SPB News for Monday.

Feinstein: Solar energy could destroy Mojave Desert

Forget resignation: Arnold, Bloomberg confident in Geithner

Bailed-out banks giving money to campaigns

Woman fired by B. of America during cancer treatment sues

Frank suggests suing AIG as shareholder

Coming Soon: Declassified Bush-Era Torture Memos — From the magazine issue dated Mar 30, 2009 — Over objections from the U.S. intelligence community, the White House is moving to declassify—and publicly release—three internal memos that will lay out, for the first time, details of the …

Venezuela's Chavez calls Obama “ignoramus” — CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama was at best an “ignoramus” for saying the socialist leader exported terrorism and obstructed progress in Latin America.

Death squad leader 'was top CIA agent' The late President Milosevic's secret police chief and organiser of Serb death squads during the genocidal ethnic cleansing of disintegrating Yugoslavia was the United States' top CIA agent in Belgrade, according to the independent Belgrade Radio B92. The claim that from 1992 until the end of the decade, Jovica Stanisic, head of Serbia's murderous DB Secret Police, was regularly informing his CIA handlers of the thinking in Milosevic's inner circle has shocked the region. Stanisic is said to have loyally served his two masters for eight years. He is facing war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

Foreign Firms Eye Stimulus Dollars U.S. firms aren't the only ones hoping to cash in on the $787 billion stimulus program. Foreign nations and companies are stepping up their lobbying efforts in Washington and in state capitals, hoping to gain vital business in hard times. Hundreds of foreign-owned companies are selling their expertise in clean energy, high-speed transit and other technologies that undergird key aspects of President Obama's stimulus efforts. Lobbyists and consultants hired by the companies warn them to proceed carefully and to emphasize that any contracts would lead to jobs in the United States rather than overseas.

Top officer's calls for mental tests ignored --Colonel's report on formal assessments for injured soldiers is filed away Urgent calls by a senior army officer that there should be targeted psychological assessment for seriously wounded soldiers returning from Afghanistan have been ignored for 18 months. In an internal document dated November 2007, Lt-Col Andrew Whiteley called for immediate action to deal with the mental anguish of troops suffering from horrendous wounds, but his appeal was met with a "deafening silence".

Last week's poll had asked:

Binyam Mohamed freed from Guantanamo Bay has said he would not have faced torture or extraordinary rendition but for British involvement in his case. Is the UK responsible? Majority of readers voted yes. This week's poll is now up.