Hospitals Performed Needless Double CT Scans, Records Show

By WALT BOGDANICH and JO CRAVEN McGINTY

Hundreds of hospitals across the country needlessly exposed patients to radiation by scanning their chests twice on the same day, records indicate.

Should Wealth Be Held by the Few or Everyone? -- That's the Central Focus of Protests from Spain to Greece

What started in Spain is now clearly spreading across Europe, where we have witnessed social movements making similar demands for economic democracy.

Keith Olbermann on Rachel Maddow, Glenn Beck and Leaving MSNBC

On the cusp of a new show and a new network, the superstar political host opens up to "Rolling Stone" in a revealing interview.

9 Countries That Do It Better: Why Does Europe Take Better Care of Its People Than America?

The world's wealthy democracies have somewhat different priorities, leading to some very different outcomes for their citizens.

Palestinian Youth Channel an Old Struggle Through New Media

Student activists in the West Bank are educating themselves in grassroots organizing strategies--on the ground and on the Web.

Obama's Favorite Banker Jamie Dimon Bitches About Regulations, Has Short Memory

JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon hopes we’ll forget that we bailed out his bank along with all the other big players on Wall Street

Clans and Tribes Forge New Yemen Unity

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

The very length of Yemen's protests - far longer than the 18 days of Egypt's Tahrir Square uprising - may be helping to overcome the country's deep fissures.

By ELISABETH BUMILLER and THOM SHANKER (NYT)

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, along with Adm. Mike Mullen, said the relationship between the United States and Pakistan contributed to stability in the region.

By WILLIAM J. BROAD (NYT)

Experts say the long-delayed satellite might be used for limited military reconnaissance as well as for tracking earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters.

Yesterday, the House is debating the annual Agriculture Appropriations bill, which appropriates funds for the Department of Agriculture and similar agencies. The committee-passed bill provides a spending level of $17.25 billion, which is $2.7 billion less than FY 2011 appropriations.

While $2.7 billion is a good start -enough to invoke the most vile class warfare from Democrats - there is still more to cut. This is part of a growing pattern with all of the appropriations bills. The Republican-led committees have offered some solid cuts around the edges, but fail to strike deeper, more consequential cuts. Keep in mind that while these cuts might appear significant, when compared against the profligate baseline of recent budgeting, they will not reverse the tide of the debt insolvency that awaits us. That’s one job that Obama’s ATM will not execute successfully. To that end, the RSC is offering an amendment today which would cut an additional $1.8 billion from the USDA.

So. Somebody in the Obama administration is telling lies to the House Oversight/Government Reform Committee. That’s not smart. When people tell lies to House committees, people go to jail.

Background on this: this is all about the BATF/Justice Department Operations Gunrunner and Fast & Furious, which were originally purported to be methods by which [illegal purchases of] guns could be detected and arrested*. However, they instead turned into methods by which Mexican drug cartels were able to get their hands on [illegally-purchased semi-automatic] weapons. You see, the problem was that while selling the guns to middlemen (’straw purchasers’) [who intend to sell the guns illegally] is in itself a standard ’sting’ operation, somehow the guns continued on down the supply chain until they resurfaced in Mexico. The end result was inevitable: somebody used a BATF-supplied gun to kill Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

Five of the Nastiest Examples of Wal-Mart Evil

From worker mistreatment to putting local stores out of business, here's how Wal-Mart is still fighting for the wrong side.

But, the truth of the matter is that presidential nomination fights are rarely decided by a single debate or speech but rather by the far more mundane day in, day out work by a candidate.

By JUDY DEMPSEY (NYT)

The unwillingness of many European countries to spend more on defense and the relatively modest participation in the Libyan campaign are among the signs of a fading trans-Atlantic military alliance.

This week’s legislative schedule in both houses of Congress will provide Republicans (and faux moderate Democrats) a unique opportunity to efface farm welfare by eliminating ethanol credits/tariffs and direct farm subsidies.

On the House side, the annual Agriculture Appropriations bill is expected to hit the floor as early as Tuesday. Earlier this month, the Appropriations Committee passed the FY 2012 Ag bill, cutting $2.6 billion from 2011 spending levels, and most notably, $686 million from the WIC program. The committee also approved an amendment by Jeff Flake to cut off direct subsidies for farms owned by those with more than $250,000 in gross adjusted income.

I think Mitt Romney did not just win the New Hampshire debate by holding his own, but legitimately won it with his answers and composure. He was unnecessarily defensive on the Afghan question, but largely showed his experience with Presidential debates.

The surprise last night was Michelle Bachmann. If there was a winner of the anti-Romney coalition, Michelle Bachmann not only one, but won by a wide margin. Suddenly, for many, the flirtation toward Herman Cain and others will go in Bachmann’s direction. Bachmann’s stellar performance also contrasted with Tim Pawlenty who could have sealed the deal, or taken substantial steps toward sealing the deal, of being the anti-Romney candidate. Had his backing off of “Obamneycare” been later in the debate, i think it would have done less damage. But coming so soon into the debate, it clouded the rest of his performance, which had some really good moments. His defense of “right to work” was stellar.

AFL-CIO's Trumka Calls for Labor Movement Separate from Parties: 'I've Had a Snootful of This Shit!' AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sent his strongest signal yet about the labor movement’s frustration with the dysfunctional politics of the moment.

The GOP’s New Hampshire Primary debate begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET. CNN is hosting the debate and you can watch it live there.

By JOSH KRON (NYT)

The United Nations is evacuating nonessential staff from Kadugli, where heavy fighting erupted a week ago.

Many State Legislators Lack College Degrees

By WINNIE HU

About one in four of the nearly 7,400 elected representatives across the country do not possess a four-year college degree, a study found.

U.S. Said to Turn Back North Korea Missile Shipment

By DAVID E. SANGER

Americans did not board the ship, which returned home after several days of diplomatic pressure from Washington and Asian nations.

Some Police Recruits Impose 'Islamic Tax' on Afghans

By ROD NORDLAND

Residents are often forced to hand over a tenth of their earnings, just as they were when the Taliban ran things.

Syrian Troops Retake Control of Rebellious Town in North

By LIAM STACK

Backed by tanks and helicopter gunships, government forces smashed what remained of an armed uprising in Jisr al-Shoughour, after residents fled into neighboring Turkey.

F.B.I. Agents Get Leeway to Push Privacy Bounds

By CHARLIE SAVAGE

The F.B.I. plans to issue a new edition of its manual giving agents more leeway to search databases, go through household trash or use surveillance teams to scrutinize people.

The GOP's 'My Best Friend Is Black' Strategy
In a pitiable field of 2012 GOP presidential nominees, Herman Cain has found a way to stand out from the pack by learning to play the "black best friend" to the GOP.

The Palestinian & Israel Moves

Researched by: Gabriel Kazakias

Palestinians from the founding of Israel until 1967 had as their primary function the destruction of Israel.

After Israel’s victory with Lebanon in the June 1967 war the Palestinians were pushing for the creation of an independent state. The PLO strategy was to try to position themselves as being open to negotiations and simultaneously to seem extremely dangerous in order to motivate other nations to pressure Israel.

For the Palestinians, the most significant loss was the decision by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to shift from the Soviet alliance and make peace with Israel. This isolated the and made them dependent on the Soviets. Finally the PLO lost its sponsorship from the Soviets as it had lost Jordanian and Egyptian support in the 1970s.

Later the emergence of Hamas, a radically new sort of Palestinian movement which ultimately split between Hamas and Fatah and the rise of the Hezbollah in Lebanon, increased the cost of insurrection to the Israelis. Essentially, the Palestinians were trying to organize resistance to Israel while they waging a civil war with each other. The Palestinians had always fought one another while they fought common enemies.

One of the significant problems the Palestinians had was the hostility of the Arab world. The Egyptians opposed Hamas as a threat to their regime the Jordanians hated Fatah, having long memories about the Black September rising in 1970 that almost destroyed the Hashemite regime. The Syrians have never been happy with the concept of an independent Palestinian state because they retain residual claims to all former Syrian provinces, including Lebanon, Israel and Jordan.

Therefore, the strategic position of the Palestinians has been extremely weak they have been able to put stress on Israel but not come anywhere close to endangering it as a country.

From Israel’s point of view, as long as Gaza was contained, they were in an extraordinarily secure position. Even Iran’s attempt to meddle was of little consequence. Hezbollah was as much concerned with Lebanese politics as it was with fighting Israel, and Hamas would take money from anyone. In the end, Hamas did not want to become an Iranian pawn, and Fatah knew that Iran could be the end of it.

In a sense, the Palestinians have been in checkmate since the fall of the Soviet Union. They were divided, holding on to their public, dealing with a hostile Arab world and, except for the suicide bombings that frightened but did not weaken Israel, they had no levers to change the game. The Israeli view was that the status quo, which required no fundamental shifts of concessions, was satisfactory.

Where there have been revolutions they have not been necessarily democratic, and where they have appeared democratic they have not been mass movements capable of changing regimes. One does not have to believe in the Arab Spring to see countries like Egypt change their positions on the Palestinians, as evidenced by Egypt’s decision to open the Rafah border crossing. In Egypt, as in other Arab countries, the Palestinian cause is popular. With the exception of Jordan, which really does have to fear a Palestinian state, countries that were hostile to the Palestinians could be more supportive and states that had been minimally supportive could increase their support.

This is precisely what the Palestinians want, and this is the reason that Hamas and Fatah have signed an agreement for unity. They see the risings in the Arab world as a historic opportunity.  

The ability to connect the Palestinian cause with regime preservation represents a remarkable opportunity. So Egypt could, at the same time, be repressive domestically — and even maintain the treaty with Israel — while dramatically increasing support for the Palestinians.

The key strategy that the Palestinians have adopted is that of provocation. The 2010 flotilla from Turkey was an action that from the outside seems benign but perceived by the Israelis as threatening. So they designed an incident that seem benign; and use it to undermine international support for the Israelis.

The Palestinians understand Israeli limits, which are predictable, and can trigger them at will. The more skillful Palestinians are, the more it will appear that they are the victims. Fatah supports a two-state solution and Hamas opposes it. And so long as Hamas opposes it, there can be no settlement. But Hamas, as part of this strategy, will do everything it can to make it appear flexible on it. This will further build pressure on Israel.

But Israel has a superb countermove, giving the Palestinians what they want and betting that they will reject it. Of course, the problem with this strategy is that the Palestinians might accept the deal, with Hamas secretly intending to resume the war from a better position.

Israel has three possible outcomes. One is to hold the current. The second is to accept the concept of the 1967. The third outcome, a dangerous one, is for the Palestinians to accept the deal and then double-cross the Israelis. But then if that happens, Israel has the alternative to return to the old borders.

The Israelis want to isolate the Palestinians, and the Palestinians are trying to isolate the Israelis. The center of gravity of Palestinian weakness is the inability to form a united front around the position that Israel has a right to exist.

By ROBERT J. SHILLER (NYT)

After so many years of great expectations, Americans have turned much less optimistic about long-term housing prices, and the change is coloring much of their thinking.

(NYT)

The recent deluge of weak economic data has led to a guessing game among analysts. Is the weakness temporary? Or is there more bad news to come?

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (NYT)

At least 34 people died and nearly 100 were wounded after two explosions went off in Peshawar on Sunday.

Too Big to Fail, or Too Trifling for Oversight?

By ERIC DASH and JULIE CRESWELL

Companies concerned with stricter oversight that could erode profits have been lobbying financial regulators to avoid being designated "systemically important."

For the Executive With Everything, a $230,000 Dog to Protect It

By JOHN TIERNEY

A growing number of wealthy people around the world are coveting the security - and status - provided by a dog with the right credentials.

Residents Flee as Syrian Forces Bombard Town

By LIAM STACK and SEBNEM ARSU

Syrian security forces continued to bombard the town of Jisr al-Shoughour on Saturday as people struggled to escape, residents said.