Year: 2015

Well and Good

It’s that time of year, again. (Sorry, we’re not talking about the end of winter.)

The Environmental Working Group just released its 2015 update to the annual Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, which includes the latest version of its popular “Dirty Dozen” list, the 12 fruits and vegetables that were found to contain the most pesticide residues. (Not to be confused with the beauty world’s “Dirty Dozen” list of ingredients to avoid in skin-care products.)   Continue reading “2015′s Dirty Dozen: Your guide to the produce with the most (and least) pesticides”

Climate Change Dispatch

American photographer Jonathan Nimerfroh was walking along the beach in Nantucket, in Massachusetts when he suddenly saw the ocean beginning to freeze.

He took several pictures of a number of semi-frozen waves as they crashed against the coast.

Mr Nimerfroh said: “When I got to the top off the dunes I saw that about 300 yards out from the shoreline that the ocean was starting to freeze.   Continue reading “What Global Warming? Now The Sea Is FREEZING Off New England Coast”

The Daily Bell

Fed Gives Cover to Bumbling Congress … Consider the critique of the Fed by some members of Congress. As the New York Times described it, the three-hour hearing was “testy” as “Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee accused Janet L. Yellen, chairwoman of the Fed, of using her office to advance liberal policy goals.” – Bloomberg

Dominant Social Theme: Don’t give central bank powers to Congress. Legislators will make it much worse.   Continue reading “Bloomberg: The Fed Is a Good Deal More Responsible Than Congress”

The Lid

As he prepares to leave office in a few weeks, Eric Holder plant to push for a lower standard of proof for civil rights laws after not being able to prove a civil rights violation in the case of Trayvon Martin, and will probably have the same outcome in the Michael Brown case.

Attorney General Eric Holder plans to push, during his final weeks in office, a new standard of proof for civil-rights offenses, saying in an exit interview with POLITICO that such a change would make the federal government “a better backstop” against discrimination in cases like Ferguson and Trayvon Martin.   Continue reading “Eric Holder Wants To Lower Standard Of Proof For Civil Rights Laws”

The New York Times – by VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN

Leonard Nimoy, the sonorous, gaunt-faced actor who won a worshipful global following as Mr. Spock, the resolutely logical human-alien first officer of the Starship Enterprise in the television and movie juggernaut “Star Trek,” died on Friday morning at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 83.

His wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, confirmed his death, saying the cause was end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Mr. Nimoy announced last year that he had the disease, which he attributed to years of smoking, a habit he had given up three decades earlier. He had been hospitalized earlier in the week.   Continue reading “Leonard Nimoy, Spock of ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 83”

Ammoland

Fairfax, VA –-(Ammoland.com)-  Last week, an anti-gun bill known as the Firearm Registration Act, or House Bill 503, was introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives by anti-gun state Representative Angel Cruz (D-12).

Click here to read Representative Cruz’s co-sponsorship memo.   Continue reading “Pennsylvania Democrats Introduce Gun Registration Scheme Legislation”

The Sleuth Journal – by Professor James Tracy

The transnational pharmaceutical cartel will be positioning itself to profit handsomely if a federally-mandated adult immunization program becomes law. The proposed US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy will be implemented alongside the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act (ACA), thereby becoming a standard component of US national healthcare policy.

Published on February 6, 2015 amid the “measles outbreak” media frenzy, the HHS is accepting “public comment” on its Draft National Adult Immunization Plan (NAIP) until March 9, 2015. Under the NAIP, all adult American citizens will be compelled to receive current and retroactive vaccination regimens that may amount to several dozen “shots” per individual during their “catch-up” phase. Under the federally-mandated immunization schedule children presently receive 49 vaccines before the age of six.   Continue reading “US Government Moves On Nationwide Adult Vaccination”

Mail.com

OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — Federal investigators said a pickup truck driver who turned on to railroad tracks before a crash that derailed a California commuter train made a “mistake,” while prosecutors released him from jail as they considered whether to pursue criminal charges.

“We know a mistake was made,” Robert Sumwalt of the National Transportation Safety Board, the agency leading the investigation, said. “We want to figure out why.” They believe the truck made a premature right turn onto the tracks, turning 55 feet before the street the driver was apparently intending to use.   Continue reading “Driver freed without charges in California train crash”

Mail.com

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A prominent Bangladeshi-American blogger known for speaking out against religious extremism was hacked to death as he walked through Bangladesh’s capital with his wife, police said Friday.

The attack Thursday night on Avijit Roy, a Bangladesh-born U.S. citizen, occurred on a crowded sidewalk as he and his wife, Rafida Ahmed, were returning from a book fair at Dhaka University. Ahmed, who is also a blogger, was seriously injured. It was the latest in a series of attacks on secular writers in Bangladesh in recent years.   Continue reading “Attackers in Bangladesh hack to death American blogger”

Natural Society – by Robert Harrington

Suicide may be linked to air pollution, according to new research that finds spikes in completed suicides in the days following peak pollution levels.

Concerningly, this finding by scientists in the USA has been duplicated by other studies which have been conducted in South Korea, Taiwan, and Canada. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. This statistic is higher in those states which regularly produce higher amounts of air pollution near populated areas.   Continue reading “Scientists: Air Pollution So Bad It’s ‘Linked to Suicide’”

Newsmax – by Todd Beaman

The U.S. is facing an “unprecedented” array of threats around the world — from growing Islamic jihadism to increased aggression by Russian President Vladimir Putin to sophisticated technological advances that once were the domain of this country, according to a top Pentagon intelligence official.

“We’re sitting on top of the most powerful military arsenal … ever assembled,” said Garry Reid, a top deputy to Michael Vickers, undersecretary of defense for intelligence, but most “conventional forces and strategic forces are barely applicable to any of these problems.   Continue reading “Top Intel Official: US Faces ‘Unprecedented’ Worldwide Threats”

AlJazeera – by Waad Ghantous

In the latest attempt to marginalise the voices of Palestinian political leaders in Israel, the country’s Central Elections Committee on February 12 disqualified Palestinian lawmaker Hanin Zoabi from participating in the upcoming general elections by a vote of 27 to 6.

Though the high court overturned the decision to expel Zoabi from elections, Israeli leaders from right to left supported banning her – not even her token status in the Knesset is bearable for them.   Continue reading “Israel’s democracy: ‘Theatre of the absurd’”

Politico – by Elana Schor

President Barack Obama may decide to kill Keystone XL for good, but that could be no easy task — thanks in part to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The 21-year-old free-trade pact allows foreign companies or governments to haul the U.S. in front of an international tribunal to face accusations of putting their investments at risk through regulations or other decisions. The CEO of Keystone developer TransCanada has raised the prospect as a potential last resort if Obama rejects the $8 billion project, although for now the company is focused on getting him to say yes.   Continue reading “TransCanada could use NAFTA to challenge U.S. on Keystone XL, exec says”

This photo represents an enemy element ….. Secret police, you know, like the KGB….. The GOON squad that comes in the middle of the night.

When this kicks off, creatures which choose to wear Balaclavas will be taken down first.

Washington’s Blog

How Many Constitutional Freedoms Have We Lost?

This post explains the liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights – the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution – and provides a scorecard on the extent of the loss of each right. (This is an updated version of an essay we wrote in February. Unfortunately, a lot of information has come out since then.)   Continue reading “Pop Quiz: How Many Constitutional Rights Have We Lost?”