Tuesday, 04 May 2010 09:35 'Households should pay a new tax on every pound of debt they owe, according to one of Britain’s leading economists. Martin Weale, director of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, said the winner of the election should consider the plan in an effort to wean Britain off its reliance on debt. He said that a small annual levy of 1pc on all household debt, including mortgages and credit cards, could help raise £15bn a year – more than would be raised from a 3p increase in the basic rate of income tax. Although the suggestion will raise eyebrows, Mr Weale runs one of the country’s most respected independent institutions, so may spark speculation that it could be examined by the next government. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have both pledged to overhaul the tax system to remove the favourable treatment of debt, although neither has suggested a direct levy on household borrowing.' Tuesday, 04 May 2010 09:28 'This digitally enhanced video does a good job at showing the activity on the ground minutes after the crash of the Polish presidential plane in Russia. Audio translated by a collaborative Facebook effort of Russian, Polish and English native speakers. The revelations are stunning.' Tuesday, 04 May 2010 08:56 'In what is looming as another public relations predicament for Goldman Sachs, the banking giant admitted today that it made "a substantial financial bet against the Gulf of Mexico" one day before the sinking of an oil rig in that body of water. The new revelations came to light after government investigators turned up new emails from Goldman employee Fabrice "Fabulous Fab" Tourre in which he bragged to a girlfriend that the firm was taking a "big short" position on the Gulf. "One oil rig goes down and we're going to be rolling in dough," Mr. Tourre wrote in one email. "Suck it, fishies and birdies!" Read more: Goldman Sachs Reveals it Shorted Gulf of Mexico Oil Rig Disaster Tuesday, 04 May 2010 08:32 'Imagine a pipe 5 feet wide spewing crude oil like a fire hose from what could be the planets' largest, high-pressure oil and gas reserve. With the best technology available to man, the Deepwater Horizon rig popped a hole into that reserve and was overwhelmed. If this isn't contained, it could poison all the oceans of the world.' Read more: Mother of All Gushers Could Kill Earth's Oceans Tuesday, 04 May 2010 08:19 'On Monday May 3rd, Keith Sadler a former UAW Autoworker (who lost his job) of Stony Ridge will be evicted from his home. But unlike many in a similar situation, Mr. Sadler intends to resist his foreclosure and stay in his home illegally. "I am resisting this eviction through non-violent civil disobedience," states Sadler. "It's time to make a stand against this corrupt system." Alongside Sadler stands a group of community members from the Toledo Foreclosure Defense League, a Northwest Ohio coalition of housing activists. TFDL is also joined by the national group Take Back the Land based out of Miami, Florida.' Tuesday, 04 May 2010 07:42 Tuesday, 04 May 2010 07:31 'The priorities of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the area of bacteriology have been “catastrophically re-ordered” by emphasizing bioweapons research over non-bioweapons research, a prominent authority states. Giving priority to bioweapons research at NIH, started under the Bush Administration and continuing under President Obama, “diverts resources from critical public-health and scientific objectives,” says Richard Ebright, Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.' Read more: Biological Warfare: Priority to Bioweapons Research over Public Health Tuesday, 04 May 2010 07:01 'The mayor of New York has promised additional surveillance cameras around Times Square and throughout the tourist heart of the city, as police struggled to come up with footage that would help their investigation into the failed bomb attack.' Read more: Mayor Promises More CCTV After Failed Bombing Tuesday, 04 May 2010 06:43 'I received an urgent alert from Jeffrey Smith today about a dangerous situation taking place right now at the international CODEX conference. The U.S. is attempting to push its agenda to censor all GMO labeling of foods everywhere around the world. This would result in a global GMO cover-up as consumers are left in the dark about whether their foods and grocery products are genetically modified or not. Please understand that the U.S. is attempting to outlaw non-GMO labeling of foods, thereby making it illegal for a non-GMO food product to even claim "non-GMO" on the label. If the U.S. succeeds in this global GMO cover-up, the FDA could seize any products in the USA that make "non-GMO" claims. Additionally, the USA could file lawsuits through the World Trade Organization against any country that allows non-GMO labeling or claims on its products.' Read more: GMO Alert: U.S. Attempting Global Censorship of GMO Food Labeling Tuesday, 04 May 2010 06:36 'Back in the 1990s, the idea of growing food in the suburbs, getting "off the grid," and learning survival skills was thought to be something only militia members and lone rangers living in the woods would do. Today, a new type of survivalism has emerged in light of economic and political turmoil that people from all walks of life are embracing. Sometimes called "preppers," people who prepare in advance for catastrophic events like natural disasters or social chaos are becoming more common in both urban and rural America. What was once considered to be paranoia is quickly becoming a popular social movement of everyday Americans who are trying to be self-sufficient and prepared for anything.' Tuesday, 04 May 2010 06:13 'Part of the collapse in democratic participation in Britain (as elsewhere) is due to growing public realization that the main parties are “out of touch” in terms of putting forward solutions to address the severe problems facing British society: mounting social misery, unemployment, poverty and debt, both individually and nationally. The budget deficit is estimated to be around £163 billion, which, some commentators say, puts Britain on a par with Greece in terms of its gravity. This brings us to the second most notable characteristic of the 2010 British election: there is now patently no political choice on offer to voters. The putative essence of western-style parliamentary democracy is that “the people” exercise a choice in selecting a political party based on manifestos of differing ideas and policies.' Read more: Britain's Election: Welcome to No Choice Democracy
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
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