Gulf Oil Spill Proves the Idiocy of Unfettered Deregulation

By Robert Scheer, Truthdig
Posted on May 12, 2010, Printed on May 14, 2010
http://www.alternet.org/story/146848/

This story first appeared on Truthdig.

“Drill, baby, drill!” Those were the words that Sarah Palin used to electrify the 2008 Republican National Convention. But while she popularized that environment-be-damned slogan, it had already defined the eight years of oil-drilling policy that prevailed during the presidency of George W. Bush. 

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Chomsky: How the Tea Partiers Are Getting Screwed by Their Own Ideology

By Noam Chomsky, In These Times
Posted on May 13, 2010, Printed on May 14, 2010
http://www.alternet.org/story/146852/

On Feb. 18, Joe Stack, a 53-year-old computer engineer, crashed his small plane into a building in Austin, Texas, hitting an IRS office, committing suicide, killing one other person and injuring others.

Stack left an anti-government manifesto explaining his actions. The story begins when he was a teenager living on a pittance in Harrisburg, Pa., near the heart of what was once a great industrial center.

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The Truth About the Big Banks' Unprecedented Lobbying Avalanche

By Kevin Connor, AlterNet
Posted on May 13, 2010, Printed on May 14, 2010
http://www.alternet.org/story/146856/

Over the course of the financial reform process, the six biggest banks and their murky trade associations have waged an historic assault on democracy, hiring hundreds of revolving door lobbyists and spending hundreds of millions of dollars to push their legislative agenda. I've detailed this all in a comprehensive report for Campaign for America's Future and SEIU, which you ought read because it shows the extent to which these too-big-to-fail bank behemoths own Congress.

The report details how the Big Six banks hired 243 lobbyists who once worked in the federal government, including 202 who used to work in Congress, as well as others who worked at the Treasury, the White House, or a relevant federal agency like the SEC. This is at best a conflict of interest, and at worst, a takeover of all checks-and-balances on the financial industry.

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Blowback: Why They Try to Bomb Us

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/blowback_why_they_try_to_bomb_us_20100513/

Posted on May 14, 2010

By David Sirota

Imagine, if you can, an alternate universe.

Imagine that in this alternate universe, a foreign military power begins flying remote-controlled warplanes over your town, using onboard missiles to kill hundreds of your innocent neighbors.

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Shadow Elite: Think BP's The Bad Guy? Think Bigger, Way Bigger

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-keenan/emshadow-eliteem-think-bp_b_574606.html

By Linda Keenan and Janine R. Wedel

Coast Guard Captain leading hearings Wednesday: "It's my understanding that [a blowout preventer is] designed to industry standard ... manufactured by the industry, installed by the industry, with no government witnessing or oversight of the construction or installation. Is that correct?"

Regional supervisor, federal regulator MMS: "That is correct..."

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Can an Apple a Day Keep Breast Cancer Away?

Something as simple and natural as a daily apple may help in the fight against breast cancer. According to research scientist Rui Hai Liu, M.D., Ph.D., of Cornell University, the results are favorable. His research program at Cornell University focuses on diet and cancer, and the effect of functional foods on chronic disease, cardiovascular disease, and aging.

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7 Cancer Busting Foods Sitting in Your Fridge Right Now

It seems like every day we’re bombarded with marketing for some exotic "superfood" with seemingly magical qualities that supposedly justify an outrageous price tag. But while the benefits of some hysterically hyped foods are still unconfirmed, other fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and beverages sitting in your fridge right now get little fanfare despite the fact that they’re truly super. Red wine, oats, broccoli, soybeans, carrots, yogurt and walnuts are just a few examples of ‘bioactive’ foods, which go beyond mere calories and nutrients, to actually interact with our bodies in beneficial ways.

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America's Ten Most Corrupt Capitalists

The financial crisis has unveiled a new set of public villains—corrupt corporate capitalists who leveraged their connections in government for their own personal profit. During the Clinton and Bush administrations, many of these schemers were worshiped as geniuses, heroes or icons of American progress. But today we know these opportunists for what they are: Deregulatory hacks hellbent on making a profit at any cost. Without further ado, here are the 10 most corrupt capitalists in the U.S. economy.

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Greeks in the Streets Are Right, EU Economists Have It Wrong

The agreement by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to provide up to $960 billion of support to the Continent's weaker economies, as well as to financial markets, has appeared to calm investors worldwide, for the moment.

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Chemtrails: The Consequences of Toxic Metals and Chemical Aerosols on Human Health

For decades, we have known that heavy metals and chemicals can cause grave physical harm. Going back to Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” we have known and been amply warned of the serious consequences of using or being exposed to these poisons in our daily activities. Thousands of these are well-documented carcinogens.

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