Fear Not - posted at ICH
Must Read - (Awesome analysis.) - August 17, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- So many people have circulated so many warnings of the forthcoming US-Israeli attack on Iran that it is hard to ignore them. A piece  written by a few ex-spooks warning of a new round of war is one of these messages. In our view, spooks, ex or not, are not the most reliable people, and the CIA is not the best reference. However, this item fits with the dire predictions of Fidel Castro. It fits with the recent heating up of the Gaza and Lebanon borders. It fits with the relocation of some American warships and accompanying Israeli U-boats to the shores of Iran. Rumours of Israeli advance forces being placed in Azerbaijan and even Saudi Arabia  are used as supportive evidence. The Lobby's agents relentlessly call for war. They blackmail America, saying: if Obama will not attack, Netanyahu will, and the US will anyway be forced to fight. This is the bottom line of Jeffrey Goldberg’s long piece in the Atlantic magazine..  On the other hand, we have heard the cry "wolf" so many times from so many people that now we are perfectly blasé.   For quite a few years now, hardly a month has gone by without a serious warning of an impending attack on Iran." - For more on this sort of issue see....The Black Bull Died Today

None Dare Call It Tyranny - Article also posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."If you want to know what tyranny is like, look around. -- The national government — specifically the executive branch — can do pretty much what it wants. It could bomb Iran tomorrow without a declaration of war from Congress. It can — and does — conduct secret wars and covert operations against countries that have done nothing to us. Of course, they are secret only to the ignorant taxpayers who must finance them and perhaps suffer when the provoked retaliation occurs. It can have men behind PlayStation consoles in Nevada fire Hellfire missiles from aerial drones on people in Pakistan, Yemen, and elsewhere."

Understanding America's Class System - Honk if you love caviar - Article also posted at ICH
Must Read - This is Joe Bageant at his absolute best and a don't miss, must read analysis, of Amerikan politics as it really IS! - mpg -- Quote of the Day...."After decades of hyper-militant consumerism and its attending alienation, and a national consciousness spun from pure capitalist bullshit and mirrors, it is testimony to the American people that they can still see to piss straight, much less recognize any sort of truth whatsoever. Yet, a portion of Americans are beginning to grasp the truth about what has happened to their country -- that it has been bought and paid for by an elite class in a nation that is supposed to be classless. They are beginning to realize that, when it comes to actually governing our country, we are powerless as individuals -- even members of the political class -- and serve the overall will of its true owners. It's been that way so long we've become conditioned to accept it as a natural state, something we cannot change, and do not even know how to question, because, like the atmosphere, it's just there. -- The higher truth is something we recognize when we encounter it. We may not have the right words, or all the facts, but we can feel it in our bones. Intuition is the first glimmer in the distance. It goes unsaid that we always have the choice of not looking in truth's direction, or not looking for it at all. Seldom is it a pleasant sight, which is the chief sign that it is truth. Even the best of it arrives to the sound of ominous bells."

Keiser Report №69: Markets! Finance! Scandal!
Must View MKVideo - Alt - (MKRTYuTb - 26min 49sec - August 17, 2010) - Source:  RussiaToday - From:  MaxKeiserTV -- A quote...."This time Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, look at the scandals of swindled nuns, bounty hunters for small time fraud and Irish banks in a 'league of their own.' In the second half of the show, Max talks to economist, Shir Hever of the Alternative Information Center, about the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions movement and about the economics of occupation."

Racketeers for Capitalism - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."August 18, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- By Cindy Sheehan -- I remember when the US war dead in Iraq reached 1000 sometime in the summer of 2005. My youngest child and her boyfriend accompanied me to a vigil in Davis, Ca. where we held candles, pictures of Casey, each other, and sobbed-not just for Casey, but for all the rest, also. And not just for the Americans, but for the Iraqis, too."

They Made a Killing: Did people who knew about secret, CIA-led coups use that information to game the stock market? -- From the History File - Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008, at 7:07 AM ET -- A quote...."In 1951, Jacobo Árbenz Gúzman became Guatemala's second democratically elected president. Árbenz's authoritarian predecessors had been very sympathetic to American business interests, particularly those of the United Fruit Co. (now Chiquita), which had bought up land titles on the cheap from Guatemala's corrupt elite for its ever-expanding banana empire. Once in office, Presidente Árbenz sought to take it all back, nationalizing UFC's Guatemalan assets and redistributing them to the poor." - also posted at DProgram

Economic Hitmen by John Perkins(Cartoon)
Animated Video - Alt - (DPYuTb - 2m8s - August 17, 2010) - Source:  dprogramtv -- A quote...."An animated interview of John Perkins, author of 'HoodWinked' and 'Confessions Of An Economic Hitman'"

America’s Biggest Jobs Program — the U.S. Military - posted at ICH
A quote...."August 17, 2010 "Information Clearing House" --- -- America’s biggest — and only major — jobs program is the U.S. military. -- Over 1,400,000 Americans are now on active duty; another 833,000 are in the reserves, many full time. Another 1,600,000 Americans work in companies that supply the military with everything from weapons to utensils. (I’m not even including all the foreign contractors employing non-US citizens.) -- If we didn’t have this giant military jobs program, the U.S. unemployment rate would be over 11.5 percent today instead of 9.5 percent. -- And without our military jobs program personal incomes would be dropping faster. The Commerce Department reported Monday the only major metro areas where both net earnings and personal incomes rose last year were San Antonio, Texas, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. — because all three have high concentrations of military and federal jobs."

Ron Paul: The American Empire Can’t Afford Another War
Must View AJVideo - RP&AJ(1/2) - RP&AJ(1/2) - (AJYuTb - 10 min - August 17, 2010) - Source:  TheAlexJonesChannel - A quote...."Alex welcomes back Congressman Ron Paul to the show to discuss the latest on Iran, legislation in the house, and more. Dr. Paul is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. During the 1960s, he served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force."

Paul Craig Roberts – America is Truly being Destroyed by Design – The Alex Jones Show
AJVideo - PCR&AJ(1/3) - PCR&AJ(2/3) - PCR&AJ(3/3) - (AJYuTb - 10 min - August 17, 2010) - Source:  TheAlexJonesChannel -- A quote...."Alex ~ talks with Paul Craig Roberts about his article, The Ecstasy of Empire, and his latest book, How the Economy Was Lost: The War of the Worlds. Alex also covers the latest news and takes your calls."

Now it's 'Obama's War': President sees same number of U.S. troops - 575 - die in Afghanistan as during Bush years
A quote...."Afghanistan was dubbed ‘Obama’s War’ last night after it was revealed that as many American soldiers have died in the conflict during his presidency as during George Bush’s entire time in office." - bold by website editor - also posted at Uruknet
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Public Enemy Number One, The American Press – Stealing America’s Freedoms Like A Thief In The Night
A quote...."It’s 2010 and a few members of congress have noted that we have a corruption problem in Afghanistan.  Over a period of 9 years. $2.4 trillion dollars has been stolen with a dozen enquiries, dozens of reports, audits, all saying the same thing.  The “war on terror” was more “pickpocketing” and not so much “Osama bin Waldo.”  It’s 2010 and reports are trickling in that, just maybe, terrorist mastermind Osama has been dead for years and years.  More reports tell us, finally, that he never ran a terror organization at all.   For years, all those threats from a dead man.  What a pack of fools we are." - also posted at MyCatBirdsSeat & DProgram

Israeli settlers expand campaign to manipulate entries on Wikipedia
Israeli Wikipedia Edits Alert - A quote...."The internet's open-source, user-edited encyclopedia called 'Wikipedia' has been targeted by Israeli governmental and non-governmental partisans since its inception, who have attempted to manipulate its contents to promote a Zionist agenda. This week, Israeli settlers launched a course for right-wing Israelis interested in helping to manipulate the contents of entries on the online encyclopedia." - also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq

Declassified Senate investigation files reveal clandestine Israeli PR campaign in America
Related Article - A quote...."Washington, DC: Declassified files from a Senate investigation into Israeli-funded covert public relations and lobbying activity in the United States were released by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on July 23rd, 2010.  The subpoenaed documents reveal Israel's clandestine programs for "cultivation of editors," the "stimulation and placement of suitable articles in the major consumer magazines" as well as US reporting about sensitive subjects such as the Dimona nuclear weapons facility.  --  Documents are now available for download from http://IRmep.org/ila/azc include...."

Other countries probing Bush-era torture — Why aren't we?
Because our Emperor said "Let's put the past behind us." - (He meant who really planned and carried out 9/11, lied us into several wars, promoted torture and th eshredding of the United State's constitution) - mpg  -- A quote...."WASHINGTON — In June, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case of a Canadian man who contends that U.S. authorities mistook him for an al Qaida operative in 2002 and shipped him to a secret prison in Syria, where he was beaten with electrical cables and held in a grave-like cell for 10 months." - also posted at Uruknet & CommonDreams

Secret terrorist tapes of 9/11 plotter Ramzi Binalshibh found under CIA desk - link posted at ICH
A quote...."Recordings of a 9/11 plotter being interrogated in a secret overseas prison were discovered under a desk by the CIA— even though the government told the Justice Department twice that such tapes did not exist. -- According to The Associated Press, the recordings—two video and one audio—show Ramzi Binalshibh being questioned in a jail in Rabat, Morocco in 2002. -- In 2005, the CIA destroyed 92 recordings of Al Qaeda members Abu Zubaydah and Abd al Nashiri when they were being waterboarded, according to U.S. officials who did not want to be identified because the tapes were supposed to remain top secret. They thought all the footage was wiped out." - For more on the two articles shown above see....9/11-Iraq-Torture Fables

The National Security Letter That Makes You Disappear
A quote...."One of the creepier weapons in the arsenal of the national-security state is the "national-security letter" or NSL. It's no ordinary letter, and it travels postage-free, but at enormous expense to the taxpayers. The FBI issues roughly 50,000 of them a year, and the Justice Department's own internal review in 2007 concluded that many of them were issued abusively, skirting the law and internal rules."

Corbett Report Interviews 9/11 Researcher Aidan Monaghan
Must Listen CRVideo - AM@CR(1/2) - AM@CR(2/2) - (CRYuTb - 14min - August 16, 2010) -- A quote...."(CorbettReport) – Aidan Monaghan of 911Blogger.com joins The Corbett Report to discuss his tireless efforts to uncover government documents about 9/11 via Freedom Of Information Act requests. We discuss some of the information he has uncovered and how others can follow in this fruitful area of research. -- Visit Aidan Maonaghans blog on 9/11 Blogger and see all his work." - For more on this issue see  9/11-NORAD
 & Reficultnias's 9/11 Central

It was never suicide, says Dr Kelly's cousin as family finally breaks silence
A quote...."A close relative of Dr David Kelly broke the family's silence yesterday to voice fears that he was murdered. -- Wendy Wearmouth said she found it 'incredibly unlikely' that he committed suicide and suggested he was assassinated. -- She said that committing suicide would have been 'totally against his whole way of being'."
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Release the Kagan: Neocon Nabob Hired by Team Obama
Special Note - (The PNAC Protocols are STILL being followed to the letter folks, and this nation's presstitutes STILL aren't covering any of it. - mpg) -- A quote...."That's right; Frederick Kagan, the neocon architect of the Iraq "surge," the epitome of the armchair warriors who have sent thousands of human beings (including their fellow Americans) to needless death and plunged millions more into needless suffering, has been hired by the Peace Laureate Administration to serve as guide and counsel to the Laureate's newly appointed military supremo. -- It goes without saying that Kagan -- yet another spawn of the Project for a New American Century, that gaggle of bloodthirsty Beltwayers who openly longed, in September 2000, for a "new Pearl Harbor" to scare the American public into supporting the group's hyper-militarist agenda -- is not an expert on "fighting corruption" or on Afghanistan, just as he knew nothing about Iraq. He is an "expert" on one topic only: churning out bullshit to justify war. And that is exactly why he has been hired by Obama and Petraeus. "

US Announces Second Fake End to Iraq War
A quote...."It was another of those great TV moments. Embedded reports filming as the “last” brigade of American troops in Iraq cross the border into Kuwait bringing over seven years of unhappy conflict to its final, conclusive end. America was, at last, at peace."

Afghan villagers protest night raid
A quote...."Hundreds of villagers have blocked a highway in eastern Afghanistan to protest a night raid by Nato and Afghan soldiers that left two people dead."

Lebanon sentences Israeli spies to death
A quote...."A Lebanese court has sentenced two men to death on charges of carrying out espionage activities for the notorious Israeli spy agency, Mossad."

Russia to boost military role in Armenia: minister
A quote...."YEREVAN: Russia will extend its military presence and guarantee Armenia’s security under a new defence deal, Armenia’s foreign minister said Wednesday, boosting Moscow’s clout in the strategic Caucasus region." - also posted at WarInIraq

Russia may join Tajik-Pakistani electricity project
A quote...."Russia will consider participating in an ambitious project to deliver electricity from Tajikistan to Pakistan, Russia's foreign minister said on Wednesday."

Russia resolute on Bushehr plant launch
A quote...."With Iran's first nuclear power plant ready to be inaugurated, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says Moscow has always been determined to complete the project."

Russian Official Voices Support for Iran's Nuclear Rights
A quote...."August 18, 2010 (Hamsayeh.Net) - Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov today during a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi in Moscow, once again voiced full support for Iran’s right to access peaceful nuclear technology."

Iran to unveil new air defense system
A quote...."Iran is set to inaugurate the production line of a long-range air-defense missile system on August 22 to counter any likely air attack on the country. -- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi described the production of the missile system as yet another achievement by Iranian defense experts, saying "the Karrar anti-aircraft defense system will be inaugurated on August 22."

China Opens Missile Plant In Iran...
Special Note - A quote...."I recently posted: China has recently received fifteen S-300 batteries from Russia, at a time it is also building similar copycat weapons that are just as good, called HQ-15 to HQ-19, depending on range. Selling 4 or 5 surplus S-300 batteries to Iran, a major oil supplier and recipient of some 100 billion in investment would seem to be a matter of courtesy among countries with such common interests...  The story below confirms the tight relationship between Iran and China and the near certainty that Iran already has all the S-300's and HQ-19, the Chinese equivalent to the S-400 it will ever need..."

25,000 Jews live in Iran
A quote...."25,000 Jews live in Iran. It’s the largest Jewish population in the Middle East outside of Israel. Iranian Jews are not persecuted or abused by the state, in fact, they are protected under Iran’s constitution. They are free to practice their religion and to vote in elections. They are not stopped and searched at checkpoints, they are not brutalized by an occupying army, and they are not herded into a densely-populated penal colony (Gaza) where they are deprived of the basic means of survival. Iranian Jews live in dignity and enjoy the benefits of citizenship." - also posted at MyCat'sBirdSeat & AmericanEveryman

Could China Already Be World's Largest Economy?
Video - MC&RTTV - (RTYuTb - 1m32s - August 17, 2010) - Source:  RussiaToday - From:  GRTV -- A quote...."It has been widely predicted that China's economy will become the largest in the world by the year 2020, overtaking the US. -- This week alone the country was said to have surpassed Japan to become the world's second biggest economy in terms of GDP. Earlier this year it officially overtook Germany to become the biggest exporter."

US-Colombia pact 'unconstitutional' - link posted at ICH
Special Note - OH OH!!  Now the US-NRE's parasites can no longer get away with bribing a few of Columbia's generals, now they're going to have to pony-up and actually bribe the whole Columbian congress.  This could get really expensive!! - mpg -- A quote...."Colombia's constitutional court has declared a US-Colombian accord that gave the US military access to at least seven Colombian bases to be unconstitutional. -- The court ordered the government on Tuesday to submit the agreement to the Colombian congress, arguing that it should be executed in the form of an international treaty that would be subject to congressional approval in order to comply with constitutional norms."

Three Men Massacred in Aguan, Honduras
Special Note - (Ahhhhhh, more delicious deaths for Hideous Hillary to celebrate.  For more on that issue see....US support Death Sqds - Hideous Hillary's Happy Honduran Hit Squads) -- A quote...."Dear friends of the Unified Campesino Movement of Aguan (MUCA), -- With great grief we are informing you that today at 1pm our compañeros Victor Manuel Mata Oliva, 40, Sergio Magdiel Amaya, 18, and a child Roldin Marel Villeda, 15 were massacred in the area between El Bridge and the Panama Cooperative in the municipality of Trujillo, department of Colon. -- The assassinated men were members of the Campesino Corporation of San Esteban and of the Unified Campesino Movement of Aguan. They were assassinated as they drove to Tocoa for a meeting in the zone known as the Margen Izquierda del Rio Aguan."

Documents Reveal Nixon Administration Urged Death Threats for Uruguayan Prisoners
Special Note - (Don't you just love all these dirty little secrets coming out?  Before you say yes, they're probably just one, one-thousandth, of what the US-NRE really did, and is still doing, south of the border.  Just think about that for awhile folks.- mpg) --  A quote...."Documents posted by the National Security Archive on the 40th anniversary of the death of U.S. advisor Dan Mitrione in Uruguay show the Nixon administration recommended a “threat to kill [detained insurgent] Sendic and other key [leftist insurgent] MLN prisoners if Mitrione is killed.” The secret cable from U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers, made public here for the first time, instructed U.S. Ambassador Charles Adair: “If this has not been considered, you should raise it with the Government of Uruguay at once.” - bold/underline by website editor
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Freedom Rider: Israel, Big Money and Obama
Special Note - A quote...."Wealthy Americans whose paramount issue is unlimited support for Israel create huge distortions in U.S. politics, bending presidents to their will. Barack Obama’s career has long been nurtured by one such billionaire hyper-Zionist, who hopes to instigate an attack on Iran."

Is Canada passing information on its citizens to Israel?
A quote...."On 7 April, Freda Guttman, a 76-year-old Jewish Montrealer, received a visit from agents of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS). She slammed the door on them so it's not clear if the visit was related to her role in Tadamon!, a Middle East solidarity collective, or her friendship with Canadian activist (and occasional contributor to The Electronic Intifada) Stefan Christoff."

Israel's multi-front war on Lebanese resistance
A quote...."The international coverage of border clashes between Lebanese and Israeli military forces earlier this month may have suggested the confrontation was a mere squabble over cutting a tree that went awry in a "trigger-happy" and "conflict-prone" region. Less than a week later, one of several recent speeches by Hizballah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah managed to get brief global media coverage. He presented visual and audio material suggesting that Israel may have assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005." 

The secrets in Israel’s archives: Evidence of ethnic cleansing kept under lock and key
A quote...."History may be written by the victors, as Winston Churchill is said to have observed, but the opening up of archives can threaten a nation every bit as much as the unearthing of mass graves. --  That danger explains a decision quietly taken last month by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to extend by an additional 20 years the country’s 50-year rule for the release of sensitive documents."

Arabs face increased discrimination at Tel Aviv University
A quote...."Measures designed to benefit Jewish school-leavers applying for places in Israeli higher education at the cost of their Palestinian Arab counterparts have been criticized by lawyers and human rights groups."

Zionist Occupation Force Says it Had to Kill Zoo Animals; They were part of Hamas
Contains Videos - From the History File - January 31, 2009  - Alt - Alt - (By the way folks, this is your tax dollars at work....enjoy the show. - mpg) -- A quote...."Monkeys and camels were among many animals killed by Israeli fire at a Gaza zoo. -- The Gaza Zoo reeks of death, a month ago, it was attracting families - he says the zoo drew up to 1,000 visitors each day. He points at the foot-long hole in the camel in one of the enclosures. -- "This camel was pregnant, a missile went into her back," he tells us. "Look, look at her face. She was in pain when she died." -- Around every corner, inside almost every cage are dead animals, who have been lying in their cages since the Israeli incursion. -- Qasim doesn't understand why they chose to destroy his zoo. And it's difficult to disagree with him. Most of them have been shot at point blank range. - "The first thing the Israelis did was shoot at the lions - the animals ran out of their cage and into the office building. Actually they hid there."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

The Mavi Marmara Inquiry: Denying the Obvious - link posted at ICH
Special Note - A quote...." They are all lying, of course. The pro-Palestinian activists who said that the flotilla of ships that tried to breach the Israeli blockade and bring aid to the Gaza Strip had purely humanitarian goals were lying, and so are the Israeli officials who blandly insist that the blockade is solely to stop offensive weapons from reaching the Hamas-ruled enclave. But only the Israeli commandos who seized the ships and killed nine people had guns. -- The flotilla had a clear propaganda purpose, seeking a confrontation that would draw attention to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip and the plight of the Palestinians. The blockade has the clear political purpose of squeezing the million-and-a-half Palestinians in that open-air prison and turning them against the Hamas regime that currently rules them. Nobody wanted it to end in deaths - but there were nine dead civilians and no dead Israelis."

What the World's 'Most Moral' Army Doesn't Want You to See
A quote...."Some British Jews are desperate to stop the truth about the Jewish state being spread around. The Jewish Chronicle reported today that Jewish “Community leaders are battling to stop an exhibition of paintings by children from Gaza being shown in schools in the North of England.”

Court holds state responsible for shooting of Palestinian girl
A quote...."A Jerusalem court on Monday held the state responsible for killing killing a 10-year-old Palestinian girl in January 2007. -- In a civil suit, the court ruled that border guards had either been negligent or disobeyed orders in shooting Abir Aramin with a rubber bullet, calling the incident ‘totally unjustifiable’. -- The judge ruled ordered the government to pay damages to the girl’s family, with the exact amount to be determined later."

Witnesses: Settlers beat 10-year-old Palestinian girl
A quote...."HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli settlers assaulted a 10-year-old Palestinian girl on Sunday evening and an Israeli military jeep struck an 8-year-old boy in Hebron, witnesses said." - also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq

Live ammunition used on demonstrators in Gaza who move a section of the buffer-zone fence
A quote...."On Tuesday morning a demonstration in Gaza by Palestinian activists from Local Initiative Beit Hanoun, with four International Solidarity Movement volunteers and other international activists and journalists was met with live ammunition fired by the Israeli army." - also posted at Uruknet

Israeli fighters launch 4 attacks on Gaza
A quote...."The Israeli Air Force has launched four aerial attacks on the southern Gaza Strip, but fails to inflict any injuries on the targeted Palestinians. -- Two of the Tuesday assaults hit near Rafah and north of the city of Khan Yunis, near the border with Egypt, AFP reported, citing Palestinian security sources and witnesses."

Israeli tanks roll into Gaza Strip
A quote...."According to Hamas security officials, six Israeli tanks crossed into the area and one of them fired shells at a house near the town of Khan Yunis on Tuesday, Reuters reported. -- In return, Palestinians fired mortars toward the Israelis, wounding two soldiers. -- The Israeli army confirmed the injuries, saying that the two soldiers were taken to hospital to receive treatment."

UK Embraces the Boycott
Boycott, Divest and Sanction, because it's something YOU as an INDIVIDUAL, CAN DO!! -- A quote..."In late June, the Methodist Church of Britain, the fourth largest Christian denomination in the UK with 70 million members worldwide, voted to boycott Israeli-produced goods and services from the West Bank because of Israel’s “illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.” - For more on how to Boycott, Divest and Sanction the state of Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website.

Lebanon grants Palestinian refugees right to work - link posted at ICH
A quote...."BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament adopted on Tuesday a law granting full employment rights to the roughly 400,000 Palestinian refugees living in the country, a high-ranking official said."
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Dr Keynes killed the patient
A quote...."A morbidly obese gentleman labored into Dr Hayek's office suffering from severe chest pain. The patient also complained that he was unable to consume his usual 10,000 calorie-per-day diet; in fact, he was feeling so sick that he could barely scarf down 9,000 calories. He pleaded that his love for food remained as strong as ever, but his body just wasn't keeping up with his demands."

CPI Has Nothing To Do With Deflation Risk
A quote...."Bloomberg today reports  that the first rise in CPI in four months has reduced fears of deflation. This is silly. Between 2000 and 2008, the Federal Reserve ignored the bubble in home prices because rents failed to rise, and CPI measures rent (or home rental equivalent) rather than home prices. Now that home prices have collapsed, and homeowners are being turned out of their dwellings, rents have stabilized, because fewer people can buy houses and must rent instead. This is the consequence of a 22% all in unemployment rate. The only thing that has reflated during the dead-cat bounce that earlier masqueraded as recovery was the corporate profit picture, achieved largely through cost-cutting (more unemployment) or financial manipulation by the Fed, which handed banks the steepest yield curve in history."

US Bankruptcies Surge To 5 Year High, One In A Hundred Nevadans Filed For Bankruptcy In Last Twelve Months -- A quote...."The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reports that personal bankruptcy filings for the year ended June 30, 2010 surged to a five year high, hitting 1.57 million, a 20% increase from the prior year. Furthermore, in the period between April and June, there were 422,061 bankruptcy filings, a 9% increase from the 388,148 in the previous quarter, and up 11% from 381,073 a year earlier."

Housing Starts in U.S. Increased Less Than Forecast in July
A quote...."Work began on fewer homes than forecast in July and building permits fell to the lowest level in more than a year, indicating little evidence of a rebound in U.S. construction following an expired tax credit."

U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Drops to Lowest Since March 2009
A quote...."Builders in the U.S. unexpectedly turned pessimistic in August, a sign the expiration of a government tax credit will keep depressing home construction."

Southern California Home Sales Drop 21 Percent - link posted at ICH
A quote...."LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A tracking firm says home sales in Southern California plummeted more than 21 percent last month from July 2009, their biggest drop in more than two years."

Axing the Bankers’ Money Tree: Homeowners' Rebellion against Wall Street - OH OH!!
A quote...."Over 62 million mortgages are now held in the name of MERS, an electronic recording system devised by and for the convenience of the mortgage industry.  A California bankruptcy court, following landmark cases in other jurisdictions, recently held that this electronic shortcut breaks the chain of title, voiding foreclosure.  The logical result could be 62 million homes that are foreclosure-proof."

Britain’s National Health Service saddled with massive debts
A quote...."Last week, the BBC published figures from the Department of Health that show the extent to which the previous Labour government mortgaged the future of the National Health Service, saddling it with a legacy of debt that will have to be paid off for decades to come."

China Cuts Long-Term Treasuries By Most Ever as Yields Drop
A quote...."China cut its holdings of Treasury notes and bonds by the most ever, raising speculation a plunge in U.S. yields that sent two-year rates to a record low has made government securities unattractive."

Time is running out for the West
A quote...."The Great Recession has dramatically shrunk the time left for the big AAA states to prevent a full-blown sovereign debt crisis as their demographic time-bomb threatens, US rating agency Moody's has warned."

Mounting Opposition to GMO Crops: The World’s People Reject Genetic Pollution of Food and the Environment
A quote...."Early Sunday morning, French police stood help  less as sixty people, locked inside an open-air field of genetically modified grapevines, uprooted all the plants.  In Spain last month, dozens of people destroyed two GMO fields. On the millennial cusp, Indian farmers burned Bt cotton in their Cremate Monsanto campaign. Ignored by multinational corporations and corrupt public policy makers, citizens act to protect the food supply and the planet."

No posts. - mpg

Former Pakistani ISI Chief Hamid Gul – “God Help America!!” – The Alex Jones Show
Must View Video - HG&AJ(1/4) - HG&AJ(2/4) - HG&AJ(3/4) - HG&AJ(4/4) - (AJYuTb - 10min - August 16, 2010) - Source:  TheAlexJonesChannel - Some of Gul's statements are self-serving, most of what he says has great relevance, even wisdom, all of it is a lot of fun to listen to. - mpg -- A quote...."In a landmark interview, Alex talks with former director of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, Hamid Gul. Mr. Gul recently characterized the “leaked” Wikileaks documents implicating him in a string of attacks against US and NATO forces in Afghanistan as “malicious, fictitious, and preposterous.”

The Ecstasy of Empire: How Close Is America’s Demise? - Without a revolution, Americans are history
Special Note - A quote...."The United States is running out of time to get its budget and trade deficits under control.  Despite the urgency of the situation, 2010 has been wasted in hype about a non-existent recovery.  As recently as August 2 Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner penned a New York Times Column, “Welcome to the Recovery.” - also posted at ZeroHedge & OnlineJournal

10 Signs The U.S. is Becoming a Third World Country
Special Note - A quote...."The United States by every measure is hanging on by a thread to its First World status.  Saddled by debt, engaged in wars on multiple fronts with a rising police state at home, declining economic productivity, and wild currency fluctuations all threaten America's future."

Bushiness as usual  - posted at OnlineJournal
Special Note - A quote...."With Obama’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs, ragging on the “professional left,” saying they should be drug tested if they aren’t happy about what Obama has done, it brings into focus where things stand in regard to Obama, the people who worked for him and put him into office, what he promised and what he has delivered."
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Gates to Iraqis – We’ll stay, just ask us
A quote...."A revealing article appeared in Voice of America (VOA) on August 12.  Defense Secretary Robert Gates made the following statement:"


"At the time of this post, if you do a Google "News" search for the sentence underlined, you will find it only at the VOA source.  The article notes that Gates made the statement, "to reporters on his aircraft during a domestic trip on Wednesday."  Apparently, it wasn’t newsworthy except to the official news agency for the United States government."

Afghan gov't: 4 months to disband security firms
A quote...."Associated Press Writers= KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan's president is setting a four-month deadline for private security companies to cease operations in the country, his spokesman said Monday."

Taliban: greatest guerrilla insurgency?
Special Note - A quote...."As the war in Afghanistan continues nine years on, author James Fergusson analyses the success of the Taliban and asks how the insurgency has managed to endure the world's mightiest armies." - also posted at Uruknet

Taliban call for joint inquiry into civilian Afghan deaths considered
A quote...."Nato and the United Nations are cautiously considering a Taliban proposal to set up a joint commission to investigate allegations of civilians being killed and wounded in the conflict in Afghanistan, diplomats in Kabul have told the Guardian." - also posted at Uruknet

Obama Warns Erdogan over Israel, Gives Ultimatum
The article could also have been titled...."Obama Kisses More Israeli/AIPAC Butt" - It's simply disgusting folks, five million members of the "Jewish Community" living in Israel, on YOUR tax-dollar dime, in subsidized housing, womb to tomb medical care, with a US-NRE supplied "shop till ya'drop" economy and they get to dictate to this this country its entire foreign policy and have its bought and paid for politicians spend oceans of this nation's blood and trillions worth of its treasure on Israel's behalf.  It's just completely disgraceful, most of the people in this nation are mindless, cud-chewing, goy-cattle. - mpg -- For more on this sort of issue see....One Vile, Venom Tipped, Taloned Hand Washes the Other - (a.k.a. The Standard Model) - 07-28-10 - mpg

How High A Price is President Obama Willing to Pay For a Bad Iran Policy?
A quote...."Today, in The Financial Times, Daniel Dombey reports, see here, that “President Obama has personally warned Turkey’s prime minister that unless Ankara shifts its position on Israel and Iran it stands little chance of obtaining the US weapons it wants to buy”.  A senior Obama Administration official told Dombey that “The president has said to [Turkey’s Prime Minister] Erdoğan that some of the actions that Turkey has taken have caused questions to be raised on the Hill…about whether we can have confidence in Turkey as an ally.  That means that some of the requests Turkey has made of us, for example in providing some of the weaponry that it would like to fight the PKK, will be harder for us to move through Congress”. - bold by website editor - Website editor's note:  The US-NRE just threatened Turkey with Israel's ally the PKK. - For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror  - MEK, PKK, Others

'Iran will build 20 new nuclear plants'
A quote...."As Iran's first power plant is set to come online in mid-September, the country needs more nuclear power plants to meet its electricity needs, an Iranian lawmaker says."

Hezbollah ruins Israeli drone contract
A quote...."Hezbollah's recent revelation in airing photos taken by Israel's unmanned surveillance planes has markedly affected the sale of the drones. -- On August 9, Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said the Lebanese resistance movement had intercepted Israeli drone transmissions and used the intelligence in a deadly attack on Israeli commandos in the Lebanese coastal village of Antsaria back in 1997."

Venezuela Ready to Supply Iran's needed Gasoline
A quote...."  Tehran, August 16, 2010 (Hamsayeh.Net) - Oil-giant Venezuela says ready to export gasoline to Iran as soon as a need arise. Venezuelan Ambassador to Tehran David Velazquez today reiterated his nation’s support and preparedness to supply up to 20,000 barrels of gasoline to Iran when required. --  ‘We are ready at any time Iran announces its needs, we will provide it with its needed gasoline,’ Iran’s Fars news Agency quoted Velasquez as saying on Monday."

President of El Salvador to visit Cuba
A quote...."Mauricio Funes, the president of El Salvador, will pay an official visit to Cuba for the first time since diplomatic ties between the two states were restored about a year ago. -- El Salvador severed diplomatic ties with Havana in 1961, but ties resumed when Funes took office in summer 2009."
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Bin Laden is Dead; Long Live “Bin Laden”
Special Note - A quote....""In the trigger-happy post-9/11 world, the favoured way to instigate a war is to demand that the designated “evildoer” prove a negative. -- Iraq was invaded because it couldn’t prove that it didn’t have WMDs. Iran is under constant threat of attack unless it can demonstrate that it’s not seeking nuclear weapons. And now Pakistan is being chastised for allegedly harbouring Osama bin Laden—who in all probability has been dead and buried for eight years." - For more on this issue see....US Fake Intel / Propaganda - "al-Qaeda" videos
 & Judeo-Christian C/C & US - Rita Katz

OOOPSIE, WHAT WAS ISRAEL UP TO?
Israeli False Flag?  Saudi Royal False Flag? - A quote...."Well well, what have we here? Remember those non-existant terrorist weapons Israel claimed were on the Freedom Flotilla so they could murder nine muslims? Perhaps Israle should look closer to home, because it was not the Freedom flotiall loaded with terrorist weapons but rather Israeli boats that are loaded with terrorist weapons from the terrorist state."


Dr Kelly: Just one in five believes it was suicide as official cause of death is branded 'impossible'
A quote...."The official verdict that Dr David Kelly committed suicide has been overwhelmingly rejected by the public. -- According to an exclusive Mail opinion poll, only one in five people accepts the Hutton Inquiry’s finding that the government weapons inspector took his own life. -- The survey also reveals that eight out of ten people want a full inquest. With senior MPs making the same demand, the Coalition is under strong pressure to act."

8-4-10 New Evidence About Prisoners Held in Secret CIA Prisons in Poland and Romania
A quote...."On Friday, the Polish Border Guard Office released a number of documents to the Warsaw-based Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, which, for the first time, provide details of the number of prisoners transferred by the CIA to a secret prison in Poland between December 5, 2002 and September 22, 2003, and, in one case, the number of prisoners who were subsequently transferred to a secret CIA prison in Romania. The documents (available here and here) provide important information about the secret prison at Szymany, in north eastern Poland, and also add to what is known about the program in Romania, which has received far less scrutiny."

The Scott Sisters: Victimized by American Injustice
A quote...."The Scott Sisters: Victimized by American Injustice - by Stephen Lendman -- Their story is shocking, disturbing, yet common - African Americans indicted, prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned despite their innocence. Nearly always society's most vulnerable are affected, including Muslims by the "war on terror" and people of color - Jamie and Gladys Scott's experience explained below. -- Updated information on their case and status can be found on Free the Scott Sisters.blogspot.com, accessed through the following link:" - also posted at Uruknet

Internet Kill Switch Bill Moves Closer To Senate Vote
A quote...."An Internet kill switch bill that would give President Obama the power to shut down parts of the world wide web for a period of at least four months without congressional oversight has moved closer to a Senate vote, with one of its primary advocates, Democratic co-chairman of the House Cybersecurity Caucus Jim Langevin, threatening a “cyber-9/11″ if the legislation is not quickly passed." - also posted at DProgram

Court halts Calif. gay marriages pending appeal
A quote...."Attorneys for sponsors of the voter-approved measure applauded the decision. In seeking the emergency stay, they had argued that sanctioning same-sex unions while the case was on appeal would create legal chaos if the ban is eventually upheld. -- "I think the basic notion that this case is not final until it's gone through the complete appellate process really prevailed," said Douglas Napier, a lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal firm." - For more on this issue see....Kalifornia and the NRE - 08-04-10 - mpg
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

IOA decides to raze 30 Palestinian buildings in Jerusalem village
A quote...."OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) decided to demolish 30 Palestinian buildings in Kufr Aqab village located between occupied Jerusalem and Ramallah."

[Isreali] Official: Settlers uproot 200 olive trees south of Nablus
A quote...."NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli residents living on an illegal West Bank outpost uprooted over 200 olive trees near the Qusra village in the Nablus district Monday, a Palestinian Authority official said." - also posted at Uruknet - For more on this issue see....Israel's Scorched Earth

Two children injured in attacks by Israeli settlers in Al-Khalil
A quote..."AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- A Palestinian girl was severely beaten during a series of attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian homes in Al-Khalil."
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Guest Post: Gold Market Is Not “Fixed”, It’s Rigged
Must Read - Charts -- A quote...."In 1919 the major London gold dealers decided to get together in the offices of N.M. Rothschild to “fix” the price of gold each day. While this was notionally to find the clearing price at which all buying interest and all selling interest balanced the possibility for market manipulation and self-dealing is inherently systemic in such a cozy arrangement. This quaint anti-competitive procedure continues to this day. In no other market in the world do the major players get together each day and decide on a price. Imagine if Intel, AMD and Samsung were to meet each day to “fix” the price of microchips, or if the major oil companies were to meet each day to “fix” the price of crude oil; wouldn’t there be a public outcry and a flurry of antitrust violation lawsuits? The “fix’ is not open to the public, there are no published transcripts of each fixing, and there is no way to know what the representatives of the bullion banks discuss between each other."

Ending The "Cash On The Sidelines" Fallacy (Redux)
Must Read - A quote..."As Zero Hedge awaits patiently the conclusion of CapIQ's compilation of all Q2 earnings data before we complete our extended corporate cash model (we are confident this will be finalized within a week or two), we wanted to demonstrate one chart, via Nomura, that shows, as simplistically as possible, that even as corporate cash is at all time highs, corporate debt is just below all time records (and the recent decline in gross debt has only occurred courtesy of banks pushing up stock prices to artificially high levels, which has afforded many with equity refis opportunities to pay down existing debt, as well as asset dispositions). In other words, and this goes to shut up all those "cash on the sidelines" chatterboxes, net debt has barely declined from all time records. In a nutshell: total debt of over $7 trillion versus total cash of $2.6 trillion is still close to the highest net debt gearing in history.

TIC Data Confirms China Bond Sell Off Continues; Foreigners Dump Corporate Bonds And Stocks
Market Tech Note - A quote...."Today's Treasury International Capital data had some unpleasant disclosures about the flow and size of international capital flows. The gross headline number of inflows was as expected higher, coming in at $44.4 billion, consisting of $33.9 billion in net foreign purchases of long-term securities ($16.6 billion purchases by private investors and 17.3 billion by official institutions), as well as $10.4 billion in sales of foreign securities by US individuals. This brought total foreign holdings of US securities to just over $4 trillion for the first time ever, or $4,009 billion. So far so good, however looking at the composition of purchases, it appears that foreigners were frontrunning the Fed already in June - they bought $33.3 billion in LT Treasuries, and $18.2 billion in agencies, precisely the categories that the Fed would be monetizing, even as they sold $13.5 billion in corporate bonds (the highest amount since January 2010), and $4.1 billion in corporate stocks, the most since July 2008."

China Favors Euro Over Dollar as Bernanke Alters Path
Related Article - A quote...."China, whose $2.45 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves are the world’s largest, is turning bullish on Europe and Japan at the expense of the U.S. -- The nation has been buying “quite a lot” of European bonds, said Yu Yongding, a former adviser to the People’s Bank of China who was part of a foreign-policy advisory committee that visited France, Spain and Germany from June 20 to July 2. Japan’s Ministry of Finance said Aug. 9 that China bought 1.73 trillion yen ($20.1 billion) more Japanese debt than it sold in the first half of 2010, the fastest pace of purchases in at least five years." - also posted at BLN

10 Year Yield Plunges To 2.57% As Bond Market Goes Full Retard
Chart - A quote...."The surge in the 10 Year has just gone full retard. In the meantime, behind the scenes of Wall Street's rates desks there are some serious Tijuana donkey shows going on."

[US] Home-builders index slumps to 17-month low
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Home-builder confidence slumped in August to a 17-month low, according to a report released Monday, in another indicator of a tentative housing market."

Empire State factory index rebounds a bit in Aug.
Full quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Conditions for manufacturing in the New York region improved a bit in August from July but still remained well below levels of earlier in the summer, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said Monday. The bank's Empire State Manufacturing index rose to 7.1 in August from 5.1 in July. While positive, it is well below the high of 31.9 in April and 19.6 in June and suggests growth at only a modest pace. The details of the report were fairly weak. The index for new orders and shipments dipped below zero for the first time since June 2009. The unfilled orders index was negative for the fifth straight month. On the positive side, the index of employees rose to its highest level since May. The average workweek also increased."

UAE Imports Five Tons of Fake Gold
A quote...."Several tons of gold imported into the UAE by traders and investors turned out to be fake on closer inspection, resulting in millions of dirhams in losses and high levels of stress to the victims."

What Should A Poor Warmongering Neoconservative Do? - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."August 13, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- What  should a poor warmongering Neoconservative do? This political grouping includes WASPS such as former CIA director James Woolsey and former UN ambassor John Bolton, but at its core is politically active and extremely wealthy Jewish former Democrats who broke with their party in the 1980s to become war hawks in Republican administrations, and most of whom are rooted in Rightwing Zionism as exemplified in the thought of prominent fascist theorist Vladimir Jabotinsky. (They are almost mirror images of the general American Jewish community, 79 percent of which voted for Barack Obama, which is skittish about foreign wars and liberal on social issues).  --  The Neoconservative faction is in the political wilderness in the United States. Eager to play the role in Iran that the enormous floods have played in Pakistan, of paralyzing and destroying much of a thriving country, eager to reduce the shining city of Isfahan to rubble and displace its population into massive tent cities, they find their path blocked at every turn."

Meet some Pentagon Traitors Who Are Selling Out America
Must Read - A quote...."When the American public gets lied to AGAIN, about troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan and the USA starts bombing Iran to make Israel happy, you can thank these backstabbers who have chosen allegiance to apartheid, genocide, bigotry and hate over their Constitutional oath to protect THIS country, not Khazaristan."

Reverse the Revolution of 1963
Must Read - A quote...."Complaints about President Obama's foreign policy can be heard among those who voted for change from his predecessor. But determining what to do about Guantanamo Bay, the rights of suspected terrorists and even finding ways to end the failed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will only address symptoms of a deeper problem. -- Not even a revolution will cause substantial change if no one knows the root of what harms our nation. We should understand that we had a revolution in 1963. It would serve us well to recall how we got from there to here: -- In November of that year, several shots fired from different directions felled President John Kennedy in broad daylight in Dallas, Texas. An innocent man, Lee Harvey Oswald, was framed for the crime and the authorities missed several leads, such as dozens of "ear" witnesses who said the fatal shot came from in front of the president's motorcade." -- For more on this type of issue (not the assassination) see....the ten year economic/war cycle.

Five Steps to Tyranny
Contains Video - Alt - (GoglVid - 59m:18s - 1 year ago) -  A quote...."Five Steps to Tyranny tells the story of how human nature allows us to descend into a barbaric society. A primetime documentary film for the BBC’s Human Rights Human Wrongs series."

Press Release: Coalition for an Ethical Psychology Charges APA with Complicity in Bush-Era Torture Interrogations
A quote...."As the American Psychological Association (APA) meets this weekend in San Diego, CA, for its annual convention, the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology today released a letter to APA President Carol Goodheart  detailing the APA’s complicity and failure to act in ethics scandals involving psychologists who aided the U.S. government’s torture program. (PDF of letter to Goodheart is available HERE) - bold by website editor - also posted at Uruknet

Guantanamo trials draw strong criticism  - And the 9/11 cover-up continues....mpg
A quote...."US NAVAL BASE AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA (AFP) – The first Guantanamo trials under President Barack Obama have drawn sharp criticism after disputed evidence was allowed in one and a secret plea-deal was reached in another." -- For more on this issue see....9/11-Iraq-Torture Fables

Flashback: Records show feds used ultra-right radio host for years
From the History File - Sunday, November 29, 2009 -- A quote...."For more than five years, Hal Turner of North Bergen lived a double life. -- The public knew him as an ultra-right-wing radio talk show host and Internet blogger with an audience of neo-Nazis and white supremacists attracted to his scorched-earth racism and bare-knuckles bashing of public figures. But to the FBI, and its expanding domestic counter-terror intelligence operations in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Turner was "Valhalla" — his code name as an informant who spied on his own controversial followers."

How Truth Can Save Lives - posted at ConsortiumNews
A quote...."If independent-minded Web sites, like WikiLeaks or, say, Consortiumnews.com, existed 43 years ago, I might have risen to the occasion and helped save the lives of some 25,000 U.S. soldiers, and a million Vietnamese, by exposing the lies contained in just one SECRET/EYES ONLY cable from Saigon."

An Open Letter to Potential Whistleblowers: Wikileaks May be a State Department “Honeypot”- You Have Other Options - Web Caution - Editor's Note:  It's hard to tell what websites may or may not be a honey-pot.  So if you really need to get something out, broadcast it to the bes websites out there (not this one), and let it go viral. - mpg -- A quote...."In Part 1 of this essay, “The Genesis of the Whistleblower Honeypot, Wikileaks“, we explored one possible motivation behind the CIA and the State Department setting up an international fake whistleblower site like Wikileaks; damage control. Since most dissidents understand the MSM and corporate news print media is controlled and therefore untrustworthy these days (and have been for decades), potential whistleblowers would look for an alternative outlet to publish material that would be potentially damaging to the administration’s globalist agenda. So why not create one, hype it with carefully staged “leaked” material, and then let the “rats” come to them."
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Imbalance of Power, the Middle East Problem
Special Note - Quote of the Day...."Let us be realistic, the hypothetical creation of a just social contract by the international community that would liberate the Palestinians from their subjection and inequality has failed. Lack of progress in reaching a just solution to the Palestinian/Syrian/Lebanese conflicts with Israel is due to the imbalance of military power in favor of Israel vs. the Arab states combined. As long as the imbalance exists, the Israeli wars will continue to reign uncontrolled and there will be little hope that justice will prevail."

Iraq: Al-Dawa Party 'Unanimously' Vote to Drop Al-Maliki - link posted at ICH
A quote...."Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat- Informed sources within the National Alliance that traditionally included the Iraqi National Alliance [INA], led by Ammar al-Hakim, and the State of Law Coalition [SLC], led by Nuri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister whose term has expired, said that the Al-Dawa Party has unanimously decided to choose an alternative for Al-Maliki as a candidate to head the next government."

NATO admits five Afghan civilians killed in air strike
A quote...."KABUL (AFP) – NATO acknowledged on Sunday that five Afghan civilians appeared to have been killed by one of its air strikes, carried out to help fend off a Taliban attack in the south of the country."

60% of foreign military deaths in Afghanistan are Americans  - link posted at ICH
A quote...."Total foreign military deaths in Afghanistan have passed 2,000 since the war began in late 2001, unofficial tallies showed yesterday, more than 60% of them Americans but still far behind ever-growing civilian casualties."

Foreign troops deaths in Afghanistan pass 2,000
A quote...."KABUL: Total foreign military deaths in Afghanistan have passed 2,000 since the war began in late 2001, unofficial tallies showed on Sunday, more than 60 per cent of them Americans but still far behind ever-growing civilian casualties."

US mulls reconciliation with Taliban
A quote...."The top US and NATO Commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, has held out the prospect of eventual reconciliation with the Taliban."

Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan: Diplomacy of brotherhood  - posted at OnlineJournal
A quote...."The trilateral summit of the presidents of three Persian-speaking countries of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan wrapped up on August 5 in Tehran and recorded another unforgettable event in the memory of the three brother nations. With innumerable cultural, religious, social, lingual and strategic commonalities, the three countries of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan have demonstrated their potentiality to build one of the strongest diplomatic partnerships in the region and benefit the world nations through a unique, fruitful and constructive cooperation."

OIC backs Iran nuclear program
A quote...."Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has expressed support for Tehran's nuclear program, lauding Iran's strategic role in the region."

Bushehr fuel to be loaded Sep 16
A quote...."A senior Iranian lawmaker says nuclear fuel will be loaded into the long-delayed Bushehr power plant on September 16 to make the nuclear reactor operational."

Nuclear Generated Electricity to Join National Grid Within 3 Months
A quote...."We are doing our best efforts in a bid to have the Bushehr nuclear power plant reach 50% of its nominal power within three months: Iran's Head of Atomic Agency."

Iran plans new enrichment centers
A quote...."Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi says Tehran will begin constructing another enrichment plant by early 2011. -- "Studies for the location of 10 other uranium enrichment facilities has ended," IRIB quoted Salehi as saying late Sunday."

'Iran ups gas export to Europe'
A quote...."Iran has increased its natural gas exports to Europe by 50 percent in line with the country's policies for a larger share in the global gas market, a report says."

Mullen: Iran attack 'destabilizing'
A quote...."US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has warned against a military strike against Iran over its nuclear program, saying it would be "incredibly destabilizing."
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U.S. to Provide Israel With 20 Joint Strike Fighters
A quote...."Tel Aviv earlier said that the purchase of F-35 fighters would effectively eliminate the threat from Russian-made S-300 air defense systems because a series of computer simulations had clearly demonstrated that new U.S. stealth fighters outperform the Russian missiles." - For more on this sort of issue see....One Vile, Venom Tipped, Taloned Hand Washes the Other - (a.k.a. The Standard Model) - 07-28-10 - mpg

Universal Jurisdiction to Hold Israel Accountable
A quote...."The well-established universal jurisdiction principle (UJ) holds that certain crimes are too grave to ignore, including genocide, crimes of war and against humanity. -- Thus, under UJ, nations may investigate and prosecute foreign nationals when their country of residence or origin won't, can't, or hasn't for any reason. Israel used it to convict and execute Adolph Eichmann. A US court sentenced Chuckie Taylor, son of the former Liberian president, to 97 years in prison for torture." - also posted at Uruknet & WarIsACrime
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Hamas and secular groups, oppose direct talks with Israel
A quote...."DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Two secular Palestinian organizations joined Hamas on Sunday in calling on President Mahmoud Abbas not to bow to U.S. pressure to resume direct peace talks with Israel, which they described as dangerous." - For more on this issue see quote shown below....


Occupied Prayer
Photo Gallery - A quote...."On the first Friday of Ramadan, mass prayer to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem from the West Bank went smoothly - at least for men over the age of 50, and women over the age of 45. Whilst a large number of young Palestinians were prevented from entering the Old City. ST McNeil reporting and photographing." - also posted at Uruknet

EL MAJDALAWI: Shining lights from out of the darkness 13Aug10
A quote...."Mohammed Fares Al-Majdalawi is a filmmaker, social worker and the Assistant Coordinator of ‘Lets Learn English’ in rural Gaza.  He describes the importance of reaching out not only to Palestinian kids in rural areas, but their mothers too."

Zoabi: I have the right to citizenship
A quote...."Balad Party MK Haneen Zoabi on Sunday blasted Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein for allegedly failing to reject out of hand a request by Interior Minister Eli Yishai  to rescind her Israeli citizenship for having sailed on the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara, which tried to break the naval blockade on the Gaza Strip last May."

Israel To Demolish More Homes In The Jordan Valley
A quote...."Israeli soldiers invaded on Sunday morning the Al Farsiyya area in the northern plains area of the Jordan Valley, and handed orders informing the residents that the army intends to demolish homes and structures."

Netanyahu Running with Nowhere to Hide
A quote...." Last week the US government and media lauded Israel’s decision to cooperate with a UN investigation into the Freedom Flotilla raid. Although Israeli opinion was more critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision, the general consensus realized he had no choice. Stonewall here and Israel would have absolutely nothing to stand on going into the pivotal month of September, when Israel’s settlement “freeze” in the West Bank expires and the UN will debate Palestinian statehood."

Another Blow to Israel: Harvard University Fund Sells all Israel Holdings
Boycott, Divest and Sanction, because Israel has ENOUGH of OUR MONEY ALREADY....don't you think folks?!?! - mpg -- A quote...."In another blow to Israeli shares, the Harvard Management Company notified the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday that it had sold all its holdings in Israeli companies during the second quarter of 2010. No reason for the sale was mentioned. The Harvard Management Company manages Harvard University’s endowment." - For more on how to Boycott, Divest and Sanction the state of Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website.

WELCOME TO THE ISRAEL DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGN (IDC)
California Action Alert - Boycott, Divest and Sanction, because Israel has helped to murder enough people (including 9/11) and stolen enough land already!!  It's time to put a stop to it!! - mpg - A quote...."The IDC is qualifying a ballot initiative in California, titled the Divestment of State Retirement Funds from Israel Act, to require California's public retirement systems, the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) and the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS), to sell stocks held in companies that support Israeli settlements or provide military equipment and services to the State of Israel."
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Crisis...What Crisis? Profits Soar! - Article also posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."While progressives and leftists write about the "crises of capitalism", manufacturers, petroleum companies, bankers and most other major corporations on both sides of the Atlantic and Pacific coast are chuckling all the way to the bank."

Visualizing The Past Of The Treasury Yield Curve, And Deconstructing The Great Confusion Surrounding Its Future
Chart - Bond Market Tech Note - A quote...."The chart below shows the UST yield curve over the past 20 years: as is more than obvious, every single point left of the 10 Year is at record tights. The only question on everyone's lips is where do we go from here. And that is where the confusion really hits. "

Dreadful Market Perceptions
A quote...."As we explained in the last issue that when GDP figures are again revised we would find 2nd quarter GDP growth was really 1.3% to 1.5%, not 2.4% revised down from 3.7%. This experience points out the really bogus nature of government statistics. Several months ago we projected that without QE the economy in the 3rd quarter would result in 1% growth and minus 1% in the 4th quarter. Insiders on wall Street knew months ago that we’d get QE, which was announced on Wednesday by the FOMC and that is why they projected GDP growth for the 2nd half of 1-1/2%. We project zero to 1%. Even with a $5 trillion injection over the next two years by the Fed, we can only project 1-1/2% growth accompanied by 14% plus inflation. If you own gold and silver you will be happy. Such stimulus eventually fails and burns out, markets fall and interest rates rise."

Guest Post: Mass Delusion - American Style
Charts - A quote...."The American public thinks they are rugged individualists, who come to conclusions based upon sound reason and a rational thought process. The truth is that the vast majority of Americans act like a herd of cattle or a horde of lemmings. Throughout history there have been many instances of mass delusion. They include the South Sea Company bubble, Mississippi Company bubble, Dutch Tulip bubble, and Salem witch trials. It appears that mass delusion has replaced baseball as the national past-time in America. In the space of the last 15 years the American public have fallen for the three whopper delusions...."

1. Buy stocks for the long run
2. Homes are always a great investment
3. Globalization will benefit all Americans

Bill Bonner and Lila Rajiva ponder why people have always acted in a herd like manner in their outstanding book"Mobs, Messiahs and Markets", [GoglBkSrch]*..." - *links added - also posted at ZeroHedge

America Enters a New Time
A quote...."I went to get my hair cut the other day in the town of Fortuna and waited ten minutes when the elderly barber finished buzz-cutting a young Mexican American. After the young man had exited under his thin skullcap of black stubble, Don the barber sighed and said, “That’s the third boy I’ve cut today who’s headed into the Marines. They all say the same thing. “There’s no work around here and I’ve got a family to support.” When I tell them to hold off, they say the same thing: “Too late. I’ve signed up.”

Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many
A quote...."Richard Gaines is one of the best-known faces on Camden's Haddon Avenue. It is a rough-and-tumble street, lined with cheap businesses and boarded-up houses, and is prey to drug gangs. Gaines, 50, runs a barbershop, a hair salon and a fitness business. He works hard and is committed to his community. But Haddon Avenue is not an easy place to make a living in the best of times. And these are far from the best of times."

[US] Income Slips in 45 of Biggest Cities  - link posted at ICH
A quote...."Total personal income declined last year in 45 of the nation’s 50 biggest markets, according to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis."

The Trade Deficit Nightmare
A quote...."When they hear the word deficit, most Americans immediately think of the U.S. government budget deficit which is rapidly spiralling out of control.  But that is not the only deficit which is ripping the U.S. economy to shreds.  In fact, many economists commonly speak of the “twin deficits” that are destroying the U.S. financial system.  So what is the “other deficit” that they are referring to?  It is the trade deficit."

[UK] food prices up 58%: With ~ a freeze on wages, the cost of groceries has rocketed since 2007 - link @ ICH
A quote...."[British] Shoppers are paying up to 58 per cent more for basic grocery items than they were three years ago, according to figures published today."

Greece sinks further into recession as European economy falters
A quote...."The Greek economy sank further into recession in the second quarter of this year. According to the latest figures from the Greek statistics bureau, the economy shrank by 1.5 percent April through June, as compared to the first three months of this year. This decline follows a prior fall in Greek gross domestic product (GDP) for January through March."

No posts. - mpg

Seeds of Deconstruction
Must View Video - (outstanding video!!) - Previously posted August 9th 2010 -- A quote...."A two and half hour investigative documentary on 7/7: Seeds of Deconstruction, which examines some of the questions and conspiracy theories about 7/7, the July 7th 2005 London Bombings.[and much, much more]" - For more on this sort of issue see....One Vile, Venom Tipped, Taloned Hand Washes the Other - (a.k.a. The Standard Model) - 07-28-10 - mpg

9/11: He couldn't fly a single-engine aircraft, but was able to fly a Boeing 757?
Special Note  - A quote...."Hani Hanjour, the aerial acrobat that we were told did an amazing feat of flying by piloting a Boeing 757 into the Pentagon, except ol' Hani couldn't even fly a small, single-engine prop plane." - For more on this issue see....9/11-NORAD

'Let's Get Rid of This Goddamn Sim': How NORAD Radar Screens Displayed False Tracks All Through the 9/11 Attacks -- Special Note - A quote...."Military personnel responsible for defending U.S. airspace had false tracks displayed on their radar screens throughout the entire duration of the 9/11 attacks, as part of the simulation for a training exercise being conducted that day. Technicians at NORAD's Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) were still receiving the simulated radar information around the time the third attack, on the Pentagon, took place. Those at NORAD's operations center in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, were still receiving it several minutes after United Airlines Flight 93 apparently crashed in rural Pennsylvania." - For more on this issue see....9/11-NORAD

The “BuildingWhat?” NYC Television Advertising Campaign - BuildingWhat.org
Special Note - A quote...."The “BuildingWhat?” Television Advertising Campaign - BuildingWhat.org -- "Recognizing the high correlation between those who know about the collapse of WTC 7 and those who believe that a new - or rather real - 9/11 investigation is needed, I propose that the international 9/11 Truth Movement initiate, starting this September, a world-wide, year-long 'BuildingWhat?' campaign. Through this campaign, we would seek to make the fact of its collapse so widely known that the mention of Building 7 would never again evoke the question: 'Building What?'" - For more on this issue see....9/11-WTC7
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Military Suicides and Guilty Consciences
Must Read - A quote...."American statists and imperialists are coming up with all sorts of explanations to explain the epidemic of suicides among U.S. military personnel. The most popular explanations are war stress and stress at home. -- I’ve got another possible cause: guilt, arising from the wrongful killing of other human beings." - bold by website editor

Is Robert Gibbs Right About the "Professional Left"?
Must Read - Quote of the Day...."August 13, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- I figured it out. -- I figured out why White House press secretary Robert Gibbs is so pissed off at the professional left. It's because the P.L.'s thought that Barack Obama was sincere when he promised to close Guantanamo, end the war in Iraq, pass a decent health care bill, clean up Wall Street, push through "card check", restore habeas corpus, and change Washington. They didn't realize that the "Hope Campaign" was a fraud and that Obama was another flannel-mouth, silver-spoon, Harvard-educated phony who'd promise anything to get elected, and then kick his supporters down the stairwell as soon as the votes were tallied. They believed in him. They trusted him."

A Neocon Preps US for War with Iran
Must Read - A quote...."August 13, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- I guess I was naïve in thinking that The Atlantic and its American-Israeli writer Jeffrey Goldberg might shy away from arguing for yet another war — this one with Iran — while the cauldrons are still boiling in Afghanistan and Iraq. -- It’s worth remembering how Goldberg helped to make the case for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. For instance, on Oct. 3, 2002, as America’s war fever was building, Goldberg wrote in Slate, the online magazine...."

"A Sustainable Level of Bank Profits Appears to be About 1% of GDP". Higher Bank Profits Lead to a Ponzi Economy and a Depression -- Must Read - Charts - A quote....""I've previously noted that concentration of all the poker chips in a couple of hands ends the poker game. -- And I've repeatedly pointed out that when banks get too big, it hurts the economy. -- I've also noted that the government actually encouraged the big banks to get bigger and bigger (and see this, this and this). As just one example, the Treasury Department encouraged banks to use the bailout money to buy their competitors, and pushed through an amendment to the tax laws which rewards mergers in the banking industry. -- The government has also given the big banks many tens of trillions of dollars. -- In that light, Phd economist and leading economic modeller Steve Keen makes an important new contribution to our understanding of the banking sector. -- Specifically, Keen's new model shows that bank profits above 1% of GDP are unsustainable, and lead to a Ponzi economy and - eventually - a depression:" - also posted at ZeroHedge

Monopoly Money and the International Banking Cartel
Must Read - A quote...."Federal Reserve System, Ivy League neoliberalism has been exposed for what it is -- Some people have asked what I mean by "international banking cartel" and if it really exists. indeed it is very real and it has profound power over our lives. here are the details..."

IDF link to blocking of "Internet killed Israeli PR" YouTube video?
Must View Video Satire - Isreali trolls also exposed (see article) || IntrntKldIsrliPR (DailyMotion) || IntrntKldIsrliPR (Viemo) || IntrntkldIsrliPR (YuTb) || 3min 59sec --  A quote...."The satirical video "Internet killed Israeli PR" that YouTube has blocked  from viewers in Israel was noticed almost as soon as it was posted on YouTube yesterday by a YouTube user called "rlandes7. He did not like it at all, as the screengrab with his comment shows...." -- "It turns out that "rlandes7" is almost certainly Richard Landes, a professor at Boston University who is notorious for his extreme anti-Palestinian views. He is also the father of Aliza Landes head of the North America desk of the "IDF [Israeli army] New Media Unit." Ms. Landes appears three times in the "Internet killed Israeli PR" video. We know that Richard Landes watched the video, because the pro-Israel blog blog Israel Matzav reported that Landes himself sent the video to them." - Additional Info from DaliyMotion link:  Useful links: bdsmovement.net and palestinefreedom.org for BDS & Palestine activism resources & news, artistsagainstapartheid.org to learn more about creative resistance to Israeli Apartheid." - also posted at Uruknet

Proudly on Wikileaks' Side
A quote...."I recently discussed the Pentagon's "demand" that Wikileaks cancel any plans to publish additional materials, and that Wikileaks "pull back" all the documents it has already released. It would appear the Pentagon believes that Wikileaks is staffed by monks living in secret caves, producing but a handful of illuminated manuscripts with infinite patience over many decades. "Pull back those illuminated manuscripts!" cries the Pentagon. "All nine of them!" So much for the U.S. government's understanding of the realities of the internet age. I suggest you avoid serious or prolonged contemplation of the fact that those who run the U.S. military combine the most frighteningly destructive power ever known to humankind with a level of understanding permanently halted somewhere around 1150 A.D." - also posted at Uruknet

Julian Assange: WikiLeaks and the State, Media Monopolies
Contains Video - Alt - (Note: size window for viewing first) - (ViddlerVid - 1hr 29min 55sec - Posted: 2010/08/14) -- A quote...."WikiLeaks is not a stateless organisation... all of our parts are in some state, all of our people  are in some state, we've won every court case in every state that we've been [in court] in.  It is true that we do play some kind of arbitrage between these states, and that affects the interim abuse of process - though we can keep publishing during process abuse proceedings and when we get to the end of proceedings we win - we've been quite good like that."

WikiLeaks and War Crimes
A quote...."Four months before WikiLeaks rocketed to international notoriety, the Robin Hoods of the Internet quietly published a confidential CIA document labeled "NOFORN" (for "no foreign nationals")—meaning that it should not be shared even with US allies. That's because the March "Red Cell Special Memorandum" was a call to arms for a propaganda war to influence public opinion in allied nations. The CIA report describes a crisis in European support for the Afghanistan war, noting that 80 percent of German and French citizens are against increasing their countries' military involvement. The report suggests that "Afghan women could serve as ideal messengers in humanizing the [International Security Assistance Force] role in combating the Taliban because of women's ability to speak personally and credibly about their experiences under the Taliban, their aspirations for the future, and their fears of a Taliban victory." - also posted at Uruknet

US spying spawns a dystopian epidemic
A quote...."The fact that the Post described a bureaucracy resembling the Oceanian province of Airstrip One in George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four - a world of perpetual war and pervasive government surveillance that allows the party to manipulate and control the public - is just icing on the cake for those who relish irony. -- That there is an alternative "Top Secret America" spread around the country is less worrisome than the fact that nobody is really sure of its scope or activities. In that sense it resembles Brazil, the 1985 film directed by Terry Gilliam, almost as much as it does Oceania. The ending of the first article in the Post series therefore seems particularly apt: "

Obama Demands Access to Internet Records, in Secret, and Without Court Review
A quote...."The Obama administration is seeking authority from Congress that would compel internet service providers (ISPs) to turn over records of an individual's internet activity for use in secretive FBI probes." - also posted at DProgram

Artist's Rendering Of Barack Obama's Desktop
Cartoon - And now for some humor - (click on the image to enlarge) -- A quote...."Continuing on the ever popular series of Artist Renderings of infamous desktops, which now includes Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner, and Lloyd Blankfein, we present the most recent addition: that of dear leader himself."
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Mr Blair : About Your Book Signing : Dedication Suggestions... Every letter of Every Word is Written in a Child's Blood - A quote...."    "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Psalms 16:18.)  ---  I note you will be signing your book, "A Journey", at Waterstone's flagship book shop, on London's Piccadilly, on the 8th September. As this will seemingly be a day when democracy is suspended, security near unprecedented, bags, cameras, briefcases, mobile 'phones checked in before being allowed to ask for your signature, I may not be able to get to near to you with these suggestions, so some ideas from afar for your dedications." - also posted at Uruknet - For more on this issue see....The Method - 05-07-07 - mpg

A prison that stains US moral authority
A quote...."The barbed wire fences of Guantanamo's infamous Camp X-Ray have been reclaimed by tropical vegetation and the detainees have been released from their steel shackles. But, as our series of special reports this week highlights, there are still 176 men held in custody in open defiance of the rule of law at the US naval base in Cuba where they have little hope of release. Their continuing detention, eight months after Barack Obama's self-imposed deadline for closing the camps, is an ongoing affront to international law and critically weakens America's moral authority. -- That authority was further undermined this week when the US administration resumed the hearings of the discredited military commissions which ensure American soldiers, sailors and airmen sit in judgment on those accused of war crimes against America." - also posted at CommonDreams - For more on this issue see....9/11-Iraq-Torture Fables

Omar Khadr Guantánamo military trial condemned
A quote...."Amnesty International Press Release -- Amnesty International has condemned the US government’s decision to go ahead with the military commission trial of Omar Khadr at the Guantánamo Bay detention centre, describing the move as another violation of human rights by the USA in the name of countering terrorism." - also posted at Uruknet

Afghan war logs reveal U.S. death squad’s crimes
A quote...."....when troops approached the rubble that was once a school, they recorded "initial assessment of 7 x NC KIA," which translates as "seven non-combatants killed in action." All of them were children. One of them was still alive: "The Med TM immediately cleared debris from the mouth and performed CPR." After 20 minutes, the child died. (WikiLeaks War Logs quoted in The Guardian, July 25)"

US Military Brass Urge Soldiers To Kill Indiscriminately
A quote...."Three former U.S. soldiers involved in the infamous "Collateral Murder" helicopter gunship attack on Baghdad civilians in July 2007, say that attack was nothing out of the ordinary. The massacre---that killed more than a dozen Iraqis, two of them employed by Reuters---ignited a wave of international revulsion against the U.S. military in Iraq when a video of the massacre was released by WikiLeaks last April." - also posted at WarInIraq & BLN

[US-NRE] Army Report: AWOLs Up 234%
A quote...."Tucked into this massive Army report  on suicide is an interesting fact: Since 2004, the number of soldiers going AWOL, deserting, and "missing movement" -- that is failing to deploy when they're supposed to -- has gone up a shocking 234 percent."
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The Point Of No Credibility: Jeffrey Goldberg Echoes Pastor Hagee
A quote...."Since publishing his long piece about the likelihood of a preemptive Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, “The Point Of No Return,” Jeffrey Goldberg has been accused by foreign policy writers from Hillary and Flynt Leverett to Stephen Walt to Tony Karon of using his access to top Israeli officials to promote Israeli military aggression. That was transparently obvious to me after reading his piece."

The *ZIOPROPS & Iran: you gotta look at the BIG PICTURE!...
A quote...."Commentators here and elsewhere have their panties in a twist at the thought of a US-Russian thawing of relations at the expense of Iran. However, in the context of NATO's continuing encroaching near Russia and China's borders, including the setting of interceptor missiles under false pretexts, Russia and China need to rely on friendly and like-minded countrie, like never before and, as usual, smoke and mirrors are the order of the day with the *ZIOPROPS... "

West Not Sincere With Iran: Official
A quote...."Ayatollah Jannati said for those who claim that the United States is now genuinely interested in talks it would be important to remember the events following Obama’s ascent into presidency. ‘Have you forgotten what they have done? Do you think they have changed? Do you think that Americans have come to their senses? They have not changed and are the same,’ Jannati said. According to Friday Prayers’ speaker, the US have yet set aside enmities toward Iran and if they show green light for talks it is simply out of disguise."

Salman oilfield project in final stages
A quote...."Salman oilfield development plan will finish in late February next year with 1.3 billion dollars of investment, some 70 percent of which pertains to local contractors. -- The field, jointly owned by Iran and UAE, is expected to produce 50,000 barrels of crude and 500 million cubic feet of gas per day from Kangan-Dalan layer."
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Report: Germany to cancel conscription, cut army by third
Special Note - A quote...."Berlin - Germany is considering cutting the size of its standing army by more than a third, and practically removing the country's long-standing military-service requirement, media reports said Friday."

U.S. Weapons Sale to Saudi Arabia Said to Reach $60 Billion
Special Note - A quote...."A proposed U.S. weapons sale to Saudi Arabia of Boeing Co. F-15 fighter jets also includes as many as 132 Boeing Apache attack helicopters and United Technologies Corp. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters that bring the total value of the package to around $60 billion, according to a government official familiar with the plan." - bold by website editor - For more on this sort of issue see....One Vile, Venom Tipped, Taloned Hand Washes the Other - (a.k.a. The Standard Model) - 07-28-10 - mpg

61 trucks loaded with 300 tons of explosives go missing in central India
OH OH!! - Wad'da they MEAN "61 trucks go missing", how can 61 trucks go MISSING?!?! - mpg -- A quote..."NEW DELHI, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Some 61 trucks loaded with over 300 tons of explosives have gone missing in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, a senior police official said Friday."

Kremlin regrets Lukashenko's "dishonesty, inconsistency"
A quote...."The Kremlin regrets Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's inconsistent policy towards recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia. -- "Alexander Lukashenko's dishonesty and lack of consistency towards this issue, as well as towards many others, has, unfortunately, long ago become a norm," a Kremlin source said."

Kremlin ready to publish Lukashenko's statements on South Ossetia, Abkhazia
Related Article - A quote...."The Kremlin is ready to publish transcript of the CSTO meeting, at which Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he was ready to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia, a Kremlin aide said on Saturday."

5G fighter to outstrip best analogs
A quote...."Russian fifth-generation T-50 fighter, which is currently being developed by the Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer, will outstrip best world analogs, Air Force Commander Colonel General Alexander Zelin said on Saturday."

Moscow, Central Economic region Air Defense to receive S-400, S-500 systems
A quote...."The Air Defense System of Moscow and the Russian Central Economic region will receive new weapons, including prestigious S-400 and S-500 air defense systems, Air Force Commander Colonel General Alexander Zelin said on Saturday."

Russia to modernize fifth Indian submarine
A quote...."A fifth Indian Kilo class diesel-electric submarine has arrived to Russia's Zvezdochka shipyard for an overhaul under a recent contract, the shipyard company said on Thursday."

US Military Threats Directed against China: Cold War Mindset Harms Peace
A quote...."by Rear Admiral Yang Yi  -- The US should refrain from provoking China through unnecessary military drills and respect its maritime concerns. --  The recent decision by the United States to involve its nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington in the scheduled joint naval drills with the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the Yellow Sea will further compromise its security strategy in East Asia."
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Death by Design....

Hezbollah shares Hariri case evidence [re: Israel's involvement]
A quote...."Hezbollah says it is ready to hand over evidence proving Israel's involvement in the murder of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri to Lebanese authorities."

Pentagon rejects new investigation into killing of Spanish cameraman by US troops in Iraq
A quote...."Last week, the Pentagon responded to the decision of the Spanish Supreme Court to reopen the investigation into the death of cameraman José Couso in 2003 in Iraq. It declared that US authorities had already acquitted the three soldiers involved of any crime. The Pentagon spokesman said that he did not want to discuss the content of the Supreme Court’s decision, adding that “it is the Spanish authorities who must deal with the particular details of this affair”." -- For more on this issue see....US-Killing the Messenger

Dr David Kelly was on a hitlist, says UN weapons expert as calls grow for full inquest
A quote...."A leading UN weapons inspector last night added his voice to the growing clamour for a full inquest into the death of Dr David Kelly. -- Dr Richard Spertzel claimed Dr Kelly was on a 'hitlist' in the final years of his life."

Experts urge full inquest into David Kelly death
Related Article - A quote...."LONDON — A group of prominent experts on Friday called for a full inquest into the death of government weapons inspector David Kelly, whose apparent suicide in July 2003 plunged then prime minister Tony Blair into crisis. -- The eight senior figures said in a letter to The Times newspaper that the official cause of death in the Kelly case, haemorrhage, was "extremely unlikely" in the light of evidence since made public." - also posted at WarInIraq

The Mysterious Death of Bush's Cyber-Guru
A quote...."Shortly before six o’clock on the evening of December 19, 2008, a man standing outside his home in Lake Township, Ohio heard the whine of an engine in the sky above him. -- Moments later two red lights broke through the low clouds, heading almost directly toward the ground. It was a light aircraft, and for a second, as it descended below the tree line, the man thought it would climb back up. Instead, there was a terrible thud, and the sky turned orange. When the fire crews arrived, they found the burning wreckage of a Piper Saratoga strewn across a vacant lot. The plane had narrowly missed a house, but the explosion was so intense that the home’s plastic siding was on fire. So was the grass. The pilot had been thrown from the plane and died instantly. Body parts and pieces of twisted metal were scattered everywhere. A prayer book lay open on the ground, its pages on fire. -- The crash would have remained a private tragedy confined to the pages of the local press and the hearts of the pilot’s widow and four children, but within days the blogosphere was abuzz with rumors and conspiracy theories: The plane, it was said, had been sabotaged and the pilot murdered to cover up the GOP’s alleged theft of the Ohio vote in the 2004 presidential election." - also posted at 9/11Blogger

Journalist murders spotlight Honduran government failures
A quote...."Seven journalists are murdered in a matter of weeks. After minimizing the crimes, Honduran authorities are slow and negligent in pursuing the killers. The government is fostering a climate of lawlessness that is allowing criminals to kill journalists with impunity. A CPJ Special Report by Mike O’Connor" -- For more on this issue see....US support Death Sqds - Hideous Hillary's Happy Honduran Hit Squads  - Updated!
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Seconnd Coming of the Nakba
A quote...."Well, well, looks like Obama might get that big pre-election boost after all. You know his ratings are in the tank, the economy is shite and he needs a big-ass Obama miracle, and quickly! He's got to start running his re-election campaign very soon as the teabaggers are arming themselves and the neocons and Repugs are nipping at his ankles. He needs a serious popularity boost, some headlines filled with praise and worship to confirm he IS the the world's hero. Hmmmm what can he do, wave a magic O-wand and repair the world banking crisis and US debt, create immediate jobs for all those Americans, end the two useless wars. No, the "Big O" is looking elsewhere for his "miracle" and me thinks it has something to do with that "Nobel Peace Prize" joke, awarded to him for "future" achievements."

East Jerusalem: Settlers Take Over Another House
A quote...."On the 29th of July another house in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City was taken over by settlers. Whilst the court makes its final decision, 8 of the 9 Palestinian families who were resident in the building for some 70 years were forced to find temporary accommodation elsewhere.Nicky Elliott visited the families."

Explaining Murder: Israeli Hasbara in Full Swing
A quote...."The hasbara industry is in full swing at the moment as Benjamin Netanyahu’s government pulls out all the stops to create a smokescreen to cover its crimes.  Leading from the front Mr Netanyahu sat in front of the Turkel Commission for four hours on Monday, although anyone hoping to hear anything of interest would have been disappointed."

Rights group: Teen tortured, held by Israeli forces
A quote...."BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian rights group Addameer said it received a sworn affidavit from a 17-year-old boy who said he was detained by Israeli forces at a West Bank checkpoint and tortured." - also posted at AlethoNews

PA: Israel detains media delegation in Qalqiliya
A quote...."QALQILIYA (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained a diplomatic and media delegation in Qalqiliya on Monday, the Information Ministry reported." - also posted at IP-MsngHdlns

Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (05 -11 August 2010)
Week in, week out, 24/7, for over sixty years.  What would you do? - mpg - also posted at Uruknet

• IOF continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
• Two Palestinian civilians were injured.
• IOF arrested 8 civilians, including 3 human rights defenders.
• IOF continued to fire at Palestinian farmers and workers in the Gaza Strip’s border areas.
• IOF conducted 9 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
• IOF arrested 54 Palestinian civilians, including 45 in Jalboun village near Jenin.
• Israel has continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
• Israeli troops stationed at military checkpoints and border crossings in the West Bank arrested 4 Palestinian children.
• Israel has continued to take measures aimed at creating a Jewish demographic majority in Jerusalem.
• The Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem destroyed dozens of graves in Ma'man Allah Cemetery in Jerusalem.
• IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
• IOF dismantled 6 tents in the Northern Jordan Valley.
• Israeli settlers attacked a woman in Hebron.
• A Palestinian civilian was injured and 3 cars were damaged in the east of Hebron.

Canadian postal workers put stamp of approval on bid to break Gaza blockade
Action Update - A quote...."The union for Canada's postal workers is sending a message of support to the Gaza Strip, backing a plan that would take a ship through the blockade of the Palestinian territory in the wake of Israel's suspension of mail delivery there."

150 Irish intellectuals call for boycotting Israel
Action Alert - Boycott, Divest and Sanction, because BDS WORKS! - mpg -- A quote...."World, August 14, (Pal Telegraph) 150 Irish intellectuals declared their cultural boycott [it SHOULD be a TOTAL boycott] of Israel as an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people's rights and until Israel respects international law." - For more on how to Boycott, Divest and Sanction the state of Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website.

First Hollywood film with Palestinian-American lead comes to NY
Event Announcement - A quote....""Salt of the Sea," an excellent Palestinian film with rare Hollywood power behind it -- the first ever with a Palestinian-American lead -- is opening in New York this weekend.  It's the story of a Palestinian woman from Brooklyn who travels to the Holy Land to reclaim what's hers only to find past injustices still locked down and an occupation destroying the hopes of a new generation.  She and a Palestinian man -- whose dream is to leave Palestine for good -- set off on a madcap adventure to defy injustice, no matter the cost." - also posted at AlethoNews

Letters from Palestine – a very special book
Book Review - A quote...."Very often, among activists for Palestine who are not Palestinians themselves, a sort of fraternity develops. Our love of Palestine is our primary common denominator, but how frequent it is (and how joyful and satisfying) when we find other affinities that create a strong bond after we’ve had such an important factor bring us together in the first place." - "Letters From Plaestine" [GoglBkSrch]* - *links added
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Eric Sprott: "We Are Now Paying For The Funeral Of Keynesian Theory"
Special Note - A quote...."Despite our firm’s history of investing primarily in equities, we’ve spent much of this past year writing about the government debt market. We’ve chosen to focus on government debt because we fear its impact on the equity markets as a whole. Government debt is an intrinsically important part of the financial landscape. It is the bellwether by which we measure risk, and we believe we have entered a new era where traditional "risk-free" assets are undergoing a tremendous shift in quality."

A Double-Dip Recession
A quote...."Promoting a revamped Keynesian economic theory – one without any guarantee of job growth – is the equivalent of selling a lifetime subscription to a revamped Playboy: one without any photos. It's a tough sell. Yet this is what Keynesians are facing today. This will be fun to watch. -- In the last few days, we have begun to see reports from mainstream Keynesian forecasters and economists who are talking about the possibility of a double-dip recession. -- For a year, we have been assured by experts that double-dip recessions are rare. They surely are. The last one was in Carter's final year, 1980 – which is why it was his final year – and Reagan's first year, 1981. As far as the National Bureau of Economic Research has reported, that was the only double-dip recession."

The Dollar's Third and Final Act
A quote...."The US credit system is in the midst of its third credit crisis since the advent of the Federal Reserve.

• The first credit crisis was a deflation that morphed into the Great Depression. (See Rothbard's: America's Great Depression.)
• The second credit crisis manifested itself in the stagflation of the 1970s. (See Rothbard's: For a New Liberty Chapter 9.)
  
• This [third] credit crisis began in 2000 and was greatly exacerbated by the housing bubble of 2001 to 2007. - A good discussion is Peter Schiff's:Crash Proof and Crash Proof 2.0.

All three episodes were the inevitable result of the prior credit inflation orchestrated by the Federal Reserve System. - also posted at InfoWars

One Quarter Of Home Sellers Slashed Their Prices Last Month: Trulia
Deflation Alert - A quote...."One in four U.S. home sellers reduced their asking prices in July, marking the fourth straight monthly increase in home price cuts, according to a new report by San Francisco-based real estate research firm Trulia.com. -- The price of homes in America's 50 largest cities was reduced by an average of 10 percent last month, totaling a dollar amount of $30.1 billion."

Foreclosure Crisis Spreads Across U.S.; Idaho Defaults Mount
A quote...."Nan Holmes, a senior escrow officer at a title insurer, says her insider’s view of the local market gave her the confidence three years ago to pay $370,000 for a new home in Boise, Idaho. She got a price she liked from the builder and 100 percent bank financing. -- That was before the bottom fell out of the housing market in California, Nevada and Florida as borrowers with bad credit began defaulting in record numbers, setting off a recession."

Ill.-based bank is 110th U.S. failure of the year
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Palos Heights, Ill.-based Palos Bank and Trust Company was closed by regulators Friday, marking the 110th U.S. bank failure of 2010. "

The victims of Ireland's [Bankster caused] economic collapse
A quote...."Ireland is, per capita, the most indebted country in the EU. Its budget deficit of 14.3% is higher even than in Greece. For a decade, the "celtic tiger" economy was the poster child of free-market globalisation. Now, this bedraggled alley cat of an economy is neo-liberalism's favourite example of how to cut your way to recovery. Ireland's government has slashed public sector spending by 7.5% of gross domestic product with a series of drastic cuts this year: public sector pay by 15%, child benefit by 10%, unemployment benefit by 4.1%. Another €3bn will be removed next year, a total of 10% of GDP over three years: these measures are equivalent to the British government slashing its budget not by the £6.25bn planned by George Osborne in 2010, but by an incomprehensibly gigantic £150bn. -- Yet despite the cuts, dubbed "masochistic" by the Financial Times, Ireland's debt is still growing, thanks to the desperate bailing out of its banks." - bold by website editor

Greece's economy deeper in [Bankster] recession than forecast
Related Article - A quote...."Greece's recession deepened more than expected in the second quarter of 2010 after the country was rocked by its financial crisis and a series of government measures to slash public debt. -- Investment dropped and public spending slumped in the three months to June as Greek politicians battled to regain the confidence of financial markets and meet the conditions of a multibillion-euro bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund."

Military Industrial Complex: Of 158 retired generals advising wars, 80% tied to defense industry; 29 are defense CEOs - Special Note - Just "follow the money" folks, that's all you need to know. - mpg -- For more on this type of issue see....New York Time's article - The Pentagon’s Hidden Hand -- A quote...."WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will release the names and roles of retired generals and admirals it hires to advise the military, the No. 2 Defense official announced today in an opinion piece in USA TODAY."- So he SAYS, everyone should just wait to see what the military actually DOES. - . - mpg

The War on Terror is a Sham
Special Note - Quote of the Day..."The United States has waged war in some 30 countries, dropped thousands of bombs on the people of those thirty countries, has employed nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in various conflicts, has endeavored to overthrow more than 50 foreign governments, has or has attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders, has quashed and suppressed dozens of legitimate nationalist/social movements all around the world, has caused the deaths of upwards of ten million people since WW2 via military invasions/interventions, coup d'etats, backing/supporting of right-wing dictators, arming/training/financing the terror and torture squads controlled by those dictators, CIA covert operations, and hundreds of terrorist provocations. The U.S. is the leading terrorist state in the world. So the claim that the U.S. is now leading a fight against terrorism, when it is the biggest state-sponsor of terrorism and without having owned up to its own terrorism, is the biggest hypocrisy in modern history. For evidence of this wicked U.S. behavior read Killing Hope and Rogue State by William Blum."

British are bunch of thick people ruled by a mafia, says Iran's vice president... and sparks row with our ambassador
Second Quote of the Day...."The British people and David Cameron have been labelled ‘thick’ by a senior member of Iran’s government. -- In a blistering diatribe against Britain, Mohammad-Reza Rahimi said: ‘They have plundered the world in the last 500 years and the young lad in charge now is even more stupid than his predecessor. It’s as if God has made this nation servants of America and Zionists.’ -- Iran’s First Vice President added: ‘England has nothing. Its inhabitants are not human, its officials are not responsible, and it doesn’t even have any natural resources. (They are) a bunch of thick people ruled by a mafia.’"

The European press and the WikiLeaks revelations - SHAME on the presstitutes in Europe! - mpg
A quote...."Two and a half weeks after the publication of 92,000 documents by the WikiLeaks web site, a cloak of silence has been thrown by the European press over the details the documents reveal about the brutal NATO occupation of Afghanistan."
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Afghan villages protest over Nato 'civilian killings'
A quote...."Villagers have held a protest over the deaths of three brothers allegedly killed in a raid by Nato-led forces in the eastern Afghan province of Wardak."

Poll Shows Rising Public Opposition to Afghan War
A quote...."Americans Generally Disapprove of Obama's Handling of the Afghan War. A new NBC/Wall Street Journal Survey (PDF) shows a public growing increasingly pessimistic about the Obama Administration’s handling of a number of issues, including a major rise in opposition to the Afghan War. Confidence is now plummeting, with 68% saying they feel “less confidence” about whether the war will reach a successful conclusion. Perhaps even more importantly, for the first time yet, the poll shows, the American public generally disapproves of the president’s handling of the Afghan War. The 44%-45% opposition was a stark drop in popularity of the war from five months ago, when they generally approved 53%-35%. This was even worse when the question was how President Obama had lived up to expectations on the war, with only 34% saying he had, and 57% saying that he had “fallen short” of what they were hoping for. Bill Van Auken: Opposition to Afghanistan war mounts as US intensifies offensive."

Hariri urges UN probe of Israel
A quote...."Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has called for a UN probe into the alleged Israeli role in the assassination of his father in 2005. -- Hariri's call for the probe came after Hezbollah said that Israel has been behind the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri."

'Bushehr plant's main tests complete'
A quote...."Iran has successfully carried out the principal tests of the country's first nuclear power plant as it gears up for launch in the near future, says an official. -- “A 250 bar (atmospheric) pressure test has been successfully carried out at the Bushehr nuclear plant in order to ensure the systems' working status,” IRNA quoted Mahmoud Jafari, a senior nuclear official with the plant, as saying on Thursday. -- "All the installations and tests are now complete and the plant is now headed for launch," he added." - also posted at WarInIraq

Dagestan plans to use 'ethnic' military units to fight militants
A quote...."Authorities in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan are planning to form military units enlisting local residents to fight militants in remote mountainous areas of the region, a Russian daily said Friday."

Venezuela: Fifteen police officers sentenced for unionists' deaths
A quote...."The Venezuelan Attorney General's Office announced on August 2 that the Fourth Trial Court of the eastern state of Anzoategui had handed down prison sentences to 15 police agents for the January 29, 2009 shooting deaths of two unionists at the Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC) Automotriz auto factory in the Los Montones de Barcelona industrial park, located outside the city of Barcelona." - also posted at AlethoNews

Paul Kagame: America's Genocidaire in Central Africa
A quote...."Precisely like his predecessor, President Obama empowers a pro-western Murder Inc. in Black Africa, a roster that includes the most vicious mass murderers and assassins on the continent. One of them, Rwanda's Paul Kagame, who is culpable in the death of millions in Congo, recently held an election in which he got 93 percent of the vote. But you won't hear any complaints from the White House." - also posted at Uruknet
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ICTS & the Israeli SLASHER, 'Eli', Traveling with an EXPIRED Passport
Must Read - A quote...."Traveling on an EXPIRED passport, thru Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and boarding on Delta Airlines. -- Just like another MOSSAD op, the Detriot 'Crotch Bomber,' Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who boarded at another ICTS airport in the Netherlands, without a passport. -- Who's the security provider to Delta? Our old friends at ICTS...." -- For more on this issue see....9/11 & 7/11  Israeli Connection & US-False Flag Ops - Detroits's "Lap-Bomber"

NIST piles it higher and deeper: structural engineer Anders Björkman refutes Dr. Zdenek Bazant
A quote...."If you have a structure—anything, building blocks, Lego, or a book case, and you take the top part and drop it on the rest—because it’s the same structure—the smaller top part can never supply sufficient energy to destroy the bigger bottom—as long as it’s the same structure. If you have a solid steel ball on a lot of glass or very weak things, of course the strong one can crush the bottom part, but if the structure is the same –like the World Trade Center towers—the top part is weaker than the rest and can never crush anything below,” he said. "Fires cannot cause structural failures that make steel structures collapse from top down! It is quite basic, actually,” he said." -- For more on this of issue see....9/11-WTC-1&2

As Gibbs Attacks Progressive Critics, ACLU Says Obama White House Enshrining Bush-Era Policies
A quote...."As White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs attacks progressives for comparing President Obama’s polices to George W. Bush’s, we look at a new ACLU report on how the Obama administration is permanently enshrining into law many of President Bush’s most controversial policies. The report, "Establishing a New Normal," warns: "There is a very real danger that the Obama administration will enshrine permanently within the law policies and practices that were widely considered extreme and unlawful during the Bush administration." [includes rush transcript]" -- ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

How propagandists function: Exhibit A
A quote...."This is what a propagandist, by definition, does:  asserts any claim as fact in service of a concealed agenda without the slightest concern for whether it's true.  Will the existence of a vast and menacing Iraqi nuclear program help my cause (getting Americans to attack Iraq)?  Fine, then I'll trumpet that.  Now, however, it will help my cause (mainstreaming an attack on Iran) to claim that the Israelis permanently ended Iraq's nuclear efforts in 1981, thus showing how well these attacks can work.  No problem:  I'll go with that.  How can anyone take seriously -- as a Middle East expert and especially as a journalist -- someone with this blatant and thorough of an estrangement from any concern for truth?  Can anyone reconcile these factual claims?" - also posted at The Excavator

Everything Is A Lie: The Deliberate Intent To Deceive People Is At An All Time High
A quote...."From pollution to politics, the era of deception and duplicity has reached new heights and hijacked almost every form of media in the world. In the last frontiers for truth such as the internet, disinformation operations are in full swing to discredit and destroy any semblance of authentic and factual information available to the public."

Pat Tillman's Father To Army Investigator: 'F--- You... And Yours' (EXCLUSIVE)
A quote...."There always was a dark cinematic thread to the story of Pat Tillman: the football star imbued with post-9/11 patriotism who was killed in a friendly-fire incident in the Afghan mountains and the allegations of a massive bureaucratic cover-up involving the highest levels of the U.S. Army in the wake of the tragedy." -- For more on this issue see....US Fake Intel / Propaganda - Pat Tillman
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Israeli army close down shops opposite Shuhada street in Hebron
A quote...."Yesterday, August 10th, between 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon, in response to peaceful Palestinian resistance to the military occupation of Hebron – and ongoing settler violence – the Israeli army decided to collectively punish Palestinian shopkeepers in the Old City. They had been threatening for weeks to close certain shops because they are located by the yellow gate that closes off Shuhada street, where a weekly peaceful demo has started each Saturday for the past few months. -- At about 3:00 the army announced that three of the five shops would be closed, and that they would weld the doors shut. Three families would lose their entire livelihoods." - bold/underline by website editor

Israeli forces desecrate 200 graves in Muslim cemetery; injure Sheikh with bulldozer
A quote...."A Jerusalem Sheikh who tried to stand in the way of Israeli bulldozers demolishing a Muslim cemetery was injured Tuesday, as the Israeli government continued the desecration of hundreds of graves. This marks the largest cemetery desecration by Israeli forces since 2009, when 1500 graves were bulldozed to make way for a 'Museum of Tolerance' sponsored by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles." - also posted at Uruknet

Israel "has declared war on the living and the dead to erase Palestinian identity"
A quote...."An Arab member of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has called the authorities' destruction of hundreds of graves in the Muslim Ma'aman Allah Cemetery in Jerusalem "a declaration of war against living and dead Palestinians"." - also posted at Uruknet -- For more on this sort of issue see previously posted quote shown below....


Gaza reflections
A quote...."The next time someone tells me about Arab solidarity, or the Arab nation, I might do something nasty to them. This is the Egyptian regime that only opened the Rafah crossing in the face of world outrage at the Israeli assault on the Freedom Flotilla. Judging by the agitation of the Egyptian border police at suddenly finding themselves with lots of work to do, I have no doubt that they would much rather keep the crossing closed to save themselves the bother. I was with two members of the House of Lords and one MP and our visit to Gaza had been approved by the Foreign Ministry in Cairo and yet we were still at the mercy of Egyptian police who perhaps saw our presence as an opportunity to wield their power; the experience of ordinary Palestinians must be hellish. Coincidentally, as we were waiting outside the gate, I received a text from George Galloway on an unrelated issue; I can't do anything just now, I texted back, I am at the Rafah crossing. "Allah be with you," came George's perceptive reply." - also posted at Uruknet

Besieging Israel's siege
Boycott, Divest and Sanction, because the Israelis will never stop, unless someone stops them. - mpg -- A quote...."Despite Israel's siege of Gaza, and the escalating displacement in the Negev and East Jerusalem, Palestinians have some reason to celebrate. In Washington a food co-op has passed a resolution calling for a boycott of Israeli products, confirming that the boycott movement – five years old last month – has finally crossed the Atlantic. Support for the move came from prominent figures including Nobel peace laureates Desmond Tutu and Máiread Maguire, and Richard Falk, the UN's special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories." - also posted at Uruknet  - For more on how to Boycott, Divest and Sanction the state of Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website.

Palestinian premier receives two Malaysian delegations in Gaza
A quote...."GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya received on Wednesday two Malaysian delegations in his office and highly appreciated their government's efforts to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip and help its people."
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Keiser Report №68: Markets! Finance! Scandal!
Must View MKVideo - Alt - (MKRTYuTb -  26 min 54 sec - August 12, 2010) - Source:  RussiaToday & Max Keiser TV -- A quote...."This week Max Keiser and co-host Stacy Herbert look at Tier Terra and future crimes. In the second half of the show, Max talks to former banking regulator William K. Black about rackets and fraud in the financial sector."

Party Like Its 1929
A quote...."August 12, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- On  Tuesday, the Fed announced that it will reinvest the proceeds from maturing mortgage-backed securities (MBS) into US Treasuries. The process is called Quantitative Easing. In theory, Q.E. increases inflation expectations so that consumers spend more and rev up the economy. That's the theory.  But adding to bank reserves when the banks are already loaded to the gills, achieves nothing.  It doesn't put money in the hands of people who will spend it, generate more economic activity or increase growth. It's a big zero. Oddly enough, the Fed even admits this. According to an article in Bloomberg News, "The Central Bank posted a paper co-written by Seth Carpenter, associate director of the Fed’s monetary-affairs division, finding that the “quantity of reserve balances itself is not likely to trigger a rapid increase in lending.” No "increase in lending" means no credit expansion and no rebound. Thus, [more] QE will have no real impact."

Is this finally the economic collapse?
A quote...."Despite the many differences between Japan and the US, there is one similarity that continues to matter most in the risk management model my colleagues and I use at Hedgeye, our research firm -- debt as a percentage of GDP. Now that the US can't cut interest rates any lower, the only option left on the table is what the Fed just announced  it would start doing -- buying Treasury debt. And that could lead the country to the brink of collapse: According to economists Carmen Reinhart & Ken Rogoff, whose views we share, crossing the 90% debt/GDP threshold [in actuallity the US-NRE Federal debt is WAY past that now if you use normal accounting rules, not to mention consumer, state, and corporate debt. - mpg] is the equivalent of crossing the proverbial Rubicon of economic growth. It's a point from which it's almost impossible to return." - also posted at ICH

No Recovery in Sight: 40 Statistics which Confirm the Collapse of the U.S. Economy
Special Note - A quote...."Most Americans still appear to be operating under the delusion that the "recession" will soon pass and that things will get back to "normal" very soon.  Unfortunately, that is not anywhere close to the truth.  What we are now witnessing are the early stages of the complete and total breakdown of the U.S. economic system.  The U.S. government, state governments, local governments, businesses and American consumers have collectively piled up debt that is equivalent to approximately 360 percent of GDP." - bold/underline by website editor

More Americans Than Forecast File Claims for Jobless Benefits
A quote...."More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, signaling firings stepped up as the economy slowed. -- Initial jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 484,000 in the week ended Aug. 7, the highest level since mid February, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits dropped, while those getting supplemental benefits surged by 1.34 million reflecting the government’s extension of eligibility."

Californians' income falls for first time since WWII
A quote...."The federal Bureau of Economic Analysis  said personal incomes of Golden State workers fell by that amount in 2009 compared with the previous year – the state's first year-to-year decline since World War II. In the Sacramento region, income was off about $800 million."  -bold by website editor

Zombie bank to cost Irish taxpayers billions more - Anglo Irish debts tip of the iceberg?
A quote...."Zombie bank Anglo Irish may cost the Irish taxpayer far more than the $30 billion so far set aside. -- Anglo Irish Bank formerly run by now bankrupt Sean FitzPatrick was at the center of the property collapse leaving billions in bad loans in its wake." - bold by website editor - also posted at BLN

To Viktor go the spoils: how Hungary blazes a trail in Europe
A quote...."Hungary's defiance could conceivably spread to other governments currently being squeezed by the IMF and European authorities. -- First, the Hungarian government decided in early July to levy a new tax on banks and other financial companies, which would raise some $855m this year and next. Foreign banks, which made a fortune during Hungary's bubbly growth years prior to the crash in 2007, screamed and lobbied, but – despite having the IMF in their corner – did not prevail." - also posted at CommonDreams

Signs of Chinese slowdown add to global market fears
A quote...."Signs of a significant slowdown in China’s economic growth, and fears that the country may be on the precipice of a sharper contraction, contributed to the falls on global share markets this week."

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