Commentary on Current Events - 2-08
Leslie Thatcher -- False Profits. Grace Huang -- Health Care Spending Skyrockets and Shows No Signs of Tapering. Dahr Jamail -- The US Military: A Mindset of Barbarism, Part 2. David Lightman -- House Likely to End Health Insurers' Antitrust Exemption. Brad Knickerbocker -- "First Dude" Todd Palin Heavily Involved in Governing Alaska. Fran Schor -- A Pitiless, Punitive Giant and the Death of Empire. Michelle Chen -- Same Work, More Play: Cash-Strapped States May Shorten Employee Workweeks.... and more. Browse the continually updating front page at http://www.truthout.org

Iran Building Attack Drones
Iran's military has launched two production lines to build unmanned aircraft with surveillance and attack capabilities, their defense minister said Monday. Iran began a military self-sufficiency program in 1992, under which it produces a large range of weapons, including tanks, medium range missiles, jet fighters and torpedoes.

Major Offensive Against Taliban Stronghold
American and British troops are preparing to assault the Taliban stronghold of Marjah and have been targeting insurgent leaders for assassination. At the British base of Camp Bastion and the adjoining Camp Leatherneck, the U.S. Marine base, troops and munitions have been airlifted in by night to avoid enemy rockets. It is clear that international forces are on the brink of a big battle. In a break from traditional military secrecy, American, British and Afghan commanders have announced that Marjah, the last town in Helmand under Taliban control, will be attacked.

Iran President Calls for Upping Uranium Production
Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered his country's atomic agency on Sunday to begin the production of higher enriched uranium, in a move that's likely to deepen international skepticism about the country's real intentions on the crucial issue of enriched uranium.

Avalanche Kills Indian Soldiers
A massive avalanche plowed into an Indian army training center at a ski resort town in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday, killing 17 soldiers and critically injuring 17 others. The avalanche hit the army's High Altitude Warfare School at about 11 a.m. and swept away the soldiers during a training session. According to officials it was the worst avalanche in the area in many years.

American Abducted in Iraq
Shiite militants kidnapped an Iraqi-American contractor after luring him into central Baghdad with promises of visiting distant relatives, an Iraqi defense official said Saturday, after a video apparently showing the man surfaced online. The U.S. Department of Defense said Friday that Issa T. Salomi, 60, went missing Jan. 23 in Baghdad and that search and recovery efforts were under way.

India Tests Nuclear-Ready Missile
India again successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable missile Sunday that can hit targets across much of Asia and the Middle East, a defense ministry press release said. It was the fourth test of the Agni III missile, the statement added. The first attempt in 2006 failed, but the last two tests were successful. India's current arsenal of missiles is largely intended for confronting archrival Pakistan. The Agni III, in contrast, is India's longest-range missile, designed to reach 1,900 miles — putting China's major cities well into range, as well as Middle Eastern targets.

Skier Survives After Being Buried in Avalanche
Swiss police say a skier survived for 17 hours buried beneath an avalanche before being pulled from the snow with only mild hypothermia. Police in the southern canton of Valais say the 21-year-old man appeared to have survived because he was trapped next to a pocket of air. The unidentified man's family had reported him missing on Saturday afternoon in the Evolene region about 50 miles east of Geneva. Rescuers found the man beneath 20 inches of snow on Sunday.

Strong Quake Hits Off Japan's Coast
A strong earthquake shook several small islands off Japan's southern coast on Sunday, rattling buildings over 100 miles away in Taiwan and causing officials to temporarily issue a tsunami warning. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Japan's Meteorological Agency said the earthquake hit at 3:10 p.m. and registered magnitude 6.6.

Iran Detains Workers at Radio Station
Iran has arrested seven people who are linked to a U.S.-funded Farsi-language radio station. The seven are accused of fomenting unrest and working for American spy agencies. The official IRNA news agency and Iran's state radio both cited an Intelligence Ministry statement saying the suspects played a role in violent anti-government demonstrations in Tehran on Dec. 27. On that day, at least eight people were killed and hundreds were arrested during clashes between opposition supporters and security forces.

Israel Open To Peace Talks With Syria
Israel's prime minister attempted to end a war of words with Syria on Sunday, saying his country is open to peace talks with its longtime enemy. Israeli and Syrian officials have traded threats over the past week, raising concerns of an escalation between two countries that have officially been at war for more than 60 years. Syrian President Bashar Assad has accused Israel of avoiding peace and his foreign minister threatened that Israeli cities would come under attack in a future war. Israel's foreign minister responded that Syria would be defeated and Assad and his family would lose power in any future conflict. It has been a quarter-century since Israel and Syria fought directly, but Syria backs the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas. The central point of disagreement between the countries is the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed. Syria has demanded a full withdrawal from the Golan as a condition for peace.

Gates Proposes More Sanctions on Iran
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is calling on the international community to rally together to pressure Iran into abandoning its nuclear program. Gates, who's in Rome as part of a weeklong European trip, told reporters Sunday that if the international community stands together to bring pressure on Iran he believes there's still time for sanctions to work.

Power Plant Explodes in Connecticut
Sunday's massive explosion at the nearly completed plant in Middletown, about 20 miles south of Hartford, killed at least five people and injured a dozen or more. Officials say it happened as workers were clearing a gas line of air. Today, a fire official reported that at least 95 percent of the nearly 100 workers who were at the power plant when it exploded are accounted for.

Going Paperless in Hawaii
Two years ago, In an effort to cut government waste, the Hawaii Senate decided to do away with the overload of paperwork involved with government business. They removed millions of sheets of paper that ended up crowding lawmakers' desks or being thrown into waste baskets. They saw this as not only a saving of time, it was also a way to save taxpayer money. The Senate recently reported its first savings estimate: more than $1.2 million, nearly 8 million pages of paper - the equivalent of more than 800 trees.

Father Accused of "Waterboarding" Daughter
A U.S. soldier has been accused of "waterboarding" his four-year-old daughter because she would not recite her ABCs. Joshua Tabor, 27, of Yelm, Wash., allegedly beat the child before holding her head under water Sunday night in the family's kitchen sink. Tabor, a soldier at the Lewis-McChord base in Tacoma, Wash., has been charged with second-degree assault of a child and is set to appear in court Feb. 16.

Terminally Ill Artist Completes One Last Painting
A terminally ill artist says he has produced his last painting in hopes that it will help authorities in North Carolina solve the 10-year-old case of a missing boy. Renowned Philadelphia artist Frank Bender has created the work to help solve a mystery in South Carolina. Full story HERE

Hensarling Speaks out On the Budget
Delivering the weekly Republican address, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) says that President Obama’s latest job-killing budget spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much from our kids and grand kids. To read the full address click HERE

Shooting Outside CA Nightclub
Police say one person is dead and four critically injured after a shooting outside a nightclub near San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. A police spokesman says the shooting around 1:40 a.m. Sunday took place outside the Suede Nightclub and Lounge on Bay Street. The San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office identified the person killed in the shooting as 19-year-old Lawon Hall, of nearby Richmond. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Flood Warnings in East Texas
Cowleech Fork – Near Greenville affecting Hunt County / Lake Fork Creek – Near Quitman affecting Wood County / Sabine River – Near Mineola, Gladewater to Longview affecting Wood, Gregg and Upshur Counties / Sabine’s South Fork – Near Quinlan affecting Hunt and Rockwall Counties / South Sulphur River- Near Cooper affecting Delta and Hopkins Counties until late Wednesday night / Sulphur River – Near Talco to Naples affecting Titus and Morris Counties

Body Found in East Texas
Titus County authorities believe the body found in the bed of a horse trailer on Harts Bluff Road may be that of a man reported missing January 4. Investigators say clothes on the body matched those that 41-year-old Ryan Wayne Cannon was wearing the night he disappeared. The body has been sent for an autopsy to determine a positive identification and the cause of death.

Cockfighting Operation Closed Down
Deputies in Navarro County in East Texas and the SPCA of Texas arrested 40 people, seized 187 live roosters, 35 eggs and 17 dead birds following a cockfight in Emmett. The roosters are being held under armed guard until a custody hearing later this week.

Softball Tryouts For East Texas Girls
Texas Rattlers under 12 girls softball team to hold tryouts Saturday Feb. 13 and Sunday Feb. 21. Looking for tournament-ready girls with experience. The tryouts will be in Pittsburg. For more info please call Pat at 903-856-8255.

Interview With Debra Medina
Texas Gubernatorial candidate, Debra Medina, is challenging Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchinson in the Republican Primary. Here is a LINK to a recent interview with the candidate.

Early Voting In Texas
Early voting for the March Primary will take place from February 16 through February 26.