Video Taken By Robotic Aerial Vehicle at Fukushima (1/3)

Alan Watt - The world is governed by very different personages from what...

Destroying our gulf shouldn't be a tax write-off. Tell BP to pay their fair share.

Your Activist News Source: Destroying our gulf shouldn't be a tax write-off. Tell BP to pay their fair share.

Credo
Apr. 21, 2011

UPDATE: Wednesday afternoon, we learned that BP's tax break will be even bigger than was first reported - an outrageous $13 billion!¹ A BP spokesman wouldn't say if the company is paying any U.S. taxes at all this year. It could even be getting a refund. Please take action to hold BP accountable.

One year ago, on April 20, 2010, BP's oil began to pour into the Gulf of Mexico. It did not stop for 87 days.
Today, economic and environmental devastation remain. Thousands of Gulf Coast residents cope with massive health problems from oil and toxic dispersants.

BP, on the other hand, just scored a nearly $10 billion dollar credit on their 2010 federal tax return, by writing off their "losses" incurred from the tragedy.²


That's the equivalent of the entire annual budget of the EPA, whose funding was just slashed in the continuing resolution. It is almost one third of all the cuts in the continuing resolution.

Americans shouldn't have to endure massive budget cuts because BP took a $10 billion tax deduction for destroying our gulf. Tell BP: Amend your tax return and pay your fair share.

Responding to BP's monumental catastrophe cost a massive amount of resources from local, state and federal governments. Now, BP is dealing another massive blow to our nation's tax revenue.

The $10 billion savings comes after BP wrote-off the $32.2 billion it set aside to cover clean-up costs, fines, and a $20 billion victim compensation fund (which has been notoriously slow and stingy in responding to claims, paying out less than 4 billion so far.³)

Food Price Watch - April 2011

Food Price Watch - April 2011

U.S. dollar frail, Tokyo stocks slip, gold shines

U.S. dollar frail, Tokyo stocks slip, gold shines - Yahoo! News

By Ronald Popeski – Fri Apr 22, 3:53 am ET

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar hovered around three-year lows on Friday and looked set to come under further pressure next week, while a stronger yen weighed on Tokyo stocks in holiday-thinned Good Friday trade.

Gold hit a fresh all-time high of $1,509 an ounce, extending its record-breaking rally to a sixth session, as the weaker dollar prodded investors toward assets less reliant on the U.S. economy.

The dollar index (.DXY) was steady at 73.99 against a basket of major currencies after slipping to its lowest since mid-2008 on Thursday, weighed down by expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at record lows for some time to come and by bitter divisions in Washington over how to slash the gaping budget deficit.

Analysts said it could extend recent losses next week, with all eyes now on its record low of 70.698 struck in March 2008.

Man Shows Joe Arpaio Copy of Constitution -- Then Gets Violently Tackled by Law Enforcement Goons

Man Shows Joe Arpaio Copy of Constitution -- Then Gets Violently Tackled by Law Enforcement Goons - BlackListedNews.com

Source: Phoenix New Times



There's a video applauded in the Conservative blogosphere of a man showing Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio a copy of the Constitution as the sheriff rants, raves, and pats himself on the back for his crusade to rid stock rooms at retail stores of illegal immigrants.

Despite doing nothing to warrant such behavior from law enforcement officers, the man promptly was tackled and led away by some over-zealous cops.

See for yourself in the video below (to spare you having to listen to Arpaio's BS, the tackling begins about the seven-minute mark).

Read More

All food may be labelled as containing GM

All food may be labelled as containing GM | Herald Sun

A PROPOSAL to require food labelling of even tiny quantities of genetically-modified (GM) ingredients would result in all foods being labelled as possibly containing GM material, an industry body says.

Matthew Cossey, chief executive of the pro-GM plant science organisation CropLife, said companies would do that to limit liability for possibly breaching labelling laws.

He said testing was sufficiently advanced to show up even tiny quantities of GM material in food.

"I would think you would nearly get to the safe position that they simply put on the label on everything that this may contain GM material to ensure that they don't expose themselves to any action," he told a parliamentary committee.

Greens' senator Rachel Siewert suggested this was an admission that GM material was right through the food supply chain.

"That's what you are arguing," she said.

What Do Light Bulbs Have to do with the Commerce Clause?

American Thinker: What Do Light Bulbs Have to do with the Commerce Clause?

Rand Paul, freshman US Senator from Kentucky, at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing last month, summed up in a few choice sentences the Democratic Party progressive agenda:

You're really anti-choice on every consumer item that you've listed here, including light bulbs, refrigerators, toilets -- you name it, you can't go around your house without being told what to buy... You raise the cost of all the items with your rules, all your notions that you know what's best for me.

A few days ago, in further hearings on more appliance regulations, Sen. Paul continued his assault on the "boot heel of the collective," drawing from Ayn Rand, his namesake.

Exhortations about light bulbs and liberty are good for a rally or entertainment for a cable news sound bite, or a late night comedy show. But there's more going on here.

It's time for us to insist that there is no basis in the US Constitution for home appliance regulations designed to control the consumption of electricity or water. Any such statutes or regulations fail the Rehnquist Court reading of the Commerce Clause, Article I Sec 8 Clause 3: "Congress shall have the power ... to regulate Commerce ... among the several States ... " and usurp the Ninth Amendment from the people.

The central issue is how the Commerce Clause, previously distorted and stretched to underwrite any and every conceivable interference in our daily lives, may have finally found its high water mark under the conservative Rehnquist Court. There is considerable scholarship underlining the original context of the Commerce Clause and its application, notably from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Law Professor Randy Barnett in his 2001 Chicago Law Review article "The Original Meaning of the Commerce Clause" writes at the outset:

In United States v Lopez¹, [a Supreme Court opinion where a federal statute, the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 prohibiting firearms within 1,000 yards of a school, was overturned ]for the first time in sixty years, the Supreme Court of the United States held a statute to be unconstitutional because it exceeded the powers of Congress under the Commerce Clause². In his concurring opinion, Justice Thomas offered a critique of contemporary Commerce Clause doctrine--based on the original meaning of the clause--that went well beyond the majority opinion. According to Justice Thomas, "at the time the original Constitution was ratified, 'commerce' consisted of selling, buying, and bartering, as well as transporting for these purposes."³ He also cited the etymology of the word, which literally means "with merchandise."⁴ He then noted that "when Federalists and Anti-Federalists discussed the Commerce Clause during the ratification period, they often used trade (in its selling/bartering sense) and commerce interchangeably."⁵ The term "commerce," according to Justice Thomas, "was used in contradistinction to productive activities such as manufacturing and agriculture."⁶

Japan's radiation 20,000 times limit

PressTV - Japan's radiation 20,000 times limit

The leaked contaminated water contained approximately 5,000 terabecquerels of radioactive substances, which is 20,000 times the annual allowable limit for the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said on Thursday.

TEPCO added that 520 tons of radioactive water had leaked from reactors at the Fukushima plant, which was severely damaged during the 9.0-magnitude quake and the ensuing tsunami on March 11.

The twin disasters in Japan's northern coast set off a nuclear crisis by knocking out power to cooling systems of reactors at the plant, and caused radiation leaks.

The government ordered the evacuation of people living in a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) radius around the plant and told people residing between 20 kilometers and 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the plant to remain indoors.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Naoto Kan's special advisor Goshi Hosono said bringing the crisis-hit Fukushima power plant under control may take “several months.”

Euro-American Land Invasion of Libya Imminent

Euro-American Land Invasion of Libya Imminent :: www.uruknet.info :: informazione dal medio oriente :: information from middle east :: [vs-1]

BAR, April 20, 2011

As if hard-wired for theft of other people's lands, the European Union is preparing to put thousands of its once-and-forever colonial boots on the ground in Libya. "The mass ground onslaught may well commence with the imminent deployment of the European Union’s so-called 'battle groups' – multinational military units of about 1,500 men each." Libyan leader Moamar Gaddafi, who had earlier offered to accept some humanitarian assistance in Misrata, vowed to fight any foreign soldiers on Libyan territory.

"They seek to land a "battle group" in Misrata under humanitarian pretenses, and then inevitably clash with Gaddafi’s soldiers dug in nearby."

The official Euro-American invasion of Libya is about to begin. I say "official" invasion because the Europeans and Americans already have boots on the ground making bloody footprints in Libya, from U.S. Special Ops and CIA, British Special Air Services commandos, and their French counterparts. The news media of the invader countries know their armed forces are active on Libyan soil, and occasionally report as much. But they dutifully await announcements from their governments that the "real" invasion has, officially, begun.

Debt Ceiling Debate | Tea Party Pressures Boehner

Debt Ceiling Debate | Tea Party Pressures Boehner | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

House Speaker John Boehner is, once again, in a tough spot.

Facing a possible default on the nation’s loans if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling, the Ohio Republican must also answer to a loud conservative base that demands unprecedented spending cuts in return for their support. As the federal government’s debt creeps closer to its $14.2 trillion ceiling, Boehner will lead a balancing act in which the nation’s full faith and credit — and fiscal future — could hinge on his performance.

Conservatives are generally divided into two camps on the debt ceiling vote: On one end, there’s the “hell no” caucus, consisting mostly of state Tea Party activists and congressional freshmen who campaigned on the promise that they would never vote to raise the debt ceiling under any circumstance.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/22/tea-party-puts-pressure-on-boehner-over-debt-ceiling-debate/#ixzz1KFg138OQ

50 million climate refugees | United Nations | The UN disappears 50 million climate refugees, then botches the cover-up

50 million climate refugees | United Nations | The UN disappears 50 million climate refugees, then botches the cover-up | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Oh boy, government idiocy at its finest. Not only is the original claim bogus, the attempts to disappear it are hilariously inept. Apparently, they’ve never heard of Google Cache at the UN. Rather than simply saying “we were wrong,” they’ve now brought even more distrust onto the UN.

Back on April 11th, Gavin Atkins of Asian Correspondent asked this simple question: What happened to the climate refugees?

It is a valid question, and he backs it up with census numbers. Here’s the first part of his story.

In 2005, the United Nations Environment Programme predicted that climate change would create 50 million climate refugees by 2010. These people, it was said, would flee a range of disasters including sea level rise, increases in the numbers and severity of hurricanes, and disruption to food production.

The UNEP even provided a handy map. The map shows us the places most at risk including the very sensitive low lying islands of the Pacific and Caribbean.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/16/the-un-disappears-50-million-climate-refugees-then-botches-the-cover-up/#ixzz1KFfkcVXJ

"Libya war doing nothing for civilians "

PressTV - "Libya war doing nothing for civilians "

Lindsey German, the convener of Stop the War expressed her sympathy to the Libyan citizens who have been facing horror in their country. However, she added: “I don't believe western intervention is going to do any good.”

She said that British government has also participated in military operations in other countries such as Afghanistan or Iraq, claiming the intervention is needed to help the civilians in those countries, but “we know now that it did not happen.”

She expressed her sorrow for the Libyans who could not get the help they wanted from the Western powers, and instead get the military intervention that worsen the situation in their country.

John McCain praises 'heroic' rebels on visit to Libya

John McCain praises 'heroic' rebels on visit to Libya | World news | guardian.co.uk

US senator John McCain, one of Congress's most vocal supporters of military intervention in Libya, said rebels fighting Muammar Gaddafi's troops were his heroes and praised their efforts to overthrow the dictator.

The most senior Republican on the Senate armed services committee made the remarks during a visit to Benghazi yesterdayon Friday, before a meeting with opposition leaders to assess the situation on the ground. He is the most senior US official to visit the rebel-held eastern city.

OBAMA... "I CAN DO WHAT I WANT ON CZARS"... DESPITE LAW, SIGNING STATEMENT.

OBAMA... "I CAN DO WHAT I WANT ON CZARS"... DESPITE LAW, SIGNING STATEMENT. - Patriot Action Network

In marked contrast to vows as a candidate not to use presidential signing statements as “an end run around Congress,” President Obama released a statement on the just-signed spending bill saying despite the law’s restrictions on “czars,” he will “construe” the law not to interfere with “presidential prerogatives.”

The move is an aggressive power play by Obama to gain an added advantage from the deal struck a week ago between the president, Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to narrowly avert government shutdown.

iPhone Tracking Discussion

Kuwait Recognizes Libyan Rebels

http://portal.theinnoplex.com/newsnet

Kuwait has recognized the transitional national council of Libya as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people stated the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the emirate, Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah. He was speaking during the meeting of the liaison group on Libya on April 13th in Doha, Kuwait.

The minister promised to help the Libyan people using the council which "is tantamount to accepting its legitimacy."

Until now, only three countries: France, Italy and Qatar have recognized the Transitional National Council of Libya.