Rare Buddha's Halo Appears Over Mountain in China

The phenomenon appeared over the Huang Mountain in Huangshan, Anhui province of China after rain today.

Buddha is often depicted with a halo around his head.

The rainbow is a natural phenomenon of atmospheric optics. It is formed by the diffuse reflection and diffraction of sunlight irradiating the surface of the cloud. That is, it is an extra-bright rainbow after rain.'

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Rense and Celente Prepare For the Worst

Iraq War Was Illegal, Repeats Clegg

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today restated his view that the Iraq War was illegal, saying: "I don't think the legality of that invasion has been proven."

Mr Clegg stressed it was his personal opinion and said the Government did not have a view on the legality of the war.

Apart from questions over the legality of the conflict, Mr Clegg said the wisdom of the 2003 invasion "certainly hasn't been proven at all".'

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Surface Cracks Show the Moon is Shrinking

Like a deflating balloon, the satellite is contracting as its interior cools, scientists believe.

The cooling has reduced the radius of the Moon by around 100m in the relatively recent lunar past, evidence indicates.'

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South Africa: The ANC is Worse Than Apartheid Was - Following Zimbabwe on Media Freedom

“This is worse than anything under apartheid,” says Raymond Louw. “The powers the government is taking to curb the press are far wider now and the powers given to the SS Minister—the Minister for State Security—are far greater.”

Mr. Louw is something of a South African institution. He was the news editor of the country’s leading anti-apartheid newspaper, the Rand Daily Mail, at the height of apartheid and then edited the paper for 11 years in the teeth of government hostility. Now 84, he still edits a press digest, Southern African Report, and plays a leading role in the national Editors Forum and the Freedom of Expression Institute. So when he calls the government’s recent media laws “the worst attack on press freedom I’ve seen in my career,” he knows whereof he speaks.'

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Secretly Forced Brain Implants: Explosive Court Case

Few American doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists will break rank or brave the new world of high-tech electronic abuse some of their patients report but evidence mounts that increasing numbers of innocent citizens targeted for U.S. state-sponsored terror are being secretly brain implanted with U.S. RFID chips without their consent for no-touch torture and mind control plus experimentation. One man evidenced this in court; won his case; and now prepares for a continuationin federal court, due to be equally explosive.

RFID is abbreviation for Radio-frequency Identification, a misnomer due to the device functions consisting of far more than ID. It is used for remote technological harassment, torture and even assassination.

James Walbert, resident of Wichita, Kansas, proved his experience as a Targeted Individual under surveillance includes forcefully implanted RFID chips, including in his brain, and subsequent remote electronic abuse. Walbert told Sedgwick County, Kansas court panel that Jeremiah Redford threatened him with “jolts of radiation".'

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Stunning Landslide Caught on Video

22-Mile Oil Plume Found in Gulf

Scientists have detected an underwater plume of oil the size of Manhattan, according to the Wall Street Journal. The findings, published yesterday, further undermine the Obama administration’s optimistic view that most of the Deepwater Horizon oil has already disappeared.'

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Drugs Don't Work: Top Professor Claims Five in Six New Medicines Have 'Little Benefit' to Patients

Drug companies have been accused of conning the public by hyping up patented medicines with little new to offer while downplaying their potentially harmful side-effects.
A new study estimates that 85 per cent of new drugs offer few if any new benefits while having the potential to cause serious harm due to toxicity or misuse.

The author of the research delivered a damning attack on 'Big Pharma' at a meeting of sociology experts in the US.'

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NOAA Retracts Report That Majority Of BP Gulf Oil Spill Oil Is Gone

White House claims that the worst of the BP oil spill was over were undermined yesterday when a senior government scientist said three-quarters of the oil was still in the Gulf environment and a research study detected a 22-mile plume of oil in the ocean depths.

Bill Lehr, a senior scientist at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) departed from an official report from two weeks ago which suggested the majority of the oil had been captured or broken down.

“I would say most of that is still in the environment,” Lehr, the lead author of the report, told the house energy and commerce committee.

The growing evidence that the White House painted an overly optimistic picture when officials claimed two weeks ago the remaining oil in the Gulf was rapidly breaking down fueled a sense of outrage in the scientific community that government agencies are hiding data and spinning the science of the oil spill. No new oil has entered the Gulf since 15 July, but officials said yesterday the well is unlikely to be sealed for good until mid-September.'

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Who's Blowing Up Iran's Gas Pipelines?

In the past few weeks Iran’s gas infrastructure, which is central to the country’s energy requirements, has been hit by a series of unexplained explosions.

The series of mysterious explosions began at the end of July when the state-owned Tehran Times reported that a pipeline carrying gas from Iran to Turkey had exploded near the eastern Turkish town of Dogubayazit. Iranian officials blamed the blast on Kurdish rebels.

This was followed earlier this month by reports in the Iranian press of an explosion in a gas pipeline on the outskirts of Tabriz. A few days later there was a more serious incident on August 4 when five people were killed when another gas pipeline exploded on the outskirts of the Pardis petrochemical plant. The explosion took place just a week after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had made an official visit to the complex. Finally, on August 10, a pipeline exploded in the city of Masjed Sleiman.'

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Greg Palast Confronts The Generalissimo of Globalization

Massive Protests Erupt in Kashmir

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Indian-administered Kashmir after two more people were killed by government soldiers.

Police clashed with protesters in Srinagar and several others major towns after Friday noon prayers.

Clashes also erupted at various locations where security forces tried to stop the stone-pelting demonstrators.

The latest violence came hours after Indian forces killed a 25-year-old man in the southern town of Bijbehara during pro-independence rallies.'

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Fueling of Iran's Nuclear Plant Begins

Iran has begun loading its first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr with fuel in an effort to provide the country with nuclear-generated electricity.

Nuclear fuel is being transferred to the Bushehr reactor under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency and senior officials from Iran and Russia.

The Russian-completed plant is being launched after years of delay.'

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Weed, Hemp, Cannabis - The 420 Tribute

Five Trillion More Dollars to Fix Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have become gigantic financial black holes that the U.S. government endlessly pours massive quantities of money into. Unfortunately, if the U.S. government did allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to totally implode, both the mortgage industry and the housing industry in the United States would completely collapse. So essentially the U.S. government finds itself between a rock and a hard place. Prior to the financial crisis of the last few years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were profit-seeking private corporations that also had a government-chartered mission of expanding home ownership in America.

But now that they have been officially taken over by the U.S. government, they have become gigantic bottomless money pits. It is hard to even describe just how much of a mess Fannie and Freddie are in. However, the unprecedented intervention by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the mortgage market over the past couple of years has been about the only thing that has kept it from plunging into absolute chaos.

So what does the future hold for Fannie Mae and for Freddie Mac? Well, according to one estimate, it could take another 5 trillion dollars to "fix" Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac.'

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The net-neutrality ending deal with Verizon is just the beginning of Google’s plans to kill the open and free Internet as part of their takeover agenda to completely control the world wide web and force independent media websites, radio and TV shows out of existence for good.

Google’s agreement with Verizon to speed certain Internet content to users opens the door to the complete sterilization of the world wide web as a force for political change. Under Google’s takeover plan, the Internet will closely resemble cable TV, independent voices will be silenced and the entire Internet will be bought up by transnational media giants.

People who want to run a simple blog will be priced out of existence, online TV and radio shows will cease to exist as the Internet is swallowed up by the corporate borg.'

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Obama's Pledge to Close Down Guantanamo is 'Not Even Close'

Barack Obama's pledge to shut down Guantanamo Bay will not be honoured until at least a year after the President's self-imposed deadline – and may not be completed in his first administration.

The man in charge of the seven prison camps at the US naval base in Cuba is yet to receive direct orders to begin the transfer of prisoners so he can close the detention facilities.

In his first media interview since taking up the post three months ago, Admiral Jeffrey Harbeson said that even if President Obama implemented his order today it would take him six months to complete the job, a year after the January 2010 deadline imposed by the President when he signed the executive order in 2009.'

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Lost Technologies of Ancient Egypt

It's Going To Get Worse, A Whole Lot Worse

Yes, it's going to get worse, a whole lot worse ... Bill Gross warns this is the "New Normal. Forget 10% returns. Think 5%". ... Economist Larry Kotlikoff, author of The Coming Generational Storm, warns: "Let's get real. The U.S. is bankrupt. Neither spending nor taxing will help the country pay its bills" ... Economist Peter Morici warns: "Unemployment is stuck near 10%. Deflation coming. Stock market threatens collapse. The Federal Reserve and Barack Obama are out of bullets. Near zero federal funds rates, central bank purchases, a $1.6 trillion deficit have failed to revive the economy." ... Simon Johnson, co-author of 13 Bankers, warns: "We came close to another Great Depression, next time we may not be so lucky." Why? Because Wall Street's already well into the next bubble/bust cycle -- the "doom cycle".'

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Newsmax Military Coup Against Obama Article Axed

Here is the full text of John L. Perry's column on Newsmax which suggests that a military coup to "resolve the Obama problem" is becoming more possible and is not "unrealistic." Perry also writes that a coup, while not "ideal," may be preferable to "Obama's radical ideal" -- and would "restore and defend the Constitution." Newsmax has since removed the column from its website.'

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Declassified: Massive Israeli Manipulation of US Media Exposed

Ten Reasons to Become Self-Sufficient and Ten Ways to Get There

We are now three to five generations removed from the rural backbone that strengthened America. The world at large has undergone a similar transformation as the promise of easier work has created a migration to big cities. These mega-cities could be seen as an experiment gone awry, as general well-being has declined, with suicide rates increasing across the world. Crowded conditions and economic strife have led to rampant crime, pollution, corporate malfeasance, and a dog-eat-dog type of competition that can be described as a temporary insanity.

The economic crisis we are living through has been the final straw for many people, as promises of a better, easier, and more creative life seem to have been sold to us by carnival-style tricksters who are laughing all the way to (their) bank.

Here are the top reasons for becoming self-sufficient; these are based on fundamental, systemic concerns for why undertaking this life change will not be a fly-by-night fad, but rather a long-lasting means for personal independence.'

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US Announces Second Fake End to Iraq War

It was another of those great TV moments. Embedded reports filming as the “last” brigade of American troops in Iraq cross the border into Kuwait bringing over seven years of unhappy conflict to its final, conclusive end. America was, at last, at peace.

But like so many other great TV moments, this one was a scripted fantasy, a fake exit done purely for political gain by an increasingly unpopular president trying to look like he is keeping at least one campaign promise.

It was perhaps a different sort of scripted, mythical end to the Iraq War than the last one, the May 1, 2003 “Mission Accomplished” speech of President Bush, but it was no more real, as over 50,000 US troops remain on the ground in Iraq tonight.'

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Israel Doesn't Care if it Kills The New York Yankees When Striking Iran

Somethin’ Funny’s Goin’ On

The Manta.com website includes a database of over 63 million US and foreign companies. That database info is provided by Dunn & Bradstreet . Manta.com will provide preliminary information on each of these millions of companies for free. If you want more “in-depth” info, there’s a fee.

But since this article is about “funny” stuff, and paying fees isn’t fun, let’s run a few free searches and see what we can find. You might be surprised.

For example, if you type “Government of the United States” into the Manta.com search engine, you’ll be whisked to a list of “7,666 matching US companies”.'

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Family Files Police Brutality Suit Against Seattle Police Dept.

Seventeen-year-old Joey Wilson called a neighbor for help soon after a police officer stopped him for jaywalking across a Queen Anne street.

When the neighbor arrived, he thought the situation was getting out of control, and quickly went back for his camera.

Joey explains what happened next.

"Two officers grabbed my arm. A third one started punching me. In the stomach, in the nose. My hands were being held I could not defend myself. I was thrown to the ground and I was kneed in the face. I felt my nose break," he said.'

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Treason by Members of the United States Congress

GSK Executives Sell Drug Compound as a Nutritional Supplement on the Side

A recent report in Xconomy has revealed that several executives from drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have been selling proprietary formulations of resveratrol, a component of red wine that has gained much attention for its anti-cancer and anti-aging properties, as dietary supplements while the formations undergo clinical trials for drug approval.

It all began when Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, a drug company that specialized in developing resveratrol drugs, merged with GSK about two years ago. A few Sirtris executives -- who have now become GSK executives -- launched a nonprofit called the Healthy Lifespan Institute (HLI), from which they recently began selling this specialized resveratrol formula as a dietary supplement.'

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A Permanent Housing Collapse?

The recent chaos that erupted when 30,000 people waited hours in the Atlanta, Georgia heat to receive applications for subsidized housing is a mere symptom of a worsening national problem.

The housing market appears to be on a never-ending downward spiral, with the much-discussed "recovery" always around the next corner.

The reasons that such a recovery is impossible at the moment should be obvious: millions of people do not have jobs; millions of others work only part time; millions more work fulltime but make very little money; and additional millions fear losing their jobs.

Under these circumstances, there can be no recovery in the housing market, which will continue to contribute to the broader depression-like economy in the U.S.'

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Trigger Happy Companies Back in Iraq

Trigger happy American security firms' personnel in Iraq, which currently stand at 7,000, may replace US soldiers in increasing numbers throughout Iraqi War Theater.

The contractors are to take over as the United States troops are expected to fully leave the war-torn country by the end of 2011, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

They would be authorized to run surveillance missions in search for alleged roadside bombs, fly spy planes and man radar facilities.'

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Israeli Soldiers Accused of Sexual Abuse

A children rights group has accused the Israeli military of abusing Palestinian teenagers who were arrested by Israeli soldiers.

The Palestinian branch of Defense for Children International (DCI) has filed dozens of complaints with both Israeli legal authorities and the UN, Haaretz reported.

Since September 2009, the UN has received details of more than 100 cases in which military authorities allegedly abused minors who were held in detention.'

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Ex-Israeli Troop: I'd Gladly Kill Arabs

Former Israeli soldier, who caused an international uproar by posting Facebook images of herself posing with Palestinian detainees, says she would "gladly kill Arabs, even slaughter them."

Writing on the social network Facebook, Eden Abergil defended publishing the controversial photos, saying, “In war there are no rules,” Haaretz qouted her as saying on Thursday.

In response to one of the messages on the social networking site that read, “Because of such a simple and innocent picture they ruined this girl's life and made of her something she is not,” Abergil wrote, “No honey, they didn't ruin my life. I can't afford to have Arab-lovers ruin the perfect life I'm leading!!! I am not sorry and I do not regret it,” Ma'an news agency reported.'

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Remember Obama Youth Corps, And Boy Scouts Training To Become Homeland Gestapo, Well Spain has Gone A Step Further With The Kiddie Police

'The indoctrination of our kids has taking a surge forward with Spain introducing the Kiddie police. Training the next generation to police themselves and their parents on how to be good citizens in The New World.'

Cop Tells Man He Will Be Imprisoned and Raped for Shooting Video

Cops hate it when citizen-journalists video them. In the video below, during a raid on an art event in Brooklyn, New York, a cop displayed his hatred of the public when he told a citizen he would be raped if he persisted in documenting the raid.

It is now not only illegal in much of the country to film police in public. It is also an offense, according to the cops, that deserves imprisonment and rape.

Couple Paid To Loan Adopted Girls To Paedophiles

A couple adopted two girls and allowed them to be subjected to horrific sexual abuse in exchange for money, a court heard yesterday.

The man and wife passed a number of checks that allowed them to adopt when the younger girl was just five.

But after two years the husband began to sexually assault her, a jury was told.

Later, allegedly with the full knowledge of the wife, they allowed both girls to be minded after school by a pair of paedophiles, the court heard.'

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Government Austerity Puts Greece Into Death Spiral

The austerity measures that were supposed to fix Greece's problems are dragging down the country's economy. Stores are closing, tax revenues are falling and unemployment has hit an unbelievable 70 percent in some places. Frustrated workers are threatening to strike back.

This dire prognosis comes even despite Athens' massive efforts to sort out the country's finances. The government's draconian austerity measures have managed to reduce the country's budget deficit by an almost unbelievable 39.7 percent, after previous governments had squandered tax money and falsified statistics for years. The measures have reduced government spending by a total of 10 percent, 4.5 percent more than the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) had required.'

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Iris Scanners Create the Most Secure City in the World. Welcome, Big Brother

Biometrics R&D firm Global Rainmakers Inc. (GRI) announced today that it is rolling out its iris scanning technology to create what it calls "the most secure city in the world." In a partnership with Leon -- one of the largest cities in Mexico, with a population of more than a million -- GRI will fill the city with eye-scanners. That will help law enforcement revolutionize the way we live -- not to mention marketers.

"In the future, whether it's entering your home, opening your car, entering your workspace, getting a pharmacy prescription refilled, or having your medical records pulled up, everything will come off that unique key that is your iris," says Jeff Carter, CDO of Global Rainmakers. Before coming to GRI, Carter headed a think tank partnership between Bank of America, Harvard, and MIT. "Every person, place, and thing on this planet will be connected [to the iris system] within the next 10 years," he says.

Leon is the first step. To implement the system, the city is creating a database of irises. Criminals will automatically be enrolled, their irises scanned once convicted. Law-abiding citizens will have the option to opt-in.'

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Israel Places Order For 20 F-35s; U.S Taxpayer. Picks Up The Tab

Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak approved an order for 20 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in a deal valued at around $2.75 billion, according to Haaretz. The Israeli Air Force expects to take delivery of the first aircraft in 2015. The article quotes Barak saying the F-35 costs $96 million a copy. The entire deal will be funded by American military aid.'

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Fishermen Find Oil and Dispersants on Mississippi Shrimping and Oyster Grounds

The US Government lied to you. The US Government is willing to let you and your children eat poisoned food for the sake of upcoming elections and BP's profitability! What does it take to get you angry?

Nearly 80 Percent of Gulf Spill oil Still in Water: Experts

Nearly 80 per cent of the oil spilled from a BP well in the Gulf of Mexico is still in the gulf, US scientists have estimated, challenging a more optimistic assessment by the US government earlier in the month.

In its August 4 report, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration found that half the 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled by the April 20 blowout had been evaporated, burned, skimmed or dispersed.

A team of five scientists from the University of Georgia did their own analysis of the government data and came to a different conclusion.'

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Israelis Conducting Covert Maritime Operations in Persian Gulf

Chinese and Japanese intelligence agencies, which closely monitor events in the Persian Gulf due to the dependence of both countries on oil from the region, report that Israeli Navy commandos have recently been active in creating maritime incidents in the Gulf that could be blamed on Iran.

The five incidents that have Israel under the scrutiny of the intelligence services of China and Japan, the world's second and third largest economic powers, respectively, are the "robbery" attacks on four merchant ships off Basra, Iraq on August 8 and the July 28 explosion on the Japanese supertanker MV M. Star in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Last month, the Israeli Navy deployed older U-209 and newer U-212 Dolphin-class diesel submarines, obtained from Germany, to the Persian Gulf. The submarines are known to have on board a number of Shayetet 13 naval commando squadrons trained to carry out sabotage against sea and shore targets.'

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A Beautiful Gift from the BBC

I am one of the passengers/witnesses interviewed for this program and I am very much aware of BBC’s role in justifying war and covering up Israeli crimes. I am in no way naive about this; to the contrary my motivation for the interview lay largely in the all too likely opportunity to expose the BBC.

A relevant job considering the BBC’s role in the slaughter of over one million Iraqi’s, a direct role by virtue of the war they justified. BBC from start to present, justifying Iraq, a massive war crime and crime against humanity based entirely on lies (propagated intensely by the BBC). The British Broadcasting Corporation, synonymous with millions of orphans and refugees and countless lives destroyed in Iraq, beating the drums of war without pause, the ultimate prostitutes of propaganda.'

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Nearly One Million Children in U.S. Potentially Misdiagnosed With ADHD, Study Finds

Nearly 1 million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder simply because they are the youngest -- and most immature -- in their kindergarten class, according to new research by a Michigan State University economist.

These children are significantly more likely than their older classmates to be prescribed behavior-modifying stimulants such as Ritalin, said Todd Elder, whose study will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Health Economics.

Such inappropriate treatment is particularly worrisome because of the unknown impacts of long-term stimulant use on children's health, Elder said. It also wastes an estimated $320 million-$500 million a year on unnecessary medication -- some $80 million-$90 million of it paid by Medicaid, he said.'

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Palestinian Who Attacked Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv Worked for Shin Bet!

Late Tuesday, the Turkish government said it had the situation in hand. "Our embassy guards neutralized the individual as he tried to take the vice consul as hostage after shouting around for asylum," a Turkish statement said, adding he was armed with a knife, a gasoline can and a gun that turned out to be a toy.

Injaz said he admired Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. "I love him and I respect him," he said. The Turkish leader "should give me political asylum against these murderers the Zionists, the murdering Jews," he added, linking the incident indirectly to recent tensions between Israel and Turkey.

Injaz’s lawyer, Avital Horev, said his client was a former member of Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency. Horev said Injaz was also wanted by the Palestinian Authority.'

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Former Pakistani Intel Chief Fears World War Three Is Imminent

Gul reiterated his stance on the 9/11 attacks, that it was a black operation to be used as a pretext for entering Afghanistan and using it as a launch pad to enter Pakistan and dominate the region.

Gul also spoke about the evidence that the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks were a Western controlled intelligence operation that was to be blamed on Pakistan, a claim he made shortly after the attacks which has since been vindicated by mainstream reports that US and Indian undercover agents were involved in the attacks.

The General also spoke on the death of former Pakistan leader Benazir Bhutto, reasserting his previous analysis that Bhutto was eliminated by a neocon controlled assassination squad after she “became rebellious” toward globalist interests.'

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Americans Won’t Back Attack on Iran

Want to see the end of the world as we know it? If you do, you are in luck, because your chance to see the future of your kids and grandkids go up in smoke is nearing, and if the republicans and Israelis’ have anything to say about it, the grand final act will be here before you know it.'

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Gene Burnett - Jump You Fuckers (A Song For Wall Street)

Fire-breathing Bartenders Arrested, Face 45 Years in Prison

Two fire-breathing bartenders face up to 45 years in prison each for performing flaming bar tricks.

Jimmy's Old Town Tavern owner Jimmy Cirrito said his bartenders have been entertaining his customers -- by juggling bottles of alcohol and spitting out streams of flames using matchbooks and lighters -- for more than a decade and no one's complained. But shortly after midnight on July 24, two of his longtime employees were hauled out of the Herndon bar in handcuffs and charged with three felonies each plus other misdemeanors

"They were being treated as if they were terrorists, charged as if they intentionally tried to burn down the tavern," Cirrito said.

Fairfax County fire investigators charged Tegee Rogers, 33, of Herndon, and Justin Fedorchak, 39, of Manassas, with manufacturing an explosive device, setting a fire capable of spreading, and burning or destroying a meeting house. They also were charged with several state fire code misdemeanors.'

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Vaccines Destroy the Lives of Children in China

More than 70 children in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi have suffered severe side effects from defective vaccines in the past several years, the China Economic Times has reported.

According to the state-run media, vaccines including those against hepatitis B and rabies were exposed to excessive heat through improper storage between 2006 and 2008. According to the World Health Organization, this can cause vaccines to denature and become dangerous, but the Times reports that the vaccines were not properly destroyed and were administered to children instead. More than 70 children suffered serious side effects, and four died.'

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Big Brother: Obama Demands Access to Internet Records, in Secret, and Without Court Review

The Obama administration is seeking authority from Congress that would compel internet service providers (ISPs) to turn over records of an individual's internet activity for use in secretive FBI probes.

In another instance where Americans are urged to trust their political minders, The Washington Post reported last month that "the administration wants to add just four words--'electronic communication transactional records'--to a list of items that the law says the FBI may demand without a judge's approval."

Under cover of coughing-up information deemed relevant to espionage or terrorism investigations, proposed changes to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) would greatly expand the volume of private records that can be seized through National Security Letters (NSLs).'

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Axing the Bankers’ Money Tree: Homeowners' Rebellion against Wall Street

Over 62 million mortgages are now held in the name of MERS, an electronic recording system devised by and for the convenience of the mortgage industry. A California bankruptcy court, following landmark cases in other jurisdictions, recently held that this electronic shortcut breaks the chain of title, voiding foreclosure. The logical result could be 62 million homes that are foreclosure-proof.'

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Kremlin Blasts Bolton: Moscow Warns US Politician on the Issue of Israeli Aerial Strikes Against Iran

Israel has ‘eight days’ to launch a military strike against Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility and stop Tehran from acquiring a functioning atomic plant, a former US Assistant Secretary of State has said. In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, John Bolton explained that Iran is to bring online its first nuclear power reactor, built with Russia's help, on August 21, when a shipment of nuclear fuel will be loaded into the plant's core.

When asked whether he expected Israel to actually launch strikes against Iran within the next eight days, Bolton was skeptical. The controversial former envoy to the United Nations criticized Russia's role in the development of the plant, saying that ‘the Russians are, as they often do, playing both sides against the middle.’

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Iran to Build 10 New Enrichment Plants

Iran's top nuclear official says the country plans to construct ten more uranium enrichment facilities, which is within its rights according to the IAEA Statute.

"The location of 10 suitable sites for the enrichment is in its final stages, and we will soon present a report to the president," Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Director Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

He noted that the government tasked the AEOI with beginning its efforts to select the sites for the new enrichment facilities nine months ago.'

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Israel Faces Flotilla Looting Charges

Israel faces new headaches over its May 31 attack on a Gaza-bound aid convoy as new evidence backs looting charges against the troops involved in the attack.

An Israeli soldier and an officer have been arrested for selling laptop computers stolen from activists onboard the six-vessel Gaza Freedom Flotilla as they docked in Ashdod port following the bloody takeover, Israel's Ynet news website reported.

The soldier was arrested on late Monday along with three soldiers suspected of buying them. In the process, more stolen goods were discovered in the soldier's possession, including more laptop computers and cell phones.'

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Egypt Seizes Explosives on Ship Coming From Israel

Egyptian security forces seized a ship loaded with explosives coming from Israel and arrested its owner in Port Said, Egypt's independent Al-Shorouk daily reported on Monday.

The explosives were loaded inside containers on board of the ship, the newspaper reported without providing further details about the ship and explosives.'

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Israel Threatens to Kill Lebanese Women on Gaza Aid Ship

Why is Washington Ignoring its Biggest Corruption Scandal?

Too few in Washington have been digging into the scandals behind the collapse of the “government-sponsored entities” (GSE's) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their role in helping trigger the global financial crisis.

Their collapse has cost taxpayers $146 billion thus far. Freddie Mac sought an additional $1.8 billion in taxpayer support just last week. There is no end in sight, as the Obama administration, through executive fiat, has placed no upper limit on the taxpayer liability for these two monstrosities.'

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Dems May Use Food Stamp Money to Pay for Michelle Obama's Nutrition Initiative

Democrats who reluctantly slashed a food stamp program to fund a state aid bill may have to do so again to pay for a top priority of first lady Michelle Obama.

The House will soon consider an $8 billion child nutrition bill that’s at the center of the first lady’s “Let’s Move” initiative. Before leaving for the summer recess, the Senate passed a smaller version of the legislation that is paid for by trimming the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.'

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Government Using Google Earth To Loot Destitute Americans

Aerial imaging technology is being used by the government to spy on Americans in an effort to collect revenue and enforce ordinances on swimming pools without safety certificates, junk cars being stored without permission, unlicensed porches, and a myriad of other petty transgressions that the state is feeding off in complete violation of the Fourth Amendment to suck citizens dry of whatever income they have left after being looted of trillions of dollars in wealth that the state has transferred to foreign banks.

The fact that technology such as Google Earth and Google Street View, which provides clear and often intrusive images of private property, is being used by authorities to spy on Americans without warrants is an obvious violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.'

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Afghan Government Gives Private Security Firms Four Months to Disband

Afghanistan's president is setting a four-month deadline for private security companies to cease operations in the country, a spokesman said Monday.

A presidential decree expected to be issued later Monday will detail the process through which the companies should cease operations, spokesman Waheed Omar told reporters in Kabul.

President Hamid Karzai has said repeatedly in recent months that these companies undermine government security forces, creating a parallel security structure. Contractors perform duties ranging from guarding supply convoys to personal security details for diplomats and businessmen.'

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This is How They Plan to KILL Us!.

Smoker Faces £2,500 Fine... For Dropping Cigarette Ash on Pavement

An elderly widow has been threatened with a £2,500 fine by council officials – for dropping cigarette ash on the pavement.
Sheila Martin, 70, was smoking at a bus stop when a warden pounced and handed her the £75 fixed penalty for littering.
The cash-strapped grandmother refused to pay and has now been warned it could rise to £2,500.

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U.S. to Provide Israel With 20 Joint Strike Fighters

-Tel Aviv earlier said that the purchase of F-35 fighters would effectively eliminate the threat from Russian-made S-300 air defense systems because a series of computer simulations had clearly demonstrated that new U.S. stealth fighters outperform the Russian missiles.

Tel Aviv: Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday approved purchase of U. S. fifth-generation F-35 fighters, the ministry's press service said.'

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USA Criminalises Giving Humanitarian Aid to Gaza

Unfolding BP Catastrophe: Uncovering the Lies That Are Sinking the Oil

The rampant use of toxic dispersants, out-of-state private contractors being brought in to spray them and US Coast Guard complicity are common stories now in the four states most affected by BP's Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

Commercial and charter fishermen, residents and members of BP's Vessels Of Opportunity (VOO) program in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana have spoken with Truthout about their witnessing all of these incidents.'

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Mounting Opposition to GMO Crops: The World’s People Reject Genetic Pollution of Food and the Environment

Early Sunday morning, French police stood help less as sixty people, locked inside an open-air field of genetically modified grapevines, uprooted all the plants. In Spain last month, dozens of people destroyed two GMO fields. On the millennial cusp, Indian farmers burned Bt cotton in their Cremate Monsanto campaign. Ignored by multinational corporations and corrupt public policy makers, citizens act to protect the food supply and the planet.'

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Venezuela Ready to Sell Petrol to Iran

The Venezuelan ambassador to Tehran says his country is ready to sell gasoline to Iran despite US and EU unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

"Every time Tehran announces its demand, we will provide it with gasoline," David Velasquez Caraballo told Fars news agency on Monday.'

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Hezbollah Ruins Israeli Drone Contract

Hezbollah's recent revelation in airing photos taken by Israel's unmanned surveillance planes has markedly affected the sale of the drones.

On August 9, Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said the Lebanese resistance movement had intercepted Israeli drone transmissions and used the intelligence in a deadly attack on Israeli commandos in the Lebanese coastal village of Antsaria back in 1997.

Nasrallah also presented footage taken by Israeli drones of routes taken by Lebanon's slain Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri prior his assassination in February 2005, saying the video proved Israel's involvement in the murder.'

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Students Urged to Get Vaccinated to Head off H1N1 Virus

The start of school is just around the corner and that means the beginning of flu season. But the big question is will the H1N1 virus be as serious as last year.

Thousands of people across the area swarmed local vaccination clinics last years as the number of swine flu cases reached epidemic proportions. The problem then was scientists had not seen that strain of swine flu in more than 60 years. And the human immune system was also unfamiliar with it.

The flu hit hardest for college students. Washington State University saw 2,500 people come down with flu like symptoms last year. At one point, Gonzaga University saw 80 cases in two days. While in just one week, the University of Idaho saw 200 students. For those numbers alone, the health district is urging all students to get vaccinated this year.'

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Remains of John the Baptist found in Bulgaria?

Archaeologists in Bulgaria claim they have found remains of John the Baptist while excavating the site of a 5th century monastery on the Black Sea island of Sveti Ivan.

A reliquary – a container for holy relics – discovered last week under the monastery’s basilica was opened on Sunday and found to contain bone fragments of a skull, a hand and a tooth, Bulgaria’s official news agency BTA reported.'

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Dr David Kelly Was on a Hitlist, Says UN Weapons Expert as Calls Grow for Full Inquest

A leading UN weapons inspector last night added his voice to the growing clamour for a full inquest into the death of Dr David Kelly.

Dr Richard Spertzel claimed Dr Kelly was on a 'hitlist' in the final years of his life.

The former head of the UN Biological Section, who worked closely with Dr Kelly in Iraq in the 1990s, has written to Attorney General Dominic Grieve about the 'mysterious circumstances' surrounding the death.
The weapons inspector's body was found after he was unmasked as the source of a damaging BBC news report questioning the grounds for the Iraq war.'

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Plane Surveillance: Eye for Terror or Test for UK Democracy?

Syria, Iran Support Lebanon Against Israel

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki underlined their joint support for Lebanon in the face of Israeli ‘aggression,’ state news agency SANA said.

The two met at Lattakia on Syria’s northern coast and discussed the situation in Lebanon ‘following the Israeli aggression against Lebanese sovereignty,’ it said.

They affirmed ‘their support for Lebanon in the face of such aggression,’ SANA said of an August 3 clash on the Lebanon-Israel border between the two countries’ troops.'

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Wall Street Rules the American People

Arizona Sheriff: Border Patrol Has Retreated from Parts of Border Because It’s ‘Too Dangerous’

Sheriff Larry Dever of Cochise County, Ariz., one of four Arizona counties contiguous with the U.S-Mexico border, said Friday that the U.S. Border Patrol has pulled back from parts of the border in his and neighboring counties because manning those areas has become too dangerous.

“And you frankly have Border Patrolmen--and I know this from talking to Border Patrol agents—who will not allow their agents to work on the border because it is too dangerous,” Dever told CNSNews.com in a videotaped interview. “Now what kind of message is that for crying out loud?”

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