@dustcirclenews HEADLINES: Obama's Presidential Failure, CYBERCOM vs. Hacktivists, Internet Cold War, CISPA, Defiled Constitution, NatSec Letters Unconstitutional, CIA Drone Secrecy, Immigration Settlement, Problems with SORNA, Catholic Church Riches, America's Financial Nazism, Orwellian America, Monsanto, America is Losing Religion, more.

The Failure of Barack Obama's Presidency

http://www.opednews.com/articles/How-Bush-and-Obama-Got-the-by-Eric-Zuesse-130314-460.html

New CYBERCOM to Wage War on Hacktivists With Offensive Ops and Surveillance
http://occupycorporatism.com/new-cybercom-to-wage-war-on-hacktivists-with-offensive-ops-surveillance/

Are We Ready for an Internet Cold War?
http://bigthink.com/endless-innovation/are-we-ready-for-an-internet-cold-war

Why CISPA Could Actually Lead To More Hacking Attacks
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130312/08093422297/why-cispa-could-actually-lead-to-more-hacking-attacks.shtml

6 Ways The US Supreme Court Has Defiled Our Constitution
http://www.countercurrents.org/corseri130313.htm

Praising the Troops for Defending Our “Rights” and “Freedoms”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34306.htm?utm_source=ICH%3A+Obama+to+Israel%3A+%60We+Got+Your+Back%27&utm_campaign=FIRST&utm_medium=email

Court Says National Security Letters Are Unconstitutional, Bans Them
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130315/14254522342/shocker-court-says-national-security-letters-are-unconstitutional-bans-them.shtml

Mississippi Governor Signs Bill Forcing Public Schools To Give Students Open Forum To Push Religious Views On Others
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/03/15/mississippi-governor-signs-bill-forcing-public-schools-to-give-students-open-forum-to-push-religious-views-on-others/

Court deals blow to CIA drone secrecy
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/court-deal-blow-to-cia-drone-secrecy-88918.html?hp=l1

Do countries lose religion as they gain wealth?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/03/05/f-religion-economic-growth.html

Judge Approves Landmark Settlement in Immigration Policy Case
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2013/03/15-2

Third Circuit panel discusses at length all the problems with SORNA
http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2013/03/third-circuit-panel-discusses-at-length-all-the-problems-with-sorna.html

How Rich Is the Catholic Church?
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2013/03/catholic_church_and_pope_francis_religious_institutions_are_exempted_from.html?wpisrc=newsletter_tis

Nowhere to Run or Hide from America’s 'Financial Nazism'
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34324.htm?utm_source=ICH%3A+Paul+Craig+Roberts%3A+When+Truth+Is+Suppressed+Countries+Die&utm_campaign=FIRST&utm_medium=email

An Orwellian America
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34321.htm?utm_source=ICH%3A+Paul+Craig+Roberts%3A+When+Truth+Is+Suppressed+Countries+Die&utm_campaign=FIRST&utm_medium=email

Monsanto: Patenting Death
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/03/15-7

The New York Times defends drone murder
http://wsws.org/en/articles/2013/03/11/pers-m11.html

You Wouldn't Believe How Fast Americans Are Losing Their Religion -- But the Fundamentalists Have a Plan
http://www.alternet.org/belief/you-wouldnt-believe-how-fast-americans-are-losing-their-religion-fundamentalists-have-plan

With Inequality Spiraling Out of Control It's Insane to Consider Cutting Social Security

http://www.alternet.org/hard-times-usa/inequality-spiraling-out-control-its-insane-consider-cutting-social-security

Stop Freaking Out About the Debt! 5 Reasons There Is No Debt Crisis
http://www.alternet.org/stop-freaking-out-about-debt-5-reasons-there-no-debt-crisis

The “Dirty War” Pope
http://wsws.org/en/articles/2013/03/16/pers-m16.html

Boycotting Israel is the "way to go," says Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters
http://electronicintifada.net/content/boycotting-israel-way-go-says-pink-floyd-legend-roger-waters/12287

Elizabeth Warren Debunks GOP Talking Points on Minimum Wage
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/elizabeth_warren_debunks_gop_talking_points_on_minimum_wage_20130318/

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23.Dec.2012 - Open Shame Letter to Americans, Torture Doesn't Work, 900 Children Kidnapped by Israeli Soldiers (2012), Gun Violence, Killer Children, Moral Urgency of Action, New Vanguard of Transparent Journalism, US Solo in Blocking UN Resolution, Antiwar Activists Can Sue Government Spies, Million+ Documents Will Be Released by Wikileaks, Reasons to Quit the Catholic Church, Drone Pilot's Guilty Conscience, Faith on Trial, more.

An Open Letter To All Americans: Shame On You!
The Sandy Hook shooting should not have surprised you. It’s simply the most recent in a series of multiple murders. Since 1966, when Charles Whitman climbed into a tower on the University of Texas campus in Austin and started picking off random victims, the pattern has been depressingly familiar. The list of massacres rolls off the tongue like a litany: Columbine, Aurora, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Fort Hood, Nickel Mines, Oak Ridge, Sandy Hook…
http://www.countercurrents.org/taylor231212.htm

If more guns will make us as safe as the NRA claims - then why isn't America already the safest nation on earth?

The USA in general and the NRA in particular have reached a new low with the insane claim that more guns will make us safer and we should have armed guards at the doors of every schoolhouse across the nation. If such a ridiculous statement were true then why isn't our country the safest on the planet, given that we already own the majority of weapons?

http://www.opednews.com/articles/If-more-guns-will-make-us-by-Ted-Newcomen-121222-243.html

Why "Torture Doesn't Work" Doesn't Work: Dealing with "Zero Dark Thirty"

I have visited this major blot upon the US escutcheon a number of times over the past five years (1-3). (Why there are so many blots one could visit and re-visit is a topic for another time.) One would have thought that it was dead and buried, along with the Cheney-Bush regime. In 2005 Bush himself had actually said that torture would not be included in the US armamentarium for dealing with enemies, perceived and real, (not a policy endorsed by the arch torture-facilitator Cheney), and President Obama had announced the renunciation as official US government policy. But now we are forced to revisit the subject by the new propaganda-shtick, Ooops, sorry, I mean movie, "Zero Dark Thirty." For what she has done in re-justifying the use of torture, some have even compared Kathryn Bigelow apparently from the technical side a fine film-maker, to Leni Riefenstahl, the Nazi-era photographer, who was indeed a fine photographer.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Why-Torture-Doesn-t-Work-by-Steven-Jonas-121223-558.html

Julian Assange: My work will not be cowed

Israeli Soldiers Kidnapped 900 Children In 2012

The Palestinian Ministry Of Detainees reported that this year witnessed a sharp increase in Israeli violations against Palestinian children, and said that Israeli soldiers kidnapped this year 900 Palestinian children comparing to 700 kidnapped last year.

http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/12/23/israeli-soldiers-kidnapped-900-children-in-2012-dci_palestine-unicef-unocha-amnesty/

Gun Violence, Massacres, and "Other Developed Countries"

One evening in the spring of 1993 I took a bus across San Francisco, leaving the troubled, largely impoverished neighborhood of the Western Addition, populated mostly by the descendents of African slaves, in which I lived (representing, I suppose, the artistic hippie beginnings of the gentrification process which has since pushed most of San Francisco's Black population across the bay). My closest friend at the time was someone I met because we were housemates in a big apartment. He was a tall man with a long, thick red mane and beaming eyes named Eric Mark. A brilliant engineer with a promising career as such who quit his job and became a cab driver in the interest of experiencing life more fully. Eric and I, along with one friend and two of his acquaintances, were headed to the Mission District, another troubled, impoverished neighborhood, this one populated mostly by the refugees from the wars in Guatemala and El Salvador, generally known as "immigrants."

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Gun-Violence-Massacres-a-by-David-Rovics-121222-11.html

Turning Children Into Killers: The Intolerable Pain Of Parental Neglect And Abuse

If you want to generate human wrath, just put a human being in an intolerably painful situation which they cannot resolve or escape. Do not be surprised if they lash out and kill, even many people, if it will end their powerlessness, isolation, and pain. I believe that this is the motivation in effect when these young adults, emotionally still children,
act to kill children.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Turning-Children-Into-Kil-by-Dr-Jay-Kantor-121223-906.html

From Sandy to Sandy Hook: The Moral Urgency of Action

The reason Obama's words at Sandy Hook also speak to the moral urgency of climate action is, I think, because the president has been thinking a great deal about his legacy since winning re-election, thinking about his second-term agenda in terms of how it affects future generations.

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/15182-from-sandy-to-sandy-hook-the-moral-urgency-of-action

Human Rights Watch: IDF violated laws of war by attacking journalists in GazaIsrael’s killing of two Palestinian journalists and attacks on media facilities during its Gaza offensive last month violated the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.
http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2012/12/22/human-rights-watch-idf-violated-laws-of-war-by-attacking-journalists-in-gaza/

The New Vanguard of Journalism and Transparency

hen, in late 2010, Wikileaks started releasing a trove of US diplomatic cables, lawmakers were dumbfounded. The whistleblowing organisation had previously raised ire within the US government for its release of its "Collateral Murder" video, but until the leak of the classified cables, requital seemed uncertain. Then, unable to take legal action against the site because of First Amendment protections, panicky legislators did the one thing they could: Pressure intermediaries to deny service to Wikileaks.

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/276-74/15180-the-new-vanguard-of-journalism-and-transparency

US Alone in Blocking UN Resolution Opposing Israeli Settlements
But for US veto, Security Council would have passed legally binding resolution obligating Israel to stop settlement plan

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/12/19/us-alone-in-blocking-un-resolution-opposing-israeli-settlements/

Court Rules Antiwar Activists Can Sue Government Spies
A federal appeals court involving antiwar activists who were secretly infiltrated by US military spies has ruled in favor of the activists, marking the first time a court has endorsed the people’s ability to sue the military for violating their First and Fourth Amendment rights.
http://news.antiwar.com/2012/12/18/court-rules-antiwar-activists-can-sue-government-spies/

Julian Assange's Christmas Present: 'Over A Million Documents' Will Be Released
Making a rare appearance on the balcony of Ecuador's London embassy where he has spent the last six months, Julian Assange lashed out against "war criminals," a corrupt media and "timid" academics. Assange also took the opportunity to salute Bradley Manning, jailed journalists and others "whose fates are linked to mine."
http://bigthink.com/think-tank/julian-assanges-christmas-present-over-a-million-documents-will-be-released

Reasons to Quit the Catholic Church: A Coda
Even though I just published a long list of reasons why good people should leave the Catholic church, it seems like new ones are piling up every time I turn around. Herewith are some of the latest arguments for all people of common sense and conscience to sever their association with this corrupt medieval dictatorship.

http://bigthink.com/daylight-atheism/reasons-to-quit-the-catholic-church-a-coda

10 Key Court Decisions That Prevent Right-Wing Christians from Controlling Your Sex Life

If the Christian Right had its way, the U.S. would be a theocracy.

http://www.alternet.org/sex-amp-relationships/10-key-court-decisions-prevent-right-wing-christians-controlling-your-sex-life

Governments are not standing to the side anymore
We have seen for the past couple years the cyber wasteland become something that is not dominated by young ambitious hackers anymore. The age of the Wild West is over and the big boys want a piece of the action. With so many infrastructures connected to the web these days it is only natural for more powerful and interested concerns to take their skills to the web. We are seeing the beginnings of true cyber war and it is something that is not going to be stop anytime soon.
http://thehackernews.com/2012/12/governments-are-not-standing-to-side.html

Bankers Launder Billions in Drug Money, Get Slap on Wrist

The Guilty Conscience of a Drone Pilot Who Killed a Child

The German newspaper Der Spiegel has published a moving profile of an American drone pilot who flew armed, remotely piloted missions over Afghanistan, one country where the War on Terror is actually declared. Drone strikes there are run under the supervision of Air Force officers operating under military procedures. For those reasons, it is better hedged against abuse than the drone program run elsewhere by the CIA. The subject of the profile nevertheless lamented the fact that he sometimes had to kill “good daddies,” that he watched targets so thoroughly via drone surveillance that he even attended their funerals – interesting, that – and that as a consequence of the job he collapsed with stress-induced exhaustion and developed PTSD.

http://libertycrier.com/politics/foreign-policy/the-guilty-conscience-of-a-drone-pilot-who-killed-a-child

War on Drugs -a trillion dollars spent

Putting Faith On Trial: Is Religion a Force For Good Or Evil?
 

14.Nov.2012 - FFRF Sues IRS on Church Electioneering, the Surveillance State, America Isn't the Greatest Country Anymore, ICC Should bring War Criminals to Justice, Red-State Residents Want to Secede, 4 More years of the Same, Palestinian Declaration of Independence, Military's Fall from Grace, Effective Whistleblowing Charity Policies, BBC Scandel

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FFRF sues IRS to enforce church electioneering ban

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is taking the Internal Revenue Service to court over its failure to enforce electioneering restrictions against churches and religious organizations, calling it a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and of FFRF’s equal protection rights. FFRF filed the lawsuit today in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. (View the lawsuit here.) 

http://ffrf.org/news/news-releases/item/16091-ffrf-sues-irs-to-enforce-church-electioneering-ban

The Surveillance State 
FBI's abuse of the surveillance state is the real scandal needing investigation
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33017.htm

FBI's Abuse of the Surveillance State is the Real Scandal Needing Investigation

The Petraeus scandal is receiving intense media scrutiny obviously due to its salacious aspects, leaving one, as always, to fantasize about what a stellar press corps we would have if they devoted a tiny fraction of this energy to dissecting non-sex political scandals (this unintentionally amusing New York Times headline from this morning - "Concern Grows Over Top Military Officers' Ethics" - illustrates that point: with all the crimes committed by the US military over the last decade and long before, it's only adultery that causes "concern" over their "ethics"). Nonetheless, several of the emerging revelations are genuinely valuable, particularly those involving the conduct of the FBI and the reach of the US surveillance state.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/11/13-2

Powers Designed for 'Terrorists' Entangle US Top Brass

As the New York Times reports Tuesday morning that the Petraeus sex scandal has now spread and the Pentagon has initiated an investigation into top NATO commander in Afghanistan, US General John Allen, what is becoming increasingly clear—beyond all the seemingly bizarre twists of this unfolding drama and leaving aside the question about whether or not the private sexual lives of top officials are, in fact, worthy of the endless media blitz they receive—is that the FBI's ability to examine private email accounts during an investigation are having far-reaching, if not ironic, consequences.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/11/13

America Isn't The Greatest Country Anymore

Via Lance Roberts of Street Talk Live - This weekend I had my first opportunity to watch "Newsroom," an HBO series, and I was struck by the opening sequence of the show as Jeff Daniels, aka Will McAvoy, discusses why America WAS the greatest country in the world - but no longer is.   Here are the stats as he breaks them down:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33014.htm

Poll: One-Third of Americans Would Accept Cavity Searches By TSA

In past columns, I have lamented how our government has not only stripped away core civil liberties from citizens, but that citizens have become increasing passive and accepting of the loss of such freedoms. A new poll conducted by Harris Interactive offers a particularly chilling measure of just how passive and accepting citizens have become to the new realities of our internal security system. The poll found almost one third of American adults would accept a “TSA body cavity search” in order to fly. Moreover a majority believes that it is reasonable to criminalize the act of disobeying any TSA agent. 

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33022.htm

ICC should increase efforts to bring war criminals to justice: HRW

Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged [press release] theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) [official website; JURIST backgrounder] on Monday to improve its impact and stimulate cooperation amongst the international community as the court enters its second decade. HRW not only emphasized the importance for ICC member countries to strengthen their efforts in making arrests of known suspects harbored within their borders, but also called upon the ICC to establish a stronger dialogue with the UN Security Council [official website] in order to facilitate arrests and prosecutions. 

http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/11/icc-should-increase-efforts-to-bring-war-criminals-to-justice-hrw.php

Some Red-State Residents Say They Want to Secede -- But Their States Wouldn't Be Able to Sustain Themselves

If CA were to secede, the state would have a nearly balanced budget. If AL were to secede, it wouldn't be able to pay for stop signs.

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/some-red-state-residents-say-they-want-secede-their-states-wouldnt-be-able-sustain

How This Do-Nothing Election Did Not (and Will Not) Change the World

Neither candidate focused on securing a legislative body that would mean an actual mandate for change.

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/how-do-nothing-election-did-not-and-will-not-change-world

Four More Years Of The Same
Surveys conducted outside the US shortly before polling day showed Obama was the preferred candidate in every country but two – Pakistan and Israel. But unlike Pakistan, where the two candidates were equally unpopular, he scored just 22 per cent in Israel against a commanding 57 per cent for Mitt Romney.
http://www.countercurrents.org/cook141112.htm

Translating The Palestinian Declaration Of Independence
This Palestinian Declaration of Independence explicitly accepted the UN General Assembly's Partition Resolution 181(II) of 1947, which called for the creation of a Jewish state and an Arab state in the former Mandate for Palestine, together with an international trusteeship for the City of Jerusalem. The significance of the PNC's acceptance of partition in the Palestinian Declaration of Independence itself cannot be overemphasized.
http://www.countercurrents.org/boyle141112.htm

Government Surveillance Is On The Rise, Google Confirms
Google Inc. said government requests to remove content from its search results and other services rose 71 percent in the first half of the year, according to a new report.
http://www.countercurrents.org/cc141112B.htm

The New Grand Old Party
The defeat of 2012 is forcing Republicans to rethink what they stand for. What will the new conservatism look like?
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2012/11/_2012_election_lessons_and_republican_recriminations_what_will_a_reformed.html

Google: Government Surveillance Requests Are Way Up—and the U.S. Is the Leader
Skeptics often dismiss those concerned about growing levels of surveillance as paranoid conspiracy theorists. But Google’s latest transparency report, released Tuesday, shows the fears are grounded in reality: Government surveillance is on the rise.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/11/14/google_transparency_report_shows_government_surveillance_takedown_requests.html

For The Military, A Possible Fall From Grace

Although the story so far is of a personal failing, it's possible that the widening sex scandal surrounding retired Gen. David Petraeus will begin to affect the military's reputation as a whole.

http://www.npr.org/2012/11/13/165045924/for-the-military-a-possible-fall-from-grace?ft=3&f=1001&sc=nl&cc=nh-20121114

Why an effective whistleblowing policy is important for charities
If staff concerns about wrongdoing are not handled properly, an organisation's reputation could come under threat
http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2012/nov/14/whistleblowing-important-charities

New Whistleblower Protections Could Impact Food Safety Oversight

A new bill on its way to President Obama’s desk for approval aims to improve protections for whistleblowers working in the federal government, including those in food-related areas such as veterinarians, U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors and U.S. Food and Drug Administration employees.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/11/new-whistleblower-protections-could-impact-food-safety-oversight/

BBC Scandal Exposes Cover-Up of Host Jimmy Savile’s Pedophilia, Fueling Public Broadcaster’s Foes

DOWNLOAD:  VIDEOAUDIOGET CD/DVDMORE FORMATS

"Mea Maxima Culpa": New Doc Exposes Horror of Catholic Child Sex Abuser and Heroism of His Victims

DOWNLOAD:  VIDEOAUDIOGET CD/DVDMORE FORMATS

As Talks Begin on "Fiscal Cliff," Report Warns "Fix the Debt" a Front for More Corporate Bailouts

Robert Reich on the Fiscal Cliff: ‘We’re Back to Where We Were Before the Election’

Netanyahu: Engineering Consent For An Attack On Gaza

An Incredibly Simple Way to Escape from Wrist-Binding Zip Ties

28.Oct.2012 - Monsanto's Lies, Economy Won't Help Obama or Romney, Ten Commandments Judge, Voter Suppression, Ohio's Atheist Vote, Downturn in Global Economy, Catholic Church to Lose Italy Tax Exemption, GOP Rigging Elections, Bosses' Politics, Genetic Roulette, War Against Food

This month, we are giving away a FREE copy of The End of Faith by Sam Harris. Simply go to our Facebook page, and start sharing our posts. The person or organization that shares the most DH posts by Halloween wins the book!  

 

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Monsanto's Lies and the GMO Labeling Battle

You may have never heard of Henry I. Miller, but right now he is attempting to determine the future of food in this country.  And he has enormous financial backing.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/10/23-9

Boycott Companies Violating Human Rights Of The Palestinians, Says UN Expert
Call to boycott Caterpillar, Hewlett Packard, Motorola, Veolia Environment, G4S, Dexia, Volvo Group, Assa Abloy, Ahava, Elbit Systems, Mehadrin, Riwal Holding Group and Cemex has been made by the UN special investigator on human rights in the Palestinian territories. These companies are violating international human rights and humanitarian laws by exploiting Palestinian resources and helping Israel construct illegal settlements and provide security for them.
http://www.countercurrents.org/cc271012A.htm

Why The Economy Won't Help Obama — Or Romney

The U.S. economy remains in a gray area, so it's no wonder that the presidential race is essentially tied.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/10/26/163715170/why-the-economy-wont-help-obama-or-romney?ft=3&f=1001&sc=nl&cc=nh-20121027

The 'Ten Commandments Judge' Wants His Seat Back

Republican Roy Moore, Alabama's controversial "Ten Commandments Judge," is back on the ballot this year, running for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court — despite being removed from that office nearly a decade ago.

http://www.npr.org/2012/10/27/163725159/the-ten-commandments-judge-wants-his-seat-back?ft=3&f=1001&sc=nl&cc=nh-20121027

15 Things Neither Romney Nor Obama Is Brave Enough to Stand For

Despite big differences, there are issues that neither candidate is brave enough to tackle.

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/15-things-neither-romney-nor-obama-brave-enough-stand

10 States Where Voter Suppression Scams Target New Voters, Minorities and The Elderly

As the 2012 election countdown continues, voter scams are rising.

http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/10-states-where-voter-suppression-scams-target-new-voters-minorities-and-elderly

Meet 8 Romney-Backed Senate Candidates Who Would Force Victims to Have Their Rapists' Babies

Indiana's Richard Mourdock, who believes pregnancy caused by rape is a "gift from God," has plenty of company.

http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/meet-8-romney-backed-senate-candidates-who-would-force-victims-have-their-rapists

Chomsky: America Acts Like It Owns the World, While Endangering the Planet from Nuclear War and Climate Change

Inability to face the truth about ourselves in this country is all too common a feature across American society.

http://www.alternet.org/world/chomsky-america-acts-it-owns-world-while-endangering-planet-nuclear-war-and-climate-change

Do The Wealthiest People Have A Moral Responsibility To Pay Higher Taxes? Jerry Brown Says They Do

In an interview with The Financial Times, California Governor, Jerry Brown, said that he believes the wealthiest people in the state have a moral obligation to pay higher taxes. Proposition 30, championed by Brown, creates four high income tax brackets for taxable incomes in excess of $250,000, $300,000, $500,000 and $1,000,000.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/10/26/do-the-wealthiest-people-have-a-moral-responsibility-to-pay-higher-taxes-jerry-brown-says-they-do/

Israeli Officials Warned Not to Comments on US-Iran Talks

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has sent a message to all embassies and consulates across the world, warning all Israeli officials not to publicly comment on the possibility of direct US-Iran negotiations. “We remind that the PM asked that all requests for interviews in the matter require his approval,” the message added at the end, underline the words “require his approval” for emphasis.
http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/israeli-officials-warned-not-to-comments-on-us-iran-talks/

Obama’s Battle for Ohio’s Atheist Vote

U.S. President Barack Obama’s multiple references to Planned Parenthood in the second presidential debate showed how keen he is to sway female voters in swing states. 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-17/obama-has-the-ohio-atheist-vote-will-it-grow-.html

A new downturn in the global economy

There are increasing signs that the global economy is about to enter a new period of financial turbulence, coupled with deepening recession in a growing number of countries.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/oct2012/pers-o27.shtml

Catholic church to lose historic property tax exemption in Italy

Italy’s Catholic Church will be forced to pay taxes starting in 2013 after the EU pressured the country’s government to pass a controversial law stripping the Church of its historic property tax exemption. The Catholic Church in Italy is excluded from paying taxes on its land if at least a part of a Church property is used non-commercially – for instance, a chapel in a bed-and-breakfast.
http://rt.com/news/italy-church-tax-exemption-339/

PROOF: GOP Party Bosses Rigging Elections For Romney

The internet has been abuzz since the British website UK Progressive released a report on how a retired NSA analyst Michael Duniho had gone over the Arizona GOP Primary Results from earlier this year and discovered widespread GOP election fraud through what can be called an electronic fingerprint.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/10/27/gop-rigging-elections-for-romney/

When Bosses Push Their Politics

Genetic Roulette (full movie)

The war against your food and health

Retired NSA Analyst Proves GOP Is Stealing Elections 

5 Ways Churches Get Preferential Treatment and Benefit from Legal Loopholes

AlterNet / By Rob Boston

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Many conservative religious leaders insist that houses of worship in America today struggle under intense persecution. To hear some of the Catholic bishops tell it, religious freedom may soon be a memory because they don’t always get their way in policy debates.

It would be highly ironic if the United States, the nation that perfected religious liberty and enshrined it in the Constitution’s First Amendment, had become hostile to the rights of religious groups.

But that’s not what’s happening. In reality, U.S. law is honeycombed with examples of preferential treatment and special breaks for religion. Some of these practices may grow out of the First Amendment command that the “free exercise” of religion must not be infringed. Others are traditions or were added to the law after lobbying efforts by religious groups.

Here are five ways American law extends protections and preference to houses of worship.

1. Tax Policy

Tax exemption is given to a variety of religious and secular groups, but in the case of houses of worship, they get one huge advantage: They are tax exempt by mere dint of their existence. They don’t have to apply for tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service, nor, absent highly unusual circumstances or blatant law-breaking, can they lose it.