Tuesday March 3rd 2009

Choosing Atrocity: Israel, America and the Strangling of Gaza
Must Read - A quote...."At most one sees a few comforting headlines or crawl-lines about "pledges of aid" from the world community for poor Gaza, which seems to have suffered some sort of unavoidable natural disaster, like a flood or earthquake. Forgotten is the fact that Gaza was ravaged in a relentless, murderous military assault that deliberately targeted heavily populated areas and numbered hundreds of children among its many innocent victims. Forgotten is that the attack. fueled with American money and American weapons, was a clear act of "collective punishment," one of the most heinous of the war crimes perpetrated by the Nazis against Jews and non-Jews alike. Indeed, the Israeli government was quite candid that the attack was designed as a collective punishment; they were admirably honest about adopting this policy of the Nazis as their own."

Cairo Donor Conference Nets $5 bn for Gaza Reconstruction; Israelis Block Gaza Reconstruction
Related Article -- A quote...."Shorter AFP: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will try to tell Binyamin Netanyahu, the far rightwing prospective prime minister of Israel, that he should allow the rebuilding of Gaza and start up a peace process that leads to a Palestinian State. Netanyahu ask her to let him bomb Iran and go on colonizing the West Bank and making sure there is a never a Palestinian state. -- Netanyahu probably won't get his way on Iran, but he likely will keep the Palestinians stateless, i.e., in subhuman conditions."
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Militants' sudden unity threatens Obama's Afghanistan strategy
A quote...."PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A new alliance of Pakistani extremist groups — united after rival warlords vowed to renew the fight against international troops — threatens to escalate the insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan just as thousands more U.S. soldiers are to be deployed to the region."

Russian President Won't "Haggle" Over US Missile Defense Plans
A quote...."Russian President Medvedev has said he's willing to discuss the proposed US missile shield with Washington. But he added that any deal linking those talks with negotiations regarding Iran would not be productive."

U.S.-SYRIA:  Washington Ends Its Diplomatic Embargo
A quote...."WASHINGTON, Mar 3 (IPS) - Ending a four-year diplomatic embargo on Damascus, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday confirmed that it is sending two high-level officials to Syria this week for "preliminary conversations", presumably on improving relations."

Sakhalin II signs LNG supply deal with Osaka Gas
A quote...."YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, March 4 (RIA Novosti) - Sakhalin Energy, the operator of a vast oil and gas project off Russia's Pacific Coast, said on Wednesday a sale and purchase agreement had been signed for LNG supply to the Japanese company Osaka Gas."

Kazakhstan, Russia sign contract on S-300 air defense systems
A quote...."ASTANA, March 4 (RIA Novosti) - Kazakhstan has signed a contract with Russia on the purchase of S-300 air defense missile systems, the Kazakh defense minister said on Wednesday."

Israel lobbies for war on Iran
A quote...."Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says he advocates a war on Iran, following the country's successful test-runs at the Bushehr power plant.

US marks 4 more years of lapdog policies
A quote...."The US pledges 'unshakeable' commitment to Israel, suggesting a Palestinian state to be viable only without its democratic government."
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The Red and White Bird in Gaza
Must Read - A quote...."The young girl from Gaza tells me how she yearns for the red and white bird. It used to come every morning to the little veranda where her mother served a breakfast of bread, tea, water and fruit when the weather was good. Each morning her father left to look for work in Gaza City, and sometimes he was successful. Most of the time he came home late at night. She used to throw out a few seeds or breadcrumbs to the red and white bird. It came every morning at the same time, as if it had its own clock. They used to have breakfast together."

The [Israeli] military kidnaps 16 Palestinians during invasions targeting cities in the West Bank on Tuesday
A quote...."At least 16 Palestinian civilians were reported to be kidnapped by the Israeli military during pre dawn and morning invasion targeting several communities all over the West Bank on Tuesday."

"The Ultimate Aim is the Transfer of Arab-Israelis" - Ethnic Cleansing and Israel
A quote...."One of the more disturbing developments in the Middle East is a growing consensus among Israelis that it would acceptable to expel—in the words of advocates “transfer”—its Arab citizens to either a yet as unformed Palestinian state or the neighboring countries of Jordan and Egypt." -- also posted at ICH

Israel's crimes in Gaza
A quote...."Having returned from Gaza, I am trying to come to terms with what I saw, what I heard and honestly, what I don't think I will ever understand -- the justification. While Israel's recent offensive has been the most egregious of any historical attack upon the Palestinians in Gaza, it is just that, one of many. Gaza has been under Israeli bombardment and sanctions for decades."

Gaza…. Operation ‘Winter Storm’, Part 2
Photo Gallery - A quote...."Where are the international human rights organization to see the suffering of Palestinian citizens in Gaza?"
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The newly released secret laws of the Bush administration
Must Read - A quote...."One of the central facts that we, collectively, have not yet come to terms with is how extremist and radical were the people running the country for the last eight years.  That condition, by itself, made it virtually inevitable that the resulting damage would be severe and fundamental, even irreversible in some sense.  It's just not possible to have a rotting, bloated, deeply corrupt and completely insular political ruling class -- operating behind impenetrable walls of secrecy -- and avoid the devastation that is now becoming so manifest.  It's just a matter of basic cause and effect." - also posted at CommonDreams

Law Professor: "We May Not Have Realized It At The Time, But In The Period From Late 2001-January 19, 2009, This Country Was A Dictatorship." -- Related Article - A quote...."Scott Horton - a professor at Columbia Law School and writer for Harper's - says of the Bush administration memos authorizing torture, spying, indefinite detention without charge, the use of the military within the U.S. and the suspension of free speech and press rights...."

Terror Memos Reveal Total Destruction Of U.S. Constitutional Freedoms
Related Article - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."By releasing internal Justice Department memos showing how the Bush fronted Neocons systematically destroyed civil liberties in America after 9/11, the Obama administration has sought to distance itself from such practices. However, closer inspection of the actions of the new regime, reveal no deviation from such policies in the war on terror."

Feds probably won't charge anyone for destroying CIA tapes
A quote...."Interrogators, incinerators likely to escape charges -- Even though he has yet to complete his investigation, a federal prosecutor has already signaled that he is unlikely to indict any CIA employees for incinerating 92 secret interrogation tapes that purportedly show suspects being waterboarded." -- Of Course!!  We don't want to go poking around wi'dat dare 9-ol'11 thing now do we?  After all, if you go around digging up the past, all you'll get is dirty. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg

Isikoff: Discrepancies in CIA tapes story
Related Article - A quote...."Following Monday's revelation that the Central Intelligence Agency destroyed 92 tapes of suspects, some allegedly undergoing harsh interrogations, the ACLU was quick to pounce, calling on a judge to issue a "prompt finding of contempt" against the CIA for disobeying an order to preserve evidence."

The Proceeds of Crime - [in the US-NRE Prison System]
A quote...."The US and British governments have created a private prison industry which preys on human lives. -- It's a staggering case; more staggering still that it has scarcely been mentioned on this side of the ocean. Last week two judges in Pennsylvania were convicted of jailing some 2,000 children in exchange for bribes from private prison companies."
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Systemic Failure: Capitalism “Lays An Egg” By Stephen Lendman
Must Read - A quote...."After the 1929 October 24, 28 and 29 market crash, the weekly entertainment industry magazine Variety (on October 30) published its most famous ever headline: “Wall Street Lays an Egg.” In October 2008, history repeated, and since the October 2007 peak, equity prices plunged over 50% after the Dow and S & P (in February) posted their second worst ever monthly percentage declines - topped only in 1933 during the depths of the Great Depression. So far, the current  market drop matches its 1929 - 1932 pace, and like then, shows no signs of abating."

When Greed Comes Home to Roost - The Lazy Man's Guide to the Economic Crisis
Must Read - A quote...."Back in 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was enacted. Woodrow Wilson, one of the culprits behind the Act, later said apologetically, "I am a most unhappy man; unwittingly I have ruined my country." -- Why did he say that? Because, with the implementation of the Federal Reserve Act, no longer was the government able to issue its own money as the Constitution directs. The privately held Federal Reserve became the issuer of currency, and charged interest to the United States government for doing so – which only benefited the bankers, not the people. Read: huge national debt." -- The bigger the better, or so the Banksters always say. - mpg

They Done Us Wrong: Spending Our Way Into Greater Depression
Must Read - A quote...."Congress and the President could not construct better measures, proposed and enacted, to deepen this depression if they tried. Congressional Democrats intend to ensconce Democrats as the majority party for the next 25 years or so. Their chosen method is wasteful pork sold as rational investment. But by gilding the nests of their chosen constituencies and supporters with huge taxpayer-funded giveaways, they will deepen and lengthen the depression."

Third Leg Falling In Crash Of 2009 / Derivatives
Must Read - A quote...."The third and most devastating leg of the great American meltdown of 2009 is the derivatives leg which reveals trillions of dollars of unsecured debt and credit default swaps which cannot be covered and has ushered in the PANIC phase of our economic collapse...." -- For more on this issue see....Enforcing the Rules -- Too Little, Too Late - 02-27-09 - mpg

Hidden Pension Fiasco May Foment Another $1 Trillion Bailout
A quote...."March 3 (Bloomberg) -- The Chicago Transit Authority retirement plan had a $1.5 billion hole in its stash of assets in 2007. At the height of a four-year bull market, it didn’t have enough cash on hand to pay its retirees through 2013, meaning it was underfunded to the tune of 62 percent."

Pressure to reveal major AIG counterparties grows
Aw c'mon folks, we all know at least one of the major counter parties....Paulson's Goldman Sachs. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....AIG, Goldman Sachs, Paulson And Buffet

Bernanke Refuses To Name Banks That Borrow From Fed
A quote...."A U.S. senator berated Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday for refusing to name banks that borrow from the central bank and introduced legislation that would require public disclosure."

U.S. Economy: Manufacturing Still Slumped in February (Update1)
A quote...."March 2 (Bloomberg) -- The recession in U.S. manufacturing persisted for a 13th month in February as sales dropped worldwide and factories cut jobs at the fastest pace on record." - bold by website editor

Ford, GM sales halved amid auto industry meltdown
A quote...."GM sales analyst Mike DiGiovanni said it was the worst February in 42 years of recordkeeping. Most on Wall Street had called for sales rate in the low 9 million vicinity, down from 9.6 million last month, which marked a 26-year low." - bold by website editor

U.S. January pending home sales drop 7.7 percent
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pending sales of existing U.S. homes fell sharply in January, with the index dropping to a record low, according to a report on Tuesday that showed the deteriorating economy was keeping buyers on the sidelines." - bold by webiste editor

Construction spending decline accelerates
A quote...."Construction spending declined 3.3% in January from a December total that was revised down by 3.2%. Spending dropped 8.9% since October and is projected to decline 6-7% more by the end of the year. Commercial buildings have replaced housing as the weakest sector although the pace of decline has recently picked up in the residential market. Heavy construction remains the most resistant to the recession. But its first significant month-to month decline (6%) occurred in January." - bold/underline by website editor

Capitulation watch -- Commentary: It's unlikely that Monday marked the end of the bear market
Market Tech Note - A quote...." You'd think that the ensuing fear and panic would be more than enough to bring about the capitulation that contrarians have been waiting for before forecasting that the bear market was at or near its end. -- But you'd be wrong."

China built enormous stake in US equities just before crash
Hah, Haaaaaaa Haaaaaaa!!  It NEVER fails, it's one of the best indicators around, if you see Asian or Eurpean governments investing in US-NRE "anything", in any massive way, bail the hell out. - mpg -- The Chinese government more than tripled its investments in the US stock market to $99.5bn (£70 bn) just months before the financial crisis, it has emerged." -- For more on this issue see.....The Green Light - 01-16-08 - mpg

See also....

Americans Sold Out to Foreign Firms at Record Rate
A quote...."Foreign investors exploited the declining U.S. dollar during the past three months to snap up American companies, taking the biggest share of U.S. deals in at least a decade. - Buyers from Dubai to the Netherlands accounted for 46 percent of the $230.5 billion of U.S. mergers and acquisitions announced in the fourth quarter, the largest portion since 1998 when Bloomberg started compiling the data."

One of the more reliable indicators of a stock market top is when Wall Streeters sucker foreigners into a buying frenzy.  Foreigners are just plain stupid, they think because the dollar has reached new lows they're able to get some good deals, when all they would have had to do is just wait another six months (or possibly a year and a half) to get  a much better bunch of deals. -- These are the same idiots who bought all those toxic CDO's and CMO's from Wall Street, they're really not very bright.  – mpg - posted 01-04-08

Ukraine risks unrest as ills worsen - Alt
Financial Alert - A quote...."The growing discontent among bank clients is matched by other signs of public anger at the impact of the global crisis – and at the seeming inability of the country’s divided leaders to respond effectively."

Monday March 2nd 2009

The Imperial Unconscious
Must Read - Some quotes....""U.S. goals in Afghanistan must be 'modest, realistic,' and 'above all, there must be an Afghan face on this war,' Gates said."  ---  "And yet, make no mistake, this is Empire-speak, American-style. It's the language -- behind which lies a deeper structure of argument and thought -- that is essential to Washington's vision of itself as a planet-straddling goliath. Think of that "Afghan face"/mask, in fact, as part of the flotsam and jetsam that regularly bubbles up from the American imperial unconscious. -- Of course, words create realities even though such language, in all its strangeness, essentially passes unnoticed here. Largely uncommented upon, it helps normalize American practices in the world, comfortably shielding us from certain global realities; but it also has the potential to blind us to those realities, which, in perilous times, can be dangerous indeed. So let's consider just a few entries in what might be thought of as The Dictionary of American Empire-Speak." -- also posted at CommonDreams & LewRockwell & AsiaTimes

It’s Obama’s War Now - [All of Them, the New Ones, and Even The Old Ones]
Must Read -- Obama™ Update -- A quote...."Barack Obama has shown that he is as capable of doublespeak as any other politician when he announced an end to the war in Iraq. Combat troops are to be pulled out of Iraq by August 2010, he said, but some 50,000 occupation troops will remain behind. Someone should let the Iraqis know the distinction. I doubt any soldier or Marine in Iraq will notice much difference in 19 months. Many combat units will simply be relabeled as noncombat units. And what about our small army of well-paid contractors and mercenaries? Will Dyncorp, Bechtel, Blackwater (which recently changed its name to Xe), all of whom have made fortunes off the war, pack up and go home? What about the three large super-bases, dozens of smaller military outposts and our imperial city, the Green Zone? Will American corporations give up their lucrative control of Iraqi oil?" -- also posted at CommonDreams & PulseMedia

America's Fiscal Collapse
Must Read -- Obama™ Update -- A quote...."This is a "War Budget". The austerity measures hit all major federal spending programs with the exception of:  1. Defence and the Middle East War: 2. the Wall Street bank bailout,  3. Interest payments on a staggering public debt. -- The budget diverts tax revenues into financing the war. It  legitimizes the fraudulent transfers of tax dollars to the financial elites under the "bank bailouts". -- The pattern of deficit spending is not expansionary. We are not dealing with a Keynesian style deficit, which stimulates investment and consumer demand, leading to an expansion of production and employment." -- also posted at ICH

Sermon From The Corporate Church
Must Read - A quote...."March 03, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- -Hurricane winds pound at the gates of Fortress America and our leaders send out the order for more straw and sand to pound into the widening cracks. The harder the winds of change blow the more apparent it becomes that our “leaders” cannot lead, when they themselves await orders from above. As our house of cards flies apart at the seams, the master planners send their minions scrambling to salvage their disintegrating investments, worrying only about their “property,” caring less about the human life that is huddled in fear within." -- also posted at OnlineJournal

Preaching To The Choir?
Must Read - A quote...."March 03, 2009I "Information Clearing House" -- There are so many of my fellow countrymen that wish Barack Obama were really the answer to this nations errant wandering. So far, since World War II, we have seen this nation violate just about every humanitarian principle ever developed by a modern civilization. We have overthrown governments for monetary gain, for the industrialists and the agricultural elite, for resources and markets, defying international law, and succeeding. We have become not a representative republic; the form of government proposed in The Constitution by our forefathers, instead we seem to have opted for a military oligarchy."

Connecting the Dots: The War on People, Obama's No-Change and the Hardening of Right-Wing Israel
Must Read - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."In the context of the global economic crisis, we are witnessing an important shift in the rhetoric of the media and the elite. Their warnings of riots and social upheaval seem to be implying that harder measures of control will be required; this way, the 'War on Terror' has served its purpose as a template for a 'War on People'. -- Contrary to the expectations of its population, the new government of the United States is not moving away from the path set by the Bush administration; the changes so far have only been a matter of appearance."

Ruminations on President Obama's Tenure Thus Far and "Acceptable Punditry"
Special Note - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."by Cynthia McKinney  --  I have played around with this idea for hours now, on whether or not to write this piece.  But the events of the last few hours, I believe, mandate that I raise my voice once again. -- I have read and re-read President Obama's Joint Congressional Address.  All of the "acceptable punditry" have spoken and given the President glowing reviews.  And so, to them and the population that still believes in them, "All is right with the world."  But for the rest of us, who refuse to swallow the pill that puts us into the Matrix, a good dose of reality is strongly called for."
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Is Obama embracing the lawless, omnipotent executive?
Must Read - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."As I detailed over the weekend, the Obama administration -- in the case brought by two American lawyers and their charity-client claiming that their conversations were illegally intercepted by the Bush administration -- has announced that it intends to try to appeal, yet again, in order to prevent the court from hearing the lawsuit.  On Friday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Obama's request to stay the District Judge's Order, which had held that it will review a classified document that the plaintiffs claim proves they were subjected to the illegal eavesdropping (thus conferring standing on the plaintiffs to challenge the legality of Bush's NSA program), and also ordered the Obama administration to provide security clearances to the plaintiffs' lawyers so that they could review the document as well.  The Obama DOJ immediately announced they intend to try to appeal again -- the third time, since Obama's Inauguration, that the Obama DOJ will try to argue before a court that the case should not heard at all."

[To All You Obamatrolls] -- You Don’t Have a Clue What You Really Voted For, Do You?
Obama™ Update -- Related Article - A quote...."Obama DOJ is adapting Bush’s “above the law” unitary executive theory in the San Francisco wiretapping case."

"…. the Obama DOJ is now refusing to comply with the Judge’s order, actually arguing to the court that only the President can decide whether classified information can be used in a court proceeding…" -- *Glenn Greenwald*

Mission Accomplished Indefinitely
Must Read - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."It looks like the fat lady will become a Victoria’s Secret model before she sings the finale of our woebegone war in Iraq. On Friday Feb. 27, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, young Mr. Obama announced that, “by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.” We can speculate till the troops come home why Obama chose to make this announcement on a Marine Corps base as opposed to, say, on an aircraft carrier, but it’s a dead cert that the mission will be no more accomplished by August 2010 than it was in May 2003." -- also posted at AntiWar

Campaign to close down School of The Americas & Part 2 - (RNN-YouTube - aprox 11 min - Feb. 26, 2009)
Must View Videos - A quote...."Pablo Ruiz: US tax dollars are used to train Latin American soldiers how to oppress their own people"

The American Media Misdiagnosis
A quote...."It’s widely agreed that there are a number of factors dragging down American newspapers, including the economic recession and the impact of the Internet, but a reason rarely mentioned is that the national news media failed in its most important job – to serve as a watchdog for the people."

Former Accused Iraqi Agent Reveals Facts about 9/11 Warning
Special Note – Yeah, that’s right.  To all you folks still in denial out there, the former government of the United States of America, (now known as the US-NRE), planned and facilitated the attacks on 9/11.  If those of you still in denial do not grow up, acknowledge that fact, demand an effective investigation, and insist that those found responsible be punished for their crimes, we will not be able to move forward as a nation.  More importantly you will only encourage those who made hundreds of billions of dollars from the tragic event of 9/11 to do it all over again. – mpg -- A quote...."The feds dropped all charges against Susan Lindauer, and now she's talking freely.  Michael Collins's interview with Lindauer covers the warnings provided to the Bush-Cheney administration prior to 9/11.  It presents entirely new information from an angel that will add substantially to knowledge that terrible attack."

CIA destroyed 92 interrogation tapes
A quote...." WASHINGTON -- New documents show the CIA destroyed nearly 100 tapes of terror interrogations, far more than has previously been acknowledged. -- The revelation Monday comes as a criminal prosecutor is wrapping up his investigation in the matter. -- The acknowledgment of dozens of destroyed tapes came in a letter filed by government lawyers in New York, where the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit seeking more details of terror interrogation programs. -- "The CIA can now identify the number of videotapes that were destroyed," said the letter by Acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin. "Ninety two videotapes were destroyed." -- ACLU attorney Amrit Singh said the CIA should be held in contempt of court for holding back the information for so long." -- For more on this sort of issue see....The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg
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Bush Lawyers Approved Constitution-Free Domestic Military Ops, Docs Show By Ryan Singel 02 Mar 2009 The Justice Department secretly authorized President [sic] George Bush to use the military inside the United States to snoop on, raid and even kill citizens in order to fight terrorism without regard to the Fourth or Fifth Amendment, according to a Oct 23, 2001 memo released by the Obama Administration Monday. "We do not think a military commander carrying out a raid on a terrorist cell would be required to demonstrate probable cause or to obtain a warrant," the Office of Legal Counsel memo - PDF said. "We think that the better view is that the Fourth Amendment does not apply to domestic military operations designed to deter and prevent future terrorist attacks." Department of Justice special counsel Robert Delahunty and John Yoo, a deputy assistant attorney general best known for penning a memo authorizing government agents to torture suspected terrorists, wrote the memo after the administration asked whether it could use the military inside the United States. -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

OLC Authorized Pentagon to Ignore Bill of Rights On U.S. Soil
Related Article -- A quote...."In an October 2001 memo released today, then-Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel John Yoo advised the Pentagon’s top lawyer that the president may not only deploy the military within the United States, but it may ignore the Bill of Rights in the process of doing so. Yoo and special counsel Robert Delahunty wrote to Defense Department general counsel William Haynes that the president has “ample constitutional and statutory authority to deploy the military against international or foreign terrorists operating within the United States,” and that the use of military force “need not follow the exact procedures that govern law enforcement operations.”

Bush Administration Memos Claimed Vast War Powers (Update1)
Related Article -- A quote...."March 2 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration claimed unfettered presidential powers in the war on terrorism, including sending suspects to other countries where they might be tortured and using the military within U.S. borders, newly released papers show. "

Study: 7.3 million in U.S. prison system in '07
Special Note - A quote...." (CNN) -- A record number of Americans served time in corrections systems across the country in 2007, according to a report released Monday by the Pew Center on the States. -- The U.S. correctional population -- those in jail, prison, on probation or on parole -- totaled 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 adults." - bold by website editor. -- That's WAY more per capita than any other country in the world. - mpg
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We put in many other proteins into that vaccine; we are using it like a carrier.' Experts insert H5N1 virus into smallpox vaccine to fight bird flu --Vaccine uses a Vietnam strain of the H5N1 virus 01 Mar 2009 Scientists in Hong Kong and the United States have developed an experimental H5N1 bird flu vaccine for people by piggybacking it on the well-tested and highly successful smallpox vaccine. Initial tests on mice showed the vaccine to be highly effective, they told a news conference in Hong Kong on Sunday. While H5N1 rarely infects people, experts fear it could mutate into a form that people could easily pass to one another, sparking a pandemic that could kill tens of millions and topple the global economy. ['Topple the global economy.' Uh, that horse has fled the barn. The global economy has been toppled. Past tense, by Bush. The US military/corpora-terrorists are *desperate* to get the bird flu pandemic party started so that they can invoke martial law and complete the New World Order. Paranoia? Why then did the US and UK dig up corpses of 1918 flu victims and spend millions manipulating the virus -- to (allegedly) stop a pandemic that they themselves are creating? See Flu 'Oddities'. --Lori Price] -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

Related Article -- Resistance to flu drug widespread in U.S.: study 02 Mar 2009 Virtually all cases of the most common strain of flu circulating in the United States now resist the main drug used to treat it, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Monday. CDC researchers said 98 percent of all flu samples from the H1N1 strain were resistant to Roche AG's Tamiflu. Four patients infected with the resistant strain have died, including two children. [See: Rumsfeld's growing stake in Tamiflu 25 Oct 2009 The prospect of a bird flu outbreak may be panicking people around the globe, but it's proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that's now the most-sought after drug in the world.] -- Paragraph quoted from CLG
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50 Afghan Parliamentarians Oppose Obama's Troop Surge; US Slams Karzai over Snap Election Plan
A Juan Cole Round-Up -- A quote...."Anand Gopal reports for CSM that many Afghans, especially in the Pushtun south, oppose President Obama's plan to send more US troops to Afghanistan."

Pakistani Military Torpedoes Pro-U.S. Govt.’s Case On Mumbai
A quote...."Two public officials – the Navy chief and a deputy attorney general – together have destroyed Rehman Malik’s case of ‘admission of guilt’ in Mumbai attacks.  The government has fired the deputy attorney general for taking a stand, but no one in the Pakistani media noticed since it is busy in the latest Pakistani political circus. But it is this story that could unravel this staunchly pro-U.S. setup. - Two developments in Pakistan have thwarted the deliberate effort of Pakistan’s pro-U.S. government to take the Mumbai investigations on a path that leads to placing the blame on the Pakistani military and intelligence."

Iran: And the Beat Goes On -- The beating of war drums, that is
Special Note - War Alert - A quote...."In a last-ditch, all-out effort to pave the way for war with Iran, Israel's lobby in the U.S. has inaugurated a new front group: United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). What, "another" neocon front group – why is this important? With Richard Holbrooke, Obama's most prominent foreign policy adviser – and a likely Secretary of State or National Security Adviser in the Obama administration – joining neocon nutcase James R. Woolsey in the top leadership of this new group, the signal is clear: UANI represents a bipartisan call for war."

Russia invites Iran to sell oil at Petersburg commodity exchange
A quote...."TEHRAN, March 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has invited Iran to sell crude oil on the St. Petersburg Commodity Exchange, the Russian energy minister said on Monday."

Tehran shrugs off US bid to woo Russia
A quote...."Tehran says US efforts to strike a deal with the Kremlin over a controversial missile shield in Europe 'is no cause for concern'. -- Iran's Defense Minister, Mohammad Najjar, said Sunday the country is not worried by Washington's attempts to use its missile plans as a means to buy Moscow's support for tougher sanctions against the Islamic Republic." 

Reports: Obama offers end of US missile shield for Kremlin's help on Iran
Related Article - The whole thing was just a move to blackmail the Russians, Iran was never a "threat" to Europe, and Obama is just an ass-kissing shill for AIPAC.  The entire scam is completely disgusting.  This website editor really doesn’t understand why tens of trillions of US dollars were wasted, along with the creation of an economic catastrophe, the deaths of over four thousand Americans, the injury of over seventy thousand more, and millions of Muslims made homeless, tortured and murdered, all so some stupid, greedy, Jews in Israel could steal a little more land from the Palestinians. Disproportionate isn't quite descriptive enough anymore, we as a country are going to have to start using words like treason very soon. – mpg -- A quote...."Citing an unnamed White House official, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported Monday that President Obama has offered to scrap plans for a US missile shield in Europe if the Russian leadership will help restrain Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions."

Asean leaders call for EU-style union
A quote...."The Asian Development Bank (ADB)backed Asean calls for cooperation on Sunday, saying that working to together “is crucial” to tackling the global financial crisis. Speaking at the 4th Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) at the Asean Summit in Cha-am, Thailand, ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said Asean countries should  bring down trade barriers along with other Asean-wide initiatives as part of the strategy to battle the crisis, according to a statement Sunday. “Regional cooperation becomes even more important as we seek to pursue joint approaches and pool our resources to cope with difficulties that we all face,” he said."

Ukraine Teeters as Citizens Blame Banks and Government
A quote...."KIEV, Ukraine — Steel and chemical factories, once the muscle of Ukraine’s economy, are dismissing thousands of workers. Cities have had days without heat or water because they cannot pay their bills, and Kiev’s subway service is being threatened. Lines are sprouting at banks, the currency is wilting and even a government default seems possible."
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No Hope for Peace: Israel’s Settlement Escalation Will Kill Any Peace Plan
A quote...."A report by the Israeli left-wing NGO Peace Now released Monday says that the government is planning to build more than 73,300 new housing units in the West Bank."

Expelling Jerusalem's Palestinians, One House at a Time
A quote...."There are some people whose faces betray the difficulties they have encountered throughout their lives. Salah Shweiki is one of them. Sitting under the large tent set up in Silwan's Bustan Quarter, seeking warmth from the wood burning in an old wheelbarrow, Shweiki emanates the aura of an elderly sage. In his 56 years of life, he has seen a lot, maybe too much, but today, he is focused, his face determined and his will iron solid."

Hamas legislator: “Gaza conference held without the victims”
A quote...."Hamas political leader, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Salah Bardaweel, stated Monday that the Gaza conference held at the Egyptian resort of Sharm Al Sheikh was carried out without inviting the victims of the Israeli assaults and siege on Gaza, the Hamas affiliated Palestine-info news website reported. -- Bardaweel added that the Israeli occupation does not recognize a two-state solution, and does not recognize the Palestinian rights while the world is demanding Hamas to recognize “the enemy”."

Gaza Aid Convoy Arrives in Tripoli, Convoy Swells to 300 Aid Trucks Heading to Gaza
A quote...."At 11:30 Sunday morning Tripoli time, the first vehicles of the British Gaza convoy began to arrive at the spot in the downtown of Tripoli where a huge celebration was waiting for them. -- Hundreds of Libyans waved at every vehicle and saluted the people who drove all long from Britain with only one objective on their minds, that is to deliver moral and material support to the Gaza’s heroes who stood up to Israel’s 22-day long aggression and crime against humanity."

UN chief says Gaza border closure 'intolerable'
A quote...."SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, March 2, 2009 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki -moon said on Monday that Israel's blockade of Gaza is "intolerable" and that border crossings into must be reopened to allow aid into the war-battered enclave. -- "The situation at the border crossings is intolerable. Aid workers do not have access. Essential commodities cannot get in," Ban told international donors gathered in Egypt to pledge aid to rebuild Gaza after Israel's three-week war on the territory."

Iran asks Interpol to arrest Israeli war criminals
A quote...."Interpol begins studying Iran's request for the arrest of 15 senior Israeli officials over war crimes committed during the Gaza offensive." - also posted at BLN -- Perhaps a bounty should be offered? - mpg

Palestine Between a Brick and a Hard Place
Cartoon
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Letter to the Neighborhood I am handing out this letter to all of my neighbors. You are welcome to pass it onto yours.
Special Note - Database - A quote...."Well, everyone knows that the economy is lousy right now. But (you may want to pour yourself a cup of coffee - or a drink - before you finish this letter) what you may or may not know is that we are already in a depression, according to...."

Obama Must Fire Geithner and Summers
A quote...."I've previously pointed out that the head of Obama's council of economic advisors - Larry Summers - is the worst possible guy for the job. Two new articles show why Tim Geithner is the treasury secretary from hell....."

Feds give AIG $30 billion more
$180 Billion for AIG so far, and a $1,300 to $1,500 Trillion derivatives market, most of which is underwater.  It's just a drop in the bucket folks. - mpg -- A quote...."Reporting from Washington — Federal officials tossed American International Group another financial lifeline today, providing up to $30 billion more to help the staggered insurance giant deal with a record $61.7 billion loss in the final three months of last year." -- For more on this issue see....AIG, Goldman Sachs, Paulson And Buffet

Buffett says U.S. Treasury bubble one for the ages
A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N) sits on $25.54 billion (17.8 billion pounds) of cash, said worried investors are making a costly mistake by buying up U.S. Treasuries that yield almost nothing."

Moody’s: U.S. Credit Card Debt Indicators Continue to Weaken
A quote...."Credit card charge-offs reached a record-high 7.74%, according to Moody’s. -- Despite the level being essentially flat compared to a month ago, an increasing number of borrowers are falling behind on their credit card payments indicating that charge-off rates will almost certainly increase in the coming months."

Pension bombs going off
A quote...."Exploding pension fund shortfalls are blowing billion-dollar holes in the balance sheets of some of the Chicago area's biggest companies, forcing them to make huge contributions to retirement plans at a time when cash flow and credit are already under stress." -- also posted at BLN

[New York] Apartment Buyers Abandoning 6-Figure Deposits
A quote...."THE real estate market in Manhattan has become so unnerving to buyers that some are forfeiting six-figure deposits rather than close on deals they have made." -- also posted at BLN

Gartner forecasts worst PC market in eight years
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The outlook for the personal-computer market is expected to get so weak this year that technology research firm Gartner Inc. on Monday said PC shipments are likely to post their worst decline since 2001."

The Man Who Knew
Video - 60 Minutes interview with Harry Markopolos regarding the Bernie Madoff scandal. - mpg

EU Rejects Multi-Billion Dollar Rescue Plan For Eastern Europe
Financial Warning - A quote...."European Union leaders have ruled out a multi-billion dollar rescue plan for Eastern Europe in the face of the global economic crisis, despite warnings from Hungary that the rejection could lead to an economic "iron curtain" across the continent. The announcement followed an emergency EU summit on Sunday at which officials debated ways to tackle Europe's biggest financial crisis in generations." -- Welcome to Capitalism....Comrades. - mpg

Canada falls hard into deep, widespread recession in final quarter of 2008
A quote...."OTTAWA — Canada slumped into a deep recession in the final months of last year as the economic retreat expanded across most sectors and across the country. The economy contracted by 3.4 per cent in the fourth quarter on an annualized basis, the biggest drop since the recession of 1991, according to Statistics Canada."

[British] Factory downturn 'accelerating'
A quote...."Manufacturers in the UK cut jobs and output at a record pace in February, according to the latest Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI)."

Sunday March 1st 2009

Obama please note: Those who fail to 'master the past' are guilty, too
Must Read - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."In "Guilt About the Past," [SkBks, Abbys, BkOffrs, BkTopia] based on guest lectures that Bernhard Schlink gave at Oxford University last year, the University of Berlin law professor describes the "long shadow" cast by the perpetrators of war crimes on their descendants. -- "The act of not renouncing, not judging and not repudiating carries its own guilt with it," he states in the book published in January by University of Queensland Press." -- also posted at CommonDreams

Why a war crimes fact-finding commission could uniquely enable prosecutions
A quote...."Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, on the Senate floor, today: -- “To Fix Damage Left by Bush, We Must Learn the Truth” -- Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, during my brief tenure so far in the Senate, the Judiciary Committee has confronted many difficult issues - battles over judicial nominations, complex legislative matters, the historic investigation into misdeeds of the Bush Administration's Department of Justice."

Sen. Whitehouse Prepares the Nation for Torture Horrors
Related Article - A quote...."IF the full story of the Bush Torture Network is ever told out loud, on televison, it will shock the nation...and perhaps even the jaded and inattentive conscience of a nation that has been buried under eight years of horror upon Bush horror. None worse than what was done to our fellow human beings, in our names."

U.N. Official Faults Evidence and Foreign States Linked to Guantánamo Interrogations
A quote...."PARIS — A United Nations human rights official, investigating practices at Guantánamo Bay, has concluded that evidence obtained from the interrogations there is tainted and that foreign law enforcement and intelligence officials who took part in those interrogations violated their legal obligation to reject the use of torture and arbitrary detention." - also posted at CommonDreams -- For more on this issue see....The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg

Saturday February 28th 2009

Obama's efforts to block a judicial ruling on Bush's illegal eavesdropping
Must Read - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."The Obama DOJ's embrace of Bush's state secrets privilege in the Jeppesen (torture/rendition) case generated substantial outrage, and rightly so.  But it's now safe to say that far worse is the Obama DOJ's conduct in the Al-Haramain case -- the only remaining case against the Government with any real chance of resulting in a judicial ruling on the legality of Bush's NSA warrantless eavesdropping program.  Here's the first paragraph from the Wired report on Friday's appellate ruling, which refused the Obama DOJ's request to block a federal court from considering key evidence when deciding whether Bush broke the law in how he spied on Americans:" -- also posted at CommonDreams

Obama embraces Bush’s “war on terror” policy without naming it so
Must Read - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."Asked in a CNN interview why he hasn't used the oft-repeated "war on terror" phrase coined by the Bush administration, Obama said he believes the U.S. can win over moderate Muslims if he chooses his words carefully. "Words matter in this situation because one of the ways we're going to win this struggle is through the battle of hearts and minds," Obama said." -- bold by website editor

Well....this website editor isn't quite so sure about that.  A normal decent, sane, rational, truthful, fact-based, reality-based, person would probably think that funneling tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars to almost every single radical Jihaddist, Wahhabist, Salfist group throughout the Middle East under United States auspices for the last thirty years, with the cheerful support of the Saudi Royals, till quite recently (a few years ago) Pakistan's ISI and even a helping hand from the Israelis, in a never ending quest to disrupt moderate, nationalist, movements throughout that region, not to mention the mistreatment, imprisonment, torture, and continuous bombing of millions of Muslims, might just have more of an effect on the formation and motivation of radical Islamist groups then Obama's recent attempts at "Orwell Speak" -- But what the heck, you go gal, or guy, 'scuse me....whatever you are. You just keep shuffling and jiving right along wi'all ol'your happy, hope-headed, changey, joy-joy-feel-good, baby babble.  Some of your more drugged-out, glazed eyed,  Obamatrolls might even still believe you. – mpg

Obama budget projects record deficits and borrowing
Must Read - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."Under the budget outline issued by the Obama administration Thursday, the US government will run a $1.75 trillion deficit during the current fiscal year, which ends September 30, nearly four times the largest previous federal deficit. This gargantuan sum includes the $700 billion allocated for the Wall Street bailout, more than half of it already spent, as well as part of the $787 billion in spending authorized by the economic stimulus bill passed by Congress and signed into law by Obama last week"
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Iran's supreme leader warns against "long-term" U.S. stay in Iraq
A quote...."TEHRAN, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah AliKhamenei warned Saturday that the United States was planning a "long-term stay" in Iraq, Iran's Press TV reported. -- "The occupiers are preparing the ground for a long-term stay in Iraq. This is a serious matter which Iraqi authorities should not neglect," Khamenei said in a meeting with visiting Iraqi President Jalal Talabani." - also posted at WarInIraq -- One hopes the US-NRE's "intent to stay" didn't come as a surprise to Khamenei. - mpg

The Future of the IAEA
Must Read - A quote...."Not everyone present at an open meeting of the UN Security Council this week was happy to hear our new UN Ambassador, Susan Rice, say that the Change-You-Can-Believe-In administration "will seek an end to Iran's ambition to acquire an illicit nuclear capacity." -- End Iran's "ambition"? -- To acquire an "illicit" capacity? -- Understandably upset, Iranian ambassador, Mohammad Khazaee, promptly got off a letter to the Council president, which said, in part, that...." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Iran set to build more nuclear plants
A quote...."Iran's authorities are determined to launch more nuclear power plants across the country, a prominent Iranian parliamentarian has stated."

Russian Navy Back in Syria
A quote...."Russian warships have returned to the naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus, used by the Soviet Union since the late sixties, after more than a decade of absence. -- In August 2008, Syrian president Bashar Assad, during his visit to Russia, pointed out that his country is open for talks with Russia about reactivating the use of the naval base in Tartus."

Russia blames OSCE for not preventing Georgia war
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia's U.N. ambassador accused the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Friday of not doing enough to prevent last year's war in Georgia which resulted in a full-scale Russian invasion." - also posted at WarInIraq -- For more on this issue see....American Selective Attention Deficit Disorder (ASADD) - 08-16-08 - mpg

Japanese politician: Too many U.S. troops in Japan
A quote...."The rising star of Japanese politics, the opposition Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa, says he sees no need for most of the U.S. troops in the country. -- Ozawa, talking with reporters last week, said Japan could get along with just the U.S. 7th Fleet. The rest of the 47,000 U.S. military personnel could go home, he said, according to Japanese press accounts." -- The Japanese are just being silly, they could make a lot of money by letting the US-NRE stay, but with balloon payments and progressively higher rental rates....hey as far as the US-NRE government was concerned, that was an OK plan for the small homeowner. - mpg

Lenders say 25 billion euro package to aid Eastern Europe
A quote...."WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - The heads of three global development banks said on Friday they would seek solutions to an economic crisis in eastern and central Europe as they launched a joint programme to lend up to 24.5 billion euros (22 billion pounds) in the region." -- This won't stop the Great Depression, but it does have a better chance to alleviate some of the downturn's more deleterious effects on Eastern Europe for a short period of time, anybody want to know why?  Because they're NOT USING DOLLARS!!  Any country using dollars, or taking out loans in dollars, or heaven forbid, borrowing from the IMF or World Bank in (gasp!) dollars doesn't have a prayer.  This is not to say that the dollar is going to collapse (it might of course with seventy trillion and growing in unfunded obligations), it is to say anyone borrowing in dollars is going to hear a giant sucking sound as the life blood of your nation is drained away in a vain effort to pump up the New Roman Empire's dying economy. – mpg
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UN attacks Britain over torture claims
A quote...."Britain may have broken international law on torture, ministers have been warned by the United Nations. Professor Manfred Nowak, the UN's special rapporteur on torture, has alerted ministers to a range of concerns, including claims that MI5 officers were complicit in the maltreatment of suspects."

French Professor Sacked Over 9/11 Conspiracy Theory
A quote...."An academic in France has been sacked by the Ministry of Defence after questioning the official version of events surrounding the 9/11 attacks. He now reportedly plans to sue the government. -- Aymeric Chauprade lost his job allegedly over the introduction to his latest book about political crises around the world, and more specifically, that the 9/11 attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. were an orchestrated "American-Israeli conspiracy". The Defence Minister had strong objections to the material, so Aymeric had to go." --  For more on this issue see....9/11 - NORAD & 9/11 - WTC7 & 9/11 - Commission & 9/11 - Punish or Reward
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Sustaining Global Solidarity after Gaza
A quote...."The Israeli bombing and invasion of Gaza, which has now claimed more than 1,400 lives, generated serious popular backlash the world over. The overwhelmingly weak official positions and statements, especially in the Arab world, stood in stark contrast to the outpouring of rage that was witnessed in the streets of capitals, cities and towns across the globe. This recent wave of protests has a particular quality, however, that differentiates it from past mobilizations: The initial flare up of energy is being channeled into effective grassroots political action, primarily in the form of an ongoing campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS)." -- For more on this issue see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website. - mpg

Day 14: Overwhelming welcome in Libya (Updated)
A quote...."The convoy set off mid morning today towards the Libyan border. They were escorted by the police who have been dictating the pace which is slowing them down. They stopped in Medanine for Juma, Friday prayers. The whole population of the border town of Ben-Guerdane came out to welcome and cheer the drivers and passengers as soon as they entered city."

Israel's death squads: A soldiers story
A quote...."The Israeli military's policy of targeted killings has been described from the inside for the first time. In an interview with The Independent on Sunday, and in his testimony to an ex-soldiers' organisation, Breaking the Silence, a former member of an assassination squad has told of his role in a botched ambush that killed two Palestinian bystanders, as well as the two militants targeted." -- also posted at Uruknet

US policy and the Palestinian cause
A quote...."So far, Obama's Israel-Palestine policy appears indistinguishable from that of previous US administrations -- A forecast of US policy towards the Palestinian cause in the Obama era requires not only an examination of the new administration's actions and positions so far but also a historical contextualisation in which regard specific consideration must be given to a certain prudence long- lacking in US policy on this issue and to the objective circumstances militating towards change."
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Harry Shutt, “Redistribution and Stability: Beyond the Keynesian/Neo-liberal Impasse”
Must Read -  - A quote...."As the financial crisis that erupted in 2007 unfolds in an economic cataclysm which, it is now clear, is unprecedented in the history of capitalism, world leaders without exception reveal themselves as politically and ideologically bankrupt in their efforts to bring it under control.  This is most obviously demonstrated by their insistence on the need for individuals and enterprises to boost their levels of consumption and fixed investment — with the aid of new loans from the financial sector — even though it is obvious that the immediate cause of the crisis has been the creation of excessive credit leading people (and businesses) to spend well beyond their means. -- For more on this issue see....Enforcing the Rules -- Too Little, Too Late - 02-27-09 - mpg -- see also video below.

Taking on the banking cabal
Special Note - Real News Video - A quote...."Speaking about President Obama's stimulus package and newly announced budget, William Engdahl says the fundamental causes of the economic crisis were missed. Until [President] Obama reinstates Glass-Steigel restraints on banking which were repealed by the Clinton administration in 1999 and begins to re-regulate the financial system, there will not be a flow of healthy credit into the healthy economy."

Even Triple A Rated Mezzanine CDOs Have Only a 5% Recovery Rate
Financial Alert - A quote...."The real shocker, though, is what has happened after those defaults. JPMorgan estimates that $102bn of CDOs has already been liquidated. The average recovery rate for super-senior tranches of debt – or the stuff that was supposed to be so ultra safe that it always carried a triple A tag – has been 32 per cent for the high grade CDOs. With mezzanine CDO’s, though, recovery rates on those AAA assets have been a mere 5 per cent. -- I dare say this might be an extreme case. The subprime loans extended in 2006 and 2007 have suffered particularly high default rates and the CDOs that have already been liquidated are presumably the very worst of the pack. -- Even so, I would hazard a guess that this is easily the worst outcome for any assets that have ever carried a “triple A” stamp. No wonder so many investors are now so utterly cynical about anything that bankers or rating agencies might say these days." -- bold by website editor

Propping Up a House of Cards
A quote...."Next week, perhaps as early as Monday, the American International Group is going to report the largest quarterly loss in history. Rumors suggest it will be around $60 billion, which will affirm, yet again, A.I.G.’s sorry status as the most crippled of all the nation’s wounded financial institutions. The recent quarterly losses suffered by Merrill Lynch and Citigroup — “only” $15.4 billion and $8.3 billion, respectively — pale by comparison."

We Are Less Prepared for a Depression Than We Were in 1929
A quote....".....not only may this crisis be more severe than the Great Depression, but Americans are less prepared for it, because they've squirreled away less savings. - Indeed, a new report shows that most baby boomers have accumulated little to no wealth."

GM future in doubt after $31bn loss - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."General Motors underlined its dire financial condition on Thursday as it reported an unexpectedly heavy cash drain in the final three months of 2008 and warned that Deloitte, its auditor, might cast doubt on its standing as a going concern."

Is the California True Unemployment Rate at 18.47 Percent? The 10.1% Headline Number.... - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."California is a microcosm of the entire United States.  The most populace state with a GDP of $1.8 trillion, much of what happens in California does spread throughout the country.  California’s employment situation is deteriorating at a breathtaking speed.  The latest employment numbers were released after the bell closed on Friday, which now seems to be a common trend when news is less than comforting for the soul."

Financiers Used "Hotline" to SEC Examiners
A quote...."Washington, DC - In a hearing which exposed failures by the government's financial police, Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-Massachusetts) highlighted the existence of a "hotline," which he said could be used by Wall Street firms to call off government inspectors. The existence of a "hotline" has been confirmed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), though its purpose has been disputed."

On The Collapse Of Capitalism
Video - A quote...."By Ron Paul -- Nations will be redefined in this period"

Chavez orders rice plants takeover
Chavez is being stupid again; well REGULATED free markets (i.e. no monopolies, no special favors or laws, no government support etc.) always do best at allocating consumer resources.  Price controls always break down eventually because they begin to stifle or mis-allocate production.  Obviously if there's a national emergency (i.e. a real one, like a nationwide flood, earthquake, hurricane, crop disease, etc.) temporary controls may become necessary. – mpg

Friday February 27th 2009

Since When Do You Pay a Courtesy Call to a War Criminal?
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."Before announcing to the “free” world that he was going to take 19 months (don’t forget we are already a month into the Obama regime) instead of 16 to remove “combat” troops from Iraq (leaving 50,000 or so to battle “the terrorists” a.k.a. Iraqis that don’t want to serve Imperial America/Kellogg, Brown & Root) Obama™ had to run the story-line past his daddy first, so he called “Chimpy” Bush from camp Lejeune just before the speech to get his approval. -- I guess he wanted to work out the exact pronunciation of the word “terrrists“

Obama announces plan to continue US military occupation of Iraq
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."President Obama formally announced his administration's plans for the continued US military occupation of Iraq on Friday, in remarks delivered at the Camp Lejeune marine base in North Carolina. Far from bringing the war to an end, the plans will maintain present troop levels for one year and ensure a substantial military presence for at least three years, through the end of 2011."

The Fox Guarding the Chicken Coop -- Dennis Ross and Iran
War Update - A quote...."In October 2008 I presented a paper, entitled “What the Future has in Store for Iran,” at a conference on Middle East Studies. The paper, which was subsequently posted at Payvand.com , examined what the US policy toward Iran might look like if either Barack Obama or John McCain came to office. The conclusion of my essay, stated in its last two lines, was: “In the case of McCain, the war [waged against Iran] might come sooner than later. In Obama’s case, one might see a period of ‘tough’ or ‘aggressive diplomacy’ before hostilities begin.” -- also posted at ICH

Iraqi President Meets With Iranian Officials in Tehran
A quote...."Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is visiting Tehran, Friday to meet with top Iranian leaders. -- President Talabani was greeted at the airport in Tehran by top Iranian officials, as he arrived in the early morning Friday for his second visit to the Iranian capital in just over two years. Mr. Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party has traditionally been close to Iran."

From Bush to Obama - Seven Years of Wartime Propaganda
A quote...."Despite the critical evidence above, conservative and mainstream liberal pundits and politicians continue to maintain that the 2007 troop surge changed everything in Iraq for the better, and that the media needs to simply get on board with the positive changes by taking on a more cheerful approach.  We should strongly question these claims on the following empirical grounds:"

Why the Dark Secrets of the First Gulf War Are Still Haunting Us
Special Note - A quote...."Glaspie was not the only official to deliver this laissez-faire message. The next day, at a Washington press conference, State Department spokeswoman Margaret Tutweiler was asked by a journalist if the U.S. had sent any diplomatic protest to Iraq for putting 30,000 troops on the border with Kuwait. "I'm entirely unaware of any such protest," Tutweiler replied. -- Five days later, on July 31, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs John Kelly testified to Congress that the "United States has no commitment to defend Kuwait, and the U.S. has no intention of defending Kuwait if it is attacked by Iraq." -- Two days later, when Saddam entered Kuwait, he had no reason to believe that the U.S. would come to Kuwait's defense with a half-million troops. Or that when he tried to negotiate a retreat though Arab leaders, the U.S. would refuse to talk. In 1990 as in 2002, a Bush president had his mind set on war."

Amos Gilad: Israel's Military Mephistopheles
A quote...."It is not entirely surprising that Amos Gilad, an Israeli general who once sued his own government for “irreversible mental damage” caused by his role in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, has publicly courted controversy again. --  On Monday, Ehud Olmert, Israel’s outgoing prime minister, suspended Gilad as his envoy to Egypt, responsible for negotiating a ceasefire with Hamas, after Gilad called the prime minister’s truce conditions “insane”."

Attack on Jayyous 27/2/09
Video - A quote...."Curfew was imposed on the village following of the Friday demonstration against the Apartheid Wall -- "Residents were assaulted, money was stolen, computers confiscated, over 60 young men arrested and the village placed under curfew. The Israeli soldiers came into my home and threw the contents of cupboards and closets on to the floor," Shamasni [a village resident] told IPS"

How Mom sent a guy to Gitmo - File this under "unbelievable". - mpg
Special Note -- It Could Happen To YOU! - mpg -- A quote...."She thought her article was satire, but U.S. officials didn't get the joke. -- Or at least that's what certain unidentified U.S. interrogators seem to suspect. It all stems from a satirical article called "How to Build Your Own Home H-Bomb" that my mother, Barbara Ehrenreich, wrote with two coauthors 30 years ago. The article, published in Seven Days magazine, was chock-full of helpful tips for would-be nuclear bomb makers. For instance, it advised those struggling to enrich uranium to make "a simple home centrifuge. Fill a standard-size bucket one-quarter full of liquid uranium hexafluoride. Attach a six-foot rope to the bucket handle. Now swing the [bucket] around your head as fast as possible. Keep this up for about 45 minutes." -- For more on this issue see....The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg

Trade deal signed at Asean summit
De-couple, de-couple, de-couple, should be the mantra of every nation that doesn't want to be sucked into the US-NRE's vortex of deflation/hyper-inflation.  In other words, the dollar is going to become increasingly unstable and unusable as a world reserve currency if the US-NRE continues in its vain, futile, efforts to prop up its Empire. - mpg -- A quote...."Australia and New Zealand have signed a free trade agreement with Southeast Asian nations. The deal, signed at the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in the Thai beach resort of Hua Hin on Friday, is one of Asia's largest trade arrangements.  It covers trade in goods, investment and services, financial services, telecommunications, electronic commerce and intellectual property."

Dear Mr. President, With All Due Respect ....
A quote...."Dear Mr. President, I read your New Era $3.6 Trillion Budget Proposal. I also listened to your speech Tuesday night. You made a great campaign speech. However, the campaign is over. You won. And the reason you won is you offered hope as well as a promise of change."

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Enforcing the Rules -- Too Little, Too Late
02-27-09
mpg

Bill Moyers Interviews Robert Johnson
Video - A quote...."Bill Moyers talks with economist Robert Johnson, who decodes this week's news on the bank bailout, with a hard look at the international ramifications of the plan and a discussion of why nationalization has become a flash point." -- ||  Transcript  ||  Podcast Mp3  ||

Economist James Galbraith: Stimulus not enough
Video - MarketWatch - A quote...."Economist James Galbraith, who's scheduled to testify in Washington Thursday, talks to MarketWatch's Ruth Mantell about the future of the U.S. banking system and what the Federal Reserve can, and can't, do help shore up the economy."

Obama’s open-ended bailout of the banks
Obama™ Update -- Must Read - A quote...."It is increasingly clear that the policy of the Obama administration is to pump as much taxpayer money as possible into the banks to avert a new wave of failures, in the hope that the economy will somehow begin to recover in 2010. Then Wall Street will be free to resume the speculative practices that enriched the financial aristocracy while precipitating the greatest global economic crisis since the 1930s."

Editor's Note: This is the key folks.  There has been NO ATTEMPT by the Obama administration to re-impose the equivalent of  the The Glass-Steagall Act and revoke the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. -- To quote....
"The repeal [of Glass-Steagall] enabled commercial lenders such as Citigroup, which was in 1999 then the largest U.S. bank by assets, to underwrite and trade instruments such as mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations and establish so-called structured investment vehicles, or SIVs, that bought those securities. [14] It is therefore seen by some that the repeal of this act contributed to the Global financial crisis of 2008–2009[15]. However, such SIVs existed before the repeal of Glass-Steagall[16] -- The year before the repeal, sub-prime loans were just 5% of all mortgage lending. By the time the credit crisis peaked in 2008, they were approaching 30%." -- *Wikipedia*

There has been no effort on their part to reign in or regulate "structured finance" or the "derivatives market", or punish the executives involved for causing this fiasco, or forcing the banks made insolvent by all this activity to re-organize (as in any normal bankruptcy proceeding) or "mark to market" (if possible) all the synthetic investment vehicles on their books or even find out if these financial instruments represent any real assets or actual value. More importantly they have not banned the marketing of un-ratable or incorrectly rated (much of which was done deliberately) "securiterized" debt, specifically mortgage debt. 

Even if they correct everything else but leave just this one avenue of unrestrained and unrestricted monetary expansion available to the banks nothing else they do will prevent the current financial problems from getting worse, or prevent the same problems from reoccurring in the future.  It will just be a license for the banks, brokerage firms and hedge funds engaged in these sorts of practices to print money and create uncollateralized debt at will....basically a license to steal.

What they have done so far is to simply create a bunch of band-aid solutions in the vain hope that this current crisis will blow over and the wealthiest among us, the owners and controllers of the financial industry, the ones who caused all of these problems in the first place, can regain their footing by using the prodigious amounts of taxpayer dollars provided to them (by a candidate whose campaign they generously financed) so they can promptly proceed to go back to doing business as usual.

The Obama administration is wasting precious tax-payer dollars by trying to placate and please these mavens of mendacity while also trying to bail-out what can only be described as an overbearing, parasitic, and non-productive sector of this nation’s economy.  More importantly the Obama administration is wasting something much more valuable than dollars by rewarding these purveyors of shady financial instruments for the disservice they've done to their community….they're wasting precious time, of which they have very little left.

The deepest concern is the fact that ongoing economic statistics for the US economy appear to be modeling almost exactly those that preceded the Great Depression, the trajectory of all the economic indicators seems to suggest we'll have a three to six month pause (at best) in any extremely severe or extraordinary amounts of economic deterioration, followed by a catastrophic final plunge lasting one to two more years.

Everyone should also understand that this is not just a credit crisis, or a liquidity crisis, or even a debt/insolvency crisis (which is what’s causing the bulk of the economic problems), it's also the standard contraction of the US-NRE’s ten year business/war – currency expansion/contraction cycle, which is taking place around the world due the predominant use of the US-NRE’s currency as a world reserve currency and is therefore affecting all the producers of manufactured goods worldwide, just as any normal drop in demand caused by the end of the US-NRE’s ten year economic cycle would effect manufacturers in this country (hardly a factor anymore).

And of course the fact that all four economic crisis’s are happening simultaneously means there will be highly negative, self-reinforcing, synergistic, deflationary forces that will most likely overwhelm ANY and ALL government attempts to counteract this current downward spiral of economic contraction.

Also bare in mind the US-NRE is currently expending huge sums on various unnecessary military operations and self-inflicted Imperial "adventures" worldwide, is spending more on  its vast, bloated, military establishment per year than the rest of the entire world combined, is deeply in debt along with its entire population, a population which has increased their debt load per capita, inflation adjusted, every ten year cycle for the past sixty years, is a population that has reduced its savings rate recently to the point where it became negative, is a nation that has a substantially diminished manufacturing base and finally, is a nation now undergoing a large unavoidable demographic shift as tens of millions of baby-boomers retire from the workforce.

NONE of these additional burdens existed during the Great Depression.  This does not bode well for the next two years, or for that matter the next two decades in offering any support for a positive outlook regarding the future of this nation’s economy. - mpg
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Who Is the Real Dr. Doom . . . And What Is He Forecasting?
Special Note - A quote...."Big media loves to label whoever they think is most pessimistic about the economy "Dr. Doom". Over the last couple of years, Nouriel Rouini, Marc Faber and Peter Schiff have all been labeled "Dr. Doom". But who is the real Dr. Doom? Well, the title goes to whoever is most negative in their long-term outlook for the economy."

Economy shrinks at fastest pace in 26 years
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy contracted at a staggering 6.2 percent pace at the end of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter-century, as consumers and businesses ratcheted back spending, plunging the country deeper into recession."

Moody's predicts default rate will exceed peaks hit in Great Depression
A quote...."A bigger proportion of non-investment grade companies will go bust in the US and overseas in the coming years than during the Great Depression, according to Moody's, one of the world's foremost experts on credit."

Govt: 'Mass Layoffs' Soared In January
A quote...."WASHINGTON — Employers took a large ax to their payrolls in January, the government said Wednesday, and the cuts are likely to get worse over the next few months. -- The Labor Department reported that mass layoffs, or job cuts of 50 or more by a single employer, increased to 2,227 in January, up almost 50 percent from the same month last year. More than 235,000 workers were fired in last month's cuts."

Golden State unemployment tops 10%
A quote...."The unemployment rate in the US state of California has climbed to over 10 percent -- its highest level in a quarter of a century."

Obama Puts the Economic Cart Before the Horse
A quote...."by Peter Schiff -- In his first televised speech before Congress, President Obama asserted that prosperity will return once the government restores the flow of credit in the economy. It may come as a surprise to him, but an economy cannot run on consumer loans. Furthermore, credit stopped flowing in the U.S. for a very good reason: there was no more savings left to loan. Government efforts to simply make credit available, without rebuilding productive capacity or increasing savings, are doomed to destroy what’s left of our economy."

The FED’s Unsound Theories
A quote...."There are many slips betwixt cup and lip, and thus this introduction before getting to the FED’s unsound theories. -- Neither the federal government nor its Constitution have a moral or rightful foundation over any person residing in America who does not consent to them, for civil and political rights include the right of association. If men and women cannot associate with those whom they will in governing themselves, then they have no liberty. They are governed by others against their will. They are slaves."

UPDATE 1-Top NY legal officer demands bonus list from BofA CEO
A quote...."NEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) - New York's top legal officer on Thursday demanded Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis provide names of Merrill Lynch executives who received 2008 bonuses, and how much they got, before the bank's takeover of the firm in January."

Thursday February 26th 2009

The Silence of the Liberals - As Obama launches "war on terrorism" II
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."I see that the Pentagon has reversed its old policy of refusing to allow photographs of those flag-draped coffins as our dead soldiers return from the battlefield. One wonders, however, how much interest there will be in taking and publishing such photos now that President Barack Obama is in office. One also wonders how long it will take the media to acknowledge the new quagmire we're sinking into if and when the numbers of casualties start increasing – as they are sure to do. -- After all, Obama's war is going to be taking place on a much larger, more difficult canvas than that of his predecessor's, which was confined in large part to Iraq."

The Tomorrow Speech
Obama™ LITE Update -- A quote...."Obama used the forum to echo Fed Chair Ben Bernanke’s assertion that we could easily emerge from our financial crisis in two years if we just get this banking mess under control. Oh, is that all? You might as well say: “we can marry the princess and live happily ever after, as long as we kill that pesky pack of three headed dragons smoking on the drawbridge.. And all we got in our pockets is a couple of expired credit cards, a bent rubber paper clip, 43¢ in change and some green lint.” Then again, who knows? Maybe we elected ourselves President MacGyver."

Scott Horton Interviews Glenn Greenwald
Obama™ Update -- Audio Interview - Special Note - A quote...."Glenn Greenwald, renowned Salon.com blogger, discusses the Obama administration’s impact on civil liberties, the failure of Obama’s government to reverse a single Bush-era legal position, how the Bagram prison in Afghanistan is replacing Guantanamo as the new extralegal detention facility, the spectacular claim that a global war on terror makes the whole world a battlefield and all its inhabitants potential enemy combatants, the history of the state secrets privilege from its original limited exemptions to the current claims of total immunity and why non-prosecuting truth and reconciliation committees should be reserved for third-world countries." -- MP3 (45:28)"

Obama administration defends telecom immunity in new brief
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."The Obama Justice Department continues to stand behind a Bush era law meant to prevent lawsuits against telecommunications companies accused of illegally sharing private customer information with intelligence agencies."

PJB: Return of the War Party
Obama™ Update -- War Update -- A quote...."Real men go to Tehran!” brayed the neoconservatives, after the success of their propaganda campaign to have America march on Baghdad and into an unnecessary war that has forfeited all the fruits of our Cold War victory. -- Now they are back, in pursuit of what has always been their great goal: an American war on Iran. It would be a mistake to believe they and their collaborators cannot succeed a second time. Consider:" -- also posted at AntirWar & ICH & LewRockwell

Obama to Leave 50,000 Troops in Iraq Indefinitely
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."As we reported yesterday, President Obama’s Iraq “withdrawal” plan will leave up to 50,000 troops in a warzone engaging in combat missions. Today the president detailed the plans for members of Congress, and said the remnant forces, which would remain for an indefinite period of time, will be in Iraq to “advise Iraqi troops and protect US interests.” -- In other words the bases and the oil.

Obama has 'Plan B' on Iraq withdrawal --  Hah, hah, haaaaa!  Like if the Iraqis try to get the US-NRE to leave?
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."President Barack Obama has told Congress he may extend the US forces' presence in Iraq if the security situation worsens, says a lawmaker."  - also posted at WarInIraq - He that giveth (19 months) will soon taketh away (FOREVER!) - mpg

Obama's intelligence pick linked to Saudi Arabia
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."The Obama administration on Thursday named as chairman of the National Intelligence Council a veteran former diplomat who heads a think tank that has received major financing from Saudi Arabia." -- For more on this issue see....Judeo-Christian C/C & US - The Unholy Trinity

Obama budget plan forecasts soaring deficits
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."An eye-popping $1.75 trillion deficit for the 2009 fiscal year underlined the heavy blow the deep recession has dealt to the country's finances as Obama unveiled his first budget. That is the highest ever in dollar terms, and amounts to a 12.3 percent share of the economy -- the largest since 1945." -- Oh please!  It's highly doubtful they took into full account the huge drop in Federal tax revenues they’ll be getting (try none), not to mention the much higher payouts for unemployment compensation, for the soon to be bankrupt States,  the trillions more they'll have to spend for the Wall Street Banksters and of course we mustn’t forget all the wars the US-NRE will be ramping-up soon.   It'll be A LOT MORE than a measly, tiny, little, $1.75 Trillion. - mpg

Obama Seeks $205 Billion for Wars - To start with. - mpg
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."That is of course on top of the pentagon's already bloated budget. - mpg -- A quote...."In his first budget proposal, President Barack Obama has requested over $205 billion in war funding through the end of fiscal 2010. The funding would be in addition to the $533.7 billion he is asking for the Pentagon’s regular budget next year." -- bold by website editor
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9/11 - From The History File...Solari | The Missing Money - database
Loose Cannon Pentagon - sourcewatch
Following Zakheim and Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11
Pentagon Auditors Pressured To Favor Contractors, GAO Says
Darpa Slams 'No Accountability' Pentagon Money Men
McCaskill Takes On Military Industrial Complex
Military waste under fire, $1 trillion missing -- Bush plan targets Pentagon accounting
Pentagon spending growth outpaces auditors
Obama's Defense Department appointees – The $3.4 Trillion Dollar Question
Pentagon Audit Reveals Iraq Funds Were Spent 'Recklessly'
Billions of Dollars Unaccounted For in Iraq, Pentagon IG Reports
It's Time To Scrutinize The Pentagon Budget
Rumsfeld Inherits Financial Mess

For more on this issue see.....US Support of Terror
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Is A Major War A Possibility In 2009? The Historical Antecedents - posted at GlobRsrch
Must Read - A quote...."Some of you have evoked the possibility of a world conflict in the course of 2009.. I shan’t say that this prediction is far-fetched; or remote. Doubtless, many of you do not mean a regional conflict as in Ossetia and Gaza . Nor do I exclude the possibility of the US / Israel on Iran . In the making of war, madness can never be excluded. Let us keep in mind that the US caste oligarchy (USCO) and its trillion dollar militarist appendage is at war on several front in areas engulfing tens of thousands of kilometers: It is pursuing a war in Gaza via its surrogate; it is pursuing a war in Iraq; and of course it is escalating its military drive in Afghanistan; it has extended its killing fields to Pakistan. Recall that Pakistan has a frontier of 2,500 kms with Afghanistan ."

John Bolton at CPAC: The Benefits of Nuking Chicago - link posted at CLG
Related Article -- A quote...."Former UN Ambassador John Bolton believes the security of the United States is at dire risk under the Obama administration. And before a gathering of conservatives in Washington on Thursday morning,  he suggested, as something of a joke, that President Barack Obama might learn a needed lesson if Chicago were destroyed by a nuclear bomb."

The geopolitical Great Game: Turkey and Russia moving closer - posted at OnlineJournal
A quote...."Despite the problems of the ruble and the weak oil price in recent months for the Russian economy, the Russian government is pursuing a very active foreign policy strategy. Its elements focus on countering the continuing NATO encirclement policy of Washington, with often clever diplomatic initiatives on its Eurasian periphery." -- Also posted at ICH & GlobResrch

Eurasia Geopolitics: Iran Making Inroads On Caspian Gas - posted at GlobRsrch
Special Note -- This will get the ObamaWarCons all kinds of excited. - mpg -- A quote...."For years, several western countries have been fruitlessly trying to secure Caspian natural gas. And now it appears that the Iranians have the inside track in both Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan."

Afghanistan; US in Jalrez Valley -- A Juan Cole Round-Up
A quote...."200 US troops and 200 Afghan troops (along with their French trainers)  pushed into the Jalrez Valley south of the capital of Kabul on Wednesday, seeking Taliban strongholds. They don't appear actually to have found anything, and only succeeded in annoying the local population. Locals did say that their view of the US would improve if Washington spent money on civilian development such as roads."

Taliban call for peace with Afghans - Not if good'ol Bombs Away O-bomb-a has anything to say about it. - mpg
A quote...."KABUL -- The Taliban are willing to work with all Afghan groups to achieve peace, but the problems of Afghanistan can only be solved if foreign troops withdraw from the country, a senior insurgent leader said." -- also posted at Uruknet

Panetta: Drone Attacks in Pakistan Will Continue
Related Article - A quote...."The new Director of the CIA Leon Panetta declared yesterday that the controversial drone attacks against sites in Pakistan would continue, in spite of the growing criticism. Panetta declared that the attacks, which began under the Bush Administration, “have been successful.”

IAEA finds no weapons-grade enriched uranium in Iran
A quote...."VIENNA, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said its inspectors have not found that Iran is attempting to process low-enriched uranium into weapons-grade uranium, the Austrian Press Agency (APA) reported on Friday.  The report quoted an anonymous IAEA expert as saying, "so far, Iran has carried out good cooperation with us in relevant verifications."

Iran slams U.S. statement on its nuclear program, terrorism
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Iran Thursday lashed out at the U.S. statement on its nuclear program and alleged engagement in terrorism, calling such allegations "baseless and absurd." -- In a letter circulated to the UN Security Council president, the Iranian permanent representative to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaee, said, "It is unfortunate that the Security Council yet again heard some baseless allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran by the representative of the United States in today's meting of the council on Iraq."

RIGHTS:  Britain Admits Complicity in U.S. Rendition
A quote...."NEW YORK, Feb 26 (IPS) - In a stunning reversal, Britain’s government admitted Wednesday that it participated in the ‘extraordinary rendition’ to Afghanistan of two terror suspects captured in Iraq."

Colombia rocked by wiretapping revelations - link posted at CLG
A quote...."The Colombian government of President Alvaro Uribe has been rocked by a political scandal involving the wholesale wiretapping of opposition politicians, top judges and journalists by a secret service agency under Uribe's direct command."

Venezuela and Bolivia to Collaborate on Natural Gas Plant
A quote...."Mérida, February 26th 2009 (Venezuelanalysis.com) -- Venezuela will assist Bolivia in the construction of a liquid gas separation plant in the Chaco Forest region of Bolivia’s southeastern Tarija province, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced Tuesday."

Bolivia to start receiving Russian-made helicopters in April
A quote...."MOSCOW, February 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is to deliver two helicopters to Bolivia at the beginning of April, Bolivia's anti-drug tsar has said, with reports suggesting that they will be used in the fight against the illicit drug business."
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The Battle of terms behind the conflict
Must Read - A quote...."Many times, when people are discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they use terms such as ‘holocaust’, ‘genocide’, ‘apartheid’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’. Although these are descriptive in some ways of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they are ‘used’ terms—they are connected to a different situation in a separate time and historical context in most people’s minds—and their recycling ends up creating confusion and controversy more than anything else."

Empire - Israel and the US - 25 Feb 09 - (2 Parts)
Must View Videos - A quote...."In this episode of Empire, Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, and his guests zero in on the special relationship between the US and Israel. They explore who benefits from the special relationship and whether the status quo will prevail." -- For more on the "Humpty Dumpty" of Palestine and how it just "happened" to "fall off the wall and break into two parts" see....US Sponsored Civil Wars - Palestine

Are Palestinians Allowed to Resist? (Part I)
Special Note - A quote...."The issue of Palestinian resistance, in terms of its permissibility and types, is a highly inflammatory question for most Western observers. Mainstream media discourse frequently boils down to criticisms and condemnations of its “violence” or alternatively, asserts its impotence in the face of Israeli military might and Western opposition. It might therefore be helpful to place it in historical and current context and to comparatively evaluate it against that other famous struggle for independence, Indian national liberation. India’s struggle, given the prominent role of Gandhi’s satyagraha’s role, is usually synonymous in Western discourse with non-violent resistance."

Israel seizes land in plan to encircle West Bank town with fence
A quote...."Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Israeli military has issued an order to confiscate farmland in order to build a 295-meter barbed-wire fence separating the West Bank town of Beit Ummar from an adjacent highway."

PCHR Weekly Report: Palestinian child killed; 19 people injured by Israeli forces
A quote...."According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, during the week of 19 - 26 Feb. 2009, a Palestinian child died of wounds sustained during the recent Israeli invasion of Gaza. In addition, Israeli troops injured 19 Palestinians, 17 of whom were unarmed civilians, of whom eight were children, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip."

UK sued over arms sales to Israel
A quote...."The UK government is being sued over its policy of selling arms to Israel, which human rights activists say violates international law."

Red Cross: Gaza Blockade Must Be Lifted For Reconstruction
A quote...."GENEVA (AFP)--The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday that it was "urgent" to lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip as a first political measure to resolve the crisis there."

Palestinians agree to form unity government
A quote...."Fatah, Hamas to work together on issues of security, national reconciliation, elections, reform."

Erdogan says solution ostracizing Hamas not to be realistic
A quote...."Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that a solution to conflict between Israel and Palestine should not ostracize Hamas."

Israel approved thousands of settler homes in the occupied West Bank
A quote...."Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported on Friday morning that the so-called Civil Administration office had approved plans to construct thousands of homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. The plans have not been officially approved by Israel, but are in the process."
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Homeland Offense - PDF
Special Note - A quote...."Americans have become so inured to the sight of federal troops fighting fires, rescuing flood victims from rooftops, and engaging in drug interdiction on the border that few eyebrows were raised when news broke that 20,000 active-duty infantry would soon be deployed on American soil for so-called homeland defense. -- But critics say this development—announced by U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) in October—is unprecedented and further evidence of a military mission-creep into domestic affairs, particularly in areas for which the National Guard and Reserves are already suited."

Our Enemy, the President - PDF
Special Note - A quote...."After eight years of George W. Bush, conservatives find themselves back at the beginning—that is, back at the beginning of the modern American Right, circa 1933. Once more the country is in a deep financial crisis (we don’t call them “depressions” anymore) for which Republicans have taken the blame. And again a pragmatic Democratic president, backed by majorities in both chambers of Congress, promises to spend us back to prosperity. After conceding the president virtually his every whim during the Bush years—with the occasional Harriet Miers-sized exception—conservatives have begun to rediscover the virtues of checks upon executive power."

CNBC Anchors Mortified That Ron Paul Was Allowed Air Time
A quote...."CNBC anchors were left dumbfounded and acted overtly cantankerous yesterday after Congressman Ron Paul's opening statement at the House Financial Services Committee was broadcast live to an audience of millions." -- here's the video

Senate bars FCC from revisiting Fairness Doctrine - Thank God for the Internet!!! - mpg
DemoRepubs, RepubDemos, all for one and one for all. - mpg -- A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has barred federal regulators from reviving a policy, abandoned two decades ago, that required balanced coverage of issues on public airwaves."

Rahm Emanuel Doesn’t Pay Taxes, So Why Should You?
A quote...."Of course, if you don’t pay taxes to the government, chances are you will be arrested and thrown in the clinker. Not so in the case of Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s Chief of Staff."

Prosecutor claims Iran/Contra whistleblower is a “danger” to society
A quote...."....Narco News originally published that story (U.S. government finally exacts revenge on Iran/Contra whistleblower Cele Castillo). The article raises serious questions about whether Castillo’s prosecution was politically motivated. -- Castillo was convicted late last year on federal charges of dealing firearms without a license in a case marked by numerous irregularities and peculiar coincidences that raise the specter of a frame-up."
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The war on Wall Street terror - posted at OnlineJournal
Must Read - A quote...."It’s funny that during the run-up to the first War on Terror, Wall Street had such an active hand in exploiting the tragedy of 9/11. Thousands upon thousands of puts short-sold United and American Airlines stocks and WTC-based Morgan Stanley stock plunged; similarly calls (bets to rise) on defense and related stocks sent them soaring on that awful day, the War on Terror’s inciting incident. -- Today, we can count on Wall Street again to supply us with what Warren Buffett calls Weapons of Mass Financial Destruction to strike terror not just in the hearts of investors, but workers, businessmen, retired people, the unemployed, the middle-and-working classes and the poor, leaving our financial system like another Ground Zero, with masses of open-mouthed crowds and teary-eyed families hovering about it, losing resources and jobs that took a lifetime to grow."

The Employee Free Choice Act - The Enemies of Unions and the Lies They Tell
A quote...."Within days of receiving $25 billion in federal bailout money--paid for with your tax dollars--Bank of America hosted a conference call of corporate executives and conservatives to strategize about how to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). - Corporations have declared war on EFCA because of both its specific provisions and the symbolic role it could play in revitalizing the labor movement."

Casino Capitalism.- How Credit Unions Survived the Crash
Known as the "good guys", no doubt the government is figuring out ways to tax them to pay for the mess the "bad guys" caused. - mpg -- A quote...."While the reckless giant banks are shattering like an over-heated glacier day by day, the nation?s credit unions are a relative island of calm largely apart from the vortex of casino capitalism. -- Eighty five million Americans belong to credit unions which are not-for-profit cooperatives owned by their members who are depositors and borrowers. Your neighborhood or workplace credit union did not invest in these notorious speculative derivatives nor did they offer people ?teaser rates? to sign on for a home mortgage they could not afford." -- also posted at ICH

The "Great Financial Crisis": A whole new kind of struggle is emerging - posted at GlobRsrch
Interview - Mike Whitney interviews John Bellamy Foster -- A quote...."MW: The financial crisis is quickly turning into a political crisis. Already governments in Iceland and Latvia have collapsed and the global slump is just beginning to accelerate. Riots and street violence have broken out in Greece, Latvia and Lithuania and worker-led protests have become commonplace throughout the EU. As unemployment skyrockets and economic activity stalls, countries are likely to experience greater social instability. How does one take deep-seated discontent and rage and shape it into a political movement for structural change?" -- also posted at OnlineJournal
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New home sales plunge 10.2% to record low -- Supply of unsold homes rises to record-high 13.3 months
Special Note - A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Despite a record drop in prices, sales of new homes fell 10.2% in January to a record-low seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000, the Commerce Department estimated Thursday. -- Sales were down 48.2% compared with a year earlier, the government reported, an indication that the downturn in the housing market was still accelerating as the recession headed into its second year. -- bold by website editor

Jobless claims spike to 26-year high
Special Note - A quote...."Number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits rises to 667,000. Continuing claims top 5 million for the first time." - bold by website editor

Fannie Mae loses $25.2 billion in one quarter, asks for bailout
Special Note - WASHINGTON (AFP) – Troubled US mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae said Thursday it lost almost 60 billion dollars last year and asked the Treasury Department for a further 15.2 billion dollars in aid.

U.S. May Break Up AIG To Keep It Afloat
A quote...."American International Group and U.S. authorities are in advanced discussions over a radical restructuring that would split the insurer into at least three government-controlled divisions in an attempt to keep it afloat, the Financial Times reported on its website, citing people close to the situation."

Mervyn King: 'Impossible to say' how much capital needed to shore up banking system - link posted at CLG
A quote...."Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, has said it is "impossible to say" how much capital will be required to shore up the British banking system. -- Mr King said it would take "many months" [try many years] to establish the scale of toxic assets held by banks, and the scale of problems would change depending on the international economic outlook."

Ukraine Ratings Cut to CCC+ by S&P on IMF Loan Risk (Update4)
A quote...."Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Ukraine’s credit rating was cut two levels by Standard & Poor’s to the lowest in Europe, a day after Latvia was downgraded to junk, as eastern Europe’s most debt- laden economies lurch closer to default."

Hungary on edge of bankruptcy
A quote...."Hungary is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy with its citizens struggling to pay off mortages and personal loans taken out in foreign currency during one of the post-Communist era's most exhuberant booms." -- also posted at RougeGov

Japan's industrial output tumbles 10% in Jan. - Household spending declines sharply stirring worry on domestic front
A quote...."HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japan's industrial output contracted by a record 10% and consumer spending fell in the first month of the year, data released Friday showed, adding to the growing perception that the No. 2 global economy this year will undergo the worst recession in more than half a century."

Wednesday February 25th 2009

The Oscar for Denial, And the winner is – The American People
Must Read - A quote...."Now the United States faces a new moral crisis, the subversion of our own legal and moral values by high officials of our own government.  We are, in this moment. as awash in complicity and willful denial as the principled middle-class denizens of the Third Reich.  We are the Good Germans of the new millennium in Bush America because we knew about the illegal kidnappings and tortures, the self-serving legalisms that subverted the Geneva accords and papered over Constitutional lapses, the lies that led us into conquest and occupation.  Starting well before the invasion of Iraq - which millions around the globe protested in unprecedented numbers before it occurred - we knew the "weapons of mass destruction" and Saddam's connections to al-Qaeda were bullshit excuses.  But many millions of us tried to pretend that we really weren't sure." -- also posted at ICH

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Orwell in Babylon: Obama's War-Continuing "Withdrawal" Plan
Must Read - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."Word has now come from on high – that is, from "senior administration officials" using "respectable newspapers" as wholly uncritical conduits for government spin – that President Obama has reached a grand compromise with his generals (or rather, the generals and Pentagon poobahs he has inherited -- and eagerly retained -- from George W. Bush) on a plan to withdraw some American troops from the country that the United States destroyed in an unprovoked war of aggression. Obama had wanted a 16-month timetable for the partial withdrawal; his potential campaign rival in 2012, General David Petraeus, wanted 23 months; so, with Solomonic wisdom, they have now split the difference, and will withdraw a portion of the American troops in 19 months instead." -- also posted at CounterPunch

A Simple Question About Presidents And Their Actions
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."Over the past year or so, as the race for the presidency not-so-gradually became even more obviously farcical than I ever thought it could get, I often found myself overwhelmed by the split capacity of the "progressive-Democratic" writers I had been reading."

What About Bagram?
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."While human rights and legal advocacy groups applauded President Barack Obama's decision to close the military prison at Guantánamo Bay within a year, many immediately raised another thorny question: "What about Bagram?"

Obama to Seek $75.5 Billion More for Wars in 2009 (Update2)
Obama™ Update -- This appears to be a typo, it looks like he needs $205 billion more for the wars. - mpg -- A quote...."Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama will seek $75.5 billion more [it'll be trillions later on.] for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through the end of this fiscal year, according to three people familiar with the request. -- posted at WarInIraq

Indict Bush and Impeach Obama, Liberal Leaders Betray Antiwar Cause To Serve Dems and Obama -- Again
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."In the Wall Street Journal of January 24, the loathsome McCarthyite neocon David Horowitz gazed approvingly on the inauguration of Barack Obama. To Horowitz it meant the removal of an obstacle to war. Thus he wrote:

"Consider: When President Obama commits this nation to war against the Islamic terrorists, as he already has in Afghanistan, he will take millions of previously alienated and disaffected Americans with him, and they will support our troops in a way that most of his party has refused to support them until now. When another liberal, Bill Clinton went to war from the air, there was no anti-war movement in the streets or in his party’s ranks to oppose him. That is an encouraging fact for us . . ." - also posted at AmericanEveryman -- For more on this sort of issue see....Judeo-Christian C/C & US
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Exclusive: Lawyer says Guantanamo abuse worse since Obama
A quote...."LONDON (Reuters) - Abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has worsened sharply since President Barack Obama took office as prison guards "get their kicks in" before the camp is closed, according to a lawyer who represents detainees. -- Abuses began to pick up in December after Obama was elected, human rights lawyer Ahmed Ghappour told Reuters. He cited beatings, the dislocation of limbs, spraying of pepper spray into closed cells, applying pepper spray to toilet paper and over-forcefeeding detainees who are on hunger strike."

A Modest Proposal - An Iraqi Vote on Troop Withdrawal
A quote...."Why not give democracy a chance?  The Iraqis have a right to a direct vote on the options for U.S. troop withdrawal.  The ballot would be simple.  Should U.S. troops leave Iraq?   Yes   No  If you answered Yes, how soon should they leave?" -- MY GAWD!!!!  Letting the "towel heads" decide if they want the ongoing occupation to continue - or not!  Letting the "little people" of Iraq decide if the New Roman Empire should leave!  Allowing them the actual opportunity of casting a free and fair VOTE on the issue....it would be....it's unheard of....how could any decent white man think ..... actual "freedom and democracy" for the riff-raff of the Middle East?!?!?  It's pure insanity, the author of this proposal must be nuts.  The Empire didn't spend trillions of dollars to seize its oil and then simply walk away because the people who are living on top of it decided to vote the Empire out.  No way, no how....not ever. – mpg

Syria says Iraqi refugees turn into ‘unbearable’ economic burden
A quote...."Syria says the presence of more than a million Iraqi refugees is stretching its strapped economic resources to the limit and has asked other Arab countries for help. It has asked a forthcoming Arab foreign ministers conference scheduled for March to place Iraqi refugees’ issue on their agenda, saying it can no longer bear paying for their stay on its territory.  Syria has been spending up to $2 billion a year on Iraqi refugees and that its efforts to persuade donor countries and international aid organizations for help have almost gone unheeded." - bold by website editor

For those drooling morons in the US-NRE who've been constantly castigating Syria and who’ve supported the war of aggression (a war crime by the way) against Iraq, here's a little heads up for you, not that you care of course.  The oh so “generous”, oh so “noble” US-NRE has taken in just a few tens of thousands of Iraqi refugees since the war started while Syria has taken in over a million and a half, and for those of you who can't count (which is most of you) that's been almost six years.  Think of it this way, (we’ll try to keep it simple for all you Neocon supporting, Depends wearing, morally challenged, constitution ignoring, cretins out there) Syria's population is about 20 million, the Iraq refugees number over 1.5 million, that's the equivalent of the US-NRE taking in over twenty two million refugees!!  Oh YEAH! This is a real generous Empire --- with its bombs that is. – mpg

Pakistani Taliban unite against U.S.
A quote...."PESHAWAR: Three major Pakistani Taliban commanders have joined forces, a development that poses a significant threat to Pakistan’s stability and could hamper U.S. efforts to flush out al Qaeda from a safe haven in the country’s lawless borderlands, the Washington Times reported in its Tuesday edition."

"For This I Blame America" Afghanistan: Chaos Central
Must Read - A quote...."Back then, this beautiful city was the ideal place for a bit of post-conflict profiteering. Hastily-created NGOs continued to flood in, eager for a slice of the action. So did journalists determined to write about democracy, the suave English-speaking president and the local golf course. It was the calm before the storm. Victory had been declared and, while Afghans were starting to feel the weight of its baggage, the rest of the world was still having fun at their expense. -- But the decadence and ignorance were never going to be allowed to last for long, and the Taliban knew their time was coming again. The warning signs were around for anyone who cared to look."

War of the spies as Israel and Hezbollah prepare for confrontation
A quote...."Hezbollah's highly effective counter-intelligence unit is responsible for most discoveries of Mossad cells in Lebanon. Last November Beirut newspapers reported the arrest of a Lebanese man who had been spying for Israel since the early 1980s. -- The covert war works both ways, with Hezbollah building up a network of espionage cells in Israel and even recruiting Israeli soldiers."

CIA’s secrete Operations worldwide and drug money
A quote...."In Afghanistan US/NATO put blame on Taliban for the poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for financing their resistance to allied forces. Ironically, it was only in Taliban era when the world had seen a sharp decline in opium crop in Afghanistan. Taliban banned opium cultivation nationwide. A more important question is how and when this business of drug production and trafficking started in region? CIA has been using drug money since long to generate money to support its operations all over the world. It did not start in Afghanistan it was brought here after experimenting somewhere else."

WRAPUP 1-Iran denies nuclear slowdown, sets big expansion
A quote...."Iran says 6,000 centrifuges operating, 50,000 in five years * Iran denies nuclear slowdown indicated by IAEA report * Bushehr power plant said closer to launch after first tests"

Russia sees no concern over nuclear [powered] Iran
A quote...."Cooperation between Iran and Russia is based on international norms and conventions and it should be said that nothing is being done outside the non-proliferation framework," explained the Russian nuclear official in response to a question by Press TV's correspondent Gisoo Misha Ahmadi."

Yemen plans to buy more MiG-29 fighters from Russia
A quote...."MOSCOW, February 26 (RIA Novosti) - The president of Yemen said his country plans to buy a number of MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters and other military equipment from Russia, a newspaper reported on Thursday."

Gazprom may cut gas to Ukraine [again] over non-payments [again] - newspaper
A quote...."MOSCOW, February 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russian energy giant Gazprom could cut gas deliveries to Ukraine from March 8 if Naftogaz does not pay for supplies received in February, Russian business daily Kommersant reported on Thursday."

KBR Q4 Profit Climbs As Revenues Surge 42%
To all the men and women in the US-NRE armed forces -- thank you!!  Keep up the good work, no matter how many of you die or are maimed for life, the shareholders at KBR will ALWAYS appreciate what you've done to make them wealthier.  Not that they'll give you any money of course, after all, they're not communists, in fact they’ll probably get the Repubs to vote against any increases in your wages, pensions or your VA benefits as they've done so often in the past because the less for you, the more for KBR's contracts....but they do appreciate your sacrifice for the company's bottom line. – mpg

What Happened to the American Media?
A quote...."What happened to the American Media? After Nixon's demise, the right wing of the Republican party decided that they could no longer afford to allow the free dissemination of information to the US public. The simple solution? Have their friends buy up the major networks, newspaper chains and magazines, so they could be controlled from the top on the corporate level. The Left's Media Miscalculation was to stand by and watch them do it." -- For more on this issue see....Fake Intel / Propaganda

Anthrax investigation still yielding findings
Must Read - (For the absolute hilarity of it all) -- A quote...."The deadly bacterial spores mailed to victims in the US anthrax attacks, scientists say, share a chemical 'fingerprint' that is not found in bacteria from the flask linked to Bruce Ivins, the biodefence researcher implicated in the crime." - bold by website editor -  Whoops, the one and only piece of "real" evidence linking Ivans to the Anthrax attacks goes down the tubes (pun intended), guess the FBI will have to go find someone else to frame. – For more on this issue see....9/11 the Sequel - Return of the Jihadi™ -- 08-23-08  - mpg.

Sandia National Laboratories Test Exonerates Ivins
Related Article - A quote...."While government apologists are still trying to pretend there is a case that Bruce Ivins was the anthrax killer, tests by Sandia National Laboratories have exonerated him."
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Israeli Sabotage of U.S.-Iranian Detente
A quote...."Since Israel’s recent election, people have begun to realize that the ruling Israeli elite from its major parties is trying to constrain Obama from fundamentally altering U.S.-Iran relations. Having concluded that it cannot immediately provoke a U.S.-Iran war for its own benefit, Israel is instead, according to this interpretation, resigned to seeing some U.S.-Iranian discussions and now hopes only to minimize the meaning and duration of those talks. This is a polite circumlocution for sabotaging the talks and damaging U.S. national security."

Arab Parties Face Most Hostile Knesset in History
A quote...."When Israel's 18th parliament opened today, there was only one Arab woman among its intake of legislators. --  Haneen Zoubi has made history: although she is not the first Arab woman to enter the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, she is the first to be elected for an Arab party."

Israel PM suspends Hamas ceasefire negotiator
Some quotes...."Ehud Olmert files complaint against Amos Gilad after [the Israeli] civil servant's frank criticism of government approach" -- "The move comes after Gilad was quoted in an Israeli newspaper last week making unusually frank criticisms of the Israeli government's attitude to negotiating with Egypt and its apparent delays on agreeing a prisoner release that would see Hamas hand over the captured soldier, Gilad Shalit, who is believed to be still alive somewhere in Gaza."

Israeli forces open fire on Palestinian farmers and internationals in Khoza’a
A quote...."9am, 24th February 2009, Khoza’a, Khan Younis , Gaza Strip:Palestinian farmers, accompanied by international Human Rights Workers (HRWs), were fired upon by Israeli forces in the village of Khoza’a, near Khan Younis, this morning. The farmers and HRWs were attempting to work on land around 300m from the ‘Green Line’."

Convoy of Lifeline of Hope arrives in Tunisia en route to Gaza
A quote...."TUNIS, Feb 25 (KUNA) — The aid convoy of Lifeline of Hope, a British humanitarian relief agency, arrived in northwest Tunisia on Wednesday en route to Gaza Strip. -- The convoy, led by George Galloway, member of the UK House of Commons, set off from Britain towards Gaza Strip. -- Made up of 100 trucks, the convoy is carrying some 285 sympathizers with Gazans and food, medical and household supplies to the victims of the 22-day Israeli offensive (December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009)."

Robert Fisk on Gaza and the media
A quote...."Reporting independently from the front lines of war is an increasingly rare engagement for journalists working for major international media outlets. From Iraq to Afghanistan, reporters are increasingly embedded with Western military forces, operating without independence." -- also posted at ICH
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How Bank Bonuses Let Us All Down
Special Note - (for how the "system" really works) --  A quote...."Take two bankers. The first is conservative. He produces one annual dollar of sound returns, with no risk of blow-up. The second looks no less conservative, but makes $2 by making complicated transactions that make a steady income, but are bound to blow up on occasion, losing everything made and more. So while the first banker might end up out of business, under competitive strains, the second is going to do a lot better for himself. Why? Because banking is not about true risks but perceived volatility of returns: you earn a stream of steady bonuses for seven or eight years, then when the losses take place, you are not asked to disburse anything. You might even start again, after blaming a "systemic crisis" or a "black swan" for your losses. As you do not disgorge previous compensation, the incentive is to engage in trades that explode rarely, after a period of steady gains."

It's Time to Break up the Big Banks
A quote...."February 25, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- Timothy Geithner is putting the finishing touches on a plan that will dump $1 trillion of toxic assets onto the US taxpayer. The plan, which goes by the opaque moniker the "Public-Private Investment Fund" (PPIF), is designed to provide lavish incentives to hedge funds and private equity firms to purchase bad assets from failing banks. It is a sweetheart deal that provides government financing and guarantees for illiquid mortgage-backed junk for which there is currently no active market."

Ron Paul Grills Bernanke: “You Can’t Reinflate The Bubble”
A quote...."Congressman Ron Paul again took the opportunity to lecture Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on sound money principles at this morning’s House Financial Services Committee hearing, warning that the financial crisis cannot be solved by merely creating credit out of thin air."

US and German Credit Default Swap Risks Skyrocket
Financial Alert -- A quote...."The cost of bankruptcy protection on German debt has reached an all-time high on spill-over from the financial crisis in Eastern Europe and mounting concerns about the stability of Germany's banking system."

Existing U.S. home sales, prices drop in January
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes plunged in January, reversing the previous month's surprise jump, and prices spiraled down to a six-year low as the deep recession and rising joblessness took its toll." -- Editor's Note -- Several articles have noted that the housing inventory has declined slightly, that's true, but almost 50

Existing-home sales drop 5.3% to 12-year low - Prices down 14.8% in past year as foreclosures flood the market
Some quotes...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of pre-owned homes dropped 5.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.49 million in January, the lowest sales pace in 12 years, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday." -- "One positive note in the report: The inventory of unsold homes declined for the sixth consecutive month in January to the lowest level in about two years. Fewer homes on the market could reduce the downward pressure on prices." -- BUT! -- "About 45% of sales in January involved so-called distressed sales of homes in foreclosure or short sales by homeowners who sell for less than what they owe their lenders, Yun said." - bold by website editor

Editor's Note -- And that's why the housing inventory may be dropping a bit, because both homeowners (however few of them there are left) and probably many of the banks, are holding off placing houses on the market, especially this market, for several very good reasons. -- They won't be sold, they'll depress prices even further, and if sold many will be sold at a loss, especially those homes owned by the Banks that are currently in foreclosure.  In fact, for these very reasons it's quite possible that a substantial amount of housing stock which would normally have been put up for sale has been held back from the market.  This does not bode well in the near term, or even the medium term (one to two years) for the US housing market. – mpg

Boomers: 30% underwater
Special Note -- A quote...."NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- What a turnaround for the American Dream! -- According to a report released Wednesday, the real estate market bust and stock market declines have carved a huge chunk out of the assets of baby boomers, the largest age cohort in U.S. history. -- So much home equity has been lost that should boomers need to sell their homes, 30% of those aged 45 to 54 would owe money at closing...."

UK recession: why your nest egg won't save you
Special Note - (for all you "savers" out there) -- A quote...."I've saved prudently all my life, and never claimed anything from the state. Now the income from my savings has been wiped out, but because I'm retired no one cares about people like me. It's a case of Do Not Resuscitate, because we're elderly." -- Yep, there is no lower form of life in a war cycle based, fiat currency based, economy....than that of a "hard working saver". - mpg

RBS reports record corporate loss
A quote...."Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced the largest annual loss in UK corporate history. -- RBS, which had to be bailed out by the government last year, said that its 2008 loss totalled £24.1bn ($34.2bn)." - bold by website editor

Economic slump deepens in Japan as exports collapse
A quote...."The collapse of Japanese exports last month underscores how rapidly economic recession is turning into a full-blown depression—and not just in Japan."

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