Thee Star Chamber

Racist: Jewish parents thwart enrollment of Arab girl in daycare:

The opposition of a group of parents has caused a daycare in Moshav Merhavia to reject the registration of a young Arab toddler from a nearby village.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1049765.html

===

Bush pardons man who helped Israel during "wartime":

In a gesture of forgiveness for a decades-old offense, President George W. Bush on Tuesday granted a pardon posthumously to a man who broke the law to supply aircraft to Jews fighting in Israel's 1948 "war of independence. "
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1347325,CST-NWS-pardon24.article

===

Somalia's President and PM decide to resign :

Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf has decided to resign, his spokesman said. The announcement followed the resignation of a politician Yusuf named prime minister last week, who said he did not want to be an obstacle to peace.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/YSAR-7MMLSS?OpenDocument

====

Medvedev: we will fight to defend interests:

Russia reserves the right to use force again to defend its interests and will not tolerate attempts by Western powers to contain it, President Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/burningIssues/idUKTRE4BN3JK20081224

===

Russia to allocate $35.3 billion for arms production in 2009-11:

Putilin also said the government had approved the state defense order for 2009-11 worth a total of 4 trillion rubles ($141 billion).
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081222/119122284.html

===

Guantanamo lawyer says Gates may have committed perjury:

US appears to ignore findings of British court on detainee's torture
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Guantanamo_lawyer_says_Gates_may_have_1222.html

===

Robert Scheer: Cheney's Legacy of Deception:

In the end, the shame of Vice President Dick Cheney was total: unmitigated by any notion of a graceful departure, let alone the slightest obligation of honest accounting.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081223_cheneys_legacy_of_deception/

===

Obama wants Bush war team to stay:

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who has been named to the same Cabinet post in the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama, is asking experienced members of the Bush war team to stick around to smooth the transition in the Pentagon.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/23/exclusive-obama-wants-bush-war-team-stay/

===

N.Y. investor kills himself after losing over $1 billion in alleged Madoff scam:

He was a distinguished investor who traced his lineage to the French aristocracy, hobnobbed with members of European high society and sailedaround the world on fancy yachts.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1049644.html

===

'PONZI SCHEME' AT CITI:

A new Citigroup scandal is engulfing Robert Rubin and his former disciple Chuck Prince for their roles in an alleged Ponzi-style scheme that's now choking world banking. .
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12042008/business/ponzi_scheme_at_citi_142511.htm

===

Japan Should Scrap U.S. Debt; Dollar May Plummet, Mikuni Says:

Japan should write-off its holdings of Treasuries because the U.S. government will struggle to finance increasing debt levels needed to dig the economy out of recession, said Akio Mikuni, president of credit ratings agency Mikuni & Co.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aFgHlh.Dn4Lc&refer=home

===

Investor demands fund checks:

The second-biggest investor in hedge funds will demand that some of the largest names in the industry, including Cerberus, Citadel, DE Shaw and SAC Capital, appoint independent administrators or face it pulling its money.
http://tinyurl.com/8udj6k

===

U.S. Military Preparing for Domestic Disturbances:

A new report from the U.S. Army War College discusses the use of American troops to quell civil unrest brought about by a worsening economic crisis.
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/military_domestic_use/2008/12/23/164765.html

===

US Army Ready If Downturn Gets Out Of Hand:

The US Army War College is on the case - ready to handle "unforeseen economic collapse" and the "rapid dissolution of public order in all or significant parts of the US."
http://tinyurl.com/85qd48

===

U.S. jobless claims surge to 26-year high:

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped by 30,000 to a 26-year peak last week, government data on Wednesday showed, as the country's year-long recession continued to chill the labour market.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/email/idUKTRE4BN2FX20081224

===

Housing Starts Fall Through the Floor:

In fact, the start reported for November is lower than any rate reported for the last fifty years.
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/data-bytes/housing-market-monitor/housing-starts-fall-through-the-floor/

===

Unemployed Americans Competing With Immigrant Labor for Unskilled Jobs:

"Everybody is coming to look for work," Rene Jemio, outreach coordinator for the hiring hall, told the Wall Street Journal. "It's not just your average immigrant anymore; it's African-Americans and whites, too.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,470656,00.html

===

Let us work towards Peace and Joy

Tom Feeley

Important Announcement The MSN Groups service will close in February 2009. You can move your group to Multiply, MSN’s partner for online groups. Learn More
Thee Star Chamber	[email protected]