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  • Californians Sign Petition to Allow Soldiers to Commandeer Anyone's Home & Live There For Free

    01/14/2014 12:02:56 PM PST · by EveningStar · 1 replies
    YouTube ^ | January 13, 2014 | Mark Dice
    Californians Sign Petition to Allow U.S. Soldiers to Commandeer Anyone's Home and Live There For Free
  • Declassified Transcripts of Benghazi Briefings Released

    01/14/2014 12:01:19 PM PST · by Texas Fossil · 1 replies
    House Armed Services Committee ^ | Jan 13 2014 | Press Releases
    Armed Services Committee Examined Actions Of Military Chain Of Command Before, During, and After Attack WASHINGTON— The House Armed Services Committee today released a series of recently declassified transcripts of briefings on the September 11th 2012 attack on Americans in Benghazi, Libya. The briefings were conducted by the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations then chaired by Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL), though they were open to all members of the Committee and attended by Members off the Committee. The briefings, which took place over the course of several months, were part of the Committee’s examination of the actions of the military...
  • ‘Messianic’ Kerry Calls for ‘Reconciliation Among Peoples’ at the Vatican

    01/14/2014 11:52:48 AM PST · by AU72 · 7 replies
    The PJ Tatler ^ | January 14, 2014 | Bridget Johnson
    As the State Department was lashing out at Israel’s defense minister for saying the secretary of State has a “messianic” complex, John Kerry was at the Vatican calling for the need to forge “reconciliation among peoples, to bring religions together, to bring people together, and to make peace.” “Secretary of State John Kerry – who has come to us determined and is acting out of an incomprehensible obsession and a messianic feeling – cannot teach me a single thing about the conflict with the Palestinians,” newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon as saying behind closed doors. “The only...
  • Obama to pay visit to Pope

    01/14/2014 11:52:43 AM PST · by topher · 12 replies
    CNN ^ | 1-14-2014 | Kevin Liptak
    CNN) – President Barack Obama plans to soon meet with Pope Francis for the first time. Secretary of State John Kerry said the President was “looking forward” to visiting the popular new leader of the Roman Catholic Church at the Vatican. Kerry did not say when the trip would take place.
  • Fukushima vs Chernobyl vs Three Mile Island

    01/14/2014 11:48:26 AM PST · by dirtboy · 2 replies
    Skeptoid.com ^ | 1/14/2014 | Brian Dunning
    In March of 2011, an undersea earthquake sent tsunamis thundering across Japan, killing nearly 20,000 people and creating the most expensive natural disaster in history. Among the casualities was the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which was almost completely submerged by the tsunamis; an unprecedented event. Power was lost (obviously), cooling systems stopped, and the net result was a complete meltdown of three of the plant's reactor cores. It was a perfect storm of worst case scenarios. And now, even years afterward, some are calling it a worldwide radiation disaster, worse than even Chernobyl, that will produce a staggering death...
  • Cornell: Pranksters Skewed Landmark Gender Study

    01/14/2014 11:46:43 AM PST · by Behind Liberal Lines · 11 replies
    Ithaca, N.Y. — Were Cornell University gender researchers punked by their teen subjects? That’s one of the conclusions made by the Ivy League school about a landmark study of adolescent sexuality. The research, done in the 1990s, found five to seven percent of high schoolers professed being homosexual or bisexual. The figure was many times that of previous estimates of about one percent of adolescents. However, follow-up interviews found 70 percent of the adolescents that self-reported being gay or bisexual later described themselves a heterosexual. “How could it be that 5 to 7 percent of our youth were homosexual or...
  • Why Good People Should Be Armed

    01/14/2014 11:44:16 AM PST · by MHGinTN · 6 replies
    Youtube ^ | Recember 2013 | Josie Outlaw
    This needs to be viewed on a regular basis. We are fast approaching the moment when the oligarchs will remove your right to even view this message, because America is dying, being aborted by the 'authorities'.
  • Gates book blasts ‘incompetent’ Congress; accuses Reid, others of seeking favors

    01/14/2014 11:41:52 AM PST · by ThomasMore · 4 replies
    FoxNews ^ | 1/14/2014 | FoxNews
    Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates' scathing assessment of President Obama's handling of the Afghanistan war pales in comparison to what he thinks about Congress. In Gates' memoir, "Duty," which hit the bookstores on Tuesday, the former Pentagon boss puts his poison pen to the work of skewering what he calls an "incompetent" and "egotistical" institution.
  • Church? I Haven’t Been to Church in Fifty Years

    01/14/2014 11:39:41 AM PST · by NYer · 8 replies
    Standing on my head ^ | January 13, 2014 | Fr. Dwight Longenecker
    One of the sweet things about being a priest is being able to minister at a person’s deathbed. The veil between this world and the next is very thin at that point, and you can see so much. When I say you can “see” so much what I mean is that so much is revealed. At that point the person who is dying is usually very vulnerable and open. Their worldly facade is fading. Their accomplishments and pride are forgotten. They realize that all the stuff of this world will soon be left behind.Often the person is quietly sleeping. The...
  • Slain slumlords debt helped sink Obama's bank

    01/14/2014 11:29:01 AM PST · by mgist · 8 replies
    NY Post ^ | January 13, 2014 | 4:31am | By Aaron Short, Jeane MacIntosh and Bruce Golding
    A slain Brooklyn slumlord's shady business practices helped sink a bank that counted President Obama as a customer and ex-Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon as a member of its board, The Post has learned. Two unpaid loans to murder victim Menachem.......professional hit by one of his many unpaid creditors, source said. Law-enforcement sources said Sunday that investigators are poring over a smartphone found Friday attached to the bottom of StarkÂ’s car. They believe it might have been used to track his movements ahead of his deadly Jan. 2 abduction. Cops are trying to trace the phoneÂ’s owner, as well as...
  • How Delaware investigators brought down a violent drug cartel kingpin

    01/14/2014 11:25:25 AM PST · by imardmd1 · 1 replies
    The News Journal (Delaware) | January 11, 2014 | Sean O’Sullivan
    http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20140112/NEWS01/301120061/A-cargo-plane-a-pickup-modified-to-conceal-dope-and-a-federa
  • Morning Plum: Obamacare derangement fades among Republicans (a bit)

    01/14/2014 11:23:46 AM PST · by bestintxas · 2 replies
    wah post ^ | 1/14/14 | g sargent
    The news that the demographic mix of Obamacare enrollees is not yet where the law’s proponents had hoped appears to have only reinforced the certainty in some quarters that the law’s epic collapse is underway. This, even though there are still two and a half months to go in the open enrollment period, and there are good reasons not to reach any broad conclusions just yet about the law’s long-term prospects. However, in one sense it’s a positive for there to be as much certainty as possible among Republicans about the law’s inevitable doom. Politico reports this morning that leading...
  • The winners and losers of the new spending bill (Since it is $1.1 TRILLION, all Americans lose)

    01/14/2014 11:20:16 AM PST · by bestintxas · 10 replies
    wash post ^ | 1/14/14 | ed o'keefe
    Congressional negotiators released the details of a massive $1.1 trillion spending bill that would fund federal agencies through the rest of the fiscal year and end the lingering threat of another government shutdown. So, what's in it? We quickly sifted through the legislation, consulted supporting documents from Democratic and Republican aides, and called out some of the more notable and controversial elements below. (If you want a detailed report on each of the 12 pieces of the broader spending bill, it's all here.) ABORTION The bill once again bans the use of federal funding to perform most abortions, bans federal...
  • Mike Huckabee wants to ban the term 'RINO'

    01/14/2014 11:17:19 AM PST · by theruleshavechanged · 76 replies
    Washington Examiner ^ | 01/14/2014 | Charlie Spiering
    "Many of you used a term that I’d like to see outlawed from the vernacular of the party: RINO," he said, calling it a "pejorative term" that questioned one's purity. Huckabee pointed out that he got a tweet from someone who complained that he was a RINO, which upset him. "With all due respect, I’ve fought in the trenches of Republican politics for over two decades, but I wouldn’t pretend that I’m lord over determining who the real Republicans are versus the so-called RINOs," he said.
  • Time to ‘aggressively phase out’ old, unsafe tank cars carrying oil, says CN

    01/14/2014 11:07:32 AM PST · by thackney · 22 replies
    Calgary Herald ^ | JANUARY 13, 2014 | BRUCE CHEADLE
    The railway industry wants to “aggressively phase out” older model tank cars that have been implicated in several recent accidents, the head of CN Rail’s safety division told an industry forum Monday. But the consensus at the day-long workshop was that there’s no quick fix for a decades-old problem that has almost 80,000 sub-standard DOT-111 tank cars carrying flammable liquids on North American tracks. And whatever the solution, the cost eventually will be borne by consumers. Sam Berrada, director general of safety and occupational health services for CN, told an overflow crowd of industry types, regulators, lobbyists and local first...
  • American Idol 2014--Live Thread

    01/14/2014 10:59:55 AM PST · by silent_jonny · 22 replies
  • Judge nixes preliminary approval of $765M settlement in NFL concussion case

    01/14/2014 10:57:46 AM PST · by ColdOne · 13 replies
    foxnews.com ^ | 1/14/13 | ap
    PHILADELPHIA – A federal judge in Philadelphia has preliminarily rejected a $765 million settlement of NFL concussion claims, fearing the sum may not be enough to cover injured players. U.S. District Judge Anita Brody has asked for more financial details from the parties, a week after players' lawyers filed a lengthy payout plan.
  • Texas Mall that Banned Guns over Open Carry Losing Business

    01/14/2014 10:56:29 AM PST · by marktwain · 22 replies
    Gun Watch ^ | 15 January, 2014 | Dean Weingarten
    In Israel, no one complains about the open carry of rifles Parksdale mall in Beaumont, Texas banned guns from their establishment after one of their renters open carried a rifle slung over his back to his firearms business in the mall, and someone complained.  Police arrested him for "disorderly conduct".  The mall said that they have always been anti-gun, but they never bothered to post the legally required signs before.  There may be a reason for that "lapse". Remote Control Hobbies is the second to leave, after Golden Triangle Tactical, the shop that belongs to Derek Poe, who open...
  • SEX AND THE SENIOR CROWD

    01/14/2014 10:35:55 AM PST · by Oldpuppymax · 66 replies
    Coach is Right ^ | 1/14/14 | Suzanne Eovaldi
    The year end’s most popular “Florida Man” tweets feature the very strange story of a 76 year-old South Florida resident who was arrested at the hospital bedside of his elderly wife who was being treated for a broken right hip which he had caused. (1) A nurse called police after she overheard the couple talking about the fight they had when the wife walked in on her husband surfing dating sites on the Web. The wife apparently struck the first blow by slapping him, but police arrested the husband for shoving her to the floor, thereby causing the woman serious...
  • 5 Disasters Yet To Come With Obamacare

    01/14/2014 10:32:23 AM PST · by xzins · 17 replies
    Townhall ^ | Jan 14, 2014 | John Hawkins
    Obamacare had the worst debut since the Titanic. The website was non-functional for weeks, the back-end still isn't fully built out, whole states have had minimal numbers of people signing up, countless Americans have been cut back from full-time work to part-time, millions lost their insurance, and Obama has been illegally changing the law every other day like some sort of banana republic dictator. In other words, Obamacare has been a rolling train wreck that has shown Barack Obama's promises about the law to be nothing but lies while proving the conservatives who said the Affordable Care Act was a...
  • [Texas:]DPS flies $7.4 million spy plane to the border

    01/14/2014 10:27:33 AM PST · by SwinneySwitch · 18 replies
    mySA.com ^ | January 10, 2014 | Kolten Parker
    SAN ANTONIO — Texas Department of Public Safety pilots flew the fancy $7.4 million high-altitude spy plane — equipped with $1 million worth of surveillance cameras — from San Antonio to Fort Stockton Friday, according to a flight tracker. The purchase of the Swiss-made aircraft by DPS was largely uncovered by media outlets in 2012. But as controversies surrounding drones and the National Security Agency continue to balloon, more focus is being shifted toward government-run spy programs. The plane, purchased from Swiss company Pilatus Aircraft Ltd., is jam-packed with military-style features including high-resolution and thermal imaging surveillance cameras, a $300,000...
  • Hollande refuses to say if Rottweiler is still the First Lady ....

    01/14/2014 10:19:58 AM PST · by Uncle Chip · 25 replies
    The Daily Mail Online ^ | January 14, 2014 | IAN SPARKS and PETER ALLEN and JILL REILLY
    after his alleged affair with actress but promises to let her know before U.S. trip ... 'This is not the time nor the place'Faced the world's media for the first time since the affair news broke Acknowledged he was going through a difficult period in his private life Said he is outraged by the violation of his privacy, but says he will not sue Refused to answer question about if Valerie Trierweiler is still First Lady Valerie Trierweiler is set to remain in hospital suffering from 'shock' Pair are scheduled to attend a formal state dinner hosted by President It...
  • Bill Owens to Retire From Congress (liberal republican Scozzafava endorsed, remember?)

    01/14/2014 10:19:20 AM PST · by cotton1706 · 15 replies
    rollcall.com ^ | 1/14/14 | Abby Livingston
    Updated 12:30 PM | Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y., announced Tuesday that he will retire from Congress after just two full terms. “After careful thought and consideration, I have decided not to seek re-election for the 21st Congressional District this November,” he wrote in a news release. “It has truly been a privilege to serve, and I plan on continuing to work for a brighter future for the region.” Owens faced a somewhat competitive race against former Bush White House staffer Elise Stefanik. Republicans view the now-open seat in upstate New York as a potential pickup opportunity in 2014. In 2012,...
  • Venezuela weighs pet food price controls

    01/14/2014 10:18:30 AM PST · by Pan_Yan · 15 replies
    CNN ^ | 5:14 PM EST, Mon January 13, 2014 | Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
    (CNN) -- Cats and dogs in Venezuela may soon get a taste of the South American country's brand of socialism. President Nicolas Maduro announced plans Sunday to consider controlling pet food prices as part of efforts to help street animals. Price controls have become a staple of Venezuela's economic policies, drawing praise from supporters of Maduro and his government who say they make items more affordable for the poor. Opponents have sharply criticized such policies, arguing that they fuel goods shortages and harm businesses.
  • Is The ATF Using Tactics Akin To Fast And Furious At Home To Undermine Gun Rights?

    01/14/2014 10:16:21 AM PST · by IbJensen · 22 replies
    Personal Liberty Digest ^ | 1/13/2014 | Sam Rolley
    House Oversight Committee chairman Representative Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said that a recent news report outlines how the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) is using tactics that amount to “Fast and Furious revisited” in a bid to increase support for the Obama Administration’s gun control crusade. During a Sunday program on Fox News, Issa discussed a recent report by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel which details how ATF agents operating stings in six different cities “took advantage of the mentally ill, set up stings near churches and schools and made decisions which some claim actually increased crime in their neighborhoods.” “This...
  • Economic Expert Hunter Lewis: We Are in a Depression!

    01/14/2014 10:15:13 AM PST · by xzins · 31 replies
    Breitbart ^ | 13 Jan 2014 | Robert Wilde
    On Sunday, Hunter Lewis, Founder and former CEO of Cambridge Associates, told Breitbart News Executive Chairman and host Stephen K. Bannon that, "We are in a depression." Lewis delivered his assessment of the U.S. Economy on Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot radio channel 125. He explained that part of the reason the economy is in such a shambles and the political system is in such a shambles is bad economic policies that have fed special interest groups, instead of supporting the middle class and the poor. And those same policies have given us crony capitalism. Hunter, ....has served...
  • Penis pumps draining Medicare of millions

    01/14/2014 10:11:45 AM PST · by dead · 46 replies
    Penis pumps cost the U.S. government’s Medicare program $172 million between 2006 and 2011, about twice as much as the consumer would have paid at the retail level, according to a government watchdog’s report released on Monday... < snip >“Considering the strain retiring baby boomers will soon be placing on Medicare’s budget, shouldn’t we be focusing this entitlement program on real, life-saving treatment and equipment to serve the health needs of seniors – instead of subsidizing penis pump purchases?” Ben Domenici of the Heartland Institute think tank said in an email statement. “And to those seniors who really do want...
  • Single-Payer Is Not Dead

    01/14/2014 10:11:01 AM PST · by SoFloFreeper · 12 replies
    Rasmussen ^ | 1/14/14 | Froma Harrop
    The prospects for single-payer health care -- adored by many liberals, despised by private health insurers and looking better all the time to others -- did not die in the Affordable Care Act. It was thrown a lifeline through a little-known provision tucked in the famously long legislation. Single-payer groups in several states are now lining up to make use of Section 1332. Vermont is way ahead of the pack, but Hawaii, Oregon, New York, Washington, California, Colorado and Maryland have strong single-payer movements. First, some definitions. Single-payer is a system where the government pays all medical bills. Canada has...
  • US slams reported Israeli criticism of Kerry plan as 'offensive'

    01/14/2014 10:11:01 AM PST · by ColdOne · 19 replies
    yahoo.com ^ | 1/14/13 | AFP
    The US State Department on Tuesday condemned as "offensive and inappropriate" reported comments by Israel's defence minister criticising a security plan put forward by US Secretary of State John Kerry. "The remarks of the defence minister if accurate are offensive and inappropriate especially given all that the United States is doing to support Israel's security needs," spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki told reporters following a visit by Kerry to the Vatican.
  • EU’s top diplomat agrees to landmark Iran visit

    01/14/2014 10:10:32 AM PST · by Olog-hai · 1 replies
    EU Observer ^ | 14.01.14 @ 09:07 | Andrew Rettman
    EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton has agreed to visit Iran amid wider efforts to improve relations between the Islamic republic and the West. She told press while visiting Kuwait on Monday (13 January) that: "I read with interest the invitation to visit Tehran, and it is my intention to do so in the course of the next weeks.” Her decision comes after Iranian deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi on Saturday told media she has “an open invitation” to visit any time. It also comes after Iran and the UN Security Council veto countries plus Germany in Geneva on Sunday...
  • 3-term NY Rep. Bill Owens to retire (dem quits)

    01/14/2014 10:09:51 AM PST · by amnestynone · 4 replies
    The State ^ | 1/14/2014 | Donna Cossata
    Three-term New York Rep. Bill Owens, who narrowly won re-election in 2012, has decided not to seek another term.The Democrat said in a statement that it was time for him to embark on new endeavors and spend more time with his family.Owens prevailed with 50 percent of the vote in the last election and his New York seat north of Albany stands as a potential pickup for Republicans.The congressman is a member of the Appropriations Committee. His announcement comes on the heels of several Democratic retirements 10 months before the election
  • Hillary Fired For “Lying, Unethical Behavior” on Watergate Committee

    01/14/2014 10:08:43 AM PST · by QT3.14 · 55 replies
    Downtrend.com ^ | January 12, 2014 | Robert Gehl
    Hillary Clinton might have a pretty hefty scandal brewing. It turns when she was an attorney working on the Watergate investigation, she was fired by her supervisor for “lying, unethical behavior.” Jerry Zeifman, who said he is a lifelong Democrat, was a supervisor for 27-year-old Hillary Rodham on the committee. When the investigation was complete, Zeifman said he fired Hillary and refused to give her a recommendation. “Because she was a liar,” Zeifman said. “She was an unethical, dishonest lawyer. She conspired to violate the Constitution, the rules of the House, the rules of the committee and the rules of...
  • Iran Celebrates American 'Surrender'; Obama Says 'Give Peace a Chance'

    01/14/2014 10:08:10 AM PST · by IbJensen · 6 replies
    Breitbart News ^ | 1/14/2014 | Joel Pollack
    Iran's "moderate" president, Hassan Rouhani, tweeted this morning that "world powers," including the U.S., had "surrendered" to the "Iranian nation's will" in confirming a six-month interim nuclear deal that will allow the Iranian regime to continue its advanced centrifuge program and develop a new nuclear facility at Arak. President Barack Obama, meanwhile, implored Americans to "give peace a chance" with the Iran deal. Though the Obama administration claims that the interim deal--which includes a secret side deal--will lead Iran to give up any ambitions of becoming a nuclear power, the regime has publicly declared that the agreement reached in Geneva...
  • Obama On Executive Actions: ‘I’ve Got A Pen And I’ve Got A Phone’

    01/14/2014 10:08:06 AM PST · by ColdOne · 26 replies
    cbslocal.com ^ | 1/14/13 | CBS DC/AP
    President Barack Obama predicts Congress will be busy this year debating a renewal of jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and an immigration overhaul. But he says he wants his Cabinet also to focus on executive actions that don’t require legislation. “We are not just going to be waiting for legislation in order to make sure that we are providing Americans the kind of help that they need. I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone,” Obama said. Obama continued: ”And I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move...
  • All of the ingredients that make up Hillary Clinton, in one venn diagram...

    01/14/2014 10:04:38 AM PST · by The Looking Spoon · 6 replies
    The Looking Spoon ^ | 1-14-14 | The Looking Spoon
    Right before the new year I did one of these on Obamacare...check it out here.In fact, I did one for Democrats too. (and one for Obama here)I have to confess I think Venn diagrams are a lot of fun.
  • Former DOT Secretary LaHood: 'Let's Raise the Gas Tax'

    01/14/2014 9:59:19 AM PST · by IbJensen · 27 replies
    CNS News ^ | 1/14/2014 | Susan Jones
    (CNSNews.com) - Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says unless Congress acts, the Highway Trust Fund will run out of money at the end of fiscal 2014 -- "because people are driving less, driving more fuel-efficient cars, and the gas tax hasn't been raised in many years." Monies in the Trust Fund fund -- derived mostly from excise taxes on gasoline and other fuels -- fund the federal government's highway and mass transit projects. "And if Congress doesn't step up and either increase the gas tax, they will have to take the money out of the general fund. And the...
  • NFL Playoffs Week 3 LIVE THREAD

    01/14/2014 9:59:04 AM PST · by Bender2 · 20 replies
  • Survey: Obamacare worries Hill aides (Congressional staffers claim they will quit)

    01/14/2014 9:56:27 AM PST · by dennisw · 21 replies
    politico ^ | 1/13/14 | SEUNG MIN KIM
    A vast majority of top congressional aides say in a new survey that they are concerned about the effects of Obamacare on their staff, ticking off worries about changes to their benefits, higher costs and whether they’ll have access to local health care providers. Ninety percent of staffers surveyed for a report released Monday by the Congressional Management Foundation said they are concerned about benefit changes under the health care law, while 86 percent are anxious about the financial hit and 79 percent cited worries to access. Only about 35 percent of staffers said they have a “good understanding” of...
  • John McCain Hits the Dust

    01/14/2014 9:54:20 AM PST · by LD Jackson · 14 replies
    Political Realities ^ | 01/14/14 | Little Tboca
    <p>Although this may seem minor to some - it's encouraging to see that Americans aren't just complaining they're doing some very constructive.  We've all discussed John McCain and his flip flopping votes and not just leaning to the left, but  joining the left many times.</p>
  • Kanye West a 'named suspect' in Beverly Hills battery probe

    01/14/2014 9:53:52 AM PST · by SoFloFreeper · 12 replies
    CNN ^ | 1/14/14
    Los Angeles (CNN) -- Kanye West is a suspect in a misdemeanor battery assault probe in Beverly Hills, police said Monday. The alleged battery happened near Wilshire Boulevard at 12:15 p.m. Monday, a Beverly Hills Police Department statement said.
  • To Minnesota Station [The farm bill is stalled over Soviet-style price controls on milk.]

    01/14/2014 9:53:05 AM PST · by 1rudeboy · 8 replies
    WSJ ^ | Jan. 12, 2014
    The political soap opera over the farm bill is wrapping up, albeit with little substantive reform, though the drama wouldn't be complete without one last meltdown. Some of the House-Senate negotiators are demanding new Soviet-style price controls for the U.S. milk industry, which could show up in your next grocery bill. A farm deal was expected last week but the conference committee stalled over a plan from Minnesota Democrat Collin Peterson to replace something called the Milk Income Loss Contract. Dairy producers are currently paid a direct cash subsidy every month in which milk prices fall below a target level,...
  • US run by Nazi space aliens, Iran claims

    01/14/2014 9:53:03 AM PST · by Eleutheria5 · 43 replies
    Jerusalem Post ^ | 14/1/14 | Michael Wilner
    WASHINGTON - Confirming the suspicions of many, the United States has been secretly run by a shadow government of German Nazi space aliens since 1945, Fars News Agency, Iran's semi-official news agency, reported on Sunday. In a dramatic scoop, Fars— in all seriousness— reported that revelations of mass NSA surveillance made public by Edward Snowden were actually an effort by the American-Nazi extraterrestrials to hide their nature to a human world they hoped to dominate. The Iranian outlet suggests Snowden offered Russian intelligence officials "incontrovertible proof" to support the claims— and that Russia considers the report to be "accurate." Aliens...
  • BMW Motorrad and Dainese to Cooperate on Motorcycle Apparel Airbags

    01/14/2014 9:48:33 AM PST · by BraveMan · 4 replies
    BMW Motorcycle Magazine ^ | July 22, 2013 | staff
    BMW Motorrad and Dainese have announced they will cooperate in joint development of innovative motorcycle safety clothing for BMW Motorrad. Taking the Dainese D-Air® Protect System as its starting point, the partners will be developing motorcycle rider equipment with fully integrated inflatable protectors for BMW Motorrad. The first product to emerge from their cooperation will be the DoubleR RaceAir one-piece leather suit with D-Air® racing protectors, designed exclusively for use on racetracks. The racing suit is scheduled to be presented at the international EICMA motorcycle show in Milan this November, once BMW Motorrad has completed all the required testing in...
  • Young Europeans lack job skills, US consultancy says (McKinsey)

    01/14/2014 9:48:13 AM PST · by Olog-hai · 12 replies
    EU Observer ^ | 14.01.14 @ 09:25 | Benjamin Fox
    Europe’s young people lack the skills for work despite record levels of unemployment, according to a report by the US-based consultancy giant McKinsey. In its study, “Education to Employment,” published on Monday (13 January), McKinsey said one in three firms feel that a lack of skills among Europe’s youth posed major business problems, in the form of cost, quality, or time. Meanwhile, 27 percent reported that they had left a vacancy unfilled over the past 12 months because they could not find anyone with the right skills. …
  • QSSI to stay on as HealthCare.gov’s general contractor

    01/14/2014 9:47:10 AM PST · by markomalley · 2 replies
    Washington Post ^ | 1-14-2014 | Juliet Eilperin
    <p>The Obama administration has decided to retain Quality Software Services Inc. as its general contractor for HealthCare.gov, even as it has hired a new contractor to do most of the work on the Web site.</p> <p>In a joint statement Tuesday, Optum/QSSI and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said they would keep working together to ensure the online federal health insurance marketplace works well for consumers. On Saturday, CMS signed a contract with the global consulting firm Accenture to serve as the site's primary contractor in the coming year.</p>
  • Oilsands rant is getting old (Neil Young, again)

    01/14/2014 9:42:46 AM PST · by Dartman · 19 replies
    Toronto Sun ^ | Jan. 13/14 | Editorial
    Old man, we look at your life, and you’re not a lot like we are. And if there’s one thing that average folks don’t like, it’s rich celebrities telling them what’s best. Which is why we’re rolling our eyes at the free world rockin’ Neil Young. Young gave a press conference opposing oilsands development at Massey Hall in Toronto Sunday , prior to starting one of his Honour The Treaties concerts. He said "Canada is trading integrity for money," and that he’s embarrassed as a Canadian. He’s raising money for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation to wage legal battles against...
  • Steinmeier: Israeli settlements hurt peace (Germany’s foreign minister)

    01/14/2014 9:41:58 AM PST · by Olog-hai · 7 replies
    TheLocal.de ^ | 14 Jan 2014 08:22 GMT+01:00 | (AFP/The Local)
    Israel’s ongoing settlement construction is damaging efforts to reach a negotiated peace agreement, visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Monday. Berlin’s top diplomat was in Israel for a 24-hour visit to discuss the peace process, which was largely overshadowed by the death at the weekend of Israel’s controversial former prime minister Ariel Sharon, who was laid to rest on Monday. […] But the German diplomat dodged a question on possible European Union sanctions against Israel, saying only that he would discuss the matter of settlements with his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman when they met later on Monday. …
  • Boehner defends rush to pass 1,500-page spending bill

    01/14/2014 9:39:43 AM PST · by maggief · 39 replies
    The Hill ^ | january 14, 2014 | Russell Berman
    Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday defended the House leadership’s decision to call a vote on a 1,582-page omnibus spending bill less than two full days after unveiling it. “I would like to have more time,” Boehner said at a press conference following a House GOP conference meeting. “But we’re in a situation where the government is in fact going to run out of money.” Current funding expires on Wednesday, and the House plans to pass a three-day extension on Tuesday to allow time for both chambers to vote on the omnibus and send it to President Obama for his...
  • Joel Osteen Says Homosexuality is 'a Sin' but Won't 'Preach' on It

    01/14/2014 9:38:12 AM PST · by Gamecock · 59 replies
    NewsMax ^ | 14 Jan 2014 | Courtney Coren
    Televangelist Joel Osteen says homosexuality is a sin but he doesn't "preach" about it and isn't against "anybody" who is gay. "I believe that scripture says that it's a sin but I always follow up by saying you know what, we're not against anybody," he added. "There's a lot of things, Larry, and I don't understand — so I just don't want to preach on it, preach about it," Osteen replied.
  • Top Earning American Idols 2013

    01/14/2014 9:37:50 AM PST · by SeekAndFind · 17 replies
    Forbes ^ | 01/14/2014 | Zack O' Malley Greenburg
    Carrie Underwood has come quite far since winning American Idol in 2005—and it’s safe to say the show has made good on its titular promise.Underwood tops this year’s list of the highest-paid Idol alums, pulling in $31 million thanks to platinum-selling Blown Away, extensive touring and endorsement deals with the likes of Olay. Not only is that more than any Idol contestant, but it exceeds the annual earnings of last year’s judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban.All in all, Underwood has earned $83 million over the past five years, and she’s one of many acts continuing to profit...