Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27357.htm

The Palestine Papers give the world an unprecedented look inside the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, but they also provide a fly-on-the-wall view of how key senior American officials view their role as negotiators which, as the papers show, apparently means never taking any position to which an Israeli government might object. The series of six documents that provide a core element to understanding the debates that raged over Israeli settlements show just how willing the U.S. is to acquiesce to Israeli demands – and how willing they are to pressing the PA leadership to move forward on the negotiations despite Israel’s flaunting of international agreements, including freezing all settlement activity.

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41282712/ns/business-real_estate/

Relatively unscathed by housing collapse, owners losing homes over unemployment. LOS ANGELES — The foreclosure crisis is getting worse as high unemployment and lackluster job prospects force homeowners in an increasing number of U.S. metropolitan areas into dire financial straits. In Seattle, Houston and Chicago, cities that were relatively insulated from foreclosures early on in the housing bust, a growing number of homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments and finding themselves on the receiving end of foreclosure warnings. Others have already seen their homes repossessed by lenders.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/arrested-uk-anonymous-web-attacks/

UPDATE: Following the arrest of five people in Britain in connection with the "Operation Payback" cyber-attacks in support of WikiLeaks, the FBI announced mass raids across the United States in connection with the case. "FBI agents today executed more than 40 search warrants throughout the United States as part of an ongoing investigation into recent coordinated cyber attacks against major companies and organizations," a bureau press release states.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/pers-j27.shtml

President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night demonstrated the insular, sclerotic and reactionary character of the American political system. The annual presidential address before the US Congress long ago degenerated into a hollow ritual. What was remarkable about Obama’s address, however, was how completely it revealed the obliviousness and indifference of the political establishment to the social disaster confronting tens of millions of Americans.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/egyp-j27.shtml

The United States is working intensively to suppress mass protests in both Tunisia and Egypt and prop up the local ruling elites that are entirely subordinate to American imperialism.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/time-foreign-aid-israel-we-anymore-sen-paul-warns/

Time to end foreign aid to Israel: We just cant do it anymore, Sen. Paul warnsOne of the Senate's newest members has settled upon an idea to reduce American debt that's likely to come off as highly controversial in the halls of power: ending all foreign aid, including the tens of billions dedicated to Israel.

Link: http://socialistworker.org/2011/01/27/revolt-shaking-the-arab-world

The self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in a moment of despair on December 17 in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid has touched off a chain of events that is still unfolding, but has already rocked the Arab world.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/01/27-0

Thousands of Yemenis Urge President to Quit. Thousands of Yemenis, apparently inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, staged a mass demonstration on Thursday calling on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to quit after being in power since 1978. Thousands of Yemenis took to the streets of Sanaa on Thursday to demand a change of government, inspired by the unrest that has ousted Tunisia's leader and spread to Egypt this week. "Enough being in power for (over) 30 years," chanted protesters in demonstrations staged by the Common Forum opposition in four different parts of the capital Sanaa.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/story/149680/why_%22happy_meals%22_are_a_crime/

The legal case against Happy Meals, marketed to kids. When it comes to food, everybody’s got an opinion. Same goes for parenting. Mix the two together and you’ve got the makings of a culture war. Witness the recent scuffle between Sarah Palin and Michelle Obama over the White House’s rather tame Let’s Move campaign aimed at ending childhood obesity.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/economy/149631/mortgage_lenders_committed_massive_fraud_and_now_wall_st._wants_to_escape_from_the_lawbreaking/

Here they come looking for an out-clause and a way to keep their coffers full. We need to repeat a simple mantra: No more bailouts for Wall Street. They committed widespread fraud – largely whitewashed by the corporate media – and, in the process, threw the economy into a tailspin. They've broken into and stolen people's homes, and, in the name of “efficiency,” bilked state governments out of billions of dollars in real estate transfer fees.

Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/2011127100660857.html

Tens of thousands of people in Yemen have taken to the streets in the country's capital, calling for an end to the government of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president. Inspired by recent events in Tunisia and Egypt, opposition members and youth activists are rallying at four different locations in Sanaa on Thursday, chanting for Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years, to step down.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/27/rabbis-murdoch-fox-glenn-beck-holocaust

Open letter signed by 400 rabbis tells media magnate his news channel uses Holocaust to discredit people it disagrees with. Glenn Beck The Fox News commentator Glenn Beck, who uses frequent references to the Holocaust and Nazis. Four hundred rabbis, including the leaders of all the main branches of Judaism in the US, have signed an open letter calling on Rupert Murdoch to sanction the head of Fox News and one of the channel's most famous hosts for frequent inappropriate references to the Nazis and the Holocaust.

Link: http://dailybail.com/home/bombshell-report-goldman-sachs-got-billions-from-taxpayers-t.html

"If these allegations are correct, it appears to have been a direct transfer of wealth from the Treasury to Goldman's shareholders," said Joshua Rosner, a bond analyst and managing director at independent research consultancy Graham Fisher & Co., after he was read the relevant section of the report. "The AIG counterparty bailout, which was spun as necessary to protect the public, seems to have protected the institution at the expense of the public."

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27367.htm

I am in awe of the young protesters I addressed: Egyptians united by injustice and an anger that won't be tamed. It was an unforgettable day for me. I joined the demonstrators in Cairo, along with the hundreds of thousands across Egypt who went on to the streets on Tuesday demanding freedom and bravely facing off the fearsome violence of the police. The regime has a million and a half soldiers in its security apparatus, upon which its spends millions in order to train them for one task: to keep the Egyptian people down.

Link: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/01/27/richard-falk-reponds-to-the-lobbys-vilification/

Because my blog prompted by the Arizona shootings has attracted many comments pro and con, and more recently has been the object of a more selective public attack on me personally, I thought it appropriate to post a supplementary blog with the purpose of clarifying my actual position and re-focusing attention on the plight and suffering of the Palestinian people being held in captivity. In the background, are crucial issues of free speech, fairness in public discourse, and responsible media treatment of sensitive and controversial affairs of state.

Link: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/01/27/why-the-fuss-bizarre-call-to-arms-against-un-rapporteur-richard-falk-for-alluding-to-gaps-in-the-911-official-story/

“What seems most disturbing about the 9/11 controversy is the widespread aversion by government and media to the evidence that suggests, at the very least, the need for an independent investigation that proceeds with no holds barred,” wrote Falk.