News For December 27, 2009

Viva Palestina Convoy Blocked from Entering Egypt

By Press TV

The Viva Palestina aid convoy to Gaza which left London on December 6th has been blocked from entering Egypt, they are held at the Jordanian port of Aqaba. Continue

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Lift The Siege On Gaza!

International Campaign in Support of the Gaza Freedom March:

By Code Pink

A massive mobilization between December 27, 2009 and January 1, 2010 with candlelight vigils, concerts, marches, demonstrations, art installations and movie screenings will assemble all over the world to send a clear message to world leaders: end the siege on Gaza. Continue

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The Middle East's Master Pimp

By Yvonne Ridley

Using the pretext of escalating tensions on the Gaza-Egypt border, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that the Rafah border will be closed over the coming weeks. Our message to the politicians is crystal clear: "Let us enter Gaza and let the Gaza Freedom March proceed." Continue

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Hooked on the War Economy
Woodstock's Dirty Secret

By LAURIE KIRBY

Today, Made-In-Woodstock components fly F-15s and F-16s and Apache attack helicopters over Iraq, rumble through Afghanistan in Bradley tanks, fire warheads from rocket launchers, and prowl the oceans in nuclear submarines. Continue

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Something's Not Right Here

By Bill Moyers - Mat Taibbi - Robert Kuttner

Truth is, our capitol's being looted, republicans are acting like the town rowdies, the sheriff is firing blanks, and powerful Democrats in Congress are in cahoots with the gang that's pulling the heist. This is not capitalism at work. It's capital. Raw money, mounds of it, buying politicians and policy as if they were futures on the hog market. Continue

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Taliban Video of US POW Bowe Bergdahl on Christmas Day

Video Updated Dec. 27, 2009

The man in the film, identifying himself as Private Bowe Robert Bergdahl, criticises the US over the Afghan war and relations with Muslims. Continue

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Pakistan: 10 civilians killed in Orakzai air raids: Ten persons, including women and children, were killed when fighter jets while bombing the militants’ hideouts in Orakzai Agency on Friday hit the houses of five tribesmen in the Ferozkhel Mela area.

Extrajudicial executions: US kills five people in NW Pakistan: officials: At least five people were killed Saturday when missiles from an unmanned US aircraft hit a suspected militant compound in Pakistan's northwest tribal belt, security officials said.

US kills civilians in Pakistan home: Local security officials told Al Jazeera that those killed in the attack were all civilians.

5 killed as militant groups clash in Pakistan's tribal region: - At least five people were killed and two others were wounded Saturday in a gun battle between two rival militant groups in a Pakistani tribal region, locals said.

Shiite pilgrims among 7 killed in Baghdad attacks: Seven people were killed, including two Shiite pilgrims, in attacks in and around Baghdad on Saturday ahead of the climax of Ashura commemoration ceremonies, officials said.

8 "Taliban militants" killed in N Afghanistan: Eight militants have been killed in clash with security forces in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province, a private television channel Tolo reported on Saturday.

US occupation force soldier killed in Afghan bomb attack: An American soldier has been killed by a roadside bomb while serving with Nato forces in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said yesterday. Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the soldier died on Friday, but gave no details of where the incident took place.

Six Palestinians killed: Israeli troops yesterday shot dead six Palestinians in two separate incidents, as evidence emerged that an increasingly fragile ceasefire between armed groups loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement and Israel appeared to be in danger of breaking down.

Wife, brothers describe Israeli assassinations: Family members of three slain Fatah members gave testimony of the last moments of their loved ones' lives on Saturday, hours after the men were assassinated by Israeli forces in their own homes in Nablus.

Gaza-bound convoy stranded in Jordan after Egypt rejects Red Sea Port entry: Viva Palestina humanitarian convoy, led by British MP George Galloway, was still stranded in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba on Saturday for a second day, following a dispute with Egypt over the caravan's point of entry.

Explosion leaves 3 dead in Beirut on Ashura eve: Those killed in the blast were the members of the security services. They were reportedly trying to defuse an explosive device planted in a car belonging to a high-ranking Hamas official based in Lebanon.

Iran willing to swap nuclear material in Turkey: Iran would be willing to swap nuclear material with the West in Turkey, the foreign minister said in the country's latest counteroffer to a U.N.-drafted deal aimed at thwarting Tehran's ability to produce atomic weapons.

Iran proposes latest counter-offer to UN nuclear deal: Iran would be willing to swap nuclear material with the West in Turkey, the foreign minister said on Thursday in the country's latest counteroffer to an UN-drafted deal aimed at thwarting Tehran's ability to produce atomic weapon.

Public execution in Sirjan-Iran and reaction of the people: Video

Saudi bombers attack Yemen border: Yemen's Shia fighters on Saturday said Saudi aircraft fired more than 700 missiles overnight on the northern villages along the border with Saudi Arabia.

Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Yemen: Officials: Terror suspect may have ties to al-Qaeda network in Yemen: Federal officials have strongly suggested to lawmakers that the Nigerian man who attempted to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight has connections to the al Qaeda terrorist network in Yemen, according to a senior member of Congress in the House.

Condom Bomb? : Explosive PETN Used in Attack: Highly Explosive Compound Carried on Board Northwest Flight 253 in Plastic Container, Possibly a Condom

Airline bomber was barred from Britain: For the past two years Abdulmutallab has been on a United States watchlist for people known to have extremist links, but he was not prevented from flying to America. UK officials indicated that he had passed across MI5’s radar but was not deemed sufficiently threatening to warrant surveillance

Flight 253 passenger: Sharp-dressed man aided terror suspect: A Michigan man who was aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 says he witnessed Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab trying to board the plane in Amsterdam without a passport.

New Restrictions Are Imposed on Air Passengers: In the wake of the terrorism attempt Friday on a Northwest Airlines flight, federal officials on Saturday imposed new restrictions on travelers that could lengthen lines at airports and limit the ability of international passengers to move about an airplane.