From hyperpower to new world disorder
A quote...."01/01/08 "Toronto Star " -- -- "We seek your leadership. But if for some reason you are not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of us. Please get out of our way." - Kevin Conrad, delegate from Papua New Guinea, at the Bali summit on climate change earlier this month, to a U.S. delegation that tried to thwart reforms agreed to by the other 185 nations present. - It became more apparent than ever this year that the U.S. is no longer the world's lone superpower. Instead, there are five superpowers that will define the world for at least the next half-century: the U.S., China, India, Russia and a united Europe."

How Britain became party to a crime that may have killed a million people
A quote...."It has become fashionable to scoff at these rules and to dismiss those who support them as pedants and prigs, but they are all that stand between us and the greatest crimes in history. The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg ruled that "to initiate a war of aggression ... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime". The tribunal's charter placed "planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression" at the top of the list of war crimes."
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Anglo-American Ambitions behind the Assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the Destabilization of Pakistan
Must Read - A quote...."It has been known for months that the Bush-Cheney administration and its allies have been manuevering to strengthen their political control of Pakistan, paving the way for the expansion and deepening of the “war on terrorism” across the region. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto does not change this agenda. In fact, it simplifies Bush-Cheney’s options."

Blowback from an Unholy Alliance - The U.S. and Pakistan After 9/11
Must Read - Some quotes...."In Afghanistan, the Taliban was told that Washington would not distinguish between terrorists and the regimes that harbor them. The Taliban was of course one of the fundamentalist Islamist groups emerging from the long U.S. effort (1979-93) to topple the Soviet-supported secular regime. The Taliban in power from 1996 had netted some aid from a Washington deeply interested in Afghan oil pipeline construction, and also received aid and diplomatic support from Pakistan. Pakistan's CIA (the Inter-Service Intelligence or ISI) had helped create the Taliban in order (as Benazir Bhutto later explained) to secure the trade route into Central Asia."  --  "Maybe Musharraf will now cancel the election. Maybe he will hold it, arranging to win big. Either way, Washington analysts agree his position is weakened by the assassination. Pakistan, more or less stable as of 2001, has in the interval been knocked off balance by U.S. action in the region. Told it must be for or against the U.S., it was obliged to obey, with grim results."

Pakistan 'could be another Somalia'
A quote...."Asif Zardari, husband of murdered Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, has called for President Pervez Musharraf to resign and warned that the country could turn into another Somalia. - He also poured scorn on the government's claim that al-Qa'ida was behind the attack on Ms Bhutto. Instead he blamed "the establishment, which is bigger than Musharraf himself"."I don't think we're as yet a threat to Al-Qa'ida. We weren't in government. Why aren't they killing off the existing structure of the government? Why would they come after us?" he said. "There are definitely some in-house games going on, which either nobody is aware of or are scared to unearth," he said, speaking from his wife's home in her ancestral village of Naudero, where he and the children continued to mourn her loss yesterday."

>>>  It Will Happen Every Single Time  <<<

Regarding the three articles shown above.....The one country in the entire Middle East that hasn't yet been occupied by the US, ALSO doesn't have US bases on it's soil, doesn't allow "aid" or "help" to be given to it by the US, doesn't do "business" with the US and doesn't allow the US to sponsor "freedom fighters", "terrorists", "bad boys", or other assorted groups within its borders....it therefore happens to be the one country in the Middle East not yet torn apart by an orgy of sectarian bloodshed, destruction or civil war.

That country is called Iran.

Get the point folks?  Is everybody out there finally getting the message?

If you still don't understand....why don't you go look at a map and think about it for a while?

ALL the countries in the Middle East will sooner of later look like Iraq, this has ALWAYS been the US's intention; it is The Method the US elites use.  They cannot abide any viable Middle Eastern "nation state" with oil and/or a geopolitical position that is not beholden to them.  That is a demonstrable fact.

What happened to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia, Lebanon, and the Palestinians will happen EVERY SINGLE TIME to any nation that allows the US onto its territory or whose officials do "business" with the US elites

It will eventually even happen to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Gulf states as soon as the US is done "helping" the other countries in the Middle East. – mpg

For more on this see....The US's New Map of the Middle East
See also....Divide and rule
See also....The Plan -- according to U.S. General Wesley Clark (Ret.) YouTube - 1.37 min
See also....US Support of Terror
See also....US Sponsored Civil Wars
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
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Report: Bhutto was no more US friend
A quote...."Benazir Bhutto had distanced herself from a US-brokered deal between her and the Pakistani President before her death, reports say. - The Washington Post reported that former Pakistani PM Bhutto had sent a written complaint to a senior State Department official saying that her camp no longer viewed the backstage US move as a good-will effort towards democracy. "

Pakistan Government Backtracks on Cause of Bhutto's Death
A quote...."ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan's Caretaker Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz Khan at a news briefing Monday apologized for comments made by his ministry's spokesman claiming that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto died of a skull fracture after hitting her head against a sunroof hatch during a suicide attack, the Hindustan Times reports. "

Pakistan: The Beginning of the Storm
A quote...." At GrandeStrategy, we believe that the fundamental battle taking place in Pakistan is between the secular and western-based educated pro-American elites, against the Islam-championing hard core religious types. The former we shall here on refer to as the Secular Pakistanis, while the latter we shall represent as the Islamist Pakistanis, merely to ease the writing of this article, not to imply any deeper meaning, as to what "Islamists" are or what represents "Secular"."

Lockheed to supply 18 F-16s to Pakistan
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp LMT.N> was awarded a $498.2 million contract to supply F-16 aircraft to Pakistan, the Pentagon said on Monday, as Pakistani officials mulled whether to go ahead with a January 8 election after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto."

Musharraf's Watergate? -Physicians Coerced by Military; Nawaz: Musharraf Must Go
A quote...."An attorney for the physicians who put out the story that Ms. Bhutto died of a concussion went to CNN on Monday and said that his clients were pressured by the military. They appear not to have actually agreed with the concussion story, and felt coerced but could not speak out because they had been threatened with being fired if they did."

Doctors Cite Pressure to Keep Silent On Bhutto
A quote...."RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Dec. 31 -- Pakistani authorities have pressured the medical personnel who tried to save Benazir Bhutto's life to remain silent about what happened in her final hour and have removed records of her treatment from the facility, according to doctors."

Pakistan gov't accused of cover-up - Al-Qaida denies involvement in slaying despite official accusations
A quote...."ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Islamic militants said Saturday they had no link to Benazir Bhutto's assassination, dismissing government claims that a leader of pro-Taliban forces in Pakistan carried out the suicide attack on the opposition leader."
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Ohio Guard call-up said to be largest since WW II - posted at BuzzFlash
War Alert - A quote...."COLUMBUS - The U.S. military is giving the Ohio National Guard its biggest call-up since World War II this week, sending about 1,600 troops to Kuwait, with some of them going on to Iraq."

Iran hit by gas cuts after Turkmenistan halts supplies
A quote...."TEHRAN (AFP) A dozen Iranian cities suffered gas cuts on Monday amid freezing winter temperatures after Turkmenistan completely halted the export of gas to its southern neighbour, energy officials said."

Russian-Indian BrahMos JV buys plant to double missile production
A quote...."NEW DELHI, December 31 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian-Indian joint venture BrahMos has bought a manufacturing plant in south India to double production of its supersonic cruise missiles, a company spokesman said on Monday."

Chavez Pardons Accused Coup Backers
Special Note - A quote...."CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez granted amnesty Monday to many opponents accused of supporting a failed 2002 coup that briefly drove him from power. - Chavez said he signed an amnesty decree that would also pardon many others accused of attempts to overthrow his government in recent years. It was not immediately clear how many accused opponents would be affected by the amnesty, or how many of them were in prison. - ``It's a matter of turning the page,'' Chavez said in a telephone call to state television on New Year's Eve. ``We would like a country that moves toward peace.''

OH MY GAWD!  That dastardly, Dictator Hugo Chavez went and did something awful.....he pardoned all those guys who tried to overthrow him.   Just how low and despicable can you get? – mpg
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Turkey and Indonesia Muslim Success Stories - Economic Upturn in Egypt
A quote...."One explanation for Egypt's growth in the past half-decade is that the Gulf oil states are at last investing in local economies. The United States has made it unpleasant for Saudis and Qataris to come to the US, and investors like to be able to visit the places they park big capital. So, some of them are investing in Egypt, which has cheap labor, an increasing literacy rate, and expanding rates of internet use." - bold/italics by website author.

The Muslims could have had their "European Union" thirty years ago if they weren't so stupid, and if their elites weren't so busy cozening up to some of the racketeers in the Western nations. - mpg
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STRATCOM Global Strike Command To Further National Guard Cooperation
A quote...."The Louisiana National Guard is ready, willing and able to support Air Force Cyber Command at Barksdale Air Force Base, the state's top military leader says. - And the ranking general at the base says talks are under way to expand cooperation between units there and the state's uniformed services."

U.S. and Britain: “Endemic Surveillance Societies”
A quote...."According to Privacy International, a human rights group an watchdog on surveillance and privacy, Britain and the United States are in the lowest category when it comes to privacy and government snooping. “Greece, Romania and Canada had the best privacy records of 47 countries surveyed by Privacy International, which is based in London. Malaysia, Russia and China were ranked worst,” reports the Associated Press."

Are You Scheduled for Political-Termination? HR 1955 & S.1959
A quote...."Starting February 2008, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will put into effect “Advance Passenger Information System (APIS).” U.S. Citizens will need permission from the United States Government to travel on air and sea vessels from or through the U.S. That includes foreign visitors."

If People Thought 2007 Was Bad...
A quote...."Few would doubt that 2007 was the worst year in the history of the United States. It was the year that oh-so-many long-lost Republican-created disaster chickens came home to roost. There will be more returning in 2008 and it won't get any better. And guess what? Democrats will be blamed for everything."
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Death By Election
A quote...."There must be a Star Trek episode (if there's not, there should be) in which all the best minds in the leftist political opposition on some planet are diverted into an obsession with a virtual reality game, leaving all the right-wingers free to drive the planet into inevitable war and destruction. A game is a harmless thing when not put to such use. Elections are a fundamental pillar of democracy when not put to such use. That makes the case I want to argue all the more difficult. My thesis is that, if we do not change our thinking, elections are going to be the death of U.S. democracy."

Dennis Kucinich: A peace-seeking idealist to the core
A quote...."The congressman from Ohio makes his second run for the White House, wanting healthcare for all Americans and peace for the world."

KUCINICH BACKS OBAMA IN IOWA - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."Barack Obama got a boost among progressive Democrats in Iowa today when Dennis Kucinich announced that he was asking his supporters to back Obama in the second round of voting at the caucus."

Nader Throws Support to Edwards, Blasts Clinton
A quote...."MUSCATINE, Iowa — Ralph Nader unleashed on Hillary Rodham Clinton Monday - criticizing her for being soft on defense spending and a chum of big business - and expressed his strong support for John Edwards."

The Enablers Of Facism, The Mainstream News Media
A quote...."The most recent event, which to me is the straw that is breaking the camel’s back, is that Faux News has refused to allow Ron Paul to participate in a Presidential debate (LINK) that sounds the death knell for fair elections in America, and now corporatism (fascism), by and through the MSM, are now choosing who will be our candidates for President by marginalizing anyone they see as a threat to their unbridled efforts to corrupt our democratic republic."

Paul: Fox News is 'scared of me'
A quote...."PLAISTOW, N.H. -- Ron Paul said the decision to exclude him from a debate on Fox News Sunday the weekend before the New Hampshire Primary is proof that the network "is scared" of him."
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Now we are human commodities
A quote...."12/30/07 "ICH" ----- The corporation, it turns out, is an invention of the British Crown through the creation of the East India Company by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, which, being the original, transnational corporation, set today’s precedence for big businesses. The East India Company, "found India rich and left it poor," says author Nick Robin. The corporate structure of the East India Company was deemed necessary to allow the British to exploit their colonies in such a way that the owner of the enterprise was, for the first time, separated from responsibility for how the enterprise behaved."

Wartime Origins of Modern Income-Tax Withholding
A quote...."Wars have always been the most important occasions for the introduction of new forms of taxation. At the outset of a war the state suddenly needs greatly increased revenues to pay for personnel and matériel to prosecute the war. Although governments typically increase the rates of existing explicit taxes and raise the rate of the hidden “inflation tax” by abruptly augmenting the money stock, these measures often prove insufficient, and other means must be devised to extract resources from the public quickly. One way to capture more revenue is to reduce tax evasion by seizing the people’s earnings before the earners ever lay hands on them. This procedure has come to be known as tax withholding at the source, or simply withholding."

Gold heads for largest yearly rise in 30 years
A quote...."It has jumped more than 30 percent this year as a slide in the dollar, record high oil prices, credit market turmoil, falling U.S. interest rates and geopolitical tension helped to increase its safe-haven appeal."

Mortgage crisis takes a bite out of states and cities
A quote...."DENVER -- Dozens of states, counties and cities across the nation will enter the new year facing deep and unexpected budget holes as the widening mortgage crisis cuts sharply into tax revenue. - Elected officials, scrambling to adjust, are trimming money for public schools, reducing grants to help the homeless, even asking police to dry-clean their uniforms less often."

Top economist says America could plunge into recession
A quote...."Losses arising from America’s housing recession could triple over the next few years and they represent the greatest threat to growth in the United States, one of the world’s leading economists has told The Times. - Robert Shiller, Professor of Economics at Yale University, predicted that there was a very real possibility that the US would be plunged into a Japan-style slump, with house prices declining for years."

This is not rocket science folks.  Houses were converted into tradable "instruments" (CDO's CMO's, whatever) whose speculative value were less transparent than derivatives.  These instruments, already questionable because of the way they were created and how they were traded, were based on underlying assets, the mortgages and the borrowers’ ability to pay them back, which in turn were artificially inflated by a speculative housing boom that had doubled prices in five years.

So it should come as no surprise that if you double a financial "instrument's" value (what used to be called real estate and houses before Wall Street got there hands on them) way above and beyond its normal mean....that instrument will eventually revert back to its mean.

The last housing market decline which occurred in 1982 took eight years to recover, this "perverted" market will take a lot longer to recover, or the fall in prices will be a lot steeper, or both. – mpg
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Interview with New York Times Bestselling Author Steve Alten
Author Interview - 911Truth.org interviews Steve Alten, author of "The Shell Game" - A quote...."New York Times bestselling author Steve Alten is releasing a novel January 22nd which addresses the 9/11 stand down, the injection of false radar blips into air traffic controllers' screens, PNAC, the 9/11 Commission whitewash, the Anthrax attacks, and related issues. - Written in the exciting, cloak-and-dagger style of Tom Clancy, the novel -- The Shell Game -- has a shot at educating a large segment of the American public who would otherwise remain in the dark about some aspects of 9/11."


No posts - mpg


How to Erode and Destroy Democracy-- a Dozen Tested Strategies
A quote...."How to Kill Democracy - tips to fascists, dictators, corporatists, militarists, imperialists, neocons, right wingers, theocrats, theofascists and terrorists."
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Benazir Bhutto said Osama bin Laden was dead
A quote...."And right on cue, shortly after former Pakistani premier Bhutto's own slaying, two key al-Qaeda news items appear. First, "senior US officials" are checking into an al-Qaeda claim of responsibility for the assassination, and—lo and behold—"Osama" himself will soon release a message regarding Iraq."

Connivance of establishment in Bhutto killing: Pakistani journo
A quote...."New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS) The security and defence establishment in Pakistan are to blame for the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, said senior Pakistani journalist Aroosa Alam Thursday."

False Flag Watch: Was Bhutto Set-Up by the Musharraf Regime?
A quote..."The "facts" about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto are shifting faster than sands in the desert right now. From shot to death to no bullet wounds, from blown up to no shrapnel wounds, from heavy police protection to police abandoning their posts, the facts are in flux. But the truth is out there! We have to uncover it, world! Demand the truth! Don't let this one sink into the swamp to"

The lone gunman, err, suicide bomber, err sunroof?
A quote...."Okay, so we first have al Qaeda both being blamed and taking the credit for Benazir Bhutto's assassination yesterday. Good thing too, because today we learn that after a long, exhaustive investigation (as only a Musharref government could do in a mere 24 hours), Bhutto was not assassinated by al Qaeda."

Benazir Bhutto killed in a sniper attack, five bullets were fired on her (Updated)
A quote...."Rawalpindi, Dec.27 (ANI): Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, 54, was shot at and killed by at least two snipers before a suicide bomb attack on the periphery of her carcade. - Police confirmed that the snipers fired five bullets from AK-47 assault rifles. Two of the bullets hit Benazir in the neck, while a third hit her forehead. No one was near her car when the shots were fired at her. Two of her key political aides, including PPP leader and spokesperson Sherry Rehman and her security aide, were also grievously injured in the attack."

Police abandoned security posts before Bhutto assassination
A quote...."Police abandoned their security posts shortly before Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's assassination Thursday, according to a journalist present at the time, and unanswerable questions remain about the cause of her death, because an autopsy was never performed."

Gee, from these articles one would guess some of Pakistan's authorities bizarrely decided to copy what the Neocons' progenitors (the MIOC elites) committed in Texas more then four decades ago, for some reason they went with an exact replay of the JFK assassination, from having Bhutto ride in the open, to messing up her autopsy (i.e. not having one....well at least they didn't lose her brain), to canceling some of her security detail, to having multiple shooters....it's hilarious, the whole thing is truly hilarious.

Why is it that nobody learns from the MIOC elites' mistakes? – mpg
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Iraq's other Kurdish rebel group  [P-Jak]
A quote...."While the US wants the Iraqi government to comply with Turkey's demands and drive PKK fighters from the Kandil mountains, where they have been launching attacks on Turkish military targets, the P-Jak continues to operate against Iran from the Iraqi side of the border, and the Iranian government alleges it does so with American financial support."

For more on this see....US Support of Terror - MEK - PKK - Others
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IRAQ:  Saddam Provided More Food Than the U.S.
Special Note - A quote...."Iraq's food rations system was introduced by the Saddam Hussein government in 1991 in response to the UN economic sanctions. Families were allotted basic foodstuffs monthly because the Iraqi Dinar and the economy collapsed. - The sanctions, imposed after Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Kuwait, were described as "genocidal" by Denis Halliday, then UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq. Halliday quit his post in protest against the U.S.-backed sanctions. - The sanctions killed half a million Iraqi children, and as many adults, according to the UN. They brought malnutrition, disease, and lack of medicines. Iraqis became nearly completely reliant on food rations for survival. The programme has continued into the U.S.-led occupation. - But now the U.S.-backed Iraqi government has announced it will halve the essential items in the ration because of "insufficient funds and spiralling inflation."

You have to understand, after US sanctions killed over half a million Iraqi children, US authorities have now decided it's not enough....they've decided to reduce the food rations even further.  This is all in an effort to "help" the Iraqis by starving them.

Anybody else out there want the US's "help".....anyone? - mpg
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Despite Aid, Malnutrition in Darfur Rises
Related article - A quote...."NAIROBI, Kenya — Child malnutrition rates have increased sharply in Darfur, even though it is home to the world’s largest aid operation, according to a new United Nations report."

Ahh, another country receiving the US's "help".  Isn't it just wonderful? - mpg

For more on this see....The Plan -- according to U.S. General Wesley Clark (Ret.) YouTube - 1.37 min
See also....The Method - 05-07-07 - mpg
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Hamas in the crosshairs
A quote...."Throughout the year, the US and Israel tried to collapse the Hamas government, an objective sure to survive on the policy agenda of 2008"

Paul: Neocons fanning Iran war flame
War Alert - A quote...."Presidential hopeful Ron Paul says neocons are trying to invent an excuse to justify bombing Iran 'under unbelievable conditions'. - In a Thursday phone interview with MSNBC's Morning Joe, Paul said White House politicians are itching to take military action against the Islamic Republic."

The West takes notice as Russia and Iran get closer
A quote...."MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov) - The West appears amazed to see Russian-Iranian strategic partnership surviving and even strengthening."

Nejabat says Iran petrochemical projects will triple in 10 years
A quote...."ASSALUYEH, Bushehr Province, Dec. 26 (MNA) – The National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Managing Director Gholamhossein Nejabat here Wednesday said Iran’s petrochemical projects will have a 300 percent growth in 10 years."

Iran, Bahrain sign MOU
A quote...."TEHRAN, Dec. 26 (MNA) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki and his Bahraini counterpart Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al Khalifa signed a memorandum of understanding at the first Iran-Bahrain Joint High Committee meeting."

Bill Kristol To Become New York Times Columnist In 2008
A quote...."The Huffington Post has learned that, in a move bound to create controversy, the New York Times is set to announce that Bill Kristol will become a weekly columnist in 2008. Kristol, a prominent neo-conservative who recently departed Time magazine in what was reported as a "mutual" decision, has close ties to the White House and is a well-known proponent of the war in Iraq. Kristol also is a regular contributor to Fox"

Just in time to rev-up a war against Iran, the New York Times truly shows it's colors with this move. - mpg
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Navy JAG Resigns Over Torture Issue
A quote...."It was with sadness that I signed my name this grey morning to a letter resigning my commission in the U.S. Navy," wrote Gig Harbor, Wash., resident and attorney-at-law Andrew Williams in a letter to The Peninsula Gateway last week. "There was a time when I served with pride ... Sadly, no more."

Code Pink's Benjamin Gets in FBI’s Face Over “Criminal Database”
Video - A quote...."A few weeks after being denied entrance into Canada because she was on the FBI International Criminal Database, Medea Benjamin got the opportunity to ask questions about her situation during a Senate Intelligence hearing on October 23rd, 2007."

Why I'm Supporting Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul
A quote...."With the U.S. drifting from almost-fascism to full-scale, velvet-gloves-come-off-fascism, it is vital that Kucinich and Paul sound the alarm bells to as many Americans as possible in public debate.  For this reason, and whatever party one belongs to, I think it is vital to give our support to both Kucinich and Paul.  They are the only real truthtellers running for president.  And we should give both of them the best possible chance to get their message across."
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World food stocks dwindling rapidly, UN warns
A quote...."ROME: In an "unforeseen and unprecedented" shift, the world food supply is dwindling rapidly and food prices are soaring to historic levels, the top food and agriculture official of the United Nations warned Monday."

Speaking the Obvious: Decline of Dollar Set to Undermine America's Place On International Stage
A quote...."Mr Leverett also points to what he says has been a series of unwritten but explicit understandings between the US and the oil producing countries of the Gulf that underpin the dollar’s role as the world’s leading currency by denominating oil contracts in dollars and linking local currencies to dollars in return for security guarantees.  --  Many economists play down such agreements – the dollar price of oil should not be affected by what currency it is priced in, determined as it is by supply and demand. But the way the US has pursued and cultivated such understandings for decades – Mr Leverett says from the 1940s on – highlights their significance for US policymakers."

EXIT 2007: DENIALS & TONTARIA
A quote...."Wall Street is in deep sneakers. They are busy putting a positive spin on 2007, which in mid-year unleashed the beginning of an unstoppable nightmare. The first cracks were revealed in gory fashion in the form of subprime mortgages blasting fissures through the entire bank and bond system. The next cracks will blossom into a mindboggling series of shocks next year. The US Federal Reserve planted millions of seeds, led by Alan Appleseed Greenspan, during almost two years of ridiculously irresponsible low interest rates so as to assure a doomed outcome. One should never entrust US-based lending institutions to create mortgage products, to approve of loans, to work (collude) with appraisers, the end result of which is massive creation of new debt destined to implode."

U.S. new-home sales fall 9% to 647,000
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of new U.S. homes fell by a greater-than-expected 9% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 647,000, the Commerce Department reported Friday."

Realty reality: Housing prices are headed way down
A quote...."In 2002, the median price of a single-family home in Los Angeles was $270,000 and the median homeowner's income was $65,000. With a $50,000 down payment, the annual cost of that house (taxes, insurance and payment on a 30-year fixed-rate conventional mortgage) would add up to about 33% of the median household's income -- just under the 35% mark that the Federal Housing Administration calls the upper limit of "affordable."

Dollar Posts Biggest Weekly Decline Since April 2006 on Housing
A quote...."Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell against the euro and posted the biggest weekly decline versus the currency since April 2006 after a Commerce Department report showed sales of new homes fell to a 12-year low last month."

Soaring inflation sparks social unrest in China
A quote...."China’s annual inflation rate surged to an 11-year high of 6.9 percent in November, provoking protests by working people over rising food, fuel and housing costs and growing nervousness in Beijing over the prospects of further unrest."

Japan logs fastest inflation since 1998
A quote...."Japan on Friday reported its fastest rise in core consumer prices in almost a decade as sky-rocketing energy costs help to lift Asia's largest economy out of years of deflation."


And So This Was Christmas
Must Read - A quote...."The term 'Christian' was not even coined until the days of Paul, about 3 decades after Jesus walked the earth a man. Jesus was never a Christian, but he was a social justice, radical revolutionary Palestinian devout Jewish road warrior who rose up and challenged the job security of the Temple authorities by teaching the people they did NOT need to pay the priests for ritual baths or sacrificing livestock to be OK with God; for God already LOVED them just as they were: sinners, poor, diseased, outcasts, widows, orphans, refugees and prisoners all living under Roman Military Occupation.  --  What got Jesus crucified was disturbing the status quo of the Roman Occupying Forces of his time, by teaching the subversive concept that Caesar only had power because God allowed it and that God preferred the humble sinner, the poor, diseased, outcasts, widows, orphans, refugees and prisoners all living under Roman Occupation above the elite and arrogant military occupiers."
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Creeping Fascism: Lessons From the Past
A quote....
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U.S. Troops to Head to Pakistan
A quote...."Beginning early next year, U.S. Special Forces are expected to vastly expand their presence in Pakistan, as part of an effort to train and support indigenous counter-insurgency forces and clandestine counterterrorism units, according to defense officials involved with the planning."  - bold/italics by website author --  see also....

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Pakistan’s Bhutto assassinated
Breaking News - A quote...."RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - The assassination Thursday of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto threw the country's election campaign into disarray and sparked a wave of violence across the nuclear-armed nation."

Benazir Bhutto killed in attack
Related article - A quote...."Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated in a suicide attack. - Ms Bhutto - the first woman PM in an Islamic state - was leaving an election rally in Rawalpindi when a gunman shot her in the neck and set off a bomb."

At least 15 dead in Pakistan unrest in wake of Benazir Bhutto assassination
Related article - A quote...."At least 15 people were killed as rioting engulfed Pakistan on Thursday hours after opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a gun and bomb attack at an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi."

Pakistan's 2007 Crises Come to a Crescendo; Benazir Assassinated - Implications for US Security
Related article - A quote...."The Pakistani authorities are blaming Muslim militants for the assassination. That is possible, but everyone in Pakistan remembers that it was the military intelligence, or Inter-Services Intelligence, that promoted Muslim militancy in the two decades before September 11 as a wedge against India in Afghanistan and Kashmir. The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) faithful will almost certainly blame Pervez Musharraf, and sentiment here is more important than reality, whatever the reality may be. The PPP is one of two very large, long-standing grassroots political parties in Pakistan, and if its followers are radicalized by this event, it could lead to severe turmoil. Just a day before her assassination Benazir had pledged that the PPP would not allow the military to rig the upcoming January 8 parliamentary elections."

Who killed Benazir Bhutto? The main suspects
Special Note - Related article - A quote...."The main suspects in Benazir Bhutto’s assassination are the Pakistani and foreign Islamist militants who saw her as a heretic and an American stooge and had repeatedly threatened to kill her. - But fingers will also be pointed at Inter-Services Intelligence, the agency that has had close ties to the Islamists since the 1970s and has been used by successive Pakistani leaders to suppress political opposition. - Ms Bhutto narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in October, when a suicide bomber killed about 140 people at a rally in the port city of Karachi to welcome her back from eight years in exile. - Earlier that month, two militant warlords based in Pakistan's lawless northwestern areas, near the border with Afghanistan, had threatened to kill her on her return. - One was Baitullah Mehsud, a top commander fighting the Pakistani army in the tribal region of South Waziristan. He has close ties to al Qaeda and the Afghan Taleban. - The other was Haji Omar, the “amir” or leader of the Pakistani Taleban, who is also from South Waziristan and fought against the Soviets with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan."

With Bhutto gone, does Bush have a Plan B?
Related article - A quote...."Dec. 27, 2007 | The assassination of Benazir Bhutto on Thursday provoked rioting in Islamabad and Karachi, with her supporters blaming President Pervez Musharraf, while he pointed his finger at Muslim extremists. The renewed instability in Pakistan came as a grim reminder that the Bush administration has been pursuing a two-front war, neither of which has been going well. Bush's decision to put hundreds of billions of dollars into an Iraq imbroglio while slighting the effort to fight al-Qaida, rebuild Afghanistan, and move Pakistan toward democracy and a rule of law has been shown up as a desperate and unsuccessful gamble. The question is whether President Musharraf now most resembles the shah of Iran in 1978. That is, has his authority among the people collapsed irretrievably?"

Many Had the Desire, Means to Kill Bhutto
Related article - A quote...."Even before the official search got underway in Pakistan, U.S. intelligence agencies yesterday were drawing up their own list of possible suspects in the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto -- a list that includes al-Qaeda as well as elements of Pakistan's own intelligence service."

Bhutto joins long list of assassinated leaders
Related article - A quote...."Murder has been around longer than the ballot and is often more influential"

Bush's Falling Dominoes
Related article - A quote...."Bush's 'war on terror' is a disaster; both for the U.S. and for those abroad he pretends to defend with his reactive, opportunistic militarism he's toying with for political gain at home. His PNAC cronies who backed him in to power used to be fond of pushing their un-democratic 'domino' strategy, where Iraq would be a catalyst for the fall of regimes in Iran, Syria and anywhere else where Israel's interests are remotely threatened. But, as in Pakistan, not all of the falling dominoes are lined up behind the interests of America or Americans. And, as Bush continues to press forward with his disruptive, distracting, anti-democratic aggression in Iraq, we're all left to wonder together where the next dominoes will fall."

>>>  Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind  <<<

There'll be a lot of suspects of course.  Many will say the US was involved and the funny thing is....they'll be right.

After billions of dollars in direct aid and tens of billions of dollars in indirect aid to Pakistan's ISI, Pakistan's military, Pakistan's tribal groups, the Baluchistan separatists, the Mujahideen, the Taliban and through them al Qaeda, it should come as no surprise that the perpetrators (whoever they are) involved in this assassination have at one point or another received training or funding from the CIA or other US backed or financed organizations.

However the US and the Bush Neocons appeared to have given their full support and backing to Benazir Bhutto in their efforts to apply pressure on Musharraf and therefore it is highly unlikely they wanted her assassinated....at this particular point in time.

Her assassination however is a timely reminder to the US elites, with their long distinguished record of "arranging" the untimely demise of political leaders throughout the world - heads of state, union leaders, former collaborators, embarrassments, etc. etc. etc. that perhaps now might be a good time to reconsider the use of such foreign policy tools.

After all, when one sows the wind one is bound to reap the whirlwind or to put it another way....do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.  – mpg
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CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR - make that Charlie Wilson's Whopper  - (YuTb 8m27s 122007) @ BuzzFlash
Must View - Full quote...."In this short by documentary filmmaker, Melissa Roddy, she counters mis-information presented in the movie CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR. The film includes interviews with first-hand participants in events surrounding the 1980s war against the Soviet Union, including Senator Gordon Humphrey (R-NH, Ret.); former Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Edmund McWilliams; Prof. Tom Johnson of the U.S. Naval Post Graduate School and CIA Chief of Station to Pakistan Milt Bearden.  --  The movie, CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR, states only that Ahmad Shah Massoud was the recipient of U.S. assistance during the 1980s."

"In fact, Congressman Charlie Wilson and the CIA recklessly supported a ferociously anti-American fundamentalist - Gulbaddin Hekmatyar - during the 1980s and early 90s. Ahmad Shah Massoud received a mere trickle of U.S. support during this period, and he was well known to be the most deserving. But then -- unlike Gulbaddin Hekmatyar -- Ahmad Shah Massoud was never involved with Osama bin Laden. Hence the basis for the movie's distortion." - italics/links by website author.

See also....Tom Hanks Tells Hollywood Whopper in 'Charlie Wilson's War'
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Van Auken & Kleinberg Editorial - Re “9/11 Panel Study Finds That C.I.A. Withheld Tapes”
A quote...."Our government’s official story regarding the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, tells us that 19 Arab hijackers successfully defeated the United States military by hijacking four commercial airliners within two hours on a budget of approximately $400,000. These men, armed only with small knives, box cutters and Mace, were able to knock down the World Trade Center towers in New York City and strike the Pentagon."

RIGHTS-US:  Legal Community Condemns Destruction of CIA Tapes
A quote...."NEW YORK, Dec 26 (IPS) - A former U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ethics adviser has joined leading members of the U.S. legal community in calling on Congress to investigate the destruction of tape recordings of interrogations carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)."

CIA Jet Carrying Four Tons of Cocaine Also Made Trips to Gitmo [VIDEO]
A quote...."Other Western countries like Great Britain are quite honest about their history of drug trading, but we still engage in self-censorship, even amongst the Left, when it comes to acknowledging that similar activities have been carried out by the CIA in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and Latin America during the Iran-Contra Affair. Perhaps the reason why the CIA’s well-documented role in the global drug trade is never really acknowledged is because it never really ended."  --  See also

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Fallujah, the Information War, and U.S. Propaganda:
Must Read - A quote...."12/27/07 "ICH" -- - Now receded into distant memory for many, the battle for the Iraqi city of Fallujah, accompanied by the al Sadr uprising in the south, was a decisive turning point in the Iraq occupation. These battles demonstrated to much of the world that the occupation was deeply unpopular among many Iraqis, who were willing and able to fight the occupation to a stalemate."

Favorite quotes of 2007
A quote...."One of the few things I dislike more than end-of-the-year "looking back" lists is the incessant chatter and worthless speculation over the upcoming primaries. But that chatter and speculation is inundating everything. Thus, I offer some of my favorite quotes of 2007:"

Norman Solomon on the Glenn Beck Show - (YouTube - 5 min 1 sec - December 20, 2007)
Video - A quote...."Norman Solomon on the Glenn Beck Show talking about media and "full disclosure."

As Glenn Beck said...."That just goes to show you, you've got to be aware of everybody who you're getting your news from".  Or as this website author would say...."Why bother".  If you're watching, reading or listening to any commercial product produced by the five corporate conglomerates who control ninety percent of this nation's media market - you're being miss-informed.  – mpg
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Gates Led Realist Resurgence in 2007
Must Read - A quote...."2007 will likely go down in US history as the year in which the balance of power in the long-running struggle between hawks and realists in the administration of President George W. Bush shifted decisively in favor of the latter."

Iran is still on the agenda, just not right now. - mpg
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Labour revolts against Brown
A quote...."Gordon Brown faces a humiliating parliamentary defeat over plans to allow police to hold terror suspects for up to 42 days without charge. - A survey of Labour MPs by The Independent has uncovered a growing insurrection. Only 34 votes are needed to defeat the detention plans and at least 38 MPs – enough to wipe out Mr Brown's Commons majority of 67 – are vowing to oppose controversial moves to extend the existing 28-day maximum detention period."

Hip Hip Hooray!

Another defeat for the policy of....White Man's Burden - 12-20-06 - mpg
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In Diplomatic Coup, Chavez Says Colombian Hostages To Be Released
A quote...."MIAMI - Three high-profile hostages held by Colombian rebels will soon be freed, perhaps as early as Thursday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Wednesday in Caracas."

United States’ undeclared war against Kurds :
A quote...."At a time when the borders of Kurdistan are under imminent attack by Turkey having Kurdish Peshmerga units serving in the West and Central Iraq and leaving KRG’s Northern borders undefended is absurd. We have come to a clear realization that the US has joined the Turkish oppressive regime to wage war on Kurds. Therefore, I suggest that all Kurdish military units that are currently serving in Iraqi army in Baghdad, Anbar, Ninavah, sallahudin and Diyala should be called back immediately and redeployed to the Turkish border to confront this Turkish aggression against Kurdistan."

Russia trains Greek Tor-M1 crews
A quote...."MOSCOW, December 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is training a group of Greek military specialists to operate Tor-M1 air defense systems in service with the Hellenic Army, a senior military official said on Thursday. -
According to various sources, the Greek Armed Forces currently deploy about 25 Tor-M1 (SA-15 Gauntlet) and at least eight S-300PMU1 (SA-20 Gargoyle) air defense systems, both Russian-made.

Russia-Belarus talks signal renewed cooperation against US
A quote...."Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Minsk December 13 for two days of talks with the president of Belarus, Aleksander Lukashenko. Their meeting came just prior to a session of the Russia-Belarus Union, a body established in the 1990s to encourage integration between the two countries."
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Cynthia McKinney Announces Run for President - (YouTube - 7 min 23 sec - December 15, 2007)
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."

There are four candidates currently running against the New Roman Empire, they are as follows.

(1) Cynthia McKinney
(2) Dennis Kuchinich
(3) Mike Gravel
(4) Ron Paul

This is not an endorsement of any of these candidates for President.  The four shown above are posted simply because they have all specifically stated they do not support the Neocons' quest to establish a New Roman Empire.

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

For more on this issue see....You Can STILL Vote to Stop the Madness 10-07-07 - mpg
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Election '08 - [The Nation (sort of) endorses Dennis Kucinich]
A quote...."In his stands on the issues, Dennis Kucinich comes closest to embodying the ideals of this [The Nation] magazine. He has been a forceful critic of the Bush Administration, opposing the Patriot Act and spearheading the motion to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. He is the only candidate to have voted against the Iraq War in 2003 and has voted against funding it ever since. Of all the serious candidates, only he and Governor Bill Richardson propose a full and immediate withdrawal from Iraq. And only Kucinich's plan sets aside funds for reparations. Moreover, Kucinich has used his presidential campaigns to champion issues like cutting the military budget and abolishing nuclear weapons; universal, single-payer healthcare; campaign finance reform; same-sex marriage and an end to the death penalty and the war on drugs. A vote for him would be a principled one."

Bank predicts Ron Paul win, US slump
A quote...."Denmark-based Saxo Bank predicts Ron Paul presidency in 2008, saying US economy will plunge into a depression prior to the election. - The Bank predicted that Ron Paul, US congressman and Republican presidential candidate, will win the US 2008 presidential election."


As 2007 passes, many Americans are oblivious to the state of their crumbling empire
Must Read - A quote...."Before we look at the revenue and expense components of America’s P&L, we should take a look at that bottom line, which to no one’s surprise appears as the blood-spilling continuation of embarrassing failures for the seventh straight year, courtesy of the most incompetent management team ever to run the Empire. Our nation has been piling up losses during this time in such a spendthrift and indurate way to the point all retained success built into the balance sheet throughout the years has been now wiped out, and the losses are already eating away into our investment, our, until now, untouched legacy of democratic capital. Bush has succeeded not only in mismanaging the nation’s affairs but he is recklessly leading us into un-chaptered political bankruptcy . . . sure to happen by the time a new same-old-face president is inaugurated in January 2009."

Bush’s Tyranny Thwarted — For Now
Special Note: From the history file - ruling made June 11th - A quote...."The news media seemed too preoccupied with Paris Hilton’s detention to notice, but a U.S. appeals court in June struck a major blow for liberty. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Bush administration may not declare a U.S. resident — whether a citizen or not — an “enemy combatant,” throw him in a military prison, and hold him without charge indefinitely — all without judicial review. Try him in the civilian courts or let him go, the judges said." - italics by website author
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Australia's controversial national ID program hits the dumpster
A quote...."Opponents of Australia's controversial Access Card received an early Christmas present earlier this month when the incoming Rudd Labor Government finally axed the controversial ID program. Had it been implemented, the Access Card program would have required Australians to present the smart card anytime they dealt with certain federal departments, including Medicare, Centrelink, the Child Support Agency, or Veterans' Affairs."

Another blow landed against the renewed policy of....White Man's Burden - 12-20-06 - mpg
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We Are All Prisoners Now
A quote...."At Christmas time it has been my habit to write a column in remembrance of the many innocent people in prisons whose lives have been stolen by the US criminal justice (sic) system that is as inhumane as it is indifferent to justice. Usually I retell the cases of William Strong and Christophe Gaynor, two men framed in the state of Virginia by prosecutors and judges as wicked and corrupt as any who served Hitler or Stalin."

Top Ten Myths about Iraq 2007
Must Read - Good summation of what's happened in Iraq during the recent "troop surge". - mpg

Iraq government backs amnesty law
Some quotes...."Iraq's government has backed a draft law that enables the release of thousands of suspected insurgents held captive by US and Iraqi forces."  --  "The number of prisoners held by US and Iraqi forces, estimated at 50,000, has risen sharply after the recent "surge" strategy, boosting military operations."

Wars Cost $15 Billion a Month, GOP Senator Says
A quote...."The latest estimate of the growing costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the worldwide battle against terrorism -- nearly $15 billion a month -- came last week from one of the Senate's leading proponents of a continued U.S. military presence in Iraq." - bold/italics by website author

Probably what the senator was saying to the MIOC elites who sponsor him is "get me elected again.....I've done good for you guys"  - mpg
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US prepares to increase occupation forces in Afghanistan
A quote...."The Bush administration is preparing to significantly increase US troop levels in Afghanistan in an attempt to quell growing popular hostility to the US and NATO occupying forces. It is doing so with full confidence that it will face no significant opposition from the Democratic-controlled Congress."

It just never ends. - mpg
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Hillary's Telling the Truth -- That's the Problem
A quote...."Far from the option of last resort for her, force comes in a much-too-close-for-comfort second to diplomacy. - In articles on her Iraq, military, and international law policies, Zunes demonstrates that they're consistent with those she supported, and even advocated, while her husband was president. - Reading all three will outfit you with all the talking points you need to disarm a Hillary supporter. We've cherry-picked the most eye-opening."

For more on this see....You Can STILL Vote to Stop the Madness 10-07-07 -mpg
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“Today’s Decision Would Make George Orwell Proud”—FCC Commissioner Michael Copps on the FCC’s Vote to Rewrite the Nation’s Media Ownership Rules  --  A quote...."The Federal Communications Commission voted three-to-two on party lines last week to approve a measure that would increase media consolidation. The new rule pushed through by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin lifts a thirty-year old ban on companies seeking to own both a newspaper and television or radio station in the same city. Michael Copps was one of two FCC Commissioners to vote against the rule. [includes rush transcript]"  ||  Real Video Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More..  ||

Bush associates still consolidating their hold on US media
Special Note - Related article - A quote...."Longtime associates of President George W. Bush are consolidating their hold on American media with a string of recent purchases, RAW STORY can report."

Britain in secret talks with the Taliban - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."Agents from MI6 entered secret talks with Taliban leaders despite Gordon Brown's pledge that Britain would not negotiate with terrorists, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. - Officers from the Secret Intelligence Service staged discussions, known as "jirgas", with senior insurgents on several occasions over the summer."

Turkish Jets Strike Kurdish Rebels
A quote...."Ankara, Turkey - Turkish warplanes hit eight suspected Kurdish rebel hideouts in northern Iraq on Wednesday, the third cross-border air assault in 10 days, Turkey's military said."

Egypt: Israeli lobby harms US relations
A quote...."CAIRO, Egypt -- Egypt's foreign minister on Wednesday accused the Israeli lobby of harming its relations with the United States by using the issue of weapons smuggling across its border with Gaza as an excuse to cut Washington's military aid to Cairo."

Western diplomats expelled from Kabul
A quote...."Two senior Western diplomats were given 48 hours to leave Afghanistan yesterday after trying to negotiate with anti-government leaders in Helmand. - Michael Semple, the acting head of the European Union mission in Afghanistan and a close confidant of Britain's ambassador, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, and Mervin Patterson, the third-ranking United Nations official in the country, were detained yesterday by KGB-trained secret police. - They were accused of threatening Afghanistan's national security. President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Humayun Hamidzada, said the two were " involved in some activities that were not their jobs".

Malaysia signs $16bn gas deal with Iran
A quote...."Iran has signed a $16bn gas contract with Malaysia, intensifying its efforts to shift its flow of oil and gas deals towards eastern countries and bypass US-led pressure to thwart investment by western companies."

Russia deepens military ties with Iran
A quote...."Russia is to supply Iran with new S-300 air defence systems, Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said, a sign of growing military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran."

Iranian vice president in Libya for economic talks
A quote...."TRIPOLI - Iranian Vice President Parviz Davoudi arrived in Libya on Wednesday for economic talks -- the first top official from Tehran to visit Tripoli for 25 years, a Libyan source said."

Settlements overshadow Mideast peace talks
A quote...."Senior Palestinian negotiator says new round of negotiations to focus on illegal settlements."

Olmert, Abbas to try to revive stalled peace talks
The headline should really read "Olmert, Abbas to try to revive stalled Bush Annapolis photo-op" - mpg

Closures throttling Palestinian economy
A quote...."Despite an aid package of $7.4 billion pledged by donor states and organizations at last week's international donor's conference in Paris, the World Bank has warned that unless Israel eases its draconian policy of closures and restrictions on movement and trade, the battered Palestinian economy could deteriorate even further."

Report: Israeli crews manning UAVs in Turkish operations against Kurds
A quote...."Crews from Israel Aerospace Industries, operating unmanned aerial vehicles, are participating in Turkish military operations against PKK militants in northern Iraq, according to Turkish reports to be published today in the Turkish Daily News."

Venezuela Enters Fifth Consecutive Year of Economic Growth
A quote..."Venezuela led the region in 2007 with a growth rate of 8.5 percent, surpassed only by Argentina (8.6 percent) and Panama (9.5 percent), a CEPAL report said last week. The region as a whole grew by 5.6 percent, finishing its fifth consecutive year of economic expansion, in spite of high levels of inflation and social spending that were criticized by some experts.  --  The economic expansion is the greatest in 40 years and should continue through 2008, although at a slightly slower rate, said the report."

Petrobras pumps new oil record in Brazil: 2.23 million bpd
A quote...."In its end of the year summing up Brazil’s government managed oil corporation Petrobras announced Wednesday it has set another daily oil-production record in Brazil: 2.238,000 barrels, a mark only eight companies in the world have reached."

The Indo - US nuclear deal
Interview - Video - An interview with N. Ram journalist and Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu by the Real News Network: - A quote...."Will the left alliance bring down the government of Manmohan Singh?"

Christmas Demonstrators Want Peace on Earth - Including In Iraq
A quote...."For most people, Christmas is a time to unwrap presents and eat huge meals. For Steven Simon, it’s a time to wear a Santa suit and go to the intersection of Blackstone and Shaw avenues to criticize U.S. foreign policy. I delivered some coal to the president on the way here,” joked Simon, a student at the University of California at Los Angeles."

F-15 Grounding Strains U.S. Air Defenses
A quote...."FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - The grounding of hundreds of F-15s because of dangerous structural defects is straining the nation's air defense network, forcing some states to rely on their neighbors' fighter jets for protection, and Alaska to depend on the Canadian military."

Angry Populace Burning British Surveillance Cameras - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."Motorists Against Detection, the vigilante anti-speed camera group have announced a summer of MADness which will see them target for destruction all speed cameras in the UK."
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China's New Oil World Order
A quote...."China, the world's second-biggest energy consumer, plans to increase crude oil imports through long-term contracts and cut spot purchases to cushion against price and supply fluctuations."

Credit loss could hit $US1trillion
A quote...."THE US economy could be heading into its blackest year since the Great Depression as estimates of losses from the housing slump and sub-prime mortgage implosion reach unprecedented levels."

Unpaid Credit Cards Bedevil Americans
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO - Americans are falling behind on their credit card payments at an alarming rate, sending delinquencies and defaults surging by double-digit percentages in the last year and prompting warnings of worse to come. - An Associated Press analysis of financial data from the country's largest card issuers also found that the greatest rise was among accounts more than 90 days in arrears."

Home prices drop 6.1% through October
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities were down 6.1% on average in the past year as of October, according to the Case-Shiller price index released Wednesday by Standard & Poor's.  -  Since October 2006, prices in 10 cities fell 6.7% -- a record drop. The prior largest decline was 6.3% in April 1991."

Bush and the Neocons - posted at BuzzFlash
Book Review - A quote...."Craig Unger, a contributing editor for Vanity Fair, garnered national attention with his previous book, House of Bush, House of Saud. Michael Moore cited it as a key source for Fahrenheit 9/11, and the film popularized the author’s reports on Saudi investments in Bush family enterprises. In The Fall of the House of Bush: The Untold Story of How a Band of True Believers Seized the Executive Branch, Started the Iraq War, and Still Imperils America’s Future, Unger turns his attention to neoconservative officials and theorists."

Solar cheaper than coal and falling
A quote...."Let me be the last in the greenosphere to note that Nanosolar has shipped its first panels, and it's no exaggeration to say that this moment will likely be seen as a historical turning point  --  For a taste of the breathless anticipation around Nanosolar, read "innovation of the year" over on PopSci (or this recent piece in the NYT). Unlike so many other hyped green tech dreamers, the company is not just talking and researching prototypes. They're building factories. Once the factory they built in San Jose is up to full production capacity, it will be cranking out more solar panels than every other U.S. plant combined -- 430 megawatts worth. "


The Evangelical Rebellion
Must Read - A quote...."The rise of Mike Huckabee as a presidential candidate represents a seismic shift in the tactics, ideology and direction of the radical Christian right. Huckabee may stumble and falter in later primaries, but his right-wing Christian populism is here to stay. Huckabee represents a new and potent force in American politics, and the neocons and corporate elite, who once viewed the yahoos of the Christian right as the useful idiots, are now confronted with the fact that they themselves are the ones who have been taken for a ride. Members of the Christian right, recruited into the Republican Party and manipulated to vote against their own interests around the issues of abortion and family values, [and "Gay" rights] are in rebellion. They are taking the party into new, uncharted territory. And they presage, especially with looming economic turmoil, the rise of a mass movement that could demolish what is left of American democracy and set the stage for a Christian fascism."

If it wasn't for the "fascism-holy-war-against-the-world" possibilities contained within Mr. Huckabee's world view, this editor could care less if he was elected.  However the rule of law and the constitution (what's left of them anyway) along with avoiding the outbreak of World War III are important policy goals for most people when considering the qualifications of a presidential candidate.

As such, if the views shown above are correct, Mr. Huckabee leaves a lot to be desired.

If he is elected one could at least hope he and his followers would go after the wealthy, corrupted, degenerate, amoral, twisted, perverted, Neo-Roman elites currently running our country into the ground.  However "fascists" never go after the wealthy, they just use the wealthy instead of letting the wealthy use them.  Although such a turnabout would be fun to watch, it wouldn't be fun for very long. – mpg
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Big growth in independents continues among New Hampshire electorate - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."The explosive growth in independents continues among New Hampshire's electorate.
more stories like this - Before the 1996 presidential primary, so-called undeclared voters constituted 27.8 percent of registered voters in the Granite State, but this year, the percentage has soared to 44.9 percent, Secretary of State William M. Gardner said yesterday."

Mitt Romney's pursuit of tyrannical power, literally
Some quotes...."In yet another superb piece of journalism, the peerless Charlie Savage of The Boston Globe submitted to the leading presidential candidates a questionnaire asking their views on 12 key questions regarding executive power. Savage's article accompanying the candidates' responses makes clear why these matters are so critical:"  --  "All of the leading Democrats -- Edwards, Dodd, Biden, Clinton, Richardson and Obama -- submitted responses, as did Mitt Romney, John McCain and Ron Paul. Refusing to respond to the questions were -- revealingly -- Giuliani, Thompson and Huckabee. Significantly, if not surprisingly, all of the candidates who did respond, with the exception of Romney, repudiated most of the key doctrines of the Bush/Cheney/Addington/Yoo theories of executive omnipotence, at least for purposes of this questionnaire. I'll undoubtedly write more about those responses shortly."

Giuliani Snuck 2,000 Boxes of Records Out of New York's City Hall
A quote..."Under an unprecedented agreement that didn't become public until after he left office, Giuliani secreted out of City Hall the written, photographic and electronic record of his eight years in office - more than 2,000 boxes."

Beelzebub To Bushlings: Mission Accomplishmented
A quote...."....there is always plenty of plain English, along with classic Bushisms, and straight-up quotes, such as W’s from August 5, 2004, at the signing ceremony for a $417 billion defense spending bill:  -  "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."  --  "GHW Bush ("Poppy") also speaks truth on rare occasions, such as when he had perhaps a wee bit too much loose juice, and told reporter Sarah McClendon that, "If the American people really knew what we had done, we would be chased down the streets and lynched."  - italics by webiste author.

Scott Horton Interviews Karen Kwiatkowski
Must Listen - Audio Interview - It's pretty funny....one memerable quote attributed to an outraged Neocon, who, angered by France's lack of support for the US's invasion of Iraq stated...."First Iraq, then France"

New Reports Undercut Claims that Surge Is Working
A quote...."New reporting from Baghdad and Washington has called into question the frequently asserted claim that the military surge in Iraq is working. - In particular, journalists are beginning to point out that despite security gains inside the Iraqi capital, there are concrete signs that the "fragile" peace cited by Gen. David Petraeus over the weekend will not hold once the Pentagon begins reducing troops numbers to pre-surge levels."

It's sort of funny that all this "partitioning" and "sectarian cleansing" of Iraq occurred while the surge was in progress.  Must be one of them there coincidences heh? – mpg

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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US torpedoing Lebanon deal - Syria
A quote...."The Syrian Information Minister said Sunday that Washington torpedoing French and Syrian efforts to end the political deadlock in Lebanon, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA. - At the moment when Syria and France were searching for a way forward on Lebanon, America scurried to send two envoys to Lebanon --- Elliott Abrams and David Welch -- known for their partiality to the Zionist regime, with the aim of torpedoing an accord between the different factions in Lebanon, Mohsen Bilal said."

Oh look, the US Neocons want a civil war in Lebanon too, what a surprise.  Hey if things heat up there maybe we can send our troops back in.......again.  - mpg
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More of 9/11’s amazing history!
A quote...."What is most interesting was how GHWG was suckering the whole world into joining forces for his oil grab against a leader, Saddam Hussein, which he had installed as the Don of Iraq, subsequently providing nuclear, bio and chemical weapons (WMD) to aid in Hussein’s soon-to-be war with Iran, which would last for nine years, destroy a million Middle Easterners and displace another 2 million."

[British] Government rules out inquiry into Iraq conflict
A quote...."The Government has backtracked over demands for an independent inquiry into the mistakes made in the run-up to and aftermath of the invasion of Iraq. - Ministers have hinted repeatedly that an investigation would be held after British forces leave the country. But they have now changed tack in the hope of "moving on" in Iraq rather than looking back at what went wrong."

Oh No!  This editor is shocked, shocked I tell you.  - mpg
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Conditions Continue to Worsen in Somalia
A quote...."The International Committee of the Red Cross says the humanitarian situation in Somalia continues to worsen. It says a year of relentless conflict and several natural disasters have taken a heavy toll on the population. A Red Cross Official tells VOA the situation is particularly desperate in the capital Mogadishu, which has been the scene of repeated fighting."

Ah yes, another place in the world experiencing some of the wonderful benefits bestowed upon it by the Neocon's "freedom and democracy". – mpg
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Leaked classified U.S intelligence report into Fallujah Assault
A quote...."Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld launched the failed April 2004 assault on the Iraqi town of Fallujah before marines were ready because it had become "a symbol of resistance that dominated international headlines", according a leaked U.S. intelligence report on the operation."

Italian prosecutors after Operation Condor suspects
A quote...."Prosecutors in Italy have issued arrest warrants for 140 people who participated in the South American dictatorships coordinated repression of the seventies, which was known as Operation Condor."

Sunni-Kurdish Alliance [??]
A quote...."There was an interesting political development in Iraq yesterday:  the announcement of a new political alliance between the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party (Tareq al-Hashemi) and the two major Kurdish parties (Masoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani).   I haven't seen any coverage of this yet in the English-language media, but it's at least potentially kind of important."

Sarkozy slammed by European intellectuals for "illegitimate" stance against Turkey
A quote...."A group of professors and scientists from some of the most prestigious universities in Europe have come together to write a shared declaration protesting French President Nicholas Sarkozy's stance against Turkish entrance into the EU."

Catholic leader rejects 'Jewish state'
A quote...."Israel's identity as a Jewish state discriminates against non-Jews, the Holy Land's top Roman Catholic clergyman said in a pre-Christmas address on Wednesday."

How One Diplomat Fought Against Rendition - Conscience and Empire
A quote...."As a child the only interesting fact that I knew about my grandfather Henry Cockburn was that he had read his own obituary in The Times. This happened because he was a diplomat in the British legation during the siege of Peking in 1900 during which the Chinese Boxer rebels were wrongly reported to have stormed the legation quarter and slaughtered its defenders."

MIDEAST:  They Do Not Exist, And That Is Official
A quote...."BEIRUT, Dec 24 (IPS) - In the maze of dirty streets that spreads from Beirut's revamped Sport City to the shabby Halabi quarters, 20,000 refugees are clustered in what is known as the Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian camp. In a town plagued by poverty, many families live in complete destitution."

What the Hell is the VA Doing to Our Vets?
A quote...."A VA whistleblower has told me that the Veterans Administration is corrupt beyond belief, and that the inevitable victims of this corruption are the vets themselves. It is time for everyone to start looking more deeply into this. For instance, are vets being used as experimental guinea pigs across the country?"

See also....The Same Damn Mess All Over Again
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CIA Drug Plane Scandal Heating Up
A quote...."The scandal surrounding two CIA-connected drug planes which flew from St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport to South America  before being busted in Mexico on the way back with multi-ton loads of cocaine grew  more serious last week.. - A pilot arrested while awaiting the ill-fated landing in Mexico of the DC9 airliner carrying 5.5 tons of cocaine committed suicide by hanging himself... with his socks, in the maximum security Altiplano prison facility outside Mexico City."

Lakota Sioux - The Bravest Americans
A quote...." Few Americans remember the siege at Wounded Knee in the mid-1970s, but perhaps they should. Members of the AIM, or the American Indian Movement, occupied parts of Pine Ridge in protest over the brutal killings of two of their own, the disgustingly mild prosecutions for those murders, and the beating of the mother of one of those two when she attempted to seek justice from the U.S. government. The AIM were seeking their rights under U.S. law and for the U.S. government to honor treaties with the American Indian that had been ignored for more than a century. It was a lawful - and a peaceful until attacked - protest."

Violent protests over housing erupt in New Orleans
A quote...."NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN)  -- Protests against a City Council plan to tear down low-income New Orleans housing turned ugly Thursday, with police using pepper spray and stun guns to clear a crowd angry they weren't allowed into City Hall for the vote."

No Trial, No Conviction: FBI Steals Millions of Dollars Worth of Gold
A quote...."That the cops have stolen people’s gold and intend to sell it isn’t news to me, but rather a real world lesson on why I keep my gold in vault in Switzerland. The U.S. is “behind enemy lines” in my opinion. People in the U.S. are in grave danger. It’s not complicated, if you’ve been paying attention. Of course, the majority of Americans don’t see this, and won’t. They’ll dig their own holes, with smiles on their faces, when the pigs hand them the shovels."

FBI’s Hoover proposed internment of 12,000 “disloyal” Americans in 1950
A quote...."Government documents released last week reveal that J. Edgar Hoover, longtime FBI director, proposed the internment of 12,000 Americans and the suspension of habeas corpus in 1950, at the outset of the Korean War. The proposal was included in a collection of documents declassified December 21 by the US State Department."

"Anti-individualistic, the Fascist conception of life stresses the importance of the State and accepts the individual only in so far as his interests coincide with those of the State, which stands for the conscience and the universal, will of man as a historic entity (11). It is opposed to classical liberalism which arose as a reaction to absolutism and exhausted its historical function when the State became the expression of the conscience and will of the people. Liberalism denied the State in the name of the individual; Fascism reasserts"