WASHINGTON The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking for a tool to mine social media for intelligence tips.

The US domestic law enforcement agency is asking information technology contractors about the feasibility of building a tool that would enhance its techniques for collecting and sharing open source actionable intelligence.

The January 19 open request was published on a website offering federal business opportunities and was first reported by New Scientist magazine.
FBI seeking social media monitoring tool :: The Raw Story    

THE Pentagon plans to expand its global network of drones and special-operations bases in a fundamental military realignment designed to project US power even as it cuts back conventional forces.
US to expand network of secret bases :: The Australian    

HB 2288 provisions that all internet service providers will be required to retain "subscriber's information and internet destination history information" for all their customers. This includes personal internet protocol (IP) addresses of web surfers, domain names of the websites they visit, as well as all host names (http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2012/Bills/HB2288_.p...).

Hawaii police state? Government may track all website visits by residents    

In a major assault by Syrian security forces, more than 60 people were killed on Thursday in the city of Homs, a city which is considered the microcosm of the Syrian uprising.

"The regime is paving the way to commit a massacre in order to extinguish the revolution in Homs," said a statement from the Syrian National Council.
Syrian forces kill more than 60 people in Homs - Washington DC DC :: Examiner.com    

Israeli forces have carried out five airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, eyewitnesses say, but no casualties have been reported so far.

The Israeli air force claimed that its warplanes targeted %u201Can arms factory%u201D in the center of the Palestinian territory and also three tunnels allegedly used for smuggling contraband.
PressTV - Five Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza    

BRUSSELS, Jan 23, 2012 (AFP) - The European Union agreed Monday to slap an embargo on Iran's oil exports as the West ramped up pressure on Tehran's suspect nuclear drive and urged it to return to the negotiating table.
EU agrees oil embargo on Iran - Zawya    

India is the first buyer of Iranian oil to agree to pay for its purchases in gold instead of the US dollar, debkafile's intelligence and Iranian sources report exclusively. Those sources expect China to follow suit. India and China take about one million barrels per day, or 40 percent of Iran's total exports of 2.5 million bpd. Both are superpowers in terms of gold assets.

By trading in gold, New Delhi and Beijing enable Tehran to bypass the upcoming freeze on its central bank's assets and the oil embargo which the European Union's foreign ministers agreed to impose Monday, Jan. 23. The EU currently buys around 20 percent of Iran's oil exports.
DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security    

Ga. judge orders president to appear at hearing - CBS Atlanta 46    

Arab foreign minister agreed on Sunday to a new political roadmap for Syria that would see President Bashar Assad delegating power to a deputy and setting up a unity government as a prelude to early parliamentary and presidential elections.

Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani told a news conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo that the Arab League would take its initiative to the UN Security Council and ask for its endorsement.
Arabs agree on Syria plan; Saudis pull mon... JPost - Middle East