European firms are warned that they are the main target of illicit trade in weapons parts.-London Guardian

The government issued cleanup standards Tuesday for a "dirty bomb" terrorist attack that would in some cases be far less rigorous than what is required for Superfund sites, nuclear power plants and nuclear waste dumps.-FOX News

Louisiana's first bills from FEMA for its share of federal hurricane recovery efforts arrived over the holidays, and they were a doozy: $155.7 million, with a 30-day due date before interest starts accruing. And more bills are expected to arrive in the coming months as federal officials tally their costs after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.-WWL, New Orleans

As Bush's hero Churchill said, "To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war." Truman talked to Stalin, Ike to Khrushchev, Nixon to Mao. After 25 years, it's time for Bush to talk to Tehran. For neither of us would benefit from a war.-Pat Buchanan/WorldNetDaily

James Comey and Patrick Fitzgerald: Bush's ultimate targets in NSA leak probe? Recent word from NSA is that long time employees of the agency are livid that its signals intelligence has been misused by the neo-cons for political purposes. The bottom line: expect more leaks.-Wayne Madsen/Rense.com

A document seen by the London Guardian details a web of front companies and middlemen.

"We are looking for the best person capable of meeting the demands of the job."-London Times

Israeli police have evidence that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's family received $3m in bribes, it has been alleged on an Israeli television channel.-BBC

A new addition to BB's armour made its presence known. A loving security camera perfectly positioned to snap the mugshot of the potential terrorists passing through. It's not obligatory, but if you refuse, they have grounds to take your photo anyway.-Prison Planet

In the heat of this current battle to rationalize why Bush decided to circumvent the FISA court and illegally spy on whomever he personally felt needed spying on, don't you find it a bit odd that they aren't vociferously and repeatedly invoking the case of Zacarias Moussaoui?And every move they make is either prefaced or followed by the words "9/11." -Kerry Tomasi/Online Journal

There are only two weapons in the imperial tool chest: force and deception. The brutal colonial occupation of Iraq has provided us with a lavish example of the former, but the twin-axel of deception is more abstruse and difficult to pin down.The levers of the fascist state have been carefully assembled behind a smokescreen of demagoguery provided by fellow-travelers in the corporate media(read 'PTB' every place the author says 'Bush administration'). -Mike Whitney/Online Journal

And I knew all along that if I failed to bring this man around something dire would happen to him. And, you know, this is what’s going on in Latin America right now. Evo Morales is being visited this week by an economic hit man who’s going into his office saying, ‘Congratulations, Mr. President –’ -Democracy Now

President Hugo Chavez announced an agreement Tuesday with visiting Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales to supply diesel fuel and cash to his poor Andean nation as the two leftist leaders united in denouncing free-market economics. Morales' next stops are Spain, France, Belgium, South Africa, China and Brazil, but not Washington. Morales' spokesman says he was not invited to Washington, where officials have expressed concern of the growing alliance between Morales, Chavez and Castro

In his famous speech, Henry shouted, "What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"Compare the spirit of Patrick Henry with the spirit of modern day conservatives. What do we hear from them? What is their clarion call? -Pastor Chuck Baldwin/NewsWithViews

Drivers with cell phones are being tracked in a new government program designed to monitor the location and speed of cell phones in vehicles moving along Missouri highways.The state of Missouri has entered into a $6.2 million contract with National Engineering Technology Corporation (NET) to track cell phone users, without their permission.Cell phone tracking is also taking place in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Norfolk, Va., Atlanta and Macon, Ga. -David Bresnahan/NewsWithViews

The Justice Department will seek dismissal of lawsuits from more than 300 Guantanamo Bay detainees fighting the legality of their confinement, using a new law that the Bush administration says sharply limits existing challenges. Advocates for detainees quickly registered their opposition Tuesday.The measure, part of the Defense Appropriations Act that President Bush signed last week, was intended to allow detainees at the U.S. naval base in Cuba to appeal their detention status and punishments to a federal appeals court in Washington

Today, former Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to three criminal charges: conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion. The information filed by prosecutors states that Abramoff and his former associate Michael Scanlon conspired to steal millions of dollars from Indian tribes the men represented and from the law firms where Abramoff worked.The information also refers to three unnamed co-conspirators: Representative #1 and Staffers A and B. Representative #1 refers to Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), Staffer A is likely Tony Rudy, former Deputy Chief of Staff to Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Staffer B is Neil Volz, former Chief of Staff to Bob Ney -Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Although morale among members of the professional corps of the U.S. military remains generally high, their confidence in U.S. President George W. Bush and other civilian government leaders slipped substantially during 2005, according to major new survey released Monday by the "Military Times".The survey, the third in an annual series, found that approval of Bush's Iraq policies by military professionals fell from nearly two-thirds at the end of 2004 to just 54 percent in late 2005, while their support for his overall performance dropped from 71 percent to 60 percent over the course of the year -Jim Lobe/IPS