Jailing Undocumented Immigrants Is Big Business (VIDEO)

Jailing Undocumented Immigrants Is Big Business (VIDEO): "LOS ANGELES -- At dawn on July 19, nearly 40 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Immigration (HSI) agents burst into the home home of Carmen Bonilla, 44. The agents were searching for 'Robert' an alleged drug dealer, but ended up terrifying Bonilla and her son Michael, 16, daughter Josefina, 23, daughter-in-law Leticia, 28, and two of her granddaughters.

According to Jessica Dominguez, the family's lawyer, and Jorge Mario Cabrera, spokesperson of the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), the family was subjected to 'different levels of physical and verbal abuse,' including screaming, 'kicking, beating and aggression.' Their treatment was documented last week by HuffPost LatinoVoices' Jorge Luis Macías.

What happened to the Bonillas has happened to thousands of immigrant families. Immigration authorities -- both local police and federal ICE agents -- have embarked on a program to seek out 'criminal illegal aliens' and, whether they find them or not, have often rounded up entire families for deportation."

Why Bottled Water Companies Target Blacks and Latinos | Mother Jones

Why Bottled Water Companies Target Blacks and Latinos | Mother Jones: "Judging from a new study published by the American Medical Association, the PR push is working. Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin found that Latino and African Americans are more likely to give bottled water to their children, and spend up to twice as much of their household income on bottled water as do whites. After surveying some 640 people they found that Latino and African Americans are more likely to consume bottled water largely because they view tap water as a health risk. From the study:

Beliefs about tap water safety and cleanliness, preference for bottled water taste, and perceived bottled water convenience had the strongest association with the use of bottled water. Obtaining information about tap water from environmental organizations was also associated with greater odds of bottled water use."

Leigh Stubbs, Mississippi Woman, Serving 44-Year Sentence Despite Discredited Testimony

Leigh Stubbs, Mississippi Woman, Serving 44-Year Sentence Despite Discredited Testimony: "Prosecutors in the U.S. often decry what is sometimes called the 'CSI Effect.' Movies and TV crime dramas like the popular 'CSI' franchise on CBS can fill jurors' heads with unrealistic expectations about forensic science. But there's also a flip side to the CSI Effect: Because jurors are ready to believe the fantastical feats preformed by the wondrous forensics computers they see on screen, an unscrupulous prosecutor armed with an expert willing to offer otherwise dubious forensics on the witness stand can cause a lot of damage."

Uranium firm urges Va. towns to keep 'open mind' - Washington Times

Uranium firm urges Va. towns to keep 'open mind' - Washington Times: "A company seeking to mine a 119-million pound southern Virginia uranium deposit has sent letters to localities urging officials to “keep an open mind” before the release of studies that could affect whether the General Assembly votes to overturn the nearly 30-year ban on the practice.

Virginia Uranium Inc. says it wants to mine a site in Pittsylvania County considered to be one of the world’s largest untapped sources of the radioactive element widely used in nuclear reactors.

The letter, signed by Walter Coles, the chairman of Virginia Uranium, says an independent engineering study has revealed the “enormous positive economic impact” that such a mining and milling would have on the region, adding that direct and indirect economic benefits would exceed $240 million a year.

“I think our position has been very clear since our company was formed in 2007,” said Patrick Wales, Virginia Uranium’s project manager. “We have great confidence in this industry, but we feel we need independent scientific research.”

Virginia Uranium points to a pending National Academy of Sciences (NAS) study on the statewide impact of mining and a separate one regarding the socio-economic impacts of tapping the supply in Pittsylvania."

Neb. mine find to challenge China’s dominance of vital rare minerals - Washington Times

Neb. mine find to challenge China’s dominance of vital rare minerals - Washington Times: "Elk Creek, Neb. (population 112), may not be so tiny much longer. Reports suggest that the southeastern Nebraska hamlet may be sitting on the world’s largest untapped deposit of “rare earth” minerals, which have proved to be indispensable to a slew of high-tech and military applications such as laser pointers, stadium lighting, electric car batteries and sophisticated missile-guidance systems.

Canada-based Quantum Rare Earths Developments Corp. last week received preliminary results from test drilling in the area, showing “significant” proportions of “rare earth” minerals and niobium.

The only people more excited than Quantum? The residents of Elk Creek, where nearly one in seven people live under the poverty line, but whose economy has been booming ever since the company showed up late last year to start laying the groundwork for a possible mining bonanza.

“It’s been a very, very positive experience for our community,” said state Sen. Lavon Heidemann, an Elk Creek farmer. “When Quantum came in here, they put money in the local community. And any time you have money flowing in a small town, that’s a positive.”"

Newsvine - Social Security is Not an Entitlement

Newsvine - Social Security is Not an Entitlement: "I am sick and tired of the whiners and liars claiming that Social Security is an entitlement. It is a payroll tax that is paid for by both the employe and the employer. Thus it can be stated that it is part of the earnings of an employee. Yes employers split the cost, but it is part of our wages. Here is a link to who pays for Social Security. http://loopholelewy.com/loopholelewy/10-payroll-taxes/payroll-taxes-02-social-security-medicare-taxes.htm

Those who are trying to call it an entitlement are trying to say that they do not want to have to pay their employees this 12.4% for their old age retirement savings. They are trying to take away what was put in place to keep the corporations and the wealthy from enslaving the American workers for all of their lives. They think people should be forced to live as they want us to, always crawling on our hands and knees to them for the crumbs they make us sweat for."

‘Pentagon’s Worst Nightmare’ - Yahoo! News

‘Pentagon’s Worst Nightmare’ - Yahoo! News: "During a decade of warfare, the Pentagon mostly had its way with budgets, as Congress was reluctant to turn down many spending requests for troops in the field. There was billions here for IED-detection and billions there for weapons like the F-35 joint strike fighter, the Virginia class of submarines, or the Predator drone.
Sometimes defense officials even got money for projects they didn’t request, such as armored vehicles known as MRAPs (mine-resistant and ambush-protected) that top military officials said were not a good investment. The end result was the Pentagon’s base budget swelled from $307 billion in 2001 to $529 billion this year, a 72 percent increase over 10 years
And while the Pentagon was just beginning to trim its spending over the last year, the debt deal approved by Congress this week raises the possibility of steeper cuts between $350 billion and $800 billion over the next decade. And that has left even the most veteran Pentagon budget watchers surprised.
“This is the Pentagon’s worst nightmare,” says Travis Sharp of the Center for a New American Security."