Link: http://fairewinds.com/content/scientist-marco-kaltofen-presents-data-confirming-hot-particles

Washington, DC - October 31, 2011 – Today Scientist Marco Kaltofen of Worchester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) presented his analysis of radioactive isotopic releases from the Fukushima accidents at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Mr. Kaltofen’s analysis confirms the detection of hot particles in the US and the extensive airborne and ground contamination in northern Japan due to the four nuclear power plant accidents at TEPCO’s Fukushima reactors. Fairewinds believes that this is a personal health issue in Japan and a public health issue in the United States and Canada.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/food/152921/why_is_the_state_department_using_our_money_to_pimp_for_monsanto/

The State Department is using taxpayer money to help force genetically modified crops on other countries. People in India are up in arms about eggplant. Not just any eggplant -- the fight, which is also raging in the Philippines, is over Monsanto's Bt eggplant. Even as increasing scientific evidence concludes that biotechnology and its arsenal of genetically modified crops may be doing more harm than good, companies like Monsanto are still pushing them hard and they are getting help from the U.S.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/story/152918/how_the_austerity_class_rules_washington/

The austerity class testifies frequently before Congress, is quoted constantly in the media by sympathetic journalists and influences policy-makers and elites at the highest levels of power. They manufacture a center-right consensus by determining the parameters of acceptable debate and policy priorities, deciding who is and is not considered a respectable voice on fiscal matters. The “balanced” solutions they advocate are often wildly out of step with public opinion and reputable economic policy, yet their influence endures, thanks to an abundance of money, the ear of the media, the anti-Keynesian bias of supply-side economics and a political system consistently skewed to favor Wall Street over Main Street.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/story/152912/a_new_declaration_of_independence%3A_10_ideas_for_taking_america_back_from_the_1/

The weight of the 1 Percent has become intolerable. How can we take our country back? Here’s where we are in the course of human events right now: 14 million Americans are jobless and millions more are underemployed. Those still working have seen wages fall after 30 years of stagnation. The 1 Percent of top wage earners could buy and sell the rest of us without so much as a low balance warning on their checking account apps.

Link: http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/analysis-us-black-ops-against-iran-4515/

The US secret agenda for tightening its vice-like grip on the Islamic Republic of Iran has taken on an apparently new form after the anti-Iran alleged assassination plot against the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, raised many eyebrows among experts and analysts around the world.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/10/31-7

Where are the criminal prosecutions of the major corporations responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? Still nowhere to be found. Where are the prosecutors? Where is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)? Not prosecuting major polluters. Instead, what are they doing? Cracking down on whistleblowers. And those who support whistleblowers. While the corporate crooks are running free.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/story/152903/occupy_wall_street%3A_no_demand_is_big_enough/

Occupy Wall Street should not be content with half-measures, even as it encourages and applauds the tiny hundredth-measures that might come first.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/story/152907/%E2%80%9Ci_wanted_something_productive_to_do%22%3A_creating_space_for_books_and_learning_at_occupy_wall_street/

Education is at the heart of the Occupy Wall Street movement, from the student loan bubble to the library and teach-ins at the center of the park.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/news/152901/were_u.s._elections_sold_to_corporations_so_clarence_thomas_could_reward_his_friends/

The ethical problems posed by Thomas' involvement in the Citizens United case hardly mark the end of questionable behavior by Thomas and his wife, Ginni.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/story/152893/4_simple_steps_for_taking_your_money_out_of_the_vampire_banks/

Bank Transfer Day (Nov. 5) is just around the corner. Time to assert your economic citizenship and end the dysfunctional relationship with your blood-sucking bank.

Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=2&p=82702&s2=31

Moazzam Begg in conversation with Colonel Talal al-Zaharni whose son died in Guantanamo in 2006. In July 2006 the US administration in Guantanamo reported that three prisoners at the detention facility committed suicide. Senior US officials, including camp commander Admiral Harry Harris described the deaths as acts of "asymmetric warfare" while deputy US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Colleen Graffy, said the incident as a "good PR move" by the prisoners.

Link: http://www.redress.cc/palestine/uavnery20111029

Uri Avnery criticizes the Israeli media’s portrayal of the killing of Muammar Gaddafi and his son Mutasim as evidence of Arab barbarism, and argues that the lynching of the Gaddafis not only reflects their treatment of the Libyan people but also has precedents in “civilized” Europe.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/economy/152897/10.4_million_american_families_slide_toward_losing_their_homes_--_is_it_time_for_debt_forgiveness_/

Wages are stagnant or falling. Foreclosures are tearing through communities, and falling home prices are destroying family equity. It's like a reverse New Deal.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/occupywallst/152890/cops_blame_occupy_wall_street_for_surge_in_shootings_but_city_wastes_money_policing_nonviolent_protesters/

NYPD floods Wall Street with cops to pen in protesters, then blames Occupy Wall Street for diverting resources as gun violence spikes across the city.

Link: http://dont-tread-on.me/war-with-iran-a-warning-to-patriots-and-globalists/

As an Iranian-American, ex-US-Army infantryman and sergeant who has sworn a dying oath to the ever living 1776 revolution’s constitution I have found it imperative to warn my patriot brethren to the gravest danger facing our beloved republic at this juncture. The danger in question is not one which threatens us from any outside force but one that although foreign, is the Trojan horse we have been hoodwinked to see as our own government. The current menace is the latest round of wars set up for us which will inevitably lead to the bloodiest episodes in history of mankind; one that would give a new meaning to war, being waged not just on the self-appointed enemies (in this case Iran and the Persian Gulf region) but fought on a civil basis as well, on the home population whose sons and daughters will be dying to the bloody hymns of that Pied Piper warmongering globalist foreign controlled Uncle Sam.

Link: http://powerpointparadise.com/blog/2011/10/protest-against-patent-on-broccoli-at-the-european-patent-office/

Three hundred people representing a broad range of environmental activists, farmers and development organisations held a protest against patents on seeds and animals outside the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich. With six meter long flying vegetables, a stall with patented broccoli and agricultural machinery, the focus of the protest was the sell-out of resources needed for daily living.

Link: http://theintelhub.com/2011/10/26/feds-order-you-tube-to-remove-video-for-containing-%E2%80%9Cgovernment-criticism%E2%80%9D/

The number of takedown orders received by Google from authorities based in the United States rose dramatically over the past year, with demands to remove information, including videos containing “government criticism,” increasing by 70 per cent.

Link: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/rick-perry-the-best-little-whore-in-texas-20111026

"Low energy, low substance," sighs Justin Ryan, one of the conference attendees. "That's sort of the candidate in general." But this is America, remember, where one should never underestimate shallow. And Rick Perry brings shallow to a new level. He is very gifted in that regard. He could be the Adolf Hitler of shallow.

Link: http://socialistworker.org/2011/10/26/how-the-1-percent-rules

Lance Selfa, author of The Democrats: A Critical History explains how the 1 percent has rigged the supposedly democratic political system so they're always the winners. THE OCCUPY movement's most powerful unifying factor has been its clear and simple identification of the key problem in American society: the divide between the vast majority of the population--the 99 percent--and the richest and most powerful 1 percent.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/10/26-1

Incredible footage emerged from downtown Oakland last night - not of basic law enforcement efforts to maintain public "health and safety" as the police have been claiming - but of a war zone in which police shot tear gas, bean bags, wooden dowels, flash grenades, and rubber bullets at protesters.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/10/26-6

Income for the richest Americans has grown 15 times faster than for the poor since 1979, a government study showed, as a poll out Wednesday highlighted deep anxiety over uneven wealth distribution a year ahead of US elections. Household income for top 1% more than triples, while middle-class incomes grow by less than 40%. (AFP/Getty) The income disparity, and concentration of more than 80 percent of US income wealth in the top 20 percent of earners, highlights the volatility in the race for the White House as President Barack Obama's Republican challengers push plans to reduce taxes for the wealthy as a way to prime the sluggish economy.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2011/oct2011/occu-o25.shtml

The response of the US government to the spread of anti-Wall Street protests in the US and internationally has been a marked increase in police repression and intimidation.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29514.htm

I’m raising three sons in a world that I don’t want them to live in. A world of hate, deception, war, injustice, and serfdom. A world that seems out of our control to change. If given a choice, who would want to live in that world?

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29507.htm

The jubilant reaction of Western powers and the foes of Muammar Gaddafi to his barbaric murder on October 20, 2011 raises some serious questions about war crimes committed by the Western-backed National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters and NATO forces.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29508.htm

An analysis of video obtained by GlobalPost from a rebel fighter who recorded the moment when Col. Muammar Gaddafi was first captured confirms that another rebel fighter, whose identity is unknown, sodomized the former leader as he was being dragged from the drainpipe where he had taken cover.

Link: http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/more-than-just-a-currency-game-4511/

China’s interference in markets to limit its currency appreciation is under increasing fire from US politicians who claim that the policy is costing American jobs. But several recent studies indicate that changing China’s currency policies alone would not necessarily benefit the US economy or its workers.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/10/25-2

WINTERTHUR, Switzerland - Here’s a gift to Occupy Wall Street protesters around the world: you now have scholarly proof that banks control the world. The study says the United States takes home first prize with 24 companies cracking the list of the top 50 most powerful global firms. (STAN HONDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES) Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, also known as ETH, have published a paper that argues just 147 companies account for a large chunk of the total economic value of all the transnational companies around the world. No exact dollar figures, but it’s obviously a vast sum.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/story/152854/new_york_cops_defy_order_to_arrest_hundreds_of_%E2%80%98occupy_albany%E2%80%99_protesters/

"Governor 1%" Cuomo can't catch a break--after being protested by Occupy Wall Street last week, this week his own police force is refusing to arrest protesters in his backyard. Occupy Albany protesters in New York’s capital city received an unexpected ally over the week: The state and local authorities. According to the Albany Times Union, New York state troopers and Albany police did not adhere to a curfew crackdown on protesters urged by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Albany mayor Gerald Jennings.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/685135/occupy_oakland_raided_by_police%2C_reports_of_tear_gas%2C_rubber_bullets/

Today, Oakland occupiers were swept out of two encampents amid claims of excessive force. The livestream, which is going in and out, is embedded at the bottom of this post.

Link: http://www.truthout.com/mexico-women-reject-normalisation-gender-violence/1319569917

Ninety percent of the non-governmental organisations in Mexico are founded and run by women, says journalist and women's rights activist Lydia Cacho Ribeiro, even as crimes against women remain cloaked in impunity.

Link: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/10/25/vets-with-ptsd-and-compassionate-cannabis-laws/

“Physicians should use the same standard of care in recommending medical marijuana to patients as they would when recommending or approving any other medication.”- Frank Lucido, M.D. Cannabis, also known as marijuana, comes from the seed bearing Cannabis plant and is known for its use as a psychoactive drug and for medicinal purposes.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/story/152852/the_tea_party_vs._occupy_wall_street%3A_guess_which_one_is_the_real_populist_movement/

OWS demonizes powerful banks. The Tea Party demonizes the poorest and weakest of us all. Host David Gregory complained about Occupy Wall Street protestors “demonizing banks” and wondered, “Is this not a reverse tea party tactic?” Gregory is right. In many respects Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is indeed a mirror image of the Tea Party. To the Tea Party government is the enemy. To OWS the huge corporation is the enemy. OWS wants to raise taxes on billionaires. The Tea Party wants to considerably reduce them. OWS wants to rebuild and strengthen the safety net. The Tea Party wants to weaken it.

Link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/45019599

The total of U.S. state debt, including pension liabilities, could surpass $4 trillion, with California owing the most and Vermont owing the least, a new analysis says.

Link: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=359785

President, Dems accused of deliberately overloading country's financial system. A new book released today documents how President Obama and progressive Democrats are deliberately overloading the U.S. financial system, using socialist designs to remake the economy.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/10/24/anonymous-vows-to-destroy-fox-news-website-on-nov-5th/

In a video statement carried recently by several official channels maintained by members of the hacker activist group “Anonymous,” a digitally generated voice explains that the online collective has decided to take down the Fox News website on Nov. 5th of this year.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29500.htm

Last March I reviewed Matt Taibbi’s important book Griftopia, an entertaining account of the through-going financial fraud that gave us the financial crisis. Taibbi shows that the US “superpower” can match any third world backwater in the magnitude of greed and fraud that is endemic in business and government. Taibbi’s Griftopia was published last year. This year Henry Holt publishers have provided us with Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner’s Reckless Endangerment.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29513.htm

Should we really hail the expansion of the police state as an enhancement to safety? If you thought the “Transportation Security Administration” would limit itself to conducting unconstitutional searches at airports, think again. The agency intends to assert jurisdiction over our nation’s highways, waterways, and railroads as well. TSA launched a new campaign of random checkpoints on Tennessee highways last week, complete with a sinister military-style acronym–VIP(E)R—as a name for the program.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/food/152848/worst_food_additive_ever_it%27s_in_half_of_all_foods_we_eat_and_its_production_destroys_rainforests_and_enslaves_children/

The production of this ingredient causes jaw-dropping amounts of deforestation (and with it, carbon emissions) and human rights abuses. On August 10, police and security for the massive palm oil corporation Wilmar International (of which Archer Daniels Midland is the second largest shareholder) stormed a small, indigenous village on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. They came with bulldozers and guns, destroying up to 70 homes, evicting 82 families, and arresting 18 people. Then they blockaded the village, keeping the villagers in -- and journalists out. (Wilmar claims it has done no wrong.)

The ACLU uncovers an FBI program that pairs Census data with "crude stereotypes" to map ethnic communities. New documents obtained by the ACLU show that the FBI has for years been using Census data to “map” ethnic and religious groups suspected of being likely to commit certain types of crimes.

Link: http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/opinion-the-ones-who-progress-left-behind-4510/

Globalization’s chickens are coming home to roost on Wall Street. There is no faster way to dissect our current sociological climate than to go out and ask as many people as possible what they think about the Occupy movement and what they think it wants to achieve. The answers will surprise.