The Gaza Attack - 22
Articles - Tuesday - [ Day 18 ] ========== ==========
========== ====
Gaza: The War on
Children ---
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/13-6
Must Read - (everyone has to check out the comments) -- A quote...."January 13, 2009
-- War is traumatizing for anybody, but it's especially devastating to
children caught in the crossfire. They are the ones who bear absolutely
no responsibility for all the violence, yet they are the ones left with
some of the worst physical and psychological scars -- scars they'll
carry for life. -- As the Israeli army continues its attack on Gaza for
the 17th consecutive day, the number of Palestinian civilian deaths
continues to rise amidst massive destruction of buildings and property.
Israel has employed its full-fledged arsenal to bombard Palestinian
residential areas. The latest numbers stand at more than 900 dead and
4,000 injured."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Some
examples.....
"A few days ago I discovered the free download Livestation
http://www.livestation.com/ (for Mac users like me, too!), and have
been watching streaming television coverage from Gaza by English Al
Jazeera, whose reporters are actually in Gaza, not just hanging out in
Israel like the U.S. "reporters." There are lots of other international
broadcasting networks on Livestation, too. Now we can see exactly what
the rest of the world sees, in real time, not just on youtube,
unfiltered by our corporate media. -- It is beyond
heartbreaking to see war crimes as they happen, carried out by our
client state Israel with weapons our taxes have paid for. There is not
much more to say, except God help us, we are complicit in a new
holocaust. Israel is carrying out a slaughter of civilians in a cage. I
think that their universal military service in Israel has created a
nation of people who have been carefully trained to commit atrocities
without remorse. The relatively few Israelis who are speaking out
against this carnage deserve our great respect for their courage and
humanity." -- *petrkrop*
January 13th, 2009 5:55 pm
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ==
"What a dog, what a tail, which wags which is hardly important
but
the result is always the same, Fallujah, Gaza; where next Tehran,
Mogadishu, Kabul? -- But this is appalling. I am neither Muslim,
nor Arab, just a member
of the human race but I feel motivated to join Hamas to fight for the
self determination of the Palestinian people, if it helps rid the world
of these new Nazis. And I hate violence but who else is out there to
fight against these Zionist Nazis. Yes Nazi, same hog wash about god
given rights, to a chosen people, with complete lack of human empathy,
and a mindless predilection to solutions based on force, violence, and
wars against civilians under siege, covered by bare faced lies and
propaganda and all because the “enemy” are unruly Palestinians who do
not accept occupation by a belligerent and criminal rogue state,
Israel. Is there another word for this other than genocide?" -- *Lucitanian* January 13th, 2009 3:30
pm
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ==
"The world is starting to get it. There will be a backlash; that is for
sure. -- The OBSCENE PRO-ISRAEL RALLY IN NEW YORK, as it
was titled, on January 11th brought this response from journalist Max
Rosenthal, who is a decent, human-being, mensch Jew obviously as is the
author of the passage:"
"The rally made me think of a passage in 'The Holocaust Is Over, We
Must Rise From Its Ashes,' a powerful new book by former Israeli
Knesset speaker and Jewish National Fund chairman Avraham Burg:"
“If you are a bad person, a whining enemy or a strong-arm occupier, you
are not my brother, even if you are circumcised, observe the Sabbath,
and do mitzvahs. If your scarf covers every hair on your head for
modesty, you give alms and do charity, but what is under your scarf is
dedicated to the sanctity of Jewish land, taking precedence over the
sanctity of human life, whosoever life that is, then you are not my
sister. You might be my enemy. A good Arab or a righteous gentile will
be a brother or sister to me. A wicked man, even of Jewish descent, is
my adversary, and I would stand on the other side of the barricade and
fight him to the end.” -- *
Cee
Miracles* January 13th, 2009 8:52 pm
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ==
Video:
Inside Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital
---
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/4230507/Video-Inside-Gazas-Al-Shifa-Hospital.html
Must View Video - A
quote...."Last Updated: 9:23PM GMT 13 Jan 2009 -- The International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have released a video showing the
situation inside the hospital. According to Dr Mauro, a surgeon with
the ICRC medical team working in Al Shifa Hospital, most of the
patients treated are civilians. "We have many casualties every day,
most of them are civilians. We took care of very few combatants," he
said."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Welcome the Al Jazeera
Creative Commons Repository ---
http://cc.aljazeera.net/ ---
video
repository
Videos - A
quote...."01-13-09 -- On this site you will find select broadcast
quality footage that Al Jazeera has released under various Creative
Commons licenses. Through Creative Commons licensing, you are able to
legally share and reuse our footage. -- We have made available our
exclusive Arabic and English video footage from the Gaza Strip produced
by our correspondents and crews. The ongoing war and crisis in Gaza,
together with the scarcity of news footage available, make this
repository a key resource for anyone producing content on the current
situation."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Palestine
Video ---
http://palestinevideo.blogspot.com/2009/01/dn-gaza-suffers-most-intense.html
---
video list
Videos - A
quote...."Tuesday, January 13, 2009 -- Residents of Gaza suffered the
most intense bombardment of the eighteen-day war last night as Israeli
warplanes carried out strikes throughout the Gaza Strip. The
Palestinian death toll is now at least 930. More than 4,000
Palestinians have been injured. Thirteen Israelis have died over the
past eighteen days. We speak with journalist Zaki Chehab, author of
Inside Hamas: The Untold Story of the Militant Islamic Movement."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
GAZA
(Israel tightens grip on Gaza) - (YouTube - 2 min 39 sec - January
13, 2009)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PkMJixQTRU&eurl=http://www.truveo.com/GAZA-Israel-tightens-grip-on-Gaza/id/3799064806&feature=player_embedded
Video - A quote...."ITN
(UK) - (Independent Television News) Tuesday 13 January 2009. - Israeli
tanks have rolled into densely populated parts of Gaza city as the
fight with Hamas intensifies."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Seeing
Through the Lies The Facts About Hamas and the War on Gaza
--- http://www.counterpunch.org/finkelstein01132009.html
Must Read - A
quote...."January 13, 2009 -- The record is fairly clear. You can find
it on the Israeli website, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
Israel broke the ceasefire by going into the Gaza and killing six or
seven Palestinian militants. At that point—and now I’m quoting the
official Israeli website—Hamas retaliated or, in retaliation for the
Israeli attack, then launched the missiles. -- Now, as to the reason
why, the record is fairly clear as well. According to Ha’aretz, Defense
Minister Barak began plans for this invasion before the ceasefire even
began. In fact, according to yesterday’s Ha’aretz, the plans for the
invasion began in March."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Blueprint
For Gaza Attack Was Long Planned ---
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10170.shtml
Special Note - A
quote...."14 January, 2009 - Nazareth: As Israel rejected the terms of
the proposed United Nations ceasefire at the weekend, Israeli military
analysts were speculating on the nature of the next stage of the attack
on Gaza, or the “third phase” of the fighting as it is being referred
to. -- Having struck thousands of targets from the air in the first
phase, followed by a ground invasion that saw troops push into much of
Gaza, a third phase would involve a significant expansion of these
operations. -- It would require the deployment of thousands of reserve
soldiers, who are completing their training on bases in the Negev, and
the destruction and seizure of built-up areas closer to the heart of
Gaza City, Hamas’s key stronghold. The number of civilian casualties
could be expected to rise rapidly." --
also posted at CounterCurrents
--- http://www.countercurrents.org/cook140109.htm
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Comfortable
Conspiracies ---
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/comfortable-conspiracies/
Special Note - A
quote...."January 14, 2009 -- ....there is a definite trend in the US
mainstream media to portray the Palestinians in Gaza as some kind of
criminals or terrorists or psycho-jihadists, in order to diminish the
outrage that we would feel as a people toward the perpetrators of the
atrocities taking place in Gaza right now. It’s a carefully scripted
propaganda campaign, designed to allow Israel to illegally grab a patch
of land in an immoral way, without losing their all important support
of the American people. And the U.S. Government is in lock-step with
the corporate media in this effort. -- Almost like a
“conspiracy” wouldn’t you say?"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Hamas
popularity worries Arab governments - 13 Jan 09 - (YouTube - 2 min
12 sec - January 13, 2009)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNsXM6ShVIw&eurl=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/200911310713127989.html&feature=player_embedded
Video - A quote...."Since
beginning its offensive in the Gaza Strip Israel has repeatedly
declared it will maintain attacks to smash what it calls the Hamas
terrorist machine. However, as Israel's bombardment continues, the
appeal of Hamas in the Arab world appears to be growing. Al Jazeeras
Hashem Ahelbarra reports on how the war has left Hamas gaining popular
support."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Bunker-busting
bombs hit Gaza ---
http://uk.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=96978 --- (Reuters
Video - 2 min 2 sec - Jan 13 2009)
Video - A quote...."Jan
13 - A Reuters cameraman has filmed dramatic footage of some of the
many massive explosions caused by Israeli air strikes in Gaza."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Israel’s
History of Disproportionate Violence: The July War
---
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/israels-history-of-disproportionate-violence-the-july-war/
Special Note - Info Graphic Map
-- A quote...."In July of 2006, Hezbollah militants attacked an Israeli
patrol killing 5 IDF soldiers and taking two hostage, in northern
Israel. When the hostage location was discovered, the Israelis
attempted a rescue that was unsuccessfull and 5 more IDF soldiers lost
their lives. So, Hezbollah killed 5 soldiers and took two others
hostage, and this is what Israel did in retaliation."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
Humiliation of America --
posted
at ICH
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/cachedfiles/ichsfundingpage-cached-reficultnias-111908
---
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21755.htm
A quote...."January 14, 2009 -- Early Friday morning the secretary of
state was considering bringing the cease-fire resolution to a UNSC vote
and we didn’t want her to vote for it.” Olmert said. “I said ‘get
President Bush on the phone.’ They tried and told me he was in the
middle of a lecture in Philadelphia. I said ‘I’m not interested, I need
to speak to him now.’ He got down from the podium, went out and took
the phone call.”
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Olmert’s
b-tch ---
http://warincontext.org/2009/01/13/editorial-the-government-of-israel-does-not-make-us-policy-or-does-it/
A quote...."Many Americans cherish a vicarious pride in the power of
the US presidency. -- The idea that the President of the United States
holds the most powerful office in the world, translates into a sense of
immense collective power. Were these same Americans to discover that
the president takes his marching orders from a petty crook who governs
a country of seven million, they would be shocked, outraged and
humiliated as American power was exposed as being hollow at its core.
Yet how else can we interpret the play of power between Israel and the
United States, if Ehud Olmert can be taken at this word?"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Israeli
PM Ehud Olmert Claims to be Able to Order Bush Around
---
http://www.juancole.com/2009/01/israeli-pm-ehud-olmert-claims-to-be.html
A quote...."Tuesday, January 13, 2009 -- So outgoing Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert was speaking in Ashkelon on Monday, and he said
the most amazing thing. The USG Open Source Center translated the
relevant passage from his speech, in which he claimed he had the
ability to control US foreign policy and summarily over-rule the
Secretary of State:"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
POLITICS-US:
Olmert's Claims Revive Spectre of "Israel Lobby" ---
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45401
Article ---
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21752.htm
also posted at ICH
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/cachedfiles/ichsfundingpage-cached-reficultnias-111908
A quote...."WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (IPS) - The U.S. State Department
fiercely denied claims made by Ehud Olmert about his influence over
President George W. Bush, in an incident that has stirred up old
debates about the role of the Israeli government and the so-called
"Israel lobby" in formulating Middle East policy in Washington. -- On
Monday, Olmert claimed that he demanded and received an immediate
conversation with President Bush, during which he convinced the
president to overrule the wishes of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and abstain from a United Nations resolution calling for an immediate
ceasefire in Gaza." --
For
more on the four articles shown above see....Judeo-Christian
C/C & US
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/judeochristianconflictcontrolwithinus-weblist-mpg-010409
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Israel
accused of Gaza 'genocide' ---
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/01/200911321467988347.html
A quote...."Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - 03:11 Mecca time, 00:11 GMT
-- The president of the UN General Assembly has condemned Israel's
killings of Palestinians in its Gaza offensive as "genocide"."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Israel testing
‘extremely nasty’ weapon: Norwegian doctors ---
http://www.dawn.com/2009/01/13/top1.htm
A quote...."January 13, 2009 Tuesday -- OSLO, Jan 12: Israel is testing
a new “extremely nasty” type of weapon in Gaza, two medics charged as
they returned home to Norway on Monday after spending 10 days working
at a hospital in the war-torn Palestinian territory." --
For more on this issue see....Specialized
Weapons Systems ---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-123108-010609#SWS
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Unusually
Large U.S. Weapons Shipment to Israel: Are the US and Israel Planning a
Broader Middle East War?
---
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11743
A quote...."January 11, 2009 -- A very large delivery of US
weaponry to Israel consisting of 3,000 tons of "ammunition" is
scheduled to sail to Israel. The size and nature of the shipments are
described as "unusual":
"Shipping 3,000-odd tons of
ammunition in one go is a lot," one broker said, on condition of
anonymity.
"This (kind of request) is pretty rare and we haven't seen much of it
quoted in the market over the years," he added.
"Shipping brokers in London who have specialized in moving arms for the
British and U.S. military in the past said such ship charters to Israel
were rare. (Reuters, Jan 10, 2009)
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
U.S.
arms shipment to Israel canceled [if
you believe what USAIPAC says - mpg] due to Gaza conflict
-- http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055098.html
Update - Related Article
-- A quote...."Last update - 08:51 13/01/2009 -- A U.S. military plan
to ship munitions from a Greek port to a U.S. stockpile in Israel has
been canceled due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Pentagon said
on Monday.
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Israel's
Gaza offensive stokes anger among Jordan elite
---
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-jordan-gaza14-2009jan14,0,3365465.story?track=rss
A quote...."January 14, 2009 -- Even among Jordan's elite, advocates of
peace are in short supply these days, supplanted by newly radicalized
members of the middle and upper-middle classes, wearing Dolce &
Gabbana sunglasses, urging the government to take a harder line against
Israel, as well as its primary patron, the United States."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Gaza
dents Turkey-Israel ties ---
http://wire.antiwar.com/2009/01/13/gaza-dents-turkey-israel-ties/
A quote...."Jan 13, 2009 09:07 EST -- Turkey has in recent years been
Israel's best friend in the Muslim world, forging close security ties
and even seeking to develop a role as a mediator between the Jewish
state and its Arab enemies."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
ANALYSIS-Gaza
strikes may cool Israeli ties with Europe ---
http://wire.antiwar.com/2009/01/13/analysis-gaza-strikes-may-cool-israeli-ties-with-europe/
A quote...."Jan 13, 2009 10:50 EST -- BRUSSELS, Jan 13 (Reuters) -
Public horror at the pounding of Gaza by Israeli forces is hindering
efforts by Europe to deepen ties with Israel and could jeopardise plans
for a joint summit early this year, diplomats said on Tuesday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
End - The Gaza Attack - 22
Articles - Tuesday - [ Day 18 ] ========== ==========
========== ====
An Empire That
America Can't Afford ---
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/011309a.html
Must Read - A
quote...."Somebody is going to have to whisper in President-elect
Obama’s ear that the unipolar moment has passed and that the United
States can no longer afford its informal worldwide empire." --
also posted at OnlineJournal
--- http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4233.shtml
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
U.S.
Construction in Afghanistan Sign of Long Commitment -
Iraq redux. - mpg
---
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/12/AR2009011203015_pf.html
A quote...."The Army is building $1.1 billion worth of military bases
and other facilities in Afghanistan and is planning to start an
additional $1.3 billion in projects this year, according to Col. Thomas
E. O'Donovan, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Afghanistan
District."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
US
Military Casualties Exceed 70,658 ---
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/38958
A quote...."US military occupation forces in Iraq suffered 29 combat
casualties in the week ending Jan. 13, 2009 as the official total rose
to at least 70,658. The total includes 34,365 dead and wounded from
what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes and more than 36,293
dead and medically evacuated (as of Jan 3, 2009) from "non-hostile"
causes.*
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Christianity
and War Readings in the Age of Empire ---
http://www.antiwar.com/bandow/?articleid=12767
Book Review --
"Christianity and War and Other Essays Against the Warfare State"
[VancePub, http://www.vancepublications.com/books%20by%20lmv.htm
---
B&N,
---
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Christianity-and-War-and-Other-Essays-against-the-Warfare-State/Laurence-M-Vance/e/9780976344803
---
Amzn ---
http://www.amazon.com/Christianity-Other-Essays-Against-Warfare/dp/0976344807
] --
From the History File - A quote...."
May 2, 2008
-- One of the great ironies of modern Christianity is how warlike many
Christians are. Not all Christians, certainly. And many believers at
many times in history have put state and ruler before church and God.
Yet it remains striking how many conservative evangelicals unabashedly
acted as shock troops backing the Iraq invasion. Everyone from Jerry
Falwell to Pat Robertson to Chuck Colson to D. James Kennedy to James
Dobson to a host of lesser Christian leaders propagandized on behalf of
President George W. Bush. A few war supporters have been humbled by the
resulting catastrophe in Iraq, but most disclaim any responsibility for
the debacle. Some, such as John Hagee, who has endorsed Sen. John
McCain for president, now bray for war against Iran." --
For more on this issue
see....Judeo-Christian
C/C & US - The Christians and Their Long Terrible Agonizing Fall
Into the Abyss
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/judeochristianconflictcontrolwithinus-weblist-mpg-010409#THEABYSS
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
'No
hard evidence in Mumbai dossier' ---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=82143§ionid=351020401
link posted at ICH
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/cachedfiles/ichsfundingpage-cached-reficultnias-111908
A quote...."Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani says the
dossier provided by India on the Mumbai attacks constitutes
'information' and not evidence.
[That's
sentence is a little vague, what does Gilani actually mean by his
statement?] "All that has been received formally from India is
some information. I say information because these are not the evidence.
This needs to be carefully examined," he told lawmakers in the National
Assembly, the lower house of parliament, in Islamabad on Tuesday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Neocon
Columnist Calls For Military Draft, Cites Possible Invasion Of Pakistan
--- http://infowars.net/articles/january2009/130109Blankley.htm
Special Note - Related
Article -
That's what Mumbai was
for....to provide the excuse for
the US-NRE's endless wars. - mpg -- A quote...."A Washington
Times columnist has claimed that a universal military draft is a key
necessity if America is to survive throughout and beyond the 21st
century. -- Tony Blankley, also a former Reagan speechwriter, a former
Newt Gingrich press secretary, and currently a Fellow at right wing
think tank the Heritage Foundation, makes the call in his new book
American Grit." --
Actually the
title "American Grit" may be quite appropriate, it seems to rhyme with
something scatological. – mpg --
For more on this issue see....It
Will Happen Every Single Time - 01-01-08 - mpg
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-122407-010108#EVERY_TIME
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Iran
says uncovers U.S.-backed coup plot ---
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE50C21020090113
A quote...."TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has arrested four Iranians accused
of involvement in a U.S.-financed plot aimed at toppling its Islamic
system of government, the judiciary said on Tuesday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Ethiopian
troops 'quit Mogadishu' ---
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/01/20091137127754577.html
link
posted at ICH
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/cachedfiles/ichsfundingpage-cached-reficultnias-111908
A quote...."Ethiopian troops supporting Somalia's Western-backed
government have vacated their main bases in the Somali capital of
Mogadishu, witnesses say. - The soldiers began to pull out of the bases
on Tuesday as local residents cheered and celebrated the withdrawal."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
EL
SALVADOR: Spanish Judge to Investigate Murders of Jesuit Priests
--- http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45399
link posted at ICH
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/cachedfiles/ichsfundingpage-cached-reficultnias-111908
A quote...."SAN SALVADOR, Jan 13 (IPS) - A Spanish judge’s decision to
investigate 14 Salvadoran military officers for the 1989 killings of
six Jesuit priests in El Salvador is a "sign of hope against impunity,"
according to lawyers and activists."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Ukraine
refuses to transport Russian gas to Europe ---
http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/35842
A quote...."Gazprom says the international observers confirmed that
Kiev has made it impossible for Russia to export gas to its European
consumers."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Former
Gitmo prosecutor rips military trials, calling interrogators' practices
'despicable'
---
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Former_Gitmo_prosecutor_opens_fire_on_0113.html
Special Note - A
quote...."In a declaration submitted to a Washington D.C. District
Court Tuesday, Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, a former prosecutor in the
Military Commission trial system, delivered perhaps the most blistering
attack on the US military's detention program by a former member of the
Pentagon's team to date."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Evidence
in Terror Cases Said to Be in Chaos ---
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011302888_pf.html
Related Article - A quote...."A former military prosecutor said in a
declaration filed in federal court yesterday that the system of
handling evidence against detainees at Guantanamo Bay is so chaotic
that it is impossible to prepare a fair and successful prosecution." --
For more on this issue see....The
Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/theconvenientsilenceofgitmo-blog-mpg-053108
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Capitalist
Fools ---
http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/01/stiglitz200901
Must Read - A
quote...."Behind the debate over remaking U.S. financial policy will be
a debate over who’s to blame. It’s crucial to get the history right,
writes a Nobel-laureate economist, identifying five key mistakes—under
Reagan, Clinton, and Bush II—and one national delusion."
also posted at ADS
--- http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/38957
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Blood in the
Streets? Nope. Red Ink ---
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north675.html
Must Read - A
quote...."The phrase, "blood in the streets," refers to economic panic.
Wise investors say they will buy stocks when there is blood in the
streets. This means panic. It refers to a final sell-off, when fear
trumps greed. -- We are nowhere near that stage today."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
A
triumph of wishful thinking ---
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/KA14Dj02.html
Special Note - Financial Alert
- A quote...."The US budget deficit for the year to September 2009 will
be US$1.19 trillion, 8.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), the largest
in history, according to the Congressional Budget Office. To this
monster president-elect Barack Obama wishes to add a two-year stimulus
of $800 billion or so. Broad money supply is rising by 20% per annum
and the federal funds target rate is at 0-0.25%. -- For the government
to run simultaneously monetary and fiscal policies that are
breathtaking in their expansionism and expect to escape unscathed is a
triumph of wishful thinking."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Obama
Unveils New Grand Plan for the Economy ---
http://www.lewrockwell.com/bardallis/bardallis13.html
Satire -
A quote...."WASHINGTON –
President-Elect Barack Obama called on Congress to quickly pass a new
fiscal stimulus package that would provide nearly $100,000 trazillion
gaquillion frijillion in an effort to revive the U.S. economy, which
some experts believe has entered a recession."
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Bernanke:
U.S. Financial Crisis Worse than Japan's Lost Decade, but We'll Still
Copy the Japanese Playbook, Even Though It Didn't Work
---
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2009/01/bernanke-admits-that-us-financial.html
--- A
quote...."Today, Ben Bernanke acknowledged that the U.S. economic
crisis is worse than the Japanese economic crisis of the 1990's:"
"Credit spreads are much wider
and credit markets more dysfunctional in the United States today than
was the case during the Japanese experiment with quantitative easing."
"However, the Fed will still use the failed Japanese playbook:"
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Obama,
Bush team up behind another $350 billion for the banks
--- http://wsws.org/articles/2009/jan2009/pers-j14.shtml
A quote...."First things first. Even before President Bush makes his
farewell address on Thursday and Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th
president next Tuesday, the outgoing and incoming administrations are
engaged in a concerted drive to release the second $350 billion
installment of taxpayer funds to bail out the banks." --
For more on this issue see....Judeo-Christian
C/C & US - The Bailouts
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/judeochristianconflictcontrolwithinus-weblist-mpg-010409#BAILOUTS
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Don’t Give
the Banks Another $350 Billion ---
http://www.progressive.org/mag/wx011309.html
A quote...."Why in the world should we be giving the banks another $350
billion? They caused this financial crisis in the first place. Then
Bush and Paulson just threw billions of dollars at them. Bush and
Paulson didn’t demand a voting share of these banks. And the banks
weren’t required to lend to businesses, though that was the main
rationale for the bailout. Nor were the banks required to refinance
mortgages and go easy on foreclosures, though this is what triggered
the crisis. Basically, the banks weren’t required to do anything accept
open their wallets. And afterward, they didn’t even have to tell us,
the taxpayers, what they did with the money, which was essentially to
hoard it. Now they deserve $350 billion more? -- You’ve got to be
kidding."
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US's
Negative Net Worth at $59.3 Trillion Our Collapsing Economy
--- http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts01122009.html
A quote...."According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm
payroll employment declined by 3,445,000 from December 2007 through
December 2008. - The collapse in employment is across the board."
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The
New Wave Of the Crisis ---
http://watchingamerica.com/News/17024/the-new-wave-of-the-crisis/
A quote...."In the last three months of 2008 the U.S. economy was
violently hit by the credit crunch and the liquidity crisis between
banks and companies. Now a new wave is forming on the horizon. --
Whether as a preventive measure or because of a lack of liquidity,
banks and companies are cutting off credit to clients more and more -
cutting off credit to those who, after all, fuel the economy:
consumers."
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Citi
Board Backs CEO as Outlook Worsens ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123172133334572421.html
A quote...."Citigroup Inc. is expected to report fourth-quarter losses
that are billions of dollars
greater
than previously anticipated, but its lead independent director
said the banking giant's board isn't losing faith in Chief Executive
Vikram Pandit." -- bold by website editor
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Trade
gap plunges on falling demand, prices - November deficit narrows to
$40.4 billion on record decline in imports
---
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/trade-deficit-plunges-falling-demand/story.aspx?guid=%7B4362125A-80C4-4F2D-A851-E7D6305EA2C4%7D
This is a good news, bad news,
situation. It's good because the
trade gap has declined, but it has done so primarily because people
have run out of money, and also on declining oil prices, which will go
right back up to where they were as soon as the world economy begins to
strengthen. Worse is that the dollar has had a substantial rally,
something that is unlikely to help improve the amount of US exports. –
mpg
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China
may have passed Germany with GDP revision
---
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/China-revises-2007-growth-rate/story.aspx?guid=%7BC32CF26B-8EAA-4484-B9DE-3BC29335D603%7D
Some quotes...."New 2007 growth rate of 13% would make China world's
third-largest economy." -- "The change in GDP estimates for
two years ago will not alter the economy's near-term outlook," wrote
Moody's Sherman Chan, an economist based in Sydney, in a research note
to reporters Wednesday. "The only effect is perhaps negative, as a
stronger 2007 would make the 2008 slowdown more upsetting."
-- "Beijing forecasts China's economy will grow around 8% this
year, while median forecasts among analysts are for a 6% expansion."
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China's
population of Web users hits 298 million -
Now THAT is a lot of eye balls. - mpg
---
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/13/financial/f065419S35.DTL
A quote...."China's fast-growing population of Internet users has risen
to 298 million after passing the United States last year to become the
world's largest, a government-sanctioned research group said."
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