‘Worse than death row’: Gitmo hunger strike reaches Day 100
As the Guantanamo hunger strike enters its 100th day, the number of voices, both in the US and around the world, to close the facility are growing stronger and louder. Lawyers acting for prisoners in Guantanamo say the real figures may be higher, but officially of the 166 inmates in Guantanamo, 102 are currently on [...]
Obamacare to penalize nearly half a million Native Americans
Native Americans are entitled to free and subsidized medical care at some federally-funded health clinics, but ‘Obamacare’ will soon force many of them to buy insurance or else face hefty fines if they are not “Indian enough”. “A lot of folks are going to get stuck with the bill,” Jay Stiener of the National Council of [...]
IRS expected to target small businesses this year
Americans who get paid in cash and own a small business are at high risk of being audited – especially if they live in wealthy suburbs: the IRS is going after those from which the agency thinks they can get more taxes. “It’s just a matter of them going where they think the money’s at,” Steve [...]
N. Korea says it has final approval for nuclear attack on US
North Korean army says it has final approval for nuclear attack on the US, the official KCNA news agency says. This comes shortly after the Pentagon said the US military prepares to deploy an advanced missile-defense system to Guam. “The merciless operation of (our) revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and [...]
Tea Party lashes out at ‘Monsanto Protection Act’
Members of the Tea Party have joined protesters standing up against the ‘Monsanto Protection Act’, calling the provision a ‘special interest loophole’ for friends of Congress. The provision has now sparked so much outrage that both the far right and the far left are uniting in their condemnation of Section 735 of the Agricultural Appropriations [...]
China mobilizes military, on ‘high alert’ over N. Korea threats
China has started mobilizing military forces around the Korean peninsula in response to rising tensions that follow recent threats by North Korea to launch missile attacks against its southern neighbor and the United States. According to US officials, Pyongyang’s declaration of a ‘state of war’ against South Korea has led to the Chinese People’s Liberation [...]
Punxsutawney Phil might face execution for wrong weather forecast
Groundhog Phil might have made a fatal mistake when he predicted that spring will come early this year. Disturbed by the rodent’s false forecast, an Ohio prosecutor has filed court documents seeking the death penalty for Punxsutawney Phil. The famous groundhog emerged from his home in Gobbler’s Knob, Pa., on a cloudy Feb. 2 and [...]
Major US retailers reject ‘frankenfish’
A number of top US grocery stores, including Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, have pledged to reject selling the genetically engineered “frankenfish” if it is allowed on the market in April. The mutant fish was engineered by scientists at a company called AquaBounty, which has spent more than 15 years and $50 million researching and perfecting the [...]
Iran will destroy Israel cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa if attacked – Supreme leader
Iran’s most powerful authority, Ayatollah Ali Khemenei, said the Islamic Republic would raze the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa “to the ground” if Israel launched a military strike against it. “At times the officials of the Zionist regime [Israel] threaten to launch a military invasion, but they themselves know that if they make the [...]
US B-52s imitate nuclear bombing of North Korea
In a bid to intimidate North Korea and draw attention to the US military’s capabilities, American B-52 bombers – which are capable of carrying out nuclear strikes – are practicing over South Korea. The move is in response to rising tensions after North Korea conducted its third successful nuclear test last month. This month’s first [...]