MEDIA ROOTS– Barack Obama is fighting wars on multiple fronts: Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and now Libya. His cabinet just approved the biggest military budget since WW2 to fight the global “War on Terror”, and at this rate he will have spent over $8 trillion on defense alone if he serves a full eight year term (including the hidden costs of the war economy). Half of all US tax dollars is spent on US military actions, and the American government spends more on national defense than every other country’s military budget in the world combined.

Every American should ask themselves why it is necessary to spend such an outrageous amount of money on national defense. Is this government really trying to protect the people of this country from the ominous threat of terrorism, or could policy makers be more invested in resource control and profit maximization for their corporate financeers?

This video breaks down how Barack Obama is accelerating America’s descent into a war economy.

For more information and resources, please watch the brilliant film Lifting the Veil about Barack Obama and the failure of capitalist “democracy”: http://bit.ly/hH2BCH

Photo by flickr user Ethan

TELEGRAPH– Scientists have created genetically modified cattle that produce “human” milk in a bid to make cows’ milk more nutritious.

The scientists have successfully introduced human genes into 300 dairy cows to produce milk with the same properties as human breast milk.

Human milk contains high quantities of key nutrients that can help to boost the immune system of babies and reduce the risk of infections.

The scientists behind the research believe milk from herds of genetically modified cows could provide an alternative to human breast milk and formula milk for babies, which is often criticised as being an inferior substitute.

They hope genetically modified dairy products from herds of similar cows could be sold in supermarkets. The research has the backing of a major biotechnology company.

Read full article about Genetically Modified Cows Produce ‘Human’ Milk.

© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2011

Photo by flickr user Jon Smith Una Nos Lucror

CNN– CIA operatives are providing intelligence from Libya, where opposition forces are on the run and the defiant government suffered the embarrassing defection of its foreign minister Wednesday.

The NATO-led coalition, which is enforcing a no-fly zone and protecting civilians from the intense fighting, got no help from the weather in its ongoing efforts to protect the fragile opposition movement.

“The weather conditions did not allow close combat support by aircraft in the last couple of days,” said Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Moammar Gadhafi’s government, for its part, kept up the war of words. State-run Libyan TV late Wednesday quoted a military source as saying a “civilian location was shelled tonight in the city of Tripoli by the colonizing crusader aggression.”

Amid debate on whether the allies will arm the retreating and undertrained rebels, a U.S. intelligence source told CNN the CIA is in the country to increase the “military and political understanding” of the situation. “Yes, we are gathering intel firsthand and we are in contact with some opposition entities,” said the source.

For more information, read CIA Operating in Libya, in Consultation with Opposition.

© Copyright CNN 2011

LIBERTY UNDERGROUND– The Former CIA Counter-terrorism analyst Michael Scheuer strongly opposed the Obama’s administration actions in Libya on CNN this morning. Scheuer believes that there isn’t a strong case for America’s intervention especially at a time when the country hasn’t even recovered from the recession. Also, Scheuer had doubts if the rebels that we are arming would really be any better than the Gadaffi regime: “I’m not sure that that the opposition, if it takes power, is going to be much better than was Gadaffi.” Moreover, Scheuer argues that the US involvement in Libya would serve as a recruitment tool for extremists. “In the muslim world, this is Americans killing Muslims again, and it looks like its for oil.”

Scheuer also suggested the rationale behind US involvement in yet another war “at a time when we’re nearly bankrupt.” to which the CNN host, Christine Romans, expressed disagreement suggesting that Libya and US economy are two distinct issues. Scheuer protested “they are not separate issues, ma’am, you’re just carrying the water for Mr. Obama.”

MEDIA ROOTS-  PJ Harvey has made videos for every song on her new album Let England Shake with photojournalist Séamus Murphy. The video for the beautiful and moving “The Words That Maketh Murder” alternates shots of Harvey playing her autoharp with ominous imagery: lights through a windshield, elderly people dancing, dead bodies. The song is incredibly powerful and the lyrics have never more relevant.

PJ Harvey- The Words That Maketh Murder

I’ve seen and done things I want to forget;
I’ve seen soldiers fall like lumps of meat,
Blown and shot out beyond belief.
Arms and legs were in the trees.

I’ve seen and done things I want to forget;
coming from an unearthly place,
Longing to see a woman’s face,
Instead of the words that gather pace,
The words that maketh murder.

These, these, these are the words-
The words that maketh murder.
These, these, these are the words-
The words that maketh murder.
These, these, these are the words-
Murder…

These, these, these are the words-
The words that maketh murder.  

I’ve seen and done things I want to forget;
I’ve seen a corporal whose nerves were shot
Climbing behind the fierce, gone sun,
I’ve seen flies swarming everyone,
Soldiers fell like lumps of meat.

These are the words, the words are these.
death lingering, stunk,
Flies swarming everyone,
Over the whole summit peak,
Flesh quivering in the heat.
This was something else again.
I fear it cannot be explained.
The words that make, the words that make
Murder.

What if I take my problem to the United Nations?

The subway, though surrounded with countless people, can be a very isolated and lonely place. In this video, Luke Rudkowski undertakes a personal project that starts with simply talking to the people around him. What do we hold valuable? What is life and love? What role does government and society play in our lives? Can we as a people reclaim our humanity?

http://twitter.com/lukerudkowski
http://www.facebook.com/LukeWeAreChange
http://www.wearechange.org/