Tuesday July 28th 2009 - links page

No posts. - mpg

Monday July 27th 2009 - links page

Sunday July 26th 2009

Global Power and Global Government: Evolution and Revolution of the Central Banking System
Must Read - A quote...."Humanity is on the verge of entering into the most tumultuous period in our history. The prospects of a global depression, the likes of which have never been seen before; a truly global war, on a scale never before imagined; and societal collapse, for which nations of the world are building totalitarian police states to control populations; are increasing by the day. The major global trend forecasters are sounding the alarms on economic depression, war, a return to fascism and a total reorganization of society.   Through crisis, we are seeing the reorganization of the global political economy, and the transformation of capitalism into a totalitarian capitalist world government. Capitalism has never stayed the same through its history; it has always changed and will continue to do so. Its changes are explained and analyzed through political-economic theory, both mainstream theory and critical. The changes are undertaken over years, decades and centuries. The next phase of capitalism is one in which the world moves to a state-controlled economic system, much like China, of totalitarian capitalism."

[Obama] Military Weighs Private Security on Front Lines
A quote...."The U.S. military command is considering contracting a private firm to manage security on the front lines of the war in Afghanistan, even as Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says that the Pentagon intends to cut back on the use of private security contractors." -- also posted at BLN

Obama Department of Defense caught [still] spying on peace group
A quote...."Olympia, Washington's Port Militarization Resistance (PMR) is reporting the outing of a spy within their organization. John Jacob Towery II, a civilian attached to the U.S. Army's Fort Lewis Force Protection-Fusion Cell, which is the intelligence analysis function of Fort Lewis' I Corps had infiltrated their group. PMR has been engaged in holding rallies and demonstrations to peacefully oppose the Afghanistan troop surge and military equipment being deployed from the Port of Tacoma, Washington. The army has been using the port to ship Stryker vehicles to Afghanistan. The report also states that the North West Anti Imperialist Direct Action Coalition (NWAIDAC) was infiltrated as well. NWAIDAC's mission statement declares that it uses non-violent civil disobedience in resistance actions."

Newspapers Reports Shocking Details on Unit in Iraq--and Back Home
A quote...."Daniel Freeman, one of the soldiers interviewed by the paper, says the troops became "mad and tired and frustrated" in Iraq. Referring to attacks on civilians, he says, "You came too close, we lit you up. You didn't stop, we ran your car over with the Bradley." Another, who tells of various atrocities, says "You didn't get blamed unless someone could be absolutely sure you did something wrong." -- See also Soldiers in Colorado slayings tell of Iraq horrors

Secrets of CIA 'ghost flights' to be revealed
A quote...."Confidential documents showing the flight plans of a CIA "ghost plane" allegedly used to transfer a British resident to secret interrogation sites around the world are to be made public. The move comes after a Sussex-based company accused of involvement in extraordinary rendition dropped its opposition to a case against it being heard in court."

Bush administration considered using military to arrest “Lackawanna Six”
A quote...."The Bush administration considered using the military to arrest six US citizens in Lackawanna, New York, in September 2002. While the proposal was ultimately rejected, the discussion was part of a concerted effort to expand the use of the military within the United States in violation of domestic law and the Constitution."

Government Not Even TRYING to Prove Ivins Guilty for Anthrax Murders
A quote....."You've heard that the FBI is paying scientists to study their novel theory linking Ivins with the killer anthrax. -- But you may have forgotten that the FBI is simply trying to link the anthrax strain in Ivins' lab to the white powder used in the attacks. The FBI is not trying to rule out the hundreds of other people who had access to the exact same strain."

Martial Law and the Militarization of Public Health: The Worldwide H1N1 Flu Vaccination Program
For some good websites regarding this issue see....CLG, InforWars, BLN & RogueGov- mpg -- A quote...."The flu season is upon us. Which type will we worry about this year, and what kind of shots will we be told to take? Remember the swine flu scare of 1976? That was the year the U.S. government told us all that swine flu could turn out to be a killer that could spread across the nation, and Washington decided that every man, woman and child in the nation should get a shot to prevent a nation-wide outbreak, a pandemic."  -- *Mike Wallace*, CBS, 60 Minutes, November 4, 1979

Obama Administration Begins Opposition To States Claiming Sovereignty And Gun Rights
A quote...."The several states are lining up to reclaim their sovereignty and telling the federal government to butt out. This is being done in myriad ways but all are related in that most claim that the Tenth Amendment protects the states from federal tyranny. States are passing resolutions, memorials and two states have passed laws and they intend to apply those laws for their citizens. The two states are Montana and Tennessee."

Calls For Scottish Independence Still Strong
A quote...."Scotland's political landscape has been shifting dramatically in recent years. First, there was the establishment of the Scottish parliament 10 years ago, to make decisions on local issues such as health care and education. Then, two years ago, the Scottish National Party became the largest party in that parliament — though it doesn't have a majority — and started pushing harder for independence. -- But then came the financial meltdown last fall."
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Iraqi Kurd Ruling Parties Claim Victory in Regional Elections
A quote...."July 26 (Bloomberg) -- The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the two parties that make up the Iraqi Kurd autonomous government, said the ruling coalition won regional parliamentary elections in Iraq’s far north region."

Three NATO supply trucks blown up in Kabul
A quote...."KABUL, Jul 25, 2009 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- Three logistics trucks of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF were blown up by roadside bomb explosions in the 5th police district of capital Kabul, police said on Saturday."

Member of Berlusconi's cabinet calls for withdrawal of Italian troops from Afghanistan
A quote...."A key member of Premier Silvio Berlusconi's cabinet today called for Italy's soldiers to be withdrawn from Afghanistan." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Panic in North Waziristan Over ‘Huge’ US Build-up Along Border
A quote...."Villagers in the Federally Administred Tribal Areas’ (FATA) North Waziristan Agency are in the panic today over what they term a massive build-up of US and NATO forces along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border."

Pakistani Pledge to Rout Taliban In Tribal Region Is Put on Hold
Possibly Related Article - A quote...."ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Soon after Pakistan launched its offensive against the Taliban this spring, President Asif Ali Zardari declared that the mission would go beyond pushing the Islamist militia out of the Swat Valley. "We're going to go into Waziristan," he said. -- More than two months later, that still has not come to pass."

Pro-Taliban peace deal cleric 'arrested in Pakistan'
A quote...."A radical Islamic cleric who brokered a peace deal with the Taliban in Swat was arrested Sunday in Pakistan's restive northwest, an official said."

Iran plunged into fresh political turmoil
A quote...."Iran was plunged into fresh political turmoil on Sunday as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sacked his intelligence minister while his culture minister resigned saying the government has been weakened."

Official: Iran-Ukraine Negotiations on Antonov-148 Thrive Well
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- The head of the Air Industries Organization of the Iranian Armed Forces, Majid Hedayat, said on Sunday negotiations between Iranian and Ukrainian officials on the manufacture of Antonov-148 passenger plane in Iran is making good progress."

Venezuela to invest in Iran's oil sector
A quote...."Iran's Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari says Venezuela has bought the rights for 12 of the 16 Iranian oil exploration sectors."

Venezuela Prepares Defense Against Potential U.S. Aggression from Colombia
A quote...."Mérida, July 24th 2009 (Venezuelanalysis.com) -- In response to Colombia's "unfriendly" decision to expand the U.S. military presence on Colombian bases, Venezuela will strengthen its fleet of armored vehicles and increase its military presence along its border with Colombia, President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday."

Nuclear powers revert to playground taunts
A quote...."WASHINGTON - First, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a television interview in New Delhi that the North Koreans were like "small children and unruly teenagers and people who are demanding attention". -- Then the North Koreans returned the compliment during an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum at Phuket in southern Thailand, saying Clinton "looks like a primary-school girl" or "a pensioner going shopping". -- Talk about a hissy fit."
    
For New Delhi, a week that wasn't
A quote...."NEW DELHI - Sometimes sports broadcasters, during breaks between matches, show montages of on-field blunders - like goalkeepers devising ever-more-entertaining means of scoring own goals. The Manmohan Singh government is in such an unassailable position in the Indian parliament that any injury to it could have only been self-inflicted. And last week it duly obliged, putting on a show of its own little package of goof-ups. - With unerring precision, it found a banana peel at every other step. As foreign policy own goals tumbled in one after the other, what one heard was not canned laughter but a unanimous expression of outrage from the opposition."

India Launches Nuclear Submarine
A quote...."NEW DELHI — India launched its first nuclear-powered submarine in a ceremony in southern port city of Vishakhapatnam on Sunday, becoming one of just six nations in the world to have successfully built one."

“Reset” Means Obedience
A quote...."What may be most remarkable about this is that this is not being treated as one of Biden’s legendary gaffes, but rather as an appropriate and acceptable comment. As I was saying earlier this week, the administration must think that Russia’s relatively greater weakness at present will make it more compliant, but I never expected any of its top members to come out and say exactly that. Bizarrely, Biden was offering all of this as evidence in favor of why the “reset” was going to work. In other words, for Biden the “reset” has always meant Russian concessions and submission, and it will “work” because Russia lacks the means to do anything else. This is staggeringly wrong."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Israeli doctors experimented on children
From the History File -- The Guardian, Wednesday 11 May 2005 12.23 BST -- A quote...."A leading Israeli doctor and medical ethicist has called for the prosecution of doctors responsible for thousands of unauthorised and often illegal experiments on small children and geriatric and psychiatric patients in Israeli hospitals." -- "These doctors should be punished very severely because they really are criminals," said Dr Michel, who is head of the committee that approves medical experimentation at Hadassah, which is not among the accused hospitals. "They should be stripped of their licences to practise and they should be prosecuted. If you don't show by example that the medical profession does not accept this kind of conduct the phenomenon will go on and on. "It's not an isolated phenomenon. It spread through different institutions." -- also posted at AmericanEveryman

Palestinian Child Prisoners - Alt - (YouTube - 2 min 23 sec - June 11, 2009)
Video - Special Note -- A quote...."Children are not mini-people with mini-rights".  -- *Maud de Boer-Buquicchio*, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe

The BIG LIE: Removed Checkpoints in the West Bank - The Atara/Birzeit checkpoint - Alt - (uTb 6m36s 07/25/09)
Video - A quote...."Atara/Birzeit checkpoint: The Israeli Occupation Forces declared in June 2009 that they have removed the Atara/Birzeit checkpoint. Have they? Many "removed" checkpoints, such as this one, have been caught operating with oppressive business as usual. See for yourself. Please remember, soldiers are extremely aware of the cameras and behave accordingly."

Why Hamas is no ‘extremist’
Special Note - A quote...."In the mechanistic template imposed by western leaders on the Middle East, of ‘moderates’ who must be supported versus ‘extremists’ who must be isolated and undermined, Hamas has to be painted, by mechanical necessity alone, as ‘extremists’. Hamas has become the ‘extremists’ to answer in neat symmetry to the ‘moderates’ of Ramallah, who for other reasons American and European leaders wish in any event to support."

Meshaal delivers speech on Obama’s position on peace process
A quote...."… The Obama administration brought a change in rhetoric, but the question is what brought about this change. Even just the change on the level of the language, who effected this change? Was it for the sake of our beautiful eyes or for some defect? What brought this change about is that uncompromising perseverance of the living peoples of the region, when they resisted in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and rejected the occupiers and their oppression and orders. So, they thwarted the policy of the previous administration and its old and neoconservatives."

Settlers take over a Palestinian owned house in East Jerusalem, police kidnaps 12 people
A quote...."A group of Israeli settlers attacked and took over on Sunday afternoon a Palestinian owned house in East Jerusalem, while police provided them with protection and kidnapped 12 activists who tried to stop the attack." -- also posted at AtheoNews & Uruknet
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

The Honduran Coup and the Clinton Connection
Must Read - A quote...."If you’re a Honduran general and you’re chafing at the bit to depose the duly elected president – as your predecessors have done repeatedly over the years – you don’t just go for it. That would be impolitic and eminently impractical: after all, the United States is not only your country’s number one trading partner, it is also the chief source of funding that keeps the Honduran military flush with so much cash that it is the fifth largest economic power in the nation. A cutoff of that all-important lifeline, not to mention trade sanctions, could put the squeeze on your finances. -- So, before you make your move and call the troops out of the barracks, you let Washington know what you’re up to – you feel them out and get some idea of how they might react. There are plenty of indications that this is indeed what occurred, including talk of "negotiations" between the coup plotters and the State Department that failed to avert the "crisis.""

Honduras imposes State of Siege in South - Thousands of Zelaya supporters stranded en route to meet the president
A quote...."Honduran national police have clamped a state of siege on the southern department of El Paraiso and blocked roads from Tegucigalpa to the Nicaraguan border. Thousands of Hondurans who caravanned from the capital to the border yesterday to support the return of President Manuel Zelaya are stranded in trucks, cars and buses along the road."

Zelaya disappointed with US over coup
A quote...."Deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has sharply criticized the United States for not denouncing a military coup in the country."
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Rolling Stone: The Great American Bubble Machine Article - Part 1/5 - Part 2/5 - Part 3/5 - Part 4/5 - Part 5/5
Videos - Special Note - (YouTube - 2-10 min each - July 04, 2009) -- A quote...."Matt Taibbi on how Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression. -- In Rolling Stone Issue 1082-83, Matt Taibbi takes on "the Wall Street Bubble Mafia" — investment bank Goldman Sachs. The piece has generated controversy, with Goldman Sachs firing back that Taibbi's piece is "an hysterical compilation of conspiracy theories" -- Note: the article was previously posted on this website.

What the Fed Has Done to Us
A quote...."by Ron Paul  --  [Given] Before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, July 21, 2009  --  The Federal Reserve in collaboration with the giant banks has created the greatest financial crisis the world has ever seen.  The foolish notion that unlimited amounts of money and credit, created out of thin air, can provide sustained economic growth has delivered this crisis to us.  Instead of economic growth and stable prices it has given us a system of government and finance that now threatens the world financial and political institutions."

Peter Schiff explains why he was right about free-markets, why Art Laffer was wrong and whether he will run for Senate -- Interview - A quote...."Daily Bell: Where do you think this central banking approach to economic development is headed? Do you think it will eventually succeed as a global force - generating a global central bank, etc?  ---  Peter Schiff: I think that in the end, central bankers controlling fiat money will prove to be an unworkable and inherently flawed system. Despite the apparent distinction, central bankers are politicians who are more concerned about rosy economic statistics than they are about sound currency. This can only lead to devalued currencies, which sooner or later becomes a major issue. A global central bank would be a disaster.

GDP set for 4th straight decline, economists say
But with the NEW Virtual Economy™ Wall Street could care less about the "Real Economy", what some used to call "Main Street", soon to become a pot-hole filled, trash covered, dirt road. - mpg -- A quote...."AMMAN, Jordan (MarketWatch) -- It's another dubious distinction for this brutal U.S. recession: For the first time since the Great Depression, the economy will have contracted for four consecutive quarters, economists said in advance of the government's first estimate for second-quarter gross domestic product."

Regulators shut 6 Ga banks, 1 in New York state
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) -- Regulators on Friday shut six banks in Georgia and a small bank in New York state, raising to 64 the number of federally insured banks to fail this year."

No. 2 Texas bank expects to fail
A quote...."NEW YORK - Guaranty Financial Group Inc , the second-largest publicly traded bank in Texas, said it will probably fail after loan losses and writedowns left it "critically" short of capital."

Florida mass layoff claims rise
A quote...."Florida was among the states in the nation with the highest number of initial jobless claims filed due to mass layoff events in June, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics."

Saturday July 25th 2009

Auferre trucidare rapere falsis nominibus imperium, atque ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
(To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace. ) -- *Tacitus*

Friday July 24th 2009

"Oh yeah, we did search and avoid missions all the time. We would go to the end of our patrol route and set up camp on the top of a bridge and use it as an over-watch position. It was a common tactic. We would just sit there and observe rather than sweep. We would call in radio checks every hour and report that we were doing sweeps." -- *Eli Wright*

"Unit members would go and play soccer with Iraqi kids instead of going on patrol. I knew soldiers who learned to simulate vehicular movement on the computer screen, to create the impression of being on patrol." -- *Josh Simpson*

"Nearly each day they pull into a parking lot, drink soda, and shoot the cans. They pay Iraqi kids to bring them things and spread the word that they are not doing anything and to please leave them alone." -- *Geoff Millard*

"For we are the wealthiest one percent.  Can you not feel us? For we are there, in your heads like a snake slithering through your sub-conscious while you sleep, our soft dry serrations imprinting on your minds.  We’re in your very thoughts; we’re there when you wake up and when you go to sleep. We’re physically present in the very air you breathe and the water you drink containing the poisons we have released to enrich ourselves.  In the very food your children eat contaminated by the drugs and toxins we foist upon their soft vulnerable bodies. Like a narcotic fume you inhale us while you watch our mass media, our advertisings, and our literature. Are you not pleased with the world we have created for you. For we care not either way." -- quoted from the....*The Wealthiest One Percent – The Spirit of Liberal Capitalism*

Thursday July 23rd 2009

New Great Game Revisited, Part 1 - Iran and Russia, Scorpions in a Bottle
Must Read - A quote...."A nuclear Iran would inevitably turbo-charge a new, emerging multipolar world - one that does not rely on the United States to subjugate the bulk of oil in the Arab Middle East. But the Iranian nuclear dossier cannot be solved without Russia, leaving Moscow with a key moderating role between Iran and the West. No matter how nasty the overtones, the Iran-Russia dynamic is the pacemaker for the heart of the New Great Game." -- also posted at WarInIraq

From Iraq to Afghanistan, US Wars Not Going According to Plan
Must Read - A quote...." PARIS — Iraq’s prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, was in Washington this week to consult with Barack Obama and American military and political officials, three weeks after the Status of Forces Agreement concerning U.S. forces in Iraq came into effect. -- On the same day, in Iraq, tension was reported to be increasing between the Americans, whose combat forces were supposed to evacuate Baghdad and other cities at the end of June, and the Iraqi military and security forces, who were supposed to take over the Americans’ responsibilities.
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U.S. Rebuffs U.N. Requests for Guantanamo Visits, Data on CIA Prisons
The Obama Nation is now the Lawless Nation - mpg -- A quote...."UNITED NATIONS -- The Obama administration has declined requests from U.N. human rights investigators for information on secret prisons and for private interviews with inmates at the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, U.N. officials said, dampening their hopes of greater U.S. cooperation on human rights issues."

Obama Accused by Lawyers of Stonewalling on Terror Questioning
Ditto. - mpg -- A quote...." July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Lawyers for suspected terrorists at the U.S.’s Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba accused the Obama administration of failing to live up to its pledge of transparency and provide information that could free the detainees. -- The attorneys said government officials have been no more helpful than the Bush administration in sharing transcripts of interrogations of their clients. The detainees may have been subject to harsh methods and possibly torture, the lawyers said." -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - Iraq - Torture Fables

Worst Case Scenario
A quote...."Three weeks ago, however, the whole nature of the torture debate changed irrevocably when an American soldier from Idaho named Bowe Bergdahl somehow fell into the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan. They have him now, and God help him, because it was the United States government under the administration of George W. Bush that set the terms for how anyone captured can and should be treated. -- If the Taliban decide Bergdahl has information they want, they can waterboard him until he talks. They can compress his body and cover him with insects, they can rob him of sleep and deny him food, they can beat him and slather his body with his own waste...."
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Samantha Power and the weaponization of human rights
Special Note - Quote of the Day --  "The weaponization of human rights". - mpg -- "American liberals rejoiced at Samantha Power’s appointment to the National Security Council. After so many dreary Clintonites were stacked into top State Department positions—Dennis Ross, Richard Holbrooke, Hillary herself—here was new blood: a dynamic idealist, an inspiring public intellectual, a bestselling author of a book against genocide, a professor at Harvard’s Carr Center for Human Rights. And she hasn’t even turned 40. The blogosphere buzzed. Surely Samantha Power was the paladin, the conscience, the senior director for multilateral affairs to bring human rights back into U.S. foreign policy. -- Don’t count on it. “Human rights,” a term once coterminous with freeing prisoners of conscience and documenting crimes against humanity, has taken on a broader, more conflicted definition. It can now mean helping the Marine Corps formulate counterinsurgency techniques; pounding the drums for air strikes (of a strictly surgical nature, of course); lobbying for troop escalations in various conquered nations—all for noble humanitarian ends."

US military deaths [Biological Weapons Components (BWC's) destroyed] in Iraq war at 4,328
Think that's a tad harsh gentle reader?  From the point of view of our illustrious wealthy elites, that's exactly what the "troops" are to them. - mpg -- A quote...."As of Thursday, July 23, 2009, at least 4,328 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count."

Senate Votes for ‘Temporary’ Army Increase of 30,000
War Alert - Related Article --  Getting ready for the Iran war, and A LOT more destroyed BWC's - mpg -- A quote...."In a 93-1 vote, the US Senate has agreed to authorize a “temporary” increase of the size of the army by up to 30,000 additional troops. The vote appears to be little more than a rubber stamp approving an announcement by Defense Secretary Robert Gates about his intention to increase the military by at least 22,000. The bill only authorizes the increased size for the next three years and would leave making it permanent to a future vote."

Maliki Opens The Door To A Post-2011 U.S. Troop Presence
A quote...."So I spent this morning waiting to hear Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki talk to the U.S. Institute of Peace. He didn't speak until 10, but we were instructed to get there by 8:45 to account for the latest in security measures. Not a bad deal in practice, though -- herded into a room for about 90 minutes, I got to bullshit with Eli Lake about cooking and drugs; Matt Duss, Marc Lynch, Eli, Adam Serwer and myself discussed Marc's Jay-Z-as-American-hegemony parable (get ready for Marc's Weezy Corollary); and some other old friends stopped by."

U.S. Officials Negotiated With Iraqi Insurgent Groups Twice in Spring
A quote...."BAGHDAD, July 23 -- U.S. officials engaged in negotiations with Iraqi insurgent groups in two meetings this spring that culminated in an agreement to organize talks intended to bring the groups into Iraqi political life, an insurgent leader and Turkish and American officials said Thursday."

Arabs form bloc to offset Kurdish dominance of Kirkuk
A quote...."Disparate Arab groups have come together in a bid to offset Kurdish dominance of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.  The future of the disputed city still hangs in balance with Kurds, Arabs and other ethnic groups battling for influence.  While Kurds have vowed to annex the city to their semi-independent enclave, the Arabs say they are ready to take up arms to defend the city’s Arab character."

“Reset of US-Russia ties not at expense of links with others”
Video - A quote...."“I don’t think that America's relations with Russia should be reset at the expense of other countries,” said Medvedev. “We need a normal, working, friendly relationship with America. A mutually beneficial relationship. A lot depends on this." -- *Dmitry Medvedev*, President of Russia

Lavrov reiterates Russia’s negative stance on arms supplies to Georgia
A quote...."I have repeatedly commented on the issue of Georgia’s rearmament,” the foreign minister said. “I proceed from the fact that those who supplied Saakashvili’s regime with arms that were used then to unleash a war in the August of 2008, have drawn necessary conclusions,” Lavrov added. “But those who keep speaking about a need to sell weapons to that regime once again are making a mistake,” the top Russian diplomat stressed."

US Escalates War Plans In Latin America US Military: After Iraq, Latin America
A quote...."On June 29 US President Barack Obama hosted his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe at the White House and weeks later it was announced that the Pentagon plans to deploy troops to five air and naval bases in Colombia, the largest recipient of American military assistance in Latin America and the third largest in the world, having received over $5 billion from the Pentagon since the launching of Plan Colombia nine years ago."

Chavez blasts Colombia over US military base plan
A quote...."Venezuela has threatened to review its relations with neighboring Colombia over the country's plan to allow US troops to use its military bases."

Ghana trapped in World Bank/IMF Vicious Cycle
If you do "business" with the World Bank or the IMF, you can just bend over and kiss your country good-bye. - mpg -- A quote...."World Bank/IMF policies have consistently increased the number of unemployed, expanded poverty, and decreased productivity and self sufficiency in Ghana as in most countries. Once again Ghana is caught in that vicious cycle." -- also posted at BLN

Hizbullah, Amal, Future meet to boost reconciliation effort
A quote...."BEIRUT: Representatives of Hizbullah, Amal and the Future Movement held talks on Thursday in order to boost reconciliation efforts among Lebanese factions and ensure security and stability in the capital. The meeting called by Leba­nese Army Intelligence head Colonel Georges Khamees was attended by Maher Abou al-Khoudoud from the Future Movement, Imad Kahloul from Hizbullah, and Ali Jaber from the Amal Movement."
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9/11: The most popular French comedian ridicules the U.S. government
Special Note - A quote...."Whereas the corporate media in NATO countries have sanctified the Kean-Hamilton report of the government-appointed commission on the attacks of September 11, 2001, French comedian Jean-Marie Bigard’s mockery of this preposterous tale is a resounding success. Indeed, it is no longer possible to sustain the government’s account of those events without provoking hilarity."

GOP & KAL007: 'The Key is to Lie First' - posted at Consortium News
From the History File -- Originally Posted in 1998 -- A quote...."Editor's note: As this 1998 article from the Consortiumnews.com’s Archive explains, the Reagan administration’s strategy of lying recognized few limits and felt justified even in deceiving the world community at the United Nations in 1983, a precursor to Colin Powell’s Iraq War deceptions about WMD two decades later:"

Pay for Play: Brief Glimpses of the System at Work
A quote...."Many, many years ago, when I was a young pup of a reporter on a small rural paper in the foothills of the Appalachians in East Tennessee, one of my very first assignments was to attend a court hearing on a murder case, then meet afterwards with one of the most senior law enforcement officers in the county, who would be giving testimony in the case. This officer frequently provided the paper with photographs of the latest drug raid or big arrest his force had made."

What's the deal with the White House press[titute] corps?
Full quote...."Last night the President had a press conference. But where was the press? I know they were sitting in their designated seats politely waiting to be selected to ask a question. -- They all know the drill. The president has prepared for him a short list of the annointed few. They get to stand up, speak in the microphone and have their 15 seconds of fame. -- I don't fault the President for trying to control the press. But I ask you, why does the press go along? There is not one moment of spontaneity. The questioners are tipped off, in advance, by the White House and they behave accordingly. -- No. Not one questions about Iraq. Not one questions about Afghanistan, where American troops have had the worst month of fatalities in eight years. These guys, and women, are not journalists. They're enablers."

Healthcare double-talk from Obama - posted at OnlineJournal
A quote...."To listen to Obama double-talk and stumble his way through his proposed no-plan for healthcare reform, including a boast that Big Pharma was putting $80 billion on the table to reduce the donut hole by half in Medicare Part D for drugs, was the icing on the no-cake."

Obama approval continues to tank
A quote...."The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 29% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-six percent (36%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -7 (see trends)."

The American Revolution Revisited
A quote...."Let’s be honest, America is facing the same legal, moral and ethical questions that our Founding generation did, especially regarding the issue of “Who Is Sovereign in the United States.” For our Founders, they fought, bled and died on the principles that no man or government has the right to rule over others contrary to their agreement (i.e. compact, constitution) and contrary to the principles of natural law as revealed in the Creation of God; that all men are born in nature with the power to govern themselves; and that no Sovereign government, established lawfully by the consent of we the people, can be usurped and controlled by any other entity. Thus, today in America, the question once again comes down to “Who is Sovereign in the United States?”

Scott Horton Interviews James Bamford
Audio Interview - A quote...."James Bamford, author of The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America, discusses the ACLU’s legal challenge against the newly codified warrantless eavesdropping law, the high legal hurdles that shield NSA actions from lawsuits, the dearth of eavesdropping success stories and the rapidly expanding NSA data mining facilities that are reaching epic capacities."

"Anti-Squalene Antibodies Link Gulf War Syndrome to Anthrax Vaccine 23 Jul 2009 Data published in the February 2000 and August 2002 issues of Experimental and Molecular Pathology strongly suggests that Gulf War Syndrome is caused by a vaccine contaminated with squalene. The August 2002 article is entitled "Antibodies to Squalene in Recipients of Anthrax Vaccine" (Exp. Mol. Pathol. 73,19-27 (2002)). [Guess what's in the (untested) swine flu vaccine? Vaccine May Be More Dangerous Than Swine Flu --Vaccine contains squalene and gp120 By Dr. Russell Blaylock 07 Jul 2009.]" -- Paragraph quoted from CLG
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

The Reality of Israel’s "Open Jerusalem" -- Ghettoes, demolitions and housing shortages
Some quotes...."Jerusalem. No one would have been more surprised than Fawziya Khurd by the recent pronouncement of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, that Israel operates an “open city” policy in Jerusalem. Mr Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday that Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem following the 1967 war -- what he called the city’s “unification” -- meant that all residents, Jews and Palestinians alike, could buy property wherever they chose." -- "According to experts, however, the reality is that in both a practical and legal sense Mr Netanyahu’s “open city” is a fiction, extended only to the settlers and not to Mrs Khurd or to the 250,000 other Palestinians of East Jerusalem." -- also posted at CounterCurrents

Israel arrests soccer player of Palestinian national team
A quote...."GAZA, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Israel arrested a Palestinian soccer player en route from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to the West Bank, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said Thursday. -- "This is an Israeli piracy targeting sport in Palestine," the PFA said in a statement, adding that "We call on the FIFA to press the Israeli authorities to release al-Sarsak immediately." -- also posted at AtheoNews

Palestinians forced to seek work in Israel
While you read this article just keep thinking of the Warsaw Ghetto. - mpg -- A quote...."JERUSALEM — Every day they sneak into Israel by the dozens under the eyes of the soldiers at checkpoints — a stream of Palestinian labourers from the occupied West Bank desperate for work."

The Viva Palestina Series- Breaking the Siege
A quote...."We spent the days after the Peace Bridge incident finishing the “required” paper work and negotiating with the Egyptian Ministry of Internal Affairs to reach an agreement on time to be spent in Gaza, what we can take with us, and to let all members of the convoy cross into Gaza.  Mr. George Galloway and Councilman Charles Baron made a great effort to come up with a good pact with the Ministry and tried to get the most out of them.  At the end, we were only allowed 24 hours in Gaza and they promised that all convoy members would enter as well as all the medical aid.  They denied the entry of the 47 trucks that we purchased in Alexandria and they still have them at the port."

Cartoon in PFLP newspaper 2 by ~Latuff2
Cartoon - Click on the image to enlarge it. - mpg

Israel bans mention of Palestinian 'nakba' from textbooks
A quote...."Israel will remove from school textbooks an Arabic term that describes its creation in 1948 as a "catastrophe", the Education Ministry said on Wednesday. -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said when he was opposition leader two years ago the word "nakba" in Israeli Arab schools was tantamount to spreading propaganda against Israel."

Hamas Shifts From Rockets to Public Relations
a.k.a Hamas cares about it's community and it's become realistic. Good for them. - mpg -- A quote...."GAZA — Seven months after Israel started a fierce three-week military campaign here to stop rockets from being fired on its southern communities, Hamas has suspended its use of rockets and shifted focus to winning support at home and abroad through cultural initiatives and public relations."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Hypocrisy and the Honduran Coup - Term Limits Only Apply When Governments Benefit People
Special Note - A quote...."In 1954, conservative Dwight Eisenhower authorized the CIA to overthrow Guatemala’s government, a coup modeled on a 1953 "regime change" in Iran. In 1964-65, liberal Lyndon Johnson authorized coup d'etats in Brazil and the Dominican Republic. When Dominicans revolted, Johnson sent in troops. -- In mid September 1970, conservative National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger and President Richard Nixon concluded Chileans had elected the wrong government; so they decided to alter Chilean destiny by replacing Dr. Salvador Allende's democratic government with 17 years of military fascism, 1973-90."

Honduran Coup Leader Coming to Miami Saturday?
A quote...."If it is true that General Vasquez is coming to Miami - is he already in the U.S.? - this raises a number of questions."

- this guy is welcome in the U.S.?
- could he not be detained by U.S. authorities?
- how will he be welcomed by the good citizens of Miami?

Honduras closes border as exiled leader plots return
A quote...."The military-supported government of Honduras imposed a curfew on the border with Nicaragua ahead of a planned crossing Friday by ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who is seeking to end his month-long exile."

Honduras: Anti-Chavez ‘free speech’ warriors linked to coup
A quote...."The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) is well known for its mission to expose the Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chavez as a threat to free speech “all over the continent”. -- These brave free speech warriors made a big deal this year about how they “dared” to hold a meeting in the Venezuelan capital, “defying” the repression of Chavez’s “dictatorial” regime. -- It turns out that the IAPA has found little to condemn in regards to the dictatorship that has installed itself by military force in Honduras."
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Does The Current Global Crisis Remind Us Of The Great Depression?
Must Read - A quote...."Predictions as above do not tell us much, given that the unfolding of the crisis has just began with an intensity in terms of the crash in the financial sector and the output and job losses which do not convey the message that the crisis is of a less serious nature. It may however, be relevant to compare the two scenes, first by looking at the build-up of the crises at the respective points of time. Second, we look at the set of policies as were adopted in the respective years, mostly to address the failing system. Finally we look at the global spread of the crisis with its repercussions, not just in terms of macro-economic aggregates but also as policy changes at national levels which include protectionism , exchange controls and related moves."

The Record of the Federal Reserve
Must Read - Chart - A quote...."From 1776 to 1912 (136 years), the value of the dollar, relative to the Consumer Price Index, increased by 11%. A dollar could buy 11% more goods in 1912 than in 1776. Thus, if in 1776, you sat on your savings pile of $1,000,000 for 136 years, it would then be worth $1,110,000 in purchasing power (it will have appreciated in value by 11%). A loaf of bread for Thomas Jefferson cost the same as a loaf of bread for Lincoln 50 years later and again the same for J.P. Morgan 50 years after that."

The FED: No Exit
Related Article - A quote...."The FED used to manage monetary policy, and that was about all. Today it’s engaged in fiscal actions that have to do with the government’s debts. The two main ones are that it is buying $300 billion of U.S. Treasuries and it is buying $1.25 trillion of mortgage-backed and agency debts."

HOLY !@#!! Treasury Auction Schedule: $235 Billion Over The Next Week!
Related Article - A quote...."“There is a very good chance that America will default on its government debt sometimes during this administration.” -- "And there is an extremely good chance that the currency will be very debased and weakened a lot during this presidency.” -- *Jim Rogers*, (05/06/09)

AIG and the System - The Masters of Perfidy
A quote...."The first clue that something was terribly amiss with the insurance giant AIG should have been made manifest when the conglomerate began offering products--and financial products at that. What exactly does an insurance company produce? The short and nasty answer is that AIG manufactured precisely what it was meant to guard against. Namely, risk. Extreme risk."

Commercial Real Estate Crashing Even Faster than Residential
Chart - Full quote...."Rolfe Winkler- who is always worth reading - has created a stunning graph showing how fast commercial real estate is declining: -- (click here for Rolfe's full graph). The red line is residential real estate, and the blue is commercial. -- Note how much more quickly the commercial market has been crashing. As Rolfe points out, since October 2007, commercial is down 35%. Residential is down 33% since its peak, but the decline started more than a year earlier - in July 2006. -- Commercial real estate is down 28% since September 2008."

Morgan Stanley sets aside 72% of revenue to pay bonuses
Ha, ha, haaaaa.  It's gotten funny again.....for the moment. - mpg -- A quote...."Morgan Stanley is setting aside a huge sum to pay out bonuses despite posting its third consecutive quarterly loss and admitting it is disappointed with key departments. -- The US bank's latest results show it is allocating $3.9bn (£2.36bn) for paying out to staff, 72% of its net revenues. That dwarfs the percentage of revenue set aside by arch rival Goldman Sachs, where workers are on track for large bonuses after record results last week." - also posted at BLN - For more on this issue see....Having Fun With Your Tax Dollars

Bankrupt US parts maker Delphi dumps pension obligations
A quote...."About $6.2 billion in pension liabilities of bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi will be assumed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), an independent US government agency tasked with protecting private pension plans. Delphi is the largest parts supplier for General Motors, which emerged from bankruptcy on June 20."

Existing-Home Sales Rise; Prices Fall - Some good news. - mpg
A quote...."WASHINGTON -- Existing-home sales rose again in June from the previous month, but prices are still down sharply compared with last year. -- Home resales rose more than expected, by 3.6%, to a 4.89 million annual rate from a revised 4.72 million in May, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday." - However --- "Foreclosures and short sales reflect 31% of sales in June. Distressed property sales have pushed prices lower, year over year. The median price for an existing home last month was $181,800, a 15.4% decrease from June 2008."

New US weekly jobless claims jump
Some not so good new, it is however a lagging indicator, but NOT if it keeps up at this rate. - mpg -- A quote...."WASHINGTON — New claims for US unemployment benefits jumped last week, in line with market expectations, as employers cut payrolls to cope with the severe recession, government data showed Thursday."

Wednesday July 22nd 2009

9/11 Shock Opera… Act 4 – Building 7 and Flight 93: The Grand Finale that Wasn’t -- A quote...."Prologue: The Premise -- Scott Creighton -- Take yourself back to that day when you watched or listened to the attack on America; the day that everything changed. Remember where you were, who you were with, and most importantly, how you felt." -- Alt  -- For more on these issues see....9/11 - NORAD 

World Trade Center Build 7 - The Evidence - Read notes - vid - (utb 10m 050808)

SEC: No Records Regarding Destroyed WTC 7 Investigation Files - Alt
Secret C.I.A. Site in New York Was Destroyed on Sept. 11 - Alt - Alt
SEC & EEOC: Attack Delays Investigations - Alt - Alt
FEMA: No Records Identifying WTC 7 Department Of Defense Branch Office
What Was In Building 7? - tenent database
 Diesel Tanks May Have Destroyed Building and Secret Files on 9/11  - timeline
On 9/11 a THIRD Skyscraper Plunged to Earth: - Alt

For more on this issue see....9/11 - WTC7 - Updated