rapsheet-072209-links

Iran: Whose side are you on? --- http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=14554
Must Read - A quote...."I have been reading, with much despair and a deal of consternation, the torrent of ‘analysis’ coming out of ‘left’ field about which, if any, side to support in the ongoing struggles in Iran and, at the end of the day, a good deal more is revealed about the ‘left’ in the West than the situation in Iran."
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Cranks, Kleptocrats and Killers: The "Good War" on the Ground
--- http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/3-articles/1805-cranks-kleptocrats-and-killers-the-qgood-warq-on-the-ground.html
A quote...."While dozens of innocent people continue to die each week in the political and sectarian violence unleashed in Iraq by America's invasion and continuing occupation, the main attention of the bipartisan Terror Warriors in Washington – and their sycophantic outriders in the corporate media – continues to be what they call, in the imperial jargonizing that lumps the vast complexities of myriad human communities into reductive, thought-killing soundbites, the "Af-Pak" front." -- also posted at Uruknet --- http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m56408&hd=&size=1&l=e
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US Blackwater-Xe mercenaries spreads fear in Pakistani town (Feature) --- http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/features/article_1492033.php/
A quote...."Peshawar - Fear is spreading across University Town, an upmarket residential area in Pakistan's north-western city of Peshawar, due to the overt presence of the controversial US private security contractor Blackwater. --    Sporting the customary dark glasses and carrying assault rifles, the mercenaries zoom around the neighbourhood in their black-coloured armoured Chevy Suburbans, and shout at motorists when occasionally stranded in a traffic jam. --    The residents are mainly concerned about Blackwater's reputation as a ruthless, unbridled private army whose employees face multiple charges of murder, child prostitution and weapons smuggling in Iraq."
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Reviewing F. William Engdahl's "Full Spectrum Dominance: Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order:" Part II
--- http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m56405&hd=&size=1&l=e
Book Review - Must Read - A quote...."For over 30 years, F. William Engdahl has been a leading researcher, economist, and analyst of the New World Order with extensive writing to his credit on energy, politics, and economics. His newest book is titled "Full Strectrum Dominance: Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order." [GoglBkSrch]* --- http://books.google.com/books?id=lTmCPgAACAAJ&sitesec=buy&source=gbs_buy_s&cad=0 --- Part I was reviewed earlier.* --- http://www.uruknet.info/?colonna=m&p=55383&l=x&size=1&hd=0 --- Part II continues the story of America's quest for global dominance and why its own internal rot may defeat it." -- *links added
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Romulus, Remus, Stimulus: A Brief History of Monetary Madness --- http://www.lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner399.html
Must Read - A quote...."Those whom the gods would destroy are first granted stimulus. When a man wins the lottery, for example, it has a stimulating effect on everyone around him. He usually spends the money quickly – often even before he gets it. But no matter how much he wins, he is usually broke within a few years…often, even broker than he was before he bought the winning ticket."
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Middle East Show of Farce --- http://original.antiwar.com/huber/2009/07/27/middle-east-show-of-farce/
Special Note - This was fun! - mpg -- A quote...."A July 17 article at the Guardian leads with “In preparation for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, two Israeli missile-class warships have sailed through the Suez Canal 10 days after a submarine capable of launching a nuclear missile strike.” The fifth paragraph begins, “The deployment into the Red Sea, confirmed by Israeli officials, according to the Associated Press yesterday, was a clear signal that Israel was able to put its strike force within range of Iran at short notice.” This is utter bosh."
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I Shouldn't Read the News. I Really Shouldn't. --- http://www.lewrockwell.com/reed/reed163.html
Special Note - And so was this! - mpg -- A quote...."I love it. The following is an account of Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talking to Albert Jazeera: “When asked why the United States was not in FATA despite having the knowledge that Al Qaeda was present there, he [Admiral Mullen] said, ‘Because FATA is in Pakistan and Pakistan is a sovereign country and we don’t go into sovereign countries.’” Hahn? The hell we don’t. What was this buoyant cannibal thinking? The US loves to go into sovereign countries. It hardly does anything else. I suppose Iraq wasn’t sovereign. It isn’t now, but it was. How about Panama, Laos, Cambodia? We gave Pakistan, until recently sovereign, the choice of inviting us to kill its people with drones, or else be bombed into the Stone Age. Recently we have bombed Somalia, technically sovereign."
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Bill Kristol condemns lying for political ends: Seriously --- http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/07/27/kristol/index.html
Special Note - A quote...."(updated below - Update II) -- On Fox News yesterday, NPR's Juan Williams -- who, just by the way, dutifully spouts GOP talking points more reliably than any Fox commentator other than Karl Rove -- condemned President Obama for telling "lies" about the Gates controversy. That prompted this observation from Bill Kristol, in which he head-pattingly quoted Williams:" -- For more on this issue see....US Fake Intel / Propaganda - Leo Strauss
--- http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/fakeintell-weblist-mpg-090206#LEOSTRAUSS
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Armageddon at the Top of the World: Not! --- http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175100/juan_cole_empire_s_paranoia_about_the_pashtuns
Must Read - A quote...."Despite being among the poorest people in the world, the inhabitants of the craggy northwest of what is now Pakistan have managed to throw a series of frights into distant Western capitals for more than a century. That's certainly one for the record books. -- And it hasn't ended yet. Not by a long shot. Not with the headlines in the U.S. papers about the depredations of the Pakistani Taliban, not with the CIA's drone aircraft striking gatherings in Waziristan and elsewhere near the Afghan border. This spring, for instance, one counter-terrorism analyst stridently (and wholly implausibly) warned that "in one to six months" we could "see the collapse of the Pakistani state," at the hands of the bloodthirsty Taliban, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the situation in Pakistan a "mortal danger" to global security." -- also posted at AntiWar --- http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2009/07/27/paranoia-about-the-pashtuns/
& LewRockwell --- http://www.lewrockwell.com/engelhardt/engelhardt387.html
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Britain ends major operation in Afghanistan --- http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/28/content_11782764.htm
A quote...."LONDON, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Britain has ended its first-stage major operation, dubbed Panther's Claw, in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defense said Monday. -- But the British commanders remained cautiously optimistic about the future, saying it is a long way to go to improve security ahead of the presidential elections in Afghanistan next month."
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Taliban issues code of conduct --- http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/07/20097278348124813.html
Special Note - The Taliban, if they're planning on being more effective, are going to have to distance themselves from all those US-NRE and Saudi Royal sponsored radical agent provocateurs --- http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ussupportofterror-weblist-mpg-090306 --- out there. It appears that's exactly what they're doing. - mpg -- A quote...."The Taliban in Afghanistan has issued a book laying down a code of conduct for its fighters. Al Jazeera has obtained a copy of the book, which further indicates that Mullah Omar, the movement's leader, wants to centralise its operations. The book, with 13 chapters and 67 articles, lays out what one of the most secretive organisations in the world today, can and cannot do. It talks of limiting suicide attacks, avoiding civilian casualties and winning the battle for the hearts and minds of the local civilian population."
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Afghanistan and Taliban Reach Election Truce in District
--- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/world/asia/28kabul.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan government said Monday that it had arranged a truce with a group of Taliban in a district in northern Afghanistan in order to allow elections to go ahead on Aug. 20 and allow development projects to proceed in the area."
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Elections Shake Kurdistan --- http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick07272009.html
A quote...."The surprisingly strong showing by a reformist party in Kurdistan elections is shaking the power structure in what has long been the most stable part of Iraq. -- The "Goran" party – which translates as "change" – did particularly well here in Sulaimaniyah, in eastern Kurdistan. This region has long been the stronghold of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani. The electoral setback to his party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), is reported to be so severe he is considering resignation, according to al-Sharqiya, a television news channel."
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One of the "Iraqi disappeared" reappears, telling of his captivity - and torture
--- http://lefti.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html#386927273691524403
A quote...."Long-time readers of the site will remember many posts about Iraqi Gen. Amer al-Saadi, the truth-teller to Colin Powell's lies
   --- http://lefti.blogspot.com/2005/11/tale-of-two-generals.html --- who surrendered voluntarily to the U.S. in 2003 and, as far as I can determine, is still imprisoned somewhere in Iraq, never charged, never tried. -- It turns out Gen. al-Saadi had a co-worker, Major General Hussam Mohammed Amin, who was also responsible for informing the world about the state of Iraq's non-existent WMDs. Michael Bronner at Huffington Post has now written the tale of Amin,
--- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/23/hussam-mohammed-amin-form_n_243818.html#postComment --- who surrendered to the Amerians shortly after al-Saadi, prompted by the same misguided faith that, once the U.S. and the world realized that he and al-Saadi had been telling the truth all along, they would be set free and treated as the honest men that they are." -- also posted at Uruknet --- http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m56394&hd=&size=1&l=e
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U.S. fall deadline for Iran not coincidental --- http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/28/content_11782880.htm
War Warning - A quote...."JERUSALEM, July 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has given Iran a deadline until fall to respond positively to the request of U.S. President Barack Obama to enter negotiations over its nuclear program." -- For more on this issue see....The First "Red War Warning" in a Year - 07-18-09 - mpg --- http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/thefirstredwarwarninginayear-mpg-reficultnias-071809
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Police foil bomb plot in northeast Iran --- http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=101764&sectionid=351020101
A quote...."Iranian police forces have reportedly thwarted a bomb plot in the holy city of Mashhad in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi. - The bomb, planted in a drug store, was defused by local law enforcement officers on Sunday just before it was to go off, Mehr News Agency reported."
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In Iran, Leader orders closure of post-vote prison --- http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=101755&sectionid=351020101
A quote...."Amid reports of the mistreatment of detainees who protested against the result of the presidential vote, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution orders officials to shut down a "non-standard" prison." -- also posted at AtheoNews -- http://atheonews.blogspot.com/2009/07/in-iran-leader-orders-closure-of-post.html
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Tensions Rise in Latin America over US Military Plan to Use Three Bases in Colombia
--- http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/27/tensions_rise_in_latin_americas_over
A quote...."The Colombian government has agreed to grant US forces the use of three Colombian military bases for South American anti-drug operations. The move has heightened tensions between Colombia, the largest recipient of US military aid in the Americas, and its neighbors, particularly Venezuela and Ecuador. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned that the US Army could “invade” his country from Colombia. [includes rush transcript]
|| Real Video Stream || --- http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2009/july/video/dnB20090727a.rm&proto=rtsp&start=00:44:24
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Australian government boosts terror laws, while modifying “lexicon” --- http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jul2009/terr-j27.shtml
A quote...."While expanding the former Howard government’s “anti-terrorism” laws—which the Labor Party helped introduce between 2002 and 2006—the Rudd Labor government has moved to abandon the term “war on terrorism”. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is anxious to distance his government from the now largely discredited terminology that was used to justify the unprecedented police-state measures." -- also posted at....
AxisOfLogic --- http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_56437.shtml
& AtheoNews --- http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/whitemansburden-blog-mpg-122006
For more on this issue see....White Man's Burden - 12-20-06 - mpg
--- http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/whitemansburden-blog-mpg-122006
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Judge Slams Govt Over Afghan Detainee --- http://original.antiwar.com/fisher/2009/07/27/judge-slams-govt-over-afghan-detainee/
A quote...."A federal judge last week excoriated U.S. government lawyers for advocating the continued detention of a detainee at Guantanamo Bay after his "confession" was ruled inadmissible because it was extracted through torture. -- Calling the case "an outrage," U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle urged the lawyers to "let him out. Send him back to Afghanistan."
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Castle Doctrine Dies In Texas --- http://www.infowars.com/castle-doctrine-dies-in-texas/
Special Note - A quote...."So much for English common law and Sir Edward Coke’s dictum that a man’s home is his refuge and castle. “For a man’s house is his castle, et domus sua cuique est tutissimum refugium [and each man's home is his safest refuge],” Coke wrote in 1628."
also posted at DProgram --- http://dprogram.net/2009/07/27/castle-doctrine-dies-in-texas/
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The Washington Post endorses Abu Ghraib scapegoating for torture
--- http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/07/27/washington_justice/index.html
Special Note - A quote...."The Washington Post Editorial Page -- keeper of all establishment Washington wisdom -- today advocates that low-level CIA interrogators who went beyond John Yoo's torture guidelines, and only them, be criminally investigated and prosecuted by the Justice Department:" -- also posted at CommonDreams --- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/07/27-8
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Legal experts raise questions about Rove testimony deal
--- http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/07/27/legal-experts-raise-questions-about-rove-testimony-deal/
A quote...."A deal brokered by the Obama White House to obtain Karl Rove’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee contains a number of unusual provisions, prominent legal scholars say."
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Was Delta 1989 Part of a Live-Fly Hijacking Exercise on 9/11? --- http://truthgonewild.blogspot.com/2009/07/was-delta-1989-part-of-live-fly.html
Special Note - It has been widely reported that on September 11, 2001, four passenger aircraft were hijacked, and three of them subsequently hit their intended targets in New York and Washington. Less well known is that, during the two hours over which the 9/11 attacks occurred, air traffic controllers and military personnel had to devote significant time to a fifth plane that was incorrectly reported as hijacked. This aircraft was, in the words of one military official, "the first red herring of the day." [1]" -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - NORAD --- http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911norad-weblist-mpg-091308
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9/11 Families, First Responders and Survivors to Take New York City to Court over NYC Can Petition. --- http://www.911blogger.com/node/20743
And the Cover-Up Continues -- A quote...."SEVENTY THOUSAND New Yorkers signed the NYC CAN petition, raising their voices in support of NYC CAN’s demand for accountability. They have chosen to place the decision to create a new 9/11 investigation – a REAL 9/11 investigation – exactly where it belongs: before the voters of New York City this November. The voices of SEVENTY THOUSAND Americans who believe in democracy and believe that government exists to serve the people – and not the other way around – have been GAGGED by ONE so-called “PUBLIC SERVANT” – The New York City Clerk – who denied the petition and the voice of the people. -- Welcome to America. Democracy denied."
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"Yes We Can...." --- http://careandwashingofthebrain.blogspot.com/2009/07/yes-we-can.html
A quote...."Keep illegally spying on people, using the same tactics developed by GW Bush and Cheney.
Keep the illegal and immoral wars against Iraq and Afghanistan going and start another against Pakistan.
Keep assassinating people around the world who stand in our way of global conquest.
Keep shoveling tons of money to our buddies on Wall Street.
Keep silent about the trillions of dollars the Federal Reserve is giving away to its friends. -- and much, much more. mpg
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Happiness Consultants Won’t Stop a Depression
--- http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090726_happiness_consultants_wont_stop_a_depression/
Must Read - If you want to know why Californians, along with much of this nation's population, always have an insipid, stupid, insincere, smile plastered on their faces when they say "have a nice day", and why they are so patently WEIRD, just read this article. It makes the Stepford Wives look normal by comparison; in fact, it will send chills up and down your spine. – mpg -- A quote...."Anthony Vasquez, a student at the University of California, Berkeley, worked at FedEx Kinkos for about two years. His store’s slogan was: “Yes we can.” “It meant that if a customer asked us to do a job for them, no matter what it was, we were to say ‘Yes we can!’ ” he said. Posters of the slogan were posted on telephones and in the backroom. Corporate auditors enforced the slogan by “Yes we can” call audits. Employees would be punished as a group for failures, and individuals could be fired."
also posted at CommonDreams --- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/07/27-1
& DandelionSalad --- http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/happiness-consultants-won%E2%80%99t-stop-a-depression-by-chris-hedges/
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

West Bank Settlers Top 300,000 as Growth Continues - 11 New Outposts Set Up in Past Two Days
--- http://news.antiwar.com/2009/07/27/west-bank-settlers-top-300000-as-growth-continues/
Thank you Saudi Royals & Egypt's Mubarak, you've done a magnificent job. - mpg -- A quote...."According to the Israeli military, the population of settlers in the West Bank passed 300,000 for the first time this year, and sits at 304,569 as of the end of June, an increase of 2.3% in the past six months. Usually growth rates are even higher in the second half of the year. The number does not include some 200,000 more settlers living in East Jerusalem."
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On the Right of Resistance --- http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/56-news/1032-on-the-right-of-resistance
Quote of the Day -- "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." -- *Desmond Tutu*
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Israel Becomes America~And Does Not Like It --- http://irish4palestine.blogspot.com/2009/07/israel-becomes-americaand-does-not-like.html
Special Note - Oh boy, this was a really fun read! - mpg -- There I was feeling all mopish. I mean it's hard to keep a Positive Mental Attitude over the Palestinian situation when you check the news everyday, only to find the Evil Rogue State has done yet another outrageous act against Palestine and Peace. Yet, as I perused the various news articles, my mood deepened........AND THEN I caught site of a headline that deserved investigation. Yes, could it be? Oh, this is too good to be true my little self said. Dare I click on that link, only to be dejected once again should it only be a mere "tease?" I held my breath and clicked. Eureka!! I hit Gold...Israel is having a shrieking meltdown as is evident in a report from the J-Post below.
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

National Exclusive…Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, Wife of Ousted Honduran President, Calls on US to Aid Her Husband’s Return Home: “We Want Justice, We Want Peace, We Demand the Return to Democracy” --- http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/27/national_exclusive_xiomara_castro_de_zelaya --- A quote...."After a failed attempt to return to Honduras over the weekend, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has complained that US condemnation of the coup against him is waning. Zelaya had tried to cross back into Honduras from Nicaragua on Friday but stayed for less than an hour. We speak with the wife of the ousted Honduran president, First Lady Xiomara Castro de Zelaya. She’s spent the past day trying to get to the border with Nicaragua, and she joins us now from the town of Jacaleapa. [includes rush transcript]"
|| Real Video Stream || --- http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2009/july/video/dnB20090727a.rm&proto=rtsp&start=00:13:55
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Obama and Clinton Nix Change in Honduras --- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/07/27-2
A quote...."The situation in Honduras and Central America is growing increasingly tumultuous with each passing day as deposed President Manuel Zelaya confronts the de facto regime of Roberto Micheletti with thousands of partisans mobilizing in the border areas. While Honduran army officers in Washington and the capital of Tegucigalpa issue statements indicating they may accept Zelaya’s return—if the civilian coup leaders concur--military and police units continue to fire on and even murder demonstrators. It is impossible to predict the outcome of this confrontation. But one thing is increasing clear--the growing conflict represents a failure of the Obama administration to reshape US policy towards Latin America in spite of its early rhetoric directed at the leaders of the region."
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Zelaya Rules out Talks in USA --- http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=104354&Itemid=1
A quote...."Ocotal, Nicaragua, Jul 27 (Prensa Latina) Honduran President Manuel Zelaya ruled out on Monday to travel to Washington to meet with US State Secretary Hillary Clinton, after demanding a firm stance by the United States against the coup leaders."
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Banks Still Not Lending --- http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/07/banks-still-not-lending.html
Deflation Alert - A quote...."The Wall Street Journal writes today: -- Lending continues to slow as bankers and borrowers refrain from taking risks, in a bearish sign for the economy. The total amount of loans held by 15 large U.S. banks shrank by 2.8% in the second quarter, and more than half of the loan volume in April and May came from refinancing mortgages and renewing credit to businesses, not new loans, an analysis by The Wall Street Journal shows."
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U.S. new home sales rise sharply in June -- Some good news though. - mpg
--- http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE56Q2F220090727
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of new single-family homes in the United States rose more than expected in June, while the inventory of homes for sale fell to a more than 11-year low, government data showed on Monday."   However...."Despite the encouraging data, the median sale price for a new home fell to $206,200, down 5.8 percent from the previous month, and down 12 percent from a year ago." -- bold by website editor
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Credit card crisis to grip Britain, IMF warns
--- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/creditcards/5914853/Credit-card-crisis-to-grip-Britain-IMF-warns.html
A quote...."Britain’s credit card debt crisis will get significantly worse in the coming months with a wave of consumer payment defaults, the International Monetary Fund has warned. "
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British economic collapse rivals Great Depression
--- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/5901961/British-economic-collapse-rivals-Great-Depression.html
Chart - A quote...."Economic output shrank by 5.6pc in the 12 months to the middle of the year, according to official figures which shattered hopes that the recovery has already begun." -- also posted at RogueGov
--- http://www.roguegovernment.com/British_economic_collapse_rivals_Great_Depression/16627/0/8/8/Y/M.html
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