Iran steps up preparations for US war
War Warning - A quote...."Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is stepping up preparations for possible war with America by replacing a string of moderate regime officials with hardliners who more closely share his views. - After months in which his government has played down the risk of war over Iran's nuclear programme, officials have also begun making bellicose pronouncements in an apparent attempt to ready public opinion for a military clash." - bold/italics by website author

"Bellicose pronouncements" and "replacing moderates with hardliners."  That's something Bush and Cheney have been doing for years. And unlike Ahmadinejad, they weren't even legally elected. - mpg
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Cheney on Iran: Just how alarming?
Just World New's take on Cheney's inflammatory (insane, nut-job, war monkey) comments last week. - mpg

Anti-Iran Rhetoric Raises UN Concerns
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) - The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Sunday he had no evidence Iran was working actively to build nuclear weapons and expressed concern that escalating rhetoric from the U.S. could bring disaster."

Blix says Iran situation reminiscent of Iraq - (You Tube - 5 min 19 sec - Added:  October 27, 2007)
Must View - Interview - al Jazeera interviews Hans Blix - A quote...."Al Jazeera has spoken with Hans Blix, the former head of the UN weapons inspection team in Iraq and current chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission about the recent US sanctions against Iran. Ghida Fakhry asked him if he believed the US had tangible evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons programme and if he accepted Washington's assertions that Iran poses a nuclear threat."

For more regarding the Neo-Cons' false allegations that IED's and EFP's come from Iran see...
Fake Intel - IED's & EFP's
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A primer for living in a totalitarian state
Must Read - good satire/mpg - A quote...."Unless you are black or a recent immigrant, you have no experience living in a police state. Then, you may want to consider this article as your primer for living under terror. If Naomi Wolf in her recent book "The End of America: A Letter of Warning To A Young Patriot" has it right, you don't have much time to learn. Wolf's book is scarier than any Stephen King's fantasy (at least for me), I don't recommend reading it at night."

Thousands Protest Iraq War Across US
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO - Thousands of people called for a swift end to the war in Iraq as they marched through downtown on Saturday, chanting and carrying signs that read: “Wall Street Gets Rich, Iraqis and GIs Die” or “Drop Tuition Not Bombs.” - The streets were filled with thousands as labor union members, anti-war activists, clergy and others rallied near City Hall before marching to Dolores Park."

Torture, Then And Now
Must Read - A quote...." 10/26/07 "ICH" -- -- The story of a young Foreign Service officer who risked his budding career to defend a principle and the honor of the United States - Intro: In the fall of 1974, I was being tortured by members of the Brazilian army in Recife, Brazil, led by officers who bragged about having been trained at the School of the Americas (then in Panama). When I was kidnapped from my home in Recife, (Time, November 18, 1974 and Harpers’s, October, 1975) on September 30, 1974, I did not expect to survive. Since the CIA-sponsored overthrow of the democratically elected president of Brazil, João Goulart, in April of 1964, hundreds of Brazilians had been “disappeared” by the military security forces in their ongoing war against “international Communism” and its alleged collaborators within Brazil.

Papier Mâché...
Must Read - A quote...." 10/26/07 "An Arab Woman Blues" -- -- - An acquaintance approached me the other day and suggested I join the world of media/journalism. Utilize my writing skills and whatever intelligence I have left, to good use...Good use? Because the media is good news? And am not only talking about mainstream media here...Besides, becoming part of some media - and that includes some of the “alternative media” also known for its share of blatant lies - means I will no longer be allowed to tell you some basic truths."

On Visit to France, Donald Rumsfeld Hit with Lawsuit for Ordering, Authorizing Torture
Listen to Segment || Download Show mp3  || Watch 128k stream  || Watch 256k stream  || Read Transcript ||
Interview - Juan Gonzalez interviews Michael Ratner and Jeanne Sulzer - A quote...."The complaint was filed with the Paris prosecutor’s office as Rumsfeld arrived in France for a visit. This is the fifth time Rumsfeld has been charged with direct involvement in torture since 9/11. We speak with two attorneys with the plaintiffs -- Center for Constitutional Rights president Michael Ratner and Jeanne Sulzer of the International Federation of Human Rights. [includes rush transcript]"

From CIA Jails, Inmates Fade Into Obscurity
A quote...."ISLAMABAD, Pakistan-- On Sept. 6, 2006, President Bush announced that the CIA's overseas secret prisons had been temporarily emptied and 14 al-Qaeda leaders taken to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But since then, there has been no official accounting of what happened to about 30 other "ghost prisoners" who spent extended time in the custody of the CIA."

It's not just "water boarding" or "extremes of temperature"; it's all that really horrific stuff that came out of Central and South America during Ronald Regan's reign.  And just as "American" funded death squads did, our Neo-Romans are disappearing people.  And this lawless attitude is creeping closer to our shores every day.

So when your neighbor and their children "disappear" one bright and sunny morning, don't even pretend you didn't know what was happening. – mpg
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Rule of Law Under Attack
A quote...."Every law student promptly learns the national ideal that our country is governed by the rule of law, not the rule of men. Today, the rule of law is under attack. Such activities have become a big business and, not surprisingly, they have involved big business. - On October 25th, Secretary Condoleeza Rice officially recognized before a House Oversight Committee that, remarkably, there was no law covering the misbehavior of Blackwater Corporation and their private police in Iraq."

Self-Imposed Delusions
A quote...."The only thing more amazing than the Republican rank-and-file's willingness to flush the Constitution down the toilet for the promise of what they believe to be ironclad guaranteed security -- something that no government, group, person or political party can honestly deliver -- is the Democratic rank-and-file's keenness to dismantle the Constitution for a trail of broken promises and maybe (but only maybe) a chance at securing some form of health care for America's children. There is no doubt about it; the Founding Fathers have gone Nadia Comaneci in their graves."

The politics of hypocrisy
A quote...."UK business interests in Burma are more important to this government than justice - The news is no more from Burma. The young monks are quiet in their cells, or they are dead. But words have escaped: the defiant, beautiful poetry of Aung Than and Zeya Aung; and we know of the unbroken will of the journalist U Win Tin, who makes ink out of brick powder on the walls of his prison cell and writes with a pen made from a bamboo mat - at the age of 77. These are the bravest of the brave. What shame they bring to those in the west whose hypocrisy and silence helps to feed the monster that rules Burma."
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Senator: WTC7's Omission from 9/11 Report is 'Black Helicopter Stuff'
A quote...."In an act of obvious dismissal, Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman claimed that WTC Building 7's omission from the 9/11 Commission Report is "black helicopter stuff," and repeated his characterization to follow-ups questioning whether or not "the building fell on 9/11."

Wheelchair-Bound Woman Dies After Being Shocked With Taser 10 Times
A quote...."A Clay County woman's family said it's seeking justice after their loved one died shortly after being shocked 10 times with Taser guns during a confrontation with police. - The family of 56-year-old Emily Delafield said it would take the Green Cove Springs Police Department to court, according to a WJXT-TV report."
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Cancer in Iraq vets raises possibility of toxic exposure
A quote...."After serving in Vietnam nearly 40 years ago — and receiving the Bronze Star for it — the Tucson soldier was called back to active duty in Iraq. - While there, he awoke one morning with a sore throat. Eighteen months later, Army Sgt. James Lauderdale was dead, of a bizarrely aggressive cancer rarely seen by the doctors who tried to treat it."

"Collateral Damage?" You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet!
Related Article - A quote...."The worst thing we are doing to our military besides using a back-door draft that takes National Guard units and trains them quickly to bring them to a country that is full of resistance fighters that would rather die than accept an American occupation and let’s them loose in a fight they are not trained for, nor do they understand. The Stop-Loss policy of not letting American soldiers get out when their tour of duty is up, exposes them to a death in Iraq long after they should be home with their family. The very worst thing we do to our men and women in uniform is expose them to depleted uranium that bleeds radioactive isotopes that break DNA and cause every type of cancer and enter their reproductive organs and cause birth defects that will surface in the generations to follow."
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Basra fight pointless, says British commander
A quote...."One of the most senior British commanders in Iraq has claimed that there is no point in fighting on in Basra, likening British troops in the city to "Robocop" and admitting that innocent people were hurt as a result of their actions."

George Galloway: His TV appearance tonight may be as important as at Washington DC
 (Update2: Saturday - Four hour broadcast!) - A quote...."With the US today declaring financial war on Iran, and the UK apparently backing them, this has to be the ideal opportunity for George Galloway to get his message across to the British (and a wider?) public, when he is "allowed" to appear on BBC1's flagship "Question Time" programme."

Creation of a Virtually Independent Kurdish State in Northern Iraq Was Certain to Provoke Turkey
A quote...." No one should be surprised by the dangerous crisis between Turkey and Iraq-based Kurdish separatists. - Critics long warned the U.S. invasion of Iraq would inevitably release the genii of Kurdish nationalism. Creation of a virtually independent, U.S.-backed Kurdish state in northern Iraq was certain to provoke Turkish fury."

Pressure for Turkish military action grows
Related article - A quote..."ANKARA - Turkey will launch a military strike against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq when necessary, regardless of the attitude of the international community, Turkey’s prime minister said on Saturday." -  bold/italics by website author

A haven for Kurdish rebels who await the Turks
Related article - A quote...."PKK fighters train in Iraq's northern mountains, sheltered by the terrain and by villagers who hail them as champions of their rights."

Blair's true colours
A quote...."Rabbi Benny Elon, president of the right-wing Israeli National Union Party, was unable to conceal his relief last Thursday when a Hebrew radio news programme presenter asked him about his evaluation of the recent plan devised by Quartet envoy and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "Finally, even Blair agrees with us on two primary points," Benny Elon said. "These are uprooting the Palestinian terrorist organisations and solving the problem of the refugees without holding Israel any responsibility for it."

Does “Loving Lebanon” Mean the Bush Administration Never Has to Say It’s Sorry?
Must Read - A quote..."As US Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman packs his bags and prepares to depart Lebanon for his next assignment, he probably should be forgiven for feeling a bit abused these past few months."

Jeffery Feltman....One of this country's uglier Neo-Romans (they used to be called "ugly-Americans", but they're not, not anymore.  These sorts of people have given up any pretensions of being "Americans.") 

For all the other countries throughout the world, this is the sort of behavior you can continue to expect as long as the PNAC'ing Neo-Romans remain in charge.
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Controlling the debate on Palestine, Israel
A quote...."The last time I spoke publicly in the United States before my current tour was nearly four years ago. During this time I had travelled the world, passing my message to people in nearly 20 countries. Wherever I went, my calls for justice for the Palestinian people and for global alternatives to racism and war were well received. However, my latest talks in the US have made me realize that the witch-hunt on intellectuals that escalated rapidly since September 11, 2001, is nowhere near over."

Sabotage Fails, Free speech Wins
Must Read - Related article - A quote...."IRVINE, Calif. It was not the fact that this reporter was under surveillance at the Spokane InternationalAirport by a man/woman team when heading toward California nor that one of the scheduled speakers, a Roman Catholic - priest, was detained for close to 30 minutes as a “risk to aviation safety” by Michael Chertoff’s Department of Homeland Security that indicated that trouble was brewing for the upcoming “No More wars for Israel” conference in Southern California."

For more on this see....What Terrorists?
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‘SOUTH AMERICANS CHALLENGE BANKSTERS
A quote...."On November 3, Banco del Sur, a new Latin American development bank, will be inaugurated in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, in a direct challenge to the U.S.-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund."

EXCLUSIVE: ES&S Certification Testing Suspended in Colorado
A quote...."Once again, the country's largest voting machine vendor, Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S), has failed in yet another state certification process, The BRAD BLOG has learned. - In a letter faxed to the company yesterday, Colorado's Secretary of State Mike Coffman informed the Omaha, Nebraska, company that the state has suspended the certification process of ES&S's voting systems due to a failure to provide required documentation and other materials needed to complete testing. That, after several previous deadline extensions had been granted."
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Senator Denies AT&T, Verizon Cash Bought Spying Immunity Vote
Must Read - A quote...."Telecom executives from companies seeking escape from privacy lawsuits accusing them of illegally collaborating with secret domestic spying programs wrote thousands in checks to the re-election campaign of Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia), THREAT LEVEL reported last Thursday. - But in a Tuesday New York Times story, the lawmaker's spokeswoman denies that the telco cash affected Rockefeller's decision last week to include retroactive immunity for those companies in a bill passed by a Rockefeller-led committee."

Scott Stroud: AT&T and others suddenly giving to key Democratic senator
Related article - A quote...." Are the telephone behemoths, including local heavyweight AT&T, suddenly trying to curry favor with Democrats? And have they bought themselves a Rockefeller? - It would be easy to draw those conclusions from a recent flurry of campaign contributions by phone company executives to Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, D-West Virginia. The contributions, as analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics, were reported this week in Wired, an online journal, and picked up by the New York Times."

Senators Want Probe on Content Blocking
Related article - A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Senators on Friday called for a congressional hearing to investigate reports that phone and cable companies are unfairly stifling communications over the Internet and on cell phones."

For more on the three articles shown above see....The Last Bastion of Freedom is Falling - 05-30-06 - mpg
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 'Titanic' Tactics When the Fed Hits an Iceberg
Some quotes...." Alan Greenspan took over as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in October, 1987, just days before the legendary 508-point decline: 22%. His response, like the FED's, was to pump in fiat money – "liquidity." That kept the economy from falling into a recession. Only in 1990–91 did the recession finally hit. The FED's response was the same: increased fiat money. For the next decade, there was no recession." - bold by website author.

Well that's true, but oil prices are sky rocketing, the US's Neo-Roman Neocons are losing another war, (and about to start another one) the trade deficit is unchecked, the Federal deficit at the end of this ten year cycle will start to get worse, the dollar is tanking along with the housing market.  So it is possible the recession might hit a tad earlier than 2010 or 2011. - mpg

And...."The U.S. housing market is down – on paper – by over a trillion dollars, CBS News reports. But who knows how much? The report cited one forecast that says it will be down by another $3 trillion in a year. I think this estimate is plausible. - Median prices are down by about 4%, year to year – the first national decline since 1933. Sales are down by 8% nationally, and by 25% in the Southwest."

For more on this issue see.....Standard Disclaimer
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Arctic Ice Breaking-up Faster Than Predicted, Icebergs Risk To Shipping
A quote...."ScienceDaily (Oct. 26, 2007) — The International Ice Charting Working Group predicts more marine transportation in the Arctic as sea ice continues to diminish and warns of "significant hazards to navigation," according to a recent statement "

Many States Seen Facing Water Shortages
A quote...."The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess.'

And we as a country won't have much money to spend on infrastructure improvements because the filthy rich one tenth of one percent of this population decided to spend our tax dollars building their New Roman Empire. - mpg
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Truth Matters
Must Read - A quote...."It is not coincidental that professional journalists, those who write for profit in the mainstream media, are the least likely to tell us the truth, the whole truth; whereas, free-lance writers, who operate under a different set of rules and out of the mainstream, are more likely to serve the public interest, and tell us what we need to know in order to be a free people, and good world citizens."
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Pete, Nancy, George and WWIII
A quote...."10/25/07 "ICH" -- -- I cheered inside my head when I heard Rep. Stark unbelievably utter his words condemning the murderous acts of BushCo on the House floor, and I was impressed with his candor, compassion and what I consider an appropriate amount of rage and honesty. How many of us were not thinking the same thing about the S-CHIP votes? I knew, however, that it would not be long until Pete Stark had to apologize. It happened today."

Following Hillary over a cliff
A quote...."Zogby’s recent poll asking “Whom would you NEVER vote for president?” was kind of mischievous, wasn’t it? But if I were a member of the Democratic National Committee, not to mention a congressional Democrat, I’d be sweating bullets over it."

See also....You Can STILL Vote to Stop the Madness 10-07-07 - mpg
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US Sanctions on Iran [and other items]
A quote...."These unilateral sanctions clearly reflect frustration on the part of Bush/Cheney that they have not been able to convince the UN Security Council to apply international sanctions. (Iran has not been demonstrated to be doing anything that is illegal in international law.)"

Iran's nuclear negotiator attacks U.S. sanctions
A quote...."TEHRAN, October 26 (RIA Novosti) - Iran's new chief nuclear negotiator said on Friday that by introducing new sanctions against Tehran the United States would only isolate itself."

Iran, Europe views begin to converge on nuclear issue
A quote...."TEHRAN, Oct. 26 (MNA) – Ali Larijani said on Friday that the views of Iran and European countries on nuclear issue is beginning to converge. - “I have no doubt that the views have become closer, especially in negotiations with Mr. Solana in Lisbon which we agreed to move ahead according to the modality plan and that they set aside their adventures,” Larijani told reporters upon return from Europe where he and his successor Saeed Jalili held talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier."

On Track for U.S. Collapse
A quote...."Bush and Cheney are steering the U.S. into a collapse. Only strong public voices by influential people can prevent the coming disaster. We desperately need for men and women who are known to the public and have credibility to speak up in the critical period ahead to avoid catastrophe."

Condi’s (quasi) mea culpa
Sort of like the NYT's regarding the Iraq war...no?  One truly wonders what they're both going to say after the Iranian debacle. - mpg

A quote...."OTTAWA–In a stunning turnaround, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has acknowledged the United States mishandled the case of Maher Arar, the Canadian citizen deported to Syria by American authorities. - But Rice stopped well short yesterday of apologizing for the role American government officials played in Arar's fate."
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The FBI’s Right To Threaten Torture
A quote...."A federal appeals court has concluded that an FBI agent must go to trial on charges he coerced a false confession out of a prime suspect in the 9/11 attacks. But the FBI still insists that its agent did nothing wrong. And the feds swayed the court to suppress that portion of a recent decision detailing how the FBI agent used the threat of torture to break an innocent man."

You better not shout, you better not protest, if you do you’re gonna plead no contest ‘cause the FBI is coming to town

They don't care if you're innocent, they don't care if you're guilty.

All they care about is if you got, no connections to the wealthy.

Oh you better not shout, you better not pry, if you do you're gonna die.

The FBI is coming to town. -- to torture you.

This is one sick, twisted, malevolent government. All you Quakers better start quaking, all you librarians better start living in fear....because the good 'ol FBI is here. – mpg
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9/11 - From The History File...Judicial Watch Releases New FBI Documents: Osama bin Laden May Have
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Targeting Iraqis as ‘Big Game’
A quote...."Nor is there anything new about Americans treating racial and ethnic enemies as the equivalent of animals to be abused or killed. In his memoir of the Vietnam War, Dispatches, acclaimed combat correspondent Michael Herr, for example, recalled a young soldier from the Army's 1st Infantry Division who admitted, "Well, you know what we do to animals…. kill ‘em and hurt ‘em and beat on ‘em…. Shit, we don't treat the Dinks [Vietnamese] no different than that." Another veteran, quoted elsewhere remembered, "As soon as I hit boot camp…. they tried to change your total personality…. Right away they told us not to call them Vietnamese. Call them gooks, dinks…. They were like animals, or something other than human…. They told us they're not to be treated with any type of mercy…" Today, the slurs of the Vietnam era have been replaced by "haji" and "raghead," while the big-game hunters and the language that goes with killing animals have added to the atmosphere of dehumanization."

U.S. diplomats will be ordered to serve in Iraq
A quote...."WASHINGTON - The State Department said Friday it will begin ordering diplomats to serve in Iraq because of a lack of volunteers to work at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the first such large-scale call-up since the Vietnam War." - bold/italics by website author

Classify this one under humor. - mpg
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"Everything they couldn't take they destroyed"
A quote....""Don't ask what they stole, ask what they left," dryly jokes Khaled, a Palestinian refugee from Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon. It was evident from what remained of the crown molding along the ceiling that his three-story house was once grand. Now, only one year after the seven-year process of building the house was completed, the structure is largely destroyed and its contents looted."

Lebanese army opens fire on intruding Israeli jets
A quote...."MARJAYOUN, Lebanon - Lebanese troops opened fire on two Israeli jets flying low over the south of the country on Thursday, the police and army said."

Turkey bombs Kurdish targets on Iraq border
A quote...."Ankara: Turkish helicopters and fighter jets pounded Kurdish rebel positions yesterday as diplomatic efforts began in Ankara to avert a major offensive against the guerrillas based in northern Iraq."

US's Largest Anti-War Coalition Decries Unilateral Sanctions, Oct 27 Anti-War Marches to Call for No War on Iran
Action Alert - A quote...."United for Peace and Justice, the country's largest anti war coalition and organizer of the October 27th National Day of Action to End the War in Iraq, today spoke out against unilateral sanctions against Iran as announced by the Bush Administration today."

Anti-war activists ramp up for protest on Saturday in San Francisco
Action Alert - A quote...." Saturday's demonstration, which starts at 11 a.m. at Civic Center, is one of 11 anti-war protests around the United States that organizers hope will draw 1 million people. The San Francisco rally will feature speakers such as East Bay Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Cindy Sheehan, who told reporters Wednesday that she wants President Bush tried as a war criminal and impeached - even after he leaves office in 2009."

Torture Complaint Filed Against Rumsfeld
A quote...."American and European rights groups filed a legal complaint in France accusing former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of responsibility for torture in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay. - The complaint was filed with the Paris prosecutor's office as Rumsfeld arrived in France for a visit, according to the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights and two Paris-based groups, the International Federation of Human Rights and the League of Human Rights."

What the Media Won't Tell You: The Military is Supporting Anti-War candidates
A quote...."While you probably won’t hear this on the mainstream media, the Center for Responsive Politics has provided me with information about the military contributions that are going to both parties candidates. While the military heavily favored the Republican Party in the last Presidential Elections, the trend is changing. The top candidate for contributions from military members is surprisingly Ron Paul. This, from a former career military man, warms my heart. This goes to show that military people think, and don’t blindly follow leader's with pro-military agenda’s."

Officials balked on '05 Blackwater inquiry - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."Even as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended her department's oversight of private security contractors, new evidence surfaced Thursday that the U.S. sought to conceal details of Blackwater shootings of Iraqi civilians more than two years ago. - In one instance, internal e-mails show that State Department officials tried to deflect a 2005 Los Angeles Times inquiry into an alleged killing of an Iraqi civilian by Blackwater guards.

How to "spin" the news and make gunning down a bunch of civilians as no big deal.  Keep in mind gentle reader it could happen to you or your family one day. – mpg
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US disaster agency apologizes for fake 'reporters' - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - The main U.S. disaster-response agency apologized on Friday for having its employees pose as reporters in a news briefing on California's wildfires that no journalists attended." - italics/underline by website author

Good ol'FEMA, not the brightest bunch of people, after all if they had just emulated the Bush administration and had their own bought and paid for, "in-bed-with", sycophantic, bootlicking, presstitutes from our nation's faux-media attend their press conference as regularly as they attend Bush's, there would have been no need for all this embarrassing rigmarole. – mpg
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Bank of the South opening delayed until December
A quote...."The official opening of the Bank of the South, a development-promotion financial institution with the support of most South American countries has been delayed until December 5, announced Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs minister Nicolas Maduro."

President Chavez announces US$6 billion China-Venezuela Strategic Fund
A quote...."ABN News Service: Venezuelam President Hugo Chavez Frias has announced approval for a China-Venezuela Strategic Fund of US$6 billion. - �We were already politically agree ... four billion dollars from China and two billion from Venezuela ... a total of US$6 billion aimed at productive investment.� "

20th Russia-EU summit winds up in Portugal
A quote...."MAFRA (Portugal), October 26 (RIA Novosti) - The 20th Russia-EU summit ended in Portugal on Friday with a host of announcements on energy and economic issues from both Russia and the European Union."

Putin compares US shield to Cuba
A quote...."Russian President Vladimir Putin has compared US plans for a missile shield in Europe to the Cuban missile crisis of the 1960s."

Russia set to launch 5 ballistic missiles by yearend
A quote...."VLASIKHA (Moscow Region), October 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Strategic Missile Forces will conduct five launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles by the end of 2007, the SMF commander said Friday. - "By the end of this year, we will test launch another five missiles, including a RS-18 (SS-19 Stiletto), a RS-12M (SS-25 Sickle), a missile interceptor and a heavy RS-20 (SS-18 Satan)," Colonel General Nikolai Solovtsov told a news conference."

China launches lunar probe. Video - (94 sec./3.43Mb, shows: 222 - Reuters - posted at Novosti)
A quote...."China re-enters the space race as it launches the country's first moon orbiter into space."

Dollar dives to record low against euro
A quote...."The dollar slumped to a record low against the euro on Friday after weak US economic data heightened expectations of a fresh cut to US interest rates next week, dealers said."

Oil hits record above $92 on weak dollar, Nigeria - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices shot to an all-time high above $92 a barrel on Friday as the tumbling dollar and Nigerian output disruptions helped extend a rally that has lifted prices nearly 30 percent since August."

CO2 Levels Begin Accelerated Climb
A quote...."BROOKLIN, Canada, Oct 26 (IPS) - Global warming has been compared to a slow-moving train wreck, in which the passengers are blissfully unaware of the coming catastrophe. - With the shocking loss of the Arctic sea ice this summer and several new reports this week that oceans and tropical forests are now absorbing less of the world's steadily rising carbon emissions, our collective train wreck appears to have already tipped into fast forward."
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Airbus A380: on board the superjumbo
A quote...."Adrian Bridge joined 454 other passengers on the first flight of the mighty - and mightily hyped - Airbus A380. Is it the future of flying?"

"After all the fanfare and loud proclamations, the new A380 superjumbo began active service surprisingly quietly."

Tomgram: Jack Miles, Baghdad to Bush: You Have 14 Months
Must Read - A quote...."The oil game in Iraq may be almost up. On September 29th, like a landlord serving notice, the government of Iraq announced that the next annual renewal of the United Nations Security Council mandate for a multinational force in Iraq -- the only legal basis for a continuation of the American occupation -- will be the last. That was, it seems, the first shoe to fall. The second may be an announcement terminating the little-noticed, but crucial companion Security Council mandate governing the disposition of Iraq's oil revenues."

To the filthy rich of this country who started this misbegotten war.  It's their oil, have the dignity and courage to acknowledge that fundamental fact, have the wisdom to understand you can never change it no matter how many people you murder, have the decency to end this carnage and have the good grace to know it's time for you TO LEAVE - NOW! – mpg
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United States Of America Is Turning Into An Orwellian Dystopia
Must Read - A quote...."George Orwell was born in 1903 and died in 1950 after a long struggle with tuberculosis. Early in life he learned to be suspicious of authority and to hate empire while developing a compassion for the poor. In 1936 he joined the Spanish Civil War, like thousands of volunteers who joined the Lincoln Brigade to fight on the side of the republic against fascist Gen. Francisco Franco and his Falange Party. More than half of the volunteers died in battle. Orwell was injured and nearly died."

Bush's Free-Fire Zones
Must Read - A quote..."Determined to gain the upper hand in Iraq and Afghanistan, George W. Bush has turned large portions of the two countries into near free-fire zones where any resistance, even in populated areas, is met with aggressive tactics that often kill civilians."
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U.S. military steps up war-zone airstrikes
Related article - A quote...."The U.S. military has increased airstrikes in Iraq four-fold this year, reflecting a steep escalation in combat operations aimed at al-Qaeda and other militants. - Coalition forces launched 1,140 airstrikes in the first nine months of this year compared with 229 in all of last year, according to military statistics."

US soldiers shy from battle in Iraq
A quote...."WATERTOWN, New York - Iraq war veterans now stationed at a base here in upstate New York say that morale among US soldiers in the country is so poor, many are simply parking their Humvees and pretending to be on patrol, a practice dubbed "search and avoid" missions"

Afghanistan is lost, says Lord Ashdown
A quote...."Nato has "lost in Afghanistan" and its failure to bring stability there could provoke a regional sectarian war "on a grand scale", according to Lord Ashdown."

British troops 'to depend on rented helicopters'
A quote...."British troops in Afghanistan could soon be relying for their resupply on rented civilian helicopters.- Nato defence ministers meeting in the Netherlands last night were discussing the plan after several European members refused to meet a shortfall in transport helicopters."

The rest of Europe has come to realize that this whole "Afghanistan thing" is part and parcel of the US Neocons' plan for a New Roman Empire....and they don't want to pay for it. - mpg
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US Military Ignored Evidence of Iraqi-Made EFPs
A quote...."When the US military command accused the Iranian Quds Force last January of providing the armor-piercing EFPs (explosively formed penetrators) that were killing US troops, it knew that Iraqi machine shops had been producing their own EFPs for years, a review of the historical record of evidence on EFPs in Iraq shows. - The record also shows that the US command had considerable evidence that the Mahdi army had gotten the technology and the training on how to use it from Hezbollah rather than Iran. - The command, operating under close White House supervision, chose to deny these facts in making the dramatic accusation that became the main rationale for the present aggressive US stance toward Iran."

Hope no one's surprised by this, if you are, you're pretty stupid. - mpg

For more on this issue see...Fake Intel - IED's and EFP's
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9/11 - From The History File...THE TOP 40 REASONS TO DOUBT THE OFFICIAL STORY OF 9/11
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Chris Floyd for Glenn Greenwald: People get ready -- one shoe away from war with Iran
War Warning - A quote...."This is the sound of one shoe dropping: - "Ratcheting up the pressure on Tehran, the United States on Thursday designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a proliferater of weapons of mass destruction and its elite Qods force a supporter of terrorism. In total, Washington slapped sanctions on more than 20 Iranian companies, major banks and individuals, as well as the Defense Ministry, in a bid to pressure Tehran to halt its nuclear program and curb its 'terrorist' activities."

Kucinich: Bush Wants More War
A quote...."10/25/07 "ICH" -- -- WASHINGTON, DC - October 25 - Today, the Bush Administration announced additional sanctions on Iran and labeled the Revolutionary Guard Corps as proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and a unit of the Corps – the Quds Force – as a “specially designed global terrorist.” Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) charged the Administration with drumming up support for a war with Iran."

Interview with Dennis Kucinich; "Fear is not a basis to run a government in a Democracy."
Interview - Rob Kall interviews Dennis Kucinich - A quote...."I interviewed Dennis Kucinich about the details of a plan to refuse to fund the war. What would it look like? He replied with the quote in the title in answer to my comment that Democrats are not refusing to fund the war because they are afraid the Republicans will accuse them of refusing to fund the troops. Here's the transcript of the interview:"

US to transfer $410 million to PA
A quote...."'Unprecedented amount' part of effort to strengthen Abbas in battle against Hamas for public opinion. Finance Minister Bar-On: International community must aid PA economic recovery"

Much Like Auschwitz
A quote..." On Monday 22 October, in the quiet hours before dawn, hundreds of soldiers from two notoriously brutal army units, code-named Nachshon and Massada, stormed the prisoner camp for what was described as a "routine inspection". During these routine inspections, inmates are forced to take off their clothes and are subject to every imaginable form of humiliation. Whoever protests is normally placed in open-ended solitary confinement."

Torture, Paramilitarism, Occupation and Genocide
Must Read - A quote...."On October 5, George Bush confronted a public uproar and defended his administration claiming "This government does not torture people." Again he lied. Once secret US Department of Justice (DOJ) legal opinions confirm the Bush administration condones torture by endorsing "the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency." It also condones paramilitary thuggery, oppressive occupation, and genocide. This unholy combination is the ugly face of an imperial nation run by war criminals. That's the state of things today. First, the practice of torture."

Attack Iran and you attack Russia & Ahmadinejad, Iran's Putin?
A quote from the first article...."The barely reported highlight of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Tehran for the Caspian Sea summit last week was a key face-to-face meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei."

Interesting views on internal Iranian politics. - mpg
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Seven Questions: A Conversation with Zbigniew Brzezinski
Interview - FP interviews Zbigniew Brzezinski - A quote...."Vladimir Putin’s Russia is growing more authoritarian at home and increasingly aggressive abroad. China’s global clout seems to expand by the day. And in the Middle East, a possible conflict with Iran looms on the horizon. For insights on this dangerous new world, FP turned to Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S. national security advisor, author, and all-around foreign-policy guru."

The business press and me: a case of unrequited love
A quote...."On a recent visit to Calgary, Alberta, I was taken aback to see my book on disaster capitalism selling briskly at the airport. Calgary is ground zero of North America's oil and gas boom, where business suits and cowboy hats are the de facto uniform. I had a sudden sinking feeling: did Calgary's business class think The Shock Doctrine was a how-to guide - a manual for making millions from catastrophe? Were they hoping for tips on landing no-bid contracts if the US bombs Iran?"

China says economy grew 11.5 pct. in 3Q
A quote...."BEIJING --China's sizzling economy grew by an eye-popping 11.5 percent in the third quarter, surging ahead despite official efforts to cool the boom and putting it on track to overtake Germany as the world's third-largest, according to data reported Thursday."

Sort'a funny that the US is averaging around three percent GDP a year while China's getting eleven percent, guess New Roman Empires can be really expensive huh? – mpg
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Merrill Lynch reports billions in losses amidst growing signs of US recession
War Warning - A quote...."Merrill Lynch & Co., the world’s largest brokerage firm, reported a net third-quarter loss of $2.4 billion Wednesday and acknowledged writing off $8.4 billion in assets from failed investments in subprime mortgage-linked securities."

US crude oil surges to all-time high
War Warning - A quote...."US crude oil futures surged to a new all-time record, fuelled by concerns about supply ahead of the winter after Wednesday's inventory data showed surprise draws in crude and product stocks."

Why are the two articles shown above War Warnings?  See....Standard Disclaimer
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Chavez blames US for high oil price
Full Quote - Venezuela's president has predicted the price of crude oil heading for USD 100, calling US responsible for the increasing oil prices. - Hugo Chavez said, " if the United States keeps threatening oil-producing countries or trying to destabilize us like they did in Iraq, the price of oil is going to continue rising.'' - Oil futures closed at a new record of USD 90.46 a barrel Thursday on news that OPEC production increases will be slow in coming, and output quotas won't likely be raised at next month's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. - Chavez also accused US President George W. Bush of "threatening World War III with atomic weapons."  - bold/italics by website author


Hey Hugo, yeah and so?  Your point is Bush's buds and the MIOC elites are making buco bucks.  No doubt it's all an accident of chance....yeah that's it, it's one of them there "fortuitous" circumstances.

Oh Oh - this editor used that "f" word again.

It's all Hugo's fault, he has this unfortunate and extremely rude tendency of telling the truth...how vulgar.  – mpg
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Creating Our Own Hell on Earth
A quote...."In the past five days, parts of southern California have become out-of-control, raging infernos as another hot dry summer turns dehydrated forests into combustible tinder‑boxes. On October 21, 2007, CBS 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley reported that “recently there has been an enormous change in Western fires. In truth, we’ve never seen anything like them in recorded history. It appears we’re living in a new age of mega-fires — forest infernos ten times bigger than the fires we’re used to seeing.” According to the number of acres burned, 7 of the 10 busiest forest fire seasons in the United States have occurred since 1999 based on records going back 47 fire seasons to 1960."

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Were Those Cruise Missiles Targeted? Did Anybody Check?
A quote...."He wants to know if the six nuclear-tipped Advanced Cruise Missiles that were improperly removed from a guarded bunker at the Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota and flown in launch position on a wing pod of a B-52H Stratofortress bomber on Aug. 29-30 to Barksdale AFB were programmed with targeting information."

See also...False Flag Ops - Barksdale / B-52 Loose Nukes Incident
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Police could not find any fingerprints on Dr Kelly's 'suicide' knife
A quote...."Renowned bioweapons expert died days after being outed as a source for media accusations that Tony Blair was telling lies to kick-start the Iraq war - Fresh doubts were raised over the suicide of Dr David Kelly after it emerged that no fingerprints were found on the knife he supposedly used to kill himself. - The Hutton Inquiry into the death of the Ministry of Defence weapons expert ruled that he slashed one of his wrists with a blunt garden knife and took an overdose of pills."

Robert Fisk: Secret armies pose sinister new threat to Lebanon
A quote...."Lebanon is peopled with ghosts. But the phantoms now returning to haunt this damaged country –the militias which tore it apart more than 30 years ago – are real. Guns are flooding back into the country – $800 for an AK-47, $3,700 for a brand-new French Famas – as Lebanon security apparatus hunt desperately for the leadership of the new and secret armies."

Pentagon Used Independent Military Newspaper For Pro-Bush PR Campaign
A quote..."The Pentagon has engaged in an aggressive U.S. grassroots efforts to drum up support for Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the guise of supporting the troops. A central front in this effort has been the "non-political" America Supports You (ASY) program. (One branch of ASY is Operation Straight Up, an "evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among active-duty members of the US military.")"

Shame on NBC for Banning Mike Gravel From Its Next Debate
The elites are already trying to squeeze out those representatives not completely beholden to them.  This is one very good sign that Mike Gravel should be one of those few representatives the electorate should consider come this November 2008. – mpg

To the American voters: Instead of voting for one of the three stooges, Hillary, Giuliani, or Obama, why not think about Kucinich, Gravel, Edwards or Ron Paul.

See also....You Can STILL Vote to Stop the Madness 10-07-07 - mpg
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The California wildfires and the American social crisis
A quote...."As in Hurricane Katrina, the wildfires in southern California have laid bare the social crisis of a country riven by class inequality and imprisoned in an economic system dominated by the profit interests of a tiny minority of millionaires and billionaires. The richest country in the world, able to wage two wars simultaneously on the other side of the world, is incapable of providing adequate resources for so elementary a public service as firefighting."

White House Cut Warming Impact Testimony
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House severely edited congressional testimony given Tuesday by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the impact of climate change on health, removing specific scientific references to potential health risks, according to two sources familiar with the documents."

Jim Rogers Shifts Assets Out of Dollar to Buy Yuan
A quote...."The U.S. dollar is and has been the world's reserve currency, the world's medium of exchange,'' he said. ``That's in the process of changing. The pound sterling, which used to be the world's reserve currency, lost 80 percent of its value, top to bottom, as it went through the whole period of losing its status as the world's reserve currency.''