Link: http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2012/02/02/new-york-city-still-the-marijuana-arrest-capital-of-the-world/

Low level marijuana arrests in New York City rose for the seventh straight year in 2011 to 50,680. The arrest total is the highest total on record since former pot smoker Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office and it is the second highest total of pot arrests ever recorded in the history of the city Shockingly, the near-record high arrest total comes just months after New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly called on officers to cease making marijuana misdemeanor arrests. Apparently, NYPD officers aren’t very good at listening to their commanding officer.Of course, what is most troubling about these arrest figures is that under state law they largely shouldn’t be occurring at all. Since 1977, New York State law has categorized the possession of 25 grams of marijuana or less as a violation, not a misdemeanor crime. So then how are NYPD making so many misdemeanor pot arrests? By violating the spirit of the law, if not the law itself. Rather than ticketing low level marijuana offenders, City police for over a decade have been taking advantage of a separate statute, NY State Penal Law 221.10, which makes it a criminal misdemeanor to possess pot if it is ‘open to public view.’ According to an investigation last year by New York City public radio station WNYC, it was determined that City cops routinely conduct warrantless ’stop-and-frisk’ searches of civilians, find marijuana hidden on their persons, and then falsely charge them with possessing pot ‘open to public view.’

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/02/01-4

Looking at millions of individual bills that makeup the 2.7 trillion dollars of annual health care costs opens a gigantic window on the massive waste, redundancy, profiteering, fraud and sometimes criminal over-billing.Americans continue to spend more on health care than patients anywhere else. Moreover, France and Germany, Italy, England, Canada, Belgium, Sweden and all other western countries plus Japan and Taiwan cover almost all their citizens, unlike the U.S. where 50,000,000 people are uninsured.These include higher administrative costs to deal with insurance paperwork, higher insurance company profits and executive compensation and less developed electronic health records leading to costly errors.Health care bills come with hefty levels of fraud.fully ten percent of all health care expenditures are the result of computerized billing fraud and abuse. That will be $270 billion this year.But why the health insurance companies, a formidable force do not do more to stop fraudulent billing practices, is a puzzle.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/02/02-0

You wouldn’t think handling a notebook or a camera could be a hazardous line of work. But according to the latest global Press Freedom Index, abuse and oppression of reporters has made journalism an increasingly risky job in many countries. The past year has even left a notable taint on the U.S. press, despite the country's mythos as a beacon of free expression. [Occupy Wall St. protesters—and journalists—stand in front of the residence of NewsCorp CEO Rupert Murdoch on Oct. 11, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)] In the space of two months in the United States, more than 25 [journalists] were subjected to arrests and beatings at the hands of police who were quick to issue indictments for inappropriate behaviour, public nuisance or even lack of accreditation.The most high-profile violations of press freedom took place during the Occupy protests, as reporters were abused by police and otherwise stonewalled by authorities.But as usual, the crackdowns only challenged activists to push back more fiercely as digital images and reports of police brutality and oppression went viral. And much of the heavy lifting was accomplished by a deft, if somewhat chaotic, grassroots media sphere.

Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2012/2/2/headlines#10

The death toll in Syria is mounting amid a standoff at the United Nations over a response to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Opposition groups say at least 68 people were killed in clashes with Assad’s forces across Syria on Wednesday. The fighting comes as Russia continues to oppose a Security Council measure backed by the United States and the Arab League. The measure rules out foreign intervention but calls for "transparent and free elections," a clause Russia says is unacceptable as it could impose Assad’s forced removal. In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Russia is on the wrong side of history.

Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2012/2/2/headlines#10

The Obama administration has lifted a ban on military assistance to Uzbekistan in order to preserve a supply line for the war effort in Afghanistan. Uzbekistan has seen reduced U.S. military aid in recent years amid widespread human rights abuses, including torture earlier this month, allowing the United States to provide non-lethal military equipment. On Wednesday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters the move will help Uzbekistan fight terrorism.

Link: http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/

The Middle East’s despots and the push for democracy synonymous with the Arab Spring make curious bedfellows. And yet, as an Arab League delegation presses the United Nations to support the league’s latest roadmap to peace in Syria, all overt signs suggest that the Arab world’s most ardently anti-democratic leaders have re-cast themselves as champions of Western-style liberal democracy, at least in appearance.

Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106635

- Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's visit to Cuba served to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, leverage the South American giant's investments in the Caribbean island, and deepen political ties. In what was her first trip to Cuba, Rousseff judged as wrong "a blockade that denies a people access to food," in reference to the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, and said her government would be granting 350 million dollars in credit for food purchases from Brazil. On Feb. 1, Rousseff travelled to Haiti, where she was set to meet with government officials to discuss a number of issues, According to official press accounts, during her stay in the capital she signed several agreements with Cuba, but no details of their content were released. "We also agreed to finance the purchase of equipment, machinery, small tractors, and harvesters, with a 200 million (dollar) credit to boost food production in Cuba," Rousseff said, and insisted on a partnership between the two nations that will help the island's development and ensure better living conditions for its people.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/02/alabama-republican-claims-low-teacher-pay-a-biblical-mandate/

A Republican State Senator from Alabama claimed this week that keeping teacher salaries low is actually an order from the Christian deity figure, imparted in ancient texts written by Jewish tribesmen thousands of years ago. Speaking at a prayer breakfast recently, Alabama state Senator Shadrack McGill praised giving pay raises to politicians, saying that it helps to prevent bribery. Then he shifted gears and went in the opposite direction with regards to teachers, arguing against a bill that would increase their salaries, it wouldn’t matter how much you would pay them.McGill voted in favor of a 67 percent pay raise for lawmakers in 2007.Alabama ranks 31st in the nation in average teacher salaries, although the state did see an 11 percent increase in teacher pay from 2007-2009. The state’s Republicans have adopted so-called “right to work” laws that forbid public employees from collectively bargaining for better wages and benefits.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/02/panetta-says-israel-could-strike-iran-in-spring/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29

BRUSSELS — US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a “strong likelihood” that Israel will strike Iran’s nuclear installations this spring, the Washington Post said Thursday in an editorial.“Israel indicated they’re considering this (a strike), we’ve indicated our concerns,” he added.The Post columnist said Panetta “believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June before Iran enters what Israelis described as a ‘zone of immunity’ to commence building a nuclear bomb.”
President Barack Obama and Panetta are “said to have cautioned the Israelis that the United States opposes an attack, believing that it would derail an increasingly successful international economic sanctions program and other non-military efforts to stop Iran from crossing the threshold,” he said.
“But the White House hasn?t yet decided precisely how the United States would respond if the Israelis do attack.”

Link: http://whatreallyhappened.com/

Memo to Israeli Defense Minister Barak: if you feel you must strike Iran, I would caution you, very seriously, to take to heart what US Joint Chief of Staff Dempsey said last week regarding the US response to an uncoordinated Israeli attack against Iran. Russian and Chinese officials have said, very clearly and publicly, that they will support Iran in the event of either an Israeli or US attack against it, enjoy all the pleasures of a 3-front war between Israel, Iran, China, and Russia; that ought to be spectacular. Defense Minster Barak, you and your colleagues in Israel need to get one thing straight: thinking Americans are sick and tired of paying the cost in American blood and American money as a sacrifice on the altar of potential Israeli hegemony in the Middle East. We want that practice stopped by the US government, and right the heck now!!

Link: http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Obama-PrayerBreakfast/2012/02/02/id/428302?s=al&promo_code=E184-1

President Barack Obama linked his economic policies to his Christian faith, saying on Thursday that meeting the nation's challenges requires strong values as much as smart policies. Obama, making his third appearance as president at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, used his remarks to justify many of his actions, such as his call for the wealthy to pay more in taxes and his health care overhaul. He said they were not only economically sound but also rooted in his Christian values. "When I talk about shared responsibility, it's because I genuinely believe that in a time when many folks are struggling and at a time when we have enormous deficits, it's hard for me to ask seniors on a fixed income or young people with student loans or middle-class families who can barely pay the bills to shoulder the burden alone," Obama said. "But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus' teaching that, for unto whom much is given, much shall be required," he said.

Link: http://lonestarwatchdog.blogspot.com/2012/02/reason-for-war-with-iran-follow-funny.html

The reason why we have an unstable world and a goverment out of control is because we have the International Bankers in control.These are the people who cause famines wars and misery. These are the people who impoverish nations and kill leaders who do not play ball with the moneychangers. This reason to go to war with Iran is insane to do in the first place. Iran has not attacked any country ever. Israel and the United States needs a fabled enemy to justify its police state at home while attacking nations into submission to set up a private central bank under the control of the European bankers. We have become a rogue state antagonizing the world as the bullies for the bankers. The saber rattling beating the war drum to bomb Iran is nothing more than the European bankers using the American Military as a hired gun to bomb nations into submission to accepting a private central bank to put the people into debt slavery and for the Military industrial complex so they can keep making bombs. When there is no wars, that is not good for business for the defense contractors. This impending war is about the bankers gaining control of the issuance of the currency. The rest of the propaganda is just a cover story to sell the public to justify a war. Follow the money and you will see that the bankers are pushing this war. Weapons of mass destruction or not. The enemies of humanity must be taken down or we all be working for funny money as debt slaves.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/world/middleeast/israel-warns-iranian-missiles-might-threaten-us.html?_r=3&partner=rss&emc=rss

JERUSALEM — A senior Israeli official said Thursday that the missile testing site near Tehran that was destroyed in a huge explosion three months ago was developing missiles with a range of about 6,000 miles that could reach the United States. RelatedThe assertion went far beyond what rocket experts have established about Iran’s missile capabilities, and American officials questioned its accuracy.

Link: http://whatreallyhappened.com/

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -- Ronald Reagan (1986)

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/news/2012/02/02/petrodollar-pumping-us-policy-on-iran-ba

As tensions between the US and Iran heat up, author Michael T. Winter believes the main reason behind America’s harsh stance is Tehran’s move to seek an alternative to the dollar as an oil currency. - Economic sanctions, spearheaded by the US and, less willingly, the EU could have a disastrous effect on both of their respective economies. If Iran cannot sell their oil to Europe, there are plenty of customers waiting in the wings, and if they come bearing not petrodollars, but gold and sovereign currencies, then all the better for Iran. These sanctions, if enforced, will in effect place a serious dent in the power of the petrodollar. Any rhetoric regarding Iran’s nuclear program and the insistence on crippling it is nothing more than a US attempt to force regime change for one more receptive to maintaining the hegemony of the petrodollar.

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/news/2012/02/02/mitt-romney-i-m-not-concerned-about-the

“I’m in this race because I care about Americans. I’m not concerned about the very poor — we have a safety net there,” he said. “If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich — they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.”

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2012/02/02/american-head-of-interpol-stomps-his-jac

Welcome to the new INTERPOL – the International Criminal Police Organization -- a carbon copy of the INTERPOL that was briefly headquartered in Berlin under the Nazi regime. Today, INTERPOL, an international law enforcement agency composed of 190 members nations, INTERPOL, headquartered in Lyon, France, is under the control of Secretary General Ron K. Noble, a former Undersecretary for Enforcement of the U.S. Treasury Department. Under Noble, INTERPOL is tracking political dissidents while leaving gangsters and other criminals, especially those wanted by Russia, remain at large. INTERPOL’s Secretaries General included four German SS generals: Otto Stenhausl, Gestapo and Sicherheitsdienst (SD) Security Service chief Reinhard Heydrich – assassinated in a Prague suburb by Czechoslovak agents in 1942, Arthur Nebe – head of the KRIPO criminal police and executed for his part to assassinated Adolf Hitler in 1944, and Ernst Kaltenbrunner – executed for war crimes after the Nuremburg trials.During INTERPOL’s control by Nazi generals, the international law enforcement organization became a virtual arm of Nazi German intelligence.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29019

During a broadcasted meeting of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, CIA Director, panel Chairperson indicate they met Tamir Pardo in Washington this week; U.S. official: Iran willing to attack U.S. targets if threatened. Mossad chief Tamir Pardo held secret talks with top U.S. officials in recent days, cursory comments made during a public Senate hearing indicated on Tuesday.The clandestine Washington visit was exposed during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which was participated by CIA Director David Petraeus, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate panel. During the meeting, Feinstein asked Clapper whether or not Israel intended to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, with the top U.S. intelligence official answering that he would rather discuss the issue behind closed doors. Feinstein then indicated that she had met Mossad chief Pardo earlier in the week in Washington, with Petraeus adding that he too met Pardo and cited what he called Israel's growing concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions. The CIA chief also said that it was important to note that Israel considered a nuclear Iran as an existential threat. The entire exchange was broadcasted live on American television.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29030

The command post of NATO’s European anti-missile shield will be deployed to the German military base of Rammstein, AFP cited today European diplomatic sources as saying.NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated late January that the European missile shield would be built in 8-10 years.
Mr. Rasmussen went on to say he hoped NATO would be able to announce the initial stage of the operational readiness at its May 2012 summit in Chicago.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29032

[A] concentration of military forces in the Gulf creates an explosive situation in the region. One accidental shot would be enough to trigger fire on both sides.All countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization share Russia’s concern. China is yet another major international player opposed to a military campaign against Iran. Unfortunately, neither protests from China, nor warnings from Russia have had any effect on the allies as they step up preparations for a new Middle East conflict. The United States, Britain and France have begun to deploy troops in the Gulf in a move which experts say suggests preparations for a war with Iran. The first strikes could be carried out at the beginning of the summer, media reports say.According to reports, troops are arriving at the Masirah Island in Oman which is located south of the Strait of Hormuz where a US air base is deployed. Two American strike groups are currently stationed in the Gulf. Some reports say that the grouping will be reinforced with one more aircraft carrier, the destroyer Momsen and the nuclear submarine Annapolis. The US is also enhancing its presence in Israel and Kuwait. British troops and troops from the United Arab Emirates have been arriving in Saudi Arabia. The main target is Iran, whose nuclear program has long been an issue of particular concern in the West. Reports have been leaked to the press that hundreds of penetration bombs capable of destroying heavily fortified underground bunkers have been delivered to an American base on the British Island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29033

China's near-exclusive access to terbium and yttrium sent prices soaring in 2011, potentially hobbling clean energy industry. Shortages of a handful of rare minerals could slow the future growth of the burgeoning renewable energy industries, and affect countries' chances of limiting greenhouse gas emissions, business leaders were told at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Last year, prices of many scarce minerals exploded, rising as much as 10 times over 2010 levels before dropping back, said PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).Terbium, yttrium, dysprosium, europium and neodymium are widely used in the manufacture of wind turbines, solar panels, electric car batteries and energy-efficient lightbulbs. But because these "rare earths" are mined almost exclusively in China, it is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to source them in the required quantities. In a survey of some of the largest clean energy manufacturers, 78% told PwC said they were already experiencing instability of supply of rare metals, and most said they did not expect shortages to ease for at least five years. Currently, 95% of the rare earth minerals needed by clean tech industries come from China which has set strict export quotas. Last year China reserved most for its own for its domestic wind, solar and battery industries, shifting costs to the US and Europe which do not mine any of the minerals.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29042

The experts are sure that precisely Iran will become the main issue of discussions in Washington as the US intends to use Georgian territory for actions against Iran. And it is not accidental that the US provide much money for military airports in Vaziani, Marneuli and Batumi. “I do not accept Saakashvili participating in an anti-Iranian campaign in return for keeping his position”, ex-Georgian President Eduard Shevarnadze considers. “It may become a real catastrophe for our country. War against Iran must not be led from our territory.” Today, on January 30 Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili will meet his American counterpart Barack Obama. According to experts, Georgia’s possible participation in the military operation against Iran will be the main issue of the discussions. Mr. Saakashvili seems to be ready to make Georgian territory available for the conflict against Tehran and he will explain its readiness with the necessity to be protected from the “Russian military danger,” Russian kommersant.ru writes.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/clap-f02.shtml

Provocative testimony by US officials at a January 31 US Senate Intelligence Committee hearing has become the focus of a media campaign, accusing Iran of posing a terrorist threat to the United States.
The US is already waging a campaign to impose an oil embargo on Iran and backing a covert campaign of bombings and assassinations, apparently carried out by Israel, against Iran’s nuclear program. It is now further turning up pressure on Tehran, reviving accusations that were earlier abandoned by Washington last October that Iran plotted to assassinate Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir in Washington, DC.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/

The United States, France, Britain and the Arab League are pressing for the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution on Syria, while denying that it is intended to pave the way for Western military intervention. This is a lie. While the imperialist powers and their proxies are helping arm “rebel” forces that are fighting a deepening civil war in Syria, they are simultaneously trying to intimidate Russia and China, who oppose intervention, by casting them as responsible for the deepening bloodshed in Syria.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29001

Tthe BBC now “reveals”, almost a year after the information was relayed by several alternative media, that British Special Forces played a key role in steering and supervising Libya's "freedom fighters" to victory. Known and documented many of these so-called rebels were mercenaries under contract to NATO.British efforts to help topple Colonel Gaddafi were not limited to air strikes. On the ground - and on the quiet - special forces soldiers were blending in with rebel fighters: The existence of E Squadron is well known within the special forces community but has not hitherto been discussed publicly. It was formed five years ago to work closely with the intelligence service MI6, and is mainly involved in missions where maximum discretion is required, say Whitehall insiders. According to special forces people, E Squadron is a composite organisation formed from selected SAS, SBS and Special Reconnaissance Regiment operators. It is not technically part of the SAS or SBS, but at the disposal of the Director of Special Forces and MI6. The squadron often operates in plain clothes and with the full range of national support, such as false identities, at its disposal.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29018

Last year I already exposed one secret, Europe-wide network dealing with police spies, the European Cooperation Group on Undercover Activities. Previously, even parliamentarians had been unaware of the group’s existence. The Federal Government cited ‘politically motivated’ crime as one of the group’s ‘main issues’.There are also secret police groups dealing with surveillance technology and the use of spy software by the state. A picture is increasingly emerging of an international police network operating without oversight.

Link: http://socialistworker.org/2012/01/31/charlotte-restricts-free-speech

LOCAL AUTHORITIES in Charlotte, N.C., have passed a law designed to restrict demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), scheduled for September.The key part of the legislation, which takes the form of an amendment to city code, is a provision empowering the city manager--an appointed, not elected, official--to declare an event "of international or national significance" to be an "extraordinary event." The city manager may then specify and limit the times and locations in which demonstrations can occur. The law further empowers the city to establish permit deadlines for protesters wishing to stage marches and demonstrations. The bill has no sunset clause, meaning that it will stay on the books permanently.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/31/gingrich-romney-kept-kosher-food-from-holocaust-survivors/

In an automated “robocall” to Florida voters, the Gingrich campaign claimed that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney prevented Jewish Holocaust survivors from eating kosher food.“As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney vetoed a bill paying for kosher food for our seniors in nursing homes,” a recorded voice says. “Holocaust survivors, who for the first time, were forced to eat non-kosher, because Romney thought $5 was too much to pay for our grandparents to eat kosher. Where is Mitt Romney’s compassion for our seniors?”As tasteless as the ad may be, The New York Post reported last week that that Romney had used his veto in 2003 to reject $600,000 in funds that would have allowed poor Jewish nursing homes to get Kosher meals.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/

A charter school near Flint, Michigan is refusing to make an exception for a 17-year-old leukemia survivor who is growing out his hair to donate to other cancer patients.I fought cancer my entire life; I’m going to keep fighting this,” he told The Detroit News. “I’m not going to not give back just because my school says no.”“Female students can grow and donate their hair, yet boys cant not, we’re asking for an ammendment to this policy, my son has now been kicked out of school, until he agrees to cut his hair, we are simply asking for compromise and to allow not only my son, but anyone wanting to donate to be allowed to do so, to allow the boys the same rights and freedoms as the girl students.”

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/news/2012/01/31/the-greek-parents-too-poor-to-care-for-t

Greece's financial crisis has made some families so desperate they are giving up the most precious thing of all - their children. - One morning a few weeks before Christmas a kindergarten teacher in Athens found a note about one of her four-year-old pupils. "I will not be coming to pick up Anna today because I cannot afford to look after her," it read. "Please take good care of her. Sorry. Her mother." In the last two months Father Antonios, a young Orthodox priest who runs a youth centre for the city's poor, has found four children on his doorstep - including a baby just days old. [...] One of the children cared for by Father Antonios is Natasha, a bright two-year-old brought to his centre by her mother a few weeks ago. The woman said she was unemployed and homeless and needed help

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28999

Pentagon acknowledges Scenario of Heavy Combat Casualties
It is common knowledge that a short victorious war usually raises the country’s leader’s popularity to the skies. The current US president needs this badly as his rating is rather low at present. However, a war against Iran is unlikely to be short and victorious. Iran is a much stronger enemy than Iraq or Afghanistan, where the wars have already lasted for 10 years. Incidentally, the US invaded Iraq on the same charges it is using against Iran now. No nuclear weapons have been discovered in Iraq, so Washington has to think again.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28973

Oil embargos against Iran are not new. In 1951, the Iranian government of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh with the support of the Iranian Parliament nationalized the Iranian oil industry. As a result of Dr. Mossadegh’s nationalization program, the British militarily blockaded the territorial waters and national ports of Iran with the British Royal Navy and prevented Iran from exporting its oil. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), both the U.S. dollar and the euro together constitute 84.4% of the world’s currency exchange reserves (end of 2011 date). The U.S. dollar alone, consists of largest share of the world’s currency exchange reserves in 2011, namely 61.7%.Energy sales are an important part of this equation, because the American dollar is tied to the oil trade. Thus, oil trade, through what is called the petro-dollar, is helping sustain the American dollar’s international standing. Countries around the world have been virtually forced to use the U.S. dollar to maintain their energy and trade needs and transactions.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jan2012/pers-j30.shtml

The bilateral talks between Washington and Manila on January 26 and 27 to negotiate the expansion of the US military presence and the deployment of US warships and surveillance aircraft in the Philippines are another step in the Obama administration’s strategy of encircling China.. The deployment of troops and ships to the Philippines, in addition to those stationed in Australia and Singapore, enhances the US ability to shut down China’s imports of energy and raw materials, and cripple its economy.Washington iscompensating for its economic weakness by recklessly wielding its military power to undermine China and pre-empt its rise as an economic and military rival.The strategic regional deployment of US forces recalls Washington’s oil blockade against Japan in 1941, which set in motion a sequence of events that led to the Pacific War. As the United States encircles China and poses the threat of a potentially crippling blockade, the options left open to the Chinese ruling elite become increasingly limited.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jan2012/iran-j31.shtml

Despite claims that its focus is on diplomatic and economic sanctions against Iran, the Obama administration is making barely disguised preparations for military strikes to back its threat to use “all options” to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.The article pointed out that “some Pentagon planners believe conventional bombs won’t be effective against Fordo and that a tactical nuclear weapon may be the only military option if the goal is to destroy the facility.” Discussion of the possible use of nuclear weapons against Iran underlines the recklessness of US foreign policy and Obama’s oft-repeated mantra that “all options are on the table.”

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jan2012/pers-j31.shtml

The New York Times on Sunday published a lengthy article in its weekly magazine that sympathetically and clinically lays out the arguments of Israeli policy makers in favor of a military attack on Iran sometime this year.Appearing in the context of newly announced US and European sanctions against Iranian oil exports and a buildup of US naval forces in the Persian Gulf, the article serves a definite and sinister purpose: to provide the pretexts and condition public opinion for a preemptive and unprovoked war of aggression that will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Iran and the Middle East and ultimately for the entire world.One can imagine similar articles appearing in the German press in the run-up to the Nazi invasion of Poland, calmly laying out the matters of self-defense obliging the Third Reich to subjugate its neighbor to the east.

Link: http://whatreallyhappened.com/

"It is not possible for India to take any decision to reduce the imports from Iran drastically, because among the countries which can provide the requirement of the emerging economies, Iran is an important country amongst them," the Indian finance minister said.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/30/hersheys-targeted-in-super-bowl-ad-for-alleged-african-child-slave-labor/

The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) plans to use the Super Bowl in Indianapolis this year to pressure Hershey’s into taking action over forced labor practices that continue to plague the West African cocoa industry. The ad, titled “Hershey’s Chocolate: Kissed by Child Labor,” will appear on a jumbotron screen immediately outside Lucas Oil Stadium during the Super Bowl. “In West Africa, where Hershey’s sources much of its cocoa, over 200,000 children are forced to harvest cocoa beans every year,” said Judy Gearhart, Executive Director of the ILRF. “Hershey prides itself on its commitment to supporting underserved children in the United States, yet it lags behind when it comes to putting policies in place to end the exploitation of children in the cocoa industry.” Mars and Nestlé have both committed to begin sourcing cocoa that is independently certified to comply with labor rights standards, but Hershey’s has not. “Hershey has no policies in place to purchase cocoa that has been produced without the use of child labor, and the company has consistently refused to provide public information about its cocoa sources,” Gearhart said.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/?id=768782&t=spiraling_inequality_is_a_disease_afflicting_our_entire_society

Inequality is a disease of society, a cancer growing out of control at one end of the body while the rest of it withers away. It's not just about the money, although income and wealth inequality have never been worse in the United States. It's also the pathological adherence to free market principles that have not worked for most of the country. And a bizarre idolization of the "innovators" who have rigged the financial system in their favor.High-priced schemers and swindlers and scoundrels roam free on Wall Street, while the downtrodden are condemned for trying to survive. "If you steal $10 from a man's wallet," observed former Secretary of the Interior Walter Hickel, "you're likely to get into a fight, but if you steal billions from the the commons, co-owned by him and his descendants, he may not even notice.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28968

No War on Iran Banner
In 48 Cities -
FEB 4 MASS ACTIONS Demanding:
NO War! NO Sanctions! NO Intervention! NO Assassinations on IRAN
IN NYC, NY 1pm North end of Times Square - Duffy Square. March to the US & Israeli missions to UN.

Link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonchang/2012/01/29/why-are-the-chinese-buying-record-quantities-of-gold/

Analysts believe China bought as much as 490 tons of gold in 2011, double the estimated 245 tons in 2010. “The thing that’s caught people’s minds is the massive increase in Chinese buying,” remarked Ross Norman of Sharps Pixley, a London gold brokerage, this month.So who in China is buying all this gold?The People’s Bank of China, the central bank, has been hinting that it is purchasing. “No asset is safe now,” said the PBOC’s Zhang Jianhua at the end of last month. —China is the world’s largest gold producer.