Christianity and War
Must View Videos -- note: it has an autoload feature -- A quote...."On June 8, 2008, Laurence Vance gave the following speech at the Future of Freedom Foundation’s conference Restoring the Republic 2008: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties. The speech can viewed below in its entirety."

"Violence against Iraqi women continues unabated", says UN expert
A quote...."GENEVA – "Iraqi women have seen their rights eroded in all areas of life while the world observes from afar," warns the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Yakin Ertürk, on the International Day on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25 November)."

Sewage Saturates Sadr City as Billions Fail to Reconstruct Iraq
A quote...."Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) — Spare tires come in handy in Sadr City when lakes of sewage overflow trenches or bubble up from broken underground pipes. Pedestrians pull them from at-ready stacks to create a foot bridge across the excrement."

For more regarding the two articles shown above see....Child Abuse
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Security Blanket: Western Democracy and the Strategy of Tension
Must Read - A quote...."The idea that a democratic government would deliberately create fake "extremist groups" then send them out to foment violence and terrorism -- in order to discredit legitimate opposition to elite rule and to "justify" authoritarian powers -- has long been derided in "serious" circles as that worst of modern heresies: "conspiracy theory." Anyone advancing such a preposterous notion is instantly relegated to the ranks of the "lunatic fringe," and dismissed with varying degrees of contempt and condescension."

Rebuilding the Nation on a Foundations of Sand
Must Read - A quote...."November 25, 2008 "Information Clearinghouse" -- IF Obama were serious: Then he would condemn those who have led this nation to the brink of self-annihilation as a people. Those people responsible must be excoriated: literally purged: Utterly prohibited from taking part in any political act, ever again. Such a statement would have required a call for open and thorough investigations of everything; beginning with 911 and continuing through all aspects of the Attack-upon-America by the financial-tsunami that has now overshadowed all other political considerations. This last attack upon us all has been compartmentalized by the global criminal-enterprise that caused it: and in this process has crushed any remnant of US financial credibility. Of course as a ‘practical matter’ the above is nearly impossible—yet it must at some point, be undertaken!"

Defense Secretary Said to Be Staying On
 25 Nov 2008 President-elect Barack Obama has decided to keep Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in a show of bipartisan continuity supplication and sellout in a time of war, the first time a Pentagon chief has been carried over from a president of a different party, Democrats close to the transition said Tuesday." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

Obama Chooses Wall Street Over Main Street
A quote...."Maybe Ralph Nader was right in predicting that the same Wall Street hustlers would have a lock on our government no matter which major party won the election. I hate to admit it, since it wasn’t that long ago that I heatedly challenged Nader in a debate on this very point. -- But how else is one to respond to Barack Obama’s picking the very folks who helped get us into this financial mess to now lead us out of it?"

Obama, Bush & The War Crimes
A quote...."By Ari Melber | Many Washington Republicans and Democrats agree on one maxim for President-elect Barack Obama: This is no time to look back at the past administration’s rocky record on executive power and the rule of law."  --  It'll never happen, see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil Bombs Away O-Bomb-a won't do a thing.  - mpg

RIGHTS-US:  No Amnesty for Cheney et al, Say Torture Opponents
Related Article - A quote...."WASHINGTON, Nov 25 (IPS) - Judging by the rare leaks from President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, investigations and prosecutions of high-level George W. Bush administration officials for torture and war crimes are a distant prospect. But likely or not, that won't stop pundits from debating the question of whether those officials responsible should be held accountable. -- also posted at CommonDreams

The Bailout, the Media, and the War Party -- Yes, they're connected…
A quote...."One is hardly ever shocked anymore: that seems to be the defining characteristic of modernity. Yet I got to experience that rare sensation the other day when I read this blog item on LewRockwell.com. Aha! I thought. So that's why the MSNBCers are hailing the Big Bailout at the top of their lungs – their parent company, General Electric, also owns GE Capital, which was declared "too big to fail" and given its bailout infusion the day after the election."
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In Iraq, Former Enemies on the US Payroll
A quote...."The last time I met Saif Abdallah, in the winter of 2006, he was proud to have helped kill dozens, possibly hundreds of American soldiers. Then 28, he was a geeky electronics engineer who made trigger devices for roadside bombs known as IEDs — the No. 1 cause of U.S. troop casualties. I remember the relish he took in listing his clients, most of them Iraqi Sunni insurgent groups, whom he saw as fellow patriots trying to drive out the American occupier. He had also devised triggers for al-Qaeda. "They pay me," he said then with a shrug. "Anybody who wants to kill American soldiers, if they pay me, I work for them."   --  Guess who pays him now? The American taxpayer."

Gee wiz, the Time's article sounds almost as if they're scolding Abdallah's efforts to become an "American style" entrepreneur and make a 'little money'.  Which is quite surprising really, because none of our mass-media have ever scolded the Bush boys regarding their involvement with 9/11 (or even investigated what really happened on that fateful day) or how the Bush boys and their “friends” made the world's biggest pile of cash from that little episode, or the US Military Industrial Complex which last year alone spent more money on their murder and mayhem shopping spree than all the other countries in the world combined .  Besides, Time missed the most important point, the US-NRE has supported or continues to support, in one way or another, every single "terrorist" group out there (the only two exceptions to that support as far as this editor can tell being Hamas and Hezbollah).  For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror - mpg

The neocons' war on the English language
A quote...."Growing up and then attending college in America's deep south, I was taught that when it came to the English language liberals were like Humpty Dumpty. What with their "deconstruction" and "post-modernism" and "relativism" those leftists – linguistic anarchists! literary terrorists! – could make a word mean "just what I choose it to mean".

Cynthia McKinney Prevented From Leaving U.S.
A quote...."Former Congresswoman and presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney has been prevented from leaving the country after she planned to give a speech in Damascus Syria at a Conference being held to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

A Funny Thing Happened to Me on My Way to the Way to Damascus
Related Article - A quote...."By Cynthia McKinney -- November 25, 2008 "Information Clearinghouse" --- Today, November 23rd, I was slated to give remarks in Damascus, Syria at a Conference being held to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, sadly, the 60th year that the Palestinian people have been denied their Right of Return enshrined in that Universal Declaration.  But a funny thing happened to me while at the Atlanta airport on my way to the Conference:  I was not allowed to exit the country."

Discontent over Maliki threatens US-Iraqi security pact
A quote...."Baghdad -  A wave of discontent with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has spilled over into opposition to a crucial pact governing a US troop withdrawal from Iraq, leaving Iraqi officials scrambling to find enough votes to pass the legislation in parliament."

Source: US Plans to Stage Bomb Attacks in Iraq
False Flag Alert - A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- US troops plan to launch a series of bomb attacks in different parts of Iraq to force the country's parliament to approve the controversial security pact through insecurity in the war-torn country, a source said."

Afghanistan demands 'timeline' for end of military intervention
Wow!  They actually think they're still an independent country. - mpg -- A quote...."November 25, 2008 "AFP" -- - President Hamid Karzai demanded on Tuesday at a meeting with a UN Security Council team that the international community set a "timeline" for ending military intervention in Afghanistan, his office said. -- Karzai told a delegation from the Council that his country needed to know how long the US-led "war on terror" was going to be fought in Afghanistan or it would be forced to seek a political solution to a Taliban-led insurgency."

Gaza held hostage should outrage us all
A quote...."There are 1.5 million men, women and children currently imprisoned without food, water, fuel or essential medicines. There is little to cook and nothing to cook on except open-air wood fires."

Israel bans press in the Gaza Strip - Guess the Israelis can't get em-bed wi'them like the US-NRE did. - mpg
A quote...."For nearly three weeks Israel has blocked access to the Gaza Strip. Foreign journalists are challenging the Gaza ban in court, calling it a 'blow' to freedom of the press."

Appointing Hillary Clinton Secretary of State
Special Note - A quote...."In 2005 Hillary Clinton stood in Palestine and praised the apartheid wall that the government of Israel was building with large amounts of U.S. aid in furtherance of the Zionist goal of destroying one of the world’s peoples -- the Palestinians. This is the wall that the United Nations’ World Court has declared contrary to international law. And this is just one example of Hillary Clinton’s total support for all of Israel’s policies to oppress and eventually expel whatever elements of the Palestinian population remain west of the Jordan River."

The Democrats Owe Jimmy Carter an Apology - Don't Suppress Carter (or the Opportunities for Middle East Peace)
A quote...."By Ralph Nader -- Now that the season of electoral expediency is over, Barack Obama owes Jimmy Carter an apology. -- At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, the Party denied Jimmy Carter the traditional invitation to speak that is accorded its former presidents. -- According to The Jewish Daily Forward, “Carter's controversial views on Israel cost him a place on the podium at the Democratic Party convention in late August, senior Democratic operatives acknowledged to the Forward.” -- also posted at PalestineChronicle

Venezuela's Chavez eyes oil price band
A quote...."CARACAS, Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez said he is proposing that OPEC countries consider setting a price range for oil of $80 to $100 a barrel to stabilize the global market. Chavez raised his proposal for an oil price band Monday night, along with other proposals Venezuela is promoting among fellow oil exporters. "Let's look for a band between $80 and $100; we're thinking about that," Chavez said. "We think that price would be a fair price for oil."

Colombia: Stop false accusations against human rights groups, government should address reported abuses
Amnesty International Press Release -- A quote...."(Washington/London) President Álvaro Uribe of Colombia should stop making false and dangerous accusations against human rights groups that criticize his government, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today in a joint statement. Colombia should instead address the human rights concerns they raise.

U.S. Uses al-Qaeda To Justify Foreign Policy
A quote...."November 25, 2008 "Granma" -- HER book exposes a series of atrocious crimes recently committed by the United States against the Latin American peoples. It is a basic text for understanding the real meaning of the Yankee imperialism. It is the most objective and detailed denunciation that I have read to date, unsurpassed in its style and eloquence. She gives an impressive list of outstanding figures, both military and civilian, vilely assassinated inside and outside their respective countries, including such prestigious personalities as the Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, the Chilean Generals Schneider and Prats, presidents of other nations, as well as the conspiracy in Chile which concluded with the death of Salvador Allende and the establishment of a fascist government. There were U.S. Presidents directly involved, like Nixon, Reagan and Bush Sr. Stella is known in our country for that work."

RIGHTS-ARGENTINA:  Children of the ‘Disappeared’ Tell Their Stories
A quote...."BUENOS AIRES, Nov 25 (IPS) - For the first time, the life stories of children of people forcibly disappeared by Argentina’s 1976-1983 dictatorship have been compiled in a book that sheds light on their experiences."

End of Saakashvili rule is near - Georgian opposition leader
A quote...."TBILISI.  Nov  25  (Interfax)  -  Georgian opposition leader Giorgy Khaindrava  believes  Georgian  President  Mikheil Saakashvili is losing popularity, but is doing everything to retain power."

Georgia started war in South Ossetia – Georgian diplomat
A quote...."Georgia's former ambassador to Russia Erosi Kitsmarishvili has accused his own country of starting the war in South Ossetia. His comments almost led to a fistfight between politicians."

EU MP accuses West of double standards in relations with Russia
A quote...."RIGA, November 25 (RIA Novosti) - European countries are guilty of double standards in their relations with Russia, an Italian member of the European Parliament said on Tuesday."

Czech mayors call on Obama to drop AMD plans
A quote...."Czech mayors have urged U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to drop Washington’s defence plans in Eastern Europe. They say it might turn the continent into a battlefield of international conflict.

The Men Who Killed Kennedy - You'll need some bandwidth for this. - mpg
Multiple Videos

Germany [still] declines comments on three agents arrested for bombing E.U. office in Kosovo
A quote...."Germany declined to comment on on Saturday on reports that three Germans arrested on suspicion of throwing explosives at an EU office in Kosovo were intelligence officers."

500-year war against Vietnam
A quote...."HANOI -- According to a report in the Viet Nam News (Saturday, November 22, 2008), “Statistics show 20.2 percent or 6.6 million hectares (or 66,000 sq. km.) of land are affected by unexploded ordnance in Vietnam. About 104,000 people have been injured or killed this way since 1975.”
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Eve Of Destruction
A quote...."In 1910, seven men held a secret meeting on Jekyll Island off the coast of Georgia. It's estimated that those seven men represented one-sixth of the world's wealth. Six were Americans representing J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and the U.S. government. One was a European representing the Rothschilds and Warburgs."

Another $700 Billion in Aid Scares Europe - [Smoot-Hawley warning number two - for number one see below....]
Special Note -- Keep in mind this article was written before the Fed's NEW, additional, $800 Billion dollar bail out proposal. - mpg -- A quote...."European partners fear the next administration's "protectionism." -- They should. - mpg


Lurching Toward Gomorrah: More Signs Of An Unstoppable Economic Meltdown
A quote...."Crisis denialists are still around but are slowly and grudgingly giving way to the reality that global capitalism is in serious crisis as recession lurches toward depression in a continuing downward spiral."

How Could It Be Worse Than the Great Depression When We Have So Many "Modern Tools" to Address the Crisis?
A quote...."Glass-Steagall and other Depression-era legislation was repealed based upon the claim that the modern financial system was totally stable. -- The basis of this argument? -- Yup, derivatives."  OH MY GAWD!  Our nation's financial security and our well being as a people are in the hands of incompetent, drooling, morons!  We're doomed! - mpg

Fed To Make It Easier For You To Get In Debt - [By adding $800 billion dollars to the federal debt.]
A quote...."Under the new mortgage program, the Fed will buy up to $100 billion of debt issued by government-sponsored mortgage enterprises Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. It will also buy up to $500 billion of mortgage securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae.  --  The central bank also launched a $200 billion facility to support consumer finance, including student, auto, and credit card loans and loans backed by the federal Small Business Administration. This will lend to investors who hold securities backed by this debt. -- Let's see.... Bloomberg just calculated (posted only yesterday) that the total federal commitments for all those various bailouts now amounts to over $7.7 Trillion dollars, adding this little splurge the total figure (probably only good for a couple of days) now comes out to $8.5 Trillion dollars, what the heck, it's only your money. - mpg

More Proof That Uncle Sam Is In Trouble
Financial Alert - Chart - A quote...."PhD economist Marc Faber thinks the U.S. will go bankrupt. He's not alone. -- Credit default swaps betting that America will default on its obligations keeps going up and up and up:"

Sin Citi
Citigroup is being bailed out as I write these words. Now, let's be clear: This is a good thing. But it also stinks, in a very deep, ingrained, infuriating way.  -- Bailing out Citi is a bit like putting out a fire in the house of a very irresponsible fellow down the street who lets his kids play with matches while he's sleeping in a hammock out back. You'd be very happy to see his house burn down, preferably with him in it, but you're afraid that the flames will spread through his unraked leaves to engulf the entire neighborhood.

After Citi, is Bank of America next?
A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - A government rescue plan has eased investors' concerns about Citigroup Inc, but mines lurking in the balance sheets of rivals including Bank of America Corp could still tempt short-sellers."

FDIC adds 54 more banks to its 'problem list'
A quote...."NEW YORK - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday the list of banks it considers to be in trouble shot up nearly 50 percent to 171 during the third quarter—yet another sign of escalating problems among the institutions controlling Americans' deposits."

Foreclosures, delinquencies skyrocketing among 'prime' borrowers
Financial Alert -- A quote...."Nationwide, 3.07% of prime mortgages were in foreclosure or at least 60 days late in the second quarter of this year, easily topping the previous record of 1.97% set in 1985." -- bold/underline by website editor

Home prices in record plunge
Special Note - A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prices of single-family homes plunged a record 17.4 percent in September from a year earlier, according to a key S&P index released on Tuesday." -- bold by website editor

Third-quarter GDP revised down to negative 0.5%
Special Note - A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- In a sign of trouble ahead, the U.S. economy contracted at a slightly faster pace in the third quarter than initially estimated, government data showed Tuesday."

Political earthquakes rock Iceland: Will Populist Anger Force New Elections?
A quote...."In language that, in spirit, occasionally resembles the list of grievances contained in the United States' Declaration of Independence, a group of Icelanders have been recently circulating a petition rejecting the IMF's huge, 2.1 billion dollar financial bailout just negotiated. In a stunning move, these Icelanders are now asking the IMF to not turn over any monies to the same politicians and financial geniuses (sic) who got Iceland into this mess to begin with, and to wait until a new group takes power. It's a radically defiant gesture, a populist one to be sure, but it is also just one of a series of such gestures now rocking this normally placid country."


Collapsing the Economy in the Buildup to World War III: 11 of the Most Important Economic Events of the Last 11 Years -- Must Read - Charts & Graphs -- A quote...."The following will remain the top post for the next few days. It is an update of “10 of the Most Important Economic Events of the Last 10 Years: Collapsing the Economy in the Buildup to World War III ”, which in turn was an update of “7 of the Most Important Economic Events of the Last 7 Years: Collapsing the Economy in the Buildup to World War III.” -- For more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate & Total Nonfarm Payrolls
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Iraq War Foes Get Short Shrift
A quote...."Would Obama pick up on the prescient warning of Dwight Eisenhower about the deforming power of the “military-industrial complex” or on John F. Kennedy’s vision of peace that was “not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war”? -- In the three weeks since his Nov. 4 election victory, the answer seems to be that Barack Obama is viewing his pledge in the most minimal sense. The emerging shape of his incoming administration suggests that Americans who opposed the Iraq War early will continue to be treated as misfits and outsiders, even though Obama was one of them." -- Only to the "disassociated". - mpg

'US should pay compensation to Iraq'
Special Note - Amen !! It'll be somewhere between three to five hundred billion dollars.  A tiny pittance compared to our tax monies the elites are currently spending (stealing) to bail themselves out of their own self induced financial mess. - mpg -- A quote...."An Iraqi lawmaker says the US-Iraq security agreement should oblige Washington to pay compensation for its 2003 invasion of the country.

Taliban not talking peace
Interview - Asia Time's Syed Saleem Shahzad interviews Mullah Mohammad Hasan Rahmani -- A quote...."Amid continuing reports of a renewed initiative to hold peace talks with the Taliban over Afghanistan, and confusion over the Taliban's position, the Taliban leadership decided to outline its stance, and chose Mullah Mohammad Hasan Rahmani to speak with Asia Times Online. -- Rahmani, about 50, is a member of the Taliban's shura (council) and a close adviser to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, with whom he is in daily contact; so much so that in Taliban circles he is considered Mullah Omar's shadow."

Senator accuses US, India, Afghanistan of creating trouble in Balochistan
A quote...."QUETTA: Senate Standing Committee on Interior Chairman Senator Talha Mehmood has accused the United States, India and Afghanistan of conspiring to carve out a ‘Greater Balochistan’ by causing the disintegration of Pakistan."

‘Govt should cut supply line of allied forces’ - Looks like some Pakistanis are getting really ticked off. - mpg
Special Note - A quote...."RAWALPINDI: The government should cut the supply line of NATO and US forces based in Afghanistan and highlight the issue of American missile strikes inside Pakistani territory at the United Nations, Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society said on Monday. Pakistan is providing 90 percent of the logistic support to NATO forces and it can be stopped, former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general Lt Gen (r) Asad Durrani and Admiral (r) Fasih Bukhari told a press conference after a society meeting."

NATO Distances Itself From US Drone Strikes
A quote...."During a visit to NATO headquarters, Pakistani Senate Defense Committee Chairman Nisar Memon brought up the issue of the US unilateral drone strikes into Pakistan, warning that they are damaging the reputation of not just the US, but its allies in the Afghan war as well. Sen. Memon says the NATO officials unequivocally insisted there was no mandate to launch attacks across the border into Pakistan." -- bold by website editor -- So?  All this talk of legality, the constitution, international treaties, the UN, legal mandates, the Geneva Conventions, it's all so...."quaint". - mpg

ElBaradei: No Legal Basis for Curbing Syria’s IAEA Rights
A quote...."The IAEA released a report on its investigation into allegations regarding Syria on Wednesday. The verdict was inconclusive, they found no definitive evidence of any wrongdoing but called for future investigations. Nevertheless, unproven accusations were sufficient for the United States and the European Union to call for the suspension of IAEA aid to Syria. At the moment the IAEA’s aid to Syria consists of a three year, $350,000 project to help find a suitable location for a hypothetical nuclear power plant."

War of the Worlds
A quote...."November 24, 2008 "Information Clearinghouse" --- WHEN the HG Wells classic War of the Worlds was turned into a movie for the silver screen in 1953 the West was in the grip of the Cold War. -- The film adaptation of the alien invasion was designed to send out a subliminal warning message to those who viewed communism as something exotic which jointly aroused curiosity and excitement."

The slow death of Gaza
A quote...."It has been two weeks since Israel imposed a complete closure of Gaza, after months when its crossings have been open only for the most minimal of humanitarian supplies. Now it is even worse: two weeks without United Nations food trucks for the 80% of the population entirely dependent on food aid, and no medical supplies or drugs for Gaza's ailing hospitals. No fuel (paid for by the EU) for Gaza's electricity plant, and no fuel for the generators during the long blackouts. Last Monday morning, 33 trucks of food for UN distribution were finally let in – a few days of few supplies for very few, but as the UN asks, then what?" -- It's called collective punishment of the Gaza Ghetto. - mpg -- also posted at ICH

Eyes Wide Shut
A quote...."The day before yesterday, two documents appeared side by side in Ha'aretz: a giant advertisement from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the results of a public opinion poll. -- The proximity was accidental, but to the point. The PLO ad sets out the details of the 2002 Saudi peace offer, decorated with the colorful flags of the 22 Arab and the 35 other Muslim countries that have endorsed the offer. -- The public opinion poll predicts a landslide victory for Likud, which opposes every single word of the Saudi proposal." -- also posted at CounterPunch

Iran claims Israel spy ring broken
A quote...."Iran's revolutionary guards ratcheted up the war of nerves with Israel yesterday by claiming to have broken a spy network run by Mossad, the Israeli espionage agency. -- The guards' commander-in-chief, Muhammad Ali Jafari, said they had arrested Israeli-trained agents and seized hi-tech communications equipment. -- Two days ago, Iran announced it had hanged a businessman who allegedly admitted spying for Israel. -- Jafari said the latest group arrested had confessed to having been trained in Israel to carry out assassinations and bombings. He did not specify how many people had been held. But he told the semi-official news agency Mehr that the group had sought information about the revolutionary guards, military intelligence officials and Iran's nuclear programme, which Israel and the west fear is designed to produce an atomic bomb."

Outstanding Work By Memory Hole
Special Note - Press Caught Facilitating Terror Again -- A quote...."Google News results for "Rashid Rauf": 1,753 ---  Google News results for "Rashid Rauf Suskind": 0  ---  Here's what just happened to Rashid Rauf:" -- Yeah our authorities, with full cooperation of the presstitutes keep changing the names of suspects when they want to.  Here's an example from the video 9/11 - Press for Truth, which took about two minutes to find.... - mpg


Russia says U.S. mercs fought for Georgia
A quote...."ST PETERSBURG, Russia November 24, 2008 (Reuters) – Russia has evidence that citizens from NATO member states including the United States and Turkey fought for Georgia in the five-day August war, Russia's top investigator said on Monday." -- also posted at RougeGov

Once Considered Invincible, Chávez Takes a Blow
A quote...."Though Mr. Chávez’s allies won 17 of the 22 states in Sunday’s vote, his opponents did well in some poor urban areas, and in states like Zulia, where much of Venezuela’s oil is produced; Carabobo, the home of auto manufacturers and petrochemical plants; and Táchira, rich in agriculture and cattle. Mr. Chávez framed the elections as a plebiscite on his evolving revolutionary ideology, but voters appeared to focus on more mundane concerns like inflation, which at more than 30 percent is the highest rate in Latin America, and fears that an economic boom might be sputtering to an end as oil prices plunge, forcing Mr. Chávez to reconsider his spending plans. -- Violent crime, an Achilles’ heel for Mr. Chávez, also weighed heavily on voters." -- Time for Chavez to devote a little more time to bread and butter issues and a little less time strutting around on the world stage spreading the gospel of the Bolivarian revolution. - mpg
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U.S. Pledges Top $7.7 Trillion to Ease Frozen Credit (Update2)
A quote...."Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government is prepared to provide more than $7.76 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers after guaranteeing $306 billion of Citigroup Inc. debt yesterday. The pledges, amounting to half the value of everything produced in the nation last year, are intended to rescue the financial system after the credit markets seized up 15 months ago."  -- bold/underline by website editor

Citibank Is The Third Largest Holder of Derivatives. Do You Know Who Number 1 and 2 Are?
A quote...."Citibank was the biggest, and was considered one of the most stable, banks a little while ago. But its derivatives exposure killed it. -- However, Citibank was only the third largest holder of derivatives as of June. -- Who were number 1 and 2? -- JP Morgan holds around three times more derivatives than Citigroup. And Bank of America is number 2."

The Citigroup Deal is Lousy for America
A quote....


You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
A quote...."It is vital to realize that markets are never under some obligation to stop falling merely because they have already fallen by an ungodly amount. It also is vital to explore how bad the worst-case scenario can get and to think about how you would respond if it comes to pass."

All the Talk of a Depression Is, Um, Depressing
A quote...."Barack Obama is now calling for a major stimulus and job creation effort, but outlining it and getting it done will be quite different and difficult. Creating two and a half million new jobs by 2011 is a good goal, but seems far off in a country where official unemployment now stands at ten million and so many need relief now. Ditto for debt relief, a topic no one is even talking about."

The Dog That Didn't Bark In The Night
Full quote...."As the disappointments with the new regime come thick and fast, it would be tedious to list them all. But one is worth mentioning, since as an offense of omission it might escape notice. -- President-elect Obama just made public the choices for his administration's "economic team." What sort of signal does it send that a Secretary of Labor was not among them? -- Capital seems more than adequately represented."

US home prices at 2004 levels, sales off 3.1 pct
Imagine that!  All that anguish, all that hair pulling, all that sobbing, all because home prices are "at (gasp!) 2004 levels".  This is 2008 folks, that was just four years ago.  Overly high expectations (commonly called excessive greed and avarice) can cause someone to lose their sense of restraint, or their perspective, or both....which can be quite costly at times.  This market has a long way to go. -- A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) — Nationwide sales of existing homes fell more than expected last month, as economic fears made buyers leery even though prices plunged to the lowest level in more than four years. And the decline is expected to get worse because October's results reflect sales contracts signed before Wall Street's nosedive."


Collapsing the Economy in the Buildup to World War III: 11 of the Most Important Economic Events of the Last 11 Years -- Must Read - Charts & Graphs -- A quote...."The following will remain the top post for the next few days. It is an update of “10 of the Most Important Economic Events of the Last 10 Years: Collapsing the Economy in the Buildup to World War III ”, which in turn was an update of “7 of the Most Important Economic Events of the Last 7 Years: Collapsing the Economy in the Buildup to World War III.” -- For more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate & Total Nonfarm Payrolls
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Iraq War Foes Get Short Shrift
A quote...."Would Obama pick up on the prescient warning of Dwight Eisenhower about the deforming power of the “military-industrial complex” or on John F. Kennedy’s vision of peace that was “not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war”? -- In the three weeks since his Nov. 4 election victory, the answer seems to be that Barack Obama is viewing his pledge in the most minimal sense. The emerging shape of his incoming administration suggests that Americans who opposed the Iraq War early will continue to be treated as misfits and outsiders, even though Obama was one of them." -- Only to the "disassociated". - mpg

'US should pay compensation to Iraq'
Special Note - Amen !! It'll be somewhere between three to five hundred billion dollars.  A tiny pittance compared to our tax monies the elites are currently spending (stealing) to bail themselves out of their own self induced financial mess. - mpg -- A quote...."An Iraqi lawmaker says the US-Iraq security agreement should oblige Washington to pay compensation for its 2003 invasion of the country.

Taliban not talking peace
Interview - Asia Time's Syed Saleem Shahzad interviews Mullah Mohammad Hasan Rahmani -- A quote...."Amid continuing reports of a renewed initiative to hold peace talks with the Taliban over Afghanistan, and confusion over the Taliban's position, the Taliban leadership decided to outline its stance, and chose Mullah Mohammad Hasan Rahmani to speak with Asia Times Online. -- Rahmani, about 50, is a member of the Taliban's shura (council) and a close adviser to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, with whom he is in daily contact; so much so that in Taliban circles he is considered Mullah Omar's shadow."

Senator accuses US, India, Afghanistan of creating trouble in Balochistan
A quote...."QUETTA: Senate Standing Committee on Interior Chairman Senator Talha Mehmood has accused the United States, India and Afghanistan of conspiring to carve out a ‘Greater Balochistan’ by causing the disintegration of Pakistan."

‘Govt should cut supply line of allied forces’ - Looks like some Pakistanis are getting really ticked off. - mpg
Special Note - A quote...."RAWALPINDI: The government should cut the supply line of NATO and US forces based in Afghanistan and highlight the issue of American missile strikes inside Pakistani territory at the United Nations, Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society said on Monday. Pakistan is providing 90 percent of the logistic support to NATO forces and it can be stopped, former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general Lt Gen (r) Asad Durrani and Admiral (r) Fasih Bukhari told a press conference after a society meeting."

NATO Distances Itself From US Drone Strikes
A quote...."During a visit to NATO headquarters, Pakistani Senate Defense Committee Chairman Nisar Memon brought up the issue of the US unilateral drone strikes into Pakistan, warning that they are damaging the reputation of not just the US, but its allies in the Afghan war as well. Sen. Memon says the NATO officials unequivocally insisted there was no mandate to launch attacks across the border into Pakistan." -- bold by website editor -- So?  All this talk of legality, the constitution, international treaties, the UN, legal mandates, the Geneva Conventions, it's all so...."quaint". - mpg

ElBaradei: No Legal Basis for Curbing Syria’s IAEA Rights
A quote...."The IAEA released a report on its investigation into allegations regarding Syria on Wednesday. The verdict was inconclusive, they found no definitive evidence of any wrongdoing but called for future investigations. Nevertheless, unproven accusations were sufficient for the United States and the European Union to call for the suspension of IAEA aid to Syria. At the moment the IAEA’s aid to Syria consists of a three year, $350,000 project to help find a suitable location for a hypothetical nuclear power plant."

War of the Worlds
A quote...."November 24, 2008 "Information Clearinghouse" --- WHEN the HG Wells classic War of the Worlds was turned into a movie for the silver screen in 1953 the West was in the grip of the Cold War. -- The film adaptation of the alien invasion was designed to send out a subliminal warning message to those who viewed communism as something exotic which jointly aroused curiosity and excitement."

The slow death of Gaza
A quote...."It has been two weeks since Israel imposed a complete closure of Gaza, after months when its crossings have been open only for the most minimal of humanitarian supplies. Now it is even worse: two weeks without United Nations food trucks for the 80% of the population entirely dependent on food aid, and no medical supplies or drugs for Gaza's ailing hospitals. No fuel (paid for by the EU) for Gaza's electricity plant, and no fuel for the generators during the long blackouts. Last Monday morning, 33 trucks of food for UN distribution were finally let in – a few days of few supplies for very few, but as the UN asks, then what?" -- It's called collective punishment of the Gaza Ghetto. - mpg -- also posted at ICH

Eyes Wide Shut
A quote...."The day before yesterday, two documents appeared side by side in Ha'aretz: a giant advertisement from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the results of a public opinion poll. -- The proximity was accidental, but to the point. The PLO ad sets out the details of the 2002 Saudi peace offer, decorated with the colorful flags of the 22 Arab and the 35 other Muslim countries that have endorsed the offer. -- The public opinion poll predicts a landslide victory for Likud, which opposes every single word of the Saudi proposal." -- also posted at CounterPunch

Iran claims Israel spy ring broken
A quote...."Iran's revolutionary guards ratcheted up the war of nerves with Israel yesterday by claiming to have broken a spy network run by Mossad, the Israeli espionage agency. -- The guards' commander-in-chief, Muhammad Ali Jafari, said they had arrested Israeli-trained agents and seized hi-tech communications equipment. -- Two days ago, Iran announced it had hanged a businessman who allegedly admitted spying for Israel. -- Jafari said the latest group arrested had confessed to having been trained in Israel to carry out assassinations and bombings. He did not specify how many people had been held. But he told the semi-official news agency Mehr that the group had sought information about the revolutionary guards, military intelligence officials and Iran's nuclear programme, which Israel and the west fear is designed to produce an atomic bomb."

Outstanding Work By Memory Hole
Special Note - Press Caught Facilitating Terror Again -- A quote...."Google News results for "Rashid Rauf": 1,753 ---  Google News results for "Rashid Rauf Suskind": 0  ---  Here's what just happened to Rashid Rauf:" -- Yeah our authorities, with full cooperation of the presstitutes keep changing the names of suspects when they want to.  Here's an example from the video 9/11 - Press for Truth, which took about two minutes to find.... - mpg


Russia says U.S. mercs fought for Georgia
A quote...."ST PETERSBURG, Russia November 24, 2008 (Reuters) – Russia has evidence that citizens from NATO member states including the United States and Turkey fought for Georgia in the five-day August war, Russia's top investigator said on Monday." -- also posted at RougeGov

Once Considered Invincible, Chávez Takes a Blow
A quote...."Though Mr. Chávez’s allies won 17 of the 22 states in Sunday’s vote, his opponents did well in some poor urban areas, and in states like Zulia, where much of Venezuela’s oil is produced; Carabobo, the home of auto manufacturers and petrochemical plants; and Táchira, rich in agriculture and cattle. Mr. Chávez framed the elections as a plebiscite on his evolving revolutionary ideology, but voters appeared to focus on more mundane concerns like inflation, which at more than 30 percent is the highest rate in Latin America, and fears that an economic boom might be sputtering to an end as oil prices plunge, forcing Mr. Chávez to reconsider his spending plans. -- Violent crime, an Achilles’ heel for Mr. Chávez, also weighed heavily on voters." -- Time for Chavez to devote a little more time to bread and butter issues and a little less time strutting around on the world stage spreading the gospel of the Bolivarian revolution. - mpg
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U.S. Pledges Top $7.7 Trillion to Ease Frozen Credit (Update2)
A quote...."Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government is prepared to provide more than $7.76 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers after guaranteeing $306 billion of Citigroup Inc. debt yesterday. The pledges, amounting to half the value of everything produced in the nation last year, are intended to rescue the financial system after the credit markets seized up 15 months ago."  -- bold/underline by website editor

Citibank Is The Third Largest Holder of Derivatives. Do You Know Who Number 1 and 2 Are?
A quote...."Citibank was the biggest, and was considered one of the most stable, banks a little while ago. But its derivatives exposure killed it. -- However, Citibank was only the third largest holder of derivatives as of June. -- Who were number 1 and 2? -- JP Morgan holds around three times more derivatives than Citigroup. And Bank of America is number 2."

The Citigroup Deal is Lousy for America
A quote....


You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
A quote...."It is vital to realize that markets are never under some obligation to stop falling merely because they have already fallen by an ungodly amount. It also is vital to explore how bad the worst-case scenario can get and to think about how you would respond if it comes to pass."

All the Talk of a Depression Is, Um, Depressing
A quote...."Barack Obama is now calling for a major stimulus and job creation effort, but outlining it and getting it done will be quite different and difficult. Creating two and a half million new jobs by 2011 is a good goal, but seems far off in a country where official unemployment now stands at ten million and so many need relief now. Ditto for debt relief, a topic no one is even talking about."

The Dog That Didn't Bark In The Night
Full quote...."As the disappointments with the new regime come thick and fast, it would be tedious to list them all. But one is worth mentioning, since as an offense of omission it might escape notice. -- President-elect Obama just made public the choices for his administration's "economic team." What sort of signal does it send that a Secretary of Labor was not among them? -- Capital seems more than adequately represented."

US home prices at 2004 levels, sales off 3.1 pct
Imagine that!  All that anguish, all that hair pulling, all that sobbing, all because home prices are "at (gasp!) 2004 levels".  This is 2008 folks, that was just four years ago.  Overly high expectations (commonly called excessive greed and avarice) can cause someone to lose their sense of restraint, or their perspective, or both....which can be quite costly at times.  This market has a long way to go. -- A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) — Nationwide sales of existing homes fell more than expected last month, as economic fears made buyers leery even though prices plunged to the lowest level in more than four years. And the decline is expected to get worse because October's results reflect sales contracts signed before Wall Street's nosedive."


You're Scaring Me, Obama: Let the Bush Years Die
Must Read - A quote...."To be honest, Obama, you lost me when you voted for the PATRIOT Act reauthorization in 2006. You lost me again when you voted for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) amendment in 2008. And you lost me every single time you voted for yet more war funding. Don't even get me started on your vote for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. I cast a ballot for you in November, but I just can't share in this moment of collective euphoria over your election. So, if your transition team really wants feedback on "where President-Elect Obama should lead this country," here's a Top Five list:...."

Some Things Never Change
A quote...."It hasn’t taken long for some of those on the left who heralded Barack Obama as the long-awaited savior of the U.S. to begin asking, "Why has he appointed the same people from the Clinton and Bush II administrations to positions?" The answer is that he never promised huge changes. If any of his leftist supporters took the time to research his voting record and speeches, he/she would have come up blank with reasons to support Obama. He has taken some old names — like Daschle, Clinton, and even Colin Powell — thrown them in a bag, shook it up, and thrown the names on a table, some with new positions. Obama even is thinking of keeping Gates as the Secretary of War." -- All those poor little disappointed obamatrolls, still walking around with terrible cases of Advanced Audio Visual Disassociative Disorder  -- AAViDD "believer" Type-1 Syndromes

Changing With Retreads The Third Clinton Administration - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."By RALPH NADER -- While the liberal intelligentsia was swooning over Barack Obama during his presidential campaign, I counseled “prepare to be disappointed.” His record as a Illinois state and U.S. Senator, together with the many progressive and long overdue courses of action he opposed during his campaign, rendered such a prediction unfortunate but obvious. -- Now this same intelligentsia is beginning to howl over Obama’s transition team and early choices to run his Administration. Having defeated Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Primaries, he now is busily installing Bill Clinton’s old guard. Thirty one out of forty seven people that he has named so far for transition or appointments have ties to the Clinton Administration, according to Politico. One Clintonite is quoted in the Washington Post as saying – “This isn’t lightly flavored with Clintons. This is all Clintons, all the time.”

How Many Clinton Retreads Does It Take to Screw Up an Obama Administration?
A quote...."While I suppose many Obama supporters and fans have not been vetting Obama’s picks for his staff and his Cabinet, I have by going through Internet databases and Google to find information on any person Obama has selected to be part of his administration. And, it appears that Americans who wanted real change have been deluded. Not tricked but deluded."

Afghans to Obama: End the Occupation
A quote...."President Elect Barack Obama wants to increase the number of US troops in Afghanistan. But the US/NATO occupation is less popular than ever. Eman, an Afghan woman's rights activist with RAWA tells Uprising host, Sonali Kolhatkar, that Obama must end the occupation. RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, is the oldest women's political organization in Afghanistan, struggling non-violently against foreign occupations and religious fundamentalism for more than 30 years."
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'War criminal Bush' blamed for worldwide crises
Special Note - A quote...."PROTESTERS have demanded that US President George W Bush get out of Peru where he is attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, blaming him for the world economic crisis."

Iraqi protesters burn George Bush effigy
Some quotes...."The crowd of tens of thousands, gathered in Baghdad where a Saddam Hussein statue once stood, protests a security pact that would keep American troops in Iraq through 2011." -- "The effigy of Bush, in a suit and tie and carrying a briefcase, dangled for hours as the crowd, which stretched for several blocks, knelt in prayer and listened to clerics denounce the Status of Forces Agreement."

Pakistan Army Practices Shooting Drone Aircraft - Oh, oh. - mpg
A quote...."After its second formal protest in the past month alone over the ever growing number of US drone strikes being launched in and around Pakistan’s tribal areas, Pakistan’s military appears to be taking the growing public disquiet over the attacks more seriously, and is aiming to enhance its capability to counter the persistent overflights of the drones through force of arms." -- bold by website editor
    
India turns up energy diplomacy
Than why for the past year were the Indians kowtowing to the Bush administration regarding their attempts to isolate Iran?  Oh, it must have been that nuke deal. - mpg -- A quote...."The initiatives to Russia and Iran in the first week of November were aimed mainly at securing oil and gas resources, with Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee visiting Tehran and Petroleum Minister Murli Deora headed for Moscow. The agenda for both was the same - to deepen ongoing energy projects while seeking leverage for the future. India is the third-largest hydrocarbon consumer in Asia and an energy-deficient economy."

Local elections results throw Nicaragua into political turmoil
A quote...."MANAGUA (AFP) – Managua Wednesday threatened to dismiss opposition lawmakers from Congress if they pass a law annulling the November 9 local elections, which they claim the ruling Sandinista Party soundly won by widespread fraud."

Iran raises profile in Latin America
A quote...."For us, it's very different, but we adapt quickly," said Ehsan Keyvanfar, a 29-year-old engineer on his first assignment outside Iran for Kayson Company, a Tehran-based construction business. A supervisor with nearly fluent Spanish, Keyvanfar has adopted the nickname "Alejandro" to spare Venezuelans from trying to pronounce his name. -- He and his wife, Sara, are accustomed to city life in Tehran and have struggled with the slow pace and isolation of Calabozo, a farming town of pickup trucks and rice silos in Venezuela's dusty southern plains. But Keyvanfar sees it as a hardship assignment that will advance his career and allow him to save money."

Israel is Illegally Holding American Activist Against Her Will
A quote...."Monday, Israeli warships attacked unarmed Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Gaza and clearly in Palestinian waters. At that time they took 15 Palestinians and three international peace activists into their “custody”. Since they were not in Israeli waters and since the only thing the boats were doing was fishing, the Israelis had no legal grounds to be in those waters in the first place. The 15 Palestinians have been released, but the Israelis have yet to release the peace activists. One of them is an American; Darlene Wallach of the International Solidarity Movement."

1000 Palestinian kids in Israeli jails
A quote...."Nearly one thousand Palestinian children are imprisoned by the Israeli regime, a spokesman of Palestinian prisoners' affairs ministry says. The spokesman said Israeli forces have detained at least eight thousands of Palestinian children since the start of the second Palestinian intifada (uprising) in 2000."

PBS Front Line -- The Hugo Chavez Show
Video - A quote...."An illuminating inside view of the mercurial Venezuelan president, his rise to power, and the new revolution he seems to be inventing -- on television."

Angry investors protest in Colombia
Video - A quote...."Forrest Hylton: Uribe has shown himself to be incapable of resolving economic issues." -- Oh look, another dictatorship falling apart due to a ponzi scheme....just like the former United States. (now known as the New Roman Empire).  Ours of course was, and still is, the Grand Daddy of all ponzi schemes, and ours hasn't even begun to unravel yet. - mpg

$2.5 billion in debt and only five days to square up with Gazprom
A quote...."Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko has assigned the Ukrainian government headed by Yulia Timoshenko to pay nearly $2.5 billion gas debt to Russian company Gazprom in fine days."

APEC leaders agree to reform World Bank and IMF
A quote...."World leaders attending the APEC summit in Peru have approved plans to reform the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and agreed on a one year-long moratorium on new barriers to world trade and investment. The group is meeting to plan a way out of the world financial crisis and say they are committed to the principles of free trade."
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Zinn and Zelikow - Two Like Minds Thinking Together
11-22-08
mpg

Zinn: 9/11 Truth Is For "Fanatics", Has "No Practical Political Significance"
A quote...."New comments cause more outrage after leftist historian said he didn't care about what really happened on 9/11"

Mr. Zinn stated the cover-up on 9/11 had no "No practical political significance" -- It's ironic that Mr. Zinn should choose those particular words, because they almost exactly echo the 9/11 commission report, which states on page 72...


Zinn and Zelikow, sort‘a like Bogie and Bacall no?  It's good to see two like minds thinking together on how it really doesn't matter who arranged 9/11, or who funded it, or who profited from it.  Every other crime has always been investigated by looking at means, motive and opportunity, not just of the people who carried out the "hit", the "trigger men", but also of those who financed it, the parties or states involved who would benefit either financially or geo-politically from it.
The reasons people have laws, along with real, honest, and thorough investigations - public, not secret, trials - and a belief in justice, is to keep the same bad people from doing the same bad things, all over again. They usually try do this by finding out exactly who the bad people are, what their involvement was, give them a public trial and then put them in jail, (or hang them as the case may be.)

Mr. Zinn may not care about 9/11, or the victims of 9/11, or their families, or these families tireless efforts to find out the truth despite all of the obstructions and obstacles this government has placed before them, but the profiteers in this country and elsewhere who made hundreds of billions of dollars from 9/11 care very deeply about it.  In fact they care so much about it that with people like Mr. Zinn running around turning a blind eye and telling everyone else to do the same, they might just as well go ahead and do it all over again and make another couple of hundred of billion.

Keep up the good work Mr. Zinn. You and others of your ilk go right ahead and keep on encouraging them.  Who knows with another nice juicy attack Obama could become dictator of the US-NRE, now wouldn't that just tickle the cockles of your cold, indifferent, heart and those who travel with you down your dark path of ignorance and denial. - mpg
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9/11 - From The History File...Page 2: FBI documents contradict 9/11 Commission report
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Guantanamo judge rejects 'forced' confession
A quote...."A US military judge in Guantanamo Bay has thrown out the US government's evidence against an Afghan detainee because it was obtained under coercion, a rights group said Friday." -- For more on this issue see....The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg

20 Reasons to Shut Down The Guantánamo Trials
A quote...."As Barack Obama and his transition team begin looking at ways to fulfill the President-elect’s pledge to close Guantánamo, Andy Worthington, author of The Guantánamo Files, recalls that Barack Obama also promised to “reject the Military Commissions Act” (the legislation that revived the system of “terror trials” conjured up in the office of Vice President Dick Cheney in November 2001), and provides 20 reasons why the military commissions should be scrapped."

SOA Watch: Protest Could Be Celebration
A quote...."This year protesters commemorating a massacre may feel so jubilant that keeping a straight face for a vigil could be a challenge. - As they again mark the anniversary of the Nov. 16, 1989, killings of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her teenage daughter - gunned down by El Salvadoran soldiers, most of whom had attended what was then known as the School of the Americas - those protesting what's now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation will have something else in mind: Hope, and change."

Bush and Rant on Red Sea Piracy
A quote...."Piracy by Somali pirates in the Red Sea region threatens to reduce world trade through the Suez Canal by about a third, and could raise petroleum prices again if the supertankers all have to go around the Cape of Good Hope to Europe. - Wouldn't it be in part the duty of President Bush and the US Navy to make sure there is security on the high seas?"
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The Austrians Were Right
A quote...."Madame Speaker, many Americans are hoping the new administration will solve the economic problems we face. That’s not likely to happen, because the economic advisors to the new President have no more understanding of how to get us out of this mess than previous administrations and Congresses understood how the crisis was brought about in the first place."

Angry Americans protest against U.S. monetary policy
A quote...."While leaders in Peru grapple with the financial fallout, Americans angry at the multi-billion dollar bailout plans are protesting in Washington. They say the U.S. Federal Reserve, far from helping solve the financial crisis, is taking money out of their pockets."
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The Merchant of Venice and the Detroit Three
11-22-08
mpg

11/20/2008 Part 1/2 Peter Schiff On Campbell Brown - video - (YouTube - 5 min 56 sec - November 21, 2008)
11/20/2008 Part 2/2 Peter Schiff On Campbell Brown: - video - (YouTube - 9 min 20 sec - November 21, 2008)

One heck of a spirited debate.  Peter Schiff (who's predicted most of this fiasco and is featured in Effective Fed Funds Rate 03-24-07) was a little irritating however.

His first point was that "government" simply taxes one sector of society to give to another, and therefore does not "create wealth"...very true, but as one of the guests stated government can serve a counter-cyclical function (Keynesianism) in regards to the economic cycle, something which Libertarians abhor for ideological reasons but which they should really abhor for practical reasons.

That reason being Keynesianism ONLY works IF government reduces spending during the "good" times.  Which judging from history, governments have always been, and will always completely remain, manifestly incapable of doing.

His second point in answer to one of the guest's replies was that "government" caused this crisis. That was flat out wrong; it was the financial industry that bribed congress to remove the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, to de-regulate the entire Banking and Brokerage industry, to have the government provide no oversight, to remove government and all of its "burdensome" and “onerous” regulations from the scene. To let the "free market" (no such thing on Wall Street of course) have its way. It was the financial industry which then promptly created all of those worthless pieces of paper known as CDO's, CMO's, SIM's, Derivatives, and other synthetic debt instruments that now amount to well over one quadrillion dollars (one thousand trillion dollars). A feeding frenzy for which they were all highly rewarded.  The "government didn't hold a gun to their collective heads and tell them to do it, the government didn't tell them to create and than pass all that bogus script....they did it out of their own lust of greed and avarice.

Think of it this way, you go to a game run by some wise guys, one of whom doesn't have a shred of humor and was known to have broken some dead beat's arms, than his legs, and eventually his neck because he couldn't come up with the vig.  So you sit down at this guy's table, promptly lose your shirt, and than hand this guy a bunch of IOUs for a million dollars.  Think of this not very humorous wise guy as the American people aroused from their collective slumber and currently possessing a really bad attitude.  A day later you call him up and say, "what, you actually expected me to pay all those pieces of worthless, bogus, script"....you than proceed to laugh in his face and chortle over what a fool he is, you than tell him you're going to tax his mother along with his kids to pay for it.  And you really think the whole thing is funny as you hang up the phone.  In other words the whole situation is not going to end very well.

Mr. Schiff also stated the "unions" were partly to blame for the auto industry's collapse.  Again flat out wrong, Germany does fine with strong unions and besides which, if “capital" can organize, why not "labor"?  The unions didn't make the “Titans of Detroit” build gas guzzling monstrosities, or deliberately kill every attempt to build an electric or hybrid car.  The unions didn't destroy the financial system preventing the Big Three from getting any more loans.  The unions didn't double (or triple) the National debt. The unions didn't start two unnecessary wars.

Most importantly, the unions aren't members of PNAC, they didn't plan out a policy which needed a "new Pearl Harbor to catapult" this country onto the road of imperial ambition, or as the PNAC'ers like to call it "full spectrum dominance".

No, the people who planned all these events and profited handsomely from them during the last eight years are sitting on the boards of many of America's biggest corporations, including the Big Three auto makers.

These people seem to be under the deluded impression that they are protected from all their decisions by corporate liability laws.  They seem to believe that this is a win-win situation for them.  That they take these enormous financial and geo-political gambles (not for them of course) and if they work out – fine, and if not - they walk away with their ill gotten gains, while, as Mr. Schiff so cavalierly stated, forcing the entire country to accept "pain", to "restructure", to accept diminished wages, benefits, pensions, union participation, to incur massive amounts of  homelessness, the loss of Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits and the establishment of perpetual debt slavery.

Well that's a nice idea, but how about this one....considering there's been a heck of a lot of retroactive laws passed lately (not to mention gutting the US's constitution, or as one half-wit so immortally stated...."it's just a Goddamn piece of paper!"), how about we pass a law removing all those corporate liability protections going back say...ten years?  That sound about right to everyone? Than we as a nation demand that our corporate leaders, whom Mr. Schiff seems to admire so much, simply pay back the missing money.

It's their fault, they caused it, so they should just pay every dime of it back, it's that simple.  Besides how hard can it be?

Right now, guesstimating roughly, that would be about six to eight trillion dollars in federal deficits, plus five trillion dollars worth of commitments for the bail outs (most of which might never be paid back), plus another three to four trillion for their misbegotten wars (assuming they withdraw immediately), plus say fifty trillion to cover all the derivatives (keep in mind, they're about one thousand three hundred trillion right now, much, if not most of them, completely worthless)....totaling that all up we'll say the wealthy one percent of this nation owes their country, and the other ninety nine percent of its citizens, about sixty seven trillion dollars....give or take a few trillion.

And if they don't pay it all back, as was so amply and ably demonstrated in William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice”, we as a nation will regretfully be forced to take it from their flesh.

Consider it as motivation to come up with a better plan. - mpg
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PBS Bill Moyers Show - Interviews Joe Nocera on the Bailout
Must View  - Video Interview - A quote...."JOURNAL guest-host Deborah Amos speaks with NEW YORK TIMES business columnist Joe Nocera about the bailout mania in Washington and who's next in line to get federal assistance." -- ||  Transcript  ||  Podcast Mp3  ||

Who Killed The Electric Car? - ¿Quién Mató al Coche Eléctrico? Subt Spanish - 92 min  - Apr 23, 2008
If anyone's thinking GM should be bailed out....see this movie before you even think of advocating they get a single dime of tax payer dollars. - mpg

Locking in the Loot at the Reagan Library Paulson's Cascade of Lies
A quote...."On Thursday, November 20, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson presented, even by his own lamentably low standards, an amazingly deceptive speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. In its false  framing of Washington’s financial giveaway to Wall Street it rivaled some of the outstanding fables created by the Master Imagineer himself, for whom the library is named."

NOW with David Brancaccio - Interviews Stiglitz: "A Gun at Our Heads"
Video Interview - A quote...."Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz talks about misplaced priorities in handling the economic meltdown, and what we should do next."

NOW with David Brancaccio - Credit and Credibility
Must View - Video -- A quote...."Two high-level industry insiders tell us what was going on inside the Wall Street firms that once generated billions in profits."

Pressure on Citigroup builds, shares fall below $4
A quote...."NEW YORK - Pressure intensified on Citigroup to sell part or all of itself as its stock fell below $4 a share on Friday and fears escalated about future loan losses. -- CEO Vikram Pandit told managers earlier in the day he opposes breaking up the company, but the bank's board of directors was meeting Friday to discuss whether to do exactly that, the Wall Street Journal reported."

Junk Bond Yields Reach Record 20% as Economy Declines (Update2)
A quote from...."Martin Fridson, chief executive officer of money management firm Fridson Investment Advisors in New York."
 

Credit Cards To Be Next Big Financial Blowup
A quote...."WASHINGTON is so nervous that credit cards will become the next financial sinkhole that the government will soon ask banks to go through the arduous task of running tests on hundreds of millions of their cardholders."

U.S. To Guarantee $1.4T In Bank Debt
A quote...."Federal regulators will guarantee as much as $1.4 trillion in U.S. banks' debt in a bid to get the distressed financial system pumping again. They also took steps to make it easier for private investors to buy failed banks seized by the government."

IMF: Worst Of Financial Crisis Yet To Come
A quote...."The IMF's chief economist has warned that the global financial crisis is set to worsen and that the situation will not improve until 2010, a report said Saturday." -- bold/underline by website editor

Regulators Shut Failed Bank in Georgia
That's only number 20, during the S&L Crisis this country closed over 800 banks.  It means this nation has a very long way to go. - mpg --  A quote...."Georgia regulators on Friday shut down The Community Bank, the 20th failure this year of a federally insured institution."

[California] Unemployment jumps to 8.2 percent
Full quote...."California's economic climate continues to deteriorate as the unemployment rate in the state jumped another one-half of a percentage point to 8.2 percent in October, according to the state's unemployment division. The state lost 26,400 nonfarm payroll jobs in the month, according to the California Employment Development Department. The state has the third highest unemployment rate in the nation. From October 2007 to October 2008, California lost a total 101,300 jobs, the report estimates." - bold by website editor


Plus ça change: "Progressive" Leaders Ride War Machine Deeper Into Darkness
Must Read -- A quote...."Armed with the same invincible ignorance and arrogance that have for generations led their imperial forbears to bitter defeat in Afghanistan, Barack Obama and Gordon Brown have both pledged themselves to a substantial escalation of  the Anglo-American adventure in Central Asia. Thus these two self-proclaimed "progressive" champions of benevolent change are guaranteeing more of the same bitter fruit already produced by this misbegotten enterprise: more death, more ruin, more suffering, more corruption – and more violent extremism. -- The latter, of course, is where we came in, with the Carter-Reagan marshalling of extremist jihadis -- known as "freedom fighters" in those days of yore -- to hotfoot the Soviets and their secular Afghan clients. Indeed, the entire arc of America's bipartisan policies in the region over the past 40 years can be seen as the elaborate construction of a gargantuan, self-propelled blowback machine, producing an endless effluent of violence, threat, chaos and crime that is now sluicing through the entire world. But blowback, as we all know, is not a design flaw of imperial policy, at least not for the most part; it is a design feature. No War Machine without perpetual war and rumors of war; no war profits – and no war powers – without the War Machine." - bold by website editor -- Otherwise known as the  --  Parable of the Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone - Why We Fight

Antiwar Groups Fear Hawkish Cabinet - posted at AntiWar
Wellllll.... Yeahhhh !! -- A little late now isn't it???  It doesn't appear, at this point, that any of the Obamatrolls out there ever thought of getting some guarantees from Mr. "Bombs Away" BEFORE all of them started giving him their hard earned cash and volunteering their time for his campaign.  Guess they're not so bright after all. - mpg -- A quote...."As President-elect Barack Obama’s national security team begins to take shape, there is increasing disquiet among antiwar activists that his appointees and rumored appointees have thus-far, without exception, favored the Iraq invasion and held hawkish foreign policy positions."

Obama Throws No Bones to Progressive Base
Related Article - A quote...."When is Obama going to appoint someone who reflects the progressive base that brought him to the White House? -- He won the crucial Iowa caucuses on the strength of his anti-Iraq War stance, and many progressive peace and justice activists worked hard for him against John McCain. -- So why in the world is he choosing Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State when she was one of the loudest hawks on Iraq and threatened to obliterate 75 million Iranians?"

Obama’s "Coalition of the Willing" Against Iran?
Related Article - A quote...."LONDON – After Barack Obama’s victory in the U.S. presidential elections last week, discussions about what direction an Obama/Biden Administration is likely to follow are gaining momentum. -- Invited by the London Middle East Institute (LMEI) on 11 November to speak about the foreign policy of the next U.S. administration, the London-based American analyst Jonathan Paris anticipated an Obama foreign policy much in line with the one of the current Bush administration."

Stop Hillary! Yes we can! - posted at AntiWar
Related Article - A quote...."We had a breather during the final stretch of the presidential election campaign, but the way is now cleared for a renewal of the propaganda campaign urging war with Iran. The latest salvo: a UN report claiming Iran plans on building 3,000 new centrifuges, and headlines are screaming – in the West, at any rate – that Iran will have enough uranium to build a nuclear bomb by sometime next year." -- And so it goes. - mpg

Unfinished Business - Ending Torture, Prosecuting the Torturers
A quote...."These leaders not only consider themselves above the law, but above the United States. We need to prosecute them to reaffirm who we are as Americans. We are not vicious torturers. These people have no place in our city on the hill."

This is our brave new world -  Confront the Delusions - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."November 20, 2008 "Information Clearinghouse" --     In the 1970s, the film NETWORK was made; but its commercial success was more about the message that it brought than it was about the caliber of its cinematic excellence. From that film several video clips have survived on the web, but since they may not continue to survive as videos I have made partial transcripts of them for this article."

This Is Not A Normal Recession - Moving on to Plan B - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."November 20, 2008 "Information Clearinghouse" -- - "The Winter of 2008-2009 will prove to be the winter of global economic discontent that marks the rejection of the flawed ideology that unregulated global financial markets promote financial innovation, market efficiency, unhampered growth and endless prosperity while mitigating risk by spreading it system wide." Economists Paul Davidson and Henry C.K. Liu "Open Letter to World Leaders attending the November 15 White House Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy" -- For more on this issue see....1.3 Quadrillion and Counting - 09-18-08 - mpg
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CNN Reports on President Bush - Where's the Love?
Must View Video - Nobody "wuv's" him anymore....how about we give him a quick, fair, Gitmo style trial...and a short, sharp, drop at the end of a rope.  We'll all just call it "tough love". - mpg

Judge Orders The Release Of Gitmo Detainees
A quote...."WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Thursday ordered the release of five Algerians held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the continued detention of a sixth in a major blow to the Bush administration's strategy to keep terror suspects locked up without charges."

Secrets Of The CIA - posted at ICH
Video - A quote...."These are the stories of former agents who dared to break away from the CIA."

Report: CIA Witheld Information From White House
A quote...."WASHINGTON – The senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee Thursday called for a criminal investigation into whether the CIA lied to Congress and withheld information from the Justice Department during its inquiry into the 2001 shoot-down of an American missionary plane by the Peruvian air force with help from a CIA spotter plane. -- The CIA's Office of General Counsel advised agency managers to avoid producing written reports about the incident "to avoid both criminal charges against Agency officers and civil liability," according to unclassified excerpts of an August CIA inspector general report released Thursday by Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra." -- bold by website editor
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Stuff Happens - The Pentagon's Argument of Last Resort on Iraq
Special Note - A quote...."For those who needed further clarification, the Wall Street Journal's Yochi J. Dreazen spelled it out: "In recent interviews, two high-ranking officers stated flatly that it would be logistically impossible to dismantle dozens of large U.S. bases there and withdraw the 150,000 troops now in Iraq so quickly. The officers said it would take close to three years for a full withdrawal and could take longer if the fighting resumed as American forces left the country." -- "In a nutshell, the Pentagon's argument couldn't be simpler or more red-bloodedly American: We have too much stuff to leave Iraq any time soon. In war, as in peace, we're trapped by our own profligacy. We are the Neiman Marcus and the Wal-Mart of combat. Where we go, our "stuff" goes with us -- in such prodigious quantities that removing it is going to prove more daunting than invading in the first place."

US-Iraq security pact may be in violation, Congress is told - link posted at AntiWar
A quote...."WASHINGTON - Passage of the US-Iraq security pact under the terms both countries' leaders have advocated could violate the constitutions of both countries, specialists told a congressional subcommittee yesterday."

Iraq Pact May Violate Constitution, Scholars Warn - posted at AntiWar
A quote...."From the Iraqi perspective, there continues to be dispute over how many votes are required to pass the 275-member parliament. The Maliki government has maintained that it needs only a simple majority, but opponents insist that security pacts require a two-thirds majority."

Lawmaker Accuses Bush of Secrecy Over Iraq Deal
A quote...."Washington - The U.S. government is refusing to make public the security pact it has signed with Iraq, even though it has already been published in full in an Iraqi newspaper, a congressional hearing was told on Wednesday."

Iraq parliament engulfed in protests over U.S. security pact
A quote...."BAGHDAD (AP) — As opposition lawmakers shouted and pounded their desks in protest, Iraq's parliament on Thursday resumed deliberating on a proposed security agreement with the United States that would allow American forces to stay there three more years."

UK troops to withdraw from Iraq in New Year - link posted at ICH
A quote...."Exclusive: British combat troops will start withdrawing from Iraq shortly after key local elections held at the end of January, the UK commander in Basra has signalled."
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Palestine: Fifteen Palestinian fishermen kidnapped by Israelis
Must Read - (for the outrage) - They blockade Gaza to starve the Palestinians and then they won't even let them fish for themselves so they can provide food for their communities and families.  That's pretty sick and twisted. - mpg -- A quote...."The International Solidarity Movement: -- The fifteen Palestinian fishermen abducted from Palestinian waters this morning (10am) are still being held by Israeli authorities in Ashdod, while their boats have been confiscated. Legal proceedings were initiated today that petition for their immediate release. -- The three internationals who were arrested while accompanying the fishermen have been taken to Ben Gurion detention facility as Israeli authorities start deportation proceedings." -- See videos below....


Israel 'using food and medicines as weapons' - link posted at ICH
A quote...."Israel is collectively punishing innocent civilians by withholding and controlling food and medicine to Gaza, says Christian Aid. "With the recent upsurge in violence it is Palestinian and Israeli civilians who will pay the price of failure and silence, and lose hope itself", says William Bell, middle-eastern advocacy officer at Christian Aid.

Nobel laureate Maguire: UN should suspend Israel membership - link posted at ICH
A quote...."Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire said Thursday the United Nations should suspend or revoke Israel's membership. Maguire said Israel should be punished for ignoring a series of United Nations resolutions over the years."

‘Israel sells arms to its own enemies’ – newspaper
A quote...."Israeli weapon trading companies had been holding negotiations and selling arms to a whole row of Arab countries defined as ‘enemies’ by Israeli law – such as Iraq, Libya and Yemen. Moreover, the move was coordinated and approved by the country’s Defence Ministry, Israel’s daily newspaper Haaretz says."
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How Bush Tried to Bring Down Evo Morales - Orchestrating a Civic Coup in Bolivia - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."Evo Morales is the latest democratically-elected Latin American president to be the target of a US plot to destabilize and overthrow his government. On September 10, 2008 Morales expelled US Ambassador Philip Goldberg because “he is conspiring against democracy and seeking the division of Bolivia.”

Chavez calls secessionist state center of CIA activity - posted at OnlineJournal
A quote...."(WMR) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has echoed a charge he has made for a number of years -- that Venezuela’s oil-rich Zulia state is a center of CIA activity in the nation designed to overthrow Chavez’s government.

Japan-U.S. missile defense test fails off Hawaii
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Japanese warship failed to shoot down a ballistic missile target in a joint test with U.S. forces Wednesday because of a glitch in the final stage of an interceptor made by Raytheon Co, a U.S. military official said."

US seeks 300 billion dlrs from Gulf states: report
Gotta recycle those petro-dollars, now don't we. - mpg -- A quote...."Quoting "highly informed" sources, the daily said Washington has asked Saudi Arabia for 120 billion dollars, the United Arab Emirates for 70 billion dollars, Qatar for 60 billion dollars and was seeking 40 billion dollars from Kuwait."

U.S. Attorney General Mukasey Collapses During Speech (Update3)
A quote...."Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey collapsed while giving a speech in Washington tonight and was taken to a hospital."

Author Griffin calls for the formation of a truth and reconciliation commission to heal the wounds of 9-11
PETER'S NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2008--One of the major critics of the U.S. government's version of the events of September 11, 2001 is calling for the formation of a "truth and reconciliation commission" to get to the bottom of the happenings of that day .David Ray Griffin, author of seven books on 9-11, including his latest, "A New Pearl Harbor Revisited," all of which are critical of the government's 9-11 investigations, said on the Alex Jones radio program today that he believed the administration of incoming U.S. President Barack Obama will be more open to the establishment of such a commission." -- Well, a demonstration that hope springs eternal, Dr David Ray Griffin might soon become a victim of AViDD "believer" Type-1 Syndrome if he continues to truly believe that Obama would EVER allow an honest, impartial, independent and thorough investigation of 9/11.  It will never happen under Obama. - mpg
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9/11 - From The History File...9/11 Planes were Electronically Commandeered

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Today's Economic Pulse: All-Time Swaps, Soaring Bond Risks and Failing Giants
Financial Alert - A quote...."Forget the falling stock market and the troubles of the big 3 automakers. -- Today's economic pulse is more accurately measured by the following developments:

• Credit default swaps are at all-time crisis levels, even higher than after the failure of Lehman
  

• Bond risks are soaring as the market returns to crisis mode.
  

• Citigroup - the world's largest financial services company - is saying "we're not insolvent" but looking for a buyer (sound familiar?) -- bold by website editor
  

Even the Oracle Got Blindsided by the Severity of the Economic Crisis
A quote...."The world's richest man, Warren Buffet, is nicknamed "The Oracle of Omaha" for his investment foresight. Buffet's reputation is so great that when his investment company, Berkshire Hathaway, invested billions of dollars in companies like Goldman and GE, the stock market rallied on that news alone. Buffet's investing success is such that people figured if The Oracle was buying, the market must have hit bottom. Buffet is also one of Obama's primary economic advisors, and his advice and assistance is sought by hundreds of CEOs. But in a sign of the times, the Oracle's Berkshire Hathaway is in real trouble. BH is down 50% from its all-time high."

J.P. Morgan sees Fed cutting funds rate to 0% by end-January
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. economists said late Wednesday they now expect the Federal Reserve to make two half-point cuts to its fed funds rate, currently at 1%, by the end of January, bringing the fed funds rate to 0%. The U.S. central bank will then hold this benchmark rate at 0% for the rest of 2009, they said."

Aid plan for Big Three falters in Congress
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Democratic leaders said Thursday there is no deal on aid yet for the Big Three U.S. automakers, and asked the chief executives of those companies to return to Congress with concrete plans on how they would use federal funds to turn their companies around before getting any money from Washington."

Jobless claims jump unexpectedly to 16-year high
A quote...."WASHINGTON – New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to a 16-year high, the Labor Department said Thursday, providing more evidence of a rapidly weakening job market expected to get even worse next year."

U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Fell 0.8% in October (Update1)
A quote...."Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The index of leading U.S. economic indicators fell in October for the third time in four months as stocks and consumer confidence plunged, signaling a deepening recession."