Wednesday August 19th 2009

The U.S. Federal Budget Pipeline - Where Do The Dollars Drain? - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."August 19, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- -In order to raise sales and personal royalty gains, Alan Greenspan, just prior to the release of his book The Age of Turbulence, carried out a public relations blitz dragged out for a whole week in which he made remarks similar to those conveyed in his hardback. These included statements such as “I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.” -- Indeed, many Americans and people from other countries knew that domination of a region rich in fossil fuels represented the primary motive for the Iraq incursion and the only significant reason that Iran is not similarly assaulted is that it has an arsenal, unlike Saddam Hussein, capable of rendering serious damage in retaliation (i.e., aimed at U.S. troops in Iraq). Besides, the U.S. military is stretched too thin as it is with approximately 1,000 bases worldwide, along with operations occurring on every continent, such as the AFRICOM sorties, which are generally tied to oil company interests as the map at the first reference shows. [1] "

Report: AF-PAK War And The Battle For Oil
Must View - Maps - Charts - A quote...."When announcing his new Afghanistan and Pakistan policy on March 27, 2009, Obama vowed “to disrupt and dismantle” the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan and to “prevent their return to either country in the future.” But who are the Taliban? Any Afghan or Pakistani who resists the US-led occupation."

The Afghan pipe dream
Must Read - A quote...."America's convoluted, Alice-in-Wonderland interpretation of this summer's top political show - the "free expression of the people" in the Afghanistan election - reads like an opium dream. In fact, it is actually a pipe dream - as in Pipelineistan. With the added twist that no one's saying a word about the pipe that's delivering the opium dream. -- As in an opium dream, delusion reigns. The chances of United States President Barack Obama actually elaborating what his AfPak strategy really is are as likely as having his super-envoy Richard Holbrooke share a pipe with explosive uber-guerrilla warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar." -- also posted at CommonDreams

We Have the Moral High Ground
Special Note - A quote...."by Cindy Sheehan -- I remember back in the good ol’ days of 2005 and 2006 when being against the wars was not only politically correct, but it was very popular. I remember receiving dozens of awards, uncountable accolades and even was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. -- Those were the halcyon days of the anti-war movement before the Democrats took over the government (off of the backs of the anti-war movement) and it became anathema to be against the wars and I became unpopular on all sides. I guess at that point, I could have gone with the flow and pretended to support the violence so I could remain popular, but I think I have to fiercely hold on to my core values whether I am “liked” or not."

The Gadarene Gambit: Surging Over the Cliff in Afghanistan
Special Note - A quote...."The "Good War" in Afghanistan -- now in its eighth year with no one even pretending there is light at the end of the tunnel – is about to reach yet another "major milestone" in its blood-stained progress. No, we don't mean this week's presidential election – a chaotic, violent affair that will produce more chaos, more violence, more dissension and repression, whoever is "elected" to head the widely despised and mistrusted American-backed government. We're talking about the "strategy review" now being conducted by the death-squad commander appointed by Barack Obama to lead the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan: General Stanley McChrystal. -- Sometime later this month, or early next month, McChrystal is due to give his recommendations for subduing a land that Alexander the Great, the British Empire and the Soviet Union all failed to conquer. Naturally, these considerations of this "secret" review have already been leaked to a fare-thee-well, and naturally, they involve a massive increase of American and British combat troops, as Reuters and ABC report:"

Obama lies to defend US War of Aggression in Afghanistan
Special Note - A quote...."The US legal argument that the invasion of Afghanistan is not a War of Aggression is that the US actions in Afghanistan are defensive. A War of Aggression is defined as a non-defensive war that is unauthorized by the UN Security Council. Osama bin Laden was being protected by the Taliban Afghan government, which made them co-terrorists demonstrating intent to inflict another 9/11 upon the US. This legal opinion of "defensive action" supersedes the opinion of the UN Security Council, who did not authorize use of force. --  Let’s review the history of the US invasion of Afghanistan before we analyze the US claim that this is a defensive war." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Fairy tale turned nightmare: Obama, liberal warmonger-in-chief, can’t be trusted on Iraq
A quote...."In January 2008, while defending Hillary’s vote to authorize use of force in Iraq, Bill Clinton slammed then-candidate Obama’s anti-war hypocrisy, declaring that Obama's vaunted opposition to the Iraq War was a farce."

There is no "Victory" to be Won in Afghanistan - Alt - (YuTb - 11m14s - August 19, 2009) - posted at ICH
Video - A quote...."The notion that we are in Afghanistan to make our country safer is just complete bullshit:" Robert Baer. The war in Afghanistan is increasing the likelihood that American civilians will be killed in a future terrorist attack. Part 6 of Rethink Afghanistan, Security, brings you three former high-ranking CIA agents to explain why. There is no "victory" to be won in Afghanistan. It is the most important video about U.S. Security today. Become a Rethink Afghanistan Producer: http://rethinkafghanistan.com"

The Brainwashed - posted at ICH
A quote...."Paris, August 13, 2009 – Little mainstream comment seems to have appeared on the latest revelations of incompetence and sadistic fantasy published this week about the ways in which the American nation lost its honor and international reputation because of the Bush administration’s infatuation with torture. -- This has constituted , as Vice President Richard Cheney has put it, “the dark side” of Administration policy -- its 8-year excursion into what commonly is understood to be criminal international behavior, which the vice president continues to defend with relish and conviction." -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - Iraq - Torture Fables

Police State -- Military State, Warning

Global War and Dying Democracy: The Revolution of the Elites -- Part 1 -- Part 2 -- Part 3 -- Part 4
Article #1 -- A quote...."Global trends in political economy suggest that “democracy” as we know it, is a fading concept, where even Western industrialized nations are retreating from the system. Arguably, through party politics and financial-corporate interests, democracy is something of a façade as it is. However, we are entering into an era in which even the institutions and image of democracy are in retreat, and the slide into totalitarianism seems inevitable. --  The National Intelligence Council report, Global Trends 2025, stated that many governments will be “expanding domestic security forces, surveillance capabilities, and the employment of special operations-type forces.”

Guns at Political Events: A Chilling Effect on the First Amendment
Article #2 -- On August 17, a reported dozen people carrying guns, including two with assault rifles, were among protestors outside a convention center in Phoenix, Arizona, where President Obama was speaking. It was the latest incident where protestors with guns were seen outside events where the president had appeared to speak about his healthcare proposals, which right-wing opponents denounce as an assault on liberty. Neither the Secret Service nor police ushered the persons carrying guns away from the event, nor were any persons carrying firearms arrested. ("Armed Men Seen Outside Barack Obama Event," Telegraph/UK [via Common Dreams], August 18, 2009) -- Compare this restraint by the Secret Service and police to the following events."

No-warrant terrorism raids proposed [in Australia]
Article #3 -- A quote...."The Federal Government has unveiled plans to toughen its counter-terrorism laws, including a change to allow police to break into a suspect's home without getting approval from a judge."

Australia: Rudd government toughens anti-terror laws
Article #4 -- A quote...."Just one week after a series of “terrorist” police raids, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s government has unveiled a package of measures to strengthen anti-terrorism laws introduced since 2002. - Some of the proposed amendments would dramatically increase the scope of the laws to cover legitimate political dissent. The government wants to expand the definition of terrorism to include conduct that causes psychological harm, rather than physical harm, and create new offences such as terrorist hoaxes, threats and “inciting violence”."

Freedom is now flowing from West to East
Article #5 -- A quote...."Perhaps because I live abroad, each time I return home [to Britain] I can clearly see quite how subtle and dangerous a process is unfolding. A series of Home Secretaries have presided over a steady, stealthy shredding of our civil liberties. I am amazed at how supine citizens allow local and national government to intrude ever further into their daily lives, logging, tracking and recording everything from household waste disposal to mobile telephone use. -- These small changes seem to herald a more dramatic constitutional shift: the rewriting of the social contract under which citizens are apparently regarded not as active participants in society, but, at best as irritants to be monitored, and at worst as potential criminals to be pre-emptively arrested, just as George Orwell predicted in Nineteen Eighty-Four." -- also posted at CommonDreams

Attorney: FBI trained NJ blogger to incite others - link posted at ICH
Article #6 -- A quote...."HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A New Jersey blogger facing charges in two states for allegedly making threats against lawmakers and judges was trained by the FBI on how to be deliberately provocative, his attorney said Tuesday. -- Hal Turner worked for the FBI from 2002 to 2007 as an "agent provocateur" and was taught by the agency "what he could say that wouldn't be crossing the line," defense attorney Michael Orozco said."

For more on the six articles shown above see....White Man's Burden - 12-20-06 - mpg
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FBI Ignored Bush-Hussein Ties - posted at ConsortiumNews
From the History File -- July 2, 2009 -- (In case you pro-war nut jobs out there forgot) - mpg -- A quote...."The FBI has released reports on 20 interviews and five conversations conducted with Iraq’s deposed dictator Saddam Hussein before he was put to death, but none of the disclosed Q and A deals with the role of the Reagan administration in delivering key components for Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons in the 1980s." -- Weren't these the same FBI guys that were told to back off the bin Ladens and Saudis prior to 9/11 -- and did?  That flew over one hundred and eighty members of the Saudi Royal and bin Laden families out of the country just days after 9/11 and later stated they interviewed them before they let them go -- and didn't?  Completely mucked up which government scientist just "happened" to send batches of US military produced Anthrax through the mail to some top Demos just prior to their vote on the "Patriot Act" -- and than picked a guy who committed suicide as the culprit?  Nah it couldn't be, it must have been that OTHER FBI. – mpg

FBI: Arm Boston Police With Assault Rifles
A quote...."BOSTON -- An FBI official said Boston police officers should be armed with assault rifles to make the city more prepared for a ["]terrorist attack.["]" -- WHAT!  Did the FBI just recently recruit another batch of deranged, penniless, illiterate, dope smoking, crack-heads, give them some money, delusions of granduer, and some plastic pop-pistols so Boston's "finest" could have some target practice with their shiny new toys? - mpg

Hal Turner a Trained FBI Agent Provocateur
(Oh Look!!  Speak and ye shall receive the truth) - mpg -- A quote...."Radio talk show host and blogger Hal Turner was an FBI trained agent provocateur, his attorney told reporters in Hartford today. The supposed white supremacist worked for the agency from 2002 until 2007. “His job was basically to publish information which would cause other parties to act in a manner which would lead to their arrest,” Michael Orozco told the Associated Press." -- also posted at AtheoNews

CIA's History of Lying to Congress - posted at ConsortiumNews
From the History File -- July 10, 2009 -- (We don't want to forget that OTHER lying bunch of miscreants now do we gentle readers? - mpg) -- A quote...."On TV this week, with a measure of disbelief in their voices, the pundits ask, did the CIA lie to or deliberately mislead Congress? How is that not a rhetorical question?"

C.I.A. Sought Blackwater’s Help in Plan to Kill Jihadists [Former CIA Recruits]
A quote...."WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency in 2004 hired outside contractors from the private security contractor Blackwater USA as part of a secret program to locate and assassinate top operatives of Al Qaeda, according to current and former government officials." -- also posted at CommonDreams

Does NZ PM John Key agree explosives were used on 9/11? - Alt - (YuTb - 9 min 52sec - August 19, 2009)
John Key's comments during an interview on 10/08/09 on tvnz 1. The idea of explosive devices being used on 9/11 is considered a conspiracy theory by the cowardly mainstream media, who's interest's prevent them from publicising declassified documents such as Operation Northwoods, which prove the intent of western governments to engineer falseflag terror events." -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - WTC-1&2 & 9/11 - WTC7

Scott Horton Interviews Anthony Gregory
Audio Interview - A quote...."Anthony Gregory, research analyst at the Independent Institute, discusses the definition and history of habeas corpus, the unfortunate fact most Americans are either pro-Obama or pro-war, the Obama administration’s fight to deny habeas rights to Bagram prisoners and the continuing trend of presidents who embrace total executive authority." -- ||  MP3 here (33min:59sec)  ||

Troy Davis and the Meaning of ‘Actual Innocence’
A quote...."Sitting on death row in Georgia, Troy Davis has won a key victory against his own execution. On Aug. 17, the U.S. Supreme Court instructed a federal court in Georgia to consider, for the first time in a formal court proceeding, significant evidence of Davis’ innocence that surfaced after his conviction. This is the first such order from the U.S. Supreme Court in almost 50 years. Remarkably, the Supreme Court has never ruled on whether it is unconstitutional to execute an innocent person." -- also posted at CommonDreams
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Iraqis to Vote on Early U.S. Exit
Special Note - A quote...."The American occupation of Iraq may be ending much sooner than Washington anticipated – but little thanks to the U.S. anti-war movement, which has in recent years made itself largely irrelevant to issues of war and peace. The Shi'ite-dominated government in Baghdad is asking Iraq's parliament to hold a popular referendum this coming January that will almost certainly demand the withdrawal of U.S. forces by the end of 2010, a year before the Obama administration's fuzzy target date of December, 2011. That means all U.S. military, not just so-called “combat” forces – the semantic farce deployed by the Obama administration to disguise a huge U.S. military and mercenary presence deep into the misty future."

Truckfuls of Bodies
A quote...."The illness is aggressive war, a violation of the U.N. Charter and therefore of Article VI of the US Constitution. War crimes are unavoidable symptoms of aggressive war. And, even for those who support wars, there are war crimes that surpass the evil of torture. Who remembers the truckfuls of bodies, live bodies but only barely, dehydrated people licking and chewing the sweaty bodies beside them, screaming in agony, piled by the hundreds inside airless metal containers on flatbed trucks in desert heat, holes sometimes shot into the trucks with bullets for air -- but not into the roof, rather into the people already crammed inside -- remember that? Who remembers the truckfuls of bodies dumped out and buried by the thousands in mass graves by Afghan troops under U.S. command with U.S. forces present and aware, the same U.S. forces engaged in torturing prisoners who made it to the prison alive?" -- For more on this issue see....US - Murder & Mayhem

Book documenting war crimes committed by U.S.troops in Iraq published
Book Review - A quote...."LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- A book has been published recently by Iraq Veterans against the War, which documents war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. -- The book, entitled "Winter Soldier Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations" [GoglBkSrch], was compiled by Iraq Veterans Against the War and freelance journalist Aaron Glantz whohas covered the Iraq war from the front lines. The English editionwas published in the Spring and the Japanese edition was publishedthis month. Both editions are selling well." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Afghan civilians soured on U.S. security contractors
A quote...."KABUL - -- Mirza Mohammed Dost stood at the foot of his son's grave, near a headstone that read: "Raheb Dost, martyred by Americans." His son was no insurgent, Dost said. He was walking home from prayers on the night of May 5 when he was shot and killed on a busy Kabul street by U.S. security contractors."

Taliban strength at post-2001 peak, NATO commander says - link posted at ICH
A quote...."Kabul - The Taliban is at its strongest since it was ousted from power in 2001 as Afghanistan prepares to vote this week in a presidential election, the commander of NATO and US forces in Afghanistan said Tuesday. --    'The insurgency has grown,' US General Stanley McChrystal said in an interview with German media at NATO headquarters in Kabul. 'It has grown geographically, and it has grown in levels of violence.'"

Should the left call for Taliban victory?
A quote...."AS SOCIALISTS, we support the right of oppressed peoples to fight for self-determination unreservedly, just as we oppose imperialism, without caveat. -- This perspective is generally accepted by the left without question in contexts such as Latin America or Africa, where bitter fights against U.S. and European imperialism have been fought and, in some cases, won. -- Yet, when it comes to the Middle East and Afghanistan today there is suddenly much less clarity about what radicals and Marxists should be saying. Nowhere is that more evident than in the case of Afghanistan, which has suffered under the yoke of U.S. imperialism since 2001 (with active U.S. interference in the country since at least the 1970s)." -- also posted at AtheoNews

AFGHANISTAN:  Karzai and Warlords Mount Massive Vote Fraud Scheme
A quote...."WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (IPS) - Afghanistan's presidential election has long been viewed by U.S. officials as a key to conferring legitimacy on the Afghan government, but Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his powerful warlord allies have planned to commit large-scale electoral fraud that could have the opposite effect." -- also posted at AntiWar & WarInIraq

Pakistan 'army death squad hangs Taliban body from lamp post' - link posted at ICH
A quote...."The country's leading human rights lawyer, Asma Jahangir, accused the armed forces of waging a campaign of extra-judicial killings in the Swat valley and called for an independent inquiry after reports that 20 bodies were found in a mass grave at the weekend."

Iran' railroad industry attracts $24 bln
A quote...."Iran's Minister of Road and Transportation says the country's railroad industry has attracted nearly $24 billion of foreign investment. "Foreign investors have signed agreements to carry out railroad projects worth 17 billion euros ($24 billion)," IRIB quoted Hamid Behbahani as saying on Wednesday.

Russia might sell Iran attack aircraft if asked-Ifax - link posted at ICH
A quote...."MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia would be willing to look at requests from Iran to buy front-line fighters and bombers if Tehran were to place such an order, an official in Russia's state arms exporter was quoted as saying on Wednesday."

Medvedev issues stark warning on Caucasus
A quote...."The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has issued a harsh warning to the Caucasus region saying that "terrorists there must be liquidated without emotion."

Tariq Ramadan sacked over Iran TV connections
A quote...."Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan has been fired from his position at a Netherlands university over connections to an Iranian-funded television channell." -- also posted at AtheoNews
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Honduras: Amnesty reveals photographic evidence of brutal police violence against peaceful protesters
A quote...."Amnesty International - 19 August 2009 - Amnesty International today published a series of exclusive photos and testimonies revealing serious ill-treatment of peaceful protesters by police and military in Honduras' capital, Tegucigalpa. The organisation warned that beatings and mass arrests are being used as a way of punishing people for voicing their opposition to the military-backed coup in June."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

The Israeli military levels Palestinian owned shops in northern West Bank
A quote...."Israeli troops destroyed on Wednesday at dawn five Palestinian owned shops in the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia." - also posted at AtheoNews

Report: Al-Qaeda groups say Hamas "abdicated from Islam"
A quote...."Bethlehem – Ma’an – Media sources linked to Al-Qaeda criticized Hamas’ operation against the Salafi group Jund Ansar Allah (Soldiers for God) in Rafah on Friday, accusing the de facto government of “abdicating from Islam,” CNN Arabic reported Wednesday night." -- Related article, see below.....

Judge Rules Against Freeze on Assets
Related Article -- A quote...."TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- The federal government wrongly froze the assets of an Ohio-based charity it suspected of having ties to the militant Islamic group Hamas because it acted without giving the organization any warning, a federal judge ruled. -- U.S. District Judge James Carr said Tuesday the government has an obligation to tell an organization why it is freezing its assets and to give it a chance to respond." -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror

Derek Graham in Ireland to get support for the next Free Gaza voyage in October
Action Alert - A quote...."Derek & Jenny Graham from Mayo, are here to get Irish support to bring in desperately needed rebuilding materials into the port of Gaza along with supplies for our partners in the Universities and schools as part of "Right to Read" campaign."

SA Calls to Boycott Israeli Dates This Ramadan
Action Alert - Heck!  Boycott their dates period! - mpg -- A quote...."Following a campaign launched this week by Friends of Al Aqsa calling on the boycotting of Israeli dates this Ramadan, the Cape Town based Muslim Judicial Counsel (MJC) on Wednesday urged the community to heed this call." -- For more on how to boycott Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website. - mpg
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A British citizen speaks out about benefits of health care in the UK - posted at Online Journal
On the health care issue -- A quote...."I am English (and a dual citizen of England and the United States) and I am increasingly frustrated with the misinformation reported regarding socialized medicine. Several opponents of health care reform -- including major conservative radio and TV commentators and several Republican politicians -- claim that in England major surgery is not given to those over 59. This simply is NOT TRUE!"

Five Charts Showing the Status of U.S. Emp.: Manufacturing Pounded, Participation Rate at Multi-Decade Lows
Charts - Special Note - link posted at ICH -- A quote...."There is something troubling when the theme of recovery is never tied to U.S employment.  The American worker is suffering.  This has not changed.  The solace being offered is that less people are being fired.  I suppose the 26 million American workers who are unemployed or underemployed might find some comfort in the jobless recovery talk.  Yet this recession is making it particularly hard for people to find work."

US income gap widest since 1917
A quote...."The social chasm separating America’s financial oligarchy from working people, the vast majority of the population, is wider than at any time since 1917, according to the latest statistics from the Internal Revenue Service."

Bank Failures in the United States
A quote...."Much to their dismay, Americans learned last year that they ‘owned’ Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Well, meet their cousin, Ginnie Mae or the Government National Mortgage Association, which will soon join them as a trillion-dollar packager of subprime mortgages. Taxpayers own Ginnie too.  Only last week, Ginnie announced that it issued a monthly record of $43 billion in mortgage-backed securities in June. Ginnie Mae President Joseph Murin sounded almost giddy as he cheered this ‘phenomenal growth.’ Ginnie Mae’s mortgage exposure is expected to top $1 trillion by the end of next year—or far more than double the dollar amount of 2007."

Federal regulators [the SEC] covered up Ponzi scheme at Stanford bank
A quote...."The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ignored warnings from a former employee of Stanford Group six years before the federal regulatory agency seized the offshore investment firm and charged Texas billionaire Robert Allen Stanford with running an $8 billion Ponzi scheme. The implosion of the company in February 2009 hit 20,000 investors worldwide, including many who have lost their life savings, and sparked a wave of panic at the banks owned by the financier."

FDIC [one of the "good" Fed regulators] Sees Ag Banks As The Next Big Crisis
A quote...."I bet this headline will catch the attention of readers from the beltway of Washington, D.C. to the depths of rural America. This is the word on the street circulating in conversations with lenders and producers in agriculture and rural America on my recent Road Warrior travels. While these rumors may be false, perception becomes reality in the boardrooms and loan committees of our lending institutions, which will ripple to producers."

Texas bank hit by California dreaming
A quote...."Although the failure of Austin-based Guaranty Bank looms, its problems reflect the housing bubble in the Golden State rather than issues at home."

Is the Bank of Montreal (Canada's 4th Largest Bank) About to Crash?
A quote...."Dan Amos - who called the crash of Lehman and other giants beforehand - says that a major bank is lying about its ability to pay shareholder dividends, has been gaming its books, and is about to crash. -- Amos doesn't say which bank he's talking about, but gives the following hint:"

"[It has] a 192 year old history and 37,000 employees . . ."

"A quick Google search reveals that this can only be the Bank of Montreal, also known as BMO Financial Group."

New AIG head to get at least $7 million annually
A quote...."In a regulatory filing Monday, American International Group (AIG) disclosed that it would pay its new CEO, Robert H. Benmosche, at least $7 million a year. The 65-year-old former head of the giant insurance and investment firm MetLife will get $3 million in cash and $4 million in stock annually, and be eligible for another $3.5 million in stock as part of an incentive plan." -- For more on this issue see.....Having Fun With Your Tax Dollars

Tuesday August 18th 2009

Americans: Serfs Ruled by Oligarchs
Must Read - A quote...."In a little time [there will be] no middling sort.  We shall have a few, and but a very few Lords, and all the rest beggars.”  R.L. Bushman -- “Rapidly you are dividing into two classes--extreme rich and extreme poor.”    “Brutus”  -- Americans think that they have “freedom and democracy” and that politicians are held accountable by elections.  The fact of the matter is that the US is ruled by powerful interest groups who control politicians with campaign contributions.  Our real rulers are an oligarchy of financial and military/security interests and AIPAC, which influences US foreign policy for the benefit of Israel. -- Have a look at economic policy.  It is being run for the benefit of large financial concerns, such as Goldman Sachs."

Guess What? He's a Terrible President
Must Read  - Some quotes...."Both President Obama’s health care plan and his presidency are going down the toilet. -- This is well, and right, and just as it should be. -- Obama is turning out to be a disastrous president, wholly unsuited for the times and our national and global challenges, and his job approval ratings reflect this.-- In Obama, we get all the corporate toadying of the last Democratic president, along with an even greater unwillingness than Clinton – and who would’ve thought that was possible – to name names, call out enemies, and throw a freakin’ punch every other year or so." -- "As in just about everything else of consequence this administration has been involved in, he seems quite content to simply defer to Congress and allow the sausage-making process on the Hill to generate precisely the policy abomination one might expect, with all the political liabilities we’ve come to know and love from such a dispiriting collection of 535 (minus two or three) moral midgets."

Barack Obama: Change We Can Deceive In* --A critique from the Left
Special Note - Data Base (to be updated) -- A quote...."President Barack Obama is selling out the left wing of his party - those who contributed $750 million to his campaign for 'change' - quicker than a Blue Cross rate rise in August. Mr. Obama won the Democratic nomination -- and the presidency -- on a wave of anti-Bush sentiment and the promise of 'change we can believe in.' But when the assertions and actions of the Obama Administration are critically examined, a conclusion can be drawn that the key difference -- thus far -- between Barack Obama and George W. Bush is their choice in breed of White House pet. 'Bipartisanship,' the bane of Obama's first eight months as president, is providing the groundwork for an extended (albeit educated, charming) Bush-light Administration."
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Iraq between Accelerated Withdrawal and bringing US Troops back In
A quote...."Today's story about Iraq is a story of conflict between Gen. Ray Odierno and the Iraqi parliament. Elements in the cabinet and the parliament put pressure on Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki not only to put the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the US to a referendum on Jan. 15, but also to allow Iraqis to vote on whether all US troops should leave by the end of 2011, or whether that timetable should be moved up so that they are out by the end of 2010." -- Check out the comments!! - mpg

Syria, Iraq to set up strategic cooperation council
A quote...."DAMASCUS, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Syria and Iraq Tuesday decided to establish a high-level strategic cooperation council to boost all-around cooperation, said a joint statement after the meeting between the two prime ministers."

Taliban escalates attacks ahead of Afghan polls
A quote...."At least 17 people have been killed and scores wounded in Afghanistan in a spate of violence just two days ahead of the presidential election in the country. -- The suicide car bomb ripped through a busy road used frequently by NATO and US troops in the east of the capital Kabul."

Bomb strikes Nato convoy in Kabul
A quote...."A Taliban suicide bomber attacked a Nato convoy on the outskirts of Kabul today killing at least seven people and wounding more than 50. -- The attack came just days before the presidential election that the group has vowed to disrupt." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Finland Ready to Bolster Ties with Iran
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- Outgoing Finnish Ambassador to Tehran Heikki Puurunen announced Helsinki's readiness to expand ties and boost economic and trade cooperation with Iran."

Iran Discovers Vast Oil Field
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari announced on Tuesday that the country has discovered a giant oil field with in-place reserves of over 20,000 billion barrels."

Russia and Georgia: Caucasian calculus
Must Read - A quote...."Georgia is to Russia as Colombia is to Venezuela, and Kaidanow spells trouble -- War clouds refuse to disperse a year after Georgia waged war against Russia. On the anniversary of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's ill-fated invasion of South Ossetia 8 August, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev warned: "Georgia does not stop threatening to restore its 'territorial integrity' by force. Armed forces are concentrated at the borders near Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and provocations are committed," including renewed Georgian shelling of the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali." -- also posted at OnlineJournal

Uruguay Orgs to March against Neoliberalism
A quote...."Montevideo, Aug 18 (Prensa Latina) The Inter-Union Plenary-National Worker Convention (PIT-CNT) and other Uruguayan social organizations reiterated a call to a march against possible return to the country of the neoliberal policies of the 90s."

Scalia says there’s nothing unconstitutional about executing the innocent
He's NOT kidding, nor does he really care. And it goes both ways folks, that's the important thing to consider here. If Antonin Scalia doesn't care if you're innocent....then he really doesn’t care if thousands of murdering, raping, thieving, bastards out there are guilty either.  Just think about it for awhile, it'll come to you. - mpg -- A quote...."Almost two decades ago, Troy Anthony Davis was convicted of murder and sentenced to die. Since then, seven of the witnesses against him have recanted their testimony, and some have even implicated Sylvester “Redd” Coles, a witness who testified that Davis was the shooter. In light of the very real evidence that Davis could be innocent of the crime that placed him on death row, the Supreme Court today invoked a rarely used procedure giving Davis an opportunity to challenge his conviction. Joined by Justice Clarence Thomas in dissent, however, Justice Antonin Scalia criticized his colleagues for thinking that mere innocence is grounds to overturn a conviction:
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Amnesty International Withdraws from Leonard Cohen’s Israel Concert Fund - It was the RIGHT thing to do!
Action Update - A quote...."New York, NY, August 18 – Amnesty International has announced today that it will abstain from any involvement in the Leonard Cohen concert in Tel Aviv and will not be party to any fund that benefits from the concert's proceeds. A number of media accounts had reported that Amnesty International was to manage or otherwise partner in a fund created from the proceeds of Cohen’s concert in Israel that would be used to benefit Israeli and Palestinian groups. Amnesty International’s announcement today followed an international outcry over the human rights organization’s reported involvement in the Leonard Cohen concert fund, and an earlier international call for Cohen to boycott apartheid Israel."

"Witness Our Fear~Oh The Horror" (On Que)
Special Note - A quote...."Ivan Lewis, the British Foreign Minister is visiting Israel and Palestine. He wants to see the separation wall and the home evictions in East Jerusalem first hand. -- Of course, as expected, Israel will be taking him to Sderot in order to parade out the old rusty home made rockets they have treasured and saved for this purpose. In addition a few (Alive and Well) families will be brought forward in order to wail in misery as they view the old rusty rockets. (In sharp contrast to the 1400 DEAD civilians and 400 DEAD children in Gaza) But I digress... The visit to Sderot is to remind Lewis that "Israel is always the victim" Something tells me they are going to have a hard sell, what with Lewis witnessing first hand the contrast of those home made rockets in the pristine Israeli neighbourhoods (on former Palestinian land) to the total genocidal destruction in Palestine. No comparison."

Quiet slicing of the West Bank makes abstract prayers for peace obscene
A quote...."On 2 August 2009, after cordoning off part of the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in east Jerusalem, Israeli police evicted two Palestinian families (more than 50 people) from their homes; Jewish settlers immediately moved into the emptied houses. Although Israeli police cited a ruling by the country's supreme court, the evicted Arab families had been living there for more than 50 years. The event – which, rather exceptionally, did attract the attention of the world media – is part of a much larger and mostly ignored ongoing process." -- also posted at AtheoNews & CommonDreams

IOA confiscates 115 dunums of Palestinian land
A quote...."JENIN, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) on Tuesday confiscated 115 dunums of Palestinian land in Ya'bad village west of Jenin city to expand the Shakid settlement that was established on the village's land."

Israel declares the[ir] shooting of American activist, Tristan Anderson to be an “act of war”
A quote...."18 August 2009: Israel declares the shooting of American activist, Tristan Anderson to be an “act of war.” -- Tristan Anderson, an American national, was critically injured on 13 March 2009 when he was shot with a high velocity tear-gas projectile during an unarmed demonstration against the Wall in the West Bank village of Ni’lin (report and video: http://palsolidarity.org/2009/03/5324)."

Pro-Israeli lobby won’t get Mary Robinson’s medal - Awwww, sniffle, sob, poor widdle AIPAC - mpg
A quote...."On the 12th of August Mary Robinson was awarded by US President Barack Obama a Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Medal of Freedom is the highest US civilian honor, awarded to "individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors”, however not everyone is happy with this decision including AIPAC and other Jewish and Pro-Israeli groups including Professor Gerald Steinberg of the Jerusalem Post."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Cracks in the Honduran Coup Regime Grow Wider
A quote...."We've previously noted that some key members of the coup regime power structure – notably business magnate Adolfo Facusse and Liberal Party presidential nominee Elvin Santos – had begun waxing aloud to find a scapegoat for the illegality of the June 28 coup d’etat. They had both settled on the Armed Forces, and the “original sin” of all that has gone awry since, according to them, was that the military shipped elected President Manuel Zelaya out of the country instead of arraigning him to face prosecution."

Honduras breaks ties with Argentina - The US-NRE's new junta is getting more isolated by the DAY! - mpg
A quote...."Honduras's interim government has broken off relations with Argentina over the country's support for Manuel Zelaya, the deposed Honduran president. -- The foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it had given Argentinian diplomats three days to leave the country."
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More on the Iranian Election.....

Analyst Blames US for Iran's Post-Election Unrests
A quote...."All events during recent (post-election) riots in the country took place in coordination with (plots of) the US," Hossein Shariatmadari, Managing Director of the Persian-language daily, Keyhan, said while addressing Iranian clergies in Iran's central city of Qom. -- Shariatmadari said that a plot for the soft overthrow of Islamic Republic was initiated in 2004 by Haleh Esfandiari, the Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Middle East Program, and American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh in coordination with the US spy agencies, adding that the plot aimed to concentrate moves against the Islamic Republic."

Tehran to compensate post-vote unrest victims
A quote...."Tehran governor says the Iranian government will compensate those who have suffered damages during the country's post-election unrest."
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Why Single-Payer is the ONLY Sensible Health Care Reform -- (Explained in Plain English) - posted at ICH
Special Note - A quote...."August 18, 2009 "Information Clearing House" --- Health care services are in a special category of “services”. Unlike almost all other services in our “free market” economy, most health care services (just like police and fire services) are necessary for all residents—often a matter of life and death. --  Incredibly, we treat most health care services as if they were optional for some residents. The extreme costs, the multiple inefficiencies, and the shameful injustice of our current health care system are the guaranteed results of treating heath care services as optional for some residents." -- also posted at OnlineJournal

It’s Official: Healthcare Reform is Dead
Special Note - A quote...."The “transparent government” that President Obama guaranteed during his electoral campaign has become yet another broken promise. On August 14th, the Huffington Post revealed a memo containing details of “the deal” that Obama cut with health care mega-corporations in secret White House meetings. And although the White House denies the authenticity of the memo, the details are consistent with earlier reports from other national media outlets. -- The White House deal essentially reduces some of the more egregious health care corporation swindling — estimated to save $80 billion over ten years — while Obama shamelessly promised that other irrational vehicles for health care mega-profits will remain untouched: any congressional health care plan will not attempt to negotiate for cheaper drugs, nor import them from other countries, Medicare will not be altered in a way that affects health care corporations’ profits. -- Don't give up yet folks, there's still HOPE (Obama style) that Obama can pull a gigantic catastrophic disaster from the jaws of utter defeat and produce a plan in conjunction with the HMOs and pharmaceutical companies that will be even MORE expensive for the US treasury while providing even LESS health care for the average American than anyone could've possibly imagined.  It's simply a wonder that Obama doesn't get rug burns on his knees from all his frenetic "activity". – mpg

Progressives Abet Obama-Fraud
A quote...."Whether intentional or not, the liberal “single-payer” promoters have greatly confused the public by equating single-payer, universal health care coverage with “Medicare For All.” Ironically, it looks like they will get what they have called for; again, unintentionally. -- With the long predicted demise of any “public option” or government sponsored program that would compete with the private sector, plain vanilla Medicare-for-all is targeted to become the gold standard for coverage under the basic private policies to be offered to all Americans (whether you like what you have now or not). Take a good look at what that means in practice."

Dear Medicare:  I Want You To Have My $820 A Month
A quote...."My services as a Lead Paint Risk Assessor are being lent to another agency and I had to calculate how much I really cost per hour.  That was the first time I saw how much it costs to insure a healthy 39 year old who goes to the Doctor less than once per year. -- $820 mother fucking dollars a month!  Call me naive.  I assumed it would be highway robbery at $400 a month.  In 3.5 years on the job I have paid approximately $34,440 into the private insurance system.  That is more than my take home pay for a year.  I figure I have cost the health care industry about $1000 (and I think I'm being generous here).  The thing about this that really pisses me off is that I wouldn't  mind paying this much money one little bit, if I knew that the money not being spent on my health care was paying the healthcare bills for someone else and not going to make yacht payments for some CEO. " -- also posted at AmericanEveryman
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That Sinking Feeling
A quote...."The steady drumbeat of good news is getting infectious. The Dow Jones has rallied almost 40 percent from its bottom on March 9. The Federal Reserve expects the economy to pick up in the second half of this year. Home sales rose 11% in June and corporate profits strengthened in the second quarter. Pres. Barack Obama has signaled signs of “green shoots” on the economic landscape. Alan Blinder, the former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, recently pronounced in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, “The Economy Has Hit Bottom.” The Aug. 3 cover story in Newsweek went even further, declaring boldly, “The Recession is Over.” -- But before you get giddy, several economists caution that we may be witnessing a false lull before the storm...."

Fed Chart - US-NRE Expenditures
Chart - A quote from the comments section -- "RAND Corporation published a study to DoD in late Fall 2008 suggesting a hot war in order to revive the economy.   RAND -- publishing batshit-insane material since 1948.  Some things never change." -- *by Project Mayhem* - See also link, link & link-PDF - See also article shown below....

RAND Lobbies Pentagon: Start War To Save U.S. Economy
A quote...."According to reports out of top Chinese mainstream news outlets, the RAND Corporation recently presented a shocking proposal to the Pentagon in which it lobbied for a war to be started with a major foreign power in an attempt to stimulate the American eco More..nomy and prevent a recession." -- For more on this issue see....On Inflation, Deflation & The Fed - 08-17-09 - mpg

The Dubious Monetizing Efforts Of The Fed
A quote...."As we discussed previously we expect this second half of 2009 to improve slightly. 2010 should pick up more about mid-year. We believe second quarter GDP figures were not minus 1.5%, but closer to minus 4%. We see real GDP at even by the end of the year and into the first half of the year with a plus 2% in the second half of 2010. If another stimulus package of $2 trillion is not passed and banks continue to reduce lending, the economy will begin to slide again. Our guess is if the stimulus package is not increased the Fed will instruct the banks to increase lending, which will monetize money and start higher inflation. It is really a tragedy for the American people and particularly business interest to have to deal with bogus government figures and continued lies."

"It's Almost As If The Administration Is Opting for a Rose-Colored-Glasses PR Strategy" Instead of Looking at Reality and Adopting Appropriate Policy -- Special Note - Related Article - A quote...."Donald W. Riegle Jr. is a former Senator, serving as both a Democrat and a Republican. He was - for 5 years - chair of the Senate Banking Committee. -- Riegle co-wrote an article today with the former CEO of AT&T Broadband and the international president of the United Steelworkers saying...."

"It's almost as if the administration is opting for a rose-colored-glasses PR strategy rather than taking a hard-nose look at actual consumer and employment figures and their trends, and modifying its economic policies accordingly."

"As I have repeatedly pointed out, psychologists say that - until government and business leaders prove they can behave responsibly, and until the perpetrators of financial fraud are held accountable - real trust will not be restored and the economy will not recover. -- There was massive fraud between 2001 and 2007. Indeed, massive fraud is continuing today."

The Secrets of China's Economy: The Government Owns the Banks rather than the Reverse
A quote...."China is the one leading economy where the divide – the disconnect between its financial sector and the world normal Chinese people and their businesses inhabit – doesn’t exist. Both worlds are booming again and this is due to the way the government handled its banks. China hasn’t allowed its banking sector to become so powerful, so influential, and so big that it can call the shots or highjack the bailout. In simple terms, the government preferred to answer to its people and put their interests first before that of any vested interest or group. And that is why Chinese banks are lending to the people and their businesses in record numbers.” -- In other words China has a "real economy" as opposed to a "Virtual Economy™" - mpg

Banks' Problem Loans Keep Growing
Chart - It's just starting folks, looking at the chart it appears they've got two to three more years to go - mpg -- A quote...."Bloomberg reports on the growing trend in non-performing loans at U.S. banks [emphasis added below]. Non-performing loans are those that are not making payments of interest and/or principal. -- This chart (click to enlarge) shows the level of bank loans that are not performing. As usual during a recession, the percentage is going up. The left scale shows the percentage and the right scale indicates the number of banks with serious issues."

Bank Lending Standards Tighter, Fed Says
A quote...."Banks aren’t loosening their purse strings at all. In fact, it looks like they’ve decided to put their pocket books away for the foreseeable future. -- The Fed’s quarterly report on bank lending standards was released today and it confirms what just about everyone knows, the banks are getting stingier. Here are some details from MarketWatch:"

U.S. housing starts, permits fall in July
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New U.S. housing starts and permits unexpectedly fell in July, pulled down by steeper declines in multifamily units, a government report showed on Tuesday."

U.S. July producer prices fall 0.9 percent on gasoline
Deflation Alert - A quote...."Compared with the same period last year, producer prices were a record 6.8 percent lower in July. They had been forecast to decline by 5.9 percent. - The longest U.S. recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s has crushed demand and pummeled prices throughout the economy, keeping inflation pressures firmly at bay despite massive official efforts to stimulate growth." -- For more on this issue see....On Inflation, Deflation & The Fed - 08-17-09 - mpg

Monday August 17th 2009

What Does Barack Obama Really Want in Afghanistan? - Article also posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."Paris, August 11, 2009 – It would be a great service to the American nation if Barack Obama would tell us what he himself thinks the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan are about. To capture Osama bin Laden? There have been eight years in which to capture bin Laden and it’s not been done yet, and there seems no reason to think that anything important would change if the thousands of Marines now scheduled for Afghanistan did capture him. What did it change to capture and execute Saddam Hussein in Iraq?"

Winners And Losers In The American Warfare State - posted at ICH
A quote...."August 17, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- “On my last day in Iraq,” veteran McClatchy News correspondent Leila Fadel wrote August 9th, “as on my first day in Iraq, I couldn’t see what the United States and its allies had accomplished. …I couldn’t understand what thousands of American soldiers had died for and why hundreds of thousands of Iraqis had been killed.”

Legal battle over British detainees
A quote...."A human rights organisation has announced the start of legal action against the Government over questions of alleged rendition to Afghanistan. -- Reprieve will demand the Ministry of Defence gives answers about the treatment of two men arrested by the British in Iraq in 2004 who have since been held at the US detention facility at Bagram air force base in Afghanistan."

Afghan Warlord: The Full Interview  - Article also posted at ICH
Interview -- A quote...."One of the most wanted men in the world has told Sky News the war in Afghanistan will never end until Nato forces leave his country. Here is Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's full interview...1. Are there any circumstances in which you would work with Hamid Karzai or his administration?

"The important issue for us is to end occupation, re-establishing the country's sovereignty, transferring the political power to an interim non-reconcile government and establishing an Islamic government in a free Afghanistan via a free election to correspond with the will of the people. -- We never want to take part in a puppet government under foreign dictators, Kabul's government consists of looters, corrupt men and criminals. We don't want to enter this dirty swamp...." -- *Gulbuddin Hekmatyar*

British Army Chief Backs Off ‘40 Years in Afghanistan’ Comments - posted at AntiWar
A quote...."Claims He Never Said That, or at Least He Didn't Mean That -- 10 days after he was quoted in an interview saying that the Afghan War “might take as long as 30 to 40 years,” British Army Chief of Staff General Sir David Richards sought to “clarify” his statement, which seems to be combination of attempting to spin the comment as meaning something else and denying that he said it in the first place."

Iraq May Hold Vote On U.S. Withdrawal
A quote...."BAGHDAD, Aug. 17 -- U.S. troops could be forced by Iraqi voters to withdraw a year ahead of schedule under a referendum the Iraqi government backed Monday, creating a potential complication for American commanders concerned about rising violence in the country's north."

After six years of U.S. occupation, infrastructure not improved in Iraq
A quote...."(WMR) -- WMR has learned from an NBC News source that six years after the United States invaded and occupied Iraq, there have been no improvements to critical infrastructures in the country, including electricity and water."

U.S. troops may be sent to Iraq's Arab-Kurdish 'trigger line'
A quote...."American forces' assignment would be to build trust and bridge the gap between feuding Arabs and Kurds in northern Iraq. Al Qaeda is exploiting the split between the two sides, a U.S. general says."

Iran agrees to supply UAE with gas
A quote...."Iran and an Emirati company have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to export natural Iranian gas to the United Arab Emirate (UAE)."

Iran urges Iraq to extradite 'criminal' MKO members
A quote...."Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki calls on Baghdad to extradite the wanted members of the Mojahedin-e Khalgh Organization (MKO)."

Romania denies reports of secret CIA prisons in its territory
A quote...."BUCHAREST, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Romania denied the reports that it hosted a secret prison of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Bucharest, saying the allegations groundless, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alin Serbanescu said on Thursday."

Central Asia Sounds Alarm on Islamic Radicalism  - link posted at AntiWar
Special Note - A quote...."KOSH-KORGON, Kyrgyzstan — The three men were locals who were said to have once crossed into nearby Afghanistan to wage war alongside the Taliban. They then returned, militant wayfarers apparently bent on inciting an Afghan-style insurgency in this tinderbox of a valley in Central Asia. By late June, they were holed up in a house here, stockpiling Kalashnikov rifles and watching pirated DVDs of martial arts movies."

At Least 20 Police Killed in Ingushetia Suicide Attack - posted at AntiWar
A quote...."Medvedev Fires Ingush Interior Minister Over Attack -- A suicide truck bomber rammed into a police station in Ingushetia’s city of Nazran today, killing at least 20 police and injuring 138 others. Russian media report the strike involved a stolen vehicle and the equivalent of 400 kg of TNT."

Memo reveals US backed anti-leftist coups
A quote...."New documents reveal former presidents Richard Nixon of the US and Emilio Medici of Brazil discussed a cooperative effort to topple leftists in Latin America during the cold war. -- The formerly secret memos, published by the National Security Archive in Washington on Sunday, showed a desire by the US and Brazil to overthrow leftist governments, including Chile's Salvador Allende and Cuba's Fidel Castro."

Obama’s first act as President of the US: EXECUTIVE ORDER 13489 - Banning release of any of his records

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
January 21, 2009

EXECUTIVE ORDER 13489
- - - - - - -
PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to establish policies and procedures governing the assertion of executive privilege by incumbent and former Presidents in connection with the release of Presidential records by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) pursuant to the Presidential Records Act of 1978, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Wikipedia and Google Will Bring Down Establishments All Over the World
A quote...."Back in the early 1990's, I was told about a German economist with an American name: Paul C. Martin. He had written a book titled Paymaster Germany. Its thesis: Germany cannot send home its Turkish and other immigrants. They would break the German economy by pulling their money out of the country. Anyway, that's what my German contacts told me about the book. It has never been translated ."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

 New Israeli rules curb travel from West Bank
A quote...."JERUSALEM // In an echo of restrictions already firmly in place in Gaza, Israel has begun barring movement between Israel and the West Bank for anyone holding a foreign passport, including humanitarian aid workers and thousands of Palestinian residents." -- also posted at PalestineChron

Israel hands demolition orders to 17 Nablus-area families
A quote...."Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli authorities handed official notices to 17 Palestinian families in the northern West Bank informing them that their homes would be demolished, an official told Ma'an on Monday." -- also posted at Uruknet

Human Rights Watch Calls on Israel to Investigate “White Flag” Shootings of Gaza Civilians
A quote...."Human Rights Watch released a report last week detailing new evidence of possible Israeli war crimes committed during last winter’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza that left over 1,400 Palestinians dead. The report says Israeli soldiers unlawfully shot and killed at least eleven Palestinian civilians, including five women and four children, who were in groups waving white flags to make clear that they were civilians and not combatants. We speak to HRW’s Fred Abrahams and air exclusive video from Gaza from Democracy Now!‘s Anjali Kamat and Big Noise Film’s Jacquie Soohen. [includes rush transcript]" --  ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Obama tacitly backs military's takeover of Honduran democracy
A quote...."WASHINGTON -- President Obama is making a big mistake in coddling the dictatorship in Honduras, and putting his administration at odds with the rest of the hemisphere. It also looks terrible to the world that his government so easily abandons its professed commitment to democracy and the rule of law."

Journalists threatened, attacked during protests against the coup d'état
A quote...."(C-Libre/IFEX) - Police and military officers once again attacked journalists and camera operators on 12 August 2009, in an attempt to repress them, as they were covering a protest against the coup d'etat in the capital city."

Will no One Rid Me of This Troublesome Priest?": Legal Retaliation Threatened for Calling for Boycotting the Election -- Roberto Micheletti might well want to echo this famous cry of England's King Henry II, frustrated by Archibishop Thomas Becket, as Honduras' independent clergy continue to break ranks with their own archbishop, apologist for the coup. -- And as with Becket, there are officials of the Micheletti regime ready to take up the challenge."
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More on the Iranian Election.....

Ahmadinejad wants certain power-holders in court
A quote...."As talk of putting opposition leaders on trial heats up in Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad involves himself in the issue by calling for the prosecution of "the power-holders and the affluent" in the country. "
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Young Turk Starts to See… - Alt - (YouTube - 9 min 33 sec - August 13, 2009)
Must View Video -- A quote...."Yes Turk.  Obama has sold us out. Long, long ago. The only problem is his assertion that the way to fix this is the formation of a “third party”… I guess he forgot about Philip Zelikow and the Help America Vote Act (read as “The Diebold, “We Own the Elections”, Electronic Voting Fraud Act”). Of course I would also like someone to tell me where exactly the Young Turk here stood on Ralph Nader’s and Cynthia McKinney’s campaigns last year. Was he one of those pundits begging “progressives” not to vote for the “spoilers”? The way to fix this is direct action. Not another ridiculous “Party”. All that will create is another batch of career politicians with their hands out. But still, a good video.  Worth the watch.."

White House drops public health care option
Related Article - A quote...."The Obama administration has indicated that it will not insist on a “public option” as part of its overhaul of the US health care system. The move signals the abandonment of the only fig leaf of “reform” in the administration’s cost-cutting health care scheme. It represents a complete capitulation to the insurance industry, which lobbied intensively against any government-run insurance plan."

Worse Than Herbert Hoover
Must Read - A quote...."When Obama was elected, many compared him to a modern day FDR. See this Time Magazine cover, for example. -- On the other hand, financial writer Ed Harrison has called Obama a "black Herbert Hoover". -- Who is right?"
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On Inflation, Deflation & The Fed
08-17-09
mpg

China is Again Buying Long-Term U.S. Treasuries . . . Does That Mean China is Betting on Deflation?
Deflation Alert - A quote...."For the first time since the financial crisis started, China is again ramping up purchases of long-term U.S. treasury bonds. Indeed, according to Bloomberg:" -- This makes sense ONLY if China believes the US-NRE will not monetize the debt or default on its obligations.  This could be a very bad call and a severely misplaced sense of faith on their part, just think of the Japanese and what happened to them in the US-NRE's real estate market during the 80's. – mpg   -- For more on this issue see....The Green Light - 01-16-08 - mpg

Let Them Inflate - It's coming, but it'll take time. - mpg
Related Article - A quote...."I think that Paul Krugman is one of those absurd guys that has no idea what in the hell he is talking about and who owes his undeserved prominence to being a real butt-kissing sucker-upper to Alan Greenspan and his Federal Reserve, and now he’s doing the same thing to the laughable Ben Bernanke and his disastrous Federal Reserve, although I will admit that I don’t know why anybody listens to this guy."

Regarding the two articles shown above see the following quote from Some Tentative Laws.....

Third law of wartime currency expansion *
1)  The interest rate (eventually) is inversely related to the amount of war time debt.
2)  The interest rate (eventually) is directly related to the amount of war time currency expansion.

Bernanke & Co. have generated enormous amounts of "temporary" debt by creating over twenty four trillion dollars worth of loans, back stops and guarantees to support "asset valuations" (rich people's paper products).  These programs were implemented solely to support and conceal trillions of dollars worth of bad debts (toxic assets).

As it stands now, we're still at the third law's rule number one regarding interest rates, as long as all that debt out there is still unwound (which will be difficult, if not impossible to do, because it's still increasing and we probably will soon enter into a Great Depression) interest rates will remain at zero and deflation will hold sway.

As soon as the debts and toxic assets are canceled or marked to market, (not likely for years, if not more than a decade) all those Fed "guarantees" will suddenly become monetized (not paid back), the third law's rule number two comes into play and the Fed will have to jack rates into the stratosphere to combat hyper-inflation.

Of course we could have stagflation (the asterisk*) however if that occurs, with the horrendous amounts of paper products already floating around out there, we'd all be looking at a replay of Germany's Weimar Republic. – mpg
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Recovering from Neoliberal Disaster - posted at GlobRsrch
A quote...."Can Iceland and Latvia pay the foreign debts run up by a fairly narrow layer of their population? -- The European Union and International Monetary Fund have told them to replace private debts with public obligations, and to pay by raising taxes, slashing public spending and obliging citizens to deplete their savings. -- Resentment is growing not only toward those who ran up these debts – Iceland’s bankrupt Kaupthing and Landsbanki with its Icesave accounts, and heavily debt-leveraged property owners and privatizers in the Baltics and Central Europe – but also toward the neoliberal foreign advisors and creditors who pressured these governments to sell off the banks and public infrastructure to insiders."

The Specter of Debt Revolt Is Haunting Europe -- Why Iceland and Latvia Won't (and Can't) Pay for the Kleptocrats' Ripoffs -- A quote...."In the wake of the world crash populations are asking not only whether debts should be paid, but whether they can be paid! If they can’t be, then trying to pay will only shrink economics further, preventing them from becoming viable. This is what has led past structural adjustment programs to fail."

US: Taxpayers Had to Work from January 1 to August 12 This Year Just to Cover Cost of Government
A quote...."Washington (CNSNews.com) - Americans had to work from January 1 until August 12 this year just to cover the cost of government.  That is 26 days more than they had to work last year to cover the cost of government."

Sunday August 16th 2009

John Pilger: Empire, Obama, and the Last Taboo
Alt - Excerpt (YuTb - 5m28s - Aug.13, 2009) - Alt - Full Speech (YuTb - 32m 27s - July 31, 2009)
Must View Videos - Absolutely Outstanding !! - mpg -- A quote...."John Richard Pilger is an Australian journalist and documentary maker. He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US."

Barack Obama, Front Man for the ‘Man’: "For the Empire getting Obama elected was a Win-win Solution" -- Must Read -- Quote of the Day...."I contend that ever since the first slave ship left the shores of Africa, the ideology of racism has been central to the success of capitalism. Without it and the wealth that slavery produced, Europe and its bastard offspring, the United States, would never have accumulated the capital that made today’s world possible. And if the corrosive and utterly destructive effects of the ideology of racism werre not apparent to you before the election of Barack ‘Hope & Change’ Obama, then surely by now they should be, and especially its effects on the ‘left’" -- also posted at GlobRsrch

Money is God, Greed is King and Corruption Runs the Game
Must Read - A quote...."Never has the world been subjected to as pure and destructive lunacy as at this time in history. Never have the anti-civilization voices been heard as stridently as in the so-called debate that is going on today. The insane and desperate noise of the single-party political scene in the  United States, the deafening roar of the Mafia, is threatening, and seemingly managing quite well, to out-thunder the few reasonable and civilized voices that are attempting to be heard over the din. -- The civilized debate that might be expected to be going on about health care, tax reforms, regulation of financial speculation, the criminality of imperial wars, improving education and much more, is poisoned while still in the womb, by the formidable power of the one political party that is spelled M O N E Y. Their power tools are the mass media, the ceaseless propaganda machines, the formidable use of hypnotic slogans and, added to that, the severe lack of insight and intellectual curiosity of the  U.S. citizens."

Progressive Acquiescence and the OCO
Must Read - A quote...." The Great Humanitarian, Barack Obama, is allowing his Globalist infested administration to set up to run all over Central and South America. You see, with a few exceptions, the Bush Administration had their hands full creating what Condi Rice called “The New Middle East” and so they took their neoliberal “Free-market system” eyes off the prize south of our border. --  But all that is about to change as The Global War on Terror sets it’s gaze on South America once again.   Oh wait, I’m sorry.  I’m so “Cheneyesque” these days.  I meant to say “Overseas Contingency Operation” (OCO)… Obama ended the “Global War on Terror” you know… all praise be to marketing."

The cause of all wars throughout history is interest-bearing debt.
Must Read - A quote...."Entirely unsuspected, except by a few astute observers, they cunningly and patiently wove a web in which they have entrapped mankind. —  *Emanuel Josephson, 1968*  —  "Most of the real history of the world has been hidden from us by the same people who commit the crimes, gigantic crimes on the scale of world wars , manufactured pandemics and massive tax ripoffs that ruin our health, kill our children and obliterate our peace of mind. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Ford, and both Charles Lindberghs — five of the absolutely most honest Americans — all warned us this would happen if a certain element was allowed free rein. They were, and it has." - also posted at DProgram -- For more on this sort of issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate & Total Nonfarm Payrolls & Long Term Joblessness Chart & The Ten Year Cycle

Marc Faber Says America Will Launch More Wars to Distract from Bad Economy
Missed this one - mpg -- A quote...."The claim that America would launch more wars to the help the economy is outrageous, right? -- Certainly. -- But leading economist Marc Faber has repeatedly said that the American government will start new wars in response to the economic crisis:" -- also posted at BLN

Bearing the Burdens of the Imperial City
A quote...."On an almost daily basis, in any city or town newspaper in the country, one can read articles about how this or that state or local government service is having its budget slashed severely if not being eliminated entirely altogether. -- Now, I am not talking about non vital services like oh…  Multibillion dollar programs that seek to give money to politically connected and now semi-government-owned car companies.  I’m talking about the basics of government services like education and road maintenance."

Iraq's invading coalition changes its name - In this case it accurately reflects the new facts....how utterly unusual.
A quote...."BAGHDAD - Multi-National Forces-Iraq, the name of the military command of the US-led coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003, will be changed next year as no other countries have troops stationed in the country, a US military spokesman said Sunday. -- After the departure of British, Romanian and Australian troops last month, the remaining 130,000-odd American troops are now the only foreign force in MNF-I. -- As a result, the command will be called United States Forces-Iraq (USF-I) from the start of next year, the spokesman said." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Life and Death in Baghdad as Americans Leave
A quote...."Life in Iraq is getting better. Take one example: two or three years ago, tattoo artists in Baghdad were working overtime giving distinctive tattoos to men who feared they would be killed in the Sunni-Shia sectarian slaughter. - Aware that the faces of so many who died were being mutilated, potential victims wanted their families to be able to identify their bodies through a special mark known only to close relatives. One man had an olive tree tattooed on to his body because his father had planted one on the day he was born."

Worldwide Iraqi treasure hunt
A quote...."The looting of Iraq's National Museum was one of the greatest scandals of the U.S. invasion in 2003. Archaeologists had repeatedly warned Washington that, without protection, the Baghdad museum – which held the priceless cultural heritage of not just of Mesopotamia, but of mankind – would be ransacked by looters. -- And it was. -- But U.S. troops didn't react when Iraqis ravenously tore through the galleries for two straight days, carrying off 15,000 precious artifacts from the first 7,000 years of civilization." -- also posted at AxisOfLogic & Uruknet

US soldiers kill 3 Iraqi children: Report
A quote...."American troops have reportedly shot dead three children in northern Iraq, as the US-led invasion continues to cost more civilian lives in the volatile country." -- also posted at WarInIraq & OhBummer

Rethink Afghanistan Documentary, Campaign and Petition - Alt/Vid#1 - AltVid#2 - AltVid#3 - Alt/Vid#4
Videos - (YouTube - various videos) - Some images are quite grim - mpg -- A quote...."

Much Of Afghan Drug Money Going To ‘Our Friends’
A quote...."One of the most revealing things we learned this week about the war in Afghanistan came in a Los Angeles Times report headlined "Taliban Drug Proceeds Lower Than Thought." -- We've been told again and again for years on end that the Taliban were running their operations off the opium trade, clearing as much as $400 million per year. Now, a Senate Foreign Relations Committee investigation says the proceeds are closer to $70 million." -- also posted at DProgram

MSM: Who is funding the Afghan Taliban? You don’t want to know
A quote...."(Reuters) – It is the open secret no one wants to talk about, the unwelcome truth that most prefer to hide. In Afghanistan, one of the richest sources of Taliban funding is the foreign assistance coming into the country."

Inside the Taliban: 'The more troops they send, the more targets we have'
A quote...."In the first of a series of exclusive reports in the run-up to next week's Afghan elections, award-winning correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad meets a group of Taliban in their mountain stronghold." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Deal: United States soldiers will deploy to Colombia
A quote...."Some American troops will soon find themselves stationed at military bases scattered across the South American nation of Colombia with a mission to use advanced Predator drone technology to aid in fighting the drug trade and to combat terrorism, according to published reports Saturday." -- also posted at DProgram

Venezuela's troubled media - Alt - (YouTube - 13 min 9 sec - August 14, 2009)
Must View Video -- A quote...."On the Listening Post this week, the state of Venezuela's media, and the troubles facing journalists in exile. - We start our show with a look at Venezuela. Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, is like catnip for the international media. - He has kept the South American country on the global news radar ever since coming to power in 1999. Now in his third term, Chavez took aim at his own country's media recently - particularly privately owned outlets – through a new media crimes law. - The wording of the proposed law was tough – so tough that the legislature controlled by Chavez's own party threw it out."

US Military Bases in Colombia Threatens UNASUR
A quote...."Managua, Aug 16 (Prensa Latina) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced that US military bases in Colombia are threatening the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) bloc. Colombia–EE.UU.: El nuevo pacto  A letter Chavez addressed to his UNASUR peers was published on Sunday by El Nuevo Diario of Nicaragua."
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Jund Ansar Allah group was armed by Fatah operatives, Hamas claims
Article #1 -- Special Note - A quote...."Jund Ansar Allah is one of several tiny radical Islamist groups that have popped up in the Gaza Strip in the past few years. These groups have openly challenged the Hamas government on the grounds that it has not imposed Islamic law (Shari'a)." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Al-Qaeda affiliated group declares war on Hamas
Article #2 -- A quote..."'Islamic Swords of Justice' posts message on al-Qaeda website vowing to avenge deaths of 24 people, including radical leader Abdel-Latif Moussa, in shootout with Hamas Saturday. 'War is on its way,' says group." -- also posted at WarInIraq

"Muslim Emirate": Al-Qaeda Branch in Gaza -- Palestinians Must Say "No"
Article #3 -- Special Note - A quote...."I honestly believe that Hamas has done the right thing by clamping down on the Al-Qaeda cell in Gaza. True, the bloodshed is lamentable and heartrending; and each and every Palestinian is deeply saddened by the spilling of Palestinian blood by Palestinian hands. However, it is imperative to realize that preventing the Gaza Strip from morphing into another Iraq, another Swat, or even another S'ada (Yemen) is a paramount task."

24 Killed, Including al-Qaeda-Linked Cleric, as Hamas, Gaza Islamists Clash
Article #4 -- A quote...."A significant clash erupted in the Gaza Strip today when the small Islamist faction the Jund Ansar Allah held a rally in a mosque, where leader Abdel-Latif Moussa declared the tiny enclave an “Islamic emirate” which would enforce Islamic rule, beginning in the border city of Rafah."

Gazan militant "surrenders to Egyptian police"
Article #5 -- A quote...." Rafah, Egypt - A Palestinian member of a Gazan militant group with ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist network turned himself into Egyptian security officers Saturday, an Egyptian security official said. -- The man was a member of the Jihad al-Salafi group that on Friday clashed with Hamas security officers in the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian security source told the German Press Agency dpa, speaking on condition of anonymity."

FACTBOX: Five facts about Jund Ansar Allah
Article #6 -- A quote...."(Reuters) - The leader of a little-known radical Islamist group was killed in clashes with Hamas policemen after he defied the rulers of the Gaza Strip by declaring an "Islamic emirate" in the Palestinian territory. -- Here are five facts about Jund Ansar Allah ("Warriors of God"):"

For more on the six articles shown above see....The Kingdom of Leprosy - 10-07-08 - mpg & The True Axis of Evil - 10-10-08 - mpg & US Sponsored Civil Wars - Palestine - Updated
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

US 'involved in Honduras military coup'
A quote...."The United States was involved in a military coup in Honduras that ousted President Manuel Zelaya on June 28, a top aide to Zelaya says. -- Before heading to Costa Rica, the Honduran military plane that flew Zelaya into exile stopped to refuel at the Soto Cato air base (Palmerola) where at least 500 US troops are based, said Patricia Valle, the deputy foreign minister of Zelaya."

Urgent Plea from Radio Progreso (my translation)
Action Alert - A quote...."Sun, 08/16/2009 - 12:30 — AP -- Help! Our Voice, Radio Progreso and ERIC SJ -- Our Voice in the political crisis: -- Radio Progreso and the Team for Reflection, Investigation and Communication ERIC of the Jesuit community in Honduras -- Radio Progreso was placed under siege by an army contingent the very day of the coup d'etat. At gunpoint and without a warrant, the military penetrated our facilities and forced us to silence our equipment. -- On August 14th, our radio sent two of its reporters to cover the protest that the resistance front had organized in the city of Choloma, between San Pedro Sula and Puerto Cortés, in the north zone of the Honduran Atlantic. Radio Progreso would cover the events when the protesters were savagely attacked by the police contingent."

Toppling a Coup, Part V: The Resistance Cracks the Oligarchy
A quote...."It’s hard to be a pro-coup newspaper when the regime you’re trying to prop up keeps attacking your own reporters. -- Such is the evolving reality for the daily El Tiempo in San Pedro Sula, owned by one of the top families, the Rosenthals, some say the wealthiest in Honduras’ oligarchic pantheon. The Rosenthals also own TV Channel 11, Cablecolor TV network, and dozens of companies that sell insurance, construction, cement, coffee, sugar, bananas, cattle, cacao, food processing, real estate and alligator skin products."

Honduras Front for More Resistance Actions
A quote...."Tegucigalpa, Aug 16 (Prensa Latina) The Honduras National Front against the Coup d''Etat is scheduled to meet on Sunday to discuss more civil peaceful resistance actions aimed at reestablishing the state of law in the Central American country. The meeting was convened Saturday during an anti-coup rally in Tegucigalpa."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

CIA Trained FATAH Leadership
Must Read - A quote...."“We sat there in the Pentagon and said, ‘Who the f*@# recommended this?’?” -- Sorry to say since Obama was elected it's the SSDD (Same shit different day) scenario for America. Obama is just a taller, darker more articulate version of Bush with whiter teeth and a bigger smile to draw you in.Let's look at foreign policy since he took office. Remember before the elections he said he'd talk to all people, including Iran's president? Well, that was because he thought the little CIA/Israeli operation during the recent elections would work and he knew he'd never have to actually do it. Now he uses the Iranian elections as an excuse to not keep his election promise. Now let's look at FATAH. Corrupt, infiltrated with Israeli agents, willing to sell Palestine down the river right out to the sea, if you pay them enough and keep them in power. With accusations flying from within FATAH over Abbas involvement with Ariel Sharon in Yasser Arafat's death, and now accusations of fraud, again from senior FATAH members since the FATAH conference. And now confirmation of what we already know, the CIA is involved in controlling and assisting FATAH in order to secure a GREAT deal for Israel and a shitty deal for Palestine."

No Health Reform for Gaza;  But Death Panels they Have
A quote...."While Americans are debating their own health system, they are unindicted co-conspirators in an effort to degrade the health, mental and physical, and to half-starve the people of Gaza. The callousness, ruthlessness and selfishness of this policy, in which all Americans are implicated, is breathtaking. In Gaza, there really were death panels deciding who lived and died last winter, and they wore Israeli uniforms."

Fatah’s congress followed by hollow claims of a “new beginning”
A quote...."Fatah’s first congress in 20 years was proclaimed by its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, as a “new beginning.” That he was still in a position to do so is proof to the contrary."

Former ANC leader backs study finding Israel guilty of apartheid
A quote...."Ramallah – Ma’an – Israel is an apartheid state that should be boycotted by the international community, former South African Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils told an assembly of Palestinian rights advocates on Sunday."

Israel Begins Sell-off of Refugees' Land
A quote...."Amin Muhammad Ali, a 74-year-old refugee from a destroyed Palestinian village in northern Israel, says he only feels truly at peace when he stands among his ancestors’ graves. --  The cemetery, surrounded on all sides by Jewish homes and farms, is a small time capsule, transporting Mr Muhammad Ali -- known to everyone as Abu Arab -- back to the days when this place was known by an Arabic name, Saffuriya, rather than its current Hebrew name, Tzipori."

Theory of Relativity….As it Applies to Palestine
A quote...."There was this story about a farmer who went to the judge and complained that he and his family of 8 live in a two-room crowded place.  The wise judge said I will make it nicer for you but you have to do exactly as I say. Upon agreement, he asked him to bring the chickens in the house that night.  The next day complaining about the noise and the smell, he was told to add in the two goats.  And when on the third day he complained about all the problems, he was told to add in the cow. Finally, with the situation out of control the judge told him he can take all the animals out and the farmer came back the next day to tell the judge how pleased he is because he now had so much space and the place is so clean and comfortable! " -- also posted at Uruknet

France supports the Palestinian struggle, Barghouthi receives the legion of honour
A quote...."Ramallah, 16-08-09: In a gesture of solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just struggle and steadfastness, France offered the highest medal of honour –the legion of honour- to Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, the Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative."

Campaign against medal winners stoked by UN-Israel Lobby liaison - posted at OnlineJournal
A quote...."(WMR) -- WMR has learned from UN sources that the campaign by the Israel Lobby in the United States to discredit former Irish President and UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson was aided and abetted by a long-time UN liaison “consultant” who has worked for both Secretary Generals Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon."
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More on the Iranian Election.....

Attorney decries 'severe' indictment in Iran trial
A quote...."The defense attorney of one of the post-vote detainees has described as 'severe' an indictment that charged his defendant with throwing a hand-made grenade. -- Another 25 of those arrested in Iran's post-vote protests were put on trial on Sunday in the third court session held in a Tehran."

Iranian election statistics
A quote...."I've written a number of things about the Iranian election, but one topic I never addressed was something called the Chatham House study (pdf), a study by two researchers in Scotland which is used by critics of the election to "prove" that fraud occurred."
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On the Edge with Max Keiser - 14 August 2009 - (1/3) - Part (2/3)  -  Part (3/3)
Videos - (YouTube - aprx. 10 min each - August 07, 2009) - A quote...."Guest: Tyler Durden of ZeroHedge.com & other issues.

White House appears ready to drop 'public option' - Absolutely no surprise. - mpg
A quote...."WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's administration signaled on Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run health insurance as part of his ambitious health care proposal."

Cameron dare not copy Obama's disastrous economic policies
A quote...."You and your party may be the only hope we have for a resilient society insulated from negative Black Swans and in which everyone has the opportunity to benefit from positive Black Swans. For I despair of the Obama administration's ability to fix this financial crisis and prevent future ones. I am appalled by the dangers it has been creating and its takeover by the same economic establishment responsible for this crisis."

Companies, Auditors, Rating Agencies and Regulators All Committed Fraud Which Helped Blow the Bubble and Sowed the Seeds of the Inevitable Crash -- A quote...."Everyone knows that the Fed blows bubbles. -- "But William K. Black - senior regulator during the S&L crisis, professor of Economics and Law, and an expert on white collar financial crime - says that fraud by many other companies also contribute to the bubble-and-bust cycle."

Consumer inflation tumbles as shoppers hold back
Deflation Update - A quote...."WASHINGTON – Consumer prices have fallen more in the past year than in any 12-month period in nearly six decades — a huge break for shoppers but also a reminder that prices are being restrained by weak spending that's likely to slow an economic recovery."

Last Week's Insiders Transactions: 10 Buys For $60 Million, 136 Sells For Over $1.15 Billion
Market Alert - A quote...."Courtesy of Finviz, the ratio of insider buying to selling transactions is 10 to 136. Total transaction value: Buys: $60.1 million; Sells: $1,146 million. This compares with last week's buys for $13.4 million and sells for $1,042 million. Over $2.1 Billion in insider sales in two weeks."

Insiders Continue to Sell, Sell, Sell
Market Alert - Related Article - A quote...."We have to send a tip of the hat, to ultra popular finance blogger at Zerohedge.com for alerting us to the huge number of insiders who are selling off stock in their companies. -- We have noted this sort of activity over the last few months and it appears that corporate insiders are selling with increased fervor. In late April (Insiders Are Selling Into the Rally), insiders were selling at a rate of 8.3 times the amount that insiders were buying. When we revisited the issue about two months later in June (More Evidence of Skepticism from Insiders), insiders had become even more bearish as they were selling at a rate of 9 times for each insider buy. -- Now, we are nearly two months later and the ratio of sellers to buyers continues to expand. In the last week, corporate insiders sold 13.6 times more than insiders bought according to information compiled by Finviz." - underline by website editor
Saturday August 15th 2009

No posts. - mpg

Friday August 14th 2009

Green Shoots or Scorched Earth? - Bulletins From Clunkerville
Must Read - Quote of the Day...."The banks are using all types of accounting tricks to hide the real losses or the true value of downgraded assets. The only difference between a common crook and a commercial banker is a well-paid accountant."

Stock Market Dollar Store: U.S. Dollar Down 12.5 Percent and S&P 500 Up 50 Percent since March. How the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Juice the Stock Market. -- Special Note - Charts - Graphs -- A quote...."Americans have missed one serious correction since the manic stock market took off in March.  Since that time the value of the U.S. dollar, the bedrock of our economic system has fallen a stunning 12.5 percent.  Currencies should not fluctuate this much especially the world’s reserve currency."

Take Away Stimulus Spending and You’ve Got an Economy Entering Depression
A quote...."...if giving people money so they could buy things actually made people prosperous, welfare recipients would be the richest people on the planet. Obviously, it doesn't work that way. What makes people rich is the ability to earn money...not their ability to get handouts. And remember, too, the feds don't really have any money to hand out. They can only get money by taking it from its rightful owners – either in taxation or loans. Or, they can print it up themselves. In any case, the money adds nothing real or extra to the economy. It merely distorts the economy...twists it...misleads it...and makes it a bigger mess than it was already." - bold by website editor --  In a sense the author is right, but in another sense he's totally, utterly, flat wrong.  In just the last six months this entire nation has watched open-mouthed while a bunch of Wall Street Banksters literally took over the Obama administration, got Obama and the Fed to give their completely insolvent institutions TENS OF TRILLIONS of dollars worth of pay-outs, back-stops and guarantees, whereupon they promptly handed themselves thirty-five to forty BILLION dollars in bonuses....proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that government "handouts" can - despite the author's claim to the contrary - make you very, very rich. – mpg

Economic nationalism on the rise in Europe
Special Note - A quote...."The economic tensions between Europe and the US, and within Europe itself, are intensifying in the run-up to the G20 summit to be held next month in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Major European countries are responding to the financial crisis with protectionist trade policies and appeals to national chauvinism." -- The Greater Depression is coming folks, it'll be here in about a year, and it'll be every country for itself....or, perhaps everyone else against the US-NRE.  After all, it was our elites who caused the whole problem in the first place with their ceaseless attempts (still ongoing) to establish a New Roman Empire and criminally bill Europe and the rest of the world for it by knowingly selling them trillions in bogus securities. - mpg

US economic myths bite the dust
A quote...."The Great Recession is allowing some widely held beliefs about the US economy – which were the source of much evangelism over the last few decades – to run up against a reality check. This is to be expected, since the United States has been the epicentre of the storm of policy blunders that caused the world recession. " -- also posted at CommonDreams & TruthOut

Russia, Germany eye closer economic ties amid crisis
A quote...."MOSCOW, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hosted German Chancellor Angela Merkel at his vacation residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday. -- The informal summit, the leaders' third meeting this year and the second following their July talks in Munich, was primarily focused on investment projects in the hope that closer economic ties would help the two countries tide over the global economic crisis."

No Wonder the Poker Game is Ending: The Wealthiest Have Taken All of the Chips
Special Note - A quote...."A new report-[PDF] by University of California, Berkeley economics professor Emmanuel Saez concludes that income inequality in the United States is at an all-time high, surpassing even levels seen during the Great Depression."  ---  The report shows that:
"As others have pointed out, the average wage of Americans, adjusting for inflation, is lower than it was in the 1970s. The minimum wage, adjusting for inflation, is lower than it was in the 1950s. See this. On the other hand, billionaires have never had it better."

The Rich Get Richer Etc....
Chart - Related Chart -- A quote...."In numbers that Paul Krugman has called "truly amazing," a recently updated paper by a Berkeley economist finds that income inequality in the U.S. is at an all-time high, surpassing even the inequities of the Depression. Professor Emmanuel Saez found that, during the feed-the-rich Bush years of 2002-2007, the top 1 percent of Americans enjoyed two thirds of the income growth."

Breaking News - 47 percent of South Florida homeowners underwater on mortgages
A quote...."As home values continue to show declines compared to a year ago, the percentage of South Florida homeowners underwater in their mortgages grew between the first and second quarter of the year, figures from Zillow.com show." -- also posted at RogueGov

Closing Update for Friday, August 14: Low Confidence
Some quotes...."The Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers came in at a 63.2 reading in August, down from 66 in July and below Street estimates for a rise to 68.5. Traders have been betting economic conditions would improve in the second-half of 2009, but today's data demonstrated that consumers, wracked by heavy personal debt loads, employment worries, and continuing deterioration in the housing market, may stall a recovery by tightening spending even further." -- " In other data released today, the Labor Department said that consumer prices showed no change in July, in line with analysts' expectations and far below the 0.7% jump in June. Prices have fallen 2.1% over the past 12 months, the biggest annual decline since a similar drop in the period ending in January 1950. Most of the past year's decline reflects energy prices falling 28.1% since peaking in July 2008. Some economists are concerned that the economy could fall into a deflationary spiral not seen since the Great Depression." -- Uh....Duhhhhh! - mpg

Toxic Loans Topping 5% May Push 150 Banks to Point of No Return
A quote...."Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- More than 150 publicly traded U.S. lenders own nonperforming loans that equal 5 percent or more of their holdings, a level that former regulators say can wipe out a bank’s equity and threaten its survival."

It's Friday, so that means it's Bank Failure Time
A quote...."It's Friday, so that means sometime after the close of business today, the FDIC will swoop in and take over more US banks that are teetering on disaster. -- How much more money does the FDIC have to rescue failing banks? It has about 13 billion on hand and ensures over 8,000 banks worth a total amount of 13 TRILLION. -- Penny for your thoughts?"

Colonial, biggest US bank failure of the year
A quote...."All of the Alabama-based Colonial's 346 branches will reopen on Saturday and operate as branches of BB&T, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said in a statement. - The US banking system saw three banks going under in 2007, followed by 25 in 2008. - With its bankruptcy on Friday, Colonial became the 74th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the United States so far in 2009, highlighting the extreme stress that the global "
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Latin America: Social Movements in Times of Economic Crises
Must Read - A quote...."The most striking aspect of the prolonged and deepening world recession/depression is the relative and absolute passivity of the working and middle class in the face of massive job losses, big cuts in wages, health care and pension payments and mounting housing foreclosures.  Never in the history of the 20-21st Century has an economic crisis caused so much loss to so many workers, employees, small businesses, farmers and professionals with so little large-scale public protest."

Obama, Bush and the Limits of Power
Must Read - A quote...."It should now be beyond dispute that the Obama administration represents a continuation, solidification and expansion of the Bush legacy, with some minor changes in some areas and a vast acceleration of government growth in others. And yet, as we can joyously witness, the president is running into problems. -- The most conspicuous feature of the Bush years was the nearly invincible faith in government power in the realm of national security. So pronounced was this trust in the national security state, war on terror, and U.S. empire, that the opposing Democrats, many of whom dissented from the Iraq war and the worst excesses in executive spying, detention and torture, looked reasonable in comparison. Many conservatives and libertarians even favored the Democrats in the 2006 election in hopes of reining in the profligate and warmongering Republicans." -- They were tragically wrong. - mpg

Biking Out of Iraq
Must Read - A quote...."The Bush administration invaded Iraq in March 2003 with a force of approximately 130,000 troops. Top White House and Pentagon officials like Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz were convinced that, by August, those troops, welcomed with open arms by the oppressed Iraqis, would be drawn down to 30,000-40,000 and housed in newly built, permanent military bases largely away from the country's urban areas. This was to be part of what now is called a "strategic partnership" in the Middle East. -- Almost five and a half years later, the United States still has approximately 130,000 troops in Iraq." -- also posted at AsiaTimes

Reflections by Fidel Castro: The Yankee Bases and the Latin American Sovereignty
Special Note - A quote...."The concept of nation emerged from the combination of common elements such as history, language, culture, costumes, laws, institutions and others related to the material and spiritual life of human communities. -- Bolivar, who worked the great heroic deeds that made him be known as ‘The Liberator’ during his struggle for the freedom of the peoples of the Americas, urged them to create what he called “the greatest nation in the world: less for its extension and riches than for its liberty and glory.”

What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom - Part I - Part II  - Part III - (GoggleVids - aprox 1hr each  - 02/01/08)
Videos - Special Note - A quote...."This is another brilliant Adam Curtis documentary originally produced for the BBC. It talks about the modern political realities, where the policies came from and the massive failures of those ideals and how they have ended up exactly where they did not want to be. This episode starts in the Cold War and shows the seeds that were sown to produce the modern political reality. adam curtis, documentary, islam, politics, usa, uk, freedom, liberty."

Afghanistan and the New Great Game
A quote...."Why is Afghanistan so important? -- A glance at a map and a little knowledge of the region suggest that the real reasons for Western military involvement may be largely hidden. -- Afghanistan is adjacent to Middle Eastern countries that are rich in oil and natural gas. And though Afghanistan may have little petroleum itself, it borders both Iran and Turkmenistan, countries with the second and third largest natural gas reserves in the world. (Russia is first.)" -- also posted at CommonDreams

Barack W. Obama: [NOT!] Strengthening the NPT - posted at AntiWar
Special Note - A quote...."According to [Susan] Burk, [Obama’s Special Representative for the NPT] there is a perception that, as result of certain actions in recent years, the NPT-IAEA regime is doomed to collapse and "that is a view that is wrong and must be refuted." -- It is more than a "perception," Burk. -- Most members of the IAEA General Conference, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, even the UN General Conference, itself, reckon that the Bush-Cheney-Bolton administration deliberately set out to emasculate the NPT-IAEA nuke proliferation-prevention regime. And largely succeeded."

Obama's Choice: New Documents Show U.S. Seeks Colombian Bases for Training and Operations
A quote...."President Obama was forced to address the growing clamor in South America in opposition to plans for U.S. military use of at least seven bases in Colombia. The base agreement proposes to carry out regional operations with a wide and ambiguous mandate and has raised concerns among governments throughout the region."
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Karzai's brother reveals vote deal with Taliban
A quote...."The Afghan government says it has reached a series of agreements with Taliban commanders to ensure voter safety in next week's presidential elections."

Gates: It's A "Mystery" How Long US Forces Will Be In Afghanistan
If you think about it, the headline shown above is pretty funny. - mpg -- A quote...."WASHINGTON — The Pentagon presented a grim portrait of the Afghanistan war Thursday, offering no assurances about how long Americans will be fighting there or how many U.S. combat troops it will take to win." -- also posted at RogueGov

Army on track to surpass 2008 suicide numbers - link posted at AntiWar
Related Article - A quote...."As many as 12 soldiers killed themselves in July, the Army announced today, and the service remains on course to setting a record for suicides in a single year. -- Of the 12 deaths, eight were active-duty soldiers and four were National Guard or Army Reserve soldiers who were not on active duty at the time of their deaths."

6 years after invasion, electricity still scarce in Baghdad
A quote...."BAGHDAD — Dark humor flips on when the lights go out in a city that still suffers from crippling power outages despite the billions of dollars that have been invested in its grid."

Wag The Dog, Again
War Alert -- A quote...."Israeli media reports that visiting National Security Adviser General Jim Jones and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates have told the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop complaining about Iran because the US is preparing to take action "in eight weeks" demonstrate that even when everything changes in Washington, nothing changes." -- It appears the economy is headed toward the next final leg down, and we're getting pretty close to the end of this particular "ten year cycle".  Otherwise the article shown above would not have been listed as a "war alert" and instead would've been considered just the usual run-of-the-mill posturing and threats against Iran to extract more concessions. - mpg

Worried Arabs seek to shed light on Israeli nukes - Hah!  Like that's ever gonna happen. - mpg
A quote...."The Arab League (AL) calls on the European Union to put its weight behind their efforts to compel Israel to open up its secretive nuclear program to international inspections."

The New Iran Sanctions: Worse Than the Old Ones
Special Note - A quote...."....the bipartisan Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, introduced in both the Senate and the House, enjoys the support of at least 74 senators and 294 representatives. -- There is just one problem: Iran is much less vulnerable to gasoline sanctions than is commonly believed on Capitol Hill, and its foreign gasoline dependence is dropping by the day. -- The little-known reason is that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has imposed dramatic measures to eliminate this strategic vulnerability [WOW! No wonder the US-NRE wanted to get rid of him during the last election! - mpg]. He has massively expanded the country's refinery infrastructure. Seven of Iran's nine existing refineries are undergoing expansion projects; seven new refineries are on the drawing board or already under construction. In three to five years, these projects will double Iran's refining capacity, putting it on par with Saudi Arabia." -- Well than obviously the US-NRE will just have to start sabotaging Iran's oil industry....oh wait, it's already been trying to do that for over a decade! - mpg

Turkmenistan to Launch New Pipeline to Iran
A quote...."Turkmenistan is a major gas producer in Central Asia, producing over 75 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year, press tv reported. -- With an annual demand of 50 bcm, Russia is currently the leading export destination for Turkmenistan's gas. -- In a bid to ease its dependence on Moscow's demand, Ashgabat is planning to increase its exports to Iran by 12 bcm a year, Reuters reported."

Medvedev excludes better ties with Kiev under current Ukrainian leadership
A quote...."MOSCOW, Aug. 14 - 2009-08-14 21:27:03 - (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday that any improvement in relations with Ukraine is impossible under the current Ukrainian leadership, the Interfax news agency reported. - "I don't see prospects for the normalization of our relations as long as the current leaders remain in power," Medvedev told a press conference after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Black Sea resort of Sochi."

Russian submarine designer certain of Bulava missile success
A quote...."The expert dismissed criticism over serious problems in the Bulava missile testing process, saying the designers were forced to bypass required testing stages due to a lack of funds and the lack of necessary facilities."

Brazilian population reaches 191.5 million
A quote...."RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian population reached 191.5 million, up from 189.6 million year-on-year, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said Friday."

Russian population is 142 Mln - minister
A quote...."SOCHI.  Aug  14  (Interfax)  -  The  Russian  population now is 142 million  people, Health and Social Development Minister Tatyana Golikova said."

Bosnia on the brink of crisis
A quote...."It is high summer in Bosnia, and on a remote hill-side Al Jazeera has joined a crowd of several thousand excited people to watch the traditional sport of bull-fighting. I had come with some trepidation, expecting blood and gore, and possibly death. In fact, in the Bosnian version of this sport, bull fights bull, and injuries are very rare. The fight is over as soon as one of the animals chooses to break and flee (which sometimes happens straight away), and horns are deliberately blunted."

Cuba: Gardening its Way Out of Crisis
A quote...."Sunlight brightens the paved streets and historic buildings of Havana, Cuba, bouncing off the tents of vendors and the tin drums of a street band. Once stricken by poverty and inequality, the city has slowly blossomed as a result of the bustling enterprise of urban agriculture. Between buildings and behind street walls, in every green space available, locals have cultivated crops, utilizing the techniques of sustainable urban farming. After years of isolation from the United States and the former Soviet Union, Cuba has independently fostered development of urban agriculture and now provides an environment of growth and structure for its economic, social and political policies." -- also posted at Creative-i

Worker-Run Businesses Flourish in Argentina
A quote...."The Huesitos de Wilde Cooperative is just one of more than 250 worker-recovered businesses in Argentina, which employ a total of 13,000 workers. Part of a broader effort to recover factories, which started after the country’s economic collapse in 2001, the workers at Huesitos de Wilde first occupied the factory and took over production in January 2007."
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“Well What If There Is No Tomorrow…
Must Read - A quote...."August 07, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- - …there wasn’t one today.” Sadly, it seems this memorable line from the charming comedy film classic, Groundhog Day, now carries a highly foreboding relevance to our present times. Indeed, what if there is no tomorrow? "

California Man Tasered While Sitting on His Porch
Must View Video - A quote...."1 Minute Video - Black man tazed on his front  porch, showing no signs of aggression. The cops just walk up and taze him. - I don't know which is more disturbing the video or the audio of the people laughing as this crime is commited." - bold by website editor -- Hey, all you Neo-Romans out there, you are a bunch of sick, depraved, wackos!  No doubt the people filming this assualt would've thought it even funnier if the cops had just shot the man dead with their guns.  Or better yet, beat him slowly to death with their clubs.  Ummmm, yummy. - mpg 

Torture Programs for Sale - Alt
Video - Special Note -- Rachel Maddow interviews a SERE expert regarding Bruce Jessen's and Jim Mitchell's help in designing the Bush torture program....for money. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - Iraq - Torture Fables

Details of secret CIA prisons released
A quote...."Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, a senior CIA officer who is currently in jail for corruption has told The New York Times how he oversaw the construction of three identical prisons from his base in Frankfurt where he ran the spy agency's main European supply base." -- also posted at RogueGov

Pentagon, governors face off over military reserve
A quote...."WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is upsetting the nation's governors by pushing for authority to call up military reservists for natural disasters — and to control how the troops would be used in any state. -- "Control" is the key word."

Rove Implicated in Prosecutor Firings
A quote...."Political adviser Karl Rove and other officials inside George W. Bush’s White House pushed for the firing of a key federal prosecutor because he wasn’t cooperating with Republican plans for indicting Democrats and their allies before the 2006 election, according to internal documents and depositions."
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Health Plans and Death Plans
Must Read - A quote...."The first illusion to chase off the stage is that the great debate here has much to do with health. So far, as public health is concerned, many of the biggest battles were fought and won a hundred years ago, at the end of the nineteenth century, with better nutrition, birth control, the change from wool to cotton clothing, the introduction of modern sanitation in the urban environment and – most important – clean water."

You Do Not Cut Deals with the System that Has to Be Replaced”: Ralph Nader on Secret White House Agreements with the Drug Industry -- A quote...."The Obama administration admitted last week it promised to oppose proposals to let the government negotiate drug prices and extract additional savings from drug companies. In return, drug companies reportedly pledged to reduce costs by up to $80 billion. The White House has tried to back off the reported agreements, but the drug industry says it expects the White House to uphold its pledge. We speak to former presidential candidate and longtime consumer advocate Ralph Nader. [includes rush transcript]" --  ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

If U.S. health care's so good, why do other people live longer?
Special Note - A quote...." Ask around for the healthiest country in the world, and the United States won't come close to topping the list. -- People live longer in just about every industrialized nation, from Canada to our north, throughout much of Europe, and around the Pacific in Japan, Australia and New Zealand." -- also posted at ICH & AftrDwngSt

"Obamacare Is to Health Reform What Bank Bailouts Are to Financial System Reform, Which Is to Say it Is the Opposite of What its Name Implies"  --  Pop quiz. -- Guess who wrote the following, someone on the left or the right:

"These are not really "town meetings" at all, at least in the sense of the town meetings I grew up with, and started out covering as a young journalist in Connecticut--that is, meetings called and run democratically, with leaders elected from the floor, open to all residents of a community. -- These "town meetings" are really nothing but propaganda sessions run by members of Congress who are trying to burnish their fraudulent credentials as public servants, and trying to perpetrate a huge fraud of a health care bill that purports to be a progressive "reform" of the US health care system, but that actually further entrenches the control of that system by the insurance industry, and to a lesser extent, the hospital and drug industry."

Internal Memo Confirms Big Giveaways In White House Deal With Big Pharma
A quote...."A memo obtained by the Huffington Post confirms that the White House and the pharmaceutical lobby secretly agreed to precisely the sort of wide-ranging deal that both parties have been denying over the past week." -- also posted at ICH
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

What Actually Happened in Fatah's Elections?
Special Note -- A quote...."The U.S. government has been meddling in the Palestinian internal affairs since at least 2003. Its effort is to transform the Palestinian national movement for liberation and independence into a more compliant or quisling government, willing to accede to Israel’s political and security demands. -- The tactics employed by the U.S. include military, security, diplomatic, and political components. With the ascension of Hamas after the 2006 legislative election, U.S. strategy has been fixed on unraveling the election results. Its aim for a political comeback of the pro-American camp within the Palestinian body politic has been initiated with the convening of Fatah’s national conference this last week." -- also posted at ICH

Hamas will not compromise with 'occupying' Israel
A quote...."Hamas blames Fatah's efforts to please Israel and its Western allies for the current stalemate in the reconciliation talks being held in Cairo. -- In an interview with Press TV, the movement's representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, said that the main obstacle on the way to reconciliation was external pressures that have impacted Fatah."

Hamas fight with Islamic radicals kills 13 in Gaza
Special Note -- A quote...."Islamic radicals from an al-Qaida-inspired group battled Hamas security in the Gaza Strip Friday in shootouts that killed at least 13 people. -- The fighting began when Hamas forces surrounded a mosque in the southern Gaza town of Rafah where about 100 members of Jund Ansar Allah, or the Soldiers of the Companions of God, were holed up, including some armed with suicide belts and rifles, according to residents of the area." -- For more on the two articles shown above see....The Kingdom of Leprosy - 10-07-08 - mpg & US Support of Terror & US Sponsored Civil Wars - Palestine

Update - Rafah gun-battle goes on, 16 killed, 120 wounded
Related Article - A quote...."GAZA, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- After eight-hour armed fighting between Gaza ruling Hamas security forces and militants of a pro-al-Qaida group in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on Friday,16 people were killed and 120 wounded, medics and witnesses said"

Palestinian Authority wants better ties with Iran
A quote...."Acting Palestinian Authority Chief, Mahmoud Abbas, has expressed eagerness to boost relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran." -- also posted at Uruknet

Boycott movement takes hold in British unions
Special Note - Action Alert - A quote....."The international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel has won several important victories in recent months. At this summer's trade union conferences in Britain, BDS activists have made significant progress." -- For more on how to boycott Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website. - mpg

Israel: Investigate ‘White Flag' Shootings of Gaza Civilians -- Internal Israeli Military Investigations Inadequate
A quote...." The Israeli military is stonewalling in the face of evidence that its soldiers killed civilians waving white flags in areas it controlled and where there were no Palestinian fighters. These cases need thorough, independent investigations. -- *Joe Stork*, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch -- also posted at AtheoNews

Jerusalem families waiting for US action
A quote...."14 August 2009 -- In the early morning hours of Sunday, 2 August, a force of hundreds of police and border guards invaded the quiet East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah and systematically evicted the sleeping Hanoun and Gawi families from their homes. The sun dawned upon a new reality: chaos in the streets, children crying and elders in anguish. The police blocked every entrance to the area, preventing friends from coming to the aid of the distressed families or even helping them to remove their belongings from their homes. Revealing prior coordination with the authorities, the homes were quickly occupied by ultra-orthodox Jewish settlers." -- also posted at AtheoNews

MCHR uncovers horrific details of treatment of captives in Israeli jails
A quote...."OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Mizan Centre for Human Rights has published a report about the human rights abuses suffered by Palestinian captives in Israeli occupation jails. - The details of the report were made public in a press conference on Thursday at the Ambassador Hotel in occupied Jerusalem." -- also posted at Uruknet

High Tech Weaponry used in Gaza: Radiation contamination by Depleted Uranium
A quote...."I am a Middle East Consultant living in the UK and would like all people living in or near areas of conflict to understand the High Tech Weaponry used by many military establishments worldwide, especially the US (the manufacturers) and other NATO forces. -- The reason for pointing this out to you is as a response to my research on the terrible rise in cancer related deaths. This is not only confined to military personnel in the battle zone but also the indiscriminate contamination of civilians, field crops and water supplies in the immediate area as well as the adjacent areas/countries. Below is my report:"

Israeli policy: Yeshayahu Leibowitz quotables
A quote...."Cited in a recent Ha’aretz piece about the decline of the israeli left, the late academic Yeshayahu Leibowitz is described as remarking that he is not sure whether Israel’s policies since 1967 are evil stupidity or stupidly evil. In another, verbatim citation, Leibowitz is quoted as having said, more resolutely, in 1990: “Everything Israel has done, and I emphasize everything, in the past 23 years is either evil stupidity or stupidly evil.“

Obama's America is not delivering the goods
A quote...."With great sorrow and deep consternation, we hereby declare the death of the latest hope. Perhaps rumors of its death are greatly exaggerated, to paraphrase the famous quote by Mark Twain, but the fears are being validated day after day. Barack Obama's America is not delivering the goods. Sharing a glass of beer with a racist cop and a pat on the back of Hugo Chavez are not what we hoped for; wholesale negotiations on freezing settlement construction are also not what we expected. Just over six months after the most promising president of all began his term, perhaps hope has a last breath left, but it is on its deathbed." - also posted at ICH -- PLEASE!  It's as if the author didn't see the last two speeches Obama gave before AIPAC during his election bid.  Never has the world seen so much obsequious, sycophantic, craven, butt-kissing, performed by a politician with such gusto in such a short span of time!  All of it in an effort to please a lobbying group representing the interest's of another national state whose objective's are inimical to world peace and justice.  It was a disgusting, shameful act of utter prostitution and a definite indication of things to come. - mpg

The US Campaign to END the Israeli Occupation at the Veterans for Peace Convention (3 Parts)
A quote...."Josh Ruebner presents "Armed and Dangerous" -- "The US Campaign is a diverse coalition working for freedom from occupation and equal rights for all by challenging US policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Campaign is based on human rights and international law, providing a non-sectarian framework for everyone who supports its Call to Action. Its strategy is to inform, educate, and mobilize the public so as to change the US role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to support peace, justice, human rights, Our Principles and Purpose."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Honduras: Attack on Peaceful Protestors Escalates By Jenny Atlee, Quixote Center  - Alt - (YuTb - 51s- 08/12/09)
Contains Video - A quote...."The repression is escalating.  Crackdowns are occurring in San Pedro Sula as well as Tegucigalpa. Our delegation is accounted for and unharmed.  They are now accompanying Honduran human rights workers and sending alarming reports.  Police and military are rounding up people and taking them to places used for torture in the 1980s.  Ambulances full of people with their faces smashed in and bodies beaten are racing to hospitals — among them is Marvin Ponce, a Honduran member of Congress who just met with State Department officials in Washington to denounce to coup."

Pro-Coup Honduras Presidential Candidate Elvin Santos Is a Key Beneficiary of Continued US Govt Funding
A quote...."A taxpayer funded US foreign aid agency, chaired by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, earlier this year inked a multi-million dollar contract with a company controlled by one of the ringleaders of the recent coup d’état against the democratically elected president of Honduras, according to documents obtained by Narco News."

Honduras charges Zelaya supporters with sedition
A quote...."TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Two dozen supporters of Honduras' ousted president were charged with sedition Friday in an intensifying crackdown on protests against the coup-installed government."

Honduras protests continue, as Zelaya visits Chile - posted at AntiWar
A quote...."Honduras' interim president appeared to reverse course Thursday and reject any official visit by the head of the Organization of American States, days after his government said OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza could come as an observer with a diplomatic delegation."
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More on the Iranian Election.....

Iran cleric: US despised for backing protesters
A quote...."After US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton acknowledged US support for protesters who oppose the outcome of Iran's disputed election, a top official lashes out at the White House. -- Tehran's interim Friday Prayers leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a member of Iran's Assembly of Experts and leading Principlist figure, attacked the US for not understanding Iran's stance regarding foreign interference in its affairs."
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Thursday August 13th 2009

Afghanistan, the Unwinnable War - posted at AntiWar
Must Read - A quote...."From Secretary Gates to Gen. Petraeus, U.S. military and political leaders have been unanimous that the Afghan war does not lend itself to a military victory. Unfortunately, the Taliban does seem to believe in a military victory and triumphal return to power, and imposing upon the United States the same kind of defeat their fathers imposed upon the Soviet Union. -- Whatever we may say of them, Taliban fighters have shown a greater willingness to die for a country free of us Americans than our Afghan allies have shown to die for the future we Americans envision for them."

When the Dead Have No Say
Quote of the Day...."Enough is enough," -- "It's time we learned the lessons of history. The British Empire, the most powerful empire in the world, could not subdue Afghanistan. Neither could the Soviet Union, the second most powerful country at that time and next-door neighbor to Afghanistan. Two of the great militaries in history found Afghanistan easy to conquer but impossible to hold. It's time the people of Afghanistan assumed full control of their own country. It's time for American troops to come home -- not only from Iraq, but from Afghanistan too. And the first step is an exit strategy." -- *John Burton*, chairman of the California Democratic Party -- also posted at ICH
 & CountrPunch

Scott Horton Interviews Robert Higgs - posted at AntiWar
Audio Interview - A quote...."Robert Higgs, senior fellow at the Independent Institute and author of Depression, War and Cold War, discusses the archaic concept of demobilizing the military after a war, the end of staunch U.S. anti-interventionism, how the Korean War budget was partly diverted to a general cold-war buildup and the resemblance of U.S. defense spending to a politically untouchable welfare program." --  [MP3 here. (27min:33sec)]

Scott Horton Interviews Justin Raimondo - posted at AntiWar
Audio Interview - A quote...."Justin Raimondo, editorial director of Antiwar.com, discusses the Democratic antiwar activists who rolled over for Obama, the insanity of the “clear, hold, build” strategy in Afghanistan, the rise of neoliberal think-tanks, the dependence of foreign policy on domestic constituencies, the U.S. pursuit of Central Asian oil routes and how a viable pro-peace, pro-liberty movement is decades away from fruition." -- [MP3 here. (46min:20sec)]
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Guantanamo, the United States and the Geneva Conventions
A quote...."The United States continues to violate the Geneva Conventions at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. -- That’s the verdict of a new report by a British group that’s been studying the detention center almost from its establishment as a terror prison. The report was a response to a Pentagon report saying the conventions were being met, though suggesting detainees be given more religious freedom and social interaction." -- also posted at AftrDwngSt

History of CIA Torture: Unraveling the Web of Deceit, Part V -- (Part I -- Part II -- Part III --  Part IV)
Special Note - A quote...."This report tells the largely untold human story of what happened to detainees in our custody when the Commander-in-Chief and those under him authorized a systematic regime of torture. This story is not only written in words: It is scrawled for the rest of these individuals’ lives on their bodies and minds. Our national honor is stained by the indignity and inhumane treatment these men received from their captors..."

The Latest Tale From the ‘War on Terror’ Dark Side - posted at AntiWar
A quote...." PARIS — Little mainstream comment seems to have appeared on the latest revelations of incompetence and sadistic fantasy that have been published this week about the ways in which the American nation lost its honor and international reputation because of the Bush administration’s infatuation with torture. -- Or with, as Vice President Richard Cheney has put it, "the dark side": its eight-year excursion into what commonly is understood to be criminal international behavior, which the former vice president continues to defend with relish and conviction."

ACLU to Government: Shed Some Light on Bagram
A quote...."Today, we sent a letter to the Department of Defense (DOD), asking them to reconsider their refusal to turn over information about the detention facility at Bagram in Afghanistan. The request is connected to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request we filed earlier this year with the Departments of Defense, Justice and State and the CIA for documents related to the detention and treatment of prisoners at Bagram." -- also posted at Uruknet

Alleged Obama-Era Rendition Victim Accuses US of Torture, Coercion
A quote...."A Lebanese contractor named Raymond Azar says he’s the first known victim of rendition under President Obama. Azar alleges that he was coerced into confessing to bribing a contract officer after being seized and tortured by armed federal agents in Afghanistan. We speak with attorney and legal expert Scott Horton about Azar’s case. [includes rush transcript] - bold by website editor --  ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 
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Karzai suffers an election blow
A quote...."MAZAR-E-SHARIF - A key alliance supporting Afghan President Hamid Karzai's re-election appears to be coming unglued with just 10 days to go before the August 20 polls. -- Junbish-e-Milli, the party and support base of Karzai ally General Abdul Rashid Dostum, has split, with a large and powerful arm campaigning openly for the president's main rival, Abdullah Abdullah."

Report: Karzai, Taliban Reach Secret Election Day Ceasefire Deal  - posted at AntiWar
A quote...."According to Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s brother Wali, the government has reached a series of secret ceasefire deals with various Taliban commanders, which will allow voting to more safely take place in areas of southern Afghanistan under the militants’ control."

After Iraq, Blackwater Haunts Afghans
A quote...."CAIRO — After gaining notoriety for killing many Iraqi civilians, the US private security company Blackwater, which now calls itself Xe Services, is running amok in Afghanistan. -- "The Americans must answer for my son's death," Mirza Mohammed Dost, an Afghan elderly, told the Los Angeles Times, standing at the foot of his child’s grave, near a headstone that reads, "Raheb Dost, martyred by Americans." -- also posted at Uruknet

Ex-ISI Chief Says Purpose of New Afghan Intelligence Agency RAMA Is ‘to destabilize Pakistan
Special Note - A quote...."In an exclusive interview with Foreign Policy Journal, retired Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul responds to charges that he supports terrorism, discusses 9/11 and ulterior motives for the war on Afghanistan, claims that the U.S., Israel, and India are behind efforts to destabilize Pakistan, and charges the U.S. and its allies with responsibility for the lucrative Afghan drug trade." -- also posted at Uruknet & OnlineJournal

GERMANY:  Opposition Builds Up Over Afghanistan
A quote...."BERLIN, Aug 14 (IPS) - German writers and philosophers have begun to condemn military intervention in Afghanistan as an "invasion", a "mistake", and a "delusion"."

U.S. mulls pulling troops from remote Afghan outposts
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S. military commander in Afghanistan is considering pulling American troops out of some remote outposts on the country's mountainous eastern border with Pakistan, where local guerrillas are allied with the Taliban and al Qaida, U.S. officials told McClatchy."

Israel urged to 'rush' into attack on Iran - Article also posted at DProgram
War Alert - A quote...."An Israeli defense official believes Tel Aviv must rush to carry out a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities even without US approval, a report says."

Medvedev fires warning shot across Kiev’s bow, but will Yushchenko pay heed?
A quote...."Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in an open letter sent to his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yushchenko on Tuesday, proved Moscow’s patience with Kiev’s “anti-Russian” position is over."

Medvedev, Merkel to focus on energy, investment at Sochi talks
A quote...."SOCHI, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - Energy cooperation and investment projects are set to dominate talks between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in south Russia's Sochi on Friday."

Putin visits Abkhazia, confirms Russian aid commitments
A quote...."SUKHUMI, August 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Abkhazia on Wednesday for a one-day working visit, confirming Moscow's pledges of financial aid to the former Georgian republic."

Colombia deal suggests unchanged U.S. policy to keep mammoth global military presence
A quote...."WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Despite protests and warnings from many Latin American countries, the United States is poised to sign an agreement with Colombia to expand military presence in that country. -- Colombian officials said Wednesday that negotiations on the new pact could conclude as soon as this weekend. -- The move has raised ire in Latin America region where memories of U.S. military interventions are still fresh and seems to undermine the Obama administration's latest efforts to forge warmer ties with the region. --  However, the implications of the controversy may go beyond the region and seems to suggest an unchanged U.S. policy to keep mammoth global military presence despite the change of government, analysts said."
    
China to roll out the big guns
A quote...."Military modernization tops the agenda of Chinese President Hu Jintao. More hardware, including jets and missiles, will soon be unveiled as Beijing tries to narrow the gap between China's and the United States' combat capabilities."

Oil deals smooth China-Venezuela trade ties - 12 Aug 09 - (YouTube - 3 min 8 sec - August 11, 2009)
Video - Special Note -  A quote...."China imports the bulk of its oil from the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Africa. -- But the quest to secure energy resources to feed its ever-growing economy has also started to benefit Latin America, particularly Venezuela where Chinese investment has increased 50-fold in the past decade. -- Al Jazeera's Dima Khatib reports from Caracas."

UNASUR summit crowned by Declaration of Quito
A quote...."The Declaration of Quito addresses issues such as energy, the economy, health and education. -- It stipulates creating the Bank of the South and a common reserve fund and monetary system as well as councils on education, culture, technology and innovation. A council on combating drug trafficking is also included. -- The declaration strongly condemns the coup in Honduras against former President Manuel Zelaya and recognizes him as the country's constitutional president."

Ecuador reinforces border with Colombia
A quote...."QUITO (AFP) – Ecuador said Wednesday it has reinforced its northern border with Colombia amid a tense dispute over Bogota's plans to open seven military bases to US troops."

Ecuador's Correa Calls For Regional Monetary System
Less "calling", more doing! Quickly, before every country in Latin America is sucked down into the US-NRE's deflationary vortex. - mpg -- A quote...."QUITO (Dow Jones)-- Ecuador's President Rafael Correa on Monday called for the fledgling Union of South American Nations, or Unasur, to negotiate a regional monetary agreement and to move ahead with establishing a new multilateral lending agency."

Brazil TV host turned politician 'ordered killings to boost ratings'
Wow!  And this website editor thought the Columbian military's occasional round-up of  indigents so they could murder them, pass them off as FARC guerillas to get promotions and pay raises was bad form.  This is just sick. -- A quote...."A Brazilian politician who fronts a popular television crime show is being investigated for allegedly ordering a series of executions in a bid to boost his ratings. -- Wallace Souza, a former police officer who used his lunchtime television slot to rail against the violence sweeping the jungle city of Manaus, is suspected of commissioning at least five murders to prove his claim that the region is awash with violent crime." - bold by website editor - also posted at BLN --  It even sounds like 9/11 in a way, doesn't it folks?  Guess Mr. Souza learned from the best. - mpg
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

SF Protesters Decry Media Censorship in Honduras
Photo Gallery -- A quote...."Foot traffic was slowed by protesters yesterday evening at Market and Powell. Opposite the City's mammoth downtown shopping mall, a ring of people, some with their mouths taped shut, carried signs depicting military actions against civilians in Honduras. Why here? 870 Market is the address of the Honduran Consulate."

LIVE FROM HONDURAS: Peaceful march interrupted by bus on fire
A quote...."The first piece ofinformation I received upon inserting myself into the march on Tegucigalpa yesterday morning was that sometimes it was good to cry. It turned out that this advice, delivered by a female schoolteacher from exiled Honduran President Mel Zelaya’s hometown of Catacamas, was a reference to the predilection for tear gas on the part of the Honduran police force. I thus appeared to be the only person in the vicinity who did not participate in the unanimous negative response whenever someone in the crowd shouted: “Are you scared?”

Honduras protesters mob legislator
A quote..."Supporters of Manuel Zelaya, the ousted Honduran president, have mobbed a legislator known to back the coup that pushed the president from power."

Honduran police seize university after 2nd day of violence
A quote...."TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Thousands of protesters calling for the return of deposed President Manuel Zelaya clashed with police Wednesday for the second day in a row, but Honduras' de facto government showed no willingness to allow Zelaya to return."

Honduran Coup Troops Charge at Students
A quote...."Mexico, Aug 13 (Prensa Latina) Hondura''s pro-coup forces beat students of the Cuban Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), who are visiting their country and paid medical assistance to several wounded demonstrators."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Recapping the [Israeli] Twilight Zone Media
A quote...."I have to admit, I’ve lost touch with the Israeli mainstream media. I’ve found so many alternative medias online that there really isn’t any point to turning on the telly, or buying a newspaper. But one must travel into the alternate universe known as Israel every so often. So I put on my goggles and nose plug and sink my hands deep into Ha’aretz’s front page, knowing this is as left as the mainstream media gets down here. What does the Israeli mind preoccupy itself with while the international boycott movement is growing and Israeli citizens are turned refugees right under its upturned nose?  --  The number one obsession in Israel is US support, or rather the eating-our-cake-and- having-it-too notion of what we can get away with and still have US support."

Using the 'Boob Tube' to Teach Hate to Americans
A quote...."If the Nazi's had television and the internet at their disposal, we'd probably be having this conversation in German. They didn't, but another much more powerful group has, Zionists, who preach a steady stream of hatred against Arabs/Muslims and are always calling for an invasion of another Muslim country that are conveniently 'existential' enemies of Israel. -- This article, Anti-Arab Brainwashing By The US Media pretty well sums up the hate Americans are taught on a daily non-stop basis. -- All in the hope of turning Americans into the same bunch of violent, paranoid, neurotic and war mongering nation as Israel."

Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Charts - Tables - Oppression by the Numbers -- (This is only one week's worth! - mpg) -- A quote...."Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting period (06 – 12 August 2009): -- also posted at Uruknet

Israel questions rights groups' motives - 13 Aug 09 - Alt - (YouTube - 3 min 2 sec - August 13, 2009)
Video - Special Note - A quote....""Human Rights Watch has accused Israeli soldiers of unlawfully killing 11 Palestinian civilians during the January Gaza offensive. Civilians Killed Holding White Flags in Gaza, is HRW's third publication in five months condemning Israel's actions towards Palestinians. -- To counter the criticism, the Israeli government has apparently launched a campaign to discredit human rights groups. -- Al Jazeera's Dan Nolan reports from Jerusalem."

Zionism, Ruin of the Soul, video by Sameh Brill
Video - A quote...."(in the photo, Natan Sharansky welcoming "imported" Israelis for "natural growth" on Palestinian lands) Our fantastic Sameh Brill has come up with another of his great "Hidden Truth Series" videos that compiles documents to tell the story of what is behind what happens. In this number, Obama and his views on Israel, (with some Israeli views on Obama that are less than flattering), the expulsions of Palestinians from their own homes in from East Jerusalem, but not only there."

Evicted Jerusalem family refuses to give up
A quote...."At 5:15am on Sunday, 2 August, I woke up to the sound of the Hanoun family's front room windows being smashed in. I had just laid down to rest only 20 minutes earlier. -- The Hanoun family is one of 27 families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem facing eviction from their homes as part of a plan to implant a new Jewish settlement in the area. They are refugees from 1948, after being displaced from their home in Haifa during the Nakba, or catastrophe."

Palestine's sounds of music - Alt - (YuTb - 2 min 50 sec - August 13, 2009)
A quote...."Lebanon's Beiteddine International Arts Festival held in the Chouf mountains may be a few hundred kilometres distance from the Palestinian city of Ramallah, but getting there has been a lifelong dream for Amal Nazzal. --  Nazzal, a 21-year-old Palestinian singer, had never left the Occupied West Bank before and had only known of Lebanon from films and news coverage."
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The Truth Will Not Out, on Its Own - posted at ConsortiumNews
A quote...."The right-wing fury at town hall meetings over health care and the Republican obstruction of any serious reform in Washington are not just symptoms of a complex debate on an issue packed with powerful special interests; it is a test of whether reality matters in the United States. -- When a supposedly “moderate” Republican like Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa endorses the crazed view of the “deathers” who claim that President Barack Obama’s health-care plan would promote euthanasia, it is clear that the nation’s problem is bigger than any one legislative battle, even one as big as health reform. -- The overriding question has become whether the United States – as a representative democracy – is on the verge of losing its sanity." - bold by website editor --  "On the VERGE of LOSING its sanity"!!! - That train left the station a long time ago and is now about a hundred miles down the tracks gathering speed fast.  If George Orwell were alive today he'd have died laughing, or of a broken heart, or both. Put a fork in this country!!  It's done, it's cooked and it is OVER! - mpg

The Windsor Building Fire
Special Note - A quote...."On the night of February 12, 2005, a fire started in the Windsor building in Madrid, Spain, a 32-story tower framed in steel-reinforced concrete. At its peak, the fire, which burned for almost a day, completely engulfed the upper ten stories of the building. More than 100 firefighters battled to prevent the uncontrollable blaze from spreading to other buildings." - also posted at OhBummer -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - WTC7 & 9/11 - WTC-1&2

New evidence shows Bush White House orchestrated purge of US attorneys
A quote...."Karl Rove and other senior Bush White House officials orchestrated the firing of nine United States attorneys in 2006, recently disclosed congressional testimony and e-mail communications show."

“All Roads Lead to Rove”: Fmr. New Mexico US Attorney David Iglesias on New Evidence Linking Bush Admin to Firings -- A quote...."Documents released by Congress this week offer powerful new evidence that Karl Rove and other senior Bush administration figures took the lead in the firing of nine US attorneys in 2006. We speak to former New Mexico US attorney David Iglesias, who was fired after refusing Republican pressure to take on allegations of voter fraud and pursue cases against Democrats to help a Republican lawmaker’s re-election campaign. [includes rush transcript]  --  ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

The Pentagon Wants Authority to Post Almost 400,000 Military Personnel in U.S. - Article also @ DProgram
Military Police State Update - A quote...."The Pentagon has approached Congress to grant the Secretary of Defense the authority to post almost 400,000 military personnel throughout the United States in times of emergency or a major disaster. -- This request has already occasioned a dispute with the nation’s governors. And it raises the prospect of U.S. military personnel patrolling the streets of the United States, in conflict with the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878."

Fort Detrick, Quantico, DHS and Halliburton --What do they all have in common?
Web Watch Warning - A quote...."They're all monitoring the CLG. By Lori Price 14 Aug 2009 I took a walk through the CLG visitor logs over the past thirty hours and saw numerous .gov, .mil and state visitors in the logs. I compiled some of them. Note:  This is only a snapshot! *Many* were missed as I could not possibly take the time to check all them." -- Everyone should check their visitor logs, they might find something interesting. - mpg
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Financial Brinkmanship: Forcing Americans to Spend and Discouraging Savings  - link posted at BuzzFlash
Special Note - Charts - A quote...."Spending more than you earn is a financially devastating recipe for individuals and nations.  I’ve read countless pop financial books on how to gain and sustain wealth and those that have any substance always emphasize saving your money, spending less than you earn, and being prudent with your funds.  In no book did I ever read that going with a cash for clunkers gimmick was a way to automatic wealth.  Many Americans faced with a deep unemployment crisis have had to morph their spending habits by force.  I’ve talked about this new found austerity and how it is having a profound impact on society.  These will be fundamental structural changes.  Just like the Great Depression generation some of these new habits will stick for life."

The nation quickly descending into chaos - Article also posted at DProgram
Bond Market Warning  - A quote...."A very dangerous thing occurred last Thursday and Friday.  The Federal Reserve monetized roughly 40% of the nation's enormous debt.  This means that the Fed printed money to flow into the economy in order to cover over 40% of the debt burden the U.S. now carries -- Within days the U.S. government quickly sold off this portion of the debt, creating even more debt, leading Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to request from Congress a lifting of the debt ceiling so that we could cover our obligations.  That, of course, will create even more debt."

Credit Implosion And Depression Coming, We Are So Screwed - Article also posted at DProgram
A quote...."Peter Gorenstein, TechTicker: In July, Ben Bernanke told a town hall meeting, "I was not going to be the Federal Reserve chairman who presided over the second Great Depression." According to New York Times columnist Paul Krugman in that regard he's succeeded.  Bernanke's rescue of the financial sector in tandem with the Obama Administration's stimulus plan prevented a "full replay" of the Great Depression, the Nobel Prize-winning economist writes.  ---  But like President Bush declaring "Mission Accomplished" in 2003, Elliott Wave International founder, Bob Prechter thinks Krugman and Bernanke are premature in declaring victory over the credit crunch."

What killed the auto industry? - Hint: It wasn't the workers
A quote...."To hear pundits talk, the U.S. economy will rebound after the stock and credit markets heal. Consumers will then regain “confidence.” -- But the bankruptcy of General Motors (GM) and Chrysler — icons of U.S. industrial might — are a sign that the nation’s problems go deeper than cash-strapped banks or fickle shoppers. The real economy is seriously sick — and it’s going to take more than bailouts and tax credits to set things right."

How Does The U S Stack Up Against Other Countries Health Care Systems - Alt - (YuTb - 7m10s - Aug 10, '09)
Video - Special Note -- A quote...."Anyone who doubts a public option for health care should watch this video. It contains different clips of other countries' health care systems and compares them with our (the U.S.) health care system . As a side note (not mentioned in this video), Canada spends half a billion dollars annually treating U.S. citizens who illegally seek treatment there because they cannot afford treatment in the U.S."

Economist: Claim that Economy Has Recovered “Is like Somebody Borrowing Money from Their Uncle and Then Celebrating That Their Income Has Gone Up” -- Full Quote...."John Hussman - PhD economist and former professor of economics and international finance at the University of Michigan - has a great quote:"

"If you look carefully at the economic data that shows improvement, and correct for the impact of government outlays, it is difficult to find anything but continued deterioration in private demand and investment. What we do see is a government that has run what is now a trillion dollar deficit year-to-date, representing some 7% of GDP.  ---  That sort of tab will undoubtedly buy some amount of Cool-Aid, but it has been something of a disappointment to watch how eagerly investors have guzzled it down. It is not at all clear that short-term, deficit-financed improvement necessarily implies sustained growth in the context of a deleveraging cycle. This is like somebody borrowing money from their Uncle and then celebrating that their income has gone up."

US Home Foreclosures Set Another Record in July
A quote...."U.S. home loans failed at a record pace in July despite ongoing federal and state programs to avoid foreclosures, which have severely strained housing and the economy. -- Foreclosure activity jumped 7 percent in July from June and 32 percent from a year earlier...."

US retail sales fall unexpectedly despite cash-for-clunkers offer
A quote...."What was still more damaging for the future prospects of the US economy was that sales at US shops, malls and other retail channels fell unexpectedly last month, and by so much that the small positive effect of the US car scrappage scheme was more than cancelled out. An overall 0.1 per cent decline in sales, the first fall in three months, reinforced fears that the US recovery may be more unsteady than hoped. The US Federal Reserve said earlier this week that the US economy had "flattened out", a view undermined by the latest news. Retail Purchases excluding cars [ ex-auto ] fell by 0.6 per cent on the month, again by more than forecasts. Consumption comprises around 70 per cent to of the US economy – and is around 16 per cent of the global economy." - bold by website editor

Bank of England: Recession will be the worst in modern history - Commonly called a Depression. - mpg
A quote...."Britain is facing the steepest recession in modern history, Mervyn King, the Bank of England Governor, declared as it laid bare the full extent of the damage wrought by the financial crisis."

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081309-081909 - links page

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