Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/pers-a02.shtml

The first quarter of 2012 has seen a huge surge in stock prices around the world. Japan’s Nikkei index rose by 20 percent. Britain’s FTSE and Germany’s DAX were both up by more than 14 percent.

Link: http://rt.com/news/cia-poland-prison-mcgovern-003/

The smoldering scandal around an alleged CIA secret prison in Poland has exploded again, as charges have been brought against the country's former intelligence chief for allowing the site. For years, Poland’s top officials denied the prison existed.

Link: http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/arizona-law-would-censor-internet-631407

The state of Arizona could find itself in the company of countries like China and Syria for censoring the Internet if the state's governor signs a bill recently passed by the legislature.

Link: http://naturalsociety.com/environmental-toxins-may-be-causing-mass-cancer-wave/

Environmental Toxins May be Causing Mass Cancer WaveIt is well established that carcinogenic substances are lurking in the environment around us, but just how many cancer cases are caused by these substances remains a mystery. Diet and smoking habits make up nearly 60 percent of cancer cases, and thus personal lifestyle changes play a major factor, but how many cancer cases result from environmental and occupational exposure?

Link: http://naturalsociety.com/bpa-makers-to-gross-8-billion-thanks-to-fda-rejecting-ban/#ixzz1qwJqtWO7

Follow the Money: BPA Makers to Gross $8 Billion Thanks to FDA Rejecting BanProducers of toxic BPA are now boasting $8 billion in sales for 2012 thanks to the FDA rejecting a potential ban on the cancer-linked chemical on March 30th. According to GlobalData, manufacturers will produce 4.7 million metric tons of BPA this year to be dispersed into the daily lives of millions worldwide. BPA now goes into everything: plastic bottles, canned foods, DVDs, plastic wrap, and much more. Despite being linked to about as many serious health conditions as the amount of products it contaminates, the FDA has decided once again to side with mega corporations over protecting the health of the people.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/story/154804/protesters_beware%3A_u.s._supreme_court_expands_invasive_strip-searches/

Occupy and political protesters beware. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday held that local police can strip-search anyone who is arrested for minor offenses if they are to be held within the jail’s general population before being released.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/drugs/154816/feds_raid_oaksterdam_marijuana_university%2C_the_beating_heart_of_the_oakland_cannabis_revival/

The country's first "cannabis college" is raided and taped off by federal marshalls; the DEA and IRS continue their "ongoing investigation" as marijuana supporters mobilize.

Link: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielknowles/100148620/civil-liberties-cant-stand-up-to-bureaucracy/

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking six. David Davis, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of the BBC's Millbank studio, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.

Link: http://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/note-military-sexual-assault-includes-rape

While it is estimated that over 19,000 sexual assaults occurred in the military in 2010, a rate far higher than among civilians, the government has failed systematically to investigate complaints, appropriately punish perpetrators, and treat trauma and other health conditions suffered by survivors. The profound personal and social consequences that arise from the government’s systemic failures are powerfully profiled in the new film, The Invisible War. Turning a blind eye to these crimes has allowed them to continue, imperiling the lives of victims and degrading their service.

Link: http://truth-out.org/news/item/8252-someone-you-love-coming-to-a-gulag-near-you

040212hedges An Occupy Wall Street protester is detained by police during a demonstration in New York, March 24, 2012. (Photo: Robert Stolarik / The New York Times)The security and surveillance state does not deal in nuance or ambiguity. Its millions of agents, intelligence gatherers, spies, clandestine operatives, analysts and armed paramilitary units live in a binary world of opposites, of good and evil, black and white, opponent and ally. There is nothing between. You are for us or against us. You are a patriot or an enemy of freedom. You either embrace the crusade to physically eradicate evildoers from the face of the Earth or you are an Islamic terrorist, a collaborator or an unwitting tool of terrorists.