Year: 2014

The Contributor

By a more than three-to-one margin on Tuesday, communities voting on whether to support the creation of a public bank in Vermont approved the idea, calling for the state legislature to establish such a bank and urging passage of legislation designed to begin its implementation.

In a show of direct democracy that also exposed the citizenry’s desire for a more localized and responsible banking system, fifteen of nineteen towns passed the resolution during ‘Town Meeting Day’— an annual event in which voters choose local officials, approve municipal budgets, and make their voices heard on a number of measures put before local residents for approval.   Continue reading “15 Vermont Towns Vote to Start a Public Bank that Works for Them, Not Wall Street”

All Gov – by Noel Brinkerhoff

Calls for reduced federal spending have forced the Department of Energy (DOE) to axe a multi-billion-dollar project for disposing of plutonium used in nuclear warheads, leaving the federal government with no Plan B for addressing an issue that has both domestic and international implications.

The project involved building a special plant in South Carolina that could transform weapons-grade nuclear material into Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel that civilian nuclear reactors could burn for fuel.   Continue reading “Energy Dept. Gives up on Expensive Nuclear Waste Plant”

Cop Block – by Ryan DeSantis 

Well, I was walking through a haunted house when someone pushed me; thinking it was part of the haunted house, I kept walking and almost immediately it happened again, but this time I knew it was not friendly. It was a big jacked security guard and he said, “Come on faggot, do something,” so I did. I unleashed on the security guard, breaking his nose and turning it into a water fall. After the commotion someone grabbed my arm; I looked and it was a cop (this cop was older, NOT a member of Cheektowaga Police). The cop walked us outside and separated us while he found the owner. When the owner came out, the security guard told them I was destroying the haunted house props and that was why he attacked me. While the owner was checking out the damage that didn’t exist, the Cheektowaga cops showed up because it was their district/area or whatever. The second the cop got out of his car and he threw me against the car, hit me in the stomach, and told me he was sick of, “f#@king punks like you.” At this time, the owner had come back out saying I was not destroying anything, I was defending myself and he had been having issues with his security staff picking fights since the haunted house opened.   Continue reading “Police Beat Up 15-Year-Old”

CBS St. Louis- by Brett Blume

FARMINGTON, Mo. (KMOX) – Some teachers in Farmington balked this week after being told that a school safety drill would require them to wear goggles and be shot at with air soft pellet guns.

A school safety drill in St. Francois County hits a snag after some teachers object to getting shot at with air soft pellet guns.

Four teachers at Farmington High school contacted the Prosecuting Attorney’s office on Tuesday after they were handed goggles during the “active shooter” exercise.   Continue reading “Teachers Become Targets in Active Shooter Drills”

White House

BLOCKING PROPERTY OF CERTAIN PERSONS CONTRIBUTING TO THE SITUATION IN UKRAINE

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,    Continue reading “Executive Order — Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine”

The Independent – by TIM WALKER , HEATHER SAUL

Mail.com

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A U.S. Army general accused of sexual assault was set to plead guilty to three lesser charges Thursday in a move that his lawyer says will strengthen his position going into trial.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair plans to enter the plea before opening statements scheduled for the morning in his court martial at Fort Bragg. The primary accuser in the case is a female captain who says Sinclair twice forced her to perform oral sex and threatened to kill her family if she told anyone about their three-year affair.   Continue reading “General to admit guilt on 3 counts; denies assault”

Mail.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A man was charged Wednesday with kidnapping and killing a nursing student who was last seen outside her West Tennessee home nearly three years ago, investigators said.

Holly Bobo was 20 when she disappeared on April 13, 2011. Her brother told authorities he saw a man in hunting clothes leading her into the woods around the family home near Parsons, about 100 miles northeast of Memphis.   Continue reading “Indictment in missing Tenn. nursing student case”

Common Dreams – by Jim Hightower

Goldman Sachs churns out enormous profits from its high-rolling, casino investment schemes, while also churning out fat paychecks for its top executives. They literally sack up the gold, even as their speculative gambles have wreaked havoc on our real economy.

But, finally recognizing that their public approval rating has sunk lower than mad-cow disease, Goldman’s banking barons now want you to know that they feel your pain and are eager to “give back” to the people. So — ta-da! — they’ve transformed themselves into philanthropists, having goosed up the bank’s foundation in order to flash their “charitable side.” Goldman’s chief of staff noted that “people said we weren’t doing enough” to address the gross inequities created by Wall Streeters, so they’ve turned their foundation into the fourth largest corporate charity in America. In an orchestrated show that the New York Times dubbed “reputation redemption,” the bank’s charitable arm doled out $241 million last year, including grants to women in developing nations and small business projects here in the U.S.   Continue reading “Can Wall Street Buy Redemption?”

Common Dreams – by Robert Parry

When Secretary of State John Kerry denounces Russia’s intervention in Crimea by declaring “It is not appropriate to invade a country and at the end of a barrel of gun dictate what you are trying to achieve. That is not Twenty-first Century, G-8, major-nation behavior,” you might expect that the next line in a serious newspaper would note.

But not if you were reading the New York Times on Wednesday, or for that matter the Washington Post or virtually any mainstream U.S. newspaper or watching a broadcast outlet.   Continue reading “Putin or Kerry: Who’s Delusional?”

Mami’s Shit – by RJ Livegood 

One area in which Tolstoy excelled was the ability and willingness to change his mind based on new experiences. It was a skill he began nurturing in the 1850s when he was an army officer. Tolstoy fought in the bloody siege of Sebastopol during the Crimean War, a horrific experience that turned him from a regular soldier into a pacifist. A decisive event took place in 1857, when he witnessed a public execution by guillotine in Paris. He never forgot the severed head thumping into the box below. It convinced him of the belief that the state and its laws were not only brutal, but served to protect the interests of the rich and powerful.   Continue reading “Leo Tolstoy life lesson #1 Keep an open mind”

Naval Today

The Russian Navy Ochakov Kara-class cruiser was sunk last night to block the Ukrainian Navy ships deployed in Novoozerne, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said in a press release today.

The information was confirmed by the Ukrainian military of the South Naval Base who were observing the operation.   Continue reading “Russia Sinks Ship to Block Ukrainian Navy Ships”

CenturyLink -by SATISH CHENEY

SINGAPORE (AP) — The American CEO of a virtual currency exchange was found dead near her home in Singapore.

A police spokesman said Thursday that initial investigations indicated there was no suspicion of “foul play” in the Feb. 26 death of 28-year-old Autumn Radtke, meaning officers do not suspect murder.

The spokesman said police found Radtke lying motionless near the apartment tower where she lived.   Continue reading “CEO of bitcoin exchange found dead in Singapore”

Business Insider – by HENRY BLODGET

The U.S. recovery from the Great Recession is still one of the worst recoveries in history (see red line at left).

Why is the recovery so slow and weak?

One of the main reasons is that average American consumers, who account for the vast majority of the spending in the economy, are still strapped.   Continue reading “WHY THE ECONOMY SUCKS: Because American Companies And Their Owners Are Greedier Now Than At Any Time In History”