"THIS IS MY MAP"

From Jenna Orkin:

Collapse
Drug money 'saved banks from crisis'
JO comment: To the tune of $352 billion.
MCR Comment:
December 13, 2009 -- This is my map. I made it. And I paid for it.

All I have ever wanted to do was give it away.
Euros become currency of drug cartels (from Vantage Point)
Global sovereign debt to hit $49.5 trln-Moody's (from Rice Farmer)
The biggest threat for 2010 – countries going bust (from Rice Farmer)
Mother of all carry trades faces an inevitable bust
House Approves Sweeping Financial Reforms
House Passes Trillion-Dollar Spending Bill
Financial reforms could shrink Fed's role
Bailout Program Extended to October: Geithner
Unemployment Decline an Illusion, Financial System Collapse Ahead (from Rice Farmer)
Coming Collapse of Municipal Bonds; States, Cities Dig Deeper Holes (from Rice Farmer)
The boomer meltdown
Falling Dollar Pushes Manufacturing Out of Europe
It's time to give up the dream of home ownership
House 'flipping' makes a comeback
Brown and Sarkozy call truce to declare war on banks
Statement of Ron Paul Introducing the Free Competition in Currency Act
Goldman Sachs played bigger role in AIG trades: report
No Cash Bonuses for Goldman Sachs
Volcker Warns Bankers They've "Been Inadequate"(from Vantage Point)
Obama's Big Sellout by Matt Taibbi (from Vantage Point)
“What's taken place in the year since Obama won the presidency has turned out to be one of the most dramatic political about-faces in our history. Elected in the midst of a crushing economic crisis brought on by a decade of orgiastic deregulation and unchecked greed, Obama had a clear mandate to rein in Wall Street and remake the entire structure of the American economy. What he did instead was ship even his most marginally progressive campaign advisers off to various bureaucratic Siberias, while packing the key economic positions in his White House with the very people who caused the crisis in the first place. This new team of bubble-fattened ex-bankers and laissez-faire intellectuals then proceeded to sell us all out, instituting a massive, trickle-up bailout and systematically gutting regulatory reform from the inside.”
Passion Fades for Obama, the Perfect Poster Boy
Obama's Mortgage-Fix Program is Doomed to Fail (from Vantage Point)
New Yorkers at risk of losing homes surges 85% in month of November (from Rice Farmer)
Canadians taking on record levels of debt (from Rice Farmer)
McDonald's: $1 breakfast

Asia
North Korea currency change sparks panic
North Korea hints ready to return to nuclear talks
Is China’s capital spending bubble about to deflate?
Will Japan Default? (from Rice Farmer)

Europe
Greek debt hits 300 billion euros
Will Greece go the way of Dubai?
Icelandic bank in SFO probe
Taxpayers face £2 trillion unfunded pensions liability (from Rice Farmer)
Debit card Christmas
Shoppers will put £23bn on plastic this year, up 4pc, says Barclays.
Jobless claims up more than expected 'Severe cuts' in public services revealed
Germany to Borrow Much More in 2010, Report Says
Germany is poised to borrow around 100 euros billion more next year, a newspaper reported on Thursday, signaling that Europe's largest economy is on course to break the EU's deficit rules -- and the extent of the financial headache facing the new center-right government coalition.
S&P Sees Spain’s Debt Rising to 80-90% of Economic Output (from Rice Farmer)
Spain Says Adios to Xmas as 19% Jobless Hits Spending (from Rice Farmer)
Strange light in Norwegian sky sparks mystery
Russian nuclear missile test fails, visible in Norway

Intelligence
Blackwater Guards' Alleged Role in Secret CIA Raids
Blackwater 'operating at CIA Pakistan base'
Brussels Gives CIA Power to Search UK Bank Records
Google expands tracking to logged out users
Yahoo Policies Re Selling Emails to Law Enforcement
U.S. Military Joins CIA’s Drone War in Pakistan
Lawmakers Want to Bar Sites From Posting Sensitive Govt. Docs
Terror police to monitor nurseries
An e-mail leaked to The Times shows that officers believe that nursery-age children should be checked for signs of extremism.

JO Comment: My kid would have been in Gitmo by the time he was two.
Anarchists Arrested in Copenhagen
"[P]olice made a large number of pre-emptive arrests under a controversial anti-hooligan law."See if you can find any indication in this article of how the authorities knew that the people they were arresting were anarchists. Drug money UN adviser says $352bn in criminal proceeds was effectively laundered by financial institutions

Divide and Conquer
New Report Finds Racism Prevalent Across Europe
Window on Eurasia: Neo-Nazis Are a Threat to Russia, Polish Analyst Says
FBI: 19,000 Matches to Terrorist Screening List in 2009
Dallas/Fort Worth named to Top 10 terrorism target list (from Rice Farmer)

Climate Change
'Copenhagen Is About Doing As Little As Possible'
Interview with US Economist Dennis Meadows.
Who will dare mention population growth?
Danish document causes storm at Copenhagen climate negotiations
Leaders of the Rich World Are Enacting a Giant Fraud
Next year forecast to be hottest on record
Britain faces future of food shortages
...and water shortages. No longer will the gentlemen in pin-striped suits have to carry umbrellas.
Quake Threat Leads Swiss to Close Geothermal Project
Head of California's Cap and Trade Offsets Program: It's a Scam (from Rice Farmer)
Rice prices soar on supply shortages (from Rice Farmer)
Philippines Has Fewer Rice Offers, Prices Gain 30% (from Rice Farmer)
Mediterranean as Indicator
“In terms of biomass and production, the Mediterranean is basically impoverished,” Mediterranean Sea Saved by Monumental Flood
Saving Fish is Possible, Unless They’re Past the Tipping Point
Climate Change Caused Radical North Sea Shift
Ocean Dead Zones May Be Worse Than Thought
Coral climate crisis puts 250 million at risk: U.N.
Superpower is ready to feed the world
New Google Innovation to Help Scientists Monitor Deforestation
Same Editorial Runs in 56 Newspapers
Soros: leaders have it wrong on climate change
Billionaire investor suggests IMF use gold reserves to back green loans.
The official diet to save the planet
Eat less meat and dairy, says report which acknowledges that shrinking of food industry is likely An Arctic economy in limbo: One of the world's biggest pipeline projects on hold; unclear if it will ever break ground

Factbox: Planned Arctic gas lines
Lessons from a 'model farmer'
Giant iceberg heading for Australia

California green jobs growing
Climate Conference Data Raise Fears of China Property Bubble (from Rice Farmer) )

Technology/Science
Wireless Brain-to-Computer Connection Synthesizes Speech
A Whole Industry is Waiting For a Pandemic (July)
Neuromarketers claim that brain waves reveal what consumers want

Ebert on CoLLapse

Roger Ebert's Review of CoLLapse

Cradle of Democracy in Anarchy

Mike Ruppert will be appearing in the D.C. area this weekend for three Q&A sessions directly following screenings of CoLLapse. Q&A showtimes are 9:15pm on Friday, Dec. 11 and 5:00 and 9:15 on Saturday, Dec. 12 at the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
*******************************************************************************

From Jenna Orkin:

Headlines
Anarchy in Athens
Athens rocked by violent protests
Greek Debt Poses a Danger to Common Currency
Insider selling to buying ratio is at 82:1
Sean O'Grady: UK economy to drop out of world's top 10

Energy
The Future of Energy
"The energy challenge eclipses any other facing the world today."
Iraq oil claims may be too high
Six million bpd as opposed to ten.
Was Volatility in the Price of Oil a Cause of the 2008 Financial Crisis?
Kremlin Wins Indian Nuclear Deal
Iran Says Saudis Handed Missing Scientist to US

Climate Change/Science/Environment
Was Russian secret service behind leak of climate-change emails?
NYT: Millions in U.S. drink dirty water
Will Big Business Save the Earth?
Green efforts being touted by no less than Jared Diamond.
Denmark's green credentials obscure some unpleasant facts (from Rice Farmer)
UN Halts Funds to China Wind Farms (from Vantage Point)
Greenhouse gas cuts just 'token gestures'
Copenhagen won't prevent disaster, warns top scientist.
'Mass green tokenism'
Biofuels are likely to lead the way when leaders meet in Copenhagen.
Urban Greenhouses Aim to Help Cities Combat Climate Change
Copenhagen told decade is world's warmest
Climategate reveals 'the most influential tree in the world'
Starving Polar Bears Turn to Cannibalism
How Europe's Discarded Computers Are Poisoning Africa's Kids
Attack of the killer tomatoes
Botanists at Kew discover the plant is carnivorous, with ability to trap insects
Waste = Food
Video on Cradle to cradle design concept.
H1N1 may be mildest pandemic on record

US
Why the next banking crisis could be even worse (from Rice Farmer)
Patriot Act Renewal Moving Forward (from Vantage Point)
GM China Sales Pass US For First Time in History (from Vantage Point)
Poll: 8 in 10 now support an audit of the Federal Reserve System

UK/Europe
US Intelligence raises spectre of upcoming civil unrest in United Kingdom (from Rice Farmer)
Public sector 'must cut one million jobs'
Elusive and fragile recovery threatened by soaring deficit
Bank of England sees sharp rise in demand for £50 notes
Chief cashier says upturn is due to the public losing faith in banks.
Don't Halt Our Bayonets Or We'll Use Banknotes as Weaponry (from Vantage Point)
Record level of British population is foreign-born
Are Germans Allowed to Criticize Israel?

Intelligence
Sprint manager: ‘Half’ of all police surveillance includes text messaging (from Rice Farmer)
A new report questions "suicides" at Guantanamo (from Vantage Point)
Doctors Demand Inquest Into Death of Dr. David Kelly (from Vantage Point)
Are U.S. tax dollars funding Afghan corruption?
Jesse Ventura Video on HAARP

N. Korea
New penal code specifies death penalty for stealing rice (from Rice Farmer)

And...
Evidence of Mass Cannibalism Uncovered in Germany
Herxheim’s remains date from a period when Europe is thought to have been plunged into upheaval, violence and decline following 500 years in which Neolithic farmers first settled the region. Professor Chris Scarre, a neolithic expert at the University of Durham, said after learning of the study that the Herxheim site could represent useful evidence of a society in turmoil but cautioned that cannibalism can be hard to prove because other factors, such as funerary rites, can leave similar marks on bones.

"Honey, I Shrunk the Dollar;" UK Ceased To Be Sovereign State; US Must Plan for Nuke Wars

From Jenna Orkin:

Headlines
UK Ceased To Be a Sovereign State
Rogers: It's Time to Dump the Flawed Dollar
US Must Plan for Nuke Wars
China Declares Space War Inevitable

US
Senator Bunning’s statement on the re-nomination of Bernanke
Darling cedes final say on bank bailouts to Europe
UK's 'fiscal responsibility' can be over-ridden, text of European Union deal reveals...
Europe's Biggest Banks Grow Even Bigger, `Sowing the Seeds' of Next Crisis
Rationale behind shorting Treasurys
Traders Freaking Out Over Rumors That Japan May Dump $100 Billion In US Treasuries (from Rice Farmer)
Obama's Sell-out to Wall Street Creates "Permanent Bailout"
"Honey, I Shrunk the Dollar" - Ben Bernanke
Case-Shiller Still Predicts Massive 45% Fall From Today’s Values (from Rice Farmer)
Head of Blackwater Outed as Participant in CIA Assassination Program
Max Kaiser on Dubai and Peak Credit
Senators threaten Fed with audit
It's not just Ron Paul anymore.
Mishkin Calls Paul's Proposal to Audit Fed Policy `Incredibly Dangerous'
Ron Paul: Every Man For Himself
Fed to Conduct Small Scale Tri-Party Reverse Repos (from Vantage point)
U.S. housing market meltdown not over yet: Zandi
"Crisis" is most googled word Political Google - The Caucus Blog The search numbers, which Google has collected since 2001, ... In 2009 “crisis” and “cash for clunkers” were the words most searched...
24 States Borrow Money To Pay Unemployment Benefits (from Rice Farmer)
Newsweek: Americans face lean workplace for years
14 reasons Obama's love of Wall Street will trigger the Great Depression 2 (from Rice Farmer)Dubai assets could be 'untouchable'
Lawyers warn bondholders over complicated legal structure in UAE
Wells Fargo Closing 122 California Branches: L.A. Times Link
Unemployment rises in almost half of metro areas (from Rice Farmer)
California to Use Deflation in Assessing Property Taxes
Paulson May Have Made $44 Million in Five Weeks From Stake in Detour Gold
Goldman Sees `Rather Strong' World Growth in 2010-11 as Credit Crisis Ends
Goldman Execs Taking Heat, Packing Heat
Goldman execs carrying protection in case their optimistic forecasts are wrong.
Bribery in WTC Case

Sign of the Times:
"TOILET PAPER ONLY TO BE USED IN THIS TOILET"
NO CARDBOARD
NO CLOTH
NO ZIM DOLLARS
NO NEWSPAPER

Europe
£850bn: official cost of the bank bailout
Britain’s ancient bridges are now past their use-by date (from Rice Farmer)
Mandelson attacks Murdoch empire
Business secretary accuses News Corporation of imperilling the traditions of British broadcasting
Bankers' 150pc pay rise (UK)
$1.5 trillion funding gap (Western Europe)

War/Middle East/Russia/Asia
Israel Edges Closer to Iran Strike
Iran ‘expects Russian missiles within 2 months’ (from Rice Farmer)
Iran to enrich uranium to higher level: Ahmadinejad
Iran whistleblower died from poisoned salad
North Korea Revalues Its Currency
North Koreans dare to protest as devaluation wipes out savings
Putin confides to the nation: I want to be President again
Poll: Obama's approval on Afghanistan plummets to 35 percent
Obama’s Financiers Okay Extra $60 Billion for Pentagon
Mullen: Only a few US troops will leave Afghanistan in 2011
Meet the Commanded-in-Chief (from Vantage Point)
President Joins Lyndon Johnson in Escalating an Unpopular War He Inherited
Rothschild appointed to help sell Dubai World assets (from Vantage Point)
Dubai’s collapse puts the jobs of 250,000 Filipino workers at risk (from Rice Farmer)
Dubai’s Bubble Has Officially Burst (from Rice Farmer who comments:)
This article is from December 2008, one year ago. Alert people saw it coming; this was certainly no "black swan" event!
India’s GDP roars ahead
Ants could inspire military strategies

Intelligence
Negative public opinion seen as warning signal for terrorism
Open Source Intel Use Soars
India Bans Mobile Phones Without IDs (from Rice Farmer)
James Douglass: JFK And The Unspeakable - Why He Died And Why It Matters
Stasi Spy Revelations Rock German State
Peru's 'human fat killers' were invented in cover up
Drug cartels exploiting gang connections within U.S. military (from Rice Farmer)
NYPD Officer Accused of Helping Drug Gang

Environment/Energy
Melting ice sheets threaten defences
Sea levels could rise by as much as 1.4 metres (4.6 feet) by 2100 – more than twice previous estimates – according to new studies showing that one of the Antarctic's massive ice sheets is more vulnerable to melting than previously thought.
Michael McCarthy: Will history see this as a turning point for climate change?
Will history see anything if there's no one around to read it? - JO
Smart Grid Poses Privacy Risks
Propane Shortage Reaching Critical Levels ‎
7 ways microbes may solve our energy woes
Martian colony [of Bacteria] in Britain
Relax. It was a long time ago.
Nine eco-towns given go-ahead
Can Saharan Solar Power Save Europe?
Prince Charles urges government to protect homeopathic medicine
Paul Stamets on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world (from Vantage point)
Smart Meters Could Allow Energy Companies to Cap Use
Radioactive Leak Was Deliberate, Says India (from Rice Farmer)
An Overview of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Control Policies in Various Countries
Wettest November on record
California: Record Low Water Delivery Is Projected
New York eyes offshore wind farms on Great Lakes
Wind farms fall prey to demands of the golden eagle
Snake chokes on its own tail
The Moon
Humanity needs more than one home because, with all our eggs in one basket, we are at risk of low-probability but high-consequence catastrophes like asteroid strikes, nuclear war or bioterrorism.

There, doesn't it make you feel better to know we have a Plan B? - JO

Media
Journalists' Political Donations (2007) Donations and other political activity are strictly forbidden at The Washington Post, ABC, CBS, CNN and NPR.Politicking is discouraged, but there is some wiggle room, at Dow Jones, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. (Compare policies here.)

Gold and...
Uganda Set to Make Homosexuality Punishable by Death
The Day the Dollar Died - By "John Galt"
Will gold keep you safe?
China to lift gold reserves
Interview with James Turk on Gold
Gold goes parabolic again and again and again

Theory of Everything (Going Wrong)

From Jenna Orkin:

Theory of Everything (Going Wrong)
Bank Crisis Shows Need to Expect the Very Worst: Study
Its 15 extreme risks were ranked in order as of mid-year. They were economic depression, hyperinflation, excessive leverage, a currency crisis, a banking crisis, sovereign default, climate change, political crisis, insurance crisis, protectionism, disunity in Europe, the end of capitalism, the end of fiat money, war and a killer pandemic....

...going long pharmaceuticals/short airlines was seen as combating investment losses from a pandemic.

JO Comment: Reminds me of a joke. An airplane is about to go down. The flight attendant announces, "Would all those who can swim please line up by the exits on the right hand side of the plane. The automatic slides are currently inflating and will be engaged shortly for your safety and convenience. Rescue planes should be arriving within an hour.

Would all those who cannot swim please line up on the left hand side of the plane. At this time we'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for flying Lufthansa."
Unthinkable: Collapse of Bond Markets
"China is Dubai times 1000 if not a million"
Food Stamp Use Soars Across U.S., and Stigma Fades
More seniors go to soup kitchens
Increase of 81 percent last year, USDA reports.
Half of children in 17 U.S. counties live in poverty (from Rice Farmer)
Money Starts to Trickle North as Mexicans Help Out Relatives
Almost Half of Turkish Migrants Want to Leave (Germany)
A Run on the Dollar Starts Soon (from Vantage Point)
China’s economic path is likely to be punctured sooner or later by a crisis
Fears of UK debt crisis
It's the Government, not family, that's falling apart
Militia movement resurfaces across nation (from Rice Farmer)
Angela Merkel alarmed by worsening credit crisis
Dubai debt crisis may end in “major” default
Dubai woes give China chance to buy oil, gold: report
Abu Dhabi will not race to Dubai's rescue
Arab States Move to Stifle Dubai Crisis
'Father of the Poor' Has Triggered Economic Miracle - Brazil
The Madagascar model: conflicts over natural resources will grow (from Vantage Point)
Audit would hurt economic prospects: Bernanke
Entering the Superproject Void
...in the era of infrastructure demise.
Freight Forwards Curve Warns Of Baltic Dry Index Collapse (from Rice Farmer)
Four Police Officers Shot Dead in Washington Coffee House
Cuban nationals land at Florida nuclear plant: NRC
At This School, It’s Marijuana in Every Class
Giving new meaning to the words "high school."
The Incredible Shrinking AOL: 2,300 More Employees To Be Cut
Bob Toll Predicts New Housing Crisis (from Vantage point)
Lou Dobbs Might Run for Senate, White House

War Drums
A Defiant Iran Details Plan for 10 Enrichment Plants
Iranian navy seizes five British sailors
Cuban army holds exercises for U.S. military attack
Increased Violence on the High Seas

Energy/Climate Change/Science
Russia Cuts Coal Exports to Asia
Australian Senate: Peak Oil Motion Defeated
Burning Forests for Electricity (from NYC Peak Oil Meetup)
Asia's Rice Culture Threatened (from Rice Farmer)
Next year may be hottest yet, Met Office says
25 Rivers on Flood Watch (UK)
Demand for locally grown food has farmers building greenhouses and trying cool-weather varieties (from Rice Farmer)
For Forest Kindergartners, Class Is Back to Nature, Rain or Shine
Philadelphia Unveils $1.6 Million Plan to Embrace Storm Water (from NYC Peak Oil Meetup)
Sunshine, sewage to power cities of the future
Scientists make plastic without using fossil fuels
Cost of adapting to climate change
Developing world farmers need an almost unprecedented shift of resources, says Anne Perkins.
KLM Claims First Biofuel Airline Passenger Flight
Meat grown in laboratory
Lab-grown Meat Could Solve Multiple Problems
Flowing air 'could be used to generate electricity for planes and cars'

Pandemic
IMF Funding Fueling TB Rise
H1N1 swine flu mutation spreads, deaths worldwide on the rise
Moldovan soldiers given onions to fight swine flu
Forget gold and silver, invest in garlic
Swine flu again.
New Ukraine Flu Worse than H1N1
H1N1 mutation found in some flu fatalities

Europe
'Who' for President, 'I Don't Know' for Foreign Minister
Swiss voters back right-wing minaret ban
Swiss official hints at reversal of minaret ban

Russia
Government Expects Energy Sway to Decline
Under a plan entitled Energy Strategy 2030, the economy and budget revenues will steadily move away from the reliance on energy exports, spurring the changes.
Russia Cuts Coal Exports to Asia
Russia Moves To Rein In Gas Flaring, Mandating 95% Gas Capture by 2012; Signals About-Face on Climate Change
Producers say North Slope has 'no easy oil left
''Titanic Effect' May Delay Russian Development Plans in Arctic

Intelligence
Malaysian pilgrims issued RFID tags (from Rice Farmer)
After Data Loss, ID Theft Risk Soars
U.S. adults who get a Dear John data letter have a one in five chance of being victimized in the next 12 months, according to the survey, conducted by financial services research firm Javelin Research.
Blair told before invasion Iraq WMD were dismantled
Wikileaks Published 570,000 Messages from 9/11
NYT: Anti-terror air defense reviewed
The commander of military forces protecting North America has ordered a review of the costly air defenses intended to prevent another Sept. 11-style attack.
Watergate investigation reopened
CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception Declassified
CIA goes hiring in heart of Arab America
Ssh.

Bets Rise on Rich Countries Defaulting

From Jenna Orkin:

Bets rise on rich countries defaulting
Britain is out of money
Dump the Dollar! Buy Gold!
CNN!
Sovereign Debt Could Be The Next Subprime
Greece tests the limit of sovereign debt
U.S. faces surge in interest payments
Interest on U.S. debt at $4.8 trillion
Peter Costa: "The US Government Will Be Totally Bankrupt In A Year And A Half" (from Rice Farmer)
Treasury yields plunge sends warning
Don't say we didn't warn you this time -- a new crash is dead ahead (from Rice Farmer)
Dollar slump continues as top analysts see no bottom
Russia Diversifying Into Canadian Dollars
Report: Almost 1 in 4 homeowners underwater on their mortgages
Why the US, China are about to get divorced‎
Congress is losing its patience with the Fed
House panel votes to audit Federal Reserve
Economists Opposing Fed Audit Are On Fed Payroll
Ron Paul: Fed will self destruct when it destroys the dollar
Should we cheer?
Fed Will Destroy Itself and Gold Price is Rigged: Paul video
Bank Regulators "Reign of Terror" on Small Business Loans
Freefall In Small Business Loans
Housing Starts Green Shoots Wither On Vine
California Students Protest 32% Tuition Hike; State Budget Gridlock II Coming; Massive Deficits In San Francisco
Gulf Single Currency Delayed
...beyond the beginning of 2010. Is everyone sighing with relief?
Markets Take Off as Dollar Weakens
US Credit Shrinking More than Since 1930's
Commercial and Industrial Lending Drop 17% Since October '08
World Oil Demand Growth to Outpace Supply in 2010: Poll
Civil war risk of climate change
In his gloomiest prediction yet, Marc Faber sees big financial bust leading to war (from Rice Farmer)
JO Comment: And then we have the IMF head, Dominique Strauss-Kahn warning of war. So that's three on the same day. Gee.
Clean coal 'just a blueprint'
E.ON chief Paul Golby warns clean coal plans may never be viable.
As Sewers Fill, Waste Poisons Waterways
US: Three Mile Island Radiation "Not Significant"
A Chinese-owned GM?
The Rise of the Chinese Automotive Industry and Its Impact on the US Automotive Industry Lou Dobbs Might Run for Senate, White House
NYT: Anti-terror air defense reviewed
The commander of military forces protecting North America has ordered a review of the costly air defenses intended to prevent another Sept. 11-style attack.
Investors finally seeing the nonsense in efficient market theory
Study: Wall St. execs cashed in before collapse
GE May Be Closer to Selling Control of NBC to Comcast as Immelt, Levy Meet

UK/Europe/Big Brother
UK Police Routinely Arresting People to Obtain DNA, Report Claims
UK risks 'debt spiral'
Fuel bills blamed for 50% rise in winter deaths
Banks given £62bn were within hours of collapse
Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS received secret bridging loans last year when facing far greater peril than first thought.
Bank of England tells of loan to save RBS and HBOS
Bank secretly lent ailing institutions £62bn to save them from failing.
RBS may need more cash after £33.5bn fillip
Britain rejected Iraq 'regime change' in 2001
British officials heard war 'drum beats' before 9/11
Uproar over Italian Town's Foreigner Registration Drive

Energy/Climate Change
Gas shortage lingers in cities‎
Pakistan's Natural Gas Shortage to Widen in 2010
Shell favours gas for future production
Gas will be at the heart of Royal Dutch Shell's production strategy 'mistake'.
China Industries Face a Hard Winter on Gas Shortage
New report says world on threshold of irreversible climate change
1.5 billion people have no electricity
Greenhouse gas levels 'reach record high'

Middle East/Asia
Report Starts an Uproar in India
21 politicians and journalists shot dead in Philippines
Philippines declares state of emergency after 46 are killed in election bloodbath
Iran begins war games to protect nuclear sites
Ahmedinejad Heads For Brazil and West Africa
US employing Blackwater for Pakistan assassinations
Dubai World’s debt freeze was carefully planned
Dubai Debt Rattles Confidence in Persian Gulf Borrowers
Stocks Slump, Bonds Rise as Dubai Roils Markets; Credit-Default Swaps Soar
Europe's VStoxx Index Jumps Most in Year on Concern About Dubai Debt Delay
Goldman Sachs's Hong Kong-Based Michael Evans Sells $12 Million of Stock
Dubai Surrenders Autonomy as Crisis Bolsters Oil-Rich Emirate of Abu Dhabi
CHINA'S NAVY MAKES "IMPRESSIVE" STRIDES, SAYS ONI
An ongoing modernization effort has provided China with an increasingly sophisticated and proficient naval force, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) said in a new assessment (large pdf).
China’s New Missile May Create a 'No-Go Zone' for U.S. Fleet