Trucker Website -- TheAmericanDriver.com - keep updated on the current Trucker Strike.


The Quartzsite Network News:

JULY 2008 (Re-fresh your browser often for the latest news and information)


Four Out of Five Sunscreens May Be Hazardous to Your Health -- A consumer advocacy group has a warning for parents who think they're protecting their family with sunscreen: You may be getting burned.

Run on banks spells big trouble for US Treasury -- IN A modern financial system nothing is more frightening than a run on the bank. The US has now suffered a series of them, and they are escalating in size and scope, posing a serious threat to an already reeling economy.

NAIS Action Alert for Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund -- Legal Defense Fund Files Suit to Stop Animal ID Program; Suite Targets USDA and Michigan Department of Agriculture -- Just want to make sure that you all are aware that the 'Intent to Sue' has been carried out! So this is officially lawsuit number two on NAIS against the USDA in a Federal Court. If the USDA and states continue to move forward with this program there will be interminable suits as there are so many violations in the program.

State troopers rebuke students for singing national anthem -- School students attending a youth leadership conference have been scolded by armed security officers in the California Capitol in Sacramento for singing the "Star-Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America" in the rotunda, according to organizers of the conference.

Khadr interrogation videos will be released Tuesday -- Lawyers for Omar Khadr, the 21-year-old Toronto-born man detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will release on Tuesday morning video footage of his interrogation there by agents of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Five formerly classified DVDs, to be released Tuesday, show CSIS questioning Khadr, then 16, at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, where he has spent the past six years.

Use of RFID becoming commonplace -- Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFIDs) are finding their way into and onto humans in many ways.

UFO Group Says Object Flew Toward President's Ranch -- A group of UFO enthusiasts said an object flew toward President George W. Bush's Texas ranch at the time of UFO sightings in January.

S&P 500 from Wikipedia -- Learn all about the S&P!

Einstein's Legacy: Inside the Quest for Gravity Waves -- Like radio and gamma waves before them, the detection of gravity waves will likely expose a new layer of the universe and change the study of physics as we know it.

Drug injections used to subdue prisoners -- For almost two years, Metro police have had the option of calling for a needle loaded with a strong sedative to control the most unruly people they encounter on the street.

"Terrorist" Watch List Hits One Million Names -- The "terrorist" watch list now has more than one million names. Do you feel safer now?

Iran says discovers oil field in its southwest -- Iran has discovered a new oil field holding an estimated 233 million barrels of recoverable sweet oil, Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said on Sunday.

How to Prevent a War With Iran -- The saber rattling and drum beating for war with Iran are getting louder and louder every day.

Movies hit by banking problems -- The credit crunch has hit home in Hollywood after Paramount Pictures, which has released a string of hit movies this year, was forced to suspend plans for a $450m film financing.

Horror in Knoxville update: Trial stalled for one year -- Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner today granted a request to drop the speedy
trial for one of four suspects in the torture-slayings of a Knoxville couple more than a year ago.

VIDEO: What an attack on Iran will look like -- Scott Ritter Author of "Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change".

The Wedding Crashers: U.S. Jets Have Bombed Five Ceremonies in Afghanistan -- We have become a nation of wedding crashers, the uninvited guests who arrived under false pretenses, tore up the place, offering nary an apology.

Genetically engineered tomatoes that carry an alzeimer's vaccine -- Korean researchers are developing an edible vaccine for Alzheimers that is carried in genetically-engineered tomatoes. As long as you eat the tomatoes raw, the vaccine should work (heating destroys it).

Retailers Aren't Required to Pull Most Expired Items From Their Shelves -- By learning these secret date codes, you can beat their sneaky system and be a clever shopper!

Mushrooms That Fight Cancer and Boost the Immune System -- In the world of natural health, "medicinal" mushrooms are known as some of the most potent immune boosters and disease fighters. Perhaps the most potent of all is the Agaricus Blazei Murrill mushroom, known in its native Brazil as "The Mushroom of God"; however many others have also proven to be very effective and popular.

Sjogrens Syndrome Often is Never Diagnosed -- Nine out of ten patients have this syndrome are female. Very little is known about the exact cause of this illness.

Mediterranean union is launched -- Sarkozy said he wanted love, not war, around the Mediterranean French President Nicolas Sarkozy has launched a new international body with 43 member nations aimed at ending conflict in the Middle East.

Quiet, Please! How Noise Pollution Could Send You to the Hospital -- Neurosis, hysteria, stress, nausea, and high blood pressure -- just a few of the health problems linked to noise.

Forget those retirement plans -- And if you think things aren't too bad and that you just have to hold on, hold on, hold tenaciously on until you retire, which is when you can start consuming all that money you have invested in your retirement plans, then Larry Edelson of  MoneyandMarkets.com  has some information that will make you crazy. Read More...

Native American March on DC to Protest Global Warming & Environmental Destruction - Did you see it on TV? - AP is reporting: "Some 500 American Indians are gathering near the White House to mark the end of a 8,300-mile walk across the nation. The trek from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., aims to bring attention to the impact of global warming on the environment.

15-20,000 People MARCHED on DC--did you see it on TV? -- NO...! 15-20,000 People Marched on Washington DC in a show of mass grass-root's support for Ron Paul's Message of Liberty and Dedication to the US Constitution! But was it covered on National News?

Treasury Acts to Shore Up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- Alarmed by the sharply eroding confidence in the nation’s two largest mortgage finance companies, the Bush administration on Sunday asked Congress to approve a sweeping rescue package that would give officials the power to inject billions of federal dollars into the beleaguered companies through investments and loans.

Bank Fears Spread After Seizure Of IndyMac -- Banks and thrifts are struggling against a rising tide of bad loans, and it is becoming increasingly clear that some lenders won't be able to dig their way out. While fewer banks are expected to fail than the 834 that went under from 1990 to 1992, it will likely take several years for battered financial institutions to work through their bad loans and replenish their depleted capital.

Arlington Cemetery Trying To Impose New Restrictions On Funerals Of Iraq War Dead -- When Gina Gray took over as the public affairs director at Arlington National Cemetery about three months ago, she discovered that cemetery officials were attempting to impose new limits on media coverage of funerals of the Iraq war dead -- even after the fallen warriors' families granted permission for the coverage. She said that the new restrictions were wrong and that Army regulations didn't call for such limitations. Six weeks after The Washington Post reported her efforts to restore media coverage of funerals, Gray was demoted. Twelve days ago, the Army fired her.
Related Article: Army Secretary Asks for Probe of Firing

Bush to hasten Iraq troop withdrawal in bid to help McCain win White House -- President George Bush wants to speed up the withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq, a move that could help to quell the anti-war anxieties of voters before November's presidential election.

Omega-3 Enhanced Infant Formula Under Fire for Using Non-Human Fatty Acid Additives -- Infant formula supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids may pose a serious health risk, according to a report released by the Cornucopia Institute and presented to health professionals and government officials at a meeting of the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee.

Homeowners who use heating oil seek alternatives -- As heating oil approaches $5 a gallon, consumers in the oil-reliant Northeast are looking at pellets, heat pumps, firewood and even geothermal systems to soften the blow of high oil prices — which have almost doubled in the past year and gone up nearly fivefold since 2003.

Foreclosures Rose 53% in June, Bank Seizures Tripled -- U.S. foreclosure filings increased 53 percent in June from a year earlier and bank seizures rose the most on record as deteriorating property values and higher rates on adjustable mortgages forced more people to give up their homes.

The network warfare battalion -- The U.S. Army has activated its first Network Warfare Battalion. The unit will not operate together, but mostly as many detachments, supporting combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, counter-terror operations throughout the world, as well as in joint Cyber War operations with other services and foreign countries. The battalion belongs to the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade, which is in turn subordinate to INSCOM (the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command).

Tony Snow Dies Following Chemotherapy for Colon Cancer -- Former White House press secretary Tony Snow has died at the young age of 53 following chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer. For reasons we will never know, Tony Snow chose the chemotherapy route in an attempt to treat his colon cancer, subjecting his body to systemic poisons that all the evidence shows produce absolutely no improvement in the five-year survival rate of colon cancer patients. And depending on the type of tumor, chemotherapy can actually accelerate the death of patients, killing them far more quickly than if they had done nothing(1).

USDA rule change may lead to crops on conserved land -- Under pressure from farmers, livestock producers and soaring food prices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is weighing a policy change that could lead to the plowing of millions of acres of land that had been set aside for conservation.

12 Babies die during vaccine trials in Argentina -- At least 12 babies who were part of a clinical study to test the effectiveness of a vaccine against pneumonia have died over the past year in Argentina, the local press reported Thursday.

Desk Rage Spoils Workplace For Americans -- Get out of the way, road rage. Here comes desk rage. Anger in the workplace -- employees and employers who are grumpy, insulting, short-tempered or worse -- is shockingly common and likely growing as Americans cope with woes of rising costs, job uncertainty or overwhelming debt, experts say.

Dutch health system rated best, U.S. worst - polls -- Americans are the least satisfied with their health care system, while the Dutch system is rated the best, according to new research.

Crime rises in military with lower standards -- The percentage of Army recruits receiving so-called ”moral conduct“ waivers more than doubled, from 4.6 percent in 2003 to 11.2 percent in 2007.

Manufacturers are putting less food in packages -- The humble American consumer, already dogged by soaring petrol prices and declining wages, now has something more sinister to contend with: downsized groceries.

Iraq denies reports of IAF using its airspace -- Iraq denied on Friday reports claiming the Israeli Air Force has been practicing for a possible attack against Iran in its airspace.

Inflation: Ron Paul Explains How We Got Into This Mess -- A must read article.

Run on banks spells big trouble for US Treasury -- IN A modern financial system nothing is more frightening than a run on the bank. The US has now suffered a series of them, and they are escalating in size and scope, posing a serious threat to an already reeling economy.

US Treasury rescue for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- US TREASURY secretary Hank Paulson is working on plans to inject up to $15 billion (£7.5 billion) of capital into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stem the crisis at America’s biggest mortgage firms.

World Bank's Zoellick: Food prices high until 2012 -- World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Saturday he expected food prices to remain above 2004 levels until at least 2012 and energy prices would also remain high and volatile.

Community Water Fluoridation Now Reaches Nearly 70 percent of U.S. Population -- Nearly 70 percent of U.S. residents who get water from community water systems now receive fluoridated water, according to a study by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.

Asia sets stage for disaster relief exercise with key powers -- After much debate, Asia is finally expected to agree to hold its first civilian-military disaster relief exercise with key powers such as the United States, Russia and the European Union.

Global Expansion of H274Y Tamiflu Resistance -- Even though H274Y on seasonal flu does not lead to changes in the clinical course, the dramatic increase in the N1 pool of H274Y raises serious pandemic concerns.

Ron Paul: Armies Cannot Stop An Idea Whose Time Has Come -- Congressman Ron Paul quoted French poet Victor Hugo in describing his new campaign for liberty stressing that “armies cannot stop an idea whose time has come.”

Frequent Mobile Phone Use Boosts Tumor Risk by 50 Percent -- Frequent users of cellular phones develop tumors of the parotid gland 50 percent more often than less frequent users, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

ABUSE OF FORCE -- No police officer anywhere knows the health of any person they accost, and whether that person has a cardiac condition or some other health problem that would be aggravated by an electrical charge from a stun gun. Which means there is always a chance that a stun gun encounter can be lethal for a person who is pulsed—particularly when he or she receives several jolts.

JULY 12th - Farmers, political leaders gather to 'Take Back' fair competition in the U.S. seed industry - Takin' It Back: Bringing Fairness & Competition Back to the Seed Industry for Our Farmers" -- The Organization for Competitive Markets presents an opportunity to learn about concentration in the seed market, what it means for Missouri farmers, and how to make a difference. Speakers include farmers and elected officials, and American Corn Growers Association and Missouri Farmers Union are co-sponsors.
Related Article: Presidential Candidate To Address DC Marchers -- Constitution Party’s Chuck Baldwin Joins With Ron Paul, Other Constitutionalists At Revolution March. A rally and march of “historic” proportions, scheduled for Saturday, July 12th in Washington, D.C. is being touted as “perhaps the largest gathering ever assembled” at the nation’s capitol. The theme of the Revolution March and Rally is “For freedom. For peace. For prosperity”.

U.S. Weighs Takeover of Two Mortgage Giants -- The companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have been hit hard by the mortgage foreclosure crisis. Their shares are plummeting and their borrowing costs are rising as investors worry that the companies will suffer losses far larger than the $11 billion they have already lost in recent months. Now, as housing prices decline further and foreclosures grow, the markets are worried that Fannie and Freddie themselves may default on their debt.

Rangel Rents Apartments at Bargain Rates -- While aggressive evictions are reducing the number of rent-stabilized apartments in New York, Representative Charles B. Rangel is enjoying four of them, including three adjacent units on the 16th floor overlooking Upper Manhattan in a building owned by one of New York’s premier real estate developers.

Senate Housing Bill Requires eBay, Amazon, Google, and All Credit Card Companies to Report Transactions to the Government -- Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd's 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America's small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill's managers without debate this week, would require the nation's payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government. Call Congress and Tell Them to Oppose The eBay Reporting Provision in the Housing Bill: 1-866-928-3035

Bodies of 2 missing US soldiers are found in Iraq -- The bodies of two U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq for more than a year have been found, their families said Thursday night. The remains of Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, of Waterford, Michigan and Army Sgt. Alex Jimenez, of Lawrence, Mass. have been identified in Iraq.The bodies of both soldiers were taken to Dover, Delaware, where military officials are expected to perform further tests to positively identify both men and determine a cause of death.

Impeachment on the House floor TODAY -- Congressman Dennis Kucinich will present a single Article of Impeachment to the House of Representatives sometime between 3:30 pm and 4:00 pm (EDT) today, Thursday, July 10th.

Russia starts large-scale naval exercise in the Pacific -- Over 20 combat and auxiliary ships from Russia's Pacific Fleet started on Tuesday a large-scale naval exercise in the Sea of Japan, which includes live firing drills, a fleet spokesman said.

Halliburton Charged with Selling Nuclear Technologies to Iran -- According to journalist Jason Leopold, sources at former Cheney company Halliburton allege that, as recently as January of 2005, Halliburton sold key components for a nuclear reactor to an Iranian oil development company. Leopold says his Halliburton sources have intimate knowledge of the business dealings of both Halliburton and Oriental Oil Kish, one of Iran’s largest private oil companies.

US Navy about to pump up Guam Megabuild contracting -- The U.S. Navy chose a team July 8 to manage design and construction of the military's estimated $15-to-20 billion construction expansion program on the Pacific island of Guam.

Soldier seen in iconic Iraq photo in 2003 dies from huffing aerosols because he could not get help from VA --The war that made him a hero at 26 haunted him to the last moments of his life. "He loved the picture, don't get me wrong, but he just couldn't get over the war," his mother, Maureen Dwyer, said by telephone from her home in Sunset Beach, N.C. "He wasn't Joseph anymore. Joseph never came home."

Tasters file lawsuits against Cadbury -- Montville attorney Robyne LaGrotta filed three lawsuits in Superior Court in Morristown against Cadbury and Spherion Atlantic Enterprises LLC, a staffing company that hired three Morris County women to work at Cadbury's research facility as taste testers of flavors and certain sweeteners in East Hanover. The lawsuits became public today. Quote: "I know they did something bad to us," said Magliaro, of Denville. "I want to know what they gave me."

River use banned after French uranium leak -- Residents in the Vaucluse, a popular southern French tourist destination, were banned yesterday from drinking well-water or swimming or fishing in two rivers after a uranium leak from one of France's nuclear power plants.

Red Rice Yeast More Effective than Statin Meds for Preventing Heart Attacks -- New research shows that red rice yeast extract, at a dose of 600 mg 2x day, is much more effective at preventing heart attacks than the cholesterol lowering medication lovastatin (one of the biggest selling drugs in the world).

6700 Tons of Radioactive Debris Shipped From Kuwait to Idaho (Doug Rokke, Ph.D. - BLN Contributing Writer) -- Recently the emirate of Kuwait required the United States Department of Defense to remove the contamination. Consequently, over 6,700 tons of contaminated soil sand and other residue was collected and has been shipped back to the United States for burial by American Ecology at Boise Idaho. Read More...

Cargill rolling out natural, no-calorie sweetener -- Agribusiness giant Cargill Inc is starting to roll out Truvia, its natural, no-calorie sweetener on Wednesday, and expects the product to be on grocery shelves across the U.S. sometime this fall. Truvia is made from certain compounds in the leaves of stevia, a shrub native to Paraguay, and will provide a natural alternative to artificial sweeteners including Sweet 'N Low, Equal and Splenda. Side note: Has anyone EVER recalled stevia producing the side effects listed here?

Earthquake Destroyed China's Largest Military Armory, Says Source -- A high-level Chinese military source secretly disclosed last week that the recent earthquake in Sichuan Province caused a chain-reaction of explosions in the Sichuan mountain areas. The explosions destroyed Chinese army's largest armory, new weapon test bases and part of nuclear facilities including several nuclear warheads. This information is considered China's top military secret.

As food costs soar, it's back to basics for meal planners -- When USA TODAY asked readers to report how they are coping with higher grocery bills while still eating healthfully, dozens of people responded with lists of ways they're cutting costs. Their ideas range from curtailing restaurant meals to planting gardens, using coupons, shopping smarter and cooking more economical meals.

US Electromagnetic Weapons and Human Rights -- This research explores the current capabilities of the US military to use electromagnetic (EMF) devices to harass, intimidate, and kill individuals and the continuing possibilities of violations of human rights by the testing and deployment of these weapons. To establish historical precedent in the US for such acts, we document long-term human rights and freedom of thought violations by US military/intelligence organizations. Additionally, we explore contemporary evidence of on-going government research in EMF weapons technologies and examine the potentialities of
continuing human rights abuses.

McCain asked about PNAC and 9/11 at town hall -- During a town hall event in Portsmouth, OH, John McCain was asked why he wasn’t more supportive of 9/11 victims. McCain answered that he had teamed with Sen. Joe Lieberman to create the 9/11 Commission and supported its findings.

US backs statin use for children -- Many more obese children, including some as young as eight, should receive cholesterol-lowering drugs, say leading US doctors.

South Australia drought worsens -- Three months of dry weather and the driest June on record have plunged the area back into drought, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission says.

Bush's latest cover up on White House emails -- George W. Bush, who has expanded his power to access the e-mails and other electronic communications of Americans, is resisting congressional demands that White House e-mails be saved for later research by historians.

USDA Ordered to Release NAIS Data -- Agricultural journalist Mary-Louise Zanoni has succeeded in keeping the USDA from applying Privacy Act safeguards to information it has collected from livestock owners as part of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). These safeguards would have restricted access to the information by journalists as well as the livestock owners whose information might be included without their knowledge.

Findings on Katrina Trailers Went Undisclosed, Maker Says -- A leading U.S. trailer manufacturer failed to disclose to Hurricane Katrina evacuees or the government its internal findings that formaldehyde in some units exceeded a federal health standard by as much as 45 times in 2006, its chairman acknowledged to Congress yesterday.

Internet flaw could let hackers take over the Web -- Computer industry heavyweights are hustling to fix a flaw in the foundation of the Internet that would let hackers control traffic on the World Wide Web. Major software and hardware makers worked in secret for months to create a software "patch" released on Tuesday to repair the problem, which is in the way computers are routed to web page addresses. Read More...

The Water Car -- Read the interesting article on what happened to Stan Meyer- murdered in March 1998, for turning water into fuel. According to his brother Steve, the U.S. Government came to Stan's home a week after his murder and confiscated his car, which got 100 miles per gallon of water, and they stole all of his research equipment which he had used to develop the new technology.

UK: Mom prevented from taking son to school because she hadn't been screened for a criminal record check -- Criminal record checking is required because she uses a taxi to take her son to a special needs school.

India: Indian state facing famine after rat plague says report -- A million people in northeastern India face famine after rats destroyed most of the rice crop in their state, the International Rice Research Institute has said.

Organic Center Releases 'Organic Essentials' Pocket Guide For Minimizing Pesticide Dietary Risks -- Do you know that the greatest risks from pesticides in the diet come from eating conventionally produced fruits and vegetables? A new complimentary pocket guide can help consumers avoid the highest-risk fresh produce during both the summer season and winter, when asignificant share of fresh produce is imported.

Micro materials could pose major health risks -- Panel issues warning for products with nanomaterials, saying tiny substances in everything from sunscreen to diesel fuel may be toxic.

Seymour Hersh Exposes New US Covert Operations In Iran (VIDEO) -- The New Yorker's Seymour Hersh reports on how the Bush Administration has stepped up covert operations against Iran.

Bush shuts down civil liberties oversight board -- Without any public announcement, the White House recently sent a letter to Capitol Hill stating it would nominate only one of two names recommended by congressional leaders to sit on the five-member civil liberties panel.

Help Diminish Diabetes in Your Body -- The bottom line is to avoid baking, broiling, and frying, and instead, boil and poach.

Report: Iran test-fires more missiles -- Iran test-fired more long-range missiles overnight in a second round of exercises meant to show that the country can defend itself against any attack by the United States or Israel, Iranian state television reported Thursday. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warns Tehran that U.S. will not renege on pledge to protect Israel.
Related Link: Where missiles could strike

YouTube: Jesse Jackson on Barack Obama * I wanna cut his "    " off! -- Later Jackson apologizes for crude comment about Obama
Related Article: Jackson apologizes for crude comment about Obama

62,000 jobs lost, off nearly half-million for year -- The nation lost jobs for a sixth month in a row in June, a storm of pink slips drenching this year's July Fourth holiday for more than 60,000 Americans and leaving thousands more worried about the future.

17 babies given overdose of blood thinner at Texas hospital -- A Corpus Christi, Texas, hospital is investigating how up to 17 babies in a neonatal intensive care unit received overdoses of the blood thinner heparin. One of the babies died.

FDA calls for urgent tendon warning on Cipro -- Drug safety officials Tuesday imposed the government's most urgent safety warning on Cipro and similar antibiotics, citing evidence that they may lead to tendon ruptures, a serious injury that can leave patients incapacitated and needing extensive surgery.

High food prices may cut opposition to genetically modified food -- A wave of food-price inflation may help wash away popular opposition to so-called Frankenstein foods.

Most Sunscreens Fail to Protect -- The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a Washington-based research group and habitual gadfly to the business world, has found that 4 out of 5 of the nearly 1,000 sunscreen lotions analyzed offer inadequate protection from the sun or contain harmful chemicals. The biggest offenders, the EWG said, are the industry leaders: Coppertone, Banana Boat and Neutrogena.

10 People Killed By New CJD-Like Disease -- A new form of fatal dementia has been discovered in 16 Americans, 10 of whom have already died of the condition. It resembles Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease - with patients gradually losing their ability to think, speak and move - but has features that make it distinct from known forms of CJD.

Homeopathic Alternatives to Antibiotics -- Homeopathic medicine actually gained its greatest popularity primarily due to its impressive successes in the treatment of infectious diseases in the 19th century. The death rates in American and European homeopathic hospitals from cholera, scarlet fever, typhoid, and yellow fever were typically two to eight times less by percentage than those in conventional hospitals.

Immigrants in U.S. sending fewer dollars home -- Many Mexican immigrant workers send money back to their home country while working in U.S. markets such as Phoenix and Los Angeles. The Economic Policy Institute said Wednesday that declines in the U.S. real estate market and construction employment are contributing to the drop in remittances.

Doomed to a fatal delusion over climate change -- PSYCHIATRISTS have detected the first case of "climate change delusion" - and they haven't even yet got to Kevin Rudd and his global warming guru.

USDA Threatening Mandatory Animal ID as COOL Approaches -- USDA is boosting its efforts to get livestock producers signed up in the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) ahead of mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) legislation that becomes effective this fall. In an interview with Meatingplace.com during a two-day swing through Texas this week to visit meat and poultry processing plants, Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer said he prefers not to make NAIS mandatory but warned it could happen if not enough producers sign up voluntarily.

Die-off of bats mystifies experts -- Bats are dying off by the thousands as they hibernate in caves and mines around New York and Vermont, sending researchers scrambling to find the cause of a mysterious condition dubbed "white-nose syndrome."

The disease caused by oil -- The true cause of the sky-high oil prices you see today has nothing to do with speculators. Read More...

Langford outlines curfew crackdown -- Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford today unveiled specifics of an amendment to the city's curfew violation which, if enforced, will not only tax the parents' pocketbooks but will take away their freedom, at least temporarily.

Waiting for the internet meltdown -- The world is heading for a digital doomsday as the net fast runs out of numerical addresses.

Beware Of Drink Mixers Based On Diet Soda -- Aspartame contains free methyl alcohol. In molecular chemistry its one molecule of aspartic acid to one molecule of methanol to one molecule of phenylalanine. That's a lot of wood alcohol. You remember that skid row drunks used it during prohibition and thousands went blind or died. Same thing with aspartame/NutraSweet/Equal, etc.

GOP: Don't blame manufacturers for toxic trailers -- The analysis instead points the finger at the federal government for not having standards for safe levels of formaldehyde before Hurricane Katrina victims lived in the trailers.

“Non-Lethal” Weapons: Where Science and Technology Service Repression -- Welcome to the twisted world of “non-lethal” weapons research brought to you by the “fun” folks at the Pentagon’s Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD).

Pandemic Mutations In Bird Flu Revealed -- Scientists have discovered how bird flu adapts in patients, offering a new way to monitor the disease and prevent a pandemic, according to research published in the August issue of the Journal of General Virology.

H5N1 Pre-Pandemic Vaccinations -- Thailand, Vietnam and China have notched up successes in curbing outbreaks in birds, which is key to minimizing the chance that the virus can pass to humans. It has become increasingly clear that the spread and diversity of H5N1 will pose a significant challenge, and the implementation of a pre-pandemic vaccine to prime the world’s population has significant merit.

Mukasey: Get Govt Terror Fighting Tools -- The Bush administration will do everything possible to ensure the government has the tools to fight terrorists before the next president takes office, while protecting people's privacy, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Wednesday.

Farm life turns male toads female -- Toads studied over a wide area are most affected near agriculture.

Beware of the recluse spider! -- Be very careful around woodpiles - attics - garages - etc. They like the darkness and tend to live in storage sheds or attics or other areas that might not be frequented by people or light.

Rising oil prices make wood-burning stoves a hot item -- With home heating oil expected to reach $4.75 to $5 per gallon, homeowners are flocking to get a closer look at fireplace inserts, pellet and wood burning stoves to heat their homes. According to Sylvester and others, the savings can pay for the stove in a single season.

Congressional Approval Falls to Single Digits for First Time Ever / 9% Approval Rating -- Congressional Approval Falls to Single Digits for First Time Ever / 9% Approval Rating.

Is your catalytic converter missing? -- Thieves mining cars for metals!

For Future of Mind Control, Robot-Monkey Trials Are Just a Start -- In May, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh said they had taught two monkeys to grab small amounts of food with a mechanical arm using their brains. The future of brain-machine interfaces, however, could veer toward the as-yet-unknown possibilities of human movement.

New push to vaccinate adults -- Now, infectious-disease experts and public health officials are calling for a national program to make immunization as routine a part of health care for adults as it has long been for children.

Cops to Use “Top Secret” Weapons on Activists During Conventions -- Congress is forking over $100 million for “security expenses” in Denver and St. Paul this summer. The types of weapons being purchased are “top secret” and this does not sit well with the ACLU, who is suing both cities to find out how the money is being spent.

Big Pharma "Doomed" if it Doesn't Change, Says Eli Lilly Chairman -- With patents set to expire on major products and no new blockbusters on the horizon, the pharmaceutical industry must adapt or die, the chairman of Eli Lilly & Co. has said. "I think the industry is doomed if we don't change," said Sidney Taurel.

Pension plans suffer huge losses -- Falling stock markets around the globe and the credit crunch are putting the pension funds of some of the largest U.S. companies into deeper financial holes, according to a report released Monday.

Exports to Iran grew under Bush -- U.S. exports to Iran — including brassieres, bull semen, cosmetics and possibly even weapons — grew more than tenfold during President Bush's years in office even as he accused Iran of nuclear ambitions and helping terrorists. America sent more cigarettes to Iran, at least $158 million worth under Bush, than any other products.

Bernanke ready to extend aid for banks into 2009 -- American regulators may have to continue offering emergency funding to investment banks into 2009, Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, said yesterday, with the credit crisis showing no sign of easing.

User Charged With Felony For Using Fake Name On MySpace -- Recently a user was charged with a "Computer Fraud and Abuse Act" which is a felony for the heinous crime of pretending to be someone else on the Internet.

Memo calls for bombs to be civilian-friendly -- Faced with growing international pressure, the Pentagon is changing its policy on cluster bombs and plans to reduce the danger of unexploded munitions in the deadly explosives.

Chemical weapons transport plan draws fire -- The Pentagon is considering a plan to ship deadly chemical weapons to military sites in four states to accelerate the destruction of the munitions, a new report to Congress says.

Kucinich to bring single article of impeachment for misleading US into war -- Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is sticking to his drive to impeach President Bush.

IRS Suffers Staggering Defeat -- 161 Federal Tax Charges, 0 Convictions - Total National Media Blackout.

The Microwave Scream Inside Your Skull -- The U.S. military bankrolled early development of a non-lethal microwave weapon that creates sound inside your head. But in the end, the gadget may be just as likely to wind up in shopping malls as on battlefields. The project is known as MEDUSA – a contrived acronym for Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio. Read More...

Citizens stunned as school board walks out of meeting -- A crowd of students and citizens of Guilderland, N.Y., gathered last week at a public school board meeting to protest the questionable reassignment of two teachers, only to look on in disbelief as the school board stood up and left the room.

50 Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation -- by Dr. Paul Connett whi is a Professor of Chemistry.

Special court for vets addresses more than crime -- While the defendants in this court have been arrested on charges that could mean potential prison time and damaging criminal records, they have another important trait in common: All have served their country in the military. That combination has landed them here, in veterans treatment court, the first of its kind in the country.

Want some torture with your peanuts? -- Just when you thought you’ve heard it all...A senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a police Taser®.
Related Link: http://www.lamperdlesslethal.com

Brasscheck TV: George Bush, crusader for honest elections -- The pot calling the kettle black.

HPV Vaccine Victims Pile Up: $1.5B for Merck -- While Merck has pulled in $1.5B from sales of GARDASIL vaccine worldwide, there are continuing reports that girls are being crippled and dying after getting the HPV vaccine fast tracked and licensed by the FDA in 2006.

YouTube: C-SPAN viewer slams Lee Hamilton -- C-SPAN viewer bitch slaps Lee Hamilton. Lee Hamilton was a vice chairmen of the 911 commssion which was a total fraud full of lies! Notice how he wont answer whether or not he is close to the Bush Family he just changes the subject.

Tainted cheese fuels TB rise in California -- A rare form of tuberculosis caused by illegal, unpasteurized dairy products, including the popular queso fresco cheese, is rising among Hispanic immigrants in Southern California and raising fears about a resurgence of a strain all but eradicated in the U.S.

UK: Stop wasting food, Brown urging -- Britons must stop wasting food in an effort to help combat rising living costs, Gordon Brown has said as world leaders discuss rising prices.

Feds target children with live flu vaccine -- The federal government plans to give children – possibly millions of them – a live influenza vaccine they could transmit to anyone with whom they come into contact. The vaccinations could start as early as a few weeks from now, and the infections could be spread for up to three weeks following the vaccinations, officials confirmed.

Study shows how broccoli fights cancer -- Just a few more portions of broccoli each week may protect men from prostate cancer, British researchers reported on Wednesday.

U.S. businesses file for bankruptcy at a faster rate -- Bankruptcy filings in the U.S. during the month rose 33 percent from a year earlier and may surpass 1 million in a year for the first time since bankruptcy laws were tightened in October 2005.

Consumer Outrage May Reverse Pennsylvania's rBGH-Free Dairy Label Censorship Sham -- The governor of Pennsylvania has ordered a review of a ruling banning "hormone-free" labels on milk after widespread outrage from consumers and milk producers.

Vaccine Resistant H5N1 in Hong Kong -- The bird flu vaccine used for local chickens is gradually losing its effectiveness, and total failure is not too far away, a leading microbiologist warned yesterday.

Obama's Plane Makes Unscheduled Stop for Safety Check -- Barack Obama's presidential campaign plane landed safely in St. Louis in an unscheduled stop caused by a maintenance issue, forcing him to change the location of a planned economic speech.

Citi: Banks Will Have $5 Trillion Restored to Balance Sheets -- Accounting changes expected to take effect by 2009 will add $5 trillion to the balance sheets of banks and other U.S. financial institutions, says Citigroup’s head of global credit strategy Matt King.

Bush Wishes For Freedom From Tyranny -- President Bush has posted a message on a "wishing tree" at the G8 summit in Japan and, true to the aims of his second term in office, his main desire is for a world free from tyranny.

Man bitten by Walmart rattlesnake -- A POISONOUS rattlesnake hidden among leafy plants in the garden section of a Walmart store in Florida sprang out and bit a man who was shopping there.

US holds Navy exercise after Iran comments on Gulf -- The U.S. Navy said on Monday it was carrying out an exercise in the Gulf, days after vowing that Iran will not be allowed to block the waterway which carries crude from the world's largest oil-exporting region.

Nurses Association Calls for Ban on Monsanto's Bovine Growth Hormone -- Looks like we've got a great ally... the American Nurses Association! Here's a resolution they passed at their annual conference...read more...

Steve & Barry's to close 100 stores -- Steve & Barry's, the Port Washington-based clothing retailer that opened more than 200 dress-down stores in the past few years and is the home of splashy but low-price apparel and footwear by the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker and Stephon Marbury, plans to close 100 outlets and is considering liquidation if it can't find emergency financing, according to a published report.

The Tyranny of Seatbelt Laws -- In Illinois there is a law that says one must wear their seatbelt when driving their car. Should a member of a state sanctioned gang known as the police pull you over and find you are not wearing your seatbelt, they are instructed to write a citation instructing you to either mail your tribute to one of their collection agencies or report to one of their superiors should you decide you don’t agree with their “law” and you don’t want to pay them their extortion because you feel doing so would be unjust.

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees? -- Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious "colony collapse" of bees.

CT Scans Emit Massive Doses of Radiation, Promote Cancer -- A British government report has called for tighter regulation of private clinics that offer full-body computed tomography (CT) scans, saying that such scans expose patients to a massive and cancer-promoting blast of radiation.

US wants sci-fi killer robots for terror fight -- KILLER robots which can change their shape to squeeze under doors and through cracks in walls to track their prey are moving from the realms of science fiction to the front line in the fight against terrorism.

Toddlers who dislike spicy food 'racist' -- Toddlers who turn their noses up at spicy food from overseas could be branded racists by a Government-sponsored agency.

28,000 lighting flashes, heat wave and record rain pound on B.C. -- We're in for a break after a week of extremes, meteorologist says.

Will the World End in 2012? -- Thousands Worldwide Prepare for the Apocalypse, Expected in 2012.

From the Appropriations bill(S3182) -- FBI headquarters not cleared for proper storage of classified intelligence.

Report: Emirates call on Gulf Cooperation Council countries to depeg currencies from US dollar -- The GCC members are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman. All of their currencies are pegged to the dollar except Kuwait, which depegged its currency, the dinar, from the dollar in May 2007 in favor of a basket of currencies.

Brasscheck TV: Pushing Gardasil -- Another profit center for pharma.

Depleted Uranium Situation Worsens -- Dr. Doug Rokke, PhD. - Depleted Uranium Situation Worsens Requiring Immediate Action

High gas prices threaten to shut down rural towns -- Soaring gas prices are a double-whammy for many rural residents: They often pay more than people who live in cities and suburbs because of the expense of hauling fuel to their communities, and they must drive greater distances for life's necessities: work, groceries, medical care and, of course, gas.

Eating soy linked to memory loss -- Frequently consuming foods containing soy may contribute to memory loss, British experts say.

Arrest leads to Rainbow riot -- U.S. Forest Service officers pointed weapons at children and fired rubber bullets and pepper spray balls at Rainbow Family members while making arrests Thursday evening, according to witnesses.

Big Pharma Is in a Frenzy to Bring Cannabis-Based Medicines to Market -- While the the American Medical Association claims pot has no medical value, Big Pharma is busy getting patents for marijuana products.

Why is the U.S. Spending More Than $1 Trillion for Drugs? -- The global market for pharmaceuticals was worth more than $693 billion in 2007. It is expected to increase to over $737 billion in 2008 and will top $1.0 trillion in 2013.

SAMARITAN THIEF ALERTS COPS TO 'TERROR' VAN -- He's a criminal, but he "did the right thing" when it mattered - alerting cops to what he feared was a terror plot the day before the Fourth of July.

Tired firefighters battle 330 California wildfires -- Cooler weather on Sunday gave a boost to crews battling the enormous wildfire that was threatening nearly 2,700 homes in Santa Barbara County.

Abilene man wants to warn you about the dangers of 'chemtrails' -- Darrin McBreen wants people to look up in the sky -- and contemplate what might be happening up there that might be affecting us down here.

Biofuels behind food price hikes: leaked World Bank report -- Biofuels have caused world food prices to increase by 75 percent, according to the findings of an unpublished World Bank report published in The Guardian newspaper on Friday.

Tenant Banned from Flying Flag Upside Down, Gets Death Threat -- Man says he wanted to signal to his neighbors that this country is in distress, so he started flying the flag upside down. He lives in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, about an hour north of Milwaukee. Read More...

Focus on elk as disease persists near Yellowstone -- Federal officials are considering a tentative proposal that calls for capturing or killing infected elk in Yellowstone National Park to eliminate a serious livestock disease carried by animals in the area. Government agencies have killed more than 6,000 wild bison leaving Yellowstone over the last two decades in an attempt to contain brucellosis, which causes pregnant cattle to abort their young.

Australian climate report like 'disaster novel' says minister -- The report, by the Bureau of Meteorology and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, found that the world's driest inhabited continent is likely to suffer more extreme temperatures due to climate change.

Fusion Centers: Implementing the Control Grid -- Fusion centers are a creature of the Department of Defense and DARPA, an outgrowth of the supposedly discredited and "defunded" Total Information Awareness program.

US MILITARY orders 1700 robots for combat -- Robot soldiers ready for real battlefield - In just a few years' time, Lockheed Martin will start shipping the Mule to conflict hotspots. The US Army has 1700 on order for 2014. About 15 Warfighter brigades will be equipped with the units, constituting a human to robot ratio of 29:1. Many will be used to clear minefields and carry gear, but half will be armed.

3 rescued U.S. Military contractors who had been held hostage by Colombian rebels for five years arrive safely in Texas -- Their drug-surveillance plane had went down in the rebel-held Colombian jungle in February 2003. Long before their rescue, the three had become the longest-held American hostages in the world, according to the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

Something Big is Going On by Ron Paul -- "I have, for the past 35 years, expressed my grave concern for the future of America. The course we have taken over the past century has threatened our liberties, security and prosperity. In spite of these long-held concerns, I have days—growing more frequent all the time—when I’m convinced the time is now upon us that some Big Events are about to occur. These fast-approaching events will not go unnoticed. They will affect all of us. They will not be limited to just some areas of our country. The world economy and political system will share in the chaos about to be unleashed."

U.S. Forecasters Are Closely Tracking 'Vigorous' African Wave -- Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center started tracking a tropical wave off Africa today, the first system of the season showing potential to develop.

CBS: Report predicts $7/gallon gas -- A new energy report predicts that oil will cost $200 a barrel in two years. If that happens, gas would go up to $7 a gallon. CBS News’ Priya David reports on the huge impact that would have on American lives.

Ron Paul Calls For Hearings On Falling Dollar’s Impact On Oil -- In the face of $4 per gallon gasoline and predictions the price will rise to $7 by the end of summer, Congressman Ron Paul (R-Lake Jackson) is calling on Congress to explore how the weakened value of the dollar may be contributing to the rise in oil prices.

NJ-NY Train Station AUDIBLE Mind Control Programming? -- Anyone know anything about this?

German man torches car to protest high gas prices -- German man doused his BMW with gasoline and torched it on Friday in protest at skyrocketing fuel costs, police said. The Man told police that gas prices were so high he could no longer afford to drive the vehicle.

Cops lie in court to frame suspect -- Defense's surprise video exposes police perjury.

America Seized With Fear By Joan Veon -- Unbeknownst to the American people who are besieged with a fear and trembling over the falling stock market, the sub-prime credit crisis, the flooding in the Midwest, and the all-time oil, gas and food prices, a much greater, more enduring and lasting evil is taking over the country through new regulations proposed by the U.S. Treasury Department. Read More...

Army shuts down war game -- At the request of Summerfest officials, the U.S. Army on Tuesday removed a virtual urban warfare game that allowed fest-goers as young as 13 to hop into a Humvee simulator and fire machine guns at life-size people on a computer screen.

Fed auctions $75 billion to ease credit stresses -- The Federal Reserve has auctioned another $75 billion in loans to squeezed banks to help them overcome credit problems and announced it will provide a fresh batch of the loans this month.

Marine Corps Facing Bloody Afghan Deployment -- As the surge in Iraq has dampened hostilities there, violence in Afghanistan is on the rise. International troop deaths in Iraq now take a back seat to casualties in Afghanistan by nearly 50 percent, according to reports.

Infant Formula Cans Lined With Toxic Chemical BPA -- An investigation by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has found that nearly all infant formulas are packaged in containers that contain the dangerous toxin bisphenol A.

Videos: Mexico police get practice in torture -- Two tapes showed what one chief called training for "real-life, high-stress situations."

Analysis: U.S. military to patrol Internet -- The U.S. military is looking for a contractor to patrol cyberspace, watching for warning signs of forthcoming terrorist attacks or other hostile activity on the Web.

Missouri to build interface for Real ID -- The Homeland Security Department today announced it has awarded $17 million to Missouri's state government to lead the development of a common interface that states will use to verify documents that individuals use to apply for state-issued identification as part of the Real ID program.

Official anti-terrorism civilian snoop program to be expanded -- The US's "Terrorism Liaison Officer" program is being expanded -- this is a program that trains utility workers and other government employees to snitch on people whom they deem "suspicious" and embroil them in a never-ending round of Orwellian surveillance and background checks.

Cheap, Processed Chocolate Has Virtually No Health Benefits Due to Lack of Flavanols -- People should not be misled into believing that the typical chocolate bar is good for heart health, according to an editorial published in the influential medical journal Lancet, because most processed chocolate bars contain very low amounts of the nutrient that makes chocolate good for you.

Has Maine Set a Precedent on Anti-War Protests? -- A unanimous verdict that freed six protesters of trespassing charges may show respect for dissent.

White House Affirms Lieberman’s Attack Warning -- In response to Sen. Joe Lieberman’s warning Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the United States will likely face a terrorist attack in 2009, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino agreed Monday, saying, “I think Senator Lieberman, unfortunately, could be right.”

Fear $5 Gas? -- Imagine $10-15 Per Gallon!


JUNE 2008 (Re-Fresh your browser often)

Why floods could bring America to its knees -- The hurricane season just got underway — obscured for the moment by the bigger weather story in Iowa. The fate of the banks is a train wreck still waiting to happen. As it occurs — also heading into the high political and hurricane seasons — we could find ourselves not only a nation wet, hungry, and out-of-gas, but also completely broke.

Starbucks To Close 600 Stores -- Starbucks Corp. has announced it's closing 600 underperforming stores in the United States. The Seattle-based premium coffee company also announced Tuesday it expects to open fewer than 200 new company-operated stores in the United States in fiscal 2009.

War drums becoming deafening -- THE Americans and the Israelis are acting in concert vis-à-vis Iran. The unmistakable message they are putting out loud and clear is that an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities is on the cards in the event Tehran doesn’t cave into their demands.

APD chief wants officers to draw blood on DWIs -- AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) -- Austin's police chief has a new idea to draw your blood if you refuse a Breathalyzer test.

Data Breaches Are Up 69% This Year, Nonprofit Says -- Businesses, governments and universities reported a 69 percent increase in data breaches in the first half of 2008 compared with a similar period in 2007, according to a study by a nonprofit group that works to prevent fraud.

Edward Bachner arrested after ordering pufferfish toxin -- Federal authorities on Monday charged a Lake in the Hills man with possession of a pufferfish toxin in an amount that one expert said could kill almost 100 people. Click to view Photo!

America's Shrinking Groceries -- is it possible that the amount of food Americans are buying is, in fact... shrinking? Well, yes. Soaring commodity and fuel prices are driving up costs for manufacturers; faced with a choice between raising prices (which consumers would surely notice) or quietly putting fewer ounces in the bag, carton or cup (which they generally don't) manufacturers are choosing the latter. This month, Kellogg's started shipping Apple Jacks, Cocoa Krispies, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks containing an average of 2.4 fewer ounces per box.

Veterans Respond to General Clark's Comments -- Judge for yourselves what the troops who are left-of-center think about this whole deal.  Hear Wesley Clark's Comments On Face The Nation June.29, 2008

JPMorgan Chase Accidentally Breaks Into Your House And Steals Everything You Own -- After the Dickson family bought a former foreclosure house, the foreclosure proceedings were supposed to have been stopped. They weren't. That's when the former owner's mortgage company (owned by JPMorgan Chase) hired "Field Asset Services Inc." to drill the locks and "empty the house," according to the Austin American-Statesmen. Field Asset Services claims that the Dickson's possessions were given to area thrift stores, but they have been unable to locate them.
Related Link: http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/07/01/0701dickson.html

Fortis Bank Predicts U.S. Financial Market Meltdown Within Weeks -- Fortis expects a complete collapse of the US financial markets within a few days to weeks. That explains, according to Fortis, the series of interventions of last Thursday to retrieve € 8 billion.

Fatty Liver Disease Ups Heart Risks for Obese Kids -- More than 6 million children in the United States have a condition called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which can boost their odds for heart disease, researchers report. NAFLD results from oily droplets of triglycerides forming in liver cells.

Protests need our blessing, say police -- POLICE have told organizations planning to campaign during World Youth Day events they need to have placards, banners and T-shirts pre-approved or risk losing their protest "rights" - even those groups representing victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

Clay Tablet Reveals Ancient Asteroid Strike -- British scientists have deciphered a mysterious ancient clay tablet and believe they have solved a riddle over a giant asteroid impact more than 5,000 years ago.

rBGH labeling on Ohio milk -- Dairy groups sue over new Ohio milk-labeling rule!
Related Links: *  "Cliff Notes" version about what rBGH is all about
                        *  Chipotle Mexican Grill Bans Cheese Made with rBGH Milk

USS Cole attack 'plotter' charged -- US military prosecutors have filed charges against the alleged mastermind of the 2000 attack on the USS Cole warship that left 17 sailors dead.

U.S. troops wind up two-year stint on Mexico border -- U.S. National Guard troops are coming to the end of a temporary deployment on the Mexico border next month, widely credited with helping border police stem the flow of illegal crossers.

DNC protests will be behind fence -- The fence around the public demonstration zone outside the Democratic National Convention will be chicken wire or chain link, authorities revealed in U.S. District Court today.

FEMA water, truckers sit for a week in Iowa -- Ten truckers who were hauling FEMA bottled water for Midwest flood victims finally unloaded the 47,000 gallons of cargo on Wednesday, June 25, after sitting for eight days in Rock Island, IL, awaiting instructions on where to take it.

Major Guantanamo setback for Bush -- Foreign suspects held in Guantanamo Bay have the right to challenge their detention in US civilian courts, the US Supreme Court has ruled.

Scalar Quake Weapons Being Aimed At Oak Ridge? -- Is there Eco-type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of (Scalar) electromagnetic waves ?

The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating -- Nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden has created several lists of healthful foods people should be eating but aren’t. But some of his favorites, like purslane, guava and goji berries, aren’t always available at regular grocery stores. I asked Dr. Bowden, author of “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,” to update his list with some favorite foods that are easy to find but don’t always find their way into our shopping carts. Here’s his advice.

Your Tires May Be A Ticking Time Bomb -- The threat to all of us is tire AGING. However...ABC news reporters found that Sears, Walmart and other well known stores frequently have OLD tires on the shelves being sold as new. A "must read" article!

How Dangerous Are CT Scans? -- Some physicians are raising concerns about the safety of such procedures - most notably, an increase in cancer risk. A CT scan packs a mega-dose of radiation - as much as 500 times that of a conventional X-ray. If your doctor orders a CT scan for you or your child, should you think twice?

The 10 Most Awesomely Bad Moments of the Bush Presidency -- Narrowing down the Bush administration's various debacles to a mere 10 was no easy fete. Read More...

DARPA looking for wicked cool researchers for advanced study group -- If you are looking to develop some far out advanced science project -- and the folks at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency have a ton from airplanes that can fly for years without landing to skeletal putty for fractured bones – then DARPA wants you.

H5N1 will need booster shots -- Recent results presented in Kalua Lumpur indicated that the boosted patients had higher titers against the original clade 1 target, as well as the clade 2 target used in the boost. These boosters were given 1 to 1½ years after the initial set of two immunizations.

Mismatched H5N1 Vaccines Stockpiled By WHO? -- Recently, Sanofi Pasteur and GlaxoSmithKline have announce plans to ship 110 million vaccine doses (for vaccination of 55 million people) to the WHO for stockpiling for use after a pandemic begins. These plans to stockpile weak mismatched vaccines may be hazardous to the world’s health due to limited shelf life of a pre-pandemic vaccine, coupled with weak activity and significant mismatches.

Who Wants to be a Air Gun Guinea Pig? -- Beware of the latest line in less lethal weapons: a scooter equipped with an air gun. Canadian company Lamperd Less Lethal's T3 features an electric vehicle equipped with a pneumatic weapon that can be used for crowd control, reports the Sarnia Observer.

Heat burst in Nebraska town -- Cozad residents woke this morning to a weather phenomenon as a heat burst rolled through town. Temperatures rose 20 degrees in a matter of minutes while winds reached speeds of 75 miles per hour.

The Bush administration steps up it's secret moves against Iran -- Preparing the Battlefield.

GM Foods: The U.S. Fights Mandatory Labeling in An Untested Human Experiment -- The U.S. and several other nations recently attended a Codex meeting in Calgary, Canada to discuss food labeling. The Codex Alimentarius Commission implements the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Program, the purpose of which is to protect the health of consumers and to ensure fair practices in the food trade.

Bees seeking 'sugary' garden pest -- lack of suitable flowers may be forcing bumblebees to seek out aphids to feed on their sugary secretions.

Pentagon fights EPA on pollution cleanup -- The Defense Department, the nation's biggest polluter, is resisting orders from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up Fort Meade and two other military bases where the EPA says dumped chemicals pose "imminent and substantial" dangers to public health and the environment.

Gore Vidal - US not a republic anymore -- Gore Vidal: No, Congress has never been more cowardly, nor more corrupt. All Bush has do is to make sure certain amounts of money go in the direction of certain important congressmen and that's end of any serious investigation.

Rothshilds' IMF To Audit The US Financial System -- They are auditing the Fed to make sure that no policy and no action of the Fed or the US government will result in any repudiation of debt owed to the Rothshild's or in any way reduce the expected harvest of assets that the international bankers are expecting from the US collapse.

Credit ripoff: How a $100 purchase turns into a $1,000 debt -- High interest rates, costly penalties and high, hidden fees can eat up nearly all the credit available from a credit card and, over time, turn a $100 purchase into more than a thousand dollars of debt.

Contaminated Kuwait sand lands in Idaho -- Nearly 80 rail cars containing 6,700 tons of contaminated sand from Gulf War I are being shipped by American Ecology Corp. to its hazardous waste disposal site near Grandview, 70 miles southeast of Boise. The sand arrived by ship at Longbeach, Washington on May 12. The sand was from Camp Doha in Kuwait. Responding to a series of questions posed by The Idaho Observer, Idaho Governor Butch Otter stated, "…it appears that the material in question is well within the contaminant limitations of the U.S. (sic) Ecology permit."

Recent Recalls -- Website to view recent recalls...some not meaning in the mainstream media!

For the Record: Wars have cost $700B since 9/11 -- A new Congressional Research Service report says the U.S. government has spent about $700 billion on "military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks."

DOJ Settles Hatfill Suit for $5.8 Million -- The Justice Department has agreed to pay former Army scientist Steven Hatfill almost $6 million to settle his claims that the government violated his privacy rights during its investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks.

5 Myths About the Death Of the American Factory -- No wonder this is an issue in the presidential campaign, especially in big manufacturing states. To get to the bottom of the problem, though, we have to cut through the many myths that have been fabricated about the industry over the years. Read More...

US issues health warning over mercury fillings -- They're in millions of mouths worldwide, but have been linked to heart disease and Alzheimer's. Now a report concedes they may have a toxic effect on the body!

U.S. Freezes Solar Energy Projects -- Faced with a surge in the number of proposed solar power plants, the federal government has placed a moratorium on new solar projects on public land until it studies their environmental impact, which is expected to take about two years.

ATF agents seize weapons from Blackwater's N.C. facility -- Agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have confiscated nearly two dozen automatic rifles from Blackwater Worldwide, the private security contractor and firearms training company in Moyock, N.C.

U.S. Government Plunging Further Into Debt at $1 Million a Minute -- The U.S. government's national debt is growing by almost $1 million per minute, or $1.4 billion per day. Merely paying the interest on what this debt has become is anticipated to place an increasing strain on public programs.

Gardasil for boys??? -- Boys Now Targeted by Big Pharma's Vaccine Campaign - If you have been following the thread of Grdasil articles here over the past year you probably won't be amazed by this newly announced campaign to bring Gardasil to your little boys.

Four Year Old Singing Sensation Kaitlyn Maher -- She's adorable and she'll steal your heart! Watch as four-year-old Kaitlyn sings 'Somewhere Out There' and doesn't miss a note. This is from the TV show America's Got Talent.

Video: War camp kids chant 'Ooh, aah, ooh, aah, I want to kill somebody" -- Climbing ropes and crawling in the mud under barbed wire, dozens of American high school kids at an unusual summer camp vied to see who could get most dirty as they tackled an Army obstacle course.

Seattle Grocery Chain Stops Selling Foods Made With High Fructose Corn Syrup -- Seattle-area food cooperative PCC Natural Markets has removed all products containing high-fructose corn syrup from its shelves, and has announced that it will no longer carry any product sweetened with the controversial ingredient.

Un-busy bees a disaster for almost everyone -- Officials of the Oakland company told Congress on Thursday that more than 40 percent of its product's flavors, derived from fruits and nuts, depend on honeybees. Without bees, fruits and nuts cannot exist.

Toxic cargo halts ferry salvage -- Sunken Filipino Ferry Was Carrying Toxic Cargo! Salvage operations have been suspended at a sunken ferry in the Philippines, after it emerged the ship was carrying a cargo of highly toxic pesticides. NAVY SEAL DIVERS PULLED-OFF JOB! Divers from the Philippines navy and coast guard as well as the US navy have been retrieving bodies from the ship.

Radiation Monitors To Cost More Than DHS Estimated in '06 -- The cost to put a new kind of radiation monitor in place at borders and ports across the country would be far more than the Department of Homeland Security initially told Congress, according to budget documents and interviews with officials.

Accidental fungus leads to promising cancer drug -- A drug developed using nanotechnology and a fungus that contaminated a lab experiment may be broadly effective against a range of cancers, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday.

How an effervescent tablet like Airborne got me in terrorist hot water -- Almost seven years after 9/11, little may prevent an innocent traveler from becoming an imagined threat.

Is your bank or mortgage company already in trouble? -- Your play-by-play for the end game of modern banking.

Detroit's mood grim as automakers face the brink -- CUTS, CUTS, AND THEN MORE CUTS!

UK: Home-grown veg ruined by toxic fertiliser -- Gardeners across Britain are reaping a bitter harvest of rotten potatoes, withered salads and deformed tomatoes after an industrial herbicide tainted their soil.

Fake virus could make safe new vaccines -- A "wimpy" artificial virus protected mice against polio, and the approach might be used to make a range of safer new vaccines against viruses, U.S. researchers reported on Friday.

Monsanto & White House Propaganda that Biotech Can Feed the World Exposed as Lies -- A number of recent news stories on soaring food prices worldwide have uncritically cited unsubstantiated claims that genetically engineered crops are the solution to the problem. In fact, according to experts at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), there is no evidence that currently available genetically engineered crops strengthen drought tolerance or reduce fertilizer use. Nor do they fundamentally increase crop yields.

North Pole may have no ice this summer say US expert -- There could briefly be no ice at the North Pole this summer, a US scientist said Friday, an event that would mark a new stage in the melting of the Arctic ice sheets due to global warming.

Credit crunch forcing US middle classes to live in their cars -- Homeless people living in cars and motorhomes across the US are being joined by a new breed: the middle class. As mortgage foreclosures continue to rise, growing numbers of middle-class professionals are losing their homes and downsizing from four bedrooms to four wheels.

CDC expert gets West Nile bug - literally -- In the time it took him to walk down his driveway in Fort Collins, Colorado, chat briefly with a neighbor and return to his house, Petersen got infected with a potentially serious mosquito-borne illness called West Nile virus. Within hours of being bitten, he said, he began to feel symptoms he recognized.

Northeast braces for home heating oil increases -- New Englanders struggling this summer to pay gas prices topping $4 a gallon should brace for more bad news -- home heating oil costs next winter are expected to hit record highs.

AT&T Whistleblower: Spy Bill Creates 'Infrastructure for a Police State' -- Mark Klein, the retired AT&T engineer who stepped forward with the technical documents at the heart of the anti-wiretapping case against AT&T, is furious at the Senate's vote on Wednesday night to hold a vote on a bill intended to put an end to that lawsuit and more than 30 others.

Oppose FISA Snoop Bill? You’re a “9/11 was an Inside Job” Tinfoil Hatter -- Don’t like the idea of the government walking with muddy shoes all over the Fourth Amendment and snooping your telephone calls, reading your email, rifling through credit and medical records? Well, obviously, you’re a conspiracy nut.

The World in 2025, According to the National Intelligence Council -- The National Intelligence Council's latest report outlines trends in technology that will shape the world to come in 2025. Among the technologies covered is the development of the Internet of Things.

First responders ability to detect & model hazardous releases in urban areas is significantly limited -- 79 page .pdf file.

UK: I Spy a Spy, Menwith Hill, July 4th 2008, 5-10pm -- A protest will be held at Menwith Hill base on July 4th, 2008. It will run from 5pm - 10pm, including music, speeches and food. Please attend in spy evening wear!

Supreme Court Shoots Down D.C. Gun Ban -- The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the justices' first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history. The court's 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment.
Related Link: Supreme Court of the United States -- District of Columbia ET AL. v. Heller -  Warning: This is a 157 page .pdf fil).

Gov't says FBI agents can't testify about 9/11 -- Government lawyers say the ongoing investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks could be compromised if the airline industry is allowed to seek more information from the FBI to defend itself against lawsuits brought by terrorism victims.

Recall of Nestlé Pure Life Purified Water -- Another reason to get a Berkey.

U.S. Stocks Tumble, Sending Dow to Worst June Since Depression -- U.S. stocks tumbled, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its worst June since the Great Depression, as record oil prices, credit-market writedowns and a slowing economy threatened to extend a yearlong profit slump.

Dam Inspection Data Withheld From Press Under Patriot Act -- News outlets seeking inspection and safety data on local dams, in light off the recent string of floods in the Midwest, have been stonewalled by government officials who have withheld such data as part of the Patriot Act, according to Investigative Reporters and Editors.

Brits told to boil tap water -- Britons living in the north of England have been warned that they must boil tap water before using it because the water is contaminated with a potentially serious stomach bug.

Drug Company Seeks to Outlaw Vitamin B6 to Protect Pharma Profits -- Big Pharma is constantly finding new ways to destroy the natural supplements market, in much the same way that the American Medical Association once sought to destroy the chiropractic industry (for which it was later found guilty of conspiracy in U.S. courts, by the way). The latest attack against vitamins comes from an FDA petition filed by Medicure Pharma, Inc., which has astonishingly asked the FDA to ban the sale of Vitamin B6!

Wisconsin flooding may mean pricier organic foods -- Richard de Wilde was still reeling from the more than $600,000 in damage that last summer's flooding did to his organic vegetable farm when new storms swept through this month, dumping rocks, gravel and silt on some acres, washing away fences and contaminating fields with runoff. His Harmony Valley Farm is one of the largest organic farms in the state of Wisconsin.

The Five Secret Billion-Dollar Companies Sucking Obscene Amounts of Taxpayer Money -- Meet the mystery defense contractors that are raking in billions in taxpayer dollars without notice.

Glenn Beck would shoot terror SUSPECTS in the head -- CNN host Glenn Beck expressed his disdain of the recent Supreme Court ruling granting terror suspects the right to challenge their detention in civilian courts, exclaiming that if he were President, he would do away with detaining and prosecuting terrorism suspects altogether. Instead, a President Beck would “shoot them all in the head [if] we think that they are against us.”

'US builds 4 bases on Iraq-Iran border' -- The US military has constructed four advanced bases 20 miles from Iraq's border with Iran, a senior Iraqi police officer has announced.

New York City Is Pushing for HIV Tests for All in Bronx -- The New York City health department plans to announce on Thursday an ambitious three-year effort to give an HIV test to every adult living in the Bronx, which has a far higher death rate from AIDS than any other borough. The campaign will begin with a push to make the voluntary testing routine in emergency rooms and storefront clinics, where city officials say that cumbersome consent procedures required by state law have deterred doctors from offering the tests.

Faith Lets Some Kids Skip Shots -- Regardless of the reason, the ranks of parents exercising nonmedical exemptions to vaccination are growing, public health officials say.

Review & revision of the National Infrastructure Protection Program (DHS) from the federal register -- This notice informs the public that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is currently reviewing the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) and, as part of a comprehensive national review process, solicits public comment on issues or language in the NIPP that need to be updated in this triennial review cycle.

Web Video: ABC I-Team Investigates Problematic Organics -- Carcinogens in "organic" personal care products? Natural food chain selling "organic" foods predominantly from China? Watch and learn! Watch I-Team investigate Whole Foods Market. A large portion of the "certified organic" products are imported from China?

New law targets stoned drivers -- Drivers who get behind the wheel while high on drugs will face roadside testing and they could be ordered to surrender urine, blood or saliva samples at the police station under a controversial new law that takes effect one week from today.

Feds want to take your picture from satellite now -- A Bush administration program to expand domestic use of Pentagon spy satellites has aroused new concerns in Congress about possible civil-liberties abuses.

George Carlin, Diet Coke With Aspartame & Cardiac Death -- Carlin had a very bad habit, he was addicted to Diet Coke with aspartame. He suffered several heart attacks, one at Dodger Stadium during a baseball game. He died of heart failure on Sunday, June 22nd. Read More...

An Assessment of Antiwar Organizing and Activism -- What is lacking in today's peace movement? How can grassroots organizers turn popular antiwar sentiment into broad-based action? What strategies and tactics should be employed, and how should the antiwar movement relate to the elections?

Feds, Denver attempt to keep DNC security info secret -- The exact location of a public demonstration zone outside of the Democratic National Convention and information about how close activists will be to delegates could be legally sealed from the public if the United States Secret Service and the city of Denver can persuade a district judge to approve a protective order blocking the information.

TECHSPLOITATION: The New Privacy -- TECHSPLOITATION It's shocking how quickly we've all gotten used to the idea that the government can and will listen in on everything we say on our telephones, as well as everything we do on the Internet. Case in point: the FISA Amendments Act passed in the House last week, and is predicted to pass the Senate this week. This is a bill that grants telecoms retroactive immunity for illegally giving the National Security Agency access to the phone calls and Internet activities of millions of US citizens.

Interesting site from the national geospatial intelligence agency -- You can see satellite images of the floods.

Technological Enslavement Is All Around Us -- The technological enslavement grid is getting increasingly more insane and most people don’t even care.

Where Have All the Fish Gone? -- The collapse of America’s West Coast salmon fishery has an eerily familiar ring to it. Are the oceans dying?

Can fruit make you fat? -- Natural sugar in fruit is 'fuelling the nation's obesity epidemic'

Delta, TSA Employees Admit Smuggling Drugs At Atlanta Airport -- Two former TSA employees and a former Delta worker admitted Wednesday to smuggling drugs at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Kroger Meat recall Recall Information -- GROUND BEEF, ALL VARIETIES, WEIGHTS, AND SIZES PURCHASED BETWEEN MAY 21 AND JUNE 8 - affected in Kroger stores throughout Michigan and in central and northern Ohio (Columbus and Toledo areas). Please see the list of current product recalls. Why do we not hear about most of these recalls!!

MO gets $17 Million to Test Real ID Program -- Missouri will get $17 million to help develop and test the Real ID program and will house a verification hub to help states validate identification cards.

VIDEO: "The World According to Monsanto" -- Monsanto is a world leader in industrial agriculture, providing the seeds for 90 percent of the world's genetically modified crops.

U.S. Crop Damage From Weather Tops $8 Billion -- From the worst floods in the Midwest grain belt in 15 years to drought in California, damage to crops from inclement weather has topped $8 billion so far this year, the largest U.S. farm group said Wednesday.

14 die of cancer in seven years living next to phone mast with highest radiation levels in UK -- Fourteen people living within a mile of a mobile phone mast
that emits one of the highest levels of radiation in the country have died of cancer. Four of the deaths have been in a cul-de-sac yards from the site.

Court bans death penalty for child rape -- The Supreme Court declared Wednesday that executions are too severe a punishment for child rape, despite the "years of long anguish" for victims, in a ruling that restricts the death penalty to murder and crimes against the state.

Superb WORLD Clock -- This is very cool...World Clock...check it out.

Mexico bans Arkansas poultry for now on bird flu -- Mexico will ban all imports of poultry and poultry products from Arkansas after a small flock in that U.S. state had been exposed to a mild form of bird flu, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.

San Francisco may name sewage treatment plant after Bush -- A group going by the regal-sounding name of the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco is planning to ask voters here to change the name of a prize-winning water-treatment plant on the shoreline to the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.

Many states turning to paper ballots for fall -- Florida's election fiasco in 2000 prompted many states to adopt electronic touch-screen voting systems, but after a spate of malfunctions and meltdowns in 2004 and 2006, paper ballots are making a big comeback.

Operation FALCON 2008: Operation Falcon is once again rounding up people -- There are links to each district & how many were arrested.

Illness, Death Dog Nutro Pet Food -- A series of mysterious illness and death dogs Nutro pet food. Scores of pet owners report their animals became ill while eating Nutro products, then recovered when they were switched to another brand. At least six dogs have died in the past two months.

The Price Of Food: 2007 - 2008 -- Compare the prices - then and now!

Natural Remedies for Poison Ivy and Poison Oak -- Should you have the misfortune of brushing against either of those two, the good news is that you can stop the itching, spread and blisters with these home and natural remedies: Read More...

Offices With Live Plants Make Employees Happier and Healthier -- There could be a relatively simple and inexpensive way to make the American workplace more humane and even healthier. The key? Research published recently in the ASHS journal HortScience concludes the workplace can experience huge benefits with the addition of live plants and/or a view of the outdoors.

Chart: The Cost of the War in Iraq vs. Spending on Solar Energy Research -- Different types of Energy compared to the cost of war in Iraq.

Leaked NIST Docs: "Unusual" Event Before Collapse Of WTC 7 -- Leaked confidential NIST documents concerning the investigation into the collapse of WTC 7, the 47-storey skyscraper that was not hit by a plane but imploded in under seven seconds on 9/11, reveal that an "unusual" event preceded the collapse of the building - a "jet of flames" that shot out of several windows after most of the fire had already died down.

Martial Law: A License to Loot, a Permit to Plunder -- Breaking and entering: Where does this fit under the heading "To protect and serve"? A paramilitary "strike team" commits a felonious break-in of a home in the flood-ravaged Midwest.

Effort to toll I-70 in Missouri fails, once again -- A legislative effort in the Missouri General Assembly has died. The bill would have eliminated a couple of barriers prohibiting toll roads and bridges from being built in the state.

Blackwater using cache of AK-47s -- "Blackwater has financed the purchase of 17 Romanian AK-47 rifles for the Camden County Sheriff's Office for use by Sheriff's Office," the agreement says. "The Camden County Sheriff's Office will have unlimited access to these rifles for training and qualification, and state of emergency use."

New Solar Dish Could Transform Energy Production -- A new type of solar energy collector concentrates the sun into a beam that could melt steel. Researchers say the device could revolutionize global energy production.

H.R. 6257: To reinstate the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act -- Bill was introduced: Jun 12, 2008 by sponsor Rep. Mark Kirk [R-IL]. This Act may be cited as the ‘Assault Weapons Ban Reauthorization Act of 2008’ - It shall be unlawful for a person to manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon. Remember though...A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate and then be signed by the President before it becomes law.

Grow your own biofuel -- The list of things that need to be done to create a proper biofuel industry is a long one. New crops, tailored to fuel rather than food production, have to be created. Ways of converting those crops into feedstock have to be developed. That feedstock has then to be turned into something that people want to buy, at a price they can afford.

Wheat harvest arrives without promise -- With wheat harvest finally creeping into northeast Kansas, the folks who harvest, sell and buy the breadbasket grain are finding themselves looking back with a sense of frustration.

Unusual lightning storm starts series of wildfires -- Fire crews already spread thin fighting blazes across California are dealing with a flurry of new fires on the North Coast caused from an unusual and powerful lightning storm that struck on Friday.

AS WINTER APPROACHES -- Winter is coming. But who is preparing? The Americans do not want to prepare. Each has his political fantasy or hobbyhorse. Each imagines that summer will last indefinitely. Read More...

Belarusian lawmakers backs bill cracking down on Internet journalism, last free medium -- Lawmakers in Belarus on Tuesday backed a bill that critics have called the most repressive media legislation in Europe. The bill would allow the government to close Internet sites without warning and imprison journalists for reproducing foreign media reports. It would also forbid unregistered journalists from posting material online.

UK: Crucial vote on internet's future -- A complete overhaul of the way people navigate the internet could begin following a crucial vote in Paris.

Bird Flu and the Great Flu Pandemic of 1918-19 -- There is new genetic research showing that the deadly outbreak of 1918-19 was a strain of avian or bird flu. Read More...

Natural Gas Prices Set to Jump 52%, EIA Says -- The government released a short-term energy outlook last week, revising projections for natural-gas prices upward. According to a report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), natural gas will cost a whopping 52% more this year than last year.

100 items that disappear first in a disaster -- This list was first assembled by Joseph Almond prior to Y2K and it is valid to consider these as "extremely desirable items" in the event of nearly any disaster. Modify as you see fit.

Russia readies for possible Artic war -- Russia must be ready to fight wars in the Arctic to protect its national interests in a region that contains large and untapped deposits of natural resources, a high-ranking military official told the Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) newspaper.

One in Nine Emergency Room Visits Caused by Pharmaceuticals -- A Vancouver, Canada study has documented that 12% of emergency room (ER) visits were the direct result of problems with a pharmaceutical drug. The length of stay for those admitted to the hospital was significantly longer.

Canadian cops kill another person with a taser -- Police said they found a "combative male" at the scene just east of Turkey Point and a taser was used on the man during the encounter. The man was taken into police custody and transported to the Simcoe provincial police detachment.

From Ron Paul's weekly column - A major victory for Texas (about trans Texas corridor) -- I am pleased to report that last week we received notice that the Texas Department of Transportation will recommend the I-69 Project be developed using existing highway facilities instead of the proposed massive new Trans Texas Corridor/NAFTA Superhighway. According to the Texas Transportation Commissioner, consideration is no longer being given to new corridors and other proposals for a new highway footprint for this project. A major looming threat to property rights and national sovereignty is removed with this encouraging
announcement.

More on turmeric - common cooking spice found to combat diabetes, obesity -- Turmeric, a common Asian spice that gives curries their bright yellow color, has a long history of use in reducing inflammation, healing wounds and relieving pain. This week at a medical conference in San Francisco, participants heard that tumeric also is effective at combating two health problems that many Americans suffer - diabetes and obesity.

Mandatory In-Car Breathalyzers Coming? -- If you’re not a convicted drunk driver, should you still be required to have an in-car breathalyzer fitted (at your expense, ‘natch) to your next new vehicle?

FDA Seizes Pet Food At PETCO Distribution Center -- U.S. Marshalls have seized various animal food products from a PETCO distribution center that serves much of the middle of the country after federal inspectors found widespread and active rodent and bird infestation. The distribution center in Joliet, Ill., provides pet food products and supplies to PETCO retail stores in 16 states: Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

Salmonella and tomatoes -- Pick a tomato in the blazing sun and plunge it straight into cold water. If that happened on the way to market, it might be contaminated. Too big of a temperature difference can make a tomato literally suck water inside the fruit through the scar where its stem used to be. If salmonella happens to be lurking on the skin, that's one way it can penetrate and, if the tomato isn't eaten right away, have time to multiply.

Lack of sunshine vitamin may cloud survival odds -- New research linking low vitamin D levels with deaths from heart disease and other causes bolsters mounting evidence about the "sunshine" vitamin's role in good health.

US crazy weather brings snow & heatwaves -- From Miami to Seattle to Boston to Las Vegas, serious drought, historic flooding, sweltering heat and bitter cold have hit the country- and almost all of it during the months of May and June.

Technology Leaders Favor Online ID Card Over Passwords -- Microsoft, Google and PayPal, a unit of eBay, are among the founders of an industry organization that hopes to solve the problem of password overload among computer users. The Information Card Foundation is an effort to create a single industrywide approach to managing identity online that promises to reduce drastically the use of passwords and create a system that is less vulnerable to fraud.

Action Alert: Agriculture Appropriations Bill Links NAIS to School Lunch Program! -- According to her press release, the bill would require USDA to purchase meat products for the School Lunch Program from livestock premises registered with National Animal Identification System beginning in July 2009. This is a back-door method for mandating NAIS through the power of the purse strings. The bill also provides a total NAIS funding level of $14.5 million or about $4.8 million above 2008.

Uruknet website censored by google -- Google stopped indexing Uruknet the middle of May. After Uruknet wrote (again!) many e-mails to Google (and again! we didn’t receive any reply) Google restarted indexing some (not all!) Uruknet’s article on June 17. However, it seems that these articles have a short life on Google since they keep disappearing immediately after they are indexed. By the way, Uruknet is info from occupied Iraq.

George Carlin - The Real Owners Of America -- "The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, they're an irrelevancy. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners."

The science of the UN -- “Science” -- to which I have devoted my life -- is one of the most devalued words. And nowhere is it more abused than in the United Nations, where institutionalized mob rule is called “science.”

YouTube: Homemade electric powered 1975 VW beetle -- Why aren't we all driving on sunlight?

Things That Go Boom In The Night -- About mystery explosions.

Scientists Say The Earth Is Humming -- Not just noise, but a deep, astonishing music. Can you hear it?

House Resolution Calls for Naval Blockade against Iran By Andrew W Cheetham -- A US House of Representatives Resolution effectively requiring a naval blockade on Iran seems fast tracked for passage, gaining co-sponsors at a remarkable speed, but experts say the measures called for in the resolutions amount to an act of war.

12 Food Additives to Avoid -- Take a look at the 12 additives to subtract from your diet!

Are You Allergic to Wireless Internet? -- Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome (EHS) is a condition in which people are highly sensitive to electromagnetic fields. In an area such as a wireless hotspot, they experience pain or other symptoms.

High Likelihood of a Market Crash -- This past week, the Royal Bank of Scotland credit strategist Bob Janjuah warned of a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets. He anticipates a 300 point drop within the next three months.

Chaos Erupts As Storm Victims Try To Get Food Stamps -- Chaos erupted outside Family and Social Services Administration offices in Indianapolis Friday as storm victims lined up to receive emergency food stamps.

Scuffles break out in line for Wis. food vouchers -- Pushing and shoving broke out Monday among some of the 2,500 people hit hard by recent floods who lined up outside a county office in hopes of collecting free food vouchers. Some residents told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel they heard from friends or at food pantries that they could get free vouchers to replace food lost in recent floods and power outages. However, the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center was only taking names for a state voucher program.

AP Says Iowa Flood Victims Love FEMA -- Nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina turned FEMA into a punchline, many homeowners, politicians and community leaders in the flood-stricken Midwest say that so far, the agency is doing a heckuva job — and they mean it.

Police teams drill for crowd control -- Police officers from around Washtenaw County descended on Ann Arbor's Pioneer High School Friday for the first coordinated training session of a team designed to respond to large special events.

Towns question fluoride use -- The great American assault on tooth decay began here 63 years ago, earning Grand Rapids a special place in the annals of dental history: the first city in the world to fluoridate its public water system. It is more than a little head-scratching that fluoride, the chemical widely credited with dramatically cutting cavities and promoting oral hygiene, is having its scientific credentials questioned in the city that literally swallowed it first.

CDC uses duct tape to seal bioweapon room!? -- At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new $214 million infectious disease laboratory in Atlanta, scientists are conducting experiments on bioterror bacteria in a room with a containment door sealed with duct tape.

REPLACING CONTROLLED NEWSPAPERS ... WITH REAL ONES! By: Devvy Kidd -- The US~Observer and USA Tomorrow have established a marketing plan that will provide only 67 Distributorships throughout the different regions of the country. With so few to sell, they will go very fast. Read More...

MP urges ecstasy for war veterans -- The South Australian Government is being urged to consider a trial of the drug MDMA, known as ecstasy, to treat war veterans.

MOD claims nuclear vets too old to remember what happened in court case -- Defence chiefs are trying to wriggle out of paying nuclear test veterans compensation - by claiming they are now TOO OLD to remember what happened. The ridiculous claim is being made by Ministry of Defence lawyers defending a multi-million-pound lawsuit alleging negligence. A court document says the ageing vets' memories are "fatally and irrevocably eroded".

VETERAN GUINEA PIGS -- "What shocked me most was that not one Congressman or Senator was shocked that veterans were being used as guinea pigs. Because this use of America's "expended" warriors has been going on since World War II."

Teenagers, the U.S. Army Wants You -- Incentives:  $1,000 per month to enlist before graduation - Help pay for college - $40,000 enlistment bonus - Waiver for recruits who have an arrest record. (It's what they don't tell you is bothersome to me)!

U.S. Military Demands Bonus Money Back from Soldiers with Arms, Legs Blown Off -- In some cases, the U.S. military has been denying wounded soldiers the full amount of their enlistment bonuses, under the rationale that the soldiers are unable to fulfill the full term of their service contract.

War deaths undercounted says study -- New estimates of war deaths in 13 nations including Vietnam, Ethiopia and Bangladesh show that previous counts vastly understated the lives lost to war in the past half century, researchers said on Thursday.

Army official fired for trying to block KBR fraud -- Four years ago, U.S. Army auditors notified Smith, a Pentagon contract manager, that KBR, the Bush administration's most favored defense contractor, could not adequately explain more than $1 billion in war billings. Smith, a career civilian employee, did his duty: He confronted KBR and warned that unless they supplied credible justification, he would levy penalties of 15 percent on future work payments while also blocking any performance bonuses for the company.

Rebel scientist battles dangerous vaccines & antibiotics -- Dr. Shiv Chopra, as a vaccine and drug regulator for Health Canada for nearly forty years, evaluated every red-hot topic in public health. He tried, sometimes successfully, to protect the public from ineffective and harmful vaccines, genetically modified foods, pesticides, carcinogenic antibiotics and hormones used in food-producing animals, and agricultural practices that promote Mad Cow Disease. Unsurprisingly, he was fired from Health Canada in 2004 for “insubordination” -- in other words, refusing to bow to corporate and government pressure to give
a pass to unsafe substances.

Ex-Pentagon Lawyer Says He Researched ‘Real Manchurian Candidate Stuff’ -- A former Pentagon lawyer scheduled to testify today before the Senate Armed Forces Committee told the New York Times he researched psychological studies about the effects of interrogation after his superiors expressed frustration about Guantanamo detainees withholding information.

Militia defined -- The word "militia" is a Latin abstract noun, meaning "military service", not an "armed group" (with the connotation of plurality), and that is the way the Latin-literate Founders used it. The collective term, meaning "army" or "soldiery" was "volgus militum". Since for the Romans "military service" included law enforcement and disaster response, it might be more meaningfully translated today as "defense service", associated with a "defense duty", which attaches to individuals as much as to groups of them, organized or otherwise.

You will not be able to get food-a report on trends -- We have "innocently" accommodated rising population with greater and greater food production via technology and the profit motive. But now we have run out of room to grow, as biotechnology, for example, has severe limitations -- major ones being petroleum dependence and topsoil loss. The biggest wild card for our existence is climate change, as we see with floods and other extreme weather affecting our food supply.

Cheney gets last laugh - Once again above the law! -- Vice President Dick Cheney has won his battle to withhold records from the public despite efforts by Congress and other critics who say they should be open to scrutiny.

Millions displaced by India floods -- The death toll from monsoon flooding in eastern India climbed to 26 on Friday, with hundreds of villages cut off and an estimated four million people displaced, officials said.

Pa truckers asked to comment on PA turnpike lease proposal -- A committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has scheduled a public hearing next week on a bill that would allow the governor to lease the state’s turnpike to private investors – but only invited guests will be allowed to testify.

Record corn prices mean more expensive meat & dairy -- Raging Midwest floodwaters that swallowed crops and sent corn and soybean prices soaring are about to give consumers more grief at the grocery store.

A toll protest certain to draw attention -- Residents along Interstate 80 in Clarion County, PA, plan on forming a large conga line later this month to protest a state law calling for the route to be tolled.

House easily passes compromise surveillance law -- The House Friday easily approved a compromise bill setting new electronic surveillance rules that effectively shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits arising from the government's terrorism-era warrantless eavesdropping on phone and computer lines in this country.

World not fully prepared for flu pandemic says expert -- The world is far from being fully prepared for a flu pandemic, a leading U.S. infectious diseases expert said on Saturday, warning there were big gaps in surveillance and basic knowledge.

The economy: Is your favorite store closing? Check here -- Retail chains close hundreds of stores, putting thousands of employees out of work at a time when a paycheck is more important than ever.

Gold May Rise to $5,000 on Inflation, Schroder Says -- Gold prices may rise to $5,000 an ounce as investors seek to protect themselves against accelerating inflation, said Schroder Investment Management Ltd., which oversees $277 billion of assets globally.

South American Union Will Also Have Common Currency -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva recently revealed that the South American countries are planning for a common currency as part of the integration of the individual countries into the Union of South American Nations. This integration is patterned after the formation of the European Union, and parallels the plan for the North American Union.

Gitmo For U.S. Children: Center for Retarded Kids Uses Electroshock Therapy -- It appears that the use of electroshock punishment tactics isn't limited to the U.S. military these days: The state of Massachusetts has renewed a special education school's authority to use electric shocks as a form of punishment, even after the school admitted to administering excessive and unfair shocks to two children after being told to do so by a prank caller.

14 die of cancer in seven years living next to phone mast with highest radiation levels in UK -- Fourteen people living within a mile of a mobile phone mast that emits one of the highest levels of radiation in the country have died of cancer. Four of the deaths have been in a cul-de-sac yards from the site.

A Cluster of Veterans' Deaths; By Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD -- Recently four Charleston, WV-area veterans -- Derek Johnson, 22, Andrew White, 23, Eric Layne, 29, and Nicholas Endicott, with "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" (PTSD), treated with the Paxil, Klonopin, and Seroquel -- died in their sleep. All were said to be in good health.

Cell Phones Damage Eyes And Entire Visual System -- Microwave phones can make kids vision-impaired. Microwaves cause eye lens opacity similar to cataracts.

2 Billion may S