FAO Raises the Red Flag over Food Situation
An estimated 3.8 million Kenyans will require emergency food aid this month amid a relentless rally in prices of key cereals.

Shocking stories of US tortures in Afghanistan
An ever increasing number of U.S. troops are fighting for peace in Afghanistan. But an investigative journalist claims to have revealed the shocking truth about surprise night raids by American forces and secret prisons where detainees are routinely tortured. In an exclusive interview to RT, Anand Gopal says Obama's mission in Afghanistan is not much different from Bush's in Iraq.

Bomb blast near Pakistani girls' school kills three US soldiers
A bomb blast near a girls’ school in northwestern Pakistan has killed three American soldiers involved in a low-profile joint US-British programme to train the country’s paramilitary Frontier Corps.

Haiti judge questions Americans over child smuggling
A Haitian judge questioned a group of Americans accused of trying to smuggle children out of the quake-stricken nation as the chaos forced authorities to call off an election.

Israeli officers get 'slap on wrist' for white phosphorus use in Gaza
Israel has reprimanded two senior army officers who were responsible for firing white phosphorus artillery shells at a UN compound during last year’s offensive in Gaza.

Iran announces launch of animals into space
It test-fires a rocket designed to carry satellites. Tehran's advances in missile technology are worrisome to the West.

US Terror Suspects In Pakistan: FBI Tortured Us
"Since our arrest, the U.S. FBI and Pakistani police have tortured us," read the message. "They are trying to set us up. We are innocent. They are trying to keep us away from public, media and families and lawyers. Help us."

Clear way for Manuel Noriega's extradition to France, U.S. asks
The U.S. government is asking a Miami federal judge to clear the way for former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to be extradited to France on money-laundering charges.

UN find challenges Israeli version of attack on civilian building in Gaza war
The UN mine action team, which handles ordnance disposal in Gaza, has told the Guardian that the remains of a 500-pound Mk82 aircraft-dropped bomb were found in the ruins of the mill last January. Photographs of the front half of the bomb have been obtained by the Guardian.

Zardari's nuke remote control to be snatched
A new bill passed by the Pakistani parliament may snatch the remote control of the country's nuclear bombs from President Asif Ali Zardari.

US refuses to share info on Mumbai suspect
The US has refused to share details about the past records of a key terror suspect of the 2008 Mumbai attack, Indian intelligence sources say.

Iran ready to comply with UN demands
Iran says it is ready to send its uranium abroad for further enrichment as requested by the UN.

Iran president offers prisoner exchange of Iranians in America for jailed US hikers
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday proposed a swap of Iranians in U.S. prisons for three American hikers being held in Tehran.

Domestic threats biggest Olympic security concern: expert
A University of Calgary expert in modern terrorism says small disruptions by domestic groups are the most likely security threat to the upcoming 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, but organizational issues are also a critical concern.

England is 'cesspit' breeding Islamists, says Soyinka
England is a "cesspit" and breeding ground for fundamentalist Muslims, the Nobel laureate and political activist Wole Soyinka has said in an interview in which he also accused Britain of allowing the existence of "indoctrination schools".

Sarah Palin Endorses Rand Paul
Former Alaska Governor and Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, has endorsed Rand Paul in his bid for the GOP US Senate nomination.

Eustace Mullins, 1923-2010
Legendary author of hundreds of books and pamphlets demolishing the lies of warmaking mainstream media, historian Eustace Mullins died Tuesday, Feb. 2, at the home of his caretaker in a small town in Texas.

Next in line for a bailout: Social Security
Don't look now. But even as the bank bailout is winding down, another huge bailout is starting, this time for the Social Security system. A report from the Congressional Budget Office shows that for the first time in 25 years, Social Security is taking in less in taxes than it is spending on benefits.

Scarborough Shows Low Taxes = Low Unemployment in New Hampshire
MSNBC 'Morning Joe' host draws a parallel between tax rates and unemployment by comparing state to Rhode Island.

Deficits May Alter U.S. Politics and Global Power
In a federal budget filled with mind-boggling statistics, two numbers stand out as particularly stunning, for the way they may change American politics and American power.

We the people call for a total national strike April 15 -- 18
The spark of Freedom is igniting within the hearts and minds of the people in America, as well as globally, and we all have the moral obligation to fan the flames. The time for taking our freedom for granted has passed.

Pentagon’s Black Budget Tops $56 Billion
Cobbling together this round figure for the military’s hush-hush projects is easier than it seems.

Struggling towns printing their own cash
Last year, two Detroit tavern owners were sitting at the bar, sampling their beverages and bemoaning the local economy -- no one in the city had cash, and when they did, they spent it in the suburbs. Then the pair hit on a solution: Print their own money.

Backdoor taxes to hit middle class
The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.

Largest-ever federal payroll to hit 2.15 million
The era of big government has returned with a vengeance, in the form of the largest federal work force in modern history.

Early draft of the Constitution found in Phila.
Researcher Lorianne Updike Toler was intrigued by the centuries-old document at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Gates pitches $768.2B defense budget to Congress
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is urging Congress to approve the Obama administration's $768.2 billion Pentagon budget request, saying America needs "a broad portfolio of military capabilities."

Va. Senate bans health insurance mandate
The Democratic-led Virginia Senate sent a strong message about health care reform efforts in Washington, D.C., on Monday (Feb. 1), passing a bill that makes it illegal for Virginians to be required to buy health insurance.

Gates Demurs on Question of NY Terrorism Trial
Defense Secretary Robert Gates declined to say Tuesday whether he thinks it's appropriate to try self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a New York civilian court, not far from the site of the attack.

Obama Budget Has $1.9 Trillion Tax Rise
The Obama administration proposed to increase taxes on Americans earning more than $200,000 by close to $970 billion over the next decade and take in an additional $400 billion from businesses even as it retooled a proposed crackdown on international tax-avoidance techniques.

Forests in the Eastern United States are growing faster than they have in the past 225 years
Speed is not a word typically associated with trees; they can take centuries to grow. However, a new study to be published the week of Feb. 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found evidence that forests in the Eastern United States are growing faster than they have in the past 225 years. The study offers a rare look at how an ecosystem is responding to climate change.

Dentist puts tell-all microchip in tooth
Dr. Kevin Brunski wants to chip your tooth. More specifically, the Crown Point dentist, who has a patent pending on his invention, I-Denti-Fied, hopes to one day see every person in the United States wearing the device -- a chip about the size of a grain of rice that stores a person's unique identification number linked to his or her entire medical history.

Leaked climate change emails scientist ‘hid’ data flaws
Phil Jones, the beleaguered British climate scientist at the centre of the leaked emails controversy, is facing fresh claims that he sought to hide problems in key temperature data on which some of his work was based.

New study: a common flame retardant causes infertility
So many US women have difficulty becoming pregnant that the fertility industry has become a huge business, raking in between three and five billion dollars a year.

Pachauri fails to get UK support over ‘unsubstantiated’ climate report claims
Rajendra Pachauri, who has faced criticism as chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change following allegations of inaccurate statements in panel reports, suffered a fresh blow last night when he failed to get the backing of the British government.

U.S. May Lose 824,000 Jobs as Employment Data Revised: Analysis
The U.S. may lose 824,000 jobs when the government releases its annual revision to employment data on Feb. 5, showing the labor market was in worse shape during the recession than known at the time.

Pay Czar: AIG $100 Million Bonuses 'Outrageous' But Defensible
The administration's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, called the tens of millions of dollars in AIG bonuses being doled out today "outrageous," but said the insurance giant was legally obligated to pay them.

No Help in Sight, More Homeowners Walk Away
New research suggests that when a home’s value falls below 75 percent of the amount owed on the mortgage, the owner starts to think hard about walking away, even if he or she has the money to keep paying.

The Fort Knox Conundrum: Chinese say they received bogus bars of gold traced to U.S.
Could over 1 million bars of gold, much of which is still held in Fort Knox, Ky., be counterfeit?

Roubini Sees ‘Very Dismal and Poor’ U.S. Expansion
Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor who anticipated the financial crisis, said the U.S. growth outlook remains “very dismal” and White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers said the economy is still mired in a “human recession.”

The Next Leg Of The Housing Crisis In Five Simple Charts
Everything that the government has done so far, with a few minor detours, has been almost exclusively focused on maintaining home prices high, by tweaking either the supply or the demand side of the housing equation.

Moody's Warns on Deluge of Debt
Moody's Investors Service warned of sizable refunding requirements for nearly 1,000 companies over the coming years, questioning whether they will be able to refinance more than $800 billion in debt taken on in the middle part of the last decade.

Rising FHA default rate foreshadows a crush of foreclosures
The share of borrowers who are falling seriously behind on loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration jumped by more than a third in the past year, foreshadowing a crush of foreclosures that could further buffet an agency vital to the housing market's recovery.

The Myth of the Fed’s Exit Strategy
Interest rates have to soar to unimaginable levels to attract recalcitrant investors, or the plunge in spending sends us into a postponed Great Depression II.

HCA Owners' Big Payout: $1.75 Billion
HCA Inc., the nation's largest hospital operator, will pay its private-equity owners a $1.75 billion dividend, believed to be among the biggest ever, after reporting stellar 2009 financial results.

Fund charges exposed as fees outstrip returns
Millions of investors have their pensions and long-term savings in funds where the managers have taken more in fees than they have delivered in returns over the past decade.

Least and Most Affordable Housing in the World
Inquiring minds are reviewing the results of the 6th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey.

Copper Market Set for ‘Catastrophe,’ Threlkeld Says
Copper prices, which more than doubled last year, are set to plunge as speculators unwind positions and global inventories expand, according to David Threlkeld, president of metals trader Resolved Inc.

Children Prisoners of the U.S. War of Terror
By Kenneth J. Theisen
Many people in this country are aware of the atrocious conditions and treatment of adult prisoners in the U.S. war of terror. These prisoners have been held at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Bagram, and other hellholes run by the U.S. But few are aware that thousands of children have also been taken by the U.S. and its allies in this war of terror.

Why You’ve Never Heard of the Great Depression of 1920
By Matt Hawes
As President Obama continues to try to sell the country on the necessity of government intervention, this Mises Institute video from April 2009 looks at what happened when a president made the rare choice to restrain government action in an economic crisis.

War, Budgets and Blind Ambition
By Chris Floyd
The American elite’s unbounded, unquestioned, indeed unconscious sense of imperial entitlement and dominance — based ultimately on war, the threat of war and the profit from war — is one of the defining characteristics of our age.

The State of Obama's Union
By Sheldon Richman
Despite what some popular right-wing talk-show hosts claim, Obama is not pushing Marxism, revolutionary or otherwise.

Obama Administration Vision: War Without End
By David Wood
The Obama administration has unveiled a scary new view of the global security landscape and a new strategy intended to protect Americans and U.S. allies. It is a sharp change from previous Pentagon strategic assessments in that it focuses on the wars Americans are currently fighting, rather than on future conflicts in which the United States might be involved.

It begins. An Anti-War Secessionist Movement is alive.
By Tom Barnes
In today’s Time Magazine online we learn that in the State of Vermont, among perhaps the most left leaning population in the Union, a secessionist movement has started in the wake of these unpopular wars.

Two analogies for everyone to understand how US wars in Iraq and Iran are unlawful
By Carl Herman
Laws are meant to be perfectly clear and followed; especially those to save human beings from the scourge of war.

Spending Freeze Not Likely
By Ron Paul
Last week politicians in Washington made a few things clear about how they really feel about the state of the union. First, they are beginning to hear the growing discontent with the size and scope of government and the broken promises that keep piling up.

Obama's Secret Slush Fund
By Phil Kerpen
President Obama and Budget Director Peter Orszag have thrown transparency out the window and created a black box for taxes and spending on climate change hidden inside the administration's 2011 budget.

What remains must be the truth: 9/11 revisited
Paul J. Balles argues that, revisiting the question of who benefited from 9/11, "it becomes perfectly clear that Israel alone had reason to plot and execute” it. But he says that Israel couldn't possibly have executed such a plan without help from the US authorities and that a process of elimination "leaves only the Zionist neo-conservative civilian leaders of the Pentagon” as Israel’s accomplices.

Why Not Kill a Million for a Ratings Boost?
Neocon Says Obama Should Save Presidency By Attacking Iran

The Fed as Giant Counterfeiter
By Robert P. Murphy
San Jose State economics professor Jeffrey Rogers Hummel tells all his students that the easiest way to understand the Federal Reserve is to think of it as a giant, legalized counterfeiter.

Rand Paul: The Constitution Candidate in Kentucky (Video)
Rand Paul tells Judge Napolitano this is the year of the Outsider.

Year of the Rat — I Mean, Census
By Becky Akers
“Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers. . . ,” says Article I, Section 2 of the United States’ Constitution. “The actual Enumeration shall be made. . . within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.”

The IRS Is Looking For 60 12-Gauge Pump Actions Guns To Arm Its Investigators
The IRS apparently has plans to buy 60 Remington Model 870 police 12 gauge pump action shotguns for the Criminal Investigation Unit.

Verichip is now called PositiveID! Roll up your sleeve for the implantable human microchip, it’s now Positive?
As sure as the sun rises, so Verichip keeps spawning and shape shifting to gain market acceptance as people from across the globe unite and reject the IBM seed-funded, Raytheon-manufactured Human Implantable microchip company.

Liberties oversight panel gets short shrift
President Obama is coming under pressure from Democrats and civil liberties groups for failing to fill positions on an oversight panel formed in 2004 to make sure the government does not spy improperly on U.S. citizens.

Passengers laid bare as full body scanners are introduced at Heathrow and Manchester airports
The introduction of full body scanners at Heathrow and Manchester airports has today caused outrage among civil liberty campaigners who say that they are an invasion of privacy.

U.S. agrees to timetable for UN Gun Ban
The United Nations and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are moving forward with their plan to confiscate your guns.