It seems pretty clear by now that the three young "domestic terrorists" arrested by Chicago police in a warrantless house invasion reminiscent of what US military forces are doing on a daily basis in Afghanistan, are the victims of planted evidence -- part of the police-state-style crackdown on anti-NATO protesters in Chicago last week.

The Chicago Police clearly realized that it would be hard to convince a jury that the homemade beer-making equipment in the house was some dreaded bio-terror weapon, so for good measure they apparently dropped off some glass jars with gas in them and tried to make out that the kids were preparing molotov cocktails. That's the word from National Lawyers Guild attorneys representing the men. They say their clients and others like them coming into Chicago from out of town to join in protests against the NATO summit were "befriended" by police informants and undercover Chicago Police, who then offered to obtain gasoline or explosive materials like toy rocket motors, and who proposed actions like firebombing police stations.

This kind of entrapment and official deceit by police should alarm every American. It's bad enough when police plant evidence and lie about evidence in order to win convictions, since it means innocent people will be sent to prison or worse. But with the new post 9-11 terrorism laws, like the state terrorism statutes in Illinois being applied in these cases, it becomes far more difficult for a victim of such police and prosecutorial misconduct to challenge the case against her or him. In terror cases, the government can claim "national security" to hide the evidence and even the identity of the witnesses from the defendants and the courts, the jury and the public, and can avoid ever being questioned about it publicly. In a worst case, the federal government doesn't even need to bring the case to trial. If the victim is accused of being a terrorist, under the latest National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and various executive orders, that person can be locked away indefinitely without trial -- exactly the kind of abuse that led American colonists to rise up against their British colonial overlords 237 years ago.

Protests that began in opposition to tuition fees in Canada have exploded into a political crisis with the mass arrest of hundreds of demonstrators amid a backlash against draconian emergency laws.

More than 500 people were arrested in a demonstration in Montreal on Wednesday night as protesters defied a controversial new law - Bill 78 - that places restrictions on the right to demonstrate. In Quebec City, police arrested 176 people under the provisions of the new law.

Demonstrators have been gathering in Montreal for just over 100 days to oppose tuition increases by the Quebec provincial government. On Tuesday, about 100 people were arrested after organisers say 300,000 people took the streets.

But what began as a protest against university fee increases has expanded to a wider movement to oppose Bill 78, which was rushed through by legislators in Quebec in response to the demonstrations. The bill imposes severe restrictions on protests, making it illegal for protesters to gather without having given police eight hours' notice and securing a permit.

Dozens of African asylum seekers were injured as race riots broke out in Tel Aviv on Wednesday night.

Thousands of protesters joined politicians to protest against the arrival of an estimated 60,000 asylum seekers in Israel in recent years. But after inflammatory speeches the demonstration broke out into violence.

Witnesses reported seeing men and women being beaten and shops and properties being attacked. Police said nine people were arrested.

The protesters were addressed by politicians including Miri Regev and Danny Danon of the ruling Likud Party. According to the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, Regev described the asylum seekers as a "cancer in our body," and promised to do everything "in order to bring them back to where they belong".

Wall Street bankers could have averted the global financial crisis, so why didn't they? In this exclusive extract from his book Inside Job, Charles Ferguson argues that they should be prosecuted
Bernard L Madoff ran the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, operating it for 30 years and causing cash losses of $19.5bn. Shortly after the scheme collapsed and Madoff confessed in 2008, evidence began to surface that for years, major banks had suspected he was a fraud. None of them reported their suspicions to the authorities, and several banks decided to make money from him without, of course, risking any of their own funds. Theories about his fraud varied. Some thought he might have access to insider information. But quite a few thought he was running a Ponzi scheme. Goldman Sachs executives paid a visit to Madoff to see if they should recommend him to clients. A partner later recalled: "Madoff refused to let them do any due diligence on the funds and when asked about the firm's investment strategy they couldn't understand it. Goldman not only blacklisted Madoff in the asset management division but banned its brokerage from trading with the firm too."

Companies engaged in financial crime may be able to negotiate plea bargains under legislation being put forward by the Ministry of Justice. Under the new law companies that self-report could see prosecutions deferred pending payment of a fine and agreements to change working practices.

Illegally downloading songs off the Internet has become a common trend around the globe, but a student at Boston University was specifically targeted for the practice. Joel Tenenbaum was sued by the Recording Industry Association of America for sharing 30 songs and now has to cough up a total of $675k. He joins us with more on his ongoing case against the RIAA, which the US Supreme Court decided this week not to hear.

First there was the housing bubble, but now a new crisis has emerged in America. The student debt bubble has now accumulated over $1 trillion in student loan debt and, starting July 1, Federal Pell Grants are set to be cut for thousands of student across the US. Sarah Jaffe, associate editor for AlterNet.org, joins us with her take on student debt.

Obama administration under fire for granting access to Hollywood film-makers in apparent violation of official policy

The Obama administration is under fire for granting Hollywood film-makers clandestine access to the Navy Seal team that killed Osama bin Laden in apparent violation of official policy.

Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal were given unprecedented information about the 2011 raid to help them make Zero Dark Thirty, a forthcoming film about the event.

Documents released under freedom of information laws showed the Pentagon and CIA divulged secret information about the commando unit, known as Seal Team Six, which killed the September 11 mastermind.

Corporate news blackout as Obama appoints John Brennan as the sole person in charge of designating people to be assassinated.

John Brennan, Obama's chief counterterrorism advisor was a name that you did not see on the Mainstream media today as they continue to run stories that serve to distract the masses from stories that matter.

Most recently he publicly spoke about the drone program calling it moral and ethical and just.

According to reports from the Associated Press, John Brennan has now seized the lead in choosing who will be targeted for drone attacks and raids after Obama delegated him as the sole authority to designate people for assassination under the United States top-secret assassination program.

Yes, if it such a secret program then why is the Associated Press running a story on it? Because it is only a "top-secret" matter of National Insecurity when the public and organizations such as the ACLU request more details on it than is revealed int the propagandized reports the public is fed through the corporate media.

While this story deserves to have been put before the eyeballs of every U.S. citizens it was merely a side note ran by the Associate Press that didn't make corporate news headlines anywhere.

These look like scenes from a Bond film or perhaps the start of World War Three.

Dressed in full combat gear with guns raised, members of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) looked like they were on serious business as they swooped on Tampa, Florida, in boats, assault vehicles and helicopters.

But fortunately for the thousands of bystanders there was no need to be frightened - it was a 'mock' assault as part of a training exercise.
The dramatic scenes took place at the Tampa Convention Center yesterday, when 14 SOF members from the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force showcased their combat skills in a half-hour demonstration.

Representing 10 different nations, they roared through the water in two inflatable boats and leaped ashore using Humvees and all-terrain vehicles.

Others jumped from the rear of a helicopter directly into the water.