| Hard News
Pakistan: 84 killed in Quetta blast:
According to Afghan consulate officials in Quetta city of Pakistan at least 30 Afghan refugees were among those killed following a deadly bomb blast in Baluchistan province.
Pakistan bomb 'a security failure':
The governor of a province in south-western Pakistan where 81 people died in a massive bombing says security officials are too scared of retribution from terrorists to do their jobs.
Serial bombings leave 37 dead in Iraq:
Multiple car bombs exploded within minutes of each other as Iraqis were out shopping in and around Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 37 people and wounding more than 100 in mainly Shiite areas.
Four Turkish officers killed in Aleppo clashes: Report:
The Syrian website Syria Now reports that the corpses of the Turkish officers were identified among the militants killed in the Friday fighting in the al-Bab district of the flashpoint city.
Australia to investigate mysterious case of 'Prisoner X' Ben Zygier:
Australia will conduct its own investigation into the arrest, detention and death of Mossad agent Ben Zygier who died in an Israeli prison two years ago - and will ask Israeli officials to provide evidence.
Israel 'implicates' Australia in scandal:
The government source stressed that the Australian authorities were well aware that 34-year-old Ben Zygier was not "some backpacker who got lost trekking when his coffin was returned to Australia."
Message from Samer el Issawi, day 209 hunger strike:
"I draw my strength from my people, from all the free people in the world, from friends and the families of the prisoners who continue day and night chanting for freedom and an end to the occupation."
Nine Arrested at Hancock Air Base for Opposing Reaper Drone War Crimes:
Hancock is the regional hub for the hunter/killer Reaper drone deployed over Afghanistan, Pakistan and, increasingly, elsewhere. This nonviolent civil resistance is the most recent in a series of actions at Hancock meant to expose and deter the Reaper war crimes originating there.
Feds execute another terror sting;
The FBI's use of sting operations in terror cases has been sharply criticized by activists and scholars who claim law enforcement is helping individuals with mental problems and/or little individual perseverance pursue plots they would be unable or unlikely to complete on their own.
JFK secretly freed rapists, drug dealers and Mafia hitmen to kill Castro :
Claims criminals allowed on 'crime sprees' in US when not working for CIA
Obama proposes new visa for illegal immigrants:
President Obama's draft bill reportedly creates a 'lawful prospective immigrant' visa that allows illegal immigrants to become legal permanent residents within eight years.
World Bank warns economic powers: Climate change is real:
The president of the World Bank on Saturday warned the finance chiefs of the world's leading economic powers that global warming is a real risk to the planet and already affecting the world economy in unprecedented ways.
Climate Rally Draws "Line in the Sand" on Canadian Pipeline;
The largest climate rally in U.S. history is expected Sunday in Washington DC with the aim of pressuring President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
Live Video - Forward On Climate Rally & March - Washington DC :
The Largest Climate Rally in History: February 17, 2013 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C
$1,728,477,000,000: Fed's Holdings of U.S. Debt Hit Another Record:
The total debt of the federal government was $16,524,304,599,079.04. That included $11,668,602,027,147.93 in debt held by the public and $4,855,702,571,931.11 in intragovernmental debt, which is money the Treasury has taken out of government trust funds-such as the Social Security Trust Fund-and spent on other government programs.
Bernanke Says Economy Far From Recovering Full Strength:
"With unemployment at almost 8 percent, we are still far from the fully healthy and vibrant conditions that we would like to see," Bernanke said today at a meeting in Moscow of his counterparts from the Group of 20.
Walmart VP Calls February Sales 'Total Disaster':
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had the worst sales start to a month in seven years as payroll-tax increases hit shoppers already battling a slow economy, according to internal e-mails obtained by Bloomberg News.
Incomes Flat in Recovery, but Not for the 1%:
Incomes rose more than 11 percent for the top 1 percent of earners during the economic recovery, but not at all for everybody else, according to new data.
Facebook Paid No Income Taxes in 2012: Report:
Facebook didn't pay any federal or state income taxes last year and will receive a hefty tax refund, according to a recent report.
Top Democrat Would Weigh Medicare Cuts as Part of Tax Deal:
Van Hollen predicted that $85 billion in spending cuts, called a "sequester," scheduled to begin March 1 will take effect, at least temporarily, before Republicans agree on a compromise plan.
"Too Big to Fail has become Too Big for Trial": Video -
Senator Elizabeth Warren asks federal bank regulators why no banks were taken to trial in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
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"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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