– Former Bush aide gets 30 months in prison (AP):
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Bush White House aide was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for stealing nearly $600,000 from a government program that promotes democracy in Cuba.
– Aboriginal elder arrived ‘with third-degree burns’ (The Australian):
A RESPECTED Aboriginal elder who died in the back of a non-airconditioned prison van while being transported across the West Australian outback in the middle of summer arrived at hospital drenched in sweat, unconscious and with third-degree burns on his stomach, an inquest has heard.
– Government launches bid to allay fears over GM food (Independent):
PM hopes to gather enough evidence to prove genetically modified crops are safe
(Which proves that there is obviously not enough evidence that genetically modified crops are safe! GM food is lethal junk and that has been proven many times.)
– Israeli army ordered to devise Iran war (PressTV):
Tehran is a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and, according to the UN nuclear watchdog, has not opted to violate the treaty. (Plus U.S. intelligence agencies agree that Iran does not have ANY weapon grade uranium: Iran still lacks arms-grade nuclear material: U.S. So could those warmongers please shut the f… up.)
– Israel could use ballistic missiles against Iran-report (Reuters):
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Ballistic missiles could be Israel’s weapon of choice against Iranian nuclear facilities if it decides on a pre-emptive attack and deems air strikes too risky, according to a report by a Washington think-tank. (PS: According to Jimmy Carter Israel has about 150 nuclear weapons. What Iran does is “perfectly legal” according to Ron Paul and attacking Iran would be just another war crime and a violation of international law.)
– Avigdor Lieberman – branded Arab-hating racist – set to be Israeli foreign minister (Times Online)
– Robert Fisk: Why Lieberman is worst thing that could happen to the Middle East (Independent):
World Focus: I can identify Lieberman’s language with the language of Messrs Mladic and Karadzic and Milosevic
– Britain will be only nation still in recession next year (Independent):
The British economy is heading for its worst year since the Great Depression, according to the latest predictions from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). (Britain will go into depression this year.)
– Goldman Offers Loans to Stretched Employees (New York Times):
(Maybe I should make a documentary: ‘Goldman: The Poorest Guys in the Room.’)
– Unemployment surges through 2m (Guardian):
Unemployment has topped 2 million on the widest measure of joblessness, while the claimant count has suffered its biggest jump on record. (And the economic crisis has just started!)
– UniCredit to seek €4bn aid (Financial Times):
UniCredit, one of Italy’s top two banks, is to seek up to €4bn in state aid, joining a growing list of European banking groups turning to governments to boost their capital base as they grapple with the global financial crisis.
– Murder in Nairobi: Wikileaks related human rights lawyers assassinated (WikiLeaks):
The two were on their way to a meeting at the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights. Both had been investigating extra-judicial assassinations by the Kenyan Police. Part of their work forms the basis of the “Cry of Blood” report Wikileaks released on November 1 last year and subsequent follow ups, including a UN indictment last month. Since 2007 the Oscar foundation has documented 6,452 “enforced disappearances” by police and 1,721 extra-judicial killings.
– Madoff’s accountant released on $2.5m bail (AP):
Bernard Madoff’s longtime accountant has been released on $2.5 million in bail. The 49-year-old David Friehling was arrested on fraud charges Wednesday and accused of helping the disgraced money manager cheat thousands of investors out of billions of dollars.
– Russia plans military upgrade to match Nato (Guardian):
Russia plans to boost both conventional armed forces and nuclear forces to counter a growing threat from Nato, President Dmitry Medvedev said yesterday, raising the spectre of a military confrontation between Moscow and the west.
– Shell dumps wind, solar and hydro power in favour of biofuels (Guardian):
(Dump Shell!)
– World Bank warns China can’t make up for collapse in Western demand (Telegraph):
David Dollar, the Bank’s country director for China, added that the world should not expect China’s economy to make up for plummeting demand in the West in the near future. (David Dollar! You just couldn’t make these things up.)
– Eurozone recession to deepen, says IMF (Financial Times):
“The scenario will be worse but the managing director has already said this,” she said in Lisbon. “This is a true global crisis, impacting all parts of the world and countries at different levels of development.”
– Ford cuts production in Europe (Guardian)
– Plan Would Limit Prison Chapel Books (New York Times)
– Pope’s attack on condoms sickens Aids campaigners (Times Online):
The Pope caused dismay among Aids campaigners yesterday by declaring on his first trip to Africa that condoms were not the solution to the epidemic ravaging the continent.