Sonia Sotomayor confirmed by 68-31 Senate vote -- Sonia Sotomayor won confirmation Thursday as the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, a history-making Senate vote that capped a summer-long debate heavy with ethnic politics and hints of high court fights to come. The third woman in court history, she'll be sworn in Saturday as the 111th justice and the first nominated by a Democrat in 15 years.
Federal whistleblower Sibel Edmonds subpoenaed, set to break gag order unless DOJ intecedes -- Unless the Dept. of Justice re-invokes their twice-invoked "state secrets privilege" claim in order to once again gag former FBI translator-turned-whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, her attorneys have notified the department by hand-delivered, sworn letter of declaration [PDF] this week, that she intends to give a deposition, open to the media [Updated: see bottom of article for details], in response to a subpoena this Saturday in Washington D.C.
USAspending.gov: Want to see where tax dollars go? -- Have you ever wanted to find more information on government spending? Have you ever wondered where Federal contracting dollars and grant awards go? Or perhaps you would just like to know, as a citizen, what the Government is really doing with your money. Read More...
Congressman wants government GPS in cars -- An Oregon congressman says he wants to test having a government GPS unit in every car so a tax could be imposed on the miles driven. The proposal, H.R. 3311, which calls for a test project costing $150 million-plus, was introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore. (this has been in the works for years)
Ohio city nets 10,000 traffic tickets in 1 month -- Heath, Ohio (population 8,527) has issued more than 10,000 tickets in a 4-week period. At $100 a pop, that's a pretty nice supplemental income for the Licking County municipality. But residents are red hot over the aggressive monitoring, as well as the slow turnaround time for mailing out the traffic summons.
Russia to boost border control after China plague outbreak -- Russia will boost monitoring at its border with China following an outbreak of pneumonic plague in a neighboring north-western region, Russia's top sanitary doctor said Monday.
Baxter completes first swine flu vaccine batches -- Baxter International Inc said on Wednesday it completed its first commercial batches of H1N1 vaccine in late July and is discussing distribution plans with national health authorities.
California nurses protest lack of safety protection for swine flu -- A cancer nurse at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael has died of the H1N1 flu, becoming the first reported health care worker in California killed by the new variant of swine flu.
Now they want to give you 3!!! flu shots this fall -- Get ready to roll up your sleeve three times for flu shots this fall. That's right, three times. This year's flu season is shaping up to be a very different one. Most people will need one shot for the regular seasonal flu and probably two others to protect against the new swine flu. Experts suggest you get that first shot as early as this month — if you can find it.
WHO tries to assure you the vaccines are safe (yeah, right!) -- Dated 6 August, and issued from Geneva, where the WHO has its headquarters, the world agency said that vaccines are one of the most important medical devices for minimizing illness and deaths during a pandemic, but to be effective they have to be available quickly and in very large quantities. Read More...
Retired vaccine scientist would never vaccinate his kids -- "If I had a child now, the last thing I would allow is vaccination." -Retired Vaccine Researcher to Jon Rappoport.
Flu jabs not tested on children -- A new vaccine for swine flu is most likely to be targeted at vulnerable groups such as young children and pregnant women. But a Radio 4 documentary has discovered that little or no data exists on the safety or effectiveness of flu vaccines on these groups.
Snitch switch: Turn tables on Obama rat patrol -- John Cornyn, R-Texas, has demanded that Obama either halt the program, widely known in the blogosphere as the "snitch" program, or define how he will protect the privacy of those who send or are the subject of e-mails to the flag@whitehouse.gov e-mail address.
Obama's dissident database could be secret...and permanent -- "Since we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov." Read More...
Obama seeks to institutionalize indefinite detention -- Press reports have revealed that the Obama administration is considering the creation of a prison and court complex on US soil to process and hold current and future terrorist suspects. It would include a facility to indefinitely detain people held without trial or any other constitutionally mandated due process rights.
The Fed buys last week's Treasury notes -- The Fed bought $7 billion in Treasuries today and even more yesterday. This is at the upper end of their recent range of already exceptional purchasing activity. If things are so rosy that every single dip is being bought in the stock market with a vengeance, I wonder why these printing operations are really necessary?
Ron Paul son Rand joins Kentucky GOP race for Senate -- Rand Paul, the son of 2008 presidential candidate Ron Paul, ended months of speculation Wednesday by saying he will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by fellow Republican Jim Bunning.
Pennsylvania state Rep speaks out against I-80 tolls -- Rep. Dick Stevenson, a Republican representing Mercer and Butler counties, opposes recent statements by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission that the previously rejected application for tolling authority will soon be resubmitted to the federal government.
Florida, EZ-PAss exchanging data to test camera based tolls -- Several toll agencies in Florida and the E-ZPass have begun exchange of camera based data to test the feasibility of levying tolls on one another's license plates in a pilot program.
Mercenaries training US local police a new trend -- There are many police and law enforcement officials who are concerned with the growing trend of using military-experienced mercenaries to train and work with local police officers in the United States, but there are many who believe the events of September 11, 2001 dictate the need for this new paradigm.
US led blitz kills farmers in Afghanistan -- The farmers were loading cucumbers on a truck when the American forces hit them from their aircraft."
A US military spokeswoman in Kabul also confirmed the attack, but said the men were militants spotted loading weapons on a truck. (cucumbers look like bombs???)
Modified corn seeds sow doubts -- Next spring, farmers in Canada will be able to sow one of the most complicated genetically engineered plants ever designed, a futuristic type of corn containing eight foreign genes.
Lying about Iraq made me quit says UK military press officer -- Having to peddle "government lies" about the safety of soldiers in Iraq led to a Ministry of Defence press officer suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, an employment tribunal will hear.
Plans show magnitude of proposed NSA building -- A draft environmental assessment obtained by KSL 5 News gives some idea of the magnitude of a highest security-intelligence facility the government proposes to build at Camp Williams. Plans call for approximately 1.5 million square feet of building space--more than twice the size of the Energy Solutions Arena.
New Air Force facility energizes ionosphere; fans conspiracy flames -- Alaska: High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (Haarp): a $250 million facility with a 30-acre array of antennas capable of spewing 3.6 megawatts of energy into the mysterious plasma of the ionosphere. Read More...
"We sell a bunch of junk" says Whole Foods chief -- Struggling US store says it would attempt to educate in the ways of healthy eating. When Whole Foods arrived in the UK two years ago it was hailed as a mecca for those determined to follow a healthy diet. But today the struggling US store's chief executive will probably want to eat his words after admitting that, alongside the organic carrots and bags of granola, the shops "sell a bunch of junk".
Popular insect repellent Deet is neurotoxic -- Researchers say that more investigations are urgently needed on DEET to confirm or dismiss any potential neurotoxicity to humans, especially when deet-based repellents are used in combination with other neurotoxic insecticides.
Federal whistleblower Sibel Edmonds subpoenaed, set to break gag order unless DOJ intecedes -- Unless the Dept. of Justice re-invokes their twice-invoked "state secrets privilege" claim in order to once again gag former FBI translator-turned-whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, her attorneys have notified the department by hand-delivered, sworn letter of declaration [PDF] this week, that she intends to give a deposition, open to the media [Updated: see bottom of article for details], in response to a subpoena this Saturday in Washington D.C.
USAspending.gov: Want to see where tax dollars go? -- Have you ever wanted to find more information on government spending? Have you ever wondered where Federal contracting dollars and grant awards go? Or perhaps you would just like to know, as a citizen, what the Government is really doing with your money. Read More...
Congressman wants government GPS in cars -- An Oregon congressman says he wants to test having a government GPS unit in every car so a tax could be imposed on the miles driven. The proposal, H.R. 3311, which calls for a test project costing $150 million-plus, was introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore. (this has been in the works for years)
Ohio city nets 10,000 traffic tickets in 1 month -- Heath, Ohio (population 8,527) has issued more than 10,000 tickets in a 4-week period. At $100 a pop, that's a pretty nice supplemental income for the Licking County municipality. But residents are red hot over the aggressive monitoring, as well as the slow turnaround time for mailing out the traffic summons.
Russia to boost border control after China plague outbreak -- Russia will boost monitoring at its border with China following an outbreak of pneumonic plague in a neighboring north-western region, Russia's top sanitary doctor said Monday.
Baxter completes first swine flu vaccine batches -- Baxter International Inc said on Wednesday it completed its first commercial batches of H1N1 vaccine in late July and is discussing distribution plans with national health authorities.
California nurses protest lack of safety protection for swine flu -- A cancer nurse at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael has died of the H1N1 flu, becoming the first reported health care worker in California killed by the new variant of swine flu.
Now they want to give you 3!!! flu shots this fall -- Get ready to roll up your sleeve three times for flu shots this fall. That's right, three times. This year's flu season is shaping up to be a very different one. Most people will need one shot for the regular seasonal flu and probably two others to protect against the new swine flu. Experts suggest you get that first shot as early as this month — if you can find it.
WHO tries to assure you the vaccines are safe (yeah, right!) -- Dated 6 August, and issued from Geneva, where the WHO has its headquarters, the world agency said that vaccines are one of the most important medical devices for minimizing illness and deaths during a pandemic, but to be effective they have to be available quickly and in very large quantities. Read More...
Retired vaccine scientist would never vaccinate his kids -- "If I had a child now, the last thing I would allow is vaccination." -Retired Vaccine Researcher to Jon Rappoport.
Flu jabs not tested on children -- A new vaccine for swine flu is most likely to be targeted at vulnerable groups such as young children and pregnant women. But a Radio 4 documentary has discovered that little or no data exists on the safety or effectiveness of flu vaccines on these groups.
Snitch switch: Turn tables on Obama rat patrol -- John Cornyn, R-Texas, has demanded that Obama either halt the program, widely known in the blogosphere as the "snitch" program, or define how he will protect the privacy of those who send or are the subject of e-mails to the flag@whitehouse.gov e-mail address.
Obama's dissident database could be secret...and permanent -- "Since we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov." Read More...
Obama seeks to institutionalize indefinite detention -- Press reports have revealed that the Obama administration is considering the creation of a prison and court complex on US soil to process and hold current and future terrorist suspects. It would include a facility to indefinitely detain people held without trial or any other constitutionally mandated due process rights.
The Fed buys last week's Treasury notes -- The Fed bought $7 billion in Treasuries today and even more yesterday. This is at the upper end of their recent range of already exceptional purchasing activity. If things are so rosy that every single dip is being bought in the stock market with a vengeance, I wonder why these printing operations are really necessary?
Ron Paul son Rand joins Kentucky GOP race for Senate -- Rand Paul, the son of 2008 presidential candidate Ron Paul, ended months of speculation Wednesday by saying he will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by fellow Republican Jim Bunning.
Pennsylvania state Rep speaks out against I-80 tolls -- Rep. Dick Stevenson, a Republican representing Mercer and Butler counties, opposes recent statements by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission that the previously rejected application for tolling authority will soon be resubmitted to the federal government.
Florida, EZ-PAss exchanging data to test camera based tolls -- Several toll agencies in Florida and the E-ZPass have begun exchange of camera based data to test the feasibility of levying tolls on one another's license plates in a pilot program.
Mercenaries training US local police a new trend -- There are many police and law enforcement officials who are concerned with the growing trend of using military-experienced mercenaries to train and work with local police officers in the United States, but there are many who believe the events of September 11, 2001 dictate the need for this new paradigm.
US led blitz kills farmers in Afghanistan -- The farmers were loading cucumbers on a truck when the American forces hit them from their aircraft."
A US military spokeswoman in Kabul also confirmed the attack, but said the men were militants spotted loading weapons on a truck. (cucumbers look like bombs???)
Modified corn seeds sow doubts -- Next spring, farmers in Canada will be able to sow one of the most complicated genetically engineered plants ever designed, a futuristic type of corn containing eight foreign genes.
Lying about Iraq made me quit says UK military press officer -- Having to peddle "government lies" about the safety of soldiers in Iraq led to a Ministry of Defence press officer suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, an employment tribunal will hear.
Plans show magnitude of proposed NSA building -- A draft environmental assessment obtained by KSL 5 News gives some idea of the magnitude of a highest security-intelligence facility the government proposes to build at Camp Williams. Plans call for approximately 1.5 million square feet of building space--more than twice the size of the Energy Solutions Arena.
New Air Force facility energizes ionosphere; fans conspiracy flames -- Alaska: High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (Haarp): a $250 million facility with a 30-acre array of antennas capable of spewing 3.6 megawatts of energy into the mysterious plasma of the ionosphere. Read More...
"We sell a bunch of junk" says Whole Foods chief -- Struggling US store says it would attempt to educate in the ways of healthy eating. When Whole Foods arrived in the UK two years ago it was hailed as a mecca for those determined to follow a healthy diet. But today the struggling US store's chief executive will probably want to eat his words after admitting that, alongside the organic carrots and bags of granola, the shops "sell a bunch of junk".
Popular insect repellent Deet is neurotoxic -- Researchers say that more investigations are urgently needed on DEET to confirm or dismiss any potential neurotoxicity to humans, especially when deet-based repellents are used in combination with other neurotoxic insecticides.
