Entrenched, Embedded, and Here to Stay - The Pentagon's Expansion Will Be Bush's Lasting Legacy
A quote...."A full-fledged cottage industry is already focused on those who eagerly await the end of the Bush administration, offering calendars, magnets, and t-shirts for sale as well as counters and graphics to download onto blogs and websites. But when the countdown ends and George W. Bush vacates the Oval Office, he will leave a legacy to contend with. Certainly, he wills to his successor a world marred by war and battered by deprivation, but perhaps his most enduring legacy is now deeply embedded in Washington-area politics -- a Pentagon metastasized almost beyond recognition." -- Also posted at CommonDreams

Corrections: In Which The New York Times Perpetuates the Myth It Created -– That George Bush Won Florida in 2000 -- A quote...."In 2001 painstaking postmortems of the Florida count, one by The New York Times and another by a consortium of newspapers, concluded that Mr. Bush would have come out slightly ahead, even if all the votes counted throughout the state had been retallied.” -- *Alessandra Stanley*, New York Times, May 23, 2008 in a review of the HBO television movie, Recount

That’s not true.

The New York Times did not do its own recount. It did participate in a consortium. Here’s what they actually said:

“If all the ballots had been reviewed under any of seven single standards, and combined with the results of an examination of overvotes, Mr. Gore would have won, by a very narrow margin.” -- *Ford Fessenden and John M. Broder* New York Times, November 12, 2001

Why did Ms. Stanley make such an important and fundamental error?
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The Broad Reach of Neoconservatism - article posted at AntiWar
A quote...."Just because certain prominent neoconservative acolytes are no longer official members of the Bush administration does not mean that the movement has lost its institutional sway or its ideological commitment to war. Writing on these pages two and a half years ago, I warned that the neoconservative propensity for conflict is inscribed in the worldview of its agents. Fast forward to today and we can easily discern that they continue to export their kill-or-be-killed Hobbesianism, primarily to Muslim countries."

ANALYSIS-Mideast governments increasingly ignore U.S. views - link posted at AntiWar
A quote...." CAIRO, May 26 (Reuters) - The governments of the Middle East, from Iran to Israel and beyond, are increasingly ignoring the wishes of a U.S. administration which has only eight months left in office, going their own way in regional diplomacy. -- U.S. President George W. Bush's latest speech on Middle East policy, made in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh last week, shows how the gap has grown between what Washington would like and what is happening in the region."

Israel Talks to Syria
A quote...."Israel and Syria announced last Wednesday (May 21) in simultaneous statements that they had begun indirect talks in Turkey, thus confirming that two long-time enemies are talking again for the first time in almost a decade. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the following day that Israel wanted peace with its neighbors, but Syria needed to "distance itself completely" from its "problematic ties" with Iran. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem says Israel had indicated readiness for a full withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights, seized in June 1967, though Israeli officials have been unwilling to confirm or deny his claim."
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The Iran Game - All Over Again
05-27-08
mpg

Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August'
War Alert - A quote...."NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently."

We're now into the Bush administration's fourth or fifth cycle of ratcheting up pressure and making preparations for war against Iran.  However, many of the articles currently being posted which would normally appear as War Warnings or Red War Warnings have been down-graded to just War Alerts, primarily because it appears that the Bush administration is losing momentum in their drive for war against Iran, along with the capability to carry out any truly effective attacks against that country. -  i.e. they attack the Quds force....then what.

Of course this may be Bush’s objective, to create an incident (false flag or otherwise), start the conflict and thereby trap the next likely presidential candidate in another rapidly escalating, totally pointless, but highly profitable war.  This would be such an obvious and destructive ploy by the most unpopular lame duck president in this nation's history that it would seem to be unlikely.

Nor does it appear likely that any more "fortuitous" events will be “arranged” anytime soon to allow our MIOC elites to launch another war while they attempt to finally seize dictatorial control of this country.  The costs to the elites and chances of success at this point are both prohibitive and problematical.  But things can and do change rather quickly, especially if the elites begin to feel desperate.

A more likely explanation for the Bush administration's behavior is that they're feebly attempting to pre-position forces and capabilities which would allow them to launch what they believe will be a “successful”, "short-term”,” limited” , "symbolic"  attack against Iran while reducing any chances of Iran's possible retaliation.  If so they're completely insane.

If this is what Bush’s henchman are thinking, such a plan of attack could only be interpreted as a pitiful public relations attempt to restore Bush’s "tarnished legacy" by pleasing AIPAC and the Repub's pro-war base. If this is the case, it would be a most singular and rare event, not only for its incredible, unbelievable, stupidity, but because it would also be the first time anybody in this government ever conducted an action that did not solely involve increasing profits for this nation's MIOC elites.

However the seriousness of the Bush administration's intentions this time around are bolstered by five actions they have recently taken, actions that were not factors in prior cycles of war preparation and intimidation against Iran.

One:  Is the second attempt to eliminate Muqtada al-Sadr's party as an effective military or political force in Iraq in response to his recent promise last year to retaliate if US forces should attack Iran – Outcome; at this point it appears Maliki is in control, but since Maliki is supposedly allied more closely with Iran than even Muqtada al-Sadr (although Cheney thinks Maliki's a bought man) and because many speculate that Muqtada al-Sadr's forces are simply laying low while they re-equip, re-position, increase recruitment and wait for a better opportunity....it appears this action is at present, indeterminate.

Two:  The arranged attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon – Outcome; an abject, horrendous, abysmal, complete, unmitigated, totally cataclysmic failure for US and Israeli ambition's in the Middle East, the entire fiasco has immeasurably strengthened Hezbollah's military and political position in Lebanon for the foreseeable future.

Three:  The recent, publicly acknowledged negotiations between Syria and Israel regarding the Golan Heights – Outcome; no effect, Syria will not be tempted to distance itself from Iran by false promises of a return of the Golan Heights.

Four:  The recent preparations by the Gulf States to protect their populations from radioactive fall-out in the event a strike is made against Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Reactor – Outcome; potential mass terror and an economic catastrophe for the Gulf States, but it is unlikely that such an attack will occur against Bushehr for the same reasons.

Five:  The re-activation of the US's fourth fleet in the Caribbean to threaten Venezuela in the event they honor their commitment to Iran to cease oil shipments to the US should the US attack Iran – Outcome; at present no advantage, Venezuela is arming-up for this contingency while you read this blog.

So it appears the Bush régime has gotten more serious in their intentions, but regretfully for them, they're also now substantially less capable in carrying out these woefully reduced plans of mayhem and murder as compared to those originally specified in the PNAC protocols.

It therefore appears the MIOC elites and others in this country will simply have to be patient and settle for the standard plan of strengthening their position to launch a war against Iran in one to two years once the US’s ten year economic cycle comes to an end.

This will only happen if the US enters a deflationary period instead of undergoing the predicted stagflationary or inflationary period.  Such a deflationary outcome will only occur if the Federal Reserve soon "discovers" (no doubt right after the November elections) to their "horror" that their inflation numbers have been totally inaccurate (a fact every single economist has been well aware of for the last ten years) and regrettably they will therefore (to maintain dollar hegemony) proceed to raise interest rates at an unprecedented rate to tamp down what will soon become hyper-inflation.

This will allow our elites to re-stimulate the economy by launching their next war against Iran, thus starting the whole ten year cycle all over again.....a highly profitable, and more importantly - predictable - arrangement our  illustrious elites have been practicing for the last sixty years. - mpg

For more on this issue see....Standard Disclaimer & Effective Fed Funds Rate 03-24-07 - mpg
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Provocations as Pretexts for Imperial War: From Pearl Harbor to 9/11
A quote...."Wars in an imperialist democracy cannot simply be dictated by executive fiat, they require the consent of highly motivated masses who will make the human and material sacrifices. Imperialist leaders have to create a visible and highly charged emotional sense of injustice and righteousness to secure national cohesion and overcome the natural opposition to early death, destruction and disruption of civilian life and to the brutal regimentation that goes with submission to absolutist rule by the military."

Spooks Promise Terror Attack For New President
A quote...."National intelligence spooks are all but promising that history will be repeated for a third time running, and the new President of the United States - likely Barack Obama or John McCain - will be welcomed into office by a terror attack that will occur within the first year of his tenure."

Open letter to Jonathan Schell
A quote...."Dear Mr Schell, -- You don't know me, but I've been reading your work for over twenty-five years. I'm writing to propose a dangerous mission for you, an article which you are uniquely qualified to write, and which will crack a wall of silence that protects the Republican administration. -- I want you to write about 9/11."
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Phase One, Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Tuesday round-up - 1 article - [ Day 64 ]

Iraq's Sadr calls for protests against agreement with U.S.
A quote...."2008-05-28 05:31:15 -- BAGHDAD, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr asked Tuesday his followers to hold weekly protests against an envisaged Iraq-U.S. agreement which would lead to a long-term U.S. military presence in the country."

Phase One, Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Tuesday round-up - [ Day 64 ]
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IRAQ:  Through Occupation, The Very Dreams Change
A quote...."BAQUBA, May 27 (IPS) - After more than five years of U.S. occupation, the very dreams of the people of Baquba have changed. For a start, they are no longer about the future."

Britain loses 100 unmanned aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan
A quote...."Comment -- Britain has lost almost 100 unmanned surveillance aircraft - including a £10m Reaper which had been in service for less than six months - over Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003, The Herald can reveal."

Spinning the IAEA report on Iran's nuclear program
Video - A quote...."A new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report criticizing Iran’s nuclear program was leaked via the internet. Although slated to be made public in early June, US corporate media seized the opportunity to put a spin on the report’s findings. The Real News Network analyst Pepe Escobar provides his analysis of the day’s headlines."

Palestinian President meets with Hamas government leaders
A quote...."In a meeting that could re-start stalled national unity talks between the two main Palestinian political parties, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (with the Fateh party) met with leaders from the rival Hamas party on Monday."

The Day Diplomacy Died
A quote...."In our special Memorial Day edition, World Beat is publishing an obituary for Diplomacy, which died prematurely last week after an extended illness. -- The last seven years or so were difficult ones for Diplomacy. According to press reports, the mainstay of foreign policy began complaining of chest pains and nausea in 2001. In the lead-up to the Iraq War, Diplomacy sustained several shocks to the system, went into intensive care, and very nearly succumbed. But it was last week that its heart and soul finally gave up after a double-barreled assault by President George W. Bush and his presumptive successor John McCain."

BOLIVIA:  Local Indigenous Leaders Beaten and Publicly Humiliated
A quote...."LA PAZ, May 27 (IPS) - Bolivia may have its first-ever indigenous president, but racism is alive and well in this country, as demonstrated by the public humiliation of a group of around 50 indigenous mayors, town councillors and community leaders in the south-central city of Sucre."

Analysts say TNK-BP dispute could end in sale to Gazprom
A quote...."LONDON, May 28 (RIA Novosti) - The ongoing dispute between Russian and British shareholders of oil company TNK-BP could lead to the company being bought up by a Russian state giant, most likely Gazprom but possibly Rosneft, analysts said."
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George Soros: 'We face the most serious recession of our lifetime'
Special Note - A quote...." George Soros, 'the man who broke the Bank of England', tells Edmund Conway of his fears for the economy -- 'This is a period of wealth destruction. The people who make money will be few and far between. There will be a lot more money lost than made." When George Soros - the phenomenally successful hedge fund manager - says this, you know something is wrong, very wrong. And indeed it is. The 77-year-old billionaire sinks back into the sofa in his Chelsea townhouse and exhales."

Consumer confidence hits 16-year low in May
A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer confidence plunged unexpectedly to its lowest in 16 years in May as rising gasoline costs and falling home prices made Americans nervous about the future, a survey released on Tuesday showed."

Decline in home prices accelerates in March - Case Shiller index down 14.4% in March from year earlier
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The pace of home price declines accelerated in March and there are no hints that the decline might be ending soon, economists said. - Home prices in 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas have dropped a record 14.4% in the past year, Standard & Poor's said Tuesday. - The 20-city Case-Shiller home price index fell 2.2% from February to March. This is the 16th consecutive decline in prices."


The War Camp in Death Throes is Intent on Striking Iran
Must Read - War Alert - A quote...."25/05/08 "ICH" -- The most aggressive posturing and accusations against Iran, yet issued by Washington, signal the rapid closure of the window of opportunity for peace which opened up following the release of the US’ National Intelligence Estimate in December 07 concluding that there was no evidence of a nuclear weaponisation programme in Iran.  This revelation which was concordant with the IAEA’s own repeated assessment over 5 years of intrusive inspections, and which had been held from publication by the Vice President Cheney for over a year with the aim of altering its key findings, put a spanner in the frightfully accelerating wheel to another war and a potential inferno in the Middle East and beyond."

Expanding The "War" In Order To End It
War Alert - A quote...." 26/05/08 "ICH" -- - - Did you know that Richard M. Nixon was elected to the US presidency in 1968 on a platform that claimed he would end the war on Vietnam? It's true. And what did Nixon do once he was safely elected? He broke his promise, escalated the war on Vietnam and then went on to bomb Cambodia! "Why did you bomb Cambodia?" the press asked Mr. Nixon."

War Immemorial Day – No Peace for Militarized U.S.
A quote...."Memorial Day is not actually a day to pray for U.S. troops who died in action but rather a day set aside by Congress to pray for peace. The 1950 Joint Resolution of Congress which created Memorial Day says: “Requesting the President to issue a proclamation designating May 30, Memorial Day, as a day for a Nation-wide prayer for peace.” (64 Stat.158)." -- bold by website editor.

Who Is Being Reckless, Obama or McCain?
A quote...."The Republican blitz unleashed against Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama last week showed just how bitter, dirty and ugly the 2008 presidential campaign is likely to be. - After Obama said he favored direct negotiations with Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba, and dismissed any potential danger from Iran as "tiny," Republican candidate John McCain accused him of being "reckless" and "inexperienced."

Rupert Cornwell: The US constitution can't let Bush go
A quote...."From the opposite side of the Atlantic we watch in amazement. -- The ruling Labour Party suffers one by-election defeat – a stinging one admittedly, but no more stinging than the one inflicted on George Bush's Republicans here this month in a once rock-solid Congressional district in Mississippi – and a Prime Minister who has been in office less than 11 months risks losing his head, or at least his job. -- Yet Bush will remain in office, whatever happens, until next 20 January, despite a record of virtually unmitigated failure both at home and abroad. "
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Memories of Iraq Haunted Soldier Until Suicide
A quote...."Washington - Until the day he died, Sgt. Brian Rand believed he was being haunted by the ghost of the Iraqi man he killed. - The ghost choked Rand while he slept in his bunk, forcing him to wake up gasping for air and clawing at his throat. - He whispered that Rand was a vampire and looked on as the soldier stabbed another member of Fort Campbell's 96th Aviation Support Battalion in the neck with a fork in the mess hall. - Eventually, the ghost told Rand he needed to kill himself."

How Can There be Freedom of the Press, If We're Not Willing to Question the Information We're Given? Truth Matters
A quote...." Truth Matters. -- How can there be freedom of religion if we are not willing to tolerate the religions of others? -- How can there be freedom of the press if we are not willing to question the information we are given? -- How can there be freedom of speech if the speeches we give are nothing more than a criticism of what others are trying to say?”
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Phase One, Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Monday round-up - 2 articles - [ Day 63 ]

US military attempts to reignite fighting with Mahdi Army
A quote...."The order by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr that his Mahdi Army militiamen offer no resistance to the US occupation is being exploited by the American military and the Iraqi government to repress his supporters in the working class districts of Baghdad and other major cities."

Sadrists say to question PM in parliament for "violating constitution"
A quote...."Baghdad, May 25, (VOI) – The Sadrists, or Iraqis loyal to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, said they will question Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki over "his violation of the constitution and refusal to allow Sadrist bloc members to practice their religious rituals including the Friday prayers," said a Sadrist legislator."

Phase One, Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Monday round-up - [ Day 63 ]
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IAF [Iraqi Accordance Front] member foresees "collapse" in negotiations with govt.
A quote...." Baghdad, May 25, (VOI) – A member of the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front on Sunday expected negotiations between the IAF and the government regarding the return of the withdrawn ministers to "collapse."

POLITICS:  US-Iraq Deals Overshadowed by Rising Concerns
A quote...."WASHINGTON, May 26 (IPS) - Iraqi parliamentarians are increasingly concerned that they are being left out of talks between Iraqi and U.S. officials over a strategic deal to determine the future relationship between the two countries, at a time when the U.S. Congress failed to include a provision in a bill to fund the Iraq and Afghan wars last week to restrict President George W. Bush's authority to sign such deals."

IRAQ: Mosul's detainees
A quote...."My visit to Mosul with Vice President Tariq Hashimi’s delegation took us to the local police detention center.  Some of the prisoners claimed that they were arrested for arbitrary reasons, rather than any credible evidence. --
One man, with a long white beard and wearing a traditional white robe, said that he had fled to Mosul from the western city of Tall Afar. In Mosul, he said, he had been arrested on the street because he belongs to the Sabawi tribe, which many consider a supporter of violence against the Americans and the Iraqi government. The man claimed that many people had been locked up for no good reason." -- Also posted at Uruknet

Saddam loyalist to continue fight
A quote...."Saddam Hussein's former deputy [Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri] has vowed that loyalists to the deposed dictator will continue fighting until the US withdraws from Iraq, according to an interview."

How the 'New World' is in Fact Being 'Ordered' - International Justice and Impunity: The Case of the United States
Book Review - The Trial of Saddam Hussein * - by Dr. Abdul-Haq Al-Ani - A quote...."SYNOPSIS -- The trial of Saddam Hussein marks the first time since the UN was created that a head of state has been put on trial by an invading, occupying power. This book seeks to draw public attention to the threat this precedent poses to developing nations worldwide, and to its distortive influence on the further evolution of international law." -- *link by website editor
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World War II to the Present - U.S. Fourth Fleet in Venezuelan Waters
War Warning - Special Note - A quote...."With U.S. saber rattling towards Venezuela now at its height, the Pentagon has decided to reactivate the Navy’s fourth fleet in the Caribbean, Central and South America. -- It’s a bold move, and has already stirred controversy within the wider region." -- After thinking about it for awhile this editor has come to the conclusion that the revival of the Fourth Fleet at this specific juncture in international relations, coupled with the falling fortunes of the Bush administration, constitutes a War Warning.  It is quite probable the fleet was reactivated because of the promise by Venezuela to stop shipping oil to the United States in the event of an attack by the Bush administration against Iran.  Therefore the reactivation of the fleet should be considered as a contingency option to enforce US demands against Venezuela if such an attack should happen, and Venezuela goes ahead and honors its commitment to Iran. - mpg

Washington ratchets up pressure on Pakistan’s new government
A quote...."In increasingly blunt fashion, Washington is making known its displeasure with Pakistan’s new elected government, which is comprised of parties opposed to the US-backed military strongman and president Pervez Musharraf." -- For more on this issue see....It Will Happen Every Single Time - mpg

Iran Plans to Form Special IRGC Unit for Missile Projects
A quote...." TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran is considering establishment of a special section within the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps for strengthening its missile projects, IRGC commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said Sunday."

Hay Ride: Jimmy Carter Crosses the Line
A quote...."Here's a thought experiment. Try to imagine a major American political figure boldly calling on Europe to break with the United States, unilaterally lift the blockage on Gaza and negotiate directly with Hamas, the democratically-elected government of Palestine."

Canada launches claim over disputed sea-bed Arctic ridge
A quote...."A year after Russia's controversial flag-planting dive to the North Pole seabed to assert ownership of a sprawling underwater mountain chain, Canada is launching a less brazen but potentially more effective counterclaim for control over parts of the disputed Arctic ridge - perhaps even the pole itself - by publishing a scientific paper in a scholarly journal."

Yea Though I Walk Through The Valley Of Endless Spin
A quote...."The appeasement Bush decries is already happening. But it's Bush who is being appeased. His "commander in chief" presidency has not been seriously tackled by any Democrats, none of whom, apparently, want to end up like Cynthia McKinney, much less Paul Wellstone. (There are of course other reasons why Bush's policies have been largely unopposed by the Democrats.) So the "unitary executive" madness continues to deepen and there's no end in sight."

Tony Blair is barracked over Iraq by students at Yale University
A quote...."Tony Blair was left reeling last night after students disrupted his debut speech at Yale University to protest at his role in taking Britain and America to war in Iraq. -- The former Prime Minister, who is normally immensely popular in the US for his support for President George W Bush's 'war on terror', faced an unexpected protest from anti-war protesters when he arrived to give his lecture at the Ivy League university."

Evidence of corruption during Cheney’s tenure - Criminal investigation of Halliburton’s Nigerian operation widens
A quote...."Criminal investigations of former Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), for alleged bribery in the construction of Nigeria’s $10 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant on Bonny Island, have been widened to cover the past 20 years of Halliburton’s operations in Nigeria. Investigators will also probe accusations of embezzlement by senior executives, and Halliburton’s relations with other multinationals, including Royal Dutch Shell." -- We should all just get used to calling Big Oil, "The Family" - mpg
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The Economics of Wreckage, Part Four
Special Note - Some quotes...."This is the final installment in a series that began in early March of 2007. Part One of the series presented the nominal and real returns on index portfolio equity investments over the course of the Bush Administration from January 22, 2001 through March 2, 2007. - Part Two of this series showed how real hourly wages accruing to the U.S. labor force had been virtually stagnant over the past half-century.... - Part Three of the series explained neo-Keynesian macroeconomic policy in terms of a necessary reliance upon important factors of production being unable to quickly impound excess growth of the money supply that causes overall inflation: - In this last installment, a macroeconomic model will be introduced and then used to present a wealth of economic data from the past several decades."

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Supreme Court of Canada rules that Guantanamo Bay is illegal: update on Omar Khadr
A quote...."On Friday May 23, the  Supreme Court of Canada issued a judgment stating that Guantanamo Bay was an illegal operation and ordered “the Canadian government to hand over interrogation documents to Omar Khadr's defence lawyers.”

[British] Army medic admits torturing Iraqi boy, 14
A quote...."An Army medic who has admitted kicking and punching a 14-year-old Iraqi boy once served alongside Victoria Cross hero Johnson Beharry - A junior Army medic has admitted kicking and punching a 14-year-old Iraqi boy, then watching as colleagues 'hooded' him with a sandbag."

House Votes to Ban Pentagon Propaganda: Networks Still Silent
Special Note - A quote...."You probably didn’t hear about the House voting to ban Pentagon propaganda last Thursday — since the television networks have once again conveniently failed to cover the story. - But in a surprise move, a 2009 defense policy bill passed with an amendment, sponsored by Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.), that outlaws the Defense Department from engaging in “a concerted effort to propagandize” the American people. The measure would also force an investigation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) into efforts to plant positive news stories about the war in U.S. media." -- Also posted at CommonDreams -- The NYT did a really good job with this story, it was however to late to stop the Iraq war.  Not to be churlish, but as a point of interest wouldn't it be really nice if in the future the NYT could do a story as good as this one BEFORE this nation goes to war again.  Just a thought. - mpg -- for more on this issue see....Fake Intel / Propaganda  -NYT's Article

The War on Whistleblowers
A quote...."U.S. officials have long retaliated against employees who speak out, burying the dangers they expose. Now, Congress wants to give whistle-blowers greater protection -- but President Bush vows to stop it." -- Also posted at CIR

Sentence in Memo Discounted FISA
A quote...."What does "exclusive" mean? -- The answer was at the heart of a highly sensitive memo by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in 2001, when Bush administration officials were keen to institute warrantless domestic surveillance after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks." -- Would somebody please file a class action law suit against John Yoo.  Please! -- mpg
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Phase One, Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Sunday round-up - 3 articles - [ Day 62 ]

As soldiers fill Sadr City, militia fighters wait
A quote...."May 25, 2008 -- BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Col. Qassim Abdul-Wahab appeared relaxed as he cruised down rutted streets in an unarmored pickup truck, Arabic pop tunes pouring from the speakers and the air conditioner cranked up as high as it would go."

US drops plans to raid Sadr City after Iraqi forces make a deal with Moqtada al-Sadr - link posted at CLG
A quote...."Last Updated: 4:03PM BST 24/05/2008 -- Under the deal, brokered between the Iraqi government and forces loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, two Iraqi divisions will take up positions in the vast slum in eastern Baghdad but no US troops will be allowed in. -- The ceasefire is the third negotiated with Sadr and scuppers US plans for an assault on his stronghold. Seven US battalions had assembled on the edges of the Shia bastion, with tanks, armoured cars and a stockpile of munitions ready for a battle of attrition which was projected to last weeks. Just four battalions will remain when troop reductions are completed."

U.S. and Iraq forces raided Shiite areas during prayers - link posted at CLG
A quote...."Posted on Saturday, May 24, 2008 -- BAGHDAD - U.S. and Iraqi forces detained nearly 200 people during operations that targeted two predominantly Shiite Muslim neighborhoods during Friday prayer services, the U.S. military said Saturday."

Phase One, Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Sunday round-up - [ Day 62 ]
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Iran's role as a regional power
Video Interview - A quote...."The Real News Network's Paul Jay talks to Gareth Porter about Iran's goals in supporting Hamas and Hezbollah. Hezbollah may have started with the help of Iran but it has evolved into something that is quite independent. Iran's position in relation to Hamas and Hezbollah are as "bargaining chips" in a negotiated settlement with the US to be recognized as a regional power in the Middle East."

Iran, the Lion, and the Rancher
A quote...."A mountain lion wanders up to a rancher's property, looks in the direction of his sheep, and licks its lips. -- The lion charges towards the sheep, but the rancher hollers loudly and scares it off."

Baghdad to launch probe into attack on Iranian diplomats
A quote...." TEHRAN – Iraq has formed a special committee to investigate a recent assassination attempt on Iranian diplomats in Iraq, embassy spokesman Manouchehr Taslimi said on Friday. "

Bahraini PM Opposes Military Action against Iran
A quote...." TEHRAN (FNA)- Bahrain's Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa stressed his country's strong opposition to any military action against Iran."

Jimmy Carter calls for US to make friends with Iran after 27 years
A quote...."The former US president Jimmy Carter has called for his country to resume trade relations with Iran, which he described as a "rational" nation. Speaking at the Hay Festival yesterday, Mr Carter also suggested the US should provide nuclear power technology and fuel to Iran as a show of goodwill."

Scott Horton Interviews Gareth Porter
Audio Interview - Special Note - A quote...."Dr.Gareth Porter discusses his article: “Where are those Iranian weapons in Iraq?” and how the U.S. war party has had to de-emphasize their assertions that EFP’s in Iraq are coming from Iran, he exposes as total lies the U.S. claims of Iran arming the Shi’ite militias in Iraq, how the White House continues to divulge preposterous propaganda reports, the role of the compliant media in continuing these false allegations, how the Sunni resistance in Iraq is patiently waiting for the opportune moment to re-emerge, and how Iran would not try to destabilize the Maliki government since he is their servant."

For more on this issue see....Fake Intel/Propaganda - IED's & EFP's
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Israel 'committing memorycide'
A quote...."Between February, 1948 and December,1948 the Israeli army systematically occupied the Palestinian villages and towns, expelled by force the population and in most cases also destroyed the houses, looted their belongings and took over their material and cultural possessions. This was the ethnic cleansing of Palestine." -- Also posted at Creative-I

One State: Coexistence, Not Apartheid
Must Read - Some  quotes...."For the last 60 years, all those who have sought a genuinely peaceful and fair solution for Israel and Palestine have faced the same obstacle — Israel's sense of invincibility and military arrogance, abetted by the US and other Western governments' unwavering support. -- Despite recent setbacks on the military front, the Israeli government is yet to awaken to the reality that Israel is simply not invincible. The wheel of history, which has seen the rise and fall of many great powers, won't grind to a halt. Experiences have also repeatedly shown that neither Israel's nuclear arms nor Washington's billions of dollars in annual funds could create 'security' for the former."  -- "....depicting the mere existence of Palestinians as a 'threat', a 'problem' and a 'demographic bomb' is inhumane and actually a full-fledged form of racism. Throughout its 60 years of existence, successive Israeli governments have treated Palestinians — the native inhabitants of historic Palestine — as undesired and thus negligible inhabitants of a land that was promised only to Jews by some divine power thousands of years ago."

The Continuing Catastrophe - 24 May 08 - Part 1 - (YouTube - 13 min 26 sec - Added:  May 25, 2008)
The Continuing Catastrophe - 24 May 08 - Part 2 - (YouTube - 10 min 50 sec - Added:  May 25, 2008)
The Continuing Catastrophe - 24 May 08 - Part 3 - (YouTube - 12 min 50 sec - Added:  May 25, 2008)
The Continuing Catastrophe - 24 May 08 - Part 4 - (YouTube - 8 min 29 sec - Added:  May 25, 2008)
Video - A quote...."To conclude Al Jazeera's special coverage of the 60th anniversary of the creation of Israel - an event known to Palestinians as 'al Nakba' (the catastrophe) - senior political analyst Marwan Bishara hosts a debate examining why the events of 1948 still have wide-ranging political ramifications today."
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MIDEAST:  Lebanon Deal Confirms Qatar's Honest Broker Role
A quote...."DUBAI, May 26 (IPS) - While Lebanon rejoices over the power-sharing deal among its rival factions that ended 18 months of political conflict and saved it from the brink of civil war, deal-broker Qatar revels in the glory of yet another diplomatic coup."

New Lebanon president in unity call
A quote...."Michel Sleiman has called for unity in Lebanon after he was sworn in as the country's new president. - The ex-army chief was elected president on Sunday in a parliamentary session attended by foreign dignitaries including Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, who helped broker a deal to end a dispute between rival factons. - Let us unite ... and work towards a solid reconciliation," Sleiman said in his inaugural speech."

Russian-Chinese message to US
A quote...."The joint statement from Russia and China criticising US plans for anti-missile defences is a very public condemnation of a scheme which both countries have long opposed."

Javier Solana: Negotiations for new agreement, to replace 1994 PCA, should start as soon as possible
A quote...."EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana spoke about the prospects of relations EU with Russia in an exclusive interview with Interfax."

Soviets vs US in Afghanistan, Part One By Eric Walberg
A quote...."The US is not only repeating all the Soviets’ mistakes in Afghanistan, it is showing remarkable creativity in the horrors department, says Eric Walberg in the first of a two-part series."

Germany ratifies EU treaty
A quote...."All but one of Germany's 16 states voted to ratify the European Union's Reform Treaty today but Berlin was forced to abstain due to a disagreement in its coalition government."
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End of the Bush-Clinton Era?
A quote...."Hillary Clinton’s comment, referencing Robert Kennedy’s 1968 assassination to explain why she’s continuing her campaign, may serve as a crass punctuation point for the end of a grim period in American history, the Bush-Clinton era."

Rove Refuses to Deny Role in Don Seigelman Prosecution
Video - Karl Rove (a.k.a. the Turd Blossom) says with a sly smirk that the first time he learned about the Seigelman prosecution was when he read about it in the newspapers.  Since Congress wants to question him regarding how the Seigelman prosecution got started in the first place....his statement was deliberately meaningless and disingenuous.  Perhaps he thinks he's being clever. For example, a husband hires a contract killer to murder his wife, and states with wide eyed innocence when later confronted by the police on his vacation that the first time he learned about the murder was when he saw the headlines in the newspapers. A lot of Americans think this sort of smirking, juvenile, infantile crap is clever or funny, it's not.  9/11 isn't funny, the war in Iraq isn't funny, the stolen elections aren’t funny and neither is anybody in this government nor many of the  people in this country. - mpg
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Are We Standing On The Threshold of Post-Americanism?
A quote...."One of America’s greatest paradoxes is the divergence between a commonly shared opinion, which does not like to ask itself too many questions, and an intelligentsia that is more and better at self-reflection than anywhere else."

Interest Rate Cuts Unlikely: Fed Officials
A quote...."WASHINGTON — Sounding a gong couldn't have made it clearer. Federal Reserve officials are putting out the word that further interest rate cuts are unlikely."

Bank failures to surge in coming years - IndyMac, Corus, UCBH under pressure as credit crunch slows economy
Chart - A quote...." Holloway, a 30-year FDIC veteran, had worked extensively with failed lenders in Houston during the savings and loan crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when thousands of thrifts collapsed. - Earlier this year, the FDIC began trying to lure roughly 25 retirees like Holloway back to prepare for an increase in bank failures. It's also hiring about 75 new staff. " -- Check out the chart, for more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate 03-24-07 - mpg

Merrill sees U.S. giving nod for Gulf FX change
A quote...."DUBAI (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co said the United States has effectively given Gulf Arab oil producers the go ahead for making changes to their dollar-pegged foreign exchange policies, by recognizing inflation as a problem. - In a report entitled "U.S. Green Light for the GCC", the U.S. investment bank said the United Arab Emirates and Qatar will probably move to a currency basket in the next few months, with their respective currencies appreciating 5 percent before the end of the year."


A “Holey” Instrument Of Peace In Iraq
Must Read - A quote...."On October 23, 2006 a U.S. soldier or marine peered through the telescopic sight of his M24 sniper rifle and trained it on the face of Nora, a five-year-old Iraqi girl. Her pretty face was close enough to kiss. Instead, he squeezed the trigger and sent a 7.62 round slamming into her skull. The medical report read, “Nora sustained an explosive bullet injury to her head that smashed the skull bones and ruptured her cerebral membrane.” Nora survived the sniper’s bullet."

The International Criminal Court's American Exception
A quote...."A late 2007 New York Times editorial urged the arrest of Ahmad Harun, Sudan's interior minister from 2003 to 2005, who funded and armed the janjaweed militias that are said to have murdered 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes. Harun has been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court. The editorial calls for Harun to be surrendered to The Hague for prosecution. It stresses that "holding government officials responsible for the genocide in Darfur is crucial ... not only as a weapon of this genocide but as a way to fight the next one."

The Mosul riddle
A quote...."Operation Peace" in Sadr City in Baghdad is and will continue to be spun by the Nuri al-Maliki government - and by America corporate media - as a resounding "success" in controlling Iraqi militias, in this case the Mahdi Army of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. - Meanwhile, under the global radar, an invisible war in Mosul drags on, officially against al-Qaeda in Iraq jihadis but in fact a barely disguised anti-Sunni mini-pogrom conducted by - what else? - government-embedded militias."
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Scott Horton Interviews John Cusack
Must Listen - Audio Interview - A quote...."Actor, writer and producer John Cusack discusses his new satire War Inc., which opens Friday, May 23rd, in New York and Los Angeles, his outrage at the criminality of modern American war profiteers, the need for a grassroots bumrush of the first showings to guarantee national distribution, some critics’ complaints that the movie “hits too close to home,” the great journalists whose work has inspired him, the socialization of the costs of all these private armies onto the American tax payer, the outsourcing of interrogation, the betrayals of the Democrats, the banality of evil, the short-changing of the troops while private mercenaries cash in and militarism in the movies. (Watch out! A few bad words.)"

Impact ’08 in Florida Launches With Discussion of Global Challenges Facing U.S.
Related article - A quote...."WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Center for U.S. Global Engagement and its partners, the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and University of Miami’s Center for Hemispheric Policy, today launched its Impact ’08 in Florida initiative with a luncheon and foreign policy discussion featuring former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and US Coast Guard Commandant Admiral James Loy and Robert Mallett, Pfizer Inc’s Senior Vice President for Worldwide Public Affairs and Policy and President of the Pfizer Foundation."
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Phase One, Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Saturday round-up - 2 articles - [ Day 61 ]

Truce in jeopardy, says Al Sadr
A quote...."Published: May 25, 2008, 00:11 -- Baghdad: Supporters of radical cleric Moqtada Al Sadr warned the Iraqi government on Saturday that it was jeopardising a fragile truce, accusing security forces of attacking worshippers loyal to him in Baghdad and Basra."

al-Sadr lawmakers denounce Iraqi government
A quote...."May 24, 2008 09:37 EST -- Lawmakers loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accused the Iraqi government of trying to crush the movement and warned Saturday of "black clouds" on the horizon for truces that have eased fighting between al-Sadr's militia and security forces."

Phase One, Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Saturday round-up - [ Day 61 ]
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'Ayatollah will not allow US-Iraq deal'
A quote...."Iraq's most revered Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has strongly objected to a 'security accord' between the US and Iraq. - The Grand Ayatollah has reiterated that he would not allow Iraq to sign such a deal with "the US occupiers" as long as he was alive, a source close to Ayatollah Sistani said." -- "As long as he was alive"....guess he didn't hear about Hillary's recent statment." - mpg

Afghans appalled Marines not charged in killings
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan officials expressed outrage Saturday at the decision by the U.S. military not to charge U.S. Marines involved in a shooting spree that left 19 civilians dead in 2007."

Ancient city of Babylon destroyed by US base
A quote...."The last outsiders to visit the ruins of the once-mighty city of Babylon in Iraq came in tanks and helicopters, leaving a blight on its historic and fragile landscape, archaeologists say."

Hizbullah secures demands
A quote...."If the "no victor, no vanquished" formula was predictable, the deal finalised this week in Doha grants Iranian- and Syrian- backed Hizbullah its main demands. - Washington, opposed to its allies in the government sharing power with a group it considers "terrorist", has suffered yet another blow to its Middle East policy, and in the country it once hailed as its "success story"."

Religious leaders welcome Doha agreement
A quote...."BEIRUT: Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah congratulated the Lebanese Friday on the agreement reached by their leaders in Qatar earlier this week, and hoped it would lead to a "dialogue project" where all controversial issues would be discussed. - In his weekly Friday sermon in the Imam Hassanayn Mosque in Haret Hreik, Fadlallah urged Arab leaders, who he said, "have directed this compromise, to be loyal to this experience." - Under Arab League auspices, rival Lebanese leaders clinched a deal on Wednesday to end the political feud that exploded into deadly clashes earlier this month and nearly drove the country into a new civil war."

Egypt extends state of emergency
A quote...."Egypt's 27-year state of emergency is to be extended by another year because legislation to replace it with a new anti-terror law is not ready." - bold by website editor -- Must be one of those "freedom and democracy" steps Bush is so crazy about. - mpg

Insanity
A quote...."Nothing alarms me more than the thought of an irrational person in the White House. I'm OK with stupid. I can live with venal. I can tolerate a womanizer, even a drunk, but a crazy person in command of our nuclear forces gives me the heebie-jeebies. Somebody who can't tell the difference between a nuclear-free Iran with no ICBMs and Russia with thousands of nuclear warheads sitting atop advanced intercontinental missiles has no business being allowed in the White House, even as a tourist."

China Supports Iran's Package of Proposals
A quote...." TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's Security Council said on May 23 it has received China's general approval for a set of proposals on nuclear non-proliferation and other international security issues put forward by Tehran."

Iran, Syria to Attend Iraq Meeting in Sweden
Special Note - A quote...." TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's foreign minister and Syria's ambassador to Sweden are among the officials expected to attend next week's ministerial meeting of the Iraq Compact Annual Review, UN officials said on Friday."

Norman Finkelstein arrested in Israel
A quote...."The American academic Norman Finkelstein has been arrested and ordered deported from Israel. Finkelstein arrived in Tel Aviv earlier today on his way to the Occupied Territories. He was immediately detained and told he is banned from Israel for ten years. He’s expected to be deported tomorrow. Finkelstein is known one of the most prominent academic critics of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza."

UPDATE :  on Prof. Finkelstein’s Deportation
Related article - A quote...."The Shin Bet said Finkelstein "is not permitted to enter Israel because of suspicions involving hostile elements in Lebanon," and because he "did not give a full accounting to interrogators with regard to these suspicions."

[Pak's] President should quit or face impeachment: Zardari -- If only it was Bush, thanks to Pelosi, it won't be - mpg
A quote...."ISLAMABAD: Co-chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari Saturday said the President Co-chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari should step down voluntarily if he (President) wants to avert impeachment. - Addressing a press conference after the PPP’s Central Executive Committee here, Asif Zardari said his party never accepted General Musharraf as the constitutional President of the country. - He said consultations will be held with all the stakeholders on the draft constitutional package which the CEC meeting approved today."

Chile’s Bachelet nominated Unasur’s first president
A quote...."Chile’s Michelle Bachelet was chosen as the first president of the Union of South American Nations which was formally founded on Friday in Brasilia when the leaders of its twelve country members signed the constitutional charter."

Photos Allegedly From FARC PC Undermine Colombian Credibility
A quote...."A series of photos allegedly found on the laptops of Raúl Reyes, the FARC leader killed when the Colombian government bombed and raided a FARC encampment across the Ecuadoran border, appear to have actually been taken by Colombian intelligence agents—or by allied police or intelligence agents—in Quito, Ecuador. The photos were supplied to the Bogota daily El Tiempo by an anonymous Colombian intelligence source on Monday March 3, just two days after the raid on the encampment."

U.S. Military Base Near Venezuelan Border?
A quote...."Despite his record unpopularity, it would appear that President Bush wants to go out of office with a bang. Having failed to overthrow Hugo Chávez through an attempted coup, the White House now hopes to escalate pressure on Venezuela’s President by other means."

Gazprom to Narrow Streams
A quote...."The EU Industry Committee preliminary voted for the third option of the gas market liberalization that restricts access of the third countries to the EU markets. Gazprom rebuffed by warning that gas suppliers may revise their investment plans for the gas pipeline system of Europe. The matter at stake is funding the Nord Stream and South Stream projects."

Death-Wish Hillary Primes Manchurian Candidate
A quote..."Ever since she realized back in early March that Obama was going to take the nomination Hillary Clinton’s long-term strategy has been to do her best to ensure McCain will win this November so she can become the Democratic nominee in 2012. But she had a short term strategy too and on Friday she deliberately made it explicit in a newspaper office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. There she suggested that some is likely to step up to the plate and assassinate Barack Obama in the waning moments of the California primary, just as Bobby Kennedy was forty years go almost to the day. The wish is mother to the deed. If anything does happen to Obama in California Mrs Clinton should surely be indicted as a co-conspirator."
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Read Rothbard and deSoto
A quote...."The story you are about to read is true. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent. But first, a little background material is called for. - The Federal Reserve System was granted a monopoly over monetary policy on December 23, 1913, when the Senate voted to pass the House's bill, which had been passed on December 22. President Wilson signed the bill into law that evening. - Ever since that fateful day, economists have done their best to get their opinions on monetary policy accepted by the FED. The only exception to this generalization is the Austrian School of economics."

Buffett: US recession to become 'longer, deeper'
A quote...."BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States is already in a recession and it will be longer as well as deeper than many people expect, U.S. investor Warren Buffett said in an interview published in German magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday."


How the US dream foundered in Iraq
Must Read - A quote...."On February 15, 2003, ordinary citizens around the world poured into the streets to protest President George W Bush's onrushing invasion of Iraq. Demonstrations took place in large cities and small towns globally, including a small but spirited protest at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Up to 30 million people, who sensed impending catastrophe, participated in what Rebecca Solnit, that apostle of popular hope, has called "the biggest and most widespread collective protest the world has ever seen"."

Mexico: Oil privatisation halted due to mass protests
Must Read - A quote...."“The Adelitas have arrived/To defend our oil/Whoever wants to give it to the foreigners/ Will get the sh-t kicked out of him!” yodelled the brigades of women pouring onto the esplanade of the Mexican senate. The demonstration was to protest a petroleum privatisation measure President Felipe Calderon insists is not a petroleum privatisation measure — and which he sent onto the Senate for fast-track ratification at the tag end of the session this April." -- Well, the most recent attempt to steal Mexico's oil by the US's MIOC elites didn't last very long, they seem to be slipping, poor things.  This editor weeps for them.  For more on this issue see article below....mpg

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9/11 - From The History File...previously posted 05-14-08
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Bush Power Grab Since 911 - Scholar Urges Candidates Debate Role of President's Usurpation of Power
A quote...."Genovese urged the candidates for the White House discuss their views on the nature of the presidency. He said the Framers’ intention “was to get away from the rule of one man that they just fought a revolution to overthrow, and so the Framers invented a rule of law system, under a separation of powers, with checks and balances, under a constitution, and they invented an office, the president, who was to preside, not to govern, but to preside.”  The system they created was primarily concerned “about protecting freedom and liberty,” Genovese said, “not about the efficient use of power. That left very little room for the heroic leadership so many of us today yearn for and expect of our presidents.”

House aims at Pentagon 'propaganda' on Iraq war
A quote...."The House of Representatives moved Thursday to crack down on a Pentagon program that Democrats say planted false and overly optimistic news stories about the Iraq war, using military analysts who appeared regularly on television. - Acting on a 2009 defense policy bill, lawmakers forbade the Defense Department from engaging in "a concerted effort to propagandize" the American people over the war." -- Also posted at CommonDreams & TruthOut & IraqWar -- For more on this issue see....Fake Intel / Propaganda  -NYT's Article

Tomdispatch: Michael Schwartz, The Loss of an Imperial Dream
Must Read - A quote...."Just this week, Iraqi troops moved into the vast, battered Shiite suburb of Sadr City in east Baghdad after weeks of fierce fighting. The first descriptions of the damage -- U.S. air power was regularly called in over the last months in this heavily populated slum area -- are devastating: "As I moved into the neighborhood," writes Raheem Salman of the Los Angeles Times online, "the destruction from weeks of fighting was horrible. Most of the shops and kiosks have been damaged. Doors are knocked off their hinges. Windows are shattered. The walls are riddled with bullet holes. Some buildings are blown apart by missile fire." -- Also posted at AntiWar

In Iraq, a Surge in U.S. Airstrikes
Related article - A quote...."CAMP TAJI, Iraq -- From an Apache helicopter, Capt. Ben Katzenberger's battlefield resembles a vast mosaic of tiny brown boxes. - "The city looks like a bucket of Legos dumped out on the ground," the 26-year-old pilot said. "It's brown Legos, no color. It's really dense and hard to pick things out because everything looks the same." -- Also posted at CommonDreams, & Uruknet

Increased U.S. airstrikes in Iraq killing more civilians
Must See Video - Related article - A quote...."A surge in US airstrikes within densely populated areas of Iraq has led to a dramatic rise in civilian casualties. -According to the Washington Post, ever since an attempted crackdown on Shi'ite militias by the Iraqi government in March, which led to increased attacks on the Green Zone in Baghdad that killed some Americans, the US military has been firing missiles almost every day into the crowded Shi'ite slum of Sadr City." -- The fact this video appears on CNN can only mean one thing....a portion of the US's elites (not the MIOC elites) have finally turned against the war.  Probably because it's starting to cost them some money. - mpg

War Abroad, Poverty at Home - Another Stimulus Package for the Pentagon
Must Read - A quote...."The US Senate has voted $165 billion to fund Bush’s wars of aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq through next spring. - As the US is broke and deep in debt, every one of the $165 billion dollars will have to be borrowed. American consumers are also broke and deep in debt. Their zero saving rate means every one of the $165 billion dollars will have to be borrowed from foreigners."

Bending Over For Bush - 21 Dems Help with $165 Bil.
Related article - A quote...."21 War Loving Senate Democrats Give Bush $165 Billion for More War -- It is now their war. Iraq has been and will be the war of every Senator and Representative who funds the madness."
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Phase One, Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Friday round-up - 2 articles - [ Day 60 ]

Will Sistani Declare Jihad on US?
Must Read - Special Note - A quote...."Friday, May 23, 2008 -- Hamza Hendawi and Qassim Abdul Zahra of AP get the scoop: Their sources in Najaf tell them that young Shiite men belonging to the "Troops of the Ayatollahs" (Jund al-Marja`iyyah) militia that protects the leading Shiite clerics in the Middle Euphrates have been imploring Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani for a fatwa or formal legal ruling about whether it is permissible to attack US and other foreign troops. Hendawi and Abdul Zahra report that whereas in the past Sistani had dodged the question or given a vague answer, in recent months he has begun verbally affirming to visitors that such attacks on foreign occupation troops are permissible."

Basra shooting strains truce between govt, militia  - link posted at AntiWar
A quote...."May 23, 2008 15:07 EST -- Iraqi soldiers fired in the air over supporters of anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to prevent them from gathering for Muslim prayers Friday in the southern city of Basra, enraging the worshippers and straining a fragile truce with the government."

Phase One, Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Friday round-up - [ Day 60 ]
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Iran mosque blast plotters admit Israeli, US links: report - link posted at AntiWar
A quote...."TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's chief prosecutor said bombers who caused a deadly blast at a mosque in Shiraz had confessed of links to Israel and the United States, the ISNA student news agency reported on Friday."

Pakistan May Turn Over U.S. 'Spies' to Iran - link posted at AntiWar
A quote...."In another sign of growing tensions with the United States, Pakistan is threatening to turn over to Iran six members of a tribal militant group Iran claims are "spies" for the CIA."

CIA Protects Al-Qaeda Group From Extradition
A quote...."The CIA is protecting an Al-Qaeda linked terror group formerly headed by the alleged mastermind of 9/11 from being extradited to Iran according to an ABC News report, which also reveals that U.S. intelligence has been meeting and advising the group that has been blamed for bombings in Iran."

US slams Pakistan pact with al-Qa'ida-linked rebels - link posted at AntiWar
A quote...."THE first of Pakistan's proposed peace pacts with al-Qa'ida- and Taliban-linked militants was signed yesterday, only hours after the White House's top policy-maker on the region warned of dire consequences for the battle against global terrorism." -- Again to repeat ad nauseam, the US loved Pakistan's former covert support for al-Qa'ida, which allowed all sorts of false flag operations to be mounted against nations within the region.  What they cannot stand nor abide is any peace with Taliban elements, any such peace will allow the Taliban and the millions of Pushtons who support them, to eventually drive out NATO and US influence from Afghanistan, taking further pressure off Iran and bringing peace to the region.  Something the US adamantly does not want anytime soon.- mpg

For more regarding the four articles shown above see....US Support of Terror - MEK - PKK - Others
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Inside Iraq - Shia political power - 23 May 08 - Part 1 - (YouTube - 12 min 36 sec - Added:  May 23, 2008)
Inside Iraq - Shia political power - 23 May 08 - Part 2 - (YouTube - 9 min 48 sec - Added:  May 23, 2008)
Must View - Video - A quote...."With its Sunni-dominated political elite, Iraq was regarded as the regional counterweight to Iran's Shia influence. But the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime and the renewed political influence of Iraq's Shia community has changed that regional balance of power. Inside Iraq examines this fragile balance of power." -- Regarding the US's "oil motivation" see....War Resource 9/11

MIDEAST:  Egypt Takes a Step Back from Bush Embrace
A quote...."CAIRO, May 23 (IPS) - On his trip to the region this week, U.S. President George W. Bush dismayed even his staunchest Arab allies by expressing unprecedented levels of U.S. support for Israel. In a rare sign of Egyptian displeasure with Washington, President Hosni Mubarak left a major economic summit before Bush had a chance to deliver a scheduled address."

Egyptian FM: U.S. is fueling Middle East turmoil
Related article - A quote...."SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt (AP) -- Egypt's foreign minister criticized President Bush' Mideast policies Monday, a day after the American leader lectured Arab leaders on their approach to governing." -- For more on this issue see....Jibes highlight Bush-Mubarak rift - posted 05-21-08

From Beirut to Bolivia - Ballots and Bullets
Must Read - A quote...."May has been a month of upheaval, from the streets of Beirut, where the Bush Administration appears to have miscalculated disastrously, to Santa Cruz Province in Eastern Bolivia, where a continent’s new political realignment is trying to checkmate a slow motion rightwing coup. - The Lebanon explosion was touched off by people who forgot the first rule of warfare: don’t pick a fight with people who can kick your butts. One should also add, don’t listen to White House neoconservatives."  -- For more on this issue see....A Sudden Case of Cold Feet - Did Hezbollah Thwart a Bush/Olmert Attack on Beirut?

Inside Story - Golan Heights - 22 May 08 - Part 1 - (YouTube - 14 min 35 sec - Added:  May 23, 2008)
Inside Story - Golan Heights - 22 May 08 - Part 2 - (YouTube - 8 min 52 sec - Added:  May 23, 2008)
Video - A quote...."Israel and Syria have confirmed that they are holding peace talks."

'CIA used Portuguese airspace for 56 rendition flights'
A quote...."LISBON: A total of 56 flights used by the CIA for transporting prisoners used Portuguese airspace between July 2005 and December 2007, a member of Parliament said Friday. Communist MP Jorge Machado said the figures were contained in a report he had seen from the Transport Ministry to the government, which has previously said it had no proof of illegality."

Canada censured in Guantanamo case
A quote...."Canada's highest court has ruled that the country violated international law in the case of Omar Khadr, the only Canadian being held at the Guantanamo Bay US detention centre in Cuba."

Pakistani journalist gunned down after interviewing local Taliban spokesman
A quote...."KHAR, Pakistan: A journalist was shot dead by unknown gunmen after he interviewed a spokesman for local pro-Taliban in a Pakistan tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials and witnesses said Friday. Mohammad Ibrahim, 44, a reporter for the Urdu-language Express newspaper, was killed Thursday evening as he returned to Khar after interviewing Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Maulvi Omar, they said. Khar is the main town of restive Bajaur tribal district, where pro-Taliban militants are active."

America AWOL on Cluster Bombs
A quote...."More than 100 governments, including all major NATO allies, met on May 19 to begin two weeks of negotiations in Dublin, Ireland to finalize a global treaty banning cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. The U.S. government will not be there, and is exerting pressure on allies to weaken the treaty. Washington claims that future joint military operations will be undermined if allied governments prohibit the use of these weapons."

Russia, China denounce US missile shield at summit meeting
A quote...."Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived yesterday for a two-day visit in Beijing after a one-day stopover in Kazakhstan, on his first trip abroad since being elected president in March. Upon his arrival, he issued a joint statement with Chinese President Hu Jintao, denouncing plans for a US nuclear missile shield. However, this unity enforced by fear of the US military did not immediately lead to more substantive cooperation on economic matters."

Polish PM says no U.S. missile shield unless it improves security
A quote...."WARSAW, May 23 (RIA Novosti) - Poland will only allow the United States to deploy a missile defense base in Poland if it can be shown that this will improve national security, the prime minister said on Friday."

Pakistan and India come together over energy
A quote...."MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov) - The recent talks in Pakistan between Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi were more of a time-check for New Delhi and Islamabad than a full-scale attempt to normalize relations."

China Advocates Peaceful Solution to Iran N[uke]. Issue
A quote...." TEHRAN (FNA)- Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang reaffirmed Thursday that Beijing advocates a peaceful solution to Iran nuclear issue through diplomatic means."

ALL WAR ALL THE TIME - The Pentagon's 'irregular warfare' against civilian foreign policy
Special Note - A quote...."As it tries to recover from the most expensive failure in American military history, the Pentagon has its eyes on an easier target. The beauty of this adversary is that it is not from an indecipherable culture, it doesn't speak a strange language and it doesn't scatter IEDs in the path of Hummers. In fact, it's not even armed and its headquarters, far from concealed in the mountains of Pakistan, are easily found in the high rises of Washington, DC. The new foe: The State Department, USAID and other civilian diplomatic and development operations - proving once again that our military leaders' real skill set is not fighting mile by mile on some foreign battlefield but line by line in the domestic budget. -- There is no doubt that the domestic surge is working. Between 2002 and 2005, the share of government development assistance flowing through the Pentagon rose from 6% to 22%." -- underline by website editor.
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South America Creates Regional Union, Parliament
Special Note - A quote...."23/05/08 "-- BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - A new South American union was born Friday as leaders of the region's 12 nations set out to create a continental parliament. - Some see the new organization, Unasur, as a regional version of the European Union. Summit host Brazil wants it to help coordinate defense affairs across South America and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez calls it a counterweight to the United States. - ''The number one enemy of the union of the south is the empire of the United States,'' Chavez said after arriving in Brazil's capital. ''It's very elementary: divide and conquer.''

Lula: United South America to shake global balance of power
Related article - A quote...."Brasilia - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Friday in Brasilia that a United South America can shift the global balance of power. "South America, united, will move the board game of power in the world, not for its own benefit, but for everyone's," Lula said. -- As he opened the summit to launch the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), the region's latest integration initiative, Lula stressed that the region can contribute to overcoming the current world food crisis, as long as it is autonomous."

Chávez: US endangers South American union
Related article - A quote...."Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez backed on Friday in Brazil the union of South American nations and warned that the "US imperialism" is the major foe of integration. - Chávez landed in Brasilia early in the morning to attend a meeting of 12 South American presidents. The summit is intended to sign a treaty that will lay the foundations of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur). The institution is to include a presidential forum, a general secretariat and a parliament."

Union of South American Nations born amid controversies
Related article - A quote...."The South American Union of Nations was officially born Friday in Brasilia as leaders of the region's 12 nations signed the constitutional charter, the latest of the region’s integration mechanisms. Brazil's president, Lula da Silva, who hosted the summit, invited other Latin American and Caribbean nations to join the venture. "Unasur is born, open to the entire region, born under the signs of diversity and pluralism," he said. However Unasur was born with serious controversies."

Editor's Note: Regarding the four articles shown above.

The South Americans know what's going on, what the heck is wrong with the Muslims in the Middle East?  Given their economic potential they should have had the equivalent of a Muslim Economic Union more than thirty years ago.  Instead they (and this editor especially blames the Saudi Royals for this) let themselves be stupidly divided and made to go to war against one another….wars which have cost millions of lives and trillions of dollars. Why?  How did this happen?  Every single Muslim should ask themselves why did they let themselves be so easily "played" by the big powers. - mpg
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The U.S. housing market weakened
A quote...."May 23 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar posted its third consecutive weekly decline against the euro as the U.S. housing slump and record oil prices slow growth in the world's biggest economy."

Unsold houses rise to 23-year high in April - Sales decline 1% even as prices plunge 8% year-on-year
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. housing market weakened further in April with a flood of homes coming on the market even as sales and prices declined, the National Association of Realtors reported Friday."

Realtors, architects: commercial real estate weaker
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Commercial real estate markets should weaken in the months ahead, according to reports released Wednesday by trade groups representing realtors and architects."


Johann Hari: Why bananas are a parable for our times
Must Read - A quote...."Below the headlines about rocketing food prices and rocking governments, there lays a largely unnoticed fact: bananas are dying. The foodstuff, more heavily consumed even than rice or potatoes, has its own form of cancer. It is a fungus called Panama Disease, and it turns bananas brick-red and inedible." -- Also posted at CommonDreams

Ain't My America - Readings in the Age of Empire
Book Review - A quote...."American politicians routinely chatter about peace while inaugurating war. Indeed, despite the bitter partisan wrangling over Iraq, war has more often united than divided Washington's establishment. Today, despite the ongoing debacle in Iraq, Republicans and Democrats compete to breathe more and hotter fire against Iran. It is Democrat Hillary Clinton who threatens to "obliterate" that nation if it attacks not America, but a far distant allied state, one already nuclear-armed and well able to defend itself. Both of the dominant political parties are war parties."

History in the making for Hezbollah
Special Note - A quote...."DAMASCUS - British statesman Sir Winston Churchill once said, "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." On another occasion, he said, "Although prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed." -- These two quotes came to my mind, as I imagined Hasan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah, seated somewhere in Beirut, watching his allies and opponents hammer out a deal in Doha - to his favor - on Wednesday. -- He must have been a very happy man because all of the Doha resolutions were almost tailor-made to Nasrallah's liking. Nasrallah finally got what he had been asking for, mainly a greater say for the opposition in the Lebanese government, and the ability to veto any resolution that runs against the interests of Hezbollah. True, no early parliamentary elections are going to happen (as Hezbollah had requested) to oust the parliamentary majority of Saad al-Hariri, but the entire issue of Hezbollah and its arms was glossed over at the Doha meeting. "

US Will Not Take NATO Command in Southern Afghanistan
A quote...."The Pentagon has put an end to talk of expanding the U.S. command zone in Afghanistan to the volatile southern region, announcing an agreement for other nations to command the NATO effort in the area for the next 2 1/2 years. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon." -- What were the Europeans thinking?!  The US spent years fobbing this disaster off onto NATO starting as early as 2003, they're certainly not about to take it back.  After all they're not as stupid as the Europeans were. --  Look folks, the whole point was to get the oil right? Iraq has it, Afghanistan doesn't.  Sure Afghanistan would have made a great pipeline corridor to pump all of that lovely Caspian crude to waiting US oil tankers.  Which is why Unocal (now merged with Chevron) stole the contract from Bridas and got the Bush's to bomb the hell out of the Taliban.  But since the former Soviet "Stans" have wised up to US ways (heck all they have to do is take a look at the million dead in Iraq) and since they're all now part of the SCO, Afghanistan has suddenly lost much of it's former allure. --  And now the poor, stupid, Europeans are stuck there trying to make a go of it....forever. - mpg
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POLITICS:  Where Are Those Iranian Weapons in Iraq?
A quote...."WASHINGTON, May 21 (IPS) - The U.S. military command in Iraq continues to talk about an alleged pipeline of Iranian weapons to Iraqi Shiites opposing the U.S. occupation, implying that they have become dependent on Iran for indirect-fire weapons and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs)." -- Also posted at ICH & AntiWar

Media Fumbles Iran Narrative Again - link posted at AntiWar
A quote...."The story that most likely would have knocked the bottom out of the Bush administration’s case for war with Iran occurred more than a week ago, and the mainstream media still haven’t reported it."

For more on the two articles shown above see....Fake Intel/Propaganda - IED's & EFP's
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Phase One, Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Thursday round-up - 1 article - [ Day 59 ]

Assassinations of High Officials; 36 Killed, Wounded in Baghdad; Iraqiya Rebuffs al-Maliki
A Juan Cole round-up - A quote...."Thursday, May 22, 2008 -- Signs that things weren't that calm in Baghdad on Wednesday: Guerrillas assassinated Colonel Abdul Kareem Muhsin, the director of the protection department in the ministry of transportation, in East Baghdad."

Phase One, Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Thursday round-up - [ Day 59 ]
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If This is Not Evil...
Must Read - A quote...."It used to be so simple. -- Even five years ago there was no room for moral ambiguity. -- Here is President Bush, in his 2003 State of the Union:"

Bush's Conspiracy to Create an American Police State Part VIII: Atrocities are justified with lies, myths or propaganda -- Must Read - A quote...."Bush is a rotten, transparent bald-faced liar and anyone still believing him is either stupid or complicit. Bush said: "We do not torture!" And all the while, his administration was working to 'legalize' the capital crimes that Bush himself had clearly ordered. What followed was an organized campaign of lies to justify torture even as the practice of it was made official policy and often called by its Orwellian euphemism: 'enhanced interrogation'."

For His Treatment of Children in the ‘War on Terror,’ Bush Is a War Criminal
A quote...."Surely nothing that President Bush has done in his two wretched terms of office — not the invasion and destruction of Iraq, not the overturning of the five-centuries-old tradition of habeas corpus, not his authorization and encouragement of torture, not his campaign of domestic spying — nothing, can compare in its ugliness as his approval, as commander in chief, of the imprisoning of over 2500 children." -- Also posted at ICH

FBI files indict Bush, Cheney and Co. as war criminals
A quote...."The most stunning revelation in a 370-page Justice US Department Inspector General’s report released this week was that agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation had formally opened a “War Crimes” file, documenting torture they had witnessed at the Guantánamo Bay US prison camp, before being ordered by the administration to stop writing their reports."

Clive Stafford Smith: US Holding 27,000 in Secret Overseas Prisons; Transporting Prisoners to Iraqi Jails to Avoid Media & Legal Scrutiny -- “There is a huge number of [secret prisoners] being held in Iraq, and one of the intriguing aspects of this that doesn’t get much reporting is that the US is bringing people into Iraq from elsewhere to hold them there, simply because that keeps [the media and lawyers] away from the prisoners so they can’t get any sort of legal rights,” reports British attorney Clive Stafford Smith. [includes rush transcript]" --   ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

Senate approves $165 billion in new war money
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Thursday approved an additional $165 billion to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan for another year after lawmakers blocked proposed timetables for withdrawing American troops from Iraq."
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Iraqi TV station says U.S. troops killed cameraman
A quote..."BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi television station accused U.S. troops on Thursday of shooting dead one of its cameramen as he walked to his Baghdad home. - The body of a second journalist, Haidar Hashim al-Husseini, a reporter for al-Sharq newspaper, was found dumped in a field with nine other corpses in Diyala province, police and colleagues said. - A spokeswoman for the Afaq television channel said cameraman Wisam Ali Ouda was shot dead by U.S. soldiers in eastern Baghdad's Obaidi district at around 5pm on Wednesday. -- For more on this issue see....US - Killing the Messenger

NO FREEDOM OF SPEECH !! CENSORED !!
A quote...."This is to report that my blog "EUROPEAN TURKMEN FRIENDSHIPS"  has been locked by Blogger this morning, I can no longer add new posts and they threaten to delete my blog!"

Bush's Endless Hypocrisy on Terror - posted at ConsortiumNews
A quote...."Is a government guilty of terrorism if it harbors known terrorists? What should one say about a country that permits open fund-raising on behalf of a terrorist implicated in the mass killing of civilians?"

Report: Syria questions Israel's seriousness on peace, wants full return of Golan Heights
A quote...."DAMASCUS, Syria: A government-run newspaper in Syria is questioning whether Israel has serious intentions of achieving peace and says Damascus won't accept anything short of a full return of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights."

This state cannot survive
A quote...."When Amnon Rubinstein speaks, many people in Israel listen. As an intellectual who has held the posts of minister of education and of justice, Rubinstein commands the respect of the Israeli elite regardless of their intellectual and political leanings. And yet Rubinstein surprised Israelis when in interview with Hebrew Radio in mid-April he anticipated that the Israeli state would not survive. Rubinstein is not the only person to have reached this conclusion. On the eve of the 60th anniversary of Israel's establishment, Israeli intellectuals teemed with pessimistic predictions about the future. An increasing number of politicians and Zionists have begun to openly express the belief that the entity of Israel is on a path to oblivion." -- Also posted at ICH

Israel's Grim Anniversary - 60 Years of Apartheid
A quote...."South Africa’s white minority government was finally overthrown in 1993, after decades of black popular and working-class resistance. That year, the black majority democratically elected the African National Congress--previously derided as a “terrorist” organization by apartheid’s imperial supporters, including the U.S.--to lead its government. Freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, having spent 27 years in a South African prison and reviled as an international terrorist, was reinvented in the Western press as an elder statesman. -- Now the apartheid state of Israel fears it will meet the same fate from its own oppressed, and growing, Palestinian population."

Colombia: What did Interpol find in the laptops?
Video - Special Note - A quote...."After the Colombian military illegally attacked a FARC camp in Ecuador in March with US assistance, the Uribe government claimed to have found laptops belonging to the rebels that they say show clear ties between the FARC, Venezuela and Ecuador. The Colombian government handed these laptops to Interpol for verification, but what did Interpol really find?"

Heavy gunfire breaks out along border between Georgia, Abkhazia
A quote...."TBILISI, Georgia: Heavy gunfire broke out Wednesday along the administrative border separating Georgia and its breakaway region of Abkhazia, wounding several people who were trying to vote in parliamentary elections, Georgian officials said."

Russia ready for more talks on U.S. missile shield in Europe
A quote...."MOSCOW, May 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is ready to continue comprehensive consultations with the United States on its plans to deploy a missile shield in Central Europe, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday."

Karl Rove Subpoenaed by House Judiciary Committee in Siegelman Case
A quote...."(Washington, DC)-Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) issued a subpoena to former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove for testimony about the politicization of the Department of Justice (DOJ), including former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman's case. Yesterday, Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, sent a letter to the Committee expressing that Rove would not agree to testify voluntarily, per the Committee's previous requests."

Mary Tillman, Mother of Slain Army Ranger and former NFL Star Pat Tillman, on Her Four-Year Quest to Expose the Military Cover-Up of Her Son’s Death by Members of His Own Unit -- A quote...."Pat Tillman left behind a lucrative NFL contract to enlist in the military after 9/11. On April 22, 2004, Tillman was killed while serving in Afghanistan. He died, the military said, while charging up a hill toward the enemy to protect his fellow Army Rangers. But that wasn’t the real story. Tillman was killed by his own men. What’s more, the military knew that within hours but waited five weeks before admitting it. Four years and several probes later, Pat Tillman’s family, led by his mother Mary, are still searching for answers about what really happened. Mary Tillman has just published a book based on her review of uncensored government documents and her four-year effort to cut through misleading official accounts of how her son died. It’s called Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman. [includes rush transcript]"  --    ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  ||  --  For more on this issue see....Fake Intel / Propaganda - Pat Tillman

USA Military Officers Challenge Official Account of September 11
A quote...."Twenty-five former U.S. military officers have severely criticized the official account of 9/11 and called for a new investigation.  They include former commander of U.S. Army Intelligence, Major General Albert Stubblebine, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Col. Ronald D. Ray, two former staff members of the Director of the National Security Agency; Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, PhD, and Major John M. Newman, PhD, and many others.  They are among the rapidly growing number of military and intelligence service veterans, scientists, engineers, and architects challenging the government’s story.  The officers’ statements appear below, listed alphabetically."

Alex Jones - Jesse Ventura Interview - Video 20/05/08
Video - Alex Jones interviews Jesse Ventura
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Wall Street's Racket Has Gone Too Far, and We're Going to Pay the Heavy Price
Must Read - A quote...."The Federal Reserve itself has been instrumental in promoting abnormality by doing everything possible to prevent the work-out of bad debts in the system. Since money is loaned into existence, and loans are debts, the work-out of bad debt suggests the discovery that a lot of money has disappeared -- which is exactly the case. The Fed has postponed the work-out by sucking up truckloads of impaired, untradable securities in exchange for loans to giant banks that don't have enough cash on hand to pay their janitors."

"Immoral Hazard" : Financial Instability, "Free Markets" and the Fed
A quote...."He calls his latest commentary "Immoral Hazard" and takes straight aim at the perpetrators. It's not the first time, and with good reason. Bad policy yields bad results with former Fed Chairman Greenspan Exhibit A. -- Grantham notes: "It's not that the former Fed boss...was incompetent that is remarkable. (It's that even now) so many people (still) don't seem to get it." Do they "just believe high-quality, self-justifying blarney?" Or do they think top jobs ipso facto "attract great talent by divine right?" Often, the most important jobs get "mediocrities" like Greenspan and the current White House occupant. Even worse, Washington is infested with them." -- Also posted at OpEdNews

U.S. inflation understated, Pimco's Gross says
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. government has been understating inflation, which has led investors to misprice stocks, bonds and real estate, noted bond-fund manager Bill Gross said Thursday."

Megabubble waiting for new president in 2009
A quote...."ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- Remember that big ah-ha moment in the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz?" Dorothy wants to see the Wizard. His voice booms: "Do not arouse the wrath of the Great and Powerful Oz! Come back tomorrow!" Afraid, Lion, Tin Man, Scarecrow shake. Dorothy's dog runs up, tugs on a curtain. She chases Toto, pulls curtain open: -- "Who are you?" Dr. Marvel stutters: "Well, I - I - I am the Great and Powerful, Wizard of Oz." Dorothy: "You are? I don't believe you!" He replies: "No, it's true. There's no other Wizard except me." Dorothy's miffed: "Oh, you're a very bad man!" Wizard: "Oh, no, my dear. I'm a very good man. I'm just a very bad Wizard."

Home Prices Tumble 3.1% in First Quarter, Ofheo Says (Update2)
A quote...."May 22 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. house prices sank 3.1 percent in the first three months of 2008 from a year earlier, the second quarterly decline since June after 13 years of increases, according to a government report. - Prices for previously owned single-family homes fell in 43 states, with values in California and Nevada tumbling more than 8 percent, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, known as Ofheo, said today in Washington."

Fed: Delinquency Rates Rose Sharply in Q1
Chart - Special Note - Related article - A quote...."The Federal Reserve reports that delinquency rates rose sharply in Q1 in all categories - except agricultural loans (higher food prices helps)." -- It appears it's just starting, two to three years from now the rates will probably be topping out, which would be right in line with the ten year cycle. -- mpg --  For more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate 03-24-07 - mpg