World News
12-Feb-12
Greek lawmakers approve austerity bill as Athens burns
"We are facing destruction. Our country, our home, has become ripe for burning, the centre of Athens is in flames. We cannot allow populism to burn our country down," conservative lawmaker Costis Hatzidakis told parliament. The air in Syntagma Square outside parliament was thick with tear gas as riot police fought running battles with youths who smashed marble balustrades and hurled stones and petrol bombs.
From "Reuters"
11-Feb-12
America's Number One Addiction
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From "Richard T. Ritenbaugh"
10-Feb-12
Ayaan Hirsi Ali:The Global War on Christians in the Muslim World
We hear so often about Muslims as victims of abuse in the West and combatants in the Arab Spring’s fight against tyranny. But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway—an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm.
From "The Daily Beast/Newsweek"
09-Feb-12
German Bank Offers ‘Islam-Compliant’ Investment
Last month, German bank WestLB rolled out a new “Islam-compliant” investment product named the Islamic Strategy Index Certificate. The value of the certificate is based on the value of the WestLB Islamic Deutschland Index, consisting of shares of ten German firms “whose business activities are consistent with the ethical rules of Islam.” The WestLB product prospectus explains that the Islamic Strategy Index Certificates “are certified by the Central Council of Muslims in Germany as Islam-compliant [Islam konformes] investment.”
From "The Weekly Standard"
Blizzards Push SE Europe Energy Grids To Limits
Blizzards and ice-laden power lines in southeastern Europe pushed gas and electricity networks near to breaking point Wednesday as consumption soared, while some western countries scrambled to prevent similar breakdowns. As electricity cables buckled under the weight of ice and snow in southeastern Bosnia, where some 15,000 customers were left in darkness, Serbia warned of a "possible collapse" of its energy system as record-breaking demand stretched the power grid near its technical limits.
From "PlanetArk.org"
08-Feb-12
Brazilian soldiers clash with police on strike in Salvador
Some 3,500 soldiers clashed with Brazilian police, who have been on strike outside the assembly in the state capital of Salvador since last week, BBC News reported. The soldiers surrounded the building and fired rubber bullets and charged the crowd of about 4,000 police and their families, who are camped out in the legislative building, the Associated Press reported. The government told the BBC that about one third of Bahia's 30,000 state police officers are involved in the strike.
From "GlobalPost.com"
Bird Population in Collapse Near Fukushima
Researchers working in the irradiated zone around the disabled Fukushima nuclear plant say bird populations there have begun to dwindle, in what may be a chilling harbinger of the impact of radioactive fallout on local life.
From "CommonDreams.org"
Japan; trouble brewing everywhere
Japan has been shifting investment and production to locations overseas and this has contributed to the first annual trade deficit in more than 30 years—just when Japan can least afford it: national debt will surpass one quadrillion yen by March 2013, the end of the next fiscal year, the Ministry of Finance announced in January. About $14 trillion. A breathtaking 240% of GDP. By comparison, Greece’s debt is a paltry 160% of GDP.
From "BannerJapan.com"
Truth, lies and Afghanistan
I’m hardly the only one who has noted the discrepancy between official statements and the truth on the ground. A January 2011 report by the Afghan NGO Security Office noted that public statements made by U.S. and ISAF leaders at the end of 2010 were “sharply divergent from IMF, [international military forces, NGO-speak for ISAF] ‘strategic communication’ messages suggesting improvements. We encourage [nongovernment organization personnel] to recognize that no matter how authoritative the source of any such claim, messages of the nature are solely intended to influence American and European public opinion ahead of the withdrawal, and are not intended to offer an accurate portrayal of the situation for those who live and work here.”
From "Armed Forces Journal"
07-Feb-12
America’s Shrinking Corporate Giants
The start of the Great Recession, which began in December 2007, was too much for GM to handle. U.S. car and light truck sales dropped from almost 17 million in 2005 to 10.4 million in 2009. GM declared Chapter 11, with government financing, on June 1, 2009.
From "247WallSt.com"
Bishop: New Mandate Goes Against Catholicism
The new mandate requires all employers that provide health insurance, including faith-based ones, to provide and pay for all forms of contraception, including birth control. Swain says the mandate strikes at the very core of the country's rights.
From "Keloland.com"
Girls, 13, given contraceptive implants at school
The procedure was carried out in Southampton, Hants, as part of a government initiative to drive down teenage pregnancies. As many as nine secondary schools in the city are thought to have been involved. But it has caused a backlash from parents who weren't aware that their daughters had been fitted with the 4cm device, which sits under the skin.
From "The Telegraph"
University Sells Plan B In Vending Machines
Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania is providing easy access to the morning-after pill through vending machines. Students at Shippensburg University can now walk into a room inside the health center and get Plan B, the emergency contraception, from a vending machine.
From "WAPT.com"
US closes Syrian embassy as diplomacy collapses
BEIRUT: The U.S. has closed its embassy in Syria and Britain recalled its ambassador to Damascus in a new Western push to get President Bashar Assad to leave power and halt the murderous grind in Syria now among the deadliest conflicts of the Arab Spring.
From "http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/07/us-closes-syrian-embassy-as-diplomacy-collapses.html"
‘We the People’ Loses Appeal With People Around the World
In a television interview during a visit to Egypt last week, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court seemed to agree. “I would not look to the United States Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012,” she said. She recommended, instead, the South African Constitution, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or the European Convention on Human Rights.
From "New York Times"
Britain had to plead with US to take part in Iran flotilla
The revelation that US defence chiefs saw little military value in UK participation will raise new questions about Britain’s international clout after Coalition defence cuts. Amid rising tensions in the region, the Royal Navy last month deployed HMS Argyll, a Type 23 frigate, to the Gulf.
From "The Telegraph"
Lesbian parents 'betrayed' by gay father demanding to see his son
A two-year-old boy with "three parents" - his lesbian mother, her partner and a gay father - is at the centre of an Appeal Court test case on the status of "alternative" families.
From "The Telegraph"
FBI warns of threat from anti-government extremists
Anti-government extremists opposed to taxes and regulations pose a growing threat to local law enforcement officers in the United States, the FBI warned on Monday. These extremists, sometimes known as "sovereign citizens," believe they can live outside any type of government authority, FBI agents said at a news conference.
From "Reuters"
06-Feb-12
The Financial Crisis Of 2008 Was Just A Warm Up Act For The Economic Horror Show That Is Coming
Unfortunately, what we are going through right now is simply just a period of "hopetimism" between two financial crashes. Things may seem relatively stable right now, but it won't last long. The truth is that the financial crisis of 2008 was just a warm up act for the economic horror show that is coming. Nothing really got fixed after the crash of 2008.
From "TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com"
NGO worker cases sent to Egypt court in funding row
The cases of 40 foreign and Egyptian activists, including 19 Americans subject to travel bans over their work for pro-democracy and other groups, have been referred to court, judicial sources said Sunday, deepening a row with the United States.
From "Reuters"