Free Gaza Rally, Washington DC, December 30, photos/audio

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in scores of U.S. cities in response to the call for December 30 to be a National Day of Action to support the people of Palestine.The call was issued 72 hours ago by a number of organizations including the ANSWER Coalition, Muslim American Society Freedom, the National Council of Arab Americans...

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The Age of Anxiety:Grim Prospects For The New Year.

In 1996, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan cautioned against "irrational exuberance." Now, in the 21st century, we live in the age of anxiety. Shopping is down; shoplifting and other woes are up. Dickens was only half-right: it's not the best of times, but only the worst of times.

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Gaza:Divided Arab League Calls For Halt To Gaza Strike.

Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo to discuss the crisis in Gaza as the Israeli military operation there, as well as Palestinian rocket fire into Israel, continued for a fifth day. But as often happens at Arab League meetings, while the rhetoric was strong, the unity of purpose was scarce.They want the UN to step up pressure on Israel.

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No Mercy for Gaza:Israel Rebuffs Call for Gaza Truce.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Israel on Wednesday rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and stepped up preparations for a possible ground offensive.The humanitarian situation in Gaza is getting dire with almost 400 killed and 1,200 wounded.The 1.5 million Palestinians are running out of food & drinkable water.

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Cuba: The Revolution 50th Anniversary.

Fidel Castro, also not officially in power, is far from dead.There is still plenty of life left in the most consummate political survivor of his era. Fidel currently writes his thoughts to his nation in the newspaper Granma. In Cuba, there is a nostalgia for the revolution but also a desire for progress and a new relationship with the US.

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Cynthia McKinney relief boat reportedly attacked

A relief ship carrying former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has been attacked by the Israeli navy, according to a pro-Palestinian organization.

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Pro-Palestinian Protesters at Obama's Hawaii House.

(Adds quote from aide, Washington protest, details) By Ross Colvin KAILUA, Hawaii, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A small group of placard-waving pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered near U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's vacation retreat in Hawaii on...

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Israel's Attack on Gaza will Make Hamas Stronger.

What Israel is currently doing by its systematic bombardment and destruction of Gaza has already killed 400 Palestinians, 1.5 million Palestinians are starving as Israel is still sealing off the Gaza strip, even from humanitarian relief. It is also uniting the Arab world ( Sunnis & Shiites) from Egypt to Iran.It is a massive strategical blunder.

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Obama: Senate Cannot Accept Blagojevich Appointment

KAILUA, Hawaii (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said on Tuesday he agreed that Senate Democrats ''cannot accept'' any move by Illinois' scandal-tarred governor to name a replacement for Obama's Senate seat. Obama said he was disappointed...

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Global Economy Crisis:World Faces Sharp Slowdown in 2009

By Claudia Parsons NEW YORK (Reuters) - Another day, another batch of warning signs indicating the world will enter 2009 in the throes of a sharp economic slowdown, with governments scrambling to find ways to boost lending and spur growth. Oil and...

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Reuters:Blagojevich Names Lawyer to Obama Senate Seat.

By Andrew Stern and Karen Pierog CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday defied fellow Democrats and appointed a successor to fill Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat -- the seat the governor is charged with trying to sell to...

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Gaza:Mideast 'Quartet' Calls for Immediate Ceasefire.

The UN, the EU, Russia and the US are calling for an immediate ceasefire as Israel is moving large amount of troops near the Gaza strip for a likely ground assault.

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Call for Action:Protest the Massacre of Palestinians in Gaza

Demonstrations will take place all over America today.Make you voice heard by protesting Israeli senseless bombing and siege of Gaza.In Los Angeles, two demonstrations are scheduled today ( 12/30/2008).One at the Federal Building in Westwood, the other one in front of the Israeli Consulate.

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United Nations:Israel & Hamas Must Halt Violence in Gaza.

Today,the UN Secretary General demanded that Israel & Hamas halt their acts of violence and take all necessary measures to avoid civilian casualties. He also asked for Gaza's borders to be re-open to allow access for emergency aid. Secretary Ban Ki-Moon said:"A ceasefire must be declared immediately, and they must curb their inflammatory rhetoric".

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Gandhi's Way of Non Violence: All Men Are Brothers.

Gandhi wrote:" Non violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind.It is mightier than any weapon of destruction.Destruction is not the law of the humans.Every murder, no matter for what cause, committed on another is a crime against humanity." Don't you wish our current world leaders would reflect and apply Gandhi's philosophy?

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Gaza:Obama Should Engage Now for Middle East Peace

The Gaza crisis is so severe that it demands the president-elect speak up for diplomacy.More than 300 Palestinians has being killed, including 12 children, more than 1,000 are seriously wounded. Peace organizations, including Jewish ones in the US and Israel are calling for an end of Israel's actions.Obama needs to get involved right now.

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Daddy’s Wingnut

f you think I have an ounce of humor or a bit of knowledge and/or brains my Daddy has all three by the ton. Every time I call him I miss him like a child who dropped her ice cream.

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Arab Angry Protesters Demand Response to Gaza.

By Aseel Kami and Sabah al-Bazee BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Protesters burned Israeli and U.S. flags on Sunday in a string of Arab countries and demanded a stronger response from their leaders to Israel's attack on Gaza. ''Arab silence is behind the...

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Laura Bush's Denial:"Bush Presidency Not a Failure".

Bush uses final 50 days left in office to tout his" legacy".Laura Bush stands by her man and disagrees with critics who call the presidency of Bush a failure. In an interview to be aired today she said:" I know it is not(a failure), and so I don't really feel that I need to respond to people that view it that way ".

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Reuters:Israel Pounds Gaza for Second Day, 229 Killed

By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Israel launched air strikes on Gaza for a second successive day on Sunday, piling pressure on Hamas after 229 people were killed in one of the bloodiest 24 hours for Palestinians in 60 years of conflict with the...

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Bush's Ultimate Legacy: A World at War.

In Iraq, today a car bomb killed at least 25, wounding 64. In Gaza, Israeli air strikes killed 200 and wounded several hundred. Afghanistan is in shamble, and unstable Pakistan is bringing troops near the Indian border.The so called "war on terror" has made the world unsafer and has triggered, from his 3 trillion cost, a global recession.

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AFP:World Leaders Call for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza.

The EU & the UN are calling for an immediate cease fire in Gaza.200 people are reported dead, several hundred are seriously wounded. World leaders are strongly condemning the Israeli bombardments as well as the ensuing launch of rockets into Israel.

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Scores Killed(more than 200) In Israeli Airstrikes On Gaza:

Huge explosions rocked most every major security and police compound in Gaza City and across the coastal territory on Saturday. An informal ceasefire between Israel and Hamas expired last week. Since then, Hamas and other factions have dramatically increased rocket fire into southern Israel.Arab countries express outrage and call for a UN meeting.

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The Great Crash 2008:Geopolitical Set Back for the US & EU.

The financial & economic crash of 2008,the worst in over 75 years,is a major geopolitical set back for the US & Europe.The US & the EU will have neither the resources nor the economic credibility to play the same leading role in global affairs.The crisis will accelerate trends that are shifting the world's center of gravity away from the US.

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AP/NPR:Caroline Kennedy Speaks Out On Senate Bid

Caroline Kennedy emerged from weeks of near-silence Friday about her bid for a Senate seat by giving an interview to The Associated Press. She said that after a lifetime of closely guarded privacy, she felt compelled to answer the call to service issued by her father a generation ago.

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Pakistan moves army closer to Punjab border.

This is how the Times of India is covering the escalation.

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Pakistan Moves Troops Near Border as India Tensions Rise.

By Bappa Majumdar and Kamran Haider NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - India warned its citizens on Friday it was unsafe to travel to Pakistan and the prime minister met his military chiefs, while Pakistan canceled army leave and moved some troops from...

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The Weird Wide Web:

Best & Worst of 2008.

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Against Bush's Crimes:Nobel Prize-Winning Harold Pinter Dies

Pinter was 78. He was one of the strongest voices denouncing the invasion of Iraq, he stated:"The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law.How many people do you have to kill to qualify as a mass murderer and a war criminal?"

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It’s Christmas Eve Day!

I’m a Buddhist. That has been a fact since 1992. I’m like every other non-Christian in the United States - I can either try and beat Christmas or I can join in. Most folks I know just join in; pretty much everybody has the day off so what hey. I usually don’t get the Christmas bug, but community and family - like the one I’ve found online ...

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Minnesota Senate Seat:Court Denies Coleman Request.

The justices said the Coleman claim that some ballots may have been double-counted would be better resolved in a separate court action than by local canvassing boards. Al Franken is currently ahead of Coleman in the Senate race by a razor thin lead of 47 votes. This is good news for Franken and the Democrats.

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Web Social Network: Facebook fanatics in Italy.

Italians are spending a lot of time on Facebook lately, they do it all the time and especially at work.The trend is troubling for some...

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Spinning the Truth:The World According to Dick Cheney.

Cheney has a parting message to Americans: They should quit whining about all the things he & Bush did to undermine the rule of law,erode the balance of power between the White House and Congress, spy illegally on Americans and drive the world into a global recession.Bush & Cheney decisions were never reality based, they will keep spinning history.

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An Ex-Israeli soldier revisits the Massacre of Palestinians:

Filmmaker Ari Folman was a 19-year-old Israeli soldier serving in Beirut at the time of the 1982 massacre of Palestinian refuges. Though he has no memory of the time, he revisits the mission in his new film, Waltz With Bashir, a surreal, animated documentary of the terror.

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Economy Crisis:No Christmas Cheer as Recession Gathers Steam

By Alister Bull WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Existing home sales fell by a record amount last month as the recession picked up pace although a collapse in gasoline prices gave consumer sentiment a rare lift, data on Tuesday showed. Could the recession become a depression?

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French Madoff investor found dead in NY office

By Daniel Trotta NEW YORK (Reuters) - A French executive who invested with accused swindler Bernard Madoff was found dead in an apparent suicide on Tuesday, reportedly distraught over losing up to $1.4 billion in client money. The death added a...

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Reuters:Senate Race in Minnesota Remains Undecided

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Officials trying to determine who won the November 4 U.S. Senate race in Minnesota recessed their deliberations on Tuesday until the end of the year without reaching a decision. Unofficial counts showed one-time comedian Al...

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Economy Crisis:Economy declined 0.5 percent in third quarter

Bush announces new step to steady banking industry. The decline will be a lot worse for the 4st quarter. Is the recession quickly becoming a global depression?

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Bush Gets MRI on Left Shoulder.

Today, Bush went to see some troops seriously injured on his watch. He managed to squeeze in a quick MRI for a pain he has in his left shoulder. Heart attack? No, not to worry, he is just fine.However, most American need an MRI from their neck to their pelvis from all the generous serving of Bush's shock doctrine we had for the last 8 years.

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Sign Petition/letter to new Att. Gen. to investigate Cheney

Dear Attorney General-Designate Eric Holder,We the undersigned citizens of the United States hereby formally petition you to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute any and all government officials who have participated in War Crimes

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Blood Bling:Arabs Lavish Jewels on Secretary of State Rice

The global economic depression ( Bush calls it a recession, so you know it is a depression) is not affecting the quality of Rice's Christmas bonuses from her Arabs friends.Recently, she played piano for the Queen of England. Rice wants her exit to be stylish....

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Scam:Where Did the Bailout Money Go? Shhhh, it's a Secret.

When you try to get a loan lately, banks ask you a lot of questions. However, after getting a lot of money from the tax payers they are not willing to return the favor and tell us what they did with all this cash.This is a scandalous scam.

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Survey:Does Bush live by the Ten Commandments?

When Bush gave up the bottle, he discovered Jesus and became Born Again. All good and fine in principle, but a question comes to mind; does he live by the corner stone principles of the Christian Faith? Or may be the Ten Commandments do not apply to a US President in war times.Should Bush plead the 5th?

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Bush 666, Karma or Irony?

This screenshot taken from Digg Dec. 21, 2008 at 11:15 pm EST. You be the judge.

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Bush's Crimes:Neglect & Incompetence in NOLA post Katrina.

The Bush legacy is defined by one word: Fiasco. The fiasco of the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan, the economy crash and in 2005 the ultimate case of government failure: New-Orleans post Katrina. More than 1,000 people died in the tragedy, the Bush administration should be held accountable. This photo essay is dedicated to the " Big Easy" re-birth.

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Global Anxiety: The Wars, the Recession Impact all of Us.

It’s the Holidays, it’s Winter, it’s a Global Recession, it’s Wars, and it’s Sunday.I’ve seen the general anxiety level of my friends and family go up, up, up just as US economy goes down, down, down.....In challenging time, it is hard to "keep it together" but we can.We need to stick together and understand that we are all in the same boat.

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Eve of Destruction: The Speech that Defined a Presidency

After Bush’s speech on the eve of the second Iraq War we all knew it was out of our hands. We had no choice but to trust — trust the decision of our elected officials. I was one of the 20% who vehemently opposed attacking Iraq, but I desperately hoped that our leadership would prove me wrong.

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Eve of Destruction: The Speech that Defined a Presidency

After Bush’s speech on the eve of the second Iraq War we all knew it was out of our hands. We had no choice but to trust — trust the decision of our elected officials. I was one of the 20% who vehemently opposed attacking Iraq, but I desperately hoped that our leadership would prove me wrong.

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How Bush Sold the Lies for the War in Iraq.

This is the full text of Bush's speech. Remember the one that took America to Iraq almost 6 years ago. It is a cleaver combination of propaganda and manufactured " evidence". The American people bought it; at the time 80% were in for the war.

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For a Last Hurrah, Protesters Give Bush the Boot

For the antiwar crowd, the shoe is now on the other foot.

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Farewell America

The following work by the pseudonymous "James Hepburn" is largely accepted to be authored by French Intelligence (Their equivalent to our CIA) as the "real" story behind the Kennedy assassination. Originally published in 1968 it remained unpublished in the United States for many years.

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Senate-for-Sale Case Threatens new Chief of Staff

Rahm Emmanuel is in the hot seat on this one.

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Investigating The Bush Administration Criminal Activities.

American Freedom Campaign was formed by more than 1,000 lawyers. The organization launch this site in a campaign urging Conyers & Leahy to vigorously investigate Bush Administration criminality. Let see what Congress will do about it.

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Homeless Partners' Christmas Wish List

On these pages you will find the personal stories of many homeless people from several cities across North America. The homeless are real people, with real lives, real feelings, and real hopes and dreams. By clicking on a city name to the right, you can read their stories and choose one or more people to send a personal, caring gift or message ...

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Obama's Choice of Warren to Lead Prayer Dismays Liberals.

Obama seems to be moving steadily towards the Center Right.From his choice to keep Gates for Secretary of Defense to appointments that do not thrill his "Green " supporters. The choice of Warren is a slap in the face for the Gays community.Obama got the nomination over Clinton because of anti-war & Progressive voters.Liberals feel a bit let down.

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Audio:Bob Woodward On " Deep Throat " & Watergate.

Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward talks about FBI Deputy Director W. Mark Felt AKA " Deep Throat", the secret source that helped him break the Watergate story. Mark Felt just died.

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Congress Memo: Rice & Gonzales Lied about War Key Argument.

From the memo:" One of the core argument for going to war against Iraq was that Saddam was seeking to build nuclear weapons.Gonzales asserted to the Senate(on behalf of Rice) that the CIA approved the use of the claim. The evidence appear to raise serious questions about the veracity of the assertions made by Gonzales to Congress on Rice's behalf."

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Human Rights:U.N. Divided over Gay Rights Declaration.

By Patrick Worsnip UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly split over the issue of gay rights on Thursday after a European-drafted statement calling for decriminalization of homosexuality prompted an Arab-backed one opposing...

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Who is Robert Gates, Murky ex-Spy or Consensus Builder?

Robert Gates was ready to say farewell to the Pentagon when President-elect Obama asked him to stay on. The once-controversial spymaster has reinvented himself as a consensus builder. He's not the Gates people recall from a generation ago.

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Paulson: Congress Needs to Release Last Half of $700B Rescue

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the use of the rescue fund to provide loans to the auto industry along with all the other rescue efforts for the financial system meant that the Bush administration has now basically allocated the first half of the largest government bailout program in history.

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Iraq Preachers Demand Release of Bush Shoe Attacker

By Waleed Ibrahim BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Muslim preachers from both sides of Iraq's once-bloody Sunni-Shi'ite divide appealed to the government on Friday to release the journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush. The family of TV...

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Dynasty & Politic:Is Caroline Kennedy Ready To Serve?

Kennedy has never held public office. She's not associated with any particular political issue and has spent her entire life, "avoiding the spotlight." Nonetheless, Kennedy stands a good chance of going to the Senate.That possibility reveals some unpleasant truths about American democracy.Is the notion of Meritocracy gone in favor of Dynasty?

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Clinton Foundation Donors

Steve Clemons from " The Washington Note" was one of the first bloggers to find out, this morning, that the Clinton Foundation had released its roster of donors.

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Greed & Lies:On Wall Street, Bonuses, not Profits, were Real

In March 2008, E.Stanley O'Neal (former CEO of Merril Lynch) said: " As a result of the extraordinary growth at Merril during my tenure, the board saw fit to increase my compensation each year".O'Neal was paid $48 million in 08,$18,5 million of it in cash. Even employees,lower on the food chain, had bonuses 100 time the amount of their base salary.

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The Core Systemic Issue: Trust

A key component in our current financial and economic crisis is trust, or more exactly the lack of it.Because of the toxic paper of American loans, financial markets worldwide do not trust American Financial institutions including Wall Street. All banks...

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Madoff in House Arrest, SEC Under Fire

By Grant McCool and John Poirier NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Disgraced Wall Street investment manager Bernard Madoff, accused of orchestrating a $50 billion fraud, was put under house arrest on Wednesday. BNP Paribas SA became the latest.....

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Reuters Report:35 Iraqi Officials Arrested over Coup Plot.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 35 Iraqi officials have been arrested at the interior ministry, some accused of planning a coup, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing senior security officials in Baghdad. The arrests over the past three days...

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Bush Executive Order:Abortion Law Likely To Stick

A late regulation of abortion by the Bush administration could prove difficult to alter when President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January. Madeleine Brand talks to Health Policy Correspondent Julie Rovner about what law says and why it could stick.

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Cox Cites SEC Failures In Madoff Case

The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission is blaming the agency's staff for a decade-long failure to investigate Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff, now accused of running the largest-ever pyramid investment scheme.

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Reuters:Greece Demonstrators Call for Europe-Wide Protest.

By Daniel Flynn and Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) - Protesters hung banners from the Acropolis in Greece on Wednesday calling for demonstrations across Europe, in the twelfth day of protests since police shot dead a teenager. ''Resistance'' read...

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Madoff Scandal: Another Failure of the SEC.

Some investors tried to warn regulators about Bernard Madoff, and they say authorities failed to act against him until it was much too late. Now the FBI has set up a hotline for investors who believe they were cheated by Madoff, in an effort to gather information about how the scandal unfolded. A complain was filled in 1999.

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Disturbing video US troops insane: American Hypocrisy

This is absolutely atrocious behavior for which the participants should face severe child abuse charges!

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Blast from the Past

I’d like to take a moment to clear the air here. I’m crazy. My boss is crazy. All my co-workers are crazy. I work for an organization that’s run by crazy people, for crazy people. Sometimes the people are homeless and crazy, sometimes the people are dangerous and crazy.All my friends are crazy, and pretty much any boyfriend’

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Bad Time for Congressional Pay Raises.

Every year, like clockwork, Congress Representatives get a pay raise in January. The question here, based on their less than stellar performance in all aspects of government, shouldn't they get a pay cut, instead?

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The Debate on Evolution in the Muslim World.

The evolution-creationist debate is heating up in the Muslim world.The creationists have the upper hand, one of them in Turkey " Links evolution with Atheism and the West ". It should not come as a surprise that Islamic fundamentalists are on the same page than Americans Christian fundamentalists in their battle against science & progress.

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Congressional Oversight: Bailout Is Not Fixing Root Problem.

The financial turmoil in the U.S. began with the housing crisis. Elizabeth Warren, who heads the Congressional Oversight Panel — the group charged with monitoring the government's $700 billion bailout package — says the panel is looking into whether any of that money is helping ease the mortgage crisis.Half of the money has being spent already.

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ABC News- Transcript: Cheney Defends Hard Line Tactics.

Dick Cheney said that Guantanamo should be kept open until the war on terror ends, he also defended the torture practice of water boarding.

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Dick Cheney:"Don't Close Guantanamo Until Terror War Ends".

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney said on Monday the military prison at Guantanamo Bay could not be responsibly closed until the U.S. war on terror is over and he defended the practice of subjecting detainees to simulated drowning...

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Madoff Fraud has Worldwide Ripple Effects.

Ex-Nasdaq chair arrested on fraud charge, Richard Madoff, had put an elaborate fraud scheme together. Major European banks are now effected by the fraud. This latest scandal combined with the " toxic paper" from bad loans will make it harder to restore any trust from the global financial community to Wall Street.

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Iraqi Shoe-Throwing Reporter Becomes a National Hero.

By Waleed Ibrahim BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush in a supreme insult has suddenly become the talk of Iraq, hailed by marchers as a national hero but blasted by the government as a...

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Illness doesn't define ME AmberMoon

For all those who have ANY kind of illness. Brave the storm and soldier on with joy for all you've weathered.

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Bushonomic:Americans Rich and Poor Pawn More to Pay Bills.

By Sue Zeidler and Tim Gaynor BEVERLY HILLS, Calif./PHOENIX (Reuters) - Whether it's a Tiffany diamond or a three-year-old lawnmower, more and more Americans from all social classes are pawning their possessions to make ends meet. Pawn shop owners...

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Iraq:Shoes Hurled at President Bush

The Lame Duck president get the greeting he deserves in Iraq.

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Bush Makes Farewell Visit to Iraq

By Matt Spetalnick BAGHDAD (Reuters) - President George W. Bush made an unannounced farewell visit to Baghdad on Sunday, just weeks before he leaves office and bequeaths the unpopular Iraq war to President-elect Barack Obama. Bush flew secretly to...

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Mission Delusion:Bush Makes Surprise Visit To Iraq.

White House officials said the president plans to meet with Iraqi leaders and take one final opportunity to thank American troops for their service.He still claims that the war was " Necessary for world peace". What Bush has accomplished is dragging America into two endless wars and bankrupting the US economy.

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Happy Birthday to The Angry African!

We here at Center Left want to wish a very happy birthday to The Angry African. He’s one of the most talented authors in the entire blogosphere today, and a definite favorite of ours. We’ve pulled together a few of our favorite stories here...

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Reuters:Pakistan Says Indian Warplanes Violated Airspace.

By Sheree Sardar ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Saturday that Indian warplanes had violated its airspace but said this was ''inadvertent'' and there was no cause for alarm about an escalation of tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors. An...

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Madoff:Poster Child for Wall Street's Greed & Corruption.

This is what you get when you go to the " prestigious" Madoff Investment Securities LLC web site." Federal Judge Stanton has appointed Richards of the law firm Richards, Kibbe & Orbe as receiver over the assets and accounts of Bernard Madoff ". Next time you want to gamble your money go to Vegas, have a few drinks and enjoy losing it on blackjack.

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The Endless War: US Troops May Stay in Iraqi Cities.

By Andrew Gray BALAD, Iraq, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The top U.S. commander in Iraq said on Saturday that some U.S. troops may remain in Iraqi cities after next June, even though a U.S.-Iraq security pact...

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Great Photojournalism: Bearing Witness To War And Peace.

Reza Deghati is considered among the world's great photojournalists. He has traveled the globe for nearly 30 years, bearing witness to wars, unrest, great leaders and the courage of ordinary people trapped by history.

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Is the US Constitution a Living Document?

Recently during my steadfast browsing duties (Okay, I was just surfin’ the net) I came across a comment on Digg.com concerning the story “Democratic Censorship and Thought Police“. This ridiculously oxymoronic comment placed by Digg...

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American Empire:The Neocon Ideology is the Bush Doctrine.

This is a chronology of the " Bush doctrine".The preemption strategy idea came from Wolfowitz.In 1998, the Neocons formed "The Project for a New American Century".In a letter to Clinton, they argued for a "much stronger US global leadership exercised through military strength & moral clarity".The economy crash will end the Neocons' dream of Empire.

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EU Leaders Reach Climate and Economy Consensus.

European Union leaders, meeting in Brussels, have finally agreed on a 200 Billion Euro bailout package to revive the EU battered economy. They have also reached a consensus on climate change.

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Reuters:U.S. Aims for more Troops in Afghanistan, Gates Says

By Andrew Gray KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he hoped a U.S. troop increase for Afghanistan would be mostly done by late spring, as his commander warned Afghan forces were three or four years from leading the...

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Senate Report Blames White House, not Soldiers,for Abuse.

The physical & mental abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo was the direct result of the Bush administration detention policies and shouldn't be dismissed as the work of some bad guards. This is according to a bipartisan Senate report released Thursday. The Bush administration should be held accountable.

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The Roots of Contemporary Homelessness

Following the New Deal of the 1930s and the Great Society programs in the 1960s, homelessness was considered to be history in America. In the 1980s, however, the number of homeless people in America surged to levels not seen since the Great Depression. What caused homelessness to go from practically a non-issue to a population that today is...

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Bush Issues Last-Minute Rules On Environment

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced it is dropping some rules that could have had a negative impact on air quality. Meanwhile, the Interior Department has announced last-minute rules on endangered species.

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A Housewarming Gift from Karl Rove Pt.1

"... Despite Rove’s diligent attempt at casting himself as chief architect of the Bush legacy, this book will not be about making Bush look good..."

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Bush's War on the Environment.

Beside the fiasco of the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan and the economy crash, one of the most lasting " legacy" of the Bush administration will be its destructive path on the environment.In his twilight days, Bush is still working on executive orders to wreck the Planet a bit more.Arguably, Bush could be prosecuted for "Crimes against the Planet".

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Israeli Newspaper:Obama to Offer Israel ''Nuclear Umbrella''

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama plans to offer Israel a strategic pact designed to fend off any nuclear attack on the Jewish state by Iran, an Israeli newspaper reported on Thursday. Haaretz, quoting an unnamed U.S. source...

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Israel: Hawks dominate Likud party vote.

The Likud party has elected candidates dominated by hardliners for next February's elections. If the elections were held today, the Likud would defeat the Kadima party. Binyamin Netanyahu is likely to be Israel's new Prime Minister after the February vote. Needless to say, this is not good for any progress in the peace process with Palestinians.

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Bush's Legacy: Misery, Bankruptcy & Death.

The organization " Iraq Body Count" has documented a civilian deaths toll in Iraq of between 89,600 & 97,828.Nobel Prize winner Stiglitz says the cost of the war is $3 Trillion. A lot of people still do not understand the link of the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan and the economy crash. As far as Bush,if he had a conscience he wouldn't sleep at night.

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Economy Meltdown:More Pain to Come,Even if Obama is Perfect.

"The financial crisis bolstered Obama's win, and could hasten his downfall." This is how, two times economy Nobel Prize winner, Joseph Stigliz introduces his opinion piece in the Washington Post. This is his take on what he thinks Obama should and shouldn't do. Stigliz is also the author of " The Three Trillion War"; the real cost of the Iraq war.

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Obama picks leaders of energy team

By Deborah Charles CHICAGO (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama's team to address climate change emerged on Wednesday as Democratic officials said he had chosen a Nobel laureate for U.S. energy secretary and was likely to pick an environmental...

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Obama's Cabinet:Obama Picks Nobel Winner As Energy Secretary

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu to serve as his energy secretary. An official announcement is expected in Chicago Thursday.

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Reuters:September 11 Families Denounce Guantanamo Trials.

By Jane Sutton GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Two dozen people who lost loved ones in the September 11 attacks issued a statement on Wednesday denouncing the Guantanamo war crimes trials as illegitimate, shameful and politically...

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PRI:Taliban Resurgence in Afghanistan.

A report by an international think-tank ( The International Council on Security & Development) says NATO & the US are in genuine danger of losing Afghanistan. The report concludes that the Taliban effectively control the political & military dynamic of the entire country. It is time to reassess the strategy.

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Amnesty International Video: The Price of Silence.

Today, Amnesty International is marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal declaration for Human Rights. Still a lot to do, especially considering the despicable records of the Bush administration concerning human rights.

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Neocons In Defense Department Tying Obama's Hands On Gitmo

As President-elect Obama works to make good on his promise to shut down Guantanamo Bay, including the military commissions system that his predecessor put in place, and which has become the butt of worldwide ridicule, the Defense Department’s close-knit circle of neoconservatives is busy laying traps and bombs to obstruct Obama’s plans.

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Nobel Peace Laureate Urges Middle East Focus for Obama.

By John Acher OSLO (Reuters) - Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari urged U.S. President-elect Barack Obama Wednesday to delve into solving the Middle East conflict in his first year in office, calling it a knot that could be untied. The...

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Reuters:Britain Could Begin Iraq Pullout in March.

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Britain could start withdrawing most of its remaining 4,100 troops from Iraq from March next year due to the improving security situation, a defense source said on Wednesday. The withdrawal could be over by June,...

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All My Friends in Red and Blue

Recently, I have noticed a phenomenon in my friendships that I cannot explain. The friends I have who are "liberal lefties" are far more forgiving of human error than those that are on the fence or republican. This may be a complete coincidence but I think that there is something at the heart of this matter that is worth examining.

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The 'Coalition Of The Willing' Winds Down In Iraq

Most of the last members of President Bush's coalition of foreign troops are leaving Iraq. In many cases, the nations that are now officially leaving had already pulled out the bulk of their troops over the past several years. Many were little more than token forces.

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Beyond Iraq:A New US Strategy for the Middle East.

R.Haass ( Council on Foreign Relations) & M.Indyk(Brookings Institution) summarized their essay:" To be successful in the Middle East, the Obama administration will need to move beyond Iraq, find ways to deal constructively with Iran, and forge a final-status Israeli-Palestinian agreement".

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AP/NPR-Court: No Review of Obama's Eligibility to Serve.

The Supreme Court will not review President-elect eligibility based on his birth place.

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Downward Spiral, with Pillage | Center Left

As the revenue base of our States declines due to massive unemployment, capital flight, and the economic collapse, they face an ever increasing inability to maintain their normal expenditures. Without their usual levels of revenue, we can look for a cascade of State layoffs, and State service cutbacks...

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Police in riot-hit Greece brace for more unrest

By Dina Kyriakidou ATHENS (Reuters) - The funeral on Tuesday of a teenager shot dead by police was expected to provoke more riots in Greece following three days of the country's worst unrest in decades. The 15-year-old boy's killing on Saturday...

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Economy Meltdown:How much should Obama weigh in?

Treasury Secretary Paulson is likely to ask Congress for the remaining of the 700 billion before the inauguration of President-elect Obama ( 350 billion). What should he and Congress do meanwhile?

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Confessions of a Former Download Pirate

In 2006, the Institute for Policy Innovation released a study of the economic impact of file sharing on the US Movie Industry. Some distressing statistics emerged that I wasn’t aware of when I wrote this piece, include lost wages for Movie Industry...

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AP/NPR: Tribune Co.Going into Bankruptcy Filing

NPR just announced that Tribune Co. ( owner of the Los Angeles Times) has just filled for bankruptcy.

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AP/NPR:Taliban Vows Violent Response to US Troop Increase.

720 Afghan police were killed in 6 months.President Karzai is still trying to establish a dialogue with some of the Taliban. Meanwhile, President-elect Obama is still talking about the need of an additional 20,000 troops in Afghanistan. It is likely that this strategy will not work and might even backfire.The Taliban will deliver on their threats.

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AP/NPR:Blackwater guards in Baghdad shooting surrender

Indictment drafted against 5 Blackwater guards for the shooting of Iraqi civilians.

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Reuters:Greeks Riot for 3rd day amid Anti-Government Furor.

By Daniel Flynn and Dina Kyriakidou ATHENS (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters clashed with police for a third day in several Greek cities in riots fueled by growing economic hardship and triggered by the shooting of a teenager on Saturday...

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Pakistan Arrests Key Suspect in Mumbai Attacks

A mastermind of the killing spree in Mumbai, India, was among about a dozen militants arrested at an alleged terrorist training camp in Kashmir, Pakistani officials said Monday. The camp is run by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant group blamed for last month's attacks.

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Naomi Klein: Disaster Capitalism

Nation columnist Naomi Klein explores a key argument from her new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism: After 9/11 the Bush Administration launched a new economy, driven by the notion of an endless war against an undefined notion of evil. Read more in her 2005 Nation column "The Rise of Disaster Capitalism."

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Reuters:Iraqi Relatives Want Death for Blackwater Guards.

By Mohammed Abbas BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Employees of U.S. security firm Blackwater who shot and killed Iraqi civilians should face the death sentence, relatives of some victims said on Sunday. U.S. law enforcement sources said on Friday that U.S....

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Obama Should Repudiate Bush Counterterrorism Practices.

Kenneth Roth,executive director of Human Rights Watch, wrote an 11 step-plan outlining the combat on terror while still respecting fundamentals rights. He wrote:" The US urgently needs President-elect Obama to live up to his commitment to right the wrongs of the last 7 years, and to regain the moral high ground in the fight against terrorism".

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Where's The Change, Obama?

Some publications and bloggers that supported Obama when he ran for president have begun to express incredulity and even some disappointment over all the familiar faces that he's bringing back into government. After all, Obama won the primary over Hillary Clinton in large part for his opposition to the Iraq war.Some on the left feel very uneasy.

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AP/NPR:More than 160 US, NATO vehicles burned in Pakistan

Pakistan orders troops to open fire if US raids within Pakistan's border.

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The Blunting of the Blood II (The Bush Lecacy) Angry African

This is about President G.W. Bush and what he stands for and what he has done. I respect the office of the President of the United States and what it stands for - but I don’t respect President Bush and what he stands for. This is about never forgetting and never forgiving.

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From The Economist:A Leak from Barack Obama's Blackberry:

Another email was found in President-elect Obama's Blackberry inbox. The subject: Israel-Palestine.....

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Bush: " Welcome to My Hanging".

Bush got a look,today, at how "history will remember him" as he presided over the unveiling of his portrait. " Welcome to my hanging " said Bush getting laughs from the audience. Later, looking a the painting, he said: " Good job with a challenging subject". At this juncture a lot of us would like the hanging to be literal not figurative.

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Bush's Law: Abuse of Power Case at the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case early next year testing the power of the president to hold a person indefinitely in military custody. The case concerns Ali al-Marri, a Qatari citizen who was arrested seven years ago in Illinois and who remains in detention in South Carolina.

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Blackwater Guards Indicted For Iraq Shootings

Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards have been indicted and a sixth was negotiating a plea with prosecutors for a 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead and became an anti-American rallying cry for insurgents, people close to the case said Friday.

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California May be Out of Cash in February.

By Jim Christie SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California is on track to run out of cash in February or March and faces a $15 billion cash shortage by the end of its fiscal year in June unless officials plug an $11.2 billion budget gap, according to the...

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Shall we Call it a Depression Now?

Robert Reich thinks that the meltdown we are experiencing now should be called a depression. We are falling off a cliff, in the last 3 months over 1.2 Million people lost their jobs.Yet, last August,the Deceiver in Chief was still claiming: " The fundamentals of the US economy are strong". He barely started using the word recession a few weeks ago.

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Reuters:U.S. Job Losses Worst since 1974 as Downturn Deepens

By Alister Bull WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers axed payrolls by 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years and far more than expected, government data on Friday showed, as the year-old recession hammered every corner of the U.S....

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AP/NPR-Obama's Cabinet: Updates, Name by Name.

Most of the key positions have been appointed and announced. This is the current update,including the few one that are still undecided.

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Tiny Particles and Big Bucks

Nina discusses a new phobia that may be more common than you think...

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Homeless Crisis:Sucked Into The Tunnels Beneath Las Vegas.

Hundreds of people live under the casinos in a matrix of storm drains.Matt O'Brien has been exploring those drains for five years. The tunnels go through urban art galleries and gritty homes, and includes an introduction to some of the "silver miners" that inhabit this underground skid row. Today, 14,000 people are homeless in Las Vegas.

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Bush's " Legacy": Endorsing Torture.

Documents obtained by the ACLU provide further evidence that abuse of Iraqi prisoners was systemic. The Bush administration created a climate in which torture was tolerated if not expressly encouraged.

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Robert Reich:Where's the Bailout for Human Capital?

As most of the States and the Feds are cutting on education budgets , the US poor performance in education, especially higher education, will keeping trailing behind most industrial countries. Former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, Robert Reich, thinks it is a catastrophic long term mistake not to spend enough money for education.

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Times of India:India has proof of ISI role in Mumbai attacks

Yesterday, a huge demonstration took place in Mumbai. Some demonstrators expressing their anger towards the response of India's government while many others were pointing squarely at Pakistan, and especially the murky Pakistani's intelligence service ISI.

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Israeli Setters, Security Forces Clash In Hebron

The West Bank city of Hebron has long been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some 650 Jewish settlers live in fortified enclaves guarded by Israeli soldiers. They're surrounded by thousands of Palestinians who also call Hebron home. Militant settlers continue to refuse an Israeli government order to vacate a disputed building.

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In banking, Rahm Emmanuel made money and contacts.

In 1998, after he left the Clinton administration, Obama's Chief of Staff had a 21/2 years career in investment banking. He made 18 million in this venture advising people on investments, using his extensive Rolodex. While it could be an advantage for him in understanding the financial world, it could also prevent him from thinking outside the box.

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Christiane Amanpour: Reporting On Genocide

CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour has covered every major international and humanitarian crisis since the Gulf War. Her new documentary, Scream Bloody Murder, is about genocide — and the people who are working to end mass killing worldwide.

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Let’s Do the Time Warp Again…

Since September 12th of 2001, I’ve had the feeling that I had awakened on an alternate Earth, an “antimatter” Earth, you might say, or that I had slept through some malevolent space-time continuum shift, that left me in a country that...

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NPR :Report- Terrorists Could Use WMD By 2013.

It is "more likely than not" that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack by the end of 2013, according to a report issued by a congressional commission. The report said the use of a biological weapon that could include something like the deadly anthrax bacteria is most likely.Pakistan is one of the high risk area.

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Reuters:Automakers' Desperate Bailout Plea Gaining Support.

By Kevin Krolicki and John Crawley DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top lawmaker predicted Washington would approve a bailout for U.S. automakers after they submitted survival plans, and General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC said they needed an...

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Obama Shelves Oil company Tax after Price Fall.

By Jeff Mason and Tom Doggett CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama is not planning to implement a windfall profit tax on oil companies because prices have dropped below $80 a barrel, an aide said on Tuesday. ''President-elect...

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Yes. I voted for Obama because he has a nice six-pack.

A few of my many reasons for voting for Barack Obama. I was told by some jerkwad on Digg that the only reason I voted for POTUS-elect Obama was because he's African-American and I wanted "to be a part of history". In response to that dooshbag, I wrote an article for OpEdNews outlining a few of my many reasons for supporting Obama.

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UPDATED - Should We Save the Big 3 Just to Save the Workers?

As I said, what really started all this is not just the Big Three, trying to grab a place at the Taxpayer’s Trough O’Plenty, although they certainly want that. Their real fear is that pending bill, that actually puts the law behind the right of workers to organize, or join unions.

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Rep. Jerrold Nadler Leads Opposition to Bush Pardons

On Friday, Rep.�Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced H.Res.�1531 urging President Bush not to pardon senior administration officials for crimes the President authorized. "

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Congress Wasting Our Tax Payers Money.

Today, the US Capitol Visitors Center ( CVC) opened. Initially budgeted, in the early 1990's, at $ 71 Million; the CVC has become a prime example of out of control government spending and mismanagement. The project final cost is $621 Million and it was completed 3 years behind schedule. This is an outrage.

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Was Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba involved in Mumbai's Attacks?

The New-Yorker presents a comprehensive report on the group believed to be directly linked to the deadly attacks in Mumbai. Both Indian and American intelligence information are pointing the fingers at this organization, while other sources are mentioning Pakistan's intelligence service ISI.

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AP/NPR:Russian Warships hold Exercises with Chavez's Navy.

A few days ago, Russia an Venezuela announced that Russia will help Venezuela with the development of civilian nuclear power. Russia's President was also in Cuba for a meeting with Raoul Castro. How will President-elect Obama react to this, and will he shift the disastrous policies of the Bush administration in South America?

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Bush's " legacy ": Sub-contracting the US Government.

Obama has said he wants public employees to take back some of the work that the Bush administration has given to private contractors — and he wants to crack down on contractors' abuses. But Obama could find it difficult to shake things up.Today, there are more contractors in Iraq then US troops.Is the industrial-military complex running the show?

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Is Obama putting too many "Clintonites" in his Cabinet?

This Oped piece from the Council on Foreign Relations explores some of Obama' s choices and says: " In recent weeks, as Obama has stocked his administration with one former Clinton official after another,the cry has gone up from the pundits and the blogs" Where are the new faces? You call this change?"

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Bush's "Legacy":Dow Plunges 680 Points- Recession Official.

The National Bureau of Economic Research says the U.S. economy has been in recession since December 2007. Many economists believe the current downturn will last until the middle of 2009, and will be the most severe slump since the 1981-82 recession.

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Bruce Bueno De Mesquita:The Next Nostradamus?

Controversial scientist De Mesquita came up with an algorithm, he claims that it can give an accurate forecast of the future. Is he a fraud?

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Reuters:Bush Calls Flawed Iraq Intelligence Biggest Regret

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said the biggest regret of his presidency was flawed intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and told ABC ''World News'' in an interview airing on Monday that he was unprepared for war when...

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Can an Algorithm Predict War & Peace?

Controversial author and scientist, Bueno De Mesquita, came up with a complex algorithm that he claims, already worked successfully to forecast major world events and geopolitical shifts.He is the author of " Guns, Germs & Steel", his nickname is the next Nostradamus.

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Iraq Blasts Kill 30 People

By Ahmed Rasheed and Aseel Kami BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Blasts at Baghdad's police academy and in the northern city of Mosul killed 30 people and wounded dozens more on Monday, hours after a roadside bomb wounded a senior Iraqi official, police...

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Reuters:NPR Journalists Narrowly Escape Iraq Car Bomb

BAGHDAD, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A team of journalists working for U.S. media company National Public Radio narrowly escaped a car bombing in Baghdad after Iraqi soldiers warned them a device had been attached to the bottom of their armoured car, NPR...

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Reuters:More Heads Roll as India Anger Mounts.

By Rina Chandran MUMBAI (Reuters) - Another top Indian politician offered to resign on Monday over the Mumbai attacks, which have upset relations with nuclear-rival Pakistan and undermined the government ahead of general elections due by...

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