China says 2010 defense budget to rise 7.5 percent
China's official military budget for 2010 will rise 7.5 percent over last year, an official said on Thursday, indicating a slowdown in defense spending growth.

Guatemalan police chief, drug czar detained
Guatemala's national police chief and anti-drug czar were detained Tuesday in a case of stolen cocaine that led to the deaths of five police agents.

Not a democracy? Israel 'showed its real face' in Dubai-Mossad scandal
Israel's neither confirming nor denying the claims of its involvement in the Hamas leader assasination. Meanwhile, investigators from different continues are seeking more evidence. Sabakh Al Mukhtar, from the Arab Lawyers association, is sure Mossad's behind the killi

Arabs Give Peace Talks "Final" Chance
Arab foreign ministers agreed on Wednesday, March 3, to back one last round of indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks despite skepticism over Israel's readiness to revive peace efforts, a decision welcomed by the US.

Iran may face new round of UN sanctions
The United States, France and other Western powers are preparing a plan for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program and hope to persuade Russia and China to back it.

Iraq suicide bomber targets hospital in triple attack
A suicide bomber ended a series of deadly attacks in central Iraq by detonating explosives in a hospital emergency ward where victims of two earlier blasts were being treated.

Greece Just Passed Another $6.6 Billion Cut, Now Let's See How Its People React
The country just announced $6.6 billion in new budget cuts (nearly 2% of the nation's GDP), in hopess of gaining more support from fellow members of the European union.

Indonesian Mob Wants Blood After Treasury Secretary Spends A Fortune Bailing Out Banks
Tensions are high in Indonesia as it appeared that a months-long investigation into the $700 million bailout of Bank Century will end without prosecution of the country's finance minister and vice president.

Haaretz: Israel Is Preparing To Strike Iran
“Do not strike” is what the Americans are telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Let’s first try sanctions on Iran.”

'Revolution' warning over bailout
A revolution will erupt if billions of euro more in taxpayers' money is handed over to Anglo Irish Bank, Enda Kenny has warned.

Moscow to commemorate Stalin with posters on 65th anniversary of WWII
Posters of Joseph Stalin will be put up not only for this year's Victory Day parade in Moscow, but for other celebrations as well, the city's mayor, Yury Luzhkov, said on Tuesday.

Temple Mount tensions build
Tensions are high in Jerusalem after youth-fired incidents which took place around the Temple Mount on Monday.

Dubai police chief says to seek Netanyahu arrest
Dubai's police chief plans to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of Israel's spy agency over the killing of a Hamas leader in the emirate, Al Jazeera television reported.

Iraqi voters showered with gifts as election nears
Many Iraqis say that for four years they have seen little of their elected representatives, but now that it's election time, they all turn up bearing gifts.

Nigel Farage will apologise... to bank clerks
Nigel Farage, facing demands from European Parliament president Jerzy Buzek to apologise to Herman van Rompuy, the European Parliament and the 'nation of Belgium', has offered to apologise to any bank clerks who were offended by his remarks.

Former US spy confirms Rigi’s CIA link, rejects ties
A former US intelligence official has admitted that CIA operatives in Pakistan had held talks with the Jundallah terrorist group led by Abdolmalek Rigi.

Admiral Mullen: foreign policy is too dominated by the military
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says US foreign policy is too dependent on military generals and admirals and not enough on the State Department.

Ratigan Goes Nuts: Accuses Tea Party Organizer of Including People who Want to 'Kill Blacks and Jews'
You almost need a flak jacket to go on an MSNBC show these days - at least judging by the rapid fire attacks displayed on the March 2 "The Dylan Ratigan Show."

NY Gov. Paterson mum as scandal claims top cop
New York Gov. David Paterson remains defiant in the midst of a rapidly growing domestic violence scandal that has now claimed two top law enforcement officials and threatens to take down his administration.

Troubled KBR Wins $2.8 Billion Army Contract
Contract Could Keep Contractor in Iraq Through 2015

Despite 935 documented lies, Rove book insists Iraq war was justified
Republican strategist Karl Rove says in a new memoir that the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq badly damaged the Bush administration's credibility and led to dwindling public support for the war.

Obama and health care: Wants an up-or-down vote 'in the next few weeks'
President Obama said today that health care is a politically challenging issue, but struggling Americans deserve a vote as soon as possible on a package designed to address the system's many problems.

Bill White, Rick Perry win Texas governor nominations
Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Democratic former Houston Mayor Bill White clinched their parties’ nominations for governor Tuesday, setting up a fight over whether the problems in Washington or Austin are more relevant to Texans’ everyday lives.

Coffee Party Parasites
Park is a former Strategy Analyst [Park's Linked In page has been taken down, here is a cached link] at the NY Times who was one of organizers and operators of the United for Obama video channel at YouTube:

9/11 truth movement keeps moving along
The 9/11 truth movement, comprised of various professional and grassroots organizations such as Architects and Engineers for 9/11 truth, We are Change, Patriots Question 9/11 and victims families like the Jersey Girls have made one thing clear in recent months: they are not going to fall into the memory hole of history.

Fuel Taxes Must Rise, Harvard Researchers Say
To meet the Obama administration’s targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, some researchers say, Americans may have to experience a sobering reality: gas at $7 a gallon.

2001-2010 was the Snowiest Decade on Record
Now that we have reached the end of the meteorological winter (December-February,) Rutgers University Global Snow Lab numbers (1967-2010) show that the just completed decade (2001-2010) had the snowiest Northern Hemisphere winters on record.

Climate Panel Pile-Up: UN to double-check fuzzy research
UN looks to set a new panel overseeing the old one.. Body in question is the IPCC responsible for monitoring climate change. Lately it was accused of fuzzy research hyping the hysteria surrounding global warming.

NY Times: Global Warming Alarmists Have Taken a Vicious Beating
For months, climate scientists have taken a vicious beating in the media and on the Internet, accused of hiding data, covering up errors and suppressing alternate views.

Herbicide Chemical in Drinking Water Could Pose Much Greater Danger to Health Than Previously Thought
Contamination of drinking water by a common herbicide poses a greater health threat than previously believed, according to a report issued by the nonprofit environmental organization Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Why pharmaceuticals might be called Weapons of Mass Prescription
What if a nation wanted to reduce its own civilian population but do it covertly?

Chilean Quake Likely Shifted Earth’s Axis, NASA Scientist Says
The earthquake that killed more than 700 people in Chile on Feb. 27 probably shifted the Earth’s axis and shortened the day, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist said.

Lord Mandelson condemns Volcker rule as too 'sweeping'
Lord Mandelson has blasted the US's attempt to "apply sweeping rules" to the banking sector, dismissing Paul Volcker's attempt to carve major banks in two, and instead calling for international co-operation on financial regulation.

UK Pound More Unloved than Even Mugabe's Dollar
It says something about your currency when foreign exchange dealers are even prepared to swap it for the Zimbabwean dollar. Yet this was the pitiful fate of sterling yesterday as it suffered its biggest rout on the currency markets for more than a year.

ADP: January Job Losses Were Actually TRIPLE What We Thought, And No, We Won’t Blame The Snowicane
ADP’s employment report showed 20,000 jobs lost in February, which was in-line with analyst expectations. Thing is, they revised down their January number by a huge margin — to -60,000 from -22,000.

Secretary Geithner's Got Some Explaining to Do
While everyone, including Congress, the media, and the public, have focused on AIG's $100-million bonus payments to key employees, and most recently on AIG's stealth payments to counterparties like Chase and the French giant Société Générale -- the latter made worse by the fact that it was the Federal Reserve (FED) that wanted to keep these payments hidden from public view -- the problem with the AIG bailout is much deeper and more fundamental.

China holds more U.S. debt than indicated
Despite recent government reports that China's holdings of U.S. Treasury debt declined during the second half of last year, the Asian economic giant almost certainly owns far more Treasury securities than official statistics indicate.

US economy may take another hit; California faces bankruptcy questions.
Amid mounting concerns that
the debt crisis in Greece could end up impacting the United States, some are saying bigger economic risks actually lie within the country.

The Chair Of The European Commission Calls For A European Economic Government
The recent economic collapse in Greece has caused a significant weakening of the Euro and has created a measure of financial panic all over Europe. So what solutions are being put forward by the governments of Europe? More centralization, more globalization and more power for the EU.

Foreclosures now are just ‘tip of the iceberg’
Despite some reports that suggest the housing crisis may be hitting bottom, foreclosures so far represent the “tip of the iceberg,” real estate analyst, investor and lender Bruce Norris says.

Fed Vacancies Clear Path for Obama
Vice Chairman Kohn to Depart in June, Increasing Openings on Board to Three

FDIC to grease mortgage market with $1.8 bln deal
The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is planning to sell $1.8 billion of guaranteed asset-backed debt, according to IFR, in what may be a step toward restoring confidence in securities closely tied to the financial meltdown.

Larry Fink’s $12 Trillion Shadow
Though few Americans know his name, Larry Fink may be the most powerful man in the post-bailout economy. His giant BlackRock money-management firm controls or monitors more than $12 trillion worldwide—including the balance sheets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the toxic A.I.G. and Bear Stearns assets taken over by the U.S. government last year.

Fiat Money and the Fort of Gold
According to the government, Fort Knox contains about 147 million troy ounces of gold.

Swaps and Robbers
Yes, banks can bring down societies, simply because they can control them. And that’s what we’ve let them do.

Start a Rothbardian Bankrun
By Joseph T. Salerno
This modest but growing movement is urging people to move their money from big banks to small community banks and credit unions.

It’s not About Political Parties. It’s About Liberty
By Michael Boldin
The Tenth Amendment is not about political parties. It’s not about political ideologies. It’s not even about political candidates. It’s about liberty.

Meddling Where We Oughtn't - Yet Again
By Fred Reed
Mexico, if left alone, would be a reasonably successful and stable country of the upper Third World. It isn’t Haiti, isn’t Bangla Desh, isn’t a dying patient with multiple tubes in every orifice. If not strong-armed into chaos, it would be all right.

The Moneytrain Of War
By Gordon Duff
Kabul is run by a Mafia, an international criminal element that ties American funding to criminal gangs who, using “government influence” peddle “development contracts” like selling crack or meth on a street corner.

The Black Hole of Guantánamo
By Andy Worthington
When it comes to dealing with the thorny question of how to close Guantánamo, the remaining prisoners have been caught between two competing systems since President Obama took office last January, and the result, to put it mildly, has been confusing.

Ron Paul's Conservative Foreign Policy (Video)
Southern Avenger: Virtually alone, Congressman Ron Paul offers an unabashed conservative foreign policy.

U.S Started A War Of Aggression Against Afghanistan Over 30 Years Ago
By James A. Lucas
Interference by the U.S. in the internal affairs of Afghanistan has been a tragic chapter in our nation's history.

NSA threatened Qwest CEO with repercussions if he didn’t cut a surveillance deal
By Wayne Madsen
WMR has learned from sources who worked in senior positions for the telecommunications company Qwest that its former chairman and CEO, Joseph Nacchio, was threatened with retaliation after he refused to participate in an unconstitutional and illegal National Security Agency (NSA) wiretapping program after he met with NSA officials on February 27, 2001, some six months before the 9/11 attacks.

Muslims Are Their Own Worst Enemy
By Paul Craig Roberts
What fool believes that the U.S. government, which is totally indifferent to the fate of its own citizens, cares so much about Afghanistan that it will spend blood and treasure to bring "progress" and "women's rights" to a country half a world away, while it drives its own citizens into the ground?

Muslim women who refused to take ‘naked’ full-body scan are barred from Manchester to Pakistan flight
Two Muslim women have become the first passengers to refuse to subject themselves to controversial ‘naked’ full body airport scans, it emerged today.

Wrangling over Copyright Protection Treaty
Recent leaks suggest the 39 countries negotiating an international copyright protection treaty could require Internet service providers to ban repeat piracy offenders from using the Web. The German government, however, has now voiced its opposition to the proposal, which has been heavily criticized by civil rights activists.

You Could Now Be Arrested, In America, Just For Mentioning Europe's Problems Over Dinner
You know a company/country/continent is in trouble when authorities start cracking down on short bets against it.

Microsoft, Germans working on electronic ID card prototype
Microsoft released its new identity management software at the RSA conference on Tuesday and is working on a prototype national ID card system in Germany that is designed to give consumers control over the amount of personal data they share with specific organizations.

A gas tax to cure global warming? Compromise looks to revive stalled plan
A group of senators are trying to resuscitate global warming legislation, but the potential inclusion of a new gas tax threatens to keep action on one of President Obama’s signature initiatives stalled.