Looming Economic Realities – by Stephen Lendman Conditions show weakness, not improvement. Soft-land enthusiasts face rude awakening challenges. Later in 2012 and especially 2013, expect tougher times to reshape their outlook. They’re always notoriously behind the curve. Bad policy begets bad results. Force-fed austerity promises hard times getting nasty. In fall 2007, residential housing’s reversal [...]

One-Way Massacres Outraged Over Atrocities (Unless They’re Ours) By JOHN LaFORGE; May 31, 2012 – Counterpunchhttp://www.counterpunch.org/2012/05/31/outraged-over-atrocit… In the war fever being ramped up against Syria, there is broad public indignation over the massacre of more than 100 civilians in the town of Houla last weekend. Would that the U.S. diplomatic corps and the commercial press [...]

Green Greed By Jay Taber; May 31, 2012 – Intercontinental Cryhttp://intercontinentalcry.org/green-greed/ Part of the attraction of green greed as a solution to all our woes is that for privileged first world consumer societies it appears painless, fostering the illusion that we can still live in five thousand square foot mansions and drive hybrid SUVs and [...]

Illinois state representative Mike Bost loses his cool on the House floor Tuesday afternoon after lawmakers call for a quick vote on a new pension reform proposal. Bost, R-Murphysboro, angry over a Democrat-led, last-minute plan to overhaul state pensions, launched into a screaming tirade Tuesday. Bost’s outburst, directed at SpeakerArticle source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SHTFplan/~3/oxV54auhhuw/illinois-state-representative-erupts-in-fury-over-legislative-tyranny_05312012

NDP abets suppression of Quebec student strike By Eamon Patrick and Graham Beverley; 31 May 2012 – WSWShttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/may2012/ndpa-m31.shtml The response of the trade-union supported New Democratic Party (NDP) to the strike by students in Quebec has exposed it as a supporter of the anti-democratic austerity policies of the ruling class. The Quebec student strike has [...]

Whistle-blowers, war criminals and the extradition of Julian Assange By Amy Goodman; May 31, 2012 – rabble.cahttp://rabble.ca/columnists/2012/05/whistle-blowers-war-crim… Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s protracted effort to fight extradition to Sweden suffered a body blow this week. Britain’s Supreme Court upheld the arrest warrant, issued in December 2010. After the court announced its split 5-2 decision, the justices [...]

Why the Assange Case Is Important By John Pilger; May 31, 2012 – Znethttp://www.zcommunications.org/why-the-assange-case-is-impor… On 30 May, Britain’s Supreme Court turned down the final appeal of Julian Assange against his extradition to Sweden. In an unprecedented move, the court gave the defence team of the WikiLeaks editor permission to ‘re-apply’ to the court in two [...]

UPDATE: Please note that this article has been corrected. Alfred C. Dutton has never appeared on the show “Doomsday Preppers,” though footage from the show was used in helping prosecutors to convict him of the charges described below. We were made aware of our mistake by NatGeoArticle source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SHTFplan/~3/F5ATbbYu4Co/doomsday-prepper-sentenced-to-21-months-in-prison-for-stockpiling-destructive-devices-after-insider-rats-him-out_05302012

When President Obama promised Americans ‘hope and change’ during the run up to the 2008 Presidential election his supporters thought he meant a change for the better. Few would have believed that when Barack Obama said he would “fundamentally change America,” it would actually make things worse – muchArticle source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SHTFplan/~3/sUB6XWcB7qY/fundamentally-changing-america-obama-then-and-now-video-montage_05312012

Australia: ASIO assessments condemn refugees to indefinite detention By Robert Morgan; 29 May 2012 – WSWShttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/may2012/asio-m29.shtml Over 50 refugees currently being held by the Australian Labor government face the prospect of indefinite detention, potentially for life, due to secret and effectively unchallengeable “adverse security assessments” issued by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Under the [...]

BBC Wages Propaganda War on Syria – by Stephen Lendman Millions globally follow BBC reports regularly. Most perhaps don’t know they get propaganda, not real news, commentary and opinion. Since established in October 1922, it’s operated as a UK imperial tool. Its first general manager, John Reith, set the tone, saying: “They (meaning the UK [...]

Mind the Gap: London’s Olympic Games Are Falling Down By Dave Zirin; May 30, 2012 – The Nationhttp://www.thenation.com/blog/168131/mind-gap-londons-olympi… Upon returning to the United States after two weeks amidst London’s pre-Olympic terrain, I have some final thoughts that I hope the International Olympic Committee and the UK’s Tory Prime Minister David Cameron take to heart. I [...]

Guantanamo military tribunals proceed despite evidence of torture By Tom Carter; 30 May 2012 – WSWShttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/may2012/guan-m30.shtml At Guantanamo Bay, the Obama administration continues to prosecute five alleged September 11 conspirators before a military commission over objections from defense attorneys regarding torture and challenges to the legitimacy of the proceedings. The five prisoners are Khalid Sheik [...]

US Government Attack on Wikileaks By Wikileaks; May 29th, 2012 – Dissident Voicehttp://dissidentvoice.org/2012/05/us-government-attack-on-wi… [Note: To view all the endnotes and hyper-links for this article (of which there are many), click on the original DV link above.] WikiLeaks is under serious threat. The US, UK, Swedish and Australian governments are engaging in a coordinated effort to [...]

Workers get railroaded by Conservatives: Understanding the CP strike By Doug Nesbitt and Andrew Stevens; May 29, 2012 – rabble.cahttp://rabble.ca/news/2012/05/workers-get-railroaded-conserv… On May 23, 4800 CP Rail workers went on strike after giving a 72-hour strike notice on May 19. The workers, represented by the Teamsters Rail Conference of Canada, had voted 95 per cent in [...]

Quebec Steelworkers Face Mining Pariah By Jocelyn Desjardins; May 25, 2012 – Labor Noteshttp://labornotes.org/2012/05/quebec-steelworkers-face-minin… In a town of 30,000, when 8,000 demonstrate, it does not go unnoticed. In the small community of Alma in southern Quebec, unions gathered on March 31 for a solidarity march to denounce the lockout of 780 aluminum workers. They came [...]

Violence-Wracked Honduras – by Stephen Lendman On June 28, 2009, a coordinated State Department-Pentagon project allied with Honduran military commanders and top opposition figures ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Industrialists, financial interests, large landowners, and transnational corporations supported the coup. A Porfirio Lobo fascist dictatorship replaced him. Washington backs, arms and funds it. All Honduran officers [...]

THE FIRST RULE OF FIGHT CLUB IS… YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB. -Fight Club Movie 1999 (link) OpSec, or Operational Security, is an important rule to follow for those who have chosen to prepare for emergencies by stockpiling food, self defense armaments and disaster supplies. It’sArticle source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SHTFplan/~3/F5ATbbYu4Co/doomsday-prepper-sentenced-to-21-months-in-prison-for-stockpiling-destructive-devices-after-insider-rats-him-out_05302012

Counter Revolution Disguised as Democracy in Egypt By Shamus Cooke; May 29, 2012 – Znethttp://www.zcommunications.org/counter-revolution-disguised-… In a country where the embers of revolution are still glowing, you would assume that a presidential election would produce a revolutionary-appearing government. Not so in Egypt. The revolutionaries who toppled the hated dictator Mubarak will have zero representation in [...]

The Golden Age of Special Operations Obama’s Secret Warriors By ANDREW BACEVICH; May 29, 2012 – Counterpunchhttp://www.counterpunch.org/2012/05/29/obamas-secret-warriors/ As he campaigns for reelection, President Obama periodically reminds audiences of his success in terminating the deeply unpopular Iraq War. With fingers crossed for luck, he vows to do the same with the equally unpopular war in Afghanistan. [...]

Anti-Syrian Propaganda Promotes War – by Stephen Lendman A previous article discussed scoundrel media anti-Iranian propaganda. They also target Syria. They march in lockstep with imperial lawlessness. Readers and viewers deserve better than misinformation and betrayal. They need alternative sources to avoid it. Washington has longstanding designs on Iran and Syria. Regime change is planned [...]

US threatens military intervention in Syria following Houla massacre By Chris Marsden; 29 May 2012 – WSWShttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/may2012/syri-m29.shtml The massacre of over 100 people in Houla is being utilized by the United States, other Western powers and the Gulf States to step up their drive for regime-change in Syria. Thirty-two children and 34 women were among [...]

How the Anglo punditocracy demonizes Quebec’s student protests By Ellen Russell; May 29, 2012 – rabble.cahttp://rabble.ca/columnists/2012/05/how-anglo-punditocracy-d… Anglo Canada is sticking its fingers in its ears and humming a happy song. Many in the English-speaking punditocracy and media (or perhaps mediocracy?) are doing their best to persuade us that student protests in Quebec are nothing of [...]

To the disbelief of many of our readers, in a 2011 report titled Everything You Do Is Monitored, we noted that microphones and cameras on cell phones and computers allow interested parties (translated to mean your respective government)Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SHTFplan/~3/QWQED801AAk/big-brother-cyber-weapon-can-take-screen-shots-turn-on-microphones-copy-data-record-communications_05292012

With hundreds of billions spent to save the ailing economy of Greece (and the rest of the continent), unemployment rates in excess of 50% among those in their twenties and a solution nowhere to be found, many in Europe and around the world are realizing that this entireArticle source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SHTFplan/~3/c9AF4gZNqHo/pre-collapse-ramp-up-retailers-stock-up-on-shutters-organize-security-details-ahead-of-financial-meltdown-and-social-unrest_05292012