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Revealed: NSA Targeting Domestic Computer Systems In Secret Test -- CNetThe National Security Agency's Perfect Citizen program hunts for vulnerabilities in "large-scale" utilities, including power grid and gas pipeline controllers, new documents from EPIC show.Newly released files...

‘Stormin’ Norman,’ 1934–2012 -- TimeFor those who came of age during World War II, or post-9/11, the death Thursday of retired Army general H. Norman Schwarzkopf may not be of great moment. But for those of us who came of age during Vietnam, when that war veered from the discredited Gulf of Tonkin to the Tet Offensive to Kent State, he was a godsend.While...

U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), land at Camp Dwyer, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Nov. 27, 2012. HMLA-169 conducted Operation Aero Hunter in Southern Helmand. U.S. Marine Corps photo...

Falklands Invasion 'Surprised' Thatcher -- BBCThe 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentina caught Margaret Thatcher by surprise, newly released government papers have shown.The then-prime minister only saw it was likely after getting "raw intelligence" two days before the Argentines landed.Papers released under the 30-year rule show Mrs Thatcher...

Afghan and coalition service members prepare to participate in a security transition ceremony on Camp Sayar in Farah City, Afghanistan, Dec. 12, 2012. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Matthew StroupBetrayed While Asleep, Afghan Police Die at Hands of Their Countrymen -- New York TimesKABUL,...

Rebels have trounced government forces in the country's central and northern regions, and are nearing Bangui, the capital. The New York TimesCentral African Republic President Seeks Help Against Rebels -- CNN(CNN) -- The president of the Central African Republic asked Thursday for...

(L-R) Hamdeen Sabahi, Amr Mousa and Mohammed ElBaradei had recently formed a coalition against President Mohammed MorsiEgypt Opposition Leaders Face 'Incitement' Probe -- BBCEgypt's public prosecutor has ordered an inquiry into three prominent opposition leaders.The men will be investigated...

Russia Warns Of 'Bloody Chaos' In Syria -- The TelegraphRussia has warned that Syria would descend into "bloody chaos" should a proposal from Lakhdar Brahimi, the international envoy, to set up a transitional government fail. Mr Brahimi, the international Syrian peace envoy, challenged all sides in the conflict to work together to pave the way for...

West Wary Over Syria's Chemical Stockpiles -- Voice of AmericaIntelligence experts believe Syria has one of the largest chemical weapons arsenals in the world. Experts ask whether the Syrian government might use these weapons against insurgents and whether the rebels could gain access to chemical weapons and use them against the Syrian armed forces....

Photo credit: Just a feature photo taken by Snapdragon in the Sunday Market in Lebanon. Lebanon SpringSyrian Rebels Sidetracked By Scramble For Spoils Of War -- The GuardianLooting, feuds and divided loyalties threaten to destroy unity of fighters as war enters new phaseIt wasn't...

Michele Flournoy, right, with secretary of Defense Leon Panetta at her farewell gathering in January 2012. (Photo credit: Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo/ Department of Defense)If Chuck Hagel Won't Be Secretary of Defense, Who Will Be? -- The Atlantic WireWill President Obama still choose Chuck...

Baghdad-KRG Relations Go From Bad To Worse -- Al-MonitorDay after day, the belief strengthens that the possibilities for a peaceful resolution (or at least containment) of the crisis between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have grown remote, if...

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta conducts a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai after their meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan, Dec 13, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo US Can Walk And Chew Gum At The Same Time -- Leon Panetta, Gulf NewsEven as America rebalances...

Saudi Bank Warning: U.S. Debt Ratio Same As Italy’s -- World TribuneABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia has warned the financial community of a decline of the U.S. dollar.Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank said the debt burden of the United States has reached the same ratio of Italy, deemed...

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economyAdministration Abandoning Hagel -- Alana Goodman, MSNBC Politico’s Mike Allen reported on “Morning Joe” today that Chuck Hagel’s potential defense secretary nomination is on the rocks, after the administration realized there is “not a natural constituency for him.” Don’t...

WNU Editor: Retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf has passed away at the age of ...

The Fiscal Cliff's Greatest Threat Is to American Unity -- National JournalThe fiscal cliff was an opportunity to push off partisanship. But, following incentives, legislators only increased it.The real issue in the frantic final flailing over the fiscal cliff isn’t whether Washington...

Obama Calls Leaders For Friday Talks In Effort To Reach Fiscal Cliff Breakthrough -- The GuardianBoehner reconvenes House of Representatives on Sunday evening as Harry Reid says deadline will probably be missedBarack Obama will meet congressional leaders on Friday as members of the House of Representatives prepare to return to Washington for a last-ditch...

Iran Will Open Suspect Military Base If Threats Dropped: Report -- ReutersIran would let U.N nuclear inspectors into a military base they suspect was used for atomic weapons-related work, if threats against the Islamic Republic are dropped, a government official was quoted as saying.The...

Record Number Of Americans Oppose Handgun Ban -- Washington PostAn unprecedented number of Americans support the right to own a handgun, despite the recent mass killings at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., that have renewed the push for gun control.Even with the killings in...

My Comment: My work project for today .... the treeline is the St. Lawrence river .... and since this video was taken, another 15cm have fallen. But I am not complaining. My place up north got 100cm on Friday, and I am scared to drive up there and work on that monster.The joys of...

No Accountability For Americans Murdered In Benghazi -- IBD EditorialAccountability: As with Fast and Furious, the designated scapegoats for the deaths of Americans at the hands of administration bungling will merely be switching desks. Only the maker of that irrelevant video is in jail.Reports of the resignation of four State Department officials...

Top 10 Security Clearance Stories Of 2012 -- CNN2012 has been a busy year at Security Clearance. From the U.S. diplomatic facility attack in Benghazi, Libya to the Petraeus sex scandal to the future of Afghanistan and the Pentagon preparing(or not) to fall off the fiscal cliff.But...

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Michael Tarasiewicz and an Afghan policeman speak with a village official in Khoni Kwar village in Afghanistan's Khowst province, Dec. 14, 2012. Tarasiewicz is assigned to Company A, 3rd Special Troops Battalion. U.S. soldiers and Afghan police were trying to gain...

UN Envoy, Moscow Call For Revival Of Syria Plan That Envisions Transitional Government -- Washington Post/APBEIRUT — Russia and the U.N called Thursday for the resuscitation of a peace initiative for Syria that never got off the ground when it was proposed months ago because both parties to the conflict rejected it.The plan, unveiled by world powers...

F-22s and a B-2 fly over Guam in 2009. Photo: Air ForcePentagon Preps Stealth Strike Force To Counter China -- Danger RoomThe U.S. military has begun a staged, five-year process that will see each of its three main stealth warplane types deployed to bases near China. When the deployments...

A suspected uranium-enrichment facility near Qom, 156 km southwest of Tehran, in this September 27, 2009 satellite photograph released by DigitalGlobe. Photo: REUTERS/DigitalGlobeIran Blames US And Israel For Spree Of Cyber Attacks -- Sydney Morning HeraldIran has reported a spree...

International peace envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi speaks to the media after meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus Dec 24, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]UN Envoy Calls For Syrian Transitional Government -- Voice of AmericaAs diplomacy to end the Syria crisis escalates, peace...

I live in Montreal, Canada .... and we are being hit with a massive snow storm right now (40cm. of snow). Power just came back on, which means that I can now blog .... unfortunately .... I must first clean the snow drifts from my car and around my house. Regular blogging will return (with updates) in the next hour or two. Yes .... I will post some...