January 27 - Amnesty International today revealed disturbing new evidence of the brutal methods used by Tunisian security forces to stop anti-government protests, including doctors' testimonies that demonstrators were shot from behind and others felled by single shots suggesting deliberate intent to kill.

More than 24 million Americans with asthma, including over 7 million children, are at increased risk of adverse health consequences if 123 U.S. House members in 35 states are successful in preventing the US EPA from updating the Clean Air Act, according to data compiled by the Natural Resources Defense Council and released with Health Care Without Harm. The lawmakers collectively have received over $27,292,000 from polluters, many of which have made stopping the EPA a high priority.

A warning to Canadians smuggling batches of "B.C. bud" or other contraband into the United States: Beware the eyes in the sky.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced this afternoon that the agency will fully deregulate Monsanto's controversial genetically engineered alfalfa. The choice was favored by the biotech industry and one of three options identified in the USDA's Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) released last month.

The vast majority of Internet services shut, cell phone service restricted and baseball bat-wielding government thugs hit the streets and hundreds detained by police. Tens of thousands protest in Cairo and Alexandria in the largest anti-government demonstrations since 1977 with the Muslim Brotherhood, who had stayed out of initial demonstrations, joining in. One observer describes events as "beyond historic."

AP video found on Youtube.  First minute shows the raw footage.  (Graphic)   This is how governments react...

Pictures From inside the Egypt Protest. (Mirror)

Reports are emerging that Internet has gone down in Cairo and perhaps throughout Egypt, only hours before the largest planned protests yet. According to a report from The Arabist, "Egypt has shut off the internet."

Vermont state Senator Virginia Lyons on Friday (last) introduced legislation to rescind the legal designation "person" as applied to corporations. Sources say the law has a good chance of passing.

Yemen protests: Thousands call on president to leave Thousands of Yemenis are demonstrating in the capital Sanaa, calling on Ali Abdullah Saleh, president for more than 30 years, to step down. This comes after mass protests in Egypt and a popular uprising in Tunisia that ousted its long-time leader. Yemeni opposition members and youth activists gathered in four parts of the city, including Sanaa University, chanting anti-government slogans. They also called for economic reforms and an end to corruption. Yemenis complain of mounting poverty among a growing young population and frustration with a lack of political freedoms. The country has also been plagued by a range of security issues, including a separatist movement in the south and an uprising of Shia Houthi rebels in the north. There are fears that Yemen is becoming a leading al-Qaeda haven, with the high numbers of unemployed youths seen as potential recruits for Islamist militant groups. 'Time for change' Protesters gathered in several locations of the city on Thursday morning, chanting that it was "time for change", and referring to the popular uprising in Tunisia that ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali earlier this month. ...