Articles from NaturalNews In-House Writers:
 Deregulation of cable monopoly leads to more options in "black boxes"By David Gutierrez, January 29 2007
(NewsTarget) A series of federal decisions over the past 10 years designed to deregulate the cable television industry have paved the way for an ongoing explosion of new features and options among cable set-top boxes.
A set-top box is typically rented from a cable company for a few dollars a month. Because of the limited income that cable companies receive from these boxes, for decades they were constructed to be as simple as possible. Recently, however, competition from other companies has forced...
 Mainstream media criticizes Wikipedia because it represents a decentralization of their information monopolyBy Mike Adams, January 15 2007
The mainstream media loves to bash Wikipedia, that enormous online encyclopedia created through the collaborative efforts of volunteer writers and researchers. It covers tens of thousands of topics, and is consistently an excellent source of information on everything ranging from world history to new terminology in the technology industry. I use Wikipedia frequently.
It's no surprise that the mainstream media loves to bash Wikipedia. The media can't stand the fact that an open, nonprofit, non...
 The one secret the oil industry doesn't want you to know: You don't have to change the oil in your car!By Mike Adams, September 7 2006
At CounterThink, you learn a lot of information that challenges your current view of reality, and this article is no exception to that. It's about changing your oil in your car. You might say, "What? Changing my oil? What could be controversial or earth-shattering about that?" Well, how about the idea that there's actually no need to change the oil in your car? The oil-changing industry has been created to sell you new oil that you really don't need.
From a mechanical point of view, the oil in...
 While extraterrestrial life may exist, "The Secret NASA Transmissions" video is not proof of itBy Mike Adams, September 6 2006
This is a review of a video called "The Secret NASA Transmissions: The Smoking Gun." The video is called the most popular underground tape among astronauts, and it claims to show video evidence of aliens in space. There's allegedly some form of intelligent life flying around on the NASA videos.
I decided to take a look at this video because a lot of people were mentioning it, and they knew that I was interested in evidence of life beyond Earth (even if it's just microbial life on Mars). While...
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Articles from Citizen Journalism Writers:
 Sign of the times: Time Inc. lays off 289By Beau Hodai, January 26 2007
(NewsTarget) In an effort to reconcile with a world in which consumers are increasingly turning to online publications for their news, Time Inc. has announced the latest and largest round in a series of recent layoffs.
“As you all know, the past year has been a time of transition at Time Inc.,” said Chairwoman-CEO Ann S. Moore in a staff memo Thursday. “While we continue to invest in our core magazines, we are also focused on transforming our work force and broadening our digital capabilities...
 Internet companies that quashed Chinese web freedom now seek common code for conducting business abroadBy Jessica Fraser, January 24 2007
(NewsTarget) Four internet communications companies that recently drew fire from Washington D.C. for participating in internet censorship in China announced they are cooperating with human rights groups to develop a common code of conduct for business dealings abroad.
Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Vodafone Group -- a UK-based mobile phone company -- announced earlier this week that they had been talking with human rights advocates for more than a year in an attempt to agree on a set of rules for...
 Democrats' bill could regulate, criminalize political bloggersBy Jessica Fraser, January 23 2007
(NewsTarget) A Senate bill that Democrats intended as a way to reign in corrupt lobbying in Washington could end up requiring some political bloggers to register with the government or face criminal punishment.
The controversial piece of the bill -- found in Section 220 -- indicates that political bloggers who either earn or spend $25,000 every three months, and who encourage their blog readers to contact their congressional representatives over certain political issues, would be required to register...
 Columnist: When the U.S. housing bubble bursts, it will not burst gentlyBy Ben Kage, January 22 2007
(NewsTarget) GlobeInvestorGold.com columnist Harry Koza does not believe that "a couple of benign recent U.S. housing statistics" means now is necessarily a good time to buy a house.
In fact, Koza says, he doesn't buy into official housing statistics at all.
"Official statistics are so massaged and seasonally adjusted and weighted-averaged and smoothed that I often find them hard to believe," the Canadian markets analyst for Thomson Financial says. For example, official National Association...
 As condominium sales plummet, developers shift to apartmentsBy M.T. Whitney, January 21 2007
(NewsTarget) The market for condominium, once soaring, has been collapsing under the weight of its own growth and a sagging renter’s market.
The result is that buildings once meant to be higher-profit condominiums are being converted across the nation’s largest cities into apartment complexes. The impact was originally seen half a year ago in places as diverse as Las Vegas to Miami. It also spread up the Northeast into cities like Washington: the owners of more than 6,000 condominium units there...
 California Democrat wants to criminalize spanking of childrenBy Beau Hodai, January 19 2007
(NewsTarget) The California State Legislature is set to consider a bill that could change the way some parents discipline their children. The proposed legislation would make California the first state in the nation to criminalize spanking.
The bill, which was conceived by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, would make corporal punishment, in any form, of children up to three years of age, a misdemeanor, punishable by a $1,000 fine or up to a year in jail.
“I think it’s pretty hard...
 Instinctive "snap" decisions may lead to better decisions, study findsBy Jessica Fraser, January 18 2007
(NewsTarget) Making instinct-based, "snap" decisions in some situations may be better than thinking through various options, according to a new study by researchers from University College London.
The researchers -- led by UCL psychologist Dr. Li Zhaoping -- recruited 10 volunteers for their study. The participants were shown a computer screen with more than 650 identical symbols -- including one upside-down version of the symbol -- and asked to identify on which side of the screen the inverted...
 2007 housing bubble collapse caused by Greenspan policies, progressive blogger saysBy M.T. Whitney, January 16 2007
(NewsTarget) Home owners who picked up property during the recent low-interest mortgage rate boom may find themselves with a massive sticker shock this coming year when rates increase, says one progressive blogger.
More than ten million people will be affected when their adjustable-rate mortgages are “reset” to higher rates, says Mike Whitney of the web site dissidentvoice.org.
The impact in 2007 -- when $1 trillion in adjustable-rate mortgages will reset to new, higher rates -- is that interest...
 TV Networks using the internet to get around censorsBy Ben Kage, January 2 2007
(NewsTarget) A Saturday Night Live sketch appearing on NBC -- with a certain word bleeped out of a song chorus 16 times -- has found its way onto the internet in uncensored form, not at the hands of a tech-savvy fan or a sneaky employee, but at the hands of the network itself.
The sketch about boy bands, guest staring former boy band member Justin Timberlake, had the cast members singing a pop-style song about giving their genitals to their girlfriends as presents for winter holidays such as Christmas...
 Marijuana top cash crop; public policy analyst calls for legalization to aid U.S. economyBy Ben Kage, December 28 2006
(NewsTarget) The biggest cash crop in the United States is not corn or wheat, according to public policy analyst Jon Gettman, as marijuana produces more annual revenue than those crops combined; nearly $35 billion.
The report by medical marijuana advocate and former National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws head Gettman also stated that California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii and Washington produce more than $1 billion worth of the plant each.
The approximately $35 billion figure...
 Southern California border fence builder pays $5 million fine for hiring illegal immigrantsBy Jerome Douglas, December 23 2006
(NewsTarget) A fence-building company in Southern California has agreed to pay nearly $5 million in fines for hiring illegal immigrants.
In addition to the fines, two executives from the company may also end up serving jail time. A company called Golden State was found to have hired and retained illegal immigrants for part of a border fence building project -- and the company, when caught, agreed to cleanup its act.
When the company was investigated again in 2004 and 2005 to ensure compliance...
 Army, Marines recruiters ran cocaine operation in ArizonaBy Ben Kage, December 21 2006
(NewsTarget) According to evidence collected in a six-month investigation conducted by the Arizona Daily Star, recruiters at a Tucson, Ariz. Army station and a Marine station -- with assistance from members of an Army National Guard recruiting station -- were using their positions to transport cocaine.
The participants were busted in an FBI sting operation conducted between 2002 and 2004, eventually reaching the public eye in 2005. According to testimony by a federal agent, an Army National Guard...
 Mainstream journalists abandon established newspapers to launch independent political news websiteBy Ben Kage, December 18 2006
(NewsTarget) Mainstream reporters from Time magazine and Bloomberg News have jumped to a new multimedia news source called The Politico, another part of the trend of mainstream journalists moving toward the largely online new media realm.
Mike Allen, former White House reporter for Time, and former Bloomberg political correspondent Roger Simon will be working with former Washington Post political editor John Harris and Jim VandeHei, who was the national political reporter for The Post. The venture...
 Workplace trends: Corporations allow employees to set their own scheduleBy Jerome Douglas, December 18 2006
(NewsTarget) Consume electronics retailer Best Buy is shaping a new program to let employees set their own schedules. By letting employees go AWOL during the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. workday during the week, Best Buy is finding that transforming its culture to ensure employees are functioning at their best is working well.
Best Buy's ROWE project -- which stands for "results-only work environment" -- seeks to demolish the decades-old business dogma that equates physical presence with productivity. The...
 Poll: Many Americans think government's terrorism investigations are violating privacy rightsBy Ben Kage, December 16 2006
(NewsTarget) According to a poll released Tuesday by the Washington Post and ABC News, two thirds of Americans feel the FBI and other federal agencies are stepping on citizens' right to privacy in the course of investigating terrorism.
The survey randomly polled 1,005 Americans between Dec. 7 and Monday, giving results with a 3-percentage-point margin of error.
Of those asked, 66 percent felt that the FBI and other, similar agencies were intruding on some American's rights to privacy during...
 United States imprisons more people than China, Russia or any other nation, experts sayBy Ben Kage, December 13 2006
(NewsTarget) Criminal justice experts from the U.S. Justice Department report that the United States has the largest prison population and highest incarceration rate in the world due to factors such as tough sentencing laws, record drug offender arrests and high crime rates.
A report released by the justice department on Nov. 30 reported 1 in every 32 American adults -- or a record 7 million people -- were incarcerated, on probation or on parole at the end of 2005, with 2.2 million of them in...
 MPAA kills anti-pretexting bill that would have stopped identity theft criminalsBy Jerome Douglas, December 7 2006
(NewsTarget) A "pretexting" bill that involves preventing companies and individuals from using deceptive social engineering plots to steal private information about consumers has been killed after determined lobbying by the motion picture industry group Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
The bill was written by state Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Calif. It would have prohibited investigators from making "false, fictitious or fraudulent" statements or representations to obtain private information...
 TSA to start using "naked" X-Ray technology that sees through clothing of air travel passengersBy Jerome Douglas, December 7 2006
(NewsTarget) A new federal screening system that takes x-rays of all passenger's bodies in an attempt to detect concealed explosives and other weapons is about to be made operational inside the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona.
The x-ray technology -- dubbed "backscatter" -- has been around for several years, but has not been widely used in the U.S. as an anti-terrorism tool because of privacy concerns. However, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it has found...
 NASA announces surveyor spacecraft may have found evidence of flowing water on MarsBy Ben Kage, December 6 2006
(NewsTarget) Pictures taken by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft present evidence that there is currently liquid water flowing on the surface of the Red Planet, NASA scientists say.
Water ice and water vapor have already been shown to exist on Mars' surface, and there has long been evidence of liquid water having flowed across Mars' surface billions of years ago. Scientists believe that the images sent by MGS show layered terrains that they suspect were left by water deposits below an ice layer...
 Homeland Security secretly assigns "terrorist scores" to all international travelers entering U.S.By Jerome Doulgas, December 6 2006
(NewsTarget) For the past four years, federal agents have been assigning computer-generated scores to millions of international travelers -- including Americans -- in an attempt to rate the risk each poses of being a terrorist or a criminal.
All of these travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk assessments, even though the U.S. government intends to keep them on file for 40 years. The individual scores are assigned to people entering and leaving the United States after...
 U.S. dollar in sustained decline while China accumulates trillion dollar currency reserveBy Jerome Douglas, November 30 2006
(NewsTarget) The U.S dollar has slid to a point in value that unnerved global markets late last week, as investors sought to protect themselves from the possibility of sustained dollar weakness.
While exports to the U.S. were the worst stock market performers in the European and Asian stock markets, commodity markets tracked higher, with gold, copper and oil becoming cheaper in other currencies as a result of the dollar's decline.
Pressure not to raise European interest rates came as the strength...
 Junk patents to be revisited by U.S. Supreme Court; ripple effect may be profoundBy Jerome Douglas, November 29 2006
(NewsTarget) The "obviousness" of patents is about to be confronted by the nation's most Supreme Court of law, in a case that could have broad implications for the tech industry.
In recent times, software and hardware makers have long complained that a glut of so-called junk patents threatens to disrupt the way they do business.
One of the most common complaints from these firms and companies centers around the actual patent, and what courts should consider when deciding whether an invention...
 Researchers: Humpback whales found to share high IQ brain cells with humansBy Ben Kage, November 28 2006
(NewsTarget) According to a report published in The Anatomical Record, humpback whales' cortexes contain spindle neurons, a type of cell only found in humans, great apes and other cetaceans like dolphins.
Patrick Hof and Estel Van der Gucht of the Department of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York studied the brains of humpback whales and suggested that brain size might be a factor as the spindle neurons were found in the same location in toothed whales with the largest brains...
 U.S. to require passports for all by 2008By Jerome Douglas, November 27 2006
(NewsTarget) Passports will be required for almost all passengers arriving in the U.S. come next January -- including American citizens returning from abroad and from other countries in the Western Hemisphere like Canada and Mexico.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff gave that exact date in an interview with the Associated Press this week, and the Homeland Security Department plans to announce the change next week on Wednesday.
So far, the Department of Homeland Security had not given...
 European towns do away with traffic signs, restoring freedom and social responsibility to driversBy Jerome Douglas, November 23 2006
(NewsTarget) Can you imagine driving without traffic lights to guide you from place to place? Well, several cities in Europe are giving that very notion a try -- and the results are very encouraging.
European traffic planners have been dreaming recently about streets free of rules and directives, as they want drivers want drivers and pedestrians to interact in a free and humane way.
European traffic planners see the interaction of vehicles and people as coexisting in a world of friendly gestures...
 UCLA police handcuff, Taser student for refusing to show student IDBy Ben Kage, November 21 2006
(NewsTarget) University of California, Los Angeles campus police have become the subjects of both an internal and an independent investigation after students marched on the police station to protest treatment of Mostafa Tabatbainejad, a 23-year-old senior of Iranian decent whose physical detainment and multiple stuns with a Taser were caught on a cell phone camera.
According to Tabatabainejad, he refused to show his student ID to officers while studying in the Powell Library computer lab because...
 In-flight kissers could face 20 years in prison under Patriot Act anti-terrorism lawsBy Jerome Douglas, November 17 2006
(NewsTarget) When a couple on a recent Southwestern Airlines flight decided to engage in some sexual play while in flight, they most likely did not realize that their actions would land them as violators of the Patriot Act -- which was intended for terrorists. In fact, the sexual in-flight activity could land them both in prison for 20 years.
Carl Persing and Dawn Sewell were allegedly snuggling and kissing inappropriately while making other flight passengers uncomfortable -- according to the...
Rumsfeld may be charged with war crimes by German courtsBy Jerome Douglas, November 14 2006
(NewsTarget) Donald Rumsfeld -- who just last week resigned as U.S. Defense Secretary -- may be facing more scrutiny now that he's about to leave his official Washington duties. New legal documents that originated with Germany's top prosecutor will seek a criminal investigation and prosecution of Rumsfeld in addition to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet and other senior U.S. civilian and military officers.
The investigation is based on the their alleged roles...
 When online dating fails, singles turn to real-world matchmakersBy Jessica Fraser, November 7 2006
(NewsTarget) Online daters who are disenchanted with cyber dating after potential partners misrepresent themselves are increasingly turning to professional matchmakers.
For a much higher price than online dating sites charge, real-world matchmaking companies extensively interview clients, then find real potential dates at business and social events. Many companies provide professional date coaching for clients -- including memorization of dating dos and don'ts -- and some matchmaking firms even...
Saddam's guilty verdict timed for maximum political impactBy Ben Kage, November 6 2006
(NewsTarget) Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death Sunday for his actions while leading the nation of Iraq, but while some are saying the sentence is deserved, others are claiming the verdict did not fall on the same day as midterm elections by coincidence.
On Oct. 19, NewsTarget reported on a column in The Nation that pointed out Saddam's all-but-inevitable guilty verdict would fall on Nov. 5, and the political implications of that concurrence since the capture of Saddam also provided a spike...
 Depleted uranium has killed 11,000 U.S. military veterans; mainstream media ignores storyBy Jerome Douglas, November 3 2006
(NewsTarget) Highly toxic depleted uranium has created a death toll reaching the 11,000-soldier mark, and the continuing scandal is thought to have been the main reason behind the recent departure of Anthony Principi -- the secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department.
Arthur Bernklau, executive director of Veterans for Constitutional Law in New York, said "The real reason for Mr. Principi's departure was really never given … however, a special report published by eminent scientist Leuren Moret...
 Fake boarding pass generator website shows weaknesses in airport security measuresBy Jerome Douglas, November 3 2006
(NewsTarget) Christopher Soghoian recently created a fake boarding pass generating website that allowed anyone with Internet access to create fake boarding passes for Northwest Airlines. The passes could be generated using any name, any airport and for any date or flight.
Soghoian was then visited by the FBI, which seized his computers and other belongings. Some politicians -- like Rep. Edward Markey, D-MA -- have even called for his arrest amid the controversy over his website.
Soghoian has...
 Elephants pass the mirror recognition test, demonstrating higher animal intelligenceBy Jerome Douglas, November 2 2006
(NewsTarget) A large "elephant-proof" mirror was constructed at the Bronx Zoo so experiments could be performed that would provide an index of an animal's ability to conceive of and recognize itself.
Elephants and other animals are thought to be in a unique position to use what they know about themselves to make inferences. Those inferences -- about other beings and about their own needs -- may give researchers clues about how intelligence is formed. "It really is a clue about the evolution of...
 Pentagon censors soldiers' blogsBy Ben Kage, November 1 2006
(NewsTarget) The U.S. military is again scrutinizing "milblogs" -- blogs by active duty or former military personnel -- and more are going offline in the wake of a renewed push to silence perceived security risks.
"Loose lips sink ships. That's been around since World War I, and hasn't changed in years," said Lt. Col. Stephen Warnock, team leader and battalion commander of a Manassas-based unit of 10 Virginia National Guard members and contractors from tech company CA assigned to review milblogs...
 China claims no internet censorship whatsoeverBy Ben Kage, November 1 2006
(NewsTarget) China has drawn criticism from free speech advocates after a government official recently claimed at a U.N. summit that China had no Internet censorship whatsoever.
The official put some of the blame for site inaccessibility on an inferior internet infrastructure in China and the fact that millions of Chinese citizens do not have internet access at all.
"In China, we don't have software blocking Internet sites," the official said. "Sometimes we have trouble accessing them, but...
 Michigan high school students terrorized in police-state security drillBy Jerome Douglas, October 31 2006
(NewsTarget) With the school shootings in various communities around the nation on the minds of many, police in the western Michigan community of Wyoming entered two classrooms at Lee Middle and High School last Thursday and announced there was a threat to the school.
The students -- according to the Grand Rapids Press newspaper -- were unaware police were conducting a drill as they were taken from the classroom into the halls, and then patted down by officers. The students were also asked what...
 Head of GAO warns America is headed for financial ruin; national debt will bankrupt U.S. economyBy Jerome Douglas, October 31 2006
(NewsTarget) The comptroller general of the United States says the nation is on the path to financial ruin unless the American public tells Washington to change its ways.
David M. Walker, head of the General Accountability Office, or GAO, is the nation's top federal accountant. With the voting season now in full swing as November approaches, candidates from both major political parties are talking up the standard issues that energize the public and encourage discussions, but no candidate appears...
 Amnesty International calls for governments and companies to protect internet freedomBy Ben Kage, October 30 2006
(NewsTarget) A press release on the Amnesty International web site says that world governments and companies are keeping citizens uninformed by restricting and censoring internet content, so at the 2006 Internet Governance Forum that starts today in Athens, Greece, the group is calling on these governments and companies to reverse this trend.
One of the ways Amnesty International is already fighting the problem is by promoting the pledge of internet freedom, which reads: "I believe the Internet...
 New Bush security policy asserts U.S. ownership of outer spaceBy Jerome Douglas, October 27 2006
(NewsTarget) The potential battleground of the future -- outer space -- now belongs to the United States, according to U.S. President George W. Bush. Bush, who just recently signed a new National Space Policy that asserts America's right to deny access to space to anyone "hostile to U.S. interests."
In addition to this new policy's ownership statement of outer space, the policy also rejects future arms-control agreements that might limit U.S. flexibility in space.
The introduction of the new...
 Elections easily hacked via electronic voting machinesBy Jerome Douglas, October 25 2006
(NewsTarget) As more voting processes across the country turn from the old-fashioned pencil-and-ballot to newer, computerized voting systems, the possibility increases that these new systems will be open to many kinds of electronic fraud.
Cheryl Kagan, a former Maryland Democratic legislator, was shocked when she opened her mail recently to discover three computer discs containing the secret source code for vote counting machines. The information she received could be used to alter the votes...
 Columnist: Saddam Hussein's "guilty" conviction announcement planned for two days before electionsBy Ben Kage, October 19 2006
(NewsTarget) According to Tom Engelhardt's editorial in the Oct. 18 issue of The Nation, the U.S.-backed tribunal of Saddam Hussein will likely delay its verdict until Nov. 5, which he notes makes it fall on the day of midterm elections.
What Engelhardt finds hard to accept is the fact that many in the mainstream media seem to have put a guilty verdict forward as a foregone conclusion, but almost none of them seem to have noticed the correlation between the verdict's date and the midterm elections...
 Former HP chair indicted over same crimes still committed by Bush AdministrationBy Ben Kage, October 6 2006
(NewsTarget) An internal investigation at Hewlett-Packard that may have used illegal practices has led to the arrests of several key members of the company's hierarchy, but one political critic wants to know why HP's higher ups have been indicted for illegal spying while the Bush administration is not investigated for the same actions.
Company directors at HP had been accusing each other of leaking to the media for a few months, and last month the battle became public when it was revealed that...
Bush Administration blocks scientific report on global warmingBy Jerome Douglas, September 28 2006
(NewsTarget) The Bush administration has blocked the release of a report suggesting that global warming is likely contributing to the formation, frequency and strength of hurricanes.
NOAA scientists drafted the report linking human activity with hurricane activity in February 2006. It was scheduled to be released to the public that May, but was prohibited from being released and published by the Commerce Department on "technical grounds."
The journal Nature quoted NOAA Administrator Conrad...
Gambling is only legal when the government gets a cutBy Jerome Douglas, September 25 2006
Stocks fell sharply in the online gaming industry at the beginning of September, after word spread of a second Internet gaming executive arrested by U.S. authorities.
Peter Dicks of Sportingbet.com was taken into custody as part of an ongoing investigation into the gaming site. The arrest warrant was sealed, and there are no indictments, said a senior trooper from the Louisiana State Police.
"This arrest highlights the U.S. Department of Justice is going after online gaming companies by...
Electronic voting machines easily hacked, demonstrates Princeton professorBy NewsTarget, September 14 2006
(NewsTarget) Voting machines have caused controversy due to studies that say they are vulnerable to hacking and vote tampering, but Princeton University computer science professor Edward Felten and two graduate students, Ariel Feldman and Alex Halderman, have escalated these doubts by actually obtaining a commonly used electronic voting machine and hacking it.
Felten and his students acquired a Diebold AccuVote-TS from an undisclosed source and extensively tested the vulnerabilities of the machine...
Precognition of who's calling appears to be widespread, claims researcherBy NewsTarget, September 5 2006
(NewsTarget) Receiving a phone call from someone you were just thinking about, or even placing a phone call to someone at the exact moment they call you, may not be a coincidence, according to research funded by Trinity College in Cambridge, England.
Rupert Sheldrake today reported to the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science that he studied 63 people who were asked to give researchers names and phone numbers for four relatives or friends. Then, each of these...
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