Have Prevented Germanwings Disaster
Sputnik News - A joint project involving NASA, the US Air Force, and
Lockheed Martin has been under development since the 1980s to provide a
way for flight control to remotely wrench a plane out of a collision
course. The The Automatic Ground-Collision Avoidance System (Auto-GCAS)
would monitor a plane's trajectory in comparison with the terrain under
its flight path. If calculations showed that a crash was imminent, and
there is no response from the pilot to correct course, an autopilot
system would take over until the plane was back to safety. So far the
system has been installed in F-16s — with F-22s and F-35s to follow —
and as recently as February, the military reported the first instance of
a pilot being "saved" by the system.
Israel Latest US Ally to Join Chinese AIIB
Sputnik News - As the United States continues to beg ally after ally to
forgo joining the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB),
key nations have, nevertheless, ignored that plea. The UK, Turkey, and
Australia have already applied, among others. But the latest application
might sting the most, as PM Netanyahu tosses Israel’s name into the mix…
Meant to provide financing for infrastructure projects throughout Asia –
and to fill in loan gaps left by the International Monetary Fund – the
bank is expected to significantly increase China’s influence.
Greek FinMin: "Greece Will Adopt the Bitcoin If Eurogroup Doesn't Give
Us A Deal"
Zero Hedge - Sources very closed to Greece’s minister of finance told
Greek Reporter that today Yanis Varoufakis held a top secret meeting
with high-ranking finance ministry officials to prepare them in case
negotiations at the upcoming Eurogroup fail. The anonymous source noted
that everybody in the room was staring at each other when Varoufakis –
also a prominent blogger – said “We ‘ll go to Bitcoin, we will be ahead
of all the world economies and although it may be painful in the
beginning, Greece’s economy will thrive in the long term.”
Iceland Stuns Banks: Plans To Take Back The Power To Create Money
Zero Hedge - Who knew that the revolution would start with those radical
Icelanders? It does, though. One Frosti Sigurjonsson, a lawmaker from
the ruling Progress Party, issued a report today that suggests taking
the power to create money away from commercial banks, and hand it to the
central bank and, ultimately, Parliament. Can’t see commercial banks in
the western world be too happy with this.
Mexico Is Arming Itself With U.S. Military Hardware
War Is Boring - In recent years, Mexico has made a major shift in how it
equips its military. Instead of largely relying on European nations to
sell it weapons — as was the case for decades — Mexico is increasingly
turning to the United States. Because there’s a drug war going on …
which the U.S. is eager to help bankroll.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
Obama Plans ‘Executive Order’ For UN Climate Rules
Reuters - The Obama administration’s plan for U.N. climate
change talks encountered swift opposition after its release
Tuesday, with Republican leaders warning other countries to
“proceed with caution” in negotiations with Washington because
any deal could be later undone. The White House is seeking to
enshrine its pledge in a global climate agreement to be
negotiated Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 in Paris. It calls for cutting
greenhouse gas emissions by close to 28 percent from 2005 levels
within a decade, using a host of existing laws and executive
actions targeting power plants, vehicles, oil and gas production
and buildings. But Republican critics say the administration
lacks the political and legal backing to commit the United
States to an international agreement.
DHS-Funded Drill Simulates Nuke Attack on US-Mexico Border
Paul Joseph Watson - A Department of Homeland Security funded
drill which took place yesterday in New Mexico simulated a
nuclear attack on the US-Mexico border and how authorities would
deal with thousands of people crossing over from Mexico to
escape the catastrophe. The exercise simulated, “an emergency
involving the detonation of a weapon of mass destruction near
the U.S./Mexico border that causes a mass migration of about
3,000 people,” reported KFOX 14.
U.S. Supreme Court: If You're Being GPS-Tracked, You're Being
Searched
(Robinson Meyer) - The Supreme Court clarified and affirmed that
law on Monday, when it ruled on Torrey Dale Grady v. North
Carolina, before sending the case back to that state’s high
court. The Court’s short but unanimous opinions helps make sense
of how the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable
search and seizure, interacts with the expanding technological
powers of the U.S. government.
Hillary Clinton also used iPad for e-mail
USA Today - Hillary Rodham Clinton e-mailed her staff on an iPad
as well as a BlackBerry while secretary of state, despite her
explanation she exclusively used a personal e-mail address on a
homebrew server so that she could carry a single device,
according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Obama Using Your Tax Dollars to “Resettle” Central Americans in
the United States
Kurt Nimmo | By-passing a dangerous border with “resettlement
assistance” and permanent residency program. Judicial Watch
reports today the Obama administration is offering to move
illegal minor aliens from Central America to the U.S. and will
provide free transportation. The administration has assigned a
new title for Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC). They will be
known by a more politically correct name: Central American
Minors (CAM). The “program provides certain children in El
Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras with a safe, legal, and orderly
alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are
undertaking to the United States,” according to a DHS memo
obtained by Judicial Watch.
Justice Dept Announces New Rules for Seizing Financial Assets
The Daily Sheeple - If they cannot indict suspected wrongdoers,
prosecutors will need to gather more evidence linking the
transactions to other illegal crimes and get the approval of a
supervisor… In addition to restricting the government’s
behavior, the guidelines require prosecutors to return any
seized assets in the event that they determine there isn’t
enough evidence to prevail against the accused in court. If
seized without an indictment, prosecutors have 150 days to file
charges or return the money.
Police: Men Who Beat Train Passenger for Mike Brown Not Charged
with Hate Crime
Mikael Thalen - Two black males who attacked a white train
passenger for refusing to discuss the Mike Brown shooting did
not commit a hate crime according to the City of St. Louis. The
victim, who has thus far kept his identity private, was
approached by the men last Monday and asked about his feelings
on the Mike Brown incident. After responding that he was “too
tired to think about it,” the train passenger was violently
assaulted by two of the young men in the group. The St. Louis
Circuit Attorney has since charged one individual, 20-year-old
Ronald Williams, with misdemeanor assault for throwing a single
punch at the end of the attack.
Federal Hiring of Veterans Keeps Growing and Vet Unemployment
Hits 7-Year Low
AllGov - The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has reported
that a third of all new hires by federal agencies last year were
veterans, a record. Veterans made up 33.2% of new federal
workers in fiscal year 2014, up from 31% in fiscal 2013. Both
rates were the highest ever, according to OPM… More good news
came out last week from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which
reported the national unemployment rate for ex-service personnel
in 2014 dropped to its lowest point in six years.
It's Official: Fed Sees 0.0% GDP Growth In The First Quarter
Zero Hedge - The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model forecast for real
GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the first
quarter of 2015 has been downgraded once again... to 0.0 percent
on April 1, down from 2.3 percent on Feb 13th.
The College Debt Bubble Is Collapsing Now: 33% Of All Student
Loans Are Delinquent On Repayments
The Daily Sheeple - With all of that job creation being claimed
by the Obama administration and disseminated by mainstream media
outlets as signs of a sustained recovery you’d think most
college graduates would have no trouble keeping up with their
bills. But new data released by the Department of Education tell
a different story. According to the report as many as 33% of
American college grads with student loan debt are now in
delinquent status on their repayments.
Drying Up: California Governor Orders Major Water Restrictions
Sputnik News - In an attempt to mitigate water usage during one
of the state’s longest droughts in history, California Governor
Jerry Brown issued the first statewide mandatory water
restrictions, aimed at reducing water usage by 25%... Brown, in
his continued efforts to save his state from its crippling
drought, signed =emergency legislation that advanced $1 billion
in funding for both drought relief and water infrastructure.
This bill sequesters voter-approved bonds for water projects and
programs for struggling Californian cities.
New Executive Order: Obama Takes Total Control of Internet:
Declares ‘National Cyber Security Emergency’
Mac Slavo - The new Executive Order will, among other things,
give the government access to all infrastructure components that
they deem critical to national security. That means everything
from physical power grid components to virtual servers like your
web hosting company. As used in this order, the term critical
infrastructure means systems and assets, whether physical or
virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or
destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating
impact on security, national economic security, national public
health or safety, or any combination of those matters. So,
basically everything that is connected to a network now falls
under the control of the U.S. government. And whatever policy
the government says needs to be followed will be followed.
VIDEO: All of the Ways Big Brother Is Watching You
Activist Post - Privacy as we once knew it is dead. We now find
ourselves in the unenviable position of being monitored, managed
and controlled by our technology—specifically the technology
employed by the government against the American citizenry. As a
result, warns John W. Whitehead in this week's vodcast (Video),
we are becoming a nation where even the most virtuous citizen
risks becoming an outlaw.
New Mandatory Adult Vaccination Program Rolls Out This Month
Dr. Mercola - This month, federal health officials are rolling
out a national adult immunization plan that contains a new
Mandatory Adult Vaccination and Electronic Tracking Program. The
government is urging Americans to fulfill their obligation to
support and comply with the anti-choice requirement to
relinquish responsibility for personal health and well-being to
federally appointed health officials through pharmaceutical
enhancements. Public health officials will be monitoring Twitter
and Facebook posts for anti-vaccine chatter that may indicate
non-compliance with federal vaccine recommendations and state
vaccine mandates.
Coconut Oil May Reduce White Rice Calories 50-60%
Green Med Info - White rice is far from a health food, the
excessive consumption of which contributes to overweight,
obesity and blood sugar disorders, but new research indicates
adding coconut oil while cooking it can dramatically alter its
nutritional structure and function.
Authorities in Montco Checking Door-to-Door For Valid Dog Licenses
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) — Dog wardens were fanning out across
municipalities in Montgomery County this week, checking to make sure dog
owners have obtained licenses for their pets. It’s the law in
Pennsylvania: all dogs three months or older must be licensed each year.
So, dog wardens have been going door-to-door in some communities, making
sure the owner’s paperwork is in order. Failure to comply with the law
could result in a $300 fine.
What Your Dog Craves Most from You
Dr. Becker - This study may come as a surprise, even if you believe
you're doing everything "right." Without exception, when given a choice
between their owner and a complete stranger, the person who did this
always won the dog's heart and attention. Is your pup getting enough?
Wednesday
- April 1, 2015 - Today in History:
1621 - The Plymouth, MA, colonists created the first treaty with Native
Americans.
1724 - Jonathan Swift published Drapier's letters.
1748 - The ruins of Pompeii were found.
1778 - Oliver Pollock, a New Orleans businessman, created the "$"
symbol.
1789 - The House of Representatives held its first full meeting in New
York City. Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania was elected the first
House Speaker.
1853 - Cincinnati became the first U.S. city to pay fire fighters a
regular salary.
1863 - The first wartime conscription law went into effect in the U.S.
1865 - At the Battle of Five Forks in Petersburg, VA, Gen. Robert E. Lee
began his final offensive.
1867 - Blacks voted in the municipal election in Tuscumbia, AL.
1938 - The Baseball Hall of Fame opened in Cooperstown, NY.
1939 - The U.S. recognized the Franco government in Spain at end of
Spanish civil war.
1941 - The first contract for advertising on a commercial FM radio
station began on W71NY in New York City.
1945 - U.S. forces invaded Okinawa during World War II. It was the last
campaign of World War II.
1954 - The U.S. Air Force Academy was formed in Colorado.
1960 - France exploded 2 atom bombs in the Sahara Desert.
1970 - The U.S. Army charged Captain Ernest Medina in the My Lai
massacre.
1971 - The United Kingdom lifted all restrictions on gold ownership.
1972 - North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops renewed their offensive in
South Vietnam.
1973 - Japan allowed its citizens to own gold.
1982 - The U.S. transferred the Canal Zone to Panama.
1987 - U.S. President Reagan told doctors in Philadelphia, "We've
declared AIDS public health enemy No. 1."
1991 - Iran released British hostage Roger Cooper after 5 years.
1991 - The Warsaw Pact was officially dissolved.
1998 - A federal judge dismissed the Paula Jones' sexual harassment
lawsuit against U.S. President Clinton saying that the claims fell "far
short" of being worthy of a trial.
2001 - China began holding 24 crewmembers of a U.S. surveillance plane.
The EP-3E U.S. Navy crew had made an emergency landing after an
in-flight collision with a Chinese fighter jet. The Chinese pilot was
missing and presumed dead. The U.S. crew was released on April 11, 2001.
2003 - North Korea test-fired an anti-ship missile off its west coast.
2004 - President George W. Bush signed the Unborn Victims of Violence
Act which made it a crime to harm a fetus during an assault on a
pregnant woman.
2010 - The U.S. Congress cut Medicare reimbursements to physicians by
21%.
Nuclear deal with Iran ‘reached on all key aspects’ – Lavrov
RT - Iran and six major world powers have managed to reach a preliminary
agreement on ‘all the key aspects’ of a deal over Tehran’s controversial
nuclear program, Russia’s FM has announced, adding that the sides have
begun drafting the text.... “We can quite certainly say that on all the
key aspects of the final settlement of this problem, the ministers have
reached principal consent that will be, hopefully in the next hours,
maybe a day, put on paper. The experts were tasked with this,” Lavrov
told reporters Wednesday. The preliminary agreement will include the
verification of mechanisms guaranteeing the peaceful nature of Tehran’s
nuclear program and will stipulate the lifting of sanctions, Lavrov
added.
Top UK MP Brands Netanyahu War Criminal as Palestine Joins ICC
Sputnik News - Senior British Member of Parliament Sir Bob Russell has
branded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal, on the
day Palestine finally accedes to the International Criminal Court,
paving the way for war crimes trials...."Israel cannot go on behaving in
the way it has in the last 20 to 30 years. The current leader of Israel
[Benjamin Netanyahu] is a war criminal. Any way you look at it, he is a
war criminal." He said the Palestinians were the most oppressed people
in the world, since their country was "given away" with the approval of
the UK.
Video of Germanwings A320 last minutes a hoax?
RT - Screams of “My God,” metallic banging and the cabin jolting to one
side - the final moments of the doomed jet were said to have been
captured on video, which several newspapers said they watched. However,
French prosecutors say it’s a hoax. German Das Bild newspaper and French
Paris Match magazine say they managed to watch the video, found among
the wreckage, of the final moments of flight 4U9525 before the tragedy.
However, the outlets didn’t post the actual video on their websites. The
phone memory card managed to survive the collision with the mountain,
say the outlets, claiming it was found at the site by the investigators.
World could run out of minable gold in 20 yrs says report
RT - The explored reserves of gold, diamonds and zinc will be enough for
20 years of extraction, according media reports citing a Goldman Sachs
research. The explored reserves of platinum, copper and nickel will last
for 40 years. “The combination of very low concentrations of metals in
the Earth’s crust, and very few high-quality deposits, means some things
are truly scarce,” Eugene King, European metals and mining analyst at
Goldman Sachs, wrote in a recent research note quoted by Zero Hedge.
Sierra Leone Ebola lockdown exposes hundreds of suspected cases
Yahoo News - A three-day lockdown in Sierra Leone has exposed hundreds
of potential new cases of Ebola, aiding efforts to bring to an end an
epidemic that has already killed 3,000 people in the country. Officials
ordered the country's 6 million residents to stay indoors or face arrest
during the period that ended late on Sunday as hundreds of health
officials went door-to-door looking for hidden patients and educating
residents about the virus.
U.S. News, Politics & Government |
US lifts Egypt arms ban, sends $1.3 bn in weapons
RT - President Obama has lifted his arms embargo on Egypt,
authorizing the deliveries of US weapons valued at over $1.3
billion, suspended after the 2013 military coup. Egyptian forces
have been fighting Islamic militants in Yemen and Libya. Among
the weapons systems released are twelve F-16 aircraft, 20
“Harpoon” anti-ship missiles, and 125 upgrade kits for US-made
M1A1 Abrams tanks in Egyptian service. The “executive hold” on
weapons deliveries was imposed after the military overthrew the
Muslim Brotherhood government of President Mohamed Morsi in
October 2013. Egypt is the second-largest recipient of US
military aid in the world.
VIDEO: Jade Helm: Texas Labeled ‘Hostile’ Yet Again by Army
Joe Biggs - Soldiers with the National Guard’s 143rd Airborne
invaded the North Texas Regional Airport which was held by
“hostiles” as part of an “assault landing exercise.” The airport
takeover falls in line with the scenario outlined in the U.S.
Army’s upcoming Operation Jade Helm 15.
U.S. Commits $504 Million For Syrian Aid, Leads Pledges At
International Conference
Huffington Post - The United States pledged $507 million in
humanitarian aid at an international donors' conference for
Syria on Tuesday as the United Nations issued an appeal for $8.4
billion in commitments this year — the organization's largest
appeal yet for the war-ravaged country.
about the server and email.
VIDEO: Benghazi panel summons Clinton
Washington Examiner - A House panel Tuesday formally requested
Hillary Clinton to testify about the private server and email
account she used while serving as secretary of state. Rep. Trey
Gowdy, chairman of the Select Committee on Benghazi, sent a
request to Clinton's personal attorney, David E. Kendall,
requesting that Clinton appear before the committee no later
than May 1 for a transcribed interview about the server and
email. The request comes after Kendall told Gowdy that the
server had been wiped clean and that it would be impossible to
recover the 30,000 emails Clinton deleted last year.
Major coup for AE911Truth – American Institute of Architects
green lights Building 7 vote
Craig McKee - Sometimes it really pays to be persistent. That’s
what Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth found out this week
when the organization achieved something truly remarkable. It
succeeded in getting a commitment from the largest association
of architects in the U.S. to debate and vote on a resolution
supporting an investigation into the destruction of World Trade
Center Building 7 on Sept. 11, 2001. The vote will take place at
the annual convention of the American Institute of Architects,
May 14-16, in Atlanta, GA.
Government Corruption Has Become Rampant
Zero Hedge - Liberals and conservatives tend to blame our
country’s problems on different factors … but they are all
connected. The real problem is the malignant, symbiotic
relationship between big corporations and big government.
University Requires Students to Apply For “Free Speech Permits”
Kit Daniels - California Polytechnic State University-Pomona is
now requiring students who engage in free speech activities on
campus to apply for a permit issued weekdays between 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. The public university recently required student Nicolas
Tomas, who was handing out flyers, to not only get a “free
speech permit” but to also seek approval from school officials
over the content of his hand-outs and to restrict his activity
to a campus “free-speech zone.” “Cal Poly Pomona’s campus
policies impose a web of restrictions before students can
distribute literature on campus: They must check in with the
Office of Student Life, allow the school to copy their IDs, and
wear badges signed by an administrator,” reported the Foundation
for Individual Rights in Education, who is helping Tomas sue the
school.
Citizens’ Growing Protests against Border Patrol Checkpoints
Inside the U.S.
AllGov - Some Americans are refusing to answer questions at
Border Patrol checkpoints set up many miles away from U.S.
borders, believing the questions posed by Border Patrol agents
are unacceptable for law abiding citizens. Many of these
protestors are also using their dashboard cameras to record
their encounters with agents, some of whom have resorted to
breaking windows, dragging motorists from their vehicles and
detaining them, according to The Houston Chronicle.
CALPERS Could Owe Obamacare $770 Million in “Cadillac Tax’
Breitbart - California government entities and their unions are
panicking because Obamacare’s punitive 40% “Cadillac Tax”
beginning in 2018 will directly hit the low-deductible and
broad-provider network type of “platinum” healthcare coverage
that public employees have enjoyed under the California Public
Employee Retirement System (CalPERS). With the Cadillac Tax
estimated at $770 million, public employees face a radical
change to “narrow networks” and up to 1,000 percent increase in
annual healthcare deductibles.
VIDEO: Why Harry Reid’s Home Exercise Accident Story Does Not
Add Up
Breitbart - A Breitbart News investigation of the home exercise
accident story told by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and “sources
familiar with the incident” has uncovered facts which appear to
discredit his version of events surrounding a New Year’s Day
incident that left him with gruesome injuries to his eye, face
and ribs.
Q1 Ratings: CNN’s Far-Left Move Costs MSNBC Nearly Half Its
Audience
Breitbart - CNN’s ratings for the first quarter of 2015 are out,
and in the bitter fight for last place, CNN’s move to the
far-left has resulted in CNN enjoying ratings gains apparently
at MSNBC’s expense. Although both CNN and MSNBC are way behind
Fox News in every metric, the two left-wing networks appear to
be in a fight for the same pool of far-left viewers. Per a press
release, during the first quarter, CNN claims to have posted
double digit gains when compared to a year ago, while MSNBC lost
almost half their audience. Ever since the Jeff Zucker-era began
at CNN, the left-leaning network has moved even further left
using unrelenting race hoaxes like Ferguson and George
Zimmerman, combined with anti-Christian narratives like the one
we’re seeing now around the Indiana religious freedom law.
20 Ways to Question Your Reality
The Freedom Articles - To question your reality in the face of
propaganda and mass media programming shows great courage,
curiosity and open-mindedness. To question your reality in
today’s world is a sure sign of sanity. In an ever delusional
world where lying newsmen tell fake news, where mendacious
politicians spin every event, where mass murder is conducted
under the guise of a fake war on terror, where mass-produced
food poisons and where medicine kills, it is a sign of great
strength of character to challenge the supposed authority
figures around you. It is a sign of something pure and special
if you can preserve your open mind and curiosity in the midst of
so much propaganda. It is a sign of courage to ask the tough
questions that mainstream journalists fear to touch. Here are 20
ways to question your reality...
U.S. NERVE GAS HIT OVER 200,000 AMERICAN TROOPS IN IRAQ
Newsweek - During and immediately after the first Gulf War, more
than 200,000 of 700,000 U.S. troops sent to Iraq and Kuwait in
January 1991 were exposed to nerve gas and other chemical
agents. Though aware of this, the Department of Defense and CIA
launched a campaign of lies and concocted a cover-up that
continues today. A quarter of a century later, the troops
nearest the explosions are dying of brain cancer at two to three
times the rate of those who were farther away. Others have lung
cancer or debilitating chronic diseases, and pain.
IRS ignoring 60 percent of taxpayers’ calls as deadline looms
Washington Times - IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Tuesday
that service at his agency has gotten so bad that they are
ignoring more than 60 percent of taxpayers’ phone calls during
this tax season. Speaking at the National Press Club, Mr.
Koskinen pleaded with more money, saying a budget boost would
help them staff their overwhelmed customer service lines. He
also said it would help reverse staffing cuts in their
compliance division, where he said the government will lose $2
billion this year in money it would otherwise have been able to
collect if it had better staffing.
Stockton Smart Meters Explode After Truck Causes Power Surge
CBS News - A power surge left thousands without power in
Stockton on Monday after smart meters on their homes exploded.
The explosions started at around 8:30 a.m. after a truck crashed
into a utility pole, causing a surge. When the customers in more
than 5,000 homes get their power back on will depend on how
badly damaged their meters are. Neighbors in the South Stockton
area described it as a large pop, a bomb going off, and strong
enough to shake a house.
Amazon tests delivery drones at secret Canada site after US
frustration
The Guardian - Amazon is testing its drone delivery service at a
secret site in Canada, following repeated warnings by the
e-commerce giant that it would go outside the US to bypass what
it sees as the US federal government’s lethargic approach to the
new technology. The largest internet retailer in the world is
keeping the location of its new test site closely guarded. What
can be revealed is that the company’s formidable team of
roboticists, software engineers, aeronautics experts and
pioneers in remote sensing – including a former Nasa astronaut
and the designer of the wingtip of the Boeing 787 – are now
operating in British Columbia.
Facebook accused of tracking all users even if they delete
accounts, ask never to be followed
The Indepenent - A new report claims that Facebook secretly
installs tracking cookies on users’ computers, allowing them to
follow users around the internet even after they’ve left the
website, deleted their account and requested to be no longer
followed. Academic researchers said that the report showed that
the company was breaking European law with its tracking
policies. The law requires that users are told if their
computers are receiving cookies except for specific
circumstances.
A team of biohackers has figured out how to inject your eyeballs
with night vision
Max Plenke - In "people becoming superhuman" news, a small
independent research group has figured out how to give humans
night vision, allowing them to see over 50 meters in the dark
for a short time. Science for the Masses, a group of biohackers
based a couple hours north of Los Angeles in Tehachapi,
California, theorized they could enhance healthy eyesight enough
that it would induce night vision. To do this, the group used a
kind of chlorophyll analog called Chlorin e6 (or Ce6), which is
found in some deep-sea fish and is used as an occasional method
to treat night blindness.
Farming, Gardening & Homesteading |
“Rollie pollies” remove heavy metals from soil, stabilizing
growing conditions, protecting groundwater
(NaturalNews) Breeding or collecting pill bugs may be an
important practice for homesteading and gardening. The guts of
these pill bugs contain a number of microbes that help the
critter feed on dead, organic matter. By releasing mass
quantities of pill bugs into a mature garden, one can be assured
that dead plant matter is being properly broken down and
returned to healthy soil. Pill bugs literally speed up the
process of decomposition. They circulate the soil. This can be
very useful in composting. Treats for pill bugs include fungus
and monocotyledonous leaves.
FBI: GMO seed theft called national security theft
Natural Society - Two Chinese nationals, Mo Hailong and Mo Yu,
are accused of stealing genetically modified (GM) seed
technology from biotech giants DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto, as
reported by the Des Moines Register. The siblings face
prosecution in what defense attorneys have labeled a
“breathtaking and unprecedented” abuse of power. They are among
other Chinese nationals who were accused of espionage over GM
corn seed several years ago. Are these individuals stealing
valuable trade secrets from international agricultural companies
or are they simply practicing Borne-Identity-type tactics to
keep the upper hand on biological terrorism practiced through
the latest GMO technologies?
The 15 Most Effective Natural Remedies For Anxiety
Dave Mihalovic - Herbal therapies are astoundingly popular among
and their interest is growing as the dangers of pharmaceuticals
become widely known and accepted. In 2008 statistician Patricia
M. Barnes of the National Center for Health Statistics and her
colleagues reported that almost 20 percent of children and
adults in the U.S. had used an herbal medicine during the past
year. That percentage according to some experts has doubled. A
team led by physician David M. Eisenberg of Harvard Medical
School determined that use of herbs for physical and mental
problems including anxiety had risen 380 percent in seven years.
Garda$ell: Snake Oil With A Bite
Green Med Info - Gardasil (HPV vaccine) has never been proven to
prevent a single case of cervical cancer, but as the most
profitable vaccine ever created it is increasingly being
mandated despite having an atrocious safety record. At the
present time, there are over 100 bills in play around the
country which seek to mandate or eliminate exemptions for
vaccines. In NY state, there is a bill to mandate HPV vaccine
for all students entering the 6th grade. HPV vaccination is
already mandated in Virginia and the District of Columbia.
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