Sunday December 23rd 2007

No posts. - mpg

Saturday December 22nd 2007

The Vote for Endless War
Must Read - A quote...."On Tuesday, December 18, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate combined to give President Bush $70 billion to carry the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into next summer. Only 23 Democrats and one independent supported an amendment by Senator Feingold that would have required the safe redeployment of troops from Iraq. Here are the senators who voted to end the war:"

American intervention: A history of failure
Related article - A quote...."Kinzer’s conclusions drawn from research on the 14 regime changes is that, “In most cases...it (U.S.) acted mainly for economic reasons — specifically to establish, promote and defend the right of Americans to do business around the world without interference.” He says the interventions nearly always created “chaos” and the long-term effects were destructive. Of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Kinzer says “Giant American corporations stood to make huge profits from the war and its aftermath.”

It would be nice if the Neo-Romans who make up approximately twenty to thirty percent of this Nation's  population, and who essentially support the on going pathetic attempt to cover-up 9/11, the destruction of this nation's constitution, the evisceration of this nation's commitment to international laws and treaties and who have an unholy addiction to war and conquest would just get it into their tiny, thick, little, pin-sized, heads that the oil, gas and other natural resources on this planet belong to the people who live above those resources and not to US Neo-Romans!.

So the Neo-Romans should just get OVER IT! and stop whining and complaining about how difficult it is to conquer the world....they've had enough trouble conquering one, tiny, impoverished little country of just twenty seven million people.

It would make everyone, everywhere really happy if they would just leave! – mpg
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What If America Were Invaded and Occupied?
A quote...."Suppose Iraq invaded America. And an Iraqi soldier was on a tank passing through an American street, waving his gun at the people, threatening them, raiding and trashing houses. Would you accept that? This is why no Iraqi can accept occupation, and don't be surprised by their reactions," says "The Imam," a young man from a mixed Sunni-Shia family, as he explains the genesis of the insurgency in Iraq and its exponential growth."

Iran and Italy to Sign Gas Export Agreement
A quote...."Iranian energy deals made or in process with Turkey, China, Austria, Oman, India, France - Iran and Italy would ink an initial agreement on gas export in the near future, the National Iranian Gas Export Co. (NIGEC) managing director said here Wednesday. - Nosratollah Seifi said the company had held talks with Italian officials and the two parties would soon sign a memorandum on export of Iran's gas to the European state, Moj News Agency said. - Talking about the gas transmission route, the NIGEC head added the commodity would pass through Turkey and Greece before reaching the Italian territory. - Despite the US pressures and threats, different states are expanding their cooperation and ties with the Islamic Republic."

Iran, Russia discuss defense ties
A quote...."A senior Russian military official has arrived in Tehran to discuss defense cooperation with Iran, the Iranian Defense Ministry says. - Head of the Russian Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation,
Mikhail Dmitriyev arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to take part in the fourth meeting of the Iran-Russia Joint Defense Cooperation Commission."

Cuba and Venezuela sign 14 oil agreements
A quote...."Visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and acting Cuban President Raul Castro signed agreements Saturday in the energy, mining and oil sectors, including a 170-million-dollar deal to build a new power plant. - The agreements, closing a four-day visit by Chavez to Cuba, also include a 122-dollar loan for Cuba to buy tanker ships to transport crude oil and its derivatives."

UN report: Two million Iraqi children face disease, poverty
A quote...."While violence is slowly subsiding in parts of Iraq, living conditions are still deplorable. According to a new U.N. Children's Fund estimate, two million children in Iraq face the “unrelenting threats of poor nutrition, disease and no school.”

'It's madness'.
Must Read - A quote...."If the scale of the unimaginable tragedy the British have wrought in Basra was not of the historical enormity which it is and for which the UK will never be forgotten and likely, never forgiven, world wide (only second to the Americans, of whose accountability for unspeakable atrocities, words temporarily fail) with Prime Minister Gordon Brown again trying to dress up defeat as victory, as the Britsh 'left' the city last week, it would be laughable. The British actually slunk off from their illegally inhabited palace in central Basra in September, to cower in a base well outside the town, spent, redundant and now with the loss of one hundred and seventy four tragically wasted lives, for UK government lies."

Iraqi Gov't Pledges to Disband Sunnis - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's Shiite-led government declared Saturday that after restive areas are calmed it will disband Sunni groups battling Islamic extremists because it does not want them to become a separate military force."

Hah!  That ain't gonna happen - ever - if the US MIOC elites have any say on the issue.  See below....

For more on this see....The US's New Map of the Middle East
See also....Divide and rule
See also....Iraqi politicians blast vote in U.S. Senate on partition
See also....[US] Senate Endorses Plan to Divide Iraq
See also....Kuwait's ruler rejects any partition of Iraq
See also....Al-Maliki rejects Senate proposal to partition Iraq
See also....Iraq's Shiites and Sunnis reject US partition idea
See also....US Senate votes to divide Iraq
See also....US support Death Sqds
See also....False Flag Ops - Al-Askari Mosque Bombing
See also....US Sponsored Civil Wars
See also....US Support of Terror
See also....The Method - 05-07-07 -mpg
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CIA chief to drag White House into torture cover-up storm
A quote...."THE CIA chief who ordered the destruction of secret videotapes recording the harsh interrogation of two top Al-Qaeda suspects has indicated he may seek immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying before the House intelligence committee."

CIA obstructed 9/11 investigators: report
Related article - A quote...."The CIA obstructed an official US investigation into the September 11 attacks by withholding tapes of interrogations of Al-Qaeda operatives, according to former investigators quoted in a report on Saturday."

They Don't Believe It: Why Do You?
A quote...."The 9/11 Commission questions the government's version of 9/11 . . . so why do you believe the "official" version?"
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Now We Know Why There's A Press Blackout On S 1959 - It's Called "ENDGAME" By DHS
A quote...."Today I received a tip by a fellow writer that KBR (Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc.), a subsidiary of Halliburton, was behind the creation of Senate Bill S 1959, otherwise known as the “Thought Crime Prevention Bill”, or by its legal designation, the “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007.” I wasn’t able to make a solid connection that indicated KBR was actually behind the introduction of S 1959, but what I did find demonstrates we are likely approaching the final days when Homeland Security (sic) implements their “final solution” which DHS has labeled as “EndGame.”

Gun Owners Group Condemns "Treacherous" Passage Of Anti-Second Amendment Legislation
Related article - A quote...."Gun owners and second amendment rights groups have condemned the passage by Congress yesterday of legislation that re-writes the law in order to regulate gun ownership."
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Blair called for BAE inquiry to be halted
A quote...."Tony Blair's personal role as prime minister in halting the Saudi arms sale bribery investigation is revealed in court documents which the Guardian is publishing in full on its website. - Government memos stamped "Secret" reveal that the then attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, twice tried in vain to stop Blair interfering in the criminal investigation."

Blair converts to Catholicism  - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."LONDON, England (AP) -- Tony Blair, who often kept his religious views private while serving as Britain's prime minister, has converted to Catholicism, officials said Saturday. - Blair, who had long been a member of the Church of England, converted to the Catholic faith during a Mass held Friday night at a chapel in London, the Catholic Church said."

News Flash for Tony - It doesn't matter if the Catholic Church allows you to repent so you can be absolved of your sins....Mr. Reficul still says he'll be seeing you for what you've done. - mpg
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Mitt Romney forced to backpedal over Martin Luther King claim  - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."Mr Romney, who seems to be having several “figure of speech” moments on the campaign trail, said in a key speech this month that he had watched his father George Romney, the late Michigan Governor, march with Martin Luther King. Mr Romney’s campaign cited a 1967 book, The Republican Establishment, which said that the senior Romney “has marched with Martin Luther King through the exclusive Grosse Pointe suburb [of Detroit]”.

Reasons for Republicans to Vote Paul
A quote....“Ron Paul is going to win the nomination of the Republican Party or the party is going to lose in the general election. Take that as a guarantee. One I would bet money on. Now knowing that, how many of you Bush devotees are going to hold your nose and vote for him in the primaries? Are you loyal to the Republican Party and want the party to win, or hate Ron Paul more than Hillary?….”

60 Minutes to air Siegelman story in January...
A quote...."Are we seeing good news? Or rather, courageous reporting? Let's hope so (emphasis mine): [Larisa Alexandrovna]"

Evidence Mounts Of White House Ties To New Hampshire Phone Jamming Scheme
A quote...."On the morning of election day 2002, repeated hang-up calls assaulted six phone lines tied to the New Hampshire Democratic Party. Three Republican operatives, including consultant Allen Raymond, eventually ended up in jail for their involvement in the phone jamming scheme. A fourth, former RNC offical James Tobin, will begin a second trial in February."

Lawyers Stepping Up
A quote...."We are lawyers in the United States of America. As such, we have all taken an oath obligating us to defend the Constitution and the rule of law…. We believe the Bush administration has committed numerous offenses against the Constitution and may have violated federal laws…. Moreover, the administration has blatantly defied congressional subpoenas, obstructing constitutional oversight …. Thus, we call on House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy to launch hearings into the possibility that crimes have been committed by this administration in violation of the Constitution…. We call for the investigations to go where they must, including into the offices of the President and the Vice President. -- American Lawyers Defending the Constitution"

GAO Says Government Failed Yet Another Financial Audit
A quote...."For the 11th straight year, the federal government failed its financial audit, GAO announced Monday, in a widely anticipated finding that Comptroller General David Walker used to underscore the government's troubled fiscal health."
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Lebanese election postponed for 10th time
A quote...."Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri postponed, until December 29, a session of Parliament to elect Lebanon's next president, his press office announced on Friday evening. The speaker "has decided to postpone until December 29 the session that was scheduled for Saturday," a statement said."

Eduard Shevardnadze: Gorbachev and Yeltsin confrontation led to the collapse of the Soviet Union
Interview - Eduard Shevardnadze speaks with Besik Pipia - Special Note - A quote...."Ahead of the 16th anniversary of the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union and establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Eduard Shevardnadze, a former Soviet foreign minister, spoke to Besik Pipia, head of the RIA Novosti Bureau in Georgia, at his residence in Krtsanisi."

Russian cargo spacecraft undocks from ISS
A quote...."MOSCOW, December 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Progress M-61 cargo spacecraft has been detached from the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, mission control said."

Friday December 21st 2007

The Butcher's Apron
Must Read - A quote...." The real difference between the parties is minuscule but significant. The Democrats have become the party of traditional imperialism spearheaded by Brzezinski, Holbrooke, Albright and the other guardians of Empire. These are the master-puppeteers who operate behind the scenes for their well-heeled benefactors. Their focus is mainly on Central Asia; controlling resources from the Caspian Basin, “pacifying” Afghanistan, rallying the EU to a greater role in NATO, and continuing the apocryphal “war on terror” into infinity. It's the Great Game redux.

The Republican Party has become the party of neoconservatives. Their operational plan is “A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm”. It aligns the US with the foreign policy objectives of Israel's Likud Party. The focus is balkanizing the Middle East, undermining Arab nationalism, installing US-Israeli client regimes, and controlling the regions prodigious natural resources. It is a straightforward strategy for regional hegemony.

Turning online popularity into real world votes: how Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich can win
A quote...." If the most ardent Paul and Kucinich supporters don't go to the primaries, all their successful grassroots fund raisers and internet poll victories mean squat. Unfortunately, getting someone to send money through Paypal or click a link to a poll might prove far easier than persuading them to actually get up off their asses and get to a polling station, much less go through the trouble of registering to vote. But this, ultimately, is all that matters. So if you're involved in a grassroots movement, the primary election is your ultimate battle and requires you to redouble your efforts."

The choice is yours America.  If you vote for "Hideous - the mad rabbit - Hillary", "Bombs away O-Bomb-A" , Mike "the Huckster" Huckabee or that certifiable fruit and nut bar "Rudy the Ridiculous"....you'll be voting for the New Roman Empire with all of its degradation, death and misery for the "little people"

Unless you make millions of dollars and are politically well connected, that means YOU. - mpg

See also....You Can STILL Vote to Stop the Madness [but you're running out of time] 10-07-07 - mpg
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Top Scientists and Engineers Question 9/11
Various people with expertise regarding 9/11, who question the "official" conspiracy theory. - mpg

Top Intelligence Officers Question 9/11
More people with expertise regarding 9/11, who question the "official" conspiracy theory. - mpg

The 9/11 War Games
A quote...."On the very morning of 9/11/01, five war games and terror drills were being conducted by several U.S. defense agencies, including one "live fly" exercise using REAL planes. Then-Acting Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Richard B. Myers, admitted to 4 of the war games in congressional testimony -- see transcript here or video here (6 minutes and 12 seconds into the video)."
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9/11 - From The History File...OpEdNews Directory 9/11 info
Scientific Poll: 84% Reject Official 9/11 Story
Bush Won't Reveal Saudi 9/11 Info
What Does Bush Have to Hide?
The Total Failure of the Kean Commission
Bush, Rice and the Genoa Warning - Documenting a demonstrable falsehood
Willie Brown got low-key early warning about air travel
Condoleeza Rice Warned Willie Brown Not To Fly On 911
The Rice/Zelikow Connection: The Kean Commission and its Conflicts of Interest
9/11: Public Officials Warned - [not to travel on 9/11]
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Military announces another 2nd killing of another man declared dead a year ago
A quote...."The U.S. military announced today that it has killed a ‘senior leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.’ Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson ‘identified the man as Abu Usama al-Tunisi, a Tunisian described as a close associate and likely successor to Abu Ayyub al-Masri, Al-Qaeda in Iraq’s Egyptian leader.’"

Polish president approves Iraq troop pullout by October 31
A quote...."WARSAW, December 21 (RIA Novosti) - Poland's President Lech Kaczynski has approved the government's proposal to withdraw Polish troops from Iraq by October 31, 2008, local radio said Friday."

POLITICS-SAUDI ARABIA:  Iran Polls Better Than U.S.
A quote...."Asked what policy changes would improve [Saudis'] opinion of the U.S., 85 percent cited the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq. Seventy-four percent cited increasing student and work visas for Saudis in the U.S. and 71 percent suggested striking a free trade deal between the two countries. - Fifty-two percent of respondents said their view of Washington would improve if it brokered a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians, while only 36 percent cited Washington’s efforts at promoting democracy in the Middle East."

Former CIA Analyst Says Evidence Abounds for Impeachment
A quote...."PORTSMOUTH - The evidence for impeachment of the president and vice president is overwhelming, former CIA analyst and daily presidential briefer Ray McGovern told a room full of people at the Portsmouth Public Library Monday night - McGovern, who provided daily briefings for former presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush as well as other high ranking officials during his 27 year CIA career, said he has witnessed a “prostitution of his profession” as the Bush administration lied to the American people about the evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."

CNN Has Joined With Fox News In Disseminating Propaganda And Betraying America
A quote...."The changes that have occurred at CNN in just the past few months is alarming. We all know that Faux News, The Republican Leaning Channel, has constantly bent, spun, and distorted the truth since Bush came into power; ABC wasn’t much better, but CNN used to be the one channel where an individual could actually find some news minus all of the government spin and propaganda. Then they hired Glenn Beck, a right-wing Rethuglican who is attempting to catch-up with the likes of Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and the crowd at Faux News, headquarters for fascist USA’s propaganda system."

Truth, Lies, Errors and Bullshit About Iraq and Iran - posted at BuzzFlash
Must Read - A quote...."Thus, whereas people who tell the truth and people who lie are similarly concerned about the facts - in order to either expose or deny them - the bullshitter 'is neither on the side of the true nor on the side of the false. His eye is not on the facts at all, as the eyes of the honest man and the liar are, except insofar as they may be pertinent to his interest in getting away with what he says. He does not care whether the things he says describe reality correctly. He just picks them out, or makes them up, to suit his purpose." [p. 56] Consequently, "bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are." [p. 61]"

White House more deeply involved in CIA tapes scandal...
A quote...."Set aside the moral issues on the use of torture for a moment. Here you have two clearly identified members of al-Qaeda (of the thousands of people in US custody who are innocent of any relationship to al-Qaeda), and Mr. Rodriguez, the director of DO orders the evidence destroyed, despite being told not to by the White House (who ordered the torture), the politicized Department of Justice (which provided legal permission for the torture), and members of Congress who are on the oversight committees (and who seem not aware of both the torture and the destruction of the tapes)?"

NORTHCOM: Constitution Not Important
A quote...."The United States government is now actively directing the attention of the U.S. military towards the American people. Using the phony war on terror, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) are creating a militarized control grid specifically to enslave the American people. One thing is clear, neither of these agencies abide by the Constitution. In fact, both agencies by themselves are unconstitutional and should be abolished."

Iraq's Present ... Our Future?
Must Read - A quote...."As a father of two myself, my heart went out to the recently released Iraqi in this McClatchy News Story (who else?), set free after 15 months of wrongful detention:"
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NY Judge Threatens To Jail NY Board of Elections (Was He Just Kidding?)
A quote...."As for what to expect next, Simon reports the Judge made a potential concession and may allow rolling compliance to occur through 2008, provided a firm plan for full compliance is in place for after that. Simon added: "NY has to come back by January 4 with a definitive plan. Since the Democrats' plan is the plan that has the most definitive time table, there was a strong urging that the plan should be modeled after the Democrats' "Zalen" plan."

Coffman Caught in Conflict Over Lobbying Firm
Related article - A quote...."Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman faced a deluge of criticism Thursday over revelations that a firm hired to lobby his office on behalf of an electronic voting-machine company also does work for his congressional campaign. - The controversy stems from the already heated debate over certification of voting machines. Earlier this week, Coffman decided to decertify some machines used to count ballots in several Colorado counties, while conditionally approving others, including all the machines used in the state from Texas-based Premier Elections Solutions. - A state testing panel recommended that none of the machines be certified."

Diebold Now Also Under DoJ Investigation as Stock Price Hits FIVE-YEAR Low!
Related article - A quote...."The death spiral for the 131 year-old company, once respectfully known as Diebold, continues, as its stock price falls to a 5-year low today, near year's end (currently $29.23/share and still sinking, from a 52-week high of $54.50/share), along with the additional news that the U.S. Department of Justice has now joined the SEC in an investigation concerning the company's "Enron-like" bookkeeping tricks."
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Russia, Iran tighten the energy noose
A quote...."Foreign ministers are busy people - especially energetic, creative diplomats like Russia's Sergei Lavrov and Iran's Manouchehr Mottaki, representing capitals that by tradition place great store on international diplomacy. -  Therefore, the very fact that Lavrov and Mottaki have met no less than four times in as many months suggests a great deal about the high importance attached by the two capitals to their mutual understanding at the bilateral and regional level."

Putin Secures New Gas Pipeline, Undermining U.S. Plan (Update3)
A quote...."Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) — Russian President Vladimir Putin secured a deal to start building a natural-gas pipeline to Central Asia, undermining a U.S.-backed plan to give the region an alternative route bypassing Russia. -
The agreement to construct the new pipeline from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan was signed at a Kremlin ceremony broadcast on Russian state television today."

Break up of Bolivia planned by bosses
A quote...."Ever since Evo Morales was elected to the presidency of Bolivia in late 2005, the country has lived through permanent tensions. It was only to be expected. - Morales was carried to power by a movement that, in the six previous years, had got rid of three presidents in the battle to control Bolivia’s natural resources. - The existence of vast gas and oil reserves could have transformed the lives of the two thirds of the population who are still living in poverty – a poverty intensified by the previous decade of neoliberalism. - Morales was elected to bring that potential wealth back under national control and to build a new kind of state – one in which the indigenous population, such as the Aymara and Quechua speaking communities, would be represented for the first time."

Petrobras finds more light oil and keeps increasing reserves
A quote...."Petrobras shares rose Friday a day after Brazil's government owned oil company said it found more oil in the offshore Santos Basin. Shares rose 4.88, or 4.5%, to $112.88 in afternoon trading."
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Palestinian gas project 'is wrecked by Israel'
A quote...."An offshore gas project in the Mediterranean, which could have earned desperately needed revenue for the Palestinian economy, is in ruins after negotiations to sell the fuel to Israel collapsed. - Industry sources blamed Israel for the failure of negotiations with the British multinational BG Group after the Jewish state repeatedly reduced its offer price for the gas."

Where is Our Tacitus? - Nothing Can Morally Justify the Invasion of Iraq
A quote...."Neo-con supporters of the U.S. government's war of aggression against Iraq are undoubtedly holding their collective breath in the hope that U.S. military forces have finally smashed any further violent opposition to their conquest of Iraq. The attitude would then be, "You see, this shows that we were right after all to invade and occupy Iraq and kill and maim hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people."

After Acteal, 10 Years of Impunity - New Massacres Loom in Mexico
A quote...."The men milled about on the shoulder of the mountain road, their faces hooded and masked. Christmas was just three days away but first they had some killing to do. When the signal was given, they picked up their weapons--at least five AK-47s were included in their arsenal--and began firing downhill into the trees. A detachment of 40 state police officers posted at a school 200 meters down the road seemed to take no notice. - After an hour, the shooters advanced downhill, firing their weapons as they pushed forward through the wounded trees. At the bottom of the hill, the dead were spread around a wood plank chapel where they had been fasting and praying for several days. Most were women, their dead children still clinging to them. The shooters continued down the ravine, taking their time, killing their victims slowly, slicing them open with machetes."

Regarding the three articles shown above - It's how the rich get to be rich.  They murder the owners of the property, than they steal it.  Iraq is no exception....it's just bigger. - mpg

For more on this issue see....The Method - 05-07-07 - mpg
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Blindly Into the Bubble
A quote...."When announcing Japan’s surrender in 1945, Emperor Hirohito famously explained his decision as follows: “The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage.”  -  There was a definite Hirohito feel to the explanation Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, gave this week for the Fed’s locking-the-barn-door-after-the-horse-is-gone decision to modestly strengthen regulation of the mortgage industry: “Market discipline has in some cases broken down, and the incentives to follow prudent lending procedures have, at times, eroded."

Britain: Northern Rock crisis deepens
A quote...."What began as a crisis of liquidity for one bank has become a major political crisis for the British government. The failure of the attempt to bail out Northern Rock has led to serious political recriminations and conflicts among the political and financial elite as the Labour government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown finds itself pouring money into a bottomless pit."
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Planet-hunting space probe notches up four finds in first year
Some quotes...."Corot, a French-funded probe designed to detect worlds orbiting other stars, has found four such candidates in its first year of operation, its mission chiefs said here on Thursday."  -  "Pronounced "coro," the unmanned craft lifted off on December 27, 2006 from a Russian base in Kazakhstan, bearing a 30-centimetre (12-inch) telescope and two cameras."

Hybrid Technologies
A quote...."The company responsible for transforming the already-efficient MINI into a zero-emissions electric vehicle (EV) is Hybrid Technologies. At its factory in Mooresville, North Carolina, engineers pull the internal combustion guts from cars such as the Chrysler Crossfire, PT Cruiser, smart fortwo, and the MINI, endowing them with advanced electric powerplants."

Hey, hey, hey guys.....com'on now that's wasteful and not environmentally friendly at all.  Pick up the phone, call up the manufactures and say you'll buy the cars in bulk, sans parts, engines, etc. at a negotiated discount. - mpg
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Editor's Technical Note: on Sea Monkey/Mozilla composer  Characters like this --- Harvey Wasserman on New Ohio Voting Report: “The 2004 Election Was Stolen… Finally We Have Irrefutable Confirmationâ --- Seem to appear when pasting from a composer page to a brand new composer page...that has not yet been saved.

There are probably better fixes but one way to keep these characters from cropping up everywhere in your new document is to pick your document's name, save the blank page under that name, then pull it back up and only at that point paste what you want to the document.  The characters should not appear. – mpg

Thursday December 20th 2007

9/11 Truth Manifesto
Must Read - A quote...."12/20/07 "ICH" -- -- For evidence that America’s political system is a criminal conspiracy, open your mind to piles of new analyses that prove beyond doubt that the official 9/11 story is a lie.  Years of a bipartisan cover-up of 9/11 lies make it much more than one horrendous past event.  It endures in infamy as a symptom of a corrupt and dishonest government."

One year of the Democratic 110th Congress: A record of duplicity, cowardice and political reaction
Some quotes...."The Democratic-controlled US Congress ended its first year in office Wednesday with a record of capitulation to the policies of the Bush administration all down the line. In the main areas where voters expected a change when they brought the Democrats to power in November 2006—the war in Iraq, the deterioration of working class living standards and social services, the mounting attacks on democratic rights—the Democrats have proven to be Bush’s collaborators, not his opponents."  --  "So complete was the Democratic collapse that House Minority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, gloated that the spending bill was “better than I’ve seen in my 17 years here”—which includes 12 years when Republicans, not Democrats, controlled Congress."

Iraqi media braves assault from all sides
A quote...."Baghdad - For the fifth year in a row, Iraq was the most dangerous place in the world to be a journalist. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists reported this week that 31 journalists have died in 2007, one fewer than a year ago."

Iraqi Web Reporter Found Dead In Baghdad  -posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."BAGHDAD An American media watchdog group said it was alarmed by the death of an Iraqi reporter for an Internet-based news site who was shot and killed in Baghdad — allegedly during a raid by Iraqi security forces." - bold/italics by website author.

For more on this see....US - Killing the Messenger
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New York Times bows to White House pressure over CIA tapes story
A quote...."The decision by the New York Times to bow to White House pressure and publish a correction of the sub-head on its December 19 story linking senior Bush advisors to the destruction of CIA torture tapes has been hailed by the Republican right—echoed by large sections of the media—as a major political victory

Iraq, Afghanistan War Costs Top Vietnam
Special Note - A quote...."Congress' approval Wednesday of $70 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan mean the twin conflicts are now more costly to American taxpayers than the war in Vietnam. - According to a study by the Washington-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Congress has now approved nearly $700 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. - "Using inflation-adjusted dollars, the total cost of those wars has now surpassed the total cost of the Vietnam war (which ran to $670 billion)," the group's Travis Sharp told OneWorld. "It's also more than seven times larger than the Persian Gulf War ($94 billion) and more than twice the cost of the Korean war ($295 billion)."

Bush, Maliki Break Iraqi Law to Renew U.N. Mandate for Occupation
A quote...."On Tuesday, the Bush administration and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pushed a resolution through the U.N. Security Council extending the mandate that provides legal cover for foreign troops to operate in Iraq for another year. - The move violated both the Iraqi constitution and a law passed earlier this year by the Iraqi parliament -- the only body directly elected by all those purple-finger-waving Iraqis in 2005 -- and it defied the will of around 80 percent of the Iraqi population."

Powers fail to reach deal on Iran sanctions
A quote...."The United States and five other powers failed again to reach agreement Thursday on tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. - "We, obviously, still have tactical differences that need to be worked out about timing, about what's specifically in the resolution," Rice told reporters after senior diplomats from the six powers consulted each other Thursday."

You have to check out the photo of Condi....coyote ugly doesn't quite do it justice. - mpg
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Secret Air War Confirmed
A quote...."A recent (typically apologetic) study [PDF] by the CSIS of US bombing raids in Iraq and Afghanistan has produced figures that confirm what many of us have been arguing - that the US has drastically escalated its aerial assault on Iraq and Afghanistan, below the radar of the corporate media. You may not have realised by how much, though. These are the figures (click to enlarge):

Israel says it opposes Russian plans for Moscow peace summit
A quote...."Israel said Thursday it is opposed to Russian plans to stage a Middle East peace conference in Moscow within the coming months as a follow-up to the recent Annapolis summit."

For Israel's Arab Citizens, Isolation and Exclusion
A quote...."KARMIEL, Israel -- Fatina and Ahmad Zubeidat, young Arab citizens of Israel, met on the first day of class at the prestigious Bezalel arts and architecture academy in Jerusalem. Married last year, the couple rents an airy house here in the Galilee filled with stylish furniture and other modern grace notes."

There's method in China's peace push
A quote...."There may be limits to China's participation over the coming years. In theory, China sees multilateralism as the best way to ensure security for all. But when their vital interests, including Taiwan, are thought to be at risk, officials in Beijing will resort to viewing their country's security and that of the rest of the world as two separate coins rather than two sides of the same coin. - For example, although China has publicly reprimanded Myanmar recently over its crackdown on protests, it has consistently blocked action against the country, arguing that sanctions could further destabilize the country and concerned about repercussions at home. It is highly unlikely that in the near future China will agree to action in a part of the world so close to home."

Wow!  Think of it, an up and coming power reluctant to interfere in other countries affairs unless of course the world insists that it do so versus the remaining so-called "super power"  who's approach to international affairs is the exact opposite.
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Putin Agonistes: Missile Defense will not be Deployed
Must Read - A quote...."It's been a lot of hard work, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has finally achieved his goal. He's cleaned up the mess left behind by Yeltsin, put together a strong and thriving economy, and restored Russia to a place of honor among the community of nations. His legacy has already been written. He's the man who rebuilt Russia. The last thing he wants now, is a pointless confrontation with the United States. But how can it be avoided? He understands Washington's long-range plans for Russia and he is taking necessary steps to preempt them. He is familiar with the heavyweights of US foreign policy, like Zbigniew Brzezinski, and has undoubtedly read his master-plan for Central Asia, “The Grand Chessboard”. Brzezinski's recent article in Foreign Affairs, (A publication of the Council on Foreign Relations) “A Geostrategy for Eurasia” summarizes his views on America's future involvement in the region:"

Tula ballistic submarine launches Sineva ICBM. INFOgraphics
A quote...."Unlike its predecessor, the Skif, the Sineva carries 10 independently targetable re-entry vehicles instead of four. The new missile has a longer range and a modern control system."

RF, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan sign Caspian gas pipe accord
A quote...."MOSCOW, December 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan signed a long-awaited breakthrough intergovernmental agreement on construction of a Caspian gas pipeline on Thursday. This pipeline will supply the Turkmen gas bypassing the Caspian Sea along the sea eastern coast by new pipelines that will be integrated in the Russian gas supply system."

Putin: New pipeline building to increase Europe's energy security
A quote...."MOSCOW, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Projects to build an oil pipeline across the Balkans and a natural gas pipeline under the Black Sea will increase Europe's energy security, the Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday."

Network Neutrality, Freedom of Expression at Risk
A quote...."Comcast, Verizon and AT&T need to come clean. - Those three - and other cable and telephone companies - need to disclose exactly how they decide to restrict the freedom of expression of hundreds of millions of Americans. They need to explain exactly how they decide to limit Americans’ access to the Internet and other information services. As consumers, investors and citizens, we have a right to know."

For more on this see....The Last Bastion of Freedom is Falling - 05-30-06 - mpg
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Inherent Powers, Ignoble History Make New Idea Anything But Innocuous
Must Read - A quote...."At the beginning of the last century American philosopher George Santayana famously observed: “Those who can’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - The U.S. House recently confirmed that Santayana’s warning about the danger of repeating the history we don’t, can’t or won’t remember applies not only to ordinary mortals in the last century but to members of Congress in this century, too."

A young blonde Icelandic woman's recent experience visiting the US
Must Read - A quote...."The story of Eva Ósk Arnardóttir:  During the last twenty-four hours I have probably experienced the greatest humiliation to which I have ever been subjected. During these last twenty-four hours I have been handcuffed and chained, denied the chance to sleep, been without food and drink and been confined to a place without anyone knowing my whereabouts, imprisoned. Now I am beginning to try to understand all this, rest and review the events which began as innocently as possible."

NSA Gets Real Time Access to Your Email
A quote...."It was inevitable: the Advanced Research Projects Agency, later to become DARPA, right out of the Pentagon, created the internet. The RAND Corporation invented modern packet switching. DARPA and ARPANET recruited Vint Cerf of Stanford University to work on TCP/IP. Cerf is regarded as “the father of the Internet,” or maybe that should be the military-NSA snoop network. Now we learn NSA increasingly controls SSL, now called Transport Layer Security, the cryptographic protocol that provides secure communications on the internet for web browsing, e-mail, instant messaging, and other data transfers."

FBI Recorded 27 Million FISA 'Sessions' in 2006
A quote...."....the report said that the FBI's software for recording telephone surveillance of suspected spies and terrorists intercepted 27,728,675 sessions. - Twenty-seven million is a staggering number given that the FBI only got 2,176 FISA court orders in 2006 from a secret spy court using the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."

FBI Now Admits Evidence Used to Connect Oswald to Kennedy Assasination Was Bogus
A quote...."The front page of the Sunday Washington Post features, "FBI Forensic Test Full of Holes." It claims that hundreds of defendants sitting in prisons nationwide have been convicted with the help of an FBI forensic tool that has been found to be completely full of inconsistent results and has actually been discarded by the FBI for such reasons more than two years ago. But the FBI lab has failed to take or attempt to alert any of the affected defendants or courts, even though the window for appealing convictions is closing."

Descendants of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse break away from US
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AFP) — The Lakota Indians, who gave the world legendary warriors Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, have withdrawn from treaties with the United States, leaders said Wednesday."

Yes, yes, all well and good.  But what the Lakotas really need to do is open up a bunch of casinos equally owned by everyone in the tribe and then go make them white skinned devils as poor as they made the Lakotas.

Now they'll have to be clever about this, some Lakotas will have to pretend to be a bunch of slick white guys from ....oh.....a state like Texas let's say - who in turn will pretend they're the real owners of the proposed casinos.  They'll pretend they stole the money from the Lakotas in order to "gift" the various federal and state politicians they'll be dealing with so they can get the necessary licenses.

That'll make the politicians happy as heck and it's the only way the Lakotas will ever get those licenses. – mpg
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John Edwards' Foreign Policy - posted at FPIF
A quote...."Edwards was one of only seven Democratic co-sponsors of the Senate bill authorizing Bush to attack Iraq whenever and under whatever circumstances he chose. Indeed, his contempt for international law became even more apparent when he voted against a resolution introduced shortly beforehand authorizing a U.S. invasion of Iraq only if first approved by the United Nations Security Council as legally required. Edwards' wife Elizabeth, who is also a lawyer, challenged him over the absence of any legal justification for an invasion, but this was apparently of little concern to him. In effect, like Bush, Edwards believes that the United States need not abide by international legal standards that forbid countries from invading one another."

Kristol, Krauthammer Are Out of Time - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."Two conservative Time magazine columnists are on their way out the door: Neither William Kristol nor longtime contributor Charles Krauthammer will be on contract with the magazine starting next month. Mr. Krauthammer confirmed the news to Off the Record, and a spokeswoman for Time said Mr. Kristol’s contract would not be renewed."

Chinese whispers
A quote...."The idea of China rushing to the rescue of the capitalist world seems so unlikely as to be unbelievable. - Except that it is happening. The China Investment Corporation - a newly-formed fund which helps control £100bn of China's foreign exchange reserves - yesterday ploughed $5bn into Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street firm."

China raises benchmark interest rate for 6th time this year
A quote...."BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- China is raising the interest rates for the sixth time this year in a fresh move to cool a red-hot economy expected to expand 11.5 percent for the full year and to battle inflation that has climbed to an 11-year high."

Fatwa against the dollar?
A quote...."To all intents and purposes, the Wahabi religious establishment of Saudi Arabia has just issued a fatwa against the US dollar. This bears watching. - A message issued by 26 leading clerics warns that inflation has reached intolerable levels in the Gulf kingdom. - While it does not vilify the dollar explicitly, the apparent political aim is to undermine the country’s dollar peg. - “The rulers should seek to try to remedy this crisis in a way that would ease people’s suffering.”

Bay Area Housing Sales Plummet 36 Percent
A quote...."Home sales plunged 36.2 percent last month in nine counties around San Francisco Bay, marking the biggest annual drop for November in the past 20 years, a real estate tracking firm said Thursday."

Review of 'Charlie Wilson's War' - posted at Consortium News
Movie Review - A quote...."What do you get when you mix a cocaine-snorting playboy Congressman, the sixth richest woman in Texas, and a blue-collar CIA officer with a huge chip on his shoulder? Why, the largest covert operation in history, and a hilarious, award-nominated film about it."

Wednesday December 19th 2007

India adds oomph to its space race
A quote...."Thus, it is no coincidence that almost simultaneously with the test of the cryogenic engine, New Delhi has also announced that it is ready to test a 6,000 kilometer nuclear-capable ICBM, the Agni-IV, next year. The missile will have the capability of destroying targets deep within China and it can be stationed in southern India, placing it out of range of all of Pakistan's known missiles. - There is speculation that India is developing an ICBM named "Surya" with a 10,000 kilometer range, thus bringing Europe in range, though the plans are unlikely to be revealed before the India-US nuclear deal on civilian nuclear cooperation is finally sealed"

All with the US government's encouragement....so much for the NPT.

This editor doesn't begrudge India's attempt to increase its own capabilities, after all, the major powers have consistently refused to reduce there nuclear arsenals and missile inventories despite the provisions within the NPT requiring them to do so.

However to see the US running around the world screaming about non-proliferation and Iran's non-existent long range missile capability and than watch the US disregard the Geneva conventions, the World Court, the United Nations, the START treaties, the ABM treaty, its own constitution, Iran's right to enrich uranium under the NPT. etc, etc. etc.  brings hypocrisy to a whole new, ridiculous level of childishness.

At this point it should have become abundantly clear to everyone in the world that this nation, under the thumb of its elites, cannot be trusted to negotiate in good faith or honor, any treaty, law, compact or covenant.....ever.  The US government has permanently lost all of its credibility, its word is not its bond, it cannot be trusted to fulfill any of its  commitments, it cannot make a correct factual statement whatsoever regarding any situation....it is a lawless, mendacious, rouge regime. - mpg
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How to create an Angry American - (YouTube -  6 min 26 sec - Added:  July 14, 2007)
Must View - A quote...."Song: "All the things that I have done" By: THE KILLERS please check out our other videos too! - www.puppetgov.com - PUPPETGOV w/ Billy Vegas"

More regarding our elites lies. - mpg
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An Inside Job - Is the NIE Bush's Watergate?
A quote...."In early December, an intelligence report served as the instrument to disgrace Bush and Cheney. Behind this apparently benign act stood the relieved super rich and their government guardian who saw the reckless policies of Bush and Cheney as a threat to their power and fortunes."

FBI: Crazy Guy is Source for 9/11 Commission Report
A quote...."So let's see if we can put this altogether. According to the FBI, the information which largely formed the basis for the 9/11 Commission Report was based on the ramblings of a literally crazy guy after he had been tortured for many, many weeks in a manner that was guaranteed to destroy his trust in his interrogators and which was contrary to effective interrogation techniques."

"Black Site" Survivor Relates Horrific Tale
A quote...."NEW YORK, Dec 19 (IPS) - As human right lawyers sought to block U.S government efforts to stop a lawsuit against a Boeing subsidiary accused of flying detainees to "black sites" where they were tortured, a legal advocacy group published the first testimony of a victim of the Central Intelligence Agency's "enhanced interrogation" programme."

White House asks NYT to remove sub-headline from CIA tape story
Special Note: A quote...."The White House on Wednesday took the rare step of publicly asking The New York Times to change the sub-headline of a story on the destruction of CIA tapes showing the interrogations of suspected terrorists."

Bush Lawyers Discussed Fate of C.I.A.Tapes
A quote...."WASHINGTON - At least four top White House lawyers took part in discussions with the Central Intelligence Agency between 2003 and 2005 about whether to destroy videotapes showing the secret interrogations of two operatives from Al Qaeda, according to current and former administration and intelligence officials."

With Bush in their pocket, the Carlyle Group buys the "Birth Certificate of Democracy" --the Magna Carta
A quote...."Freedom's most valuable document, the Magna Carta, has been sold at auction to David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, a web of Bush supporters if not co-conspirators. This sale of the very origins of our democratic heritage to the Carlyle Group is symbolic of the GOP sell out to the Military Industrial Complex, the merchants of war and death. [ See: Bush Advisers Cashed in on Saudi Gravy Train; Meet The Carlyle Group, Former World Leaders and Washington Insiders Making Billions in the War on Terrorism; The Bush-Carlyle Connection]

Carlyle Group buys the Magna Carta for $21m
Related article - A quote...."This reminds me of monty burns telling a judge that he'll "take that statue of justice, too." or, as existentialist cowboy points out in fantastic article [shown above], it's like "Anton Lavey buying the gutenberg bible."

Juan Cole Round-Up for Iraq - Thursday, December 20, 2007
A quote...."The guerrilla movement in Iraq is generating a steady 600 attacks a week using bombs, small-arms, mortars and sniping. This number has not changed during the past six weeks, and although it is lower than the rate in September, it is a very significant number of attacks. Roadside bomb attacks in specific are down, but there is no change in the number of over-all attacks."

All Iraqi Groups Blame U.S. Invasion for Discord, Study Shows - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."Iraqis of all sectarian and ethnic groups believe that the U.S. military invasion is the primary root of the violent differences among them, and see the departure of "occupying forces" as the key to national reconciliation, according to focus groups conducted for the U.S. military last month."

Putin calls on U.S. to set date for troop withdrawal from Iraq
A quote...."Speaking to Time magazine December 12, Vladimir Putin said he agrees with U.S. President George Bush when he says it is necessary to help the Iraqi authorities establish an army, security service, police force and transfer decision making on these issues to the Iraqi people. - "Our difference with George [Bush] is that he does not believe it possible to set a deadline to withdraw international troops from Iraqi territory. In my opinion, it would be better to do so, this would make the Iraqi leadership itself more active," he said."

Let's give the Ugly American a badly needed makeover
A quote...."In the late Fifties, an uncharacteristically honest political novel hit the best-seller lists. Later made into a Hollywood film starring Marlon Brando, "The Ugly American" chronicled the self-defeating obtuseness of American conduct in a thinly fictionalized Southeast Asian country called Sarkhan, just before Indochina flared into what we would come to know, and deeply lament, as the Vietnam War."

US Army Seeks to Boost Forces by 74,000
A quote...."The Pentagon will send six new combat brigades to bases in Texas, Georgia, and Colorado in the coming years as part of an extensive plan to increase the size of the Army."

NORTHCOM Cementing Unified Response Network
A quote...."WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Northern Command is cementing a vast network of relationships critical to protecting the homeland against attacks or natural disasters and providing a unified response should one occur, its commander said today."

Putin hopes U.S. had no hidden agenda in Iran nuclear report
War Warning - A quote...."MOSCOW, December 19 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin said he hoped there was no hidden agenda behind a recent report released by U.S. intelligence services saying there was no evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program."

Ex-CIA man predicts U.S. war with Iran
War Warning - A quote...."PORTSMOUTH — Former Central Intelligence Agency analyst Ray McGovern said Monday night that he fears the United States will go to war with Iran before the next American presidential election."

Iran Masters RADAR Technology
War Update - A quote...."TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iranian Defense Ministry Saturday said it has launched production of a new generation of long and medium-range RADAR systems. - The hi-tech system has been designed and produced by SA-Iran Industries affiliated to the Defense Ministry."

Slave labour that shames America
A quote...."Migrant workers chained beaten and forced into debt, exposing the human cost of producing cheap food"

In a capitalist system money isn't everything....it's the only thing.  This is what our system does to people who are "illegal aliens", just imagine if you can, what would have happened to millions of these people if they had all been turned into felons by the new immigration law the RepubDemos tried to pass last year.

To the conservative anti-immigrant crowd out there, if that law had passed not one of these people would have been deported back to Mexico, not one single American would have been hired in their place.  Instead these people and the wives and children accompanying them would have instantly been turned into real slaves, it's as simple as that.  We as a nation would have brought slavery back to this country....to millions of people.

Think about it. – mpg
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Bush's bid to punish Iranian banks stalls
A quote...."WASHINGTON: The Bush administration's new policy of penalizing Iranian banks is facing a critical challenge as financial institutions in Russia, China and much of the Middle East decline to cut ties, analysts and diplomats say."

Cuba embargo undermined: US report
A quote...."The US trade embargo on Cuba is being undermined by factors that include a lack of cooperation from some countries and domestic opposition to the rules, an official US report out Wednesday said."

The rise of the 'Brics'
A quote...."Bric - another acronym every silicon.com reader should be aware of and, no, it's nothing to do with Microsoft or operating systems. It actually stands for Brazil, Russia, India, and China and was coined by the investment bank Goldman Sachs when they published a report titled Dreaming of Brics in 2003. The report was essentially some controlled future gazing, based on economic fundamentals and projections right out to 2050."

China, India hold their first joint military exercise
A quote...."BEIJING, December 20 (RIA Novosti) - The world's two most populous nations China and India, who have held each other at arm's length since the 1962 Sino-Indian war, began their first-ever joint military exercise on Thursday."

Record investments will expand Brazilian growth 5.2% this year
A quote...."Brazil’s GDP is forecasted to expand 5.2% in 2007, up from the original 4.5%, said the Applied Economics Research Institute, IPEA, an office from the Brazilian Executive. The quarterly report indicates that the industrial sector is estimated to grow 6% this year, up 0.8 percentage points above the first estimate."

Venezuela Says US Trying to Divide Latin America
A quote...."Paraguaná, December 17, 2007, (venezuelanalysis.com) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused the United States government yesterday of launching an attack against Venezuela and Argentina in an effort to damage their relations. US authorities made new charges on Monday regarding the infamous "suitcase scandal" but Venezuela and Argentina accused the US of engineering a campaign to divide them."

Venezuela Stresses Integration at Mercosur Summit
A quote...."Caracas, December, 18, 2007, (venezuelanalysis.com) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez attended the 34th Summit of Heads of States of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), in Montevideo today to support his country's bid for full membership of the regional trading block. The presidents of all four member nations expressed their full support for Venezuela's entry."

Venezuela and Brazil Strengthen Economic Ties
A quote...."Paraguaná, December 17, 2007, (venezuelanalysis.com) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his Brazilian counterpart Luis Inacio Lula da Silva signed nine cooperative agreements last week in Caracas. Both countries agreed to strengthen ties in the areas of health and agriculture, as well as the joint construction of an oil refinery, a bilateral development fund, and cooperation in the petrochemical sector."

Saudis biggest group of al Qaeda Iraq fighters: study
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most al Qaeda fighters in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia and Libya and many are university-aged students, said a study released on Wednesday by researchers at the U.S. Army's West Point military academy."

Hamas offer for peace rejected by Israel
A quote...."The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who just hours earlier declared "war on Gaza", refused to acknowledge an offer for peace made by the deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyya."

France: A sharp increase in police repression
A quote...."Since the election of Nicolas Sarkozy to the presidency of the French Republic last May, there has been a tangible rise in the repressive activity and brutality of the police. This is how his right-wing Gaullist government aims to deal with resistance to his programme of destruction of the social and democratic rights of workers, youth and immigrants. In so doing, Sarkozy aims to create the conditions for an increase in the profitability and competitiveness of French big business in the global economy."

This editor disagrees.  Sarkozy's new government is not "Gaullist", it's "Copycat US Neocon".  A smaller even more pathetic version of the rump state government recently established here in America under the Bushists thugs. Everyone should pity poor France; since Sarkozy was elected they have fallen so far so fast they might as well become the fifty first state. – mpg
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Kucinich's Brother Found Dead In Home
Full Quote...."(The Politico) Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s (D-Ohio) brother, Perry Kucinich, was found dead this morning in his Cuyahoga County home. - Perry Kucinich was 52 years old. There were no signs of violence, according to police officials cited by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Cuyahoga County Coroner is performing an autopsy this hour. - Dennis Kucinich, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, is on his way to Cleveland to be with his family. He will be issuing a statement later this afternoon."

The FCC Voted: Time to Raise Hell
A quote...."Today, Bush-appointed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin rammed through a 3-2 partisan vote to remove the longstanding “newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership” ban that prohibits a local newspaper from owning TV and radio stations in the same market. Witness yet another shining moment: the Bush administration serving up a wholesale giveaway to the largest media corporations in the most corrupt process imaginable."

Fire Controlled at White House Compound
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) - Thick black smoke billowed from a fire Wednesday in Vice President Dick Cheney's suite of offices in the historic Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House."

Cheney is such an idiot, you're supposed to shred the documents first, than use a professional service for their incineration.  You're not supposed to just try to burn them up yourself. - mpg

Tuesday December 18th 2007

French journalist investigated over intelligence leaks regarding 9/11 attacks
Must Read - Special Note - Very Important - Some quotes...."New York, December 10, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about a criminal investigation launched by French authorities against Guillaume Dasquié, a reporter for the daily Le Monde, on accusations of publishing state secrets related to the 9/11 hijackings. - Officers from the Directorate of Territorial Security, a counterespionage agency, searched Dasquié’s Paris home on Wednesday. They detained him for 48 hours, during which time he was interrogated and pressured to reveal his sources, according to international news reports. Dasquié faces five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros (US$110,000) under Article 413-11 of France’s penal code if convicted."

"The probe against Dasquié stems from his April 16 article in Le Monde, titled “September 11: the French had long known,” which said French intelligence services, the General Directorate of External Security (DGSE), had warned their U.S. counterparts of a possible terrorist plot that involved the hijacking of planes and crashing them into buildings some eight months before 9/11, according to international news reports." - italics by website author.

As soon as Sarkozy got into office he made a bunch of deals with Bush, this is one of them.  Proof positive that they're trying to cover-up 9/11.  To everyone who reads this blog - please pass this article on. - mpg
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Only Pawns in the Game - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...." 12/18/07 "ICH  " -- -- You can demonize Bush and Cheney (rightfully) until hell freezes over--but it's not going to change anything. Keith Olbermann does it almost every night on his MSNBC television show, but it doesn't change anything. Trashing Bush and Cheney or Hillary or Obama might make a lot of people feel good, but it doesn't change anything. They're only pawns in the game."

The US Middle Class Meets The Bloods And The Crips - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...." 12/18/07 "ICH" -- - -Given the U.S. media induced obsession with convicts, criminals, and fugitives; one can clearly see how this coincides with the loss of civil rights, omnipresent video survellience, electronic data intrusions, privatized penal institutions, and the build-up of war-hardened national guard assets - all taxpayer funded to guard the wealth of the elites. The once demure security guard with the blue sports jacket at the local shopping mall, has been replaced with the gun totting, equipment laden sentinel in the black commando uniform, bloused fatigues and combat boots. Suspicious glances have replaced courteous smiles. Basically, we are creating our own prison planet, but there is even more to cause great concern to the middle class."

Internet Thought Control Bill Under Fire
Must Read - A quote...."There was a huge reaction to this hearing by U.S. political groups across the political spectrum. The reaction was so strong that presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) revised his apparent position of support as indicated in emails to constituents. In a recent email to The Independent the candidate's staff said that "Senator Obama has not taken a position on S. 1959. Should the bill be considered by the Homeland Security Committee, he will carefully evaluate it, as he does with all pieces of legislation,"

What's happening now in America is a life and death struggle between the American people and the literal neo-Nazis.
A quote...."Politics is for enablers and TV sitcomers. It now has nothing to do with anything.  --  In the early 20th Century, the German people (for a time) thought the same thing. The tsunami of Hitler Nazism was approaching, but they played meaningless political games, thinking they would solve everything. And the fruit of this Duh-brained silliness was the monstrous 3rd Reich of the 20th Century."

Next time, evacuees subject to criminal checks
Some quotes...."Texans seeking to escape the next hurricane or state emergency by evacuation bus will first be submitted to criminal background checks, the state's emergency management director says."  --  "Earlier this month, it was announced AT&T Inc. has contracted with the Texas Governor's Division of Emergency Management to provide electronic wristbands for those residents wanting them, before they board an evacuation bus. The wristbands would be scanned by emergency management officials and the person's name would be added to a bus boarding log. That person's name and their bus information would be sent wirelessly to the University of Texas Center for Space Research data center."

Another Milestone on the Road to Serfdom - posted at ICH
A quote...."12/17/07 " Harper's" -- - Very rarely, I read a press account and see the footprint of a new world—there it is, lurking amidst the smudged black ink in the thin column. Sometimes it is a technological breakthrough that promises to make life easier, safer, or longer. But sometimes it is a redefinition of the parameters of human society. And sometimes it’s downright frightening. Time to pull it out of the banality of that newsprint and think."

Police brutality cases on rise since 9/11
A quote...."WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors are targeting a rising number of law enforcement officers for alleged brutality, Justice Department statistics show. The heightened prosecutions come as the nation's largest police union fears that agencies are dropping standards to fill thousands of vacancies and "scrimping" on training."
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The Africa Command Prospect and the Partition of Somalia
A quote...."December 18, 2007 -- As the US Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, was recently visiting American forces in Djibouti, the Washington Post was reporting how the Pentagon has been spearheading a seemingly dicey initiative to pressure Washington into recognizing the secessionist northwestern region of Somalia known as “Somaliland” as an independent state."

Well this ought to sound really familiar to everybody in Iraq.  AFRICOM which has just recently been established is ALREADY dividing up an African country.  Incredible, just incredible! - mpg

Regarding Iraq see....The US's New Map of the Middle East
See also....Divide and rule
See also....Iraqi politicians blast vote in U.S. Senate on partition
See also....[US] Senate Endorses Plan to Divide Iraq
See also....Kuwait's ruler rejects any partition of Iraq
See also....Al-Maliki rejects Senate proposal to partition Iraq
See also....Iraq's Shiites and Sunnis reject US partition idea
See also....US Senate votes to divide Iraq
See also....US Sponsored Civil Wars
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Baghdad University mourns yet another professor it lost violence
A quote...."The University of Baghdad has lost another of its bright scientists, Professor Ali al-Naimi. - Naimi was killed in cold blood and the university, in a mourning ceremony, has declared him a ‘martyr’. He was 51."

See also....The Method - 05-07-07 - mpg
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Bubba Clinton and Poppy Bush, Emissaries of Mass Murder and Misery
A quote...."First thing president Hillary will do is send two mass murderers out to “repair the damage done to America’s reputation,” according to CNN. - And who are these two criminals? None other than president Hillary’s husband and Bush Senior. As you may recall, Bill Clinton is more or less the adopted son of the Bush crime family. It makes sense then these two criminals — guilty of together killing well over a million innocent Iraqis, 500,000 of them children — will be sent, as people around the world understand, more than the American people do, that these two guys mean business.

250 former Iraq detainees claim torture in new US lawsuit
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AFP) More than 250 people once held in Iraqi prisons, including the notorious Abu Ghraib, have filed suit against a US military contractor for their alleged torture, attorneys said Tuesday."

Retired FBI agent: Waterboarding produced 'crap' information from detainee
A quote...."FBI interrogators suspected CIA's aim was to 'belittle' detainee with harsh treatment  --  Contradicting the assertions of President Bush and waterboarding advocates at the CIA, federal investigators say a suspected al Qaeda operative who was subjected to the simulated drowning technique produced increasingly unreliable information after his interrogators began treating him harshly."

Congress votes to fund war, bows to Bush on domestic policy
A quote...."With just days to go until Congress begins its holiday recess, the Democratic leadership has once again orchestrated a legislative capitulation to the White House that will ensure that the war in Iraq—which they claim to oppose—continues, while making no major substantive changes in the domestic agenda set by the Bush administration."

Troop pullouts to leave only US in Iraq
A quote...."Nearly five years into the occupation of Iraq, the 'coalition of the willing' is about to lose two of its key supporters."

Someone Tell Mister Decider: 63 Percent Now Want Troops Out of Iraq Within a Year, Up 6 Percent Since Last Week - posted at PDB - A quote...."A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 63% of Americans would like to see U.S. troops brought home from Iraq within a year. That’s up from 57% a week ago and 59% two weeks ago."

Judge orders hearing on destroyed CIA videos
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A judge on Tuesday ordered the Bush administration to explain whether the CIA violated a court order by destroying videotapes of the harsh interrogations of two terrorism suspects."

Sen. Specter: Bush admin. 'throwing up roadblocks' on CIA tape, wiretap probes
A quote...."A prominent Republican, who has disputed with the White House in the past, threw fuel onto the fire on Tuesday by accusing the Bush administration of throwing "roadblocks" in front of congressional attempts to investigate the destruction of CIA tapes, saying it demonstrates the need to preserve judicial oversight of the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program."

The Wages of Intervention
A quote...."I had to laugh when I saw the headline: "Iraq Kurdish leader snubs Rice over Turkey raid." So Condi went all the way to Iraq to resolve this latest crisis in our fast-unraveling Iraqi protectorate, only to be told by Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan autonomous region, the diplomatic equivalent of "go fly a kite."

US Provided Real Time Intelligence for Turkish Strikes on Iraq
Related article - A quote...."Ann Scott Tyson and Robin Wright of WaPo confirm from Washington sources that the US provided to the Turkish government 'real time intelligence' on Kurdish Workers Party [PKK] guerrillas holed up in Iraq."

US aid for Turkish attacks angers Kurds
Related article - A quote...."The leader of the Iraqi Kurdish government refused to meet Condoleezza Rice yesterday after America supported Turkish air and land attacks on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq."

NIE Bolsters Czech Opposition to US Radar Base
A quote...."PRAGUE - A report by U.S. intelligence services minimizing the Iranian threat has meant another embarrassment for Czech politicians supportive of U.S. plans to set up a radar base in Central-Eastern Europe."

Italians Block Construction of U.S. Base - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."The people of the northern Italian city of Vicenza, with help from activists around Italy, the rest of Europe, and even in the United States, are continuing to block the proposed construction of a new U.S. military base on their soil."

Iran sees Bushehr plant at full capacity in one year: official
A quote...."TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran expects its first nuclear power plant will produce electricity at full capacity in around a year after passing a "critical stage" with the delivery of fuel from Russia, a top official said on Tuesday."

Russian-Chinese relations reach a level not seen before Putin's terms in office
A quote...."BEIJING. Dec 18 (Interfax) - Beijing has praised the role of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the development of Russian-Chinese relations and strategic partnership, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang said at a briefing on Tuesday."

Colombia opens probe into Chiquita militia links
A quote...."BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian prosecutors said on Tuesday they opened a criminal probe of U.S.-based Chiquita Brands International for payments it made to right-wing militias branded as terrorists by Washington."

Serbia Seeking Russian Bases
A quote...."The leader of the Serbian nationalist Radical Party (SRS) backs the construction of Russian military bases in Serbia, according to the Sunday edition of the Novi Sad-based Dnevnik daily."

Collective security: dusting off old cliches
A quote...."MOSCOW. (Alexander Khramchikhin for RIA Novosti) - As the rhetoric about basic treaties signed at the end of the Cold War (START 1, INF, CFE) intensifies, it is becoming clear that collective security in Europe and the world needs new approaches and perhaps a complete overhaul."

LEBANON: Palestinian refugees still adamant they must return home
A quote...."No-one can negotiate on our right to return to Palestine. There is only one country called Palestine and we will never return there except by resistance to Israel," said Abu Yousef, a fighter with the radical Palestinian Islamist faction Ansar Allah."

Argentina "dirty war" general gets 25 years
A quote...."BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - An Argentine court on Tuesday sentenced former military junta member Cristino Nicolaides to 25 years in prison for conspiring to murder leftist opponents during the 1976-83 so-called dirty war."

Hey Neocons!!  Sooner or later justice catches up with everyone....best you remember that. - mpg
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Siegelman Speaks! ex-gov calls '02 Election "Stolen" by the White House! News from Underground  - @BuzzFlash
A quote...."Here is some amazing video: a very candid interview with Don Siegelman, who spoke to Julie Sigwart of Take Back the Media on Sept. 13, 2004--months before the Governor was finally put away on trumped-up charges by the Alabama GOP."

Judge Orders Hearing as Suspicions Mount of CIA 'Torturegate' Cover-Up - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."Eerie Echoes of Watergate Sweep Washington After D.C. Federal Court Defies White House Bid to Block a Judicial Inquiry; ACLU Files Motion in N.Y. Federal Court to Hold CIA in Contempt for Violating '04 Court Ruling"

Huckabee's Chairman Hid Payoff Secret - posted at Consortium News
A quote...."Rollins, who ran Reagan’s reelection campaign, mentioned the admission in his 1996 book, Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms, recounting how the Filipino casually asserted over drinks that he had carried the money in a suitcase to a Republican lobbyist who was representing the Reagan campaign. - "I was the guy who gave the ten million from Marcos to your campaign," the Filipino told Rollins. "I was the guy who made the arrangements and delivered the cash personally. ...It was a personal gift from Marcos to Reagan."

Daddy Bush Makes Skull and Bones Pilgrimage
A quote...."An 83-year-old George H. W. Bush apparently made what could be his last pilgrimage to Skull and Bones over the weekend when he purportedly paid a visit to the tomb and rekindled his loyalty with the secret society death cult for the first time in nearly 10 years."

Momentum Building for Cheney Impeachment
A quote...."In the space of a few days, nearly 100,000 people have already signed onto a call by Congressman Robert Wexler to begin impeachment hearings for Dick Cheney. Please add your name and encourage everyone you know to add theirs. Please send this link to every list you can: http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com "

Cynthia McKinney Announces Bid For Presidency
A quote...."Cynthia McKinney, a former six-term Congresswoman and an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq, today officially launched her campaign as a Green Party candidate for President."

She's a woman AND she's black.  Take that Obama/Clinton! - mpg
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While the Bush Administration Dallies, the Crisis Deepens - The Consequences the Trade Deficit
A quote...."Yesterday, the Commerce Department reported the third quarter current account deficit was $178.5 billion, down from $188.9 billion in the second quarter. The deficit exceeded 5.4 percent of GDP."

Housing construction declines with single-family activity at lowest level since 1991
A quote...."Housing construction fell in November with single-family activity dropping to the lowest level in more than 16 years. Analysts said the recession in housing showed no signs of a turnaround."

Emergency: ECB Offers Banks Unlimited Funds
A quote...."The European Central Bank has allocated 348.7bn euros ($502bn; £249bn) to banks at a below-market rate in a refinancing move to ease tightened credit markets. It is one of five central banks that have injected billions in emergency cash into money markets. The aim is to cut the cost of lending between retail and commercial banks, which has jumped in the past few weeks."

Just to make it crystal clear....that's a $502 BILLION DOLLAR LOAN just to carry the banks for the upcoming two week holiday rush. - mpg

The World's Largest Banks Are Now Trapped
Related article - A quote...." The subprime mortgage crisis constitutes the worst banking error in my lifetime. Nothing else comes close. - It has visibly begun to unravel. The European Central Bank on Tuesday, December 18, opened a line of credit of $500 billion to commercial banks."

Monday December 17th 2007

Police State America - A Look Back And Ahead
Must Read - A quote...."Year end is a good time to look back and reflect on what's ahead. If past is prologue, however, the outlook isn't good, and nothing on the horizon suggests otherwise. Voters last November wanted change but got betrayal from the bipartisan criminal class in Washington. Their attitude shows in an October Reuters/Zogby (RZ) opinion poll with George Bush at 24% that tops Richard Nixon's worst showing of 25% at his lowest 1974 Watergate point. And if that looks bad, consider Congress with "The Hill" reporting from the same RZ Index that our legislators scored a "staggering 11%, the lowest (congressional) rating in history," but there's room yet to hit bottom and a year left to do it. Why not with lawmakers' consistent voter sellout and failure record that keeps getting worse."
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The Financing of Fundamentalism, and the Antichrist
Must Read - A quote...."The Anglo-American intelligence services began the infiltration and the financing of  Islamic groups in the 60s and 70s starting with the Moslem brotherhood in Egypt , and ending with many others in which they orchestrated and created.  --  The concept behind this process was that Islamism is anti-communism, and since 30 percent of the late Soviet Union was Islamic, it made perfect sense to plant the seed, and fuel this movement in order to destabilize the alleged iron curtain.  --  According to Cooley (2000) The US and its allies Egypt , France, Saudi Arabia, Morocco , Iran , with the cooperation of the Israelis officially established on September 1, 1976 what was known as “the Safari Club.”  --  This club was responsible for financing, training, and launching the New-old brand of Islamism carried on by mercenaries called the Moujahidin or the freedom fighters in Afghanistan and many other regions in the globe."

US Army loses another 12,000 guns and trucks - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."The US military in Iraq has lost track of another 12,000 weapons, including more than 800 machine-guns, and everything from 2100 new electricity generators to half a dozen garbage trucks."

See also....US Support of Terror - Money & Guns for Everyone
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Culling The Herd - posted at ICH
A quote...."12/17/07 "ICH" -- - In 1974, a year after orchestrating a mass terror bombing of Cambodia -- after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize -- Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and his National Security Council completed “National Security Study Memo 200: Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas Interests.” This  document, whose sharp edges are dulled by page after leaden page of how to reduce over-population in the Third World through birth control and "other" population-reduction programs, was classified until 1989, but was almost immediately accepted as US policy, and remains the US blueprint for ethnic cleansing today."

Mirage of Improvement in Iraq: Yet Another Facelift for the Failed Occupation
A quote...."People in the US are willing to believe the establishment media telling them that refugees are returning to their homes in Baghdad in an environment of improved security and new hope. - It is true that there have been fewer American soldiers killed in Baghdad and the number of Iraqis fleeing to Syria has declined. However, this relatively quieter security situation needs to be placed in its proper context, something the Western media steadfastly refuses to do."

Revealing story on how Feith subverted the DOD
Special Note: - A quote...."So right under Rumsfeld, the top three players in the Department of Defence were Wolfowitz, Feith, and Perle. All three are rabid Zionists. All three have histories of SPYING for Israel. All three were involved in writing A Clean Break for Israel, then converting it to PNAC for America. And all three were involved in getting the US to invade, destroy and loot Iraq, then quietly left their posts when it all got messy. The job was done. "

See also....PNAC - Rouges Gallery
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Iraq's Muqtada not quite Hezbollah mold
A quote...."DAMASCUS - German sociologist Max Weber introduced the word "charisma" into academic discourse, defining it in part as being a quality that sets an individual apart. Almost always, charismatic people posses exceptional communication and oratory skills."

Iraqi resistance prevented the Algerians from taking leadership positions
A quote...."Iraqi resistance prevented the Algerians from taking leadership positions - This is a very interesting report released today on Algerian newspaper echoroukonline about Algerians who fight the Americans in Iraq. - The newspaper says that sources revealed that most of the Algerians who fight or fought with the Iraqi resistance groups are from very wealthy families, joined the various Iraqi resistance, among them 20 joined the Islamic Army ."

Winning or Losing in Iraq - posted at FPIF
A quote...."Our culture is all about winning and losing. The second best team in football doesn't get a parade. We market products to win over the market - whether the product is a widget or an invasion. We even use language to reflect our winning mentality for the products we sell- we want to crush the competitor. - We believe we can sell anything. To my amazement, the marketers are nearly right. They can sell cars, toys, toothpaste, and coffee to anyone. We do it by supplying the "right" information to the right segment of the market. Why not then sell a war?"

Corporate oil giants scramble to plunder Iraq’s energy reserves
Some quotes...."When Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki finally sent the so-called “oil law” to be passed by the parliament in July, George Bush phoned to congratulate him personally."  --  "Bush’s congratulations—made on behalf of the major oil corporations and their share-holders—were premature however. The rival Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions of the Iraqi ruling elite have still not agreed on the legislation due to their bitter and increasingly intractable differences over how to divide the revenues that would flow to the Baghdad government."

Dems slam diplomatic downsizing as untold cost of war in Iraq
A quote...."Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and two senior members of the House Foreign Affairs committee are panning a planned slashing of the US diplomatic corps as a sad consequence of the war in Iraq."

Britain bows out of a five-year war it could never have won
A quote...."Britain handed over security in Basra province yesterday, bringing a formal end to its ill-starred attempt over almost five years to control southern Iraq."

Iraqi Parliament Condemns Turkey - Turkey says US Authorized Air Strikes on PKK
A quote...."The Iraqi parliament on Monday condemned Turkish air strikes on what it said were bases of the Kurdish Workers Party inside Iraqi territory. The parliament decried what it called a "cruel" violation of Iraqi "sovereignty." Over two dozen Turkish troops have been killed in recent months by PKK guerrillas, who Ankara says are based in Iraqi Kurdistan."

EU calls on Turkey to halt strikes in northern Iraq
A quote...."The European Union today called on Turkey to show restraint after it launched the biggest attack on Iraq since the US invasion in 2003, sending more than 50 warplanes to bomb suspected Kurdish insurgent bases inside Iraqi territory."

Donors Back Palestinian Economy, Urge Israeli Ease-Up
A quote...."WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (IPS) - International donors pledged billions of dollars Monday to shore up peace prospects amid warnings no amount of money can help if Israel keeps the Palestinian economy in a stranglehold."

Afghanistan: The Dollar Line
A quote..."The Battle of Musa Kala is supposedly over and the city is once more in the hands of NATO forces. There has been a virtual news blackout about the manner in which the city was taken but, listening to the BBC World Service yesterday, I picked up snippets about a heavy aerial bombardment by the US Air Force, using B1 and Stealth bombers in what appeared to be a Shock & Awe blitzkrieg. Phosphorous bombs may have been used. Thousands of civilians may have been killed. We just don't know."

The Shocking Stories of the Aid Workers Just Released From Gitmo
A quote...."Two years after being cleared for release from Guantánamo by a military review board, Adel Hassan Hamad, a hospital administrator who worked for a Saudi charity, and Salim Muhood Adem, who worked with orphans for a Kuwaiti NGO, have been repatriated to the country of their birth, where, as lawyer Clive Stafford Smith explained, they are both "safe with their families."

Did Bush Eat Popcorn While Watching the Torture Tapes?
A quote...."Have you watched the videotape of the torture of Abu Zubaydah? No. See how easy that is? The vast majority of folks reading this blog can answer that question succinctly. You do not have to parse. When presidents parse, they are hiding something."

Is Bush Stopped in His Tracks on Iran?
A quote...."The release of the National Intelligence Estimate concerning Iran’s nuclear status marks the latest in a series of assaults by the Pentagon and the intelligence community against the war posturing of the Bush administration.  -  President Bush, seven years after assuming power, may finally be halted in his tracks - not by a resurgent Democratic opposition, sagging opinion polls, or an organized antiwar movement, but by the entrenched power structure in Washington he set out to emasculate. The tug-of-war between those within the administration who advocate as many as 1,000 air strikes on suspected Iranian nuclear facilities and those who oppose an attack will be the most dramatic battle of the final Bush years."

POLITICS-US:  Did Bush Get New Iran Intel Last Winter?
A quote...."WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (IPS) - White House officials have now admitted that George W. Bush was told that the intelligence assessment on a covert Iranian nuclear programme might change last August, but they have avoided answering the question of when the president was first informed about the new intelligence that led to that revised assessment.  --  That evasion is necessary, it now appears, to conceal the fact that Bush likely knew about that intelligence as early as February or March 2007." - bold/italics by website author

Iran indicates it is building another nuclear plant
A quote...."TEHRAN: Iran confirmed on Monday that it had received the first fuel shipment for its nuclear power plant at Bushehr, but also indicated for the first time that it was building a second nuclear power plant."

Top Pentagon official has key role in 'Charlie Wilson's War'
A quote...."WASHINGTON—With his owlish glasses and nasally voice, Mike Vickers isn't Hollywood's version of an international man of mystery. - Yet this unassuming ex-Green Beret and former CIA agent engineered the clandestine arming of the Afghan rebels who drove the Soviet Union out of their country nearly a quarter century ago in what was the largest covert action in the spy agency's history."

For more on this see....US Support of Terror
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9/11 - From The History File...Bush Sought ‘Way’ To Invade Iraq? - Iraq Was 'Topic A' 8 Months Before 9-11
Two years before 9/11, Bush was already talking privately about attacking Iraq
O'Neill: Bush planned Iraq invasion before 9/11
Invading Iraq not a new idea for Bush clique. 4 years before 9/11, plan was set
Bush Now Says What He Wouldn’t Say b4 War Iraq Had Nothing 2 Do With 911
The USA PATRIOT Act Was Planned Before 9/11
NSA Sought Data Before 9/11
Bush Authorized Domestic Spying Before 9/11
NSA Domestic Surveillance Began 7 Months B4efore 9/11, Convicted Qwest CEO
Spy Agency Sought U.S. Call Records Before 9/11, Lawyers Say
BEFORE 9/11
Document Says Oil Chiefs Met With Cheney Task Force [before 9/11]
Energy Task Force - (NEPDG) - Created by Bush in his second week in office
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NY TIMES: Bush Domestic Spy Plans Implemented BEFORE 9/11
A quote...."Nearly 1,300 words into Sunday's New York Times article revealing new details of the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program, the lawyer for an AT&T engineer alleges that "within two weeks of taking office, the Bush administration was planning a comprehensive effort of spying on Americans’ phone usage.” - bold/italics by website author

Blessed Be the 9/11 Truthers and Others like Them
A quote...."Colonel Bowman, Joel Hirschhorn, Professor Griffin, many other outstanding engineers, scientists and just simple citizens think there is a lot of fishy stuff going on about the official version of the 9/11 event. They do not believe all those official reports, point  at the obvious inconsistencies and demand a new, independent investigation."

The Lawless Surveillance State
Related Article - A quote...."There are several vital points raised by the new revelations in The New York Times that "the N.S.A.'s reliance on telecommunications companies is broader and deeper than ever before" and includes both pre-9/11 efforts to tap without warrants into the nation's domestic communications network as well as the collection of vast telephone records of American citizens in the name of the War on Drugs. The Executive Branch and the largest telecommunications companies work in virtually complete secrecy -- with no oversight and no notion of legal limits -- to spy on Americans, on our own soil, at will."

Remember the Anthrax Attack?
A quote...."On 9/18/01, the anthrax attacks started. The lethal anthrax spores -- which were sent along with notes purportedly written by Islamic terrorists -- used a weaponized anthrax strain from the top U.S. bioweapons facility, the Fort Detrick military base. Indeed, top bioweapons experts have stated that the anthrax attack may have been a CIA test "gone wrong"; and see this article by a former NSA and naval intelligence officer."

For more on this see....False Flag Ops - ANTHRAX (US ATTACK)
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UPDATE 4-U.S. Senate postpones consideration of spy bill - posted at PDB
Special Alert - Breaking News - posted Mon Dec 17, 2007 10:17pm EST - A quote...."WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, facing stiff opposition, on Monday abruptly postponed until next month consideration of a measure to give immunity to telephone companies that participated in President George W. Bush's warrantless domestic spying program.  --  Sen. Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, interrupted his long-shot presidential campaign to return to Washington to lead the charge against immunity."I thank all my colleagues who joined me in fighting and winning a stay in the rush to grant retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies," said Dodd, who took the floor for nearly 10 hours to denounce the bill and oppose any effort to swiftly consider any action." - bold/italics by website author

Annals of Liberation: Bush-Induced Distaster in Somalia Grows
A quote...."This is an excellent summary of the deteriorating situation in Somalia, where Bush's "Terror War" unleashed yet another "regime change" operation last year, using American bombers, special ops, death squads and security forces to aid an invasion of Somalia by undemocractic Ethiopia. Writing for McClatchy Newspapers – one of the very few mainstream American news organizations that still practices actual journalism – Shashank Bengali does what almost no corporate media story on Somalia I've seen has ever done: he notes the U.S. involvement in the very first line. In our degraded times, Bengali's straightforward, factual account – the kind of thing which should of course be as common as muck – stands as a bold act of truth-telling."

Kyrgyzstan votes in election, opposition cries foul
A quote...."BISHKEK (Reuters) - Kyrgyz voters went to the polls on Sunday in a snap parliamentary election expected to hand President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's party an overwhelming victory despite opposition complaints it has slid back on democracy."

Crucial Brazilian support and loans for embattled Morales
A quote...."Brazil's government managed energy firm Petrobras announced plans on Monday to invest up to one billion US dollars in Bolivia to increase natural gas production and look for new reserves of the fuel."

Putin 'Ready' to Be Prime Minister under Medvedev
A quote...."Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Monday that he was willing to serve as prime minister under his protege Dmitry Medvedev, who is almost certain to be the country's next president."

Russia to double ICBM launches after 2009 - commander
A quote...."VLASIKHA (Moscow Region), December 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will double its test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles after 2009, the Strategic Missiles Forces (SMF) commander said on Monday."

>>>  The Same Damn Mess All Over Again  <<<

The Disgraceful Treatment of Our Veterans
A quote...."The same people who don’t blink at spending $3 billion a week on their war of choice in Iraq were the ones who cut the VA budget and privatized maintenance at Walter Reed Army Hospital and opposed every attempt to expand benefits for veterans old and young. - They’re the same people who turned a blind eye as their corporate sponsors and private donors looted billions of dollars from the Treasury with no-compete contracts and bloated bills for everything from food for the troops to fuel for their tanks and trucks."

Not to mention the fact they didn't give the troops the armor they needed for three years, they didn't allow them to buy their OWN body armor, they used American GI's as experimental guinea pigs for vaccines and other “treatments”  etc. etc. etc.  Yet these very same ill-used "troops" still believe the propaganda swill served up by the MIOC elites and the Bushist Neocon thugs running this country.

Statements that Iraq had WMD, that Saddam was connected to 9/11 and that al Qaeda was in Iraq before the invasion.  All assertions which were proven to be completely false and were known to be untrue at the time they were made. Yet the "troops" are still voting for these jerks, jerks that sent them off to die for lies they made up, in wars they started, for which they’re receiving vast fortunes and profits.

To be honest, after five years of ridiculous self-serving claims of ignorance and a tidal wave of stupendously self-destructive and monumentally stupid behaviors exhibited by "our troops" this editor has been forced to give up all sympathy for the men and woman in the armed forces.

They, or at least their superiors after the Vietnam war, had PROMISED this nation they weren't going to do the same damn stupid thing all over again, no matter what the politicians said or did, no matter what the rich elites paid our politicians to say or do....and yet here we are, thirty years later, in the same damn mess all over again for reasons that are blatantly, demonstrably, criminally, obvious - and NONE of these reasons have anything to do with the defense of this country -  including the pretext used to start the whole murderous endeavor - the pretext called 9/11.

And 9/11 is something that can never be forgiven - ever. – mpg
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FCC Chair Kevin Martin Refuses to Delay Vote on Proposed Rewrite of Media Ownership Rules
A quote...."Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has refused to delay a vote on his proposed changes to rewrite media ownership laws. The vote is set for Tuesday. We speak with Craig Aaron of Free Press, a national media reform organization. [includes rush transcript]
 || Real Video Stream || Real Audio Stream || MP3 Download || More... ||
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Non-News Highlighted Over Paul's Historic Success
A quote...."The corporate controlled media continue to show the world that they are not in the business of covering real news. Instead they prove yet again that they are in the business of creating a false reality for their viewers. Yesterday, the Ron Paul presidential campaign managed to raise over $6 million in one day, breaking John Kerry's previous one day fundraising record."

Report: Ohio voting machines have 'critical flaws,' could undermine ’08 election
A quote...."One of the most important swing states in America still can’t safeguard the vote. So says a new report, commissioned by Ohio’s top elections official, that found all five voting systems used in the Buckeye State to have “critical flaws” that could undermine the integrity of the 2008 general election."

Harvey Wasserman on New Ohio Voting Report: “The 2004 Election Was Stolen… Finally We Have Irrefutable Confirmation”  --  A quote...."Ohio’s top election official, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, announced Friday that the voting systems that decided the 2004 election in Ohio were rife with “critical security failures.” We speak with Harvey Wasserman, author of “What Happened in Ohio: A Documentary Record of Theft and Fraud in the 2004 Election.” [includes rush transcript]" || Real Video Stream || Real Audio Stream || MP3 Download || More... ||
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The Collapse Of The Modern Day Banking System - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."12/17/07 "ICH" -- -- -Stocks fell sharply last week on news of accelerating inflation which will limit the Federal Reserves ability to continue cutting interest rates. On Tuesday the Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 294 points following the Fed's announcement of a quarter point cut to the Fed Funds rate. On Friday, the Dow dipped another 178 points when government figures showed consumer prices had risen 0.8% last month after a 0.3% gain in October. The stock market is now lurching downward into a “primary bear market”. There has been a steady deterioration in retail sales, commercial real estate, and the transports. The financial industry is going through a major retrenchment losing more than 25% in aggregate capitalization since July. The real estate market is collapsing. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on Friday that he will declare a "fiscal emergency" in January and ask for more power to deal with the $14 billion budget shortfall from the meltdown in subprime lending. Economists are beginning to publicly acknowledge what many market analysts have suspected for months; the nation's economy is going into a tailspin which will inevitably end in a hard landing. "

Wheat Prices Surge to Record High
A quote...."NEW YORK (AP) — Wheat prices surged above $10 a bushel for the first time ever Monday amid concerns that strong demand globally could result in a grain shortage in the United States next year — worsening food price inflation."

Signs Economic Commentary for 17 December 2007
A quote...." US stocks plummeted Tuesday after the Federal Reserve Board announced a quarter-point cut in short-term interest rates and indicated in an accompanying statement that it remained concerned over the potential for an inflationary surge."

World’s sea levels rising twice faster than predicted
A quote...."The world's sea levels could rise twice as high this century as UN climate scientists have previously predicted, according to a study. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change proposes a maximum sea level rise of 81cm (32in) this century."

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121707-122307 - links page

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