Author: Greg Bacon

Press TV

The US government’s claim that the nation’s economy and employment situation are improving is “very misleading,” with job gains being largely in lower-paying industries such as food servers, an American economist told Press TV on Wednesday.

According to new data from the Census Bureau, the number of US residents living in poverty increased to 46.5 million last year from 46.2 million in 2011, the latest sign that ordinary Americans are not benefiting from the recovery.    Continue reading “Claims of improving US economy ‘very misleading’”

Greg Palast

Joseph Stiglitz couldn’t believe his ears.  Here they were in the White House, with President Bill Clinton asking the chiefs of the US Treasury for guidance on the life and death of America’s economy, when the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers turns to his boss, Secretary Robert Rubin, and says, “What would Goldman think of that?”

Huh?   Continue reading “Larry Summers: Goldman Sacked”

Wired – by BRANDON KEIM

Seen from a satellite, an industrial feedlot has a sort of abstract beauty. The washes of colors, the juxtaposition of organic and rigid geometries, initially obscure the subject. Then comes the realization:That’s where our food comes from.

Such is the power of “Feedlots,” a new series of images crafted by British artist Mishka Henner from publicly available satellite photographs. Henner does work with the photos, enhancing the colors — the waste lagoons above, for example, are flat green rather than bright — but the physical details are unaltered.   Continue reading “Factory Food From Above: Satellite Images of Industrial Farms”

WARNING: Do not read this on a full stomach, as you might become physically sick.

Corporate Research Project – by Philip Mattera

The financial octopus known as Citigroup is the result of the marriage of one of the country’s oldest and most powerful commercial banks (Citibank) and a conglomerate (Travelers Group) created by Sanford Weill to promote and exploit the weakening of federal rules governing the financial sector. During the 2008 credit crisis, a struggling Citigroup had to be bailed out by the federal government, which ignored calls for its breakup and aside from some multi-million-dollar regulatory settlements did little to curb its aggressive practices.   Continue reading “Citigroup: Corporate Rap Sheet”

The Libertarian – by Payton Alexander

[Monday] morning, at the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command, in the Naval Yard in Washington, D.C., multiple gunmen dressed in military attire opened fire on military personnel and civilian workers, multiple sources have reported.  The Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters is the largest of the Navy’s five system commands, and accounts for approximately a quarter of the Navy’s entire budget.  U.S. Navy officials have confirmed at the time of this writing that at least 6 people have been killed in the attack, and many more are being treated for injuries at nearby hospitals.  Continue reading “End Clinton Gun-Ban on Military Bases: Naval Yard Shooting Latest in Growing Number of Shootings on Bases”

The Libertarian – by Payton Alexander

This morning, at the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command, in the Naval Yard in Washington, D.C., multiple gunmen dressed in military attire opened fire on military personnel and civilian workers, multiple sources have reported.  The Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters is the largest of the Navy’s five system commands, and accounts for approximately a quarter of the Navy’s entire budget.  U.S. Navy officials have confirmed at the time of this writing that at least 6 people have been killed in the attack, and many more are being treated for injuries at nearby hospitals.   Continue reading “End Clinton Gun-Ban on Military Bases: Naval Yard Shooting Latest in Growing Number of Shootings on Bases”

Those US troops in Syria will have a ‘Star of David’ shaped bulls-eye on their back.

The Verge – by Amar Toor

KBS Global

Japanese media say the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) reported lower than actual levels of radioactivity in waters around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for nearly two years.

Kyodo News and NHK report TEPCO briefed Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission on Saturday about what Japan’s largest electrical utility called an unintentional error.    Continue reading “TEPCO Reveals ‘Unintentional Error’ in Radioactivity Measurements”

Dissident Voice – by Ron Jacobs

This week, the Vermont news media published stories stating that the Pentagon is considering building a Ground-based Midcourse Defense base in Jericho, Vermont, a small town near Burlington and Montpelier. When people think about Vermont, Jericho is what people think of; wooded lands, dairy farms, older houses and a blend of Yankee families whose roots go back generations and newer residents looking for tranquility, beauty and a good place to raise their kids. There is no reasonable argument for a missile base in Jericho, Vermont. Indeed, there is no reasonable argument for this missile base to be built anywhere.   Continue reading “A Missile Base in Vermont… Really?”

The Onion

ARLINGTON, TX—Marking the Cowboys’ season opener against the Giants in traditional fashion, Dallas fans were reportedly treated to a thrilling halftime show Sunday night that featured the execution of a Texas state prisoner.

“That was the best halftime show I’ve seen in years—there was this awesome light show with Toby Keith’s ‘American Ride’ playing over the sound system while a priest administered the last rites,” said 46-year-old Cowboys fan Alan Kierstead, adding that he especially enjoyed when Cowboys cheerleaders formed the shape of a skull around the stage and performed an elaborate dance routine before the convicted felon was injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital.   Continue reading “Satire: Dallas Cowboys Halftime Show Features Execution Of Texas Prisoner”

The Guardian

California’s Napa and Sonoma have their wine tours, and travellers flock to Scotland to sample the fine single malt whiskies. But in Jamaica, farmers are offering a different kind of trip for a different type of connoisseur.

Call them ganja tours: smoky, mystical – and technically illegal – journeys to some of the island’s hidden cannabis plantations, where pot tourists can sample such strains as “purple kush” and “pineapple skunk”.    Continue reading “Jamaica’s ganja tours draw the tourists”

Another form of American ‘exceptionalism?’

US Militaria Forum – by Charles68

A Small sampling of news that never made it to the front page, or into the History books we all read.

Mustard Gas laden US Liberty Ship is damaged in a German attack and the mustard gas chemicals killed Many US Service personnel.   Continue reading “US Mustard Gas Kills Many US Servicemen in WW2”

Kentucky.com -by Greg Kocher

The alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria thrusts the international spotlight onto the same deadly “nerve agents” stored at Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County.

Sarin, one of the world’s most dangerous chemical warfare agents, has been identified by the United States as the substance loaded onto rockets on Aug. 21 and shot into the suburbs of Damascus. The Obama administration estimates that more than 1,400 people died.   Continue reading “Chemicals allegedly used in Syria are the type stored by the U.S. in Kentucky”

Bloomberg – by Jesse Drucker

Google Inc. (GOOG) avoided about $2 billion in worldwide income taxes in 2011 by shifting $9.8 billion in revenues into a Bermuda shell company, almost double the total from three years before, filings show.

By legally funneling profits from overseas subsidiaries into Bermuda, which doesn’t have a corporate income tax, Google cut its overall tax rate almost in half. The amount moved to Bermuda is equivalent to about 80 percent of Google’s total pretax profit in 2011.   Continue reading “Google Revenues Sheltered in No-Tax Bermuda Soar to $10 Billion”