Eight Americans die in suicide blast in Afghanistan
A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at a military base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing eight American civilians, U.S. officials said. The explosion occurred at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province near the Afghan border with Pakistan.

U.S. pledges £10 billion to train, equip Afghan army - Kabul
The United States has pledged $16 billion (10 billion pounds) to spend on training and equipping Afghanistan's army and air force, but the country needs more to build a force that can guarantee stability, an Afghan army official said on Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands at pro-government rallies in Iran
Hundreds of thousands of government supporters rallied across Iran on Wednesday, swearing allegiance to the clerical establishment and accusing opposition leaders of causing unrest in the Islamic state.

U.S. Had Intelligence From Yemen On Nigerian Attack Before Christmas
President Barack Obama is demanding answers on why information was never pieced together by the U.S. intelligence community to trigger red flags about an alleged terrorist and possibly prevent his botched Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner.

Iraq attacks kill 30, provincial governor wounded
Blasts in central and western Iraq killed 30 people and wounded the Anbar provincial governor on Wednesday, the latest in a series of attacks in recent months against government targets in Iraq.

China may build Middle East naval base
China's rapidly-expanding navy is considering building its first foreign naval base, according to a senior admiral.

Afghan Probe Says NATO Fighting Killed Children
The head of a presidential delegation investigating the deaths of 10 people in eastern Afghanistan concluded Wednesday that civilians – including schoolchildren – were killed in an attack involving foreign troops, disputing NATO reports that the dead were insurgents.

Iran Nuke Document Was Forged - Just Like Iraqi "Yellow Cake" Document
Like the Nigerian “yellow cake” forgery, U.S. intelligence had to have known the Iranian document was a forgery, and yet failed to debunk either.

After bomb plot, Yemen in U.S. cross hairs
All the signs are that the Obama administration is cranking up its secret war against al-Qaida in Yemen.

Afghan Army Rife With Corruption, Incompetence, U.S. Military Report Says (VIDEO)
The report, intended for military commanders and not for public distribution, concludes that Afghanistan's National Army is rife with corruption and incompetence, and that it will take far more than a year to rehabilitate the country's security forces.

Likely casualty of air plot: Obama's Guantanamo plans
The foiled Christmas Day plot to blow up a jetliner over Detroit has thrown up a major roadblock to President Barack Obama's pledge to close the prison camps at Guantanamo.

Ali Mousavi Was Assassinated, Iranian Police Say
Iran's deputy police chief says the nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi was assassinated by unidentified assailants and not killed by security forces.

Climategate: Actual "Global" Warming Only Affects 10 to 20% of World, Sometimes
There have been numerous revelations from the Climategate emails and files about climate scientists and the science that have truly been incredible, yet confirm what skeptics have long felt and thought.

U.S. Intelligence Found Iran Nuke Document Was Forged
U.S. intelligence has concluded that the document published recently by the Times of London, which purportedly describes an Iranian plan to do experiments on what the newspaper described as a "neutron initiator" for an atomic weapon, is a fabrication, according to a former Central Intelligence Agency official.

Israeli police arrest nuclear whistleblower Vanunu
Israeli police said on Tuesday they had arrested nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu for violating a ban on contact with foreigners.

Ahmadinejad blames US, Israel for Iran protests
Hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States and Israel on Tuesday of staging an anti-government protest in which at least eight people died, saying it was a "nauseating play."

Detroit terror attack: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab 'defended 9/11'
Detroit bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab defended the 9/11 terror attacks on New York, saying they were justified by American military activity.

Report: Iran to launch counterattack if Israel strikes
Lebanon's al-Nahar reported Tuesday that Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani warned Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak against an Israeli attack on his country.

Detained Americans had nuclear power site map, say Pakistan police
Police are trying to determine whether five Americans detained in Pakistan had planned to attack a complex that houses nuclear power facilities.

Afghan soldier shoots US, Italian troops: NATO
An Afghan soldier opened fire on foreign troops wounding one American and two Italian soldiers in western Afghanistan on Tuesday, military officials said.

Yemen says may harbor up to 300 Al-CIA-Duh suspects
Yemen's Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi said on Tuesday there could be up to 300 al Qaeda militants in his country, some of whom may be planning attacks on Western targets.

Iran Summons British Ambassador in Tehran
Iran summoned the British ambassador in Tehran on Tuesday and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki threatened Britain with a "slap in the mouth" if it did not stop interfering in Iranian affairs.

Gunmen kill Iraqi militia guards at checkpoint
Gunmen opened fire on a checkpoint near Baghdad on Tuesday, killing four members of an Iraqi government-backed militia, a militia leader and officials said.

Russia to develop offensive arms to balance out American AMD – Putin
Russia will develop its non-nuclear offensive combat systems in order to keep balance with American plans for an anti-missile shield.

Anger After British Man Executed In China
The family of the Briton executed in China for drug smuggling have spoken of their shock at his death as Beijing came under attack from the UK government.

US spies: Israel or UK forged nukes report on Iran
US intelligence sources have confirmed Iran's assertions that a document published by a British daily about Tehran's nuclear program is a fabrication.

Gaza report finds major powers complicit in Israel’s collective punishment
To mark one year since Israel’s military assault on Gaza, a report by 16 aid agencies has strongly condemned the major powers for failing to end Israel’s illegal and inhumane blockade of Gaza.

Poll: Nelson Would Be Trailing If Election Held Now
The good news for Senator Ben Nelson is that he doesn’t have to face Nebraska voters until 2012.

Democrats Say Final Health-Care Bill Will Look Like Senate’s
Any health-care legislation that reaches President Barack Obama’s desk will be close to the version the Senate passed last week, top Democrats said yesterday.

Lawmakers Spar Over Nominee for TSA Chief in Wake of Terror Attempt
The attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound flight has re-ignited debate in the Senate over President Obama's nominee for chief of the Transportation Security Administration, which has been without a permanent leader since Obama took office.

Mobile-Phone GSM Encryption Has Been Cracked
The most widely used mobile-phone technology -- Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) -- has been cracked.

More herbicide use reported on genetically modified crops
A report has found that farmers are using more herbicides on genetically engineered soybeans, corn, and cotton because of resistant weeds

In New Way to Edit DNA, Hope for Treating Disease
Only one man seems to have ever been cured of AIDS, a patient who also had leukemia. To treat the leukemia, he received a bone marrow transplant in Berlin from a donor who, as luck would have it, was naturally immune to the AIDS virus.

CRU’s forecast: UK winter snowfall will become “a very rare and exciting event”
Richard North from the EU Referendum writes of a curious juxtaposition of forecasts, then and now. I thought it worth sharing here since it highlights the chutzpah with which CRU botched their forecast in March of 2000.

Graphical timeline of Climategate related events and emails available
The scandal that has rocked climate change science encompasses a 30 year time span and dozens of the world’s top climate scientists.

An Old Failed Prediction of Global Warming
In 1976 Stephen Schneider published a book called The Genesis Strategy. It is about how near term cooling of the earth's climate would cause famines around the world.

JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs Trillions Deep In Derivatives or Dumbed-Down Reporting?
Kosman reports that J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs reported their outstanding derivatives positions as 42 and 79 Billion respectively. THIS IS WRONG. The real amounts are measured in TRILLIONS. Maybe Mr. Kosman cannot conceive of the ABSURDITY of these institutions have proprietary positions in the TRILLIONS and thought it was a typo?

China and South East Asia create huge free trade zone
A free-trade zone spanning more than 1.9 billion people will come into life on January 1 as China, and 10 South-East Asian countries join together to scrap tariffs.

Goldman Sachs denies betting against its clients on CDOs
Goldman Sachs has moved to justify spending millions of dollars short-selling some of the financial products it made and sold to clients.

Janet Tavakoli: Responding to Goldman Sachs
The New York Times published a Christmas Eve expose of Goldman Sachs's so-called "Abacus" synthetic collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).

Companies begin moving production back to UK
Manufacturers increasingly are moving production back to Britain as shoddy quality and higher freight prices are undermining the cost advantage of producing goods overseas.

Gold rush grips China as people on buying spree
As the year nears to a close and 2010 is all set to shine, there is gold glittering in the Chinese landscape. There is a mad gold rush going on across China as people are on the streets, swarming gold jewellery shops to buy coins, bars and ornaments during an year-end shopping spree.

Treasuries Set for Worst Year Since 1978 as U.S. Steps Up Sales
Treasuries headed for the worst year since at least 1978 as the U.S. stepped up debt sales to help spur growth in an economy recovering from its deepest recession in six decades.

Decade marked by market 'bubbles'
A string of exploding investment bubbles that started with the dot-coms and ended with mortgages and oil dominated the years from 2000 to 2009. And it looks like the next decade will be no different.

Bankers Get $4 Trillion Gift From Barney Frank: David Reilly
To close out 2009, I decided to do something I bet no member of Congress has done -- actually read from cover to cover one of the pieces of sweeping legislation bouncing around Capitol Hill.

GMAC to get $3.5 billion more in government aid
GMAC Financial Services is expected to get about $3.5 billion in additional U.S. government aid to help the troubled lender absorb mortgage losses, a financial industry source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Fed plans path to pull cash from banking system
The US Federal Reserve has proposed the creation of a new mechanism it could use to withdraw money from the banking system when the time comes to tighten monetary policy.

Fed Proposes Selling Term Deposits to Absorb Excess Reserves
The Federal Reserve proposed a program to sell term deposits to banks to absorb some of the banking system’s $1 trillion in excess reserves now threatening to accelerate inflation as the economy recovers.

Small Chinese Company Tells Goldman To Take A Hike, Refuses To Pay $80 Million In Derivative Losses
A small Chinese power generator, Shenzhen Nanshan Power, is blatantly refusing to honor contracts with Goldman Subsidiary J. Aron for $80 million in derivative losses

Owners taking painful steps to stay afloat in 2010
After working hard to keep their doors open during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, local small-business owners expect another tough year.

Fannie Changes Clear Way for ‘Large-Scale’ Buyouts
The U.S. government’s expanded capital backstops and portfolio limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac increase “the prospect of large-scale” purchases by the companies of delinquent mortgages out of the securities they guarantee, according to Credit Suisse Group analysts.

Was the global financial crisis a mathematical error?
The vast majority of mathematical economic models developed by the world's Treasuries, Central Banks and economic research institutions completely failed to anticipate the Global Financial Crisis.

Commercial foreclosure filings post big jump in 2009
Commercial property foreclosure filings in the Dallas-Fort Worth area jumped by more than a quarter in 2009.

JP Morgan may scrap £1.5bn London HQ plan over Labour's attacks on City
JP Morgan, the giant US investment bank, has warned the Chancellor it may scrap plans to build a £1.5bn flagship European headquarters in Canary Wharf if politicians don't rein in their attacks on the City.

Quote Of The Day: "The Emergency Room For Society"
"Society's problems come to us, New York chief judge, Jonathan Lippman said. "We are the emergency room for society." Judge Lippman made this statement to The New York Times for an article about state courtrooms becoming increasingly clouded with the casualties of the recession.

Are Presidents Afraid of the CIA?
By Ray McGovern
Harry Truman and John Kennedy were the only ones to take on the CIA directly.

Losing the Bill of Rights
By Jacob Hornberger
Last month, President Obama announced that Khalid Sheik Mohammed would be transferred to New York, where he would stand trial in U.S. district court for his purported role as principal architect of the 9/11 attacks.

President George Washington – The Greatest Man in the World
Narration on the life of George Washington by David McCullough.

Pachauri: TERI-Europe – the enigma
Part of the great global empire controlled by Dr Rajendra Pachauri is an organisation called TERI-Europe. And, like everything to do with Dr Pachauri, it is not quite what it seems, apparently enjoying a flood of grant-funded work, yet living off thin air.

Balance of Terror: From Detroit City to Ghazi Khan
By Chris Floyd
You want to stop the "radicalization" of young Muslims? It's simple: stop killing innocent Muslims in wars of domination all over the world.

The Conservative vs Liberal Tail Chase
By Jeff Matthews
Are we really “conservatives” or “liberals?” It is time to think about what these words actually mean and not what Hannity and Olbermann tell us they mean.

Changing the Narrative for War
By Philip Giraldi
In spite of the calamities of the past eight years, there continues to be no shortage of neoconservatives in one's face in the media, advising their fellow Americans that wars can be won quickly and decisively and that using military force to change how other nations behave is sound policy.

One Day We’ll All Be Terrorists
By Chris Hedges
The case against Hashmi, like most of the terrorist cases launched by the Bush administration, is appallingly weak and built on flimsy circumstantial evidence.

Yes, Yemen Has Oil
The Middle Eastern nation – in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea – has been exporting a couple of billion dollars worth of crude oil per year.

The UK Meteorological Office: slightly less reliable than tea leaves or cock entrails
By James Delingpole
One of my personal favourite Comedy Moments of 2009 came in the unlikely context of a BBC Radio 5 Live debate on climate change.

Healthcare Reform is a Lump of Coal
By Ron Paul
So while the Senate patted itself on the back last week for delivering a Christmas gift to Americans, time will prove it was instead a great big lump of coal.