RETURN OF AMERICA

ARIZONA CITY SEEKS MOAT TO SECURE MEXICO BORDER

Faced with high-levels of crime and illegal immigration, authorities in Yuma are reaching back to a technique as old as a medieval castle to dig out a "security channel" on a crime-ridden stretch of the border and fill it with water.

AN OPEN LETTER TO PAGANS IN SUPPORT OF RON PAUL

Nearly all of us believe that war is tantamount to mass murder on the grandest of scales. He does too. He'd bring all our troops home from Iraq immediately (as immediately as would be safe; he says they'd all be home in no more than a year). But he wouldn't stop there: he wants all our troops home from all over the world. No more crusades. No more Saint George and the Dragon. No more death to the infidel. Just an extremely strong defense. How long has it been since the word "defense" actually meant "defense" and not "offence"? He wants to return it to the correct definition.

THE ORION PROJECT

We are a non-profit 501c3 foundation dedicated to transforming the world's energy/social crisis into a world of healthy, sustainable abundance. Our goal is to inform, educate, and help supply all peoples of our planet with sustainable, non-polluting power. To accomplish this task we are searching out and supporting the development of new, clean energy technologies that can bring this vision forward in our world now!

BOSTON DYNAMICS BIG DOG

BEAR STEARNS, JIM CRAMER

I ask again, "When will CNBC do the right thing and get rid of Jim Cramer?" Jim's advice on Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC) is is most horrific since, well, since the dot-com disasters he shuffled folks into. Look, it's just getting too easy to point this stuff out. But, hold on, my video here is 10 minutes of other stuff too. Jim's just a symptom of a larger problem. Our founding fathers would be ashamed of how we've handed our economy to the federal reserve.

THE TRANSITION TO A TOTALITARIAN WORLD GOVERNMENT

The focus of Mankind at the Turning Point is a computer model that supposedly replicates the major features of the world problematique. According to The Club of Rome, the world problematique is the set of interlocking world problems, such as, over population, food shortages, non-renewable resource depletion, environmental degradation, etc. Not surprisingly, their self serving model, based on exponential inputs, predicts the complete unravelling of society and perhaps the biosphere. Naturally, failure to implement The Club of Rome's solution of a totalitarian world government will result in the potential end of humanity.

WHY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION "WATERGATED" ELIOT SPITZER

The spectacular and highly bizarre release of secret FBI wiretap data to the New York Times exposing the tryst of New York state Governor, Eliot Spitzer, the now-infamous "No.9," with a luxury call-girl, had less to do with the Bush Administration’s pursuit of high moral standards for public servants. Spitzer was likely the target of a White House and Wall Street dirty tricks operation to silence one of its most dangerous and vocal critics of their handling the current financial market crisis.

SECURITY AND PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP OF NORTH AMERICA

In March of 2005, the leaders of Canada (Paul Martin), the U.S. (George W. Bush), and Mexico (Vicente Fox) signed an agreement called the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). The SPP is about securing prosperity for a rich elite, while taking what remaining power the people have, through democratic sovereign institutions, and placing that power in a few hands of unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats whose strings are pulled by global corporations and banks.

25 INTOLERABLE CONTRADICTIONS: THE FINAL UNDOING OF THE OFFICIAL 9/11 STORY

In his 2004 "The New Pearl Harbor", Griffin had already noted that the Standard Operating Procedures regarding flight interceptions had been inexplicably dropped on September 11th. This reviewer deduces that because a complex network of defense systems could not have been fully disabled without coordination from a senior military level, it was logical for Dr. Griffin to open the current volume by asking questions that the 9/11 Commission failed to ask: what were President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and General Richard B. Myers, Acting Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, doing that morning? In each case, inexplicable contradictions emerged in the reports of their whereabouts, and the same applied to Vice President Dick Cheney. None of these public officials were questioned under oath, and now it is abundantly clear that the contradictions surrounding them must be laid to rest in by a thorough and rigorous investigation.

BUSH CONSOLIDATES THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE

The Washington Post revealed Friday that the FBI is continuing its systematic violation of Americans' Fourth Amendment guarantees against "unreasonable searches and seizures."

A Justice Department report concluded that the Bureau had repeatedly abused its intelligence gathering "privileges" by issuing bogus "national security letters" (NSLs) from 2003-2006. On at least one occasion, the FBI relied on an illegally-issued NSL to circumvent a ruling by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to obtain records the secret court deemed protected by the First Amendment.

BEWARE AN ATTACK ON IRAN

On March 11, Navy Adm. William Fallon, commander of the U.S. forces in the Middle East, retired early because of differences with Washington on Iran policy. And now, Dick Cheney's current Middle East tour may be designed to prepare our Arab allies for an imminent "preemptive" war against Iran.

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WANTS FINGERPRINTS

I’m amazed that people with the resources to fly to the U.S. do so on purpose. It’s just mind boggling to me. I wonder, did foreigners go on holiday to Germany after Hitler came to power?

WHEAT-KILLING FUNGUS DETECTED IN IRAN

5 March 2008 – A dangerous new fungus with the ability to destroy entire wheat fields has been detected in Iran, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today.

DOLLARS TOUGH TO SELL ON STREETS OF AMSTERDAM

The U.S. dollar’s value is dropping so fast against the euro that small currency outlets in Amsterdam are turning away tourists seeking to sell their dollars for local money while on vacation in the Netherlands.

GLOBAL CRISIS DEEPENING: IMF CHIEF

PARIS (AP) -- The collapse of a Wall Street institution over the weekend shows the global financial crisis is broader than policy makers realized and it is growing worse, the head of the International Monetary Fund said Monday.

BANKS FACE "NEW WORLD ORDER," CONSOLIDATION

"Last evening the Bear Stearns situation reached a crescendo, as JPMorgan agreed to acquire the wounded broker for a token amount of $2 per share," CreditSights said. "The reality check is that there are many challenged major banks, brokers, thrifts, finance/mortgage companies, and only a handful of bona fide strong U.S. banks."

DELTA TO OFFER SEVERANCE TO 30,000

ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines said Tuesday it will offer voluntary severance payouts to roughly 30,000 employees — more than half its work force — and cut domestic capacity by an extra 5 percent this year as part of an overhaul of its business plan to deal with soaring fuel prices.

JIM ROGERS ON THE BEAR STEARNS BAILOUT

You know the reason they did it this way was because, if Bear Stearns had to declare bankruptcy, you'd realize that Bear Stearns paid out billions of dollars in bonuses in January - six weeks ago. If he let them go into bankruptcy, they all would have had to send back their bonuses.

WALL STREET RALLIES TO AID LEHMAN

Wall Street's leading investment banks have rallied around ailing rival Lehman Brothers after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York urged them to support the institution in order to try and preserve financial stability.

MAKING A RECESSION GREAT

House Democrats recently adopted a budget with massive tax hikes, many of which are directed at those Americans who can least afford them. By allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire in 2010, this budget will raise income taxes not only on those in the highest income brackets, but raises the lowest bracket from 10% to 15% as well. Estates would again be taxed at 55%. The child tax credit would drop from $1000 to $500. Senior citizens relying on investment income would be hurt by increases in dividend and capital gains taxes. It's not just that the Democrats want to raises taxes on the rich. They want to raises taxes on everybody.

BUSH LEADERSHIP IN MELTDOWN TROUBLES INVESTORS

Much of what we are watching feels like an emerging-market meltdown to top international financiers: runaway debt, a declining currency, imploding markets, failing political leadership and the urgent need for outside intervention to provide emergency stability.

AMMUNITION ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

SECTION 5.

(a) The Tennessee bureau of investigation (TBI) shall be responsible for establishing and maintaining an ammunition coding system database (ACSD) containing the following information:

(1) A manufacturer registry. Manufacturers shall:

(A) Register with the TBI in a manner prescribed by the department through rules and regulations; and

(B) Maintain records on the business premises for a period of seven (7) years concerning all sales, loans and transfers of ammunition, to, from, or within the state; and

(2) A vendor registry. Vendors shall:

(A) Register with the TBI in a manner prescribed by the department through rules and regulations;

(B) Record the following information in a format prescribed by the TBI:

(i) The date of the transaction;

(ii) The name of the transferee;

(iii) The purchaser's driver license number or other government issued identification card number;

(iv) The date of birth of the purchaser;

(v) The unique identifier of all handgun ammunition or bullets transferred; and

(vi) All other information prescribed by the TBI; and

IF COURTS CAN GUT SECOND AMENDMENT...

Washington, D.C. - As the U.S. Supreme Court considers its first major case involving the definition of the 2nd Amendment's protection of gun rights in almost 70 years, black activists with the Project 21 leadership network assert that government should not be allowed to pick and choose what constitutional protections are honored and enforced.

GULF CENTRAL BANKS URGED TO SEVER LINKS WITH TUMBLING US DOLLAR

Pressure is mounting on central banks in the Gulf to fight surging inflation when they meet on Wednesday by severing the link between their currencies and the tumbling US dollar.

OHIO'S VOTING MACHINES ARE NOW AN OFFICIAL CRIME SCENE

At least 15 touch-screen voting machines that produced improbable numbers in Ohio's 2006 statewide election are now under double-lock in an official crime scene. And the phony "Homeland Security Alert" used by Republicans to build up George W. Bush's 2004 vote count in a key southwestern Ohio county has come under new scrutiny.

THE FEDERAL RESERVE IS DESTROYING AMERICA

It is incredible to see the rampant devaluation of the U.S. Dollar. The Federal Reserve just hours ago made a rare cut of 25 basis points during the weekend which will cause even more inflation. Gold immediately moved up $20 an ounce and the U.S. Dollar Index plunged under 71 in international trading. If this type of market activity continues the U.S. Dollar will have no value in a few months.

PRICE OF IRAQ WAR NOW OUTPACES VIETNAM

"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended," declared President George W. Bush aboard the USS Lincoln in 2003. "In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."

Five years later, the Iraq war rages on.

TERRORISM WATCH LIST INACCURATE, INCOMPLETE

The federal agency responsible for preparing the nation’s terrorism intelligence reports has provided the crucial government terrorist watch list with incomplete, inaccurate and outdated information about suspects for almost three years.

OBAMA ADMITS CLOSE TIES TO INDICTED FUNDRAISER

Failing miserably to distance himself from the indicted Syrian fundraiser who has bankrolled his political career, Barack Obama has finally admitted his strong ties to the corrupt developer who is currently the star defendant in a federal extortion trial.

NOT MUCH TO CELEBRATE ON SUNSHINE WEEK

Among agencies that continue violating the Executive Order are the Department of Homeland Security (backlog grew from 82,544 requests to 83,661), the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Treasury Department, which was criticized in a recent audit as repeatedly trying to “wait out the requester.”

JW OBTAINS OFFICIAL PARDON APPLICATION FOR FUGITIVE MARC RICH FROM CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained the official pardon application submitted to the Clinton White House by attorney Jack Quinn December 11, 2000, on behalf of former fugitive Marc Rich, who fled the United States in 1983 to avoid prosecution on racketeering, wire fraud and tax evasion charges. The fugitive Rich was one of about 140 criminals who received pardons from Bill Clinton in the last hours of his administration on January 20, 2001. The pardon application was made available in response to a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made on August 8, 2006.

COLLAPSE OF AMERICAN POWER

The Bush administration forecasts a $410 billion federal budget deficit for this year, an indication that, as the US saving rate is approximately zero, the US is not only dependent on foreigners to finance its wars but also dependent on foreigners to finance part of the US government's domestic expenditures. Foreign borrowing is paying US government salaries--perhaps that of the President himself--or funding the expenditures of the various cabinet departments. Financially, the US is not an independent country.

DOLLAR FALLS FOR A FIFTH DAY AS TRADERS BET FED WILL SLASH INTEREST RATES

March 18 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell for a fifth day against the euro as traders increased bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at least a full percentage point in an attempt to restore confidence to financial markets.

FMR NSA CHIEF : CONGRESS SHOULD IMPEACH AND STOP FUNDING IRAQ WAR

Since 2005 he has argued that US interests would be best served by an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, calling the Iraq war the worst strategic blunder in the history of U.S. foreign policy. He has also been critical of the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping of international calls, saying “it wouldn’t have happened on my watch”.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE WANTS HOMELESS PUT IN MILITARY CAMPS

Seventeen years after it was written, a booklet authored by U.S. Senate candidate Joe Pennacchio has reemerged as a campaign issue.

Pennacchio’s Republican rival, Murray Sabrin, has begun distributing copies of the book, calling it a “fascist manifesto” and demanding that Pennacchio not only drop his Senate candidacy, but resign from his state Senate seat as well.

FBI NOW CLAIMING THERE WAS NO FORMAL EFFORT MADE TO IDENTIFY 911 PLANE WRECKAGE

Contained within a March 14, 2008 "DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR ENLARGEMENT OF TIME TO RESPOND TO AMENDED COMPLAINT" with the Nevada District U.S. Court, concerning a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Mr. Aidan Monaghan (Case #: 2:07-cv-01614-RCJ-GWF) to order the production of Federal Bureau of Investigation records concerning the 4 aircraft involved in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Rose has indicated on behalf of the FBI, that records indicating the collection and positive identification of recovered wreckage created by these federally registered aircraft, do not exist.

THE DOLLAR, PAULSON, AND CARLYLE CAPITAL

So far, so bad. On Wednesday, crude-futures topped $110 for the first time, the dollar slipped to $1.55 per euro, and gold zoomed to a new high of $1,000 per ounce. Yikes. The dollar has been shoved off a cliff and no one knows where it will land.

U.S. CHIEF AUDITOR LEAVES, GIVES DIRE WARNING ABOUT NATIONAL DEBT

As the head of the Government Accountability Office, the auditing arm of Congress, Walker has been perhaps the most outspoken official in Washington warning of the fiscal train wreck that awaits this country unless it mends its ways.

CHINA SLAUGHTERS HUNDREDS IN TIBETAN CLASHES

"The massive demonstrations that started from March 10 in the capital city of Lhasa and other regions of Tibet, resulting (in the) death of hundreds of Tibetans, and subsequent use of force... needs to be brought to the attention of the United Nations and the international community," the statement said.

EMOTION-TRACKING WEARABLE DEVICE LETS YOUR BOSS MONITOR YOUR FEELINGS

So you get a job in customer service, and your boss says your dealings with customers are going to be monitored for "quality." No, you won't be on CCTV -- you'll be wearing a watch-sized device on your wrist that tracks your emotions by measuring heart rate, your location, body temperature, and skin moisture levels.

QUESTIONING THE NEW IMPERIAL WORLD ORDER

The BRussells Tribunal are intellectuals, artists and activists who denounce the logic of permanent war promoted by the American government and its allies, affecting for the time being particularly one region in the world: the Middle East. It started with a people's court against the PNAC and its role in the illegal invasion of Iraq, but continued ever since. It tries to be a bridge between the intellectual resistance in the Arab World and the Western peace movements.

STEPHEN COLBERT EXPLAINS WHY THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS GOING DOWN

Why with our financial woes is the unemployment rate going down? Stephen Colbert explains the formula of how we arrive at the unemployment rate. The Audacity of Hopelessness!

NAVY FRIEND, COLLEAGUE OF ADMIRAL SAYS SENATOR MCCAIN'S FATHER WOULD BE ROLLING OVER IN THE GRAVE

Senator John McCain's father "would be turning over in his grave" at his son's association with the American Christian right and elements in US government who want to fight preemptive and preventative nuclear war.

CHENEY IN BAGHDAD SAYS IRAQ SECURITY ‘PHENOMENAL’ - AS BOMBS KILL 52

The Worst Vice President Ever goes to Baghdad and says:

“I was last in Baghdad 10 months ago, and I can sense, as a result of the progress that’s been made since then, that there have been some phenomenal changes, in terms of the overall situation, both with respect to the security situation, where Iraqi and American forces have done some very good work, as well as with respect to political developments here in Iraq.”

Meanwhile:

At sunset Monday, however, a female suicide bomber killed at least 40 people* and injured more than 50 when she blew herself up in a crowded pedestrian area near a Shiite Muslim shrine in the southern holy city of Karbala, according to government and hospital officials. Among the victims were several Iranian pilgrims who’d come to worship at the Imam Hussein shrine, one of Islam’s most sacred sites…

BAGHDAD: CITY OF WALLS

In the first of Ghaith Abdul-Ahad's extraordinary series of films to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, he investigates the claims that the US military surge is bringing stability to Iraq. By travelling through the heart of Baghdad he exposes how, by enclosing the Sunni and Shia populations behind 12ft walls, the surge has left the city more divided and desperate than ever

MEDIA BLACK-OUT OF ANTIWAR PROTESTS CONTINUES

Activists gear up for March 19th protests while corporate media gear up to ignore those very protests

MONDAY: 2 US SOLDIERS, 63 IRAQIS, 7 IRANIANS KILLED; 111 IRAQIS WOUNDED

As U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney took a somewhat secretive visit to Baghdad today, Karbala experienced a major bombing attack that killed dozens of people. Several bomb explosions were also heard across the capital. Overall, 63 Iraqis were killed and about another 111 were wounded across the country. Seven Iranians were killed in the Karbala attack as well. Meanwhile, two American soldiers were killed in an IED attack while on a route-clearing mission north of the capital.

WHATCOM GOP DELEGATES FAVOR RON PAUL

While there are no hard figures yet, County GOP Chairman Chet Dow said it appears that Paul has received the majority of delegates who will be sent to the summer state convention in Spokane. From there, delegates will be selected for the national convention.

RED FLAGS IN BEAR STEARNS’ COLLAPSE

Last Friday we got a taste of what the future is likely to be like as we make our way further into the belly of the second great depression.

THIS IS GONNA BE A HARD FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO FACE

The following video is from PBS’s Jim Lehrer News Hour, broadcast on March 17, 2008

NEW ORLEANS’ HOMELESS RATE SWELLS TO 1 IN 25

An estimated 12,000 homeless accounts for 4% of New Orleans’ estimated population of 302,000, according to the homeless advocacy group UNITY of Greater New Orleans. The number is nearly double the pre-Katrina homeless count, the group says.

WINTER SOLDIER: IRAQ WAR VETERANS RECALL HORRORS OF WAR IN LIVE BROADCAST

Cambridge, MA -- Liz Jackson's eyes were fixed on a screen showing a live broadcast of anguished testimonies by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans describing what they had seen and done during their combat tours.

WINTER SOLDIER: AMERICA MUST HEAR THESE IRAQ VETS' STORIES

Adam Kokesh enlisted in the Marines not because he agreed with the war, but because he "wanted to help clean up the mess." Instead of the schools and water facilities his President had promised he would be helping to build, he found himself policing a wanton project of human and social destruction. He manned "snap" check points where Marines in camouflage at dusk shot unsuspecting drivers who had failed to see them. He described feeling "funny" when he had to decide whether or not to pose with the trophy remains. "I wasn't the one who killed this guy." Kokesh was ordered to shoot at Iraqi police and firemen who were out after curfew putting out a fire that had been started by American rounds.

ANTI-WAR GRANNIES ARRESTED TRYING TO ENLIST

Atlanta, GA -- As part of actions across the United States to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, 10 "Grandmothers for Peace", ranging in age from 57 to 80, were arrested Monday while trying to enlist in the United States Army. Acts of civil disobedience are planned this week in at least 17 other U.S. cities.

SOLDIER SUICIDES CAUSE MILITARY MENTAL HEALTH POLICIES TO BE EXAMINED

Washington, DC -- Chris Scheuerman believes the military he served for 20 years failed his Army son Jason, who shot himself to death in his Iraq barracks almost three years ago.

ABU GHRAIB PRISONERS PACKED IN ICE & WATER-FILLED GARBAGE CANS AND SENT INTO SHOCK

Muslim prisoners held in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison were submerged in water-filled garbage cans with ice or put naked under cold showers in near-freezing rooms until they went into shock, Sgt. Javal Davis, who served with the 372nd Military Police Company there, has told a national magazine.

MISSOURI NATIONAL GUARD TRAINS TO BE ROADBLOCK

More than 100 members of a National Guard MP unit are practicing.... practicing... practicing... for the real world of Kosovo. We've spent part of a day with them in a couple of their training areas But even before we got to their first site, on a remote dirt road at Fort Leonard Wood when a soldier steps into the road, stops our car and orders us out... Off the road several other soldiers have us in their riflesites.