MPG'S DAILY RAPSHEET AND BLOTTER  ON THE "GREAT GAME"  --  06-03-09  to 06-09-09 -- 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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Saturday June 6th 2009

The ever changing story: Anatomy of a typical US military propaganda campaign
  ---  http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-3665-Boston-Libertarian-Examiner%7Ey2009m6d5-The-ever-changing-story--
Anatomy-of-a-typical-US-military-propaganda-campaign
Must Read - A quote...."One month later, after the bombings of a village in western Afghanistan that killed up wards of 150 civilians, we now get this half assed admission of culpability on the part of the US military. -- The US military is now saying that "errors" were made in the air strikes last May 4th that resulted in over a hundred civilian deaths.  Oh, they are still claiming that most killed were "Taliban" (what the Pentagon and their pocket poodle American media call anyone who take up arms against the holy selfless Paladins of the US military in Afghanistan).  And they are still hinting that this "Taliban" is responsible but this new story, a month later, is in stark contrast to first initial responses of the US military on this bombing- which were, in my opinion, outright lies made up out of whole cloth." - also posted at Uruknet  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54902&hd=&size=1&l=e

 For more on this issue see....US Fake Intel / Propaganda  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/fakeintell-weblist-mpg-090206
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The Real Meaning of Allowing Guilty Pleas and Death Penalty Without Trial for Alleged 9/11 Plotters
  ---  http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/06/real-meaning-of-allowing-guilty-pleas.html
Must Read -- A quote...."The tin-pot dictator will not let the media talk to the American prisoner captured when his plane crashed. - The dictator says that the prisoner confessed to a horrible murder, and has pleaded guilty. - And so - the dictator announces - there will be no trial, just a death sentence. Indeed, the prisoner is Christian, and the dictator says that the prisoner has asked for martyrdom according to his religious beliefs. - Would the rest of the world believe this is fair? - Of course not. Moreover, world opinion would assume that the prisoner might very well be innocent of the murder charges. - This is exactly the situation we have currently with the prisoners at Guantanamo." - also posted at RogueGov  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-4417-0-5-5--.html

See also....9/11 - Iraq - Torture Fables  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911&iraqtotturefables-weblist-mpg-052909
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Exclusive Interview with Future Prediction Expert Gerald Celente  ---  http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32152
Must Read Interview - A quote...."Mr. Celente puts part of the blame squarely on the federal government, and especially FED Chairman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary  Geithner, and warns us not to believe a word they say  “They’re the same people who didn't see it coming - are now telling us the worst is over, that ‘green shoots are spouting upwards’.   But they were wrong before.  They’re wrong on this too”. -- “When you pump out tons of money manure into this system based on nothing – printing press paper, it’s like giving a patient with a chronic disease a pain killer -- it won’t cure the patient.” -- “But let’s go beyond the economics.  Our whole Constitution has been abrogated.  The president simply writes an Executive Order to do whatever he wants.  Nationalize the banks, take over the insurance industry, automobile industry, health care industry… -- None of it is constitutional.” -- When did the problem begin? -- “After Dwight Eisenhower -- our last great president -- the Allied Supreme Commander in WWII – who warned us of the dangers of the military-industrial complex.  We've become completely corrupted.”
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Ten Questions For Everyone Who Supported Obama
  ---  http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2009/06/06/ten-questions-for-everyone-who-supported
Must Read - A quote...."Dear Supporters of Barack Obama, - You presented Mr. Obama as the candidate of change. You attached that word to his face and plastered it across the country. Change We Can Believe In. Change From Day 1. The Candidate of Change. It's time for Change in America. - On election night, you announced to the world that "Change has come to America ." You hijacked Google so that the first search result for "Change" led to Obama's change.gov web site. - America responded. Clearly, the country was in the mood for change....."
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Obama, Like Bush, Just Doesn’t Get It  ---  http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2009-06-04.asp
Must Read - A quote...."Obama, like President Bush, thinks that it’s all just a public-relations problem. We just have to get the message out that U.S. officials love Muslims. Once they get the message, the U.S. Empire will be able to impose its will throughout the Middle East. -- And that’s the core of the problem facing the American people. What business does the U.S. government have imposing its will on people who live thousands of miles away? -- Indeed, what right did the U.S. government have to oust the democratically elected prime minister of Iran and replace him with an unelected dictator, the Shah of Iran? -- What right did the U.S. government have to support Saddam Hussein and deliver weapons of mass destruction  ---  http://www.fff.org/comment/com0304p.asp  ---  to him so that he could use them to kill Iranians? -- What right did the U.S. government have to intervene in the Persian Gulf War, especially after signaling to Saddam Hussein that the United States had no interest in the border conflict between Iraq and Kuwait? -- What right did the U.S. government have to impose brutal sanctions  --- http://www.fff.org/whatsNew/2004-02-09a.htm  ---  that took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children?....."
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Iraq's New Death Squad  ---  http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090622/bauer
A quote...."The Iraq Special Operations Forces (ISOF) is probably the largest special forces outfit ever built by the United States, and it is free of many of the controls that most governments employ to rein in such lethal forces. The project started in the deserts of Jordan just after the Americans took Baghdad in April 2003. There, the US Army's Special Forces, or Green Berets, trained mostly 18-year-old Iraqis with no prior military experience. The resulting brigade was a Green Beret's dream come true: a deadly, elite, covert unit, fully fitted with American equipment, that would operate for years under US command and be unaccountable to Iraqi ministries and the normal political process. " -- For more on this issue see....US support Death Sqds
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/usdeathsquads-weblist-cmplt-111406
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Torture-Linked [Obama] Nominee Withdraws for DHS Intel Post -- http://news.antiwar.com/2009/06/05/torture-linked-nominee-withdraws-for-dhs-intel-post/
One down, dozens, if not hundreds more to impeach, prosecute and imprison. - mpg -- A quote...."FBI counterterrorism head Philip Mudd today withdrew his name from consideration as the Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis, saying he believed his confirmation hearings would be a “distraction.” -- Mudd was reportedly linked to the CIA’s torture program under former President Bush (when he served as deputy director of the Office of Terrorism Analysis) and reportedly had “direct knowledge of the agency’s harsh interrogation program.”
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Afghanistan's parliament call for the prosecution of "Criminal Foreign Troops"  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13875
A quote...."Afghanistan's parliament plans to pass an approval and send all related documents to the country's High Court as well as the international Hague tribunal," Khawaasi said. -- This is the first time that Afghanistan's parliament has decided to file a lawsuit against foreign forces based in the country and described them as "war criminals."
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Lebanon: 10 More Are Charged With Spying for Israel  ---  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/world/middleeast/06briefs-Lebanon.html?ref=world
A quote...."Lebanon’s military prosecutor charged 10 more Lebanese on Friday with spying for Israel, bringing the total this year to 55, a judicial official said. Four of those charged were already in custody, having been detained on suspicion of the crime, and the other six have yet to be arrested. Eight of the 10 were also charged with drug trafficking. Of the 55 charged, 34 are in jail, including 2 Palestinians, a retired general and a police officer."
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Lebanon: Hizbullah Punching Above Its Numbers  ---  http://www.globalissues.org/news/2009/06/06/1737
A quote...."Understanding Lebanon's complex political system is no easy task. In a relatively small country of about four million, Lebanon has more than 18 religious communities and dozens of active political parties. The sectarian political system divides the 128 seats of parliament between 10 of those religious sects, leaving one for minorities."
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Pakistan diary: Taliban tactics  ---  http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/06/20096612735243999.html
A quote...."Twisted hunks of metal lay strewn across the road. - It's the result of a brazen raid by the Taliban on a convoy ferrying prisoners into the North West Frontier Province's main city of Peshawar. - This high profile raid suggests there has been a subtle shift in the Pakistani Taliban's tactics. - When this war began the Taliban stood their ground and the army had to fight them house-to-house, street-to-street. - Now though, it seems the Taliban have renewed an old tactic: hit-and-run raids."
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Iran mass produces new ground-to-air guided missile  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=97202&sectionid=351020101
A quote...."ran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar inaugurates the production line of domestically-made supersonic ground-to-air missile system. -- Mohammad-Najjar says the smart missile system, called 'Shahin' has a range of more than 40 kilometers."
also posted at WarInIraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/198714
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Iraq calls for expansion of ties with Iran  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54899&hd=&size=1&l=e
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Kazemi Qomi underlined his enthusiasm for expanding political and economic ties with Tehran."
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Ecuador to Join ALBA June 24  ---  http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=89700&Itemid=1
A quote...."Quito, Jun 6 (Prensa Latina) Ecuador will officially become a full member of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) during the special summit of this organization, to be run June 24 in Venezuela."
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Bolivia Subdues Kosovo Style Terror  ---  http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=89722&Itemid=1
A quote...."La Paz, Jun 6 (Prensa Latina) The terrorist group dismantled last April in Santa Cruz was trying to cause a Kosovo effect in Bolivia, according to evidence published this week by the special commission of the Chamber of Deputies."
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UK press: Brown, 'dead man walking'  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=97204&sectionid=351020601
More on the "Brown is Down Debacle".  It doesn't pay to be a lackey of the US-NRE's elites. - mpg -- A quote...."British newspapers have called on the Prime Minister Gordon Brown to call for a general election to restore some authority to the government. -- A defiant Brown has vowed to tough it out as prime minister after Cabinet members quit and his governing Labour Party has suffered an electoral meltdown."
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Dick (Uncut)  ---  http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=228988&title=dick-uncut&byDate=true
Must View Video Satire - Jon Stewart’s take on Dick's latest fulminations. – mpg
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Anthrax War - Dead Silence   ---  http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20090606164657103
posted at 9/11 Truth  ---  http://911truth.org/page.php?page=donate
Film Review - A quote...."When the 2001 anthrax attacks hit the USA in the days following 9/11, it was like a one-two punch against the Republic. Workers in New York’s media center who had seen the planes swoop too low over their heads en route to the Twin Tower were now terrified of their mail. In Washington, Capitol Hill was evacuated and White House staffers were chewing CIPRO tablets." -- For more on this issue see....US- False Flag Ops - Anthrax
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/falseflagops-weblist-mpg-082006#ANTHRAX
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Video: Obama Warns not to challenge Official 9/11 Story  ---  http://dprogram.net/2009/06/06/video-obama-warns-not-to-challenge-official-911-story/
Alt   ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuASoVK8f9c  ---  (YouTube - 1 min 8 sec - June 05, 2009)
Video - A quote...."....these are not opinions to be debated, these are facts to be dealt with."  --  Obama commenting on the US-NRE's "official" (and completely ridiculous) conspiracy theory. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - Iraq - Torture Fables   ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911&iraqtotturefables-weblist-mpg-052909
& 9/11 - NORAD  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911norad-weblist-mpg-091308
& 9/11 - WTC7  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911-wtc7-weblist-mpg-082308
& 9/11 - Commission  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911commission-weblist-mpg-091306
& 9/11 - Punish or Reward  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911punishorreward-weblist-mpg-021409
& 9/11 - WTC-1&2  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911WTC1&2-weblist-mpg-030709
& 9/11 - Planning Guidance  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911-planningguidance-weblist-mpg-040409
& 9/11 - Lawsuits  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911-lawsuits-weblist-mpg-053009
& Financial Ties 9/11  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/financialties911-weblist-mpg-081906
& Flights 9/11  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/flights911-weblist-mpg-081906
911 - The Debate Is Over - controlled demolition  ---  http://www.wearechange.org/2009/06/911-debate-is-over-controlled.html
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Video - How about we also roll these videotapes, shall we.....?

9/11 Mysteries - Squibs  ---  http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=54e_1180707119
Video - and another....

WTC demolition squibs  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wpPb3dWARk
Video - and another....

Nails in the Coffin of Trade Seven  ---  http://xenonpup.startlogic.com/Flashes/squibs_along_southwest_corner.htm
Photos & Video Download - and another....

No doubt there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for the databases and videos shown above.  So instead of categorically dismissing many unanswered questions surrounding 9/11, while stating this country should be satisfied with a fifteen million dollar investigation**  of what really occurred on that fateful day, why doesn't Obama just shut his stupid mouth and demand another, more through, more complete investigation?

Or is he simply just too afraid of what would come out?  Is he really that much of a coward?  Is this nation?

Are its people? - mpg

**(That's right folks, that's how much the US-NRE spent for the 9/11 commission, about what it spends for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan in just half an hour.  And the funny thing is our political elites, and those who finance them from the shadows, only wanted to give the 9/11 commission a total of just three million dollars at first, that's just 6 MINUTES worth of occupation time.) - mpg
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‘9/11 Press for Truth’ on Channel 12 Draws Huge Support from Colorado Public Television Viewers
  ---  http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20090605105600146
 posted at 9/11 Truth  ---  http://911truth.org/page.php?page=donate
A quote...."DENVER – (June 4, 2009) – KBDI has always been at the forefront of controversial programming and last night was no exception. As the first broadcast station in the United States to air the controversial documentary 9/11 Press for Truth, which claims a 9/11 cover-up, KBDI showed that it is not afraid to touch on sensitive subjects." -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - Press For Truth's  ---  http://www.911pressfortruth.com/
Trailer #1  ---  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8666444901186351024
or Trailer #2  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYEMu48apIA
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So many reports that are still entirely classified  ---  http://lukery.blogspot.com/2009/06/so-many-reports-that-are-still-entirely.html
A quote...."Sibel Edmonds: Well, again, I am just one part of a lot of different things as far as this whole issue of 9/11 goes, and my point has been, OK, we had this 911 Commission Report, we had this Joint Enquiry by the Senate & House, yet currently there are so many reports that are still entirely classified. --     There is another report by the Department of Justice's Inspector General's Office titled "FBI and 911 Foreknowledge" which you can see on their website. That report was completed in July 2004, and it dealt with my case, Coleen Rowley's case, the Phoenix Memo, and even more, yet that report is entirely classified, OK. --  There is another IG report on CIA, that report is entirely classified. Then there is that 28 pages that Senator Graham was referring to, that dealt with certain foreign countries and their roles, those 28 pages, even today, after all the campaigns by the 911 family members, remains classified."
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Project Expose MSM Reports -- Newsweek & Michael Isikoff  ---  http://123realchange.blogspot.com/2009/06/project-expose-msm-reports.html
A quote...."Here is the first project report, this one based on my own first-hand documented experience. In 2003 Newsweek reporter Michael Isikoff interviewed me for, and then published a story on the FBI translation program. His report knowingly omitted crucial facts, directly relevant cases, witness statements and confirmed official reports, while advancing the FBI's already-discredited point of view."
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Gaza Victims Want Justice  ---  http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1243825087390&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
A quote...."GAZA CITY — The gruesome moment can never go away from Wael al-Samuni's mind. -- "They killed our children, our relatives," the 35-year-old Gazan father told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday, June 6. -- "They destroyed our houses. Why? We don't know."
also posted at Uruknet   ---  http://uruknet.com/?p=m54896&hd=&size=1&l=e
& WarInIraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/198726
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Soldiers, settlers, attack peace activists near Hebron  ---  http://www.imemc.org/article/60712
A quote...."The Maan News Agency reported Saturday that Israeli soldiers and settlers attacked dozens of International, Israeli and Palestinian peace activists who were protesting against the settlers of Susia illegal settlement outpost, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron."
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An open Letter from Gaza to the government and people of Spain  ---  http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38370
A quote...."The following is a letter issued by the Gaza branches of: The One Democratic State Group, The University Teachers' Association in Palestine, The Palestinian Student's Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel and the Arab Cultural Forum. -- We write to you as Palestinians from Gaza to express our dismay at the proposal of the Spanish parliament to restrict the universal jurisdiction of Spain, particularly with regard to breaches of international humanitarian law. The proposal called for the existing legislation to be modified so that cases may only be pursued if they involve Spanish victims or if the accused is present on Spanish soil."
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The power of culture vs the culture of power  ---  http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article974
A quote...."Culture can be understood as meaningful engagement in life, and the counter of this defines the denial of culture as a form of ghettoization. Attempts by the Israeli government to deny Palestinians cultural freedoms, which are enshrined in the right to expression, are yet another way in which Israel reinforces its oppression of its occupied people. The recent campaign by Israel to further dehumanize Palestinians by diminishing Palestinian cultural life demonstrates that the Israeli occupation extends beyond the wall, the checkpoints, the control of resources and the expansion of settlements. When cultural freedoms are denied, culture inevitably becomes a political act, and the celebration of Palestinian culture becomes a form of resistance. In this light, the sheer vibrancy of Palestinian cultural life is symbolic of both the resilience of Palestinian culture and the perseverance of Palestinian humanity."
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US Fed Chairman demands plan to cut social programs  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/fed-j04.shtml
A quote...."Testifying Wednesday before the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke demanded that Congress and the Obama administration map out a program of austerity measures to bring down record budget deficits. Bernanke made clear that the heart of this program should be sharp cuts in social spending, including basic entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare." -- For more on this issue see....Go Build Your Neo-Roman Empire - Just Leave Us Out Of It - 10-14-07 - mpg http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/gobuildyournre-mpg-blog-101407
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HR 1207 Now Up To 190 Co-sponsors  ---  http://www.prisonplanet.com/hr-1207-now-up-to-190-co-sponsors.html
Action Update - A quote...."Title: To amend title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes."
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The “Organized Crime Syndicate” Continues On…  ---  http://revolutionradio.org/2009/06/06/the-organized-crime-syndicate-continues-on/
A quote...."June 6 (Bloomberg) — Bank of America Corp. named two ex- regulators and two former bankers as directors, remaking the board five weeks after shareholders ousted Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis as chairman. -- The bank, recipient of a $45 billion government infusion, is revamping a board that lost two other members in the past two weeks. Among them was lead director O. Temple Sloan, who had defended Lewis against attempts to force him out for failing to disclose mounting losses at Merrill Lynch & Co. before the lender took it over this year."
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Bank Profits From Accounting Rules Masking Looming Loan Losses  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=alC3LxSjomZ8&refer=news
A quote...."Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, after “stress testing” 19 banks on their ability to withstand a worsening economy, declared in early May that Americans can be confident in the banks’ stability and resilience. Wells Fargo & Co. and Morgan Stanley were among banks raising $43 billion in new capital since then through share sales." [It wasn't the Chinese, they couldn't possibly be that stupid.
 ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/thegreenlight-blog-mpg-011608  ---  It was probably Banks buying each other's stock or US pension funds. - mpg] -- "The revival may be short-lived. Analysts who have examined the quarterly profits and government tests say that accounting rule changes and rosy assumptions are making the institutions look healthier than they are." -- bold by website editor
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The Household Driven Deflation?  ---  http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/06/household-driven-deflation.html
Must Read - Charts - A quote...."In his daily report yesterday, David Rosenberg had some pertinent things to say about deflation, not the least of which was debunking Melissa Francis' preconception that inflation is equivalent to commodity price increases. The key issue is the differential between absolute and relative price increases: in many ways the current inflation scare is even less moot than the panic in the summer of last year, when it became painfully obvious that neither retailers nor final-state manufacturers have pricing power (think excess capacity: if the manufacturing ISM is any indication, this pricing power is only going to get further obliterated in the coming months, eating away directly at the bottom line, and making the forward EPS ramp up even more of a mirage in the manufacturing sector; also worth pointing out that non-manufacturing ISM actually fell by 2.6% to 44.4%)." - bold by website editor
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Treasuries tumble, driving two-year yields to an eight-month high
  ---  http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2009/06/06/treasuries-tumble-driving-two-year-yields-to-an-eight-month-high/
A quote...."The yields are not rising because the economy is improving. -- They are rising because investors are selling Treasuries to get out of the bond bubble and the US dollar!"
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Bank No. 37 Closed; Bank of Lincolnwood Seized by Regulators
  ---  http://www.chartingstocks.net/2009/06/bank-no-37-closed-bank-of-lincolnwood-seized-by-regulators/
A quote...."Bank of Lincolnwood, Lincolnwood, Illinois, was closed today by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver."
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Work Till You Drop  ---  http://pensionpulse.blogspot.com/2009/06/work-till-you-drop.html
A quote...."A price tag is now emerging for what last year's collapse of investment giant Lehman Brothers could cost the state of Florida: more than $1 billion. -- The losses could make Florida and its citizens among the biggest casualties in the biggest bankruptcy ever. -- More than $440 million disappeared from the pension fund that pays benefits for some 1 million retirees and public employees."
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Friday June 5th 2009 - links page

Time to Break Up the Banks  ---  http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22778.htm
Must View Video - (It explains the financial crisis in simple, easy, steps, sort of like a "Banksterism Guide for Dummies". - mpg) -- A quote...."June 05, 2009 "The Nation" -- Last April, I wrote about A New Way Forward, a new and growing movement organized via the web and founded by young people who want to take back the power of the ordinary citizen to affect our economic structure. The organization's coming-out party took place last April 11 with more than sixty coordinated events coast to coast all making the case for alternative bailout plans based on the public's interest." -- also posted at the Nation   ---  http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow/441050/
& CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/05-12
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Dollar's wounds reopen  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/KF05Dj01.html
Must Read - A quote....""Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it." The adage applies well to the US Federal Reserve as it enters what may turn out to be an entirely new and more dangerous phase of the financial and economic crisis that is still firmly centered in the US - notwithstanding the ongoing Wall Street rally and increased hopes that the worst is now over. -- The Fed wished away the hysterical risk aversion reflex of global investors, which came to a head in autumn 2008, when big Wall Street banks collapsed, sending shockwaves around the globe. The position of Fed officials is, after all, that this is a crisis sparked mostly by panic-stricken investors who've artificially driven the value of America's innovative financial assets far below their true values, wrongfully smearing massive sums of such assets with the label, "Toxic!". "
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Securitization: The Biggest Rip-off Ever  ---  http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22775.htm
Must Read - Some quotes...."June 05, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- -Is it possible to make hundreds of billions of dollars in profits on securities that are backed by nothing more than cyber-entries into a loan book? --  It's not only possible; it's been done." -- "Securitization--which is the conversion of pools of loans into securities that are sold in the secondary market--provides a means for massive debt-leveraging. The banks use off-balance sheet operations to create securities so they can avoid normal reserve requirements and bothersome regulatory oversight. Oddly enough, the quality of the loan makes no difference at all, since the banks make their money on loan originations and other related fees. What matters is quantity, quantity, quantity; an industrial-scale assembly line of fetid loans dumped on unsuspecting investors to fatten the bottom line. And, boy, can Wall Street grind out the rotten paper when there's no cop on the beat and the Fed is cheering from the bleachers. In an analysis written by economist Gary Gorton for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s 2009 Financial Markets Conference titled, "Slapped in the Face by the Invisible Hand; Banking and the Panic of 2007", the author shows that mortgage-related securities ballooned from $492.6 billion in 1996 to $3,071.1 in 2003, while asset backed securities (ABS) jumped from $168.4 billion in 1996 to $1,253.1 in 2006. All told, more than $20 trillion in securitized debt was sold between 1997 to 2007. How much of that debt will turn out to be worthless as foreclosures skyrocket and the banks balance sheets come under greater and greater pressure?"
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President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Warns of Oligarchy  http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/06/president-of-federal-reserve-bank-of.html
Related article - A quote...."As I have previously pointed out, two top IMF officials and the former Vice President of the Dallas Federal Reserve have all warned that the U.S. has been taken over by an oligarchy. -- Wednesday, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Thomas Hoenig, agreed...."
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Federal Reserve to Hire Ex-Enron Lobbyist in PR Move to Counter Doubts about Fed's Growing Power Over U.S. Financial System
  ---  http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/06/federal-reserve-to-hire-ex-enron.html
Related Article - How is the Fed responding to....

    (1) a bill in Congress with 190 co-sponsors to audit the Fed
    (2) a new law giving the GAO some power to examine the Fed's actions, and....
    (3) calls by many to abolish the Fed altogether?

A promise of 100% openness and full disclosure to Congress and the American people?
An agreement to stop all behind-the-scenes shenanigans?
An end to the whole scam of private bankers "creating" credit and bilking the taxpayers out of trillions in interest?
Of course not!

Instead, the Fed is . . . launching a new p.r. campaign to show everyone how wonderful Ben and the boys really are."
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Obama's Historic Speech – A Post-Mortem  ---  http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15174
A quote...."President Barack Obama's much anticipated speech in Cairo was truly astounding. After all the months of lead-up and hype, few could have imagined that this speech would contain nothing of substance." -- NOT if you've read any of the blogs on this website. - mpg
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Obama and Israel: making a mountain out of a mole hill  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54889&hd=&size=1&l=e
A quote...."The media speaks of the American president's "firm stand." What sort of firmness is that? The AFP wrote again recently, "On Monday, before leaving for the Near East, the American resident Barak Obama reaffirmed the necessity for a certain firmness regarding Israel, on the subjects of a Palestinian state and the settlements in the Territories." -- That's right: Obama is not demanding the dismantlement Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories. He's not demanding the end of the occupation, nor the end of the blockade of the Gaza Strip, nor the payment of the costs of the enormous destruction wrought on the Gaza Strip. -- Obama is not demanding that Israel return to the Palestinians what was stolen from them. Not all, not even some."
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Fr. Samir: Obama on Islam pleases, but there are some lies and silences  ---  http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=15434&size=A
A quote...."An analysis of the US President’s speech by an expert on Islam and the Arab world. In general there is a lot of honesty and justified mea culpa. But there is also too much rhetoric on Islam’s contributions; historical falsehoods on the Cordoba Caliphate and the birth of Israel; ambiguity on Israeli settlements in the occupied territories; religious freedom is more than tolerance; forgetfulness on the everyday rights of women. The Pope said more [on] the Middle East."
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"Obama, Qwess! Qwess!" -- How Much Really Separates Obama and Netanyahu?  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/lamb06052009.html
A quote...."Near the Syrian border northeast of Baalbek. -- I had not planned to watch Obama’s Cairo speech on June 5, since I had an appointment in the plush Bekaa Valley, near Baalbek-Hermel with Shaykh Subhi Tufayli one of the founders of Hezbollah and its first Secretary General. -- Shaykh Tufayli, still a revered cleric, was a participant in the August 1982 First Conference for the Downtrodden which, I argues in a forthcoming volume, was the essential organizing event at which Hezbollah can be said to have come into existence."
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US-MIDEAST:  Hamas Leader to Obama: Deeds, Not Words  ---  http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47107
A quote...."DAMASCUS, Jun 5 (IPS) - The head of Hamas’s political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, gave a qualified welcome here Thursday to the big speech that Pres. Barack Obama addressed to the Muslim world in Cairo. -- "The speech was cleverly written in the way it addressed the Muslim world... and in the way it showed respect to the Muslim heritage," Meshaal told IPS in an exclusive interview. "But I think it's not enough. What's needed are deeds, actions on the ground, and a change of policies." -- bold by website editor - also posted at AftrDwngSt  ---  http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/43308
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OFFICIAL LIST OF OBAMA’S BROKEN PROMISES  ---  http://newsgnome.blogspot.com/2009/03/official-list-of-obamas-broken-promises.html
Must Read Database - (For the outrage) -- A quote.... For: March 1, 2009 -- Barak Obama continues to break his promises. NewsGnome will regularly post this list of Obama’s broken promises as President on the first of each month with new additions. Broken Obama promises are solicited from readers. Please add your contributions in the comments section and they’ll be added to the list."
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Obama Nominee Linked to Spying on Muslims, CIA Torture   ---  http://www.democracynow.org/2009/6/5/headlines#7  ---  (Democracy Now! - headline) 05 Jun 2009 The Obama administration’s pick for a top Homeland Security position has ties to the FBI spying on Muslim Americans, as well as reported links to CIA torture. Philip Mudd has been nominated to become secretary of intelligence and analysis at Homeland Security. Under the Bush administration, Mudd helped spearhead an FBI program that sifted through customer data collected by San Francisco-area grocery stores in 2005 and 2006, hoping that sales records of Middle Eastern food would lead to Iranian secret agents. A congressional aide, meanwhile, told the Associated Press Mudd had direct knowledge of the torture of foreign prisoners while serving as deputy director of the CIA’s Office of Terrorism Analysis."
also posted at Uruknet  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54884&hd=&size=1&l=e
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Too Obvious To Mention: Obama-Era Lies Protect Bush-Era Crimes -- http://winterpatriot.blogspot.com/2009/06/too-obvious-to-mention-obama-era-lies.html
A quote...."Our new transformative president Obama's decision to fight a court order requiring the release of photos depicting the well-documented abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib -- while entirely in character for this transformative new administration -- is being widely described as shameful enough on its own, let alone for a president who portrayed himself as a champion of transparency and accountability in government."
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Private contractors replacing American troops in both wars
  ---  http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/2009-06-05/Private_contractors_replacing_American_troops_in_both_wars.html
A quote...."A report says that Iraq and Afghanistan are being left to mercenaries, as the number of private contractors in both countries has risen by over a quarter - all with the approval of the White House. -- It has been revealed the number of private security contractors working for the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan has greatly increased by up to 30% since President Obama came to office." - bold by website editor
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US 'privatizing' war in Iraq, Afghanistan?  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=97139&sectionid=3510203
Related Article - A quote...."Number of US contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan is on the rise despite Washington claims that it would withdraw forces from both countries within years. - The Pentagon has announced that the number of US contractors affiliated with the defense department is growing dramatically, a Russia Today report revealed on Friday."
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Bill Moyers Journal - Interview with Jeremy Scahill  ---  http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/06052009/watch.html
Must View Video - Related Video -A quote...."Bill Moyers sits down with award-winning investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill to examine the human and financial costs of America's wars."
||  Transcript  ||  ---  http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/06052009/transcript1.html
||  Mp3 Podcast  ||  ---  http://www.pbs.org/moyers/rss/media/BMJ-1308.mp3  ---  A quote.....

"I think that what we have seen happen, as a result of this incredible reliance on private military contractors, is that the United States has created a new system for waging war. Where you no longer have to depend exclusively on your own citizens to sign up for the military and say, "I believe in this war, so I'm willing to sign up and risk my life for it." You turn the entire world into your recruiting ground. You intricately link corporate profits to an escalation of warfare and make it profitable for companies to participate in your wars. In the process of doing that you undermine U.S. democratic processes. And you also violate the sovereignty of other nations, 'cause you're making their citizens in combatants in a war to which their country is not a party. I feel that the end game of all of this could well be the disintegration of the nation state apparatus in the world. And it could be replaced by a scenario where you have corporations with their own private armies. To me, that would be a devastating development. But it's on. It's happening on a micro level. And I fear it will start to happen on a much bigger scale. " -- *Jeremy Scahill*
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'NYT' (Finally) Issues Corrections on Botched Front-Page 'Gitmo' Story
  ---  http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003981013
Special Note - Presstitute Correction / Retraction Alert -- If the New York Times wishes to salvage what little remains of their tattered and torn reputation after their Iraq WMD fiasco, the Judy Miller saga, and other assorted, too numerous and egregious foul-ups to count, they really will have to start reporting the facts, telling the truth, stop kissing the elites collective you-know-whats, and -- (this will be extremely difficult for them) -- follow the @#%* MONEY!!! - mpg -- A quote...."NEW YORK It was all-too-familiar for those who recall the run-up to the Iraq war when scary front-page New York Times stories would be cited by Dick Cheney as proof that we needed to oust Saddam Hussein ASAP. The reminder: A May 21 piece by Elisabeth Bumiller revealing that a not-yet-released Pentagon report declared that 1 in 7 prisoners released from Gitmo had returned to waging “jihad.” -- Today, the Times, finally issued a weighty Editors’ Note correcting the article’s two main assertions, long after bloggers and others (myself included) had attacked it."
also posted at CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/05-15
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On the Edge with Max Keiser (06/05/09)  ---  http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2009/06/05/on-the-edge-with-max-keiser-060509/
Video Interview - Satire - Special Note - Max Keiser interviews Alex Jones (of InfoWars  ---  http://infowars.net/  --- & Prison Planet  ---  http://www.prisonplanet.com/  ---  ) -- Oh, Max goes to the Max in the first episode ala Saturday Night Live style, it was a lot of fun to watch.  Alex is interviewed in the second episode, the third appears to be a dupe episode. - mpg
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House Bill Proposes Commission to Explore National Servitude http://www.prisonplanet.com/house-bill-proposes-commission-to-explore-national-servitude.html
A quote...."Back in November, after sweeping the election, Obama’s crew removed language from his official website calling for mandatory service for all Americans. “Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year,” the site said before the document was scrubbed in response to criticism."
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Military-backed public schools on the rise in US  ---  http://obamboozled.blogspot.com/2009/06/obama-dept-of-defense-spending-170.html
A quote...."The U.S. Marine Corps is wooing public school districts across the country, expanding a network of military academies that has grown steadily despite criticism that it's a recruiting ploy. -- The Marines are talking with at least six districts — including in suburban Atlanta, New Orleans and Las Vegas — about opening schools where every student wears a uniform, participates in Junior ROTC and takes military classes, said Bill McHenry, who runs the Junior ROTC program for the Marines."
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Obama Administration Targets Environmental and Animal Rights Activists as Eco-Terrorists  ---  http://mwcnews.net/content/view/31057/26/
A quote...."What began under George Bush continues under Barack Obama - targeting dedicated activists with "one of today's most serious domestic terrorism threats," according former FBI Deputy Assistant Director of Counterterrorism John Lewis before a Senate panel in May 2005. Called "eco-terrorism," it grew out of the 2001 USA Patriot Act that created the federal crime of "domestic terrorism" and applied it to US citizens as well as aliens."
also posted at Uruknet  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54887&hd=&size=1&l=e
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Commentary: What’s up with Dick Cheney?  ---  http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/69465.html
A quote...." These days, you can't turn on your television without finding Cheney’s doughboy face on the screen, alternately repeating old lies, mouthing new lies or defiantly confessing to yet another criminal act. -- It's enough to make me yearn for the old Dick Cheney, the one who ventured out of his "undisclosed location" behind a locked door in the vice presidential residence on Washington's Observatory Circle only to make a speech at some buttoned-down military base. -- Most of his unindicted co-conspirators - George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Douglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz and their assorted consiglieri and mouthpieces, Jay Bybee, David Addington, Alberto Gonzalez, John Yoo, William Haynes II - have mostly had the good sense to keep their mouths shut. -- So what's up with Cheney?" -- also posted at AftrDwngSt  ---  http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/43310
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US proxy war continues in north-west Pakistan  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/paki-j05.shtml
A quote...."The arrival of Obama administration special envoy Richard Holbrooke in Pakistan on Wednesday serves to underscore that the massive military operation taking place in the country’s north-west is a proxy war on behalf on US imperialism. As part of completing the transformation of Afghanistan into a client-state in Central Asia, Obama is demanding that the Pakistani government suppress the local Islamist movements that lend support to the Afghan resistance over the border."
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Lebanon dismantles 25 Israeli spy cells  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=97127&sectionid=351020203
A quote...."Amid an ongoing crackdown on active espionage networks in Lebanon, Israeli cells are being dismantled one after the other throughout the country. -- Citing senior army sources, Lebanese daily An-Nahar reported Friday that 25 Israeli spy cells have been uncovered this year."
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OAS vote on Cuba exposes waning US power in Latin America  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/oasv-j05.shtml
A quote...."The unanimous vote taken Wednesday by the Organization of American States to repeal the 47-year-old decision barring Cuba from membership is a clear indication of the weakened economic and political position of US imperialism throughout the region."
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Several dead in Peru land clashes  ---  http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/20096516561168631.html
A quote...."Up to 20 people are thought to have died in the Peruvian Amazon during clashes between police and indigenous Indians protesting against oil and gas exploration on ancestral lands. - Indigenous leaders told AP news agency that 15 protesters had been killed in the unrest, while officials told local radio that five police officers died." -- also posted at CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/06/05-6
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British PM fights for survival -  More on another Bush/Obama lackey biting the dust of h-i-s-t-o-r-y. - mpg
  ---  http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/06/2009652035305573.html
A quote...."The grand and imposing Palace of Westminster - the more formal name for Britain's Houses of Parliament - has seen many dramatic days.  The day Gordon Brown fought for survival will join them."
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Don't Carp, Organize - Our Convoy to Gaza  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/galloway06052009.html
Action Alert - A quote...."By GEORGE GALLOWAY -- Where is the ummah; where is this Arab world they tell us about in school.” -- Those words will forever remain etched on my brain. They were spoken by a 10 year old girl in a bombed out ruin in Gaza in March. She had lost almost her entire family in the 22-day Israeli bombardment earlier this year. The second time she spoke, it was to the back of my head. I had to turn away; what answer could you give her?"
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Nil’in: Palestinian shot dead by Israeli troops at West Bank protest  ---  http://atheonews.blogspot.com/2009/06/nilin-palestinian-shot-dead-by-israeli.html
A quote...."Ma’an news, June 5th, 2009. -- Bethlehem - Ma’an - A Palestinian demonstrator was killed and another injured after Israeli forces opened fire at an anti-wall rally in the West Bank village of Ni’lin on Friday. -- The slain Palestinian was identified as Yousef Akel Sadiq Srour, 36, who was shot in the chest with live fire, according to medics at the scene."
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Israeli piracy continues unabated - six more fishermen abducted  ---  http://palsolidarity.org/2009/06/7030
A quote...."Gazan territorial waters - At around 9 am, six Palestinian fishermen were abducted by the Israeli Navy whilst fishing in Palestinian territorial waters. The fishermen are reported as being; Adham Al - Habil 21, Mohammed Al - Habil 20, Ahmed Al - Habil, Maher Abu Sultan 25, Mohammed Al - Arayshi, and Sadam Bakar." -- also posted at Uruknet  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54885&hd=&size=1&l=e
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World Bank: Aid to Palestinians doesn't spark economic growth due to Israeli restrictions  ---  http://www.imemc.org/article/60698
A quote...."The massive aid that has been given to the West Bank and Gaza had little to no effect on economic development, as Israeli restrictions on trade and movement haven't eased and continue to hamper Palestinian growth, the World Bank states in a new report."
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UN team vows war crime probe despite Israel's "complete refusal"  ---  http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=42887
A quote...."Goldstone said he had been shocked by the extent of the destruction in the Palestinian areas."
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HRW: Israeli crimes in Gaza, Lebanon shame on humanity
  ---  http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7PkUMRocubC7KSAQTbH7kNZnLMUy7Psyc
G3qFxb%2fPnNyUtsTVCy2mt5PjKSvshw%2fiUp%2fFA%2f8in%2fpK3S81v7meT9Ce5kWItR3eZA3eXVBIQ2Y%3d
A quote...."NEW YORK, (PIC)-- Richard Dicker, the director of Human Rights Watch's international justice program, has described the Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip and south Lebanon as a shame on humanity. -- The Syrian news agency quoted Dicker as saying on Friday that Israel committed serious war crimes in its latest war on Gaza Strip and other crimes in its aggression on south Lebanon in July 2006 without being brought to account." -- 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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Palestinian farmers use permaculture to challenge occupation  ---  http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10575.shtml
A quote...."At five in the morning on 8 November 2000, Israeli troops invaded the Sustainable Development Centre in the West Bank village of Marda, tearing doors off their hinges and smashing windows. They destroyed seven years of work on the permaculture project. During the two-and-a-half hour rampage, the plant nursery, seed bank, agricultural equipment, computers and files were all wrecked."
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The Charm Offensive  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/schiff/schiff25.1.html
Must Read - A quote...."This week, Team Obama took their dog and pony show on the road. Treasury Secretary Geithner went to China, Fed Chairman Bernanke to Capitol Hill, and the President himself began a Mideast tour in Saudi Arabia. This full-court press is not coincidental, and comes just as the federal government has begun unloading trillions of dollars in new Treasury obligations. The coordinated charm offensive is meant to assure the world-at-large that the United States can repay these obligations without destroying the dollar."
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Video of a talk on “The Failure to Predict Financial Crises and Recessions”
  ---  http://www.rgemonitor.com/roubini-monitor/256961/video_of_a_talk_on_the_failure_to_predict_financial_crises_and_recessions
A "Dr. Doom" Video - A quote...." I recently gave a talk at a conference organized by the Perimeter Institute (a leading theoretical physics research institution in Canada) on Economic Crisis and the Implications to the Science of Economics   ---  http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mediasite/viewer/FrontEnd/Front.aspx?&shouldResize=False  ---  The topic of my talk was “The Failure to Predict Financial Crises and Recessions”. ---  http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/Flash/ab952804-4ca2-460e-a0c5-d31aae070990/viewer.html  ---  The video of such a talk (all 51 minutes of it) is now available online at this link.  ---  http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/Flash/ab952804-4ca2-460e-a0c5-d31aae070990/viewer.html  ---  The talk is a bit wonky and academic and high brow; but it provides some useful insight on why most failed to predict this crisis and what are the lessons for the economic profession."
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Bullgasm? Watch The Birdie!  ---  http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1090-Bullgasm-Watch-The-Birdie%21.html
A quote...."So the NFP comes in down only 3xxk instead of the expected 6xxk. - The futures go on a tear, up 15 and change at the peak. - Everyone's playing "Green Shoots" again. - I have just one question, and its expressed in these two charts...."
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Intense job destruction moderates in May Unemployment rate jumps to 9.4%, the highest in 26 years
  ---  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/payrolls-fall-345000-jobless-rate-rises-to-94-20096583100
Editor's note - unemployment is a lagging indicator. - mpg -- A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The intense pace of job destruction finally moderated in May as U.S. nonfarm payrolls declined by 345,000 -- the fewest jobs lost in eight months, [This is good news, IF it keeps up, which is very doubtful. - mpg ] the Labor Department reported Friday. -- While the payroll loss was much better than expected and hinted at some improvement in the economy, the U.S. unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high of 9.4% in May as the number of jobless Americans rose by 787,000 to 14.5 million."
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The (Futile) Task Of Projecting Unemployment  ---  http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/06/futile-task-of-projecting-unemployment.html
A quote...."Some realistic downside projections: U3: 17-21%; U6: 30-37%.-- Best case scenario: U3: 14-17%; U6: 26-31% -- And here is what Bernanke, and everyone else who wonders where we are headed, should be looking at: --   "If the job market does not turn around by late summer or early fall of 2009, the projections easily exceed the Great Depression. At that point the only way to prevent catastrophic economic conditions would be through massive inflation of the US dollar [which is why the Chinese are so worried] achieved by either congress allowing the Federal Reserve to issue its own debt, or by accelerating the rate at which the Federal Reserve monetizes US debt while funneling the newly printed dollars into wages so that the money can circulate within the economy."
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Latvia in Money Crisis   ---  http://seekingalpha.com/article/141662-latvia-s-money-crisis-roundup  ---  Some articles from SeekingAlpha
Latest News : EU Warns Latvia on Budget Deficit (WSJ)
  ---  http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct2=us%2F0_0_s_0_0_t&usg=AFQjCNGU7vmWIfzHCdX1mdidOEd34bEd-g&sig2=kmCEnXG_K
On6hIvTuIwEKw&cid=1252778817&ei=XeMnSrDsKoyQ9QSa45r6AQ&rt=SEARCH&vm=STANDARD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.
com%2Farticle%2FSB124411406181084821.html
Nobody Wants to Buy Latvian T-Bills
  ---  http://seekingalpha.com/article/141347-nobody-wants-to-buy-latvian-t-bills
Latvia Kills Emerging Market Rally with Currency and Funding Crisis
  ---  http://seekingalpha.com/article/141358-latvia-kills-emerging-market-rally-with-currency-and-funding-crisis
The Trouble with Latvia: What It Is and Why It Matters
  ---  http://seekingalpha.com/article/141370-the-trouble-with-latvia-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters
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Has the Chinese Economy Really Recovered? The Signs are Mixed
  ---  http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/06/has-chinese-economy-really-recovered.html
A quote...."There has been a lot of bullish news about China recently. Since China is one of the main drivers of the world economy these days, the upbeat reports about China are also being used as evidence of a global recovery. - Has the Chinese economy really recovered, or is there more to the story? - Bloomberg ran a fairly balanced take on China on June 1. After reviewing all of the bullish indicators, Bloomberg noted:" -- Yeah, China's growth might slow even further, to just four or six percent increase in GDP per year.  Contrast that with this website editor's prediction that the US-NRE's growth will be negative to flat well into 2010, possibly 2011 IF and only if the US-NRE doesn't enter into a depression.  If it does it'll get much worse. - mpg
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Thursday June 4th 2009 - links page

The Grim Picture of Obama's Middle East  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/04-16
Special Note - A quote...."A CNN headline, reporting Obama's plans for his June 4 Cairo address, reads 'Obama looks to reach the soul of the Muslim world.' Perhaps that captures his intent, but more significant is the content hidden in the rhetorical stance, or more accurately, omitted. -- Keeping just to Israel-Palestine -- there was nothing substantive about anything else -- Obama called on Arabs and Israelis not to 'point fingers' at each other or to 'see this conflict only from one side or the other.' There is, however, a third side, that of the United States, which has played a decisive role in sustaining the current conflict. Obama gave no indication that its role should change or even be considered. -- Those familiar with the history will rationally conclude, then, that Obama will continue in the path of unilateral U.S. rejectionism." -- also posted at AmericanEveryman   ---  http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2009/06/04/the-grim-picture-of-obamas-middle-east/
& CounterCurrents  ---  http://www.countercurrents.org/chomsky050609.htm
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Speech Therapy: Pretty Words in Cairo Hide Brutal Realities of Power
  ---  http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/3/1776-speech-therapy-pretty-words-in-cairo-hide-brutal-realities-of-power.html
A quote...."We are told that Barack Obama gave a  "major address" on the subject of US-Muslim relations. He was speechifying in Cairo, capital of one of the most repressive regimes in the Middle East, following a sleepover with the Saudi king, Abdullah, ruler of one of the most repressive regimes on earth. -- Regarding the deep impact of this landmark event, we defer to the observations of Professor As'ad AbuKhalil, who provides this incisive commentary:
  ---  http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/06/obama-speech.html

"Who cares about what Obama will say or not say? I mean, why should people care about what the visiting White Man (yes, as soon as you run for the American presidency you assume the role of the White Man, regardless of the color of your skin) will preach to Egyptians and Muslims? I await that speech the way I await sequels to Rocky movies." -- *Professor As'ad AbuKhalil*
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Hezbollah official: Muslims don't need sermons from Obama  ---  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1090405.html
A quote...."A lawmaker belonging to the Hezbollah militant organization on Thursday dismissed a speech given by United States President Barack Obama earlier in Cairo as being like a "sermon," without signaling real change. -- "The Islamic world does not need moral or political sermons. It needs a fundamental change in American policy," said Lebanese MP Hassan Fadlallah." - bold/underline by website editor
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Obama in Cairo: a new face for imperialism  ---  http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/pers-j05.shtml
A quote...."The speech delivered by US President Barack Obama in Cairo yesterday was riddled with contradictions. He declared his opposition to the “killing of innocent men, women, and children,” but defended the ongoing US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the US proxy war in Pakistan, while remaining silent on the most recent Israeli slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza. These wars have killed at least one million Iraqis and tens of thousands in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories." -- also posted at CounterCurrents  ---  http://www.countercurrents.org/martin050609.htm
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A Bush in sheep's clothing  Obama's speech shows little real change. In most regards his analysis maintains flawed American policies
  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54850&hd=&size=1&l=e
Special Note - A quote...."Once you strip away the mujamalat, the courtesies exchanged between guest and host, the substance of President Obama's speech in Cairo indicates there is likely to be little real change in US policy. It is not necessary to divine Obama's intentions, he may be utterly sincere and I believe he is. It is his analysis and prescriptions that in most regards maintain flawed American policies intact. -- Though he pledged to "speak the truth as best I can", there was much the president left out. He spoke of tension between "America and Islam", the former a concrete specific place, the latter a vague construct subsuming peoples, practices, histories and countries more varied than similar."
also posted at the Guardian  ---  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/04/barack-obama-middleeast
& CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/04-13
& CounterCurrents   ---  http://www.countercurrents.org/abunimah050609.htm
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A Bush in sheep's clothing  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/cachedfiles/abushinsheepsclothing-uruknet-cached-060409
Must View Photo - From the article shown above.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words....they're right. - mpg
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The hypocrisy of a "benevolent" empire (on Bushama's Cairo speech)  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54865&hd=&size=1&l=e
A quote...."I do not have a satellite dish in my new apartment and my internet connection is a bit slow here so I watched Barack Obama's speech to the so-called Muslim world on al Jazeera's website. as he began his speech today the Zionist entity was busy flying american-made F-16s in the sky above Palestine in its "Turning point 3″ test run for its doomsday scenario (read: its next offensive attack on its neighbors). and Zionist terrorist colonists attacked Palestinian farms for the fourth day in a row as Obama got ready to deliver his speech.  ---  http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38289  ---  and back in the United States, American Zionists were busy figuring out a new way to scrap any possibility of Palestinian sovereignty by finding ways to give Palestinian land to Jordan and Egypt:"
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Friday's Toon -- Palestine Left to do the "Clean-Up" on Its Own.
  ---  http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2009/06/05/fridays-toon-palestine-left-to-do-the-cleanup-on-its-own/
Cartoon - A quote...."

Obama came to the Middle East….
Obama left the Middle East…..
Obama DID NOT VISIT GAZA……
Obama WAS invited to visit Gaza…..
Once again, it looks like the Palestinians have to do the ‘cleaning up’ on their own……
Actions would have spoken so much louder than the lovely words he spoke.
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Obama Administration seeks Supreme Court Review of Decision Declaring Patriot Act Provision Unconstitutional
  ---  http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/43294
A quote...."Lower courts unanimously declared law unconstitutionally vague from the Center for Constitutional Rights - [and Obama wants to overturn that decision] - Washington, DC, June 4, 2009 - The Obama administration today sought Supreme Court review of a decision declaring a USA Patriot Act provision unconstitutional. The case, Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, originally brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in 1998, challenges the constitutionality of the law that makes it a crime to provide “material support” to groups the administration has designated as “terrorist.” The lower courts have unanimously declared several provisions of the law – including one added by the USA Patriot Act – unconstitutionally vague."
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US Judge Rejects Lawsuits in Wiretapping Cases -- http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/06/04-1-- Which the Obama administration requested.
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO - A US federal judge dismissed dozens of lawsuits against telecom companies that participated in a wiretapping program without court authorization during the presidency of George W. Bush. -- San Francisco-based US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the companies had [retroactive!!] immunity from liability under the FISA Amendments Act (FISAAA), which the US Congress adopted in 2008." - bold/underline by website editor
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Illiteracy in High Places - Forgetting What We Learned  ---  http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22768.htm
Special Note - Some quotes...."June 04, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- If a person lives long enough, he can watch everyone forget everything they learned." -- "Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke thinks he can hold down US long-term interest rates by purchasing mortgage bonds and US Treasuries. Sixty years ago the Federal Reserve understood that this was an impossible feat. After an acrimonious public dispute with the US Treasury, in 1951 the Federal Reserve forced an “Accord” on the government that eliminated the Fed’s obligation to monetize Treasury debt in order to hold down long term interest rates."
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The OTHER Reason for the American Revolution  ---  http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/06/other-reason-for-american-revolution.html
Special Note - A quote...."Everyone knows that the American colonists revolted largely because of taxation without representation and related forms of oppression by the British. See this and this. -- But - according to Benjamin Franklin and others in the thick of the action - a little-known factor was actually the main reason for the revolution."
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Ron Paul: No End To Secret Prisons!? Ignoring Habeas Corpus!? No Penalty For Torture!?  ---  http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/43299
Must View Video -- Alt  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLJ-P9GbQI  ---  (YouTube - 4 min 58 sec - June 04, 2009) -- Ron Paul on fire, except for his take on Federal regulation, this website editor agrees with almost every single thing he said....mpg
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Wall Street, Obama administration conspire to block financial regulation  ---  http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/swap-j04.shtml
A quote...."In the guise of enhanced regulation, the Obama administration is working with major Wall Street banks to sanction a continuation of the speculative practices that precipitated the financial meltdown and deepest economic slump since the Great Depression." -- also posted at AmericanEveryman
  ---  http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2009/06/04/wall-street-obama-administration-conspire-to-block-financial-regulation/
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9/11 Metastasizing: The Left's Co-Dependency  ---  http://rockthetruth.blogspot.com/2009/06/911-metastasizing-lefts-co-dependency.html
Must Read - A quote...."In The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein relates how nations brutalized by the Chicago School’s savage capitalism and the Dirty War juntas enforcing it have recovered and developed a healthy immunity against more eviscerating shock therapy:"

"Any strategy based on exploiting the window of opportunity opened by a traumatic shock relies heavily on the element of surprise... in North America, the September 11 attacks were, at first pure event, raw reality, unprocessed by story, narrative or anything that could bridge the gap between reality and understanding. Without a story, we are, as many of us were after September 11, intensely vulnerable to those people who take advantage of chaos for their own ends. As soon as we have a new narrative that offers perspective on the shocking events, we become reoriented and the world begins to make sense again."
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Deconstructing Deceit: 9/11, the Media, and Myth Information  ---  http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20090309170952776
also in PDF  ---  http://www.projectcensored.org/assets-managed/pdf/DeconstructingDeceitOnlineEd.pdf
From the History File - posted March 5, 2009  -- Quote of the day....

They say goldfish have no memory
I guess their lives are much like mine
and the little plastic castle
is a surprise every time
and it's hard to say if they're happy
but they don't seem much to mind. -- *Ani DiFranco*, Little Plastic Castles

"For the past eight years, American culture has seen an outburst of media-driven mythmaking. Corporate mainstream media organizations, the pundits they sponsor, and politicians from both major parties have formed a new contextual chorus singing the same refrain: "On September 11th, 2001, everything changed." From cable TV to AM radio, from the blogosphere to the town-hall meeting, Americans repeatedly hear that "this is a post-9/11 world."  -- This article was produced by ProjectCensored   ---  http://www.projectcensored.org/
See also a Message from Peter Phillips concerning Project Censored  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13854
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Let Us Awake Now  ---  http://www.strike-the-root.com/91/merrick/merrick4.html
Special Note - A quote...."You cannot be free by obeying the rules.  You cannot be free by waiting for someone to rescue you.  You cannot be free simply by hoping for a brighter day tomorrow.  Freedom comes from within.  It does not come from without.  It does not come from a charismatic leader.  It does not come with a set of instructions.  It does not come from being raised with doses of discipline and dogma.  It does not come from being given your freedom only after you prove yourself to your parents, teachers, pastors, or other authority figures.  It does not come from any God who demands obedience before He promises blessings (or threatens curses).  It does not come from delineated rights.  It does not come from The Constitution.  It is you from whom freedom springs.  It is you in whom freedom thrives.  No one gave it to you.  Like Dorothy and her ruby slippers, your way home was with you all the time.  You just didn't realize it.  Do you understand?  You are freedom.  Contrary to that tiresome cliché, freedom is  free. "
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Buchanan’s Necessary Book  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance173.html
Special Note - A quote...."Pat Buchanan and I have some differences – some major differences. -- He is a Catholic; I am a Protestant. He is a conservative; I am a libertarian. He is a protectionist; I am a freetrader. He has disparaged Wal-Mart; I spend most of my money there. He believes Alexander Hamilton was one of the greatest of the Founding Fathers; I much prefer Thomas Jefferson. He has worked for Republican presidents; I loathe Republican presidents. He favors a government limited to conservative and Republican policies; I favor a government as limited as possible. -- There is one thing, however, that Buchanan and I do agree on, and it is something that I consider to be very important: World War II was an unnecessary war. It was unnecessary for the Treaty of Versailles to enlarge the British, French, Italian, and Japanese empires at the expense of Germany. It was unnecessary for Britain to end its Anglo-Japanese treaty. It was unnecessary for Britain to impose sanctions on Italy, driving Mussolini into an alliance with Hitler. It was unnecessary for Britain to issue a war guarantee to Poland. And most importantly, it was unnecessary for 420,000 American soldiers to die fighting a foreign war."
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Bilderberger treason goes unpunished! - posted at OnlineJournal  ---  http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4422.shtml
  ---  http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4772.shtml
Special Note - A quote...."It is ironic, as Daniel Estulin points out, that America’s fledgling democracy established the Logan act in 1799 to protect itself from Americans fostering foreign associations to intrude in our affairs. Named after Dr. George Logan, a pro Republican and prescient Quaker from Pennsylvania, it has remained almost unchanged and unfortunately unused since its passage, though it reads with great relevance in the shadows of the New World Order’s operatives . . .It states...

 “Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”

Heck Yeah!  We could put all of AIPAC, Obama, Lieberman, Peolsi and most of the Neocons in jail under this statute. Good Law! - mpg
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US to Keep Troops in Sadr City Past Deadline  ---  http://news.antiwar.com/2009/06/03/us-to-keep-troops-in-sadr-city-past-deadline/
What, the US-NRE is reneging on another "agreement", why that's just so shocking! (inane giggle, than laughter, followed by a full blown guffaw fading into the distance....) - mpg -- A quote...."Just yesterday America’s top commander in Iraq, General Raymond Odierno, said that a deal had been finalized and that all US troops would definitely be out of all of Iraq’s cities by June 30, as required by the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) the two nations signed last year." -- Sure he did, when the Iraqis signed that agreement they thought the US-NRE said 2009 but what it really meant was 2109, the jokes on the Iraqis of course. - mpg
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Former Saddam deputy remains defiant  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54862&hd=&size=1&l=e
Editor's special note -- Unlike Osama bin Laden, this guy is actually still alive. - mpg -- A quote...."Algiers - Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, the fugitive deputy of Iraq's late dictator Saddam Hussein, on Tuesday defied the United States to capture him alive in a rare newspaper interview. -- "The Americans will only have me as a martyr," Duri told the Algerian Arabic-language daily Ennahar in the interview, where he also denied being in captivity or having fled to an Arab nation."
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Red Cross Informed Powell About Torture  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54861&hd=&size=1&l=e
A quote...."The International Committee of the Red Cross began an investigation of US war crimes in Iraq from the first days of the invasion, interviewing Iraqi captives from March to November 2003."
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Obama Admits US Involvement in Iran Coup in 1953, But Doesn't Admit American Involvement in False Flags
  ---  http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/06/obama-admits-us-involvement-in-iran.html
A quote...."Obama has admitted that the U.S. was involved in the Iranian coup in 1953. -- I applaud the president for admitting this fact. -- When will the U.S. admit that the U.S. was not only "involved", but - as documented by the New York Times - Iranians working for the C.I.A. in the 1950's posed as Communists and staged bombings in Iran in order to turn the country against its democratically-elected president
  ---  http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-cia-index.html  ---  (see also this essay)?"  ---  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
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US pressing Nabucco scheme sans Iran  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=97075&sectionid=3510213
A quote...."Richard Morningstar, the US special envoy for Eurasian energy issues, said that Iran can only join the gas pipeline undertaking after the normalization of ties between Tehran and Washington. - He told a group of reporters in Ankara on Thursday that inviting Iran to the project without a resolution to the standoff over its nuclear program could "have a negative effect." - "We don't want to change our policy unless Iran changes its policy," AP quoted Morningstar as saying. - The pipeline is to link the Caspian Sea region, the Middle East and Egypt to the European Union via Turkey. - The Nabucco consortium, which aims at decreasing Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas, has been unable to find sufficient gas supplies necessary for the feasibility of the project."
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OAS votes to readmit Cuba after 47 years  ---  http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_55931.shtml
A quote...."The Organization of American States voted Wednesday to revoke the 1962 measure suspending communist Cuba, overturning a landmark of the Cold War in the hemisphere. -- "The Cold War has ended this day in San Pedro Sula," said Honduran President Manuel  Zelaya immediately following the announcement. "We begin a new era of fraternity and  tolerance."
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Honduras Hails Cuba Solidarity  ---  http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=89021&Itemid=1
A quote...."San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Jun 4 (Prensa Latina) Honduras' Minister of Foreign Affairs Patricia Rodas voiced her gratitude for Cuba''s cooperation and solidarity with the Latin American and Caribbean peoples."
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New Evidence on Bolivia Terrorism  ---  http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=89099&Itemid=1
A quote...."La Paz, Jun 4 (Prensa Latina) The Bolivian parliamentary commission probing the case of terrorism in Santa Cruz continues Thursday questioning new suspects of the Telecommunications Cooperative (Cotas) and the Federation of Stockbreeders(Fegasacruz)."
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[Israel's Interior Min. and Shas Chr. Eli Yishai] seeks authority to strip Israelis [i.e. Arabs & Palestinians] of citizenship
  ---  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1090173.html
A quote...."....Eli Yishai is planning to submit an amendment to the basic citizenship law which would give him the authority to strip Israelis of their citizenship at his discretion, without the authorization of Attorney General Menachem Mazuz or the courts. -- About a month ago, Yishai began the process of stripping the citizenship from four Israeli Arabs who left Israel decades ago."
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When Settlers Attack  ---  http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_55928.shtml
A quote...."What goes for the geese goes for the gander" is definitely not a catchphrase applicable in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.  We "gander" certainly are not granted the rights and privileges of Israeli settler "geese" in any shape or form. This is a  well known fact, but incidents that offer further proof of it continue to take place, reminding all that illegal Jewish  settlers squatting on Palestinian land can act against the laws of humanity with impunity."
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Convenient Crutch: Forget 'Negotiations', Mr. Obama - (check out the photo)  ---  http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15166
A quote...."Whenever western leaders lecture us about a solution to the Israel-Palestine problem, they rely on those comfortable, woolly words "negotiation" and “peace process”… it’s a convenient crutch. - Kick away the crutch and they’d finally have to grasp the nettle of justice, something they have always avoided."
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Video Free Gaza News 3 June, 2009  ---  http://www.creative-i.info/?p=7330
Alt - (YouTube - 5 min - June 03, 2009)  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnR_00r7Brw
Video - A quote...."Pictures by : Free Gaza press photos, Sameh A. Habeb, Machsom Watch Images by : Greta Berlin, Adam Shapiro, Vittorio Arrigoni The song "New" is by Anis Hamadeh "
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Breaking the Siege on Gaza  ---  http://www.palestinechronicle.com/videos/viewVideo.php?fileID=267
Alt  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cglk82qBi3M  ---  (YouTube - 9 min 17 sec - Jan 07'09) - A reminder of the attack against Gaza
Must View Video - From the History File -- January 07, 2009 -- A quote...."On Wednesday Riz speaks with two politicians who had been concerned about the mounting humanitarian crisis in the Strip long before the current war. " -- 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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Despite Israel's efforts, Palestinian festival celebrates literature  ---  http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10569.shtml
A quote...."For many Palestinians, the month of May is associated with the commemoration of the Nakba. But with the increasing popularity of the arts in Palestine, the second annual Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest) harmoniously unfolded to the final days of spring, a time also for lavender and lilies."
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The Eye of the Economic Hurricane  ---  http://lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner386.html
Must Read - A quote...."Everything was falling in price – houses, office buildings, stocks, commodities…practically everything except the US dollar, US bonds, and gold… These three were seen as the only safe refuges for storm-tossed investors. -- But on March 9, 2009, came a lull. Reluctantly, investors came out of their storm shelters. The skies lightened…the sun shined. Oil has gone up 53% since then. Stocks worldwide are up about 30%. -- And now…people say “the worst is behind us.” -- We meteorologists watch the skies like everyone else. But we also read reports from big storms of the past. And what we notice is that this doesn’t look like the passing storms of the ’80s or ’90s. It looks to us like a major change in weather patterns. To be more precise, it looks to us like the Great Storm of the ’30s. Do you remember that one, dear reader? No? Well, we don’t either, but we’ve read the histories. It was a doozy. And it began…well…just like this one. -- In 1930, six months after the initial storm front passed, world output was down about 15%. Today, it is down about 15%, too. Stock markets were only down about 20% in mid-1930. Today, they’re down about 35%. And world trade slipped about 15% in the six months following the onset of the Great Crash of ’29. Today, it is down 25%."
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Bankers perpetuate crisis  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/KF05Dj03.html
Must Read - A quote...."During the past decade, the major reserve central banks have become the most powerful destabilizing force behind the world economy. Their policy of excessive monetary expansion and negative real interest rates aimed at boosting credit, real aggregate demand and employment, and depreciating exchange rates -- (tantamount to competitive devaluations that became a scourge during the Great Depression) has forced unprecedented flow of credit into the subprime market, the only market that can absorb, unproductively and without limit, such massive credit flows." - bold by website editor
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Initial U.S. Jobless Claims Drop Slightly  ---  http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20090604/initials-jobless-claims-drop-slightly.htm
A quote...."The number of new claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending May 30 decreased by 4,000 to 621,000, the Labor Department said today. Economists had expected to see 620,000 new claims. The four-week moving average, which aims to smooth volatility in the data, increased to 631,250 from 627,250 a increase of 4,000."
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Unemployment [officially] surpasses 15% in 13 U.S. cities for April
  ---  http://www.smartbrief.com/news/cpa/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=99F1AD65-94FD-44C1-BAF3-AA892D3D7ED2
&copyid=AC51F357-7B57-42BE-A400-16B0BC2F7EA7
A quote...."April unemployment surged beyond 15% in 13 cities, including nine cities in California. At the same time, 93 other cities posted unemployment figures of 10% or more. "I truly can't recall the last time I went through a workday without hearing about the job situation here," said Alan Steele, business adviser at the Indiana Small Business Development Center and a resident of Elkhart, Ind., which had the biggest year-over-year unemployment increase. CNNMoney.com (06/03) "
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Bankruptcy filings rise to 6,000 a day  ---  http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2009/06/04/bankruptcy-filings-rise-to-6000-a-day/
A quote...."Consumer and commercial bankruptcy filings are on pace to reach a stunning 1.5 million this year, according to a report from Automated Access to Court Electronic Records."
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Wednesday June 3rd 2009 - links page

I Want to Play a Game…  ---  http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/i-want-to-play-a-game/
A quote...."This game is different. And it’s very simple; all I want are two simple examples, one from category “A” and one from category “B”. -- In category “A” I want a public example of something, anything, a policy or a legal interpretation… something… said by Vice President Dick Cheney during his tenure in office that wasn’t a lie.  Not him saying what day it was or telling someone his name, nothing cute, but I mean literally, something he officially  said in public, on the record, that wasn’t a lie. -- In category “B” I want a public statement made by President Obama during the campaign that he has actually lived up to, just like he said he was going to do, since he became president. Not something he “compromised” on which ended up meaning he sold out his populous base to corporate interests,  not some drapes he picked out, but a solid policy stance taken on a liberal issue that helped get him in office, that he actually has lived up to since taking office…"
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Obama's "Open Government" Deletes Top Proposal on "End Imperial Presidency"  ---  http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/43228
A quote...."Is irony even the word for this? The president created a new online "open government" system in which people were free to brainstorm and vote proposals up or down. Far and away the leading proposal in the category of "Legal and Policy Challenges" as of the scheduled end of brainstorming was End Imperial Presidency. You can still find it, but it's been removed from that category and from the list of all proposals. Unless you have the direct link to it, you cannot find it, and when you do you can no longer vote for it. It has a label at the top with a closed lock and the words "pending moderator approval." When voting was scheduled to end on the 28th, this proposal was at the top in its category and ranked #3 over all." -- Sort'a says it all, doesn't it folks? Millions of people voted for a monster who will probably turn out to be even worse than Bush. And they did it all the while saying that voting for a "third party" (no such thing of course since the DemoRepubs are one and the same party) would be wasting their vote, yet they went ahead and wasted it anyway.  Tens of millions of people in this country have proven just how stupid they really are. - mpg
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Rather: Former detainee says torture still going on at Gitmo  ---  http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/43225
A quote...."Dan Rather, the former CBS anchor who now hosts a news magazine on cable channel HDNet, has done a documentary on a former Guantanamo prisoner who says he was tortured for years before being released [just] two weeks ago." - bold/underline by website editor
also posted at Uruknet  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54838&hd=&size=1&l=e
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Another Club Gitmo guest kills himself  ---  http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/06/02/suicide/index.html
A quote...."Some of the most cartoonish pseudo-tough-guy, play-acting-warrior-low-lifes of the Right -- Rush Limbaugh, The Weekly Standard, National Review's Andy McCarthy -- have long referred to Guantanamo as "Club Gitmo."  Many leading national Republican politicians have (as usual) followed suit.  Recently, some key Democrats have begun actively impeding plans to close it. -- Today, Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah Salih -- a 31-year old Yemeni who has been in a Gitmo cage since February, 2002 (more than seven years) without charges -- became the latest Club Gitmo guest to successfully kill himself:" -- also posted at CommonDreams
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Torture Is Not a Partisan Issue . . . George Washington - Who Was Neither a Democrat or Republican - Forbid All Torture
  ---  http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/06/torture-is-not-partisan-issue-george.html
Some quotes....Those trying to make torture into a partisan issue should look to the founding father of our country: George Washington. Washington was president before political parties even existed." -- "In the worst of times – when foreign troops literally occupied American soil, torturing and murdering American patriots – and few believed that the cause of the revolution could ultimately win against the might of the British Empire, the first Commander in Chief of the U.S.A. set the precedent that this society is to lead even our enemies by “benignant sympathy of [our] example.” To win the war against the occupying army of Redcoats, the American revolutionaries needed right on their side. -And it worked. Many of the German Hessians in fact joined the revolutionaries in their fight against the English and stayed here in America to be free when the war was won."
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Spanish judge calls for extradition of US soldiers  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/spai-j03.shtml
A quote...."A Spanish judge has again called for the extradition of three US soldiers to Spain to face charges of indiscriminate attacks against civilians in war. The charges against Sergeant Thomas Gibson, Captain Philip Wolford and tank commander Lieutenant Colonel Phil de Camp relate to the deaths of two cameramen during the first weeks of the invasion of Iraq in 2003."
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Blackwater Accused Again of Murders in Iraq  ---  http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/06/03/Blackwater_Accused_Again_of_Murders_in_Iraq.htm
A quote...."ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) - Two more Iranian families accuse Blackwater, now known as Xe, of murdering their husbands and fathers in Baghdad and covering it up. Azhar Abdullah Ali, 33, a father of three, was a security guard for the Iraqi Media Network when Blackwater mercenaries killed him and two others on Feb. 7, 2007, according to the federal complaint. The family of Rahim Khalaf Sa'adoon claims drunken Blackwater mercenary Andrew Moonen killed Sa'adoon on Christmas Eve, "for no reason," as Sa'adoon guarded the vice president of Iraq."
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Rumsfeld to 'face difficulties' over Guantanamo: UN expert  ---  http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Rumsfeld_to_face_difficulties_over__06032009.html
A quote...."Former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld could soon be in trouble for the role he played in human rights abuses committed in the Guantanamo prison, a United Nations expert said Wednesday. -- "In a year or two, his responsibilities will be established. Wherever he goes, he will face difficulties," Leandro Despouy, who is Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, told journalists in Geneva." - bold by website editor
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Join Us For: Torture Accountability Action Day  ---  http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/43254
Action Alert - A quote...."June 25th in Washington, DC, and across the USA ! -- Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Anchorage, Pasadena, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Charlotte -- More locations are being added every day !"
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Journalist claims papers turned down story about Bush’s desire to invade Iraq  ---  http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/06/03/journalist-bush-iraq-1999/
Special Note - Ahhhh yes.....the US-NRE's lying presstituting whores, caught omitting, concealing and refusing to report the real stories to the people of this nation -- again. - mpg --  A quote...."An investigative journalist who authored a controversial book on the Bush dynasty says he approached major US newspapers about publishing a story regarding President George W. Bush’s alleged intent to invade Iraq before the 2004 election but was rebuffed. -- The journalist and author, Russ Baker, says he had a taped interview of Bush’s onetime biographer in which he says Bush told him he intended to invade Iraq as early as 1999, during his presidential campaign. The interview with former Bush ghostwriter Mickey Herskowitz took place before the 2004 election." - bold by website editor
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Ordered Assassinations, Sectarian Bomb Attacks Targeting Iraqi Civilians
  ---  http://heyetnet.org/eng/iraq-news/13-irak/490-ordered-assassinations-sectarian-bomb-attacks-targeting-iraqi-civilians.html
Must Read - A quote...."Former collaborator discloses details of US-ordered assassinations, sectarian bomb attacks targeting Iraqi civilians -- An Iraqi who asked not to be identified had disclosed some of the US activities such as assassinations and bombings in markets that aim at sparking sectarian fighting among Iraqis so as to facilitate the partition of the country." -- This will need independent confirmation, but considering what's contained in the
US Support of Terror,  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ussupportofterror-weblist-mpg-090306  --- 
US support Death Sqds  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/usdeathsquads-weblist-cmplt-111406  --- 
and US Sponsored Civil Wars  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ussponsoredcivilwars-weblist-mpg-101107  --- 
weblists, it all sounds perfectly plausible. - mpg - also posted at WarInIraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/198486
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Robert Fisk: Police state is the wrong venue for Obama's speech
  ---  http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-police-state-is-the-wrong-venue-for-obamas-speech-1695487.html
A quote...."Maybe Barack Obama chose Egypt for his "great message" to Muslims tomorrow because it contains a quarter of the world's Arab population, but he is also coming to one of the region's most repressed, undemocratic and ruthless police states. Egyptian human rights groups – when they are not themselves being harassed or closed down by the authorities – have recorded a breathtaking list of police torture, extra-judicial killings, political imprisonments and state-sanctioned assaults on opposition figures that continues to this day." - also posted at CommonDreams   ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/03-13
& PulseMedia  ---  http://pulsemedia.org/2009/06/03/robert-fisk-police-state-is-the-wrong-venue-for-obamas-speech/
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Afghan Member Of Parliament Rips U.S. For Killing Civilians  ---  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/02/afghani-member-of-parliam_n_210585.html
A quote...."Controversy has swirled around unmanned aerial attacks that have killed civilians in Pakistan and the border region, but Dr. Roshnak Wardak, an Afghani member of parliament who has lived in both countries, says that the attacks inside Afghanistan have been devastating to U.S. credibility. -- Wardak herself was almost killed by one. About six months ago, she said, a drone bombed a road about 200 meters from her home in the rural province she represents. The first drone, she says, killed Taliban members attempting to mine the road. -- The blast, she says, lifted her house off the ground and woke up the village. The curious went to see what happened. That's when the second drone struck, killing roughly 15 civilians, she says."
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The shadow war in Balochistan  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KF04Df04.html
Special Note - A quote...."Just when Iran and Pakistan had reached a key Pipelineistan breakthrough, regional violence exploded involving, once again, "the greatest prize" Balochistan (Please see  Balochistan is the greatest prize, May 9, 2009, Asia Times Online.) -- The key question to ask is, as usual, cui bono?, or "Who profits?" What's behind this new, bloody intersection of Pipelineistan and the former "global war on terror" - a key theme US President Barack Obama would not dare touch in his Cairo address on Thursday to the "Muslim world"?" -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror - Jundallah
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ussupportofterror-weblist-mpg-090306#JUNDALLAH
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Coming Down to the Wire in Lebanon - Israeli Spies and Fake IDs  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/lamb06032009.html
Special Note - A quote...."In the Burj Abu Haider section of Beirut this morning ( pro March 14th neighborhood) this observer found two main subjects being discussed  by pro-Hariri poll workers. One is the concept of “Hasana Niyabya” or Parliamentary Immunity.  This is important because in addition to the 38 alleged spies arrested (made possible by Hezbollah intelligence  and technology working with Lebanon’s Internal Security Force (ISF) it is rumored that following Sunday’s voting no fewer than four current members of parliament allied with the US Team are going to be arrested for spying for Israel.  The post election arrest of two Cabinet Ministers and “a higher political figure” are also hinted at. They are safe until they lose their parliamentary immunity when the votes are counted creating a new parliament or unless the new parliament passes a third Immunity Law very fast to shield wrongdoers (two earlier “let the past be the past and we can move forward” amnesties were enacted in 1992 and 2005). It was the fear “Israeli spy outings” that dominated Joe Biden’s agenda when he met with the US Team last month.  The majority wanted US help in postponing the election, and thereby retaining Parliamentary immunity, but Joe said no. This issue is just one reason that observers here are predicting fireworks after the votes are counted."
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Hezbollah spices up Israel-Iran mix  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KF03Ak01.html
A quote...."Where Iran has Hezbollah, Israel has Jundallah, given Israel's apparent efforts to destabilize Iran
by playing an "ethnic card" against it. This, by some reports, it is doing by nurturing the Sunni Islamist group Jundallah to parallel Tehran's support for Lebanon's formidable Shi'ite group, Hezbollah, that is favored to win parliamentary elections on June 7. -- Should the Hezbollah-led coalition win as anticipated, the result will be even closer military-to-military relations between Iran and Lebanon, reflected in Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrollah's recent statement that he would look to Tehran to modernize Lebanon's army."
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Obama: Egypt's Mubarak (In Power 28 Years) Not an Authoritarian Leader
  ---  http://rebelreports.com/post/117451339/obama-egypts-mubarak-in-power-28-years-not-an
A quote...."Hosni Mubarak of Egypt has been in power for 28 years. His human rights record is atrocious, his treatment of dissidents violent and his embrace of actual democratic processes, well, basically nonexistant. Human Rights Watch recently described Mubarak as running an “entrenched authoritarian government.” Amnesty International charges that “free expression [is] outlawed in Egypt.” Tomorrow, President Obama will deliver a major address in Cairo, but don’t expect him to mention anything directly critical of Mubarak (obviously not a surprise). In an interview with the BBC’s Justin Webb, Obama detailed exactly how he sees Mubarak:" -- also posted at OhBummer  ---  http://obamboozled.blogspot.com/2009/06/obama-egypts-mubarak-in-power-28-years.html
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Muslims want actions, not words, from Obama - That's really too bad, because that's all they're gonna get. - mpg
  ---  http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7kz8Lp6zRaiKV1COvf%2bfs5a03n6OdQ
Px0N7IbUlegP9tue3bNmLACg9UuBkQSXSINVEZiYy2So1rOfRLaJ5g9q3xlYkbV6BLP32benaDTc9g%3d
A quote...."I sincerely believe that the vast majority of Muslims, including this writer, profoundly appreciate President Obama’s decision to address the Muslim world from Cairo. The American leader will speak from Cairo University, one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the Arab world."
also posted at PeoplesVoice  ---  http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2009/06/04/muslims-want-actions-not-words-from-obam
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‘Sweet talk’ not enough for Muslims: Iran to Obama
  ---  http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2009/June/international_June326.xml&section=international
A quote...."TEHERAN - Iran’s supreme leader said on Thursday the United States was deeply hated in the Middle East and told US President Barack Obama that ‘beautiful’ speeches alone would not improve its image in the Muslim world."
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Iran arrests Afghan saboteurs near terror site  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=96866&sectionid=351020101
A quote...."Following a rare terrorist attack last week, Iran has arrested several Afghan nationals in Zahedan who have a history in acts of sabotage." -- also posted at WarInIraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/198497
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War With Iran: Has It Already Begun?  ---  http://dprogram.net/2009/06/04/war-with-iran-has-it-already-begun/
A quote...."In public, when it comes to the Iranian question, President Obama is all sweet reason and kissy-face. His recent video message to the Iranian people was just what the doctor ordered. However, this public performance is severely undercut by an ongoing covert program aimed at regime-change in Tehran – or, at least, at undermining the Iranian regime to such an extent that it must respond in some way."
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Report Ties Dubious Iran Nuclear Docs to Israel  ---  http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47081
Special Note - A quote...." A report on Iran’s nuclear program issued by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month generated news stories publicizing an incendiary charge that U.S. intelligence is underestimating Iran’s progress in designing a "nuclear warhead" before the halt in nuclear weapons-related research in 2003. -- That false and misleading charge from an intelligence official of a foreign country, who was not identified but was clearly Israeli, reinforces two of Israel’s key propaganda themes on Iran – that the 2007 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iran is wrong, and that Tehran is poised to build nuclear weapons as soon as possible." -- also posted at AntiWar  ---  http://original.antiwar.com/porter/2009/06/03/report-ties-dubious-iran-nuclear-docs-to-israel/
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Iran signs $4.7b gas deal with China  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=96897&sectionid=351020103
A quote...."Tehran has replaced France's Total with a Chinese company to develop phase 11 of Iran's South Pars gas field. -- An Iranian delegation headed by managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Seyfollah Jashnsaz, which is on a visit to Beijing, has finalized the deal with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) today, IRNA reported on Wednesday." -- By complying with Israel's and the US-NRE's attempts to isolate Iran, France has markedly furthered its own energy insecurity.  France used to be a proud independent country once upon a time, now it caters to Jewish bankers and Neo-con DemoRepub militarists....what a shame. - mpg
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Russia: Bushehr plant operational this year  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=96957&sectionid=351020104
A quote...."The head of a Russian contractor in charge of the construction of Iran's first nuclear power plant says the project will be completed this year."
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Putin warns of gas shutdown to Europe if Ukraine fails to pay  ---  http://en.rian.ru/world/20090603/155161024.html
A quote...."MOSCOW, June 3 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's prime minister warned on Wednesday that natural gas pumped via Ukraine to Europe could be cut off by early July if Ukraine fails to pay for its gas, and urged the EU to intervene." -- also posted at WarInIraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/198571
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British govt in 'meltdown' as ministers quit - Another Bush/Obama lackey is gonna bite the dust....mpg
  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-4399-0-15-15--.html
A quote...."British Prime Minister Gordon Brown lost his fourth minister within 24 hours on Wednesday as he faced taunts that his government was in meltdown on the eve of polls which could seal his fate. -- Amid talk that the wave of resignations may be the beginning of the end of his premiership, Brown faced a rowdy Prime Minister's Questions session at which Conservative leader David Cameron urged a snap general election."
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Big Brother HAS gone too far [in Britain] ... and that's an ex-spy chief talking
  ---  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1190060/Former-MI6-chief-Sir-Richard-Dearlove-warns-disturbing-surveillance-society.html
A quote...."The former head of MI6 has hit out at 'striking and disturbing' invasions of privacy by the Big Brother state. Sir Richard Dearlove, who led the Secret Intelligence Service from 1999 to 2004, claimed some were an 'abuse' of the law. He attacked the 'loss of liberties' caused by expanding surveillance powers and described some police operations as 'mind-boggling.' The former spy chief joins a growing number of high-profile critics warning that individual freedom and privacy are being seriously eroded by the Government's disproportionate efforts to guard against terrorism."
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OAS Votes to Readmit Cuba  ---  http://news.antiwar.com/2009/06/03/oas-votes-to-readmit-cuba/
A quote...."The Organization of American States (OAS) has today agreed to officially reverse its 1962 decision to expel Cuba from the group. The US was reportedly pressing for them to require democratic reforms and improve respect for human rights as a precondition, but appears to have failed to net any specific preconditions."
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A human rights mystery is solved in Chile - Details emerge about a Pinochet-era murder.
  ---  http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/worldview/090529/human-rights-mystery-solved-chile
A quote...."NEW YORK — A Chilean court has uncovered the gruesome details surrounding the death of one of Latin America’s most famous human rights victims, the folk singer Victor Jara. A 4,500-word account of the singer’s death was published last week by the Chilean investigative journalism site
 CIPER,  ---  http://ciperchile.cl/2009/05/26/los-estremecedores-testimonios-de-como-y-quienes-asesinaron-a-victor-jara/  ---  the day before the court announced murder charges against a former soldier who confessed to participating in the brutal killing in 1973."
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Bolivia Wants Terror Backers from US  ---  http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=88762&Itemid=1
A quote...."La Paz, Jun 3 (Prensa Latina) The government of Bolivian President Evo Morales will urge that the US repatriate Bolivian citizens accused of funding a terrorist cell neutralized in April, an official source confirmed Wednesday."
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El Salvador to investigate Chavez claims  ---  http://wire.antiwar.com/2009/06/03/el-salvador-to-investigate-chavez-claims/
A quote...."El Salvador is investigating claims by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that an assassination plot prevented him from visiting the Central American nation."
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South American Nations Agree on Technical Rules for Bank of the South - Yeah!!  De-Couple from the Dollar!! - mpg
  ---  http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_55919.shtml
Special Note - A quote...."Seven Latin American Finance Ministers have agreed on the basis for establishing the Bank of the South. The motivation for forming the new development bank is based on the belief that keeping Latin America's precious reserves at home—to loan to other Latin American governments for their mutual development—is preferable to accepting aid and development loans from the Inter-American Development Bank and other multilateral development banks." -- (a.k.a. bloodsucking loan sharks. - mpg)
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Israelis Say Bush Officials Agreed to Settlement Building  ---  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/world/middleeast/04israel.html?_r=1
A quote...."JERUSALEM — Senior Israeli officials expressed irritation on Wednesday that President Obama
   ---  http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per  ---  had declined to acknowledge what they called clear understandings with the Bush administration that allowed
 Israel   ---  http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/israel/index.html?inline=nyt-geo  ---    to build West Bank
  ---  http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/west_bank/index.html?inline=nyt-geo  ---  settlement housing within certain guidelines while still publicly claiming to honor a settlement “freeze.” -- also posted at BLN  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-4400-0-27-27--.html
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Mother Palestine by ~Latuff2  ---  http://latuff2.deviantart.com/art/Mother-Palestine-124524792
Cartoon - Click on the image to enlarge it. - mpg
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Obama should visit Gaza  ---  http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10573.shtml
A quote...."But the administration has said almost nothing about the devastating Israeli invasion of Gaza that left more than 1,400 dead, including some 400 children. To many in the Middle East, this is an unfortunate continuation of past policies that condemn the loss of innocent Israeli lives, but refuse to speak out against the disproportionately greater loss of Palestinian lives at the hands of the Israeli military. -- The Israeli invasion of Gaza began on 27 December 2008, when Obama had just won the election but had not yet taken office. While he spoke out against the 26 November Mumbai terrorism attack, he refused to even call for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying coldly, "When it comes to foreign affairs it is particularly important to adhere to the principle of one president at a time." -- For more on this issue see....No Leadership From Obama. - Oh Contraire! - 12-28-08 - mpg
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/noleadershipfromobama-ohcontraire-mpg-reficultnias-122808
& Gaza Invasion of 12/27/08  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/thegazainvasion-mpg-weblist-122708
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Amid Mideast mission, Obama ducks key question  ---  http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=96872&sectionid=3510203
A quote...."Ahead of his visit to the Middle East, Barack Obama signaled the absence of any plan to punish a non-compliant Israel while suggesting that the Palestinians encourage "incitement"." - also posted at OhBummer  ---  http://obamboozled.blogspot.com/2009/06/amid-mideast-mission-obama-ducks-key.html
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[Israeli] Settlers torch more Palestinian farmland near Nablus  ---  http://atheonews.blogspot.com/2009/06/settlers-torch-more-palestinian.html
A quote....02 / 06 / 2009 Time: 17:09 - Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli settlers set fire to more than 50 dunums (50,000 square meters) of Palestinian-owned farmland south of the West Bank city of Nablus. - Ghassan Dughlus, a Palestinian official monitoring settler activity in the northern West Bank told Ma’an that settlers lit the fires in the Hariq area near the village of Sarra." -- also posted at WarInIraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/198542
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Gaza fishing boats surrounded by Israeli warships  ---  http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38294
A quote...."Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli warships surrounded two fishing boats off the coast north of Gaza City on Thursday morning. - The boats belong to Omar Al-Habil and Omar Al-Hissi, according to sources in Gaza. No arrests or injuries have been reported. - There have been frequent reports of Israeli gunboats harassing Palestinian fishermen along the Gaza coast in recent weeks. In February Israel imposed a three-mile limit for Gaza fishermen, far short of the 20 miles guaranteed by the Oslo peace agreement."
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Palestinian leftists call for an end to Hamas-Fatah violence  ---  http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m54837&hd=&size=1&l=e
A quote...."Gaza -- Ma'an  Left-wing Palestinian factions held a meeting in Gaza on Wednesday to discuss a response to a recent flare up in internecine violence. - A member at the central committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Kayed Al-Ghoul, said that his party also met with officials from the Palestinian People's Party (PPP) on Tuesday evening." -- For more on this issue see....US Sponsored Civil Wars - Palestine
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ussponsoredcivilwars-weblist-mpg-101107#PALESTINE
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Sinn fein's Gerry Mclaughlin Interview upon return from Gaza - 3 June 2009 http://palestinevideo.blogspot.com/2009/06/sinn-feins-gerry-mclaughlin-interview.html
Alt  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkDB3MonGVk  ---  (YuTb - 10m 11s - 06/30/09)
Audio Interview - A quote....HOPE Convoy Interview 3 June 2009 Ireland: "Irish Politician and Deputy Convoy leader of the 'HOPE' convoy to Gaza, Gerry Mclaughlin, gives an interview upon return from Gaza."
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Breaking the siege, again and again  ---  http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article969
Action Update - A quote...."Since August 2008, international peace activists and dignitaries have repeatedly broken the siege on Gaza to bring much needed humanitarian aid on the first international boats to dock in Gaza in 41 years. Although the quantities of aid brought in on the boats has inevitably been insufficient to the huge and critical need in Gaza, as a symbolic gesture of international solidarity the Free Gaza movement has brought hope to a besieged population."
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Amnesty Slams Israel over Gaza
  ---  http://www.palestinechronicle.com/news.php?id=342b0d1a5e0bafc56885baac715a47db&mode=details#342b0d1a5e0bafc56885baac715a47db
A quote...."Human Rights group Amnesty International has condemned Israel for the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the blockaded Gaza Strip. - In its annual report, the London-based group says Israel's massive offensive on Gaza has brought the situation in the strip to "the brink of catastrophe". - The group also said Israel's crippling blockade on the impoverished enclave has worsened an already dire humanitarian situation adding that more than one-and-a-half -million people are at the risk of poverty, malnutrition and health problems because of the siege."
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Israel must cooperate with Gaza human rights probe: UN chief  ---  http://www.pakistantimes.net/pt/detail.php?newsId=1231
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has renewed his call for Israel’s cooperation with the team mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council to probe rights abuses and violations of international law during its bombing of Gaza in January, his spokesperson said Wednesday."
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If You Are Stressed Now, Just Wait - Policymakers Have Created A Perfect Storm  ---  http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22760.htm
Must Read - A quote...."June 03, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- Economic news remains focused on banks and housing, while the threat mounts to the US dollar from massive federal budget deficits in fiscal years 2009 and 2010. -- Earlier this year the dollar’s exchange value rose against currencies, such as the euro. UK pound, and Swiss franc, against which the dollar had been steadily falling. The dollar’s rise made US policymakers complacent, even though the rise was due to flight from over-leveraged financial instruments and falling stock markets into “safe” Treasuries. Since April, however, the dollar has steadily declined as investors and foreign central banks realize that the massive federal budget deficits are likely to be monetized. -- What happens to the dollar will be the key driver of what lies ahead. The likely scenario could be nasty." -- also posted at CounterPunch   ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts06032009.html
& RevRadio  ---  http://revolutionradio.org/2009/06/03/as-the-dollar-falls-off-the-cliff/
& DProgram  ---  http://dprogram.net/2009/06/03/if-you-are-stressed-now-just-wait-policymakers-have-created-a-perfect-storm/
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Dollar's fate written in history  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/KF04Dj03.html
Special Note - A quote...."Debt-based monetary systems are inherently unstable. Money is created out of thin air by the banks and lent to government, consumers and businesses. In order to service and repay those debts, the borrowers take on more debts. Asset prices are inflated, and the vicious cycle continues until the debtors are unable to borrow or the banks are unwilling to lend. -- At that point the system snaps, everything is sold off, and we have a financial crisis at hand."
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Germany Blasts 'Powers of the Fed'  ---  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124398546796379239.html
Special Note - A quote...."German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a rare public rebuke of central banks, suggested the European Central Bank and its counterparts in the U.S. and Britain have gone too far in fighting the financial crisis and may be laying the groundwork for another financial blowup." - also posted at InfiniteUnknown   ---  http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2009/06/03/german-chancellor-angela-merkel-blasts-powers-of-the-fed/
& DProgram   ---  http://dprogram.net/2009/06/03/msm-germany-blasts-powers-of-the-fed/
Germans do NOT like hyper-inflation (although that appears highly unlikely, at least in Europe)....it brings back really bad memories. - mpg
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Economic recovery is wishful thinking  ---  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jun/01/us-economy-media
Special Note - A quote...."Last week we got a whole series of bad reports on the state of the economy. New and existing home sales both remain near their lowest level for the downturn, as house prices continue to drop at the rate of 2% a month. New orders for capital goods, a key measure of investment demand, fell by 2% in April. Excluding the volatile transportation sector, new orders were still down by 1.5%. -- On Friday, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index fell by more than 5 percentage points from its April level, approaching its low for the downturn. The employment component of the index did hit a new low. -- These reports might have led to gloomy news stories, but not in the US media. The folks who could not see an $8tn housing bubble are still determined to find the silver lining in even the worst economic news." - also posted at ICH   ---  http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22758.htm
& CommonDreams   ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/02-1
& CounterPunch  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/baker06032009.html
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Fail, Fail, Fail, Fail  ---  http://lewrockwell.com/rockwell/fail-fail-fail.1.2.1.html
Special Note - A quote...."How about a bit of reality? Not the ridiculous promises from Washington, the absurd talk of "green shoots" while unemployment soars and investment falls, the silly guarantees that GM has a bright future even as its stock price falls to less than the price of a Snickers bar, the nonsense about how if we spend more and inflate more. Recovery will come tomorrow morning. - The war on recession is a flop. Fail, fail, fail."
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Geithner Generates Laughter Telling Chinese Their Assets Are Safe
  ---  http://www.roguegovernment.com/Geithner_Generates_Laughter_Telling_Chinese_Their_Assets_Are_Safe/15841/0/8/8/Y/M.html
A quote...." "We believe in a strong dollar," Geithner said in a question-and-answer session after a speech to students at Peking University. [ID:nPEK144756] - A major goal of Geithner's maiden visit to China as Treasury secretary is to allay Beijing's concerns that Washington's mushrooming budget deficit and ultra-loose monetary policy will undermine both the dollar and U.S. bonds. China is the biggest foreign owner of U.S. Treasury bonds. - "Chinese financial assets are very safe," Geithner said. His response drew laughter from the audience."
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U.S. bankruptcy filings up 37% last month - They're a lagging market indicator, but they don't help the economy.
  ---  http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/u-s-bankruptcy-filings-up-37-last-month/
A quote...."U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings soared 37 percent in May compared with the same period last year, according to figures released Tuesday by the American Bankruptcy Institute. - The figures, using data compiled by the National Bankruptcy Research Center, show total filings in May were 124,838, up from 91,214 recorded in May 2008. -  Last year’s figure was a jump of nearly 30 percent from 2007. - At that pace, the ABI expects more than 1 million will seek bankruptcy protection by December."
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Stock Market Dissonance: Why the Stock Market no Longer Reflects Main Street Economics. The DJ Industrial Avg.
http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/stock-market-dissonance-why-the-stock-market-no-longer-reflects-main-street-economics-the-dow-jones-industrial-average/
A quote...."One of the biggest bankruptcies in history occurred on June 1st yet you would not know this by looking at the stock market.  In fact, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shot up by 220 points.  If we look at total assets, this is the fourth largest bankruptcy in history.  The Dow is made up of 30 companies that show a supposedly wide cross section of the American economy.  The company that filed for bankruptcy was General Motors and was actually one of the 30 components.  A company that dates back to 1908 and survived the Great Depression.  So how can it be that a company that employs 250,000 filing for bankruptcy is actually good for the stock market and makes the DJIA rally so strongly?  The easy answer is the stock market no longer reflects the economic reality on main street."
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Signs of a new financial storm for September coming from Dubai and Saudi Arabia  ---  http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=15402&size=A
A quote...."Dubai calls on the Rothschild bank for help, perhaps out of desperation. In Saudi Arabia a Saad Group company defaults. US, European and Asian banks are struggling. The end of Ramadan in September might mark the start of an economic depression worse than that of the 1930s."
also posted at BLN  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-4394-0-13-13--.html
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$100 Billion Bailout For IMF Tagged On To War Funding Bill  ---  http://infowars.net/articles/june2009/030609Bailout.htm
A quote...."Passage would see more billions in tax dollars handed to European banks." -- Well, the US-NRE did lie to everyone in Europe when it sold all that toxic junk to them in order to fund its various occupations of the Middle East.  So Congress, solely in an effort to tap that same source of funding for future conflicts, is going to pay some of it back.  Mind you it'll only be a little bit of what was stolen in the first place. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....Debt Doesn't Matter When the Rubes Pay  - 02-29-08 - mpg -- http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/debtdoesntmatter-blog-mpg-022908
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[Canadian] Mint can't account for missing gold  ---  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Business/Mint+account+missing+gold/1656084/story.html
A quote...."OTTAWA — A significant quantity of gold, silver and other precious metals is unaccounted for at the Royal Canadian Mint. -- External auditors are investigating a discrepancy between the mint's 2008 financial accounting of its precious metals holdings and the physical stockpile at the plant on Sussex Drive in Ottawa." - also posted at RogueGov   ---  http://www.roguegovernment.com/Mint_Can%27t_Account_For_Missing_Gold/15865/0/8/8/Y/M.html  ---  Hah!  This website editor would just love to see the US-GAO do the same at Fort Knox, bet'cha they wouldn't even find a wooden nickel. - mpg
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Latvian debt crisis shakes Eastern Europe  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5438615/Latvian-debt-crisis-shakes-Eastern-Europe.html
Financial Alert - A quote...."Latvia has become the first EU country to face a sovereign debt crisis after failing to sell a single bill at a treasury auction worth $100m (£61m), prompting fears of a fresh storm in Eastern Europe as capital flight tests currency pegs." - bold by website editor -- Soon to come to a Fed auction near you. - mpg
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Barclays pensions scrapped  ---  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/5439017/Barclays-pensions-scrapped.html
A quote...."17,000 staff to lose final salary benefits but US investment bankers exempted."
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