Prospect of Fuel Protests Rises

A campaign group of farmers and hauliers which was behind the fuel blockades a decade ago has threatened new action against the rises, while a cross-party group of MPs has called for the Government to help motorists and essential road users by cutting fuel duty.

The Scottish and Welsh Assembly governments have also joined calls for a cut in duty.

On Saturday fuel duty rose by 0.76p a litre, while on Tuesday VAT will go up from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent.

The combination of both tax hikes will put around 3.5p on the average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol, which had already hit a record high of 124.16p last week – more than 14 per cent on a year ago.

Diesel stood at an average of 128.35p a litre. Further increases in fuel duties are planned in April.'

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Gerald Celente: What’s in Store for 2011

Bankers Trick? - Cell Phone Banking For The Poor

What stands in the way of global access to financial services? It may come as a surprise, but the single biggest obstacle is cash. In short, cash is expensive.

The poor tend to live in an entirely cash-based economy. But banks find it too costly to sustain branches in disadvantaged areas to collect the small amounts of hard cash that poor people can save. So poor customers have to travel miles just to make a deposit – wasting time and running up transport costs.

We can’t make cash go away. But we can make it easier to transform cash into electronic information, which is all a bank account is, really. Once money is “de-materialized,” it can be sent around electronically at very low cost. The fastest, most convenient way to achieve this transformation globally is to use the stores that exist in every neighborhood and every village as banking surrogates.'

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Obama Sidesteps Hill With EPA Carbon Limits

The Obama administration will use government agencies and the Clean Air Act to push through its global warming agenda after failing in Congress. FoxNews.com reports that on Jan.2 new carbon limits will be set and the Environmental Protection Agency will then draw up regulations requiring companies to get permits to release greenhouse gases.

Fox said the administration, which points to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling for its authority, plans to have preliminary rules in place by the summer with final rules set for 2012. American Enterprise Institute scientist Ken Green told Fox the regulations are “job killers".'

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As We Count the Cost of the Freeze, Government Prepares for Global Warming

As we emerge, temporarily perhaps, from weeks of the coldest weather since records began – with snow disasters right round the northern hemisphere, from the US and Europe to China and Mongolia – more examples come to light of how the cost of extreme cold is far greater than that of warming. We already have a £9.6 billion backlog to cover repairs to roads damaged in previous winters, and the price of repairing the potholes and crumbling asphalt caused by this winter’s even more intense cold threatens to raise that by billions more (even though Government cuts will trim that budget by 15 per cent).

In Northern Ireland, 80,000 households were deprived of water by burst mains operated by the state-owned Northern Ireland Water. Yet as recently as October it published a strategic plan wholly obsessed by the need to transform its infrastructure to meet the challenge of global warming.'

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Israel Preparing for 'Large Scale War'

Israel's army chief told a US Congress delegation in late 2009 he was preparing for a large war in the Middle East, probably against Hamas or Hezbollah, leaked US diplomatic cables showed on Sunday.

"I am preparing the Israeli army for a large scale war, since it is easier to scale down to a smaller operation than to do the opposite," Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi was quoted as saying in a cable from the US embassy in Tel Aviv.'

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Obama's IQ Faces Another Challenge

Tax Holiday For Huge Corporations?

Huge New Screening (and Drug Treatment) Push for Alzheimer's Disease

'Alzheimer's researchers are pushing for the disease to be redefined so that treatment can begin years earlier than under current practices.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, and can currently be conclusively diagnosed only with an autopsy. It already affects more than 26 million people around the world, and this number is expected to triple by 2050.'

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Why Washington Hates Hugo Chavez

In late November, Venezuela was hammered by torrential rains and flooding that left 35 people dead and roughly 130,000 homeless. If George Bush had been president, instead of Hugo Chavez, the displaced people would have been shunted off at gunpoint to makeshift prison camps--like the Superdome--as they were following Hurricane Katrina. But that's not the way Chavez works. The Venezuelan president quickly passed "enabling" laws which gave him special powers to provide emergency aid and housing to flood victims. Chavez then cleared out the presidential palace and turned it into living quarters for 60 people, which is the equivalent of turning the White House into a homeless shelter. The disaster victims are now being fed and taken care of by the state until they can get back on their feet and return to work.

The details of Chavez's efforts have been largely omitted in the US media where he is regularly demonized as a "leftist strongman" or a dictator. The media refuses to acknowledge that Chavez has narrowed the income gap, eliminated illiteracy, provided health care for all Venezuelans, reduced inequality, and raised living standards across he board. While Bush and Obama were expanding their foreign wars and pushing through tax cuts for the rich, Chavez was busy improving the lives of the poor and needy while fending off the latest wave of US aggression.'

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Official: US, NATO Now in Control of Narcotic Trade in Afghanistan

A senior Iranian judiciary official blasted the West's performance in fighting drugs in Afghanistan, and stressed that the western states, particularly the US, are now in control of the drug trade in the war-torn country.

"Today, Afghans have no special influence in the issue of narcotics but the NATO and western states control drug production and dealings and are busy in this fields," First Deputy Head of the Judiciary Ebrahim Raeesi said at a conference of the anti-drug police chiefs here in Tehran on Tuesday.

"Today, the drug movements and networks are controlled by the Americans and the hegemonic system and Afghans are acting as their agents," Raeesi noted.'

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IDF: Palestinian Killed at Checkpoint was Unarmed

An IDF soldier guarding the West Bank checkpoint of Bekaot shot and killed a Palestinian man despite observing that he was unarmed, an initial investigation of Sunday's incident showed.

It appears that eight bullets were fired at the 20-year-old Tubas resident, Mohammad Dragma, when more soldiers rushed to help the first soldier in the shooting.

The initial inquiry also shows that the first soldier that reached Dragma saw that he was not carrying a gun, but only glass bottle. Regardless of this observation the soldier chose to shoot at the man's upper body. During the questioning the soldier said that he felt his life was in danger when he decided to fire his weapon. Two of his battalion companions, who joined him in the shooting, admitted that they were not in the danger zone, but just wished to aid their friend.'

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Britain Carrying 'Trademark of Despots'

A coalition of human rights organizations worldwide has condemned Britain for keeping in place one of the “most serious violations” of natural justice, namely 'control orders', which allows suspects to be put under home arrest through electronic tagging, depriving them from having a mobile phone or internet and imposing curfews on them without any trial.

The alliance includes British human rights group Liberty, the American Civil Liberties Union, Canadian Civil Liberties Union, the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Argentina's Centro de Estudios Legales Sociales and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union among others.

Liberty's director Shami Chakrabarti described the controversial regulations introduced in 2005 as an “international embarrassment”.'

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'US to Stay in Afghanistan Forever'

A senior Republican senator has suggested that the US should devise a plan to permanently keep American troops in war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator from South Carolina, told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that Republicans would push for indefinite US stay in Afghanistan in the years ahead.

"We have had air bases all over the world and a couple of air bases in Afghanistan would allow the Afghan security forces an edge against the Taliban in perpetuity. It would be a signal to Pakistan that the Taliban are never going to come back. In Afghanistan they could change their behavior. It would be a signal to the whole region that Afghanistan is going to be a different place".'

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Israel Arrests Protesters in Tel Aviv

Israeli forces have arrested 19 activists protesting the death of a 36-year-old Palestinian woman, who died from tear gas inhalation at a rally in the occupied West Bank.

The demonstrators gathered outside the home of the US ambassador to Israel, James Cunningham, in northern Tel Aviv on Sunday.

Police arrested eleven activists, accusing them of throwing an empty tear gas canister and a chain toward the ambassador's residence, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

The demonstration was held against the death of Jawaher Abu Rahma, who died after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli troops at demonstrators, who were protesting the construction of the West Bank barrier near Ramallah city on Friday.'

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'Big Brother' Police Keep Millions of Innocent People on File Who Dial 999 to Report a Crime

Millions of innocent people have their details stored on police databases after reporting a crime, it emerged today.

Forces across England and Wales have amassed data about people who dial 999 or non-emergency numbers to report their concerns or pass on information.

West Midlands Police, the UK's second largest force, holds 1.1 million records of people who have reported offences over the past 12 years.'

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Cameron Faces Commons Defeat Over Europe

Conservative backbenchers are preparing to ambush the controversial European Union Bill which goes before the Commons when MPs return from their Christmas break.

Eurosceptic Tories will table radical changes to the legislation, which they claim does not deliver on its promise of a referendum on future transfers of powers to the European Union.

If the changes strengthening the legislation are not accepted by the Government, some Conservatives said they might even vote down the entire Bill.

Last night Labour sources signalled that Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, will order his MPs to oppose the legislation too.'

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Area Of Thick Arctic Ice Has Doubled In The Last Two Years

US Navy PIPS data shows that the area of ice greater than 2.5 metres thick – has doubled since the same date in 2008

See here...

Biometric ID Checks On UK School Children As Young As Four

Dozens of Scottish schools have introduced “intrusive” biometric systems, such as fingerprinting, to identify pupils as young as four.

New figures show 68 schools are now using technology to manage meals, control library books and even allow access to toilets.

Almost two-thirds are primaries, where fingerprinting and palm recognition can be used to identify young children. And another 10 schools in Midlothian have the capability for biometric ID but are not yet using it.'

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Now Coastal Queensland Braces for 30-ft Flood Waters

'Floods that have inundated 22 Australian towns and forced more than 200,000 from their homes headed towards the northeast coast on New Year's Day, forcing further evacuations and warnings of 30-ft flood waters.'

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USDA Certified Organic’s Dirty Little Secret: Neotame

Just when we thought that buying “Organic” was safe, we run headlong into the deliberate poisoning of our organic food supply by the FDA in collusion with none other than the folks who brought us Aspartame. NutraSweet, a former Monsanto asset, has developed a new and improved version of this neurotoxin called Neotame.

Neotame has similar structure to aspartame — except that, from it’s structure, appears to be even more toxic than aspartame. This potential increase in toxicity will make up for the fact that less will be used in diet drinks. Like aspartame, some of the concerns include gradual neurotoxic and immunotoxic damage from the combination of the formaldehyde metabolite (which is toxic at extremely low doses) and the excitotoxic amino acid.'

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BP Oil Disaster Exclusive - Kindra Arnesen's Explosive New Revelations and Message to the World

'Activist, Mother, and Voice of the Gulf People, Kindra Arnesen sat down with the Project Gulf Impact team, Matt Smith, Heather Rally, and Gavin Garrison recently to reveal shocking new information about the BP oil disaster and why the whole world should be paying attention to the Gulf. A must watch for anyone wanting new information on the Gulf of Mexico, she reveals shocking new information sure to send waves through the country.'

How Fritz Springmeier Was Framed

In 2003, Illuminati researcher Fritz Springmeier was sentenced to 12 years in prison on the basis of no evidence. His experience suggests that at any time the Illuminati can put away anyone who irritates them.

Springmeier was convicted because a bank robber, Forrest E. Bateman Jr. testified that Springmeier visited his house on the same day as Bateman discussed the robbery with two accomplices.

Bateman received a reduced sentence for this testimony. He did not say he had discussed the robbery with Springmeier.'

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Woman Arrested After Trying To Return Wallet

Deborah Heinrich said she opened it to find who it belonged to and then started making phone calls.

"I left messages at his home phone after I found his number on the Internet," Heinrich said. "I called his bank and a Harley Davidson dealer listed on a business card in his wallet."

When asked if she had intended to keep the wallet, Heinrich replied, "No, not at all."

Heinrich said she even contacted police and asked them for help tracking down the owner.'

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Citing Facebook Posts, Fox News Turns in Indiana Grandmother for ‘Terror Link’

Apparently no longer content to simply shill for a growing police state, Fox News decided to take what passes for the law these days into its own hands today, turning in a 46 year-old grandmother from Indianapolis, Indiana for having a “possible terrorist link.”

The entire case against the woman, one Kathie Smith, appears to have been based around data culled off of her Facebook page and the content of emails they exchanged with her. The Department of Homeland Security in Indiana confirmed that their first information about Mrs. Smith was when Fox News sent them a video in which she allegedly makes “anti-American comments".'

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Prison Riot: Smashed Windows, Burnt Buildings as Inmates Rampage in UK

'Rioting inmates caused heavy damage to a low-security prison on Saturday, smashing windows and setting fires that engulfed buildings and spewed clouds of black smoke. Mark Freeman, deputy general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said the riot started after some prisoners refused to take breath tests. At the time, only two prison officers and four support staff were on duty.'

Haiti: Obama Does Not Like Black People

As the year 2010 closes the United Nations is facing a serious crisis of credibility. Whether in Ivory Coast , in the Congo or in Haiti , U.N. troops sent to “keep the peace” are repeatedly accused of perpetrating grave human rights violations, including mass murders. This note shall focus on the track record of the Mission des nations unies pour la stabilisation d’Haiti (MINUSTHA), which has been in operation in this Caribbean island nation for the past six years.'

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Big Brother: America's Police State Mentality in the Electronic Age

Pushed to the extreme and without clear democratic oversight, it becomes the mark of a totalitarian state, when authorities feel that they never have enough information on the people. It is because information is power and state bureaucrats and politicians naturally like to be in control; on the one hand, releasing as little information about their own actions through an imposed secrecy, and on the other, accumulating as much information as possible about the citizens.

And today, modern governments have all the tools to transform their country into a creeping police state, more so now then ever before, in this electronic age. They have access to information technology that previous full-fledged “police state” governments could only have dreamed about.'

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TSA Photocopies Man's Credit Cards and Other Personal Documents

US Collects DNA And Data On Foreign Presidential Candidates

A cable dated March 24, 2008 reports upon a recent Washington review of the reporting and collection needs of USG (United States Government) agencies in Paraguay. The review lists the priorities USG agencies are to focus upon when they allocate resources and update plans to collect information on Paraguay. Information was desired upon all leading presidential contenders – particularly upon the Minister of Education, Blanca Ovelar; former Vice President Castiglioni, and also on Lino Oviedo; and Fernando Lugo. The information included biographical and financial information but also biometric data including fingerprints, facial images, iris scans, and DNA, on these individuals.

P.J. Crowley,State Department spokesman, sought to reassure the world that American diplomats are not spies, but ignored questions about why they were asked to collect samples of DNA, iris images, credit card numbers, fingerprints and other personal information of foreign dignitaries at the United Nations and other countries.'

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'US Plotting New Coup in Venezuela'

A political analyst says that the US is trying to plot another coup in Venezuela by choosing an ambassador to Caracas that has tried to curry favor with the Venezuelan military.

The appointment of an ambassador by the US "who was really discussing Venezuelan military loyalty and morale … is really a discussion of the potential of a new coup in Venezuela," said Sara Flounders, Co-Director of International Action Center in New York.

In an interview with Press TV, Flounders noted that "Venezuela has been a victim of US coup d'état and attempted coups. President [Hugo] Chavez himself [was a victim] of a direct US sponsored coup in 2002".'

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'UN Troops Fire on Ivorian Civilians'

Incumbent Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo has accused UN peacekeeping forces in his country of targeting civilians, calling on them to leave the West African country.

"It is not the role of UN forces to shoot people, nor is it their role to fight a war," Gbagbo said on state-run RTI television on Saturday.

"It is not normal that UN forces would open fire on civilians. This is why I ask them to leave," he added.

The embattled self-declared Ivorian president also called for 900 French troops, who back up the 9,000 UN forces, to leave the country.'

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The TSA's State-Mandated Molestation

The holiday brought bittersweet news: unless the Transportation Security Authority disbands, I'll never see a certain friend of mine again. His long-term unemployment finally ended, and next month, he starts a great new job. But it's in Texas, too far to drive; from my place in Connecticut to his new home in San Antonio is 2,000 miles – 500 more than separates London from Moscow.

As an American – that is, someone considered lucky to get seven consecutive days off work – the only way I could possibly travel such distance is to fly. But flying includes the legal obligation I submit to having my genitalia groped by some TSA thug wearing the same latex gloves already shoved down nine dozen other strangers' underwear. There's only two ways an American flyer can reliably avoid this: be rich enough to buy your own plane, or a high-ranking congressman or other VIP exempt from the indignities they inflict upon ordinary citizens.'

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WeAreChange Chicago Member Arrested for Asking Dr. OZ Vaccine Questions

'On November 6th, Dr. Oz hosted a health expo in Chicago’s Millennium Park. We Are Change Chicago (WACC) members attended hoping to ask Dr. Oz some questions about the dangers of vaccines. The poisonous additives causing adverse reactions for some people are never discussed in the mainstream media.'

Incident with Dr. Oz & his people begins at about 3:15



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10 Modern Methods of Mind Control

The more one researches mind control, the more one will come to the conclusion that there is a coordinated script that has been in place for a very long time with the goal to turn the human race into non-thinking automatons. For as long as man has pursued power over the masses, mind control has been orchestrated by those who study human behavior in order to bend large populations to the will of a small "elite" group. Today, we have entered a perilous phase where mind control has taken on a physical, scientific dimension that threatens to become a permanent state if we do not become aware of the tools at the disposal of the technocratic dictatorship unfolding on a worldwide scale.

Modern mind control is both technological and psychological. Tests show that simply by exposing the methods of mind control, the effects can be reduced or eliminated, at least for mind control advertising and propaganda. More difficult to counter are the physical intrusions, which the military-industrial complex continues to develop and improve upon.'

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Nintendo Warns 3DS Could Damage Children's Eyesight

The Nintendo 3DS, which is due to be released next year, will give users the option of playing in 3D as opposed to the conventional 2D picture, without the need for 3D glasses.

But in a statement on its Japanese website, the company cautioned that children under the age of six who use the new 3D functionality could suffer from stunted eye development as a result.

Designers have even equipped the handset with a parental lock that deactivates the 3D aspect and prevents children from being able to switch it back on.

The company also advises all users take breaks from playing 3D games as frequently as every 30 minutes to give their eyes a chance to rest.

The advice to consumers follows warnings from television manufacturers that children, pregnant women and drunk people could experience symptoms from nausea to seizures from watching in 3D.'

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Netanyahu: Palestinians Evading Negotiations with Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the Palestinians are responsible for the deadlock in peace talks, saying they have been evading negotiations while Israel is striving for peace.

Speaking at a conference of Foreign Ministry representatives, Netanyahu referred to the comments made by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman this week, who said the Palestinian Authority is illegitimate and that Israel should not reach an agreement with them.'

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Denmark Robbed Blind by a Carbon Trading Scandal

The Danish tax authority has been robbed blind by a carbon trading scandal that has rocked the market for carbon off sets: while the story saw some press a year ago, significantly higher losses have since been reported and the MSM has ignored the story.

The Danish Auditor General is on the case now as the scope of the crime has become obvious, and grown exponentially since it was first reported. Originally discussed as a quasi-small-time dollar scam, the reality a year later is a lot larger: Europol is estimating a value on the case of 38 Billion Kroners and the values seem to keep going up.

Connie Hedegaard, then the Climate & Energy Minister for Denmark is now the EU Climate Commissioner. While she was with the Danish government, she helped set up and manage a system where there were no background checks on the listings of permitted traders. This removal of identification was done even though the EU requires at least passport. This helped a group of fake, rogue traders set up a program that looted the Danish economy of up to 2% of its gross GDP in lost VAT taxes.'

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Living Standards Must Fall by 15% to Save the Euro

It is possible that the eurozone may not even survive next year according to the Centre for Economic and Business Research.

Chief executive Douglas McWilliams said the euro has an 80 per cent chance of failing in its present form in the next 10 years.

He said living standards would have to fall by about 15 per cent in the weaker economies and Government spending slashed if the single currency was to survive.

Mr McWilliams added: “There is no modern history of falling living standards in peacetime on the scale necessary to keep the euro in its current form.'

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Experts: Food and Fuel Shortages Imminent as New Ice Age Dawns

With an Ice Age comes abrupt change, and with change comes death—sometimes death on a massive scale.

More of the world's top scientists in the disciplines of geology, ecology, meteorology, astrophysics, and heliology [Down loadable list] are predicting that the two major cooling cycles are converging—the short term and long term Ice Ages—and Earth has just entered the beginnings of the dangerous cooling.'

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Dark Ages: 2010 Uprisings Just a Start, Revolt 2011 Coming?

For Europe, it was a year when the cash ran out in some countries. But one thing that wasn't in short supply was the number of angry protestors. As governments severely cut back on budgets, hundreds of thousands of people lashed out in response.'

The Shadow Banking System: A Third Of All The Wealth In The World Is Held In Offshore Banks

You and I live in a totally different world than the ultra-rich and the international banking elite do. Many of them live in a world where they simply do not pay income taxes. Today, it is estimated that a third of all the wealth in the world is held in offshore banks. So why is so much of the wealth of the globe located in places such as Monaco, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Isle of Man? It isn't because those are fun places to visit. It is to avoid taxes.

The super wealthy and the international banking elite think that it is really funny that our paychecks are constantly being drained by federal taxes, state taxes and Social Security taxes while they literally pay nothing at all. These incredibly rich elitists make a ton of money doing business in wealthy western nations and then they transfer virtually all of their profits offshore where they don't have to contribute any of it in taxes. It works out really great for them, but it sucks for the rest of us.'

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Tunisia: IMF 'Economic Medicine' has Resulted in Mass Poverty and Unemployment

Mass and spontaneous demonstrations erupted on Friday, December 17th in the city of Sidi Bouzid (central Tunisia) when Mohammad Bouazizi , a 26 year-old, doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire after a female police officer slapped and spat on him. The only crime Bouazizi committed was that of being a street vendor selling vegetables and fruits without a permit, in a country where neoliberal economic policies failed to provide economic opportunities to Bouazizi and thousands of others like him. Bouazizi’ s attempted suicide, which comes hard on the heels of police humiliation and confiscation of his only source of income, reveals the utter despair prevalent today among Tunisia’s population especially college graduates.

Twenty-four years of ruthless corruptions, dictatorship, and neoliberal economic policies led to wealth being concentrated in the hands of very few people connected to President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife’s family. Bouazizi, a college graduate, was trying to live in dignity and provide for his family by becoming a street vendor despite living in a country that is considered an economic miracle and one of the African lions by western economic monitors and analysts.'

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Israeli Settlers Set Fire to Home as Seven Palestinians Sleep Inside

In the early morning hours of 29 December 2010, settlers set fire to a family's dwelling in Susiya village.

The great majority of Susiya residents live in tents as their historic stone and cave dwellings have been demolished several times over by the Israeli military. Many of the tents now used have been provided by humanitarian organizations and serve as bedrooms, kitchens, storage and sitting areas for the families living in them.

The Palestinian village of Susiya is sandwiched between a handful of settlements and outposts, an army base, and an ancient synagogue. Shepherds are unable to graze their flocks freely on their own land and farmers are unable to access their fields to harvest wheat and olives due to the area's designation as a 'closed military zone' (see the video below). Israeli settlers in the South Hebron Hills, who have a reputation for being some of the nastiest settlers around, often direct their venemous aggression at Palestinians from Susiya who are surrounded on all sides.'

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Keep Hope Alive- The Olive Tree Campaign

The Olive Tree Campaign (OTC) seeks to replant olive trees in areas trees have been uprooted and destroyed or in areas where the fields are threatened to be confiscated by the Israeli military Occupation and settlers. Since the year 2001 Israel through its military and settlers in the West Bank and Gaza has uprooted, burnt and destroyed more than 548,000 olive trees that belong to Palestinian farmers and land owners.

'Israel Planned to Nuke Arabs in 1980'

A newly-released state document in Britain reveals that Israel was prepared to use a nuclear bomb in the event of an armed conflict with Arab neighbors, a report says.

The official paper discloses communications between John Robinson, a former British ambassador to Tel Aviv, and the UK Foreign Office, in which the former diplomat cautioned about an Israeli nuclear attack.

"If they (Israelis) are to be destroyed, they will go down fighting this time. They will be ready to use their atomic weapon," Reuters quoted Robinson as stating in the newly declassified cable dated May 4, 1980.

Robinson's message, published on December 29 under a rule that allows official British documents to be released after 30 years, also voiced concern that US-hosted talks between Palestinians and Israelis would not lead to an agreement on the Middle East conflict.'

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Britain Blocking Press TV Bank Aaccounts Illegal

A top official at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting organization has slammed blocking of Press TV bank accounts in Britain as illegal.

"Banks cannot block the accounts of the media which operate within the regulations of the host country, without a reason," Head of IRIB World Service Mohammad Sarafraz told IRNA.

Sarafraz, who also heads Press TV news channel, said the Press TV in London is a company, which is registered according to Britain's law and keeps its media operations within that framework.

Sarafraz added that bank bosses have never issued an official response as to why they have blocked the accounts, only suggesting that they have been "pressured by those in the positions of authority".'

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IMF Pressuring Pakistan Over Loan

International Monetary fund will not release billions of dollars in loan to Pakistan unless the country undertakes urgent economic reforms, reports say.

Media reports say that the IMF has withheld USD 3.5 billion this year. A report published in The Wall Street Journal on Friday revealed that the move was part of efforts to pressure the country to reform its economy.

The global funding body has recently asked Islamabad to take steps to cut its spiraling budget deficit and urged immediate fiscal belt-tightening measures.'

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France Blamed for Ivory Coast Crisis

Ivory Coast's incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo has blamed France and other western countries for the ongoing political crisis in the West African nation.

Gbagbo said in an interview aired on Friday that President Nicolas Sarkozy's government was responsible for post-election violence in his ethnically-divided country.

"The EU follows France. In relations between the great powers today, everyone has their area of influence. And when it comes to speaking about the countries of Black Africa, when France talks everyone follows. France interferes in the worst possible way. For all the UN resolutions on the Ivory Coast it was France who wrote the draft. We have disputed this several times," Euronews quoted Gbagbo as saying.

Gbagbo has recently warned that a French-US "plot" was pushing the country towards civil war.'

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How Zionist Lobby Shapes UK Politics

The wealthy Israeli lobby in Britain working under the title of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) has been tipped as the Conservative Party's paymaster.

The CFI as described by British political analysts is beyond doubt the most well- connected and probably the best funded of all Westminster lobbying groups. It works in support of the interests of the Israeli regime.

The CFI's finances may be legal but they are hardly transparent as the lobbying group is an unincorporated association. This is how the British media report about CFI's financial transactions.

The register of MPs' interests shows that CFI board members and their businesses gave the Conservatives over 2 million pounds in the last 8 years.'

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