Iraq is a nation of walls: Tall concrete blast walls built during the past six years, ancient mud-brick barricades that date to antiquity and walls built of various materials from the centuries in between. The newest walls protect Iraqis from one another, but they also divide families. They separate the government from the people, and foreigners from Iraqis.
Layers of graffiti on walls tell history of Iraq war
U.N. crime chief says drug money flowed into banks
The United Nations' crime and drug watchdog has indications that money made in illicit drug trade has been used to keep banks afloat in the global financial crisis, its head was quoted as saying on Sunday.
"In many instances, drug money is currently the only liquid investment capital," Costa was quoted as saying by Profil. "In the second half of 2008, liquidity was the banking system's main problem and hence liquid capital became an important factor."
TVNL Comment: Michael Ruppert exposed this over 20 years ago. He explains it in his speeches related to the money trail to the events of 9/11. You can see him discussing this along with 9/11 on the DVDs THE TRUTH & LIES OF 9/11 (viewalbe for free in our members section...sign up for free), & Denial Stops Here - From 9-11 to Peak Oil and Beyond. Michael even mentions the names of Columbian drug lords who sit on the board of Citigroup.
For Children of Gaza, Scars to Last a Lifetime
In Gaza, where half the population is under the age of 16, the young bear some of the war's deepest scars. At least 280 children were killed, nearly as many as the number who died in Gaza during the entire second intifada, or uprising, according to the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights. More than 1,000 others were wounded.
Israel switches to Iran after Gaza
Tel Aviv has reintroduced the idea of attacking Iran in the wake of a deadly military offensive in Gaza, which claimed over 1300 lives.
Israel claims that the speedy rate at which Iran is conducting its nuclear program and the comments made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about Israel's final fate indicate that Tehran poses a threat to Israel.
BBC crisis over refusal to broadcast Gaza appeal
The BBC was in crisis last night as politicians including government ministers, religious leaders and senior members of its own staff condemned the decision not to broadcast a charity appeal to help the stricken people of Gaza rebuild their homes.
The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, has accused the broadcaster of "taking sides". He said yesterday: "This is not a row about impartiality but rather about humanity.
How Israel Helped to Spawn Hamas
Surveying the wreckage of a neighbor's bungalow hit by a Palestinian rocket, retired Israeli official Avner Cohen traces the missile's trajectory back to an "enormous, stupid mistake" made 30 years ago.
"Hamas, to my great regret, is Israel's creation," says Mr. Cohen, a Tunisian-born Jew who worked in Gaza for more than two decades. Responsible for religious affairs in the region until 1994, Mr. Cohen watched the Islamist movement take shape, muscle aside secular Palestinian rivals and then morph into what is today Hamas, a militant group that is sworn to Israel's destruction.
California is almost out of ways to pay bills, fund programs
It was July 12, 2007, and since then California has been living on borrowed money.
As in $21.5 billion worth of borrowed money, according to state Controller John Chiang: $16.5 billion borrowed from some of the state's 1,000-plus special funds, plus $5 billion in "revenue anticipation notes," which are basically money borrowed from private investors.
But, Chiang, whose office writes the state's checks, says California is about out of stopgap tricks to pay its bills and keep all its programs running.
Israel to Grant Legal Protection to Soldiers Who Served in Gaza
Israel's prime minister says his country will grant legal protection to soldiers who fought in the three-week war in the Gaza Strip, against possible allegations of war crimes.
Mr. Ehud Olmert said Sunday he had appointed Israel's justice minister, Daniel Friedman, to chair a committee to offer a coordinated defense against what he called "self-righteous people" who might want to sue Israeli soldiers.
TVNL Comment: Why are innocent victims of the IDF 'self righteous,' while Israelis killed in retaliation are 'martyrs?' Just asking...
Firms That Got Bailout Money Keep Lobbying
Lawmakers, troubled by the prospect of taxpayer-subsidized influence-peddling, are threatening to crack down. Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, and Senator Olympia J. Snowe, a Maine Republican, are pushing legislation that would explicitly bar companies from using bailout funds for lobbying or campaign contributions.
Although hard to enforce, the measure puts banks on notice that aggressive lobbying could set off a Congressional backlash.
TVNL Comment: Lawmakers are "threatening" to crack down? How about actually cracking down? What they hell do we have lawmakers for? Big talk from the criminals who are responsible for this mess!
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