Britain's "€˜surveillance society"€™ increasingly functions in ways the public is unaware of. An abundance of CCTV -€“ and roadside -€“ cameras misleads the public as to the true nature and scope of government snooping, the surveillance watchdog says. [...]

A California-based surveillance vendor that sells access to license plate databases and the devices that indiscriminately collect that information has been reportedly cashing checks from the Internal Revenue Service and other federal offices. [...]

Is the United States a strong nation? There's a notion that it is, of course -- based mainly on the disruptive philosophical underpinnings upon which this country was established. But these are all really the fumes of nostalgia. What else is there? W... [...]

The current international poverty line of $1.25 per day used by the World Bank is "too low"€ and "€œartificial,"€ say researchers from Bristol University, adding that the total number of poor people worldwide would increase by 30 percent in future. The World Bank’s “estimates are flawed” as the organization hasn’t used “different poverty measures” [...]

Many Germans feel a special bond to Russia. This makes the Ukraine crisis particularly dangerous for Berlin because it raises important questions about the very nature of German identity. Are we as deeply rooted in the West as most believe? [...]

British actor and comedian Russell Brand is due to speak in Vienna today at a conference on international drug regulation. Brand, a former heroin addict, has spoken on previous occasions about the need to shift drug regulation away from prohibition and towards an approach with more compassion for drug users. [...]

A landmark legal battle between two farmers over alleged GM contamination has started in the Western Australian Supreme Court. The case is expected to determine GM farmers’ liability if their crops affect neighboring territories. [...]

14-year-old Laura Dekker sets out—camera in hand—on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to be the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone. In the wake of a year-long battle with Dutch authorities that sparked a global storm of media scrutiny, Laura now finds herself far from land, family and unwanted attention, exploring the world in search of freedom, adventure, and dista [...]

Surveillance drones haven't started hovering outside and above the homes of Americans en masse just yet, but former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura claims he's left the United States just in case. Ventura, a 62-year-old professional wrestler-turned-politician, says his new Ora TV program 'Off the Grid' is being filmed in secret somewhere in Mexico where the all-seeing eye of American unmanned [...]

Logan Laplante is a 13 year-old boy who was taken out of the education system to be home schooled instead. Not only was he home schooled, but Logan had the ability to tailor his education to his interests and also his style of learning, something traditional education does not offer. As Logan has mentioned, when he grows up he wants to be happy and healthy. At a TEDx talk in 2013, he discussed [...]

New York governor Andrew M. Cuomo is to legalize the use of marijuana in the state, using a decades-old public health law provision, the New York Times reports. The drug -€“ which remains banned federally - will be prescribed for diagnosed medical ailments. [...]

What sort of chapters will you write in 2014? Well the countdown is well and truly on. In less than 90 hours the year 2013 will have gone into the history books, and all of us will stand on the brink of a new dawn, the New Year will lie before each one of us. The dawning of a new year, like an open book with its pages yet blank. "We will open the book with its blank pages," [...]

Here is a list of over 100 documentaries you can watch for free online. They are about Science, Consciousness, ETs, you name it. A smorgasbord of fascinating subjects to learn about. Knowledge is power, which you won't get from the betraying News Media, so turn off your TV and invest your time in watching some of the videos. [...]

Heather Long: I'd rather be able to wish people in the US a Merry Christmas this week without having to worry if they'll be offended. A colleague made a curious statement when she returned to New York recently from London, "Everything was so Christmas-y there." [...]

The brain is a complicated piece of machinery scientists still full don’t understand. Each lobe of the brain serves a different function and within those lobes are sub-functions, but many researchers argue that certain types of people can be divided into halves of the brain. According to the theory of left-brain or right-brain dominance, each side of the brain controls different types of thin [...]

Think of these 9 New Year's resolutions as contributions toward mental wealth. I know resolutions are supposed to be concrete and associated with specific goals, but today I'€™d like to present some holistic resolutions that have the potential to cause a shift in everyday mentality, habits and lifestyle choices. [...]

Police in Texas may now obtain a search warrant based on "€œa prediction of a future crime,"€ according to a dissenting judge on the state'€™s criminal appeals court. The ruling by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals came last week, ending a controversial case in which police searched a house before obtaining a warrant but were still able to present the confiscated evidence during a trial. [...]

Pope Francis says trickle-down economics do not help the poor, in a wide-ranging interview with Italian daily La Stampa. Pope Francis has rejected accusations from rightwing Americans that his teaching is Marxist, defending his criticisms of the capitalist system and urging more attention be given to the poor in a wide-ranging interview published today. [...]

Recent survey shows inequality in the US is at its new peak. The richest 1 percent of the population received almost a fifth of the national households’ income in 2012, thus breaking the previous record set in 1928. [...]

There will be no children in my future. Ever. Yes, I am married. Yes, my husband knows that I do not want children. Yes, we both realize we'€™re extremely fortunate to be able to elect to live child-free. He doesn’t want kids either. It’s part of the reason I married him. (That, and he has excellent hair.) He married me knowing that and also because I always clean the litter box. [...]

"What Has America Become" was the title of a letter to the editor written by Ken Huber of Tawas City, Michigan. It contains a series of comparisons and contrasts which causes one to think about the double-standards and conditions under which we now live here in America. Sadly America is in decline. [...]

Why assumptions are the the mother of all fuckups! Leadership quicksand looks like solid ground that can confidently and competently be stomped on, but it’s not. In fact, it’s not like it seems at all.  When leaders walk head held high, chest puffed out, all knowing with ego leading the way, that’s the surest way to sink in deep. Leaders often make assumptions in four areas that have [...]