Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1351429/Birds-use-quantum-theory-literally-Earths-magnetic-field-fly.html

Birds may be able to ‘see’ the Earth’s electromagnetic field as they fly through the sky, scientists have suggested. Many creatures, including all birds, navigate by sensing the direction of the magnetic forces around our planet to guide them.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/pers-j28.shtml

Two weeks after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Arab leaders that their region’s “foundations are sinking into the sand”, the growing revolutionary upsurge of the masses has revealed that the pillars of Washington’s own policy in the Middle East are rotten and crumbling. The mass uprising that toppled the 23-year rule of Tunisian dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has now been followed by tens of thousands of young demonstrators in Egypt taking to the streets, defying security forces, and in increasing numbers giving their lives, to demand the downfall of Hosni Mubarak and his nearly three-decade-old regime. Thousands more demonstrated Thursday in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, calling for the ouster of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled the country for more than 30 years.

Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/28/us-global-debt-idUSL3E7CS0BO20110128?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Japan and the United States faced new pressure to confront their swollen budget deficits as the IMF and rating agencies demanded more evidence they can bring their public debts under control. The International Monetary Fund said the G7's two biggest economies needed to spell out credible deficit-cutting plans before the markets lose patience and dump their bonds.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/republicans-privatize-medicare/

Republicans look to privatize Medicare. House Republicans would support a plan to privatize Medicare in their annual budget, a member of the GOP leadership said. Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the House Republican Conference Chairman and second-ranked GOP member of the budget committee, made the revelation during a panel discussion, according to the National Journal. Privatize is a special corporate word for steal, enslave, loot. All republicans always want to privatize - corporatize whatever they can. They will sell off the government and the entire country and they will be lining their pockets all the way.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/28-8

"The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well. True coexistence is a must." -- Whole Foods Market, Jan. 21, 2011. In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto's Genetically Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America's organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it's time to surrender to Monsanto.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/28-3

A sprawling crime scene. That is what Gaza felt like when I visited in the summer of 2009, six months after the Israeli attack. Evidence of criminality was everywhere-the homes and schools that lay in rubble, the walls burned pitch black by white phosphorus, the children's bodies still unhealed for lack of medical care. But where were the police? Who was documenting these crimes, interviewing the witnesses, protecting the evidence from tampering?

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/01/28

Thousands stream out of mosques to protest against President Mubarak's 30-year rule, defying a government crackdown. Protests have erupted in cities across Egypt following Friday midday prayers, with angry demonstrators demanding an end to Hosni Mubarak's 30-year presidency. Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across the country, witnesses have said.

Link: http://www.activistpost.com/2011/01/internet-shut-down-amid-egypt-protests.html

Clashes between protesters and authorities in the world's most populous Arab nation have reached even higher levels with reports that the servers of Egypt's main Internet provider were down. This Internet restriction seems to be in response to the massive growth of social networking and the direct impact it has had on mobilization against "a regime that is not listening, is not acting," according to opposition leader, and Nobel Peace laureate, Mohamed ElBaradei

Link: http://www.infowars.com/economist-united-states-worse-off-than-greece/

Dr. Laurence Kotlikoff is an economics professor at Boston University. He says the Treasury and the government are fudging the national debt numbers. Kotlikoff says the United States is bankrupt and we don’t even know it.

Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/201112810059478272.html

Thousands stream out of mosques to protest against President Mubarak's 30-year rule, defying a government crackdown. Protests have erupted in cities across Egypt, with demonstrators demanding an end to Hosni Mubarak's presidency. Tens of thousands took to the streets across the country following Friday midday prayers.

Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/2011128125157509196.html

Protesters gather across the country, demanding the prime minister step down. Thousands of people in Jordan have taken to the streets in protests, demanding the country's prime minister step down, and the government curb rising prices, inflation and unemployment.

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2011/01/28/interview-with-hossam-el-hamalawy

Interview with Hossam el-Hamalawy. Professor Mark LeVine interviews journalist and blogger Hossam el-Hamalawy on the situation in Egypt. Hossam el-Hamalawy is an Egyptian journalist and blogger. Mark LeVine: Why did it take a revolution in Tunisia to get Egyptians onto the streets in unprecedented numbers?

Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-28/u-s-cattle-herd-drops-1-4-to-lowest-since-1958-after-beef-prices-surge.html

The U.S. cattle herd shrank to the smallest size in 53 years as of Jan. 1, as feed costs climbed and beef producers slaughtered more animals to take advantage of higher prices.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/29/business/29fdic.html?_r=1&src=busln

Regulators on Friday closed small banks in Oklahoma and Wisconsin, lifting to nine the number of bank failures in 2011. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took over First State Bank of Camargo, Okla., with $43.5 million in assets, and Evergreen State Bank, based in Stoughton, Wis., with $246.5 million in assets. Bank 7, based in Oklahoma City, agreed to assume the assets and deposits of First State Bank. McFarland State Bank of McFarland, Wis., is acquiring the assets and deposits of Evergreen State Bank.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/mann-j28.shtml

Thirty miles from downtown Washington DC, the US military is engaged in the torture of an American citizen. Army Private Bradley Manning, jailed on suspicion of leaking classified documents to the whistleblower web site WikiLeaks, is being held at the Quantico Marine Corps base under conditions that approximate those at Guantanamo Bay.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/bachmann-veterans-cuts/

Bachmann eyes cuts to veterans health benefitsWASHINGTON – Tea party hero Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) this week proposed a blueprint to eliminate $400 billion from the federal budget, which included billions in cuts to veterans' health care and disability benefits. But no cuts to Pentagon war spending, and the endless trillion dollar bank bailouts continue and the many billions of dollars in aid to Israel continues.

Link: http://www.infowars.com/egypt-u-s-puppet-regime-on-verge-of-collapse/

In an interview with NPR, Joe Biden stumbles his way through soft ball questions about Egypt and the dictator Hosni Mubarak, who Biden identifies as a personal friend. In the process, Biden reveals the U.S. attitude toward dictators and client states.

Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

Live stream Egypt developements

Link: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/01/inequality-is-worse-in-america-than-in.html

Egyptian, Tunisian and Yemeni protesters all say that inequality is one of the main reasons they're protesting. However, the U.S. actually has much greater inequality than in any of those countries.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8288052/Volcano-erupts-in-Japan-disrupting-flights-and-train-services.html

Train and flight services to southwestern Japan have been suspended after a volcano erupted for the first time in 52 years, spewing columns of smoke and ash thousands of metres into the sky. The eruption of Shinmoedake has forced the suspension of flight and train services to Miyazaki in southwestern Japan and the evacuation of homes.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/brazil/8286640/Brazil-approves-clearing-of-Amazon-forest-to-make-way-for-controversial-dam.html

Brazil's environmental agency has approved the clearing of nearly 600 acres of Amazon forest so that work can begin on a controversial hydroelectric dam. Brazil approves clearing of Amazon forest to make way for Belo Monte dam. The Belo Monte dam, which will be the third-largest such project in the world, has been strongly opposed by environmental campaigners and indigenous people who face being displaced.

Link: http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney01282011.html

Treasury yields are "blinking red", but the Fed keeps acting like nothing's wrong. What's the deal? Let's explain: Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's bond purchasing program (QE2) has sent the yield on the 30-year Treasury skyrocketing. At the same time, the the 2-year Treasury is stuck at a lowly 0.61. That means, the "yield curve" between the two bonds has grown steeper, which normally happens at the beginning of a recovery because investors are moving out of "risk free" bonds to riskier assets like stocks. Typically, the yield on the long-term bond will start to go down on its own because investors expect the Fed to raise short-term rates to curb potential inflation. But that's not happening this time. Why? And why should we care?

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/28

Mubarak regime may not survive new protests as flames of anger spread through Middle East. A day of prayer or a day of rage? All Egypt was waiting for the Muslim Sabbath today – not to mention Egypt's fearful allies – as the country's ageing President clings to power after nights of violence that have shaken America's faith in the stability of the Mubarak regime.