Tuesday March 31st 2009

Monday March 30th 2009

“This is the most well-defined and publicly known crime I have seen in my lifetime. There is no debate about it. There is no ambiguity. It is well known. You‘ve got people involved who have basically admitted the elements of a war crime that we are committed to prosecuting. We don‘t need a truth and reconciliation commission because we are already reconciled to the rule of law. There is nothing to reconcile to. What the people have to reconcile are the people who broke the law. They need to reconcile with the law. And he [Obama] happens to be having a debate with one of those people as if they are talking about some quaint notion of policy.” -- *Jonathan Turley*

“… GM and Chrysler are pushing the United Auto Workers to accept shares of stock in exchange for half of the payments into a union-run trust fund for retiree health care. They also want labor costs from the union to be competitive with Japanese automakers with U.S. operations."

"Little progress has been made between the companies and the union.” MSNBC"

Sunday March 29th 2009

Real Journalism Versus "Professional Journalism"
Must Read - Censorship Warning - A quote...."If Jon Stewart left his studios with his camera crew, went to where establishment figures were speaking, and threw tough questions at them, you'd get something like We Are Change. -- The We Are Change reporters have asked the tough questions - a la Stewart (well, minus the comedy) - to former presidents, secretaries of defense, leading Neocons and Iraq war architects, and all of the other establishment figures they could find. -- So their interviews are syndicated nationally and they've all received Pulitzer prizes, right? -- Not exactly . . .We Are Change founder Luke Rudowski was arrested for trying to ask New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg about his refusal to pay for the health care of 9/11 first responders. -- The charges? Trespassing and "impersonating a member of the press."

Time to stop the rip-off
Must Read - A quote...."The crisis in the United States has taken a dangerous turn over the past week, a turn that may prove to be the undoing of the Barack Obama presidency. -- On January 20, Obama stepped into much more than the worst economic and financial crisis since the Great Depression. He inherited the helm of a country ravaged by 30 years of runaway human greed and a complicit government that rewarded it. Obama now finds himself in the middle of a perfect tempest, buffeted on the one side by a relentless financial and economic downturn and on the other a bewildered nation waking up to the landscape of unparalleled economic injustice that had been hidden out of sight with most Americans working hard just to get by. -- If Obama does not get a handle on what ails America, and soon, he risks losing the support of the American people, destroying his presidency and leaving the American economy in financial freefall and a nation tearing itself apart."

[British] Treasury reserves will have to be raided to fund Afghan surge
Special Note - A quote...."[British] Treasury officials are expected to take a critical look at plans to send additional British troops to Afghanistan as it becomes clear that reserves will have to be raided to cover the extra cost." -- And so the US-NRE, and Britain with the help of their "friends" the Saudi Royals and the Israelis, continue their efforts to establish a Neo-Colonial Empire over the entire Middle East.  This whole thing is totally ridiculous, funding almost every Salafist, Whahhabist, Fundamentalist terrorist group out there for the last thirty years with one hand, while using these agent provocateur's actions as justification to bomb, occupy and kill millions of Muslims with the other, is not only a seriously sick and twisted policy of pure evil.....it's also extremely expensive.  If the world continues to buy US-NRE and British bonds to help fund these campaigns of conquest and terror, their economies will go right down the tubes along with the bonds they've bought.  It's about time the world's nations put a stop to these antics. - mpg

Freeze the 1.5 Quadrillion Derivatives Bubble as a First Step Towards World Economic Recovery
A quote...."Act Independent - PDF -- Washington DC, March 22 – On the eve of the long-awaited London conference of the G-20 nations, we are rapidly descending into the chaos of a Second World Economic Depression of catastrophic proportions.  In the year since the collapse of Bear Stearns, we have moved toward the disintegration of the entire globalized world financial system, based on the residual status of the US dollar as a reserve currency, and expressed through the banking hegemony of London, New York, and the US-UK controlled international lending institutions like the International Monetary fund and the World Bank."

The Obama Government: Take From the Poor and Give to the Rich
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."These past several weeks have witnessed a stunning attack on working people, with the Obama administration leading the charge. -- It started with Larry Summers, Obama’s chief economic adviser, responding to the A.I.G. bonuses by pontificating about the sanctity of contracts: “We are a country of law. There are contracts. The government cannot just abrogate contracts.” Like a mad dog pursuing its prey, he pounced on the conclusion that absolutely nothing could be done about the bonuses. Unfortunately, Summers voiced no similar outcry when the Obama administration, only weeks earlier, insisted that the U.A.W. contracts be renegotiated as a condition for the auto industry receiving a bailout, suggesting that a different set of rules applies to the rich than to the rest of us who constitute the majority and work for a living." -- also posted at Uruknet

GM chief Wagoner to resign at Obama's request
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner is resigning from his leadership of the troubled automaker at the request of the Obama administration, reports said Sunday. -- Shall we cover it one more time folks?  Just $42 Billion so far for the ENTIRE auto industry, an industry which directly or indirectly employs approximately three million people and Obama, the "Pope of Hope" the "Patron of the little people" the "Chanter of Change" demands that the CEO of this nation's largest car company resign. -- OVER $12 TRILLION so far in back stops, loan guarantees and actual cash payouts to the VERY PEOPLE WHO CAUSED THIS CRISIS, the greedy Banksters, Brokers and Hedge Fund operators, who then promptly steal TENS OF BILLIONS of dollars from Obama's oh so generous gift of the public purse, all the while calling their theft bonuses, and Obama demands from these miscreants and mavens of mendacity...... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!  Have you folks out there FINALLY gotten the message yet, have you gullible fools who so eagerly flocked to the polls to worship Capitalism’s newest Judas finally had enough? – mpg
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The Accountability Imperative
A quote...."A little more than one year ago, we found ourselves in the midst of a presidential election campaign that seemed almost interminable. In one of the Republican primary debates, Senator John McCain spoke some words that stood out then and still reverberate today. “Torture is the defining issue of our age,” he said. They were the truest words uttered in any of the Republican primary debates. They linger."

U.S. forces release [Iraqi] TV channel officials
A quote...."Basem Mohammed Hassan al-Majidi, the director of the satellite channel al-Ittijah, and Hussein Hadeed Shalloushi al-Saadi, the station’s TV director, have been released by U.S. forces,” the chief news editor of the channel, Hamid Akab, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. -- Akab called for an apology from the U.S. forces for the harm done to the journalists."

Obama Won’t Speed Up Iraq Pullout
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."In yet another instance of lowering the expectations on the campaign promised US pullout from Iraq, President Barack Obama touted the military progress in the nation but ruled out increasing the speed of his current pullout strategy."

US opens another prison for Iraqis
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."The American military has inaugurated a 27-million-dollar prison in northern Iraq which is capable of holding 3,000 detainees."

The Great Afghan Bailout - It's Time to Change Names, Switch Analogies
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."Let's start by stopping.  -- It's time, as a start, to stop calling our expanding war in Central and South Asia "the Afghan War" or "the Afghanistan War." If Obama's special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke doesn't want to, why should we? Recently, in a BBC interview, he insisted that "the 'number one problem' in stabilizing Afghanistan was Taliban sanctuaries in western Pakistan, including tribal areas along the Afghan border and cities like Quetta" in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan.

Obama orchestrating from the same old Bush music sheet
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."The adage that the more things change, they remain the same, is holding true with the US. With lot of fanfare about Change and We Can Change, Obama ignited hope not only in his own nation, but all around the world. Bush warmongering had touched raw nerves all around the world. America and Bush were the most hated words in world vocabulary. However, Obama’s public address today over his plans for Afghanistan and Pakistan, have dampened the hope for any change for the better. Obama asked a question: why US was in Afghanistan? His own answer to that simple question was as convincing about the presence of Al Qaida in Afghanistan and Tribal areas of Pakistan as Bush allegation of WMD in Iraq. Bush was not able to fool the world over his simplistic harangue over Sadaam’s non existent Weapons of Mass Destruction. Obama himself does not appear to be convinced of the Al Qaida menace, while enunciating his plan to tackle terrorism that 'threatens’ US and its allied countries in the world. The whole warmongering rationale is pat and stale. When he says: "I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda." This is like chasing a mirage."

Obama vows no pursuit by US troops into Pakistan
Obama™ Update -- Like so many of his other promises, he'll break this one when it suits his masters financial or geopolitical interests. - mpg -- A quote...."But asked if he [Obama] would send US troops on the ground into militant safe havens inside Pakistan, Obama stressed: "No.
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France calls Gaza 'open-air prison'
A quote...."France has warned that the Gaza Strip cannot remain an 'open-air prison' forever, urging Israel to lift the blockade on the territory."  -- also posted at WarInIraq

Economic Boycott of Israel Works: 21% of Israeli Exporters Affected - Yipee! - mpg
Action Update - 21% of Israeli exporters have been directly affected by the boycott movement since the beginning of 2009. So reports today (29 March) The Marker, a Hebrew-language economic newspaper." -- For more on how to boycott Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website. - mpg

Israeli forces violently disperse Hebron demonstration, one German citizen arrested
A quote...."11:30am on Saturday, the 28th of March, Israeli forces violently dispersed a Hebron demonstration, firing tear gas and sound bombs and arresting one German solidarity activist. -- More than 50 Palestinian residents of Hebron, supported by international and Israeli solidarity activists, were nonviolently rallying against the illegal Israeli settlements inside of Hebron’s old city. The demonstrators gathered near Beit Romano settlement, holding signs against the occupation and chanting, “free, free Palestine!”

Tough Times for University Students in Gaza
A quote...."Many university students who lost relatives or whose homes were destroyed during the recent 23-day Israeli offensive are finding it difficult to cope, according to university officials and students. -- Some have been unable to register for the new semester due to lack of funds; others are still traumatised."
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Pretending to be civilized in an epidemic of institutional sadism
A quote...."From the you-can't-be-serious department: Savana Redding was a 13-year-old honors student at a small Arizona middle school. In math class one morning the principal ordered her to pack up and follow him to his office. The principal interrogated her about a planner Savana had lent a friend, and a few ibuprofin pills sitting on the principal's desk, which were found in the planner. Savana knew nothing about the pills. -- The principal then ordered her to the nurse's office for a strip search. Over ibuprofin pills. Not that it would make a difference if she were carrying crack. She was 13. She was being ordered to strip. Her parents were never notified. Savana did not consent to the search but complied in humiliating details." - also posted at CommonDreams -- Her parents should sue the heck out of them, it'll pay for her college education. - mpg

NY judge orders release of CIA 'torture' documents
A quote...."NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has given the CIA a month to begin releasing documents related to the destruction of videotapes of detainee interrogations. -- Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan federal court says the CIA should start turning over the information and a list of witnesses to the American Civil Liberties Union within 30 days or explain why the agency should be exempt."

Torture of Abu Zubaida, designed by psychologists, yielded nothing
A quote...."The first of the CIA’s “enhanced interrogations,” that of Abu Zubaida,  described as “torture” in recently leaked portions of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s report on CIA interrogation tactics, led to nothing other than tens of thousands of investigatory hours wasted chasing fairy stories he told to get the pain to stop, the Washington Post reports today.  All reliable information obtained from him was obtained prior to the torture." -- For more on this issue see....False Leads
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Economic Crisis Slams Canada - Federal Government Denial
A quote...."The first two months of 2009 were a disaster for working people; 240,000 workers lost their jobs. The job losses in January were the largest monthly loss ever in Canada. November to February losses are the steepest since the crushing recession of 1981/82. -- Since June of 2008, Canadian households have lost 8% of their net worth. Household credit debt grew by 2% in the fourth quarter of 2008."

GM, Citigroup getting dropped from Global Dow gauge
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- That's four new U.S. stocks added to the Global Dow, and two others much in the news recently -- Citigroup Inc. and General Motors Corp. -- coming out."

On eve of G-20 summit in London - European powers rebuff US, British proposals for economic stimulus
A quote...."In what appears to be a calculated leak by the German government to demonstrate its opposition to increased deficit spending, Der Spiegel magazine published excerpts this weekend of a draft final communiqué proposed by Britain for the G-20 summit of leading economies to be held in London April 2."

Is there any gold inside Fort Knox, the world's most secure vault?
A quote...."It is said to be the most impregnable vault on Earth: built out of granite, sealed behind a 22-tonne door, located on a US military base and watched over day and night by army units with tanks, heavy artillery and Apache helicopter gunships at their disposal. -- Since its construction in 1937 the treasures locked inside Fort Knox have included the US Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, three volumes of the Gutenberg Bible and Magna Carta. -- For several prominent investors and at least one senior US congressman it is not the security of the facility in Kentucky that is a cause of concern: it is the matter of how much gold remains stored there - and who owns it." - also posted at RogueGov -- They're gonna open the vault's door and all they'll see on the floor is a tiny dusty little envelope with the words I.O.U. scrawled on it. - mpg

Russia backs return to Gold Standard to solve financial crisis
A quote...."Russia has become the first major country to call for a partial restoration of the Gold Standard to uphold discipline in the world financial system." - also posted at BLN

[Russia's] Central Banker Says Worst of Crisis Over [for Russia]
A quote...."Russia has come out of the sharpest phase of its economic crisis, capital outflows have ceased and foreigners are returning to Moscow stocks, Central Bank First Deputy Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev said Friday."

Daunted by recession, Britons save for more than a rainy day
This is a good news, bad news situation.  First the good news, eventually the savings of Britain's people could be used to help fund future growth.  Now the bad news, First, and worst of all, this is a very strong sign of massive deflation caused by what is known as a "liquidity trap", second, it's not very much even though it was four times the previous amount saved, just £11.7 billion in a quarter, third; the savings won't be useful for quite some time, for many years in fact, and fourth, what's been saved may not do the British very much good since Britain allowed it's entire housing market to become even more of a bubble than the one in the US-NRE. - mpg -- A quote...."Anxious Britons, fearful over soaring unemployment and a long, deep recession, are drastically increasing their savings, it emerged yesterday."

Saturday March 28th 2009

A word to the wise for all those in the US military participating in these "interrogations" and "trials", if ANY of the evidence being withheld or altered indicates US government complicity with 9/11, or would support or imply in any way such a suspicion....all personnel who have cooperated in withholding or altering such evidence would automatically become an accessory after the fact in the murder of three thousand Americans.

More importantly, tainting such evidence, creating any evidence, suborning perjury or extracting false confessions from prisoners even if it DOES NOT DIRECTLY INVOLVE U.S. government or administration official’s complicity regarding 9/11...IN AND OF ITSELF could be legally construed as obstruction of justice and possibly make someone an accessory after the fact regarding 9/11 if it prevents the identification of the true perpetrators or the facts involved. -- Quoted from - The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg

Friday March 27th 2009

"Typically, these countries are in a desperate economic situation for one simple reason—the powerful elites within them overreached in good times and took too many risks. Emerging-market governments and their private-sector allies commonly form a tight-knit—and, most of the time, genteel—oligarchy, running the country rather like a profit-seeking company in which they are the controlling shareholders."

Hoover Blew the Whistle,
Mellon Rang the Bell,
Wall Street Gave the Signal,
and the Country went to Hell!

Thursday March 26th 2009

World Depression: Regional Wars and the Decline of the US Empire
Must Read - A quote...."All the idols of capitalism over the past three decades crashed. The assumptions and presumptions, paradigm and prognosis of indefinite progress under liberal free market capitalism have been tested and have failed.  We are living the end of an entire epoch:  Experts everywhere witness the collapse of the US and world financial system, the absence of credit for trade and the lack of financing for investment.  A world depression, in which upward of a quarter of the world’s labor force will be unemployed, is looming.  The biggest decline in trade in recent world history – down 40% year to year – defines the future.  The imminent bankruptcies of the biggest manufacturing companies in the capitalist world haunt Western political leaders.  The ‘market’ as a mechanism for allocating resources and the government of the US as the ‘leader’ of the global economy have been discredited."

Aboard the Imperial Star Ship Ameriprise - For all you Trekkies out there. - mpg
A quote...."Worse yet: Despite our aspirations, the American spaceship of state -- let's call it the USS Ameriprise -- not only resembles the USS Enterprise of the (mostly well-meaning but distinctly meddlesome) Federation, but also, on too many occasions, the Enterprise from a barbarous parallel universe pictured in "Mirror, Mirror," an episode from the show's second season.  ---  In it, thanks to a "transporter" accident, four members of the Star Trek crew, including Captain Kirk, switch places with their evil twins and find themselves aboard the Imperial Star Ship (ISS) Enterprise. Among the ISS crew, might makes right. Alien cultures that refuse to provide scarce energy sources (the dilithium crystals that power the starship, not mundane oil as on this planet) are massacred and their resources stolen. Perceived mistakes by crewmembers are punished with "agonizers," Taser-like miniature zappers applied to the chest just above the heart. Disloyal crewmembers are tortured to extract confessions, or simply slowly tortured to death, by being placed in "the agony booth." The booth is the ultimate "stress position," without all the inconvenience of shackles or the messiness of waterboarding. Officers advance in rank by assassination, with Kirk possessing the choicest precision weapon: a device in his quarters capable of killing any person on board with just the touch of a button.  ---  Let's recap: Alien cultures shocked, awed, and bludgeoned into submission in order to gain control over scarce energy resources; torture used liberally to extract information; precision weapons capable of decapitating the enemy and controlled from a distance via the push of a button." - also posted at AntiWar -- So THAT'S what happened....this entire nation, and everybody in it has entered a parallel anti-universe. It sure explains alot. - mpg
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Leaving Iraq
Must Read - A quote...."It will cost more to leave Iraq than to continue to occupy it, according to the latest GAO report. -- The headline from the bankrupt Washington Post yesterday read, "GAO Calls Iraq Pullout A 'Massive,' Costly Effort." Many of us, weary from years of watching the American way of war and those of us personally impacted by the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq, recall that the asinine Post and moronic New York Times reliably echoed the White House. An invasion of Iraq would cost us little to nothing. One vaguely remembers the term "cakewalk" and recalls the flowers and candy to be thrown at our liberating troops."

Ungrateful Wretches: Iraqis Refuse to Recognize Wild Success of the Surge
A quote...."Juan Cole provides some further information on one of the results of the glorious, successful-beyond-our-wildest-dreams "surge" that brought victory and peace to the people of Iraq."

Turkey's President in Iraq after 33 years
A quote...."BAGHDAD - Turkey's President Abdullah Gul started Monday his two-day formal visit to Iraqi capital Baghdad, making him the first Turkish president visiting neighboring Iraq after 33 years."

How the West lost its way in the East
A quote...."After seven long years in which it seemed a sideshow to the bigger conflict in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan has reached a critical point. The US must now choose how far it will become further embroiled in a messy conflict which affects its relations with Pakistan, India and the wider Middle East including Iran. At a moment when the world is convulsed by the worst economic disaster since 1929, Washington will have to decide if it really wants to invest time, money, military and political resources in beating back the ragged bands of Taliban who increasingly control southern Afghanistan."

Netherlands to stick to its Afghanistan pullout plan
A quote...."BRUSSELS, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has said the Netherlands will stick to its plan to withdraw troops from the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan by the end of next year, Dutch paper De Volkskrant reported Thursday."

Pakistani and Afghan Taliban Unify in Face of U.S. Influx
A quote...."ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — After agreeing to bury their differences and unite forces, Taliban leaders based in Pakistan have closed ranks with their Afghan comrades to ready a new offensive in Afghanistan as the United States prepares to send 17,000 more troops there this year. -- In interviews, several Taliban fighters based in the border region said preparations for the anticipated influx of American troops were already being made. A number of new, younger commanders have been preparing to step up a campaign of roadside bombings and suicide attacks to greet the Americans, the fighters said."

Detention ‘widespread’ in Afghanistan
Making enemies everywhere we go. - mpg -- A quote...."KABUL: The United Nations on Thursday criticised arbitrary detention in Afghanistan as widespread and unacceptable, calling for an immediate review in order to protect rights. -- The findings were presented in a report by the chief human rights officer of the UN mission in Afghanistan, Norah Niland, after more than 18 months spent monitoring Afghan detention facilities."

British Army chief ready to send 2,000 more troops to Afghanistan
A quote...."The head of the Army is ready to send up to 2,000 extra troops to Afghanistan amid fears that the US-led mission will struggle without significant reinforcements. " -- Ahhh, Britain, while in the midst of it's self-inflicted Great Depression still intends to fight the good ol'colonial fight.  And just like the last time it tried to conquer Afghanistan, it's going to fail.  No wonder they lost their "Empire", the elites of Britain are just plain stupid. - mpg

Obama Plans Additional Afghan Escalation
And of course the US-NRE is still expanding....as long as it continues to get trillions of dollars in loans from foreigners that is. - mpg -- A quote...."In addition to the 17,000 troops President Obama has already committed to add to the war effort in Afghanistan, his new “comprehensive strategy” will reportedly include another 4,000 troops and hundreds of “civilian advisers,” bringing the US military presence in Afghanistan to nearly 60,000." -- What do all you Obamatrolls think of your "Pope of Hope" now? - mpg

PJB: Can Uncle Sam Ever Let Go? - Nope. - mpg
A quote...."“In 1877, Lord Salisbury, commenting on Great Britain’s policy on the Eastern Question, noted that ‘the commonest error in politics is sticking to the carcass of dead policies.’ -- “Salisbury was bemoaning the fact that many influential members of the British ruling class could not recognize that history had moved on; they continued to cling to policies and institutions that were relics of another era.” -- also posted at AntiWar

Ukrainians protest against U.S. frigate's visit
A quote...."KIEV, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Around 500 people on Wednesday gathered in Sevastopol, the Ukrainian southern naval port, to protest a U.S. naval frigate's visit to the country. -- According to the reports of local media, activists at the port shouted slogans like "NATO out" and "Yankee go home."

South American Nations Meet in Venezuela to Lay Foundation for Bank of the South
De-couple, de-couple, de-couple from the dollar, should be the mantra of every leader South of the border.  They should make the Bank-of-the-South their sole bank of recourse and stay the hell away from those blood-sucking bastards at the IMF and World Bank. -  mpg -- A quote...."Mérida, March 24th 2009 (Venezuelanalysis.com) -- Top government officials from seven South American countries met in Caracas Monday to draft constitutive plans for the Bank of the South, an international initiative launched in 2007 to improve regional integration and invest national reserves in social and economic development on the continent."

Q&A:  Sacked for Writing Against the Egypt Regime - Currently a US-NRE "friend". - mpg
Interview - Some quotes...."CAIRO, Mar 26 (IPS) - For years, Abdelhalim Kandil has been one of Egypt's most high-profile opposition journalists, known for writing hard-hitting articles critical of the ruling regime of President Hosni Mubarak." -- "On Mar. 16, Kandil was abruptly removed from his position as editor-in- chief of Sout Al-Umma by the newspaper's publisher, Essam Ismail Fahmi, after he wrote a series of articles critical of some state officials and of the government's political and economic policies. Excerpts from an interview with him...."

RIGHTS:  U.S. Condemned for Boycott of Racism Conference
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."UNITED NATIONS, Mar 26 (IPS) - Amid calls for Washington to increase its engagement with the international community, U.S.-based rights groups and civil libertarians are denouncing the Barack Obama’s administration’s boycott of a global conference against racism next month. -- "It is an embarrassment for the Obama administration to continue the Bush administration’s practice of refusing dialogues with others," said Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general and winner of the 2008 U.N. Human Rights Award, in a petition signed by hundreds of human rights activists." -- Ramsey Clark is just being totally ridiculous, Obama talks to others, he talks to AIPAC, the Neocons, the Clintonians and the Banksters almost ALL the time....in fact he's so devoted to them, he just simply doesn't have time to talk to anyone else. - mpg
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Diebold's Chief Financial Officer, VP Steps Down Under SEC Investigation
A quote...." It's been a bad month for Diebold (DBD), what with the findings in CA that their voting machines drop votes and their audit logs allows deletion of records; their admission that all of their voting machines fail to record ballot deletions, and that their ATMs were hacked, likely by insiders, just to point to a few of their recent embarrassing headlines. -- But things are getting still worse by the minute, it seems. This, from Cleveland's Plain Dealer today:..."

Feds to poison plants along the [US-Mexican] border
A quote...."If successful, the $2.1 million pilot project could later be duplicated along as many  as 130 miles of river in the patrol’s Laredo Sector, as well as other parts of the  U.S.-Mexico border."
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WATCH: Investigation uncovers evidence of alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza
Videos - A quote...."The Guardian has compiled detailed evidence of alleged war crimes committed by Israel during the 23-day offensive in the Gaza Strip earlier this year, involving the use of Palestinian children as human shields and the targeting of medics and hospitals. -- Watch the 3 documentaries"

Gazan speaks of white phosphorus use
Video - A quote...."According to Human Rights Watch Israels use of white phosphorus in their offensive on the Gaza Strip constitutes a war crime", which Israel strenuously denies. Phosphorus ignites in oxygen in temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius and daily temperatures were much hotter than that when the war was carried out in Gaza in January. It is almost impossible to put out, and if it comes into contact with human flesh it can burn to the bone. Sabah Abu Halima who lost her husband and four of her children in the war, tells her story."

‘We came, we saw, we destroyed’ - posted at OnlineJournal
A quote...."Israel’s recent onslaught on a defenseless population under siege has robbed it of its status as an eternal victim -- a status it has carefully preserved for decades to elicit global empathy and protect it from criticism."

Khalid Amayreh - Devouring Jerusalem
A quote...."In its increasingly rabid efforts to consolidate control of traditionally Arab-East Jerusalem, Israel this week moved to suppress Palestinian cultural activities associated with the city being declared the capital of Arab culture for 2009. - On 19 March heavily armed paramilitary police violently dispersed a meeting at the Ambassador Hotel in East Jerusalem, confiscating posters, leaflets, placards and computers. - Israeli police also raided schools, social clubs and community centres to foil activities celebrating Arab culture in the occupied city which Israel considers its "united and undivided capital"."

Australian academics call for boycott of Israel
Action Alert - A quote...."Responding to the Call of Palestinian civil society to join the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, we are an Australian campaign focused specifically on a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, as delineated by PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel):"

Divestment campaign gains momentum in Europe
Action Alert - A quote...."The Swedish national pension fund AP7 is the latest institution to follow the socially responsible investment example of Dutch ASN Bank by excluding the French transportation giant Alstom from its portfolio. Alstom was excluded because of the company's involvement in Israel's occupation of Palestinian land." -- For more on how to boycott Israel and the companies who do "business" with Israel, see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website. - mpg

Diary of siege and war: Mad days in the time of a Zionist war
A quote...."The moon grows to become full in the eyes of the Gazawis, they said, like a baby’s face the son of the moon, the mother cries every time one of her children runs away eaten by the war, till it catches with another in Rafah, I cannot liberate my heart from some guilt that was stuck to it, some of which were imprisoned tears in some place… Condone me O you babyhood of wounded Gaza, and pardon me you “Dalal”, “Amira”… “Nassim” and the rest of the birds, the birds built their nests on their eye lashes, over their dolls and left them bleeding for days running away in freight, and with the thirst of a besieged flower, and in the palm of the fenced Gaza, poetry jumps weeping and runs away… I wish I were a lantern in a child’s hand to ignite its smile and hug it… "
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NYT Article about the Passage of the Gramm/Leach/Bliley Act of ‘99
Some quotes...."




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The Dance of the Trillions to Shore up Banks, Bankers, and Gamblers
If anybody out there wonders why this website editor continues to pound the issue of derivatives, it's because it's necessary to follow two simple rules when analyzing the "Great Game" and the elites who "play" it.

One: Is to ALWAYS "follow the money", no excuses, no exceptions, no matter what. If you're not following the money, you're not doing your job; something this nation's mass-faux-infotainment industry has gotten down to a fine art these last thirty years.

Two: If it's something critical to the issue, something that "connects the dots",  something blatantly obvious, yet NOBODY employed in any official capacity or anybody in the mass-media wants to talk about it....you talk about it, write about it, SCREAM about it until they do. (Also known as the "Pink Elephant" in the middle of the living room scenario) – mpg

A quote...."After ten years of wholesale financial deregulation, bad policies and unsound banking practices, and facing a worsening recession, over the last year and a half the U.S. government has been pumping trillions of dollars in order to deleverage and recapitalize banks that were on the brink of insolvency. But the banking crisis is of such a magnitude, and the damage done to the financial system so widespread, that each pumping of money into the system has never seemed to be enough. This is because numerous American financial institutions, and among the largest, have suffered multibillion-dollar losses, not only with subprime mortgages, but especially with large amounts of derivative products that have turned sour. Not the least of these are the famous gambling products called credit default swaps, (CDS), [which the Bank of International Settlements is reporting to be worth some $57 trillion." -- Editor's Note: The total value of derivatives out there has been estimated to be well over one Quadrillion. - mpg
  
America Is Changing Its Name
Satire - A quote...."Top financial company AIG is changing its name to "AIU Holdings". -- Top private defense contractor Blackwater is changing its name to "Xe". -- Following AIG and Blackwater's lead, the U.S. has decided to change its name. -- White House spokesman Joe King today announced that the U.S. is changing its name in order to decrease associations the Founding Fathers and thorny issues like taxation without representation. -- "There is so much anger among the American public", said King at a White House press conference, "that we think it would be helpful to refocus our national attention and to calm everyone down so we can get on with the important work of economic recovery." -- The new name for the world's most powerful nation: the United Swaps of America."

Building on a weak foundation
Special Note - A quote...."With a series of coordinated pronouncements and media events, the Barack Obama administration has been trying to send a signal to investors. The message received may not have been the one intended. -- Reading between the lines, the administration is indicating that the financial crisis has become so overwhelming to them that there is no alternative but to throw infinite amounts of taxpayer money at it until, they hope, it passes. But what if the very measures meant to hold the dike until the storm passes are actually undermining whatever protection we have left?"
    
Total fraud
Financial Alert - A quote...."Of US$164 billion in total Federal Reserve credit that appeared, literally, out of thin air, last week a full $163 billion of it was used by the US Federal Reserve to buy Treasury and agency debt for itself! You can talk about fraud - or stop wasting time, get out there, and buy gold!!! "

The Threat of Hyper-Depression
A possible outcome, but only if the US-NRE doesn't enter into a true 30's style Depression. - mpg -- A quote...."In the Keynesian heydays of the 1950s and 1960s, most economists and policy makers believed in the “Phillips Curve,” which was the (alleged) tradeoff between unemployment and price inflation. The idea was that the Federal Reserve could cure a recession by printing money, or that the Fed could cure runaway inflation by jacking up interest rates. Each of these moves had its downside, of course, but the point was that the Fed could choose one poison or the other. -- This Keynesian orthodoxy was shattered in the 1970s when the United States suffered through “stagflation,” which was high unemployment and high inflation. This outcome was not supposed to be possible, according to the popular macroeconomics models, and it left policy makers with no clear choice."

Jobless rolls swell again as recession persists
As  expected, keep in mind jobless claims are a lagging indicator regarding the economy. - mpg -- Some quotes...." WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hopes that the economy may be poised for a recovery got a splash of reality Thursday: The unemployment rolls are still getting bigger as the recession maintains its grip. For the 10th week in a row, the number of people receiving jobless benefits grew. It now stands at nearly 5.6 million, the government said -- an indication that the labor market is still grim. New claims for unemployment benefits rose again as well, to a seasonally adjusted 652,000, up from 644,000 the week before." -- "The total number of people claiming benefits jumped to 5.56 million, worse than economists' projections of 5.48 million, and setting a record for the ninth week in a row."

Economy dips at slightly faster 6.3 percent pace
Pretty much as expected, keep in mind this is from Q4 and it's old news already - mpg -- A quote.... "WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy shrank at a 6.3 percent pace at the end of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter-century, and probably isn't doing much better now. -- The Commerce Department on Thursday reported that the economy was sinking a bit faster than the 6.2 percent annualized drop for the October-December quarter estimated a month ago."

Irish economy in sharp contraction
A quote...."Ireland, the first eurozone country to fall into an official recession, has released more gloomy financial data, with official statistics revealing that its gross domestic product shrank by 7.5 per cent in the three months to December, compared with the fourth quarter of 2007."

Argentine economy expands at the lowest rate in six years - Heck, at least it's still expanding. - mpg
A quote...."Argentina’s economy grew 2.3 percent in January from a year earlier, the lowest monthly rate in more than six years as the global crisis hits home, according to the latest release from the government."

U.S. space tourist goes up for more
Video - A quote...."U.S. billionaire Charles Simonyi roars into space aboard a Russian rocket, making history as the first tourist to make the epic journey....twice. (40 sec./1.44Mb, shows: 14)"

Wednesday March 25th 2009

— Only an estimated 50,000 of 300,000 displaced families — or 16 percent — have returned to their Baghdad homes, according to the U.S. military. Most are believed to be Sunnis.