SPB News for Wednesday.

What does George Bush have against polar bears? (Defenders of Wildlife) The Bush/Cheney Administration’s own scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey say that global warming and habitat loss could lead polar bears to extinction in the U.S. by 2050. Yet, the president [sic] said little in last night’s State of the Union about what -- if anything -- his administration would be doing to prevent their extinction.

New analysis 'confirms' 1 million+ Iraq casualties --Further survey work undertaken by ORB, in association with its research partner IIACSS, confirms our earlier estimate that over 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have died as a result of the conflict which started in 2003. Following responses to ORB’s earlier work, which was based on survey work undertaken in primarily urban locations, we have conducted almost 600 additional interviews in rural communities. By and large the results are in line with the 'urban results' and we now estimate that the death toll between March 2003 and August 2007 is likely to have been of the order of 1,033,000. If one takes into account the margin of error associated with survey data of this nature then the estimated range is between 946,000 and 1,120,000.

Army investigating deaths of 'several' detainees in Iraq The Army is investigating the deaths of "several" detainees captured in 2007 by the Schweinfurt, Germany-based 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division during its recent deployment to Iraq. The announcement was made in a short news release posted on the Army’s official Web site late Friday.

Iraq withdrawal to go ahead, Govt tells US Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith says he has made it clear to the Bush Administration that Australia will go ahead with the withdrawal of its combat troops from Iraq.

Guantanamo Attorneys Back Obama After Mitt Romney said we ought to "double Guantanamo," there was one constituency he surely lost -- the lawyers who have challenged the Bush administration’s detention policies at the naval base in Cuba. Today, more than 75 of those lawyers made their choice known, issuing a statement endorsing Barack Obama. The lawyers cited the Illinois senator’s effort to stop administration-crafted legislation to strip habeas corpus rights from the Guantanamo prisoners.

Bush orders NSA to snoop on US agencies --Cyber attack fear used to expand spy grid By Ashlee Vance Not content with spying on other countries, the NSA (National Security Agency) will now turn on the US's own government agencies thanks to a fresh directive from president George Bush. Under the new guidelines, the NSA and other intelligence agencies can bore into the internet networks of all their peers... The new program will - of course - drains billions of dollars out of US coffers and be part of Bush's 2009 budget... Critics of the new directive will point to the NSA's ability to operate in total secrecy as cause for concern. More troubling, however, may be the Pentagon and Homeland Security's aspirations to hit attackers with counter-strikes.