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"Would you ever accept government welfare? Would you look down on someone who does? Well, if you would look down on a fellow American who receives food stamps then get ready to look down on a massive sea of people. The truth is that over 37 million Americans now receive food stamps, and the program is expanding at a pace of about 20,000 people a day. As hordes of Americans have been forced out of their jobs and their homes, millions are finding that the only way they can make it is to accept food stamps. For many it is a tremendously humbling moment to turn to the government for help, and for so many millions to be dependent on the food stamps program is yet another indication of how deep the economic despair in America has gotten. Most of the time you won't even notice them being used at the checkout counters. Today food stamps take the form of inconspicuous plastic cards and they can be used to purchase a wide variety of food items. A record 37.2 million people, which is approximately one out of every eight Americans, received food stamps in September, and that number is growing rapidly. In particular, children are being enrolled in this program in staggering numbers. One out of every four children in America now gets assistance from food stamps each month. In fact, it is projected that half of all U.S. kids will be on food stamps at some point in their lives. So if nobody in your family has ever had to go on food stamps consider yourself to be very fortunate. Things are particularly bad in rural areas such as Tennessee. Nearly 1,186,000 people who live in Tennessee, or more than one in six residents, currently receive some kind of food stamp assistance and that number is rapidly increasing. But there are places where things are even worse. In fact, there are 239 counties in the United States where at least a quarter of the population now receives food stamps. Not only that, but it has now come out that about one in 50 Americans lives in a hous

"In a study released by the International Journal of Biological Sciences, analyzing the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers found that agricultural giant Monsanto's GM corn is linked to organ damage in rats. According to the study, which was summarized by Adam Shake at Twilight Earth, "Three varieties of Monsanto's GM corn - Mon 863, insecticide-producing Mon 810, and Roundup® herbicide-absorbing NK 603 - were approved for consumption by US, European and several other national food safety authorities." Monsanto gathered its own crude statistical data after conducting a 90-day study, even though chronic problems can rarely be found after 90 days, and concluded that the corn was safe for consumption. The stamp of approval may have been premature, however. In the conclusion of the IJBS study, researchers wrote: "Effects were mostly concentrated in kidney and liver function, the two major diet detoxification organs, but in detail differed with each GM type. In addition, some effects on heart, adrenal, spleen and blood cells were also frequently noted. As there normally exists sex differences in liver and kidney metabolism, the highly statistically significant disturbances in the function of these organs, seen between male and female rats, cannot be dismissed as biologically insignificant as has been proposed by others. We therefore conclude that our data strongly suggests that these GM maize varieties induce a state of hepatorenal toxicity....These substances have never before been an integral part of the human or animal diet and therefore their health consequences for those who consume them, especially over long time periods are currently unknown.""

"PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI -- Desperate Haitians scrambled Sunday to find food and water and guarded their meager possessions against the advance of looters as the U.S. and other nations struggled to jump-start a sluggish relief effort. Even as Navy and Coast Guard ships arrived offshore, a round-the-clock airlift intensified and additional dignitaries appeared, the frantic victims of Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake were growing more fearful as they pleaded for help and security in a lawless city. With massive amounts of aid promised but not yet delivered because of the difficulty of operating in the crippled country, amid what U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called "one of the most serious crises in decades," the living banded together outdoors without shelter, sustenance or protection. There was widespread apprehension that, unless the pace of aid distribution quickens, there could be mass violence as hundreds of thousands of people suddenly lacking food, water and electricity begin to compete for scarce resources."

"PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Prayers of thanksgiving and cries for help rose from a roofless cathedral and the huddled homeless Sunday, the sixth day of an epic humanitarian crisis that was straining the world's ability to respond and igniting flare-ups of violence amid the rubble. A leading aid group echoed complaints about the supply bottleneck and skewed priorities at the U.S.-controlled airport. The general in charge said the U.S. military was "working aggressively" to speed up deliveries. In the ruins of the Port-Au-Prince cathedral, gathered beneath shattered stained glass for their first Sunday Mass since Tuesday's earthquake, survivors were told by their priest, "We are in the hands of God now." But anger mounted hourly that other helping hands were slow in getting food and water to millions in need. "The government is a joke. The U.N. is a joke," Jacqueline Thermiti, 71, said as she lay in the dust with dozens of dying elderly outside their collapsed nursing home near the airport. "We're a kilometer (half a mile) from the airport and we're going to die of hunger." Water was delivered to more people around the capital, where an estimated 300,000 were living in the streets, but food and medicine were still scarce. Pregnant women gave birth in the streets. The injured arrived in wheelbarrows and on people's backs at hurriedly erected field hospitals. Authorities warned of looting and violence. In downtown Port-au-Prince, where people set bonfires to burn uncollected bodies, gunfire rang out and bands of machete-wielding young men, their faces covered with bandanas, roamed the streets."

"http://www.blogtalkradio.com/freedomi... GENERAL STUBBLEBINE AND RIMA LAIOW TONIGHT http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.... GOVERNMENT INFILTRATION http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireSt... FOOD SHORTAGE http://www.millennium-ark.net/NEWS/10... SECRET GRAIN SALE TO CHINA http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2010/... FOOD CRISIS TRIGGERS COLLAPSE OF U.S. BRITTAIN AND JAPAN http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-7... CHINA ATTACKS GOOGLE AND INSTANT MESSAGING IN AMERICA TO PERFORM INDUSTRIAL ESPIONAGE http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-7... CASS SUNSTEIN WANT YOUR ORGANS WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT "

"WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in collaboration with major implantable pacemaker and ICD manufacturers, demonstrated the effects of emissions from radio frequency identification (RFID) readers on common implantable cardiac devices. According to research published in the January edition of the HeartRhythm Journal, the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society, the observed effects may cause increasing complications as RFID use expands in the medical device field. Read full text of study » The study, which looked at the electromagnetic interference susceptibility of 15 pacemakers and 15 ICDs caused by exposure to 13 RFID readers, concluded that low frequency RFID readers may pose the greatest risk to pacemakers and ICDs. While modern pacemakers and ICDs use filters to minimize susceptibility to higher-frequency signals, there is limited filtering of low frequency signals due to the design constraints of both pacemakers and ICDs."

MONSTER MACHINES APR 19, 2013 11:07 PM 14,548 47 Share GET OUR TOP STORIES FOLLOW GIZMODO The Tech That Helped Take Down Marathon Bombing Suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev Casey Chan and Brian Barrett The second suspect in the brutal Boston Marathon bombings has been apprehended, after five days of uncertainty and fear. And while all credit for Dzhokar Tsarnaev's capture goes to the men and women of the many, many agencies that spent the last week tracking him down, technology played as prominent a role as it ever has in a time of national crisis. A Smartphone Immediately after the Boston Marathon bomb exploded, David Green pulled out his smartphone and snapped a shot of the aftermath, smoke and all-around chaos. He then put his phone away and started helping victims. Taking a picture of what you see in front of you-whether it be a disaster, a beautiful view, a plate of food-has become as instinctual as just plain seeing. What Green didn't know, and what the world was soon going to find out, was that Green's picture eventually became the clearest image of 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, aka Suspect #2. In the high-resolution image, you can see Tsarnaev calmly walk away from the explosion in his unmistakable white baseball cap. On top of that, the smartphone pic captured Tsarnaev without the backpack he was spotted carrying earlier on surveillance cameras. The backpack that reportedly held the bomb.

"A devastating quake left Haiti's capital in ruins, knocking down hospitals, high-rises, and churches Tuesday - and leveling the presidential palace. "There must be thousands of people dead," Catholic Relief Services representative Karel Zelenka told colleagues by phone, just before service went out. "People were screaming 'Jesus, Jesus' and running in all directions," said Reuters reporter Joseph Guyler Delva from the capital Port-au-Prince. "It's total chaos." "The whole city is in darkness, you have thousands of people sitting in the streets, with nowhere to go," said Rachmani Domersant of the relief group Food for the Poor. He and others have reported many downtown buildings collapsed in the city of 2 million, including the parliament, UN headquarters and other other official buildings. Photographs showed the famed domed presidential palace almost completely destroyed."

"A charity supporting oppressed believers around the world has warned that persecution against Christians is set to worsen in North Korea in 2010. Practising Christianity is currently illegal in the reclusive communist country and Christians can face imprisonment, torture and even execution for their faith. Release International works through local Christian partners to support North Korean refugees fleeing to China or South Korea, by providing pastoral care, safe houses, and Christian literature and Bibles. Partner Tim Peters said North Korea was one of the world's worst trouble spots for Christians. In the latest edition of the Release magazine, he said he had received reports of worsening persecution against Christians as the North Korean economy continues to collapse. "2010 is forecast to be a year of tremendous hardship and food shortages since the country's harvest in 2009 was a poor one," he said. Kang Cheol Hwan is a former prisoner who converted to Christianity after finding refuge in South Korea. He told Release the situation was getting worse in North Korea. "It is like a giant prison camp has crossed the land. Starvation spreads out over the entire nation; it has become the norm," he said. "I lived in Yoduk prison camp for 10 years; I was treated like an animal there. I had watched many people die from starvation and beatings. "I witnessed open executions and watched helplessly as people died miserably. "These fearful scenes have not left my mind.""

"PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Troops, doctors and aid workers flowed into Haiti on Monday even while victims of the quake that killed an estimated 200,000 people still struggled to find a cup of water or a handful of food. European nations pledged more than a half-billion dollars in emergency and long-term aid, on top of at least $100 million promised earlier by the U.S. But help was still not reaching many victims of Tuesday's quake - choked back by transportation bottlenecks, bureaucratic confusion, fear of attacks on aid convoys, the collapse of local authority and the sheer scale of the need. Looting spread to more parts of downtown Port-au-Prince as hundreds of young men and boys clambered up broken walls to break into shops and take whatever they can find. Especially prized was toothpaste, which people smear under their noses to fend off the stench of decaying bodies. At a collapsed and burning shop in the market area, youths used broken bottles, machetes and razors to battle for bottles of rum and police fired shots to break up the crowd. "I am drinking as much as I can. It gives courage," said Jean-Pierre Junior, wielding a broken wooden plank with nails to protect his bottle of rum. Even so, the U.S. Army's on-the-ground commander, Lt. Gen. Ken Keen, said the city is seeing less violence than before the earthquake. "Is there gang violence? Yes. Was there gang violence before the earthquake? Absolutely."' Keen said some 2,000 Marines were set to join 1,000 U.S. troops on the ground and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Monday he wants 1,500 more U.N. police and 2,000 more troops to join the existing 7,000 military peacekeepers and 2,100 international police in Haiti."

"PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Desperately needed aid from around the world slowly made its way Thursday into Haiti, where a leadership vacuum left rescuers scrambling on their own to save the trapped and injured and get relief supplies into the capital. President Barack Obama announced that "one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history" is moving toward Haiti, with thousands of troops and a broad array of civilian rescue workers flying or sailing in to aid the stricken country - backed by more than $100 million in relief funds. To the Haitians, Obama promised: "You will not be forsaken." The nascent flow of rescue workers showed some results: A newly arrived search team pulled a U.N. worker alive from the organization's collapsed headquarters. He stood, held up a fist in celebration, and was helped off to a hospital. Planes carrying teams from China, France, Spain and the United States landed at Port-au-Prince's airport with searchers and tons of water, food, medicine and other supplies - with more promised from around the globe."