Tuesday September 30th 2008

Three-Card Capitalists: The Financial Disappearing Act of 2008
Must Read - A quote...."The financial markets are in a crisis of confidence because the US government is debasing its currency and stiffing its creditors. Uncle Sam is a deadbeat and the world knows it. The world is worrying what to do about the useless paper it's holding. That's what the panic is about. -- It's a strange day when Barry Goldwater and the Chinese Communists are in agreement ....And they are both right." -- For more on this issue see....Debt Doesn't Matter When the Rubes Pay 02-29-08 - mpg

Latin America leftists slam U.S. on financial crisis
A quote...."MANAUS, Brazil (Reuters) - Latin America's leftist leaders on Tuesday accused the United States of "irresponsibility" in its handling of the financial crisis that has pummeled markets and threatens economies around the world."

The Current Crisis: A Socialist Perspective
Must Read - A quote...."The fundamental relationship between capitalist states and financial markets cannot be understood in terms of how much or little regulation the former puts upon the latter. It needs to be understood in terms of the guarantee the state provides to property, above all in the form of the promise not to default on its bonds – which are themselves the foundation of financial markets' role in capital accumulation."

How Can Anyone Think Voting Matters? - It could, if people would just not vote for the DemoRepubs. - mpg
A quote...."Voting for President of the U.S. is a waste because the issues that should garner the most interest and cause decisive post-election changes will remain unchanged no matter who is elected. This is absolute, undisputed, unmitigated, hard, cold, polished-to-a-high-gloss, quick-fried-to-a-crackly-crunch, naturally-seasoned, artificially-flavored fact."

Bush Had No Plan to Catch Bin Laden After 9/11
A quote....."New evidence from former U.S. officials reveals that the George W. Bush administration failed to adopt any plan to block the retreat of Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders from Afghanistan to Pakistan in the first weeks after 9/11." -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror

FBI won’t release documents on anthrax suspect
A quote...."WASHINGTON — The FBI is declining to release at least 15,000 pages of documents related to the now-deceased prime suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks despite lingering suspicions that the bureau has accused the wrong man."

The Anthrax Case Reopens: Why Did the FBI Let the Fort Detrick Scientists Investigate Themselves?
A quote...."The Congressional anthrax hearings of September 16-17 revealed that public pressure is keeping the doors open in the anthrax case. FBI Director Robert Mueller promised that the FBI will provide their evidence to a panel of experts for scientific evaluation. The battle will now turn to the independence of this panel, and whether "all evidence" or merely "scientific evidence" will be under review."

For more on the two articles shown above see....9/11 the Sequel - Return of the Jihadi - 08-23-08 - mpg

2008 election results to be routed to private middlemen in Illinois, Colorado & Kentucky
A quote...."A screen shot on ePluribusMedia shows that the Ohio election site was -- oddly -- transferred to Smartech hosting shortly before the Nov. 2004 election, then transferred back to the state of Ohio. Even more damning, the election results were again temporarily transferred to the Smartech server shortly before the 2006 primary, then transferred back again afterwards."

8/31/2008: 9/11 Commission, Anthrax - Additions as of August 31, 2008
A very small sample of new additions to the 9/11 timeline.... mpg -- A quote...."Many of the new entries this week focus on the 9/11 Commission and, in particular, its executive director Philip Zelikow, who co-authored a book with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice in the mid-1990s, but was not offered a full-time job in the Bush administration despite serving on the transition team. Some of the other commissioners were unhappy with Zelikow’s appointment and the degree of control he exercised. For example, Zelikow had control over the hiring process, which he used to appoint a current CIA officer to lead the commission’s investigation of the CIA. The commissioners rarely visited the commission’s offices, further enhancing Zelikow’s power, which he used to assume close control of a key investigative team. He also tried to prevent staff from talking to the commissioners."

Top Barclays Banker Murdered, Also 5 Presidents who opposed the Fed (3 successfully)
A quote...."Gang who killed top banker Frank McGarahan caught on CCTV -- This murder of a banking executive just happened, and the article reads as if it were a random or coincindental murder. In the times we are living in that is not necessary true."

The Pentagon's new Africa command raises suspicions about U.S. motives -- It's come back from the dead. - mpg
A quote...."NAIROBI, Kenya — The U.S. Africa Command, the Pentagon's first effort to unite its counterterrorism, training and humanitarian operations on the continent, launches Wednesday amid questions at home about its mission and deep suspicions in Africa about its intentions." -- For more on this issue see....Africa - the Next Target - 02-28-08 - mpg

10,000 Fort Lewis Troops Going To Iraq - And the ants go marching one by one, hoo rah, hoo rah.... mpg
A quote...."FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- The Army is sending 10,000 Fort Lewis soldiers to Iraq, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. The I Corps, 3rd and 5th Stryker Brigades will deploy to Iraq in 2009, said the Fort Lewis Public Affairs Office. I Corps will deploy in the spring, in its first combat deployment in more than half a century. "I Corps will be in charge of the ground fight in Iraq," said Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby Jr., commanding general, I Corps."

Pentagon announces 2009 deployments to Iraq
A quote...."Six Army brigades, a National Guard unit and three military headquarters have been ordered to Iraq next summer in a move that would allow the U.S. to keep the number of troops largely steady there through much of next year." -- Bold by website editor -- By now, there shouldn't be a single, solitary, person even attempting to pretend surprise at this announcement. All those sheeple out there should just give up the pretense, no one could possibly be that stupid, the bases are there forever and so are all those N.R.E. troops, everyone knows it. - mpg

Air Force says officer stole launch control device
A quote...."29 Sep 2008 A Minot Air Force Base officer accused of stealing a classified missile launch control device faces a hearing to determine whether he will face a court martial. The Air Force said a hearing is scheduled Tuesday at the base to evaluate evidence against Capt. Paul Borowiecki, a missile combat crew member assigned to the 91st Missile Wing. [See: Minot AFB Clandestine Nukes 'Oddities'.]
-- See also....False Flag Ops - Barksdale -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

Soldiers who hand prisoners to US could face legal action, MPs warned
Special Note - A quote...."British troops who hand over prisoners in Iraq to US military personnel could find themselves facing prosecution, according to a legal opinion compiled for parliament. The finding has led to calls for the British government to rethink its current policy and investigate how the US treats its prisoners, and whether torture is employed against them." -- bold by website editor.

A Bad India Deal - Posted at BuzzFlashThe NPT is now hanging by a thread. - mpg
A quote...."For 30 years, ever since India used its civilian nuclear program to produce a bomb, the world has been barred from selling any nuclear technology to India. The deal — pressed hard by American business and India’s lobbyists — would allow the United States to break that ban and open the way for the rest of the world to sell reactors and fuel to India as well."

IAEA chief: Nuclear states set example for others
A quote...."The chief U.N. atomic inspector suggested Tuesday that nuclear weapons states bore some blame for other countries seeking such arms, because they are modernizing arsenals rather than scrapping them." -- There you go, that's using the old noggin.  Non-nuclear states are essentially “jealous” of the nuclear states getting all those make-overs.  Personally this website editor thought non-nuclear states wanted the bomb because one particular nuclear state who had loads of them, kept attacking and obliterating those states who didn't, especially those states who possessed desirable natural resources.  But who is this website editor to question such an "expert" as ElBaradei --  jealousy, or keeping up with the Joneses, seems to be more of a motivating factor according to some people than having  your country possibly reduced to utter ruins. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....The Nuclear Rights Association - (N.R.A.) - Every Little Country Should Have One - (Or How I Learned to Love the Bomb and Kiss the N.P.T. Goodbye) - 08-17-08 - mpg

Israel irked by IAEA move on its nukes
A quote...."An initiative by Iran and Arab League member states to put the Israeli regime's nuclear activities under scrutiny has irked Tel Aviv."

Iran may limit IAEA access to nuclear sites: MP
A quote...."Iran had generously allowed the International Atomic Energy Agency access to prove its good will but soon the level of the agency's access to our nuclear facilities will be revised," Mousa Ghorbani told the state news agency IRNA. -- "There are discussions in parliament to apply some new limitations on cooperation with the IAEA," said the conservative MP, who is a member of the presiding board of the house. -- "The issuing of a new resolution by the (UN) Security Council has raised the question of how long we should continue a useless cooperation with the agency," he said."

Washington imposes sanctions on Bolivia
A quote...."The Bush administration has imposed fresh sanctions on Bolivia in retaliation for the decision of the country’s president Evo Morales to expel the US ambasssador and close down US programs in the country."

Ambassador: Russia looking to boost Bolivia ties
A quote...."LA PAZ, Bolivia - The Russian ambassador to Bolivia hopes the Andean nation's plan to purchase five civil defense helicopters is only a "first step" in deepening ties."

Russian warship visits naval base near Kyoto
A quote...."MOSCOW, September 30 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian warship from the Pacific Fleet has made a port call at the Maizuru naval base in Japan's Kyoto Prefecture, a Navy spokesman said on Tuesday."

America’s Cosmic Convulsions
A quote...."America’s manned spaceflight program calls to mind the image of the Titanic having already hit the iceberg but still floating on the surface of the sea."
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The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 2 articles - Tuesday - [ Day 54 ] =====  ==========

Russian troops let EU monitors into buffer zone
A quote...."17 minutes ago -- 12:45 am PST -- GORI, Georgia (AP) — Russian troops have allowed a group of European Union monitors to enter a buffer zone on the edge of Georgia's separatist province of South Ossetia despite an earlier warning to them to stay out of the area. - Unarmed EU monitors in light armored vehicles launched patrols Wednesday in several areas near South Ossetia, in line with a French-brokered truce."

PACE recognizes ethnic cleansing in South Ossetia
A quote...."29.09.2008  -- Last week, a mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) studied the history of the conflict in the Caucasus. Delegates visited Tbilisi and Tskhinvali and later shared their impressions at a press conference attended by local and Western journalists in the Georgian capital."

End - The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 2 articles - Tuesday - [ Day 54 ] =====  ==========

Record 16% drop in July home prices
A quote...."July home prices plunge 16.3% in 12 months, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index."

A changed financial landscape
A quote...."Sep 30, 2008 -- Unless some dramatic development reverses the current course, it will not be long before a self-reinforcing cycle of company payroll and spending cutbacks takes hold. At the same time, the municipal bond market is in disarray. The economic impact from major cutbacks in state and local government spending will be significant. Today's finance-related economic headwinds are Cat-4 (and gaining) Hurricane Systemic Credit Seizure, compared with last year's Tropical Storm Subprime. Federal Reserve-dictated interest rates are extremely low - and the Fed and global central bankers have injected unfathomable amounts of liquidity - yet credit conditions have turned the tightest they've been in decades."

Bush authorizes ESF to back some money market funds
Special Note - Some quotes...."WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Monday authorized the Treasury Department to use money from the Exchange Stabilization Fund to back some money market mutual funds, according to a memorandum released by the White House." -- "It said this memorandum supersedes a similar one Bush signed earlier this month. The Treasury said on Sept. 19 it would use $50 billion to back such funds who asset values fall below $1...."

Global liquidity crisis runs on unabated - Libor spikes; onus on central bankers as U.S. bailout stalls
Special Note - A quote...."LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Massive liquidity injections haven't freed up crucial money markets, leaving the world's central bankers little choice but to try more radical measures in order to dampen the odds of a wider economic collapse, economists said Tuesday."

Euro Falls Most Against Dollar Amid European Banking Failures
A quote...."There's a dollar shortage globally,'' said Alan Ruskin, head of international currency strategy in North America at RBS Greenwich Capital Markets Inc. in Greenwich, Connecticut. ``Demand for liquidity trumps the fundamentals. Fundamentally, the U.S. is awful, and Europe is awful. Fundamentals are irrelevant today.'' -- Foreign banks are paying the highest premiums in at least a decade to borrow in dollars in the swaps market even after the Federal Reserve more than doubled the amount of funds available to other central banks yesterday by expanding swap lines."

Australia: Shares crash amid warnings of prolonged recession
A quote...."Tens of billions of dollars were lost on the Australian share market on Monday and Tuesday, both before and after the congressional defeat of the US Wall Street bailout plan."

Ireland implements stand-by rescue plan of 400 billion Euro
A quote...."Ireland's Prime Minister Brian Cowen defended a radical 400 billion Euro state move to shore up its financial system and in the continent France, Belgium and Luxembourg bailed out a second bank ."

Too much complacency
War Update - A quote...."ANNANDALE, Va. (MarketWatch) -- Nine-tenths of one percentage point. - That is the sum total of how much the average short-term stock market timer lowered his recommended stock market exposure in the wake of Monday's record-setting stock market plunge. -- Therein lies a tale that is not encouraging." -- See also....Standard Disclaimer and the Ten Year Cycle

Breaking: Senate to Vote On Bailout Package Wednesday
A quote...."POSTED: 12:38 am - UPDATED: 7:27 pm PDT -- 30 Sep 2008 Senate leaders have scheduled a vote for Wednesday on the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan rejected by the House. Majority Leader Harry Reid and GOP Leader Mitch McConnell say, however, that they're going to add a tax cut package [!] already rejected by the House on Monday." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG
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America, Where It Pays to Fail - NEVER where truer words ever spoken. - mpg
Must Read - A quote...."In the current financial crisis, the model of US capitalism has imploded with a big bang. But the Bush administration is trying to douse the flames with yet more fuel instead of water, and it wants to see Wall Street's gamblers rewarded for failure."

The Democratic Party and Wall Street
A quote...."The role of the Democratic Party in promoting the plan devised by the Bush administration and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to bail out Wall Street has exposed the real social interests that this party defends. -- From the moment Paulson broached the idea of using at least $700 billion in taxpayer funds to buy worthless mortgage-backed securities from the major banks, the Democratic leadership, including the party’s presidential candidate, Barack Obama, backed the scheme."

Failure on all fronts is Bush legacy
A quote...."Not so long ago, even the most reputed financial seer would have been ridiculed if he or she had divined the fire sale of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual or the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. -- Bear Stearns managed to survive the crash of 1929, Washington Mutual has been in business since 1889 and Lehman Brothers was founded even earlier in 1847. Is it mere coincidence that three “rock solid” institutions should collapse on Bush’s watch?"

The Trouble With Fractional Reserve Banking - audio commentary
Obama Demands Bailout - There goes Obama again, asking for another social program - for the Banksters. - mpg
House members who voted ‘yes’ on bailout received 54 percent more from banks/securities firms.
Congress Didn't Dare Say Yes - But they will, one way or another, sooner or later....they WILL. - mpg
Fight the bailout; stop the hostile takeover of the United States
Ammunition To Use Against the "New, Improved" Bailout Proposal
Americans Have Little To Be Proud Of
Congratulations, Corporate Crime Fighters! Coup Averted for Three Days! ...From Michael Moore
Let Risk-Taking Financial Institutions Fail
The free market preachers have long practised state welfare for the rich
ECONOMY-US:  Bush Plan Down but Not Out
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Monday September 29th 2008

The Facts Speak For Themselves - posted at 911Truth dot Org
Must Read - A quote...."Before I begin, I would like to say that theorizing about what happened on 9/11, when you're not being given answers to your questions about that day by the people who SHOULD be able to do so, is PERFECTLY normal. As is suspecting that the reason these answers aren't being given is "sinister" in nature. As Ray McGovern said, "for people to dismiss these questioners as "conspiratorial advocates", or "conspiratorial theorists"... that's completely out of line because the... The questions remain because the President who should be able to answer them, WILL NOT." When you think about everything this Administration has done in almost 8 years, the idea that they might not be giving us the answers we seek because of something "sinister" is not crazy. In fact, it's the most logical conclusion one can come to at this point. After seven plus years of obfuscation, spin, lies, and cover-ups regarding the 9/11 attacks, it is unavoidable to think that criminal complicity is the reason why." -- For more on this issue see....

9/11 is the Litmus Test
A quote...."There is one thing that defines everyone over the course of these early years of this new century. That thing is the 9/11 attack. Everyone in government and every field of endeavor the world over is defined by their position on this event. It is not necessary to know the truth. It is only necessary to know the extent of the lies in order to define any leader in any position anywhere in the world. By what they have said and by what they have not said, one can accurately judge who is an enemy of the people’s of the world. One can accurately determine who is a tool of the psychopaths or one of them.  --  Think about what you allow yourself to know. Think about what you pass by; ignore, deny and defend ...that defines you. It defines the degree of your personal courage, your relationship to the truth, your values, your principles and what you will pass on to your children and everyone you meet. It tells you in that place where your conscience must once have lived whether you are a hypocrite and a fool or whether something greater still lives within you." -- posted 02-26-08

A Nation of Jerks? Culpably Accepting of Basic Dishonesty and of Unscrupulous Big Shots
Must Read - A quote...."For it is quite easy to discount the suffering of Iraqis, Somalis, Afghanis, or earlier, the Vietnamese, along with the poor half of mankind who live on less than two dollars a day, but quite difficult to stomach discomfort of Americans in America. And so this complete bailout of corporations and banks becomes a 'real damn shame'. Its just too close to home. -- However there is something silly about Americans belatedly directing their outrage solely at its elected government leaders and their corporate finance buddies, as if Americans nationwide were pure and innocent children victimized by a big bad world; if America is big and bad, it is Americans that have made it that way."

Wrecking, Wrecking, Wrecked
Must Read - A quote...."As you watch the world crumble, try taking your Armageddon with this sprinkling of irony: Over the last three decades, business has got virtually everything it wanted, and its doomsday scenario from the 1970s has come true because of it. The regulators have indeed killed the regulated--not by intrusive meddling but by doing nothing, by taking a nap while the financial sector puffed up the bubble and blew itself to pieces."

The Crisis is Far from Over
Must Read - This one's fun - mpg -- A quote...."Before anything else, a lesson (I don’t know the author) to illustrate the current financial crisis in the USA:"

The Small at the Table of the Big
A quote...."In the UN hall, the small and the big sit next to one another. The General Assembly misleads small nations; they are led to believe that international legitimacy guarantees equality and preserves rights. It is just a fleeting sensation. It is sufficient for one to be there when the master of the American empire arrives. The streets of New York become congested with security measures. Traffic breaks down. The taxi driver will not take you to the building that falls in the custody of Ban Ki-moon. He informs you that the city will not return to normalcy until he leaves. He means George Bush." -- To turn a very old phrase...."It's like making a moron into a mountain." - mpg

Crazy or Liars?
Audio Commentary -- A quote...."Karen Kwiatkowski podcast on the lying warmongers called neoconservatives."
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[Iraq] Parliament further marginalizes Iraqi minorities
A quote...."A new decision by the Iraqi parliament leaves Iraqi minorities with no representation in the country’s provincial councils as well as the legislature. --  By an overwhelming majority, the parliament early this week revoked paragraph 50 from the constitution under which Iraqi minorities were assigned a set of seats in legislative and municipal councils."

Al-Maliki: US Cannot Afford to Stay;
A quote...."In an interview with the Associated Press, PM Nuri al-Maliki warned that the future is dark if Iraq and the US do not agree on a security pact. And without a pact, he said, all the security progress made in the last year would be at risk. He points out that the alternative is to go back to the UN security council for an extension of Chapter 7 authorization of foreign troops in Iraq, and that UNSC approval is no longer assured because Russia may be in a bad mood after the Georgia tiff. He says Iraq still insists that US troops who are off base and not on a military mission, who commit crimes in Iraq, must be tried in Iraqi courts. -- Al-Maliki, who wants a timetable for US withdrawal by the end of 2010, ended the interview with a clever appeal over Bush's head to the American public:"

Cleaning up of Jewish cemetery in Basra
A quote...."Municipal authorities in the southern city of Basra have mounted a campaign to clean up the Jewish cemetery there. --  The cemetery is seen as one of Basra’s ‘cultural landmarks’ and the authorities want to keep it clean and tidy, said Ahmad al-Yasseri who heads the cleaning-up campaign."

Ahmadinejad accepts Israel's right to exist
A quote...."The Iranian president has said he would accept a two-state solution if the Palestinians agree. So where are the headlines?" -- Also posted at ICH

Iran criticizes Security Council for politicizing nuclear program
A quote...."Iran-Security Council-Nuclear Iran on Saturday criticized the Security Council for passing a new resolution as an effort to politicize the technical dispute between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency."

China Urges West to Give up Force against Iran
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- China called for an end to the use of force against Tehran in a move that will further complicate the push for new anti-Iran sanctions."

NATO: Afghan policeman fires on U.S. troops, 1 dead
Special Note - A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan policeman opened fire on U.S. troops inside a police station in eastern Afghanistan, killing an American soldier and wounding several other people, officials said Monday."

Taliban leadership denies report of Afghan talks
A quote...."KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban leadership on Monday denied a report they were negotiating with the Afghan government to end the war and the insurgents repeated their pledge to keep fighting till foreign troops were expelled from the country." -- Or in the Taliban's own words....Statement of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan regarding the untrue news about peace talk

Fatah official admits U.S. vetoes national Palestinian dialogue
A quote...."RAMALLAH, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- A leader from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement on Sunday admitted that Washington vetoes talks between Fatah and its rival Hamas movement." -- For more on this issue see....US Sponsored Civil Wars - Palestine

The Mischief-Makers - The real troublemakers in the Middle East
A quote...."What the heck is going on in Syria? The news of a huge explosion in Damascus, caused by a car bomb, has shaken the region, and it isn't at all clear who or what is responsible. Whatever the source, however, the attack – which killed 17 bystanders, including possibly a top Syrian intelligence official – augurs ill for the future of peace in the Middle East (an increasingly elusive goal). -- The attack occurred Saturday morning, near a major Syrian intelligence facility, although news reports in the West are focusing on the proximity of the Shi'ite shrine. Israeli media are emphasizing the possibility of an internal struggle within the Syrian regime itself, while the Iranians are saying the blast was the work of the Mossad and/or CIA. Suffice to say that this incident is shrouded in mystery, as the Syrians hint of attackers from beyond their borders, and the context – a series of equally mysterious attacks on targets in Syria over the past few years – indicates they may be correct."

Arab newspapers see Israel behind deadly bombing in Syria
A quote...."AMMAN: Israel's Mossad spy agency was behind a deadly car bomb attack in Damascus on Saturday which killed 17 people, according to a columnist in the semi-official Jordanian daily Ad-Dustour. "It's a US-backed Israeli conspiracy to destabilize the Syrian regime and create enough chaos to produce an opposition that would develop and grow under the sponsorship of Israel and the United States," Hashem al-Khaledi wrote in an editorial published on Sunday."

Syria says 'terrorists' coming from outside border
A quote...."Syria on Sunday hinted at foreign involvement in a deadly weekend car bombing, with its state-run media saying the objective was to undermine Damascus' efforts to emerge from years of international isolation."

We run the road
A quote...."At the edge of town, several hundred men with automatic rifles, rocket propelled grenade launchers, pistols and hand grenades stood before earthen barriers and fires. Some wore masks. There was nobody in command – this was a mob, not a militia. The men were angry, afraid, suspicious, shouting at strangers and each other, each one an authority unto himself, carelessly swinging weapons around, oblivious to where they were pointing. Some rested the barrels of their rifles on top of their feet, a sign they had no professional training."

Is Pakistan's Zardari creating new dictatorship?
Video - A quote...."Tariq Khan: Pak President Zardari is not rescinding legal framework of dictatorship." -- Yeah...so?  Neither will "Bombs Away O-Bomb-a" or "Mad Dog McCain" in what was once called the U.S. (now known as the N.R.E.)  See....Thirty Five Acts to Restore Americans' Rights 11-10-06 - mpg

Pakistan's powerful intel agency gets new chief
A quote...."ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan has named a new chief for its main intelligence service, an agency whose loyalties in the war on terror have long been a concern to the United States. -- Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, previously the director general of military operations, was named the new head of Inter-Services Intelligence, according to an army statement late Monday."

Israel in Focus at IAEA Conference
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- The UN nuclear watchdog's annual conference started Monday with the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Islamic countries railing against Israel's nuclear program."

ECUADOR:  Correa May Cancel Payment of Some "Illegitimate" Debt
A quote...."QUITO, Sep 29 (IPS) - The day after the new constitution promoted by his government won 63 percent support in a referendum, according to the preliminary returns, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said Monday that he may cancel payment of some loans, but that the country would not default on its foreign debt."

South Korea to develop oil resources in Russia’s Far East
A quote...."Russia and South Korea will closely co-operate on energy developments on Russia’s continental shelf, including those in western Kamchatka. The announcement comes following President Medvedev’s meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Moscow on Monday."

Russia to build four reactors in India
A quote...."NEW DELHI: India will sign a deal with Russia to construct four nuclear reactors for electricity generation. The deal will be signed during President Dmitry Medvedav’s visit to New Delhi in December. “We are planning to build four reactors with Russia’s assistance in Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu,” Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar was quoted by a Russian television channel as saying."

Russia to start MiG fighter deliveries to India in spring 2009
A quote...."NEW DELHI, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will start deliveries of MiG-29K Fulcrum-D carrier fighters to India in the spring of 2009, the aircraft manufacturer's marketing director said Monday. (MiG-29 K/KUB fighters for India - Image gallery) "

New hypersonic missile to be 'uninterceptable'
A quote...."A joint Russian-Indian company has started the development of a cruise missile capable of flying at Mach 5, which will make it 'impossible to intercept'. BrahMos-2 will be the next generation of the highly successful the BrahMos missile already used by Indian military."

Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko to visit Russia on Thursday
A quote...."MOSCOW, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko will pay a working visit to Moscow on Thursday at the invitation of her Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, the Russian government said Monday."
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The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 3 articles - Monday - [ Day 53 ] =====  ==========

U.S. Should Recognize South Ossetia
A quote...."29 September 2008 -- The United States should recognize the independence of South Ossetia. Short of a major war, South Ossetia will never be part of Georgia again, and half of the country -- North Ossetia -- is already part of Russia. In addition, the Ossetians wish to be united under Russian rule, as any impartial, internationally monitored referendum would show."

Comparing South Ossetia to Kosovo
A  quote...."Sep 29, 2008 -- After the recognition of the independence of Kosovo by the United States and a minority of world states (45 for now), Russia replied by exposing what it perceived as the inconsistency and hypocrisy of their position. Why not grant independence of the Georgian breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, since their populations also claim to fear majority rule in their larger country?"

South Ossetia prepares a low blow for Saakashvili
A quote...."September 29, 2008, 17:54 -- South Ossetian authorities are planning to put Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili on an international wanted list. The South Ossetian Prosecutor General's Office will complete all necessary procedures next week."

END - The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 3 articles - Monday - [ Day 53 ] === ==========

Former CIA executive pleads guilty to defrauding government
A quote...."Prosecutors said Kyle Dustin Foggo, along with convicted Congressman Randy 'Duke' Cunningham, helped steer an estimated $100 million in contracts to San Diego-area firms run by Foggo's old roommate."

The CIA has been tickling people to death for years
A quote...."Michael Hayden said the clandestine agency is using Predator missile attacks to “tickle” enemy groups to provoke a reaction. -- “We use military operations to excite the enemy, prompting him to respond.” -- The agency director was jokingly referring to the policy of committing multiple mass-murders of innocent citizens of Pakistan, as a tactic for provoking retaliation by their relatives. This immoral terrorist act is considered to be a legitimate military strategy by the demented CIA mind. It sees no wrong in committing criminal acts to cause others to commit further criminal acts as a rationale for starting a divisive world war for resources, under the guise of “self-defense.”

Australia Plans Mass Surveillance System
A quote...."CRIMTRAC's planned automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system could become a mass surveillance system, taking as many as 70 million photos of cars and drivers every day across a vast network of roadside cameras." -- For more on this issue see....White Man's Burden - 12-20-06 - mpg

Republican IT consultant subpoenaed in case alleging tampering with 2004 election
A quote...."COLUMBUS -- A high-level Republican consultant has been subpoenaed in a case regarding alleged tampering with the 2004 election."
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The Credit Markets Are ALREADY Frozen, Folks...
Must Read - A quote...."No self-respecting shylock is going to loan a thin dime to any consumer in these waters.  In fact, only the surest of sure bets in the commercial market is going to see a nickel of any money we throw out into the ether. -- This bailout bill is a bill to stall the inevitable and make it the problem of the next administration to deal with.  Pure and simple.  No one in a position to spend money in this economy is going to get a thin dime out of any Washington bailout."

House Rejects $700 Billion Rescue Plan - For now. But it will come back again...and again....and again. - mpg
A quote...."The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue package, ignoring urgent pleas from President Bush and bipartisan congressional leaders to quickly bail out the staggering financial industry."

House Democrats Planning To Revive Bailout Bill - Well, that didn't take long. - mpg
A quote...."Breaking News | 29 Sep 2008 | 07:20 PM ET -- Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives are going to try to put together another financial rescue bill after a $700 billion plan was rejected in a House vote, a senior House Democrat said."

US wealth in shrink mode
A quote...."If the wealth-to-income ratio falls back to its 1989 level, the net worth of Americans would fall by a third. That is a frightening prospect, but it is not necessarily the bottom."

How bad was Monday, really? Commentary: From long-term perspective, Monday plunge isn't unique
Special Note -- Dow Jones (-777.68 or 7% )  Nasdaq (-199.61 or 9.1%)  S&P 500 (-106.85 or 8.8%) -- A quote...."Monday's market plunge may have been the worst point drop ever for the Dow Jones Industrial Average  (DJIA 10,365.45, -777.68) , but in percentage terms it came nowhere close. It dropped 7% on Monday, or just one-third as much as the 22.6% decline in the 1987 crash.  -- In fact, there have been 16 other occasions since the Dow was created in 1896 in which the Dow's percentage drop was greater than it was Monday. That works out to an average of [one] every seven years. -- bold by website editor

Citi to buy Wachovia banking business for $2.16 bln
Special Note - A quote...."FDIC backs roughly $300 bln of Wachovia assets to avoid another huge failure. -- BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Wachovia Corp. became the latest financial-services giant to succumb to the global credit crunch when regulators announced Monday that the company's banking operations were being bought by Citigroup Inc. for a knock-down price of $2.16 billion in stock."

Fed Pumps Further $630 Billion Into Financial System (Update3)
Special Note - A quote....."The Fed increased its existing currency swaps with foreign central banks by $330 billion to $620 billion to make more dollars available worldwide. The Term Auction Facility, the Fed's emergency loan program, will expand by $300 billion to $450 billion. The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are among the participating authorities." -- bold by website editor

ECB Cuts Gold Sales
Special Note - A quote...."European central banks have cut their sales of gold to the lowest level in almost a decade, reversing the practice of recent years when hefty sales helped depress prices."

Consumer spending slows as stimulus fades August report was weakest in six months, shows threat to economy
A quote...."WASHINGTON - Consumer spending in August turned in the weakest performance in six months, underscoring the threat the economy faces as the government's stimulus program fades into the past."

The Shadow of the Pitchfork: Elite Panic Attack as Bailout Goes Bust
A quote...."The vote by the House of Representatives to defeat the Wall Street bailout plan is the first act of political courage that the Congress of the United States has mounted in the last seven years. The fact that it was due largely to right-wing Republicans afraid of going down with the sinking ship of the witless leader they have followed blindly throughout his reign is a delicious irony -- but the whys and wherefores of the vote are not important. What matters is that one of America's moribund institutions has flickered to life long enough to derail a disastrous action that would have shoved the nation even deeper into the pit of corruption and ruin where it has been mired for so long."

Bush Wants To Bankrupt America: There is Method To His Madness
A quote...."The plan is very simple, but not obvious on first blush. Make sure that all the money is gone from the U.S. treasury, make sure the deficits are so great that all social and educational programs are cut, increase the military and security budgets to "protect our nation" with all these monies going to corporations and security firms who are extra-national (not tied to any country, but actually more than multi-national in that they are outside the purview of any nation at any single moment) and stave in the social security fund by allowing it to go to private corporations for "investment"-and you have the perfect scenario for saying, "only the private sector can save us-we're broke and they have the money to run every program, fund every program, but of course, at huge costs and profits for the private corporations."

The Bailout Round II: Adult Version?
The Financial Collapse and the Housing Market - Hell to Pay
House and Global Investors Vote "No" on Paulson Bailout - Black Monday?
I've watched the economy for 30 years. Now I'm truly scared
The Paulson Plan - The Rise Of The American Oligarch Class
Global banks expect to fall under U. S. bailout umbrella
Giuliani's law firm seeking bailout business - Will he be wearing a pink tutu? - mpg
Paulson Will Have No Peer
Understanding the Bank Bailout
The Power of "No" and the Need to Keep the Pressure on Congress
Protests on Wall Street - what the news media isn't showing you - contains video
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Lula blames rich nations for crisis
A quote...."The Brazilian president has accused wealthy nations of being responsible for the global financial crisis, saying their "irresponsibility" could destroy fiscal progress made in the developing world."

Brazilean Real drops to nine year record past 2 dollar level
A quote...."Brazil's Real plummeted the most in nine years, weakening past the 2-per-dollar level, as a direct consequence of the US House of Representatives rejection of the 700 billion US dollars bailout package for the financial system."

Chilean peso looses 22% value in dollar terms in 6 months
A quote...."Chile's Central Bank on Monday called an early halt to the 8 billion US dollars foreign-exchange intervention plan that has seen the peso depreciate 22% against the US dollar since April arguing the impact of international financial markets."

Argentina and Brazil ready to trade in local currencies
A quote...."Argentina and Brazil will be launching in a week’s time a “de-dollarized” trade system for small and medium companies which should considerably reduce financial costs that could be extended in the near future to the tourism industry, according to banking sources quoted in Buenos Aires La Nacion."

Sunday September 28th 2008

The Obama-McCain debate: Right-wing politicians agree on bailout and militarism
A quote...."Friday night’s presidential election debate between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain demonstrated that there is no choice in the 2008 presidential election within the confines of the official two-party system. Two candidates stood facing each other, espousing nearly identical positions in defense of Wall Street and American militarism which would, in any other country in the world, immediately identify them as representatives of the ultra-right." -- If true Americans want "change" than they'll have to vote for someone other than the McCain/Obama ticket.  People must get it through their thick heads that there's one party called the DemoRepubs....but you can actually vote for other parties and other candidates, they actually do exist!  Don't believe that, check out....You Have a Choice Democracy or Empire 07-24-08 - mpg

Tomgram: Chalmers Johnson, The Pentagon Bailout Fraud
Must Read - A quote...."the war in Iraq. According to the June congressional testimony of William Beach, director of the Center for Data Analysis, the war has cost $646 billion so far. The new defense budget for 2009 tacks on another $68.6 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan in the coming year. However, military expert Bill Hartung of the New America Foundation puts a conservative estimate of the costs of a single week of the Iraq War at approximately $3.5 billion (or about $180 billion a year)."

Will NATO's Expansion Bubble Burst?
A quote...."U.S. imperialism's every effort to assert itself and reverse its declining global domination confirms its weakened position. Washington increasingly looks to threats of sanctions and/or military attack to resolve its every problem and challenge. But the Bush administration finds it more difficult to line up its imperialist allies for each new aggression. Even some U.S. puppet and client states now try to distance themselves from U.S. initiatives."

Unipolar world unacceptable – Russian FM - YouTube - RTvideo - (15 min 3 sec - Added:  September 27, 2008)
Video - Some quote...."Russia's Foreign Minister has used an appearance at the UN General Assembly to lash out at the world's unipolar security system controlled by the U.S. Referring to the recent conflict in South Ossetia, Sergey Lavrov said efforts to resolve conflicts are hampered by what he called a distortion of reality."

"The illusion of the existence of a unipolar world confused many.  For some people it generated a desire to place all their eggs in it's basket.  In exchange for absolute loyalty, they expected to enjoy a carte blanche to resolve all their problems using any means.  The emerging, all permissive, syndrome that they acquired went on a rampage on the night of the eighth of August when aggression was unleashed on South Ossetia...." -- *Sergey Lavrov*, In his address to the United Nations
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Russia and Venezuela create gas and oil consortium
A quote...."ORENBURG, September 26 (Itar-Tass) -- A bilateral consortium Russia and Venezuela are creating in the oil and gas sector will maintain operations not only in Venezuela, but also in third countries in Latin America, including Cuba and Bolivia, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said after a meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his visiting Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez on Friday."

Revealed: secret Taliban peace bid
A quote...."The Taliban have been engaged in secret talks about ending the conflict in Afghanistan in a wide-ranging 'peace process' sponsored by Saudi Arabia and supported by Britain, The Observer can reveal."

Pakistan, the Media and the Politics of Nuclear Weapons -- The Unspoken War
A quote...."We're on the brink of war with Pakistan…the fact remains that American forces have and are violating Pakistani sovereignty…the Bush administration's decision to step up attacks in Pakistan is fatally reckless, because the cross-border operations' chances of capturing or killing al Qaeda's leadership are slim."

U.S. jets violate Pakistan’s airspace again
Full quote...."September 28, 2008 -- PESHAWAR: Two US jetfighters Saturday night again intruded into Pakistan airspace over South Waziristan area, causing panic among the tribesman. However, neither the security forces nor the tribesmen fired upon the fighter planes. Sources in the tribal agency confirmed to The News that two US jetfighters for about 25 minutes hovered over Angoor Adda, Baghar and Momin Tangi area of the agency. The planes that came across the border from troubled Paktika province of Afghanistan, after the flight over the area went back without any action."

Chavez says Venezuela will develop nuclear power
A quote...."CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday Venezuela will develop a nuclear reactor for peaceful purposes, in another challenge to Washington just days after Russia offered nuclear assistance to the socialist Latin American leader."

Correa hails 'crushing victory' in constitutional referendum
A quote...."Ecuador's President Rafal Correa said Sunday his constitutional referendum won a "crushing victory," after exit polls showed some 66 to 70 percent of voters backed his socialist reform proposal."

Fears of Turmoil Persist as Powerful President Reshapes Bitterly Divided Bolivia
Some quotea...."SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia — At first glance around this rebellious city, President Evo Morales seemed to have suffered a sharp setback this month. Mobs looted nearly every federal building, strewing offices with broken furniture and spraying walls with graffiti calling him a vassal of President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela in explicitly racist language."  --   "Without offering proof, Mr. Morales accused his critics of plotting a “civil coup” with the help of the American ambassador, Philip S. Goldberg, whom he expelled abruptly on Sept. 10. - Indeed, considerable ill will toward the United States persists in Mr. Morales’s government, particularly in relation to a United States agency called the Office of Transition Initiatives. - Washington ended the office’s operations in Bolivia last year, after dispensing grants aimed at strengthening departmental governments, which have taken the lead in opposing Mr. Morales." -- bold by website editor.

Belarus votes in parliamentary election
A quote...."MINSK, September 28 (RIA Novosti) - Belarussians are voting on Sunday in a parliamentary election, which the authorities say will be the most fair in the country's history."

Airbus launches Chinese plant
A quote...."The aircraft manufacturer Airbus unveiled its first assembly plant outside Europe yesterday as it sought to make headway in the heavily targeted Chinese market."

China's landmark spacewalk mission ends
Videos & Photos - A quote...."The Shenzhou-7 space module carrying three taikonauts landed safely by parachute Sunday afternoon in China's northern grassland, after a landmark spacewalk mission that leads the country further in its space exploration."

The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 2 articles - Sunday - [ Day 52 ] =====  ==========

“Let’s once again sit together for the improvement of our peoples, peace and security”
Interview - Current Concern interviews Russian Ambassador Valery Loshchinin -- A quote...."Current Concerns: The first question is to the conflict on Georgia and we want to know what happened there because the media, in the West are always saying now that Russia is guilty, it’s not a discussion what has Georgia done, it’s only the discussion of Russia, I know we want to get some information which we can present our readers, what really happens in this area?"

“The US is not a superpower. It is a bankrupt farce”
A quote...."The neoconned Bush Regime and the Israeli-occupied American media are heading the innocent world toward nuclear war.  Back in the Reagan years the National Endowment for Democracy was created as a cold war tool. Today the NED is a neocon-controlled agent for US world hegemony. Its main function is to pour US money and election-rigging into former constituent parts of the Soviet Union in order to ring Russia with American puppet states."

End - The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 2 articles - Sunday - [ Day 52 ] =====  ==========

Ignoring Keating - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."But the week's most striking indication that the media are inadequately scrutinizing McCain rather than, as he claims, unfairly doing so is that in the midst of a banking crisis, there is virtually no media examination of McCain's role in a similar crisis 20 years ago."

Context of 'September 12-14, 2001: Apparently Fake Military Official Helps with Pentagon Recovery, then Disappears'
Item Added -- September 28, 2008 -- Complete 911 Timeline -- A quote...."A mysterious man, who is initially assumed to be working for the military, assists firefighters involved in the Pentagon recovery efforts, but then disappears without trace and is thought to have been an impostor who had managed to slip inside the Pentagon grounds. -- JJohnny" - Arlington firefighter Bob Gray is introduced by his colleague Bobby Beer to a man wearing a hard hat. Beer introduces the man only as “Johnny,” and adds, “He’s our go-between with PenRen [the Pentagon Renovation Program], and he knows some of the military guys too.” Although “Johnny” is not wearing any identifying badge or ID, he seems knowledgeable, appears “taut and serious, with a purposeful military stance,” and even introduces Gray and Beer to a couple of friends of his who say they work for Special Forces." -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - NORAD
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The Resurrectionists: Beltway's Big Money Cultists Bail Out the Dead
Must Read - A quote...."As usual -- as always -- the Democrats have handed their ostensible opponents a razor-sharp sword. You can hear it now: "That radical liberal feminist from San Francisco, that stubby little Massachusetts homo -- they're the ones who did this to you! Liberals and Jews and homos, they've stabbed you in the back again!"

Chris's article seems to imply that there might be some faint difference between the Demo and Repub parts of the DemoRepub party.  Evidence that hope springs eternal even for someone as well schooled in the real world and who happens to be such a staunch advocate of the "fact based" community as Chris.

Let's make this as clear as possible to everyone reading this blog; there is absolutely no fundamental difference between the two factions of the DemoRepub party except that the Repubs viscerally enjoy torture, murder and mayhem while some Demos "regret" what they have to do.

That's it, and if anyone out there goes ahead and votes for these criminals all you'll get is more of the same identical crap all over again.  It’s your choice.

For more on this issue see....You Have a Choice - Democracy or Empire 07-24-08 - mpg
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>>>  AIG, Goldman Sachs, Paulson And Buffet  <<<
Or How Warren Buffet Went From Being a Value Investor to Being a Well Connected Investor

Behind Insurer’s Crisis, Blind Eye to a Web of Risk
Special Note - A quote...."Two weeks ago, the nation’s most powerful regulators and bankers huddled in the Lower Manhattan fortress that is the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, desperately trying to stave off disaster. -- As the group, led by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., pondered the collapse of one of America’s oldest investment banks, Lehman Brothers, a more dangerous threat emerged: American International Group, the world’s largest insurer, was teetering. A.I.G. needed billions of dollars to right itself and had suddenly begged for help. -- The only Wall Street chief executive participating in the meeting was Lloyd C. Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, Mr. Paulson’s former firm. Mr. Blankfein had particular reason for concern.Although it was not widely known, Goldman, a Wall Street stalwart that had seemed immune to its rivals’ woes, was A.I.G.’s largest trading partner, according to six people close to the insurer who requested anonymity because of confidentiality agreements. A collapse of the insurer threatened to leave a hole of as much as $20 billion in Goldman’s side, several of these people said. - Days later, federal officials, who had let Lehman die and initially balked at tossing a lifeline to A.I.G., ended up bailing out the insurer for $85 billion." -- bold by website editor -- For more on this issue see....$1.3 Quadrillion and Counting - 09-18-08 - mpg -- See also....Bring a Friend, Hank & the article shown below....

Show Us the Money
A quote..."Taxpayers should wake up the politicians and ask them to tell Wall Street: "We want the same deal Warren Buffett got." The Omaha billionaire announced he is playing White Knight to Goldman Sachs by investing $5 billion in the endangered investment house. What a big-hearted guy. Buffett is an old-fashioned capitalist who invests in companies for the long term and I am a big admirer. But Warren Buffett did not get to be a billionaire by committing public-spirited acts of charity. He plays to win." -- Also posted at ICH

Not to mention the fact that Hank Paulson, the man in charge of this plan, the man who wants unlimited power to carry it out, the man who knows where all the toxic waste is buried, just happens to have joined Goldman Sachs in 1974 working his way up till he became "Chief Operating Officer from December 1994 to June 1998; eventually succeeding Jon Corzine (now Governor of New Jersey) as its chief executive" -- Warren Buffett is one of the smartest investors around, however by making this investment, he is implicitly giving his blessing, and participating in a racket, that's going to rob tens of millions of hard working Americans of their life savings. -- Frank Paulson is to Goldman Sachs what Dick Cheney is to Haliburton, it's a true shame that Warren Buffet has chosen to associate himself, along with his hard earned reputation for prudent investing, with an arrangement of this sort. - mpg -- Posted below on 09-24-08
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Bush Proves Karl Marx Right About 'Capitalism'
A quote...."Unfairly, a bailout price tag of some 700 billion dollars will be picked up by the American middle and poorer classes. None of those actually bearing the brunt of this transfer of wealth will benefit from it directly. The beneficiaries are those among some one percent of the nation who own about 99 percent of its total wealth."

This Is The System We Are Saving
Video - A quote...."Dennis Kucinich, a real liberal democrat and one of the last honest politicians that really gives a sh-t about the people of this country."

Secret Bailouts Coming?
A quote...."It’s bad enough that the federal government wants to spend trillions of dollars of your children’s money to bail out financial institutions that should be allowed to collapse for the good of the economy. But under the terms of the proposed bailout plan, the government will be able to rescue bad banks in secret."

[Blanking] You to Death: Blackmail, A $5 Trillion Price Tag, and A Criminal Government
A quote...."You may consider my title to be unforgivably vulgar [the author didn't say blanking] and crude. It is the truth of what the U.S. government is doing to the vast majority of the citizens it rules. To varying degrees, the government has been behaving in the identical manner for well over a century; rarely has it done so in such a blatantly dishonest and criminal manner."

Paulson The Junk Dealer
Vampire Tales! With Pictures!
The Real Costs of the Bailouts - charts
Demos take charge of pushing Bush's bailout - Not ONE person should even PRETEND they're surprised. - mpg
Bush + Reid + Pelosi + Frank + Obama + Paulson trillion dollar bailout laced with corruption, insider dealing
Treasury Would Emerge With Vast New Power
Bailout Bill Gives Go Ahead to Questionable Foreclosure Fees
Banks Love Bailout, Hate Credit Card Curbs
Demonstrators Rally on Wall St. ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  ||
Free Lunch for the Rich. Axis Exclusive!
Support for Bailout Plan Now Down to 24% - As Cheney would say..."so"? Only 1% counts in this country. - mpg
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Hyperinflation?
Must Listen - Special Note - Audio - A quote...."Covering the US government's economic depredations, police state enactments, and wars of aggression."

Wachovia's fate in balance as takeover deal falters
Special Note - A quote...."The future of America's fourth-largest bank, Wachovia, is in the balance as attempts to find a buyer for the group faltered over the weekend. Analysts have started to bet that, rather than doing a deal with the bank now, potential suitors could wait until the bank was seized by the authorities and then pick off the best assets at a knock-down price."

Gold and silver dealer reports an ‘unprecedented’ shortage of metals
A quote...."A surge for demand in gold and silver has resulted in an unprecedented shortage of the metals for retail investors in recent days, according to Gold and Silver Investments, a Dublin-based firm that allows retail investors to speculate on movements in the value of precious metals." -- Website editor's caution: Gold and Silver do not rise in price during depressions, they rise during stagflationary and inflationary periods, or they are safe havens in the extreme event of a currency failure. - mpg

B&B and Fortis both in crisis
Special Note - A quote...."BELGIUM’s Fortis is this weekend poised to become the first large continental bank to fall victim to the credit crunch, as the global chaos continues with Bradford & Bingley and American savings giant Wachovia both teetering on the brink."

Financial crisis: Bradford & Bingley nationalisation will cost [British] taxpayers £150bn
A quote...."British taxpayers will be liable for more than £150 billion of potentially toxic mortgage debt following the nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley, one of the country’s biggest mortgage lenders. "

Saturday September 27th 2008

U.S. Raids on Pakistan - Violations of Sovereignty
Must Read - A quote...."Henry Kissinger was no amateur when it came to illegally bombing and invading countries that he and the evil President Nixon considered did not meet American requirements of unconditional servility, but even he must be intrigued about the latest antics of Washington’s finest. The vice president of the United States, a charmless and despotic bully, and his president, he of the close-set eyeballs and pretensions to dignity, recently excelled themselves in self-delusion concerning their unlawful invasion of Iraq and their fury with nations whose governments fail to toe the Washington line." -- Also posted at ICH

Tariq Ali's The Duel - Pakistan Through the Eyes of a Native Son
Special Note - A quote...."Tariq Ali opens his new book "The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power", [Gogl Srch] with the declaration that the struggle in Pakistan is not a battle between Islamists and tribal residents of Waziristan and the Pakistani government, but between the government and the bulk of the Pakistani population.  In fact, continues Ali, this has always been the case.  He then continues by explaining historically why and how this is so."

Debate Evades Dark Realities
A quote...."Perhaps it’s unrealistic to expect a U.S. presidential debate to deal substantively – and honestly – with wrongful actions by the American government, even at the end of George W. Bush’s eight-year reign as one of the planet’s preeminent rogue operatives."

Obama-- Minimalist Debater?
A quote...."A few weeks ago, a friend sent me an e-mail. "Here is a future dictionary entry for Afghanistan," he wrote. -- "Afghanistan. The place where the dreams and hopes of the Obama Presidency are buried." -- I flinched when I read the note. But it rang true. Obama risks creating a bipartisan consensus that will entrap the US in another costly occupation ---draining resources needed to fulfill his (already limited) promises for economic growth, health care and social justice at home. -- You could put it this way gentle reader....everything for the New Romen Empire, absolutely nothing for you. - mpg

Robert Fisk: ‘The Middle East Is Not a Complex Place’ - Telling it like it is. - mpg
Must View Video - A quote...."Truthdig interviews Robert Fisk -- The acclaimed journalist stopped by our offices this week, where he told Truthdig Editor Robert Scheer that the Middle East is a lot less puzzling than it’s made out to be: “It’s we who are there, not the other way round. ... It’s not our land. It’s not our religion. Our soldiers are in the Muslim world and they should not be there.”

The Happening - Also telling it like it is. - mpg
Must Read - A quote...."It seems like a belabored point, but there is just no escaping it. Mainstream media continues to be the most critical ( and probably the most accessible ) impediment to the evolution of the species. The American ( and global ) populous remain physiologically corralled by the mock reality the media delivers, which makes any attempt to impart or understand the truth extremely difficult. -- The problem is that once you are part of the lie, you are part of the lie. This is why I repeatedly stress the importance of being honest with oneself at all times. It’s not a matter of being caught in the lie, it’s the fact that the lie will catch you. It is inescapable because you have made it part of your reality. As long as you choose to live by that lie that you have accepted, you have to support ( and do ) whatever is necessary to sustain that lie. -- This country is up to its neck ( actually well over its head ) in lies, and Obama has unfortunately accepted several of them."

A Vote For Obama Is A Vote For McCain
A quote...."As we get ever closer to the November election, more and more of my friends who are Obama supporters are upbraiding me for my support of Cynthia McKinney, on their belief that a vote for her is a "vote for McCain." Many of them agree that she or some other third party candidate is a better choice than either McCain or Obama for President but has no chance of winning, is not a "viable" candidate, and that I should support Obama as the decidedly "lesser evil" alternative to McCain." -- There ARE alternative choices. See....You Have a Choice Democracy or Empire 07-24-08 - mpg

With All Eyes on the Bailout, House Passes Trillion-Dollar Defense Bill
Special Note - A quote...."The number that the House sent to the Senate for "defense" -- $612 billion for the coming year -- is eye-popping. Imagine a stack of 612,000 million-dollar bills. Quite a pile. -- That number's a sham, however. The budget calls for $68.6 billion for the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan in 2009. War costs this year totaled $182 billion, according to the Federation of American Scientists."

Is Our "Financial Crisis" A New 9/11? Chumps Think So, And I Do Too
Must Read - A quote...."The most prominent common features, in my view, between the so-called "terrorist attacks" of 2001 and the so-called "financial crisis" of 2008 are: -- It's an inside job -- a terrorist attack of unprecedented scope and scale -- enabled by statements from politicians and the media which are chock-full of lies and spin. -- There was nothing sudden about it; it was forseen by many and could have been prevented if the government had wanted to prevent it. -- Instead it has been encouraged, and facilitated, by the very people who claim to be keeping you safe. But you can see that they don't want you to feel safe. They want you to be afraid, very afraid."

Pretexts for War
Special Note - Related article - A quote...."The use of force in international relations is a common practice in the world today, as it has historically been, with the responsible party never failing to claim some noble cause or worthy justification for its actions. Such declarations of benevolence aside, the reasons publicly stated as pretext for wars are almost never true."
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EuCom deploys radar, troops to Israel
War Alert - A quote...."U.S. European Command has deployed to Israel a high-powered X-band radar and the supporting people and equipment needed for coordinated defense against Iranian missile attack, marking the first permanent U.S. military presence on Israeli soil."

Iran calls on Shiites to block U.S. pact
A quote...."BAGHDAD — Thousands of Shiites rallied yesterday against a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security pact, while one of Iran's most influential politicians urged Iraq's government and religious leaders to block the deal."

Envoy Reiterates Iran-Pakistan Close Relations
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran and Pakistan enjoy close brotherly relations, said Tehran's Ambassador to Islamabad Mashallah Shakri."

Ahmadinejad Highlights Iran's Close Ties with Pakistan, Afghanistan
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan are part of a "larger family", given their historic ties and their cultural links, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a news conference at the United Nations Headquarters on Tuesday."

Palestinian Economy: From Bad to Wretched
A quote...."The numbers are grim, whether in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian economy is in one of its most wretched states, and the disaster is mostly, if not entirely manmade, thus reversible."

Marathon for Children: Running for the Right to Play
A quote...."I was ecstatic as I read an email sent by a manager at a Canadian toy company. The company donates a large number of toys each year to inner city kids throughout North America, using various NGOs. A few years ago, they decided to ship several thousand toys to Palestinian children. They asked for my help. -- The feeling of joy that I felt that day was unparalleled. Rarely do I experience in my job as a writer, whose main focus is war and conflict, this overpowering sense of elation."

Bush seeks to suspend Bolivia trade benefits
A quote...."I propose to suspend Bolivia's designation as a beneficiary country under the Andean Trade Preference Act ... and as an Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act beneficiary country," Bush said in the letter." -- In case you don't know, this has absolutely nothing to do with the "drug trade" (think "our friend" in Columbia) and everything to do with what remains of America's (read the New Roman Empire's) crime syndicate operation in South America. - mpg

US House approves historic India nuclear deal - The NPT is almost dead, just one more vote to go. - mpg
A quote...."The House of Representatives Saturday passed a civilian nuclear pact with India that lifts a three decade-old ban on civilian nuclear trade with India. -- The agreement, passed by a 298-117 vote, will now head to the Senate for its vote, but it was unclear if it would be passed before Congress adjourns ahead of the November 4 elections."

Ecuadorian President Comes Into Conflict with Both Right and Left
A quote...."As Ecuadorians prepare to vote on a proposed constitution this Sunday, President Rafael Correa is coming into conflict not only with the conservative elite but also with the Left, including rebellious members of his own party. While social movements are by and large hailing the constitution as progressive, indigenous and other activists are concerned about what they see as Correa's increasing moves to the Right."

ECUADOR:  Gearing Up for a New Constitution
A quote...."QUITO, Sep 26 (IPS) - Voters in Ecuador are getting ready to go to the polls Sunday, where they are expected to approve a new constitution that recognises ethnic diversity and expands social and environmental rights."

Human Rights Watch in Venezuela: Lies, Crimes and Cover-ups
Special Note - A quote...."....the National Endowment for Democracy, has issued a report “A Decade Under Chavez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela” (9/21/2008 hrw.org).  The publication of the “Report” directed by Jose Miguel Vivanco and sub-director Daniel Walkinson led to their expulsion from Venezuela for repeated political-partisan intervention in the internal affairs of the country. -- A close reading of the “Report” reveals an astonishing number of blatant falsifications and outright fabrications, glaring deletions of essential facts, deliberate omissions of key contextual and comparative considerations and especially a cover-up of systematic long-term, large-scale security threats to Venezuelan democracy posed by Washington."

Astronaut takes historic walk in space
Photos & Video -- A quote...."Astronaut Zhai Zhigang became the first Chinese man to walk in space on Saturday, clambering out of China's Shenzhou VII space craft in a technological feat that made the Chinese people excited." -- See also Video - (YouTube - 54 sec - Added:  September 27, 2008)

Violence pushes Russia's Ingushetia towards civil war
A quote...." NAZRAN, Russia (Reuters) - Russia thought it had tamed the Muslim regions on its southern flank when it quelled a rebellion in Chechnya, but trouble is brewing again. - Barely noticed by the outside world, increasing violence and clashes between federal forces and rebels in Ingushetia, just west of Chechnya, threaten to destabilize the north Caucasus."

Russia successfully launches Bulava
A quote...."MOSCOW. (Nikita Petrov for RIA Novosti) - On September 18, the heavy Akula-class Project 941 nuclear submarine cruiser Dmitry Donskoi (NATO's reporting name Typhoon), side number TK-208, launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, RSM-56 Bulava-M (NATO code SS-NX-30)."

Lavrov: new Europe security pact needed
A quote...."Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has criticized the current security system in Europe calling for a more 'reliable' and 'collective' one."
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The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 2 articles - Saturday - [ Day 51 ] =====  ==========

Talks about Georgia’s territorial integrity senseless - Lavrov
A quote...."All talk about the territorial integrity of Georgia after its aggression against South Ossetia has become senseless. That’s according to Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday."

The Truth About the War in South Ossetia
A quote...."I heard so many lies about the conflict between Russia and Georgia (in the presidential foreign policy debate), that I had to set the record straight. Georgia attacked South Ossetia, Georgia was the aggressor! The other half-truth that's out there is that poor little Georgia was simply defending its own sovereign territory. While this is technically true, South Ossetia did hold a referendum on voting for independence in which the vote came out in favor of independence in the 90th percentile. This is an extremely pro-Russian region!  -- What Americans have to understand is that this may be the start of ginning up a new cold war (perhaps the war on terror isn't producing enough bodybags? [inflation])." -- For more on this issue see....American Selective Attention Deficit Disorder (ASADD) - 08-16-08 - mpg

End - The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 2 articles - Saturday - [ Day 51 ] ===  ==========
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Greg Palast: Rove Has Already Fixed the 2008 Election - This is an edited version of the speech shown below - mpg
Video - A quote...."Greg Palast speaks about the potential for stealing the 2008 presidential election."

Greg Palast and RFK in NYC- MayDay 2007
- Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Part5 - Part6 - Part7 - Part8
From the History File -- (YouTube - aprox 8 to 10 min each - Added:  May 08, 2007) -- Videos - A quote...."Greg Palast author of "Armed Madhouse" [GoGl Srch] (now out in the expanded edition paperback) and Robert Kennedy Jr. speak Rove And Rove's Brain, 'Should Be In Jail,' Not In Office-RFK Jr"

Palin's Personal Connection To 9/11
Video - A quote...."Sarah Palin's father was dispatched to Fresh Kills Landfill just months after 9/11 to help with the recovery efforts." - Interesting. - mpg

(12:15 p.m.) September 11, 2001: FBI Limits What Evidence Needs to Be Photographed at Pentagon
Item Added -- Complete 911 Timeline -- "9/26 - FBI Limits What Evidence Needs to Be Photographed at Pentagon, (12:15 p.m.) September 11, 2001, posted by matt" -- A quote...."Photographers who are taking pictures at the Pentagon, to document the scene of the attack there in as close as possible to its original state, are told to limit what evidence they photograph. FBI Special Agent Tom O’Connor—who is in charge of the initial evidence recovery operation at the Pentagon—and his superiors have put out the word that it is unnecessary to document every piece of the airplane."
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Trouble in Banktopia
Must Read - A quote...."27/09/08 "ICH" -- - The financial system is blowing up. Don't listen to the experts; just look at the numbers. Last week, according to Reuters, "U.S. banks borrowed a record amount from the Federal Reserve nearly $188 billion a day on average, showing the central bank went to extremes to keep the banking system afloat amid the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression." The Fed opened the various "auction facilities" to create the appearance that insolvent banks were thriving businesses, but they are not. They're dead; their liabilities exceed their assets. Now the Fed is desperate because the hundreds of billions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in the banks vaults have bankrupt the entire system and the Fed's balance sheet is ballooning by the day. The market for MBS will not bounce back in the foreseeable future and the banks are unable to roll-over their short term debt. Game over. The Federal Reserve itself is in danger. So, it's on to Plan B; which is to dump all the toxic sludge on the taxpayer before he realizes that the whole system is cratering and his life is about to change forever. It's called the Paulson Plan, a $700 billion boondoggle which has already been disparaged by every economist of merit in the country. -- Also posted at CounterPunch

How Economic Crises Are Overcome - Their Assets; Our Debts
Must Read - A quote...."Keynes’ message about the least painful way to bring about the necessary redistribution of economic resources sufficient to get the economy expanding profitably is set out in his “General Theory,” where he underscores that inflation is the safest way to lower wage workers’ consumption and their portion of production.  Direct wage cuts, he cautions, would turn the workers against their employers. Significant injection of government spending into industrial production, rather than into the production of “consumer goods,” results in inflation.  The price of daily necessities goes up due to shortages or rationing, and the real value of workers’ wages goes down. (Milton Friedman has also advocated inflation as a most efficient tool for redistribution of economic resources and increasing profitability.)"

'Germany Will Pay a High Price for US Sins'
A quote...."German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück delivered an impassioned speech before parliament Thursday denouncing greed and government failures for the US financial meltdown. But German commentators are asking for reassurance rather than more finger-pointing." -- For more on this issue see....Debt Doesn't Matter When the Rubes Pay 02-29-08 - mpg

American economic terrorism: love it or leave it!
A quote...."How many times have those of us of the non-conformist breed been told . . . if you don’t love America as it is, why don’t you leave it? Well, let me turn the tables in a different way . . . why don’t most of us become true patriots, instead of ugly jingoes, and say no to economic terrorism as it is being perpetrated in the United States? Not just say love it or leave it, but, instead, reform this predatory capitalism under whose thumb we exist. -- Bail out of Wall Street? Are we nuts? Is this Bush’s final chapter of “Fear for America”?"

$700 billion or Armageddon? Sounds like sci-fi
MEMO TO HANK PAULSON / FROM [the Nameless One]
Mortgage help for bankrupt homeowners dropped - Anyone surprised? If you are..you're clinically brain dead.- mpg
$56 Billion Stimulus Bill Fails in Senate - Hah, ha, ha, hee, hee...morons, peons, peasents, rubes, all ol'you. - mpg
Mega-Million Dollar CEO Payouts - database - You gotta check this out! - mpg
Pain on Main Street - video - (RN&ANP - 5 min 31 sec - September 28, 2008)
Bailout sparks anger - video - (RN - 1 min 47 sec - September 28, 2008)
Cong. Leaders Announce Breakthrough in Bailout Bill Negotiations - breaking - Sun, Sept 28, 2008; 12:47 AM
Bush: the Last Deal
Who is Putting "Intense Pressure" on Bush and Congress to Pass the Bailout?
The liar-in-chief hard sells the bailout
$700 Billion Bailout: Let’s Do Some Simple Arithmetic
King George & Comrade Paulson
Bailout extortion
Bridge Loan to Nowhere
The Money Party: Bailout blackmail -- just say no!
The Muslim View on American Markets Meltdown. Sharia Economic rules…
America Needs A New New Deal
Corruption created this Crisis and this $700 Billion Bailout
The Trillion Dollar Wrong Thing
The Hanky Panky Banking Bailout Bill - warning: rough langauge
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[British] Treasury will nationalise B&B as talks with white knights continue
A quote...."Treasury officials were on the threshold of taking ailing Bradford & Bingley into public ownership last night, prior to selling part of the business to Santander, HSBC, or Barclays."

British Families, Drowning in Debt
A quote...."For 30 years, the British economy has been on a steady climb skyward. Now it's being hit with a credit crisis that resembles the American subprime disaster. And just like across the pond, the victims are those who can least afford it."

Friday September 26th 2008

"How Major U.S. Neo-Imperialist Wars End" by Robert Higgs
Videos - A quote...."On June 6, 2008, Robert Higgs, Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute, author of Crisis and Leviathan and Neither Liberty nor Safety, and editor of The Independent Review, delivered the following speech, "How Major U.S. Neo-imperialist Wars End," to the second Future of Freedom Foundation conference, "Restoring the Republic," held in Reston, Virginia. -- What must be done to make those in power believe that their interests are best served by stopping the killing?"

Multipolar World
A quote...."The international financial crisis has suddenly accelerated a tendency that has been manifest since the United States' first setbacks in Iraq: American hegemony, and, one should say, Western hegemony, which seemed to settle over the world after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Communist system at the end of the 1980s-beginning of the 1990s, has seen its heyday."

Immortal Technique: The Poverty of Philosophy (Repost)
Must View Video - Angry, truthful, classical, radicalism....sort of refreshing in a way. - mpg -- A quote...."Note to Obamatrolls: “When you say you can change the system from within, that is a lie. It is not you who will change the system, but the system that will change you.”

Should We Fear Iran? The Peter Principle Playoffs
A quote..."So here we sit, our heads jerking back and forth so rapidly most of us are suffering severe whiplash. Will the US attack Iran? Will Israel attack Iran? Or will the two war-mongering bullies join forces and "bomb, bomb, bomb" that belligerent twit-nation into subservience? -- It's a great game. A deadly game. The momentum to attack Iran has been building for so long that we're conditioned to watching it like some grotesque international tennis competition. It's the Peter Principle Playoffs, with neoconsters and ziomonsters out on the court milling around, working at their highest "levels of incompetence," feverishly plotting Iran's destruction. Foul lines mean nothing to them. There are no rules, no officials, no scores, no accountability."

UN General Assembly Ahmadinejad Speech / Transcript & Videos - Part 1/4 - Part 2/4 - Part 3/4 - Part 4/4
Videos - (YouTube - aprox. 10 min each - Added:  September 26, 2007) -- A quote...."The Speech of Ahmadinejad at the UN General Assembly."

President Stresses Iran's Right to Produce N. Fuel
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran needs the ability to produce nuclear fuel because it cannot rely on other nations to supply enriched uranium to the Islamic Republic's planned reactors, the Iranian president said Thursday."

Iran escapes new sanctions in next U.N. resolution
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Six world powers handed the U.N. Security Council a toothless draft resolution on Iran's nuclear program on Friday after the United States, facing stiff Russian opposition, failed to secure agreement for new sanctions."

Iran Resolution Shelved in Rare Defeat for AIPAC
A quote...."In a significant and highly unusual defeat for the so-called "Israel Lobby," the Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives has decided to shelve a long-pending, albeit nonbinding, resolution that called for President George W. Bush to launch what critics called a blockade against Iran." -- See also quote shown below....

WHAT!!  The DemoRepubs have decided it might not be such a wise plan to please AIPAC by starting another war in the Middle East (they have two ongoing already, possibly three if you count Pakistan) with a country that could shut the straits of Hormuz down for years while at the SAME TIME the U.S.'s (N.R.E.'s) economy is about to suffer its worst collapse (due to the self same DemoRepubs' negligence) since 1929.  My God these DemoRepubs are so unbelievably smart, who would have thunk it!! - mpg -- Posted 09-25-08
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After Firefight, Pakistan Tells US to Stay Away From Border
A quote...."One day after a reported five minute exchange of fire between Pakistani and US troops along the Afghan border, Pakistani government spokesman Akram Shaheedi warned the US-led coalition forces “not to violate territorial sovereignty of Pakistan as it is counterproductive to the war on terror.” President Asif Ali Zardari described US support as a “blessing,” however the general trend appears to point to relations between the two countries continuing to deteriorate."

Pakistan not to seek weapons from US
Special Note - A quote...."ISLAMABAD, Sept 25: The government has decided that it will not take technical assistance and weapons from the United States under a comprehensive security strategy being devised by a high-powered committee to combat terrorism."

Zardari lashes out at US in UN speech
A quote...."Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari has lashed out at the United States over alleged violation of airspace on the border with Afghanistan. - In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Zardari said Pakistan would not tolerate violations of its sovereignty, even by its allies." -- But what are "friends" for?  Remember, you always hurt the ones you "love". - mpg

Marriott Was Set Ablaze by Americans
A quote...."The Marriott Hotel Islamabad has turned into ashes and there seems almost nothing left. But the dubious activities of US officials are still going on. And despite what U.S. officials say, the fire at the Marriott was more complex than it looks."

New Twist in Downed Drone Mystery
A quote...."The other day, an American-made Predator spy drone went down in Pakistan. But, strangely, U.S. officials said they didn't know a thing about the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) -- despite the pictures of its wreckage on Pakistani television."
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British troops 'will leave Iraq within a year'
A quote...."Britain's war in Iraq will end by this time next year, a highly placed defence source said yesterday. But asked whether the pullout from Iraq would mean reinforcements being sent to combat a resurgent Taliban, the senior officer responded: "Emphatically no. We have already mortgaged the Iraq dividend by boosting our force in Afghanistan to 8,000. That is the limit."

Iraq: The Biggest Hospitals Become Sick
A quote...."BAGHDAD, Sep 25 (IPS) - Not even the elevators work now at Baghdad Medical City, built once as the centre for some of the best medical care." -- For more on this issue, see a blast from the past - must view video - Congressional Progressive Caucus: Dr. Dahlia Wasfi at Iraq Forum - (YouTube - 6 min 14 sec - Added:  September 22, 2006) & The Method - 05-07-07 - mpg

No more British troops to be deployed despite Taleban resurgence
A quote...."Britain will not increase troop numbers in Afghanistan, despite the escalation in violent attacks by the Taleban, a senior defence official said yesterday."

POLITICS:  Mideast Peace-Making Quartet Gets Flunking Grade
A quote...."WASHINGTON, Sep 25 (IPS) - A new report from several international aid organisations blasts the Quartet, an international group assembled to facilitate the Middle East peace process, for failing to meet their goals in advancing a lasting peace between Israel and Palestinians."

Venezuela arrests general on conspiracy
A quote...."Venezuela has arrested an air force general on charges he was seeking to kill President Hugo Chavez, a lawmaker says."

New Coup D'Etat Rumblings in Venezuela
A quote...."Throughout most of his tenure and since the Bush administration took over, CIA and various misnamed US quasi-governmental agencies have been active in Venezuela. Ones like the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The International Republican Institute (IRI) with John McCain as its chairman and its ties to extremist Republican party elements, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). All are imperial instruments. Undemocratic and for rule by the power of money."

“Ahead of Financial Crisis,” Venezuela’s Chávez Spins through Europe
A quote...."During the visit, the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA formed a mixed energy company with five Russian companies, Gazprom, Lukoil, Rosneft, TNK-BP, and Surgutneftegaz. The company will exploit Venezuelan oil and national gas and, in accordance with the Venezuelan constitution, the majority share will be controlled by PDVSA."

Putin back nuclear talks with Chavez
A quote...."Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he was ready to consider helping Venezuela develop a nuclear energy programme after meeting the country's President Hugo Chavez."

Russian ships to take part in naval exercise in South Korea
A quote...."VLADIVOSTOK, September 26 (RIA Novosti) - Two Russian coast guard vessels from the Far East port of Vladivostok are on their way to South Korea to take part in a joint anti-terror exercise, a regional coast guard official said on Friday."

Election? I want them all! – Timoshenko
A quote...."Ukraine's Prime Minister, Yulia Timosheko, says an early parliamentary election could take place alongside a presidential vote. The statement came amid the country's third major political crisis in four years, this time caused by the collapse of the governing ‘Orange’ coalition."

China's lift-off into space - (Blinkx - 1 min 2 sec - September 26, 2008)
Video - A quote...."China's third manned spacecraft blasts off on a mission which is expected to include its first space walk."

US House of Representatives approves NASA buying Russian spacecraft
Special Note - HAH!! Ha, Ha, Haaaaah!.... Them there New Roman Empires can get to be really expensive, ain't that right?  The NRE's NASA can't even afford to get itself to the International Space Station without help.  It's really quite funny. - mpg -- A quote...."Nasa's top achievement in Congress this year boils down to a single sentence - one line in a huge spending bill that would allow Nasa to circumvent an arms-control law and purchase Russian-made Soyuz spacecraft. -- For Nasa administrator Michael Griffin, that might be enough to enable him to retire the space shuttle in 2010 and still get US astronauts to the international space station."
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The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 2 articles - Friday - [ Day 50 ] =====  ==========

Putin erases border between Russia and South Ossetia
A quote...."26.09.2008 - Source: Pravda.Ru -- The recently signed interstate agreement between South Ossetia and Russia provides a legal base to erase the border between the two nations, Itar-Tass reports with reference to a statement from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin."

South Ossetia and Abkhazia - Notes from the Inside
A quote...."Moscow waited for almost 24 hours, during which Georgian artillery and planes were sending the capital of South Ossetia to ruins. Almost 1600 people were killed in the shelling. Now it is being presented by the mainstream media exclusively as Russia’s intervention and expansionist policy.”

End - The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 2 articles - Friday - [ Day 50 ] === ==========

Statement Of September 11th Advocates Regarding The Release Of The NIST Final Draft Of Collapse Of WTC7
A quote...."Essentially, the construction of WTC 7 utilized traditional steel frame skeleton (uniformly spaced column and beam construction), without the questionable bar joists and trusses used in the construction of the WTC 1 and 2 Towers. WTC 7 was not a "tube" building like the WTC Towers. It was a rectangular shape and was less than half the height of WTC 1 and 2. -- Dr. Sunder also stated that WTC 7 met all New York City codes. Yet, WTC 7 is the first steel high-rise building of traditional construction in the United States – and the world, to completely collapse as a result of fire." -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - WTC7

September 12, 2001: FBI and NTSB Limit Evidence Recovery Efforts at Pentagon
A quote...."Several FBI supervisors convene and discuss what the bureau should be recovering. One of them says every airplane part is significant and needs to be treated as valuable evidence. But Adams counters: -- That can’t be. We know what happened here. Do we really need to collect every piece of the airplane?” Adams goes over to some National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) crash experts at the site, who are responsible for determining what happened to Flight 77. When he asks them, “Do you guys want pieces of the plane?” an NTSB official responds: “No, it’s clear what happened here. We don’t need pieces of the wings and stuff like that. But we do need the black boxes.” [Creed and Newman, 2008, pp. 351-352]" -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - NORAD

Internet attacks on 9/11 Truth intensify
Special Note - A quote...."Internet censorship is once again in the news after legendary YouTube user Nuffrespect posted a new video detailing the latest online attack on 9/11 Truth: a user who is creating clones of respected user accounts and truth movement leaders in order to smear 9/11 Truth by posting racist comments. These have already led to the deletion of several well-known accounts in what has been revealed as a coordinated effort to eliminate 9/11 Truth from YouTube."

What Did Bush Tell Gonzales?
A quote...."In March 2004, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales made a now-famous late-night visit to the hospital room of Attorney General John Ashcroft, seeking to get Ashcroft to sign a certification stating that the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program was legal. According to people familiar with statements recently made by Gonzales to federal investigators, Gonzales is now saying that George Bush personally directed him to make that hospital visit."

Documents Reveal Massive DHS Border Spying Operations
A quote...."New documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Asian Law Caucus (ALC) revealed that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) subunit "reversed a two-decades-old policy that restricted customs agents from reading and copying the personal papers carried by travelers, including U.S. citizens."

Subpoena for Office of Legal Counsel Documents Authorized
A quote...."The Senate Judiciary Committee has authorized the issuance of a subpoena for a copy of opinions of the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). -- OLC opinions interpret the law for executive branch agencies. Controversially, they have been used to sanction official departures from existing legal norms in domestic surveillance, prisoner interrogation, and other areas. They have also frequently been withheld from most members of Congress (though they have reportedly been provided to the intelligence committees in many cases)."

Rep. Baldwin Introduces Bill to Undo and Prosecute Bush-Cheney Crimes
A quote...."Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin has just introduced the Executive Branch Accountability Act of 2008, which calls on the next President of the United States to....."

Independent U.S. presidential candidate banned from debates
A quote...."While millions of people around the world watched Barack Obama and fellow U.S. presidential candidate John McCain debate each other, another man running for the high office was ignored. Independent Ralph Nader is not allowed to debate McCain and Obama because officials say he doesn't qualify. However, Nader's influence on the tight election may be greater than he's being given credit for." -- For more on this issue see....You Have a Choice Democracy or Empire 07-24-08 - mpg
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Wall Street Meltdown Primer
Special Note - A quote...."Was it lack of regulation? -- Yes. Everyone acknowledges by now that Wall Street’s capacity to innovate and turn out more and more sophisticated financial instruments had run far ahead of government’s regulatory capability. This wasn’t because the government was incapable of regulating but because the dominant neoliberal, laissez-faire attitude prevented government from devising effective regulatory mechanisms."

But isn’t there something more that is happening? -- We’re seeing the intensification of one of the central crises or contradictions of global capitalism: the crisis of overproduction, also known as overaccumulation or overcapacity. - In other words, capitalism has a tendency to build up tremendous productive capacity that outruns the population’s capacity to consume owing to social inequalities that limit popular purchasing power, thus eroding profitability." -- For more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate 03-24-07 - mpg
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Democrats, Republicans conspire to remove Wall Street bailout from election debate
A quote...."Closed-door talks continued throughout the day Friday between congressional Democratic and Republican leaders and the Bush administration, with all sides pledging to reach agreement on terms of a $700 billion bailout package for the US financial system before the Asian stock markets open Monday morning—Sunday afternoon in the US." -- If the American public goes into the polls this November and are actually stupid enough to go vote for the DemoRepubs....they deserve exactly the government they're going to get.  More of the same. - mpg

Back in the USSR
A quote...." Bolivian socialists nationalize to combat wealth stratification, remove greed from human necessities like energy, and allow the public to own the means of producing valuable commodities. Amerika’s socialists nationalize to preserve inequality and force the public to own the means of worthless production. Most recently, taxpayers’ $85 billion will purchase bankrupt AIG and its means of producing paper, all to let speculators continue profiteering off the human need for housing. -- Close a factory in socialist Denmark, and workers get immediate government help, along with their free health care. Shutter one in Ohio, and workers get nothing, except politicians saying their jobs are never returning and national health care is “unaffordable.” But if investment banks teeter, those same politicians quickly find billions for bailouts."

Bailout can't hide it - the United States is broke
A quote...."Even leading Republicans in Congress, including presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, recoiled from Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson's proposal to take absolute power over $700 billion to be borrowed by the federal government and used to purchase every sort of bad debt without ever having to answer for it - not to the courts, not to regulatory agencies, and only occasionally and incidentally to Congress itself. -- The bad-debt bailout would be the biggest government patronage program in history and would amount to declaring martial law over the U.S. financial system and economy." -- Also posted at ICH

US taxpayers are being enrolled in an economic chain gang
A quote....""To preserve their [the people's] independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our selection between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude" - Thomas Jefferson -- There was a time, early in America's history, when its leaders believed in financial discipline. No more. Perpetual debt, which Jefferson feared would enslave future generations, is clamped on Uncle Sam's undercarriage like a ball and chain. US public borrowing is $9.8 trillion - and rising." -- Also posted at ICH

S.E.C. Concedes Oversight Flaws Fueled Collapse - One is seriously tempted to wax sarcastic. - mpg
Bailout bill, once 3 pages, swells in length [to 102 pages!] - Oh My Gawd! Congress is legislating again! - mpg
Day of Reckoning
The Great Bailout: Is The Cure Worse Than The Disease?
Ron Paul: Greenspan, Bernanke Should Be Criminally Charged
Bailout Backlash: Five Surprising Things That Happened on Thursday
The Pyramids Crumble
Corporate Hogs at the Public Trough
Are We On The Verge of The Deluge?
Paulson proposal puts CEOs first, public last
ECONOMY-US:  Bailout for Who?
ECONOMY-US:  National Protests Erupt Over Bailout Plan
Credit Default Swaps: The Insane Problem and the Radical but Sane Solution
Financial Meltdown And The Madness Of Imperialism
Big bailout is unlikely to work
Glaring gaps in the financial system
The Dumbing-Down of a Nation
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The GDP Revision [3.3% down to 2.8%] Raises Recession Risk
A quote...."Action Economics says the downward adjustment to second-quarter growth may signal accelerated weakness in the third and fourth quarters."

Confidence in US banks nosedives after Washington Mutual collapse
A quote...."The failure of one of America's biggest retail banks undermined confidence in a fresh clutch of US household names today as investors digested the implications of the biggest collapse of a high-street bank on record."

Wachovia Stock Sinks On WaMu News
A quote...."Wachovia Corp. stock, which has been experiencing huge swings throughout the credit crisis, was down big again Friday as a potential bank bailout deal fizzled and Washington Mutual Inc. failed."

U.S. Mint Suspends Sale Of Buffalo Gold Coins
Special Note - A quote...."The U.S. Mint has temporarily halted distribution of its one-ounce American buffalo gold coins a month after placing limits on the sale of American eagle gold coins."

California: foreclosures and homeless on the rise
A quote...."Stagnating wages, increasing unemployment and rising food and fuel prices are driving a wave of foreclosures in California, forcing hundreds of thousands into destitution."

Thursday September 25th 2008

European reactions to the financial crisis -- Covering their tracks and distancing themselves from the US
Must Read - A quote...."The call for a form of “regulated capitalism—that can prevent risky speculative transactions, cutting down to size the power of finance capital and giving priority again to production and trade—runs like a thread through the comments and statements of the press and politicians of all stripes. But it is an illusion. -- The clock of history cannot be rewound. The cancer-like growth of finance capital is not simply the result of wrong decisions by individuals. Greed and criminal intentions have certainly contributed, but these are rooted in social conditions that can only be overcome through a revolutionary transformation of society. -- The deregulation of the financial markets, which began approximately 30 years ago, was the reaction of the capitalist class worldwide to the economic crises and class warfare of the 1960s and 1970s. The abolition of existing regulations and the development of new forms of speculation served to overcome falling profit rates. They were accompanied by non-stop attacks on the rights and living standards of the working class, and with an aggressive foreign policy that took on an increasingly military direction." -- For more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate 03-24-07 - mpg
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A bailout and a new world - The Good
A quote...."WASHINGTON and SAO PAULO - The George W Bush administration's US$700 billion no-accountability scheme, globally, informally dubbed "cash for trash", is making all the headlines. Simultaneously, there's the small matter of the United Nations General Assembly sanctioning the troubled birth of a new, multipolar world. As a 21st-century counterpart to the Dadaist Manifesto, this chain of events is priceless. -- One just had to listen to the speeches. Brazilian President Lula da Silva passionately expounded the new political, economic and commercial geography of the multipolar world. He praised the Union of Latin American Nations (UNASUR) - the first treaty uniting all South American nations in 200 years. He blasted supranational economic institutions that now have no authority - and no policies - to prevent "speculative anarchy"." -- Also posted at ICH

The New World War The Silence Is A Lie - The Bad
A quote...."It is a war of the world. In Latin America, the Bush administration is fomenting incipient military coups in Venezuela, Bolivia, and possibly Paraguay, democracies whose governments have opposed Washington's historic rapacious intervention in its "backyard". Washington's "Plan Colombia" is the model for a mostly unreported assault on Mexico."

Why is a U.S. Army brigade being assigned to the "Homeland"? - And The Ugly
A quote...."Several bloggers today have pointed to this obviously disturbing article from Army Times, which announces that "beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the [1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division] will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North" -- "the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities." The article details:" -- Also posted at CommonDreams
 & ICH

Prepare Yourselves: PD 51 Being Explained to Obama & McCain This Very Evening
Related article - A quote...."It is true what Dubya says about this being a, "dangerous world."  As long as he and his friends are permitted to freely operate within it, the world IS a dangerous place.  No president or head of state is safe, no treasury is secure...anything not nailed down, including your own wife, is fair game for these vermin. -- As you wake up tomorrow morning, be grateful if we still have a country to move about freely in.  In very short order, even the thin fascia of what remains of our once great country will be swept away." -- Only if "Bombs Away O-bomb-a" ain't bought and paid for -- Regretfully however, not only is he bought, he's as bent as a cork screw. - mpg

Pictures: “Lego Block” Prison Cells Readied In Utah
Related article - A quote...."Pictures of concrete prison cells being unloaded from wagons in Utah earlier this month have surfaced on the internet, causing a storm of debate over their purpose."

The Wicked Witch Is Dead. Why Aren't We Dancing in the Streets?
A quote...."Of course, there are good reasons to be scared. The failure of capitalism, in the absence of a viable alternative, presents a terrifying danger of deterioration into fascism: the merger of the masters of corporate greed with political and military leaders; the concentration of power in the hands of a demagogic executive branch; the unraveling of democratic institutions and the rule of law; the suppression of dissent; the stealing of elections; the waging of wars of conquest; the scapegoating of unpopular minorities... wait, this is starting to sound familiar. Failed capitalism sounds a lot like successful capitalism."

U.S. Titanic
A quote...."The 450 billionaires have a net worth of approximately $1 trillion and the 3,000,000 millionaires have a net worth of approximately $11 trillion. So, .1% of the population currently owns 21% of the net worth in this country. Many of these billionaires and millionaires have accumulated their wealth by managing other people’s money. The customers never have the yachts. The money managers have the yachts. The .1% ruling elite are deciding the fate of your grandchildren in Washington D.C. this week out of public view. The ruling elite have the most to lose. Whose best interest do you think they are looking out for?"

One Million Weapons to Iraq; Many Go Missing
A quote...."Clandestine gun suppliers, funded by the U.S. and Iraqi governments, have flooded Iraq with a million weapons since 2003, charges a new Amnesty International investigation. Because of faulty or non-existent government tracking systems, many of those guns have gone missing, and some have turned up in the hands of insurgents." -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror - Money & Guns for Everyone

House Dems Shelve Iran ‘Naval Blockade’ Bill for Now
A quote..."According to the Washington Times the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives has shelved H.R. 362, fearing that the resolution would provoke a war with Iran." -- WHAT!!  The DemoRepubs have decided it might not be such a wise plan to please AIPAC by starting another war in the Middle East (they have two ongoing already, possibly three if you count Pakistan) with a country that could shut the straits of Hormuz down for years while at the SAME TIME the U.S.'s (N.R.E.'s) economy is about to suffer its worst collapse (due to the self same DemoRepubs' negligence) since 1929.  My God these DemoRepubs are so unbelievably smart, who would have thunk it!! - mpg

Finally, the Story of the Whistleblower Who Tried to Prevent the Iraq War
A quote..."Of course Katharine Gun was free to have a conscience, as long as it didn't interfere with her work at a British intelligence agency. To the authorities, practically speaking, a conscience was apt to be less tangible than a pixel on a computer screen. But suddenly -- one routine morning, while she was scrolling through e-mail at her desk -- conscience struck. It changed Katharine Gun's life, and it changed history."

US, Pakistani troops trade gunfire at border
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan (Map, News) - A U.S. military official says American and Pakistani troops traded gunfire during a five-minute skirmish on the Afghan-Pakistan border."

Pakistani troops fire on US helicopters at border
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan - Pakistani soldiers fired at American reconnaissance helicopters that were escorting Afghan and U.S. ground troops along the volatile border on Thursday, sparking a five-minute ground battle between the countries which have been allies in the war on terrorism, officials said."

Why We Should Never Forget
A quote...."September 16 and 17 mark a very difficult anniversary for the Palestinians. Twenty-six years ago, approximately 2,000 Palestinian men, women and children were massacred in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla in Lebanon by Israeli-aligned Phalangist troops under the chief of the Lebanese Intelligence Forces Elie Hobeika and Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon."

2 arrested in alleged plot to kill Chavez
A quote...."CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan authorities have arrested two people suspected of plotting to kill Hugo Chavez by blowing up the president's plane with an anti-tank weapon, the country's top security official said Wednesday."

Chavez wants stronger arms trade with Russia - One wonders why? - mpg
A quote...."Strengthening economic and military ties is the main goal of the Venezuelan President’s two-day visit to Russia. After talks with the Prime Minister in Moscow, Hugo Chavez is in the city of Orenburg to meet President Dmitry Medvedev."

The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 1 article - Thursday - [ Day 49 ] =====  ==========

Ossetian war aftermath 'shocking' - PACE
A quote...."Ossetian accounts of the war with Georgia are shocking, according to the head of the Political Affairs Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Goran Lindblad. PACE delegation has visited South Ossetia to inspect the destruction caused in the conflict."

End - The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 1 article - Thursday - [ Day 49 ] ==  ==========

Anthrax Links to 9-11
A quote...."The author is a Senior Military Affairs Journalist, and former White House Policy Analyst and Special Assistant to the Assistant to the President in the first Reagan Administration. Ms. Honegger is the author of the 9/11 expose “The Pentagon Attack Papers” http://physics911.net/pdf/honegger.pdf and October Surprise (Tudor, 1989), the first book to reveal the true origins of the Iran side of the Iran/Contra scandal."

Foley Investigation Ends; No Charges Expected
More "Tales From the New Roman Empire" --  A quote...."Florida authorities say their investigation was hampered when neither Foley nor the House would let investigators examine his congressional computers. The Florida agency had been working with the FBI and Foley's attorneys to gain access to information on the computers."

When 24 pedophile priests from one town rape 60 children, it is a Public Nuisance, per recent California lawsuit
More "Tales From the New Roman Empire" -- A quote...."Since 1964, the Franciscan Friars of Santa Barbara have produced 24 pedophiles, resulting in 60 settled lawsuits, likely hundreds more victims. “This is a city of a hundred thousand people, and the Franciscans still have perpetrators hidden here,” said Tim Hale, who with his partners, obtained $28 million in the late 1990s, for victims of serial pedophiles among the Franciscan Friars."
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Ron Paul - The Austrian School and the Meltdown
A quote...."The financial meltdown the economists of the Austrian School predicted has arrived. -- We are in this crisis because of an excess of artificially created credit at the hands of the Federal Reserve System. The solution being proposed? More artificial credit by the Federal Reserve. No liquidation of bad debt and malinvestment is to be allowed. By doing more of the same, we will only continue and intensify the distortions in our economy – all the capital misallocation, all the malinvestment – and prevent the market's attempt to re-establish rational pricing of houses and other assets."

Show Us the Money
A quote..."Taxpayers should wake up the politicians and ask them to tell Wall Street: "We want the same deal Warren Buffett got." The Omaha billionaire announced he is playing White Knight to Goldman Sachs by investing $5 billion in the endangered investment house. What a big-hearted guy. Buffett is an old-fashioned capitalist who invests in companies for the long term and I am a big admirer. But Warren Buffett did not get to be a billionaire by committing public-spirited acts of charity. He plays to win." -- Also posted at ICH

Not to mention the fact that Hank Paulson, the man in charge of this plan, the man who wants unlimited power to carry it out, the man who knows where all the toxic waste is buried, just happens to have joined Goldman Sachs in 1974 working his way up till he became "Chief Operating Officer from December 1994 to June 1998; eventually succeeding Jon Corzine (now Governor of New Jersey) as its chief executive" -- Warren Buffett is one of the smartest investors around, however by making this investment, he is implicitly giving his blessing, and participating in a racket, that's going to rob tens of millions of hard working Americans of their life savings. -- Frank Paulson is to Goldman Sachs what Dick Cheney is to Haliburton, it's a true shame that Warren Buffet has chosen to associate himself, along with his hard earned reputation for prudent investing, with an arrangement of this sort. - mpg -- Posted below on 09-24-08

Main Street Before Wall Street
Congressional Backbone Needed
No Bailout for Financial Firms
As Bush Admin Pushes $700B for Wall Street, Ralph Nader Asks, “Why Is There Need for a Bailout?”
FIRE!!!! Are Americans and the World Missing the Boat in Diagnosing what has occurred in the USA-i.e.
Prestigious Group of 192 Economists - Including Nobel Prize Winners - Slams Bailout
The Dallas Fed Reserve Bank Pres, Former Treas. Sec, Head of the Cong Budget Off. [and others] - All Slam Bailout
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New home sales fall to 17-year low
A quote...."NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The pace of new home sales fell to its lowest level in 17 years in August, according to a key government report released Thursday that signaled more dismal news for the housing sector in coming months."

Seattle home sales plummet 41% from a year ago - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."Seattle and Portland were among the top 10 metro areas in the nation with the most pronounced drop in sales of existing homes in August versus a year ago, even as other cities in the West bucked a national downward trend, according to two reports Wednesday."

Durable goods orders fall 4.5%
A quote...."NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Orders for durable goods posted the biggest decline in seven months in August, according to Thursday's report from the Department of Commerce that raises economic caution flags for the second half of 2008."

Jobless claims soar near 7-year high
A quote...."NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In the first economic reading from the period since the Wall Street crisis erupted, a government report Thursday showed initial unemployment claims rose last week much more than expected."

WaMu is largest U.S. bank failure
Special Note -- A quote...."Thu Sep 25, 2008 11:32pm EDT -- NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington Mutual Inc was closed by the U.S. government in by far the largest failure of a U.S. bank, and its banking assets were sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co for $1.9 billion."

FDIC May Need $150 Billion Bailout as More Banks Fail
Special Note - A quote...."Deborah Horn tugs on the handle of the glass-paned entrance of the IndyMac Bancorp Inc. branch in Manhattan Beach, California. The door won't budge. The weekend is approaching, and Horn, 44, the sole breadwinner in a family of three, needs cash."

China banks told to halt lending to US banks-SCMP
A quote...."BEIJING, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Chinese regulators have told domestic banks to stop interbank lending to U.S. financial institutions to prevent possible losses during the financial crisis, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday."

Bank Borrowing From Fed Already Exceeded Bailout Total in Last Week
Special Note - A quote...."U.S. banks borrowed $188 billion per day on average in the latest week from the Federal Reserve, meaning that the Fed loaned out more money than the Treasury's proposed bailout in just one week, still barely managing to keep the economy afloat." -- bold by website editor

U.S. stocks strike solid gains on view bailout deal near
A quote...."NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks surged Thursday on thinking lawmakers were close to agreement on a rescue package for the embattled financial sector, helping overtake grim economic data...."

For more on the nine articles shown above see....What Ben Bernanke Said - 03-18-08 - mpg
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Ireland leads euroland into recession as property crashes
A quote...."Ireland has become the first country in the eurozone to slide into recession as the torrid housing boom of recent years turns into a deep slump."

Wednesday September 24th 2008

Let's Play "WALLSTREET BAILOUT" The Rules Are... Rep Kaptur - (YuTb - 5 min 35 sec - Sept. 22, 2008)
Must View Video - Action Alert -- She's outstanding!! - Everybody who sees this video, please post it and pass it on! - mpg

McDeregulation - By Keith Olbermann - 6 Minute Video
Must View Video - A quote...." There is a man running for president who actually believes -- right now -- that deregulation has been a great thing for the U-S economy... He has surrounded himself with lobbyists who made millions pushing for the regulatory changes that facilitated the current crisis... And he thinks that deregulation of the banking industry has been so great... we should do the exact same thing with -- make that "to" -- health care." -- See also....You can run, but you can't hide & Source: Freddie Mac paid McCain aide's firm

Thinking the Unthinkable: A Debt Write Down, and Jubilee Year Clean Slate
Must Read - A quote...."We have reached the point where it may finally be able to break through the membrane of cognitive dissonance that has been blinded people. The very first course in economics –starting in high school, followed up in college and then refined in graduate school – should explain to students why it is false to believe the advertisement that Wall Street has been trying to sell for the past half century: The deceptive promise that an economy can get rich off the mathematical “magic of compound interest.”

Ron Paul - The Creation of the Second Great Depression
A quote...."Whenever a Great Bipartisan Consensus is announced, and a compliant media assures everyone that the wondrous actions of our wise leaders are being taken for our own good, you can know with absolute certainty that disaster is about to strike." -- For more on this issue see....You Have a Choice Democracy or Empire 07-24-08 - mpg

Bailout plan not embraced - RN Video
Video - A quote...."The proposal itself not only requests $700 billion dollars of money to purchase worthless assets, it has a section in it that no one in Washington seems to have pointed too that says at one time....at one time....we can buy seven hundred billion dollars worth of assets, meaning if they get written down to zero....which is very likely because we are talking about them wanting to buy the most junky assets that exist in finance....and they have a piece in the proposal too buy even more...." -- *Nomi Prins*

$5 Trillion Cash Pool Needed to Stop Rout, Ohmae Says (Update1)
A quote...."Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion plan to buy devalued assets from financial companies is ``a joke'' because it doesn't go far enough to calm markets, said Kenichi Ohmae, president of Business Breakthrough Inc."

Upheaval on Wall St. Stirs Anger in the U.N. - Posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS — Wall Street and the Bush administration’s record of financial oversight came under attack at the United Nations on Tuesday, with one world leader after another saying that market turmoil in the United States threatened the global economy. -- "We must not allow the burden of the boundless greed of a few to be shouldered by all,” said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil in an opening speech that reflected the tone of the gathering."

The Paulson Put(sch)
A quote...."[Last Wednesday, Hank Paulson was installed as CEO of US Government Incorporated, replacing the now defunct United States of America]. "

Corporate Media Journalists Just Love Rich Guys
Special Note - A quote..." Buffett, whatever else he is, is no fool. He looks at Goldman Sachs, its shares knocked for a loop by the current crisis, but about to become a merged entity—bank and investment bank combined—with government backing to unload its bad credit risks—and he buys $5 billion worth of it, and then turns around and tells Congress to step up and vote for a bailout which would double his money almost instantly. -- What a guy! A true hero." -- Not to mention the fact that Hank Paulson, the man in charge of this plan, the man who wants unlimited power to carry it out, the man who knows where all the toxic waste is buried, just happens to have joined Goldman Sachs in 1974 working his way up till he became "Chief Operating Officer from December 1994 to June 1998; eventually succeeding Jon Corzine (now Governor of New Jersey) as its chief executive" -- Warren Buffett is one of the smartest investors around, however by making this investment, he is implicitly giving his blessing, and participating in a racket, that's going to rob tens of millions of hard working Americans of their life savings. -- Frank Paulson is to Goldman Sachs what Dick Cheney is to Haliburton, it's a true shame that Warren Buffet has chosen to associate himself, along with his hard earned reputation for prudent investing, with an arrangement of this sort. - mpg

The Elephants Among Us Chickens
A quote...."Andrew Sullivan, squawking the name “Milton Friedman” as if it magically disappeared the ridiculous, sat on Bill Maher’s show blaming the financial crisis on American consumers who bought houses they couldn’t afford.  He was arguing against Naomi Klein’s thesis that the crisis belonged squarely at the doorstep of an ideology-obsessed political class and its Wall Street allies."

The Rescue of the Wealthy
A quote...."When a poor man is about to lose his house or is unemployed and cannot repay his debt, this government and society is quite willing to let such a person lose his home, even openly die on the streets of America. I have personally seen it before in this country, and I imagine I will continue to see it. -- If you're wealthy enough, or a large and greedy enough capitalist, this government and society are quite willing to openly help you out of your debts, even if they are entirely of your own making. That Bush, a person whose entire business career was formulated on failed companies that were bailed out by government connected friends, should choose a rescue of the wealthy while ignoring the very real plight of the workers in this country is no surprise to me."

700 billion fluffy nothings - Staggering bailouts? Body counts? Global warming stats? They're just numbers, silly
Bernanke Admits Bailout is NOT Aimed at Helping Taxpayers
Citizens Dumping Personal Junk on Wall Street to Protest Bailout
Socialism, George W. Bush Style
Has Deregulation Sired Fascism?
A Special Prosecutor for Wall Street
Rescue plan would elevate Paulson to 'dictator' of financial system
Next Bad Deal Gone Down: The Comedy of Congressional 'Oversight'
Evasions, half-truths and lies - Bush demands passage of Wall Street bailout
The Bush administration’s bank rescue plan
Days from Economic Meltdown: "Dr. Doom" says up to 33% of regional banks could fail
European Friends Write: "Are You Americans Crazy?"
Behind The Financial Debacle: Conservative Misrule
Democrats signal support for Wall Street bailout at Senate hearing
Half a Trillion Bailout For The Creators of the Market Crisis
Goldman Sachs Socialism
Financial Meltdown: The Financial Edifice of U.S. Imperialism is in Danger of Crumbling
Let’s Stop the Greatest Theft in the History of Humankind
A Fox to Protect the Henhouse?
The $700,000,000,000 Power Punch - Socializing Debt, Privatizing Profits and Power
Key finance firms 'probed by FBI'
The Bailout and the Liberal Response
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Coming Attractions: War Without End, Amen
Must Read - A quote...."While our national leaders quibble and carp over just how much public money they should ladle out to Wall Street's den of thieves, and how many people should be in charge of divvying up this vast pork pie (one guy at Treasury? a panel of Establishment worthies? a couple of goobers in Congress?), the real business of the American empire -- war and rumors of war -- goes on without let or hindrance. -- Even now, the masters of war down at Hell's Bottom -- the fetid swamp where they planted the Pentagon way back when -- are laying plans for decades of "persistent conflict" against a host of targets: the poor, the young, the desperate, the deprived, the Chinese, the Russians -- and the American people."

America Pays the Piper, Big Time
Must Read - A quote...."After a 28-year binge of drunken optimism and blind nationalism – often punctuated by chants of “USA, USA!” and “We’re No. 1!” – Americans are waking up with a painful hangover, facing a grim “morning in America,” not the happy vision that Ronald Reagan famously sold them on.

Robert Fisk: Six years in Guantanamo
Must Read - A quote...."Sami al-Haj, an Al Jazeera cameraman, was beaten, abused and humiliated in the name of the war on terror. He tells our correspondent about his struggle to rebuild a shattered life. -- Sami al-Haj walks with pain on his steel crutch; almost six years in the nightmare of Guantanamo have taken their toll on the Al Jazeera journalist and, now in the safety of a hotel in the small Norwegian town of Lillehammer, he is a figure of both dignity and shame. The Americans told him they were sorry when they eventually freed him this year – after the beatings he says he suffered, and the force-feeding, the humiliations and interrogations by British, American and Canadian intelligence officers – and now he hopes one day he'll be able to walk without his stick." -- Also posted at ICH -- For more on this issue see....US - Killing the Messenger

“Grim” NIE on Afghanistan to Remain Classified
A quote...."With the Bush Administration reportedly conducting a major review of Afghanistan policy, a soon-to-be-finished National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan will remain classified and unavailable to the general public. Officials say that a draft version of the report paints a “grim” picture as the war approaches the seven year mark."

US has no more troops for Afghan war until spring
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will not have enough forces available to meet a request for more troops from NATO's top commander in Afghanistan until next spring at the earliest, the U.S. defense chief said Tuesday."

US told it must hold talks with Taliban's Mullah Omar
A quote...."The US must broker a power-sharing agreement with the head of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, in order to establish peace in the region, the Governor of Pakistan's lawless border areas has said."
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Obama goes over the top in bashing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Special Note - A quote...."Sept. 24, 2008 | Sen. Barack Obama responded with outrage to the remarks made Tuesday by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad before the United Nations General Assembly, expressing regret that the quirky little president was even allowed to speak. Obama's denunciation was mild compared with that of Gov. Sarah Palin...." -- For more on this issue see....You Have a Choice Democracy or Empire 07-24-08 - mpg

Iran Leader Wants To Debate Obama
A quote...."Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has offered to take on presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain in a debate."

Larry King Live - Ahmadinejad on Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
Video - (YouTube - aprox. 9-10 min - Added:  September 24, 2008) -- A quote...."Freedom of the press!"

Charlie Rose Interviews - Iran President - 2008 -- Part 1/6 - Part 2/6 - Part 3/6 - Part 4/6 - Part 5/6 - Part 6/6
Video - From the History File -- (YouTube - aprox. 9-10 min - Added:  September 24, 2008)

US forces are surrounding Iran, says Ahmadinejad
A quote...."NEW YORK: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday justified his policy of confronting the West by saying US troops are surrounding Iran. Interviewed by National Public Radio (NPR) about his stance, Ahmadinejad replied: “I’d like to ask you, is it the Iranian (army) that’s around the territories around the country, or is it the US troops that are around? “It is the US troops around our borders. It is not ours around the American borders. So what exactly are they doing over there?” he asked."

Ahmadinejad Blasts Powers for Bullying World
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the UN General Assembly Tuesday that a few "bullying" world powers are trying to thwart Iran's peaceful nuclear program."

‘US at fault for financial collapse’
A quote...."IRAN’S president blamed US military interventions around the world in part for the collapse of global financial markets. - “The US government has made a series of mistakes in the past few decades,” Ahmadinejad said. “The imposition on the US economy of the years of heavy military engagement and involvement around the world... the war in Iraq, for example. These are heavy costs imposed on the US economy.  - “The world economy can no longer tolerate the budgetary deficit and the financial pressures occurring from markets here in the United States, and by the US government,” he added."

Iran asks Ban Ki-moon to hold referendum in entire Palestine
A quote...."President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday called on the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to hold a free referendum in Palestine for determining and establishing the type of state in the entire Palestinian lands."

Russia to equip Iran with 'game changer'?
A quote...."Russia plans to equip Iran with advanced antiaircraft defense systems amid reports that Israel will soon acquire advanced smart bombs."

Venezuela: Iran to finance 25 factories
A quote...."Tehran, 24 Sept. (AKI) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced that 25 Iranian-built factories will open in the country in the near future. - The factories announced by Chavez in a televised speech will draw on Iranian technology and financial backing. - The factories will include corn flour mills, cement plants, dairies, automobile parts manufacturing units and petrochemical plants."

Iran, Pakistan to Raise Funds for Gas Pipeline
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- Tehran and Islamabad agreed on Tuesday to float a joint company to raise funds for a multi-billion-dollar pipeline which is due to take Iran's rich gas reserves to the energy hungry Pakistan and India."
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BBC uncovers lost Iraq billions
A quote...."A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq."

Pakistan Investigating US Marine Activity Inside Marriott Hotel Days Before Huge Bombing
A quote...."Pakistani authorities investigating last Saturday's huge bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad are looking into evidence that US marines were occupying two floors just days prior to the blast and were witnessed unloading a truckload of steel cases inside."

India, Pakistan leaders agree to resume talks
A quote...."NEW YORK- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari agreed after summit talks on Wednesday to resume their strained peace process be scheduling a new round of talks by year's end."

How Syria's Assad Is Steering His Country out of Isolation
Special Note - A quote...."Washington still counts him as part of its axis of evil, but Europe and Russia -- and, more recently, even archenemy Israel -- are courting him as a negotiating partner. The ruler of Damascus, Syrian President Bashar Assad, wants to lead his country back to the international community."

Is a U.S.-Approved Coup Under Way in Bolivia? - Posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."On Monday, Sept. 15, Bolivian President Evo Morales arrived in Santiago, Chile for an emergency meeting of Latin American leaders that convened to seek a resolution to the recent conflict in Bolivia. Upon his arrival, Morales said, "I have come here to explain to the presidents of South America the civic coup d'etat by governors in some Bolivian states in recent days. This is a coup in the past few days by the leaders of some provinces, with the takeover of some institutions, the sacking and robbery of some government institutions and attempts to assault the national police and the armed forces."

Bolivian president censures United States
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales on Tuesday said the United States has tried to thwart his political ambitions and, more recently, failed to condemn a pro-autonomy movement that uses "terrorist" tactics."

BOLIVIA:  Morales Cites "Evidence" of U.S. Meddling
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS, Sep 24 (IPS) - Bolivian President Evo Morales reiterated the charge Tuesday that the U.S. government was plotting to overthrow his government and that Washington had a hand in the recent episodes of violence in which a number of his supporters were killed and wounded by opposition gangs."

Ecuadorians march to support Bolivian president
A quote...."QUITO, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Ecuadorians went on a peaceful demonstration here Tuesday to express their support for Bolivian President Evo Morales, who was facing a political crisis at home as the opposition-controlled provinces demanded more autonomy."

British priest killed by Pinochet Navy could be lead case
A quote...."The sister of an Anglo-Chilean Catholic priest Miguel Woodward, who disappeared in 1973 in Valparaiso after having been held captive in a naval school vessel, called on the Chilean Navy to assume “responsibilities” for human rights abuses committed during the military regime."

Russia, China thwart Iran sanctions
A quote...."NEW YORK (AP) — Russia and China are blocking U.S. and European efforts to slap new sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear program. -- But it is objections in particular from Moscow, angered by Washington's criticism of its invasion of Georgia, that have forced cancellation of high-level talks on Iran that were scheduled to be held here this week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, officials said."

Iraq–China oil deal made final next week
A quote...."BAGHDAD: An Iraqi oil ministry spokesman says Iraq and China will finalize a US$3 billion oil agreement next week. - Assem Jihad says a Chinese delegation will visit Baghdad to sign the deal. Specific dates haven't been released for security reasons. Jihad spoke Wednesday."

Venezuela signs Chinese oil deal
A quote...."President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has signed a series of energy co-operation deals with China. He said oil exports from Venezuela to China could rise threefold by 2012, to one million barrels a day. Venezuela, one of the world's largest oil producers, is seeking new markets to reduce its dependency on exports to the United States."

Russian, Venezuelan oil, gas companies may create consortium - Sechin
Full quote...." MOSCOW, September 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian and Venezuelan oil and gas companies may create a consortium to produce hydrocarbons in Latin America, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said on Monday, as he briefed the Cabinet’s presidium on the results of his last week’s working trip, which took him to Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. - “With the participation of oil companies a consortium may be created for operations in Venezuela and other countries of that region,” he said."

Russia may sell more MiG-29K carrier fighters to India
A quote...."MOSCOW, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - Talks on additional deliveries of MiG-29K Fulcrum-D carrier fighters to India will start in the near future, the president of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation said Wednesday."

Moscow backs Serbia's objections over OSCE Kosovo mission chief
A quote...."18:38 | 22/ 09/ 2008MOSCOW, September 22 (RIA Novosti) - Disregarding Serbian objections to the new head of the OSCE mission in Kosovo erodes the legitimacy of the mission, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday."
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The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 3 articles - Wednesday - [ Day 48 ] =====  ==========

PACE to inspect S. Ossetian destruction
A quote...."September 25, 2008, 9:14 -- A delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) arrives in South Ossetia on Thursday to see the destruction caused by Georgia’s armed forces. They will visit the capital Tskhinval to assess the damage and meet locals. A report on their findings will be released on Monday."

Ukraine refuses to side with Georgia at UN
A quote...."Despite great expectations, Ukraine didn’t support Georgia in New York , where 63 session of United Nations Assembly was held Tuesday . Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko remained neutral in his comments on being “the next Russia’s target”."

Iran’s president lashes out at U.S.
A quote...."September 24, 2008, 23:56 -- The people of Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia have become the victims of NATO provocations, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said at the UN General Assembly. He also accused western powers of trying to thwart his country's ‘peaceful nuclear programme’."

End - The US Neocon's New Proxy War in Georgia - 3 articles - Wednesday - [ Day 48 ] = ==========

4th Gitmo prosecutor quits over ethics
Must Read (for the outrage) -- A quote...."A US prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay prison has resigned over the alleged suppression of evidence against a young Afghan detainee." -- For more on this issue see....The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg

'Prosecutor's office withheld exculpatory evidence.'  - Report: Guantanamo prosecutor quits, alleging evidence withheld from detainee -- A quote...."24 Sep 2008 AP: A military prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay has resigned because his office withheld exculpatory evidence against an Afghan detainee, the prisoner's lawyers say. The attorneys for Mohammed Jawad say the prosecutor, Army Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, backs their bid to get charges dismissed against Jawad, who is accused of throwing a grenade [when he was age 16 or 17] that injured two U.S. soldiers. Michael Berrigan, the tribunals' deputy chief defense counsel, said today that Vandeveld told them the prosecutor's office was refusing to hand over the evidence." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

Cheney’s testimony in Valerie Plame leak case classified, DOJ says
A quote...."The Department of Justice, in refusing to release Vice President Dick Cheney’s interview transcript with the special prosecutor who investigated the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson, said for the first time last week that contents of Cheney’s interview have been classified."

Documents: Ivins bragged he knew anthrax killer
A quote...."WASHINGTON - Bruce Ivins, the Army scientist accused of carrying out the 2001 anthrax attacks, e-mailed himself last year saying he knew who the killer was, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday."

When Corporations Spy
A quote...."As if illegal spying and dirty tricks by state agencies weren't threat enough to democratic institutions and grassroots activist organizations, hundreds of corporate spy outfits are doing their part--to defend the "homeland" and the bottom line--for the multinational grifters who plunder the world's wealth."

U.S. Troops In Homeland “Crowd Control” Patrols From October 1st
False Flag Update - A quote...."U.S. troops returning from duty in Iraq will be carrying out homeland patrols in America from October 1st in complete violation of Posse Comitatus for the purposes of helping with “civil unrest and crowd control” - which could include dealing with unruly Americans after a complete economic collapse."

Brigade homeland tours start Oct. 1
False Flag Update - A quote...."3rd Infantry’s 1st BCT trains for a new dwell-time mission. Helping ‘people at home’ may become a permanent part of the active Army."
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Has the Election Just Been Cancelled?
A quote...."CNN is reporting that McCain has "suspended his campaign" and is asking Obama to do the same, due to the economic crisis:"

Diebold Keeps on Truckin' in Ohio for McCain
A quote...."Disgraced E-voting vendor, with admittedly inaccurate voting systems, seen back on the road for the Republican candidate in the Buckeye state..."

I ghost-wrote letters to the editor for the McCain campaign
A quote...."Editor's note: The following article was originally published on Sept. 13 in Dutch in the newspaper NRC Handelsblad, where Margriet Oostveen writes a weekly column called "Message From Washington." Oostveen has volunteered in various political campaigns and then written about the experience. She has worked for both John McCain and Barack Obama in this election cycle. Click here to see guidelines, talking points and sample letters the McCain campaign gave her."

Newsweek: McCain's campaign manager paid by Fannie and Freddie to do pretty much nothing
Special Note - A quote...."The implication being that McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, was being paid money in order to keep him happy until McCain became president, and then Fannie and Freddie could call in favors. I'm sorry, but, if true, this story is corrupt as hell. It goes far beyond lobbying. We are talking about potentially buying someone off. And buying them off in order to buy John McCain:"

Battle brewing in Ohio over voting-record discrepancies - Posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."Activists worry that people who moved and failed to update their records -- may of them young and minorities -- could be disenfranchised Nov. 4. The issue could loom large in battleground states."

Votes being stolen, now, by hundreds of thousands; Dems doing nothing
A quote...."Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: There are about 30 scams the Republicans are deliberately using, particularly in the swing states to get Democratic voters off the rolls. These scams originate in the so-called Help America Vote Act, which was passed after the Florida debacle in the year 2000."

Election officials in three states tell college students they can't vote
A quote...."WASHINGTON — Colorado Democrats accused a Republican county clerk Wednesday of falsely informing Colorado College that students from outside the state could not register to vote if their parents claimed them as a dependent on their tax returns."

Was the 2004 Election Stolen?
Must See Chart - They always cheat....it's in their nature to do so. - mpg
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Price of US Existing Homes Sees Record Fall
Special Note - A quote...."Prices of existing homes in the United States suffered a record drop in August while the sales pace slowed and the overstock of homes shrank, the National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday."

Fed sets $30 billion swaps lines with Nordics, Australia
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve set new currency swap lines worth $30 billion with central banks in Scandinavia and Australia on Wednesday to boost short-term U.S. dollar liquidity and help drive down interbank lending rates."

Hedge funds move $100bn into safe havens
Stock Market Alert - A quote...."Hedge funds charging hefty fees for sophisticated trading strategies aimed at outperforming the wider market have collectively parked $100bn in simple money market funds typically used by investors seeking safe rather than spectacular returns. -- Citigroup estimates that hedge funds have now placed $600bn in cash, and that $100bn of this is held in money market funds, normally seen as some of the safest places to invest cash."

Hong Kong Savers Fret as Bank East Asia Fights Rumors (Update2)
A quote...."Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- For the first time since the Asian financial crisis more than a decade ago, Hong Kong has faced a bank run."

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