Lawmakers crafting a sweeping farm bill in 2008 promised it would cut government payments to wealthy farmers. Two years later, little appears to have changed.
Data being made public Wednesday shows that the wealthiest farmers in the country are still receiving the bulk of government cash, despite claims from lawmakers that reforms in the bill would put more money in the hands of smaller farms. At the same time, a series of exemptions written into the bill has made it more difficult for the public to find out who is receiving what.
PROMISES, PROMISES: Rich farmers get most cash in farm bill
Mind Control Theories and Techniques used by Mass Media
Mass media are media forms designed to reach the largest audience possible. They include television, movies, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, records, video games and the internet. Many studies have been conducted in the past century to measure the effects of mass media on the population in order to discover the best techniques to influence it. From those studies emerged the science of Communications, which is used in marketing, public relations and politics. Mass communication is a necessary tool the insure the functionality of a large democracy; it is also a necessary tool for a dictatorship. It all depends on its usage.
Pope further damages Church reputation with Shroud claim
On the heels of an onslaught of sex scandals which represent the tip of a very big iceberg dating back hundreds of years - and in which he himself has been implicated - Pope Benedict XVI has changed the subject by making yet another extraordinary claim without any credible, scientific evidence, by asserting that the famed Shroud of Turin is indeed "real." However, over the past several centuries since the Shroud's sudden emergence into history the valid scientific evidence has repeatedly demonstrated the shroud to be a fake.
U.S. reveals size of nuclear arsenal
The United States disclosed for the first time on Monday the current size of its nuclear arsenal, lifting the veil on once top-secret numbers in an effort to bolster non-proliferation efforts.
The Pentagon said it had a total of 5,113 warheads in its nuclear stockpile at the end of September, down 84 percent from a peak of 31,225 in 1967. The arsenal stood at 22,217 warheads when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.
GORDON DUFF: TIMES SQUARE BOMB HOAX, ISRAELI INTEL GROUP SHOWS IT’S HAND
This is the same group that has come up with numerous bin Laden “audio” tapes, seemingly, though tiny and nearly totally unstaffed, whenever it is convenient for Israel to point a finger at someone, magically Site Intelligence, run by former IDF soldier Rita Katz, whose father was executed as a spy by Saddam Hussein, makes another “unbelievable” intelligence find.
Medic at Guantanamo hearing says Khadr chained to door
A former U.S. Army combat medic testified Monday that he once found Canadian teen captive Omar Khadr chained by the arms to the door of a five-foot-square cage at a U.S. lock-up in Afghanistan, hooded and weeping.
The medic, identified in court only as Mr. M, said Khadr's wrists were chained just above eye-level, but were slack enough to allow Khadr's feet to touch the floor. He could not remember whether Khadr's feet were also shackled.
"Drill, Baby, Drill": Fox News' Environmental Catastrophe
In the wake of the catastrophic oil spill currently occurring in the Gulf of Mexico, Media Matters reviews Fox News' fervent advocacy for offshore drilling. Its activism has including promoting Sarah Palin's "drill, baby, drill" mantra and pushing myths suggesting that drilling is environmentally safe.
Strenger than Fiction / Jewish liberals from all nations, unite
Diaspora Jews around the world are beginning to realize that the time has come to reject the right’s dictate that being pro-Israel means that you need to support the policies of Israeli governments, no matter what they do; that the Jewish right represents a small minority of the Jewish people.
Caring about friends and family doesn’t mean that we do not criticize them, when we believe that they are harming themselves. In caring for somebody’s wellbeing, we are often required to make clear that they are going the wrong way. Hence Liberal Jews in the Diaspora firmly stand by Israel while trenchantly criticizing the occupation and settlements.
Web video shows Pakistani militant leader thought to be dead
A Pakistani militant leader who was thought to have been killed by a U.S. drone strike in January has appeared in a new Internet video, vowing attacks on American cities. The video of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud surfaced early Monday.
It was released shortly after another clip appeared on YouTube, in which the group claimed responsibility for the failed bomb attempt in Times Square. Counter-terrorism analysts dismiss that claim as highly unlikely, noting that the organization has displayed no ability to strike beyond Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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