AlterNet – by Nick Turse

They operate in the green glow of night vision in Southwest Asia and stalk through the jungles of South America. They snatch men from their homes in the Maghreb and shoot it out with heavily armed militants in the Horn of Africa.  They feel the salty spray while skimming over the tops of waves from the turquoise Caribbean to the deep blue Pacific. They conduct missions in the oppressive heat of Middle Eastern deserts and the deep freeze of Scandinavia.  All over the planet, the Obama administration is waging a secret war whose full extent has never been fully revealed — until now.   Continue reading “REVEALED: America’s Secret War in 134 Countries”

AlterNet – by Martha Rosenberg

Editor’s note: The following article is a follow up to a previous AlterNet piece about drugs whose dangerous side-effects emerged only after the pharmaceutical industry’s patents ran out. Read part 1 here.

When a prescription drug causes risky side effects, the word often doesn’t get out for years, allowing Big Pharma to make money anyway.   Continue reading “6 Drugs Whose Dangerous Risks Were Buried So Big Pharma Could Make Money”

Mexican soldiers patrol the streets of Apatzingan, in Michoacan State, Mexico [AFP]The Raw Story – by Agence France-Presse

Mexican vigilante militias battling drug-traffickers in the restive state of Michoacan said Thursday they had returned several hundred acres of land seized from villagers by the notorious Knights Templar cartel.

The symbolic handover of some 654 acres (265 hectares) of land, which included many avocado and lemon orchards, took place in the village square of Tancitaro in the Michoacan highlands.   Continue reading “Mexican anti-drug militias return seized land to villagers”

Activist Post – by Heather Callaghan

Zilmax is a Merck drug that is given to cattle to “beef” them up; it debuted in the US in 2007. It is now suspected for causing cattle’s hooves to fall off – or as the spin goes: “limited mobility.”

It wasn’t just 17 cows dropping hooves. It’s been an ongoing problem.

This is the only known video news report on the topic with a great rundown. After two minutes, it becomes more of an opinion piece.    Continue reading “Something is Making Cattle Hooves Fall Off”

NPR

LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A condemned man appeared to gasp several times and took an unusually long time to die — almost 25 minutes — in an execution carried out Thursday with a combination of drugs never before tried in the U.S.

Dennis McGuire’s attorney Allen Bohnert called the convicted killer’s death “a failed, agonizing experiment” and added: “The people of the state of Ohio should be appalled at what was done here today in their names.”   Continue reading “Ohio Killer’s Execution Takes Almost 25 Minutes”

National Review – by Jillian Kay Melchior

One in seven of New Mexico’s certified Obamacare navigators had a match in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, according to public records obtained by National Review Online.

In total, 38 health-care guides or certified application counselors received their certification despite a match, according to records from the New Mexico Office of the Superintendent of Insurance (OSI), which certifies navigators working with the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange.   Continue reading “Obamacare’s Fishy Navigators”

KHOU – by Tiffany Craig 

SPRING, Texas — An entire family was arrested after tips reported through a crime prevention app from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Raymond, Stephanie, Jess and Madison Wood were all charged with drug possession. The parents, Raymond and Stephanie were also charged with possessing an illegal weapon.

It happened Friday morning on Candlepine Drive in Spring.   Continue reading “Deputies arrest entire family after neighbors use app to report suspicious activity”

frozen fishBusiness Insider – by DINA SPECTOR

While everyone in the United States was moaning and groaning last week about the insufferably cold temperatures, other parts of the world were intensely frigid too.

Take the small Norwegian island of Lovund, for instance, where thousands of fish were essentially flash-frozen in a bay as the air temperature dipped to -7.8 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit), according to a report from the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK).   Continue reading “A Norwegian Bay Was So Cold That Thousands Of Fish Were Flash-Frozen”

Before It’s News – by Live Free or Die

Ballsy Jackson County Sheriff Denny Peyman arrested two members of the Jackson County Council and promised that this is only the tip of the iceberg, leading one resident of Jackson County to loudly proclaim: “I think Jackson County is now a free county. We’ve been under a dictatorship for several years now.” Peyman, who also recently stood up to the federal government by declaring that FEDS will never disarm Americans in his county, blasted the Council by declaring ‘the rich is getting richer, poor getting poorer.’ Is the mass arrests of ALL of the criminal govt officials across the country EXACTLY what America needs right now? We truly need more courageous sheriff’s like Denny Peyman. Video reports below.   Continue reading “Ballsy Sheriff Slays Dictatorship In Jackson County, Kentucky & Stands Up To FEDS On The 2nd Amendment”

Investment Watchblog

J.C. Penney Co. said on Wednesday it would close 33 stores and cut 2,000 jobs as part of its efforts to return to profitability.

Chief Executive Myron Ullman said in a statement the action “addresses a strategic priority to improve the profitability of our stores.”

Penney is the second major U.S. retailer in as many weeks to announce layoffs. Last week, Macy’s Inc. said it was eliminating 2,500 jobs. Those cuts will be offset over time as the retailer plans to add positions to its online business, leaving overall staffing levels unchanged at around 175,000.   Continue reading “Tough Times Are Just Around The Corner? JC Penney, Macy’s, Albertsons to Close Stores And Cut thousands of Jobs, Best Buy Plummets 30% After Abysmal Holiday Sales Update”

Missouri gun law nullificationOff the Grid News – by Tara Dodrill

Republican lawmakers in a series of states are taking a new approach to thwarting federal gun laws which they feel infringe upon the Second Amendment – sticking together.

Missouri lawmakers are pondering a piece of legislation which would attempt to nullify specific federal gun control regulations from being enforced in the state. But there’s a catch: The bill, if signed, would not take effect for several years, with the hope that other states would pass similar laws.   Continue reading “New Pro-Gun Missouri Law Will Send Federal Agents To Prison”

A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court in WashingtonYahoo News – by David Ingram

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A judge on Wednesday upheld subsidies at the heart of President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul, rejecting one of the main legal challenges to the policy by conservatives opposed to an expansion of the federal government.

A ruling in favor of a lawsuit brought by individuals and businesses in Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia would have crippled the implementation of the law by making health insurance unaffordable for many people.   Continue reading “U.S. judge upholds subsidies pivotal to Obamacare”