Wednesday March 24th 2010

Truth Has Fallen and Has Taken Liberty With It
Must Read - A quote...."March 24, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- There was a time when the pen was mightier than the sword. That was a time when people believed in truth and regarded truth as an independent power and not as an auxiliary for government, class, race, ideological, personal, or financial interest. -- Today Americans are ruled by propaganda. Americans have little regard for truth, little access to it, and little ability to recognize it. -- Truth is an unwelcome entity. It is disturbing. It is off limits. Those who speak it run the risk of being branded “anti-American,” “anti-semite” or “conspiracy theorist.” - also posted at DProgram & CounterPunch & American Everyman

America’s ‘Islamists’ go where oilmen fear to tread - posted at Online Journal
Must Read - Geo-Political Analysis -- Some quotes...."By following the trail of militant terrorists, US forces and American interests have gained access deep in Central Asia, where oil companies have had little luck gaining a foothold on their own. -- To students of American foreign policy in Afghanistan and throughout the world, it is common knowledge that the United States military and Central Intelligence Agency often act in a manner that is contradictory to the words of American leaders. To those who care to look behind the curtain of American duplicity, which casts a veneer of benevolence over our actions, it becomes readily apparent that “Islamic militants” tend to show up wherever American oil companies have expressed an interest. America’s historical usage of the same militant groups in the past casts suspicion on their reappearance today, all along the pathway of the projected pipelines." --- "To study the Afghan Islamists is to conduct a forensic dissection of a psyop. From the very beginning, before the Soviets even invaded, the Afghan revolution was manufactured by a coalition of foreign powers led by the CIA. Even the political form of Wahabi “Islam” which was taught to combatants in local madrassas, using American-created “Islamic” textbooks from the University of Nebraska, was really a deviation from true Islam that incorporated behavioral modification techniques. “Suicide bombers” are a CIA mind-control phenomenon."

Essay: ‘Our Terrorists’ by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed
Must Read - Geo-Political Analysis -- A quote...."The myth that Islamic fundamentalist militants are the enemies of Israel and Western governments no longer needs debunking. In his latest work, Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed provides a concise summary of the deep politics of the ’War on Terror’ spanning several decades and continents. Articulated around an intricate network of chilling complicity between Western intelligence agencies and Islamist extremism, the shadowy ’War on Terror’ is designed to disrupt and destabilize regions of geostrategic value for penetration and control by Western powers."

Are the feds planting terrorists?
Must Read - Contains Video - Alt - A quote...."Defense attorneys say an alleged plot to bomb New York synagogues was hatched and directed by a federal informant. They said the informant badgered the defendants until they got involved in the plot, and the 4 men are also saying the FBI tried to bully them into targeting planes. Jason Bermas comments."

The US is at a Precipice
Must Read - A quote...."March 24, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- We are at a precipice. This is the end of one era and the beginning of another. The “real” world that so many people believe in, here in America is not the world you see on your TV sets, that is the world that the government and the media want you to believe in. We are so accustomed to believing in our own American ideology that we can’t understand the ramifications of what we have done. So many people in this country continue to believe that what we have done can’t be undone. This is the reason we have come to this point. We are not “invincible”. We are not “exceptional”. We must abide by the same financial tenants that rest of the world must obey. We cannot spend above our means. We cannot spend 1.4 Trillion dollars on the military and get nothing back. We cannot give trillions in fiat money to prop up the bankers and financiers on Wall Street."

Ahmadinejad aide slams Obama for hollow promises
Special Note - A quote...."Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's senior aide Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi said that US policies during the Obama administration were sometimes worse than "the dark era of [former president] George W. Bush." -- "Today we witness that the US is increasing the number of its forces in Afghanistan and Iraq instead of withdrawing its troops from these countries and is behind the massacre of people and the expansion of poverty in these countries more than before," Samareh Hashemi told the Arab language Al-Alam news channel."

Iran, Turkey near $5.5 billion gas deal
A quote...."Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz says there is a "complete political support" in Ankara for signing a 5.5-billion-dollar gas deal with Iran." - also posted at WarInIraq

Poll: 73% of Russians view US as aggressor
A quote...."The survey published on Wednesday indicates 73 percent of respondents agreed that the United States was "an aggressor trying to take control" of all countries in the world." - also posted at WarInIraq - Yeah....it's called the PNAC Protocols - mpg

El Salvador: Ghosts at the Polls - posted at ConsortiumNews
From the history file - (Originally published June 24, 2009)  -- A quote...."Editor’s Note: Three decades ago today, Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero was murdered in cold blood while saying Mass, an event that marked a troubling turn toward violent right-wing extremism in El Salvador and beyond, a pattern that continues to this day even in the threatening tone of U.S. politics. -- Romero was gunned down on March 24, 1980, because he had emerged as an impassioned voice for impoverished peasants seeking greater justice. The assassination of a high-level Catholic cleric soon became a signal to global right-wing forces to do whatever was necessary to reverse trends toward equality."

(Un) Covering The Death Squads in El Salvador
Related Article - A quote...."March 24 is the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero. He was shot in the heart by a right wing death squad while saying mass in a small chapel at a cancer hospital in San Salvador. --  The archbishop, who started out as a conservative, had become the voice of the poor and disenfranchised, documenting killings and disappearances at the hands of the army and mysterious right-wing death squads during his weekly sermons. Just before his murder, Romero had broadcast an appeal to ordinary soldiers to stop the killing, counseling them that they were not “obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God.”
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Did you say Molten Steel? But...but... NIST....[said....]
Special Note - Contains Video - Alt - A quote..."UL did not certify any steel as suggested. In fact, in U.S. practice, steel is not certified at all; rather structural assemblies are tested for their fire resistance rating in accordance with a standard procedure such as ASTM E 119 (see NCSTAR 1-6B). That the steel was “certified ... to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit for six hours” is simply not true." -- What if I told you NIST are Blatant LIARS?" -- For more on this issue see....9/11-WTC-1&2

"NY judge: CIA can keep secrets despite ACLU demand 24 Mar 2010 A judge for a second time has denied efforts by the American Civil Liberties Union to force the CIA to release names and documents relating to Sept. 11 detainees prisoners who were interrogated harshly tortured. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein listened to lawyers for the ACLU and the government for more than an hour Wednesday before announcing he had not changed his mind and would issue a written ruling later. He told attorney Larry Lustberg, who argued for the ACLU, that he had made an impact. "However, I will adhere to the views I expressed last time and deny the motion," the judge said." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG - And the 9/11 cover-up CONTINUES! - For more on this issue see....9/11-Iraq-Torture Fables

CIA may face prosecution for drone's raids in Pakistan
A quote...."The US government's refusal to offer legal grounds for CIA's drones bombing raids in Pakistan may result in CIA officers facing prosecution for war crimes."

"Gas line cut at home of Va. congressman's brother 24 Mar 2010 Authorities are investigating a severed propane line at the home of a Virginia congressman's brother after tea party activists posted the man's address online. Activists are upset about U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello's (D) vote in favor of the health care reform. Perriello's office said that a line to a propane tank on a gas grill was cut at Bo Perriello's Charlottesville home on Tuesday. Tea party activists had posted the address online thinking it was the congressman's home, telling opponents to drop by and "express their thanks" for his vote. [If you're a corporaterrorist thug and cut a gas line of a Congressman's home or hurl a brick through a window -- you're labeled an *activist* by The Associated Press. POLITICO labeled the act an *incident.* If you're *leftwing* and appeared with a Kerry button at a Bush rally, you were arrested. See: Guns OK Outside Obama Town Hall; Kerry Pins Brought Arrest At Bush Rally By Lori Price 12 Aug 2009 Bush's Waffen-SS arrested (and strip-searched) people with Kerry-Edwards buttons pinned to their T-shirts and paper protest signs at his at his GOP-only appearances. But, when a Reichwinger attends a New Hampshire town hall meeting with a gun -- merely yards from President Obama -- the protester not only gets to remain at the meeting but also gets to be a guest on MSNBC's 'Hardball.']" -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

March 2010 Iraq War Protests - Alt - (YuTb - 6m6s - March 22, 2010)
Video - Action Update - A quote...."Iraq War Protests and Demonstrations across the United States in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Madison, Seattle, Tacoma and many other cities. There was a protest or demonstration in over 150 cities the week of March 20th. This video shows video and photos of maybe twenty events across the country combining interviews, speeches, and demonstration observations."

The Dark Side
Web Censorship Alert - A quote...."In February of this year, Cryptome.org, a site run for the last fifteen years by Architect John Young had its PayPal account closed  and in the process over $5,000 in donations confiscated.  Cryptome has made a name for itself over the years by publishing "documents for publication that are prohibited by governments worldwide, in particular material on freedom of expression, privacy, cryptology, dual-use technologies, national security, intelligence, and secret governance -- open, secret and classified documents -- but not limited to those."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More on Obama's Insurance Bail-Out-Boondoggle No-Care Bill....

Health Insurance Bonanza
Special Note - A quote...."Let there be no doubt about it. The health care “reform” bill voted into law Sunday in the House is a capitulation which will leave 30 million more Americans at the cruel mercies of the insurance companies – precisely what the single-payer movement had been battling against."

ObamaCare Reform Updates
A quote...."***UPDATE*** You know that clause in the bill, one of the ones that is supposed to make this bill a real benefit for the people? The clause that states that kids with pre-existing conditions can’t be denied coverage? Guess what… it’s not true. Kids with pre-existing conditions CAN be DENIED coverage… just thought you would like to know…"

Loophole Exempts Washington Insiders From Obamacare Mandate
A quote...."No Obamacare for Obama, his family, his staff, the vice president, the vice president's staff, the rest of the administration, Nancy Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi's staff, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Reid's staff, all other House and Senate leaders and their staff, all committee members and their staff... the list goes on "

G.O.P. Forces New House Vote on Package of Health Bill Changes
BREAKING - March 25 2010 -- A quote...."WASHINGTON — With the Senate working through an all-night session on a package of changes to the Democrats’ sweeping health care legislation, Republicans early Thursday morning identified parliamentary problems with at least two provisions that will require the measure to be sent back to the House for yet another vote, once the Senate adopts it. "
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Rightist [Israeli] MK: British are dogs, who are they to judge?
A quote...."After Britain accuses Israel of cloning passports used in Mabhouh assassination, threatens to expel Israeli diplomat, MK Arieh Eldad compares British to dogs: 'Who gave them right to judge us on war on terror?'" -- For more on this sort of issue see....A Mortal Threat – Europe’s New Frankenstein Monster - 01-26-09 - mpg

Who is the British Dog? By Gilad Atzmon
A quote...."Israeli officials and politicians sharply criticized the intention of the UK government to expel an ‘unnamed’ Israeli ‘diplomat’ in response to its passports being used in the Dubai assassination of Hamas Freedom Fighter Mahmoud al-Mabhouh." -- also posted at Uruknet

Israel fears further Mossad expulsions over forged passport affair
A quote...."There were growing fears in Israel yesterday that other countries whose passports were forged for use in the Dubai assassination of a Hamas militant could follow Britain’s lead and expel suspected Mossad operatives." - also posted at WarInIraq

UN rights body censures Israel
A quote...."The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed three resolutions condemning Israel over its policies in occupied Palestinian and Syrian territories."

BBC puts US media to shame on E. Jerusalem
A quote...."The BBC puts U.S. corporate and public media to shame, violating taboos on Israel.  On “BBC World News America” last night, host Matt Frei asked Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen point-blank about the Israeli government’s announcement yesterday (news ignored by other outlets) of “another  settlement in the heart of East Jerusalem.”  Frei even emphasized the gall of the new grab as Netanyahu met privately with President Obama: “Talk about timing, there was news today”–of Israel’s new seizures of Palestinian land." -- The reason the BBC does slightly better than the "US" media in covering the Middle East is because the "US" media is almost wholly owned by members of the Jewish Community, why would they EVER want to talk about what they're doing to the Palestinians and Arabs living in Israel? -- For more on this issue see....Judeo-Christian C/C & US - Media
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More On The Palestinian Situation....

UNHRC expected to pass resolution for Gaza compensation
Special Note - A quote...."Bethlehem - Ma'an - The 13th session of the UN Human Rights Council is expected to pass a resolution demanding compensation for Gaza residents who suffered losses during Israel's Operation Cast Lead, observers said."

Grasping Beauty
A quote...."It’s one of those beautiful, sunny days, with a fresh sea breeze and people strolling on the beach…one of those days in which you can almost forget the manifold tragedies that unfold daily in Gaza under siege. Under siege for four years, really, but fully under siege since mid 2007, over 1000 days. One thousand days of compromises on basic human rights and necessities for the human beings living here. Compromises which deny the ill –the seriously ill –medical care, deny students proper study materials or access to study abroad, deny access to work outside a jobless Strip, deny dreams and hopes, breath and life." - also posted at Uruknet

Obama, can you focus on your hypocrisy long enough to count to 1,712?
A quote...."A fter nearly six months of pleading with Abbas and the PA to talk to the Israelis while they continue the settler colonization of their future state…  After months of pressuring the Arab League to provide a way for Abbas to sit down to said talks without losing the final shred of credibility he (arguably) has left…  After Mitchell and VP Biden fly to Israel to try and jump-start these “indirect proximity talks”…"

Fisherman injured by Israeli naval fire west of Beit Lahiya
A quote...."Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli gunboats opened fire on fishermen off the Gaza coast near Beit Lahiya in the north of the Strip on Thursday morning, injuring one man, medics said."

Israeli fire in southern Gaza critically injures one
A quote...."Gaza – Ma'an – A Palestinian worker was critically injured on Thursday morning as the Israeli forces at the closed Sufa crossing opened fire on a group of men collecting rubble for the re-manufacturing of construction materials, medics said."

IOF soldiers detain 20 Gazans
A quote...."BEIT LAHIA, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained 20 Palestinian workers in northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday and took them to an unknown location. - A human rights group told the PIC reporter that a special IOF unit infiltrated near former Dugit settlement and detained the workers while collecting scrap."   

23 March 2010: Soldiers shoot youth gathering wood near the Gaza-Israel border
A quote...."On the morning of 10 February, Muhammad Subuh, 17, Saleh Abu Leylah, 16, and Maher Ghanem, 21, were in the area of the Israeli settlements that had been evacuated in the northern Gaza Strip, near the border with Israel. They were gathering wood, which they needed for cooking. Gas for cooking is lacking in the area due to the reduction in importation of cooking gas as part of the siege on the Strip."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

New Home Sales Plunge To New All Time Record Low, 308K SAAR Is 2.2% Frop From Revised 315K In January -- Chart - A quote...."New home sales drop to a record low adjusted annual rate of 308K. All of the government's housing stabilizing measures are now a disaster, as existing home sales inventory surges to nearly 9 months, not counting the shadow inventory, which is more than double. The plunge is in all regions except the West, where the pick up was from 77K to 93k. When is the last time anyone mentioned green shoots again? And the computers ignore it all as nobody remember how to sell anymore. In fact, we expect a green market within 10 minutes as king SPARC shows all who is master."

Bad News for America: U.S. CDS Now Wider Than Europe, Treasury Auctions Bomb
Special Note - A quote...."Three stories from the Wall Street Journal hint at bad news for the U.S. -- Michael Casey notes that American CDS traders view the U.S. as riskier than Europe:"


As The Fed Runs Out Of Low-Rate Options, The UST Is Likely Considering An Orchestrated Move Of Risky Asset Into Bills -- Special Note - A quote...."A recent detailed analysis of the composition of US Federal debt has made us question just how much dry powder the Fed has left to manipulate interest rates. We ignore all tangential issues such as what the end of QE will mean on MBS, and by implication 10 Year, rates, and focus purely on the structural composition of the curve, which leads us to some very troubling observations. In summary: the Treasury is running out of time in which to orchestrate a massive rush away from risky assets into the sweet spot for UST interest rates: risk-free Bill holdings. In other words, a stock market crash is long-overdue if the Treasury does not want to face a major spike in rates and drop in Treasury demand in the immediate future."

Treasury Five-Year Notes Fall Most Since August After Auction
A quote...." March 24 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury five-year notes dropped the most in seven months after a record-tying $42 billion auction of the securities sold at the widest difference in yield over the average forecast of primary dealers since July. -- Yields on 10-year notes increased to the highest level since January as demand in the sale from a group of investors that includes foreign central banks was the lowest in eight months. U.S. interest-rate swap spreads plunged to the lowest levels in more than two decades after Fitch Ratings’ downgrade of Portugal raised the risk of owning sovereign debt and corporate bond issuance surged. - bold by website editor

Weak 5 Year Auction Shakes Treasury Complex: Enormous Tail, Indirects Drop, Bid To Cover Weakest Since September  - Financial Warning - (This is the first "financial warning in a long, long, time - mpg) - Chart -- A quote...."

• $42 billion 5 year prices at 2.605 high yield (29.97 allotted at high - PDF)
• Bid To Cover at 2.55 weakest since September 2009, last 2.75, average in last year 2.50
• Indirect take down meager 39.66, lowest since July 2009, last 40.33, average in last year 46.03
• Directs continue to be major presence at 10.76, last at 12.85%
• Enormous tail, as auction prices well above the WI, which had been trading at 2.568%. This is the worst tail since July 2009, which was 5.3 bps

Did Gordon Brown Sell UK's Gold To Keep AIG And Rothschild Solvent; More Disclosures On How The NY Fed Manipulates Gold Prices -- For all you Gold Bugs out there - mpg -- A quote...."In the neverending saga of new disclosure of gold price manipulation, here is the most recent pearl, courtesy of Jesse's Cafe Americain:"In front of 3 witnesses, Bank of England Governor Eddie George spoke to Nicholas J. Morrell (CEO of Lonmin Plc) after the Washington Agreement gold price explosion in Sept/Oct 1999. Mr. George said "We looked into the abyss if the gold price rose further. A further rise would have taken down one or several trading houses, which might have taken down all the rest in their wake. Therefore at any price, at any cost, the central banks had to quell the gold price, manage it. It was very difficult to get the gold price under control but we have now succeeded. The US Fed was very active in getting the gold price down. "

Explain why you sold Britain's gold, Gordon Brown told - More on the issue for you Gold Bugs out there. mpg
Related Article - A quote...."The decision to sell the gold – taken by Mr Brown when he was Chancellor – is regarded as one of the Treasury's worst financial mistakes and has cost taxpayers almost £7 billion. -- Mr Brown and the Treasury have repeatedly refused to disclose information about the gold sale amid allegations that warnings were ignored." - also posted at Yahoo

Portugal’s Debt Rating Lowered by Fitch on Worsening Finances
A quote...."March 24 (Bloomberg) -- Portugal’s credit grade was cut by Fitch Ratings, underscoring growing concern that Europe’s weakest economies will struggle to meet their debt commitments as finances deteriorate. "

Dubai to offer 9.5 bln dollars in aid to Dubai World
A quote...."ABU DHABI, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The Dubai government said on Thursday it would offer 9.5 billion U.S. dollars in aid to the troubled Dubai World conglomerate as part of a restructuring plan."

Russia to witness robust economic recovery: World Bank
A quote...."MOSCOW, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Russian economy is expected to see a robust recovery, with a GDP growth forecast of up to 5.5 percent in 2010, the World Bank said in a report published Wednesday."

Social Inequality in America: Widening Income Disparities.
Must Read  - Quote of the Day...."The mid-twentieth century "deal" between the "opulent minority," the government and the people left the "opulent minority" with the lion's share of the country's wealth, but a little bit more of that wealth was shared with the workers who created it.  The government was the referee who enforced the rules, and the years between the end of the Second World War and 1970 were America's most prosperous overall, producing the largest, wealthiest middle class in history.  --  Americans assumed that this was the new normal, that a solid social contract was now standard operating procedure.  But this overall prosperity was only a glitch in minority rule, a safety valve to stem the pressure of a popular, revolutionary mood that had been building since the Civil War and had come to a head during the Great Depression.  Now the country is returning to its natural state, including the immense chasm between the incomes of the "opulent minority" and the rest of us, as squalor once again stands side by side with splendor." -- also posted at ICH

"The LOBBY's 1962 Blueprint for Taking over America..."
Special Note -- A chilling description of just how far this nation has fallen. - mpg -- "We have castrated society through fear and intimidation. Its manhood exists only in combination with a feminine outward appearance. Being so neutered, the populace has become docile and easily ruled. As all geldings in nature, their thoughts are not involved with the concerns of the future and their posterity, but only with the present toil and the next meal." -- 48+ years of lies, subterfuges, bribes, threats, assassinations, spying on the USA, false-flags, infiltrating Christian groups, intimidating colleges and brainwashing their students and control of the MSM have helped install Israel as the de facto head of the USA." -- For more on this issue see....Judeo-Christian C/C & US

How Sovereign is Europe? Washington has Murdered Privacy Rights at Home And Abroad
A quote...."In the Swiss newspaper Zeit Fragen, Professor Dr. Eberhard Hamer from Germany asks, "How Sovereign is Europe?"  -- He examines the issue and concludes that Europe has little, if any, sovereignty." - also posted at DProgram

AIPAC is in Session so Lie about Iran
A quote...."As our elected “leaders” are paraded onstage, one after the other, to swear allegiance to the service of another nation no matter what laws they break, no matter who they illegally assassinate on foreign soil, no matter how many innocent civilians they killed during Operation Cast Lead, and no matter how blatantly they insult our Vice President and our President… all elected leaders must bow and scrape to the power of AIPAC’s lobbyists. And waht does AIPAC want?  A war with Iran, that’s what."

Syria, Iran, Turkey call for OIC emergency meeting
A quote...."DAMASCUS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Parliament speakers of Syria, Iran and Turkey agreed on Tuesday to invite heads of parliamentary councils of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to hold an emergency meeting on recent Palestinian-Israeli clashes, the official SANA news agency reported." -- also posted at Mathaba

Maliki Aide: We Won’t Recognize Election Results
A quote...."An aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki today insisted that his State of Law party will not recognize the final election results, expected later this week, because the election commission declined their request for a manual recount."

Destroying educational institutions or using them for military purposes is a war crime
Special Note - A quote...."The Education system in Iraq, prior to 1991, was one of the best in the region; with over 100% Gross Enrolment Rate for primary schooling and high levels of literacy, both of men and women. The Higher Education, especially the scientific and technological institutions, were of an international standard, staffed by high quality personnel". (UNESCO Fact Sheet, March 28, 2003)[1]. -- As a result of U.S. ongoing Occupation of Iraq, today Iraq is more illiterate than it was five or a twenty-five years ago, because the U.S. Administration and U.S. forces occupying Iraq began to root and destroy every aspect of Iraq’s education. -- Iraqi educational system was the target of U.S. military action, because education is the backbone of any society. Without an efficient education system, no society can function, writes Ghali Hassan in May 2005.[2] --  Facts have proven him right. This is also one of the conclusions of the book "Cultural Cleansing in Iraq".[3] - [GoglBkSrch]" - links added -- also posted at Uruknet & GlobalRsrch -- For more on this issue see....The Method - 05-07-07 - mpg

Nimrud's Lamentations, Nimrud's Wrath. 1
A quote...."Who and What were you 6'000 years ago ? You and your nations were NOTHING, you were not even in existence... you were nothing, had nothing...not that it changed much since...  I love History, specially ancient History...History is a bit like God...it enlightens and teaches the ignorant, humbles the arrogant...but in your case, you are genetically predisposed for arrogance...and what an end yours will be !  Forget about you, you ignorant barbaric hoards, you uncultured, uncivilized, backward people...you covetous, jealous, envious, Godless people... " -- also posted at Uruknet

Nimrud's Lamentations, Nimrud's Wrath. 2
A quote...."I've been holding on to the pictures...for over 5 years now...I hid them, refused to share them with anyone...I would take them out every once in a while, study them, watch them closely, read the faces...and stack them away again...and for over 5 years, the wrenching pain, the fire I feel in my gut has not subsided not one iota...on the contrary, it keeps growing...a smoldering braise...and nothing will ever extinguish it..." - also posted at Uruknet

Civil War Certain as "Afghan National Army" Now Over 60% Tajik
Special Note - i.e. versus the Pashtons - mpg - A quote...."There are any number of "Big lies" put forward by the USA in Afghanistan and slavishly repeated by our politicians and media. Here are a few of the "Big lies":

• The Karzai government is democratically elected
• The Afghan anti-occupation fighters are all Taliban supporters
• Most opium is produced in Taliban controlled areas
• Women's rights are now respected in Afghanistan

But I want today to tackle this particular "Big lie":

• The Afghan National Army is ethnically balanced.

China seeks Russia alliance to counter US dominance
A quote...."Looking to form a counterbalance to the power of the US, Beijing called on Moscow, as one of the emerging market economies, to enter into an alliance with China seeking to increase their leverage in global affairs." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Iran, Turkey plan to triple trade volume to $30bn
A quote...."Iran announces a joint Tehran - Ankara plan to triple bilateral annual trade volume from the current $10 billion to $30 billion in the future." - also posted at WarInIraq

Nationwide strikes in France against Sarkozy
Action Update - A quote...."Nationwide strikes in France hobbled public services from transport to schools Tuesday, with unions hoping their action would put the brakes on reforms planned by President Nicolas Sarkozy two days after his party's stinging defeat in regional elections."

Journalist Attempts Citizen's Arrest of Blair in EU Parliament
Action Update - A quote...."Brussels - A Brussels reporter attempted to place Tony Blair under a citizen's arrest on Monday (22 March) for his role in the invasion of Iraq, during a visit by the former UK prime minister to the European Parliament for a hearing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

Whose Streets? (Our Streets between 1pm and 4pm With a Permit)
Action Update - A quote...."On the 7th commemoration of the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq, there was a rally and march in DC sponsored by the A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition that was attended by about eight thousand people." - also posted at ICH & DesertPeace
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More on Obama's Insurance Bail-Out-Boondoggle No-Care Bill....

Closing Time: An Historic Confirmation of Corporate Power
A quote...."Official transcript of remarks by President Barack Obama after the March 21 vote in the House of Representatives on H.R.3590: Motion to Concur in Senate Amendments to Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act....


Obamacare: Culling the Baby Boomers
Special Note - A quote...."The bill passed last night attacks Medicare directly. It will cut over $150 billion to hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices. Obama and the Democrats expect to realize a “savings” by cutting over $200 billion to Medicare Advantage, nearly $40 billion to home health care for seniors, and over $20 billion in reduced Medicare payments to hospitals that service a large number of low-income patients, according to the ARRA News Service." -- also posted at DProgram

Obama health bill sets the stage for assault on Medicare and Social Security
Special Note - A quote...."Behind the celebrations of the health care overhaul lies a definite perspective. The authors of these commentaries see the legislation as a major step in confronting profound problems facing American and world capitalism. They are hailing what they consider a breakthrough in reining in massive US deficits that are destabilizing the world financial system. -- It has for decades been deemed politically impossible to attack basic entitlement programs in the US, such as Social Security and Medicare, which account for an enormous and rising portion of the federal budget. Now, with Obama’s health care plan, the stage has been set for slashing these programs. This is the reason for the general jubilation in media and financial circles."

Health-Care Stocks Up After House OK's Overhaul
A quote...."THE NEWS: Health-care stocks led the stock market higher Monday after the U.S. House Sunday approved a historic health-care overhaul designed to bring health insurance to 32 million more Americas while subjecting U.S. industries to a dramatically redrawn and newly regulated marketplace."

14 states sue to block health care law
A quote...."(CNN) -- Officials from 14 states have gone to court to block the historic overhaul of the U.S. health care system that President Obama signed into law Tuesday, arguing the law's requirement that individuals buy health insurance violates the Constitution."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

UK Expels Israeli Diplomat Over Dubai Case
A quote...."March 23, 2010 "AP" -- LONDON – Britain took the extraordinary step Tuesday of expelling an Israeli diplomat for the first time in more than 20 years, after concluding there was compelling evidence that Israel was responsible for the use of forged British passports in the plot to slay a senior Hamas operative in Dubai."

The ties that bind America to Israel are beginning to fray and break
Special Note - A quote...."It was always striking to watch the smugness with which Israeli politicians sold Americans the idea that the only issue in considering the conflict with the Palestinians was what Ariel Sharon called, with deeply rolling Rs, the "tehrroar". The ever-expanding Jewish settlements, the annexing of land, expulsion of Palestinians, the killings of Arab children, the crimes of occupation, were discarded as an irrelevance. No one in George Bush's White House cared to challenge Sharon on that." -- also posted at ICH

Tell Me Again, Who Made The Desert Bloom?
Must View Photo Gallery - Some quote...."In December 1945 and January 1946, the British Mandate authorities carried out an extensive survey of Palestine, in support of the work of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine. The results were published in the Survey of Palestine, which has been scanned and made available online by Palestine Remembered; all 1300 pages can be read here.  -- One of the subjects investigated in the Survey of Palestine is land use; specifically, which crops were Palestine's leading agricultural products at the end of the British Mandate, and whose farms were producing them."  --  "Photos: All the photographs of Palestinian farmers cultivating their crops in Palestine under the British Mandate are from <Before Their Diaspora: A Photographic History Of The Palestinians 1876 - 1948, by Walid Khalidi." -- also posted at Uruknet
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More On The Palestinian Situation....

American Must Never Hear the Truth About Gaza - Must be more "ol'dat freedumb & demockracy" - mpg
Press Censorship Alert - A quote...."During the Bush Administration, Mohammed Omer had a problem obtaining a visa to enter the United States for a speaking engagement. Condoleeza Rice intervened and the visa was granted. -- During the Obama Administration, Mohammed Omer WAS DENIED a visa to enter the United States for a speaking tour AND NO ONE INTERVENED. -- We were promised a ‘CHANGE’….. it looks like we got it!" - - also posted at Uruknet

MACINTYRE: Ramat Shlomo: Inside the town that will test Obama to the limit  March 23, 2010
Map Graphic - A quote...."Ask Rabbi Sam White what he thinks of the global political row over plans to expand the community in which he lives, prays and studies, and he answers bluntly: “I don’t see the problem. God gave us the land of Israel.” The notion that the location of Ramat Shlomo, on land occupied after the 1967 Six Day War and officially expropriated six years later, might belong to another people is wholly alien to the 32- year-old Salford-born rabbi. “There’s no question. It’s in the Torah, which says that God gave the land to the Jewish people.”

Dr Mads Gilbert on Gaza (3 parts) March 23, 2010 - MG(1/3) - MG(2/3) - MG(3/3)
Videos - (YouTube - 10m - March 07, 2010) -- A quote...."Norwegian Doctor Mads Gilbert volunteers in a hospital in Gaza, and reports about the international neglect towards the Palestinians’ suffering."

The US' choreographed "outrage" at Israel
A quote...."Obviously, the Obama Administration is hardly concerned about Israeli violations of international law, previous agreements it has signed, or the human rights of the Palestinians. The implication throughout is that had the announcement come a week before Biden visited (or even a day before, as the Bethlehem announcement did) there would have been no problem. Indeed, just one week later, after the Israeli government announced construction on an additional 426 East Jerusalem settlement homes, Clinton "bolstered her support for the Jewish state," according to The Washington Post." - also posted at Uruknet

Israeli forces raid Gaza strip
A quote...."GAZA, March 23 (KUNA) -- Israeli army and tanks raided on Tuesday afternoon the northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip. -- Palestinian sources told KUNA here that four tanks and several bulldozers entered near Beit Hanoun crossing, northern Gaza Strip. -- Sources added Israeli tanks fired on Palestinian lands in the area. -- The fire did not result in casualties and Israeli bulldozers immediately razed the land, it noted. -- Also, Israeli forces raided near the Sufa crossing east of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip."

Israeli forces strike northern Gaza, reports of injured
A quote...."Gaza – Ma'an – The Israeli airforce launched two airstrikes on the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya overnight Wednesday, Palestinian sources said."

Palestinian organizer tortured in Israeli jail
A quote...."Omar Alaaeddin, who is involved in organizing demonstrations in the village of alMa’asra south of Bethlehem, was arrested a week ago on Sunday at the Container Checkpoint, as he was making his way back home from Ramallah, with a group of students and university professors. The groups was in Ramallah to see a theater play. Alaaeddin was beaten repeatedly, both by the soldiers who detained him, and later, in the Israeli Russian Compound jail in Jerusalem. He reports to have been kicked, punched and even electroshocked with a taser by the soldiers and his jailers."

In Australia, a day of solidarity with Palestine
Action Update - A quote...."In an important show of solidarity, 500 individuals participated in pro-Palestine activities on Friday 19 March in Melbourne, Australia, protesting against both the brutality of Israel's actions in recent weeks and the ongoing support of the Australian government for Israeli apartheid."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Keiser Report №27: Markets! Finance! Scandal! - Alt - (KRYuTb - 26 min 52 sec - March 23, 2010)
Video - A quote...."This week Max Keiser and co-host Stacy Herbert look at the scandals of Ben Bernanke's zero reserve requirements proposal; the game of IMF chicken between Greece and Germany; the sinister German hedge fund spy plan; and Max Keiser for President of Greece?! Keiser also talks to Business Insider's Gregory White about deflation, inflation and moving to Asia!"

Bernanke Running Amuck
Chart - A quote...."Fed Chairman Bernanke is running amuck, and for the first time since the birth of the U.S. dollar, our government is egregiously abusing its power to print money. -- Specifically, from September 10, 2008 to March 10 of this year, he has increased the nation’s monetary base from $850 billion to $2.1 trillion — an irresponsible, irrational and insane increase of 2.5 times in just 18 months. -- It is, by far, the greatest monetary expansion in U.S. history. And you must not underestimate its sweeping historical significance."

US Debt Update: 6 Months To Revised Debt Ceiling Breach
Related Article - A quote...."Just in case some people forget what the trade off to the market melt up is, today we are starting a periodic daily report of the Treasury's total debt subject to the statutory limit. Today's total: $12,607,140,000,000. We started March at $12,383,717,000,000. We started the fiscal year (October 1) at $11,853,434,000,000. We have added $223 billion of debt in the last three weeks, and $755 billion in just 5 months." - bold by website editor

Federal Housing Administration Head: "We Are At The Point Right Now Where No One Trusts the American Housing Finance System" -- A quote...."Federal Housing Administration head David Stevens said recently that no one trusts the housing finance system. As the Washington Post writes...."


Existing-home sales fall for third straight month
Related Article - A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Resales of U.S. homes and condominiums fell 0.6% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.02 million, the lowest level in eight months, raising doubts about the durability of the housing recovery, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday."

Existing Home Sales Double Dip Deteriorates With Biggest Increase In Months Supply Inventory In 20 Years
Charts - (click to enlarge) - Related Article -A quote...."The double dip in housing is getting worse by the month. After hitting a nearly 6.6 million in existing home sales in late 2009, the number has now plunged to 5.02 million, a decline of 0.9% sequentially, and a major drop from the artificially induced peak."

Dallas-Fort Worth commercial foreclosure filings top $1 billion
Related Article - A quote...." Commercial property foreclosure filings in the Dallas-Fort Worth  area top $1 billion for the upcoming April sales. - That's much higher than commercial foreclosure posting totals in recent months. - "It's certainly the highest we've seen in this cycle," George Roddy of Foreclosure Listing Service said Monday."

Japan's export jumps 45.3% in Feb
A quote...."TOKYO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Japan's exports surged 45.3 percent from a year earlier to 5,128.67 billion yen (56.99 billion U.S. dollars) in February, Financial Ministry data showed Wednesday. -- The rise is the third straight monthly expansion, confirming the export-oriented economy is recovering from the worst economic downturn in decades."

Monday March 22nd 2010

"Georgie, it's our Seventh Anniversary, did you get me something?"
Must Read - Contains Video - A quote...."March 19, the seventh anniversary of the Iraq War invasion passed yesterday. - No outrage on corporate television. No accountability. No regrets over 4,400 Americans dead, 30,000-plus wounded, and 100,000s traumatized for life. Most Americans know that the war was begun and sustained by self-conscious lies. Most don’t really care. - At least Haliburton, Israel and Iran were happy. And Haliburton’s stock went from went from $9.53 (Jan 1, 2003) to a high of $53.07 in 2008 in Bush’s last year in office before it caved in a sea of corruption."

Blair's fight to keep his oil cash secret: Former PM's deals are revealed as his earnings since 2007 reach £20million
The politicians get rich and the poor keep gratefully giving their lives for them.  What is WRONG with people?!?! - mpg -- A quote...."Tony Blair waged an extraordinary two-year battle to keep secret a lucrative deal with a multinational oil giant which has extensive interests in Iraq. -- The former Prime Minister tried to keep the public in the dark over his dealings with South Korean oil firm UI Energy Corporation. -- Mr Blair - who has made at least £20million since leaving Downing Street in June 2007 - also went to great efforts to keep hidden a £1million deal advising the ruling royal family in Iraq's neighbour Kuwait. -- In an unprecedented move, he persuaded the committee which vets the jobs of former ministers to keep details of both deals from the public for 20 months, claiming it was commercially sensitive. The deals emerged yesterday when the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments finally lost patience with Mr Blair and decided to ignore his objections and publish the details." - also posted at Creative-i
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

"My fellow Americans, tonight I'm going to talk frankly about a pesky little nation called Israel ... "
Must Read - A quote...."Don’t get excited. It’ll never happen. Is there really a crisis in US-Israeli relations?  Yes and No. Yes, because the world’s premier power doesn’t care to have its vice president publicly humiliated by a midget of a nation whose entire population is smaller than that of Los Angeles county. No, because the elected politicians nominally running the government of the world’s premier power live in mortal fear of the Israel lobby in the United States. This time, as always, No will carry the day. (You can find a detailed narrative by Jeffrey Blankfort on this site today, from which much of this Diary is drawn.)"

Israelis are behaving like spoiled rich brats
Must Read - A quote...."The terrifying specter of non-violent resistance to the occupation and the apartheid regime is hovering over the State of Israel, and all the state’s dignitaries have been recruited to battle it. -- This non-violent resistance operates both in areas under Israel’s reign of control, in the form of a popular struggle on both sides of the green line, and across the globe, through the Israeli and international affirmative response to the Palestinian call for boycotts, divestment and sanctions on Israel, until it ends the occupation and grants full equality to people from both nations living under its rule."

A Crisis in U.S. / Israeli Relations? Sure. But ...  Why Israel Always Prevails
A quote...."If the State Department had issued travel advisory warnings to US government officials about to travel to Israel, Vice President Joe Biden would have no doubt ignored them.  A better friend to Israel could not have been found in the 36 years that Biden represented Delaware in the US Senate and there was speculation that his popularity among Jewish voters and major Jewish donors was the primary reason he was added to the Democratic ticket. According to all reports, Biden’s trip was to mend fences with the Israeli officials and with the Israeli Jewish public which had become disenchanted with the Obama administration where the president’s popularity is measured in the low single digits."

Former Obama Aide New Head of AIPAC - Oh, THAT figures! - mpg
Related Article - Full quote...."(IsraelNN.com) Lee “Rosy” Rosenberg, a jazz recording industry veteran capitalist who accompanied U.S. President Barack Obama on his campaign trip to Israel two years ago, takes over on Sunday as the new president of American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Rosenberg also served on the president’s national campaign finance committee. -- The new AIPAC president hails from Chicago, the home state of President Obama, and also is on first-name terms with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, President Obama’s senior advisor…"

Israeli education ministry censors Universal Declaration of Human Rights
A quote...."On March 17, the following note appeared on the Promised Land blog:"


"The relevant link was to an article in Hebrew. I asked Noam which two articles had been specified, and he replied that the nrg.co.il article implied Article 14 and Article 18. These two articles are as follows:"

EU official to Israel: Jerusalem is not Tel Aviv
A quote...."European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday to look for ways to pressure Israelis and Palestinians into launching proxy peace talks, amidst fears that the peace process is in jeopardy."

Mauritania severs all diplomatic ties with Israel
A quote...."Mauritania has officially ended its relations with Israel one year after freezing all bilateral ties over Israel's deadly siege on the Gaza Strip."

Lebanese army fires on Israeli jets
A quote...."The Lebanese army says it has opened fire on two Israeli warplanes that were violating the country's airspace at medium altitude. - "The army's anti-aircraft guns fired at two Israeli warplanes overflying Hasbaya in southeastern Lebanon," the Lebanese army said in statement late Sunday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan are committing atrocities, lying, and getting away with it
Presstitute Alert - A quote...."Jerome Starkey recently reported for The Times of London about a night raid on Feb. 12 in which U.S. and Afghan gunmen opened fire on two pregnant women, a teenage girl and two local officials -- an atrocity which NATO’s Afghanistan headquarters then tried to cover up. Now, in a blistering indictment of both NATO and his own profession, Starkey writes for Nieman Watchdog that the international forces led by U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal are rarely called to account because most reporters are too dependent on access, security and the 'embed culture' to venture out and see what's happening for themselves." - bold by website editor - also posted at Uruknet

Brazil: Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah vital to peace
A quote...."Brazilian president says the potential for concluding a Middle East peace deal requires the presence of Iran, Palestinian Hamas movement and Lebanon's Hezbollah at the negotiating table." - also posted at WarInIraq

‘Kingmaker’ Sadr Courted by Top Iraqi Parties
A quote...."The Iraqi election has produced a number of surprises, from the Iraqiya Bloc’s dominance throughout the Sunni majority provinces of the nation to the Kurdistan Alliance’s struggling to draw even a plurality in Sulaymaniyah, the home province of President Jalal Talabani."

Sarkozy's party loses [Big in] regional election
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy arrive at the townhall of the 16th district to vote for the second round of the regional elections on March 21,2010 in Paris, France. - President Sarkozy's centre-right UMP party has suffered a heavy defeat in the French regional elections. - With over 97% of votes counted, the Socialist-led opposition alliance took 52% of the vote with the UMP on 35%. - Prime Minister Francois Fillon acknowledged the defeat, admitting the left's "success", and is expected to offer his resignation."

French regional elections: second round confirms rejection of ruling party
Related Article - A quote...."The second round of the regional elections on March 21 confirms the massive rejection, in the first round a week ago, of the austerity policies associated with President Nicolas Sarkozy."

The anti-Venezuela election campaign
A quote...."Venezuela has an election for its national assembly in September, and the campaign has begun in earnest. I am referring to the international campaign. This is carried out largely through the international media, although some will spill over into the Venezuelan media. It involves many public officials, especially in the US. The goal will be to generate as much bad press as possible about Venezuela, to discredit the government, and to delegitimise the September elections – in case the opposition should choose to boycott, as they did in the last legislative elections, or refuse to recognise the results if they lose."

Canada’s Long Embrace of the Honduran Dictatorship
A quote...."Ignoring the ongoing abuses of human rights in the country under the new coupist presidency of Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo, Kent has been following through with his promise to promote the normalization of the country's relations with the rest of the hemisphere. Lobo won fraudulent elections held in November under the military dictatorship in a context of repression and intimidation. The election was boycotted by the anti-coup movement, and the Organization of American States and European Union refused to send official observers. Despite this, immediately following Lobo's inauguration on January 27, Kent declared that Canada will “support President Lobo's efforts as he moves to fully reintegrate Honduras into the international and hemispheric community, including in the Organization of American States.”
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

BWCF – Blair War Crimes Foundation
Action Alert - Grim Photos  - Your tax dollars at work folks, just mutiply the images by about two million.  Think about it. Than think about it again. Than NEVER vote for a Demo or Repub again! - mpg -- A quote...."Little Ali’s injuries were caused in Iraq during the first week of “Operation Shock and Awe” by a very intense and short-lived thermal radiation. He lost his arms – as the image shows, they were incinerated."

Gates admits concerns on US assassins in S. Asia - You gotta love this quote.....it says it ALL - mpg
Quote of the Day...."Quite frankly, in principle, I would have concerns about that but I don't know enough to know whether... it took place and if so, whether there was value added," Gates said Monday in a joint press conference with his Canadian counterpart, Peter MacKay, AFP reported. - bold/underline by website editor

Wealth Creates Poverty? - Dr. Michael Parenti: "Terrorism, Globalization and Conspiracy"  - Alt1 - Alt2
Video - From the History File - Oct. 9, 2002 - (GoglVid - 1hr - Oct. 9, 2002) -- A quote...."Globalization is an attempt to extend corporate monopoly control over the whole globe. Over every national economy. Over every local economy Over every life." -- || Real Audio || Win Media ||
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Alex’s Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth Speech at The Doubletree Hotel in Austin, Texas
Must View Videos -  posted by TheAlexJonesChannel - AJ(1/4) - AJ(2/4) - AJ(3/4) - AJ(4/4) - (PPYuTb - aprox 10m each - March 22, 2010) -- A quote...."Alex Jones, International journalist, Radio Talks Show Host, and Documentary film maker, gave a speech on the importance of 9/11 truth on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at the Doubletree Hotel in Austin, Texas."

9/11 Commission Failed the Citizens of America - Alt - (RTYuTb - 6 min 2 sec - March 19, 2010)
RT-Video - posted by 91177info -- A quote...."Thankyou to RussiaToday for reporting this very important development into who really was behind 9/11 which I reported on here" - For more on this issue see....9/11-Iraq-Torture Fables & 9/11-Commission

9/11: Those 19 Ayyyrabs and Their Mile Wide Trail of Evidence
A quote...."We're led to believe that 19 devout Muslims liked to drink copious amounts of booze, snort dope, visit strips bars (leaving a copy of the Koran), that U.S. airport security would fail four times within a few minutes, that U.S. air defenses would fail across the board to intercept the hijacked airliners and that hijackers lacking in flight skills could conduct the exotic flight maneuvers that top gun fighter pilots say are beyond their own skills?"

A little secret about Obama’s transparency
A quote...."The current administration, challenged by the president to be the most open, is now denying more Freedom of Information Act requests than Bush did." - also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq
    
A Spy Unsettles US-India Ties
Special Note - Cover-Up Alert - (the other shoe finally drops) -- A quote...."News that the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had reached a plea bargain with David Coleman Headley, who played a key role in the planning of the terrorist strike in Mumbai in November 2008 in which 166 people were killed, has caused an uproar in India. -- The deal enables the US government to hold back from formally producing any evidence against Headley in a court of law that might have included details of his links with US intelligence or oblige any cross-examination of Headley by the prosecution." -- For more on this issue see....Just Give it a Rest OK!! - 11-27-09 - mpg

US Government Blocked 9/11 Commission - (YouTube - 54 sec - March 17, 2010)
Video - posted by 91177info -- A quote...."Now why would the BUSH administration do this? See the letter below...."

9/11 Commission BLOCKED by Government FULL FOIA DOCUMENT - (YuTb - 3m12s - March 18, 2010)
Video - posted by 91177info -- A quote...."Hello? Anyone out there?? How much more evidence does one need? 9/11 panel was warned not to probe too deeply by the US government.  Your staff has advised us that the Commission seeks to participate in the questioning of certain enemy combatants detained in the war against terrorists of global reach. Such action by the Commission would substantially interfere with the ability of the United States to perform its law enforcement, defense and intelligence functions in the protection of the American people."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More on Obama's Insurance Bail-Out-Boondoggle No-Care Bill....

Fact Sheet: The Truth About the Health Care Bill - Too late to do anything about it now....mpg
Must Read - Table - (FactSheetTable) -- A quote...."We started down a dangerous road with Wall Street banks in the early 90s, allowing them to flood our political system with money and write our laws so that taxpayers would subsidize their profits, assume their losses and remove themselves from the necessity of competition.  By funneling so much money into the companies who created the very  problems we are now attempting to address, we further empower them to hijack our legislative process and put more than just our health care system at risk.  We risk our entire system of government. -- Congress may be too far down the road with this bill to change course and save themselves — and us.  But before Democrats cast this vote, which could endanger not only their Congressional majority but their ability to “fix” things later on, they should consider the first rule of patient safety:  first, do no harm."

The Health Care Hindenburg Has Landed - posted at TruthDig
Special Note - A quote...."Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s decision to vote “yes” in Sunday’s House action on the health care bill, although he had sworn to oppose the legislation unless there was a public option, is a perfect example of why I would never be a politician. I respect Kucinich. As politicians go, he is about as good as they get, but he is still a politician. He has to run for office. He has to raise money. He has to placate the Democratic machine or risk retaliation and defeat. And so he signed on to a bill that will do nothing to ameliorate the suffering of many Americans, will force tens of millions of people to fork over a lot of money for a defective product and, in the end, will add to the ranks of our uninsured." - also posted at ICH & AmericanEvryman

An attack on health care in the guise of reform
Special Note - A quote...."After months of closed-door negotiations with insurance CEOs and pharmaceutical executives, Obama made the absurd claim that the measure came “from the bottom up.” In fact, the legislation was entirely dictated from the top. It represents the opening shot in a sweeping attack on health care for working people. -- A staggering level of cynicism has been exhibited throughout the so-called health care “debate.” Evasions and outright lies have been utilized to conceal the real content of the bill. With its final passage, a media-led orgy of self-congratulation will no doubt follow."

Defeat in Victory: the Democrat's Health Care Bill
A quote...."March 22, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- What looks like a big victory for Obama and the Democrats may be their greatest undoing. It’s true that the passage of Obama’s health care bill represents a significant political victory for the Democrats. But sometimes a battle won could equal a lost war. -- It’s telling that Obama had so much trouble in getting his own party to pass the bill on a simple majority basis: the bill was so blatantly watered down with the corporate hose that anyone with their name attached to it feared future electoral doom."

Virginia Calls Health Bill Unconstitutional, Files Suit
A quote...."The State of Virginia has confirmed that it will sue the federal government over the health care reform bill, declaring the legislation unconstitutional and legally conflicting. -- The Attorney General of Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli, issued a statement last night, giving notification that the State will file suit as soon as the president signs the bill into law, later this week."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More On The Palestinian Situation....

Never Again For Anyone
Contains Video - Alt - A quote...."IJAN and the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign just completed a ten-day, nine-city "Never Again for Anyone" tour in England, Scotland and Ireland with Hajo Meyer, an 85-year old survivor of Auschwitz, and with Haidar Eid, from Gaza via video and telephone. The tour reached over 1200 people with most events attended by 100-150 people. Eid and Meyer received a standing ovation at each. "

SHOOT TO KILL POLICY
Special Note - Like in Ireland during our conflict the British had a "shoot to Kill" policy, and now in Palestine the Zionists have a "shoot to kill" policy.The problem with having a "shoot to kill" policy, is that it often causes civilian murders. And sometimes it even backfires. -- For instance, today Israel killed one of their own. Yup, a "friendly" fire incident at the border. A few Palestinians were trying to cross illegally, looking for work, because of the illegal Zionist siege on their country. They were totally and 100% unarmed civilians, as stated by the very same ZOF unit dealing with them. Suddenly another unit of ZOF soldiers arrive, trigger happy and looking to get in on the fun of shooting some Palestinians. Trouble is, they shot their own. serves them right, as the alternative would have been to murder unarmed civilians, rather than their fully armed comrades:"

Who is killing whom in Israel/Palestine?
A quote...."In Hebron, repeated settler violence has led to the shooting and beating of Palestinian civilians in the Old City and nearby neighbourhoods. Protests against these continual violations to their lives have only invited more attacks on the Palestinians from Israeli soldiers claiming to quell the protests. Tear gas and rubber-coated bullets have recently injured some 47 residents, in response, says Israel’s military, to stones thrown, although there is no way of knowing who fired the first shot or threw the first stone."

Pictures From A Tragic Weekend
Photo Gallery - Special Note - A quote...."A tragic weekend in the villages around Nablus claimed the lives of four young men. Two died following a demonstration in Iraq Burin, apparently with live ammunition, a claim denied by the military. On Sunday two more were killed in the Awarta checkpoint. Below are pictures of the demonstration and its consequences. All Pictures by FLV."

Gaza civil society to UN chief: siege more than "unacceptable"
A quote...."You are already well aware of the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza as a consequence of Israel's devastating military attacks and its siege. As recently as 27 December 2009, you called the blockade of Gaza "unacceptable." While this statement is certainly valid, it constitutes a gross understatement of the actual situation which amounts to slow genocide."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

“The best way to rob a bank is to own one” Part 1 By William Black - WB(1/3) - WB(2/3) - WB(3/3)
RN-Video - Must View -  TheRealNews - (RNYuTb - aprox. 10m each - March 19&20, 2010) -- A quote...."William Black, author of "Best way to rob a bank is to own one", [GoglBkSrch]* talks about deliberate fraud on Wall St." - *links added

Bonds Show U.S. Losing AAA
A quote...."The bond market is saying that it’s safer to lend to Warren Buffett than Barack Obama. -- Two-year notes sold by the billionaire’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in February yield 3.5 basis points less than Treasuries of similar maturity, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Procter & Gamble Co., Johnson & Johnson and Lowe’s Cos. debt also traded at lower yields in recent weeks, a situation former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. chief fixed-income strategist Jack Malvey calls an “exceedingly rare” event in the history of the bond market." - From Bloomberg

Underemployment At Record 20% According To Gallup
Chart - A quote...."Just in case anyone needed confirmation that the DOL data is just a little, how should we say it, cooked, here comes Gallup with their March 15 undermployment number, which just hit a 2010, and series, high of 20%. This is obviously worse compared to both the beginning of the year (19.5%) and February (19.8%). Unlike the Dept of Labor's arcane voodoo which lately is based more on executive confidential memos and snowfall observations, Gallup's underemployment measure is based on more than 20,000 phone interviews collected over a 30-day period and reported daily."

One Very Tragic Death
Website Editor's Note:  FYI: If you're the senior accountant, treasurer, VP in charge of finance, CFO, etc. and your firm is under investigation and you're eventually going to be called to testify, don't go skiing alone, or sky diving, or scuba diving, or take any long lonely walks in the woods.  Be sure to tell everybody you're definitely NOT suicidal, stay off the freeways, have your car checked frequently and NEVER go fly in your own plane, as a pilot, or as a passenger. - mpg -- A quote..."Reilly was the point man on Repo 105, the point person for E&Y's "investigation" into the Matthew Lee whistleblower campaign, Lehman's Level 2 and Level 3 asset valuation, the brain behind the idea to spin off Lehman's commercial real estate business, Lehman's Archstone investment, and likely so much more. Reilly stayed on at Lehman, solid as a rock, even as the CFO's above him rotated one after another. Tragically, on December 29, 2008, a 44-year old Gerald [sic] Reilly died while skiing alone on New York's Whiteface mountain...."

Multiple strikes over new tax 'cripple' Athens
Resistance is NOT futile....Down with the Banksters!! - mpg -- A quote...."Strikes over government-proposed taxes to help rein in Greece's burgeoning public debt have taken on new dimensions as more workers join the walkouts."

China threatens US over currency rate dispute
A quote...."Beijing has threatened to retaliate if the United States declares China a currency manipulator and imposes trade sanctions. -- The US Treasury is to rule whether China is unfairly holding down its exchange rate to gain a competitive edge in global markets."

The multiple ways Monsanto is putting normal seeds out of reach
A quote...."People say if farmers don't want problems from Monsanto, just don't buy their GMO seeds. -- Not so simple.  Where are farmers supposed to get normal seed these days?  How are they supposed to avoid contamination of their fields from GM-crops?  How are they supposed to stop Monsanto detectives from trespassing or Monsanto from using helicopters to fly over spying on them? -- Monsanto contaminates the fields, trespasses onto the land taking samples and if they find any GMO plants growing there (or say they have), they then sue, saying they own the crop.  It's a way to make money since farmers can't fight back and court and they settle because they have no choice."

American Farmers Fighting Monsanto and Big Ag - Alt - (YouTube - 7 min 25 sec - March 12, 2010)
Related Video - Special Note - A quote...."There are 2 million farmers and 300 million consumers in the US. Standing in between are a handful of companies who control how food gets from one side to the other. 250 independent family farmers and community activists gathered for a town hall meeting to share their own experiences with big ag."

No posts. - mpg

Saturday March 20th 2010

"Covert troops who killed two pregnant women and a teenage girl in eastern Afghanistan went on to inflict “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” on the survivors of a botched night raid, a report by the UN said. -- The family of the victims in Paktiya province have accused Nato of trying to cover up the atrocity after an investigation by The Times revealed that two men, who were also killed, were not the intended targets of the raid. One was a police commander and his brother was a district-attorney."

Is it really Lieberman's intention to make all 320 million "goyum" residing in this country into "Palestinians"?  If so he should be complemented on his, Israel's and AIPAC's rather grand ambitions.  Still, with only five and a half million members of the Jewish community living in this country, many of whom don't support this agenda, and only another five and a half million living in Israel, many of whom support it fully, such ambitions may not only be impossible to achieve, they could even be highly counter productive, perhaps even dangerous. Maybe he and his Israeli friends should rethink them? - mpg -- A quote...."Glenn Greenwald calls the bill "probably the single most extremist, tyrannical and dangerous bill introduced in the Senate in the last several decades." - also posted at AmericanEveryman

Friday March 19th 2010

No posts. - mpg

Thursday March 18th 2010

American Naifs Bringing Ruin to Other Lands - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."March 18, 2010 --  According to news reports, the U.S. military is shipping "bunker-buster" bombs to the U.S. Air Force base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The Herald Scotland reports that experts say the bombs are being assembled for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The newspaper quotes Dan Plesch, director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London: "They are gearing up totally for the destruction of Iran." [Final destination Iran?, March 14, 2010]  ---  The next step will be a staged "terrorist attack," a "false flag" operation as per Operation Northwoods, for which Iran will be blamed. As Iran and its leadership have already been demonized, the "false flag" attack will suffice to obtain U.S. and European public support for bombing Iran. The bombing will include more than the nuclear facilities and will continue until the Iranians agree to regime change and the installation of a puppet government. The corrupt American media will present the new puppet as "freedom and democracy." - also posted at DProgram

Chairs of Both the 9/11 Commission and the Joint Intelligence Inquiry into 9/11 Said That Government Minders Obstructed the 9/11 Investigation -- Must Read  -- As I detailed previously, both the Joint Intelligence Committee and 9/11 Commission investigations into 9/11 had government "minders" intimidating witnesses into not saying anything the government didn't like." -- also posted at PrisonPlanet

"The Reason For This Cover-Up Goes Right To The White House"
Must Read - As I pointed out in 2007:  The 9/11 Commission Report was largely based on a third-hand account of what tortured detainees said, with two of the three parties in the communication being government employees."

Should Conspiratorial Thinking Be The Default Position?
Contains Video - A quote...."Considering the number of times governments have been caught lying over the last few decades, we have to ask the question, should the belief that major world events and political developments happen as a result of a conspiracy of some form or other be the default position in contemporary thinking, or should we continue to blindly trust government and afford it the credibility it plainly doesn’t deserve in order to maintain a perceived sense of order? -- Knowing their track record, trusting governments has become the height of foolishness. It would be like betting your mortgage on a horse that has lost every race it ever ran to win the Kentucky Derby."

The Pentagon’s Propaganda Networks
Special Note - A quote...."Propaganda networks that conduct "psychological warfare" for the Pentagon have been in vogue for a long time. Mike Furlong, a senior Pentagon official who is now being investigated for running a covert network of contractors to supply information for drone strikes and assassinations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, had a long history of working in this field." -- For more on this issue see....US Fake Intel / Propaganda

Zero Point of Systemic Collapse - Article also posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...." We stand on the cusp of one of the bleakest periods in human history when the bright lights of a civilization blink out and we will descend for decades, if not centuries, into barbarity. The elites have successfully convinced us that we no longer have the capacity to understand the revealed truths presented before us or to fight back against the chaos caused by economic and environmental catastrophe. As long as the mass of bewildered and frightened people, fed images that permit them to perpetually hallucinate, exist in this state of barbarism, they may periodically strike out with a blind fury against increased state repression, widespread poverty and food shortages. But they will lack the ability and self-confidence to challenge in big and small ways the structures of control. The fantasy of widespread popular revolts and mass movements breaking the hegemony of the corporate state is just that – a fantasy." - also posted at Alternet & AmericanEveryman
    
I'd Kill For a Peace Prize - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."It was just another of the many sideshows created by your government to justify constant war. You see, the “undie bomber” was mere political theatre designed to implement more war on behalf of the military industrial complex and its myriad of investors. - If you haven’t figured out that war is just a business and that America is just another in a long line of warmongering empires conducting the business of conquest – either you’ve not been paying attention or you’re an idio… er… not paying attention! - One sure thing you all can bet on is, as soon as “we the people” start to relax and forget about “The War on Terror” – we can expect another visit from the al-Qaeda terror fairy...."

The Last Hope - posted at ICH
A quote...." March 18, 2010 "Information Clearing House" --  Washington is out of control. It does as it likes, without restraint. It spends American money and American lives to fight remote wars for which it cannot provide a plausible reason. It determines what our children will be taught, who we can hire and fire, to whom we can sell our houses, whether we can defend ourselves, even what names we can call each other. The feds read our email and track the web sites we visit, make us hop around barefoot in airports at the command of surly unaccountable rentacops. They search us at random in train stations without even a pretense of probable cause. We have no influence over them, no way of resisting."

News Reports On Possible Iran Attack Pick Up Momentum - Alt - (RTYuTb - 4 min 35 sec - March 17, 2010)
RTVideo - A quote...."On March 14, the Herald Scotland reported on the delivery of hundreds of U.S. bunker buster bombs to the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for a possible attack on Iran. Ten ammunition containers were sent to the island in January, according to a cargo manifest from the U.S. The Scottish newspaper report said Superior Maritime Services, a shipping company based in Florida, was paid $699,500 to transport military items from Concord, California, to Diego Garcia, including 195 smart, guided, Blu-110 bombs and 192 massive 2000lb Blu-117 bombs. Bunker busters are designed to penetrate underground structures."

Pentagon Sees a Threat From Online Muckrakers
Web Censorship Alert - A quote...."To the list of the enemies threatening the security of the United States, the Pentagon has added WikiLeaks.org, a tiny online source of information and documents that governments and corporations around the world would prefer to keep secret. - The Pentagon assessed the danger WikiLeaks.org posed to the Army in a report marked “unauthorized disclosure subject to criminal sanctions.” It concluded that “WikiLeaks.org represents a potential force protection, counterintelligence, OPSEC and INFOSEC threat to the U.S. Army” — or, in plain English, a threat to Army operations and information."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More on Obama's Insurance Bail-Out-Boondoggle No-Care Bill....

"This Bill is a Death Sentence" - posted at ICH
Video - Special Note - Alt - A quote...." Filmmaker Michael Moore gives his take on whether financial and health care reform could be successful."

Kucinich Kisses the Ring as Obama Deceptively Sells Totalitarian Care in Ohio
Related Article - A quote...."Premiums are likely to keep going up even if the health care bill passes, experts say. “There’s no question premiums are still going to keep going up,” said Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a research clearinghouse on the health care system. -- If cost controls work as advertised, annual increases would level off with time. But don’t look for a rollback. Instead, the main reason premiums would be more affordable is that new government tax credits would help cover the cost for millions of people, according to the Associated Press. -- Of course, any “tax credit” realized under the scheme will be annihilated in the coming months and years as the federal and state governments raise taxes to cover the losses to their shakedown due to the engineered collapse of the economy."

A Snapshot:”Grassroots” Healthcare “Reform” and the Insurance Industry Stocks
Charts - Related Article - A quote...."The public relation campaigns are in full swing doing their level best to try and prop-up some kind of grass-roots looking “movement” for this Obamacare Insurance Industry Bailout Plan. So I thought I would post a few pictures of their astroturfing demonstrations and along side of them some of the more somber “reality based” results that just happen to be going on at the same time. Let’s take a look at what’s going on."

Dem Congressman On Health Bill: Insurance Companies Are "Holding Hostages"
Special Note - BREAKING - Friday, March 19th, 2010 -- A quote...."A Democratic Congressman has stated that he will refuse to vote yes on the pending health care reform bill, declaring that the legislation represents a vastly bloated giveaway to insurance companies and big pharma. -- Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) asserts that the Senate bill bankrolls the very companies that president Obama says are taking advantage of the American people."

Pelosi "Demon Pass" Strategy - Yet another Obama assault on the Constitution
"Take Impeachment Off the Table Pelosi" obviously agreees with Bush and thinks the constitution is "just a Goddamn piece of paper". - mpg -- A quote...."Are Obama and Pelosi really ready to end their Don Quixote quest for health care and actually vote? No, Pelosi and Obama have adopted the "demon pass" procedure to avoid a vote yet get the bill."

Idaho first to sign law aimed at health care plan
Related Article - A quote...."BOISE, Idaho — Idaho took the lead in a growing, nationwide fight against health care overhaul Wednesday when its governor became the first to sign a measure requiring the state attorney general to sue the federal government if residents are forced to buy health insurance."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

A mad dash to the Internet cafe: Iraq's vote tally marked by chaos and calls of fraud
A quote...."BAGHDAD — Dozens of Iraqi journalists waited hours for results in Iraq's election. What they finally got was a single CD containing all the information and instructions to make copies themselves, prompting a mad dash to the nearest Internet cafe where they paid $1.20 each to find out who was ahead in the ballot count."

Violations of Iraqi Children's Rights
A quote...."I pride myself in being a scientist and a researcher. I built my academic career on theories and numbers. As a teacher, I teach my students that everything is based in science – everything has a  reason. That is why, I am always frustrated with myself when I find I am overwhelmed with feelings on specific topics. --  One such topic is the occupation of my country, Iraq. On this subject I find that I cannot always be dispassionate. I cannot be the researcher and observer and discuss it without feelings or emotions as I am sometimes expected to do. I find myself doing research on the damages caused by the war and occupation, and my head buzzes with anger, my eyes burn with tears of desperation at the state of my country."
    
Karzai faces anger in Marjah
A quote...."HELMAND PROVINCE - Afghan President Hamid Karzai faced an angry reception from people in the southern town of Marjah following a major military assault against the Taliban."

Taliban arrests thwart Afghan talks - ex-U.N. envoy
A quote...."LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - The arrests of senior Afghan Taliban members in Pakistan have stopped most talks between the insurgents and U.N. representatives, the former head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said in a BBC interview."

Pakistan Won’t Turn Taliban Leaders Over to Afghanistan or US
A quote...."Officials say that the Pakistani government continues to refuse to hand over top Taliban figure Mullah Baradar to either the United States or Afghanistan, despite repeated calls to do so."

Clinton, Lavrov Clash Over Iran Nuclear Plant
A quote...."Visiting Russia today with an eye toward negotiating a nuclear arms reduction treaty, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton instead harangued Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over Iran’s civilian nuclear program."

Jundallah members killed in Iran
A quote...."Iranian security forces have killed several members of the terrorist group, Jundallah during a clash southeast of Iran. - The clash took place when the [US-NRE sponsored] terrorists tried to enter Iran from Pakistan."

Egypt "about to explode," opposition leader warns
A quote...."Cairo - Mohammed Badia, the leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, warned the country was 'about to explode,' in remarks published in the independent daily al-Shorouq Thursday."

Yemen to free rebel prisoners, as clashes erupt in south
A quote...."SANAA: Yemen will free northern Shiite rebel prisoners within days under a truce to end a war that drew in Saudi Arabia last year, an official said on Thursday, while clashes with armed separatists erupted in the south."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More On The Palestinian Situation....

Settlers pouring cement into spring  - (YouTube - 41 sec - March 08, 2010)
Video - Special Note - A quote...."A group of Israeli settlers destroy a spring by the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan in the Salfit district of the occupied West Bank. Palestinian villagers were forced to watch helplessly as settlers poured sand and cement into the spring, guarded by five armed members of the Israeli military." -- For more on this issue see....Israel's Scorched Earth

Israeli soldiers arrest five Palestinian children
A quote...."Israeli soldiers detain five Palestinian children in the West Bank city of Hebron (al-Khalil) after clashes break out."

Palestinian anger fills the streets
A quote...."QALANDIA, occupied West Bank (IPS) - On Tuesday tens of hundreds of Palestinians of all political persuasions took to the streets, alleys and sidewalks as widespread rioting and protests spread across occupied East Jerusalem, the rest of the West Bank, Gaza and into Israel proper."

Israeli Military Investigator Admits Failures in the Military Investigation of Rachel Corrie’s Killing
A quote...."On Wednesday March 17, 2010 the Haifa District Court saw a fourth day of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza."

Quartet demands real settlement freeze - All talk and absolutely NO action. - mpg
A quote...."Bethlehem - Ma'an - In Moscow, the International Quartet reiterated on Friday its call for Israelis and Palestinians to implement their previous agreements and obligations, in particular adherence to the Road Map peace plan."

UN Chief Slams Israel Plan to Build New Settlements - Ditto! - mpg
A quote...."UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has condemned Israel's announcement of 1,600 new housing units on the occupied Palestinian lands. -- During a Thursday visit to Moscow, Ban Ki-moon told reporters that he was deeply concerned over developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, and called Israel's measure "counterproductive" towards a peace process."

LENDMAN: Peace process hypocrisy: stillborn from inception
A quote...."Journalist Henry Siegman titled his August 2007 London Review of Books article, “The Great Middle East Peace Process Scam,” calling it likely “the most spectacular deception in modern diplomatic history.” -- This writer omits most likely calling it the no-peace peace process, stillborn from inception, while Haaretz writer Gideon Levy, on March 7, 2010, wrote “There has never been an Israeli peace camp,” saying “let’s call the child by its real name: The Israeli peace camp is still an unborn baby,” the mother yet to become pregnant given decades of Israeli-Washington rejectionism."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Keiser Report №26: Markets! Finance! Scandal! - (RTYuTb - 26 min 57 sec - March 18, 2010)
Must View RTVideo - A quote...."This time Max Keiser and co-host Stacy Herbert look at the scandals behind rigged market capitalism from intellectual property rights to cooked books. They also expose how shenanigans and gimmicks are the new words for fraud. Keiser talks to bestselling author, former economist at the Irish Central Bank, and former UBS banker David McWilliams about Irelands banking crisis and NAMA. McWilliams also takes questions from viewers!"

Now Bernanke Wants To Eliminate Reserve Requirements Completely
Special Note - Crazy Fed Alert -  They're simply sick, they really intend to destroy the ENTIRE economy! - mpg -- A quote...."Up until now, the United States has operated under a "fractional reserve" banking system.  Banks have always been required to keep a small fraction of the money deposited with them for a reserve, but were allowed to loan out the rest.  But now it turns out that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wants to completely eliminate minimum reserve requirements, which he says "impose costs and distortions on the banking system". At least that is what a footnote to his testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services on February 10th says. So is Bernanke actually proposing that banks should be allowed to have no reserves at all?"

Germany mulls sending spies to Wall Street
A quote...."Many in Europe see currency speculation as 'economic terrorism' -- Germany's finance minister says his government is considering sending spies to London and New York to monitor the activities of currency speculators. -- Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the German Parliament on Tuesday that he may have to send spies to the world's two most important financial centers "to set up surveillance of who is getting together with whom for which kinds of speculative processes...."

Creating our Own Credit: The Growing Movement for Publicly-Owned Banks
A quote...."As the states’ budget and credit crises deepen, four states have initiated bills for state-owned banks, and candidates in seven states have included that solution in their platforms.


It won't work, if the Fed and it's associated Banksters are still allowed to control the economy through their cyclical ten year cycles AND print the currency, they'll overwhelm any local attempts to level the credit playing field. - mpg

More Homeowners Are Opting for 'Strategic Defaults'
A quote...."Wynn Bloch has always dutifully paid her bills and socked away money for retirement. But in December she defaulted on the mortgage on her Palm Desert home, even though she could afford the payments. -- Bloch paid $385,000 for the two-bedroom in 2006, when prices were still surging. Comparable homes are now selling in the low-$200,000s. At 66, the retired psychologist doubted she'd see her investment rebound in her lifetime. Plus, she said she was duped into an expensive loan. -- The way she sees it, big banks that helped fuel the mess all got bailouts while small fry like her are left holding the bag. No more." -- It's the "capitalist-klepto-crony-rigged" system folks!  It'll be ten to fifteen years MINIMUM before housing prices get back to where they were, do the right thing, save yourselves a lot of grief and just go take a walk. - mpg

Congressman Grayson Demands Release of AIG Emails - OH, OH!! - mpg
Some quotes...."Congressman Grayson sent the following letter to AIG's trustee:" -- "I write to request that you turn over to this office, and the public, e-mails backed up on AIG’s servers, including internal accounting documents and financial models developed by the company in the last decade. The public owns AIG. We bought it, for an initial down payment of $182 billion. You are the representatives of the public, through your positions as the three trustees of the AIG Credit Facility Trust."

Wednesday March 17th 2010

When the Time Comes to Actually Make a Difference, They Capitulate
03-17-10
mpg

Obama Inc. Triumphs: Kucinich Folds His Hand on Health Care
Special Note - A quote...."Kucinich had been given an offer that he felt he could not refuse.The Obama administration has finished the job it started in January, 2009: crush the progressive wing of the Democratic Party to clear the way for corporate governance. Rep. Dennis Kucinich's was the last Left opposition to Obama's toxic health care legislation. “Once Obama's private insurers' bailout bill is in place, it will be almost impossible to dismantle in the foreseeable future.”

Kucinich Sells Out On Health Care After Ride In Air Force One
Special Note - A quote...."Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich has bowed to intense pressure, culminating in a jaunt onboard Air Force One with president Obama, and decided to to flip his vote on the pending health care bill to help ensure its passage. -- The representative from Ohio has repeatedly voiced his opposition to the bill, calling it "a giveaway to the insurance industry". -- "The fact is that one out of every three health care dollars goes for corporate profits, stocks options, executive salaries, advertising, marketing, the cost of paperwork - this bill doesn't change that." he said."

Pressure Drop: Brave Sir Dennis Ran Away
Special Note - A quote...."Well, so much for conscience. The other day here, we had kind words for the stand taken by Dennis Kucinich against the boardroom-backroom boondoggle known as the health care bill. The main thrust of that post was not meant to be the innate wonderfulness of St. Dennis but the hypocrisy of the "Fightin' Progressives," such as Commander Kos and Alex Koppelman, who had launched a vituperative attack on Kucinich for daring to oppose the bill -- a measure which not only represents a complete and craven surrender of even the smallest crumbs of the progressives' original hopes for health care reform, but was also fatally tainted by the brazen bribe Obama took from the gorging, gouging drug and insurance cartels to make sure their destructive sway over American health care remains unbroken."

Kucinich crumbles under pressure
Special Note - So after many days of hyper-pious rhetoric Dennis Kucinich is reversing his decision and announces that he will vote for the Big Pharma health(not)care bill. - I think that I hate Democratic politicians even more than the more openly evil Republican colleagues. - This shameful surrender by the last Democrat who tried to act like he had a spine reminds me of the song "Whoever wins in November" by David Rovics (listen to it here):"

And why did Dennis do it?  Because in this one rare instance, probably the ONLY instance in his ENTIRE life, he could have actually made a huge difference!!  His vote would have actually counted!!  He might have actually been the one to defeat this odious piece of mandated medical serfdom by casting the deciding negative vote.  And therefore, since this particular position he advocated DIDN'T just consist of a pretty speech as so many of his other positions have down throughout the years, and since for once in his adult life his vote might have actually resulted in him DOING SOMETHING REAL for a change, he cravenly and completely caved.

From the stolen 2000 election-selection, to the FBI "backing off" the Saudi Royal and bin Laden families prior to 9/11, to the mighty US Air Force that went missing for almost two hours on that fateful day, to that sick joke called the 9/11 commission, to "take impeachment off the table" Nancy, to congressional non-oversight of FISA, to the multiple non-investigations of Bush's war crimes, to all the other promises ever made by those who were supposed to work for the "people" of this nation.

When the rubber hits the road, when it's put up or shut-up, when it's time to actually do their job and fulfill their sworn oath, abide by their promises, carry out their sworn duties, obey their conscience, support the constitution and comply with the law, they're simply NEVER there to do it.  It's just the way it is.....when you vote for DemoRepubs.

Next time folks, save yourselves a lot of disappointment and heartache and please vote for someone else, anyone else. Otherwise your vote is simply going to go to waste all over again.- mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

[Expletive] You Dennis Kucinich - What did you REALLY GET for Selling us out, you piece of [Expletive]? -- Special Note - (And now for some REAL venting about this situation!  For those who like letting off a lot of high pressured steam. - mpg) - A quote...."The worse part of this, aside from the passage of this criminal [expletive] bill and the mandate to force poor working slobs to buy flawed insurance from corrupt corporations, the worse part of all this, is going to be the insufferable Obamaites will use this moment as a coranation of their self-important, self-absorbed, egotistical masterbatory delusions of grandure. There will be no living with these [expletive] freaks just like it was after Bush’s “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” speech. The [expletive] morons went on and on in their little cocoons for almost a year, riding high on their self satisfaction. Expect the same from the Obamatrolls. Leave it to Dennis to reignite the Obamalove express. This sets us back a year at least. All because the fascist Obama scared the [expletive] out of some little man."

Revealed: Ashcroft, Tenet, Rumsfeld warned 9/11 Commission about ‘line’ it ’should not cross - Article @ ICH
A quote...."Senior Bush administration officials sternly cautioned the 9/11 Commission against probing too deeply into the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, according to a document recently obtained by the ACLU." - also posted at DProgram -- For more on this issue see....9/11-Iraq-Torture Fables

Senior Bush Administration Officials Warned the 9/11 Commission that Asking to Speak with Guantanamo Detainees was a 'Line' it 'Should Not Cross' -- Special Note - Analysis - (of the article shown above) - Preface: This essay does not raise any 9/11 conspiracy theories. It does not question who planned or carried out the 9/11 attacks. It simply gives context to a breaking news story."

Why The Facts of 9/11 Are Suppressed - posted at ICH
Special Note - Audio & Video - From the History File - Jun 24, 2006 - Alt - (MySpc - 51m11s - 06/24/06) -- A quote...."by Guns and Butter - Understanding the Ruling Group Mind Behind the War Without End" with Dr. John McMurtry. Dr. McMurtry was one of the first academics to analyze 9/11 and the 9/11 wars. He is Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of of Guelph, Ontario. - Broadcast March 10, 2010 - Posted March 17, 2010" -- For more on this issue see....Reficultnias's 9/11 Central

US officials make contradictory remarks on bin Laden
A quote...."Only a day after a top Obama administration official described the chances of capturing al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden alive as "infinitesimal", the top US commander in Afghanistan says the military still wants to capture him alive." -- For more on this issue see.....US Fake Intel / Propaganda - Osama bin long gone Laden
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

The World's #1 Terrorist State, Israel -- Criminal State: A Closer Look at Israel's Role in Terrorism
Videos - From the history file - January 16, 2010 - (previously posted) - CS(1/3) - CS(2/3) - CS(3/3 - (YuTb - 10 min each - 01/16/10) -- A quote...."    Jeff Gates along with Anthony Lawson produce this startling new video that is an absolute necessity for every American who genuinely loves his country and knows something has gone very very wrong. In Jeff’s own words: - What I tell people is that our specialty is enabling people to grasp “how” this duplicity operates in plain sight and, to date, with impunity. - This series is based on an article by Jeff Gates, who is a widely acclaimed author, attorney, merchant banker, educator and consultant to governments worldwide, who served for seven years as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. He is the author of Guilt by Association, Democracy At Risk and The Ownership Solution."

World War
Weblist - A stupendous collection of articles advocating for war, mostly by Israel. - mpg

Tomgram: William Astore, You Have No Say About Your Military
A quote...."When was the last time you saw the headline, “Cost of [Pentagon-weapons-system-of-your-choice] halved”?  Probably never.  Still, the thought came to mind when this recent Associated Press headline caught my eye: “Pentagon: F-35 fighter jet cost doubles.”"

Going Home: Returning to Iraq after 10 years
Special Note - A quote...."Driving through the streets of Baghdad is a heartbreaking experience. Rubbish lies uncollected, roads bear the scars of exploded munitions and impoverished children play outside destroyed buildings, fires still smouldering amongst the rubble. There is no green now, only dust and sand. There are no ambitions for the people of Iraq bar one - to survive another day. This is the Iraq of today. This is my homeland."

US/NATO death squads killing indiscriminately in Afghanistan
A quote...."The New York Times reported this week that the overall commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan is seeking to impose tighter control over the activities of special forces units, after recent operations led to more civilian deaths. General Stanley McChrystal’s concern is not the deaths, however, but the manner in which they are fuelling Afghan hatred for the US-led occupation and their occasional exposure in the international media."

The War on Afghan Civilians
A quote...."Three months after it initially lied about the murder by US forces of eight high school students and a 12-year-old shepherd boy in Afghanistan, and a month after it lied about the slaughter by US forces of an Afghan police commander, a government prosecutor, two of their pregnant wives and a teenage daughter, the US military has been forced to admit (thanks in no small part to the excellent investigative reporting of Jerome Starkey of the London Times), that these and other atrocities were the work of American Special Forces, working in conjunction with “specially trained” (by the US) units of the Afghan Army." -- also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq

NATO'S Fire Sale - One Dead Afghan Chile, $2,000
Presstitute Alert - A quote...."On January 11, 2010, we sent out a media alert titled, 'Were Afghan children executed by US-led forces? And why aren't the media interested?' -- The alert concerned credible reports that American-led troops had dragged Afghan children from their beds and shot them during a night raid in Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan on December 27 last year. Ten people were killed, including eight schoolboys from one family. We noted that the alleged atrocity had been almost wholly ignored by the corporate media, including the BBC. -- Two months after these disturbing allegations surfaced, The Times correspondent Jerome Starkey sought out two local men whose children and other relatives had been killed." -- also posted at Uruknet

Saudis may allow Israel’s use of air space in Iran attack
War Alert - A quote...."Western security sources believe Saudi Arabia will readily let Israel use the country’s airspace to strike neighboring Iran if a war breaks out between the archenemies." - From PressTV -- For more on this issue see....The Kingdom of Leprosy - 10-07-08 - mpg

Declassified CIA Document Provides Further Insight On Iran Theater And Escalation Vulnerabilities
Related Article - A quote...."In a recently declassified report by the CIA, the agency focuses on some of the core observations from the Iraq-Iran War. While still largely redacted and dated (the original memo came out in 1982), it does provide some incremental data that may be of significance should the recently disclosed bomb shipment, be put into use."

Iran’s Natural Gas Riches: US Knife to the Heart of World Future Energy
Must Read - A quote...."The scheduled start of drilling this month by China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) in Iran's South Pars gas field could be both a harbinger and explanation of much wider geopolitical developments. -- First of all, the $5 billion project - signed last year after years of foot dragging by western energy giants Total and Shell under the shadow of US-led sanctions - reveals the main arterial system for future world energy supply and demand. -- Critics have long suspected that the real reason for US and other western military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is to control the Central Asian energy corridor. So far, the focus seems to be mainly on oil. For example, there have been claims that a planned oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea via Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Arabian Sea is the main prize behind the US's seemingly futile military campaign in those countries."

The Iran Threat in the Age of Real-Axis-of-Evil Expansion
Must Read - A quote...."It is intriguing to see how whoever the United States and Israel find interfering with their imperial or dispossession plans is quickly demonized and becomes a threat and target for that Real-Axis-of-Evil (RAE), and hence their NATO allies and, with less intensity, much of the rest of the "international community" (IC, meaning ruling elites, not ordinary citizens).  If and when the need arises, any bit of news that is damaging to the targeted state will be fed into the demonization process -- and in the marvelous propaganda system of the West, the grossest distortions will be swallowed and regurgitated without much guilt or apology, even upon the exposure of exceptional gullibility and dishonesty.2  The dishonesty, gullibility, double standard, and hypocrisy are handled with an aplomb that Pravda and Izvestia could never muster in the Soviet era." -- For more on this sort of issue see....US-NRE Standard Attack Profiles (SAPs) - 11-16-09 - mpg

The UK's misguided advice to Lebanon
Special Note - A quote...."One would think that the British government -- considering its history in the Middle East of colonizing and partitioning the land and overthrowing governments, and its current support of undemocratic and dictatorial regimes while occupying two nations in the greater region -- would be wary of sending its representatives to offer advice to Arab nations on how best to achieve their right to self-determination. But apparently the British ambassador to Lebanon didn't get the memo."

Those authoritarian, torture-loving French
Special Note - A quote...."French documentarians conducted an experiment where they created a faux game show -- with all the typical studio trappings -- and then instructed participants (who believed it was a real TV program) to administer electric shock to unseen contestants each time they answered questions incorrectly, with increasing potency for each wrong answer.  Even as the unseen contestants (who were actors) screamed in agony and pleaded for mercy -- and even once they went silent and were presumably dead -- 81% of the participants continued to obey the instructions of the authority-figure/host and kept administering higher and higher levels of electric shock.  The experiment was a replica of the one conducted in 1961 by Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram, where 65% of participants obeyed instructions from a designated authority figure to administer electric shock to unseen individuals, and never stopped obeying even as they heard excruciating screams and then silence.  This new French experiment was designed to measure the added power of television to place people into submission to authority and induce them to administer torture." - bold by website editor - Anyone want to watch another epesode of "24"?  Ummmmm, yummy. - mpg

Sorry Uncle Sam, Russia finds a real friend in the UN
A quote...."With the Moscow-Washington “reset” having gone into overload, the United Nations Secretary General has expressed his willingness to cooperate with Russia on diverse issues."

Pro-Western head of Ukraine’s Naval Forces sacked
A quote...."Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has dismissed the country’s Head of Naval forces Igor Tenukh, who allegedly initiated the information war against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea."

Anti-fascists unite to resist neo-Nazism
A quote...."A decision to create a new movement – The International Anti-Fascist Front – was made at the conference in the Latvian capital, Riga, entitled “WWII lessons: liberators, victims, and butchers”."

The American Dream Has Moved Abroad - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."The American dream has always been that even those with humble roots can end up wealthy. -- The American dream is what has motivated generations of Americans - natives and immigrants alike - to work hard and play by the rules. -- And as Michael Moore wrote in 2003, the American dream is what has kept Americans from rebelling against corporate corruption:"

US Department of Justice Asked to Regulate AIPAC as a Foreign Agent of the Israeli Government
Must Read - (Nothing will come of it, but still.....it's a sign. - mpg) -- A quote...."WASHINGTON, March 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The US Department of Justice has been formally asked to begin regulating the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as the foreign agent of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  A 392 page legal filing presented by a four person IRmep delegation in a two hour meeting with top officials of the Internal Security Section substantiated the following case for AIPAC's immediate registration:"

ZOG's committment to genocide in Palestine: "unwavering, unbreakable, unshakable"
Related Article - Yesterday I posted a recent AIPAC statement in which the Israel Lobby in essence demanded that the Obama administration desist from its complaints about the recent humiliation of VP Biden in Israel. Sure enough, the entire US ruling class immediately jumped to attention. Take, for example, the statements of US Congress members which immediately issued statement of loyalty to the Israel Lobby. As for the Executive Branch - we all heard their obsequious reply about the (legally non-existing) "alliance" with Israel: unwavering, unbreakable, and unshakable. It really looked like they were all reading from the same talking points. - There simply can be no doubt about the fact that the United States have been taken over by what some call a "Zionist Occupation Government"." - bold by website editor

The Truth About American and Israeli Interests Comes Out
Related Article - Quote of the Day...."The costs of carrying Israel are not worth it. From the USS Liberty, Jonathan Pollard,  AIPAC, Ben Kadish, Larry Franklin spies the lies, US military technology transfers to China the hundreds of billions given to them, JINSA,  PNAC, the neoconservative lies,   fighting their wars and enemies,  carrying their water at the UN and around the world, suffering their ungratefulness, [un-]trustworthiness and the self righteous racism and apartheid of entitlement above all others because the victims of Jewish exceptionalism are simply goyim aka “cattle”.

Rachel Corrie: NEVER Forget she was MURDERED by Israel
A quote...."Apartheid Israel has been murdering Americans for so long, from their savage attack on the USS Liberty to their involvement in the 9/11 false-flag, they thought that brutally murdering one more American wouldn't make any difference. Time will prove them wrong."

Time for Accountability - Rachel Corrie's Memory, Israel's Image
A quote...."Seven years ago, Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by a Caterpillar D9R Israeli bulldozer while nonviolently protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes in Rafah, Gaza Strip, along with other members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). Now her parents, sister and brother are suing the State of Israel and the defense minister, claiming wrongful death."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More On The Palestinian Situation....

MIDEAST:  Israeli Raids Target Children
A quote...."SILWAN, EAST JERUSALEM, Mar 16, 2010 (IPS) - Three thousand heavily armed Israeli security service forces locked down large parts of the Old City of Jerusalem on Tuesday, as battalions of police fired rounds of tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian protesters in the occupied eastern part of the city. Nearly 40 Palestinians were wounded and treated at nearby hospitals, as 25 were arrested during intense clashes." -- also posted at ElectIntifada

Israeli Weapons used in Gaza: Metals Detected in Palestinian Children’s Hair
A quote...."Many Palestinian children still living in precarious situations at ground level in Gaza after Israeli bombing during "Cast lead" have unusually high concentrations of metals in the hair, indicating environmental contamination, which can cause health and growth damages due to chronic exposure. This is the result of a pilot study conducted by the New Weapons Research Group (Nwrg), an independent committee of scientists and experts based in Italy, who is studying the use of unconventional weapons and their mid-term effects on the population of after-war areas."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

ECB's Juergen Stark Warns Of "Clear Risk Of Sovereign Debt Crisis,"
A quote...."The ECB's executive board member Juergen Stark had a rare admission (and even rarer for a central banker demonstration of rationality) that not only are most advanced economies about to enter a "third wave, a sovereign debt crisis in most advanced economies", not only is a "timely exit of extraordinary fiscal measures crucial in order to ensure a continued recovery",  but that the mentioned recovery and economic improvements are largely as a result of "massive support measures taken by governments and central banks." In other words, the whole episode of the past year has been a one-time item which most analysts would exclude from "recurring operations" yet due to the magic of the Keynesian magic wand, the new normal is expected to persist...."

U.S. suffers net capital outflow in January  - link posted at ICH
A quote...."(Reuters) - Foreign investors, led by central banks, were net sellers of all U.S. securities in January but continued to buy U.S. Treasuries, the Treasury Department said on Monday."

Banks to stand trial over derivatives in Italy
A quote...."MILAN — A judge in Milan ordered banks JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Depfa, UBS and 13 people to stand trial for alleged fraud in the sale of derivative instruments, the prosecutor told AFP on Wednesday."

U.S. trade deficit failings can't be blamed on yuan
A quote...."The allegations about the yuan-dollar exchange rate, from Charles Shumer's bill to the current letter, have one point in common: None of them could tell the accurate margin of yuan undervaluation, if any, or give accurate figures on the alleged distortion on China-U.S. trade. -- Do these alleged distortions really exist? According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, from which all the following figures are drawn, in the seven years from 1998 to 2004 when the yuan was pegged to the dollar at 8.28, China's exports to the U.S. varied drastically from year to year."

Tuesday March 16th 2010

"Here's an interesting fact that you may not have seen yet. The M1 money multiplier just slipped below 1. So each $1 increase in reserves (monetary base) results in the money supply increasing by $0.95 (OK, so banks have substantially increased their holding of excess reserves while the M1 money supply hasn't changed by much)."

Monday March 15th 2010