Breaking News Thurs. March 3, 2011

Had a bit of a computer meltdown today so this post will be shorter than I'd like. I lost all my links I'd collected! LOL Thank goodness for rj at the Global Glass Onion for the gift of links this morning!

Protests and Rebellions
Time: Gaddafi Repulsed: The Rebels Hold Brega, for Now
BusinessInsider: Qaddafi Takes His First Western Hostages
TheTrench: Countdown: Saleh's Regime Falls in March
Reuters: U.S. assault ships clear Suez, enter Mediterranean

(Reuters) - Two U.S. amphibious assault ships have reached the Mediterranean Sea, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, as Washington intensifies pressure on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to end his four-decade rule.

SOTT: Apocalypse Now! Of Revolutions and Crop Disasters 

Financial News
ZeroHedge: Watch The Highlight Of Today's Congressional Hearing: Ron Paul vs The Bernank
YahooFinance: What to Do If You Haven't Saved Enough for Retirement
FederalReserve: Challenges for State and Local Governments Bernanke Speech
AngryBear: Too Big to Fail? Wall Street and Main Street: How Big Are They? 
Zerohedge: 97% of All U.S. Mortgages are Backed by the Government
Slate: The Politics of Entitlement: David Brooks Will Decide When It's Time for You to Die
Salon: Don't be afraid of economic terrorists
How stupid can we get? A Pentagon-funded study warns that al-Qaida might have helped crash the economy
ZeroHedge: How Did Gaddafi Bypass US Anti-Money Laundering Rules To Bank With Goldman And JPMorgan?


Peak oil and Energy News
EarlyWarning: Global Biofuel Production
SeekingAlpha: Wacky Wednesday! 100$ oil equals No Inflation Says Bernanke!
BusinessInsider: The 23 Governments That Could Get Crushed By Price Inflation


Environmental News
NewsFeed: History Unearthed: Time Capsules Pulled from New Zealand Quake Rubble
ClimateProgress: China’s coal policy is breathtakingly self-destructive
ClimateProgress: Australia’s farms “particularly vulnerable” to climate change, adviser Ross Garnaut Says


Police State, Big Brother, Surveillance
MailOnline: Council and police blasted for hiring 'sniffer wardens' to smoke out drivers who light up in company cars Drivers who light cigarettes in company cars are being hunted down by 'sniffer wardens' after a council teamed up with police to smoke them out. (Dear God, this is just ridiculous.)

Tendring District Council and Essex Police are so eager to catch employees
having a puff behind the wheel that they've set up road blocks across the
county.
Armed with nothing but a heightened sense of smell, the sharp-nosed
enforcers lie in wait, sniffing inside the cars of suspected lawbreakers,
and scouring for used ashtrays.

Forbes: Documents Reveal TSA Research Proposal To Body-Scan Pedestrians, Train Passengers

Science and Technology
Time: China's Most Secret Weapon: The Messenger Pigeon
Wired: An Unknown Ocean: The Other Rhythms of Life 

Medical and Health
Mercola: The Spice that Helps Prevent Cancer - Now Being Used to Repair Stroke Damage

Wikileaks
ArsTechinca: Alleged WikiLeaker could face death penalty
Wired: Bradley Manning Charged With 22 New Counts, Including Capital Offense

Other News
ArsTechinca: "No lobbying," says senator before taking movie biz lobby job
Reuters: Fringe Westboro church to resume anti-gay protests

(Reuters) - The fringe Westboro Baptist Church, which has infuriated many with anti-gay protests at funerals of U.S. soldiers, said on Wednesday it plans to continue demonstrating after winning a Supreme Court ruling.

LAT: Gingrich woos evangelicals as he eyes presidential bid

In recent years, the twice-divorced former GOP leader has met often with conservative pastors, expressing contrition for his personal history and providing financial and strategic support for their causes, most notably their fight against same-sex marriage.

The Forums
TinfoilPalace: It’s not quite Avatar, but this DNA video comes close
TinfoilPalace: Economic Collapse--White Dragon Society--Vatican--Emergency Evacuations (B. Fulford)
TheOilAge: Stoneleigh shows her true colors
TheOilAge: Only a recession stands in way of $200 oil (Jeff Rubin)
Hubberts-Arms: Supreme Court rules for anti-gay church over military funeral protests
Hubberts-Arms:  Fox News' Lies Keep Them Out of Canada
Hubberts-Arms: Senior Israeli Diplomat Quits, Can No Longer Support Government Policies
SilentCountry: Thread: Top 100 Items to Disappear First During a National Emergency
SilentCountry: Has the Earth's sixth mass extinction already started?
The Earth could be on the brink of the sixth mass extinction in history, claim scientists.