The Case That Wars Fuel U.S. Economic Booms
Must Read - A quote...."In the great debate about the stimulus package -- which, underneath all the cant is really nothing more than a debate about how America's scarce wealth should be divided --  one of the right wing's favorite mantras was their claim that the New Deal did nothing to end the Depression. Instead, they argue, it was World War Two that ended the Depression." -- For more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate 03-24-07 - mpg

Obama's War
Must Read - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."Vietnam was, of course, a disaster. The proposals that constituted LBJ's Great Society agenda arguably amounted to the broadest social program put forward by any president since FDR's New Deal. And yet, by the end of his term, LBJ couldn't appear in many major American cities without fear of setting off massive protests. This was LBJ's fate because he inherited the war from JFK and embraced it. And given that JFK had also embarked upon escalating it when Dwight Eisenhower bequeathed it to him, this might well have been his fate as well, had he not been assassinated. -- This is still a pretty uncomfortable topic with a lot of Obama's supporters. They voted for Hope and all of this talk questioning his foreign policy is so negative. Certainly it's not their fault if they voted for decency at home and peace abroad and don't seem to be getting both, but it is their responsibility to recognize that fact. And unfortunately it may soon be the case that there are more Americans fighting Bush's wars than there were when Bush left the White House."

Drum Machine: Spinning for War with Iran
Must Read - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."The drumbeat for an attack on Iran -- pounded by American and Israeli militarists, and their multitude of sycophants -- never ceases. At times it blends into the background noise of other events that surface to dominate the howling cacaphony of the corporate media bubble, but it never goes away. Very weighty factions in the American power structure, and their Israeli allies, are strongly committed to making such an attack happen, and they continue to press their agenda -- patiently, relentlessly -- no matter who is temporarily managing the empire."

The State Department Ushers in Dennis Ross in the Dark of the Night
Must Read - War Warning - Related Article - A quote...."For months many concerns have been raised over the prospect of a Ross appointment as a special envoy to or an adviser on Iran. To assign an advisery role to the former diplomat who actively supports not only coercive actions against Iran, but the policy option of a preventive military attack seems counterintuitive to the need for trust in this highly sensitive relationship. --  Editor's note: this is the first "war warning" in a very long time.

Why we went to war in Iraq remains a secret as Straw blocks the release of cabinet minutes
A quote...."The government took the unprecedented decision yesterday to block the release of cabinet minutes about the invasion of Iraq on the grounds that it would undermine democratic decision-making, the very argument used by freedom of information bodies which had ordered their disclosure." -- Sort'a exactly like when you level a country to "save it". - mpg

The Muqtada factor re-emerges in Iraq
A quote...."At one point, Maliki teamed up with both Kurdish parties, and the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. The aim was to keep a cabinet coalition floating, deprived of seculars, Sadrists, and Sunnis. -- Now that Hakim's team lost most of its provinces and the Kurds are divided like never before since 2003, Maliki is re-tapping his former friendship with Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The two sides, which emerged victorious in last month's elections, are currently negotiating a coalition, as announced by the Sadrist bloc in Baghdad at the weekend, which would give them both firm control over Basra, Baghdad, Maysan, al-Wasit and Dhi Qar."

Museum reopening tells story of a hijacked country
A quote...."Even the reopening of the Iraq Museum was a shock that reminded many in Iraq of a country that has been hijacked. --  Thousands of works were on show but Iraqis were nowhere to be seen enjoying the occasion. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki might have reveled as well as the few dignitaries he had invited for the highly restricted opening festivities. --  But ordinary Iraqis, who own the museum and the country, were kept several kilometers away by armed guards. Even the skies were cordoned off by helicopter gunships." -- Something all US-NRE citizens will be able to look forward too very soon. - mpg

Anti-NATO protest in Crimea
A quote...."Participants in a protest held in front of the Crimean parliament have said that they are going to fight the policy "of involving Ukraine in NATO activities."

‘Either you hold a referendum, or we’ll hold one for you’ – Georgian opposition
A quote...."The Georgian opposition has presented President Saakashvili with an ultimatum: either he declares a referendum on a snap presidential election within ten days – or they will hold one themselves."

Beijing's diplomatic blitz gathers pace
A quote...."One is dazzled and probably puzzled by this intensive and extensive high-level Chinese diplomacy. What are the purposes of these visits? What messages does China want to convey to the international community? " -- Perhaps they're saying their currency is better than that "other one"? - mpg

China breaks its silence on Afghanistan
A quote...."In the violent, lethal environment in which he lived and survived to eventually lead Beijing's march towards socialism with Chinese characteristics, Deng Xiaoping had great reasons to be cautious. In regards to China's international approach, Deng had this to say: "Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership."

French President Congratulates Chavez, Praises Venezuelan Democracy
A quote...."February 23, 2009 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- The president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, sent a letter to his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez last week, congratulating him on the victory of a constitutional referendum allowing him to run for re-election in 2012."

U.S. Army To Buy $6 Million Of Riot Equipment
Military State Update - A quote...."The U.S. Army is to invest $6 million in riot equipment, a fact that has furthered fears that troops will be used inside the U.S. in order to quell any civil unrest resulting from the ongoing economic crisis."

The Gaza Attack - 9 Articles - Tuesday - [ Day 60 ] ========== ========== ========== ====

Focus on Gaza: A Crime of War? - 20 Feb 09  - (YouTube - 23 min 23 sec - February 20, 2009)
Must View Video -- A quote...."Human rights investigators continue to look into allegations that Israeli soldiers may have committed crimes of war during their Gaza military campaign. -- As the first Focus on Gaza A Crime of War? looks at the story of an alleged war crime that occurred during the war in the small village of Khuzaa, half a kilometre from the Israeli border."

Can Gaza Be Rebuilt Through Tunnels? -- The Blockade Continues—No Supplies, No Rebuilding
Special Note - A quote...."Tuesday, February 24, 2009 -- The Israelis who bombed Gaza will be the primary financial beneficiaries of the rebuilding of Gaza.  They bombed it and now will sell construction materials to rebuild what they have bombed, exactly like the United States has done in Iraq.  Egyptians too will benefit financially from the reconstruction-high priced small construction materials that will fit into the tunnels are no doubt have been transiting through the tunnels for the past 6 weeks.  Israeli women had created a website detailing who profits from occupation (http://www.whoprofits.org/) -- No doubt a second website is under construction that will track which Israeli, Egyptian and American companies will benefit from the bombing of Gaza." -- There they go, making money from all those dead children, no one ever said the Israelis weren't a smart people. - mpg

Holland: Shoes thrown at IDF officer during speech
A quote...."25.02.2009 [01:45 ] -- Pro-Palestinian demonstrators threw shoes at an Israeli reserves officer while giving a speech on the Israel Defense Forces' operation in the Gaza Strip in an Amsterdam hotel Sunday. -- "This was an actual physical assault – past the limits of good taste," the officer, Captain (Res.) Ron Edelheit told Ynet on Monday. - bold by website editor -- Well wadda'ya know, the Israelis even have a sense of humor too. - mpg

Amnesty’s scandalous obliquity [*]
A quote...."02/24/09 -- To be sure, no one claims that Hamas is completely blameless. Targeting innocent civilians is unacceptable. However, equating the resistance of a long-persecuted people languishing under an evil military occupation, even if wrongs are done, with an immensely superior state terror unjustifiably perpetrated by an occupying power is morally unconscionable, to say the very least."

EVIL are these means and avowed ends
A quote...."The world watches Israel as it enters another corrupt phase in a sixty-year era of corruption—means upon means. Thomas Paine said “A bad cause will ever be supported by bad means and bad men” (and women). In its fraudulent cause Israel has caused deaths and displacements of hundreds of thousands of people who never harmed or threatened Jews. -- In its 23-day reign of rabid violence (on top of continuous aggression and occupation) that left 1,330 people (among them 400 children) massacred and 5,450 wounded, Israel has left two thirds of Gaza’s 1.5 million people homeless".

Hamas: Fatah Spied for Israel
A quote...."February 24, 2009 ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Leading Hamas member Mahmoud Zahar said on Tuesday some Palestinian officials, backed by the United States, were obstructing the dialogue due to open between Palestinian groups in Cairo on Wednesday.

Israeli military attacks school and a local TV station in Nablus and kidnapps two civilians
A quote...."Tuesday February 24, 2009 16:24 -- Two civilians were kidnapped from a local Television station and school, as the Israeli military invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday."

Erdogan urges Israel to recognize Hamas
A quote...."Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:38:27 GMT  -- The Turkish Prime Minister says if Israel is looking for a lasting peace in the Middle East it should recognize Palestine and Hamas."

2 Palestinian women break glass ceiling by becoming judges
A quote...."Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:32:34 GMT -- Two women have made history by smashing the last male-only bastions in the Palestinian territory to become its first female judges."

See also the Gaza Invasion of 12/27/08 - database - under construction. - mpg

Editorial Note  -- This will be the last separate section devoted to the Israel's invasion of Gaza and its horrendous aftermath.  It ends on day sixty.  Articles will still be posted of course. – mpg

End - The Gaza Attack - 9 Articles - Tuesday - [ Day 60 ] ========== ========== ========== ====

A Planet at the Brink - Will Economic Brushfires Prove Too Virulent to Contain?
Must Read - A quote...."The global economic meltdown has already caused bank failures, bankruptcies, plant closings, and foreclosures and will, in the coming year, leave many tens of millions unemployed across the planet. But another perilous consequence of the crash of 2008 has only recently made its appearance: increased civil unrest and ethnic strife. Someday, perhaps, war may follow." - also posted at ICH -- Oh, war will certainly follow....it's called the ten year economic/war cycle. - mpg

How the US Economy Was Lost
Must Read - A quote...."February 24, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- The American economy has gone away. It is not coming back until free trade myths are buried six feet under. -- America’s 20th century economic success was based on two things. Free trade was not one of them. America’s economic success was based on protectionism, which was ensured by the union victory in the Civil War, and on British indebtedness, which destroyed the British pound as world reserve currency."

Schemes to rescue Wall Street gamblers are prolonging this recession
Must Read - A quote...."Using the “too big to fail” scare tactic, the U.S. government has kept a number of terminally ill Wall Street gamblers on an expensive life-support system that is estimated to cost taxpayers $8.5 trillion [1]. In light of the fact that (according to IRS Data Book) there were 138 million taxpayers in 2007, this figure represents a burden of $61,594.20 per taxpayer. Or, to put it differently, it represents a burden of $28,333.33 per man, woman and child for the entire U.S. population."

Cramer: Nationalization Would Crush America
Must View Video - A quote...."Cramer points out that if it isn't nationalization of certain big banks, then it's chaos for the financial systems and puts this into a historical perspective."

Still waiting for Helicopter Ben
Must Read - A quote...."The government's percentage ownership of a bank is a red herring. The key economic realities are: the government is already responsible for a large portion of bank liabilities, through insurance on deposits and new bank debt; the government is the only source of new capital for banks; and the government stress tests will determine whether banks are allowed to continue in operation and under what terms. The only purpose served by artificially minimising government "ownership" is to limit the potential upside available to taxpayers." - bold by website editor

Hillary Clinton presses China to keep buying US debt
Hillary is wrong in so many ways with this concept that you lose count of them. - mpg -- A quote...."US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concluded her weeklong Asian tour Sunday with an explicit appeal to the Beijing government to keep up its purchases of US treasury notes or risk the onset of an even deeper economic crisis engulfing China and the US itself."

Did Vladimir Lenin Predict The Banking Disaster Of 2008?
A quote...."Lenin enumerated the following five features characteristic of the epoch of imperialism: The epoch of imperialism opens when the expansion of colonialism has covered the globe and no new colonies can be acquired by the great powers except by taking them from each other, and the concentration of capital has grown to a point where finance capital becomes dominant over industrial capital. Lenin enumerated the following five features characteristic of the epoch of imperialism....." -- Well heck, Marx got there first.....


Signs of life -- Only for the last two months. - mpg
A quote...."PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (MarketWatch) -- Commentary: The economy's worst may be past --  Although you wouldn't know it from the behavior of the stock market, the economic outlook is turning just a bit less gloomy." -- Extreme caution should be exercised when viewing these stats, several of them have lead linings to them.  For example....

Consumer prices rose in January -- the first monthly gain in six months.
A lot of the increase was due to a steep rise in energy prices.

The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators has risen for two months in a row.
Primarily because of an increase in the money supply.

Existing-home sales rose in Dec, and participants in our weekly survey think that another rise took place in Jan.
Much of it due to the sale of foreclosed homes.

Retail sales shot up by 1% in January -- the first monthly rise since June.
Most of the increase was caused by retailers slashing prices in an attempt to get rid of their holiday inventory.

Some securities on banks' books are starting to recover in value.
What "securities" would those be?  And just what is meant by "value"? How the heck could anyone calculate it? - mpg
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Home prices in record drop
A quote...."The S&P Case-Shiller National Home Price Index reported that prices sank a record 18.2% during the last three months of 2008, compared with the same period in 2007."

Consumer Confidence Tanks In February
A quote...."Consumer confidence and home prices continue their downward spiral. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for February totaled 25.0, the lowest reading on record, and well below the 35.0 anticipated by Wall Street."

Merril Lynch losses trigger executive bonuses investigation
A quote...."Merrill Lynch & Co lost 15.84 billion US dollars in the fourth quarter, a regulatory filing showed, more than 500 million higher than the loss previously estimated by Bank of America Corp. " -- A half a billion here, a half a billion there, what the heck, that ain't real money anymore.  What's the big fuss about? - mpg

[British] savers withdraw record amount as interest rates fall
A quote...."Savers withdrew a record £2.3 billion from their accounts last month as historically low interest rates forced millions of investors to look elsewhere for better returns on their money, official statistics showed."

UK car production in January plummets 58.7% over a year ago
A quote...."United Kingdom car production for January fell 58.7% against the same month the previous year, latest figures show."

Latvia's CDS spreads soar to record - Ratings agency warns of 'major crisis' brewing in Eastern Europe
A quote...."NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Eastern Europe's financial woes once again took center stage Tuesday, as Latvia's credit default swap spreads reached their widest levels on record after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services cut that country's credit rating to "junk" status and warned it could also downgrade the ratings of neighboring Baltic states Lithuania and Estonia. "


The American Tradesmen: Weary Cogs in the Engine of the American Empire
Must Read - A quote...."It was extremely easy in previous years to forget that the empire required constant maintenance and massive amounts of fuel. Tradesmen, businessmen, and private employees of all other stripes in the United States were able to go about their daily business without bothering their busy little minds about the latest foreign and domestic schemes and boondoggles of the political classes in Washington and New York. "What goes on in the gilded halls of our government has nothing to do with my own life," many no doubt thought to themselves in the smug years of the past two decades. This sentiment led many to the false idea that every individual American was the sole master of his own destiny – that each man could "do anything" with his life if he simply worked hard enough, got a college degree, or started a small business. It also led to the equally false idea that government spending for war and welfare is irrelevant to the enterprising individual American, and that he need never worry that his life’s work could be wrecked in an instant by inflation by the Federal Reserve. "

Fox News "war games" the coming civil war
Must Read - A quote...."Bill Clinton's election in 1992 gave rise to the American "militia movement":  hordes of overwhelmingly white, middle-aged men from suburban and rural areas who convinced themselves they were defending the American way of life from the "liberals" and "leftists" running the country by dressing up in military costumes on weekends, wobbling around together with guns, and play-acting the role of patriot-warriors.  Those theater groups -- the cultural precursor to George Bush's prancing 2003 performance dressed in a fighter pilot outfit on Mission Accomplished Day -- spawned the decade of the so-called "Angry White Male," the movement behind the 1994 takeover of the U.S. Congress by Newt Gingrich and his band of federal-government-cursing, pseudo-revolutionary, play-acting tough guys. -- What was most remarkable about this allegedly "anti-government" movement was that -- with some isolated and principled exceptions -- it completely vanished upon the election of Republican George Bush, and it stayed invisible even as Bush presided over the most extreme and invasive expansion of federal government power in memory." -- also posted at CommonDreams

A Message to Israel: - Time to Stop Playing the Victim Role
Must Read - A quote...."I can understand that after centuries of persecution it's satisfying for a Jewish state to be the aggressor for a change, but there's a codicil that goes with that role. You don't get to act like a victim any more. "Poor little Israel" just sounds silly when you're the dominant power in the Middle East. When you've invaded several of your neighbors, bombed and defeated them in combat, occupied their land, and taken their homes away from them, it's time to stop acting oppressed. Yes, Arab states deny your right to exist, threaten to drive you into the sea, and all the rest of their futile, helpless rhetoric. The fact is, you have the upper hand and they don't. You have sophisticated arms and they don't. You have nuclear weapons and they don't. So stop pretending to be pathetic. It doesn't play well in Peoria." -- also posted at ICH
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Propelling Prisoners' Heads into Concrete Walls
A quote...."February 23, 2009 -- - Propelling prisoners' heads into concrete walls by means of towels wrapped around their necks, savage beatings with fists and rifles that left prisoners crippled, hanging prisoners by the arms with their arms strung up behind them, depriving prisoners of sleep for weeks on end, which has been thought the worst torture possible for 500 years, causing prisoners to freeze -- sometimes to death, and waterboarding are but a partial list of the torture methods ordered by America's highest officials. In the "Preliminary Memorandum of the Justice Robert H. Jackson Conference on Federal Prosecutions of War Criminals," law school Dean Lawrence Velvel, the founder of the Jackson Conference, details the full spectrum of tortures performed in wholesale combinations -- not one torture by itself -- on detainees around the world. His Preliminary Memorandum is a precursor to a formal legal complaint to be filed with the Justice Department this spring."

Revealed: full horror of Gitmo inmate's beatings
A quote...."Former British resident Binyam Mohamed arrives back in Britain tomorrow after his release from Guantanamo Bay. British and US lawyers claim that sustained beatings - which have only recently stopped - have left him with severe psychological and physical problems. Defence correspondent Mark Townsend reports." -- also posted at ICH

Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed returns to make torture claims
Related Article - A quote...."The Guantanamo detainee, Binyam Mohamed has now been released amid claims he was tortured with the full knowledge of British intelligence."

Updates: Child Sacrifice and Gitmo Torture, Progressive Style
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."We reported here last week about another in the barrage of stories detailing civilian deaths at the hands of American-led forces in the "good war" in Afghanistan, now being escalated by Barack Obama. (And not only in Afghanistan; Obama is also rapidly expanding American attacks inside Pakistan to include forces there with little or no involvement with the war in Afghanistan -- along with the usual blood-fruit harvest of civilians, of course.)"

Leading article: Obama, tell us the whole truth
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."‘Having considered the matter, the government adheres to its previously articulated position.” With these words, Acting Assistant Attorney General Michael Hertz ended a dream. The dream that Barack Obama’s presidency would inaugurate a transcendent world order on a new moral plane. -- Late on Friday Mr Hertz told the Washington district court that the Obama administration maintained President Bush’s view that prisoners held at Bagram air base in Afghanistan could not challenge their detention in US courts. For the cynics, this is “a previously articulated position you can believe in”." -- also posted at ICH
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====   

Surging towards a US-NATO Military Disaster: Obama's Escalating War in Central and South Asia
Special Note - Obama™ Update - (By the numbers)  -- A quote...."On February 18, President Barack Obama ordered 17,000 additional U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan. Obama's announcement will result in a major escalation of America's bloody occupation of that war-ravaged country. -- Currently, some 36,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan, including some 6,000 sent in early January under orders by the outgoing Bush regime. In addition to U.S. forces, 32,000 troops from other NATO countries and a mix of "private military contractors" (armed mercenaries) occupy the Central Asian nation. -- When coupled with increasingly bellicose rhetoric from the Pentagon and military strikes inside Pakistan, the prospects for regional war--with incalculable risks for the people of Central- and South Asia--have put paid Obama's electoral hyperbole that his would be a "change" administration.

Welcome To Obama’s War
Special Note - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."As Santayana observed, those who forget history are doomed to relive it. However overused used, his maxim is as true today as when he made it."

Analysis: Closure of a Kyrgyz air base may hold risks, opportunities for Moscow - posted at AntiWar
A quote...."The move would not just kick the U.S. out of a military installation in a volatile area with major gas and oil fields. It also promises to help Russia gain a choke hold over a critical transit corridor for troops and materiel needed to support of the Obama administration's expanded war in Afghanistan. -- But by pushing the U.S. out, some experts say, Russia may be inviting trouble in a volatile region that could be ripped apart by surging poverty and rising Islamic militancy."

Iraq's Maliki to make first Russia visit
A quote...."Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is to make his first visit to Moscow for talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, a foreign ministry official said on Sunday."

Pakistani Taliban announce indefinite ceasefire in Swat
A quote...."Taliban announced an indefinite ceasefire in the Swat valley in the northwest of the country on Tuesday."

IAEA douses furor over Iran report - The US-NRE mass-infotainment-media got it wrong again. - mpg
A quote...."From the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and London's Mirror, the Guardian and the Financial Times, among other leading international newspapers, the reaction has been a steady stream of alarmist commentaries. Many reports regard this an Iranian "milestone" in reaching "nuclear break-out capability".

Iran's nuke program not weapons-capable, UN official says: report
A quote...."The anonymous official said the Iranian enrichment program is "under surveillance at all times" and that there is no evidence Iran is building a secret facility to produce the enriched uranium required for nuclear bomb fuel."

Cohen: What Iran's Jews say - link posted at AntiWar
A quote...."ESFAHAN, Iran: At Palestine Square, opposite a mosque called Al-Aqsa, is a synagogue where Jews of this ancient city gather at dawn. Over the entrance is a banner saying: "Congratulations on the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution from the Jewish community of Esfahan."

Israel orders Palestinian homes razed
A quote...."ISRAEL has ordered hundreds of Palestinians to leave their homes in annexed east Jerusalem, warning their houses are illegal, officials and residents said today."

Hollywood to make 30 anti-Iranian movies
A quote...."Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Hassan Qashqavi, has said that Hollywood film makers have thirty anti-Iranian movies in the offing."
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Found in Translation  - FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds spills her secrets - PDF
Special Note - A quote...."....Edmonds’s account is full of dates, places, and names. And if she is to be believed, a treasonous plot to embed moles in American military and nuclear installations and pass sensitive intelligence to Israeli, Pakistani, and Turkish sources was facilitated by figures in the upper echelons of the State and Defense Departments. Her charges could be easily confirmed or dismissed if classified government documents were made available to investigators. -- But Congress has refused to act, and the Justice Department has shrouded Edmonds’s case in the state-secrets privilege, a rarely used measure so sweeping that it precludes even a closed hearing attended only by officials with top-secret security clearances." - also posted at ICH -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror & US - Nukes for Everyone

Shot Arms Dealer 'Knew Too Much'
A quote...."The death of an American arms dealer in Iraq has led to one of the most intricate and far-reaching inquiries into corruption among US military officers in Iraq. Some suspect that he was killed because he was a whistleblower who knew too much."

False Flag Alert - Police State Alert -- A quote....FBI Director Warns of Terror Attacks on U.S. Cities --Federal officials worry about pockets of possible 'radicals' in Seattle, San Diego, Miami or New York. -- 23 Feb 2009 FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III today warned that extremists "with large agendas and little money can use rudimentary weapons" to sow terror, raising the specter that recent attacks in Mumbai that killed 170 people last year could embolden terrorists seeking to attack U.S. cities. At a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Mueller said that the bureau is expanding its focus beyond al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] and into splinter groups, radicals who try to enter the country through the visa waiver program and "home-grown terrorists." [Translation: Obama is poised to implement a full-blown police state to suppress the inevitable -- and long overdue -- rebellion over the Bush Depression. --LRP] -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

Urban Warfare Drills Linked To Coming Economic Rage
Police State Alert -- A quote...."Urban warfare training drills are taking place across the country as top analysts as well as officials predict a potential “summer of rage” across Europe and America as civil unrest from the economic fallout builds"

Obama’s DOJ quietly sought dismissal of missing White House emails lawsuit
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."One day after he was sworn in as president of the United States and in the same week signing executive orders ushering in a new era of government transparency, Barack Obama’s Justice Department quietly filed a motion in federal court to dismiss a long-running lawsuit that sought to force the Bush administration to recover as many as 15 million missing White House emails."

Rove skips House testimony for third time -- And that good ol'boy Obama won't do a thing about it. - mpg
A quote...."Karl Rove did it again. Or rather, he didn't do it again. -- For the third time, the former Bush official – and newly crowned king of D.C. Twitterers – failed to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to testify about his alleged involvement in the firing of U.S. Attorneys and the alleged political prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman."

Siegelman believes Rove will never testify truthfully
Related Article - A quote...."In an exclusive interview with Raw Story, Siegelman expresses his concerns about the negotiations taking place between former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Congress over Rove’s failure to appear before the US House Judiciary Committee and testify about Siegelman’s case. Rove has denied any involvement in Siegelman’s prosecution and has offered to testify to Congress about the matter but has failed to appear when subpoenaed."

The Gaza Attack - 4 Articles - Monday - [ Day 59 ] ========== ========== ========== ====

Moroccan-Algerian border opens for UK Gaza aid convoy - 21 February 2009 - (YuTb - 2m 39s - Feb 21, 2009)
Video - Action Update - Feb 21, 2009 - PressTv Report

Suspend military aid to Israel, Amnesty urges Obama after detailing US weapons used in Gaza - Ain't gonna happen
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."Monday 23 February 2009  -- Detailed evidence has emerged of Israel's extensive use of US-made weaponry during its war in Gaza last month, including white phosphorus artillery shells, 500lb bombs and Hellfire missiles." -- also posted at CommonDreams

PFLP calls upon Amnesty International to end false equation of occupier and occupied
A quote...."Feb 23, 2009 -- The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine addressed the new report of Amnesty International on February 23, 2009, stating that human rights organizations must stop their equation of the victim with the executioner, and instead pressure the occupier to halt its attacks against our occupied Palestinian people.

Palestinian legislator sentenced to 19 months imprisonment
A quote...."Tuesday February 24, 2009 04:39 -- In a press release, Hamas legislators in the occupied West Bank slammed the court’s decision and considered it another Israeli violation that targeted the elected Palestinian official, including legislators and mayors."

See also the Gaza Invasion of 12/27/08 - database - under construction. - mpg

End - The Gaza Attack - 4 Articles - Monday - [ Day 59 ] ========== ========== ========== ====

10 Dirty Tricks Wall Street Con Artists Will Pull to Keep the Rip-offs Going
Must Read - A quote...."Look beyond the bad news. Remember, Washington's run by 40,000 lobbyists not 537 elected politicians. I'm betting lobbyists will use the following tactics to neutralize activists and limit reforms. That way, behind the scenes Wall Street keeps control with its business-as-usual tactics, schemes, scams, hustles and wheeling and dealing. Here are the 10 "dirty tricks" Wall Street lobbyists likely will use to help jump-start a new bull market:"

LIBOR Increasing Again
Financial Alert - A quote...."The much-ballyhooed reduction in LIBOR - the rate banks charge for loans to each other, and so an indication of liquidity - is slipping away."

AIG Seeks More US Funds As Firm Faces Record Loss
Financial Alert - File this under "You've got to be kidding, not AGAIN"!! - mpg -- Some quotes...."American Insurance Group, the insurance giant that is 80-percent owned by the US government, is in discussions with the government to secure additional funds so it can keep operating after next Monday, when it will report the largest loss in U.S. corporate history, CNBC has learned. -- Sources close to the company [AIG  0.53    -0.01  (-1.85%)   ] said the loss will be near $60 billion due to writedowns on a variety of assets including commercial real estate." -- "All of this adds up to a huge headache for the Federal Reserve and Treasury, which have already provided over $150 billion of assistance to AIG."

Citigroup's Parsons Spotted At White House
Financial Alert - A quote...."The incoming chairman of Citigroup, Richard Parsons, showed up at the White House Monday, fueling talk that the federal government might take a massive ownership stake in the troubled banking behemoth."

Obama outlines policy of austerity at budget summit
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."In advance of his address to Congress on Tuesday and the release of his federal budget on Thursday, President Barack Obama on Monday hosted a White House Federal Budget Summit to launch a campaign for "fiscal responsibility."

The Language of Looting
A quote...."Exactly what does “a free market” mean? Is it what the classical economists advocated – a market free from monopoly power, business fraud, political insider dealing and special privileges for vested interests – a market protected by the rise in public regulation from the Sherman Anti-Trust law of 1890 to the Glass-Steagall Act and other New Deal legislation? Or is it a market free for predators to exploit victims without public regulation or economic policemen – the kind of free-for-all market that the Federal Reserve and Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) have created over the past decade or so? It seems incredible that people should accept today’s neoliberal idea of “market freedom” in the sense of neutering government watchdogs, Alan Greenspan-style, letting Angelo Mozilo at Countrywide, Hank Greenberg at AIG, Bernie Madoff, Citibank, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers loot without hindrance or sanction, plunge the economy into crisis and then use Treasury bailout money to pay the highest salaries and bonuses in U.S. history."

As New Scammers Emerge, Is It Jailout Time Yet?
A quote...."Judging by my in-box, there seem to be no shortage of organizations and individuals obsessed with an image: Dick Cheney and George Bush in prison, and Karl Rove in the next cell. Never mind that Congress doesn't have the guts or the President, or the gumption to go after those responsible for the gutting of the Constitution. Nevertheless, there are many campaigns and calls to hold the last administration accountable for its crimes. "

'Nationalize' the Banks - From "Dr. Doom" himself. - mpg
Special Note - A quote...."Mr. Roubini tells me that bank nationalization "is something the partisans would have regarded as anathema a few weeks ago. But when I and others put it in the context of the Swedish approach [of the 1990s] -- i.e. you take banks over, you clean them up, and you sell them in rapid order to the private sector -- it's clear that it's temporary. No one's in favor of a permanent government takeover of the financial system."

Analysts: New Era Of Chaos Has Taken Hold
A quote...."A wave of economists, investors and other financial experts issued a series of dire warnings concerning the global financial crisis over the weekend, stating that a new era of chaos has taken hold all over the globe." -- They say it's always darkest before the dawn.....it also happens to be always darkest before the storm hits. - mpg

Credit crunch may only have just begun, S&P warns
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The credit crunch may only be in its early stages and a bigger contraction in lending in coming months could have "serious implications" for the U.S. economy, Standard & Poor's Rating Services said Friday."

Financial Collapse: A Lesson from the '20s
Book Review - A quote...."Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World is a book of biography, according to author Liaquat Ahamed, a former hedge fund manager, advisor, and a member of the board of trustees of the Brookings Institute. It is also a book of history, although the author would deny it since it supposedly doesn’t contain any theory. It is a book to read and contemplate, because it gives us a picture of, and insight into, what happened in another time of financial collapse and economic turmoil."