GOVERNMENT plans for an army of 60,000 Britons to protect against terror threats are a farce, it emerged today.
Gordon Brown claimed at the weekend that the volunteers would be "trained and equipped" to deal with and prevent a terror attack.
But the Daily Express can reveal that the so-called training consists of a "multimedia simulation" and a group discussion.
The entire event lasts just three hours - including coffee.
ANTI-UK TERROR PLANS ARE 'TOTAL FARCE'
Justice Department Announces Agreement to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters in New York Special Congressional Election
The Justice Department today announced that it has reached agreement with New York officials to help ensure that military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have the opportunity to vote in the state's March 31, 2009, special election in the 20th Congressional District.
The lawsuit was filed in federal district court yesterday against the state of New York, Gov. David A. Paterson and the state board of elections under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). The action seeks emergency relief for the upcoming election and a permanent remedy to ensure UOCAVA voters are not disenfranchised in future special federal elections.
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The lawsuit was filed in federal district court yesterday against the state of New York, Gov. David A. Paterson and the state board of elections under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). The action seeks emergency relief for the upcoming election and a permanent remedy to ensure UOCAVA voters are not disenfranchised in future special federal elections.
Army vet billed $3,000 for war wounds
Erik Roberts, an Army sergeant who was wounded in Iraq, underwent his 13th surgery recently to save his right leg from amputation. Imagine his shock when he got a bill for $3,000 for his treatment.
"I put my life on the line and I was wounded in combat, and I came back and they're not going to take care of my medical bills?"
TVNL Comment: This nation has never supported the troops. Funding wars means funding war profiteers. That's all it ever meant and that is all it ever will be because war is nothing more than business.
Hemp Is Not Pot: It's the Economic Stimulus and Green Jobs Solution We Need
We can make over 25,000 things with it. Farmers love it. Environmentalists love it. You can't get high from it. So why is it still illegal?
With 25,000 known applications from paper, clothing and food products -- which, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal this January, is the fastest growing new food category in North America -- to construction and automotive materials, hemp could be just the crop to jump-start America's green economy.
Last edition of Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor prints its final edition on Friday, bringing a 100-year run as a daily newspaper to an end but beginning a new era as an online publication.
The Boston-based Monitor announced plans in October to eliminate its daily print edition and become the first national US newspaper to adopt a Web-based strategy.
U.S. bill seeks to rescue faltering newspapers
With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks.
"This may not be the optimal choice for some major newspapers or corporate media chains but it should be an option for many newspapers that are struggling to stay afloat," said Senator Benjamin Cardin.
Pope 'distorting condom science'
One of the world's most prestigious medical journals, the Lancet, has accused Pope Benedict XVI of distorting science in his remarks on condom use.
It said the Pope's recent comments that condoms exacerbated the problem of HIV/Aids were wildly inaccurate and could have devastating consequences.
Expanded Americorps has stench of authoritarianism
With almost no public attention, both chambers of Congress in the past week advanced an alarming expansion of the Americorps national service plan, with the number of federally funded community-service jobs increasing from 75,000 to 250,000 at a cost of $5.7 billion. Lurking behind the feel-good rhetoric spouted by the measure’s advocates is a bill that upon closer inspection reveals multiple provisions that together create a strong odor of creepy authoritarianism.
Obama's Triple Surge Into Afghanistan
What Obama has not mentioned is that, in addition to soldiers and civilians, there is a third surge in his plan: private military contractors. Yes, another privatized army, such as the one in Iraq. There, the Halliburtons, Blackwaters and other war profiteers ran rampant, shortchanging our troops, ripping off taxpayers, killing civilians and doing deep damage to America's good name.
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