NEW RINF FORUMS ONLINE

By Joanne Waldron | The City Council of Los Angeles, in an effort to combat the problem of the rapidly increasing number of obese citizens, has voted to put a moratorium on building new fast food restaurants in the area for a period of one year, according to an Associated Press report. For purposes of [...]

By Alex Lantier | US media claims about Georgian democracy notwithstanding, a key factor in US backing for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in his conflict with Russia has been the emergence of Georgia as a key transit country for oil and gas exports from the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea basin.
The August 7 outbreak of [...]

Yes, America’s economy is a war economy. Not a “manufacturing” economy. Not an “agricultural” economy. Nor a “service” economy. Not even a “consumer” economy.

By Paul B. Farrell | Seriously, I looked into your eyes, America, saw deep into your soul. So let’s get honest and officially call it “America’s Outrageous War Economy.” Admit it: we [...]

By ERIC LICHTBLAU | A Justice Department plan would loosen restrictions on the Federal Bureau of Investigation to allow agents to open a national security or criminal investigation against someone without any clear basis for suspicion, Democratic lawmakers briefed on the details said Wednesday.
The plan, which could be made public next month, has already generated intense [...]

UCi | A team of UC Irvine scientists has been awarded a $4 million grant from the U.S. Army Research Office to study the neuroscientific and signal-processing foundations of synthetic telepathy.
The research could lead to a communication system that would benefit soldiers on the battlefield and paralysis and stroke patients, according to lead researcher Michael [...]

Socialist Worker  | The threat to strike by 1,000 workers at the Tube Lines consortium on the London Underground over pay and conditions this week has won a new offer from bosses as Socialist Worker went to press.
Theirs is a battle between those who provide a vital public service and the bosses who make a [...]

Stop the War Coalition | The UN’s committee on human rights has just published a report criticising Britain’s anti-terror laws and the resulting curbs on civil liberties. For many commentators the issues raised are mostly a matter of academic abstractions and speculative meanderings. For me, it is anything but. These laws have destroyed my life.
On May [...]

By Mike Simons | The Home Office is preparing to spend up to £40m on the roll out of a mobile biometric identification service.
The police are seeking the ability to provide real or near-real time identification of people at the scenes of incidents, through accessing fingerprint and other biometric information held by law and order agencies.
The [...]

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) issued letters of inquiry Wednesday to Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, regarding a forged letter linking Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 attacks.
The Michigan Democrat also sent letters to senior former Bush intelligence officials, including Robert Richer, former CIA Deputy Director of Clandestine Operations, who [...]

A group of 52 local activists today announced a $2 million settlement in their lawsuit against the City of New York. The activists were illegally arrested on April 7, 2003 while protesting against the Iraq war in front of a military contractor’s offices in midtown. The settlement in Kunstler et al v. New York City [...]

Two elderly Chinese women who applied during the Olympic Games to protest over the loss of their homes have been ordered to spend a year in a labour camp, a relative said, while police squelched a pro-Tibet demonstration early Thursday.
The women were still at home three days after being officially notified they would have to [...]

Corporate-government fraud has gotten a major boost ever since Iraq became the latest colony of the failing American Empire.
“Iraq is fast becoming one of the United States’ top customers for military sales,” reports USA Today in an article called “Iraqis buy billions in U.S. arms.”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/
2008-08-18-iraqtanks_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
“Since January 2007, Iraq has spent $3.1 billion on U.S. weapons. [...]

PR Watch | The Center for Union Facts, one of lobbyist Rick Berman’s front groups, is railing against the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation that would “allow employees at a work place to unionize as soon as a majority signs cards expressing support to join a union.” Labor rights advocates say the bill is needed, [...]

By Phil Mattera | In April, I wrote about the efforts of my son Thomas and other students at the University of North Carolina to get UNC’s administration to endorse the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP), an initiative that seeks to improve the abysmal working conditions of employees at companies that produce university logo apparel—a big [...]