ICH: Weekend Edition
 
Resent-Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 23:08:23 -0600 (CST)


"You want sanity, democracy, community, an intact Earth? We can't
get there obeying Constitutional theory and law crafted by slave
masters, imperialists, corporate masters, and Nature destroyers.
We can't get there kneeling before robed lawyers stockpiling class
plunder precedent up their venerable sleeves.

So isn't disobedience the challenge of our age? Principled, inventive,
escalating disobedience to liberate our souls, to transfigure our
work as humans on this Earth." Richard Grossman

= "We live in a country that is addicted to incarceration as a tool
for social control. As it stands now justice systems are extremely
expensive, do not rehabilitate but in fact make the people that
experience them worse and have no evidence based correlatives to
reducing crime. Yet with that track record they continue to thrive,
prosper and are seen as an appropriate response to children in
trouble with the law. Only an addict would see that as an okay
result." James Bell

= "In Southern West Virginia we live in a war zone. Three and
one-half million pounds of explosives are being used every day to
blow up the mountains.

Blasting our communities, blasting our homes, poisoning us, trying
to intimidate us. I don't mind being poor. I mind being blasted and
poisoned. - There ARE no jobs on a dead planet." Judy Bonds

= "Mr. Speaker, we make war with such certainty, yet we are befuddled
how to create peace. This paradox requires reflection if we are to
survive. Making and endorsing war requires a secret love of death,
and a fearful desire to embrace annihilation. Creating peace requires
compassion, putting ourselves in the other person's place, and all
of their suffering and all of their hopes and to act from our heart's
capacity to love, not fear." Dennis Kucinich

= "Dr. King didn't get famous giving a speech that said,"I have a
complaint."

It's time for us to start dreaming again and invite the country to
dream with us. We don't  have any "throw away" species, nations,
or children. We must birth a global green economy strong enough to
lift people out of poverty." Van Jones

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Read this newsletter online http://tinyurl.com/dy6yy

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Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq "1,173,743"

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html

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Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged)
In America'sWar On Iraq 3,963 http://icasualties.org/oif/

The War in Iraq Costs $495,221,749,834 See the cost in your community
http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182

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If Only Saddam Had Injected HGH

By Scott Ritter

That Congress puts the so-called integrity of a game ahead of its
own Constitutional mandate of oversight of legitimate governance
is a travesty.

That this travesty is carried out in the face of a pledge by a
Democratic-controlled Congress to effectively and responsibly carry
out its duty to investigate how and why our nation went to war with
Iraq is not only incomprehensible, but reprehensible.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19369.htm

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The Increasing Encirclement of Iran

By Daan de Wit Translation by Ben Kearney

In his testimony McConnell emphasizes Iranian attempts to enrich
uranium as well as Iran's capacity to fire long-range weapons. The
combination of these two are now being presented at the highest
levels of power as the central argument for branding Iran as a
danger to world peace. As if the National Intelligence Estimate
never even existed.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19368.htm

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1st Phase of Iran Oil Bourse Inaugurated on Kish Island

By IRNA

The stock market was inaugurated in a video conference ceremony
from the capital Tehran attended by ministers of oil, finance and
economic affairs as well as chairman of Iran's Stock Exchange and
a number of other officials and financial experts.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19372.htm

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The Terrorists Still at Ground Zero

By Alexander Cockburn

On January 10 Moody's, in concert with the other main bond rating
firm, Standard and Poor's, gave the United States its top AAA credit
rating. The terrorist blackmail threat came in the form of a demand
by Moody's that the U.S. government "reform" Social Security and
Medicare: "In the very long term, the rating could come under
pressure if reform of Medicare and Social Security is not carried
out as these two programs are the largest threats to the long-term
financial health of the United States and to the government's Aaa
rating."

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19371.htm

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Barak Obama Fronts Wall Street's Infrastructure

Swindle - What Change Really Means

By Bruce Marshall

Since 9/11 America has certainly turned into a top-down police
state, but true post-modern fascism requires a popular movement to
usher it into power. Bush has created a dictatorship out of the
Presidency, now the next step towards fascism is being marketed to
exploit the desire for change.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19370.htm

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'I Lost My Career, My Life And My Dignity'

By Jamie Doward

Last week, the Court of Appeal ruled that Lotfi Raissi could claim
compensation for his arrest and imprisonment after being wrongly
accused of training 9/11 pilots. Here, in his first interview since
the landmark decision, he tells of his prison hell, nervous collapse
and the terrible toll his ordeal has had on his personal and
professional life.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19373.htm

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Bernanke's State of the Economy Speech:

"You are all Dead Ducks"

By Mike Whitney

Even veteran Fed-watchers were caught off-guard by Chairman Bernanke's
performance before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. Bernanke
was expected to make routine comments on the state of the economy
but, instead, delivered a 45 minute sermon detailing the afflictions
of the foundering financial system. The Senate chamber was stone-silent
throughout. The gravity of the situation is finally beginning to
sink in.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19365.htm

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US Elections: The Iraq Factor

By Ramzy Baroud

Obama, - has proven to be just as self-serving and easily manipulated
as the rest. If he can so readily support the starvation of 1.5
million people, who is to guarantee that he will not renounce his
moral stances on issues pertaining to Iraq, Iran, and indeed America
itself?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19363.htm

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War Made Easy

Video

War Made Easy exposes a 50-year pattern of government deception and
media spin that has dragged the United States into one war after
another from Vietnam to Iraq. Narrated by actor and activist Sean
Penn, the film exhumes remarkable archival footage of official
distortion and exaggeration from LBJ to George W.

Bush, revealing in stunning detail how the American news media have
uncritically disseminated the pro-war messages of successive
presidential administrations. Click to view
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19362.htm

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Congress's Betrayal of the American Worker

By Richard Backus

The public's inability or unwillingness to face up these betrayals
will result in the destruction of the working class in the U.S.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19364.htm

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Blast kills over 80 Afghans:

A suicide bomber killed more than 80 people at a picnic spot in the
southern Afghan province of Kandahar on Sunday in the most deadly
attack since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, the government said.

http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnSP162972.html

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Blast Kills 4 in Northwest Pakistan:

A bombing outside an election office in northwestern Pakistan killed
four people and wounded 12 others Saturday, an opposition party
spokesman said.

http://snipurl.com/1ztvo

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"Musharraf's loss could be world's gain':

The opposition has pledged mass protests if Musharraf's allies win
the polls-while if his enemies seize control of parliament, the key
US ally in the "war on terror" faces impeachment.

http://snipurl.com/1ztvq

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Bhutto widower: poll rigging will start war:

" I'm telling you, people are absolutely on the warpath. If the
elections are rigged the situation will go out of my hands. We'll
have no choice but to take to the streets."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3382320.ece

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Occupied Iraq: At least 19 killed in another bloody day of US
occupation:

A parked car bomb killed three people including a policeman and
wounded two civilians when it targeted a police patrol in northern
Mosul http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1763655520080217

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Iraqi security forces stage walkout near Baghdad:

Members of the Sons of Iraq guard corps abandon their posts to
protest U.S.

airstrikes that have allegedly killed 12 civilians this month.

http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/mayfaire/latimes101.htm

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'Dodgy dossier' was 'wrong', its author says:

John Williams, a former Foreign Office aide, said last night that
publication of his document would expose how members of Tony Blair's
team were locked in a mindset that made military action inevitable.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19367.htm

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Secret draft of Iraq war dossier to be revealed:

The secret first draft of the notorious Iraq dossier that helped
to take Britain to war is expected to be released tomorrow, in a
victory for freedom of information campaigners.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19366.htm

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Brown should listen to the military and quit Iraq now:

The best way to improve Britain's standing in the Middle East is
to admit to a terrible blunder and withdraw
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/oct/03/foreignpolicy.israel

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U.S. says Iran-backed groups using secret arms stores:

The accusation comes days after Tehran postponed talks with the
United States on improving security in Iraq for "technical reasons",
a move that prompted rebukes from U.S. officials.

http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnL171352.html

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Bush Turns US Soldiers into Murderers :

By forcing repeat combat assignments to Iraq and Afghanistan - and
by winking at torture and indiscriminate killings - George W. Bush
is degrading the reputation of the U.S. military, turning enlisted
soldiers and intelligence officers into murderers and sadists.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/021208.html

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Patrick Cockburn: Is the US Really Bringing Stability to Baghdad:

Life, the Pentagon boasts, is returning to normal. But the truth
is a very different story.

http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick02152008.html

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Ex-US Envoy Accuses Colleagues in Iraq of Incompetence:

Just below the Beltway's public radar screen, many a civil service
eyebrow was raised last week over a US official's resignation and
his scathing critique of the US diplomatic corps' inability to
engage and assist Iraq's fledgling government.

http://snipurl.com/1ztvy

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Israeli Attack Kills 4 Palestinians:

Israeli occupation forces have killed three Palestinians from the
Hamas resistance movement and a civilian during fighting in the
Gaza Strip.

http://snipurl.com/1ztvz

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How the EU helps Israel to strangle Gaza :

How is Israel able to strangle the Gaza Strip when there is supposed
to be an international crossing between Gaza and Egypt not controlled
by Israelis?

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9303.shtml

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Human Rights Watch: Israel breaches law with cluster bomb use:

Israel breached international law when it bombed southern Lebanon
with cluster weapons during its campaign against Hezbollah in 2006,
Human Rights Watch said Sunday.

http://snipurl.com/1ztw0

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Ben White: What lies beneath:

An Israeli town is suing Google over a claim that it was built on
the ruins of a destroyed Palestinian village
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ben_white/2008/02/what_lies_beneath.html

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Israel kills alledged terror chief with headrest bomb:

NOTHING seemed very remarkable about the short, bearded man who
mingled with other guests on Tuesday evening at a reception in
Damascus, the Syrian capital, to mark the 29th anniversary of
Ayatollah Khomeini's Iranian revolution.

http://snipurl.com/1ztw3

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'Arrests' in Moghniyeh murder case :

Syrian officials are reported to have detained suspects said to be
connected or involved in the killing of Imad Moghniyeh, a senior
commander of Hezbollah, in Damascus on Tuesday.

http://snipurl.com/1ztw7

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Manufacturing Consent For War With Iran:

Israeli Defense Minister: Iran, Syria may help Hizbullah attack
Israelis abroad:

The paper quoted "Israeli intelligence sources" as saying that
Mossad agents had replaced the headrest of the driver's seat in
Mughiyeh's SUV with another headrest containing a small cache of
explosives.

http://snipurl.com/1ztw8

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Iran debt drops despite US pressure:

"Iran's foreign debt has declined from 17.4% to 13.5% of its gross
domestic product," Davoud Danesh-Jafari said at an Islamic Development
Bank meeting in Tehran.

http://snipurl.com/1ztw9

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Iran & Russia can rid world of dollar's slavery :

Iran's Ambassador to Moscow said Iran and Russia, as major energy
suppliers, can rid the world of US dollar's slavery by promoting
oil and gas deals using different currencies, IRNA reported.

http://snipurl.com/1ztwa

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Chavez Says Venezuela Can Sell Oil Anywhere, Not Just to U.S. :

Chavez denounced an editorial published this week in the Washington
Post, which said the president's government would be the ``first
victim'' if he decided to cut off oil sales to the U.S.

http://snipurl.com/1ztwc

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Kosovo declares independence:

Russia, a key ally of Serbia, denounced Sunday's declaration and
called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

http://snipurl.com/1ztwf

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Russia: US Satellite Shot a Weapons Test :

Russia said Saturday that U.S. military plans to shoot down a damaged
spy satellite may be a veiled test of America's missile defense
system.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8URMG5G0&show_article=1

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CIA set up 12 bogus companies mostly in Europe after 9/11: report:

Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, the US Central Intelligence
Agency set up 12 bogus companies in Europe and other parts of the
world in the hope of penetrating Islamic organizations, The Los
Angeles Times reported
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080217/ts_alt_afp/usattackscia_080217034503

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Dollar Sales by Japanese Investors Reach Record High:

Dollar sales by Japanese individual investors on the Tokyo Financial
Exchange Inc. rose to a record high on speculation the U.S. economy
will suffer a recession.

http://snipurl.com/1ztwi

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U.S. retail sales show increase because necessities cost more:

U.S. consumers are being forced to scale back their purchases, but
high prices of necessities are keeping their overall purchases
rising at a reasonably strong rate.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/15/business/wbmarket16.php

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NEWS FOR 16/02/08

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Pakistan Bombing Kills as Many as 45 Before Elections:

A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed as many as 45 people and left
dozens injured near the election office of the late Benazir Bhutto's
People's Party in Parachinar, Pakistan, ahead of elections in two
days.

http://snipurl.com/1ztwk

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Militants blow up 3 polling stations in Pakistan's tribal region :

Elections were postponed in the restive South Waziristan tribal
agency due to security concerns.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/16/content_7615212.htm

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At least 12 killed as US occupation grinds on:

Four bodies were found in different districts across Baghdad
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSANW61999020080216

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Another Three Iraqi Soldiers Killed By US Occupation Forces:

Three Iraqis from Al-Sahwa "Awakening" forces were killed by US
forces south of the Iraqi capital, Iraqi police source said on
Saturday.

http://snipurl.com/1ztwl

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Iraq defence minister says in need of US troops:

Senior Pentagon official says US 'surge' likely to end with more
troops in Iraq than before.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=24366

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More U.S. troops seen in Iraq by summer:

The United States will probably have more troops in Iraq this summer
than it did before pouring in forces last year -- even after a
planned drawdown, a U.S. general said on Friday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080216/ts_nm/iraq_usa_troops_dc

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Half of Baghdad without water:

Power failures and maintenance have disrupted running water supplies
to almost half of the capital, Baghdad, home to nearly 6 million
people.

http://snipurl.com/1ztwn

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McCain Can't Keep Stories Straight On Iraq, Torture:

In Saturday's Washington Post the paper examines, in two separate
articles, instances in which John McCain seems to be either changing
his position, contradicting himself, or distorting the truth on
topics such as Iraq and his opposition to torture.

http://snipurl.com/1ztwo

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U.S. claims evidence of Iran nuclear activity:

The United States has shared new intelligence with the International
Atomic Energy Agency that it claims is evidence Iran was trying to
make a nuclear weapon, diplomats said Thursday.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/15/MNAJV2K45.DTL

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Manufacturing Consent For War With Iran:

US: Iran Must Confess to Nuclear Arms:

The U.S. on Friday demanded that Iran confess to trying to make
atomic weapons, suggesting that anything short of that would doom
an International Atomic Energy Agency probe of Tehran's nuclear
past.

http://snipurl.com/1ztwt

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Presstitute and war pimp alert:

U.S. must take action against Iran:

Iran recently acquired the capability to deliver satellites into
space. It stands to reason that they can now also deliver a nuclear
warhead; however, with the open situation of our borders and ports
we should have great concerns over a covert delivery of a nuclear
weapon.

http://snipurl.com/1ztwu

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U.S. official met Iranian to discuss "terror" funds:

A high-ranking U.S. Treasury Department official met Iranian
representatives last month in Paris as part of a multinational
gathering to discuss "terror financing," a senior U.S. official
said on Friday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN15612901

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Russia to double staff at Iran nuclear plant: RIA:

Russia's state nuclear contractor said on Thursday it would double
staff at Iran's first nuclear power station over the next year as
Moscow prepares to start up the reactor at the plant, RIA news
agency reported.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1413479020080214

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Iran Oil Bourse may use Russian ruble :

The Russian national currency, ruble, is an option for dealings at
the Iran Oil Bourse, set to be launched soon, an Iranian official
says.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=43254&sectionid=351020103

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OPEC considers dumping US dollar :

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries plans to discuss a
proposal by Iran and Venezuela to price oil in non-dollar currencies
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=43221&sectionid=3510213

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The fall of the Dollar Empire :

The following is an interview with Hamid Varzi an economist and
banker based in Tehran about the US economic crisis:

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=43253&sectionid=3510302

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Dollar Has Biggest Weekly Loss in 2008 on Signs Growth Slowing :

The dollar had its biggest weekly loss this year against the euro
after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled he may cut
interest rates further amid mounting concern that the economy is
headed for a recession.

http://snipurl.com/1ztx0

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Fear and Resolve in Kabul:

Growing Sense of Insecurity Afflicts Afghans and Foreigners Alike
http://snipurl.com/1ztx2

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8 killed in Gaza blast :

Islamic Jihad said an air strike caused the blast, which also killed
three other militants as well as the wife and two young children
of the commander, Ayman Fayed, better known as Abu Abdallah.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080215/ts_nm/palestinians_israel_jihad_dc

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B'Tselem slams Israeli killing of mentally disabled:

Rights group slams practice of Israeli soldiers who fire at Palestinian
civilians thought to be trying to flee.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=24369

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Why Did Arun Gandhi Have To Resign? Oppose Censorship and Intimidation:

Gandhi came under immense pressure from groups such as the American
Jewish Committee, ADL, as well as right-wing Indian American groups
such as Hindu American Foundation.

http://snipurl.com/1ztx3

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Chad declares state of emergency :

Chad's president has declared a nationwide state of emergency,
telling his citizens that tightened controls were needed to restore
order after recent attacks by an opposition alliance.

http://snipurl.com/1ztx6

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Kosovo independence imminent :

Kosovo is expected to declare independence from Serbia on Sunday,
with its majority ethnic Albanian population already celebrating.

http://snipurl.com/1ztx9

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US customs agents can examine, copy data from searched laptops:

"A new alert for travellers: be careful what you store on your
laptop or your BlackBerry when entering the United States," warns
CNN's John Roberts.

"Customs agents can examine your computer and even keep your private
information."

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Customs_agents_can_copy_data_from_0211.html

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Experts Scoff at Sat Shoot-Down Rationale:

The Pentagon says it has to shoot down a malfunctioning spy satellite
because of the threat of a toxic gas cloud. Space security experts
are calling the rationale highly unlikely. "Having the US government
spend millions of dollars to destroy a billion-dollar failure to
save zero lives is comedic gold,"

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/02/fishy-rationale.html

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Let Us Work Towards Peace & Joy

"all of us are human and none of us more is human than the other"

Tom Feeley