the big 5 stories:

#2 - J Street Balances Pro-Israel with Pro-Peace

For the past two years, the presence of a J Street on Capitol Hill has been shaking up the landscape many had written off as fixed. A political action group, named J Street, has been working to redress a balance in the nation's capital: the lack of a pro-peace and pro-Israel lobbying voice. Full Story

#3 - Is UK a Lap Dog No More?

The "special relationship" between the UK and the US is under the microscope as the Prime Minister campaign goes full swing. To many Britons, the idea of national pride and self-determinism should be at the heart of a trans-Atlantic relationship that has been lopsided since Bush-Blair forged an alliance. Full Story

#4 - Liberty is Not Being Nude for TSA

More than 30 privacy and civil liberties organisations have filed a formal petition with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), urging the federal agency to shut down the use of 'full body scanners' (FBS) at the nation's airports. Full Story

#5 - 2 Wars are Further Costing Vets

Wars and its effects on the bodies and minds of US veterans are starting to take a toll on the sacred Defense budget. Veterans may be asked to pay more out-of-pocket. And as high as medical costs are rising, those of the military are twice that. Full Story

also:
*Arizona signs harsh immigration bill into law, Cardinal decries its "Nazi" elements

*Bombings Hit Baghdad

*Silverstein Wanted To Demolish Building 7 On 9/11

*IMF demands "full compliance" of tax payments in Greece

*Massey denies workers time off for miners' funerals

*Chaos predicted as Los Angeles closes courtrooms

*Push begins to recall Los Angeles mayor

CoOlDiGgY news (late edition)

Secret Memo Urges War on Iran

President Obama's Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, has written a memo that urges war with Iran. This is a statement counter to the "full range of contingencies" message that the Administration has put out to the media. Are we closer to war with Iran than we know?

A secret memo by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates urges Washington to consider the use of military force against Iran if diplomacy fails to scrap the country's nuclear program.

In what seems to be a new twist in US efforts to tackle Iran's enrichment activities, The New York Times reveals that a three-page memorandum, which has been circulating in Washington since January, has advocated military action against Tehran.

The classified memorandum, according to unnamed government officials quoted by the Times, warns that Washington lacks an effective policy in dealing with Iran's nuclear program and should therefore come up with new options.

One senior official has said that the memo accuses Iran of weapons development and lays out a set of military alternatives to counter Iran's progress in nuclear science and technology.

Read more...

*Stimulus Money Going to Turn Free Roads into Toll Roads



earlier:

Poll: 4 out of 5 Americans don't trust Government

Mistrust of government extends beyond the so-called Tea Party movement

WASHINGTON – America's "Great Compromiser" Henry Clay called government "the great trust," but most Americans today have little faith in Washington's ability to deal with the nation's problems.

Public confidence in government is at one of the lowest points in a half century, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center. Nearly 8 in 10 Americans say they don't trust the federal government and have little faith it can solve America's ills, the survey found.

The survey illustrates the ominous situation President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party face as they struggle to maintain their comfortable congressional majorities in this fall's elections. Midterm prospects are typically tough for the party in power. Add a toxic environment like this and lots of incumbent Democrats could be out of work.

The survey found that just 22 percent of those questioned say they can trust Washington almost always or most of the time and just 19 percent say they are basically content with it. Nearly half say the government negatively effects their daily lives, a sentiment that's grown over the past dozen years.

Read more...

*Joint Chiefs chairman looks at military options in Iran

*Iran calls out US for being "world's only atomic criminal"


*The Fall Of Goldman Sachs?

*Ratigan Deconstructs Goldman, Connecticut AG Blumental Wants Criminal Charges Filed

*Casino Carnival Barker Jim Cramer Defends Goldman Sachs

*"Revolving door" a bar to mine safety?

*NSA stops collecting some data to resolve issue with court

*US indicts 5 Blackwater Ex-Officials

*No silver lining in air transportation nightmare

*Israeli PM Netanyahu urges 'crippling sanctions' against Iran

*Soros: Euro, EU Will Collapse if Germany Doesn't Make Concessions

*Tenth Anniversary of the Popular Uprising Against Bechtel and the Privatization of a City’s Water Supply

*Afghanistan: A Conspiracy of Silence - poll shows 77 per cent of Britons want forces home and presence makes UK less safe from terrorism

*UK Police: "let us sedate suspects


*I’m Not Shedding Any Tears for Daryl Gates

CoOlDiGgY news (late edition)

Elena Kagan - Justice Stevens More Conservative Replacement

Elena Kagan, President Obama's solicitor general, is rapidly emerging as a frontrunner to replace retiring Chief Associate Justice John Paul Stevens. Kagan is widely praised as an accomplished and intelligent attorney, but is far more conservative than Stevens and could shift the political dynamic of the high court.

Conservatives are responding favorably to the potential of a Justice Elena Kagan while liberals worry that, by choosing her, the administration would miss the opportunity to elevate a genuine progressive.

Read more...


*Pope stalled 1985 pedophile case

*US government 'abused rights' of Hurricane Katrina victims

*Obama Administration Missed Chance To Get Tougher On Unsafe Mines

*America: The Grim Truth

*MSNBC’s Ratigan Breaks Down Banking Scam

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

*New York Times Insists Economy in “Recovery”

*Soros Dems Say American People Rank IRS Over Tea Party

*Consortium To Prolong Global Financial Recession For Another Year

earlier:

Justice John Paul Stevens to Retire From Supreme Court

A Liberal Voice for 34 Years, Stevens Clears Way for Obama's Second Nomination

Justice John Paul Stevens, 89, who served on the high court for a near record breaking 34 years, announced his retirement today, giving President Barack Obama his second chance to name a Supreme Court justice.

"Having concluded that it would be in the best interests of the Court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in advance of the commencement of the Court's next Term, I shall retire from regular active service as an Associate Justice," Stevens wrote in a letter to the president, stating his retirement would be "effective the next day after the Court rises for the summer recess this year."

Read more...

*Mining Company Has History Of Safety Violations

*Study: Insurance Firms Heavily Invest in Fast-Food Industry

*Forget Gold, Here Are The Commodities That Could Have Made You A Killing This Year


*Wal-Mart Just Killed The Dream Of Pricing Power

*ACORN Staffer Reported Prostitution Claims to Police

*Congressman Stupak to Retire. Can the tea parties claim victory?

*Could the U.S. Lose Its Base in Kyrgyzstan?

CoOlDiGgY news (late edition)

Obamanation:
Over 3 Million Americans Jobless For Longer Than A Year, An All-Time High

More than three million Americans have been out of work for at least a year, according to a new analysis of unemployment data.

That represents 23 percent of the roughly 14.8 million Americans out of work and looking for a job -- a post-World War II high. For those 3.4 million Americans, the consequences from such a long time out of work -- a cost of the Great Recession -- can be calamitous.

"[T]he likelihood of finding a job declines as the length of unemployment increases," notes the team led by Ingrid Schroeder, director of the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative, a program of the Pew Economic Policy Group and the Pew Charitable Trusts. "People who are unemployed for a long time can lose their job skills. A long unemployment spell can mark them as undesirable, making it more difficult to compete against other job candidates. [Federal] data suggests that workers who are jobless for the longest duration incur the largest reductions in weekly earnings upon returning to work."

To help them cope, Congress has extended unemployment benefits. In some states, the unemployed can claim benefits for up to 99 weeks.

But that comes with a cost.


According to Schroeder's team, the federal government could spend up to $168 billion this fiscal year on unemployment benefits, a five-fold increase from each of the years immediately preceding the recession, which officially began in December 2007.

That's equal to the combined proposed fiscal year 2010 budgets for the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security, Interior, Justice, Labor, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Read more...


*M.I.T.: Moral judgments can be altered ... by magnets

*White House warns of state officials about rise in health care scams


earlier:

25 dead, four missing in West Virginia coal mine blast

A huge underground explosion blamed on methane gas killed 25 coal miners in the worst U.S. mining disaster in more than two decades. Four others were missing Tuesday, their chances of survival dimming as rescuers were held back by poison gases that accumulated near the blast site, about 1.5 miles into the complex.

Rescuers prepared to drill three shafts going down over 1,000 feet each to release methane and carbon monoxide that chased them from the mine after the blast Monday afternoon, Gov. Joe Manchin said.

The explosion rocked Massey Energy Co.'s sprawling Upper Big Branch mine, about 30 miles south of Charleston, which has a history of violations for not properly ventilating the highly combustible methane, safety officials said.

Read more...

*String of bombings shake Baghdad's residential areas

*Obama adopts new posture on nuclear weapons

*Palestinians under pressure from Israel not to declare state unilaterally


*Meg Whitman adds $20 million to her own California gubernatorial race

*British parties begin month-long election campaign

*Scores of Indian soldiers killed in Maoist ambushes

*Tuition-free colleges stand their ground against costs...

*...Community colleges like new attention, need money

*10 Ways You Can Fix The Economy And Build Popular Capitalism