http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/mpgrap-021607-022807

Empire in the Ditch
Must Read - A quote...."The casual observer could be excused for wondering if anyone is steering this ship. And if so, do they have a plan? Is there a method to this madness? - The answers to these questions can be found, in my opinion, by examining the needs and wants of our ruling class. - Any honest analysis of history reveals one sober axiom: All statist political systems exist primarily to perpetuate the power and privilege of the elites who control the system. This axiom is true even for those systems that claim to oppose class-based privilege."

Chalmers Johnson: Chronicling America's Imperial Folly
Must Read - A BuzzFlash Interview - A quote...."I believe that we’re close to a tipping point right now. What happened to the Soviet Union between 1989 and 1991 could easily be happening to us for essentially the same reasons. Imperial overreach, inability to reform, rigid economic ideology. ... The world’s balance of power didn’t change one iota on September 11, 2001. The only way we could lose the power and influence we had at that time was through our own actions, and that’s what we did."
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Chiquita to Pay $25M in Terror Case
A quote...."WASHINGTON - Banana company Chiquita Brands International said Wednesday it has agreed to a $25 million fine after admitting it paid a Colombian terrorist group for protection in a volatile farming region."

You see it's a real simple concept....bananas we'll do - the oil companies, the Saudis, the Bush Cabal and what really happened on 9/11 we won't do, even if it involves the untimely deaths of almost three thousand Americans.

One has to understand this Nation's priorities......bananas are much more important. - mpg
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Al-Maliki tells aides U.S. benchmark deadline is June 30 or his ouster possible
Related article - A quote...."BAGHDAD: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki fears the Americans will withdraw support for his government — effectively ousting him — if parliament does not pass a draft oil law by the end of June, close associates of the Iraqi leader told The Associated Press on Tuesday."

However prime ministers of "independent" countries upon which we've bestowed our lovely "freedom and democracy" we'll also do....when it's a matter of extracting their oil.

Oil, bananas and people - Understand the difference? - mpg
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US looks at plan to oust Musharraf
A quote...."THE US has indicated for the first time that it might be willing to back plans by elite echelons of the military in Islamabad to oust Pervez Musharraf from power, as the Pakistani President was beset by major new difficulties over his attempts to sack the country's chief justice."

My goodness, it's becoming a difficult, dangerous and thankless task to be a "friend" of the US. - mpg
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No military bases for US if it attacks Iran: Kasuri
A quote...."ISLAMABAD, MARCH 11 : Pakistan will not provide military bases to the United States if it launches attacks on Iran, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said. He said an attack on Iran will leave a negative impact on the politics and economics of not only Pakistan but the entire region."

Pelosi and Dems Taken to Task by AIPAC, Cheney
A quote...."No matter what Nancy Pelosi does, she cannot grovel enough before AIPAC. For instance, Pelosi attended the latest AIPAC confab, as should be expected of all Dems worth their salt—and mindful of their careers—but when she called the Iraq “war” a “failure on several scores,” she was roundly booed by the attendees. “Pelosi said the U.S. military campaign in Iraq had to be judged on three accounts: whether it makes the U.S. safer, the U.S. military stronger and the region more stable,” notes Ian Swanson."

US Soldiers serving as drivers for terrorists
A quote...."Between AIPAC, the ATC, MEK, Saudis, Pakistan, etc., buying our Congress outright, is there anyone left who actually is owned by the people who pay their salaries or to the country they take an oath to defend? Is there any member of Congress literally "made in America?"

A Journalist Writing Bloody Murder…
A quote...."A Journalist Writing Bloody Murder…And No One Notices"

More on Seymour Hersh's "Redirection" - mpg
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Bush's Tour Fulfills Its Promise: It's a Dud
A quote...."The political changes that have occurred in the region, with the ascent of center-left governments and the anti-imperialist populism of Hugo Chavez, have ruined the idyllic assumption that conservatism had been firmly established in the Western hemisphere."

The Last Thing We Need
A quote...."For decades, Africa has pleaded in vain for a comprehensive engagement from the west on the basis of shared interests, particularly in the economic arena. But the new engagement the continent has been offered, in the form of a military US command, is the last thing the world's most impoverished continent needs."

Is There A Secret To The 9/11 Insurance Battle?
A quote...."A major insurance company is holding back from paying Larry Silverstein insurance money he says he is still owed from the destruction of the World Trade Center complex, the question is why?"

Ohio Election Workers Sentenced
A quote...."CLEVELAND (AP) - Two county election workers were sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison for rigging a recount of 2004 presidential election ballots so they could avoid a longer, detailed review."

Giuliani and Romney's Compromised Ethics - Or, Does "Republican Candidate" = "Unindicted Co-Conspirator"?
A quote...."When a Washington official uses the passive voice you know they're toast. Sentences like the Attorney General's - "I acknowledge that mistakes were made" - should come with subtitles that read "I'm desperately trying to avoid the inevitable."

Troubled Waters on U.N. Oceans Treaty
A quote...."The convention is the framework treaty for international agreements relating to marine boundaries, economic and environmental resources, scientific research, pollution control and more. Some call it the constitution of the ocean, and 153 nations have signed on."

But not the US of course. - mpg
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Halliburton bails out of Iraq, KBR and now America
A quote...."WASHINGTON, March 12 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- “With various ongoing investigations, Halliburton's sale of KBR and the move to UAE are tantamount to fleeing the scene of a crime,” said Jim Donahue, co-director of Halliburton Watch, in response to the company’s announcement today that it will move its headquarters to Dubai, UAE."

Crouching Tiger, Tumbling US Economy
A quote...."Bush and Cheney may be declaring "Mission Accomplished" now that the Iraqi Cabinet has approved the draft of an oil law granting foreign companies unprecedented access to the country's fields. - But Beijing is having the last laugh. - Just last week, Chinese oil company officials arrived in Baghdad to revive Hussein-era contracts for developing Iraq's oil, specifically, the Ahdab oil field in south-central Iraq. Hundreds of millions of dollars and a reduction in Iraq's Chinese debt are already on the table."

24, torture and prime-time US television
A quote..."An article in the February 14 issue of the New Yorker magazine describes an extraordinary meeting that took place in Hollywood in mid-November 2006. David Danzig of Human Rights First and other participants took to task writers and producers for their depiction of torture on the popular Fox television series 24. For several years the show’s writers have made sadistic portrayals central to fueling “an addictive, adrenaline-fueled thriller,” as the show is hyped on one of its DVD jackets."

FUNDING FOR AN ATTACK ON IRAN - article posted at the top of web page for next several days - mpg
Last night, Rep. Pelosi and the democratic leadership decided to pull language from the Supplemental Appropriations bill which stated that no funds may be authorized for military operations in or related to Iran unless specifically authorized by the Congress.

Dog Days: Another Democratic Surrender on the Road to War
Related article - A quote...."Arthur Silber is rightly outraged by the latest surrender by the national Democrats to the tinpot, two-bit -- and highly unpopular -- l'il dictator in the Oval Office: the removal of a measure that would have simply required the president to follow the Constitution of the United States and gain the approval of Congress before attacking Iran. But even this very timorous "opposition" -- the polite insistence that the Chief Executive obey the law of the land -- proved too much for the trembly Dems in the end. House "Leader" Nancy Pelosi pulled the measure she herself had championed and thus -- as the equally outraged Jonathan Schwarz notes -- made the Democrats directly complicit in the attack on Iran that the Bush Regime is openly (and covertly) preparing for.

Democrats Blink on Iran Restriction
Related article - A quote...."The Democrats are blinking and taking out of proposed legislation a provision that would have forbidden Bush to take military action against Iran without coming to the Congress first (i.e. without acting in accordance with the Constitution). I'm not sure why you need a statute, anyway, to ensure that the Constitution is followed . . . Except that it has been so long since presidents have paid much attention to the Constitution. The Imperial Presidency has overshadowed it, just as Emperor Augustus overshadowed the Roman Republic."

AIPAC Pushes to Eliminate Anti-Iran-War Language from Pelosi Iraq Bill
Related article - A quote...."As everyone knows, House and Senate Democrats are trying to put together an Iraq war spending bill that will pressure the President to bring the troops home sooner rather than later. There is a general consensus on most issues relating to Iraq."

Iran - Upping the Ante
Related Article - A quote...."Can the United States and British governments really be at it again? Can they really expect the public to believe a mirror image of their barrage of lies on Iraq, now applying to Iran? Well, it is all there. Iran is “sponsoring terrorism”. (Was that not Iraq, before the invasion, when there was no known link to terrorism. There is now and the US and UK imported it on the backs of their tanks and with their puppet “government's” militias.)"

Iran 'euro-based' oil bourse underway
Related article - A quote...."An official said that the managing director of Iran's first petroleum exchange "Iran Oil Bourse" is expected to be appointed soon, bringing the oil-rich nation a step closer to opening its first 'oil bourse'. Majid Shayesteh, managing director of Kish Free Trade Zone Organization, said that President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has directed Iran's ministers of oil, economic affairs and finance to appoint the board of directors of the oil exchange and its managing director. He did not specify when exactly the exchange would open."

NY Times/ CBS Poll Analysis: Only 15% Support Action Against Iran, Cheney Postiives at Record Low
So??? Are any of these people part of AIPAC or the 1% that counts?

See also....PNAC's Cloak of Invisibility - 08-15-06
See also....Where No Promise is Ever Honored - 10-05-06
See also....Mommy Pelosi and Daddy Bush - 11-18-06
See also....ISG-OS 1.20 - 11-30-06
See also....Predictable Outcomes - 02-04-07
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Guantánamo, Dred Scott and the Amistad
Must Read - A quote...."Can a US court declare that a group of human beings have no rights and can be enslaved or abused at will with no legal recourse? That question will soon be coming before the Supreme Court.

Neocons in Kafkaland - The Future Has Caught Up With Us
Must Read - A quote...."John Derbyshire is the sole remaining adult writing for National Review. In a recent issue he noted that Aldous Huxley's novel, Brave New World, first published in 1932, now reads like contemporary news. Huxley's fearsome predictions of a 26th century world have all come true six centuries early--in vitro fertilization, genetically modified crops, stem-cell research, promiscuous recreational sex, the demise of marriage and families, and the epidemic use of prescription and illegal drugs to escape from anxiety, frustration and disappointment."

Will Congress continue pimping for the White House?
Must Read - A quote...."If the 107th Congress proved to be a true bipartisan whoremonger for Bush’s White House back in October of 2002, the 108th and 109th congresses didn’t bring any form of redemption, remorse or sanity to the legislature in Washington; not even suggestions for the Decider to carry on his bad decisions more efficiently. And, to date, all appearances indicate that the 110th wears the same red, yellow and blue colors that the others did. A bright canary yellow for cowardice replacing the white -- mythically ascribed to purity -- that alternates with red in Old Glory."

Bush calls Democrats bluff on war funding resolution
A quote...."In a provocative challenge to the Democratic leadership of Congress, President George W. Bush announced while still on his Latin American tour that he is sending another 8,200 troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and is demanding another $3.2 billion to fund the escalation of the US wars in both countries."

Olmert’s testimony reveals the real goal of the war in Lebanon
Olmert fesses up, no suprises here - A quote..."Nazareth. 12 March 2007. Israel’s supposedly “defensive” assault on Hizbullah last summer, in which more than 1,000 Lebanese civilians were killed in a massive aerial bombardment that ended with Israel littering the country’s south with cluster bombs, was cast in a definitively different light last week by Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert."

And...."Olmert told Winograd that, far from making war on the hoof in response to the capture of the two soldiers (the main mitigating factor for Israel’s show of aggression), he had been planning the attack on Lebanon since at least March 2006."

So our "mass media" lied again. Now thats really, really, old news. - mpg
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After the event
A quote...."Hans Blix has decided that the Iraq war was 'clearly illegal'. Fine, but discovering a bit of backbone now is four years too late."

Cleland to Cheney: “Where the hell were you in the Vietnam War?”
A quote...."Speaking before the 2007 AIPAC Policy Conference earlier today, Vice President Cheney trotted out the same old talking point about how any sort of timetable will just cause the "enemy" to "wait us out." When asked for his response to this, former Senator (and war hero) Max Cleland had some tough words for the draft-dodging and warmongering Veep."
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White House considered firing all 93 U.S. attorneys
A quote...."The Justice Department has said the eight were dismissed for "performance and managerial reasons," but Democrats charge they were fired for political reasons and that some felt pressured by powerful Republicans in their home states to rush investigations of potential voter fraud involving Democrats."

The rise of the Rove Reich - [and the sacking of eight US attorneys]
Related article - A quote...."Politics is the art of destroying one’s enemies and rewarding one’s friends. By this standard, the Bush regime is the most capable administration in American history. Bush and his fellows have shown time and again that they have sharp elbows and can be cold-blooded political street fighters."

What Did the [Perp] Know and When Did He Know It
Related article - A quote...."Richard Nixon, it seems, has posthumously moved up the rankings of presidential success stories. He’s not at the bottom of the list anymore. Oh, I know that the history books haven’t yet caught up to this reality, but they will. I mean really, how could they not?"
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Anthrax attack on US Congress made by scientists and covered up by FBI, expert says
A quote...."WASHINGTON -- The terrorists who perpetrated the 2001 anthrax attack on Congress likely were US government scientists at the army's Ft. Detrick, MD., bioterrorism lab having access to "moonsuits" that enabled them to safely process and manufacture super-weapons-grade anthrax, an eminent authority on the subject says."

What If the FBI Hired Someone Honest to Look into 9-11?
A quote...."It did. Her name was Sibel Edmonds. This is her story, as she told it to me. Edmonds discusses what she knows, whom it implicates, and what she's been through and what hope there is in the new Congress to start an investigation."

Looking for Truth in Credentials: The WTC “Experts”
A quote...."When Matthew Rothschild, editor of the online magazine The Progressive, wrote an article called “Enough of the 9/11 Conspiracies, Already”, we all knew he was not talking about the conspiracy theory that the US government sells us to justify the expanding 9/11 Wars.[1]"

9/11 Cartoon REMIX (starring Aaron Russo) part 1 of 2 & 9/11 Cartoon REMIX (starring Aaron Russo) part 2 of 2
This is a lot of fun - mpg

ID Refusniks To Be Prisoners In Their Own Country
A quote...."People who attempt to resist the forthcoming Big Brother ID card and database system in the UK will never be able to leave the country according to the Government official in charge of the scheme."

This is a Test and Test & Answers

The Human Rights Record in the United States in 2006 - [from China's point of view]
A quote...."BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- States and to promote the international cause of human rights, we hereby publish the Human Rights Record of The Information Office of the State Council published a document titled "The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2006"

"It Struck Me Then That We, The American Soldiers, Were The Terrorists"
Must Read - A quote...."Given What We Were Doing To Them, Who Could Blame Them For Wanting To Kill Us, And All Americans?"

FBI conducted illegal spying on tens of thousands
A quote...."The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has collected financial and personal information on tens of thousands of people since 2003, using a special type of subpoena that does not require judicial review, according to a report by the Justice Department’s inspector general. This spying was often carried out in violation of existing laws and regulations."

Democrats Just As Embarrassingly Craven As You Expect
A quote...."As I've mentioned, there's quite a lot Congress can do to prevent Bush from attacking Iran—if they want to. So if we find ourselves at war with Iran, it won't just be Bush's responsibility. It will also belong to a Democratic-controlled Congress."

Iraq Summit Brings US, Iran to the Table
A quote...."The conference yields little as officials criticize one another. No date is set for next meeting. - Baghdad - The first crashing sound came just after lunch Saturday, when mortar rounds slammed into the street outside the building where U.S., Iranian and other officials were meeting here to discuss ways to end the violence in Iraq. - The next one came six hours later, when Iran's chief delegate stood on a podium and ripped into U.S. policy in Iraq, clobbering hopes that the summit would prove an ice-breaker in the two countries' chilly relations."

The fall guy in Iraq
A quote...."The Bush administration has perfected the art of fall-guy selection. The more convoluted the plot, the more credible the fall guy must be. As Lewis "Scooter" Libby was the fall guy in Washington, Premier Nuri al-Maliki will be the fall guy in Baghdad."

Halliburton’s Gravy Train
A quote...."You can’t accuse Halliburton of hiding its intentions: to grasp, at all costs, every chance at war profiteering, hopefully with accomplices in government to help cut to the chase. When the Supreme Court elected Dick Cheney regent in 2000, Halliburton, the company whose chairman and CEO he had been since 1995—the company that had broken U.S. laws to grasp what it could of oil contracts in Iraq and Libya in the 1990s—knew it was about to profit like no company had ever profited from war before.'

'What it lacked, of course was a war. It had lucrative contracts in the Balkans. But that wasn’t much. It needed something that could grow. Something that could feed dividends enough to make the old robber barons choke with jealousy from their graves. It took only a few months. The attacks of 9/11 came, one might say, on time, having given Halliburton time to position itself with the Bush junta’s new henchmen spread around government agencies."
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Coming in From the Cold - Ketcham's Story
A quote...."In this special report we print a carefully reported narrative by Christopher Ketcham. He's a journalist whom publications such as Harper's and Salon.com have been happy to publish. Indeed, it was in May of 2002 that Salon featured on its site a 9,000-word story by Ketcham on the so-called Israeli "art students" whose curious activities before 9/11/2001 around U.S. government offices and in locations in many cases identical to those frequented by the 9/11 hijackers had been the subject of much speculation."

See also....A CIA Cover Up - The Kuala Lumpur Deceit
See also....What Did Israel Know in Advance of the 9/11 Attacks?
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Bush's Boys are Sorry for Systematically Violating Your Civil Liberties
A quote...."Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller admitted that the agency under their control, the FBI, "broke the law." Oh - and they're really 'sorry' about that. Whoops - and, too, the 'agents' responsible for abusing the Patriot Act and illegally snooping on innocent U.S. citizens...they'll be punished. Bush's boys seem to be singing a different tune than they were when Republicans controlled Congress. Back then Gonzales and Mueller vehemently defended Mister Bush's illegal domestic spy scheme...now, well, they're super-duper 'sorry'!"

60 Years of Faulty Logic
A quote...."SIXTY YEARS AGO today, Harry Truman went before a joint session of Congress to announce what became known as the Truman Doctrine. "At the present moment in world history, nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life." With that, an era of bipolarity was inaugurated, dividing the world between forces of good and evil."

Bush Trip to Counter Chavez is Destined to Fail
A quote...."Bush's trip to Latin America is a calculated effort to counter Hugo Chavez's growing influence in the region and to separate the "bad left" from the "good left", namely Uruguay and to some extent Brazil. He hopes to add them to the dwindling bloc of pro-US nations, including Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico which he is visiting."
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Grim Latin America tour for Bush
Related Article - A quote...."But arriving in Argentina, Mr Chavez warned Mr Bush was trying to 'divide' Latin American countries and should be given "the gold medal for hypocricy." - "Now he's discovering.after so many years that there's poverty in Latin America, precisely when the US empire is the principal culprit," said Mr Chavez, who regularly attacks the US president he calls 'the devil".

Hugo Chavez Slams 'Little Gentleman from the North'
Related Article - A quote...."Bush is a true political cadaver that not only smells of sulfur but has the scent of a dead politician who will soon be transformed into cosmic dust and disappear from the scene."

Cancelled Presidential debates smack of manipulation by ‘run and hide’ candidates
A quote...."AUSTIN (TX) -- The cancellation in the past two days of two planned nationally televised debates because of candidates’ “scheduling conflicts” and unwillingness to participate smacks of “manipulation by some candidates who would rather run and hide than defend their records and their positions on the war,” Ohio Congressman and Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said today while campaigning in Texas."

Waxman to Rice: Answer 11 ignored letters on Iraq claims
A quote...."The Chairman of the House's Oversight and Government Reform Committee today demanded that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice respond to 11 outstanding requests for information sent by his office since 2003. The letters primarily concerned claims, later proved erroneous, on the threat posed to the United States by Saddam Hussein's government in the run up to the Iraq War. - Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) warned Dr. Rice that a failure to respond to his committee's inquiries would undermine Constitutional governance."

The oh so forgetful Rice. See also....Rice's "Forgetfulness"
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BBC: Belafonte explains Condi 'house slave' comment
Related Article - A quote...."Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell serve Bush because they believe as he does; they embrace his ideology; they embrace his imperial appetite," Belafonte said. "They are lackeys, tools of that. And my reference to them as failed house slaves meant that they were not the masters of their own destiny, although they had the choice to be and didn't."

In Iraq, No Room at The Inn for Auditors
A quote...."The State Department recently turned down a request for three congressional auditors to make a three-month stay in Baghdad, saying that having them around for that long would be "a serious challenge to mission resources."

Your government at work, billions for no bid contracts - not one red cent for auditors - mpg
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Rep. David Obey: "Idiot Liberals" Need to Support War Money
A quote...."House Appropriations Chair David Obey (Dem., Wisc.) ran into woman in the hallway in Washington recently and ended up yelling at her and her friends, accusing them of "smoking something that's not legal" if they disagreed with him, and denouncing "idiot liberals."

See....How It "Works" In DC
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Playing Monopoly with Iraqi money
A quote...."The biggest transfer of cash in history took place from May 2003 to June - 2004 when the U.S. Federal Reserve of New York shipped $12 billion in bills of various denominations to war-torn Iraq. Over the course of one year, a fleet of C-130s carried, from New York to Baghdad, 484 pallets weighing a total of 363 tonnes and holding 281 million banknotes. This is not an advertisement for a new board game but the summary of a memorandum prepared for a meeting of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman, which is examining the "reconstruction" of Iraq under Paul Bremer."

Blair used spin to justify Iraq war, says Blix
A quote...."Tony Blair and his government "exercised spin" in exaggerating the case for the war in Iraq, the former United Nations chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, said in an interview broadcast today."

Return of the Campus Witch Hunts - David Horowitz and the Thought Police
A quote...."David Horowitz is a self-appointed general of the right-wing thought police. In 2006, he published The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America. In it, he named me and 100 other professors as threats to national security akin to terrorists."

Poll: 69 percent oppose pardon for Libby in CIA leak case
A quote...."WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nearly 70 percent of Americans oppose a presidential pardon for former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby after his conviction on perjury and other charges related to a CIA agent's exposure, according to a CNN poll out Monday."

See....It's Only the 1% That Counts
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Decadence, waste, corruption in the new American Empire [Part II]
Quotes quoted by the article....

“The abuse of buying and selling votes crept in and money began to play an important part in determining elections. Later on, this process of corruption spread to the law courts. And then to the army, and finally the Republic was subjected to the rule of emperors.” --Plutarch (c. 46 A.D.-127 A.D.)

“An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.” --Plutarch (c. 46 A.D.-127 A.D.)

“It should be no surprise that when rich men take control of the government, they pass laws that are favorable to themselves. The surprise is that those who are not rich vote for such people, even though they should know from bitter experience that the rich will continue to rip off the rest of us. Perhaps the reason is that rich men are very clever at covering up what they do.” --Andrew Greeley
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The Housing Bubble Starts to Burst
A quote...." The timing and process of the unwinding of the bubble cannot be known, but the basic story is clear. Investors are finally realizing that the high-risk mortgages they have been holding are high-risk."

Global Realignment and the Decline of the Superpower
Must Read - A quote...." 03/10/07 "ICH " --- - The United States has been defeated in Iraq. That doesn’t mean that there’ll be a troop withdrawal anytime soon, but it does mean that there’s no chance of achieving the mission’s political objectives. Iraq will not be a democracy, reconstruction will be minimal, and the security situation will continue to deteriorate into the foreseeable future."

Iran Attack: Neocons Find New Curveball
Must Read - A quote...."If anything can be said about the neocons and the Israelis, it is that they are tenacious, they are completely dedicated to the “creative destruction” plan in the Middle East, and short of arrest, conviction, and imprisonment they will not rest. It can be said that the deception game launched in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq by these dedicated traitors was at best sloppy, as it was easy to pick apart the “facts” spoon-fed to the corporate media by the neocon lie factory known as the Office of Special Plans. Of course, at the end of the day, the fact this effort was at best slipshod was of little concern because the neocons understand well the intellectual lassitude, the habitual indifference of the average American, unable or unwilling to give a whit about the future of the country or, for that matter, the future that will be suffered by his own family."

Only twelve years old...
A quote...."It was about 3 P.M. last Wednesday, when Salama suddenly noticed small objects falling on the sand and kicking up little clouds of dust. Salama told her father later that she had no idea what they were; she had never seen a volley of live bullets. A few minutes later she saw her cousin Hanan slump to the ground, a hole in her head. In a panic she left everything and ran to the tent camp, about three kilometers away, to summon help."

Bush Dodges a Constitutional Bullet in New Mexico
A quote...."President Bush dodged a Constitutional bullet in New Mexico Thursday, when nine Democrats in the state senate joined all 17 Republicans to prevent a proposed joint resolution calling for the US House to begin impeachment hearings to come to a floor vote. Supporters of the measure said it appeared that the Democrats in question mostly came from Republican districts and were worried about electoral repercussions of a pro-impeachment vote. - There is reason to suspect, however, that there was some arm-twisting from national Democratic leaders, who appear dead set on avoiding impeachment hearings, whatever the public sentiment on impeachment (Newsweek reported last fall that 51 percent of Americans favor impeachment) and whatever Bush’s crimes, Constitutional violations and abuses of power."

Ahhhh.....the DemoRepub party - One for all and all for one....ain't it the truth. - mpg
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Bush approves 4,400 more troops for Iraq
That's on top of the 21,000 already approved. Notice how the Demo part of the DemoRepub party is protesting.....any moment now.....just give it a little more time.......any time now.......

Tell you what - all you people who voted DemoRepubican in the vain hope of ending this war, why don't you hold your breath till the Demos do something.....you're going to have a really long wait. - mpg
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Attorney General Gonzales' new problems add to Bush's continuing ones
A quote...."WASHINGTON — Another day, another scandal. The Justice Department's improper and illegal use of the USA Patriot Act has Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in trouble, an all-too-familiar circumstance for President George W. Bush's inner circle."

Bombshell: Rove Helped Fire US Attorney for Not Indicting Democrats
A quote...."Presidential advisor Karl Rove and at least one other member of the White House political team were urged by the New Mexico Republican party chairman to fire the state's U.S. attorney because of dissatisfaction in part with his failure to indict Democrats in a voter fraud investigation in the battleground election state."

Hillary Clinton's Hawkish Record
A quote...."Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has already assumed front-runner status for the Democratic Party nomination for president despite a foreign policy agenda that closely parallels that of the Bush administration."

Israeli army 'used human shields'
A quote...."An Israeli human rights group has accused Israel's army of using two young Palestinians as human shields during a recent raid in the West Bank."

Iraqis Paid Not to Burn Oil Wells: Wilson
A quote...."Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) has told The Politico that before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, the CIA paid Iraqi oil workers not to burn the oil wells. The agency, he said, also offered them future employment in exchange for their cooperation." - italics/bold by website author.

Yeah, just like they all repeatedly told us - it's not about the oil. By the way it would be REAL interesting to see just how far in advance these preparations to "protect" the oil wells went before the Bush Neocons invaded Iraq. - mpg
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The Truth Is, Iraq is a Web of Deceit.- posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."A TOP mover and shaker in the government of George Dubya Bush faces up to 30 years in jail for lying about the Iraq war. - You might ask why it isn't happening here. I certainly do."

Re: Dr. David Kelly see also....

Why I believe David Kelly's death may have been murder, by MP
Who Ordered the Assassination of Dr. David Kelly?
From the Archives :
Medical Expert's Doubts Over Dr. David Kelly's 'Suicide' (9/3/04 Channel 4 News)
The Murder of David Kelly Part 1 & The Murder of David Kelly Part 2

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15,000 take to streets of Sao Paulo against Bush, as protest leaders defend Lula
A quote...."Various protests erupted throughout Brazil to mark the visit of US President George W. Bush to the country on Thursday, March 8"

BushNazi photo - AP
What Brazilians, and most of the decent people throughout Latin America, think of Bush - mpg

Japanese interest hike sparks market plunge
A quote....The market plunge started with the decision of the Japanese central bank to raise interest rates from 0.25 to 0.5 percent. It was supposed to have little or no impact on the “carry trade,” the low-rate for borrowing capital via the yen and investing it in places other than Japan. Yet it turns out there is nothing in the global financial system that is not connected vitally to this yen carry trade."

More on the Yen-carry trade, the derivative bubble and the arbitrage industry. - mpg
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Media Goes Mad For The New Jeff Gannon
OK let’s make this quite clear - this is really ugly, ugly, ugly stuff - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! - Normally items like this are not posted on this website. This is posted simply as a heads-up for all those out there on the web with the capabilities and skills needed to gather additional facts regarding these stories.

Because if even a shred of this is true, and there are other articles out there on the web regarding these issues, if our "elites" are involved in these abominations there will have to be a reckoning, there will have to be swift justice and swifter retribution against any of those who participated.

Considering the gravity of the claims made, one would think it should be posted as a Must Read, and such items will be in the future as more verification is brought forth, for now however these stories will just be monitored closely.
- mpg
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The Pentagon’s Power to Arrest, Torture, and Execute Americans
Must Read - A quote...."The president and the Pentagon now wield the omnipotent power to arrest, torture, and execute any American they label an “enemy combatant.” It is impossible to overstate the significance of this power. It has totally upended the relationship of the military and civilian in the United States. The assumption of this particular power easily constitutes one of the most monumental revolutions of liberty and power in history. It is a revolution that every American must confront now, not later. If people wait until later to confront the expanded use of this power, it will be too late, because by that time it will be too dangerous to do so."

The FBI's lawbreaking is tied directly to President Bush
A quote...."Multiple media outlets are focusing on the unsurprising story that the FBI seems to have been abusing its powers under the Patriot Act to issue so-called "national security letters" (NSLs), whereby the FBI is empowered to obtain a whole array of privacy-infringing records without any sort of judicial oversight or subpoena process. In particular, the FBI has failed to comply with the legal obligations imposed by Congress, when it re-authorized the Patriot Act in early 2006, which required the FBI to report to Congress on the use of these letters."

Exclusive: Report Says FBI Violated Patriot Act Guidelines
Related Article - A quote...."The FBI repeatedly failed to follow the strict guidelines of the Patriot Act when its agents took advantage of a new provision allowing the FBI to obtain phone and financial records without a court order, according to a report to be made public Friday by the Justice Department's Inspector General."

NSA Pressured LA Times To Kill Domestic Spying Story
A quote...."Nightline featured a story about former AT&T technician and whistleblower Mark Klein. While working at AT&T headquarters in San Francisco, Klein discovered (and had the courage to speak out about) a secret eavesdropping room that all of the company's traffic was routed through. With the help of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mr. Klein went public back in April 2006, but alleges John Negroponte and Michael Hayden pressured the LA Times to kill the story."
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Protesters Aim To Take Over Lawmakers’ Offices, Fight War Funding
A quote...."WASHINGTON — Some opponents of the Iraq war are taking their protests straight to Congress — staging “occupations” in lawmakers’ offices on Capitol Hill and in their home communities. - A day earlier protesters were headed off before getting into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in San Francisco."

And...."Earlier this week, Obey was confronted outside his Capitol office by war opponents, prompting a heated exchange in which Obey shouted at one women who wanted him to vote against money for the war. - In a video posted on the Internet site YouTube, the Democratic lawmaker is seen pounding his fist repeatedly into the air, complaining loudly that Democrats don’t have enough votes to cut off war funding and the protesters don’t understand the debate in Congress." - bolded by website author

Congressman Obey, like most of the bought and paid for sycophantic representitutes in Congress, is being deliberately and maliciously disingenuous. He thinks he's a clever man, he's thinks he's being smart......he's not.

Like many of the other cynical opportunists in Congress he knows this country's Middle Eastern policy is going to end up as a complete disaster for this Nation. On the other hand there's at least two to three more years of profits for the MIOC elites that can still be extracted from the flesh and blood of the Iraqi people and our service men and woman.

He also knows, as do all the other hypocritical money motivated members of Congress, that they cannot hold a vote on this issue; they cannot go on the record as supporting the coming disaster, they cannot allow themselves to be held to account and most importantly they cannot be seen as voting for this calamity all over again while the 2008 elections loom on the horizon.

So like the craven cowards they are, they'll use procedural motions and other delaying tactics to avoid their electoral responsibility, to prevent having an open and honest debate, to quash any chance of a fair up or down vote.

And like most craven cowards, they're going to get a lot of people killed. - mpg
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Democrats “withdrawal” plan paves way to escalation of Iraq war
A quote...."Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic congressional leaders unveiled a toothless plan Thursday that they claim would result in the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq a year and a half from now. The main purpose of this political exercise, however, is to unite the party behind supplemental funding legislation that will provide at least $100 billion more to pay for the escalation of the illegal war and occupation that has been waged by Washington for the past four years."

Big-City Murders Jump More Than 10 Pct.
A quote...."WASHINGTON — The murder rate jumped by more than 10 percent among dozens of large U.S. cities since 2004, a study shows in the latest sign of the end of a national lull in violent crime."

See also....Fruits from the Poisonous Tree 12-08-06
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As AIPAC Strolls into Town, Politicos Line Up to Kiss the Pinky Ring
A quote...."Leave it to a newspaper founded by Baron Black of Crossharbour, aka Conrad Black the neocon, in its desire to diss Democrats, to demonstrate there is absolutely no difference between Republicans and Democrats."

Russia, China, object to tough sanctions on Iran
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia and China have raised objections to nearly every Western proposal for new U.N. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear ambitions except a ban on arms exports, according to a working paper."

Is Israel Falling Apart?
A quote...."Foreign observers of Israel tend to focus so intently on the dangers the country faces from its Arab neighbours that they have largely missed an astonishing story that has been accelerating over the past few months: that of the Jewish state’s possible move toward internal collapse."

“Black Tuesday”; Après le deluge
A quote...."This is the most over-extended, over-leveraged, debt-plagued stock market in the history of the world; a sudden gust from Tokyo or Beijing and down-it-goes like a straw house in a wind-tunnel. That’s what happened last week when the yen lurched upward and Wall Street suddenly plummeted 416 points. That’s why Paulson quickly tossed his toothbrush and an extra pair of astronaut diapers in his duffle-bag and scampered off to the Far East. "

CIA Leak Case Moves on to Civil Court
A quote...." WASHINGTON (AP) - The CIA leak saga did not end with I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's conviction this week. On top of his lengthy appeals, he and senior Bush administration officials face a lawsuit for their role in the exposure of a former CIA operative. -- Valerie Plame believes the administration violated her constitutional rights by leaking her identity to reporters in 2003, and she is demanding compensation. Her attorneys believe the case could reveal more about the inner workings of the Bush White House than surfaced during Libby's monthlong trial."
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Priests to purify site after Bush visit
Must Read - A quote...."GUATEMALA CITY --Mayan priests will purify a sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after President Bush visits next week, an official with close ties to the group said Thursday."

And...."Tiney said the "spirit guides of the Mayan community" decided it would be necessary to cleanse the sacred site of "bad spirits" after Bush's visit so that their ancestors could rest in peace."

See also....The Empty Vessel 09-20-06
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Mission impossible
A quote...."....the decision to send an extra 2,200 military police to Iraq, coming on top of Pentagon suggestions that up to 7,000 more regular soldiers may be required, coming on top of the 21,500 troops already sent or on their way, coming on top of the 135,000 or so already there smacks, at best, of a lack of up-front planning - and at worst, of king-sized muddle."

Israel Plotted July War in March 2006
A quote...."RAMALLAH, West Bank, 9 March 2007 — Israel had decided to go to war with Lebanon months before the capture of two Israeli soldiers in July last year by Hezbollah fighters, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told a judicial inquiry."

Poor Sharon, his "incapacitation" was so fortuitous for those who supported PNAC. See also....Israel Marches to the Drums of PNAC 07-16-06
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A Tale of Two Houses: How the Clintons and Bushes Took us to Hell
A quote...."Scott Ritter is back, telling the same truths he's been telling for almost a decade, about the rank deception and violent aggression that has driven the bipartisan American effort to conquer and plunder Iraq. Ritter has been forced into this Sisyphean labor because these self-evident truths – lying in plain sight for many years – are still ruthlessly suppressed by the corporate media and forever removed from the public "debate" over U.S. policy."

A predator becomes more dangerous when wounded
A quote...."In the energy-rich Middle East, only two countries have failed to subordinate themselves to Washington's basic demands: Iran and Syria. Accordingly both are enemies, Iran by far the more important. As was the norm during the cold war, resort to violence is regularly justified as a reaction to the malign influence of the main enemy, often on the flimsiest of pretexts."

Soviet-era compound in northern Poland was site of secret CIA interrogation, detentions
A quote...."POLAND -- The CIA operated an interrogation and short-term detention facility for suspected terrorists within a Polish intelligence training school with the explicit approval of British and US authorities, according to British and Polish intelligence officials familiar with the arrangements."

Muqtada al-Sadr Appears in Karbala
A quote...."Muqtada al-Sadr has appeared in public in Karbala, before "hundreds" of supporters, Nahrain Net reports in Arabic."

Dems' Big Middle Finger to the American Voter
A quote...."One of my idiosyncratic little hobbies of late is to keep a tally on statements by Washington politicians and pundits that are express an open hatred for democracy. This hobby is a subset of a bigger collection of quotes I collect that show how Washington politicians are entirely divorced from the political reality they purport to be experts on"

Why Cheney Lost It When Joe Wilson Spoke Out
A quote...."Testimony at the Libby trial showed a vice president obsessed with retaliating against former ambassador Joseph Wilson for writing, in the New York Times op-ed section on July 6, 2003, that intelligence had been "twisted" to justify attacking Iraq. How to explain why the normally stoic, phlegmatic Cheney went off the deep end?"

Protests to Follow Bush Across the Continent
A quote...."In Brazil, the protests will have symbolic elements ... the idea will be to approach the area where Bush is staying with sulfur, in order to to 'exorcise the devil."

Bush and Chavez on rival tours in bid to win Latin American hearts and minds
A quote...." By Jude Webber in Buenos Aires and Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 09 March 2007 - As George Bush arrives in Uruguay tonight as part of a five-nation Latin America tour, his verbal sparring partner, Hugo Chavez, is scheduled to hold a rally 30 miles away across the River Plate in Argentina. The George and Hugo show is poised to start again."

Stumbling Into a Spy Scandal
A quote...."When former AT&T technician Mark Klein learned of a secret room installed in the company's San Francisco internet switching center, he was certain he had stumbled onto the Total Information Awareness program, a Defense Department research project that intended to scour databases across the country for telltale signs of terrorists."

Total Information Awareness is Back
A quote...." The Pentagon's super snoop "Total Information Awareness" program is back in business, just as we predicted it would be. - Congress attempted to kill the ill-conceived DARPA program in 2003. But instead, the program, designed to somehow find terrorists from documenting everyone's credit card bills, car rental receipts and travel records, went underground and has now returned, bigger and stronger and worse than ever."

Federal Attorney Firings Show Lengths Republican Were Willing to Go to Win Elections
A quote...."It was just three weeks before election day 2006, and Rep. Heather A. Wilson was on the ropes. Opinion polls showed the New Mexico Republican trailing her Democratic opponent in a tough campaign. - That's why eyebrows raised when it was recently disclosed that, in the heat of her fight for political survival, Wilson called Iglesias to ask about possible indictments. So did Domenici."

Who IS Alberto Gonzales?
A quote...."His documents -- his advice and his counsel -- have laid the foundation for torture, suspension of habeas corpus, warrantless wiretapping, the expansion of power in the Executive Branch and, most recently, what at least appears to be the politically motivated replacement of many U.S. Attorneys with Administration loyalists, in order to pad their resumes, as William Mercer in his capacity as Associate Attorney General (not as U.S. Attorney for the Montana District) apparently suggested to two of the resigning U.S. Attorneys1."

Holt wants probe of 2001 anthrax mystery
A quote....Lawmaker charges FBI with stonewalling on requests for briefings - More than five years after deadly anthrax-tainted mail hit a Hamilton postal facility, Rep. Rush Holt has called on congressional committee chairmen to hold hear ings on the lack of headway in solv ing the 2001 attacks that killed five people."

A Dark Underbelly of Mass Graves and Electoral Fraud
A quote...."There is little to cheer a US president on a visit to Latin America these days. Where it once enforced its will on the region the US now looks increasingly out of touch. The presidents of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile were not elected as friends of the US, and China has quietly filled the economic gap left by seven years of US distraction and neglect."

Ad Revenue Slides 10% at 'WSJ'
A quote...."NEW YORK Advertising revenue at The Wall Street Journal decreased 10% in February on a 6.6% decrease in advertising volume, due to declines in the technology, financial, general and classified advertising categories. Dow Jones & Company today reported February advertising revenue and volume for its leading print publications.

Captain America 1941-2007
A quote...."I woke up this morning to find that Steve Rogers, Captain America himself, has died, shot by a snipers bullet."

TV torture scenes trouble human rights activists
Related article - A quote...."From 2002 through 2005, TV watchdog group the Parents Television Council counted 624 torture scenes in prime time, a six-fold increase over the previous four years. The group also found that "24" alone accounted for 67 such scenes in its first five seasons, more than any other show."

What Did Israel Know in Advance of the 9/11 Attacks?
A quote...."On the afternoon of September 11, 2001, an FBI bulletin known as a BOLO - "be on lookout" -- was issued with regard to three suspicious men who that morning were seen leaving the New Jersey waterfront minutes after the first plane hit World Trade Center 1. Law enforcement officers across the New York-New Jersey area were warned in the radio dispatch to watch for a "vehicle possibly related to New York terrorist attack":

Ghawar Is Dead - Long Live PNAC
03-07-07
mpg

Ghawar Is Dead!
A quote...."Unfortunately, Ghawar is not the only oil royal in critical condition. - The obituaries just keep rolling in. “Kuwaiti oil production from the world's second-largest field (Burgan) is ‘exhausted’ and falling after almost six decades of pumping” according to the chairman of the Kuwaiti state oil company. The L.A. times tells us that “Production at Cantarell, the world's second-largest oil complex, which provides about 60% of Mexico's crude, averaged 1.78 million barrels a day in 2006. That's a 13% drop from 2005.” The famous North Sea basin and it gigantic Forties Field, the oil find that made Britain a petroleum exporter for the past 20 years, is about to experience a precipitous production decline. Back in 2000 we learned that China’s only super-giant field, Da Qing was also at death’s door. These fields and others like them provided the mother’s milk, in the form of light sweet crude, which nourished the global capitalist system now enshrined and deified in American mass-culture.

My OH My - Those Neocons are such prescient people! To have that 9/11 event fall right into their laps just as the oil was running out in Saudi Arabia and just as that darling little Texas tyke assumed office, allowing them good'ol boys to go invade a country which by some strange and totally inexplicable set of circumstances, just happened to have the second largest oil reserves in the world - of sweet crude no less!

WOW!!! What do you think the chances of that happening are??

And guess what, unbelievable as it may sound, these good'ol boys actually work in the oil and gas business and not only that, they're practically life long bosom buddies of the Saudi Royals whose very own country contributed fifteen out of the nineteen hijackers on that fateful day. Fancy that! Can you believe it! Oh but hold on to your hats all you little darlings, it gets even better.

These good'ol Texas boys even wrote a document in 1992 outlining their plans to seize the energy supplies of the Middle East and they even held various meetings BEFORE 9/11 on how they were going to share all of that lovely oil in Iraq amongst themselves. Isn't that soooooooo sweet!!! Aren’t these the most unselfish people you’ve ever read about?

And then it happened like a sign from the great God of oil, the event called 9/11 an event which allowed these good'ol boys to carry out their divinely inspired plans of sharing amongst themselves the plentiful and fruitful bounty from Iraq, and if they get their druthers, all the other countries throughout the Middle East.

Now don't you pay any mind to all those Monday morning quarter-backers - second guessing, carping and complaining about how our good'ol boys dropped the ball on 9/11. They’re just spiteful and jealous because they didn't have the foresight these great men had in carefully laying out their plans for an event like 9/11.

Think about it this way, if these great men hadn't been in charge of our country on that day, if they hadn't been in control of the security procedures for this nation on 9/11, and 9/11 HADN'T happened, all their plans would have turned to dust and their great dream of complete dominion over the Middle East's oil resources would have become just another pipe dream.

And then where would we be as a Nation?

Think about it.

end - mpg
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Two FBI Whistleblowers Confirm Illegal Wiretapping of Govt Officials, Support Sibel Edmonds Claims
A quote...." William Weaver, NSWBC Senior Advisor noted that,"These abuses of power are precisely why we must pay attention to whistleblowers. Preservation of the balance of powers between the branches of government increasingly relies on information provided by whistleblowers, especially in the face of aggressive and expanding executive power. Through illegal surveillance members of Congress and other officials may be controlled by the executive branch, thereby dissolving the matrix of our democracy. The abuse of two powers of secrecy, FISA and the state secrets privilege, are working hand in hand to subvert the Constitution. In an abominably perverse arrangement, the abuse of FISA is being covered up by abuse of the state secrets privilege. Only whistleblowers and the congressional and judicial oversight their revelations spawn can bring our system back into balance." - bolded by website author

Musharraf: From favorite to fall guy
A quote...."KARACHI - Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's eight-hour trip to Saudi Arabia last weekend to meet with King Abdullah dealt a body blow to US efforts to drive a wedge between the Persians and the Arabs. Plans to create a Sunni bloc to isolate and oppose an Iran-dominated Shi'ite "crescent" have also been derailed. - And Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf has come out of the whole episode with egg on his face."

Is Big Oil Going to Control Iraq’s Reserves?
A quote...."Iraq's postwar oil bonanza remains a mirage. The country has the second- or third-largest reserves in the world, making petroleum the heart and vast bulk of its economy. Thus in March 2003 did Paul Wolfowitz assure Congress that Iraq would "finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon." American planners predicted that Iraq's oil production would triple to a feverish 6 million barrels per day by 2010.

The brotherhood is gathering outside the pharaoh's palace
A quote...."In the fall of 1953, the Oval Office was the stage for a peculiar encounter between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and a young Middle-Eastern firebrand. In the muted black-and-white photograph recording the event, the grandfatherly, balding Ike, then 62, stands gray-suited, erect, his elbows bent and his fists clenched as if to add muscle to some forceful point."

To everyone reading this blog, guess which nation supported the Islamic Brotherhood during it's formative years....that's right....it was the good'ol US of A - again.
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In ’05 Investing, Obama Took Same Path as Donors
A quote...."Less than two months after ascending to the United States Senate, Barack Obama bought more than $50,000 worth of stock in two speculative companies whose major investors included some of his biggest political donors."

Although Obama and Ms. Clinton are not solely owned by the MIOC Cabal, unlike the Bush Neocons, they are still creatures of the other wealthy factions in this country and their behavior is circumscribed and made predictable by that fact.

However, given the tone of this article, it would take very little imagination to figure out which one of these candidates the NYT supports. – mpg
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Talk Floats of A Possible Pardon by Bush
And Bush will deny any intention of giving one until exactly one minute before midnight on his last day in office. That is of course if Libby doesn’t intend to testify against anybody.

Obviously his pardon would come a tad sooner if it looks like he's going to testify, than again that would be pretty embarrassing for Bush and Cheney. Maybe the Neocons could offer Libby a juicy little job over at Halliburton, for say....a quarter million a year when he gets out.

Is that legal? - mpg
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Juicing the Stock Market
A quote...." 03/07/07 "ICH " -- -- The Working Group on Financial Markets, also know as the Plunge Protection Team, was created by Ronald Reagan to prevent a repeat of the Wall Street meltdown of October 1987. Its members include the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Chairman of the SEC and the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Recently, the team has been on high-alert given the increased volatility of the markets and, what Hank Paulson calls, "the systemic risk posed by hedge funds and derivatives.”

Eventually it will all catch up with them. They've pumped and primed the system for disaster; they've broken down every fire wall between banks, insurance companies, and brokerage firms and allowed the financial industry to become increasingly consolidated and interconnected.

They've made the system much less transparent - specifically in regards to derivatives. They've allowed massive amounts of highly leveraged securities to be issued, again mostly due to the derivatives markets along with whatever all those arbitrage firms are doing. Finally they've stressed the system to the breaking point by encouraging everyone to take on greater amounts of debt.

All of this is just waiting for some unexpected spark or catalyst.

The plunge protection team's mandate and methods are eerily reminiscent of what several leading Wall Street bankers tried to do to stem the 1929 stock market crash, which was to simply place buy orders. This method worked to stop the market panic of 1907; it obviously wasn’t as effective in stemming the crash of 1929.

No doubt the Plunge Protection team has more efficient methods of controlling market actions than those of simply placing buy orders on the open market. They probably have much greater leverage because they’re using all those new financial derivatives and synthetic securities that have been created in the last twenty years.

The problem is they're not the only ones who are using them. - mpg

See also....Three observations on market discipline
See also....Stable Instability
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US ally Musharraf in a tangle over Iran
Must Read - A quote...."The moot point is to what extent Musharraf is willingly cooperating with US regional policy against Iran. He is skating on thin ice. He may endear himself to Washington as a brave leader in the Muslim world, but Pakistani public opinion is averse to serving the US agenda over Iran. This contradiction is fraught with dangers. It can only further accentuate Musharraf's isolation within Pakistan and add to the country's overall political uncertainties. "

Dr. J.'s Commentary: The Big Battle Over the Middle East
Must Read - Satirical commentary on the battle of the "heavyweights".. - mpg
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Rocking the subprime house of cards
A quote...."Some stories, such as corpse custody battles between sleazy lawyers and semi-literate Texas trailer trash et al, the US news media handle really well. On others, such as goings-on in the world's financial markets, they don't have a clue. - Thus the media saw the big February 27 decline in the Chinese stock market followed by a big decline in the US and in other world financial markets that same day, and decided that being coincident equaling being causative was a concept that the US - public could get its mind around pretty easily. Suddenly it's all China's fault."

See also....The S&L & Junk Bond Redux
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IRAQ: 4.5 million children undernourished
So killing half a million children with the sanctions wasn't enough? This is genocide, it's as simple as that. - mpg

Car bomb kills 38 in Iraq book market
Related article - The last of Iraq's cultural icons destroyed....as Rumsfeld once said "stuff happens"

See also....Child Abuse
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The 'Looming Evil Strike' Against Iran
From an angry Canadian's perspective.

Meet Eliot Cohen, Condi's New Deputy
A quote...."As Extremist a Neocon and Warmonger as It Gets"

The Sadr movement 'will eventually triumph'
Interview - Dr Munthir al-Kewther interviewed by Mahan Abedin - A quote....

Mahan Abedin - "Do you think it is too much of a coincidence that the briefing on alleged Iranian meddling in Iraq - including allegations that the Iranians are indirectly involved in the killing of American soldiers - came just before the start of the new military campaign in Baghdad?"

Munthir al-Kewther - "The two are clearly linked. They have been preparing the ground for a war against Iran for a long time. But obviously they are accelerating the media, propaganda and psychological warfare campaign as the date for their campaign approaches."
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American Imperialism and its Domination over Asia
A quote...."Who is going to dominate Asia? In the long term the answer is certain and clear – the people of Asia will dominate Asia. However, in the short term, before that truth becomes a reality, we need to carefully examine and analyze the current economic, political, and military situation in Asia in order to plan our strategy. To clearly understand the current situation, we first need to dispel some myths; that will be the first part of my talk today. The second part of my talk covers US imperialist interests in Asia and its strategy to maintain economic, political, and military hegemony in the region. The concluding part of my talk evaluates the real threat of American militarism and why we, the people, must and will prevail in the end."

The Condition of the Dollar
A quote...."There is so much to touch on regarding the dollar this month, I hardly know where to start. Regardless of where I begin, the news is not good and affects all of us."

Website author's note - this is NOT to be taken as a market recommendation, just an observation. Keep in mind the world's derivatives market is now anywhere between 300 to 500 trillion dollars in notational value, possibly even more, most of it controlled by the centralized financial institutions that currently run our government. With such vast leverage they could mask, manipulate or resist market forces for years.- mpg
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When a Leader Missteps, a World Can Go Astray
A quote...." 03/06/07 "New York Times" -- - In the months before the American invasion of Iraq, Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter, was one of the few members of the foreign policy establishment (along with Brent Scowcroft, former national security adviser to President George H. W. Bush) to speak out strongly about the dangers of going to war unilaterally against Saddam Hussein, and to warn, presciently it turns out, of the possibly dire consequences of doing so without a larger strategic plan."

See also....The Liberal Media Likes War
See also....Brzezinki's prepared testimony - text
See also....A political bombshell from Zbigniew Brzezinski
See also....Letters on Zbigniew Brzezinki’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
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Counterinsurgency 101
A quote...."General Petraeus says he thinks the war in Iraq is winnable. His recent manual suggests otherwise."

GALLUP: 58% Want Pullout in Iraq Within 12 Months
Polls are only posted on this website to demonstrate to everyone, the absolute futility of using people’s opinions to predict outcomes in this country. Eventually the polls could reach 99% against the war and it wouldn't matter. Policies are the product of the system they are derived from and in this system there's only one thing that matters.

The Supreme Court has ruled that free speech is equal to money, many of the people in this country worship money as if it were their God, the political representitutes of this country have openly stated they are competing for the favors and largess of the wealthy who own this country.

One percent of this country has most of the money therefore the other 99%, their feelings, morals, laws, traditions, religions, physical safety, financial security and welfare simply are not a factor in the equation - they don't count.

So to repeat ad nauseam, if you want to predict the policy outcomes of this Nation just simply "follow the money".

End of story. - mpg
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Reverse Reparations: Race, Place, and the Vicious Circle of Mass Incarceration*
A quote...."Reporting that “245 prisons sprouted in 212 of the nation’s 2,290 rural counties” during the 1990s, Kilborn quoted the cheerful city manager of Sayre, Oklahoma, which had just opened a prized new maximum-security lockdown. "There's no more recession-proof form of economic development," this local official told Kilborn, than incarceration because "nothing's going to stop crime."

Ahhhh....of course! The wealthy elites "can always pay one half of the poor to kill the other half"....or imprison them. - mpg

Locked in Maximum-Security Texas Detention Center, 9-Year-Old Canadian Boy Pleads For Help
Related article - A quote...."'Dear Mr. Prime minister haper I don’t like to stay in this jail. I’m only nine years old. I want to go to my school in Canada. I’m sleeping beside the wall. Please Mr. Priminister haper give visa for my family. This place is not good for me. I want to get out of the cell. Just pleace give visa for my family. My home land is in Canada, My life is over there. I’m also sleeping beside wasroom. Mr. Priminister haper pleace bring me and my family to Canada. Thank you so much.'"

The kid sure is lucky he isn't in Abu Ghraib. - mpg

Jurors convict Libby on four of five charges
Related article - A quote...."Cheney’s ex-aide faces 30 years in CIA leak case; sentencing set for June"

Here's one that deserves to be in jail, a man who helped launch a war of aggression that will, in the end, cost millions of lives. He'll be out in a year and a half when Bush pardons him if not sooner. The kid described in the article shown above will probably still be rotting in jail because he was simply "in the wrong place at the wrong time" as have so many others who've encountered America's brand of “justice". - mpg
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Two FBI whistleblowers confirm illegal wiretapping of government officials and misuse of FISA
A quote...."State secrets privilege was used to cover up corruption and silence whistleblowers - The National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC) has obtained a copy of an official complaint filed by a veteran FBI Special Agent, Gilbert Graham, with the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ-OIG). SA Graham’s protected disclosures report the violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in conducting electronic surveillance of high-profile U.S. public officials."

One wonders what the Bush Cabal & Cheney really have on the many Democratic Senators and Congressman they've been listening to. - mpg
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Gunmen storm Iraq jail, free 140
A quote...."MOSUL, Iraq, March 6 (Reuters) - Dozens of gunmen stormed an Iraqi jail in the northern city of Mosul on Tuesday and freed up to 140 prisoners in one of the biggest prison breaks since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, police said."

Reagan-Bush Drug Legacy in CentAm
A quote...."Two grisly mass executions in Guatemala – one involving three Salvadoran legislators and the second the four policemen who confessed to killing them – suggest that the Reagan era’s ideological tolerance of right-wing drug traffickers remains a corrupting legacy in the region."

Layoffs Follow Scandal at Colorado Megachurch
A quote...."DENVER, March 5 — In the wake of a scandal involving its founding pastor, the Rev. Ted Haggard, the New Life Church in Colorado Springs has been forced to lay off 44 of its 350 workers to offset a sharp drop in donations."

To all the members of the New Life Church, this is what happens when you vote for people who represent the exact antithesis of all your values - than again, maybe they actually do represent them?

If you don't believe that look up Jeff Gannon, Karl Rove & turd blossom, Mark Foley & pages, etc. Let's be clear about this, these are NOT isolated incidents, the moral corruption is far reaching and especially prevalent in the top echelons of our entire society. - mpg
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Lieberman's 9/11 police state bill on Senate floor today
The day after the NYT published its timid little list of Bush policies congress could undo to restore Americans' civil rights.....Lieberman went and proposed more policies to gut our rights still further. - mpg

See also....Twenty Nine Acts to Restore Americans' Rights 11-10-06
See also....Courts Deny Habeas Corpus
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Time to Put Politics (and Dem Politicians) Aside
A quote...."We should have known it was coming. Even though the Democratic Party rode the antiwar wave in to Congress last November, they've done little since to end the bloody war in Iraq. Just last week House Democrats met to discuss how best to halt Bush's request to send more troops into the region, but they couldn't come to an agreement on whether or not to put any restrictions on the administration's plea for an additional $93 billion to continue the occupation. "

Afghan media: U.S. troops deleted images
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan journalists covering the aftermath of a suicide bomb attack and shooting in eastern Afghanistan Sunday said U.S. troops deleted their photos and video and warned them not to publish or air any images of U.S. troops or a car where three Afghans were shot to death."

Bush’s Bulgarian Partner in the Terror War Has Mob History, Investigators Say
A quote...."The most powerful politician in Bulgaria, Washington’s newest ally in the global war on terror, is a close associate of known mobsters and linked to almost 30 unsolved murders in the Black Sea republic, according to a confidential risk-analysis investigation of of the country commissioned by a private bank."

Afghan, US forces target Pak post
A quote...."PESHAWAR: The Afghan Army and US forces based in Afghanistan attacked a joint post of the Pakistan Army and paramilitary Frontier Corps at Lowara Mandi in North Waziristan agency on the Pak-Afghan border while US gunship helicopters were noticed violating Pakistan’s airspace during the past two days."

You know, Musharraf at some point may say to himself the only way to get the US to give up their PNAC plans and get them the heck out of the Middle East is to just give Iran ten or twenty nukes.

He just might do it. It might be worth it to him to get some peace and quite in his neighborhood. - mpg
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Hersh Off the Rails
03-05-07 - modified 04-24-07
mpg

Seymour Hersh on Al Jazeera YouTube video - Part I 6.05 min - Part II 7.08 min

Poor Sy Hersh has just slipped completely off the rails; it must be that rarefied Washington DC air that’s gone to his head.

In Part II he says he thinks it's not about the oil, that Cheney really wants to "defend the country" that Cheney "really believes" that Iran has or will somehow get the bomb and give it to Hezbollah who will use it against New York or Washington DC.

You see, we've got it all wrong, according to Sy, Cheney actually wants us to believe that despite all the things he's done to this country, despite all the lies he's told every day, deep down in that little mechanical tick-tock machine he calls a heart.....he really cares about the "little people" of America.

This is from a VP who basically threatened American voters that if they voted Democratic there would be another attack, a man who lied about every single reason for leading this nation to war with Iraq, a man who is deeply involved with the Saudis Royals the people who were primarily responsible for supporting those who attacked the US on 9/11, a wealthy aristocracy who continue to back madrassas and jihadists worldwide to this date.

A VP who is the chief architect of the current divide and rule policy now being implemented throughout the entire Middle East, a man who was intimately involved with PTECH and Norad's utter inability to field just one plane on the day of 9/11, a man who was a founding member of PNAC way back in 1992. A group of thug minded Neocons who stated they needed a catalyzing "Pearl Harbor" style event to precipitate America's new policy of Full Spectrum Dominance....and they got it.

This is a VP who secretly divided up Iraq's oil booty PRIOR to 9/11 and held secret meetings with the oil barons of the US regarding who would get the choicest cuts, meetings so secret that he took the case all the way to the supreme Court to block any disclosure of who attended those meetings.

And Sy states this congenital liar, this moral cretin, the man who gave the Halliburton corporation, the company he was CEO of, the contract to build internment camps for over four hundred thousand Americans in the event of another "crisis" - is now "worried" that an attack "might" occur against Washington DC or New York. An attack which would simply be a hideous replay of the "fortuitous timing" that occurred on 9/11, an attack he is now set to blame on Iran in an identical mock parody of all the false information he spread in the run up to the war with Iraq.

We should all be very, very worried!! To Mr. Sy Hersh, thanks for the heads up, I'm sure most of the sensible people in this country will try to avoid Washington DC and New York for at least the next year and a half.

end - mpg
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Wall Street drools over prospect of capturing Iraq oil wealth
A quote...."The Iraqi cabinet’s adoption last week of a law creating the legal framework for turning over the country’s oil wealth to American corporations has touched off a chorus of salutes from the Bush administration, congressional Democrats and the corporate-controlled American media."

White House Backed US Attorney Firings, Officials Say
A quote...."The White House approved the firings of seven U.S. attorneys late last year after senior Justice Department officials identified the prosecutors they believed were not doing enough to carry out President Bush's policies on immigration, firearms and other issues, White House and Justice Department officials said yesterday."

Independent Reporting Drew Army Coverup, Secrecy, Delays
A quote...." Last year, the Los Angeles Times decided to undertake something quite unusual: The newspaper would conduct a parallel investigation to the one being undertaken by the Army's Criminal Investigation Command (CID) into how a small U.S. Special Forces detachment in Afghanistan could be tied to two detainee deaths and two apparent cover-ups in less than two weeks."

An insult to our war dead
A quote...."Estonia now permits SS rallies - but plans to pull down memorials to those who died fighting fascism "

Russian reporter dies in fall from window
That's almost as good as poisoned while escaping - mpg

A Nation of Stupid Children, Who Refuse to Give Up the Lies
Must Read - A quote...."By the age of eight or nine, most children realize that Santa Claus isn't a real person, just as they know the Easter Bunny and similar pleasantries are only make-believe, tales of imagination offered to add a bit of fun to the holidays. The great majority of children give up these fantasies without experiencing emotional upheaval that remotely approaches serious trauma. Those very rare children fortunate enough to be raised by adults who accord them the seriousness and respect they deserve know such stories to be ones of invention from the beginning."

See also....Chris Floyd's take on the article - Operation Enduring Idiocy: The Deadly Child's Play of U.S. Politics
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Somalia's chaos: The Iraq model leads again to trouble
More of that lovely "freedom and democracy" American style. Any of you other countries out there want to join in? Only four little rules you've got to follow….

1) You've got to have something we want; oil, gold, diamonds, geo-strategic position, or whatever.

2) You've got to be willing to kill your fellow citizens in an orgy of mass slaughter - if you aren't already divided by religious, ethnic or sectarian hatreds, we'll provide some excuses for you.

3) You've got to be willing to have every thing in your society destroyed, your religion, your infrastructure, your families, your way of life, your cultural heritage, everything you've ever valued or believed in - if you can't do it too yourselves, we'll do it for you.

4) Just remember when it's all over with - like Bush said - "express your gratitude" and realize we did you a favor. - mpg
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Decadence, Waste, Corruption in the New American Empire
Some quotes quoted by the article....

"An empire is always coercive and autocratic: It is like a cover that presses on a boiling cauldron. At a certain point, the internal pressure is too strong, the cover is blown off and there is a sort of volcanic eruption." Umberto Eco, Italian medievalist

"An empire is a despotism, and an emperor is a despot, bound by no law or limitation but his own will; it is a stretch of tyranny beyond absolute monarchy." John Adams (1735-1826), 2nd American President

"The deterioration of every government begins with the decay of the principles on which it was founded." Montesquieu (1689-1755), Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu
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"Unlimited Imperialism" - Civil resistance against war across America
A quote...."In the wake of the stunning victory for international law, the United States Constitution, and the laws of war by producing the mistrial for Lt. Watada came the 5 February 2007 launch of a massive campaign of civil resistance by the Occupation Project initiated by the Voices for Creative Non-violence under the leadership of the long-time civil resister and repeated Nobel Peace Prize nominee Kathy Kelly of Chicago.[1] "

"On 21 and 22 February 2007 members of the Occupation Project occupied the home offices of members of the U.S. Congress in Toledo Ohio, Portland Maine, Denver Colorado, Charlottesville Virginia, Seattle Washington, Medford Massachusetts, Madison Wisconsin, and Chicago Illinois in order to obtain from their respective Senators and Congress people a vote against President Bush Jr.’s supplementary budget request of $93 billion to fund its wars of aggression against Iraq and Afghanistan."
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Former Pentagon Staff Speaks Out on Crimes of Doug Feith, Dick Cheney, and Planning of Iran War
A quote...."The following is a remarkable interview of Karen Kwiatkowski who retired from the active duty USAF as a Lieutenant Colonel in early 2003. Her final assignment was in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Under Secretary for Policy Near East South Asia (NESA) Policy directorate. In her responses below, Kwiatkowski describes the manipulation of intelligence on Iraq and Iran and what it would take to avoid an attack on the latter."

Will Blood Run in the Gutters (of the Iraq Memoirs)?
A quote...."Give me a buck for every predicted six-to-nine month window of opportunity from the military or the White House in the last four years and I'd be rich as Croesus. Amid the hopeless chaos of Iraq, you can already hear various individuals preparing their exculpatory "exit strategies" from this war. So many key players are going to stab one another in the back with their various explanations for failure in the coming years that blood will run between the pages of the many memoirs still to be published."

"You Can't Talk About That"
A quote...."The unAmerican thought police operating on American soil have struck once again. This time their victim is veteran Christian evangelist Dale Crowley, Jr. who has been the host of two popular radio programs broadcast over WFAX 1220-AM radio in the Washington area for the last 20 years. - Crowley was told by Doris Newcomb, president and general manager of WFAX, that his Saturday morning broadcast, "Focus on Israel," was terminated immediately. He was not even given an opportunity to bid farewell to his longtime listeners. - The program was canceled by the WFAX management because supporters of Israel had complained to the radio station about Crowley's criticisms of Israel."

Hard Landing
A quote...."I have been saying since February 17th that the US economy is heading for a hard landing, possibly a recession while Mr. Bernanke even after the collapse of world markets on February 28, 2007 tried to calm the markets by saying the economy is sound."

Or as Mr. Reficul would say....."a perfect opportunity to start another war". - mpg
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Cindy Sheehan on 9/11
She has doubts about the official version, as do many others. - mpg

Goldman, Merrill Almost `Junk,' Their Own Traders Say
A quote...."March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley, which earned a record $24.5 billion in 2006, suddenly have become so speculative that their own traders are valuing the three biggest securities firms as barely more creditworthy than junk bonds."

Right after they gave out all those huge bonuses to themselves too, it must be one of those strange inexplicable coincidences.

Let's see how this goes shall we, the Fed encourages Banks to give millions of loans to people who don't have the ability to pay them back (i.e. pump money), the banks have the Financial firms repackage them and sell them to any sucker who wants them, like your pension plan, state pension plans, stupid foreigners....you know - the usual idiots. The Financial firms get windfall profits for simply shuffling worthless paper to unsuspecting investors, (some not so unsuspecting, but a little kick back goes a long way....no?) and the entire economy goes into the tank with this pump (the money supply) and dump (the worthless paper) scheme. So in the end the Bankers (through fees) and the Brokers (through larger fees) make “buco bucks” and the suckers get left holding an empty bag.

This ALL SOUNDS SO FIMILIAR - Where is Michael (Milk'em) Milken, "I certainly hope so" Charles Keating and the K(ch)eating Five anyway? - mpg
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The Must-Do List
The NYT's short list, for an expanded version see.... Twenty Nine Acts to Restore Americans' Rights 11-10-06
As of to date 03-04-07, the DemoRepubs have not enacted one of the twenty nine acts listed. - mpg
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In Russia's Blogosphere, Anything Goes
A quote...."Walk into a typical Moscow newsroom and chances are good that half the people in your field of vision will be logged on to Zhivoi Zhurnal, the Russian incarnation of the American blog-hosting service LiveJournal. But these journalists aren't just slacking off. In a country still searching, sometimes desperately, for the trappings of a civil society, they are navigating what promises to be its launchpad."

America on its Knees Before Tyranny
Must Read - A quote...."03/02/07 "ICH" -- -- "The Star-Spangled Banner" painted the United States in 1814 as "The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave." These words, though still mumbled by apathetic consumers at sporting events, amount to a cruel satire of the American people in 2007."

Cheney's Bagram Ghosts
Must Read - A quote....""I heard a loud boom," Vice President Dick Cheney remembered of the suicide bomb at Bagram air base outside Kabul where he stopped over this week. Said to be aimed at Cheney himself, the attack left him untouched while killing twenty-one Afghan workers and two Americans – still more casualties in Afghanistan's thirty-year, million-and-a-half-dead civil war."

We All Fall Down
Must Read - A quote...."Few people in our technologically developed, yet morally bankrupt Western world possess even a basic understanding of just how horrible life in the Israeli occupied Palestinian territories is. Gaza is a small strip of land about 7 miles wide by 30 miles long. It is completely fenced in by the Israeli military, with the vast majority of its 1.5 million Palestinian inhabitants (making it one of the most densely populated areas in the world) denied the right to leave. Ever."
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How Cheney bombed in Afghanistan & US may be 'undermining' Pakistan
Both of these articles are disingenuous, the US has supported the ISI in Pakistan for the last twenty years and will continue to do so, especially when one considerers the favor they provided to the MIOC elites of this country with their help regarding 9/11. Let's make that clear, we're talking about their help in financing and providing logistical support to those involved with 9/11, along with their help in covering up any "embarrassing" connections between 9/11, the Saudi Royals and many people in the US.

No doubt they still have the evidence of those connections.

Although portions of the Demo part of the DemoRepub party do not owe their allegiance to the MIOC elites who stood to gain the most from 9/11 and their PNAC plan to dominate the Middle East, and therefore have no qualms about applying pressure on Pakistan to curb the Taliban and more specifically al Qaeda....it won't happen

The evidence Musharraf has, no doubt well protected for times such as these, would embarrass both parts of the DemoRepub party, admittedly the MIOC elites more than the rest. But such evidence, if made publicly available would destroy the elites hold on power in this country

So all the articles many of you will be seeing in the next several weeks will be mostly for public relations. Of course Musharraf will "round up the usual suspects" and keep them on ice for awhile, but he can't afford to destroy his tenuous hold on power in Pakistan, anger the ISI or alienate the Pushtons in his country. Instead, now that al Qaeda no longer serves any purpose for him, he'll simply attempt to drive a wedge between the tribal Pushtons/Taliban Combo and al Qaeda and eventually expel al Qaeda into Afghanistan, Iraq or back to their home in Saudi Arabia. - mpg
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Ready to take on the world / part I & Looking for a new home in Iraq / part II
A quote - from Part II...."KARACHI - Having solidified its leadership and opened up financial lifelines, al-Qaeda is preparing for its next major step - establishing a new base in the heart of the Middle East, Iraq. "

Who Will Stop The Next War?
A quote...."If Americans sickened by the carnage of Iraq wish to stop an even more disastrous war on Iran, they had best get cracking. - For the “On-to-Baghdad!” boys are back, warning us that the only way to prevent an atom bomb from being detonated in an American city is to attack and destroy Iran’s nuclear sites. And the forces needed to execute an attack are moving into place. Army Gen. John Abizaid has been replaced as CENTCOM commander by Adm. “Fox” Fallon, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, who knows little about counterinsurgency but a lot about co-ordinating air strikes."

Will We Suffer From the Iraq Syndrome? Beware of the Boomerang
The war culture of America, and the boomerang effect. - mpg

Israel accused of rights abuses
A quote...."An Israeli human rights group has accused the country's government of using Palestinians as human shields during its raids on Nablus.The Israeli supreme court banned the practice two years ago." - italics/bold added by website author.

So it was a "practice".....since when? This was legal 'till two years ago? Anybody else out there know about this? - mpg
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Fool Me Thrice?
A quote...."By now, the NYT ought to – but apparently doesn’t – realize that much of its reporting on Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere has been – and still is being – manipulated by the Cheney Cabal."

Iran EFP Story a New "Yellowcake" Scandal?
An informed reader writes: to Juan Cole - A quote...."Your reference to the Drew Brown McClatchy wire service report carried by the Mercury News about possible Sunni involvement in the IEDs and EFPs that have allegedly killed upwards of 170 Americans could be the tendrils of the new "Yellowcake" scandal of the Administration's ramp up to attacking Iran."

Doug Feith Versus the Blogosphere - 30 minute audio
"Interview of Allison Hantschel taken from transcripts"

The Lost Mystery of 'Iraq-gate'
A quote...."With Saddam’s death the opportunity for a full account of the tens of thousands of deaths in the so-called Anfal case appears to be lost, along with the opportunity for a frank public discussion of its historical context. - Such a discussion inevitably would have led to how Saddam Hussein’s development of dangerous weapons was enabled by Western powers, including the United States. Between 1985 and 1990, the Reagan and Bush I administrations facilitated Saddam Hussein’s massive and ambitious military industrialization effort."

Secret unit hunts terrorists overseas
A quote...."WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has turned a secret terrorist-hunting unit into a nearly self-contained command of more than 1,000 men and women who collect intelligence and track and capture America’s most–wanted enemies."

Algeria says won't host a U.S. base on its territory
A quote...."ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria said on Saturday its cooperation with Washington's war on terrorism was "profitable" but it would never agree to host a U.S. military base on its territory."

My goodness ! A group of elites that don't want to wind up at the end of a rope like Saddam Hussein did, or have what happened to Iraq happen to their country. Goes to show some people out there just aren't masochistic enough or stupid enough to want America's version of "freedom and democracy".

They just don't know what they're missing.....than again....maybe they do. - mpg
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This Alien Life: Privatized Prisons for Immigrants
Private prisons, mercenary armies, slave labor....welcome to the New Roman Empire. - mpg

Ahmadinejad to Visit Kingdom Tomorrow
A quote...."RIYADH, 2 March 2007 — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will arrive here tomorrow for talks with the Saudi leadership on a range of bilateral, regional and international issues." - italics/bold by website author.

That's a nice way of describing the US's attempts to play the Shia off against the Sunnis and split the Middle East in two, along with the pending attack by the US and Israel against Iran. - mpg
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Condi Picks Neocon Cohen to Make Her Decisions
A quote...."No sooner are we told for the umpteenth time Bush has swept a gob of neocons out of his administration, we get word that Condi the Destroyer has picked PNAC forever war fanatic Eliot Cohen out of a line-up to serve as her “counselor, a key trouble-shooting role in US diplomacy,” according to AFP."

9/11 Truth: Michael Moore Questions the Pentagon Strike
A quote...."Michael Moore dips a pinky toe into the ocean of 9/11 Truth in an internet chat (with audio)."

He actually makes a valid point. - mpg
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BBC Gagged in Cash-for-Honors Case
A quote...."LONDON, 4 March 2007 — The British Broadcasting Corporation has been barred from running a report about a political funding scandal that has cast a shadow over Prime Minister Tony Blair’s final months, police said yesterday. - The government’s top lawyer, Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith, obtained a court injunction stopping the broadcast late on Friday following a request by police probing whether political parties awarded state honors in return for loans."

Tom "the Klepto from K St." Delay is probably saying "Dang it, why didn't we think of that - a gag order, we'd simply say it was for national security".

Don't worry Tom; no doubt the Bushists are working on it....for themselves. In the meantime they’ve decided to approach the issue from a different perspective; they’re just going to fire every federal prosecutor that doesn’t toe the line. - mpg
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Rolling Back Privatisation of Pensions
A quote...."BUENOS AIRES, Mar 1 (IPS) - The Argentine Congress approved reforms of the pension system that will strengthen the role of the state, after the partial privatisation of the system that was carried out in the 1990s. Chile is also planning similar reforms. "

Another Chicago School - Neo Liberal - Milton Friedman - disaster. Do any of these guys even care how much damage they do to other people's economies? - mpg
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A whole bunch of videos at Information Clearing House - ICH
Pretty good.

USDA Backs Production of Rice With Human Genes
This is confusing, is this what they mean by the phrase "you are what you eat".....or should we consider this some form of human cannibalism? - mpg

Monsanto Uses Sick People to Test Genetically Modified Potatoes After Rats Suffered Side Effects
A quote...."Genetically modified potatoes developed by Monsanto, the multinational biotech company, have been fed to sick patients in an experiment. Rats that ate similar potatoes in the research suffered reductions in the weight of their hearts and prostate glands."

To all you so-called "Christians" out there, or more properly, to all you "Neo-Roman Christians" out there....is this what God intended? - mpg
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Rudy Dragged Down-Righties Cross About His Dress
Yes, Rudi is a well known cross-dresser. Take a look - Rudy Giuliani in Drag Smooching Donald Trump Actually it's the other way around, Donald is smooching Rudi. It's really funny and to be totally honest, for those who are not completely secure, it's a tad disturbing. - mpg

Leaders Don't Kill People...
Must Read - A quote....03/20/07 "ICH" -- -- -If I have my facts straight, George W. Bush has never killed a single person in his life. All the torture and death that people attribute to him has been carried out by people who were "only following orders. - Psychologically, I find this quite interesting. As a person, it doesn't appear that Bush would or could hurt anyone, especially not innocent people. But, as "commander-in-chief," he can order and oversee actions that result in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocents without even batting an eye. A friend and critic of mine believes that leaders such as Bush assume full responsibility for the actions of a nation's military. I strongly disagree."

Obviously this is from a Libertarian perspective. Some of you might object to the author’s proposed solution to the problem of American Empire by asking the question "what about another terrorist attack"?

The answer to your question would be the following….assuming the overwhelming evidence now available, which would lead any sensible person to believe the suspiciously well timed, highly fortuitous, extremely lucrative, predicted and planned for event of 9/11 was directly attributable to this nation's amoral elites….was instead, as some bizarre conspiracy nuts would have you believe, attributable to a “spontaneous gathering of spiteful cave dwelling malcontents”, one could still lay much of the blame for 9/11 on the aggravating, contributing and causal factors of ongoing US governmental policies.

Specifically, it is a matter of public record that billions of dollars from the US government were directly given to the Taliban and indirectly to al Qaeda throughout the eighties, while contacts and logistical help were provided to the Mujahideen and therefore indirectly to al Qaeda well into the mid and late nineties.

Not to mention the non-stop financial support, utterly ignored one might add by our government, that al Qaeda continues to receive to this day from our erstwhile allies the Pakistanis and Saudi Royals.

Unbelievable as it may seem, it now appears that the US has recently engaged in a full scale effort to actually increase the support already provided by our allies to al Qaeda and other extremist Sunni Wahhabist groups as part of Washington’s efforts to counteract Iran's growing influence.

All of this ongoing support, not just for al Qaeda, but the MEK the PKK the Baluchistan Separatists and a plethora of other additional "freedom fighters", "death squads", "counter terror units" and "false flags operations per P2OG" is being provided by the US government in its ceaseless effort to expand its New Roman Empire.

And all of this support will inevitably lead to a never ending cycle of creative destruction along with the resultant “blowback” to this nation and the terrible consequences enumerated by the author in his article - an ever expanding government, an increasingly voracious Military-Industrial-Complex, and the continued diminishment of our civil rights, freedoms and livelihoods.

Not to mention the deaths, injuries and destitution of millions of innocents across the globe.

Exactly what the author objects too.

Perhaps we should follow his recommendation and stop building the Empire? - mpg
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The President's Private Army
Must Read - A Review of Chalmers Johnson's Nemesis

See also....Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic (Hardcover)
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Assets of reputed CIA front man frozen in Turkey
A quote...."A court in Turkey has frozen the assets of Yasin al-Qadi [1] a one-time acquaintance of Vice President Dick Cheney [2] and reported “chief money launderer” of Osama bin Laden. [3] - Al-Qadi, prior to being publicly identified as a key al-Qaeda financer, owned a prominent U.S. technology firm and reported CIA front known as Ptech. [4] He also escorted U.S. officials around during their visits to Saudi Arabia. [5]"

Ahhhh.....all you poor deluded Americans who still believe in that silly conspiracy fantasy called the 9/11 commission report, you are in such total denial it's pathetic. - mpg

See also....How Not to Follow the Money 06-24-06
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Secret war against Iran? It’s already been done.
A quote...."Clandestine American military attacks against Iran would be nothing new. Almost twenty years ago Washington was waging war against Iran, via its de facto ally of the time, Saddam Hussein, as well by way of secret operations, never authorized by Congress. What happened back then should serve as a warning about the kind of clandestine games that Washington and its allies in the region could be playing over the coming months."

America's Musharraf Dilemma
A quote...."Stung by a spree of suicide attacks, Pakistan's military junta this week had to take in an unannounced guest bearing ill tidings. The United States wants General Musharraf to do more to crush al-Qaida, Vice President Dick Cheney told his host during a surprise secretive trip to Islamabad. After being defeated in Afghanistan, America's bin Laden-led enemies are regrouping in Pakistan's tribal region, said Cheney. He is reported to have warned Musharraf that if Pakistan does not produce more results, the Democrat-dominated Congress may review and revoke the American military assistance program resumed after September 11, 2001. The military's status as a major non-Nato ally of the United States could also be in danger."

New Zealand forces complain at US treatment of Afghan prisoners
A quote...."But New Zealand soldiers were said to be concerned that some of the detainees they handed over in 2002 had not been properly registered. - Instead of being identified, photographed and fingerprinted and having their weapons properly registered, they had their heads shaved, no photos or ID taken, and their belongings were thrown into a single pile, the report said."

It all sounds so familiar, "they had their heads shaved, no photos or ID taken, and their belongings were thrown into a single pile", and than they disappeared. Gentle reader, does this remind you of anything? - mpg
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Chavez exploits oil to lend in Latin America, pushing IMF aside
A quote...."Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is squeezing the International Monetary Fund out of Latin America, the region that once accounted for most of its business. - IMF lending in the area has fallen to $50 million, or less than 1 percent of its global portfolio, compared with 80 percent in 2005. Meanwhile, Chavez has used his oil wealth to lend $2.5 billion to Argentina, offer $1.5 billion to Bolivia and hold $500 million out to Ecuador. - Chavez, 52, is promoting what he calls a “socialist” alternative to the Washington-based IMF and its biggest shareholder, the U.S. Treasury. The timing couldn't be worse for the IMF, whose global clout is diminishing as countries from Uruguay to the Philippines pay their debts."

It's just TERRIBLE! We have to bomb Venezuela! The huge banks in New York will be hurt by all of this, quick the New York Times has to do something.......oh - they are - never mind. See article below - mpg
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NYT Hypes Venezuelan Threat
A quote...." A February 25 report in the New York Times on Venezuela's international arms purchases ("Venezuela Spending on Arms Soars to World's Top Ranks") used selective information and an alarmist tone to suggest that Venezuela's military spending was a potential threat to regional stability."

There goes the NYT again, toadying to the Bushists....OK we all know the economy is in trouble but what do they want, a war with Syria, Iran AND Venezuela? - mpg
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December's U.S. Attorney Massacre: The Plot Thickens
A quote...."At least five of the fired U.S. attorneys were presiding over major public-corruption probes targeting Republican politicians or their supporters. They are predominantly from "blue states," a synecdoche for Democratic states, in the West and Southwest. And at least one is being replaced by a Republican political operative."
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The Case of the Missing Movie
A quote...."The government made a secret video of its interrogations of 'enemy combatant' Jose Padilla. But now that he's on trial, the Feds claim they don't know where it went."

Absolutely everyone is joining the new dance craze….it’s called “doing the Nixonian two step”. See….BBC Has Lost Tapes Of 21st Century's Defining Moment - mpg
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Keith Olbermann - Condi Goes To Far - YouTube - 8.32min
Must Watch - Keith Olbermann gives Condi a history lesson. - click here for Transcript - mpg
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BBC Has Lost Tapes Of 21st Century's Defining Moment
A quote...."It has come to light this week that the most pre-eminent broadcasting company in the world has lost the original recordings of its output for the entire day on September 11th 2001, just over five years on, yet no major news agency has even bothered to report the fact."

I think it's called the "old Nixon two step" maneuver, you'd think they wouldn't use the same technique again considering how it turned out for Nixon, but these are the same people who've been breathlessly reporting Bush's and Blair's lies for the last six years as if they were facts. Guess their "myth" about 9/11 was another lie. - mpg. .
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Dems nix idea of military budget cuts
A quote...."WASHINGTON - Just hours after floating the idea of cutting $20 billion from President Bush's $142 billion request for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan next year, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (news, bio, voting record) was overruled by fellow Democrats Thursday."

Told you so, they can't even bring themselves to cut $20 billion. They are not just impotent, feckless and spineless as some people would have you believe; in additional to those qualities the Demo part of the DemoRepub party are active collaborators and facilitators of the unrelenting cycle of horror, death and destruction occurring in Iraq.

What has been patently obvious all this time to anyone willing to open their eyes, but what is now completely undeniable even if they won’t, is the Demo's complicity with this country's wealthy elites, with their on going plans to continue their highly lucrative "long war", their "thirty years war" - no matter what the cost to the rest of us, or to the world.

They never had any intention of keeping their promises to end this war. It’s simply too profitable for everyone concerned. - mpg
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U.S. Blasted for Treatment of Detainees
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. human rights chief expressed concern Wednesday at recent U.S. legislative and judicial actions that she said leave hundreds of detainees without any way to challenge their indefinite imprisonment."

This reminds me of a scene from the movie Dr. Zhivago, in the scene the main character, Dr. Zhivago, was being questioned by Strelnikov, a commander of the Red guards on board Strelnikov's military transport train.

Strelnikov informs Zhivago that Uriatan, the town he was trying to reach is currently being shelled by the counter revolutionary Whites and that Strelnikov's wife, a woman Zhivago knew as a good friend, is still in the town.

Shocked by Strelnikov's lack of concern regarding the danger to his own wife, Zhivago objects, Strelnikov's reply is as follows.

Strelnikov    : "The private life is dead for a man with any manhood."
Dr. Zhivago : "I saw a sample of your manhood on the way, a place called Mink.
Strelnikov    : "They'd been selling horses to the Whites"
Dr. Zhivago : "No, it seems you burnt the wrong village."
Strelnikov    : "They always say that and what does it matter. A village betrays us, a village is burnt. The point is made."
Dr. Zhivago : "Your point, their village."

Whereupon Strelnikov, rather heatedly ordered Dr. Zhivago escorted off his train, as one of the guards told Dr. Zhivago as they returned him to his own train. - "you were lucky".

Does it really matter if they’re innocent, do Americans care at all? A man is executed, a village is burnt, a city is leveled, a country is destroyed, a region is set a fire....the point is made.

Welcome to the new America. - mpg
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Report: Many CIA 'ghost prisoners' still 'disappeared'
A quote...."A report released yesterday by Human Rights Watch revealed that at least thirty-eight men detained in the Central Intelligence Agency's secret prisons are still unaccounted for. The report's lead author, Joanne Mariner, said in an interview with RAW STORY that it was time for Congress to boost its oversight in order to "monitor and police the abuses" that were suffered by these detainees."

Gives a whole new meaning to the term "habeas corpus" (produce the body) - mpg
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Where is America when torture becomes yawner?
A quote...."Apparently, savvy e-mail scammers now assume that a reference to U.S. Marines torturing prisoners lends credibility to their come-ons. - Well, why not? Thanks to Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, "extraordinary renditions" and "black sites," many people now take for granted the image of the American as torturer. At least 100 prisoners have been killed while in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, and many more have been beaten, humiliated and abused. Still others have been secretly handed over to our even less-scrupulous friends in various Middle Eastern intelligence services."

US soldiers detain prominent Iraqi ally: a warning to governing parties to toe the line
A quote...."Angry demonstrations took place last weekend in Basra, Najaf, Karbala and other predominantly Shiite cities of southern Iraq in protest against the US detention last Friday of Ammar Hakim, a leading figure within the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and the son of Abdel Aziz Hakim, the party’s principal leader."

Sure....Iraq has an independent government....sure they do. (giggle, giggle) - mpg
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At 180 a day, January attacks on coalition hit highest level
A quote...."WASHINGTON — Attacks against coalition forces in Iraq averaged nearly 180 a day in January, the highest level since major combat operations ended and more than double the rate one year ago, according to intelligence officials."

Troubles for the Iraq Oil Deal
A quote...."The rumblings of opposition go beyond parliament to the oil fields themselves. Iraq's biggest oil unions, which could potentially disrupt production, have been among the law's strongest opponents. Hassan Jum'ah Awwad Al-Asadi, head of Iraq's Federation of Oil Unions, the largest union group, says he intends to mobilize his 23,000 or so members against the draft. "We want a new, different law, which will be in the interests of Iraqis," he said by phone from Basra on Wednesday."

Looks like the US MIOC elites are going to have to do some more union busting, who knows, if they work real fast, maybe they'll be as successful at busting the unions in Iraq as they were busting the ones here in this country. - mpg
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Antiwar Radio: Charles Goyette Interviews Seymour Hersh
A quote...."Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh discusses his new article, “The Redirection,” about how America is now backing Salafist Sunni radicals against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shi’ite radicals in Iraq, every kind of radical but the Shi’ites in Iran, the manner in which American black ops are financed, why this is all worse than Iran-Contra, John Negroponte’s conflict with Dick Cheney and his move from Director of National Intelligence to number 2 at State."

Syrian Envoy Rips U.S. and Israel for Rejecting Overtures From Damascus
A quote...."While the Syrian diplomat bristled at Israel’s “petty politics,” he reserved his harshest words for the Bush administration and Rice."

“We are very unhappy with this relationship,” said Moustapha, who arrived in Washington three years ago and has worked to improve Syria’s image through frequent media appearances and even a personal Web log. Noting that Rice has been telling audiences that engagement with Syria was not producing results, he stressed that she was “the only secretary of state in recent history who has had no interaction at all with Syria.”
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CIA papers reveal 1950s Japan coup plot
A quote...."TOKYO - Declassified documents reveal that Japanese ultranationalists with ties to U.S. military intelligence plotted to overthrow the Japanese government and assassinate the prime minister in 1952. - The scheme — which was abandoned — was concocted by militarists and suspected war criminals who had worked for U.S. occupation authorities after World War II, according to - CIA records reviewed by The Associated Press. The plotters wanted a right-wing government that would rearm Japan.

"Militarists and suspected war criminals"? Yeah that's right America the guys who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, deliberately encouraged the Rape of Nanking, ordered the Bataan Death March along with medical experiments on American prisoners of war, were receiving funds from the US's CIA while at the same time plotting a coup against the Japanese government. "Supposedly" without the CIA's knowledge.

And probably there are some really stupid people out there who still believe the sectarian violence in Iraq "spontaneously happened", just like the event of 9/11 of course.

Why didn't you know, it's because all those towel heads "hate our way of life" isn't that right?

Wake up America, this is your government in action, this is what they do. They work for the MIOC elites, they don't work for you. - mpg

See also....Beastly Behavior
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Tomgram: De la Vega, The Whole Truth about Libby and the Leak
A quote...."The U.S. government and military has undergone a series of jolting expansions in the Bush years. We got, for instance, a second Defense Department called the Department of Homeland Security. We got a military command for North America called United States Northern Command. More than anything else, however, while we already had an "imperial presidency," we also got an add-on -- an imperial vice-presidency, a new form of shadow government in the United States, a startlingly unbound, constitutionally unmandated new institutional power."

Colorado to use inmates to fill migrant shortage
A quote...."Prisoners who are a low security risk may choose to work in the fields, earning 60 cents a day. They also are eligible for small bonuses."

And now you know why they wanted to pass that law to make illegal aliens into felons, they would have arrested them all, sent them to prison, then shipped them back out to the fields like a herd of cattle, and instead of paying them two or three dollars an hour, America's new plantation owners would have paid them just sixty cents a day.

Dang it, if only Congress had had the guts to pass that law many people in America's agro-business could have brought back them good'ol days of slavery.

Well don't you worry folks; they'll soon have the "New Indentured Services Act" passed, even if Congress is still nominally Democratic when they do. - mpg
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Species under threat: Honey, who shrunk the bee population?
A quote...." Across America, millions of honey bees are abandoning their hives and flying off to die, leaving beekeepers facing ruin and US agriculture under threat. And to date, no one knows why. Michael McCarthy reports"
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