Date: 18-19 December 2007
19/12/07
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Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq 1,138,528
www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html
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Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America’sWar On Iraq 3,894
icasualties.org/oif/
The War in Iraq Costs
$477,819,697,187
See the cost in your community
nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182
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Mirage Of Improvement In Iraq
By Dahr Jamail
People in the US are willing to believe the establishment media telling them that refugees are returning to their homes in Baghdad in an environment of improved security and new hope.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18925.htm
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Putin Agonistes: Missile Defense Will Not Be Deployed
By Mike Whitney
The American people have no idea of the reckless policy that is being carried out in their name. The gravity of the proposed Missile Defense system has been virtually ignored by the media and Russia’s protests have been dismissed as trivial.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18926.htm
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Fatwa Against The Dollar?
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
To all intents and purposes, the Wahabi religious establishment of Saudi Arabia has just issued a fatwa against the US dollar. This bears watching.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18923.htm
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US Warrantless Wiretapping Predates 9/11
By John Leyden
Fresh evidence has emerged that the US government’s warrantless wiretapping program predates the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Secret surveillance operations that enabled the National Security Agency (NSA) to access telecommunications traffic data have been in place since the 1990s.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18928.htm
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Slave Labour That Shames US
By Leonard Doyle
Migrant workers chained beaten and forced into debt, exposing the human cost of producing cheap food.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18924.htm
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Liberalism To Murdochracy
By John Pilger
As events have demonstrated, Blair and the cult of New Labour have destroyed the very liberalism millions of Britons thought they were voting for.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18927.htm
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Iraq : At least 30 killed in another bloody day of US occupation:
Fifteen bodies found dumped around the capital on Wednesday, police said
snipurl.com/1vk3z
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Death toll rises to 17 in Diyala suicide bombing :
“Our latest report said that at least 17 people were killed and30 others injured when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive-belt blew himself up, ripping through a popular cafe in the al-Abbarah district, just north of Baquba, the capital of Diyala province, on Tuesday night,”
news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/19/content_7280581.htm
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Senate approves $70 billion in war spending:
Two withdrawal plans were defeated Tuesday night. One requiring that most troops be redeployed in nine months was rejected, 71-24. A second, less-binding plan calling for the transition of combat troops to more limited missions by the end of next year was defeated, 50-45
www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/19/america/budget.php
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Iraq set to slash food rations :
Iraq is set to halve essential items covered by rations and subsidies because of insufficient funds and spiralling inflation, in a further threat to an already deteriorating ration system.
snipurl.com/1vk40
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Putin calls on U.S. to set date for troop withdrawal from Iraq :
“Our difference with George [Bush] is that he does not believe it possible to set a deadline to withdraw international troops from Iraqi territory. In my opinion, it would be better to do so”
en.rian.ru/russia/20071219/93225807.html
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Turkey says U.S. intelligence led to Iraq attack :
U.S. intelligence shared with Turkey led to the weekend raids in northern Iraq on Kurdish militants, Turkey’s ambassador to the United States said on Wednesday.
news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071219/ts_nm/turkey_iraq_usa_dc
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US, Turks review cooperation plans regarding future attacks on northern Iraq:
U.S. and Turkish military officials are working to streamline procedures for any future attacks against rebels in northern Iraq.
www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=7518164
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Kurds: We Will Defend Civilians:
Kurdish Militia Says It Will Defend Civilians in Northern Iraq From Turkish Troops, PKK
abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4025011
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Ex-CIA man predicts U.S. war with Iran:
McGovern alleged that a joint U.S. and Israeli war on the Arab nation would likely come despite a recent National Intelligence Estimate suggesting that Iran has not had a functioning nuclear weapons program since 2003.
snipurl.com/1vk4a
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Putin hopes U.S. had no hidden agenda in Iran nuclear report :
Putin said it is theoretically possible that the report was published to “divert Iran’s attention from preparations for military action,” which would be a “grave mistake.”
en.rian.ru/russia/20071219/93214792.html
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Bush’s bid to punish Iranian banks stalls:
The Bush administration’s new policy of penalizing Iranian banks is facing a critical challenge as financial institutions in Russia, China and much of the Middle East decline to cut ties, analysts and diplomats say.
www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/18/africa/sanctions.php
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Picture of Secret Detentions Emerges in Pakistan :
500 Pakistanis presumed to have disappeared into the hands of the Pakistani intelligence agencies cooperating with Washington’s fight against terrorism since 2001.
snipurl.com/1vk4b
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US Senate approves 2008 assistance package for Pakistan :
The US Senate has approved a $ 785 million assistance package for Pakistan for the fiscal year 2008 as lawmakers passed with a bipartisan 76-17 vote a massive appropriations bill for federal spending on Tuesday night.
snipurl.com/1vk4d
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More Than 250 Iraqi Torture Victims Come Forward to Sue CACI :
Hundreds of innocent torture victims came forward and filed a complaint late Monday in Washington federal court against CACI, the private military contractor involved in torturing and abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib and other prisons in Iraq.
sev.prnewswire.com/legal/20071218/LATU08318122007-1.html
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Motion Picture Association censors out US torture:
Denial of US torture is everywhere, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) had decided that the US public will not be allowed to see posters for the documentary Taxi to the Dark Side because a hooded prionser suggests torture
snipurl.com/1vk4e
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Timeline On The Destruction of CIA Interrogation Tapes:
Late 2001-Mid-March 2002: CIA Looks to Brutal Torture Techniques of Egyptians, Saudis, and Soviets in Setting Up Its Interrogation Program
snipurl.com/1vk4f
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White House Lawyers Involved in CIA Tapes :
At Least 4 White House Lawyers Involved in Talks About Destroying Tapes
abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4020184
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Nine Ways to Profit From the Diving Dollar:
Let me put it bluntly: The U.S. dollar is nose-diving against foreign currencies. So far, it’s down 12% against the euro, 7% to the yen, 8% to the pound, 15% to the Canadian dollar, and 10% to the Swiss frank. And that’s just in the past year alone.
snipurl.com/1vk4h
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Palestinian Patient dies due to the Israeli siege on Gaza:
Dua’ Omran, 18, was unable to leave Gaza to get medical treatment she needed to live due to the Israeli army closure of the strip.
www.imemc.org/article/52041
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Catholic leader rejects Israel’s Jewish identity :
Top Roman Catholic clergyman in Jerusalem slams definition of Israel as Jewish nation, says land must be shared by all religions.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3484608,00.html
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Earn $1,000: Shill For Israel Lobby On Campus:
A group working to promote pro-Israel sentiment at American colleges is hiring students to act as campus emissaries of the Jewish state.
www.campusprogress.org/page/community/post/Justin/CHWz
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Evidence of extremism in mosques ‘fabricated’:
The report by Policy Exchange alleged that books condoning violent jihad and encouraging hatred of Christians, Jews and gays were being sold in a quarter of the 100 mosques visited.
snipurl.com/1vk4n
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Chavez, Kirchner Confront U.S. Over Suitcase Scandal:
Argentina and Venezuela accused the U.S. of hindering Argentine justice and trying to divide Latin America by refusing to extradite a Florida businessman caught with $800,000 in cash at a Buenos Aires airport in August.
snipurl.com/1vk4q
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Colombia rebels ‘to free hostages’ :
Three hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) are expected to be released to Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s president, according to a Cuban news agency.
snipurl.com/1vk4s
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Jail for Argentina ‘dirty war’ men :
A former member of Argentina’s military government has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiring to murder opponents of the regime during the country’s so-called dirty war between 1976 and 1983.
snipurl.com/1vk4u
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Police State:
Next time, evacuees subject to criminal checks:
State’s plan calls for putting some offenders on separate bus
www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5380868.html
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Colorado voting machines tossed out :
Colorado’s secretary of state has declared many of the state’s electronic voting machines to be unreliable, but said Tuesday that some of them could still be used in November if a software patch is installed.
snipurl.com/1vk4x
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Kristol, Krauthammer Are Out of Time:
Two conservative Time magazine columnists are on their way out the door: Neither William Kristol nor longtime contributor Charles Krauthammer will be on contract with the magazine starting next month.
www.observer.com/2007/kristol-krauthammer-are-out-time
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Could OPEC drop dollar for euro?:
The depreciating US currency worries oil exporting countries as it means a reduction in the value of their dollar reserves and a loss in revenues with the spiraling oil prices. So could Iran’s decision signal a trend for other oil producing countries to follow?
snipurl.com/1vk4y
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U.S. Dollar’s Credibility Being `Stretched,’ UBS Economist Says :
The U.S. dollar’s credibility as the world’s benchmark currency will be put to the test as it loses value against other major currencies, said George Magnus, senior economic adviser at UBS Investment Bank in London.
snipurl.com/1vk50
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US foreclosure filings up 68 pct in Nov.:
U.S. homeowners increasingly failed to keep up with their home loan payments in November, as the number of foreclosure filings surged 68 percent nationwide compared with the same month a year ago, according to a mortgage research company.
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071219/ap_on_bi_ge/foreclosure_rates
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Fed Tightens Loan Rules After Failing to Stem Subprime Crisis :
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke took steps to restore the central bank’s reputation after lawmakers blamed it for failing to contain the subprime mortgage crisis, announcing rules to rein in abusive lending.
snipurl.com/1vk51
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Study: States 27% short in pension, benefit funding :
U.S. states have nearly a 27 percent shortfall in funding required to meet the $2.73 trillion in pension and benefits payments they will owe retired workers over the next 30 years, according to a report today from the Pew Center on the States
www.pbn.com/stories/28860.htm
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18/12/07
===
Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq 1,138,528
www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html
===
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America’sWar On Iraq 3,895
icasualties.org/oif/
The War in Iraq Costs
$478,097,405,764
See the cost in your community
nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182
===
Guantanamo Detainee Near Suicide After Years Of Torture, Doctors Warn
By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor
A British resident being held in Guantanamo Bay may be close to suicide after five years of captivity and torture at the hands of the Americans, the Foreign Secretary David Miliband has been warned in a medical report sent to the Government this week.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18921.htm
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The Unholy Trinity – From Latin America To Iraq
Death Squads, Disappearances, and Torture
By Greg Grandin
“Before all else, you must be efficient,” said U.S. police advisor Dan Mitrione, assassinated by Uruguay’s revolutionary Tupamaros in 1970 for training security forces in the finer points of torture. “You must cause only the damage that is strictly necessary, not a bit more.” Mitrione taught by demonstration, reportedly torturing to death a number of homeless people kidnapped off the streets of Montevideo.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18920.htm
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Another Milestone on the Road to Serfdom
By Scott Horton
The United States intelligence agencies in cahoots with major telecom providers are intercepting and reviewing your communications. This is occurring without warrants. And the legal community is in accord: it was criminal conduct. And that’s why the Bush Administration is frantically pushing right now for immunity: to ensure that its collaborators face no adverse consequences from their criminal acts. What kind of society does this sound like?
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18916.htm
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Police State America
By Stephen Lendman
Year end is a good time to look back and reflect on what’s ahead. If past is prologue, however, the outlook isn’t good, and nothing on the horizon suggests otherwise. Voters last November wanted change but got betrayal from the bipartisan criminal class in Washington.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18918.htm
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Only Pawns in the Game
By Stephen Fleischman
You can demonize Bush and Cheney (rightfully) until hell freezes over—but it’s not going to change anything. Keith Olbermann does it almost every night on his MSNBC television show, but it doesn’t change anything. Trashing Bush and Cheney or Hillary or Obama might make a lot of people feel good, but it doesn’t change anything. They’re only pawns in the game.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18922.htm
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In Case You Missed It
The Corporation
I believe this is one of the best and most important documentary films to be made in many years.
This is an extraordinary film about the creation of the American corporation, its legal organizational model, its global economic dominance and its psychopathic tendencies, and its incredible ambition to influence every aspect of culture in its unrelenting pursuit of profit. Click to view
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12998.htm
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Dick Cheney’s Fondest Pipe Dream, Revisited
By Paul Rogat Loeb
Ever since Hillary Clinton supported the reckless Kyl-Lieberman Iran bill, her Democratic competitors have been blasting her for her stand, and rightly so. By defining Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, a core branch of the Iranian military, as a foreign terrorist organization, the bill put the U.S. Senate on record as vindicating the Bush-Cheney line that Iranian proxies are part of a global conspiracy, linking Al Qaeda, Iraqi insurgents, Hamas, Hezbollah, and any other enemy the administration wants to conjure up.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18917.htm
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Cynthia McKinney Announces Bid For The Presidency
7 Minute Video
Cynthia McKinney, a former six-term Congresswoman and an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq, today officially launched her campaign as a Green Party candidate for President.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18915.htm
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The US Middle Class Meets The Bloods And The Crips
By Paolo Caruso
In light of the coming economic hardships, workers will face drops in real pay, and other exploitative terms of their employers, to which they will be more compelled to agree. Conveniently so, the obedience of the middle class is assured, as the underclasses become more violent and pervasive.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18919.htm
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Dawn raid kills 41 “Taliban”:
The British army’s Royal Gurkha Regiment surprised sleeping insurgents as the early-morning call to prayer from the mosque at Siah Choy rang out over the cluster of farming villages with mud-walled compounds. The “Taliban” fled into an open space where they were bombed by NATO aircraft.
www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=174255
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15 Guards Killed In Taliban Ambush:
Afghan Police: Fifteen Afghan security guards working for a private U.S. firm were killed in a Taliban ambush in western Afghanistan on Tuesday, police said.
snipurl.com/1vi6m
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Iraq: At least 18 killed as US occupation grinds on:
A car bomb explosion killed four people including one policeman and wounded seven others including two policemen in Nidhal street, in central Baghdad, police said.
www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ANW833128.htm
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Suicide bomber kills 14 in Iraqi village:
A suicide bomber killed 14 people when he detonated a vest rigged with explosives in a Shi’ite Muslim village north of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L18735906.htm
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Bomb threatens ‘at risk’ Iraq dam :
A truck laden with explosives has blown up near a controversial dam in Iraq, killing one person and damaging the main access bridge, Iraqi police said.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7148675.stm
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Call your senators TODAY to say no to Iraq war money :
Your senators will vote on whether the U.S. should give the president another $70 billion to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with no strings attached. Please call your senators right now and ask them to vote NO on more money for war.
support.afsc.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=6041.0&dlv_id=9421
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Turkish troops withdraw from Iraq: Kurdish government:
Turkish troops withdrew from northern Iraq less than 24 hours after a limited incursion targeting Kurdish separatist fighters, the semi-autonomous government of Iraq’s Kurdish northern region said on Tuesday.
www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL1847681520071218
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U.S. Helps Turkey Hit Rebel Kurds In Iraq:
The United States is providing Turkey with real-time intelligence that has helped the Turkish military target a series of attacks this month against Kurdish separatists holed up in northern Iraq, including a large airstrike on Sunday, according to Pentagon officials.
snipurl.com/1vi6s
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Top Iraqi Kurd refuses to meet Rice:
The president of Iraq’s Kurdish region is refusing to meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in Iraq Tuesday, because of the US position over Turkey sending soldiers into northern Iraq, a top Kurdish official said.
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jiPoLQF13xcOrlVUcLXO16rGxwgQ
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Turkey’s empty gesture: .
The bombing and shelling killed at least two civilians and five PKK members, while setting Iraqi Kurdish farms and villages on fire. But as a strategic move, Turkey’s raid was worse than useless.
www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/18/opinion/edturkey.php
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Manufacturing Consent For War With Iran:
Pentagon report to accuse Iran of fueling Iraq strife:
A Pentagon report to be released Tuesday will accuse Iran of continuing to funnel weapons and technology to fighters in neighboring Iraq even as it cites lower violence overall, US media said.
snipurl.com/1vi6u
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Did Bush Get New Iran Intel Last Winter?:
White House officials have now admitted that George W. Bush was told that the intelligence assessment on a covert Iranian nuclear programme might change last August, but they have avoided answering the question of when the president was first informed about the new intelligence that led to that revised assessment.
ipsnorthamerica.net/news.php?idnews=1220
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Iran plans 2nd nuclear plant:
The United States lost a long battle when Russia, as it announced Monday, delivered nuclear fuel to an Iranian power plant that is at the center of an international dispute over its nuclear program. Iran confirmed plans Monday to build a second such plant.
www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ci_7749350?nclick_check=1
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Iran sees Bushehr plant at full capacity in one year: official:
The 1,000 megawatt plant in the southern city of Bushehr could come on line within three months at up to 200 megawatts before being cranked up to full capacity nine months later, said Mohammad Saeedi, the deputy head of Iran’s atomic energy organisation.
snipurl.com/1vi6x
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Gov’t official: No ‘smoking gun’ on Iran:
Israel does not have “smoking gun” intelligence that will force an American reassessment of its National Intelligence Estimate that Iran halted its nuclear weapons plan in 2003, a government official told The Jerusalem Post Monday
snipurl.com/1vi6y
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Israeli air attaks kill 13 Palestinian resistance members in occupied Gaza:
Thousands of people took to the streets in funeral processions for the dead militants, whose bodies and coffins were draped with black Islamic Jihad flags.
www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2229283,00.html
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Barak tells U.S. envoy Israel is bracing for militants’ retaliation :
Barak mapped out Israel’s security priorities, voicing hope that the IDF would continue its “successful operations” in the Gaza Strip.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/935876.html
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Hamas-Run Gaza Will See Little of Aid :
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri denounced the Paris conference as a “declaration of war” on Hamas, while Hamas government spokesman Taher Nunu accused the international community of trying to bribe Abbas into making concessions in negotiations with Israel.
snipurl.com/1vi71
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Study: Hamas maintaining its popularity in Gaza:
New poll indicates lack of confidence in recent peacemaking efforts keeps Palestinian public firmly on Hamas’ side, despite deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza
snipurl.com/1vi74
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Officials: Israel to allow construction in existing illegal W. Bank settlements :
A senior Israeli official said “We don’t need American approval if we are doing something that we think, as a sovereign state, we should do.”
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/935491.html
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Israel: A daily exercise in humiliation:
Under the supervision of an Israeli soldier clutching an M-16 assault rifle, Qassem Saleh begins his daily disrobing.
snipurl.com/1vi77
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Suicide blast kills 9 troops in Pakistan:
A suicide bomber blew himself up among a group of Pakistani army recruits returning from a soccer game in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing nine of them, the army said.
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071217/ap_on_re_as/pakistan_bomb_attack
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$5.1B Proposed in Sales, Upgrades, Weapons for Pakistan’s F-16s:
US DSCA notified Congress via a series of releases of its intention to provide Pakistan with a $5.1 billion Foreign Military Sales package to upgrade the F-16s that serve as the PAF’s top of the line fighters.
snipurl.com/1vhqw
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Pakistan learns the US nuclear way:
If the United States can’t secure its own nuclear complex, why expect Pakistan to do it any better?
www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IL19Df02.html
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Sharif blocked from Pakistan election:
Sharif’s party initially called for a boycott of the vote but decided against it after failing to muster support from other opposition groups for a united action.
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071218/ap_on_re_as/pakistan
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U.S. antimissile launch may provoke counterattack – army chief-2 :
A possible U.S. launch of an interceptor missile from Central Europe may provoke a counterattack by intercontinental ballistic missiles, Russia’s top military commander said.
en.rian.ru/world/20071215/92623389.html
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Russia test-fires new intercontinental missile:
Russia on Monday test-launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile, part of a system that can outperform any anti-missile system likely to be deployed, according to the officer in charge of missile forces.
snipurl.com/1vi7b
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Japanese destroyer shoots down U.S. test missile :
Japan on Monday (GMT) successfully tested a U.S.-built system off the coast of Hawaii, which is designed to track and destroy missiles.
snipurl.com/1vi7e
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Taliban leader taunts NATO and calls for Afghan pullout:
Taliban leader Mullah Omar on Tuesday called on foreign forces to withdraw from Afghanistan and taunted NATO about its capture of the southern town of Musa Qala, saying celebrating such a small victory only showed its weakness.
www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSISL16664520071218
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Al-Qaeda wants your questions:
AL-QAEDA sympathisers have been asked to send in their questions for the terror network’s second in command, which he will then answer in an online interview next month.
www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22935702-2,00.html
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Ailing Castro hints at retirement:
In a letter read out by Cuban state television last night, the 81 year old – who has not been seen in public for 16 months after undergoing intestinal surgery – said he did not want to stand in the way of younger leaders.
www.guardian.co.uk/cuba/story/0,,2229250,00.html
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Judge orders hearing on destroyed CIA torture videos:
District Court Judge Henry Kennedy, who in 2005 had ordered the government to preserve information on prisoner mistreatment at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, set the hearing for Friday, overriding government objections.
www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1848508620071218
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Senate postpones consideration of spy bill :
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, facing stiff opposition, on Monday abruptly postponed until next month consideration of a measure to give immunity to telephone companies that participated in President George W. Bush’s warrantless domestic spying program.
news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071218/pl_nm/usa_security_phones_dc
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George Monbiot: We’ve been suckered again by the US.
America will keep on wrecking climate talks as long as those with vested interests in oil and gas fund its political system
www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2228527,00.html
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Shopping giant falls as US crisis hits home:
AUSTRALIA’S second-biggest shopping centre owner has joined the RAMS home loans provider as a casualty of the global liquidity crisis.
business.smh.com.au/shopping-giant-falls-as
-us-crisis-hits-home/20071217-1hmh.html
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Greenspan Favors Government Bailout for Homeowners:
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he favors spending government money to rescue Americans who are at risk of losing their homes because they can’t make mortgage payments
snipurl.com/1vi7o
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FHA Secure Flop. Only 266 Borrowers Have Been Assisted!:
When it was announced, FHA had estimated that would assist approximately 80,000 borrowers.
snipurl.com/1vi7r
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