by Josie Wales, The Anti-Media

by Whitney Webb, True Activist

A Public Relations firm based in the UK was paid half a billion dollars by the Pentagon to create fake terrorist videos in Iraq, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIT). The PR firm, Bell Pottinger, is no stranger to controversy as it also represents a variety of questionable clients such the Saudi government and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s “charitable” foundation. Bell Pottinger took the project not long after the US invasion of Iraq and was initially paid to make videos promoting “democratic elections,” though this later devolved into more lucrative videos related to psychological and information operations.

by Brianna Acuesta, True Activist

For the majority of students, helping out a classmate for lunch entails sharing a snack, trading food, or, at most, buying them lunch occasionally with leftover credit on their lunch account. For Cayden Taipalus, a third grader living in Michigan, these approaches weren’t going to work when he suddenly became concerned about several students unable to afford hot lunches.

Cayden was at school one day when he witnessed his friend give up his hot lunch from the cafeteria because his lunch account balance was overdue and unpaid. Instead, the school gave him a cold cheese sandwich, which is better than nothing, but Cayden was upset for his friend nonetheless.

He went home that day and brainstormed with his mom about how to help other students at his school that faced similar situations everyday. They came up with a plan to first pay off all of the overdue balances by returning empty bottles and cans and soliciting donations from friends, family and neighbors. On Monday, Cayden presented the school with $64 to pay off 150 lunches.

“I am so very proud of my son. He is only 8 years old and to grasp the concept around this is just amazing in my eyes. He has a heart of gold,” his mom said.

by Brianna Acuesta, True Activist

by Whitney Webb, True Activist

Bayer, who made it rich selling heroin to children and financing Nazi concentration camps, is set to pay over $128 a share to buy the world's most notorious GM seed company.

German pharmaceutical and agrochemical company Bayer has finally succeeded in its attempts to buy US GM seed company Monsanto. The merger will create a company that commands more than 25% of the world’s agricultural market for seeds and pesticides.

Bayer first attempted to buy Monsanto for $62 billion this past May but was unsuccessful as Monsanto demanded more money following its failed takeover of the world’s largest GM seed company Syngenta. Antitrust authorities in the US and the EU still have the ability to prevent the merger, the possibility of which has kept Monsanto’s real value well below Bayer’s offer of $128 per share. Due to the complexity of antitrust approvals, the actual merger will likely not take place until 2017.