Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq  “1,225,898"
www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html
 
===
 
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America’sWar On Iraq 4,109
icasualties.org/oif/
 
The War And Occupation Of Iraq Costs
$531,382,395,998
 
See the cost in your community
nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182
 
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John McCain’s : ‘League of Democracies’ Is a Frightening Thought
 
By Robert Skidelsky
 
This is the thrust of McCain’s message. As he put it, the US was built for a purpose – to serve “eternal and universal principles.” Its God-given task is to build an “enduring global peace on the foundations of freedom, security, prosperity and hope.”
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20173.htm
 
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Ron Paul: Doesn’t Accept 9/11 Investigation
 
Video
 
Ron Paul speaks on the effects of US foreign policy.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20174.htm
 
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Victor’s Justice Vs. Morality
 
The Hitchens Conundrum
 
By Patrick J. Buchanan
 
The London Charter of the International Military Tribunal decided that at Nuremberg only the crimes of Axis powers would be prosecuted and that among those crimes would be a newly invented “crimes against humanity.” This decree was issued Aug. 8, 1945, 48 hours after we dropped the first atom bomb on Hiroshima and 24 hours before we dropped the second on Nagasaki.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20172.htm
 
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Climate Chaos Is Inevitable.
 
We Can Only Avert Oblivion
 
By Mark Lynas
 
Sometimes we need to think the unthinkable, particularly when dealing with a problem as dangerous as climate change – there is no room for dogma when considering the future habitability of our planet.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20175.htm
 
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Obama’s FISA Betrayal
 
By Matthew Rothschild
 
Barack Obama’s rightward sprint is nowhere more obvious than in his betrayal on the FISA bill.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20176.htm
 
===
 
35 militants die in battles in eastern Afghanistan:
 
At least 35 Taliban militants were killed in clashes with Afghan-Coalition forces after the militants attacked two towns in eastern Afghanistan overnight, police and U.S.-led coalition forces said Wednesday.
tinyurl.com/3w7q8g
 
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Afghan attacks kill two NATO occupation force soldiers, 40-truck military supply convoy destroyed:
 
The attacks demonstrated the limited gains from the costly six-year effort to stabilize and bring security to Afghanistan, which is drawing in ever-larger numbers of NATO troops
tinyurl.com/4xzzjy
 
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Taliban attacks up 40 percent in east Afghanistan:
 
US general: Attacks by Taliban militants in eastern Afghanistan were up 40 percent in the first five months of 2008 compared with the same period last year, the US commander in the region told reporters here Tuesday.
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gtm1Pg2X4YmP6WXKl0I6uLP2VBEA
 
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Mullen Calls for Afghan Troop Build-up:
 
The chief of the U.S. military, Adm. Michael Mullen, said June 23 he needs three more brigades in Afghanistan to battle Taliban fighters and train Afghan forces.
tinyurl.com/6e7zhu
 
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Losing Afghanistan (It Can’t Be Won):
 
Nato has to win in Afghanistan, the Taliban only needs not to lose
www.thenational.ae/article/20080621/OPINION/580875713
 
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Pakistanis “won’t allow” attacks into Afghanistan:
 
Pakistan said on Wednesday it would not allow militants to attack Afghanistan from its territory and it would never let foreign troops operate on its soil.
in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINL2552697820080625
 
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Bodies found of 22 abducted by Pakistani Taliban:
 
Pakistani Taliban militants murdered 22 rivals captured this week when they seized a northwestern town, a government official and residents said on Wednesday.
news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080625/wl_nm/pakistan_violence_dc
 
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$2 billion in U.S. aid to Pakistan questioned:
 
The United States has paid more than $5 billion to reimburse Pakistan for counter-terrorism expenses that have often been exaggerated, if not fabricated, according to a government audit released Tuesday that blasts the Pentagon for poor management of the program.
tinyurl.com/4txa7a
 
===
 
US report on Pakistan ‘incorrect’:
 
Pakistani military sources have rejected a US report which says the country may have misused more than $2bn given to it for the “war on terror”.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7473859.stm
 
===
 
Biden calls for new approach to Pakistan aid:
 
A top Democratic senator on Wednesday proposed tripling non-military aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year, while restricting money intended for anti-terrorism operations.
tinyurl.com/3wpcnt
 
===
 
Iraq: At least 22 killed in another bloody day of US occupation:
 
A U.S. air strike on a house killed a family, including four children aged between four and 11, in the village of Samra, near the northern town of Tikrit, police said.
www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL2559342220080625
 
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U.S. occupation forces kill 9 civilians in Iraq:
 
Nine civilians were killed today in two firefights with U.S. soldiers, local authorities reported. The military said U.S. soldiers were fired upon first in both incidents.
tinyurl.com/3q4yrv
 
===
 
Israel Prodding U.S. To Attack Iran:
 
White House Weighs Striking Iran’s Nuclear Complex, Which Could Trigger 3rd War In Region
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/24/eveningnews/main4206201.shtml
 
===
 
No Such Animal as an Israeli Attack on Iran:
 
In Congress, the Cheneyistas are promoting a resolution demanding that the president work to ban all gas exports to Iran, which could not be achieved without a blockade, an act of war. Such a blockade would surely provoke Iranian retaliation, providing a rationale for U.S. counter-retaliation, and who can say what the end result of that cycle of escalation would be?
www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/no-such-animal-as-an-isra_b_109154.html
 
===
 
Larijani warns West over nuke plan:
 
Mr Larijani pointed to recent comments by Mohamed ElBaradei, the UN nuclear watchdog chief, who said in an interview last week that a military strike on Iran could turn West Asia into a “ball of fire” and “prompt Iran, even if it didn’t produce a nuclear weapon today, to resort to an emergency plan to produce a nuclear weapon.” Mr Larijani said the West should “take Mr ElBaradei’s warnings seriously.”
tinyurl.com/4jaf57
 
===
 
The Bolton-Telegraph Scare:
 
The Telegraph has offered a soapbox to John Bolton who, consistent with his views of the past four or five months, still believes that George W. Bush will not order an attack on Iran before he leaves office, but also now argues that Israel will do so between the November elections and the inaugural of the new president, particularly if that president is Sen. Obama.
www.ips.org/blog/jimlobe/?p=161
 
===
 
EU publishes Iran sanctions blacklist:
 
The blacklist, published Tuesday, includes 15 new people and 20 companies that the European Union says are linked to Iran’s nuclear program.
www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jun24/0,4670,EUIran,00.html
 
===
 
Iran to pull assets from EU over sanctions: minister:
 
“We are going to withdraw the money and invest elsewhere,” Mahdi was quoted as saying by Austrian daily Die Presse. “If you withdraw more than $100 billion, then of course this will bring about a scarcity of money and have an impact on the world economy.”
tinyurl.com/4k4qsa
 
===
 
Manufacturing Consent For An Attack On Iran:
 
Syria planned to supply Iran with nuclear fuel, Israel says:
 
The claim from an adviser to Israel’s national security council, came yesterday as speculation mounts about a possible Israeli attack on Iran. The Israeli government officially backs UN sanctions to force Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment but has little faith they will succeed.
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/25/syria.iran
 
===
 
IAEA inspectors return from first visit to Syria:
 
Ollie Heinonen, who led the delegation, told reporters that the investigation into an alleged nuclear site at Al-Kibar in the Syrian desert had got off to a satisfactory start, including the collection of soil samples.
tinyurl.com/64lkbu
 
===
 
Israel closes Gaza crossings:
 
The crossings were to have opened at 8am (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday but Peter Lerner, an Israeli military liaison official, said that they would stay closed until further notice.
english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/06/200862553317485882.html
 
===
 
Hamas: Gaza crossings closure violates ceasefire:
 
Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement on Wednesday said Israel’s decision to shut crossing points into Gaza breaches the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire deal.
news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/25/content_8436623.htm
 
===
 
Islamic Jihad Pledges To Observe Ceasefire With Israel:
 
“We have confirmed to our friends in Hamas that we have decided to respect the ceasefire,” spokesman Daoud Shihab said in Gaza after talks with Hamas.”We will apply the pact on the suspension of attacks if Israel also respects it,” he told AFP.
tinyurl.com/6m6kgm
 
===
 
Hamas says it is committed to Gaza ceasefire:
 
The Palestinian militant group Hamas says it remains committed to a ceasefire deal in Gaza, but will not act as Israel’s police force by confronting other groups who continue attacks.
tinyurl.com/6prwcm
 
===
 
Gaza’s fallen fighters watch over uneasy truce:
 
The veteran Palestinian fighter, blown to pieces in 2006, lives on with thousands of his comrades on the martyrdom posters that line Gaza’s dusty streets, an army of ghosts haunting the impoverished, war-battered territory.
www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=OTIzNjkxNzkw
 
===
 
Former Mossad chief urges Israeli talks with Hamas:
 
Israel should hold talks with Hamas since no peace agreement with the Palestinians is viable without the inclusion of the hamas resistance movement, former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy said Tuesday.
tinyurl.com/6xjj4c
 
===
 
9 dead in Lebanon fighting:
 
The death toll from this week’s clashes between supporters of rival political groups in the northern Lebanon rose to nine after one person succumbed to his wounds, Internal Security Forces said Wednesday.
cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2008/06/25/9-dead-in-lebanon-fighting/
 
===
 
Lebanon gets president after six-month wait:
 
The result of the vote was greeted with fireworks and celebratory gunfire across the capital, as many Lebanese hoped they had reached the end of an 18-month political stand-off.
tinyurl.com/6lfu5f
 
===
 
Pentagon eyes $200 mln bomb, missile sale to SKorea:
 
The Pentagon unveiled a proposal Monday to sell South Korea a munitions and weapons package valued at up to $200 million to equip 21 more Boeing Co F-15K fighter aircraft.
wiredispatch.com/news/?id=223817
 
===
 
Colombia: Two More Trade Unionists Assassinated:
 
Less than one week after the latest ITUC protest to President Uribe about the violence and repression against trade unions in Colombia, two more trade unionists have been murdered.
www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00589.htm
 
===
 
Former Colombian legislator sentenced in Uribe’s re-election scandal:
 
A former Colombian lawmaker who said she took bribes to enable the re-election of President Alvaro Uribe just got a tough sentence.
tinyurl.com/5tlla6
 
===
 
Colombia-Ecuador spat continues:
 
Correa had told an Argentinian newspaper that his government would demand that a Colombian attack “be fully clarified”, and said that “the bombs [used] were American.”
english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/06/2008624221822417889.html
 
===
 
Ecuador buying warplanes, drones and radar to strengthen troubled border with Colombia:
 
Defense Minister Javier Ponce said in an interview that the government is buying six Israeli-made unmanned aerial vehicles and new radar so it can get a better handle on its borders, especially the troubled frontier with Colombia.
tinyurl.com/6cq4sg
 
===
 
Bolivian region rejects US anti-drug aid in favor of Venezuelan aid:
 
Coca growers in Bolivia’s Chapare province said Wednesday that they will suspend projects financed by the U.S. government aid agency and instead seek funding from Venezuela’s socialist President Hugo Chavez.
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/25/america/LA-GEN-Bolivia-US-Aid.php
 
===
 
Faster Inflation May Unleash `Financial Tsunami’:
 
Rising consumer prices will leave more U.S. consumers unable to pay their debts and may lead to a ``financial tsunami,’’ according to Bennet Sedacca, president of money manager Atlantic Advisors LLC in Winter Park, Florida.
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a8j2MuFdqA3s&refer=worldwide
 
===
 
House-sellers outnumber purchasers by 15 to 1:
 
There are 15 times more homes for sale than people to buy them – a worrying signal of the imbalance between supply and demand in the housing market.
us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto062220082106286263
 
===
 
Food relief line grows long, tense:
 
The chaos that erupted outside Milwaukee County’s main welfare office Monday over disaster-related food aid had more to do with a weak economy and crushing poverty in parts of this community than the devastating floods that swept through the state earlier this month, local government and food relief officials said.
www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=764962
 
====
 
Exxon oil spill damages reduced:
 
The US supreme court has overturned a lower court’s ruling that ordered ExxonMobil, the oil giant, to pay $2.5 billion in compensation for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill in Alaska.
english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/06/2008625144048697141.html