Wednesday July 7th 2010

The Case for War: The Iron Mountain Report - It's BUILT into the "system" folks, it always has been. Must Read - A quote...."In his 1966 book, "How the World Really Works," Alan B. Jones included a chapter on the "Report from Iron Mountain: On the Possibility and Desirability of Peace," later published in 1967 by The Dial Press. It became a bestseller, then disappeared. Now few copies are available, but when circulating in the 1960s, it was reported that concerned Johnson administration officials ordered global US embassies to downplay it, saying it had nothing to do with policy. Later accounts doubted the material's authenticity, suggesting it was a hoax. True or false, its findings are reviewed below because they accurately reflect longstanding US policy." - also posted at Uruknet & Mathaba -- For more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate &  Total Nonfarm Payrolls - See also the related article shown below....


No, He Won't... End the 'Global War on Terror'
Must Read - A quote...."Barack Obama may not have come into office pledging to get the U.S. out of Afghanistan, but he did pledge one thing: to close the Bush-era prison at Guantánamo within a year.  That couldn't have been clearer.  And as I wrote back then, it was also a reasonable basis on which to judge whether a democratic administration could do anything significant to roll back our Bush-created Homeland Security Nation and alter American policy abroad. - Now, we have our answer -- and it couldn't be clearer either.  No, he can't.  Or won't."

Police State Canada
Must View Video - Alt - (Vimeo - 18min 08sec - 07/05/10) - (Place cusor over frame for controls) -- A quote...."This film is a pastiche work made up mostly of videos uploaded to the internet in the aftermath of the G20 summit in Toronto. All credit goes to the independent journalists and activist who risked assault by the police to capture these images."

========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

War of Words...
Must Read - A quote...."Language, words, baskets of sentences...individual perceptions, experiences, the subjective made objective, black on white...the subjective becomes my objective world, it becomes MY world. It becomes my Word...  What is so difficult to understand about that ? No really, seriously, what is so difficult about this very simple equation ? -- July 2006 - July 2010, 4 years I've been spilling my guts, on paper...not just my guts, but also facts, proofs, historical tidbits, my own personal history meshing into a collective history, another window, a different window...  I've wanted my blog to be a window...and eventually a door...first you look and if you like what you see, you enter...into the world of an Iraqi, into the voice of an Iraqi who refuses your lies...and who is holding onto that house, that home with a window and a door, made of words..."  - Source:  ArabWomanBlues

The Charge of the Media Brigade
Special Note - Related Article - A quote...."July 07, 2010 "Information Clearing House" - -- The TV anchorwoman was conducting a split-screen interview with a journalist who had volunteered to be a witness at the execution of a man on death row in Utah for 25 years. “He had a choice,” said the journalist, “lethal injection or firing squad.” “Wow!” said the anchorwoman. Cue a blizzard of commercials for fast food, teeth whitener, stomach stapling, the new Cadillac. This was followed by the war in Afghanistan presented by a correspondent sweating in a flak jacket. “Hey, it’s hot,” he said on the split screen. “Take care,” said the anchorwoman. “Coming up” was a reality show in which the camera watched a man serving solitary confinement in a prison’s “hell hole.” - also posted at TheExcavator & LewRockwell

American Media Analysis: When is Torture Not Torture? (Hint: If the US is Involved….)
Special Note - Related Article - A quote...."The conclusion of the study:   The results of this study demonstrate that there was a sudden, significant, shift in major print media’s treatment of waterboarding [of course the US-NRE has done much, much worse. - mpg] at the beginning of the 21st century. The media’s modern coverage of waterboarding did not begin in earnest until 2004, when the first stories about abuses at Abu Ghraib were released. After this point, articles most often used words such as “harsh” or “coercive” to describe waterboarding or simply gave the practice no treatment, rather than labeling it torture as they had done for the previous seven decades." - bold by website editor - also posted at Uruknet

Infinite Jest: State Terror From Nixon to Obama
Special Note - A quote...."As Arthur Silber pointed out so ably out the other day, the high and horrendous crimes that the world's governments will openly commit -- and admit to, if not brag about -- in their push for loot and power are by no means the full record of their depredations. This is, as Silber rightly says, "an absolute certainty given the testimony of history." Indeed. For while we look on, shocked and awed, at the public parade of horrors rolling by each day, there are foul deeds afoot which will only come to light -- in dribs and drabs, in shards and splinters --after many decades. (And of course this does not include the countless crimes of elitist power that will never surface, that lie forever buried and rotting with their victims.)"

'Binjamin' Laden Say You Should Know These Answers
Special Note - A quote...."This blog, Sheila Stuff was originally written back in March of 2008, and has been updated to answer some of these questions on 9/11. --  Of course there had to be Arabs on those planes -- how else could the murderers ithe White House justify the genocidal assault and occupation of Iraq? And, if the immediate blaring of Bin Laden as being the mastermind wasn't enough, photos of the 19 perps were blazoned on every media outlet within hours of the attack. Still not convinced? Well, lookie here -- three passports and a bandana floating unsinged from the blazing inferno -- landing at the feet of the FBI... "

Independence Day Was Buried in the 9/11 Rubble
Special Note - A quote...."July 4th, the day we're taught to celebrate as "Independence Day." Except our freedoms, liberty, safety and security were all buried on 9/11, along with any reason to celebrate 'independence.' -- All roads lead to and from 9/11. That false-flag worked well for the Neocon and Zionist vampires that staged that inside job. -- With the WTC rubble in the background, Americans were taught to fear and hate the Muslim world, and go on a planned decades long Crusade against Islam."

London Bombings - The Facts Speak For Themselves
Special Note - A quote...."Five years ago today, on the morning of July 7th, 2005, someone detonated four carefully placed bombs in London. Three exploded on London underground trains within 50 seconds of each other at 8.50 am, the first on the sub-surface eastbound Circle Line, the second on the sub-surface westbound Circle Line, a third on the deep-level underground southbound Piccadilly Line. A fourth bomb exploded almost an hour later at 9.47 am on the upper deck of a double decker bus in Tavistock Square."

Even One of These Little Ones...
A quote...."Do you ever wonder what Jesus would say about the sadistic cesspool that is swirling throughout the Catholic disfunctional structure at tsunami speed? Unfortunately, since the New York Times drew attention to the issue in March, the answer to that is getting buried deeper each day under fresh accusations of child molestation, counter accusations, denials and sordid attempts at justification."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Not Attacking Iran - The Reasons
Video - (YouTube - 4 min 35 sec - July 07, 2010) - Source:  108morris108 -- A quote...."Iran has a growing list of allies, and a growing inventory of ballistic missiles which can hit Israel's Nuclear facilities within minutes, and any shipping in the Gulf."

Gulf Arab SUpport for Attacking Iran:  The Strange Case of the UAE
A quote...."The Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the United States, Yousef Al-Otaiba, is in the news for comments he made yesterday at the Aspen Ideas Festival–comments in which he apparently expressed some measure of support for a U.S. military attack on Iranian nuclear targets.  We have known Yousef since before his appointment as the UAE’s ambassador to the United States.  Based on our previous conversations with him, we do not believe that he wants to see a military confrontation between the United States and Iran."

UAE rejects envy's 'attack Iran' remarks - So they say.....mpg
A quote...."The UAE says The Washington Times has "taken out of context" remarks made by its envoy to the US Yousef al-Otaiba regarding a military strike on Iran."

No UK ban on refueling Iran planes
A quote...."No ban has been imposed on refueling Iranian planes in British airports, an informed source in Iran Air's Britain and Ireland office says." - also posted at WarInIraq
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Afghan probe excluded key witnesses
Must Read - Cover-Up Alert - A quote...."WASHINGTON - Eyewitnesses who saw US troops digging bullets out of the bodies of two Afghan mothers and a teenage girl after a botched Special Operation Forces raid in February were not interviewed in a follow-up investigation ordered by General Stanley McChrystal." - also posted at WarInIraq & CounterPunch & AsiaTimes

NATO 'friendly fire' kills Afghan soldiers: police
A quote...."GHAZNI, Afghanistan — Police said Wednesday six Afghan soldiers were killed in a NATO air strike in Afghanistan, where the military announced the deaths of another three foreign soldiers fighting the Taliban." - Source:  Google - AFP

US-led forces kill two Afghan civilians
A quote...."US-led soldiers have raided a village in northern Afghanistan, shooting dead two civilians and abducting about 20 others."

Go Home! British troops withdraw from Afghan province over deaths
Must View RTVideo - (RTYuTb - 4 min 31 sec - July 07, 2010) -- A quote...."In Afghanistan, British troops are to be replaced by U.S. forces in the southern Sangin province. More than a hundred British soldiers have been killed there- a third of all UK war casualties. For more analysis we're joined live by Christopher King from Liberty, a human rights organization in London."

Taliban 'forced British pullout': militants
A quote...."The Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency against foreign forces in Afghanistan, said the British force was pulling out because of pressure from the militants' attacks. - "This is the start of the British forces' defeat in Afghanistan," Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman said, reading what he said was a statement by Mullah Omar, the militant group's fugitive leader. - "We defeated them in Sangin. They'll be defeated in the rest of the country soon," Ahmadi said on the phone, without disclosing his location. - He said the American troops set to take over from the British "will face the same fate. We'll defeat the Americans as well there (Sangin)," he added." - Source: HindustanTimes - AFP

UK troops to pull out of Sangin
A quote...."The United Kingdom will withdraw its troops from the Sangin district in Afghanistan's Helmand province, where they have suffered heavy casualties in recent months."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Report: Blackwater OK’d plan to bribe Iraqis
A quote...."Former top executives at Blackwater Worldwide say the U.S. security contractor sent about $1 million to its Iraq office with the intention of paying off officials in the country who were angry about the fatal shootings of 17 civilians by Blackwater employees, The New York Times reported Tuesday." - also posted at WarInIraq

US private Bradley Manning charged with leaking Iraq killings video
Censorship Alert - A quote...."A US army intelligence analyst was today charged with leaking a highly classified video of American forces killing unarmed civilians in Baghdad and secret diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks. - Private Bradley Manning, who had a top-secret security clearance, has been held in military custody in Kuwait since his arrest in Iraq in May over the video, which caused great embarrassment to the US military establishment. It showed an air strike that killed a dozen people, including two Iraqis working for Reuters news agency. The air crew is heard falsely claiming to have encountered a firefight in Baghdad and then laughing at the dead. WikiLeaks gave the video the title Collateral Murder."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

US-Russian Relations: Wooing the West
A quote...."The past two years have witnessed a much more pliable Russia, retreating from the fiery rhetoric of Putin concerning NATO, the war in Afghanistan and America ’s targetting of Iran. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has turned Russian foreign policy around, playing to US. He signed the new START treaty, agreed to transit war materiel to Afghanistan, and supports US-sponsored sanctions against Iran. To crown his charm offensive, he made a photo-op visit to the US last month to meet not only his “reset” friend in the White House, but business leaders such as Apple CEO Steve Jobs in Silicon Valley, much like his predecessor Nikita Khrushchev rubbed shoulders with American farmers a half century ago." - also posted at Creative-i

Targetting Russia: Poland and US Amend Missile Defence Agreement
Related Article - And here's Russia's reward for the last two years of kowtowing to AIPAC/Israel's colony, the US-NRE. - mpg - A quote...."Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will sign an amended agreement on missile defence today in Krakow."

Putin sets out strategy to foil insurgency in North Caucasus Tuesday
A quote...."KISLOVODSK, Russia: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday unveiled a new strategy aimed at foiling Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus, promising to reduce grinding poverty and stamp out rampant corruption. -- Russia is struggling to contain an upsurge of attacks by rebels in the mainly Muslim provinces along its southern flank who in March took their war to the Russian heartland with deadly bombings in the Moscow metro." - Source: WarInIraq

Kyrgyzstan to restore damaged South with Russian money
A quote...."BISHKEK, July 8 (RIA Novosti) - Kyrgyz authorities plan to allocate $100 million from a Russian loan received in 2009 to restore the violent-hit southern regions back to normal, a deputy prime minister from the country's interim government said on Thursday."

Report: Mubarak has fallen ill
A quote...."Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has fallen ill, Arab-language newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported Tuesday. - The 83-year-old president went a round of medical tests during a surprise visit to Paris, the paper reported. His illness is still unknown." - Eating too much Israeli crap perhaps? - mpg

US nose in EU banks: Fight with terror or breach of rights?
Video - (RTYuTb - 2 min 50 sec -  July 07, 2010) -- Well, the US-NRE isn't doing all this "nosing" to track down "terrorist" money, since the US-NRE and Saudi Royals supplied most of it.  So there must be some other reason for this "mass data transfer" - mpg -- A quote...."The European Parliament is to vote on a deal that would allow the U.S. to access information on the bank transfers of European citizens. America says it's a necessary measure to track terror suspects. But critics say the proposal -- that's been discussed between the EU and U.S. for months now -- violates human rights. RT talks to Jan Philipp Albrecht, a Member of the European Parliament."

Allegations of secret Colombian plan to undermine EU - The US-NRE's BEST friends south of the border. - mpg
Special Note - Possible Related Article - A quote...."EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - A group of MEPs is calling for action as further details of an alleged covert operation conducted by the Colombian intelligence agency (DAS) continue to emerge, with one of its reported aims being to undermine the authority of the European Parliament. -- Recently released documents that were confiscated from the DAS by the Colombian Attorney General's office highlight the nature of "Operation Europe." -- The alleged action in Europe includes phone tapping and the interception of emails (Photo: Flickr.com) -- Its objective was to "neutralise the influence of the European judicial system, the European Parliament's human rights sub-committee, and the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights," reads one text seen by this website."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Getting By With False Flags and Terrorism
Must View DDVideo - Alt - (DDYuTb - 10min - March 30, 2010) -- A quote...."The fifth anniversary of the 7/7 London train bombings shows that control of the investigative and judicial processes along with media compliance equals getting by with murder. The British public just was not serious enough about the 'war on terror' and had to be taught a lesson. 9/11 wasn't good enough, it had to be close to home. -- The use of terrorism in the 20th century to achieve means to an end reached critical mass in Israel with the Irgun and other groups. Once upon a time even the elite insiders in the media reported on this as a matter of fact calling it a model for 'liberation.'"

Does the US have a double standard for Israel? RT Interview with Danny Schechter
RTVideo - Alt - (RTYuTb - 7min 6sec - July 06, 2010) - Source:  RTAmerica -- A quote....""RTAmerica | July 06, 2010 - Danny Schechter says that the media doesn't help people understand the dynamics and instead engages in mass deception.." - Note: the new "you might also like...." section at PalestineVideo. - mpg

Poland hands over Mossad agent involved in Mabhouh assassination
A quote...."WARSAW, (PIC)-- A Polish court decided on Wednesday to hand over a suspected German Mossad agent who was arrested in Warsaw at the request of the German federal prosecutor for involvement in the assassination of Hamas commander, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, in Dubai about seven months ago."

General Petraeus's leaked emails about Israel
Special Note - A quote...."I've written the cover story for this week's New Statesman, on the rise and rise of David Petraeus and America's "cult of the generals"." - also posted at WarInIraq

Obama endorses Netanyahu as “man of peace”
A quote...."President Barack Obama on Tuesday praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a man who “wants peace” and is “willing to take risks for peace.”

It’s about money, not peace: Norman Finkelstein on Netanyahu visit to US
Must View RTVideo - Alt - (RTYuTb - 7 min 38 sec - July 06, 2010) - Source:  RussiaToday -- A quote...."Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, suffering on the global front after a string of setbacks, is meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington to discuss a range of thorny issues. Norman Finkelstein, author of “A Farewell to Israel: The coming break-up of American Zionism”, shares his view on US-Israeli ‘unbreakable’ bond."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More On The Palestinian Situation....

Hamas Lawmaker: Gaza Flotilla Did More Than 10,000 Rockets
Some quotes...."A few months ago, the Israeli government's blockade of Gaza was not a prominent issue on the world's agenda. Now, the Israeli government is being politically compelled to "ease" the blockade. Not end it: still, materials for reconstruction are not yet being let it in; still, exports from Gaza are not yet being allowed out; still, inputs for Gaza's factories are not yet being allowed in. But even the measures to "ease" the blockade which have now been announced, such as replacing the list of allowed items with a list of prohibited items, are demands which prior to the Gaza Freedom Flotilla the Israeli government summarily rejected."  --  "Who now doubts that strategic nonviolent action can transform the politics of the Israel/Palestine conflict? -- Not Hamas parliamentarian Aziz Dweik, the Wall Street Journal reports....


AGREED!! The rockets are stupid, illegal, unethical, immoral, and a war crime, not to mention being TOTALLY counter-productive.  Or to put it this way, the rockets have killed 28 Israelis over a nine year period, the Israelis have killed over 1,400 Palestinians in just a single three week military incursion alone. Throwing spit-balls at the fourth largest military power in the world, which is fully supported by the first largest military power in the world, when all you have are AK-47s and some glorified, un-aimed, flying, pipe-bombs is not only stupid, it's suicidal. - mpg

Exposed: The truth about Israel's land grab in the West Bank
A quote...."Jewish settlers, who claim a divine right to the whole of Israel, now control more than 42 per cent of the occupied West Bank, representing a powerful obstacle to the creation of a Palestinian state, a new report has revealed." - also posted at Uruknet

Israeli soldier 'shot two women as they waved white flag
A quote...."The Israeli army has charged one of its own soldiers with the manslaughter of two Palestinian women who were shot dead while waving white flags during the Gaza war."

IDF Face New War Crimes Allegations: Children As Human Shields
A quote...."A new report issued today by human rights groups in Israel accuses the army of using human shields during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last January. The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and Adalah have collected affidavits which reveal systemic, illegal practises."

IOF bullets wound fisherman, 3 children injured in blast of IOF ordnance
A quote...."RAFAH, (PIC)-- A Palestinian fisherman was wounded off the Gaza city beach when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) aboard gunboats fired at him while at work on Monday, medical sources told the PIC reporter." - For more on this sort of issue see....Israel's Scorched Earth

Israeli troops storm into central Gaza Strip
A quote...."RAMALLAH, July 7 (KUNA) -- Israeli occupation troops accompanied by bulldozers stormed into Al Bureij and Maghazi camp in central Gaza strip on Wednesday." - also posted at WarInIraq

European campaign receives 9,000 requests to participate in Freedom Flotilla 2
Flotilla News - Action Alert - A quote...."BRUSSELS, (PIC)-- The Brussels-based European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza said that there has been a large turnout for Freedom Flotilla 2, in terms of activists requesting to participate, and in terms of the number of ships. -- The campaign, which was one of the founders of the Freedom Flotilla coalition, in a press statement on Monday, boasted that the new flotilla has a few surprises in store for Israeli authorities, one of which is that seven of the ships scheduled to participate in the flotilla are from European counties." - also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq

‘We Are The Accusers, Not The Accused’ : EDO Decomissioners victorious in court
Action Update - Contains Video - Alt - Some quotes...."On 16th January 2009 seven U.K. peace activists broke into the premises of EDO MBM, suppliers of weapons components [to Israel] and in the words of one of them, Elijah Smith ’set out to smash it up to the best of our abilities’."  --  "Once inside the building, they barricaded themselves in and set to work. Equipment used to make weapon components were trashed and computers, filing cabinets and office furnishings were thrown out of the windows. Once they were done they calmly waited for the police to arrest them. Two activists who supported them outside the factory gates were also on trial. All of the defendants have argued that what they did was not only morally necessary but crucially that it was legal. U.K law allows the commission of damage of property to prevent greater crimes." - bold/underline by website editor

Protesters greet Netanyahu in Washington as Israel expands settlements
Action Update - A quote...."Hundreds of activists in Washington, DC demonstrated outside the White House to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit on Tuesday, 6 July. As protesters held signs calling on the US government to end military aid to Israel, Netanhayu met with US President Barack Obama in a meeting characterized by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as "empty theatrics."

Meg Ryan and Dustin Hoffman miss Jerusalem film festival after Gaza raid
Action Update - Boycott, Divest and Sanction, because it's one of the EASIEST and most PAINLESS things YOU CAN DO to  end Israel's onslaught against the Palestinian people!  - mpg -- A quote...."Hollywood actors Meg Ryan [Photo] and Dustin Hoffman cancelled plans to attend the Jerusalem film festival following Israel's raid on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla that left nine dead earlier this year, an official has told the Jerusalem Post newspaper." - For more on how to Boycott, Divest and Sanction the state of Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website.

US Social Forum concludes with call for BDS, recognizing Zionism as racism
Action Alert - Contains Video - Alt - Boycott, Divest and Sanction, because, enough is enough already! - mpg -- A quote...."“We call on all organization and social movements to boycott, divest and sanction the Israeli apartheid state and the institutions the support it.” -- “We affirm that Zionism is a form of racism that denies Palestinians the right to self-determination.” -- *US Social Forum National People’s Movement Assembly*, 2010" -- For more on how to Boycott, Divest and Sanction the state of Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website.

WE INVENTED IT - So you can't fool us, don't even try it:
Action Alert - Boycott, Divest and Sanction, because....well....it's the Irish thing to do! - mpg -- A quote...."link The term ‘occupation’ conjures up painful memories in a land forced to endure centuries of English conquest. -- The etymological origins of the term "boycott" are being dug back out of the bog of Irish history due to recent events in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian campaigners in Dublin delight in recounting how a certain Capt. Charles Boycott was socially ostracized for serving as estate manager for an absentee landlord during the bitter "Land War" that raged on Ireland's windswept Atlantic coast in the late 19th century. "Today the Irish must send a message to the Israelis - we invented boycotting and we're still bloody good at it," bellowed one rabble-rouser at a recent rally in the Irish capital." -- For more on how to Boycott, Divest and Sanction the state of Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website.

Human Rights Volunteers Needed in Palestine
Action Alert - A quote...."Since 2002, the International Women’s Peace Service in Palestine (IWPS-Palestine) has been documenting and non-violently intervening in human rights abuses carried out by the Israeli military and Israeli settlers in the Occupied West Bank against the Palestinian civilian population.  We are the only all women team of internationals working in the Occupied West Bank and we are currently looking for new volunteers to join us on the ground in Palestine. (See here.)"

Israeli courts criminalize protest: Adeeb Abu Rahma sentenced to two years
A quote...."Israeli repression of Palestinian non-violent resistance against the Wall and the Occupation takes a distubring turn: Adeeb Abu Rahma, from Bil’in Village, sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. -- On 30 June 2010, grassroots activist Adeeb Abu Rahma, member of the Bil’in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements, was sentenced by Israeli military court to two years’ imprisonment, after being arrested on 10 July 2009 during a weekly demonstration in Bil’in, and after spending 11 months of detention in the Ofer military complex in the Occupied Territories."

The ‘Times’ finally covers settler funding in the US, but there is still much to tell
A quote...."The New York Times has finally covered a story that has been sitting under its nose for years [probably by accident - mpg] – the tax-exempt fund raising Israeli settlers are doing in the U.S. In an expansive article in today’s paper, three reporters combine to tell a familiar story of how nonprofit organizations are raising money in the US to help build settlements and in some cases arm settlers themselves." - also posted at Uruknet

A trip from Gaza to Eilat and back – by Omar Ghraieb
A quote...."Under the hardships of living that camp in the small space of his modest bungalow, and hindered from providing a somewhat decent living to his seven little kids who depend on him like all children do on their fathers, M.K. -who is at in his mid thirties- decided to take off on the adventure of his life through an arduous journey in the desert of northern Sinai, hoping to cross the Egyptian-Israeli border and reach the city of "Eilat", which is the main destination of his dangerous unguaranteed trip." - also posted at Uruknet

Make Or Break Moment For Arab Unity Over Lebanon’s ’10th Class Citizens’
A quote...."A debate is raging in the Lebanese government over new legislation that would grant civil rights to Palestinian refugees for the first time in 62 years. Key features of the historic bill, proposed by the Progressive Socialist Party, include the right to housing, employment, social security and hospital treatment."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Keiser Report №57: Markets! Finance! Drunk Brokers!
Must View Video - Alt - (RTMKYuTb - 26 min 45 sec - July 7, 2010) -- A quote...."Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, look at the latest scandals of American newspapers that rebrand torture as 'waterboarding'; Timmy Geithner's unwitting junk bond buyers; and, bailed out American banks financing Mexican drug lords. In the second half of the show, Max talks to lawyer, Luc Saucier, about building a case of obscenity against the banks."

Liquidate, liquidate, liquidate - Commentary: Some inconvenient facts about fiscal austerity
Must Read - A quote...."GREENWICH, Conn. (MarketWatch) -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said that policy advocates are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. -- A possible corollary in the context of the present rip-roaring debate about the macroeconomic impact of our dawning age of fiscal consolidation and austerity is that Nobel Laureates, especially, aren't allowed to make up their own history."

Debt Deflation: A Long Economic Winter Ahead
A quote...."Let us keep in mind that in May of 1930, President Herbert Hoover was also proclaiming that “the danger ... is safely behind us.” This was ten years too early for such a declaration. Just as in the 1930s, the U.S. economy and many part of the world economy suffer from a debt overhang that usually takes at least ten years to correct. When overall debt is four times larger than the economy, as it is the case today and as it was close to being the case in the 1930s, a debt deflation becomes unavoidable."

Auto sales put on the brakes
A quote...."Wall Street is starting to talk about a worse year for car sales than analysts had anticipated, but automakers and suppliers may be better prepared to handle falling expectations than they were last year."

Expect lots of government layoffs at state, local level
A quote...."Up to 400,000 workers could lose jobs in the next year as states, counties and cities grapple with lower revenue and less federal funding, says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com."

Long White Candlesticks On Ever Declining Volume, Or Melt-Ups On Ten Shares Or Less Coming To A Busted Stock Market Near You - Market Tech Alert -Chart - (In other words, how today's "market" action, if you can call it that, may be a head-fake.  Please note how the DOW bounced off of the low made by the previous shoulder, during which -- not a coincidence one might add -- all sorts of "positive" statements regarding our bright, debt laden, future were issued by the powers that be both here and in Europe. - mpg) -- A quote...."As the chart below indicates, the past two months have seen some dramatic moves in the market, beginning obviously with May 6, and continuing through today. As the highlighted long white candlesticks demonstrate, which are basically the 4 huge meltup days in the last 45 days, the volume associated with said melt ups has been occurring on increasingly lower volume."

ICI Reports Ninth Sequential Equity Fund Outflow In A Row
Market Tech Note - Now many analysts would consider this to be a contrarian indicator, since the retail investor is "always wrong".  But what if the "little guy" isn't taking his money out of the market because he "thinks" it's going down, but because he's actually, finally, running out of money, (i.e. credit)? - mpg -- A quote...."ICI reports that topping off the underperforming H1 market action was yet another equity market outflow, this one to the tune of ($227) million. This represented the ninth sequential domestic equity mutual fund outflow in a row, and accounts for fund flows of over ($30) billion YTD.

The Good Doctor: A Cautionary Tale
More on this nation's system of no-health non-care. - A quote...."I recently met with my doctor, Dr. Vasco Marques, a cardiologist here in Tampa, Fl. where I currently live. Now I am going to tell you the story about that meeting, devoid of my usual overly emotional hyperbole or intentionally leading contextualism… and I am going to do that for a reason. The reason is simple; because this isn’t about me."

Central Banks Dumping Gold At A Torrid Pace
Gold Bug Alert - A quote...."This might explain, in part, the lack of a floor underneath gold prices right now. - Central banks, which had been building up their positions, are now dumping it."

Europe puts limits on banker bonuses
A quote...."The European Parliament passed a bill today that would cap and defer financial traders' and bankers' bonuses, giving Europe the toughest regimes in the world. The caps are a backlash against the global financial meltdown, and the bonuses that followed."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

6 Things From History Everyone Pictures Incorrectly
Now on the lighter side.... A quote...."It's a running theme here at Cracked that a lot of what we think we know about history has been filtered through many centuries of utter [BS]. Our image of the past is largely made up of Hollywood inventions, propaganda and uneducated guesses. -- So you will probably be surprised to find that..."

Tuesday July 6th 2010

No posts. - mpg

Monday July 5th 2010

Rethink 9/11: A Letter To Peace Activists
Must Read - A quote...."Dear Every Peace Activist, -- The world dramatically changed on 9/11, though, not for the reasons that were given by the Bush administration less than twenty four hours after the attacks, but for reasons that are deeply disturbing, and revealing; reasons that are either unknown, or have been repressed by activists in the peace movement. -- As we enter the ninth anniversary of the War on Terror, the war in Afghanistan is intensifying, tensions in Iraq are resurfacing, and the possibility of a U.S. led attack on Iran is growing daily. Reflection upon the central premises and objectives in America's vast military enterprise in the Middle East has never been more urgent. The stakes have been raised. Questioning the official story of 9/11 is now a matter of human survival. We can not ignore the calling of history any longer. We live in a state of perpetual emergency; every moment is vital, every second counts, every day that passes is a missed opportunity to right a horrible wrong." - For more on this issue see....Reficultnias's 9/11 Central

On July 4th, from What Did America Declare Its Independence?
Must Read - A quote...."We declared ourselves free from those who would govern us based on what we could be deceived to believe. A generation weaned on the Age of Enlightenment insisted on government under the rule of law. And governance based on facts, not beliefs. -- How’s that working out? -- Remember Iraqi WMD? Iraqi ties to Al Qaeda? Iraq’s yellowcake uranium from Niger? Iraqi meetings in Prague? Iraqi mobile biological weapons laboratories? -- All those facts are now known to be false. Yet Americans were deceived to do what? Believe. Ground Zero of the True Believers was Washington, DC where those sworn to protect us instead took us to war in Iraq—relying on false beliefs. -- If waging war on false beliefs is not proof certain of a Dark Age, what is?"

The "Dollar Glut" is What Finances America's Global Military Build-up
Must Read - From the History File - March 29, 2009 -- A quote...."The U.S. media are silent about the most important topic policy makers are discussing here (and I suspect in Asia too): how to protect their countries from three inter-related dynamics: (1) the surplus dollars pouring into the rest of the world for yet further financial speculation and corporate takeovers; (2) the fact that central banks are obliged to recycle these dollar inflows to buy U.S. Treasury bonds to finance the federal U.S. budget deficit; and most important (but most suppressed in the U.S. media, (3) the military character of the U.S. payments deficit and the domestic federal budget deficit." - also posted at ProjCensored - For more on this issue see....Some Tentative Laws - See also The First Salvos of the Currency Wars - 05-07-10 - mpg

Military Spying and Torture Continues Under Obama: CIFA's Nine (Corrupt) Lives
Special Note - A quote...."Despite promises to the contrary, the Obama administration has consolidated, even expanded privacy- and civil liberties killing programs launched by the Bush government. - From warrantless spying and driftnet surveillance to the indefinite detention and torture of foreign suspects held in U.S. gulags, and from the murderous drone wars in Pakistan to threats to assassinate American citizens merely on the suspicion they might be terrorists, 18 months into Obama's new "change" order, facts on the ground paint a grim picture indeed." - also posted at GlobalRsrch

Middle East War: U.S. Doctors Approved Torture and Denied Medical Care to Captives
Special Note - A quote...."American doctors in the Middle East routinely approved the torture of captured suspects and denied them critical medications such as insulin, sometimes with lethal consequences, according to a documented report published in the “Utne Reader.”
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

US to blame Iran for Afghanistan failure
Propaganda Alert - A quote...."US and British intelligence services are working on a fake video clip aimed at diverting blame for failures in Afghanistan to Iran, an informed US military source says."

Managed News: Inside The US/NATO Military Industrial Media Empire
A quote...."We face what appears to be a military industrial media empire so powerful and complex that truth is mostly absent or reported in disconnected segments with little historical context. A case in point: The London Times reported on June 5, 2010, that American troops are now operating in 75 countries. Has President Obama secretly sanctioned a huge increase in the number of US Special Forces carrying out search-and-destroy missions against al-Qaeda around the world? If so, this increase is far in excess of special-forces operations under the Bush administration and reflects how aggressively Obama is pursuing al-Qaeda behind his public rhetoric of global engagement and diplomacy. Somehow this information didn’t make it into the US media." - also posted at GlobalRsrch & Uruknet - For more on this sort of issue and the two articles shown above see....US Fake Intel / Propaganda

U.S. Largely Ruling Out North Korea As Source Of 2009 Cyberattacks
More US-NRE mass-media BS bites the dust.  Looks like there's a few honest federal employees left...at least till they're all fired. - mpg -- A quote...."U.S. officials have largely ruled out North Korea as the origin of a computer attack last July that took down U.S. and South Korean government websites, according to cybersecurity experts. - But authorities are not much closer than they were a year ago to knowing exactly who did it — and why." - Source: AP

Photographer Detained For Taking Pics Of BP Refinery As Up To 100% Of Pensacola Area Reservations Canceled -- A quote...."Courtesy of BP, and everyone cutting corners wherever possible, it is becoming increasingly clear that the economic impact to the gulf economy will be devastating, particularly in the tourism industry, with “some condos and hotels reporting 100 percent cancellations.” And we have still to find someone who will willingly eat shrimp without a gun at their heads... and it is not just the surging price for the crustacean as the supply plummets. Imagine just how ugly it would get if Americans were allowed to have an idea of just how bad it truly is: it appears that the recently instituted "Beyond" First Amendment, where freedom of the press now carries a $40,000 fine and/or incarceration, has seen its first casualty: "A photographer taking pictures of a BP refinery in Texas was detained by a BP security official, local police and a man who said he was from the Department of Homeland Security." Who would have thought change you can believe in referred to the amendments to the constitution...."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

As US fights, China spends to gain Afghan foothold
Special Note - A quote...."Though the two countries have always been friendly, the relationship has blossomed in recent years. In March, President Hamid Karzai made his fourth trip to Beijing, bringing back agreements on economic cooperation, technical training and lower tariffs for Afghan goods. -- The emerging alliance is giving Kabul an alternative to its sometimes strained ties with the West. The two neighbors share a narrow, mountainous border, the Wakhan Corridor, and links that date back centuries to the caravans of tea, spices and other riches that traveled the Silk Road. -- Afghanistan is "well aware that the U.S. is likely to only be a temporary ally so it's looking for a longer-term partner in the region. China would be an obvious choice," said security analyst Christian Le Miere, editor of Jane's Intelligence Review." - also posted at WarInIraq

No 'Sorry' from US as Iran plane tragedy marked - (YouTube - 3 min 34 sec - July 03, 2010)
Video - A quote...."Iran is remembering the victims of a tragic plane disaster that took place 22 years ago. An Iranian airliner with 290 people on board was shot down by a U.S. navy ship, apparently by mistake. Washington has yet to apologise for the incident..."

Iran drones to safeguard border bases
A quote...."A top Iranian Air Force commander says the Army plans to equip all border bases with domestic unmanned areal vehicles (UAVs) within the next few months."

'Saudi Arabia training Iraq terrorists'
A quote...."Saudi Arabia has set up a military base near its border with Jordan for training militants to conduct terrorist activities in war-weary Iraq, informed sources say." - For more on this sort of issue see....The Axis of Evil and Their Pseudo-Gangs - 05-22-10 - mpg & US Support of Terror

Mortars hit Green Zone during Biden visit
A quote...."Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) — The district was a frequent target of rocket and mortar attacks during the worst of the war that followed the U.S. invasion in 2003. A similar attack struck during a Biden visit in September." - Source: CNN - Oh look, some Iraqi nationalists gave Biden a three mortar, welcome to Iraq salute, and on the 4th of July no less!!  After all, both Iraqis and Afghanis have always been known throughout history to be kind and considerate hosts for guests that come to their countries, but for one reason or another, chose to overstay their welcome. -  mpg

Blackwater behind Darbar incident: JI
A quote...."KARACHI - Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Munawar Hassan on Sunday claimed that Blackwater and US marines were involved in the Data Darbar blast saying that any Muslim cannot imagine the act of terrorism at Data Darbar."

'Surge'' smoke follows Petraeus to Afpak
A quote...."As General David Petraeus, the mainstream US media's new armored Messiah, takes command in Afghanistan, the myth of his "successful surge" in Iraq could not but linger. Anyone who buys the Pentagon's spin and believes the same conquest will happen in the Pashtun south and southeast of Afghanistan must have smoked Hindu Kush's finest."

PKK bombs Iraq-Turkey pipeline
Oh Oh!  Looks like Israel is turning up the heat on Turkey.  This of course will NOT endear the Israelis to the current Iraqi government, but Israel could care less of course. - mpg -- A quote...."The bombing by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) added a new dimension to the threats against the pipeline, which carries around a quarter of Iraq's oil exports, after the rebel group called off a 14-month cease-fire in June."

Turkey to cut ties with defiant Israel
A quote...."Turkey says it will sever diplomatic ties with Israel unless it apologizes over the attack on a Gaza aid convoy and the death of nine Turks in the deadly onslaught."

Turkey Pulls Out of US-Israeli Navy Exercise
A quote...."In another sign of the deteriorating ties between Israel and Turkey, the Turkish Defense Ministry informed the Israeli occupation army over the weekend that it has decided not to participate in a naval search-and-rescue exercise planned for next month." - also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq

Turkish FM. Confirms Airspace Closure To Israeli Military
A quote...."ANKARA, July 5 (Bernama) -- Turkish airspace has been fully closed to Israeli military flights in response to Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in late May, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted as saying by local daily, reported China' Xinhua news agency."

Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan sign agreement to make Customs Union fully operational
A quote...."Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed on Monday a declaration putting the Customs Code into force and making the Customs Union fully operational, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Israel: A Failing Colonial Project
Special Note - A quote...."Increasingly, despite its early military and political successes, Israel cannot for long endure as a colonial project. It must choose between wars – and destruction – or transition to a state for all its peoples." also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq & Creative-i

Bibi Back at the White House — The Consistency of Israeli Duplicity Comes Ever More Clearly into Focus
A quote...."For me, confirmation of Israel’s strategic duplicity came in a meeting with Harry McPherson who served as counsel and speechwriter for Lyndon B. Johnson. LBJ entered the Senate in 1948 with Louisiana Senator Russell Long for whom I served as counsel and speechwriter." - also posted at CriminalState

Israeli occupation forces surround mosque, open fire on it, use human shields, order elderly inhabitants to leave
A quote...."Ma’an – Israeli forces surrounded a mosque in the occupied West Bank late Sunday, opening fire and ordering it evacuated. - It was not immediately clear what provoked the standoff at the Ar-Rihiya Mosque south of Hebron, where two Palestinians were detained. - Local residents told Ma'an that Israeli forces ordered elderly residents to evacuate the facility, but they refused. Soldiers used several Palestinians as human shields while surrounding the mosque, onlookers said, during confrontations between local youth and soldiers who opened fire with tear-gas canisters, rubber-coated bullets, and live ammunition."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More On The Palestinian Situation....

Enough With the Empty Words
A quote...."Nothing irks me more than politicians who blow off serious situations with hollow phrases on the outrageous assumption that people will actually believe them. Living in Palestine with a career revolved around words, you can imagine how many times I am irked in a day. Today is no different." - also posted at Uruknet

The Swedish Dockworkers’ Union blockade of goods to and from Israel has ended. Altogether more than 500 tons of import and export goods were blocked. -- Action Update - Boycott, Divest and Sanction, because Israel's crimes against humanity are crimes against us all. - mpg -- A quote...."The Swedish Dockworkers’ Union blockade of goods to and from Israel has ended. Altogether more than 500 tons of import and export goods were blocked." - For more on how to Boycott, Divest and Sanction the state of Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website.

Attacking the Israeli banks
Action Update - Boycott, Divest and Sanction, because money talks much louder than morals in Israel. - mpg -- A quote...."To end the occupation, cripple Israeli banks" - "If international civil society is serious about urgently ending Israel's violations of Palestinian rights, including ending the occupation, then suspension of SWIFT transactions to and from Israeli banks offers an instrument to help bring about a peaceful resolution of an intractable conflict. With computerization, international banking technology has advanced dramatically in the subsequent 20 years since the South African anti-apartheid campaign." - For more on how to Boycott, Divest and Sanction the state of Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website.

Intifada – Exclusive Interview with Iara Lee – Outrageous Brutality by Israeli Commandos
Quote of the Day...."The Flotilla was on a humanitarian mission. These were war commandos, they came to kill. We were unprepared for this attack. We knew that the Israelis would deter us, but never expected the Israeli commandos to open fire on civilian passengers. And what we witnessed was outrageous brutal force. Few of the Israeli Commandos were subdued and one of our doctors treated the Commandos. We showed restraint and gave medical aid to Israeli soldiers. Autopsy reports indicated that the activists killed were shot in the back of the head at close range. This was a criminal act by the Israel Defense forces." -- *Iara Lee* - also posted at Creative-i

5 EU states call for end to Gaza siege - Are they going to DO anything about it though? - mpg
A quote...."Five European countries have called for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolution which calls for the blockade of the Gaza Strip to be lifted."

Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory ( 24-30 June 2010)
Every single week of the year, for more than sixty years.  Think of what you'd do, or how you'd feel if it was your community. - mpg

• Two Palestinian civilians and a resistance activist were killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.
• One civilian was wounded in the southern Gaza Strip.
• Israeli forces continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
• Two civilians, including a child, were injured West Bank.
• Dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation in the West.
• Israeli forces arrested three human rights defenders.
• Israeli forces continued to fire at Palestinian farmers and workers in border areas of the Gaza Strip.
• Israeli forces conducted thirteen incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and four limited incursions into the Gaza Strip.
• Israeli forces arrested nineteen Palestinian civilians, including a child and a girl and her father in the West Bank.
• Israel has continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
• Israeli troops stationed at military checkpoints and border crossings in the West Bank arrested five Palestinian civilians.
• Israel has continued to take measures aimed at creating a Jewish demographic majority in Jerusalem.
• The construction of 1,400 hotel rooms near Habal al-Mukabber area in Jerusalem was approved.
• A Palestinian child was wounded in the eye and a number of children and women suffered from tear gas inhalation fired by Israeli forces in Silwan village.
• Israeli forces have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
• Israeli forces ordered the demolition of ten houses and two farms in Hebron.
  

========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

With the US trapped in depression, this really is starting to feel like 1932
A quote...."The US workforce shrank by 652,000 in June, one of the sharpest contractions ever. The rate of hourly earnings fell 0.1pc. Wages are flirting with deflation."

U.S. Consumers in ‘Dire’ Credit Situation
A quote...."Peter Cecchini, chief strategist at BGC Financial, talks to Pimm Fox about the U.S. economy and consumer credit on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” He says that the 122% percent household debt to GDP ratio is well above the pre-1980 average of 60-80%. Just to get back to a 100% to GDP ratio, we need an additional $2 trillion of deleveraging. In the absence of income growth, you just aren’t going to get these numbers down without deleveraging." - bold by website editor

Is a Massive Head and Shoulders Pattern Completing ... Just Like On the Eve of the Second Wave Down in the Great Depression? -- Market Tech Note - Chart - A quote...."The Telegraph's lead economic writer, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, has an interesting article arguing that we are in 1931-like conditions"

Inflation Seen As Nation's Salvation" Redux; How Keynes Grew To Hate 'Keynesianism' And Love The Monetary Bomb - Contains Video - A quote...."There are few things as entertaining as watching US propaganda movies from the 1930s. Case in point, this documentary from the depths of the great recession (1933), when America was struggling with a deflationary wave nearly as bad as the one today, and when the only salvation was the spinning of Keynesian politics to the point where even Keynes himself had to send a letter to FDR to warn him that how the US was was interpreting his fledgling economic religion (it hadn't quite made cult status yet), was wrong."

Illinois Stops Paying Its Bills, but Can’t Stop Digging Hole
A quote...."CHICAGO — Even by the standards of this deficit-ridden state, Illinois’s comptroller, Daniel W. Hynes, faces an ugly balance sheet. Precisely how ugly becomes clear when he beckons you into his office to examine his daily briefing memo."

Calif. state workers brace for minimum wage
A quote...."SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Some California state workers are preparing to tap into their savings while others already are cutting expenses as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's minimum wage order moved one step closer to reality. - Source: AP

Sunday July 4th 2010

No posts. - mpg

Saturday July 3rd 2010

Torture Complicity Under the Spotlight in Europe (Part One): The UK
Special Note - A quote...."September 11, 2001, when the United States — the post-World War II driver of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions, prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment — went off the rails and introduced a horrendous global program of rendition, torture, arbitrary detention and prisons beyond the law, other countries who were drawn into the "War on Terror" have striven to keep their own involvement quiet, and for good reason."

Freedom Rider: Americans Have No Rights
Yes we do!!  Unalienable God given natural rights! The fact some wannabe thugs have the gall to think they can actually take them away from us is their delusion, a delusion that sooner or later will be brought to an abrupt end! - mpg -- A quote...." Under Barack Obama, the former professor of constitutional law, Americans’ civil liberties have shrunken drastically – to the point that his administration claims the right to execute its citizens without charge or due process of any recognizable kind. And citizens that leave the country cannot be sure they will be allowed back in. But where is the outrage among Democrats, when Obama out-Bushes Bush? “It seems that Democrats did not in fact feel any affront to Bush policies, only to his party affiliation.” -  also posted at Uruknet

Boehner Puts Democrats on the Spot - Cut Social Security to Fund the War?
A quote...."In a remarkable interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, House Republican Leader John Boehner explicitly called for cutting Social Security in order to pay for the war in Afghanistan." also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq - For more on this issue see....Go Build Your Neo-Roman Empire - Just Leave Us Out Of It - 10-14-07 - mpg - See also the article shown below....


Now It Can Be Told: The Democratic Party is the War Party
A quote...."I’m glad the DNC decided to clear something up for me. You might sometimes mistakenly think the Democratic Party is not about endless wars with no clear goals or defined victory. Well, this news release from the DNC about Michael Steele’s statement that history proves an outside army can’t pacify Afghanistan should completely dissuade you of that. DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse says via Greg Sargent:" - By the way, the comments by the two RepubDemos in the articles above are examples of RTS. A quote shown below....


Blackwater's New Sugar Daddy: The Obama Administration
A quote...."Blackwater has spent heavily on Democratic lobbyists in 2010 and clearly it has paid off. Despite the investigations, the indictments, the trail of dead bodies, George W Bush's favorite mercenary company is thriving under the Obama Administration. After its original sugar daddy left town, Blackwater has happily remarried. Over the past two weeks, the Administration has awarded nearly a quarter billion dollars in new US government contracts to Blackwater to work for the State Department and CIA in Afghanistan and other hot zones globally." - also posted at Uruknet

The [Obama] administration defends its assassination program - Using Blackwater no doubt. - mpg
A quote...."In the wake of Leon Panetta's public defense of the targeting of American citizens suspected  (but never charged or convicted) of Terrorism, Obama officials are now apparently going around the country and, with chest-beating rhetoric, overtly defending their right to target Americans for assassination with no due process of any kind:"

Pentagon ban on Guantanamo reporters is illegal, group says
Contains Video - A quote...."WASHINGTON — A coalition of major news organizations is challenging as unconstitutional Pentagon rules that were used in May to ban four reporters from covering military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."

Rethinking Iran-Contra - posted at ConsortiumNews
A quote...."The conventional view of the Iran-Contra scandal is that it covered the period 1985-86, when President Ronald Reagan became concerned about the fate of American hostages in Lebanon and agreed to secretly sell weapons to Iran’s Islamist government to gain its help in freeing the captives."

50 Random Facts That Make You Wonder What In The World Has Happened To America
Special Note - A quote...."Our world is changing at a pace that is so staggering these days that it can be really hard to fully grasp the significance of what we are witnessing.  Hopefully the collection of random facts below will help you to “connect the dots” just a little bit.  On one level, the facts below may not seem related.  However, what they all do have in common is that they show just how much the United States has fundamentally changed.  Do you ever just sit back and wonder what in the world has happened to America?  The truth is that the America that so many of us once loved so much has been shattered into a thousand pieces.  The “land of the free and the home of the brave” has been transformed into a socialized Big Brother nanny state that is oozing with corruption and has accumulated the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world.  The greatest economic machine that the world has ever seen is falling apart before our very eyes, and even when our politicians actually try to do something right (which is quite rare) the end result is still a bunch of garbage.  For those who still love this land (and there are a lot of us) it is heartbreaking to watch America slowly die." -- Too late, it's the NRE now, stick a fork in it....it's done. - mpg

More than one-quarter [of Amerikans] don’t know who US gained independence from
Here's a random fact that won't make you wonder what happened to this country....Amerikans are DUMB, and more importantly they could care less.  Which is funny, because what you don't know can impoverish you, hurt you, or even kill you. You'd think people in this country would've learned that by now. - mpg -- A quote...."...a new Marist poll finds that more than a quarter -- 26 percent -- of Americans polled couldn't bring to mind the name of the country from whom the original 13 colonies gained independence."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Heinonen Pushed Dubious Iran Nuclear Weapons Intel
Special Note - A quote...."WASHINGTON, Jul 2, 2010 (IPS) - Olli Heinonen, the Finnish nuclear engineer who resigned Thursday after five years as deputy director for safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was the driving force in turning that agency into a mechanism to support U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran." - also posted at ICH

North Korea urges U.N. council to back new Cheonan probe
Special Note - A quote...."(Reuters) - North Korea has asked the U.N. Security Council to support its call for a new probe into the March sinking of a South Korean warship that Seoul blames it for, saying it could cooperate on it with the South." - also posted at WarInIraq - For more on this issue see....US-False Flag Ops - The Cheonan

"Falluja Worse Than Hiroshima "
Contains Video - Alt - Some quotes...."Prof Busby has published many articles on radiation, uranium and contamination in countries such as Lebanon, Kosovo, Gaza and of course Iraq. - His latest findings - which were the subject of the program aired on Al-Jazeera are what I will focus on here. - As some of you know, Falluja is a forbidden city. It was subjected to intense bombardments in 2004, with DU bombs and White phosphorus, and since it has become a no go zone - meaning that both the Iraqi puppet authorities and the U.S invading/occupying forces do not allow anyone to conduct any real study in Falluja. Falluja is basically under siege. - Obviously both the Americans and the Iraqis know something and are hiding it from the public. And this is where Prof. C.Busby comes in the picture. He was/is adamant to get to the bottom of what took place in Falluja in 2004. - Being a top scientist in his field, he set out to conduct a survey/research in Falluja whose preliminary results will be published in 2 weeks - hopefully." - Source:  ArabWomanBlues

US-led forces kill three Afghan civilians
A quote...."US-led forces in Afghanistan have killed at least three civilians as their new commander General David Petraeus makes his debut in Kabul." - Oh look....isn't this so sweet?  They gave Petraeus a widdle coming to Afghan party present.  Who knew the US-NRE's military were so thoughtfully sentimental. - mpg

Iran and the Shifting Sands of State Power in the Middle East - PDF
A quote...."The last great Western intervention into the Middle East, from approximately 1821—1922, left behind a gaping void eventually filled by the colonial powers, Britain and France. But as leaders of the regional states and Islamist movements survey the coming era, they see no prospect of a repetition of this earlier experience. What they see is a gradual decrease in Western influence as the United States and its allies reduce their forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. For the first time in centuries, therefore, there will be no external powers stepping into any void. There will also be no Chinese or Russian interventionat least not in the colonial sense of a massive political intervention. The realignment of trade, technology, and investment toward the East no doubt will continue its relentless creep, in line with the states’ ‘‘look East’’ policies. China and Russia will certainly play their part, but as partners not as powers."

Israel Suspected in Bogus Claim Iran Developing Nuclear Trigger
Fake Intel/Propaganda Alert - A quote...."U.S. intelligence has concluded that the document published recently by the Times of London, which purportedly describes an Iranian plan to do experiments on what the newspaper described as a ‘neutron initiator’ for an atomic weapon, is a fabrication, according to a former Central Intelligence Agency official,” reports IPS. “Philip Giraldi, who was a CIA counterterrorism official from 1976 to 1992, told IPS that intelligence sources say that the United States had nothing to do with forging the document, and that Israel is the primary suspect. The sources do not rule out a British role in the fabrication, however.”.”

Total: Iran sanctions serious mistake
A quote...."The CEO of French energy giant Total, Christophe de Margerie, says imposing sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program was a "serious mistake." - also posted at WarInIraq

Russia may lose billions for breaching missile contract with Iran
A quote...."Russia's refusal to deliver S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Iran means Tehran could turn to China as its main arms supplier, depriving Moscow of a serious source of revenue, a Russian daily suggested on Wednesday."

Iranians remember Flight 655 victims
A quote...."Iran will mark the 22nd anniversary of a US missile attack on an Iranian passenger airliner over the Persian Gulf, commemorating those killed by laying flowers at the site of the tragic incident." - also posted at AlethoNews

Tehrik-i-Taliban denies bombing Sufi shrine in Lahore
A quote...."ISLAMABAD // Officials believe a twin suicide bomb attack on a Sufi shrine in Lahore late on Thursday, which killed at least 42 pilgrims and injured around 170, may have been the work of a militant faction based in central Punjab province, suggesting a new type of threat facing the Pakistani government."

Russia's Medvedev oversees naval phase of Vostok-2010 military drills
Multiple articles on Russia's Vostok-2010 military drills. - mpg

Venezuela says arrests Salvador terrorist suspect
A quote...."CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez  said on Friday security forces arrested a member of a gang led by accused plane bomber Luis Posada Carriles and suggested the El Salvadorian suspect planned to kill him."

Ecuador's row with Colombia over spying ends thaw
A quote...."Well, that was quick. Just as the cold war between Colombia and Ecuador began to thaw, a row over spying has put relations back on ice. Colombia's DAS intelligence agency allegedly eavesdropped on Ecuador's president Rafael Correa and several senior officials, threatening a new diplomatic rupture in the Andes."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Petraeus emails show general scheming with journalist to get out pro-Israel storyline
Bought and Paid For - EXCLUSIVE: A quote...."Last March General David Petraeus, then head of Central Command, sought to undercut his own testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee that was critical of Israel by intriguing with a rightwing writer to put out a different story, in emails obtained by Mondoweiss." -- Admiral Fallon was reported by some sources to have once called Pateraeus "An ass-kissing little chicken sh-t".  If so, never were truer words spoken. Petraeus goes into the Pantheon of AIPAC/Israeli brown nosers. - mpg

Israel’s ‘periphery doctrine’ of non-Arab friends is in tatters
A quote...."Israel has systematically lost its friends at the periphery--Iran, Ethiopia and now Turkey. Its adventures and attempts at kingmaking in Lebanon ended with tens of thousands of civilians killed, the Maronites politically emasculated, a decades-long occupation and war which traumatized its army, the politicization and militarization of the Lebanese Shi'ite community and the emergence of Hizbullah." - also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq

UK factory saboteurs acquitted
Must Read - (For the glorious legal concept!) -- A quote...."A group of activists who broke into an arms factory near Brighton last year and caused damage costing around £180,000 ($275,000) were found not guilty last week of causing criminal damage. - In a lawsuit filed in October, seven British activists claimed they were legally justified to break in and sabotage the factory of EDO MBM Technology near Brighton, on the south coast of England, in January 2009, at the time of Operation Cast Lead." - bold by website editor

A Canary in the Coal Mine - The Israel Lobby in San Francisco
A quote...."I was the child of the survivors of the Holocaust.’  With that, Roz Rothstein of the activist group Stand With Us that hopes to transform the image of Israel on US campuses sets the moral authority before a small audience at an office on Howard Street, San Francisco.  One can, she explains, disagree with Israel, but there are ‘limits’ to such doubting behavior.  Exceeding those limits constitutes the gravest sort of anti-Semitism.  As people devour the food and drink put on by the associates of Blumberg Capital, serious politics is being discussed.  ‘We are being demonized,’ she insists.  Whether she means Israel, Jews or Jews in the US is hard to tell.  Presumably, no true distinction is intended." - also posted at AlethoNews

TROUBLE IN PARADISE
Well this is not something you see everyday. Good ole American politics, you have the Democrats, majority up the arse of Israel due to all those nice fat AIPAC donations. And then you have the Republicans, almost 100% up the arse of Israel because they hate Muslims, love Jesus, (and everyone knows you can't love Jesus and love Muslims, so they believe) they also support the slaughter in Iraq, Afghanistan and any other country where they can send their sons and daughters to kill people who are not exactly like they are. But, there is a shifting of the sands apparently. Not all the Pugs are into tea parties evidently there are a few who, despite their war mongering bigoted ways towards all non born again, flag waving neocons, are starting to think about America, instead of Israel. This could spell trouble for the evil rogue state.
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More On The Palestinian Situation....

Israel is Raping Gaza of Palestinian Gas Reserves
Must View Video - It's not rape, it's THEFT!  Something the Israelis are VERY good at! - mpg - Alt - (YouTube - 9 min 50 sec - June 30, 2010) - Source: 91177info -- A quote...."This is the reason why they are ethnically cleansing Gaza and UK and USA stay silent. Gaza will be the new Dubai. It is not about rockets it's about control of Gazan gas which belongs to the Palestinians. Also see- VIDEO Gaza's massive gas reserves blocked by Israel-Gaza's massive gas reserves blocked by Israel"

Torpedoed in Port: Lebanon Gaza Flotilla Sunk
Special Note - A quote...."I will not speak for the others, American or foreign, but I will mark in passing the sense of futility they feel as Americans for their government’s complicity in Israel’s blatant and calculated destruction of the people of Palestine. For years, certainly since the Presidency of George W. Bush, these Americans have attempted to condemn and to distance themselves from the crimes committed by their representatives, including their belief that the election of Barak Obama would offer change—yet change does not happen. Consequently, varying organizations, agencies and individuals have joined forces to confront the illegality of these two nations by using international waters to break the blockade of Gaza." - also posted at Uruknet

Faltering Clegg Won't Walk the Walk
A quote...."A month ago, while reports were coming in that Israeli gunboats had 'intercepted' the Free Gaza flotilla 90 miles out to sea and told the humanitarian workers they would be boarded and towed to an Israeli port, I emailed Clegg: 'Where is the Royal Navy when it’s needed to protect life and limb of the 30-odd British nationals?'"

Another IDF Lie Exposed: Army Attacked Activists, Not The Other Way Around
Contains Video - A quote...."On July 2, at the weekly demonstration in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh, Israeli army troops violently arrested Israeli activists Yonatan Shapira and Matan Cohen. I witnessed the incident that led to the arrests and filmed them as they took place. As a group of soldiers pursued children up a small hill, then began firing teargas shells and percussion grenades at them, presumably in response to a few stones the children had thrown, Cohen and Shapira mocked the soldiers. “Shooting at children! You are so brave!” Cohen exclaimed."

Home demolitions, arrest raids as Israel implements Jerusalem "Master Plan"
A quote...."Israeli police detained residents of Silwan as bulldozers demolished a horse stable in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood on 29 June, while other construction vehicles razed a small warehouse to the ground in nearby Abu Tur. These demolitions came after Israeli courts decided that both of the buildings were built "illegally" and against "building codes." In a statement from the court, Jerusalem mayor Nir Barakat said his office was upholding his position that "there is a right way and a wrong way, a right place and a wrong place to build in Jerusalem."

When Does Conciliatory Become Obsequious? Abbas Meets The Pro-Israel Lobby
Must Read - A quote...."In what was a surprising and disconcerting development, 30 of the most influential and politically powerful American Jews identified with the pro-Israel lobby, met recently with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in what was called a “dinner and conversation.” The Palestinian leadership has never before met formally with Jewish American supporters of Israel, who as a group are usually more intransigent than the Israeli government in power." - also posted at ICH
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

The Toronto G20 Riot Fraud: Undercover Police engaged in Purposeful Provocation
Contains Videos - A quote...."Toronto is right now in the midst of a massive government / media propaganda fraud. As events unfold, it is becoming increasingly clear that the 'Black Bloc' are undercover police operatives engaged in purposeful provocations to eclipse and invalidate legitimate G20 citizen protest by starting a riot. Government agents have been caught doing this before in Canada."

G20 Toronto Black Block get green light to rampage?
Video - Alt - (YouTube - 4 min 16 sec - June 28, 2010) -- A quote...."A photo Journalist describes his experience following the black block as they rampage through the streets of Toronto during the G20 Summit."

O Canada sung at G20 then riot police rush the singers of Canada's National Anthem
Video - (YouTube - 1 min 32 sec - June 28, 2010) -- A quote...."G20 Canada singing of Oh Canada. The UN must be removed from Canada. Make Canada a UN Free Zone. The UN and international agreements will destroy our country if you don't push back NOW!"

Police State Canada. The G20 Summit: Peaceful Protesters Arrested at Gun Point
A quote...."This documentation of the treatment of the G20 detainees — "protesters," by-passers, photographers, journalists, people in the wrong place at the wrong time, including their own homes! — reveals what the mainstream media, from newspapers to broadcasting, is carefully avoiding, namely that  their treatment by the "force" (the real Black Block, one could argue) was beyond the pale and akin to torture. It's come to this: specially trained police are fully capable of and willing to subject anybody and everybody to totalitarian style degradation, subjugation and abuse. (Who trained them?) Wherever you are and whoever you are, you could be next, as there is no escape when "the plan" springs into action. Please read carefully, slowly, digest it and spread the word so as many as possible Canadians will know what Stephen Harper's governance (if you can call it that) has brought us."
  ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Max Keiser – Goldman Sachs – The Real Pirates behind America’s Economic Implosion
Must View Videos - MK&AJ(1/3) - MK&AJ(1/3) - MK&AJ(1/3) - (AJYuTb - July 02, 2010) - Source: TheAlexJonesChannel -- A quote...."Alex talks with Max Keiser about who the real criminals are behind the implosion of the american economy."

Johann Hari: How Goldman gambled on starvation
A quote...."By now, you probably think your opinion of Goldman Sachs and its swarm of Wall Street allies has rock-bottomed at raw loathing. You're wrong. There's more. It turns out that the most destructive of all their recent acts has barely been discussed at all. Here's the rest. This is the story of how some of the richest people in the world – Goldman, Deutsche Bank, the traders at Merrill Lynch, and more – have caused the starvation of some of the poorest people in the world." - also posted at Hamseyah

Wall Street is a Crime Scene, Not a Financial "Cyclical Aberration"
A quote...."It's shocking that more than 20 years after the movies “Wall Street” revealed the underlying corruption of America's financial center, it is still difficult to get the corporate mainstream media to understand that the economic “collapse” of the last two years was a swindle and not a cyclic aberration."

Ron Paul: Audit The Fed Bill Fails After Former Co-Sponsors Flip-Flop
Contains Videos - RP&Bill - RP&DC(1/2) - RP&DC(2/2) - A quote...."Ron Paul’s attempt to audit the Federal Reserve, which was previously co-sponsored by 320 members of the House (HR 1207), failed by a vote of 229-198. All Republicans voted in favor of the measure with 23 Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with Republicans. 122 co-sponsors of HR 1207, all Democrats, jumped ship and voted against the measure."

Lying and Spying: The Economy is Sinking. The Coming Depression
A quote...."Did you know that firms such as Citigroup and Goldman Sachs could exploit loopholes until 2022 before withdrawing from "illiquid" funds such as private equity? The long gestation period is an example of the degree of compromise inserted into the package following months of lobbying on Capitol Hill by powerful banks, according to Bloomberg News." - bold by website editor - Which is right in line with the "Ten Year Cycle".  It appears our parasitic Bankster class really believe they've gotten away with creating the next ten year cycle (from 2011 to 2021) with the thirty trillion worth of back-stops, guarantees and pay-outs that were recently gifted to them. They're wrong, they will not be able to maintain the value of their assets, we're in for another, fateful, second down-leg and Goldman Sachs and Citigroup will not survive it. - mpg

The U.S. Economy is Falling. Towards another Credit Collapse?
A quote..."As sovereign debt problems rage across the world financial scene, the prices of stocks and commodities are fading and bonds could be topping out. Who would be willing to accept a yield of slightly under 3% for a US Treasury note? In addition, commodity currencies are under pressure. The dollar remains relatively firm after having fallen to 85.42 on the USDX from a recent high of 89. In that process the dollar cold be completing a head and shoulders, which could in time portend a much lower dollar. There are certainly lots of uncertainties out there, as volume increases each time the market falls, a sign that the natural direction is downward. AAA companies have done well in the recent past in part due to plenty of cheap money. In the second half of the year their earnings should begin to fade as GDP falls into the minus column. That fall can be stopped if more stimulus is added or if the Fed injects $2 trillion more into the economy."

Banks Continued Failure To Realise Commercial Real Estate Losses…
Charts - A quote...."The massive commercial real estate market is already plaguing the weak balance sheets of banks.  It is the case that each Friday, we are likely to see one U.S. bank fail because due to high levels of commercial real estate (CRE) debt on their books.  This market is likely to cause the failure of hundreds of banks and put the economy down into another real estate funk.  The amount of commercial real estate transactions shows no sign of recovery in this market.  And why would there be any recovery?  This is an area for hotels, strip malls, condos, and other projects that usually reflect a healthy and growing economy.  We do not have that and the problems embedded in CRE are going to stifle any growth for years to come."

ECRI Weekly Leading Indicator Ever Closer To The -10% Threshold, Drops To -7.7; Leads To Another Leg Lower In Stocks - Economic Alert - A quote...."We are just 2.3 points away from that critical -10 threshold on the ECRI WLI which at least historically, has guaranteed a recession. Just the freefall itself is vertigo inducing, and the number's release at 10:30 Eastern is what pushed the market even further lower as bullish indicator after indicator collapse."

Reversion To 10 Year Average Labor Force Participation Rate Implies 11.8% Unemployment Rate
Chart - A quote...."The only reason for the decline in the unemployment rate to 9.5% was yet another decline in the labor force participation rate, which according to the BLS dropped another 652k people in the month of June. This resulted in a labor force to the civilian non-institutional population ratio of 64.7%: the second lowest number in decades of data, and only better than December 2009, when this number was 64.6%. The problem with this is that it badly underestimates the split between those who are marginally attached and those 14,623 who were formally unemployed in June. As the chart below shows, the double dip in the labor force participation is now very much pronounced."

US jobs report points to deepening slump
A quote...."The employment report for June released Friday by the Labor Department confirms that the United States is in the grips of a protracted economic slump with no recovery in sight. If anything, the report suggests that the economic situation would best be described as a depression, rather than the official designation of a slow “recovery.”

USDA Reports Food Shortages: Wall Street 'Caught Off Guard' by Severity
A quote...."Several recent headlines indicate that food prices will continue their swift climb upward. These troubling new reports show that agriculture production and stored grains are critically low and experts are now predicting food shortages on a grand scale."

Friday July 2nd 2010

No posts. - mpg

Thursday July 1st 2010

"Torture" study reveals appalling cowardice of America's newspapers
Special Note - A quote...."On the one hand, waterboarding is torture.  --  On the other hand....    I'm sorry -- there is no other hand. Waterboarding is torture, period. It's been that way for decades -- it was torture when we went after Japanese war criminals who used the ancient and inhumane interrogation tactic, it was torture when Pol Pot and some of the worst dictators known to mankind used it against their own people, and it was torture to the U.S. military which once punished soldiers who adopted the grim practice.  --  And waterboarding was described as "torture," almost without fail, in America's newspapers.  --  Until 2004, after the arrival of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and their criminal notions of "enhanced interrogations." - also posted at CommonDreams

238 presidential scholars: Bush worst president of modern era, fifth worst in US history
A quote...."It's one thing for a coterie of liberals at a late-night Washington soirée to say that George W. Bush was the worst president in their lifetimes. - It's another thing when the same is said by the nation's 238 leading presidential scholars, who have been polled annually for the last 28 years." -- One of the commentators said.....


[Bush/Obama's] Counterinsurgency Down for the Count in Afghanistan… But the War Machine Grinds On and On and On -- A quote...."1 What do you mean by “it’s not working”?  --  “It” is counterinsurgency or COIN, which, in fact, is really less of a strategy than a set of tactics in pursuit of a strategy.  Counterinsurgency doctrine, originally designed by empires intending to squat on their colonies forever, calls for elevating the principle of “protecting the population” above pursuing the bad guys at all cost.  Implementing such a strategy quickly becomes a tricky, even schizophrenic, balancing act, as I recently was reminded." - also posted at CommonDreams

Ron Paul: Sanctions on Iran Means War
Video - Special Note - Alt - A quote...."Ron Paul explains why sanctions on Iran might not be that good. The idea of sanctions means war against another country. Ron Paul explains that they can't afford to be at so many places at once. The US spends $1 trillion a year to operate."

IAEA Conceals Evidence Iran Documents Were Forged
Special Note - A quote...."WASHINGTON, Sep 14, 2009 (IPS) - The International Atomic Energy Agency says its present objective regarding Iran is to try to determine whether the intelligence documents purportedly showing a covert Iranian nuclear weapons programme from 2001 to 2003 are authentic or not. The problem, according to its reports, is that Iran refuses to help clarify the issue." - also posted at CommonDreams

Dispatches From the Edge - Guns of August in the Middle East?
War Update - A quote...."Crazy talk about the Middle East seems to be escalating, backed up by some pretty ominous military deployments. First, the department of scary statements...."

Not again!
A quote...."Lots more Iran talk these days, coming from the usual unnamed sources (Jews), and from inside Iran itself (in the ultimate irony, the government in Iran is using the Iran talk to increase its own popularity). How many times have I called out the Iran talk as bullshit? How many times have I been right? This bout of Iran talk is particularly ludicrous, coming at a time when the Americans just finished shredding their credibility as a superpower in their pathetic attempt at getting the world to apply sanctions. Do you think they could possibly now turn around and start a war?"

MAP OF THE DAY: Here's The Israeli Attack Route Iran Just Cut Off
Map - Full quote...."War worries in the Middle East continue to grow, as it has been revealed that Iran has supplied Syria with radar capable of detecting Israeli planes flying at high altitudes. - That ability to detect could cut off one of Israel's main attack routes for targeting Iran. - Israel has reopened secret talks with Turkey, after last months flotilla incident divided the two allies. Those talks have occurred due to pressure from President Obama, according to Haaretz. - That is one attack path Israel is in the process of securing. The Saudi Arabia route may already be available. - From Republica.it, note the central route's path over Syria:" - also posted at WarInIraq

Brazil’s Lula Meets with Syria’s Assad, Renews Offer to Mediate in Conflict
A quote...."During the meeting with Syrian counterpart Bashar Al Assad, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that the Middle Eastern country “is an indispensable partner in the search for peace” and that “all eyes are looking toward Damascus to find a word of authority and moderation,” despite the fact that it has been accused by the U.S. and Israel of supporting terrorist groups."

Rights group probes US agencies on foreknowledge of Israeli flotilla raid
A quote...."One U.S. citizen was killed, others were injured, detained and had their property taken, and a U.S.-registered vessel seized by Israel during its attack in international waters last month," CCR attorney Katherine Gallagher said in a media advisory. "Serious questions remain unanswered about the U.S. response to the attack, its actions and policies, particularly in the context of the blockade of Gaza, internationally condemned as illegal and unjust. Citizens need to know their government will protect their rights under U.S. and international law vis-à-vis a foreign government, including Israel—the biggest recipient of U.S. aid over the last fifty years."

Connecting The Zionist Dots
A quote...."The Jewish population in the UK is 280,000 or 0.46 per cent. There are 650 seats in the House of Commons so, as a proportion, Jewish entitlement is only three seats. The conclusion is pretty obvious. With 24 seats, Jews are eight times over-represented. Which means, of course, that other groups must be under-represented, including Muslims…If Muslims, for instance, were over-represented to the same extent as the Jews (i.e. eight times) they’d have 200 seats. All hell would break loose.” [You're NOT kidding!] -- A question must be raised here. Why are Jews overwhelmingly over-represented in the British parliament, in British and American political pressure groups, in political fundraising and in the media?"

African Countries Form a Common Market
Hip Hip Hooray - A quote...."BUJUMBURA, Burundi — The world’s newest common market was created Thursday when a regional bloc of five east African countries freed up the movement of people, products and capital across borders, furthering East Africa’s dream of broad political unification."
 ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Traditional Values: Obama Backs Oligarchic 'Continuity' Down South
Special Note - A quote...."In [the country] right now there is a military-business regime, with a little bit of democratic makeup."  ---  This sounds like an excellent -- indeed, near-perfect -- description of the true state of the United States in these degraded days of ours. While the sinister comic opera of factional in-fighting amongst the elite provides an increasingly thin and cracked patina of democracy, the militarist-corporatist machines continue their ravenous devouring of the fat of the land and the flesh of the weak. -- But, as it happens, the quote comes not from an observer of the American scene, but from a Honduran activist -- one of many trying to fight off the depredations being visited upon their land by the repressive, coup-born regime now backed to the hilt by the progressive champion of human rights and world peace in the White House. -- Joseph Huff-Hannon tells the story in the Guardian:"

Honduras, a Year After - The Coup is Not Complete
Special Note - A quote...."At one point during the military coup in Honduras last year, a US representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) joked that Hondurans were living in a state of "magical realism", a folkloric literary genre blurring reality and the surreal, often in the historical or political context of Latin America. -- He wasn't far off, despite the bizarre comparison: A democratically-elected president is overthrown by an elite conspiring against him, forced out of the country, the military takes over, the people revolt in massive opposition, while governments across the world refuse to recognize the new regime and withdraw their ambassadors. Only the United States, the most powerful of all countries, remains on the fence, then hops off onto the side of the golpistas (coup-makers) while presenting a straight face of diplomacy."

The Military Still Has Veto Power in Honduras
A quote...."(IPS) - The de facto veto power that the military exercised with the toppling of president Manuel Zelaya exactly one year ago today effectively blocks any possible political or electoral reforms, experts say." - also posted at GlobalIssues

Honduras Failing to Tackle Coup Rights Abuses
A quote...."Amnesty International has accused the Honduran authorities of failing to address serious human rights violations that followed the coup d’etat of 28 June 2009, when ex-President Manuel Zelaya was forced from power."

Future Holds More of the Same [For Columbia]
A quote...."BOGOTA, Jun 15, 2010 (IPS) - Few doubt that former defence minister Juan Manuel Santos will be the next president of Colombia, and that he will continue the policies of President Álvaro Uribe. Santos, as Uribe's heir, will basically be more of the same."

Colombian Warlord Sued in U.S. Federal Court
A quote...."MIAMI – A U.S. human rights organization is suing former Colombian militia leader Carlos Mario Jimenez for torture, extrajudicial killing, crimes against humanity and war crimes."

Secret list shows fate of Argentine disappeared
A quote...."BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Nelida Sosa de Forti almost escaped Argentina's dictatorship. The airplane's engines were already running when an air force commander came on board and ordered her and her five sons off the plane. Armed men waiting on the tarmac took them away."

Guatemala to Suspend Goldcorp’s Marlin Mine
Now, because of this terrible faux-pas by the Guatemalan Government, it's going to be overthrown, fake elections will be held under US-NRE auspices, dozens, perhaps thousands of indigenous locals and a few honest reporters will be gunned down in the streets, the....wait....oh so very sorry folks, this website editor thought Goldcorp was a US-NRE owned company, turns out it's just a Canadian company....never mind, just forget you ever read this. - mpg -- A quote...."The Guatemala government has said that it will suspend Goldcorp's Marlin mine  in San Miguel Ixtahuacán to make way for a full investigation of the health, environmental, and human rights impacts of the controversial mine project."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More On The Palestinian Situation....

State Terror, Israeli Style
A quote...."July 1, (Pal Telegraph - By Stephen Lendman) Ongoing since its May 14, 1948 "Declaration of Independence," Israel systematically reigned terror against Palestinians and neighboring states, always claiming self-defense - bogus then, bogus now, historian Ilan Pappe describing Israel as a "settler Prussian state: a combination of colonialist policies....manifested in the dominance of the army over political, cultural and economic life," then adding...."

UN 'closely following' Israeli treatment of 4 lawmakers
A quote...."Bethlehem - Ma'an - UN officials expressed concern over Israel's treatment of four Palestinian lawmakers, saying Thursday that experts were " closely following" the case."

Crossings sealed; rights group says no change in Gaza
A quote...."Gaza – Ma'an – Maintaining the 2009-10 siege schedule for crossings openings, Israeli officials informed their Palestinian counterparts at the Gaza crossings, that all terminals would be closed on Friday."
 ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Keiser Report №56: Markets! Finance! Scandal!
Must View Video - Alt - A quote...."On this edition of the Keiser Report, Max and co-host Stacy Herbert look at the latest scandals of economic bloggers branded heretics as the high priests of economics are busy preparing "monster" money-printing and refusing to recognize housing bubble "time bombs". In the second half of the show, Max talks to Josh Brown of TheReformedBroker.com about hexopolies and financial reform."

How do other nations balance their trade? Try Germany - posted at Online Journal
Special Note - A quote...."As America continues to contemplate its trade mess, the question naturally arises how other developed nations manage to trade with the world without deficits and without turning high-wage industries into low-wage industries to compete. Although some other developed nations, like Britain and Spain, have trade situations almost as bad as ours in recent years, some have been quite the opposite."

G20 summit exposes deep trans-Atlantic differences
Special Note - A quote...."While international leaders sought to put the best face on the G20 summit held in Toronto at the end of last week, there was no disguising the extent of divisions between major global players, particularly the United States and Germany. -- The European press was generally dismissive of the summit, which failed to reach any concrete binding decisions. For the French newspaper Le Figaro, “The G20 has ushered in the return of ‘every man for himself.’ The attempt to define a consensus-based economic policy to get out of the crisis proved abortive. Between Germany obsessed with cutting deficits [...], the US fretful about hamstringing growth by excessive austerity and France halfway between the two, a common guideline is nowhere in sight.”

25 Signs to Support An Economic Collapse
A quote...."At times like these, it is hardly going out on a limb to say that we are headed for hard economic times.  In fact, it seems like almost everyone in the financial world is either declaring that a recession is coming or is busy preparing for one.  The truth is that bad economic signs are everywhere.  Consumer confidence is plummeting, big banks are hoarding cash, top financial experts are issuing recession warnings and it seems like almost everyone is trying to accumulate as much gold as possible. "

[US] May pending home sales tumble without tax credits
A quote...."NEW YORK (AP) -- The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase homes tumbled in May, a sign the housing recovery can't survive without government incentives."

New jobless claims rise in sign of weak job market
A quote...."WASHINGTON — Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose last week for the second time in three weeks. At the same time, more than a million people have lost benefits and more could be cut off now that Congress has failed to extend federal jobless aid."

US manufacturing growth slows: ISM
A quote...."The firm's manufacturing index, also known as the purchasing managers index, stood at 56.2 per cent, down from 59.7 per cent seen in May."