Congress Revolts On Obama Plan That Would Ban 'Buy American'

This President proves once again that he has no loyalty to American workers. And still unions plan supporting this anti-labor administration. It is astonishing that Obama continues spit in the eye of working people and the poor and we still just keep buying his lies. He has betrayed his supporters and party. WAKE-UP. Don't be conned any further. Think for yourself. Barack Obama is a fraud:

A group of 68 House Democrats and one Republican sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Thursday urging him to reconsider an element of the controversial free trade agreement currently being negotiated by the administration. If approved in its current form, the pact would effectively ban "Buy American" policies in government contracting.

Although the deal, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, has received relatively little media attention in the United States, it has sparked international friction among consumer groups and environmental activists who worry that terms demanded by the Obama administration will eliminate important public protections. Domestically, however, the deal's primary source of political tension is from a portion that could ban "Buy American" provisions -- a restriction that opponents emphasize would crimp U.S. jobs.

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Minnesota Police Reportedly Give Drugs To Occupy Protesters For 'Impairment Study'

Source: Huffington Post:

Occupy protestors in Minnesota are alleging that police gave drugs to young people as part of an 'impairment study' that helps officers identify the symptoms of drug use.

In a video (watch above), activists claim that for three weeks, law enforcement officers have been picking up volunteers to participate in a program called "Drug Recognition Expert."

The footage shows alleged participants in the scheme, including one who claims, "They [the police] come into downtown... and basically pick up random people, and ask them to do drug evaluations."

Attack on Syria university protest kills four: group

Attack on Syria university protest kills four: group

Syrian security forces and students with knives attacked a protest against President Bashar al-Assad at Aleppo University early on Thursday, killing at least four people and arresting 200, according to activists and Internet videos. Security forces raided the campus and fired at hundreds of students marching in support of the 14-month-old revolt against four decades of Assad family rule, the British-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Wal-Mart Ordered to Pay $4.8 million in Back Wages

A major victory for these employees and message sent to Wal-Mart. But many workers throughout America are being robbed of their rights on a daily basis. The war on labor is real and spreading, regardless of this particular case:

The Labor Department on Tuesday ordered Wal-Mart to pay $4.8 million in back wages and damages to thousands of employees who were denied overtime charges, the latest in a string of embarrassments for the company over its business practices.

The department said its decision affects roughly 4,500 vision-center managers and asset-protection coordinators who worked at Wal-Mart between 2004 and 2007. Wal-Mart had considered those employees exempt from federal regulations requiring overtime pay but reclassified them in 2007. The government and the retailer have been negotiating the amount owed since then.

[...]The decision comes as Wal-Mart faces investigations into its Mexican operations after the New York Times reported that company executives turned a blind eye while employees allegedly bribed local officials to approve new stores.

CEOs rank Texas tops for business, California worst

Texas also has one of the highest poverty rates in America. It's one of the worst in healthcare coverage for it's population. As for all those jobs created. Most of them were either government or in the service industry. Only a small percentage were related to manufacturing.

 Texas remains the top state for business and California still holds the title for the worst, according to an annual ranking of states by Chief Executive magazine released on Wednesday.

Chief Executive each year surveys CEOs and asks them to grade states in which they do business. This year 650 responded, giving Texas high marks "foremost for its business-friendly tax and regulatory environment," a report on the survey and ranking said on the magazine's website.

"Texas easily clinched the No. 1 rank, the eighth successive time it has done so," the report said. "California earns the dubious honor of being ranked dead last for the eighth consecutive year."

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US Confirms Blind Activist Wants to Leave China

Will the Obama administration cave?

The rural Chinese activist at the center of a diplomatic standoff between Washington and Beijing now wants to leave China with his family, a U.S. spokeswoman said.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that U.S. officials had spoken twice Thursday with Chen Guangcheng and also with his wife and "they as a family have had a change of heart about whether they want to stay in China."

"We need to consult with them further to get a better sense of what they want to do and consider their options," Nuland said.

The blind, self-taught lawyer spent six days in the U.S. Embassy after fleeing illegal house arrest and other mistreatment in his rural town where his activism angered local officials. He emerged Wednesday when U.S. officials said they had an agreement with Chinese officials for him to set up a new life in another province.

It's unclear whether China would be willing to negotiate further over Chen's fate. The government already has expressed anger that the U.S. harbored a Chinese activist, and China's Foreign Ministry reiterated its displeasure Thursday, calling the affair interference in Chinese domestic matters.

H5N1 Paper Published: Deadly, Transmissible Bird Flu Could Be Closer than Thought

Source:

On Wednesday, Nature finally published Kawaoka’s research. (We’re still waiting for the Fouchier paper, though the Dutch scientist was recently granted an export license for his work, so it should appear soon.) The sobering takeaway: avian H5N1 flu viruses in nature may be only one mutation away from spreading effectively between mammals, likely including human beings. If that happens — and if H5N1 retains its apparently sky-high mortality rate — we could be in for serious trouble.

Student Daniel Chong reportedly drank urine to survive 4 days while forgotten in DEA holding cell

Source:

The Drug Enforcement Administration issued an apology Wednesday to a California student who was picked up during a drug raid and left in a holding cell for four days without food, water or access to a toilet.

DEA San Diego Acting Special Agent-In-Charge William R. Sherman said in a statement that he was troubled by the treatment of Daniel Chong and extended his "deepest apologies" to him.

The agency is investigating how its agents forgot about Chong.

Chong, 23, was never arrested, was not going to be charged with a crime and should have been released, said a law enforcement official who was briefed on the DEA case and spoke on the condition of anonymity.