Like Obama, Mitt Romney is a wind-up doll for Wall Street and the bankers. There is virtually no difference between them despite all the fetid air from the GOP propaganda machine. This is revealed by a quick look at Romney’s top contributors. An Open Secrets page on top Romney contributors reads like a Who’s Who of Wall Street and the financial cartel. The top contributor is Goldman Sachs, followed... 

Wikipedia going on strike The world’s most popular online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, is going on strike on Wednesday. The “knowledge blackout” is aimed at protecting the Internet – and the website’s very existence – from online censorship. The Wikipedia community and the Wikimedia foundation decided on a global blackout of the English version of the website for 24 hours starting at 05:00... 

JP Morgan's Chief Executive Officer, Jamie Dimon JP Morgan’s Chief Executive Officer, Jamie Dimon says Europe is the largest threat to the global economy, calling for a solution to the economic woes sourced from the continent. “We urgently need a solution. The longer the problem drags on, the less likely it is we get off lightly,” the CEO of one of the largest banks in the United States... 

Russia’s Transaero and Aeroflot airlines took the 15th and the 35th positions respectively on the list of world’s 60 safest airlines, Ayda.ru website said. The research to analyze the security level took account of all incidents that took place to jetliners during the recent decade. At the same time, Russia became the most dangerous state for those who like to travel by air. The low level... 

An artist's impression of Kepler-34b orbiting a double-star system Astronomers have discovered two new circumbinary planet systems showing that planets with two suns are common, with probably many millions existing in our Galaxy. According to the article published in the journal Nature, the two new Saturn-sized planets, Kepler-34b and Kepler-35b, and their systems are located in the constellation... 

The military showdown in the Persian Gulf seems even more inevitable, with the UK foreign secretary not ruling out military action against Iran. Applying even more pressure to the country, Europe may ban Iranian oil imports by the end of the month. ­The UK will continue to pursue a diplomatic solution to bringing Iran to the negotiating table, although, according to the UK Foreign Secretary William... 

The charismatic Marine Le Pen has campaigned hard against free trade and the European Union, and has pushed the party’s traditional tough line on crime and immigration. Marine Le Pen said she would balance France’s books if elected president by leaving the euro, slashing immigration, taxing imports and tapping the central bank for cheap loans instead of the debt markets. The National Front leader,... 

Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman abandoned his attempt at the Republican Party’s nod on Monday, not just narrowing the number of candidates vying for the GOP nomination but potentially pushing the contest in favor of Texas Congressman Ron Paul. The announcement from the Huntsman camp came early Monday, only days after the candidate took third place in the New Hampshire primary. While Congresswoman... 

USS Abraham Lincoln and its battle group is on its way to the Persian Gulf as the US builds up military presence around Iran. The US and Israel cancel a joint military drill, which was originally scheduled to be held in spring, in what seems to be a sign of deepening rifts between the age-old allies. On January 5, Israeli military announced that Tel Aviv is gearing up for a major missile defense exercise,... 

Protesters trample a burnt European Union flag during a demonstration in front of the EU Parliament and Committee headquarters in downtown Budapest, January 14, 2012. Thousands of Hungarians have protested against the European Union, urging their country to pull out from the bloc while Budapest seeks EU’s backing to evade insolvency. People gathered in front of the European Commission offices... 

Protesters waved Romanian flags with holes in them, symbolising the 1989 anti-communist revolution. Police officer seriously injured after resignation of Palestinian-born doctor over health reforms sparks mass protests. Romanian police have fired tear gas and clashed with protesters during an anti-government rally in the third consecutive day of demonstrations against austerity cuts and worsening... 

Hong Kong (image by ceciliayu.com) The country with the freest economy on the planet is Hong Kong. Such a statement was made by Heritage Foundation, a US-based NGO. The “Index of Economic Freedom” made by the organization is based on the degree of openness of markets, the effectiveness of the legal framework for business activities and the apparatus of government officials and regulatory... 

Astronomers at the University of Pittsburgh say they have determined the exact color of the Milky Way Galaxy as it is seen from other far away galaxies. Findings indicate that the Milky Way is redder than most spiral galaxies but when combined with its blue arms its overall color is white. “The best description I can give would be that if you looked at new spring snow, which has a fine grain... 

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin The escalating conflict around Iran should be contained by common effort, otherwise the promising Arab Spring will grow into a “scorching Arab Summer,” says Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s former envoy to NATO. ­“Iran is our close neighbor, just south of the Caucasus. Should anything happen to Iran, should Iran get drawn into any political or military... 

The United States is not at war with Iran yet, but just in case, the Pentagon says they want to be prepared. To do so, the Department of Defense has dispatched 15,000 troops to the neighboring nation of Kuwait. Gen. James Mattis, the Marine Corps head that rules over the US Central Command, won approval late last year from the White House to deploy the massive surge to the tiny West Asian country...