International Anticorruption Day, Transparency, Bradley Manning; China, Canada, UK, Greece, Eurozone Crisis; World News; Racism

International Anticorruption Day

• Corruption Perceptions Index 2012
• How Corruption Is Strangling U.S. Innovation
• Newly Released Index Finds Perceived Corruption Increased After 'Arab Spring'
• Why Do People Defend Unjust, Inept, and Corrupt Systems?
• Corruption: It's Easier Than You Think

Transparency

• President signs whistle-blower bill for US workers--The bill "affords greater protection to federal employees who expose fraud, waste and abuse in government operations."
• Julian Assange: the fugitive--"Julian Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy for six months. In a rare interview, we ask the WikiLeaks founder about reports of illness, paranoia – and if he'll ever come out."
• U.N. Development Agency Launches Open Data Site To Track All $5.8B In Projects

Bradley Manning

• Bradley Manning: a tale of liberty lost in America
• WikiLeaks Suspect Bradley Manning: 'I Thought I Was Going To Die In That Cage'
• Bradley Manning 'wants to go into politics'

China

• China's challenge with corruption--"China's leaders have been decrying corruption - and doing very little about it - for decades. But some corruption experts say there may be reason for a little more hope this time around (NYT)."
• China surpasses U.S. as top global trader
• Mr. China Comes to America--"For decades, every trend in manufacturing favored the developing world and worked against the United States. But new tools that greatly speed up development from idea to finished product encourage start-up companies to locate here, not in Asia. Could global trade winds finally be blowing toward America again?"
• US software firm hacked for years after suing China
• Why one of China's richest men is squaring off against Obama in court--"Wu Jialiang, CEO of Ralls Corp. is challenging Obama's refusal on national security grounds to let him build a wind farm in America, marking the first such high level case in the US from a Chinese firm."
• When in China, don't leave your laptop alone--"If you travel to China or Russia, assume government or industry spooks will steal your data and install spyware. Here's how to thwart them."
• Top Ten Myths About China in 2012

Canada

• Toronto's combative mayor ordered to leave office
• Police looking for more suspects in Salvation Army theft
• Canada among least corrupt countries, report says

UK

• How the Ministry of Defence tried to prevent publication of Danny Nightingale's story--"The Ministry of Defence tried to prevent The Sunday Telegraph from publishing SAS hero Danny Nightingale's story, explains Sean Rayment."
• UK Independence Party couple have foster children removed from care
• Russian mafia whistleblower, 44, found dead in UK

Greece

• Greece 'most corrupt' EU country, new survey reveals
• For Greece, Oligarchs Are Obstacle to Recovery NYT
• Greece can root out corruption – just like Hong Kong did
• Greeks Protest Racist Attacks on Immigrants
• Greeks turn to the forests for fuel as winter nears--"As austerity tightens its grip, many of the middle class find themselves in a desperate struggle to make ends meet."

Eurozone Crisis

• It's Official: Austerity Economics Doesn't Work
• Spain's unemployment heads to 5 million
• Mario Monti to quit as Italian PM amid waning support for austerity policies--"Prime minister announces decision hours after former leader Silvio Berlusconi confirms he will seek office again."

World News

• Spain regions: Catalonia nationalists win election
• Scottish independence: Cameron and Salmond strike referendum deal
• IOC suspends India from Olympics after row over upcoming elections
• Serbia's NATO ambassador suddenly leaps 10 metres to his death at Brussels Airport
• Enslaved Children Freed After Being Forced to Make Christmas decorations

Racism

• Ireland: Man knifed in neck for challenging racist jibes, court hears
• Australia: 'Speak English Or Die'' Viral Video Update: Schmucks Identified
• Anger as Hungary far-right leader demands lists of Jews--"A Hungarian far-right politician urged the government to draw up lists of Jews who pose a 'national security risk', stirring outrage among Jewish leaders who saw echoes of fascist policies that led to the Holocaust."

Human Rights, Europe, Greece, Italy, Africa, South Asia, China, Quebec, BBC

Human Rights

• Slavery's last stronghold--"Mauritania's endless sea of sand dunes hides an open secret: An estimated 10% to 20% of the population lives in slavery. But as one woman's journey shows, the first step toward freedom is realizing you're enslaved."
• Bahraini court confirms jail terms for medics who aided protesters
• Georgia prisons minister resigns after revelations of inmate torture and rape--What does the scandal say about the Rose Revolution?

Europe

• Moscow bans protest against political repressions 'due to lack of political repressions'
• Spain: "Laws are like women -- they are there to be raped."
• German customs seize Stradivarius violin, demand $1.5 million

Greece

• The Crisis Has Yet to Hit the Wealthiest Greeks
• Journalist who embarrassed Greeks with Swiss bank accounts is acquitted
• Corruption Continues Virtually Unchecked in Greece
• Claims of rising racism in Greece as young Egyptian tortured by employer
• Greek protesters hurl coffee at German diplomat

Italy

• Corruption Is Seen as a Drain on Italy's South NYT
• Italian Town Fires Entire Government Over Mafia Connections
• Italian politician 'slashes tyres of disabled man'--"Just when it seemed the behaviour of Italy's political class could get no worse, a member of Silvio Berlusconi's party has been forced to resign after being caught slashing the tyres of a car owned by a disabled man."

Africa

• "Nigeria Is Africa's Most Corrupt Nation!"- KPMG Report
• South Africa's president Jacob Zuma faces investigation over plans to renovate home--To the tune of £16.62m.
• How to Rob Africa--"Why does the Western world feed Africa with one hand while taking from it with the other?"

South Asia

• Scandal Poses a Riddle: Will India Ever Be Able to Tackle Corruption? NYT
• Karachi's factory fire exposes Pakistan's lax health and safety regime
• World Bank cancels Bangladesh bridge loan over corruption--And it appears that Bangladesh is taking its own anticorruption drive seriously.

China

• Yang Jisheng: The man who discovered 36 million dead--"Newsnight's Paul Mason meets Chinese journalist and author Yang Jisheng, whose acclaimed book exposing the truth about the Chinese famine 50 years ago cannot be published in his own country."
• Home Amid Chinese Highway a Symbol of Resistance--The eldery couple in Wenling, Zhejiang province refused to sell their property.
• Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan protest map of territorial claims in new Chinese passports--Add India to the list.

Quebec

• Corruption in Quebec
• We rigged contracts, gave Montreal Mafia 2.5% cut of project: Quebec construction boss at inquiry
• Montreal group hacks away at corruption one spreadsheet at a time

BBC

• 'Ghastly mess' at BBC: Ex-chief's pay questioned, more quit amid sex scandal
• BBC settles politician's libel claim in child abuse story for $293,000
• How the BBC can salvage its reputation

Separating Church from State, Islamists, Mali, Blasphemy, Scientology, In Bad Faith, Atheism, Politics and Media, Ecumenical

Separating Church from State

• Biden: I accept Catholic Church's pro-life view, but won't impose it on others
• 'Pulpit Freedom Sunday' Pastors Don’t Care About Religious Freedom--"A thousand Christian ministers plan to defy the law by endorsing candidates in their sermons. But they’re protesting an imaginary problem and ignoring the real challenges to others’ freedom of religion."
• The Point of the Pulpit
• Church and state shouldn’t merge
• Freedom from Religion Foundation--Ban the marriage between Church and State

Islamists

• Stop calling criticism of Islam 'Islamophobia'--Also applies to when 'Antisemitism' is thrown out to suppress criticism.
• 'It's for your good. Let me finish': Afghan-Canadian mother told police she stabbed her daughter with a kitchen knife
• Islamists who pose a threat 'have no place in France'

Mali

• Thousands Of People In Mali Are Begging For Help From The United Nations
• Women in northern Mali hold protest against Islamist in charge of veil requirement
• Mali Islamists compiling list of unwed moms--They've stoned couples for having sex outside marriage.

Blasphemy

• The Reality of Anti-Blasphemy Laws
• Two Coptic children arrested in Egypt for 'insulting Islam'--"[F]ather of children pleas kids are illiterate and were playing with papers near a garbage dump."
• Egypt: Rights groups condemn detention of atheist on blasphemy charges
• Blasphemy in democracy's birthplace? Greece arrests Facebook user.--"A Greek man could face two years in prison after being arrested last week for blasphemy after posting a Facebook page that satirized a famous Greek Orthodox monk."
• Attackers of Hindu temple charged with blasphemy
• Bangladesh Muslim protesters torch Buddhist temples over Facebook photo
• Egypt refers man who tore Bible to trial--"Egyptian prosecutors referred to trial Tuesday a well-known radical Islamist who tore up an English copy of the Bible during a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo against an anti-Islam film produced in the United States."

Scientology

• 70% Americans Doubt Scientology Is Real Religion According To Poll
• Scientology threatens Vanity Fair over Tom Cruise 'auditions' claims
• 'The Master' and Scientology--"Paul Thomas Anderson's impressive new film downplays its connection to the controversial religious movement."
• Man Claims A Scientology-Affiliated Clinic Drove Him To Attempt Suicide
• Church of Scientology opens center in Israel
• Scientology minister accused of molesting Thetans
• Blast from the Past: Scientology Brainwashing by Derren Brown

In Bad Faith

• Faith leaders across England in 'HIV healing' claims--"Dangerous cases of faith leaders who tell people with HIV to stop taking their life-saving drugs have been identified by African-led community groups in a number of locations across England."
• Ghana grapples with mental health
• Religious Beliefs Prevent Kenyan Parents from Seeking Conventional Medicine for Children

Atheism

• After High School Teacher Defends Atheist and Gay Students, He Is Forced to Resign
• Secularists are not atheists Salon
• 8 Countries Where Atheism Is Accepted, Even Celebrated, Instead of Demonized
• As Protestants decline, those with no religion gain
• Eastern Germany: the most godless place on Earth-"[T]he survey was unable to find a single person under the age of 28 in eastern Germany who believed in God."

Politics and Media

• Mormons Want to Excommunicate Romney Critic
• Florida Teachers Fired For Reporting Abuse at Catholic School
• High-Ranking Catholic Priest: Teens Seduced 'Poor Sandusky'

Ecumenical

• Bearded Sikh woman teaches Reddit a lesson
• Muslim Men Rescue Bagel Shop And Keep It Kosher
• xkcd: Fastest-Growing

Eurozone Crisis, China vs. Japan, Japan vs. China, PRC, Canada, Catalonia, Corruption, Politics

Eurozone Crisis

• Spain: Protesters defy ban with anti-government rallies--Rubber bullets, tear gas, agent provocateurs, and more budget cuts... oh my.
• Most Greeks feel new austerity measures are unfair: poll--And things are turning ugly.
• Crisis in social care costs Britain over £5bn a year
• Angela Merkel: Europe must stay the course with painful reform
• Germany's big worry is China, not Greece
• Depression, Suicides Rise as Euro Debt Crisis Intensifies
• Everything you wanted to know about the euro crisis (but were afraid to ask) --Or you can do it Twilight-style.

China vs. Japan

• Mainland tells UN Japan 'stole' disputed islands
• China's Brainwashed Youth - Manufacturing Hate in the 21st Century
• Hong Kong: Japanese couple attacked--"Anti-Japanese sentiment turned physical after a Japanese couple, walking along the Tsim Sha Tsui East waterfront, were battered by a Chinese man who quickly fled the scene."
• Anti-Japan Protests Reach Fever Pitch as Panetta Visits Beijing
• China cancels diplomatic event with Japan over islands
• China launches aircraft carrier amid rising tensions with Japan
• Audi Asked China Dealership to Remove Anti-Japan Banner--It said, "Even if the whole of China is covered with tombs, [we] must kill all Japanese; even if no grass grows in China…."

Japan vs. China

• Could Asia really go to war over these?--"The bickering over islands is a serious threat to the region's peace and prosperity."
• Japanese firms closing China plants--As a temporary measure to wait out the protests.
• Japan wants China to compensate for damages from protests
• Hundreds in Tokyo rally against China in island row
• Japan tried but failed to avert disaster in China dispute

PRC

• In Hong Kong Election, Democrats Gain Despite Pro-Beijing Rebound--Beijing was also trying to ram down patriotism classes down their throats.
• China is flexing its muscles: time to worry
• China: For Many Expats, It's Not Worth It
• Mural draws fire from China--The mural is in Oregon.
• Chinese protester opposing government takeover of village land 'is crushed to death by state-controlled road-flattening truck'

Canada

• In Quebec It's Official: Mass Movement Leads to Victory for Students
• Stephen Harper's democracy award a sad joke on Canadians--Half of them have given Harper a thumbs down.
• Canadian gets three months in jail for not serving in Israeli army

Catalonia

• Huge turnout for Catalan independence rally
• As Spain sinks, many in Catalonia want out
• Why Catalonia Isn’t Likely to Leave Spain Anytime Soon

Corruption

• Statistical model suggests widespread fraud in Russian election
• Thai Deputy PM resigns amid corruption probe
• Police chief at heart of Bo Xilai scandal jailed for 15 years--A man reportedly being groomed for the country's leadership has been booted off the party.
• Indian cartoonist arrested on sedition charges after criticizing government corruption
• Vietnamese anti-corruption bloggers jailed--"Three prominent dissident bloggers have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for 'conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam'."

Politics

• German parliament bans laptops; members bring a typewriter
• A new breathalyzer law drives anger in France
• UK: Secret royal veto powers over new laws to be exposed--"Information commissioner orders release of guide to how Queen and Prince Charles must be consulted before laws are passed."

Rankings, Rio+20, Eurozone, Egypt, Russia, Greece, Germany, Philippines, China

Rankings

• Global Opinion of Obama Slips, International Policies Faulted Thanks Hector!
• Canada rises to 4th in world peace rankings--"Canada rose to fourth on an annual ranking of world peacefulness, trailing only Iceland, Denmark and New Zealand, while Syria posted the biggest drop on the list."
• Ireland up to 20th in world competitiveness list
• World Rankings: Zimbabweans close-in on Nigerians on fraud--Why do 'Nigerian scammers' say they're from Nigeria, anyhow?
• Myanmar improves in U.S. slavery rankings as reforms continue

Rio+20

• Environmental activists 'being killed at rate of one a week'
• Brazil's blueprint for reforestation
• Brazil: Hundreds Occupy Brazil's Belo Monte Dam Construction Site
• Canada wants to hold on to fossil fuel subsidies, leaked document reveals--"Canada is making waves heading into the global Rio+20 Earth Summit by trying to prevent the conference from adopting commitments requiring an end to taxpayer subsidies of the fossil fuel sector."
• Furious Greenpeace moves to 'war footing' at Rio+20

Eurozone

• Angela Merkel tells rest of Europe to get real about eurozone crisis--Her own parliament has issues about that.
• Hollande party wins majority in French parliament--More trouble for Merkel?
• Greek voices: 'We just feel betrayed. We are the EU's scapegoats

Egypt

• Egypt voters' 'loss of faith'--""We thought Tahrir Square was the only place we can change everything. We should have thought about how to move from the square into decision-making spots."
• Egypt's military grants itself sweeping powers--Martial law makes a comeback.
• Military official disputes report of Mubarak's clinical death

Russia

• Russian lawmakers adopt controversial protest bill
• Opposition rally in Moscow draws tens of thousands
• Putin is defiant despite march

Greece

• Far-right Greek MP who punched woman in the face on live TV sues his victims for defamation
• Golden Dawn threatens hospital raids against immigrants in Greece--"Far-right party says it will throw immigrants and their children out on the street, as some hospitals run short of supplies."
• Greece: far-right party returns to parliament

Germany

• German far-right lawmakers removed from parliament--"The president of Saxony's state parliament expelled eight far-right lawmakers from the assembly Wednesday for wearing clothes favored by German neo-Nazis."
• Germany bans Salafist organization amid raids--"German authorities launched a nationwide crackdown Thursday on an ultraconservative Islamic organization, raiding homes, meeting halls and mosques, while banning one related group and opening in an investigation of two others."
• A Party On The Rise, Germany's Pirates Come Ashore--Trouble brewing in the horizon?

Philippines

• Philippines accuses China of deploying ships in Scarborough shoal--Tensions have somewhat abated.
• Beware of Chinese Jingoism--They're stoking nationalistic fervor.
• The US Will Re-Open Massive Philippine Bases Not Occupied Since The Cold War

China

• China Has The Ability To Shut Down All The Telecommunications Technology It Sold To America
• China tells US Embassy to stop reporting Beijing pollution
• Chinese secretly copy Austrian town

World News, Quebec, Wisconsin, Inequality, Eurozone, Hacking, Corruption

World News

• Scottish Independence: Holyrood endorses independence
• Majority of MPs back renaming of Big Ben Clock Tower as Elizabeth Tower for Jubilee
• Egypt's Hosni Mubarak sentenced to life in prison for role in killing of protesters
• Egypt lifts unpopular emergency law--Which was in place for more than 30 years.
• Syrian leaders will not be allowed amnesty, says UN human rights chief

Quebec

• Why The Rest Of North America Should Care About Quebec's Huge Student Protests
• Charest 'disappointed' as Quebec student talks hit impasse
• Quebec's Bill 78 threatens freedom of expression--The UN weighs in.

Wisconsin

• Why Are Democrats Losing the Wisconsin Recall?--The best they're hoping for is to "avoid embarrassment."
• Obama’s Wisconsin Betrayal
• Scott Walker signs burned in Wisconsin
• Dirty Tricks In Wisconsin: Secret Group Shuts Down Phones Of Scott Walker’s Democratic Challenger With Spam Texts
• Walker says campaign funds won't pay legal bills for aides--"Walker made the comment a day after a report show he had transferred $100,000 from his campaign account to a criminal defense fund he has set up."

Inequality

• In Rich Europe, Growing Ranks of Working Poor NYT
• Great Divide: How the City of London Widened the Gap between Britain's Rich and Poor
• Success for Chelsea and Manchester City comes at a high price--"Football's billionaire owners are part of the global elite only too keen to distract us from how they make their riches."
• Russian Millionaire Tosses Paper Money Planes Out of Office Window, Laughs as People Brawl Over Them
• Ferrari Deaths Fuel Anti-Foreigner Anger As Singapore Votes
• Bo Xilai Downfall Shows Crony Communism Widening Rich-Poor Gap
• Population and consumption key to future, report says--"Over-consumption in rich countries and rapid population growth in the poorest both need to be tackled to put society on a sustainable path...."

Eurozone

• Troubled Greece: fears of 'first domino' to fall as austerity is counted a failure
• Ireland approves European Union fiscal treaty
• Spain's Game of Chicken
• World stock markets plunge as global crisis deepens
• Euro zone unemployment hits record high, seen rising
• Ferrari Crackdown: Italy Declaring War on Tax Cheats
• France moves to cap executive pay at state firms

Hacking

• Rebekah Brooks charged with perverting the course of justice
• Piers Morgan told me how to hack a phone, says Jeremy Paxman
• What Rupert Hath Wrought!--A review of Dial M for Murdoch: News Corporation and the Corruption of Britain

Corruption

• Quebec corruption inquiry could expose links between Mafia, politics and construction
• A Murder Foretold: Unravelling the ultimate political conspiracy
• European anti-corruption watchdog eyes Estonia

Quebec, G20, Protests, Greek Tragedy, World News

Quebec

• Quebec student groups reject proposed tuition deal
• Quebec education minister quits over tuition dispute
• Quebec debates back-to-school bill
• Anti-protest legislation passes in Quebec
• Molotov cocktails launched in Montreal protests following legal crackdown

G20

• Toronto News: Byron Sonne not guilty on G20 explosives charges
• G20 aftermath: Blair accepts responsibility but doesn’t apologize
• G20 charges coming against Toronto police commanders

Protests

• Thousands in Spain revive May 15th protests to rail against cuts, government
• Police detain 400 "Blockupy" activists in Frankfurt
• Occupy Europe protests pictures

Greek Tragedy

• Grexit and Bank Run Prospects Continue to Weigh on the Euro
• Greece fails to form new government, going to elections
• Greek Politicians Debate the Debt Crisis and Election Issues--'If We Leave the Euro, Everything Will Be Worse'
• Nightmare foretold if Greece heads for euro exit
• Greek leftist leader Alexis Tsipras: 'It's a war between people and capitalism'

World News

• Briton imprisoned for reporting African massacre: 'How can this have happened to our son?' ask family
• 'Princelings' in China Use Family Ties to Gain Riches NYT
• North Korea 'executes three people found guilty of cannibalism'

Euro-rezoning, AT&T, Telcos, Net Neutrality, Taxing Apple, Syntax Error, Netizen

Euro-rezoning

• Socialist Francois Hollande wins French presidency
• Greece election: Wind of change sweeps through Athens
  
• Vladimir Putin inaugurated as Russian president

AT&T

• Tim Cook convinces AT&T to unlock customer’s iPhone--"AT&T refused to unlock the device, insisting only Apple could. Apple suggested the reader call AT&T again, because only the carrier could authorize the unlock." Last month, they finally got their act together.
• AT&T, Feds Neglect Low-Price Mandate Designed to Help Schools
• Feds accuse AT&T of making millions from calls by Nigerian scam artists
• Class Claims AT&T Aids & Abets Cellphone Thieves, for the Profit
• FCC Fires Back at AT&T Over T-Mobile Job Cuts

Telcos

• Why Are Telecom Companies Blocking Rural America From Getting High-Speed Internet?
• ALEC Wants You To Pay 750% More For High-Speed Internet
• Verizon Wireless to intro $30 cell phone upgrade fee on April 22nd

Net Neutrality

• Level 3 protests Verizon, AT&T "lock-up" data connection deals
• Verizon and AT&T Accused of Being Threats to Democracy
• Witnesses warn Verizon-Comcast deal will damage competition
• The technical and legal realities of Comcast's Xbox cap spat
• Net neutrality concerns raised about Comcast's Xbox On Demand service
• Netflix CEO blasts Comcast for shredding net neutrality
• Beware of Verizilla! Save the Internet

Taxing Apple

• How Apple Sidesteps Billions in Taxes NYT
• How Apple dodges billions in taxes: A concise guide
• Don't Rip Apple for Dodging Taxes: U.S. Tax Code Needs to be Fixed Immediately

Syntax Error

• Richard Clarke on Who Was Behind the Stuxnet Attack
  
• Hotel's Free Wi-Fi Comes With Hidden Extras NYT
• Aghast at Avast's iYogi Support
• Free apps eat up your phone battery just sending ads
• Call Hating: They ignored my name on thecre Do Not Call list. I ignored their dignity.

Netizen

• High school expels student for tweeting f-word--Can school policy extend beyond its borders and encroach free speech?
• Not Being a Troll Isn't Enough: A Handbook to Being a Model Internet Citizen
• Internet Comment Etiquette with Erik

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Eurozone, Corruption in Canada, World News, Right-Wing, Racism, Slavery

Eurozone

• Latest suicide shows Greece is in desperate straits – but it won't spark a revolution
• Austerity drives up suicide rate in debt-ridden Greece
• Dutch government falls in budget crisis

Corruption in Canada

• Conservative Party pleads guilty to campaign overspending, Liberals ask if Tories bought the election
• PayPal ordered to give info in Canada robocall search
• A recap of the Harper government’s first year scandals

World News

• Death for blogging: Tehran uses trumped-up porn charges to target netizens
• Portugal judge: U.S. fugitive won't be extradited
• Sarkozy announces crackdown on Internet hate sites
• Journalist seeking truth about Khmer Rouge 'fears for his life'
• Japan's 1,000-year-old warning--"When the tsunami struck Miyatojima island, a story passed down through generations meant residents knew what to do and kept many safe."

Right-Wing

• Europe's far right marches on--Are they gaining ground? Salon
• Anders Breivik's World: How Sick Is Norway's Mass Murderer?
• Far right hardcore 'willing to prepare for armed conflict'

Racism

• Police face racism scandal after black man records abuse--"Crown Prosecution Service reviews decision not to charge officers heard boasting of strangling 21-year-old black man."
• British man jailed for racist tweet
• Racist woman on UK train arrested
• South Africa: Wouter Basson to answer misconduct case--"As head of the military's chemical and biological warfare division, he is accused of creating viruses that would only attack black people."
• Dirty secret of black-on-Asian violence is out
• Study shows that more than one-third of restaurant servers discriminate against African-American customers
• Australia Aboriginal burial site vandalised

Slavery

• Baseball strikeouts help free child slaves – The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery
• Fishing as Slaves on the High Seas--"For some Indonesian workers, commercial fishing in the seas off New Zealand became a nightmare of abuse aboard foreign-chartered vessels."
• Slave-like conditions' on Swedish army base

Trayvon Martin, Stand Your Ground, Greece, Germany, Unemployment, Eurozone

Trayvon Martin

• Sanford cops sought warrant to arrest George Zimmerman in Trayvon Martin shooting--"The State Attorney's Office held off pending further review, the Herald reported."
• Mayor says police resisted release of 911 tapes
• Spike Lee apologizes for retweeting wrong Zimmerman address
• In Trayvon Martin case, it’s not about the hoodie--Tell that to Allan West.
• Rush to judgment in Trayvon Martin case

Stand Your Ground

• George Zimmerman Unprotected By Self-Defense Law in Trayvon Martin Killing, Florida Lawmakers Say
• Miami judge decides fatal stabbing was self-defense
• ALEC Has Pushed The NRA's "Stand Your Ground" Law Across The Nation

Greece

• It's Time To End the Greek Rescue Farce
• Greek Deal Leaves Europe on the Road to Disaster--"If Europe’s new plan for Greece succeeds, nobody will be more surprised than the politicians who designed it."
• Investors who bet Greece would default collect $2.5 billion

Germany

• In Germany, a Limp Domestic Economy Stifled by Regulation NYT
• Why Germany Isn't Benefiting from Euro's Woes
• German stands up for Greek wine--"The Greek financial crisis has generated a lot of resentment between Greece and its richer eurozone partners, especially Germany. But not all Germans are fed up with the Greeks. Near Athens, one German is standing up for the Greek wine industry."

Unemployment

• The 51% Tragedy: A Majority of Young Greek Workers Are Now Unemployed
• Spain's youth unemployment surges above 50%.
• Unemployment and Inflation Rise in Euro Zone NYT

Eurozone

• Wikileaks: The IMF's Fault for Balkan Wars--The Statfor document says, "Do not forget, the IMF austerity measures imposed on Yugoslavia were in part to blame for the start of the war there. We need to be aware of any economically motivated social discontent."
• In the slow lane--"New economic forecasts from the OECD show how bad austerity has been for growth."
• Iceland puts former PM on trial over financial crisis
• Hunt for Skilled Labor: Germany Woos Portugal's Lost Generation
• Portugal hit by general strike against austerity
• Working Women Are the Key to Norway's Prosperity NYT
• MPs call for eurozone collapse plan

Taxes, Plutocracy, Inequality, Red State of Mind, Eurozone Crisis

Taxes

• Obama unveils $3.8 trillion budget--"President Obama unveiled a $3.8 trillion budget request (NYT) Monday that hikes taxes on the rich, spends new money on infrastructure and education, but does little to reform the entitlement programs that pose the biggest long-term threat to the federal budget."
• Millionaire Investor Calls for Higher Taxes on the Rich--"We are systematically destroying our customer base in this country by undercutting the middle class.... 'If it was true that the rich and business were job creators, we'd be drowning in jobs today."
• Obama says Bush era tax cuts must go
• The Weakening of Nations: How Tax Work-Arounds Undermine Our Society
• House Republicans Yield on Extending Payroll Tax Cut NYT

Plutocracy

• Moyers: Meet the Shameless Plutocrats Choking What's Left of Our Democracy--"The race for the White House may cost more than two billion dollars. What's getting trampled into dust are the voices of people who aren't rich."
• Graphic: The richest 1% of Americans' share of income since the Great Depression.
• Greenwald: Billionaire Romney donor uses threats to silence critics Salon
• America’s Billionaire-Run Democracy Salon
• Rothschild loses libel case, and reveals secret world of money and politics

Inequality

• Mind-Blowing Charts From the Senate's Income Inequality Hearing
• Income Inequality: The government had better ideas for fixing it 100 years ago
• Corporate Margins And Profits Are Increasing, But Workers' Wages Aren't

Red State of Mind

• Even Critics of Safety Net Increasingly Depend on It--It's only socialist when they don't benefit from it. NYT
• Krugman: Moochers Against Welfare NYT
• How Blue America Subsidizes Red America

Eurozone Crisis

• Greece shows us how to protest against a failed system--"The rage displayed in Greek cities against austerity measures inspires all who are suffering for the benefit of banks and the rich."
• How Goldman Sachs helped mask Greece's debt
• Leaked Memo Blows The Lid Off Of The Entire Greek Bailout
• Icelandic Anger Brings Debt Forgiveness--"Since the end of 2008, the island’s banks have forgiven loans equivalent to 13 percent of gross domestic product, easing the debt burdens of more than a quarter of the population."
• Krugman: Pain Without Gain--"The results are in: austerity policies have been an utter failure." NYT

Eurozone Crisis, Royal Bank of Scotland, Hostile Takeover, Don't Bank on Them, Bank Transfer

Eurozone Crisis

• Eurozone crisis: How the figures stack up
• The great EU conjuring trick--"The original players behind the single currency claim astonishing sleights of hand have brought the euro to its knees."
• A Bluffing Game: European Politicians in Denial as Greece Unravels
• S&P says Greek default is essentially a given--Getting ever closer to bankruptcy.
• Krugman: The Austerity Debacle NYT
• IMF's Christine Lagarde warns of '1930s moment'
• George Soros says 'debt crisis could destroy European political union'
• Zombie banks are dragging Ireland into the ground
• UK debt passes £1 trillion but there is still good news
• France pitches 'Robin Hood' tax

Royal Bank of Scotland

• Bailed-out RBS spends millions on Washington lobbyists--"Bailed-out bank has spent over £2.5m of British taxpayers' money to influence politicians reforming US financial law."
• Anger at further RBS bonus payouts--The uproar got RBS chief executive Stephen Hester to decline the bonus.
• Blocking RBS bonus 'would cause chaos', Iain Duncan Smith warns
• Former RBS boss Fred Goodwin stripped of knighthood

Hostile Takeover

• Auction 2012: How The Bank Lobby Owns Washington
• The Quiet Coup--"The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government—a state of affairs that more typically describes emerging markets, and is at the center of many emerging-market crises."
• Moyers & Company Show 103: How power and influence helped big banks rewrite the rules of our economy.

Don't Bank On Them

• Missing Funds at MF Global May Have 'Vaporized'--"Nearly three months after MF Global Holdings Ltd. collapsed, officials hunting for an estimated $1.2 billion in missing customer money increasingly believe that much of it might never be recovered, according to people familiar with the investigation."
• Bank of America Settlements Impede Fraud Probe, Arizona Says
• Freddie Mac Betting Against Struggling Homeowners
• Homeowner wins back her house after fighting foreclosure--"Karen Mena managed to get a foreclosure on her San Bernardino home rescinded. But she continues to negotiate with Bank of America over loan terms and could still lose the house."
• Banks imposing more fees, taking away free checking accounts
• Banks Taketh, but Don't Giveth NYT

Banks Transfer

• The Numbers Are In: "[A] staggering 5.6 million big bank customers have switched banks in the last 90 days"
• Personal Finance: Bank Transfer Day saw 600,000 switch
• If you don't like the way big banks are run, move your money

Lego Week, Occupy Congress, Debt and Deficits, Economics, Europe, Greece, China

Lego Week

• How LEGO Bricks Work
• LEGO GBC 20 modules
• LEGO Alphabet Spaceships
• Working Lego Super-8 projector
• Fantastic Posters Released of Aragorn & Frodo for the Lord of the Rings LEGO Sets

Occupy Congress: 17 January 2012

Debt and Deficits

• Chart: A Hidden Source Of Budget Deficits
• U.S. debt is now equal to economy
• Paul Krugman: Keynes Was Right NYT
• U.S. wants leaner military; budget growth to slow
• Death of Pennies

Economics

• Ponzi Planet: The Danger Debt Poses to the Western World--Who owns the world’s sovereign debt?
• Money As Debt
• xkcd: Money

Europe

• France to lose AAA credit rating
• German GDP 'likely to have shrunk' in fourth quarter
• Italy and France Team Up against Germany--"Germany has long insisted that austerity be the primary strategy used in confronting the ongoing euro-zone debt crisis. Italy has now joined France in demanding a more nuanced approach...."
• Swiss bankers charged in $1.2 billion tax fraud
• The mafia is now Italy’s largest 'bank'
• Tony Blair and the £8million tax 'mystery'
• Iceland rejects Chinese bid for resort land

Greece

• In Greece, fears that austerity is killing the economy --Pharmacists are 'pleading for aspirin '.
• The Greek parents 'too poor' to care for their children--And the children are 'dumped in the streets'.
• Greece's Growing, Overqualified Agricultural Sector

China

• Why Every Maker Should Learn Chinese
• Chinese learning to be compulsory from 2013--In Pakistan.
• Cost of metals used in hi-tech devices soars as China limits supplies
• Data theft case may test US, China ties
  
• Why we left our factories in China--The flip side.
• Report: Half of China's millionaires want to leave
• These Chinese Beef Cattle Graze In A Garbage Dump