Twenty-five years had passed since the Watchdog had last vacationed at Palm Beach, Florida and he looked forward to strolling some miles along the macadam bicycle path that snakes between Lake Worth and stately multi-million dollar homes and estates.

There was only one noticeable change, but a big one. In the past, front yards of the homes were separated from the path by low walls or hedges, allowing cyclists, joggers and pedestrians to admire the houses and for the owners and their guests to gaze across the lake.

2010 was the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. And yet Europe’s estimated 8-10 million Roma found themselves poorer and more socially excluded than ever after the Italian and French governments demolished “illegal” Roma settlements and deported thousands of Roma in clear violation of their rights as citizens of European Union member states…

Moderate alcohol consumption may help protect against heart disease, according to two new papers by Canadian researchers. One team at the University of Calgary reviewed 84 studies that examined alcohol consumption and heart disease, and concluded that people who drink alcohol in moderation…

From COUNTERPUNCH.COM: The 18 day non-violent Egyptian protests for freedom raise the question: is America next? Were Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine around, they would likely say “what are we waiting for?” They would be appalled by the concentration of economic and political power in such a few hands. Remember how often these two men warned about concentrated power.

President Obama and the Congress have taken 66% of discretionary spending in the federal budget off the table – the Security Budget – while proposing a freeze to the rest of the budget and deep cuts to some programs that provide necessities for the American people…

From the WALL STREET JOURNAL: Not so long ago, the average American man in his 20s had achieved most of the milestones of adulthood: a high-school diploma, financial independence, marriage and children. Today, most men in their 20s hang out in a novel sort of limbo, a hybrid state of semi-hormonal adolescence and responsible self-reliance.

Building permits were issued at 1:00 pm last Friday morning for major renovation at a hotel that was already underway. However, due to a recent change in life safety code of which the mechanical engineer was unaware, the permits required that all plastic soil pipe running in the first floor plenum (between the drop ceiling and the concrete plank above) be wrapped in fire insulation.

Don’t be hoodwinked by the New Era when it editorializes “Wisconsin’s governor and lawmakers, including some brave Democrats, who support pension reform are in a difficult position, but they are responding admirably.”

From the NATION: When Lara Logan of CBS News came forward with the news that she had been brutally sexually assaulted by a group of men while reporting from Tahrir Square, the story caused shock waves. Logan is the chief foreign affairs correspondent for CBS, and it is rare for prominent women to come forward with stories of rape or sexual assault.

From the WASHINGTON POST: President Obama thrust himself and his political operation this week into Wisconsin’s broiling budget battle, mobilizing opposition Thursday to a Republican bill that would curb public-worker benefits while planning similar action in other state capitals.