more families becoming homeless, study finds from washington post: Louis Gill doesn't like to turn anyone away. The director of the Bakersfield Homeless Center in California has taken to laying out cots and mattresses between the shelter's 174 registered beds to cope with the rush of homeless families brought to his doors by the financial crisis. "Last year, we saw a 34 percent increase in homeless families and a 24 percent increase in homeless children," he said. "Why do we go beyond capacity? Because in a just society, a child should not have to sleep outside or in a car." Gill is a frontline witness to the change in the makeup of the country's homeless. The stereotype of a homeless person as a single man no longer applies. A resident of the Bakersfield center is far more likely to be a young mother with a "good, solid job and a mortgage that she just couldn't pay... They're like folks you know and that you've worked with," Gill said. "Maybe the work's not there right now. Maybe they got behind on their payments. But the idea of a typical homeless person has changed. We're seeing individuals come in that have never had to access the safety net before." Government figures support Gill's experience. The ravages of the recession, including a surge in foreclosures and unemployment approaching 10 percent, have driven thousands of families onto the streets. Although the number of homeless individuals remained relatively stable between 2007 and 2008, the number of homeless families rose 9 percent, and in rural and suburban areas the number jumped by 56 percent, according to a report [5.6mb PDF] released last week by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
calif tax officials: legal pot would rake in $1.4b from sfgate: California tax officials have found that a state bill to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol would generate nearly $1.4 billion in revenue. A State Board of Equalization report released Wednesday estimates marijuana retail sales would bring $990 million from a $50-per-ounce fee and $392 million in sales taxes. The bill introduced by San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano in February would allow adults to legally possess, grow and sell marijuana. Ammiano has promoted the bill as a way to help bridge the state's $26.3 billion budget shortfall. The state could not begin collecting taxes under the bill, as written, until the federal government legalizes marijuana. A spokesman says Ammiano plans to amend the bill to remove that provision.
canada's job picture surprisingly, um, un-weak as US budget deficit tops $1t for first time from ap: Nine months into the fiscal year, the federal deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time ever. The imbalance is intensifying fears about higher interest rates and inflation, and already pressuring the value of the dollar. The Treasury Department says the deficit in June totaled $94.3 billion, pushing the total since the budget year started in October to nearly $1.1 trillion. The deficit has been propelled by the huge sum the government has spent to combat the recession and financial crisis, combined with a sharp decline in tax revenues. Paying for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is also a major factor. The country's soaring deficits are making some foreign buyers of U.S. debt nervous, and this could make them reluctant lenders down the road.
audio: 'we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt' from cnsnews: Vice President Joe Biden told people attending an AARP town hall meeting that unless the Democrat-supported health care plan becomes law the nation will go bankrupt and that the only way to avoid that fate is for the government to spend more money. “And folks look, AARP knows and the people with me here today know, the president knows, and I know, that the status quo is simply not acceptable,” Biden said at the event on Thursday in Alexandria, Va. “It’s totally unacceptable. And it’s completely unsustainable. Even if we wanted to keep it the way we have it now. It can’t do it financially... We’re going to go bankrupt as a nation,” Biden said. “Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’” Biden said. “The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you.”
obama economic advisors linked to banksters from politico: Lawrence Summers, a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, pulled in more than $2.7 million in speaking fees paid by firms at the heart of the financial crisis, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America Corp. and the now-defunct Lehman Brothers. He pulled in another $5.2 million last year from D.E. Shaw, a hedge fund for which he served as managing director from October 2006 until joining the administration. Thomas E. Donilon, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, was paid $3.9 million last year by the power law firm O’Melveny & Myers to represent clients, including two firms that received federal bailout funds: Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. He also disclosed that he’s a member of the Trilateral Commission and sits on the steering committee of the super-secret Bilderberg group. Both groups are favorite targets of conspiracy theorists.
obama pledges to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons from latimes: President Obama vowed Sunday to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons from the planet, telling a cheering throng in Prague that the United States is ready to lead an international effort to reduce atomic arsenals and the threat they pose. Speaking only hours after North Korea launched a multistage rocket... Obama outlined a plan to work toward a goal that he acknowledged remains decades away.
obamacomics: 'barack the barbarian' & 'drafted: one hundred days' from chicago tribune: Is the presidential sword mightier than his pen? Two new comics with characters based on President Barack Obama may tell us. "Drafted: One Hundred Days" and "Barack the Barbarian: Quest for the Treasure of Stimuli," will feature Obama prominently on their covers and in their stories, according to Chicago-based Devil's Due Publishing. Both are due out in June. The first tells the story of a leader whose future is stunted "when a race from beyond the stars drafted our planet into intergalactic war," reads a company synopsis of the comic, part of the "Drafted" series. The book's Obama is further challenged by an injury that robs him of his greatest strength — speech... Devil's Due founder and President Josh Blaylock, an Obama fan, says the company took inspiration from a half-dozen other Obama comics, including the president's appearance earlier this year with Spider-Man, as well as from the president's own fondness for collecting "Conan the Barbarian" comics... "Barack the Barbarian" also includes a sword-carrying vixen with a striking resemblance to a certain former Republican vice presidential candidate. The apparent faux Sarah Palin is drawn wearing a chain-mail bikini, complete with bookish glasses and a dead-wolf drape. Quest for the treasure of stimuli, indeed.
russian poll: 84% say truth about 9/11 being deliberately hidden from steve watson: A new poll from a major Russian news outlet reveals that 84% believe that the truth behind the 9/11 attacks is being deliberately hidden by the U.S. government. At time of writing, the poll on the Russia Today website indicates that only 16% of readers feel that the 9/11 Commission report represents the full extent of the evidence as to who carried out the attacks over seven years ago. The 84% figure mirrors almost exactly that of similar polls conducted in 2006 and 2004.
russia state tv discussion on 9/11 following 'zero' broadcast from 9/11 blogger: YouTube links for Friday evening's historic telecast on Russia state TV Channel One have been posted, and the discussion following the telecast of "ZERO: An Investigation into 9/11" begins halfway through Part 11 - anybody working on an English translation of this?
medvedev likens georgia attack to 9/11 from afp: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today likened Georgian military action against its breakaway province of South Ossetia to the September 11 attacks on the United States... "Almost immediately after these events it occured to me that for Russia, August 8, 2008 was almost like September 11, 2001 in the United States," Medvedev told a high-profile group of Western foreign policy experts in Moscow... "There were many useful lessons from 9/11 in the United States. I would like the world to draw its own lessons from what happened" in August, the Russian leader said, adding: "The world changed."
former syrian minister: 9/11 an inside job from jerusalem post: The Syrian government daily Teshreen marked the seventh anniversary of 9/11 this week in a unique fashion: by publishing an article by Syria's former information minister blaming US intelligence agencies for the attacks. According to Mahdi Dakhlallah, in a piece that appeared Wednesday, the intelligence agencies were behind the September 11, 2001 attacks to provide a pretext for a preplanned US plan to invade Iraq and Afghanistan. "These plans were ready and prepared [in advance] - and all that was needed was to find a pretext to begin their immediate implementation," wrote Dakhlallah, in a piece of which excerpts were translated by MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute.
mexico & US find no links since 9/11 from ap: Mexico says it has arrested 12 people on terrorism charges in the years since the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S., but an official said none were linked to Muslim extremist groups like al-Qaida nor were any planning to strike in the United States. Officials from both nations say there hasn't been any sign of the southern U.S. border becoming an entry point for terrorists, as had been feared after the suicide jetliner hijackings that struck New York and Washington.
ventura says govt not telling 9/11 story from east valley tribune: Jesse Ventura, the former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler, accompanied a state senator to Arizona’s 9/11 Memorial on Thursday to press his claims that the government isn’t telling the truth about the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. “I think it’s growing and growing with the population that more and more of us are questioning what happened that day, and we’re also looking to find out if the truth was withheld from us,” Ventura said. “And the more you study it, the more difficult for me it becomes to believe what my government told me.”
cynthia mckinney at 9/11 1st responders event from run cynthia run: Cynthia McKinney, Green Party Presidential candidate, talks at a benefit for 9/11 First Responders. A disproportionate number of First Responders are ill as a result of the toxic conditions at the 9/11 site. The Gov't does not acknowledge the toxic conditions nor is it offering significant support to the First Responders or their survivors. One key to changing that is a House Bill HR 3543 providing such resources. Cynthia McKinney supports such legislation and would go beyond that.
decade worth of messages, interviews from osama leaked to web from wikinews: Ten years of messages and interviews with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden have been leaked. Translated by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the documents were posted on a blog Friday.
Posted to Secrecy News blog on September 12, and copied to similar sites including Wikileaks.org, the ten years of messages span from 1994-2004. The packet, issued in 2004, is nearly 300 pages, and labeled "official use only". It was translated by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), a division of the CIA, and includes interviews with bin Laden from various news agencies and also includes messages he sent directly to the United States.
"Following the latest explosions in the United States, some Americans are pointing the finger at me, but I deny that because I have not done it. The United States has always accused me of these incidents which have been caused by its enemies. Reiterating once again, I say that I have not done it, and the perpetrators have carried this out because of their own interest," said bin Laden on September 16, 2001, just five days after the attacks.
terrorism fear could create psychosomatic epidemic, feds warn from threat level: Americans' fear of a terrorism could create a mass outbreak of a psychosomatic illness - even in the absence of any real attack - creating a fake epidemic that could overwhelm hospitals attempting to treat real victims. Adding to the confusion, the symptoms of a mass pyschogenic illness look much like symptoms of an anthrax attack, avian flu outbreak or chemical attack.
At least that's what the feds warned hospitals in a nonpublic 2006 communique recently published by the government sunshine site Wikileaks... In fact, the feds suggest that there's already been a totally terrorism-fear-created illness in California where no one was actually sick from an attack. In that case, a man walked into a California bank in October 2003, sprayed an aerosol can into the air and then left. Employees and customers became ill, though investigators found there were no biological or chemical agents in the air. (Note: proof of this incident is attributed to a November 2003 FBI report that is also considered too sensitive for the public's eyes.)...
And perhaps most seriously, after the deadly sarin gas attacks in Tokyo in 1995, some 5,000 people went the hospital -- claiming to have symptoms, despite the attack's rather small radius. Twelve people were killed by the gas and 54 others sustained serious injuries. The analysis recommended that the government and health system educate people about chemical and biological attacks so they can recognize real symptoms, as well as quickly isolating both real and psychosomatic victims in the case of an attack or perceived attack.
The July 5, 2006, analysis entitled Fear of Terrorist Attack Could Trigger Mass Psychogenic Illness (47kb PDF) from the the Homeland Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center is not classified. Instead it is labeled For Official Use Only (FOUO) -- a designation that allows the data to be shared with people without clearances, but away from the public eye. Such material is usually not available through government sunshine requests.
hackers block qaeda’s 9/11 anniversary terror tape from hindustan times: Hackers prevented Al Qaeda from releasing a videotape to mark the seventh anniversary of 9/11. Al Qaeda has traditionally issued a video or audiotape by either Osama bin Laden or Ayman al Zawahiri, the terror network’s two leaders, to mark their massive terrorist attack on the US. As-Sahab, Al Qaeda’s media unit, had indicated earlier this week that it would post such a videotape on September 11. As-Sahab had banner images on the internet showing a silhouetted head with a question mark and the words, “Wait 11 September”. The US-based intelligence group IntelCenter had speculated the video would be a message from Osama or Zawahiri with a recording of the last will and testament of Mohammed Atta, one of the leaders of the 9/11 attackers. Sources close to US intelligence said, “Hackers knocked out Al Qaeda’s online means of communication, thus preventing them from posting anything to commemorate the anniversary.” Western intelligence suspects two hackers who have targeted Islamicist sites before were responsible: Aaron Weisburd from Internet Haganah and Rusty Shackleford from the web group My Pet Jawa.
how israel trained & equipped georgia's army from danger room: The Russian military blasted Israel today for supplying weapons and training to its adversaries in Georgia. "Israel armed the Georgian army," Russian Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn told a Moscow press conference. Jerusalem provided Tblisi with "eight types of military vehicles, explosives, landmines and special explosives for the clearing minefields [sic]." "In 2007, Israeli experts trained Georgian commandos," he added. Georgia's Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia previously said that "Georgian corporals and sergeants train with Germans, alpine units and the navy work with French instructors, and special operations and urban warfare troops are taught by Israelis." Tensions between Georgia and Russia ratcheted up the spring, after Russia and her allies in the breakaway region of Abkhazia shot down a number of Georgian spy drones. Those unmanned Hermes 450 reconnaissance planes were made by Israel's Elbit Systems.
video: georgian president eats his tie on live tv from pravda: The BBC has recently aired a TV report, in which Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili ate his tie. The report was about the situation in the area of the conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia. The footage showed Saakashvili making a call to a top Western official. It could be clearly seen that Mr. Saakashvili was having a nervous breakdown.
cross us & we will crush you, warns medvedev from times online: President Medvedev of Russia yesterday promised a “shattering blow” against any foreign power that moved against Russian citizens. The threat will compound the fears of former Soviet states, which are concerned that they could be next after Russia’s attack on Georgia. “If someone thinks they can kill our citizens, kill soldiers and officers fulfilling the role of peacekeepers, we will never allow this,” Mr Medvedev told a group of Second World War veterans in Kursk. “Anyone who tries to do this will receive a shattering blow.”
russian gen says georgia may commit false flag attacks from paul joseph watson: Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff Anatoly Nogovitsyn warns that Georgia may be planning to commit false flag terror attacks by using mercenaries dressed in Russian uniforms, as Russia moved to guard sensitive infrastructure against terrorist attacks. In a news briefing on Monday, he said: "I cannot rule out that they might use mercenaries with Slavic appearance for a provocation, clad in the uniform of Russian servicemen, in order to commit subversive acts both on Ossetian and Russian territory."
ron paul predicted georgia conflict back in 2002! from disinfo: Ron Paul speaks with Bill Moyers back in 2002 on the issue of the Bush Adminstration's 'pre-emptive strike' policy:
turkish prez: US must share power in 'new world order' from raw story: For controversial Turkish President Abdullah Gül, the recent war in Georgia signals a "new world order" that will emerge from the rubble of South Ossetia and force the United States to share its power, The Guardian reported. Gül said America's inability to prevent Russia's invasion shows that the US can no longer shape world politics as it once did. "I don't think you can control all the world from one centre," Gül said. "There are big nations. There are huge populations. There is unbelievable economic development in some parts of the world. So what we have to do is, instead of unilateral actions, act all together, make common decisions and have consultations with the world. A new world order, if I can say it, should emerge."
what really happened in georgia? from brasscheck tv: Some basic facts:
1. The citizens of South Ossetia have long expressed a desire to break away from Georgia and, in fact, declared themselves independent from Georgia in the 1990s.
2. On the first day of the 2008 Olympics, Georgia launched an all-out, "shock and awe" attack on numerous civilian targets in Tskhinvali, the capital city of South Ossetia
3. Russia, which shares a border and a long historical connection with South Ossetia, sent troops into the region to fight back the attacking Georgian military.
4. The arms for Georgia's attack on South Ossetia were largely provided by the US.
5. The US and UK news media have successfully managed to portray these events as a random, unprovoked and savage attack on Georgia by Russia.
readjustments in pipelineistan from op-ed news: Georgia has long been viewed as an alternative - indeed, the only alternative - to trans-Russian transport of Central Asian oil and gas to western markets. To that end, the crown jewel of the movement was the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, which saw its opening in May of 2006. Initially, Russia expressed resistance to the BTC pipeline, but viewed it as predictable competition to its near-monopoly on European petroleum delivery, uttering only the occasional diatribe against the project. Operations of the pipeline and two others through Georgia proceeded apace, delivering some 1.5 million bbls/day of oil to western markets with little political or economic friction. Until now. Now, the moronic military move by Mikheil Saakashvili has entirely jeopardized his country's unique strategic situation, causing untold concern for oil markets, producers and foreign investors. As usual, however, the American foreign policy establishment continues to paint Russia as the "unstable" actor in the conflict, but Georgia's neighbors are too well-informed for that nonsense. Besides, most utterances by the Washington circuit are meant for western, and especially American public, consumption, which means they don't generally comport with reality.
12yr old tells the truth about georgia, so fox cuts her off from juan cole: Ooops. Fox News Interviews an Ossetian-American 12-year-old girl who thanks Russian troops for saving her from Georgian aggression. But Fox News was obviously not happy with the way the interview went.
medvedev inaugurated as russian president from washington times: Dmitry Medvedev yesterday was inaugurated as Russia's president, pledging to bolster the country's economic development and civil rights in what might signal a departure from his predecessor's heavy-handed tactics. Mr. Medvedev took the oath of office in the Kremlin's golden-hued Andreyevsky Hall, bringing to an end Vladimir Putin's eight years as president. But Mr. Putin is sure to continue to wield huge influence in the country. Little more than two hours after becoming president, Mr. Medvedev nominated Mr. Putin as prime minister. medvedev takes control of russian nuclear arsenal from spacewar: Newly inaugurated President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday formally assumed control of Russia's nuclear arsenal at a Kremlin meeting in which a military officer brought him a black nuclear briefcase. Medvedev, who was sworn in to succeed Vladimir Putin earlier, took command in the presence of Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov at a sombre meeting that contrasted with his glittering inauguration ceremony.
"Comrade commander-in-chief! Allow me to give you control of the strategic forces of the country," said the officer carrying the nuclear briefcase, in images shown on state television. The nuclear briefcase, a symbol of political power in Russia since the Cold War, is shrouded in secrecy but believed to contain a small computer with activation codes for nuclear missiles.
russia 'expels US embassy staff' from bbc: Russia has ordered the expulsion of two military attaches from the American embassy in Moscow, US officials say. The US state department said it would comply with the order although it objected to it.
death toll rises as israel strikes gaza targets from reuters: Israeli aircraft struck new targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing two militants, after the government vowed to press home an offensive despite appeals from Washington and elsewhere for an end to violence... A total of 107 people have been killed since Wednesday. Among these have been up to 60 civilians, including women and children, provoking an outcry from Palestinians and fellow Arabs and condemnation at the United Nations and elsewhere.
putin's chosen successor elected in russia from washington post: After 24 hours of voting across 11 time zones, Russians handed Dmitry Medvedev an overwhelming victory in the presidential election Sunday despite a lackluster campaign that was more coronation than contest from the moment President Vladimir Putin endorsed him in December.
rfid in german garments worry privacy experts from iht: Thousands of garments in the sprawling men's department at the Galeria Kaufhof are equipped with tiny wireless chips that can forestall fashion disaster by relaying information from the garment to a dressing-room screen... This pioneering pilot project of the Metro Group, a retail chain in Germany, heralds a shopping experience of the future in which dress shirts can wirelessly offer accessorizing tips to shoppers. But the rapid development of RFID technology is also being regarded cautiously by the authorities in the European Union, who are moving quickly to establish privacy guidelines because the chips - and the information being collected - are not always visible.
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biblical prophecy or political geology?: 
freed iraqi shoe-thrower: i was tortured*
from washington post: Louis Gill doesn't like to turn anyone away. The director of the Bakersfield Homeless Center in California has taken to laying out cots and mattresses between the shelter's 174 registered beds to cope with the rush of homeless families brought to his doors by the financial crisis. "Last year, we saw a 34 percent increase in homeless families and a 24 percent increase in homeless children," he said. "Why do we go beyond capacity? Because in a just society, a child should not have to sleep outside or in a car." Gill is a frontline witness to the change in the makeup of the country's homeless. The stereotype of a homeless person as a single man no longer applies. A resident of the Bakersfield center is far more likely to be a young mother with a "good, solid job and a mortgage that she just couldn't pay... They're like folks you know and that you've worked with," Gill said. "Maybe the work's not there right now. Maybe they got behind on their payments. But the idea of a typical homeless person has changed. We're seeing individuals come in that have never had to access the safety net before." Government figures support Gill's experience. The ravages of the recession, including a surge in foreclosures and unemployment approaching 10 percent, have driven thousands of families onto the streets. Although the number of homeless individuals remained relatively stable between 2007 and 2008, the number of homeless families rose 9 percent, and in rural and suburban areas the number jumped by 56 percent, according to a report [5.6mb PDF] released last week by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
from ap: Nine months into the fiscal year, the federal deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time ever. The imbalance is intensifying fears about higher interest rates and inflation, and already pressuring the value of the dollar. The Treasury Department says the deficit in June totaled $94.3 billion, pushing the total since the budget year started in October to nearly $1.1 trillion. The deficit has been propelled by the huge sum the government has spent to combat the recession and financial crisis, combined with a sharp decline in tax revenues. Paying for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is also a major factor. The country's soaring deficits are making some foreign buyers of U.S. debt nervous, and this could make them reluctant lenders down the road.
from cnsnews: Vice President Joe Biden told people attending an AARP town hall meeting that unless the Democrat-supported health care plan becomes law the nation will go bankrupt and that the only way to avoid that fate is for the government to spend more money. “And folks look, AARP knows and the people with me here today know, the president knows, and I know, that the status quo is simply not acceptable,” Biden said at the event on Thursday in Alexandria, Va. “It’s totally unacceptable. And it’s completely unsustainable. Even if we wanted to keep it the way we have it now. It can’t do it financially... We’re going to go bankrupt as a nation,” Biden said. “Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’” Biden said. “The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you.”
from politico: Lawrence Summers, a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, pulled in more than $2.7 million in speaking fees paid by firms at the heart of the financial crisis, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America Corp. and the now-defunct Lehman Brothers. He pulled in another $5.2 million last year from D.E. Shaw, a hedge fund for which he served as managing director from October 2006 until joining the administration. Thomas E. Donilon, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, was paid $3.9 million last year by the power law firm O’Melveny & Myers to represent clients, including two firms that received federal bailout funds: Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. He also disclosed that he’s a member of the Trilateral Commission and sits on the steering committee of the super-secret Bilderberg group. Both groups are favorite targets of conspiracy theorists.
from latimes: President Obama vowed Sunday to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons from the planet, telling a cheering throng in Prague that the United States is ready to lead an international effort to reduce atomic arsenals and the threat they pose. Speaking only hours after North Korea launched a multistage rocket... Obama outlined a plan to work toward a goal that he acknowledged remains decades away.
from chicago tribune: Is the presidential sword mightier than his pen? Two new comics with characters based on President Barack Obama may tell us. "Drafted: One Hundred Days" and "Barack the Barbarian: Quest for the Treasure of Stimuli," will feature Obama prominently on their covers and in their stories, according to Chicago-based Devil's Due Publishing. Both are due out in June. The first tells the story of a leader whose future is stunted "when a race from beyond the stars drafted our planet into intergalactic war," reads a company synopsis of the comic, part of the "Drafted" series. The book's Obama is further challenged by an injury that robs him of his greatest strength — speech... Devil's Due founder and President Josh Blaylock, an Obama fan, says the company took inspiration from a half-dozen other Obama comics, including the president's appearance earlier this year with Spider-Man, as well as from the president's own fondness for collecting "Conan the Barbarian" comics... "Barack the Barbarian" also includes a sword-carrying vixen with a striking resemblance to a certain former Republican vice presidential candidate. The apparent faux Sarah Palin is drawn wearing a chain-mail bikini, complete with bookish glasses and a dead-wolf drape. Quest for the treasure of stimuli, indeed.
from steve watson: A new poll from a major Russian news outlet reveals that 84% believe that the truth behind the 9/11 attacks is being deliberately hidden by the U.S. government. At time of writing, the poll on the Russia Today website indicates that only 16% of readers feel that the 9/11 Commission report represents the full extent of the evidence as to who carried out the attacks over seven years ago. The 84% figure mirrors almost exactly that of similar polls conducted in 2006 and 2004.
from east valley tribune: Jesse Ventura, the former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler, accompanied a state senator to Arizona’s 9/11 Memorial on Thursday to press his claims that the government isn’t telling the truth about the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. “I think it’s growing and growing with the population that more and more of us are questioning what happened that day, and we’re also looking to find out if the truth was withheld from us,” Ventura said. “And the more you study it, the more difficult for me it becomes to believe what my government told me.”
from threat level: Americans' fear of a terrorism could create a mass outbreak of a psychosomatic illness - even in the absence of any real attack - creating a fake epidemic that could overwhelm hospitals attempting to treat real victims. Adding to the confusion, the symptoms of a mass pyschogenic illness look much like symptoms of an anthrax attack, avian flu outbreak or chemical attack.
from danger room: The Russian military blasted Israel today for supplying weapons and training to its adversaries in Georgia. "Israel armed the Georgian army," Russian Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn told a Moscow press conference. Jerusalem provided Tblisi with "eight types of military vehicles, explosives, landmines and special explosives for the clearing minefields [sic]." "In 2007, Israeli experts trained Georgian commandos," he added. Georgia's Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia previously said that "Georgian corporals and sergeants train with Germans, alpine units and the navy work with French instructors, and special operations and urban warfare troops are taught by Israelis." Tensions between Georgia and Russia ratcheted up the spring, after Russia and her allies in the breakaway region of Abkhazia shot down a number of Georgian spy drones. Those unmanned Hermes 450 reconnaissance planes were made by Israel's Elbit Systems.
from paul joseph watson: Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff Anatoly Nogovitsyn warns that Georgia may be planning to commit false flag terror attacks by using mercenaries dressed in Russian uniforms, as Russia moved to guard sensitive infrastructure against terrorist attacks. In a news briefing on Monday, he said: "I cannot rule out that they might use mercenaries with Slavic appearance for a provocation, clad in the uniform of Russian servicemen, in order to commit subversive acts both on Ossetian and Russian territory."
from raw story: For controversial Turkish President Abdullah Gül, the recent war in Georgia signals a "new world order" that will emerge from the rubble of South Ossetia and force the United States to share its power, The Guardian reported. Gül said America's inability to prevent Russia's invasion shows that the US can no longer shape world politics as it once did. "I don't think you can control all the world from one centre," Gül said. "There are big nations. There are huge populations. There is unbelievable economic development in some parts of the world. So what we have to do is, instead of unilateral actions, act all together, make common decisions and have consultations with the world. A new world order, if I can say it, should emerge."
from washington times: Dmitry Medvedev yesterday was inaugurated as Russia's president, pledging to bolster the country's economic development and civil rights in what might signal a departure from his predecessor's heavy-handed tactics. Mr. Medvedev took the oath of office in the Kremlin's golden-hued Andreyevsky Hall, bringing to an end Vladimir Putin's eight years as president. But Mr. Putin is sure to continue to wield huge influence in the country. Little more than two hours after becoming president, Mr. Medvedev nominated Mr. Putin as prime minister.
from spacewar: Newly inaugurated President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday formally assumed control of Russia's nuclear arsenal at a Kremlin meeting in which a military officer brought him a black nuclear briefcase. Medvedev, who was sworn in to succeed Vladimir Putin earlier, took command in the presence of Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov at a sombre meeting that contrasted with his glittering inauguration ceremony.
from reuters: Israeli aircraft struck new targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing two militants, after the government vowed to press home an offensive despite appeals from Washington and elsewhere for an end to violence... A total of 107 people have been killed since Wednesday. Among these have been up to 60 civilians, including women and children, provoking an outcry from Palestinians and fellow Arabs and condemnation at the United Nations and elsewhere.
from washington post: After 24 hours of voting across 11 time zones, Russians handed Dmitry Medvedev an overwhelming victory in the presidential election Sunday despite a lackluster campaign that was more coronation than contest from the moment President Vladimir Putin endorsed him in December.
from iht: Thousands of garments in the sprawling men's department at the Galeria Kaufhof are equipped with tiny wireless chips that can forestall fashion disaster by relaying information from the garment to a dressing-room screen... This pioneering pilot project of the Metro Group, a retail chain in Germany, heralds a shopping experience of the future in which dress shirts can wirelessly offer accessorizing tips to shoppers. But the rapid development of RFID technology is also being regarded cautiously by the authorities in the European Union, who are moving quickly to establish privacy guidelines because the chips - and the information being collected - are not always visible.