Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2010/jan2010/blai-j30.shtml

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s testimony before the Chilcot inquiry into the 2003 Iraq war marks him down once more as a war criminal. His testimony made clear that he collaborated in preparing an illegal war of aggression, in line with the policy of pre-emptive war elaborated by the Bush administration in the United States. Time and again, he directly alluded to his belief that regime change was required in Iraq, even after it was apparent that Saddam Hussein possessed no weapons of mass destruction. His most emotive passage defending his decision to go to war was also the most damning legally.

Link: http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Angry_China_retaliates_over_US_arms_01302010.html

China lashed out Saturday with a raft of reprisals after Washington announced a 6.4-billion-dollar arms package for Taiwan, escalating the biggest Sino-US crisis yet under President Barack Obama. Berating the year-old Obama administration for "crude interference" in its affairs, China said it was suspending military and security contacts with the United States, and imposing sanctions on US firms involved in the Taiwan deal.

Link: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=12074

Some of the world's most prominent bankers have come out in favour of a global bank wind-down fund, a concession from the industry after weeks of fighting proposals for new taxes in the US and Europe. Josef Ackermann, chief executive of Deutsche Bank, told the FT yesterday: "To help solve the too-big-to-fail problem I'm advocating a European rescue and resolution fund for banks. Of course, the capital for this fund would have to come from banks to a large degree."

Link: http://www.henrymakow.com/brazil_dominated_by_masonic_je.html

The situation depicted in the report from Marcos, although well written, lacks the obvious: the role of the Jews in the situation. Where are they on the report? Nowhere. It seems the wolves are on vacation from Brazil. Which is far, very far, from the truth.

Link: http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn01292010.html

You can see how seriously Obama is taking the hot populist temper of the American people and their eagerness to strangle every banker in the entrails of every insurance executive. In an altogether welcome departure from past presidential form in State of the Union addresses at least since 1973 (the first time I listened to one) he shoved the rest of the world into less than five minutes near the end of an oration that lasted well over an hour, giving over at least 90 per cent of his time to various pledges for economic clean-up on the domestic front.

Link: http://rawstory.com/2010/01/obamas-new-gitmo-closure-deadline-jan-2013/

Closing Guantanamo is emerging as a never-ending nightmare for President Barack Obama after he bowed to pressure and backed down from plans to try the accused 9/11 plotters in the heart of New York City.

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012904235_pf.html

The Obama administration's 2011 defense budget avoids the controversial weapons cuts of last year, according to a draft copy, and continues to shift modest amounts of money to weapons programs such as helicopters, unmanned planes and Special Operations units that are in heavy use Afghanistan and Iraq.

Link: http://news.antiwar.com/2010/01/30/obama-seeks-massive-increase-in-nuke-spending/

Claims Billions in Funds for New Facilities Part of 'Disarmament Strategy' In a move he insists is somehow consistent with his call for disarmament, President Obama is seeking more than $5 billion in increased funding for America’s nuclear weapons program, aimed chiefly at modernization and building new facilities.

Link: http://www.redress.cc/global/cking20100130

Christopher King argues that Britain's Iraq Inquiry “appears now to be part of a general unravelling of the Blair conspiracy" and has underlined that UK politicians cannot be trusted. He says the lesson of Iraq lies not in whatever the inquiry might report but in the necessity for British people to take on oversight of the political process themselves.