Link: http://www.alternet.org/rights/155061/getting_paid_93_cents_a_day_in_america_corporations_bring_back_the_19th_century/?page=entire

Nearly a million prisoners are working in call centers, working in slaughterhouses, or manufacturing textiles while getting paid somewhere between 93 cents and $4.73.

Link: http://naturalsociety.com/legalize-marijuana-benefits-ignored-by-federal-government-infographic/

Legalize Marijuana? Benefits Ignored by Federal Government (Infographic)Cannabis has been known throughout history to be relatively harmless in comparison to other more heavily abused and dangerous drugs. It is so harmless, in fact, that it would most likely come as a surprise to someone from another entirely different era as to why it is classified as highly dangerous and subsequently subject to serious legal penalties. In America specifically, cannabis has been credited as the ‘gateway drug’ to drugs such as Opium and Cocaine – all the while studies have proven that cannabis has in fact been beneficial in patients with a variety of diseases and disorders. This includes use as a natural painkiller, and even possibly improving the health of your lungs.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9215232/German-tempers-boil-over-back-door-euro-rescues.html

Controversy is raging in Germany over soaring "payments" by the Bundesbank to shore up Europe's monetary system and cope with a tidal wave of capital flight from southern Europe. Professor Hans-Werner Sinn, head of Germany's IFO Institute, said German taxpayers are facing a dangerous rise in credit risk from a plethora of bail-out schemes. "The euro-system is near explosion," he told Austria's Economics Academy on Thursday.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/19/us-drone-strikes-yemen-panetta

Defence secretary goes before congressional committee to defend use of strikes as experts claim such a strategy is unlawful... the CIA is seeking permission to expand strikes in Yemen, a move that renewed debate about the legality of the strategy.

Link: http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2012/04/19/unplugging-americans-from-the-matrix/

Americans, the British, and Western Europeans are accustomed to thinking of themselves as the representatives of freedom, democracy, and morality in the world. The West passes judgment on the rest of the world as if the West is God and the rest of the world are barbarians in need of chastisement, invasion, and occupation. As readers know, from time to time I raise questions about the validity of the West’s extreme hubris. (See for example, the following articles: Washington’s Insouciance Has No Rival and Is Western Democracy Real or a Facade? )

Link: http://naturalsociety.com/monsanto-bee-collapse-buys-bee-research-firm/

Monsanto, the massive biotechnology company being blamed for contributing to the dwindling bee population, has bought up one of the leading bee collapse research organizations. Recently banned from Poland with one of the primary reasons being that the company’s genetically modified corn may be devastating the dying bee population, it is evident that Monsanto is under serious fire for their role in the downfall of the vital insects. It is therefore quite apparent why Monsanto bought one of the largest bee research firms on the planet.

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2012/04/19/a-very-sick-country

It looks now like the regressive majority on the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement, his health care bill.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/econ-a19.shtml

Two new IMF reports argue that austerity policies aimed at lowering the living standards of the working class must be intensified, even as governments continue to hand out hundreds of billions of dollars to the banks.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/cour-a19.shtml

With the support of the Obama administration, the US Supreme Court Tuesday expanded the reach of a reactionary legal doctrine that immunizes government agents who violate the Constitution from litigation.

Link: http://socialistworker.org/2012/04/19/lives-stolen-by-the-police

Rekia Boyd and Stephon Watts are two of the latest victims of police murder in the Chicago area. Rekia was a 22-year-old living on Chicago's West Side. She was shot by an off-duty officer who opened fire at a group of people standing on the edge of a city park, injuring one man and striking Rekia in the head. Stephon was an autistic 15-year-old killed in his own home by Calumet City officers supposedly responding to a call for assistance. The police claim Stephon threatened them with a butter knife. In both cases, the police officers have not been punished in any way.