BlackListed News
U.S. kids even fatter than believed, study shows
Extreme obesity among American children is much worse than previously believed
IMF calls for new body to save taxpayers from burden of failing banks
Managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn urged the European Union to create a European resolution authority to deal with insolvent banks that would force shareholders and uninsured creditors – rather than taxpayers –to bear the costs of failure. The authority would be funded by the financial industry from deposit insurance fees and levies on institutions, he said.
Markets spooked as Greek rescue plan crumbles
The inability of the eurozone to put together a viable package after a month of talks has dismayed markets, which thought the terms of a deal had already been agreed.
Pentagon Sees a Threat From Online Muckrakers
To the list of the enemies threatening the security of the United States, the Pentagon has added WikiLeaks.org, a tiny online source of information and documents that governments and corporations around the world would prefer to keep secret.
European fraudsters steal $7B in carbon credit scam
Officials at Europol, the body in charge of co-ordinating police forces inside the European Union, say fraudulent activity on the EU’s Emission Trading System was first suspected in late 2008 when police noticed the volume of trades in certain countries would mysteriously spike.
Yuan Poised to Become Reserve Currency, Goldman’s O’Neill Says
China’s yuan is destined to become a global reserve currency rivaling the dollar and the euro, as the nation’s economic power increases the currency’s allure, said Jim O’Neill, chief economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Carbon market chaos strikes again
Europe’s emissions trading system was in uproar yesterday amid a mounting scandal over “recycled” carbon permits.
Total Sellout: American Academy of Family Physicians Lets Coca-Cola Sponsor Health Advice
The American Academy of Family Physicians has come under fire for a controversial decision to partner with the Coca-Cola Company in a new public outreach campaign about the health risks of soda consumption.
Federal Reserve Must Disclose Bank Bailout Records
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled today that the Fed must release records of the unprecedented $2 trillion U.S. loan program launched primarily after the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. The ruling upholds a decision of a lower-court judge, who in August ordered that the information be released.
16,500 more IRS agents needed to enforce Obamacare
New tax mandates and penalties included in Obamacare will cause the greatest expansion of the Internal Revenue Service since World War II, according to a release from Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas.
Pelosi "Demon Pass" Strategy – Yet another Obama assault on the Constitution
Are Obama and Pelosi really ready to end their Don Quixote quest for health care and actually vote? No, Pelosi and Obama have adopted the "demon pass" procedure to avoid a vote yet get the bill.
Kucinich Sells Out On Health Care After Ride In Air Force One
Obama invited Kucinich and undecided Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) to the ultimate pressure cooker as he tries to nail down a majority for his top domestic priority.
Condom requirement for porn film actors to be voted on in California
State regulators are expected to vote Thursday on a petition asking them to require porn industry performers to use condoms and to take other safety measures.
Green Police: Trash Inspectors To Fine Families For Compost Infractions
“Householders could be fined up to £1,000 if they fail to comply with complex new rules on refuse sorting. Food scraps, tea bags and vegetable peelings thrown into the wrong dustbin could land them with hefty penalties under government plans to be unveiled today,” reports the Daily Mail.
Carte Blanche for the Banksters: The Next Big Bailout "Any Day Now"
Master illusionist Ben Bernanke has managed to engineer a modest 7-month uptick in sales, but the fairydust is set to wear off later this month when the Fed stops purchasing mortgage-backed securities (MBS)
Boeing Completes Design of Shipboard Super-Laser
Defense giant Boeing now says it has completed the preliminary design of one such weapon, the Free Electron Laser, or FEL.
Tracking Electric Use Could Allow Utilities to Track You, Too
Some technology policy organizations worry that smart meters pose a potential threat to privacy and could be exploited by online marketers, government agencies, criminals and others.
43 percent of American Workers Have Less Than $10,000 in their Retirement Accounts!
Now Bernanke Wants To Eliminate Reserve Requirements Completely
Up until now, the United States has operated under a "fractional reserve" banking system. Banks have always been required to keep a small fraction of the money deposited with them for a reserve, but were allowed to loan out the rest.
Iranian warships set sail for Gulf of Aden
Iran has sent a naval battle group to international waters, including the Gulf of Aden, to confront threats to the country’s shipping lanes.
Boehner cheers up bankers: ‘Don’t let punk staffers take advantage of you’
Even if the Senate approves the legislation, Boehner promised anxious bankers that reconciling it with the House’s own bill will push the process back at least another year.
Hundreds Of Americans File Complaints Over Naked Body Scanners
Despite establishment media spin that naked body scanners are being meekly accepted by a compliant public, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that there have been more than 600 formal complaints about the devices in the last year.
Germany mulls sending spies to Wall Street
Many in Europe see currency speculation as ‘economic terrorism’
Ex-Pfizer Worker Cites Genetically Engineered Virus In Lawsuit Over Firing
McClain, of Deep River, suspects she was inadvertently exposed, through work by a former Pfizer colleague in 2002 or 2003, to an engineered form of the lentivirus, a virus similar to the one that can lead to acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS
The Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides: An Inconvenient Truth
Recent articles in the mainstream media would have us believe that governments around the world somehow question the factuality of the 1915 Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides committed by Turkey.
Afghanistan Government Pardons All Pre-Invasion War Criminals
Despite public assurances from President Hamid Karzai that it would not become law, a blanket amnesty for all war crimes committed in Afghanistan prior to 2001 has indeed gone into effect. Adopted by parliament in 2007, the National Stability and Reconciliation Law provides immunity to all warlords and armed factions who committed abuses before the U.S. invasion.
TSA To Make Full Body Scans Mandatory At US Airports
In a new attempt to curb terrorism on airplanes and in airports, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced this week that they plan on making full body scanners mandatory.
Idaho first to sign law to sue fed gov’t over healthcare; 37 other states consider
100,000 Federal Employees Owe $962 Million in Back Taxes…
Silvio Berlusconi in ‘protection deal with mafia’
THE billionaire Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, once met a leading mafia godfather to ask for protection, according to testimony gathered over several years by crime prosecutors.
The power of TV revealed in disturbing French ‘torture’ game show
A French game show which featured contestants willingly delivering what they believed were near lethal electric shocks to a rival has been aired.
Britain: Clinic Opens for Children Addicted to Video Games and the Internet
“Mental health services need to adapt quickly to the changing worlds that young people inhabit, and understand just how seriously their lives can be impaired by unregulated time online, on-screen or in-game,” he said.
Wachovia pays $160 million to stop drugs probe
Wachovia has agreed to pay US prosecutors 160 million dollars for its failure to stop drug money being laundered to Mexican affiliates, the DEA said Wednesday.
Flash Back: Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor: Drugs and crime chief says $352bn in criminal proceeds was effectively laundered by financial institutionsNew York State Tax Refunds Put On Hold
Gov. Paterson Freezes $500 Million, Says Financial Situation The Case, Won’t Start Sending Again Until April
EFF Posts Documents Detailing U.S. Law Enforcement Collection of Data From Social Media Sites
Rising food prices may start with seeds
Farmers say consolidation in the industry means they’re forced to buy more costly seeds. But Monsanto, the world’s largest seed firm, says competition ‘is alive and flourishing.’
Hacker Disables More Than 100 Cars Remotely
More than 100 drivers in Austin, Texas found their cars disabled or the horns honking out of control, after an intruder ran amok in a web-based vehicle-immobilization system normally used to get the attention of consumers delinquent in their auto payments.
Obama surrenders gulf oil to Moscow
The Russians are coming – to drill in our own backyard
Allegedly “disgruntled” man has his guns seized, and “voluntarily” surrenders to two SWAT teams and dozens of police officers for a crime that hadn’t been committed
Banks to stand trial over derivatives in Italy
"JPMorgan, Depfa, Deutsche Bank and UBS have been ordered to stand trial for fraud along with 11 of their managers and two former Milan city officials," said Alfredo Robledo, a prosecutor at the Milan court.
Report: US shipping arms ahead of strike on Iran
Scottish newspaper says US transferred ammunition containers with ‘bunker-buster’ bombs to Diego Garcia in Indian Ocean. Expert: They are gearing up totally for the destruction of Iran
Biden in Israel: A Gift of Broken Glass and More Weirdness
Riots erupt across Jerusalem as Hamas leader calls for renewed ‘intifada’
Hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces across east Jerusalem on Tuesday in the worst rioting in years, as a senior Hamas leader called for a new "intifada" or uprising.
Suspicion over Murdoch’s pan-Arab foray in Egypt
In a country where film and television attract some of the largest audiences across the Arab world, the tycoon’s foray into the Middle East is widely seen in cultural circles as a ruse to benefit Israel.
Revealed: Ashcroft, Tenet, Rumsfeld warned 9/11 Commission about ‘line’ it ’should not cross’
The notification came in a letter dated January 6, 2004, addressed by Attorney General John Ashcroft, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and CIA Director George J. Tenet. The ACLU described it as a fax sent by David Addington, then-counsel to former vice president Dick Cheney.
Hillary Clinton contracts purchases of $5.4M in crystal stemware for American Embassies
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s State Department is spending $5.4 million to buy fine crystal stemware for American embassies — but it won’t give the US economy much of a boost.
New RFID tech tracks you to the tomb
A new product, the RosettaStone (www.personalrosettastone.com), guarantees that RFID will follow you straight to your grave.
Alleged “Terroristic Facebook Post” Leads to School lockdown, Race a Factor
States may hold onto tax refunds for months
Residents eager to get their state tax refunds may have a long wait this year: The recession has tied up cash and caused officials in half a dozen states to consider freezing refunds, in one case for as long as five months.
Senate Bill Wipes Out Indian Tobacco Industry
Handing big tobacco corporations a huge victory, the U.S. Senate has passed the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act – an act tribal leaders say is an attack on tribal sovereignty and economies that will devastate Indian tobacco businesses across the country.
Foreclosure starts up nearly 20 percent in California
After reaching the lowest level in a year in January, Notice of Defaults, the start of the foreclosure process, increased by 19.7 percent in February, according to a report Monday from ForeclosureRadar Inc., a Discovery Bay-based foreclosure information company that says it tracks every California foreclosure.
Break the law and your new ‘friend’ may be the FBI
The Feds are on Facebook. And MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, too
Beyond Orwell: The Electronic Police State, 2010
In this light, a new report published by Cryptohippie, The Electronic Police State: 2010 National Rankings, delivers the goods and rips away the veil from the smirking visage of well-heeled corporate crooks and media apologists of America’s burgeoning police state.
Biden: “I see myself as a Zionist.”
US Vice President Joe Biden said he participated in several meetings of the World Zionist Organization and assisted in raising funds for the organization. In the guest book near Herzl’s grave, Biden wrote that he felt "profound respect for the man of vision."
Oil? We’re Here for the Heroin! (at $19,923,200 per barrel!)
The price of a barrel of oil is sitting right at $83-84 at this moment. How much do you think a “barrel” full of heroin sells for?
Junk Bond Avalanche Looms for Credit Markets
When the Mayans envisioned the world coming to an end in 2012 — at least in the Hollywood telling — they didn’t count junk bonds among the perils that would lead to worldwide disaster.
Monsanto admits their technology doesn’t work!
In a setback for genetically engineered cotton, Monsanto, innovator of the strain, confirmed what sceptics had said might well happen, that the pests it was supposed to resist better than natural cotton would also innovate.
Study finds 55 percent of newspaper stories are placed
A study in Australia found that more than half of stories in mainstream newspapers were fed to them by PR entities: "Many journalists and editors were defensive … Most refused to respond, others who initially granted an interview then asked for their comments to be withdrawn out of fear they’d be reprimanded, or worse, fired."
