At the risk of escalating the crisis into a major conflagration with the Western powers Iran has removed U.N. seals on its uranium enrichment equipment, announcing it will resume nuclear research Tuesday. Meanwhile a Washington lobby group calling for regime change in Tehran divulged that Iran now has 5,000 centrifuge machines for installation at the Natanz nuclear facility.-SpaceWar

The launching of an outright war using nuclear warheads against Iran is now in the final planning stages. Coalition partners, which include the US, Israel and Turkey are in "an advanced stage of readiness". Various military exercises have been conducted, starting in early 2005. In turn, the Iranian Armed Forces have also conducted large scale military maneuvers in the Persian Gulf in December in anticipation of a US sponsored attack.-Michel Chossudovsky/GlobalResearch.ca

“You become what you hate…” A smell of 'fin de régime’ hangs over Washington, just as it did over the last days of decaying Soviet empire when an out of touch leader presided over a lost foreign war, and a swamp of influence peddling and bribery, as the secret police struggled to keep a lid on growing dissent.-Eric S. Margolis

The boom of thunder and crackle of lightning generally mean one thing: a storm is coming. Curiously, though, the biggest storms of all, hurricanes, are notoriously lacking in lightning. Hurricanes blow, they rain, they flood, but seldom do they crackle. Surprise: During the record-setting hurricane season of 2005 three of the most powerful storms--Rita, Katrina, and Emily--did have lightning, lots of it. And researchers would like to know why [weather modification?].-Science.NASA.gov

Survey finds 1 in every 53 households filed for protection in 2005.-CNN/Money

For voracious China, no regime is off limits in its search for minerals.-London Times

Americans need to ask themselves if the White House is in competent hands when a $70 billion war becomes a $2 trillion war. Bush sold his war by understating its cost by a factor of 28.57. Any financial officer anywhere in the world whose project was 2,857 percent over budget would instantly be fired for utter incompetence.-Paul Craig Roberts/NewsMax

A Zogby survey of 3,900 Arabs in Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates has uncovered massive distrust of U.S. motives in the Middle East. Unkindest cut of all, Arabs would prefer that President Chirac and France lead the world rather than us, and, rather than have us as the world’s lone superpower, they would prefer the Chinese.-Patrick J. Buchanan

People have begun to speak of impeaching President George W. Bush--not in hushed whispers but openly, in newspapers, on the Internet, in ordinary conversations and even in Congress.As a former member of Congress who sat on the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment proceedings against President Richard Nixon, I believe they are right to do so.I can still remember the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach during those proceedings, when it became clear that the President had so systematically abused the powers of the presidency and so threatened the rule of law that he had to be removed from office -Elizabeth Holtzman/The Nation

In a December 22, 2005 letter to Congress, Assistant Attorney General William Moschella tried to defend Bush's actions to the literally hundreds of members who were left out of the loop.Americans should be outraged at this power grab undertaken in the guise of protecting national security. It's up to us--regardless of party affiliation--to demand that our leaders, in all branches of government, serve us, not themselves, and govern within the law -Elaine Cassel/FindLaw

The Baltimore-based chapter of the national Iraq Pledge of Resistance is an anti-war organization working for peace by challenging people in power, educating the public and getting citizens to take action. In this interview, Maria Allwine of the Pledge, describes how the National Security Agency (NSA) is spying on them. These allegations, which have not been reported in the media despite attempts to get coverage, are based on documents received by the pledge in litigation with the government -Kevin B. Zeese/LewRockwell.com

American troops in Baghdad yesterday(Sunday) blasted their way into the home of an Iraqi journalist working for the Guardian and Channel 4, firing bullets into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife and children.Ali Fadhil, who two months ago won the Foreign Press Association young journalist of the year award, was hooded and taken for questioning. He was released hours later -Guardian UK

Iraq's most influential Shiite politician said Wednesday that he would not allow a new government to "change the essence" of the country's constitution, despite a promise made to Sunni Arabs that it would be opened to major revision.The promise of future changes to the constitution had been a key concession to encourage Sunni Arabs to join the political process in Iraq and stop violence. Last summer, Sunnis were ready to walk away from the negotiating table as the country's ruling Shiite and Kurdish coalition wrote a constitution that allowed the creation of strong regional provinces p-Washington Post

Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales said his government plans to seize oil and gas reserves owned by international companies, leaving other assets such as pipelines and refineries in the hands of foreign operators.``The state will exercise its right of ownership and that means it will decide on the use of those resources,'' Morales told reporters today in Pretoria, South Africa, where he is visiting the country's President Thabo Mbeki. Oil companies ``will be partners, not owners,'' he said -Bloomberg

With less than two weeks to go before he takes office as Bolivia's first indigenous president, Evo Morales is already facing the dilemma of how to satisfy voters wooed by his talk of nationalising the country's natural gas resources while calming investors with a more flexible policy on foreign capital.Now it is a question of dealing with concrete interests, as demonstrated by the president-elect - the former leader of Bolivia's coca farmers and the head of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party - on a hasty tour that has taken him to Cuba, Venezuela, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, China and South Africa, and will end with visits to Brazil and Argentina -Franz Chávez/IPS

U.S. border patrol agents investigating a caved-in road discovered a tunnel linking the United States and Mexico, the third such passage found in three years near the San Ysidro, California, crossing, authorities said Wednesday.The tunnel -- which (spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)Mack described as "primitive" -- surfaced in U.S. territory in a strip of land between the border fence and a public parking lot. It's just west of the San Ysidro port of entry into the United States, one of the busiest land border posts in the world, she said -CNN

"Create an e-annoyance, go to jail"--referenced the text of a bill that President Bush signed last week, but I can't find the word "annoy" in it. What gives? Figuring out exactly what Congress did takes a few minutes. But it's not too difficult.-Declan McCullagh/Prison Planet

China's government has initiated the first police force designed to monitor the Internet. Authorities in Shenzhen said the police force began Jan. 1 and will monitor “everything that is said in online forums,” the Hong Kong Ming Pao reported.-World Tribune

It's no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.-News.com