Tuesday July 29th 2008 - links page

Monday July 28th 2008 - links page

The Cost of Empire - Boom and Bust  ---  http://jtaplin.wordpress.com/the-cost-of-empire/
Must Read - A quote...."In classic economic terms, an economy ought to create enough surplus wealth to grow without resorting to excess borrowing–we ought to be able to live on what we earn. But since 1983, we have been unable to do that. So what differentiates the American economy from the rest of the developed world since 1983? The only rational answer is in the chart below which demonstrates how far beyond any possible rival our military budgets have travelled. The fact that the DOD’s own inventory of worldwide bases - [PDF]   ---  http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/BSR_2006_Baseline.pdf  ---  is more than 189 pages long cannot lead one to any other conclusion than the American taxpayer is supporting the infrastructure of empire."
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The Military-Industrial Complex - It's Much Later Than You Think
  ---  http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174959/chalmers_johnson_warning_mercenaries_at_work
Must Read - A quote...."Most Americans have a rough idea what the term "military-industrial complex" means when they come across it in a newspaper or hear a politician mention it. President Dwight D. Eisenhower introduced the idea to the public in his farewell address of January 17, 1961. "Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime," he said, "or indeed by the fighting men of World War II and Korea… We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions… We must not fail to comprehend its grave implications… We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."
See video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY  ---  (YouTube - 2 min 30 sec - August 04, 2006) - mpg
Also posted at CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/28/10645/
& TruthDig  ---  http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080727_the_military_industrial_complex_its_much_later_than_you_think/
& AsiaTimes  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JG30Ak03.html
& GlobRsch  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9710
& WarInIraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/170726
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US deficit zooming to half-trillion as Bush leaves  ---  http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gMSVWqL3tikhx7L_ompt0hDXO-5AD9275KG80
A quote...."A $482 billion deficit would easily surpass the record deficit of $413 billion set in 2004. The White House in February had forecast that next year's deficit would be $407 billion."

Just remember folks, inflation is a LOT higher than what they've been reporting, which makes the real GDP a LOT lower or even negative for many quarters, which makes the Ratio of the Federal Deficit to the real GDP much worse than what they've been saying.  And that means all the dollars they're spending for Empire and their various wars are what's holding up the economy.....for now.

It won't last though, they need bigger and bigger doses of easy money relative to the real economy i.e. "the real GDP/Deficit* ratio” and just like the old Soviet Union right before it collapsed, their bogus numbers are going to surprise everybody to the downside in a severely negative way.  Just think about it this way folks....do any of you actually  believe inflation has been 2% to 3% for the last several years?  Really???  You're joking right?

If they lied about WMD's, 9/11, their spying programs, their torturing of POW's, their various wars, their support of terror groups  -- the Taliban, al Qaeda, PKK, MEK, Baluchistan separatists, Kurdistan separatists, Iranian separatists, Jihaddists, Mujahedeen, Wahhabists, the SCIRI death squads, the Sunni guerilla groups and other assorted "freedom fighters", "bad boys", "militias" or "friends"  --  and their ceaseless acts of illegal political hanky-panky....all of that, do you gentle reader really think they wouldn't lie about this nation's financials?

Think about it. – mpg

For more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate 03-24-07 - mpg
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/cachedfiles/fedfundschart-photopg-cached-032407

* Admittedly you could factor inflation into the deficit (thereby reducing it) and the ratio balances again (apples to apples, oranges to oranges)....but there's something wrong with that approach, this editor just hasn't figured out what yet.
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Obama backs long-term US military presence in Iraq  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2008/jul2008/obam-j29.shtml
A quote...."Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama reiterated his support for an open-ended US military presence in Iraq over the weekend, further narrowing his professed differences with the Bush administration and Republican presidential candidate John McCain."
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Pull the Plug  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/reese/reese481.html
A quote...."....including small countries in military alliances is worthless posturing. All you do is allow the little country to get you into trouble by its bad behavior. The little country is confident that its big ally will rescue it if it goes too far in antagonizing its larger neighbors. It's like a spoiled brat with a bodyguard. Sixty years after its founding, Israel is still at war with most of its neighbors precisely because it has no incentive to make a sensible peace. Why should it? It has its American attack dog. The only peace treaties it has signed are with Egypt and Jordan, both of which the U.S. bribed to make peace. Bribe or not, in both cases it's a cold peace." - mpg
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The Bush Administration's Secret Biowarfare Agenda  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9685
A quote...."When it comes to observing US and international laws, treaties and norms, the Bush administration is a serial offender. Since 2001, it's:" -- See list.
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SAS agents wanted for questioning in connection with recent bombings: Where are these terrorists and what have they been up to?
  ---  http://www.chycho.com/?q=node/1789
A quote...."In 2003  two SAS soldiers were freed from a jail in Basra by the British military after they were arrested by the Iraqi police for failing to “stop at an Iraqi police roadblock and subsequently open(ing) fire on the Iraqi police, killing one and wounding another.” The SAS agents did this while dressed in traditional Arab clothing. “In pursuit, the police surround(ed) and detain the drivers and (found) the vehicle packed with explosives.”
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Bodyguard of Lies: The Truth Behind the 'Surge's' Smokescreen  ---  http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1574/135/
A quote...."For months, we have heard glowing reports about the success of the "surge" in Iraq. This "success" has quickly become conventional wisdom, and can be referred to without controversy in any news piece about Iraq, even if it is not the main point of the story. It goes without saying that America's bipartisan foreign policy establishment -- including the Terror War Democrat and Terror War Republican candidates for president -- has avidly embraced these reports, which now define the terms of the debate on what the United States should do next in Iraq."
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Iraq: Poised to Explode - Maybe, maybe not, but pressures are building. - mpg  ---  http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/339676
A quote..."While everyone's looking at Iraq's effect on American politics -- and whether or not John McCain and Barack Obama are converging on a policy that combines a flexible timetable with a vague, and long-lasting, residual force -- let's take a look instead at Iraqi politics. The picture isn't pretty."
Also posted at CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/28/10659/
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US admits soldiers killed innocent Iraqis  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/170490
A quote...."BAGHDAD — The U.S. military admitted Sunday that American soldiers killed innocent civilians after opening fire on a car last month on the heavily secured Baghdad airport road. -- The statement _ which called the man and two women killed "law abiding citizens of Iraq" _ reversed earlier military claims that they were suspected militants who shot at a parked American convoy."
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Pakistan will retaliate if allied forces attacked: President Musharraf  ---  http://paktribune.com/news/print.php?id=203800
A quote...."ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf Saturday said he is concerned over the Nato forces attack in Pakistani tribal areas and warned a U-S think-tank that no such attacks will be tolerated in future, and Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate."
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Mossad creating trouble, claims Pak  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/170409
A quote..."LAHORE: Indian and Israeli intelligence agencies have ganged up to stir trouble in Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, Pakistan's intelligence agencies have alleged. -- The agencies, in a report to the government quoted by Online news agency, have asked it to take "ample measures" to combat terrorism allegedly linked to Indian diplomatic missions in Afghanistan and Indian and Israeli spy outfits."
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Pak journalist in US jail on terrorism charges  ---  http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/linkframe.php?linkid=65012
A quote...."WASHINGTON: Nayyar Zaidi, the well-known US-based Pakistani-American journalist, who has been a citizen of the United States for more than 30 years has been in US custody for the last four months on what are said to be terrorism-related charges. -- According to one report, Zaidi is being held on the charge of “obstruction of justice”, a very serious offence. He is also said to be awaiting a trial."
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Why Are Neocons Attacking Turkey?  ---  http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5401
A quote...."Although Turkey’s enhanced ties with Iran and Syria have caused concern in certain quarters of Washington, this change – stemming from a transparent diversification of the Turkish policy – has not distanced Turkey from the West and Israel. However, Turkey’s clear lack of interest in isolating Iran has prompted neoconservative hardliners, led by former assistant secretary of defense Richard Perle, to undertake a smear campaign against the ruling AKP." -- underline by website editor. -- Ahhhh!  The good'ol "lets start as many wars as possible and see just how many people we can kill" PNAC'ers   ---  http://tvnewslies.org/html/pnac_neo-con_artists.html  ---  are back.  Just when things were getting better, they turn up like a bad penny. - mpg
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"Shanghai Six" and the Collective Security Organization are to React to American Missile Defence Plans
  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9688
A quote...."Russia is member of the post-Soviet Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which brings it  together with Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,  Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Armenia.  -- Together with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,  the CSTO is considering a joint response to American  plans for missile defences in Eastern and Central  Europe."
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Snub for Iran eases nuclear crisis  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JG29Ak02.html
A quote...."A window of opportunity for Iran to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) seemed to have opened when on July 18 the Russian news agency quoted a source in the Foreign Ministry in Moscow hinting at such a prospect. It happened two days after Washington let it be known that a shift in its Iran policy was under way."
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Officials: US talks to Iran to legitimize attack
  ---  http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215331116435&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
War Alert - A quote...."Recent talks the United States held with Iran are aimed at creating legitimacy for a potential attack against Iranian nuclear facilities, defense officials speculated on Sunday as Defense Minister Ehud Barak headed to Washington for talks with senior administration officials."
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Gates: War with Iran would be 'disastrous'  ---  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1006129.html
War Status - Unknown - The man cannot be trusted under any conceivable conditions, the possible reasons for his statements are not apparent at this time and cannot be known or analyzed by this website editor.  It is posted for the reader’s speculation only. - mpg -- A quote...."A war with Iran would be "disastrous on a number of levels," according to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates."
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Palestine: The facts on the ground  ---  http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=1978
Must View - Video - A quote...."Very few people know the facts on the ground in Palestine as well as Mustafa Barghouti. Barghouti, born in Jerusalem and a resident of Ramallah, is a member of Parliament and the leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, a democratic, reformist alternative to the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. The Real News spoke to Mustafa Barghouti in Washington about the facts on the ground in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
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Russia’s new Great Game  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-843-0-13-13--.html
A quote...."Employing strategies redolent of a new Great Game, Russia has stepped up its diplomatic and trade activities in the Middle East and North Africa in a bid to enhance its geopolitical clout and gain access to, and at least partial control over, the region’s oil and gas reserves. - Among the former global superpower’s tactics: linking arms deals and debt-forgiveness to energy deals."
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Brown hit by call for resignation and bad poll ratings  ---  http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jul/28/gordonbrown.labour1
A quote...."Gordon Brown's standing was further undermined today as a Labour MP urged him to resign, new poll figures cast doubt on his performance, and Harriet Harman said voters had "not seen the best" of him since he became prime minister." -- Good riddance! - mpg
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Journalist detained for reporting  ---  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/23/EDAN11NTQM.DTL
A quote...."It is becoming less unusual to hear of American journalists abroad who are detained, kidnapped or even killed in the line of duty. But for local journalists across Africa, Asia and the Mideast, kidnapping, detentions and threats to their families are disturbingly familiar." -- For more regarding the two articles shown above see....US - Killing the Messenger   ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/uskillingthemessenger-weblist-mpg-112907  ---   Also posted at CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/25/10596/
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The agency name that dare not be spoken  ---  http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gitmo27-2008jul27,0,3749497.story
A quote...."The name of the Central Intelligence Agency cannot be spoken in the war crimes trial here. - No records of the agency's interrogations of Salim Ahmed Hamdan can be subpoenaed, and no agent can be called to testify about what he or she learned from Osama bin Laden's former driver." -- It's pathetic, it's sick, these guys are acting like little snot nosed babies in some twisted version of 1984, ---  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four  ---  or some Kafkaesque nightmare   ---  or a Star Chamber   ---  horror show.  Guess those lawsuits in Europe have them wetting their pants. Christ what a bunch of whining little cry babies, all they can do is torture people when they're chained or tied up and then try to hide their faces and names in shame.  What a bunch of cowardly gang-banging putrid little punks. - mpg  -- For more on this issue see.... Fun & Torture - It's a Pleasure - 02-03-07 - mpg  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/funandtorture-blog-mpg-020307.html
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Lawyer asks Taoiseach for information on CIA flights  ---  http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0728/1217013340456.html
A quote...."THE LAWYER representing a British resident detained in Guantánamo Bay has written to Taoiseach Brian Cowen seeking information on CIA flights involved in his client's "extraordinary rendition" which landed in Shannon in 2002 and 2004."
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Why Did They Do It? -- Torture, Political Manipulation and the American Psychological Association  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/welch07282008.html
Because they're all good little Nazis? - mpg -- A quote...."The regressive effects of current forms of political manipulation that I describe in my new book, State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind   ---  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312373066/counterpunchmaga  ---  (Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press, June, 2008) have not only affected American politics. They have also taken their toll on psychologists’ national organization, the American Psychological Association. Many APA members were shocked last year when APA twice refused to take an unequivocal stance against psychologists’ participation in the Bush detention centers.  The fact that other health care organizations, typically more conservative than APA on humanitarian issues, were very outspoken about the issue made it all the more puzzling."
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Rights Group Wants US Officials Probed for Ordering Torture  ---  http://www.truthout.org/article/rights-group-wants-us-officials-probed-ordering-torture
A quote...."Washington - A Nobel-prize-winning rights group said US officials committed war crimes by ordering what the group says was torture of detainees, and called for them to be probed and prosecuted."
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STRATCOM Cancels Controversial Preemption Strike Plan  ---  http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2008/07/globalstrike.php
A quote...."The U.S. military has canceled a controversial war plan designed to strike adversaries promptly - even preemptively - with conventional and nuclear weapons. The strike plan was known as Concept Plan (CONPLAN) 8022 and first entered into effect in the summer of 2004 to provide the president with a prompt, global strike capability against time-urgent and mobile targets."
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Elmendorf general dies of gunshot on base  ---  http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/477369.html
Some quotes...."The commander of the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base   ---  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmendorf_Air_Force_Base  ---  died...." -- "The Air Force is investigating and can't say whether the shot that killed Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Tinsley was accidental or a suicide, Col. Richard Walberg said in a press conference. -- Tinsley did not leave a suicide note."
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Can The Bush Family Wealth Be Seized Under The Trading With the Enemies Act?
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/Poll/Can-The-Bush-Family-Wealth-by-Professor-Emeritus-080725-789.html
A quote...."GW Bush is fond of destroying the law by ignoring Ex-Post Facto defenses. So, I say turn the tables on him by prosecuting Prescott Bush, post-mortem and retroactively confiscate all Bush family wealth which was owed entirely to its investment base in the hand of the Bush Cabal in the era 1932-1942-1951 wherein the Bush friends and family broke the Trading With The Enemies Act and were never prosecuted for that and the attempt on the life of FDR in 1932-1933 allegedly by Prescott Bush."
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Verizon Refuses Phone Records Query  ---  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/27/national/main4297682.shtml
A quote...."(AP) Now that Congress has given immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the government spy on Americans in suspected terrorism cases, a Maine legislator is asking Verizon anew if it turned over any customer records to the federal government." -- For more on this issue see....Attempts to Control the Internet   ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/attempttocontroltheinternet-weblist-mpg-053006
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A Shock to the Collective Psyche - Bad News and Bank Runs  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney07282008.html
A quote...."The Bush administration is going to be mailing out more "stimulus" checks in the very near future. There's just no way around it. The Fed is in a pickle and can't lower interest rates for fear that food and energy prices will shoot into the stratosphere. At the same time, the economy is shrinking faster than anyone thought possible with no sign of a rebound. That leaves stimulus checks as the only way to "prime the pump" and keep consumer spending chugging along. Otherwise business activity will slow to a crawl and the economy will tank. There's no other choice."
Also posted at BLN  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-833-0-5-5--.html
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The Big Bailout: America as a Full-Spectrum Kleptocracy  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/grigg/grigg-w36.html
A quote...."Its name somewhat anachronistically means "assembly of old men." George Washington famously – and, it must now be admitted, with excessive optimism – characterized it as an institutional saucer intended to cool legislation passed in the intemperate heat of the moment. Its members demand, with entirely unwarranted self-approval, to be called, collectively, the World's Greatest Deliberative Body. -- Sober observers understand it to be the most corrupt legislative assembly in human history. To those characterizations of the United States Senate we must now add another, perhaps the final one: Gravedigger of the republic."
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Towards a populist economics  ---  http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_3555.shtml
A quote...."As book titles go, The Shock Doctrine is arguably the most evocative in recent years. Naomi Klein’s reflection on the predatory behavior of the Neanderthal economics preached by the late Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago is certainly timely as we enter a period of economic shock and awe. As conditions worsen, we may become suggestible in our distress and willing to adopt solutions proposed by those who have dropped the economic bombs in the first place."
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IMF warns credit crunch is extending to the whole world  ---  http://www4.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=14088&formato=HTML
A quote...."The global credit crunch shows no signs of abating, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In its latest global financial stability report the IMF says that falling house prices and slowing economic growth are hitting credit."
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U.S. banks sharply reduce business loans  ---  http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/28/business/28credit.php
A quote...."Banks struggling to recover from multibillion-dollar losses on real estate are curtailing loans to American businesses, depriving even healthy companies of money for expansion and hiring."
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NY Governor Warns Of Worst Economy In Decades  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-827-0-13-13--.html
A quote...."Gov. Paterson, convinced the state faces its worst fiscal crisis since the mid-1970s, will deliver the grim news in an unprecedented special address to New Yorkers as soon as tomorrow night, The Post has learned."
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Price Increase Plagues Discount Shoppers  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-832-0-13-13--.html
A quote...."There may be nowhere left to hide from rising prices. In today's tough economy, food and commodity prices, which have long been directly affecting consumers, have begun to take a toll on big discount chains."
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The Shipping News By S. Artesian  ---  http://www.creative-i.info/?p=304
A quote...."In dollar terms spot market daily rentals for Capesize (the largest) dry bulk carriers are at $156,000 or 500% above the January 2006 mark. Panamax (of a beam, length, and draft not exceeding the capacity of the Panama Canal lock system) rates nearing $71,000 per day, stand 400% above the January 2006 price."
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Speculators Trying to Buy Control of Food Supply  ---  http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/07/speculators-buying-up-means-of.html
A quote...."According to the New York Times, Financial Times, and others, hedge funds and other investors are buying up farms, farmland, fertilizer, grain elevators, shipping equipment and other necessities for producing food."
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US: Ford posts record quarterly loss - More on Ford's record loss. - mpg  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2008/jul2008/ford-j29.shtml
A quote...."Ford, the second largest US carmaker, reported an $8.7 billion loss for the second quarter of 2008, the largest one quarter deficit in the company’s history. The loss comes amidst a collapse in demand for large trucks and sport utility vehicle—on which the company has been heavily dependent—due to surging gas prices."
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Sunday July 27th 2008 - links page

Saturday July 26th 2008 - links page

Obama: The real power behind the throne-to-be  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9649
A quote...."It is hard to sort through the hype and heat of Obamania, but one thing is clear: who’s pulling the strings, argues Eric Walberg"
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Quagmire Exchange  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/reese/reese482.html
A quote...."If Barack Obama's idea of ending the occupation in Iraq is to transfer most of the troops to Afghanistan, he won't have accomplished much. He's right that we should not be in Iraq, but we also shouldn't be in Afghanistan." -- Editor's note:  Two quick points about this article, One: Osama's been dead for years and Two: We didn't let the Taliban "escape", we helped the Pakies fly out thousands of Taliban and al-Qaeda during the Kunduz air lift.  -- mpg -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror - http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ussupportofterror-weblist-mpg-090306#The_Kunduz_Airlift
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9/11 - From The History File...911- Government Prior Knowledge
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Sheep and Lambs  ---  http://dark-wraith.com/index.php?itemid=180
A quote...."Alternet has published an article entitled, "America's Middle Class Can't Take Much More Punishment," adapted from a story by Matt Talibani at RollingStone.com. The article provides anecdotal evidence of the strain bearing down on middle class Americans laboring in an increasingly adverse economy plagued by inflation, job worries, declining median income, more and more people slipping into poverty, and a general sense of what might be characterized as despair.  --  In comments on the article at BlondeSense, I submitted a counter-point to the current concern about the disappearing middle class and the wellspring from which comes its constituents' misery. Below, in edited and expanded form, is that response."
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Political Parties, Corporations - And The Truth  ---  http://www.countercurrents.org/gatto260708.htm
Some quotes...."The Republicans are offering up Senator John McCain for the presidency. By all that has been said so far, he earnestly expects to “win” in Iraq without even proposing what the definition of “winning” is. He has said that he will follow the economic policies of George W. Bush. That means more “hands-off” behavior when it comes to regulating certain business practices that are hurting the economy." -- "The Democrats are offering up Senator Barack Obama. This is a junior Senator with no executive experience. The Democratic presumptive nominee has already committed another two Army Divisions to the war in Afghanistan while leaving a “residual force” in Iraq, thus continuing this premise of the GWOT. He has not committed to lowering the defense budget. He has reneged on his opposition to strike immunity from prosecution for illegal electronic eavesdropping on American citizens by the telecoms. He has not come forward in opposition to the Patriot Act and the other draconian acts committed by the Bush Administration. He has pandered to AIPAC by threatening Iran with attack and supporting Jerusalem as the Israeli Capitol under Israeli control. He has threatened to invade Pakistan to fight the Taliban thereby increasing the scope of the war.
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The S(pl)urge: Of Course It’s Working  ---  http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/07/the-splurge-of-course-its-working/
Special Note - A quote...." All you need to know about the “surge” is that it should have been called the “splurge.” Sure, we sent 30,000 extra troops to Iraq, but during the first six months of the operation, violence went up, not down. As Retired Army Colonel Douglas McGregor put it, “Up until that point, the surge was simply providing more targets for the insurgents to shoot at.” -- Under extreme pressure to produce results and fill less body bags, General Petraeus cut deals with armies of enemy combatants. These deals, now part of what is referred to as the Concerned Local Citizens program, simply pay insurgents to become temporary allies of the U. S. military. Approximately 70,000 former enemy combatants are now paid to play nice and all it costs us is $700,000 a day. -- That’s right. For $255 million a year, 70,000 IED-planting, sniper-firing, roadside-booby-trapping insurgents will be our friends and the death toll will drop and we can pat ourselves on the back because the “surge” is working or at least paying off in better press."
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Maliki the Thug  ---  http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/338746/maliki_the_thug
Special Note - A quote...."The current Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, is in the news lately over his endorsement of Barack Obama's plan for withdrawing troops on a sixteen-month timetable, but yesterday in Washington it was a former Iraqi prime minister, Iyad Allawi, who was making news. And it wasn't good news for Maliki."
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No assault on Falluja, says general  ---  http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2008-07-20%5Ckurd.htm
A quote...."An Iraqi army general denied reports that U.S. and Iraqi troops were planning to attack Falluja. However, Lt. Gen. Tareq Yousif said the troops were already involved in two major offensives, one in the southern city of Basra and the other in the Province of Babel of which the southern city of Hilla is the capital. Yousif’s remarks come following reports of an upsurge in violence in Falluja and the possible loss of the city once again to Iraqi resistance groups and al-Qaeda. Yousif said there would not be “a major military offensive” on Falluja." -- For now. - mpg
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[British] MPs cast doubt on Iraq torture denials  ---  http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jul/27/iraq.military
A quote...."Ministers and senior military officers are today challenged over discrepancies in evidence they gave to a parliamentary committee on the use of torture techniques by British troops in Iraq. -- Evidence given to MPs by the former armed forces minister, Adam Ingram, and Lieutenant General Robin Brims, former commander of UK forces in Iraq, failed to address concerns over whether the Ministry of Defence gave soldiers permission to abuse detainees in Iraq."
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Stigmatizing War - Banning cluster bombs is just a start  ---  http://www.commonwonders.com/archives/col455.htm
A quote...."The moral center of humanity slowly asserts itself. Only the most powerful are too afraid to join. -- You may have missed the news: At the end of May, 111 nations, including, at the last minute, Great Britain, showing the world the power of an unleashed conscience, agreed to an international ban on cluster bombs, surely one of the cruelest and, given the nature of war today, most unnecessary weapons in modern arsenals."
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Partnership with the US  ---  http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=126056
A quote ...."There is no relief in stating the obvious: Pakistan is adrift by design. Designs are both Divine and human; this one has been conceived by human beings. What is obvious, moreover, is the chilling consistency in the execution of this design. Like all designs made for a grand reconstruction of a polity, this one has a lot of money behind it. It has been bankrolled by those for whom millions, even billions, of dollars are not a big price for such reconstruction of Pakistani society because of ideological commitments."
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NATO forces kill 4 civilians in shooting in Afghanistan
  ---  http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2008/July/subcontinent_July860.xml&section=subcontinent
A quote...." KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO forces killed four civilians and wounded three others when they fired at a vehicle that did not stop at a checkpoint in Afghanistan's volatile south, the alliance said."
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Argentine Ex-Army Chief Gets Life Sentence in ‘Dirty War’ Crimes  ---  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/world/americas/25argentina.html?ref=americas
A quote...."RIO DE JANEIRO — A court in Argentina sentenced a notorious former military leader to life in prison for atrocities committed in 1977 at a clandestine torture center used by the military dictatorship where only 17 of more than 2,200 political prisoners survived." -- Hope the little shrub is paying attention, sure the Demos and that sniveling, boot licking, little coward Nancy Pelosi aren't going to go after him.  But everybody else will.  He's not going to be able to set foot anywhere else in the world.  Now if we could only get him to leave the US and arrange for his "rendition".....hmmmmmm?  - mpg
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Turkey to mediate Iran-West talks  ---  http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20080724/114835411.html
A quote...."MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov) - On his way back from the inconclusive Geneva talks between Tehran and the Iran Six over the disputed Iranian nuclear program, Tehran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili stopped in Ankara and held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babajan."
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Report: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran now has 6,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m45990&s1=h1
A quote...."President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday that Iran now possesses 6,000 centrifuges, a significant increase in the number of uranium-enriching machines in its nuclear program, the semi-official Fars news agency reported."
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Local election loss bitter blow to Brown  ---  http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080725/tpl-uk-britain-election-20b2d2f.html
A quote..."GLASGOW (Reuters) - Labour lost one of its safest parliamentary seats on Friday, deepening doubts in its own ranks about Prime Minister Gordon Brown's ability to win the next election. Defeat left Brown facing a bleak weekend as the party's main policy-making forum met to try to work out how to win back voters disillusioned by a string of political gaffes, rising inflation and a slowing economy." -- Along with not leaving Iraq as most of the voters in Britain wanted him too. (Got the hint Nancy??) - mpg
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Irish strongly oppose second vote on key EU treaty: poll  ---  http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080726230802.l77n6s6u&show_article=1
A quote...."Nearly three-quarters of Irish voters are against holding a second referendum on the EU's key reform treaty, according to an opinion poll out Sunday."
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The Endless Smearing of Joe Wilson  ---  http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/072608.html
A quote...."Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee reminded everyone that rules barred personal attacks on George W. Bush during Friday’s hearing on his presidential abuses, but they didn’t feel obliged to forego the lashing of a favorite whipping boy, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson."
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Kucinich gets his day
  ---  http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=1967&updaterx=2008-07-26+11%3A35%3A51
Video - A quote...."Since June 9, 2008, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich has pushed for impeachment proceedings against President Bush. Last week, in an effort to placate Kucinich, the House Judiciary Committee finally agreed to hold a hearing July 25, 2008. The night before the hearing, Kucinich sat down with ANP in an exclusive one-on-one interview."
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Back to the Future: Speaker Christine Pelosi names David Addington Co-Chair, Office of Congressional Ethics.
  ---  http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3682068
A quote...."Addington, who was instrumental in formulating the Bush administration’s strategy for The War on Terror, survived an effort to impeach Mr. Bush for programs that Mr. Addington largely crafted -- torture, illegal wiretapping and the illegal invasion of Iraq -- when Christine Pelosi’s mother famously took impeachment “off of the table”." -- Naked uncaring dereliction of duty along with a complete disregard for the constitution of the United States seems to run in the Pelosi family, as it has for the last eighty years in the Bush family.  Aren't family dynasties wonderful?  Welcome to the New Roman Empire folks, it will only get worse from here on out if you keep electing these people.  --  For more on this issue see....Mommy Pelosi and Daddy Bush - 11-18-06 - mpg   ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/mommypelosianddaddybush-blog-mpg-111806.html  ---  note, this was written on 11-18-06 - mpg
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4,000 US Combat Deaths, and Just a Handful of Images  ---  http://www.truthout.org/article/over-4000-us-combat-deaths-just-a-handful-images
A quote...."Baghdad - The case of a freelance photographer in Iraq who was barred from covering the Marines after he posted photos on the Internet of several of them dead has underscored what some journalists say is a growing effort by the American military to control graphic images from the war. Zoriah Miller, the photographer who took images of marines killed in a June 26 suicide attack and posted them on his Web site, was subsequently forbidden to work in Marine Corps-controlled areas of the country."
For more on this issue see....Fake Intel / Propaganda  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/fakeintell-weblist-mpg-090206
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McClellan: Fox News Commentators Use The ‘Talking Points’ That The White House Sends Them
  ---  http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/26/mcclellan-fox-talking-points/
Special Note - A quote...."On MSNBC’s Hardball last night, host Chris Matthews asked former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan if he saw “FOX television as a tool” to get the White House’s “message out” while he was in the Bush administration. “Certainly there were commentators and other, pundits at FOX News, that were useful to the White House,” replied McClellan, adding that they were given “talking points.” -- The Neocons presstitutes hard at work, they have not one shred of pride or dignity....whores one and all. - mpg
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Suicide or Murder? Three Years After the Death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson in Iraq, Her Parents Continue Their Call for a Congressional Investigation
  ---  http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/23/suicide_or_murder_three_years_after
A quote...."Three years ago, on July 19, 2005, Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson was found dead in Balad, Iraq. Her body was found in a tent belonging to the private military contractor KBR. She had abrasions all over her body, a broken nose, a black eye, burned hands, loose teeth, acid burns on her genitals, and a bullet hole in her head. The Army labeled Johnson’s death a suicide. But her parents never believed that story. They think she was raped and murdered and are now demanding a full congressional investigation into their daughter’s death. [includes rush transcript]"
Real Video Stream  ||  ---  http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2008/july/video/dnB20080723a.rm&proto=rtsp&start=23:54
Real Audio Stream  ||  ---  http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2008/july/audio/dn20080723.ra&proto=rtsp&start=23:54
MP3 Download  ||  ---  http://media.switchpod.com/users/democracynow/ftp/dn2008-0723-1.mp3
More…  ||  ---  http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/23/stream
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Death by Taser: Police Accused of Cover-Up in Death of African American Man Shocked Nine Times While in Handcuffs
  ---  http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/24/police_accused_of_coverup_in_taser
A quote...."Police in the city of Winnfield, Louisiana are being accused of covering up the death of twenty-one-year-old Baron Pikes. He died in police custody on January 21 after being shot nine times with a taser gun while in handcuffs. The city police chief initially claimed that Pikes was high on crack cocaine and PCP at the time of his death. But the coroner recently ruled Pikes’ death to be a homicide, after an autopsy determined there were no drugs in his system. The coroner also determined that the police shot Pikes twice after he lost consciousness. We speak with Chicago Tribune reporter Howard Witt, who broke the story nationally; Kayshon Collins, Baron Pikes’ stepmother; and Winnfield Police Lieutenant Charles Curry. [includes rush transcript]"
Real Video Stream  ||  ---  http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2008/july/video/dnB20080724a.rm&proto=rtsp&start=09:58
Real Audio Stream  ||  ---  http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2008/july/audio/dn20080724.ra&proto=rtsp&start=09:58
MP3 Download  ||  ---  http://media.switchpod.com/users/democracynow/ftp/dn2008-0724-1.mp3
More…  ||  ---  http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/24/stream
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Missouri Police taser injured boy 19 times  ---  http://rawstory.com//news/2008/Missouri_Police_taser_injured_boy_19_0726.html
Must Read - (for outrage!!!) Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse - it did, maybe the cops thugs are having a contest on who can taser a person the most.  You can see them in your minds eye with score sheets on their precinct walls...soon it will be a hundred jolts a person, welcome to New Baghdad folks. - mpg -- KY 3 News' Sara Sheffield reports on an injured teen from Ozark, Missouri who was tasered up to 19 times by police. -- Passing motorists called Ozark police out of concern for the teen as he walked along the busy overpass. When the police arrived, the young man was lying on the shoulder of the highway directly underneath the 30 foot high overpass with a broken back and foot. -- Doctors believe 16-year-old Mace Hutchinson broke his back and heel after falling, as his injuries are consistent with such a fall. The boy's family does not understand why police would have tasered the the teen 19 times after he was so seriously injured."
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Main Core: New Evidence Reveals Top Secret Government Database Used in Bush Spy Program
  ---  http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/25/main_core_new_evidence_reveals_top
A quote...."Salon.com has published new details about a top secret government database that might be at the heart of the Bush administration’s domestic spying operations. The database is known as “Main Core.” It reportedly collects and stores vast amounts of personal and financial data about millions of Americans. Some former US officials believe that “Main Core” may have been used by the National Security Agency to determine who to spy on in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. We speak with author and investigative journalist, Tim Shorrock. [includes rush transcript]"
Real Video Stream  ||  ---  http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2008/july/video/dnB20080725a.rm&proto=rtsp&start=33:31
Real Audio Stream  ||  ---  http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2008/july/audio/dn20080725.ra&proto=rtsp&start=33:31
MP3 Download  ||  ---  http://media.switchpod.com/users/democracynow/ftp/dn2008-0725-1.mp3
More…  ||    ---  http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/25/stream
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Seven short videos and an article on the economy and our fiat currencies  ---  http://www.chycho.com/?q=node/1787
A quote...."I came across the following article by  Darryl Robert Schoon entitled “A Golden Parachute With a Silver Lining”, which I thought was well worth the read, even though I do not agree with everything that is presented in the piece."
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Nov 2006 Peter Schiff Mortgage Bankers Speech- (YouTube - aprox 10 min each - Added:  July 22, 2008)
Part - 1 of 8  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G3Qefbt0n4&feature=related
 - 2 of 8  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hFmoTjljpw&feature=related
 - 3 of 8  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBk4PhdhCFQ&feature=related
 - 4 of 8  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNKs8lBnd2U&feature=related
 - 5 of 8  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoSwkCog-Ro&feature=related
 - 6 of 8  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrpPsOvHUU8&feature=related
 - 7 of 8  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVtT6spfffI&feature=related
 - 8 of 8  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgRgGKxXbCw&feature=related
Videos - Must View - Just put it on and listen.....he called it all in Nov. 2006. - mpg -- A quote...."In [Nov] 2006 Peter Schiff tells over 1000 mortgage brokers they are about to be out of jobs. Watch how he completely nails the coming real estate/mortgage debacle before anyone else even realized it was coming."
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Delusions of Debt – The Ron Paul Solution  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig9/quinn4.html
A quote...."Make no mistake. Our country is in the midst of a financial crisis of epic proportions. We are in a long national emergency. In the last 6 months, we have been on the brink of financial collapse twice. "
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How Wall Street Wrecked Your Retirement  ---  http://www.alternet.org/workplace/92658/how_wall_street_wrecked_your_retirement/
A quote...."There are no happy days for the millions of Americans who have been trying to put away some money for their retirement in tax-sheltered entities like IRAs, Roth Accounts and 401(k)s. For them, the market's downward slope has been harrowing and frightening. When will the steady erosion of their savings end? And when it does, what will be left of their future financial security?" -- Slim to none...savers, hah!  The only financial lifeform in Amerika more disgusting than a saver....is an employee. - mpg
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U.S. regulators close two more banks, 7th this year
  ---  http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/americas/2008/07/27/167297/U%2ES%2E%2Dregulators.htm
A quote...."WASHINGTON -- First National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, both owned by an Arizona-based company, were closed by U.S. regulators and their deposits and assets are being acquired by Mutual of Omaha Bank."
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Feds Seize Two More Banks  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-790-0-13-13--.html
Related Article - A quote...."CARSON CITY, Nev. — The 28 branches of 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, operating in Nevada, Arizona and California, were closed Friday by federal regulators. - The banks, owned by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based First National Bank Holding Co., were scheduled to reopen on Monday as Mutual of Omaha Bank branches, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said. - The FDIC said the takeover of the failed banks was the least costly resolution and all depositors _ including those with funds in excess of FDIC insurance limits _ will switch to Mutual of Omaha with "the full amount of their deposits."
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The global economy is at the point of maximum danger  ---  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/07/21/ccview121.xml
A quote...."It feels like the summer of 1931. The world's two biggest financial institutions have had a heart attack. The global currency system is breaking down. The policy doctrines that got us into this mess are bankrupt. No world leader seems able to discern the problem, let alone forge a solution."
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China Surpasses U.S. in Number of Internet Users - posted at BuzzFlash  ---  http://www.buzzflash.com/
  ---  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/business/worldbusiness/26internet.html?_r=2&th&emc=th&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
A quote...."SHANGHAI — China said the number of Internet users in the country reached about 253 million last month, putting it ahead of the United States as the world’s biggest Internet market."
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Friday July 25th 2008 - links page

PJB: Honorable Exit From Empire  ---  http://buchanan.org/blog/2008/07/pjb-honorable-exit-from-empire/
Must Read - A quote...."As any military historian will testify, among the most difficult of maneuvers is the strategic retreat. Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow, Lee’s retreat to Appomattox and MacArthur’s retreat from the Yalu come to mind. The British Empire abandoned India in 1947 — and a Muslim-Hindu bloodbath ensued." -- Also posted at ICH  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20358.htm
& LewRockwell   ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/buchanan/buchanan91.html
& DissentMag  ---  http://dissentmag.wordpress.com/2008/07/26/the-empire-will-endure-until-disaster-befalls-it-by-patrick-j-buchanan/
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A Vision Of The Future  ---  http://www.atlargely.com/2008/07/a-vision-of-the.html
A quote...."Washington, DC - January 19, 2009 -- President George W. Bush pardoned Vice President Dick Cheney this evening for "any and all crimes he may have committed in office," before resigning the presidency this evening at 11 pm EST. -- After taking the oath of office, smirking only slightly at the phrase "defend the Constitution," President Cheney immediately pardoned former President Bush, then issued additional pardons to Scooter Libby, every other political appointee of the previous eight years, all defense contractors who have served in Iraq, and any executives who supervised them." -- Yeah, they'll do it that way just in case the Demos change their minds about the "Deal".  You know....the deal where the Neocons graciously agree to go without nuking an American city or releasing a biological plague, declaring martial law or seizing dictatorial control of the country so long as the Demos lick their boots and don't prosecute them.  You heard about it right gentle reader?  The “gentleman’s agreement” arranged by their wealthy MIOC masters for our nation’s regular decadal transfer of power?   - mpg
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The parade of "shrill, unserious extremists" on display at today's impeachment hearings  ---  http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/07/25/fein/index.html
A quote...."Former Reagan DOJ official, constitutional lawyer, and hard-core conservative Bruce Fein was one of the first prominent Americans to call for George Bush's impeachment in the wake of the illegal NSA spying scandal. Back in late 2005 and 2006, when even safe-seat Democrats like Chuck Schumer were petrified even of uttering the words "broke the law" when speaking of the Bush administration -- let alone taking meaningful action to investigate and putting a stop to the lawbreaking" -- Also posted at ICH  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20360.htm
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Excerpts from the July 2008 Torture Hearings   ---  http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07252008/watch.html
Podcast  ||  ---  http://www.pbs.org/moyers/rss/media/BMJ-1215.mp3  ---  Transcript  ||  ---  http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07252008/transcript1.html
Bill Moyers Journal - Interview with Jane Mayer  -- Must View  ---  http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07252008/watch2.html
||  Podcast  ||  ---  http://www.pbs.org/moyers/rss/media/BMJ-1215.mp3  ---  Transcript  ||  ---  http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07252008/transcript2.html
Videos - A quote...."Bill Moyers Journal goes inside last week's hearings on torture in Congress and gets perspective from journalist Jane Mayer on the debate over whether the U.S. sanctioned torture to prosecute the war on terror. Mayer's recent book, The Dark Side:*   ---
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385526393/ref=nosim/arm06-20  ---  the inside story of how the war on terror turned into a war on American ideals, documents the war on terror and the struggle over whether the president should have limitless power to wage it." -- *link added
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The Torturing Company We Keep  ---  http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/072508a.html
A quote...."At one point during the five and a half years John McCain spent as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, he was tortured and beaten so badly he tried to kill himself. -- After four days of this brutality, he gave in and agreed to make a false confession, telling lies to end the unbearable pain." -- bold by website editor -- Also posted at TruthOut   ---  http://www.truthout.org/article/the-company-we-keep --  For more on this sort of issue see....The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/theconvenientsilenceofgitmo-blog-mpg-053108
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Mukasey to Congress: Defy the Rule of Law  ---  http://baltimorechronicle.com/2008/072308Lendman.shtml
A quote...."Along with other past and present administration officials, Attorney General Michael Mukasey supports lawlessness and police state justice. Weeks after the Supreme Court's landmark (June 12) Boumediene ruling, he addressed the conservative, pro-war American Enterprise Institute (on July 21) and asked Congress to overrule the High Court - for the third time."
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Bugliosi to Congress: "The Bush administration has gotten away with thousands and THOUSANDS of murders!"
  ---  http://existentialistcowboy.blogspot.com/2008/07/bugliosi-to-congress-bush.html
Video - A quote...."Offering the committee incriminating, documentary evidence to substantiate his charges, Bugliosi urged the committee to make a 'criminal referral' to the Justice Department to begin a criminal investigation of Bush and members of his administration to determine whether first degree murder charges should be brought against 'certain members of this administration'.Clearly --Bugliosi thinks the evidence supports not just an 'indictment' but a conviction."
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Guantanamo testimony: U.S. let bin Laden's top bodyguard go   ---  http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/45505.html
A quote...."24 Jul 2008 Soon after Osama bin Laden's driver got here in 2002, he told interrogators the identity of the al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] chief's most senior bodyguard -- then a fellow prison camp prisoner. But, inexplicably, the U.S. let the bodyguard go. This startling information was revealed in the fourth day of the war crimes trial of Salim Hamdan, facing conspiracy and material support for terror charges as an alleged member of bin Laden's inner circle. Michael St. Ours, an agent with the Naval Criminal Intelligence Service, NCIS, provided the first tidbit. [Well, actually, it's not 'inexplicable,' when you ponder the evidence that CLG
  ---   has presented --- http://www.legitgov.org/9_1_1_oddities.html  ---   for nearly 7 years: *9/11 was an inside job.* And make no mistake about it: Bush's bioterror team is dying to get the pandemic party started. An avian flu outbreak is the biggest wet dream this administration has ever had. The Bush regime achieves its political goals with martial law and quarantines   ---  http://www.legitgov.org/DoD_to_augment_civilian_law.html  ---  (think Blackwater on steroids), mandatory vaccines (liability by the pharmaceutical companies has already been waived--just like Bush's spying telecoms), detention centers (already built by KBR), end of 'entitlement' programs (they'd be completely mismanaged and, ergo, 'overwhelmed'), and the privatization of every service--right down to the body bags and corpse removal. The puzzle pieces are on the table,   ---  http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html  ---  ready for assemblage. --Lori Price] -- Paragraph posted at CLG  ---  http://www.legitgov.org/
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Angry Bloggers On Left And Right Unite Over FISA  ---  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92814309
Action Alert - A quote...."Morning Edition, July 25, 2008 · Bloggers across the political spectrum have been raising money in recent weeks in an effort to punish certain members of Congress for supporting a government surveillance bill backed by the White House."
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The Impeachment Hearing That Wasn't  ---  http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/alerts/438
A quote...."Though the name of the hearing -- Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations -- didn't include the hot-button word, impeachment was on the minds of judiciary committee members and witnesses Friday."
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Rove Threatened GOP IT Guru If He Does Not 'Take the Fall' for Election Fraud in Ohio, Says Attorney  ---  http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6214
A quote...."Karl Rove has threatened a GOP high-tech guru and his wife, if he does not "'take the fall' for election fraud in Ohio," according to a letter sent this morning to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, by Ohio election attorney Cliff Arnebeck. -- The email, posted in full below, details threats against Mike Connell of the Republican firm New Media Communications...."
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Is Obama the 'Antiwar Candidate'? -- Two words of advice for the antiwar voter: Caveat emptor  ---  http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=13183
A quote...."Now that Barack Obama has pulled the rug out from under John McCain's "victory or death" campaign theme, with the invaluable assistance of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, he's preparing the way for a surge of his own: an Afghan surge, to be precise. Averring that we need to put more troops in Afghanistan, whose U.S.-supported "president" functions as little more than the mayor of Kabul, Obama is posing earnestly next to as many uniforms as he can, hoping to establish his credentials as a plausible wartime president."
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Obama's pro-Israel stance no surprise to Arabs  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/170252
A quote...."BEIRUT, July 24 (Reuters) - Barack Obama has convinced Arabs and Iranians he will put Israel's interests first if he becomes U.S. president, after a Middle East tour that ended on Thursday. -- When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many in the region believe, Obama would display the same bias in favour of the Jewish state that they now expect from any White House occupant — even one with a Muslim name and African roots."
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US attempts to retain funded militias in Iraq - Give us more money or else. - mpg
  ---  http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=94502
A quote...."BAQOUBA, Iraq: The Iraqi officer leading a US-financed anti-jihadist group is in no mood for small talk - either the military gives him more money or he will pack his bags and rejoin the ranks of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. "I'll go back to Al-Qaeda [in Iraq] if you stop backing the Sahwa [Awakening] groups," Colonel Satar tells US Lieutenant Matthew McKernon, as he tries to secure more funding for his men to help battle the anti-US insurgents."
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Who will determine Iraq's future/ - (3-5)  ---  http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=1940
Where is Muqtada al Sadr? - (2-5)  ---  http://youtube.com/watch?v=ftypmmhf-3k&feature=user
Iraq events moving out of US control? - (1-5)  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsVNlP7fKJ4&feature=user
Videos - A quote from part 3-5...."Sabah al-Nasseri: "He [Obama] did not talk about the occupation. He never mentioned a word about the occupation, so as if things in Iraq will be determined in Washington and not on the ground by the Iraqi people themselves. So my argument is that Obama will not withdraw the troops, US troops. He will move few brigades, probably, from Iraq to Afghanistan, but the majority of the US troops and the private security firms or military firms, companies, will stay in Iraq."
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Americans Say No to War with Iran: Will Washington Listen?
  ---  http://www.alternet.org/audits/92402/americans_say_no_to_war_with_iran%3A_will_washington_listen/
Action Alert - A quote...."Two weeks ago, I was alarmed to learn that congressional Democrats were sponsoring Resolution 362, which encourages what amounts to an act of war against Iran. - Today, there are more than 230 co-sponsors of the House resolution, but there is also growing mobilization to stop passage of Res. 362."
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If Iran is Attacking It Might Really be Israel  ---  http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2008/07/24/if-iran-is-attacking-it-might-really-be-israel/
A quote...."The Benny Morris op-ed in the NYT last Friday should provide convincing evidence that Israel really really really wants an attack against Iran sooner rather than later.  Morris is close to the Israeli government and his case that Iran must be bombed soon and with maximum conventional weaponry to avoid using nukes later was clearly intended to push the United States to do the attacking.  The likelihood that Dick Cheney is almost certainly supportive of a US pre-emptive strike and might well be pulling strings behind the scenes, possibly without the knowledge of the Great Decider, makes the next several months particularly significant if a war is to be avoided." -- Also posted at ICH  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20364.htm
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Are You Ready to Face the Facts About Israel?  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20359.htm
A quote...."25/07/08 "ICH" -- - I had given up on finding an American with a moral conscience and the courage to go with it and was on the verge of retiring my keyboard when I met the Rev. Thomas L. Are. -- Rev. Are is a Presbyterian pastor who used to tell his Atlanta, Georgia, congregation: "I am a Zionist." Like most Americans, Rev. Are had been seduced by Israeli propaganda and helped to spread the propaganda among his congregation. -- Around 1990 Rev. Are had an awakening for which he credits the Christian Canon of St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem and author Marc Ellis, co-editor of the book, Beyond Occupation."
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Pakistan draws a bead on Baitullah  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JG26Df01.html
A quote...."KARACHI - He is reclusive like Taliban leader Mullah Omar and popular like al-Qaeda's Osama bin Laden, and he pledges his allegiance to both."
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Taliban winning the war of words  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JG26Df03.html
A quote...."The media battle in Afghanistan between Taliban-led anti-government militants and pro-government forces has claimed a victim, that of credibility. All the same, a new report shows, the Taliban are winning the propaganda battle hands down, with dire ramifications for the embattled government of President Hamid Karzai."
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Report: Taliban using sophisticated media network  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m45967&s1=h1
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have created a sophisticated media network to undermine support for the Afghan government, sending threats by text message and spreading the militia's views through songs available as ring tones, according to a report released Thursday."
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Privatization of Mexican Oil Will Advance SPP Objectives  ---  http://intelstrike.com/?p=285
A quote...."Mexican President Felipe Calderon has proposed sweeping reforms to its state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX). He denies that his reforms constitute privatization and claims they will serve to make PEMEX stronger. Many view his proposals as a threat to Mexican sovereignty and nothing more then an energy grab."
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Britain: Labour faces wipe-out after defeat in Glasgow East  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2008/jul2008/glas-j26.shtml
A quote...."Labour’s defeat by the Scottish National Party in the Glasgow East by-election is a devastating blow to the party and leaves Prime Minister Gordon Brown one of the walking dead."
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Follow That Story! -- Whatever happened to the Yushchenko "poisoning" investigation?  ---  http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=13192
A quote...."One thing I hate about the Fourth Estate, and our culture in general, is the very short attention span that traps us in the present. No one remembers anything. Everything is now, now, now. There is no follow-up: stories aren't developed so much as they are announced, and then shoved down the Memory Hole. The result is that the general public, as well as the media, is suffering from a collective form of Alzheimer's. Ah, but here at Antiwar.com we live by a different standard, one that recalls the old-fashioned reportorial style of the sixties and seventies, long before the conflation of news and what passes for entertainment these days."
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Venezuela Bridges Diplomatic Fissures, Polishes Alliances in European Tour  ---  http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3671
A quote...."Mérida, July 25, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- Rounding off a diplomatic tour of Europe that began with Tuesday’s controversial visit in Russia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez mended relations with the Spanish government, set up a bi-national commerce commission with Portugal, and eliminated visa requirements to facilitate bilateral accords with Belarus this week."
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Venezuela Strengthens Alliance with Russia to Promote “Polycentrism”  ---  http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3666
A quote...."Mérida, July 22, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela met for the first time with Russian President Dimitri Medvedev on Tuesday, to strengthen bilateral relations and discuss economic and military cooperation, which could expand the relationship between Russia and Latin America as a whole."
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U.S. Foreclosures Double as House Prices Decline (Update2)  ---  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aomtw8.Pro2E&refer=home
A quote...."July 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. foreclosure filings more than doubled in the second quarter from a year earlier as falling home prices left borrowers owing more on mortgages than their properties were worth." -- Also posted at BLN  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-783-0-13-13--.html
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Mortgage rates spike - Inflation fears send 30-year rate up sharply; ARMs jump even more
  ---  http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/inflation-fears-send-mortgage-rates/story.aspx?
  ---  guid=%7B3EE9CED6%2DBC6E%2D49D3%2D9519%2D698933A091EE%7D
Special Note - Financial Warning - A quote...."CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Mortgage rates spiked this week on inflation fears, with the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan soaring more than a quarter percentage point to a national average 6.63%, its highest level in nearly a year, Freddie Mac said Thursday."
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Durable goods orders spring upside surprise
  ---  http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/durable-goods-stage-upside-surprise/story.aspx?
  ---  guid=%7B551A5C5E%2D94B1%2D4F20%2D97A5%2D8F44356E5C97%7D
A quote....""Overall, then, not a bad report, but with orders ex-defense falling at a 4.0% annualized rate in the second quarter, it's pretty clear manufacturing is hardly thriving," Shepherdson said." -- bold/underline by website editor -- It was Military Hardare that produced the "good" numbers....not the American consumer.  - mpg  --  For more on the two articles shown above see....Obama, the Yang to Bush's Yin - 06-20-08 - mpg
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/obamatheyangtobushsyin-blog-mpg-062008
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New-home sales fell 0.6% in June  ---  http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2008/07/26/20080726biz-economy0726.html
A quote...."Sales of new homes fell in June for the seventh time in the past eight months, more proof that the worst housing slump in decades is getting deeper. -- The Commerce Department reported Friday that sales of new single-family homes dropped by 0.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 530,000 units following an even bigger 1.7 percent fall in May."
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Thursday July 24th 2008 - links page

"Governments that use torture intend to intimidate their citizens in order to maintain control; those who are tortured become examples of the consequences of dissent."

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - (YouTube - 55 min 24 sec - Added:  Sept. 30, 2007)  From the history file
  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNzcJImX4Ew
Must View - A quote...."“My book is now being criticized for drawing too many connections….but of course (pause) my friend Shamus Mill who is the op-ed editor at the Guardian….he calls it the “cock-up theory of history".  I didn’t realize there was a cock-up theory of history.  But the theory is that everything happens just because of some big “cock-up”  Some big mess-up, it’s a series of mistakes…..and if you actually say that there are motives and interests behind it [i.e. follow the money] you are a conspiracy theorist.” -- *Naomi Klein*, speech given September 27, 2007 at Town Hall Seattle. -- posted 07-10-08
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"Would not the Warsaw Ghetto by any other name be as vile and bitter as that which the Israeli people have now constructed on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea?"

"The lost tribe of Israel, savaged for their separateness by the very Europeans who now cynically support these barbaric policies, in an effort to pay homage to those so brutally mistreated and to help prevent any such acts in the future, once solemnly promised to themselves and to the rest of the world.... "never again"

"A promise they could not keep." - mpg - posted 10-15-2007

Wednesday July 23rd 2008 - links page

FBI Says Barbara Olsen Did Not Call Ted Olsen. Bush Solicitor General LIED !!
  ---  http://www.amazon.com/tag/politics/forum?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=
  ---  Fx1S3QSZRUL93V8&cdThread=Tx282O17E1DET2E
Ted Olson's Report of Phone Calls from Barbara Olson on 9/11: Three Official Denials
  ---  http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8514
Could Barbara Olson Have Made Those Calls?
  ---  http://pilotsfor911truth.org/amrarticle.html
Barbara Olson’s Alleged Call from AA 77:
  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17659.htm
The Mother of All Lies About 9/11 - Barbara Olson's "Phone Call" From Flight 77
  ---  http://www.geocities.com/subliminalsuggestion/olson.html
Fictoid #9: Plastic Knives and Box Cutters
  ---  http://edwardjayepstein.com/nether_fictoid9.htm