Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2010/feb2010/mark-f06.shtml

Stock markets in Europe and Asia fell sharply Friday in the second day of a near-panic selloff fueled by fears that the debt crisis facing weaker European economies will throw the world economy into a “double-dip” recession.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2010/feb2010/pers-f06.shtml

As US and British troops prepare to attack the town of Marjah in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, military commanders and the media are openly comparing the operation to the siege of Fallujah, one of the bloodiest war crimes of the Iraq war.

Link: http://www.uruknet.info/index.php?p=m63015&hd=&size=1&l=e

United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon threw a lifeline to Israel yesterday, stating that there was not yet enough evidence to say whether Israel or the Palestinians are complying with UN demands to investigate allegations of war crimes during the 22-day Israeli assault on Gaza.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/02/06-2

Anthem Blue Cross customers got a shock this week when the health insurer informed thousands of individual policyholders that their premium rates will jump as much as 39 percent on March 1. "There aren't any other parts of our society where people have no regard for inflation rate and increase their prices this much. I can't imagine anything in the world that's going up 39 percent," said Josh Libresco, 54, of San Rafael, as he grappled with the news that his family premium will go from $858 per month to $1,192 - and that's with a $5,000 deductible.

Link: http://www.truthout.org/the-us-military-a-mindset-barbarism56706

On December 27, in the eastern Kunar region of Afghanistan, ten Afghans, eight of whom were schoolchildren, were dragged from their beds and shot by US forces during a nighttime raid. Afghan government investigators said the eight students were aged from 11 to 17 years. This incident is but one example of countless atrocities US military personnel have carried out in the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq, US military personnel torturing detainees in Abu Ghraib, Iraqi civilians suffering the violence  meted out by US forces, or US forces detaining schoolchildren in Baghdad, the list of atrocities is seemingly endless.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24607.htm

At a town hall meeting in Tampa, Florida on 28 January, President Obama explained what in his view had to happen if there is to be a two-state solution which would see Israel and the Palestinians living side by side in peace and security. He said, “Both sides are going to have to make concessions”.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/feb2010/numm-f06.shtml

Anger among workers at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, California, toward the United Auto Workers (UAW) exploded at a January 24 meeting discussing the imminent closure of the facility. Nearly 5,000 workers will lose their jobs when the plant, formerly a joint venture of General Motors and Toyota, closes on March 31. Four hundred or so workers were present at the meeting

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/feb2010/jobs-f06.shtml

The official US unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent in January, despite 20,000 jobs lost, according to monthly figures for December released Friday by the Labor Department. The number of jobs, which the labor department called “essentially unchanged,” was affected by a number of contingent events, including the hiring of 9,000 temporary workers by the federal government to help with the 2010 census and the “inventory bounce” that took place in December.

Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1248956/Snowmageddon-brings-chaos-U-S-East-Coast-Washington-DC-braces-worst-blizzard-90-years.html

Nearly 2ft of snow fell on Washington today with President Barack Obama dubbing the whiteout ‘Snowmageddon’. And as the blizzard hit the US capital forecasters warned tonight that some of it could be heading to the UK this week.
Flights were cancelled and roads blocked. But Mr Obama managed to venture out of the White House to make his comment at a Democratic Party meeting.

Link: http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/4056-gaza-imminent-to-complete-power-outage

The Energy and Natural Resources Authority in Gaza warned that a severe shortage of fuel will force it to shut down electricity by Sunday. Kanan Abaid, head of the authority, said on Saturday that only enough fuel is available for one more day, warning of a crisis if the station stopped working.

Link: http://mantiqaltayr.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/if-its-729-you-must-decline/

1. Israeli Vice-President for American Affairs (IVPAA), Barrack Hussein Obama (BO) is in such a bind that even Daniel “Dracula” Pipes (DDP), one of our favorite loons here at Mantiq al-Tayr, has offered him advice. I guess the IVPAA just isn’t getting enough advice from Zionist Jews and Israeli – Firsters like Rahm Israel Emmanuel, David Axelrod and Dennis Ross and . . . . . (insert long list), so in service to his country, Israel, Count Daniel came to his rescue.

Link: http://www.rense.com/general89/obmme.htm

Foreign policy and war issues have taken a back seat to the Democratic administration's push to cram a health care reform bill down our throats. But the world won't wait any longer as it reacts to US provocations on several fronts. The Iran crisis is ripening towards a military confrontation after Obama's diplomacy charade collapsed in failure.

Link: http://www.arguewitheveryone.com/general-political-discussion/102437-tea-party-sarah-neocon.html

Sarah Palin delivered a speech prior to her keynote at the Republican Tea Party fest in Nashville scheduled for this weekend. In addition to touching on government spending and the bankster bailout, Palin said the underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab should have been grilled before he was read his Miranda rights.

Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/02/201026123227719101.html

The US defense secretary, has dismissed Iranian assertions that it is close to reaching a deal that would see some of its uranium sent abroad for enrichment. Robert Gates said during a meeting in Ankara, Turkey's capital, that he saw no evidence that Tehran had changed its position in its nuclear dispute with the US and its allies and suggested it was time to move forward with sanctions.