The guided missile destroyer USS Barry.(Reuters / Rob Gaston)RT News

US Navy destroyers in the Mediterranean are “fully ready” to launch cruise missiles into Syria as part of a US military campaign that would not involve “extraordinary” monetary costs, a top admiral said Thursday.

Admiral Jonathan Greenert said that the US was considering using Tomahawk missiles against Syria at a cost of $1.5mn each. His statement confirmed what no other officials had said publicly – though some had leaked similar information anonymously.    Continue reading “US admiral says ships in Mediterranean ‘fully ready’ for potential Syria strike”

DARPA 'Hydra' (Image from darpa.mil)RT News

The sky is no longer the limit for US drone warfare, with secret military research agency DARPA considering a conquest of the seven seas with an underwater drone carrier.

America’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently held a presentation of its new Hydra unmanned underwater drone carrier project at John’s Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. ‘Proposer’s Day’ was set to beef up interest from defense contractors.   Continue reading “DARPA goes deep: New Hydra project to see underwater drones deploying drones”

Reuters / Pascal RossignolRT News

Public advocacy groups and farmers have joined forces to challenge biotech giant Monsanto’s claims on genetically engineered seed patents, and to halt the company’s aggressive lawsuits against anyone whose fields are contaminated by their GMOs.

Seventy-three US farmers, seed companies, and public advocacy groups appealed their case against Monsanto Co. to the Supreme Court on Thursday.    Continue reading “US farmers challenging Monsanto patent claims appeal to Supreme Court”

US President Barack Obama speaks about Syria during a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt at the Prime Minister's office in Stockholm, Sweden September 4, 2013. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)The very words spoken by this communist, socialist, sociopath should make every American National’s blood boil! 

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President Obama stated that “as a commander in chief” he has the right to order a military strike against Syria without congressional approval. However, he said that Capitol Hill support would strengthen the response to the alleged chemical attack.   Continue reading “Obama asserts right to strike Syria without congressional approval”

Reuters/Hugh GentryThese forked-tongued criminals will say anything in order to justify putting US troops in yet another country.  Then of course that is almost always the first step they take when they want to seize the assets of a sovereign nation while at the same time boost the profits for the military industrial complex. 

RT News

The potential of strategic US strikes in Syria has sparked fears Damascus’ chemical weapons could fall into the wrong hands if the government is toppled. A recent congressional report says 75,000 troops would be needed to safeguard the WMD caches.   Continue reading “75,000 troops needed to secure chemical weapons if Damascus falls”

USS NImitz (AFP Photo / Navy Media Content Services / HO / Raul Moreno)RT News

A military strike on Syria could lead to a nuclear catastrophe if a missile were to hit a reactor containing radioactive uranium, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman warned. The remark comes as the US continues to push for a military strike on Syria.

“If a warhead, by design or by chance, were to hit the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) near Damascus, the consequences could be catastrophic,” Aleksandr Lukashevich said in a Wednesday statement.   Continue reading “Russia warns of nuclear disaster if Syria is hit”

Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (R), wearing a protective suit and a mask, inspects contaminated water tanks at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture August 26, 2013, in this photo released by Kyodo.  (Reuters/Kyodo)RT News

Several new hotspots reading potentially lethal doses of radiation have been detected near the tanks storing the radioactive water, forcing the operator to admit there might be even more leaks at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The high radiation readings were detected during the daily inspection on Saturday near three water tanks and one pipe stretched between the tanks and the plant, Kyodo news agency reported.    Continue reading “New radioactive hotspots suggest more leaks at Fukushima”

AFP Photo / Eva HambachRT News

White House visitor logs for the president and most of his staff members are not subject to public information requests via the Freedom of Information Act, a federal appeals court ruled unanimously Friday.

The watchdog group Judicial Watch had asked for Secret Service records in order to access White House visitor information for President Obama’s first seven months in office.    Continue reading “White House visitor logs not subject to public information requests, court rules”

David McNew / Getty Images / AFP RT News

The US Navy admits its underwater training and experiments will result in the deaths of hundreds of dolphins and whales over the next five years – but insists that its testing program is essential.

Computer models showed that the Navy will likely kill 186 whales and dolphins off the East Coast and 155 near the coast of Hawaii and Southern California – its main operation areas – between 2014 and 2019.    Continue reading “Open-sea US Navy testing will kill hundreds of dolphins and whales”

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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a police checkpoint and a bank in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, one of two attacks in the heartland of the insurgency that killed 18 people over 24 hours. Separately, a NATO service member was killed by insurgents in the country’s east, according to a military statement.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, but Afghan President Hamid Karzai blamed the bombings on the Taliban. The militants have escalated their activity as U.S.-led foreign forces reduce their presence in the country and are in the final phase of handing over responsibility for security to Afghan troops.   Continue reading “Attacks in southern Afghanistan kill at least 18”

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Several aftershocks rattled a remote Aleutian Island region off Alaska in the hours after a major 7.0 temblor struck with a jet-like rumble that shook homes and sent residents scrambling for cover.

At least three dozen aftershocks, including one reaching magnitude 6.1 in strength, struck after the major quake Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. “I heard it coming,” said Kathleen Nevzoroff, who was sitting at her computer in the tiny Aleutians village of Adak when the 7.0 temblor struck at 8:25 a.m. local time, getting stronger and stronger. “I ran to my doors and opened them and my chimes were all ringing.”   Continue reading “Alaskan island area hit by big quake, aftershocks”

AFP Photo / Lionel BonaventureRT News

Microsoft and Google announced Friday they are going forward with a lawsuit against the US government for the right to reveal more information about official requests for customer data by American intelligence.

The companies originally filed suits in June following revelationsprovided by Edward Snowden of their relationship with the National Security Agency and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which oversees the government’s requests of the companies’ systems.    Continue reading “Microsoft, Google sue US for right to reveal nature of surveillance requests”

Smoke is released into the sky at the ConocoPhillips oil refinery in San Pedro, California (Reuters/Bret Hartman)RT News

Air pollution in major US cities is the largest cause of premature mortality, a new study has revealed. An average of 200,000 people have their lives cut short by about a decade every year because of continuous exposure to toxic fumes.

Researchers from MIT’s Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment carried out a nationwide study, tracing ground-level emissions and their effect on citizen mortality. The team of investigators looked at sources such as car exhausts, industrial smokestacks and commercial and residential heating and found that an average of 200,000 people die prematurely each year because of exposure.    Continue reading “Air pollution cause of 200,000 premature US deaths – study”

image by @mhess4RT News

The New York Times’ website has been disabled for the second time in under a month, with the newspaper attributing the outage to a “malicious external attack” widely thought to have come from hackers affiliated with the Syrian Electronic Army.

“Many users are having difficulty accessing the New York Times online,” the paper wrote on its Facebook page. “We are working to fix the problem. Our initial assessment is the outage is most likely the result of a malicious external attack. In the meantime we are continuing to publish key news reports.”    Continue reading “Syrian Electronic Army takes down New York Times website”

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After just one year, some schools around the country are dropping out of the healthier new federal lunch program, complaining that so many students turned up their noses at meals packed with whole grains, fruits and vegetables that the cafeterias were losing money.

Federal officials say they don’t have exact numbers but have seen isolated reports of schools cutting ties with the $11 billion National School Lunch Program, which reimburses schools for meals served and gives them access to lower-priced food.   Continue reading “Some school districts quit healthier lunch program”

Syrian army soldiers are seen deployed in the Jobar neighbourhood of Damascus on August 24, 2013. (AFP Photo)RT News

Moscow has voiced “regret” over a US decision to put off bilateral talks over Syria. Russia has sought to placate calls for military action over the alleged use of chemical weapons, saying there is no evidence of the Assad regime’s complicity.

The US government announced it was postponing bilateral talks with Russia late Monday, citing “ongoing consultations” over the Syrian government’s alleged use of chemical weapons.    Continue reading “Russia ‘regrets’ US decision to shelve Syria talks”

RT News

White House officials say the United States may launch a limited military strike on Syria as early as this Thursday as the intelligence community prepares to release a report justifying action and allies are rallied.

Senior officials in the Obama administration told the Washington Post for an article published on Tuesday that the White House is weighing a limited strike on Syria and said on condition of anonymity that “We’re actively looking at the various legal angles that would inform a decision.”   Continue reading “Obama reportedly considering two-day strike on Syria”

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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s parliament has approved fast tracking debate on a bill that seeks to sue the U.S. for its involvement in the 1953 coup that overthrew the country’s democratically elected prime minister.

Lawmakers will begin deliberations Wednesday over how to launch a formal complaint accusing the U.S. government of intervening in Iran’s internal affairs and inflicting damages on the Persian state. The 290-seat house approved the urgent debate of the bill Tuesday in a session broadcast on state radio.   Continue reading “Iran to debate suing US over 1953 coup support”

Demetrius GlennMail.com

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A second 16-year-old arrested in the beating death of an 88-year-old World War II veteran is scheduled to make a court appearance Tuesday as the first was being held on $2 million bail.

Demetrius L. Glenn made an initial court appearance Monday afternoon. He is charged in Spokane County District Court with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery. The charges carry a potential life sentence.   Continue reading “2nd teen in court following death of WWII veteran”

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ATLANTA (AP) — Coca-Cola keeps the recipe for its 127-year-old soda inside an imposing steel vault that’s bathed in red security lights. Several cameras monitor the area to make sure the fizzy formula stays a secret.

But in one of the many signs that the surveillance is as much about theater as reality, the images that pop up on video screens are of smiling tourists waving at themselves. “It’s a little bit for show,” concedes a guard at the World of Coca-Cola museum in downtown Atlanta, where the vault is revealed at the end of an exhibit in a puff of smoke.   Continue reading “Is Coke’s 127-year-old recipe the same? Not quite”