World News, Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, UK and Scotland, China, Brazil 2014 and Qatar 2022, MH370; US Politics, Obamanation, Texas, War on Women, Immigrants; Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform, Public-Private Partnerships

World News

• Thai junta pushes 'happiness' project—"Critics say rulers also aim to stifle political dissent." Boston Globe
• Alaa Abdel-Fattah, Icon Of Egypt's 2011 Revolt, Sentenced To 15 Years For Protesting
• Anti-monarchy protests grip Madrid—Spanish lawmakers about to approve abdication.

Ukraine and Russia

• Britain calls up Dad's Army of spies to watch Russia—"Military intelligence chiefs have been re-recruiting Cold War veterans and retired linguists because of a lack of Russian skills to deal with the Ukraine crisis."
• After Ukraine, U.S. trains more special forces in eastern Europe
• Gas row: Ukraine 'won't fall into Russian gas trap'
• Europe Has Finally Found A Way To Make Russia Hurt Economically In Ukraine Crisis
• EU raises 500 mn euros for Ukraine

Israel and Palestine

• Pope says Israelis, Palestinians must seek peace 'undaunted in dialogue'
• Annexation Plan Sparks Threat to Topple Israel Government—"sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strongest coalition partner threatened to bring down the government if it tries to annex West Bank settlements following the breakdown of Mideast peace talks."
• Netanyahu Is Facing Heat From All Sides For His Handling Of Palestine Peace Talks

UK and Scotland

• JK Rowling donates £1m to Scotland's anti-independence campaign
• Obama says wants Scotland inside the UK, Britain inside the EU
• Lego asks government to remove Scottish independence images—"Toy manufacturer says it is politically neutral and did not provide photos for press release encouraging Scots to stay in UK."

China

• 2nd China Army Unit Implicated in Online Spying NYT
• Toronto man accused of spying, jailed in China—"A Toronto man living in China says he was wrongfully imprisoned after refusing to spy on Canada."
• Vietnam airs video of Chinese ship sinking fishing boat in South China Sea—In the meantime, Chinese oil rigs are on the move.
• Japan Slams China Over Close Encounter of Jets
• Ancient Chinese maps debunk Beijing's sea claims, says Philippine judge SCMP
• China reaches out to India amid tension with Japan, Vietnam
• Hong Kong must accept Beijing's control, China's Communist Party warns—"Nearly a week after more than 100,000 protesters gathered in Hong Kong to remember the Tiananmen crackdown and call for universal suffrage, Beijing issues controversial white paper reminding the former colony it does not enjoy 'full autonomy.'" Hong Kong protests.

Brazil 2014 and Qatar 2022

• Protests and social unrest threaten World Cup kickoff—Police resort to tear gassing protesters.
• Court rules Sao Paulo subway strike 'illegal'—"Workers must pay increased daily fine if they continue action as strike threatens opening game of Brazil World Cup." The union called it off.
• Fifa sponsor demands 'appropriate investigation'—"One of Fifa's main sponsors, Sony, calls for an investigation into the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar."
• Adidas: Qatar 2022 Claims Damaging Sponsors
• Report: Qatar paid $1.7m per vote
• Sepp Blatter launches broadside against the 'racist' British media
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: FIFA and the World Cup

MH370

• Missing Malaysia jet MH370: 'Whistleblower fund' set up
• Oil rig worker fired after claiming to have seen burning MH370 plane crash
• Australia has spent far more than Malaysia

US Politics

• Eric Cantor succumbs to tea party challenger Tuesday—"The House Republican leader succumbs to David Brat, a little-known conservative activist." What happened? WaPo
• Eric Cantor and the tea party purge WaPo
• Wendy Davis Caught On Camera Saying Republicans Dislike 'People Who Don't Look Like Them'
• The Big Lobotomy—"How Republicans made Congress stupid."
• Does Fox News Cause Ignorance, or Do Ignorant Viewers Prefer Fox News?—"A new study reveals the gap between the channel's fans and the rest of America."
• Why I'm No Longer a Republican

Obamanation

• Sen. Graham fights for Obama's impeachment—"Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will fight for Obama's impeachment. Why--he's up for re-election."
• Is Obama a Tyrant or a Weakling?—"His critics can't seem to decide." Politico
• White House Aides: Bergdahl Criticism Is Proxy for GOP's Obama Hatred

Texas

• Texas GOP splits between social conservatives, libertarians
• Young Republicans Reject Current Texas GOP Platform—"Current and former leadership of the state's Young Republican chapters shared with Breitbart Texas their frustrations with the current Texas Republican platform, and ideas for how it should be fixed."
• Chris Matthews rips Texas Republican platform: 'How wide is this infection of hatred?'

War on Women

• Sarah Palin believes she is the only actual victim of the "war on women"—"Palin thinks President Obama 'fired the first shot' in the 'war on women' that she doesn't believe even exists." Salon
• Republicans think touching Glamour magazine makes them female-friendly Salon
• WaPo Editorial Page Goes Neanderthal For Second Time In A Week

Immigrants

• Arizona Official Says Immigrant Kids in Good Care
• Questions surround surge in migrant kids left at border
• Obama vows urgent action as children make perilous illegal journey into U.S.
• McCain: GOP must pass immigration to compete in 2016—"Without immigration reform, the former presidential candidate says, the Republican Party won't win in 2016."
• Supreme Court rules against immigrants over visa eligibility
• Woman Waits In Line For 21 Years To Immigrate Into US, Then Gets Turned Away For Being Too Old
• Opinion: On Legal Immigration, Supreme Court Gets It Wrong

Vote Machinations

• Texas Seen as "Kind of an Electoral Wasteland"
• Judge Orders 3 Early Voting Days Restored in Ohio
• Why Mississippi's voter ID law hurts the poor—"Mississippi's new voter-identification law suppresses those who cannot afford the cost of a photo ID, writes Robert Reich. How is Mississippi's effort to stop voter fraud is actually a step back?"
• Voter Fraud Is Rare, but Myth Is Widespread—"Many people believe voter impersonation and other kinds of election fraud are much more widespread than they really are." NYT
• Tea Party Candidate Creates Fake Organization, Endorses Herself In Ad
• Sen. Cruz Formally Renounces Canadian Citizenship

Campaign Finance Deform

• NC House lawmakers file resolution calling for constitutional convention to overturn Citizens United
• Republican Congressman Demolishes The Supreme Court's Rationale For Killing Campaign Finance Laws
• Don't fear the Koch brothers. Fear an election that caters only to billionaires—"Forget right or left. Dark money in politics means you'll never know which 'independent' candidate's views were on the market."

Public-Private Partnerships

• Va. lawmaker to resign, paving way for jobs for self, daughter, according to associates—"Sen. Philip Puckett's resignation paves the way for Republicans to pass a budget without Medicaid." Was this straight-up bribery? WaPo
• GOP Rep. Acknowledges That Members Expect Donations For Votes
• Greenhouse—"A free browser extension for Chrome and Safari that exposes the role money plays in Congress. Displays on any web page detailed campaign contribution data for every Senator and Representative, including total amount received and breakdown by industry and by size of donation."

Geology; Prehistoric, Man; Middle East, Egypt, Orient, Europe, British Isles; Breaking History

Geology

• Crystal is 'oldest scrap of Earth crust'—"A tiny 4.4-billion-year-old crystal has been confirmed as the oldest fragment of Earth's crust."
• Boffins identify ancient Earth asteroid strike that dwarfed dinosaur killer—"Massive space rock impact may have set the continents sliding."
• Fragments of ancient continent buried under Indian Ocean

Prehistoric

• Mysteriously Intact T. Rex Tissue Finally Explained
• New find hits Cambrian fossil jackpot—again.—"Near site of famous Burgess Shale fossils, more turn up."
• Ice Age fossils discovered in L.A. subway construction
• Feathered dinosaur death site is an "animal Pompeii"—"Exquisitely preserved fossils come from a catastrophic event."
• Scientists Discover New Dinosaur Species Dubbed 'Chicken From Hell'
• The Hidden Dinosaur of Ta Prohm Temple
• Giant virus resurrected from 30,000-year-old ice—"Largest virus yet discovered hints at viral diversity trapped in permafrost."
• 700,000-Year-Old Horse Found in Yukon Permafrost Yields Oldest DNA Ever Decoded

Man

• 7,000-year-old male, blue eyes, dark skin, likes hunting
• Our Neanderthal heritage—"The scientist who sequenced the Neanderthal genome describes his quest to find what makes us human." Salon
• DNA 'switches' separate Neanderthals from modern humans: study
• Earliest footprints outside Africa discovered in Norfolk
• From study of 12,600-year-old DNA from Montana, clues to early colonization of the Americas
• Ancient Qiang people had vertically grown teeth and longer skeleton

Middle East

• A 4000-year-old tablet from ancient Mesopotamia contains the specifications for an ark pre-dating the story of Noah
• 'Priceless' bronze statue of Greek god Apollo found in Gaza Strip
• Pharaonic seal found in ancient coffin in Israel

Egypt

• 4,600-Year-Old Step Pyramid Uncovered in Egypt—"The pyramid, which predates the Great Pyramid of Giza, is one of seven for which its function remains a mystery."
• Tomb of ancient Egypt's beer maker to gods of the dead discovered
• Student deciphers 1,800-year-old letter from Egyptian soldier
• Two more colossal pharaoh statues unveiled in Egypt

Orient

• 15 Chinese Artifacts That Will Change How You Look at China
• Oldest signs of Japanese using tools uncovered in Okinawa—"Archaeologists have unearthed shell tools around 20,000 years old that could help clear up mysteries surrounding the ancestors of modern Japanese people...."
• Philippines' Oldest Artworks in Danger of Disappearing

Europe

• Ancient Gladiator School Discovered in Austria
• Archaeologists' findings may prove Rome a century older than thought—"As Italian capital approaches 2,767th birthday, excavation reveals wall built long before official founding year of 753BC."
• Archaeologists find 2,600-year-old Celtic Princess buried in Germany
• Swedish divers unearth a 'Stone Age Atlantis': 11,000-year-old ancient settlement discovered under the Baltic Sea

British Isles

• British experts say they have found London's lost Black Death graves
• 4,500 year-old path discovered near Galway Bay used by Celts
• Storms uncover 7,500-year-old 'drowned forest' on Ireland's west coast
• 10,000-year-old settlement found in Cork

Breaking History

• 2 former Boy Scout leaders plead guilty to toppling ancient Utah rock formation, avoid jail
• Student Breaks 19th Century Greco-Roman Statue While Taking a Selfie
• Graffiti defaces prehistoric rock art in Libya

Fat Tuesday, Hostile Hospitals, Health Issues, NHS; Viral, Anti-Vax; National Grammar Day, Quebec, Bad Language, Punctuated, Names; Ukraine

Fat Tuesday

• Obesity Rate for Young Children Plummets 43% in a Decade—"The data, reported in a major federal health survey, offered the first clear evidence that America's children have turned a corner in the obesity epidemic, and came as a surprise to researchers." Go Michelle. NYT
• America's obesity cure: Laziness?—"New research finds one bad habit we’re often tagged with (sloth) can help us overcome another (overeating)." Salon
• Average obese woman gets just 1 hour of exercise a year
• Birth by C-Section May Raise Obesity Risk—"A large review of studies has found that birth by cesarean section is associated with being overweight and obese in adulthood." NYT
• New F.D.A. Nutrition Labels Would Make ‘Serving Sizes’ Reflect Actual Servings—"The Food and Drug Administration will propose major changes to nutrition labels on food packages, including more prominent calorie counts and the adjustment of some portion sizes." NYT

Hostile Hospitals

• Feds to fine Florida over limit on Medicaid patients’ ER visits
• 3 hospitals failed to help dying deaf patient: suit
• Cancer doctors treat woman on wrong breast
• Red Light Cameras at Hospital Entrance Investigated by Channel 10—And "the fine was upheld by the Judge Magistrate appointed by the city." Nice shakedown. Does the hospital get a cut of the proceeds?

Health Issues

• GOP finally goes too far on Obamacare: Why the 50th repeal vote is not the charm—"Last year Republicans could call for killing Obamacare, with no consequences. Now it means something very different." Salon
• Being a doctor was once a job with great purpose. Now it's just a business—"The 'free market' approach to care means seeing more patients in less time. We've lost the human connection in health reform."
• Seth Rogen: Why were only two senators at Alzheimer's hearing?
• Fraternity waited an hour to get help for passed out pledge, Googled symptoms—The student died.
• Doctors give up on efforts to revive Michael Schumacher: Report

NHS

• Hospital records of all NHS patients sold to insurers—"Hospital records of all NHS patients sold for insurance purposes days after controversial plans to extract patient data from GP files put on hold."
• NHS England patient data 'uploaded to Google servers', Tory MP says—"Health select committee member Sarah Wollaston queries how data was secured by PA Consulting and uploaded to servers outside UK."
• Hospital records used to 'target ads on Twitter and Facebook' say privacy campaigners, in latest NHS data concerns

Viral

• California BART rider with measles potentially exposed thousands
• 'About 20' cases of polio-like illness found in California
• AIDS Denial Crazies Go All DMCA On Videos Educating People Of Their Crazines

Anti-Vax

• How Many People Aren't Vaccinating Their Kids in Your State?—"In some places, dodging your children's immunizations is as easy as checking a box."
• Study: Trying to convince parents to vaccinate their kids just makes the problem worse Salon
• Polio vaccination teams attacked by Pakistani militants—"Militants ambush convoy of health workers with roadside bomb, killing 12 of their security team and wounding dozens more."

National Grammar Day

• Every day is grammar day when you've got this job
• This Pronoun Will Make You Irresistible to Women
• Bill Flanagan of the grammar police on "I and me"
• The 9 Most Controversial Rules In English Grammar
• The Wrong Way to Teach Grammar—"No more diagramming sentences: Students learn more from simply writing and reading."

Quebec

• Quebec: Expect tougher language laws if PQ wins majority, minister says
• Quebec store owner ordered to change Facebook page to French—"Eva Cooper argues that Quebec's language law, Bill 101, doesn't cover social media."
• Montreal Board of Trade criticizes Quebec language police over Facebook crackdown

Bad Language

• Pope Francis accidentally drops F-Bomb in Vatican Sunday blessing—"The Holy Father confused similar-sounding Italian words with very different meanings in his sermon about charity, but quickly corrected himself."
• Starbucks Sends Cease and Desist Letter to Bar for "F Word" Beer, Owner Sends Back $6 Check and This Letter
• No Sex Please, We're Google.—Android's dictionary treats some common words as misspellings — including some of the names of Google's own products.
• The world's 19 most imaginative insults Salon
• Video: The Count Censored

Punctuated

• The 5 Best Punctuation Marks in Literature
• The Period Is Pissed. When did our plainest punctuation mark become so aggressive?
• Comma usage rules are unclear. Could the punctuation mark die out completely?

Names

• Ex-U.S. magistrate who changed baby's name from 'Messiah' censured
• Mexico state bans odd baby names including 'Facebook'
• Teenager's new name is fantastic

Ukraine

• Putin: Russia has no plans to annex Ukraine's Crimea region
• Kerry, Arriving in Kiev, Offers $1 Billion in Loan Guarantees to Ukraine NYT
• Ukraine praised for 'refusing to rise to Russian provocation'
• Opinion: Don't listen to Obama's Ukraine critics: he's not 'losing' – and it's not his fight—"The 'do something' pundits rear their heads. Just like they did on Iraq, Afghanistan and every other crisis of US 'credibility.'"
• The Ukraine-Russia Crisis in 26 Nail-Biting Numbers—"845,000 Russian troops plus 1,389 Russian combat aircraft plus a $115,000 wild boar statue equals big trouble."

Violent Times Day, Politics, Corruption, Censorship, UK not OK, Scottish Independence, Japanese Revisionism, Israel and Palestine, Racism, Surveillance and Privacy; Valentine's Day, Disputes, Marriage, Mariticide, Till Death

Violent Times Day

• Furious Bosnians Shut Down Central Sarajevo—"Protests against politicians viewed as self-serving and corrupt spread to other cities as demonstrators urged those in authority to 'resign today.'" NYT
• Venezuela anti-government rally turns deadly—"At least four killed, including a police officer, as thousands gather in capital to demand president's resignation."
• Thailand's highest court rules opposition protests that have paralysed capital for months are legal

Politics

• Canada's new citizenship bill a Trojan horse—"Bill C-24 would give the Conservative government unprecedented authority to strip Canadians of their citizenship. It's not just Omar Khadr who'll be hit."
• Indian Parliament erupts in chaos after MP uses pepper spray
• Golden Dawn photos shock Greece—"Thousands of pictures and video clips allegedly show party members posing with weapons and giving Nazi salutes." Correlated to the country's unprecedented joblessness?

Corruption

• Corruption across EU 'breathtaking' - EU Commission—"The extent of corruption in Europe is "breathtaking" and it costs the EU economy at least 120bn euros (£99bn) annually, the European Commission says."
• So Many Bribes, a Greek Official Can't Recall Them All NYT
• Silvio Berlusconi goes on trial over £2.5m 'bribe' to opposition defector

Censorship

• Turkish PM acknowledges phone call to media executive—"Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has acknowledged that he called a media executive at the height of the Gezi protests to order the removal of news content, days after an alleged phone transcript of the exchanged was leaked online, sparking anger over political pressure on the media."
• Why South Korea is really an internet dinosaur—"Every week portions of the Korean web are taken down by government censors."
• Bing censoring Chinese language search results for users in the US—"English and Chinese language queries for terms such as 'Dalai Lama' return radically different results on Microsoft search engine."

UK not OK

• Immigration minister resigns for employing illegal immigrant—"Prime minister accepts resignation of Mark Harper, who launched government's 'go home' campaign last year."
• Election reform bill an affront to democracy, Marc Mayrand says—"The Fair Elections Act says it 'limits the chief electoral officer's power to provide information to the public.'"
• 'Power of recall' of MPs ditched by coalition—"The coalition is to drop plans to give voters the ability to dismiss MPs for 'serious wrongdoing.'"

Scottish Independence

• Britain warns Scotland: Forget the pound if you break away
• It's the economy stupid: how Scotland's voters approach the independence vote—"Sir Tom Hunter and the BBC have dug deeper than the headline polls, and mined some intriguing nuggets about what will motivates Scotland's 4m voters on 18 September."
• Foreign Office caught asking Spanish press to undermine Scottish independence

Japanese Revisionism

• Japanese Broadcast Official: We Didn't Commit War Crimes, the U.S. Just Made That Up—"Japan's top TV figures are making increasingly outrageous statements about World War II."
• How Japan’s 'BBC' is rewriting its role in the Second World War—"Naoki Hyakuta says Japan was lured into the Second World War by America while liberating Asia from white colonialism."
• China criticises Japan over comments doubting Nanjing massacre.

Israel and Palestine

• How the US is Bankrolling Israel—"Israel has been the top recipient of American foreign aid for the last three decades, despite instability in the area."
• Bill to block federal funding to universities that boycott Israel—"It may well be constitutional, because of a recent Supreme Court decision widely viewed as 'liberal.'" WaPo
• What's Really Going On With The 'Israel Boycott' Debate In Academia
• Stone Cold Justice—"The Israeli army is both respected and feared as a fighting force. But now the country's military is facing a backlash at home and abroad for its treatment of children in the West Bank, occupied territory."
• Israel blocks hospital transfers over use of 'State of Palestine'

Racism

• Russian Figure Skater Apologizes For Racist Obama Tweet, Now Blames Hackers
• Nigerian Pop Star Stirs Controversy Over Her Popular 'Whitenicious' Bleaching Cream
• Gay Russian Artist Responds To Garage Magazine's Racist 'Black Woman' Chair With NSFW Image

Surveillance and Privacy

• Snowden 'left in the lurch' by EU Parliament—"An EU parliament's committee has issued a damning report about the scale and the impact of mass surveillance. But there is no consensus on an amendment to give asylum to intelligence leaker Edward Snowden."
• NSA civilian employee stripped of clearance due to ties with Snowden
• Reforms won't hamper NSA's efforts, official says WaPo
• E-mails back claim that Sen. Rand Paul 'stole' NSA lawsuit WaPo

Valentine's Day

• How a Math Genius Hacked OkCupid to Find True Love
• Science: Men Who Use Smiley Faces Online Get Hit On Less
• All by my selfie! Blogger shows how to take travel photos with an imaginary girlfriend
• Netizens react to marriage proposal via dolphin
• 'Give me five minutes': Oklahoma man arrested while proposing to his girlfriend
• Man arranges fake arrest for surprise marriage proposal
• Community Valentines

Disputes

• Woman charged with battery after boyfriend refuses to 'cuddle' with her
• Man Choked, Stabbed After Crock-Pot Dispute
• Teen throws boiling water into girl's face after she unfriended him on Facebook

Marriage

• 5 Romances That Changed History
• Will your marriage be a happy one? Only your subconscious will tell—"Our deepest, darkest feelings affect how we interact with our spouses."
• Happy Wife, Happy Life?—"What we found is that the happiest marriages were the ones in which wives were able to calm quickly during conflict."
• Divorce Rate Cut in Half for Couples Who Discussed Relationship Movies
• Video: Seeing her for the first time again
• Meet the man left with amnesia after thug attack who fell in love all over again
• Other brides will be green with envy: Couple dress as Shrek and Fiona for charity wedding

Mariticide

• Jordan Graham pleads guilty to pushing husband off cliff
• Man Tried to Throw Wife Off San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, Prosecutors Say
• Minister's wife suffered 'unnatural sudden death' in India days after exposing husband's alleged affair on Twitter

Till Death

• Couple die of carbon monoxide poisoning while having sex in car: police
• Harassed boyfriend jumped to his death after his girlfriend insisted on going into another clothes shop
• Denied sex, man kills girlfriend with vacuum cleaner
• Groom killed while helping motorist in snow on way back from wedding
• New Jersey Couple Each Die Hours Apart, After Lifetime Together

Workers and Wage Slaves, Unemployment, 1%; Accountability, Bitcoin, Goldman, HSBC; China; Surveillance and Privacy, Tech Tracking, Censorship; Sochi

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Poll: Majority of Americans want government to reduce income gap
• NYC Mayor Wants Corporate Welfare Queens To Pay A Living Wage—Blasio: "If we're subsidizing companies, we have every right to demand a living wage for the people they pay."
• "We blame Christie": Airport workers decry unequal treatment—"New $10.10 wage for thousands of NYC airport workers excludes Newark, and civil disobedience could be ahead." Salon
• This lawsuit threatens to end Walmart's exploitative ways
• Backlash hits AOL CEO who linked pension cuts to 'distressed babies'
• New York City Domino's Workers Win $1.3 Million In Settlement Over Low Wages
• Silicon Valley billionaires believe in the free market, as long as they benefit—"Google, Apple and other tech firms likely colluded to keep their workers' wages down. So much for that libertarian worldview."
• Elizabeth Warren Proposes Replacing Payday Lenders With The Post Office
• Why Thomas Jefferson Favored Profit Sharing
• The Daily Show: Terror on Bulls#%t Mountain—"The residents of Bulls**t Mountain champion the same 'job lock' they once railed against."

Unemployment

• Senate Fails to Pass 3-Month Extension of Jobless Aid—"The Senate failed to move forward on a three-month extension of assistance for the long-term unemployed on Thursday, dealing a setback to President Obama's economic agenda." NYT
• Brady: Cut unemployment to get people back to work—"Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady says Illinois should cut unemployment benefits in order to motivate people to go back to work."
• GOP Rep. Says It's 'Immoral' To Extend Long-term Jobless Benefits—Tell that to the 15,000 Dell laid off.
• Long-Term Unemployment Far Exceeds Pre-Great Recession Levels in Virtually Every State
• More Men in Prime Working Ages Don't Have Jobs WSJ
• Reopening an Employment Door to the Young—"Many employers lament recent graduates' lack of specialized skills. But a management consultant says these young people still offer much potential for a company's future." NYT
• Pope: 'unjust' unemployment can mean sin, suicide—"Pope Francis says that 'unjust' social conditions like unemployment can lead to sin, financial ruin and even suicide." WaPo

1%

• Up And Out: The Oppressed Billionaire Dissidents Of Obama's America
• Billionaire Sam Zell: Leave The One Percent Alone, We Just 'Work Harder'
• 5 libertarian oligarchs who made fortunes off the government they want to destroy—"The lionization of frauds like Tom Perkins has them believing their accomplishments are purely their own doing."

Accountability

• Holder says no bank 'too big to indict,' more financial cases coming—"The attorney general says the Justice Department will be bringing more cases involving Wall Street misconduct."
• Bank of America's trading practices have been probed, filing shows—The DOJ says BoA should be fined $2.1 billion for mortgage fraud.
• New York regulator demands bank documents as investigation widens—"Goldman Sachs and Barclays among banks investigated after reports some traders shared information about currency positions."
• Jamie Dimon's Raise Proves U.S. Regulatory Strategy is a Joke
• Three bankers on trial in Dublin over crash that brought Ireland to its knees
• Let Banks Fail Is Iceland Mantra as 2% Joblessness in Sight

Bitcoin

• Liberty Reserve Founder: FBI Wanted My Source Code
• Why Are Bitcoiners Going to Jail for Money Laundering While Big Banks Walk?
• Why does Apple continue killing bitcoin apps?

Goldman

• Goldman Deal Threatens Danish Government—"When Denmark gave the company approval to buy a stake in its state utility, the Socialist People's Party withdrew its ministers from the country's governing coalition." NYT
• Goldman Sachs Sued for Selling Libya Billions in "Worthless" Options
• How Much Did Goldman Rip Libya Off?

HSBC

• HSBC faces £70bn capital hole, warn Hong Kong analysts—"Research firm Forensic Asia calculates that HSBC has overstated the value of the assets on its balance sheet by more than £50bn."
• HSBC is paying $2 billion, or 5 weeks' worth of its profit, to avoid criminal charges in drug cartel laundering case
• HSBC settlement approved: no criminal charges, 5 weeks' profit in fines, deferred bonuses for laundering billions for narco-terrorists

China

• Rich Chinese continue to flee China
• As war on corruption mounts, China's rich flee to America—"The US grants far more green cards to wealthy Chinese as president Xi Jinping cracks down."
• China's princelings storing riches in Caribbean offshore haven—Thanks to this exposé, The Guardian gets blocked in China.
• Fed approves Chinese bank purchase of U.S. bank
• Philippine president compares China's expansion to Nazi Germany—"Benigno Aquino warns West must not attempt to appease China as it did Hitler but presidential palace later says comments were not intended to 'offend' Beijing."
• Aston Martin recalls 17,590 cars due to counterfeit material—"Aston Martin is recalling most of its sports cars built since late 2007 after discovering a Chinese sub-supplier was using counterfeit plastic material in a part supplied to the luxury sports carmaker."
• Pay-what-you-like restaurant in China loses thousands

Surveillance and Privacy

• Despite escalating government intimidation, Greenwald will "force the issue" and visit U.S.—"Months after the first insinuations that he risks arrest if he visits the US, Greenwald is more concerned than ever." Salon
• Birth of a whistle-blower: How Edward Snowden became Edward Snowden—"Early chat records reveal that Snowden supported government secrecy — until he saw how it really worked." Salon
• Snowden Docs: British Spies Used Sex and 'Dirty Tricks'
• The Harper Government Insists it's Legal to Collect Metadata
• Turning table on NSA, US diplomats' phone call is bugged, leaked to YouTube—"Did Russian spy apparatus capture senior official's 'F*ck the EU' comment?"

Tech Tracking

• NameTag Uses Facial Recognition to End Privacy As We Know It
• Of course the NYPD is testing Google Glass—"Coming soon to a surveillance state near you: Cyborg surveillance police." Salon
• California bill proposes mandatory kill-switch on phones and tablets in 2015—Supposedly to combat tech theft but opens door to a slippery slope.
• EFF's HTTPS Everywhere + Firefox = most secure mobile browser—Unfortunately Apple doesn't support this level of user protection.
• FISA Data Release by Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Microsoft Means Squat

Censorship

• UK Government Just Passed a 'Gagging Law' to Outlaw Critics Ahead of 2015 Elections
• Pardon, Was That a Chemical Weapons Factory in Myanmar?—"If the Myanmar government truly has nothing to hide, it should welcome a UN inquiry."
• Bahrain toughens penalties for insulting king
• Turkish lawmakers adopt 'Orwellian' Internet limits
• China accuses hackers for Internet disruption; experts suspect censors WaPo

Sochi

• Let the 2014 Olympic Games begin: Putin takes centre stage as technical glitch mars Sochi opening
• Sochi opening ceremony: Theatrical, flamboyant, and gay, gay, gay
• Russian MP's Obama with banana picture sparks racism debate—"Irina Rodnina tweeted doctored photo of US leader with fruit – in country where black athletes are taunted with them regularly."
• NBC Edits Out IOC Anti-Discrimination Statement From Opening Ceremony
• Canadian Olympic bobsledder Justin Kripps' website blacklisted in Sochi—Maybe they found this team pic too gay?

War on Terror, Afghanistan; Military Industrial Complex, Contractors, Veterans; Police State; NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy; Civil Liberties, Journalism, UK not OK, Tech Tracking

War on Terror

• Even Republicans Now View The Iraq War As A Failure
• US Seeking Death Penalty For Boston Bomber Suspect
• Metal band Skinny Puppy send US government invoice after finding out their music was 'used as torture device in Guantanamo Bay'
• Dear America, I Saw You Naked—"And yes, we were laughing. Confessions of an ex-TSA agent."
• TSA officer at Bush IAH arrested, accused of making terroristic threat

Afghanistan

• Afghan president says U.S. should start talks with Taliban or leave
• After billions in U.S. investment, Afghan roads are falling apart WaPo
• U.S. Has No Idea How Much Aid To The Afghan Government Is Being Stolen—"An IG report on Afghan aid and an interview with a terrorist suspect show why the U.S. is a long way from ending the war on terror."

Military Industrial Complex

• Why the Military Industrial Complex Needs Al-Qaeda, the Best Enemy Money Can Buy
• The invention of the military-industrial complex—"Once upon a time, the military had a limited role in society. Then came an invention that changed everything." Salon
• The end of the tank? The Army says it doesn't need it, but industry wants to keep building it. WaPo
• Air Force Is Sending Brand New Cargo Planes Straight to the Boneyard
• Global 2012 arms sales: Largest arms companies slump, but Russia records jump

Contractors

• Fraudster paid government to help promote fake bomb detectors—"Documents reveal ability of UK firms to hire top diplomats and serving soldiers without checks on products' authenticity."
• Lawsuit Alleges Northrop Defrauded U.S. Over Anti-Missile Contract NYT
• Government IT suppliers behaved appallingly—"The civil servant in charge of government procurement has accused some IT suppliers of conducting an 'abusive' relationship with government."

Veterans

• Recruiting fraud, kickback scandal rocks Army—"Soldiers received bonuses for persuading friends to sign up during Iraq, Afghanistan wars."
• The Super Bowl's Military Fables—"The NFL and the military work together to spin fantasies about the harm that can result from both activities."
• Paralyzed Marine denied VA benefits
• Senator Suggests Using War Funds to Pay for Vets Benefits Bill
• Military Pension Cuts Prove Hypocrisy of Republicans
• It's wrong to balance nation's books on the backs of our veterans
• Iowa nursing home 'dumps' ailing veteran without care

Police State

• Scenes from a militarized America: Iowa family 'terrorized'—"When critics (like me) warn about the dangers of police militarization, this is what we're talking about."
• Blankets to armored vehicles: Military gives it, Utah police take it—"Pentagon's 1033 Program sparks 'militarization' worries in civil libertarians."
• Encinitas residents protest 'police state', demand city return Patriot Act money—"Claim civil liberties being eroded."
• The Dangerous Militarization of Our Local Police Forces
• The No-Fly List Takes Another Hit—"[P]reventing citizens and legal residents from flying overseas—or, even worse, allowing them to fly but not allowing them to return home—is police state territory."
• EU has secret plan for police to 'remote stop' cars—"The EU is developing a secret plan to give the police the power to control cars by switching the engine off remotely."
• Julian Assange Affidavit States 'Rape Victim' Sent Texts Denying Attack—"The affidavit quotes one woman's text message as saying 'it was the police who made up the charges.'"

NSA Spying

• Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill Working On New NSA Revelations—"Two American journalists known for their investigations of the United States' government said Saturday they've teamed up to report on the National Security Agency's role in what one called a 'U.S. assassination program.'"
• Obama admits intelligence chief fault over false Senate testimony—"President continues to defend James Clapper in the face of calls for his resignation after 'untruthful' statement about bulk collection."
• Footage released of Guardian editors destroying Snowden hard drives
• NSA and GCHQ spoofed LinkedIn to hack Belgian cryptography professor
• After NSA Backdoors, Security Experts Leave RSA for a Conference They Can Trust
• Hackers Sue German Government Over NSA Spying
• Facebook, LinkedIn, Yahoo, Google and Microsoft disclose new data about number of NSA requests received—At least 59,000 accounts were tapped.

Surveillance and Privacy

• Are CIA Cyber-Spooks Hacking Americans' Computers?
• Kerry in Berlin: 'US is committed to privacy'
• Regarding Snowden: US lies and lies and lies - Jesselyn Radack
• CSEC used airport Wi-Fi to track Canadian travellers: Snowden documents
• Canadian Gov't Responds To Spying Revelations By Saying It's All A Lie And Calling Glenn Greenwald A 'Porn Spy
• 'French Surveillance Programs Eerily Echo The NSA's, Right Down To Codifying Unconstitutional Collections
• GCSB deleted key evidence - Dotcom—"The spy agency which illegally monitored Kim Dotcom's communications has admitted deleting information needed in the upcoming $6 million damages hearing, according to the tycoon."

Civil Liberties

• Kerry: 'Disturbing' Trend Of Authoritarianism In Eastern Europe
• Judges Poised to Hand U.S. Spies the Keys to the Internet—"Why the appellate court challenge pitting encrypted email provider Lavabit against the Justice Department is so important? It's the only publicly documented case where a district judge has ordered an internet company to hand over its SSL key to the U.S. government — in this case, the FBI."
• Lawyers for Lavabit founder: judges may dismiss civil liberties concerns
• New Saudi Counterterrorism Law Alarms Activists—"Saudi Arabia put into effect a sweeping new counterterrorism law Sunday that human rights activists say allows the kingdom to prosecute as a terrorist anyone who demands reform, exposes corruption or otherwise engages in dissent." NYT
• Your government has inadvertently censored the Web, but it's working on a "fix"—"Did anyone really think ISP filters would be foolproof? Anyone?"

Journalism

• Scholar quits NHK over nuclear power hush-up—"A noted professor who regularly provides commentary on an NHK AM radio show has resigned from the program in protest over the public broadcaster's demand that nuclear power not be discussed until after the Feb. 9 Tokyo gubernatorial election."
• Secret hearings could allow police to seize journalists' notes if bill passes—"Requests for notebooks and files must currently be made in open court – but clause in deregulation bill could change that."
• David Miranda's detention: a chilling attack on journalism—"When the partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald was detained at Heathrow airport last August under the Terrorism Act, MI5 were pulling the strings and knew full well that he wasn't a terrorist."

UK not OK

• Cameron unhappy newspapers still printing Snowden data leaks—And thinks UK public is fine with domestic spying.
• David Cameron Says Snooper's Charter Is Necessary Because Fictional Crime Dramas He Watches Prove It
• Lobbying bill passes through House of Lords—"Charities and voluntary groups raise concerns for civil society as controversial bill limits groups' spending ahead of an election."

Tech Tracking

• Facebook Tells Advertisers Where You Spend Money
• 'It's creepy': Location based marketing is following you, whether you like it or not
• The App That Tracks Who's Tracking You

A Bridge Too Far; Aaron Swartz, Haxx0red; Whistleblowers, NSA Spying, Backdoors, International; Corporations; Google, Your Rights Online

A Bridge Too Far

• Christie stuck in a jam over GWB lane closings—"A cache of private messages linking Governor Christie's office to vindictive lane closures at the George Washington Bridge plunged the administration into a deep crisis, threatening Christie's national profile as a straight-talker and feeding criticism that his administration has used its power to bully political enemies."
• 9 Times Chris Christie Denied Using a Bridge for Political Revenge
• 10 things you absolutely need to know about the George Washington Bridge scandal
• 15 Chris Christie Controversies You Missed Politico
• Rachel Maddow Presents New Chris Christie Bridge Scandal Theory
• Chris Christie Fires Top Aide, Apologizes for Bridge Scandal—Was Bridget Kelly "merely a patsy in attempt to shelter Port Authority cronies, himself?"
• The Daily Show: The NeverEnding Sorry
• How not to respond to scandal—Republicans would rather you look elsewhere.
• NJ State Senator to Call for Feds on Bridge Lane-Closing Scandal
• Christie: Three Possibilities (Two Require That He Resign)
• New N.J. documents show extensive coverup in Fort Lee traffic shutdown WaPo
• New Jersey turns on Chris Christie after bridge fiasco threatens ambitions

Aaron Swartz

• Why We're Marching Across New Hampshire to Honor Aaron Swartz
• The law used to prosecute Aaron Swartz remains unchanged a year after his death WaPo
• Members Of Congress Ask Eric Holder To Try Again In His Explanation Of The Prosecution Of Aaron Swartz
• On the anniversary of the death of Aaron Swartz, Anonymous hacks MIT again
• Aaron Swartz: The Documentary—Coming soon.

Haxx0red

• Teen Reported to Police After Finding Security Hole in Website—So, no good deed goes unpunished.
• Hacker arrested for Exposing Steubenville Rape Case Faces more Jail Time Than Convicted Rapists
• Senator Leahy Tries To Sneak Through Plans To Make Merely Talking About Computer Hacking A Serious Crime

Whistleblowers

• Ellsberg: On Secrecy, Oaths, and Edward Snowden
• Former NSA whistleblowers plead for chance to brief Obama on agency abuses
• Burglars Who Took On F.B.I. Abandon Shadows—"Burglars who broke into an F.B.I. field office in 1971 and stole files that revealed the extent of the bureau's surveillance of political groups are only now revealing their identities." NYT
• Bonnie Raines: Democracy needs whistleblowers. That's why I broke into the FBI in 1971—"Like Snowden, we broke laws to reveal something that was more dangerous. We wanted to hold J Edgar Hoover accountable."
• CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou: Prison Broke Promise of Nine Months in Halfway House, Will Resume Letters
• UN ruling on whistleblowers shows limits to accountability—"UN investigators blew whistle on watchdog office, suffered retaliation."
• The Snowden effect? Whistleblowing sees sharp rise
• 2014 -- The Year Of The Whistleblower

NSA Spying

• Obama to announce changes to NSA surveillance on Jan. 17 WaPo
• NSA makes final push to retain most mass surveillance powers
• NSA phone record collection does little to prevent terrorist attacks, group says WaPo
• John McCain seeks congressional investigation into 'broken' NSA
• NSA and GCHQ activities appear illegal, says EU parliamentary inquiry—"Civil liberties committee report demands end to indiscriminate collection of personal data by British and US agencies."
• Effort To Shut Off The NSA's Water Supply Goes Bipartisan In California
• 2014: The year of encryption

Backdoors

• At least eight security experts boycott prominent security conference over NSA ties WaPo
• Stephen Colbert urged to cancel speech for NSA-linked privacy firm RSA
• IRTF Chair Refuses Removal of NSA Employee as Co-Chair of Crypto Working Group
• What It's Like When The FBI Asks You To Backdoor Your Software—"When an FBI agent casually approached Nico Sell about installing a backdoor into her secure messaging program, the agent did not know what he was in for."
• We were pressured to weaken the mobile security in the 80's

International

• Glenn Greenwald: There are more Snowden documents on Israel—"Continued imprisonment of Jonathan Pollard attests to the hypocrisy of the U.S. administration, Greenwald tells Israel's Channel 10."
• CSE admits it 'incidentally' spied on Canadians
• UK schools fingerprinted over 800K children, third without parental consent - watchdog

Corporations

• A Short History of Unsavory Tech Snooping
• Disney World Tracks Visitors With New "Magic" Wristbands—"Disney admits that they "collect certain information from you while you are at select locations throughout the Resort," but the company swears that data thefts won't happen, and also they'll only use the bands' info to market to people over the age of 13."
• Ford VP: 'We have GPS in your car, so we know what you're doing'
• How To Track Vehicles Using Speed Data Alone—"Computer scientists have developed an algorithm that works out a vehicle’s destination using only its starting location and speed throughout its journey."
• Bank of America employs 20 full-time social media spies, watches anarchists and occupy protesters

Google

• Google Data Chief Says 'Flawed' EU Privacy Law Is Dead
• We should be worrying about Google's assimilation and consolidation, and here's why
• Google+ Is Getting Harder And Harder To Avoid
• How to prevent Google+ users from e-mailing you
• Sorry, Google+, We Still Won't Come to Your Party

Your Rights Online

• 'Bell is not above the law,' says man awarded $21K for privacy breach
• New facial recognition app 'creepy', says kids entertainer Raffi
• Anonymous search tool DuckDuckGo answered 1bn queries in 2013—"The 'anti-Google', which searches the web without tracking or monitoring the user, now answers 4m queries a day."
• Stop Asking Me for My Email Address—"If you can't tell me how my personal information is going to be protected when you ask for it, don't expect me to give it you. And you should do the same when someone asks you for that information." NYT
• Blast from the Past: Never Give Your Information To 10 Minute Old Startups

World Human Rights Day, Mandela; Ukraine; UK not OK; China Air Pollution; Politics; Whistleblowers, Journalism and Transparency; NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy

World Human Rights Day

• Guantanamo detainees' hunger strikes will no longer be disclosed by U.S. military WaPo
• Jailed Bin Laden doctor Shakil Afridi refuses to stay silent—"The Pakistani doctor who is accused of helping the American Central Intelligence Agency track down former al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, says he is being denied his right to a fair trial."
• The US killed my brother with a drone. I want to know why

Mandela

• World leaders join singing crowds for Mandela memorial
• Meet The Mandela RINOs: Republicans Who Lost Their R-Card For Praising Mandela
• Newt Gingrich to Conservatives: 'What Would You Have Done?'—"A message about Nelson Mandela that conservatives sorely need to hear."
• Pickens County Sheriff will not lower flag for Nelson Mandela—"Nelson Mandela did great things for his country and was a brave man but he was not an AMERICAN!!!"
• Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu to skip Mandela memorial, citing cost

Ukraine

• Ukraine's capital Kiev gripped by huge pro-EU demonstration
• World boxing champion Vitali Klitschko leads Ukraine's protests, hopes to become next president
• Ukraine police move on protesters and opposition party

UK not OK

• Amnesty International suspects British intelligence surveillance, will take legal action against UK government
• London's biggest university bans student protests
• Shop owner quizzed over 'Bernard Manning-style' Nelson Mandela gags—"Neil Phillips furious after being DNA swabbed and finger-printed over close to the knuckle web comments about the late former South African president." Punishing thoughtcrime
• Edward Snowden to give evidence to EU parliament, says MEP—"British Conservatives oppose video appearance by NSA whistleblower, which Green MEP says could happen this year."
• British intelligence anxious to catch Snowden in Russia - investigative journalist

China Air Pollution

• Smog promotes equality!—"Air pollution also makes people funnier and smarter, a government-controlled outlet claims." Salon
• Our Smog Is A Major Defensive Advantage On The Battlefield—With this much spin, the smog should have been blow away already.
• Smog set to lift in eastern China, but experts say solution is a long way off

Politics

• Thai PM Yingluck to dissolve parliament and call elections
• China expresses regret over South Korea air defense zone
• Canada to claim north pole as its own—"UN submission will seek to redefine Canada's continental shelf to capture more Arctic oil and gas resources."

Whistleblowers

• Snowden and Greenwald: The Men Who Leaked the Secrets—"How two alienated, angry geeks broke the story of the year."
• Six months after NSA story broke, Snowden looks even more patriotic
• Saving the Net from the surveillance state: Glenn Greenwald speaks up

Journalism and Transparency

• An open letter from Carl Bernstein to Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger—"You are being called to testify at a moment when governments in Washington and London seem intent on erecting the most serious (and self-serving) barriers against legitimate news reporting – especially of excessive government secrecy – we have seen in decades."
• Thousands protest in Japan against new state secrets bill
• Russian news agency RIA Novosti closed down—"The state-owned Voice of Russia radio station has also been closed. The decree was effective immediately."
• Coalition accused of organising 'assault on ABC' over spying revelations—"Labor frontbencher Brendan O'Connor says government is working with News Corp to bully the public broadcaster."

NSA Spying

• Xbox Live among game services targeted by US and UK spy agencies—"NSA and GCHQ collect gamers' chats and deploy real-life agents into World of Warcraft and Second Life."
• NSA morale down after Edward Snowden revelations, former U.S. officials say—"They add that they are surprised President Obama has not visited the agency to show his support." WaPo
• NSA spying hurts business of large U.S. hardware makers
• Twitter, Facebook and more demand sweeping changes to US surveillance—"AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, Apple and LinkedIn to call for reforms to restore the public's trust in the internet."
• Jon Stewart on the benefits of NSA surveillance: If you like your spy, you can keep your spy

Surveillance and Privacy

• Int'l call for democracy in digital age—"Leading newspapers of 32 countries including The Daily Star, 560 authors from 83 countries and several Nobel Laureates have issued an international appeal against mass surveillance."
• Bill Clinton says security does not justify espionage
• Chinese hackers spied on Europeans before G20 meeting: researcher
• 'Let's be honest, we eavesdrop too': former French foreign minister on NSA spying claims
• The US has access to Swedish intelligence—"The United States has been allowed access to information obtained by Sweden's National Defence Radio Establishment (FRA) through cable interception since 2011, top-secret documents obtained by Swedish Television show."
• Canada set up spy posts for U.S., new Snowden document shows
• Inside Canada's top-secret billion-dollar spy palace—"While the Harper government is preaching government austerity, it is spending almost $1.2 billion on a new Ottawa headquarters for a little-known military spy agency. It's the most expensive Canadian government building ever constructed."