Not So Fast:
American and Iraqi military and diplomatic officials insist that a residual U.S. force of considerable size is likely to remain for the medium to long term, as will the U.S. bases in Iraq that Democrats over the last two years have insisted must not be permanent.
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=3692c736-406c-4ee1-9bb9-4ec6cc15531f
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State Department: Drop Blackwater In Iraq:
An internal State Department report says Blackwater Worldwide may lose its license to work in Iraq and recommends that the agency prepare alternative means to protect its diplomats there.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/17/state-department-drop-bla_n_151754.html
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Bush shoe thrower Muntazer al-Zaidi 'too injured' for court:
THE Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at United States President George W. Bush has appeared before a judge in his jail cell because he is too injured to appear in a courtroom, his brother says.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24815225-12335,00.html
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Turkish fighter planes bombard Iraqi Kurd areas:
Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish guerrilla targets in northern Iraq on Wednesday, the Turkish military said, the second consecutive day of strikes.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10268155.html
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US and Afghan forces kill suspected militants; reports call them civilians:
People who were in the compound said the dead were civilians and that none of them had fired on the troops, according to a spokesman for the governor's office of Khost province.
http://tinyurl.com/3omeq6
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Gunmen attack new Afghan supply route:
An armed gang carried out the first attack on a secondary southern supply route for foreign troops in Afghanistan, as thousands of lorry drivers continue to boycott the main route through the Khyber Pass.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5361455.ece
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No firm proof gunmen came from Pakistan: Zardari:
Rejecting Indian claims yet again that there is 'clear evidence' suggesting the Mumbai terror attacks originated inside Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday told BBC there is still no conclusive proof.
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\12\18\story_18-12-2008_pg1_1
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Russia justifies arms sales to Iran:
A senior Russian official says military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran will continue to ensure stability in the Middle East
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=78746§ionid=351020101
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From the sublime to the ridiculous:
Barak claims Iran would nuke US:
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says Iran would attack the United States if it acquired 'even a primitive nuclear weapon'.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=78785§ionid=351020202
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Israeli attack kills Gazan man:
A Palestinian man has been killed and two others injured in an Israeli air raid on the town of Beit Lahiya, Gazan medics have said.
http://tinyurl.com/49u5js
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Israel: Starving Gaza for Christmas:
You know it's getting bad in Gaza when Mr Murdoch's London Times announces Gaza families eat grass as Israel locks border.
http://sydwalker.info/blog/2008/12/17/israel-starving-gaza-for-christmas/
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Poll: Most Israelis oppose Arab peace plan:
Sixty-six percent of Palestinians support the Arab League initiative that calls for a full withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders, while only 36% of Israelis support the plan, according to a poll released on Tuesday.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1228728221188&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
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Russia alarmed by planned U.S. bases in Central Asia: -
A senior Russian military official expressed concern on Tuesday about what he said were U.S. plans to set up military bases in the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081216/118886117.html
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UN chief rules out Somalia force:
On Tuesday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a UN force to be sent to the conflict-hit nation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7788898.stm
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Morales urges action over Cuba:
Evo Morales, the Bolivian president, has said that all Latin American nations should expel US ambassadors in their country's until the American economic embargo against Cuba is ended.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/12/20081217165622147627.html
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Guantanamo 'worst place on Earth':
AN Algerian-born man who has just been freed from Guantanamo Bay has described the US "war on terror" camp as the worst place on Earth, in an interview published in a Bosnian newspaper.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24816310-12335,00.html
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Disgraced financier Bernie Madoff to be electronically tagged:
The latest sensational twist in the mushrooming financial scandal came as 70-year-old Madoff fled his £6million New York apartment and went into hiding to escape furious creditors, many of them former friends and lifelong business associates.
http://tinyurl.com/3g2sqk
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Bernie Madoff's Victims: The List:
Word on the identities of Bernie Madoff's clients / victimes continues to emerge. The total losses reported so far add up to about $30 billion.
http://clusterstock.alleyinsider.com/2008/12/bernie-madoff-hosed-client-list
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Opec agrees record oil output cut:
The reduction in output will mean that Opec is taking 4.2 million barrels of oil out of the global market per day compared to September levels.
http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2008/12/20081217165656601509.html
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Peak Oil: George Monbiot meets ... Fatih Birol:
Britain's leading green commentator tackles the International Energy Authority's chief economist, who reveals for the first time a startling and worrying prediction for the date of peak oil. Read the peak oil feature and add your comment
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2008/dec/15/fatih-birol-george-monbiot
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Dollar No Longer Haven After Fed Moves Rate Near Zero:
The world's biggest currency-trading firms say the dollar's appeal as a haven amid the financial crisis all but evaporated.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601083&sid=aSmEfH_9_GxE&refer=currency
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Chrysler Shuts For A Month and Chevy Volt Delayed:
Chrysler LLC said Wednesday that it will shut down all its North American production for at least one month starting December 19.
http://tinyurl.com/4rmzyn
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'75% in US bear the brunt of recession':
In almost one home in five (18 percent) someone has lost a job in recent months, and in more than a quarter (27 percent) a worker has had his or her pay cut or working hours reduced, the poll found.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=78781§ionid=3510213
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Let us work towards Peace and Joy
Tom Feeley