The News Crawler
 Free Local Business Advertising Available

 Last Update: Sunday, February 05, 2012

Click here for Previous Edition                     Archives

Connecticut

 
Connecticut continues to struggle with 'severe' and widening education achievement gap Connecticut fourth- and eighth-graders showed little progress on this year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress exam and the state continues to struggle with a “severe” achievement gap

'Third World' power outages plague US homes, firms The United States is the biggest economy in the world, but all it takes to put the lights out here is some snow, or wind, or rain, or squirrels, even a prison break-out.
Three arrested after shouting match over upside-down American flag at Occupy New Haven  A shouting match at the Occupy New Haven encampment over improper displaying of the American flag resulted in the arrests of three people Friday

Some 'high wage earners' among Connecticut state employees ID'd in Irene fraud probe, Malloy says
United States

Click here for Previous Edition
Police/Prison
U.S. Says Mexico Tortured American Suspect  U.S. Says Mexico Tortured American Suspect By NICHOLAS CASEY The U.S. Justice Department has determined that an American convicted in Mexico of drug trafficking was tortured by authorities

Movers And Sheriff’s Deputies Refuse Bank’s Order To Evict 103-Year-Old Atlanta Woman Yesterday, a Deutsche Bank branch in Atlanta had requested the eviction of Vita Lee, a 103-year-old Atlanta woman, and her 83-year-old daughter. Both were terrified of being removed from their home of 53 years and had no idea where they’d go next. But when the movers hired by the bank and police were dispatched to evict the two women, they had a change of heart. In a huge victory for the 99 Percent, the movers “took one look at” Lee and decided not to go through with it. Watch WSB TV’s Channel 2′s video report about the incident:

Cars torched, hate messages found in Jewish neighborhood  Authorities say vandals torched three cars and scrawled Nazi swastikas and other hate messages on benches in a Jewish neighborhood in New York City

Unchecked Brutality Preceded Inmate's Killing By Guards

Police 'killed deaf cyclist with stun gun after he failed to obey instructions to stop'

Private Prison Charges Inmates $5 a Minute For Calls

FBI: Four militia members plotted to attack buildings, release poison

Eight NY cops charged in gun smuggling ring

Chemical Bomb Tossed into Occupy Maine Encampment

Nurses to picket City Hall over arrests at Occupy Chicago protest

Occupy Boston protesters deny graffiti allegations

Goldman Sachs Withdraws From Credit Union Fundraiser After Learning Occupy Wall Street Was Being Honored Too | Earlier this month, the Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union in New York City held a fundraiser to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

130 arrests as Occupy Chicago protesters defy order to leave park; 11 arrests in Cincinnati

Police shoot gunman threatening 'Occupy Houston' protesters An armed man was shot by police Monday while threatening Occupy Houston protesters.

Injured Soldier Spurs Veteran Support for "Occupy"

Sex offenders found at 39 California foster homes

High-ranking NYPD inspector transferred to Staten Island command after 'Occupy Wall Street' pepper s

NYPD Threatens to Sue OWS Protesters, Russell Simmons Calls for Peaceful Activism

Blogger gives out bongs to embarrass 'Occupy'  A conservative blogger has been accused of trying to give out marijuana bongs and Che Guevara rolling papers in Zuccotti Park in order to embarrass protesters.

Raw Video: Protesters Clash With Oakland Police

Oakland PD Standoff & Brutal Assault on Occupy Oakland

Oakland Police Critically Injure Iraq War Vet During Occupy March

Tennessee judge orders Occupy Nashville protesters released

Scott Olsen Suffered Brain Damage, Unable to Speak

Occupy LA ripped apart by argument over pot-smoking  As the Occupy LA protesters encounter pressure from the city to think about ending their occupation, the group also appears in danger of being ripped apart from within over pot-smoking.

Anonymous downs Oakland police site after violence

NYPD Removes Gasoline, Generators From Downtown Protest Site

Occupy that yacht  In Fort Lauderdale, a good-natured movement takes the fight to the decks of the one percent.

Volunteer attorneys steer protesters through the legal system

New 'Occupy' Website Allows People To Directly Email Wall Street Execs

Cops caught infiltrating the Occupy movement

In Tenn. and NY, locals thwart protesters' removal  Tennessee's governor and his administration have twice sent state troopers to handcuff and haul away Occupy Nashville protesters camped out just steps away from the Capitol. And twice, a relatively obscure local official refused to throw them in jail.

Occupy protesters arrested in Texas, Oregon  Dozens of anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested Sunday in Texas, where they clashed with police over food tables, and in Oregon, where officers dragged them out of a park in an affluent neighborhood. In New York and many other East Coast cities, it was a snowstorm that was making it difficult for demonstrators to stay camped out in public places.

Occupy Baltimore Wins Support of Police and Fire Fighters Unions

Nearly 40 Protestors Arrested Overnight at Occupy Austin

Report: NYPD steers drunks to Occupy Wall Street  Those found drinking in city parks are told by officers to "take it to Zuccotti," the Daily News reports

NYPD mum on cops allegedly hurt in OWS  A police union official claims over 20 officers have been injured in the protests -- but he won't give details

Targeting Wall Street, hurting small vendors About 40 vendors who sell on the City Hall lawn every Thursday were forced off the property after Occupy L.A. protesters refused to remove their encampment. Oh, the irony.

Bulldozers used against 'Occupy Richmond'

Police break up Occupy Richmond encampment

City orders protesters to remove tents within 48 hours - London

62 Arrested During Occupy DC Protests

Occupy Des Moines activists to propose 'shutting down' candidate offices during Iowa caucuses

‘Occupy Wall St.’ protester: Cops ignore troublemakers  Security at the ongoing “Occupy Wall Street” demonstration has deteriorated as more and more people, including criminals and predators not affiliated with the movement, have packed into the plaza.

Portland police clear Occupy Portland encampment at Terry Schrunk Plaza

Occupy Wall Street protesters' own security detail sets standards for conduct in Zuccotti Park Read Occupy Wall Street protesters' own security detail sets standards for conduct in Zuccotti Park Demonstrators set to eject rulebreakers

Archbishop of Canterbury Calls for New Tax on Bankers (On OWS: "The Alarm Bells are Ringing...")

Volatile Oakland Faces General Strike on Wednesday

Cops defend posting Occupy protester photos The Portland (Ore.) Police Bureau is posting photos of Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested in that city onto its Facebook page, and this has got some members of the public buzzing.

Occupy Oakland: police to be investigated over Scott Olsen injury

Milk Street Cafe Owner Sacks 21 Employees As Consequence Of Occupy Wall Street Demonstration

Occupy Seattle Protesters Arrested, Pepper Sprayed

Port of Oakland Running at Half Capacity After Wildcat Strike in Solidarity With Occupy Oakl

Evidence Suggests Oakland PD Violated Law in Violent Confrontation With Occupy Oakland Demonstrators

JS photographer arrested while covering Occupy Milwaukee protest A Journal Sentinel photographer and at least two others were arrested Wednesday during a rally near the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee connected to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

More Than Dozen Occupy Wall Street Protesters Arrested Outside Goldman (Christopher Hedges Arrested)

Occupy Oakland Ends Peaceful Day With Violent Clash

Occupy Oakland: Injury Accident on Broadway at 11th Street (Onlookers: Driver Deliberately Ran Over)

Bishop Gene Robinson Explains Why Religious People Should Support The 99 Percent Movement One-sixth of all the words Jesus spoke, and one-third of all the parables, are about the dangers of wealth and possessions. It is something that we hear from the prophets — particularly of the Old Testament, and of course that’s what Jesus was steeped in, those were his scriptures — that any culture, but certainly one that claims to be Godly, is to be judged on how well the most vulnerable are treated. It’s more than about numbers, and it’s more than about disparity of income. It’s really about our sense of community. And indeed, do the wealthy have a responsibility to the larger community? Are we really going to live in an “every man, woman and child for themselves” world, or are we going to be a community in which the greater good, the common good, is also a value that we hold?

2nd Iraq war veteran injured after police clashes(says police beat him with batons)

Occupy Wall Street builds tent as 'safe house' to protect female protesters Spurred by a spate of sex attacks in Zuccotti Park, Occupy Wall Street protesters built a “safe house” for women on Friday. The 16-square-foot military frame tent is designed to shelter up to 30 women from the predators lurking around the lower

Heavy Police Presence as Occupiers March (Sydney, Australia)

Car Strikes 3 at Occupy DC Protest  District of Columbia authorities say a car drove through a crowd near an Occupy DC protest and struck three people.

100s of Seniors Join Occupy Chicago, Protest Cuts to Medicare, Social Security (47 Arrests)

Oakland cop shoots protester for filming

OPD Walks Back Claim That Tear Gas Was 'Necessary to Protect Officers' at Occupy Oakland

19 arrested at Occupy Atlanta | Roundup

25 commandos arrest 8 at 'Occupy Chapel Hill' 

The city of Chapel Hill, N.C. made a name for itself this weekend by sending at least 25 heavily armed commandos to arrest eight unarmed “Occupy” protesters

Quan's Top Legal Advisor Resigns Over Occupy Oakland Police Raid
Quan's top legal adviser resigns over raid Matthai Kuruvila, Chronicle Staff Writer San Francisco Chronicle November 14, 2011 08:51 AM Copyright San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This (11-14) 08:51 PST OAKLAND -- Mayor Jean Quan's chief legal adviser resigned early this morning after what he called a "tragically unnecessary" police raid of the Occupy Oakland camp.

The Smashed Laptops Of Occupy Wall Street

police pepper spraying and arresting seated students at UC Davis

RIOT POLICE DRIVE OUT OCCUPY PROTESTERS

Portland Demonstrators Warned: You May 'Be Subject To Chemical Agents And Impact Weapons'.. Police With Assault Rifles Arrest Chapel Hill Occupiers

Occupy protesters want Mercedes driver prosecuted Oakland police have done little to investigate an incident in which two Occupy Oakland protesters were hit by a car as they marched down Broadway

32 Arrested in Occupy Oakland Raid; 2 City Officials Resign

Occupy Wall Street Evicted in Late Night Raid; Lawyers Secure Injunction to Reopen Zuccotti Park....

Judge rules that protesters cannot return with tents  A judge ruled Monday afternoon that Occupy Wall Street protesters may not return to Zuccotti Park with sleeping bags or tents

Half Of One Percenters Don't Know They're In The One Percent, Survey Finds

NYC Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez Arrested, Injured at Occupy Wall Street Raid

Journalists Arrested, Beaten During Occupy Wall Street Protests

NYPD Overwhelmed by Occupy Wall Street Protesters, Motorcycle Cops Retreat

Police arrest ‘Occupy’ protesters inside BofA

Senior maced at ‘Occupy Seattle’ speaks out

Woman Shows Court Order to NYPD, Gets Punched in Face. #occuppywallstreet

Flap over Oakland cop who covered name tag (at Occupy protest)  The city of Oakland violated a federal consent decree to reform its Police Department when an officer at a recent Occupy Oakland protest was captured on videotape with the name on his uniform covered in black tape,

DHS Spotted at 'Occupy' Crackdowns

APD arrests Occupy protesters overnight

New York Churches Shelter Occupy Protesters, Now Monitored By New York Police

Winter Tents Are ‘Contraband’ For Occupy Boston

OCCUPY The Highway: March from OWS to DC

Occupy Oakland: footage shows police beating 'peaceful' Iraq war veteran

Police arrest 11 as Occupy D.C. supporters take over Franklin School building  Police arrested 11 people Saturday evening inside an abandoned historic building in downtown Washington after sympathizers of the Occupy D.C. movement took over the former homeless shelter.

Police body slam leaves grandpa bloody, unconscious at Wal-Mart Police body slam leaves grandpa bloody, unconscious at Wal-Mart By David Edwards Friday, November 25, 2011 Witnesses say police officers tackled a grandfather at an Arizona Wal-Mart Friday, leaving him bloody and unconscious.

Ex-police chief: ‘Appalling’ to use tear gas on peaceful protest

Officers enter Occupy LA camp, dismantle tents

The tin blue line: Met unveil revolutionary police barrier to prevent anti-cuts demonstrators marchi After a summer of discontent that saw hundreds of rioters roam the streets of the capital, the Metropolitan Police needed to take action. And it appears that this imposing 10foot high steel structure is their answer to the problem.

LA Mayor Says He Evicted Protesters Out Of Concern For Children, But City Has 13,000 Homeless Kids

Dead Man Found at Occupy Denton Campsite · Officers with the University of North Texas Police Department are trying to determine the identity of a man found in an empty area of the Occupy Denton campsite. Police tell NBC DFW that the deceased is a white man.

300 Economists lend support to Occupy Wall Street

Police arrest 29 Occupy Tampa protesters after asking them to vacate park

OCCUPY SUBURBIA Fighting Foreclosure, One Family Invites Protesters To Occupy Their Home

Must -see: Occupy Melbourne Tent Monsters (they came to tear down the tents...but...)

‘Occupy’ protesters reclaiming foreclosed homes in 20 cities

Arrests as police clear Occupy Boston camp

SF plaza clear after night of tension At least one protester tried to set up a tent on San Francisco's Justin Herman Plaza this morning, hours after police and Occupy demonstrators said no tents would be allowed and sparred into the night.

 

 
Obama voters, Muslims need not apply for Texas gun course  A central Texas gun dealer ran radio ads advising "Socialist" liberals, those who voted for President Barack Obama, Arabs and Muslims that they need not apply for his concealed gun license class.

Anonymous Targets Viewers of Child Pornography In Latest Sting

Michael Jordan "is the owner most determined to bury the basketball players union financially"

Feds produce over-the-top anti-piracy films  The U.S. government wants you to know, when you buy pirated goods, the terrorists win.

Believers view atheists as untrustworthy: study  Religious people distrust the world’s estimated 500 million atheists as much as rapists, a study found Friday.

BP Claims Halliburton Destroyed Oil-Spill Evidence  BP PLC is alleging that Halliburton Co. destroyed evidence in the weeks following the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010 that demonstrated that the cement formula the firm used on the drilling operation was flawed.

WikiLeaks Click here for past Wikileaks News

WikiLeaks Releases Surveillance Docs  When citizens overthrew the dictatorships in Egypt and Libya this year, they uncovered listening rooms where devices from Gamma corporation of the UK, Amesys of France, VASTech of South Africa and ZTE Corp of China monitored their every move online and on the phone. Surveillance companies like SS8 in the U.S., Hacking Team in Italy and Vupen in France manufacture viruses (Trojans) that hijack individual computers and phones (including iPhones, Blackberries and Androids), take over the device, record its every use, movement, and even the sights and sounds of the room it is in. Other companies like Phoenexia in the Czech Republic collaborate with the military to create speech analysis tools. They identify individuals by gender, age and stress levels and track them based on ‘voiceprints’. Blue Coat in the U.S. and Ipoque in Germany sell tools to governments in countries like China and Iran to prevent dissidents from organizing online. Trovicor, previously a subsidiary of Nokia Siemens Networks, supplied the Bahraini government with interception technologies that tracked human rights activist Abdul Ghani Al Khanjar. He was shown details of personal mobile phone conversations from before he was interrogated and beaten in the winter of 2010-201

WikiLeaks suspends publishing to fight financial blockade

Wikileaks' Julian Assange Loses Extradition Appeal Two judges at the High Court in London said that a ruling in favour of extradition must be upheld.

Bradley Manning in Jail for 560 Days, No Trial Date Accused of giving classified material to WikiLeaks, Bradley Manning has now been in pre-trial confinement for 560 days. He has been exposed to harsh conditions while in custody, including solitary confinement and forced nudity.

WikiLeaks: U.S. warned Kenya against invading Somalia

Security Issues

Spies Using iTunes Security Flaw, Assange Warns

FBI Illegally Collecting Intel Under Guise of 'Community Outreach'

AT&T Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. defend the use of Carrier IQ User Tracking software

Secret reports: With security spotty, many had access to anthrax

Chinese hackers suspected of interfering with US satellites

Killing of 2 US Citizens Violated the Laws of War

More US Soldiers Committed Suicide Than Died in Combat

U.S. Soldier Arrested On Suspicion Of Espionage

Apparent cyberattack destroys pump at Ill. water utility

Cyberattack traced to Russia damages Illinois public water facility

Environment

Gas-Fracking Chemicals Detected in Wyoming Aquifer, EPA Says "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said for the first time it found chemicals used in extracting natural gas by hydraulic fracturing in a drinking water aquifer in west-central Wyoming

Monsanto Corn May Be Failing to Kill Bugs, EPA Says

Yellowstone spill to cost Exxon $135M

Skeptic finds he now agrees global warming is real A prominent physicist and skeptic of global warming spent two years trying to find out if mainstream climate scientists were wrong. In the end, he determined they were right: Temperatures really are rising rapidly One-quarter of the $600,000 to do the research came from the Charles Koch Foundation, whose founder is a major funder of skeptic groups and the tea party. The Koch brothers, Charles and David, run a large privately held company involved in oil and other industries, producing sizable greenhouse gas emissions.

Biggest jump ever seen in global warming gases

Federal Inspectors Find Pipelines In Montana, Wyoming At Risk Of Failure Along River Crossings

Polar Bears Are Turning To Cannibalism As Arctic Ice Disappears

Greed

Chiropractor, wife living in $1.2M home accused of welfare fraud

Ex-Countrywide Exec Blows The Lid Off The Systemic Fraud At The Company Eileen Foster, a former senior executive at Countrywide Financial, told CBS's "60 Minutes" Steve Kroft that mortgage fraud was a way of business. "From what I saw, the types of things I saw, it was — it appeared systemic. It, it wasn't just one individual or two or three individuals, it was branches of individuals, it was regions of individuals,"
FBI: Hundreds of NY rail workers part of $1B fraud  Hundreds of Long Island Rail Road employees may have cheated their way to big pensions through a $1 billion fraud by paying off doctors to say they were unable to work

FBI sting nabs 13 in kickback scheme The US government today charged 13 corporate executives, laywers and penny stock promoters with agreeing to pay illegal kickbacks as part of a year-long FBI sting operation run out of Boston. As a result of the probe, the Securities and Exchange Commission also suspended trading in seven thinly traded public companies involved in the case, including Symbollon Corp./Symbollon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Medfield and ZipGlobal Holdings Inc. in Hingham.

Media

Retail chain pressured into pulling advertising from reality show about Muslims  The cable channel TLC may have thought it was promoting the cause of ethnic and religious harmony by running a program that sympathetically examines the lives of five ordinary American Muslim families.

News Corp. reporters received hacking lessons

Fox News Calls Would-Be Obama Assassin ‘Occupy Shooter’ A Day After Authorities Found ‘No Connection’ To Protests

News Corp. Under Investigation For Attempting To Bribe An Australian Senator With Favorable Coverage

FCC chairman opposes AT&T takeover of T-Mobile

Another staffer arrested at News Corp.

Church Of Scientology Investigated 'South Park' Creators Matt Stone, Trey Parker: Report

Law Enforcement Asked Google To Remove Police Brutality Video

Department Of Homeland Security To Step Up Monitoring Of Twitter And Other Social Network Sites

Climate change episode of Frozen Planet won't be shown in the U.S. as viewers don't believe in global warming. An episode of the BBC's Frozen Planet documentary series that looks at climate change has been scrapped in the U.S., where many are hostile to the idea of global warming.

AT&T Pulls T-Mobile Merger Application From FCC, Will Take $4B Charge

Drug War

D.E.A. Launders Mexican Profits of Drug Cartels Undercover American narcotics agents have laundered or smuggled millions of dollars in drug proceeds as part of Washington’s expanding role in Mexico’s fight against drug cartels, according to current and former federal law enforcement officials. The agents, primarily with the Drug Enforcement Administration, have handled shipments of hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal cash across borders,

Drug War Profiteers: Book Exposes How Wachovia Bank Laundered Millions for Mexican Cartels

White House Rejects Petition To Legalize Marijuana

'We Are Not Going To Arrest Our Way Out Of The Problem'

Maine slaps 7% tax on pot brownies sold to medical marijuana patients

Cops Focus On Drug Arrests At The Expense Of More Serious Crimes

Governors Ask U.S. To Ease Rules On Marijuana
45 minutes ago · The governors of Washington and Rhode Island petitioned the federal government on Wednesday to reclassify marijuana as a drug with accepted medical uses, saying the change is needed so states like theirs, which have decriminalized marijuan

Education

Cheating: how examiners tip off teachers to help students pass

Seminars where teachers are told what will come up in exams

Jammed Detroit public school cited as hazard - Fire Dept. issues citation for class with 50plus kids

Conservative Think Tank Study Finds Teachers Are 'Overpaid'

Taxpayers Billed for Millionaires’ Kids at Charter School In Silicon Valley, Bullis elementary school accepts one in six kindergarten applicants, offers Chinese and asks families to donate $5,000 per child each year. Parents include Ken Moore, son of Intel Corp.’s co-founder, and Steven Kirsch, inventor of the optical mouse. Bullis isn’t a high-end private school. It’s a taxpayer- funded, privately run public school, part of the charter-school movement that educates 1.8 million U.S. children. While charters are heralded for offering underprivileged kids an alternative to failing U.S. districts, Bullis gives an admissions edge to residents of parts of Los Altos Hills, where the median home is worth $1 million and household income is $219,000, four times the state average.

11 States Seek Relief From ‘No Child’ Provisions, in Return for Raising Standards

Teacher Suspended For Showing 'Daily Show' Clips In Class

Courts

Supreme Court Justices Asked To Sit Out Health Care Case

Prosecutor: Advocating jury nullification ‘not protected' Advocating for a controversial legal tactic known as jury nullification can get U.S. citizens prosecuted for jury tampering, according to one Manhattan prosecutor.

"Hancock 38" Defendants Found Guilty for Bold Army Base Protest Against U.S. Drone Attacks Abroad Thirty-one of 38 accused activists were found guilty on Thursday for their role in a protest against U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The activists were arrested on April 22 at the New York Air National Guard base at Hancock Field near Syracuse, New York, after trespassing to protest the MQ-9 Reaper drones, which the 174th Fighter Wing of the Guard has remotely flown over Afghanistan since late 2009.

Merck Agrees to Pay $950 Million in Vioxx Case

B-I-N-G-Oh Hell No: Judge Rules That Alabama Republicans Acted With Racist Intent to Suppress Voter

(1,300) Locked-out sugar workers to vote Nov. 1 on contract offer

Madoff Family May Keep $82 Million Under Ruling

Judge approves settlement for black farmers A federal judge on Thursday approved a $1.25 billion settlement in a decades-old discrimination case by black farmers, clearing the way for them to seek compensation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture
 
 
Prosecutions going up for war zone crime A Marine in Iraq sent home $43,000 in stolen cash by hiding it in a footlocker among American flags. A soldier shipped thousands more concealed in a toy stuffed animal. An embassy employee tricked the State Department into wiring $240,000 into his foreign bank account. As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down, the number of people indicted and convicted by the U.S. for bribery, theft and other reconstruction-related crimes in both countries is rapidly rising, according to two government reports released Sunday.

Third Circuit Repeats: FCC's Super Bowl Halftime Fine of CBS Was Out of Bound The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has reaffirmed its decision that the FCC's fine of CBS in the Janet Jackson Super Bowl reveal indecency decision was arbitrary and was a policy change that CBS stations were improperly penalized.

Texas judge confirms video of him beating daughter, says 'I lost my temper'A Texas judge faces a police investigation and judicial probe after a video showing him beating his then-16-year-old disabled daughter was posted on the Internet.

Russian Is Convicted by U.S. Court in Arms Trafficking Viktor Bout, who became known as the “Merchant of Death,” conspired to sell weapons to men he thought were in a Colombian terrorist group.

First Criminal Charges Filed Over Robo-Signing The Nevada attorney general has indicted two midlevel staffers at a mortgage document company, Lender Processing Services, on a whopping 606 counts of felony and gross misdemeanor for directing employees to forge signatures and falsely notarize documents used to illegally foreclose on Nevada homeowners.

Court: Cell phones not OK to use at red light A driver who stops at a red light is "driving" and is still prohibited from using a handheld cell phone, a state appeals court

Scalia and Thomas dine with healthcare law challengers as court takes case

The day the Supreme Court gathered behind closed doors to consider the politically divisive question of whether it would hear a challenge to President Obama’s healthcare law, two of its justices, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, were feted at a dinner sponsored by the law firm that will argue the case before the high court.

Ex-UBS Banker Gadola Avoids Prison for Helping Tax Cheats Former UBS AG banker Renzo Gadola, who aided Americans in cheating U.S. tax authorities before helping prosecutors snare other bankers, avoided prison when a judge sentenced him to five years of probation.

Judge says feds need warrant for cellphone info

Death penalty dropped in Mumia Abu-Jamal case

Blagojevich gets 14 years in prison for corruption- The Rod Blagojevich who once challenged a prosecutor to face him like a man, the glad-handing politician who took to celebrity TV shows to profess his innocence, was nowhere to be found

Civil Rights

ProPublica review of pardons in past decade shows process heavily favored whites

Virgin America Facing Unionization Petition

Flex your rights: The top 3 things to do in every police encounter

Probation officer fired for supporting pot decriminalization Joe Miller was fired after adding his name to a Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) letter that supported a California ballot initiative to decriminalize marijuana

Disparaging tweet about Gov. Sam Brownback lands Kansas teen in principal’s office Read more: http: A Kansas teenager is in trouble after mocking Gov. Sam Brownback during a mock legislative assembly for high school students.

Researcher Trevor Eckhart Outs Creepy, Hidden App Installed On Smartphones

A security researcher has posted a video detailing hidden software installed on smart phones that logs numerous details about users' activities. In a 17-minute video posted Monday on YouTube, Trevor Eckhart shows how the software – known as Carrier IQ – logs every text message, Google search and phone number typed on a wide variety of smart phones - including HTC, Blackberry, Nokia and others - and reports them to the mobile phone carrier

85-year-old says she was strip searched at JFK

The War on Black Voters
Science History
Researchers identify mysterious life forms in the extreme deep sea (w/ video)

Climate experts: Expect more weather disasters

Dirt prevents allergy

Research reveals autistic individuals are in fact superior in multiple areas We must stop considering the different brain structure of autistic individuals to be a deficiency, as research reveals that many autistics – not just "savants" – have qualities and abilities that may exceed those ..

City lights could reveal E.T. civilization

Hubble directly observes the disc around a black hole

Why near-death events are tricks of mind Near-death experiences are not paranormal but triggered by a change in normal brain function, according to researchers.

Neutrinos still faster than light in latest version of experiment

Scientists Invent 'World's Lightest' Material

U.N. Panel Finds Climate Change Behind Some Extreme Weather Events

Researches find poop-throwing by chimps is a sign of intelligence  A lot of people who have gone to the zoo have become the targets of feces thrown by apes or monkeys, and left no doubt wondering about the so-called intellectual capacity of a beast that would ...

Trail of 'stone breadcrumbs' reveals the identity of one of the first human groups to leave Africa A series of new archaeological discoveries in the Sultanate of Oman, nestled in the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, reveals the timing and identity of one of the first modern human groups to migrate out of Africa, ...

Study questions cost-effectiveness of biofuels and their ability to cut fossil fuel use

NASA OKs Feb. launch of private space station trip

Monsanto (Still) Denies Superinsect Problem, Despite Evidence  Meanwhile, it draws a rebuke from the EPA over its failed self-monitoring and peddles a dubious solution to a problem it denies exists.  The odd part was that the fields were planted with seed engineered by Monsanto precisely to kill the corn rootworm. Monsanto's product—known as Bt corn—had failed; rootworms were developing resistance to it.

Men have a stronger reaction to seeing other men's emotions compared with women's

 Nisei WWII veterans awarded Congressional Gold Medal The old men, soldiers once upon an awful time, stood as proud as age would allow. They were, and are, nisei, second-generation Japanese-Americans who in World War II fought tenaciously for the very country that had interned them and their family members. "We had a duty to prove, beyond any shadow of a doubt, our patriotism," Iso said.

Vietnam vets are struck by being thanked for their service - unlike in the '70s

Native Americans Mark Day of Mourning on Thanksgiving: "We are not Vanishing, We Are Not Conquered The United American Indians of New England marked the 42nd National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, Mass. on Nov. 24 as others celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday. Democracy Now! was there, as Native speakers described the "suppressed" history of the holiday, the massacre of the Wampanoag and other indigenous peoples, and their continuing discrimination. They also expressed solidarity with struggles around the world, from Palestine to the Occupy Movement.

 
Politics  
Treasury/Federal Reserve/Bailouts/SEC/IRS

Settlement With Wachovia Points Up a Controversy  The settlements are curious because they seem diametrically opposed. In the Justice Department settlement, Wachovia said it “admits, acknowledges and accepts responsibility for” manipulating the bidding process in the sale of derivatives on tax-exempt bonds to institutional investors like cities, hospitals and pension plans over a six-year period ending in 2004. But in fashioning a settlement with the S.E.C. for the same actions, based on the same facts, Wachovia agreed to settle the charges “without admitting or denying the allegations.”

Gupta to face charges over Goldman data

FBI, Federal Prosecutors to Join Inquiry into Corzine Firm· Federal prosecutors and the FBI are set to join the inquiry into what happened to hundreds of millions of dollars invested with a securities firm headed by former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine

U.S. Sues Allied Home Mortgage for Lending Fraud

Moody's Downgrades Russian Banking System International credit rating agency Moody's lowered its outlook on the Russian banking system Monday to negative on the back of global economic fears. A negative outlook is likely to be marked by "volatility and uncertain conditions," Moody's said

Bank of America settles mortgage suit for $315 million

SEC drops insider trading case against Gupta

Report Says New York Fed Didn’t Cut Deals on A.I.G.

U.S. closes two more banks, 87 so far in 2011

Banks Earned More Under Obama Than Bush

JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs Sued for Alleged MF Global Misstatements As a result of the misstatements, MF Global’s stock traded at “artificially inflated prices,” the funds said in the complaint filed yesterday in federal court in Manhattan. “While the extent of MF Global’s exposure to European sovereign debt was concealed, the defendants were able to raise some $900 million in the offerings.”

Fed lent banks nearly $8 trillion during crisis, report shows

Judge Blocks Citigroup Settlement With S.E.C. A federal judge angrily threw out Citigroup Inc's proposed $285 million (184 million pound) settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage debt, excoriating the top U.S. market regulator over how it reaches corporate fraud settlements. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said that in agreeing to the settlement, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appeared uninterested in actually learning what Citigroup did wrong. He also said the regulator erred by asking him to ignore the interests of the public.

Money Found in Britain May Belong to MF Global About $200 million in customer money that vanished from MF Global is believed to have surfaced at JPMorgan Chase in Britain.

Ex-Millennium Global Manager Balboa Charged in Bond FraudEx-Millennium Global Investments Ltd. portfolio manager Michael Balboa was charged with fraud and sued by U.S. regulators for allegedly participating in a scheme involving Nigerian sovereign debt.

Henry Paulson Tipped Off Hedge Funds During Financial Crisis

Massachusetts AG Lawsuit: Five Major U.S. Banks Accused Of Deceptive Foreclosure Practices

Central banks move to ease debt crisis Major central banks across the world to provide low-cost, emergency US dollar loans to banks in Europe and elsewhere

Eurozone crisis sinks US firm

Health Care

Seniors Save More Than $1.2 Billion on Prescriptions Thanks to the Affordable Care Act

Hospital refuses liver transplant for medical marijuana patient Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has denied a liver transplant to a patient with inoperable liver cancer because he uses medical marijuana. But the marijuana was prescribed by the very same hospital.

Budget and Taxes

Study proves many U.S. corporations pay zero taxes

Billionaires Use Tax Loophole To Lower Their Tax Rates To 1 Percent

30 Big Corporations Spent More On Lobbying Than On Taxes DuPont would rather sponsor race cars than pay taxes Last month, a 60 Minutes investigation revealed that House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) made stock trades based on information that he received in private briefings during the financial crisis of 2008. Bachus’ trades reportedly netted him around $30,000.

Obama

Justice Department Pulls Proposal Allowing Government To Lie About FOIA Requests

‘Bundlers’ for Obama Have Active Ties to Lobbying

Justice inspector general: Conference muffins weren't $16  The Justice Department inspector general announced Friday that its highly publicized assertion last month that department officials paid $16 per muffin at a Washington legal conference was wrong

YOUTH Stayed Home In 2010 Because Of OBAMA's ‘B.S.’ .

Solyndra: Energy Dept. pushed firm to keep layoffs quiet until after midterms

Michelle Obama Booed At NASCAR Race

White House: We Can Decide to Target Americans

Senate Republicans block Obama nominee to head consumer finance agency

House

House GOP Blocks Its Own Member From Moving Anti-Insider Trading Bill: ‘We’re Not Going To Cover Spencer’s Ass’ Last month, a 60 Minutes investigation revealed that House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) made stock trades based on information that he received in private briefings during the financial crisis of 2008. Bachus’ trades reportedly netted him around $30,000.

Watchdog group: ‘In God We Trust’ won’t create jobs   The watchdog group Americans United for Separation of Church and State on Tuesday accused Congress of wasting time by voting on a resolution to affirm the phrase “In God We Trust” as the nation’s official motto.

 Americans want to scrap Electoral College

Romney: Medicare May Not Be Guaranteed Every Year, If I’m President

US: No to over-the-counter morning-after pillIn a surprise move with election-year implications, the Obama administration's top health official overruled her own drug regulators and stopped the Plan B morning-after pill from moving onto drugstore shelves next to the condoms. The decision by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius means the Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive will remain behind pharmacy counters, as it is sold today - available without a prescription only to those 17 and older who can prove their age

Gingrich: Palestinians an ‘invented’ people with no right to a state

Rick Perry Goes Birther: After Meeting With Trump, ‘I Don’t Know’ If Obama’s Birth Certificate Is Real

Report: Romney-Era Emails Wiped From Mass. Records

ES&S Attempts to Block PA County's Independent Audit of Failed Touch-Screens
Attempts to Block PA County's Independent Audit of Failed Touch-Screens After no objections previously, the nation's largest e-voting company attempts to kibosh computer scientists' forensic examination in Venango County, PA

GOP Rep.: There should be no Muslims in the military

Elizabeth Warren won’t sign off on Occupy Harvard U.S. Senate hopeful and Harvard Law prof Elizabeth Warren, who has claimed she laid the “intellectual foundation” for the Occupy Wall Street movement, is jilting the anti-corporate proteges in her own Ivy League yard, refusing to sign a petitio

Republican Congressman Whines About Making $400.000

Perry's tax plan would be a boon for the wealthy, study says Rick Perry's proposed optional flat tax would be a windfall for wealthier Americans, giving millionaires an average tax cut of $637,418, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Research Center released Monday.

OH, YOU MEAN THAT INCIDENT ..Cain Changes His Tune On Sexual Harassment Settlement ...Two Women Accused Herman Cain Of Inappropriate Behavior

Justice official questioned in Senate about ‘gun walking’ to Mexico A senior Justice Department official was sharply questioned by a Republican senator on Tuesday over his admission that he knew about a controversial anti-gun-trafficking tactic used during the Bush administration and did not alert his supervisors.

A look back: Newt’s most outlandish positions

Colorado voters reject raising taxes to support education

Third Woman Complains Of Harassment From Herman Cain

Cain suggests China doesn't have nuclear capability

Romney Campaign Memo: The Koch Brothers are the ‘Financial Engine of the Tea Party’

Cain: 'I'm Not Supposed To Know Anything About Foreign Policy'

Gingrich: Pay poor kids to clean schools

New Jersey Plans To Give Food Company $80 Million In Tax Incentives To Create Nine Jobs

Fourth Cain accuser to hold news conference

Cain gave affair accuser money without wife's consent

Top GOP Senator Blasts 'Welfare For The Well-Off' And what the report "reveals is sheer Washington stupidity with government policies pampering the wealthy costing taxpayers billions of dollars every year," Coburn argued. Coburn totaled up all the federal money for millionaires over several years that his office could find. Among the handouts for the well-heeled are:

Bachmann may have leaked classified information Americans probably had no idea that six of Pakistan’s nuclear sites had come under jihadist attack. That is, until a GOP presidential candidate spilled the beans on national television Tuesday.

Newtbamacare: How Obama's Reform Used Gingrich’s Health Care Ideas

Perry Admits His Tax Plan Slams Low-Income People And Lets The Wealthy Pay Nothing

Defense Spending

Pentagon Arms, Equips US Police Forces

Military Spending Doesn't Create Jobs—It Costs Them
Countering China, US sets training in Australia  Signaling U.S. determination to counter a rising China, President Barack Obama said Wednesday he will send military aircraft and up to 2,500 Marines to northern Australia for a training hub to help allies and protect American interests across Asia. He declared the U.S. is not afraid of China, by far the biggest and most powerful country in the region. China immediately questioned the U.S. move and said it deserved further scrutiny. 

DARPA calls for antibiotic replacement

DARPA looking to master propaganda via 'Narrative Networks'

Meet the 0.01 Percent: War Profiteers

Wartime Contracting Panel Seals Records for Next 20 Years  Established by Congress to investigate and expose government waste, the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan has decided to not reveal its volumes of materials to the public for another two decades. After three years of work, the commission officially shut down last week, having concluded that the U.S. misspent between $31 billion and $60 billion in contracting

U.S. drone base in Ethi­o­pia is operational

Gitmo Guard Tells of Violence Against Detainees

Military Blew $1 Trillion on Weapons Since 9/11

GITMO/Bahgram/CIA-Blacksites

GOP debate audience cheers waterboarding

Senate Rejects Limits on Domestic Military Detention
 Economy Click for Economic Statistics Financial Crisis for Beginners 
U.S. rating likely to be downgraded again: Merrill

Exxon Mobil profit tops $10 billion on crude oil price surge

Profit Tax Holiday Could Blunt US Exports: Gov’t  Any economic benefit that might result from a U.S. tax holiday for overseas corporate profits could be muted, or even reversed, if it stre

Real Unemployment: One Out of Five in US

Bank of America cancels planned debit card fee

U.S. Food-Stamp Use Reaches Record 45.8 Million, USDA Says

Real Unemployment: One Out of Five in US

Bank Customers Flee to Credit Unions An estimated 650,000 consumers have closed their bank accounts and opted for credit union membership over the past four weeks, according to CUNA, bringing the approach to Saturday’s Bank Transfer Day to a crescendo

Former JPMorgan Banker: Exploiting Consumers Is ‘The Purpose Of The Banking Organization’

Factories stalling worldwide   Manufacturing activity is contracting across Europe and most of Asia, data showed on Thursday, and a Chinese…
Top 1 Percent's Income Grew 275 Percent From 1979 to 2007

Whirlpool to Eliminate 5,000 Jobs, Lowers Forecast as Charge Is Increased

Honda to cut US, Canada production by half

MF Global 'set for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection' MF Global is set to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after unveiling $6.3bn (£4bn) of exposure to eurozone debt, reports have said. The US brokerage, which has 2,000 staff worldwide including 600 in London,

Beacon Power, Backed by U.S. Loan Guarantees, Files Bankruptcy Beacon Power Corp., an energy-storage company that received $43 million in backing from the U.S. program that supported failed solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC

TD Bank adds $9 savings account fee
18 minutes ago · Starting in December, TD Bank savings account customers who exceed six transactions in a billing cycle will pay a $9 fee each time they take money out of their account.

New Census data raises number of poor to 49 million

Nearly 1 in 3 U.S. children poor, Census says

S&P Downgrades Goldman Sachs, Bank Of America, Wells Fargo And Citigroup

Americans' net worth plummets as corporations stockpile cash
Iraq  Map of Iraq
Twin explosions in Baghdad neighborhood kill 36, wound 78 

Deadly explosions rock Baghdad market Three consecutive blasts in a busy market in Iraqi capital leave at least eight people dead and dozen injured.

Suicide Car Bomber Kills 19 Outside Prison in Iraq

A 'Vietnam Wall' in Iraq Most U.S. troops have departed Camp Warrior in Iraq, but a wall with the names of the fallen remain
Middle East Map of the Middle East
Egypt Click here for everything related to the Protests in Egypt
No Alliance With Ultraconservatives, Islamist Party Says The Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm distanced itself from another Islamist party in Egypt as early tallies indicated they would claim the two largest roles in Parliament.

Egypt Convicts Police For Death That Inspired Protests

Court: Mubarak Loyalists Can Run for Parliament

Huge crowds back in Egypt's Tahrir Square to protest military rule

Journalists sexually assaulted covering Egypt unrest

Egypt protesters resume occupation of Tahrir Square

Journalists sexually assaulted covering Egypt unrest

750 hurt in Tahrir Square violence

violent clashes in Cairo leave dozens injured

Americans Paraded On Egyptian TV After Arrests Three American students in Cairo arrested during the violent new eruption of pro-Democracy protests in Tahrir Square were paraded Tuesday on Egyptian TV, looking stressed and scared

Violence ends brief truce at Egypt protest Riot police break ceasefire near Cairo's Tahrir Square as crowd swells in demand for end to military rule.

Egyptian officer suspected of being 'The Eye Hunter,' shooting protesters Egypt's general prosecutor on Friday ordered a police officer to submit to questioning regarding his suspected role in shooting protesters in the eyes

Saboteurs blow up Egypt gas pipeline to Jordan, Israel

Other

Bahrain bomb blast targets British embassy

Australian helped dictator's son flee country  A former Australian soldier working as a private security contractor admitted he helped Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi flee Libya as rebel forces took over Tripoli.

Rights group finds mass grave in Gadhafi hometown

Egypt to free 'Israeli spy' Grapel under swap deal  Israel says it has reached a deal with Egypt under which the Egyptians will release a US-Israeli citizen, Ilan Grapel, who has been detained since June on suspicion of spying.

Al Qaeda Plants Its Flag In Libya

Nuclear watchdog issues warning on missing Iridium in Abu Dhabi

Libya: We've found Gaddafi’s nuclear weapons  In the years leading up to the fall of Col. Muammar Gaddafi, it was not clear to the U.S. or its allies just how far along the Libyan nuclear program had progressed. Now, the rebels are claiming they've found his weapons.

Nato ends military operations in Libya

US Citizen Chosen as New Prime Minister of Libya

Report finds Bahrain systematically tortured political detainees

Torture, Lynchings in Libya The report from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, reports systematic torture of prisoners and extra-judicial detentions, as well as a number of lynchings by forces linked to the NTC. The document, which has not been officially released to the public yet, notes that the NTC released virtually all of the political prisoners being held by Moammar Gadhafi’s regime. But they followed this up by naming 7,000 new people “enemies of the state” and holding them as political prisoners instead.

Israel

Israeli Soldiers Arrested Over 'Price Tag' Attacks The arrests were not exclusive to the military, as a number of settlers were also reportedly arrested on charges of “vandalizing army property.” Though attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank are nothing new, the recent trend toward moves against the IDF has the Israeli government convinced of its need to act

Israel hits suspected Lebanon rocket sites  Israel has fired several missiles into the southern Lebanese town of Ayta Shaab, in response to the shooting of Katyusha rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.

US Cuts Funding For UNESCO After Palestinian Vote The Obama administration is cutting off funding for the U.N. cultural agency because it approved a Palestinian bid for full membership.

Islamic Jihad announces Gaza cease-fireNetanyahu said Sunday that Hamas, which controls Gaza, is responsible for maintaining security and preventing rockets from being fired out of Gaza, "even if the executors are from Islamic Jihad."

Former IDF Soldier Gets 4.5 Years for Leaking Documents to Haaretz Some of the documents appeared to show that senior Israel Defense Forces officers had violated High Court of Justice rulings by approving the assassination of wanted men in the West Bank even when it would have been possible to arrest them.

Israel Green-Lights Invasion of the Gaza Strip

Citing UNESCO 'Tragedy,' Israel Announces Settlement Expansions

Israel to withhold Palestinian tax revenue  Decision to hold back millions of dollars comes closely after UNESCO recognizes Palestine as a state.

Israel Intercepts Gaza-Bound Flotilla; Dozens Detained Including Democracy Now! Correspondent

Israel government denies cyber-attack, says malfunction brought down websites  Websites of IDF, Mossad, Shin Bet security service and government ministries crash following hacking group's threat to retaliate for Gaza flotilla interception.

Islamists claim election advantage in Morocco

Israeli Warplanes Hit Gaza House, 2 Civilians Killed, 12 Hurt
Iran <Click for video and history>

Iran military shoots down U.S. drone: state TV

Iran Says Nabs 12 CIA Agents, US Ring Broken

'Iran CIA Agent Arrests Linked To Missile Testing'
3 hours ago · Iran's claim to arresting 12 CIA agents in its territory is linked to clandestine efforts by Tehran to disperse missiles around the country

Satellite Images Show Destroyed Iranian Missile Site

UK expels all Iranian diplomats over embassy attack

Ahmadinejad: ‘An ugly thing’ for U.S. to spend more on military than unemployed

Iran FM: Tehran wants good relations with U.S. but not Israel  Ali Akbar Salehi says current conditions do not allow for good Iranian-U.S. relations; says Hilary Clinton remarks are contradictory.

U.S. Planning Troop Buildup in Gulf After Exit From Iraq The bolstering of American troops could include new combat forces in Kuwait able to respond to a collapse of security in Iraq or a confrontation with Iran.

Many Iranians didn't fast for Ramadan, police chief says

Iran: U.S. Terror Operations Complaint To Be Filed
23 hours ago · TEHRAN, Iran — Iran plans to complain Friday to the United Nations about alleged U.S. "terror" operations, including assassination of its nuclear scientists, said its top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, at an anti-U.S. rally.

Iran Says US Plot Suspect Is Anti-Tehran Militant  Iran has complained to the United Nations about a U.S. accusation it tried to assassinate a Saudi diplomat, saying one of the alleged plotters Washington calls an Iranian military official is really a member of an anti-Tehran rebel group.

U.S. presidential hopeful Ron Paul: 'Friendship' is best way to deal with Iran  The libertarian Texas congressman says Iran's nuclear weapons program has been 'blown out of proportion' and that tougher sanctions are a mistake.

Iran missile development commander killed in explosion

Journalist Detained In Iran Over BBC Broadcast Authorities in Bahrain claim they have arrested an Iran-backed terror cell that was planning to attack Bahraini and Saudi government targets and a bridge that connects both countries.Bahraini leaders have long sought to characterize the pro-democracy uprising as an Iranian ploy for influence in the Shia-majority, Sunni-led Gulf state.

Iranian Pilgrims Among Nine Killed in Iraq Violence The following report has been generated as a course requirement for SED 449: From Theory to Practice- A field Based Experience and should not be used by a PPT team to inform or make educational decisions.

Iran displays U.S. drone, but is it real?
Iran on Thursday triumphantly displayed what it says is a U.S. stealth drone. One U.S. official says there's "no reason to believe" that the drone in the video is a fake, others wonder how it survived intact. FULL STORY

Syria
Large-Scale Killings Reported in Restive Syria City Syrian rights groups reported a spate of government-sanctioned killings in the central city of Homs on Tuesday, with witness accounts of at least 50 dead there in one of the most violent episodes in the nine-month-old uprising

57 Die as Syrian Opposition Warns of 'Massacre'

25 Reported Dead in Syria as Violent Clashes Continue

Syria opposition leader: We would drop Iran, Hezbollah ties  Syrian National Council leader Burhan Ghalioun calls current Iran-Syria relationship 'abnormal'; says Assad has lost 'grasp on reality.'

Syrian Gunman Killed in Istanbul (Turkey) after Wounding Two

Jordan: Syria fires at family fleeing to Jordan

UN probe says Syrian forces committed crimes against humanity since March, 256 children killed

US Deploys Aircraft Carrier to Syrian Coast

Hague to Meet Syrian Rebels Monday: Ministry
Foreign Secretary William Hague is to hold talks with Syrian rebel leaders in London on Monday, a Foreign Office spokeswoman told AFP..

Daraa Massacre (surfaced video)

Mobs Strike Embassies in Syrian Capital Turkey sent planes to evacuate its diplomats’ families after attacks that followed the Arab League’s decision to suspend Syria. Above, a pro-government rally.

Syrian soldiers killed as crisis accelerates Army defectors ambushed dozens of Syrian troops and regime forces gunned down civilians during one of the bloodiest days of the 8-month-old uprising,

Report: Seven Syrian Troops Killed in Convoy Attack

30 Syria soldiers killed in clashes with army defectors

Syria Accused of Kidnapping 4 in Lebanon The Lebanese police have accused Syria of orchestrating the kidnapping of Syrian dissidents in Lebanon,

Syria mining Lebanon border yria is planting landmines along parts of the country's border with Lebanon as refugees stream out of the country to escape the crackdown on anti-government protests

Sixty-nine killed Syria on Monday: activists

Lebanon

Lebanese media: IDF bombed espionage devices uncovered by Hezbollah Two people were reportedly injured in blast; website associated with Hezbollah claims Israeli drones destroyed devices after they were exposed.

Afghanistan   Map of Afghanistan
UN Tally Excluded Most Afghan Civilian Deaths

At least 14 dead in Kabul suicide attack

In Afghanistan, truck bomb kills 5 at UN agency

Karzai charges NATO with killing seven civilians

Afghan Woman To Be Freed From Jail After Agreeing To Marry Her Rapist

Three Nato troops killed by Afghan roadside bomb

CIA, NATO Lied to Press About Lost Drone

Real cost of gas at Afghan bases: $400/gal. Keeping American vehicles rolling in Afghanistan while avoiding the perils of hauling in fuel via ground transportation is costing the military big time

 Taliban commanders say Pakistan intelligence helps the

U.S. had advance warning of abuse at Afghan prisons, officials say

Senior U.S. Officer In Afghanistan Fired For Inappropriate Public Remarks Fuller also said the Afghans don't understand the extent to which the U.S. is in economic distress or the "sacrifices that America is making to provide for their security." He said the Afghans are "isolated from reality."

Roadside Bomb in Afghanistan Kills 19

Twin Attacks on Afghan Shi'ites Kill 58
Pakistan Map of Pakistan
2,000 Pakistanis rally against US drones

100,000 Rally Against Pakistan's US Alliance

U.S. Drone Kills 16-Year-Old Pakistani Boy Days After He Attends Anti-Drone Organizing Meeting

Khan predicts 'revolution' in Pakistan Cricket legend addresses over 100,000 at rally in Lahore and vows to fight corruption and to negotiate with the Taliban

24 Pakistani Troops Reportedly Killed In NATO Helicopter Attack

Pakistan blocks BBC World News TV channel

US Drones Kill at Least 18 in South Waziristan

NATO Fuel Tankers Attacked In Pakistan
PM: US Has No Permission to Launch Drone Strikes in Pakistan

Pakistan Carts Its Nukes Around In Delivery Vans - WIRED

Bhutto murder: Pakistan police and Taliban charged An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has charged two senior police officers over the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. They were charged with security breaches and failure to protect her, prosecutors said.

Supply Cut Leaves NATO Trucks Stranded in Pakistan

Al Qaeda's Zawahiri Says He Has American Hostage In a newly released audio message, al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri claims that his organization is holding hostage Warren Weinstein, a 70-year-old American who went missing last August in Pakistan.

Pakistan Deploys Air Defense on Afghan Border
Asia Map of Asia
More Than A Dozen Bomb Attacks Rock Thailand

Fukushima Suffers Setback as Officials Detect Signs of Nuclear Fission Fukushima suffers setback as officials detect signs of nuclear fission Traces of radioactive gas are detected at Fukushima's No 2 reactor – one of three that suffered core meltdown

Japanese Tests Find Radiation in Infant Food

At Least 500 Arrested in Russia Election Protests

Europe Map of Europe
Welcome to Ice City: Russia plans to build frozen community 1,000 miles from North Pole...Russia is to build an ultra-modern city on a frozen island deep inside the Arctic Circle - in the Kremlin's latest move to back its claim to vast oil and gas reserves under the polar ice cap.

Pilot error caused hockey crash A plane crash that killed members of a Russian professional hockey club happened because a pilot applied brakes during takeoff, the state-run RIA-Novosti news agency reported Wednesday, citing investigators.

Germany arrests another alleged member of far-right terrorist group suspected of 10 murders

Rajoy to Oust Socialists, Win Spain Parliamentary Majority, Exit Poll SaysPeople’s Party leader Mariano Rajoy is set to oust the ruling Socialists in Spanish elections and may win the biggest majority in parliament in more than two decades, an exit poll by state broadcaster TVE said

EU court says ISPs can't be forced to monitor users

Moody's cuts Hungary rating to non-investment grade

Cocaine found on 11% of UK banknotes

PUTIN OUT': Tens Of Thousands Of Russians Protest Voter Fraud
UK Cops Using Fake Mobile Phone Tower to Intercept Calls, Shut Off Phones

Europe tells Greece: 'no more money unless you cancel referendum' European leaders have threatened to withhold €8bn (£6.9bn) of international aid from Greece until Athens agrees to adopt the terms of the Brussels debt crisis deal without a referendum.

French magazine firebombed for depicting Prophet Mohammed

Energy firm says ‘fracking’ triggered British earth tremors

Radioactive Levels Too High for Safe Farming

Nick Clegg to accuse banks of racism The reputation of Britain's banks will take a fresh battering when the deputy prime minister accuses them of discriminating against members of ethnic minorities in the way they distribute loans and set interest rates

Apartheid row at Norwegian school after it segregates ethnic pupils Apartheid row at Norwegian school after it segregates ethnic pupils A political row has broken out in Norway after a secondary school segregated students with ethnic backgrounds in classes away from white Norwegians.

Africa

 Map of Africa
'Hundreds' killed in Sudan clashes SPLM-North fighters killed in clashes with the Sudanese army, says South Kordofan governor
Al-Qaida targets Somalia drought victims with cash handouts

Nigeria bomb and gun attacks 'kill dozens' in Damaturu
The Americas Map of North  America and South America
Venezuela captures top Colombian drug lord

Haitian children exploited by tradition "Often you speak to them, their heads are down, they don't make eye contact. Most of all, they feel very inferior and that carries them into adulthood," Common said.In a Freedom Project documentary, Common shines a light on the plight of the Restaveks, the estimated 300,000 children working as domestic servants in Haiti.

Chevron Admits Guilt in Brazil Offshore Oil Spill....Chevron suspending drilling after oil spill off Brazil

Mexico

Helicopter crash claims Mexico's interior minister

Anti-violence activist who accused police in son's kidnapping slain in Mexico

Despite Nicaragua's Constitution, Ortega headed for re-election Nicaragua's Constitution bars re-election for politicians, but that's proved no obstacle to President Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista leader, who's widely expected to win another term in office in voting on Sunday. » read more

Chilean Judge Charges Ex-US Military Officer A judge investigating abuses during Chile's dictatorship is seeking the extradition of a former U.S. military officer on murder charges in the 1973 killing of two Americans, including one whose disappearance was the focus of the film "Missing," court officials said Tuesday.Former U.S. Navy Capt. Ray E. Davis was charged in the deaths of journalist Charles Horman and U.S. student Frank Teruggi, who were killed during the 1973-1990 regime of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. The court statement said retired Chilean army Brigadier Pedro Espinoza Bravo was also charged in the murders.

Honduras army to take on drug gangs