HuffPo: Matthews went on to say that Palin "has nothing going on mentally... I'd be afraid of her because I think she's an empty vessel ready to be filled by ideology she doesn't understand. And that is really scary." (VIDEO). The MSNBC host slams the former GOP vice presidential nominee over her Iran remarks. HuffPo: I have been ignoring Palin, hoping that like a small scratch she would eventually heal and go away. Instead, she has turned out to be a drug-resistant staph infection intent on destroying our body politic. + For all the morons and criminals and bigots we've been subjected to, has there been anyone else who has combined all of the fetid qualities -- the proud ignorance, the sadistic viciousness, the shameless hypocrisy, the arrogant laziness, the congenital dishonesty, the unctuous sanctimony, the bilious resentment, and whichever others I'm forgetting for the moment -- that this morals-free harridan so relentlessly displays?

Here's another frightening politician: Bachmann: America ‘cursed’ by God ‘if we reject Israel’

A non-partisan Research 2000 survey of 2,000 Republicans has found that a majority believe Sarah Palin is more qualified to be president than Barack Obama and that nearly two in three believe Mr. Obama is a socialist.

IN DEPTH: Left vs. Right That pretty much sums it up (Infographic). Bob Altemeyer's - The Authoritarians

Court of appeal ruling compels British government to disclose what MI5 knew of refugee's treatment in Guantánamo Bay. Three of Britain's most senior judges have ordered the government to reveal evidence of MI5 complicity in the torture of British resident Binyam Mohamed – unanimously dismissing objections by David Miliband, the foreign secretary. In a ruling that will cause deep anxiety among the security and intelligence agencies, they rejected Miliband's claims, backed by the US government, that disclosure of a seven-paragraph summary of classified CIA information showing what British agents knew of Mohamed's torture would threaten intelligence sharing between London and Washington, and therefore endanger Britain's national security.

At least 150 people have been killed in a series of avalanches that have blocked a mountain pass north of Kabul, Afghan officials say. Rescuers are trying to reach hundreds more people who are trapped in their vehicles in the Salang Pass. Some 2,500 people have been rescued so far, but scores more are feared buried following several days of heavy snow. More than two dozen avalanches have hit the pass since Monday, blocking 2.1 miles (3.5km) of road.

US President Barack Obama said the United States is developing a "significant regime of sanctions" against Iran, shortly after Tehran announced its decision to start enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent. Obama stated that Iran appears to have spurned his offer of engagement. He also accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear program that would lead to nuclear weapons. WaPo: U.S., allies moving quickly on sanctions against Iran, Obama says. PressTV: Brazil opposes calls to impose more sanctions on Iran.

Marine Colonel Tapped for Detainee Policy Post Worked for Top Rumsfeld Aide. A key behind-the-scenes architect of the Bush administration’s first version of the military commissions for terrorism suspects — which the Supreme Court found to unconstitutionally restrict the legal rights of detainees — will take a central Pentagon position dealing with detainee policy for the Obama administration. William Lietzau, a Marine colonel who currently serves as deputy legal counsel to the National Security Council, is poised to become the Pentagon’s new deputy assistant secretary for detainee affairs in the next several weeks.

Six British soldiers were today being held in custody after allegedly assaulting diners in a restaurant on the holiday island of Lanzarote in an attack that has provoked an outpouring of rage against drunken British tourists. "They injured two Civil Guard police officers and sent several people to hospital," some of the victims said in a letter published in the local press today. "One of the injured needed facial surgery, another needed surgery to an eye. The rest had injuries from bottles from being hit by fists, kicks and chairs." Today some of the victims of the attack wrote to Gordon Brown, asking him to keep British soldiers under control when they are on holiday. "We beg you to control your armed forces so that when they go on holiday to another country they do not put their training in to practice by attacking defenceless civilians," they said. PT: Beware The People Weeping,When They Bare The Iron Hand: The illegal occupation of Iraq; pillaging villages, torturing civilians, inducing sectarian violence. The illegal occupation of Afghanistan; aiming to destroy a mighty civilization, raping the earth of all its resources, creating senseless and avoidable chaos. Then comes the unashamed crying. When your occupation forces (i.e. soldiers) are killed while defending imperialist ideals and pseudo-democratic principles they are covered in traditional awning cloth comprised of stars and stripes and planted six feet into the ground; As a homely mother stands weeping for her little boy and an impenetrable father salutes his ‘brave soldier’ with tears sliding down his face – the brazen weeping creates a domino effect in the crowd and soon everyone is letting go to salty whimpers. Then comes the sadistic violence. The deadly incursions, the blotting out of entire villages, the raping of innocent human beings, the depravity and senseless asphyxiation of life, the inhumane torture. This brazen cycle of crying and killing has become second nature to Americans and the Western world as a whole; whatever shred of morality remained after the plethora of other massacres and colonialist endeavors they’ve taken part in has been replaced with unquestionable nationalism. Dahr Jamail: The US Military: A Mindset of Barbarism: On December 27, in the eastern Kunar region of Afghanistan, ten Afghans, eight of whom were schoolchildren, were dragged from their beds and shot by US forces during a nighttime raid. Afghan government investigators said the eight students were aged from 11 to 17 years.

A former NASA contractor whose theory demonstrating that the greenhouse effect is constant and self-regulating and that increases in human CO2 emissions are not the source of global warming is fighting an uphill battle to publish his controversial work.

While perusing some of the review comments to the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report, I came across the contributions of Andrew Lacis, a colleague of James Hansen’s at GISS. Lacis’s is not a name I’ve come across before but some of what he has to say about Chapter 9 of the IPCC’s report is simply breathtaking. Chapter 9 is possibly the most important one in the whole IPCC report – it’s the one where they decide that global warming is manmade. This is the one where the headlines are made. Remember, this guy is mainstream, not a sceptic, and you may need to remind yourself of that fact several times as you read through his comment on the executive summary of the chapter:

UPDATE: Does an Old Climate Critique Still Hold up?

Tens of thousands of secret documents could contradict evidence given by members of the Blair government to the inquiry into the Iraq war, its chairman, Sir John Chilcot, has suggested as the former prime minister lashed out at the hunt for a ''scandal'' and a ''conspiracy'' over his controversial decision to back the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Sir John disclosed that the panel was examining far more documents than previously thought. PressTV: Iraq inquiry to question US officials.

A US-based group that funded Israeli NGOs has come under fire by Tel Aviv for allegedly providing evidence against Israel to a UN Gaza war panel. On January 29, a report issued by Im Tirtzu - a self-described centrist Zionist group - accused the New Israel Fund (NIF) philanthropy of providing most of the evidence to the United Nations' Goldstone Commission that issued a report highly critical of Israel's Gaza war a year ago. "It's an attempt to stifle dissent," said Daniel Sokatch, the chief executive of the fund, which donates about $15 million annually to "human rights and civil society groups" in Israel. While acknowledging that some recipients of the charity group had cooperated with the Goldstone inquiry, the NIF Spokeswoman Naomi Paiss said that the human rights groups were just doing their job. "This is what human rights group do. They are supposed to monitor and report," she explained.

India has deferred the commercial cultivation of what would have been its first genetically modified (GM) vegetable crop due to safety concerns. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said more studies were needed to ensure genetically modified aubergines were safe for consumers and the environment. The GM vegetable has undergone field trials since 2008 and received approval from government scientists in 2009. But there has been a heated public row over the cultivation of the GM crop.

Voters are madder than ever at the current policies of the federal government. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 75% of likely voters now say they are at least somewhat angry at the government’s current policies, up four points from late November and up nine points since September. The overall figures include 45% who are Very Angry, also a nine-point increase since September.

Many of the world's most repressive dictators have been friends of America. Tyrants, torturers, killers, and sundry dictators and corrupt puppet-presidents have been aided, supported, and rewarded handsomely for their loyalty to US interests. Traditional dictators seize control through force, while constitutional dictators hold office through voting fraud or severely restricted elections, and are frequently puppets and apologists for the military juntas, which control the ballot boxes. In any case, none have been democratically elected by the majority of their people in fair and open elections.

As German bombs fell on London and Nazi tanks rolled over US troops, Sosthenes Behn president and founder of the US based ITT corporation, met with his German representative to discuss improving German communication systems. ITT was designing and building Nazi phone and radio systems as well as supplying crucial parts for German bombs.

Dollar-denominated risk assets, including asset-backed securities and corporates, are no longer wanted at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), nor at China’s large commercial banks. Reuters: Chinese Military: Sell U.S. Bonds To Punish Washington DC.

As Republican leaders are urging President Obama to scrap the Democrats’ health care reform legislation and start the process from scratch, they’ve found an unlikely ally in Rep. Dennis Kucinich. The Ohio Democrat — a perennial presidential candidate — wants President Obama to consider government-sponsored, single-payer health coverage in lieu of the insurance industry-based reforms being proposed by Democratic leaders.