4/28/09 - 4/30/09

• Energy is everything
  --On Line Opinion
  
  
• Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?
  --Scientific American
  
  
• Water Wars Go Underground
  --The Sheperdstown Observer (Also see "Corporate Think Tank Dives into Water Policy" and "Water controversies boil over.")
  
  
• Climate chaos predicted by CO2 study
  --The Independent
  
  
• Climate change hitting entire Arctic ecosystem, says report
  --The Guardian (Also see "Arctic CO2 levels growing at an 'unprecedented rate', say scientists.")
  
  
• Huge ice chunks break away from Antarctic shelf
  --The Asscociated Press
  
  
• A 'Propaganda War' Over 'Clean Coal'
  --Greenwire (Also see "The ‘Clean Coal’ Lobbying Blitz.")
  
  
• Fourth G20 complaint probe launched
  --Reuters
  
  
• Riots across Europe fueled by economic crisis
  --The Telegraph
  
  
• More Families Find Themselves Homeless Amid Economy
  --National Public Radio
  
  
• Bailout spending rundown
  --Reuters
  
  
• Firms Infused With Rescue Cash Find Money to Fund Lobbying
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Top Senate Democrat: bankers "own" the U.S. Congress
  --Salon
  
  
• Chrysler Begins Voyage Down Bankruptcy Route
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Iraq bloodshed rises as US allies defect
  --The Times (Also see "US-allied Iraqi militia strikes over late pay.")
  
  
• Anatomy of an `inside' ambush in Iraq
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Gunfight Breaks Out as Iraqi Soldiers Try to Arrest Trade Officials
  --The New York Times
  
  
• ACLU claims U.S. supported PMOI
  --United Press International
  
  
• Obama administration seeks extraordinary military powers in Pakistan
  --World Socialist Web Site
  
  
• Torture Tape Implicates UAE Royal Sheikh
  --ABC News
  
  
• Senate Report Details Torture Policy Origins
  --Truth Out
  
  
• Prosecute This: Torture Was Used to Try to Link Saddam with 9/11
  --AlterNet
  
  
• Obama Rejects Truth Panel
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• U.S. May Revive Guantánamo Military Courts
  --The New York Times
  
  
• New Prison May Have To Be Built, Gates Says
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Obama Administration Quietly Expands Bush's Legal Defense Of Wiretapping
  --Coastal Post
  
  
• Obama Hints At Change To "State Secrets" Privilege
  --CBS News (Also see "Appeals Court Rejects 'State Secrets' Claim, Revives Detainee Suit" and "Obama Gets a 'D' on State Secrets from Democratic Senator.")
  
  
• 'Draconian' powers seen to contain swine flu
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• Federal Authority Over the Internet? The Cybersecurity Act of 2009
  --Electronic Frontier Foundation
  
  
• Plan to monitor all internet use
  --BBC News
  
  
• New U.S. arms buyer eyes candor in ties to industry
  --Reuters (Also see "CACI Awarded Prime $900 Million Contract.")
  
  
• Accused Ponzi Fraudster investor linked to Texas "investment bank" behind DC9 5-ton coke bust
  --Mad Cow Morning News (Also see "The coke jet mystery leads to a biotech mystery.")
  
  
• Audio: Interview with Sibel Edmonds
  --Electric Politics (Also see "Bruce Fein & Turkey.")

4/15/09 - 4/27/09

• Obama Claims “Sovereign Immunity” in Attempt to Block Domestic Spying Lawsuit
  --Democracy Now! (Also see "Judge Rejects President Obama's 'State Secrets' Argument.")
  
  
• Audio: Obama's NSA continues illegal electronic spying
  --Antiwar Radio (Also see "Officials Say U.S. Wiretaps Exceeded Law.")
  
  
• Despite Major Plans, Obama Taking Softer Stands
  --The New York Times
  
  
• NSA Spying: "Overcollection" or Business as Usual?
  --Antifascist Calling
  
  
• Bush-Era Rule Grants FBI Unprecedented Investigative Powers
  --The Washington Independent
  
  
• U.S. Plans Attack and Defense in Cyberspace Warfare
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Dozens of Prisoners Held by CIA Still Missing, Fates Unknown
  --ProPublica
  
  
• Torture Memos Gave CIA Legal O.K. to Bring Detainees to Brink of Death
  --TruthOut (Also see "CIA waterboarded al-Qaida suspects 266 times," "New Interrogation Details Emerge," "Brutal tactics, but no results," "Obama won't charge CIA officers for rough tactics," "CIA objections slowed torture memos release," "Rice gave early 'waterboarding green light'" and "Expert: Special prosecutor would be 'PR move' to 'bury' torture.")
  
  
• US creates local militias to fight Taliban
  --The Christian Science Monitor
  
  
• Iraqi VP: Some Sahwa militias plotting attacks
  --PressTV
  
  
• CIA recruiting PMOI members, reports say
  --UPI
  
  
• Iraq air raids hit mostly women and children
  --The Independent
  
  
• Blackwater still in Iraq
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• US experts see Pakistan disintegrating
  --Daily Times
  
  
• Mexico says US fuels gun crime
  --BBC
  
  
• The Second Scramble For Africa Starts
  --Inter Press Service
  
  
• Darpa Wants Brainy Machines to Replace Bored G.I.s
  --Wired
  
  
• Obama outlines vision for high-speed rail network
  --The Associated Press (Great idea, but will it ever get done? The administration appears to be more interested in bailing out the auto industry, the banks, the McMansion makers and every other unsustainable business and practice that created the problem we're now stuck in. Where is the real money for the real change? --DB)
  
  
• RFK Jr. Blasts Obama as 'Indentured Servant' to Coal Industry
  --ABC News
  
  
• Global food shortage forces prices up
  --BBC
  
  
• The Ethanol Bubble Pops in Iowa
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Bank bailout plan's 'stress tests' already causing stress
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rose to 640,000 Last Week
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• Sources: GM to shut most US plants up to 9 weeks
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Financial meltdown causing global epidemic of violent crime
  --TomDispatch
  
  
• Another Slaying Amid Claims of Financial Problems
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• As Multiple-Death Shootings Surge, Congress Looks Away
  --The Washington Independent
  
  
• Angry French Workers Turn to 'Bossnapping' to Solve Their Problems
  --Voice of America
  
  
• Protests as Hungarian parliament elects new PM
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• London police face new G20 protest claim
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• Did AIG Spend Bailout Cash on Image Campaign?
  --ABC News
  
  
• Fannie Mae CEO named Treasury's bank bailout chief
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Carlyle’s Pension Investment Said to Spark Probe
  --Bloomberg

4/6/09 - 4/14/09

• With Advocates’ Help, Squatters Call Foreclosures Home
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Workers Struggles: Europe & Africa
  --World Socialist Web Site (Also see "Bulgaria steel workers, farmers block roads over pay," "Amid Protests, Asian Summit Is Canceled," "Rioting follows state of emergency in Thai capital" and "Strike could leave empty food shelves." --DB)
  
  
• Video shows man who died at G20 being assaulted from behind by police
  --BBC via YouTube
  
  
• 'Will you open fire on UK citizens' Army personnel being asked
  --PJC Journal
  
  
• Goldman Sachs hires law firm to shut blogger's site
  --The Telegraph
  
  
• Showdown Seen Between Banks and Regulators
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Banks aren't reselling many foreclosed homes
  --San Francisco Chronicle
  
  
• Fannie Mae’s Allison Said to Be Leading Candidate to Run TARP
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• Pentagon Preps For Economic Warfare
  --CBS News
  
  
• Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated By Spies
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• The Peak Oil Crisis: Priorities
  --Falls Church News-Press
  
  
• The IEA warns of shortages - "The next oil crisis is coming"
  --Suedeutsche Zeitung (Also see "IEA Cuts Oil Demand Forecast to Lowest in Five Years" and "Energy-spending cutbacks spark price-spike talk.")
  
  
• Clean Energy's Dirty Little Secret
  --The Atlantic
  
  
• Is America's love affair with the "exburbs" over?
  --Reuters
  
  
• G8 report says food crisis may threaten stability-FT
  --Reuters (Also see "New food crisis looms.")
  
  
• Global warming endangers U.S. corn production, study says
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• Ethanol from corn consumes three times more water than previously thought
  --Technology Review
  
  
• Water crisis rocks LA, Mexico City; who's next?
  --UPI
  
  
• Obama, Who Vowed Rapid Action on Climate Change, Turns More Cautious
  --The New York Times (Also see "World will not meet 2C warming target, climate change experts agree.")
  
  
• Trees in trouble: massive die-offs predicted with global warming
  --Mongabay
  
  
• Climate Change To Spur Rapid Shifts In Wildfire Hotspots, Analysis Finds
  --Science Daily
  
  
• Arctic sea ice thinnest ever going into spring of 2009
  --The Associated Press (Also see "Arctic Sea Ice Reached Record Low This Winter.")
  
  
• What will global warming look like? Scientists point to Australia
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• Cybersecurity Act would give president power to 'shut down' Internet
  --Raw Story
  
  
• The president's incredibly imperialist wielding of executive power
  --Slate (Also see "Obama Website Slams Secrecy Claim That Obama Now Invokes," "Expert Consensus: Obama Mimics Bush On State Secrets" and "Not Just State Secrets: Obama Continuing Bush's Stonewalling On Gitmo Cases, Lawyer Claims.")
  
  
• A Flagging Obama Transparency Effort
  --CATO@Liberty
  
  
• Hastert contracted to lobby for Turkey
  --The Hill
  
  
• Holbrooke reaches out to Hekmatyar
  --Asia Times
  
  
• Terminator Planet: Filling the Skies with Assassins
  --TomDispatch
  
  
• US troops could stay in Mosul past June 30
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• An Anti-Iranian Enclave in Iraq Fights to Stay
  --TIME (Also see "Official: Iraq Plans to Start Expulsion of MKO in Weeks," "Iran alleges foreign-funded plot to undermine government" and "MKO members in UAE to spy on Iranians: report.")
  
  
• Safety team warns of 'catastrophic' wiring in Iraq
  --The Associated Press (Also see "Congresswoman wants answers on KBR contract.")
  
  
• Obama to seek $83.4 billion for Iraq, Afghan wars
  --The Associated Press (Also see "Barack Obama uses Bush funding tactics to finance wars in Iraq and Afghanistan" and "Cost of Iraq war will surpass Vietnam's by year's end.")
  
  
• Iraq militia fear reprisals after US exit
  --The Independent
  
  
• Obama Signals More Active Response to Piracy
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Ex-CIA operative tied to Cuba bombings: jury
  --Reuters
  
  
• Declassified CIA documents show mind control projects created super spies, terrorists, assassins
  --National Intelligence Examiner

3/30/09 - 4/5/09

• Is the economy a factor in recent shootings?
  --The Christian Science Monitor (Also see "Three more mass shootings in the US," "Gun Sales Up in Binghamton and U.S." and "Economic crisis fueling civil unrest in US." --DB)
  
  
• London police arrest 122 after G20 violence
  --Reuters (Also see "Police 'assaulted' bystander who died during G20 protests," "VIDEO: Riot police attack peaceful protesters at G20 Climate Camp," "VIDEO: G20 protests turn ugly," "Baton charges and kettling: police's G20 crowd control tactics under fire," "G20 protests: Riot police, or rioting police?," and "Did the handling of the G20 protests reveal the future of policing?" Most will remember similar techniques being used at last year's Republican National Convention. --DB)
  
  
• Financial crisis sparks unrest in Europe
  --Reuters (Also see "Riots Erupt Near Bridge That Links 2 Countries" and "Hundreds of French workers take bosses hostage." --DB)
  
  
• UN chief says crisis could result in failed states
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• Global financial crisis hits world's poorest hardest
  --The Guardian
  
  
• Homelessness up as families on the edge lose hold
  --USA Today
  
  
• U.S. jobless rate hits 8.5%, highest level since 1983
  --The New York Times
  
  
• U.S. Bailouts So Far Total $2.98 Trillion, Official Says
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Aid to Borrowers Not Preventing Rising Delinquency
  --The Washington Post (Also see "Foreclosure Crisis Hits Warp Speed: 6 Million Families Face Losing Their Homes in the Next Three Years." --DB)
  
  
• Proof that Geithner's Bank Plan Is a Massive Giveaway to the Bastards Who Started This Mess
  --AlterNet
  
  
• Obama adviser made millions as hedge fund director
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Merrill Lynch Bonus Payments Dwarf A.I.G.
  --TruthOut
  
  
• Did the Oil Price Boom of 2008 Cause Crisis?
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Non-OPEC oil supply to fall further, faster
  --Reuters (Also see "Prices for world's cheapest gas may be going up." --DB)
  
  
• Earth population 'exceeds limits'
  --BBC
  
  
• Report outlines possible effects of warming on California
  --The Los Angeles Times (Also see "Global warming 37 pct to blame for droughts-scientist" and "Drastic water cuts expected for the Bay Area." --DB)
  
  
• Fixing Our Water Crisis Can't Be Done by the Corporations that Are Exacerbating It
  --AlterNet (Also see "Out West, a new kind of water war." --DB)
  
  
• Antarctic ice shelf in peril as bridge snaps
  --Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  
  
• Study: Arctic sea ice melting faster than expected
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Video: Seymour Hersh on Cheney Assassination Squads
  --CNN via YouTube (See part two here. --DB)
  
  
• Cheney has moles in Obama Administration, reporter says
  --Raw Story
  
  
• ‘Holy Hell’ Over Torture Memos
  --Newsweek
  
  
• Detention at Afghan Base Is Subject to U.S. Courts
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Report Faults U.S. Spy Agencies
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Ex-Blackwater Workers May Return to Iraq Jobs
  --The New York Times (Also see "Obama’s Blackwater? Jeremy Scahill on Triple Canopy, the New Lead US Mercenary Force in Iraq and Israel." --DB)
  
  
• A mutiny among militia threatens peace in Iraq after US airstrike
  --The Times (Also see "Iraqi forces arrest more U.S.-allied Sunni guards." --DB)
  
  
• U.S. holds out olive branch to non-violent Taliban
  --Reuters (Also see "US reconciliation offer lunatic idea, say Taliban." --DB)
  
  
• US Used by Afghan Drug Clan to Take Out Rival
  --Spiegel Online
  
  
• Sources: Pentagon seeks $3B for Pakistan military
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• US troop surge could harm Afghan civilians
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• Taliban expected to step up bombings
  --The Baltimore Sun
  
  
• Pentagon war spending hits $685.7 billion: GAO
  --Reuters
  
  
• Nearly 7 in 10 major U.S. arms programs over budget
  --Reuters
  
  
• Private-sector Arms Sales to Mexico Sparsely Monitored by State Department
  --NarcoSphere
  
  
• FEMA's revolving door?
  --Politico
  
  
• CIA launches recruitment drive on internet and TV
  --The Times

3/22/09 - 3/29/09

• The Slumming of Suburbia
  --Miller-McCune
  
  
• Cities Deal With a Surge in Shantytowns
  --The New York Times (Also see "Hidden homeless emerge as U.S. economy worsens." --DB)
  
  
• Jobless Rate Exceeds 10% in Seven States
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• Geithner on TARP Money: 'We Have Roughly $135 Billion Left'
  --ABC News (Also see "Geithner won't say if more bailout money needed" and "U.S. senator sets bar for more bailout money." --DB)
  
  
• Geithner: Be optimistic about economic future
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Brain-Dead Economic Reporting: If Wall Street Approves of Obama's Plan, It Must Be a Winner!
  --AlterNet
  
  
• Obama administration plan for “toxic assets”: A windfall for Wall Street
  --World Socialist Web Site
  
  
• JPMorgan Chase To Spend Millions on New Jets and Luxury Airport Hangar
  --ABC News
  
  
• GM says 12 percent of UAW workers take buyouts
  --Reuters
  
  
• Crisis sparks unrest in G20 countries
  --Reuters (Also see "London economic protest draws 35,000," "French students in fresh street protests," "Workers at 3M Plant in France Take Boss Hostage," "Thousands March In Rome Over Economic Crisis Ahead Of G8," "Ukrainians protest over economy," "Argentina moves up elections amid economic fears," "Thai PM defiant as protest enters third day," "Kerry warns of global instability," "Obama flies into protests and discord on first trip to Europe" and "Bankers told keep low profile as public anger rises." --DB)
  
  
• Oil watchers see stage being set for surging prices
  --The New York Times (Also see "Falling Oil Supply Risks a Price Rise" and "Financier sees oil shock from credit crunch." --DB)
  
  
• Decidedly darker view on energy future
  --Aspen Times (Also see "Where we are headed: Peak oil and the financial crisis." --DB)
  
  
• Number of chronically hungry tops 1bn
  --Financial Times
  
  
• Billion people face famine by mid-century, says top US scientist
  --The Times
  
  
• Water meters in all homes by 2030 to ease shortages
  --The Observer
  
  
• Pentagon exploring robot killers that can fire on their own
  --McClatchy (Also see "The BigDog Robot: Rise of the Machines." --DB)
  
  
• DHS Wants Technology to Smell Terrorists
  --The Australian
  
  
• Private security company may soon have full police powers in Chicago
  --CBS2
  
  
• Fusion Center May Think You're a Terrorist
  --The New American
  
  
• Star Lobbyist Closes Up Shop as Criminal Inquiry Heats Up
  --The New York Times
  
  
• College students sell the CIA to their peers
  --The Los Angekes Times
  
  
• As Washington Escalates Military Operations, American Officials "Discover" ISI-Taliban Nexus
  --Antifascist Calling
  
  
• Pakistan to get billions from U.S. despite oversight concerns
  --USA Today
  
  
• White House to Keep Agencies’ Focus on Terrorism
  --The New York Times (Also see "War on Terror 2.0." --DB)
  
  
• NY judge orders release of CIA 'torture' documents
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Why secretly funded DEA surveillance planes aren’t flying
  --The Boston Herald
  
  
• Obama to Bring More Mercenaries to Afghanistan -- Sound Familiar?
  --Creators Syndicate
  
  
• Major Oil Companies Are Circling Iraq
  --BusinessWeek (Also see "Investors to control Iraq oil contracts." --DB)
  
  
• Despite Obama’s Vow, Combat Brigades Will Stay in Iraq
  --Inter Press Service (Also see "US general: American forces may not leave key Iraqi cities." --DB)
  
  
• U.S. watchdog says billions of U.S. aid wasted in Iraq
  --Reuters
  
  
• Shoddy wiring 'everywhere' on Iraq bases, Army inspector says
  --CNN
  
  
• Iraqi and U.S. soldiers battle U.S.-backed Sunni fighters
  --The Washington Post (Also see "Guns Go Silent After 24-Hour Face-Off in Baghdad, but Tensions Remain High," "Awakening Councils unhappy with Iraq moves," "Sons of Iraq movement suffers another blow," and "Iraqi government late paying Sunni fighters' salaries." --DB)
  
  
• Iraq Plans to Relocate Iran Opposition Group
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• 283 Bases, 170,000 Pieces of Equipment, 140,000 Troops, and an Army of Mercenaries: The Logistical Nightmare in Iraq
  --AlterNet
  
  
• Obama Plans More Funding, 4,000 Additional Troops for Afghanistan
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• US military looking for private help in Afghanistan
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Afghanistan: Millions facing food shortages, possible starvation in forgotten emergency
  --Church World Service
  
  
• Africa: US private sector produces guide for Obama
  --Afrique en ligne
  
  
• Obama Considering Sending U.S. Troops To Mexican Border
  --CBS
  
  
• In Drug War, Mexico Fights Cartel and Itself
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Canadians find vast computer spy network: report
  --Reuters
  
  
• Pentagon Plans to Regrow Human Body Parts
  --Fox News

3/18/09 - 3/21/09

• AIG bonuses $218 million, not $165 million, A.G. says
  --The Los Angeles Times (Why is Obama so "stunned" these guys are taking the money he gave them? Also see "Four Fannie Mae execs to get big bonuses," "Senate quietly stripped measure restricting bonuses from bailout legislation" and "Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Criticize Limits." --DB)
  

• Forget the bonuses: AIG can't repay its loans, GAO says
  --McClatchy
  
  
• Goldman's share of AIG bailout money draws fire
  --Reuters
  
  
• 13 Bailed-Out Banks Failed to Pay Taxes
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Obama Backs Geithner Despite Vast Criticisms
  --The Washington Post (Obama thinks Geithner is doing a heck of... err...I mean "outstanding" job. --DB)
  
  
• What's another $1 trillion? Fed moves to boost lending
  --McClatchy
  
  
• Financial crisis sparks unrest in Europe
  --Reuters (Also see "Tensions rise as French take to the streets in protest at economic plans," "Office staff warned of confrontation as City braces for mass G20 protests" and "London police fear violent protests at G-20 economic meeting." --DB)
  
  
• Protests Across Country Focus on Workers' Strife, Citizen Journalists Report
  --Huffington Post (Also see "SF Bailout Protests Target AIG, Large Banks," "Bailout discontent hits streets" and "Hundreds in Chicago protest corporate bailouts." --DB)
  
  
• In American crisis, anger and guns
  --Reuters
  
  
• AIG Memo Warns Employees of Growing Danger from Public Anger Over Bailout Bonuses
  --Associated Content (Also see "Protesters visit AIG officials' lavish Conn. homes." --DB)
  
  
• Oil Prices: Supply Siders, Start Getting Nervous
  --The Wall Street Journal (Also see "Saudi warns of 'catastrophic' energy crunch" and "IEA Cuts Demand Forecast, Non-OPEC Supply Growth on Recession." --DB)
  
  
• Food and energy shortages will create 'perfect storm'
  --The Telegraph (Also see "The Second Shockwave." --DB)
  
  
• Shell dumps wind, solar and hydro power in favour of biofuels
  --The Guardian
  
  
• Water scarcity 'now bigger threat than financial crisis'
  --The Independent
  
  
• Dire scenarios presented on global warming
  --The Sacramento Bee
  
  
• 6 months after Ike, thousands still can't return home
  --The Houston Chronicle
  
  
• Northcom Remains Vigilant Against Threats, Commander Says
  --VIDS (Also see "NorthCom chief: Border violence threatens U.S. security." --DB)
  
  
• Preparing for Civil Unrest: Legislation to Establish Internment Camps on US Military Bases
  --Global Research
  
  
• Army Dispatched in Response to End the Fed Protests
  --Prison Planet
  
  
• Missouri report on militias, terrorists draws criticism
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama White House
  --National Journal
  
  
• ACLU: Obama State Secrets Claim Sets Bad Precedent
  --National Journal
  
  
• List of Lobbyists in Obama Administration
  --National Journal
  
  
• Top Internet Threats: Censorship to Warrantless Surveillance
  --Wired
  
  
• Defense Firms Pursue Cyber-Security Work
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• U.S. Military Contractor Allegedly Hacked Teens to Extort Nude Photos from Them
  --Wired
  
  
• President Obama, Why Did You Pay Blackwater $70 Million in February?
  --AlterNet
  
  
• Why Obama’s New Definition of Terrorists Is a Lot Like the Old One
  --ProPublica
  
  
• Death squad leader ‘was top CIA agent’
  --The Sunday Herald (Also see "Further Stanisic Spy Revelations" and "Was Stanisic the CIA's main contact under Milosevic?" --DB)
  
  
• Judge: Abu Ghraib detainees can sue Va. contractor
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• The long and sadistic history behind the CIA's torture techniques
  --Slate
  
  
• CIA Has 3,000 Docs on Torture Tapes
  --Consortium News
  
  
• Latest CIA Scandal Puts Focus on How Agency Polices Self
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• CIA Kidnap Trial in Italy to Resume in April
  --Voice of America
  
  
• Obama Plans to Send Agents, Equipment To Aid Mexican Fight
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• U.S. Courts Former Warlords in Its Bid for Afghan Stability
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Afghan officials in drug trade cut deals across enemy lines
  --The Globe and Mail
  
  
• America floats plan to tempt Taliban into peace process
  --The Guardian
  
  
• MKO Camp Comes under Iraqi Siege after Torturing of Members
  --Fars News Agency
  
  
• US troops to remain active in Iraq after pullback
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Iraqi budget woes force security hiring freeze
  --The Associated Press (Also see "No More U.S. Money for 'Sons of Iraq'." --DB)
  
  
• In Iraq, Chaos Feared as U.S. Closes Prison
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Baghdad's water still undrinkable 6 years after invasion
  --McClatchy
  
  
• Soldier suicides skyrocket
  --Salon
  
  
• U.S. veterans make their voice heard in anti-war crowd
  --Xinhua

3/5/09

• "Tent City" Rapidly Growing in Sacramento
  --CBS13
  
  
• Carmakers Lobbying as They Get Bailout Money
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Devaney: Stimulus Waste and Fraud 'Inevitable'
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Panel questions oversight of bailout
  --USA Today
  
  
• Fed documents provide insight into bailouts
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Hersh: 'Executive assassination ring' reported directly to Cheney
  --Raw Story
  
  
• Battle looms on White House authority
  --The Boston Globe
  
  
• Obama's Bush league decision
  --Salon
  
  
• Obama administration backs immunity for author of Bush torture memos
  --World Socialist Web Site

2/23/09 - 3/4/09

• Our Worst Enemies Aren't Terrorists: Rethinking National Security on a Sinking Planet
  --Tom Dispatch
  
  
• Recession, bailout, stimulus: US security threats?
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Obama begins getting daily CIA report on economic crisis
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• Financial crisis sparks unrest in Europe
  --Reuters
  
  
• Dow drops below 7,000 for first time since 1997
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Jobless claims spike to 26-year high
  --CNN
  
  
• AIG's makes history for $62 billion loss
  --The Associated Press (Also see "More bailout funds to AIG" and "White House: 4th AIG Bailout Better Than the Alternative." --DB)
  
  
• Treasury to give banks unlimited refills
  --McClatchy
  
  
• Lobbyists mine Obama stimulus bill for clients
  --Newsday
  
  
• TARP Said to Be Ripe for Fraud
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• TARP Overseer Joins Board Of Firm With Bank Ties
  --CBS News
  
  
• Daschle, Obama aides join K Street
  --Politico
  
  
• GM loses $9.6 billion
  --CNN
  
  
• California’s Newly Poor Push Social Services to Brink
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• SEC alerted about Stanford in 2003
  --Financial Times
  
  
• Federal regulators ignored problems at IndyMac, report finds
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• Hidden errors in interpreting resource problems and daily news
  --Energy Bulletin
  
  
• Oil Supply Problems Will Choke Any Recovery
  --Fall Church News-Press
  
  
• 'Next oil shock will be far worse than $147 a barrel'
  --DNA India
  
  
• Thousands Storm Capitol Hill in Largest Protest Against Global Warming
  --AlterNet
  
  
• Eco Groups Fear Opportunity Lost in Stimulus Plans
  --Common Dreams
  
  
• Climate change risk underestimated: study
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• Antarctic ice melt could shift Earth's rotation: Study
  --Reuters
  
  
• Antarctic glaciers melting faster than thought
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Drought weighs heavy on farmers, workers
  --The Fresno Bee (Also see "California declares drought emergency," "Central Valley faces severe water restriction," "California Water Crisis Far From Over" and "Las Vegas Running Out of Water Means Dimming Los Angeles Lights." --DB)
  
  
• Invalid Ballots in Florida Doubled in 2008
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Prison Spending Outpaces All but Medicaid
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Bush Lawyers Approved Constitution-Free Domestic Military Ops, Docs Show
  --Wired
  
  
• US Justice Department memos: the specter of military dictatorship
  --World Socialist Web Site
  
  
• U.S. Army To Buy $6 Million Of Riot Equipment
  --Infowars
  
  
• Focus on Fusion Centers
  --Secrecy News
  
  
• FEMA's "Toxic Bureaucracy"
  --CBS
  
  
• Feds: Misconduct by CIA's Foggo spanned decades
  --The Associated Press (Also see "Corruption Touched CIA’s Covert Operations." --DB)
  
  
• CIA Signals Continuity With Bush Era
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Ore. state secrets case is Bush leftover for Obama
  --The Associated Press (Also see "Obama DOJ Defies Federal Judge." --DB)
  
  
• CIA Destroyed 92 Interrogation Tapes
  --ABC News (Also see "Isikoff: Discrepancies in CIA tapes story" and "Feds probably won't charge anyone for destroying CIA tapes." --DB)
  
  
• Lawyer says Guantanamo abuse worse since Obama
  --Reuters
  
  
• NSA Should Oversee Cybersecurity, Intel Chief Says
  --Wired
  
  
• The CIA and NSA Want You to Be Their Friend on Facebook
  --US News & World Report
  
  
• Firms defraud government but get new US contracts
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Blackwater's New Frontier: Their Own Private Africa
  --Mother Jones
  
  
• Afghan Civilians Could Bear Brunt of Increased War
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Militants' sudden unity threatens Obama's Afghanistan strategy
  --McClatchy (Also see "Many in Afghanistan oppose Obama's troop buildup plans." --DB)
  
  
• 'Impossible' to set date for Afghan withdrawal: Gates
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• Afghanistan: U.S. Escalates the Illegal Drug Industry
  --Global Research
  
  
• All Troops Out By 2011? Not So Fast; Why Obama's Iraq Speech Deserves a Second Look
  --AlterNet
  
  
• US Combat Missions in Iraq Will Continue After ‘Pullout’
  --Antiwar (Also see "Drawdown Plan May Leave Combat Brigades in Iraq" and "Dismay at Obama plan to leave 50,000 US troops in Iraq after 2010." --DB)
  
  
• Hundreds of Iraqi Shiites Protest Voting Results, Allege Fraud
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Iranian resistance calls for U.S. support
  --UPI (Also see "Iran urges Iraq to expel opposition group." --DB)
  
  
• Iraq says 38 more firms applied to bid for oil
  --Reuters
  
  
• Serbian spy's trial lifts cloak on his CIA alliance
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• U.S. Is a Vast Arms Bazaar for Mexican Cartels
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Gates: US military can help Mexico in drug fight
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Navy anti-terror exercise being conducted at bases
  --The Virginian Pilot
  
  
• Lockheed Martin Lobbying Hard for F-22 Raptor
  --USA Today

2/17/09 - 2/22/09

• Los Angeles, No. 2 U.S. city, nears water rationing
  --Reuters (Also see "Drought to Cut Off Federal Water to CA Farms," "State calls for widespread water rationing," "Water Wars Wage in Fresno" and "Water wars between U.S. states?" --DB)
  
  
• Mass migrations and war: Dire climate scenario
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Coal Ash: The Hidden Story
  --The Center for Public Integrity
  
  
• British police prepare for summer of rage
  --The Guardian (Also see "China prepares to clamp down on workers’ protests," "Pressure grows on Irish govt after huge protest," "Russian protestors demand elections as crisis bites," "Latvia: PM Is Forced to Resign," "Amid protests, tourists flee Guadeloupe" and "After squalls in the Caribbean, Sarkozy faces a storm at home." --DB)
  
  
• Group urges civil disobedience in foreclosure evictions
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• Newly Poor Swell Lines at Food Banks
  --The New York Times
  
  
• RNC Protesters Tried on Terrorism Charges
  --Democracy Now!
  
  
• Federal Agency Aided Md. Spying
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Bill proposes ISPs, Wi-Fi keep logs for police
  --CNET
  
  
• Chicago Links Street Cameras to Its 911 Network
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Obama signs stimulus bill, readies homeowner plan
  --The Associated Press (Also see "Signing Stimulus, Obama Doesn’t Rule Out More" and "Obama Unveils $75 Billion Plan to Fight Home Foreclosures." --DB)
  
  
• GM, Chrysler Seek Billions More in Aid
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• GM shares hit 74-year low
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• In Steep and Swift Fall, Dow Lands at 6-Year Low
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• The Peak Oil Crisis: Parsing the Numbers
  --Falls Church News-Press
  
  
• Obama’s War on Terror May Resemble Bush’s in Some Areas
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Obama Lawyers Oppose U.S. Court Access for Bagram Prisoners
  --Bloomberg (Also see "Obama backs Bush: No rights for Bagram prisoners." --DB)
  
  
• Obama Admin Faces Decision on Indefinite Detention
  --Democracy Now! (Also see "Will Obama institute a new kind of preventive detention for terrorist suspects?" --DB)
  
  
• Guantanamo Review to Be Headed by Bush Official
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• Gates Sees Need for at Least $83 Billion More in 2009 for Wars
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• U.S.-backed militias gear up in Afghanistan
  --The Globe and Mail
  
  
• The Warlords of Afghanistan
  --TIME
  
  
• CIA expands its covert war in Pakistan
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Pakistan to arm village militias to fight terror
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• White House says world can't delay on Iran
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Iran's nuke program not weapons-capable, UN official says: report
  --Raw Story
  
  
• Iran: Blast hits mosque in southeast
  --Adnkronos International
  
  
• Ecuador says expelled U.S. official was CIA operative
  --Reuters
  
  
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Stanford, drugs and the CIA
  --Cannonfire (Also see "Bank accused of fraud gave big bucks to Congress." --DB)
  
  
• Former CIA Officer Describes Retribution for Whistle Blowing
  --Congressional Quarterly
  
  
• Obama, Gates at Odds Over New Whistleblower Protections
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Arms dealer told top brass of endemic corruption before his hit-style murder
  --The Times
  
  
• Unmanned drone prowls over the lonely prairie
  --The Globe and Mail

2/9/09 - 2/16/09

• Crowds Monitored in High-Def at Obama Inauguration
  --PC World
  
  
• The 180-degree reversal of Obama's State Secrets position
  --Salon (Also see "Justice Dept. Uses 'State Secrets' Defense" and "Obama administration seeks to block lawsuit over illegal wiretapping." --DB)
  
  
• Rendition Case Under Bush Gets Obama Backing
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Anti-terror tactics 'weaken law'
  --BBC
  
  
• Lawsuit Sheds More Light on Terror War Abuses
  --Inter Press Service
  
  
• Defense Contractors Drop $340K On Parties For Gates
  --The Washington Independent
  
  
• Inquiry on Graft in Iraq Focuses on U.S. Officers
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Blackwater Sheds Name, Shifts Focus
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Contract workers say KBR knew of chemical
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Iraq spends $5 bln on US defence deals
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• Iraq From an Armored BMW: Where U.S. 'Reconstruction' Funds Are Really Going
  --Tom Dispatch
  
  
• Uncertainty remains as U.S. hands over responsibility for ‘Sons of Iraq’
  --Stars & Stripes (Also see "Sons of Iraq grow in influence." --DB)
  
  
• Iraq's young jobless threaten stability, report says
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• Rebels kill four Iranian policemen
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• Thousands of US weapons astray in Afghanistan: auditors
  --Agence France Presse (Also see "Lost U.S. Weapons May Be Going to Taliban, GAO Says." --DB)
  
  
• Attack of the Pentagon's Killer Robots
  --In These Times
  
  
• U.S. judges admit to jailing children for money
  --Reuters
  
  
• U.S. Taxpayers Risk $9.7 Trillion on Bailout Programs
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• President Barack Obama team rolls out $3 trillion plan to save economy
  --The Times
  
  
• Geithner Plan Lacks Freshness And Clarity, Paulson's Criticized Path Is Followed
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• FBI expects number of major financial bailout fraud cases to rise
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• Obama says stimulus vital to avoid 'catastrophe'
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Senators Will Not have Chance to Read Final Stimulus Bill Before Vote
  --CNS News
  
  
• Rise in Jobless Poses Threat to Stability Worldwide
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Auto industry teeters as deadline looms
  --The Globe & Mail
  
  
• Financial crisis sparks more unrest in Europe
  --Reuters
  
  
• Crisis raises risk of social unrest in Asia
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• Financial Crisis Called Top Security Threat to U.S.
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Internment Camps Readied For Mass Illegal Alien Influx?
  --Prison Planet
  
  
• Inside source reveals FEMA & DHS preparing for mass graves and martial law near Chicago
  --Daily Newscaster
  
  
• IEA warns of oil 'supply crunch'
  --The Telegraph
  
  
• The Peak Oil Crisis: The Economic Rebound
  --Fall Church News-Press
  
  
• Oil Falls to Lowest in 7 Weeks on U.S. Supply Gain
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• Don't Get Duped Like Obama: Here're the Top 5 Myths About Coal
  --Alternet
  
  
• Biofuels may speed up, not slow global warming: study
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• Climate change even worse than predicted: expert
  --Agence France Presse (Also see "Global warming nearing ‘critical threshold’." --DB)
  
  
• Why Global Warming May Be Fueling Australia's Fires
  --TIME
  
  
• The tropics on fire: scientist's grim vision of global warming
  --The Guardian
  
  
• The fight for water in North America
  --BBC (Also see "Great Lakes not enough to quench water shortage: Report" and "Low snowpack indicates water shortages." --DB)
  
  
• The Geopolitics of Food Scarcity
  --Spiegel Online

1/29/09 - 2/8/09

• Obama's NSC Will Get New Power
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Iraq tribes threaten to take up arms over poll
  --Reuters (Also see "Iraqi military puts Anbar province under curfew." --DB)
  
  
• Disputes cloud Afghan 'public guards' plan
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• Main Core, PROMIS and the Shadow Government (Pt.2)
  --The Existentialist Cowboy (See part three here. --DB)
  
  
• Secret database to track and hold all British travel records
  --The Sunday Times
  
  
• Secret police unit set up to spy on British 'domestic extremists'
  --The Daily Mail
  
  
• Nuclear Scientist A.Q. Khan Is Freed From House Arrest
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Pentagon increases spending on public relations, raising concern about propaganda
  --The Associated Press (Also see "Pentagon clashes with media over control of information." --DB)
  
  
• $40 Billion Increase Billed as Pentagon Budget 'Cut'
  --Wired
  
  
• Hidden Bonuses Enrich U.S. Government Contractors
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• The Revolving Pentagon Door
  --The Washingotn Post
  
  
• Military Contractors Expect to Beat Layoff Trend
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Report shows wasted Iraq spending
  --BBC
  
  
• Iraq Auditor Warns of Waste, Fraud In Afghanistan
  --The Washington Post (Also see "Waste, fraud in Iraq being repeated in Afghanistan" and "Audits: Afghan aid lacks accountability." --DB)
  
  
• Electric shocks came often at U.S. bases in Iraq, report finds
  --CNN (Also see "KBR wins contract despite criminal probe of deaths." --DB)
  
  
• Court documents say KBR will pay $402 million bribery fine
  --The Houston Chronicle
  
  
• Pentagon letter undercuts DOJ in Blackwater case
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• U.S. Looks for Blackwater Replacement in Iraq
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Some Blackwater Mercs Likely to Stay in Iraq, Despite Gov't Ban
  --Wired
  
  
• Police Listed Gay Rights Group Among Terrorists
  --Maryland Moment
  
  
• Military exercises startle residents of New Orleans
  --WWLTV
  
  
• General Wants to Scan More U.S. Irises, Fingerprints
  --Wired
  
  
• Pentagon's Cyborg Beetle Spies Take Off
  --Wired
  
  
• Obama: Lobbyists, I Can’t Quit You!
  --ProPublica
  
  
• Obama CIA choice nets $700,000 from rescued banks, Carlyle Group
  --The Times
  
  
• Obama ethics question: New WH lawyer's firm sought bailout
  --McClatchy
  
  
• Obama Gathering a Flock of Hawks to Oversee U.S. Foreign Policy
  --AlterNet
  
  
• Obama preserves renditions as counter-terrorism tool
  --The Los Angeles Times (Also see "Did Obama Really Create a Loophole for Rendition?" --DB)
  
  
• Panetta Open to Tougher Methods in Some C.I.A. Interrogation
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Guantanamo Judge Denies Obama's Request for Delay
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Rights Groups Demand Full Access to Gitmo
  --The Washington Independent
  
  
• Obama lawyers set to defend Yoo
  --Politico
  
  
• Saddam-Qaeda Conspiracy Theorist Surfaces Writing Iraq Reports For The Pentagon
  --TPMMuckraker
  
  
• Details of CIA Fraud to Stay Secret, Judge Rules
  --ABC News
  
  
• Eric Holder on State Secrets, OLC Opinions
  --Secrecy News (Also see "Justice Dept. Under Obama Is Preparing for Doctrinal Shift in Policies of Bush Years." --DB)
  
  
• $250 kit lets you clone passport RFID chips just by driving past
  --Tech Digest
  
  
• Low turnout in Iraq's election reflects a disillusioned nation
  --McClatchy
  
  
• US-IRAQ: Generals Seek to Reverse Obama Withdrawal Decision
  --Inter Press Service
  
  
• Obama weighing 23-month Iraq withdrawal option
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Afghanistan and Pakistan's "Salvador Option"
  --Antifascist Calling
  
  
• Gates Predicts Long 'Slog' in Afghanistan
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• CIA warns Barack Obama that British terrorists are the biggest threat to the US
  --The Telegraph
  
  
• NATO chief fears Arctic division
  --Canwest News Service
  
  
• U.S. Aided a Failed Plan to Rout Ugandan Rebels
  --The New York Times
  
  
• US diplomat expelled by Ecuador
  --Reuters
  
  
• Mariano Herran Salvatti, Former Mexican Drug Tsar and Chiapas Attorney General, Arrested
  --NarcoSphere
  
  
• Bush administration opened door to controversial off-label marketing of drugs
  --McClatchy
  
  
• Doctors: Under the drug industry's influence?
  --Reuters
  
  
• Credit companies watch your charges very closely
  --The New York Times
  
  
• 'Big Brother' ads can watch who's watching
  --The Times
  
  
• FDA: Company Knowingly Shipped Tainted Peanut Products
  --HealthDay
  
  
• Economy: Sharpest decline in 26 years
  --CNN
  
  
• Governments across Europe tremble as angry people take to the streets
  --The Guardian (Also see "The Whole World Is Rioting as the Economic Crisis Worsens -- Why Aren't We?." --DB)
  
  
• What Red Ink? Wall Street Paid Hefty Bonuses
  --The New York Times (Also see "Loopholes Sap Potency of Pay Limits." --DB)
  
  
• TARP Recipients Paid Out $114 Million for Politicking Last Year
  --Center for Responsive Politics
  
  
• Bailed out firms paid for meetings and charitable gifts on behalf of lawmakers
  --The Hill
  
  
• Bailout Oversight Still Lacking, GAO Finds
  --The Washington Post (Also see "Bailed-out Wells Fargo plans Vegas casino junkets" and "Bailout Money Spent on Superbowl Party." --DB)
  
  
• New Bank Bailout Could Cost $2 Trillion
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Fed Lends Trillions Without Oversight
  --American News Project
  
  
• Cost of stimulus will span generations
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• A $4.6 billion coal gift in stimulus package, record profits for FutureGen members
  --Gristmill
  
  
• Nuclear industry to benefit big from Obama's stimulus
  --Counterpunch
  
  
• Nearly 1 million without power 5 days after ice storm
  --The Associated Press (Also see "National death toll hits 55 in ice storm, 24 in KY." --DB)
  
  
• Is America on the Brink of a Food Crisis?
  --AlterNet
  
  
• Parched: Australia faces collapse as climate change kicks in
  --The Independent (Also see "Australia's deadly bushfire kills 108" and "Bushfires and global warming: is there a link?" --DB)
  
  
• Rising Acidity Is Threatening Food Web of Oceans, Science Panel Says
  --The New York Times
  
  
• The Big Arctic Thaw
  --Popular Science
  
  
• Collapse Of Antarctic Ice Sheet Would Likely Put Washington, D.C. Largely Underwater
  --Science Daily

1/24/09 - 1/28/09

• Audio: More questions than answers in Tinner case
  --World Radio Switzerland
  
  
• Main Core, PROMIS and the Shadow Government pt.1
  --The Existentialist Cowboy
  
  
• New Legislation Authorizes FEMA Camps In U.S.
  --Prison Planet
  
  
• NSA Whistleblower: Grill the CEOs on Illegal Spying
  --Wired
  
  
• CIA-ISI Jihadi “Frankenstein” Sows Chaos, Reaps Death
  --Dissident Voice
  
  
• Tenet Misled Congressional Inquiry about NSA Surveillance of Hijackers
  --History Commons Groups (Also see "PBS: NSA could have prevented 9/11 hijackings." --DB)
  
  
• Deputy SecDef could earn $500K lobbying Pentagon
  --The Associated Press (Also see "Lynn gets waiver from Obama lobbyist rules" and "Former Lobbyists Join Obama." --DB)
  
  
• Obama flip-flop on lobbyist ban is good news for Boston-based military contractor
  --Boston Progressive Examiner
  
  
• Halliburton to pay record $559m to settle bribery case
  --The Times
  
  
• Army Field Manual (Still) Sanctions Torture
  --AlterNet (Also see "The Torture Ban that Doesn’t Ban Torture." --DB)
  
  
• Torture Case Tests Obama Secrecy Policy
  --The Washington Independent (Also see "A Military-CIA Dispute on Interrogations." --DB)
  
  
• Afghan Prison Poses Problem in Overhaul of Detainee Policy
  --The New York Times (Also see "Pentagon Keeps Mum on Who’s at Bagram." --DB)
  
  
• Afghan Guards Confound U.S. Forces
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Holbrooke is Wrong Man for the Job
  --TruthDig
  
  
• Aides Say Obama’s Afghan Aims Elevate War
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Afghans want ‘foreigners’ out of Kabul
  --The National
  
  
• US missile strikes in Pakistan will continue-Gates
  --Reuters
  
  
• Iranian rebels kill a dozen policemen: judiciary
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• US defense chiefs shy away from 16-month Iraq timetable
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• President Obama leads US drive to topple Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe
  --The Times
  
  
• Request granted? ACLU may finally get secret Bush memos
  --McClatchy (See a list of the missing memos at ProPublica. --DB)
  
  
• Obama seeks space weapons ban
  --Reuters (Also see "Gates: Cash Cows of War Running Dry." --DB)
  
  
• Britain told to publish Iraq war discussions
  --Reuters
  
  
• Soaring job losses, civil unrest rising in economic crisis
  --The Province (Also see "Political Unrest On The Rise In Economically Troubled Hotspots," "World Agenda: riots in Iceland, Latvia and Bulgaria are a sign of things to come," and "Protests spread in Europe amid economic crisis." --DB)
  
  
• Financial crisis causes Iceland's government to collapse
  --The Telegraph
  
  
• Global job losses 'could hit 51m'
  --BBC (Also see "Wave of layoffs in U.S., Europe show severity of the recession." --DB)
  
  
• No pink slips for bailed-out bank execs
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• How top financiers paid themselves £1bn before the wheels fell off
  --The Guardian
  
  
• U.N. crime chief says drug money flowed into banks
  --Reuters
  
  
• Stimulus Bill Near $900 Billion
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• GOP, Dems gamble on effect of a stimulus bill
  --San Francisco Chronicle
  
  
• Billions more needed for financial rescue
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• How Serious Are Treasury’s New TARP Lobbying Limits?
  --ProPublica
  
  
• Video: Paulson's $140 Billion Surprise
  --American News Project
  
  
• TARP Recipients Lending Less
  --ProPublica
  
  
• Flood of foreclosures: It's worse than you think
  --CNN
  
  
• U.S. Infrastructure Is in Dire Straits, Report Says
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Pfizer to pay a record fine for off-label promotion practice
  --The Financial Times
  
  
• Geography Is Dividing Democrats Over Energy
  --The New York Times
  
  
• UN chief warns of food shortages in poor countries
  --The New York Times (Also see "World warned of ‘food crunch’ threat" and "World must double food production by 2050: FAO chief." --DB)
  
  
• The High Price of Clean, Cheap Ethanol
  --Spiegel Online
  
  
• Climate Change Here to Stay
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• Tree Deaths Have Doubled Across Western U.S.
  --Science Daily
  
  
• Global Warming From Carbon Dioxide Will Increase Five-fold Over The Next Millennia, Scientists Predict
  --Science Daily
  
  
• Tibet shepherds live on climate frontier
  --The Christian Science Monitor

1/19/09 - 1/23/08

• Terrorists working for Western countries
  --Stavanger Evening News
  
  
• Former NSA Analyst: NSA ‘Monitored All Communications’ Of Americans, Targeted Journalists
  --Think Progress
  
  
• Whistleblower believes NSA program is remnants of TIA
  --Raw Story
  
  
• Military report raises concerns about social unrest fueled by globalization, urbanization
  --Phoenix Business Journal
  
  
• Many Bush Officials Held Over at DHS
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Judge freezes 9/11 terror trial at Obama's request
  --The Miami Herald
  
  
• Obama Starts Reversing Bush Policies
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Human Rights Group: Obama Left Wiggle Room On Torture
  --The Plum Line
  
  
• Out With the Old Gitmo, In With the New?
  --ProPublica
  
  
• Illegal wire-tapping suit now in Obama's court
  --San Francisco Chronicle
  
  
• Intelligence gathering eyed in Indiana
  --Evansville Courier Press
  
  
• Blackwater quietly expanding its reach
  --Pensacola News Journal
  
  
• Feds raid contractor with Murtha ties
  --Politico
  
  
• Obama boom for K Street
  --The Hill
  
  
• Swiss nuclear smuggling suspect claims CIA link
  --The Canadian Press
  
  
• Saudi businessman files suit over US terror list
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Iraq Accuses Iranian Exiles of Plotting Attack
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Two Days After Inauguration: Is Obama’s Iraq Timetable Already Dead?
  --Antiwar (To be clear, the plan never called for withdrawing all U.S. forces. Despite the hoopla, Obama's war policy is extraordinarily similar to Bush's. The plan is to leave 60,000 - 80,000 combat troops in Iraq as a 'residual' force. Of course, with the 'good guy' in office, many opponents of occupation will no doubt become supporters. --DB)
  
  
• Gates Predicts U.S. Will be in Iraq and Afghanistan ‘for Years to Come’
  --CNS News
  
  
• Iraq Urges Continuity Not ‘Change’ From Barack Obama
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• Kabul's rift with the US widens
  --Asia Times (Also see "Obama ready to cut Karzai adrift." --DB)
  
  
• Afghan unrest killed 4,000 civilians in 2008: report
  --Agnece France Presse
  
  
• Obama names top envoys to Mideast, Afghanistan, Pakistan
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• Kosovo Launches Its Own Military
  --Antiwar
  
  
• Firms Keep Lobbying as They Get TARP Cash
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• The Bailout: TARP Failing, Next Step Unclear
  --ProPublica (Also see "As banks teeter again, Wall St. looks for answers." --DB)
  
  
• Geithner Pledges Prolonged Effort to Stabilize Banks
  --Bloomberg (Also see "Obama plans sweeping action on financial bailout." --DB)
  
  
• New jobless claims rise more than expected to 589K
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Perestroika 2.0 beta
  --ClubOrlov
  
  
• Cheap oil: a poisoned gift
  --Energy Bulletin (Also see "Oil Price Over $100, in a Blink." --DB)
  
  
• Industrialization Of China Increases Fragility Of Global Food Supply
  --Science Daily
  
  
• Study finds seasonal shift
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• Global warming increasing death rate of US trees, scientists warn
  --The Guardian
  
  
• Much Of Antarctica Is Warming More Than Previously Thought
  --Science Daily (Also see "Antarctic Warming Detected by Scientists Dashes Crichton Theory." --DB)
  
  
• Many glaciers will disappear by middle of century and add to rising sea levels, expert warns
  --The Guardian
  
  
• Ecologists warn the planet is running short of water
  --The Times
  
  
• Inhofe's 650 Climate "Dissenters" (Make That 649... 648...)
  --The New Republic
  
  
• Colorado River may face fight of its life
  --San Diego Tribune

1/14/09 - 1/18/09

• America's Deadly Game: Nuclear Proliferation, Terrorism and Deceit
  --Antifascist Calling
  
  
• Saudi Arabia Again Claims Immunity in 9/11 Lawsuit Case
  --Philadelphia Inquirer
  
  
• Inquiry Into Interrogations Unlikely
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Secret List of U.S. Military Bases to Replace Gitmo
  --ABC News
  
  
• Court Affirms Wiretapping Without Warrants
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Under Obama, feds may still snoop library files
  --San Francisco Chronicle
  
  
• Obama's Top Law Enforcer Is Preoccupied with Bush's War on Terror
  --AlterNet
  
  
• Napolitano backs security tech
  --USA Today
  
  
• Napolitano in no rush to nix FEMA
  --Politico
  
  
• Geithner's risky oversight of Citigroup
  --Politico
  
  
• Report Cites Political and Racial Bias At Justice
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• ACLU: 'Secret courts' conceal fraud by military contractors
  --Raw Story
  
  
• ‘Emergency’ Declared for Inauguration
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Internal investigation clears Pentagon of propaganda violations
  --Agence France Presse
  
  
• Resistance to U.S. Plan for Afghanistan
  --The Washington Post (Also see "Biden to Obama: Afghanistan war will get worse," "Taliban’s use of roadside bombs doubled in 2008," and "Growing Taliban use of marksmen worries U.S. military." --DB)
  
  
• Obama to triple Pakistan aid to cripple terror
  --Economic Times
  
  
• Iran says jails accused in U.S.-backed plot: report
  --Reuters
  
  
• Russia seals recognition of Georgia breakaways
  --Reuters (Also see "Russia hopes US will not seek NATO expansion" and "A Crossroad for Russia and America." --DB)
  
  
• Chavez Warns that Obama "Repeats Bush's Discourse Against Venezuela"
  --NarcoSphere
  
  
• Bitter cold hits hard because of economic meltdown
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Foreclosures up a record 81% in 2008
  --CNN (Also see "Swindlers Find Growing Market in Foreclosures." --DB)
  
  
• California to suspend tax refunds, welfare checks, student grants
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• Bailout Is a Windfall to Banks, if Not to Borrowers
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Government Regulators Aided IndyMac Cover-Up, Maybe Others
  --ABC News
  
  
• Bailed-Out Firms Have Tax Havens, GAO Finds
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• AIG Discloses $150 Million More in Retention Pay
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• Economic stimulus could balloon to $850 billion
  --USA Today
  
  
• Senate gives Obama access to $350 billion bailout aid
  --Reuters
  
  
• Bank of America Receives $138 Billion of Rescue Funds
  --Bloomberg (Also see "Merrill Lynch Lost $39.1 Billion In Six Quarters." --DB)
  
  
• Citigroup posts loss, splits up the bank
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Circuit City to close remaining 567 stores in U.S.
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• Global Risk Seen in China's Falling Growth
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Oil Demand Set for 2-Year Drop on Recession, IEA Says
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• Ray LaHood and Changing Our Thinking About Transportation
  --World Changing
  
  
• Audio: What Happens When We Run Out of Drinking Water?
  --National Radio Project (Also see "California's snowpack levels breed new water worries," "In California, Hot and Dry Conditions Stir Drought Concerns" and "Shrinking Tibetan Glacier Threatens Water Shortages." --DB)
  
  
• Arctic warming pattern 'highly unusual': Report
  --Canwest News Service (Also see "Arctic Heats Up More Than Other Places: High Sea Level Rise Predicted." --DB)
  
  
• Coal lobby PR firm memo boasts about manipulating Democrats and Republicans
  --Desmogblog
  
  
• USDA unable to weed out unapproved modified foods
  --Reuters

1/10/09 - 1/13/09

• U.S. Rejected Aid for Israeli Raid on Iranian Nuclear Site
  --The New York Times ("But the tense exchanges also prompted the White House to step up intelligence-sharing with Israel and brief Israeli officials on new American efforts to subtly sabotage Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, a major covert program that Mr. Bush is about to hand off to President-elect Barack Obama.")
  
  
• Iran says uncovers U.S.-backed coup plot
  --Reuters
  
  
• U.S. Spending on Nuclear Weapons Exceeds $52 Billion
  --Secrecy News
  
  
• Provisional nuclear command stands up
  --Air Force Times
  
  
• Government practices 'homeland security' event
  --The Associated Press (Also see "Bush & Obama Officials Play "War Games." --DB)
  
  
• 44 to reverse 43's executive orders
  --Politico (Unfortunately it is not as easy as just revoking orders. Bush's directives have spawned a wide range of policies. Complex and controversial spying programs, data-mining operations, detention facilities, covert escapades overseas, etc...the entire "war on terror" is based on a radical interpretation of law, executive power and preemptive war. Only time will tell what type of change the Obama Administration is able and willing to bring about. --DB)
  
  
• Bush Admin Still Withholding Key ‘War on Terror’ Memos
  --ProPublica
  
  
• Bagram, Worse Than Guantanamo?
  --Inter Press Service
  
  
• U.S. visitors required to register online
  --CNET News
  
  
• CIA Documents Show Colombia Army Ties with ParaMilitary
  --Latin American Herald Tribune
  
  
• Cocaine plane trail is open challenge for Obama administration
  --NarcoSphere
  
  
• Inexplicable Wealth of Afghan Elite Sows Bitterness
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• The Afghan Reconstruction Boondoggle
  --Tom Dispatch (Also see "Afghan insurgency inspiring new fighters: analysts." --DB)
  
  
• US Copies Iraq Militias for Somalia
  --Islam Online
  
  
• New audit of Iraq's rebuilding has a familiar ring
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Kurdish leader sees authoritarian drift in Iraq
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• The DOJ pursues the "real criminal" in the NSA spying scandal
  --Salon
  
  
• Evidence in Terror Cases Said to Be in Chaos
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Obama Signals His Reluctance to Look Into Bush Policies
  --The New York Times (Also see "Democrats seek criminal probe of Bush 'abuses'." --DB)
  
  
• Watchdog: Bush ex-officials used leverage in private sector
  --McClatchy
  
  
• Sea absorbing less CO2, scientists discover
  --The Guardian
  
  
• Unprecedented heat will trigger global food crisis
  --The Globe and Mail
  
  
• Energy Nominee Shifts His Stance
  --The New York Times
  
  
• More U.S. backing seen possible for ethanol plants
  --Reuters
  
  
• Don't get used to cheap oil, analysts say
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Bush issues U.S. policy on Arctic energy supplies
  --Reuters
  
  
• Russia accused of playing 'trick' as gas turned off again
  --The Telegraph
  
  
• Inaugural is lobbying schmooze
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Who's Running TARP? You Might Not Wanna Know
  --TPM Muckraker
  
  
• Obama presses lawmakers to OK new bailout funds
  --The Associated Press (Also see "Obama Team’s Request for Bailout Money Short on Specifics." --DB)
  
  
• Bernanke: More Bail Outs Could Be Necessary
  --The New York Times
  
  
• HSBC may need $30 billion: Morgan Stanley
  --Reuters
  
  
• Citigroup said to consider plan to split in two
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Study sees risk of $1 trillion asset collapse
  --The Associated Press

1/6/09 - 1/9/09

• Martial Law, the Financial Bailout, and War
  --Global Research
  
  
• FBI Provocateur Sets-Up Anti-RNC Activists on Trumped-Up "Terrorism" Charges
  --Antifascist Calling
  
  
• NYPD Wants to Jam Cell Phones During Terror Attack
  --Wired
  
  
• After Defending Bush Admin Abuses, McConnell Appointed To Intel Advisory Board By Obama
  --Think Progress
  
  
• Obama taps Clinton vets for defense posts
  --UPI
  
  
• Obama picks lobbyist as Pentagon No. 2
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Air Force Releases 'Counter-Blog' Marching Orders
  --Wired
  
  
• Judge's Order Could Keep Public From Hearing Details of 9/11 Trials
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Judge reinstates Islamic group's wiretapping suit
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Judge accuses Justice Dept. of hiding evidence
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Albanian NGO sues government on CIA kidnap claim
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Probe of CIA video destruction winding down
  --Reuters
  
  
• How the U.S. Army's Field Manual Codified Torture -- and Still Does
  --AlterNet
  
  
• Bush chooses Uribe, Blair, Howard for high honor
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• US investor buys Sudanese warlord’s land
  --The Financial Times
  
  
• Somalia Revisited
  --The Atlantic
  
  
• Turkish government holds crisis talks as former generals arrested
  --The Guardian
  
  
• Report: Iraq security contractors poorly managed
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• FDA scientists complain to Obama of 'corruption'
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Richardson advisor worked for firm under investigation
  --The Los Angeles Times
  
  
• U.S. Adds Eight Bases in Afghanistan
  --Human Events
  
  
• Gates projects Pentagon needs $70 billion more for wars
  --Reuters
  
  
• Value of 2008 Bailouts Exceeds Combined Costs of All Major U.S. Wars
  --CNS News
  
  
• Panel Steps Up Criticism of Treasury Over TARP
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Bush Prepares Request for Rest Of Bailout Funds
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• $1.2 trillion deficit looms
  --CNN
  
  
• Jobless rate jumps to 7.2 percent in December
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• State unemployment claim systems overwhelmed
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• The shape of the recovery
  --Post Carbon Institute
  
  
• Bush Moves to Update U.S. Policy in Arctic Region
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Rising sea levels 'could spark conflict over energy and food reserves'
  --The Telegraph
  
  
• Billions face food shortages, study warns
  --The Guardian (Also see "Global warming will be a killer for agriculture, UW scientists say" and "The outcry is muted, but the food crisis is getting worse." --DB)
  
  
• Nato warning for Russia over 'political' gas crisis
  --The Times
  
  
• Oil falls for fourth session on U.S. jobs data
  --MarketWatch
  
  
• Oil supply is set to fall below demand
  --The Financial Times
  
  
• Start-ups put farm debris to use as fuel
  --USA Today (Another wonderful idea from our friends in the ethanol industry. Of course, this debris is needed to prevent soil erosion. Take too much out and the farmland dies. Our bellies will be just as empty as our gas tanks if we're not careful. Also see "Peak Soil." --DB)
  
  
• Titanic battle: Big Oil vs. Big Water
  --The Los Angeles Times (Also see "Shell stakes claim on Yampa River." --DB)
  
  
• The Costly Compromises of Oil From Sand
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Toxic coal ash piling up in ponds in 32 states
  --The Associated Press (Also see "Hundreds of Coal Ash Dumps Lack Regulation."

1/1/09 - 1/5/09

• More Groups Than Thought Monitored in Police Spying
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Unrest caused by bad economy may require military action, report says
  --El Paso Times
  
  
• Should the Military Be Called in for Natural Disasters?
  --TIME
  
  
• Terrorism drill to be part of passing torch
  --USA Today
  
  
• CIA tracking 4000 UK terror suspects
  --The Age
  
  
• Jundullah responsible for Saravan bombing
  --Press TV
  
  
• US certain MKO will not face prosecution
  --Press TV
  
  
• The Secret and (Very) Profitable World of Intelligence and Narcotrafficking
  --Antifascist Calling
  
  
• US to harness Afghan militias against Taliban
  --The Guardian (Also see "Canada "not onboard" with U.S. plan to arm Afghan militias: MacKay." --DB)
  
  
• CIA give Afghan warlords Viagra in exchange for information on Taliban
  --The Telegraph
  
  
• In Afghanistan, rampant government corruption a way of life
  --Dallas Morning News
  
  
• U.S. Losing 'Secret' War in Somalia
  --Wired
  
  
• Urban Tool in Recruiting by the Army: An Arcade
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Justice Department Classified Cheney's CIA Leak Testimony
  --The Public Record
  
  
• Commerce Pick Richardson Withdraws, Citing N.M. Probe
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• Iraq opens nearly 90 pct of its oil reserves
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Countries in tug-of-war over Arctic resources
  --CNN
  
  
• Industrial society hits the wall
  --Post Carbon Institute
  
  
• Treasury Has Pledged More Rescue Funds Than Authorized
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• Nation's largest banks refuse to disclose bailout spending
  --The Associated Press (Also see "AP study finds $1.6B went to bailed-out bank execs." --DB)
  
  
• Vehicle sales tumbled more than 35 percent in December
  --The New York Times
  
  
• Chrysler gets $4 billion U.S. government loan
  --Reuters
  
  
• Fed Officials Back ‘Big Stimulus’ to Fight Recession
  --Bloomberg
  
  
• U.S. Debt Expected To Soar This Year
  --The Washington Post
  
  
• New York, four other states seek $1 trillion federal bailout
  --The Associated Press
  
  
• Obama's Perilous Compromise with Looters
  --Jeffrey Klein
  
  
• Oil pushing $50 as geopolitical concerns mount
  --Reuters (Also see "Supply Worries Offer Oil A Way Up." --DB)
  
  
• Trucks in India go off roads, food shortages feared
  --The Economic Times
  
  
• Vilsack's ethanol connection troubling
  --San Diego Union-Tribune
  
  
• Tenn. Sludge Spill Challenges 'Clean Coal' Future
  --Discovery News (Also see "Tennessee sludge spill estimate grows to 1 billion gallons." --DB)
  
  
• 'Clean Coal' Backers Pitch Project for Stimulus Plan
  --The Wall Street Journal
  
  
• NASA Study Links Severe Storm Increases, Global Warming
  --Science Daily