Iran has warned that if its national interests are jeopardized, the Islamic Republic will not hesitate in closing the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic oil passage between Iran and Oman connects the Persian Gulf with the Sea of Oman. - US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta [responded, saying] any disruption in maritime transportation in the Persian Gulf would be crossing a red line for Washington. Referring to allegations made against Iran in the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Panetta described Iran as a “very grave threat to all of us.” The remarks come as the US plans to spend USD 700 billion on upgrading and modernizing its nuclear weapons program, and has announced that it will not destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons before the final deadline required by the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2012.

One of the architects of the euro, Jacques Delors, has said the eurozone was flawed from the start and that efforts to tackle its problems have been "too little, too late". - Delors, the former president of the European commission, said errors made when the euro was created had made the current economic crisis inevitable. European leaders in the 1990s had chosen to turn a blind eye to the economic weaknesses of some member states, and the response now the issues had surfaced had generally been inadequate, he told the Telegraph. All European countries had to share the blame for excessive borrowing by countries such as Italy and Greece that had brought the system to the brink of disaster, Delors added. His remarks came as France and Germany edged towards closer fiscal union to avoid a potentially disastrous collapse of the single currency.

Los Angeles police used nearly a dozen undercover detectives to infiltrate the Occupy LA encampment before this week's raid to gather information on protesters' intentions, according to media reports Friday. None of the officers slept at the camp, but tried to blend in during the weeks leading up to the raid to learn about plans to resist or use weapons against police, a police source told the Los Angeles Times. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing. FACTS & FIGURES: On November 30, police in riot gear and biohazard suits removed anti-Wall Street activists from their camp at Los Angeles City Hall, arresting nearly 300 people and fencing off the area. More than 1,400 police officers raided the camp and dismantled what was left of the tent city that stood for two months. In all, 46 of the 291 people arrested during the raid have been charged with misdemeanor crimes of failure to disperse from an unlawful assembly. Some also were charged with resisting arrest. On December 2, the city attorney's office filed criminal misdemeanor charges against 27 of the people who were arrested following the police sweep of the camp.

Russia Today: Lurking within tent: Undercover cops in Occupy LA camp prior to raid

The terrifying legislation that allows for Americans to be arrested, detained indefinitely, tortured and interrogated — without charge or trial — passed through the Senate on Thursday with an overwhelming support from 93 percent of lawmakers. Only seven members of the US Senate voted against the National Defense Authorization Act on Thursday, despite urging from the ACLU and concerned citizens across the country that the affects of the legislation would be detrimental to the civil rights and liberties of everyone in America. Under the bill, Americans can be held by the US military for terrorism-related charges and detained without trial indefinitely. Additionally, another amendment within the text of the legislation reapproved waterboarding and other “advanced interrogation techniques” that are currently outlawed. "The bill is an historic threat to American citizens,” Christopher Anders of the ACLU tells the Associated Press.

Stephen Lendman: America Lurches Toward Full-Blown Tyranny
Paul Craig Roberts: The Day America Died: The only future for Americans is a nightmare

The father of free software philosophy spoke to RT on evil developers, spying social networks, the almost-legitimacy of Anonymous hacks and the condition under which he would take a proprietary program and a million dollars. Stallman is the man behind the concept that every computer program must be free for users to study and modify as they want. This is the only way to ensure that by using the software users do not compromise their human rights, he says.