Truthdig -by Alexander Reed Kelly

Obama was an inconsequential lawmaker in the Illinois Senate when his future pick to be U.S. secretary of Commerce introduced him to titans of the finance industry and raised three-quarters of a billion dollars toward his presidential election, investigative reporter Greg Palast tells us.

As Truthdig wrote this week, Pritzker is worth more than $1.8 billion and has held leadership positions in the Hyatt Hotels Corp. and the now-defunct Chicago-based Superior Bank. Her vast fortune affords her “a heavy magic wand in the world of politics,” Palast writes, an instrument that “would have been heavier … except that in 2001, the federal government fined her and her family $460 million for the predatory, deceitful, racist tactics and practices of Superior.”   Continue reading “Penny Pritzker, Barack Obama’s ‘Fairy Godmother’”

crickett ny first rifleDC Clothesline – by Dean Garrison

This afternoon I had the brain numbing misfortune of reading an L.A. Times article by a Mr. David Horsey. It was one of those headlines I simply could not ignore. I understand that at times many writers, including myself, venture into the realm of the absurd to prove a point. But this was over the line. How can you exploit the death of a 2-year-old girl to take potshots at the NRA and gun owners?   Continue reading “Horsey, L.A. Times…”The gun lobby depends on a legion of idiots.””

Truthdig

After the deadliest month of political fighting in five years, Iraq appears to be sliding rapidly into a new civil war that “will be worse than Syria,” leaders say.

The escalating violence has residents of Baghdad stocking up on rice, vegetables and other foods in case fighting or curfews prevent them from getting to shops. “It is wrong to say we are getting close to a civil war,” a senior Iraqi politician said. “The civil war has already started.”   Continue reading “Iraqi Officials Fear Full Blown Civil War”

Before It’s News – by Be the Media

The soon-to-be-released DSM-5’s latest guidelines for professionals in the filed of psychiatry is now in its final stages and is due for publication on May 22nd, 2013. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is the planned 5th edition of American Psychiatric Association (APA). To make a long story short, basic every human emotion and medical conditions are now being classified as a “mental disorder” of some sort.   Continue reading “APA’s Latest DSM-5 Basically Defines Everyone as Mentally ill (Say Goodbye to Your Guns)”

Infowars – by Kurt Nimmo

The U.S. has designed a bunker buster penetrator bomb that will take out Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment complex, a target previously considered too fortified for conventional weapons. The new weapon, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars to produce, is considered critical to an effort by the United States to convince Israel that the U.S. can effectively bomb the Iranian underground complex, according to a report published byThe Wall Street Journal.

The Journal reported that senior U.S. officials showed the Israelis a secret Air Force video showing a test of an earlier version of the bomb. The show-and-tell is described as an attempt to convince Israel to hold off on a unilateral attack on Iranian nuclear installations. Continue reading “U.S. and Israel Prepare for Summer Attack On Iran”

images (11)All American Blogger – by Duane Lester

Late last night there were reports that Israel carried out an air strike in Syria. Today, the word is they targeted Iranian missiles being sent to Hezbollah. The missiles were warehoused at a Syrian airport:

It was the second time in four months that Israel has carried out an attack in Syria intended to disrupt the pipeline of weapons that runs from there to Hezbollah. And the raid highlighted the mounting stakes for Hezbollah and Israel as Syria becomes more chaotic.   Continue reading “Israel Destroys Iranian Missiles In Syrian Airport Warehouse”

hemp-washingtonWaking Times – by Becca Wolford

For thousands of years industrial hemp was a common staple. It fed us, clothed us, housed us, sailed our ships with hemp rope and sails, it was part of our livelihood.

Then, in the early 1900s, it was banned and pushed aside.

Why? Why did this wonderful, useful plant get labeled with a criminal stamp?   Continue reading “The Hemp Conspiracy: Why U.S. Hemp Farming Was Banned”

A Smart Preppers Guide to FirearmsSuburban Prepper

Aside from the crisis itself, the biggest threat to you and your family during any disaster is other humans. Friends, neighbors and strangers may be displaced from their homes and desperate for supplies to feed their own families. You simply cannot predict how people will react to a catastrophe because stress affects everyone differently. Some may turn to violence in the name of providing for their families.     Continue reading “A Smart Preppers Guide to Firearms”

Chron – by WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas House approved a batch of bills Saturday to further soften gun laws that were already among the country’s most firearms-friendly, allowing college students to carry handguns in class, putting potentially armed marshals in public schools and exempting the state from any future federal bans on assault rifles, high-capacity magazines or universal background checks.   Continue reading “Texas House passes 12 firearms bills on ‘gun day’”

Dallas News – by DOUG J. SWANSON and REESE DUNKLIN

The West Fertilizer Co., scene of an explosion last month that killed 15 people and injured 200, carried only $1 million in liability insurance.

The cause of the blast is still under investigation. Should the company be found negligent, that amount of coverage probably would pay only a fraction of the claims.   Continue reading “West Fertilizer was insured for only $1 million, a fraction of estimated losses”

Malmstrom Staff Sgt. Isaiah Miller operates a lift in the missile tube of a static intercontinental ballistic missile used for maintenance training at Malmstrom Air Force Base in 2010.Great Falls Tribune – by Jenn Rowell

If a nuclear incident happened in Montana, key officials don’t want to be meeting each other for the first time.

Military personnel at Malmstrom Air Force Base have regular exercises to test their response procedures and make sure everyone knows what to do and when.

But starting Monday, their training will go to a higher level.   Continue reading “Nuclear incident drills to start Monday across Montana”

AFP Photo / Lui JinRT News

A US military contractor was allegedly hacked by those associated with the Chinese military. The company reportedly ignored signs of security breaches, allowing hackers to access military technology and classified documents for three years.

QinetiQ North America was attacked by a Shanghai-based hacker group from 2007 to 2010, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The hacking collective has been coined the “Comment Crew” by security experts.   Continue reading “US military secrets leaked to Chinese hackers for three years”

Solar plane lands in Ariz., 1st leg of major tripOptimum

Flying for several hours after sundown, a solar-powered airplane landed in Phoenix early Saturday morning on the first leg of a cross-country trip.

The Solar Impulse – considered the world’s most-advanced sun-powered plane – set down about 12:30 a.m. at Sky Harbor Airport, completing part of a journey that its pilot described as a “milestone” in aviation history.   Continue reading “Solar plane lands in Ariz., 1st leg of major trip”