USA - Did you know that the US state that produces the most vegetables is going through the worst drought it has ever experienced and that the size of the total US cattle herd is now the smallest that it has been since 1951? Just the other day, a CBS News article boldly declared that “food prices soar as incomes stand still”, but the truth is that this is only just the beginning. If the drought that has been devastating farmers and ranchers out west continues, we are going to see prices for meat, fruits and vegetables soar into the stratosphere. Already, the federal government has declared portions of 11 states to be “disaster areas”, and California farmers are going to leave half a million acres sitting idle this year because of the extremely dry conditions. Sadly, experts are telling us that things are probably going to get worse before they get better (if they ever do).

EUROPE - The European Commission announced having "freed up" Syria’s frozen assets, in order to fund the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons. This unilateral decision runs counter to the OPCW resolution, adopted 15 November 2013, which highlights Syria’s financial inability to pay for their destruction and creates a special international fund as a substitute. Reacting to this measure, the Syrian government has condemned the theft of assets belonging to the Syrian people. It furthermore recalled that member governments of the European Union have and continue to fund terrorism in Syria, in violation of relevant UN resolutions. In addition, EU Member States are illegally buying Syrian oil siphoned off by the Contras at the expense of the Syrian people.

SYRIA - Russia may call an urgent UN Security Council meeting to "stop the slide towards escalation in Syria", Russian sources told Al-Mayadeen channel. The source revealed that Russia had information that Washington and Paris are currently putting a plan [together] for military intervention in Syria to stop the advance of the Syrian army. However, sources confirmed that there was no agreement on the next round of negotiations in Geneva. In a swift response, a US official accused the Syrian government's delegation of "shuffling out of every step in Geneva negotiations," adding that "Washington expects from Russia to exercise pressure on Damascus to engage seriously in the peace talks."

UK - The government agency responsible for dealing with floods was last night under pressure to explain why it had spent thousands of pounds on what appeared to be ‘pet projects’ of its chairman Lord Smith. A Mail on Sunday investigation has established that the Environment Agency, headed by Lord Chris Smith – Britain’s first openly gay Cabinet Minister – spent £639 on mugs promoting gay rights. The mugs, emblazoned with the slogan ‘Some people are gay. Get over it!’ are thought to have been handed out to staff at the organisation’s headquarters in London and Bristol. Tory MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, whose Bridgewater and West Somerset constituency has been devastated by the floods, reacted with fury. ‘It was crass stupidity to tell people who are living on flood plains that they’ve got it wrong. Now this shows that he’s actually made silly choices himself to spend hundreds of pounds on mugs and thousands sponsoring a Gay Pride event.”

UK - The UK government's futile and ham-fisted attempts to purge the Internet of all of its rough edges and naughty bits are about to see international escalation. The country is only really just kicking off their campaign to impose porn filters that not only often don't work, but also have so far managed to accidentally block numerous entirely legal and useful websites including technology news sites like Slashdot, digital rights groups like the EFF, rape counseling websites, and more. David Cameron's government has long-stated they want this filtering to eventually extend to websites deemed "extremist" by the government, and it appears that new proposals being drafted hope to make that a reality sooner rather than later.

USA - Washington is finally waking up to California's worst drought since the 16th century, but is it too little too late? Nick Allen reports. On the road into the small California farming community of Mendota the signs read “Stop – dust bowl!” and “Save Water” as farmers in orchards are busy bulldozing withered almond trees.

USA - For the state that produces one-third of the nation's fruits and vegetables, the driest spell in 500 years has prompted President Obama to make $100 million in livestock-disaster aid available within 60 days to help the state rebound from what he describes is "going to be a very challenging situation this year... and potentially some time to come." As NBC reports, Governor Jerry Brown believes the "unprecedented emergency" could cost $2.8 billion in job income and $11 billion in state revenues - and as one farmer noted "we can't recapture that." Dismal recollections of the 1930's Dust Bowl are often discussed as workers (and employers) are "packing their bags and leaving town..." leaving regions to "run the risk of becoming desolate ghost towns as local governments and businesses collapse."

USA - Becoming more like Europe is not a good thing. But that is the path that we are currently on. For the most part, Europeans live in a socialist “Big Brother” system in which the government completely dominates your life from the cradle to the grave.

USA - In recent years, the prevalence of developmental disorders such as autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and dyslexia have soared. While greater awareness and more sophisticated diagnoses are partly responsible for the rise, researchers say that the changing environment in which youngsters grow up may also be playing a role.

EUROPE - The EU wants to banish the word bankruptcy from the English language because it is too stigmatising, according to reports. Officials in Brussels want to see the term replaced with a more neutral phrase, such as “debt adjustment”. The idea is part of wider reforms being considered to harmonise economic arrangements across the EU and make it easier for people who have run into financial problems to be given a second chance. Riccardo Ribera d’Alcala, the EU’s Directorate General for International Policies, said use of the word bankruptcy was too potent and made it difficult for people to rebuild their financial reputation. In his report, Mr d’Alcala said: “The use of stigmatising labels should be ended, and the pejorative term “bankruptcy” should be replaced with the more neutral ‘debt adjustment’.”

UK - Britain basked in rare sunshine on Sunday but forecasters have warned that more flood misery is on the way. The Met Office has issued a yellow warning of heavy rain for south-west England on Monday, where the ground is already saturated by weeks of downpours. Up to 40mm of rain is expected to fall on higher ground in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, which will trickle down onto the soaked flood plains below. Low-lying areas including the hard-hit Somerset Levels will endure 15mm more rainfall, the experts warned. Swathes of the UK remain on high alert as people battle to protect their homes and communities from the floodwaters, which are still expected to rise in places despite the break in the storms.

GERMANY - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is proposing building up a European communications network to help improve data protection. It would avoid emails and other data automatically passing through the United States. In her weekly podcast, she said she would raise the issue on Wednesday with French President Francois Hollande. Revelations of mass surveillance by the US National Security Agency (NSA) have prompted huge concern in Europe. Germany has been trying to persuade Washington to agree to a "no-spy" agreement but without success.

CANADA - A giant winter storm that gridlocked traffic, left flights cancelled, and knocked out power on the US East Coast has pushed into eastern Canada. As much as 60cm (24in) was expected to fall in some areas by the end of Friday, blown about by heavy winds, from Quebec to Newfoundland. Authorities closed a 200km (124 mile) section of the Trans-Canada Highway in Quebec. The storm has been blamed for the deaths of more than two dozen people. In the US, almost 450,000 people and businesses remained without power in the typically mild southern states on Friday, some for a third day, after the storm destroyed power lines and knocked down trees.

JAMAICA - A coalition of 14 Caribbean states, including Jamaica, is now mounting the first united campaign for reparations from Britain over its role in the Atlantic slave trade. The group is ready to sue in the courts and has hired Leigh Day, the London law firm that last year won £20 million for Kenyans tortured by the British during the Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s. This month it will unveil a list of 10 demands for Britain, France and Holland, including funds likely to total billions, an apology, and assurances slavery will never be repeated, The Telegraph can disclose. Professor Verene Shepherd, the chairman of Jamaica’s reparations committee, said British colonisers had “disfigured the Caribbean,” and that their descendants must now pay to repair the damage.

USA - Contrary to the assertions of Jayson Lusk and Henry I Miller, genetically modified crops have perpetuated the need for ever-larger amounts of harmful pesticides, worsening the development and spread of herbicide-resistant weeds and destroying the food sources for beneficial insects like the monarch butterfly. Moreover, engineered traits have produced only modest to no gains in yield depending on the crop in question and are falling behind productivity improvements in more traditional breeding and crop production methods, including drought resistance. What we need to focus on are these more environmentally friendly, lower cost alternatives that help put more profit in the pockets of farmers, not corporations and the hedge funds that invest in them.