Wednesday October 7th 2009

"The White House said Tuesday that President Barack Obama considers it ‘tremendously important’ to listen to Congress about the flagging war in Afghanistan but won’t base his decisions on the mood on Capitol Hill or eroding public support for the war. ‘The president is going to make a decision – popular or unpopular – based on what he thinks is in the best interests of the country,’ press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters. As for support from lawmakers, Gibbs said Obama is focused on getting his war strategy right, not on ‘who’s for or who’s against what.’" -- This quote says it all folks, proof positive that this nation has degenerated into the evil Empire with an Emporor who is selected by its wealthy elites. - mpg

“The al-Qaida presence is very diminished. The maximum estimate is less than 100 operating in the country, no bases, no ability to launch attacks on either us or our allies.” -- also posted at ICH & Uruknet

Tuesday October 6th 2009

Connecting the Dots: The Axis of Evil Closes in on Iran's Nuclear Sites, while the G20 stamps on our Civil Rights -- Must Read - View Videos - A quote...."In the great global chess match, the Axis of Evil exchanges pieces with Russia towards a check-mate on Iran, while Afghanistan is set to be the proving ground of an open-ended military strategy. -- The G20 crowns itself queen of the global economy, as our civil liberties are pawned off the board for the illusion of security. -- If the audience is the human masses, they seem blithely disinterested in the high-stakes moves on the board and only vaguely aware that beneath the board itself Mother Nature is shaking the table, rattling the Earth and making waves. -- September was yet another episode in the slow motion collision of humanity's tragic history and reality."
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Bernanke's Remedy: Pump More Blood Into a Corpse
Must Read - Financial Warning - A quote...."October 05, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- Credit is everything. Without credit expansion there's no recovery because there's no pick-up in overall demand. But credit growth is going backwards. The banks have tightened lending standards and the pool of credit-worthy applicants has vanished. Bank lending is off 14 per cent since October 2008. Private credit is presently decreasing at a 10.5 per cent annual rate. The situation is getting worse, not better."

Robert Fisk: The demise of the dollar
Article Number One - Breaking News - Dollar Warning - A quote...."Tuesday, 6 October 2009 -- In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar."

Dollar Hysteria - Regarding the article shown above. - mpg
A quote...."October 06, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- - Robert Fisk has set off a firestorm with his unsettling narrative which appeared in Tuesday's UK Independent titled, "The Demise of the Dollar".  The article went viral overnight spreading to every musty corner of the Internet and sending gold skyrocketing to $1,026 per oz.  Now every doomsday website in cyber-world has headlined Fisk's "Shocker" and the blogs are clogged with the frenzied commentary of bunker-dwelling survivalists and goldbugs who're certain that the world as we know it is about to end." -- also posted at CounterPunch & DProgram

Robert Fisk: A financial revolution with profound political implications
Article Number Two - A quote...."The plan to de-dollarise the oil market, discussed both in public and in secret for at least two years and widely denied yesterday by the usual suspects – Saudi Arabia being, as expected, the first among them – reflects a growing resentment in the Middle East, Europe and in China at America's decades-long political as well as economic world dominance. -- Nowhere has this more symbolic importance than in the Middle East, where the United Arab Emirates alone holds $900bn (£566bn) of dollar reserves and where Saudi Arabia has been quietly co-ordinating its defence, armaments and oil policies with the Russians since 2007." -- also posted at ICH

What Is Money? - Part 3: Schizophrenic Economists
Must Read - A quote...."Austrian economic theory defends a system of the private ownership of the means of production. Why? Because this allows acting individuals the legal right to follow their own goals. The concept of private ownership includes the private ownership of money: the most marketable commodity. Austrian economic theory defends a full gold coin standard, because this legal arrangement lodges authority over property in the hands of the individual owner: his coins." -- In other words "hard" money, money backed by gold, commodities or other tangible assets is YOUR money when it's in your hands; you own it because it consists of, or is backed by, "real things".  Whereas fiat money, or Fed money, is intangible, THEY own it, it's their money even when it's in your hands, NOT yours, because they can print as much as they want and dilute or depreciate what you thought was your money at their pleasure, which can cause monetary inflation. -- From this website editor's prospective, the "authorities" tend to do this quite often, usually when they're building Empires or starting a lot of wars. For more on that issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate & Total Nonfarm Payrolls  & Some Tentative Laws – mpg

Is the Dollar Heading Up Or Down? -- Arguments for a Long-Term Devaluation of the Dollar
Related Article - A quote...."Unless you've been living in a cave, you know that the dollar is losing its status as world reserve currency. -- Many governments and international organizations are feverishly working to get away from the dollar into another reserve currency, or basket of reserve currencies. -- Indeed, today's rumor is that the Middle Eastern oil producers, plus China, Japan and France have all agreed to start trading oil using a basket of currencies - instead of the dollar - starting in 9 years." - also posted at BLN & DProgram -- Editor's Caution, as the author above points out, the dollar tends to go UP as people unwind their dollar carry trades which usually happens whenever the US-NRE's economy starts to slow down, or when the stock market goes down, (and vice versa) but that rather odd and perverse relationship may finally be coming to an end....or not, as the case may be. - mpg

Gold Jumps to Record as Inflation Outlook Fuels Investor Demand
Related Article - Not really, it's dollar weakness, not inflation, that's causing gold to jump.  Inflation probably won't show up for years since it looks like we're heading into a Depression - mpg -- A quote...."Gold rose to a record on speculation that currencies will depreciate, spurring inflation and boosting the appeal of the precious metal for investors seeking to preserve their wealth. -- Gold futures climbed as high as $1,045 an ounce in New York, topping the previous record of $1,033.90 in March 2008. The spot price is headed for a ninth straight annual gain, the longest rally since at least 1948. The dollar fell as much as 0.7 percent against a basket of six major currencies."

Marx and Lenin Revisited
A quote...."October 06, 2009 "Information Clearing House" --- If Karl Marx and V. I. Lenin were alive today, they would be leading contenders for the Nobel Prize in economics. -- Marx predicted the growing misery of working people, and Lenin foresaw the subordination of the production of goods to financial capital’s accumulation of profits based on the purchase and sale of paper instruments. Their predictions are far superior to the “risk models” for which the Nobel Prize has been given and are closer to the money than the predictions of Federal Reserve chairmen, US Treasury secretaries, and Nobel economists, such as Paul Krugman, who believe that more credit and more debt are the solution to the economic crisis." -- also posted at DProgram

Restoring a Viable System of Bank Credit
A quote...."Fed chief Ben Bernanke is in a bit of a bind. He's being asked to restore a system for credit expansion which collapsed more than two years ago and has shown no sign of life ever since. During the boom years, securitization accounted for more than 40 percent of the credit flowing into the economy. No more. When two Bear Stearns hedge funds defaulted in July 2007, the system crashed as investors of all stripes backed away from complex, illiquid assets. The Fed's TALF lending facility--which provides up to 94% government funding for investors who are willing to purchase bundled debt for credit cards, mortgages, auto loans and student loans--was intended to breathe new life into securitization, but has fallen woefully short of its original objectives. It pretty much fizzled on the launching pad. Even the shrewdest hedge fund sharpie couldn't figure out how to make money on (what amounts to) fetid assets."

A MEDIA FAILURE COMPOUNDS THE FINANCIAL FAILURE: The Press Is Still Missing The Story Of Fraud and Economic Decline Ahead -- A quote...."We know that Wall Street has not learned much from the crash it helped instigate. We know that our government, whatever its stated desire to clean up the markets and reform the financial behemoths, lacks the willingness and perhaps the clout to rein in the real power centers. We are not sure if they have been “captured” by them, or just lack the guts to take on institutions and individuals that helped fund their rise to power."

The Failure of Obama's Economic Forecasters
Chart - A quote...."In January of this year, Christina Romer (now Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors) and Jared Bernstein (now Chief Economist and Economic Policy Adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden) put together a report, The Job Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, for the then incoming Obama Administration. They detailed what would happen to the economy with a "stimulus" package and what would occur without a package. The chart below is in the report (Click on chart for a larger view):" -- also posted at OhBummer

Double or quits
A quote...."That's sealed it - the United States jobs report for September showed a decline of some 263,000 jobs for the month, much worse than the consensus estimate of Wall Street economists who had looked for a decline of 175,000. This marked the second month in a row that jobless numbers had been worse than Wall Street estimates. -- More importantly, this capped the number of US economic figures that had been coming out worse than expectations since the third week of September. -- As with any economic trend, this one bears watching not so much because Wall Street economists got it wrong - they are paid to paint a rosy picture of the economy in order to get more unwary investors to purchase risk assets such as stocks and corporate bonds after all - but because of the reaction from Keynesian economists who had been calling for greater government intervention in the economy."

Retail sales to show slump may persist
A quote...."CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. retailers probably saw sales decline again in September, signaling weak demand leading into the holiday season that will require chains to sharpen their focus on value."

U.S. Apartment Vacancies Hit 23-Year High of 7.8% (Update1)
And since millions of people are losing their homes at the same time, it tends to make one wonder just where are all those people living now? - mpg -- A quote...."Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. apartment vacancies rose to 7.8 percent in the third quarter, the highest since 1986, as rising unemployment reduced rental demand, Reis Inc. said."

Commercial Real Estate: The Shoe Dropped In California
A quote...."More proof that the commercial real estate crash is coming:  hotel foreclosures in California have more than tripled in the first nine months of this year, according to  Bloomberg."

Obama offers no relief to growing army of jobless workers
A quote...."In the face of the mounting unemployment crisis, the Obama administration has no plans to offer serious relief to the 15 million workers out of work and the millions more facing job losses and economic ruin in the coming months."
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How Israel Was Disarmed
Must Read - A quote...."NEW YORK—When American diplomats sat down for the first in a series of face-to-face talks with their Iranian counterparts last October in Geneva, few would have predicted that what began as a negotiation over Tehran's nuclear programs would wind up in a stunning demand by the Security Council that Israel give up its atomic weapons. -- Yet that's just what the U.N. body did this morning, in a resolution that was as striking for the way member states voted as it was for its substance. All 10 nonpermanent members voted for the resolution, along with permanent members Russia, China and the United Kingdom. France and the United States abstained. By U.N. rules, that means the resolution passes. -- The U.S. abstention is sending shock waves through the international community...."

ElBaradei says nuclear Israel number one threat to Mideast: report
Related Article - A quote...."TEHRAN, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei said Sunday that "Israel is number one threat to Middle East" with its nuclear arms, the official IRNA news agency reported." -- also posted at ICH

Leaked Iran Paper Based on Intel That Split IAEA
Special Note -- It's Iraq's WMD's all over again! -- Let's make this as clear as possible to every single Neo-Roman in the US-NRE who supports a policy of "bombing" Iran.  This isn't stupidity any longer, Neo-Romans can't even pretend to call this "intell" a fig leaf, behavior like this is not sad, it's sick, it is pure unadulterated evil, it is malice aforethought, it is in point of fact, premeditated murder.  Anyone who supports bombing Iran using this cooked-up garbage as a pretext is a wonton murderer, plain and simple. – mpg - A quote...."Excerpts of the internal draft report by the staff of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published online last week show that the report’s claims about Iranian work on a nuclear weapon is based almost entirely on intelligence documents that have provoked a serious conflict within the agency."

Iran's next space mission announced
A quote...."Iran is planning to send another research satellite into space by late March, the country's Aerospace Research Institute announced."

Russia set to boost military-technical ties with Iran
A quote...."Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin says Russia is determined to boost its “military-technical” ties with Iran. -- Borodavkin also said that Russia will strictly abide by international regulations in enhancing its military ties with the Islamic Republic, ITAR-TASS reported."

Pakistan Resists US Presence, Influence -- Nation Poised to Reject Billions in US Aid
A quote...."Growing opposition to the US attempts to expand its influence in Pakistan is taking shape in the form of increasing resistance to plans by Pakistan’s military and increasingly its civilian government as well."

Jirga threatens to support Afghan Taliban if drone attacks continue
A quote...."MIRAMSHAH: A tribal Jirga of North Waziristan on Sunday threatened to support the Afghanistan-based anti-US groups, including the Taliban, if the US drone attacks were not stopped. Addressing a grand Jirga here, the tribal elders, including Malik Jalal Manzarkhel, Malik Inayat Khan Dawar, Malik Muhammad Nawaz Muhammadkhel and Malik Faridullah, unanimously decided the Jirga would support the Afghanistan-based Taliban if the US did not stop killing “innocent people” in North Waziristan through drone attacks." -- also posted at Uruknet & WarInIraq

Vast Majority of Americans Doubt Afghan War Will Ever End
Of Course It Won’t!!  It's called the "long war" all carefully spelled out in our elites various plans of murder and mayhem.  If anyone in this country acts "surprised" by all this they are one of two things, either an out-and-out liar, or a cold blooded killer.  Tens of thousands of articles have been written about these plans, all of which have been freely available on the web for well over twenty years, NO ONE can "pretend" anymore....no one. - mpg -- A quote...."Showing an increasing resignation to America’s state of perpetual war, a poll conducted by Clarus Research Group shows that a vast majority of Americans, 68 percent, say the US will never win or lose the Afghan War, but it will merely continue unresolved."

Gross: Massive Fraud in Afghanistan Election
Eyewitness Report -- A quote...."Nasrine Gross writes in a guest op-ed for IC -- Friends & Colleagues, I have just returned from Kabul. And I am shocked how little the extent of fraud in the presidential elections is understood outside Afghanistan. In this regard I have some data that I would like to share...."

Obama to Afghan, Pakistani Govts: Occupation Will Continue
A quote...."Delay on escalation leads some to wonder if Obama's enthusiasm for endless war is faltering." -- Not a chance. - mpg

Bombing Afghanistan: Where Have All the Photos Gone
Photos - A quote...."Mounting Civilian Casualties …Silently -- The latest bombing in Afghanistan killed at least nine Afghan civilians, including six children. Here are a few excerpts from the report:..."


Bombs and Bribes
Special Note - A quote...."by  Ron Paul -- What if tomorrow morning you woke up to headlines that yet another Chinese drone bombing on US soil killed several dozen ranchers in a rural community while they were sleeping? That a drone aircraft had come across the Canadian border in the middle of the night and carried out the latest of many attacks? What if it was claimed that many of the victims harbored anti-Chinese sentiments, but most of the dead were innocent women and children? And what if the Chinese administration, in an effort to improve its public image in the US, had approved an aid package to send funds to help with American roads and schools and promote Chinese values here? -- Most Americans would not stand for it. Yet the above hypothetical events are similar to what our government is doing in Pakistan." -- also posted at DProgram

The Many Deaths of Hakimullah Mehsud -- Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan Leader Still Not Dead, Despite Reports
Special Note - A quote...."They say cats have nine lives. It’s not clear how many Tehreek-e Taliban (TTP) leader Hakimullah Mehsud has, but it’s at the very least more than four. -- Hoping to stem reports of his death, Hakimullah met at an undisclosed location with members of the press, and a video clip showing the healthy-looking militant was broadcast around the nation. -- Over the weekend US officials declared of the reclusive TTP leader “we’re pretty clear that we think he’s dead.” If that sounds familiar you’re not alone, Hakimullah was also declared killed in early September, and twice in August." - bold by website editor -- Now why doesn't the US-NRE get their man Osama to call a press conference and appear before the cameras?  GO AHEAD and make this website editor's day, com'on, DO IT, don’t be coy, don’t be shy, don't be bashful, no more of those stupid Mossad "tapes" right before AIPAC's lackeys in Congress vote on another enabling decree to rob the citizens of this country of their God given civil rights, or when the US-NRE is about to engage in another war on behalf of Israel's interests, com'on, where is the little gofer of the Saudi Royals & CIA when you need him, heh?  SHOW US OSAMA!! – mpg

'Rethink Afghanistan' - Destroys Failed Logic of War
Must Read - View Videos -- A quote...."October 06, 2009 "Rebel Reports" --- Perhaps more than any other major corporate news outlet, The New York Times played a central role in promoting the Bush administration's fraudulent case for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The "reporting" of Judith Miller and Michael Gordon basically served as a front-page fiction laundering factory for Dick Cheney's fantasy of a "mushroom cloud" threat from Saddam Hussein looming on the immediate horizon, topped off with a celebratory slice of yellowcake. More recently, the paper's propagandists, William Broad and David Sanger, have aimed their sights on reporting dubious claims about Iran's nuclear program. Continued below." -- also posted at Uruknet

Probing the Arctic Sea conspiracies
A quote...."What really happened when the Arctic Sea cargo ship went missing amid allegations of hijacking and weapons smuggling? The BBC's Sarah Rainsford went to Kaliningrad to find out." -- also posted at AlethoNews

Leader of Upcoming World Spiritual Revolution is Chavez / NOT Obama
A quote...."President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez addresses the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 20, 2006. REUTERS/MikeSegar (UNITED STATES) -- Brazil winning the 2016 Olympics and ousting Obama ( Chicago ) in the first round is a shot across the bow to America. There is a moral and spiritual revolution, of the people versus the global elite, occurring in South America and its leader is Venezuela's Hugo Chavez:"

ALBA Social Summit in Bolivia Soon
A quote...."La Paz, Oct 6 (Prensa Latina) Representantives of social movements from 40 countries are expected to attend the 1st Summit of Councils of Social Movements of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA) in Bolivia on October 15-17."

D’Escoto: “The UN has failed” - Alt - (Real News Video YuTb - 15 min 13 sec - October 06, 2009)
A quote from Creative-i -- For the full article click here...."As he leaves the office of the President of the UN General Assembly, Father Miguel d’Escoto gave Real News Senior Editor Paul Jay a no holds barred interview on the issues plaguing the United Nations. D’Escoto held the democratization of the UN as a key pillar of his Presidency, but along the way he learned of the various obstacles that keep the General Assembly from becoming an effective body within the UN, and the UN from becoming an effective body within the world. He blames the world’s most powerful states for this ineptitude to act, which has resulted in what he calls the failure of the UN to address the two objectives for which it was founded, the avoidance of war and the eradication of poverty."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Palestine Will Be Free - Alt - (YouTube - 5 min 39 sec - August 08, 2009)
Must View Video - A quote...."Awakening Records is pleased to announce the release of the world's first animated peace music video on Palestine. Palestine will be Free' is performed by Awakening's latest music sensation - Maher Zain. -- www.maherzain.com -- " -- also posted at DProgram

Hamas accuses Abbas of treason for 'justifying' Gaza war
A quote...."Hamas leaders on Monday warned that President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to delay action on a United Nations report criticizing Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip was in essence a "justification" of the war and encouragement of occupation."

Pressure Mounts on Abbas to Quit - posted at The Palestine Chronicle
Related Article - And for a good reason, see article shown above. - mpg -- A quote...."A senior member of Hamas has demanded that the Palestinian president resign for supporting the postponement of a UN vote which could have led to the prosecution of Israel for war crimes during its campaign in Gaza. -- Mahmoud al-Zahar told Al Jazeera that Mahmoud Abbas was guilty of "a very big crime against the Palestinian people" over the Palestinian Authority's support to defer endorsing the report, which was highly critical of Israel's conduct during the Gaza war."

Hey Ho It's Time For Abbas To Go.............
Related Article - A quote...."Growing calls from Arabs for Abbas to go away, I agree.....


UN must act on Goldstone and the PA must be dissolved
Related Article - A quote...."Palestinian civil society has strongly and almost unanimously condemned the Palestinian Authority's decision to delay action regarding the UN Fact-Finding Mission's report, headed by justice Richard Goldstone, which investigated the recent Israeli war of aggression against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip. A common demand in almost all Palestinian statements was for the UN to adopt the report and act swiftly on its recommendations to bring the report to the Security Council and failing meaningful investigation by responsible parties, take the case to the International Criminal Court in order to bring an end to Israel's criminal impunity, and to hold it accountable before international law for its war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza and, indeed, all over the Occupied Palestinian Territories."

Israel arrests Palestinian leader Raed Salah in Quds
A quote...."Israel arrested on Tuesday a Palestinian leader after clashes with Muslim protesters in East Quds (Jerusalem) as a senior Palestinian official said Israel deliberately created a dangerous situation in the Holy city."

Detention of young Palestinian children up 74%
A quote...."[Ramallah, 6 October 2009] DCI - According to the latest figures compiled by DCI-Palestine from sources including the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) and temporary Israeli army detention facilities, the number of Palestinian children detained in Israeli prisons and detention centres inside Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory at the end of September, was 326."

Several injured by Israeli shelling in Gaza
A quote...."Gaza – Ma’an – Several people were injured by Israeli shelling east of Gaza City on Tuesday afternoon, witnesses and medics said. -- Witnesses said seven artillery shells landed near a Palestinian security installation close to the Ash-Shujaiyyah neighborhood, near the Green Line border with Israel." -- also posted at Uruknet

Gaza: irrepressible culture, living traditions
Photo Gallery - Videos - A quote...."While harvesting olives, Beit Hanoun "Local Initiative" volunteers show an amazing spirit, humour, comradery.- Abu Ahmed is skilled in arts of traditional singing and Dabke. He sings of pre-1948 Palestine and of the olive harvest."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Ousted Zelaya demands release of political prisoners
A quote...."MANAGUA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya demanded on Tuesday the de facto government immediately release its political prisoners and stop repression on the people."

Poll: Wide Majority of Hondurans Oppose Coup d’Etat, Want Zelaya Back
A quote...."Finally, hard and reliable data - by a legally certified Honduran polling company – provides a clear measurement of how the Honduran people view the June 28 coup d'etat, its “president" Roberto Micheletti, President Manuel Zelaya and the national civil resistance."
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“Government explanations of 9/11 make no sense"
Video - Special Note - A quote...."American actor and 9/11 activist Daniel Sunjata says that he supports an independent 9/11 investigation because there are too many disturbing questions that remain unanswered.....


For more on this issue see.....Reficultnias's 9/11 Central

The Facts Speak For Themselves
Special Note - 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 the previous Administration did in 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."

History Channel Caught In Another 9/11 Lie
A quote...."The History Channel’s new documentary Life After People completely contradicts its 9/11 debunking show by pointing out that steel structure buildings can withstand temperatures of well over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit without being compromised, proving that burning jet fuel temperatures of no more than 1100 degrees Fahrenheit could not have weakened the steel in the twin towers, never mind melted it."

Job Openings in the Obama White House
Satire - A must read list of wide ranging job opportunities that would suit those who are totally psychotic and utterly evil, to those who are just plain greedy. – mpg

The joint Post/Obama defense of the Patriot Act and FISA
Special Note - The Presstitutes and Obama, doing their loving (yech!!) best.  It's all just so disgusting. - mpg -- A quote...."The Washington Post's Anne Kornblut today produces an extreme piece of government-serving, stenographic "journalism," publishing a dubious administration press release masquerading as a lengthy news article on Obama's approach to Terrorism and civil liberties.  The Post depicts Obama as heavily and heroically engaged in disrupting the alleged Najibullah Zazi domestic terrorist plot and -- repeatedly highlighting that success -- claims "the White House has been charting a delicate course as it attempts to turn the page on Bush-era anti-terrorism policies," whereby "the Obama administration is increasingly confident that it has struck a balance between protecting civil liberties, honoring international law and safeguarding the country."  Here are all of Kornblut's cited sources for the article -- every last one of them -- in the order she cites them:" -- also posted at CommonDreams

PATRIOT Act Fight Needs More Patriots
A quote...."The Democrats want to change the name of the PATRIOT Act to the JUSTICE Act. -- That’s the easy part – exchanging one Orwellian branding for another – much like earlier this year, when the new Obama administration insisted the government wasn’t waging a Global War on Terrorism, but an "Overseas Contingency Operation."

Investigate and prosecute Bush officials and lawyers
A quote...."New York--Seventeen human rights and civil rights organizations and 45 prominent lawyers and civic leaders have sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder last week urging him to appoint a special independent prosecutor to investigate and prosecute Bush officials and lawyers involved in setting illegal interrogation policies." -- Ain't gonna happen, the MIOC, PNACing, Texas Cabal boys made the deal more than two years ago with the Bankster, PNACing, AIPACing East Coast elites that there would be no prosecutions of anyone from the former administration, if you believe different your just dreaming. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....Do It for the Sake of Your Children - 04-26-09 - mpg & A Fist Full of Dollars - 10-02-09 - mpg

Twitter Crackdown: NYC Activist Arrested for Using Social Networking Site during G-20 Protest in Pittsburgh
Madison-web -- Elliot Madison was arrested last month during the G-20 protests in Pittsburgh when police raided his hotel room. Police say Madison and a co-defendant used computers and a radio scanner to track police movements and then passed on that information to protesters using cell phones and the social networking site Twitter. Madison is being charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution, criminal use of a communication facility, and possession of instruments of crime. Exactly one week later, Madison’s New York home was raided by FBI agents, who conducted a sixteen-hour search. We speak to Elliot Madison and his attorney, Martin Stolar. [includes rush transcript] -- ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

ACLU: Arrest of G20 Twitterer part of ‘war on demonstrators’
Related Article - A quote...."When the FBI staged a terror raid on the New York home of 41-year-old Elliot Madison, they were not looking for weapons of war, deadly chemicals or the keys to unlocking a nefarious terror plot. Instead, they came looking for books, files, data, film and something called the "instruments of crime." -- According to officials, the search was instigated after Madison was found in a Pennsylvania hotel room on Sept. 24, listening to police actions during Pittsburgh's G20 summit, then Tweeting to protesters seeking to avoid authorities." - also posted at OhBummer - Next time they should use a tractor trailer truck instead of a motel room. - mpg

61 arrested in protest at White House - (Real News Video YuTb - 4 min 4 sec - October 06, 2009)
RN Video - A quote...."An estimated 500 people gathered to protest as the Afghanistan war nears the start of its ninth year "

Mont. jail deal with mysterious American Police Force unravels
A quote...."We have been watching with fascination the story out of Montana about a mysterious security company called American Police Force that was slated to take over operation of a never-used jail in the town of Hardin. -- Click here for links to earlier stories. -- Earlier postings noted some of the twists and turns, including word that one of the front men for the APF, MIchael Hilton, had a criminal record in California, that the company had changed its name to American Private Police Force, that one company SUV showed up bearing a decal that said "City of Hardin Police Department. " -- Equally interesting, no one seemed to be able to say what the company would be doing at the jail or, where it would get prisoners to fill it. All of which was enough to prod the Montana attorney general to begin looking into the deal."

Monday October 5th 2009

No posts. - mpg

Sunday October 4th 2009

The Constitution Never Had a Chance
A quote...."An eminent North Carolina jurist, with whom I served on a Criminal Code Revision Commission, once told me that the law is what the last court that looks at it says it is and even then, its Justices usually disagree. I told him that there must be something very wrong with such a system. Thinking about this issue and attempting to isolate the arguments in Supreme Court decisions for use in my logic classes over decades, I came to the conclusion that so many things were wrong that even selecting the most egregious would be difficult. Perhaps that is why I have not attempted to write this piece until now."

How the Feds Imprison the Innocent
A quote...."Authors of serious books seldom have cause to celebrate, but Larry Stratton and I have two reasons to open the champagne. Crown Publishing, a division of Random House, has announced a second printing of the second edition of "The Tyranny of Good Intentions [How Prosecutors and Law Enforcement Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of Justice]" [GoglBkSrch] , and the noted civil libertarian and defense attorney, Harvey Silverglate, has just published a book covering many of the same legal cases and vetting our conclusion that in the United States every American is in grave danger from unscrupulous prosecutors who target the innocent. "

Related Article - "Arrested for tweeting: New York pair accused of directing protesters during G-20 in Pittsburgh --FBI agents spent 16 hours Friday raiding the home of Madison and his wife 04 Oct 2009 State police have accused two anarchists from New York of using cell phones and the Internet messaging service Twitter [!] to direct the movements of protesters during the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh. Police arrested Elliot M. Madison and Michael Wallschlaeger, both of Jackson Heights, N.Y., after they found them Sept. 24 in a Kennedy Township hotel room full of computers, police scanners and Pittsburgh-area maps, according to a state police criminal complaint." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG -- So much for the "right of the people peaceably to assemble". - mpg

Family Says 911 Tape Caught Cops Planning Cover-Up After Shooting
A quote...."PHOENIX (CN) - A homeowner says a Phoenix police officer shot him six times in the back during a 911 home-invasion call, and the 911 tape recorded the officer's partner saying, "That's all right. Don't worry about it. I got your back. ... We clear?" The family says the officers were not aware that the 911 call was still recording as they spoke about covering up the shooting." -- One really wonders just how many times this has happened. - mpg

It’s Not the People, It’s the Machine
Special Note - A quote...."Government is an agency of force which can and must be employed against every deviationist. And this is only to say again that the government must oppose the individual. Therefore the "good" man in government is like a priest with a machine gun. The mechanism does the harm. The man who operates it merely pulls the trigger." ~ *Robert LeFevre*, The Nature of Man -- "Every two years in this country there exists a mania we call elections where those involved in the electoral process work endless hours and spends billions of dollars in an effort to put "good" men/women into elected offices. This, each person believes, will improve/change the government apparatus and everyone will be better served. This is analogous to believing that if one could place the right person on my Harley it would perform the tasks of a dump truck. The machine (government) can only accomplish that which it was designed to do: all governments, in their evolutionary process, eventually turn on their progenitors; the machine eventually rules the individual, no matter what "safeguards" have been put in place."

The Best Gun in the World
A quote...."The best gun in the world is the one you’ll have with you when you need it."

Indian Country and the Lessons of McCarthyism - Lazy Journalists are the Darlings of the Corporations
A quote...."Lazy journalists are great friends of the corporations. They are known as "armchair journalists" because they sit in comfort and rewrite press releases from politicians and corporations. To spice it up a bit, they dial a few numbers, get a few comments and call it a news story."

Goldman Sachs & J.P. Morgan Quietly Buying Up the Media
A quote...."Every since the Corporations have bought up the media, the very idea of ‘honest journalism’ has been a joke in America. -- I grew up with the likes of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite – I KNOW what real and honest journalism is all about. -- The ‘propaganda’ corporate machine that rules the airwaves now, is nothing more than a tool to control the message/masses, and at all costs, whatever ‘they’ do ‘they’ will make certain that stories like the one on Sibel Edmonds (on the diary recommended list) never, ever see the light of day.  God forbid, America should hear the ‘truth’ about America and England planning to divide up Iraq months prior to 9/11."
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In Case you Missed It - Top 25 Censored Stories for 2009

• #1. Over One Million Iraqi Deaths Caused by US Occupation
• # 2 Security and Prosperity Partnership: Militarized NAFTA
• # 3 InfraGard: The FBI Deputizes Business
• # 4 ILEA: Is the US Restarting Dirty Wars in Latin America?
• # 5 Seizing War Protesters’ Assets
• # 6 The Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act
• # 7 Guest Workers Inc.: Fraud and Human Trafficking
• # 8 Executive Orders Can Be Changed Secretly
• #9 Iraq and Afghanistan Vets Testify
• # 10 APA Complicit in CIA Torture
• # 11 El Salvador’s Water Privatization and the Global War on Terror
• # 12 Bush Profiteers Collect Billions From No Child Left Behind
• # 13 Tracking Billions of Dollars Lost in Iraq
• # 14 Mainstreaming Nuclear Waste
• # 15 Worldwide Slavery
• # 16 Annual Survey on Trade Union Rights
• # 17 UN’s Empty Declaration of Indigenous Rights
• # 18 Cruelty and Death in Juvenile Detention Centers
• # 19 Indigenous Herders and Small Farmers Fight Livestock Extinction
• # 20 Marijuana Arrests Set New Record
• # 21 NATO Considers “First Strike” Nuclear Option
• # 22 CARE Rejects US Food Aid
• # 23 FDA Complicit in Pushing Pharmaceutical Drugs
• # 24 Japan Questions 9/11 and the Global War on Terror
• # 25 Bush’s Real Problem with Eliot Spitzer

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President Obama: Give Peace a Meeting
Special Note - A quote...."Cindy Sheehan -- September 30, 2009 -- President Obama, I know that you are only fulfilling your campaign promises to increase the violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan and I notice that not a significant amount of troops have been withdrawn from Iraq. However, even with your hostile rhetoric and promises to escalate the violence, many people voted for you because they believed you were the peace candidate. -- Since the election, you have betrayed the progressive base that gave you victory on many occasions already, but the cause that keeps many of us motivated is the continued carnage in the Middle East. What bothers me even more, especially, is the fact that the so-called anti-war movement has given you a nine-month free pass and thousands of people have died, including hundreds of our own troops."

Screw It !
A quote...."Some of you may remember the story of Hala, the 65 plus year old Iraqi friend and distant relative who emigrated to Amerikkka. -- I remember telling you that she ended up in a some godforsaken dump in Missouri, working 12 hours a day, carrying goods in a supermarket, in the Freezer section... I also remember telling you that I spoke to her a few times and each time she was crying her eyes out on the phone. Here is a woman with a university degree in business administration, and many years of experience in industrial planning now working in a supermarket."

Iraq delays hydrocarbons law until after election: MP
A quote...."BAGHDAD (AFP) – Iraq has delayed the discussion of a stalled hydrocarbons law, seen as key to the country ramping up its oil production, until after parliamentary elections in January, a senior MP said on Saturday."

One in three votes for Karzai fraudulent, says US diplomat
A quote...."A former senior United Nations diplomat [Peter Galbraith, sacked former deputy head of UN mission for  Afghanistan] in Kabul has launched a scathing attack on the UN's handling of Afghanistan's disputed elections, claiming that almost one in three of the votes cast for president Hamid Karzai were fraudulent." -- In case people out there haven’t realized it yet, if everyone keep getting sacked every single time they tell the truth, nobody is going to tell the truth, and many agencies, corporations, countries and the entire international system will continue to lurch from crisis to crisis until the practice of firing people for telling the truth stops. – mpg

Galbraith Was Ordered to Cover Up Karzai Fraud
Related Article - A quote...."Former US Ambassador Peter Galbraith, who was fired from his role as second ranking official at the UN Mission to Afghanistan last week, says he was ordered by mission chief Kai Eide to cover up the extent of the voter fraud by Afghan President Hamid Karzai." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Afghanistan opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah questions UN neutrality
Related Article - A quote...."Abdullah Abdullah, the leading opposition candidate in the Afghan elections, has said there are serious questions about the neutrality of the United Nations after reports that the mission's top diplomat admitted favouring Hamid Karzai."

Japan halts helping US fuelling mission in Afghanistan
A quote...."Japan's new government which has vowed to pursue a foreign policy independent of the US, says it will replace its refueling mission in Afghanistan with humanitarian aid."

US military indoctrinating Pakistani officers
False Flag Update - A quote...."The United States has reportedly established a secret military training camp just a few kilometres away from Islamabad. -- According to The Nation, the base is situated in the heart of an industrial estate and is being used to recruit retired Pakistani military officers to work for the US military."

Musharraf: US lost track of Bin Laden 5 years ago
Special Note - A quote...."Former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf says that the US and Pakistani intelligence services were closing in on Osama Bin Laden five years ago but suddenly lost track." -- That's because he's dead and possibly frozen in a Saudi freezer somewhere. - mpg

Houthis inflict 'heavy damage' on Yemeni army
A quote...."Houthi fighters in Yemen claim they have inflicted heavy defeat on army forces in the outskirts of the northern city of Sa'ada as the government continues its offensive against the fighters."

Ireland votes in favour of Lisbon Treaty
A quote...."In a dramatic political U-turn, Ireland has voted decisively in favour of the Lisbon treaty just 17 months after rejecting the European Union's package of reforms."

PM admits defeat, as Socialists win Greek vote
A quote...."The New Democracy Party of Greece's Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has conceded defeat in the general elections, handing power to the opposition Socialist party."

The Anglo-US Drive into Eurasia and the Demonization of Russia Reframing the History of World War II
Geo-Political Analysis - A quote...."As tensions mount between the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on one side and Moscow and its allies on another, the history of the Second World War is being re-framed to demonize Russia, the legal successor state and largest former constituent republic (pars pro toto) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.). In 2009, the U.S.S.R. and the Nazi government of Germany started being portrayed as the two forces that ignited the Second World War."

Silvio Berlusconi under fire from protesters for his attacks on press freedom
A quote...."A rally to protest at the grip which Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has on the press has attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators in Rome."

Colombia says 'no' to US bases
Breaking News -- Special Note - Wow, how did that happen? - mpg -- A quote...."Amid reports of a deal reached for the establishment of US military bases in Colombia, the country's foreign minister says there is no need for more American personnel." -- also posted at AlethoNews

Colombian paramilitaries killed 25,000 people: report
A quote...."Members of former far-right paramilitary groups in Colombia are responsible for about 25,000 murders in recent decades, a report says."

Argentine folk icon Sosa dies at 74
A quote...."Mercedes Sosa, the Argentine folk singer who became known as the "voice of Latin America", has died at the age of 74." -- also posted at Uruknet

Mercedes Sosa - Gracias a La Vida - video - (YouTube - 5 min 29 sec - May 28, 2006)
Mercedes Sosa - Solo le Pido a Dios - video - (YouTube - 4 min 37 sec - May 28, 2007)
Mercedes Sosa - Todo Cambia - video - (YouTube - 4 min 30 sec - November 17, 2008)
Mercedes Sosa - Vientos Del Alma - video - (YouTube - 2 min 26 sec - January 01, 2007)
Mercedes Sosa e Milton Nascimento - Volver a los 17 - video - (YouTube - 5 min 12 sec - February 23, 2008)
Como la cigarra - Mercedes Sosa - Edição Ruth Menezes - video - (YouTube - 2 min 52 sec - February 06, 2008)
" Todas las voces " Mercedes Sosa - video - (YouTube - 3 min 2 sec - January 11, 2008)
Mercedes Sosa - Duerme Negrito (5 13) - video - (YouTube - 3 min - 5 sec - May 07, 2008)
Mercedes Sosa - Zamba para no morir - video - (YouTube - 3 min 54 sec - February 08, 2008)
Mercedes Sosa - Pablo Milanés - Años - video - (YouTube - 5 min 3 sec - February 29, 2008)
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Israel trying to dodge overseas prosecution
Special Note - A quote...."STUNG by a damning UN report alleging war crimes in Gaza, Israel is taking extraordinary steps to fend off potential international prosecution of its political and military leaders, hiring high-powered attorneys, lobbying Western governments and launching a public relations blitz." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Israeli vice PM cancels UK trip over arrest fears
Special Note - Arrest them, try them, convict them and put them in jail were they belong!  -mpg -- A quote...."Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Israel's vice premier, Moshe Ya'alon, recently cancelled a scheduled trip to the United Kingdom over fears he would be arrested there, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Monday. -- In the past, human rights organizations have sought legal action on behalf of 14 civilians who were killed in a strike Ya'alon ordered while he was the Israeli military's chief of staff from 2002 until 2005, according to the paper."

Iran, Israel, and the Muzzled US Press
Special Note - A quote....""Iran must comply with United Nations resolutions," declared President Obama. Iran is "as defiant as ever" says a chorus of corporate employees otherwise known as mainstream journalists.  Really!  Is Iran defiant for testing missiles for its military?  What military in the world fails to test missiles?  Is Iran defiant for reporting the construction of a "secret underground" uranium enrichment plant at least a year in advance of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) obligations require it to?" -- also posted at SOTTnet & OhBummer

"Israel's Government Policy" of Killing Uncovered
Special Note - A quote...."Shhhh, don’t mention the “Dahiya doctrine!!” it’s a secret …..Israel’s Military policy of using disproportionate force, to cause great damage and destruction to civilian property and infrastructure, and cause maximum suffering to civilian populations, has now been uncovered AND it has a name."

US 'pressured Abbas on UN report'
A quote...."Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, urged the Palestinian Authority (PA) not to accept the findings of a UN report into Israel's war on Gaza because of fears it might scupper attempts to restart peace talks, Palestinian sources have told Al Jazeera." -- It seems to be a race on exactly who can grovel on their bellies more to AIPAC and Israel, who can better shine their boots with their tongues....Obama or Hillary.  From this website editor's prospective it looks like Hillary is out-tonguing Obama, but since she's joyfully doing it under his orders it appears Obama is still ahead in the contest. – mpg

Palestinians: Abbas Betraying Martyrs' Blood - posted at The Palestine Chronicle
Related Article - A quote...."The Palestinian Authority has come under fire from other factions including Hamas over its request from the UN Human Rights Council to defer a UN vote over Israeli war crimes in Gaza. -- Taher Al-Nouno, a Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, said the PA's request constitutes "a serious crime against our people, a betrayal to the blood of our martyrs and collaboration with the Zionist enemy and cooperation with it in the war and aggression on Gaza."

Israel shuts down Al-Aqsa mosque, turns violent
A quote...."Israeli police have fired tear gas at Palestinians protesting the closure of Al-Aqsa holy compound (Temple Mount) in the occupied Jerusalem. " -- also posted at AlethoNews

Mayor says [Israeli] army obstructing annual [Palestinian] harvest
A quote...."Ramallah – Ma’an – The mayor of Az-Zaytoon, Sa’eed Shreteh, demanded that official, civil and human rights institutions support farmers who he said were being persecuted by Israel's army and the settlers during their annual harvest." -- also posted at AlethoNews

Gazan human rights organizations hold press conference
A quote...."Following the Palestinian Authority decision on 2 October to defer the draft proposal endorsing the UN “Goldstone Report”, nearly twenty different human rights organizations issued a statement and held a press conference condemning the Palestinian Authority’s decision. Among the groups were the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, Badil, Adalah, Defense for Children (DCI)-Palestine, and other women’s, prisoners’ and children’s rights groups from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Zelaya''s Restitution to Guarantee Elections
A quote...."Tegucigalpa, Oct 4 (Prensa Latina) The immediate restitution of overthrown President Manuel Zelaya is an indispensable condition to guarantee elections in Honduras, according to a resistance leader."

Behind the Coup Regime Curtain
A quote...."Reading the international press wires from Honduras in recent days, too many give the impression that Honduras coup “president” Roberto Micheletti has lifted last Sunday’s decree that suspended constitutional rights of free speech, press, assembly, transit and due process."
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Entering the Greatest Depression in History
A quote...."War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength, and Debt Is Recovery -- In light of the ever-present and unyieldingly persistent exclamations of “an end” to the recession, a “solution” to the crisis, and a “recovery” of the economy; we must remember that we are being told this by the very same people and institutions which told us, in years past, that there was “nothing to worry about,” that “the fundamentals are fine,” and that there was “no danger” of an economic crisis."

Recession Is Over; Depression Has Just Begun
A quote...."For the last few months I have been casting around looking for bullish data points as counterfactuals to my more bearish long-term outlook. I have found some, but not enough. If you recall, early this year, I stated that we are in depression, making the case for the ongoing downturn as a depression with a small ‘d.’ Nevertheless, I was quite optimistic about the ability of policymakers to engineer a fake recovery predicated on stimulus and asset price reflation and I certainly saw this as bullish for financial shares if not the broader stock market. But, I saw these events as temporary salves for a deeper structural problem." -- also posted at DProgram

The Economic Recovery is an Illusion - The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Warns of Future Crises
A quote...."The economic crisis is anything but over, the “solutions” have been akin to putting a band-aid on an amputated arm. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the central bank to the world’s central banks, has warned and continues to warn against such misplaced hopes."

Riding Down the Moody Dow - Cramming for the Downside
Special Note - As the author says, not for it's "market" predictions, more rather it's cultural predictions and how they relate to the Elliot Wave theory.. - mpg -- A quote...."On the fractal model of the Elliott Wave, we experience smaller fluctuations of mood within a series of larger patterns.  In his bearish book of 2002, Conquer the Crash, Prechter argues that we are on the cusp of a very large degree downward drift.  We will be learning hard lessons the hard way, and largely because that's what down moods are good for.  Such lessons will be meant to last more than a lifetime, and we are the generation fated to carry these lessons forward. -- We will shortly see which lessons from the high times have any worth in the valley of our shadows.  Old man winter is a rock hard grader.  There can be no bonus points for students who do not use the warm months to prepare.  Get ready for some serious grade deflation."

As US jobless toll tops 15 million - Unemployment crisis shows the failure of capitalism
A quote...."The staggering figures released Friday on the US labor market demonstrate that what has developed since the Wall Street crash one year ago is not a conjunctural downturn or recession, but an historic assault on working class living standards."

Stiglitz: "Deflation is Definitely a Threat Right Now"
Special Note - Financial Alert - Charts - A quote...."On September 22, I wrote a lengthy summary of arguments for deflation. 5 weeks later, there's a lot to add.


U.S. Suffering Permanent Destruction of Jobs
A quote...."America is suffering a permanent destruction of jobs." -- For more on this issue see....An Economic Choice - Empire or Nation State - 08-28-09 - mpg & Why Invest in the "Real Economy"? - 09-16-09 - mpg

Expert on Structured Finance and Derivatives: Rampant Fraud and Ponzi Scheme Caused Crisis
Special Note - A quote...."Janet Tavakoli is one of the foremost experts on structured finance and derivatives.
Tavakoli made an outstanding presentation to the IMF last week on the fraud which led to the financial crisis." -- also posted at BLN

The Real Reason the Giant, Insolvent Banks Aren't Being Broken Up
Special Note - A quote...."Why isn't the government breaking up the giant, insolvent banks? -- We Need Them To Help the Economy Recover? -- Do we need the Too Big to Fails to help the economy recover? -- No." -- "The following top economists and financial experts believe that the economy cannot recover unless the big, insolvent banks are broken up in an orderly fashion....."

Even BLS Admits Birth-Death Model Skews Unemployment Numbers During Recessions
A quote...."Barry Ritholtz and other writers have hammered the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) faulty birth-death model for years. But as Ritholtz notes today, that ignorance about the inaccuracy of the birth-death model during recessions might finally might be lifting:"

300 Members of The House Support Audit the Fed
A quote...."Today, the number of cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives for HR 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, climbed to 299. Including Congressman Ron Paul, the bill’s author, 300 members of the House of Representatives now support an audit of the Federal Reserve. S 604, the Senate companion bill, currently has 30 cosponsors."

The IMF to Play Role of of Global Central Bank?
A quote...."A year ago,” said law professor Ross Buckley on Australia’s ABC News on September 22, “nobody wanted to know the International Monetary Fund. Now it’s the organiser for the international stimulus package which has been sold as a stimulus package for poor countries.”

China demands larger quota share of developing countries in IMF
Related Article - A quote...."ISTANBUL, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China on Sunday demanded an increase of the quota share of the emerging markets and developing countries in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and urged the organization to accelerate its structural reform."

IMF will need ’substantial increase’ in funds
Related Article - They could make a horror movie out of all this. "The Increadible Sucking Black Hole That Ate the Financial System"  --  "Blob Two" -- "Titanic Two", and yet the entire Amerikan public will just bend over for all this...it's simply just disgusting. - mpg -- A quote...."ISTANBUL – The International Monetary Fund will need a "substantial increase" in resources in order to act as a guarantor of global economic stability, IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Sunday."

World Bank could 'run out of money' within 12 months
Related Article - The World Bank OBVIOUSLY wasn't selected to BE the "World's Bank" the IMF was, someone will have to find out how & why that particular decision was made. - mpg -- A quote...."The World Bank is close to running out of money, its president, Robert Zoellick, has disclosed." -- also posted at BLN

Democrats Ponder Health-Care Suicide
Regarding the health care issue - A quote...."If Democrats enact something like the health-care bill emerging from the Senate Finance Committee, they may call it a legislative victory and it may keep the campaign donations flowing from the insurance industry, but the Democrats would surely infuriate millions of American voters." -- also posted at CommonDreams

“Dead Peasants” Insurance Scheme
Related Article - A quote...."Michael Moore’s new film has exposed something called the “Dead Peasants” insurance scheme.  It allows employers to take out large policies on their employees lives and at the same time, allows for huge tax-breaks on the premiums they pay.  The name “Dead Peasants” comes straight from the corporations that created and use this tax/insurance scheme."

Saturday October 3rd 2009

No posts. - mpg

Friday October 2nd 2009

Jumpin' Jack Verdi, It's a Gas, Gas, Gas - Iran and the Pipelineistan Opera
Must Read - Geo-Political Analysis -- A quote...."Brussels -- Oil and natural gas prices may be relatively low right now, but don't be fooled. The New Great Game of the twenty-first century is always over energy and it's taking place on an immense chessboard called Eurasia. Its squares are defined by the networks of pipelines being laid across the oil heartlands of the planet. Call it Pipelineistan. If, in Asia, the stakes in this game are already impossibly high, the same applies to the "Euro" part of the great Eurasian landmass -- the richest industrial area on the planet. Think of this as the real political thriller of our time. -- The movie of the week in Brussels is: When NATO Meets Pipelineistan. Though you won't find it in any headlines, at virtually every recent NATO summit Washington has been maneuvering to involve reluctant Europeans ever more deeply in the business of protecting Pipelineistan." -- also posted at CommonDreams & Uruknet

Iran’s Nuclear Theater Meant to Divert Attention
Must Read - Quote of the Day -- A quote...."It seems that Obama’s rebuke and Netanyahu’s declarations could actually lead to the detriment of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and indeed to us all, by encouraging nations who until this point do not possess nuclear weapons to expedite the creation of their own arsenal. After all, what we have learned from this episode is that nations who do not yet possess weapons of mass destruction had better get on the band-wagon and make some, for it seems that without them, they are nothing more than sitting ducks." -- The NPT is dead folks, it was run over repeatedly by maniacally grinning DemoRepubs pushing the PNAC agenda, every country  should therefore start "arming-up" ASAP or they'll be next on the hit list. - mpg

Iran and the G20 meeting: Creating a Crisis to Cover Divisions
Must Read - A quote...."The G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh gathered the finance ministers, top bankers and political leaders of the world’s largest economies, ostensibly to take up the most serious economic collapse of capitalism in three generations. Instead, they attacked Iran. -- Without proposing measures to ameliorate the suffering of the hundreds of millions of workers who have lost their jobs, without announcing jobs programs or infrastructure construction, U.S., British and French imperialism joined together with bombast to threaten Iran on totally fabricated charges. They have demanded that the United Nations Security Council and members of the G-20 collaborate on a new round of sanctions against Iran. --  Emergency economic proposals were not even on the agenda."

Bitter Fruits of Mideast Wars
Must Read - A quote...."Impending today are two of the most critical decisions Barack Obama will ever make, which may determine the fate of his presidency, as well as the future of the United States in the Near and Middle East. -- The first is whether to approve Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s request for thousands more U.S. troops he says he needs to prevent “mission failure” — i.e, to stave off a U.S. defeat in Afghanistan. -- The second is whether Obama will start up the road of “crippling sanctions” to war with Iran, to prevent Tehran from moving closer to a capacity to produce nuclear weapons." -- also posted at ICH

Debunking the War Party
Must Read - A quote...."The long-awaited first top level meeting in thirty years between US diplomats and their Iranian counterparts in Geneva is over but we are far from done with what promises to be a long, involved, and often quite scary drama, likely to unfold slowly-but-ominously over the next year. Odds are that, at this time in 2010, we’ll still  be talking about Iran’s completely nonexistent nuclear weapons program, with rival versions of what Tehran is really up to battling it out within the administration and in the arena of public opinion. The opening shots of that war have been fired, and,while the War Party, spearheaded by the powerful Israel lobby, is bound and determined to strike at Iran, the news out of Geneva is not good for the "bomb bomb bomb Iran" crowd." -- also posted at AmericanEveryman

Obama Reaffirms He Will Keep Israel’s Nukes ‘Secret’
Related Article -  A quote...."Following up on assurances he made in May, President Obama has reportedly ‘reaffirmed’ a secret understanding whereby he will not reveal the existence of Israel’s widely known nuclear arsenal, nor will he pressure Israel to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)."

Obama agrees to cover up Israel's nukes: report
Related Article - A quote...."The president gave Israel an NPT treaty get out of jail free card," said a Senate staffer speaking on the condition of anonymity. "What this means is that the president gave commitments that politically he had no choice but to give regarding Israel's nuclear program." -- "However, it calls into question virtually every part of the president's nonproliferation agenda." -- also posted at AtheoNews & OhBummer
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A Fist Full of Dollars
10-02-09
mpg

At some point one really wonders why Obama just doesn't run for the Israeli Knesset and become president of IsraelAmerica.

As for the Southern so-called "Christian" tier in this country, this website editor's got a joke for you....

How do you get one hundred million "Christians" to give up their future welfare, that of their own children, their religion, homes, jobs, healthcare, while getting them to grovel on their knees in their very own churches to worship someone else's money, someone else’s religion, to swear fealty to someone else’s country, to approve of homosexual marriage, (no such thing as "gay" by the way) a so-called "black" president (nothing wrong with that, but he really isn't) and give twenty four trillion (so far, but that's just to start folks) of their hard earned tax dollars to a bunch of already filthy rich, greedy, Banksters on Wall Street?

Throw them ten million "ol'dem dare Ah-Raaaabs" so "dem towel heads" can be tortured, sexually abused and murdered with impunity.

During the seventies and early eighties after that "other disaster" called the Vietnam war this website editor got to watch all sorts of movies and TV shows that would depict the proud Southern people of this country as a bunch of jaw-dropingly stupid, inbred, insecure, moronic, psychos who would do anything as long as they got the chance to go beat up and kill someone who was weaker they than they were, preferably at ten to one odds. This website editor always thought that was vicious slander....until now.

It's quite obvious that many Southerners haven’t seen the movie "A Fist-Full of Dollars" wherein Clint Eastwood, ambles into a Mexican town with a clever plot to get very rich. A town which contains two outlaw gangs feuding with each other, after killing a few members from one gang and blaming their deaths on the other, Clint gets a nice little war started at the end of which, after killing the last of the bad guys himself, he trundles off into the sunset with a wagon load piled high with dead bodies, all with high prices on their heads, for a tidy little profit.

It's been quite amusing for the last ten years to watch a tiny minority in this nation use Madison Avenue techniques of mass manipulation, along with the biggest and most obvious false-flag event ever seen, to "play" the Romanized (in every sense of the term) military of this country, always backed by its so-called "Christians", against 1.5 billion Muslims, all the while collecting trillions of dollars in profits along the way.

It's been even more amusing to sit here in San Francisco and watch while cappuccino sipping, "Limousine Liberals" who've made enormous sums of money on their investments in Wall Street, many, if not most of which were in the defense, energy and Bankster sectors of the economy, make fun of and sneer at those soon to be unemployed "dumb red-necks" from the South. To witness their enjoyment while they disparage and laugh at that ridiculous, fossilized, cultural relic called "Christianity" and how it was put out of its misery.  To watch them congratulate each other on how they fooled the rest of the country -- again -- into believing that utterly false Mutt and Jeff routine of "liberals" vs. "conservatives", "Democrats" vs. "Republicans" and how it's all so incredibly easy to play the poor dumb rubes of this country against each other year after year, especially those Southern rubes.

And they're right; the people in the South really are dumb, because they've let themselves all be "played"....AGAIN!  They were stupid in the sixties as they all joyfully lined up to go "kill som'ol dem dare gooks".  But they're beyond stupid now, this website editor cannot even conceive of a term that would accurately describe their self-destructive, foolish, amoral, hell-bound, behavior. What was once a strong Christian community in this country has been utterly and permanently decimated, spiritually, morally and financially.

And for what you've done to yourselves and the many millions of innocents across the globe you will not receive one single drop of sympathy from this website editor, not one tear will be shed for you or your children, as this country plunges into another Great Depression, nor will any sympathy be expressed on this website for the African American community, who willfully and knowingly voted for a man because of the color of his skin and NOT because of the content of his character.

All you "little people" have been "played"....beautifully.  It was skillfully done, and this website editor's sincere compliments to the tiny minority, and that "other nation state", who with Cheney and many others, so artfully put this whole project into "play" more than thirty years ago and who've justly received trillions of dollars in profits for their efforts.

Truly a job well done, a really great piece of work, an outstanding scam for the ages and something for everyone else throughout the rest of the world to admire. – mpg
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"Lockerbie papers say US secretly paid witness --Scottish detectives discussed secret payments of up to $3m made to witness and his brother, documents claim 02 Oct 2009 Two key figures in the conviction of the Lockerbie bomber were secretly given rewards of up to $3m (£1.9m) in a deal discussed by Scottish detectives and the US government, according to legal papers released today. The claims about the payments were revealed in a dossier of evidence that was intended to be used in an appeal by Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of murdering 270 people in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988. The documents published online by Megrahi's lawyers today show that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) was asked to pay $2m to Tony Gauci, the Maltese shopkeeper who gave crucial evidence at the trial suggesting that Megrahi had bought clothes later used in the suitcase that allegedly held the Lockerbie bomb. The DoJ was also asked to pay a further $1m to his brother, Paul Gauci, who did not give evidence but played a major role in identifying the clothing and in "maintaining the resolve of his brother". -- Paragraph quoted from CLG -- Guess we'll all just call this "justice" New Roman Empire style. - mpg

Gadhafi and Chavez sign anti-terrorism declaration
A quote...."PORLAMAR, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi signed a declaration Monday night decrying what they call attempts by powerful Western countries to equate struggles against colonialism with terrorism."

'Pak fears India's rise in Afghanistan; nurtures Taliban, LeT'
Special Note - A quote...."Pakistan believes Afghanistan is developing into an Indian garrison and has been nurturing groups like the Taliban and LeT over the years to counter it, a key US Senate Committee was told." -- also posted at WarInIraq

US faces worsening military situation in Afghanistan
A quote...."The US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, used a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London on October 1 to continue the Pentagon’s campaign for more troops to be sent to Afghanistan. The Obama administration is currently considering a report by McChrystal requesting as many as 40,000 additional personnel."

Afghanistan: Soldiers accused of using ‘dum-dum’ bullets
A quote...."Three Danish soldiers have been sent home from Afghanistan and accused of possessing illegal ammunition by the military’s Judge Advocate General (JAG)"

Ministry of Defence named and shamed over British troops' behaviour in Iraq
A quote...."The [British] Ministry of Defence was accused today by three high court judges of "lamentable" behaviour and "serious breaches" of its duty of candour over the failure to disclose crucial information about allegations of murder and ill-treatment by British soldiers in Iraq in 2004." -- also posted at Uruknet

It's bomb, bomb, bomb Iran time
Special Note - A quote...."The United States and Western "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" crowd - hysteria running at fever pitch ahead of Thursday's multilateral nuclear talks in Geneva - could do worse than have a word with Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. -- Lula actually talked to Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad face-to-face for over an hour on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last week. He invited Ahmadinejad to visit Brazil in November. About the meeting, he went straight to the point, "What I wish for Iran is what I always wanted for Brazil - a peaceful, civilian nuclear program." -- Lula is an island of common sense in an ocean of hysteria." -- also posted at AlterNet

Top Things you Think You Know about Iran that are not True
Special Note - A quote...."....on this occasion, I thought I'd take the opportunity to list some things that people tend to think they know about Iran, but for which the evidence is shaky." -- also posted at CommonDreams & AxisOfLogic

Russia, China, Satisfied with 10/01/09 Talks
Contains Video - A Juan Cole round-up of the situation -  A quote...."The US plan to place further sanctions on Iran for its nuclear energy research program may founder at the United Nations Security Council because of the reluctance of Russia and China to see the sanctions ratcheted up."

Jalili: Iran won't forego its legitimate rights
A quote...."Iran will never give up it obvious rights, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili has stressed during his talks with the European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana."

Document shows rejected Mosaddeq’s outreach to United States and America’s collusion with Britain
Special Note - A quote...."(WMR) -- With the United States and United Kingdom stating they are committed to diplomacy with Iran over its nuclear power program, but also refusing to rule out military action even as Israel pushed for such action, WMR has obtained a formerly Top Secret Supplement to a CIA Current Intelligence Digest that shows past US-UK collusion to overthrow Iran’s government. -- The document’s contents reveal that Washington and London have conspired for several decades to undermine Iranian governments not held in favor by either country."

UAE rejects Lebanese for refusing to spy on Hezbollah
A quote...."A number of Lebanese nationals, recently deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), say their expulsion was a result of their refusal to spy on fellow compatriots and Hezbollah."

News from the Icelandic Home Front
A quote...."Today the new financial plan has come out. It´s about large cut-downs of at least 10% in health- and other services, over 50% in road-repairs, while at the same time tax-rises of 30% on all incomes are proposed, as well as another 10% on several goods and fuel, some “global warming” taxes on energy, how much isn´t quite clear, so are a lot of other things. Sure is only unemployment will rise further and buying power will shrink." -- also posted at AtheoNews

Rio de Janiero Wins 2016 Olympics Behind Lula; Chicago Is Last
A quote...."Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Rio de Janeiro easily won the vote to stage the 2016 Olympics, becoming the first South American city to host the event and placing Brazil among what its president said is the elite of the world’s nations."
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Freedom Rider: Obama Knows Best
Must Read - A quote...."The youthful Barack Obama was a strange variety of “community organizer” - he didn't like protests. Obama's feelings haven't changed in the interim. The president believes protesters like those that showed up for the G20 summit, in Pittsburgh, are obsessed with some “generic” version of capitalism that throws people out of work and creates wars. But that's all in their heads. The First Black President said so."

Judge says CIA can cover up destruction of interrogation tapes
A quote...."NEW YORK, AP — A federal judge cited national-security concerns in ruling yesterday that the CIA does not have to release hundreds of documents related to the destruction of videotapes of Sept. 11 detainee interrogations that used harsh methods." -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - Iraq - Torture Fables

Judge rules FBI can’t keep Cheney interview buried - This should be nice and juicy
A quote...."A federal judge ruled on Thursday that the FBI must release its June 2004 interview with then-Vice President Dick Cheney concerning the leaking of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame."

"Rhetorical Tax Evasion --The IRS says it will fine or jail you for not paying Obama's mandate levy. (The Wall Street Journal) 29 Sep 2009 President Obama's effort to deny that his mandate to buy insurance is a tax has taken another thumping, this time from fellow Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee. Chairman Max Baucus's bill includes the so-called individual mandate, along with what he calls a $1,900 "excise tax" if you don't buy health insurance. (It had been as much as $3,800 but Democrats reduced the amount last week to minimize the political sticker shock.) And, lo, it turns out that if you don't pay that tax, the IRS could punish you with a $25,000 fine or up to a year in jail, or both. Under questioning last week, Tom Barthold, the chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, admitted that the individual mandate would become a part of the Internal Revenue Code and that failing to comply "could be criminal, yes, if it were considered an attempt to defraud." Mr. Barthold noted in a follow-up letter that the willful failure to file would be a simple misdemeanor, punishable by the $25,000 fine or jail time under Section 7203." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

Must Read - Top 25 Censored Stories for 2010

• 1. US Congress Sells Out to Wall Street
• 2. US Schools are More Segregated Today than in the 1950s
• 3. Toxic Waste Behind Somali Pirates
• 4. Nuclear Waste Pools in North Carolina
• 5. Europe Blocks US Toxic Products
• 6. Lobbyists Buy Congress
• 7. Obama’s Military Appointments Have Corrupt Past
• 8. Bailed out Banks and America’s Wealthiest Cheat IRS Out of Billions
• 9. US Arms Used for War Crimes in Gaza
• 10. Ecuador Declares Foreign Debt Illegitimate
• 11. Private Corporations Profit from the Occupation of Palestine
• 12. Mysterious Death of Mike Connell—Karl Rove’s Election Thief
• 13. Katrina’s Hidden Race War
• 14. Congress Invested in Defense Contracts
• 15. World Bank’s Carbon Trade Fiasco
• 16. US Repression of Haiti Continues
• 17. The ICC Facilitates US Covert War in Sudan
• 18. Ecuador’s Constitutional Rights of Nature
• 19. Bank Bailout Recipients Spent to Defeat Labor
• 20. Secret Control of the Presidential Debates
• 21. Recession Causes States to Cut Welfare
• 22. Obama’s Trilateral Commission Team
• 23. Activists Slam World Water Forum as a Corporate-Driven Fraud
• 24. Dollar Glut Finances US Military Expansion
• 25. Fast Track Oil Exploitation in Western Amazon

The World We Live In
Must Read - A quote...."Right, this is going to be a strange post and a bit of a rant on my part. I never really write about personal things here, but today I feel the need to vent some anger. Read it if you wish."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Traitor Abbas Sells Out Palestinians -- Absolute Disgrace
Special Note - A quote...."Palestinian Authority says: Palestine to get the most expensive phone system in the world, off the back of murdered Palestinians -- Abbas has just sold out Palestine for Israeli money and American pressure. Here's America and their BFF Israel arm twisting to help Israeli criminals off the hook. I think this is called "perverting the course of justice" and America and Israel should both be charged with blackmail and bribery. Abbas on the other hand, is a traitor to his country. He has just sent a strong message to all those Palestinians who lost someone at the hands of Zionist war criminals. That message says "Israel's money is more important than the lives of Palestinians" I predict a strong showing by Hamas in the elections after this. They seem to be the only party willing to stand up to Israel's bribes and trickery."

Abbas helps Israel bury its crimes in Gaza
Related Article - A quote...."Just when it seemed that the Ramallah Palestinian Authority (PA) and its leader Mahmoud Abbas could not sink any lower in their complicity with Israel's occupation of the West Bank and the murderous blockade of Gaza, Ramallah has dealt a further stunning blow to the Palestinian people." -- also posted at OhBummer

Khaled Mashall: Israel 'Destined' to Fall - posted at PalestineChron
A quote...."Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal hails the release of 19 Palestinian detainees, describing the prisoner swap as a prelude to liberation of all Palestinians in Israeli prisons. -- In a televised speech late on Friday in Damascus, Hamas' political leader called the release of the Palestinian women held by Israel a 'bright spot' in the history of the Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation."

Another farcical show
From the History File - Sep 23rd, 2009 at 20:50 -- A good, although as the author says, also an easy prognostication. - mpg -- A quote...."This article was written a few hours before the New York meeting -- One doesn’t have to be a prophet to predict the outcome, or more correctly failure, of the three-way meeting between President Obama, the Israeli premier Benyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, which is to take place later today in New York."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Honduras Stages New Protest despite Siege
A quote...."Tegucigalpa, Oct 2 (Prensa Latina) The National Front against the coup d'Etat in Honduras convened a new demonstration for Friday, despite the suspension of constitutional guarantees for 45 days decreed by the regime."

Jim DeMint: The Crybaby of the US Senate
A quote...."US Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), in the right-hand photo, is having a tantrum today, alleging that Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Massachusetts), on the left, is blocking him with “bullying tactics” from visiting his pals in the Honduras coup regime." -- OH the poor thing!! - mpg

Honduras Supreme Electoral Tribunal Comes Out Against Coup Decree
A quote...."The layers keep peeling away from "president" Roberto Micheletti's coup d'etat, which began with a consensus of most of upper class Honduras and its political institutions but in recent days has seen Congressional and business leaders begin looking for the EXIT sign."

Honduras RESISTE by ~Latuff2
Cartoon - Click on the image to enlarge. - mpg
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If the Russians Did This to Us, We’d Kill ‘Em
Must Read - A quote...."What if the Russians invaded? -- It's not so far-fetched an idea, you know. We spent half a century and trillions of dollars to make sure that it would never happen, so it's really not such a strange notion." -- also posted at CommonDreams

The Truth About The Economy
Must View Video - A quote...."Video Interview with Marc Faber and Nouriel Roubini.-- Posted October 02, 2009"

Time Magazine's Justin Fox: "Some Financial Market Conspiracies Are Real"
A quote...."Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says that Goldman Sachs may have engaged in frontrunning. Ask a Goldman spokesman, and he or she will undoubtedly say that is a conspiracy theory. -- Indeed, when Matt Taibbi claimed that Goldman created every bubble since the Great Depression, a Goldman spokesman responded by calling Taibbi's essay "an hysterical compilation of conspiracy theories". -- Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge blew the whistle on Goldman's high-frequency trading and other frontrunning activities, and has also been called a conspiracy theorist."

Senior Moody's Executives: There's a Culture of Covering Up Improper Ratings
A quote...."Reuters notes:  Two former Moody's executives, in testimony at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing, said workers were encouraged to remain silent and cover up evidence of alleged improper practices in assigning and monitoring credit ratings."

What is a Flattening Yield Curve, and What Does It Mean?
A quote...."If you don't know what a flattening yield curve means, watch this handy graphic from CNN. Many websites - such as Bloomberg - provide charts showing the current yield curve. -- CNN provided an overview of flattening yield curves in a 2005 article:"

Banks With 20% Unpaid Loans at 18-Year High Amid Recovery Doubt
A quote...."Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The number of U.S. lenders that can’t collect on at least 20 percent of their loans hit an 18-year high, signaling that more bank failures and losses could slow an economic recovery."

US consumer bankruptcies soar in September
A quote...."WILMINGTON, Del., Oct 2 (Reuters) - Consumer bankruptcies soared 41 percent in September from a year before and climbed from August...."

Whoops: Chicago PMI Shows Contraction
A quote...."Reuters:  The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer fell to 46.1 in September from 50.0 in August." - bold by website editor

U.S. September auto sales plunge; GM, Chrysler hit hard
A quote...."DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales tumbled by 23 percent in September as showrooms emptied after the government-funded boom from the "cash for clunkers" program, with General Motors Co and Chrysler hardest-hit." - bold by website editor

U.S. Sept non-farm payrolls plunge 263,000
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers cut a deeper-than-expected 263,000 jobs in September, lifting the unemployment rate to 9.8 percent, according to a government report on Friday that fueled fears the weak labor market could undermine economic recovery." - bold by website editor

U.S. Job Losses May Be Even Larger, Model Breaks Down (Update1)
Special Note - Related Article -- A quote...."Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economic slump earlier this year was so severe it short-circuited the government’s model for calculating payrolls, raising the risk that today’s jobs report may be too optimistic." - bold by website editor

Demand falls for investment goods in August
A quote...."Factory orders decreased 0.8% in August, slightly slower than the 0.5% fall expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Read economic calendar."

August Steel Imports Plunge 76% Annually, Hit Another Recent Record Low
A quote...."Yet another indication of just how dismal the economy is, was the recently announced non-existent demand for raw material imports, particularly steel, which saw was a mere 775k tons in August imports, a 66.5% decline from August of 2008, or a dollar value of $758 million down 76% from the $3.2 billion imported in August 2008."

FDIC Discloses Deposit Insurance Fund Is Now Negative
A quote...."In an unprecedented disclosure, the FDIC has highlighted that it expects the DIF reserve ratio to be negative as of September 30. As there are a whopping 48 hours before that deadline, one can safely assume that the DIF is now well into negative territory:" -- also posted at BLN

IMF warns that banks have yet to reveal half their likely losses
A quote...."BANKS AROUND the world still have to reveal about half their likely losses resulting from the financial and economic crisis, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday, warning there was still a "significant" risk of another downward lurch in the global recession."

3 more bank failures bring U.S. tally to 98 in 2009
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Three more banks were closed by regulators Friday, bringing the number of U.S. bank failures this year to 98 thanks to the lingering credit crunch."

U.S. Senate OKs One Month Emergency Extension of Federal Government Funding Levels
A quote...."WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Facing a midnight deadline, the U.S. Senate Wednesday approved an emergency one-month extension of current funding levels for the federal government."

U.S. Government Gold Manipulation Document Declassified - More on Zero Hedge's scoop....
A quote...."The Federal Reserve, in the 1970's, had a secret agreement with the German government whereby the German government agreed not to buy gold in the open market, or from other governments, at a price above the then-official U.S. government price of $42.22 per ounce, despite the fact that the open market price for gold was then trading between $160 to $175 per ounce." -- also posted at BLN

Matt Taibbi: "Wall Street's Naked Swindle" - Alt - (YouTube - 4 min 38 sec - September 30, 2009)
Video - A quote...."Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi's new investigation suggests massive manipulation by Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. Did someone bet on Bear Stearns' fall? Who was involved? Was there insider trading? A $1.7 million options bet was placed...and paid off. Nothing's been done about it by the SEC. If you're interested in how Wall Street plays this game, watch this."

Domain chains fall away - Tech Note:  The US-NRE has lost control of the internet. - mpg
A quote...."HUA HIN - Internet governance could be in for a shake-up after the US-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) this week lost its grip on the World Wide Web. The non-profit organization allotted by the US government to oversee Internet addresses opened up to a global audience as the agreement between it and the US Department of Commerce expired on Wednesday. -- A new agreement allowing for greater global participation in the assignment of Internet addresses was signed."

Thursday October 1st 2009

No posts. - mpg