MPG'S
DAILY RAPSHEET AND BLOTTER ON THE "GREAT GAME" --
04-22-09 to 04-28-09 -- links page
@ www.reficultnias.org
==========
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Editor's note : From now on each weekly blog page will have
several items
culled from the past called "9/11 - From The History
File" : It's for those who didn't know, and also for those who
forgot....or are trying to forget.
Editor's note - War Update, War Alert, War Warning, Red War Warning
and War
Imminent
- refer to articles
regarding the upcoming war with Iran. In the order they appear as
shown above, they represent less serious to more serious possible
threats of war. - mpg
As of 08-08-08 a new category of war warning will be included, the
above warnings will have the prefix (WWIII) added to them to indicate
the
possible outbreak of greater hostilities. - mpg
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Tuesday April 28th 2009 - links
page
Major
defeat for Bush/Obama position on secrecy -
Hip Hip Hooray!!! - mpg
---
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/28/secrecy/index.html
Must Read - Obama™ Update
-- A quote...."The first sign that the Obama DOJ would replicate many
of the worst and most radical arguments of the Bush DOJ was in the
Jeppesen case, a lawsuit brought by five victims of the CIA's rendition
and torture program (including Binyam Mohamed). The Bush
administration had argued that the entire "subject matter" raised by
the lawsuit (the rendition program) was such a gravely important "state
secret" that the court could not consider any lawsuit relating to that
issue. That argument was a by-product of one of the Bush DOJ's
most controversial actions: its radical expansion of the "state
secrets" doctrine. Whereas that privilege was once an evidentiary
privilege enabling the Government to declare specific documents too
secret to use in litigation, the Bush DOJ converted it into an
all-purpose shield allowing them to have entire lawsuits dismissed even
where the lawsuit alleged that the President's conduct was illegal."
also posted at CommonDreams
--- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/28-14
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Court
rebuffs feds, reinstates torture suit ---
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/28/BAC417AH7A.DTL&tsp=1
Related Article - Obama™ Update -- A quote...."(04-28) 11:58 PDT SAN
FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court rebuffed the Obama
administration's assertion of secrecy today and reinstated a lawsuit by
five men who say a Bay Area subsidiary of Boeing Co. helped the CIA fly
them to foreign countries to be tortured." -
also posted at CommonDreams
---
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/28-7
For more on this issue see....Come
Fly the Un-Friendly Boeing Skys
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-052207-053107#BOEING
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Face
of the “New Democrats” - Arlen Specter Gives The DINOs Absolute
Control. God Help Us All…
---
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/face-of-the-new-democrats-arlen-specter-gives-the-dinos-absolute-control/
Obama™ Update -- Some quotes...."Normally, after 8 years of CheneyCo, I
would be pleased to see the dems in control for at least a couple
years. But I’m not brain dead, nor am I blinded by or easily
distracted by, cheap partisan theatrics that feel like they’ve been
written by a lazy and unusually dull high-school student....." -- "I
won’t bore you with another explanation of what the Democratic
Leadership Council (DLC) is or what they support; suffice to say, they
just love NAFTA, the Security and Prosperity Partnership,
unrestricted free-trade, the privatization of every dime in the
government that doesn’t end up in their pockets, No Child Left Behind,
the Help America
[Not]-Vote
Act, torture, warrentless wiretapping, big business (they REALLY love
Big Business), AIPAC, and war. - Those “New” democrats just love them
some war. Can’t get enough of the stuff."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
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Obama's
Iraq: The Picture of Dorian Gray ---
http://rebelreports.com/post/100759562/obamas-iraq-the-picture-of-dorian-gray
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."Remember when Barack Obama made that big
announcement at Camp Lejeune about how all US combat troops were going
to be withdrawn from Iraqi cities by June 30? Liberals jumped around
with joy, praising Obama for ending the war so that they could focus on
their "good war" in Afghanistan. -- Of course, the
celebrations
were and remain unwarranted.
---
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/129362/all_troops_out_by_2011_not_so_fast%3B_why_obama%27s_iraq_speech_deserves_a_second_look/?page=entire
--- Obama's Iraq plan is virtually
identical to the one on Bush's table on January 19, 2009. Obama has
just rebranded the occupation, sold it to liberals and dropped the term
"Global War on Terror" while, for all practical purposes, continuing
the Bush era policy...."
also
posted at CommonDreams
--- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/28-7
& Uruknet
--- http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m53791&s1=h1
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
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Waterboarding
Approved Specifically To Justify Iraq War By Craig Murray
--- http://www.creative-i.info/?p=6476
A quote...."I have just learnt something which has convinced me that
Bush, Cheney and Rice are indeed evil in the sense that Hitler was
evil. I did not actually believe that until today. -- The excellent and
much-respected Marjorie Cohn, President of the National Lawyers Guild
of the USA and Professor of Law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law,
has discovered that waterboarding was first approved in July 2002 by
Condoleeza Rice, specifically to force confessions of links between
al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
dubious Zelikow shortcuts ---
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4644.shtml
Related Article - A quote...."Two issues trouble me relating to Philip
Zelikow’s New York Times op-ed, The Dubious C.I.A. Shortcut. One, he
seems to be flip-flopping on the legality and efficacy of torture to
gain reliable intelligence, in this case from the C.I.A and Pentagon.
Second, even as Zelikow headed the 9/11 Commission and wrote the final
draft of its findings in April 2004, his commission report was based on
secondhand C.I.A. and Pentagon “torture” reports, not face to face,
independent interviews."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
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The Wrong
Torture Question ---
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/42124
Special Note - A
quote...."When Americans get "ethical" these days they ponder the great
moral mysteries, like "Is public health coverage fair to insurance
companies?" or "If we increase the military budget but reduce one
section of it, can the whole world still be safe?" or "Would you still
oppose torture if it worked?" -- Let me suggest a few reasons why I
think that last question is the wrong one. -- First, torture DID work.
It forced false agreement with war lies, helping to launch a
long-desired illegal war. And it persuaded many Americans that some
very scary and very foreign people were out to get them, people so
scary that they had to be tortured in order to talk with them, people
whose every false utterance, aimed at stopping the pain, instead
generated color-coded horror warnings."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Busting
the Torture Myths ---
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/42142
A quote...."Scott Horton, who has led coverage of Bush-era wrongdoing,
exposes
three pervasive myths—and the surprising reason Cheney and Rove are
keeping the issue alive.
- A torture memo writer refused to comply with a warning
about
criminal risks—and exposes the truth about the policies.
- Karl Rove and Dick Cheney are convinced that Bush-era
torture
policy is a promising political product for a party down on its luck.
- Donald Rumsfeld gave step-by-step directions for techniques
used
at Abu Ghraib.
- Torture techniques originated from the White House shortly
after
9/11—long before they were arguably needed on the battlefield.
- Torture was used by Cheney and Rumsfeld to find
justification for
the invasion of Iraq.
- Jay Bybee was confirmed to a lifetime appointment as all
eyes
were on Colin Powell’s speech to the U.N. about Iraq’s weapons of mass
destruction program.
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
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Pelosi the Hawk
--- http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/6078
A quote...."Reports by international human rights groups and from
within Israel in recent weeks have revealed the massive scale of
war-crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law,
committed by Israeli forces during their three-week offensive against
the Gaza Strip earlier this year. Despite this, Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi has steadfastly stood by her insistence that the
U.S.-backed Israeli government has no legal or moral responsibility for
the tragic consequence of the war." --
also posted at CommonDreams
--- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/28-3
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Washington’s
concerns grow amid Iraqi anger over US raid ---
http://wsws.org/articles/2009/apr2009/iraq-a29.shtml
A quote...."Protests in Iraq over Sunday’s US special forces raid in
Kut, the capital of the predominantly Shiite Wasit province, will only
add to the mounting concerns in the Obama administration and American
military over the country’s ongoing instability."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Assad
to Obama: Leave Iraq or face crisis ---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92913§ionid=351020206
A quote...."Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has warned Obama that
Washington will face a crisis in the Middle East if he does not pull US
troops out of Iraq. - If US President Barack Obama does not remedy the
mistakes made by the Bush administration, he will face a serious crisis
in the region within a year, Assad said in Vienna on Tuesday."
========== ==========
========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
A
new order emerges in Lebanon ---
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KD29Ak02.html
A quote...."Calls for engagement with Hezbollah in Lebanon are
increasing in Washington, Britain is opening dialogue with non-state
players and the Syrians are back in the international arena. Steadily,
the Middle East leftovers of the George W Bush era are being eroded,
and people like Lebanese warlord Walid Jumblatt are preparing for the
new alignments." --
also posted at
WarInIraq
--- http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/195914
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Iran
vows to find Iraq bomb masterminds -
Yeah, they're called al-CIA-duh in Iraq.
(courtesy CLG) - mpg
---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92610§ionid=351020101
A quote...."Tehran warns that the perpetrators behind the Iraqi bomb
attacks that killed dozens of Iranian pilgrims 'would not go
unpunished'. -- A fresh wave of violence erupted in Iraq on Thursday
after a deadly bomb exploded near a restaurant on the northern
outskirts of the Diyala province. The explosion left 88 people killed,
most of whom were Iranians."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Iran
sheds light on arrested terror suspects ---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92722§ionid=351020101
A quote...."Iran's Intelligence Ministry has disclosed few details
about an 'Israeli-backed' terrorist group which was plotting a wave of
bombings in the country. -- Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein
Mohseni-Ejei said on Monday that the ministry had picked up on a series
of suspicious activities which prompted the agency to focus its
attention on the suspects."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Saakavili's
"Order No. 2" - Georgian Plots? ---
http://www.counterpunch.org/hallinan04282009.html
A quote...." At the bottom of the recent demonstrations that have
packed the capital city of Tbilisi with tens of thousands of protesters
demanding the resignation of Georgian President Mikheil Saakavili is an
investigation by the European Union (EU) as to who started last
summer’s war between Georgia and Russia. According to a report in the
German newspaper Der Spiegel, “A secret document may prove that the
Georgian president had planned a war of aggression in South Ossetia.”
For more on this issue see....American
Selective Attention Deficit Disorder (ASADD) - 08-16-08 - mpg
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/americanselectiveattention-blog-mpg-081608
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Is
Ukraine’s NATO policy dead? ---
http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/2009-04-29/Is_Ukraine_s_NATO_policy_dead.html
A quote...."The Ukrainian government is no longer interested in joining
NATO, according to a leading expert on the country’s foreign policy. --
Anatoly Oryol, director-general at Ukraine’s Centre for International
and Comparative Studies, believes the authorities in Kiev have stopped
conducting a pro-NATO policy."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Turkey
eyes S-400 missile shield ---
http://www.metimes.com/Security/2009/04/28/turkey_eyes_s-400_missile_shield/2487/
A quote...."ISTANBUL, Turkey, April 28 (UPI) -- Turkish officials have
stated their willingness to consider purchasing the Russian S-400
strategic missile-defense system, Russian officials said."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
NAM:
Solidarity against Unilateral Sanctions ---
http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75302&Itemid=1
A quote...."Havana, Apr 28 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Deputy Foreign
Minister Abelardo Moreno announced on Tuesday that the Movement of Non
Aligned Countries (NAM) will be in solidarity with nations that have
been unilaterally sanctioned, subjected to embargos or hit by natural
disasters. During a briefing for journalists in the second day of the
NAM ministerial meeting, Moreno said that the paragraph approved by
high ranking representatives is very important from the conceptual
point of view."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Lebanon
arrests another suspected spy for Israel ---
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=101474
A quote...."SIDON: The Lebanese Armed Forces arrested Tuesday in the
southern coastal city of Sidon's suburb of Haret Saida a man suspected
of dealing with Israel. LAF sources told The Daily Star that units for
the military intelligence arrested a man named Mojahed Awad, who is a
member of a cell suspected of dealing with the Israeli Mossad."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Calamity
Jane Harman Shoots Herself in the Foot ---
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2009/04/28/calamity-jane-harman-shoots-herself-in-the-foot/
A quote...."The exposure of the Jane Harman-AIPAC axis of treason has
exploded the illusion of the Israel Lobby’s invulnerability. Here they
thought they had the AIPAC espionage trial swept safely under the rug,
or nearly so, what with the prosecution of two former top Lobby
officials seemingly stalled indefinitely, and the Justice Department
"reviewing" whether to pursue the case. Not only that, but accused
Israeli spy Steve Rosen is riding high, having recently been
instrumental in the downfall of Obama administration appointee Charles
Freeman. Slated to take up a key post, which would have had him writing
the president’s daily intelligence briefing, Freeman was lynched by a
bipartisan mob of neocons and Israel-firsters, with the disgraceful
(albeit not sufficiently disgraced) Rosen leading the charge."
For more on this issue see....Judeo-Christian
C/C & US - Jane Harman
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/judeochristianconflictcontrolwithinus-weblist-mpg-010409#JANEHARMAN
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Israel
in Massive West Bank Land Grab -
posted
at Palestine
Chronicle ---
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15036
---
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/news.php?id=cae3ac89f47e4dc6217fa916248879ae&mode=details#cae3ac89f47e4dc6217fa916248879ae
A quote...."Israel is planning a huge West Bank land grab that would
further isolate Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem) and leave a future
Palestinian state unviable, the Israeli Peace Now group has revealed."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Zero Palestinian
Evictions, now! ---
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/04/6399
A quote...."The inhabitants’ associations, international networks,
voluntary groups, NGOs, public agencies, citizens of the world, express
their indignation at and denounce Israel’s continual policies of
eviction and demolition carried out against the Palestinian people,
both Palestinians ’48 (citizens of Israel) and Palestinians ’67 (in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory)."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Hamas
urges Egypt to open border with Gaza ---
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/28/content_11274876.htm
A quote...."GAZA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Hamas-controlled Palestinian
ministry of health in Gaza appealed Tuesday to the Egyptian authorities
to open Rafah border crossing urgently and to ease the movement of sick
people." --
also posted at WarInIraq
--- http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/195930
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The Swine Flu Outbreak and Other
Bio-Warfare Matters From CLG.....
--- http://www.legitgov.org/
Article#1 -- "
Involuntary
quarantine an option if swine flu explodes into epidemic
--- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30457076/ --- 28 Apr
2009
Quarantine
may seem the stuff of mediocre melodramas, but if the swine flu
explodes into an epidemic, involuntary isolation could become a reality
for more than a few unlucky Americans. The federal government can
declare a state of emergency. But the power to isolate or quarantine
citizens, rests in the hands of the states, or in some cases, local
governments. In a health emergency, people can be forced into isolation
or quarantine without the government getting a court order first. [See
CLG ---
http://www.legitgov.org/ --- items:
DoD to
carry out 'military missions' during pandemic, WMD attack
---
http://www.legitgov.org/DoD_to_act_in_pandemic.html --- 08
Mar
2009 and
DoD to 'augment civilian law' during pandemic or
bioterror attack
---
http://www.legitgov.org/DoD_to_augment_civilian_law.html
--- 11 May 2007.]" --
Paragraph
quoted from CLG
--- http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Article#2 -- "
California declares a state of emergency over swine
flu
---
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/04/governor-la-county-declare-state-of-emergency-for-swine-flu.html
---
Governor, L.A. County declare state of emergency 28
Apr
2009 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) today proclaimed a state of
emergency over the spread of swine flu, expediting state agency
responses to the outbreak. The proclamation orders all state agencies
to use staff and equipment to help the Department of Public Health
under coordination of the California Emergency Management Agency.
The order suspends rules requiring competitive bids
for services, material, personnel and equipment needed to
respond to this [
US generated] ---
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/jan1404hybrids.html
--- outbreak and waives some
certification requirements for public health laboratories to help in
the state’s expansion of testing capabilities. [
Heads up! US
pharma-terrorists are poised to make an even bigger killing than those
who benefited from the 9/11 terror attacks (Rudy Giuliani, Lucky
Larry), the Iraq-Afghanistan-Pakistan oil/gas/opium pipelines (Bush,
Cheney Halliburton, etc.), and the Wall Street bailout.]" --
Paragraph
quoted from CLG
--- http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Article#3 -- "
KBR awarded Homeland Security contract worth up to
$385M ---
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B62C8724D%2DA
E8A%2D4B5C%2D94C7%2D70171315C0A0%7D&dateid=38741%2E5136277662%2D858254656
--- 24 Jan
2006 KBR said Tuesday it has been awarded a
contingency contract from the Department of Homeland Security to
supports its Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the
event of an emergency. The maximum total value of the contract is $385
million and consists of a 1-year base period with four 1-year options.
The contract provides for
establishing temporary detention and
processing capabilities to expand existing ICE Detention and
Removal Operations Program facilities in the event of an emergency
influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development
of new programs, KBR said. The contract may also provide migrant
detention support to other government organizations in the event of an
immigration emergency, as well as the
development of a plan to
react to a national emergency, such as a natural disaster, the
company said." --
Paragraph
quoted from CLG
--- http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
CLG's Other Recent Articles --
List:
NJ identifies 5 probable swine flu cases
---
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jh7zhZfeuQ1MFXLAAS5j_9pN-9OQD97R4JFG2
Swine flu fear for hundreds of NY children
---
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/swine-flu-fear-for-hundreds-of-ny-children-1675367.html
Cases of swine flu confirmed in Marin County
---
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/north_bay&id=6785003
WHO raises its pandemic alert level on swine flu
---
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042700360.html
Swine flu 'unstoppable,' WHO warns
---
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/28/swine-flu-mexico-scotland
CDC: 'Fully expect we will see deaths'
---
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090428/ap_on_re_us/us_swine_flu_cdc
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Other Articles
Swine flu is
a man made virus ? ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnSX_jS0STA --- (RT YouTube
- 1 min 26 sec - April 28, 2009)
Video - WMR - A
quote...."Investigative journalist from Washington Wayne Madsen says
the outbreak of the swine flu virus is raising suspicions. The sources
quoted by him say it could be manmade.
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
Spread of the Swine flu Outbreak ---
http://en.rian.ru/infographics/20090428/121350431.html
InfoGraphic
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
U.S.
swine flu cases rise, more expected ---
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE53P1TK20090428
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 40 people in five states
have been sickened by new strain of swine flu that doctors fear may
cause a pandemic, U.S. officials said on Monday, promising more cases
to come."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Flashback:
Another Flu Pandemic Causing "Accident" Occurred in 2005
--- http://infowars.net/articles/april2009/280409Accident.htm
A quote...."Every time there is a pandemic scare, it comes from a
laboratory -- Previous to revelations just weeks ago that
American vaccine company Baxter Inc "accidentally" shipped out vaccines
contaminated with live avian flu virus, a similar incident was reported
in 2005."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
North
Carolina "Involuntarily Isolating" Suspected Swine Flu Patients
--- http://infowars.net/articles/april2009/280409Involuntarily.htm
A quote...."Disturbing reports have emerged that suggest North Carolina
is involuntarily quarantining patients who may have the flu virus that
is thought to be spreading across the U.S. and the rest of the globe."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Ron
Paul Warns Swine Flu Scare Will Be Used As Precedent For More Big
Government ---
http://infowars.net/articles/april2009/280409Paul.htm
A quote...."Step back and think for a minute before rushing and
panicking" is the message coming from Texas Congressman Ron Paul who
has warned that the swine flu scare will once again be used as a
precedent for big government intrusion."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
S&P/Case-Shiller
20-City Home Price Index Fell 18.6% In February
---
http://www.dailymarkets.com/releases/2009/04/28/spcase-shiller-20-city-home-price-index-fell-186-in-february/
Full quote...." (RTTNews) - U.S. home prices saw continued broad based
declines in the month of February, according to a report released by
Standard and Poor’s on Tuesday, although the annual rate of decline in
prices did not set a new record for the first time in sixteen months.
-- The report showed that the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite
Home Price Index fell at an annual rate of 18.6 percent in February, a
modest deceleration from the 19.0 percent drop in prices that was
reported for January."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
GM to force more
than 1,000 dealers to close ---
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30458421/
A quote...."DETROIT - General Motors Corp. told its dealers Tuesday
that it will force 1,000 to 1,200 underperforming locations to close
their doors as the automaker tries to thin dealer ranks to make the
remaining outlets more profitable."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Wall
Street pay back to pre-crash levels -
Ha, Ha, Haaaaaa! And you poor peons
thought Obama worked for you?
--- http://wsws.org/articles/2009/apr2009/pers-a28.shtml
A quote...."The New York Times reported Sunday that compensation at six
of the largest US banks is on track to return to the record levels that
preceded last year’s financial crash."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Two-thirds
facing a pay cut or freeze [in Britian] ---
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/twothirds-facing-a-pay-cut-or-freeze-1674828.html
Deflation Alert - A
quote...."More than two-thirds of British companies plan to cut or
freeze their workers' salaries this year, the British Chambers of
Commerce said yesterday, as it warned that private sector employers
face a desperate battle to survive the recession."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
'Deeper'
recession ahead says IMF ---
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8011907.stm
Deflation Alert -
Chart - A quote...."
The global economy is set to decline by
1.3% in 2009, in the first global recession since World War II,
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says. -
In
January, the IMF had predicted world output would increase by 0.5% in 2009."
-
Editor's note: the figures for
2010 are highly suspect. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Irish
economy faces record downturn ---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92898§ionid=3510213
Deflation Alert - A
quote...."From 2008 to 2010 Ireland is to suffer the largest
contraction of any industrialized country since the 1930s, think-tank
predicts."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Honda
posts record loss of $1.92 billion -
And they make good, well designed cars. -
mpg
---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92917§ionid=3510213
A quote...."Japanese automaker Honda has reported a net loss of 186.16
billion yen ($1.92 billion) in its fourth fiscal quarter ending March
2009."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Germany, GM
Crops, Bovine Growth Hormones, and ‘The World According to Monsanto’
(Update) --- http://www.chycho.com/?q=Monsanto_Germany
A quote...."Earlier this month Germany banned the cultivation of
Monsanto’s GM corn, “claiming that MON 810 is dangerous for the
environment. But that argument might not stand up in court and Berlin
could face fines totalling millions of euros if American multinational
Monsanto decides to challenge the prohibition on its seed”, which is
exactly what they have decided to do."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Monday April 27th 2009 -
links page
Obama's
Sins of Omission ---
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/04/25/obamas_sins_of_omission/
Must Read - A
quote...."THE HISTORY of American liberalism is one of promoting
substantively modest if superficially radical reforms in order to
refurbish and sustain the status quo. From Franklin Roosevelt's New
Deal to Bill Clinton's New Covenant, liberals have specialized in
jettisoning the redundant to preserve what they see as essential. In
this sense, modern liberalism's great achievement has been to deflect
or neutralize calls for more fundamental change - a judgment that
applies to President Obama, especially on national security."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Obama
Has Missed His Moment ---
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090427_obama_has_missed_his_moment/
Must Read - Obama™ Update
-- A quote...."Barack Obama has squandered his presidency. He had a
fleeting moment to challenge the casino capitalism and financial
recklessness of our economic and political elite. He could have
orchestrated a state socialism that would have provided a safety net
for tens of millions of Americans faced with dislocation and misery.
The sums he has doled out to Wall Street could have been used to force
companies to keep workers on the job or create new banks to open up
credit. But he lacked the foresight and the courage to challenge
entrenched power. And now we are headed down one of two frightening
roads—massive deflation or hyperinflation. Neither will be pleasant."
also posted at CommonDreams
--- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/27-1
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
From
Bunker Hill to Baghdad - Pinter's Dispatch to Obama ---
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22499.htm
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."For leftists, Obama has been a total bust.
He's escalated
the war in Afghanistan, increased the cross-border bombings of
Pakistan, hemmed and hawed about prosecuting war crimes, refused to
actively lobby House members to make it easier for workers to organize
(EFCA), and surrounded himself with bank industry reps who've committed
$12.8 trillion to sinking financial institutions with no assurance that
the money would be repaid. Apart from a trifling bill on stem cells,
Obama has done absolutely zero to confirm his bone fides as a liberal.
The truth is, Obama is neither liberal nor conservative; he's simply an
inspiring orator and a skillful politician who has no strong
convictions about anything. If he achieves greatness, it will be
because he was thrust into a crisis he couldn't avoid and reluctantly
acted in the best interests of the American people. That possibility
still exists, although it seems more unlikely by the day." -
also posted at Globrsrch
---
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13377
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
America’s
Shame ---
http://www.lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis145.html
A quote...." Nations that use torture disgrace themselves. Armed forces
and police that torture inevitably become brutalized and corrupted.
"Limited" use of torture quickly becomes generalized. "Information"
obtained by torture is mostly unreliable. -- I learned these truths
over fifty years covering dirty "pacification" wars, from Algeria to
Indochina, Central and South America, southern Africa, the Mideast,
Afghanistan, and Kashmir in which torture was commonly used."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
They
Are Telling Us They Will Torture Again ---
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/25/724310/-They-Are-Telling-Us-They-Will-Torture-Again
Some quote...."And I think we better listen to them. If you haven't
heard that promise in the arguments they're making, let me point them
out, because that is what they are saying, very clearly. - The latest
argument the Republicans are making is that investigating torture is
nothing more than 'criminalizing policy differences'." -- "Remember,
Obama ended torture by executive order, just as he ended the
restrictions on federal funding of stem cell research. And that means
torture can resume, by the simple means of another President revoking
that order. Torture now holds the same status as stem cell research, or
federal hiring procedures, and they want to keep it that way." --
Yeah, this is EXACTLY what happens when citizens
let their own constitution become "Just a Goddamn piece of paper". - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
International Criminal Court and A Rogue Empire ---
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/42076
A quote...."One of the best books published in Canada last year is one
of the best books published in the United States thus far this year: "
The Sun
Climbs Slow: The International Criminal Court and the Struggle for
Justice," ---
http://www.sevenstories.com/book/?GCOI=58322100467450 ---
by Erna Paris. -- It's appropriate for this story to come to us from
our northern
neighbor. This is largely a history of the development of international
law, culminating in the surprising success of the creation of an
international criminal court (ICC). The ICC now has 108 countries as
state parties, and the theoretical power to prosecute war crimes by
anyone anywhere on earth." --
Well,
we'll see about that. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
David
Broder and media culpability for Bush crimes ---
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/26/broder/index.html
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."I read David Broder's truly wretched
screed yesterday -- in which he demands immunity for Bush officials
from investigation and prosecution and attacks those who advocate
accountability -- and decided that I wouldn't write about it until
today because I didn't want it to infect my Saturday. For
purposes of catharsis, I did immediately note on Twitter that Broder's
article was "a tour de force of Beltway sickness - even for him" and
that "the Washington press corps has exactly the 'dean' it
deserves." Fortunately, Hilzoy, Scott Lemieux and Roger Ailes --
among others -- have now made most of the points quite conclusively
that need to be made about the morally depraved joke that David Broder
is, leaving just a couple of observations worth noting." -
also posted at CommonDreams
--- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/27-7
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
‘US
media puts American society into a cocoon’ ---
http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/2009-04-27/_US_media_puts_American_society_into_a_cocoon_.html
Quote of the Day...."There are a handful of media companies in the US
that tend to have one commitment: not to inform the people and serve
the public, but to allow their shareholders to make money. --
Media is a commercial product that does not
have the goal of illuminating society, or strengthening democracy and
people’s knowledge, but to just have people watching TV to stick around
for the commercials." - bold by website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
criminalization of journalism -
Oh!!
The spiteful, childish, pettiness of a so-called "super-power". - mpg
---
http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=922&Itemid=1
Special Note
- A quote...."Air France Flight 438, from Paris, was to land at Mexico
City at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 18. Five hours before landing, the
captain's voice announced that U.S. authorities had prohibited the
plane from flying over U.S. territory. The explanation: among the
passengers aboard was a person who was not welcome in the United States
for reasons of national security."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
CIA and
the Washington Post: Joined at the Hip -
The presstituting whores are at it again.
- mpg
--- http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/42085
Special Note - A
quote...."Under the stewardship of Fred Hiatt, the editorial and op-ed
pages of the Washington Post have gradually moved to the right. Post
editorials and op-eds have defended the decision to go to war in Iraq;
opposed any improvement in bilateral relations with Russia; refused to
acknowledge Israel’s misuse of military power in the Middle East; and
lobbied against the need for investigation of the detention and
interrogation programs of the Bush administration."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
"... The Horrible Truth"
--- http://www.truthout.org/042409A
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."The US occupation of Iraq, which has
become the full responsibility of President Barack Obama, is once again
a bloodbath. Not that it had ceased to be violent, brutal and chaotic,
for not one day has passed since the US invasion of Iraq was launched
that hasn't found several Iraqis being senselessly slaughtered. But
rather than talking about three Iraqis being killed today, or two
dozen, we are again talking about several dozen, and over 100 wounded,
as we are seeing recently. Each of these Iraqis have been killed as a
direct result of the US occupation of Iraq - their blood splattered on
the hands of President Obama, who, during a visit to Baghdad's airport
on April 7, praised the US military for their "extraordinary
achievement" in Iraq." --
also
posted at CounterCurrents
--- http://www.countercurrents.org/jamail270409.htm
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
US Bracing for
New Prisoner Abuse Photos ---
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46638
A quote...."While the content of the new images is not known, some
members of Congress, who viewed them in a classified setting, have said
they
are far worse than the Abu Ghraib images." - bold/inderline by
website editor
also posted at
AntiWar
---
http://original.antiwar.com/fisher/2009/04/27/us-bracing-for-new-prisoner-abuse-photos/
& CommonDreams
--- http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/27-6
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Al-Maliki
Denounces US Raid as Violating SOFA; Larijani dissatisfied with US
---
http://www.juancole.com/2009/04/al-maliki-denounces-us-raid-as.html
A quote...."AP reports that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has denounced
a US raid in Kut as a violation of the security agreement between
Washington and Baghdad. -- WaPo goes further and says that al-Maliki is
actually calling for the troops involved to be prosecuted in Iraqi
courts."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Clamour
in Iraq for justice over deadly US raid ---
http://wire.antiwar.com/2009/04/27/clamour-in-iraq-for-justice-over-deadly-us-raid-2/
A quote...."We are a peaceful family and I'm still in shock at how they
suddenly raided our house, vandalised everything and killed my brother
and his wife," said Iraqi police captain Muamar Abdul-Munin, who was
detained in the U.S. operation along with six others and released after
government protests. -- "We have started pressing charges against the
U.S. forces. We want the guilty to be brought to justice."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Pakistan
goes its own pace on militants ---
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KD28Df02.html
A quote...."ISLAMABAD - When is a peace deal not a peace deal? The one
signed between the Pakistani government and militants in the Swat area
in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) in February which imposed sharia
law in return for a ceasefire could be such a deal."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Argentina
Hosts Trilateral Summit ---
http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=74785&Itemid=1
A quote...."Buenos Aires, Apr 27 (Prensa Latina) A trilateral summit to
be held on Monday in Buenos Aires by Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay is
aimed at formally ending the border dispute the latter two countries
were having from the Chaco War 70 years ago. The meeting will be
attended by Bolivian president Evo Morales, who arrived in this capital
Sunday night, Paraguay�s Fernando Lugo, with Cristina Fernandez
as host."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
Bush Administration Used Communist Intimidation and Torture Tactics
---
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/04/not-only-did-bush-administration-adopt.html
A quote...."The communist tyrant launches an "investigation" into a
nuclear accident in his country. - But to make sure that nothing
critical is said about the way the government operated the nuclear
power plant or how it responded to the accident, the government places
"minders" in every interview. - The minders loom over the witnesses in
an intimidating fashion, tell the witnesses that everything they say
will be reported to the central government, and they even jump in an
answer some of the questions directed at the witnesses. - Would the
Western nations accept the results of the investigation that the
government "could not have known" of the dangers from the nuclear power
plant, and that the government did everything it could to minimize the
damage? - Of course not."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Witness
Who Fingered 9/11 "Mastermind" Was Himself Crazy ---
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/04/witness-who-fingered-911-mastermind-was.html
A quote...."I have previously pointed out that the self-confessed 9/11
"mastermind" Khalid Sheikh Mohammed also falsely confessed to crimes he
didn't commit. - However, a second witness - Abu Zubaida - fingered
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as the 9/11 mastermind (Zubaida was subsequently
severely tortured for many months. But he initially identified KSM even
before being tortured). - So we have independent confirmation that KSM
was the chief architect of 9/11, right? - Well, the New Yorker notes
this week:"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Israel
Split as Syria Sees No Peace Talks Soon -
posted at Palestine
Chronicle ---
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/fund_raisers.php?id=14
---
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/news.php?id=c17aca683571fa413efafbdbec581a0b&mode=details#c17aca683571fa413efafbdbec581a0b
A quote...."Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Sunday insisted on the
return of the Golan Heights but said he could not foresee peace talks
with Israel anytime soon as Israel's foreign minister said that he
could not see Syria as "a real partner" in any type of agreement."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Ahmadinejad:
Obama support of 'Gaza massacre' was big mistake ---
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1081205.html
Must Read - A
quote...."In a rare interview with American television, Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized U.S. President Barack Obama
for his "support of the massacre of Gazans" during Israel's offensive
on the Hamas-ruled coastal territory earlier this year. -- "The
gentleman's [Obama] support of the massacre of Gazans in support for
the criminals who were responsible for that atrocity was a major
mistake on the part of the gentleman," Ahmadinejad told ABC reporter
George Stephanopoulous during an interview aired Sunday on 'This Week'.
-- "I think that if Mr. Obama wants to help with the Palestinian issue,
he has to move in accordance with justice, fair play and also, again, I
am calling for the right for the Palestinians to determine their own
fate,"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Telegraph
UK Tries to Undermine the Positive News Coming Out of the Ahmadinejad
Interview
---
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/telegraph-uk-tries-to-spin-positive-news-out-of-ahmadinejad-interview/
A quote...."I guess the rule is, if there is good news about President
Ahmadinejad out of Iran to report, you have to make up at least two
horrible lies about him to go with it in the report. If you have a 6
paragraph article, you dedicate the first paragraph to smearing him
with old lies, then the next one is about the ‘good news”, then in the
last 4 paragraphs you find whatever out of context quotes you can find
and use them to smear him even more."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Iran
Arrests Bombers Linked to Israel: Minister -
posted at Palestine
Chronicle ---
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/fund_raisers.php?id=14
---
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/news.php?id=e594343f96c950c04cb2ce23da21f9fa&mode=details#e594343f96c950c04cb2ce23da21f9fa
A quote...."Iran said on Sunday it has arrested members of a terrorist
network linked to Israel who planned a number of bombings in the
capital ahead of the June presidential election, even as Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran was ready to back a
Palestinian deal with Israel."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Some
Might Call It Treason ---
http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2009/04/26/some-might-call-it-treason/
Must Read - A
quote...."The real Harman story is about Israel intelligence operations
directed against the United States which have brought about the
systematic corruption of the America’s political system by a foreign
power aided and abetted by friends strategically placed throughout the
government and the media. Just imagine if Harman had obtained either
senior intelligence position that she sought. She would have had access
to every sort of top secret intelligence possessed by the US government
and would have been in a good position to influence policy. From the
Israeli perspective, she would have been their spy, a highly placed
agent of influence who could also provide every bit of sensitive
intelligence in the CIA cupboard. The apparent fact that she agreed to
help an agent of a foreign government and was to be rewarded with
advancement makes her something like Kim Philby, the British spy of the
1960s who progressed through his own system while secretly working for
another country, Russia. Philby was a whole lot smarter, but the
essential betrayal was the same. Those who argue that Israel is no Cold
War Russia miss the point, as the national interests of the U.S. and
Israel are far from identical, particularly after a series of
right-wing governments in Tel Aviv has culminated in the current
monstrosity of Netanyahu-Lieberman." --
also posted at ICH
--- http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22503.htm
For much more on this issue
see....Judeo-Christian
C/C & US - The Jane Harman Saga
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/judeochristianconflictcontrolwithinus-weblist-mpg-010409#JANEHARMAN
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Israel's
secret plan for West Bank expansion
---
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israels-secret-plan-for-west-bank-expansion-1674759.html
A quote...."Israel has taken a step towards expanding the largest
settlement in the West Bank, a move Palestinians warn will leave their
future state unviable and further isolate its future capital, East
Jerusalem."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
AI:
Investigate misuse of US Weapons in Gaza ---
http://palestinevideo.blogspot.com/2009/04/ai-investigate-misuse-of-us-weapons-in.html
Alt - (YouTube
-
2 min 44 sec - April 23, 2009) ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eim8OF9vXc8
A quote...."Chris Cobb-Smith, member of Amnesty International's recent
fact-finding mission to Gaza and former British artillery commander,
speaks on the misuse of white phosphorus in Gaza. -
http://www.amnestyusa.org/gaza"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Israeli
Use of Palestinians As Human Shields ---
http://www.countercurrents.org/lendman270409.htm
A quote...."The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights is a Gaza-based
Palestinian NGO mandated "to promote, protect and prevent violations of
human rights in general, and economic, social and cultural rights in
particular, to provide effective aid to those victims of such
violations, and to enhance the quality of life of the community in
(Gaza's) marginalized sectors."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Physicians
offer chilling account of Gaza atrocities ---
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=101419
A quote...."BEIRUT: Renowned Chinese-English physician Dr. Swee Ang
gave a moving testimony on Saturday of Israel's destruction in the Gaza
Strip as witnessed in her recent trip to the tiny Palestinian enclave.
"Cluster bombs, deliberate assassinations of whole families that they
would line up and shoot," Ang said as she listed a number of acts
committed by Israel during its 22-day assault on Gaza in December and
January that left over 1,400 Palestinians dead." --
also posted at Uruknet
--- http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m53771&s1=h1
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Signs
of worsening malnutrition among children ---
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10479.shtml
A quote...."GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - Rising poverty,
unemployment and food insecurity in Gaza, compounded by the recent
23-day Israeli offensive, have increased the threat of child
malnutrition, say UN agencies, health ministry officials and healthcare
non-governmental organizations in Gaza." --
For more on this issue see....The
Method - 05-07-07 - mpg ---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/themethod-blog-mpg-050707
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Nablus:
Palestinian teenager in critical condition after being shot by settler
---
http://atheonews.blogspot.com/2009/04/nablus-palestinian-teenager-in-critical.html
Full quote - An Israeli settler shot and critically a Palestinian
teenager from the northern West Bank village of Madama, south of
Nablus, on Monday. - According to Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian
Authority official in charge of settlement-related issues, an Israeli
from the settlement of Yizhar, deliberately fired at 18-year-old
Muhammad Na'im Faraj,
hitting him in
the back. - Faraj was transferred to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus,
where medical officials said he was in critical condition. - Daghlas
told Ma'an that
Faraj and other
members of his family were tending their land near the settlement when
a settler stepped out of his car and shot at him." - bold by
website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Non-violent
protests against West Bank barrier turn increasingly dangerous
--- http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m53772&s1=h1
A quote...."Palestinian demonstrations intended to be peaceful met with
Israeli teargas, stun grenades and sometimes live ammunition."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Scottish
delegation decides to bring more convoys to break siege on Gaza
---
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7lO4xucIsAdo2NQTC2kbTRACB9A
W%2fq%2bNqkIH3e%2fyIKGqHYZN9HKZCOE3VhNxwh9fCho0%2f9pthqY0xbGMS2iL0hoObV%2fCD0v7iJ%2b13KJ4HdLQ%3d
Action Update - A quote...."GAZA, (PIC)-- Members of the Scottish
delegation who left the besieged Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing
point a couple of days after they paid a solidarity visit to it vowed
to lead more convoys to the Gaza Strip in a bid to rescind the blockade
on the 1.5 million Palestinians living there."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Genocide'
brings Palestinian embassy to Venezuela ---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92776§ionid=351020704
A quote...."The latest Israeli war against the people of Gaza has
pushed Venezuela diplomatically closer to the Palestinians and away
from Tel Aviv. -- Venezuelan and Palestinian officials signed a
document on Monday and formally established diplomatic ties; a
Palestinian embassy was also inaugurated in Caracas."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Flu
Is a Combination of Swine Flu from 3 CONTINENTS, Plus Avian and Human
Flu
---
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/04/flu-is-combination-of-swine-flu-from-3.html
Special Note - Some
quotes...."It is not unprecedented for viruses from several different
animals to "recombine" within a single animal. For example, the 1918
flu pandemic appears to have been a combination of pig and human
viruses." -- "This swine flu is unusual because it combines virus
segments from 3 different animals - birds, pigs and humans - and also
from 3 different continents - Europe, Asia and North America. -- As the
Wall Street Journal puts it:"
"In addition to genetic material
associated with North American swine flu, the strain has gene segments
associated with European and Asian swine flu, North American avian flu
and human flu."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The Swine Flu Outbreak and Other
Bio-Warfare Matters From CLG.....
--- http://www.legitgov.org/
Article#1 -- "
Pentagon Prepared for Flu Outbreak
---
http://www.military.com/news/article/April-2009/pentagon-prepared-for-flu-outbreak.html?col=1186032310810
--- 27 Apr
2009 In a worst-case scenario that the current flu crises threatens
military operations, the Defense Department has already stockpiled
enough vaccines to meet demand across the services, a Pentagon
spokeswoman told Military.com April 27... It was only in January --
well
before the Mexico outbreak -- that the commander of the Pacific
Fleet noted his troops' preparations for a pandemic or epidemic of
infectious flu. "The U.S. Pacific Fleet is part of a broader joint and
combined effort to be prepared to deal with a pandemic flu outbreak,"
Adm. Robert F. Willard said on Jan. 28. [See
CLG ---
http://www.legitgov.org/ --- items:
DoD to
carry out 'military missions' during pandemic, WMD attack
--- http://www.legitgov.org/DoD_to_act_in_pandemic.html
--- 08
Mar 2009 and
DoD to 'augment civilian law' during pandemic or
bioterror attack ---
http://www.legitgov.org/DoD_to_augment_civilian_law.html
--- 11 May 2007.]" --
Paragraph
quoted from CLG
--- http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Article#2 -- "
DHS: Americans should prepare for second flu
pandemic, even if this one 'fizzles out' --
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/reuters/2009/04/26/2009-04-
26T165622Z_01_N26489892_RTRIDST_0_NAPOLITANO-SAYS-US-SHOULD-SHOULD-PREPARE-FOR-NEW-FLU-OUTBREAK-SO.html
--- [
LOL! Not *too*
blatant, are they?] 26 Apr 2009 Homeland Security Secretary Janet
Napolitano says that the US should prepare for a new flu pandemic --
even if this one 'fizzles out.' [See:
CDC to conduct avian flu pandemic experiments --
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1104186283991_7/
--- 27
Dec 2004
The
researchers, from the influenza branch of the Centers for Disease
Control in Atlanta, will mate H5N1 and human flu viruses in a process
known as reassortment. Viable offspring will be tested in animals
thought to be good surrogates for humans,
to
see if the viruses can infect, can be transmitted easily
from infected animals to healthy ones and to note the severity of
disease each provokes.]"
Paragraph
quoted from CLG
--- http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Article#3 -- "
Sanofi-Aventis,
Blackwater of bugs:
Sanofi Aventis Invests 100 Million Euros In New
Facility In Mexico to Produce Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza Vaccine
--- http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/142835.php
--- 2009 Sanofi-aventis, announced the signing of an agreement
with the
Mexican authorities to build a 100 million euro facility to manufacture
influenza vaccine in Mexico. The announcement was made during a
ceremony attended by Felipe Calderon, [unelected] President of Mexico,
and Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, who was in Mexico City for a
State visit. "By building this new facility, sanofi-aventis is proud to
contribute to the strengthening of Mexico's health infrastructure and
is eager to support Mexico's exemplary commitment to public health
through influenza immunization and
pandemic
readiness", said
Chris Viehbacher, Chief Executive Officer of sanofiaventis. [
Now,
that's what I call foresight! See also:
Baxter
working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live
pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor
---
http://www.legitgov.org/baxter_flu_vaccine_260409.html ---
By Lori Price 26 Apr
2009.]
Paragraph quoted from CLG ---
http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
CLG's Other Recent Articles --
List:
WHO confirms pandemic alert level raised to 4
---
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE53Q6JK20090427
Obama's host dies from 'flu-like symptoms'
---
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/obamas-host-dies-from-flulike-symptoms-1674743.html
Obama Admin. Releases Stockpile of Antiflu Virus Drug
---
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ColdandFluNews/story?id=7434061
World 'counting down to pandemic'
---
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/2367167/World-counting-down-to-pandemic
Swine Flu Fears Prompt Global Quarantine Plans
---
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090426/VIDEO/904262000/1021/SPORTS05?Title=Swine-Flu-Fears-Prompt-Global-Quarantine-Plans
Flu pandemic: British government's emergency plan
---
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/apr/27/flu-emergency-plan
Swine flu confirmed in UK
---
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/27/swine-flu-scotland
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
BLN's Recent Articles --
List:
OBAMA
GREETED IN MEXICO BY MAN WHO DIED DAYS LATER OF FLU SYMPTOMS
---
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aEsNownABJ6Q&refer=worldwide
Possible
Outbreak At NYC Prep School
--- http://wcbstv.com/health/swine.flu.nyc.2.994071.html
8
Students Test 'Probable'
---
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/75-Kids-From--1-NY-School-Sick-in-Possible-Swine-Flu-Scare.html
Mexico
City residents staying at home
---
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE53N22820090425
Calderon
Declares Emergency; Power to Quarantine
---
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aEsNownABJ6Q&refer=worldwide
WHO
declares international concern
---
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D97PNI383&show_article=1
CLOSE
TO 1,000 SUSPECTED CASES
---
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE53N22820090424?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&rpc=22&sp=true
HEALTH
EXPERTS CONSIDER RESPONSES TO OUTBREAK
---
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aoGUVYG8hWLs
2 cases found in
Kansas
--- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30398682/
New
swine flu likely widespread
--- http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N25472826.htm
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
A Conversation
About the Economy ---
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10251
Alt
-- (Alt inclds prvw & ful lgth) - (Google Vid - 424 - 56:01 -
Apr 27, 2009) ---
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5175875799956521756
Must View Video - Charlie
Rose interviews.... Joseph Stiglitz, Kate Kelly, Andrew Ross Sorkin and
Bill Ackma. -- A conversation about the economy with Bill Ackman, major
investor and
hedge fund manager of Pershing Square Capital Management LP, Kate Kelly
of The Wall Street Journal, Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times
and Joseph Stiglitz, economist and a member of Columbia University
faculty."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Europe
faces ever deepening recession ---
http://wsws.org/articles/2009/apr2009/euro-a28.shtml
Deflation Alert - A
quote...."Particularly revealing in the International Monetary Fund’s
World Economic Outlook issued last week is its estimation of the
precarious state of the European economies. -- The IMF described the
United States as lying at the centre of the global economic crisis, but
also predicted a worsening recession in Europe. It estimates that the
euro zone’s economy will contract by 4.2 percent this year,
significantly worse than its January forecast of a 2 percent decline."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
MSM:
GM to cut 21,000 US factory jobs, shed Pontiac ---
http://dprogram.net/2009/04/27/msm-gm-to-cut-21000-us-factory-jobs-shed-pontiac/
Deflation Alert - A
quote...."General Motors Corp. could be majority owned by the federal
government under a massive restructuring plan laid out Monday that will
cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year and phase out the storied
Pontiac brand.
The plan, which includes an offer to swap roughly $27 billion in bond
debt for GM stock, would leave current shareholders holding just 1
percent of the century-old company, which is fighting for its life in
the worst auto sales climate in 27 years."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
U.S.
toxic-asset plan stirs fears ---
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-toxic-assets27-2009apr27,0,7994438.story
A quote...."The government will take on a mountain of risk while trying
to create an artificial market for the loans and debt securities.
Critics worry about possible fraud and further banking system damage."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Money
for Nothing -
But
the Chicks Ain't Free
---
http://www.economicpopulist.org/?q=content/your-tax-dollars-bought-hookers-wall-street
---
mpg
---
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/opinion/27krugman.html?_r=1&th&emc=th
Special Note - On July
15, 2007, The New York Times published an article with the headline
“The Richest of the Rich, Proud of a New Gilded Age.” The most
prominently featured of the “new titans” was Sanford Weill, the former
chairman of Citigroup, who insisted that he and his peers in the
financial sector had earned their immense wealth through their
contributions to society." --
For
more on this issue see....Having
Fun With Your Tax Dollars
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/havingfunwithyourtaxdollars-weblist-mpg-reficultnias-110808.html
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Treasury
Needs Record $361B April-June Borrowing
---
http://www.roguegovernment.com/Treasury_Needs_Record_%24361B_April-June_Borrowing/15412/0/8/8/Y/M.html
Related Article - A quote...."The Treasury Department said Monday it
will need to borrow $361 billion in the current April-June quarter, a
record amount for that period. - It's the third straight quarter the
government's borrowing needs have set records for those periods. -
Treasury also estimated it will need to borrow $515 billion in the
July-September quarter, down slightly from the $530 billion borrowed
during the year-ago period. The all-time high of $569 billion was set
in the October-December period."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Rabid
With Debt ---
http://www.lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner377.html
Related Article - A quote...." How do you feel now?” asked a reporter
for a local investment magazine. “I mean, you’re a contrarian…and you
were right about so much?” -- “Not exactly,” we explained. “Yes, we saw
the problem coming. And we expected the government would do all the
wrong things – which it has. But we never imagined that they’d do so
many stupid things all at once.” -- There are only two examples from
modern history of depressions such as this – the ’30s in America and
the ’90s in Japan. Both times, the governments did stupid things. But
this time, the U.S. government has outdone them all. They’ve committed
$13 trillion to programs that make no sense theoretically…and have
never worked when they’ve been tried."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Mish
Shedlock: It's Fallen and It Can't Get Up
---
http://www.lewrockwell.com/podcast/?p=episode&name=2009-04-27_118_its_fallen_and_it_cant_get_up.mp3
Audio Interview -
Regarding the importance of
debt/insolvency versus the so-called "credit crunch". - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
==========
========== ====
Fed
To Tell BofA, Citi To Raise Billions More In Capital
---
http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/04/fed-to-tell-bofa-citi-to-raise-billions.html
A quote...."WSJ has yet another leaked version of the stress test
results. In summary, both Bank of America and Citi will be urged to
raise up to billions more in capital. As this is likely yet another
form of PR manipulation, ZH will not comment on this topic until more
data is available
." -- For more on
this issue see....The
Green Light - 01-16-08 - mpg ---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/thegreenlight-blog-mpg-011608
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Sunday April 26th 2009 - links
page
The
Financial Barbarians at the Gate ---
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22490.htm
Must Listen Audio Analysis
- A
quote...."The Financial Barbarians at the Gate" with financial
economist and historian, Dr. Michael Hudson. Europe; worsening
financial situation and indebtedness; the history of banking and the
criminalization of the banking system; tax policy; real estate asset
inflation; US imperialism via the monetary system; neoliberal/neofeudal
economics; classical political economy; finance capital breaking away
from industrial capital; the financial crisis leading to a political
crisis; similarities with the Roman Republic; what measures labor
should take." --
For more on this
issue see.....Enforcing
the Rules -- Too Little, Too Late - 02-27-09 - mpg. ---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/enforcingtherulestoolittletoolate-mpg-reficultnias-022709
---
See also the quote shown
below....
"[To the possessor of money
capital] “the process of production appears merely as an unavoidable
intermediate link, as a necessary evil for the sake of money-making.
All nations with a capitalist mode of production are therefore seized
periodically by a feverish attempt to make money without the
intervention of the process of production.”— *Karl Marx*, Capital, Volume II,
“The Circuit of Money Capital”
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Poor
debtors go to jail and are billed for the privilege ---
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4634.shtml
Special Note - A
quote...."A doctor in the Midwest wrote to me again this past Friday
about how the economic mess is destroying people. -- He wrote, “One of
my patients is a . . . 40ish CPA and she was in for an eye problem
yesterday . . . She was distraught over the state of the economy and
its effect on her clients. She has had many this year who have lost
their homes to foreclosure. To her -- and her clients’ -- dismay, the
bank or lending institution is issuing 1099 forms for re-po’d property
to the victims. Apparently, since the hapless former homeowners are
effectively ‘forgiven’ the remaining amounts on their loans, that is
imputed as earned income and they are turned into the IRS for large tax
liabilities!!! How’s that for justice? She said that she had actually
had people speak seriously about killing themselves!”
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
capital well is running dry and some economies will wither
---
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/5220118/The-capital-well-is-running-dry-and-some-economies-will-wither.html
A quote...."The world is running out of capital. We cannot take it for
granted that the global bond markets will prove deep enough to fund the
$6 trillion or so needed for the Obama fiscal package, US-European bank
bail-outs, and ballooning deficits almost everywhere."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Here
They Come To Save The Day ---
http://www.lewrockwell.com/schiff/schiff17.html
A quote...."With much fanfare this week, Congress and the
Administration began a series of actions designed to protect
over-leveraged consumers from the high fees imposed by credit card
lenders. As with most other initiatives devised by government, this
policy will create a host of unintended consequences that will
undermine the benefit the program hopes to create."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Taking
Liberties with Price Stability ---
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig10/mogambo8.html
A quote...."Paul Volcker, the legendary former chairman of the Federal
Reserve who heroically defeated a raging inflation, against powerful
political opposition, which was the result of massive government
spending in the ’60s and ’70s on wars and increased entitlement
spending, and who is now mysteriously part of the ridiculous Obama team
of economic nitwits occupying in the White House, has finally said
something!"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
A
Glimmer of Hope ---
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FM71j6-VkNE/SfTzSUTN-QI/AAAAAAAACJo/F9skNKTaT-Y/s1600-h/GlimmerofHope.jpg
A great magazine cover and a
pictorial example of what always happens to the "little" financial guy.
- mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Do It for the Sake of Your
Children
04-26-09 - revised 04-27-09
mpg
Democratic
complicity and what "politicizing justice" really means
---
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/24/democrats/index.html
Must Read - A
quote...."Bush-defending opponents of investigations and prosecutions
think they've discovered a trump card: the claim that Democratic
leaders such as Nancy Pelosi, Jay Rockefeller and Jane Harman were
briefed on the torture programs and assented to them. The core
assumption here -- shared by most establishment pundits -- is that the
call for criminal investigations is nothing more than a partisan-driven
desire to harm Republicans and Bush officials ("retribution"), and if
they can show that some Democratic officials might be swept up in the
inquiry, then, they assume, that will motivate investigation proponents
to think twice."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Obama,
Democrats move to block torture investigation ---
http://wsws.org/articles/2009/apr2009/tort-a25.shtml
Special Note - Obama™
Update --
A quote...."In the face of mounting opposition from the Republican
Party and the national security apparatus, President Obama and leading
Democrats have indicated they will block any independent commission to
investigate the widespread torture of prisoners under the Bush
administration in “the war on terror.” -
also posted at GlobRsrch
---
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13369
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Straight
to the Top ---
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/04/hbc-90004849
Special Note - A
quote...."The torture trail starts and ends in the White House. That is
perhaps the most inescapable conclusion to be drawn from the flurry of
documents released in the last week—first the OLC memoranda, then a
newly declassified report of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and
finally an amazing document that Attorney General Eric Holder released
yesterday, which has still gained little attention. The Holder note
presents a summary of CIA interaction with the White House in
connection with the approval of the torture techniques that John Yoo
calls the “Bush Program.” Holder’s memo refers to the participants by
their job titles only, but John Sifton runs it through a decoder and
gives us the actual names. Here’s a key passage:"
also posted at ICH
--- http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22491.htm
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Democrats'
'Battered Wife Syndrome' ---
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/042509.html
Special Note - A
quote...."In recent years, the Washington political dynamic has often
resembled an abusive marriage, in which the bullying husband (the
Republicans) slaps the wife and kids around, and the battered wife (the
Democrats) makes excuses and hides the ugly bruises from outsiders to
keep the family together."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Editor's Special Note: By the way gentle readers, let this
website editor assure you that there will be no indictments or
independent commissions or any special prosecutors appointed whatsoever
regarding what the Neocons did to promote illegal wars, torture, 9/11,
the destruction of this nation's constitution or the rape of this
nation's treasury at any time now, or in the foreseeable future.
You're probably asking yourself how could anyone make such a blanket,
categorical statement, with such utter finality....
well just think about it....
Did Bush pardon any of his cronies despite numerous articles and
assertions stating he would do so, some of which were even posted on
this website. The answer is of course, no, he didn't.
Why not? Why would Bush take such an enormous risk given the
mountains
of evidence against him and more importantly, against those who
supported him? Why would he take such a gamble knowing that he
and his
fellow Neocon travelers were actively hated and despised by a majority
of his fellow countrymen?
As you ask yourself these questions no doubt a horribly dark suspicion
has probably just formed in your mind and you, like this website
editor, have jumped to the only logical and obvious conclusion.
They made a deal. Probably as far back as when Nancy Pelosi
stated
she'd "take impeachment off the table" the Demo faction of the
DemoRepub party made a deal with the Bush family, Neocons and the MIOC
elites. No doubt they said "hold an "honest" election; allow us
to
assume power and "service" our Bankster/East Coast/APAIC elites and we
won't prosecute anyone from your faction - EVER. It's as simple
and
easy as that to get away with mass murder, theft and pillage in this
country.
One should note that if Obama does not allow investigations into the
prior administration's illegal conduct, along with the required
subsequent prosecutions, he will be violating several treaties the US
has already signed with the international community. Essentially making
his future signature, Congress's legal assent and this Nation's word,
effectively not worth the paper they're written on. If that happens
there would be absolutely no reason for any country or international
organization doing "business" with this nation in the future to ever
expect it to honor any of its agreements or commitments, including
those of supporting its currency or paying back its bonds.
One should also note that if
any of those tortured were tortured to
fabricate evidence or coerce false confessions, and because of these
activities the true perpetrators who carried out the attacks on 9/11
were not properly identified, Obama has possibly opened himself up to
charges of obstruction of justice regarding not only the cover-up of
the torture itself, but also regarding the ongoing cover-up as to who
actually
facilitated and financed the crime of 9/11.
But don't blame the DemoRepubs for all this; instead, for those of you
who voted for Obama or Bush you should blame only yourselves. Next time
you go into the polling booth, assuming we the "little people" are even
"allowed" to go back into the polling booth again, please vote for
someone other than a DemoRepub.
If not for your conscience or for that of your own future welfare....at
least do it for the sake of your children. – mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Torture?
It probably killed more Americans than 9/11
---
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/torture-it-probably-killed-more-americans-than-911-1674396.html
A quote...."The use of torture by the US has proved so
counter-productive that it may have led to the death of as many US
soldiers as civilians killed in 9/11, says the leader of a crack US
interrogation team in Iraq." --
also
posted at ICH
--- http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22497.htm
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
What
Should Obama Do? ---
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/042609b.html
posted
at Consortium
News ---
https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/consortiumnews/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=2043
Obama™ Update --
A quote...."President Obama is displaying ambivalence in handling the
issue of torture and abuse. He clearly wants to do the right thing and,
as a result, has put a stop to torture and closed down the CIA’s secret
prisons where the worst abuses occurred."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Torture
and American Exceptionalism ---
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/042609a.html
posted
at Consortium
News ---
https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/consortiumnews/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=2043
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."If President Barack Obama refuses to hold
the Bush administration accountable for torture, his decision would be
the latest example of American exceptionalism, the concept that the
United States doesn’t have to operate by the same moral and legal
standards as other nations."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Sweden spied on
CIA 'terror flights': report ---
http://www.thelocal.se/19050/20090424/
A quote...."The government led by former Prime Minister Göran
Persson knew that Sweden was used as a transit destination for
clandestine CIA flights transporting suspected terrorists, according to
a report in the Expressen newspaper on Friday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Spain’s
Socialist Party government suppresses torture probe of Bush officials
--- http://wsws.org/articles/2009/apr2009/pers-a25.shtml
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."The Obama administration and Spain’s
Socialist Party (PSOE) government are working in tandem to prevent the
prosecution of top Bush officials."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
President of
Everything ---
http://www.amconmag.com/article/2009/apr/20/00006/
Must Read -- Obama™
Update -- A quote...."In December 2007, Sen. Barack Obama’s
reassurances to the Boston Globe suggested that he understood
constitutional limits on executive and government power. He knew that
there were things the “president does not have power under the
Constitution” to do, including unilaterally authorizing military action
and surveilling citizens without warrants. He said he would “reject the
Bush administration’s claim that the president has plenary authority
under the Constitution to detain U.S. citizens without charges as
unlawful enemy combatants.” -- "But in just three months, we have seen
what Obama means when he talks about “reach.” He doesn’t mean “our
reach” but his own. His sense of that reach, and the abrupt and scary
speed with which he’s used it, marks him as an executive with a
tentacled grip—multiple, crushing, inescapable. No longer the cautious
critic of presidential power of the campaign trail, he now sees nothing
as beyond his grasp."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Anger
at deadly U.S. military raid in southern Iraq ---
http://wire.antiwar.com/2009/04/26/anger-at-deadly-us-military-raid-in-southern-iraq/
A quote...."BASRA, Iraq, April 26 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iraqis
protested against U.S. forces on Sunday after U.S. soldiers killed a
man and a woman in an overnight raid that was condemned by the
provincial governor."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Iraq: US raid
'crime' that breaks security pact ---
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m53729&s1=h1
A quote...."BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's prime minister denounced a deadly
U.S. raid on Sunday as a "crime" that violated the security pact with
Washington and demanded American commanders hand over those responsible
to face possible trial in Iraqi courts."
also posted at Google
---
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD97QD2T80
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Two
Iraqi commanders detained after deadly US raid ---
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20090426/twl-two-iraqi-commanders-detained-after-2802f3e.html
A quote...."Iraq detained two of its own army commanders on Sunday
after the US military carried out a deadly house raid without the
knowledge of the Iraqi government, the defence ministry said." --
also posted at WarInIraq
--- http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/195694
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
[Britian's]
military humiliation in Afghanistan is a scandal - and the cover-up is
an even greater one
---
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/5220226/Our-military-humiliation-in-Afghanistan-is-a-scandal---and-the-cover-
up-is-an-even-greater-one.html
A quote...."One of the best kept secrets of our recent politics, thanks
to the news management of the Ministry of Defence, was how our
occupation of southern Iraq turned into one of the greatest
humiliations in the history of the British Army. In the end, after our
hopelessly ill-equipped and undermanned contingent had been forced to
abandon to the insurgents the two main cities of the region, Basra and
Al Amarah, the Americans and Iraqis had to intervene to take them back.
Last Christmas, having failed in our mission, we were contemptuously
ordered to leave his country by the Iraqi prime minister Nouri
al-Maliki." --
also posted at
WarInIraq
--- http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/195695
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
'Civilians
flee' Pakistan clashes ---
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/04/200942734754696588.html
A quote...."Thousands of people are flooding out of Lower Dir as the
Pakistan army takes on Taliban fighters in the district. Civilians were
streaming out of the area due to the army's "accurate" and "spread out"
assault a source told Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera's correspondent in
Pakistan, on Monday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Presidential
Paranoia - Mubarak's Expanding Enemies List ---
http://www.counterpunch.org/amiri04242009.html
A quote...."A telltale sign of a dictator’s waning influence is
increasing paranoia. And this is exactly what Egypt’s U.S.-backed
dictator, President Hosni Mubarak, is suffering from. -- At a time when
criticism over Egypt’s abetment of the Israeli siege and attack on Gaza
is intensifying, and its traditional role as leader of the Arab world
is being eclipsed, Mubarak’s standing and legitimacy in the eyes of his
people has plummeted. His paranoia, conversely, has skyrocketed."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Calls
for further fragmentation of Balkan states continue
---
http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/2009-04-25/Calls_for_further_fragmentation_of_Balkan_states_continue.html
A quote...."The state of Bosnia-Herzegovina was formed over a decade
ago as a result of the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
But after a bloody civil war that tore the region apart, the peace is
still far from being perfect. Some groups never accepted the ethnic
melting pot of Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats that is modern Bosnia."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Ecuador's
Correa wins landslide victory -
Hip
Hip Hooray!! That's a LANDSLIDE,
all you Neocon morons. - mpg
---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92667§ionid=351020706
A quote...."Leftist President Rafael Correa has declared victory in the
presidential elections as Ecuador's first leader chosen without a
runoff in 30 years. -- "The people have given us the most splendorous
victory of probably the last 50 years," Correa said at a press
conference in his home town of Guayaquil Sunday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Mercenaries
Exposed at Buenos Aires Book Fair ---
http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=74523&Itemid=1
A quote...."Buenos Aires, Apr 26 (Prensa Latina) The despicable role of
US-hired mercenaries against the Cuban Revolution all over the world
will be exposed at the International Book Fair of Buenos Aires on its
Cuba Day. Five books on that subject, all of them written by Professor
and Researcher Jose Luis Mendez, will be available at the fair,
attended by more than 1,250 exhibitors from 42 countries and two
international agencies."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
POLITICS-BOLIVIA:
Unraveling the Conspiracy ---
http://ipsnews.net/text/news.asp?idnews=46627
Special Note - A
quote...."LA PAZ, Apr 24 (IPS) - The dismantling of a commando made up
mainly of men described by the Bolivian government as foreign
mercenaries could lead authorities to the people who organised around a
dozen different attacks carried out since 2006 in the city of Santa
Cruz."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
Irishman and the 'plot' to kill the Bolivian President
---
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-irishman-and-the-plot-to-kill-the-bolivian-president-1674009.html
Related Article - A quote...."Police say the would-be assassins were
captained by Eduardo Rozsa Flores, who led an extraordinary life that
began and ended in Santa Cruz, a hotbed of Morales opposition. Mr
Flores, who was born in the city in 1960 to Hungarian and Spanish
parents, grew up in Hungary, where he was a communist youth leader and
acted as a translator for Carlos the Jackal. After covering the start
of the Yugoslav wars as a journalist, Mr Flores formed an international
volunteers' brigade fighting for Croatian independence. When the war
ended in 1995, he turned to writing poetry and political essays, played
himself in a film based on his life, swapped Catholicism for Islam and
supported causes from Hungarian nationalism to autonomy for Santa
Cruz." --
Gee, one wonders just who
he could possibly been working for...(wink, wink). Perhaps he
worked for a firm that was a subcontractor for Casting Individuals
Associates? - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Jane’s
Harman Us ---
http://www.lewrockwell.com/akers/akers108.html ---
More on the "Bimbo
From Rand"
A quote...."Few sights are as delicious as a tyrant swinging high
overhead, hoist by her own petard. The one currently dangling aloft is
Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA).
She’s worth
half a billion dollars,
[Crime
really does pay in the Beltway - mpg] making her the wealthiest
thief in the den of ’em we call Congress, with a mansion that can host
"over 120" guests for dinner. -- Her riches haven’t kept her from
leeching off taxpayers near Los Angeles for seven terms, though they
may explain why she pegs herself as "the best Republican in the
Democratic Party." So good a Republican, in fact, that she rabidly
defended the Bush Administration’s domestic spying. Indeed, when the
New York Times first revealed a few years ago that the regime was
reading our emails and eavesdropping on our phone calls, Jane
indignantly suggested that we need "some limits on press immunity [to
prosecution]"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Pentagon's Cyber
Command to Be Based at NSA's Fort Meade ---
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m53733&s1=h1
A quote...."While one can reasonably support government efforts to
protect critical infrastructure such as electrical grids, chemical
plants, nuclear power stations or the nation's air traffic control
system from potentially devastating attacks that would endanger the
health and safety of millions of Americans, these goals can be achieved
by writing better programs. Yet from its inception, Cyber Command has
been theorized as a nodal point for launching crippling attacks against
the civilian and military infrastructure of imperialism's enemies."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Every
[British] phone call, email or website visit 'to be monitored'
---
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5215413/Every-phone-call-email-or-website-visit-to-be-monitored.html
Police State Alert - A
quote...."The proposals will give police and security services the
power to snoop on every single communication made by the public with
the data then likely to be stored in an enormous national database."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Incredible
Grilling of UK Diplomat! ---
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/04/23/incredible-grilling-of-uk-diplomat/
Must View Video - A
quote.......
"BBC reporter for Newsnight,
Paxman grills the UK Ambassador on the walk-out. This video wasn't
available for anyone outside the UK, and after a few hours, even they
couldn't watch it anymore! It is an incredibly important excerpt of a
document on the nature of what the journalist clearly recognises as a
"stunt" and the Ambassador insists upon calling a "protest", fallling
all over his own rhetoric in the process."
Jeremy Paxman: What is the difference between Zionism and racism?
Peter Gooderham: Well we see the two as being quite distinct…
Jeremy Paxman: Yeah what’s the difference?
Peter Gooderham: Well Zionism is a political movement related to
the establishment of a homeland…
Jeremy Paxman [quietly]: So are some forms of racism...
Peter Gooderham:…a Jewish homeland, in the er…in what is now Israel and
racism is something else. I mean racism is, I think we all know it when
we see it and it’s not, it’s not that, and we have fought long and hard
at the United Nations to keep that, to maintain that distinction."
Also posted at ICH
-- http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22495.htm
Check out the comments
at ICH, ---
http://www.haloscan.com/comments/tf2777/article22495_htm/
---
the first three posted
below....
Apartheid, bigotry, and racism
are unacceptable in our world. - Israeli leaders are guilty of the
above. - Ahmadinejad was simply telling the world the truth. - America
and the West are guilty of colonialism, genocide and imperialism. - The
Elite will implode the economy once and for all. -- *john* | 04.25.09 - 6:27 pm |
The Iranian president made a brilliant speech and was soundly applauded
at the end!! - For the UK shills of zionism to walk out was temporary
riddance of smelly rubbish. - Would that the United States. UK, and
Austrailia had such a leader instead of the smelly shills of israeli
zionism!! -- *The Brainy
Zek* | 04.25.09 - 6:51 pm |
[Partial quote] Is the
President of Iran right, or is he wrong? - Why shouldn't the nations of
the world not be unified in condemning Israel's embargo of Gaza? - Is
Israel practicing ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian
population or no? - Hasn't the Israeli regime spent the past 60 years
terrorizing their neighborhood? Why did they invade and destroy Lebanon
in 2006? - Why are the Israeli and US leaders so xenophobic and
psychotic? so militaristic? and aggressive? Why do they subordinate
their peoples and squander their public wealth in a - quest for
conquest and Empire? What is wrong with these governments, and with
their war-loving policies?...." -- *A. Z. Arrow* | 04.25.09 - 7:26 pm |
========== ==========
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
Testimony:
Settlers assault pregnant woman with sticks and stones, April '09
--- http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m53670&hd=&size=1&l=e
A quote...."I am eight months’ pregnant. On Friday, 10 April, I took my
sheep to graze in an area southwest of our village, not far from the
cattle farm of the Ma’on settlement. I was with other women from the
village, among them Amneh Sallem 'Eid al-Hazalin and Khadrah Suliman
al-Hazalin, and a group of children under the age of 15, among them
Tareq Sallem 'Eid al-Hazalin, 13, Musa Suliman al-Hazalin, 12, and
'Omar Suliman al-Hazalin, 10."
also posted at WarInIraq
--- http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/195658
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
'Israel
blackmailing Palestinian patients' ---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92646§ionid=351020202
Some quotes...."Israel is extorting information about resistance groups
in the Gaza Strip from Palestinian patients in exchange for medical
treatment, Hamas claims. Hamas Health Minister Dr. Bassem Naim on
Sunday claimed that Tel Aviv is providing medical treatment to
Palestinian patients in exchange for intelligence about the resistance
operatives and figures in Gaza, Ynet reported Sunday." -- "
He said patients who refused to cooperate
were not allowed to cross over for treatment in Israel. Sick
Palestinians are questioned for hours in the sun before being subjected
to a humiliating physical search, Naim told the Scotts." - bold by
website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Awad:
The Palestinian people will not allow anyone to waive their rights
---
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7KEFDVSOGkfKdLzKr2Yt1bxlFm
Dy3eh%2bHPqgakw6yPljdM9lTFtZ1JrGEyHqOvy8hkHf6arp4pp6uEWL07G8TKp7AuBA5T2LrD1uc55x3V6M%3d
A quote...."GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Mohamed Awad, the secretary-general of
the Palestinian cabinet, stated that the Palestinian people and
government would not allow anyone to give up the Palestinian rights and
constants which are guaranteed by all international conventions."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Legal
group: Israel must allow UN investigation to proceed
--- http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10483.shtml
A quote...."Calling the Israeli military's self-exoneration "lacking in
credibility," the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) on Thursday
categorically rejected the Israeli military's findings that its
soldiers did not commit war crimes during "Operation Cast Lead" in the
Gaza Strip. The NLG reiterates its call to US President Barack Obama to
lend strong support to the UN -- commissioned investigation into the
conduct of both Israel and Hamas during Israel's 22-day offensive --
something Hamas has already agreed to, but Israel has indicated it will
block."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Independent
media and Gaza: When the mainstream is M.I.A. ---
http://rabble.ca/news/2009/04/independent-media-and-gaza-when-mainstream-mia
A quote...."Major international media networks failed to cover the war
from the ground in the Gaza Strip, as Israel barred international
reporters from entering the besieged territory for the majority of the
conflict. As global news networks including CNN and the BBC had no
permanent correspondents on the ground in Gaza, major media
institutions covered the conflict from the outside, reporting on the
war from hilltops in Israel."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
Deafening Silence of Elie Wiesel ---
http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/the-deafening-silence-of-elie-wiesel/
A quote...."One would think that a man that supposedly suffered would
be the first to speak out against others suffering….. but one would be
wrong to assume something like that when the person involved makes his
living by wailing about his own suffering…. caring nothing about the
plight of others. -- This is what the ‘holocaust industry’ is all
about….. it’s all about money and the hell with everyone else! Below is
one person’s opinion on this matter…..
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The Swine Flu Outbreak and Other
Bio-Warfare Matters From CLG.....
--- http://www.legitgov.org/
CLG_Flu_Oddities ---
http://www.legitgov.org/CLG_Flu_Oddities.xml ---
database
A quote...."Bio-War, false flag terror alerts, bird flu and war
profiteering by the Bush Dictatorship and neo-con Nazis."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Article #1 -- "
Drug companies prepare for swine flu epidemic
---
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/pharmaceuticalsandchemicals/5225935/Drugs-companies-prepare-for-swine-flu-epidemic.html
--- 26 Apr 2009
Pharmaceutical stocks are expected to rise on
Monday
morning, after Roche and GlaxoSmithKline said they may need to
supply millions of vaccine doses to help protect against the swine flu
that has killed up to 81 people in Mexico. 26 Apr 2009 Vaccines from
Roche, which sells Tamiflu, and GSK, maker of Relenza, have been shown
to work against viral samples of the new disease. The drugs were also
used to help protect against outbreaks of bird flu in Asia,
providing
windfall profits for the companies. Roche confirmed it already has
a stockpile of 3m packs of Tamiflu ready for use by the World Health
Organisation (WHO). [
Well, knock me over with a feather!! Instead of
facing trial and execution for war crimes, Donald Rumsfeld is going to
make a killing - maybe even greater than Rudy Giuliani/'Lucky Larry'
killings from the 9/11 terror attacks. See:
Rumsfeld's growing stake in Tamiflu
---
http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/31/news/newsmakers/fortune_rumsfeld/
---
Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights
holder, sees portfolio value growing 31 Oct 2005 The
prospect of a bird flu outbreak may be panicking people around the
globe,
but it's proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead
Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to
Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that's now the most-sought after drug in
the world. Rumsfeld served as Gilead (Research)'s chairman from 1997
until he joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a
Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to
federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld.]" --
Paragraph quoted from CLG --
http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Article #2 -- "
Obama orders active measures to deal with swine flu
---
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/27/content_11262791.htm
--- 26 Apr 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered his
administration
to take active and aggressive measures to deal with swine flu, which
has infected at least 20 people in the United States. As one of the
measures, the administration declared a public health emergency on
Sunday. [See:
DoD to
carry out 'military missions' during pandemic, WMD attack
--- http://www.legitgov.org/DoD_to_act_in_pandemic.html
--- 08
Mar 2009 and
DoD to 'augment civilian law' during pandemic or
bioterror attack ---
http://www.legitgov.org/DoD_to_augment_civilian_law.html
--- 11 May 2007.]"
Paragraph quoted from CLG ---
http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Article#3 --
"Mission
accomplished:
CDC to conduct avian flu pandemic experiments
---
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1104186283991_7/
--- 27
Dec
2004
Can the highly virulent flu strain -- known as H5N1 -- actually acquire
the ability to spread easily to and among people? And if it can, how
likely is that dreaded event to occur? Early in the new year, U.S.
scientists will begin experiments that should provide some answers to
those questions... The
researchers, from the influenza branch of the
Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, will
mate H5N1 and human flu viruses in a process known as reassortment.
Viable offspring will be tested in animals thought to be good
surrogates for humans, to see if the viruses can infect, can be
transmitted easily from infected animals to healthy ones and to note
the severity of disease each provokes." --
Paragraph quoted from CLG ---
http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Article#4 -- "
Baxter
working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live
pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor
---
http://www.legitgov.org/baxter_flu_vaccine_260409.html ---
By Lori Price 26 Apr 2009
The
OMFG moment of the century. Illinois-based
Baxter working on vaccine to 'stop' swine flu outbreak in Mexico
(25 Apr 2009). But, looky here!
Baxter admits sending live avian
flu viruses to subcontractor --People familiar with biosecurity
rules are dismayed by evidence that
human H3N2 and avian H5N1
viruses somehow co-mingled [!] in the Orth-Donau facility. (27 Feb
2009) Is Baxter International taking a page from the Blackwater
playbook? Just as Blackwater/Xe keep on killing to justify their
multi-billion dollar contracts to provide 'security' in Iraq and
Afghanistan, Baxter International is poised to make *billions* to
vaccinate people against their pandemic." --
Paragraph quoted from CLG ---
http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
CLG's Other Recent Articles --
List:
Baxter
working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live
pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor
--- http://www.legitgov.org/baxter_flu_vaccine_260409.html
Swine flu: passengers inspected at Heathrow
---
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5225730/Swine-flu-passengers-flying-in-to-Heathrow-from-Mexico-inspected-on-runway.html
Swine flu: two admitted to hospital in Scotland as
world braces for more cases
---
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5225729/Swine-flu-two-admitted-to-hospital-in-Scotland-as-world-braces-for-more-cases.html
US declares public health emergency for swine flu
---
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/26/AR2009042601194.html
Obama Was In Mexico For Swine Flu Outbreak
---
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/25/politics/main4968913.shtml
As Nations Try to Contain Flu, N.Y. Cases Are
Confirmed
--- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/world/27flu.html
Israeli suspected of having swine flu in Mideast first
---
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gW5lBZvuysU9NLUb7vMhSt2mC3UA
Briton quarantined as killer flu spreads
---
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6169120.ece
New Zealand quarantines 25 amid swine flu alert
---
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g-G1kSAM9yaH00eBrXD2S5s-3ZhgD97Q12800
Minister: 10 NZ students likely have swine flu
---
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g-G1kSAM9yaH00eBrXD2S5s-3ZhgD97Q3UI82
Mexico Takes Powers to Isolate Cases of Swine Flu
---
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/world/americas/26mexico.html
Mexico declares national emergency amid outbreak
--- http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/6392734.html
Texas Gov orders 37,430 courses of antiviral
medications from Strategic National Stockpile
---
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/042509dntswswinesanantonio.23ffd9f.html
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The Swine Flu Outbreak and Other
Bio-Warfare Matters From Alex Jones.....
--- http://infowars.net/
Alex
Jones Tv (HD) 1/9:Swine Flu Special Report ---
http://www.prisonplanet.com/alex-jones-tv-swine-flu-special-report.html
- Pt1
--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IhrIbIts-8
- Pt2
--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH4jIn2I-mw
- Pt3
--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewt0g_HPRus
- Pt4
--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9Ux-okjjR4
- Pt5
--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7BCiq9rW-I
- Pt6
--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_VA82Niam8
- Pt7
--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f2XOoR-Q3Q
- Pt8
--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki_bmxU3CMM
- Pt9
--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh3GUIhuEug
Must View Videos - A
quote...."Alex makes an emergency broadcast on the latest developments
with the spread of swine flu."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Alex Jone's Other Recent
Articles - List
France
finds 2 suspected cases of swine flu
---
http://www.prisonplanet.com/france-finds-2-suspected-cases-of-swine-flu.html
NZ
students ‘likely’ to have swine flu
---
http://www.prisonplanet.com/nz-students-likely-to-have-swine-flu.html
Australian
GPs warned as swine flu spreads from Mexico
---
http://www.prisonplanet.com/australian-gps-warned-as-swine-flu-spreads-from-mexico.html
UK
on alert for deadly swine flu
---
http://www.prisonplanet.com/uk-on-alert-for-deadly-swine-flu.html
Briton
quarantined as killer flu spreads
---
http://www.prisonplanet.com/briton-quarantined-as-killer-flu-spreads.html
Peru,
Costa Rica heighten alert for possible swine flu outbreak
---
http://www.prisonplanet.com/peru-costa-rica-heighten-alert-for-possible-swine-flu-outbreak.html
Asian
governments move swiftly to flu crisis mode
---
http://www.prisonplanet.com/asian-governments-move-swiftly-to-flu-crisis-mode.html
Swine
Flu Attack Likely A Beta Test
---
http://www.prisonplanet.com/swine-flu-attack-likely-a-beta-test.html
FACTBOX:
Economic costs of a flu pandemic
---
http://www.prisonplanet.com/factbox-economic-costs-of-a-flu-pandemic.html
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Additional Articles on the
Current "Outbreak" and possible future ones
New
swine flu feared to be weaponized strain ---
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4631.shtml
A quote...."
WMR
--- http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/ --- According
to two mainstream media journalists, one in Mexico City and
the other in Jakarta, who spoke to WMR on background, they are
convinced that the current outbreak of a new strain of swine flu in
Mexico and some parts of the United States is the result of the
introduction of a human-engineered pathogen that could result in a
widespread global pandemic, with potentially catastrophic consequences
for domestic and international travel and commerce.
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Army
Biolab’s Missing Vials May Never Be Found (Which, Oddly, Isn’t That
Scary)
--- http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/04/ft-detricks-bug
A quote...."Vials of a
potentially
harmful pathogen have gone missing at Fort Detrick, the Army’s main
biodefense lab. But don’t freak out. The samples of Venezuelan Equine
Encephalitis (VEE) virus are relatively small. The Army has found “no
evidence yet of criminal misconduct,” the Washington Post reports. And
the virus usually causes only “a mild flulike illness” — although
“brain inflammation and death” are possible, too. “It has potential for
use as a biological weapon
but is far less lethal than some other agents the lab works with.” --
also posted at RogueGov
---
http://www.roguegovernment.com/Army_Biolab%27s_Missing_Vials_May_Never_Be_Found/15396/0/9/9/Y/M.html
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Fears
of swine flu pandemic mount ---
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/04/20094271564061328.html
A quote...."The swine flu that may have killed more than 100 people in
Mexico is suspected to have spread to Europe and Asia. - The US,
Canada, Brazil, Spain and New Zealand have joined the list of countries
where confirmed or suspected cases have been reported."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Saturday April 25th 2009 - links page
No posts. - mpg
Friday April 24th 2009 - links
page
Killing
Civilians - How Safe Do You Actually Want to Be?
---
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175063/questions_to_ask_in_the_dead_of_night
Must Read - A
quote...."Almost like clockwork, the reports float up to us from
thousands of miles away, as if from another universe. Every couple of
days they seem to arrive from Afghan villages that few Americans will
ever see without weapon in hand. Every few days, they appear from a
world almost beyond our imagining, and always they concern death -- so
many lives snuffed out so regularly for more than seven years now.
Unfortunately, those news stories are so unimportant in our world that
they seldom make it onto, no less off of, the inside pages of our
papers. They're so repetitive that, once you've started reading them,
you could write them in your sleep from thousands of miles away." -- also posted at CommonDreams
--- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/24-4
& AntiWar
---
http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2009/04/23/how-safe-do-you-actually-want-to-be/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Top
of the Heap: The Democrats' Teachable Moment on Torture
---
http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/3/1749-top-of-the-heap-the-democrats-teachable-moment-on-torture.html
Must Read - Obama™ Update
-- A quote...."Any full and genuine investigation of the torture system
would reveal the shocking extent of Democratic complicity with it. And
certainly a criminal investigation -- which could not be steered and
hobbled by a "blue-ribbon" panel of Establishment grandees -- would be
even more dangerous in that regard. A genuine, independent probe of the
Bush torture system would also doubtless lead back to covert tortures
countenanced by Democratic and Republican administrations going back
for several decades, as Bernard Chazelle noted recently. -- The second
reason why Barack Obama and the Democratic leadership are resisting,
with all their might, a full investigation for the torture system is
that they want to uphold what is perhaps the central principle of the
American state today: the unaccountability of the ruling elite. [Glenn
Greenwald speaks to this point here.]
---
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/23/prosecutions/index.html
--- They want to retain the
freedom
of action to do "whatever it takes" (that tough-guy phrase so beloved
by "savvy" insiders and their sycophants in the press) to maintain
themselves and their cronies and their class in a position of
dominance, wealth and privilege. The law is not for them; the law is
for the rubes, the suckers, the rabble, the losers -- for you and me,
in other words."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Obama
Rejects Truth Panel ---
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/23/AR2009042304314_pf.html
Obama™
Update -- A quote...."President Obama rebuffed calls for a commission
to investigate alleged abuses under the Bush administration in fighting
terrorism, telling congressional leaders at a White House meeting
yesterday that he wants to look forward instead of litigating the past."
No surprise naturally. It
should however be made perfectly clear to everyone that if any of the
torture was done to fabricate evidence or coerce false confessions, and
as a result these activities the true perpetrators were not identified,
Obama has possibly opened himself up to a charge of obstruction of
justice regarding not just the crime of torture itself, but in regards
to the crime of 9/11. - mpg -- 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
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
What They
Craved - Torture Used to Try to Link Saddam with 9/11
--- http://www.counterpunch.org/cohn04242009.html
Special Note - A
quote....."Why, then, the relentless waterboarding of these two men? It
turns out that high Bush officials put heavy pressure on Pentagon
interrogators to get Mohammed and Zubaydah to reveal a link between
Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 hijackers, in order to justify Bush’s
illegal and unnecessary invasion of Iraq in 2003. That link was never
established."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
"In 2002, Military Agency Warned Against 'Torture'
---
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042403171.html
--Extreme Duress Could Yield Unreliable Information, It Said
24 Apr
2009 The military agency that provided advice on harsh interrogation
techniques for use against terrorism suspects referred to the
application of extreme duress as "torture" in a July 2002 document
---
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/pdf/JPRA-Memo_042409.pdf
--- sent to the Pentagon's chief lawyer and
warned that it would produce "unreliable information." "The
unintended consequence of a U.S. policy that provides for the torture
of prisoners is that it could be used by our adversaries as
justification for the torture of captured U.S. personnel," says the
document, an unsigned two-page attachment to a memo by the military's Joint Personnel
Recovery Agency. --- http://www.jpra.jfcom.mil/
--- Parts of the attachment, obtained in full by The
Washington Post, were quoted in a Senate report on harsh interrogation
released this week. [Oops! Looks like the PentaPost will have to
stop calling torture 'enhanced interrogation techniques' because the
Pentagon itself calls torture torture. --LRP]" -- Paragraph quoted from CLG ---
http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Self-Confessed
9/11 “Mastermind” Also Falsely Confessed to Crimes He Didn’t Commit
---
http://www.prisonplanet.com/self-confessed-911-mastermind-also-falsely-confessed-to-crimes-he-didnt-commit.html
A quote...."As the Washington Post writes of Guantanamo Bay detainee
Abu Zubaida:
"President George W. Bush had
publicly described him as “al-Qaeda’s chief of operations,” and other
top officials called him a “trusted associate” of al-Qaeda leader Osama
bin Laden and a major figure in the planning of the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks. None of that was accurate, the new evidence showed."
"Okay, maybe they got that one wrong. -- But certainly Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed’s confession that he was the mastermind of 9/11 proves his
guilt, right?"
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
'24'
is fictional. So is the idea that torture works ---
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/ben_macintyre/article6150151.ece
A quote...."It is Day 6, between 10.00 and 11.00 in the hectic schedule
of the television series 24, and a normal day at work for Jack Bauer of
the Counter Terrorism Unit. “People in this country are dying, and I
need some information. Now are you are going to give it to me, or do I
have to start hurting you?” Inevitably, he does. A few lurid torture
scenes later and the terrorist confesses, the civilised world is saved
for another hour or so, and Jack, played by Kiefer Sutherland, is
hurtling towards his next violent confrontation with the forces of
evil. -- This is the central plot of 24, in many respects the only plot
of 24, a brilliantly constructed, wildly popular, strikingly timely
series based on a single premise that also happens to be untrue. 24 is
fiction, and so is the notion that torture produces results."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
CIA
Official: No Proof Harsh Techniques Stopped Terror Attacks
--- http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/42021
A quote...."The CIA inspector general in 2004 found that there was no
conclusive proof that waterboarding or other harsh interrogation
techniques helped the Bush administration thwart any "specific imminent
attacks," according to recently declassified Justice Department memos."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
U.S.
Soldier Who Killed Herself--After Refusing to Take Part in Torture
---
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/pressingissues_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003965876
A quote...."(April 23, 2009) -- With each new revelation on U.S.
torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gitmo (and who, knows, probably
elsewhere), I am reminded of the chilling story of Alyssa Peterson, who
I have written about numerous times in the past three years but now
with especially sad relevance. Appalled when ordered to take part in
interrogations that, no doubt, involved what we would call torture, she
refused, then killed herself a few days later, in September 2003."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Torture-Related
Documents Listing ---
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/42023
Database
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Pentagon
may have up to 2,000 photographs of prisoner abuse ---
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Pentagon_plans_release_of_up_to_0424.html
A quote...."The Pentagon will release for the first time 44 photographs
depicting prisoner abuse after the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) won a court ruling in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed
in 2004."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
CIA
ordered to turn over documents relating to destroyed interrogation tapes
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/CIA_ordered_to_turn_over_documents_0424.html
A quote...."A federal judge rejected the CIA's attempt to withhold
records relating to the agency's destruction of 92 videotapes that
depicted interrogation of CIA prisoners in a ruling Friday afternoon.
The tapes were said to have shown some detainees' torture. -- The
American Civil Liberties Union is suing for the documents' release
under the Freedom of Information Act, and aims to have the agency held
in contempt of court for refusing to provide them."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
UK
High Court demands U.S. torture documents ---
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090422/wl_mcclatchy/3218126
A quote...."LONDON — The chief justice of the British High Court on
Wednesday gave the British government one week to obtain the U.S.
release of classified information about the alleged torture of a
British resident who'd been detained at the U.S. military prison in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba ."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
Shamelessness of Jane Harman ---
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2009/04/23/the-shamelessness-of-jane-harman/
More
on the "Bimbo From Rand Corp." - mpg -- A quote...."Confronted
with clear evidence that she tried to obstruct
justice in the case of Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman — two former top
AIPAC officials slated to go on trial for espionage on June 2 — Rep.
Jane Harman, a California Democrat, did what politicians usually do
when forced to face unpleasant facts: she brazened it out. In a
response to the Congressional Quarterly piece by Jeff Stein that has
proved such an entertaining embarrassment, she brayed:"
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Harman's
Wiretap Woes and the AIPAC Cabal ---
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcy-winograd/harmans-wiretap-woes-and_b_189588.html
A quote...."Marcy Winograd - [Former
candidate who ran against Harman in 2006] -- How ironic that I
made my decision to challenge Jane Harman in 2006 after watching her
Meet the Press interview in which she lambasted the New York Times for
breaking the story about the Bush administration's massive illegal
wiretapping. "Oh my God," I told my husband, who was doing Sunday
sit-ups in front of the television set, "this woman needs to be
challenged -- on the wiretaps, on the war, and on her collusion with
the Bush mob." -- also posted at
ICH
--- http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22486.htm
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
Destabilization of Pakistan: Finding Clarity in the Baluchistan
Conundrum ---
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13325
A quote...."As in all of his analyses of the battle for Pakistan, Talha
Mujaddidi provides a rare look into the internal struggle of the
Pakistan people and the interference in their domestic affairs by the
United States, India and other foreign elements. For those who are
unfamiliar with the terms, places and names in this report, Talha
provides a glossary at the end of the article. It is especially
important that we learn and understand what is happening in Pakistan as
Washington is opening up a new front in this country in their "war on
terror"
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
US
escalates threats against Pakistan ---
http://wsws.org/articles/2009/apr2009/paki-a25.shtml
A quote...."US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has warned Pakistani
authorities that US-Pakistan relations will be imperiled unless
Islamabad heeds Washington’s admonitions and bloodily suppresses a
growing Islamacist insurgency that has been fueled by the US occupation
of Afghanistan." For more
on the two articles shown above see..It
Will Happen Every Single Time
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-122407-010108#EVERY_TIME
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
CIA
death squads killing with “impunity” in Afghanistan ---
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/may2008/afgh-m19.shtml
A quote...."A United Nations investigator released a preliminary report
last week citing widespread civilian deaths in Afghanistan, often at
the hands of unaccountable units led by the CIA or other foreign
intelligence agencies. - The investigator is Philip Alston, a New York
University professor serving as the Special Rapporteur of the United
Nations Human Rights Council on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
execution. His report provides a partial glimpse into the illegal
actions of intelligence agencies, occupying forces, and Afghan police,
as they seek to repress opposition to the US-led occupation and
US-backed government."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
EU
parliament urges Iraq not to expel Iranian resistance group
---
http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-eu-peoples-mujahedeen,0,757060.story
A quote...."BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Parliament urged Iraq on
Friday not to deport members of an Iranian opposition group to Iran. In
a resolution, the EU assembly called on Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki "to ensure that no action is taken" that violates the rights
of 3,500 residents in a camp north of Baghdad. Iraq's government wants
the group — the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran — out of the
country to improve ties with Tehran, but has not decided how to do that
yet. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Iran and the
United States, but it was taken off the EU's terror list earlier this
year after it won a legal battle in EU courts." -- For more on this issue see....US
Support of Terror - MEK-PKK-Others
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ussupportofterror-weblist-mpg-090306#MEK-PKK-OTHERS
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
German
FM to US: Remove Nukes ---
http://news.antiwar.com/2009/04/24/german-fm-to-us-remove-nukes/
A quote...."In the lower house of the Bundestag, German Foreign
Minister and Vice-Chancellor Frank-Walter Steinmeier today called for
the United States to remove its nuclear arsenal from German soil."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Turkey,
Lebanon arms deal irks Israel ---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92494§ionid=351020203
A quote...."Washington's green light to Turkey to proceed with a
large-scale weapons sale to the Lebanese army has irked Israeli
officials. "
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Iraq
and Syria see bilateral trade hitting $3 billion in two years
---
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2009-04-22%5Ckurd.htm
A quote...."Iraq and Syria are holding intensive talks with the aim of
signing 20 new deals that will see the value of their bilateral trade
skyrocketing to nearly $3 billion in two years, according to a Syrian
cabinet minister."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Iraq
and Iran to develop joint oilfields ---
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2009-04-24%5Ckurd.htm
A quote...."Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani is on a three-day
visit to Tehran to review the possibility of joint development of
oilfields straddling international borders. The minister is
scheduled to meet his Iranian counterpart and also hold talks on how to
expand bilateral development in areas of energy, power, exploration and
refining."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Iran,
Total sign €32M oil deal ---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92493§ionid=351020103
A quote...."Iran has signed a 32 million euro ($42.4 million) deal with
France's oil giant Total to receive technical support in developing an
Iranian oil field."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Militants
burn NATO fuel tankers in Pakistan ---
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkiMxbHNH0BqgpWA2ZG6VD6wVTmAD97NV6AG0
A quote...."ISLAMABAD (AP) — Dozens of militants armed with guns and
gasoline bombs attacked a truck terminal in northwestern Pakistan on
Thursday and burned five tanker trucks carrying fuel to NATO troops in
Afghanistan, police said."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Pakistan
Taliban 're-enters' Buner ---
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/04/200942417947485300.html
A quote...."Pakistani Taliban fighters are reportedly re-entering
Buner, hours after they pulled back from the district just 100km away
from the capital Islamabad."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Obama's
Real Plan in Latin America ---
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/4388
A quote...."At first glance Obama seems to have softened U.S. policy
toward Latin America, especially when compared to his
predecessor. There has been no shortage of editorials praising
Obama’s conciliatory approach while comparing it to FDR’s ”Good
Neighbor” Latin American policy."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Georgian
opposition predicts Saakashvili to go in 'several days'
--- http://en.rian.ru/world/20090424/121301329.html
A quote...."TBILISI, April 24 (RIA Novosti) - Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili and his government will succumb to pressure to quit
in several days, the country's former foreign minister and an
opposition leader said on Friday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
The
IMF: Raping The World, One Poor Nation at a Time ---
http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-4020-0-5-5--.html
A quote...."The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been described as
one of the enforcers of globalization. Nations who receive IMF
assistance are often forced to surrender more sovereignty and further
open up their borders to international banks and multinational
corporations. Much of their wealth is then sucked dry by foreign
predators with its resources and population essentially becoming the
collateral for such financial aid. As a result of the global
economic crisis, many more nations are having to turn to the IMF for
help. At the recent G-20 Summit in London, the IMF’s role was
expanded and its powers enhanced. There was little mention of its
failed policies and its less then stellar record of effectively
promoting development and democracy around the world. While some
talk of reform, the IMF continues to rape the world, one poor nation at
a time."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
"A
highly organized campaign of disinformation" ---
http://palestinevideo.blogspot.com/2009/04/highly-organized-campaign-of.html
(Navi Pillay, UNHCHR) - Alt
--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG9xbKkcOTU ---
(YuTb -
2m35s - April 24, 2009)
Must View Video - A
quote...."United Nations, Geneva, 24 April 2009 - At the end of the UN
conference on racism, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi
Pillay, has deplored what she called a widespread and highly organised
campaign of disinformation which had led to some countries boycotting
the conference."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Stupid
Zionist Stunt to Silence Meaningful Debate on Racism
---
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/182765-Stupid-Zionist-Stunt-to-Silence-Meaningful-Debate-on-Racism
A quote...."Nobody has explained what was offensive about the Iranian
president's speech. He presented the unvarnished truth. The offense was
refusing to listen."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Adrian
Hamilton: Walking out on Ahmadinejad was just plain childish
---
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/adrian-hamilton/adrian-hamilton-walking-out-on-ahmadinejad-was-just-plain-childish-1672580.html
Special Note - A
quote...."Read Ahmadinejad's address at the UN conference on racism in
Geneva this week and there is little to surprise and a certain amount
to be agreed with. His accusations against the imperial powers for what
they did with colonial rule and the business of slavery is pretty much
part of the school curriculum now. His anger at the way the economic
crisis originated in the West but has hit worst the innocent of the
developing world would find a ready echo (and did) among most of the
delegates. -- It was not for this, however, that the countries of
Europe and North America gathered up their skirts and walked out of
Ahmadinejad's peroration. The UK's ambassador to the UN in Geneva,
Peter Gooderham, rather gave the game away when he said afterwards: "As
soon as President Ahmadinejad started talking about Israel, that was
the cue for us to walk out. We agreed in advance that if there was any
such rhetoric there would be no tolerance for it." The Iranian leader,
he went on to say, was guilty of anti-Semitisim."
also posted at CommonDreams
--- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/23-11
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Gaza,
remember? ---
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1079219.html
A quote...."Alyan Abu-Aun is lying in his tent, his crutches beside
him. He smokes cigarettes and stares into the tiny tent's empty space.
His young son sits on his lap. Ten people are crammed into the tent,
about the size of a small room. It has been their home for three
months. Nothing remains of their previous home, which the Israel
Defense Forces shelled during Operation Cast Lead. They are refugees
for a second time; Abu-Aun's mother still remembers her home in Sumsum,
a town that once stood near Ashkelon." - also posted at ICH
--- http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22487.htm
For more on this issue see....Gaza
Invasion of 12/27/08 ---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/thegazainvasion-mpg-weblist-122708
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Anti-Semitism
by ~Latuff2 ---
http://latuff2.deviantart.com/art/Anti-Semitism-120275697
Cartoon - Click on the image to enlarge it. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
MIDEAST:
Gaza Resistance Destroys Fatah Faction ---
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46614
A quote...."CAIRO, Apr 24 (IPS) - The recent onslaught against the Gaza
Strip - and Israel's failure to achieve its military objectives there -
left Palestinian resistance group Hamas politically stronger than ever.
Concurrently, it dealt a possible death blow to the faction within
Fatah led by strongman Mohamed Dahlan, long known for its closeness to
Israel." - also posted at CounterCurrents
--- http://www.countercurrents.org/omrani240409.htm
--- For more on this entire
issue
see....US
Sponsored Civil Wars - Palestine ---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ussponsoredcivilwars-weblist-mpg-101107#PALESTINE
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
First
Hamas-affiliated bank opens in Gaza ---
http://www.guerrillanews.com/headlines/20290/First_Hamas_affiliated_bank_opens_in_Gaza
A quote...."The National Islamic Bank opened its doors, ready to
service Gazan in need of financial services. With 20 million dollars of
start-up capital, this private bank boasts its ability to avoid “crisis
of liquidity” which has been the fate suffered by other Gazan banks due
to Israel’s blockade."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Withdraw
From West Bank: Israeli Diplomat - posted at Palestine
Chronicle ---
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15036
---
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/news.php?id=39ef1be9e4375d97fe2a6ff134cce34c&mode=details#39ef1be9e4375d97fe2a6ff134cce34c
A quote...."Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nominee for
ambassador to the US has called for unilateral Israeli withdrawal from
the West Bank and dismantle settlements to help establish peace with
the Palestinians, Haaretz reported on Friday, April 24. - "The only
alternative for Israel to save itself as a Jewish state is by
unilaterally withdrawing from the West Bank and evacuating most of the
settlements," Michael Oren told a lecture."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
ISM Summer
Campaign 2009: Defend the Land and Jerusalem ---
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/04/6314
Action Alert - A
quote...."The International Solidarity Movement is issuing a call-out
for internationals to volunteer as field activists and office workers
in the West Bank, Gaza, and occupied East Jerusalem this summer.
Whether you can come for only few weeks or several months, your
presence is needed to support Palestinian communities who are
nonviolently resisting the Israeli occupation. The summer campaign,
which will run from June 6th until August 15th, aims to challenge the
continued theft of Palestinian land for the rapid expansion of illegal
Israeli settlements and their infrastructure in occupied East Jerusalem
and the West Bank."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
UK
campaigners score victory towards arms embargo ---
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10482.shtml
Action Update - A
quote...."The British government's announcement that it will be
reviewing arms sales to Israel in light of the atrocities committed in
Gaza earlier this year was, however, surprising. The move represents a
real victory for the Stop Arming Israel coalition, which began its
campaign for a two-way arms embargo against Israel during its invasion
of Lebanon in July 2006 and serves as a potent example of public
pressure forcing governments to review their policies towards Israel."
-- For more on how to Boycott
Israel,
its products and any company doing business with that state, see the
upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Nullification
Revisited ---
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=57
A quote...."The legislature of the state of Montana hereby nullifies
the REAL ID Act". Nullifies. Hmmm, there's a word we haven't seen in
awhile, and with good reason. You see, the word "nullify" like its
conceptual kissing cousins "secession," "states rights," "delegated
powers," and sometimes even "Constitution" belongs to a special class
of political four-letter words, so called for the reason that they are
verboten in polite conversation amongst the political mainstream. In
that parlance, they are akin to the type of words that self-conscious
adults tend to spell-out in front of small children so as to avoid
embarrassment, and are allowed to be spoken only in a historical
context, and only when accompanied by an obviously derisive tone of
voice.
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
Housing Crash: The Data Confirms a Downward Momentum
---
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13333
Must Read - A
quote...."Why is the media misleading the public about housing? The
housing market is crashing. There are no "green shoots" or "glimmers of
hope"; the market is worn to a stump, it's kaput. Still, whenever new
housing figures are released, they're crunched and tweaked and
spin-dried until they tell a totally different story; a hopeful story
about an elusive "light in the tunnel". But there is no light in
the tunnel; it's a myth. The truth is, there's no sign of a turnaround
or a "bottom" in housing at all; not yet, at least. The real estate
market is freefalling and it looks like its got a long way to go. So
why is the media still peddling the same "rose-colored" claptrap that
put the country in this pickle to begin with? Here's an
example of media spin which appeared in Bloomberg News on Wednesday:"
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
The Emperor's New Tools
--- http://www.garynorth.com/public/4879.cfm
Must Read - A quote...."
The
FED has increased the monetary base to such an extent that there is now
way to turn back without risking not merely a recession, which we are
in, but a depression, which the FED has inflated to avoid. -- This is
clear to anyone who understands the Austrian theory of the business
cycle. The FED has moved into panic mode. Yet it has been unsuccessful
so far in stemming the tide of recession. -- The Federal deficit is now
out of control. When Congress consents to a $1.8 trillion deficit, it
no longer exercises the power of the purse."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Jack
Bauer can't stop 'The Goldman Conspiracy' - 10 reasons why Wall Street
has absolute power over America's democracy.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Even-Jack-Bauer-couldnt-stop/story.aspx?guid=%7BBE0D1772-A628-454D-80BF-C4484CEBA7DF%7D
Must Read - A
quote...."ARROYO
GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- Two mind-numbing fast-paced dramas. Two
parallel worlds. One real, one fiction, both deadly. Jack Bauer, mythic
hero of "24." Dying from a deadly bio-pathogen leaked from weapons
developed by Starkwood, a rogue mercenary army attacking the
presidency, hell-bent on taking over America. - The other drama in
play: "Hank the Hammer" Paulson, iconic Wall Street hero, a Trojan
Horse placed inside Washington by Goldman Sachs as Treasury Secretary
in control of America's $15 trillion economy. Goldman, a modern dynasty
with vast financial powers much like those once used by the de' Medici,
Rothschilds and Morgans to control nations." -- For more on this issue see....AIG,
Goldman Sachs, Paulson And Buffet ---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-092408-093008#AIG
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
The
Unbearable Vagueness of Timothy Geithner ---
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/04/unbearable-vagueness-timothy-geithner
Must Read - A
quote...."....he stressed the administration's commitment to
"transparency, accountability, and oversight." Then he proceeded to
deliver a characteristically opaque assessment of the economic crisis,
without providing much in the way of specific information. He didn't
provide much clarity regarding TARP expenditures, the amount of
leverage remaining on the books of imperiled banks, or the volume of
toxic assets hovering like storm clouds on the financial horizon. Never
mind that some of this data was contained in the 250-page report
produced by TARP Inspector General Neil Barofsky, which was released on
April 21." -- "Barofsky reported that the TARP now spans 12 federal
programs, totaling almost $3 trillion, or "roughly the equivalent of
last year's entire Federal budget." That figure doesn't count the
nearly $10 trillion that the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Treasury have put up via various
loans, guarantees, and other backing. Of the $700 billion bailout
component approved by Congress (the rest of the $3 trillion is parceled
out through an acronym soup of other programs), $590.4 billion has been
committed, of which $328.6 billion has already been spent."
also posted at CommonDreams
--- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/24-5
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Bill
Moyers Interviews Simon Johnson and Ferdinand Pecora
--- http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04242009/watch.html
Must View Video --
A quote...."Bill Moyers speaks with economist Simon Johnson and
Ferdinand Pecora biographer and legal scholar Michael Perino. Johnson
is a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
and a professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, and Perino is a
professor of law at St. John's University and has been an advisor to
the Securities and Exchange Commission."
|| Transcript
|| ---
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04242009/transcript1.html
|| Podcast
Mp3 || ---
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/rss/media/BMJ-1302.mp3
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Did
government block transparency? ---
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/04/23/pm_transparency/
Audio Interview - A
quote...."In testimony released by New York State Attorney General
Andrew Cuomo, Bank of America's CEO Ken Lewis says he was pressured by
the government to keep quiet about losses from absorbing troubled
Merrill Lynch. Steve Henn reports."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Markets
Cheer Stress Test Double Speak ---
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/04/markets-cheer-stress-test-double-speak.html
Contains Audio - A
quote....Forgive me for sounding even crankier than usual, but the
reason deception sells is that so many people line up for it. The
release claiming to describe how the stress tests were conducted in
fact provided no new information. Financial stocks did well on the
belief that most of the big banks would get clean bills of health. But
this seems a naive view. Citi is far from out of the woods, and with a
half trillion of foreign deposits, plus nearly $1 billion in off
balance sheet exposures (remember those SIVs, the watchword of late
2007?). Dislocation there would have far bigger ramifications."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
What
Caused the Economic Crisis? ---
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13335
A quote...."Warren Buffett called them “weapons of mass destruction” in
2003. -- President Bush said they had to be regulated. -- So did the
chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the current
head of the Federal reserve. -- As did the G-20 group of the world’s 20
richest nations. -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan -
after being one of their biggest cheerleaders - now says they are
dangerous. -- And a Nobel prize-winning economist said they should be
“blown up or burned”, and we should start fresh." --- "What
Are They Talking About? -- A financial instrument called “credit
default swaps” (CDS for short)."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
U.S.
existing home
sales slip in March ---
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE53L3RQ20090423
Chart - A quote...."WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - The pace of sales of existing homes in the United States
fell 3.0 percent in March to a much lower-than-expected annual rate of
4.57 million units, the National Association of Realtors said on
Thursday. -- Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home resales to
slip to a 4.70 million-unit pace from a revised 4.71 million for
February, which was initially reported as 4.72 million."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
U.S.
durable goods orders fall 0.8 percent in March
---
http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN2339044320090424?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for U.S. durable goods
slipped 0.8 percent in March, far less than Wall Street expected, while
their gain in February was revised downward, Commerce Department data
showed on Friday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
GM
Liquidates Two Employee Benefit Plans ---
http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/04/gm-liquidates-two-employee-benefit.html
A quote...."5:27 PM Friday, April 24, 2009 - In an 8-K just released,
GM has announced that it has liquidated two key employee benefit plans
(the Savings-Stock Purchase Program and the Personal Savings Plan). The
plan custodian State Street started selling the plan assets, consisting
entirely of GM stock, on March 31 and reinvesting proceeds into
fixed-income investments and money market funds. The plan liquidation
is permitted if State Street determines one (or both) of the following:"
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Latest
In The Bank Failure List: 4 Banks, 1 Credit Union ---
http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/04/new-bank-and-credit-union-failure.html
Bank Failures - A quote....Bank
failures #26, 27, 28 and 29 for the year were American Southern Bank of
Kennesaw, Georgia, Michigan Heritage Bank of Farmington Hills, First
Bank of Beverly Hills and First Bank of Idaho of Ketchum, Idaho. The
cost to the FDIC from the three failures will be $48.7, $50 million,
$394 and $113 million, respectively. As the economy's green shoots are
hyped by the chatterboxes on TV and the administration, in one week the
FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund has lost over $600 million on four bank
bailouts. As the DIF only had $19 billion at December 31, Zero Hedge
would wager there is little to no money left to insure systemic
deposits, especially with bank neet need to use the TLPG any longer,
thus depriving the FDIC of a much needed source of revenue.
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
British
economy shrinks at fastest pace for 30 years during first quarter of
2009
---
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/5216558/British-economy-shrinks-at-fastest-pace-for-30-years-during-first-quarter-of-2009.html
Deflation Alert - A
quote...."The British economy contracted at the fastest pace in 30
years in the first three months of the year, official figures showed
yesterday, as Britain braces itself for decades of austerity."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Spain's
jobless rate soars to 17% ---
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8016364.stm
Deflation Alert - A
quote...."Spain's unemployment rate hit 17.4% at the end of March,
figures have shown, with the jobless total now having doubled over the
past 12 months."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
China
Increases Gold Reserves 76% to Fifth-Largest (Update4)
---
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=azu2GgdtzJqQ&refer=home
A quote...." April 24 (Bloomberg) -- China boosted its gold reserves by
76 percent since 2003 and has the world’s fifth-biggest holding by
country, said Hu Xiaolian, head of the State Administration of Foreign
Exchange. -- The nation increased its reserves by 454 tons to 1,054
tons through domestic purchases and refining scrap metal, Hu said in an
interview with the Xinhua News Agency today. The amount is more than
Switzerland’s 1,040 tons, World Gold Council data show, and is worth
$31 billion at current prices." -- See also article shown below....
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
A
'Copper Standard' for the world's currency system?
---
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/5160120/A-Copper-Standard-for-the-worlds-currency-system.html
Special Note - More likely a commodity standard.
After sixty years of watching the US-NRE crapping all over the entire
world with its Dollar whenever it choose to do so, China has decided to
take
out some insurance to protect itself if the Fed/Bankster/Obama
administration can't - or more likely won't - support the dollar when
things begin
to get tough. - mpg --A quote...."Hard money enthusiasts have
long watched for signs that China is switching its foreign reserves
from US Treasury bonds into gold bullion. They may have been eyeing the
wrong metal." --
posted 04-17-09
--
also posted at
BLN
--- http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-3942-0-13-13--.html
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Thursday April 23rd 2009 - links
page
UAE
prince caught red-handed on torture video ---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92354§ionid=351020205
Special Note - From one of the US-NRE's "friends". - mpg
-- A
quote...."The victim was beaten with wooden planks with nails
protruding from them and then the prince poured salt on his bleeding
wounds. -- The video also shows the prince setting fire to parts of the
victim's body, giving him electric shocks with a cattle prod, ramming
desert sand into his mouth, and firing bullets around him with an
automatic rifle. -- The gruesome footage released by ABC News also
shows Sheikh Issa driving over the victim repeatedly with his luxury
Mercedes SUV. The sound of breaking bones is clearly audible in this
scene."
For more on this issue
see....US
- Murder & Mayhem
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/usmurder&mayhem-weblist-mpg-031309
& US
- Torture & Sex Perv. ---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ustorture&sexualperversion-weblist-mpg-031309
& The
Kingdom of Leprosy - 10-07-08 - mpg ---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/thekingdomofleprosy-blog-mpg-100708
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
U.S.
to release photos showing alleged abuses by American personnel
---
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama-interrogationapr24,0,1567604.story
A quote...."My sense is the president was trying to please a lot of
audiences at one time and that over the last (week) he has totally
failed to put the mind of the intelligence community at ease," said
Mark Lowenthal, a former senior adviser to CIA Director George J.
Tenet. "He is going to end up with a
national clandestine service that will not be willing to do anything
because they feel he will not be there for them when they need him."
- bold by website editor
"Do anything" like what?!?! "Anything" as in
when the CIA supported
almost every single Salafist, Whahhabist, Fundamentalist terrorist group
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ussupportofterror-weblist-mpg-090306
--- out there for the last
thirty
years? Or how about when the FBI backed off the bin Ladens prior
to 9/11, or when
they flew ---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/flights911-weblist-mpg-081906
--- over one hundred and
eighty members of the bin Laden and Saudi Royal family out of the
United States days after 9/11? Sort'ol like that?!?! Is
that what this newspaper means? Everyone should say to yourselves
what's shown below using a lisping, sissy, prissy, accent....
My
Gawd, isn't it just soo awful? If the CIA and other agencies
aren't
allowed to illegally torture people (many, if not most of them
innocent)....well, they just won't gather any more intelligence,
that'll
teach all those voters when another "terrorist" (false flag) event
occurs....so there, take that. Humph! Yeah thats
right....all you voters are gonna get what you deserve.
As a website editor I've almost
never used foul language on this site before, but I will now. Any
piece of sh-t, a--hole, treasonous government employee who thinks like
this, talks like this or hints in even the most infinitesimal way that
this is their attitude should be immediately and unceremoniously
relieved of their duties along with the complete forfeiture of their
government
pension. For those who carried out these illegal acts perhaps
they should read the quote shown below.....
"The fact
that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a
superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international
law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him." --
*Nuremberg
Principle IV*
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
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Breaking:
Torture Architect John Rizzo Still Working at CIA ---
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/04/22/torture-architect-john-rizzo-still-working-at-cia/
A quote...."John Rizzo, the man who worked with both Jay Bybee and
Steven Bradbury to pre-authorize torture, is still being paid by you
and me to make sure that the CIA follows the law. -- As the SASC report
notes, Rizzo is the man who provided the list of torture techniques to
Jay Bybee for inclusion in the memo--the key link in turning SERE
techniques into torture."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Torture
Used to Link Saddam with 9/11 ---
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13323
A quote...."When I testified last year before the House Judiciary
Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil
Liberties about Bush interrogation policies, Congressman Trent Franks
(R-Ariz) stated that former CIA Director Michael Hayden had confirmed
that the Bush administration only waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,
Abu Zabaydah, and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashirit for one minute each. I
told Franks that I didn’t believe that. Sure enough, one of the newly
released torture memos reveals that Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times
and Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
How
Bush's Torture Helped al-Qaeda ---
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/042209.html
A quote...."Captured al-Qaeda operatives, facing the threat or reality
of torture, appear to have fed the Bush administration’s obsession
about Iraq, buying Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders time to
rebuild their organization inside nuclear-armed Pakistan."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Torture
whitewash from The Dark Side ---
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KD24Ak01.html
A quote...."It's a script worthy of Freddie Krueger, the fictional
character from the A Nightmare on Elm Street films. Nearly five years
after the irruption of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq, here's
another chamber of horrors, another glimpse of how The Dark Side really
works."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Did
Lying Never Really Matter? ---
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/did-lying-never-really-matter/
A quote...."Am I crazy? Am I naive? I used to think that lying to
get what you wanted was a bad thing. Is that stupid? Just
something we say to our kids like “Yes there is a Santa Clause” or
“Jesus is watching you always”? -- It turns out that Condi Rice lied to
the Senate Armed Services Commitee last fall. That shouldn’t
surprise anyone after her classic “Smoking gun/mushroom cloud” whopper.
Apparently Rice approved the torture techniques used by the CIA as
early as 2002 according to a memo released by Holder’s DOJ yesterday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Jonathan
Turley on Rachel Maddow: "Obama is Obstructing Justice"
--- http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/41973
Alt
--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG9Nj0OizCA ---
(YouTube -
8 min 44 sec - April 16, 2009)
Video - Obama™ Update -- A
quote...."On
Rachel Maddow's Show, Jonathan Turley talks about the release of the
CIA memos on how the Bush administration authorized torture, and how
Obama is guilty of obstruction if he refuses to appoint a special
prosecutor or have the DOJ investigate and prosecute the Bush
administration."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Top
Interrogation Experts Agree: Torture Doesn't Work ---
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/04/top-interrogation-experts-say-torture.html
A quote...."Apologists for torture say that it was a "necessarily evil"
to stop future terror attacks. However, the top interrogation experts
all say torture that doesn't work:"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
"Iraq
al-Qaeda leader US general said 'never existed' is 'captured' in Baghdad
---
http://www.legitgov.org/non-existent_al-qaeda_leader_killed_240409.html
--- By Lori Price 24 Apr 2009 Imagine my (lack of) surprise when
-- on the
bloodiest day in Iraq in over a year -- US media reported a big capture
of another (deceased or previously arrested) key al-Qaeda leader!
Moreover, the mythical leader of an organization that's itself a myth
(al-Qaeda, or 'the database'), Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was allegedly
captured in 2007. Hence, this new arrest would be his *second* bout
with captivity. I notice that these CNN-worthy arrests typically take
place on a bad -- or should I say, torturous day for US public
relations." -- Paragraph quoted from
CLG ---
http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Al-Qaeda
Chief In Iraq: Captured, Killed, Never Actually Existed, Now Captured
Again ---
http://infowars.net/articles/april2009/230409Baghdadi.htm
Related Article - More on the
incredible resurrection of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. -- Wasn't it Samuel
Clemens (Mark Twain) who once stated upon viewing his own premature
obituary that "the report of my death is an exaggeration"? Well
Mr. Abu Omar al-Baghdadi has done Mr. Clemens one better, both his
death along with his very existence may have been an exaggeration. - mpg
-- A quote...."You couldn't make it up if you tried. AFP today reports
that Al-Qaeda chief in Iraq, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, has been captured
and arrested. The problem with this is that al-Baghdadi has already
been reported captured, previously reported killed and even said to
have never actually existed by the U.S. military."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
AIPAC,
NSA
Spying and the Corruption of Congress ---
http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/04/aipac-nsa-spying-and-the-corruption-of-congress/
A quote...."A major scandal involving a top Democrat, the Israeli
lobby-shop AIPAC and charges that former U.S. Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales sought congressional help to suppress media reports of
systematic, illegal warrantless surveillance of Americans by the
National Security Agency (NSA) broke on Sunday. -- Congressional
Quarterly revealed that Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) "was overheard on an
NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the
Justice Department [to] reduce espionage-related charges against two
officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, the most
powerful pro-Israel organization in Washington."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
6
years in prison for airing Hezbollah TV in NYC ---
http://wire.antiwar.com/2009/04/23/6-years-in-prison-for-airing-hezbollah-tv-in-nyc-2/
Special Note - Some more of that good'ol US-NRE
"freedom and democracy"....right here at home. - mpg -- A
quote...."Iqbal, 45, admitted as part of a plea agreement that he used
satellite dishes on his Staten Island home to distribute broadcasts of
Al Manar, the TV station of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which has been
fighting Israel since the early 1980s and has been branded by the U.S.
government as a terrorist group."also
posted at WarInIraq
--- http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/195506 For more on this sort of issue
see....Judeo-Christian
C/C & US - The Media
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/judeochristianconflictcontrolwithinus-weblist-mpg-010409#MEDIA
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The Crime That
Cannot Be Wiped Away ---
http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance169.html
Must Read - A
quote...."Nothing has changed. Soldiers think they can have the best of
both worlds. They think they can kill with impunity in a just cause and
with immunity in an unjust cause. But should some of the king’s
soldiers get a little reckless and cause some collateral damage, even
though the king, like General Tommy Franks, says "we don’t do body
counts," they are the ones who are fully responsible since "the king is
not bound to answer the particular endings of his soldiers." And as for
soldiers determining to fight lustily for king and crown or for
president and government or, as so many of them think, for flag and
freedom or for God and country, there has never been a shortage of
willing participants." -- For more
on this issue see....US
- Fake
Intel / Propaganda - Iraq Deaths
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/fakeintell-weblist-mpg-090206#IRAQDEATHS
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
black hole that is sucking the lifeblood out of the American economy
- posted at Online
Journal ---
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4422.shtml
---
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4629.shtml
A quote...."This massive ever-increasing drain on our economy should be
of no surprise to anyone for we have known about it for decades, ever
since the 1950s. -- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the famous general
of World War II, in his farewell address to the nation, gave America a
clear warning for the future. In his speech to the nation, he said, “In
the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of
unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the
military-industrial complex.”
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Europe
Needs No Part in Doomed Afghan War ---
http://original.antiwar.com/pfaff/2009/04/23/europe-needs-no-part-in-doomed-afghan-war/
A quote...."PARIS — When President Barack Obama was in Strasbourg,
France, for the NATO "summit" at the beginning of April, he made a plea
for more European soldiers for Afghanistan. - He hasn’t had much of a
reply — 65 men with two F-16s promised by Belgium; 12 trainers and a
small troop contingent (probably from the gendarmerie) for the
elections in Afghanistan next month, with a larger French contribution
to the new, combined European Gendarmerie Force that has already
dispatched 300 to 400 men and women, all to improve Afghanistan’s own
national police, so far without conspicuous success." -- also posted at WarInIraq
--- http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/195505
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Pakistan
Taliban in Buner pull out ---
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/04/200942475627350333.html
A quote...."Up to 500 Taliban fighters have been ordered to pull back
from Buner, just 100km away from the Pakistan capital of Islamabad,
less than 24 hours after they entered the strategic district. -- "Our
leader has ordered that Taliban should immediately be called back from
Buner," Muslim Khan, a Pakistan Taliban spokesman, said on Friday. -
The pull out came a day after the Taliban clashed with regional forces,
leaving one policemen dead. - The group's move into Buner had alarmed
the Pakistan goverment over what the Taliban's future intentions might
be."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Iran-Iraq
pipeline to link Basra-Abadan ---
http://atheonews.blogspot.com/2009/04/iran-iraq-pipeline-to-link-basra-abadan.html
A quote...."Tehran and Baghdad have agreed to build an oil pipeline
connecting the main Iraqi oil hub of Basra to the oil-rich Iranian city
of Abadan. - The agreement was reached between visiting Iraqi Oil
Minister Hussein al-Shahristani and his Iranian counterpart
Gholam-Hossein Nozari in Tehran, said Iran's Deputy Oil Minister
Noureddin Shahnazizadeh." -- also
posted at WarInIraq
---
http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/195498
& Uruknet
--- http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m53654&s1=h1
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Rape,
beatings and bribery: Iraqi police out of control ---
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article6157590.ece
A quote...."The brief film is deeply disturbing, even in a country
famed for its al-Qaeda beheading videos and sniper snuff movies. The
young woman, evidently drugged, vomiting and occasionally calling for
her mother, tries weakly to stop the grinning man in a white T-shirt
and boxer shorts from pulling off her underwear."
For more on this sort of issue see....The
Method - 05-07-07 - mpg ---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/themethod-blog-mpg-050707
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Despite
dismal standings in the polls, [Ukraine's] Yushchenko keeps fighting
---
http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/2009-04-23/Despite_dismal_standings_in_the_polls__Yushchenko_keeps_fighting.html
A quote...."President Viktor
Yushchenko is aiming to remain in office, despite facing the lowest
approval rating in the country's history. - [Gee, that sounds so familiar] - “I
will run. It's so clear and obvious,” the Ukrainian president
announced, while calling for early presidential elections in October if
they are held at the same time as the parliamentary elections. “It is
not important how many months earlier they [the elections] will be
held, in October or in September.” - bold by website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
SCO to
form single emergency situations center ---
http://news.uzreport.com/mir.cgi?lan=e&id=60818
A quote...."The Shanghai Cooperation Organization plans to form a
coordinating center for preventing and dealing with emergencies, said
Stanislav Aksyonov, the head of the Russian Emergency Situations
Ministry's international cooperation department. -- "We are preparing a
relevant provision which is expected to be discussed and confirmed at
the fourth meeting of the SCO members' emergency situations ministers
in the summer of 2009," Aksyonov told journalists on the sidelines of a
conference of experts to prepare the fourth meeting in Astana on
Tuesday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
A
Nation of Helpless Idiots ---
http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/a_nation_of_helpless_idiots/
A quote...."As most of us know, Kansas City, Missouri is a haven for
international and domestic terrorists. Pakistan and Afghanistan are
small potatoes compared to this insurgency stomping ground. The kooks
who tend to flourish in Missouri are young, law-abiding liberty-seekers
who advocate Ron Paul’s limited-government ideas; third-party
proponents who supported Bob Barr’s presidential bid; and
constitutionalists who stand behind Chuck Baldwin’s push to inform the
masses of the menace posed by our unconstitutional government."
Let's
All Go To Camp FEMA ---
http://www.roguegovernment.com/Let%27s_All_Go_To_Camp_FEMA/15357/0/6/6/Y/M.html
Cartoon
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
MP
Haj: Palestinian prisoners especially patients live in very harsh
conditions
---
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7D%2bjxEky%2bkJAk%2fRyalCzyO
UdAZBgot7EugtYBTtpSDoFOKW0YBrE11lUo5idfPd5vKwjpdN3zJFM0a09rNn%2fVewQGT2bhBXVUV2U1e7SYpS4%3d
A quote...."NABLUS, (PIC)-- MP Ahmed Al-Haj, who was released from
Israeli jails on Wednesday, said that the Palestinian prisoners live in
very harsh incarceration conditions especially the patients who suffer
a lot as a result of the policy of medical neglect pursued by the
prison administrations."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
What
Jesus Might Tell The Pope Regarding Gaza ---
http://www.countercurrents.org/fleming230409.htm
A quote...."Pope Benedict announced that he would visit the Holy Land
this May to pray "for the precious gift of unity and peace for the
Middle East and for all of humanity," but he would not be going to
Gaza. -- Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Vatican custodian of the holy
sites stated, "This visit is aimed first and foremost at encouraging
them to remain in this country. -- Prayer without action is hypocrisy
and faith without works is dead."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Israel
Covering Up Gaza Crimes: HRW - posted
at Palestine
Chronicle ---
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/fund_raisers.php?id=14
---
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/news.php?id=4c51ee8391f04890ef846268ee205f39&mode=details#4c51ee8391f04890ef846268ee205f39
A quote...."Human Rights Watch on Thursday, April 23, branded Israeli
probes into the recent Gaza war as an attempt to covering up Israeli
war crimes perpetrated in the densely-populated coastal enclave. - "The
conclusions are an apparent attempt to mask violations of the laws of
war by Israeli forces in Gaza," HRW Deputy Director Joe Stork said in a
statement." -- For more on this
issue see....Gaza
Invasion of 12/27/08
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/thegazainvasion-mpg-weblist-122708
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
As
watchdog warns of bailout fraud - Obama meets with bank, credit card
executives ---
http://wsws.org/articles/2009/apr2009/obam-a24.shtml
Special Note - Obama™
Update -- A quote...."President Barack Obama met Thursday at the White
House with executives of major banks and credit card companies amidst
growing public anger over sudden increases in interest rates and fees,
in many cases by companies that have received billions of dollars in
taxpayer bailout money."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Emanuel
Was Director Of Freddie Mac During Scandal ---
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=6201900
Special Note - Obama™
Update -- A quote...."President-elect Barack Obama's newly appointed
chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served on the board of directors of the
federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac at a time when scandal was brewing at
the troubled agency and the board failed to spot "red flags," according
to government reports reviewed by ABCNews.com."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
And
the Anti-Pulitzers Go To ... [Ouch!]
- How the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times Buried the Madoff
Scandal for at Least Four Years
--- http://www.counterpunch.org/fingleton04232009.html
A quote...."A CounterPunch
Special Report -- An old maxim has it that newspaper editors
separate the wheat from the chaff, then print the chaff. By this
standard, the editors of the Wall Street Journal showed special
deftness in their handling of the Madoff affair."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Peter
Schiff on Our Economic Future
---
http://www.lewrockwell.com/podcast/?p=episode&name=2009-04-24_115_peter_schiff_on_our_economic_future.mp3
Audio Pod Cast -- A
quote...."Lew Rockwell interviews Peter Schiff "
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Weekly jobless
claims up more than expected ---
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30364714
A quote...."WASHINGTON - New jobless claims rose more than expected
last week, while the number of workers continuing to filing claims for
unemployment benefits topped 6.1 million. - Both figures are fresh
evidence layoffs persist amid a weak job market that is not expected to
rebound anytime soon."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
U.S.
Said to Seek a Chrysler Plan for Bankruptcy ---
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/business/24chrysler.html?_r=1
A quote...."DETROIT — The Treasury Department is directing Chrysler to
prepare a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing as soon as next week, people
with direct knowledge of the talks said Thursday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
German
Economy to Shrink 6% This Year, Institutes Say (Update1)
---
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=afEWcdAsSiV0&refer=germany
Deflation Alert - A
quote...."April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Germany’s
economy will shrink 6 percent this year in its worst performance since
World War II and will stay in recession until at least mid-2010,
the country’s leading economic institutes said." - bold by website
editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Wednesday April 22nd 2009 - links
page
Torture,
Iraq and 9/11 ---
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/04/5-hours-after-911-attacks-rumsfeld-said.html
Must Read - (Exceptional Analysis)
A quote...."5
hours after the 9/11 attacks, Donald Rumsfeld said "my interest is to
hit Saddam". - He also said "Go massive . . . Sweep it all up. Things
related and not." -- And at 2:40 p.m. on September 11th, in a
memorandum of discussions between top administration officials, several
lines below the statement "judge whether good enough [to] hit S.H.
[that is, Saddam Hussein] at same time", is the statement "Hard to get
a good case." In other words, top officials knew that there wasn't a
good case that Hussein was behind 9/11, but they wanted to use the 9/11
attacks as an excuse to justify war with Iraq anyway."-- also posted at GlobRsrch
---
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13307
& OpEdNews
---
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Torture-Iraq-and-9-11-by-George-Washington-090422-8.html
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
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
The
Fatal Thread: Torture, War and the Imperial Project
---
http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/3/1746-the-fatal-thread-torture-war-and-the-imperial-project.html
Must Read - A
quote...."With the release of the U.S. Senate's report on the Bush
Administration torture program, it is now incontrovertibly clear – and
officially established by the highest, most respectable Establishment
institutions – that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and a
host of other top officials deliberately, willingly, and with malice
aforethought, established a system of interrogation using brutal
techniques that they knew were against the law. Hence the need for the
torture memos that attempted to give retroactive legal cover for
atrocities that were already taking place at the orders of the White
House and the Pentagon. They were also told repeatedly that these
tortures were ineffective at producing useful intelligence. (For more
detail, see the excellent stories at Salon.com here
--- http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/04/22/benjamin/
--- and here.
--- http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/04/22/madden/
--- )"
-- also posted at CounterPunch
--- http://www.counterpunch.org/floyd04222009.html
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Torturers
Should Be Punished ---
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090421_torturers_should_be_punished/
Must Read - A
quote...."For years, people have felt they have been hitting their
heads against walls (some suffered this literally, as the memos
detail). On Election Day, it looked like that wall had become a door.
But that door is open only a crack. Whether it is kicked open or
slammed shut is not up to the president. Though he may occupy the most
powerful office on Earth, there is a force more powerful: committed
people demanding change. We need a universal standard of justice.
Torturers should be punished." -- also
posted at ICH
--- http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22478.htm
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Lies
And Torture - When Policies - And Words Diverge ---
http://www.countercurrents.org/spence220409.htm
A quote...."Based on legal precedence, there is plenty of evidence that
interrogation techniques used in Guantanamo Bay and other US run
facilities, such as Abu Ghraib, constituted torture in violation of US
and international laws. It makes no difference that some slick legal
counselors, that were under pressure to deliver lies, skirted these
regulations and informed operatives that barbaric actions are
acceptable. Regardless of the justifications used, the infractions
still stand and represent a breach of laws that government agencies are
sworn to uphold."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
The
Cancerous Rot at the Center of the Empire ---
http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2009-04-21.asp
A quote...."....the last thing I would have ever figured was that a
time would come when there would actually be a national torture debate
in the United States, one in which people were actually debating
whether torture should be permitted along with the relative “benefits”
of torture. For that matter, it was the last thing I would have ever
thought would be considered when I was taking civics and social studies
classes in the public schools I attended as I child. -- The fact that a
torture debate is even taking place in the United States of America
convinces me more than ever that it isn’t external enemies that
ultimately bring down an empire. Instead, it’s the cancerous rot that
the empire produces from within that ultimately destroys the moral
foundation of the society."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
On
Torture, the Pressure Builds ---
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/042209a.html
Obama™
Update -- A quote...."Well, well. The New York Times has finally put a
story together on the key role that two controversial psychologists
played in devising the Bush administration's torture policies. Guess we
should be thankful for small favors. -- Apparently, a NYTimes
“exposé” requires a 21-month gestation period; just by way of
pointing out that the substance of the Times “exposé” appeared
in an article the
July
2007 issue of Vanity Fair." ---
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/07/torture200707
also
posted at AntiWar
---
http://original.antiwar.com/mcgovern/2009/04/22/on-torture-the-pressure-builds/
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
European
Nations May Investigate Bush Officials Over Prisoner Treatment
---
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/21/AR2009042103742_pf.html
A
quote...."BERLIN, April 21 -- European prosecutors are likely to
investigate CIA and Bush administration officials on suspicion of
violating an international ban on torture if they are not held legally
accountable at home, according to U.N. officials and human rights
lawyers."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Bush,
top cabinet officials monitored torture of detainees
--- http://wsws.org/articles/2009/apr2009/memo-a23.shtml
A quote...."Former
President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary
of State Colin Powell and other top Bush administration officials had
detailed knowledge of the Central Intelligence Agency’s torture tactics
and approved them, according to a front-page article published
Wednesday by the New York Times."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Dozens
of Prisoners Held by CIA Still Missing, Fates Unknown
---
http://www.propublica.org/article/dozens-of-prisoners-held-by-cia-still-missing-fates-unknown-422
A quote...."Last week, we
pointed out that one of the newly released Bush-era memos inadvertently
confirmed that the CIA held an al-Qaeda suspect [1] named Hassan Ghul
in a secret prison and subjected him to what Bush administration
lawyers called "enhanced interrogation techniques." The CIA has never
acknowledged holding Ghul, and his whereabouts today are secret." -- also posted at CommonDreams
-- http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/22-5
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
The
9/11 Card Trumps Everything ---
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/the-911-card-trumps-everything/#more-5481
Obama™
Update -- A quote...."Prosecution for torture? Is that what you
think is going to happen? A real investigation? What, like the 9/11
Commission or the NIST report maybe? Grow up. You may in fact get
Jay Bybee impeached after distracting the accountability movement for a
year or two till the next election cycle but what is the overall end
result of that? Is that going to keep future presidents in line?
Restore our shared respect for the trampled constitution? Hell
no. After much ado about nothing and way to much wasted
distracted time, the leaders of the “accountability movement” will pat
themselves on the back like they accomplished something, Bybee will be
removed from the bench, and then he will take a cushy seat as a
director on a couple of well financed boards and effectively retire a
very wealthy man sipping cocktails at a bar on the beach
somewhere, laughing."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
9/11 - From The History
File...A
Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm - wikipedia
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Jane
Harman: Angry, partisan, civil liberties extremist ---
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/21/harman/index.html
Must Read -- For the rich, savory, well deserved and
extremely well served razor sharp satire. "Jane - The Bimbo From Rand Corp. -
Harman" has been thoroughly hoisted by her own petard. -- How utterly
sweet and joyous life can be. - mpg -- A quote...."Blue Dog Rep.
Jane Harman -- once the most vigorous Democratic cheerleader of Bush's
NSA warrantless eavesdropping program -- is rip-roarin' angry
today. Apparently, her private conversations were eavesdropped on
by the U.S. Government! This is a grave outrage that, as she told
Andrea Mitchell just moments ago, demands a probing investigation:" -- also posted at ICH
--- http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22477.htm
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Lieberman:
U.S. to accept any Israeli policy decision ---
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1080097.html
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."The Obama Administration will put forth
new peace
initiatives only if Israel wants it to, said Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman in his first comprehensive interview on foreign policy since
taking office. -- "Believe me, America
accepts all our decisions," Lieberman told the Russian daily
Moskovskiy Komosolets." - bold by website editor
also posted at AmericanEveryman
---
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/lieberman-us-to-accept-any-israeli-policy-decision/
Can anyone say Chutzpah? ---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chutzpah --- mpg -- For more on this issue see....Judeo-Christian
C/C & US
---
http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/judeochristianconflictcontrolwithinus-weblist-mpg-010409
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Durban
II: final declaration approved. Tension between Israel and Iran (and
Oslo) remains - posted at
AsiaNewsIt --
http://www.asianews.it/donazione.php?l=en
---
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=15051&size=A
A quote...."Geneva (AsiaNews) - The final declaration of Durban II was
hastily approved by voice vote yesterday evening. The Vatican is
expressing its satisfaction, but meanwhile the controversy continues
between Israel and Iran. Norway and Iran want to try Tel Aviv for the
bombings in Gaza."
also posted at GlobRsrch
---
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13301
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
The Collapse of
“The Movement”; the Resistance and the Revolutionary Movement We Need
--- http://www.revcom.us/a/162/collapse-en.html
Must Read - Obama™ Update
-- A quote...."A grievous, shameful and dangerous state of affairs
permeates the
movements of opposition in the U.S. Their outlook and politics have
collapsed into passive acquiescence and even overt criminal complicity
with the policies and actions of the ruling class, and are doing so by
promoting the deadly illusion that the election of Barack Obama is
bringing progressive change. --This is bullshit, it’s knowable, and it
must change. --Some basic reality of Obama’s first 80 days:" -- also posted at ADS
--- http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/41951
- Obama has escalated the illegal war in Afghanistan with an
additional 21,000 troops.
- Obama has expanded the war into Pakistan areas, using
troops and unmanned drones.
- Obama has extended the deadline for withdrawing troops from
Iraq to 2010—and even that date may be extended by the Pentagon.
- Obama
said he plans to leave 35,000-50,000 troops plus 50,000-100,000
mercenaries in Iraq after that, effectively continuing the illegal
occupation.
- Obama said he would close
Guantanamo within 1 year, yet prisoners there are still being force fed
with tubes shoved down their throats.
- Obama approved $60 million to double the size of Bagram
prison in Afghanistan.
- Obama’s
Justice Department has defended the Bush policy of illegal warrantless
wiretapping and asserted far broader claims of executive branch
immunity than even the Bush regime.
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
U.S.
Corruption Runs Rampant - Mainstream Press In Hiding, Obama Circles
Wagons With Corrupter's
---
http://www.opednews.com/articles/U-S-Corruption-Runs-Rampa-by-Steven-Thompson-090421-440.html
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."April 21, 2009, Ford, WA-- In 2008,
Americans were energized by the presidential campaign of Barack H.
Obama. Signs were everywhere that read, “Change We Can Believe In.” -
Democrats, Independents and disenfranchised Republicans took Mr. Obama
for his word and rewarded him with their support and vote. U.S. Senator
John McCain couldn't overcome the corruption of the late 1980's
(Keating 5) and was soundly defeated. - By electing Mr. Obama, America
thought it was finally on the right path. The war in Iraq would be over
in 16 months. The Patriot Act would be repealed. NAFTA and GATT would
be renegotiated in such a way as to level the playing field for
Americas working class. It all sounded so good. A breath of fresh air.
Americans felt that we finally had a man we could trust firmly planted
in The White House."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Department
of Broken Promises: Obama Closes Door on NAFTA Renegotiation
---
http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/department-broken-promises-obama-closes-door-nafta-renegotiation
Obama™ Update -- A quote...."During the campaign Barack Obama's
campaign deliberately led supporters to imagine he favored the
reopening of the wildly unpopular North American Free Trade Agreement,
which most agree has cost millions of jobs, driven down wages in the
U.S. and Mexico, increased the gap between rich and poor and driven
millions of Mexican farmers off the land, into cities and to the
U.S. But reports from the Canadian press were confirmed by the
White House yesterday. Obama has no intention of renegotiating
NAFTA."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Pentagon
Predicts Increase in Iraq Attacks ---
http://news.antiwar.com/2009/04/22/pentagon-predicts-increase-in-iraq-attacks/
Obama™ Update -- Looks like the
Neocons, and their new incarnation the Obamacons plans for a "long war"
have become a rip-roaring success. - mpg -- A quote...."Speaking
to the Associated Press today, Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Colin
Kahl said it is expected that insurgent attacks within Iraq will rise
as the US begins its military pullout. He said that the military would
continue to monitor the increased violence to determine if they want to
push back the already nebulous deadlines set by President Barack Obama."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Eurasian
"Diplomacy": Russia and China confront the US and NATO over Afghanistan
---
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13291
A quote...."Conferences and suggestions about what to do in Afghanistan
are chock-a-block, but the reality speaks for itself, The Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation’s Special Conference on Afghanistan, held in
Moscow on 27 March, marks a new stage in the international community’s
relations with this beleaguered country. It reflected the growing clout
of Russia and China, the founders of the SCO, which includes
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and four observers —
India, Iran, Pakistan and Mongolia. -- In attendance for the first time
were top US and NATO officials, including US Deputy Assistant Secretary
for South and Central Asian Affairs Patrick Moon and NATO Deputy
Secretary General Martin Howard, as well as UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon and Secretary General of the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe Mark Perrin de Brichambaut. Among the 36
countries participating were representatives from the G8, the European
Union and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. The unanimously
adopted Joint Action Plan underlined the SCO’s importance “for
practical interaction between Afghanistan and its neighbouring states
in combating terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime.”
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Pakistan
Taliban Set Up Stronghold Near Capital ---
http://news.antiwar.com/2009/04/22/pakistani-taliban-establishing-swat-valley-stronghold/
A quote...."Media reports suggest that as the peace deal establishing
Islamic law across Malakand takes hold, Pakistan’s Taliban-styled
militants are setting up a stronghold across the Swat Valley, putting
the contentious groups within 65 miles of the Pakistani capital of
Islamabad."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Pakistan:
India supporting Baloch rebels ---
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92299§ionid=351020401
Some quotes...."Pakistani prime minister's adviser on interior affairs
has directly accused India of fueling insurgency in the country's
Balochistan province." -- ""The BLA remained dormant since the Afghan
war ended but it was reactivated after the killing of Nawab Akbar
Bugti, whose grandson Barhamdagh Bugti has openly sought Indian and
American support for independence of Balochistan in a recent
interview," said Malik."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Russia,
China sign oil deal, start new pipeline branch ---
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13303
A quote...."Russia and China signed an intergovernmental agreement on
oil cooperation in Beijing on Tuesday, under which a new branch from
the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline will be built toward
China. -- The agreement sets out terms for oil cooperation between the
countries, in particular on the laying of a pipeline from the
Skovorodino refinery in Russia's Far East to Mohe County in China's
Heilongjiang province. Under the deal, the pipeline must be completed
by the end of next year."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Gazprom,
E.ON could close Siberian asset deal in summer ---
http://en.rian.ru/business/20090423/121258825.html
A quote...."MOSCOW, April 23 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom and Germany's E.ON
could close a deal for the German company to join the development of
northwest Siberia's Yuzhno-Russkoye oil and gas field as early as the
summer, the E.ON head said on Thursday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Thousands
pour into Georgian capital to protest ---
http://wire.antiwar.com/2009/04/22/thousands-pour-into-georgian-capital-to-protest/
A quote...."Thousands of opposition supporters from Georgia's provinces
poured into the capital late Wednesday to join the protests aimed at
forcing President Mikhail Saakashvili to step down. - A convoy of some
600 cars, minibuses and buses loaded with opposition backers from
western Georgia drove into Tbilisi in the evening, adding to a crowd of
30,000 people already in front of parliament and along the city's main
thoroughfare."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Communists
officially win in Moldova ---
http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/2009-04-21/Communists_officially_win_in_Moldova_.html
A quote...."Moldova's Central Election Commission has officially
confirmed the Communist Party won the country's parliamentary
elections. -- The commission announced on Tuesday that the result
remains the same with the Communists winning the seats with 49.48
percent, which gives them 60 parliamentary seats of 101 in the Moldovan
parliament."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Review
after terror suspects freed ---
http://www.itv.com/News/Articles/Terror-suspects-to-be-deported-578435738.html
Some quotes...."The case of 12 men arrested over a suspected bomb plot
then released without charge will be independently reviewed." -- "Prime
Minister Gordon Brown spoke of a "major terrorist plot" being
investigated, amid reports of shopping centres, football grounds and
nightclubs being targeted by Muslim extremists. But the suspects held
since April 8 were all released without charge." -- also posted at WarInIraq
--- http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/195398
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
COLOMBIA:
Paramilitary Chief Says He Helped Finance Uribe’s Campaign
--- http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46600
Special Note - A
quote...."BOGOTA, Apr 22 (IPS) - Former Colombian paramilitary chief
and drug lord Diego Murillo, alias "Don Berna", testified in a U.S.
court that he helped finance President Álvaro Uribe’s first
election campaign, in 2002."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
75
former state attorneys general of both parties ask Holder to examine
Siegelman case...
---
http://www.atlargely.com/2009/04/75-former-state-attorneys-general-of-both-parties-ask-holder-to-examine-siegelman-case.html
A quote...."Amazing that former Sen. Ted Stevens got first look by
Attorney General Holder, but the Siegelman, Minor, et all cases were
not even mentioned by the DOJ in their quest to restore justice back to
the DOJ. I have come to the conclusion that the reason for this is
likely the same reason that Holder has not been actively going after
those who ordered torture, like former VP Dick Cheney. The reason is
that the political prosecutions that took place during the Bush years
go straight up into the White House. When I first began reporting on
the Siegelman case two years ago, there were 34 former state attorneys
general of both parties demanding an investigation. Now that number has
reached 75:"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Norway:
10 Israelis named in war crimes complaint ---
http://wire.antiwar.com/2009/04/22/norway-10-israelis-named-in-war-crimes-complaint/
Special Note - A
quote...."A group of Norwegian lawyers filed a complaint Wednesday
accusing 10 Israelis of war crimes in Gaza under the country's new
universal jurisdiction law, officials said. - Former Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and opposition leader
Tzipi Livni were among those named in the complaint, the lawyers said."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
Ethnic
cleansing, one home at a time ---
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10477.shtml
Special Note - A
quote...."In the Sadiyya neighborhood inside the Muslim quarter of
Jerusalem's Old City is the Jaber family home. There, three members of
the Jaber family, as well as the Karaki family, have lived with their
parents, and later spouses and children, since the 1930s. Like most
homes inside the Old City, the residential space has an open center
that is shared by those living inside. - Six years ago Israeli police
came to the house and told Nasser Jaber that his house no longer
belonged to his family, but rather to Israeli colonists from the
right-wing Messianic settler organization Ateret Cohanim whose racist
ideology is closely aligned with Kach, a political party that advocates
the expulsion of Palestinians."
========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ========== ====
IOA
demolishes Palestinian home south of Jerusalem, 4 others near Nablus
---
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7FLIGzrVJbquRZLgY9qpmm0BhPdogD
F%2bHKmqSOP3j5eB9tLXrSCNFg8DB7q0L%2fQJDTYLKBlKOhT9%2fnZULWvC8L93mH9wqqqtZCRXOSJf7HW4%3d
A quote...."OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation
authority demolished a Palestinian house without prior warning in the
Sal'ah area, south of occupied Jerusalem, Wednesday morning at the
pretext of unlicensed construction. -- Local sources said that the
house is owned by Ammar Hedidon who has a family composed of five
members, pointing out that the IOA had demolished the foundations of
the house two months ago before Hdidon restored it."
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Obama
boycotts racism summit by ~Latuff2 ---
http://latuff2.deviantart.com/art/Obama-boycotts-racism-summit-119810960
Cartoon - Click on the image to enlarge it. - mpg
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Israel
and its bodyguards by ~Latuff2 ---
http://latuff2.deviantart.com/art/Israel-and-its-bodyguards-119956724
Cartoon - Click on the image to enlarge it. - mpg
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UNICEF:
Support and counselling for Gaza's children ---
http://palestinevideo.blogspot.com/2009/04/unicef-support-and-counselling-for.html
Contains Video - A quote...."GAZA, Occupied Palestinian Territory, 21
April 2009 The conflict in Gaza, which occurred between 27 December
2008 and 18 January 2009, took a great economic, social and
psychological toll on children and families. Many witnessed the deaths
of caregivers, siblings and friends. All border crossings were
virtually sealed; children and their families had nowhere to run, no
refuge from the violence."
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MP
Jarrar lambastes world community for ignoring Israeli detention of
lawmakers
---
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7lJCDTUlyFv3wF3Ps93j0Rj6qAsQQ
AbaiCHxjGtFQZ1VRp9oC7mxEBMqABK%2bDN0GgGigUxCTfo%2b93Wc90B6rAd9nVisrORDdVBoJKJthbPbw%3d
A quote...."RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- MP Khaleda Jarrar has lambasted the world
community for remaining silent towards the Israeli detention of
Palestinian lawmakers including Ahmed Saadat, Marwan Al-Barghouthi and
speaker of the Palestinian legislative council Dr. Aziz Dwaik."
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"Fort Detrick disease samples may be missing
---
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=89293
--- CID has been investigating USAMRIID since at least early
February. 22 Apr 2009 Army criminal investigators are
looking into the
possibility that disease samples are missing from biolabs at Fort
Detrick. As first reported --- in today's edition of The
Frederick
News-Post, the investigators are from the U.S. Army Criminal
Investigation Division ---
http://www.cid.army.mil/ --- unit at Fort Meade. Chad
Jones, spokesman
for Fort Meade, said CID is investigating the possibility of missing
virus samples from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious
Diseases. --- http://www.usamriid.army.mil/
--- CID is responsible for investigating crimes where the
Army is, or may be, a party of interest, according to the U.S. Army
Criminal Investigation Command website. USAMRIID is the Army's top
biodefense lab, where researchers study pathogens including Ebola,
anthrax and plague. [See: Flu 'Oddities'.]"
--- http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html
--- Paragraph quoted from
CLG ---
http://www.legitgov.org/
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"'Agents are
looking for what may have gone missing between 1987 and 2008.' Cold comfort ---
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_columnist.htm?StoryID=89276
--- By Katherine Heerbrandt 22 Apr
2009 The Criminal Investigation Division at Fort Meade has been
investigating USAMRIID at Fort Detrick since at least early February.
Meade's CID pursues investigations of serious crimes and sensitive
subjects of concern to the Army at regional bases like Detrick, which
has no internal investigative arm. A News-Post story in
February reported that USAMRIID was shutting down most of its
bioresearch while it tried to match its inventory to its records,
citing an "overage" of BSAT, biological select agents and toxins.
Meade's CID, however, isn't concerned with overstock. Instead, agents
are looking for what may have gone missing between 1987 and 2008." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG ---
http://www.legitgov.org/
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"'We have not been able to come up with any
explanation of
why anyone would have swine flu.' New Strain of Swine Flu Investigated
---
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/21/AR2009042103694.html
--- Two
Children in San Diego Area Had No Contact With Pigs 22 Apr 2009
Public health authorities are investigating two highly unusual cases of
a previously unknown strain of swine flu that was found in the San
Diego area late last month. The cases occurred almost simultaneously in
children who had no contact with pigs or each other, a scenario that
raised the possibility that the illnesses may be the sign of an
emerging pandemic strain of influenza... In 1976, a strain of swine flu
caused illness in 13 soldiers at Fort Dix
in New Jersey, killing one. [See: Killer
flu recreated in the lab ---
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3719990.stm --- 07 Oct
2004 Scientists have shown that
tiny changes to modern flu viruses could render them as deadly as the
1918 strain which killed millions. A US team added two genes from a
sample of the 1918 virus to a modern strain known to have no effect on
mice. See: Rumsfeld's growing stake in Tamiflu
---
http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/31/news/newsmakers/fortune_rumsfeld/
--- Defense
Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio
value growing 31 Oct 2005 The prospect of a bird flu outbreak may
be panicking people around the globe, but
it's proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences,
the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the
influenza remedy that's now the most-sought after drug in the world.
Rumsfeld served as Gilead (Research)'s chairman from 1997 until he
joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead
stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according
to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld.]" -- Paragraph quoted from CLG ---
http://www.legitgov.org/
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"H5N1 virus may be adapting to pigs in Indonesia
---
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/mar3109swine-jw.html
--- Scientists:
adaptation may mean virus is one step closer to
morphing
into human pandemic strain 31 Mar 2009
Scientists report that H5N1 avian influenza viruses may be adapting to
pigs, as evidenced by the finding that H5N1 viruses isolated from pigs
in Indonesia were less harmful to mice than were H5N1 viruses from
chickens. The finding suggests that in growing in pigs, the virus may
have become less harmful to mammals in general, the authors report.
That sounds reassuring, but the authors say it may mean the virus is
one step closer to turning into a human pandemic strain." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG -- http://www.legitgov.org/
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The
Fed and the Golden Fleece ---
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=59
A quote...."When I teach my economics classes about money, I pass
around a $10 gold coin that is a replica of those that were in
circulation around 1913, the year Congress created the Federal Reserve
System. The coin is made from one-half of an ounce of gold, dating from
the time when the dollar was based upon a standard of $20 an ounce." --
also posted at DProgramNet
--- http://dprogram.net/2009/04/22/the-fed-and-the-golden-fleece/
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Morgan
Stanley Follows Goldman's Lead And "Skips" Reporting December Losses
---
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/04/morgan-stanley-follows-goldmans-lead.html
Financial Scam Alert - A
quote...."Goldman Sachs posted a profitable quarter by skipping
December, during which it realized huge losses. Now Morgan Stanley is
doing the same thing. Specifically, Morgan's first quarter results
report states:"
"As a result of the change in the
Company's fiscal year end from November 30th to December 31st, the
Company had a December 2008 fiscal month transition period. The results
for this period, which reflected a net loss applicable to Morgan
Stanley of $1.3 billion, are presented on page 19 of the financial
supplement accompanying this release."
"Presto, Morgan's performance massaged to look better than it really
was."
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Police
Found Freddie Mac CFO Dead by Hanging ---
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=7399376
He's probably looking up from
hell right now saying to himself, "God dang it! If only I had
been smart enough to do what Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have
done! Whoops, way too late now. - mpg -- A quote...."Law
enforcement sources said David Kellermann, acting chief financial
officer of mortgage company Freddie Mac, was found hanging in the
basement of his Vienna, Va., home, dead from an apparent suicide early
this morning."
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GM
Planning To Close Most U.S. Factories For Up To Nine Weeks
---
http://www.roguegovernment.com/GM_Planning_To_Close_Most_U.S._Factories_For_Up_To_Nine_Weeks/15341/0/8/8/Y/M.html
Deflation Alert - A
quote...."General Motors Corp. is planning to temporarily close most of
its U.S. factories for up to nine weeks this summer because of slumping
sales and growing inventories of unsold vehicles, three people briefed
on the plan said Wednesday. Analysts say the company could be seeing
sales decline because of talk about a potential bankruptcy."
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World
economy in severe recession, IMF says
---
http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE53L32C20090422?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews
Deflation Alert - A
quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on
Wednesday slashed growth forecasts for every major country and urged
governments to take forceful action to ensure the world economy's
recovery from a severe recession. - In its latest World Economic
Outlook, the IMF said the global
economy would likely contract 1.3 percent this year in the deepest
post-World War Two recession by far." - bold by website editor
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First
trade deficit for Japan since 1980 ---
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=15048&size=A
Deflation Alert - A
quote...."Tokyo reports a deficit of 725.3 billion yen. Exports towards
US and EU drop significantly; those towards in Asia decline as well.
Central bank expects economy to shrink by 3 to 5 per cent. Recovery is
tied to government stimulus package."
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Gilt
‘Indigestion’ Looms as U.K. Prepares Record Bond Sales
---
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aeJL2HXp_MFA
Financial Alert - A
quote...." April 23 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K.’s plan to sell a record 220
billion pounds ($318 billion) of gilts this year to revive the economy
may cause investor “indigestion,” according to some of Britain’s
biggest bond traders. - The amount, 50 percent more than the 146.4
billion pounds sold in the fiscal year that ended March 31, may be too
much for the market to absorb, according to Royal Bank of Scotland
Group Plc."
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