The Bush administration, facing a series of recent provocations from North Korea, is debating a plan to seek a United Nations resolution empowering all nations to intercept shipments in or out of the country that may contain nuclear materials or components, say senior administration officials and diplomats who have been briefed on the proposal.-New York Times

North Korea's military chief has vowed to "steadily bolster" the Stalinist nation's nuclear deterrent as a result of hostile moves by the United States. In a deepening nuclear crisis, Kim Yong-Chun, chief of the general staff of the North Korean People's Army, warned the United States that it would face any aggression head on.-The Australian

There are people on the bus today that weren't on the bus three years ago.-Newsday

The Bush administration's iron-clad spin is that it is winning the "war on terror." Then comes a problem: the recently created (by a George W. Bush executive order) National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) states there were more terrorist attacks in 2004 than in any year since 1985. So what does the State Department do? Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice orders the "sanitation" of this year's version of "Patterns of Global Terrorism," a report regularly issued by the State Department.—Pepe Escobar, Asia Times

Iran is not only covertly developing nuclear weapons, it is already testing ballistic missiles specifically designed to destroy America's technical infrastructure, effectively neutralizing the world's lone superpower, say U.S. intelligence sources, top scientists and western missile industry experts.--WorldNetDaily

While the Bush administration holds dozens of suspected Muslim terrorists on secret or flimsy evidence, one of the world’s most notorious terrorists slipped into the United States via Mexico and traveled to Florida without setting off any law enforcement alarms.Though the terrorist’s presence has been an open secret in Miami, neither President George W. Bush nor Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has ordered a manhunt.The U.S. press corps has been largely silent as well -Jerry Meldon & Robert Parry/Consortium News

Scientists have begun putting genes from human beings into food crops in a dramatic extension of genetic modification.The move, which is causing disgust and revulsion among critics, is bound to strengthen accusations that GM technology is creating "Frankenstein foods" and drive the controversy surrounding it to new heights -Independent UK

PART ONE of this commentary explained why reform of America's monetary and banking systems requires introduction of a private electronic gold currency as a parallel medium of exchange in competition with Federal Reserve Notes and the Treasury's base-metallic coinage. Why a State would provide the best vehicle for introducing such a new monetary unit is not too difficult to understand, either -Dr. Edwin Vieira,Jr.,Ph.D.,J.D./NewsWithViews

The European Union could impose limits on cheap Chinese textile and clothing imports if an investigation into the large increase of Chinese goods on the market reveals the European market is being disrupted, EU trade chief Peter Mandelson said Sunday.But he insisted he was not seeking to start a trade war with China

Buffeted by poor poll numbers, Senate Republicans are stressing the Constitution rather than religion or retribution against activist judges as the reason to deny Democrats the right to block votes on President Bush's court nominees."What I do not want to do is cross the line and say those who oppose these nominees are people who lack faith," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told "Fox News Sunday.""I don't believe that. I don't think that's appropriate."

Senate Majority Bill Frist says that in calling for an end to filibusters of judicial nominees, he's just asking senators to do their job, and vote.In a videotaped statement to an evangelical Christian rally called "Justice Sunday," Frist said he'll consider calling for a revision of Senate filibuster rules unless Democrats stop blocking votes on President Bush's court picks -Fox Providence

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that a woman linked to the U.S. military had been arrested while photographing a military installation, and several U.S. citizens were also arrested for taking pictures of a refinery, signs that the Washington may be plotting an invasion of his country.

Growing at a rate of about 900 inmates each week between mid-2003 and mid-2004, the nation's prisons and jails held 2.1 million people, or one in every 138 U.S. residents, the government reported Sunday.