Greetings, all!

International Developments

❖ “ Eleven Afghan police defect to Taliban in Helmand province.” This is not the first time, either; recently “a police commander and 13 junior officers joined in Taliban in western Farah province.”

❖ The Taliban has claimed responsibility for this: “Two gunmen wearing Afghan army uniforms killed a U.S. soldier and wounded two others Tuesday . . ..”

❖ “Unending War Makes Life ‘Misery’ for Afghans” . According to a new Gallup poll, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 10 (best), Afghans on average rated their life situation as a 3.88. And the future? Misery as far as the Afghan eye can see.

❖ Mass arrests in Greece continued today, with 7,000 immigrants detained. 2,000, mainly Africans and Asians, were subsequently placed under arrest and ordered deported.

❖ On the Ivory Coast, fighters loyal to ex-president Gbagbo , currently in The Hague, killed 11 soldiers while attacking Abidjan. Many weapons were seized during the raid.

❖ “ Internal Canadian Security Intelligence Service memos reveal the key role that the recently formed Information Sharing Evaluation Committee plays in determining if the spy agency makes use of . . . information received from abroad [that] is gained by torture.”

Money Matters USA

❖ “ Pharmaceutical companies, military contractors, banks and other corporations are on track to pay as much as $8 billion this year to resolve charges of defrauding the government, analysts say . . ..” But where are the “charges against executives at the companies that are getting the stiffest penalties”?

❖ MetLife, “the insurer seeking an exit from banking to limit U.S. regulation, was penalized $3.2 million by the Federal Reserve for lapses tied to the servicing of loans and handling of foreclosures.”

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