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2/12/2005

Vaccine Findings Confirm Fears :.

Parents of children with autism said this week's revelation that at least one pharmaceutical company knew of the high levels of mercury in vaccinations years before disclosing it further supports their suspicions that the poison causes neurodevelopmental disorders.

Many parents have long been suspicious of the effects of vaccines containing thimerosal, a compound used to guard against contamination and which is almost 50 percent ethyl mercury. Until recently, the neurotoxin was used in many pediatric vaccines; public health officials first acknowledged the high levels of mercury in those shots in 1999.



HP: Fired Chief PHB Walks with $42 Million :.

Ex-Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina will get a severance package worth about $21.4 million, but stands to reap another $21 million after she was forced out by the computer maker's board last week, a newspaper reported Saturday.

The additional amount reflects the estimated value of her Hewlett stock and options as well as her pension, which were not included in her severance package, the New York Times reported.

Fiorina was forced to resign Tuesday after the computer maker's board concluded she hadn't boosted Hewlett's sagging stock or its fortunes after the company's merger with Compaq Computer.


2/11/2005

Up to 70% Interest Credit Card Aimed at the Poor :.

Nice one!

A new credit card aimed at millions of low-income families is to charge interest at up to 70% - the highest ever charged by a credit card company.

Marketed under the slogan: "Stay in control of your budgeting", the typical interest rate on the new Vanquis card will be 49.9%, but for some customers the company judge as high risk, it will be 69.5%. MPs and debt campaigners yesterday condemned the rate, which is 15 times the Bank of England base rate and triple the standard rate on other cards. The card also has an annual fee of £19.


2/9/2005

Of Dog Sniffs and Packet Sniffs :.

This article assumes "intelligent packet search filters" aren't already operational. HA! What will change is that the use of the information will be used for law enforcement, and not just national security purposes:

The government may soon deploy "intelligent" packet search filters that will seek out only those communications that relate to criminal activity.

Yeah, buddy, it's called ECHELON. It's been around since the 1980s. *sigh*



Documentary: Aerosol Crimes (aka Chemtrails) :.

Link to a 68mb Windows Media Version:
http://this-must-stop.com/aerosol_crimesfirst_edition.wmv



Ann Coulter Steps in it Again :.

I start to feel sorry for twits after awhile. Poor Ann:

Coulter: "Canada used to be one of our most loyal friends and vice-versa. I mean Canada sent troops to Vietnam - was Vietnam less containable and more of a threat than Saddam Hussein?"

McKeown interrupts: "Canada didn't send troops to Vietnam."

Coulter: "I don't think that's right."

McKeown: "Canada did not send troops to Vietnam."

Coulter (looking desperate): "Indochina?"

McKeown: "Uh no. Canada ...second World War of course. Korea. Yes. Vietnam No."

Coulter: "I think you're wrong."

McKeown: "No, took a pass on Vietnam."

Coulter: "I think you're wrong."

McKeown: "No, Australia was there, not Canada."

Coulter: "I think Canada sent troops."

McKeown: "No."

Coulter: "Well. I'll get back to you on that."


2/8/2005

Jobs and Wages Picture Remains Bleak for Millions in U.S. :.

The employment and general economic situation remained dismal for millions of American workers in January, amid signs that the so-called recovery may be slowing. While the official unemployment rate declined to 5.2 percent, payrolls increased by only 146,000, considerably less than predicted. Manufacturing jobs fell by 25,000. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report, released February 4, also revised downward the number of jobs created in December, from 157,000 to 133,000.

Ironically, the decline in the official percentage of jobless resulted largely from the gloomier overall employment outlook, i.e., a larger number of people discouraged from even embarking on a search for work leads to a falling unemployment rate and official claims that the “economy is on track.”

The US labor force participation rate fell in January to 65.8 percent, the lowest since May 1988 and 1.5 percent lower than its most recent peak in April 2000. This means a decline of some 3.4 million people on the job market since that latter date.

Wall Street analysts had predicted an increase of 200,000 new jobs in January. Rick Egelton, of BMO Financial Group, told Reuters, “[It’s] certainly weaker than expected, quite a bit weaker than expected. It suggests that employment is continuing to expand at a moderate pace and we are not getting the boost to employment that we would have gotten given the low value of the dollar and the still relatively low interest rate environment.”

Other economists cited in the media were blunter. Marie-Pierre Ripert, from IXIS Corporate and Investment Bank, told AFP, “The decline in the unemployment rate ... is due to a fall in the labor force participation rate, which is not good news.”

“The labor force is shrinking,” Peter Morici, economics professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, commented to Reuters. “The economy is not creating enough good paying jobs, causing workers to quit looking for jobs altogether.”

He added, to AFP, “The economy is slowing at an alarming pace. The primary culprit is the growing trade deficit, which is now more than 5 percent of gross domestic product. This is reflected in the declining fortunes of manufacturing.”



Students Required to Wear RFID Tags :.

Parents in a northern California public school district and civil liberties groups are urging a school district to terminate the mandatory use of Radio Frequency Identification tags ( RFIDs ) by students. Several civil liberties groups, including the ACLU of Northern California ( ACLU-NC ), Electronic Frontier Foundation ( EFF ), and the Electronic Privacy Information Center ( EPIC ) sent a letter today expressing alarm at the Brittan School District's use of mandatory ID badges that include a RFID device that tracks the students' movements. The device transmits private information to a computer on campus whenever a student passes under one of the scanners. The ID badges also include the student's name, photo, grade, school name, class year and the four-digit school ID number. Students are required to prominently display the badges by wearing them around the neck at all times.



Battle Bot: The Future of War? :.

Don't waste your time wondering about this. It's already happening:

While robots firing weapons on their own may be a decade or more away, even today's remote-controlled versions have changed the rules, he adds. By turning war into "a video game," the machines make it much easier for soldiers to kill without remorse by putting the human operator at "one remove" from the act of killing.

Fighting robots would be "on the short list" of seminal events in all of military history, he says, right alongside the development of iron weapons, gunpowder, and the atomic bomb.


Research Credit: AL



New Videos Show Predators at Work in Iraq :.

UAVs provide close air support in Iraq. If anyone has these videos, let me know:

Newly released military video reveals unmanned U.S. Predators firing Hellfire missiles to rescue U.S. troops under fire in Iraq and destroy insurgent targets.

The U.S. Air Force released 10 video clips Tuesday in response to requests from CNN and other television networks. The black and white footage, all from the summer and fall of 2004, shows what officials say are insurgents planting roadside bombs, firing at U.S. positions and gathering to attack U.S. troops.

The video came from sensors on Air Force Predator unmanned aerial vehicles, which can operate several miles away from positions they target and monitor.

Predators can either be armed or unarmed. The video came from armed aircraft.

Some of the footage was a clip of Marines under sniper assault during an August battle in Najaf. A Predator responds to a call for air support and fires Hellfire missiles at the building housing the sniper. The building crumbles in an explosion.

Another clip shows insurgents gathered around armed trucks. The cross-hairs of the Predator locks onto one of the trucks and a missile destroys it.

Air Force officials did not provide many details about the footage.

Pilots more than 7,000 away in Nevada, control the unmanned planes from their post at Nellis Air Force Base. Their sophisticated cockpits resemble a high-priced video game.

Predator crews, which have a pilot and sensor operator, run the craft 24 hours, rotating in three-hour shifts. Predator teams are trained to look for signs of insurgent activity such as the planting of roadside bombs.

The Air Force uses the planes for reconnaissance and attack missions, but ground troops also provide information about target locations, Air Force officials say. Langley Air Force Base in Virginia analyzes images Predators gather.

Most of the Air Force's 58 Predators are deployed around the world, but officials could not discuss the locations.



Bush: Working Three Jobs is Uniquely American :.

MS. MORNIN: That's good, because I work three jobs and I feel like I contribute.

THE PRESIDENT: You work three jobs?

MS. MORNIN: Three jobs, yes.

THE PRESIDENT: Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that
you're doing that. (Applause.) Get any sleep? (Laughter.)


2/7/2005

Regular Job... for the Moment

The IT recruiter placed me with a company for a few weeks, believe it or not. Between the PHB, and working for my brother, I'm going to be run pretty ragged. If I don't respond to your email, you'll know why.



Premium Content: Guess on the Nature of the Strange .Mil Domain

Contributors, check your email.



The CIA and Nazi War Criminals :.

Old news, but you may now read about it on CIA letterhead:

Washington D.C., February 4, 2005 - Today the National Security Archive posted the CIA's secret documentary history of the U.S government's relationship with General Reinhard Gehlen, the German army's intelligence chief for the Eastern Front during World War II. At the end of the war, Gehlen established a close relationship with the U.S. and successfully maintained his intelligence network (it ultimately became the West German BND) even though he employed numerous former Nazis and known war criminals.



Bend Over: Bush Budget Oblivion :.

Even as President Bush proposes deep cuts in healthcare, farm subsidies and other domestic programs, his new budget makes one thing clear about the legacy of his first term in the White House: The era of big government is back.

Bush's $2.6-trillion budget for 2006, if approved by Congress, would be more than one-third bigger than the budget he inherited four years ago. It is a monument to how much Republicans' guiding fiscal philosophy has changed over the 10 years since the GOP "Contract With America" called for a balanced budget and abolition of entire Cabinet agencies.

No longer are Republicans arguing with Democrats about whether government should be big or small. They are at odds over what kind of big government the United States should have.



Dollar Hits 3-Month High Against Euro :.

Remember the headlines about B Gates shorting the dollar? Thinking it was a short term, fear driven fake out, I wrote this:
This story might be true, but be careful. When news like this hits the mainstream media, it's usually meant to drive the dumb money to slaugher for tactical purposes. In other words, go the other way, at least in the short term... or better yet, just wait. If I was trading this, which I'm not, rather than trying to play an upside move, I'd wait for the suckers to get shaken loose during a strong short squeeze. As they're desperately trying to cover---because the dollar appears to be headed up up up up!---look to short that pig. The thing is going down, but getting the timing right, actually pulling the trigger on something like this, is much harder.
Who knows how long the short squeeze will last? I wish I knew.



Iraq Shiite Leaders Demand Islam be the Source of Law :.

HAHAHAHAHA!

Iraq's Shiite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and another top cleric staked out a radical demand that Islam be the sole source of legislation in the country's new constitution.

One cleric issued a statement setting out the position and the spiritual leader of Iraqi Shiites made it known straight away that he backed demands for the Koran to be the reference point for legislation.


2/6/2005

GOP Proposes Bill that Would Suspend ALL Laws :.

On January 26, 2005, Rep. Sensenbrenner introduced the REAL ID Act of 2005 (H.R. 418). In the name of homeland security, it includes a number of items changing immigration laws, use of drivers' licenses, etc.

But -- most overlooked -- is Section 102 of this bill. It would empower the Secretary of Homeland Security to suspend any and all laws in order to ensure the "expeditious" construction of a set of barriers and roads south of San Diego, to keep illegal immigrants out. It also would prohibit ANY judicial review of the Secretary of Homeland Security's decision to suspend any law. ON EDIT: While the law the bill references mentions barriers and roads "near San Diego," it does not appear to be (technically speaking) limited to that area -- but to any barriers or roads "in the vicinity of the United States border."



Central Bank Leaders Warn U.S. Over Massive Deficits :.

Some of the world's major central bankers warned the United States on Friday that the international community could be running out of patience with the massive U.S. budget and trade deficits that is pushing the dollar lower and increasing the cost of their exports in America.



Russia Abandons Effort to Tie Dollar, Ruble :.

Russia has abandoned efforts to tie the ruble's movement to the dollar and has decided to instead shadow both the dollar and the euro.

The move has caused experts to predict that other countries could institute similar policies, the Financial Times reported Saturday.

The move has also caused speculation that Russia may denominate its oil exports, 81 percent of which goes to Europe, in euros. Russia is second only to Saudi Arabia in oil exports.



Bush's Budget Axe to Fall on Poor :.

Useless eaters:

President Bush is proposing to reduce spending on public health and social welfare in the US to help pay for tax cuts and the war in Iraq, according to early reports of today's White House budget.

In an attempt to keep government spending under control at a time of record deficits, Mr Bush's proposals to Congress will include cuts in public housing subsidies, in health projects aimed at diseases related to poverty, and in food stamps, which help America's poorest buy groceries.




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Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture by Andrew Kimbrell Readers will come to see that industrial food production is indeed a "fatal harvest" - fatal to consumers, as pesticide residues and new disease vectors such as E. coli and "mad cow disease" find their way into our food supply; fatal to our landscapes, as chemical runoff from factory farms poison our rivers and groundwater; fatal to genetic diversity, as farmers rely increasingly on high-yield monocultures and genetically engineered crops; and fatal to our farm communities, which are wiped out by huge corporate farms.

Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America by Bertram Myron Gross This is a relatively short but extremely cogent and well-argued treatise on the rise of a form of fascistic thought and social politics in late 20th century America. Author Bertram Gross' thesis is quite straightforward; the power elite that comprises the corporate, governmental and military superstructure of the country is increasingly inclined to employ every element in their formidable arsenal of 'friendly persuasion' to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Americans through what Gross refers to as friendly fascism.

The Good Life
by Scott and Helen Nearing
Helen and Scott Nearing are the great-grandparents of the back-to-the-land movement, having abandoned the city in 1932 for a rural life based on self-reliance, good health, and a minimum of cash...Fascinating, timely, and wholly useful, a mix of the Nearings' challenging philosophy and expert counsel on practical skills.

Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth by David Bollierd In Silent Theft, David Bollier argues that a great untold story of our time is the staggering privatization and abuse of our common wealth. Corporations are engaged in a relentless plunder of dozens of resources that we collectively own—publicly funded medical breakthroughs, software innovation, the airwaves, the public domain of creative works, and even the DNA of plants, animals and humans. Too often, however, our government turns a blind eye—or sometimes helps give away our assets. Amazingly, the silent theft of our shared wealth has gone largely unnoticed because we have lost our ability to see the commons.

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-To-Basics Guide by John Seymour The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the only book that teaches all the skills needed to live independently in harmony with the land harnessing natural forms of energy, raising crops and keeping livestock, preserving foodstuffs, making beer and wine, basketry, carpentry, weaving, and much more.

When Corporations Rule the World by David C. Korten When Corporations Rule the World explains how economic globalization has concentrated the power to govern in global corporations and financial markets and detached them from accountability to the human interest. It documents the devastating human and environmental consequences of the successful efforts of these corporations to reconstruct values and institutions everywhere on the planet to serve their own narrow ends.

The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener This expansion of a now-classic guide originally published in 1989 is intended for the serious gardener or small-scale market farmer. It describes practical and sustainable ways of growing superb organic vegetables, with detailed coverage of scale and capital, marketing, livestock, the winter garden, soil fertility, weeds, and many other topics.