Virtually all Republican candidates — with the notable exception of Ron Paul — have sounded a belligerent note on Iran at one point or another. However, Rick Santorum has apparently taken this to a higher level, analysts note. AP reports: “Republican Rick Santorum says that if he’s elected president, he would bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities…

DAVID GOODNER, david at iowacci.org Goodner is with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and has been active with the Occupy Iowa movement. He said today: “Occupy Des Moines started the Occupy Iowa Caucus campaign largely to address the problem of big money in politics — the presidential candidates and their SuperPACs have spent $200 for…

Today, a jury trial of 14 anti-torture activists is scheduled to begin in Washington, D.C. as anti-torture and indefinite detention protests escalate. AllGov.com reports today: “He waited until New Year’s Eve to do it … but he did it. While expressing ‘serious reservations’ about the bill, President Barack Obama on New Year’s Eve signed legislation…

BLASE BONPANE, ooa at igc.org Director of the Office of the Americas, Bonpane served as a Maryknoll priest in Guatemala and has written five books including Guerrillas of Peace: Liberation Theology and the Central American Revolution and Civilization is Possible. His latest book is Imagine No Religion: An Autobiography. He said today: “I fully agree…

JEFF PATERSON, via Zack Pesavento, press at bradleymanning.org Paterson is a veteran and co-founder of the Bradley Manning Support Network. He said: “Military officials are continuing their star chamber prosecution after abusing Bradley Manning of his rights for 18 months. The investigating officer is not only biased to produce an outcome that is favorable to…

The Egyptian military is denying charges of brutalizing civilians. The Daily Mail webpage features video of the Egyptian military dragging and beating a woman — a video that had over 2 million views on YouTube. The video, “Martyrs of the Egyptian Revolution,” just had English subtitles added. JIHAN HAFIZ, fahema22 at gmail.com REED LINDSAY, reedlindsay…

CHRISTINE AHN, christineahn at mac.com, Ahn is executive director of the Korea Policy Institute and a member of Korean Americans for Fair Trade. She said today: “While Kim Jong Il’s death comes as a great shock, his illness since 2008 has long been reported in the media, and had set in motion succession plans for…

The Washington Post reports on the current spending package: “Social conservatives won a ban on government-funded abortions in Washington, D.C., and restored a longstanding ban on funding for needle exchange programs used to prevent the spread of HIV. But efforts to take away federal funding for Planned Parenthood failed, as expected.”

RAED JARRAR, jarrar.raed at gmail.com Jarrar is an Iraqi-American blogger and political analyst based in Washington, D.C. He said today: “Millions of Iraqis are celebrating the U.S. withdrawal this month, in what is widely viewed as a condemnation of the U.S. military involvement in Iraq. This is especially true with the final attempt by the…

GAR ALPEROVITZ, via John Duda, jduda at democracycollaborative.org, KEANE BHATT, keanebhatt at gmail.com THOMAS HANNAH, tmhanna at democracycollaborative.org Alperovitz, author of the just-released new edition of America Beyond Capitalism wrote an op-ed titled “Worker-Owners of America, Unite!” published in today’s New York Times. The piece states: “A mere 1 percent of Americans own just under…