Wednesday November 25th 2009

War and Profits
Special Note - Some quotes...."We know why there are wars, and we've known it for a long time. Good wars, that is, necessary wars, not wars by powerful foreign invaders, wars that might threaten our country.  Everybody knows we're in the process of old-hat empire building, the kind designed by the British in the salad days of colonialism and for which they eventually took hits around the world by the likes of George Washington and Mahatma Gandhi." -- "We elected Barack Obama to change all that, didn't we?  But Obama took over from Bush without missing a stroke. The faceless corporate oligarchy that runs this country has been around awhile. It ran Clinton and Bush, now runs Obama. (How far back do you want to take it?) Who are these oligarchs? [The Texas MIOCs & the East Coast Banksters - mpg] Yes, there are factions within the oligarchy. They have their differences. They don't all agree. They represent different entities of industrial and corporate power. They have their collateral network. They are the pillars of capitalism. They are mostly unheard and unseen, but occasionally you may get a glimpse of a face..." -- also posted at Uruknet

US Will Not Join Treaty Banning Landmines
A quote...."WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has no plans to join a global treaty banning landmines because a policy review found the United States could not meet its security commitments without them, the State Department said on Tuesday."

21st Century Nazi's vs 21st Century Jews
Special Note - A quote...."What do 9-11 and the Holocaust have in common? I’ll tell you; after both atrocities, the victims did not use the lessons learned to go out into the world and change it for the better. Instead, they used their “victim-hood” status to run roughshod over lesser people and behave as worldwide thugs, invading countries and oppressing people around the globe and even in their own back yards. You’d think that all that goodwill towards the Jews after World War 2 and the Americans after 9-11 wouldn’t have been squandered, but it was. -- Let’s take the Jews for example, it could have ALL been different for them today. They could have been loved worldwide instead of loathed as the 21st century Nazi’s and Neanderthal oppressors of an apartheid statelet. They could have been shining examples of good and decency, around the world. Just imagine this; what if they had decided to take what happened to them, and use it as a force of good, to say loudly and clearly that genocide would never happen to them OR anyone else in this world."

Bill Moyers Most Shameful “Colin Powell at the UN” Moment
Special Note - A quote...."The link to Bill Moyers Journal has been removed from this site and it will not be back. -
I have removed the link because I just watched one of the most offensive pieces of yellow journalism that I have ever seen. - Talk about “left cover”.   The neoliberal  warmongers of the left (aka “centrists”) are tired of hearing the comparisons between Obama’s Afghanistan and Johnson’s Vietnam so it would appear what they are trying to do is to actually scrub up the history of Vietnam, to remake it, or at least to repackage Johnson’s escalation of the conflict into some kind of unavoidable noble act." -- The video was also posted on this site, it has since been removed. - mpg

The KSM Show Trial
A quote...."AG Eric Holder's statement that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will remain in custody no matter the verdict in his upcoming Manhattan trial coupled with Obama's instructions to the jury that KSM be "convicted and executed" reveals the entire exercise as a show trial -- a ritual effort intended not to achieve justice, but to make a public political point. The question is, what could that point possibly be?" - also posted at ICH -- For more on this issue see....They Were Paid to be Guilty - 11-23-09 - mpg

Israel police arrest Mossad agent planting car bomb in Tel Aviv
A quote...."BBC News - Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:29 CST -- A trainee spy for Israel's secret service agency Mossad was arrested by Tel Aviv police while taking part in a training operation, media reports say. -- The young trainee was spotted by a female passer-by as he planted a fake bomb under a vehicle in the city. -- He was only able to persuade police he was a spy after being taken in by an officer for questioning on Monday. -- The authorities have refused to comment on the story although Israeli media outlets have expressed their surprise." - bold by website editor -- also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq

Zionist propaganda body seeks volunteers to distort Wikipedia input on Middle East
Propaganda Alert - More on Israel's propaganda - A quote...."A Zionist hasbara (propaganda) body based in North America is trying to recruit “volunteers” whose main job is to distort the input of the internet’s most visited websites in Israel’s favor. - Propaganda efforts are reportedly focused on popular sites such as Wikipedia, the huge on-line encyclopedia which can be edited by anyone. - CAMERA, which calls itself a “committee for accuracy in Middle East reporting in America,” already has a team of dozens of paid Jewish propagandists who regularly and often scandalously distort basic data pertaining to such themes as Israeli apartheid, Zionism and its ideological similarity to Nazism, Israeli state terror and ill-treatment of Palestinians as well as other issues related to the Israeli Palestinian conflict."

British documents detail US and UK plans for Iraq war
A quote...."Documents obtained by the Sunday Telegraph provide further proof of the criminal character of the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. They confirm that then-Prime Minister Tony Blair lied to the British public when he repeatedly denied that he and US President George W. Bush had agreed on war months before the invasion in order to effect “regime change.”

Iraq: The inquiry cover-up that will keep us in the dark
Special Note - A quote...."Gordon Brown was accused of strangling the inquiry into the Iraq war at birth yesterday by refusing to let it make public sensitive documents that shed light on the conflict. -- A previously undisclosed agreement between Sir John Chilcot's inquiry and the Government gives Whitehall the final say on what information the investigation can release into the public domain. Mr Brown, who initially wanted the inquiry held in private, was forced to climb down earlier this year after an outcry and promised that most of its sessions would be heard in public. He said information would be withheld only when it would compromise national security. - bold/underline by website editor -- That particular phrase is getting rather tiresome, it truly is about time that the parasitic class develope's another phrase for covering-up their numerous lies of mayhem and murder. - mpg

Iraq snaphsot - The Common Ills - Nov. 25 2009
A quote...."Wednesday, November 25, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, the Iraq Inquiry continues in England, the Liberal Democrats call out Gordon Brown's attempts to short-circuit the inquiry, another inquiry waits in the wings -- one into British forces possible abuse and murder of Iraqis, and more....." - also posted at Uruknet

Iraq parliamentary election 'not possible in January'
A quote...."Iraq will not be able to hold parliamentary elections before the end of January as required by the country's constitution, electoral officials say."

Cruel Britannia: Human Rights Watch Exposes British Complicity In Torture In Pakistan
Special Note - A quote...."Human Rights Watch has just issued a new report, “Cruel Britannia,” investigating British complicity in the torture of terror suspects in Pakistan, and calling for an independent inquiry into the British government’s behavior in Pakistan. The report could not come at a worse time for the British government, as it struggles to contain other evidence of complicity in the torture and abuse of seven British citizens and residents who were held in Guantánamo, and also struggles to contain two High Court judges who, for the last 15 months, have demonstrated their commitment to highlighting British complicity in the torture of former Guantánamo prisoner Binyam Mohamed by US agents in Pakistan in April and May 2002." - also posted at Uruknet -- Has anyone noticed yet how the people of Britain, despite fierce opposition from their parasitic class, are actually attempting to investigate their parasites complicity in torture and war crimes, whereas we here in the vaunted, celebrated, land of "freedom and democracy" haven’t done jack squat, and really don't intend to EVER?  Guess the little shoe shining, fetching n'stepping, AIPAC butt kissing, "White House N-----" is really doing his job well, hey?   What was that infamous phrase of his.....oh yeah, "let's put it all behind us". – mpg

Americans Are Deeply Involved In Afghan Drug Trade
Special Note - A quote...."If you’re looking for the chief kingpin in the Afghanistan heroin trade, it’s the United States. The American mission has devolved to a Mafiosi-style arrangement that poisons every military and political alliance entered into by the U.S. and its puppet government in Kabul. It is a gangster occupation, in which U.S.-allied drug dealers are put in charge of the police and border patrol, while their rivals are placed on American hit lists, marked for death or capture. As a result, Afghanistan has been transformed into an opium plantation that supplies 90 percent of the world’s heroin."

SouthCom: Washington Develops its Operations in Soto Cano Airbase in Honduras
A quote...."According to a November 17 press release,  Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company, was awarded the U.S. Southern Command (SouthCom) Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems operations and maintenance program for Joint Task Force (JTF) Bravo at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras. This five-year task order contract has a base year plus four one-year options and is valued at $38 million -- including all options. -- This critical infrastructure program supports the Commander of JTF-Bravo -- the Commander of all U.S. military operations in Central America in the execution of SouthCom's strategy to build Partner Nation Capacity. It is intended to bolster security, stability and prosperity in the Americas." - bold by website editor - Let this website editor give a hint to all you foreign folks out there who might be reading this blog.  When you hear anyone in the US-NRE government discussing YOUR country USING the "langauge" shown above.....you and your people are about to be doomed to years of "terror", abject poverty, misery, torture, war and death  --  You've all been warned. - mpg

Mullah Omar rejects Karzai’s call for peace talks
Some quotes...."KABUL: Mullah Mohammad Omar, leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban militia, on Wednesday rejected a call from President Hamid Karzai for peace talks, in a statement issued ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha." -- "‘The people of Afghanistan will not agree to negotiation which prolongs and legitimises the invader’s military presence in our beloved country. Afghanistan is our home,’ a Taliban statement quoted Omar as saying."

Militants target NATO fuel truck in Pakistan
A quote...."A group of militants in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) have ambushed a truck carrying fuel to neighboring Afghanistan for NATO forces stationed there. -- The attack, which took place outside the northwestern city of Peshawar on Wednesday, left the truck driver and his assistant dead."

NAM statement supports Iran's nuclear program
A quote...."The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has once more voiced its support for Iran's nuclear program, Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says."

IAEA fails to address Iran nuclear swap concerns
A quote...."The head of the UN nuclear watchdog rejects a proposal by the Tehran government to exchange low-enriched uranium (LEU) in a simultaneous swap on Iranian territory."

NGO to sue US over illegal detention of Iranians
A quote...."An Iranian NGO is in the process of logging a legal complaint against the US over its violation of the rights of Iranian detainees, who illegally being held in custody. -- According to the rights group, some of these Iranian nationals have been incarcerated on false charges or have been abducted and subjected to 'extraordinary rendition', while the US is seeking extradite some others."

Indian energy giant eyes 'opportunities' in Iran
A quote...."Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), India's biggest energy producer will hold a meeting with National Iranian Oil Co. to discuss "specific opportunities" in Iran."

Singapore: The World’s most Efficiently Managed Company
A quote...."Like scores of journalists, I attentively listened as Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivering his closing remarks, and for the last time answering journalists’ questions. It was the conclusion of 17th Apec Economies Leaders’ Meeting in Singapore, on November 15, and Prime Minister Lee was clearly tired, although unruffled."

Gay marriage momentum stalls in liberal NY, NJ
When are people gonna learn....there ain't no such thing as "Gay", and if they're ever gonna pass this crap, than "let's bring back polygamy" while we're at it. - mpg -- A quote...."MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — The state-to-state march to legalize gay marriage across the left-leaning Northeast has lost more momentum since a major setback three weeks ago at the ballot box in Maine. -- Since then, legislatures in New York and New Jersey have failed to schedule long-expected votes on bills to recognize the unions in those states."
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How Bugliosi Met the Bush Censors - posted at ConsortiumNews
Book Review - A quote...."I don't object to Vince's choice to focus exclusively on one thing, because what he is focused on is one of the most important things anyone could. He is seeking to prosecute George W. Bush for the murder of the U.S. soldiers he sent into war on false pretenses. -- Vince has written three New York Times #1 bestseller books, so he expected his latest "The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder" - [GoglBkSrch]* - to do well. It has, in fact, sold nearly 100,000 copies. But that is a shocking disappointment to its author. -- The difference with this book was that the corporate media completely whited it out. There has not been a single review in a major newspaper (although the New York Times published an article about the lack of coverage)." - *links added

JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters
Book Review - A quote...."Despite a treasure-trove of new information having emerged over the last forty-six  years, there are many people who still think who killed President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and why are unanswerable questions.  There are others who cling to the Lee Harvey Oswald “lone-nut” explanation proffered by the Warren Commission.  Both groups agree, however, that whatever the truth, it has no contemporary relevance but is old-hat, history, stuff for conspiracy-obsessed people with nothing better to do.  The general thinking is that the assassination occurred almost a half-century ago, so let’s move on.  --   Nothing could be further from the truth, as James Douglass shows in his extraordinary book, "JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters" - [GoglBkSrch]* (Orbis Books, 2008).  It is clearly one of the best books ever written on the Kennedy assassination and deserves a vast readership.  It is bound to roil the waters of complacency that have submerged the truth of this key event in modern American history." - *links added
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Israeli troops and police attack a Palestinian village and remove electricity pylons
A quote...."Israeli military and police forces attacked on Wednesday afternoon the village of Towani southern West Bank. -- Around 50 soldiers and police officers surrounded the village decelerated it a close military zone then started to remove pylons providing the Towani with electricity." -- also posted at Uruknet

Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory No. 46/2009 (19-24 Nov. 2009)  --  A quote..."Israeli Occupation Forces Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) and Continue to Impose a Total Blockade on the Gaza Strip."

• 9 Palestinian civilians, including two children, were wounded by Israeli forces in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
• Israeli warplanes launched 8 strikes on the Gaza Strip.
• A factory, a workshop and a house were destroyed and a number of other civilian facilities were damaged.
• Israeli forces conducted 20 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
• Israeli forces arrested 19 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children.
• Israeli forces arrested 8 members of the Palestinian security services.
• Israel has continued to impose a total siege on the oPt and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
• Israel has continued settlement activities in the oPt and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
• Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian civilian vehicle traveling on the Nablus-Qalqilya road.

Rights group: 69 cases of Palestinian olive trees destroyed, but no prosecutions
A quote...."The human rights organization Yesh Din says not one of the 69 complaints filed during the past four years on damage to Palestinians' trees in the West Bank has resulted in an indictment. The organization released a report on the matter Tuesday and makes specific reference to damage caused to olive groves, central to the livelihood of Palestinian villagers." -- also posted at WarInIraq

It takes one to know one, apartheid regime edition
A quote...."The government of South Africa issued a statement today describing Israel’s attempts at building in occupied East Jerusalem—for Jews only—while simultaneously evicting Palestinian families, as reminiscent of apartheid."

Palestinian trade unions unanimously support boycott movement
BDS - Because it's the only method that can persuade Israel -- A quote...."In reaction to reports alleging that a Palestinian trade union official has stated his reservations about the Palestinian civil society campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), the full spectrum of the Palestinian trade union movement has expressed solid support for the BDS National Committee (BNC) and for the global BDS campaign against Israel as an effective form of resisting its military occupation, war crimes and apartheid policies." -- For more on how to Boycott, Divest and Sanction the state of Israel, see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website. - mpg
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Honduras Coup Regime Declares New State of Emergency Prior to Sunday “Election”
A quote...."The Gaceta Oficial, (“Official Gazette”) of the Honduras coup regime is now freshly printed and has three new decrees and two orders restricting freedom of the press, the right to bear arms and officially strips Catholic Father Andres Tamayo of his Honduran citizenship, ordering him expelled from the country (the good Padre left for El Salvador last week)."

Sham elections proceed in Honduras
A quote...."On Nov. 29, the illegal “government” of Honduras will hold national elections in total violation of all norms by which democratic and legal elections are held. -- It is clear to all that conditions for fair, free and transparent elections do not exist in Honduras."

Honduran People Leader Assassination Worsens Crisis
A quote...."Tegucigalpa, Nov 25 (Prensa Latina) Assassination of the anti-coup resistance leader in the southern Honduran region clouds even more the tense political atmosphere in the country, ahead of the questioned elections on Sunday."
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What's Really In House and Senate Health Insurance Bills
More on the Obama Non-Care Health bill. -- A quote...."It's not universal health care.  It's not even close.  Insurance companies will be bailed out and millions forced to purchase crappy insurance with government subsidies.  Drug costs will soar, the existing safety net wil be slashed and none of the uninsured will be covered till 2013 in the House version, or 2014 in the Senate version.  The devil lurks in the details, and there are lots and lots of details...."
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Is the World Ready for This Gold Rally?
Must Read - Especially for all you gold bugs out there. - mpg - A quote...." Meanwhile, in yesterday’s market action…the big thing that happened was the same thing that seems to happen every day lately. Gold hit a new record high. It rose almost $18 to close at $1,164. - Now, the question we must ask ourselves is an old one: is this the final, blow-out phase of the gold bull market that began 10 years ago? Or is it a trap…intended to catch the Johnny-come-latelies in the gold market?"

The Fed's New Currency
Must View Currency - What good'ol Ben would REALLY like to print. - mpg

What Lies In Store For The Dollar?
A quote...."When it comes to the relative value of the dollar, the last decade has been an eerie recreation of the period from 1980 to the mid 90's. One notable observation is that while the secular bull market starting in 1980, which many are desperately trying to equate the current bear market/liquidity gusher/Keynesian circlejerk rally with, was accompanied with a 5 year long appreciation in the value of the dollar, things could not be more different now."

Dubai debt fears hit world markets hard
A quote...."LONDON — World stock markets fell sharply Thursday as investors fretted over the debt problems at Dubai World, a government investment company, and the continued fall in the dollar. -- Markets are usually relatively quiet when Wall Street is closed for a holiday, as it is Thursday for Thanksgiving Day — not so today."

Still Doing God’s Work on Wall Street
A quote...."Jail, anyone? Perhaps that’s too harsh, and at any rate premature, but is anyone ever going to be held accountable for the behind-the-scenes sweetheart deals that passed tens of billions of taxpayer dollars through the AIG shell game to the very banks that caused the financial meltdown? Or for the many other acts of double-dealing that left one out of three American homeowners owing much more than their houses were worth while the folks who swindled them were rewarded with hundreds of billions in public money?" -- also posted at ICH

Bank 'problem' list climbs to 552
Graph - A quote...."NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Despite the frenetic pace of bank failures this year, 552 lenders are still at risk of going under, according to a government report published Tuesday."

Jobless claims plummet to 14-month low
Good news - mpg -- A quote...."Number of initial filers for unemployment insurance sinks to 466,000, the lowest since Sept. 13, 2008."

U.S. October durable-goods orders fall 0.6%
A quote...."Orders for U.S.-made durable goods fell in October, declining 0.6% on weaker demand for machinery and defense goods...."

October new-home sales rise 6.2% on strength in South
A quote...."Sales of new homes rose 6.2% in October on strong results in the South...."

Merck's Vioxx scandal widens: Drug maker knew Vioxx was deadly for years before risk was made public
And these are the guys who were invited to help "formulate" the new Obama Non-Care Health bill, think of that folks. - mpg -- A quote...."(NaturalNews) The Vioxx scandal widened this week as new research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reveals that Vioxx maker Merck held data for three years that proved Vioxx caused an alarming increase in the risk of heart attacks and strokes. And yet Merck chose not to release that data. In fact, it took three more years of patients dying from heart attacks before Vioxx was pulled off the market, and even then, Merck insisted the drug was not dangerous." -- also posted at DProgram

Tuesday November 24th 2009

Instead of Fixing the U.S. Economy or Creating Jobs for AMERICANS, Obama Will Spend The Money in Afghanistan and Iraq  -- Special Note - A quote...."America is in the most severe unemployment crisis since - and perhaps - the Great Depression. -- And yet Obama, like Bush, has done virtually nothing to create more jobs. Instead, they both gave trillions to the biggest banks (who are not loaning it out to the little guy) and for waging wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. -- Obama is apparently escalating - not ending - the wars. And its not cheap. -- According to the White House, the cost of deploying new soldiers to Afghanistan could be $1 million per soldier. Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says that the Iraq war will cost $3-5 trillion dollars. -- As I have previously pointed out, protracted war increases unemployment, hrinks the economy, and causes recession. See this, this and this. But deficits don't matter, right? Wrong."

Obama Quietly Backs PATRIOT Act Provisions
Police State Alert - A quote...."With the health care debate preoccupying the mainstream media, it has gone virtually unreported that the Barack Obama administration is quietly supporting renewal of provisions of the George W. Bush-era USA PATRIOT Act that civil libertarians say infringe on basic freedoms." -- also posted at Uruknet & DProgram

Greg Craig and Obama's worsening civil liberties record
A quote...."The administration's actual position -- we'll give trials to a handful of people we know we can convict and will continue to imprison them even if they're acquitted, while affirmatively denying trials to the rest -- is about as far from a principled or even cogent position as it gets.  Worse, it's impossible to defend Holder's decision to give a trial to Mohammed by appealing to "the rule of law" given that many of the detainees are being denied trials.  If (as Obama defenders insist) the "rule of law" requires trials, doesn't that mean, by definition, that Obama and Holder -- by using military commissions and indefinite detention -- are trampling on "the rule of law," not upholding it? " -- also posted at CommonDreams

Obama to announce Afghanistan surge of over 30,000
A quote...."Early next week President Obama will announce a surge of more than 30,000 soldiers in the US occupation of Afghanistan. The increase sets the stage for a deepening of US military violence in Central and South Asia and for a confrontation with the US working class, which increasingly opposes the war."

God has left the building - posted at OnlineJournal
A quote...."Several months ago, CNN published the results of a couple of disturbing polls about Americans and their religious beliefs. The first found that more Americans are rejecting religion and thus, according to CNN, America is becoming “less Christian.” The second, a Pew survey of only 742 mostly white evangelical Protestants, revealed that more than six in 10 of them believe that torture is often or sometimes justified. -- More than six in 10? What this says about those claiming to be God’s own is that perhaps they should use their Bibles for more than “thumping.” Because not one in 10 -- not one in 10 thousand -- not one in 10 million -- Christians believes that torture can ever be justified. Ever."

9/11 Defining Moment: "Mr. Cheney, do the orders still stand?"
Contains Video - A quote...."During the time that the airplane was coming in to the Pentagon, there was a young man who would come in and say to the Vice President, "The plane is 50 miles out." "The plane is 30 miles out." And when it got down to "the plane is 10 miles out," the young man also said to the Vice President, "Do the orders still stand?" And the Vice President turned and whipped his neck around and said, "Of course the orders still stand. Have you heard anything to the contrary?" 
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Iraq inquiry: Bush administration 'discussing regime change two years before invasion'
Special Note - A quote...."Elements of the new US administration of President George Bush were already discussing ''regime change'' in Iraq two years before the invasion of 2003, the official inquiry into the war has been told." - In other words, before 9/11. - mpg

US discussed Iraq regime change a month after Bush took office, senior British officials say
Special Note - A quote...."The chairman of the British Joint Intelligence Committee in 2001 told investigators Monday that elements of the Bush Administration were pushing for regime change in Iraq in early 2001, months before the 9/11 attacks and two years before President George W. Bush formally announced the Iraq war." - also posted at Uruknet -- But 9/11 sure helped, didn't it?  By the way, for those with long memories, remember how the Neocons and Bush were screaming about how they had to go into Iraq FIRST, for four long months after 9/11 they ran around like chickens with their heads cut off frothing at the mouth about how they just had to go after Saddam, till they were convinced by a few people, including Powell, that they'd have to go into Afghanistan first.  To say it again, especially for all those morons out there in this country who are truly in denial (or far, far, worse) regarding 9/11.....the "attack" sure was convenient for the Neocons' plans, wasn't it? - mpg

Iraq Inquiry: The First Big Lie
A quote...."Sir John Chilcot was just ten minutes in to the first public session of the Iraq Inquiry when he told the first big lie - and a lie which, when examined, exposes the entire charade." -- also posted at Uruknet

Iraq inquiry - another whitewash?
A quote...."Britain's most wide-ranging inquiry into the Iraq war is under way - but in a country where two previous inquiries were branded little more than "establishment whitewash" - is it likely the latest examination will satisfy the public?" -- also posted at Uruknet

Iraq Inquiry, Blair, Zionists=FUBAR
A quote...."When I think of this sham of an "Inquiry" the word FUBAR springs to mind. The British “inquiry” for the “truth” into the Iraqi (illegal) invasion (regime change plot) has begun. Yawn, another British atrocity, another whitewash “inquiry.” Just ask the victims of Bloody Sunday, they know all about British “inquiries” 30 years on and still no truth or justice. But, I imagine the British people think they will get the truth because they will be treated differently than the “paddies” were. Guess again."

Arab Bloc Threatens Iraq Election Boycott - posted at AntiWar
A quote...."The threat reflects increasing anger, particularly among Sunni Arabs, about the distribution of parliamentary seats as spelled out in the election law. Objections in the previous law led to Sunni Arab Vice President Hashemi vetoing it."

IRAQ: TV commentator who criticized government is shot
A quote...."Baghdad is buzzing about the shooting Monday night of a prominent TV commentator who regularly criticized the government on his show "Without Fences" on the privately owned Al-Diyar TV station. -- Imad Abadi was shot in the head and neck by gunmen using a pistol equipped with a silencer at about 8 p.m. as he rode in his car in the Salhiya neighborhood not far from Baghdad's Green Zone. He managed to keep driving to an Iraqi checkpoint, and doctors today said his chances of recovery are good." -- For more on this sort of issue see....New Blackwater Iraq Scandal: Guns, Silencers and Dog Food & Did Blackwater sneak silencers into Iraq? & US-Killing the Messenger
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The Memory Scrub About Why Ft. Hood Happened Is Almost Complete ... If It Weren't for Archives
A quote...."What happened to all the initial reports that accused Fort Hood killer Maj. Nidal Hasan snapped because he was distraught over the Army's refusal to grant him either a discharge or an exemption from being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, wars which the Muslim psychiatrist abhorred -- and how it was this callous Army refusal to accommodate Maj. Hasan that led to his downward spiral into despondency, rage and mass murder?" -- also posted at ICH

We Are All War Criminals
November 24, 2009 "Information Clearing House" --  Our nation is still recovering from the November 5, 2009, shootings at Ft. Hood in Killeen, Texas.  We are waiting for some sense of normalcy to return after such a shocking event.  How unbelievable it is for this tragedy to occur; after all, our occupations had been going so well until this point.  Just ask the Iraqi people.  Wait, scratch that.  Ok, ask the Afghan people.  Nevermind.  Just ask U.S. veterans.  Oh boy.  If we ask the people who are living the horrors, then maybe what happened at Ft. Hood isn’t so shocking at all.  What is surprising is that we haven’t seen more of the same." -- also posted at DProgram

'Cruel, illegal, immoral': Human Rights Watch condemns UK's role in torture
Special Note - A quote...."The attorney general was under intense pressure tonight to order a wider series of police investigations into British complicity in torture after one of the world's leading human rights organisations said there was clear evidence of the UK government's involvement in the torture of its own citizens."

Two Former Bagram Detainees Held Without Charge Describe Torture and Wrongful Imprisonment
A quote...."The Obama administration has promised to begin moving the 700 odd men held in the Bagram prison in Afghanistan into a new 60 million dollar facility by next month. But in a video released by Brave New Films, two men who were held in the notorious detention center ask how much of a difference this will make when its unclear why people were arrested in the first place. The two brothers Abdel and Noor Raqeeb, say they were held without formal charges, tortured, only to be released with an apology for being mistaken for Taliban spokesperson.[Includes rush transcript]" -- ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

The CIA Asked to Destroy Torture Tapes on Same Day They Claimed They Didn’t Torture
A quote...."As William Ockham has noted, there is a new–very informative–Vaughn Index and Declaration out. I’ll have much more to say about these. But for now, look at what documents 3 and 4 from the Vaughn Index tell us about the timing of the torture tape destruction." -- also posted at Uruknet

Whatever Happened to the CIA's Black Sites? - link posted at AntiWar
A quote...."The CIA ordered its secret prisons closed, but lawyers for terrorism suspects want them preserved as possible evidence—and the CIA won't say what's going on."

Blackwater’s Secret War in Pakistan: Jeremy Scahill Reveals Private Military Firm Operating in Pakistan Under Covert Assassination and Kidnapping Program -- A quote...."In an explosive new article in The Nation magazine, investigative journalist and Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill reveals the private military firm Blackwater is part of a covert program in Pakistan that includes planning the assassination and kidnapping of Taliban and Al-Qaeda suspects. Blackwater is also said to be involved in a previously undisclosed U.S. military drone campaign that has killed scores of people inside Pakistan. The article says the program has become so secretive that top Obama administration and military officials have likely been unaware of its existence. In a Democracy Now! exclusive, Scahill joins us for his first interview since the story broke.[Includes rush transcript]" -- ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 
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Yemen conflict inflaming Saudi-Iranian rivalry
A quote...."RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — For years just an obscure fight raging in remote desert mountains, Yemen's war with Shiite rebels has been dragged up to a new level, inflaming the rivalry between the Middle East's two powerhouses Saudi Arabia and Iran."

Yemen rebels say army joining Saudis
A quote...."SANAA: Shiite rebels on Tuesday accused Yemen’s army of cooperating with Saudi forces to launch attacks against them, and also said they had defeated a multi-pronged Saudi assault from across the border. “The people’s army charged with protecting the border is cooperating with the Saudi Army in bombing and ground attacks … against the country and its sons,” said a statement from the Zaydi rebels, also known as Houthis. "

Iran increases range of its missiles to 35,000 feet
A quote...."A senior Iranian military commander has announced that Iran has increased the range of the TOR M1 air defense system it bought from Russia."

BRAZIL-IRAN:  New Boost to South-South Diplomacy
A quote...."RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 24 (IPS) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial visit to Brazil further underscored the independence of this country's diplomacy, and gave Tehran a chance to defend its points of view on the construction of a lasting peace in the Middle East."

Iran, Brazil sign 8 deals
A quote...."Iran and Brazil signed eight cooperation deals in Brasilia on Monday after talks between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva."

Bolivia proud of its ties with Iran: Morales
A quote...."Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Bolivian President Evo Morales have called for the expansion of ties between the two countries."

DEVELOPMENT:  China, India Lead South-South Cooperation
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS, Nov 24 (IPS) - China and India have been singled out as two countries that have established vibrant economic and financial links with the developing world and played key roles in strengthening South-South cooperation over the last 10 years."

Mexican FM calls for improving Latin America-Asia integration
A quote...."MEXICO CITY, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa called Tuesday for improving the integration between nations of Latin America's Pacific coast regions and their cooperation with Asian countries to fight the global economic crisis."

The Dark Side of the Bright Side
Interview - Regarding Barbara Ehrenreich's new book "Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America" - [GoglBkSrch] -- A quote...."But then all that was swept aside for a new notion of what management is about. The word they use is “leadership.” The CEO and the top people are not there so much to analyze and plan but to inspire people. They claimed to have this uncanny ability to sense opportunities. It was a shock, to find the extent to which corporate culture has been infiltrated not only by positive thinking, but by mysticism. The idea is that now things are moving so fast in this era of globalization, that there’s no time to think anymore. So you increasingly find CEOs gathering in sweat lodges or drumming circles or going on “vision quests” to get in touch with their inner-Genghis Khan or whatever they were looking for." -- also posted at ICH
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

No Way Through - Alt - (YouTube - 7 min 15 sec - October 22, 2009)
Video - A quote...."No Way Through highlights mobility restrictions imposed in the West Bank, that are limiting its habitants access to health care, thus violating a fundamental human right. -- Take Action to help people in the Occupied Palestinian Territories get justice."

Palestinian schoolchildren face daily settler attacks
A quote...."AL-TUWANI, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Being able to travel to school in relative safety is something children all over the world take for granted. But, for Palestinian children living in the shadow of the ubiquitous and illegal Israeli settlements dotting the occupied West Bank, simply walking to school can be a terrifying experience." -- also posted at WarInIraq & AlethoNews & ElectIntafada

Israeli Soldiers Admit to War Crimes in Gaza War - Alt - (YouTube - 2 min 42 sec - July 15, 2009)
Video - A quote...."Soldiers who took part in Israel's 2008 war on Gaza have spoken out on what they say really happened during the 22-day offensive. Israel has rejected charges that it could be guilty of war crimes."

Rights group: 69 cases of Palestinian olive trees destroyed, but no prosecutions
A quote...."The human rights organization Yesh Din says not one of the 69 complaints filed during the past four years on damage to Palestinians' trees in the West Bank has resulted in an indictment. The organization released a report on the matter Tuesday and makes specific reference to damage caused to olive groves, central to the livelihood of Palestinian villagers."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Honduran Tension Increasing after Militarization
A quote...."Tegucigalpa, Nov 24 (Prensa Latina) The vast deployment of armed forces, policemen, paramilitary bodies, and reservists continue reheating Tuesday the political tension unleashed in Honduras, almost five months of the military coup."
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China executes two men for tainted milk death
Special Note - Just IMAGINE what China would do to our Banksters if they did to China what they did to us.  Simple execution would be the least of their worries. - mpg -- A quote...."China has executed two people for their role in a tainted milk scandal that sickened several thousand children across the country. -- Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping were executed on Tuesday for their involvement in the case that killed at least six children last year, Reuters reported. -- Nineteen others, including executives and middlemen, were sentenced to prison terms."

The Economic Crisis and What Must be Done -- Hmmmm, this website editor suspects China has some ideas.
A quote...."The United States does not control its own destiny. Rather it is controlled by an international financial elite, of which the American branch works out of big New York banks like J.P. Morgan Chase, Wall Street investment firms such as Goldman Sachs, and the Federal Reserve System. They in turn control the White House, Congress, the military, the mass media, the intelligence agencies, both political parties, the universities, etc. No one can rise to the top in any of these institutions without the elite’s stamp of approval." -- also posted at DProgram

Audit the Fed? The Battle Against Obama’s Bankers Begins on Capitol Hill
A quote...."For the first time since the Crash of 2008, there is cause for hope that Wall Street’s devouring of the U.S. state can be halted. Republican libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (TX), leading a bipartisan coalition comprising a solid majority of the U.S. House, last week won committee approval of a bill that would open the books of the Federal Reserve, the heretofore unaccountable engine of bankster thievery on a cosmic scale."

Most Gobal Banks Are Unsafe, Warns S&P
Special Note - A quote...."Every single bank in Japan, the US, Germany, Spain, and Italy included in S&P's list of 45 global lenders fails the 8pc safety level under the agency's risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio. Most fall woefully short."

As Bank Failures Rise, F.D.I.C. Fund Falls Into Red
Special Note - A quote...."The government-administered insurance fund that protects depositors fell into the red for the first time since the fallout from the savings-and-loan crisis of the early 1990s as the pace of bank failures accelerated." -- also posted at RogueGov

Social Security: The Hidden Problem
A quote...."There is much debate today about how solvent Social Security is, but most of the debate is over when the trust fund will run out of money, not about whether or not the trust fund actually holds real assets. The conventional wisdom, prior to the economic downturn, was that the trust fund had enough money to pay full Social Security benefits until about 2041. That date has now been revised to about 2037." -- also posted at ICH

American Casino:
Movie Review - A quote...."November 24, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- Andrew and Leslie Cockburn have produced the best movie of the year. American Casino tells the story of the financial crisis, which started with the meltdown in subprime lending and ended up triggering the deepest slump since the Great Depression. The Cockburn's skillfully uncover the truth behind the headlines, shining a light on the negligent regulators, the colluding Fed, the unscrupulous ratings agencies, the mercenary banks, the venal mortgage lenders, and the long daisy-chain of opportunists and fraudsters who gorged themselves on the spoils from the biggest swindle in history. This is this generation's big story and it is deftly conveyed by master narrators, Mr. and Mrs. Cockburn."

Monday November 23rd 2009

They Were Paid to be Guilty
11-23-09 - revised 11-24-09
mpg

A Trial That Will Convict Us All
Must Read - A quote...."Republican members of Congress and what masquerades as a “conservative” media are outraged that the Obama administration intends to try in federal court Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of 9/11, and four alleged co-conspirators. -- The Republican and right-wing rant that a trial is too good for these people proves what I have written for a number of years:  Republicans and many Americans who think of themselves as conservatives have no regard for the US Constitution or for civil liberties." -- "Even some of those, such as Stuart Taylor in the National Journal, who defend giving Mohammed a court trial do so on the grounds that there are no risks as Mohammed is certain to be convicted and that “a civilian trial will show Americans and the rest of the world that our government is sure it can prove the 9/11 defendants guilty in the fairest of all courts.” - also posted at OhBummer

Let EVERYONE understand quite clearly that these suspects may very well be guilty of participation in 9/11....after all, the US-NRE's parasitic class have directed their lackeys in this government to help funnel well over a hundred BILLION dollars to various "terrorist" groups and other “black” operations in the Middle East for more than thirty years.  It would have been a great shame from their point of view for all that money to have been spent for naught.

As a result, one thing everyone can count on is that there will be no expansion of these "trials" beyond the very narrow boundaries of whether or not these defendants were involved with the events that occurred on 9/11.  Anything that might even hint of wider ramifications regarding these defendants’ alleged actions on 9/11 will be ruthlessly expunged from the record, given the judicial heave-ho, gagged immediately upon its appearance, utterly ignored by the faux-news-infotainment complex and buried as quickly and as quietly as possible. 

This is a show trial folks, how the defendants got here, who facilitated their movements, what their relationships were with the US-NRE, Israel and the Saudi Royal Family and other countries, who supplied the money, who trained them, who gave them their ideology, who coordinated their activities, who benefited from their actions and most importantly WHO KNEW, will all be ruled as inadmissible or perhaps even a state secret as this shamble of a show trial rumbles forward to its preordained conclusion.

They could have tapes of Bush and Cheney congratulating these defendants on the successful completion of their mission and the tapes would not be allowed in the proceedings. They could have reams of documents demonstrating all sorts of connections these defendants had to the CIA, Pakistan's ISI, Israel's Mossad, the Saudi Royals, and the Bush administration and none of them would EVER see the light of day.  They could have telegrams from the defendants to the Bush administration warning them to get ready for the attack and be sure to pave the way for their actions and not one would be allowed into evidence.

The actions of these defendants will be portrayed as "9/11, the immaculate deception"  where these defendants had no past linking them to anything or anyone but a few dirty caves in Afghanistan, where they spontaneously arose out of the very dust of that far-flung land like clay golems, golems who somehow labored mightily in total secrecy for many years, conceived their dastardly plot, and than carried it out against the entire defense network of the world's only hyper-power, appearing almost as if they magically popped into existence right in front of our noses, all the while somehow, miraculously never coming into contact or doing any "business" these many years with any other national state or their respective intelligence services.

But that of course is a complete and total fabrication and a deliberate criminal deception. There are three countries who shall forevermore be known by evryone as the world's "Trinity of Evil", a crime syndicate who in their never-ending quest to create a "New World Order" under the aegis of the US-NRE's “New American Century” have patiently been working with these defendants and their various organizations for the last thirty years.  They are as follows.

One: Saudi Arabia, or effectively, the Saudi Royal Family, (manpower, financing and radical ideology).  Fifteen out of nineteen of the supposed "hijackers" on that fateful day were Saudi citizens. Several Saudi charities supplied funds for the operation along with members of the "Royal Family". The bin Laden industrial group for example carved the tunnels at Tora Bora under CIA/ISI guidance.  They also purchased a portion of the Iridium satellite system which had downlink capabilities to the remote control systems on Boeing 767/757 airliners.  Also bin Laden himself used satellite communications that were freely monitored by the US-NRE's NSA.

Two:  Israel ("lamplighter" – i.e. they "paved the way" by providing intelligence and through AIPAC's efforts and Murdoch’s media empire....massive amounts of propaganda, along with almost total control of the US-NRE’s legislature).  Computer programs used to potentially misdirect NORAD on that day, along with programs used to monitor the US-NRE's civilian communications network came from several Israeli companies.  Several members of the Jewish community within the US-NRE directly participated in the acquisition of the targeted properties involved, produced much of the fake "intell" inciting this nation’s population to war against Iraq and Afghanistan,  including several fraudulent "al-Qaeda" and "bin Laden" tapes.  Many Jewish Americans with ties to Israel and AIPAC also provided the intellectual backing and plans for this enterprise such as the DPG and PNAC protocols.  Also of course AIPAC has either bought many members of this nation’s legislature or intimidated the rest into abject silence.

Three: The US-NRE, (finance, coordination and cover-up, i.e. the general contractor for the "enterprise") Most of the heavy lifting and probable killing at the maximum (they “caused it to happen", the planes were remote-ed into the structures and the buildings were explosively demolished) and at the minimum (they “allowed it to happen", they misdirected NORAD directly and/or through exercises held on the very same day which mimicked the attack. They also took no action on the hundreds of reports they received from dozens of sources about the pending attack prior to 9/11) was probably carried out by the US-NRE's Texas Cabal, a group primarily made up of members from the Military and Oil sectors of the US-NRE’s economy. 

And of course, by dragging out any chance of an investigation for more than a year, initially giving the 9/11 commission only three million dollars, redacting reports, refusing to testify under oath, refusing to release records, holding only one investigation, appointing investigators with conflicts of interest, savagely attacking anyone who questioned the “enterprise” and a tediously long list of other actions and activities which continue to this day, they were able to effectively prevent a criminal investigation of 9/11, its aftermath and those who helped facilitate it. - mpg -- For more on these issues see....Reficultnias's 9/11 Central
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Are Hate Crime Laws Legalizing Treason?
Must Read - A quote...."Winning wars in the Information Age largely depends on winning the battle for public opinion. Thus the opinion-shaping role of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) when it attacked a high profile California professor for his criticism of Israeli policy in Palestine. -- That ADL intimidation campaign successfully chilled debate on campuses nationwide during several time-critical months while a new president, promising the hope of change, reassessed U.S.-Israeli relations. His only change—endorsing more Israeli settlements on Palestinian land—quashed any hope of peace." -- also posted at ICH

A Show About Nothing: - The Placeholder Presidency of Barack Obama
A quote...."November 22, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- Hey, remember Seinfeld? Remember how it billed itself as a “show about nothing”, and how, in fact, that’s what it was? -- I think we’re at the point now where it’s become inescapable that the Obama presidency is also a show about nothing. -- It’s the same as Seinfeld. Except for two things. -- First, unlike Seinfeld, it bills itself as a show about something, if not everything (remember Mr. Bigtime Change from just last year?). -- And, second, the nothingness of the Obama administration is not very goddam funny, thanks just the same."

Forced Labour and Rape, the New Face of Slavery in America
Welcome....to the New Roman Empire, coming soon to a town near you folks, just you wait and see.....mpg -- A quote...."In the Midwestern heartland, police are encountering a new social evil: trafficking, often involving women and children who are forced to work as prostitutes or unpaid labour; and the outcomes can be brutal." -- also posted at ICH & BLN & CommonDreams

Secret files show UK courts were misled over 9/11 suspect Lotfi Raissi
A quote...."British prosecutors failed to disclose crucial evidence to the courts in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in a case that resulted in an innocent pilot being jailed for five months, previously unseen documents reveal."

"Britain knew CIA tortured detainee: -- Britain knew that American agents were using barbaric torture techniques on terror suspects, including British resident Binyam Mohamed, it emerged yesterday. Secret reports sent between MI5 and the CIA in 2002 reveal that the American security services were using torture practices which included waterboarding, facial slaps and stress positions.  ---  In case you missed it: : How US trained butchers of Timor: The US programme, codenamed 'Iron Balance', was hidden from legislators and the public" -- Paragraph quoted from ICH
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Eastern Partnership: The West’s Final Assault On the Former Soviet Union
Must Read - Geo-Strategic Analysis - From the History File - February 13, 2009 -- A quote...."At a meeting of the European Union’s General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on May 26 of last year, Poland, seconded by Sweden, first proposed what has come to be known as the Eastern Partnership, a program to “integrate” all the European and South Caucasus former Soviet nations – except for Russia – not already in the EU and NATO; that is, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. -- The above are half of the former Soviet republics in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) established as a sop to Russia immediately after the breakup of the Soviet Union in that year and in theory to be a post-Soviet equivalent of the then European Community, now European Union." -- also posted at AfterDwngSt

Why Afghans Dig Empire Graveyards - posted at ConsortiumNews
Must Read - A quote...." Afghanistan is known as the "graveyard of empires." But just why do empires keep sending thousands of their young people to die in Afghanistan? -- American blood-letting in Afghanistan is generally explained in terms of the Taliban and al-Qaeda, but it was the earlier U.S. involvement in Afghanistan (in the 1980s) that led to the emergence of these movements in the first place, not the other way around. -- Since Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. government has used al-Qaeda’s terrorist attacks to justify much more than simply retaliation for 9/11 or even prevention of some future recurrence of 9/11. The attacks have served as an excuse for U.S. invasions and occupations (including Iraq which had nothing to do with 9/11), flagrant war crimes (including torture), and the largest U.S. military budget since World War II."

Iraq report: Secret papers reveal blunders and concealment
Must Read -- A quote...."The reports disclose that:   Tony Blair, the former prime minister, misled MPs and the public throughout 2002 when he claimed that Britain’s objective was “disarmament, not regime change” and that there had been no planning for military action. In fact, British military planning for a full invasion and regime change began in February 2002. -- The need to conceal this from Parliament and all but “very small numbers” of officials “constrained” the planning process. The result was a “rushed”operation “lacking in coherence and resources” which caused “significant risk” to troops and “critical failure” in the post-war period." -- bold by website editor

'Iraq's newly-approved [and revised] electoral law to face [another] veto'
A quote...."A senior Iraqi official has warned that the country's amended electoral law could face further vetoes as Sunni factions say the changes do not address their concerns. -- Former Iraqi national security adviser, Muwaffaq al-Rubaie told Press TV on Monday that "Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi is likely veto the law for a second time."

"Hostility between British and American military leaders revealed --The deep hostility of Britain’s senior military commanders in Iraq towards their American allies has been revealed in classified Government documents leaked to the Daily Telegraph . 22 Nov 2009 In the papers, the British chief of staff in Iraq, Colonel J.K.Tanner, described his US military counterparts as "a group of Martians" [Good one! Guess who was the Top Martian --aka Commander in Thief --in 2003?] for whom "dialogue is alien," saying: "Despite our so-called 'special relationship,' I reckon we were treated no differently to the Portuguese." Col Tanner’s boss, the top British commander in the country, Major General Andrew Stewart, told how he spent "a significant amount of my time" "evading" and "refusing" orders from his US superiors." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

Video of Falluja made by Italien TV - Warning Graphic Video
Must View Video - Shows the results of white phospherous use by the US-NRE against civilians living in Falluja, along with the effects of DU. -- It's in Italian, but some of the commentary by the interviewees is in english.  The pictures however, show what the US-NRE did to the city of Falluja and its inhabitants. Some of them are quite grim.  Also some of them, if not most of them, constitute warcrimes by the US-NRE's military and civilian leadership against the people of Falluja. - mpg

US Plans to Copy Iraq Prison Strategy in Afghanistan
A quote...."Following with the trend of trying to shoehorn the dubious Iraq War strategy onto Afghanistan, the US Army says that it intends to copy its prison strategy from Iraq in Afghanistan."
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The Pot Calls the Kettle Black
Special Note - This one's fun - mpg -- A quote...." PARIS – Not so long ago, Hamid Karzai, the US-installed president of Afghanistan, used to be hailed by Washington and the US media as a noble democrat and statesman. -- But as things in Afghanistan went from bad to worse, and Taliban gained strength and popularity, Washington directed its ire at Karzai, who had almost no power of his own and was forced to rely on the US, the Tajik-Uzbek-Communist Northern Alliance, and assorted drug-dealing warlords. -- After some of Karzai’s henchmen become overzealous in rigging Afghanistan’s last already rigged election, Washington exploded in anger and frustration, blaming its wayward puppet for the growing mess in the Hindu Kush."

Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan
Must Read - A quote...."At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, "snatch and grabs" of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help run a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus."
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US Naval Intelligence Views Iran's Naval Forces
Reports - A quote...."A new report (pdf) from the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence describes Iran's naval order of battle, as well as the Iranian Navy's history, strategic options, and favored tactics."

Advanced submarines to join Iran Navy
A quote...."Two advanced submarines will join the Iranian Navy as the country is stepping up its presence in the pirate-infested waters of Somalia. -- “Two submarines of the Ghadir class will soon join the Iranian Navy,” Iran Navy chief Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told a Monday news conference."

Brazil urges 'just solution' to Iran nuclear issue
A quote...."The Brazilian president has backed Iran's rights to peaceful nuclear energy and called for a “just solution” to Tehran's nuclear dispute with the West. -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was welcomed by his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday."

Ahmadinejad begins LatAm tour after Peres visit
A quote...."Iran's President is scheduled to begin his tour of five countries in Africa and South America on Sunday days after the Israeli president ended a tour aimed at rallying support against Tehran. -- “Iranian President (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) will visit Brazil, Bolivia, Venezuela, Senegal and Gambia,” IRINN reported on Sunday. " -- also posted at WarInIraq

Iran gains $5 bln by currency shift to euro
A quote...."TEHRAN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Central Bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani said on Monday that the country has gained 5 billion U.S. dollars by shifting its foreign currency reserve from the U.S. dollar to the euro, local satellite Press TV reported." - also posted at BLN -- See also related article and comment....

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Adventurism, Opportunism, and Recklessness -  Saudi Arabia’s Attack on Yemen
A quote...."November 21, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- If there was any question about which country was interfering in Yemen’s civil war, Saudi Arabia provided the answer when its F-15 and Tornado fighter jets struck Zaidi rebel positions two weeks ago in the mountainous border region between the two countries, and beyond. - The Zaidi fighters, known as Houthis, have been engaged in an on-and-off struggle with Yemen’s government since 2004; a conflict which most recently flared again this August (for additional background, see “Saada Under Siege”). -  The Saudi assault was allegedly in retaliation for the killing of a border guard by the rebels in early November. The Houthis however, charge Saudi Arabia with allowing Yemen’s army to launch attacks from Saudi territory and participating in cross-border raids themselves."

China-Africa summit in Egypt hailed as success
A quote...."A new chapter in relations between the People’s Republic of China and the African continent began during the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC), which was held Nov. 6-9 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced eight new measures to enhance partnerships with 53 African states in the areas of agriculture, debt relief, market access expansion, climate change, medical affairs, education, environmental protection and promotion of investment."

The Russo-Chinese Oil and Gas Agreements Initiate a New Era in Geopolitics of Oil
A quote...."2009-11-20 07:39:28 - Russia agreed to supply oil to China for 20 years in lieu of a $25 billion loan to OAO Roseneft, a state run oil company and OAO Transneft, a state run pipeline company -- In October 2009, Russia and China signed multiple oil and gas agreements to strengthen their collaboration in the energy sector. In 2009, they signed oil agreements worth $100 billion. . Gazprom, the Russian oil and gas giant, aims to build two gas pipelines to deliver 80 billion cubic metres of gas annually to China. This will give Gazprom an opportunity to penetrate into new markets beyond its traditional European markets. China also plans to offer a $10 billion credit to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (The group comprises of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Russia and China). Further, Chinese sovereign wealth fund will invest $300 million in Nobel Holdings Investments (a Russian oil producing company)." -- also posted at BLN

Russia 'is now a criminal state', says Bill Browder
A quote...."When Putin first showed up and said he was going to tame the oligarchs, I was the biggest fan of that particular concept. Then I realised that what he meant by taming the oligarchs was sticking law enforcement people in their place," he says. -- "Now, you have a bunch of law enforcement people who are essentially organised criminals with unlimited power to ruin lives, take property and do whatever they like and that's far worse than I have ever seen in Russia before. Russia is essentially a criminal state now." -- also posted at BLN

US builds up its bases in oil-rich South America
Special Note - A quote...."The United States is massively building up its potential for nuclear and non-nuclear strikes in Latin America and the Caribbean by acquiring unprecedented freedom of action in seven new military, naval and air bases in Colombia. The development – and the reaction of Latin American leaders to it – is further exacerbating America's already fractured relationship with much of the continent." -- also posted at BLN
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NSA helped with Windows 7 development
Police State Alert - A quote...."Computerworld -  The National Security Agency (NSA) worked with Microsoft on the development of Windows 7, an agency official acknowledged yesterday during testimony before Congress. -- "Working in partnership with Microsoft and elements of the Department of Defense, NSA leveraged our unique expertise and operational knowledge of system threats and vulnerabilities to enhance Microsoft's operating system security guide without constraining the user to perform their everyday tasks, whether those tasks are being performed in the public or private sector," Richard Schaeffer, the NSA's information assurance director, told the Senate's Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security yesterday as part of a prepared statement."

Internet Under Siege
Police State Alert - A quote...."It is ironic that President Barack Obama would travel to China and speak against government control over the internet.  If the American Department of Homeland Security has its way new cybersecurity laws will enable Obama’s administration to take control of the internet in the event of a national crisis.  How that national crisis might be defined would be up to the White House but there have been some precedents that suggest that the response would hardly be respectful of the Bill of Rights." -- also posted at PJB

[Obama's] New Executive Order Aims to Avoid Declass Deadline
A quote...."Development of a new executive order on classification of national security information is now proceeding at an accelerated pace in order to preempt a deadline that would require the declassification of millions of pages of historical records next month."

The JFK Assisination - A Look at the Deaths of Those Involved
Tables - From the History File - Published in 2002 -- A quote...."In the three-year period which followed the murder of President Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald, 18 material witnesses died - six by gunfire, three in motor accidents, two by suicide, one from a cut throat, one from a karate chop to the neck, three from heart attacks and two from natural causes. -- An actuary, engaged by the "London Sunday Times," concluded that on November 22, 1963, the odds against these witnesses being dead by February 1967, were one hundred thousand trillion to one."
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South Africa deports Israeli airline official spying on citizens
A quote...."South Africa deported an Israeli airline official last week following allegations that Israel's secret police, the Shin Bet, had infiltrated Johannesburg international airport in an effort to gather information on South African citizens, particularly black and Muslim travelers." -- also posted at CounterPunch

Why occupiers systematically misunderstand their self-perceived benevolence
A quote...."It shouldn’t need to be said. Yet to a shocking degree occupiers seem genuinely surprised that the occupied, who live under their boot, at the sharp end of their gun barrel, on the wrong side of discriminatory institutions, are not more thankful for the occupiers’ generous behavior. I mean to ask: aren’t Palestinians thankful for the fact they live better than the world’s most destitute? That Gazans are not more appreciative for their “humanitarian situation” as opposed to “humanitarian crisis”, to use Dershowitz’s repugnant distinction?"

Arab League demands international inspection of Israeli jails
A quote...."CAIRO, (PIC)-- The general secretariat of the Arab League has called for opening the Israeli jails for international inspection and monitoring to put an end to the Israeli violations of Arab and Palestinian prisoners' rights." -- also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

"Quiet Genocide" -- Call It What It Is Folks
Special Note - A quote...."What is happening in Palestine is nothing short of a planned “Quiet Genocide.” Yes, “Genocide” the taboo word, unable to be uttered by the American Government, the British Government or any of the world’s major Western Players or European heavyweights. Whilst the majority of the world’s governments choose to play word games and run interference for Israel’s crimes, I thought it was time to look at just exactly what a “genocide” is, how to create one, how to make it successful, how to win. And, surprisingly enough, the International Law on Genocide was created after World War 2 at the behest of a Jewish Lawyer called Lemkin. Oddly enough, Lemkin’s work on Genocide, his mapping out of what a genocide is comprised of, how it is done, the various aspects of types of genocides, he unwittingly handed the future State of Israel a blueprint if you will, a “How To List” on committing successful genocide. So what was created in the wake of the holocaust, in turn, is now being used by the former victims of genocide to inflict genocide on others. I wonder what Lemkin would think of Israel’s actions today:"

JCSER warns of Israeli plan to deport more than 20,000 Palestinians from J’lem
A quote...."OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Jerusalem center for social and economic rights (JCSER) warned of Israeli intentions to deport more than 20,000 Palestinians from the West Bank who married from Jerusalemite women at the pretext that their residence in the holy city is illegal."

Hebron's architecture of occupation
A quote...."The word "revenge" is scrawled in Hebrew on a Palestinian school in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The windows are covered with screens and the play yard obstructed with more screens tipped with barbed wire, to obstruct the stones regularly pelted down by Jewish settlers. The space between the school and the neighboring building is blocked off with large wooden slabs, to ensure that Palestinian school children do not encroach into settler territory. Nearby checkpoints and cameras placed on rooftops serve as constant reminders that these kids' every movement is monitored and contained."

Why is Israel laying claim to an Arab home in Jaffa?
A quote...."Tziona Tajer Street in Jaffa, off the main thoroughfare, Yefet, begins with a lush park and ends in a narrow picturesque alleyway bounded by refurbished old homes. One of these houses, behind a heavy blue gate, belongs to the Shaya family. Hanging by the entrance is a large portrait of the family patriarch, Salim Khoury Shaya, a priest who served in the 1920s as the spiritual leader of the Christian Arab (Greek Orthodox) community. Around that time he also built the house on a hill in Jaffa."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

United States backs illegal elections in Honduras -- Betrays process to restore Constitutional order
A quote...."After five months of political chaos in Honduras, repeated attempts to reach a negotiated agreement for restoration of Constitutional order have failed due to the defiant recalcitrance of the Micheletti coup regime and the complicity of the State Department.  Given this impasse and the deepening human rights crisis, it is widely recognized that conditions for holding free, fair and transparent elections on November 29th, just days from now, do not exist."

US Group That Supported Overthrows of Democratically Elected Governments in Haiti and Venezuela Will Observe Elections in Honduras -- A quote...."WASHINGTON - November 23 - The National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI), organizations that receive funding from the U.S. State Department, are planning on sending delegations to observe the November 29 elections in Honduras, according to a statement issued by Republican Senator Richard Lugar. The IRI is a group that has supported the ouster of democratically elected presidents in Haiti and Venezuela in recent years. Both groups are apparently planning to assist with observation of the elections, despite the fact that the electoral process will be effectively controlled by thousands of military troops and police officers - the same forces who have committed innumerable human rights violations, including killings, rapes, beatings and thousands of detentions, since the June 28 coup d'etat."

Zelaya Asks LatAm to Condemn Coup Regime
A quote...."Tegucigalpa, Nov 23 (Prensa Latina) Constitutional President Manuel Zelaya requested Latin America's statesmen support his country and ratify condemnation to the coup d'etat."
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Health Care Reform [Rip-off] -- Support for Health Care Plan Falls to New Low
Special Note - More on ObamaCare -- A quote...."Just 38% of voters now favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the lowest level of support measured for the plan in nearly two dozen tracking polls conducted since June. -- The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% now oppose the plan." -- "Only 16% now believe passage of the plan will lead to lower health care costs. Nearly four times as many (60%) believe the plan will increase health care costs. Most (54%) also believe passage of the plan will hurt the quality of care." - bold by website editor -- also posted at BLN

Single Payer Activists to Congress: Defeat Democratic Health Bill
More on ObamaCare -- A quote...."The Democratic health care bill is a massive bailout of the private health insurance industry. It is convoluted and complicated.  And it should be defeated.  That's the take of a number of leading single payer activists.  They will hold a press conference the day before Thanksgiving.  And call on Congress to defeat the more than 2,000 page bill.  Start from scratch.  And pass single payer, Medicare for all, national health insurance.  The press conference will be held in the Murrow Room at the National P ress Club in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 10 a.m.  The press conference is being organized by Single Payer Action.

The Killer and the Kid - Health Care's Historic Flop
More on ObamaCare - A quote...."We need only look at the check lists of two of the most powerful people in health care reform to see who is benefiting most from the proposed legislation in Congress. -- Karen “Killer” Ignagni, President and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) won the following...."
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Economic Meltdown -- A Call for Systemic Change
A quote...."November 21, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- Whenever I hold my two-year old grandson, Grant, in my arms I wonder what this world will look like six decades from now, when he is my age. I know that if we "stay the course" it will be ugly. The current economic meltdown is a harbinger."

Deficits (and Massive Debt Overhangs) DO Matter
Special Note - Charts - Wall Street is STILL saying they don't. - mpg -- A quote...."The New York Times has a good essay on debt: -- But that happy situation, aided by ultralow interest rates, may not last much longer. -- Treasury officials now face a trifecta of headaches: a mountain of new debt, a balloon of short-term borrowings that come due in the months ahead, and interest rates that are sure to climb back to normal as soon as the Federal Reserve decides that the emergency has passed. -- Even as Treasury officials are racing to lock in today’s low rates by exchanging short-term borrowings for long-term bonds, the government faces a payment shock similar to those that sent legions of overstretched homeowners into default on their mortgages. -- With the national debt now topping $12 trillion, the White House estimates that the government’s tab for servicing the debt will exceed $700 billion a year in 2019, up from $202 billion this year, even if annual budget deficits shrink drastically. Other forecasters say the figure could be much higher." -- also posted at WashingtonBlogspot

Deepening economic crisis in Eastern Europe - A case in point that "deficits DO matter". - mpg
Special Note - A quote...."Recent reports indicate that the economies of many central and eastern European states are headed for new shocks. Despite attempts to conjure up optimism over the prospects for these countries, institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are warning of the danger of further economic decline in the region, which would have serious consequences for Europe as a whole."

California Tuition Hikes Spark Protests  - posted at ConsortiumNews
A quote...." Police are arresting and attacking student protesters on University of California (UC) campuses again. --
“Why did he beat me I wasn’t doing anything,” screamed a young Cal Berkeley women student over KPFA radio on Friday evening. -- Students are protesting the 32 percent increase in tuition imposed by the UC regents in a time of severe state deficits."

U.S. existing-home sales rise 10.1% to 6.10 million pace
Good news - mpg -- A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Resales of U.S. homes increased 10.1% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.10 million, the National Association of Realtors estimated Monday. -- The 6.10-million rate was the highest since February 2007." -- But of course....."Many buyers have been rushing to beat the deadline for the first-time buyer tax credit that was scheduled to expire at the end of this month," NAR economist Lawrence Yun said. "With such a sale spike, a measurable decline should be anticipated in December and early next year before another surge in spring and early summer." -- Still, it was better than expected. - mpg

Letter to the Auditor of The New York Times Company
A quote...."As The New York Times Company’s independent registered public accountant, you – Ernst & Young, LLP – undoubtedly are conscious of the grossly negligent financial management exercised by The New York Times Company’s top executives during this decade. As I conveyed in an essay written earlier this year: "Since 2000, The New York Times Company has generated a respectable cumulative net income of $1,598,062,000. Yet management, over the same period, has paid out $2,779,601,000 for stock buybacks and dividends. This means, during the present decade, stock buybacks and dividends have exceeded cumulative net income by an astonishing $1,181,539,000." You are painfully aware this reckless financial management has left The New York Times Company’s balance sheet in tatters. "

Sunday November 22nd 2009

No posts - mpg

Saturday November 21st 2009

"In the case of WFC [Wells Fargo], the bank has taken the position that NONE of its conforming residential exposures should be brought on balance sheet despite the FASB rule change. As we discussed in The Institutional Risk Analyst this week, "Why? Because the loans inside these securitization vehicles are insured by FHA, so goes the thinking of WFC and its auditor, thus the bank has no liability to these entities or the securities they have issued to investors. Pretty neat trick, eh?" -- Thus WFC is basically saying that none of the bank's $1.1 trillion in conforming OBS [off balance sheet] exposures need to be represented or reserved against."

Friday November 20th 2009

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The Problem is Not the Economy, It's the Politicians
11-20-09
mpg

The Great Stimulus Debate of '09 - posted at ICH
Special Note - Some quotes...."Household debt has declined in recent quarters for the first time since 1951. For their part, many small businesses have seen their bank credit lines reduced or eliminated, or they have been able to obtain credit only on significantly more restrictive terms. The fraction of small businesses reporting difficulty in obtaining credit is near a record high, and many of these businesses expect credit conditions to tighten further. - The demand for credit also has fallen significantly....Because of weakened balance sheets, fewer potential borrowers are creditworthy, even if they are willing to take on more debt. Also, write-downs of bad debt show up on bank balance sheets as reductions in credit outstanding. " [Also known as the great "unwind" of excess, which still has a very long way to go] -- "What's needed now, is a gargantuan blast of stimulus to jolt the economy out of its lethargy and put the mighty wheels of industry back in motion. That will require public mobilization and a massive commitment of resources. $1 trillion, $2 trillion, even $3 trillion--whatever it takes--should be pumped into the jet-stream so the dollars fall to earth like a spring rain from sea to shining sea. That will get people spending again. That will put people back to work. We'll worry about the red ink later." [Also known as the "Great Support" dictum, i.e. more (Federal) debt is good.]

Mike Whitney has a problem, he believes this nation's politicians will try to do the "right thing".

He says credit has stopped and we’re currently experiencing a deflationary unwind, (true) that the conservative "Misians" are wrong and that there is in fact no signs of incipient inflation (true) and that we as a nation should spend, spend, spend to combat this unwind, in other words, create enormous amounts of federal debt (highly problematical) or we're going to have a double dip (true in a sense, not spending will definitely accelerate the current unwind, but keep in mind it’s a depression, not a “double dip”)

He left something out thought, how the great wind-up happened, which is quite curious since he has written extensively on this issue, and this website editor has posted at least twenty articles of his describing how we as a nation got into this mess.  The excessive creation of uncollateralized, unsupported, debt at will by both Wall Street and Main Street through the creation of mortgage backed securities and other derivative products.

Six points regarding the article.....

First: It would have been nice if he'd discussed exactly why the creation of mountains of unsupported Federal debt is good, whereas the creation of mountains of unsupported private debt is bad.  It is theoretically possible that the "cure" of stimulus could actually be far worse than the "disease" of massive deflation, even assuming a Great Depression comes to pass in this country similar to the one experienced in the '30s.

Second: And this is a really big point regarding items Mr Whitney has already extensively covered....the parasitic class has done absolutely nothing to prevent the financial crisis from happening all over again.  They have done absolutely nothing to fix the financial system, in fact, much of the current legislation they're attempting to pass actually makes oversight of the system even harder, makes the system less transparent, and allows the Banksters to continue the same bad old practices in new, more devious, ways. They'll be allowed to keep printing "priceless" CDO's CMO's MBS's SIM's and all kinds of other derivatives and synthetic instruments. And NO, "priceless" doesn't mean they're valuable; it simply means they're price-less, they have no price, you can't even quantify them, much less categorize them or catalogue them.  Heck people across the world will have no idea what these instruments actually do or even what they're used for except they'll be given a triple-A rating by the credit agencies in this country.  So even IF Mr. Whitney's idea of stimulus is successful, (unlikely at this point) any growth that is created will just be sucked away into the even bigger black hole the Bankster class is currently creating.

Third:  It’s quite obvious since Obama started saying all these things right after having had his nice little chat with the Chinese and Japanese that these governments not only told him this nation’s fiscal behavior is intolerable (i.e. they don’t think we’re going to pay back our debts), they probably told him they don’t have any more money to buy any of our additional debt, after all, they’ve got their own problems and their rather more targeted stimulus programs are already starting to fade.  As for the US-NRE’s monetary behavior, they probably told him they don’t want to see any more money printing either (monetization), but they know us for the lying dead beats we are, and they, like everyone else in the world, are currently taking steps to protect themselves by buying gold, commodities, setting up trade agreements that don’t use dollars, and spending the dollars they do have as fast as they can.

Fourth:  To do what? To help prop up an over-leveraged economy and thereby support above market “asset valuations” -- stocks, bonds and commercial real estate, in perpetuity, for the rich, lazy and unscrupulous?

Fifth: Why bother! Spend two, three, four trillion more so we can have it all eventually go to the Bankster class for back-stops, guarantees and pay-outs just as the prior twenty four trillion did? Just to watch a good chunk of it go to their bonuses and compensation plans, to support their zombie-fied institutions....forever?

Sixth:  What for? To buy foreign products from overseas and stimulate foreign economies? To build bridges to nowhere?  To line the pockets of our legislature or our corporations?  To fund and maintain the newest, most corrupt, evil, vicious, version of the Roman Empire ever seen on the planet?

His use of the word “stimulus” should have been better defined.  Had the unwind been deliberately initiated by the parasitic class several or more years ago, with a limited stimulus package designed to help with job creation and to cushion the subsequent economic blow....that would have been one thing. But now, after all these costly shenanigans and lies we've been told we’re supposed to trust this president and this congress to do the “right thing”? You've got to be kidding!

Mr. Whitney wants Guns (military spending), Butter (domestic spending), Banksters (criminal/parastic class stealing) AND a Stimulus Plan (job creation spending) to get this nation out of its depression, a depression caused by the deliberate creation of excessive credit/debt to fund an Empire, and his solution to help end the crisis is by creating more....excessive credit/debt? Debt the likes of which no one on this planet has ever seen before!

It was the Bankster and parasitic class that got this nation into this mess.  They wanted a Neo-Roman Empire funded by cheap debt, only a little of which they used to placate the peasants during their quest for their “New World Order”, the rest of which they used to make themselves filthy, stinkingly, rich.

They control this economy, they control this country.  Until they, or at least their lackeys in the government are removed, there can be no constructive proposals that could, or would, ever be honored by these people.  Come this November the population of this country will just have to go down to the polls and vote the Demos AND the Repubs out of office and start afresh.  It’s that simple, and it’s that easy.  Everyone should just stop talking about revolutions, "change”, “hope”, interest groups, pressure groups, lobbyists, K-Street, Wall Street and even Main Street.

It ISN’T paper or plastic -- it’s NOT Mutt or Jeff -- it DOESN’T have to be a Demo or a Repub -- it’s simply the act of not watching TV, or listening to the radio, or reading the newspaper but instead going onto the web and into the polling booth, voting your conscience, voting for ANOTHER political party, and voting all of those Goddamn bastards out of office.
 
It's time to choose, it really is that simple. - mpg
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The Pending Collapse Of The U.S.A.  - posted at ICH
Must Read - Related Article - A quote...."November 20, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- The truth that most people realize but can’t openly talk about is that America has seen better days and that the system of capitalism has long outlived its usefulness. The last part of that sentence, that capitalism has outlived its usefulness, is thoroughly the fault of the capitalists themselves."

The Critical Unraveling of U.S. Society - PDF
Must Read - By the Numbers - A quote...."The economic elite have launched an attack on the U.S. public and society is unraveling at an increased rate."

Economic Crisis Is Getting Bloody  - Article also posted at ICH
Special Note - Related Article - A quote...."November 20, 2009 "AlterNet" -- In 2007, Jason Rodriguez was fired from his position at an Orlando, Florida engineering firm and ended up taking a job as a "sandwich artist" at a Subway restaurant. His salary was cut nearly in half and his debts mounted until, last May, he filed for bankruptcy, listing his assets at just over $4,600 and his liabilities at nearly $90,000. Although he lived only 30 minutes away, according to his former mother-in-law, America Holloway, Rodriguez barely saw his son. When the boy asked why his father didn't visit, Holloway said Rodriguez told him: "'Because I don't have any money. I don't have a job. I don't have anything to eat. When things get better, I'll come see you.'"

Is America Finally Starting to Stand Up To Wall Street?
Special Note - Related Article - A quote...."Are the American people finally starting to stand up to Wall Street?
Shareholder Revolt  -- Some of Goldman Sach's biggest shareholders are demanding that executive compensation be reduced. As the Wall Street Journal notes:

Their complaints in private conversations with the company and at analyst meetings show how anger over its big-money culture is spilling into the ranks of investors who typically shy away from debates over Wall Street pay.

Protests -- There were the protests outside of the Bankers Association meeting in Chicago. See this, this, this, this, this and this. If you don't think that more - bigger - protests are coming, you haven't been paying attention."
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[British] Army faces inquiry over ‘Battle of Danny Boy’ torture claims
Some quotes...."Claims that British soldiers tortured and murdered up to 20 prisoners after a battle with Iraqi insurgents are to be scrutinised at a public inquiry. Concern that the Army covered up the most serious accusation of war crimes that it has faced has prompted Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, to order the independent inquiry." -- "....Iraqi families claim that some of those killed had been captured alive before being tortured and murdered by troops at Camp Abu Naji, a British base. Evidence indicating torture and mutilation allegedly includes close-range bullet wounds, the removal of eyes and stab wounds, human rights lawyers have claimed."

Inquiry into 'rape and torture' by UK troops as Iraqis' lawyer claims 32 cases are tip of the iceberg
A quote...."Fresh claims that British soldiers abused Iraqi prisoners are to be investigated by the Ministry of Defence."

Canadian diplomat alleges [Canadian] troops in Afghanistan were complicit in torture
A quote...."The Canadian government was fending off calls for a public inquiry on torture today after allegations from one of its senior diplomats that Canada was complicit in the torture of Afghan detainees."

Canada turned blind eye to Afghan abuses: diplomat
A quote...."OTTAWA (Reuters) — Richard Colvin said many Afghans arrested by the Canadian military were innocent and the practice of handing over prisoners knowing they could be abused was a war crime."

"Notes from [the US-NRE's] Bagram prison By James Bays 18 Nov 2009 In the past, military officials have refused to go on the record about the number of prisoners at the jail. Brigadier General Mark Martin, the acting commander, was more forthcoming. He told us the prison currently houses about 700 people. Of these, "about 30" were non-Afghans, and "about 5" were juveniles... A new command has been set up, to take charge of all detainee operations in Afghanistan, including Bagram. Of course, CJTF-435 is a US operation, not part of ISAF (the NATO force). Many other NATO and ISAF nations are very uneasy about Bagram and what goes on there." - Paragraph quoted form CLG

US concerned about definition of aggression as international crime - Every US-NRE official ought to be! - mpg
A quote...."THE HAGUE — A United States ambassador said Thursday that Washington was concerned about how aggression will be defined as an international crime. -- "I would be remiss not to share with you my country's concerns about an issue ... to which we attach particular importance: the definition of the crime of aggression," US war crimes ambassador Stephen Rapp told a gathering in The Hague of the International Criminal Court's Assembly of State Parties (ASP)." -- also posted at WarInIraq

The administration guts its own argument for 9/11 trials
A quote...."Can anyone reconcile Obama's homage to "our legal traditions" and his professed faith in jury trials in the New York federal courts with the reality of what his administration is doing:  i.e., denying trials to a large number of detainees, either by putting them before military commissions or simply indefinitely imprisoning them without any process at all?" - also posted at Uruknet & CommonDreams -- For more on this issue see....9/11-Iraq-Torture Fables
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War criminal Obama’s Asia visit
Special Note - A quote...."War criminal Obama’s Asia visit has failed to muster support for US policy objectives on foreign policy, economy and nuclear non-proliferation. The world is now looking at China how it places itself at the center stage to help world freely exercise its democratic, economic and political rights in accordance to international rules and charters, which stand stifled by American economic, military and political imperialism. Global media sells Americans presidents “handshake” as “gold standard” of respect for “moral values, democracy and international law”. Based on the values Obama avoided Myanmar’s PM in ASEAN moot and Turkey refused to host Sudanese president. Reportedly, Obama while talking to President Hu of China said, “We do not believe these principles are unique to America, but rather they are universal rights and that they should be available to all peoples, to all ethnic and religious minorities.”  -- also psoted at Uruknet

Obama leaves Asia empty-handed
A quote...."South Korea, the final leg of US President Obama’s Asian trip, was no more successful that his other stops. In Japan, Singapore and China, Obama failed to secure any significant economic concessions and came under fire for growing US protectionism. In South Korea on Thursday, he made no advance with an equally uncompromising South Korean President Lee Myung-bak toward a free-trade deal between the two countries—a major item on the agenda."

UK seeking new world order by Afghan war
A quote...."Despite reports of the UK's plan for peace talks with the Taliban, Premier Gordon Brown defends Britain's military involvement in the Afghan war, saying his country must play a full role in 'changing the world'." -- also posted at BLN

Islamabad under pressure over Blackwater presence
A quote...."Islamabad is under pressure to meet a deadline to explain the alleged sanctioning of the presence of a notorious US security contractor, formerly known as Blackwater, on the Pakistani soil." -- also posted at WarInIraq

IAEA speaks out against fresh sanctions on Iran
A quote...."While nuclear negotiations between Iran and the West have yet to yield a final result, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief warns against imposing fresh sanctions on the country." -- also posted at AlethoNews

CBI: Iran's liquidity grows to $197 bn
Most importantly for Iran....they're NOT dollars.  Or to say it another way, they'll get much more bang, for their not-bucks. - mpg -- A quote...."The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) says its data show a 35-billion-dollar increase in liquidity growth during the first half of the current Iranian year. -- CBI said in its latest report that the country's liquidity grew 21.4 percent to about 197 billion dollars in mid-September from 162 billion the previous year."

Houthis release new footage of Saudi blitz
A quote...."The Houthi fighters have released new footage, which they say depict Saudi aircraft targeting civilians in northern Yemeni villages near the border."

Shooting the messenger - Alt/Pt1 - Alt/Pt2 - Alt/Pt3 - Alt/Pt4 - (YouTube - aprox 10m each - June 15, 2008)
Videos - Special Note - From the History File -- June 15, 2008 - A quote...."Shooting the Messenger, Al Jazeera's documentary on the deliberate killing and intimidation of journalists in conflict zones, has been nominated for a presitigious Emmy award." -- also posted at Uruknet -- For more on this sort of issue see....US-Killing the Messenger

Eight Fort Hood wounded will still deploy
A quote...."WASHINGTON — Many more mental health specialists were wounded in the Nov. 5 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, than previously reported, decimating the two units deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq, a commanding general says."

Venezuela blows up border bridges with Colombia
A quote...."Venezuela has blown up two pedestrian bridges on its border with Colombia in the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the Andean neighbours. -- Soldiers destroyed the walkways because they were being used by illegal militia and drug traffickers, said Eusebio Aguero, an army general based in the border state of Táchira. -- "They are two foot bridges that paramilitary fighters used, where gasoline and drug precursors were smuggled, subversive groups entered. They are not considered in any international treaty."
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On 20th Anniversary of Killings of 6 Jesuit Priests by US-Backed Salvadoran Forces, Thousands to Protest “School of the Assassins” at Ft. Benning -- A quote...."Thousands are gathering at Fort Benning in Georgia this weekend for the annual protest to shut down the US Army training center dubbed by critics as the “School of the Assassins” for having trained some of the worst human rights violators in Latin America. This year’s protest will mark the twentieth anniversary of the murder of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador by the US-backed Salvadoran military. It comes days after the priests were posthumously bestowed El Salvador’s highest civilian award, marking the first time the Salvadoran government has honored the priests since their deaths. To talk about the priests and the overall state of Latin American affairs, we’re joined by Blase Bonpane, director of the Office of the Americas. A former Maryknoll priest, he has worked for more than four decades to promote human rights in Latin America. [includes rush transcript]" -- ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

Mass Mobilization to Shut Down the School of the Americas
Action Alert - Related Article - A quote...."The military coup by SOA graduates in Honduras has once again exposed the destabilizing and deadly effects that the School of the Americas has on Latin America. The actions of the school’s graduates are unmasking the Pentagon rhetoric and reveal the anti-democratic results of U.S. policies. It is time for a change towards justice." -- also posted at OhBummer

Cop Tasers girl for resisting bedtime - It's not a joke folks, this is YOUR society now. - mpg
Must Read - (Because this is getting ridiculous) -- A quote...."Bradshaw then tried to handcuff Kiara. But he couldn't manage that either. -- To hear Bradshaw tell it, he was now in the midst of a full-on brawl on the living-room floor with Kiara, a Grade 5 student. The 65-pounder was "verbally combative ... struck me with her legs and feet in the groin," Bradshaw wrote. -- That's when he reached for his holster and delivered a "very very (sic) brief drive stun to her back with my taser." -- Unsurprisingly, Kiara's struggling stopped immediately. Bradshaw then cuffed her and carried her to his squad car, since she could no longer walk."  - also posted at BLN

Lynne Stewart: Heroic Human Rights Lawyer Jailed
A quote...."On November 20, New York Times writer Colin Moynihan broke the news headlining: - "Radical Lawyer Convicted of Aiding Terrorist Is Jailed," then saying:


Fact check: Stewart did what all attorneys should, but few, in fact, do - observe the American Bar Association's Model Rules saying all lawyers are obligated to:


The Arrest and Torture of Syed Hashmi. An interview with Jeanne Theoharis
A quote...."Jeanne Theoharis is the author of an April, 2009 article in The Nation, entitled "Guantanamo At Home," which focuses on the arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment of US citizen Syed Hashmi in a New York City prison with Guantanamo-like conditions. Theoharis holds the endowed chair in women's studies and is an associate professor of political science at Brooklyn College, CUNY. "

Grand Ole Tyrants
A Surprising Historical Analysis of Lincoln - mpg -- A quote...."The very first public statement that Abraham Lincoln made after being inaugurated as the sixteenth president was an ironclad defense of slavery: “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” He then quoted the Republican Party platform of 1860 that said essentially the same thing; pledged his support for the Fugitive Slave Clause of the Constitution “with no mental reservations”; and supported a proposed constitutional amendment (the “Corwin Amendment”) that would have prohibited the federal government from ever interfering with slavery. In fact, it was Lincoln who instructed William Seward to see that the Corwin Amendment made it through the U.S. Senate, which it did (and the House of Representatives as well)."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Tunnels provide lifeline for Gazans - Alt - (AJ YouTube - 2 min 42 sec - Nov 20, 2009)
Must View Video - A quote...."While Israel maintains its blockade around the Gaza Strip, tunnels used for smuggling goods continue to provide a lifeline for the beseiged people living there. -- According to World Bank officials, 80 per cent of Gazas imports currently come through the tunnels, which has only increased the worth of Gaza's tunnel smuggling economy from $30 million in 2006 to $650 million in 2007. -- However, rampant smuggling makes the price of basic goods almost unbearable for the average Gazan."

Is the Israel Lobby Doing More Harm Than Good?
A quote...."What was needed, he said, was a new “crack team” of media specialists to be based in London, to compile information, brief journalists and prepare instant responses to all the mendacious lies issued by the hostile press. He expected us all to applaud and congratulate him on his visionary idea, which he assured us he was willing to fund handsomely. Some did applaud, whether out of agreement or sycophancy, but he was perplexed when he discovered that not all of us were so certain that the war had been Israel’s finest hour. How could we be giving succor to Israel’s haters, he asked."

New poll: 53% of Israelis think ethnic cleansing is the solution to the conflict
A quote...."Israelis talk often and loudly about their desires for peace. But its never been clear precisely what peace concept it is they desire. In particular, Israeli notions of peace have never gone so far as to grant the Palestinians the same national rights that Israelis claim for themselves. Well, according to a new poll by Israeli National News (disclaimer: its a right-wing rag, sample size “more than 6,400″), a majority of Israelis are clear about what kind of “peace” they desire. -- 53.2% of surveyed Israelis say the “solution” to the conflict was the ethnic cleansing (”transfer”) of Palestinians out of occupied Palestine and into other neighboring Arab countries. This was the most popular option among all alternatives, including the two state solution, Jordanian citizenship in the West Bank, status quo, etc." -- also posted at Uruknet & WarInIraq

Gazan farmers unable to work their land in ‘buffer zone’
A quote...."Driving along the buffer zone, a military no-go area that extends along the entire perimeter of Gaza and borders Israel, is an eerie experience. A long, horizontal brownish strip of earth runs along the Wall that separates the Gaza Strip from Israel. The desolate landscape is only dotted with the ruins of destroyed buildings, while a large, silver observation balloon, fully equipped with video cameras by the Israeli army, floats slowly by in the sky. What used to be a green, fertile area of rich farming and grazing land has turned into a deserted place where no one dares to go and cultivate. Gazan farmers are now forbidden to enter the zone by the Israeli army." -- From Reuters

The New York Mets and the business of terrorism
A quote...."When I first learned that the New York Mets were hosting a fundraiser for the nonprofit Hebron Fund at Citi Field in support of the Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, I honestly assumed it was a joke, albeit a poor one. When I realized this was an actual, planned event, I still found it almost impossible to believe. This is because, even aside from the devastating impact of settlement expansion on the prospects for peace in the region, I have had the misfortune to see, repeatedly and at first hand, the fruits of the Hebron Fund's labors." -- also posted at ElectIntafada & Uruknet & AlethoNews

Israel Under Widespread International Criticism for Settlement Expansion Plan
A quote...."Israel is coming under widespread international criticism for its plan to engage in a new round of illegal settlement expansion on occupied Palestinian land. Israel says it will build 900 new housing units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Gilo. Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority leaders began a renewed effort last week to win international support for formal Security Council endorsement of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders. We speak with UCLA professor Saree Makdisi, author of Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation. [includes rush transcript]" -- ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

World condemns new Israeli settlements
Related Article - A quote...."More international community members condemn Israel over plans to authorize construction of 900 new housing units at Gilo, a settlement built illegally on Palestinian land occupied in the 1967 war."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

U.S. should reject tainted coming election in Honduras
Special Note - A quote...."WASHINGTON --  A small group of rich people who own most of Honduras and its politicians enlist the military to kidnap the elected president at gunpoint and take him into exile. They then arrest thousands of people opposed to the coup, shut down and intimidate independent media, shoot and kill some demonstrators, torture and beat many others. This goes on for more than four months, including more than two of the three months legally designated for electoral campaigning. Then the dictatorship holds an "election." -- also posted at CommonDreams & PE&J & CEPR
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What Is Money? - Part 17: Conclusion
A quote...."I have surveyed the Austrian School's theory of money. This theory began with Ludwig von Mises' "Theory of Money and Credit" (1912). I presented Mises' theory of fractional reserve banking and the creation of the business cycle in my mini-book, Mises on Money (2002)."

Fed Audit Shield Takes Blow After Ron Paul Proposal Advances
A quote...."The Federal Reserve’s shield from congressional audits of interest-rate decisions took a blow from lawmakers who want to open the central bank’s books to greater congressional scrutiny."

Revealed... the 515 chemicals women put on their bodies every day
Info-Graphic - A quote...."Research by Bionsen, a natural deodorant company, found that the average woman's daily grooming and make-up routine means she 'hosts' a staggering 515 different synthetic chemicals on her body every single day." - bold by website editor

Thursday November 19th 2009

QUESTION: Right. And then, last one on this, you characterized this decision by the planning commission as dismaying.

MR. KELLY: Yes.

QUESTION: You can’t come up with anything stronger than “dismaying”? I mean, this flies in the face of everything you’ve been talking about for months and months and months.

MR. KELLY: It’s dismaying.

QUESTION: Yeah, you can’t offer a condemnation of it or anything like that? (Laughter.) I mean, who is in charge of the language here.

MR. KELLY: I have said what I have said, Mr. Lee.

"I think it is important, though, to recognize if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession."