Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party |
- Romney’s Chances of Finishing First or Second in Iowa Dips
- Alaska lawmaker blasts TSA in new PSA, warning travelers about revealing full body scanners
- Americans buy record numbers of guns for Christmas
- A Gathering Storm Over ‘Right to Work’ in Indiana
- Online piracy bill has free speech supporters up in arms
- Ind. lawmaker: Online tax could replace estate tax
- Food Prices Ease Slightly But Are Still Volatile: UN Official
- Charlton Library Sends Police To Collect Overdue Books From 5-Year-Old
- Exposed: The Military’s Freakiest ‘Non-Lethal’ Weapon Ideas
- FDA launches soft investigation, but no recall, after infant formula linked to causing death in babies
| Romney’s Chances of Finishing First or Second in Iowa Dips Posted: 03 Jan 2012 12:58 PM PST By Brian Beers, CNBC.com There’s a place where some people bet money on the Iowa Caucus — and Mitt Romney appears to have the highest likelihood of paying off as a top two finisher. However, his market value has started to decline since a New Year’s Eve peak of $0.912 down nearly 10 percent to a level of $0.825 (as of 12:30 p.m. CST on Jan. 3), according to trading data in the University of Iowa’s Electronic Political Futures Markets (IEM). The Iowa Electronic Markets are forecasting tools developed by the University of Iowa in 1988 that allows university students from around the world to invest real money trading shares in future events whose payoff is based on a successful prediction. Contracts for the correct outcome pay off at $1, while all other contracts pay off at zero. Ron Paul contracts were the highest trading value of any listed GOP candidate less than one week ago, reaching a high of $0.900 on Dec. 29. After sinking to $0.470 two days later during the “Santorum Surge,” Paul futures were back up to a high of $0.706 on Tuesday. One of the more interesting trades is the multi-candidate entry for the prospects of Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, and the others who were not listed as individual contracts. Trading for less than a dime a week ago, futures traders started shifting their money into a strong Santorum finish, reaching a recent level of $0.490 as Iowans were readying to vote. To read more, visit: http://www.cnbc.com/id/45858605 |
| Alaska lawmaker blasts TSA in new PSA, warning travelers about revealing full body scanners Posted: 03 Jan 2012 11:35 AM PST By: J. D. Heyes, InfoWars.com Regular readers of NaturalNews.com already know that the expectation of privacy in America has slowly been eroded through a series of laws and court rulings. In the modern era, one of the most egregious and serial violators of privacy has been the Transportation Security Administration. The only good news in the sorry state of affairs regarding constitutional violations and privacy abuses by the TSA is that with each new indignity the public – and official – outcry has gotten louder. Enter Alaska state Rep. Chris Tuck-D, who has produced a new public service announcement railing against the TSA's full-body scanners and informing constituents and prospective travelers that they can be mad as hell and don't have to take it anymore. "The TSA installed new body scanners at [Alaska] airports. These machines still allow TSA screeners to see through your clothes," he says in his video, which was posted online at TheHill.com, a daily politics newspaper that covers Congress. "Air travel safety is appreciated but no one should be humiliated or degraded," Tuck says in the 30-second spot. "If you don't want inappropriate pictures of you or your children taken and stored, or if you're concerned about the possible health affects [of radiation], then all you have to do is ask to opt out." "It is your right," Tuck said. "Instead, they will pat you down, and if they touch you inappropriately, call the airport police. This is still a free country." Tuck is only the latest critic of the TSA's procedures, but he joins a growing cadre of critics who have railed against the widespread use of body scanners as an invasion of privacy and a legitimate health concern. The TSA says the machines are safe and that its newest machines will only show generic outlines of human bodies in order to reveal potential terror threats. To read more, visit: http://www.infowars.com/alaska-lawmaker-blasts-tsa-in-new-psa-warning-travelers-about-revealing-full-body-scanners/ |
| Americans buy record numbers of guns for Christmas Posted: 03 Jan 2012 11:31 AM PST By Nick Allen, The Telegraph According to the FBI, over 1.5 million background checks on customers were requested by gun dealers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in December. Nearly 500,000 of those were in the six days before Christmas. It was the highest number ever in a single month, surpassing the previous record set in November. On Dec 23 alone there were 102,222 background checks, making it the second busiest single day for buying guns in history. The actual number of guns bought may have been even higher if individual customers took home more than one each. Explanations for America’s surge in gun buying include that it is a response to the stalled economy with people fearing crime waves. Another theory is that buyers are rushing to gun shops because they believe tighter firearms laws will be introduced in the future. The National Rifle Association said people were concerned about self defence because police officer numbers were declining. A spokesman said: “I think there’s an increased realisation that when something bad occurs it’s going to be between them and the criminal.” To read more, visit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8987359/Americans-buy-record-numbers-of-guns-for-Christmas.html |
| A Gathering Storm Over ‘Right to Work’ in Indiana Posted: 03 Jan 2012 11:28 AM PST By STEVEN GREENHOUSE, NYTimes.com INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly a year after legislatures in Wisconsin and several other Republican-dominated states curbed the power of public sector unions, lawmakers are now turning their sights toward private sector unions, setting up what is sure to be another political storm. The thunderclouds are gathering first here in Indiana. The leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature say that when the legislative session opens on Wednesday, their No. 1 priority will be to push through a business-friendly piece of legislation known as a right-to-work law. If Indiana enacts such a law — and its sponsors say they have the votes — it will give new momentum to those who have previously pushed such legislation in Maine, Michigan, Missouri and other states. New Hampshire's Republican-controlled Legislature was the last to pass a right-to-work bill in 2011, but it narrowly failed to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto by the Democratic governor; an Indiana law would re-energize that effort. Right-to-work laws prohibit union contracts at private sector workplaces from requiring employees to pay any dues or other fees to the union. In states without such laws, workers at unionized workplaces generally have to pay such dues or fees. Many right-to-work supporters say it is morally wrong to force unwilling workers to contribute to unions, while opponents argue that it is wrong to allow "free riders" not to support the unions that represent them in negotiations and arbitrations. Right-to-work is also a potent political symbol that carries serious financial consequences for unions. Corporations view such laws as an important sign that a state has policies friendly to business. Labor leaders say that allowing workers to opt out of paying any money to the union that represents them weakens unions' finances, bargaining clout and political power. To read more, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/business/gathering-storm-over-right-to-work-in-indiana.html?pagewanted=all |
| Online piracy bill has free speech supporters up in arms Posted: 03 Jan 2012 11:24 AM PST By Martha Lufkin, The Art Newspaper Artists who use others' work could be fined or have their websites shut down washington, dc. A bill being considered by a House of Representatives committee last month could divide the art world into two camps: those who want to protect their creations from being used online and those who like to use the work of others. The legislation, intended to stop piracy on the web, is meeting strong opposition: Wikipedia co-founder, Jimmy Wales, has proposed a blackout on their site. The measure would impose criminal fines and allow the US government and individuals to shut down websites for alleged infringement. Critics say the steps would restrain free speech and cause service providers to filter out content they were unsure of. Music and film producers want the bill to be passed. Online giants like Google, Twitter and Yahoo are opposed and "techies" devoted to a free internet are up in arms. The bill, the Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa), introduced by Republican representative Lamar Smith, is designed to fight websites identified as dedicated to copyright infringement. If passed, the attorney general could require US internet providers to deny access to such sites and could require advertisers and payment services, such as Paypal, to stop doing business with them. If the service provider acts reasonably to comply with the order, or voluntarily stops business with a suspected site, it would be immune from liability. The bill also makes it a crime to distribute or reproduce electronically a copyrighted work with a value over $1,000. Laurence Tribe, a professor of law at Harvard, says that Sopa has "grave implications for publishers and creative artists. It will diminish the availability of art images on the web" and "dramatically chill protected speech". "Artists who want to make fair use of another artist's work, as part of a work posted online, could be threatened," says Art Brodsky, the communications director for Public Knowledge, a Washington, DC-based organisation that supports digital rights. "Whether it's an image or a film clip, the hosting site could have its financial support cut off, or even be subject to closure." To read more, visit: http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Online-piracy-bill-has-free-speech-supporters-up-in-arms/25332 |
| Ind. lawmaker: Online tax could replace estate tax Posted: 03 Jan 2012 11:21 AM PST From: The Washington Examiner A top Indiana lawmaker is floating the idea of using an online sales tax to help replace revenue that would be lost if a proposal to eliminate the state’s inheritance tax becomes law. State Sen. Luke Kenley, a Noblesville Republican who chairs Senate Appropriations Committee, wants Congress to require all online retailers to collect state sales taxes. He said it would be an ideal replacement for the inheritance, or estate tax. “It’s almost a one-for-one replacement and it’s a perfect replacement for the estate tax,” Kenley told the Times of Munster (http://bit.ly/vgYeMv ). Indiana would lose about $165 million a year starting in 2020 if lawmakers eliminate the state’s inheritance tax, according to estimates. Currently only online retailers with a physical location in a state are required to collect sales tax. Individuals are supposed to pay a 7 percent use tax for online purchases where sales tax wasn’t collected, but the Indiana Department of Revenue said that few people do. In November, Kenley told a Congressional committee that pending legislation sponsored by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., would ensure equality between online and brick-and-mortar retailers by requiring both to collect sales tax from their customers. To read more, visit: http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2012/01/ind-lawmaker-online-tax-could-replace-estate-tax/2056371 |
| Food Prices Ease Slightly But Are Still Volatile: UN Official Posted: 03 Jan 2012 11:16 AM PST By: Reuters With AP, CNBC.com The new head of the U.N. food agency said he expects food prices to remain volatile in 2012 —and more people will go hungry. Jose Graziano da Silva, Brazil’s former food security minister, took over as director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization Jan. 1. He told reporters Tuesday his top priority was to make good on the agency’s mandate: eradicate world hunger. “Prices will not be going up as in the sense of the last two to three years but will also not drop down. There may be some reductions but not drastic,” Graziano da Silva told a news conference in Rome. Global food prices measured by the FAO hit a peak in February, but have been falling since June as crops have improved and concerns about global economic turmoil have reined in demand growth. High food prices have helped fuel inflation and contributed to civil unrest and the Arab Spring earlier this year. Graziano da Silva said he did not expect the economic slowdown in Europe to impact funding for FAO projects, because the amount countries donated was such a small proportion of gross domestic product that they were unlikely to cut it. He said the slowdown was likely to increase the number of people at risk of hunger in the world, however. To read more, visit: http://www.cnbc.com/id/45855826 |
| Charlton Library Sends Police To Collect Overdue Books From 5-Year-Old Posted: 03 Jan 2012 11:11 AM PST From: CBSBoston.com A Charlton mom says her local library crossed the line when they sent police to collect her daughter's overdue library books. Her mom says the 5-year-old girl was so afraid that she burst into tears. Charlton Police Sergeant Dan Dowd stopped by the home of Shannon Benoit to let her know that her daughter had two books several months overdue which needed to be returned or paid for. "I thought it was way overboard," says Benoit. "I closed my door, I looked at my daughter and she started crying." Hailey asked her mom if the police were going to arrest her. Hailey says, "I was scared." They found and returned the books, but Hailey's mom argues that sending a cop to their house was like pounding a ten penny nail with a sledge hammer. To read more, visit: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/01/02/charlton-library-sends-police-to-collect-overdue-books-from-5-year-old/ |
| Exposed: The Military’s Freakiest ‘Non-Lethal’ Weapon Ideas Posted: 03 Jan 2012 11:08 AM PST By Katie Drummond, Wired.com Tasers that elicit excruciating spasms in one person at a time? Foam pellets that send an entire crowd fleeing in agony? Pfft. So 2011. Where non-lethal weapons are concerned, the future's all about sonic microwaves that can make swimmers puke mid-stroke, and aircraft with laser beams that can redirect an entire enemy plane mid-flight. Or, at least, those are the deepest, darkest wishes of the Pentagon agency responsible for non-lethal weapons. The military's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate's "Non-Lethal Weapons Reference Book," leaked online last week by PublicIntelligence.org, is a terrifying treasure trove that describes dozens of ways — some already in-use, others in development or still mere fantasy — for military and law enforcement officials to make you wish they were using the real bullets. A total of 14 weapons, according to the reference book, are currently being fielded. Some of 'em, you've heard of. Good old tasers, which the guide helpfully reminds us "can penetrate 2 inches of clothing" in order to "totally disable an individual," and guns that shoot 600 rubber pellets filled with pepper spray to keep rowdy crowds — already used by law enforcement officials, sometimes with very lethal results — subdued. Most of the guide, however, offers a sneak peak at the military's dream non-lethal arms cache. Dozens of the devices are currently in development. There's an "Impulse Swimmer Gun" that uses "pulsed sound waves" to cause "auditory impairment and/or nausea" among scuba divers engaged in "unauthorized underwater activities"; A system that relies on "high-power microwaves" to block oncoming cars and any (oops) "unintended targets within the target area"; A vehicle-mounted tube launcher that'll unleash "ocular and auditory impairment" combined with "thermal heating" to utterly devastate a horde of wrongdoers. To read more, visit: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/non-lethal-weapons/ |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2012 11:05 AM PST By: Ethan A. Huff, NaturalNews.com Walmart has voluntarily recalled a batch of Enfamil Newborn powdered formula cans from 3,000 US stores after the substance inside them was linked to causing death in some babies. Though the product in question, which includes 12.5-ounce cans from lot number ZP1K7G, are suspected to be the culprit, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not ordered a recall, and the product’s manufacturer, Mead Johnson Nutrition, has refused to disclose whether or not formula cans from the suspected lot were distributed to any other stores besides Walmart. The Associated Press (AP) reports that Walmart decided to pull the formula after recent newborn Avery Cornett of Lebanon, Missouri, died of a rare bacterial infection caused by Cronobacter sakazakii, which is particularly fatal in children less than one month of age. Back in November, another small child fell deathly ill after being fed a couple different types of powdered baby formula, but that child reportedly recovered. “We decided it was best to remove the product until we learn more,” said Dianna Gee, a spokeswoman from Walmart. The FDA, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Missouri Department of Health (MDH) are all reportedly still investigating the situation to identify the culprit. In the meantime, customers who purchased the suspected formula are merely being urged to return it to stores for a refund if they feel like it, and authorities are acting as if there is no real threat at this point. To regulators, processed food is always safe, and local family-scale food is always dangerous Compare this situation to what happened last month to Organic Pastures Dairy (OPD) in California. In case you missed that event, state regulators shut down OPD after discovering a potential, but later disproven, link between OPD raw milk products and several cases of mild E. Coli infection. Even before a single scientific test was conducted, authorities ordered a full recall of all OPD products, and demanded that the company stop selling all raw milk products indefinitely (http://www.naturalnews.com/034422_O…). It was only after OPD owner Mark McAfee and his thousands of loyal customers began to aggressively challenge the unreasonable quarantine of the dairy’s milk products that regulators finally backed off. But for nearly a month, regulators prevented the company from conducting its business, and treated OPD’s products as contaminated until proven uncontaminated, or “guilty until proven innocent,” if you will (http://www.naturalnews.com/034458_O…). The potentially-tainted Enfamil product, on the other hand, is being treated as innocent until proven guilty. Children are potentially dying from this product, and yet the FDA, CDC, and other health agencies are allowing it to remain for sale. They are turning a blind eye to Mead Johnson Nutrition playing public relations games with public safety by withholding the names of stores besides Walmart that may also be carrying the product. To read more, visit: http://www.naturalnews.com/034552_infant_formula_babies_death.html |
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