Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/news/2012/02/09/lemgthe-zionist-entityl-emg-judge-orders

The Israel military court has extended administrative detention for two months in addition to three months already detained for civil rights lawyer Dr. Yousef Abdul Haq, a lecturer at An-Najah National University and the Cultural Coordinator for the Tanweer Palestinian Cultural Enlightenment Forum, currently detained in Ofer Prison near Ramallah. - This arbitrary administrative detention is legally incompatible with the most basic international standards of human rights, because it is without any specific charge against the prisoner,

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/news/2012/02/09/government-may-sanction-incapacitating-c

Experts concluded that the Government may be preparing to exploit a loophole in the Chemical Weapons Convention allowing the use of incapacitating chemical agents for domestic law enforcement. -that would be banned in warfare under an international treaty .

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/news/2012/02/09/british-qatari-troops-already-waging-sec

British and Qatari troops are directing rebel ammunition deliveries and tactics in the bloody battle for Homs, according to an Israeli website known for links to intelligence sources. - Four centers of operation have been established in the city with the troops on the ground paving the way for an undercover Turkish military incursion into Syria.

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/news/2012/02/09/food-prices-soaring-in-iran-as-us-sancti

Every new round of sanctions takes a toll on the civilian economy of Iran and, increasingly, soaring food prices.Corn and rice shipments are down, This has fueled inflation, unemployment.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29183

The volatile situation in Syria generated by the Saudi-Qatar-funded Wahhabi armed group known as the Free Syrian Army and backed by the West is now an accident waiting to happen.To this end, the events in Syria must be so choreographed that they should lead to the overthrow of Assad regime and consequently "result in a strategic debacle for the Iranian government."

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6688

“Today we are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force — military force — in international relations, force that is plunging the world into an abyss of permanent conflicts. As a result we do not have sufficient strength to find a comprehensive solution to any one of these conflicts. Finding a political settlement also becomes impossible. We are seeing a greater and greater disdain for the basic principles of international law. And independent legal norms are, as a matter of fact, coming increasingly closer to one state’s legal system. One state and, of course, first and foremost the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way.”-Vladimir Putin. China and Russia are well aware of the fact that they are targets of the Anglo-American alliance. Their mutual fears of encirclement have brought them together.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29169

On February 7 Argentine President Cristina Fernandez accused Britain of militarizing the South Atlantic Ocean by deploying a cutting-edge warship and a nuclear-powered submarine off the coast of the Falklands Islands, known to Argentina and the rest of Latin America as Las Malvinas. She pledged to seek assistance at the United Nations to remove British military forces from the region, warning that the heightened British military presence risks a potential clash between the two countries.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/syri-f09.shtml

The reality, however, is that to make the case for regime change in Syria, the League, currently chaired by Qatar and politically dominated by the US-aligned Gulf monarchies, had to terminate its own observer mission and squelch its report.The report was suppressed because the 166-member observer mission found that violence in Syria was abating, the Syrian government was complying with most of the Arab League’s requirements and the ruling Baathists were faced with an armed insurrection. Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia, played the instrumental role in burying the report, and cutting short the mission, because they are arming the opposition forces and arguing for direct military intervention to depose Assad.The United States, France and Britain, working in collusion with the Gulf States and Turkey, to fuel a civil war and prepare for the installation of a pro-Western Sunni government hostile to Iran.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/pers-f08.shtml

The Russian-Chinese veto of a UN resolution paving the way for intervention in Syria has provoked a furious reaction from the United States and its imperialist allies.They see the US posturing as the champion of democracy and human rights as a campaign of aggression aimed at transforming Iran and Syria—both key trading partners with Moscow and Beijing—into neo-colonial puppet states.The “principles” underlying the US initiative—that the major imperialist powers have the right to depose the governments of former colonial countries they deem guilty of violating human rights—stand in contradiction to international law.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29147

There are many ways for sovereigns to sell their bonds or roll over existing bonds, and one of those wrinkles we mentioned last week. We saw European banks buying US Treasuries and that is happening. These euro banks buy Treasuries and then put them up for collateral with the ECB and purchase the three-year 1% yield repos being offered by the ECB. This is really another form of quantitative easing. It may be debt but it is also an expansion of the money supply. This little game allows US Treasury financing and if something goes wrong the ECB, the public, gets caught holding the bag. Obviously this is another part of the Ponzi scheme that the elitists are using to keep the monetary system afloat.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29153

44 US military bases surrounding Iran... Washington has made tremendous preparations for a military assault on Iran. There is speculation that Washington has called off its two longest running wars--Iraq and Afghanistan--in order to deploy forces against Iran. Two of Washington’s fleets have been assigned to the Persian Gulf along with NATO warships. Missiles have been spread amongst Washington’s Oil Emirate and Middle Eastern puppet states. US troops have been deployed in Israel and Kuwait.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29146

Two senior administration officials told CNN that “options are being prepared in the event President Barack Obama was to call for them.” Support for opposition groups and outright military strikes are among the options being looked at.This type of planning exercise is typical for the Pentagon, which would not want to be in the position of not having options for the president, if and when they are asked for, both officials told CNN. One of them called the effort a “scoping exercise,” with Pentagon looking into what capabilities are available given other US military commitments in the region.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/iran-f08.shtml

The danger of a US/Israeli attack on Iran was made clear in comments by US President Barack Obama to NBC News on Sunday. Obama not only repeated the mantra that “all options are on the table,” but added that the US was working with Israel “in lockstep as we proceed to try to solve this

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29149

According to an unconfirmed statement by a senior Iranian military official, reported by the Middle East and Israeli press, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard special forces (Quds) Kassam Salimani, was in Damascus on February 6 for top level consultations regarding military support as well as the possible dispatch of Quds Special Forces to Syria. e Russian and Iranian missions focussed on curbing the armed insurrection, the armed insurrection, which is covertly supported by foreign powers.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29123

The officialUS/UK/French/Israeli line is that the “Arab Spring” has finally reached Syria. There are the legal authorities of Syria, and there are armed terrorist throngs taking advantage of genuine social grievances and unleashing violence throughout the country, which in turn triggers police repression.In Syria, such groups are in all likelihood profusely armed, trained, financed and abetted by foreign players.Russia and China are not ready to tolerate a re-run of Iraq and Libya.

Link: http://www.rferl.org/content/russia_nato_missile_system_united_states/24471877.html

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the United States and NATO of aiming an antimissile system being deployed in Europe at Russia despite assurances that it is intended to guard against attacks from rogue states. Putin added that "today there is no threat from Iran or North Korea" and said NATO is not offering any guarantees, written or otherwise, that the system is not targeting Russia.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9067332/Alcoholic-drinks-to-get-weaker-says-minister.html

Alcoholic drinks should be made weaker under in Britain under Government plans to tackle the "deadly problem” of binge-drinking, a health minister has said. ."In the strategy, ministers are expected to unveil measures to increase the price of alcoholic drinks according to how strong they are. This could be done through higher taxation per unit, minimum pricing per unit or simply higher levels of duty for strong drinks. Ministers will also encourage companies to produce weaker alcoholic drinks.

Link: http://www.infowars.com/shouting-cameras-bark-orders-at-residents-to-leave-their-own-property/

London Council says police state machines were activated by mistake.Residents of a block of flats in North London were outraged to discover cameras in their gardens barking out orders, telling them to leave the area immediately and that they were being monitored by the authorities.

Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106684

More than a decade ago, solar electricity changed the lives of several mountain communities in Cuba. Now this and other renewable power sources are emerging as the best options available to develop sustainable energy across the island.If the world's clean energy potential exceeds our consumption needs, why do we insist on using the polluting kind?"

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9062454/Iran-vows-to-hit-any-country-that-stages-attack.html

Iran will target any country where an attack against it is staged, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander warned on Sunday, the latest threat amid growing tensions over its nuclear programme and Western sanctions.

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2012/02/07/iran-a-manufactured-threat#more14562

Iran attacked no other country in over 200 years. It threatens none now.America's business is war, permanent war for unchallenged global dominance., Since Iran's 1979 revolution and US hostage crisis, Washington's been spoiling for a fight. The Carter administration considered invading and seizing its oil fields. US media reports exclude those facts. Instead they generate fear and hostility against nonexistent threats.

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/

Washington's longstanding policy is regime change in Iran and Syria. At issue is replacing independent regimes with client ones and securing unchallenged control of valued Middle East resources.

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2012/02/06/after-russia-s-un-veto-us-talks-of-coali

The veto by Russia and China of a United Nations Security Council resolution will not halt ongoing preparations for Western-backed intervention against Syria. The discussion on the resolution was a political manoeuvre from the outset, designed either to force Moscow and Beijing into agreeing to a UN cover for a Libya-style operation against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, or justify a predetermined alternative route to regime-change. This goal has nothing to do with the humanitarian posturing of the US.The aim is to install a pro-Western government.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29108

Many hand-made signs pointed to Wall Street and the banks as the real danger, not Iran.The corporate media have been reporting for weeks that the Israeli regime is weighing an attack on Iran aimed at dismantling its nuclear program. Yet even former U.S. intelligence officers point out that Iran's nuclear development is entirely peaceful; it is not building any nuclear weapons.unsubstantiated claims to the contrary form the basis on which Israel, which itself has a large nuclear arsenal and has been armed and financed by the U.S., is now publicly claiming its right to launch a military attack on Iran.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/good-f06.shtml

The decision by the UK's Honours Forfeiture Committee to strip former Royal Bank of Scotland chief Fred Goodwin of his knighthood has led to howls of outrage from the corporate and political elite.Goodwin was awarded the knighthood in 2004 for his services to banking. The financial crisis revealed that Goodwin’s achievements were built on sand. With a loss of £24.1 billion, RBS was rescued from collapse with £45 billion of public funds, its debts nationalised— dumped onto tax payers.Goodwin walked away in 2009 with a £2.8 million tax-free pension .The former banker joins Soviet spy Anthony Blunt and Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe in having his knighthood annulled.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/jobs-f06.shtml

The year 2012 has opened with an acceleration of job losses across Australia’s manufacturing, retail, mining and finance sectors, as corporate restructuring and cost-cutting that began last year with the destruction of thousands of jobs. The retail and services industries, which employ by far the biggest numbers of workers, especially young people, are experiencing a devastating slump

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/asio-f06.shtml

Alarmed by the “Arab Spring”—the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that last year ushered in a new period of class struggle internationally—Australia’s six civilian and military intelligence agencies are preparing for unpredictable political upheavals, abroad and at home.An official review of the “Australian Intelligence Community”, released last month, warned the Gillard government that the events of 2011 had revealed how difficult it was for intelligence agencies to anticipate the collapse of seemingly stable social and political orders. “With such fragility, it will be unknowable what exactly will tip the system over the edge

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/pers-f06.shtml

Washington and its imperialist allies in Europe are escalating preparations for a full-scale military intervention in Syria. Coming after last year’s NATO war against Libya and threats of a sudden Israeli attack on Iran, Syria’s main regional ally, it is clear that Washington aims to reshape the Middle East by forcibly installing pro-US regimes throughout the region.

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

Leaders of the political parties comprising the Greek coalition government will meet the premier, Lucas Papademos, later today to give him their reply to demands for sweeping austerity measures in return for a further €130 billion in bailout loans.The measures are believed to include a 25 percent cut in the minimum private sector wage and a 35 percent reduction in supplementary pensions. In addition, 100 state-controlled enterprises could be closed, leading to immediate jobs losses and the sacking of 150,000 public sector workers by 2015

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/02/06-0

Patenting seeds has led to a farming and food crisis - and huge profits for US biotechnology corporations.Corporations defined a problem - and for them the problem was farmers saving seeds. They offered a solution, and the solution was to make it illegal for farmers to save seed - by introducing patents and intellectual property rights [PDF] on those very seeds. As a result, acreage under GM corn, soya, canola, cotton has increased dramatically.

Link: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4185684,00.html

European diplomat based in Islamabad says Israeli strike would force Pakistan to support Iranian retaliation, while EU official says 'political and economic consequences of attack would be catastrophic for Europe'He said this could lead to "messy defaults" by countries like Greece and Italy, and possibly cause a collapse of the already-wobbly euro.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30452.htm

. Consider this revealing “thought” as expressed recently in Alert, the voice of AIPAC to its membership: “Some Americans believe if the Israelis strike Iran, the U.S. will pay the political costs anyway, so it would be better for the Americans to do the job and do it properly. Has it come to this, that unnamed Israeli spokespeople, voicing AIPAC’s policies, determine what nation the U.S. should invade without consultation with the representatives of the American people?

Link: http://en.ria.ru/mlitary_news/20120206/171166824.html

Russia may have to boost its nuclear potential in future amid emerging nuclear proliferation threats, Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s deputy defense minister and a negotiator on the European missile shield, said on Monday.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/06/romania-prime-minister-resigns-spy-chief-takes-over/

BUCHAREST — Romania’s spy chief was appointed prime minister on Monday after the centre-right government resigned following wide protests over austerity cuts.The 43-year-old, who has a master’s degree from Oxford, was foreign minister between 2004 and 2007 speaks fluent English, French and German.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/world/middleeast/white-house-moves-to-tighten-sanctions-on-iran.html?_r=1

The White House moved to enforce tightened sanctions against Iran on Monday because of the country’s suspect nuclear program, freezing all property of the Central Bank of Iran, other Iranian financial institutions and the Iranian government in the United States. The administration has been trying to persuade Iran’s oil customers to shift to other suppliers,China and India,to keep buying Iranian oil.

Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096110/Romanias-population-falls-12-million-flock-richer-European-countries.html

Romania's population has fallen by more than 12 per cent since 2002 as hundreds of thousands leave the poverty-stricken nation for richer countries such as Britain.The country’s National Statistics Board said nearly 1million Romanians were working abroad.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29080

Russia and China Veto Syria Resolution."(t)he Security Council voted 13 to 2 in favor of a resolution backing an Arab League peace plan for Syria, but the measure was blocked by Russia and China (as a) potential violation of Syria's sovereignty."In fact, calling for "further measures" if Assad failed to comply gave Washington and rogue partners enormous wiggle room for military intervention. It also pointed fingers one way, absolving Western-backed insurgents. With major media support Obama plans regime change in Syria and Iran.

Link: http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1559.htm

A grim report just issued by the Finance Ministry that is circulating in the Kremlin today says the United States Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS) has ground to a virtual halt signaling that a major global economic collapse is currently underway and could very well likely enter into the dreaded “freefall zone.”Virtually unknown to all but the global financial elite, CHIPS is the main privately held clearing house for large-value transactions in the United States, settling well over $1 trillion a day in around 250,000 interbank payments that together with the Fedwire Funds Service, which is operated by the Federal Reserve Banks, forms the primary US network for large-value domestic and international US dollar payments where it has a market share of around 96%.

Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/224797.html

US Senate's latest package of sanctions against Iran seeks to shut out the Iranian financial sector form a global banking system used to transfer money between banks across the world. The new bill would also give the US legal authority to sanction foreign companies that buy oil from Iran.
In addition, the new legislation would penalize US companies that conduct business with Iran

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/

If Israel does attack Iran, it will not simply be “a surgical strike” that destroys Iran’s key nuclear facilities. Any Iranian retaliation will be used by the US as a pretext for a massive air war aimed at destroying the country’s military and infrastructure.