TURF releases Voter Guide on transportation issues today -- Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom released its primary election Voter Guide today. The Guide reflects the candidatesʼ positions on transportation issues like the best way to fund roads as well as positions on toll roads, public private partnerships (where private corporations gain control of public infrastructure, called CDAs in Texas), and the Trans Texas Corridor. Candidates are still returning surveys, so TURF expects to update its guide prior to election day, March 2. Itʼs also posted on its web site under “Important Info.”
* Remember Who Voted to Toll You!
A Thought For The Day from our friend Mike Tawse in the UK -- The Paradox Of Truth.
Bomb explodes outside JP Morgan Athens office -- "The explosion damaged the outside door and smashed some windows." No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the official said.
Nuclear Power Aids White House Climate Push -- The White House is working hard to advance climate change legislation in Congress and hopes an announcement to jumpstart the nuclear power industry will appeal to Republican skeptics, a top adviser to President Barack Obama said.
What to Say to a Global Warming Alarmist -- At your next dinner party, here are some of the latest talking points to bring up when someone reminds you that Al Gore and the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won Nobel prizes for their work on global warming.
No Guns Allowed, Declares City, It's a Snow Emergency -- Residents of King, N.C., were startled earlier this month when a declared snow emergency triggered a law forbidding the possession of firearms in public.
911 Third Tower - Mystery Solved -- Investigators are expected to say ordinary fires on several different floors caused the collapse.
'Influenza vaccine has no effect' says study -- There is no evidence to support the contention that the influenza vaccine administered to the over 65s is of any more use than opening the windows and washing hands, a new study from the Cochrane Collaboration claims, according to a report in the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper. The institute has concluded from the studies that there is no clear evidence to suggest that the flu jab offers any more protection than cheaper, hygiene-based methods such as hand-washing.
Full-body airport security scanners to fry travelers with ionizing radiation -- These large, expensive machines emit a hefty dose of ionic radiation that can cause DNA damage and may contribute to the development of cancer. Aside from the fact that the new protocol is grossly invasive of personal privacy and an obstruction of individual liberty, the ionizing radiation emitted from the machines threatens to damage chromosomal DNA and human cell proteins which can lead to cancer and other problems.
Can FBI Secretly Track Your Cell Phone? -- It may come as a surprise to most of the owners of the country's 277 million cell phones, but their cell-phone company retains records of where their device has been at all times—either because the phones have tiny GPS devices embedded inside or because each phone call is routed through towers that can be used to pinpoint the phones' location to within areas as small as a few hundred feet.
Dick Cheney: Obama's Worst Nightmare -- Former Vice President Dick Cheney stormed the beachheads of the liberal US media again today with a fiery performance on ABC’s This Week. He offered a stinging rebuke to current VP Joe Biden’s ludicrous claim that Iraq may end up as one of Barack Obama’s “great achievements”, as well as blistering criticism of the Obama administration’s handling of terrorist suspects. He also launched a strike on Biden’s recent comment that another 9/11 scale attack was “unlikely.”
Hollywood Director Kicked Off Plane for Being too Fat -- Smith, 39, the director of films including Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Clerks, had purchased two tickets to comply with Southwest Airlines policy that requires larger passengers to buy two seats.
Video: Police Brutality Caught on Tape -- A lawsuit has emerged after police stopped a man and allegedly allowed a dog to bit him and planted drugs on him. The incident was caught on video.
British Scientists Discover 'Secret to Ageing -- The breakthrough could also offer an explanation as to why skin ages and provide hope that new drugs could be developed to tackle diseases such as heart disease and diabetes and remove unwanted side-affects from cancer.
Sheriff Runs Campaign on Upholding US Constitution -- I began to look at how the power struggle for the upcoming sheriff’s election was heating up and I realized that I have no choice but to jump into an area where I never expected to go- politics. I am running as an Independent for the Office of Sheriff for Lake County Montana. My campaign will be unique in that I am basing the first "plank" of my campaign on upholding the Oath of Office to defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Montana from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Biofuel Scam -- U.S. Department of Agriculture figures reveal that a quarter of U.S. cereals grown in 2009 went to biofuel, turning cheap food into expensive fuel.This pushes up food prices and damages the environment yet President Barack Obama promised ``continued investment in advanced biofuels'' in his recent State of the Union address.
Joe the Plummer Says McCain 'Screwed Up My Life' -- Mr Wurzelbacher said he now supports the Tea Party movement, but does have some respect for Barack Obama: "I think his ideology is un-American," he said, "but he's one of the more honest politicians. At least he told us what he wanted to do."
US Dollar to Stay Reserve Currency -- The Saudi central bank chief said he believes the U.S. dollar will remain the world's key foreign reserve currency, offering the endorsement at a meeting of business leaders taking stock of the global financial crisis.
China Dumping Has Begun -- China's holdings of US Treasury bonds tumbled in December, allowing Japan to take over as the top holder of American government debt, according to Treasury data released Tuesday.
The Real Reason Eric Holder is Friendly to Terrorists -- What kind of evil? Whether you try to understand it by labeling it "anti-Americanism," "leftist radicalism" or something else, in the end it boils down to this: There are people among us, including in high places – Eric Holder is far from the only one – who are somehow repelled by genuine justice and common sense, and mysteriously sympathetic toward corruption, criminality and tyranny. Until we face this admittedly painful truth, we will not truly understand much of what we see unfolding in Washington today.
BPA Plastic Linked to Aggression -- Prenatal exposure to the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) may increase aggressive behavior in toddler girls, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Help Now and Say No to GM Alfalfa -- (NaturalNews) In 2006, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved Monsanto's genetically modified (GM), "Roundup Ready" alfalfa without conducting a proper Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Goldman Sachs: The Greek Connection -- Goldman Sachs, the giant investment bank, is today at the centre of the row over the Greek government's finances, amid recriminations over complex financial deals that allowed the eurozone nation to skirt its debt limits.
Kiss That V-Shaped Recovery Good-Bye: The U.S. "Worse Than Greece," Says Economist -- Pento is negative on America's near term economic prospects for three main reasons: too little bank lending, too few jobs and too much public and private debt. "I've never seen a v-shaped recovery occur when commercial bank lending was down 7% year over year. So, small business are not getting loans to create capital goods and to expand and hire individuals," he observes.
Obama's Challenge: Anger Is Replacing Hope -- So it was telling when Obama offered this take on Republican Scott Brown's Senate win in Massachusetts last month, one that weakened the president's hand: "The same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office. People are angry, and they're frustrated."
Sweetheart Mortgage Deals That Will Infuriate You -- Next, in order to “sweeten the pot,” the FDIC stepped in and guaranteed the following: For any residential mortgages where OneWest experiences a loss, the FDIC will step in and cover anywhere from 80-95 percent of the loss. The loss is calculated using the ORIGINAL LOAN BALANCE, not the amount that OneWest paid for the loan. (This WILL make you so mad, but it explains a lot!)
Bank of America Forecloses on Houses Without Mortgages -- No home is safe from foreclosure, even the ones already paid for. Bank of America decided last year to seize a home in Spring Hill, Florida, owned by Charlie and Maria Cardoso of Massachusetts. The Cardosos had purchased the home with cash in 2005 and were renting it out to a single mother when workers hired by BofA showed up in July 2009 to kick the renter out of the home, saying the bank was foreclosing.
Dubai Debt Strategy Sends Stocks Tumbling -- Stock markets in Dubai were down this morning as investors reacted nervously to the latest proposed solution to Dubai World’s $22 billion (£14 billion) debt crisis.
Mossad Assassination Squad Used British Passports -- Six suspects in the assassination of a senior Hamas official in Dubai entered the country using British passports, it emerged yesterday.
Mortgage Delinquencies Rise for 12th Straight Quarter -- Mortgage delinquencies of 60 or more days rose for the 12th straight quarter, hitting a record high 6.89% in Q409, according to market research by credit bureau TransUnion.
Eurozone May Ban Goldman, Humiliate Fed -- Tonight we're reminded by Calculated Risk of yet another byproduct of the greatest looting of the underclasses in our country's history: Unemployment Benefits for 5,000,000 Americans Will Expire by June. Concurrently, it now appears that there's a good chance that, as Simon Johnson over at the Baseline Scenario blog is also telling us late tonight, Goldman-Sachs is about to get blacklisted in the Eurozone; and, in the process of that travesty, this reality will simultaneously and totally trash the Federal Reserve's remaining [read: our entire country's financial] credibility--what little that pathetic institution has left--along with 'em.
Goldman Goes Rogue –- Special European Audit To Follow.
