Information Clearing House - News Not Found On CNN

Funding Democracy Or War?

By Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich

The question to ask is why did Congress approve the Iran Democracy Bill when it means more crack down on the pro-democracy movement?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18940.htm

The End Of Israel?

By Hannah Mermelstein

As a Jewish-American, I know that while it might be scary to some, while it will require a lot of imagination, the end of Israel as a Jewish state could mean the beginning of democracy, human rights, and some semblance of justice in a land that has almost forgotten what that means.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18939.htm

The US Dollar: The Long Farewell?

By Gwynne Dyer

As the U.S. dollar fell in value, the price of oil (which is usually calculated in dollars) rose to compensate for it, but there was no comparable adjustment for foreign central banks that had huge amounts of U.S. dollars in their reserves. China, which was sitting on about a trillion U.S. dollars, simply lost several hundred billion as the currency's value fell. So various central banks started wondering if they should diversify their reserves, and some acted on it.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18937.htm

Latin America Breaks Free Of The US

By Janette Habel

The US has lost ground in Latin America over the past decade, since the project to develop the Free Trade Area of the Americas flopped and since leftwing governments took power and used it with imagination and vigour. The US continues to try to block such emancipation by promoting more free trade agreements, and increasing military cooperation in the name of the war on terrorism and narcotics and the defence of market democracy.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18938.htm

FBI Prepares Vast Database Of Biometrics

$1 Billion Project to Include Images of Irises and Faces

By Ellen Nakashima

The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer database of peoples' physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18941.htm

Hoover Planned Mass Jailing in 1950

By TIM WEINER

A newly declassified document shows that J. Edgar Hoover, the longtime director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had a plan to suspend habeas corpus and imprison some 12,000 Americans he suspected of disloyalty.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18942.htm

Iraq: At Least 12 killed in another bloody day of US occupation:

A suicide bomber blew himself up near an Iraqi police and army checkpoint in western Baghdad, killing four people and wounding six, police said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2214785720071222

Iraqi civilian killed by US fire - report:

An Iraqi civilian was killed and another was gravely wounded allegedly by US military fire in a town west of Baghdad, witnesses told a local news agency on Saturday.
http://snipurl.com/1vplo

UN issues Iraqi children aid plea :

The United Nations has called for immediate action to assist about two million Iraqi children affected by poor nutrition, disease and disrupted education.
http://snipurl.com/1vplq

Fred Thompson: "Iraq War Going Well": "

We saw some of these atrocities I think in the last day or two day, al Qaeda torch hospitals or whatever they call them. That's indicative of what's been happening out there and people are sick and tired of it. And they're coming to our side. Some of the Sunni leadership is coming to our side"
http://snipurl.com/1vpls

Life 'better' under Saddam says vicar of Baghdad:

Life was "better" for Christians in Iraq under the regime of Saddam Hussein than it is today, according to the only Anglican vicar working in Baghdad.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3084957.ece

Rudd Says Australian Troops to Leave Iraq by June:

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, on an unannounced visit to Iraq, said Australian combat troops will be withdrawn from the nation by the middle of next year, making good on a manifesto commitment that helped him win the election.
http://snipurl.com/1vplw

Poland To Pull Troops From Iraq :

Poland plans to withdraw its 900 troops from Iraq by the end of October 2008.
http://snipurl.com/1vplx

Turkish aircraft bomb Northern Iraq: :

The military carried out the raid between 1pm and 2pm local time (11:25-12:00 GMT), following up with artillery fire, it said in a statement
http://snipurl.com/1vplz

Iraqi Gov't Pledges to Disband Sunnis:

Iraq's Shiite-led government declared Saturday that after restive areas are calmed it will disband Sunni groups battling Islamic extremists because it does not want them to become a separate military force.
http://snipurl.com/1vpm1

The Vote for Endless War:

Only 23 Democrats and one independent supported an amendment by Senator Feingold that would have required the safe redeployment of troops from Iraq. Here are the senators who voted to end the war:
http://snipurl.com/1vpm2

Gordon Prather: Justifying the Iraq War:

Why the NIE Is Wrong :
http://www.antiwar.com/prather/?articleid=12092

Iran could revive atom bomb bid due curbs on IAEA: US :

The US ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency challenged suggestions that the US intelligence finding disclosed on Dec 3 reduced the urgency of reining in Iran via IAEA investigations, UN sanctions and steely diplomacy.
http://snipurl.com/1vpm4

Russia: One year until Bushehr active :

The Iranian nuclear power plant at Bushehr will not be fully operational before the end of 2008, say Russian builders.
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/106015.html

Iran, Russia discuss defense ties :

A senior Russian military official has arrived in Tehran to discuss defense cooperation with Iran, the Iranian Defense Ministry says.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=35603&sectionid=351020101

Report: Hamas drafting terms for ceasefire with Israel :

Hamas is drafting terms for a temporary cease-fire with Israel while trying to gain support from other Palestinian factions to accept it, Israeli media reported Saturday.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3485398,00.html

Israeli ministers back Hamas truce :

Two senior Israeli ministers have urged the government to examine any potential ceasefire proposal from Hamas, the Islamic movement that controls Gaza and does not recognise Israel as a state.
http://snipurl.com/1vpm7

Israeli attack may result in Damascus strike on Dimona reactor

A Syrian member of parliament thought to be familiar with the thinking of President Bashar al-Assad is quoted in the London-based pan-Arab daily newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi on Saturday as saying that Syria could strike Israel's nuclear reactor in Dimona as retaliation for any future violations of Syrian sovereignty.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/937138.html

Rocket explosion near Kabul police chief office, 5 killed, 5 wounded:

A rocket landed in a crowd near Kabul's police headquarters Saturday, and a truck full of rockets exploded nearby moments later, killing at least five people. Officials say at least five others were wounded.
http://snipurl.com/1vpm9

Chavez offers 'oil for food' :

"We have begun to create a new geopolitics of oil that is not at the service of the interests of imperialism and big capitalists," Chavez said in his speech.
http://snipurl.com/1vpma

Blair called for BAE inquiry to be halted:

Government memos stamped "Secret" reveal that the then attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, twice tried in vain to stop Blair interfering in the criminal investigation.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/baefiles/story/0,,2231496,00.html

9/11 Panel Study Finds That C.I.A. Lied About Torture Tapes :

A review of classified documents by former members of the Sept. 11 commission shows that the panel made repeated and detailed requests to the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 and 2004 for documents and other information about the interrogation of operatives of Al Qaeda, and were told by a top C.I.A. official that the agency had "produced or made available for review" everything that had been requested.
http://snipurl.com/1vpmb

The Shock Doctrine in Action in New Orleans:

The final showdown over New Orleans public housing is playing out in dramatic fashion right now. The conflict is a classic example of the "triple shock" formula at the core of the doctrine.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/12/21/5956/

Wall Street banks ditch bail-out fund:

Plans to launch an $80bn (£40bn) bail-out fund for troubled debt-laden investment vehicles hit by the global credit crisis look set to be shelved by the three banks behind it.
http://snipurl.com/1vpmf

Toshiba's Home Nuclear Reactor:

If we lived in a world where everyone was (a) smart and (b) trustworthy, Toshiba's micro-sized nuclear reactor, small enough to fit in the basement or a large shed, would be a slam-dunk solution to the energy/climate crisis.
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/12/toshibas-home-n.html