“Modern
Debt
Peonage”?
Must Read - A
quote...."The
best that this weekend’s bailout can do is to postpone the losses on
bad mortgage debts. But this is a far cry from actually restoring the
ability of debtors to pay. Mr. Paulson talks about more lending to
support real estate prices. But this will prevent housing from falling
to levels that people can afford without running deeper and deeper into
mortgage debt. Housing prices are still way, way above the traditional
definition of equilibrium – prices whose carrying charges are just
about equal to what it would cost to rent over time." --
Also posted at DissentMag
At
Least
23 Killed as US Drones Attack School in North Waziristan
A quote...."This morning two US Predator Drones attacked a small
village two miles north of Miramshah in Pakistan’s North Waziristan
Agency, killing at least 23 and wounding 20 others. Ten of those killed
were said by officials to be militants, although a previous official
was quoted as saying “no foreign militant was killed” in the strike. At
least four women and two children were reported among the dead and most
of the wounded are also reported to be women and children."
Film
Backs
Afghans’ Claims of US Killings -
This
doesn't like....actually surprise
anybody, does it? - mpg
A quote...."On August 22, the US military reported that an airstrike in
Herat province killed 30 militants and no civilians. It didn’t take
long for locals and Afghan officials to dispute this report, claiming
that the toll included scores of civilians. The toll rose as bodies
were pulled from the rubble, rising to at least 90 civilians, a count
later confirmed by a United Nations investigator. The US however stuck
to its original account, revising the number only slightly to include
seven civilians killed. The US has also accused villagers who claimed
higher numbers killed of spreading Taliban propaganda. However, a video
has emerged which seems to dispute the US military’s account and
support the accounts of every other agency.
Video
Shows
US Carnage In Afghanistan
A quote...."08/09/08 "The Times" -- - As the doctor walks between rows
of bodies, people lift funeral shrouds to reveal the faces of children
and babies, some with severe head injuries. - Women are heard wailing
in the background. “Oh God, this is just a child,” shouts one villager.
Another cries: “My mother, my mother.”
Atrocity
in Azizabad: More Child Sacrifices on the Terror War Altar
A quote...."Every day, the shame mounts, the lies grow more brazen and
more brutal, and the dishonor spreads and deepens -- ineradicable, like
a white garment soaked with blood."
Coup
against
Iraqi gov't exposed
A quote...."Iraqi sources have unveiled efforts by top officials from
the former Baath party to carry out a bloodless coup against Maliki's
government." --
This article is
highly suspect, somebody seems to be trying to trouble the waters to do
a little fishing, the question is who? - mpg
Stratfor:
Geopolitical Diary: The Deafening Silence on Iran
Special Note - A
quote...."U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, visiting Libya,
said on Thursday that Iran and North Korea should emulate Libya's
example. What she meant by that was, like Libya, they should reach an
accommodation with the United States while abandoning policies that the
United States opposes. -- That seems like a fairly uninteresting
statement, except for the fact that Iran was mentioned. We have heard
nothing from the Bush administration on Iran since before the war in
Georgia — although a State Department official told us on Thursday that
the last official statement was issued by the U.S. Treasury on Aug. 12.
Certainly, the constant barrage of comments by the Bush administration
on the Iranian threat has decreased dramatically. Frankly, while there
might have been passing mentions, the administration appears to have
simply dropped the subject."
Al-Qaida new
tape blasts Iran for working with US -
That's like the pot calling the kettle
black. - mpg
A quote...."Al-Qaida marked the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks
with an hour and a half video message Monday summarizing the state of
jihad, or holy war, around the world and slamming Iran for
collaborating with the United States."
Pakistan
reopens supply lines to Western forces
A quote...."ISLAMABAD, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Pakistan has reopened supply
lines to Western forces in Afghanistan, after the road through the
Khyber Pass was blocked on Saturday, days after a raid by U.S.
commandos on a Pakistani village, a minister said on Monday."
MIDEAST:
Israel Moves to Judaise East Jerusalem
A quote...."EAST JERUSALEM, Sep 9 (IPS) - The Israeli government is
attempting to Judaise Palestinian East Jerusalem, and maintain a Jewish
majority against the demographic threat of a higher Palestinian birth
rate."
Zardari
to
visit China to negotiate nuclear deal
A quote...." ISLAMABAD: Asif Ali Zardari, the president-elect of
Pakistan, will visit China next week to negotiate a nuclear deal
similar to the one between India and the US, an official said on
Monday. "
U.S.
plans
$7 billion missile-defense sale to UAE
A quote...."WASHINGTON, Sept 8 - The Bush administration is planning to
sell the United Arab Emirates an advanced U.S. missile defense system
valued at up to $7 billion that could be used to defend against Iran,
people who have attended briefings on the matter said on Monday."
India jubilant
over nuclear trade waiver
A quote...."India's government and business groups were jubilant Sunday
over a hard-won endorsement from nations that supply nuclear material
and technology, a decision that paves the way for a landmark civil
nuclear energy accord between India and the United States."
Ukraine president
Viktor Yushchenko accuses PM Yulia Tymoshenko of treason
A quote...."Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko has accused Yulia
Tymoshenko, the Prime Minister, of high treason amid a bitter political
struggle over whether the country's future lies with the West or with
Russia."
Russia
to
send naval squadron, planes to Venezuela
A quote...."MOSCOW—Russia said Monday it will send a naval squadron and
long-range patrol planes to Venezuela this year for a joint military
exercise in the Caribbean, an announcement made at a time of
increasingly tense relations with the United States. -- The apparently
retaliatory move follows the U.S. deployment of warships to deliver aid
to the former Soviet nation of Georgia, barely a month after Russian
armor and aircraft crushed the Georgian military in a five-day war."
Russia says to
send nuclear warship to Caribbean
A quote...."MOSCOW, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Russia said on Monday it would
send a heavily-armed nuclear-powered cruiser to the Caribbean for a
joint naval exercise with Venezuela, its first major manoeuvres on the
United States' doorstep since the Cold War."
The US Neocon's New Proxy War in
Georgia - 6 articles - Monday - [ Day 32 ] =====
==========
Russia
courts old allies, steps up defiance of the West
A quote...."from the September 8, 2008 edition -- Moscow - Russia
is groping for fresh ways to engage with the world after its
lightning-fast summer war with Georgia chilled relations with the West
and dismayed even some of its closest regional allies."
Russia to set
up embassies in Georgia rebel regions
A quote...."MOSCOW, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Russia will establish diplomatic
links on Tuesday with the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday, less than
two weeks after recognising their independence."
Saakashvili
lied once again – Russian FM
A quote...."September 9, 2008, 12:39 -- Mikhail Saakashvili’s claims
are a blatant lie, according to Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov, who spoke to journalists in Moscow ahead of a meeting regarding
the establishment of diplomatic ties with his counterparts from South
Ossetia and Abkhazia."
Russia promises
full pullout from Georgia within a month
A quote...."Published: September 9, 2008 -- MOSCOW: Russia's
president pledged Monday to withdraw troops from key areas of Georgia
after 200 European Union monitors deploy later this month as part of a
revised cease-fire agreement."
Georgians
Question
Wisdom of War With Russia
A quote...."TBILISI, Georgia, Sept. 8 -- As open war between Georgia
and Russia has subsided into a tense standoff among world powers,
Georgians inside and outside the government have begun to question the
wisdom of the costly confrontation, and of the leaders who set it in
motion. - They are doing so carefully, saying they don't want to be
seen as supporting the Kremlin's call for the ouster of President
Mikheil Saakashvili. But whispers of discontent first heard during the
early days of the war have grown louder and bolder."
US
shrinks from arming Georgia
A quote...."Sep 9, 2008 -- WASHINGTON - As if the outgoing
administration of US President George W Bush didn't already have enough
on its plate, the question of whether and how to re-arm Georgia in the
aftermath of its thrashing last month by Russia is moving steadily up
an increasingly crowded foreign policy agenda."
End - The US Neocon's New Proxy
War in
Georgia - 6 articles - Monday - [ Day 32 ] =====
==========
FBI
arrests
former lobbyist in growing Abramoff case
A quote...."The FBI today arrested Kevin Ring, a former lobbyist, for
his alleged role in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Justice
Department officials said that the FBI arrested Ring this morning at
his Maryland home. He is charged in a 10-count public-corruption
indictment, the officials said. Ring is a former congressional staffer
for Rep. John Doolittle (R-Ca.)"
What
Really
Happened on September 11?
A quote...."On September 11, I entertained a couple of house guests,
senior journalists from Scandinavia. I remember watching in horror and
disbelief the unfolding drama, as the United States was being subjected
to multiple deadly attacks on-screen. I turned to the international
affairs editor of a major Danish paper and told her "This could not
have been done by al-Qaida." I am an Israeli and, as such, I have a
fair "sixth sense" as to the capabilities of terrorists and their
potential reach."
Filmmaker
Urges
International Tribunal to Probe 9/11
Special Note - A
quote...."Italian film-maker Giulietto Chiesa, who was in Berlin for a
screening of his documentary which questions the official US version of
the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has called for an international tribunal to
probe events. -- Chiesa was in Berlin at the weekend for a screening of
his film which features, among others, novelist Gore Vidal and
playwright Dario Fo as well as retired American professor of philosophy
David Ray Griffin who advances conspiracy theories that contradict
mainstream accounts of events of 11 September, 2001."
The
Top
Ten Connections Between NIST and Nano-Thermites
A quote...."The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
has had considerable difficulty determining a politically correct
sequence of events for the unprecedented destruction of three World
Trade Center (WTC) buildings on 9/11 (Douglas 2006, Ryan 2006, Gourley
2007). But despite a number of variations in NIST’s story, it never
considered explosives or pyrotechnic materials in any of its
hypotheses. This omission is at odds with several other striking facts;
first, the requirement of the national standard for fire investigation
(NFPA 921), which calls for testing related to thermite and other
pyrotechnics, and second, the extensive experience NIST investigators
have with explosive and thermite materials." --
For more on WTC7 see....9/11
-
WTC7
Lawmakers
Seek
Anthrax Details
Special Note -- A
quote...."Washington - A month after the F.B.I. declared that an Army
scientist was the anthrax killer, leading members of Congress are
demanding more information about the seven-year investigation, saying
they do not think the bureau has proved its case." --
For more on this issue see....9/11
the
Sequel - Return of the
Jihadi - 08-23-08 - mpg
It's the Issues, Stupid
The Obama Poll Drop
A quote...."Oh no, guess what? The liberals are nervous. Yep, the
obedient lib-Dems are finally starting to realize that the little party
they were having in the immediate aftermath of the Sarah Palin
selection may have been a bit premature. Oops."
Twin Cities Police Thug-O-Thon -
3 articles - Monday - [ Day 9 ] =========
========== =======
Tyranny
on
Display at the Republican Convention
A quote...."St. Paul is a window into our future. It is a future where,
as one protester told me by phone, “people have been pepper-gassed,
thrown on the ground by police who had drawn their weapons, had their
documents seized and their tattoos photographed before being taken away
to jail.” It is a future where illegal house raids are carried out. It
is a future where vans containing heavily armed paramilitary units
circle and film protesters. It is a future where, as the protester
said, “people have been pulled from cars because their license plates
were on a database and handcuffed, thrown in the back of a squad car
and then watched as their vehicles were ransacked and their personal
possessions from computers to literature seized.” It is a future where
constitutional rights mean nothing and where lawful dissent is branded
a form of terrorism. " --
Also
posted at CommonDreams
Storm
Troopers at the RNC
A quote...."Ten days ago, as the nation focused attention on the
hurricane nearing the Mississippi delta, another storm was brewing far
upstream in St. Paul, Minnesota — a storm far more dangerous, it turned
out, but one by and large overlooked by the Fawning Corporate Media
(FCM)."
Use
of
Force Against RNC Protesters “Disproportionate,” Charges Amnesty
International
A quote...."[London]–Amnesty International is concerned by allegations
of excessive use of force and mass arrests by police at demonstrations
in St. Paul, Minnesota during the Republican National Convention (RNC)
from September 1-4, 2008. The human rights organization is calling on
the city and county authorities to ensure that all allegations of
ill-treatment and other abuses are impartially investigated, with a
review of police tactics and weapons in the policing of demonstrations."
End - Twin Cities Police
Thug-O-Thon - 3 articles - Monday - [ Day 9 ] =========
========== =======
Why
The Fannie-Freddie Bailout Will Fail
A quote...."08/09/08 "ICH" - -- With yesterday's announcement of the
most massive federal bailout of all time, it's now official: Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac, the two largest mortgage lenders on Earth, are
bankrupt. -- Some Washington bigwigs and bureaucrats will inevitably
try to spin it. They'll avoid the "b" word with vengeance. They'll push
the "c" word (conservatorship) with passion. And in the newspeak of
21st century bailouts, they'll tell you "it all depends on what the
definition of solvency is." --
For
more on this issue see....What
Ben
Bernanke Said - 03-18-08 - mpg
Brazil,
Argentina
drop dollar for bilateral trade
A quote...."BRASILIA, Brazil: Brazil and Argentina are ready to stop
using U.S. dollars to trade goods between them. -
Brazil's president tells the Buenos Aires-based Clarin newspaper that
exports and imports between the two nations will be bought and sold in
local currency — reals and pesos."
A
Major War: Not Just Rumors
Must Read - A
quote...."The most stable model of international relations that is both
historically recurrent and structurally repeatable in the future is the
balance of power system in which no single great power is either
physically able or politically willing to seek hegemony. This model was
prevalent from the Peace of Westphalia (1648) until Napoleon, from
Waterloo until around 1900, and from Versailles until 1933....."
-- "If one of the powers becomes markedly stronger than others
and if its decision-making elite internalizes an ideology that demands
or at least justifies hegemony, the inherently unstable system of
asymmetrical multipolarity will develop. In all three known
instances—Napoleonic France after 1799, the Kaiserreich from around
1900, and the Third Reich after 1933—the challenge could not be
resolved without a major war."
Russia,
Europe
and USA: Fundamental Geopolitics
Must Read - A
quote...."As details of the larger strategic picture emerge over what
is at stake in the Georgia and larger Caucasus crisis, it is becoming
clearer that Moscow is not determined to roll back the borders of
Stalin and the Cold War of 1948. What Putin and now Medvedev have begun
is a process of defusing the highly dangerous NATO expansion, led by
the Washington warhawks since the end of the Cold War in 1990."
Going
on
an Imperial Bender - How the U.S. Garrisons the Planet and Doesn't
Even Notice
Must Read - A
quote...."At the height of the Roman Empire, the Romans had an
estimated 37 major military bases scattered around their dominions. At
the height of the British Empire, the British had 36 of them
planetwide. Depending on just who you listen to and how you count, we
have hundreds of bases. According to Pentagon records, in fact, there
are 761 active military "sites" abroad." --
Also posted at ICH
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Opening the
Gates of Hell in Pakistan
Must Read - A
quote...."To conceal my American upbringing, I wore pants in the
oppressive heat (shorts were derided as "underwear" at the time), grew
my hair out of its crew-cut shape, and avoided slipping into English.
If the merchants pegged me as a foreigner, my uncle warned, they would
be less willing to field questions about their wares and more eager to
sell them at high prices. -- Today, American leaders surveying options
in the region display even less prudence than a child in an unfamiliar
marketplace. They openly speak the language of violence, fail to ask
necessary questions, and evince little concern about the costs of their
decisions."
Pakistan
declares ceasefire when there is rising Russian US tension, is it
hoping to align with Russia?
Special Note - A
quote...."The US escalates attacks -- The US knows exactly what it was
doing when for the first time it launched ground troops into Pakistan.
The decision came from the highest echelons of US strategic thinkers.
Everyone in Pakistan has called it a red line. Even when Musharaf was
powerful he said no active US troops on US soil."
US
Raid
on Pakistan leaves 30 Dead; Pakistan Government Protests; [and other issues]
A Juan Cole round-up --
Contains Videos -- A
quote...."US ground troops conducted a raid into Pakistan's tribal
areas leaving an estimated 20 dead. The governor of the North-West
Frontier Province, Owais Ahmed Ghani, said that the raid was
'outrageous," and the government charged that women and children were
among the dead. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry called US ambassador Ann
Patterson in for an explanation. - The US was already in trouble with
people in this region because of an air raid in Afghanistan that killed
civilians."
Pakistani
parliament
condemns US-led attack
A quote...." ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Parliament
condemned an American-led attack in Pakistani territory on Thurday
after the government summoned the U.S. ambassador to protest the
unusually bold raid in a troubled border region."
Pakistanis
furious
over U.S.-led border raid
A quote...."ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan is determined to defend its
territorial integrity, the country's foreign minister said on Thursday,
as anger mounted over a raid by U.S.-led troops on a remote border
village."
As
Pakistan
Election Looms, Fresh US Strike in Waziristan Kills Six
Civilians
A quote...."As anger continues to mount in Pakistan over yesterday’s
attack by US ground troops in South Waziristan, which reportedly killed
20 civilians, unnamed US officials have suggested that the raid was
only the beginning of an increase in NATO operations in Pakistan’s
tribal areas."
Poll:
US
seeking to grab Pak nukes
A quote...."Many people believe that the United States is wreaking
mayhem in Pakistan to take control of its nuclear arsenal, a new poll
indicates."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Work
of Evil: Beyond the Worst-Case Scenario in Somalia
Special Note - A
quote...."Jim Lobe at Antiwar.com brings fresh news of what has become,
proportionately, the most savage, brutal and ruinous front in the
global campaign of military aggression known as the "War on Terror":
Somalia. -- We have been tracking the situation in Somalia here since
American military and security forces and their Ethiopian proxies
invaded the country in December 2006, in a "regime change" operation to
overthrow the first quasi-stable government Somalia had seen in 15
years." --
Also posted at Urknet
Jim Crow alive
and well in Hebron
A quote...."On 27 July, the children and I were walking home when a
group of Israeli settlers assaulted us from a hilltop with fist-sized
stones. Some narrowly missed my head. Focusing my video camera, I
recorded an Israeli settler flinging stones at the children from his
long-range slingshot. When he saw that I was filming him, he struck me
in the leg with a rock. He chased me, kicked me and screamed that he
was going to kill me."
New
Middle East Quartet established in Damascus
A quote...."MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Maria Appakova) - It was
not enough for Syria to break out of international isolation. Now it is
claiming the laurels of peacemaker and the status of a key player in
the Greater Middle East."
Ecuador
Giving
U.S.
[N.R.E.] Air Base the Boot
A quote...."MANTA, Ecuador -- ....the government of Ecuador has
decided, and Washington has apparently agreed, that one of the most
important foreign outposts in the United States' war on drugs will
close. The 450 U.S. Air Force personnel and contractors stationed at a
military base that shares the airport's runway will be leaving next
year."
Ukraine
parliament speaker says ruling coalition dead
A quote...."KIEV, September 4 (RIA Novosti) - The Ukrainian
parliamentary speaker said on Thursday the Our Ukraine party, headed by
the country's president was pulling out of the pro-western ruling
coalition after just nine months in power."
Cheney
colleague
admits bribery in Halliburton oil deals
A quote...."A former colleague of the US Vice-President, Dick Cheney,
has pleaded guilty to funnelling millions of dollars in bribes to win
lucrative contracts in Nigeria for Halliburton, during the period in
the Nineties when Mr Cheney ran the giant oil and gas services company."
Petraeus:
No Major Iraq Troop Drawdown in '08 -
Don't anyone out ther even pretend you're
surprised. - mpg
A quote...."Gen. David Petraeus has recommended against any significant
reduction of U.S. forces in Iraq before the end of the year, ABC News
has learned."
Army:
soldier
suicide rate may set record again
A quote...."WASHINGTON -- Soldier suicides this year could surpass the
record rate of last year, Army officials said Thursday, urging military
leaders at all levels to redouble prevention efforts for a force
strained by two wars."
More of those cheap,
expendable, easy to replace, biological weapons components
self-destructing again....yawn. - Whoops, did that sound vampire
elitish of this editor....so sorry, after writing about this nation's
illustrious sociopaths for so long some of there thinking is beginning
to rub off. - mpg
Twin Cities Police Thug-O-Thon -
5 articles - Thursday - [ Day 5 ] =========
========== =======
Why
We
Were Falsely Arrested
Special Note - A
quote...."ST. PAUL, Minn.—Government crackdowns on journalists are a
true threat to democracy. As the Republican National Convention meets
in St. Paul, Minn., this week, police are systematically targeting
journalists. I was arrested with my two colleagues, “Democracy Now!”
producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, while reporting on
the first day of the RNC. I have been wrongly charged with a
misdemeanor. My co-workers, who were simply reporting, may be charged
with felony riot." --
Also posted at
CommonDreams & ICH
Update
from
the Streets of Minneapolis
A quote...."I just got off the phone with Kevin Gosztola, one of our
OEN correspondents covering the street activities occurring during the
Republican National Convention."
Mass
arrests of protesters at Republican National Convention
A quote...."Authorities have carried out a massive mobilization of
federal, state and local police and military forces to cordon off the
Republican National Convention from protesters opposed to the party’s
program of militarism and social reaction."
In
a
Fascist State, Cameras Equal Terrorism
A quote...."In Iraq, journalists are targeted and killed when they show
what the military doesn't want shown. America and England are
themselves now being treated like war zones. Anyone with a camera is
being treated like a "foreign enemy combatant"and a terrorist. - Isn't
that the core characteristic of a fascist police state . . . war zone
rules being used inside the home country against its citizens? --
Well they're not shooting them down in the
streets....yet. -mpg
FRIDAY:
Delivery
of 50,000 Letters Demanding St. Paul Drop Charges Against
Journalists
A quote...."ST. PAUL, Minn. -- On Friday morning, local advocates and
independent journalists will deliver more that 50,000 petitions to St.
Paul City Hall calling on Mayor Chris Coleman and local law enforcement
officials to drop all charges against journalists arrested while
covering protests outside the Republican National Convention."
End - Twin Cities Police
Thug-O-Thon -
5 articles - Thursday - [ Day 5 ] =========
========== =======
A
general strike is called for September 11, 2008, the
anniversary of the 9/11/2001 attacks on New York City and Arlington,
Virginia. --
Action Alert
- A quote...."General strikes shut down the normal operations of a
city, state, or nation for a period of time. These strikes aim to force
action on a single issue or broader set of concerns. The 9/11/08
General Strike has a central location -
http://www.votestrike.org - on
the Internet, which is linked to and reproduced on a variety of other
internet sites. The site states the rationale for the effort:"
Instead of calling it a
"strike" how about we all call it a day of "Mourning for America" where
we all remember those lost in the attacks on that fateful day, a "Day
of
Reflection” where we stand back, take a moment and see where this
heinous act has led our nation, a "Day of Discovery" where we all get
on the web and discover the truth of who was really behind 9/11, "A Day
of Resolve" where we all make a solemn oath to track down all the
people responsible, a "Day of Judgment" where we all agree to condemn
these people, a "Day of Repentance" where those who are to be found
guilty can possibly be absolved of their sins by coming forward and
confessing their crimes and finally "A Day of Retribution" for those
who don't.
In any event, everyone should
take the day off. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Bush
Extends
9/11 National Emergency Yet Again
A quote....
Notice: Continuation of the
National Emergency with Respect to Certain Terrorist Attacks
Consistent with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50
U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency I
declared on September 14, 2001, in Proclamation 7463, with respect to
the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, New York, New York,
the Pentagon, and aboard United Airlines flight 93, and the continuing
and immediate threat of further attacks on the United States.
Because the terrorist threat continues, the national emergency declared
on September 14, 2001, and the powers and authorities adopted to deal
with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond September 14, 2008.
Therefore, I am continuing in effect for an additional year the
national emergency I declared on September 14, 2001, with respect to
the terrorist threat.
This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted
to the Congress.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
August 28, 2008.[4]
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Attempted
Statutory
Immunity For The Executive's War Crimes.
A quote...."Based on fairly extensive readings from about 2002-2003
until today, it seems pretty clear that people who were responsible for
or committed torture were well aware from the get - go that what they
were doing constituted crimes. That realization is why CIA
officials, from 2002 to 2006 or 2007 demanded memoranda, from the
Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice, falsely claiming
that the abuse and torture were not criminal acts. The officials
wanted these OLC memos so that they could later avoid or defeat
prosecutions by claiming that the decisionmaking office of the DOJ had
approved the legality of what they were doing. The officials
wanted a “golden shield,” a “get out of jail free card.”
Law shopping.....it's exactly
what the Bush administration did with the so-called "intelligence" they
gathered
to support their various war efforts, they shopped around till they
found what they wanted and in some cases paid people to give it to them.
Extensively searching around for somebody who got their law degree in
the mail - or it's equivalent - than pressuring them or offering them
benefits while requesting a "favorable interpretation" of the law which
directly contradicts the law's intentions, literally turning it on its
head, is not
only useless for a defense against charges of torture and murder, it's
childishly immature and completely
asinine, not to mention making any
person who supplied such fraudulent interpretations criminally liable
for
the same crimes as the perpetrators. - mpg
The US Neocon's New Proxy War in
Georgia - 6 articles - Thursday - [ Day 28 ] =====
==========
Georgia,
Georgia,
No Peace I Find*
Special Note - A
quote...."September 4, 2008 -- In America, the Fourth Estate has become
a Fifth Column"-Bill Moyers -- Georgia, a small country in the Balkans,
shares borders with Russia on her north, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan
on her south and a small shoreline of the Black Sea to the west. --
Georgia also almost surrounds three small independent countries,
(termed autonomous republics), Abkhazan, South Ossetia and Ajaria-all
remnants of the Soviet empire. That these three maintain strong
cultural as well as political ties with Putin's present-day Russia,
irritates both the president of Georgia and Washington."
Put unbiased
monitors in security zone - Lavrov
A qutoe...."The Foreign Minister has set out Russia’s requirements for
the policing of the security zone around South Ossetia. Sergey Lavrov
is calling for the deployment of an unbiased international contingent
to ensure Georgia does not resort to force in the future."
Joint
declaration on South Ossetia to be signed in Moscow
A quote...."September 5, 2008, 9:07 -- The situation in the Caucasus
continues to be at the forefront of the global politics. On Friday
Russia hosts a meeting of the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty
Organisation in Moscow. Yesterday the countries’ foreign ministers
expressed their support to Russia on its handling of Georgian
aggression against South Ossetia."
Russian
embassy to open in Tskhinvali
Video - A quote...."South
Ossetian authorities are making every effort to establish diplomatic
relations with Russia. The acting Foreign Minister of South Ossetia
says the building to host the Russian Embassy has already been
selected. (48 sec./1.62Mb, shows: 66)"
Abkhazia
today
Must View Photo Gallary -
A quote...."Independent Abkhazia plans to resume air traffic to Russia,
to expand its tourist industry, to establish a film studio and to issue
external passports to the local population." --
Nice photos, looks like a really nice
place to live....hope the N.R.E. doesn't blow it up. - mpg
Possibly
Staged
Pics Fueled Georgian Propaganda Push
Special Note - A
quote...."Did major international media, including wire service
Reuters, clumsily help spread pro-Georgian propaganda during the recent
war with Russia? It appears so, based on apparently staged photos by
George Abdaladze, a Reuters contributor." --
This is nowhere near as egregious as the
false accusation that the Russians used cluster bombs, when it turned
out it was the Georgians
using
Israeli supplied cluster bombs against the South Ossetians,
but it would be really nice if all the news organizations out there
would finally stop making stuff up. It keeps leading to MORE WARS!!! - mpg
End - The US Neocon's New Proxy
War in
Georgia - 6 articles - Thursday - [ Day 28 ] ===
==========
Dry
times for hedge funds
A quote...."Making money - gazillions and gazillions - isn't hard for
hedge funds if the time is right. It is just about the easiest thing
one can do in the markets. The problem is that now is not the right
time."
Jobless
claims
jump unexpectedly
A quote...."New applications for unemployment insurance rise to
444,000, a figure worse than expected by economists; number doesn't
include impact of Hurricane Gustav."
Banks
Borrow More Money From The Fed
A quote...."A Fed report released Thursday said commercial banks
averaged $18.98 billion in daily borrowing over the past week. That
compared with a daily average of $18.47 billion in the previous week."
ECB
[European
Central Bank] admits inflation and low growth prospects will
persist
A quote...."With annual inflation rates likely to remain “well above
levels consistent with stability” and the latest data confirming the
“weakening of real GDP growth in mid 2008”, the European Central Bank,
ECB, has left interest rates unchanged at 4.25%."
OPEC
to
Pump Record Amounts as $109 Oil Stunts Growth (Update2)
A quote...."Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- OPEC, the supplier of 40 percent of
the world's oil, will probably keep producing at a record pace as
$109-a-barrel crude squeezes the global economy."
Chile’s
inflation
seems to have peaked and begins to yield
A quote...."Chile’s August Consumer Prices Index, CPI, increased 0.9%
accumulating 6.5% in the first eight months of the year and 9.3% in the
last twelve months (down from 9.5% in July/June), according to the
latest release from the National Statistics Institute, INE."