Tuesday July 21st 2009

Color Revolutions: Bulgaria vs Ukraine: Don't blink
Must Read - A quote...."Obama's geopolitical demarche in Russia's backyard is moving ahead nicely...  First there was the election in Bulgaria 5 July which brought a new party to power -- Boyko Borisov's Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria. Borisov, or Batman, as he is affectionately called, was a Communist-era policeman who subsequently established a prosperous private security business and has been the mayor of Sofia since 2005. He campaigned on the usual -- to fight corruption and secure a better economic future. The Batman bragged in an interview with Der Spiegel of receiving "letters of accolade" from the CIA and FBI, presumably for his battle with the dark forces. One of the first things he did as PM, however, was to suspend the existing energy contracts with Moscow, both the South Stream and a nuclear power plant project." -- also posted at Creative-i

The Technique of a Coup d'État
Must Read - Related Article - A quote...."This constantly repeated myth of popular rebellion against a dictatorial government is popular on both the Left and the Right of the political spectrum. Previously, the myth of revolution was obviously the preserve of the Left. But when the violent putsch occurred in Kygyrzstan, The Times enthused about how the scenes in Bishkek reminded him of Eisenstein films about the Bolshevik revolution, The Daily Telegraph extolled the "power to the people," and the Financial Times used a well-known Maoist metaphor when it praised Kyrgyzstan’s "long march to freedom."

The Case of the ‘Fatwa’ to Rig Iran’s Election
Must Read - Related Article - A quote...."The propaganda campaign to paint the victory of the incumbent candidate in Iran’s June presidential election as having been a stolen one began early. Even before the election, the seed was being planted that the election would be stolen to give President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a win. This narrative played nicely into the hands of the reformist opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who cried foul following the favorable results for the incumbent. But what evidence is there to support this narrative?" -- also posted at ICH & AtheoNews
    
Prayers and politics in Iran
Must Read - Related Article -- A quote...."It is a bitter era," said former centrist president Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, once the second-most powerful cleric in Iran after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in his sermon at July 17 Friday prayer. Rafsanjani spoke at the prayers, which reportedly attracted over a million worshipers, in an effort to capture the hearts and minds of battered Iranian protesters following the controversial re-election of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in June. -- The air was filled with tension between the supporters of the defeated reformist candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi, who made his first official public appearance in weeks, and Ahmadinejad's radical religious followers." -- also posted at ICH
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Granai: the murder of an Afghan village
A quote...."Photojournalist Guy Smallman is the only Western reporter to visit the village that was devastated by a US air attack. He questions the conclusion of the investigation into the incident." -- also posted at AtheoNews

Iraq turns down request from U.S. military to move unescorted through Baghdad
A quote...."BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi military has turned down requests from American forces to move unescorted through Baghdad and conduct a raid since the transition of responsibility for urban security at the end of last month, an Iraqi military commander said Monday."

U.S. Military Holds Iraqi Journalist Without Charge
A quote...."American forces arrested Iraqi journalist Ibrahim Jassam last year and continue to hold him without charge in a U.S. military prison camp — even as the United States transfers jurisdiction to Iraqi authorities."

Iran's new VP denies resigning
A quote...."TEHRAN - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial choice for vice president, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, has denied media reports he has quit, according to his website."

Russia, China kick off military exercises
A quote...."The five-day exercises near the two nations' common border "must show the international community that Russia and China have the necessary resources to ensure stability and security in the region," Ria Novosti quoted the chief of Russia's general staff, General Nikolai Makarov, as saying."

Russia to NATO: indivisible security for all
Video - A quote...."Russia will outline to the West its future plans for national security during Wednesday’s Russia-NATO Council in Brussels, which coincides with the alliance updating its own strategy for the next 15 years."
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Government gone mad
Must Read - A quote...."Perhaps most Americans deserve the federal government they have. A government that, contrary to the lofty rhetoric of Barack Obama, is pure politics as usual. A government that is as corrupted by moneyed interests as ever. A government that is as dysfunctional and inefficient as ever. -- A government that should have prevented the current recession but did not and now has spent horrendous amounts of money that has largely been wasted. A government that has put many future generations in debt. A government that makes a mockery out of the concept of democracy."

First steps taken to implement preventive detention, military commissions
A quote...."A task force appointed by President Obama to issue recommendations on how to close Guantanamo announced yesterday it will miss its deadline and instead needs a six-month extension, potentially jeopardizing Obama's promise to close Guantanamo within a year.  The announcement was made in a briefing given by four leading Obama officials, where the condition of the briefing was that none of the officials could be named (why not?) and all media outlets agreed to this condition (why?). " -- also posted at CommonDreams

Obama Lawyers Shield Cheney on Leak
A quote...."The Obama administration asserted a legal argument that a federal judge called the Jon Stewart “Daily Show exemption,” as the Justice Department continued a court fight to protect ex-Vice President Dick Cheney from disclosures about his role in the leak of a CIA officer’s identity six years ago."

Supreme Court Guts American System of Justice
A quote...."The Iqbal decision is - literally - an assault by the Supreme Court on the American system of justice. For it prevents plaintiffs from having their day in court if either:"
  1. The judge doesn't want to hear the case; or
  2. The defendant has hidden the evidence of wrongdoing, so that the plaintiff cannot provide the details of defendant's wrongdoing without the use of the formal discovery process which only starts once litigation has commenced
"People may ask "the Supreme Court interprets and enforces the American justice system, so how can it gut that system? -- Well, Congress members and the President are supposed to represent the interests of the American people. Have they always done so?"

Life in the Democratic Police State
A quote...."What do you call "Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr trying to open the front door of his house with the help of his friendly cab driver"? -- Answer:   "two black males breaking into a home near Harvard University."

"That's, anyway, how the caller to the police station put it. A cop was dispatched promptly."

"Gates gave the officer his driver's license and Harvard identification, but became upset when the officer continued to question him."

"So upset in fact that

"[t]he sergeant said he was forced to step out of the home because of Gates' uncomfortably loud yelling.
Gates asked the police officer for his badge number and name several times but received no response. The sergeant told Gates that they could discuss the matter further outside, to which Gates allegedly replied....."

Obama popularity lower than Bush's at six-month mark: poll  The Pope of Hope has become a Dope....it can't be!
A quote...."President Barack Obama's tumbling poll numbers have dipped below those of his predecessor George W. Bush at the same point in his White House tenure, according to a national poll released Tuesday. -- Obama's approval rating is 55 percent six months into his presidency...."

Pelosi's Door Revolves for Top Lobbyist
A quote...."The revolving door is wide open in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office just two years after she promised to crack down on the practice of congressional aides moving into lobbying shops and then back into government."

NORAD to Conduct Exercise Over D.C. Area
False Flag Alert - A quote...."WASHINGTON - The North American Aerospace Defense Command will conduct a one-day exercise in the Washington area. -- The exercise, called Falcon Virgo 09-10, will be conducted beginning early Wednesday."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Challenging the coup in Honduras
A quote...."Trade unions, farmers, student organisations and social movements have called a general strike in Honduras for Thursday of this week. The protest movement has continued and grown since the 28 June coup, despite increasingly brutal repression and the murder of several demonstrators by the army."

Bolivia’s Morales Says Allies Should Boost Military Cooperation
A quote...."July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales urged his allies in Latin America to increase military cooperation after Honduran armed forces ousted that country’s president." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Despite Pledge to Cut Military Ties to Coup Regime, US Continues to Train Honduran Soldiers at School of Americas -- A quote...."While the European Union cut off aid to the coup regime in Honduras, the United States continues the money flow, and while the US says it has cut military ties, the National Catholic Reporter reveals Honduran army officers are still receiving military training at the notorious School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia. [includes rush transcript]" - ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  ||

Clinton Ally Lobbies for Honduran Coup - Alt - (YouTube - 9 min 46 sec - July 21, 2009)
Video - A quote...."As negotiations fail to resolve the Honduran political crisis, influential lobbyists like lawyer Lanny Davis, a close friend of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are arguing the case for the coup leaders. -- So far, the lobbying appears to be working as the Obama administration refrains from imposing economic penalties against the coup government that ousted elected President Manuel Zelaya last month."

Honduras: "They knew and they helped a little"
A quote...."The White House knew for months that a coup was being prepared in Honduras, even though now State Department spokespersons feign a surprised innocence. The U.S. ambassador in Tegucigalpa, Hugo Llorens, knew it very well: on September 12, 2008, he arrived in the Central American country and, nine days later, the current coupist general Romeo Vásquez declared on the radio station HRN that they had sought “to overthrow the government of president Manuel Zelaya Rosales” (9/12/08)."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Twitterers Paid To Spread Israeli Propaganda
Propaganda Alert - A quote...."Nazareth: The passionate support for Israel expressed on talkback sections of websites, internet chat forums, blogs, Twitters and Facebook may not be all that it seems. -- Israel’s foreign ministry is reported to be establishing a special undercover team of paid workers whose job it will be to surf the internet 24 hours a day spreading positive news about Israel." -- also posted at PalestineChron

Breaking the silence on IDF atrocities in Gaza
A quote...."There is no such thing as a moral war. There is no such thing as a clean war. There will always be individual soldiers who commit atrocities and there will always be civilians who get caught in the crossfire. And, as the American philosopher and theologian Howard Thurman rightly said, “During times of war hatred becomes quite respectable, even though it has to masquerade often under the guise of patriotism.”

CODEPINK continues boycott campaign against Ahava Dead Sea products
A quote...."Bethlehem - Ma’an - Women’s activist group CODEPINK demanded the Israeli cosmetics company Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories divest itself from the West Bank and stop exploiting its natural resources." -- For more on how to boycott Israel see the upper-right-corner of the "Front Page" of this website.

Heat turned on Israel over east Jerusalem settlements
A quote...."Israel came under intense diplomatic heat Tuesday over its settlement activity in occupied east Jerusalem, with the European Union and Russia warning it not to violate a Middle East peace plan."

Hamas and Fatah "categorically reject" USA proposals that ignore ROR
A quote...."Palestinians have been waiting to return home -- Jerusalem – Ma’an News Agency, 20 July 2009 Senior Hamas and Fatah officials stated their objections on Sunday to what they said were US suggestions that Palestinians accept a land swap with Israel and give up the right of return."
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Wall Street's Love Affair with Ben Bernanke
Special Note - A quote...."A careful reading of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's op-ed in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, shows that Bernanke thinks the economy is in a deflationary spiral that will last for some time. Ben Bernanke: "The depth and breadth of the global recession has required a highly accommodative monetary policy. Since the onset of the financial crisis nearly two years ago, the Federal Reserve has reduced the interest-rate target for overnight lending between banks (the federal-funds rate) nearly to zero. We have also greatly expanded the size of the Fed’s balance sheet through purchases of longer-term securities and through targeted lending programs aimed at restarting the flow of credit....My colleagues and I believe that accommodative policies will likely be warranted for an extended period." No talk of recovery here; just a continuation of the same radical policies that were adopted after the collapse of Lehman Bros. The only sign of improvement has been in the stock market...." -- also posted at DProgram & OnlineJournal

Ron Paul: Establishment Can No Longer Ignore Calls To Audit The Fed
A quote...."Texas Congressman Ron Paul has recorded a video update on the ongoing effort to audit the Federal Reserve, assuring supporters that the establishment in Washington is paying very close attention. -- As Paul states in the video, 272 members of the House, 95 of them Democrats, now support HR 1207, Ron Paul's "audit the Fed" bill."

Is the U.S. Dollar the Fed's Next Weapon?
A quote...."The second anniversary of the credit crisis has arrived and, in the light of the plethora of fiscal and monetary policy initiatives, it makes for interesting reading to reflect upon how the U.S. economic landscape has changed since the start of the crunch.
"Yes, the Fed has tried just about everything, and yet real GDP growth is negative at about 5% and the unemployment rate has doubled to almost 10% over the past two years."

When Atlas Shrugs: The Great Default
This is a WARNING to ALL Foreign Investors. - mpg -- A quote...."Have you ever heard this argument? "The national debt is too high. We are laying an enormous burden onto our children." -- It is misleading. In what way? Because our children, like Atlas in Ayn Rand's novel, will shrug. They will send Congress a message: "No more."

Monday July 20th 2009

Freedom Rider: American War Criminals
Must Read - A quote...."McNamara was part of a very small, rarified group. They are the people who answer to presidents and prime ministers and princes. They are admired and lionized, even when they do great harm to humanity. Regardless of the awful consequences of their actions, they are called brilliant, the “best and the brightest.” -- The McNamaras of the world are all criminals, mass killers. Yet because they kill on behalf of the state, they are punished only if they are unfortunate enough to be on the losing side. McNamara said so himself. His first brush with mass murder occurred during World War II when he served as an analyst under the tutelage of General Curtis LeMay."

In an Impotent World Even the Bankrupt Can Prevail - Threatening Iran
Must Read - A quote...."When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Japan did not spend years preparing her public case and demonstrating her deployment of forces for the attack.  Japan did not make a world issue out of her view that the US was denying Japan her role in the Pacific by hindering Japan’s access to raw materials and energy. -- Similarly, when Hitler attacked Russia, he did not preface his invasion with endless threats and a public case that blamed the war on England. -- These events happened before the PSYOPS era.  Today, America and Israel’s wars of aggression are preceded by years of propaganda and international meetings, so that by the time the attack comes it is an expected event, not a monstrous surprise attack with its connotation of naked aggression." -- also posted at ICH

Back to Iraq? - -Don't look now, but…
Must Read - A quote...."Was withdrawal from Iraq just another campaign promise, made to be broken – like Obama’s pledges on government secrecy and other civil liberties issues? The president’s record, so far, does not bode well for an answer in the negative. -- This administration of self-proclaimed "pragmatists" has no problem dispensing with principles and promises when it’s convenient. And it is decidedly inconvenient to be getting out of Iraq at the very moment we are ratcheting up pressure on our new adversary in the region: Iran."

Not What Obama Promised - But it IS what he implied.  You vote DemoRepub, you deserve what you get.
Must Read - A quote...."In six months as president, Barack Obama has aggressively done the opposite of many specific things he explicitly and unequivocally promised as a candidate. A lot of these were things Obama's fiercest opponents never wanted. And Obama's fiercest supporters favor censoring this information. But if we expect public servants to be public servants, the public must know the facts, make of them what it will."

Two key Gitmo reports delayed an additional six months -- And Obama's cover-up continues. - mpg
A quote...."A task force appointed by President Barack Obama to craft detention policy in the wake of his decision to close Guantanamo Bay will take another six months to release their recommendations."

Predictable Chaos as Guantánamo Trials Resume
That's because they have no evidence, rules, procedures, or any laws allowing them to continue these illegal proceedings. - mpg -- A quote...."Pleasant though it was to hear a president talk of involving Congress, without having his arm twisted, Obama’s willingness to revive the commissions flew in the face of widespread opposition from civilian lawyers, a wide range of legal experts, and, most significantly, seven former prosecutors who resigned in disgust at what they saw as the system’s politicization and irremediable faults (including Col. Morris Davis, the former chief prosecutor, and Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, who resigned last September), and all of the government-appointed defense attorneys, who have been prepared to risk their careers to oppose what they all realized was an unjust system." -- For more on this sort of issue see....9/11 - Iraq - Torture Fables

Was Dr. David Kelly a Target of Dick Cheney's "Executive Assassination Ring"?
A quote...."Revelations that the Central Intelligence Agency launched a world-wide assassination program, and then concealed its existence from the U.S. Congress and the American people for eight years, carries an implication that death squads may have been employed against political opponents." -- also posted at AntiFscstCalng & SOTTnet

Judge rules CIA committed 'fraud' in suit, may sanction Tenet
A quote...."A U.S. District Court Judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in documents made public Monday that Central Intelligence Agency officials committed fraud attempting to cover for the CIA's former station chief in Burma in a wiretapping lawsuit."

Black market organ trade thrives in Iraq
Video - A quote...."Illegal organ trading is thriving in Iraq, with a healthy kidney likely to fetch up to $10,000 on the black market. -- Al Jazeera's Mosab Jasim reports on how, six years after the US-led invasion, growing poverty has left many Iraqis with little choice but to take extraordinary measure to support their families." -- For more on this sort of issue see quote shown below....

"We are the wealthiest one percent. Do you not know you are a commodity? You are a product? You function only to provide a service; you exist only to be a worker unit, a sex unit, a killer unit, a consumer unit, even an organ donation unit?  One of the more profitable trades from the former Yugoslavian republic while it broke apart was the export of human organs to the United States.  It was only fitting that those with less money should serve us so. We deeply regret that the Iraqis bury their dead so quickly, we could have become a much closer people if this weren’t their custom. Such a sad waste of a good resource is anathema to us. Would it not be more fitting if, as we killed them for their oil, we used their very organs to prolong our lives?" -- quoted from -- *The Wealthiest One Percent – The Spirit of Liberal Capitalism - 12-15-05 - mpg*

Your Taxpayer Dollars Were Used to Torture Children
A quote...."I have repeatedly written that the U.S. has tortured children as part of the war on terror (and see this). -- In an excellent new article, Daily Kos adds the following information: -- President Jimmy Carter wrote that the Red Cross, Amnesty International and the Pentagon "have gathered substantial testimony of torture of children, confirmed by soldiers who witnessed or participated in the abuse." In "Our Endangered Values" Carter said that the Red Cross found after visiting six U.S. prisons "107 detainees under eighteen, some as young as eight years old." And reporter Hersh, (who broke the Abu Ghraib torture scandal,) reported 800-900 Pakistani boys aged 13 to 15 in custody."

Children tortured before parents, raped, all covered up by Bush/Cheney and our media
A quote...."They did it brazenly in front of other prisoners. Nothing but a sheet separated the sound of screaming and the torment of children."

Editor's Note:  The two articles shown above are grim reading -- Articles like these are rarely posted because tens of millions of Neo-Romans living in this country actually enjoy reading this sort of stuff.  It would be hoped that these Neo-Romans burn in hell forever and we should all give a prayer together, that at some point in the near future, those involved with these despicable depravities will have a short, sharp, drop at the end of a rope. - mpg -- For more on this sort of issue see....US - Torture & Sex Perv.

Lawsuit: Cops tasered 3 kids, threatened one with sodomy
Any and all so-called Amerikans (a.k.a. Neo-Romans) who voted for a DemoRepub, this is what you voted for. - mpg -- A quote...."A shelter for adolescents in southern Illinois is suing the local sheriff’s office for what it describes as an unprovoked attack by two police officers on four children, three of whom were tasered, and one of whom was threatened with sodomy by a sheriff’s deputy."

Caught on camera: The shocking moment 40 prison guards kick and punch juvenile inmates... already handcuffed
Ditto - mpg -- A quote...."In shocking CCTV footage of a prison riot, guards kicked and punched young inmates who were already in handcuffs. -- Chaotic scenes were captured by surveillance video at the Juvenile Detention Centre in Jacksonville, Florida. -- Mayhem broke out when an inmate broke the sprinkler system, causing a dorm to flood."

Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr arrives in Syria
A quote...."Damascus - Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr arrived in Damascus on Monday, a source in the Sadrist movement's office in the Syrian capital told the German Press Agency dpa. The cleric, who has a broad following among poor Iraqi Shiite Muslims, was expected to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday afternoon, the source said, requesting anonymity. "

An Iranian Perspective: What you need to know about Iran so that you can filter out the noise
Must Read - Contains Videos - A quote...."I have been meaning to present my perspective on what has been happening in Iran, but I’ve been having a hard time, mainly because it is virtually impossible to distinguish between propaganda and truth. Hence, I decided to just share some very relevant information, past and present, that is, for the most part, not being circulated by the Western Mainstream Media."

Ahmadinejad rings the changes
A quote...."President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's second term is likely to feature a more moderate swing of policies than witnessed during the previous four years. A factor that will impact considerably on the calculations of the United States, other Western governments and Israel as they gear up to increase pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program. "

Under Fire, Ahmadinejad’s New VP Resigns
A quote...."Appointed on Thursday night as the “First Vice President” of Iran (the most powerful of several vice presidents the nation has) by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, the former vice president in charge of the state tourism board, was forced to resign today amid growing outcries from the nation’s hardliners."

’Operation in Afganistan is rooted in Israel’
Video - A quote...."The real reason why the U.S. continues its presence in Afghanistan is Iran – the country which is an annoyance for Israel, said Karen Kwiatkowski, a writer and former U.S. Air Force officer."

Lebanese army on high alert at Israeli border
War Alert - A quote...."The Lebanese army has put its forces on high alert in response to the escalation of tensions over the establishment of an Israeli military outpost along the country's border. -- A Lebanese TV station reported that the high alert came in response to the Israeli military outpost set up near Kafr Shuba, a village just outside the divided border village of Ghajar, earlier this week." -- For more on this issue see....The First "Red War Warning" in a Year - 07-18-09 - mpg

Georgia's Saakashvili vows changes, says NATO bid 'dead' - paper
Anybody who believes Sack-'ol-you-know-what is an idiot! - mpg -- A quote...."MOSCOW/TBILISI, July 20 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia's president is expected on Monday to unveil power-sharing proposals and a move to make elections more democratic in a bid to ease opposition protests, a U.S. paper said citing his speech. -- Mikheil Saakashvili, who is due to make the announcement during a parliamentary address, also called the ex-Soviet Caucasus state's bid to join NATO "almost dead," and Tbilisi's reunification with breakaway South Ossetia and Abkhazia unlikely any time soon, The Wall Street Journal reported."

Court Rebukes Government Over “Secret Law”
A quote...."Government must operate through public laws and regulations” and not through “secret law,” a federal appellate court declared in a decision last month.  When our government attempts to do otherwise, the court said, it is emulating “totalitarian regimes.”
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Swiss foreign minister: Hamas a 'major player' in Mideast
Special Note - A quote...."Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Hamas is a "major player" in the Middle East, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said on Sunday, according to AFP. In an interview with the Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag, Calmy-Rey referred to a visit a Hamas delegation made to the Swiss capital, Bern, two weeks ago, during which the Islamic movement’s members met with top government officials. Calmy-Rey herself met with senior Hamas official Mahmoud Az-Zahhar, AFP said."

British Media Report on Gaza, the `Killing Zone` Murder of Citizens in Israel  - Alt - (Glgl - 49m 42s - 03/08/09)
Video - A quote...."The Israeli military guns down civilians in cold blood, including Americans and British. This documentary shows the evidence and what life is like for civilians in Gaza, Israeli occupied Palestine."

Egypt’s Dilemma at Rafah
Must Read - A quote...."For weeks, the eyes of the world have been focused on the “Artery of Life” convoy, led by British MP George Galloway to bring desperately needed aid to Palestinians through the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza. Recent news reports that Egypt allowed some members of the convoy to cross over into Gaza but trucks, loaded with food and medicine were not permitted to enter. Egypt’s closure of the border at Rafah is difficult for many to understand."

Hostile Takeover: Holy Warriors Peddle New 'Protocols,' Seek Military Dominion
A quote...."The savagery of the Israeli assault on Gaza becomes clearer all the time. The American-made booklet was just one part of a wide campaign among radical extremists to incite implacable hatred among the attacking forces -- much like American soldiers going into Iraq in 2003 were encouraged to believe that the act of aggression was "payback for 9/11" against those "who attacked our country." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Abbas: Israel wants Jewish-only Jerusalem
A quote...."Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israel intends to eliminate Jerusalem's Islamic and Christian character, President Mahmoud Abbas insisted in a speech in the central West Bank on Sunday evening."

After Palestine, Israel eyes Jordanian land - After Palestine is digested, Jordan will be next. - mpg
A quote...."With a dispute over Israeli occupation of acres of Palestinian land still unsettled, Tel Aviv takes a step to purchase dozens of properties in Jordan to further expand its territory." - bold by website editor

Jewish settlers set ablaze olive trees in West Bank
A quote...."NABLUS, West Bank" -- Jewish settlers set ablaze hundreds of olive trees near Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Monday after a wildcat settlement was removed, Israeli and Palestinian sources said. -- Ali Eid of the municipal council of the Palestinian village of Burin told AFP that around 350 olive trees were burnt down."

Killing “Everything That Moves” - The Johnny Procedure
A quote...."July 20, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- - LIKE THE ghost of Hamlet’s father, the evil spirit of the Gaza War refuses to leave us in peace. This week it came back to disturb the tranquility of the chiefs of the state and the army. -- “Breaking the Silence”, a group of courageous former combat soldiers, published a report comprising the testimonies of 30 Gaza War fighters. A hard-hitting report about actions that may be considered war crimes."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Obama Administration's Statements Endanger Lives of Hondurans
A quote...."July 20, 2009 "Information Clearing House"  -- WASHINGTON - July 20 - 56 representatives of organizations and academic experts on Latin America and scholars issued the following statement today: -- The Obama administration's recent statements are endangering the lives of Hondurans, including the president Manuel Zelaya. From the Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2009:" - bold by website editor

Human Rights report reveals brutal repression in Honduras
A quote...."In negotiations held over the weekend, deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya agreed to a proposal by Costa Rican President Óscar Arias that, as a price for his returning to office, he accept a government of “unity and national reconciliation” that would essentially make him a powerless puppet of the very forces that overthrew him and sent him into exile. -- Representatives of the coup regime in Tegucigalpa, however, rejected the proposal Sunday, insisting that they would not allow Zelaya to return." -- also posted at AmericanEveryman

Nicaragua’s Ortega Says U.S. Intelligence Planned Honduran Coup
A quote....." July 19 (Bloomberg) -- Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega accused unnamed U.S. intelligence agencies of planning the coup that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya without the knowledge of President Barack Obama. -- “I believe U.S. intelligence didn’t tell Obama they were planning a coup,” Ortega said today at a celebration in Managua for the anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista revolution."

Bolivia’s Morales Says Allies Should Boost Military Cooperation
A quote...."July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales urged his allies in Latin America to increase military cooperation after Honduran armed forces ousted that country’s president." -- also posted at AtheoNews

EU suspends $90m aid to Honduras
A quote...."The European Union has suspended more than $90m (63m euros; £54m) in aid to Honduras in the wake of a coup there."

Converge on US Southern Command Headquarters in Solidarity with the People of Honduras
Action Alert - A quote...."On June 28, SOA-trained Honduran generals overthrew the democratically-elected government of President Manuel Zelaya in a military coup. The Honduran social movements are resisting the coup regime and engage in daily pro-democracy protests, strikes and civil disobedience. -- On Saturday, July 25, you can join human rights activists in Florida taking action in solidarity with the people of Honduras by converging on the headquarters of the US Southern Command (US SouthCom) in Miami."
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Fiscal ruin of the Western world beckons
A quote...."Events have already forced Premier Brian Cowen to carry out the harshest assault yet seen on the public services of a modern Western state. He has passed two emergency budgets to stop the deficit soaring to 15pc of GDP. They have not been enough. The expert An Bord Snip report said last week that Dublin must cut deeper, or risk a disastrous debt compound trap."

Central bankers warn: No sustained growth from stimulus spending
A quote...."The 2008-2009 annual report of the Switzerland-based Bank of International Settlements, published on June 29, is a sober warning that the gargantuan bailouts and stimulus packages of the last year will not produce lasting growth. The trillions of dollars spent so far on the crisis could easily, the BIS argues, “come to naught”, with “a significant risk that the current stimulus will lead only to a temporary pick-up in growth, followed by protracted stagnation”."

Government Watchdog: [US] Bailouts Could Rise to $23 Trillion Dollars
Related Article - Full quote...."I have previously pointed out that "independent experts say that total government spending [for the bailouts] could rise to $20 trillion dollars." -- Now, the government’s own watchdog over the various bailout efforts - the special inspector general - says that that number could be $23 trillion dollars in a worst-case scenario. -- Treasury argues that that amount will not really be spent, because the worst-case won't happen. -- But given that Treasury used "worst case scenarios" for the stress tests that we've already surpassed, does that argument have any credibility whatsoever?"

Denninger Savages WaPo Defense of Goldman
A quote...."It simply amazes me that those who are cheerleading the seeming return of Wall Street to health overlook the extensive, hydra-headed subsidies they've received and continue to receive. The media has bought and is touting the line, "Hey, they (more accurately some) paid back the TARP, so what's the beef?"

Roubini: Economic Recovery to Be 'Very Ugly' - a.k.a. "Dr. Doom"
A quote...."The recovery is going to be subpar," Roubini said. "I see a one percent growth in the economy in the next few years. There will also be 11 percent unemployment next year and the recovery is going to be slow. It's going to feel like a recession even when it ends."

No Inflation Here
Deflation Update - A quote...."If you have had your fill of Rosie for a while (not sure how that is possible, but a big hypothetical if), here is a wonderful piece by Hoisington Investment Management Company. Some great monetary and fiscal insights and a well-argued and coherent discussion on why there will be no inflation for a long time. Also lends credence to the theory that Gross very well may be spot on and the market is run by a bunch of herd-instincted, CNBC watching WOPRs."

Rogers: America Bordering On Communism
A quote...." Investor extraordinaire Jim Rogers has harsh words for the government’s interventionist economic policy. -- That policy, which he dates back to the Bush administration, verges on communism, he told Moneynews's Dan Mangru in an interview. -- “America now owns the car industry. America owns the mortgage industry. America owns a lot of the insurance industry,” Rogers said."

Economic indicators up more than expected in June - [0.7 percent vs. 0.4 percent] - Good news.
However, please note the LEI received a boost from stock prices which were artificially pumped up, and interest rates which were artificially pumped down, by the Fed's massive, ongoing, program of capital infusion, back-stops and loan guarantees which now total roughly $23 trillion dollars. - mpg -- Some quotes .... "NEW YORK – More plans to build homes, higher stock prices and fewer people filing first-time claims for jobless aid sent a private-sector forecast of U.S. economic activity higher than expected in June." -- "The biggest gainer was the "interest rate spread." That's the difference between yields on 10-year Treasurys and the federal funds rate, at which banks lend to one another, which is at a record low near zero."

Ex-Lehman Traders to Get Huge Bonuses - It just never stops does it? - mpg
A quote...."Barclays is to pay tens of millions of pounds to its investment bankers, who have made huge profits from trading in government debt, derivatives and foreign exchange. --     Some of the biggest payouts are expected to go to former Lehman Brothers traders hired by the British bank after it took over Lehman's US operations at a knockdown price in September."

Sunday July 19th 2009

Fading Into Mist...
Must Read - Quote of the Day...."If you keep on excusing, you eventually give your blessing to the slave camp, to cowardly force, to organized executioners, to the cynicism of great political monsters; you finally hand over your brothers  -- *Albert Camus*  -- There is no subject more restricted nor more controlled in the United States than a critical discussion of Israel. Balanced argument is ignored while each word is parsed -- and condemned. It's strange that we are free to rant and rave and point out the war crimes of our own administration -- of all other administrations throughout the world -- but not those of Israel. The few who dare to question the damage Israel has wrought throughout the Middle East for decades are immediately labeled "anti-Semitic," and are in danger of losing their friends, jobs, their reputations and, if they persist, their country -- for America has zero tolerance for those who recognize Israel's brutality."

How Israel Lobby Took Control Of US Foreign Policy
A quote...."July 19, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- LOUISIANA - In the early 1960s, Senator William J. Fulbright fought to force the American Zionist Council to register as agents of a foreign government. The Council eluded registration by reorganizing as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC has since become what Fulbright most feared: a foreign agent dominating American foreign policy while disguised as a domestic lobby." -- also posted at DProgram

Officials: U.S. Defense Secretary to visit Israel
War Alert - A quote...."U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to visit Israel on July 27 for talks likely to focus on Iran's nuclear ambitions and U.S.-Israeli strategic ties, officials involved in planning the trip said on Sunday." -- For more on this issue see....The First "Red War Warning" in a Year - 07-18-09 - mpg

That commenter on your blog may actually be working for the Israeli government
A quote...."Straight out of Avigdor Lieberman’s Foreign Ministry: a new Internet Fighting Team! Israeli students and demobilized soldiers get paid to pretend they are just regular folks and leave pro-Israel comments on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other sites. The effort is meant to fight the “well-oiled machine” of “pro-Palestinian websites, with huge budgets… with content from the Hamas news agency.” The approach was test-marketed during Israel’s assault on Gaza, and by groups like Give Israel Your United Support, a controversial effort to use instant-access technology to crowd-source Israel advocates to fill in flash polls or vote up key articles on social networking sites." - also posted at AtheoNews - For more on this issue see....Judeo-Christian C/C & US - The Internet & Israel

Traitors United for Israel Summit
A quote...."Deluded Americans of all shapes and tastes will gladly bow and scrape before their Zionist masters this week, hoping for and praying that the U.S. will bomb Iran on behalf of Israel. -- They'll rant and rave at their Congress members and make threats about the next election if they don't sign off on blowing Iran off the map."

Calling Jews 'Nazis' may be criminalised
A quote...."Parliament will be asked to consider whether the use of Nazi symbols and terms in reference to Jews, Israel and Zionism is breaking the law on incitement to racial hatred. -- A new report by the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (EISCA) has highlighted the increasing use of what it terms the “Nazi card” in antisemitic discourse and has called for a number of measures to try to combat its spread." -- This website editor has always felt, if it walks like a small duck, talks like a small duck......it's a....mini-duck - mpg

Washington Post bows cravenly to pro-Israel lobby
A quote...."On Thursday, the WaPo published the following, completely craven "Correction":

"A June 26 A-section article referred to Gilo as a Jewish settlement. It is a Jewish neighborhood built on land captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and annexed to Israel as part of Jerusalem's expanded municipal boundaries. The United Nations has not acknowledged the annexation."

"So the WaPo quite simply endorses whatever Israel says is the case?" - also posted at AtheoNews - For more on this issue see....Judeo-Christian C/C & US - The Media & Israel
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Russia’s Sickness: ’Anti-Americanism’
Must Read - A quote...."This is the road show whereupon Obama flies into a foreign country and makes a pretty speech that all two of our allowed political viewpoints will pretend to bicker over and then he flies home and US policy continues on the same as before… as this news story from the other day makes clear.  So much for that "reset button." -- Americans, especially liberals, line up for tickets to the Obama road show.  The lines are around the block. -- Outside of cocoon America, however, sales are dead."

The Sinister Purpose Behind Bush Administration Lawlessness
Must Read - A quote...."What could be worse than killing U.S. service people and innocent Iraqis?  The unitary theory of the executive, that’s what. -- Dick Cheney came into office believing that executive power had been excessively eroded during the Vietnam and Watergate years.  Few reputable scholars believe this nonsense.  Most presidential scholars have concluded that the executive branch has grown in power vis-à-vis the other governmental branches since the turn of the 20th century, but really got boosted to an "imperial presidency" during the Cold War from the Truman presidency onward.  This development is a far cry from the legislative-dominated system that the nation’s founders and the Constitution envisioned.  The slight rollback of executive power during Vietnam and Watergate was only a momentary pause as the executive juggernaut rolled forth up to the Bush administration."

The Makings of a Police State-Part I - The National Security Generation
Must Read - A quote...."When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to your side,' I say calmly, 'Your child belongs to us already...What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing but this new community'." -- *Adolf Hitler*

The Insatiable American Thirst for Blood
A quote...."The Anti-War Movement in America, Canada, and Britain has virtually become a non-entity. This was not unpredictable because the diverse groups which make up the so-called Anti-War Movement have neither the resources, nor the leadership, nor any solid ideological foundation beyond the apparent loathing for war. The invasion of Afghanistan by the United States took place at a time of high fever (September 11, 2001 attacks) and no one thought much of the long-term agenda of Americans at the time of Afghan invasion. Hence, Afghanistan never gained the kind of front end importance which Iraq immediately achieved with the Anti-War Movement. But now the Anti-War Movement is in total disarray over the continuous occupation of Afghanistan and the expanding military operations." -- also posted at ICH

Mr. President, we are still torturing?
A quote...."On Dec. 26, 2002, Dana Priest and Barton Gellman broke, in the Washington Post, the first undeniable story of American torturing of suspected terrorists. In a CIA secret prison at our Bagram air base detention center in Afghanistan, prisoners were being subjected to the by now all-too-familiar ways of "breaking" suspects during the Bush-Cheney "terror presidency."

Assassinations anyone? - CIA claims of cancelled campaign are hogwash
A quote...."CIA director Leon Panetta just told Congress he cancelled a secret operation to assassinate al-Qaida leaders. The CIA campaign, authorized in 2001, had not yet become operational, claimed Panetta. --  I respect Panetta, but his claim is humbug. The U.S. has been trying to kill al-Qaida personnel (real and imagined) since the Clinton administration. These efforts continue under President Barack Obama. Claims by Congress it was never informed are hogwash. -- The CIA and Pentagon have been in the assassination business since the early 1950s, using American hit teams or third parties. For example, a CIA-organized attempt to assassinate Lebanon's leading Shia cleric, Muhammad Fadlallah, using a truck bomb, failed, but killed 83 civilians and wounded 240." -- also posted at CommonDreams

Now David Kelly’s former Iraq aide joins call for inquiry into his 'suicide'
A quote...."A close confidante of Government scientist Dr David Kelly has demanded a new investigation into his death. -- Mai Pederson, a US Air Force linguist who served in Iraq with Dr Kelly’s weapons inspection team, has called on Attorney General Baroness Scotland to carry out a ‘formal, independent and complete review’ into the ‘suspicious circumstances’ of his death."

Calls for probe into Dr. Kelly's 'suicide'
A quote...."A US Air Force linguist joins a host of doctors in demanding a new probe into the mysterious death of a British scientist and weapons expert who opposed the Iraq war."

Main Core, PROMIS and the Shadow Government (Pt. 4)
Special Note - A quote...."Secrecy is the slayer of liberty, it is the essence of which dictatorships are made, of which free societies are suffocated by and of which people are subjugated by. When that secrecy becomes institutionalized in the most powerful corridors of government then it is only a matter of time until that government becomes a weapon of the powerful to be used against the people. Today, in mid-2009 we here in the United States of America (or at least those of us who are awake) are bearing witness to the last vestiges of a once vibrant democracy slowly strangled to death by a deeply embedded culture of secrecy. "
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Tensions rise over US Iraq role
A quote...."There appear to be growing tensions between the US military and Iraqi security forces. -- They have arisen over cooperation and the restrictions imposed on the movement of American forces in urban areas inside Iraq."

Kurds in Troubled Iraqi Province Threaten to Secede
A quote...."MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - A row between Arabs and Kurds in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh threatens to split the province in two and inflame tensions that could threaten the country's long-term stability. -- Kurdish local councilors in a disputed part of Nineveh currently boycotting all contact with its Arab governor Atheel al-Nujaifi vowed on Sunday to form their own splinter council if their disagreement with him fails to be resolved. -- They represent 16 out of Nineveh's 37 seats."

Forty MKO terrorists killed in Taliban clashes
Special Note - A quote...."Over 40 members of an anti-Iran terrorist group have been killed during deadly fighting with Taliban militants in Afghanistan. -- Sixty members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) had entered Afghanistan with the help of intelligence forces from the United Arab Emirates with the aim of carrying out raids in Iran, Pouya News reported on Sunday." - bold by website editor -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror - MEK - PKK - Others

West must close Iran nuclear file: new atomic chief
A quote...."TEHRAN (AFP) – Iran's new atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said on Saturday that the West should close the Islamic republic's nuclear file and cease its hostility towards Tehran. -- "Legal and technical discussions about Iran's nuclear case have finished ... and there is no room left to keep this case open," Salehi said in his first remarks since being appointed Friday to head Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation."

‘Abkhazia Will Never Be a Part of Georgia’
A quote...."SUKHUMI, Georgia — Nearly a year after Georgia’s war with Russia, Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagapsh is determined that Tbilisi will never rule his land again. -- Shrugging off international calls for Georgia’s territorial integrity to be respected, Bagapsh said the West needed to come to terms with his Russian-protected Black Sea statelet."

[British] Police calls time on stop and search – after using power 3,400 times but failing to make single terror arrest
A quote...."A police force has suspended searches of people under controversial anti-terror laws after figures exposed the futility of the legislation. -- Hampshire Police conducted 3,481 stop and searches under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act in 2007/8 – but arrested no one in connection with terror."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

And The Award For INSANITY Goes To Israel......
A quote...."Perhaps Israel should take a lesson from Einstein -- Oh, those silly little Zionists, what WILL they think of next? My goodness, the “Racist Israeli Propaganda” team better known as “R.I.P.” (Pun totally Intended!!) has been working overtime in a grand attempt to capture the “Creativity in Racist Fiction” award. I just reported on their initial attempt HERE to use the Jakarta bombings to demonise the Gazan government with fictional links to, mythical, shadowy “Global Terrorists” characters who can enter and leave Gaza anytime they want to despite the siege. So, having realised they over shot the runway with that one, it was soon back to the drawing board for another attempt at the "Fiction Award." -- THIS time, they decided to forget about Gaza and HAMAs, and instead go after the softer target, one that is unarmed, pro peace and won’t fight back. I’m talking the Pope here folks. Yep, you read that right, According to Israel, the Pope is taking members of, get this, …………………wait for it……………Hezbollah to Auschwitz in order to teach them how to kill Jews“better” *link added by website editor

Boycott apartheid: student delegation to Palestine
A quote...."For the first time since the 2005 Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against institutions supporting Israeli apartheid, students from North America and Palestine came together in Ramallah to share their ideas and experiences. Consisting of eight days of travel and a four-day workshop, the North American student delegation spent their two weeks getting connected with the struggle in Palestine in order to better articulate the BDS movement in their respective cities. The visiting students met face to face with those who are living and resisting the systematic oppression of Palestinians by the state of Israel." -- For more on how to boycott Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website. - mpg

Israeli forces penetrate half kilometer into Gaza; burn fields
A quote...."Gaza - Ma’an - Israeli forces made their deepest incursion into the Gaza Strip in months near Beit Hanoun, penetrating 500 meters past the buffer zone to burn 150 dunums of land."

Invasion in Bil'in 19 7 2009 - Alt - (YouTube - 2 min 46 sec - July 18, 2009)
Video - A quote...."At 5:30am, shortly after the Palestinian and international activists returned to their houses after patrolling the village all night, villagers gave the alert that four Israeli Army Jeeps were driving toward the village. Shortly thereafter, Israeli soldiers raided the house of Abd Al Fatah Bornat whose son Muhammed Abd Al Fatah Bornat (age 21) they had arrested at 2am on July 17, 2009. His brother is also wanted by the occupation forces, but he was not at home this morning. The Army left without making any arrests."

Refugee camp kids and rappers
Photo Story --  A quote...."DAM (Da Arabian MC’s) is the first and leading Palestinian Rap Group. It is composed of Tamer Nafar, 27, his younger brother Suhell, 23, and Mahmoud Jreri, 24. All three members of the group were born and grew up in the slums of Lod, a mixed town of Arabs and Jews, 20 km from Jerusalem."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Honduras talks end in failure again
A quote...."A second round of talks aimed at resolving Honduras' leadership crisis has failed, with the two sides unable to reach a deal on the return of Manuel Zelaya, the ousted president."

The U.S. and the Coup: A Real Change of Course or a Just a Farce?
A quote...."Sat, 07/18/2009 - 08:52 — AP -- Kudos to the European Union, whom history will recognize for its consistent posture in suspending aid since the second day. We are moved by the solidarity of Mexico and of course that of all Latin America and the UN. Never before in history have all the nations of the world supported an overthrown government. Nonetheless, it escapes no one that the possible solution or the degeneration of the current predicament in Honduras depends on the policy of the United States, the only power with the material instruments to overcome the stubborn madness of the usurpers, if they wanted to use them. It would seem that a certain ambivalence is at play." -- also posted at UpsideDwnWrld

CENTRAL AMERICA:  Shades of Coups Past - And Yet to Come?
A quote...."SAN SALVADOR, Jul 17 (IPS) - If the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti remains in power in Honduras, the Central American right may be encouraged to stage further coups against the fragile democracies that have emerged in the region over the last two decades, analysts warn." -- also posted at UpsideDwnWrld
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U.S. income inequality continues to grow
A quote...."....wages for most Americans didn't improve from 1979 to 1998, and the median male wage in 2000 was below the 1979 level, despite productivity increases of 44.5 percent. Between 2002 and 2004, inflation-adjusted median household income declined $1,669 a year. To make up for lost income, credit card debt soared 315 percent between 1989 and 2006, representing 138 percent of disposable income in 2007." -- also posted at ICH

Many Predict US Financial Collapse in September
Caution:  Of course it's an easy prediction since September and October are traditionally down months for the market, and you'll also be betting against the most massive stimulus program ever seen on the planet, but it's also the "stimulus" program that might be a big part of the problem. It's your call gentle readers and it's your money.  – mpg -- A quote...."Let us contemplate the day in the near future when the consequences of financial chicanery finally outpace the ability of the governments, central banks and big media to cover up and obfuscate the truth. Many respected voices have now gone on record that September 30 or thereabouts will be that day."

Britain: Labour’s banking regulation means business as usual
A quote...."The Labour government’s proposals for regulating the banks and thus preventing another financial crisis in the wake of the collapse of Britain’s high street banks last autumn are a sham. They are a cynical exercise to cover up the fact that it is business as usual: Nothing must be allowed to stand in the way of the banks’ profits and the accumulation of wealth by the financial oligarchy that rules Britain."

Saturday July 18th 2009

The First "Red War Warning" in a Year
08-18-09
update - 07-09-09 see below
mpg

Russia-China Warn US That Israeli Attack On Iran Means “World War”
Red War Warning -- A quote...."July 18, 2009 -- A chilling report circulating in the Kremlin today states that President Medvedev and Chinese President Hu have issued an “urgent warning” to the United States that says if the Americans allow an Israeli nuclear attack upon Iran, “World War will be our response”.

Editor's Note:  This is the first article to be classified as a "Red War Warning" in well over a year, not because Israel's ships are possibly headed toward the Persian Gulf in order to bait the Iranian navy, after all, we've gone through these cat and mouse games several times before, usually during negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.   No, this article is classified as a "Red War Warning" for the following reasons....
  1. It appears the US stock market may be topping out soon; earnings aren't as great as they say and the financial difficulties of the banks have not been resolved at all.
  2. The elites and their mass-media have spent a good four to five months deliberately pumping up the market so Goldman Sachs and others could pawn off some of their ill-liquid assets.  Or in most cases, sell them to each other through the PIPP program  (Just think of it this way. You and your friends got stuck with totally worthless junk instruments you created, but if you sell them through PIPP, 93% will become back-stopped by the US-NRE's tax-payers.  So when the market crashes, and it will, you and your friends will recover 93% of your investments.)
  3. Goldman Sachs and others are busily trying to get their bonuses out as quickly as possible.
  4. Goldman Sachs and a few others shorted the market at its prior top; they may be timing it again in collusion with Israeli military and/or financial interests.
  5. The US-NRE elites have recently threatened trading restrictions on the oil market, this is a very worrisome sign since it's something they've never done before, there's no discernible reason for them to do it now, and price actions on the oil market are one of the better ways to tell if a war is to be launched against Iran.
  6. We are getting very close to the end of the US-NRE's ten year economic/war cycle.
  7. The Saudi Royals, long time allies of Israel, have granted overflight rights to allow an attack on Iran.
  8. Obama is currently meeting with Jewish leaders to reassure them, again, that he intends to attack Iran.
  9. These efforts are in full compliance with the PNAC/AIPAC, DPG & Clean Break protocols.
  10.  Both Hillary and Obama have recently restated their intentions to attack Iran, although these sorts of statements are sometimes made as part of a negotiating ploy, they are also commonly made to help line up and warn their wealthy supporters of the "next move". - mpg

Regarding market predictions, up or down, please see.....Standard Disclaimer

Update: 08-09-09

Report: Israel planned to strike Iran during riots  - Alt
Special Note - A quote...."Kuwaiti paper quotes 'US diplomat in Jerusalem' as saying Israel asked Obama administration for green light to attack Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities during country's post-election riots. US reportedly ignored request, causing Israel to back down." -- It was probably too early, they (the MIOC/Neocons and AIPAC/East Coast Banksters) have to wait till their "brethern" are properly positioned in various financial markets, (although Goldman Sachs was obviously ready to go for it) in addition they'd probably perfer another false flag op. to start it all off. - mpg -- posted 08-09-09
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Rolling Stone writer called ‘anti-Semitic’ for simply "following the money" - This website editor's favorite phrase.
A quote...."Popular Rolling Stone contributor, writer and blogger Matt Taibbi claims that he was sent e-mails which attacked him and accused him of anti-Semitism for exposing the investment bank giant Goldman’s Sachs and their shady financial dealings over the years. Taibbi goes into great detail in his seven page essay Inside The Great American Bubble Machine on events relating to such market manipulations as the Great Depression, the commodities bubble, the housing bubble and even the upcoming green/environment bubble, and has fingered Goldman Sachs as playing a leading role in each catastrophe. More important than the various scams that have played out, much to the detriment of the average American, Taibbi exposes the reloving door tradition of  the private sector employee of Wall Street into high level, unelected positions in the US government." - bold by website editor -- For more on this sort of issue see....Judeo-Christian C/C & US - The Media

Max Keiser: Goldman Sachs Are “Scum,” & “Financial Terrorists”
Must View Video - (Max Keiser totally RIPS Goldman Sachs!  And he even mentions WTC7....yeah!!  OK, he might have gone over the top a bit with one tasteless [but probably accurate] reference, but it was a true joy to watch him in action. - mpg) -- A quote...."Max Keiser goes on the offensive during an appearance on France 24 as he slams Goldman Sachs as “scum” and “financial terrorists” who should be thrown in jail. Keiser’s adversary meanwhile argues that the same criminals should be handed more power to create a system of “global governance” and a new international reserve currency."

Paulson reveals US concerns of breakdown in law and order
A quote...."The Bush administration and Congress discussed the possibility of a breakdown in law and order and the logistics of feeding US citizens if commerce and banking collapsed as a result of last autumn's financial panic, it was disclosed yesterday." -- also posted at BLN

Congress Woman Introduces Bill to Ban All Credit Default Swaps
A quote...."I'm a little late to this story, but last week Congresswoman Maxine Waters introduced a bill to ban all credit default swaps. -- As Waters said...."

"Preventing all credit-default swaps is essential to bringing stability to the market and preventing a similar crisis in the future."

"Many top experts - including nobel prize winning economists and numerous other well-known PhD economists - agree."

What is "High-Frequency Trading", and How Does It Distort the Markets?
A quote...."Joseph Saluzzi - partner and co-head of equity trading for Themis TradingThemis - gives a succinct and stunning explanation of high-frequency trading. -- This is a topic that professional stock traders know a lot about, but the public knows nothing about."

Out of work, out of benefits, out of luck - link posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."By August, 65% of all filers for unemployment insurance will have run out of their standard 26 weeks. And that's just the beginning."

Friday July 17th 2009

"Watch What We Do, Not What We Say"
Must Read - A quote...."Watch what we do, not what we say,” was the famous advice Nixon’s first Attorney General, John Mitchell, gave the press at the onset of the Nixon presidency in 1969.  It’s  a handy piece of advice in the Age of Obama too, as we  roll towards the end of his first six months in office.  There’s the added difficulty that Obama likes to say two different things in the same speech, usually prefaced by his trade-mark “Let me be clear.”

Obama's Medicine Show - The Placebo President
Must Read - A quote...."Barack Obama entered DC, riding a hope train. Spirits soared all over the globe. Supporters were high with the drug of anticipation, an injection to heal a sick country. Almost immediately after taking the oath, Obama began to reject his promises. -- Clearly, the Obama cure is just a placebo. "
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US Strategy of Total Energy Control over the European Union and Eurasia Nabucco Turkey EU and Obama Geopolitics
Geo-Strategic Alert - A quote...."Nabucco is an integral part of a US strategy of total energy control over both the EU and all Eurasia. On July 13 with a Nabucco signing ceremony in Ankara the first fruits of the Obama soft diplomacy appeared to be bearing fruit. The question remains if it will be bitter fruit." -- For more on this issue see....

ROAR: Nabucco vs. South Stream - posted 07-15-09
Nabucco-South Stream race: bets accepted  - posted 07-14-09
State Department Caspian Energy Chief Hired By ExxonMobile - posted 07-17-09

Blood and Oil in Central Asia
Geo-Strategic Alert - A quote...."The Role of NATO -- For most Americans and Europeans, Afghanistan appeared on their radar screens shortly after the 9/11 assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. But according to Escobar, three months before the 2001 attack U.S., Iranian, German, and Italian officials met in Geneva to discuss toppling the Taliban because it was "the proverbial fly in the ointment" in a scheme to run a $2 billion, 800-mile natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan via southern Afghanistan." -- bold by website editor
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9/11 - From The History File...Iraq Oil Ministry rejects Nabucco pipeline plan
Iraq says no gas for Nabucco, may supply someday
Nabucco pipeline turns corner but needs gas
The Afghanistan War was Planned - Months Before the 9/11 Attacks
Israel backs Georgia in Caspian Oil Pipeline Battle with Russia
US planned war in Afghanistan long before September 11
Afghanistan - multiple articles
Oil Pipelines Are The 'New Great Game'
Caspian Oil Pipeline - database
Control of Central Asia's oil is the real goal
Cheney's Halliburton provided services to Turkmenistan before 9/11
Pipelines to 9/11
No Blood for Oil Pipeline Routes - database - maps - charts
It's All About Oil
Cheney's Halliburton provided services to Turkmenistan before 9/11
Pipelines to 9/11: US Invasion of Afghanistan Was about Oil and Gas
Oily footprints on the path to 9/11
BTC Pipeline The Biggest Devlpmnt In the Caspian Sea Since the Collapse of USSR
BTC project crisis and the Caspian Basin energy game
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline - sourcewatch
Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline - wikipedia
Paul: US in Georgia for pipeline - Alt

For more on this issue see....War Resource 9/11 - Updated
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9/11 Lawsuit Turns Into a Show Trial
Related Article - A quote...."You may recall that a federal court gave Saudi Arabian royals sued by the families of the 9/11 victims immunity from being sued. Not because there wasn't any evidence of Saudi complicity in 9/11, but because it would interfere with relations with Saudi Arabia. -- Now, a U.S. court is shutting down the attempt by airlines - hardly your tinfoil hat types - to prove that the government's actions were so egregious with regard to 9/11 that they override any mistakes the airline may have made."

Censors Silence Gitmo Defense Lawyer - "The Government Can't Hide the Fact..." Or Can They?
Related Article - A quote...."While defending detainee Ramzi bin al-Shibh in one of the military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, military defense lawyer Commander Suzanne Lachelier declared “the government can’t hide the fact that they used sleep deprivation …” that’s as far as she got." -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - Iraq - Torture Fables

Al-Jazeera journalist imprisoned in Guantánamo Bay to sue George Bush
A quote...."An al-Jazeera journalist who was imprisoned in Guantánamo Bay plans to launch a joint legal action with other detainees against former US president George Bush and other administration officials, for the illegal detention and torture he and others suffered at the hands of US authorities."

9/11 accused disrupt military court hearing
A quote...."The boycott stalled proceedings for more than two hours before bin Attash, al-Hawsawi and Aziz Ali finally were brought to the high-security courtroom from the secret camp where they are imprisoned. But al-Hawsawi soon demanded to leave after complaining he would not be allowed to speak. -- Then bin Attash, given five minutes to address the court, complained that the presiding judge, Army Colonel Steven Henley, had not responded to letters the five men had written to him "a long time ago". -- "If you don't have enough patience to take this case, just give it to a different judge," bin Attash said. "We view the judge and prosecution as one person. There's no difference."
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Ignorance in America.
Special Note - To an extent, in actuality many people know what's going on, they just like to pretend they don't.  One of this country's finest achievements, if you can call it that, is the deliberate and constant construction of various myths of "plausible deniability" ("Heck I had no idea that would happen", "I'm shocked, shocked to find out that [any crime] is going on here.", "They did it because they hate our freedoms", etc., etc.) to justify what appears to be a limitless appetite for mayhem, murder and greed. - mpg – Ignorance is pervasive in America; it affects the rich as well as the poor, the powerful and the powerless, the famous as well as the obscure. It’s prevalent in the suites of our nation’s CEOs, the Congress, the military, and even our universities. It defines this nation."

Making Their Bones: The American Elite's Bi-Partisan Murder Racket
A quote...."Yesterday we wrote about the sudden-onset amnesia of our media-political class concerning the officially confirmed operations of American death squads. As we noted, official Washington is in a minor flutter at the moment over reports that Dick Cheney ordered and then concealed the existence of a planned program of targeted assassinations -- a program which was supposedly never implemented and was then supposedly cancelled by Obama CIA chief Leon Panetta. We merely pointed out the well-known fact -- supported by copious reportage in mainstream journals in the past eight years, not to mention proud public admissions by top government officials, including the president -- that the CIA (and other agents of the United States government) had indeed been murdering people in "extrajudicial assassinations" throughout the Bush Administration."

Did Cheney's Assassination Squad Operate on U.S. Soil?
A quote...."Both Talking Points Memo and Raw Story are raising the possibility that Cheney's assassination squad operated on U.S. soil. Both news sites are basing their speculation on a statement in the Washington Post that the program "imposed no geographical limitations on the [CIA's] actions". -- I have no idea whether or not TPM and Raw Story are right. -- On March 10th, Pulitzer prize winning reporter Seymour Hersh said...."

"After 9/11, I haven’t written about this yet, but the Central Intelligence Agency was very deeply involved in domestic activities against people they thought to be enemies of the state. Without any legal authority for it. They haven’t been called on it yet. That does happen."

Bush's Hit Teams - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."Despite the new controversy over whether a global CIA “hit team” ever went operational, there has been public evidence for years that the Bush administration approved “rules of engagement” that permitted executions and targeted killings of suspected insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Senior Obama Official Backs Cheney and C.I.A., Says Concealment of Assassin Program Legal
Yet Obamatrolls everywhere just keep pretending to themselves that Obama is "their" president, he's not, he never was, he was bought and paid for a long time ago by much darker forces. - mpg -- A quote...."National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair’s comments contradict the assertions of several leading Democrats that laws were broken."

9/11 and Cyberterrorism - Did the real "cyber 9/11" happen on 9/11?
A quote...."Government sources immediately began blaming North Korea for the recent cyberterror attacks on South Korea and the U.S., despite having no evidence to back up those claims.[1] Now, an examination of the evidence by independent computer experts show that the attack seems to have been coordinated from the UK.[2] The hysterical media coverage in the attack's wake, however, echoing the government line that it was likely the work of North Korea, has served to cement in the minds of many that this was an act of cyberwarfare." -- For more on this issue see....

Internet Attack Propaganda Increases as Cyber Bill Approaches - posted 07-11-09
Computers in U.S. Linked to Cyber Attack- posted 07-11-09
Cyber attacks may have come from Britain: SKorea - posted 07-14-09

Israeli art students show up at interesting times
A quote...."(WMR) -- The way the corporate media would have it believed is that Israeli “art students” who aggressively sell cheap art door-to-door, usually at federal office buildings and the houses of government employees, are merely traveling abroad after their military service in Israel to “see the world.” In fact, these “art students” are classic intelligence operatives who have appeared before and after major terrorist events and covert operations conducted by the Mossad."

Our wartime propaganda - Article also posted at ICH
 A quote...."From the way official Britain pontificates about the war in Afghanistan, you'd never know that most British people want troops withdrawn by the end of the year and only a minority have supported the US-led campaign for years. -- The BBC in particular seems to have almost entirely abandoned any attempt at neutral reporting of what is actually going on. Instead, its newsreaders and presenters sternly warn that "Britain's resolve is being put to the test" and speculate, surreally, about what might happen if public "support" for the war "were to weaken" (last Friday's 10 o'clock TV news and Newsnight programmes)." -- bold by website editor -- Item number ten from 10 lessons on empire

Cornered Politico editor calls Washington Post an ‘escort service’ - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."The various elite Washington news organizations that have become caught up in the so-called “pay-for-play” or “salon” scandal have now commenced a circular firing squad of sorts—in an effort to distance themselves from their peers whose conduct they are trying to paint as worse than their own." - Cat fight! Cat fight!  Hisssss, snarl, snap! - mpg
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Obama’s War Signals
War Warning - Special Note - A quote...."Only Richard Nixon, whose political career was launched and sustained by an ostensibly militant anti-communism, could have traveled to China, and – with conservative support — effected a de facto strategic alliance with a country long considered an implacable enemy. This Nixon-to-China meme is regularly invoked as aphoristic evidence that we must expect the unexpected, and it comes to mind when considering the prospects of an impending military conflict with Iran: it occurs to me that only Barack Obama, who won the White House in large part due to his opposition to the Iraq war, could take us to war with Iran, and rally liberals and much of the left behind it. -- Oh, I can hear the outraged howls of protest from the Obama cult, but consider:" -- also posted at OhBummer

Clinton Outlines Continuation of Bush Policies Under Obama at CFR
War Warning - Special Note - A quote...."In a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined the Obama administration’s foreign policy, which has been widely touted as a sharp break from that of his predecessor’s. Judging from commentary in the media, Obama has ushered in a new age of diplomacy and international engagement. Clinton herself suggested as much. -- But setting aside the platitudes that comprised most of Clinton’s speech and looking closely at her remarks that actually spoke meaningfully towards U.S. policy under the Obama, a different picture emerges, one not of a change of course from Bush but rather of near perfect continuity between the two administrations." -- also posted at OhBummer

Iranian president casts doubt on US engagement - You don't say. - mpg
Related Article - A quote...."Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad railed against the U.S. in a speech Thursday, showing little indication of embracing Washington's offer of engagement, a day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said time was running out."

Israel warships move within cruise-missile range of Iran
War Alert - Related Article - A quote...."Tel Aviv takes a step closer to war with Tehran as two Israeli warships sail through the Suez Canal within cruise-missile range of Iran. - Earlier this week, two Israel Navy warships, the Hanit and the Eliat, passed through the Suez Canal and across the Red Sea."
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The Enthusiastic Warbride
A quote...."Most libertarians agree that the American government is colossal, oppressive and a slayer of freedom and liberty.  There are certainly domestic influences and causes for the enormous growth in the statist tilt of American governance and concentration of power.  The metamorphosis of an agrarian republic birthed in the violent dismissal of British rule to the Sovietized monstrosity we labor under today is the result of both domestic dynamics and the creation of the national security/garrison state to project power and influence overseas.  I would submit that war is the unacknowledged silent partner of the leviathan state."

Obama’s war[s]
A quote...."17 July 2009 -- With Obama approaching the end of his sixth month in the White House, there is growing evidence that his administration is in only the first stages of what is shaping up to be a major and sustained escalation of the US war in Afghanistan."

Why do I blog? Layla Anwar marks three years of conscious suffering
A quote...."If I am to be perfectly honest - I will have to admit it out loud, that those 3 years of blogging - writing/composing more like it, have depleted and exhausted me. -- I never envisioned that blogging would be such a tiring endeavour. Perhaps blogging in itself is not - but the material I deal with - is. The material being Iraq and her occupation and the thousands of tragedies and woes that this occupation gave and keeps giving birth to."

Everything That Happens in Afghanistan Is Based on Lies or Illusions
A quote...."Writing on the phenomenon of escalation, journalist Norman Solomon begins a recent piece this way: "The president has set a limit on the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. For now. That’s how escalation works. Ceilings become floors. Gradually." Then he adds: "[N]o amount of spin can change the fact that the U.S. military situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. It would be astonishing if plans for add-on deployments weren’t already far along at the Pentagon."

Gates: US May Send Even More Troops to Afghanistan Than Planned
Oh, you poor deluded Obamatrolls. - mpg -- A quote...."Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says that the United States could wind up sending even more troops to Afghanistan this year than was initially planned. During a visit to Fort Drum in New York, Secretary Gates said the number of troops by the end of the year could exceed the 68,000 planned in the Obama Administration’s escalation, though he said it probably would not be much higher."

U.S. Strike Kills 5 Civilians, Afghans Say - link posted at ICH
A quote...."KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — At least five Afghan civilians were killed and 13 were wounded when a United States patrol was attacked on Wednesday night and called in air support, villagers and local officials said Thursday."

NATO fuel tankers under militant fire
A quote...."A roadside bomb by Taliban-linked militants has hit a NATO convoy supplying fuel to the US-led foreign forces in neighboring Afghanistan."

Fight Flub -- Pakistan's all-out offensive against the Taliban may already have failed.
A quote...."Only a few weeks after their resounding declarations that the insurgents' "backs had been broken," the Army and the paramilitary Frontier Corps are still hotly engaged in actions that seem to be much more serious than mere "mopping up" operations."

Kurdish Leaders Warn Of Strains With Maliki
A quote...."IRBIL, Iraq, July 16 -- Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region and the Iraqi government are closer to war than at any time since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the Kurdish prime minister said Thursday, in a bleak measure of the tension that has risen along what U.S. officials consider the country's most combustible fault line."

Syrian FM to US envoy: We want Golan back
A quote...."DAMASCUS - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told visiting US official Frederic Hof on Thursday that Damascus wants the Golan Heights back as part of any Middle East peace deal." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Lebanon Tomb of Imperialism by ~Latuff2
Cartoon - Click on the image to enlarge it. - mpg

Hezbollah Terror Frame-up
Audio Interview - Special Note - Scott Horton Interviews Gareth Porter -- A quote...."Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for Inter Press Service, discusses his 2008 article “Bush’s Iran/Argentina Terror Frame-Up” about the 1994 Buenos Aires Jewish Community Center bombing that was blamed on Hezbollah, the possibility the attack was perpetrated by a group of right-wing antisemitic Argentinians, the “scratches on our minds” effect of sustained propaganda on public perception and how prosecutorial misconduct and weak evidence tainted the Argentinian investigation." -- || Mp3 player  ||

Dismantling Pakistan, a Quagmire of Imperial Slavery
Special Note - A quote...."While military operations continue in tribal areas of Pakistan, the Pakistani establishment is still stuck in the maze that was created by US Imperialist juggernauts and implemented to near perfection by former President and Army Chief of Pakistan Pervaiz Musharraf. Musharraf has done grave harm to the national security of Pakistan. The tremors of his jolts are still reverberating in Pakistani political and public spheres. The U-turns that Musharraf took under US pressure inflicted grave damages to Pakistan’s National and regional interests. Musharraf destroyed Pakistan’s Kashmir policy, Afghanistan policy, he bowed down in front of India, worst of all he gave a blank check to Washington to expand their CIA and FBI setup in Pakistan." -- For more on this issue see....It Will Happen Every Single Time

Russia pays tribute to slain human rights activist - It would be better if they could just stop being slain. - mpg
A quote...."Russia pays tribute to a female human rights activist who was murdered in the country's volatile North Caucasus region amid intensifying unrest. -- "She did very useful things. She spoke the truth and openly, sometimes toughly described some processes that happen in this country," said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a news conference in Munich. -- "That is the value of a rights activist. Even if these things are not pleasant and uncomfortable for the authorities," added the leader."

Iceland approves EU application
A quote...."Iceland's parliament voted by a narrow majority to apply for membership of the European Union on Thursday after five days of intensive discussion."

US Pulling Out from Manta Base
A quote...."Quito, Jul 17 (Prensa Latina) The United States stopped Friday its operations at the Manta military base, on the Ecuadorian coast, and started the process for its definitive withdrawal from that military camp, occupied since 1999."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Who's in charge of US foreign policy?
A quote...."When the coup occurred on 28 June, the first statement that came out of the White House was a major blunder. Although the US and international press gave Obama a pass, the diplomatic community could hardly help noticing that the White House issued the only official statement in the world that didn't have a bad word to say about the coup when it happened." -- also posted at CommonDreams

From Arbenz to Zelaya - Chiquita in Latin America - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."When the Honduran military overthrew the democratically elected government of Manuel Zelaya two weeks ago there might have been a sigh of relief in the corporate board rooms of Chiquita banana.  Earlier this year the Cincinnati-based fruit company joined Dole in criticizing the government in Tegucigalpa which had raised the minimum wage by 60%.  Chiquita complained that the new regulations would cut into company profits, requiring the firm to spend more on costs than in Costa Rica: 20 cents more to produce a crate of pineapple and ten cents more to produce a crate of bananas to be exact."

Honduras coupsters’ big fat Cuban exile family By Dr. Néstor García Iturbe
A quote...."According to the criteria of these people, who acted in coordination with the extreme U.S. right wing in the Pentagon and the CIA, it was necessary to impede at all costs any further movement by Zelaya’s government toward the left, since that represented a danger to the ‘National Security of the United States.’ The fastest and most effective remedy at that time was the coup d’etat."

Supporters of deposed President protest outside US embassy in Honduras
A quote...."For the 16th straight day, Hondurans who oppose the June 28´th Coup continued to take to the streets in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. On Tuesday, some 3,500 people blocked the city´s main arteries until they arrived at the US embassy. FSRN´s Tim Russo reports."

Zelaya 'to make second return bid'
A quote...."Manuel Zelaya, the deposed Honduran president, will seek to openly return to the country if mediation talks on Saturday fail to reinstate him, his wife has said."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Israel's Biggest Problem Not HAMAS
Special Note - A quote...."Zionist Israel has a self created problem, but like all movements based on a racist ideology, they tend to begin to self destruct over time, in the light of a world that is beginning to understand that no country, no matter how great, can exist alone. And, for all intents and purposes, Israel IS alone."

Nasrallah blasts silence to Israeli brutality
Quote of the Day...."Hezbollah's secretary general blasts the international community for accepting Israeli aggression towards the Palestinians and the Lebanese." -- also posted at PalestineChron

"Israel is a racist state; a state which was invented; a state which was placed at the heart of our region that is respected by the whole world and the whole world expresses its understanding of its brutality and its killing of thousands," -- *Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah*, Hezbollah's secretary general

Europe Raising Its Ire
A quote...."Some key European governments, unlike the Obama administration, have now come up with some tangible steps to start the ball rolling towards a peace settlement between an anxious Palestinian Authority and a right-wing Israeli government which seems to be reluctant to reach a two-state solution." - bold by website editor - Not that Israel, or for that matter, Obama will pay any attention.  But it's the attempt that counts.  -mpg

Irish MPs to head to Gaza - Obama didn't bother. - mpg
A quote...."Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - UN aid workers will receive a delegation of Irish lawmakers and politicians in Gaza on Monday, the visit will last five days and delegates will tour the Strip to assess the humanitarian situation, Ireland On-line reported."

Israelis 'chained pregnant prisoners to beds'
A quote...."A PALESTINIAN human rights group slammed Israeli treatment of female prisoners in a new UN-sponsored report, saying pregnant women are often shackled on their way to hospitals to give birth." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Gaza and the Language of Power
A quote...."Nearly six months have passed since the Israeli army ceased pounding the tiny stretch of land that is the Gaza Strip. Since then, Gaza continues to appear on the news once in a while, as a recurring subject of human misery. -- The tireless efforts of British MP George Galloway, and the courageous endeavors of the Free Gaza movement have managed to push Gaza back into the spotlight, even if momentarily and with political context which is lacking at best." -- also posted at CounterCurrents

Wiping Arabic Names Off the Map - Israeli Road Signs
A quote...."Thousands of road signs are the latest front in Israel’s battle to erase Arab heritage from much of the Holy Land. -- Israel Katz, the transport minister, announced this week that signs on all major roads in Israel, East Jerusalem and possibly parts of the West Bank would be “standardised”, converting English and Arabic place names into straight transliterations of the Hebrew name." -- also posted at CounterCurrents & ElectronicIntifada

Norman Finkelstein On Breaking Israel's Seige of Gaza (2 Parts) Gaza Part I & II: - Alt/PtI - Alt/PtII
Video - Special Note -- A quote...."Recorded on July 14, 2009 using a Flip Video camcorder." - (YouTube - aprox 8 min each - July 16, 2009)
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More On The Iranian Election....

GC releases detailed report on Iran election
A quote...."Iran's Guardian Council has published a 'detailed report' on the country's latest presidential election, which shows how complaints about the results were dealt with."

In 'unity' sermon, Rafsanjani regrets 'crisis' handling
A quote...."As Iran tries to cope with the aftermath of its disputed presidential election, influential cleric and politician Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani puts forward proposals to end the post-vote "crisis."
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The Real Price of Goldman’s Giganto-Profits
Must Read - A quote...."So what's wrong with Goldman posting $3.44 billion in second-quarter profits, what's wrong with the company so far earmarking $11.4 billion in compensation for its employees? What's wrong is that this is not free-market earnings but an almost pure state subsidy." -- also posted at Alternet

July 16, 2009: Pyramid Economy - Jon Stewart
Must View Video -- A quote...."Goldman Sachs remains the eye of the U.S. economic pyramid, thanks to the government-funded scaffolding."

‘Government Sachs’ Strikes Gold ... Again - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."Connect the dots: Goldman Sachs made $3.44 billion in profit this past quarter, while the U.S deficit topped $1 trillion for the first time in the nation’s history and appeared to be headed toward doubling that figure before the budget year is out. Since most of the increase in the federal deficit is due to bailing out the banks and salvaging the greater economy they helped destroy, why is the top investment bank doing so well?"

The Joy of Sachs - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."The American economy remains in dire straits, with one worker in six unemployed or underemployed. Yet Goldman Sachs just reported record quarterly profits — and it’s preparing to hand out huge bonuses, comparable to what it was paying before the crisis. What does this contrast tell us? -- First, it tells us that Goldman is very good at what it does. Unfortunately, what it does is bad for America. -- Second, it shows that Wall Street’s bad habits — above all, the system of compensation that helped cause the financial crisis — have not gone away. -- Third, it shows that by rescuing the financial system without reforming it, Washington has done nothing to protect us from a new crisis, and, in fact, has made another crisis more likely."

As Goldman Sachs Posts Record Profits, Matt Taibbi Probes Role of Investment Giant in US Financial Meltdown --  Article also posted at ICH -- A quote...."Goldman Sachs, the nation’s most powerful financial company, has reported the richest quarterly profit in its 140-year history: $3.44 billion between April and June. Goldman’s record profits come just one month after it repaid $10 billion of TARP money to the US Treasury, freeing itself from restrictions on year-end bonuses. We speak to Matt Taibbi, whose new Rolling Stone article argues that “Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression.” [includes rush transcript] -- ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  ||
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Foreclosures At Record High In First Half 2009 Despite Aid - posted at ICH
A quote...."July 16, 2009 -- - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. home foreclosure activity galloped to a record in the first half of the year, overwhelming broad efforts to remedy failing loans while job losses escalated. -- Foreclosure filings jumped to a record 1.9 million on more than 1.5 million properties in the first six months of the year, RealtyTrac said on Thursday. -- The number of properties drawing filings, which include notices of default and auctions, jumped 9.0 percent from the second half of 2008 and almost 15 percent from the first half of last year."

Bankruptcy Filings up 33 Percent over a 12-month Period: - link posted at ICH
A quote...."Bankruptcy filings are soaring in the United States.  In the last data point, we had 134,282 bankruptcy filings for the month of March 2009.  Bankruptcy data usually lags 3 or 4 months but the trend is ominous."

Georgia, South Dakota banks bring failures to 55 in '09
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Winder, Ga.-based First Piedmont Bank and Sioux Falls, S.D.-based BankFirst were closed by regulators Friday, bringing the number of U.S. bank failures in 2009 to 55 as the credit crisis continues to claim victims."

Thursday July 16th 2009

No posts. - mpg

Wednesday July 15th 2009

10 lessons on empire
Must Read - A quote...."As I mentioned awhile back, I devoted a good chunk of my vacation out west reading Piers Brendon's The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781-1997. As you might imagine, I spent a lot of time thinking about possible parallels and lessons for America's current global position, just as English imperialists spent a lot of time pondering the Roman experience (ably documented by Edward Gibbon). -- In a tapestry this rich and varied, it is easy to read into it just about any "lesson" one wants to draw. With that caveat in mind, here are the top ten lessons on empire that I drew from Brendon's book. Even if you don't agree with them, you should still read the book."

Best Intentions: An Appreciation of Graham Greene
Must Read - A quote...."In Washington, where the honorific “historic” ornaments every speech, appointment, conclave, and legislative initiative however trivial, those who earn their living purporting to explain “what it all means” have a limitless supply of material. Small wonder that the senatorial defection of an unprincipled hack from one party to the other qualifies as Big News, while the nomination of an associate justice to a seat on the Supreme Court becomes equivalent in significance to the Normandy invasion. -- To suggest that this rampant narcissism induces a distorted, not to say warped, view of reality is to understate the case. Rebutting this presumption of Washington’s supreme importance requires a constant effort."

The Nation promotes Iran’s “Green Wave” Once again: Iran, imperialism and the “left”
Must Read - A quote...."The June 12 Iranian election has become the occasion for virtually the entire milieu of “progressive” and “left” organizations in the US and internationally to line up behind their own governments in support of the opposition movement headed by the defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi. -- These groups have not only uncritically embraced Moussavi’s claims that the election was stolen, they have ignored the right-wing economic and foreign policies of the opposition, the bourgeois character of its leadership, and the fact that its main social base consists of better-off sections of the middle class. That the mass of Iranian workers abstained from the protests that followed the election, and that imperialist governments in the US and Europe have uniformly rallied behind the opposition, evokes no second thoughts about the Moussavi movement’s supposedly democratic and progressive character."

Getting radicalized, slow and painful
Must Read - A quote...."There’s nothing dramatically wrong with me physically or psychologically, but I always struggled to fit in. I had always had a lingering sense that I didn’t want what others around me seemed to want. Because of my privilege, the world offered me a lot, and I am grateful for much of what I have -- work I have usually enjoyed, an adequate income, relative safety. But I could never figure out how to be normal -- how to kick back with the guys; how to get excited about sports, television, or the latest hit music; how to care about what kind of car I drove. In many ways I had it made, on the surface, but that sense of being out of step always dragged me down." -- also posted at CounterCurrents

Unreality Check: Amnesiac Controversy Ignores CIA's Real Death Squads
Must Read - A quote...."The unreality that has long pervaded American politics, policy-making and media reportage is by now almost totally impenetrable. Both action and analysis in the most powerful nation in history now take place in a fantasy world, a simulacrum, a state of permanent amnesia in which facts -- established, confirmed, published -- vanish almost in the very moment of their appearance. Anyone who tries to reason their way through this feverish hallucination is bound to fail -- or succumb to the madness themselves."
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Killing Hope, Sowing Terror - The Assassination Bureau
Special Note - A quote...."In June of 2009, Leon Panetta, the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) -- the American Praetorian Guard guiding the course of the Dollar Area Empire -- cancelled a program to assassinate al Qaeda leaders, which had been initiated by Vice President Richard (Dick) Cheney in 2001 following the 9-11 attacks, and which program Cheney had ordered be kept secret from the US Congress. (1) -- Why make this cancellation public, and now? Because openly airing a few dirty underpants will distract simple short-attention span minds from the unavoidable stench of much worse that is rotting under hasty burial. Did this program metastasize into a wider ranging disease that consumed Benazir Bhutto, and other foreign political leaders? (2)"

Cheney’s assassination squad run out of Pentagon; allegedly targeted Benazir Bhutto
Related Article - A quote...."(WMR) -- WMR has learned from U.S. intelligence veterans that the secret intelligence operation run by Vice President Dick Cheney was not under the aegis of the Central Intelligence Agency but was a component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Department of Defense."

The Back Door Way to Ignore the Bill of Rights
A quote...."Among the most shocking aspects of Barack Obama’s presidency so far has been his embrace of the power that George W. Bush assumed to incarcerate people suspected of terrorism for the rest of their lives, without a jury trial to determine whether they are in fact guilty of the offense. There is absolutely no reason why Obama and any future president cannot expand that power to other federal criminal offenses, including drug crimes and gun crimes."

US military resumes Guantanamo tribunals
A quote...."The US military has resumed the controversial Guantanamo tribunals for the first time in months with a series of pretrial hearings. -- The US President Barack Obama suspended the proceedings shortly after taking office in January but announced in May that some of the cases would continue, drawing criticism from human rights activists."

I've Seen 1,200 Torture Photos
A quote...."This moment, in which the Attorney General of the United States claims to be considering the possibility of allowing our laws against torture to be enforced seems a good one in which to reveal that I have seen over 1,200 torture photos and a dozen videos that are in the possession of the United States military. These are photographs depicting torture, the victims of torture, and other inhuman and degrading treatment."

US considers expanding army: Pentagon
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AFP) – Defense Secretary Robert Gates is weighing a possible temporary expansion of the US army to ease the strain from wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, his press secretary said on Wednesday." -- also posted at WarInIraq & OhBummer

U.S. Lawyers Won’t Defend Ex-Bush Attorney in Torture-Memo Case
A quote...."July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Justice Department attorneys will no longer defend former Bush administration lawyer John Yoo, who wrote memos justifying harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists, in a lawsuit claiming he’s responsible for violating the constitutional rights of a detainee." -- Hey Cheney!  You hear the tolling of a bell yet? - mpg

Taliban influence on the rise in Afghanistan: study - link posted at ICH
A quote...."The influence of the Taliban in Afghanistan is growing among its traditional Pashtun population while the radical Islamist grouping increasingly appeals to non-Pashtuns too, according to the findings of a study released Tuesday. -- Mounting anger over the conduct of foreign troops had contributed to the convergence of the groups that had previously supported the international engagement in the country, according to the study published by the independent Afghan Analysis Network."

Will Af-Pak War Spill Into Tajikistan? -- Diplomats See Spillover From Swat Valley Clash
A quote...."In the eight years since the US invasion of Afghanistan, the conflict has steadily expanded through Pakistan. It started in the tribal areas, and indeed those are still seeing some of the largest unrest, but eventually it expanded into the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), where a military offensive chased millions of Swatis from their homes. Isolated attacks have happened in the rest of the nation as well, and many doubt if the Pakistani government will survive." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Clinton: US Won’t Hesitate to Use Military Against Iran - Not a Threat, It's a Promise, Secretary of State Tells CFR
War Alert - A quote...."In a high-profile policy address before the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that the US wouldn’t not hesitate to use its military to “defend our friends, our interests, and above all, our people” during the segment discussing Iran."

ROAR: Nabucco vs. South Stream
A quote...."Many Russian observers believe the signing of an agreement on the Nabucco gas pipeline is motivated by political reasons and is aimed at frustrating the South Stream project. -- Representatives from Turkey, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania have signed an agreement on the construction of the Nabucco gas pipeline, considered to be the main rival of Russia’s South Stream project."

Russian activist found murdered
A quote...."A prominent Russian human rights activist, Natalia Estemirova, has been found dead in the North Caucasus. -- She was bundled into a van and abducted as she left her home in Chechnya on Wednesday morning, a colleague said. Her body was found in Ingushetia."

Britain’s Secret Torture Policy Exposed
A quote...."On Tuesday evening, Britain’s secret torture policy was blown wide open when, in the House of Commons, David Davis MP used the protection of parliamentary privilege to tell the House how, in 2006, the British government and the security services allowed Rangzieb Ahmed, a British citizen, to travel to Pakistan, where they “suggested” to the Inter Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), Pakistan’s most notorious intelligence agency, that he should be arrested."

Israel furious over Hamas leader's trip to Switzerland
A quote...."The Foreign Ministry is furious over news that Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas official based in the Gaza Strip, recently headed a Hamas delegation to Switzerland for talks with Swiss diplomats. -- A senior Foreign Ministry official said the visit will further destabilize already shaky relations between Jerusalem and Bern, after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Switzerland in April for the "Durban 2" United Nations anti-racism conference. " - also posted at WarInIraq -- For more on this sort of issue see....A Mortal Threat – Europe’s New Frankenstein Monster - 01-26-09 - mpg
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Israeli soldiers say humanity absent in Gaza war
Special Note - A quote...."Israeli soldiers have recounted how "permissive" rules of engagement led to the death of civilians in Gaza where the Israeli army alleges that no crimes have been committed."

Israel Project’s 2009 “NewSpeak” Handbook - Hey look!! Talking points for Mini-Nazis. - mpg
Special Note - A quote...."If you are interested, you can go to NewsWeek and view the 2009 Israel Project’s Global Language Dictionary.  Though it has nothing to do with the definition of words, it has everything to do with telling Israel’s advocates what to say about any topic that could possibly come up. -- This is the board certified, Israel approved, 2009 spin catalog you’ve been waiting for."

Obama's Credibility at Stake -- Obama and the term credibility in the same sentence is an oxymoron. - mpg
A quote...."Today, more than five weeks after Obama’s Cairo address, it seems there is little or no change of substance in the way the United States relates to Muslims and their major grievances. - Emboldening Israel to Defy." -- For more on this sort of issue see....No Leadership From Obama. - Oh Contraire! - 12-28-08 - mpg

Viva Palestina granted permit to break Gaza siege - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."The Viva Palestina humanitarian convoy has finally received permission to cross the Rafah border and enter the impoverished Gaza Strip after a 10-day delay caused by Cairo." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Cynthia McKinney and Charles Barron Enter Gaza on Relief Convoy
A quote...."Two hundred human rights activists drove their convoy into the besieged Gaza strip after ten days of delays and harassment at the hands of Egyptian and U.S. officials. However, the group has been given only 24 hours to complete its mission and leave."

Hamas to Non-Aligned Movement Summit: End the Gaza blockade
A quote...."Gaza City/Cairo - Hamas on Wednesday called on world leaders gathered in Egypt for the 15th summit of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to take 'all necessary measures' to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip. -- Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, called on more than 50 world leaders gathered in the Sinai resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh, to 'take clear decisions toward ending the siege on the Gaza Strip.'"

Netanyahu: Palestinian refugees must never return to their homes
A quote...."Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Palestinians to give up the right of return to their homes in what is now Israel as a precondition for a future peace deal."

ICRC: Israel Traps Gazans in Deprivation and Despair
A quote...."Founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1863, the International Committee of the Red Cross is an "impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance." It also tries "to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles."

The blue velvet hills of my youth have been destroyed
A quote...."Palestinians will never be able to undo the damage caused by these massive, illegal and politically motivated settlements." -- also posted at PalestineMonitor
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Ex-Clinton aides advising Honduran coup regime
Special Note - A quote...."Ever since the military abducted President Manuel Zelaya at gunpoint on June 28 and expelled him from the country, the Obama administration has cast itself as a steadfast defender of “democracy” in Honduras." -- also posted at AmericanEveryman

Eva Golinger: Washington and the Coup in Honduras: Here’s the evidence!
Honduras against history: By their methods you shall know them
A quote...."The Bible relates the story of how the teachers of the law brought before Jesus an adulterous woman. They intended to stone her to death, as they were required to do by the law of God, which at the time was said to be the law of men as well. The teachers and Pharisees wanted to test Jesus, from which one can induce that Jesus was already well known for his lack of orthodoxy with respect to the most ancient laws. Jesus suggested that whoever was free of sin should cast the first stone. Thus, nobody was able to execute the strict law."

OAS says to keep up pressure on Honduras
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Organization of American States said on Wednesday it would keep pressure on coup leaders that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya last month, while supporting dialogue to end the crisis."

Honduras coup leader ready to quit
A quote...."Honduran interim President Roberto Micheletti sets conditions for his departure following weeks of political turmoil in the Central American state."
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Can The Economy Recover? - posted at ICH
Special Note - A quote...."July 15, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- -There is no economy left to recover. The US manufacturing economy was lost to offshoring and free trade ideology. It was replaced by a mythical “New Economy.” -- The “New Economy” was based on services. Its artificial life was fed by the Federal Reserve’s artificially low interest rates, which produced a real estate bubble, and by “free market” financial deregulation, which unleashed financial gangsters to new heights of debt leverage and fraudulent financial products."

How Bad Will the Economy Get? Really, Really Bad - Article also posted at ICH
Special Note - A quote...."Historically, every financial and economic crisis has been used to further centralize power and concentrate wealth. This one is no different, and in fact the moves being promoted by the Obama administration and the central banks of the Western powers will take the whole world to the pinnacle of financial despotism -- unless enough people wake up and claim their own "money power.” -- In recent months, the Fed has expanded its "assets" from about $800 billion to more than $2,000 billion. Those so-called assets are securities it bought from financial institutions and loans made to central banks in other countries. But the Fed refuses to name the specific recipients of those funds, while admitting that by doing so they are manipulating the value of the US dollar on foreign exchange markets."

China's forex reserves top 2.13 trillion dollars in June
Related Article - Beijing, July 15 : China's foreign exchange reserves topped 2.13 trillion dollars by the end of June, up 17.84 percent year-on-year, the People's Bank of China said Wednesday. - bold by website editor

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