Link: http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/04/reality-in-fukushima-video/

The movies of radiation measurement in Fukushima were uploaded. The first video was taken in the same location as “Reality in Fukushima”. The last 2 videos were taken about 1.5km south west to “Reality in Fukushima

Link: http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2012/04/30/brewing-a-conflict-with-china/

Washington has pressured the Philippines, whose government it owns, into conducting joint military exercises in the South China Sea. Washington’s excuse is that China has territorial disputes with the Philippines, Indonesia, and other countries concerning island and sea rights in the South China Sea. Washington asserts that China’s territorial disputes with the like of Indonesia and the Philippines are a matter of United States’ national interests.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/syri-a30.shtml

Accusations that the Syrian government is either wholly or mainly responsible for breaches of the United Nations’ ceasefire are meant to provide a pretext for military intervention by the imperialist powers and their proxies. The US and European media, meanwhile, is acting as a barely concealed propaganda instrument tasked with preparing public opinion for the latest criminal adventure in the Middle East—a war for regime change in Syria to follow those waged in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/span-a30.shtml

Barely four months after the European Central Bank (ECB) began its latest intervention into financial markets, making available a total of €1 trillion at ultra-cheap rates to cash-strapped banks, the European financial system is heading into a new crisis, with far-reaching global implications.

Link: http://socialistworker.org/2012/04/30/why-were-marching-against-nato

Marching against the war machine in Washington, D.C. THOUSANDS OF people--workers, students, antiwar veterans and activists, Occupiers and community organizers--will take to the streets of Chicago when more than 50 heads of state gather on May 20-21 for a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Link: http://theintelhub.com/2012/04/30/u-s-officials-continue-to-shift-focus-from-al-qaeda-to-home-grown-extremists/

Last year I broke down a report from the Homeland Security Policy Institute which not only lent support for increasingly harsh and widespread police state measures, but also served to shift attention away from the supposed threat posed by foreign terrorist groups towards the alleged threat of domestic terrorists.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/04/29-1

One of the largest supermarket chains in Britain has announced that it intends to boycott Israeli agricultural exporters that market produce from the West Bank settlements.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/04/29

The nation’s largest financial institutions are preparing for the upcoming Occupy Wall Street’s May 1st demonstrations by working together and with police, according to Bloomberg News. The banks from America and overseas are working to “identify, map and track” protesters.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/story/155199/private_prison_corporations_are_modern_day_slave_traders/

The Corrections Corporation of America believes the economic crisis has created an opportunity to become landlord, as well as manager, of a chunk of the American prison gulag.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/visions/155186/is_it_possible_to_build_an_economy_without_jobs_/

Humans will always work. But that whole employee-employer thing is optional. It's time to start looking for another model. Suppose that something caused iTunes, Sony Music, "American Idol," SiriusXM and every other commercial music entity to disappear. Would humans still make music? Of course we would. Although capitalists would prefer we think otherwise, human ingenuity created capitalism—not the other way around.

Link: http://whatreallyhappened.com/node/167440

Posted below is a response to the advert which appeared on the Pages of The New York Times (See THIS post) …. also see this hateful video to know what we are dealing with. Presented is a letter sent to the Editor at the Times. Let’s see if it is fit for them to print, or would they prefer to get it in the form of an ad with a check enclosed … Just how much Freedom of the Press is there?

Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2137113/Poll-shows-62-percent-Americans-homes-rates-plummet-10-year-lows.html#ixzz1tThcm9nN

Less than two thirds of Americans say they own their own homes - the lowest rate of home ownership in more than a decade. A new Gallup poll shows just 62 per cent of Americans are homeowners, down 11 percentage points from the high of 73 per cent in 2007, just before the housing market crashed spectacularly. A record number of Americans, 43 per cent, also say their homes are now worth less than what they paid for them.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/russ-a28.shtml

Russia has undertaken intensive preparations during the past few months for a possible military strike by Israel and the United States on Iran. According to recent reports, the Russian General Staff expects a war against Iran this summer, with enormous repercussions for not only the Middle East but also the Caucasus.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/econ-a28.shtml

US economic growth slowed in the first quarter of 2012, with gross domestic product rising by only 2.2 percent, according to figures reported by the Department of Commerce Friday. The figure was well below the consensus forecast of 2.6 percent among corporate economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

Link: http://theintelhub.com/2012/04/27/fukushima-hanging-by-a-thread/

Are you ready—it is becoming clear that we, our children and our entire civilization is hanging by a thread. It is a very sorry thing to report that we have literally shot ourselves in the foot with a big nuclear shotgun full of radioactive particles of the worst conceivable kind.

Link: http://theintelhub.com/2012/04/27/cispa-passes-the-house-with-amendments-which-make-it-even-worse-than-it-was/

The final vote on CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, sponsored by Representatives Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican, and Dutch Ruppersberger, a Maryland Democrat, was held today despite it being originally slated for tomorrow.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31182.htm

The Taliban clearly has broad support from Afghan people. Conscientious objection is a right and obligation in a failed war. Recent attacks in Kabul confirm the occupation is falling to pieces. Claims about "decisive years" and "turned corners" are little more than cant. Instead for all their lack of air power, drones and high-tech equipment, the Taliban are gaining ascendancy.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/04/27-1

'The Occupy movement has been very successful in bringing those ideas to the forefront of political discussion.' Europe is headed down the same path that most Republicans -- and many Democrats -- are suggesting for the US: reductions in the public sector, cuts in benefits, slashing investments in infrastructure and education.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/story/155178/gop_suicide%3A_why_can%27t_republicans_stop_alienating_women%2C_young_people_and_hispanics/

Republicans can't stop pissing off the three demographic groups whose electoral impact is growing fastest. What are the three demographic groups whose electoral impact is growing fastest? Hispanics, women and young people. Who are Republicans pissing off the most? Latinos, women, and young people.

Link: http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/25-horrible-statistics-about-the-u-s-economy-that-barack-obama-does-not-want-you-to-know

The human capacity for self-delusion truly is remarkable. Most people out there end up believing exactly what they want to believe even when the truth is staring them right in the face. Take the U.S. economy for example. Barack Obama wants to believe that his policies have worked and that the U.S. economy is improving. So that is what he is telling the American people.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31193.htm

Three targeted Americans: A career government intelligence official, a filmmaker and a hacker. None of these U.S. citizens was charged with a crime, but they have been tracked, surveilled, detained—sometimes at gunpoint—and interrogated, with no access to a lawyer. Each remains resolute in standing up to the increasing government crackdown on dissent.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31189.htm

The pictures flash up on a screen on an upper floor of the Fallujah General Hospital. And all at once, Nadhem Shokr al-Hadidi's administration office becomes a little chamber of horrors. A baby with a hugely deformed mouth. A child with a defect of the spinal cord, material from the spine outside the body. A baby with a terrible, vast Cyclopean eye. Another baby with only half a head, stillborn like the rest, date of birth 17 June, 2009. Yet another picture flicks onto the screen: date of birth 6 July 2009, it shows a tiny child with half a right arm, no left leg, no genitalia.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/usph-a26.shtml

Joint US-Philippine military exercises are currently underway that can only heighten tensions with China over disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea and in the Indo-Pacific region more broadly.

Link: http://truth-out.org/news/item/8731-prison-industries-dont-let-society-improve-or-we-lose-business-part-i

United Prison State of America(Image: Jared Rodriguez / Truthout)One out of every 100 people in the United States is imprisoned. Even though we are 5 percent of the world's population, we have 25 percent of the prisoners in the world. We are number one in the world in the number of people we imprison - we even beat China. A normal reaction to this situation would be to try to reform our laws, our judicial system - including sentencing - our prison system and our society so that we would not have the disconcerting distinction of being the number-one jailer in the world.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/04/26-7

Doing nothing would mean a "drift into a downward vortex of economic, socio-political and environmental ills". It is urgent that humanity work towards equity of consumption and slow the growth of the world's population or we'll head towards a "downward vortex" of ruin, according to a report published today.

Link: http://www.juancole.com/2012/04/rubio-calls-for-war-on-iran-syria-as-israeli-army-rejects-it.html

GOP Vice-Presidential hopeful Marco Rubio on Wednesday called for unilateral US military action against Syria and Iran and blamed President Barack Obama for declining to send troops to Syria in the absence of a UN Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force. He also said that in addition to sanctioning Iran, “We should also be preparing our allies, and the world, for the reality that unfortunately, if all else fails, preventing a nuclear Iran may, tragically, require a military solution.”

Link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hDd5WKIVvsKWx_73mt0xHlmOgrgg?docId=940779d8e8e840e8b3a144b9bf8ba275

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits remained stuck near a three-month high last week, a sign that job gains will likely remain modest. The report disappointed economists, who had forecast a decline in unemployment applications. Even so, most analysts think employers will add about 175,000 jobs this month. That would be more than in March but less than the robust job growth achieved during the winter.

Link: http://www.realzionistnews.com/?p=715

Under the umbrella of the European Jewish Union, (the uniting structure for all Jewish organizations throughout Europe), a brand new No-Goys-Allowed organization was inaugurated on February 17, 2012, the “first ever” European Jewish Parliament.

Link: http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/why-isnt-closing-40-philadelphia-public-schools-national-news-where-black-political-class

If some racist made an inappropriate remark about the First Lady or her children our national "civil rights leaders" Obama fans all of them, would be all over that. But standing up for ordinary black children is something our leaders just don't do much any more. When was the last time you heard Sharpton, Jealous or any of that tribe inveigh against school closings and the creeping privatization of our schools?

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31174.htm

Last year, the Occupy Movement rose up spontaneously in cities and towns across the country, radically shifted the discourse and rattled the economic elite with its defiant populism. It was, according to Noam Chomsky, “the first major public response to thirty years of class war.”

Link: http://www.alternet.org/rights/155156/facebook_and_google_turned_into_government_spies_the_dangerous_new_law_before_congress_%28cispa%29/

A private company doing the government’s work does not face the same privacy restrictions. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass a reprehensible cyber-security bill this week that seeks to protect online companies—giant social media firms to data-sharing networks controlling utilities—from cyber attack. It is reprehensible because, as Democratic San Jose Rep. Zoe Lofgren said this week, it gives the federal government too much access to the private lives of every Internet user.

Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/orders-for-u-s-durable-goods-drop-by-the-most-in-three-years.html

Orders for U.S. durable goods fell in March by the most in three years, depressed by a pullback in demand for aircraft that masked gains in business investment.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28870

Global Research's Online Interactive I-Book Reader brings together, in the form of chapters, a collection of Global Research feature articles and videos, including debate and analysis, on a broad theme or subject matter.

Link: http://www.bullionstreet.com/news/dutch-debt-on-edge-of-downgrade-central-banks-add-to-gold-reserves/1664

Spot market gold pricesclimbed to $1643 an ounce Tuesday lunchtime in London - a 1.2% gain from Monday's low, but still below Friday's close - as Eurozone concerns focused on the Netherlands after Monday's government collapse.

Link: http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/private-prison-corporations-are-slave-traders

Crime has been going down for nearly a generation, and the states have finally put the brakes on prison growth in response to the fiscal crunch. But Wall Street prison profiteers see the crisis as an opportunity. The Corrections Corporation of America has offered to buy nearly all the nation’s state prisons. “To ensure their profitability, the corporation insists that it be guaranteed that the prisons be kept at least 90 percent full.”

Link: http://rt.com/usa/news/journalist-dhs-miller-occupy-802/

If you want to know what the US Department of Homeland Security has been working hard at lately, leave it to a multimedia journalist from Miami, Florida to lay it out for you: they’ve been busy on Facebook.

Link: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/24/11371144-tsa-pats-down-4-year-old-after-she-hugs-grandmother?lite

A 4-year-old girl was patted down recently by Transportation Security Officers (TSO) at a Wichita, Kan., airport after she embraced her grandmother at the security checkpoint. Michelle Brademeyer, the girl's mother, wrote about the incident on her Facebook page last week. She said the trouble began when her daughter, Isabel, successfully passed through security, but then ran to hug her grandmother, who had triggered an alarm and had been asked to sit and await a pat-down. "The Transportation Security Officers who were present responded to this very simple action in the worst way imaginable," Brademeyer wrote.

Link: http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?article21892

On Sunday, as Israeli security forces were rounding up activists who were trying to enter Palestine, a racist conference was held in Ramle and a middle-aged woman was beaten for protesting racism. Welcome to a frightening Israel, where being non-racist is dangerous

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/04/24-2

The Social Security trust fund is in strong financial standing and the overall program could be further strengthened, say experts and lawmakers, with a simple increase of the current payroll tax cap which is currently set at $110,000. The trustee's annual financial report was released on Monday.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/economy/155133/wall_street-inflated_student_debt_bubble_hits_%241_trillion%3B_debtors_rally_for_relief/

The collective weight of American student debt is a drag not just on those paying the debt, but on our entire economy. You could call it a bubble, but it's more like a ball and chain. Bubbles are, after all, light and airy.