Mainstream News

Mexico: Border schools adjust to influx of English-speaking students

"Thousands of school children have arrived in Mexican schools from the US in the past several years amid a record number of deportations and a foundering US economy. New migration patterns are returning Mexican nationals to their homeland years after they settled in the US, married there, and had children. Teachers read from textbooks that touch on the reasons for the reverse migration currently taking place, and oftentimes, Zatarain told the teachers, parents are deported while their children are in school and the experience can traumatize youngsters." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMexico: Border schools adjust to influx of English-speaking students

Congress repeals law barring members’ insider trading

"Congress passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act in 2012 in response to the public outcry over members' self-serving insider trading scandal last year. As with most laws, what is a crime for citizens was not illegal or unethical for members of Congress and their staffs. It was a fleeting moment of transparency and accountability. Like a cowardly thief in the night, members of Congress quietly colluded to repeal the reporting requirements of the STOCK Act this year by unanimous consent: The shameful ordeal took all of 10 seconds in the Senate and 14 seconds in the House." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongress repeals law barring members’ insider trading

Lawmakers, aides may get Obamacare exemption

"Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said. Yet if Capitol Hill leaders move forward with the plan, they risk being dubbed hypocrites by their political rivals and the American public. By removing themselves from a key Obamacare component, lawmakers and aides would be held to a different standard than the people who put them in office." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawmakers, aides may get Obamacare exemption

Central Banks Load Up on Equities

"Central banks, guardians of the world’s $11 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves, are buying stocks in record amounts as falling bond yields push even risk- averse investors toward equities. Managers of banks’ assets are looking for alternatives to holding government bonds after efforts to stimulate growth from the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England helped send yields near to record lows. Central banks’ foreign- exchange holdings have increased by about $8.5 trillion globally in the past decade, exceeding levels needed for day-to-day currency administration." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCentral Banks Load Up on Equities

Michael Scheuer: The Idea That They’re Attacking Us Because Of Our Freedom Is Insane

"We should have went to Afghanistan and won the war. We went to Afghanistan, spent 13 years and got chased out by guys with weapons from the Korean War. The Islamists started this war, they explained to us as clearly as General Giap and Ho Chi Minh explained to us why they were fighting us and we have ignored it. Mrs. Clinton has ignored it, Bill Clinton, George Bush, Barack Obama. The idea that they're attacking us because of our culture is insane. We are now waging a war against them culturally. We're trying to impose democracy, women's rights, parliamentary systems on a people who don't want it. They're going to fight that." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichael Scheuer: The Idea That They’re Attacking Us Because Of Our Freedom Is Insane

$2 Trillion Underground Economy May Be Recovery’s Savior

"The shadow economy is a system composed of those who can't find a full-time or regular job. Workers turn to anything that pays them under the table, with no income reported and no taxes paid. Shadow economies are usually associated with illegal activity, such as drug dealing. But anecdotal evidence indicates that off-the-books work in today's job market includes personal and domestic workers, such as housekeepers and nannies. It also includes firms that hire hourly or day construction labor, information technology specialists and Web designers. Many who have a job that doesn't pay enough take another one that pays under the table." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$2 Trillion Underground Economy May Be Recovery’s Savior

FDA, FBI Raid Tulsa Cancer Clinic

"A U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation shut down a Tulsa cancer clinic Tuesday afternoon. Federal agents showed up at Camelot Cancer Care in south Tulsa around 11 a.m. and served a search warrant. Sam Bass said his father-in-law took $13,000 out of his savings to pay for a 20-day treatment program. But as they left Camelot, FDA and FBI agents showed up. Bass said they asked him to leave his wife's medication behind. Sam said his wife's treatment program did include Laetrile. The chemical, which is found in the pits of some fruits and nuts, is also listed on Camelot's website. But, it's not approved by the FDA." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFDA, FBI Raid Tulsa Cancer Clinic

Google shows requests for censorship have reached new highs

"Google on Thursday released data showing that requests by governments to censor the Internet giant’s content have hit new heights, with Brazil and the United States leading the way. Google received 2,285 government requests to remove content from it properties, including YouTube and search pages, in the second half of last year as compared to 1,811 requests in the first six months, according to its latest Transparency Report. The requests related to 24,179 pieces of content, up from 18,070 items, the California-based Internet giant said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle shows requests for censorship have reached new highs

Thatcher’s funeral cost British taxpayers $2.5 million

"Margaret Thatcher’s funeral cost British taxpayers an estimated £1.6 million, with a further £2 million spent on police who would have been on duty anyway, Downing Street said Thursday. Though never likely, back-of-an-envelope newspaper guesses in the run-up to the former prime minister’s funeral last week estimated the cost at £10 million. That inflamed far-left activists, angry at the expenditure on the Conservative titan amid the public spending cuts aimed at reining in Britain’s budget deficit. Of the £1.6 million figure, £1.1 million went on policing and security, Downing Street said. The remaining £500,000 was spent on ceremonial costs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThatcher’s funeral cost British taxpayers $2.5 million

Egypt holds Swiss teacher over ‘terrorist name’

"A Swiss primary school teacher from the canton of Bern who went to Egypt for a holiday is being held there on suspicion of being a terrorist because of his name. Rolf Künti, 29, went to the North African country with a colleague for a one-week holiday. But on the day of his planned return to Switzerland he was detained on Monday at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport where he was told by customs he was banned from leaving, according to Swiss media. 'They told me that my name was that of a terrorist if you translate it into Arabic,' Künti is quoted as saying by 20 Minuten, the online news site." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt holds Swiss teacher over ‘terrorist name’