· U.S. chain stores, reeling from the slowest holiday shopping season in five years, got some more bad news on Sunday: 2008 will not be any better and could see changes that may shift the retail playing field forever.
· Strong evidence is emerging that consumer spending, a bulwark against recession over the last year even as energy prices surged and the housing market sputtered, has begun to slow sharply at every level of the American economy, from the working class to the wealthy.
· Guess who's helping Bank of America pay for its $4.1 billion purchase of Countrywide Financial? Answer: The taxpayers of the United States.
· Cost of gas rises 10 cents in last three weeks
· Revolt against record labels EMI may slash up to 2,000 jobs
· VIDEO MASHUP: Is NBC's Decision To Exclude Rep. Kucinich From An Upcoming Debate Because Of His Anti-War Message? Ending Iraq War Would Likely Hurt Parent Company GE's Bottom Line. And Is Chris Matthews A Hypocrite?
· Bush Mideast speech draws cool response. President Bush on Sunday described Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism and called on Arab allies to help his administration curb the threat "before it's too late."
· Prisoners 'to be chipped like dogs' . Hi-tech 'satellite' tagging planned in order to create more space in jails. Civil rights groups and probation officers furious at 'degrading' scheme
· RFID Microchip implants cause fast-growing malignant tumors -- US chips animals still...?
· If the U.S. were to face a new conventional threat, its military could not respond effectively without turning to air power, officials and analysts say. That is the ultimate upshot of the war in Iraq: a response elsewhere would consist largely of U.S. fighters and bombers — even, perhaps, some degree of nuclear strike — because so many ground troops are tied up in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
· Tropical disease headed toward U.S., health officials warn. U.S. health officials are warning that a sometimes-deadly tropical disease that's spread by mosquitoes is re-emerging worldwide and could gain a foothold in the U.S. one day. Dengue, a flu-like illness, infects 50 million to 100 million people a year.
· Sensationalist Media Did Pentagon's Bidding in Fake Naval 'Provocation' with Iran. By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!. National security expert: This is the "most egregious case of sensationalist journalism" in the service of Pentagon and Bush administration.
· We're Mad as Hell and the Dems Aren't Listening. By Jim Hightower, Hightower Lowdown. Posted January 14, 2008. The Democrats' fizzle in the face of the power-grabbing Bush administration is doing serious damage to America's political psyche.
· Snow Shrugs Off Post-War Failures: ‘Everybody Gets It Wrong At The Beginning Of A War’. Yesterday, former White House spokesperson Tony Snow was interviewed on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.
· Bush Disowns U.S. Intel, Tells Israelis Iran NIE ‘Doesn’t Reflect My Own Views’
· …switched subject from "Railroad Tracks" & "Good Yamulke Blimp"!!!
UPDATE!
· 80 Arrested Outside Supreme Court. Protestors Worldwide, Adorned In Orange Jump Suits, Demand Shutdown of Guantanamo Bay Prison
· Report Says Vets Killing After Combat. At Least 121 Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans Involved In Slayings, Paper Says
· Five candidates seeking the Green Party nomination for President debated in San Francisco yesterday in front of a packed theater of 800 in attendance. Cindy Sheehan was among the moderators posing questions to Cynthia McKinney, Jared Ball, Kent Mesplay, Kat Swift and Jesse Johnson.
"True Lies" by Taalam Acey
