On the eve of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, a new Gallup Poll shows that only 39% of Americans say they "believe in the theory of evolution," while a quarter say they do not believe in the theory, and another 36% don't have an opinion either way. These attitudes are strongly related to education and, to an even greater degree, religiosity.
The American ruling class
In an earlier period of history the US had its “robber barons,” such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. As brutal and greedy as these men were, their wealth was bound up with the creation of enormous industrial empires. The latter-day robber barons of Wall Street, on the other hand, have made their billions from the destruction of the industry and productive capacity built up over decades.
FBI investigating 530 corporate fraud cases
The FBI is conducting more than 500 investigations of corporate fraud amid the financial meltdown. FBI Deputy Director John Pistole is describing the bureau's efforts to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Pistole says there are 530 active corporate fraud investigations, and 38 of them involve corporate fraud and financial institution matters directly related to the economic crisis.
TVNL Comment: Locking the barn door a bit late? The horses are gone. Just asking.
Hey, Americans: Are You Suffering from Pervasive Peanut Butter Avoidance Disorder?
While American consumers are running scared over the possibility of tainted peanut butter, it's worth pointing out that the number of people sickened by salmonella (529 at last count) is absolutely dwarfed by the number of people harmed or killed by toxic chemicals that are intentionally put into the food supply.
How many children die of cancer each year from eating sodium nitrite in hot dogs, bacon and processed meat?
How many adults suffer neurological impairment and ultimately die from drinking artificial chemical sweeteners?
And for that matter, how many U.S. adults have been killed by FDA-approved pharmaceuticals? That number is at least 100,000 per year and may be much higher. At 100,000 deaths per year, over 8,300 Americans are killed every month by Big Pharma's medicines.
In contrast to all that, how many people have been killed by tainted peanut butter?
Eight.
Catastrophic Fall in 2009 Global Food Production
The countries that make up two thirds of the world's agricultural output are experiencing drought conditions. Whether you watch a video of the drought in China, Australia, Africa, South America, or the US , the scene will be the same: misery, ruined crop, and dying cattle.
27,000 Work in Pentagon PR and Recruiting
Forget the drone stuff. Here is your eye-popping statistic of the day: "This year, the Pentagon will employ 27,000 people just for recruitment, advertising and public relations — almost as many as the total 30,000-person work force in the State Department."
Pain Beam to Get Tougher, Smaller, More Powerful
The Pentagon's pain beam weapon could get tougher, smaller, more powerful, and more mobile under a series of new research and development projects. And that could pave the way for the so-called "Active Denial System" to finally be sent to war.
All the previous Active Denial Systems have been built by Raytheon; the company even makes a commercial version, Silent Guardian.
TVNL Comment: You WILL see this used against American citizens on American streets. You will see law enforcement use this against people who protests the US government or demand justice in our nation.
In new procedure, artificial arm listens to brain
Amanda Kitts lost her left arm in a car accident three years ago, but these days she plays football with her 12-year-old son, and changes diapers and bearhugs children at the three Kiddie Cottage day care centers she owns in Knoxville, Tennessee.
SEC chief resigns
AP reports that Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Linda Thomsen is leaving the agency less than a week after receiving an angry dressing-down before Congress over the agency’s failure to detect the $50 billion Ponzi scheme allegedly run by money manager Bernard Madoff.
Thomsen was front and center at a Feb. 4 hearing by a House subcommittee investigating the Madoff affair and the enforcement breakdown at the SEC. She was put on the defensive by lawmakers and forced to defend the SEC's position that she and other officials couldn't publicly discuss details of the matter because of an ongoing investigation by the agency's inspector general.
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