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I always find american foreign policy changes both intriguing, and amusing. Back in 2007, a group of Republican and Democratic members of Congress were convened by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Concluding that America's image and influence had declined in recent years, they realized that maybe fear-mongering tactics detriment globalization efforts. They decided that,"... the United States had to change from exporting fear to inspiring optimism and hope."

Wait a tic... what were Obama's slogans again? Oh that's right: "Hope" and "Yes we can". I guess the guys at CSIS got what they wanted.

Read the full article here >> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-nye/smart-power_b_74725.html

It seems like yesterday that the U.S. government decided to provision its' citizens with a nation-wide tax refund. Literally, the Federal Reserve printed money and gave it to people that had given them money through taxes. This in turn devalued the global U.S. dollar; in other words, the amount of money in your bank account is now worth less so that the nation can receive a check for few hundred bucks. However, not EVERYONE in the U.S. received a check. There were many people whom had owed back-taxes; thus their refund check was returned to the Federal Reserve. Many found their check in an endless route of the U.S. mail system with the constant message of, "it's on the way," drilled in their ear by a "friendly" I.R.S. spokesman.

Then came the "surprise" failure of the Bear Stearns investment bank. Purportedly due to a failed approach to sub-prime mortgage investments. Few have really talked about their partnership with the Citic Securities, a Chinese company, in the fall of 2007 in which they swapped shares.

Shortly thereafter, in March of 2008, the Federal Reserve lent $30 billion to JPMorgan Chase to acquire Bear Stearns. Just days after this line of credit was approved by the Federal Reserve, JPMorgan Chase bought out Bear Stearns for one-tenth of the firm's market price.

Next comes yet another "surprise." The U.S. government's take-over of the previously government owned, now "sponsored," home loan banks: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The result of this take-over was quite odd. In exchange for $1 billion worth of equity in each of the institutions, the US government has allowed itself to infuse as much as $200 billion of American tax payers money. That's right. You didn't read that wrong. That 30-50% portion of your paycheck that is ripped from your grasp with little effort nor choice is being used to give 2 privately owned banks $100 billion a piece for simply bad business. Christopher Dodd, the Connecticut Senator and head of the Senate Banking Committee, raises some very intriguing questions in this NPR interview.

Now the current turmoil of the banking industry has brought more trouble to the American People. Three other private banks are now seeking "help" from the fed for their failed interests in the sub-prime market. The proposed solution by top government officials? A $700 billion bailout to cover the banks losses!? Supposedly to help "recover" the financial markets to prevent a "world-wide depression." I certainly hope the FBI's investigation turns up with some juicy truths of scandalous proportions so that those whom have caused this mess are rightfully jailed instead of given money and a gag-order.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur talks about the bail-out plan and the recent state of the financial markets. In the end, it all seems to be a game that you play once you reach a certain tax bracket.

First cars that run on water, then temperature sensitive color morphing materials, now fuel-free energy generation using just magnets. A wonderful bunch those Aussies are.

"States have been storing blood samples from newborns since blood screening for genetic defects and diseases began in the 1960s. The samples can help detect and treat a wide range of diseases, but in the age of the genome, the issue of storing samples has taken on unprecedented importance. Blood samples contain DNA that can be unambiguously linked to individuals, which may in the future present tempting data to governments, businesses and health providers."

This is a clip from a recent article on Wired.com. It makes you wonder why a government would pass legislation to archive medical histories of it's citizens. It certainly can't be due to the implementation of a national health care system. We spend so much money killing people that we're too broke to provide medical aid to our communities. I guess that's what they call Karma.

One thing comes into mind when reading this article: if a two year old gets a hold of one of these, they just might stop asking their parents, "...and what's that!?"

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/22/evolution_robotics/

Just think of it as a hand-held price scanner, interactive encyclopedia, and once the world's police get their hands on one: portable facial recognition.

Isn't technology wonderful?

I recently came across a blog post by Simon Quellen Field, whom found a wonderful gem of news, nearly a year ago, regarding research done at Wake Forest University School of Medicine that has discovered a unique breed of mice that contain "anti-cancers". Technically speaking, the mice's white blood cells enable their immune system to fight off cancer.

The study found that the mutation is inherited in subsequent generations, leading to a notion that the mutation may be caused by a single dominant gene.

"That gives us hope that there's one simple switch that you can throw somewhere in the signaling pathway to turn on this tumor-fighting behavior," researcher Mark Willingham says.

If this were to be true, then a drug could easily be formulated to trigger this tumor-fighting switch.

Maybe it's just me, but this sounds a lot like the start to a real version of the X-Men movie. That said, I'll wait for the expedited-cell-rejuvenating mutation followed by a nice Adamantium dip.

This is a phenomenal video shedding light on some serious issues with today's "corporate media" conglomerates. More people than you think are taking action, so it's up to you to join the wagon to keep the freedom that has been fought for for thousands of generations; or join the freight train destined to crash into the nearest oncoming oil rig or nuclear weapon.

Enjoy kiddies.