Washington Times – by Dave Boyer

As President Obama readies a possible military strike against Syria Thursday, the White House 2013 Christmas ornament is going on sale with the slogan, “Peace on Earth.”

The White House Historical Association is advertising the new ornament on its website and on signs around town, including one in Lafayette Park across from the White House. This year’s ornament honors Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president, who pushed for a precursor to the United Nations.

The center of the ornament depicts an American elm tree planted by Mr. Wilson on the North Lawn of the White House on December 18, 1913, just before Christmas. It includes a wreath of olive branches, with two peace doves perched on the branches.   Continue reading “White House selling ‘Peace on Earth’ for $18.95 (*Offer not valid in Syria)”

business meetingThe Burning Platform

Here’s another depressing list to ruin your day. You can tell a lot about a society by what they value, what they build and what they do. The only new buildings I see being built are banks and medical facilities. That tells me a lot. I look around and see that we value fancy new leased or financed cars, financed McMansions, fastfood, and lots of shopping outlets. And now this list tells me a lot about where this country is headed. Among the ten fastest growing jobs in America, only one can be considered well paying. Only two of the jobs are in industries that produce something. Only one requires a non-liberal arts college degree. Most of the jobs barely pay a living wage. Most of these jobs are non-essential service jobs that add absolutely nothing to society. A society that does not produce is destined to decline. We’re doomed.   Continue reading “If These are the Fastest Growing Jobs in America – We’re Doomed”

RT News

Any possibility of British involvement in a military campaign in Syria has been effectively ruled out after British lawmakers voted down the prospect in parliament, costing the US the nation’s closest ally in a potential strike.

By a 285 to 272 margin British MPs rejected the government’s motion to support in principle military action against Syria. A second vote was due to be held on committing to action following the report by United Nations weapons inspectors, who are currently investigating claims that Assad used chemical weapons on civilians.    Continue reading “British MPs reject military intervention in Syria”

Eric HolderOn the surface this looks like good news. Yet I’m unconvinced. Bozo and the Felonious General provided themselves with a convenient out. It appears in the eighth directive; “Possessing marijuana or using on federal property.”

This directive effectively nullifies the rest. Under NDAA and the unPatriot act, and numerous Executive Dictates, there is no place, not one square foot of land within the borders of the uSA that is not “Federal Property.”   Continue reading “Justice Dept. won’t challenge state marijuana laws”

Jon Rappoport

In the 1990s, I watched a federal trial in a Los Angeles courtroom. The defendant was charged with selling medical drugs without a license to practice medicine.

The defendant was prepared to argue that a) the substance he was selling was naturally produced in the body and b) it was effective.   Continue reading “Would the US government let Jesus cure cancer?”

Gay Spouses in All States Can File Joint Taxes, Treasury Says Bloomberg – by Richard Rubin & Margaret Collins

Married gay couples living in all U.S. states can file joint federal tax returns, even if local authorities don’t recognize their marriages, the Obama administration said today.

The decision by the Treasury Department implements the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which had forbidden the Internal Revenue Service from letting married homosexual couples file jointly.   Continue reading “Gay Spouses in All States Can File Joint Taxes, U.S. Says”

No Tanks in TownsACLU

American neighborhoods are increasingly being policed by cops armed with the weapons and tactics of war. Federal funding in the billions of dollars has allowed state and local police departments to gain access to weapons and tactics created for overseas combat theaters – and yet very little is known about exactly how many police departments have military weapons and training, how militarized the police have become, and how extensively federal money is incentivizing this trend. It’s time to understand the true scope of the militarization of policing in America and the impact it is having in our neighborhoods. Since March 6th, ACLU affiliates in 25 states filed over 260 public records requests with law enforcement agencies and National Guard offices to determine the extent to which federal funding and support has fueled the militarization of state and local police departments. Stay tuned as this project develops.   Continue reading “The Militarization of Policing in America”

russia un syriaHuffington Post – by PETER SPIELMANN

UNITED NATIONS — A U.N. diplomat says Russia has called for an urgent meeting of the five permanent Security Council members on the crisis in Syria.

The meeting among Russia, the United States, China, Britain and France was expected later Thursday, according to the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private.   Continue reading “Russia Calls Urgent UN Security Council Meeting On Syria”

Infowars – by Paul Joseph Watson

A reporter with Israel’s most widely read newspaper has been told by defense establishment officials that a US-led attack on Syria will begin on Saturday and end when Barack Obama meets Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

Amir Mizroch @Amirmizroch

Israeli defense estbl assessment: US attack starts when UN inspectors leave Syria on Saturday, ends when Obama meets Putin next Wednesday   Continue reading “Report: US Attack On Syria to Begin Saturday”

CT News Junkie – by Christine Stuart

Attorney General Eric Holder announced Wednesday that the U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance will give $2.5 million in funding to the Connecticut State Police and local law enforcement for their response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The funding compensates the agencies for costs related to overtime, forensics, and security in the aftermath of the murder of 20 children and six educators.   Continue reading “U.S. Justice Department Gives State Police, Newtown $2.5M”

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”

Jackson Hole Conclave: Central Bankers Plan Global Theft, Massive PainThe New American – by William F. Jasper

The annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this past week (August 22-24), sponsored by the Federal Reserve, elicited a collective yawn from the establishment media. Since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke had announced earlier that he would not be attending — the first time in 24 years a Fed chairman has missed the annual confab — most media reports downplayed the significance of the conference and focused on speculation over how soon the Fed might begin its announced “tapering” program (Will it be in September, December, or January?), and by how much (Will it be a reduction of $10 billion/month, or $15 billion, or $20 billion?). An even bigger diversion was the speculation over the anticipated departure of Bernanke from the Fed and who his replacement is likely to be — with Fed Vice Chairman Janet Yellen and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers leading the short list of candidates.   Continue reading “Jackson Hole Conclave: Central Bankers Plan Global Theft, Massive Pain”

Before It’s News – by N. Morgan

On TV, you often see commercials for this medication or that medication. The one thing that always catches my attention are all of the side effects they list. Sudden death, fatal heart attack, stroke. It is all said as if it is normal and nothing to be concerned about. We’ve inadvertently become a nation of pill popping junkies.  The use of sleeping has sky rocketed in recent years. Insomnia seems to be more abundant now. Technology may play a role in a sleep deprived nation.   Continue reading “America: A Nation Of Pill Poppers”

power grid drillOff the Grid News – by Tara Dodrill

Power grid vulnerabilities are finally garnering some attention by government officials.

An electrical grid joint drill simulation is being planned in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Thousands of utility workers, FBI agents, anti-terrorism experts, governmental agencies, and more than 150 private businesses are involved in the November power grid drill.

The downed power grid simulation will reportedly focus on both physical and cyber attacks. The antiquated electrical system in the United States has been one of the most neglected pieces of integral infrastructure.   Continue reading “Power Grid Down Drill To Be Conducted By US Government”

Barack Obama (Alex Wong / Getty Images / AFP)RT News

Facing strong opposition in the UK parliament, military action against the Syrian regime over the alleged use of chemical weapons could be delayed. Meanwhile, US president Barack Obama said he has not yet made a final decision about the military attack.

On Thursday, the House of Commons will be asked by the government to approve a “strong humanitarian response” to the Syrian government’s alleged war crimes.   Continue reading “Obama ‘not yet made a decision’ on Syria as UK political rows stall intervention”

Barack Obama, Gabrielle GiffordsAP Big Story – by Josh Lederman

WASHINGTON (AP) — Striving to take action where Congress would not, the Obama administration announced new steps Thursday on gun control, curbing the import of military surplus weapons and proposing to close a little-known loophole that lets felons and others circumvent background checks by registering guns to corporations.

Four months after a gun control drive collapsed spectacularly in the Senate, President Barack Obama added two more executive actions to a list of 23 steps the White House determined Obama could take on his own to reduce gun violence. With the political world focused on Mideast tensions and looming fiscal battles, the move signaled Obama’s intent to show he hasn’t lost sight of the cause he took up after 20 first graders and six adults were gunned down last year in an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.   Continue reading “Obama offers new gun control steps”

WND – by REZA KAHLILI

Iran is threatening to launch a massive missile strike against Israel if the United States attacks Syria for using chemical weapons against its own people, which could touch off a full-blown war in the region.

“The day of reckoning is near,” according to Hossein Shariatmadari, the chief editor of Keyhan newspaper, an outlet controlled by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.   Continue reading “Iran: Thousands Of Missiles To Rain On Israel”

Huntington News – by John LaForge

High altitude bombing and long-range missile attacks always bring nightmares of dead children and suicidal veterans. The president’s plans for rocketing yet another mid-east country without a UN mandate are being rationalized by pointing to bad actions by others — in this case Syria’s overlords.

When bystanders and the elderly and women and children and illiterate peasants are blown to bits or maimed by U.S. missiles fired by U.S. jets, the unnumbered deaths and dismemberments (the Pentagon will not count them) will be called “accidents” or “unintended consequences.” The endless failure of the peace movement means that the bodies of unidentified villains and countless innocents are to be sacrificed by U.S pilots in their thoughtless obedience to illegal orders.   Continue reading “Bombing for Peace: Oxymorons of Humanitarian War”

Don’t worry about your drinking water being safe, since that money is needed to wage endless ‘Wars for Wall Street and Israel!’

The Kansas City Star – by KRISTI EATON

OKLAHOMA CITY — Beating the late-summer heat isn’t as easy as running to the sink in one northeast Oklahoma town, as residents there are being asked not to drink tap water after red worms were found in the filtering system.

The worms — ranging from a half-inch to an inch long — showed up earlier this week in the drinking water supply in Colcord, a small town about 80 miles east of Tulsa.    Continue reading “Tiny Okla. town tries to rid water supply of worms”