Monday January 15th 2007

Falling Empires and its Currencies
Must Read.  A quote...."When empires fall, their currencies fall first. Even clearer is the rising debt of empires in decline, because in most cases their physical expansion is financed with debt."

Why Do These Pundits Still Have Jobs?
Must Read.  A quote...."Radar magazine takes aim at people like David Brooks, Thomas Friedman and Fareed Zakaria, wondering why they haven’t been held accountable for their spectacularly erroneous pre-Iraq war analyses."

Those who obey their wealthy masters like the good little peons they are, get rewarded....those who don't, get nothing.
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Marrtin Luther King Jr.: ‘A Society Gone Mad on War’
A quote...."When Martin Luther King Jr. spoke out against the Vietnam War, he angered those who couldn’t see the connection between segregation in the American South and burning villages in Southeast Asia. "
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You owe us, Bush says [to the Iraqi people]
A quote...."UPDATE: Here’s an actual transcript of what the President said.  So much for the public diplomacy the US spends millions on:

    SCOTT PELLEY: Do you think you owe the Iraqi people an apology for not doing a better job?

    BUSH: That we didn’t do a better job or they didn’t do a better job?

    PELLEY: Well, that the United States did not do a better job in providing security after the invasion.

    BUSH: Not at all. I am proud of the efforts we did. We liberated that country from a tyrant. I think the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of gratitude, and I believe most Iraqis express that. I mean, the people understand that we’ve endured great sacrifice to help them. That’s the problem here in America. They wonder whether or not there is a gratitude level that’s significant enough in Iraq.

    PELLEY: Americans wonder whether . . .

    BUSH: Yeah, they wonder whether or not the Iraqis are willing to do hard work."

THIS IS HOW THE WEALTHY ELITES IN OUR COUNTRY REALLY THINK !

Nothing is more important to anyone reading this blog than that realization!

Bush and his Buddies bombed Iraq to smithereens, killed over half a million of them as a result of their most recent invasion of that country, have created one and a half million refugees, obliterated the entire country's infrastructure and are now going to steal their oil, and for all this "largess" the Iraqis should not just be grateful to them.....they also "owe" the US for invading them.

The wealthy elites in this nation could have their minions walk into your house, rape your children to death, kill your wife, steal everything you own, burn your house to the ground, and seize your land and they would expect you to be grateful to them - it's that simple.

Not even Hitler expected the Jews to be grateful to him for what he did to them, not even Genghis Khan felt he was doing his enemies a favor when he ransacked their cities and killed them.

Nothing is more important than realizing just how perverted and sick our Nation's wealthiest one percent have become.  Nothing is more important than realizing this is how they actually think.

Nothing is more important in comprehending just how far they are willing to go.
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The YouTube Insurgency
A great rant.

The Slaves of Terror
Regarding vivisection and the armaments industry.

Scientists Seek to Create Docile Zombie Animals
A quote...."The professor said it might become technically possible to produce “animal vegetables” - beasts which are “highly prolific and oblivious to their physical and mental status”."

Who's kidding who, they've already done it, at least thirty to fifty percent of America's population would qualify for the designation of "animal vegetables."
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Sunday January 14th 2007

The Logic of a Wider Mideast War
Must Read.  A quote...."White House press secretary Tony Snow dismisses expectations of war with Iran as an “urban legend” and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Peter Pace says that “from a military standpoint” there’s “no need to cross the Iranian border.” But there are still strong reasons to suspect the Iraq War may soon spill over to Iran and possibly Syria."
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Martin Luther King: Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence
Must Listen -Audio

This speech, which was utterly prophetic and true, was one for which Dr. King was severely criticized for by the wealthy elites of this country.  The same wealthy elites who thirty years later again took this nation to war and plunged it into an almost identical, agonizing, vicious, immoral, quagmire to satisfy their avarice and to please their vanity.

They NEVER learn from their “mistakes” because they don’t pay the price, instead they make the people of this country pay the price for them.

See also - Martin Luther King - Collection - Google Videos / Audios / Texts
See also - I Have a Dream - YouTube video
See also - Mountaintop Speech - "I see the Promised Land" - YouTube video
See also - Martin Luther King, Jr. - Wikipedia
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Bush administration threatens Iraqi prime minister as Baghdad bloodbath is prepared
A quote...."The Bush administration has again threatened to dispose Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki if he does not fully collaborate with its surge of troops into Iraq and its plans for a brutal crackdown against the Shiite fundamentalist movement led by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr."

War costs are hitting historic proportions
And folks, you ain't seen nothing yet.

U.S. boosts Iraq force; allies pare down
A quote...."VIENNA, Austria - The Italians have left, and the Slovaks are about to. Britons want to start getting out, and so do Danes and South Koreans."
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Administration leaving out important details on Iraq
A quote...."WASHINGTON - President Bush and his aides, explaining their reasons for sending more American troops to Iraq, are offering an incomplete, oversimplified and possibly untrue version of events there that raises new questions about the accuracy of the administration's statements about Iraq."

For more on this see....US Support of Terror & US support Death Sqds & False Flag Ops
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Officials: Pentagon Probed Finances - Citizens' Records Culled in Expanded Intelligence Efforts
A quote...."The Defense Department has used a long-standing authority to acquire the personal financial records of American citizens in military-related criminal and other investigations as part of an expansion of the Pentagon's gathering of counterterrorism intelligence at home, officials said yesterday."

This is the SAME U.S. military along with the CIA that supported the Taliban and al-Qaeda and is currently supporting the PKK, MEK the warlords in Somalia that were involved in "Black Hawk Down" and are currently running P2OG operations to create dozens if not hundreds of "terrorist" organizations  world wide.

Here's a suggestion for "our" military, why don't you investigate yourselves and the Bush Clan's ties to the Saudi Royals and bin Laden family?  See.....Financial Ties 9/11

See also....Cheney admits expanded military spying role inside US
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A 16-year cycle of treachery - Iraqi Kurds and the U.S.
A quote...."PULLMAN, Washington: The United States abandoned the Kurds in 1975 and again in 1991. Sixteen years separated these first two betrayals. Another 16 years have elapsed, and America may be on the verge of another betrayal, however unintended and inadvertent, of the residents of Iraqi Kurdistan."

Well it's either Turkey or the Kurds....but the Kurds have oil thus posing a difficult dilemma for the US elites.

So little time, so many people to betray.  It must be hard being one of the wealthy elites, your job is never done.
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 Shock and oil: Iraq's billions & the White House connection
A quote...."The American company appointed to advise the US government on the economic reconstruction of Iraq has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars into Republican Party coffers and has admitted that its own finances are in chaos because of accounting errors and bad management."
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Get Your War On: Bush Plays Casus Belli Card Against Iran
A quote...."That there will be war with Iran is now virtually guaranteed. The Bush Administration set out a clear casus belli over the weekend in two stories – masterworks of warmongering propaganda – appearing in two major basions of the "liberal media."

The Folly of Total War
A quote...."Is Dubya's objective to see how many wars he can start at one time? Let's see, there's Iraq Attack II, of course, the family affair, and then there's North Korea, that bit of fifty year old unresolved business, and now there's Pakistan where the US bombed a religious school the other day. If you really want to groom hatred, simply bomb religious schools, hospitals, water purification plants, electrical grids, etc. Then there's Bahrain where the people rioted against the presence of US troops the other day. In Kuwait, policemen are taking potshots at soldiers. According to the Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, over a hundred US soldiers are missing in Afghanistan."
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Absolute Power
A quote...."Why is the United States poised to try Jose Padilla as a dangerous terrorist, long after it has become perfectly clear that he was just the wrong Muslim in the wrong airport on the wrong day?  -  Why is the United States still holding hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, long after years of interrogation and abuse have established that few, if any, of them are the deadly terrorists they have been held out to be?  -  And why is President Bush still issuing grandiose and provocative signing statements, the latest of which claims that the executive branch holds the power to open mail as it sees fit?"
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Critics Won't Halt Iraq Surge, Bush Says
A quote...."President Bush, facing opposition from both parties over his plan to send more troops to Iraq, said he has the authority to act no matter what Congress wants."

Rules on Japan military arms use may be eased: paper
A quote...."TOKYO (Reuters) - Rules on the use of arms by Japanese troops taking part in peacekeeping operations overseas may be eased to allow them to use weapons even when their lives are not at risk, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said on Sunday."

One can't wait till the US starts playing Japan off against China.  Here's an idea if we can get Japan to nuke China the US won't have to pay back all those bonds China bought from us....what a great idea!
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After Negotiating India Nuclear Deal, State Dept. Official Gets Lucractive Job Lobbying For India
Our revolving door government at work.

"Glittering Joe" Lieberman on Iraq
He glitters just like fool's gold.

Have You No Decency Mr. President?
Apparently not.

Correspondent Helen Thomas lashes out at the 'lapdog media'
A quote...."Tapping into one of the strongest undercurrents at the National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis, longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas criticized what she described as a lapdog media for not erecting roadblocks on the road to war in Iraq."

And they're not erecting any road blocks on the road to war with Iran either.
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Hey Congress; What does it Take?
A great rant.  For more on this see....Seventeen Acts to Restore Americans' Rights

The Boiling, Surging, Churning and Corporatizing Economy of the United States
Regarding the games the wealthy play.

Saturday January 13th 2007

Vacation - no posts.

Friday January 12th 2007

And more...."MONTREAL -- Five decades after unwittingly participating in brainwashing experiments that were funded by the CIA and the federal government, 78-year-old Janine Huard went to Federal Court yesterday to try and persuade a judge she is entitled to compensation."

Thursday January 11th 2007

The Profits of Escalation - Why the US is Not Leaving Iraq
Must Read.  A quote....In light of fact that by now almost all of the factions of the ruling circles, including the White House and the neoconservative war-mongerers, acknowledge the failure of the Iraq war, why, then, do they balk at the idea of pulling the troops out of that country?"

"Perhaps the shortest path to a relatively satisfactory answer would be to follow the money. The fact is that not everyone is losing in Iraq. Indeed, while the Bush administration's wars of choice have brought unnecessary death, destruction, and disaster to millions, including many from the Unites States, they have also brought fortunes and prosperity to war profiteers. At the heart of the reluctance to withdraw from Iraq lies the profiteers' unwillingness to give up further fortunes and spoils of war."
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The U.S.-Iran-Iraq-Israeli-Syrian War
A quote...."The countries on Bush’s “axis of evil” hit list saw that Iraq’s WMD disarmament and acceptance of United Nations inspections didn't stop the U.S.-led invasion. - Not only have possibly hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died as a result, but U.S. forces killed Hussein’s two sons and turned the deposed dictator over to his enemies so he could hanged like a common criminal on Dec. 30. -  So there can be little incentive for Iranian or North Korean leaders to follow the Iraq model of disarmament and inspections."

President's back-up plan: blame Iran
A quote...."If George Bush's remodelled strategy for halting the Iraq disaster fails to work, it is becoming clear where the US administration will point the finger of blame: Tehran."

US Iraq raid draws Iranian anger
A quote...."US forces have stormed a building in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil and seized six people said to be Iranians, prompting a diplomatic incident.

More incidents, more provocations, Olmert and the Bush Neocon Cabal need a causes beli and they're just hoping Iran will provide them with one....after all, it doesn't appear they'll be able to have another "fortuitously" timed incident like 9/11.
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UK to cut 3,000 troops from Iraq by May-paper
A quote...."LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will cut troop levels in Iraq by almost 3,000 at the end of May, the Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday, citing a timetable for withdrawal the newspaper said it had seen."

One has to speculate that BP wasn't being offered a big enough slice of the oil contracts.
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The Architect of Mr. Bush's Plan
Some quotes...."One of the key architects of President Bush's disastrous Iraq war policy was responsible for writing the president's new plan calling for an increase in US troops in the region."

"    In January 2005, Kagan, who at the time was associated with the controversial Project for the New American Century, signed a letter sent to Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate urging lawmakers to deploy an additional 25,000 US troops to Iraq, not so much to quell the violence between Sunni and Shiite factions as to intimidate Iraq's neighbors in the Middle East by maintaining bases. Kagan, his brother Robert, and PNAC founder and Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol wrote that the Bush administration had ignored its suggestions, and chose to stick with a plan drafted by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who said the Iraq war could be won with fewer ground forces and superior air power."
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Official: Somalia strike missed al Qaeda suspects
A quote...."NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- None of the top three suspected terrorists in Somalia were killed in a U.S. airstrike this week, but Somalis with close ties to al Qaeda were killed, a senior U.S. official in the region said Thursday."

What the US official means by the phrase "Somalis with close ties" is that they were near the targeted area....when they died.
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Bush Administration Empowers Somali Warlords Who Killed U.S. Troops
A quote...."As a direct consequence of the multiple air strikes inflicted upon Somalia this week, supposedly in the name of killing Al-Qaeda operatives, the Bush administration is helping bring back to power the savage warlords that were behind the "Black Hawk down" fiasco in 1993 * where U.S. troops were killed and dragged through the streets in celebration."

Hey America, you got the point yet?

* Italics added by website author.
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U.S. Special Forces Engaged in Operations on the Ground in Somalia
A quote...."U.S. special forces are working with Ethiopian troops on the ground in operations inside Somalia today, senior U.S. and French military sources tell ABC News."

Historian 'pinned to ground by US police and beaten for jaywalking'
A quote...."A distinguished British historian claims he was knocked to the ground by an American policeman before being arrested and spending eight hours in jail — because he crossed the road in the wrong place. - Felipe Fernandez-Armesto said he had been the victim of "terrible, terrible violence" after he inadvertently committed the offence of "jaywalking" in Atlanta, Georgia, last week and failed to realise the man telling him to stop was an officer. - The slight, bespectacled professor claimed that five burly officers pinned him to the ground after Kevin Leonpacher kicked his legs from under him as he hesitated to show his ID."

German interior minister seeks to introduce martial law measures
A quote...."....Schäuble’s proposed law not only permits the shooting down of civilian aircraft in the case of an assumed terrorist attack, but also authorises the government to mobilise the German army for domestic purposes against the civilian population.  -  To this end, Schäuble wants to expand article 87a paragraph 2 of the German Basic Law so that the armed forces can be mobilised not only for the national defence, but also “for direct defence against any other attack on the foundations of the community.”

Ah yes....America's concept of "freedom and democracy" is now spreading even to Europe
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The U.S. Secret Services Control Windows Vista
A quote....""Microsoft has confirmed: 'Yes, we have collaborated with the National Security Agency, the most secretive of all U.S. intelligence services, in the development of our new Vista operating system.'”

And...."We didn't build any back-doors into the Vista operating system," said Baumgärtner. -  Tony Sager, the NSA chief of vulnerability analysis and operations, told the Washington Post, "Our intention is to help everyone with security RealVideo"

Sure.....they were just trying to help, we all understand, don't we.
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Latin American Elites More Doubtful of U.S.
A quote....WASHINGTON (IPS) - Elites in the major countries of Latin America are increasingly bullish about their nations' economies and increasingly alienated from the United States, according to a new survey by Zogby International and released this week by Newsweek magazine."

So the US strung Saddam up like a dog and the PNAC protocols call for the US to destroy any country that gets "uppity"....so what's the problem with that?

See also....We'll Make Them an Offer They Can't Refuse
See also....Strangers In the Night
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Uranium 'killing Italian troops'
A quote...."Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say."

Caused by America's use of depleted uranium.  Guess one should call it death by "friendly fire...delayed"
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Wednesday January 10th 2007

    
New Oil Law Means Victory in Iraq for Bush
Must Read.  A quote...."  The reason that George W. Bush insists that "victory" is achievable in Iraq is not that he is deluded or isolated or ignorant or detached from reality or ill-advised. No, it's that his definition of "victory" is different from those bruited about in his own rhetoric and in the ever-earnest disquisitions of the chattering classes in print and online. For Bush, victory is indeed at hand. It could come at any moment now, could already have been achieved by the time you read this. And the driving force behind his planned "surge" of American troops is the need to preserve those fruits of victory that are now ripening in his hand."

Negroponte and the escalation of death
A quote...."Given John Negroponte's experiences with the Phoenix program involving the assassination of thousands of Vietnamese and the establishment of "death squads" in Honduras and Iraq, the "old-fashioned imperialist" can be expected to allow much more blood to seep into the sands of Iraq in his new position as deputy secretary of state."

Troop Surge Already Under Way
A quote...."90 Advance Troops from 82nd Airborne Arrive in Baghdad

US and Britain 'to target Mahdi Army'
A quote...."US-led forces are to target the organisation, led by the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, after the Pentagon described it as the biggest threat to Iraq's security. Diplomats say Washington is impatient to confront its key figures."

IDF predicts possible conflict with Lebanon, Syria in 2007
A auote...."The Israel Defense Forces strategic assessment for 2007 warns of the possibility of a conflagration with Lebanon and Syria in the coming year. The assessment is based on the IDF's working plan for the year, which takes into account the lessons learned in the 2006 Lebanon War. "

Nicaragua is caught between a new friend and an old enemy
A quote...."These neo-liberal governments have only made us worse off," says the short, dark-skinned man with bristling moustache and thick mop of greying hair. "The Sandinistas defended the poor. We've been waiting a long time for them to return."

CIA gets the go-ahead to take on Hizbollah
A quote...."The Central Intelligence Agency has been authorised to take covert action against Hizbollah as part of a secret plan by President George W. Bush to help the Lebanese government prevent the spread of Iranian influence. Senators and congressmen have been briefed on the classified "non-lethal presidential finding" that allows the CIA to provide financial and logistical support to the prime minister, Fouad Siniora."

Net Neutrality Bill Returns in Senate
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- The fight over net neutrality rekindled today as the Senate re-introduced legislation that would bar internet providers from charging content providers extra for using new higher-speed pathways."

Tuesday January 9th 2007

Terrified Soldiers Terrifying People
A quote...." FALLUJAH, Iraq, Jan 8 (IPS) - Ten-year-old Yassir aimed a plastic gun at a passing U.S. armoured patrol in Fallujah, and shouted "Bang! Bang!"

"Yassir did not know what was coming. "I yelled for everyone to run, because the Americans were turning back," 12-year-old Ahmed who was with Yassir told IPS."
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Distracting Congress from the Real War Plan: Iran
War Update - A quote...."Is the surge an orchestrated distraction from the real war plan? - A good case can be made that it is. The US Congress and media are focused on President Bush’s proposal for an increase of 20,000 US troops in Iraq, while Israel and its American neoconservative allies prepare an assault on Iran."

Bush's Rush to Armageddon
Related article - War Update - A quote...."George W. Bush has purged senior military and intelligence officials who were obstacles to a wider war in the Middle East, broadening his options for both escalating the conflict inside Iraq and expanding the fighting to Iran and Syria with Israel’s help."

Ominous Signs of a Wider War
Related article - War Update - A quote...."On January 5 Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that he was replacing Gen. John Abizaid as commander of the Central Command (Centcom)--the body responsible for oversight of all US forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and the greater Middle East--with Adm. William Fallon, currently the commander of the Pacific Command (Pacom). Fallon is one of several senior officers recently appointed by Gates to oversee the new strategy for Iraq now being shaped by President Bush."
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Turkish PM warns Iraqi Kurds over Kirkuk
A quote...."ANKARA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday Turkey could not stand idly by if Iraqi Kurds seized control of oil-rich Kirkuk in northern Iraq, though he did not spell out what Ankara might do to prevent such a scenario."

Neocons Attack “al-Qaeda” in Somalia
A quote...."It is simply amazing how many times the transparently bogus “al-Qaeda” has been used as an excuse to unleash violence against largely innocent Muslims and yet so few people here in America catch on, preferring to believe the corporate media fed illusion, now hammered firmly into place and accepted as political reality."

Air strikes on Somalia: A new stage in Washington’s illegal “terror” war
A quote...."US air strikes against targets in the south of Somalia have claimed a substantial number of civilian lives. The bombing campaign, begun Sunday night and continued on Monday, mark a major escalation in the Bush administration’s lawless use of violence to achieve Washington’s strategic aims under the auspices of its “global war on terrorism.”

This Road is for Jews Only - Yes, There is Apartheid in Israel
A quote...."Jewish self-righteousness is taken for granted among ourselves to such an extent that we fail to see what's right in front of our eyes. It's simply inconceivable that the ultimate victims, the Jews, can carry out evil deeds. Nevertheless, the state of Israel practises its own, quite violent, form of Apartheid with the native Palestinian population."

The 10 Most Brazen War Profiteers
A quote...."Halliburton has become synonymous with war profiteering, but there are lots of other greedy fingers in the pie. We name names on 10 of the worst."
 
Britons to be scanned for FBI database
A quote...."Millions of Britons who visit the United States are to have their fingerprints stored on the FBI database alongside those of criminals, in a move that has outraged civil rights groups."

Will Blair and his minions be included? - MPG
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Nominee played big role in outsourcing intelligence
A quote...."WASHINGTON — J. Michael "Mike" McConnell, in line to become the nation's top intelligence official, has been a leading figure in outsourcing U.S intelligence operations to private industry, records and interviews show. "

"McConnell, a retired Navy vice admiral, led the National Security Agency from 1992 to 1996 before joining Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., a consulting firm based in McLean, Va."
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Bush Sr. Lies About CIA Ties to Zapata Oil Co,
More regarding Bush Sr. and Zapata Oil.

Global Markets Face `Severe Correction,' Faber Says
NOTE : This is NOT a market recommendation, it's just a contrarian observation. – MPG

Quote...."The bullish outlook of traders in everything from bonds, equities and commodities to real estate and art suggests valuations are peaking, Faber said. Last year, the Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index of developed stock markets jumped 18 percent, while a survey of Wall Street's biggest bond- trading firms predicted U.S. Treasuries will post the best gains in five years during 2007."

And...."Strategists at 14 of the biggest Wall Street firms all estimate that U.S. stocks will advance this year. The last time they were in agreement was for 2001, when the S&P 500 dropped 13 percent."

See also...."Is a [2004] Elect Yr Rally Still Poss? - PDF format or in HTML  It appears that Markets decline and wars tend to start, or are "arranged" to start, between election years. - MPG
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Foreclosures increase 51 percent nationwide
A quote...." Mondayby Sacramento Business Journal Print this Article Email this Article Reprints RSS Feeds Most Viewed Most Emailed Foreclosures increased 94 percent last year to 157,417 homes in California, as homeowners struggle with fast-rising home payments and a slow-selling market, according to a Fair Oaks real estate investment advisory firm on Monday.  -  California had the most foreclosures filed nationwide, while Nevada had the largest percentage increase at 175 percent last year compared to 2005, according to ForeclosureS.com."

NSA provided security help for Windows, Mac OS X
A quote...."The National Security Agency has provided assistance to Microsoft and Apple in securing their Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, according to a report published Tuesday."

Just like the Greeks helped the Trojans secure their city by giving them that wooden horse. -  MPG
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Supreme Court refuses Gilmore due process case
A quote...."Gilmore calls secret law “an abomination” and says that it violates his right to due process. But now, with the refusal of the Supreme Court to hear this case, Americans can be subject to secret laws. Didn’t think that sort of thing could happen here? It can now."

‘Children of Men’: Universal’s Orphaned Masterpiece
Movie review.

Monday January 8th 2007

No-goodniks and the Palestinian shootout
a quote...."US Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams - whom Newsweek recently described as "the last neo-con standing" - has had it about for some months now that the United States is not only not interested in dealing with Hamas, it is working to ensure its failure."

"In the immediate aftermath of the Palestinian elections won by Hama last January, Abrams greeted a group of Palestinian businessmen in his White House office with talk of a "hard coup" against the newly elected Hamas government - the violent overthrow of its leadership with arms supplied by the US. "

And so "the US has designated an astounding US$86.4 million for Abu Mazen's - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' - security detail" for arms and ammunition.  So the US is now arming the Fatah faction of the Palestinians.  Along with the PKK and MEK.

To the American people, when are you going to wake up? - MPG

See also....Hersh: US, Israel support PKK's Iran wing
See also....Illegal ‘terror ops’ may explain White House censorship [MEK support]
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Bush Senior Early CIA Ties Revealed
"NEW YORK--Newly released internal CIA documents assert that former president George Herbert Walker Bush's oil company emerged from a 1950's collaboration with a covert CIA officer."

"Bush has long denied allegations that he had connections to the intelligence community prior to 1976, when he became Central Intelligence Agency director under President Gerald Ford. At the time, he described his appointment as a 'real shocker.'"
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Parable of the Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone
A quote...."How is it that so many wars have an act of U.S. complicity in their origin? Is it merely the law of unintended consequences, or is there another logic at work? Perhaps the crucial mechanism in Mogadishu, and Kabul, and Baghdad is best described by that hoary Pentagon slang phrase, "the self-licking ice cream cone.""

Bush, Blair worse than Saddam, says Malaysia ex-PM
A quote...."President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are war criminals with more Iraqi blood on their hands than Saddam Hussein, former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday."

Is the Anglo-American empire losing the "Great Energy Game"?
A quote...."In a second successful bid to tap Kazakhstan’s oil, China’s state owned CITIC Group has won approval from the Kazakhstani government to buy the Karazhambas oil field"

What's wrong with these countries, don't they understand that if they would just do some business with the US, this Nation could bring to them that same wonderful "freedom and democracy" it brought to the people of Iraq?  The people in the Caspian Basin obviously just don't understand what's good for them.

After all, Iraq is such a shining beacon of success to the entire world, an object lesson to all nations everywhere of the tender care the US and Britain have lavished on that country for the last fifteen years that it's completely unfathomable why other governments aren't rushing to open their doors to US and British oil companies.

It is completely inexplicable why some people simply can't grasp how beneficial Thomas Friedman’s glorious concept of a "flattened world" would be for them, as epitomized by cities like Fallujah, Najif and other lovely garden spots in Iraq.

It makes one sad to realize just how ungrateful some people are. - MPG
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New Article: Where the Bombs Are
A quote...."Ever wondered where all those nukes are stored?  -  A new review published in the November/December issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists shows that the United States stores its nearly 10,000 nuclear warheads at 18 locations in 12 states and six European countries."

Hang 'Em High! It's Good for the Economy!
A quote...." Last Saturday, the gang of Forbes magazine pundits that blather their way through the weekly edition of Forbes on FOX engaged in a macabre discussion about whether or not hanging dictators would be "good for the economy". I kid you not! Here's the transcript. Barf bags are recommended."

"DAVID ASMAN: Up next. The more dictators we hang, the safer the world and your money is gonna be. That's comin' up. Plus, the more manufacturing jobs we lose this year, the better our economy will do. All these Flipside topics comin' up right here. You're only gonna hear it on Forbes on FOX."

Forbes & Fox....the white man's equivalent of Gangster Rap - Just say this to yourself while thinking of a heavy hip-hop beat....Bomb the country, take it's oil, hang the main man, it's blood and oil, f-ck them b-tches than bury them in ditches.....well you get the idea.

Fifty percent of the United States population is totally and completely stark raving mad. - MPG
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Future of Iraq: The spoils of war
A quote...." How the West will make a killing on Iraqi oil riches - Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days."

'NYT' Editorial Does Not Oppose Bush's 'Surge' in Iraq
A quote...."Notably among those silent papers was The New York Times. True, it has been critical of the conduct of the war in the past, and as E&P tallied it up today, all seven of its regular opinion columnists have come out against the "surge" -- a rare point of unanimous agreement. But the editorial page remains silent."

E&P Survey Finds That, At Critical Point, Editorials Offer Little Commentary on Troop Escalation in Iraq
A quote...."NEW YORK As a critical turning point in America’s role in the nearly four-year-old Iraq war nears, the editorial pages of the largest U.S. newspapers have been surprisingly – even, appallingly – silent on President Bush’s likely decision to send thousands of more troops to the country."

Regarding the two articles listed above, the "mass media" is totally owned by this countries elites and when you as a consumer give them your hard earned cash to purchase their (by)products you justify the phrase "a fool and his money are soon parted" - MPG
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The Fed’s role in the Housing Crash of ‘07
A quote...."The American people appear to be oblivious to the economic hurricane which is expected to touchdown in late 2007. That’s when $1 trillion in ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) will “reset” triggering a massive increase in foreclosures and plunging the country into a deep recession. If energy costs continue to rise at the same time or if the dollar loses more ground, we may be rooting around in the backyard garden-plot looking for passed-over spuds and radishes. "

Low wage competition isn't to blame for western job losses and inequality
A quote...."....Higher inequality is not caused by low-wage competition driving wages to the bottom or ever higher rewards for the skilled. What has changed is the new super-rich. Ian Dew-Becker and Robert Gordon, of Northwestern University, show that in the US, incomes of the 99.99th percentile have grown outlandishly, rising 497% between 1979 and 2002. This is the principal cause of American inequality....."

Experts Suggest the CIA, Not Kim Jong-il, is Counterfeiting Dollars
A quote....“Sources allege that the CIA prints the falsified 'Supernotes' at a secret facility near Washington to fund covert operations without Congressional oversight.”

25 Democratic Consultants
A quote...." In today’s cash-fueled political world, both parties claim they have no option but to function as indentured servants of corporate America. This, not surprisingly, creates a dynamic of dependency and obligation. The Republicans have excelled at this game, especially under the tutelage of Karl Rove and Tom DeLay. But the Democrats have, increasingly, belied their long-assumed commitment to the little guy and the average American by cozying up to the money trough as well. "

U.S. Arms Sales: Agreements with and Deliveries to Major Clients, 1998-2005 - [PDF]
For the record.

Sunday January 7th 2007

Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over' - [Jan. 2001]
Must Read....A complete HOWLER, totally prescient and hilarious. - posted at BuzzFlash

AP's Editor Criticizes Those Who Questioned Iraq Source [& endangered him]
Hey, if the US government can bomb and shoot down reporters in the street you think a bunch of "water cooler" conservative bloggers care if they endanger a reporter who for the umpteenth time connected US forces in Iraq with the death squads operating there?

Blair faces new challenge over Saudi arms deal
A quote...."Tony Blair could face confrontation with the head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development over the government's decision to quash an investigation into alleged bribery of Saudi Arabian officials during an arms deal."
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[British] Taxman to get bugging and phone-tap powers
A quote...."TAX inspectors are to be given new powers allowing them to tap taxpayers’ telephones and plant bugs inside their homes and offices."

Hello to all you so-called "conservatives" out there, are you scared yet?  The phones, the internet, now the mail?  See....Seventeen Acts to Restore Americans' Rights

A Man for All Seasons - film. -  Quotation

Alice: Arrest him!

More: Why, what has he done?

Margaret: He's bad!

More: There is no law against that.

Roper: There is! God's law!

More: Then God can arrest him.

Roper: Sophistication upon sophistication.

More: No, sheer simplicity. The law, Roper, the law. I know what's legal, not what's right. And I'll stick to what's legal.

Roper: Then you set man's law above God's!

More: No, far below; but let me draw your attention to a fact -- I'm not God. The currents and eddies of right and wrong, which you find such plain sailing, I can't navigate. I'm no voyager. But in the thickets of the law, oh, there I'm a forester.I doubt if there's a man alive who could follow me there, thank God.

Alice: While you talk, he's gone!

More: And go he should, if he was the Devil himself, until he broke the law!

Roper: So now you'd give the Devil benefit of law!

More: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?

Roper: I'd cut down every law in England to do that!

More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country's planted thick with laws from coast to coast -- man's laws, not God's -- and if you cut them down -- and you're just the man to do it -- do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake.

More: It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world ... but for Wales, Richard?

Cromwell: If the King destroys a man, that's proof to the King that it must have been a bad man

It was the very same people who gave BILLIONS of American dollars to the Taliban, Pakistan's ISI and of course al-Qaeda along with their "friends" the Saudis who used the excuse of 9/11 caused by these very same "devils" to gut our Nations laws and launch an illegal vicious war of aggrandizement - and yet you "conservatives" STILL refuse to hang your heads in SHAME that you SUPPORTED them.

Do you have any pride left, any honor, any conscience?  None of you can ever be trusted again.
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'My crime was to protest at Israeli assassinations'
A quote...."In her first interview, Tali Fahima talks of life in jail · Activist says she refused to work for secret service"
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Israel has plans for nuclear strike on Iran -paper
Iranian & Israeli response regarding the report - Reuters video
See also....BYOT Leakage or Conscience Leakage?
See also....Israel rejects report it may attack Iran
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Half of Americans Link Hussein and al-Qaeda
Americans are simply bovine, cud chewing, drooling, moronic, mentally deficient, infantilized, violence prone, stupid, saps....there is simply no other explanation for this poll when that thing in the White House, who truly represents these people, has himself REPEATEDLY stated there is NO CONNECTION between Saddam or Iraq and 9/11 - along with EVERY AUTHORITATIVE AGENCY in the US Government.

To every single foreign country or corporation out there - would you want to hire these people as engineers, to handle your investments, to bring you "freedom and democracy", to be your doctor, your lawyer or in any capacity other then as a retail clerk or janitor?

Do you want to end up like Iraq?

Think about it.

For more on this see.... Mrs. Middle America Conv. Num one - mailing #10 / 09-21-04  &  Mrs. Middle America
Conv. Num Two mailing #11 / 04-12-05 & Republican Tourettes Syndrome  &  ABC and the "Great Game" 9/11 and the Swift-Boating of Truth
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Rumsfeld Filled His Pockets with Pyongyang's Nuclear Loot
From the history file - a quote...."It's a well-known fact--oft detailed in this column--that the boys in the Bush Regime swing both ways. We speak, of course, of their proclivity--their apparently uncontrollable craving--for stuffing their trousers with loot from both sides of whatever war or military crisis is going at the moment."

Saturday January 6th 2007

Petrocurrencies and the Emerging Multi-Polar World - (PDF file)
Must Read  -  Major Summation of the "Great Game"

A quote...."This essay is intended to inform others of the challenges and choices that are directly ahead. Three decades of wasteful US fiscal and energy policies have placed the US at risk for an economic downturn of considerable depth and duration, and we are woefully unprepared as a nation to reduce our fossil-fuel consumption. Unfortunately, recent US foreign policies are exacerbating global tensions and could lead to even worse warfare than the Bush years have already wrought. Their must be no misunderstanding — global resource warfare will ultimately leave even the so-called “winner” in a ruined state of energy deprivation along with economic and moral bankruptcy."
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Leading Academic: Neo-Nazis Have Signed Us Onto WWIII
A quote...."Destroying World Order: Analysing the war In Iraq and the middle east with Dr Franics A Boyle"
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The Surge Pushers - The War and the New York Times
Well....this explains a lot of the perplexing coverage by the New York Times.

Everyone should remember that each time you buy a commercial newspaper, listen to or view a commercial broadcast you support the five conglomerates which control ninety percent of this Nation's "mass media" and the wealthy elites who own them.  The wealthy elites who have DELIBERATELY led us down this dark, perilous and tragic road for their own personal profit..

Please stop supporting them.....please stop being sheep.
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Bush and the Neocon's 'Surge' to Nowhere
A quote...."Every now and then, you have to take a lesson or two from history. In the case of George Bush's Iraq, here's one: No matter what the President announces in his "new way forward" speech on Iraq next week -- including belated calls for "sacrifice" from the man whose answer to 9/11 was to urge Americans to surge into Disney World -- it won't work. Nothing our President suggests in relation to Iraq, in fact, will have a ghost of a chance of success. Worse than that, whatever it turns out to be, it is essentially guaranteed to make matters worse."
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Iraq poised to end drought for thirsting oil giants
A quote...."After 35 years, the third-largest reserves in the world are to be opened to American and British companies"

"For more than three decades, foreign oil companies wanting into Iraq have been like children pressed against the sweet shop window - desperately seeking to feast on the goodies but having no way of getting through the door."

"That could soon change."
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Lawmaker: U.S. catching, releasing top terror targets
A quote...."WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military already knows what half of its most-wanted terrorist targets look like because they have been apprehended and photographed in the past, a Republican congresswoman said Friday."

Hey America...wake-ee, wake-ee.....are you STILL in denial or what???

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Theft Probe Leads to N.Va. Storage Site
A quote...."On Oct. 27, a colonel at Camp Pendleton reported as missing a large quantity of U.S. Government trophy weapons acquired during the conflict in Iraq.   An internal investigation cast suspicion on Maziarz, and he consented to a search of a storage facility he rented in Carlsbad, Calif., according to the documents.

The headline should really read.... "One of the Cannon Fodder Caught Aping Their Betters", or "Billions for the Wealthy Bush Connected Elites - Jail Time for All Others" or "If You're Not Stealing Billions - You're Not Part of the Club"
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Feds pushing for Internet records
A quote...."MINNEAPOLIS — The federal government wants your Internet provider to keep track of every Web site you visit."

Is anyone going to stop these guys?
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They'll "Find A Reason" To Lock You Up
A quote...."Darrow, a shrewd but unassuming 19-year-old motorist, was stopped at a DUI roadblock in St. Louis last November. He was cooperative and non-confrontational when the officers enforcing that unconstitutional mass detention instructed him to provide his driver's license and proof of insurance. But he was singled out for exceptional detention when he presumed to behave as a free, law-abiding citizen.

Specifically, when asked by an officer, “Where are you headed tonight?” Darrow replied: “I don't wish to discuss my personal life with you, officer.”

Ordered out of the car and forced to surrender his car keys, Darrow was told by an officer that he had to submit to an “interview ... because you didn't want to interview. You didn't want to sit down and have a talk with me.”
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The Real Estate Depression of 2007
A quote...."It can safely be said that at the beginning of 2006 America entered into a real estate recession and despite all rhetorical pumping and dumping of real estate inventory by mortgage bankers, brokers, Realtors, agents, builders and developers, the statistics show that we are now at the beginning of a long and protracted real estate depression."

Cakewalk Crowd Abandons Bush
A quote...." 01/05/07 "WorldNetDaily" --- -- Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan, said a rueful John F. Kennedy after the Bay of Pigs. George W. Bush knows today whereof his predecessor spoke. - For as he prepares to "surge" 20,000 more U.S. troops into a war even he concedes we "are not winning," his erstwhile acolytes have begun to abandon him to salvage their own tattered reputations. - Case in point, the neoconservatives. As the Iraq war heads into its fifth year, more than half a dozen have confessed to Vanity Fair's David Rose their abject despair over how the Bushites mismanaged the war that they, the "Vulcans," so brilliantly conceived."

Bush surrounds himself with war supporters
Along with a whole coterie of legal advisors in preparation for an expected "blizzard of legal subpoenas" from congress. The article has a nifty little chart too.

Hanging Will Haunt Bush
A quote...."HYDERBAD, India -- I am taken aback by the reaction in India to Saddam Hussein's hanging. The anger cuts across religious and political divides."

"This secular nation of 1.2 billion – the world's largest democracy and emerging economic powerhouse – has as many Muslims as Muslim Pakistan, at about 145 million. But its majority is Hindu and it has significant pockets of Christians, Sikhs, Zoroastrians and others. Yet the condemnation has been near universal."
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3 Hamas militants killed in Gaza clashes with Fatah
A quote...."Three Hamas militants were killed and five were wounded Saturday evening in clashes with a Fatah-related family hours after Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas declared Hamas security forces in Gaza illegal."

A quote from Mr Reficul Conversation Num.Two mailing #13 - 08-29-05...“The Muslims are so easy to ‘play’,” he continued sighing contentedly while gazing at the distant desert mountains, “We’ll divide the whole middle east eventually by playing the Sunni countries off against the Shi’ite.  That’ll make everything run predictably and smoothly for the Saudis and us for the next ten years, and provide another pretext to attack Iran.  After that war is over we’ll just pick up the remaining pieces.”

It works the same for the Palestinians too. - MPG
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South America: Toward an Alternative Future
A quote...."Last month a coincidence of birth and death signaled a transition for South America and indeed for the world.  -  The former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet died even as leaders of South American nations concluded a two-day summit meeting in Cochabamba, Bolivia, hosted by President Evo Morales, at which the participants and the agenda represented the antithesis of Pinochet and his era."

"In the Cochabamba Declaration, the presidents and envoys of 12 countries agreed to study the idea of forming a continent-wide community similar to the European Union."

Yes, FINALLY the South Americans are going to protect themselves from the thugs in suits that run America's economy.  Iraq and Saddam's fate should serve as a warning to all of the people in the world....do business with America's corporations and this is what will happen to your tribe, your nation, and yourselves.

To all the people in South America, every single financial deal that goes through America from this point forward may encounter “problems”.  To all the leaders of these countries you may suddenly start to see strange men in well cut business suits flying in from America with bulging suit cases filled with cash visiting your generals or some of the rich oligarchs in your country who feel under compensated by the current plans for a South American Union.  In other words….watch out.

Speaking of economic unions, whatever happened to the Muslims in the Middle East? There it was, a shining example right across that puddle called the Mediterranean of how to set up an economic union.  And they had all the money in the world to do so and they blew it.  Sure the US used its proxy Israel to stir them up, supported the rich oligarchs in the Gulf states, smashed any of their attempts to establish a successful nation state or for that mater any type of cohesive regional union, and are now currently playing off the Sunnis against the Shias in an effort to split the Middle East right down the middle.

So what. That's the way the US has been doing business for the last sixty years....after all this time no one can possibly pretend they're surprised by all this.

For more on this see....We'll Make Them an Offer They Can't Refuse & Confessions of an Economic Hit Man Part I,  Part II,  Part III
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Government Documents Are Declassified in Name Only
A quote...."Starting in the new year, the government declassified 270 million pages of FBI files -- but if you tried to access them, you'd have been told that none of them are available, and won't be, maybe for years."

EU to Urge "New Industrial Revolution" in Energy
A quote...."    Brussels - The European Commission will call next week for "a new industrial revolution" in the energy sector to boost competition, protect the climate and ensure security of supply, a draft paper from the EU executive showed."

Dallas Texas-based food chain to accept Mexican pesos
Hey look, if China, Russia, The European Union, East Asia and South America can diversify out of the US dollar....why not a pizza chain.

The Good Shepherd Something Something George Bush
Funny movie review.

Friday January 5th 2007

They have made a killing
Must Read. A quote...."The US has spent a million dollars for every dead Iraqi - is that what they mean by value for money?"
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Bush Shuffles the Neocon Deck
Must Read. A quote...."In an all too predictable game of musical chairs, the Bush neocons have decided to shuffle John Negroponte, the butcher of Honduras and member in good standing at the Council on Foreign Relations, off to the State Department to work under Condi, drop Zalmay Khalilzad, the PNAC flunky, into fill the space vacated by the unconfirmable John Bolton at the United Nations, and spin former admiral Mike McConnell, a director at Booz Allen Hamilton, where the neocon “World War Four” James Woolsey runs shop, into the top spook position as national intelligence director."

Bush purges Iraq command to prepare military escalation
Related story -- a quote...."The Bush administration is making sweeping personnel changes in the top leadership of the US military, intelligence and diplomatic establishment in preparation for a major escalation of the war in Iraq."

The Next Top Spy [ McConnell ]
Related story -- a quote...."Still, some of McConnell's longtime associations may cause him headaches during Senate confirmation hearings, especially with the Democrats taking over Congress. One such tie is with another former Navy admiral, John Poindexter, the Iran-contra figure who started the controversial "Total Information Awareness" program at the Pentagon in 2002. The international consultancy that McConnell has worked at for a decade as a senior vice president, Booz Allen Hamilton, won contracts worth $63 million on the TIA "data-mining" program, which was later cancelled after congressional Democrats raised questions about invasion of privacy."

Where do they get these guys from, are they hatched out of pods from outer space?  They're all the SAME, they look alike, they sound alike, they dress alike and what's really, really scary, is they all think alike.
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Bush, once again, sidling up to the punch bowl
Must Read. -- a quote...."Yes, it will all seem rather obvious at some future point. The attack and/or invasion of Iran (or Venezuela, Syria, Cuba . . . whoever's next on Junior's "what can I do to exude a manly image" list) will look pretty foolish.   But, once again, as with Iraq, that realization will come too late. The damage will be done, and will likely be irrevocable."

New Year Reflections
A quote...."Meanwhile, most Americans, as articulated in the Congressional elections of  November 2006, expressed resentment for their country’s war in Iraq like  never before on any foreign policy issue. Though their rejection of the  Republican Party’s candidates was an illustration of their refusal of the  Bush Administration staying the course mantra, the election brought back a  divided Democratic Party that is equally supportive of the war, but wishes  to convey its position in so clever a way so as to appear in disagreement of  Bush’s war management style, but without offering any substantial policy  shift."

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney Makes the Case for Impeachment
A quote...."Here is McKinney's case for impeachment and for the history books, a case that says to historians "Look, I knew what needed to be done, and I failed for years but I admitted it on my last day," but a case that says to us: 'Here is your mission: awaken currently serving Congress Members to this case or kiss your democracy goodbye.'"

See also...." The Impeachment of George W. Bush"
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Bush Needs To Be Impeached for His Own Good
The title is misleading, the article is actually an interesting, and chilling, Jungian analysis of Bush.

Bush's Surge: An Interpretation that Connects it with the Regime's Deep Darkness
Related article -- a quote...."First, I am assuming that the stories are true that Bush is going to call for an escalation of troop levels in Iraq, for the "surge" and "sacrifice" news about which news reports have spoken this week."

Bush's Strategy of Massive Resistance
Some quotes...."Pres. Bush, I predicted, will effectively tell Speaker Pelosi, "You send the Capitol Police to enforce your subpoena. I'll send the 82d Airborne to resist them. Let's meet on the Mall and see who wins....."".... He will instruct his lawyers to delay, deny and refuse to comply with any effort by Congress to get to the bottom of official corruption - especially as the billions squandered or stolen in Mr. Bush's war."

Dennis Loo: Past Imperfect, Future Tense: On the Question of 'Checks and Balances.'
"There is a kind of conventional 'wisdom' slightly to the left of center which analyzes the United States this way: we have political democracy, but not economic democracy.It points to the 'democratic' institutions: the three branches of government and the 'checks and balances' which are presumed to prevent a monopoly of power by any one branch; the voting process for the president and Congress, especially now that women and black people have the right to vote; the Bill of Rights."

"What this viewpoint ignores is the economic basis of politics, the fact that if the economy is dominated by corporate wealth, that wealth will inevitably corrupt the political process, irrespective of the fact that on paper the institutions appear to be democratic."   For more on this see....Seventeen Acts to Restore Americans' Rights
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Blood Oil
Must Read A quote...."Could a bunch of Nigerian militants in speedboats bring about a U.S. recession? Blowing up facilities and taking hostages, they are wreaking havoc on the oil production of America's fifth-largest supplier. Deep in the Niger-delta swamps, the author meets the nightmarish result of four decades of corruption."

The U.S.'s next theater of operations.

World Bank OK With Blood For Oil
Related article -- a quote...."It has been a year since the horror of the bloodshed in Sudan’s Darfur region—with over 200,000 dead in three years—began leaking across the border into Chad. It has also been a year since a simmering conflict boiled over into a full-scale confrontation between World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz and Chadian President Idriss Deby. Are the two connected? In a word, yes. Here’s how."
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Arrested Iranians 'were trying to influence Iraqi government': BBC
The BBC's flagship political programme Newsnight cited British authorities in Iraq as saying that while the arrests produced highly important intelligence information, there was no "smoking gun" about weapons supplies or attacks.

"Instead, the Iranians were there to hold high-level meetings with representatives of several Iraqi Shiite factions that have come to prominence since the fall of president Saddam Hussein in 2003"

My god! Those dastardly Iranians who our "mass amnesiac media" pointed out only a few days ago had “suspect documents and maps"  (probably road maps and letters) were horrors of horrors, ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING MUCH WORSE..... (Gasp! Shock! Dismay!)

They were caught "trying to influence" the Iraqis (and not by getting them drunk either, they're Muslims after all)

They weren't however trying to "influence" them the good 'ol fashion Washington  "K Street" way our esteemed congressman have become so accustomed too, the bribes, lucrative job offers after leaving office, campaign contributions or various illicit pleasures.....no those disgusting Iranians were of all things (hold on to your hats folks).....TALKING  to the Iraqis.

Just how dirty, devious and despicably low are these Iranians going to go?

These guys are really dangerous; we'll have to bomb them immediately!!!
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Mike Constable Cartoon - animated
Related cartoon.

[British] Navy to cut its fleet by half
Being a part of America's Empire can be very expensive.

Cuts are a severe blow to [British Navy] officers' ambitions
Ditto.  Exxon, Halliburton, Bechtel and other corporations won't thank you guys of course but the collective bottom lines of these companies sure appreciate your sacrifice.

Molly Ivins: Stop This War, Now!
A quote....."And let’s keep in mind that when the Army arrived in Baghdad, we, the television viewers, watched footage of a bunch of enraged and joyous Iraqis pulling down the statue of Saddam Hussein, their repulsive dictator, in Firdos Square. Only one thing was wrong. The event was staged. Taking down the statue was instigated by a Marine colonel, and a PSYOP (psychological operations) unit made it appear to be a spontaneous show of Iraqi joy."

Now they wouldn't do the same sort of psyops operation by actually video taping the hanging of the man himself instead of just pulling down his statue, would they? ....Of course not.
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White House uses secret memo to fight court order
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House and the Secret Service quietly signed an agreement last spring in the midst of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal declaring records identifying visitors to the White House are not open to the public."

"The Bush administration did not reveal the existence of the memorandum of understanding until last fall."

And it's the Washington Post that's suing them to get the visitor log, actually doing the job their supposed to do as a member of this Nation's forth estate.  Good.
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Army asks dead to sign up for another hitch
Despite what the army says....they really are getting desperate for more recruits.

Thursday January 4th 2007

Saddam’s Execution and the coming Campaign in Baghdad
Must Read. A quote...."Stupidity or design - By all legal standards, the trial of Saddam Hussein was unfair and farcical to say the least. It was a show trial for the public. His hasty execution was also a disgrace. Those who had suffered most at his hands did not get justice, for their voices were never heard or their sufferings acknowledged; while those who supported him did not see a proper legal trial for their leader."

"The farcical trial and hasty execution only achieved one thing: silencing the man that could expose the hypocrisy and complicity of both the so called moderate Arab governments and the major Western powers."

Muqtada al-Sadr and the Sunnis
Related article - a quote...."It is an abiding paradox of contemporary Iraq that the Mahdi Army and the Sunni Arab guerrillas are slaughtering each other daily, but that young Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (the leader of the Mahdi Army) has a better political relationship with Sunni Arab MPs and leaders than any other Shiite."

Saddam Execution: More Staged Propaganda
Related article - a quote...."Evidence has emerged that the execution of Saddam Hussein was purposefully allowed to descend into chaos as senior American and Iraqi officials carefully staged managed a situation whereby Shi'ite militias were able to infiltrate the chamber and actually carry out the deed themselves."

The U.S. Attack on Saleh Al-Mutlaq's Headquarters - So This is Plan B?
Related article - a quote...."Dr. Al-Mutlaq said that the U.S. and Iraqi forces surrounded his party's headquarters in Baghdad after midnight and that a brief exchange of fire took place, so he tried to contact the U.S. embassy and U.S. army to understand what was happening and to clarify that his guards thought they were being attacked by militias when they fired back, and that they didn't know the U.S. army was involved."

Thug Bones in Bushland and Babylon
Related article - a quote...."Investigative journalist Max Fuller marshals a convincing case for this dread conclusion in a remarkable work of synthesis drawn from information buried in reams of mainstream news stories and public Pentagon documents. Piling fact on damning fact, he shows that the vast majority of atrocities now attributed to "rogue" Shiite and Sunni militias are in fact the work of government-controlled commandos and "special forces," trained by Americans, "advised" by Americans and run largely by former CIA assets, Global Research reports."
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Soldiers and Imperial Presidents
Must Read. A quote...."No doubt, the millions of men and women working in the armed forces today do so in the belief that they are heroically serving their country, as well as the cause of freedom and democracy. But in fact, they are serving the ruling clique, the Illuminati, and a few thousand wealthy investors, which represent less than 0.02% of the population. There must be no confusion that the financial interests of Halliburton, Bechtel, and the Bush dynasty are not the interests of America’s citizens, especially those in the armed forces."

"There is nothing noble or moral about invading defenseless sovereign nations and killing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of innocent human beings. There is no morally justifiable way of making occupation and the outright theft of natural capital, such as oil, respectable or gallant. Genocide and theft are crimes against humanity, regardless how the corporate advertisers and public relations firms couch them; and the military is complicit in the commission of those crimes, whether they are ignorant of their role in them or not."
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Hersh: US, Israel support PKK's Iran wing
A quote...."Ankara, which has been pressing the United States for action to eliminate the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq, responded with caution to a fresh report by leading U.S. investigative journalist Seymour Hersh that Washington was backing the group's Iranian wing to destabilize the Islamic republic."

See also....Illegal ‘terror ops’ may explain White House censorship regarding the US's current support for the MEK.
See also....False Flag Ops & US support Death Sqds
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Shocking Twist: Iraqi At Center of Dispute Over AP Source Does Exist -- And Faces Arrest for Talking
A quote...."The captain, whose full name is Jamil Gholaiem Hussein, was one of the sources for an AP story in late November about the burning and shooting of six people during a sectarian attack at a Sunni mosque."

The US military caught in a lie (among thousands) regarding a Shia death squad working out of Iraq's Interior Ministry.  For more on this see....Viral Neocons
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The Spirit of Tom Paine
Must Read. A glorious summation of what our corporately controlled "mass media" has become, including such "liberal" stalwarts as the New York Times, PBS and NPR.

10% of Active Journalists in Iraq Were Killed in 2006
A quote...."All conflicting parties in Iraq today, from militias to insurgents to the government and U.S. forces are blamed for targeting journalists, imprisoning them or detaining them for interrogation."

CIA Immune System Still Working
A quote...."Lies have consequences . All those who helped President George W. Bush launch a war of aggression—termed by Nuremberg “the supreme international crime”—have blood on their hands and must be held accountable. This includes corrupt intelligence officials. Otherwise, look for them to perform the same service in facilitating war on Iran."

The "Demonization" of Muslims and the Battle for Oil
A quote...."Throughout history, " wars of religion" have served to obscure the economic and strategic interests behind the conquest and invasion of foreign lands. "Wars of religion" were invariably fought with a view to securing control over trading routes and natural resources. "

Is Negroponte's New Job Preparing for an Attack on Iran?
War Update -- a quote...."The word from the State Department is that incoming Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte will oversee an "embedded" unit of private contractors who are preparing for an attack against Iran. Although the Baker-Hamilton Commission called for dialogue with both Iran and Syria over the Iraq Civil War and quagmire the neo-cons foisted on the U.S. military, the Bush administration appears intent on confronting Iran militarily."

Bush Cabalist Negroponte:'Outsourcing' War on Iran
Related article - a quote....""John Negroponte was US ambassador to Honduras in the Reagan-Bush regime, and then he was forced out of that position in 1985 when it became known that he had facilitated Oliver North’s wet operation in Honduras to assassinate the then Honduran Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General Reuben Mata."

'Clean sweep': Bush replaces top general in Middle East who opposed troop surge
War Update -- a quote...."In what appears to be a military shakeup surrounding Iraq, President Bush has replaced both the top US general in the Middle East and the top general in Iraq, ABC NEWS is reporting on air."

Key Democrat might consider troop boost in Iraq
As predicted by just about everybody NOT in the "main stream" media, the Demo wing of the DemoRepub party is going to back Bush to the hilt.

Bush could send up to 40,000 more US troops to Iraq
So much for democracy, so much for your vote.

Israeli PM falls further in popularity
There goes another poll....big deal.  Bush, Blair & Olmert could have a poll where 99% of the respondents stated they were doing a terrible job and it wouldn't make a bit of difference.  When are you peons going to get it - your opinions, your lives, your property, your freedoms and your votes don't count unless you're part of the glorious "one percent" that runs everything, it's that simple.

Bob Herbert in 'NYT' Labels 'Slaughter' in Iraq 'Criminal'
Bob Herbert's got it wrong....it's not "criminal", it's "profitable".

CNN & New Yorker - Bush Planned Lebanon War Months Before - YouTube video
War Reminder - From the history file -  Seymour Hersh getting it right, CNN getting it wrong.....as usual.

Exploiting the Fatah-Hamas Rift in Palestine
A quote...."The U.S administration and Israel are accelerating their coordinated meddling in the internal Palestinian divide between the Fatah-led presidency and the Hamas-led government to pre-empt a series of Arab mediation efforts, the latest of which is a UAE-Syrian try according to a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)."

Scaramella-Berezovsky link to World Trade Center security firm emerges in Italian prosecutors' investigation
A quote...."The Italian media is reporting on transcripts of phone conversations between Scaramella and two former U.S. intelligence officers. One conversation, reported in La Repubblica, is a January 25, 2006, conversation between Scaramella and a mysterious ex-CIA agent from California who uses the name "Perry." In the conversation, Scaramella stresses to Perry that his activities are not "just my activity, but the activity of the organization.' It is becoming clear that the :organization" to which Scaramella is referring is a private and global intelligence organization involving former members of the KGB and Russian Federal Security Bureau (like Litvinenko), private military and intelligence companies, and ex-CIA and British intelligence officers. Scaramella discussed the political dirty “trick” they are preparing for Italian center-left leader Romano Prodi and it is clear from the conversation that Perry gives Scaramella his orders, though politely. When Scaramella goes into a tangent on his international activities, Perry merely replies, 'You must work on the Italian politics.' When Scaramella presents a list of the possible future options open to him, Perry very curtly suggests, “You could be part of the cabinet of the minister.” But Scaramella is pessimistic when he states, “most probably Prodi will win, even if we will launch our attack . . ."

ASIO 'tricked on Hawke plot'
A quote...."AUSTRALIA'S spy agency was tricked by Israel into believing Bob Hawke was the target of a Palestinian assassination plot, the former Palestinian ambassador to Australia said today."

That's the Mossad for you....tricky.
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Argentines fear revival of ‘Dirty War’
A quote...."Memories of this shadowy chapter have been reawakened by the mysterious disappearances of two men involved in legal cases arising from the so-called “Dirty War”."

It appears some US "friends" are back in business again.
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W pushes envelope on U.S. spying & Bush says feds can open mail without warrant
A quote...."WASHINGTON - President Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant, the Daily News has learned."

They're not going to stop....no one is making them stop and the DemoRepubs are doing nothing about it.
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Report exposes 'excessive' e-voting machine failures in 2006 elections
A quote...."RAW STORY has now obtained a report that documents persistent and widespread voting machine malfunctions across the country on Election Day. VoteTrustUSA, VotersUnite.org, and Voter Action have released a joint report titled "E-Voting Failures in the 2006 Mid-Term Elections: A sampling of problems across the nation" (PDF link)."

VIDEO: War and The Neoliberal Agenda
NOTE : There is a two minute pause while the tape continues to run.

Seeding starvation in Iraq
Some  quotes...."In 2004, when L. Paul Bremer III left his position as Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator to “transfer sovereignty,” he also left behind 100 deadly orders to govern Iraq. Order 81, which included “Patent, Industrial Design, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety,” prohibited Iraqis from reusing seeds of “new” plant varieties patented under the law. Think about that for a second . . ."

"....once these plants get into the agro-growth cycle, there is no recall from any possible genetic pollution. So even if you never used the seeds, and the wind simply blew them onto your land, you (1) owe the breeder a royalty and (2) if anything’s wrong with the GM seed, it’s your problem or the world’s problem. Go sue the Big M. Is this “reconstruction” or deconstruction, economic disaster for farmers to create a financial bonanza for “breeders”?"

This is Evil, pure unadulterated evil.  It's designed to prevent the Iraqi people from feeding themselves and cripples the Iraqis ability to be a nation - as have all the other policies the United Sates has implemented.

This is what the US intends to do to the Whole World.
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China in Africa: From capitalism to colonialism
Naughty, naughty....China should behave; they don't want to develop a reputation like the US has.

The World's Reserve Currency
For now.

Hussein's Execution May Trigger U.N. Backlash
Like anybody in the US would care...."UN, what's the UN?"
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Holocaust Cartoon Contest
A quote...."This moral equivalency is very much debatable. Israel is not engaged in a Nazi-like policy against the Palestinians"

At least not yet.
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110th Congress Greeted With Calls for Impeachment
For more on this see....Ground Hog Day 1968-2008
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2007 to be 'warmest on record'
With nifty pictures and charts.

New Zealand Had Coldest December in 78 Years
Just goes to show, it will get warmer but the weather is also going to get wackier.

Wednesday January 3rd 2007

Dems, We're Citizens, Not Consumers
Must Read.  A quote...."As the Democrats regain control of Congress for the first time in 12 years, the party leaders still don’t seem to understand the forces that sent them into the wilderness in 1994 or the reasons they were summoned back in 2006."
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Grand Illusion: Costs of War and Empire
Must Read.  Basically the article details how the DemoRepub party hid a lot of the costs for maintaining the US's very expensive Empire.  But those costs are going to climb rapidly since they intend to substantially expand it and they can't hide the bills anymore.

In other words folks....you ain't seen nothing yet
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The U.S. Global Empire
A quote...."There is a new empire in town, and its global presence is increasing every day."
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Olbermann: Special comment about 'sacrifice'
A quote...."If in your presence an individual tried to sacrifice an American serviceman or woman, would you intervene?"

"Would you at least protest?   What if he had already sacrificed 3,003 of them?"

"What if he had already sacrificed 3,003 of them — and was then to announce his intention to sacrifice hundreds, maybe thousands, more?"
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Keane/Kagan Plan Means More Bloodshed
A quote...."On Jan. 2, the BBC reported a leak from a "senior administration source" that President George W. Bush is going to give a speech, whose "central theme will be sacrifice," announcing an increase in U.S. troops in Iraq for security purposes. Speculation abounds whether the leak is designed to block Bush's insane policy with protests or to soften its controversial edge when announced. The BBC reports that "already one senior Republican senator has called it Alice in Wonderland."

"Bush's proposal, if he makes it, is the work of retired army general Jack Keane and Frederick W. Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute. AEI is the second most important Israeli lobby in Washington after AIPAC".
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Second U.S. carrier group to deploy to Gulf: sources
War Update  --  "The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bremerton, Wash.-based USS John C. Stennis strike group would deploy this month. It will put 5,000 more U.S. sailors in the region, bringing the total to 16,000."

Think tank: Israel could attack Iran's nuclear program alone
War Update --  "The Institute for National Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University said in its annual report, released Tuesday, that Iran will possess nuclear weapons unless military action is taken against it, and Israel would be capable of carrying out such an attack"

Russia anti-aircraft weapons sales to Syria, Iran on schedule
Getting prepared.

Daddy Bush Attacks JFK "Conspiracy Theorists"
A quote...."During his speech at yesterday's funeral service for Gerald Ford, former President George H.W. Bush bashed JFK "conspiracy theorists" and defended the Warren Commission report, another odd public outburst indicative of a crime family whose decades of misdeeds may finally be catching up with them."

The Fatal Hazing of Dictator[s]
Regarding what happened to a few of the others who were foolish enough to deal with the US.  To all the other would be World leaders out there, this will also happen to you every single time....remember that.

How to Remember Pinochet
But if you're a "good'ol boy" like Pinochet was, the Wall Street Journal will say nice things about you.

The Americans Can Never be Trusted
And so what else is new?

Negroponte to Leave Intel Director Post
Some quotes...."WASHINGTON — National Intelligence Director John Negroponte will resign after 20 months in the job to become deputy secretary of state....."....the No. 2 to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice...."

US reliance on Opec highest in 15 years
A quote...."US dependence on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries for its oil imports has risen to its highest level in 15 years, following Angola’s arrival this week as the 12th member of the oil producers’ group."

Iron Fist Economics.
a quote...."Capitalism and democracy go together like … like what? Peanut butter and jelly? Or a fish and a bicycle?"

"The leaders in Beijing are happy to eat their peanut butter sandwiches without jelly. Since launching economic reforms in the late 1970s, the Chinese government has promoted rapid economic growth but without much in the way of political liberalization. The Communist Party remains in charge, the state is still involved in the economy (though perhaps less so than in France), and the leadership argues that chaos would result from the introduction of a multiparty system."
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Philadelphia Inquirer to lay off 68
A quote...."PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Inquirer, grappling with sharp declines in circulation and ad revenue, said Tuesday it expected to lay off 68 newsroom employees, about 16 percent of its editorial staff."

America's incredible shrinking newspapers.   Everyone should ask the question, are the managers of this Nation’s newspapers making the correct decision when they reduce their staff.  Perhaps they are, after all if the only function for the editorial staff of a newspaper is to act as the steno pool for the government and the wealthy corporatist elites of this country....why even have a staff.

They should cut them all and just hire a bunch of secretaries to take dictation.
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The Private Arm of the Law.- Some Question the Granting of Police Power to Security Firms
The conservative's mantra is that government is bad and they say it over and over again.  Now we're going to have private police forces all over the place, along with private prisons.

To clue all of you "conservatives" in, if you can't afford one of these private little feudal armies to guard your castle, than you don't count.  What do you think's going to happen to you if there's a dispute between you and one of the owners of these new "security forces"?  Hummm?   Have any of you ever heard of eminent domain for private purposes - get the picture knuckle heads?

One should be careful what one wishes for.
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Voting machine firm hires ex-elections director
A quote...."The former head of elections for Georgia is going to work for the company that supplied the state's $75 million electronic voting machine system.  Kathy Rogers, director of the secretary of state's elections division, resigned Nov. 30 and has accepted a job with Diebold Election Systems, manufacturer of Georgia's voting machines, according to several state officials. Rogers apparently will serve as a liaison between elections officials throughout the United States and Diebold."
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Eminently Quotable
Good quotes - Here's three.

"Evil is like a shadow - it has no real substance of its own, it is simply a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to fight it, stamp on it, by railing against it, or any other form of emotional or physical resistance. In order to cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it."
-- Shakti Gawain, teacher and author (1948-)

"Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God's service when it is violating all his laws."
-- John Adams, 2nd US president (1735-1826)

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
-- Voltaire, philosopher (1694-1778)
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Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance (The American Empire Project) (Paperback)
Book offer.

Tuesday January 2nd 2007

Let's Do It Again! - Doubling Down on the Imperial Mission in 2007
Must Read, The DemoRepub party and the "100 year" imperial war.

More fuel on Iraq's spreading flames
A much more pessimistic assessment of America's chances regarding its "100 year" imperial war plans.
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Iran and the US: An unbreachable divide
A summation of the irritations between the US and Iran.  The quotes shown below were selected for just one aspect of those irritations.

Some quotes...."More broadly, the Islamic Republic is completely at odds with America's "democratization" drive in the region. There is an element of hurt pride in the equation, not least because the Americans do not acknowledge the democratic credentials of the Islamic Republic. For all its faults, the Islamic Republic has a far more sophisticated democracy than even America's more enlightened allies in the region, not least the Hosni Mubarak regime in Egypt."

"But much more important, the two sides are completely at odds over the geopolitical and cultural/civilizational consequences of democracy. The Iranians see Islamic movements as the key to national sovereignty and genuine long-term democratic reform in the region. Meanwhile, the Americans see "safe" forms of democracy as the most effective device to guarantee Israel's long-term security. The so-called "war on terror" (now conveniently called the "Long War") is an important part of this generational US strategy."

"Leaving aside the intricate question of what kind of political system can best marshal Iran's resources in the international arena, the Islamic Republic has never seen a fundamental dilemma between nation and ideology. Iranian Islamists have universally accepted the nation-state framework * and, unlike Arab Islamists, they have rarely (if ever) talked of idealistic and impossibly elusive concepts such as a 'caliphate'.

Which is EXACTLY why Iran MUST be destroyed.  If Iran continues to develop an effective "nation-state framework" with its already functioning democratic institutions, it will pose a deep and long lasting threat to America's "New Roman Empire".   And just like the effective (although quite brutal) Iraqi "nation-state"  Iran will either have to be destroyed from within by the US's support of ethnic and religious rivalries, attacked from without by direct US and Israeli military strikes or sucked into a US induced regional wide war of Shia vs. Sunni rivalry.

It could be a combination of all three options but the third option of playing the Sunni against the Shia would be the cheapest from the US's point of view.

* Italics added by website author.
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No Easy Way Out
Ah the truth leaks out.  The MINIMUM is 30,000 extra American troops for Iraq till Bush leaves.....than the war will continue.

American leaders promise more pain
Not that they'll say so....but boy oh boy they sure can deliver.  By the way a quote from this article regarding the US's history of hanging.....

"As an aside, perhaps Americans should be reminded of their history with hangings and what's likely to come from 21st Century military tribunals. According to Wikipedia, “the largest single execution in United States history was the hanging of thirty-eight Dakota people convicted of murder and rape in the Sioux Uprising. They were executed simultaneously on December 26, 1862, in Mankato, Minnesota. A single blow from an axe cut the rope that held the large four-sided platform, and the prisoners (except for one whose rope had broken, and who consequently had to be restrung) fell to their deaths.

The second largest mass execution in United States history was also a hanging: the execution of 13 African American soldiers for their parts in the Houston Riot. Notably, both incidents involved ethnic minority defendants, and military tribunal judgments in time of war.”"

For those of you who enjoyed Saddam's video, something to look forward too, not so?
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No delay in Saddam execution, Iraqi PM says
There's been A LOT of rumors floating around lately that the US asked Maliki to delay the execution prior to Saddam’s hanging.  The article above casts doubt upon that assertion; Miliki publicly stated there would be no delay in the execution and not a peep came from the White House.

So given this Administration's previous difficulties with the truth (that's a serious understatement) this author finds it highly implausible that anyone in the US asked for a delay.  See.... The Two Provocations
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Saddam's Execution
A quote...."As long as the United States opposes the ICC [International Criminal Court] and uses the prosecution of war criminals as a sinister political tool rather than a universal principle of justice, the impact of Saddam’s execution will increase the polarization and resistance in Iraq rather than help mend a nation that has suffered so much from dictatorship, war, sanctions, occupation and increasing civil conflict."

Exactly!  Capitol idea!
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Rice’s stillborn talks with the Iraqi resistance
Six "outrageous" demands from the Iraqi Sunni resistance.

US unit works quietly to counter Iran's sway
And here's one of the US's P2OG type units, busily spending US taxpayer dollars on starting a regional wide Middle East war between the Sunnis and Shias.  Their motto should be "kill they must, if they don't - we will"

2007: Decisive Year for the Israeli-Neocon Attack Iran Plan
A quote...."As if to kick off the New Year, and usher in the required political mindset, the Israelis are switching the attack Iran mantra into hyperdrive."

Falsies on Parade: The Worst Spinners of 2006
A quote...."The Falsies are our way of recognizing the most heinous polluters of the information environment over the past year."

Globalization in Retreat
A quote...."When it first became part of the English vocabulary in the early 1990s, globalization was supposed to be the wave of the future. Fifteen years ago, the writings of globalist thinkers such as Kenichi Ohmae and Robert Reich celebrated the advent of the emergence of the so-called borderless world. The process by which relatively autonomous national economies become functionally integrated into one global economy was touted as “irreversible. ” And the people who opposed globalization were disdainfully dismissed as modern day incarnations of the Luddites that destroyed machines during the Industrial Revolution."

It's the money, honey
It certainly is.
 
"Confessions of an Economic Hit Man"
Ditto.  See also.... Confessions of an Economic Hit Man Google videos - Part I,  Part II,  Part III

Unofficial Results in Seventeen Ohio Counties Cannot be Right.
A quote...."In the 2006 general election, according to the official website of Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, there were 4,177,498 ballots cast in the State of Ohio.  Of these, only 3,831,716, or 91.72%, contained votes for Governor, and only 3,826,829, or 91.61%, contained votes for United States Senate.  These numbers create the appearance of undervote (or overvote) rates of 8.28% and 8.39%, respectively, in the two most hotly contested statewide races."

Why Paper Ballots Are Not Good Enough
A quote...."Paper ballots alone are not enough. America needs a secure hand-counted paper ballot system to insure real election integrity."

Bigots and Psychos and Killers, O My!
Must read.  This one is really funny.

Monday January 1st 2007

Thanks for the Memories
Must See, Buzz Flash - flash video

Bush Breakdown Dead Ahead?
Must Read, a good summation of how the original backers of PNAC (The-Military-Industrial-Oil-Complex) are a tad miffed at Bush and want him to change course a.k.a. the "Baker Plan", how they and Bush have done terrible things to the English language in the furtherance of their twisted agenda, and how Bush may not take it all to well as the pressure increases for him to change his tactics.

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A Lynching...
A quote...."12/31/06 "Baghdad Burning" -- -- It's official. Maliki and his people are psychopaths. This really is a new low. It's outrageous- an execution during Eid. Muslims all over the world (with the exception of Iran) are outraged. Eid is a time of peace, of putting aside quarrels and anger- at least for the duration of Eid."

Before everyone in the Arab World gets upset over this, especially you Sunnis, understand this event bears the imprimatur and striking resemblance to what the Rendon Group, Lincoln Group and other psyop agencies are wont to do.  It would be wise for everyone in Iraq to calm down and read the....The Black Bull died today

See also....False Flag Ops (AL-ASKARI MOSQUE BOMBING - CITY OF SAMARRA)

See also....Fake Intel Lincoln Group & Rendon Group
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US Buries the Truth
A quote from the article...."As Henry Kissinger once quipped, being America's ally is far more dangerous than being its enemy."

Texas Justice by Rope: The Assassination of Saddam
A quote.... One day from year’s end, it is the non-story of the year capping a dozen imagined “turning points” in Iraq ’s dismal disintegration. The only kind of turning has been in the shape of a spiral drilling ever downward, toward a Mesopotamian heart of darkness: The assassination of Saddam Hussein by hanging had about it the very same haste and furtiveness, the very same pretense of legitimacy and crack-of-dawn obscurity as—remember that one?—the secret U.S. transfer of sovereignty to Iraq, like thieving shadows in the night two days before it was scheduled, on June 28, 2004. There was then no “sovereignty” to transfer as the United States had neither earned nor managed to conquer the right to Iraqi sovereignty. It had embezzled it, and poorly at that, in the amateurish heist known to this day as Operation Iraqi Freedom."

 The Low Profile: CNN and the New York Times Execute a Denial of History
A quote...."An existential question: If journalism is the first draft of history, then what is journalism that denies history? Is it still journalism? "
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Pilot strays into restricted airspace over Bush ranch (F-16s scrambled)
Isn't it just ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and THRILLING how competent our air force is when it comes to protecting the life of OUR BELOVED LEADER from that lone Cessna aircraft or whatever it was.  Isn't it just FANTASTIC to see them respond so QUICKLY and RAPIDLY to that appalling threat.

To bad they couldn't do it on 9/11 when they literally had almost two hours to do so.....heh?

America you are in such deep denial it's painful to watch.
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Why I Object to Testifying Against Lt. Watada
A quote...."In May of this year, I conducted an interview with Ehren Watada while working as a freelance journalist. Watada is a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and is the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse orders to deploy to Iraq."   See also....Army Targets Truthout for Subpoenas in Watada Case

The Case for Iran
For the record from the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, M. Javad Zarif .  He starts out all wrong, he's arguing his case on the merits and the facts.  He should know better by now.

Miami and The Mario Scaramella-Alexander Litvinenko polonium-210 poisoning.  Posted at WMR
A quote...."December 30-31, 2006 -- WMR's well-placed Italian sources report that the Mario Scaramella-Alexander Litvinenko polonium-210 poisoning and right-wing political operation has been tied by Italian prosecutors to activities in southern Florida, particularly in the Miami area."

AT&T Concession Thoroughly Debunks Key Anti-Net Neutrality Myth
Hip, Hip Hooray....they didn't want to.... "But when it suited their financial self-interest, AT&T was able to define Net Neutrality just fine in their letter of commitment to the Federal Communications Commission yesterday:"  See also ...The Last Bastion of Freedom is Falling
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Birth of the first global super-union
A quote....British, American and German unions are to forge a pact to challenge the power of global capitalism in a move towards creating an international union with more than 6 million members.    Amicus, IG-Metall and two US labour groups join forces to confront the power of the multinationals"

My goodness!  The international corporations finally have a competitor, an international union.....quick go bribe the politicos and nip this one in the bud.
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Welcome to the New World Job Order
A quote...."This past October, Wal-Mart, the largest employer in the U.S. with revenues of more than $310 billion a year, announced it was going to double the number of its workers employed part-time —from 20 percent to 40 percent of its total work force—while reducing full-time jobs by yet unknown thousands at the company. "

Newt’s Free-Speech Ideas Fail the Laugh Test
A quote...."The flimsy philosophizing of Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and aspiring Presidential candidate, isn’t designed to bear any great weight. For many years, he has been willing to say anything that would win him the public attention and political power he still craves. Yet in the mainstream media and among Republicans, his intellectual pretensions are often taken seriously—and when he promotes authoritarian “solutions” to national problems, that must be taken seriously too."
 
"His latest insight is that America can only survive if we impose severe curbs on freedom of speech."
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A New Year, and No Peace on Earth in Sight
Must Read Quote - "Indications are that Mr. Bush will choose the escalation option for Iraq. Don't be fooled by claims that a bump in the number of troops in Iraq will be a "surge." Ten or twenty or thirty thousand additional troops can't establish a secure environment in that county in 7 or 8 or 9 months. And don't be misled by pundits who say the proposed troop surge in Iraq is a separate issue from the call to raise the personnel end strength of our Army and Marine Corps. Given the time required to train the proposed 70,000 extra soldiers and marines, it will be 2008 before they will make a difference to the personnel demands of the Iraq conflict, which means they'll come on line just in time to ensure the Iraq fiasco can be supported beyond Mr. Bush's tenure."

If the quote is true, it means the DemoRepubs have planned a sham all along. They'll put the additional troops in there to keep things from falling completely apart till 2008.  When the next and bigger batch of cannon fodder is ready they'll throw them into the breach and continue the war after the next President is selected....it will probably be one from the Repub part of the DemoRepub party.

See ....Ground Hog Day 1968-2008

They've done the deal already; it's all been mapped out.
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Tyranny’s healer, democracy’s assassin: The true legacy of Gerald Ford
A quote...."Gerald Ford, like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan before him, is being posthumously deified. A real and dark history is being rewritten in a haze of nostalgic foolishness and distortion. In fact, Ford was a lifelong political criminal and a liar, like every modern US president. Ford fed, nourished and protected tyranny, laying the foundation for the unabashedly criminal empire of Bush, and decades of war and destruction."

The Enduring Legacy of Gerald R. Ford
One of them was he "took those famously amoral and criminally incompetent backroom operators, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, out of the lower quadrants of the twisted bowels of the Nixon White House and raised them to the highest levels of American government, where, in one form or another, overtly and covertly, they have inflicted their primitive ideology and violent psychodramas on the nation, and the world, for more than three decades."

In Search of a Criminal: Donald Rumsfeld's Name Tops the List of Accused of War Crimes
A quote...."No one thinks that Donald Rumsfeld will end his days in a German prison. Or that there is any real chance he will have to face trial in Germany over allegations that he authorized policies leading to the torture of prisoners at U.S. detention facilities in Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba."

"But that doesn’t mean that a complaint filed in Germany last month won’t have some ripple effects. The complaint asks a federal prosecutor there to begin an investigation, and ultimately a criminal prosecution, of the former secretary of defense and other U.S. officials for their roles in the abuses."
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The US-Saudi-Wahabi Nexus!
A good synopsis of Saudi - Wahabism and the Saudis relationship to the US.

World faces hottest year ever, as El Niño combines with global warming
As the Bush clan says...."we can live with it"

Cheney hails Nixon pardon at Ford's state funeral
Sometimes we see in what happens to others, what we hope to happen for ourselves.  One could call it pardon envy.

Jon Stewart blasts, Bush, Snow on winning Iraq flip-flop
Must See YouTube Video - Hilarious  !!!