Does Your Employer Wish You Were Dead?

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Which employers bought “DEAD PEASANT” life insurance policies on the lives of employees?

Because a company’s purchase of insurance policies is not a public record, it is virtually impossible to know every company that invested in policies on employees’ lives.

The following companies, however, are believed to have been named as the beneficiary of life insurance policies on employees:

ADAC Laboratories
Advanced Telecommunication Corp.
Aeroquip Vickers Inc.
Alabama Power Co.
Alfa Corp.
Allegheny Technologies Inc.
Allergan Inc.
Allfirst Financial Inc.
Amegy Bank, N.A.
American Business Products, Inc.
American Electric Power
American Express Co.
American Greetings Corp.
American Management Systems Inc.
American Seafoods Group LLC
Ameritech Corp.
Amerus Group Co.
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
Appalachian Power Co.
Arch Chemical
Aristech Chemical Corp.
AT&T Communications
Atlantic Richfield Co.
Avery Dennison Corp
Avon Products Inc.
B. F. Goodrich Company
Ball Corporation
Bank Boston
Bank Of America
Bank One Corp.
Barnett Banks Inc.
Bassett Furniture Industries Inc.
Be Aerospace Inc.
Bear Stearns Companies
Bellsouth Corporation
Boise Cascade Corp.
Boston Company
Boston Federal
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Camelot Music, Inc.
Carolina Power & Light Co.
Carpenter Technology Corp.
Catskill Financial Corp.
Central Power & Light Co.
Ch2m Hill Companies Ltd.
Charming Shoppes, Inc.
Checkfree Corp.
Chemical Banking Corporation
Citibank, N.A.
Citizens Bank
Clark Inc.
Clorox Company
CNF Inc.
Coca-Cola Company
Columbus Southern Power Co.
Commercial Intertech Corp.
Compass Bank (Florida & Alabama)
Computer Technology Associates Inc.
Consolidated Natural Gas Co.
Consolidated Rail Corporation
Cox Enterprises, Inc.
CTA Inc.
Cymer Inc.
Diamond Shamrock Inc.
Diebold Inc.
Dime Bancorp Inc.
Dow Chemical
Earle M. Jorgensen Co.
Eastman Kodak Company
Eaton Corp.
ECC Capital Corp.
Enserch Corp.
F&M Bancorp
FiberMark Inc.
Figgie International Inc.
Fina Oil & Chemical Company
First Bank System Inc.
First Commonwealth
First Midwest Bancorp Inc.
Fleet Bank
FleetBoston Financial Corp.
Flightsafety International Inc.
Frontier Bank
Fulton Financial Corp.
GATX Corporation
Georgia Power Co.
GNC Corp.
Great Plains Energy Inc.
GTE Corporation
Gulf Power Co.
HCR Manor Care Inc
Hechinger Company
Heritage Commerce Corp.
Herman Miller Inc.
Hershey Foods Corporation
Hillenbrand Industries, Inc.
Hosiery Corporation of America
Houghton Mifflin
Household Finance
Hovnanian Enterprises Inc.
Hughes Supply Inc
ICI Americas, Inc.
Idaho Power Company
IKON Office Solutions Inc.
Indiana Michigan Power Co.
Integra Bank Corp.
Intermark Inc.
Iowa First Bancshares Corp.
Iroquois Bancorp Inc.
J Jill Group Inc.
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Kansas City Power & Light
Kansas Gas & Electric Co.
Keithley Instruments Inc.
Kentucky Power Co.
Keycorp Ohio
Kimberly Clark
Korn Ferry International
Laser Master Int’l. Inc.
Linens N Things Inc.
LKQ Corp.
Louisiana Pacific Corp.
Manor Care Inc.
Marriott International Inc.
McDonnell Douglas Corp.
Media General Inc.
Medicalcontrol Inc.
Menasha Corporation
MidAmerican Energy Co.
Miix Group Inc.
Mississippi Power Co.
MNC Financial Inc.
Mueller Industries Inc.
National City Corporation
NationsBank
Nestle Enterprises
Norfolk Southern Corp.
Norfolk Southern Railway Co.
Northern States Power Co.
Ohio Power Co.
Old National
Olin Corporation
Owens & Minor Inc.
PacifiCorp
Panera Bread Co.
Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company
Parker Hannifin Corp.
Penn Treaty American Corp.
Penns Woods Bancorp Inc.
Phibro Animal Health Corp.
Philipp Brothers Chemicals Inc.
Phoenix Companies Inc.
Pinnacle Financial Services Inc.
Portland General Electric
Potlatch Corporation
PPG Industries
Procter & Gamble Company
PSS World Medical Inc.
Public Service Co. of New Mexico
Public Service Co. of Oklahoma
Public Service Enterprise Group
Questech Inc.
R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company
Ruddick Corp.
Ryder System Inc.
Sallie Mae (Stud Ln Mktg Assoc.)
Savannah Electric & Power Co.
Sequa Corp.
Service Merchandise Co., Inc.
Shearson Mortgage
Sherwin-Williams
Sky Chefs
Smart & Final Inc.
Smith Barney
Sonoco Products Co.
Southwest Bank
Southwest Water Co.
Southwestern Bell Corp.
Southwestern Electric Power Co.
Southwestern Public Service Co.
Star Banc Corp.
Stauffer Management Company
Steelcase Inc.
Sturgis Bancorp Inc.
Summit Bank of N.J.
Swank, Inc.
Tellabs Inc.
Tenet Healthcare Corp.
Texas Eastern Transmission Corp.
Tompkins Trustco Inc.
TXU Corp.
TYCO International
UniFirst Corp.
Union Bank
United National Bancorp
Urocor Inc.
Vineyard National Bancorp
W. R. Grace & Company
Wachovia Corporation
Walgreen Company
Wal-Mart Stores
Walt Disney
Wang’s International, Inc.
Wells Fargo, N.A.
West Coast Bancorp
West Texas Utilities Co.
Westar Energy Inc.
Western Aire Chef Inc
Western Resources, Inc.
Westpoint Pepperell
Winn Dixie
Winnebago Industries Inc.
Woolworth Corporation
Xcel Energy Inc.
York Water Co.
Zale Corp.

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Dead Peasant Insurance Policies

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...IF YOU WORK OR WORKED FOR THEM

Life insurance policies which pay out to an employer in the event of an employee’s death.

Michael Moore’s latest film, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” has reinvigorated discussion of “dead peasant policies,” as Jonathan Kim explained on The Huffington Post:

One of the more explosive revelations in “Capitalism” is “dead peasant” insurance policies (also known as “janitors” policies).

This is when a company buys a life insurance policy on a rank-and-file, low-level employee – usually without the employee’s knowledge – and claims the company as the beneficiary should the employee die.

The company retains the policy even after the employee leaves, and if the employee dies, the company receives a large, tax-free payout, which they then refuse to share with the family of the deceased.

Dead peasant policies were spotlighted in February 2009, when the widow of a Texas bank worker sued her husband’s former employer after it received a $1.6 million life-insurance payout following his death.

(In May 2009, Ellen E. Shultz reported in The Wall Street Journal that many banks use payouts from employee life insurance policies to help pay bonuses to current employees.)

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If Sarah Palin's Ghostwriter Is A White Supremacist, What is Palin?

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"All of 'em, any of 'em that have been in front of me over all these years." --Sarah Palin, unable to name a single newspaper or magazine she reads, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Oct. 1, 2008

Sarah Palin’s ghostwriter raises questions

Her collaborator isn’t just a creationist. There’s the white supremacy issue, too

The memoir of Sarah Palin, Going Rogue: An American Life, is not due to be released for another six weeks and already it is outselling Dan Brown's latest blockbuster, The Lost Symbol.

But that isn't the reason Palin's book is the talk of New York publishing circles: what's getting tongues wagging is the publisher's choice of ghostwriter, a San Diego-based journalist called Lynn Vincent.

For the past 10 years, Vincent has been working for the Christian-based World magazine, from which she took time off to work on Palin's book. She is a creationist and strongly anti-abortion, the subject of many of her World columns.

She is also staunchly anti-gay, backing the controversial vote to re-criminalise gay marriage in California, and - this is where Palin and her publishers might have drawn the line, but didn't - she is closely associated with a well-known white supremacist.

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Michael Moore mulls post-'Capitalism' career

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Michael Moore says he made his latest documentary, "Capitalism: A Love Story," as though it were his last. And it might be.

The George W. Bush antagonist of "Fahrenheit 9/11" and gun-control champion of "Bowling for Columbine" closing up shop? The General Motors jouster of "Roger & Me" and health-care trouper of "Sicko" no longer in the documentary business?


Filmmaker Michael Moore says his most recent film, "Capitalism: A Love Story," might be his last documentary.

Moore says he may return to doing fictional films.

"I'm saying it's a possibility, yeah," Moore said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where "Capitalism" played in advance of its nationwide rollout Friday.

"I've done this for 20 years. I started out by warning people about General Motors, and my whole career has been trying to say the emperor has no clothes here, and we better do something about it," Moore said. "I've been having to sort of knock my head against the wall here for 20 years saying these things.”

"Two years ago, I tried to get the health-care debate going, and it did eventually, and now where are we? We may not even have it. What am I supposed to do at a certain point?"

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How an Innocent Man Was Tortured Into Making False Confessions

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Like torture victims groomed for show trials throughout the centuries, Fouad al-Rabiah made up false stories under torture in the hopes of one day leaving Guantanamo.

In the ruling, to put it bluntly, it was revealed that the U.S. government tortured an innocent man to extract false confessions and then threatened him until he obligingly repeated those lies as though they were the truth.

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Unemployment Rate Is Highest in 26 Years

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(Photo: Chris(UK) / flickr)

The benchmark revisions will show job loss was 824,000 larger than originally reported.

The accelerated pace of job loss was driven primarily by the government, retail, and educational services sectors.

The government sector lost 53,000 jobs in September, compared with a loss of 19,000 jobs in August. Most of the job loss was again at the state and local level, which together accounted for 47,000 of the lost jobs.

The private educational services sector, which had been adding jobs through the recession, lost 16,900 jobs in September.

These job losses, like the state and local cutbacks, are largely the result of budget shortfalls since much of the funding for these services comes from the public sector.

Retail trade lost 38,500 jobs in September after losing just 8,800 in August.

The biggest difference here was in the auto sector – 7,100 jobs lost, after having added 3,500 in August to meet demand from the Cash for Clunkers program.

The construction sector continued its rapid pace of job loss, shedding 64,000 jobs in September, mostly in non-residential construction.

Manufacturing lost another 51,000 jobs.

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Iran’s nuclear threat is a lie

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Obama's "showdown" with Iran has another agenda. The media have been tasked with preparing the public for endless war

In 2001, the Observer published a series of reports that claimed an "Iraqi connection" to al-Qaeda, even describing the base in Iraq where the training of terrorists took place and a facility where anthrax was being manufactured as a weapon of mass destruction.

It was all false. Supplied by US intelligence and Iraqi exiles, planted stories in the British and US media helped George Bush and Tony Blair to launch an illegal invasion which caused, according to the most recent study, 1.3 million deaths.

Something similar is happening over Iran: the same syncopation of government and media "revelations", the same manufacture of a sense of crisis.

"Showdown looms with Iran over secret nuclear plant", declared the Guardian on 26 September.

"Showdown" is the theme. High noon. The clock ticking. Good versus evil. Add a smooth new US president who has "put paid to the Bush years". An immediate echo is the notorious Guardian front page of 22 May 2007:

"Iran's secret plan for summer offensive to force US out of Iraq". Based on unsubstantiated claims by the Pentagon, the writer Simon Tisdall presented as fact an Iranian "plan" to wage war on, and defeat, US forces in Iraq by September of that year - a demonstrable falsehood for which there has been no retraction.

The official jargon for this kind of propaganda is "psy-ops", the military term for psychological operations.

In the Pentagon and Whitehall, it has become a critical component of a diplomatic and military campaign to blockade, isolate and weaken Iran by hyping its “nuclear threat": a phrase now used incessantly by Barack Obama and Gordon Brown, and parroted by the BBC and other broadcasters as ­objective news.

And it is fake.

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"Patriotic" Conservatives Ecstatic That US Lost Olympic Bid

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Rooting for the United States to fail


Forget patriotism. Forget love of country. That only matters if a right wing theocrat occupies the office of President of the United States:

A surprising number of conservatives are doing a happy-dance over the fact that the United States will not host the Olympic summer games in 2016. As far as I can tell, their glee is driven entirely by their hatred of President Obama -- Chicago is his hometown, and therefore undeserving.

Who are these people? If you can believe it... it's the Usual Suspects:

Eric Erickson published an item declaring: "World Rejects Barack Obama."

Hahahahaha. I thought the world would love us more now that Bush was gone. I thought if we whored ourselves out to our enemies, great things would happen. Apparently not.

So Obama's pimped us to every two bit thug and dictator in the world, made promises to half the Olympic committee, and they did not even kiss him. So much for improving America's standing in the world, Barry O.

Malkin's mocking the U.S. defeat; so is the Weekly Standard. Fox News, which launched an aggressive effort against Chicago's bid, will no doubt follow.

(Update: the offices of the Weekly Standard, in its own words, "erupted" in "cheers" after the announcement.)

A year ago, a conservative Republican president told Chicago, "This country supports your bid, strongly." That was then, before the right decided their hatred for the president's hometown was more important than anything else.

Of course, it doesn't matter to these guys that Chicago's bid proposal was originally put together while George W. Bush was in the White House, and enjoyed Bush's full support.

No, all that matters to the unpatriotic right wing is that Obama is president now. A setback for America is a setback for him, so that's good.

Imagine that... conservatives rooting for the United States of America to fail. Are they also hoping that the United States will fail to prevent another terrorist attack? They're certainly hoping we fail to achieve healthcare reform or greater environmental protection to attack the climate crisis.

At the Washington Monthly, Steve Benen adds:

Remember, in 2005, when New York was eliminated as a host city for the 2012 Olympics, and liberals everywhere giggled like children and mocked the Bush administration?

Oh wait, that didn't happen.

The right wing's glee over the Chicago bid - their happiness over a loss for our country - reminds us that they are for a faux kind of patriotism that is tied to their ideology.

If their ideology is not shared by our democratically elected leaders, then love of country goes out the window. Radical conservatives are right wingers first and Americans second.

Pathetic, sure, but we've seen this attitude on display before.

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Forget Afghanistan, let's nation-build at home first

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Soldier cuts through an opium poppy field in Afghanistan

The assessment of the war in Afghanistan from the top U.S. general there is grim. Without more troops, Stanley McChrystal warned in a report that was leaked recently, "The conflict will likely result in failure."

His candor should be applauded.

It gives President Obama and the American public - nearly half of whom now oppose the war there - an opportunity to ask themselves how we are going to save Afghanistan when we have not figured out how to engage in successful nation-building at home.

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Sarah Palin's Husband, Todd Palin, Quits Oil Job

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Another Palin calls it quits: Two months after Sarah stepped down as governor of Alaska, Todd has resigned from his oil field job on the North Slope.

Todd Palin's resignation as a production operator for oil giant BP PLC was apparently effective September 18.

As Palin fans await the release of Sarah's highly anticipated memoir, for which she is said to have been paid millions, Todd is spending time with the family, her spokesman says.

"Todd loved his union job on the Slope and hopes to return," she added. In addition to working on the North Slope, Todd was a commercial fisherman. He earned some $34,000 working part-time last year for BP in Prudhoe Bay and about $52,000 in the family's commercial fishing business.

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“Heck, now that my little walrus is making all that green stuff, somebody’s gotta be a stay-at-home dad and take care of the kids. She’s now my sugar-mommy.” – Official Toody Plain Souse

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White House Signals Afghan Exit Strategy?

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For much of this past week, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has been fielding a flow of questions about the Afghanistan war—especially queries about the three-hour pow-wow President Barack Obama held with his entire national security team on Wednesday to discuss the road ahead in Afghanistan.

At Thursday's daily briefing, Gibbs wouldn't say much about what had been discussed in the Situation Room during that meeting.

"The President got a chance yesterday to hear from—a robust discussion with the intelligence community and robust discussion with military and diplomatic advisors," he said, using routine press secretary-speak.

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"Hey, we're going to need these troops when we invade Iran under Israel's orders." - Official White Horse Souse

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Judge says CIA can cover up destruction of interrogation tapes

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A judge cited national security concerns in ruling Wednesday that the CIA does not have to release hundreds of documents related to the destruction of videotapes of Sept. 11 detainee interrogations that used torture.

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Funny George Bush State Of Union Address

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Are 'Dead Peasant' Life Insurance Policies Fair?

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YOUR EMPLOYERS ARE BETTING ON YOUR LIFE OR DEATH!

YOU ARE WORTH MORE TO THEM DEAD!

Corporations Often Take Out These Policies on Lower-Level Employees

Life insurance used to be rather straightforward, known for offering security to loved ones in a tough time.

Some companies stand to profit from "Dead Peasants" life insurance policy.

So when Irma Johnson learned that her husband, Daniel, who died of brain cancer, had been insured for $1.5 million, it should have been at least a small comfort.

But she did not receive the money. His employer did.

It's one of the strangest free-market perversions that Michael Moore highlights in his latest film, "Capitalism: A Love Story."

In the corporate practice dubbed "Dead Peasants" life insurance, companies wager on employees' lives, expecting to make money when they die.

And it's pervasive, said Mike Myers, an attorney who has uncovered many of these cases and helped angry relatives sue.

"Life insurance is traditionally used to guard against the death of breadwinners. This is an investment scheme," he said.

Dozens of blue chip companies have these policies, according to Myers. But only banks are forced to reveal them, and several have billions of dollars worth of policies.

"The driving force behind it is the tax deductions," he said.

The life insurance policies were designed to allow companies to insure a few crucial executives. Savvy companies then realized they could also get a tax break by insuring many lower-level employees.

The financial scheme doesn't actually cost the employees anything, except, some say, their trust.

Betina Tillman felt shocked and deceived when a reporter from The Wall Street Journal told her that her brother, a music store cashier, was insured by his employer for $339,000 when he died, despite the fact that he no longer worked at the store.

"We were just in disbelief they were able to do it, and actually cash the policy and cash in on the policy," Tillman said.

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'DEAD PEASANT' INSURANCE

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Wal-Mart loves its employees so much that it takes out life insurance on them.

But this is not an insurance policy that pays death benefits to the family of a deceased employee; instead, it pays the benefit money to Wal-Mart!

This policy is called Dead Peasant Insurance

This has to be one of the most disgusting practices I've heard of.

Does anyone have any insight to this practice and why or how can it be allowed?

I find this practice to be socially unacceptable and if the law permits such as this, then it's time to change the law!

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Companies are legally taking out “DEAD PEASANT” INSURANCE policies on their employees

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This is just crazy and should be against the law.

Apparently in Michael Moore’s new film he covers something called 'Dead Peasant Insurance Policies'.

Companies can legally take out insurance on their employees (after one year) and if they die they give ZERO of the money to the person's family.

This means that they profit if you die and you are worth more to them dead than alive.

A whopping 25% of all life insurance policies in the USA are Dead Peasant Policies.

Companies that take out insurance on their employee include WalMart, Walt Disney, Dow Chemical, Procter & Gamble, Winn Dixie, and other Blue Chip Companies...

The younger the employee is when he/she dies, the more money the company gets. Some companies get very upset if the number of projected employees don't die as it affects their bottom line.

For each dead emplyee, they get 10s of thousands and even millions. Their families get NOTHING.

The policies actually have the words “dead peasant” on them. Why?

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Review of "Capitalism:A Love Story" by Michael Moore

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Healthcare industry spent $380 million to fight Obama's health for Americans

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Six lobbyists for every member of Congress as healthcare industry heaps cash on politicians to water down legislation

America's healthcare industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to block the introduction of public medical insurance and stall other reforms promised by Barack Obama.

The campaign against the president has been waged in part through substantial donations to key politicians.

Supporters of radical reform of healthcare say legislation emerging from the US Senate reflects the financial power of vested interests ‑ principally insurance companies, pharmaceutical firms and hospitals ‑ that have worked to stop far-reaching changes threatening their profits.

The industry and interest groups have spent $380m (£238m) in recent months influencing healthcare legislation through lobbying, advertising and in direct political contributions to members of Congress.

The largest contribution, totalling close to $1.5m, has gone to the chairman of the senate committee drafting the new law.

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Your police may get weapon from Pentagon that burns the skin

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The Pentagon’s Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate has been developing the Thermal Laser System since 2005, with the purpose of developing a weapon that could disperse crowds or incapacitate individuals by causing them to experience burning sensations in their skin.

According to NewScientist magazine, the weapon has evolved into a rifle-mounted instrument, and there are plans for a hand-held model that could be used by police forces.

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Webmaster's Commentary:

Once cleared for police use (and remember: even though tasers are declared "non lethal", they have still killed hundreds of people) I am sure that this weapon will wind up being embraced and used with gusto by police departments all over this country.

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The Swine Flu Conspiracy

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Iran and North Korea Ready For Talks

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Click on cartoon to enlarge



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The Fanatic Who Wrote Sarah Palin’s Memoir

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Palin's co-author

Sarah Palin's most consequential choice since leaving the Governor's Mansion may be her co-author - a staunch conservative, devoted evangelical Christian, and intensely partisan Republican from far, far outside the Beltway.

Lynn Vincent spent the summer working with Palin on a closely-guarded 400 page memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life."

The book is due out from HarperCollins November 17 - but it shot to the top of the Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists Wednesday as word of its publication spread.

Vincent's past projects include co-writing the memoir of General William Boykin, who blasted the media and President George W. Bush alike for ending his career over his casting the war on terror in overtly religious terms.

Her most political book, "Donkey Cons," describes the Democratic Party since its inception as "pro-gangster" and the "party of treason and subversion."

Her work for World Magazine, where she was an editor, includes a description of President Barack Obama as the "minority survivor" of the "black genocide" - that is, abortion.

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"American Police Force" taking over towns

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What Blackwater did to Iraq, APF is doing to America!

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Rolling Stone Mag: "Wall Street's Naked Swindle"

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Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi's new investigation suggests massive manipulation by Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. Did someone bet on Bear Stearns' fall? Who was involved? Was there insider trading? A $1.7 million options bet was placed...and paid off. Nothing's been done about it by the SEC. If you're interested in how Wall Street plays this game, watch this.

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US relinquishes control of the internet

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After complaints about American dominance of the internet and growing disquiet in some parts of the world, Washington has said it will relinquish some control over the way the network is run and allow foreign governments more of a say in the future of the system.

Icann – the official body that ultimately controls the development of the internet thanks to its oversight of web addresses such as .com, .net and .org – said today that it was ending its agreement with the US government.

The deal, part of a contract negotiated with the US department of commerce, effectively pushes California-based Icann towards a new status as an international body with greater representation from companies and governments around the globe.

Icann had previously been operating under the auspices of the American government, which had control of the net thanks to its initial role in developing the underlying technologies used for connecting computers together.

But the fresh focus will give other countries a more prominent role in determining what takes place online, and even the way in which it happens – opening the door for a virtual United Nations, where many officials gather to discuss potential changes to the internet.

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