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Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran
Pakistani Scientist Khan Describes Iranian Efforts to Buy Nuclear Bombs

By R. Jeffrey Smith and Joby Warrick

The father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program has written an official account that details an Iranian attempt to buy atomic bombs from Pakistan at the end of the 1980s.Continue

Final Destination Iran?

Exclusive: Rob Edwards

Hundreds of powerful US “bunker-buster” bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for a possible attack on Iran. Continue

A Matter of Timing
Wiping the Spit Off His Face

By Uri Avnery

The Government of Israel has insulted the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, one of the greatest “friends” of Israel (meaning: somebody totally subservient to AIPAC) and spat in the face of President Barack Obama. So what? It’s all a matter of timing. Continue

“This is Starting to Get Dangerous”

By Scott Horton

According to a report in Yedioth Ahronoth, Biden responded: “This is starting to get dangerous for us. What you’re doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace.” Continue

The Petraeus Briefing:

Biden’s Embarrassment Is Not The Whole Story

By Mark Perry

The Mullen briefing and Petraeus's request hit the White House like a bombshell. Continue

Israeli Crackdown Puts Liberal Jews on the Spot

By Chris Hedges

The government of Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting to shut down Israel's premier human rights organizations, including B'Tselem, the New Israel Fund (NIF) and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. Continue

Spy Takes US/Israeli Secrets to Grave

By Robert Parry

Extensive evidence now exists that Begin’s preference for Reagan led the Israelis to join in a covert operation with Republicans to contact Iranian leaders behind Carter’s back, interfering with the President’s efforts to free the 52 American hostages before the November 1980 elections. Continue

Contractors Tied to Effort to Track and Kill Militants

By DEXTER FILKINS and MARK MAZZETTI

Under the cover of a benign government information-gathering program, a Defense Department official set up a network of private contractors in Afghanistan and Pakistan to help track and kill suspected militants, according to military officials and businessmen in Afghanistan and the United States. Continue

Noam Chomsky on Obama’s Foreign Policy

By Democracy Now!

Chomsky talks about President Obama’s foreign and national security policies, the lessons of Vietnam, and his own activism. “You just can’t become involved part-time in these things,” Continue

The Video That Will Put Geithner Behind Bars

By Mike Whitney

You gotta see this! If this doesn't convince you that the Timothy Geithner knew about the securities shenanigans that were going on at Lehman, than I don't know what will. Continue

Geithner and Bernanke's Possibly Criminal Roles
Lehman Brothers Scandal Rocks the Fed

By Mike Whitney

After a year-long investigation, court-appointed bank examiner Anton Valukas has produced a deadly 2,200 page report which details the activities that led to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. The report is a keg of dynamite. Continue

The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Governing

By David Michael Green

Barack Baby, I know you couldn’t care less about the American public, but just in case you might still care about your own legacy and perhaps even winning a second term, might I be of some assistance? Continue

Democrats' Crack-cocaineCompromise Is Still 'Racist'

By Dr. Boyce Watkins

The Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986 was the product of America's broad-stroke reaction to increased drug use of the 1980s. The law gave a sentence 100 times greater for possession of crack cocaine (more likely to be possessed by blacks) than the one given for powder cocaine (possessed in greater proportion by whites), creating a black incarceration rate of holocaust proportions. Continue

35 killed in southern Afghanistan blast: Kabul. At least 35 people were killed and 57 were wounded when a series of explosions described by the Taliban as a message to NATO hit Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province

Afghan government claims coalition troops killed 12 civilians: President Hamid Karzai’s deputy spokesperson Hamed Elmi said the casualties, which included women and children, occurred during two separate airstrikes in the country’s Kandahar and Kunar provinces.

Afghan forces kill Taliban commander, six foreign fighters The Afghan Defence Ministry said Sunday that troops backed by NATO troops killed six foreign fighters allied with Taliban insurgents in Asmar district of eastern province of Kunar on Saturday.

Afghan police shot dead 5 would-be suicide bombers: "Five suicide bombers equipped with small arms entered Barmal district this morning to blew themselves up in different parts of the bazaar of the district, were identified by police and gunned down," the press release added.

Afghan family killed as special forces defy night raid ban: The body of his cousin, a 32-year-old construction engineer who had taken a break from his job in a far-off province to visit his family, lay sprawled next to those of his wife and their seven-year-old son. Blood ran in dark pools on the mud floor of the terrace outside their door.

Survivors of family killed in Afghanistan raid threaten suicide attacks: report: A family whose members were killed in a botched night raid in eastern Afghanistan have rejected “blood money” from the Government and vowed to carry out suicide attacks unless the perpetrators are brought to justice.

Anti-US rally held in Afghanistan: Protesters took to the streets in the eastern province of Kunar on Monday to condemn the killing of ten Afghan civilians by American troops.

Rocket Attack Kills 1 at NATO Base in Afghanistan: The attack targeted the sprawling Bagram Air Field, north of the capital of Kabul. A NATO spokesman would not say whether the victim was a service member or a civilian.

Kandahar slides into lawlessness as Taliban attacks force government to retreat: In theory, the Afghan government is in place in Kandahar, but its authority is nominal. Bombings and assassinations have left the government largely isolated behind concrete barricades and blast walls.

16 Taliban militants killed in Pakistani airstrikes: Pakistani fighter jets pounded several Taliban hideouts Sunday, killing 16 militants and injuring several more in north-western tribal region near Afghan border, security officials said.

At least 10 killed in Pakistan suicide attack: The bomber blew himself up at the entrance to a building used by security forces in Saidu Sharif, on the edge of Mingora, the main town in Swat, where the military said last year it had quelled a Taliban uprising.

3 killed in firing in Pakistan's Peshawar: Three people were killed including a member of Local Peace Committee in northwest Pakistan' s Peshawar on Saturday when unidentified persons opened fired at them, police sources said.

Iraq: Car Bomb in Iraq's Falluja Kills 7, Wounds 20: Police: A car bomb in Iraq's western Anbar province killed seven civilians and wounded 20 others on Monday, as Iraq struggles to end years of sectarian violence after a pivotal national vote.

Two policemen killed, three injured in northern Iraq : Two policemen were killed and three injured Monday in separate attacks in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, a local police source said.

Partial Count In All Provinces Has Prime Minister In The Lead: It appears Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will keep his job. The coalition he heads is leading in seven of Iraq's 18 provinces following last Sunday's parliamentary elections, including the key cities of Baghdad and Basra. Ballots are still being tallied.

Allawi takes surprise Kirkuk lead: Control of Iraq's parliament hangs in the balance as the latest election results show the coalitions of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, and his chief rival, Iyad Allawi, leading in important but geographically distinct regions.

Map: Election Results in Iraq:

EU's Ashton to be urged to lodge formal Iraq vote protest: – European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton will next week be urged to lodge a formal protest over "widespread fraud" during the Iraqi election count.

EU ready 'to take unilateral sanctions against Iran': The statements were the first clear declarations by European officials that the bloc is ready to order sanctions outside of a UN framework, a measure which only recently several member countries had opposed.

Netanyahu: Israel will keep building in Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that Israel would continue to build in Jerusalem in the same way that it has over the last 42 years.

Clinton reprimands Netanyahu; West Bank clashes continue : Video

AIPAC: White House statements on Israel 'a matter of serious concern': AIPAC said in a statement Sunday. "...The Administration should make a conscious effort to move away from public demands and unilateral deadlines directed at Israel, with whom the United States shares basic, fundamental, and strategic interests.

'Israel, US relations at lowest level in 35 years': Israel's envoy to Washington said ties between the two allies have hit "the most severe crisis since 1975" over Tel Aviv settlement plan that embarrassed the US administration at a time that it was promoting indirect peace talks with the Palestinians.

Jumblatt apologises to al-Assad: Walid Jumblatt, a Lebanese MP and leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, has made a public apology for "indecent comments" he made in the past against Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president.

At Least 17 Killed in Central Somalia Violence: The clashes erupted Saturday in Somalia's Mudug region, where the clans have been in conflict over land and water rights

SOMALIA: Without food and unable to bury the dead in Mogadishu: Five days of fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, have left residents without food, cut off from their homes and unable to bury their dead, civil society leaders in the city said. .

Car bombs hit Nigeria oil city: The explosions occurred after the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) emailed a statement saying it had planted three bombs.

China calls U.S. a hypocrite over human rights: China accused Washington of hypocrisy on Friday for its criticism of Beijing's restrictions on the Internet and dissent, blaming the United States for the financial crisis and saying its own rights record was terrible.

Full Text of Human Rights Record of the United States in 2009: China's Information Office of the State Council published a report titled "The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2009" here Friday. Following is the full text:

Mexico: Stop union-busting at PEMEX: Union members are being informed that in order to retain their jobs they are required to sign two documents, one calling for the cancellation of the union's registration and the other a resignation from the union.

Obama to face 'mock attack' during visit: US President Barack Obama will come under a mock attack when he visits Australia this month, with an anti-war veterans group mobilising a fleet of cardboard drones.

9/11 truthers find home in New Hampshire: 9/11 is on the ballot this spring in 12 towns in New Hampshire. People throughout the region are encouraging their neighbors to "vote for answers."

AP Exclusive: Pentagon gun was from Tenn. police: Two guns used in high-profile shootings this year at the Pentagon and a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the same unlikely place: the police and court system of Memphis, Tenn.

Wars Sending U.S. Into Ruin: Eric Margolis: Obama the peace president is fighting battles his country cannot afford

China defends currency policy: China's prime minister has rejected foreign calls for allowing the yuan to appreciate and blamed the US for strained ties between Washington and Beijing.

Credit Agency Warns U.S. and Others of Risk to Top Rating: Major Western economies have moved “substantially” closer to losing their top-notch credit ratings, with the United States and Britain under the most pressure, Moody’s Investors Service said Monday in a reminder that the global debt crisis is not limited to the small or weak.

More than half of mortgaged homes in St. Lucie, Martin are 'under water': The report by California-based First American CoreLogic found that 56 percent, or 62,696, of all residential properties with a mortgage in the Port St. Lucie Metropolitan Statistical Area were in a negative equity position for the fourth quarter of 2009. That’s more than double the national rate of 24 percent.

Foreclosures are still on the Rise in Illinois: Foreclosures in Illinois increased 22% in February, 2010. The high foreclosure rate can be attributed to the high unemployment rate and declining home prices.

Md. foreclosure filings skyrocket in February: The county's filings increased 71 percent from last February, pushing Maryland to the 10th-worst rate in the country, according to the online foreclosure tracking company RealtyTrac.

Foreclosure starts up nearly 20 percent in California: After four consecutive months of decline, Notice of Default filings bounced up by 19.7 percent to 31,004 statewide. Filings of Notices of Trustee Sale, which sets the date and time of the foreclosure auction, increased slightly as well, rising 3.6 percent to 28,195 filings, according to ForeclosureRadar.

Jacksonville mortgage delinquencies rise above 10%: The number of Jacksonville homeowners who have fallen behind on mortgage payments rose steadily over the past three years and today stands at more than 10 percent, according to a national credit monitoring company.

March 12, 2010

Taboo Inhibits Frank Iran/Israel Talk

By Ray McGovern

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu feels he can thumb his nose at the U.S. President (and Vice President) on the signal issue of Israeli settlements, is there reason to believe that Netanyahu is inclined to take into account repeated “please pleas” from the likes of Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen, who has warned the Israelis publicly that an attack on Iran would be a “big, big, big problem for all of us?” Continue

Did Chomsky Say
Iran Pursuing Nuclear Weapons Out of Fear

By Matthew W. Hutchins

He cited to the hypocrisy of the U.S. position in its historical relationships with the three nations that did not ratify the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty: Israel, India, and Pakistan. These three nations, said Chomsky, have all received nuclear technology from the United States in violation of security council resolutions, but most Americans would not realize this, given the pro-government bias of the media. Continue

Palestinians Should Now Declare Their Independence

By Johann Hari

This week the Obama administration - who give Israel $3bn a year, more than they dole out to any other nation on earth - made a meek and craven request for Israelis to simply have a pause in seizing even more land, and to sit down with the Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded with a big concrete slap. Continue

War on the Horizon in Latin America

By Eva Golinger

The Empire will stop at nothing to find mechanisms and techniques to achieve its final objective, and we cannot disregard the possibility of a military conflict in the near future. If the US places Venezuela on the “terrorist list” this year, we could be on the verge of a regional war. Continue

French Bread Spiked with LSD in CIA Experiment

By Henry Samuel in Paris

In 1951, a quiet, picturesque village in southern France was suddenly and mysteriously struck down with mass insanity and hallucinations. At least five people died, dozens were interned in asylums and hundreds afflicted. Continue

Why America Should Apologize

By Connor Boyack

Should the ignorance and/or arrogance of current politicians be tolerated when they declare that "we should not apologize for America"? Continue

Was "Jihad Jane" a Real Terrorist Threat? Or a Mentally Unstable Loner?

By Liliana Segura

No one knows quite what to make of Colleen LaRose. But get ready to hear a lot more about "homegrown terrorism" -- and why we need more surveillance to stop it. Continue

Forbes: Crisis Hits Only Low Income Earners

By Vlad Grinkevich

The current global financial and economic crisis once again confirms the fact that during economic upheavals the rich get richer and the poor become even more destitute. - As of late 2009, the number of billionaires soared from 793 to 1,011 and their total fortunes from $2.4 trillion to $3.6 trillion. Continue

How 'Bankquakes' Shake People from Their Homes

By Danny Schechter

Here's a story I was told about a middle class woman on Long Island, who happens to be Haitian. I am sure its not the worst case--and certainly not the best outcome. Read it and weep-but as you do remember this bell may toll for more of us. Continue

Welcome to America, Sucker
Ponzi Nation: How Get-Rich-Quick Crime Came to Define an Era

By Andy Kroll

Every great American boom and bust makes and breaks its share of crooks. The past decade -- call it the Ponzi Era -- has been no different, except for the gargantuan scale of white-collar crime. A vast wave of financial fraud swelled in the first years of the new century. Continue

Back to Market Fundamentalism

How champions of Neoliberal economics are reversing New Deal economics

By Ismael Hossein-zadeh

The New Deal and Social-Democratic reforms that evolved out of the Great Depression and World War II were not courtesy of “benevolent” capitalism, voluntarily bestowed upon the poor and working people. Continue

45 killed in Lahore bomb blasts: A third bomb has exploded near a police station in the Pakistani city of Lahore, after earlier attacks on the military killed at least 45 people.

Senior cleric, three others killed in Pakistan attack: - Four people, including a senior Muslim cleric, were killed in a drive-by shooting in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, police said Friday.

More Than 50 People Killed in Somalia Fighting: Heavy fighting continued to rock Somalia capital of Mogadishu for the third day running, the fighting is between the Somalia insurgent group of Al-Shabab and the transitional federal government troops allied to sheikh sheriff sheikh Ahmed administration.

Somalia - Thousands fleeing deadly clashes in Mogadishu: . Since February, some 33,000 Somalis have been driven out of their homes by the continuing conflict in Mogadishu. - There, they are jammed in makeshift settlements which are already home to over 366,000 internally displaced people (IDPs). Thousands also fled to other parts of the country.

Somalia: US backs puppet government’s planned military offensive: The United States’ military is working closely with its Somali counterparts in planning a major offensive against Islamist militias who control the bulk of the country, including almost all of the capital, Mogadishu.

Taliban claim killing 5 US troops in Afghanistan: A Taliban militant group claims its forces have killed five American soldiers in eastern Afghanistan amid growing casualty figures among foreign troops.

Afghan insurgents kill 3 police in attack on post: Insurgents attacked a police post in eastern Afghanistan with guns and then detonated a roadside bomb as reinforcements sped to the scene, killing three members of an elite strike force, police said Friday.

US occupation force troops open fire on journalist and her husband, killing both: Morgue officials confirmed the deaths and said the bodies of Aseel al-Obeidi and her husband were riddled with bullets in Wednesday's shooting in the Tobchi neighbourhood.

Lula Says Leaders Afraid Israel May Attack Iran If Talks Fail: “The leaders I spoke to believe that we must act quickly, otherwise Israel will attack Iran,” Lula said, adding that sanctions against Iran could be counterproductive

UN humanitarian chief warns of disaster if Gaza siege continues: The United Nations humanitarian chief warned Thursday of an impending humanitarian disaster if Egypt succeeds in blocking the tunnels that pass under it's border into the Gaza Strip.

Israel clamps West Bank closure: Israel has imposed a full closure of the occupied Palestinian territory of West Bank, announcing that no one will be allowed in or out for 48 hours.

Deputy FM tells U.S.: Israel won't make any "more" concessions: Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on Thursday defended Israel's decision to approve construction of 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem, saying sovereignty over the capital has never been negotiable and that Israel would not make any more concessions for peace.

U.S. gave Israel green light for East Jerusalem construction : Just in case anyone failed to realize how impartial a mediator the U.S. is, Biden said in his Tel Aviv speech that the U.S. has "no better friend" than Israel.

Deafening silence from corporate media (on silent IDF dinner protest): I asked Dorothy Zellner, a founding member of Jews Say No!, whether the hundreds of people who showed up to march and the two dozen or so organizations who co-sponsored the action was indicative of a larger shift in public opinion regarding Israel.

Rachel Corrie's sister to Haaretz: U.S. encouraged family to sue Israel : The family has met with many senior American officials, she added, and more than 70 congressmen signed a letter demanding a serious investigation.

Capital Anglos mobilize against practice of spitting at Christians: Shocked by growing reports about Ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting at Christians in Jerusalem's Old City, a group of Anglo residents is now mobilizing against this ugly practice.

Hostage reveals horrific torture details: A UK man held hostage in Iraq for more than two-and-a-half years has revealed harrowing details of the torture meted out to him by his captors.

Rove 'proud' of US waterboarding terror suspects: In a BBC interview, Karl Rove, who was known as "Bush's brain", said he "was proud we used techniques that broke the will of these terrorists".

Internet aids terrorist recruiting, radicalization, Pentagon says: Militant groups can radicalize individuals and train them to carry out terrorist acts much more quickly today, in part thanks to the Internet, according to military and counter terrorism experts testifying on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

Government finds 21.1 percent unemployment rate for young veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan wars: That's well above the 16.6 percent jobless rate for non-veterans of the same ages, 18 to 24.

The Most Powerful Corporate Business Club Most Americans Have Never Heard of: The Business Roundtable, an organization representing Fortune 500 CEOs, is at the heart of the Economic Elite's power center.

Report Details How Lehman Hid Its Woes: It is the Wall Street equivalent of a coroner’s report — a 2,200-page document that lays out, in new and startling detail, how Lehman Brothers used accounting sleight of hand to conceal the bad investments that led to its undoing.

Mortgage Principal Writedown Won't Save Housing: And so it begins. Big gun lawmakers are making the move toward principal writedowns as the last resort to save the housing market.

New round of foreclosures threatens housing market: The housing market is facing swelling ranks of homeowners who are seriously delinquent but have yet to lose their homes, and this is threatening a new wave of foreclosures that could hit just as the real estate market has begun to stabilize.

Officials: 2.5 million Floridians on food stamps: More than 2.5 million Floridians are on food stamps, up from three years ago where 1.2 million residents received assistance.

March 11, 2010

The Rogue Nation

By Philip Girald

The Pentagon will be developing a new generation of super drones that can stay airborne for long periods of time and can strike anywhere in the world and at any time to kill America’s enemies. The super drones will include some that can fly at supersonic speeds and others that will be large enough to carry nuclear weapons. Continue

Palestinians Should Declare Statehood

By Cesar Chelala

A unilateral declaration of statehood is fraught with complications, although it would follow on the steps of Israel’s unilateral declaration of independence on 1948. Continue

US / Israel: The Special Relationship?
An Entangled Alliance

Video Interview With Jeff Gates

To restore national security requires a reappraisal of the U.S.-Israeli “special relationship.” Continue

The New McCarthyism

By Joe Conason

The values that most of us share include honesty and fairness — and this sleazy campaign violates both. Continue

The Threatening Dangers

By Fidel Castro

No place on earth or in the sea, no matter how deep, is beyond reach of the current means of war. Continue

Billionaires and Mega-Corporations Behind Immense Land Grab in Africa

By John Vidal

20+ African countries are selling or leasing land for intensive agriculture on a shocking scale in what may be the greatest change of ownership since the colonial era. Continue

Tea Partyers Are White Nationalists, Pure and Simple

By Glen Ford

The continued appeal of a loud and boisterous White Nationalism threatens the prevailing American mythology, shared by the likes of corporate Democrat Barack Obama and corporate Republican John McCain: the myth that racism is not endemic to American life and history. Continue

Decoding The Language Of Social Control

(Democracy Is Communism and Must Be Destroyed)

By Manuel Garcia Jr.

How did the corporate ideology social programmers manage to peel back a million years of human evolution to produce the “Tea Party” sideshows where people act at their limbic level, like monkey troops howling over the invasion of their banana groves? Let’s skip through history to piece together an answer. Continue

At least 43 killed in Somalia attacks: Heavy fighting between Somali insurgents and pro-government troops has killed at least 43 people over two days, as African Union peacekeepers used tanks to help the beleaguered government beat back an insurgent attack, officials said Thursday.

Half of Somalia food aid diverted - UN report: The Monitoring Group found that WFP transportation contracts are the single largest source of revenue in Somalia and "just three contractors receive 80 per cent of that business", which weighed in at 200 million dollars in 2009.

UN: 90 Rwandan rebels killed in eastern Congo: Spokesman Madnodje Mounoubai said Wednesday that Hutu rebels from neighboring Rwanda were killed during a two-week Congolese army operation conducted with the support of U.N. peacekeepers.

US kills up to 16 in Pakistan: Two successive bombing raids by unmanned spy planes hit a building and vehicles late Wednesday in North Waziristan, a bastion of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

Child among five killed, 12 injured in suicide blast: Peshawar: Five persons including a child have been killed and 12 others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber blew himself up near Bara Qadeem check-post here on Thursday, police said.

Karzai in Pakistan, seeks talks with Taliban leaders: Afghan President Hamid Karzai says his government is ready to hold talks with Taliban leaders, including Mullah Mohammad Omar. "We have contacts [with the Taliban] as high as you wish to go," Karzai told reporters in Islamabad on Thursday.

Eight killed in Afghan attacks: Five Afghan civilians, four of them children, were killed in an explosion today, while gunmen shot dead a South African construction contractor and his Afghan colleague in a separate attack,. One member of the NATO occupation force (ISAF) was also killed in an explosion in the south of the country

US occupation forces kills 4 civilians: An American helicopter attacked two houses after shots were reportedly fired at US soldiers searching for Taliban militants. Four civilians, including two children aged 11 and 15. were killed in the shootout.

More Afghan Civilians Killed By US, NATO Forces Than Insurgents During Operation Moshtarak: : According to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, U.S. and Allied forces have killed and injured more civilians than have the insurgents during Operation Moshtarak. Incredibly, the Pentagon continues to insist that this operation “protects the people.”

US lawmakers reject Afghan pull-out: Lawmakers routed the resolution in a 356-65 vote that saw 60 of Obama's Democratic allies and five of his Republican critics cast ballots to call home all US forces from what he has called the central front against extremism.

How They Voted : Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove the United States Armed Forces from Afghanistan

Patrick Kennedy: Media Doing "Despicable" Job Covering Afghanistan: "There's two press people in this gallery," Kennedy yelled during a debate over an anti-war resolution. "We're talking about Eric Massa 24-7 on the TV, we're talking about war and peace, $3 billion, 1,000 lives and no press? No press."

Sheehan turning attention to Obama, camping out at Washington Monument: . Her new coalition, Peace of the Action, is launching the Camp OUT NOW! tent city at the base of the Washington Monument next week in an effort to get President Barack Obama to pull troops out of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan immediately.

3 policemen killed in attack in western Iraq: Three policemen were killed in a bomb explosion followed by gunfire in a village in Iraq's western province of Anbar on Tuesday, a provincial police source said.

US soldiers kill Iraqi couple in Baghdad: Iraqi interior ministry officials said that US soldiers opened fire on a civilian vehicle at around 1:00 p.m. (1000 GMT) Wednesday for reasons that are still under investigation.

Maliki, Allawi ahead in Iraq count : Thursday's results put al-Maliki's coalition ahead in Najaf and Babil provinces south of Baghdad, while Allawi leads in two provinces north and east of Baghdad.

Yemeni separatist protesters killed: Three southern Yemeni independence activists have been killed and another 13 wounded in clashes with security forces during anti-government demonstrations in the country's restive south.

Soldiers kill two as tensions run high in Nigeria massacre city: Days after an estimated 500 Christian villagers were massacred in raids by Muslim gangs, twitchy officers fired warning shots at a crowd and shot at a truck, killing two people.

Israel planning 50,000 housing units in East Jerusalem: . Saying the decision undermines peace talks, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has publicly condemned the move, which the Interior Ministry announced during his visit to Israel.

PA: Peace talks off until East Jerusalem housing shelved: "We want to hear from [United States envoy George] Mitchell that Israel has cancelled the decision to build housing units before we start the negotiations," Erekat said.

In case you missed it: Joe Biden: "I am a Zionist": US Senator Joe Biden, speaks with Shalom TV on Israel and Jewish-related issues in this exclusive interview.

Analysis: Netanyahu outwits Obama again: There is almost certainly worse to come. The Israeli government has laid a series depth charges in the path of the peace process since blunting the idealism of Mr Obama's opening frenzy of diplomacy.

Does Israeli really want Peace in Palestine?: Fourteen years ago Clinton visited to Gaza in 1996, when the PLO and Fatah accepted Israel's existence and amended parts of their charter that had aimed at destroying Israel.

Headlines Continued

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