-Due to an Israeli blockade food distribution to Gaza was halted today. That's 750,000 people who will not receive provisions.
-Rwandan, Angolan, and Zimbabwean forces are being drawn into the vortex in DR Congo. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people are trapped in areas no longer open to international aide. That means no more food, shelter, or medical help.
-Young women languish without help or justice in Afghan prisons.
-Dean Baker equates the worldwide financial crisis with biological warfare and offers a prescription for developing nations who want to avoid catching our disease:
There is no easy remedy to this situation. But it should be obvious to the developing world that the only way that they can protect themselves from the episodic crises created by the rich countries is to have alternative poles of financial support. Specifically, if they can establish regional funds, as the South American countries have begun to do with the Bank of the South, then they can hope to insulate themselves from the financial dealings and misdealing of the wealthy countries.
-Occasional In These Times contributor Alice Walker has some words of advice for our President-elect.
-Paul Farhi: don't blame journalists for the decline of print media.
-Chris Hedges writes over at Truthdig about our growing national illiteracy and how the transformation from a print-based culture to an image-based one is impacting us (for the worse).
-Critical Mass rounds up a spate of thoughtful John Leonard remembrances.
-The Flaming Lips have a "freak out" new movie. It's called Christmas On Mars. It's about Christmas on Mars. Punknews.org has an interview with [Flaming Lips singer] Wayne Coyne about the film.
-Jobs with Justice is accepting nominations for their annual Grinch of the Year awards. AFL-CIO's NOW blog has the skinny:
You know it's the holiday season in the world of labor when the Grinch rolls around. Jobs with Justice (JwJ) kicks off its ninth Grinch of the Year contest with open nominations for a CEO, corporation or politician who is greedy and mean and with a heart that is at least "two sizes too small."
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