Ever complain on Facebook that you were feeling “sick?” Told your friends to “watch” a certain TV show? Left a comment on a media website about government “pork?” If you did any of those things, or tweeted about your recent vacation in “Mexico” or a shopping trip to “Target,” the Department of Homeland Security may have noticed.

In the latest revelation of how the federal government is monitoring social media and online news outlets, the Electronic Privacy Information Center has posted online a 2011 Department of Homeland Security manual that includes hundreds of key words (such as those above) and search terms used to detect possible terrorism, unfolding natural disasters and public health threats. The center, a privacy watchdog group, filed a Freedom of Information Act request and then sued to obtain the release of the documents.

The 39-page “Analyst’s Desktop Binder” used by the department’s National Operations Center includes no-brainer words like ”attack,” “epidemic” and “Al Qaeda” (with various spellings). But the list also includes words that can be interpreted as either menacing or innocent depending on the context, such as “exercise,” “drill,” “wave,” “initiative,” “relief” and “organization.”

These terms and others are “broad, vague and ambiguous” and include “vast amounts of First Amendment protected speech that is entirely unrelated to the Department of Homeland Security mission to protect the public against terrorism and disasters,” stated the Electronic Privacy Information Center in letter to the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.

Read the full list - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/homeland-security-manual_n_1299908.html

The US House of Representatives voted 388-to-3 in favor of HR 347 late Monday, a bill which is being dubbed the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011. In the bill, Congress officially makes it illegal to trespass on the grounds of the White House, which, on the surface, seems not just harmless and necessary, but somewhat shocking that such a rule isn’t already on the books. The wording in the bill, however, extends to allow the government to go after much more than tourists that transverse the wrought iron White House fence. Under the act, the government is also given the power to bring charges against Americans engaged in political protest anywhere in the country.

Under current law, White House trespassers are prosecuted under a local ordinance, a Washington, DC legislation that can bring misdemeanor charges for anyone trying to get close to the president without authorization. Under HR 347, a federal law will formally be applied to such instances, but will also allow the government to bring charges to protesters, demonstrators and activists at political events and other outings across America.

The new legislation allows prosecutors to charge anyone who enters a building without permission or with the intent to disrupt a government function with a federal offense if Secret Service is on the scene, but the law stretches to include not just the president’s palatial Pennsylvania Avenue home. Under the law, any building or grounds where the president is visiting — even temporarily — is covered, as is any building or grounds “restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance."

The money is continuing to flow in spite of growing demands from Buenos Aires for Britain to surrender the Falkland Islands and the launch yesterday of a trade war against the UK. It led David Cameron to immediately accuse Argentina of pursuing a “policy of confrontation” against Britain. Last night Tory Euro MP Nirj Deva said: “Why is EU aid being sent at the same time Argentina is sabre-rattling and threatening the UK? Why are we giving money to the Argentines that they may use to attack the Falkland Islands? It is potty, dotty and mad. Argentina is hardly a poor country.”

Mark Pritchard, vice chairman of the Commons British-Argentine All Party Group, called for a review of cash for Argentina. The Tory MP said: “Given the short-sighted manoeuvrings of Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, there should be a review of British aid funding. Future funding should be conditional on recognition of the Falkland Islanders’ right to self-determination.” With the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War just a month away,

Argentina’s Industry Minister Debora Giorgi yesterday rang the bosses of at least 20 major companies to urge them to replace imports from Britain. There are fears this will be followed by a general trade war, which could spread to other South American countries. Ms Giorgi said: “It’s important Argentina can determine who its strategic trade partners are. In this sense the government is also sending a signal to those who still use colonialism as a means of accessing foreign natural resources.”

A source added: “The Argentine government wants to establish policies that promote trade relations with those nations that respect its territorial integrity, its sovereignty claims and resources that belong to Argentina.” The Foreign Office hauled in Argentina’s Charge d’Affaires to demand a full explanation.

A third are ignoring the problem and putting off dealing with it, however, and on average, people do not start worrying about their debts until they owe £1,250 or more. One in eight has even turned to gambling to try to fight their way out of debt and about five per cent are resorting to payday loans with interest rates of up to 4,000 per cent.

The rising cost of living is blamed by nearly a third of people for their money problems. Higher energy bills and increased fuel costs have tipped many into debt, the study by The Co-operative Bank found. Households are currently facing the biggest squeeze on their income in more than 80 years. Energy charges are up 24 per cent on 2011 while petrol and diesel are 15 per cent dearer than last year and 26 per cent more expensive than two years ago.

Researchers said that people were taking huge risks by not tackling money problems. They have dubbed the problem the DRIP syndrome, referring to those who deny they are in debt, rationalise the reasons for their financial situation, ignore it and postpone putting their affairs in order. Robin Taylor, head of banking at The Co-operative Bank, said: “It’s no surprise that people are feeling the pinch at the moment and that debts are mounting up but what is surprising is that many people are choosing to ignore their debt.

“Our research also shows that the debt alarm doesn’t go off until people owe more than £1,000, which can be a real struggle to pay back. Managing your money with steps such as writing a list of incomings and outgoings and regularly checking your bank account will help you get on top of your finances.” Kim Stephenson, a finance and psychology expert, said: “Confronting the problems now will start you on the road to making your finances healthier and as a result, help you break out of the spiral of debt-pression and alleviate many of the physical symptoms brought on by money worries.”

The bleak forecasts came as Conservatives urged the Prime Minister to tell EU leaders today that the new treaty, which aims to enforce strict budget eurozone rules, will not work. They fear British interests could be threatened by the treaty which is due to be signed at a two-day summit by 25 of the EU’s 27 members. The UK and the Czech Republic have declined to be involved.

David Cameron won huge praise in December for vetoing a new treaty of all 27 member states, leading to creation of the new deal. In the emergency Commons debate forced by eurosceptic MPs, Tory Richard Drax said: “The political elite in all the eurozone is betraying the people. We are going to have tears over this. We already have riots in Greece. God forbid that we have riots in this country one day when the people realise that we have not been, dare I say, truthful?”

Fellow Tory Peter Bone warned a German-dominated EU had “no chance” of making the euro work and “would result in the greatest political unrest in Europe since the Second World War”. Fellow Tory Bob Stewart warned a centralised economy run by Germany would lead to “total rebellion’’ in Europe. Urging the Government to “insist” on renegotiating existing EU treaties, MP Bill Cash said it was “essential” to have a UK referendum to give the people a say.

As numerous leaks and public comments attest, Israel appears closer than ever to taking military action against Iran. The drumbeats for war are coming from many directions – some of them eerily reminiscent of the build-up to the Iraq war. As Iran steps up its uranium enrichment, the inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose reports are filled with dry descriptions of nuclear centrifuges and cascades, are back at the centre of attention, just as they were in Iraq. Sanctions are being cranked up to squeeze the Iranian economy. There is also a growing feeling of impatience with diplomacy and the idea of negotiating with Tehran.

It is the sort of atmosphere in which ideas that once seemed far-off or dangerous can start to become mainstream and even gather a sense of the inevitable. Yet if Mr Netanyahu really is coming to Washington to test support for a military assault, it is also increasingly clear what the answer is likely to be. While US president Barack Obama might still be sticking to the mantra that “all options are still on the table”, his senior national security officials have in recent weeks made it clear that they remain opposed to an attack by Israel or anyone else.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said last week that it was “premature” to think about a military strike against Iran. James Clapper, director of national intelligence, told the Senate that Iran had not yet made the decision to build a nuclear bomb. “I think they’re keeping themselves in a position to make that decision but there are certain things they have not yet done and have not done for some time,” he said. Admittedly, this is not as decisive a point as it used to be, given that Iran’s other activities have reduced the “break-out” time needed to build a bomb, but it is still an important distinction.

These are the public words of current officials. The opinion of many former members of the national security establishment is even more categorical. “No one I am aware of thinks that there is a positive outcome from a military strike,” Admiral William Fallon, former commander of US Central Command, which covers the Middle East, said last week. Of course, none of this means that Israel will not decide to launch a strike on Iran. Indeed, it is possible that the depth of the scepticism in Washington about the benefits of military action might convince Mr Netanyahu that he has no choice but to go it alone. But amid some of the loose talk about looming war, the reluctance of official Washington is still striking.

Stretches of carriageways have also dropped as a result of the dry conditions, creating unpredictable driving conditions for motorists. The problems are set to worsen as the drought continues and warning signs have already gone up in some areas. Cash-strapped local authorities are facing bills running into tens of millions of pounds and say they are unable to afford repairs - despite drivers complaining some roads look like they have been hit by earthquakes.

Instead, they are planning to appeal to the Department for Transport for extra funding. Among those looking for cash are four neighbouring counties in the East of England - Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Lincolnshire alone has identified 150 areas where roads are cracking, including Holbeach, Spalding, Boston and Bourne. ‘Working within much reduced budgets, there is no money specifically available to redress this problem, which is why we are making a direct bid to the Department for Transport,’ a spokesman said.

‘We want to do all we can to make sure the roads are as safe as possible for people to use. It is early days yet and we can’t put a finger on how much is needed or estimate how much we will get. But if we were given £10 million tomorrow that would not be enough.’ Peterborough City Council has identified 58 roads in need of repair and said it needed £6 million to put them right. Thorney resident Melissa Wainwright, 37, said: ‘When I first saw the cracks I thought there must have been an earthquake. They seem to be getting worse and I’m worried that if the cracks become bigger the road will be unsafe to drive on.’

Last year was the driest year in East Anglia since the 1920s and drought was officially declared in June.

The union warned the strikes could hit petrol supplies and cripple supermarkets, garages and airports nationwide in the worst industrial action since the fuel blockade of 2000. Voting will start next week among 2,000 drivers, who account for 90 per cent of those supplying petrol to UK forecourts. Unite said there had been 'unrelenting attacks' on drivers’ terms and conditions, adding that it had been trying to establish a forum to agree industry-wide best practice on issues such as safety and training.

Matt Draper, Unite national officer said: 'For over a year we have strived to talk some sense into this industry but they have shown no genuine interest in bringing stability to the supply of this vital national commodity. This is not about pay - this is about ensuring that high safety and training standards are maintained so that our communities are safe. It is about a simple measure, the creation of an industry-wide bargaining forum. It is about bringing fairness and stability back to an industry that is now controlled by faceless global giants.'

'This is a clear case of a predatory industry putting its profits and greed before the wider well-being. This workforce is now saying enough is enough.'

Unite said it will serve notice of the ballot for strike action on Wincanton, DHL, Hoyer, BP, J Suckling, Norbert Dentressangle and Turners. For just over a week in September 2000 the nation came to a virtual standstill as protesters blocked the crucial flow of fuel.

We still don't know that this bat flu virus can infect people, according to Donis, who is chief of the molecular virology and vaccines branch in the influenza division at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He and a team of American and Guatemalan researchers isolated the virus from fruit-eating, little yellow-shouldered bats in Guatemala. So far, there is no evidence the newly discovered virus is causing illness among the bats.

The new virus belongs to a family of flu viruses called Influenza A. Birds are natural hosts for these viruses, but they are found in other animals, too, including pigs, horses, seals and whales — and of course, humans, according to the CDC. The flu viruses that cause pandemics generally emerge from infected animal populations, Donis said.

While bats so far haven't been known to contribute to human flu, they have been found carrying a number of diseases that can affect both us and domestic animals, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), rabies and hemorrhagic Marburg virus.

"The Irish people will be asked for their authorization in a referendum to ratify the European stability treaty," Prime Minister Enda Kenny told parliament after the state's top lawyer advised that on balance a plebiscite was necessary. Kenny set no date for the vote in a country that received an EU/International Monetary Fund bailout in 2010 after suffering a banking crisis. Public support for the EU has since fallen due to the unpopularity of harsh austerity measures.

Germany's top court earlier overruled government efforts to push decisions on disbursing euro zone bailout funds through a special fast-track parliamentary panel meeting in secret. That may limit Chancellor Angela Merkel's room for maneuver on future bailouts, which was already in doubt after a revolt by 17 lawmakers in her centre-right coalition against a second rescue package for Greece, approved on Monday.

Growing public hostility in Germany to euro zone bailouts could make it harder for Merkel to agree to an increase in the currency bloc's financial firewall, which major economies are demanding as a condition for giving the IMF more money to fight the fallout from the European crisis.

S&P's head of European sovereign ratings, Moritz Kraemer, said the downgrading of Greece's long-term ratings to 'selective default' could well be short-lived but there was a risk Athens could fall back into default later. When assessing what rating to give Greece in the future, S&P would look at the political environment, the growth outlook and the remaining debt stock. "We think that on all three fronts there are huge question marks," said Kraemer.

The first round was carried out on 21 December when banks borrowed 489 billion euros. The programme is credited with restoring confidence in Europe's banks. "In some cases, time has been bought that will enable banks to work through their difficulties," said Bridget Gandy, in a report by the credit rating agency Fitch.

But Fitch warned that for some smaller banks, it is only the ECB funding that is keeping them afloat. "For other already low-rated banks, the long-term refinancing operation's life-support is merely stalling their demise." The second round of loans is expected to be even bigger than the first as some banks have been reluctant to approach the ECB for fear of looking weak. It is hoped that the funds will make banks stronger and encourage them to loan money to business and consumers.

But analysts question whether that has happened. In its report, Fitch said: "Use to date has been predominantly to replace existing forms of funding."

The move is linked to the dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands, which Argentina claims as the Malvinas. Tension has been rising ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war. The industry ministry is trying to reduce Argentina's trade deficit with the UK and establish policies that favour countries that recognize Argentina's territorial claim, Telam reported.

In recent months the government of President Cristina Fernandez has stepped up its campaign to assert sovereignty over the Falklands, rallying regional support for its claim. It also has a policy of restricting imports through formal and informal means to try to stop foreign currency reserves from flowing out of the country. On Monday two cruise ships were turned back from the Argentine port of Ushuaia, apparently because they had visited the Falklands.

UK foreign office minister Jeremy Browne expressed "sadness and frustration" at that move. "We enter the relationship with Argentina in a spirit of friendship, and it's source of sadness to us that they don't always do the same," he told parliament. The UK, which has controlled the Falklands since 1833, says there can be no negotiations on sovereignty as long as the 3,000 Islanders wish to remain British.

People on higher doses also have an increased risk of cancer, but even those on the lowest doses – between four to 18 pills a year – have a 3.6 times higher risk of dying compared to non-users. Experts say the benefits of taking the tablets, known as hypnotics, do not justify the risks. Their research, published in the BMJ Open, is worrying because about a third of people in the country are thought to suffer from insomnia brought on by stress, and this leads them to take some form of medication.

Dr Trish Groves, editor in chief of BMJ Open, said: “Although the report’s authors have not been able to prove that sleeping pills cause premature death, their analyses have ruled out a wide range of other possible causative factors.” A wide range of drugs was analysed for the US-based study of more than 10,500 people. They included benzodiazepines, which include temazepam and diazepam, non- benzodiazepines – including zolpidem, zopiclone and zaleplon – barbiturates and sedative antihistamines.

In their report the researchers said a move from pills to therapy for insomnia would be much more beneficial. They added: “Against meagre benefits, it is prudent to weigh the evidence of mortality risks from the current study and 24 previous reports, to reconsider whether even short-term use of hypnotics is sufficiently safe.”

Fixing and expanding underground drinking water systems will cost over $1 trillion in the next 25 years and users will get socked with the bill, according to the American Water Works Association. As with most infrastructure investments, spending heavily now means less costs down the road. But with little appetite in the country for even trickling taxes now, a delayed and more expensive fix is almost guaranteed. The association figures that spending to fix leaky water systems will double from roughly $13 billion a year today to $30 billion annually by 2040.

"Because pipe assets last a long time, water systems that were built in the later part of the 19th century and throughout much of the 20th century have, for the most part, never experienced the need for pipe replacement on a large scale," said the report provided to Washington Secrets. "The dawn of an era in which the assets will need to be replaced puts growing stress on communities that will continue to increase for decades to come." What kind of stress? Families can expect to pay at least $300-$550 more for water in taxes and fees just to keep their current systems operating. Add growth and improved systems, and that bill jumps to $900 for a family of three, said the report.

Currently, Americans pay about $400 a month in water taxes and fees.

There are a couple of major reasons for this. Number one, the Ogallala Aquifer is being depleted at an astounding pace. The Ogallala Aquifer is one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the entire world, and water from it currently irrigates more than 15 million acres of crops. When that water is gone we will be in a world of hurt. Secondly, drought conditions have become the “new normal” in many areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and other states in the middle part of the country.

Scientists tell us that the wet conditions that we enjoyed for several decades after World War II were actually the exception to the rule and that most of time the interior west is incredibly dry. They also tell us that when dust bowl conditions return to the area, they might stay with us a lot longer than a decade like they did during the 1930s. Unfortunately, without water you cannot grow food, and with global food supplies as tight as they are right now we cannot afford to have a significant decrease in agricultural production.

But it is not just the central United States that is experiencing the early stages of a major water crisis. Already many other areas around the nation are rapidly developing their own water problems. As supplies of fresh water get tighter and tighter, some really tough decisions are going to have to be made. Fresh water is absolutely essential to life, and it is going to become increasingly precious in the years ahead.

Most Americans have never even heard of the Ogallala Aquifer, but the truth is that it is one of the most important bodies of water on the globe. It covers well over 100,000 square miles and it sits underneath the states of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota. Water drawn from the Ogallala Aquifer is used to water more than 15 million acres of crops. Without this source of water, the United States would not be the breadbasket of the world.