Saturday June 6th 2009

The ever changing story: Anatomy of a typical US military propaganda campaign
Must Read - A quote...."One month later, after the bombings of a village in western Afghanistan that killed up wards of 150 civilians, we now get this half assed admission of culpability on the part of the US military. -- The US military is now saying that "errors" were made in the air strikes last May 4th that resulted in over a hundred civilian deaths.  Oh, they are still claiming that most killed were "Taliban" (what the Pentagon and their pocket poodle American media call anyone who take up arms against the holy selfless Paladins of the US military in Afghanistan).  And they are still hinting that this "Taliban" is responsible but this new story, a month later, is in stark contrast to first initial responses of the US military on this bombing- which were, in my opinion, outright lies made up out of whole cloth." - also posted at Uruknet - For more on this issue see....US Fake Intel / Propaganda

The Real Meaning of Allowing Guilty Pleas and Death Penalty Without Trial for Alleged 9/11 Plotters
Must Read -- A quote...."The tin-pot dictator will not let the media talk to the American prisoner captured when his plane crashed. - The dictator says that the prisoner confessed to a horrible murder, and has pleaded guilty. - And so - the dictator announces - there will be no trial, just a death sentence. Indeed, the prisoner is Christian, and the dictator says that the prisoner has asked for martyrdom according to his religious beliefs. - Would the rest of the world believe this is fair? - Of course not. Moreover, world opinion would assume that the prisoner might very well be innocent of the murder charges. - This is exactly the situation we have currently with the prisoners at Guantanamo." - also posted at RogueGov -- See also....9/11 - Iraq - Torture Fables

Exclusive Interview with Future Prediction Expert Gerald Celente
Must Read Interview - A quote...."Mr. Celente puts part of the blame squarely on the federal government, and especially FED Chairman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary  Geithner, and warns us not to believe a word they say  “They’re the same people who didn't see it coming - are now telling us the worst is over, that ‘green shoots are spouting upwards’.   But they were wrong before.  They’re wrong on this too”. -- “When you pump out tons of money manure into this system based on nothing – printing press paper, it’s like giving a patient with a chronic disease a pain killer -- it won’t cure the patient.” -- “But let’s go beyond the economics.  Our whole Constitution has been abrogated.  The president simply writes an Executive Order to do whatever he wants.  Nationalize the banks, take over the insurance industry, automobile industry, health care industry… -- None of it is constitutional.” -- When did the problem begin? -- “After Dwight Eisenhower -- our last great president -- the Allied Supreme Commander in WWII – who warned us of the dangers of the military-industrial complex.  We've become completely corrupted.”

Ten Questions For Everyone Who Supported Obama
Must Read - A quote...."Dear Supporters of Barack Obama, - You presented Mr. Obama as the candidate of change. You attached that word to his face and plastered it across the country. Change We Can Believe In. Change From Day 1. The Candidate of Change. It's time for Change in America. - On election night, you announced to the world that "Change has come to America ." You hijacked Google so that the first search result for "Change" led to Obama's change.gov web site. - America responded. Clearly, the country was in the mood for change....."

Obama, Like Bush, Just Doesn’t Get It
Must Read - A quote...."Obama, like President Bush, thinks that it’s all just a public-relations problem. We just have to get the message out that U.S. officials love Muslims. Once they get the message, the U.S. Empire will be able to impose its will throughout the Middle East. -- And that’s the core of the problem facing the American people. What business does the U.S. government have imposing its will on people who live thousands of miles away? -- Indeed, what right did the U.S. government have to oust the democratically elected prime minister of Iran and replace him with an unelected dictator, the Shah of Iran? -- What right did the U.S. government have to support Saddam Hussein and deliver weapons of mass destruction to him so that he could use them to kill Iranians? -- What right did the U.S. government have to intervene in the Persian Gulf War, especially after signaling to Saddam Hussein that the United States had no interest in the border conflict between Iraq and Kuwait? -- What right did the U.S. government have to impose brutal sanctions that took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children?....."

Iraq's New Death Squad
A quote...."The Iraq Special Operations Forces (ISOF) is probably the largest special forces outfit ever built by the United States, and it is free of many of the controls that most governments employ to rein in such lethal forces. The project started in the deserts of Jordan just after the Americans took Baghdad in April 2003. There, the US Army's Special Forces, or Green Berets, trained mostly 18-year-old Iraqis with no prior military experience. The resulting brigade was a Green Beret's dream come true: a deadly, elite, covert unit, fully fitted with American equipment, that would operate for years under US command and be unaccountable to Iraqi ministries and the normal political process. " -- For more on this issue see....US support Death Sqds

Torture-Linked [Obama] Nominee Withdraws for DHS Intel Post
One down, dozens, if not hundreds more to impeach, prosecute and imprison. - mpg -- A quote...."FBI counterterrorism head Philip Mudd today withdrew his name from consideration as the Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis, saying he believed his confirmation hearings would be a “distraction.” -- Mudd was reportedly linked to the CIA’s torture program under former President Bush (when he served as deputy director of the Office of Terrorism Analysis) and reportedly had “direct knowledge of the agency’s harsh interrogation program.”

Afghanistan's parliament call for the prosecution of "Criminal Foreign Troops"
A quote...."Afghanistan's parliament plans to pass an approval and send all related documents to the country's High Court as well as the international Hague tribunal," Khawaasi said. -- This is the first time that Afghanistan's parliament has decided to file a lawsuit against foreign forces based in the country and described them as "war criminals."

Lebanon: 10 More Are Charged With Spying for Israel
A quote...."Lebanon’s military prosecutor charged 10 more Lebanese on Friday with spying for Israel, bringing the total this year to 55, a judicial official said. Four of those charged were already in custody, having been detained on suspicion of the crime, and the other six have yet to be arrested. Eight of the 10 were also charged with drug trafficking. Of the 55 charged, 34 are in jail, including 2 Palestinians, a retired general and a police officer."

Lebanon: Hizbullah Punching Above Its Numbers
A quote...."Understanding Lebanon's complex political system is no easy task. In a relatively small country of about four million, Lebanon has more than 18 religious communities and dozens of active political parties. The sectarian political system divides the 128 seats of parliament between 10 of those religious sects, leaving one for minorities."

Pakistan diary: Taliban tactics
A quote...."Twisted hunks of metal lay strewn across the road. - It's the result of a brazen raid by the Taliban on a convoy ferrying prisoners into the North West Frontier Province's main city of Peshawar. - This high profile raid suggests there has been a subtle shift in the Pakistani Taliban's tactics. - When this war began the Taliban stood their ground and the army had to fight them house-to-house, street-to-street. - Now though, it seems the Taliban have renewed an old tactic: hit-and-run raids."

Iran mass produces new ground-to-air guided missile
A quote...."ran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar inaugurates the production line of domestically-made supersonic ground-to-air missile system. -- Mohammad-Najjar says the smart missile system, called 'Shahin' has a range of more than 40 kilometers." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Iraq calls for expansion of ties with Iran
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Kazemi Qomi underlined his enthusiasm for expanding political and economic ties with Tehran."

Ecuador to Join ALBA June 24
A quote...."Quito, Jun 6 (Prensa Latina) Ecuador will officially become a full member of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) during the special summit of this organization, to be run June 24 in Venezuela."

Bolivia Subdues Kosovo Style Terror
A quote...."La Paz, Jun 6 (Prensa Latina) The terrorist group dismantled last April in Santa Cruz was trying to cause a Kosovo effect in Bolivia, according to evidence published this week by the special commission of the Chamber of Deputies."

UK press: Brown, 'dead man walking'
More on the "Brown is Down Debacle".  It doesn't pay to be a lackey of the US-NRE's elites. - mpg -- A quote...."British newspapers have called on the Prime Minister Gordon Brown to call for a general election to restore some authority to the government. -- A defiant Brown has vowed to tough it out as prime minister after Cabinet members quit and his governing Labour Party has suffered an electoral meltdown."
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Dick (Uncut)
Must View Video Satire - Jon Stewart’s take on Dick's latest fulminations. – mpg

Anthrax War - Dead Silence - posted at 9/11 Truth
Film Review - A quote...."When the 2001 anthrax attacks hit the USA in the days following 9/11, it was like a one-two punch against the Republic. Workers in New York’s media center who had seen the planes swoop too low over their heads en route to the Twin Tower were now terrified of their mail. In Washington, Capitol Hill was evacuated and White House staffers were chewing CIPRO tablets." -- For more on this issue see....US- False Flag Ops - Anthrax

Video: Obama Warns not to challenge Official 9/11 Story - Alt - (YouTube - 1 min 8 sec - June 05, 2009)
Video - A quote...."....these are not opinions to be debated, these are facts to be dealt with."  --  Obama commenting on the US-NRE's "official" (and completely ridiculous) conspiracy theory. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - Iraq - Torture Fables & 9/11 - NORAD & 9/11 - WTC7 & 9/11 - Commission & 9/11 - Punish or Reward & 9/11 - WTC-1&2 & 9/11 - Planning Guidance & 9/11 - Lawsuits & Financial Ties 9/11 & Flights 9/11

911 - The Debate Is Over - controlled demolition
Video - How about we also roll these videotapes, shall we.....?

9/11 Mysteries - Squibs
Video - and another....

WTC demolition squibs
Video - and another....

Nails in the Coffin of Trade Seven
Photos & Video Download - and another....

No doubt there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for the databases and videos shown above.  So instead of categorically dismissing many unanswered questions surrounding 9/11, while stating this country should be satisfied with a fifteen million dollar investigation**  of what really occurred on that fateful day, why doesn't Obama just shut his stupid mouth and demand another, more through, more complete investigation?

Or is he simply just too afraid of what would come out?  Is he really that much of a coward?  Is this nation?

Are its people? - mpg

**(That's right folks, that's how much the US-NRE spent for the 9/11 commission, about what it spends for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan in just half an hour.  And the funny thing is our political elites, and those who finance them from the shadows, only wanted to give the 9/11 commission a total of just three million dollars at first, that's just 6 MINUTES worth of occupation time.) - mpg

‘9/11 Press for Truth’ on Channel 12 Draws Huge Support from Colorado Public Television Viewers @ 9/11 Truth
A quote...."DENVER – (June 4, 2009) – KBDI has always been at the forefront of controversial programming and last night was no exception. As the first broadcast station in the United States to air the controversial documentary 9/11 Press for Truth, which claims a 9/11 cover-up, KBDI showed that it is not afraid to touch on sensitive subjects." -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - Press For Truth's - Trailer #1 or Trailer #2

So many reports that are still entirely classified
A quote...."Sibel Edmonds: Well, again, I am just one part of a lot of different things as far as this whole issue of 9/11 goes, and my point has been, OK, we had this 911 Commission Report, we had this Joint Enquiry by the Senate & House, yet currently there are so many reports that are still entirely classified. --     There is another report by the Department of Justice's Inspector General's Office titled "FBI and 911 Foreknowledge" which you can see on their website. That report was completed in July 2004, and it dealt with my case, Coleen Rowley's case, the Phoenix Memo, and even more, yet that report is entirely classified, OK. --  There is another IG report on CIA, that report is entirely classified. Then there is that 28 pages that Senator Graham was referring to, that dealt with certain foreign countries and their roles, those 28 pages, even today, after all the campaigns by the 911 family members, remains classified."

Project Expose MSM Reports -- Newsweek & Michael Isikoff
A quote...."Here is the first project report, this one based on my own first-hand documented experience. In 2003 Newsweek reporter Michael Isikoff interviewed me for, and then published a story on the FBI translation program. His report knowingly omitted crucial facts, directly relevant cases, witness statements and confirmed official reports, while advancing the FBI's already-discredited point of view."
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Gaza Victims Want Justice
A quote...."GAZA CITY — The gruesome moment can never go away from Wael al-Samuni's mind. -- "They killed our children, our relatives," the 35-year-old Gazan father told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday, June 6. -- "They destroyed our houses. Why? We don't know." -- also posted at Uruknet & WarInIraq

Soldiers, settlers, attack peace activists near Hebron
A quote...."The Maan News Agency reported Saturday that Israeli soldiers and settlers attacked dozens of International, Israeli and Palestinian peace activists who were protesting against the settlers of Susia illegal settlement outpost, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron."

An open Letter from Gaza to the government and people of Spain
A quote...."The following is a letter issued by the Gaza branches of: The One Democratic State Group, The University Teachers' Association in Palestine, The Palestinian Student's Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel and the Arab Cultural Forum. -- We write to you as Palestinians from Gaza to express our dismay at the proposal of the Spanish parliament to restrict the universal jurisdiction of Spain, particularly with regard to breaches of international humanitarian law. The proposal called for the existing legislation to be modified so that cases may only be pursued if they involve Spanish victims or if the accused is present on Spanish soil."

The power of culture vs the culture of power
A quote...."Culture can be understood as meaningful engagement in life, and the counter of this defines the denial of culture as a form of ghettoization. Attempts by the Israeli government to deny Palestinians cultural freedoms, which are enshrined in the right to expression, are yet another way in which Israel reinforces its oppression of its occupied people. The recent campaign by Israel to further dehumanize Palestinians by diminishing Palestinian cultural life demonstrates that the Israeli occupation extends beyond the wall, the checkpoints, the control of resources and the expansion of settlements. When cultural freedoms are denied, culture inevitably becomes a political act, and the celebration of Palestinian culture becomes a form of resistance. In this light, the sheer vibrancy of Palestinian cultural life is symbolic of both the resilience of Palestinian culture and the perseverance of Palestinian humanity."
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US Fed Chairman demands plan to cut social programs
A quote...."Testifying Wednesday before the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke demanded that Congress and the Obama administration map out a program of austerity measures to bring down record budget deficits. Bernanke made clear that the heart of this program should be sharp cuts in social spending, including basic entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare." -- For more on this issue see....Go Build Your Neo-Roman Empire - Just Leave Us Out Of It - 10-14-07 - mpg

HR 1207 Now Up To 190 Co-sponsors
Action Update - A quote...."Title: To amend title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes."

The “Organized Crime Syndicate” Continues On…
A quote...."June 6 (Bloomberg) — Bank of America Corp. named two ex- regulators and two former bankers as directors, remaking the board five weeks after shareholders ousted Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis as chairman. -- The bank, recipient of a $45 billion government infusion, is revamping a board that lost two other members in the past two weeks. Among them was lead director O. Temple Sloan, who had defended Lewis against attempts to force him out for failing to disclose mounting losses at Merrill Lynch & Co. before the lender took it over this year."

Bank Profits From Accounting Rules Masking Looming Loan Losses
A quote...."Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, after “stress testing” 19 banks on their ability to withstand a worsening economy, declared in early May that Americans can be confident in the banks’ stability and resilience. Wells Fargo & Co. and Morgan Stanley were among banks raising $43 billion in new capital since then through share sales." [It wasn't the Chinese, they couldn't possibly be that stupid.  It was probably Banks buying each other's stock or US pension funds. - mpg] -- "The revival may be short-lived. Analysts who have examined the quarterly profits and government tests say that accounting rule changes and rosy assumptions are making the institutions look healthier than they are." -- bold by website editor

The Household Driven Deflation?
Must Read - Charts - A quote...."In his daily report yesterday, David Rosenberg had some pertinent things to say about deflation, not the least of which was debunking Melissa Francis' preconception that inflation is equivalent to commodity price increases. The key issue is the differential between absolute and relative price increases: in many ways the current inflation scare is even less moot than the panic in the summer of last year, when it became painfully obvious that neither retailers nor final-state manufacturers have pricing power (think excess capacity: if the manufacturing ISM is any indication, this pricing power is only going to get further obliterated in the coming months, eating away directly at the bottom line, and making the forward EPS ramp up even more of a mirage in the manufacturing sector; also worth pointing out that non-manufacturing ISM actually fell by 2.6% to 44.4%)." - bold by website editor

Treasuries tumble, driving two-year yields to an eight-month high
A quote...."The yields are not rising because the economy is improving. -- They are rising because investors are selling Treasuries to get out of the bond bubble and the US dollar!"

Bank No. 37 Closed; Bank of Lincolnwood Seized by Regulators
A quote...."Bank of Lincolnwood, Lincolnwood, Illinois, was closed today by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver."

Friday June 5th 2009

Time to Break Up the Banks
Must View Video - (It explains the financial crisis in simple, easy, steps, sort of like a "Banksterism Guide for Dummies". - mpg) -- A quote...."June 05, 2009 "The Nation" -- Last April, I wrote about A New Way Forward, a new and growing movement organized via the web and founded by young people who want to take back the power of the ordinary citizen to affect our economic structure. The organization's coming-out party took place last April 11 with more than sixty coordinated events coast to coast all making the case for alternative bailout plans based on the public's interest." -- also posted at the Nation & CommonDreams

Dollar's wounds reopen
Must Read - A quote....""Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it." The adage applies well to the US Federal Reserve as it enters what may turn out to be an entirely new and more dangerous phase of the financial and economic crisis that is still firmly centered in the US - notwithstanding the ongoing Wall Street rally and increased hopes that the worst is now over. -- The Fed wished away the hysterical risk aversion reflex of global investors, which came to a head in autumn 2008, when big Wall Street banks collapsed, sending shockwaves around the globe. The position of Fed officials is, after all, that this is a crisis sparked mostly by panic-stricken investors who've artificially driven the value of America's innovative financial assets far below their true values, wrongfully smearing massive sums of such assets with the label, "Toxic!". "

Securitization: The Biggest Rip-off Ever
Must Read - Some quotes...."June 05, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- -Is it possible to make hundreds of billions of dollars in profits on securities that are backed by nothing more than cyber-entries into a loan book? --  It's not only possible; it's been done." -- "Securitization--which is the conversion of pools of loans into securities that are sold in the secondary market--provides a means for massive debt-leveraging. The banks use off-balance sheet operations to create securities so they can avoid normal reserve requirements and bothersome regulatory oversight. Oddly enough, the quality of the loan makes no difference at all, since the banks make their money on loan originations and other related fees. What matters is quantity, quantity, quantity; an industrial-scale assembly line of fetid loans dumped on unsuspecting investors to fatten the bottom line. And, boy, can Wall Street grind out the rotten paper when there's no cop on the beat and the Fed is cheering from the bleachers. In an analysis written by economist Gary Gorton for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s 2009 Financial Markets Conference titled, "Slapped in the Face by the Invisible Hand; Banking and the Panic of 2007", the author shows that mortgage-related securities ballooned from $492.6 billion in 1996 to $3,071.1 in 2003, while asset backed securities (ABS) jumped from $168.4 billion in 1996 to $1,253.1 in 2006. All told, more than $20 trillion in securitized debt was sold between 1997 to 2007. How much of that debt will turn out to be worthless as foreclosures skyrocket and the banks balance sheets come under greater and greater pressure?  "

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Warns of Oligarchy
Related article - A quote...."As I have previously pointed out, two top IMF officials and the former Vice President of the Dallas Federal Reserve have all warned that the U.S. has been taken over by an oligarchy. -- Wednesday, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Thomas Hoenig, agreed...."

Federal Reserve to Hire Ex-Enron Lobbyist in PR Move to Counter Doubts about Fed's Growing Power Over U.S. Financial System -- Related Article - How is the Fed responding to....

    (1) a bill in Congress with 190 co-sponsors to audit the Fed
    (2) a new law giving the GAO some power to examine the Fed's actions, and....
    (3) calls by many to abolish the Fed altogether?

A promise of 100% openness and full disclosure to Congress and the American people?
An agreement to stop all behind-the-scenes shenanigans?
An end to the whole scam of private bankers "creating" credit and bilking the taxpayers out of trillions in interest?
Of course not!

Instead, the Fed is . . . launching a new p.r. campaign to show everyone how wonderful Ben and the boys really are."
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Obama's Historic Speech – A Post-Mortem
A quote...."President Barack Obama's much anticipated speech in Cairo was truly astounding. After all the months of lead-up and hype, few could have imagined that this speech would contain nothing of substance." -- NOT if you've read any of the blogs on this website. - mpg

Obama and Israel: making a mountain out of a mole hill
A quote...."The media speaks of the American president's "firm stand." What sort of firmness is that? The AFP wrote again recently, "On Monday, before leaving for the Near East, the American resident Barak Obama reaffirmed the necessity for a certain firmness regarding Israel, on the subjects of a Palestinian state and the settlements in the Territories." -- That's right: Obama is not demanding the dismantlement Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories. He's not demanding the end of the occupation, nor the end of the blockade of the Gaza Strip, nor the payment of the costs of the enormous destruction wrought on the Gaza Strip. -- Obama is not demanding that Israel return to the Palestinians what was stolen from them. Not all, not even some."

Fr. Samir: Obama on Islam pleases, but there are some lies and silences
A quote...."An analysis of the US President’s speech by an expert on Islam and the Arab world. In general there is a lot of honesty and justified mea culpa. But there is also too much rhetoric on Islam’s contributions; historical falsehoods on the Cordoba Caliphate and the birth of Israel; ambiguity on Israeli settlements in the occupied territories; religious freedom is more than tolerance; forgetfulness on the everyday rights of women. The Pope said more [on] the Middle East."

"Obama, Qwess! Qwess!" -- How Much Really Separates Obama and Netanyahu?
A quote...."Near the Syrian border northeast of Baalbek. -- I had not planned to watch Obama’s Cairo speech on June 5, since I had an appointment in the plush Bekaa Valley, near Baalbek-Hermel with Shaykh Subhi Tufayli one of the founders of Hezbollah and its first Secretary General. -- Shaykh Tufayli, still a revered cleric, was a participant in the August 1982 First Conference for the Downtrodden which, I argues in a forthcoming volume, was the essential organizing event at which Hezbollah can be said to have come into existence."

US-MIDEAST:  Hamas Leader to Obama: Deeds, Not Words
A quote...."DAMASCUS, Jun 5 (IPS) - The head of Hamas’s political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, gave a qualified welcome here Thursday to the big speech that Pres. Barack Obama addressed to the Muslim world in Cairo. -- "The speech was cleverly written in the way it addressed the Muslim world... and in the way it showed respect to the Muslim heritage," Meshaal told IPS in an exclusive interview. "But I think it's not enough. What's needed are deeds, actions on the ground, and a change of policies." -- bold by website editor - also posted at AftrDwngSt
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OFFICIAL LIST OF OBAMA’S BROKEN PROMISES
Must Read Database - (For the outrage) -- A quote.... For: March 1, 2009 -- Barak Obama continues to break his promises. NewsGnome will regularly post this list of Obama’s broken promises as President on the first of each month with new additions. Broken Obama promises are solicited from readers. Please add your contributions in the comments section and they’ll be added to the list."

Obama Nominee Linked to Spying on Muslims, CIA Torture (Democracy Now! - headline) 05 Jun 2009 The Obama administration’s pick for a top Homeland Security position has ties to the FBI spying on Muslim Americans, as well as reported links to CIA torture. Philip Mudd has been nominated to become secretary of intelligence and analysis at Homeland Security. Under the Bush administration, Mudd helped spearhead an FBI program that sifted through customer data collected by San Francisco-area grocery stores in 2005 and 2006, hoping that sales records of Middle Eastern food would lead to Iranian secret agents. A congressional aide, meanwhile, told the Associated Press Mudd had direct knowledge of the torture of foreign prisoners while serving as deputy director of the CIA’s Office of Terrorism Analysis." -- also posted at Uruknet

Too Obvious To Mention: Obama-Era Lies Protect Bush-Era Crimes
A quote...."Our new transformative president Obama's decision to fight a court order requiring the release of photos depicting the well-documented abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib -- while entirely in character for this transformative new administration -- is being widely described as shameful enough on its own, let alone for a president who portrayed himself as a champion of transparency and accountability in government."
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Private contractors replacing American troops in both wars
A quote...."A report says that Iraq and Afghanistan are being left to mercenaries, as the number of private contractors in both countries has risen by over a quarter - all with the approval of the White House. -- It has been revealed the number of private security contractors working for the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan has greatly increased by up to 30% since President Obama came to office." - bold by website editor

US 'privatizing' war in Iraq, Afghanistan?
Related Article - A quote...."Number of US contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan is on the rise despite Washington claims that it would withdraw forces from both countries within years. - The Pentagon has announced that the number of US contractors affiliated with the defense department is growing dramatically, a Russia Today report revealed on Friday."

Bill Moyers Journal - Interview with Jeremy Scahill
Must View Video - Related Video -A quote...."Bill Moyers sits down with award-winning investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill to examine the human and financial costs of America's wars." -- ||  Transcript  ||  Mp3 Podcast  || --  A quote.....

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'NYT' (Finally) Issues Corrections on Botched Front-Page 'Gitmo' Story
Special Note - Presstitute Correction / Retraction Alert -- If the New York Times wishes to salvage what little remains of their tattered and torn reputation after their Iraq WMD fiasco, the Judy Miller saga, and other assorted, too numerous and egregious foul-ups to count, they really will have to start reporting the facts, telling the truth, stop kissing the elites collective you-know-whats, and -- (this will be extremely difficult for them) -- follow the @#%* MONEY!!! - mpg -- A quote...."NEW YORK It was all-too-familiar for those who recall the run-up to the Iraq war when scary front-page New York Times stories would be cited by Dick Cheney as proof that we needed to oust Saddam Hussein ASAP. The reminder: A May 21 piece by Elisabeth Bumiller revealing that a not-yet-released Pentagon report declared that 1 in 7 prisoners released from Gitmo had returned to waging “jihad.” -- Today, the Times, finally issued a weighty Editors’ Note correcting the article’s two main assertions, long after bloggers and others (myself included) had attacked it." -- also posted at CommonDreams

On the Edge with Max Keiser (06/05/09)
Video Interview - Satire - Special Note - Max Keiser interviews Alex Jones (of InfoWars & Prison Planet) -- Oh, Max goes to the Max in the first episode ala Saturday Night Live style, it was a lot of fun to watch.  Alex is interviewed in the second episode, the third appears to be a dupe episode. - mpg

House Bill Proposes Commission to Explore National Servitude
A quote...."Back in November, after sweeping the election, Obama’s crew removed language from his official website calling for mandatory service for all Americans. “Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year,” the site said before the document was scrubbed in response to criticism."

Military-backed public schools on the rise in US
A quote...."The U.S. Marine Corps is wooing public school districts across the country, expanding a network of military academies that has grown steadily despite criticism that it's a recruiting ploy. -- The Marines are talking with at least six districts — including in suburban Atlanta, New Orleans and Las Vegas — about opening schools where every student wears a uniform, participates in Junior ROTC and takes military classes, said Bill McHenry, who runs the Junior ROTC program for the Marines."

Obama Administration Targets Environmental and Animal Rights Activists as Eco-Terrorists
A quote...."What began under George Bush continues under Barack Obama - targeting dedicated activists with "one of today's most serious domestic terrorism threats," according former FBI Deputy Assistant Director of Counterterrorism John Lewis before a Senate panel in May 2005. Called "eco-terrorism," it grew out of the 2001 USA Patriot Act that created the federal crime of "domestic terrorism" and applied it to US citizens as well as aliens." -- also posted at Uruknet

Commentary: What’s up with Dick Cheney?
A quote...." These days, you can't turn on your television without finding Cheney’s doughboy face on the screen, alternately repeating old lies, mouthing new lies or defiantly confessing to yet another criminal act. -- It's enough to make me yearn for the old Dick Cheney, the one who ventured out of his "undisclosed location" behind a locked door in the vice presidential residence on Washington's Observatory Circle only to make a speech at some buttoned-down military base. -- Most of his unindicted co-conspirators - George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Douglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz and their assorted consiglieri and mouthpieces, Jay Bybee, David Addington, Alberto Gonzalez, John Yoo, William Haynes II - have mostly had the good sense to keep their mouths shut. -- So what's up with Cheney?" -- also posted at AftrDwngSt
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US proxy war continues in north-west Pakistan
A quote...."The arrival of Obama administration special envoy Richard Holbrooke in Pakistan on Wednesday serves to underscore that the massive military operation taking place in the country’s north-west is a proxy war on behalf on US imperialism. As part of completing the transformation of Afghanistan into a client-state in Central Asia, Obama is demanding that the Pakistani government suppress the local Islamist movements that lend support to the Afghan resistance over the border."

Lebanon dismantles 25 Israeli spy cells
A quote...."Amid an ongoing crackdown on active espionage networks in Lebanon, Israeli cells are being dismantled one after the other throughout the country. -- Citing senior army sources, Lebanese daily An-Nahar reported Friday that 25 Israeli spy cells have been uncovered this year."

OAS vote on Cuba exposes waning US power in Latin America
A quote...."The unanimous vote taken Wednesday by the Organization of American States to repeal the 47-year-old decision barring Cuba from membership is a clear indication of the weakened economic and political position of US imperialism throughout the region."

Several dead in Peru land clashes
A quote...."Up to 20 people are thought to have died in the Peruvian Amazon during clashes between police and indigenous Indians protesting against oil and gas exploration on ancestral lands. - Indigenous leaders told AP news agency that 15 protesters had been killed in the unrest, while officials told local radio that five police officers died." -- also posted at CommonDreams

British PM fights for survival -  More on another Bush/Obama lackey biting the dust of h-i-s-t-o-r-y. - mpg
A quote...."The grand and imposing Palace of Westminster - the more formal name for Britain's Houses of Parliament - has seen many dramatic days.  The day Gordon Brown fought for survival will join them."
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Don't Carp, Organize - Our Convoy to Gaza
Action Alert - A quote...."By GEORGE GALLOWAY -- Where is the ummah; where is this Arab world they tell us about in school.” -- Those words will forever remain etched on my brain. They were spoken by a 10 year old girl in a bombed out ruin in Gaza in March. She had lost almost her entire family in the 22-day Israeli bombardment earlier this year. The second time she spoke, it was to the back of my head. I had to turn away; what answer could you give her?"

Nil’in: Palestinian shot dead by Israeli troops at West Bank protest
A quote...."Ma’an news, June 5th, 2009. -- Bethlehem - Ma’an - A Palestinian demonstrator was killed and another injured after Israeli forces opened fire at an anti-wall rally in the West Bank village of Ni’lin on Friday. -- The slain Palestinian was identified as Yousef Akel Sadiq Srour, 36, who was shot in the chest with live fire, according to medics at the scene."

Israeli piracy continues unabated - six more fishermen abducted
A quote...."Gazan territorial waters - At around 9 am, six Palestinian fishermen were abducted by the Israeli Navy whilst fishing in Palestinian territorial waters. The fishermen are reported as being; Adham Al - Habil 21, Mohammed Al - Habil 20, Ahmed Al - Habil, Maher Abu Sultan 25, Mohammed Al - Arayshi, and Sadam Bakar." -- also posted at Uruknet

World Bank: Aid to Palestinians doesn't spark economic growth due to Israeli restrictions
A quote...."The massive aid that has been given to the West Bank and Gaza had little to no effect on economic development, as Israeli restrictions on trade and movement haven't eased and continue to hamper Palestinian growth, the World Bank states in a new report."

UN team vows war crime probe despite Israel's "complete refusal"
A quote...."Goldstone said he had been shocked by the extent of the destruction in the Palestinian areas."

HRW: Israeli crimes in Gaza, Lebanon shame on humanity
A quote...."NEW YORK, (PIC)-- Richard Dicker, the director of Human Rights Watch's international justice program, has described the Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip and south Lebanon as a shame on humanity. -- The Syrian news agency quoted Dicker as saying on Friday that Israel committed serious war crimes in its latest war on Gaza Strip and other crimes in its aggression on south Lebanon in July 2006 without being brought to account." -- For more on this issue see....Gaza Invasion of 12/27/08

Palestinian farmers use permaculture to challenge occupation
A quote...."At five in the morning on 8 November 2000, Israeli troops invaded the Sustainable Development Centre in the West Bank village of Marda, tearing doors off their hinges and smashing windows. They destroyed seven years of work on the permaculture project. During the two-and-a-half hour rampage, the plant nursery, seed bank, agricultural equipment, computers and files were all wrecked."
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The Charm Offensive
Must Read - A quote...."This week, Team Obama took their dog and pony show on the road. Treasury Secretary Geithner went to China, Fed Chairman Bernanke to Capitol Hill, and the President himself began a Mideast tour in Saudi Arabia. This full-court press is not coincidental, and comes just as the federal government has begun unloading trillions of dollars in new Treasury obligations. The coordinated charm offensive is meant to assure the world-at-large that the United States can repay these obligations without destroying the dollar."

Video of a talk on “The Failure to Predict Financial Crises and Recessions”
A "Dr. Doom" Video - A quote...." I recently gave a talk at a conference organized by the Perimeter Institute (a leading theoretical physics research institution in Canada) on Economic Crisis and the Implications to the Science of Economics The topic of my talk was “The Failure to Predict Financial Crises and Recessions”. The video of such a talk (all 51 minutes of it) is now available online at this link. The talk is a bit wonky and academic and high brow; but it provides some useful insight on why most failed to predict this crisis and what are the lessons for the economic profession."

Bullgasm? Watch The Birdie!
A quote...."So the NFP comes in down only 3xxk instead of the expected 6xxk. - The futures go on a tear, up 15 and change at the peak. - Everyone's playing "Green Shoots" again. - I have just one question, and its expressed in these two charts...."

Intense job destruction moderates in May Unemployment rate jumps to 9.4%, the highest in 26 years
Editor's note - unemployment is a lagging indicator. - mpg -- A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The intense pace of job destruction finally moderated in May as U.S. nonfarm payrolls declined by 345,000 -- the fewest jobs lost in eight months, [This is good news, IF it keeps up, which is very doubtful. - mpg ] the Labor Department reported Friday. -- While the payroll loss was much better than expected and hinted at some improvement in the economy, the U.S. unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high of 9.4% in May as the number of jobless Americans rose by 787,000 to 14.5 million."

The (Futile) Task Of Projecting Unemployment
A quote...."Some realistic downside projections: U3: 17-21%; U6: 30-37%.-- Best case scenario: U3: 14-17%; U6: 26-31% -- And here is what Bernanke, and everyone else who wonders where we are headed, should be looking at: --   "If the job market does not turn around by late summer or early fall of 2009, the projections easily exceed the Great Depression. At that point the only way to prevent catastrophic economic conditions would be through massive inflation of the US dollar [which is why the Chinese are so worried] achieved by either congress allowing the Federal Reserve to issue its own debt, or by accelerating the rate at which the Federal Reserve monetizes US debt while funneling the newly printed dollars into wages so that the money can circulate within the economy."

Latvia in Money Crisis - Some articles from SeekingAlpha
Latest News : EU Warns Latvia on Budget Deficit (WSJ)
Nobody Wants to Buy Latvian T-Bills
Latvia Kills Emerging Market Rally with Currency and Funding Crisis
The Trouble with Latvia: What It Is and Why It Matters
Has the Chinese Economy Really Recovered? The Signs are Mixed
A quote...."There has been a lot of bullish news about China recently. Since China is one of the main drivers of the world economy these days, the upbeat reports about China are also being used as evidence of a global recovery. - Has the Chinese economy really recovered, or is there more to the story? - Bloomberg ran a fairly balanced take on China on June 1. After reviewing all of the bullish indicators, Bloomberg noted:" -- Yeah, China's growth might slow even further, to just four or six percent increase in GDP per year.  Contrast that with this website editor's prediction that the US-NRE's growth will be negative to flat well into 2010, possibly 2011 IF and only if the US-NRE doesn't enter into a depression.  If it does it'll get much worse. - mpg

Thursday June 4th 2009

"Who cares about what Obama will say or not say? I mean, why should people care about what the visiting White Man (yes, as soon as you run for the American presidency you assume the role of the White Man, regardless of the color of your skin) will preach to Egyptians and Muslims? I await that speech the way I await sequels to Rocky movies." -- *Professor As'ad AbuKhalil*

Obama came to the Middle East….
Obama left the Middle East…..
Obama DID NOT VISIT GAZA……
Obama WAS invited to visit Gaza…..
Once again, it looks like the Palestinians have to do the ‘cleaning up’ on their own……
Actions would have spoken so much louder than the lovely words he spoke.

"Any strategy based on exploiting the window of opportunity opened by a traumatic shock relies heavily on the element of surprise... in North America, the September 11 attacks were, at first pure event, raw reality, unprocessed by story, narrative or anything that could bridge the gap between reality and understanding. Without a story, we are, as many of us were after September 11, intensely vulnerable to those people who take advantage of chaos for their own ends. As soon as we have a new narrative that offers perspective on the shocking events, we become reoriented and the world begins to make sense again."

They say goldfish have no memory
I guess their lives are much like mine
and the little plastic castle
is a surprise every time
and it's hard to say if they're happy
but they don't seem much to mind. -- *Ani DiFranco*, Little Plastic Castles

 “Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”

Wednesday June 3rd 2009