Tuesday May 19th 2009 - links page

U.S. Economy: The Cancer is Still There  ---  http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/us-economy-cancer-still-there
Article  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article22658.htm
also posted at ICH  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/cachedfiles/ichsfundingpage-cached-reficultnias-111908
Must Read - Obama™ Update - A quote...."How does one restore the Lords of Capital to their former positions as dictators of the U.S. and global economies, while keeping their seats warm as de facto political rulers of the American state? Saving the finance capital oligarchy has emerged as President Obama’s central mission – the guiding focus of his young administration. Obama has found new and myriad ways to go where no American president has ever gone before, in funneling somewhere around $13 trillion of national treasure to the parasitical class that goes by the shorthand, Wall Street."
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Obama's Warfare State  ---  http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/051909c.html
Obama™ Update - Some quotes...."Not even the prospect of a $3.1 trillion combined budget deficit for this year and next deters him. Let them chop the budget for black colleges and police officer death benefits, the Pentagon and its contractors continue to feast at the champagne-and-caviar table." -- "Obama’s new $664 billion Pentagon budget is $21 billion higher (4 percent) than the final Bush budget. It includes $65 billion for Afghanistan and $61 billion for Iraq. Why?"
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Obama Steers Toward Endless War With Islam - posted at AntiWar  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/
  ---  http://original.antiwar.com/scheuer/2009/05/19/obama-steers-toward-endless-war-with-islam/
Obama™ Update - A quote...."In just over 100 days, President Obama is on the verge of ensuring that militant Islam’s war on America will be waged for decades to come and its forces will never suffer manpower or money shortages. How did he accomplish so much in some little time? He simply behaved as all U.S. political leaders behave; that is, as an ignorant and arrogant interventionist." -- also posted at ICH  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article22665.htm
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Obama's embrace of Bush terrorism policies is celebrated as "Centrism"
  ---  http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/05/19/obama/index.html
Obama™ Update - A quote...."I wonder how many people from across the political spectrum will have to point this out before Obama defenders will finally admit that it's true.  From Harvard Law Professor and former Bush OLC lawyer Jack Goldsmith, systematically assessing Obama's "terrorism" policies in The New Republic:" - also posted at CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/05/19-4

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Jeremy Scahill: “Little Known Military Thug Squad Still Brutalizing Prisoners at Gitmo Under Obama”
  ---  http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/19/jeremy_scahill_little_known_military_thug
Obama™ Update - A quote...."Jeremy Scahill reports the Obama administration is continuing to use a notorious military police unit at Guantanamo that regularly brutalizes unarmed prisoners, including gang-beating them, breaking their bones, gouging their eyes and dousing them with chemicals. This force, officially known as the Immediate Reaction Force, has been labeled the “Extreme Repression Force” by Guantanamo prisoners, and human rights lawyers call their actions illegal. [includes rush transcript]"
||  Real Video Stream  ||  ---  http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2009/may/video/dnB20090519a.rm&proto=rtsp&start=00:23:42
||  Real Audio Stream  ||  ---  http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2009/may/audio/dn20090519.ra&proto=rtsp&start=00:23:42
||  MP3 Download  ||  ---  http://media.libsyn.com/media/democracynow/dn2009-0519-1.mp3
||  More…  ||  ---  http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/19/stream
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American Death Squad -- Obama inherits Cheney's army of assassins – and promotes their commander - posted at AntiWar  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/
  ---  http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2009/05/19/american-death-squad/
Obama™ Update - A quote...."As the story of Bush administration’s war crimes comes out in fits and starts, it appears that torture is only one aspect – and not the worst, by any means – of this horrific history. In an interview in mid-March, Seymour Hersh let slip the following:"


"Well, yes, that’s hardly surprising. The PATRIOT Act  ---  http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/17564prs20050404.html  ---  and other legislation [.pdf]  ---  http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:s3930enr.txt.pdf  --  passed by Congress gives the government the legal "right" to spy on American citizens and, in the case of Jose Padilla,  ---  http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/04/us/04detain.html?ex=1322888400&en=accb01df2436f791&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all ---   lock them up without a trial and throw away the key. But, as Hersh reveals, it gets worse. Much worse:"
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The Humanitarian Face of the State, With Fangs  ---  http://lewrockwell.com/rockwell/humanitarian-face-fangs.html
Obama™ Update - A quote...."The glorious Barack Obama, broad-minded humanitarian universalist that he is, promised to reverse the wickedness of the Bush administration, which ran a prison camp in Guantánamo Bay and kept pictures of ruthless abuse from public view to save the face of Bush.  ---  Bush the despot!  ---  Obama the savior!  ---  And sure enough, after taking office, Obama did something or other toward closing that prison camp just off our shores, along with its secret military trials and abuse. How the partisans cheered on one side and booed on the other. Except that just the other day, Obama quietly reversed himself. Now the camps must stay. After all, there are real enemies there, the "worst of the worst." The trials will still be in secret. The military will still run them, because, you know, you just can't trust those civilian courts to arrive at the right verdict."
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Mystery surrounds prison death of terrorist whose testimony was key to Iraq invasion
  ---  http://www.sundayherald.com/international/shinternational/display.var.2508623.0.0.php
Special Note - Obama™ Update - A quote...."THE ISLAMIST terrorist who was the key source of the false intelligence used to trigger the US and UK 2003 military invasion of Iraq has been found dead in a Libyan prison cell. -- Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi allegedly commited suicide by hanging in the prison where he was being held in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. His death followed a visit by a team from Human Rights Watch, one of the world's leading independent organisations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights."
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Guantanamo Investigator Confirms Torture/Iraq Connection
  ---  http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/5/18/732869/-Guantanamo-Investigator-Confirms-Torture-Iraq-Connection
Special Note - Obama™ Update - A quote...."On Saturday, I wrote   ---  http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/5/16/732250/-Cheney,-Torture,-Iraq  ---  about a new and important McClatchy story   ---  http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/68315.html  ---  that revisited remarks Cheney made to the Rocky Mountain News in 2004, confirming then that they tortured extracted false confessions information from Guantanamo detainees about Al Qaeda/Iraq ties."

For more on the two articles shown above see....Making Up Stories - With Torture
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-051309-051909#MAKINGUPSTORIES
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Obama's Problems With Gas  ---  http://aangirfan.blogspot.com/2009/05/obamas-problem-with-gas.html
Must Read - Maps & Charts -- Some quotes...."Obama thinks a lot about gas in Asia. - Pakistan, and Afghanistan, would benefit from the proposed TAPI pipeline, if it follows the route above. - The USA is in favour of the TAPI pipeline, which could take gas from Turkmenistan to India." -- "What's really going on in Pakistan, India, Iran, Afghanistan and other such places in Asia with links to oil, gas and pipelines? - Is the USA trying to cause divisions between Pakistan and India?" -- also posted at BLN  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-4252-0-27-27--.html
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'Iran, Pakistan to sign gas deal next month'  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=95326&sectionid=351020103
Related Article - A quote...."A senior advisor to Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has declared that Pakistan and Iran will sign a gas deal next month. - Assim Hussein noted that the deal would be part of the planned Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline that will carry Iran's natural gas to Pakistan and India."
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Iraq Rejects $8Bln Nabucco Deal  ---  http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/600/42/377214.htm
Related Article - A quote...."BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi government on Monday rejected an $8 billion Kurdish plan to fill the Nabucco pipeline with gas for Europe, a major setback to a project designed to reduce the continent's reliance on Russian energy. - Opposition in Baghdad to the deal to obtain gas from Iraq's Kurdistan region hands Russia the initiative as it races to complete its own alternative to the Western-backed pipeline and tighten its grip on European energy markets." -- also posted at WarInIraq   ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/197512
& AtheoNews  ---  http://atheonews.blogspot.com/2009/05/iraq-rejects-8bln-nabucco-deal.html
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Moscow sets out to conquer Mongolia’s gold, coal and copper  ---  http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=15287&size=A
Related Article - A quote...."The centrepiece of Russian premier Vladimir Putin's visit on May 13 was a deal worth potentially $7 billion, under which the Russia agreed to upgrade and expand Mongolia's rail network. The payoff for the Russian railway company includes mining licenses for the Tavan-Tolgoi copper coal mine and the Oyu-Tolgoi cooper-gold mine. -- According to experts Russia’s real aim is to gain primacy in access to uranium deposits in Mongolia for the development of its own nuclear industry."
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McChrystal's Rise: More Secrets, Less Daylight  ---  http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090525/hayden2?rel=emailNation
A quote...."All along there were two US wars in Iraq. There was the public war, in which the Pentagon tried to manipulate the mainstream media into being a "message amplifier," while some intrepid reporters and bloggers fought back. Then there was the secret war carried out by the Special Operations forces, whose existence was denied even by the Pentagon. -- Now the secret operations threaten to completely compromise what remains of the public war in Afghanistan and Pakistan with the ascension of Gen. Stanley McChrystal to top commander from his classified role in running Special Ops in Iraq for five years." -- also posted at Uruknet  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54411&hd=&size=1&l=e
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History Channel Ads You Won't See In The US Or Online - Click on the photos to enlarge them. - mpg
  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article22651.htm
posted at ICH  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/cachedfiles/ichsfundingpage-cached-reficultnias-111908
A quote...."May 19, 2009 "Business Insider" -- Huge ad agency Ogilvy and executive creative director Fran Luckin created these three ads for History Channel to run in South Africa. Certainly thought-provoking, possibly anti-American, the poster-sized print ads are engaging in just the way online advertising struggles to be. Click to expand the images:"
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Blackwater guards shoot civilians in Afghanistan  ---  http://atheonews.blogspot.com/2009/05/blackwater-guards-shoot-civilians-in.html
A quote...."Four guards employed by Blackwater (now renamed Xe), a company founded by Michigan native Erik Prince, have sparked yet another international incident by opening fire on a vehicle full of Afghani civilians after a car accident in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Wall Street Journal reports:" - bold by website editor -- A murderous bunch of thugs by any other name would still be a menace to decent people everywhere. - mpg
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What’s Netanyahu Really Afraid Of? - posted at AntiWar  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/
  ---  http://original.antiwar.com/sahimi/2009/05/19/whats-netanyahu-really-afraid-of/
A quote...."Although the Obama administration has made it clear that it wants to pursue diplomacy with Iran and the president himself has made overtures toward Iran, Israel continues to threaten Iran with military attacks. Its lobby in the United States, led by AIPAC and its supporters in the War Party, continues to issue dire warnings about Iran’s nuclear program and the danger that it allegedly poses to not just Israel and the Middle East, but the entire "free world." Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reaffirmed time and again that all of Iran’s known nuclear facilities and nuclear materials, including its stockpile of low-enriched uranium, are safeguarded and monitored by the agency; there is no evidence for a secret parallel nuclear program, or one that is aimed at developing nuclear weapons; and all the issues regarding Iran’s six cases of noncompliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA have been resolved to the agency’s satisfaction."
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'Israel will have to take on Iran alone once Obama's efforts fail'  ---  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1086628.html
War Alert - A quote...."Israel will be forced to take on Iran's contentious nuclear program alone once U.S. President Barack Obama's overture for dialogue with Tehran fails, an Israeli official said on Tuesday."
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Lebanon charges five more Israeli spies - Whoops, somebody spilled the beans. - mpg
  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=95255&sectionid=351020203
A quote...."Five more suspected Israeli agents have been charged in Lebanon amid the spread of a recently launched crackdown aimed at dismantling Israeli espionage networks in the county. - "They (spies) are accused of collaborating with Israel, entering its territory, and providing it with information on military posts and Lebanese individuals," a judicial source was quoted as saying on condition of anonymity Tuesday."
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Hezbollah on Alert for Israel's Largest-ever Maneuvers
  ---  http://www.palestinechronicle.com/news.php?id=5cd3e19d334b6ce9f6209a6498807436&mode=details#5cd3e19d334b6ce9f6209a6498807436
A quote....."Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned late Monday that his Lebanese Shiite party was ready to fight a new war with Israel as the Jewish state prepares for one of its largest military exercises ever later this month."
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China's top legislator: China-Russia partnership enjoys fast growth  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-4245-0-27-27--.html
A quote...."The strategic partnership of cooperation between China and Russia is currently showing all-round momentum and rapid growth as high-level contacts remain frequent, China's top legislator said in Moscow on Wednesday."
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Grisly Video May Slow Nuclear Pact - link posted at AntiWar  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/
  ---  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/19/AR2009051903262_pf.html
A quote...."The emergence of a videotape depicting a grisly beating administered by a member of the royal family of the United Arab Emirates has complicated a U.S. effort to create the Arab world's first nuclear energy program, officials said. -- The Obama administration had been preparing to send a U.S.-UAE energy accord to Congress for review. Then came the tape. Screened for a stunned congressional audience last week, it shows a robed sheik heaping sand into the mouth of a writhing Afghan merchant pinned to the ground by uniformed police. -- The sheik later slams a board with a protruding nail into the Afghan's naked backside. In a gruesome conclusion, a black SUV is driven over the victim's bruised and bleeding body."
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Brazil eying base for its first nuclear sub  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=95143&sectionid=351020706
A quote...."Months after reaching an agreement with France, Brazil is taking more steps towards building its first nuclear-propelled submarine."
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Africa Violence Uproots Over 11 M  ---  http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=84330&Itemid=1
A quote...."United Nations, May 19 (Prensa Latina) More than 11 million persons are either refugees or displaced from their territories as a result of violence in 16 central and eastern nations of Africa, informed the UN agency for Humanitarian Aid (OCHA)."
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Arms From U.S. May Be Falling Into Taliban Hands  ---  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/world/asia/20ammo.html?_r=1
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan — Insurgents in Afghanistan, fighting from some of the poorest and most remote regions on earth, have managed for years to maintain an intensive guerrilla war against materially superior American and Afghan forces.
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Who’s afraid of the CIA?  ---  http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/whos-afraid-of-the-cia/
Related Article - A quote...."Elizabeth Cheney worked in 2002 for a secretive office charged with using U.S. tax-payer dollars to support “unnamed groups” in the Middle East with the express purpose of helping foster “democracy” in the region. Translation: she funneled cash to “terrorists” to stir up trouble in countries that weren’t friendly to Western Business interests." -- For more on the two articles shown above see....US Support of Terror
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ussupportofterror-weblist-mpg-090306
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"7/7 bomber tracked by intelligence officers since 2001
  ---  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/chances-to-prevent-77-attacks-were-missed-1687434.html  ---  Chances to prevent 7/7 attacks were missed 19 May 2009 Police and the MI5 spy agency likely missed chances to identify the key men behind the 2005 London bombings [an inside job six ways to Sunday], but could have done little more to halt the attacks given their limited resources, lawmakers said today. A detailed report into what was known before the attacks, which killed 52 people on three subway cars and a bus, reveals how one of the bombers was tracked by intelligence officers as early as 2001." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG  ---  http://www.legitgov.org/
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"Court: White House doesn't have to turn over e-mail records   ---  http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/19/us.whouse.email/index.html  ---  The decision was a victory for the Bush regime, which sought to shield its internal communications. 19 May 2009 A unit of the White House that was accused of misplacing [destroying] perhaps millions of office e-mails does not have to make its records public, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. In Tuesday's decision, the appeals judges -- David Sentelle, Thomas Griffith and Raymond Randolph -- were all named by Republican presidents."
Paragraph quoted from CLG  ---  http://www.legitgov.org/
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Supreme Court Detainee Decision May Not Block Suits Against Top Officials  ---  http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/42770
A quote...."In denying the right of a Muslim Pakistani immigrant to sue former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI director Robert Mueller for his prolonged imprisonment and harsh treatment based on his religion and national origin, the Supreme Court on Monday raised the bar for plaintiffs seeking to sue high-level government officials for policies carried out by their subordinates. -- Some in the media have reported that the decision revokes a detainee’s right to sue a public official for wrongful detention or mistreatment. In fact, the ruling was tailored narrowly, leaving the door open to such suits in the future. Yet it remains unclear how specific the plaintiff’s claims must be for a court to allow the case to proceed against high-level officials who condone unconstitutional practices." -- bold by website editor
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The Tortuous Logic of Nancy Pelosi  ---  http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2009/05/17/the-tortuous-logic-of-nancy-pelosi/
Special Note - A quote...."Even I – quintessentially cynical when it comes to politics and politicians – was shocked (shocked!) by the ease with which the Democratic talking heads and their blogger auxiliary took up the defense of Nancy Pelosi. Her obvious culpability in the unfolding story of how torture was legitimized in the eyes of seemingly reasonable people is such a challenge to supposedly anti-torture Democrats that one’s response to it represents a veritable litmus test of one’s honesty, integrity, and ideological consistency. It’s sad, but true, that not many alleged progressives with a public platform are earning a passing grade. " -- Everyone in that faux-liberal, Neo-Roman inhabited, Pompeii-by-the-Bay, enclave of the decadent wealthy elites, should have voted for Cindy Sheehan   ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/thecitybythebaysophistryandliberalhotair-mpg-reficultnias-102908  ---  (see article shown below).  But they didn't, and she ain't running again, and that means we're ALL gonna be stuck with that embalmed, aged, fossilized, crone of a political hack Nancy Pelosi for the rest of our frigging lives!!! – mpg
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Cindy's Nightmare  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article22656.htm
posted at ICH  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/cachedfiles/ichsfundingpage-cached-reficultnias-111908
Cindy Sheehan challenged "Nancy - take impeachment off the table - Pelosi", for California's 8th district U.S. House of Representatives during the 2008 election.  She garnered 46,118 votes (16.14%) of the total. - mpg - A quote...."May 19, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- -I am not running for Congress against Nancy Pelosi in California's 8th District in 2010. -- I was honored by the overwhelming amount of financial support that we received from all over the nation, but clearly, 650,000.00 is not enough to wage a credible battle against the political establishment that owns, controls, and pre-ordains outcomes by either outright fraud or manipulation. If 650,000.00 wasn't enough (the Republican raised 100 grand more and got about half as many votes as I did), then I don't want to raise or spend the kind of money that it would take to defeat the system."
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The Trials of Ehren Watada  ---  http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090601/brecher_smith?rel=hp_picks
If anybody wants a hero, this guy is IT.  He bravely stood his ground, against the system, on his own principals (something you rarely see nowadays) and actually WON. - mpg -- A quote...."As Americans are inundated with revelations about the lies, torture and other crimes that accompanied the US-led war in Iraq, many who resisted continue to be punished for refusing to participate in those crimes. First Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned military officer to refuse deployment to Iraq, won a significant legal victory last week when the US Department of Justice dropped efforts to retry him after a bungled court-martial. But his legal problems continue. -- As America struggles with how to hold its homegrown war criminals accountable, those who resisted provide lessons for how to prevent war crimes in the future." -- also posted at CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/05/19-13
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Youtube Restores The Alex Jones Channel  ---  http://infowars.net/articles/may2009/190509Youtube.htm
A quote...."Youtube has restored the official Alex Jones Youtube channel after legal counter claims were filed against the original claims of copyright violation. It took two weeks for this issue to be resolved, with Youtube examining and determining exactly who had filed the original complaint."
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The Swine Flu Outbreak and Other Bio-Warfare Matters....

Prison Outbreak? 4 More Have Swine Flu At Rikers
  ---  http://wcbstv.com/local/rikers.island.jail.2.1013198.html
Number of H1N1 cases nears 10,000
  ---  http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/19/swine.flu.cases/index.html
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Terror' Channels Face Freedom Threat  ---  http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15113
Special Note - Censorship Alert - A quote...."The perception that many American policies are influenced by Israel has been given a further boost with the latest attempt by the US Congress to silence free speech. - The current move to ‘cleanse’ the airwaves involves pro-Israeli members of the congress who are in the process of submitting a bill that seeks to target satellite stations as “terrorist organizations”. -- For more on this issue see....Judeo-Christian C/C & US - Media
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/judeochristianconflictcontrolwithinus-weblist-mpg-010409#MEDIA
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Ministry of prisoners: Israel deliberately kidnaps and maltreats children
  ---  http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7LERenB6SgLtUuDoZcw48r0FmTO
6UiNiXqu21kuxlxaw8na3ZRRUNm%2fECNqQSwcuUCgXp7uD2KE8dJxdA7NTB4yx898Z25XZJoM3QIXAu1pQ%3d
A quote...."GAZA, (PIC)-- The Palestinian ministry for prisoners’ affairs in Gaza said Tuesday that the IOF troops deliberately kidnap Palestinian children under age 18, physically attack them and use violent ways to interrogate them."
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Palestinians demand Obama action follow words  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/197589
A quote...."A key Palestinian official demanded Tuesday that President Barack Obama follow up his tough talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and force Israel to stop West Bank settlement construction and accept creation of a Palestinian state." - also posted at Yahoo(AP)
  ---  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090519/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians;_ylt=AoJkRzW428SHj1VBRyuzhEQLewgF  ---  Hah!!  For more on Obama's "unstated" position regarding the Palestinian people, and their long terrible suffering, see....No Leadership From Obama. - Oh Contraire! 12-28-08 - mpg  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/noleadershipfromobama-ohcontraire-mpg-reficultnias-122808
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The Siege on Gaza is Not Over  ---  http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article951
A quote...."Since the end of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, the humanitarian situation there has been constantly worsening. And although Israel unilaterally declared an end to the war, the violence has not stopped in Gaza." -- also posted at Uruknet   ---  http://uruknet.com/?p=m54375&hd=&size=1&l=e
& WarInIraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/197569
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Returning to the scene of a Gaza war crime  ---  http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10538.shtml
A quote...."KHUZAA, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - Khuzaa is a small farming village perched on a gentle slope east of Khan Younis. Its fertile farmland once produced fruit and vegetables for export to Israel, whose own lush plains are just 500 meters from Khuzaa's center, and are visible through the town's narrow streets." - also posted at WarInIraq   ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/197539  ---  For more on this issue see....Gaza Invasion of 12/27/08
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/thegazainvasion-mpg-weblist-122708
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Israel bans books, music and clothes from entering Gaza  ---  http://www.effedieffe.com/content/view/7463/183/
A quote...."srael allows only food, medicine and detergent into the Gaza Strip. Thousands of items, including vital products for everyday activity, are forbidden." -- also posted at WarInIraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/197511
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The State of Iron Fear - Intimidation and Interrogation in Tel Aviv  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/hadar05192009.html
A quote...."My computer, today, is still at Tel Aviv police headquarters where it stayed after my two-hour interrogation last week. I am not given, I believe, to conspiracy thinking but the thought crossed my mind, comically rather, whether I’d ever written anything unkind about my neighbor or his family......"
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PLO Negotiations Affairs Dept. -- Did you know?  ---  http://www.nad-plo.org/main.php?view=mainextra_know
Some little known facts about Israel and the Palestinians....mpg
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UK medics go on hunger strike after being refused entry into Gaza  ---  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/19/british-medics-refused-gaza-access
A quote...."Three British medics began a hunger strike in Egypt today to protest against being refused entry into Gaza for a humanitarian mission." - also posted at ISM  ---  http://palsolidarity.org/2009/05/6728
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Gaza: Rising Again After the Assault  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54407&hd=&size=1&l=e
A quote...."KHUZA'A, Gaza, May 18, 2009 (IPS) - Khuza'a is a small farming village perched on a gentle slope east of Khan Younis. Its fertile farmland once produced fruit and vegetables for export to Israel, whose own lush plains are just 500 metres from Khuza'a's centre, and are visible through the town's narrow streets."
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The Weimar Hyperinflation? Could it Happen Again?  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13673
A quote...."Is the United States, then, out of the hyperinflationary woods with its “quantitative easing” scheme? Maybe, maybe not. To the extent that the newly-created money will be used for real economic development and growth, funding by seigniorage is not likely to inflate prices, because supply and demand will rise together. Using quantitative easing to fund infrastructure and other productive projects, as in President Obama’s stimulus package, could invigorate the economy as promised, producing the sort of abundance reported by Benjamin Franklin in America’s flourishing early years. -- There is, however, something else going on today that is disturbingly similar to what triggered the 1923 hyperinflation. As in Weimar Germany, money creation in the U.S. is now being undertaken by a privately-owned central bank, the Federal Reserve; and it is largely being done to settle speculative bets on the books of private banks, without producing anything of value to the economy." - bold by website editor
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US treasury secretary rejects limits on executive [bankster] pay  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2009/may2009/geit-m20.shtml
A quote...."Timothy Geithner, US treasury secretary, said on Monday he opposes caps on executive pay in companies receiving bailouts from the federal government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)." -- For more on this issue see....Having Fun With Your Tax Dollars
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/havingfunwithyourtaxdollars-weblist-mpg-reficultnias-110808.html
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Banks Use Life Insurance to Fund Bonuses  ---  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124277653430137033.html
A quote...."Banks are using a little-known tactic to help pay bonuses, deferred pay and pensions they owe executives: They're holding life-insurance policies on hundreds of thousands of their workers, with themselves as the beneficiaries."
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FEATURE-Blue collar U.S. males lose more ground
  ---  http://www.reuters.com/article/wtUSInvestingNews/idUSN1450507420090518?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
A quote...." One statistic that stands out in America's recession-stung economy is the unemployment rate for adult men: in April for the second month in a row it surged ahead of the national average to 9.4 percent versus 8.9 percent for all workers. The jobless rate for adult women was 7.1 percent. -- The reasons are clear: male-heavy sectors such as construction and manufacturing have been hard hit. But the implications may be dire for the broader economy and hamper the recovery as families that once had male breadwinners struggle."
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US banks bailout is robbery in progress – Naomi Klein
  ---  http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/2009-05-20/US_banks_bailout_is_robbery_in_progress___Naomi_Klein.html
Contains Video - A quote...."Obama’s Wall Street bailout the greatest heist in monetary history, believes Naomi Klein – an award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist, and international bestselling author."
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Credit where Credit is Due - Economic Recovery? We're not out of the woods yet.  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13674
A quote...."The faux-prosperity of the last decade was largely the result of a wholesale credit system which created a humongous amount of credit via sketchy debt instruments, off-balance sheet operations, massive leverage and derivatives. (The Fed's liquidity and conventional bank loans play a very small part in the modern credit system) Securitization--which is the conversion of pools of loans into securities--is at the center of the storm. It formed the asset-base upon which the investment banks and hedge funds stacked additional leverage creating an unstable debt-pyramid that couldn't withstand the battering of a slumping market. After two Bear Stearns funds defaulted 20 months ago, the securitization markets froze, credit dried up and the broader economy went into a tailspin. Now that investors know how risky securitized instruments really are, there's little chance that assets will regain their original value or that the market for structured debt will stage a comeback." -- also posted at CounterPunch  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney05192009.html
& ICH  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article22667.htm
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Housing Starts, Permits Both Unexpectedly Lower  ---  http://www.cnbc.com/id/30821477
A quote...."New U.S. housing starts and permits unexpectedly fell to record lows in April, a government report showed on Tuesday, denting hopes that stability in the housing market was imminent. - The Commerce Department said housing starts fell 12.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 units, the lowest on records dating back to January 1959, from March's upwardly revised 525,000 units."
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Local Banks Face Big Losses  ---  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124269114847832587.html#mod=testMod
Financial Warning - A quote...."Total losses at those banks could surpass $200 billion [it will be much more than that. - mpg] over that period, according to the Journal's analysis, which utilized the same worst-case scenario the federal government used in its recent stress tests of 19 large banks. Under that scenario, more than 600 small and midsize banks could see their capital shrink to levels that usually are considered worrisome by federal regulators. The potential losses could exceed revenue over that period at nearly all the banks analyzed by the Journal."
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Japan economy worst in 50 years  ---  http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2009/05/200952021426601423.html
A quote...."The world's second-largest economy contracted by four per cent in the three months to March this year compared with the previous quarter, resulting in an annual GDP drop of 15.2 per cent, the government said on Wednesday."
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Fossil Ida: extraordinary find is 'missing link' in human evolution  ---  http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/may/19/ida-fossil-missing-link
Photo - A quote...."Scientists have discovered an exquisitely preserved ancient primate fossil that they believe forms a crucial "missing link" between our own evolutionary branch of life and the rest of the animal kingdom. - The 47m-year-old primate – named Ida – has been hailed as the fossil equivalent of a "Rosetta Stone" for understanding the critical early stages of primate evolution."
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Monday May 18th 2009

Buyer's Remorse: Is it too late to swap Obama for McCain? - posted at ICH
Must Read - Obama™ Update - A quote...."Anyone who has ever wasted good money on a clunker only to drop the transmission 15 minutes after leaving the car-lot, knows the feeling. It's like a swift-kick in the groin followed by weeks of fist-pounding rage. It's called buyer's remorse; "Gawd, I wish I hadn't bought that piece of dogshite!" -- There are probably a lot of former-Obama supporters feeling that same agonizing sense despair now that President Rainbow has done an about-face on every campaign promise he made. So much for "truth in advertising", eh? -- What a disaster. Did anyone know it was gonna be this bad? -- For the record; I didn't vote for Obama because I didn't like the way he backpedaled on wiretapping and because he promised to escalate the war in Afghanistan. (Like everyone else who voted for Ralph Nader; I got loads of grief for it) But that doesn't mean I didn't want Obama to succeed. I did. The country is in too big a mess NOT to hope that he would succeed. But now...?" -- also posted at GlobRsrch & WarInIraq

We Are the 'Enemy of the State'
Must Read - A quote...."From its very infancy, our government has made a vital part of its existence the theft of property that belongs to others and the demonization of those who would resist, or those who see the state for what it really is. From the American Indian to the veterans who have fought the state’s illegal wars, resistance to, or speaking out against the criminality of the state will bring down the full force of the state’s wrath, up to and including elimination. -- Henry Clay, whose protégé was Abraham Lincoln, said of the American Indian, " The Indians' disappearance from the human family will be no great loss to the world. I do not think them, as a race, worth preserving." Clay saw the Indian as an impediment to the desires of the state: acquisition of the lands possessed by the American Indian."

The Disease of Permanent War - Article also posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."The embrace by any society of permanent war is a parasite that devours the heart and soul of a nation. Permanent war extinguishes liberal, democratic movements. It turns culture into nationalist cant. It degrades and corrupts education and the media, and wrecks the economy. The liberal, democratic forces, tasked with maintaining an open society, become impotent. The collapse of liberalism, whether in imperial Russia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Weimar Germany, ushers in an age of moral nihilism. This moral nihilism comes is many colors and hues. It rants and thunders in a variety of slogans, languages and ideologies. It can manifest itself in fascist salutes, communist show trials or Christian crusades. It is, at its core, all the same. It is the crude, terrifying tirade of mediocrities who find their identities and power in the perpetuation of permanent war." -- also posted at CommonDreams
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Spanish Investigation Reveals 'An Approved Systematic Plan of Torture' Under Bush
A quote...."While Obama and the US Congress refuse to hold Bush-era torturers accountable, a Spanish judge fights for accountability and uncovers more US atrocities." -- also posted at CommonDreams

The 13 people who made torture possible
A quote...."The Bush administration's Torture 13. They authorized it, they decided how to implement it, and they crafted the legal fig leaf to justify it." -- also posted at CommonDreams

Coalition Files Disciplinary Complaints Against Twelve Bush Administration Lawyers Who Advocated Torture
A quote...."On Monday, May 18, 2009, a broad coalition of organizations dedicated to accountable government, and representing over one million members, filed disciplinary complaints with state bar licensing boards against twelve attorneys who advocated the torture of detainees during the Bush Administration. These detailed complaints with over 500 pages of supporting exhibits have been filed against John Yoo, Jay Bybee, Stephen Bradbury, Alberto Gonzales, John Ashcroft, Michael Chertoff, Alice Fisher, William Haynes II, Douglas Feith, Michael Mukasey, Timothy Flanigan, and David Addington. The complaints, filed with the state bars in the District of Columbia, New York, California, Texas and Pennsylvania, seek disciplinary action and disbarment. Copies of the complaints and exhibits are available at www.disbartorturelawyers.com."

Gen Stanley MacChrystal, America's new army chief in Afghanistan, under fire over rough tactics and 'prisoner abuse'
Obama™ Update - A quote...."The general chosen by Barack Obama to run the war in Afghanistan permitted abusive treatment and interrogation of detainees in Iraq, according to human rights investigators." -- also posted at CommonDreams

Right-wing rampage by Obama administration
Obama™ Update - A quote...."The past week has provided a definitive demonstration of the subservience of the Obama administration and the Democratic Party to the military-intelligence apparatus of American imperialism. Day by day, the White House and the Democratic-controlled Congress delivered decisions along the lines demanded by the Pentagon and CIA, in many instances directly repudiating the campaign promises made to win popular support during the 2008 election."

ACLU: Obama admin. will defend Patriot Act ‘gag order’ letters
Obama™ Update - A quote...."The Obama administration will not ask the Supreme Court to review the national security letter provision of the Patriot Act, which has been criticized as unconstitutional by civil rights groups and curtailed by a lower court following a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union."

U.S.:  Lawyers, Rights Groups Outraged by Gitmo Decision
Obama™ Update - A quote...."NEW YORK, May 17 (IPS) - Human rights advocates are furious at President Barack Obama’s decision to prosecute some Guantanamo detainees through the same military commissions he criticised during his campaign as a "flawed" system that "has failed to convict anyone of a terrorist act since the 9/11 attacks"."

Re-Discovered: Video of Torture and Sexual Abuse in Iraq Prison
I have located a 2006 documentary from the Australian television show Dateline. which discusses and may provide context to the newly-rediscovered torture pictures which are making the rounds (judge for yourself whether or not you believe the government's explanation for the photos, or what is being left out)." -- For more on this issue see....Making Up Stories - With Torture

Guantánamo: A Prison Built on Lies - posted at AntiWar
A quote...."As the Obama administration prepares to relaunch Dick Cheney and David Addington’s reviled military commissions (with claims that they will be used for less than 20 of the 241 prisoners still held), senior officials have been largely silent about the eventual fate of the rest of the prisoners, with the exception of a few recent remarks indicating that they are also thinking of pressing for a form of "preventive detention" for 50 to 100 of the prisoners."
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Report on pre-7 July surveillance
A quote...."A report examining what MI5 knew about the 7 July London bombers before their 2005 attacks is published later. The parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee report was ordered after a trial heard ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan had been followed in 2004. The fresh report is expected to detail the nature of MI5's surveillance of him and accomplice Shehzad Tanweer."

US journo claims Bhutto was killed on Cheney’s orders
A quote...."New York, May 18 (ANI): A special death squad assassinated Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on the orders of former US Vice-President Dick Cheney, an Arab TV channel has reported. -- “Cheney was the chief of the Joint Special Operation Command and he cleared the way for the US by exterminating opponents through the unit and the CIA. General Stanley was the in-charge of the unit,” The Nation quoted US columnist Seymour Hersh, as saying." -- Updated: Hersh did not say Cheney ordered Bhutto assassination

Like Iraq, the "Facts" Regarding 9/11 Were "Fixed Around the Policy"
Must Read - A quote...."3 facts show that the government "fixed the facts" regarding 9/11 around a policy decision to exonerate the government from any blame whatsoever.


"As Daily Kos notes in a recent recommended story, the senior counsel to the 9/11 Commission - John Farmer - states in a new book that the official story of 9/11 "almost entirely untrue". -- also posted at GlobRsrch

40 U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism agents challenge official account of 9/11
Special Note - A quote...."More than 40 U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism agents have publicly raised serious questions challenging the official account of 9/11. Respected researcher Alan Miller of patriotsquestion911.com has compiled photos and statements of these 40 plus dedicated agents in regards to 9/11. Many of these agents are open to being interviewed by serious journalists. Below is the beginning of an article on this vital topic written by Alan. For the entire message, click here - PDF. And to read the revealing comments of over 100 distinguished professors challenging the 9/11 official account, click here."

Norad Flight Exercise Planned for Washington, D.C.
False Flag Alert - A quote...."The North American Aerospace Defense Command and its geographical component, the Continental United States NORAD Region, will conduct exercise Falcon Virgo 09-07, on May 19 and 20 between midnight and 6 a.m. EDT in the National Capital Region (NCR), Washington, D.C." -- For more on this sort of issue see....9/11 - NORAD

Guardian Writer Hounded And Threatened Over Bilderberg Reporting
A quote...."London Guardian writer Charlie Skelton has further detailed the constant harassment and stalking he has been forced to endure for daring to cover the 2009 Bilderberg meeting near Athens."

Bilderberg Fears Losing Control In Chaos-Plagued World
A quote...."Investigative journalist Daniel Estulin, whose information from inside Bilderberg has routinely proven accurate, states that the global elite's plan to completely destroy the economy and ultimately lower global population by two thirds has stoked fears even within Bilderberg itself that the fallout from such chaos could ultimately result in the globalists losing their control over the world. -- In a telephone interview, Estulin re-iterated his original points about Bilderberg's 2009 agenda, which were released in a pre-meeting booklet to members. These include the notion that investors, whipped up into a false state of euphoria by the belief that the economy is recovering, are being suckered into ploughing their money back into the system as a set up for "massive losses and searing financial pain in the months ahead" as the stock market reverses its uptrend and plummets to new lows."

2009 Bilderberg Attendance List
Database - List -- The names are in Greek, (yeah, that's funny) almost all of them have been translated though....mpg

Spies Placed Among Political Activists
A quote...."According to a published report, both an FBI informant and an undercover Minnesota sheriff's deputy spied on political activists in Iowa City last year before the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. -- The Des Moines Register reports in Sunday's editions that it has obtained confidential FBI documents that show an informant was planted among a group described as an "anarchist collective" that met last year in Iowa City."

Saudi 'Killer Chip' Implant Would Track, Eliminate Undesirables - More "good things" from "our friends". - mpg
A quote...."It could be the ultimate in political control — but it won't be patented in Germany. - German media outlets reported last week that a Saudi inventor's application to patent a "killer chip," as the Swiss tabloids put it, had been denied. - The basic model would consist of a tiny GPS transceiver placed in a capsule and inserted under a person's skin, so that authorities could track him easily. - Model B would have an extra function — a dose of cyanide to remotely kill the wearer without muss or fuss if authorities deemed he'd become a public threat."
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McKiernan Takes the Fall - posted at AntiWar
A quote...."The recent announcement of Gen. Mark McKiernan’s transfer to Fort Palooka is the latest punch line in our Bananastan farce. Defense Secretary Robert Gates claims that McKiernan’s relief as commander in Afghanistan merely reflected a need for "fresh thinking," but even the war mongrels on the rabid Right can see it was a stratagem to make McKiernan the fall guy for all the collateral damage caused by the air strikes that President Obama authorized."

Why Do Afghans Have a Life Expectancy of Only 44 Years? -- Thirty Years of Tragedy in Afghanistan
Special Note - A quote...."Afghanistan was almost self-sufficient in food before the Soviet invasion in 1979. The leftist government had instituted many economic and social reforms. But the Soviets went in for the bait [a.k.a. "the Great Game"] set up by the US to take revenge for the Vietnam war, as bragged about by Zbigniew Brzezinski, former US President Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor. -- That was the beginning of the Afghan tragedy 30 years ago. Since then, the country has not seen a day of peace except for the brief brutal peace of Taliban era. -- America trained, financed and equipped Afghan refugees to become Mujahideen to kill the Communist Soviets. Along the way, we created a cadre of fighters, including Osama bin Laden. Then, we supported and financed the Taliban and now we are trying to kill them as well. -- In seven years of US occupation of Afghanistan, the government of Hamid Karzai and American influence have remained limited to Kabul and a few other smaller areas."

Pakistan fighting displaces 1.45 million civilians: UN - link posted at ICH
A quote...."GENEVA: The UN refugee agency says fighting in Pakistan between the military and Taliban militants has displaced more than 1.45 million people since May 2. UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond says that is in addition to the more than 550,000 people who were displaced earlier by the military offensive in northwest Pakistan, meaning the total is now more than 2 million."

Pakistani Military Killing Fleeing Swati Civilians - posted at AntiWar
A quote...."As the Pakistani military’s offensive against the Swat Valley continues, around 1.45 million are reported to have successfully fled. For several families today attempting to leave their homes, that trek ended in disaster as the Pakistani military attacked and killed several of them, and wounded an unknown number of others. Women and children were among the slain." -- It ALWAYS pleases the Neo-Roman elites in this country when they can get the little brown people to "do it" to their own. - mpg

Destroying Pakistan to Make It Safe
Special Note - A quote...." PARIS – The US keeps kicking hornet’s nests around the globe and wondering why it continues getting stung. -- The latest example: Pakistan’s once beautiful Swat Valley has been turned into a battlefield. Last week, Pakistan finally bowed to Washington’s angry demands to unleash its military against rebellious Pashtun tribesmen of Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) – who are collectively mislabeled "Taliban" in the west. They are not the Afghan Taliban, but it’s convenient for the western media and Pentagon to slap that label on them."

Maliki breaks with Shi'ite coalition
A quote...."DAMASCUS- There are signs from Iraq that the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), the all-Shi'ite coalition that has controlled parliament since 2005, faces difficult times as it prepares for parliamentary elections in December. -- The Da'wa Party, headed by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, appears to have withdrawn from the coalition. According to Hasan al-Sneid, a senior member of Da'wa, "We are working for a broader nationalist consensus, wider than that of the UIA."

Iraq Arrests 2 Sunni Leaders, Raising Fears of Violence - link posted at AntiWar
A quote...."BAGHDAD — Iraqi government security forces arrested two prominent Sunni leaders in Diyala Province on Monday, according to local security officials, leading to renewed concerns that sectarian tensions in the area could once again erupt into greater violence."

Israeli point man on Iran gets the boot
A quote...."The Israeli point man on Iran affairs, Uri Lubrani, has been forced into early retirement amid incessant power struggles between Mossad and the Israeli Defense Ministry. Senior defense officials told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided to shut down Lubrani's office after coming under excruciating pressure from the notorious Mossad spy agency. According to the senior officials, who were speaking on condition of anonymity, Mossad spymasters had grown weary of Lubrani's interference in intelligence affairs and had demanded his dismissal. The dismissal, which is likely to end the operations of Israeli Radio's Farsi service, has been met with an angry response in Tel Aviv."

Obama courts Israel with pact against Tehran
War Alert - A quote...."PRESIDENT Barack Obama hopes to tempt Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli leader, into making concessions to the Palestinians by holding out the prospect of a “grand alliance” of moderate Arab states against a nuclear Iran." -- For more on this issue see....The True Axis of Evil - 10-10-08 - mpg & The Kingdom of Leprosy - 10-07-08 - mpg

Obama says Iran war not off the table
War Alert - A quote...."Ahead of the Israeli premier's trip to Washington President Barack Obama says the US has not taken military action against Iran over its nuclear program off the table."

The U.S. to Raise Military Aid to Israel
War Alert - A quote...."Despite expectations that the Obama administration will pressure Israel to accept a two-state solution and implement practical measures, the U.S. administration has sent signals that aid to Israel will, in fact, be raised. At the same time, the budget also imposes harsh conditions on the Palestinian Authority in order to receive aid."

Israel practicing for new war?
War Alert - A quote...."Tel Aviv has embarked on another round of large-scale military exercise as speculations of an Israeli-initiated war run high. - Israel's Air Force has begun a large-scale military exercise as right-wing parties are insisting on more militaristic approaches."

Mediators: Russia quits peace talks with Georgia - posted at AntiWar
A quote...."Peace talks aimed at healing rifts from the Russia-Georgia war broke down Monday when the delegations from Russia and Georgia's two separatist provinces refused to take part, mediators said."

South Ossetia follows Abkhazia out of Geneva talks
A quote...."MOSCOW, May 18 (RIA Novosti) - South Ossetia has joined Abkhazia in pulling out of the fifth round of Geneva talks on security in the Caucasus, the head of the South Ossetian delegation said Monday." 

Russia not to join EU-Ukraine Brussels declaration – Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said
A quote...." MOSCOW, May 18 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia will not join the Brussels declaration signed by the European Union and Ukraine, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said. -- “But this does not mean that we refuse to work and cooperate with our partners,” he told a vide conference between Moscow and Berlin on Monday."

Russia says to finish oil pipeline before Nabucco project
Special Note - A quote...."Russia said it would finish its scheme before a rival EU-backed project. -- The race to build new gas pipelines to Europe accelerated on Monday as Russia, keen to maintain its grip on the continent's market, said it would finish its scheme before a rival EU-backed project. -- The West's Nabucco pipeline secured a deal at the weekend to obtain gas from Iraq's Kurdistan region, to help cut dependence on Russia's gas supply, but the central government in Baghdad on Monday voiced opposition to the agreement. -- "I consider South Stream to have every chance of being realised earlier than Nabucco," Russia's Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko told reporters on Monday, speaking of the Moscow-backed pipeline plan. -- "Nabucco has a range of issues which still need to be resolved."

Brazil president arrives in Beijing
A quote...."Brazil's president has arrived in China for three days of talks expected to focus on broadening ties between two of the world's largest developing economies and moves to decrease their dependency on the US dollar. -- The visit by Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva is his second in 12 months, highlighting the importance of China which recently overtook the US as Brazil's most important trading partner." -- bold by website editor -- also posted at Al Jazeera

Argentina, Strategic Venezuela Partner
A quote...."Buenos Aires, May 18 (Prensa Latina) Argentina is today a strategic partner, an ally we can count on to develop our agro-industry, affirmed the Venezuelan minister of Science, Technology and Industry, Jesse Chacon. "But we do not intend to receive it free. We are able to offer everything we have developed regarding energy development," he told local press."

USAID's Silent Invasion in Bolivia
A quote...."Recently declassified documents obtained by investigators Jeremy Bigwood and Eva Golinger reveal that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has invested more than $97 million in “decentralization” and “regional autonomy” projects and opposition political parties in Bolivia since 2002. The documents, requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), evidence that USAID in Bolivia was the “first donor to support departmental governments” and “decentralization programs” in the country, proving that the US agency has been one of the principal funders and fomenters of the separatist projects promoted by regional governments in Eastern Bolivia."
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Israel's security is paramount, don't misunderestimate the power of "change" - click here for a larger version
Cartoon - Great cartoon - mpg. -- A quote...."By John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune - “I have said from the outset that when it comes to my policies toward Israel and the Middle East, that Israel’s security is paramount, and I repeated that to Prime Minister Netanyahu,”

3 - Palestine the world's largest open air prison - Alt - (YouTube - 4 min 55 sec - May 18, 2009)
Video - A quote...."Third episode : In West Bank checkpoints manned by Israeli military : why? In a few slides reasons why are shown. Its not true that theres nothing to do about it and peace is not possible there. There are identified reasons that stand in the way of peace. -- Pictures from International Solidarity Movement (ISM), NadPLO, Free Gaza Movement, MachsomWatch -- The film in the video : Arson in the Fields of Burin Village by Machsom Watch
Filmed by Yehudith Levin. -- Edited by Hadass Shuve"

The Right of Return: the heart and soul of the Palestinian cause
A quote...."Sixty-one years ago,  one of the greatest crimes in the annals of human history occurred when European Ashkenazi Jews, aided by western powers, took over Palestine and expelled and dispersed  its native inhabitants to the four corners of the world."

Edinburgh film fest returns Israeli funding
A quote...."Press release, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, 18 May 2009 -- The 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) organizers announced on Friday they were returning money donated by the Israeli embassy. The return of the money was accompanied by an admission that it had been "a mistake to accept the 300 [British pounds] from the Israeli embassy" and followed a torrent of angry letters expressing incomprehension, fury or sadness at the EIFF being associated with the Israeli state. Many pledged to support Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) pickets of screenings throughout the 2009 Festival, and an initial public protest planned for the following day."

ICC to hear Israeli war crime case
A quote...."A Human Rights group has filed a lawsuit against Israeli leaders at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the war crimes they have committed in the Gaza Strip."

UN Watchdog Demands Answers - How Many Secret Prisons Does Israel Have?
A quote...."The United Nation’s watchdog on torture has criticised Israel for refusing to allow inspections at a secret prison, dubbed by critics as “Israel’s Guantanamo Bay”, and demanded to know if more such clandestine detention camps are operating." -- also posted at PalestineChron
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The Swine Flu Outbreak and Other Bio-Warfare Matters -- From CLG

US health officials troubled by new flu pattern
Expert Warns of Swine Flu-Bird Flu Mix Virus
W.H.O. May Raise Alert Level as Swine Flu Cases Leap in Japan
New York Reports Its First Swine Flu Death
Malaysian air crew quarantined over swine flu

Other Articles.....

CDC Claims Swine Flu Everywhere In The U.S.
China reports flu case in Guangdong. Man returned from United States.
Dengue fever epidemic hits South America
Greece confirms first swine flu case
New York City closes 17 schools over flu scare

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The Economy’s Search for a "New Normal"
A quote...."When the reality of the economic crisis first made itself known, many who realized what was happening dubbed it “the greatest crisis since the Great Depression.” This description was more than bombast; it was a sober analysis of the immensity of the economic problems in the country — problems that had been building up for years. -- The mainstream media is now — for political reasons — in a constant clamor for the economy’s elusive “rock bottom.”  This is so people will be more hopeful, less agitated, and more willing to let those who destroyed the economy continue running the country un-challenged.  Every time a new economic indicator comes out that wasn’t “as bad as expected,” Wall Street cheers and politicians give their “we’ve turned the corner” speeches.  Reality is thus turned on its head."

Government Has Pledged $12.8 Trillion on Bailouts - 14 Times as Much as the $899.8 Billion Dollars of Currency in Circulation -- A quote...."Bloomberg has a good article comparing the amounts pledged in the bailouts with relevant figures:"


"For background, see this and this."

Obama’s Health Care Charade - posted at Black Agenda Report
Obama™ Update - A quote...."President Obama has gone to extraordinary lengths to suppress advocates of single-payer health care. He has choreographed a grand theater of faux-change, in which he "seeks to create a façade of unity along lines that do not threaten corporate power." The goal is to "sidetrack, possibly for decades, the most broadly supported idea in American politics, today." This "requires elaborate reconstructions of reality," starting with "methodically erasing single-payer advocates from the picture, with the enthusiastic collaboration of the corporate media." Thus, Obama and compliant Democrats on The Hill stage "summits" and "public roundtable discussions" on health care from which majority U.S. opinion is totally excluded."

Bailing out banks drains Social Security and Medicare - posted at the Online Journal
A quote...."Recession Drains Social Security and Medicare was a headline from the New York Times that seemed to me a distortion of facts in order to scare people. -- After all, what caused the recession but the criminal behavior of predatory mortgage companies and banks who made unfair subprime loans, collateralized them, shipped them downstream to investment banks that securitized them and sold them knowing what junk they were to investors. That combined with a shark tank of hungry salespeople who went at the assets of poor and not so poor homebuyers with time-bomb mortgages whose interest exploded at some point, scattering them into massive indebtedness. Neither Social Security nor Medicare did this."

The Almighty Renminbi? - Article also posted at ICH
A quote...."THE 19th century was dominated by the British Empire, the 20th century by the United States. We may now be entering the Asian century, dominated by a rising China and its currency. While the dollar’s status as the major reserve currency will not vanish overnight, we can no longer take it for granted. Sooner than we think, the dollar may be challenged by other currencies, most likely the Chinese renminbi. This would have serious costs for America, as our ability to finance our budget and trade deficits cheaply would disappear."

U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Rises to Eight-Month High (Update3)
A quote...." May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Confidence among U.S. homebuilders in May increased to the highest level since September, providing further evidence that the housing slump that started in 2006 may be closer to a floor. - The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence rose to 16 from 14 [ on a scale from 1 to 100 ] the prior month, the Washington-based NAHB said today, capping the first back-to-back gain since February 2008. A reading below 50 means most respondents view conditions as poor."

China will meet economic growth target of 8%: senior economic planner
A quote...."HONG KONG, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China will definitely be able to meet the target of achieving eight percent economic growth in 2009, a senior official of the country's top economic planning body said here Monday. "

Sunday May 17th 2009

No posts. - mpg

Saturday May 16th 2009

"President Obama’s decisions this week to retain important elements of the Bush-era system for trying terrorism suspects and to block the release of pictures showing abuse of American-held prisoners abroad are the most graphic examples yet of how he has backtracked, in substantial if often nuanced ways, from the approach to national security that he preached as a candidate, and even from his first days in the Oval Office."

A new book, ["Extreme Violence in the Visuals and Texts of Antiquity"] by Martin Zimmerman, a professor of ancient history in Munich, looks at current research into the kinds of violence that inspired "loathing, dread, horror and disgust." -- In the ancient Far East, where there were large states peopled by many different ethnicities, leaders demonstrated their might by inventing ingenious new tortures and agonizing methods of execution -- as a way to keep the population obedient... -- The issue of state-sanctioned torture to achieve political goals is still a current one.

Friday May 15th 2009 - links page

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters yesterday that President Obama has "great concern" about the impact that releasing the photos would have on soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Wednesday May 13th 2009 - links page

"So, it’s been about 16 hours since we covered   ---  http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7133  ---  indie journalist / historian / blogger Andy Worthington’s detailed report on the reported suicide of the man who falsely “confessed,” during torture, to a false tie between Iraq and al-Qaeda … As of this moment, not a single mainstream US newspaper or broadcast outlet has reported on the story. Is it not notable? Or are our newspapers just dead set on ensuring their irrelevance by continuing to not report on news that actually matters, no matter how widely it’s being reported in other parts of the world?"

"....this is NOT to be taken as a market recommendation, just an observation.  Keep in mind the US economy is roughly 13 to 15 trillion dollars in GDP per year while the world's derivatives market is now anywhere between 300 to 500 trillion dollars 1.2 quadrillion dollars
   ---  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrillion (10¹⁵ ) notational value,   ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=6913  ---  [updated 061808] possibly even more. Most of it controlled by the centralized financial institutions and elites that currently run our government.  With such vast leverage they could mask, manipulate, or resist market forces for years." - mpg