Wednesday January 20th 2010

Critical Mass: Dem Agenda Opens Right-Wing Doors
Must Read - Democrats and progressives are crying doom over the party's defeat in Massachusetts. The loss, we're told, is a blow to Barack Obama's political agenda, and so it is. They say it's a shame that yet another rightwing zealot who advocates torture is now in the Senate, and so it is. But it is precisely that agenda that led to the loss, and the shame. It is that agenda which has resurrected a rightwing party that was dead in the water, and empowered its most extreme elements. -- And what is Barack Obama's agenda? What is his political program? It breaks down into three main elements: unwinnable wars, unconscionable bailouts, and unworkable, unwanted health care "reform" that forces people to further enrich some of the most despised conglomerates in the land. It is, in every way, a recipe for moral, economic and political disaster. It is a gigantic anchor tied around the neck of the Democratic Party, and it will drag the whole lumbering wreck back to the bottom in short order." -- For more on this issue see....The Story of A Place Called Mouseland - Alt - (YouTube - 6 min 38 sec - May 05, 2006)  -- Video - A quote...."Tommy Douglas and a vision for Saskatchewan" - posted 07-25-09

Ron Paul: After ‘CIA coup,’ agency ‘runs military’ - Alt - (YouTube - 59sec - January 18, 2010)
Contains Download - A quote...."US House Rep. Ron Paul says the CIA has has in effect carried out a "coup" against the US government, and the intelligence agency needs to be "taken out." -- Speaking to an audience of like-minded libertarians at a Campaign for Liberty regional conference in Atlanta this past weekend, the Texas Republican said:" -- also posted at DProgram


Blackwater Chief Accused of Murder, Gun-Running
A quote...."The head of Blackwater and his employees may have killed or ordered the killing of people suspected of cooperating with federal investigators probing their activities, according to an anonymous affidavit filed in federal court Monday."

ICC Complaint Against Bush, Cheney, et al, Arrest Warrants Requested
A quote...."Champaign, U.S.A./The Hague, Netherlands, 19 Jan 2010 (Mathaba) Professor Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, U.S.A. has filed a Complaint with the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) in The Hague against U.S. citizens George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, and Alberto Gonzales (the “Accused”) for their criminal policy and practice of “extraordinary rendition” perpetrated upon about 100 human beings."

US: Democrats agree on commission to cut Social Security, Medicare
Dang!!  This Neo-Roman Empire "fling" keeps getting more expensive every day, don't it folks? - mpg - A quote...."Obama administration officials and Democratic congressional leaders reached agreement Tuesday on the establishment of a bipartisan commission that would put recommendations for drastic budget cuts to a vote in Congress before the end of 2010. The commission would have unprecedented legal authority to propose changes in both the tax code and major entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, with Congress required to hold an up-or-down vote on its recommendations." -- For more on this NRE "fling" we as a "people" are engaged in, see....Go Build Your Neo-Roman Empire - Just Leave Us Out Of It - 10-14-07 - mpg

When did America become a goddamn homeland? - (A reader's letter to Joe Bageant)
A quote...."Your Bass Boats and Queer Marriage is a great article about the American "middle class", whatever the hell that is. -- I am an old working class person, a human being. I had working class parents and grandparents. It is all I ever was or wanted to be. I remember an old definition of the "middle class", way back in the mid 60's, my high school days. It all had to do with income, of course. Not sure what the numbers were back then, but it was above working class pay, for sure. -- I had four years in the Marines and a tour in Vietnam. Then, I went back to being a working class guy. Got married, bought a house, had and lost a child, then lost the wife to brain cancer. -- Now, at 62, I am permanently disabled and alone. But, I had a pretty decent life. I am still working class, goddamn it all. I am so damn sick of what has become of this country we now call a "homeland". What the hell? When did America become a goddamn "homeland"? Yeah, I know, W. Shrub and "Five Deferments" Cheney. They gave us that goddamn Nazi Germany/Soviet Union term for what used to be America."
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Pacts for the gullible
Must Read - Geo-Political Analysis - A quote...."President Ahmadinejad too must have needed a diversion to take his mind off his plateful of worries at home when he suggested to Mr Zardari last week that Iran and Pakistan enter into a mutual defence pact. Considering that the threat Iran faces is from America with which Pakistan is locked in alliance, such a pact is deader than a dodo. The Iranians should have thought of such an alliance earlier, that is, prior to the proxy war in which the two countries engaged over Afghanistan following the Soviet retreat in 1989. Rafsanjani, then president, scoffed at Benazir’s Bhutto’s offer, conveyed by me in 1995, to unite our policies on Afghanistan. As a result, the fratricidal inter-Mujahideen war continued until the Taliban emerged from the turmoil and, with the help of Pakistan, gained control of Kabul. The rest, as they say, is history. -- We now have yet another weird pact in which Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan have pledged not to allow their respective territories to be used in activities detrimental to each other’s interests, precisely when all of them are up to their necks, wittingly or unwittingly, in doing so." -- And yet....if Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran do not arrive at some sort of reasonable agreement, their nations will be ripped asunder. - mpg -- For more on this sort of issue see....It Will Happen Every Single Time - 01-01-08 - mpg

India and Pakistan: Cold Start for the Hottest War?
A quote...."We have all been witness to a long and continuing war of words between New Delhi and Islamabad ever since the Mumbai terrorist [false flag] strike of November 2008 disrupted the India-Pakistan "peace process" and "composite dialogue" which had kept going until then despite smaller problems and provocations. These statements and counter-statements, however, do not constitute the exchange that should cause the most serious concern over peace in South Asia." - bold by website editor - also posted at Uruknet - Yes, ever since the "strike", certain politicians in India have indicated an obscene willingness to participate in the US-NRE's "Great Game" plans for Asia and the Middle East. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....Just Give it a Rest OK!! - 11-27-09 - mpg

Syria troops buildup along Lebanon border
Special Note - War Warning - Israel, with US-NRE support, has OBVIOUSLY been signaling their intention's to start another conflict in the Middle East.  For the last two months they've been carrying out all sorts of highly  provocative actions against both Lebanon and the Palestinians, multiple military incursions, assassinations, air strikes, over-flights, arrests, and so on.  So Syria is just getting ready for what they know is coming. - mpg -- A quote...."Syria once again builds up troops near the Lebanese frontiers, positioning soldiers and artillery off the Arida border with north Lebanon. -- The entire fourth division of the Syrian army, under Maher al-Assad, were deployed to the area known as Shatt el-Arab on the northern coastal strip, only three kilometers (1.8 miles) from Arida, Al-Markazia news agency reported."

Iran in billion-euro gas deal with Germany
A quote...."TEHRAN (AFP) – Iran has signed a one-billion-euro (1.44-billion-dollar) deal with a German firm to build 100 gas turbo-compressors, an industry official said in newspapers on Wednesday. -- The contract provides for the unnamed German firm to transfer the know-how to build, install and run the equipment needed to exploit and transport gas, said Iran's Gas Engineering and Development Company head, Ali Reza Gharibi."
    
India turns up heat over 'Glaciergate'
A quote...."NEW DELHI - India's environment minister, having faced accusations of practicing "voodoo science", has been vindicated with the Nobel Prize-winning United Nations climate body's prediction that the Himalayan glaciers would disappear by 2035 being exposed as inaccurate speculation."
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An Unwelcome Katrina Redux  - posted at ICH
A quote...."January 20, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- President Obama’s response to the tragedy in Haiti has been robust in military deployment and puny in what the Haitians need most: food; first responders and their specialized equipment; doctors and medical facilities and equipment; and engineers, heavy equipment and heavy movers. Sadly, President Obama is dispatching Presidents Bush and Clinton and thousands of Marines and U.S. soldiers. -- By contrast, Cuba has over 400 doctors on the ground and is sending in more; Cubans, Argentinians, Icelanders, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and many others are already on the ground working – saving lives and treating the injured. Senegal has offered land to Haitians willing to relocate to Africa."

George W. Bush Overthrew the Elected Leader of Haiti; Now He’s Expected to Help?
A quote...."Critics of American foreign policy towards Haiti have had a hard time swallowing the selection of former President George W. Bush as co-chair of the United States’ relief efforts. They point out that it was during the Bush administration, in February 2004, that Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide was forced to leave the country by American soldiers—a claim denied by Bush supporters who insisted Aristide was escorted to Africa for his own safety."

Former Clinton Official Says The Plan is to Create a “New Haiti”
A quote...."The truth is out there but you won’t find it on Fox or MSNBC. The corporate media is busily conveying the Washington Consensus talking point that looting and violence in Haiti demands the Obama administration put military ”boots on the ground”. But if you take a little time, if you really listen to what Obama and Hillary are saying, then you start to see that this is becoming another blatant example of disaster capitalism at it’s worst."

Doctors Without Borders Plane with Lifesaving Medical Supplies Diverted Again from Landing in Haiti
Awwww, this is just disgusting, the US-NRE's Neo-Roman parasites need to go get some real therapy, and soon. - mpg-- A quote...."Port-au-Prince, January 19, 2010 – A Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) cargo plane carrying 12 tons of medical equipment, including drugs, surgical supplies and two dialysis machines, was turned away three times from Port-au-Prince airport since Sunday night despite repeated assurances of its ability to land there. This 12-ton cargo was part of the contents of an earlier plane carrying a total of 40 tons of supplies that was blocked from landing on Sunday morning. Since January 14, MSF has had five planes diverted from the original destination of Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republic. These planes carried a total of 85 tons of medical and relief supplies." - bold by website editor - also posted at AlethoNews

Activist: Watch Out For IDF Stealing Organs In Haiti
A quote...."Black rights activist T. West of AfriSynergy Productions warns that people need to be aware of the tragedy in Haiti being exploited by nefarious groups for their own gain, including Israel, who have admittedly stolen organs from dead Palestinians in the past." -- For more on this issue see....Israeli Organ Thefts

Israeli hand in Iraq's Abu Ghraib exposed  - link posted at ICH
A quote...."The former American military chief of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq reiterates the Israeli involvement in the US-run facility, where hundreds of Iraqi suspects were tortured and sexually abused by US soldiers and interrogators."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Israel's Assassination Policy - Alt - (RT-YouTube - 9 min 55 sec - January 19, 2010) - posted at ICH
Must View RT-Video - A quote...."TRNN interviews relatives of recently assassinated men in Nablus, Occupied Palestinian Territories -- In recent weeks Israel has escalated its practice of assassinations in the West Bank and Gaza. At the end of December, Israeli special forces broke into the Nablus homes of Anan Subih, Raed Surkaji, and Ghassan Abu Sharekh and killed them. Official Israeli sources linked the three to the killing of Israeli settler Meir Avshalom Hai who was killed while driving to the illegal outpost in which he lived. The killings are the latest in Israel's long-time practice of assassinations, illegal under international law. Many contradictory reports have surfaced over the December 26 assassinations. The Real News' Lia Tarachansky spoke to the families of two of the killed"

Israel steps up arrests of grassroots activists
A quote...."Israel must end a wave of arrests of Palestinian civil society members who are organizing protests and boycotts opposing Israeli rights violations, Adalah-NY, CodePink: Women for Peace, Jewish Voice for Peace and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation said today. While prominent protest and boycott organizers from the Palestinian organization Stop the Wall Jamal Juma' and Mohammad Othman were released last week after nearly one and four months of detention respectively, nightly arrests continue in the West Bank, with eight more arrests on 18 January in the village of Nilin."

Israel expels top Ma’an journalist
A quote...."For the first time in a week, American journalist Jared Malsin was allowed to use his mobile phone on Wednesday morning to inform Ma’an that he was being placed onto an El Al flight bound for New York. -- He sounded shaken and confused. He said he did not know why he was not being flown to Prague, where he was expected to be sent, saying only that flying there “would create problems.” He said he was in an armored vehicle en route to the airport gate."

WE ARE BACK FROM GAZA
Special Note - On the Ground Action Update - A quote...."Two weeks ago we wrote that we hoped to have a surprise for our readers. The surprise was that we were planning a trip to Gaza, the trip has been successful. We owe a VERY big "Thank You" to our friends at Desertpeace for blog sitting over the last week or so whilst some of us were attempting to get into Gaza. We were travelling to meet with some NGO's whom we had cultivated links with last year and to see some old friends in Gaza as well. I am pleased to announce that we were successful and we managed to get through the crossing into Gaza. The trip was long and exhausting and to be honest I have not compiled all my notes yet so have not made any posts about the trip and what we saw. But, we were extremely lucky as the 60 member, 13 country, EU delegation of parliamentarians arrived as well, and we all ended up in the same hotel in Gaza!! A few of us already knew some of the politicians who were on the delegation from years of political work, and it was great to see familiar faces inside Gaza. AND, as it worked out, we were able to hook up with some of their events and I'll be able to post about them as well, so even more to write about besides our own trip!

Tree-planting action to be held in At-Tuwani
Action Update - A quote...."On Saturday 23 January Palestinians will demonstrate against the recent destruction of a grove of olive trees and plant new trees, in order to show their determination to continue accessing and cultivating their land. On the afternoon of 14 January Palestinians discovered that a family-owned olive grove in Khoruba valley had been destroyed. Twenty mature olive trees were broken at their trunks. The family believes that Israeli settlers from the Ma’on settlement and Havot Ma’on outpost are responsible for the vandalism. This is the fifth time since 1997 that settlers have destroyed the olive trees in this grove. This most recent attack on Palestinian agriculture follows a month of Israeli settler violence and harassment aimed at preventing Palestinian farmers from plowing their fields and thus earning their livelihoods."

GAZA VIGIL 22Jan10  January 21, 2010
Action/Event Alert -- Federation Square, cnr Swanston and Flinders Streets, Melbourne City, Australia -- A quote...."Editor’s Note: What is happening in Gaza today is so incredibly shocking, yet despite that, the people have been left for dead.  While our politicians and the media seem to believe that 1.5 million people are worth condemning to a miserable existence and death for Israel’s security, we can at least refuse to remain silent.  On Friday evening at 7.00pm, we will be congregating at Federation Square, cnr Swanston and Flinders Streets, Melbourne City for a vigil that will end with us lighting candles for Gaza.  We will provide the candles, placards and flyers and ask only that you make an effort to come and bring as many friends and family members as you can.  If you have a keffiyeh, please wear it."
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Guest Post: Government Spending, Bank Lending And Inflation - On the inflation question. - mpg
Special Note - Charts - A quote....."In his latest weekly commentary, Inflation Myth and Reality, Dr. John Hussman makes the argument that changes-in federal government spending dictate the future path of inflation. As shown below, his data set covers the period from 1951 through 2008 and there appears to be a decent correlation." -- "However, his data set is incomplete in 2 respects: 1. It does not include the Great Depression years and 2. It does not include data on bank lending. The relationship between government spending and future inflation was vastly different during the years of 1932 to 1941. The correlation between the 2 series for this time period is negative 0.25."

Davidson: Obama White House Is Lying to You
A quote...."Author, investor and longtime Wall Street observer James Dale Davidson says our government is lying to us: There is no genuine economic recovery happening. -- “I think what we have seen ... is a simulated recovery which has been generated by the government faking it in a lot of different ways," putting out what he calls statistical falsehoods on economic numbers "to make it seem that the economy is stronger than it is,” Davidson told Newsmax."

MSM: Democrats propose $1.9T increase in debt limit
Some quotes...."(AP) – Senate Democrats on Wednesday proposed allowing the federal government to borrow an additional $1.9 trillion to pay its bills, a record increase that would permit the national debt to reach $14.3 trillion."  ---  "Less than a decade ago, $1.9 trillion would have been enough to finance the operations and programs of the federal government for an entire year. Now, it’s only enough to make sure Democrats can avoid another vote before Election Day." - bold by website editor

Democrats To Seek Stunning $1.9 Trillion Increase In Debt Ceiling To $14.3 Trillion
Related Article - A quote...."Senate Democrats are to seek an increase to the federal government's borrowing limit by $1.9 trillion lifting the total amount the U.S. government can owe to $14.294 trillion, several congressional aides said Wednesday. -- The increase is forecast to support the federal government's borrowing needs the end of 2010, one Senate Democratic aide said. -- The borrowing hike comes fast on the heels of a $290 billion increase to the debt ceiling agreed to by lawmakers at the end of 2009."

The Secret Bank Bailout
A quote...."There's one method that the Federal Reserve has been employing to shovel money to the bank elite that is rarely mentioned, though I hear the sums that have been shoveled are in the billions and they are showing up on the books of firms like Goldman Sachs as pure profit. It's really pure scam. -- Here's what went on for months, according to traders familiar with the situation...."

US Does Not Have Capitalism Now: Stiglitz - Alt - (CNBC/Vid - 8 min 1 sec - Tues, 19 Jan 2010 | 8:39 AM ET)
Contains Video - A quote...."Layers of money managers that don't bear the brunt of losses but walk away with big payouts when things go well have turned the US economy to a type of "ersatz capitalism," Joseph Stiglitz, Columbia University professor and Nobel laureate, told CNBC Tuesday. -- "An awful lot of people are not managing their own money," Stiglitz said. "In old-style 19th Century capitalism, I owned my company, I made a mistake, I bore the consequences." -- "Today, (at) most of the big companies you have managers who, when things go well, walk off with a lot of money. When things go bad the shareholders bear the costs," he said." -- also posted at DProgram

China's Economy Overheats: Q4 Real GDP Rises 10.7% YoY, Rumors Of Interest Rate Hike In Media
A quote...."Chinese GDP is officially in the redzone: at 10.7% YoY, while Q3 was revised to 9.1%. For all of 2009, Chinese GDP rose at 9.7% (2008 came in at 9.6%): China's mystical printing machine helped the country avoid any aspect of the global recession, and these are not the droids we are looking for. At the same time the country announced a 1.9% CPI increase YoY in December, even as 2009 saw a -0.7% decline in CPI, compared to a 5.9% increase in 2008. Retail sales in 2009 surged at 15.5% nominal and 17.5% real."

Chinese Stealth Treasury Purchasing Continues
A quote...."One thing is certain: if someone is trying to hide their purchases, this is never indicative of a good thing, and much more analysis must be performed to determine just why international fund flows need to be below the radar."

Empire Typology and Economic Stellar Evolution - 01-20-10 - mpg

Regarding the articles shown above and comments about them....

China is a young and growing star.  Its “real” economy is expanding exponentially.  China will grow INTO its currency bubble (vertical or "national growth") -- China is simply making more room for that growth by creating more space for the expansion of its industrial, and soon to be vibrant, consumer economy.

Whereas the US-NRE is old and CONTRACTING, it’s striped itself of its industrial base to concentrate on building an empire through the use of force in a vain attempt to create a "Currency Sphere (of influence)" laterally across the entire planet in order to provide sustenance for its vampire and parasitic classes.

Instead of providing its own fuel (a vibrant industrial economy) to feed its expanding currency bubble, it intends to militarily dominate other nation states to co-op their populations and resources to provide fuel for its massive and uncontroled currency bubble.

It is involuntary shedding or blowing off portions of this enormous bubble because its constant attempts at world domination are failing.  As a result its printed paper products (stocks, bonds and currency) are decoupling from its "real economy" (what little is left) because the US-NRE is currently unable to incorporate or assimilate the other nation states its currently occupying and trying to conquer, thereby creating a “Virtual Economy” (Think of a dying star, it's a sure sign of impending collapse)

Again to make it clear, printing paper products does NOT create wealth, paper products represent what wealth has been created (or in the case of the US-NRE, stolen).  Or if it's done right, printing paper products can represent potential wealth that will be created in the future (investment).

This creation of credit, or paper products, provides the medium of exchange (nuclear interactions) to run the economic engine (the heart of the star) but only if output produced (goods and services priced at market rates -- i.e. "the fuel") exceeds the credits created or received, else it becomes un-payable debt (iron, which cannot be used as fuel) and a drag on the economy (the stellar furnace).

Simply creating more credit that quickly becomes more un-payable debt (the build-up of more and more iron) to fund an attempt at empire will crush the economy (the core or engine of the star) leading eventually to complete economic collapse (stellar death) – mpg

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Tuesday January 19th 2010

The Rule of Law Has Been Lost - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."January 19, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- What is the greatest human achievement? Many would answer in terms of some architectural or engineering feat: The Great Pyramids, skyscrapers, a bridge span, or sending men to the moon. Others might say the subduing of some deadly disease or Einstein’s theory of relativity. -- The greatest human achievement is the subordination of government to law. This was an English achievement that required eight centuries of struggle, beginning in the ninth century when King Alfred the Great codified the common law, moving forward with the Magna Carta in the thirteenth century and culminating with the Glorious Revolution in the late seventeenth century." -- also posted at DProgram

What I've Learned About U.S. Foreign Policy - Alt - (GoglVid - 2h3m26s - 3 years ago) -  posted at ICH
Must View Video - From the history file - 3 years ago -- A quote...."The history of the terrorism conducted by the CIA, since the end of the World War II when countries in Asia and Latin America, were trying to make changes to improve their economical and political situation, the Unite States of North America realized that it was not good for their status as new super power; and began a new campaign, with only one rule, Anything Goes. This is the story of the terrorism of the CIA."

Feeds the Rich, Buries the Poor
Must Read - Quote of the Day...." We need tough hardened individualists who are willing to say enough is enough. Our government has been corrupted by weak men slithering around the halls of Congress soliciting for money, an evil banking cartel creating fiat money, corporate fascists paying off criminals in Washington DC, and the military industrial complex enforcing Washington’s power across the globe. The country longs for an Andrew Jackson or a Dwight Eisenhower. Instead we are stuck with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. The citizens of the country have chosen a false security in place of liberty and freedom. This country achieved greatness because Americans took chances, had the freedom to succeed or fail, picked themselves up when they failed, and lived their lives within a moral framework of fairness and honesty. That flame of independence and freedom is dying out. Americans no longer believe in shared sacrifice, working hard, honoring a sense of civic duty, morality, or modesty."
    
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA - Going rogue in combat boots
Must Read - This is an absolute must read cautionary tale. - mpg -- A quote...."The wars in distant lands were always going to come home, but not this way. -- It's September 2016, year 15 of America's "Long War" against terror. As weary troops return to the homeland, a bitter reality assails them: despite their sacrifices, America is losing. -- Iraq is increasingly hostile to remaining occupation forces. Afghanistan is a riddle that remains unsolved: its army and police forces are untrustworthy, its government corrupt, and its tribal leaders unsympathetic to the vagaries of US intervention. Since the Obama surge of 2010, a trillion more dollars have been devoted to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and other countries in the vast shatter zone that is Central Asia, without measurable returns; nothing, that is, except the prolongation of America's Great Recession, now entering its tenth year without a sustained recovery in sight." -- also posted at TomDispatch & ICH
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No Comment - The Official Response Begins - Scott Horton's follow up on his now famous article - mpg
Must Read - A quote...."When a cover-up is exposed, nothing is more telling than the first reactions from those who are involved. Do they maintain their stories and face potentially aggravated consequences? Or do they simply remain silent? In making this choice, they often telegraph the depth of their anxiety and concern." -- also posted at CommonDreams

Scott Horton Interviews Scott Horton
Audio Interview - A quote...."The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses the evidence in his article that the June 2006 Guantanamo inmate suicides were in fact homicides, the Seton Hall report that debunks the government cover-up story, Gitmo prison guards who saw the three inmates removed from their cells and transported toward infamous Camp “No” on the night they supposed hung themselves, the Camp America commander’s threatening reminder to Guantanamo servicemen to adhere to the official narrative and the involvement of the DOJ and FBI in the cover-up and in stifling Congressional investigations." -- ||  MP3 here. (39m:28s)  ||

US accused of covering up Guantánamo killings
More on the Gitmo homicides and the Scott Horton article in Harper's magazine. - mpg -- A quote...."The cover-up is amazing in its audacity, and it is continuing into the Obama administration,” said Scott Horton, the contributing editor for Harper’s who conducted the investigation."

The crime of not "Looking Backward"
Related Article - Glen Greenwald's take on the Scott Horton's article in Harper magazine. - mpg -- A quote...."In early December, a report from Seton Hall University cast serious doubt on the government's claims regarding the alleged simultaneous "suicides" of three Guantanamo detainees in June, 2006.  I wrote about that report here.  Yesterday, Harper's Scott Horton published an extraordinary new article casting even further doubt on the official version of events, compiling new, stomach-turning evidence (much of it from Guantanamo guards) strongly suggesting (without proving or concluding) that those detainees were tortured to death, and those acts then covered-up by making their deaths appear to be suicides.  Scott's article should be read in its entirety, though Andrew Sullivan has highlighted some of the critical revelations, including the motives of the whistle-blowing guards and the details of the torture to which these detainees were subjected."

For more on the three articles & video shown above see....9/11-Iraq-Torture Fables
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Accepting various truths - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."No one in the Obama administration is going to acknowledge that our foreign policy in the Middle East has alienated many Arabs. -- The U.S. pro-Israel policy and our shocking neglect of the beleaguered Palestinians underlie almost every initiative or tactical tilt that comes out of Washington."

Obama's Gitmo
A quote...."On his second day on the job, President Barack Obama promised to shut down Guantánamo by January 22, 2010. As we near the deadline, the U.S. detention center remains open, and nearly 200 detainees are still being held at the prison, including dozens already cleared for release. -- To mark the ninth year of detaining prisoners without charge or trial, human rights activists are protesting in Washington, D.C."

Panetta Turns Blind Eye to CIA Crimes
A quote...."In a tribute to the seven CIA agents killed December 30th by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan, Agency Director Leon Panetta wrote, "Our officers were engaged in an important mission in a dangerous part of the world." --
What he neglected to tell readers of the Washington Post, the Juneau Empire, the Monterey Herald and other mainstream publicity outlets is that CIA agents, like the United States itself, have no business in that part of the world. The U.S. is only in Afghanistan because eight years ago it launched a war of aggression against that small country and occupied it. Now Panetta is distressed as militants there strike back at the occupiers---occupiers who are breathing life into a crooked, dishonest, Kabul regime whose stellar achievements are dope-peddling and vote-stealing"

International Criminal Court Complaint Filed Against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Tenet, Rice, Gonzales
A quote...."Professor Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, U.S.A. has filed a Complaint with the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) in The Hague against U.S. citizens George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, and Alberto Gonzales (the “Accused”) for their criminal policy and practice of “extraordinary rendition” perpetrated upon about 100 human beings. This term is really their euphemism for the enforced disappearance of persons and their consequent torture. This criminal policy and practice by the Accused constitute Crimes against Humanity in violation of the Rome Statute establishing the I.C.C."

US 'lost track of Afghan weapons'
A quote...."The US military has failed to keep track of thousands of weapons shipped to Afghanistan, leaving them vulnerable to being lost or stolen, a report says. -- The report has been compiled by congressional auditors, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO)." -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror - Money & Guns For Everyone
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Amnesty says Iraq death sentences are multiplying
A quote...."Amnesty International has called on the Iraqi authorities to halt the mounting number of death sentences being handed out in the run-up to delayed national elections in March."

Green Zone mortared, says eyewitness
Full quote...."BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: A mortar shells landed on Tuesday near the U.S. embassy inside the Green Zone, an eyewitness said. -- “A mortar shell, launched from an unknown place, landed today near the U.S. embassy in the fortified Green Zone, with no word on casualties,” the witness told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. --
“Sirens kept wailing in the regions after the attack, while U.S. choppers hovered over the eastern regions of Baghdad,” he added." -- Yep!  They're still mortaring the "Green Zone" folks. - mpg

Editorial: A regional conflict in the making?
Special Note - Geo-Political Analysis - A quote...."Worryingly, other reports speak of a secret visit to Kabul by the chief of India’s Directorate General of Military Intelligence (DGMI), Lt. General RK Loomba, for discussions with Afghan, US and Nato officials regarding training Afghan national army units. If true, the report points in the direction of the growing role of India and its intelligence services in Kabul, and the leaning of the US and Nato towards relying on this help, possibly with an eye to the future withdrawal of US and Nato forces starting in 2011, when the vacuum of training and aid to the nascent Afghan army could arguably be filled by India. Needless to say, this development is a slap in the face of Pakistan’s insistence to the US and Nato that Pakistan’s core national interests in Afghanistan be taken into consideration, which at the very least include a friendly government in Kabul. It also needs no emphasis that such reports are likely to act as the proverbial red rag to our military establishment, could spark off a proxy conflict between Pakistan and India on Afghan soil, and even a wider conflict between the two South Asian neighbours, thereby reversing the momentum towards peace that seemed so promising at one time."

We Have Met the Enemy – and They’re Not in Yemen
Special Note - A quote...."Here in the US, officials - aided by the corporate media - attempted to reassure a terror-weary American public with nationally televised displays of stepped up screenings at airports, increased numbers of air marshals on international flights and the addition of hundreds of names to the CIA's ‘terrorist watch list.'  -- All but eclipsed by this ‘security sideshow' was the administration's accelerated military campaign in the beautiful and impoverished little country of Yemen, located on the southwest tip of the Arabian Peninsula, where the would-be Christmas bomber allegedly had "connections to Al Qaeda." 

Georgian riot police arrived in Ukraine posing as observers
A quote...."Ukraine's Party of Regions has learned that there are law enforcers among so-called Georgian observers to presidential elections in Ukraine, namely the riot police, parliament member Vladyslav Lukianov has said. -- The press service of the Party of Regions quotes him as saying: "The foreign special police arriving here include Sergei Bigiashvili, Giorgy Kalandarishvili, Zurab Makirishvili, Zama Vashadze, Zurab Jakhaya, Zviad Tsnobiladze, Chukzar Tsikhilashvili, Irakly Gogiya, Bakur"

Unlikely alliance of violence in Russia
Analysis - A quote...."While most Russian observers regard Muslim militants from the North Caucasus as the major source of terrorism, a new threat is emerging: Russian extremist nationalists, who are carrying out an increasing number of attacks."

Evo Morales to be inaugurated spiritual and political leader of Bolivia this week - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."With the horror in Haiti, we could all use some good news that we will not hear about from the mainstream media.  On Thursday January 21, Aymara elders and Indigenous people from across Bolivia and the Americas will gather at the inauguration of  Evo Morales as leader of Abya Yala, the Indigenous name meaning Our America.  On the following day, he will be inaugurated as President of Bolivia for the second time.   Up until Evo's regime, Bolivia was the second poorest country in the Americas after Haiti."

Nicaragua invites Russia to help build canal between Atlantic, Pacific Oceans - link posted at ICH
A quote...."MOSCOW, January 18 (Itar-Tass) -- Nicaragua has asked Russia to join in the construction of a ship canal between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. -- This issue was discussed at a meeting between Russian Deputy Transport Minister Sergei Aristov and his Nicaraguan Deputy Foreign Minister Manuel Coronel Kautz on Monday. -- “The Nicaraguan side asked the Russian side to participate in the construction of the canal running across Nicaragua and linking the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans,” a Transport Ministry spokesman said."

Assassinations Continue in Guatemala
A quote...."The ITUC has strongly condemned the assassination of Evelinda Ramírez Reyes, leader of the resistance front for the defence of people and natural resources, FRENA, affiliated to the national resistance front, FNL, which is part of the Guatemalan labour, indigenous and campesino movement, MSICG."

RIGHTS-GUATEMALA:  Naming the "Disappeared"
A quote...."GUATEMALA CITY, Jan 11 , 2010 (IPS) - Through the "My Name Is Not XX" campaign, the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation is working to identify the remains of thousands of victims who were forcibly disappeared during the country's 1960-1996 armed conflict, by inviting their relatives to provide DNA samples." -- also posted at UpsideDwnWrld
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US Security Company Offers to Perform "High Threat Terminations" - Here we go: New Orleans 2.0 - also @ ICH
A quote...."We saw this type of Iraq-style disaster profiteering in New Orleans and you can expect to see a lot more of this in Haiti over the coming days, weeks and months. Private security companies are seeing big dollar signs in Haiti thanks in no small part to the media hype about “looters.” After Katrina, the number of private security companies registered (and unregistered) multiplied overnight. Banks, wealthy individuals, the US government all hired private security. I even encountered Israeli mercenaries operating an armed check-point outside of an elite gated community in New Orleans. They worked for a company called Instinctive Shooting International. (That is not a joke)." -- also posted at Uruknet

US Accused of Militarizing Relief Effort in Haiti
Special Note  - There is something wrong with the people in this country, they're sick, there can be no other explanation. - mpg -- A quote...."The US military has taken control of the only airport in Port-au-Prince and is facing criticism for diverting some aid planes. Doctors Without Borders says five of its planes carrying surgical teams and equipment weren’t allowed to land and were diverted to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. US forces also turned back a French aid plane carrying a field hospital. Al Jazeera English aired this report on Sunday. [includes rush transcript]" --  ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  ||  - bold by website editor

United States Must Not ‘Occupy’ Haiti, Declares French Minister As Aid FINALLY Trickles Through
A quote...."The UN must step in to ensure the U.S. is not occupying Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake that may have killed 200,000 people, a French minister has said. -- Cooperation Minister Alain Joyandet spoke as the country descended into anarchy. Aid is only just trickling through the ‘bottleneck’ at the country’s airport, while angry Haitians desperate for help are striking out at international agencies – and each other."

Washington shuts door on Haitian refugees
A quote...."The Obama administration has taken extraordinary measures to prevent desperate Haitians from entering the US since a January 12 earthquake devastated the Caribbean nation, killing an estimated 200,000, making at least 1.5 million homeless, and orphaning 1 million children. The effort to bar Haitians from entering the US—including the wounded seeking medical treatment—illustrates that the priority of the US-led intervention is not to save lives, but to establish military control over the population."
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In stunning upset, Brown wins US Senate in Mass. - Everyone can blame (or credit) Obama for Brown's win.
Breaking News - A quote...."Republican Scott Brown pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Massachusetts political history tonight, defeating Democrat Martha Coakley to become the state's next United States senator and potentially derail President Obama's hopes for a health care overhaul." - underline by website editor - Thank God!! - mpg

Mass. Mayhem: The Democrats’ Debacle and the Perfect Moment for Party Progressives
Related Article - A quote...."The media punditry, corn-fed on conventional wisdom, are all atwitter about Tuesday's Democratic debacle in Massachusetts, saying the trouncing of the Democratic candidate for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s seat, state Attorney General Martha Coakley, by upstart State Senator Scott Brown means Democrats in Congress should abandon plans to push through a House-Senate compromise health bill, and instead just go with the Senate’s version of health “reform” legislation, thus circumventing a certain Republican filibuster attempt."

EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: Tragic Story of Mike Connell, Bush/Rove/GOP IT Guru, Breaks in Maxim
Must Read - A quote...."The story for which The BRAD BLOG was awarded a 2010 Project Censored award for "Excellence in Investigative Journalism" is "censored" no more. From the February 2010 issue of Maxim hitting mag racks this week..." -- "The February 2010 issue hits newsstands this week, and should be available on the Internet soon, featuring a detailed investigative feature on the mysterious death of Mike Connell, the George W. Bush/Karl Rove/GOP "IT Guru" described as a "'High IQ Forrest Gump" for his proclivity to be at the scene of so many Bush/Rove/GOP crimes over the years."

Blackwater's Owner Has Spies for Hire
Special Note - A quote...."First it became a brand name in security for its work in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now it's taking on intelligence. -- The Prince Group, the holding company that owns Blackwater Worldwide, has been building an operation that will sniff out intelligence about natural disasters, business-friendly governments, overseas regulations and global political developments for clients in industry and government."

FBI 'fabricated terror emergencies to get phone records'
A quote...."Justice department to accuse FBI of invoking crises to obtain details of more than 2,000 calls, Washington Post reports."

60 Aerospace Engineers Call for New 9/11 Investigation
A quote...."As the number of verified architect and engineer petitioners at AE911Truth passes 1,000, the number describing themselves as aerospace engineers, or as engineers who have contributed professionally to the aerospace field, exceed sixty." -- also posted at DProgram  -- For more on this issue see....Reficultnias's 9/11 Central
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International Hearings Begin On "Falsified" Swine Flu Pandemic
A quote...."The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a 47 nation body encompassing democratically elected members of parliament, has begun hearings to investigate whether the H1N1 swine flu pandemic was falsified or exaggerated in an attempt to profit from vaccine sales."

Council of Europe will investigate and debate on "Faked Pandemic"
Related Article - A quote...."In order to promote their patented drugs and vaccines against flu, pharmaceutical companies influenced scientists and official agencies, responsible for public health standards to alarm governments worldwide and make them squander tight health resources for inefficient vaccine strategies and needlessly expose millions of healthy people to the risk of an unknown amount of side-effects of insufficiently tested vaccines." -- also posted at RogueGov

Swine Flu Epidemic Ends With a Whimper
Related Article - A quote...."Hidden within the latest edition of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's FluView was this sentence: "The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza was below the epidemic threshold." -- That's right: The great American swine flu epidemic - which led to two proclaimed national emergencies and thousands of spooky news stories - has ended with a whimper."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Beyond chutzpah
Must Read - A quote...."The brutal ugliness of the collective Israeli mentality seems to know no limits. Indeed, one wouldn’t go too far by arguing that the patterns of Israeli behaviors, nearly at all levels, reflect a real mental sickness. -- In recent days, three observations of Israeli behaviors  attracted my attention." -- also posted at Uruknet

I Am The Resistance -- You can call me names but history knows I am a hero - Alt - (YuTb - 2m44s - 01/16/10)
Contains Video - A quote...."Whenever there is injustice, there are people fighting it with every possible means. We have seen it so many times before: the oppressed rise up, the oppressor dehumanizes them calling them such names as "terrorists", "saboteurs", "death loving" extremists... It is only normal that the oppressor will always lie to justify his actions and its crimes."

European parliament supports campaign for release of Palestinian MPs
Action Update - A quote...."GAZA, (PIC)-- President of the European parliament Jerzy Buzek has declared absolute backing for the international campaign for the release of Palestinian lawmakers held in Israeli occupation jails for over three years."

Erdogan voices support for Palestinians
Action Update - A quote...."RIYADH: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support for the Palestinians and called on Saudi businessmen to invest in his country during a trip to the Middle Eastern oil giant. “There is nothing more natural than for Turkey to show concern for the Palestinians and Gaza, not because we are Muslim but because we are humans,” he told a meeting of businessmen in the Saudi capital."

Only democracy in the Middle East” cracks down on free speech
A quote...."You can argue for the merits of Israeli democracy, of which there are a few, but you cannot do so without taking account of the fact of the institutionalized system of segregation, the differentiated structure of civil and political rights, including state-sponsored discrimination against non-Orthodox Jews, and the fact that Israel has ruled over millions of Palestinians with a military occupation for the last 43 years. -- And you can’t ignore Israel’s continuing crackdown of freedom of speech and assembly even inside Israel."

Israel tries to silence political protest
A quote...."Israel is arresting a growing number of prominent opponents to its policies toward the Palestinians, say critics who are accusing the government of trying to crush legitimate dissent. -- In the most high-profile case yet, Jerusalem police detained the head of a leading Israeli human rights group during a vigil against the eviction of Palestinian families whose homes were taken by Jewish settlers."

No Saudi reconciliation initiative tabled, Hamas says
A quote...."Hamas says it has not received a new Saudi initiative to end the internal divisions among Palestinians and to achieve national reconciliation. -- In an exclusive interview with Press TV on Tuesday, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ezzet al-Resheq, stated that the Islamic Resistance Movement has not been informed of any such initiative."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Canada, Honduras and the Coup d’Etat
A quote...."SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras—Last summer's coup in Honduras put the small, Central American country perhaps best known as the original banana republic, back on the map. -- In the months since President Mel Zelaya was removed from his home by the military and flown from the Honduran capital to Costa Rica on June 28, much has been made of the crisis."
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CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN - 25 years and counting
Must Read  - A quote...."For years, I've been amazed at the prevalence given to the view that our current account deficits were the result of global "capital" clamoring to own our assets. Messrs Backus and Cooley even refer to the current account deficit as "the net amount of capital flowing into the country". It has been painful to see like-minded analysis in the past from both Greenspan and his successor at the Fed, Ben Bernanke - who surely must know better. Bernanke persists in blaming our asset bubble problem on the surfeit of international "capital" that pushed global yields down.  ---  Traditionally, large and persistent current account deficits were recognized as important evidence of excessively loose monetary conditions. During periods of stable global monetary regimes (under gold standards or even Bretton Woods after 1944), policymakers understood that balanced trade flows were a critical facet of overall financial stability. Trade imbalances nurtured pernicious financial dynamics. Only in the last 25 years has creative thinking concocted a hypothesis that such deficits are not only not dangerous - but they are indicative of a healthy allocation of "capital" and the superiority of the US markets and economy. And the bigger our deficits, the more vocal the apologists became in rationalizing our lack of financial discipline."

200 Bank Failures Expected in 2010 - Assuming everything goes well, if not, it'll be a lot more than 200. - mpg
A quote...."Washington has so thoroughly botched its supervision of the banking industry that 200 banks are likely to fail this year — easily surpassing last year’s 140 bank failures … inevitably involving the greatest bank losses in history … and already costing the FDIC ten times more than the great S&L and banking crisis of the 1980s did." -- also posted at DProgram

A Banner Year for Bank Failures
Related Article - A quote...."The blighted landscape before us has been glossed over with a swarm of lies and appeasements. What's coming down the pike is a crush of oncoming bank failures."

Insider Selling Outpaces Buying By 24 Times In Last Week
A quote...."What is there to say about the endless barrage of insider sales that hasn't been said for 9 straight months before. Insiders are selling into the neverending rally, as domestic mutual funds have no equity inflows, yet stocks somehow miraculously keep rising, providing yet more attractive exit price points for directors and insiders. In the past week insiders bought $18 million worth of stock and sold $419 million. There is no way to spin this data. There were no notable buyers, while Nelson Peltz was vacating HNZ shares with a vengeance, selling $30 million worth of the canned food maker. Ralph Lauren also apparently wasn't too hot on Polo's Spring/Summer collection."

Home builders index hits seven month low
A quote...."WASHINGTON -- The National Association of Home Builders says its housing market index fell this month to the lowest level since last summer. The drop reflects fears that demand for new homes will be weak despite the extension of a federal tax credit for buyers."

Monday January 18th 2010

What's more, the center of this evangelical operation is at the huge US base at Bagram, one of the main sites used by the US military to torture and indefinitely detain prisoners.

Sunday January 17th 2010

General Gambit
Must Read - A quote...."The war for the future of the human race is more about truth –vs- lies, than it is about a physical contest between hostile adversaries. The strangest part of it all is that no one is seeking absolute vindication in this war of perceptions as either a liar or a “truth” teller. No one wants to pin down the other side for telling obvious lies. Why is that? Everybody has something to hide in the war on terror. -- Dig too deeply, or expose the most dangerous lies strung together to tie-up the world in a state of permanent limited war, and the flimsy alliances and “coalitions of the willing” begin to fall apart. The utter hypocrisy of the entire “war on terror” brings to the front all the worst traits of mankind, in an endeavor that is the most stupendous fraud ever perpetuated upon the human race." -- also posted at the The People's Voice & Uruknet

A review of Zionism, Militarism and the Decline of US[-NRE} Power
Special Note - A quote...."The hegemonic influence of Zionist-Israeli forces over America's foreign policy, particularly Middle East policy, is a phenomenon without historical precedent. While right-wing radicals, with their focus on patriotism and constitutional values, set off early alarms about this perceived foreign domination, the Left pretty much slept through its insidious ascent to power." -- also posted at AlethoNews

Jewish FBI agent alleges firing due to religion
Special Note - A quote...."An FBI agent said he was fired because he is Jewish, saying he was unfairly under suspicion over lawful contacts with Israel and AIPAC officials. -- The agent, suing in federal court as John Doe, said he was wrongfully under suspicion for what amounted to lawful contacts with the AmericanIsrael Public Affairs Committee after he was tied to the 2004 case in which two AIPAC employees and a Pentagon analyst were indicted on charges of espionage, the Courthouse News Service reported Wednesday. - bold by website editor

Saudi billionaire eyes new links with News Corp.
Special Note - A quote...."The Saudi billionaire whose investment firm is one of the biggest stakeholders in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. said he is looking to expand his alliances with the media giant, in the latest indication that his appetite for growth remains robust even as his company retrenches."

For more on the four articles shown above see....Twenty More Years of "Terror", Tears & Travails - 01-15-10 - mpg
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The Afghan War and the 'Grand Chessboard' - Alt/Vid1 - Alt/Vid1 - (RN-YuTb aprx 10m ech Jan 12, 2010)
Must View Videos - A quote...."Zbigniew Brzezinski on Afghanistan and the American strategy for Eurasia and the world." -- Watch Zbigniew Brzezinski qualify and narrow his description of what the US-NRE should do in "Eurasia".  He wants the US-NRE to be less of a military empire and more of a "manager" (of it's empire?).  Too late Zbig, you guys are all Neo-Romans now. - mpg

Red Alert Update: Taliban Assault on Kabul
A quote...."The Taliban attack in Kabul is reportedly winding down. The assault began around 9:35 a.m. local time Jan. 18 (the day the new Cabinet was being sworn in) when reports of rocket fire and explosions were heard in the Afghan capital near several government buildings."

Police: NATO Forces Kill Two Civilians in Kandahar
A quote...."In what appears to have been the latest in a growing string of civilian killings by the international alliance in Afghanistan, Kandahar police are confirming today that NATO soldiers shot and killed two civilians along the highway."

The Voice From the Back of the Room - Afghanistan's Soft-Spoken Rebel
Special Note - A quote...."Afghanistan is a young nation ravaged by old conflicts. This does not refer to the new government created after the 2001 invasion (or the violent battles between different tribes that have carried on into the new millennium). Its youthfulness is a statistical fact buried in UN and World Bank reports: 60% of the country is under the age of 25, and many may not live much beyond that. -- Nearly a decade has passed since Nato troops, led by the US, “liberated” Afghanistan. But there is little to show for the occupation, the billions of dollars of aid money, and the thousands of soldiers and civilians killed. Not much is heard from the young majority. The political discourse in Kabul neglects their future; it is dominated by the usual suspects, bearded bureaucrats and provocateurs of wars past."

ACLU Obtains List Of Bagram Detainees
A quote...."NEW YORK – In response to an American Civil Liberties Union Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, the Defense Department today released a list of the people imprisoned at the notorious Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Until today, the Defense Department had refused to make the list public. The list contains the names of 645 prisoners who were detained at Bagram in September 2009, but other vital information including their citizenship, how long they have been held, in what country they were captured and the circumstances of their capture has been redacted."
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Elite US troops ready to combat Pakistani nuclear hijacks
Special Note - War Alert - Related Article - They intend to "snatch" Pakistan's nukes no matter what and any excuse will do.  They cannot afford to have an independent Pakistan around when Israel and the US-NRE complete their final implementation of the PNAC Protocols. - mpg -- A quote...."The US army is training a crack unit to seal off and snatch back Pakistani nuclear weapons in the event that [US-NRE paid] militants, possibly from inside the country’s security apparatus, get their hands on a nuclear device or materials that could make one. " -- also posted at ICH

Pakistan: 20 killed in drone attack
A quote...."MIR ALI, Pakistan: At least one suspected U.S. drone fired on a house in Pakistan's volatile tribal region Sunday, killing 20 people in the 11th such attack since militants in the area orchestrated a deadly suicide bombing against the CIA in Afghanistan, intelligence officials said."
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Iran to protect nuclear scientists from terror attacks
A quote...."TEHRAN, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Tehran's Governor-General Morteza Tamaddon said Sunday that Iran is planning to boost security measures to shield its nuclear scientists from potential terror attacks by the enemies, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. "

Major powers fail to agree on new Iran sanctions
War Alert - A quote...."Representatives of six major powers ended a meeting in New York Saturday to mull a response to Iran’s nuclear defiance without reaching agreement, a Russian official said."
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Israeli army crosses into Lebanon: state media
War Alert - Israel is increasing their provocations in an attempt to jump-start another war, Lebanon, the Palestinians, Syria, Iran and even Iraq should be on high alert from now on. - mpg -- A quote...."BEIRUT, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli army unit on Sunday crossed the borders with Lebanon in the direction of the occupied part of al-Ghajar village, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. "

Four Israeli jets seen over Lebanon
War Alert - Related Article - A quote....."BEIRUT, Jan 17 (KUNA) -- Four Israeli fighter jets were seen flying over Lebanese airspace in violation of the Lebanese sovereignty and UN resolution 1701, a Lebanese statement said on Sunday. The fighters were seen over a town south of Lebanon located close to the border with Israel, according to a statement by the Lebanese armed forces. -- The planes made a circular movement over several towns before heading back over the sea."
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(Huh?) Yemen: Enter Peshmerga Mercenaries
A quote...."Many interesting developments to report in this war against Yemeni civilians. This ugly war that nobody talks about on TV (even before poor Haiti)."

Iraq Political Fissures Widen as March Vote Nears
Special Note - A quote...."Last week, the Shiite-sectarian political power brokers in Baghdad, led by US-appointed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, used the so-called Iraq Accountability and Justice Commission (AJC), (a remnant group of the former De-Baathification Commission set up by L. Paul Bremer, the US czar of Iraq during the first year of the occupation and led by Ahmed Chalabi), on January 7 to ban at least 14 largely Sunni political parties and political figures from the upcoming vote due to supposed links to the Baath Party, which has long since been banned in Iraq. -- The AJC claims that its decision was based on new "evidence" showing connections between the 14 groups and the Baath Party, but has thus far failed to produce any said evidence." -- also posted at Uruknet

Revealed: Jack Straw’s secret warning to Tony Blair on Iraq
Special Note - A quote...."Straw said Iraq posed no greater threat to the UK than it had done previously. The letter said there was “no credible evidence” linking Iraq to Al-Qaeda and that the “threat from Iraq has not worsened as a result of 11 September”. -- Implying Blair was already seeking an excuse for war, it warned of two legal “elephant traps”. It states “regime change per se is no justification for military action” and “the weight of legal advice here is that a fresh [UN] mandate may well be required”. -- also posted at AftrDwngSt & CommonDreams

Political Turmoil Follows Barring of Hundreds From Iraq Ballot
Related Article - A quote...."BAGHDAD — A knot of young men stood Friday outside the Umm Al Qura Mosque, once a nest of insurgent fervor where a year of relative tranquillity has softened the jagged edges of nearby bullet holes. They were angry, frustrated and quick to punctuate their denunciations of a decision to bar scores of Sunni candidates from Iraqi elections in March with a single word: sharaiyya, Arabic for legitimacy." -- also posted at Uruknet

Shell signs Iraq oil field deal
A quote...."Oil giant Shell and Malaysia's state-run Petronas oil company finalised a contract on Sunday to develop Iraq's giant Majnoon oil field." -- also posted at Uruknet

Iran redraws energy map to defy U.S.[N.R.E.]
War Alert - A quote...."TEHRAN, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- As Iran faces a growing Western threat of economic sanctions over its controversial nuclear program, Tehran has been quietly building up its defenses and looking eastward. - On Jan. 6 it opened a natural gas pipeline linking Iran's northern Caspian region with Turkmenistan's vast fields in Central Asia that will help it defy the West."

Turkish President, Prime Minister, Refuse To Meet Barak
Special Note - Wow....additional articles on this entire issue shown below in the "More On The Palestinian Situation...." section - mpg -- A quote...."Turkish media sources reported on Saturday that the Turkish President, Abdullah Gül, and Prime Minister, Receb Tayyip Erdogan, will not hold a meeting with Israel’s Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, who will be visiting the country on Sunday." -- also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq

Behind The Der Spiegel Tirades
Special Note - Propaganda Alert - A quote...."....Der Spiegel’s smear-campaign against Hezbollah is aimed at policy circles within the EU. Over recent months, there has been growing momentum to adopt “dialogue” as the preferred paradigm in coming to grips with resistance movements in the Middle East. Organisations that have consistently stressed the importance of mutual dialogue, such as the Conflicts Forum, will have been encouraged, no doubt, by the positive steps taken during 2009 to shift away from a “failed” policy. [2] " -- also posted at AlethoNews

What is behind the power struggle in the German Left Party?
A quote...."An open power struggle has broken out in the German Left Party between its chairman, Oskar Lafontaine, and its national secretary, Dietmar Bartsch. Under increasing pressure from the Lafontaine faction in the party, Bartsch resigned his post last Friday."

Yanukovich, Tymoshenko pass to run-off in Ukrainian presidential election: exit polls
A quote...."KIEV, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko are to compete in a run-off vote in the Ukrainian presidential election, exit polls showed on Sunday."

Conservative ends 20 years of center-left rule in Chile
A quote...."With 60 percent of the votes counted, the Chilean Interior Ministry has declared billionaire Sebastian Pinera the winner of Sunday's runoff presidential election with 51.87 percent of the tally."

The Multinational State and the People, an Unprecedented Construction in Bolivia
A quote...."In January 2009 Bolivians adopted a New State Political Constitution, in which converged many histories and memories that coexisted during different cycles: the crisis of political parties, representative democracy and the neoconservative economic model caused pleas for the nationalization of resources and social control that echoed the 1952 Revolution -when miners, peasants and the middle class mobilized against the anti-nation (the conservative miner State). But also the memory of the anti-colonial struggles that transcended and confronted the Bolivian nation-state emerged with an unprecedented force: "

Why is Blackwater/Xe in Somalia?  - posted at Online Journal
A quote...."Press TV reports that “There are . . . allegations of US-sponsored bomb plots in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. As of 12 Jan 2010, at least 18 people have been killed in clashes between rival factions in southern and central Somalia, and there are reports that Blackwater/Xe mercenaries have entered the country.” That’s for starters."

Blackwater/XE behind terrorist bombings in Asia and Africa?  - posted at Online Journal
A quote...."(WMR) -- WMR’s intelligence sources in Asia and Europe are reporting that the CIA contractor firm XE Services, formerly Blackwater, has been carrying out “false flag” terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Somalia, the Sinkiang region of China, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq, in some cases with the assistance of Israeli Mossad and Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) personnel."
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"Let's Party! You Bring the Tar and I'll Bring the Feathers!"
Special Note -- A quote....

1. Which one, Obama or Bush, killed more civilians in his first year in office?
2. Which one, Obama or Bush, has broken more campaign promises in his first year in office?
3. Which one, Obama or Bush, has started more wars his first year in office?
4. Which one, Obama or Bush, has shoveled more of our money to Wall Street thru the Fed?
5. Which one, Obama or Bush, in his first year has increased the Pentagon budget to record levels?
6. Which one, Obama or Bush, promised a new era of transparency and then went about concealing his actions?
7. Which one, Obama or Bush, promised to not hire lobbyists and then went to work hiring lobbyists in his administration?
8. Which one, Obama or Bush, said he'd tax oil company windfall profits and then reneged once in office?
9. Which one, Obama or Bush, won "Advertising Age's marketer of the year for 2008." (Hint: 2007's winner was Nintendo)
10. Which one, Obama or Bush, used the 'al Qaeda' boogieman to scare the hell out of Americans?

The answer to all, except #10, is Obama. -- #10's answer is both Bush and Obama.

FBI admits Spanish politican was model for 'high-tech' Osama bin Laden photo-fit
A quote...."The FBI has admitted using a photograph of a bearded Spanish politician as the basis for a mocked-up photofit image showing how Osama Bin Laden might look now. "

Spanish politician to sue FBI over Bin Laden photo
Related Article - A quote...."Spanish politician Gaspar Llamazares threatens to prosecute the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for using his photo to produce al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's modern image."

FBI withdraw Osama 'wanted' photo... as it's really a Spanish MP
Breaking News - Related Article - 17/01/2010 posted on Reficultnias 3:35 am PST -- A quote...."Red-FACED American officials have withdrawn a photofit mugshot of terror chief Osama bin Laden - after admitting they used a Spanish politician's face. -- The "wanted" image of the al-Qaeda leader as he might look now without his trademark long beard and turban was posted on the internet by the FBI. -- But it was based on a photograph of Communist MP Gaspar Llamazares found on Google by an FBI technician...."

The man who predicted 9/11.... and got killed for it
Special Note - A quote...."The scam involving the climate known as 'Cap and Trade ' is freezing to death this Winter. The other scam AKA 'Swine Flu' beat a hasty retreat. The dead man, Bin Laden, is still good for a few scares, but not enough for a 'New World Order.' -- Will an impending alien attack be conjured up and used to herd the sheeple into the NWO?"

CIA Cable “Granting Permission” to Destroy Torture Videotapes Surfaces [Updated] - Whoops! Caught again.
Special Note - A quote...."A January 8 release of documents in the ACLU FOIA lawsuit seeking materials related to the CIA’s destruction of videotapes of interrogators using “enhanced interrogation techniques” has revealed the first evidence of a precise instruction for the destruction of those tapes. -- According to Rachel Myers at the ACLU, while there was previous evidence of requests from the “field” that the videotapes be destroyed, this is our first verification of the exact date CIA headquarters gave its approval." -- also posted at Uruknet - For more on this issue see....9/11-Iraq-Torture Fables

Krugman, Gruber and non-disclosure issues
Must Read - A quote...."In the midst of my lengthy discussion yesterday of Cass Sunstein's proposal to "cognitively infiltrate extremist groups" by employing covert agents and secretly paying so-called "independent" analysts to tout the government line, I noted the recent controversy surrounding MIT Professor Jonathan Gruber.  Specifically, Gruber was receiving large, undisclosed payments from the Obama administration at exactly the time when the Obama White House (and Gruber himself) were holding him out as an "objective" expert endorsing various parts of the President's health care plan.  Consistent with Sunstein's view that certain actions may be wrong when done by Bad People but acceptable when done by those who are "well intentioned" and trying to "improve social welfare," I noted that many Democrats who strenuously objected to non-disclosure scandals during the Bush years have been minimizing the conduct at issue in the Gruber matter, and cited Paul Krugman as an example.  Krugman responded last night on his blog, and I want to discuss a few of the points he makes because I think they have significance beyond the Gruber issue."

More on Cass Sunstein
Related Article - A quote...."According to the introduction of the paper, polls suggest that roughly one-third of Americans subscribe to a ‘conspiracy theory’ about the September 11th attacks in NYC, whether it be that the government knew about it in advance, conspired in it themselves, or covered up Israeli involvement...."

Rethinking the Third Amendment
A quote...."Reading LewRockwell.com this past weekend, it occurs to me, as it did to millions of others, that it all boils down to three related problems: 1) U.S. government spending won’t stop and is promising national bankruptcy and sustaining global war; 2) U.S. government growth is the nemesis of American individual and economic liberty, and may even have it in a death grip, and; 3) Government propaganda at home and abroad facilitates and obfuscates problems one and two.  ---  Glenn Greenwald explains the Cass Sunstein/Katie Halsey mentality of "what is to be done." Bad and evil masculine lies of state are to be avoided and condemned, but good, well-intentioned feminine lies of state should receive every investment. The New York Times differentiates Obama-lie from Bush-lie. Yet as Greenwald respectfully points out, they’re exactly the same."

Rothschilds & Rockefellers: Trillionaires Of The World
A quote...."“Money is Power”, or shall we say, “The Monopoly to Create Credit Money and charge interest is Absolute Power”. (Alex James)" --  *Amsel (Amschel) Bauer Mayer Rothschild*, 1838:

“Let me issue and control a Nation’s money and I care not who makes its laws”. -- Letter written from London by the *Rothschilds* to their New York agents introducing their banking method into America: “The few who can understand the system will be either so interested in its profits, or so dependent on its favours, that there will be no opposition from that class, while, on the other hand, that great body of people, mentally incapable of comprehending the tremendous advantage that Capital derives from the system, will bear its burden without complaint and, perhaps, without even suspecting that the system is inimical to their interests.” -- also posted at DProgram

Executive Orders - The Hallmarks Of Fascist Tyranny
A quote..."The Executive Branch of our federal government has become a 500 pound tick that's being fed by a 50 pound dog (the American people) due to presidential Executive Orders (EOs). --  EOs - not to be confused with Eos, the supernaturally beautiful goddess of Greek mythology - have become an ugly fact of American life, ever since our terrible conflagration known as the American Civil War." -- also posted at DProgram

Italy To Require Anyone Who Uploads Video To The Internet To Obtain Government Authorization
Web Censorship Warning - A quote...."New rules to be introduced by government decree will require people who upload videos onto the Internet to obtain authorization from the Communications Ministry similar to that required by television broadcasters, drastically reducing freedom to communicate over the Web, opposition lawmakers have warned." -- also posted at DProgram & BLN & Cryptogon

What Happened to the Institute for the Study of Globalization and Covert Politics (isgp.eu)
Web Censorship Action Alert - A quote...."The WHOIS status for isgp.eu shows: -- Withdrawn: This domain name has been registered but has been withdrawn. It is temporarily inactive and may not be traded or transferred pending the outcome of legal activity. -- Any legal action against Joël van der Reijden is likely taking place in Netherlands. I can’t, however, find any information, in any language, about what’s happening. -- Fortunately, almost all of his work was still present in Google’s cache."

U.N.’s World Health Organization Wants Tax on Internet
Web Censorship Alert - A quote...."The World Health Organization (WHO) is considering a plan to ask governments to impose a global consumer tax on such things as Internet activity or everyday financial transactions like paying bills online." -- From Fox

German government warns against using MS Explorer
Web Security Alert - A quote...."The German government has warned web users to find an alternative browser to Internet Explorer to protect security. -- The warning from the Federal Office for Information Security comes after Microsoft admitted IE was the weak link in recent attacks on Google's systems." -- also posted at
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

European Parliamentary Delegation Wraps Up Visit to Gaza - Alt - (Press TV YuTb - 3m2s - Jan 17, 2010)
Press TV - Video

Support for Goldstone Report Continues to Grow - Alt - (PressTV - YuTb - 3min 2sec - January 17, 2010)
Contains PressTV -Video -- A quote...."(PressTV) – January 17, 2010 – A high ranking European parliamentary delegation in the Gaza Strip has called for the prosecution of Israeli officials over war crimes in the territory."

Children in Gaza Demand Justice
A quote...."Gaza – Marking the anniversary of Israel’s war on Gaza, hundreds of children gathered in Gaza City to sign a letter asking that the UN denounce as criminal the Israeli actions that lead to the death of their friends and loved ones."

Turkey slams Arab response to Gaza plight
A quote...."Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the leaders of the Arab states for their inadequate response to the Palestinian's plight under the three-year Israeli blockade on Gaza. -- Shortly before flying to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, Erdogan denounced Arab leaders' inadequate response to Palestinian suffering as "pitiful."" -- From PressTV

Lebanese protest Egypt's Gaza barrier
A quote...."Lebanese protesters accused Egypt's president Sunday of acting like an agent of Israel over his country's construction of an underground steel wall along the Gaza border."

Mubarak's Iron Wall
A quote...."Early in the 20th century the Zionist leader Vladimir Jabotinsky wrote of the 'iron wall' that would have to be built between the settlers and the indigenous people of Palestine, whom he knew would resist the attempt to take their land to the end. What he meant by an 'iron wall' was the force the Zionists would have to use to subdue the Palestinians if they were to take their land. He did not actually mean a wall according to the dictionary definition of such a structure but that is what has now been built across the West Bank to pen the Palestinians up like the wild animals the Israeli historian Benny Morris says they are." -- also posted at Uruknet

Israel and Egypt continue to Squeeze the Lifeblood out of the People of Gaza
A quote...."Two weeks ago, almost 2,000 internationals came to Egypt and Gaza in a massive show of civil society support for the people of Gaza.  1,362 persons representing 44 countries in the Gaza Freedom March and over 500 persons with the Viva Palestina Convoy let the people of Gaza know of their concern for the tragic consequences of the actions of their governments in support of the Israeli and Egyptian blockade." -- also posted at ICH

Witnesses: Israeli tanks shell Beit Hanoun
A quote...."Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli tanks operating near the northern Gaza border near Beit Hanoun targeted civilian properties with heavy artillery fire, witnesses said late Friday night." -- also posted at WarInIraq

An Nabi Salih: resistance to settlement expansion met with military violence
A quote....."Israeli forces must have anticipated the large response to the An Nabi Salih Popular Struggle’s call out for international solidarity in their 4th consecutive Friday demonstration on January 15th. Three International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activists were turned away from the seldom-staffed partial checkpoint of ‘Atara, between Ramallah and An Nabi Salih. Fortunately, a back route was established and the group made it to the village, joining 10 other internationals, a dozen journalists and over 300 Palestinians."

Israeli Navy Kidnaps Six Palestinian Fishermen In Southern Gaza
A quote...."The Israeli Navy kidnapped on Sunday at dawn six Palestinian fishermen in Palestinian territorial waters in the Rafah area, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The Navy also opened fire at the fishermen and boarded two boats." -- also posted at Uruknet

Israel kidnaps 14 Palestinians
Related Article - A quote...."Palestine, January 17, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces kidnapped 14 Palestinians off the coast of Gaza Strip and West Bank, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said today."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Magical Realism - A Coup in Honduras ... So Twentieth Century!
Must Read - A quote...."For US magical realists, a coup becomes a coup after Washington defines it as such. On March 10, 1952 Cuban General Fulgencio Batista grabbed power and sought to legitimize his coup by holding fake elections. Magically, the coup makers won; Washington recognized Batista." -- also posted at Uruknet

A new phase in the struggle in Honduras
A quote...."After a brief holiday interlude, the Honduran resistance went back to the streets with renewed energy and commitment. On Jan. 7, 15,000 people marched from the Polytechnic University to the National Congress in Tegucigalpa. This time, beside demanding the return to office of their legitimate president, Manuel Zelaya Rosales, the resistance’s demands included the continuation of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) — since de facto president Roberto Micheletti had sent a bill to Congress for the withdrawal of Honduras from the ALBA — and the refusal of amnesty for crimes perpetrated since the coup on June 28. Both were items scheduled to be discussed at the Congress’ session that day."
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On the Haitian Crisis....

Patrick Cockburn: The US is failing Haiti – again
A quote...."The US-run aid effort for Haiti is beginning to look chillingly similar to the criminally slow and disorganised US government support for New Orleans after it was devastated by hurricane Katrina in 2005." -- also posted at RogueGov

The Militarization of Emergency Aid to Haiti: Is it a Humanitarian Operation or an Invasion? - also @ BLN & RgGov
Haitians receive little help despite promises - also posted at ICH
History of a Haitian Holocaust: Blackwater before drinking water - also posted at ICH
The Militarization of Emergency Aid to Haiti: - Is it a Humanitarian Operation or an Invasion?
Ortega warns of US deployment in Haiti
How to Help Haiti
Beyond the catastrophe - How imperialism undermined Haiti
Doctors Without Borders Cargo Plane With Full Hospital and Staff Blocked From Landing in Port-au-Prince
Cuba helping in Haiti - La Paz Hospital one of few places Haitians can turn to
Chavez says U.S. occupying Haiti in name of aid
“Bush Was Responsible for Destroying Haitian Democracy”–Randall Robinson on Obama Tapping Bush to Co-Chair US Relief Efforts  --  ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  ||
Things to Remember While Helping Haiti
Cuba is Missing...From US Reports on the International Response to Haiti's Earthquake
Fidel Castro: Cooperation Spirit is Put to the Test in Haiti
Venezuela: New Brigades to Haiti
Bush, Clinton and the crimes of US imperialism in Haiti
US military tightens grip on Haiti
Why the US Owes Haiti Billions – The Briefest History
Shock Therapy? - Haiti, Where America Never Learns
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Why Deflation Is Not Inevitable (Sadly) - Part 4: High Bid Wins
Must Read - Some quotes....." The increase in the Federal Reserve's balance sheet since September 2008, meaning the monetary base, has been offset by the increase in excess reserves held by commercial banks. This is why we are not experiencing hyperinflation. Prices have risen, but not by much – under 2%, November 2008 to November 2009. View the charts here. - If ever there was a time when America should have experienced price deflation, it was 2008–2009. It did not happen. If ever there was a time when America should have had hyperinflation, it was 2008–2009. It did not happen."  ---  " The increase in excess reserves has been voluntary. The bankers are afraid to lend, even to the U.S. Treasury. - This is a restraint on trade. It is a restraint on the creation of money. It is a restraint on economic growth. It is entirely rational. The non-megabank bankers are afraid that they will face losses. There will be no government bailouts for them. They prefer to make whatever money they can through existing loans, which they are familiar with, rather than investing in new ventures. They are forfeiting the income that could be generated by a trillion dollars of loans. They are scared. Not running scared. Sitting scared. Catatonic scared. - I do not blame them." - bold by website editor

Regulators seize three more banks in U.S.
A quote...."WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Regulators closed three U.S. banks on Friday, as deteriorating loans continue to claim community and regional banks reeling from the financial crisis."

Saturday January 16th 2010

No posts. - mpg

Friday January 15th 2010

Blair froze out Iraq war dissenters
A quote...."Tony Blair froze out anyone with concerns about the Iraq war and was not challenged on the issue by a Cabinet that had been "conditioned" to accept that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, the Iraq inquiry has been told."

Japan Ends Refueling Ships in Support of War in Afghanistan
A quote...."Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Japan today will end its refueling of ships in the Indian Ocean to aid U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan. -- Hatoyama thanks navy personnel who provided fuel and water to ships from Pakistan, the U.S. and other countries, and said Japan will continue to participate in the international efforts against terrorism, according to a statement. Japan in November said it will provide as much as $5 billion over five years to help in the reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan." -- From Bloomberg

NATO: US Troops Shot Civilian Protesters in Afghanistan’s Garmsir District
A quote...."In the second NATO shooting incident in a little over 24 hours in the Garmsir District of Afghanistan’s restive Helmand Province, US troops opened fire on a crowd of civilian protesters on Wednesday, wounding five."

US Marines shoot at stick wielding protester
A quote...."In the previous blog post, we saw that on January 12, Afghan and (allegedly) US troops shot and killed eight protesters in Garmsir, a town on the edge of the desert in Helmand province. The following day, January 13, saw another protest which met with troops' bullets, but this time the Americans' involvement is explicit:"

Afghan Govt. Demands Arrest of US "Death Squad" -- Who handcuffed, executed 8 children. US refuses
Contains Video - A quote...."January 15, 2010 "LA County Nonpartisan Examiner" --  Kai Eide, UN Representative to Afghanistan confirmed the Afghan government’s investigative conclusions that US troops handcuffed and then executed eight students enrolled in grades 6 through 10 in a night raid on December 27, 2009. The US military and NATO responded the troops involved were non-official. The most likely source of para-military “non-official” troops in Afghanistan is Blackwater/Xe."

Pakistani president power further limited
A quote...."Pakistan's Constitutional Reform Committee curtails President Asif Ali Zardari's power as he wards off rumors that he would be forced to step down. -- In an amendment to Article 243 of Pakistan's Constitution, the Committee has transferred the authority to appoint service chiefs from the president to the prime minister."

UAE Royal Family Member Sheikh Issa Aquitted Of Torture Despite Video
Contains Videos - A quote...."I thought this was a pretty good illustration of the sociopathic mentality of some of these royal families who get off on torturing others (he ordered the video be made because he "liked to watch the torture sessions later", "At one point, Issa tells the cameraman to get a close-up. "Get closer. Get closer. Get closer. Let his suffering show,"", showing he, like many of his "elite" counterparts are sociopathic sexual sadists, I'm sure he has amassed many similar videos of him abusing slaves and other unfortunates), and the global establishment's willingness to allow them to continue torturing/abusing with impunity."

Yemen - The Return Of Old Ghosts
Contains Videos - A quote...."January 15, 2010 "BBC" -- Friday, 8 January 2010 --  What I find so fascinating about the reporting of the War on Terror is the way almost all of it ignores history - as if it is a conflict happening outside time. The Yemen is a case in point. In the wake of the underpants bomber we have been deluged by a wave of terror journalism about this dark mediaeval country that harbours incomprehensible fanatics who want to destroy the west. None of it has explained that only forty years ago the British government fought a vicious secret war in the Yemen against republican revolutionaries who used terror, including bombing airliners. - But the moment you start looking into that war you find out all sorts of extraordinary things."

Our Special Brand of “Democracy” in Iraq
Must Read - A quote...."499 potential candidates have been striken from the ballots for the upcoming March 7th ”elections” in Iraq. Why? Because they were alledged to have ties to the now defunct and illegal Baath Party. You see, the Baath Party was primarily a socialist political organization and having them around in positions of power wouldn’t be helpful to those who intended to impose a vast neoliberal restructuring of the Iraqi economy in the wake of our illegal invasion and occupation. So basically, they made being a “socialist’ illegal in Iraq and they are removing certain candidates from the election rolls who’s fiscal ideology isn’t in line with that of the neoliberal globalists here in America."

German politician urges West to hold ``realistic`` talks with Iran
A quote...."A German politician who heads the newly created political group Neue Mitte (New Center), called on the West to hold ``realistic`` negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program."

'West seeks to occupy Mideast under democracy banner'
Gee, really?  Guess Ahmadinejad let the cat out of the bag with that one! (roll the eyes, sigh in frustration) One would sincerely hope that after over one hundred million articles and blogs have been written and posted to the web (it's probably a lot more than that) regarding the US-NRE's planned misadventures in the Middle East, from the PNAC Protocols to Cheney's energy task force to the "New World Order", "Full Spectrum Dominance" and the "Long War" going back as far as 1982, that Ahmadinejad is just trying to pull AIPAC's newest butt boy's (Obama's) chain with his comments.  One would hope. - mpg

Iran to eliminate price subsidies, threatening mass impoverishment
A quote...."The Guardian Council of Iran’s Islamic Republic has given constitutional sanction to legislation—passed by the country’s parliament earlier this month and supported by the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad—mandating the elimination of $100 billion in annual subsidies on energy products, staple foods, and other products and services."

Russia urges Turkey and Armenia to cement ties
A quote...."YEREVAN: Russia on Thursday urged Armenia and Turkey to move ahead with an historic rapprochement and Yerevan said it hoped Ankara was not blocking ratification of their deal to end a century of hostility." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Georgian ‘Observers’ Arrive In Eastern Ukraine To Subvert Presidential Elections On 17th January
A quote...."In the Donetsk region of Ukraine, people are arriving en masse from Georgia. This has been reported by Olena Bondarenko, a member of the parliamentary faction of “The Party of Regions” (Presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych’s Party, who will be running against Viktor Yushchenko in the upcoming elections on 17th January) to a correspondent of IA Regnum News at a press conference on January 15th."

Israel-Turkey ties hit a low point
A quote...."JERUSALEM - A bizarre diplomatic incident - even by the Byzantine-like standards of the old Near East - has threatened already strained relations between Israel and Turkey. -- For a quarter century, the two democracies were the region's most unlikely allies. Since Israel's assault on Hamas in Gaza a year ago, they have been the most problematic allies. -- On Monday, Israel created a scene reminiscent of a famous scene in Charlie Chaplin's movie The Great Dictator which Chaplin parodies Adolf Hitler receiving Benito Mussolini. Each confronts the other by trying to elevate his seat - until they both hit the ceiling."

Haiti Earthquake News
Multiple articles from multiple sites at DProgram - mpg
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Obama confidant's spine-chilling proposal - More on Obama's new COINTELPRO program. - mpg
Special Note - A quote...."Cass Sunstein has long been one of Barack Obama's closest confidants.  Often mentioned as a likely Obama nominee to the Supreme Court, Sunstein is currently Obama's head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs where, among other things, he is responsible for "overseeing policies relating to privacy, information quality, and statistical programs."  In 2008, while at Harvard Law School, Sunstein co-wrote a truly pernicious paper proposing that the U.S. Government employ teams of covert agents and pseudo-"independent" advocates to "cognitively infiltrate" online groups and websites -- as well as other activist groups -- which advocate views that Sunstein deems "false conspiracy theories" about the Government.  This would be designed to increase citizens' faith in government officials and undermine the credibility of conspiracists.  The paper's abstract can be read, and the full paper downloaded, here." -- also posted at CommonDreams

Why is the American press silent on the Israeli role in NW Flight 253?
A quote...."Nearly a week ago, on January 10, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz carried a news article by correspondent Yossi Melman pointing out the role of an Israeli security firm, International Consultants on Targeted Security (ICTS), in the failed attempt to detonate a bomb on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253. -- ICTS subsidiaries I-SEC and PI are responsible for security screening of passengers at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, where accused suicide bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded the Detroit-bound jet. The company uses screening technology to profile passengers and identify security risks, based on the experience of the Israeli intelligence services. Former El Al Airlines and Shin Bet security personnel established ICTS in 1982 to market their expertise, and many US airlines use their services or technology." -- For more on this issue see....US-False Flag Ops - Detroit's "Lap-Bomber"
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Twenty More Years of "Terror", Tears & Travails
01-15-10
mpg

Clerics in Yemen warn of jihad if US sends troops
A quote...."SAN'A, Yemen -- A group of prominent Muslim clerics warned Thursday they will call for jihad, or holy war, if the U.S. sends troops to fight al-Qaida in Yemen. -- The group of 15 clergymen includes the highly influential Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, whom the U.S. has branded a spiritual mentor of Osama bin-Laden but who is also courted by the Yemeni government for his important backing. -- The clerics' warning goes straight to the Yemeni government's dilemma in cooperating with Washington against an al-Qaida offshoot in the country. In doing so, Yemen's weak regime must avoid upsetting al-Zindani and other radical Islamic figures whose support it needs to stay in power." - bold/underline by ebsite editor

This article is from WaPo folks and for all those little morons out there that have been swallowing Rupert Murdoch’s AIPAC inspired crap for the last nine years, let’s make a few things abundantly clear.

Fifteen out of the nineteen hijackers were Saudi citizens, several of the others came from Yemen, or so our "authorities" tell us.  Most of the money that supports Jihadism and Wahhabism came from, or still comes from, the Saudi Royals, their associated charities, and the US-NRE.

Wahhabism was created and has been vigorously promoted and maintained world wide by the Saudi Royals for decades. One tiny example to give everyone an idea of just how big the problem really is, and the US-NRE’s complicity in it.....


Iran and its Shiites; Iraq, Saddam and his former Bath party; Lebanon and Hezbollah; the Palestinian people and Hamas, have had NOTHING whatsoever to do with 9/11 or al Qaeda or Jihadism or Wahhabism. -- Afghanistan, the Pashtons, the Taliban and Pakistan are implicated only to the extent of DIRECT US-NRE and Saudi Royal involvement, encouragement and support during the last thirty years.

All of this activity, all of this Saudi Royal and US-NRE support of "terrorism", was carried out to create an “arch of instability” throughout the Middle East to justify massive, endless, US-NRE military intervention in that region to enrich the US-NRE's oil complex, Military Industrial Complex, gain geo-political advantage for the US-NRE, get rid of the Saudi Royals and Israel's perceived enemies (Iraq and Iran), and to also help support Israel's continuous geographical expansion at the expense of the Palestinian people.

So to make it clear to everyone reading this blog....all those Rush Limbaugh supporting, depends wearing, pork rind munching, obese, drugged-out, moronic, faux-Christian “Armageddon” cult following, sniveling, little turd blossoms out there.....

....have helped to murder millions of innocent men woman and children, torture tens of thousands more, destroy two countries and are well on their way to destroying a third, possibly even a fourth, put this nation deeply into debt, got their sons and daughters killed, maimed or injured, helped the parasitic class strip this country of its industrial base, loot its treasury, gut its constitution, gave twenty four trillion dollars to the Banksters, as a DIRECT result of which many of them are going to be kicked out of their homes and lose their jobs in an economic calamity that is JUST STARTING, and most importantly, they have by their support of these policies, helped to encourage those who have directly funded many of the so-called Jihadist, Wahhabist "terrorist" organizations out there.

Let's repeat that one more time so everybody's crystal clear on this, they have, in their furtherance of Israel's and the Saudi Royal's policies, helped to support "terrorism".

They did all this for a bunch of lies from the info-tainment complex and some twisted, perverted, sacrilegious, bible-twaddle peddled to them from AIPAC financed and inspired Neocon "preachers".

As these faux-Christian Armageddon cultists fall further into the abyss of their own making, along with the rest of this country, one can only hope they will soon change their ways, repent, and reform.  For if they do not, if this nation does not go back to the year of 2001 and rectify all the evils that were done, to uncover the crimes, judge those who committed them and hold them to account, this nation will experience a long dark road of travails stretching out more than twenty years.

You can count on it - mpg
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

EU delegation urges trial of Israeli war criminals
A quote...."A high ranking European parliamentary delegation in the Gaza Strip has called for the prosecution of Israeli officials over war crimes in the territory. -- The high ranking delegation which includes 60 parliament members of 12 European countries, crossed into the strip on Friday afternoon through Rafah border crossing, Xinhua reported." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Turkish human rights group seeks to sue Ehud Barak
A quote...."Turkey, January 16, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - A Turkish human rights group on Friday petitioned a prosecutor to start legal proceedings against Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak for the crimes committed against Palestinians in Gaza Strip."

Israeli settlers uproot trees and destroy natural water spring in northern West Bank - Alt
Full quote...."IMEMC News & Agencies Report post -- Israeli settlers uprooted trees and destroy natural water spring on Thursday that belongs to the villagers of Qarawit Bani Hassan in northern West Bank. --  The villagers told local Media that the settlers have destroyed the natural water spring that supplies the village and that its is their only source of water. -- The settlers commented their attack under the protection of the Israeli military, the villagers added. -- The settlers came from the nearby settlement of Yaker, an illegal Israeli settlement built on land that was taken from the villagers of Qarawit Bani Hassan."

"This is life:" remembering earlier massacres in Gaza
A quote...."It's a sunny day in the border region east of Beit Hanoun. Aside from a glaring absence of the citrus and olive trees which for decades abounded on this fertile land, finally razed by Israeli military bulldozers, all seems idyllic."
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Racketeering 102: Fed's Lacker Threatens With Mutually Assured Destruction If Fed Audited
Special Note - A quote...."It was a four short months ago that the Clearing House Association, in a court filing, threatened with untold destruction if the Fed was ordered to submit to an audit that would expose all their dirty laundry in the form of undervalued assets used as collateral by the Federal Reserve. We recall the direct threat used back then:" -- also posted at BLN

More Illegality From The Big Banks: This Time Short Sale Fraud
A quote...."As many readers have pointed out, CNBC's Diana Olick is out with some pretty damning news of a new form of pervasive homeowner fraud, this time conducted in complicity of the very banks that yesterday were swearing up and down the FCIC hearings that they hear, see and speak no evil. Maybe such hearings should become a weekly spectacle as they now represent the only expression of Main Street's excess and growing anger, yet pushed far enough and the imminent revolt will surely become a reality. A few more incidents like this, uncovered by America's unbought journalists, may be all the straws needed to break a few CEO's backs. At least the bankers will have a few hundred billion in bonuses and some Textron private jets to help with their head start to non-extradition treaty countries."

11 Clear Signs That The U.S. Economy Is Headed Into The Toilet
A quote...."The vast majority of the talking heads on television are still speaking of the current economic collapse as if it is a temporary "recession" that will soon be over.  So far, the vast majority of the American people seem to believe this as well, although for many Americans there is a very deep gnawing in the pit of their stomachs that is telling them that there is something very, very wrong this time around.  The truth is that the foundations of the U.S. economy have been destroyed by an orgy of government, corporate and individual debt that has gone on for decades.  It was the greatest party in the history of the world, but now the party is over.  The following are 11 signs from just this past month that show that the U.S. economy is headed into the toilet and will not be recovering.... " -- also posted at DProgram

Obama’s Latest Ruse: The Bank Tax
A quote...."When president Obama was awarded Advertising Age's 2009 Marketer of the Year award, we were alerted to expect carefully crafted public relations posturing in defense of the reputation of Brand Obama. We have not been disappointed. The president has regularly taken verbal pot shots at the financial oligarchy in an effort to convey the impression that he shares the public's outrage at the behavior of the plutocrats. But he has thrown no sticks and stones at the banksters, who know as well as you and I that mere words can never hurt them."

Obama’s bank tax is chump change - Celente
Contains Video - Special Note - A quote....“Goldman Sachs is nothing more than a big hedge fund, period and paragraph. If they went under – people don’t have go to the ATM machine to get their money out of the Goldman Sachs bank, they do not have Goldman Sachs cheques, they are just fronting for Wall Street and all Wall Street is doing is gambling and their risks are covered by the American taxpayer,”  -- "America was at its greatest when it was not about Wall Street but Main Street; when it was not about the Walmart but moms and pops and community; when it was not about factory farms but family farms. Everything in America has gone corporate,” -- *Gerald Celente*

JPMorgan investment bankers to see record payday
A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) on Friday announced a record $9.3 billion payday for its investment-banking employees, setting the stage for competitors like Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) to also make eye-popping payouts." -- also posted at Yahoo -- For more on this issue see....Having Fun With Your Tax Dollars

December's inflation rate up 0.1%; core CPI up 0.1% as well - Main figure is below estimates and is lowest since July
Deflation Alert - A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Inflation at the consumer level remained tame in December, the Labor Department reported Friday. -- The consumer price index increased 0.1% in December, down from a 0.4% advance in November. This is the lowest rate since July and is slightly below expectations of a 0.2% rise."

Thursday January 14th 2010