First Moody's cut the most prominent Austrian banks, and now it is Germany's turn, if not that of -the most undercapitalized German bank yet: "The ongoing rating review for Deutsche Bank AG and its subsidiaries will be concluded together with the reviews for other global firms with large capital markets operations."

Cyprus needs a bailout

Greece's debt crisis threatened to turn into an energy crunch, with the power regulator calling an emergency meeting this week to avert a collapse of the country's electricity and natural gas system. Regulator RAE called the emergency meeting on 1 June after receiving a letter from Greece's natural gas company DEPA, dated 31 May, threatening to cut supplies to electricity producers if they failed to settle their arrears with the company. An energy crisis would add to the debt-stricken country's political and financial strains, threatening households and businesses with power cuts ahead of a 17 June election which may decide if the country will stay within the euro (see background). The Greek government already risks running out of cash next month if it fails to receive fresh bailout funds from its lenders. "RAE is taking crisis initiatives throughout next week to avert the collapse of the natural gas and electricity system," the regulator's chief, Nikos Vasilakos, told Reuters.

Big Labor Recall Total to Exceed $20 Million | MacIver Institute

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign - Recall 2012 - Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

I want to thank my wonderful friend who accepts a little bit of teasing about Michelle beating her in pushups -- (laughter) -- but I think she claims Michelle didn't go all the way down. (Laughter.) That's what I heard. I just want to set the record straight -- Michelle outdoes me in pushups as well. (Laughter.) So she shouldn't feel bad. She's an extraordinary talent and she's just a dear, dear friend -- Ellen DeGeneres. Give Ellen a big round of applause.

Wanted Abu Yahya al-Libi Up to $1 Million Reward -- alibi.curry.com

The Obama administration will offer up to $33 million in rewards for information about top members of an Islamist extremist group in Somalia linked to Al Qaeda, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The rewards for seven leaders of the al-Shabab militia movement will be announced Thursday by the State Department, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement.

Making headway on a project that has been too long in the deliberating, the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline's 'sovereign guarantee agreement' was signed in Islamabad by the Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company S R Kasazadeh and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Irshad Kaleemi. Signalling the beginning of a mammoth resource import project, it is heartening to note that, despite India leaving the fray -- the original project had envisioned India as one of the partners -- under US pressure after having signed a civil nuclear deal with it, both Pakistan and Iran have remained true to implementing the project. The IP gas pipeline will serve as a major boost to the dwindling power resources of Pakistan. It will provide the country with more affordable electricity, as the imported gas is proposed to be used in power generation. Gas imported from Iran will be used to generate about 5,000 MW by the year 2014. Considering the deplorable state of affairs in Pakistan's energy sector, the pipeline will help economic recovery by benefiting industry. Surveys are currently being conducted to finalise the route of the pipeline. With the country standing to obtain almost 750 million cubic feet of gas from Iran each day, it is imperative that all the provinces receive their fair share from this plan.

But now Barack Obama...he's judge and jury.- With a pointing of a finger to names on a list...Barack Obama gets to play God.- No day in court.- No guarantee innocent people won't be killed as well -- and they have been killed.- Children.- Women.- Over and over again.- And this president...he has that knowledge when he watches the kill confirmations.- And he watches it over and over again.--These are-high tech snuff films -- a multi-billion dollar snuff program...and he gets off on it.

You see, Obama Đ he donŐt trust the military. Not all of themÉnot many of them. But he trusts those drones, now donŐt he? DonŐt take him having to trust some military official to order troops to carry out an order inside the United States. ItŐs just inputting a bit of data Đ and the push of a button, right? And keep the f-cking military out of that equation there. Move the programÉattach it directly to the White House. Make itÉmake it part of Homeland Security, right? Simple as that. One appropriations bill Đ just oneÉand itŐs done.

Other agencies and departments are already moving to acquire and deploy fleets of drones, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USGS, USDA and DHS.

Rockets fired from a U.S. drone killed 15 people in northwest Pakistan on Monday, intelligence officials said, an attack likely to add to tensions between Washington and Islamabad amid a standoff over NATO supply routes to Afghanistan.

And on Sunday, a CIA drone strike targeted people gathered for funeral prayers of militant victims killed in an earlier attack. The intended Taliban targets appear to have survived, although up to ten people died. A mosque was also struck last week -- possibly accidentally -- killing at least three civilian worshippers.

But rather than launching missiles, domestically flown drones could fill a variety of peaceful roles, from aerial photography and land surveying to law-enforcement duties such as monitoring red-light running and speeding.

The Ontario legislature has passed Bill 13 -- a bill mandating that students be allowed to form Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) in public and Catholic schools. Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday he is convinced his government's anti-bullying legislation will become accepted in all schools, despite concerns raised by Catholic educators.

September 30, 2010, Rockville, MD - Allied Technology Group's Engineering and Technical Services Division, headed by Vice President Andrew Mungin, was awarded an $850,000 order by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of International Affairs to provide five surface search radars in the Republic of Georgia. This work, performed on behalf of the Department of State's Georgia Border Security and Law Enforcement program, will replace or upgrade existing port radars at Georgian Coast Guard (GCG) stations in five port cities on the Black Sea. Under a series of orders, Allied Technology has provided GCG support for CBP under this program for more than ten years.

June 5, 2012: Secretary Clinton holds a joint press availability with Georgian President Saakashvili, in Batumi, Georgia.

n a strongly worded statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said the United States' support of Georgia's bid to join NATO, as well as "massive supplies of arms from abroad" encouraged Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's "criminal adventures" that led to the five-day war.

In a strongly worded statement, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich, said the United States' support of Georgia's bid to join NATO had encouraged President Mikheil Saakashvili's "criminal adventures" that led to the five-day war between Georgia and Russia.

The Tsars of Russia had always their eyes on the warm water ports in the south to control the world economy. The Soviets, having naval supremacy in Indian Ocean, had since long enough of naval ships facilities and number of ships in these water. Warm water ports were made available by Ethiopia and South Yemen in the west and Kam Rahn Bay in the east to cherish their long term desired to capture the warm waters with ease. Latest technology, long range nuclear missiles had also reduced the dependance on large distance bases.

As a sign of Moscow's growing foreign policy ambitions, Russia has decided to establish naval bases in Libya, Syria and Yemen within a few years. "It is difficult to say how much time it will take to create the bases for our fleet in these countries, but within a few years this will be done without question," a military official was quoted as saying.

The Socotra archipelago is part of the Great Game opposing Russia and America. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union had a military presence in Socotra, which at the time was part of South Yemen. Barely a year ago, the Russians entered into renewed discussions with the Yemeni government regarding the establishment of a Naval base on Socotra island. A year later, in January 2010, in the week following the Petraeus-Saleh meeting, a Russian Navy communiquĂŠ "confirmed that Russia did not give up its plans to have bases for its ships... on Socotra island." (DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia), January 25, 2010) The Petraeus-Saleh January 2, 2010 discussions were crucial in weakening Russian diplomatic overtures to the Yemeni government. - The US military has had its eye on the island of Socotra since the end of the Cold War. In 1999, Socotra was chosen "as a site upon which the United States planned to build a signal intelligence system...." Yemeni opposition news media reported that "Yemen's administration had agreed to allow the U.S. military access to both a port and an airport on Socotra." According to the opposition daily Al-Haq, "a new civilian airport built on Socotra to promote tourism had conveniently been constructed in accordance with U.S. military specifications." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania), October 18, 2000)

Yemen and Russia discussed on Monday preparations to hold a meeting to display promising opportunities in the Yemeni energy sector, at a time when Yemen is seeking to attract more foreign oil and gas firms. The discussion took place at the meeting that gathered Yemen's Oil Minister, Hisham Sharaf, and the Russian ambassador to Sanaa, Sergei Kozlov, the Yemeni official agency Saba reported. The meeting will be held in the future, the agency said. "Studies have indicated Yemen has large oil, gas and mineral reserves, encouraging the country to Russian investors and firms and to expand its economic cooperation with Russia, especially in the energy sector," Saba quoted Sharaf as saying. Yemen is currently exerting major efforts to help oil companies to resume their operations, including those which left the country when the popular uprising erupted last year and those which have stopped operations because of the shutdown of the Marib pipeline. "Efforts are underway to repair the Marib pipeline, which stopped several months ago," Sharaf said, according to Saba. The Marib pipeline, about 438 km, carries about 120.000 b/d from the Marib and Shabwa oilfields to the Ras Isa terminal in the west. This crude is processed by the Aden Refinery and is locally consumed. The pipeline was repeatedly attacked last year and its continuous shutdown has been causing big losses to companies. Over the past days, Sharaf has been meeting with some ambassadors including the US, French and Chinese envoys, to discuss how to attract more foreign oil and gas firms. Yemen continues to depend on the oil revenues, which make up more than 70% of the state budget.

A floating super oil tanker offshore terminal is situated 9 km south of Ras Issa of 351 metres length and 57 metres width and 18.3 metres depth with a 405000 Tons capacity. The sea depth is 35 metres and tankers berth alongside to load the exported crude oil. This terminal is owned by Yemen Hunt Oil Company. The Port and Marine Affairs Corporation provides sea pilotage to oil tankers. Tugs are available for assisting in the marine operations. Marib-Ras Isa Pipeline runs between the Marib fields and the deep sea port of Ras Isa on the Red Sea. March 18 ,2003 Statement By The American Embassy On The Shooting In Marib The American Embassy has learned of the shooting of four employees of Hunt Oil in Marib, Yemen. One American citizen, a Yemeni and a Canadian were killed; another Canadian was wounded. We condemn this violence and call on the Yemeni government to investigate it fully.

Ray is conservative, but more mainstream. His sister, Swanee, was appointed ambassador to Austria by Bill Clinton. Ray works quietly and within the system. Before James Oberwetter was ambassador to Saudi Arabia, he was a Hunt Oil executive. Before that, Oberwetter worked for Bush's father, then a Houston congressman.

Clinton visited an oil and gas trade exposition being held in Baku, highlighting the $8 billion that US energy companies have invested in Azerbaijan since independence following the break-up of the Soviet Union.

To safely tap the riches, the United States and other countries near the North Pole are trying to cooperate to combat harmful climate change, settle territorial disputes and prevent oil spills. At the least, the United States and the other Arctic nations hope to avoid a confrontational race for resources. Officials say the picture looks more promising than five years ago, when Russia staked its claim to supremacy in the Arctic and its $9 trillion in estimated oil reserves by planting a titanium flag on the ocean floor. The United States does not recognize the Russian assertion and has its own claims, along with Denmark, Norway and Canada.

And when the Western press cites such a dubious, compromised character, it means that the actual evidence inevitably trickling out of Syria contradicts entirely the West's desired narrative, so profoundly in fact, that they must contrive the summation of their "evidence" from whole cloth with "tailors" like Abdelrahman. And while the general public should indeed be angry over being deceived on such a vast scale, they should be utterly outraged that the establishment thinks they are so stupid - they'd believe any evidence coming from an opposition activist, disingenuously masquerading as a reputable organization, telling us all what is happening in Syria via "phone-calls" received in his plush apartment in England.

The dramatic melt-off of Arctic sea ice due to climate change is hitting closer to home than millions of Americans might think. That's because melting Arctic sea ice can trigger a domino effect leading to increased odds of severe winter weather outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere's middle latitudes -- think the "Snowmageddon" storm that hamstrung Washington, D.C., during February 2010.

Blue skies would fade to hazy white if geoengineers inject light-scattering aerosols into the upper atmosphere to offset global warming. Critics have already warned that this might happen, but now the effect has been quantified. Releasing sulphate aerosols high in the atmosphere should in theory reduce global temperatures by reflecting a small percentage of the incoming sunlight away from the Earth. However, the extra particles would also scatter more of the remaining light into the atmosphere. This would reduce by 20 per cent the amount of sunlight that takes a direct route to the ground, and it would increase levels of softer, diffuse scattered light, says Ben Kravitz of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, California.

Sanger is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Strategy Group.

The infamous Flame virus can infect even secure PCs by tricking them into believing its malicious payload is actually an update from Microsoft. As we already know, Flame has gained traction by tapping into security certificates for Microsoft's Terminal Server. Though they appear to be digitally signed by Microsoft, the certificates are actually cooked up by the people behind Flame, thereby tricking PCs into accepting them as legitimate.

Providing a $1 million cash contribution to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund to support critical relief efforts following the earthquake;

On June 1, market rumors were coming out of a hedge fund luncheon stating that Pimco, JP Morgan, and other financial companies were cancelling summer vacations for employees so they could prepare for a major 'Lehman type' economic crash projected for the coming months. -These rumors came on a day when the markets nearly came to capitulation, with the DOW falling more than 274 points, and gold soaring over $63 as traders across the board fled stocks and moved into safer investments.

Playing Hannibal Lecter is a daunting task. Anthony Hopkins won his first Oscar playing the genius-cannibalistic serial killer in Silence of the Lambs and the character has been at the center of several novels and films. Well, NBC believes it has found a man up to the challenge. Mads Mikkelsen has just been cast as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the new series, Hannibal.-

"You know the news reports about that "superacid" shit that is causing all these poor bastards eating each other? Well, that's only partly true. I synthesized "superacid". The research was for [name omitted] company. If you out them publicly they will come after you. These are not the kind of people you want to play around with. -They were interested in conducting modern day mind control experiments, a bit like MK ULTRA or PROJECT MONARCH. This "superacid compound" was only the tip of the ice berg. I really didn't know why they wanted it specifically, I didn't care. I had assumed it was part of some sort of semi-secretive testing this legitimate pharma company was doing in the background in order to generate a new run of recreational drugs. My compound was the "superacid" compound mentioned in a few news articles. We called it "KAPIN TRIPS" by its trade name.

My anonymous source went on to explain to me that the HCl version of the drug could very easily be dispersed through "bath salts" in headshops, in addition to the drug's main psychoactive component MPDV. At this point, we take into account certain news stories in which mention some strange combination of a "superacid" and/or "bath salts" in generating these attacks, and that MPDV or more likely any number of other chemicals sold in "bath salts" have been found to be responsible for a flesh eating bacteria now found in its users... Formulate your own opinions. Think for yourself, question authority.

JWH-018 (1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole) or AM-678[1] is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family that acts as a full agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, with some selectivity for CB2. It produces effects in animals similar to those of THC, a cannabinoid naturally present in cannabis, leading to its use in synthetic cannabis products such as "legal cannabis herbal incense blends" which in some countries are sold legally as "incense", labeled "not for human consumption."[2][3][4][5][6]

Radionics is the use of blood, hair, a signature, or other substances unique to the person as a focus to supposedly heal a patient from afar.[1] The concept behind radionics originated in the early 1900s with Albert Abrams (1864--1924), who became a millionaire by leasing radionic machines which he designed himself.[2] Radionics is not based on any scientific evidence, and contradicts the principles of physics and biology and as a result it has been classed as pseudoscience and quackery by most physicians.[3] The United States Food and Drug Administration does not recognize any legitimate medical uses for such devices.[1][2][3]

The woman told him that she had injected the stimulant-drug known as bath salts at a party the night before she came to the hospital, according to a case report that Russo wrote in the journal Orthopedics. Things went from bad to worse. The woman's skin began blistering and turned from red to a purplish hue. Doctors decided it was time to operate. When they cut open her forearm, they found dead skin and muscle, the warpath of flesh-eating bacteria. "It spread where you could almost see it moving," he said. In the time it took doctors to operate further up her arm, the tissue was dying right before their eyes. To stop the infection for good, doctors amputated the woman's arm and right breast.

As long ago as 1938, Zora Hurston, a student of Franz Boas at Columbia University, suggested that there could be a material basis for the zombie phenomenon. Having visited what she believed to be a zombie in a hospital near Gonaive, in north-central Haiti, she concluded that "it is not a case of awakening the dead, but a matter of the semblance of death induced by some drug known to a few: some secret probably brought from Africa and handed down from generation to generation. The bocors know the effect of the drug and the antidote. It is evident that it destroys that part of the brain which governs speech and willpower. The victim can move and act but cannot formulate thought."

The effects of tetrodotoxin poisoning have been well documented. The most famous source of puffer poisoning is the Japanese fugu fish. The Japanese accept the risks of eating these fish because they enjoy the exhilarating physiological aftereffects, which include sensations of warmth, flushing of the skin, mild paresthesias of the tongue and lips, and euphoria.

What's almost as shocking as the sight of these addicts is the number of them.-An estimated 100,000 Russians are using the drug -- that's 100,000 of the walking dead. The life expectancy of Krokodil addicts is reported to be between one and three years.Recovering Krokodil addict Pavlova told Time nearly all the friends she used Krokodil with are now dead.-"For some it led to pneumonia, some got blood poisoning, some had an artery burst in their heart, some got meningitis, others simply rot," Pavlova said. The drug is so morbid Russian filmmakers titled their documentary on Krokodil "Half-Death." Brain-damaged from an incredible six years of use, Pavlova has developed a speech impediment, a vacant gaze, and poor motor skills.-"She'll try to walk forward and instead jolts back into something.-So we try to be gentle with her," said her recovery house manager Andrei Yatsenko. Pavlova entered the treatment house when, after weeks of Krokodil binging, she developed gangrene around injection sites on her groin.-Blood poisoning was setting in, so she fled to the hospital, where she accepted an offer from Pentecostals inviting addicts to rehab. As should already be clear, life on Krokodil is not a romantic, doped-out existence, but quite the opposite. Once users have compiled enough codeine, lighter fluid, industrial cleaning product, and iodine, the thirty-minute cooking process creates enough Krokodil for about a 90-minute high.-Most addicts thus spend all their time cooking and shooting, cooking and shooting, until enough skin falls away that they die.

China National Nuclear Power, the country's biggest nuclear power developer, plans to raise money to help fund projects worth $27.3 billion via what could be one of China's biggest initial public offerings.

The vast profits made from drug production and trafficking are overwhelmingly reaped in rich "consuming" countries -- principally across Europe and in the US -- rather than war-torn "producing" nations such as Colombia and Mexico, new research has revealed. And its authors claim that financial regulators in the west are reluctant to go after western banks in pursuit of the massive amount of drug money being laundered through their systems.

Vitaly Orozaliyev, the head of Kyrgyzstan's state drug control service, on Tuesday proposed inspecting the cargoes that transit the U.S. Transit Center at Manas Airport near the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, the 24.kg news agency reported. Orozaliyev said current regulations prohibit inspection of cargoes and officials from the Transit Center, but cited reports the center is used for drug trafficking from Afghanistan.

CNN "Is this baby doll really saying b****?" "Toddler accidentally served vodka" "Elton John frets over Gaga" MSNBC "Zimmerman stocks up on Cheetos in jail" "Axl Rose robbed of $200,000 worth of jewelry" "Taco Bell may take on Chipotle with 'Cantina' menu" Fox News "Custom Car Builder Claims Hot Wheels Stole His Truck" "Lighter Side of 'Tanning Mom'" "Nudist expo bares all in naked tourist industry"

June 5, 2012: Secretary Clinton holds a joint press availability with Georgian President Saakashvili, in Batumi, Georgia.