People are reflected in the window of a Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena bank in Rome January 29, 2013. REUTERS/Max RossiReuters – by SILVIA ALOISI

Italy’s third-biggest bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena was forced to delay a vital 3 billion euro ($4.1 billion) share sale to raise capital until mid-2014 because of shareholder opposition, plunging its turnaround plan into uncertainty.

The bank’s chairman and its chief executive may now resign after their plan to launch the cash call in January was defeated at an extraordinary shareholder meeting on Saturday due to the vote of Monte Paschi’s top shareholder.   Continue reading “Monte Paschi shareholders delay cash call, top executives may quit”

The front gate of Beijing Tiantanghe compulsory rehabilitation centre for Drug AddictsThe Telegraph – by Malcolm Moore

China appears to have fulfilled a promise to dismantle hundreds of labour camps and release tens of thousands of people who were imprisoned in them without trial.

A series of visits to six enormous labour camps on the outskirts of Beijing suggested that four had been shut down, with their signs removed. Staff said all their prisoners had been released and they were waiting for further orders.   Continue reading “China abolishes its labour camps and releases prisoners”

Bank Of ChinaIB Times – by Moran Zhang

After decades of relying on state banks, China is finally ready to open up the financial sector to private capital. Regulators announced it will roll out a “pilot project” to allow the creation of up to five privately financed banks this year to support economic growth.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission would maintain “prudential regulatory standards” in approving private banks, it said in a statement following a meeting on banking supervision. It gave no details of who would be allowed to set up a bank or in what lines of business they can compete.   Continue reading “China To Set Up Five Private Banks In 2014”

Karl Rove speaks to Fox NewsRaw Story – by David Edwards

Republican strategist Karl Rove asserted on Sunday that New Jersey’s Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) handling of the George Washington Bridge Scandal showed he had the right qualities to be president of the United States.

During a panel segment on Fox News Sunday, host John Roberts pointed out that many Republicans were praising Christie for firing one of his top aides after a newspaper exposed his administration’s role in closing part of the busiest bridge in the world as part of political retribution plot, but President Barack Obama had not fired anyone over the health care reform law.   Continue reading “Karl Rove: Bridge scandal proves Christie is ‘what we want’ in a president”

Tea Party Nation – by Alan Caruba

The extreme cold that gripped the nation at the beginning of the year just added to the growing public dismissal of the claims that “greenhouse gas emissions” would lead to a dangerous stage of “global warming.”  Indeed, even the charlatans that have devoted decades to this hoax are now using the phrase “climate change.”

We tend not to recall what the weather was like a year ago. In May 2013, Dennis T. Avery, a senior fellow for the Hudson Institute, noted that “Lots of us are commenting on the U.S. having the second coldest spring in the official thermometer record (starting ca. 1860) and the coldest since 1975. This cold spring highlights another climate cycle that has nothing to do with carbon dioxide (CO2).”   Continue reading “Obama’s “Climate Change” Lies”

The Extinction Protocol

The Alberta woman who died of H5N1 bird flu was in her 20s and a health-care worker at Red Deer Hospital. More details emerged Thursday about the isolated, fatal case of H5N1, or avian influenza, that health officials announced yesterday. It was the first reported death from avian flu in North America. The infected woman, an Alberta resident who recently travelled to Beijing, China, died Jan. 3. The World Health Organization is supporting the work of investigators in Canada and China who are trying to piece together how and where she was exposed to the virus. Dr. Wenqing Zhang, head of the WHO’s global influenza program, said Thursday the organization wants to get the big picture of the case.    Continue reading “Mystery deepens over Canada’s H5N1 fatality: woman was in her 20s and had no contact with birds- case “very odd””

NBC News – by Michael Isikoff

The chairman of a New Jersey legislative panel investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closures said Gov. Chris Christie’s top aides had engaged in a “cover-up” and the governor could be impeached if it is determined he was aware of efforts to use the bridge for political purposes.

“Using the George Washington Bridge, a public resource, to exact a political vendetta, is a crime,” New Jersey Assemblyman John Wisniewski, who is spearheading the bridge probe, told NBC News on Saturday. “Having people use their official position to have a political game is a crime. So if those tie back to the governor in any way, it clearly becomes an impeachable offense.”   Continue reading “Democrat heading bridge probe says Christie could be impeached if he knew of closures”

mainegmoTruthstream Media – by Melissa Melton

Maine joined Connecticut this week as the second state in the nation to sign a genetically modified food labeling law, but you may not have heard much about it because the mainstream media hasn’t really said anything about it.

Do a basic news engine search and you’ll see that no mainstream media outlets have reported anything on this story. In fact, at the time of writing this, the most I could find was Washington Post Blog and Grist (with a ridiculously biased title).   Continue reading “Mainstream Media Blackout: Maine Second State to Pass GMO Labeling Law”

All Gov – by Noel Brinkerhoff

Last year was a bad one for Florida’s manatees, which experienced a record number of fatalities.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute reported last month that more than 800 of the giant sea cows died in 2013, which was the highest total on record since the institute began researching the mammals 40 years ago.

The previous record for manatee deaths was 766 in 2010. At that time cold weather was largely blamed for the die-off.   Continue reading “Florida Manatees Dying at Record Pace”

Aaron Swartz was found dead in his apartment.Press TV

A group of US lawmakers in the US House of Representatives and Senate criticize Attorney General Eric Holder over the death of an activist, blogger and prominent computer prodigy who had criticized President Obama’s “kill List”. The lawmakers also call for an investigation over the issue.

Eight lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties have pressured Holder to explain about Aaron Swartz’s “tragic” death last year and the “aggressive” prosecution against him by the Department of Justice.   Continue reading “Holder questioned over death of anti-Obama activists”

AlterNews

If you’ve been following the GMO crop controversy, then you probably won’t be too surprised to learn that new flu vaccines containing genetically modified (GM) proteins have been approved by the FDA. So far, three vaccines are underway with two of them already approved for marketing.

Protein Sciences Corporation (PSC) is producing a FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved flu vaccine that contains genetically modified insect protein cells. The vaccine, Flublok, contains GMO proteins from three different flu strains.   Continue reading “Flu Vaccines Now Use GMOs For Faster Production”

Huffington Post – by Simon McCormack

A puppy meant to be delivered to a sick girl on Christmas was stolen by the person who was supposed to deliver it, cops say.

Riverside, Calif. resident Shawna Hamon wanted to send a pug puppy to a 7-year-old girl with leukemia, according to a Riverside Police press release.

Hamon reached out to an acquaintance she knew through the “pug networking” group both belonged to and asked her to deliver the pooch to the child in Sacramento. But the pug never showed up. Days later, Hamon got police involved.   Continue reading “Pug Puppy Meant For Child With Leukemia Stolen By Person Delivering It: Cops”

Charleston, OR resident said he saw dead sea stars directly south along this beach.Infowars – by Adan Salazar

Locals say it’s far worse than what the national and international media are reporting.

Oregon natives confirmed to Infowars Friday that strange anomalies have sprung up along the Pacific coast in what amounts to further testimony supporting the fact the media is suppressing both the surge in extremely high radiation readings along the West Coast and the subsequent die off of sea life in the area.   Continue reading “Massive Die-Off of West Coast Sea Life Accelerates”

KHOU News

WACO, Texas (AP) — A Central Texas man has been accused of stabbing his girlfriend after she brought home pizza instead of a chicken sandwich he wanted for lunch.

McLennan County jail records show Michael Corsey of Waco was being held Saturday on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Online jail records do not list bond or an attorney for Corsey, who was arrested Friday.   Continue reading “Waco police: man stabbed woman over wrong food”

Residents line up for water at a water filling station at West Virginia State University, in Institute, West Virginia, January 10, 2014. (Reuters/Lisa Hechesky)RT News

Tap water in nine counties in West Virginia is still off limits, the governor said, as almost 800 people called a local poison center reporting illnesses, while residents spent a third day unable to drink from the faucet, or have a bath or shower.

A state poison center has handled 787 calls from people reporting nausea, diarrhea, headaches, skin irritation and rashes, as well as 54 calls from worried pet owners.   Continue reading “Nearly 800 calls to W. Virginia poison center after chemical spill”

USA Today – by David Jackson

WASHINGTON — President Obama said Sunday that the clock starts ticking Jan. 20 on a six-month nuclear deal with Iran, calling it the best bet to deny Tehran the means to make nuclear weapons.

Obama also vowed to veto any congressional legislation that slaps new sanctions on Iran, saying it would damage prospects for a long-term nuclear agreement.

“I have no illusions about how hard it will be to achieve this objective, but for the sake of our national security and the peace and security of the world, now is the time to give diplomacy a chance to succeed,” Obama said in a written statement.   Continue reading “Obama: Iran nuclear deal starts Jan. 20”

Israeli army officers salute in front of the flag draped coffin of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon as he lies in state at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem January 12, 2014 (Reuters / Darren Whiteside)RT News

The Israeli Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch instructed police on Sunday to probe public placards that have appeared proclaiming satisfaction and even joy at the death on Saturday of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The notices were posted in several Yeshivas or religious academies after Sharon’s death Saturday.   Continue reading “Israeli police to investigate ‘expressions of joy’ at Sharon’s death”