News from The7thfire.com

Evidence Mounts for Electromagnetic Earthquake Precursors Scientists revealed data Thursday that an electromagnetic alarm might have preceded a 2007 earthquake in Northern California. The evidence could offer support to a controversial theory that mysterious and little-understood signals might offer fair warning for imminent catastrophic earthquakes. Scientists detected the signal Oct. 30 near Milpitas, California, 19 hours before a medium-size quake -- with its epicenter in the Alum Rock neighborhood of San Jose -- shook the region, scientists told Wired News Thursday.

U.S. money managers accused of $550 million fraud Two money managers who oversaw investments for Carnegie Mellon University and other institutions were arrested on Wednesday on charges of running an estimated $550 million, decade-long swindle, the latest in a wave of big financial fraud cases.

What the Vietnam anti-war movement stopped vid Nixon wanted to nuke Vietnam. What can you say?
This madman was President of the United States and Kissinger is still around peddling the world view he honed as a Rockefeller empire employee.

Subject: Jihad terrorist training camps in...this country? Federal authorities arrested more than 750 people across the country in what they describe as "the largest and hardest hitting" operation to ever target the "the very violent and dangerously powerful" drug cartel known as Sinaloa.The cartel is being blamed for much of the violence erupting along the U.S.-Mexican border, according to officials familiar with the operation.

US official: Gaza reconstruction aid to top $900M United States aid for the Gaza Strip's reconstruction will likely top $900 million, an official said, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepared to make her first Mideast trip as America's top diplomat.Israeli and Palestinian officials said Monday that Clinton will visit Israel and the West Bank during the first week of March. Clinton said during her Asia trip last week that she would attend an international donors conference in Egypt on March 2 to discuss reconstruction in Gaza.She provided no other details, but a U.S. official in the United States said Monday that the Obama administration's donation will be at least $900 million in humanitarian and rebuilding aid to the Palestinian Authority to help Gaza recover from Israel's offensive against Hamas last month

Gov't says 'mass layoffs' soared in January Employers took a large ax to their payrolls in January, the government said Wednesday, and the cuts are likely to get worse over the next few months.The Labor Department reported that mass layoffs, or job cuts of 50 or more by a single employer, increased to 2,227 in January, up almost 50 percent from the same month last year. More than 235,000 workers were fired in last month's cuts.

Taliban Militants Extend Cease-Fire in Pakistan's Swat Region Taliban militants in Pakistan's Swat Valley say they have agreed to extend their cease-fire indefinitely.
Tuesday's announcement comes one day before a 10-day temporary cease-fire was set to expire. A spokesman for Taliban militants active in Swat, Muslim Khan, says the group is still looking at the proposed peace agreement with the provincial government.

Local youths rescued in prostitution busts Crackdown part of nationwide effort. Almost 50 juvenile prostitutes, including 10 from the Seattle area, were rescued during a nationwide crackdown by local and federal authorities last week on pimps who force children to sell sex for money, the FBI announced Monday. Police in Seattle, Tacoma and Kent took part Friday night in the three-day effort, Operation Cross Country, which netted 571 suspects on a range of charges in 29 cities. The youngest girl in Seattle was 13.

Obama rebukes governors for stimulus criticism President Barack Obama promised governors a budgetary jump-start Monday, even as he accused critics of the massive economic stimulus plan of putting politics ahead of job creation. "There's going to be ample time for campaigns down the road," he said. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, one of the Southern Republican governors who have called the $787 billion plan too costly, said he heard nothing Monday to ease those concerns. He repeated his vow that Texas will reject any federal aid that locks the state into higher spending later. "If the market response to this so far is any indicator ... then we've got a ways to go," Perry said, hours before the stock market hit its lowest mark since 1997.

Arrest In Murder of Prominent Cancer Researcher Atlanta police made an arrest overnight in the murder of a prominent cancer researcher.Lieutenant Keith Meadows says homicide detectives filed murder warrants late Wednesday for the arrest of Jamal Thompson who also goes by the name "Shamel". Thompson was arrested early Thursday morning. Thompson is charged with murder in the death of Dr. Eugenia Calle.

California lawmaker introduces pot legalization bill If California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has his way, the Golden State might become known as the Green State to pot smokers around the country.During a press conference Monday morning in San Francisco, Ammiano introduced "The Marijuana Control, regulation and education act." The far-reaching bill would go well beyond decriminalization of marijuana to actually legalize the cultivation, sale, purchase and possession of the plant.
“With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense," Ammiano said. "This legislation would generate much needed revenue for the state, restrict access to only those over 21, end the environmental damage to our public lands from illicit crops, and improve public safety by redirecting law enforcement efforts to more serious crimes."

Times: US advisers training Pakistani troops U.S. military advisers, mostly Army Special Forces soldiers, are training Pakistani troops in their fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban, The New York Times reported Sunday.(shades of 'Afghanistan'! And it someday 'we' are in battle with Pakistan, will we once again have trained 'them' well and given 'them' military supplies; the better to kill us with?) When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

The Soldier's Heart. The military teaches soldiers how to fight, how to kill, how to survive. But who teaches them how to live with themselves? Examining the unreported psychological cost on those who fight it.

120,000 people pack streets of Dublin in angry protest against government's handling of economic crisis Up to 120,000 people marched through Dublin today in an emotional and angry national demonstration over the Irish Government's handling of the economic crisis.The sheer size of the turnout meant it had to set off earlier than was organised, with the parade stretching the entire length of its two kilometre route at one stage.Hundreds more lined the streets of the city centre, many clapping and cheering, as both public and private sector workers came together under the banners of several trade unions for one the largest demonstrations ever seen in the capital.

Saving America: Time to hit the streets? The stately senator from South Carolina sees America's unique centuries-old system of freedom dying out.And he thinks we may have to take to the streets to save it. "I would think it's time to start thinking about peaceful demonstrations," he told us last week
.Seriously?
"Seriously."The power of the people is there. Freedom is in the people's hands right now, and it's about to slip through."Of course, the recent "stimulus" debate is what's fresh on DeMint's mind. Despite DeMint's putting 15 aides on it overnight, no one in Washington was able to read the bill, which was the most expensive in American history -- as well as being perhaps the most irresponsible.

THE BURNING PLATFORM David Walker served as Comptroller General of the United States from 1998 through 2008. He is now the CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and leader of the Fiscal Wake Up Tour. He has been a lone voice in the wilderness for the last decade regarding our looming fiscal disaster. As head of the General Accounting Office he would go before Congress and explain that the country need to change course before we flounder in a Perfect Storm of debt. They listened to him respectfully and proceeded to add $5 trillion to the National Debt in the next eight years. The borrowing binge is now entering a hyper-speed phase. President Obama has been only concerned with speed rather than long term corrective actions.

AP INVESTIGATION: Army charity hoards millions As soldiers stream home from Iraq and Afghanistan, the biggest charity inside the U.S. military has been stockpiling tens of millions of dollars meant to help put returning fighters back on their feet, an Associated Press investigation shows.Between 2003 and 2007 — as many military families dealt with long war deployments and increased numbers of home foreclosures — Army Emergency Relief grew into a $345 million behemoth. During those years, the charity packed away $117 million into its own reserves while spending just $64 million on direct aid, according to an AP analysis of its tax records.

Israel launches covert war against Iran Israel has launched a covert war against Iran as an alternative to direct military strikes against Tehran's nuclear programme, US intelligence sources have revealed.

HAVANA - Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom apologized to Cuba on Tuesday for his country's having allowed the CIA to train exiles in the Central American country for the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.

Sources: War tours strain US military readiness WASHINGTON – Strained by repeated war tours, persistent terrorist threats and instability around the globe, there is a significant risk the U.S. military may not be able to respond quickly and fully to new crises, a classified Pentagon assessment has concluded.

' Worst economic collapse ever' In 2009 were going to see the worst economic collapse ever, the Greatest Depression, says Gerald Celente, U.S. trends research Institute...vid

U.S. Economy: Factory Output, Housing Starts Plunge (Update1) Manufacturing and housing in the U.S. collapsed in January, government reports showed, as the Obama administration unveiled new proposals to stem what may become the worst recession in the postwar era. The Federal Reserve’s industrial production index dropped 1.8 percent to 101.3, the lowest level in more than five years, the central bank reported today in Washington. Housing starts plunged 17 percent to an annual rate of 466,000, the fewest since records began in 1959, Commerce Department data showed.

Fed downgrades economic forecast for this year The Federal Reserve on Wednesday sharply downgraded its projections for the country's economic performance this year, predicting the economy will actually shrink and unemployment will rise higher.Under the new projections, the unemployment rate will rise to between 8.5 and 8.8 percent this year. The old forecasts, issued in mid-November, predicted the jobless rate would rise to between 7.1 and 7.6 percent.Many private economists believe the jobless rate — currently at 7.6 percent, the highest in more than 16 years — will hit at least 9 percent by early next year even with the $787 billion stimulus package signed into law Tuesday by President Barack Obama.

Marchers block US border to protest army presence CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – Hundreds of people blocked bridges to the United States in three border cities Tuesday, demanding the army leave in another challenge for the Mexican government as it struggles to quell escalating drug violence.

The White House's missing documents In his first weeks in office, President Barack Obama shut down his predecessor’s system for reviewing regulations, realigned and expanded two key White House policymaking bodies and extended economic sanctions against parties to the conflict in the African nation of Cote D’Ivoire. Such notices were routinely released by the White House press office during prior administrations — making their omission all the more unusual given Obama’s oft-repeated pledges of openness.

Obama signs stimulus bill, readies homeowner plan Racing to reverse the country's economic spiral, President Barack Obama signed the mammoth stimulus package into law Tuesday and readied a new $50 billion foreclosure rescue for legions of Americans who are in danger of losing their homes

Drug gangs drive off cops, terrorize Mexican town VILLA AHUMADA, Mexico – For people caught inside Mexico's drug corridors, life is about keeping your head down and watching your back, especially when the sun dips behind the cactus-studded horizon.No town knows this better than Villa Ahumada, where the entire police force quit after 70 cartel hit men roared through last spring, killing the police chief, two officers and three townspeople.

U.S. Muslim TV network founder charged with beheading wife The founder of a U.S. Muslim television network has been arrested and charged with murdering his wife by beheading her, the network's Web site and local media reported.Muzzammil Hassan, founder and CEO of Buffalo, N.Y.-based Bridges TV which launched in 2004 with a mission to show Muslims in a more positive light, was charged after reporting the death of his wife, Aasiya Hassan, 37, on Thursday night.( I don't think this shows Muslims in a more positive light, very sad)

SEC charges Texas financier with 'massive' fraud NEW YORK – Federal regulators on Tuesday charged Texas financier R. Allen Stanford and three of his firms with a "massive" fraud that centered around high-interest-rate certificates of deposit, and raided some of the companies' offices.In a complaint filed in federal court in Dallas, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged Stanford orchestrated a fraudulent investment scheme centered on an $8 billion CD program that promised "improbable and unsubstantiated high interest rates."

Barghouti to Obama: 2 states now, or a long violent struggle over apartheid because ’we will be free’ It is hard to imagine that after all the coverage of Gaza you could go into an event in New York and walk out stunned, but such was my experience hearing Mustafa Barghouti this afternoon at Columbia University. The Palestinian doctor and politician who lives in the West Bank got into Gaza for a week at the end of the onslaught— it took him two days to get there from Ramallah, through Jordan and Egypt, in what should have been a 1-1/2 hour hour trip—and entered with the belief that his nonstop watching of Al-Jazeera had prepared him for the destruction. It did not.

Boys With Toys By Dahr Jamail It is not the threat of violence that weighs on the people of Iraq. It is the omnipresent occurrence of violence that has resulted in the desperate nation wide chant, "We are tired. All we want is for normal life to return."

Two US Missile Strikes In Pakistan In Three Days Kill More Than 60 By Barry Grey. The United States on Monday carried out its second missile strike in three days inside Pakistan. More than 30 people were reported killed after four CIA Predator drone aircraft launched at least four Hellfire missiles at a purported Taliban training camp in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Kurram. It was the first US strike in Kurram, one of seven semi-autonomous tribal areas in Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan. Monday's attack followed a missile strike on Saturday on a building in the South Waziristan tribal district that killed at least 30 people

Livni's Bitter Options By Uri Avnery. Now Ms Tantalus must choose between two bitter options: to retire to the desert where there is neither water nor fruit, or to serve as a fig-leaf for an obnoxious coalition

Choose Life! By Deb Reich. After this futile, criminal, pornographic war in Gaza (Shmuel Amir rightly termed it a "hunt" rather than a war) and yet another national election in Israel ending basically in impasse, but this time with a distinctly fascist motif, we are no closer to sustainable peace in the Middle East. We need a drastic revisioning of what we are doing here

Apartheid Israel Gaza Massacre The horrendous mortality and morbidity statistics revealed by the paper "The Wounds of Gaza", just published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet are truly shocking - 1,350 killed (60% children) and 5,450 severely wounded (40% children) in reprisals for zero (0) Israeli deaths from Gaza rockets in the preceding year. This demands International Criminal Court and intra-national prosecutions and Sanctions and Boycotts against Apartheid Israel by all decent decent people around the world

Kan. suspends income tax refunds, may miss payroll Kansas has suspended income tax refunds and may not be able to pay employees on time, state officials said Monday.The state doesn't have enough money in its main budget account to pay its bills, prompting Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to suggest borrowing $225 million from other accounts throughout state government. But the move required approval from legislative leaders, and Republican leaders refused Monday.

With no budget, California to cut 20,000 state jobs California, which is on the brink of running out of cash, will notify 20,000 state workers on Tuesday their jobs may be eliminated, a spokesman for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Monday.

�Adios! Personal banker quits over Mexican IDs Employee acts to take America back, refuses to help illegals. A personal banker in Arlington, Va., is quitting his job after Chevy Chase Bank, one of the largest and best-known banks in the Washington, D.C., region, announced it will begin accepting consular cards from customers who many suspect are illegal aliens.

Former Gitmo Guard Tells All Army Private Brandon Neely served as a prison guard at Guantánamo in the first years the facility was in operation. With the Bush Administration, and thus the threat of retaliation against him, now gone, Neely decided to step forward and tell his story. “The stuff I did and the stuff I saw was just wrong,” he told the Associated Press. Neely describes the arrival of detainees in full sensory-deprivation garb, he details their sexual abuse by medical personnel, torture by other medical personnel, brutal beatings out of frustration, fear, and retribution, the first hunger strike and its causes, torturous shackling, positional torture, interference with religious practices and beliefs, verbal abuse, restriction of recreation, the behavior of mentally ill detainees, an isolation regime that was put in place for child-detainees, and his conversations with prisoners David Hicks and Rhuhel Ahmed. It makes for fascinating reading. Testimoney Here

Thirty-thousand Haitians ordered to leave United States U.S. immigration authorities say they've ordered 30,000 Haitians to leave the country.Haitian officials, however, say they're not issuing the travel documents needed to process most deportees.Handfuls of deportees with valid passports have been returned to Haiti since Dec. 5, following a three-month break in deportations, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. But Haitian officials say the storm-batted Caribbean country needs time to recover and can't handle the return of its citizens.A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the lack of travel documents means some deportees are spending more time in crowded detention centers. According to ICE, about 600 Haitians are being detained and more than 240 others are under a form of house arrest and being monitored with electronic ankle bracelets.

Liberals not pleased with go-slow approach by Obama Reporting from Washington -- Slowly over the last few weeks, some of Barack Obama's most fervent supporters have come to an unhappy realization: The candidate who they thought was squarely on their side in policy fights is now a president who needs cajoling and persuading.
Advocates for stem cell research thought Obama would quickly sign an order to reverse former President Bush's restrictions on the science. Now they are fretting over Obama's statement that he wants to act in tandem with Congress, possibly causing a delay.

FBI may shift counterterror agents to anti-fraud With thousands of fraud investigations under way, the FBI is considering shifting agents away from counterterrorism work to help sort through the wreckage of the financial meltdown.FBI Deputy Director John Pistole told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that the bureau may reassign some of the positions that were reallocated to anti-terrorism work after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.Such a move would be a further sign of the government breaking with the Bush administration's priorities, which pledged to assign every available resource to averting another terrorist attack.Pistole told Congress his investigators have 530 active corporate fraud investigations, and 38 of them involve some of the biggest names in corporate finance — cases directly related to the current crisis. In addition, FBI investigators are tackling an even bigger mountain of mortgage fraud cases in which hundreds of millions of dollars may have been swindled from the system, he told lawmakers.

Israel warns Rudd off racism forum SENIOR Israeli diplomat Dan Gillerman has urged Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd not to send a delegation to a United Nations forum on racism, saying it will be used as a platform to bash Israel.In an interview with The Age, Mr Gillerman, who was Israel's ambassador to the United Nations from 2003 until September last year, also strongly rejected calls for war crimes investigations against Israeli commanders involved in the recent Gaza offensive.

British investor in Madoff scheme kills himself A former British soldier killed himself after losing his life savings in an alleged $50 billion fraud run by Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff, the dead man's son said.William Foxton, 65, who had served in the British Army and more recently worked as a defense contractor in Afghanistan, died from a single bullet wound to the head in the southern English port city of Southampton on Tuesday, police said.

The Wounds of Gaza Two Surgeons from the UK, Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah and Dr Swee Ang, managed to get into Gaza during the Israeli invasion. Here they describe their experiences, share their views, and conclude that the people of Gaza are extremely vulnerable and defenseless in the event of another attack.

Suspected US missile strike kills 27 in Pakistan Dozens of followers of Pakistan's top Taliban commander were in a compound when a suspected U.S. missile attack hit Saturday, killing 27 militants in an al-Qaida stronghold near the Afghan border, officials said.The strike appeared to be the deadliest yet by the American drone aircraft that prowl the frontier, and defied Pakistani warnings that the tactic is fueling extremism in the nuclear-armed Islamic nation.

In shift, Blackwater dumps tarnished brand name Blackwater Worldwide is still protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq, but executives at the beleaguered security firm are taking their biggest step yet to put that work and the ugly reputation it earned the company behind them.Blackwater said Friday it will no longer operate under the name that came to be known worldwide as a caustic moniker for private security, dropping the tarnished brand for a disarming and simple identity: Xe, which is pronounced like the letter "z."

Whatever happened to free speech? Britain was once renowned around the world for defending people's right to speak out. Not any more, says Philip Johnston.

The recovery plan: shock & awe for a shaken nation America is bringing shock and awe to the home front, using dollars instead of bombs. It's the military doctrine of lightning force — fast and brute, or as brute as the shaken country can manage — applied to the campaign for economic recovery. With a record-busting stimulus plan, the U.S. is marshaling resources against economic catastrophe in ways not seen since Franklin Roosevelt put the New Deal in motion

Hampshire College becomes first college in U.S. to divest from Israeli Occupation! Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, has become the first of any college or university in the U.S. to divest from companies on the grounds of their involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. This landmark move is a direct result of a two-year intensive campaign by the campus group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The group pressured Hampshire College’s Board of Trustees to divest from six specific companies due to human rights concerns in occupied Palestine. Over 800 students, professors, and alumni have signed SJP’s “institutional statement” calling for the divestment.

Texas Recalls All Items From Plant Over Salmonella Texas has ordered a recall of all products ever shipped from a now-closed Peanut Corp. of America plant in Plainview amid a nationwide salmonella outbreak.

Inside source reveals FEMA & DHS preparing for mass graves and martial law near Chicago An Indiana county municipal official in the vicinity of Chicago reveals the contents of his meetings with FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. The initial requests seem reasonable enough when FEMA asks the county officials to prepare a Hazard Mitigation Plan to deal with flooding, fires, high winds and tornadoes.But as the required meetings and calls with FEMA and DHS continue over a two year period their request become more unusual, raising suspicions of county officials

Iraqi FM says no sudden US pullout Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Wednesday he had been "reassured" by the United States that there would be no sudden pullout of American troops, despite an improving security situation

EITHNER OPERATING ON A WING AND PRAYER The one reality the Obama administration does not want to face or share with the American people is that the major banks are insolvent so Treasury Secretary Geithner, operating on a wing and prayer, throws more money at the burning wreckage and stalls for time instead of telling the truth: Allen L Roland

What Happens If Alaska's Mt. Redoubt Volcano Erupts Soon? February 9, 2009 Update: “Unrest at Redoubt Volcano continues, though no eruption has yet occurred. Volcanic tremor and small distinct earthquakes are ongoing. Clear webcam images today showed a steam plume rising up to several hundred feet above the crater throughout the day. AVO continues to watch the volcano 24/7.” - Alaska Volcano Observatory

Thousands of US weapons astray in Afghanistan: auditors Thousands of US weapons, including assault rifles and grenade launchers, may be in Taliban or Al-Qaeda hands in Afghanistan because of lax controls, congressional auditors warned on Thursday.

The Pentagon has failed to track an estimated 87,000 weapons given to Afghan security forces, one-third of the 242,000 shipped by the US government between December 2004 and June 2008, the Government Accountability Office said.

Gregg withdraws as commerce secretary nominee WASHINGTON -- Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire abruptly withdrew his nomination as commerce secretary today, citing "irresolvable conflicts" with President Barack Obama's handling of the economic stimulus and 2010 census. "We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy," Gregg said in a statement released by his Senate office.

What About Six Million Palestinian Refugees? Almost 6 million Palestinians are now scattered all over the world as refugees, and hundreds of thousands were massacred by Israel and housed under soil for resisting to abandon their homeland, notes Iqbal Tamimi.

Pa. judges accused of jailing kids for cash WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – For years, the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses. The explanation, prosecutors say, was corruption on the bench.

US Interior Secretary breaks with 'drill-only' energy policy US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday moved away from "drill-only" energy policies as he blocked a last-minute attempt by the administration of George W. Bush to push through the sale of offshore leases to gas and oil companies.

Drug gang clash with army kills 21 in Mexico CIUDAD JUAREZ – Mexican soldiers fought gun battles with drug cartel hitmen near the U.S. border on Tuesday after gangsters abducted local police in violence that killed 21 people and left bodies strewn in the desert.

California budget deficit imperils 10,000 state workers' jobs Reporting from Sacramento -- As legislative leaders Tuesday moved toward a deal that could wipe out the state's $42-billion deficit with temporary tax hikes on retail sales, cars, gasoline and millionaires, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger threatened to lay off as many as 10,000 state employees if a new budget is not passed this week

Suicide attack kills 4 US soldiers in Mosul A suicide car bomber struck a U.S. patrol in northern Iraq on Monday, killing four American soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter in the deadliest single attack against U.S. forces in nine months

Gregg mum on Census Bureau Sen. Judd Gregg yesterday declined all comment on reports that the White House will strip him of his authority over the federal Census Bureau even before he becomes Secretary of Commerce.

Australia fire toll 'to increase' The wildfires that have ripped through the state of Victoria Australian officials have warned that the death toll from wildfires that have already killed 108 people in the state of Victoria is likely to rise further

What is Recovery (Economic as Well)? We Must Address the causes of Recession for Real Remedy!

Obama 'Hope' poster artist arrested in Boston Shepard Fairey, the controversial street artist riding a roller coaster of publicity with his red, white, and blue posters of President Barack Obama, was arrested last night on his way to DJ an event kicking off his exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art.

Parking tickets actually malware attacks in disguise The last place anyone would expect to face a computer security attack is on the windshield of their car in the form of a parking ticket. But that's the latest -- and intensely clever -- way that hackers are attempting to goad people into visiting infected websites and willingly install malware on their machines

US Navy watches as Somali pirates nab $3.2 million As U.S. Navy ships looked on, Somali pirates sped away Thursday with $3.2 million in ransom after releasing an arms-laden Ukrainian freighter — ending a four-month standoff that focused world attention on piracy off Somalia's lawless coast.

Panetta: Obama won't OK 'extraordinary rendition' CIA Director nominee Leon Panetta assured senators Thursday that the Obama administration will not send prisoners to countries for torture or other treatment that violates U.S. values as he contended had occurred during the Bush presidency

Can Obama Regain Control of Congress's Stimulus Bill? The biggest challenge President Barack Obama faces in trying to sell America on his nearly $900 billion stimulus package is that, as it stands, it's not his. Rather, it is the product of the all-powerful House and Senate committee leaders on Capitol Hill to whom Obama and his team turned over authorship even before the new Administration entered the White House.

Army reports alarming spike in suicides last month The Army is investigating an unexplained and stunning spike in suicides in January. The count is likely to surpass the number of combat deaths reported last month by all branches of the armed forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the fight against terrorism."In January, we lost more soldiers to suicide than to al-Qaida," said Paul Rieckhoff, director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He urged "bold and immediate action" by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

Argentina: UFO Fires Beams Over Alto Rosario - Again Residents of Rosario became witnesses to further UFO activity on the evening of January 30 and the early morning hours of the 31st. Initial eyewitness accounts describe lights seen at 23:30 hs. over the facilities of the Alto Rosario Shopping Center located between Av. del Valle and Blvd. Avellaneda. Witnesses in the area described the object as having glowing white light and apparently suspended halfway above the center, engaging in a swinging motion and shooting off beams of light against the ground.

Israel bombs Gaza targets Israel has bombed several targets in the Gaza Strip, witnesses say, hours after the Israeli government vowed a "disproportionate response" to rocket fire from the Palestinian territory.

Appointment of Richard Holbrooke unnerves South Asia Richard Holbrooke, is best known as the architect of the Dayton peace accord of 1995 that ended the war in Bosnia.The new envoy, a veteran diplomat nicknamed 'the Bulldozer,' called the Afghan government a failure and put pressure on Pakistan to battle extremists.

Heavy snow in Britain causes travel chaos The British capital ground to a halt on Monday after the worst snowstorm in 18 years caused hundreds of flight cancellations and virtually shut down public transportation.( Is this evidence of global 'cooling'?)

Riot? If I were 20 years younger I would take to the streets (england) The riots in Paris and the demonstrations against foreign work forces being used at British oil refineries and a power station seemed to be a presentiment of widespread civil disturbance, especially in this country. We are, after all, only at the beginning of a slump which is predicted by the IMF to hit Britain more seriously than any other developed nation. It will be longer and deeper and we can already see the hardship, the bills accumulating.

Obama says most U.S. troops in Iraq home within a year President Barack Obama told Americans on Sunday a substantial number of the 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq would be home within a year, saying Iraqis were now ready to take more responsibility for their own security.

Volcano erupts near Tokyo raining ash down on city A snowcapped volcano northwest of Tokyo erupted early Monday, sending up a huge plume of smoke and gas and raining fine, powdery ash on parts of Japan's capital.There were no reports of injuries or damage from the eruption of Mount Asama, which is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Tokyo.

Is It Time to Bail Out of the US? How can President Obama even think about fighting wars half way around the world while California cannot pay its bills, while Americans are being turned out of their homes, while, as Business Week reports, retirees will work throughout their retirement (which assumes that there will be jobs), while careers are being destroyed and stores and factories shuttered.

Baby Born With 12 Fingers And 12 Toes

The Mystery of the Forgotten U.S. Flag Revealed.

February 2009

HEADLINES

Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war.

~Albert Einstein