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Monday April 30th 2007

Who Will Stop the U.S. Shadow Army in Iraq?
Must Read - A quote...."A decade ago, the company barely existed; and yet, its “diplomatic security” contracts since mid-2004, with the State Department alone, total more than $750 million. Today, Blackwater has become nothing short of the Bush administration’s well-paid Praetorian Guard. It protects the U.S. ambassador and other senior officials in Iraq as well as visiting Congressional delegations; it trains Afghan security forces and was deployed in the oil-rich Caspian Sea region, setting up a “command and control” center just miles from the Iranian border. The company was also hired to protect FEMA operations and facilities in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, where it raked in $240,000 a day from the American taxpayer, billing $950 a day per Blackwater contractor."

"Since September 11, 2001, the company has invested its lucrative government pay-outs in building an impressive private army. At present, it has forces deployed in nine countries and boasts a database of 21,000 additional troops at the ready, a fleet of more than 20 aircraft, including helicopter gun-ships, and the world’s largest private military facility — a 7,000 acre compound near the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina. It recently opened a new facility in Illinois (”Blackwater North”) and is fighting local opposition to a third planned domestic facility near San Diego (”Blackwater West”) by the Mexican border. It is also manufacturing an armored vehicle (nicknamed the “Grizzly”) and surveillance blimps."

A huge private mercenery army, Bush's new "Praetorian Guard".  Paid for by the American taxpayer but utterly unacountable to them.  Sure hope all you so-caled "conservatives" out there are happy. - mpg
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Why There Was No Exit Plan
Must read - A quote...."

"For all the talk about timetables and benchmarks, one might think that the United States will end the military occupation of Iraq within the lifetimes of the readers of this opinion editorial. Think again.  -  There is to be no withdrawal from Iraq, just as there has been no withdrawal from hundreds of places around the world that are outposts of the American empire. As UC San Diego professor emeritus Chalmers Johnson put it, “One of the reasons we had no exit plan from Iraq is that we didn’t intend to leave.”
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Shellfire and Damnation: The Never-Ending Shock and Awe Barrage of Baghdad
A quote...."The dwindling band of armchair cheerleaders for the war in Iraq often like to point to the end of World War II as a comparison point for rebuilding conquered lands. Of course, much of the time, the cheerleaders simply concoct fantasy scenarios and falsified histories in a pathetic attempt to steal the gravitas – and competence – of that momentous time for their own tawdy criminal adventure. For example, Condi Rice and ashcanned Pentagon honcho Don Rumsfeld have risibly compared the full-blown, years-long Iraqi insurgency , which has killed more than 3,300 U.S. troops, to the "Werewolf" organization of post-war guerrillas that the Nazis sketchily planned in the waning days of the war – and which was never activated, because it didn't really exist. Not a single American soldier was killed by "insurgents" or "dead-enders" in occupied Germany and Japan in the years following the war. "

Rice: Bush didn't Want War - [ NOT ! ]
Wherein Juan Cole contradicts Condi’s denial of the Bushist’s plan to attack Iraq prior to 9/11 with something that she is totally unfamiliar with......the facts. - mpg

How Pakistan settled an al-Qaeda score
A quote...."KARACHI - Internal squabbling between the Taliban and al-Qaeda and exploited by Pakistan forced many al-Qaeda leaders to move from the tribal areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan to Iraq in search of new headquarters from which to operate.  -  Senior al-Qaeda member Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi, 46, was one of these men - and he paid dearly for the move after being fingered by Pakistan. On Friday, the Pentagon announced that Hadi had been arrested late last year and handed over to the US Central  -  Intelligence Agency. Describing Hadi as "one of al-Qaeda's highest-ranking and experienced senior operatives", the Pentagon said he had been sent to the US Defense Department-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."

See also....Musharraf's Wedge 03-03-07 - mpg
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Preston Respect: George Galloway 24th April 2007 - YouTube video - (part 4)
A quote...."George Galloway speaks about the Navy, Number 10 and Iran..."

And also about Jessica Lynch.  I believe the Bush administration has finally achieved an unblemished record regarding one goal they had during their tenure in the White House. They have actually lied about every single thing they have ever spoken on in the last six years.  An outstanding record of achievement - mpg

See also....Jessica Lynch's Story is Turning 'Into a Monster' for the Bush Administration
See also....The Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch frauds
See also....'Little girl Rambo' decries US propaganda
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Blueprint for Dictatorship -  Recent legislation sets us up for tyranny
A quote...."America is headed for a military dictatorship – and recent legislation makes this all but inevitable. Last September, Congress passed the Defense Authorization Act, which empowered the president to declare martial law with very little provocation, namely in the aftermath of a "terrorist attack or incident." Having determined that "the execution of the laws" is hampered by the "incident," the president can unilaterally impose martial law – without the consent of Congress, which need only be informed of the event "as soon as practicable." The only condition attached instructs the president to report to Congress after 14 days, and every 14 days thereafter."

See also....  Thirty Acts to Restore Americans' Rights 11-10-06 - mpg
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Secret Order By Gonzales Delegated Extraordinary Powers To Aides
A quote...."Attorney General Alberto Gonzales signed a highly confidential order in March 2006 delegating to two of his top aides -- who have since resigned because of their central roles in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys -- extraordinary authority over the hiring and firing of most non-civil-service employees of the Justice Department. A copy of the order and other Justice Department records related to the conception and implementation of the order were provided to National Journal."

Dictatorship by any other name would still be the enemy of freedom. - mpg
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Frank Rich: 'NY Times' Will No Longer Participate in WHCA Dinner
A quote...."NEW YORK Tucked inside Frank Rich's Sunday column in the New York Times is indication that the newspaper will no longer play ball with the annual White House Correspondents Association dinners in Washington, which he calls "a crystallization of the press's failures in the post-9/11 era." He writes that the event "illustrates how easily a propaganda-driven White House can enlist the Washington news media in its shows...."

Too little, too late. - mpg
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Liberal Media Enlightens Us Again
A quote...."In June of 2004, then Ombudsman for the Washington Post, Michael Getler, tried to explain to the readers of the Post, the Bush administration, Congress, and anyone else who bothered to pay attention, that they – the writers and editors of the Post – had down played dissent, but could not be held responsible for being absolute sycophants for the illegal 2003 invasion of Iraq.[1]  "

This editor forgot that WAPO also delivered an insipid NYT styled mea culpa in 2004 regarding their dismal performance in the run-up to the Iraq war.  But as this article points out they're still spewing the administration's swill. - mpg
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Saudi Arabia Alarmed Over Increased Radicalism of Guantanamo
My goodness, you mean if you torture and humiliate someone for over five years they get ...like....resentful?  WOW ! what a thought!  That's almost just like the population of a country gets when you invade them and then bomb and occupy them for five years.  Think of that! Isn't that incredible?  The same identical stimulas used on people produces the same identical responses, who would of thunk it. - mpg

The Return of Tony Snow
A quote...."Tony Snow has performed his job as press secretary with all the dignity and intellectual honesty of any 'loyal Bushie'. That is to say, his function was less to inform the press and public and more to, as Mister Bush himself once said, "propel the propaganda." Having been a former member of FOX News Republican Propaganda Network, Tony Snow was well schooled in the art of deceptive and offensive propaganda. And, judging by the all too familiar Suzy Chapstick-like ultra-violet smile, Tony Snow thoroughly enjoyed his work of misleading the press and public.

Some might consider this commentary to be harsh or, perhaps, not fair. It might appear to be a bit like kicking a man when he is down. It is neither. It is simply part of today's political reality...a reality filled with cynicism, hyper-vigilance, venom, and distrust. Indeed, it is THE very reality that Mister Snow and the Republican Party have dedicated their lives to creating. Tony Snow, cancer or not, helped generate the sad and cynical world in which we now live and die.

And it's really too late for this guy.  Hey! Tony boy, say hi to Mr. Reficul for me when you see him. - mpg
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Rice Declares Herself Above the Law and the Corporate-Owned Media Shrugs
A quote...."This week Condi Rice declared herself above the law and the corporate-owned media barely shrugged. Congress authorized issuing Miss Rice a subpoena to testify regarding what she knew about the administration's use of forged documents claiming that Saddam was seeking nuclear material from Niger. Even though the CIA had informed the White House that the accusation was untrue, the Saddam-Niger claim was highlighted by President Bush in his pre-war State of the Union Address. The allegation that Saddam was seeking nuclear material from Niger was a central part of the Bush administration's case for war."

And the article below will tell you why Condi blew Congress off.  She doesn't want to squeal on Dick and his little shenanigans regarding how he MADE THE WHOLE THING UP. -  mpg
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Ex-CIA analyst: Forged 'yellowcake' memo 'leads right back to' Cheney
Related article - A quote..."A former CIA analyst claims that falsified documents which were meant to show that Iraq's Saddam Hussein regime had been trying to procure yellowcake uranium from Niger can be traced back to Vice President Dick Cheney.  -  Appearing on MSNBC's Tucker Carlson Show, Ray McGovern who served in the CIA for twenty-seven years, said, "the [forged] memo leads right back to the doorstep of the Vice President of the United States."

Well folks they didn't just "cherry pick" or "select" the "intell" they wanted, they went out and created it.  No doubt this comes as a surprise to very few people. - mpg
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'They sold out the world for an F-16 sale'
Related article - A quote...."Onetime CIA analyst alleges Cheney, Libby lied to Congress about Pakistani nukes  -  In the era of Ronald Reagan, intelligence officer Richard Barlow was an analyst for the CIA, monitoring Pakistan's nuclear program. In 1989, he moved over to the Pentagon, where he worked for then-Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney. Barlow lost that job when he raised objections to his bosses about senior Pentagon officials allegedly lying to Congress concerning Pakistan’s emerging nuclear program."

Oh look, although it's Khan who is the father of Pakistan's nukes....Cheney's the godfather, isn't that so sweet? - mpg
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The memoirs of ex-CIA director Tenet—One war criminal rats on the others
A quote...."With the publication of his new memoir, At the Center of the Storm, released Monday, and in an appearance on the CBS television new program “60 Minutes” the night before, former CIA director George Tenet has become the latest former official to admit publicly that the Bush administration launched its war against Iraq based upon false pretenses and manipulated intelligence."

Why Were Iran's Peace offers of 2001-2003 Resurface Rejected?
A quote...." The proposal is reputed to address a variety of USA worries, such as WMD proliferation, Iraq, terrorism and more. The Bush administration refused to negotiate with Iran and sabotaged the progress made by American and Iranian Ambassadors.  -  Knowing of the proposal, one begs to see more and there was a great deal more to be seen because it was not simply a proposal but a suggested ongoing process for peace negotiation, all of which the Bush administration ignored and/or rejected. The appearance is that Iran doggedly pursued the idea of an accord, but top Bushites turned their faces away from it."

They rejected Iran's overtures because Iran is on a list of seven countries targeted for extermination. - mpg
See also....The Plan -- according to U.S. General Wesley Clark (Ret.) YouTube - 1.37 min
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Rep. Murtha Puts Bush Impeachment Front and Center
A quote...."Impeachment is moving inexorably into the mainstream.  -  On Saturday, August 28, people across the nation rallied to spell out the word "Impeach" with their bodies, from coast to coast. Most of their efforts went unreported in the nation’s complicit, propaganda-organ-like corporate media, but the effects of the effort were still felt."

Abboud and “Toxic Bob” Waiting for the New Oil Law to Pass - Bush Bailout Pal Drooling for Iraqi Oil
A quote...."While blood is flowing freely in Iraq’s streets, A. Robert Abboud, a man who helped bail George W. Bush out of his Harken Energy fiasco, is angling for a contract that will give his firm, Ivanhoe Energy Inc., access to a major oil field in north central Iraq.  -  Mr. Abboud, who runs his own investment company and who has been president of Occidental Petroleum (1980-84), chairman of the First National Bank of Chicago (1975-80) and chairman and CEO of First City Bancorporation of Texas (1988-91), is co-chairman at Ivanhoe Energy and appears to be acting as the firm’s diplomatic frontman in going after the Iraqi oil."

A Great New 50 Second E-Voting Video
A quote...."50 seconds well spent...Click play on the video at left. -  That terrific video is just out from CountAllVotes.com.  -  The FL House is currently in the throes of either adding poison pills to, or otherwise trying to fend off Gov. Charlie Crist's long-overdue and responsible plan to bring paper ballots to the beleaguered voters of the Sunshine State. His courageous plan would do away with all of the state's horrible, disenfranchising, touch-screen DRE voting machines in time for 2008, something which even Democrats in the U.S. House, so far, have been shamefully afraid to do.  -  Please go visit the site and take action --- whether you're from Florida or not, you can help their campaign...which will help us all."

Venezuela Pulling Out of IMF, World Bank
A quote...."CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez announced Monday he would formally pull Venezuela out of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, a largely symbolic move because the nation has already paid off its debts to the lending institutions."

Hip Hip Hooray for Venezuela.  May ALL other countries throughout the world be so blessed. - mpg
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Wolfie Shakes Down Global Loan Shark Outfit
Related article - A quote...."According to Steven C. Clemens, not only does the war criminal Paul Wolfowitz want “some acknowledgment” that the world-class loan sharking operation known as the World Bank shares “complicity in the messy circumstances surrounding his and Shaha Riza’s situation,” but it appears Wolfie will attempt to ride it out until June 1st, when he is “eligible for some large financial bonus—for performance and time on the job. One estimate puts this figure at about $400,000. Wolfowitz wants to make sure those funds are credited to his private bank account before saying farewell to an institution that has come to despise him.”

SUPER-IMPERIALISM: Shameful Legacy Of Liberal Democrats
Must Read - Related article - Book Review - A quote....Increasingly, Latin American countries, whom Hudson asserts have been intentionally managed and contained by the World Bank and IMF in order to prevent their autonomous departure from the economic control and management of the U.S., are doing exactly what he prescribes. Venezuela has taken the lead in rejecting World Bank and IMF carrot and stick economics, and more recently, Ecuador and Bolivia have joined Hugo Chavez in working to create Latin American self-sufficiency apart from the control of the U.S. Just this week, Ecuadorian President, Rafael Correa banned a World Bank official from the nation. Currently, Ecuador, Argentina, and Brazil are discussing the creation of a Southern Bank, operated by and for Latin Americans, as an alternative to the World Bank. "

The Death of the Chilean Way to Socialism and the Martyrdom of President Salvadore Allende
A quote...."Not a nut or bolt [will] be allowed to reach Chile under Allende", warned American Ambassador Edward Korry before the confirmation. The Chilean economy, so extraordinarily dependent upon the United States, was the country's soft underbelly, easy to pound. Over the next three years, new US government assistance programs for Chile plummeted almost to the vanishing point, similarly with loans from the US Export-Import Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, in which the United States held what amounted to a veto; and the World Bank made no new loans at all to Chile during 1971-73. US government financial assistance or guarantees to American private investment in Chile were cut back sharply and American businesses were given the word to tighten the economic noose."

This is what will happen to anyone who does business with an American Corporation, the contracts you sign with them aren't worth the pieces of paper they're written on, their word is not their bond, the men who run these institutions of organized crime are unrepentant, degenerate liars.  If you let your leaders do business with them or their loan shark bankers, you deserve what you get.  See also....We'll Make Them an Offer They Can't Refuse 09-06-06 - mpg
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Fighting Fascism: The Americans - Women and Men - Who Fought In the Spanish Civil War
Listen to Segment || Download Show mp3 || Watch 128k stream || Watch 256k stream || Read Transcript
A quote....""No man ever entered the earth more honorably than those who died in Spain." Those are the words of Ernest Hemingway. He was referring to the Americans who volunteered for the Spanish Civil War, the first major battle against fascism.  -  In July 1936, rightwing military officers led by General Franco attempted to overthrow the newly elected democratic government of Spain. Hitler and Mussolini quickly joined in support of Franco. The Spanish Civil War lasted until 1939. Half a million people are believed to have died on all sides"

Abraham Lincoln Brigade "Represents an Important Part of the American Soul" - Harry Belafonte Pays Tribute
Listen to Segment || Download Show mp3  ||  Watch 128k stream  || Watch 256k stream || Read Transcript
A quote...."Hundreds gathered yesterday in New York to honor an exhibit at the museum of the City of New York called "Facing Fascism: New York and the Spanish Civil War." Across the street at the Museo Del Barrio, one of the speakers at the event was the musician, actor and activist, Harry Belafonte. We play an excerpt of his address. [includes rush transcript]"

Website author's technical note: play the downloaded copies, else you might experience interruptions.- mpg
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Poll-related violence in Philippines fostered by culture of impunity — Beltran
A quote...."MANILA — Anakpawis Representative and political detainee Crispin Beltran today said that the worsening election-related violence in the country is related to the seemingly endless spate of extra-judicial killings targeting political activists and human rights advocates.  -  He said that that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration deliberate failure to put and end to the killings of members and officials of the progressive party-lists and militant people’s organizations has created a culture of impunity which is now being taken full advantage of by hired guns of traditional politicians. He said that the government’s failure to solve the killings of activists serve to encourage hired killers to peddle their trade with less worry and fear that they will be apprehended and brought to justice."

Good investigative article on key H. Clinton advisor
Some quotes...."Anne Kornblut had a good piece of reporting in today's WaPo about a guy called Mark Penn, described as the "chief strategist" for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.", "Penn gained his foreign policy expertise working on numerous campaigns overseas, especially in Israel. In 1981, he and business partner Doug Schoen helped reelect Menachem Begin, one of the most right-wing prime ministers in the country's history, and emerged with a new outlook on the Middle East. "We got a chance to experience firsthand the perils and possibilities that the state of Israel presents," Schoen said in an interview."

Regarding this see the article listed below posted 04-26-07 - and this was written without knowing about Penn. - mpg
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The Multiple Sex Scandals That Could Sink the Bush Administration and the GOP
A quote...."From Baghdad’s Camp Cropper, where a major US military detention center is located, to the White House, Pentagon, and offices along Washington DC’s “Gucci Gulf” K Street corridor, a series of major sex scandals threaten to bring yet another body blow on the Bush administration and the Republican Party."

The Horrors of Hutto: Inside Texas' For-Profit Immigrant Prison
A quote....""Help us and ask questions," read the note, secretly passed to a visitor from an immigrant child incarcerated in a Texas prison.  -  Based on their visits and interviews, the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service are calling for the immediate shutdown of the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas."

Seven dollar myths
A quote...."Without shying away from controversy, we do away with a number of myths of why the US dollar ought to move up or down."

Sunday April 29th 2007

The Future of Stupidity
Must Read - A quote...."Exactly 500 years ago, Niccolo Machiavelli served the court of Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois and Romagna, son of Pope Alexander VI, and the military general of the papacy. Machiavelli was so impressed by Borgia’s crude pursuit of power that a decade and half later, he wrote a treatise, The Prince, as an offering to the Medici princes. Machiavelli was particularly impressed by Borgia’s assassination of rivals on the new year’s eve of 1503 in Sinigaglia. He advocated that princes should use crude use of force to acquire and retain power at any cost.  -  Machiavelli’s theory of the pursuit of power was based on false hypothesis. Cesare Borgia, his hero, was nothing but his father’s poodle. He was a spoilt arrogant kid who could only become the military general for no other reason than nepotism. His incompetence was proved after his father’s demise. As soon as his father died, he was arrested by Pope Julius II. And that was the end of Machiavelli’s powerful hero."

Enabling Bush's Wars of Aggression
Must Read - A quote...."Bill Moyers introduced his widely anticipated PBS special – entitled "Buying the War " – thusly;  -  "Four years ago this spring the Bush administration took leave of reality and plunged our country into a war so poorly planned it soon turned into a disaster.  -  "The story of how high officials misled the country has been told. But they couldn't have done it on their own; they needed a compliant press, to pass on their propaganda as news and cheer them on."

The West, Russia and China in Central Asia: What Kind of Game is Being Played in the Region?
Must Read - A quote...."This article was originally published in Journal of Central Asian and Caucasian Studies in No: 2 Volume: 1 pp:78-91  -  Over the last decade, international commentary on Central Asia often turned to the imagery of the Great Game. In its classic 19th century version, the Game was primarily a rivalry between the two major colonial powers – the British and Russian empires -- for control over Central Eurasia.[1] The present-day interpretations of the Great Game tend to expand the number of players -- bringing in such regional heavyweights as China, as well as the key outside power, the United States -- but retain the Game’s main characteristic feature – namely, the big powers jockeying for position in Central Asia.[2] The latest conceptualization sees the Game as being largely driven by the desire of Russia and China to squeeze the United States out of Central Asia and establish their exclusive control over the strategically located and energy-rich region.[3]"
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Murder Training: Colombian Death Squad Used Live Hostages
A quote...."El Tiempo, Bogota -- “Proof of courage”: that is how the how the paramilitaries would term the training they imparted to their recruits so that they learnt how to carve up people while they were still alive."

This website usually takes an analytical approach to what the US elites are doing to further their "great game" and therefore gentle reader you will rarely find articles like this posted here.  But this one is special.

Keep in mind while you read this that many of the officers who practiced these atrocities were trained in the School of the Americas.  A school which recently received funding approval from both the Democrats and the Republicans.  So remember while you read this article in horror at what has been done in your name.....that this is your tax dollars at work - you paid for this as a taxpayer - you let your "representatives" vote for this - which means dear citizen that you approved of this.

Something to think about. - mpg

See also....Teaching Torture
See also....Dismay Grows Over US Torture School
See also....Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation - Wikipedia
See also....School of the Americas - Source Watch
See also....School of the Americas Watch
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The Next Step: No Taxes For Torture  -  An Open Letter to Democrats
Related article - A quote...."To Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chairman Howard Dean, Out of Iraq Caucus:  As the Democrats struggle to define their next step after the President’s veto, I would like to suggest an additional approach to those under discussion: end US taxpayer support for sectarian police state actions carried out by branches of the Iraqi government."

1984, HERE WE COME!
A quote...."I know that I am not in the minority in my frustration with the items that are chosen by the mainstream media as subjects for discussion. I can only think about the old adage of "straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel". The "third rail" of politics is no longer Socaial Security; it is now the honesty and integrity of the people who have our nation in their deadly talons and threaten to destroy it if the people do not rise up as one and depose them. Short of starting a fund to put a computer in every home in the country so that the truth is available to all, is there a way that we can educate the public short of a campain to destroy television as a medium? We know that most Americans get their news from television but how do we get our views aired on TV?"

Everyone should just quit watching, listening or reading this nation's commercial “mass media”.  If you do that you'll save yourselves some time better spent on other things, you'll save your own dignity by not being foolish enough to part with your hard earned cash for crap, and finally in the end you'll save your sanity. - mpg
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The Pivotal Ohio vote in 2004: Who did the counting?
A quote...."Election night 2004. Despite trashed registrations, voter intimidation, and selective machine shortages, it looks as though Kerry will still beat Bush in Ohio, and assume the presidency. There is only one thing left to do. The job of counting votes is 'redirected' from the computer designated by the Ohio Dept of State to a computer run by the RNC - the same computer on which White House emails are protected from Congress' eyes"

Let’s make this abundantly clear to everyone reading this blog.  The things currently squatting in the White House LOST both the 2000 and 2004 elections. This government is probably, for all practicable purposes…..illegal.  Think about that - all the laws passed destroying our constitution, all the appointments made destroying this nation’s government, all the decisions taken might very well be considered null and void if justice and right where ever to prevail in this land of darkness. - mpg
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Bush Sr. To Celebrate Rev. Sun Myung Moon—Again
A quote...."Washington Dispatch: Ex-president’s keynote speech at Washington Times bash this month is latest link between Bush and Unification Church founder."

Poor George Tenet; He Still Doesn't Get It
A quote....    "If you can't say something positive about someone, don't say anything." This was drummed into me by my Irish grandmother and, as most of her admonishments, it has stood me in good stead. On occasion, though, it been a real bother - as when I felt called to comment on George Tenet's apologia, "In the Center of the Storm," coming to a bookstore near you tomorrow."

Bush Has Destroyed Iraq and America
A quote...."Every American who voted Republican shares responsibility for the great evil America has brought to the Middle East.  -  The evil that America brought to Iraq transcends the tens or hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians who have been killed and maimed in the conflict. The evil goes beyond the destruction of ancient historical artifacts and the civilian infrastructure of a secular state and the decimation of the lives, careers, and families of millions of Iraqis.  - 
The violence and killing that Bush brought to Iraq has spread antagonism between Sunni and Shiite throughout the Middle East with potentially draconian consequences. Bush’s war has turned Muslim hearts and minds against America and made terrorism an acceptable means to resist American hegemony. With his mindless war, Bush has created more  terrorism than the world has ever seen."

Ethiopia finds itself trapped in Somalia
A quote...."ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Four months after Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi declared his own "war on terror" against an Islamic movement in Somalia, Ethiopia remains entangled in a situation that analysts and critics are comparing to the U.S. experience in Iraq.  -  Though Meles proclaimed his military mission accomplished in January, thousands of Ethiopian troops remain in the Somali capital, where they have used attack helicopters, tanks and other heavy weapons in a bloody campaign against insurgents that in recent weeks has killed more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians, and forced half of the city's population to flee."

Ahhhh….another fool that dealt with the Bush faction brings not only his own country to ruination, but one of his neighbors as well.  When will you people in the world ever learn?  Doing business with the Nameless One's Avatar, that thing in the White House, will simply lead to the complete destruction of all you have ever known. - mpg
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Tenet says Cheney had eye on Iraq long before 9/11
Related article - "WASHINGTON — White House and Pentagon officials, and particularly Vice President Dick Cheney, were determined to attack Iraq from the first days of the Bush administration, long before the Sept. 11 attacks, and repeatedly stretched available intelligence to build support for the war, according to a new book by former CIA director George Tenet."  -  bold/italics by website author

Pulling the Trigger on Iran
A quote...."The casus belli for “Operation Iraqi Freedom”, the invasion of Iraq, was a fraud. We know that now. Even though there was no threat whatever to the United States from Iraq, the decision was made by Richard Cheney in consultation with his junior associate, George W. Bush, to invade and occupy Iraq, a country which had been decimated by an economic embargo and whose army had been cut by two-thirds since 1991. Once the predatory decision had been made, it was necessary to fabricate a plausible justification for it, to “fix the intelligence around the policy”, to use the British phraseology. This required months of a carefully calibrated propaganda campaign to misinform the American public and pressure the U.S. Congress and Senate for the authorization to attack." - bold/italics by website author.

By the way just to show you how twisted those murderous little whackos in the administration are, for the first couple of weeks they were thinking of calling their program of mass murder "Operation Iraqi Liberation".  Yuk, yuk, yuk - bet you those grinning, drooling, frat boys got a big kick out of their sick little joke. – mpg
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Seeing the Bigger Picture in Iraq
A quote...."When embarking on a course of action, every prudent political actor should first define legitimate and acceptable success. Every move should begin by having a realistic objective. Decision-makers ought to consider whether success is achievable with the tools at hand. Next, planners need to evaluate whether the strategy is designed to realize the objective. If the plan involves military action, how would the army on the field adapt to changing conditions (the fog of war effect)? It is also important for civilian rulers and military strategists to be in tune with each other. More importantly, can society be persuaded to support military action? Similarly, are other countries supportive of military action; is there a chance to build a coalition? Coming full circle, policy-makers need to reflect on how they will bring military operations to an end."

Saudi King Declines to Receive Iraqi Leader
A quote...."In a serious rebuff to U.S. diplomacy, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has refused to receive Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the eve of a critical regional summit on the future of the war-ravaged country, Iraqi and other Arab officials said yesterday."

Unpopularity of Karzai government threatens Afghanistan war effort, Holbrooke warns
A quote...."BRUSSELS, Belgium: NATO risks losing the war in Afghanistan because of a "tremendous deterioration" in the popularity of the government of U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke said Saturday."

Tehran rejects Solana statement on Iran-U.S. talks
A quote...."TEHRAN - Iran rejects the recent statement of European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who said on Friday he was sure Tehran was ready for direct talks with the U.S. over its disputed nuclear program, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said here on Sunday."

Iran has no intention to suspend nuclear enrichment - official
A quote...."TEHRAN, April 29 (RIA Novosti) - Iran does not intend to discuss the suspension of its nuclear enrichment activities, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said Sunday."

Iran will attend Iraq security meeting
A quote...."BAGHDAD: The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran agreed Sunday to attend a regional conference about Iraq later this week, ending weeks of uncertainty about Tehran's participation.  - Ahmadinejad confirmed the plans during a telephone call with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, according to a statement issued by Maliki's office. Ahmadinejad's announcement followed a series of negotiations between the countries, including a visit last week by the Iraqi foreign minister to Tehran."

Russia may withdraw from agreement with NATO
A quote...."MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Vladimir Simonov) - President Vladimir Putin proposed that Russia should unilaterally suspend the implementation of the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE).  -  It would be in the country's best interests "to announce a moratorium on Russia's implementation of the CFE Treaty until all NATO countries ratify it and start to strictly adhere to it, as Russia does today unilaterally," Putin said Thursday in his last annual state of the nation address to parliament."

Moscow gets the upper hand in the fight for Central Asian gas
A quote...."MOSCOW. (Igor Tomberg for RIA Novosti) - During his first visit to Moscow, the new president of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, guaranteed President Vladimir Putin that his country's 2003-2028 contract with Gazprom would remain unchanged.  -  Russia has thus scored points in the contest to control Caspian gas. In any event, this is what one would assume from the Kremlin's optimistic press release about the talks. But Russia does not yet have an answer to the main question: by what routes will Turkmen gas be supplied?"

One Thousand Guns A Day - video 7min
Any red blooded NRA member is probably going to enjoy this. - mpg

Chavez offers allies half-price oil
A quote...."Venezuela's president has pledged to provide cheap oil to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, at a summit attended by regional leaders.  -  Hugo Chavez offered to sell oil to allies at a 50 per cent discount at a summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the People of the Americas in the Venezuelan city of Barquisimeto on Saturday."

Peru Rejects US Military Base
A quote...."Lima, Apr 27 (Prensa Latina) Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde totally rejected any possibility that the government would accept a United States military base on Peruvian soil."

Hip Hip Hooray for the Peruvians.  For more on this see....Strangers In the Night 10-04-06 - mpg
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Rare Close-Up Footage Of WTC 7 Shows Limited Fires
A quote...."Released on You Tube yesterday, this is the first time we have seen close-up footage of WTC 7 before its collapse. Compare the fires to those that engulfed the Windsor Building in Madrid, a structure that burned for 28 hours without collapsing."
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9/11 - From The History File...Bush Opposes 9/11 Query Panel
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Violence Breaks Out as Estonian Authorities Remove Soviet-Era War Memorial
A quote...."Estonia’s parliament was behind barricades Saturday as violence rocked Tallinn for a second night after the removal of a Soviet war memorial, the AFP news arency reports.  -  Seventy-four people were injured, including nine police officers, as gangs made up mainly of young Russian-speakers ran riot in Tallinn, smashing the windows of the Art Academy, breaking into the National Theater, and robbing liquor stores."

Algae Bloom Kills Sea Birds, Other Sea Life In Record Numbers
A quote...."The staff at the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC), which specializes in seabirds, and especially California brown pelicans, calls it DA; short for Domoic Acid.  -  This spring is different. It’s much worse, affecting more species of birds, pinepeds and possibly even whales. Beaches are littered with dead birds, seals, dolphins, otters, and in Santa Barbara a 29 foot sperm whale washed ashore. The reasons for the deaths are not entirely certain, however, many of the animals tested were positive for domoic acid poisoning."
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Saturday April 28th 2007

Kucinich on Cheney at SC Debates 04/26/07
Must View - A quote...."Kucinich talks about impeaching Cheney"

Actually Kucinich talks about the US constitution - he stood his ground and simply told the truth regarding the terrible things that have happened to this country over the last six years....as apposed to all the other so-called "Democrats" up there on the platform with him. - mpg
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America's moral menopause
Must Read - A quote...."For almost 200 years, the US has claimed the moral high ground in world affairs. As it prospered, it looked on a wretched global scene of war, poverty, dictatorship, conquest, exploitation, colonial rule and the denial of human rights. Imbued with a new sense of global power following allied victories in World War I and World War II, the US soon changed from the acclaimed position of moral guru to that of the scion of imperial power. When the US withdraws from Iraq in defeat it will leave the Middle East/Gulf region in a state of unparalleled chaos and instability, a political vacuum remaining that not even massive US military presence in the region could fill. It has unleashed forces it cannot control and is trying to contain them by maintaining a decrepit status quo. The short-lived American empire is inexorably entering its period of political and moral menopause. It would do the US, and the turbulent world it has created, well if it retreated from its failed ideology of neo-conservatism into an era of neo- isolationism."

Fascist America, in 10 easy steps
Must Read - It's been out there for a while, but if you haven't read it yet please do so, it's good. - mpg

Robert Fisk: We are now in the firing line, sadly
Must Read - A quote...."When did the sands run out for us journalists? When did the moment of immunity pass away? When we took to wearing flak jackets or donned military costumes in the 1990 Gulf War? In Bosnia? In the cancerous, repetitive use of "terrorism, terrorism, terrorism" in our news reports? In Iraq, as we stood in our gated hotels, behind our watchtowers and bodyguards? When we grew used to what Martin Bell calls the "two palm trees", the Monty Python-like shrubbery that stands as a back-lot to almost every BBC report from the roof of its Baghdad office?"

StopBlackwater.net
Are Blackwater mercenaries to be the new Brownshirts mentioned in "Fascist America, in 10 easy steps"? - mpg

Durbin kept silent on prewar knowledge
A quote...."The Senate's No. 2 Democrat says he knew that the American public was being misled into the Iraq war but remained silent - because he was sworn to secrecy as a member of the intelligence committee.  -  "The information we had in the intelligence committee was not the same information being given to the American people. I couldn't believe it," Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said Wednesday when talking on the Senate floor about the run-up to the Iraq war in 2002." - bold italics by website author

Lying as Art Form - The Rhetoric of Dick Cheney
A quote....""My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators." So said Vice-president Dick Cheney on March 16, 2003 as U.S. soldiers marched toward Baghdad at the start of America's Iraqi disaster. Nearly six months later, on Meet the Press, Mr. Cheney, not generally compared to Pollyanna, seemed to adopt her type of viewpoint:"

The "Stab in the Back" Trap
A quote...."The Democrats and the peace movement are walking into a trap. The Republicans are preparing with Rovian cunning to focus the mind of the public on the question: Who lost Iraq?  -  And they are already giving the answer: The Democrats and the peace movement.  -  Republicans are preparing to dominate future decades of American politics by blaming the failure of the Iraq war on those who 'sent a signal' that the U.S. would not 'stay the course' whatever the cost. President Bush and Vice-President Cheney have already begun to project such a 'stab in the back' myth. At a recent Republican luncheon, Vice-President Cheney told Senators that 'What's most troubling' about Senator Harry Reid's recent comment that the war is lost 'is his defeatism.'  -  It's a weak reed right now. But it will be much more serious when Americans are forced to face the chaos and humiliation that will come with recognition that America is not only failing but that it has failed."

Poll: New Harris Poll Has Bush at 28 Percent, Cheney Hits New Low Too
A quote...."President George W. Bush’s job performance is currently viewed positively by only 28 percent of U.S. adults, the lowest since he took office. Seven in ten adults view his job performance in a negative light, including almost half (48%) who say his job performance is poor. Since February, the President has dropped from one-third (32%) who viewed his job positively and 67 percent who gave him negative marks.  -  Vice President Dick Cheney is also at his lowest job approval – just one-quarter of adults view him in a positive light while over two-thirds (68%) view his job performance negatively. This is down from February, which was his previous low, when 29 percent saw his job performance positively and 67 percent saw it in a negative way."

Leave Iraq, Sadr tells "anti-Christ Bush"
A quote...."BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The powerful Iraqi cleric and militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr called President George W. Bush the "anti-Christ" on Saturday and urged him to heed calls by the opposition Democrats to withdraw from the chaos of Iraq."

Hugo Chavez said the very same thing, their statements aren't quite correct however because Bush isn't the Nameless One, instead he's just an empty vessel. - mpg
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U.N. aid chief laments poor access to as many as 400,000 uprooted Somalis
A quote....GENEVA: The United Nations' top humanitarian official said Thursday that fighting in Somalia has displaced up to 400,000 people and that international aid groups only have access to a fraction of them.  -  "Civilians are caught in the crossfire," said John Holmes, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs. "There's indiscriminate shelling. We've seen missiles hitting hospitals."

Repeating the 'Progress in Iraq' Lie ... Until it Becomes Mistaken for the Truth
A quote....Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes mistaken for the truth. More than an old axiom, it is how Republicans win elections and rule. Despite every U.S. and global intelligence report proving beyond a doubt that so-called 'foreign fighters' -- those Mister Bush and Cheney call 'al-Qaeda' fighters -- make up only 2-to-6 percent of all enemy combatants in Iraq, the administration and its supporters have repeated the 'al-Qaeda in Iraq' scam so often that the corporate-owned media has begun to report the line without clarification. Another Republican success story...another lie told enough that it has become mistaken for the 'truth'."

Blackened Beacon of Lost Liberty
A quote...."There are several factors that contribute to anti-American sentiment globally. Being the brightest beacon for freedom, an idea that is no longer factual, is not one of them.  The truth is that the Israel-Palestine crisis is the issue that arguably fuels much anti-American sentiment in the Middle East (of course the 2003 invasion of Iraq has not helped matters) and the world at large. The historical role the CIA has played in overthrowing, destabilizing, or subverting foreign governments, political organizations, and populist movements around the globe has also contributed heavily to anti-American attitudes. More factors could be discussed, but for now, these two issues will suffice to make the point."

Iran attack would be terrible mistake: Musharraf
A quote...."SARAJEVO: President Pervez Musharraf said a possible US attack on Iran would be a “terrible mistake”, in an interview published here on Friday.  -  “It will be a terrible mistake if President George Bush orders an attack against Iran,” Musharraf told Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz ahead of his visit to Bosnia. “I’m concerned about the possibility that a US attack on Iran (would cause) turbulence in the region,” he said, warning it would spark “radicalism”."

What Iran Wants, and What It's Likely to Get
A quote...."It seems that the world is continuing to occupy itself with unraveling Iran's riddles. Do the centrifuges work or not? Will there be an atomic bomb or not? Will the Americans strike or not? But Iran doesn't joke and doesn't spend it's time carelessly. Regardless of whether it has already succeeded to enrich uranium on an industrial scale, the Iranians are fully determined to create a closed nuclear fuel cycle and continue their nuclear development."

Sitting Out the Obama Dance in Iowa City
Must Read - A quote...."I recently witnessed a disturbing event.  I was among the ten thousand predominantly white Iowans who listened to Barack Obama speak at the scenic “Pentacrest,” on the University of Iowa campus. "

This is not a puff piece or an editorial; it's an extensively researched account of Obama's actual voting record and it will certainly be used by many people as a reference in the future.  If you want to know what Obama's actual positions are on war, Iraq and the US's elites quest for the New Imperium, you should read this article.- mpg

Wolfowitz Case Should End U.S. Right to Appoint World Bank President
A quote...."Even if Wolfowitz resigns in the end, nothing will have been accomplished if President George W. Bush is permitted to select his successor.  -  For far too long, the world has accepted that the United States alone would occupy the office of World Bank president. In this regard, the scandal now engulfing Paul Wolfowitz could finally bring about much needed change."

Royal Accuses Rival of Apology to Bush on Iraq; Sarkozy Denies It
A quote...."PARIS, April 26 — Ségolène Royal, the Socialist candidate in the French presidential election on May 6, accused Nicolas Sarkozy, her conservative opponent, on Wednesday of having “apologized” to President Bush for France’s decision not to back the United States militarily in Iraq.  -  Mr. Sarkozy’s campaign team called her words “lies.”  -  “I am not for a Europe that aligns with the U.S.,” Ms. Royal said on France 2 television. “I have never been, and will never, go apologize to President Bush for the position of France on the issue of refusing to send our troops to Iraq.”

Yep....Bush has gone to the dog pound and found himself another "poodle", this one is going to be French. Poor Britain, poor France, they used to be independent countries once upon a time. - mpg
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The inside story on Bush, Blair and that special relationship
Related article - A quote...."Tony Blair has felt unable to pick up his US Congressional Gold Medal of Honour for four years partly because the ceremony would reinforce the prejudices of those convinced he was “some sort of poodle”, says Sir David Manning, Britain’s Ambassador in Washington." - bold/italics by website author.

See also....Bush and Blair's Endless Love - QT video
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French centrist candidate Francois Bayrou
A quote...."April 27-29, 2007 -- When defeated French centrist candidate Francois Bayrou said he considered French right-wing candidate Nicolas Sarkozy to be a French version of Italian dictatorial media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, he hit the nail on the head. As we reported yesterday, the Regional Daily Press Syndicate (SPQR) turned down a request to host a debate between Bayrou and Socialist candidate Segolene Royal but then Canal Plus television network, in coordination with France Inter Radio and i-Tele agreed to host the broadcast the May 2 debate between Bayrou and Royal."
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An imminent British vote on Blairism
A quote...."Britons go to the polls May 3 to vote in local elections that will have a sizeable impact on the way that Tony Blair's ten-year premiership ends. Blair, who has been Prime Minister since May 2, 1997, has promised he will step down from the post before this year's Labour Party Conference, due in September. I've spent several weeks in the UK since early March-- and was back there again early this week. In much of the country, people just seem eager for him to go, and quickly. But he has hung on and hung on.  -  His decision to join President Bush in invading Iraq in 2003-- and the slavish support he has given to Bush ever since then-- are the main cause of this disaffection.  -  Now, Labour looks set to do very poorly in next week's local elections, and that performance is expected to bring Blair's Labour colleagues to the point where finally they tell him that-- for the sake of the party-- it is time for him to go."

Four students arrested for heckling FBI director
A quote...."Police arrested four Harvard University students last night for heckling FBI Director Robert Mueller prior to his speech on the "Balance of National Security and Civil Liberties," witnesses said.  -  Harvard spokesman Joe Wrinn confirmed that four Harvard students were arrested outside the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He could not verify their identities or the circumstances under which they were apprehended.  -  Harvard senior Austin Guest, who was outside the event when he saw the police take away the students, said officers handcuffed the protesters after escorting them out of the building.  -  "[Officers] told me if I talked to [the students], I would be arrested," he said.  -  Police and forum staff declined to comment on the incident."

Subpoena Them All.
A quote...."April 26, 2007 -- “Today the Department of Justice is experiencing a crisis of leadership perhaps unrivaled during its 137-year history,” said the Vermont Democrat. “There's a growing scandal swirling around the dismissal” of prosecutors, he added.  -  This quote by Senator Patrick Leahy set the stage as the grilling of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales began. I was not shocked, but I was ashamed.  His testimony confirms the tragic irrational incompetent hubris and dangerous rationale of the Bush Administration."

Internal Carlyle Group Memo: Market Good For 12-24 Months
A quote...." Now hear this! What we are about to tell you comes from deep within the bowels of the Illuminati. This information runs parallel with what we have been forecasting in our issues of the IF.  -  In February, via an internal memo, the Carlyle Group said they see another 12 to 24-months or more of “excess liquidity,” which will drive further profits and growth and that the current liquidity environment cannot go on forever; and, that the longer it lasts the more money our investors will make; but also that the longer it lasts, the worse it will be when it ends”

Website author's note - this is NOT to be taken as a market recommendation, just an observation.  Keep in mind the US economy is roughly 13 to 15 trillion dollars in GDP per year while the world's derivatives market is now anywhere between 300 to 500 trillion dollars in notational value, possibly even more. Most of it controlled by the centralized financial institutions and elites that currently run our government.  With such vast leverage they could mask, manipulate, or resist market forces for years.

However it does appear they are running out of maneuvering room at the end of this abbreviated ten year cycle of military Keynesianism, with the resultant increased strains on the US's financial system.  As such, a sudden "shift" or "adjustment" could occur at any time as this shortened "ten year cycle" winds down to its inevitable close. - mpg

See also....Effective Fed Funds Rate 03-24-07 - mpg
See also....GDP slows to 1.3% growth in first quarter - Inflation rages at fastest pace in 16 years, data show
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Home vacancy rate rises to record 2.8% - 2.2 million unoccupied homes were for sale at end of quarter
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The vacancy rate for owner-occupied homes rose to a record 2.8% in the first quarter from 2.7% in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported Friday.  -  A year ago, the vacancy rate for homes typically occupied by their owner was 2.1%, a record at the time. The median asking price was $185,200.  -  The vacancy rate for rental homes rose to 10.1% from 9.8%, the highest in two years. The median asking rental price was $659 a month.  -  Of 127.3 million housing units in the United States, 17.6 million were vacant at the end of the quarter, including 2.2 million vacant units that were for sale, 4 million for rent and 4.2 million seasonal homes. The number of vacant homes for sale has increased by 599,000 in the past year, up 38%".
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The dollar’s decline tracks US fall from grace
A quote...."NEW YORK - The United States may have no military equals, but the challenges to its financial power have become impossible to ignore.  -  A stark reminder came yesterday when the weakening dollar slumped to a record low against its main rival, the euro, after the US economy recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of below-trend growth.  -  The strength of the dollar is more than just a matter of bragging rights. Experts say the consequences of its long-term decline could have deep significance-for average Americans and for the country's position as an unrivaled global power."

Frankenfoods on the Dinner Table
A quote...."Ready to eat cloned beef? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is on the verge of approving food from cloned animals to be sold in grocery stores. These products would not have to carry an identifying label."

Jon Stewart on "Bush's Progress"
Must View - It's hilarious - mpg
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Friday April 27th 2007

Algeria, the Model
Must Read - Fifty years ago, another Western power fought “Islamofascism”—then walked away.  --  When contemplating Iraq, Americans look into a murky crystal ball. History naturally presents itself as a tool to clarify the choices and possibilities that lie before us. But what history? Before the invasion, neoconservatives soaked the capital in the rhetoric of Winston Churchill and the “lessons” of the 1930s. Later, after Saddam was found to have no weapons of mass destruction, they sought to rebrand the Iraq War as a part of the long struggle against totalitarian “Islamofascism” and thus a successor to the Cold War. For many Americans, the natural comparison is the Vietnam War, which ended with evacuation choppers on the Saigon embassy’s roof and several more years of bloodshed in Indochina."
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Bill Moyers - BUYING THE WAR: - video also posted at ICH
Must View - A quote....How did the mainstream press get it so wrong? How did the evidence disputing the existence of weapons of mass destruction and the link between Saddam Hussein to 9-11 continue to go largely unreported?"

to everyone out there - if you want more programs like this,  let PBS know every time you give them money that you're doing it to encourage them to put more shows like this on the air.  -  mpg
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Harvest of Shame II
Related article - A quote....I have never really believed the old saying from the 1960s that the "medium is the message." But there can be no doubt that some media is better than others for driving home certain points  -   What I am referring to is the influence good television documentaries can have in general and the overwhelming power, in particular, of the Bill Moyers’ piece called "Buying the War" that aired on PBS last Wednesday night. This is a long overdue look at the way the main street media bought with virtually no reservations the "case" for war that was sold through them to the American people by the Bush administration beginning soon after September 11, 2001."

U.S. media have lost the will to dig deep
A quote...."IN AN E-MAIL uncovered and released by the House Judiciary Committee last month, Tim Griffin, once Karl Rove's right-hand man, gloated that "no [U.S.] national press picked up" a BBC Television story reporting that the Rove team had developed an elaborate scheme to challenge the votes of thousands of African Americans in the 2004 election.  -  Griffin wasn't exactly right. The Los Angeles Times did run a follow-up article a few days later in which it reported the findings. But he was essentially right. Most of the major U.S. newspapers and the vast majority of television news programs ignored the story even though it came at a critical moment just weeks before the election."
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A failure in generalship
A quote...."04/27/07 "Armed Forces Journal" -- -For the second time in a generation, the United States faces the prospect of defeat at the hands of an insurgency. In April 1975, the U.S. fled the Republic of Vietnam, abandoning our allies to their fate at the hands of North Vietnamese communists. In 2007, Iraq's grave and deteriorating condition offers diminishing hope for an American victory and portends risk of an even wider and more destructive regional war.

A good tactical analysis regarding the impending failure of the US's occupation of Iraq.  The author describes how many of the same errors made in Iraq were made during the Vietnam War. He describes some of the tactical solutions applied in Vietnam that might have helped prevent the coming debacle in Iraq.

He did not describe the one strategic error which if it had been avoided, would have prevented this whole catastrophe from occurring in the first place; the criminal, immoral and illegal decision to invade Iraq.  But of course, that falls under a completely different heading, a failure in leadership, which was not under the author's purview.. - mpg
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We've Been Surging For Years: More troops in Iraq than reported
A quote...."The total comes to 300,000 to 360,000, more than twice the "official" figure.  -  The U.S. uses a number of deceptions, definitional illusions and euphemisms, including counting only "combat forces" and "military personnel," to drastically undercount the number of U.S. forces involved in Iraq, which are at least twice the number as those quoted in the media."

Serving British soldier exposes horror of war in 'crazy' Basra
A quote...." A British soldier has broken ranks within days of returning from Iraq to speak publicly of the horror of his tour of duty there, painting a picture of troops under siege, "sitting ducks" to an increasingly sophisticated insurgency.  -  "Basra is lost, they are in control now. It's a full-scale riot and the Government are just trying to save face," said Private Paul Barton."
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Petraeus: Iraq Needs Enormous Commitment
A quote...."The U.S. military commander in Iraq says the war effort may well get harder before it gets easier and American casualties are likely to continue to climb.  -  Speaking as the Senate was passing legislation to start bringing home U.S. forces in October, Gen. David Petraeus said the war will require "an enormous commitment" by the United States. -  And he said that while some sectarian killings have dropped by two-thirds in recent months, the overall level of violence in Iraq has remained largely the same."  -  bold/italics by website author.

Dollar Declines to All-Time Low Against Euro as Economy Slows
Related article- A quote...."April 27 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar dropped to an all-time low against the euro after the U.S. government reported the economy grew at its slowest pace in four years."

GDP slows to 1.3% growth in first quarter - Inflation rages at fastest pace in 16 years, data show
Related article - A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Hit by rising energy prices and a weak housing market, the U.S. economy slowed to real annualized growth of 1.3% in the first quarter, the weakest rate of expansion seen in four years, the Commerce Department estimated Friday."

China economy surges 11 percent
Related article - A quote...."BEIJING -- China's sizzling economy surged 11.1 percent in the first quarter, causing the country's Cabinet to declare Thursday it will take steps to keep the economy from overheating."

Three U.S. home builders report losses
Related article - A quote...."CHICAGO: Pulte Homes, Beazer Homes USA and Ryland Group have reported quarterly losses as the deteriorating U.S. housing market forced them to write down the value of property and abandon land purchases.

And they said Americans weren't making any sacrifices for the Iraq War, believe me folks, you’ll be making sacrifices, lots and lots of sacrifices. - mpg
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Dealing With the Devil
A quote...."One hundred billion dollars. People often ask why we are in Iraq and why the war cannot be ended. One hundred billion dollars. With that kind of money flowing into the pockets of defense contractors and everyone connected to them, "the war" will continue indefinitely. For as long as the money flows, "the war" will continue."

Massacre in Mogadishu—war crime made in the USA
A quote...."The brutal military siege against the Somali capital of Mogadishu constitutes a war crime for which the US government bears the principal responsibility.  -  While the mass media in the US itself has largely averted its eyes from the carnage, Ethiopian military units, backed and advised by Washington, have unleashed an intense bombardment of Mogadishu’s crowded and impoverished urban neighborhoods, killing and wounding thousands and turning hundreds of thousands more into homeless refugees."

Inside Africa's Guantánamo
A quote...."The only way the US can prop up its client regime in Somalia is through lawlessness and slaughter  - This is the most lawless war of our generation. All wars of aggression lack legitimacy, but no conflict in recent memory has witnessed such mounting layers of illegality as the current one in Somalia. Violations of the UN charter and of international humanitarian law are regrettably commonplace in our age, and they abound in the carnage that the world is allowing to unfold in Mogadishu, but this war has in addition explicitly violated two UN security council resolutions. To complete the picture, one of these resolutions contravenes the charter itself."

Gore Vidal on Campaign ’08 and America’s Future
Interview - A quote...."Robert Scheer sits down with Gore Vidal to hear his take on the upcoming presidential campaign, religion and the future of the American empire in this first installment from Truthdig’s series of interviews with the iconic author and historian."

No One Should Be Above the Law
A quote...."George Bush has shredded, violated or absented America from its obligations under international law.  He has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol, backed out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, tried to kill the International Criminal Court, walked out on negotiations on chemical and biological weapons and defied the Geneva Convention and human rights law in the treatment of detainees.  Most egregiously, he launched an illegal war in Iraq based on fabricated evidence we now know had been discredited even before it was made public."

Pelosi, Biden and Cluster Bombs - Failing to Hold Israel Accountable for War Crimes in Lebanon
A quote...."In late January the State Department delivered a potentially explosive report to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The classified report asserts that Israel may have violated the Arms Export Control Act with its use of American-made cluster munitions this past summer in Lebanon.  -  Multiple contacts to both offices indicate neither Biden nor Pelosi has any intention of pursuing the matter. In contrast, a congressional investigation 25 years ago helped persuade President Ronald Reagan to suspend cluster munitions to Israel for six years. This Congress, however, will not call Israel to account for its actions."

AIPAC strikes again. - mpg
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Wolfowitz Loses Ground in Fight for World Bank Post
A quote..."WASHINGTON, April 26 — Paul D. Wolfowitz’s struggle to hold on to his job as World Bank president suffered a major setback on Thursday when more than 40 members of the organization’s anticorruption team, formed to promote transparent government and closely identified with Mr. Wolfowitz, declared that the controversy over his conduct was undermining their work."

Deputy Secretary of State resigns after admitting escort link
A quote....:'Condi loves him,' friend tells Washington Post  -  WASHINGTON -- Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias submitted his resignation Friday after confirming to ABC News that he had been a customer of a Washington escort service, multiple media outlets reported Friday."

Justice Department official resigns over Abramoff investigation
a quote...."A senior Justice Department official has resigned in connection with the investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to a McClatchy report."
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Ecuador 'expels World Bank envoy'
A quote...."Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has ordered the expulsion of the World Bank's representative in the country, sources say.  -  "We have received a letter in which our country manager is expelled," an unnamed bank official told Reuters."

Hip Hip Hooray for Ecuador!! - mpg

Ecuador MPs seek Colombia asylum - posted at GNN
A quote...."At least 11 Ecuadorian MPs have sought political asylum in Colombia after a state prosecutor issued warrants for their arrests for treason.  -  More are expected to follow, according to one of the MPs, Gloria Gallardo.  - 
Some 24 MPs have been accused of rising against the government, out of a total of 50 MPs who were fired last month and reinstated on Monday."

Hip Hip Hooray for Ecuador!!  - Maybe.  Remember moderation is the key to political and economic success.  Also remember unchecked, unrestrained revolutions tend to eat their own.- mpg
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Top cleric warns Iran on economy, disunity
A quote...."A top cleric and ex-presidential challenger has issued an unusual public warning over the state of Iran's economy and political disunity which he said are threatening the tenets of the Islamic revolution.  -  Ali Akbar Nateq Nuri, an advisor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expressed concern that money supply growth and factional political bickering in the Islamic republic are spiralling out of control."

Hezbollah taunts Israel with picture of captive soldiers
A quote...."Mounted on a huge black placard draped in a Hezbollah flag, the photograph showed Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev in profile facing each other.  -  Between them was the legend in English and Arabic -- "For the sake of our detainees", a reference to Hezbollah's demands to exchange them for prisoners held by Israel."

Attacks Spark Fears of Taliban Defeating NATO
A quote...."April 25, 2007 ·  In Afghanistan, the Taliban insurgency is spreading, even reaching some provinces in the north that had never been its strongholds. Last week, Taliban fighters attacked a district only 45 miles from the capital, Kabul. Afghans increasingly fear that NATO and Afghan forces will lose the war."

Ashdown helps prepare Iraq strategy rethink for Brown
A quote...."Proposals for a fundamental post-Blairite rethink of government policy towards Iraq are being prepared involving Lord Ashdown, the former UN high representative to Bosnia, and Sir Jeremy Greenstock, the former British envoy to Baghdad."

The pending British version of the US's ISG report.....i.e. more of the same, but with a nicer cover - mpg
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Four oil firms cede control to Venezuela's Chávez
A quote...."Four major oil companies Wednesday agreed to cede control of Venezuela's last remaining privately run oil projects to President Hugo Chávez's government, but ConocoPhillips resisted, prompting warnings its fields could be taken over outright.  -  The companies pump and process heavy oil in the Orinoco River basin. Chávez decreed last month that their fields be nationalized May 1."
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DOJ Stalls Anthrax Investigation [UPDATED]
A quote...."Democratic Representative Rush Holt (NJ-12) has been stonewalled in his efforts to get answers from the DOJ and the FBI about the status of investigations into the 2001 anthrax attacks on the federal government. The anthrax letters originated from his district.  -  On December 11, 2006, Holt and a bipartisan group of Congressmen requested that Attorney General Gonzales “direct the FBI to provide Congress with a comprehensive briefing on the status of the five year-old anthrax investigation.” The DOJ refused."

Your government in action.  Everyone knows who didn't do it....it wasn't Saddam and it wasn't al Qaeda.

Think about it - mpg

See also.......THE 9/11 ANTHRAX FRAME-UP
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U.S. Proxy Linked to Liquid Explosive Plot
A quote...."A Pakistani-based militant group recently identified in the media as a recipient of covert U.S. support has been linked to the alleged plot to bomb multiple trans-Atlantic flights last summer. -  According to U.S. and Pakistani intelligence sources that recently spoke to ABC News, the group, known as Jundullah, “has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials since 2005.”1"

Just remember folks....it's all simply a coincidence. - mpg
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9/11 - From The History File...New Details on F.B.I. Aid for Saudis after 9/11
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Former CIA Chief Says Cheney, Others Pushed For Iraq War
A quote...."April 27, 2007 -- The former director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) says Vice President Dick Cheney and other administration officials pushed the country to invade Iraq without "serious debate" about whether Saddam Hussein was an imminent threat."

Judge Indicts 3 U.S. Soldiers in Death of Spanish Journalist in Iraq
A quote...."MADRID, Spain A judge indicted three U.S. soldiers Friday in the 2003 death of a Spanish journalist who was killed when their tank opened fire at a hotel in Baghdad.  -  Sgt. Shawn Gibson, Capt. Philip Wolford and Lt. Col. Philip DeCamp were charged with homicide in the death of Jose Couso and ''a crime against the international community.'' This is defined under Spanish law as an indiscriminate or excessive attack against civilians during war."

See also....Fun & Torture - It's a Pleasure. 02-03-07 - mpg
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A French e-voting "catastrophe"
A quote...."One of the more controversial of America's exports has managed to unite factions from across France's political spectrum, with the major parties in France's hotly contested presidential election uniting to inform AFP that a "catastrophe" has taken place. No, I'm not talking about the opening of a new McDonald's. The catastrophe in question is an electronic voting catastrophe of the kind that occurred in a number of counties in America during this past November's mid-term elections."

2002, 2004 and 2006 deja'vu all over again.  How many of you 'wanna bet that somehow the "right wing" candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, the US Neocon's fellow traveler and a man who is a much better fit for the term the "US's poodle" than Blair, gets more votes from these machines than the "left wing" candidate Segolene Royal.
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Neocon Sarko Poised to Win French Elections
A quote...."Big choice for the French, as the 2007 election plays out with Nicolas Sarkozy on top, followed closely by Ségolène Royal. Sarkozy, billed as a “law and order” candidate, is considered the bête noire of the so-called Left, in France actually a gaggle of ineffectual and lukewarm socialists. Sarko, as he is both affectionately and derisively nicknamed, called for ethnically cleansing the banlieue of La Courneuve in June 2005 “with a Kärcher,” a well-known brand of pressure cleaning equipment, a rather remarkable comment, as he is Minister of the Interior. It is this attitude and his “circulaire Sarkozy” mandating a crack down on Muslim immigrants, that has won the favor of the neocons on the other side of the pond in America. It helps, as well, that Sarko supports the invasion and occupation of Iraq."

Royal moves into the camp of Bayrou
A quote...."Ségolène Royal, the presidential candidate of the French Socialist Party, has reacted to the April 22 election by throwing herself into the arms of François Bayrou, the candidate of the right-wing bourgeois UDF. Bayrou took third place in the first round of the presidential election with 18.6 percent of the vote, trailing Royal (25.9 percent) and the Gaullist Nicolas Sarkozy (31.2 percent)."
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Thursday April 26th 2007

Jose Padilla and the Zucchini Prosecution - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...." 04/26/07 "ICH" -- - - The case against Jose Padilla would be funny if a man’s life hadn’t been ruined in the process---but it has. The Bush administration has leapt from one absurd accusation to the next completely undisturbed by the glaring inconsistencies of their case. The prosecution’s objective is the same now as it was 5 years ago when the Chicago gang-banger was first arrested at O’ Hare Airport as an alleged “dirty bomber”, that is, keep Padilla behind bars for the rest of his life. "

Rice rebuffs congress on Iraq war subpoena
A quote...."US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signalled Thursday that she would not comply with a subpoena to appear before Congress to testify about discredited assertions on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction."

Rice is simply going to ignore a Congressional subpoena.  So much for the constitution, so much for checks and balances.  It was nice having them while they lasted.  - mpg

Regarding the two articles shown above see also....Thirty Acts to Restore Americans' Rights 11-10-06 - mpg
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Knee-deep blood in the land of make-believe
A quote...."It’s astonishing that members of Congress are either unaware George W. Bush and Dick Cheney lied the nation into war with Iraq, or they are aware of the fact and don’t care. A Congress grounded in reality would have unequivocally acknowledged the administration’s lies long ago and taken appropriate action -- almost certainly impeachment."

VIDEO: Impeach 07: Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney
A quote...."IMPEACH NOW - BRING THE BUSH REGIME TO A HALT - We gather today as Americans who cherish our Constitution. --- "Patriotism is standing for Truth. Patriotism is standing for the Constitution." (Rep. Dennis Kucinich)  ---   "The Republic is in Danger... Impeachment is Whole and Living Instrument of US Constitution. ---  When those leaders in high office violate the Constitution, the right of impeachment should prevail.

A Media Role in Selling the War? No Question.
Program Note - Must View -  Check local listings - A quote...."Perhaps the truth shall eventually set you free, but first it might make you very, very depressed. Tonight's edition of "Bill Moyers Journal" on PBS is one of the most gripping and important pieces of broadcast journalism so far this year, but it's as disheartening as it is compelling.  -  It's always depressing to learn that you've been had, but incalculably more so when the deception has resulted in thousands of Americans dying in the Iraq war effort."

Not to mention of course, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. - mpg
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Reality Check: Genuine Journalism Exposes Somali Horrors
A quote...."Yesterday we examined the egregious distortions and outright lies that Jeffrey Gettleman of the New York Times employed in whitewashing (pun fully intended) the Bush Administration's proxy war in Somalia: The Lies of the Times: NYT Pushes Bush Line on Somalia. Today, however, we are pleased to offer an antidote to Gettleman's servile perversion of reality -- a piece of honest-to-God journalism by Martin Fletcher of The Times of London."
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Thousands flee as shelling by Ethiopian tanks kills hundreds of civilians in Somali capital
A quote...."The Somali capital Mogadishu suffered some of the heaviest bombardment in nine days of fighting today, as Ethiopian tanks supporting the interim government shelled new areas of the city despite a claim by the Somali prime minister to have routed Islamist insurgents."

Clinton: US might have to confront Iran
War Update - A quote...."Democratic presidential candidate and New York Senator Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that it might be necessary for America to confront Iran militarily, addressing that possibility more directly than any of the other presidential candidates who spoke this week to the National Jewish Democratic Council."

To Ms. Clinton.....if you're going to do everything AIPAC wants, why don't you convert to Judaism, move to Israel and run for the Knesset as a member of the Likud party.  Given your unrelenting support for their objectives it would simply be more appropriate for you to run for office over there, than over here.

You could even probably get elected as Prime Minister, think of that.– mpg
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Nafeez Ahmed -"Ties With Terror: The Continuity of Western-Al-Qaeda Relations in the Post-Cold War Period" Must Read - A quote...."An accurate understanding of the history of US relations with the Afghan mujahideen who went on to join al-Qaeda’s international terrorist network is crucial to understanding the anatomy of international terrorism today.  -  I will attempt here to condense this history in order to capture some of its most striking and significant features. In doing so, I hope to demonstrate as fact a hypothesis that flies entirely in the face of the official narrative – that US relations with the mujahideen did not end with the Cold War, but on the contrary have continued to this day in the post-Cold War era; and that this subtle, hidden relationship contributes directly to the systematic undermining of national security, through the cultivation of the sources of international terrorism. Most importantly, I will show that this conclusion is based on reliable, credible sources from the public record. And further, I must emphasize, I will not delve into any form of theoretical speculation, but will concentrate solely on alerting you to verifiable information that can be subject to further investigation.

Website authors note - this was posted on 04-19-07 in the 911 history file but it's such a good essay it had to be posted as a must read.  -  mpg
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Longer Version Of Kerry WTC Clip
John Kerry on WTC7 --- 2.50 min from the end regarding "the wall" "that was in danger" and that "that they did it in a controlled fashion". - mpg

Reports confirm Canada’s complicity in Afghan state torture
A quote....“If this report is accurate, Canadians have engaged in war crimes, not only individually but also as a matter of policy”—law professor Michael Byers"

The Puppet Who Cleared the Way for Iraq's Destruction
A quote...."As defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, was driven from public life thanks to the catastrophe of Iraq, and for the moment at least lurks in obscurity. Wolfowitz, his deputy until 2005, contributed in almost equal measure to the debacle, yet managed to slide from the Pentagon into the presidency of a leading international institution with every chance to redeem himself. Blame for torture at Abu Ghraib and Guant·namo, bungling over troop levels, chaos in Iraq's reconstruction, and the general meltdown in Pentagon management has all too often been laid at Rumsfeld's door alone. However, Wolfowitz was an energetic enabler of these outrages and many other notorious initiatives."

Putin slams foreign 'interference' in Russia
A quote...."President Vladimir Putin launched a stinging attack Thursday against foreign interference in Russia and threatened to withdraw from a key defence treaty in response to a planned US anti-missile system in central Europe.  -  "There are some who are using democratic ideology to interfere in our internal affairs.... The flow of money from abroad used for direct interference in our affairs is growing," Putin told members from both houses of parliament gathered in the Kremlin."

Regarding this issue see also....Russian "Paranoia"
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Wednesday April 25th 2007

US policy takes a step closer to the abyss
Some  quotes...."Personal escalation against Sunni leaders has become a pretty clear sign of an approaching crisis." - "Obviously there is a conflict between the expressed US-Maliki program of national reconciliation, and this apparent escalation, both personal and military, against Sunni leaders and groups. Some will attribute this to vacillating US policy. Others posit a distinction between two factions of the Bush right wing, one favoring a return to Sunni control of Iraq (and finding the Allawi-coup theory, for instance, plausible), and the other favoring a Shiite-led eradication of the Sunni establishment once and for all (a position represented by the loony tunes people at the AEI and elsewhere who say that from this perspective, things are going really well, because not only the armed Sunni resistance, but the political Sunni groups as well, are falling apart). "

Walls of Apartheid: Ghettoizing Baghdad
A quote...."The world has seen America's little President declaring 'Mission accomplished' staged on a warship, geared up in a dinky flying suit (which did some strange things to his lower organs) 'milestones', the 'surge' and now the ghettoization of Baghdad. As the Nazis in Warsaw, the US in Vietnam, the Israelis in Palestine. America also plans a wall between itself and Mexico and Iraq and Saudi Arabia, reportedly to be built by the Israeli company, Zeef Belinsky, who have pioneered the new Berlin Wall between Israel and Palestine. Falluja of course was the first US experiment at 'gating' and having 'gated' this ancient city, they slaughtered the encircled with impunity. The Baghdad plan is reportedly the newest brainchild of former CIA darling Ahmed Chalabi (www.uruknet.info?p=32367) the man who also told the US administration that the invaders would be greeted with sweets and flowers."

Ahmed Chalabi again!!  The guy won't rest until Iraq is completely destroyed and he has his hands permanently wrapped around all the oil wells in the country. - mpg
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Democrats' Timetable Allows U.S. War in Sunni Region to Go On
A quote...."The language on a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq voted out of the House-Senate conference committee this week contains large loopholes that would apparently allow U.S. troops to continue carrying out military operations in Iraq's Sunni heartland indefinitely."

Four million Iraqis forced to flee their homes: UNHCR
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS: Nearly 4 million Iraqis have been forced to flee their homes in a mass exodus sparked by bloodshed, want and insecurity according to the UNHCR.  - Approximately 2 million Iraqis are now in neighbouring countries and the estimated 1.9 million Iraqis have remained displaced inside their own country, “many of them in increasingly desperate conditions,” according to UNHCR."

Mogadishu war enters second week, no let-up in sight
A quote...."MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Shelling and machine-gun fire shook the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday for an eighth day and residents fled a government offensive to crush Islamist insurgents and clan militia."

The Lies of the Times: NYT Pushes Bush Line on Somalia
A quote...."The New York Times has finally deigned to bestow prominent notice on the Bush Administration's third on-going "regime change" operation, its blood-soaked proxy war in Somalia. But it should come as no surprise that today's front page piece by Jeffrey Gettleman (People Who Feed Off Anarchy in Somalia Are Quick to Fuel It) is riddled with the same kind of slavish spin, artful omissions and outright lies that the paper produced in those glorious Judy Miller days of yore before the invasion of Iraq. One can only hope that Gettleman submits an invoice to the White House, to get his rightful due for this remarkable piece of government propaganda. For the story is permeated with the Bushist ethos: blame the victims, bury the truth, and smear all those who oppose the Leader's will."

What is wrong with the New York Times?  If they're going to support every facet of the PNAC plan, if they think it's so wonderful, one would think they'd at least have enough courage to tell their readers about the plan and what it entails for this nation. - mpg

See also....The Plan -- according to U.S. General Wesley Clark (Ret.) YouTube - 1.37 min
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British Antiterrorism Chief Warns of More Severe Qaeda Attacks
War Alert * - A quote...."LONDON, April 25 — In a somber and wide-ranging assessment of the threat facing Britain, its top counterterrorism police officer, Peter Clarke, said Tuesday night that Al Qaeda had survived “a prolonged multinational assault” and that its supporters had established “an inexorable trend towards more ambitious and more destructive attack planning.”

It appears the NYT is now fully involved with, and fully supports the MIOC's PNAC plans.

See also....MI5: Iran and Al Qaeda Planning an attack on “a par with Hiroshima and Nagasaki”
See also....Hersh Off the Rails 03-05-07 - mpg

Given the information contained in the three articles shown above, it appears there's a moderate chance of a false flag operation being carried out in the next two to four months. - mpg

* Editor's note - War Update, War Alert and War Warning refer to articles regarding the upcoming war with Iran.  In the order they appear as shown above, they  represent less serious to more serious possible threats of war. - mpg
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9/11 - From The History File...Congress Mulls the 9-11 Phoenix Memo
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Rosie Tells ABC To Screw Its 9/11 Censorship
A quote...."Offers of more money, new contract turned down by hero O'Donnell as she refuses to shut up about 9/11 ABC is reporting that it has been unable to come to a contractual agreement with Rosie O'Donnell. As a result, her hosting duties on The View will come to an end mid-June."

Pat Tillman and the “Elaborate Lies” of Psychopathic Rulers
A quote...."Lies. For the Bush neocons, they are second nature, as predictable as the sun coming up in the morning. Bush and crew lied about the events of September 11, 2001, about “al-Qaeda” in Afghanistan, about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction.  -  Pat Tillman, the football star who walked away from an NFL career to fight a manufactured enemy in Afghanistan, where he was shot dead by his own troops, was shamelessly exploited by the Pentagon, and became part of yet another lie."

Global axis of oil and gas
A quote...."Russia, officially listed as holder of 27% of the world's proven natural-gas reserves, but soon to be upgraded to 35%, and Iran hold more than 51% of the world's reserves. When Algeria, Qatar and Indonesia, the world's leaders in the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and the rest of the 16-member group comprising the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) are added in, then the grouping accounts for more than three-fourths of the world's reserves and at least 60% of world production."

Alleged Hit Man Worked at US Embassy
Some quotes...." BOGOTA, Colombia — A retired army colonel accused of conspiring to assassinate President Alvaro Uribe's most vocal critic worked for the U.S. Embassy two years ago.  -  Former Col. Julian Villate _ now employed by Alabama-based coal producer Drummond Co. Inc. _ was accused by Sen. Gustavo Petro Tuesday of trying to hire hit men in January to kill him.

And...."Villate also was accused before his embassy job _ when he was still in the military, in mid-2004 _ of spying on leaders of Cali's public employees union in what the union described as an assassination plot. That scandal was widely publicized at the time, and remains under criminal investigation."

My goodness....what a surprise.  One has to wonder what agency he worked for at the US embassy?  Anyone care to guess? – mpg
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Argentina cancels junta pardons
A quote...."A court in Argentina has cancelled pardons for human rights violations granted to two former military leaders, Jorge Videla and Eduardo Massera.  -  The court said the pardons granted in 1990 by former Argentine President Carlos Menem were unconstitutional."

Ethiopia hunts for Chinese oil workers
A quote...."Addis Ababa: Ethiopian troops searched yesterday for seven Chinese and Ethiopian workers kidnapped in a rebel attack on an oilfield that killed 74 people in a remote and barren southeastern region.  -  The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), ethnic Somalis fighting for independence since 1984, claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn raid on the Chinese-run field that was one of the worst attacks to date on Beijing's growing interests in Africa."

Major powers hint at compromise with Iran on enrichment .....[NOT]
A quote...."BRUSSELS (AP) - The United States denied Tuesday that it is considering proposals that would allow Iran to partially retain its uranium enrichment program. "We're not considering any proposals that would allow the Iranians to retain any enrichment-related activities," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. "We would hope the Iranians would take us up on the offer for negotiations, but the conditions for entering those negotiations are the same."

Iran expects new ideas from EU at talks
A quote...."Ankara: Iran said it expected the EU to float new ideas at talks yesterday to try and end a standoff over Tehran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment that the West fears could be used for nuclear weapons."

500 Terror Attacks in EU in 2006 - But Only 1 by Islamists
A quote...."There were almost 500 acts of terrorism across the European Union in 2006 -- but only one, the foiled suitcase bomb plot in Germany, was related to Islamist terror, a new EU report reveals."

U.S., Venezuelan officials clash over alleged terrorist Luis Posada
A quote...." WASHINGTON - Venezuela's ambassador to the Organization of American States on Wednesday accused Washington of protecting alleged terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, drawing a sharp reply from the lead U.S. diplomat at the session.  -  Nelson Pineda, Venezuela's envoy to the OAS, said Posada is believed to have "planned or carried out" terrorist acts in 20 of the hemisphere's 35 nations, including Cuba, Venezuela and the United States."

China beats US as Japan’s trade partner
Must Read - A quote...."China has officially displaced the US as Japan’s largest trading partner, figures revealed on Wednesday.  -  Trade with China soared in the fiscal year ended last month, with Japanese ex­ports growing 21 per cent, almost double the growth of ex­ports to the US. The record China figure reflected high demand for Japanese manufacturing inputs and greater shipments of finished products."

The East Asian countries are trading amongst themselves now.  They really don't need the US any more.. - mpg
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Toyota claims global top spot from GM
A quote...."Toyota sold more cars and trucks than General Motors in the first quarter of this year, ending the US group’s 76-year reign as the world’s largest carmaker.  -  The Japanese carmaker on Tuesday reported a 9 per cent increase in worldwide sales to 2.35m in the three months to March, compared with 2.26m units for GM."

Why Vietnam loves and hates China
A quote...."For more than 2,000 years, Vietnam's development as a nation has been marked by one fixed and immutable factor - the proximity of China. The relationship between the two countries is in many ways a family affair, with all the closeness of shared values and bitterness of close rivalries.  -  No country in Southeast Asia is culturally closer to China than Vietnam, and no other country in the region has spent so long fending off Chinese domination, often at a terrible cost in lives, economic development and political compromise.

Top Ukrainian Court Bans Early Parliamentary Poll
A quote...."Ukraine’s Supreme Administrative Court has banned holding early parliamentary elections May 27 amid the ongoing political turmoil in the former Soviet country, Russian news agency RIA-Novosti reported quoting an official statement by the Ukrainian Justice Minister."

Bank warns of increased risks to the UK's financial system
A quote...." The Bank of England issued a stark warning today that the dangers surrounding the UK's financial system have risen over the past nine months.  -  It said benign economic conditions had made banks complacent about risk-taking, some companies were loading themselves up with worryingly high levels of debt, complex credit derivatives were untested in times of turbulence and some debt-laden households were showing "signs of stress". It said the recent US sub-prime mortgage crisis was a salutary reminder of how credit risk assessment can go disastrously wrong, and how participants can be hit by sharp reductions in market liquidity.  -  In its twice-yearly Financial Stability Report, the Bank said the financial system remained "highly resilient". But it urged banks to be alert to the growing risks and take them into account. It singled out the corporate bond market and its associated derivatives market, which has exploded in size in recent years, as particularly vulnerable."

Small planet may be able to support life, astronomers say
A quote...." WASHINGTON - In a significant advance in the search for extraterrestrial life, European astronomers have discovered what they say may be the first habitable planet orbiting a nearby star.  -  They described their find as an Earthlike rocky planet that's small enough and warm enough that it might have liquid water, a necessary condition for life, on its surface.  -  With an estimated radius only 50 percent larger than Earth's, the new planet would be the smallest of about 200 such bodies that have been detected so far outside the solar system. It weighs about five times as much as Earth, apparently the lowest mass of any other known planet."

Wednesday April 25th 2007

US policy takes a step closer to the abyss
Some  quotes...."Personal escalation against Sunni leaders has become a pretty clear sign of an approaching crisis." - "Obviously there is a conflict between the expressed US-Maliki program of national reconciliation, and this apparent escalation, both personal and military, against Sunni leaders and groups. Some will attribute this to vacillating US policy. Others posit a distinction between two factions of the Bush right wing, one favoring a return to Sunni control of Iraq (and finding the Allawi-coup theory, for instance, plausible), and the other favoring a Shiite-led eradication of the Sunni establishment once and for all (a position represented by the loony tunes people at the AEI and elsewhere who say that from this perspective, things are going really well, because not only the armed Sunni resistance, but the political Sunni groups as well, are falling apart). "

Walls of Apartheid: Ghettoizing Baghdad
A quote...."The world has seen America's little President declaring 'Mission accomplished' staged on a warship, geared up in a dinky flying suit (which did some strange things to his lower organs) 'milestones', the 'surge' and now the ghettoization of Baghdad. As the Nazis in Warsaw, the US in Vietnam, the Israelis in Palestine. America also plans a wall between itself and Mexico and Iraq and Saudi Arabia, reportedly to be built by the Israeli company, Zeef Belinsky, who have pioneered the new Berlin Wall between Israel and Palestine. Falluja of course was the first US experiment at 'gating' and having 'gated' this ancient city, they slaughtered the encircled with impunity. The Baghdad plan is reportedly the newest brainchild of former CIA darling Ahmed Chalabi (www.uruknet.info?p=32367) the man who also told the US administration that the invaders would be greeted with sweets and flowers."

Ahmed Chalabi again!!  The guy won't rest until Iraq is completely destroyed and he has his hands permanently wrapped around all the oil wells in the country. - mpg
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Democrats' Timetable Allows U.S. War in Sunni Region to Go On
A quote...."The language on a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq voted out of the House-Senate conference committee this week contains large loopholes that would apparently allow U.S. troops to continue carrying out military operations in Iraq's Sunni heartland indefinitely."

Four million Iraqis forced to flee their homes: UNHCR
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS: Nearly 4 million Iraqis have been forced to flee their homes in a mass exodus sparked by bloodshed, want and insecurity according to the UNHCR.  - Approximately 2 million Iraqis are now in neighbouring countries and the estimated 1.9 million Iraqis have remained displaced inside their own country, “many of them in increasingly desperate conditions,” according to UNHCR."

Mogadishu war enters second week, no let-up in sight
A quote...."MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Shelling and machine-gun fire shook the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday for an eighth day and residents fled a government offensive to crush Islamist insurgents and clan militia."

The Lies of the Times: NYT Pushes Bush Line on Somalia
A quote...."The New York Times has finally deigned to bestow prominent notice on the Bush Administration's third on-going "regime change" operation, its blood-soaked proxy war in Somalia. But it should come as no surprise that today's front page piece by Jeffrey Gettleman (People Who Feed Off Anarchy in Somalia Are Quick to Fuel It) is riddled with the same kind of slavish spin, artful omissions and outright lies that the paper produced in those glorious Judy Miller days of yore before the invasion of Iraq. One can only hope that Gettleman submits an invoice to the White House, to get his rightful due for this remarkable piece of government propaganda. For the story is permeated with the Bushist ethos: blame the victims, bury the truth, and smear all those who oppose the Leader's will."

What is wrong with the New York Times?  If they're going to support every facet of the PNAC plan, if they think it's so wonderful, one would think they'd at least have enough courage to tell their readers about the plan and what it entails for this nation. - mpg

See also....The Plan -- according to U.S. General Wesley Clark (Ret.) YouTube - 1.37 min
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

British Antiterrorism Chief Warns of More Severe Qaeda Attacks
War Alert * - A quote...."LONDON, April 25 — In a somber and wide-ranging assessment of the threat facing Britain, its top counterterrorism police officer, Peter Clarke, said Tuesday night that Al Qaeda had survived “a prolonged multinational assault” and that its supporters had established “an inexorable trend towards more ambitious and more destructive attack planning.”

It appears the NYT is now fully involved with, and fully supports the MIOC's PNAC plans.

See also....MI5: Iran and Al Qaeda Planning an attack on “a par with Hiroshima and Nagasaki”
See also....Hersh Off the Rails 03-05-07 - mpg

Given the information contained in the three articles shown above, it appears there's a moderate chance of a false flag operation being carried out in the next two to four months. - mpg

* Editor's note - War Update, War Alert and War Warning refer to articles regarding the upcoming war with Iran.  In the order they appear as shown above, they  represent less serious to more serious possible threats of war. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

9/11 - From The History File...Congress Mulls the 9-11 Phoenix Memo
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Rosie Tells ABC To Screw Its 9/11 Censorship
A quote...."Offers of more money, new contract turned down by hero O'Donnell as she refuses to shut up about 9/11 ABC is reporting that it has been unable to come to a contractual agreement with Rosie O'Donnell. As a result, her hosting duties on The View will come to an end mid-June."

Pat Tillman and the “Elaborate Lies” of Psychopathic Rulers
A quote...."Lies. For the Bush neocons, they are second nature, as predictable as the sun coming up in the morning. Bush and crew lied about the events of September 11, 2001, about “al-Qaeda” in Afghanistan, about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction.  -  Pat Tillman, the football star who walked away from an NFL career to fight a manufactured enemy in Afghanistan, where he was shot dead by his own troops, was shamelessly exploited by the Pentagon, and became part of yet another lie."

Global axis of oil and gas
A quote...."Russia, officially listed as holder of 27% of the world's proven natural-gas reserves, but soon to be upgraded to 35%, and Iran hold more than 51% of the world's reserves. When Algeria, Qatar and Indonesia, the world's leaders in the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and the rest of the 16-member group comprising the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) are added in, then the grouping accounts for more than three-fourths of the world's reserves and at least 60% of world production."

Alleged Hit Man Worked at US Embassy
Some quotes...." BOGOTA, Colombia — A retired army colonel accused of conspiring to assassinate President Alvaro Uribe's most vocal critic worked for the U.S. Embassy two years ago.  -  Former Col. Julian Villate _ now employed by Alabama-based coal producer Drummond Co. Inc. _ was accused by Sen. Gustavo Petro Tuesday of trying to hire hit men in January to kill him.

And...."Villate also was accused before his embassy job _ when he was still in the military, in mid-2004 _ of spying on leaders of Cali's public employees union in what the union described as an assassination plot. That scandal was widely publicized at the time, and remains under criminal investigation."

My goodness....what a surprise.  One has to wonder what agency he worked for at the US embassy?  Anyone care to guess? – mpg
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Argentina cancels junta pardons
A quote...."A court in Argentina has cancelled pardons for human rights violations granted to two former military leaders, Jorge Videla and Eduardo Massera.  -  The court said the pardons granted in 1990 by former Argentine President Carlos Menem were unconstitutional."

Ethiopia hunts for Chinese oil workers
A quote...."Addis Ababa: Ethiopian troops searched yesterday for seven Chinese and Ethiopian workers kidnapped in a rebel attack on an oilfield that killed 74 people in a remote and barren southeastern region.  -  The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), ethnic Somalis fighting for independence since 1984, claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn raid on the Chinese-run field that was one of the worst attacks to date on Beijing's growing interests in Africa."

Major powers hint at compromise with Iran on enrichment .....[NOT]
A quote...."BRUSSELS (AP) - The United States denied Tuesday that it is considering proposals that would allow Iran to partially retain its uranium enrichment program. "We're not considering any proposals that would allow the Iranians to retain any enrichment-related activities," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. "We would hope the Iranians would take us up on the offer for negotiations, but the conditions for entering those negotiations are the same."

Iran expects new ideas from EU at talks
A quote...."Ankara: Iran said it expected the EU to float new ideas at talks yesterday to try and end a standoff over Tehran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment that the West fears could be used for nuclear weapons."

500 Terror Attacks in EU in 2006 - But Only 1 by Islamists
A quote...."There were almost 500 acts of terrorism across the European Union in 2006 -- but only one, the foiled suitcase bomb plot in Germany, was related to Islamist terror, a new EU report reveals."

U.S., Venezuelan officials clash over alleged terrorist Luis Posada
A quote...." WASHINGTON - Venezuela's ambassador to the Organization of American States on Wednesday accused Washington of protecting alleged terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, drawing a sharp reply from the lead U.S. diplomat at the session.  -  Nelson Pineda, Venezuela's envoy to the OAS, said Posada is believed to have "planned or carried out" terrorist acts in 20 of the hemisphere's 35 nations, including Cuba, Venezuela and the United States."

China beats US as Japan’s trade partner
Must Read - A quote...."China has officially displaced the US as Japan’s largest trading partner, figures revealed on Wednesday.  -  Trade with China soared in the fiscal year ended last month, with Japanese ex­ports growing 21 per cent, almost double the growth of ex­ports to the US. The record China figure reflected high demand for Japanese manufacturing inputs and greater shipments of finished products."

The East Asian countries are trading amongst themselves now.  They really don't need the US any more.. - mpg
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Toyota claims global top spot from GM
A quote...."Toyota sold more cars and trucks than General Motors in the first quarter of this year, ending the US group’s 76-year reign as the world’s largest carmaker.  -  The Japanese carmaker on Tuesday reported a 9 per cent increase in worldwide sales to 2.35m in the three months to March, compared with 2.26m units for GM."

Why Vietnam loves and hates China
A quote...."For more than 2,000 years, Vietnam's development as a nation has been marked by one fixed and immutable factor - the proximity of China. The relationship between the two countries is in many ways a family affair, with all the closeness of shared values and bitterness of close rivalries.  -  No country in Southeast Asia is culturally closer to China than Vietnam, and no other country in the region has spent so long fending off Chinese domination, often at a terrible cost in lives, economic development and political compromise.

Top Ukrainian Court Bans Early Parliamentary Poll
A quote...."Ukraine’s Supreme Administrative Court has banned holding early parliamentary elections May 27 amid the ongoing political turmoil in the former Soviet country, Russian news agency RIA-Novosti reported quoting an official statement by the Ukrainian Justice Minister."

Bank warns of increased risks to the UK's financial system
A quote...." The Bank of England issued a stark warning today that the dangers surrounding the UK's financial system have risen over the past nine months.  -  It said benign economic conditions had made banks complacent about risk-taking, some companies were loading themselves up with worryingly high levels of debt, complex credit derivatives were untested in times of turbulence and some debt-laden households were showing "signs of stress". It said the recent US sub-prime mortgage crisis was a salutary reminder of how credit risk assessment can go disastrously wrong, and how participants can be hit by sharp reductions in market liquidity.  -  In its twice-yearly Financial Stability Report, the Bank said the financial system remained "highly resilient". But it urged banks to be alert to the growing risks and take them into account. It singled out the corporate bond market and its associated derivatives market, which has exploded in size in recent years, as particularly vulnerable."

Small planet may be able to support life, astronomers say
A quote...." WASHINGTON - In a significant advance in the search for extraterrestrial life, European astronomers have discovered what they say may be the first habitable planet orbiting a nearby star.  -  They described their find as an Earthlike rocky planet that's small enough and warm enough that it might have liquid water, a necessary condition for life, on its surface.  -  With an estimated radius only 50 percent larger than Earth's, the new planet would be the smallest of about 200 such bodies that have been detected so far outside the solar system. It weighs about five times as much as Earth, apparently the lowest mass of any other known planet."

Tuesday April 24th 2007

Shi’ite vs. Sunni?
Must Read - A quote...."In 1609, a terrible thing happened: not terrible in the manner that great wars are terrible but in the way that opening Pandora’s Box was terrible. King James I of England discovered that dividing people on the basis of religion worked like a charm, thus sentencing the Irish to almost four centuries of blood and pain.  -  If the Bush administration is successful in its current efforts to divide Islam by pitting Shi’ites against Sunnis it will revitalize the old colonial tactic of divide and conquer, and maintain the domination of the Middle East by authoritarian elites allied with the U.S. and the international energy industry."

See also....The CONversation 09-04-06 - mpg
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We build walls, not nations
Must Read - A quote...."DAMASCUS - No British soccer players, Czech supermodels or Chinese infotainment moguls have been lining up to get a piece of the new exclusive gated territory in the global market - courtesy of Pentagon real-estate developers and lavishly promoted as The Great Wall of Adhamiyah.  -  But then, who wants to live behind a 5-kilometer-long, 3.7-meter-high concrete wall, being erected in haste by the 407th Brigade support battalion of the famed 82nd Airborne Division, currently based in sprawling Camp Taji, north of Baghdad.  -  It's being built, Dubai-style, by semi-slave labor - underpaid Iraqi crews, although the engineers and the cranes are all-American. And when it's ready, by the end of April, what's inside - the Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiyah - will look exactly its same sorry self: no cappuccino al fresco Starbucks style, no Versace outlets, no fit blondes on in-line skates."
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Curfew imposed to avert anti-wall protests
A quote...."BAGHDAD April 23 (UPI) -- The erection of a U.S. "security wall" in a Sunni district of Baghdad is set to spark additional unrest in a country already torn by widespread violence.  -  The U.S. and Iraqi forces slapped a curfew on the Adhamiya district in northern Baghdad Monday to prevent plans by the residents to hold a peaceful demonstration against the 12-foot high, 3-mile long wall around their area"

Sunnis protest against Baghdad's 'prison wall'
A quote...." Residents of a Sunni enclave of Baghdad demonstrated and shouted slogans yesterday against a newly built wall sealing off their neighbourhood from the rest of the city.  -  About 2,000 people marched through al-Adhamiyah in east Baghdad carrying banners saying that their district was being turned into "a big prison".

Army deserters to be executed - posted at ICH
A quote...."Iraqi soldiers who desert their units now face execution, according to a decree by the country’s Presidential Council.  -  The offense is the latest of nearly 200 others convicted Iraqis are to be punished with [the] death penalty." - bold/italics by website author

Isn't "freedom and democracy" under America's boot heel just thrilling....any of you other countries out there want some? All you need is some natural resource desired by the US's elites and the craven stupidity to do business with any of America's corporations....and that's all you'll need to start the ball rolling.  After that, all you'll have to do is just sit back, relax and just let our government do what it does best. - mpg
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MI5: Iran and Al Qaeda Planning an attack on “a par with Hiroshima and Nagasaki”
War Alert * - A quote...."An MI5 intelligence report leaked to the media earlier this month has revealed that the British security services fear that a major attack on Western targets may be carried out by Al Qaeda leaders with supporters in Iran."

See also....Hersh Off the Rails 03-05-07 - mpg

Given the information contained in the two articles shown above, it appears there's a moderate chance of a false flag operation being carried out in the next two to four months. - mpg

* Editor's note - War Update, War Alert and War Warning refer to articles regarding the upcoming war with Iran.  In the order they appear as shown above, they  represent less serious to more serious possible threats of war. - mpg
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Higher U.S. troop levels in Iraq likely beyond summer
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Remarks by senior U.S. commanders and officials and a change in Army deployment plans all suggest the higher level of American troops now building in Iraq is likely to remain for months beyond the summer.  -  The Bush administration has avoided predicting how long it will keep the beefed-up force of about 160,000 troops ordered by the president in January."

Bush has done it again: Somalia
A quote...."As we approach the fourth anniversary of President Bush’s ‘victory” in Iraq, it looks like–while everyone is talking about withdrawal dates and surges in Baghdad– Dubya and his cohorts have been responsible for a similar horrific disaster in Somalia, in the Horn of Africa."

74 Dead in Attack on Ethiopian Oil Field
A quote...."   Gunmen raided a Chinese-run oil field near the Somali border on Tuesday, killing 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese workers, an official of the Chinese company said. An Ethiopian rebel group claimed responsibility.  -  Seven Chinese workers were kidnapped in the morning attack at the oil installation in a disputed region of eastern Ethiopia, Xu Shuang, the general manager of Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau, told The Associated Press."

Now this wasn't in the plan - raids on the oil fields!!  This will hurt the US oil companies...........say what?  It's owned by the Chinese.....Chinese oil workers were killed.....way to go guys, whoops....ah....you bad guys (snicker) how dare you attack the Chinese...(snicker, snicker) - mpg
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Soldier: Army ordered me not to tell truth about Tillman
A quote...."WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The last soldier to see Army Ranger Pat Tillman alive, Spc. Bryan O'Neal, told lawmakers that he was warned by superiors not to divulge -- especially to the Tillman family -- that a fellow soldier killed Tillman."

Iran signs major gas deal with Austria's OMV - reports
A quote...." TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran signed a major gas development and production agreement with Austrian energy group OMV on Saturday, official Iranian media reported.  -  State radio estimated the total value of the deal at $18 billion but other Iranian media did not mention any figures.  -  OMV officials in Tehran declined comment on the reports, saying information would be made available later on Saturday."

World Powers May Relent on Iran Uranium
A quote...."ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - The United States and other world powers are willing to consider an Iranian proposal that would allow the country to keep some of its uranium enrichment program intact instead of dismantling it completely, government officials said Tuesday."

Karl Rove's Jim Crow Voter Suppression Machine is Humming Along Just Fine, All Ready for 2008
A quote...."It was an April 21st article that could easily escape your notice: "Ruling lets Arizona require proof of citizenship from voters." The first paragraph of the Associated Press story reads, "A federal appeals court on Friday rejected an attempt to halt enforcement of Arizona's first-in-the-nation requirement that all residents prove they are U.S. citizens when they first register to vote."

Selling Out to K Street Is “A Lot of Fun!”
A quote...."A few weeks ago, I took a look at U.S. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and how one man can use one committee chairmanship (in this case, the Senate Finance Committee chairmanship) to obstruct, undermine and destroy the agenda of an entire political party and progressive movement. Today, we get another example - one so egregious that it is allowing Republican senators to righteously attack Democrats as selling out to K Street lobbyists. And what, pray tell, is one senior Democrat’s response? That the whole pay-to-play culture is all just “a lot of fun.”

'Impeachment rallies' scheduled across US for Saturday
A quote...."People will call for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney at over 100 actions planned across the country on Saturday, April 28.  -  The creative actions include rallies, banner drops on freeways, "guerrilla slide shows" on the sides of New York City buildings, skywriting, and "human murals" of people spelling out "IMPEACH!" with their bodies at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, Coney Island in New York, the foot of the Washington monument in Washington, D.C., and other locations."

A Move to Impeach: Democrat Kucinich Introduces Impeachment Articles Against Cheney
A quote...."Because I believe the vice president's conduct of office has been destructive to the founding purposes of our nation. Today, I have introduced House Resolution 333, Articles of Impeachment Relating to Vice President Richard B. Cheney. I do so in defense of the rights of the American people to have a government that is honest and peaceful.  -  It became obvious to me that this vice president, who was a driving force for taking the United States into a war against Iraq under false pretenses, is once again rattling the sabers of war against Iran with the same intent to drive America into another war, again based on false pretenses."

Giuliani warns of 'new 9/11' if Dems win
A quote...."MANCHESTER, N.H. —- Rudy Giuliani said if a Democrat is elected president in 2008, America will be at risk for another terrorist attack on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001."

See also....Vote for Us or there WILL be another Attack 06-07-06 - mpg
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9/11 - From The History File...India helped FBI trace ISI-terrorist links
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India Test Fires Supersonic Cruise Missile Developed Together With Russia
A quote...."The BrahMos missile has a strike range of 290 kilometres and speed about three times that of sound, at Mach 2.823. It can carry conventional warheads weighing between 200 to 300 kilograms.  -  The 8-metre-long missile, weighing about three tons, can be launched from the ground, ships or aircraft. A submarine version of the missile is currently being developed."

U.S. Space Tourist Symonyi Returns to Earth From ISS
A quote...."U.S. space tourist Charles Simonyi returned safely to Earth on Saturday, touching down with a Russian-U.S. crew in the steppe of Central Asia the Reuters news agency reports."

Economic bloodbath required for Bush’s impeachment
A quote...."Continuous deceit and criminality in government just don’t seem to warrant a high profile trial in the United States these days, and a handful of righteous Congress people will never garner the support of their peers to get the vehicle started; much less to get anywhere with it.  -  There is, however, a sure-fire way to get Americans up in arms. All that’s needed is a reality check on the economy, and that may not be long in coming. And when that light goes on, people will forget their share of the blame, setting aside any thoughts of greed and waste, and start pointing fingers at the Bush administration that got us there. Bush could easily become the Herbert Hoover of 2008 sans the brains or the compassion, even if the recession does not go into full bloom until the November election."

Housing Bubble Boondoggle: “Is it too late to get out”? - posted at ICH
Must Read -  04/24/07 "ICH" -- -- - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson delivered an upbeat assessment of the slumping real estate market on Friday saying, "All the signs I look at" show "the housing market is at or near the bottom.”

Baloney.

Paulson added that the meltdown in subprime mortages was not a “serious problem. I think it’s going to be largely contained.”

Wrong again.

Paulson knows full well that the housing market is headed for a crash and probably won’t bounce back for the next 4 or 5 years. That’s why Congress is slapping together a bailout package that will keep struggling homeowners out of foreclosure. If defaults keep skyrocketing at the present rate they are liable to bring the whole economy down in a heap.
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Sales of existing homes plunge 8.4% in March
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of existing homes plunged at the fastest pace in 18 years in March, falling to the lowest sales pace in nearly four years, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday."

Home prices fall at fastest rate in 13 years
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. home prices continued to fall in February, with prices down 1.5% in 10 major cities compared with a year ago, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday."

Crop prices soar, push food costs up globally
A quote...."Soaring prices for farm goods, driven in part by demand for crop-based fuels, are pushing up the price of food worldwide and unleashing a new source of inflationary pressure.  -   The rise in food prices is already causing distress among consumers in some parts of the world - especially relatively poor nations such as India and China. If the trend gathers momentum, it could contribute to slower global growth by forcing consumers to spend less on other items or spurring central banks to fight inflation by raising interest rates."

UPDATE: The Sun Will Set on 50 Jobs in Baltimore
A quote...."NEW YORK Following on the heels of Tribune Co. stablemates the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, Baltimore's The Sun announced internally today a plan to cut 50 positions by buyouts or layoffs.  -  The L.A. paper faces 150 positions axed and the Tribune about 100.  -  The Sun is offering buyouts to about 15 in its newsroom, a Sun executive said Tuesday.  -  Tim Thomas, vice president of marketing for The Sun, said the cuts were not related to the recent sale of the newspaper's corporate parent, Chicago-based Tribune Co."

Morons Rule the World
A quote...."“Idiocracy”  is a film that was released in 2006 to little fanfare.  In it, Joe “average” is put into a hibernated sleep in a military experiment.  (They wanted to “freeze” a woman too, but couldn’t find one of average intelligence within the military.)  Due to a bit of government oversight, Joe wakes up--not one year later, but 500 years later.  He finds the world is run by morons.  Wait!  There are differences – really!"

TruthDig Cartoons
Fun cartoons. - mpg

'Kryptonite' discovered in mine
A quote...."Kryptonite is no longer just the stuff of fiction feared by caped superheroes.  -  A new mineral matching its unique chemistry - as described in the film Superman Returns - has been identified in a mine in Serbia."

'Gated Communities' For the War-Ravaged
A quote...."BAGHDAD -- The U.S. military is walling off at least 10 of Baghdad's most violent neighborhoods and using biometric technology to track some of their residents, creating what officers call "gated communities" in an attempt to carve out oases of safety in this war-ravaged city.  -  The plan drew widespread condemnation in Iraq this past week. On Sunday night, Prime Minister Nouri-al Maliki told news services that he would work to halt construction of a wall around the Sunni district of Adhamiyah, * which residents said would aggravate sectarian tensions by segregating them from Shiite neighbors. The U.S. military says the walls are meant to protect people, not further divide them in a city that is increasingly a patchwork of sectarian enclaves."

Work on Baghdad wall continues despite premier's opposition
A quote...." Baghdad- The construction of a three-mile wall around a Sunni neighbourhood in Baghdad continued Monday, the military spokesman for the Iraqi government said, despite Premier Nuri al- Maliki's opposition to the plan. Qassem Atta confirmed the US military's plan to form a 3.5-metre-high concrete wall to enclose Adhamiya district, where tit-for-tat sectarian violence is threatening to spiral out of control. -  He also insisted that Iraqi citizens had requested that walls be erected between neighbourhoods for security considerations, and so the work on the Adhamiya wall will continue, he told Iraqiya state television.  -  Atta also said that the defence minister had a "firm opinion" about the walls, namely that they were "temporary."

Sure they'll be temporary - just like the US's bases.....isn't that right folks? - mpg

* bold/italics by website author

Ghetto Blaster: Bush Accelerates Concrete Cage Plan for Baghdad
A quote....

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki: --- "Mr. Bush, tear down this wall!"
U.S. President George W. Bush: --- "Pound sand, raghead!"

"That just about covers the developments of the past 24 hours, from Maliki's bold declaration that he had ordered a halt to the American construction of a wall around the recalcitrant Adhamiya district of Baghdad to the American response: an announcement in the Washington Post that American forces are going to build not one but at least ten "gated communities" across the city."

Chris Floyd's take on the whole fiasco. - mpg
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Torture exposed in new US-Iraqi “security stations”
A quote...."The brutal methods being employed by US forces and the Iraqi military in the current “surge” of US military operations in Baghdad were laid bare by an article that appeared in Sunday’s New York Times. Entitled, “Three suspects talk after Iraqi soldiers do dirty work,” the piece details the torture of Sunni prisoners at one of the new American-Iraqi “security stations” set up in the capital city as part of the US plan to crush popular resistance to the occupation of Iraq."

Haditha massacre report: US commanders see killing Iraqi civilians as “cost of doing business”
A quote...."An unpublished report commissioned by the US military on the massacre carried out in the Iraqi town of Haditha by American marines in November 2005 is an unintended indictment of the entire war and occupation. In its Saturday edition, the Washington Post published an article on Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell’s report, including excerpts from the document, a copy of which the newspaper had obtained. Bargewell makes clear that indifference to the fate of Iraqi civilians is pervasive in the military high command."

On Israel, America and AIPAC
A quote...."The Bush administration is once again in the process of committing a major policy blunder in the Middle East, one that is liable to have disastrous consequences and is not receiving the attention it should. This time it concerns the Israeli–Palestinian relationship. The Bush administration is actively supporting the Israeli government in its refusal to recognize a Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas, which the US State Department considers a terrorist organization. This precludes any progress toward a peace settlement at a time when progress on the Palestinian problem could help avert a conflagration in the greater Middle East."

Wolfowitz Rewarded Iraq War Allies With Key Positions At World Bank
Some quotes...."In an attempt to diffuse the growing controversy surrounding his tenure at the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz asked his critics not to associate him with his previous position of having led the nation into the Iraq war:"

And...."But Wolfowitz has allowed his previous position to influence his management at the World Bank. He secured an exorbitant salary for his girlfriend Shaha Riza, who “reinforced Wolfowitz’s resolve” to invade Iraq. Moreover, of five top Bank officials appointed by Wolfowitz, three were senior political appointees of governments that provided strong backing for U.S. policy in Iraq:"

See also....It's a Small World After All - 04-20-07 - mpg
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U.S. Congress set to defy Bush on Iraq war
Editors special note : Nice title.....read the highlited fine print first. This is the same old bill folks, there's been no change.

A quote...."WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - A fight between the U.S. Congress and President George W. Bush over the Iraq war is set to come to a head this week when Democrats are expected to send him $100 billion to pay for continuing combat while setting timetables for withdrawing troops.  -  Bush has promised to veto any bill setting dates for removing U.S. combat soldiers from the Iraq war, now in its fifth year.  -  But when a Democratic-controlled panel of Senate and House of Representatives members meets on Monday to iron out differences between their respective bills, the product is expected to contain 2008 withdrawal dates.  -  Many lawmakers have been speculating those dates might be nonbinding, as sketched out by a Senate-passed bill."

Bush doesn't have to withdraw until 2008, and even that date is just a suggestion. - mpg

See also....The Fake Fight Over the Iraq War - That Was an Antiwar Vote?
See also....Where Are The Democrats?
See also....158 Democrats Gone, and Counting (Take That You Weasels)!
See also....Mommy Pelosi and Daddy Bush - 11-18-06 - mpg
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Neolib Rulers Hail Dead Pathocrat Yeltsin
A quote...."On and on the sickening plaudits ensue, and quite predictably, considering the source. Not one word of truth from our mendacious rulers concerning the former construction boss from Butka, who assumed room temperature the other day. Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, the first president of the Russian Federation, was a quite useful, if often drunk, tool for the international bankers and “free trade” looters who greedily carved up the former Soviet Union with the help of Mikhail Gorbachev, who “won” the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. In fact, due largely to his simian character, Yeltsin was a near perfect choice for the likes for the IMF, World Bank, and the U.S. Treasury Department as they went about carrying out the “Washington Consensus” or “shock therapy.” It hardly mattered Yeltsin’s cronies and toadies made off with most of the money, while other bureaucrats, mostly former communist party members gone neolib, engaged in record rates of bribery and corruption."

Challenger 2 tank hit in roadside blast
A quote...."A heavily armoured British tank has been badly damaged for the first time by a roadside bomb in Iraq.  -  The Challenger 2, a 62-ton vehicle which is among the best-protected tanks in the world, was hit by the device during a routine patrol in Basra."

Imperial Illiteracy
A quote...."Jay Leno may think his cruel if revealing street interviews of how little Americans know about their history is trademark Tonight Show stuff. Geography teachers may agonize over the fact that despite four years of war, 63 percent of Americans can’t find Iraq or Saudi Arabia on a map, 75 percent can’t find Israel or Iran, and 88 percent can’t find Afghanistan, graveyard to 381 American soldiers since 2001. But ignorance is an old American tradition that makes you wonder how the nation got to be so powerful and unrivaled — or whether knowledge is, all told, overrated."

See also....Why are the American so clever? Did you say stupid? - YouTube video - 9min 7sec
Now this seems a little cruel....but sometimes you've gotta say to yourself....what the heck and just post it.  While you watch the tape just keep saying to yourself - several hundred thousand dead Middle Easterners so far along with over three thousand Americans. - mpg
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Humanity Under Attack: The Tactics Of Social Engineering
A quote...."The history of humanity has been one long stream of free human beings fighting against despotic tyrants; the tribe, and the families within it defending themselves against oppression. Today, the western world is falling into the depths of tyranny mirroring Orwell’s 1984, and a predatory system is being erected. In the event that you, your friends, family, and the rest of the general population are successfully convinced that selfish needs outweigh those of others, are robbed of individuality, passion, empathy and principle, the fabric of society disintegrates. In this social climate, the perfect environment is created for predators from within our own species to misdirect and finally enslave the distracted, decadent population. Corrupt politicians are venerated, celebrity worshipped, and security outweighs the desire for liberty. Mindless worship of power, support of dictators and their atrocities, general degradation of society, loss of liberty; it all stems from you not respecting yourself, not retaining your sense of individuality, and in turn the fire that beats in your breast for FREEDOM."

Constant Conflict
[A look behind the philosophy and practice of Americas push for domination of the worlds economy and culture. First published From Parameters, Summer 1997, pp. 4-14: US Army War College]

A quote...."There will be no peace. At any given moment for the rest of our lifetimes, there will be multiple conflicts in mutating forms around the globe. Violent conflict will dominate the headlines, but cultural and economic struggles will be steadier and ultimately more decisive. The de facto role of the US armed forces will be to keep the world safe for our economy and open to our cultural assault. To those ends, we will do a fair amount of killing."

Practically lifted VERBATIM from the 1992-DPG, A Clean Break for Israel,  and PNAC

Some more quotes...."We live in an age of multiple truths."  --  "In the past, information empowerment was largely a matter of insider and outsider, as elementary as the division of society into the literate and illiterate"  --  "Historically, ignorance was bliss. Today, ignorance is no longer possible, only error."  --  "Ours is also the first culture that aims to include rather than exclude. The films most despised by the intellectual elite--those that feature extreme violence and to-the-victors-the-spoils [of] sex--are our most popular cultural weapon, bought or bootlegged nearly everywhere."  --  "We are building an information-based military to do that killing. There will still be plenty of muscle power required, but much of our military art will consist in knowing more about the enemy than he knows about himself, manipulating data for effectiveness and efficiency, and denying similar advantages to our opponents. "

For more on this see....1984 - mpg
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The GOP's cyber election hit squad
Related Article - A quote...." Did the most powerful Republicans in America have the computer capacity, software skills and electronic infrastructure in place on Election Night 2004 to tamper with the Ohio results to ensure George W. Bush's re-election? "

They Call This The News?
Related article - Some quotes...."When cable and network news ignore most of the world and sanitize much of the death and mayhem...."  -  "When the cable and broadcast networks salivate endlessly over the sensational...."  -  "And when journalists compensate for lack of original reporting by simply putting on loud-talking representatives of opposing viewpoints, they obscure the facts and blur the truth."

"There is considerable evidence that Karl Rove and the Bush Administration have long known how to exploit this. One of my favorite examples, reported by Ron Susskind in the October 2004 New York Times magazine, is of an exchange he had with a “senior adviser” to the president. That adviser sneered at what he called the “reality-based community” represented by Susskind and his questions."

”That’s not the way the world really works anymore,” he reportedly told Susskind. ”We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.” - bold/italics by website author.
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John Kerry: Building 7 Was Deliberately Demolished
A quote...."At a recent speaking engagement in Austin Texas, Senator John Kerry responded to a question about WTC Building 7 by concluding that according to his information, the building was brought down as a result of a controlled demolition, directly contradicting the official line that the structure fell as a result of fire and debris damage."

Scientists want to put hormones in baby food 'to beat obesity'
They'll just never stop messing with the food supply, will they? - mpg

Blackwater Plans for New Military Facility Near San Diego Draws Fire From Residents
Interview - A quote...."The private security firm Blackwater USA is planning to build a new military training center on an 800-acre ranch near Potrero, a tiny rural town east of San Diego. The project, known as Blackwater West, is being opposed by a growing coalition of local residents, environmentalists and peace activists."  -  "We speak with Rep Bob Filner who is exploring legislation to block the project as well as one of the local organizers and journalist Jeremy Scahill, author of "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army."
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After strong growth, world economy at a “turning point”
A quote...."The latest reports on the state of the world economy by both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank paint a picture of a global boom, the like of which has not been seen in almost four decades. -  The IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO), published earlier this month, predicts that the average world growth rate of 4.9 percent in the period 2003-2006 will continue at least for the next two years. According to IMF statistics, the only stronger spurt was the period 1970-1973, when world growth averaged 5.4 percent. If the current rate is sustained it will represent the most powerful six-year expansion of the world economy in the period since 1970."

McCain v. Sa'di
A quote...."I once admired Senator John McCain. We even appeared together 16 years ago on a national radio call-in show.....","Alas, I don't recognize the McCain of late, especially this past month amid his "Straight Talk" campaign to be President. His "April Fool's Day" Alice-in-Wonderland tour of Iraq was bad enough. His comments last week at a South Carolina VFW rally hit an even lower "note." Challenged with an uber-hawk question about "when are we going to send an air message to Iran," McCain started by singing the version of the famous Beach Boys tune, "Barbara Ann" with a few bars of "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb..." (Iran.)"

Let's Bomb Iran! - Google video - 3min 7sec
More regarding the McCain controversy - from the post shown above - unbelivably this was posted 04-10-06. - mpg

Sunday April 22nd 2007

No posts - mpg

Saturday April 21st 2007

Where the Dead Rot in the Streets: Bush's Terror War in Somalia Rages On
Must Read - A quote...."As sure as night follows day, when George W. Bush backs a "regime change" invasion of a country, you will see headlines like this: "Corpses Rotting in the Streets." We see it every day in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we are seeing it again in Somalia – the third nation-breaking operation launched under the rubric of Bush's "War on Terror."  See also....The Plan -- according to U.S. General Wesley Clark (Ret.) YouTube - 1.37 min

Week's toll may hit 1,000 as bombs pound Somali capital
A quote...." Shells pounded Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, yesterday, killing at least 73 people to swell a death-toll already in the hundreds after battles pitting militias and Islamists against Somali and Ethiopian troops.  -  The escalating war has also sent more than 321,000 residents fleeing in the biggest refugee movement in Somalia since the 1991 fall of a dictator ushered in 16 years of anarchy. The UN and aid agencies say the exodus is creating a humanitarian catastrophe, with diseases already spreading."

Pork and Piggy Banks: U.S. Defense Contractor Campaign Contributions and Political Influence
Must Read - Multiple Resources -  A quote...."Total U.S. Department of Defense prime contracts increased from $144.6 billion in FY 2001 to $294.9 billion in FY 2006, a 103.9 percent growth, according to a report by William D. Hartung and Frida Berrigan of the World Policy Institute.  The five largest—Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and Raytheon—received a total of $84 billion in defense contracts in FY 2006."

Check out Halliburton's 1,325.2% percent increase in government contracts from 2001-2006 !! - mpg

Wealth Creates Poverty? - 1hr - Google Video
Must View Video  - 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.  -  OCTOBER 9, 2002, VANCOUVER: Dr. Michael Parenti, one of North America's leading radical writers on U.S. imperialism and interventionism, fascism, democracy and the media, spoke to several hundred people at St. Andrews Wesley Church in Vancouver."

Latest US Solution to Iraq’s Civil War: A Three-Mile Wall
A quote...."“This will make the whole district a prison. This is collective punishment on the residents of Azamiyah,” said Ahmed al-Dulaimi, a 41-year-old engineer who lives in the area. “They are going to punish all of us because of a few terrorists here and there.”  -  “We are in our fourth year of occupation and we are seeing the number of blast walls increasing day after day, suffocating the people more and more,” al-Dulaimi said in an interview."

What Israel did to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Palestinians; the US intends to do to Baghdad and the Iraqis. – mpg
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Hypocrisy: Thy Name Is Bush
A quote...."George W. Bush likes to present the “war on terror” as a clear-cut moral crusade in which evildoers who kill innocent civilians must be brought harshly to justice, along with the leaders of countries that harbor terrorists. There are no grays, only blacks and whites.  -  But evenhanded justice is not the true core principle of the Bush Doctrine. The real consistency is hypocrisy: violence which Bush favors – no matter how wanton the slaughter of innocents – is justifiable, while violence that goes against Bush’s interests – even an insurgency against a foreign military occupation – must be punished without remorse as “terrorism.”
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9/11 - From The History File...Bush, bin Laden, BCCI and the 9/11 Commission
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Betraying Thomas Jefferson
A quote...."The enemies of the Constitution are growing in number and are to be found now, not just in the White House and the Congress, but also in state capitals, from Washington to Vermont.  -  Not only do we have a president and vice president who are almost daily undermining and rending at the fabric of the Constitution. Not only do we have Democratic Party leaders actively barring the party’s elected representatives from standing up to the president by submitting bills of impeachment, as called for in the Constitution.  -  We now have Democratic Party leaders in state legislatures betraying Founder Thomas Jefferson, by sabotaging grassroots efforts to get joint legislative resolutions passed demanding the start of impeachment proceedings in the House.

YouTube deletes video of McCain singing 'Bomb Iran'
Some quotes...."YouTube confirmed Friday that it had erroneously deleted and would restore a video of presidential candidate John McCain singing an impromptu ditty about starting a war with Iran."

And...."But the clip was deleted by YouTube, which is owned by Google. A spokesman for YouTube, who asked that his name not appear in this article, said, "We appreciate the prompt feedback * from our community regarding the McCain video. It was flagged by our users, we reviewed it and it was mistakenly removed. We have examined the situation and have since reinstated the video." - * bold/italics by website author.

You bet it was "prompt". By the way what does "erroneously" mean ?  They took it off under pressure from the White House and didn't think anyone would notice - or- it was an "accident"? - mpg
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As WMR has a number of readers in France, we are endorsing Socialist candidate Segolene Royal
A quote...."April 21-22, 2007 -- As WMR has a number of readers in France, we are endorsing Socialist candidate Segolene Royal in tomorrow's first round presidential election.  -  Neo-cons around the world have been routed from power, are being held in check, or are being marginalized politically. Now is not the time for France to counter this trend by electing an arch-neocon, Nicolas Sarkozy, as president. Sarkozy's candidacy and so-called "front runner" status is currently being hyped by all the global neocon media outlets: Sky News, Fox, and the rest. Sarkozy would turn France into a client state of the neocons, much in the same way that Silvio Berlusconi carried out the neocons' wishes in Italy and Jose Maria Aznar took their orders in Spain. Berlusconi and Aznar are now gone."

War and the Police State: Complicity of the American People
A quote...."In this era of perpetual warfare, escalating domestic tyranny, government-sanctioned torture, and a Nazi-like pursuit of Middle-East domination, one would expect, at the very least, an audible outcry from the People who proclaim resolute devotion to the ideals of liberty and justice for all. Yet for the most part, Mainstream America continues to assume a posture of apathy, bitterness, or eery silence."

The "Fox" (Gonzales) Promises To Investigate Hen [Chicken] Disappearances
A quote...."The thing we must remember about people who ABUSE power is they do not volunteer to give it up. It's not just Gonzales, look at what's going on with Wolfowitz at the same time, with the entire World Bank staff in open revolt. So if Gonzales has not resigned by the time you read this, please contact your members of Congress and push them to speak out, to tell Gonzales it's time to go."

White House insiders: Gonzales hurt himself before panel
A quote...."WASHINGTON (CNN) -- White House insiders tell CNN that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales hurt himself during testimony before a Senate committee Thursday on the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.  -  The sources, involved in administration discussions about Gonzales, told White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux that two senior level White House aides who heard the testimony described Gonzales as "going down in flames," "not doing himself any favors," and "predictable."

Hired Gun at the Helm: Justice Unhinged
A quote...."04/20/07 "ICH  " -- - -As US attorney general (AG) Alberto Gonzales testifies before Congress this week, let’s understand the reasons why the dismissal of 8 well-respected US attorneys is a matter of grave public concern. The facts revealed thus far certainly suggest that the executive branch has intruded on the independence of the federal judiciary, partisan politics has subverted the rule of law at the Department of Justice, and, as a result, the legitimacy of the enforcement of federal law has been soiled."

Key Initiative Of 'No Child' Under Federal Investigation
A quote...."The Justice Department is conducting a probe of a $6 billion reading initiative at the center of President Bush's No Child Left Behind law, another blow to a program besieged by allegations of financial conflicts of interest and cronyism, people familiar with the matter said yesterday."

To Russia, With Hate
A quote...."The hate campaign against Vladimir Putin's Russia is really quite extraordinary, not only on account of its relentless ferocity but also because of its brazen reliance on rumor, exaggeration, and – all too often – utter falsehood. Take this piece by Cathy Young, recently downsized out of her longtime perch at the Boston Globe and relegated to the relatively obscure pages of Reason magazine, wherein she retails the latest anti-Russian hysterics:"

See also....Russian "Paranoia
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State to Decide Who is a “Dangerously Unstable” Person
A quote...."Recall the establishment of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in April 2002 and its “recommendations” issued in July, 2003. Bush’s commission found that “despite their prevalence, mental disorders often go undiagnosed” and the way to address this so-called problem was to screen “consumers of all ages,” especially preschool children, for mental problems, or what mental health “professionals” and drug company executives consider mental problems. “Each year, young children are expelled from preschools and childcare facilities for severely disruptive behaviors and emotional disorders.” According to the commission, schools are in a “key position” to screen the 52 million students and 6 million adults who work at the schools."

"The commission commended the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP) as a “model” medication treatment plan that “illustrates an evidence-based practice that results in better consumer outcomes,” in other words, more people on expensive antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs, the sort of drugs that worked so well in Cho Seung-Hui’s case."
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'L.A.Times' to Lose 150 Jobs Next Week
A quote...."LOS ANGELES About 150 jobs at the Los Angeles Times are expected to be cut next week amid a recent earnings report from parent Tribune Co. that show slumping revenue, the newspaper reported.  -  The cuts, expected to be announced Monday, would constitute more than 5 percent of the work force and include 70 newsroom positions, unnamed Los Angeles Times executives said Friday in a story posted on the newspaper's Web site."

Friday April 20th 2007

Training Iraqi troops no longer driving force in U.S. policy
Must Read - A quote...."WASHINGTON - Military planners have abandoned the idea that standing up Iraqi troops will enable American soldiers to start coming home soon and now believe that U.S. troops will have to defeat the insurgents and secure control of troubled provinces."

Is the US Already at War With Iran?
A quote...."Until the recent tragic massacre on the campus of Virginia Tech, the media’s previous obsession was covering what was undoubtedly the most important story since the paternity test results were revealed for Anna Nicole Smith’s baby: Don Imus, the favored "shock jock" of the Washington political establishment, is something of a bigot. Of course, this isn’t news to anyone who has paid passing attention to the man over the past few years, but it did provide national news outlets with a much-needed excuse to avoid reporting on all of those depressing stories from Iraq, which are just too much of a distraction from the truly important work that remains to be done in this country – like electing the next American Idol."

Sunnis, Shiites unite to oppose divisive wall
A quote...."A US military brigade is building a five-kilometre concrete wall to cut off one of Baghdad's most restive Sunni districts from the Shiite neighbourhoods that surround it, raising concern about the further Balkanisation of Iraq's most violent city."

See also.... Robert Fisk: Divide and rule - America's plan for Baghdad
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Army Ordered Tillman Information Lockdown
A quote...."Within hours of Pat Tillman’s death, the Army went into information-lockdown mode, cutting off phone and Internet connections at a base in Afghanistan, posting guards on a wounded platoon mate, and ordering a sergeant to burn Tillman’s uniform."

Think of what the government did with all that World Trade Center steel they quickly disposed of, or all the video tapes they won't let us see, or the eighteen pages they redacted from the 911 commission report regarding the Saudi Royals complicity, or the thousands of other pieces of evidence they've buried or destroyed.

In the Tillman case the government promptly and without a moments hesitation tried to cover up what actually happened.  They did so "within hours of Pat Tillman's death". Hundreds if not thousands of people knowingly helped the military prevent the truth from coming out regarding what actually happened, without remorse and without any sense of shame or a conscience they willingly participated in the lie.

Every single case of malfeasance, murder or mayhem in Iraq that has been exposed so far, was eventually discovered to be connected with some sort of attempted cover-up.  Think about that for a moment....every single case revealed so far was preceded by an attempted cover-up.

Every single one.

Pat Tillman died because of what his government now belatedly describes as a case of  "friendly fire".

There was nothing "friendly" about 9/11.  - mpg
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Kucinich Blasts Democrats
A quote...."Not everyone was celebrating the passage of the Iraq spending bill on Friday. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, told Truthdig"   ---  "It’s a disaster for the American people. The Democrats should have been voting—or come up with a plan to get out of Iraq. Not one that’s going to keep us there a year or two. It’s the same kind of thinking that led us into Iraq—that we didn’t have any alternatives. It’s the same thing that caused the Democrats to construct a plan that will keep us there at least for a year, and saying, well, we don’t have any other alternatives. I can tell you something, we could have come up with a plan that would have called for the troops to come home in the next few months. But we didn’t do that, so I, no one can tell me it’s a time for celebration. It’s a disaster."

Democrats Nearly Erase GOP Money Edge
A quote...."WASHINGTON — National Democrats have nearly eliminated the fundraising advantage that their Republican rivals have had since campaign finance laws were changed five years ago."

The TRUEST measure of the DemoRepub's success, they're now collecting almost as many bribes as the RepubDemos. - mpg
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Vermont Votes to Impeach
A quote...."The Vermont Senate voted 16-9 Friday morning to urge the state's congressional delegation to introduce and support articles of impeachment against President Bush and Vice President Cheney.  -  Dozens of communities across the country -- including forty towns in Vermont -- have urged that Congress begin the process of impeaching and removing Bush and Cheney. But this is the first time that a state legislative chamber has done made the call."

Milking the Mayhem and Baiting for More: Inside the Mind of the Media
A quote...."Time now for a commercial sponsored by American Media Whores:

"Terrorists... Mass murderers... Tired of feeling isolated? Sick of being unknown? Not wanting to commit that massacre for fear no one will know? Well your dreams of martyrdom have finally been answered.  COMMIT YOUR CRIME IN AMERICA, where American Media Whores promise you'll NEVER be forgotten. They'll broadcast your every move. For weeks. Months. Even years. Your universal martyrdom will exceed your wildest dreams!"
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Gates says U.S. to sell smart bombs to Saudis
A quote...."U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during his visit to Israel that Washington has decided to sell Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs to Saudi Arabia, Haaretz has learned.  -  A recent discussion in Washington raised the possibility that Jerusalem would ask the U.S. not to sell the satellite-guided smart bombs to the Saudis, but it was decided to reject this request."

Posada Carriles: terrorist who killed 73 in plane bombing walks free
A quote...."A cell door in New Mexico swung open Thursday and Luis Posada Carriles—a man wanted for an act of terrorist mass murder—went free, making his way to Miami escorted by US Marshals and his lawyer.  -  So much for the Bush doctrine. Washington is now openly harboring a terrorist who murdered 73 people by organizing the planting of a bomb on a civilian airliner in 1976. The Cuban passenger plane, which had originated in Venezuela, blew up over the Caribbean waters of Barbados. At that time, it constituted the most deadly act of terrorism ever carried out in the Western Hemisphere."

Australia's epic drought: The situation is grim
A quote...." Australia has warned that it will have to switch off the water supply to the continent's food bowl unless heavy rains break an epic drought - heralding what could be the first climate change-driven disaster to strike a developed nation.  -  The Murray-Darling basin in south-eastern Australia yields 40 per cent of the country's agricultural produce. But the two rivers that feed the region are so pitifully low that there will soon be only enough water for drinking supplies. Australia is in the grip of its worst drought on record, the victim of changing weather patterns attributed to global warming and a government that is only just starting to wake up to the severity of the position."

Too close to call as France prepares to go to the polls
A quote...." France will usher in a new era of change in presidential elections tomorrow in which voters are to choose a successor to President Jacques Chirac.  -  Two main candidates, the conservative former minister Nicolas Sarkozy, and the Socialist former minister Ségolène Royal, have remained steady as the voters' most popular choice to go forward into the decisive second round after tomorrow's first round narrows the field.  -  But experienced French pollsters and commentators point out that given the high number of undecided voters on the eve of the election - roughly one third of the 44 million strong electorate - there could still be a big surprise that could catapult one of the other two candidates into the second round. On the eve of the election, with the polls pointing in different directions, the first round is too close to call."

Russian "Paranoia"
Some quotes...."    It doesn't matter that the Russian opposition is an extreme minority in public opinion: it apparently still scares the Kremlin. -  The virulence of the repression of two demonstrations this weekend in Moscow, then St. Petersburg, attests to the nervousness that's taken hold in Russian corridors of power at the approach of the legislative elections in December and presidential elections next March.

And....   ".... the Kremlin wants to control everything and leave no room for maneuver to the slightest opposition.  -  Whether it's attributable to the Master of the Kremlin or his entourage, this paranoia risks creating dangers where there aren't any. It can't guide the policy of a country like Russia for yet another year."
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It's a Small World After All
04-20-07
mpg

Wolfowitz Backed Friend for Iraq Contract in ’03
Some quotes...."WASHINGTON, April 19 — Paul D. Wolfowitz, while serving as deputy secretary of defense, personally recommended that his companion, Shaha Ali Riza, be awarded a contract for travel to Iraq in 2003 to advise on setting up a new government, says a previously undisclosed inquiry by the Pentagon’s inspector general."

"The inquiry, as described by a senior Pentagon official, concluded that there was no wrongdoing in Mr. Wolfowitz’s role in the hiring of Ms. Riza by the Science Applications International Corporation...."

That's right SAIC hired her....also known as spook central, the US's plumbers,  or the retirement home of the CIA.  Heck just look at it's name....it's CIA'S spelled backwards.  See also.....SAIC Corp Watch search list .  By the way guess who was a SAIC board member....Robert Gates of course.

Oh but it gets better....

And...."Earlier this week, a spokeswoman for SAIC said the company was told to contract with Ms. Riza by an official in the office of the under secretary of defense for policy, then headed by Douglas J. Feith."

Yep, that's THE Douglas J Feith, the master of "yellow cake" (Down Karl, down boy),  the man who claimed there was a connection between Saddam and al-Qaida and who was also a contributor to the now infamous document called "a clean break", a polemic which openly advocated war as a policy for the Middle East.

After reading this, a person might be forgiven if they began singing "it's a small world after all". - mpg

PS: Congratulations to the NYT for printing an article which actually connected some "dots".
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9/11 - From The History File...Al Qaeda terrorist worked with FBI Ex-Silicon Valley resident plotted.....
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McCain Blows His Nose Then Loses His Mind
A quote...."As an audience member asks a question, John McCain blows his nose long and hard.

It seems he lost a little gray matter on the kleenex. When asked when the US military might “send an air mail message to Tehran.” He responded by attempting to sing a revision of the Beach Boys song “Barbara Ann”:

    “‘Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran.”
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Thursday April 19th 2007

Loup de Loup: The Deeper Darkness Behind the Wolfowitz Scandal
Must Read - Sidney Blumenthal hands the Howlin' Wolf of the World Bank his lupine head in this Salon piece, Wolfowitz's Girlfriend Problem, which, despite the title, does an excellent job of reiterating the many ways that Wolfowitz's "problems" -- including the lasting damage he has helped inflict upon the American republic and the Iraqi people -- go far beyond the greasy deals he procured for his neocon squeeze. Blumenthal also eviscerates the myth that still persists, even among some "progressives," that Wolfowitz is some kind of deep-thinking idealist -- misguided perhaps, but sincere in his zealous commitment to democracy -- instead of what he is and most patently has been throughout his very long career in the bowels of the Beltway: an amoral, power-grubbing backroom operator, a "willing executioner" of heinous plans for loot and domination. Jon Schwarz nailed it solid last week with this summation of L'Affaire De Loup:"

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Is The CIA Trying to Kill Hugo Chávez?
Must Read - A quote...."04/19/07 "ICH  " -- -- "I want to kill that son of a bitch," said the Capitan of the Venezuelan National Guard, Thomas Guillen in a recorded telephone call with his wife. In the call, played on Venezuela's state TV channel last month, the Capitan reveals his and his father's plans to kill President Hugo Chávez. The next day, the Capitan and his father, retired General Ramon Guillén Dávila, were arrested and taken into custody for conspiring to kill the President of Venezuela. [1]"

Bringing Down the House of Lies: The Final "Leg" of the Journey
Must Read - A quote...."It’s a bit of a mixed feeling to realize that millions and millions of people who didn’t get this distinction two, four or six years ago now understand that the “political’ issues we now face aren’t about right and left, they’re about right and wrong. On one hand, what took you so long? On the other, thank God and welcome aboard.  -  Although the media has downplayed it -- it doesn’t fit with the general stupidization program of creating a lot of heat but very little light -- more and more actual conservatives and even members of the religious right are coming to see the Bush-Cheney regime as a rogue administration and a thin cover for criminal enterprise. Such right wing stalwarts as former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr and Richard Viguerie (one of the architects of the far right wing) have formed an organization to protect our civil liberties from our own government. Chuck Baldwin, an associate of Jerry Falwell, has become an open advocate of impeachment and writes a very articulate column. These folks are far bolder than the Democrats in this regard, and they will play a key role when impeachment happens -- and it will."

'So Many Wrongs To Right': [video of] Helen Thomas At McDaniel College
Video - A quote....“How primitive can you get to start a new century with a war--a war of choice? We have a President [George W. Bush Jr.] who decided to attack a country that did nothing to us. I say: ‘Cry the beloved country!’ So, we have so many wrongs to right before our country gets back its honor. Hopefully, the American people will not accept this President’s primitive drive for war without end. What can he be thinking? More than that: Why do Americans tolerate such a dumbing down of our country? The American people will soon say: Enough is enough! It is wrong to ask the ultimate sacrifice of friend and foe without a good reason--an acceptable reason. We have yet to hear the real reason why we went into Iraq. I say: Truth took a holiday!”

Hitting bottom doesn't have to be bad, since that's where all the bounce is!
A quote...."We can thank AA folks for the "hitting bottom" concept and from that perspective hitting bottom is more of a plus than a minus.  -  Why? Because UNTIL you hit bottom you're living in the Kingdom of Denial and the huge majority of Americans (this writer included) were living in national denial seven years ago.  -  However, thanks to the limitless greed of the Bush/Republicans, millions of us have discovered something which was always true, but was too depressing to acknowledge: the United States of American is (and always has been) a Dictatorship of the Rich. This might just as well be the Middle Ages since 1% of the county live like Greek Gods and treat us like cattle. We pay the taxes, fight their greed and/or religious fanaticism wars, and clean their commodes. They should be wearing crowns and robes and we should be barefoot."

American Dream Now a Nightmare for Millions
A quote...."U.S. Census: One in Five Lives on Less than $7 per day"  -  New Haven, Connecticut (April 16, 2007) From Combined News Services and Evolution Solutions Newsroom -- A 2004 analysis of data by the US Census reports that 60 million Americans now live on less than $7 per day. That's one in five in the U.S. living on less than $2,555 per year. At the same time, the richest 1 per cent now garners about 16 per cent of national income, double what they earned in the 1960s.[1]

"I HOPE IT'S YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS THAT DIE" - US Representative Dana Rohrabacker
A quote...."Rohrabacher said if European countries did not cooperate with the United States and go along with whatever the Bush administration wanted, they were condemning their countrymen to death by not using extralegal methods to imprison terrorist suspects. When citizens attending the hearing, including members of Codepink Women for Peace and Veterans for Peace, heard Rohrabacher’s statement, they collectively groaned. Then, much to the shock and disbelief of everyone in the hearing room, Rorhbacker said to those who had expressed displeasure at his statements: "I hope it’s your family members that die when terrorists strike." -  US Representative Dana Rohrabacker
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9/11 - From The History File..."OSAMAGATE"
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The Jundullah Phenomenon
A quote...."So is it an Al-Qaeda linked terror group, that is being funded by USA to attack Iran, as recent reports suggest? Or is it Mujahideen - e - Khalq (MEK), as others point out, which has been claiming responsibility in the name of Jundullah, allegedly under CIA advice?"
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Time for PBS to Go?
Must Read - A quote...."PBS is broadcasting what amounts to a neoconservative propaganda series entitled “America at a Crossroads,” which has included a full hour info-mercial for George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq written and narrated by Richard Perle, one of the war’s architects."

Many people thought PBS was getting better, it turns out we were all wrong.  Except for the one show listed below PBS is sliding downhill fast. - mpg
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'Devastating' Moyers Probe of Press and Iraq Coming
Program Note - Some quotes...."NEW YORK The most powerful indictment of the news media for falling down in its duties in the run-up to the war in Iraq will appear next Wednesday, a 90-minute PBS broadcast called “Buying the War,” which marks the return of “Bill Moyers Journal.” E&P was sent a preview DVD and a draft transcript for the program this week."

And...."Among the few heroes of the film are reporters with the Knight Ridder/McClatchy bureau in D.C. Tragically late, Walter Isaacson, who headed CNN, observes, “The people at Knight Ridder were calling the colonels and the lieutenants and the people in the CIA and finding out, you know, that the intelligence is not very good. We should’ve all been doing that.”
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Two on trial over Al Jazeera memo
A quote...."A government official and a former political researcher from Britain have stood trial for allegedly leaking a classified memo in which the US president reportedly referred to bombing Al Jazeera's TV station in Qatar.  -  David Keogh and Leo O'Connor, both are accused of violating secrets laws by disclosing a document relating to 2004 talks between George Bush and Tony Blair, the British prime minister."

You have to understand, when the US President discusses false flag operations with Blair, like painting U-2s in UN colors hoping to get them shot down over Iraq, or bombing al-Jazeera offices in Qatar (a country by the way that the US is not currently at war with....yet) and it's leaked by someone, naturally they have to be punished.  After all such leaks embarrass our "leaders".

One has to imagine what would happen to someone if they leaked something really juicy, regarding for instance, the British government's involvement with the 07-07-05 London bombings, or perhaps the US government's involvement with 9/11.

Thank God the US doesn't have a British style official "secrets" (crimes) act.....yet.  Instead our government is still relying on our laughably incompetent, hysterically inept, ridiculously obvious,  "mass-media" to keep their criminal acts from being exposed, a job our mass-media, despite it's overwhelming reach and the fact it's filled with boot-licking (or worse ala Karl Rove), presstituting lackeys, is completely incapable of carrying out. -  mpg
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When all else fails, blame Iran (Part II)
A quote...."Matters must be really deteriorating in Afghanistan. Why else would the Pentagon brass now be darkly suggesting that Iranian arms have been "captured," supposedly on their way to the Taliban? It sounds suspiciously like the tired old formula; when matters go really bad somewhere in the Middle East, change the subject and blame Iran.  -  Michael R. Gordon today is competing yet again to be chief salesman for such ominous news. Media bloggers have taken to deeming him the resident "ghost of Judith Miller" at the New York Times, the journalist most willing to "take out Cheney’s trash."  -  Lately, Gordon has been quite active in reviving support for getting tougher on Iran."

Ahhh.....the New York Times is doing its old whorish worst again.  You'd think they'd learn their lesson from the fiasco they helped to promote in Iraq.  It appears not.  One has to conclude they're perfectly willing to sell another devastating war to this country no matter how many more people are killed.   It's surprising to realize that the Times, as an institution, is completely amoral, that it has no collective conscience, indeed it's sad to realize just how far they've fallen, just how cheaply they've sold their "reputation" to the highest bidder.

To witness the degradation and humiliation of what was once considered to be this country's flagship newspaper, is a national tragedy and a disgrace. - mpg
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Back Bush's war strategy? Then bring back the draft
A quote...." 04/19/07 "McClatchy Newspapers" -- -- Here's a question for those who still support President Bush's strategy to stretch out the Iraq War until after he's left office, and for those who think we should be prepared to continue our bloody occupation of Iraq for five or 10 more years:  -  Are you ready to support reinstating Selective Service - the draft - even if that means your sons and daughters or your grandchildren will have to put on the uniform and go hold the cities and towns of a nation in the middle of a civil war?

Trouble is brewing for the US in Iraqi Kurdistan
A quote...."The core issue is Kurdish nationalism, which worries Iraq's powerful northern neighbor, Turkey, a country with a substantial Kurdish minority. The Bush administration has tried to finesse the problem, hoping to keep two friends happy: The Kurds have been the United States' most reliable partner in Iraq, while the Turks are a crucial ally in the region. But in recent weeks, this strategy has been breaking down."
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Iraq is not part of war on terror, says top UK diplomat
A quote...."Former cabinet minister Helen Liddell sparked a diplomatic row today, as she rejected the idea that the Iraq invasion was part of the "war on terror" - despite being high commissioner to Australia, whose prime minister believes Iraq is the frontline of the war on terror.  -  Ms Liddell, who was Scottish secretary at the time of the invasion in 2003, went further, dismissing the term as a "tabloid slogan."

"We Pretend to Vote, They Pretend to Get Elected"
A quote...."In addition to being a huge political event, the activity surrounding the Holt Bill, H.R. 811, is highly symbolic,. The symbolism is that of diversion and denial. Holt is the apotheosis of the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA). That nihilistic effort was supposed to take care of the problems of Florida in 2000. Unfortunately, Congress missed the point. Instead of dealing with the 57,000 voters wrongfully removed from the state of Florida’s registration records (50% minority voters) and the 100,000 plus “spoiled” ballots in Florida which were spoiled along racial lines (predominantly black precincts), HAVA served up the new voter suppression and disenfranchisement through its emphasis on voting machines and centralized registration databases."

Mysterious Death of Dr. David Kelly: Murder theory that just won't go away
A quote...."The greatest British conspiracy theory of the modern age was unveiled this week. Lewes MP Norman Baker set out in detail for the first time why he believes the secret service murdered the Government scientist Dr David Kelly."

Wednesday April 18th 2007

Hezbollah's big challenge
Must Read - A quote...."The game of what many call Hariri Inc was to rebuild the former "Paris of the East" from top - downtown - down during the 1990s, and then the rest of Lebanon would also join the party. It didn't happen. Shi'ites not only didn't profit from it, they were bombed by Israel last summer, after downtown Beirut had become a de facto Saudi playground.  -  But then, last December, a mass Lebanese opposition campaign, direct-democracy-style, was unleashed, led by Hezbollah. Downtown is now relatively empty - occupied by people drinking tea and playing backgammon in tents for days, even weeks, in a round-the-clock anti-government sit-in to the sound of macho martial rhythms."   See also....Divide and Conquer

Time to Do the Math in Iraq
Must Read - A quote...."In 1532, after capturing the Inca emperor Atahualpa, the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro issued an unprecedented demand: fill a room, 22 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 8 feet tall, with gold. The Incas complied, but Pizarro executed Atahualpa anyway and promptly shipped the tribute to Spain. At today’s prices of gold, the value of the ransom (3,000 cubic feet of gold at $10 million per cubic foot) would be approximately $30 billion.  -  That’s a lot of money, and it confirms that as conquerors the Spaniards had a clear vision of what they were up to. Conversion of heathens was fine. Conversion plus precious metals was even better.  -  Applied to the Iraq War, the traditional logic of imperial conquest clears out the rhetorical cobwebs and clarifies the mind."

Is the U.S. Government Planning for Withdrawal from Iraq?
The answer is a resounding no (see article below), but the author is right....they'll leave it till the last minute, make it more of a complete FUBAR operation than it already is and blame everyone but themselves for what happens.  Website author's note - read the first two comments. - mpg
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Murtha: President's Iraq war plan requires draft
A quote...."Rep. John Murtha, a veteran of the U.S. Marines who served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, said that President George W. Bush cannot continue to carry out his current war plans in Iraq without starting a draft."

Payoffs to Colombian terrorists scrutinized
A quote...."BOGOTA, Colombia - Chiquita Brands International's recent admission that it paid off a Colombian group on the U.S. terrorist list has spotlighted a practice once hush-hush in Colombia, Washington's closest ally in Latin America.  -  Several other U.S.-based corporations, including Atlanta-based Coca-Cola and the Alabama-based coal company Drummond Co., face civil lawsuits alleging their Colombian operations worked with the same group to kill several trade unionists. - italics/bold by website author.

See also the article shown below posted 03-14-07

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Alex Jones - PNAC Speech 04/14/07 Part1 -Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8
Must See Video - Alex Jones letting it all hang out....big time.  It's alot of fun - mpg
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Unimpeachable - A Bush Tribute - Google video 2min 23sec
Must See Video - posted at  Thomas Paine's Corner
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War of the Words
A quote...."The American people have become the unwitting victims of their own information warriors. - With clockwork military precision, the American people have become the unwitting victims of their own information warriors. The dazzling effects of this war’s weaponry leave US citizens bewildered by wilful misrepresentations of facts. While US propaganda surges are ostensibly designed to deceive America’s enemies, far too frequently they boomerang back, plunging their deadly roots deep down into the American psyche."

See also....Fake Intel
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Unreported News: Tacoma Police Aggressively Attack Peace Demonstrators
A quote...."Recently, a friend moved to the U.S. from China.  She had never seen the Tiananmen Sq. demonstrations including that famous scene of the lone demonstrator standing in front of the Chinese tank.  I thought how amazing that a billion people can be kept ignorant of something so important.  Then, a week after the events described below I saw an amazing video about a peaceful demonstration in Tacoma, WA that turned violent when police opened fire with tear gas and firing rubber bullets at close range on the demonstrators."  - Must See Video- this one isn't so much fun - mpg
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Police Prepared To Arrest 3,000 At '08 RNC
A quote...."St. Paul (AP)-- The Ramsey County sheriff has prepared a $4.4 million budget for security during the 2008 Republican National Convention, with a plan to handle the arrests of as many as 3,000 protesters.  -  Sheriff Bob Fletcher's proposal includes money for a possible open-air, fenced detention facility next to the county workhouse, riot equipment and Tasers, and $1.7 million for officers' overtime."

Surge In Iraq (With Republicans)
A quote...."Let those who benefit pay the cost. Since only the Republican minority benefits, it is only fair that they should be the only Americans who should pay the American costs in blood and money.  -  We should immediately draft every member of the College Republicans, every member of the Young Republicans and the children or grandchildren of Republican politicians. If these draft calls are not sufficient to man Bush’s troop surge, we could use voter registration rolls to draft registered Republicans under 50 years of age. Of course, we should be fair and draft both men and women."

66 percent of Americans now see the light on the Iraq war
A quote...."I am so, so happy that two-thirds (66 percent) of our fellow US citizens now share the opinion that a small group of us within the country have held and expressed since before the US war on Iraq ever started: namely, that this war was not worth fighting.  -  That link there goes to the first report of a new ABC News/WaPo opinion poll, published on the ABC NEws website today. The poll found, in addition, that 51 percent of US citizens now think that the US will "lose" the war in Iraq. Not defined there, though, is what the respondents understand the word "lose" to mean, in practice.... a topic that is certainly worth probing more deeply..."

New Allegations Allege "Hijacking of Hiring" at Justice Department for Entry Level Lawyers, not just U.S. Attorneys
A quote...."An anonymous letter sent to the House and Senate Judiciary Chairmen, signed "A Group of Concerned Department of Justice Employees," thanked Democrats for exposing the "overtly political" firing of United States Attorneys, but warned that the Department was also politicizing the non-political ranks of Justice employees."
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Bioweapon Infects Researcher at Texas A&M, Goes Unreported while Def. Sec. Gates was President there.
A quote...."Such Incidents are Common - A student researcher was infected with the bioweapons agent brucella more than a year ago during a Texas A&M experiment, but the university illegally failed to report the incident. Sunshine Project, the organization that revealed the cover-up, says that such cases are not uncommon in America.

See also the article shown below posted 02-05-07

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Neoliberalism is Selling Our Birthright Down the River
A quote...."It seems the “free trader,” as in neolib horse trader, Alan Blinder, a Princeton economist, received a lesson in reality while at a “business summit” in Davos.  -  Blinder “was taken aback when… he heard U.S. executives talk enthusiastically about all the professional jobs they could outsource to lower-wage countries,” according to an op-ed published in the Seattle Times. Blinder predicts upward to 40 million high-skill American jobs will be “outsourced” to “other countries,” that is to say the multinational slave gulag in India and China."
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9/11 - From The History File...Project Bojinka - Indications Of Prior US Knowledge Of Hijacker Attack Plans
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Why is the Peace Movement Silent About AIPAC?
A quote...."AIPAC!" was the forceful one-word answer of Congressman Michael Capuano when we asked him, "Why was the Iran clause forbidding war on Iran without Congressional approval taken out of the recent supplemental for the Iraq war funding?" I nearly fell out of my chair at his reply - not because this was news but because of who had just said it. Capuano is a close ally of Nancy Pelosi, her fixer and enforcer. That was last Friday morning when a small delegation from Cambridge and Somerville, MA, were visiting the Congressman, known for his bluntness, as part of the nationwide UFPJ (United For Peace and Justice) home lobbying effort during the Congressional recess."

More and more Jews reject putting support for Israel over Palestinians’ fundamental rights
A quote...."In early February of this year, a group of British Jews, some quite Influential, penned an open letter to London’s Guardian newspaper. Entitled “A Time to Speak Out,” the authors made an official break with the country’s Jewish establishment arguing that it’s leadership, by putting support for Israel over the fundamental rights of the Palestinians, was no longer in a position to speak for a majority of British Jews."
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'WSJ' Middle East Staffers Rip Dow Jones In Letter to Board
A quote...."People buy the newspaper, subscribe to the wire service and click on the website because they need to know what we have to say. Providing the best news coverage in the world is our business plan,"

OH please! You've got to be kidding.....we're talking about the AMERICAN news business here, not some foreign country.  Everybody knows by now, as amply demonstrated by the Rupert Murdoch empire, the Post, FOX news, CNN et. al., that you don't need to "report" anything, especially the "facts", you just make it up as you go along.  So why does the Wall Street Journal need a bunch of "fact biased", "reality dependent", "news" journalists mucking up their info-tainment aspirations.  Com ‘on guys give it rest, you're preventing the Journal from competing with the other majors in the business they want to emulate....like the National Enquire. - mpg

See also....What We Call the News
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FBI Searches Republican Lawmaker's Home
A quote...."The FBI searched the Virginia home of Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) last Friday in its investigation into ties between the congressman and his wife, Julie, and disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to law enforcement and other Congressional and K Street sources."

Tuesday April 17th 2007

Iraq: The Language of War - A Devil's Dictionary of War in Iraq
Must Read - A quote...."Like all wars, the "war in Iraq" or "Iraq war" -- it's never gained the double caps of the Korean or Vietnam Wars -- has also been a war of words. From "homeland" and "unlawful combatant" to "extraordinary rendition" and "Global War on Terror" (aka: World War IV or the Long War), never has an administration reached more often for its dictionaries to create pretzled words and phrases. Its war in Iraq has been no exception. But recently there's been a change, hardly noticed by anyone. The administration's familiar war vocabulary and imagery, which hung in there so remarkably long, has finally disappeared down the memory hole. So many images, tailored for home-front consumption, each meant to help give just a little more time to an increasingly embattled administration, have in recent months disappeared."

They Wouldn’t Really Attack Iran, Would They?
A quote...."Remember the old neoconservative half-joke that “sacking Baghdad is fine but real men go to Teheran?” We are moving into the time when many Washington watchers have thought it possible and even likely that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney would order an attack on Iran (1).   -  They wouldn’t really do it, would they?"

Iran navy says it will launch Iran-built destroyer
A quote...."TEHRAN, April 17 (Reuters) - Iran's navy plans to launch the first Iranian-built destroyer soon, the official IRNA news agency quoted a naval commander as saying on Tuesday."

The Nightmare Bush Dreads Most
A quote...."Public opinion polls are valuable chips to play for those engaged in a debate of national or international consequence. In the end, however, they are abstract numbers. It is popular demonstrations which give them substance, color, and - above all - wide media exposure, and make them truly meaningful. This is particularly true when such marches are peaceful and disciplined in a war-ravaged country like Iraq.  -  This indeed was the case with the demonstration on April 9 in  -  Najaf. Over a million Iraqis, holding aloft thousands of national flags, marched, chanting, "Yes, yes, Iraq/No, no, America" and "No, no, American/Leave, leave occupier."

The Americans Still Don't Get It
A quote...." 04/17/07 "ICH  " --- - The surge of stupidity in Baghdad continues with predictable results. Lots of casualties, a displacement of violence to the outskirts of the capital, no improvement in the security situation. If anything, the situation has deteriorated even more quickly in the last month than before. The signal event was last week's Green Zone bombing. If there was any lingering doubt, that bombing clarified the situation; the US controls nothing in Iraq."

Howard Zinn Urges U.S. Soldiers to Heed Thoreau’s Advice and “Resist Authority”
Listen to Segment || Download Show mp3  ||  Watch 128k stream  ||  Watch 256k stream  ||  Read Transcript
A quote...."In Part II of our conversation with Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, we speak with the two leading dissidents about U.S. wars from Iraq to Vietnam, resistance and academia. Zinn speaks about the importance of Henry David Thoreau and his relevance today. Zinn says soldiers should “read Thoreau’s essay on civil disobedience or take its advice to heart, realize that the government is not holy, but what's holy is human life and human freedom and the right for people to resist authority.”

UK Government Says the "War on Terror" is Over
A quote...."Top UK cabinet official Hilary Benn (son of the inestimable old Labour lion, Tony Benn), has finally admitted in public what every sentient being realized more than five years ago: that the "War on Terror" is a propaganda ploy that has only enhanced the stature and support of Islamic extremists, by imputing world-historical significance to criminal acts by small groups."

The Vast Power of the Saudi Lobby
A quote...."The long and corrupt history of American-Saudi relations centers around the kingdom’s vast reserves of easily extractable oil, of course. Ever since President Franklin D. Roosevelt met aboard ship in 1945 with King Ibn Saud, the special relationship with the desert kingdom has only grown stronger. The House of Saud is usually happy to sell us oil at a consistent and reasonable price — and then increase production if unseemly market forces drive the world price of a barrel too high for U.S. consumers.  -  In exchange we arm the Saudis to the teeth and turn a blind eye to their medieval approach to crime and punishment."
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9/11 - From The History File...The easy path to the United States for three of the 9/11 hijackers
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Palestinians claim Swiss, Chinese 'recognition'
A quote...."China and Switzerland have informed Palestinian officials they will deal with the new unity government, the Palestinian information minister said on Monday. Both nations said their policy had not changed, and both have dealt with Hamas in the past, but the development appeared to reinforce a Palestinian effort to win recognition for the new government."

Occupation of the Palestinian Territory Contains Elements of Colonialism and Apartheid
A quote...."On 6 July 2006 the Human Rights Council resolved to send a fact-finding mission headed by the Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories to investigate the situation in Gaza following the commencement of „Operation Summer Rains“ by the Israel Defense Forces."
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Ethanol dominating energy summit
A quote...."The pros and cons of ethanol production are set to dominate an energy summit of eight Latin American nations which has got under way in Venezuela.  -  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is at odds with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva over the scale of ethanol output in developing countries."

See also....Where Have All The Bees Gone?
See also....Venezuela's Chavez slams Bush ethanol plan
See also....Militant Brazilian Opposition to Bush-Lula Ethanol Accords

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Putin protests spread to St Petersburg
Some quotes...."Violent clashes between riot police and anti-Kremlin demonstrators spread to St Petersburg on Sunday as a second Russian pro-democracy rally ended with police clubbing protesters."

And...."But analysts said the stand-off between the Kremlin and Other Russia is likely to escalate this year, while the show of force by city police could help the movement win the sympathy of a broader section of the population, in particular among the intelligentsia, despite the state television blackout.  -  “This is going to escalate,” said Sergei Markov, a Kremlin-connected political analyst. “Both sides are going to toughen their position as a result of these clashes.”
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Behind Sarkozy's slickness lurks a ruthless demagogue
A quote...."The frontrunner to be France's next president is a brilliant Thatcherite populist - with a sinister authoritarian record "

Articles of Impeachment To Be Filed On Cheney
A quote...."Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), the most liberal of the Democratic presidential candidates in the primary field, declared in a letter sent to his Democratic House colleagues this morning that he plans to file articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney."

Wolfie's Piggy Bank
A quote...."With the roster of U.S. dead and wounded rising, Wolfie was looking for a place to hide. George Bush, who had heeded his cawing for war on Iraq from the first hours after 9/11, took pity. And more than pity. Bush made him president of the World Bank, the post to which Robert McNamara retreated after seven years at the Pentagon plunging us into a another war, a war we later learned McNamara had come to believe we could not win.  -  Now, president of the World Bank is not your average sinecure. The job commands a munificent salary, tax free. Nor does it require Senate confirmation, where Wolfowitz might have had to explain his role in deceiving us into war.  -  Nor is that all. The job consists of flying first-class around the world, dining in palaces, hobnobbing with the Davos crowd, and doling out billions to Third World dictators and despots. For Wolfowitz, it was a heaven-sent chance to rebuild his ravaged reputation. And he blew it."

Conservatives to Bush: Fire Gonzales
A quote...."In what could prove an embarrassing new setback for embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on the eve of his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, a group of influential conservatives and longtime Bush supporters has written a letter to the White House to call for his resignation.  -  The two-page letter, written on stationery of the American Freedom Agenda, a recently formed body designed to promote conservative legal principles, is blunt. Addressed to both Bush and Gonzales, it goes well beyond the U.S. attorneys controversy and details other alleged failings by Gonzales. "Mr. Gonzales has presided over an unprecedented crippling of the Constitution's time-honored checks and balances," it declares. "He has brought rule of law into disrepute, and debased honesty as the coin of the realm." Alluding to ongoing scandal, it notes: "He has engendered the suspicion that partisan politics trumps evenhanded law enforcement in the Department of Justice."

"The letter concludes by saying, "Attorney General Gonzales has proven an unsuitable steward of the law and should resign for the good of the country... "
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The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil (Hardcover)
Some quotes...."BUZZFLASH REVIEW - This best-selling book by the creator of the famous "Stanford Experiment" shows that we are all capable of evil."

And...."As his publisher, Random House, writes: "By illuminating the psychological causes behind such disturbing metamorphoses, Zimbardo enables us to better understand a variety of harrowing phenomena, from corporate malfeasance to organized genocide to how once upstanding American soldiers came to abuse and torture Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib. He replaces the long-held notion of the “bad apple” with that of the “bad barrel”–the idea that the social setting and the system contaminate the individual, rather than the other way around."
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Crime, Punishment, and Vengeance in the Age of Mass Imprisonment
A quote...."The prison system in the U.S. stands alone in the modern Western world as a model of mass incarceration. The "tough on crime" stance taken by elected officials from across the political spectrum has not halted the resurgence of crime in the last few years, nor has it helped prevent ex-inmates from once again ending up behind bars."

Global Warming Hits Southwest
A quote...."The Arctic is not the only theater of unequivocal climate change and polar bears aren't the only heralds of a new age of chaos. Global warming is already affecting the U.S."
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Olberman How to Recover missing White House e-mails.
Video - Keith Olbermann interviews a computer forensics expert.

Colbert offers Attorney General tips for his upcoming testimony
Video - A quote...."Stephen Colbert took a sardonic swing at embattled Attorney General Gonzales in last night's episode of his popular Comedy Central show, 'The Colbert Report."

The Daily Show – 5 Million Emails Gone
Video - A quote...."How corrupt is the administration you ask? Well even their scandals have scandals. Yes, to keep information about the US Attorney scandal (and possibly other abuses) from getting into the hands of the Democrats, practically 5 million emails were deleted and inexplicably lost. Luckily, Senator Ted Stevens is just a phone call away to clear up some of the misconceptions we have about this internet and its series of tubes."

Monday April 16th 2007

The Politics of the Useful Threat - It Didn't Start with the Neo-Cons
Must Read - A quote...."It is often pointed out that the war policy followed by the current administration had been set out in detail by the neocons in the 1990s, well before the disputed election of 2000 and the attacks of 11 September 2001. "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm," a notorious neocon report prepared for the Israeli right wing in 1996, recommended the inculcation of "Western values" [sic] in the Middle East -- in fact an aggressive new policy of advancing right-wing Zionism. Summing up a decade's agitation, the neocon Project for a New American Century published a report just before the 2000 election that conceded that their wished-for "process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event -- like a new Pearl Harbor." When it arrived on 9-11, they capitalized on it. If their advice was treasonous, they took Patrick Henry's advice and made the most of it."

Torture, Secrecy, and the Bush Administration
Must Read - A quote...." 04/16/07 "Harpers" 04/14/07 -- -- I want to give a bit of pre-constitutional history, and share with you the story of John Lilburne, an Englishman born in the early 1600s because his story—the story of an agitator who directly challenged the English legal system—has a great deal to tell us about the issues we're facing today. Lilburne's story explains why these matters—torture and secrecy—were not issues to the Founding Fathers, and it helps us understand the true nature of a government which, like the current administration, thrives in that matrix of torture and secrecy."

Hail and Farewell: the End of the American Empire
A quote...."Whenever The New York Times finally gets the point to what is going on in our native land a celestial choir can be heard in Times Square, shouting hosannas. This happened recently, on April 14th, when they realized that there could be a dark explanation for what W. is doing when he sends a Mr. Bolton, a U.N. hater, to be ambassador to that body or a Mr. Wolfowitz to the World Bank, a man as ignorant of history and finance as the president himself."

Crisis creeps towards catastrophe as village after village is wiped out
A quote...."First eyewitness accounts reveal ethnic cleansing spreading from Sudan  -  Tagalo Hassan had no idea that the horrific violence of Darfur had spread like a stain across the border into Chad and had been creeping towards his village for months."

Dick Cheney and the Two 21st Centuries;  On Nukes, Vice President Confuses Television with Reality
A quote...."I caught a clip of Dick Cheney on Sunday saying that "in the 21st century," the US could stay in Iraq and ensure that a stable government was established that could defend itself.  -  I was struck by his invocation of the 21st century, as though it were automatically on the side of the US, or more especially on the side of American hawks."
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Is Cheney Right? Will Democrats Cave on Iraq Funding?
A quote...."On CBS's "Face the Nation" yesterday, Cheney could barely suppress a smirk in expressing confidence that the Democrats in the end will cave in and, as he put it, "not leave America's fighting forces in harm's way without the resources they need to defend themselves." And yes, the vice president went on to reassure viewers - against all evidence to the contrary - "We are making progress."

"Cave on Iraq funding?"  Don't be ridiculous, they're not caving at all, the Demo part of the DemoRepub party intends to continue this war for at least another two to three years....if they can. They have yet to offer a straight up or down vote on  - (1) Getting the troops out by date certain, preferably immediately or - (2) De-funding the war by date certain, preferably immediately.  Instead they've concocted a contrivance, a laughable hackneyed piece of legislation that promotes all the goals of the Bush Neocons.

See the article shown below, posted 03-31-07


See article shown below, posted 03-30-07


See also....Stupidity Alert  -  03-28-07 - mpg
See also....How It "Works" In DC  -  03-09-07 - mpg
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Iran says it received signals on releasing 5 detained diplomats in Iraq
A quote...."TEHRAN, Iran: Iran said Sunday it has received some signals concerning the possible release of five Iranian diplomats held by the U.S. in Iraq, state television reported.  -  "We have recently received some indications over releasing them," Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the television.  -  He did not elaborate or explain what kind of signals Iran had received."

A western-backed coup
A quote...."The leaders of Ukraine's Orange Revolution now threaten the country's democratic future  -  The decree issued by Ukraine's president Viktor Yushchenko earlier this month to dissolve parliament and hold early elections is no less than an attempted coup d'etat, apparently aided and abetted by western powers."

Chavez defies US with energy summit
A quote...."Venezuela will seek to use oil wealth to consolidate regional support for anti-US politics as it hosts an energy summit of South American leaders."

Ecuador Votes For Revolutionary Change
A quote...."Ecuadorean President Raphael Correa took office January 15 promising his people progressive, revolutionary social and economic change unlike anything this country of mostly impoverished people ever had before under its right wing only governments beholden solely to capital interests. Correa promised a "citizens' revolution" beginning by drafting a new Constitution in a Constituent Assembly for which a national referendum was held April 15 allowing Ecuadoreans the right to decide on it, not politicians."

Five Years Later, Venezuelan Ambassador Reflects on US-Backed Coup
A quote...."AMY GOODMAN: Five years ago this week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was temporarily ousted in a short-lived coup. The date was April 11 and 12, 2002.  -  The leader of the coup was a business executive named Pedro Carmona. Carmona quickly received the support of the Bush administration, as well as much of the corporate press in the United States. After the coup, the New York Times proclaimed in an editorial, “Venezuelan democracy is no longer threatened by a would-be dictator.”  -  But within forty-eight hours, following massive street protests, Chavez was back in power. After the coup, Carmona was arrested, but he managed to flee to Colombia where he sought political asylum. However, Carmona's fate could soon change"

Impeachment: A duty, not an option
A quote...."George W. Bush and Dick Cheney deceived Congress and the American people into supporting their unlawful invasion of Iraq. Their abuse of power continues. They should be impeached, not for partisan reasons, but to maintain our constitutional system and to deter future leaders from abusing power."

McNulty seeks job in private sector; scrutiny intensifies.
A quote...."Washington - With Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on the ropes over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, his deputy, Paul J. McNulty, is quietly testing the waters for a new job.  -  He may need one, if critics have their way. Some Democrats and conservative Republicans argue that the deputy attorney general, who so far has been relatively unscathed, should shoulder more responsibility for the mishandling of the firings, which has devastated morale at the Justice Department and embarrassed the Bush administration."

Secretary of State Rice may face subpoena threat Wednesday
A quote...."Depending on the State Department's response to a request for information prior to a Wednesday meeting, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could face a subpoena from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, RAW STORY has learned. The move could compel Rice to testify on the intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq, and other issues."
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9/11 - From The History File...Pensacola NAS link faces more scrutiny
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Mortgage defaults in California near decade high
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The number of mortgage default notices sent to California homeowners last quarter rose to its highest in nearly 10 years as home prices stagnated and rates on adjustable loans pushed higher, a report released on Monday said."

Storm Soaks Northeast With Record Rain
A quote...."The rain totaled 8.21 inches in suburban White Plains from early Sunday to Monday morning, with 7.81 inches in New York City's Central Park, the National Weather Service said. The previous Central Park record for April 15 was just 1.8 inches, set in 1906. Eliot, Maine, got nearly 7 inches.  -  Snow fell in inland areas, including 17 inches in Vermont. Wind gusts to more than 80 mph toppled trees on highways in Maine."