North America

In an unprecedented move, Reporters Without Borders will shut down its English-language website for 24 hours from 8 a.m. EST on 18 January, in protest against two online piracy bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), which are currently working their way through the US Congress.

Today is federal holiday that honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was born January 15th, 1929. He was assassinated April 4, 1968, at Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was just 39 years old. While Dr. King is primarily remembered as a civil rights leader, he also championed the cause of the poor and organized Poor People’s Campaign to address issues of economic justice

Former US Middle East envoy George Mitchell says the idea of launching a military strike against Iran is untenable, as the measure could wreak tremendous havoc on Israel.

At the dawn of the 21st century a new political regime has transformed Canada from global hero – once standing up for peace, people, and nature – to global criminal, plunging into war, eroding civil rights, and destroying environments, says journalist, ecologist and historian Rex Weyler.

The Republican caucuses in Iowa with their cliffhanger ending, confirmed two key political points and left a third ignored. First, Republicans are not enthusiastic about any of the candidates. Second, we have entered a new era in political campaigning after the US Supreme Court decision that unleashed a torrent of unreported corporate money into our electoral process.

All eyes are on Iowa this week, as the hodgepodge field of Republican contenders gallivants across that farm state seeking a win, or at least “momentum,” in the campaign for the party’s presidential nomination. But behind the scenes, a battle is being waged by Republicans—not against each other, but against American voters.

Members of the hacking group Anonymous have claimed credit for hacking into the website of the global intelligence company Stratfor and then making donations to charities using credit card information found unsecured on the Stratfor website. The hacking group also released the information on 4,000 credit cards owned by subscribers of Stratfor’s products.

New York – The UN General Assembly approved a budget of $5.15 billion for all its activities, including mostly humanitarian aid and peace missions, over the period of 2012-2013. Meanwhile, nuclear powers spend more than 90 billion dollars a year on atomic weapons. The U.S. alone spends over 50 billion dollars annually on this weapon of mass destruction.

Accused whistle-blower Pvt. Bradley Manning turned 24 Saturday. He spent his birthday in a pretrial military hearing that could ultimately lead to a sentence of life … or death. Manning stands accused of causing the largest leak of government secrets in United States history. More on Manning shortly. First, a reminder of what he is accused of leaking.

Here we give diffusion to a great song by Mark Lesseraux that has become also a good video produced and directed by Matthew Dimakos:
[http://youtu.be/-b9Bj72qzjg](http://youtu.be/-b9Bj72qzjg)

It is a synthesis of the new spirit that was manifested during 2011 and surely will develop with strenght in the new year to come, since it reflects deep hopes shared by the 99%.