Date: 31 December 2007
Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq 1,139,602
www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html
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Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America’sWar On Iraq 3,902
icasualties.org/oif/
The War in Iraq Costs
$481,752,284,572
See the cost in your community
nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182
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My Heart Bleeds For Pakistan.
By Tariq Ali
Poor Pakistan. Poor People’s Party supporters. Both deserve better than this disgusting, medieval charade.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18979.htm
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Waiting For “Mr.Goodbar.”
By Layla Anwar
Survival sex in the era of exported democracy – Great title for a smashing Hollywood film or a best seller book.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18978.htm
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US Mayors’ Report:
Hunger and Homelessness Intensify in US Cities
By Debra Watson
The number of people hungry and homeless in US cities rose dramatically again in 2007, according to the annual report on hunger and homelessness from the US Conference of Mayors.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18980.htm
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The Post-Bush Regime: A Prognosis
By Richard K. Moore
In order to understand anything about American political affairs, it is necessary to have some understanding of who it is that really makes the decisions behind the scenes, and what their interests are. In this way we have some hope of identifying the hidden agendas being served by government actions and programs, and some hope of identifying the longer-term strategies that are in play.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18976.htm
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Now We Are Human Commodities
By Chris Maser
We are today so ensnared in the process of selling and buying things in the market place, that we cannot imagine human life being otherwise. Even our notion of well-being and of despair are wedded to the flow and ebb of the markets. Why is this so much a part of our lives?
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18977.htm
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Good and Evil at the Center of the Earth
A Quechua ChristmasCarol
By Greg Palast
Correa is one of the first dark-skinned men to win election to this Quechua and mixed-race nation. Certainly, one of the first from the streets. He’d won a surprise victory over the richest man in Ecuador, the owner of the biggest banana plantation.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18975.htm
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Scores die in Kenya election riots :
More than 150 people have reportedly been killed in clashes that erupted in Kenya after the re-election of Mwai Kibaki, the country’s president.
snipurl.com/1w8jh
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In photos: ‘Kenya Elections Aftermath’:
Thousands of youth across the country took to the streets again today to protest the announcement that incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected, a result which many believe was rigged.
snipurl.com/1w8jj
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Violence erupts as President Mwai Kibaki grabs election victory at the last minute:
David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said that Britain had “real concerns” at voting irregularities reported by European Union monitors.
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article3111703.ece
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A stolen election:
Halfway through the count in Kenya’s presidential and parliamentary elections, the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, was so far ahead – by 700,000 votes – that analysts predicted it would take a minor miracle for the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki, to survive. Last night, that miracle duly came to pass
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2233591,00.html
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A people betrayed:
The cynicism of the cabal around President Kibaki is breathtaking: they knew the consequences of stealing the election
commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/meera_
selva/2007/12/a_people_betrayed.html
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Iraq: At least 26 killed in another bloody day of US occupation:
Iraqi soldiers killed 12 “gunmen” and detained 29 others during the last 24 hours
www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL31336554
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Suicide truck bomb attack kills 12 north of Baghdad:
A suicide bomber drove a truck rigged with explosives into a checkpoint manned by members of a U.S.-backed security volunteer group in a town north of Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 12 people, police and a member of the volunteer group said.
wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=7559721&nav=menu31_2
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Bombing at Iraq-Iran border area kills 2 Iraqi soldiers :
Two Iraqi soldiers were killed when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off in an area near the borders with Iran, said a security source Monday.
snipurl.com/1w8jm
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The worst, and saddest, job in Baghdad:
It must be a candidate for the worst job in Iraq. It falls to Baghdad’s street sweepers, who use their bare hands, to pick up the fingertips and scraps of flesh spattered around every bomb site in the Iraqi capital. They do it without gloves, in all but the coldest weeks of winter.
www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/30/africa/baghdad.php
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2007 was deadliest year for U.S. troops in Iraq:
Two critical shifts that boosted U.S.-led forces in 2007 – a self-imposed cease-fire by a main Shiite militia and a grassroots Sunni revolt against extremists – could still unravel unless serious unity efforts are made by the Iraqi government.
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22451069/
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Iraqi refugees turn to sex trade in Syria:
A score of young Iraqi women in tight, shimmering gowns shuffle across the nightclub dance floor under the hungry eyes of Gulf Arabs at nearby tables.
www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L29661659.htm
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Iraqi cabinet backs pardon for thousands of detainees:
The Iraqi cabinet approved a draft law yesterday that will offer a general pardon to thousands of prisoners in US military and Iraqi custody, a government spokesman said.
www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2232289,00.html
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25 Police, Soldiers Killed In Occupied Afghanistan: Official:
Twenty-five policemen and soldiers have been killed across insurgency-hit Afghanistan in fresh – mainly Taliban-linked – violence, authorities said on Monday.
snipurl.com/1w8jr
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Roadside blast kills Canadian outside Kandahar:
One Canadian occupation force soldier was killed yesterday and four others were injured as their convoy was heading back from the front lines for a long-awaited New Year’s break.
snipurl.com/1w8js
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New video footage shows Bhutto was shot dead :
A dramatic new footage of former premier Benazir Bhutto assassination today lent credence to her Pakistan People’s Party’s claim that she was shot dead, a claim vehemently contradicted by Pakistan government.
snipurl.com/1w8jt
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Watch New Video Footage of Bhutto’s Death:
Channel 4 News has exclusively obtained dramatic new footage which shows in clear detail the moment of Benazir Bhutto’s death
www.channel4.com/player/v2/player.jsp?showId=10619
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Hospital lawyer: Pakistani police stopped doctors from conducting Bhutto autopsy:
The police chief of the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi prevented doctors from performing an autopsy on the corpse of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, according to a lawyer on the hospital’s board.
snipurl.com/1w8jv
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Bhutto ‘blocked from hiring US bodyguards’:
President Pervez Musharraf refused to allow the foreign contractors to operate in Pakistan, according to senior aides.
snipurl.com/1w8k8
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Musharraf Is ‘A Total Failure’:
An interview with Pakistan’s main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif : Everybody in this country holds him and his policies responsible for the murder.
www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,525943,00.html
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Pakistan to delay vote by at least four weeks: officials:
Pakistan will delay parliamentary elections by at least four weeks after a wave of violence triggered by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, senior government officials told AFP on Monday.
www.afp.com/english/news/stories/071231154830.rikq0jsm.html
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Sharif demands Mush`s resignation :
Former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif today demanded his resignation and renewed call for the formation of a government of national consensus to ensure free and fair general elections on January 8 as scheduled.
snipurl.com/1w8ka
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Prof. Michel Chossudovsky: The Destabilization of Pakistan: :
The process of US sponsored “regime change”, which normally consists in the re-formation of a fresh proxy government under new leaders has been broken.
snipurl.com/1w8kd
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Bush’s best-laid plans:
The Bhutto assassination demonstrates anew the folly of the administration’s efforts to manage history.
fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/latimesE34.html
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Iran gives early date for reactor :
Iran says its Bushehr nuclear power will start working in mid-2008.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7165405.stm
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Oil Rises as Iran to Start Reactor:
Crude oil rose in New York, poised for its biggest annual increase since 1999, as Iran announced plans to start its first nuclear reactor next year, raising concern that the move will heighten a confrontation with the U.S.
www.xak.com/main/newsshow.asp?id=81121
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Stranded pilgrims riot in Egypt :
Hundreds of Palestinian pilgrims have rioted in temporary camps set up to house them until a dispute over their return to the Gaza Strip has been resolved.
snipurl.com/1w8kj
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What’s the hurry?:
Rice tends to compare the Israeli occupation in the territories to the racial segregation that used to be the norm in the American South. The Israel Defense Forces checkpoints where Palestinians are detained remind her of the buses she rode as a child in Alabama, which had separate seats for blacks and whites.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/939202.html
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Barghouti: Israel doesn’t want peace:
“What is demanded of Israel now is that it announce clearly that it is ready to end the occupation, retreat from occupied territories, remove settlements and checkpoints, stop seizing land, release prisoners, stop the siege of the Gaza Strip and stop the operations of killing and destruction,” he added.
snipurl.com/1w8km
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Abbas reveals: Israel negotiated with Hamas:
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas claimed on Monday that despite Israel’s stated policy that it would not speak to Hamas, representatives from both parties met for clandestine talks in Switzerland.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3488830,00.html
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McCain’s Unlikely Ties to K Street:
Private schmooze sessions such as the gathering in Utah pose a particular dilemma for McCain, who has spent a long career decrying “special interests” and politicians who offer special access to them in order to raise money.
snipurl.com/1w8ko
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Top economist says America could plunge into recession:
Losses arising from America’s housing recession could triple over the next few years and they represent the greatest threat to growth in the United States, one of the world’s leading economists has told The Times.
business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business
/economics/article3111659.ece
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U.S. Stocks Decline, Poised for Worst Fourth Quarter Since 2000 :
U.S. stocks fell and were poised for their first fourth-quarter decline since 2000 after government reports on durable goods and unemployment reinforced speculation the housing-market collapse will push the economy into recession.
snipurl.com/1w8ku
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NEWS 12/31/07
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Iraq: At least 15 Killed as US occupation grinds on:
U.S. occupation forces killed six gunmen and detained 14 others
www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSKAM030325
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Taliban Kill 8 in Afghan Convoy Attack :
Taliban militants fired rocket-propelled grenades from their vehicles at a convoy of private security guards on Afghanistan’s main highway, killing six guards and two police officers, a police chief said Sunday
www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7185804,00.html
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1 NATO soldier killed, 4 wounded in south Afghanistan:
The NATO soldiers were patrolling in the country’s volatile south when an explosion ripped through their vehicle, the alliance said in a statement.
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/30/asia/AS-GEN-Afghanistan.php
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Diplomats expelled ‘at behest of the US’:
Two European diplomats accused of holding secret talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan were thrown out of the country following a complaint by the US, intelligence officials in Kabul have told The Sunday Telegraph.
snipurl.com/1w8ky
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Bhutto’s son and husband to lead party:
Political turmoil in Pakistan deepened on Sunday as Benazir Bhutto’s son Bilawal, a 19-year-old student at Oxford, was surprisingly chosen to succeed the slain opposition leader as chairman of Pakistan’s largest party.
www.ft.com/cms/s/c2ba400e-b6e5-11dc-aa38-0000779fd2ac.html
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Hillary: Pakistan troops might have killed Bhutto:
Hillary Rodham Clinton waded into Pakistan’s volatile internal political situation Saturday, raising the possibility the country’s military might have assassinated Benazir Bhutto because the killing took place in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
snipurl.com/1w8kz
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Tapes by C.I.A. Lived and Died to Save Image :
If Abu Zubaydah, a senior operative of Al Qaeda, died in American hands, Central Intelligence Agency officers pursuing the terrorist group knew that much of the world would believe they had killed him.
snipurl.com/1w8l1
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Africa aid wiped out by rising cost of oil:
The rising cost of oil has wiped out the benefits many African countries were expecting from western aid and debt relief over the past three years, new research from the International Energy Agency has shown.
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/005d1f30-b5b0-11dc-896e-0000779fd2ac.html
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