Tuesday November 4th 2008 - links page

American Election: An Illusion Of Democracy  ---  http://www.countercurrents.org/akleh041108.htm
Must Read - A quote...."Once again, as it has been happening every four years, the American people are suckered into surrendering their necks to a different yoke of slavery through the process of so-called “democratic election” of their president. Little they know that this president, and his administration, is but a tool used by the power elite – international financiers, military industrialists, energy companies and corporatocracy – to control resources, transfer wealth upwards, keep the populace in check, enslave them, suppress their dissent, and conscribe them into wars of greed against their human neighbors. This power elite, with its handful financial institutions, had dominated most of the natural resources of the world through its control of the money needed to acquire these resources. A natural resources monopoly system was, thus, created in the US, and many parts of the world, based solely on capital gain and profit rather than the well being of human life."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

AViDD "believer" Type-1 and Type-2 Syndromes
11-04-08
mpg

Michael Moore And The Great Barack Hope  ---  http://www.countercurrents.org/murphy041108.htm
A quote...."When Amy Goodman asked how Michael Moore could say that he was opposed to war and yet support a candidate who has announced his intentions to commit the same crimes against humanity as are being committed by the Bush cabal and which were committed by the Clinton regime, the rotund Republican-lite moviemaker said, "well, I don't know if I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. I'm hoping that he breaks his campaign promise, like all politicians do. I'm counting on him to be a good politician and do that". Michael Moore is hoping that O-BOMB-A is just a liar instead of a mass murderer. One can only imagine that, given his ponderous weight, the arteries to his brain must have become completely clogged."

Leaving aside the personal (and unnecessary) attacks against Mr. Moore, it does appear that Mr. Moore, along with a very large portion of the America people, are currently suffering from Audio Visual Disassociative Disorder (AViDD “believer” type-1 syndrome).  AViDD type-1 is the flip side of Audio Visual Delusional Disorder (AViDD “believer” type-2 syndrome) which is typically suffered by people who are mentally impaired and are always engaged in "faith based" interpretations of reality.  AViDD type-2 sufferers have a substantially reduced interest in understanding the facts or even the ability to comprehend them, nor do they have any ability to empathize with someone else's plight, they are unable to "walk in their shoes" so to speak.

With AViDD type-2 syndrome, a person believes what he's told or shown even if it's contrary to reality and all the information freely available that may contradict what he's just been told or shown.  AViDD type 2 sufferers are always coming up with new excuses for why their espoused "world views" or paradigms never seem to work out, sometimes changing the rational for their actions on almost a daily basis.

A person suffering from this syndrome will usually make statements like "the facts don't matter" or "we create our own reality"; they will usually lie constantly and exhibit bizarre forms of behavior such as attacking other people murdering millions of them all the while saying they're "helping" these other people, that they're killing them to "save" them.  In other words they "delude" themselves and remain fixated on their world views despite all the evidence that exists to the contrary that their world views do not accurately model reality.  That they are not predictive, the true rock-bottom test for any paradigm.

AViDD type-1 is a more pernicious and dangerous type of syndrome and is almost the mirror image opposite of AViDD type-2.   AViDD type-1 sufferers are usually more intelligent and have the ability to critically analyze reality and incorporate the observable "facts" in their over-arching paradigm or worldview. They're usually more empathic towards another person's plight and sympathetic to their needs.

However, unlike AViDD type 2 sufferers, a person with AViDD type-1 syndrome disregards what he's being told, even if in most cases it actually does conform with reality.  Instead of making excuses for their world views (because they're usually more accurate), AViDD type-1 sufferers will usually make excuses for the other persons actions.

They'll usually try to justify their trust in other people by coming up with outlandish reasons or justifications for their contradictory behaviors, they'll try not to be "judgmental", they’ll constantly make “allowances” and give that person more benefit of the doubt then they may actually deserve.  AViDD type-1 sufferers are commonly referred to as easy "marks" or “rubes”.  They “dissociate” what the person actually says, thinks or does from that person’s actions or the resultant consequences of that person’s actions.  They'll freely acknowledge the "facts” and all the harm that person might be doing but they will constantly justify them and state “the person is trying to do good" even though the results manifestly say otherwise. – mpg

========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

The End of International Law?  ---  http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/377081/the_end_of_international_law?rel=hpbox
A quote...."A parallel new Bush doctrine is emerging, in the last days of the soon-to-be-ancien regime, and it needs to be strangled in its crib. Like the original Bush doctrine -- the one that Sarah Palin couldn't name, which called for preventive military action against emerging threats -- this one also casts international law aside by insisting that the United States has an inherent right to cross international borders in "hot pursuit" of anyone it doesn't like. - They're already applying it to Pakistan, and this week Syria was the target. Is Iran next?" -- Also posted at ICH  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21150.htm
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Silence on War Crimes  ---  http://www.fff.org/comment/com0811a.asp
A quote...."Last week, Bill Kovach, former Washington Bureau Chief of the New York Times and the founding chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, blasted the U.S. media for its failure to ask tough questions of both presidential candidates regarding their opinions of the Bush administration’s unprecedented adherence to the controversial “unitary executive theory” of government."
Also posted at ICH  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21147.htm
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Scott Horton Interviews Justin Raimondo  ---  http://antiwar.com/radio/2008/11/04/justin-raimondo-10/
Must Listen Audio Interview - A quote...."Justin Raimondo, editorial director of Antiwar.com, discusses the 2008 presidential election, how transitions in government tend toward continuity instead of radical change, the competing policy influences in an Obama administration where Dennis Ross and Anthony Zinni are possible National Security Advisor appointments, how the only difference in foreign intervention between Democratic and Republican administrations is rhetorical, how the neocon parasite feeding on the Republican party will soon leave its shriveled host behind and search for greener pastures, the continuing danger of war with Iran, realist/neocon policy toward Russia, why a vote for Nader is the best medicine in the current corporate-socialist economy, and why the Constitution and Libertarian parties may be one party too many.
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Obama Win Will Not Change Rigged Economy  ---  http://infowars.net/articles/november2008/041108Schiff.htm
A quote...."In an incredulous display of ignorance symptomatic of the underlying causes of the financial crisis, CNBC anchors laughed their way through an interview with respected economist Peter Schiff yesterday as he attempted to explain how an Obama presidency would negatively impact the U.S. economy."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Review: The Three Trillion Dollar War  ---  http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5642
Book Review - A quote...."As Arianna Huffington writes, "the thing about $3,000,000,000,000 is that, at a certain point, it becomes hard to ignore." Pundits are saying we're already in a recession. The connection between the war and the economy is increasingly clear and starting to affect everyone, from those worrying about retirement to John McCain's Joe the Plumber. -- The Bush administration and the mainstream media seldom mention the economic costs of Iraq and Afghanistan. But Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University, a 2001 Nobel laureate, and Linda Bilmes of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government rectify this oversight in their new book, The Three Trillion Dollar War."  ---  http://threetrilliondollarwar.org/about/joseph-e-stiglitz/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

As voters go to polls to pick his successor, George W. Bush hits new low in approval rating
  ---  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/presidentbush/2008/11/unpopular.html
A quote...."As Americans are turning out to the polls in record numbers, Bush's approval rating, according to the latest CBS News tracking poll, has dipped to 20%, the lowest ever recorded for a president. His disapproval rating of 72% matches his all-time high, reached last month." -- bold by website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Farewell Bush. Now it is time to undo the damage
  ---  http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/us-election/farewell-bush-now-it-is-time-to-undo-the-damage-14035348.html
A quote...."A poll carried out in 21 countries last week gauged international opinion and concluded that more than 80 per cent believe [correctly] the US is most to blame for the current economic crisis. Positive perception and trust of the superpower in the twilight of the Bush presidency were also very low, among the majority of the 10,392 people surveyed in the independent poll commissioned by Porter Novelli."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

The Ghoul's Glossary: the 2008 Election  ---  http://www.juancole.com/2008/11/ghouls-glossary-2008-election.html
A lot of fun. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Some Amusing Cartoons
A Clean Sweep Across the Land  ---  http://www.bendib.com/newones/2008/november/small/11-2-Clean%20Sweep.jpg
US Presidential Elections  ---  http://fc65.deviantart.com/fs33/f/2008/307/9/6/U_S__presidential_election_by_Latuff2.jpg
Obama and the US Elections  ---  http://fc20.deviantart.com/fs34/f/2008/309/3/e/Obama_and_the_US_elections_by_Latuff2.jpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Iraq General Strike: YANKEE GO HOME!  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/180147
A quote...."A Week-Long Strike Is Announced In The Industrial Sectors"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

U.S. attack on Syria: illogical and ill-timed  ---  http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2008-11-01%5Ckurd.htm
A quote...."U.S. military incursion on a Syrian village late last month was illogical and ill-timed. The U.S. has a formidable force in Iraq with massive air power which theoretically can attack whenever and where it wishes. But the attack on Syria, regardless of whatever was mentioned with regard to the ‘value’ of its target has come at a difficult time first for Washington, second the Iraqi government and third Iraq’s neighbors. The U.S. now finds it extremely difficult to persuade Iraqis that the security agreement it wants to impose on Iraq is for the benefit of Iraq as a country and its regional interests. The attack gave Iraq’s neighbors, particularly Syria and Iran, the proof that the presence of U.S. troops on Iraq’s soil is a real source of worry and now they fear if the troops stay they will turn their land into a theater for their military operations."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Pakistani President Presses Halt to Drone Strikes in Petraeus Meeting
  ---  http://news.antiwar.com/2008/11/03/pakistani-president-presses-halt-to-drone-strikes-in-petraeus-meeting/
A quote...."US General David Petraeus met with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and other top officials today in what was described by the general as a “very frank and very forthright” conversation, during which the Pakistani officials asked if the United States would be so kind as to stop launching unilateral drone strikes onto their territory."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Nader Talks Candidly About McCain and Israel’s Bombing of the U.S.S. Liberty
  ---  http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2008/11/04/nader-talks-candidly-about-mccain-and-israels-bombing-of-the-uss-liberty/
Video - A quote...."2008 Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader discusses John McCain and Israel's bombing in the U.S.S. Liberty. From The Forum Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio, October 30, 2008. Video by Karen Kilroy."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Israeli High Court Confirms Use of "Guilt by Association" and Policies of Racial Discrimination  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m48523&s1=h1
A quote...."The Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ) has again affirmed the government’s position and approved the gross violations of human rights generated by state policies, this time against Palestinians possessing Israeli citizenship. What is particularly cruel in the illustrative judgement to be analysed below is the judges’ utter disregard for the situation of a middle-aged woman who has not seen her husband, who lives in the Gaza Strip, for almost two years."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

How Israel helps eavesdrop on US citizens  ---  http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9930.shtml
A quote...."After the 11 September 2001 attacks, the United States government launched a massive program to spy on millions of its own citizens. Through the top secret National Security Agency (NSA), it has pursued "access to billions of private hard-line, cell, and wireless telephone conversations; text, e-mail and instant Internet messages; Web-page histories, faxes, and computer hard drives." In his new book, The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America author James Bamford casts light on this effort, including a detailed account of how spying on American citizens has been outsourced to several companies closely linked to Israel's intelligence services." -- For more on this issue see....
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Rights Group Concludes Georgian Cluster Bombs Killed at Least Three of Their Own Civilians
  ---  http://news.antiwar.com/2008/11/04/rights-group-concludes-georgian-cluster-bombs-killed-at-least-three-of-their-own-civilians/
A quote...."Human Rights Watch has determined that Georgian cluster bombs used during the brief August war with Russia landed in at least nine Georgian towns, killing at least three civilians and littering the countryside with thousands of bomblets which could potentially kill and maim civilians for years to come." -- Also posted at Uruknet  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m48526&s1=h1
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Two More U.S. Military Units Assigned For Homeland Security http://www.prisonplanet.com/two-more-us-military-units-assigned-for-homeland-security.html
Police State Warning - A quote...."Northcom has announced that two more U.S. military units will be assigned for domestic homeland security missions, bringing the total number of combat ready service members operating inside the U.S. to around 4,700, as fears grow about the increasing militarization of law enforcement." -- bold by website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

The Pentagon Is the President's Private Army  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/reed/reed148.html
A quote...."The Pentagon, methinks, is out of control. We no longer have a military in service to the state, but a state in service to the military. Few notice (I suspect) because of two ingrained habits of mind."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Okay, People: The Irrefutable 911 Evidence of Government Complicity in the Crime  ---  http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=10582
A quote...."To a certain extent this is food for trolls who simply can not believe what they will not believe, but it's compelling information from thoughtful people...and this is just the online information. There's printed information available in the form of books."
See also....9/11 - WTC7  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911-wtc7-weblist-mpg-082308
& 9/11 - NORAD  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911norad-weblist-mpg-091308
& 9/11 - Commission  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/911commission-weblist-mpg-091306
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Czech government in crisis following election debacles  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2008/nov2008/czec-n04.shtml
A quote...."Just a few weeks before the Czech Republic is due to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union Council, the conservative Civic Democratic Party (ODS) of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek is in a deep crisis following a succession of electoral defeats. A premature end of the conservative government is now increasingly likely. The ODS’s setback in regional elections held two weeks ago has now been followed by a severe reverse for the party in the latest Senate election." 
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Georgian president sacks military chief: report  ---  http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Georgian_president_sacks_military_c_11042008.html
A quote...."Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday sacked the country's military chief Zaza Gogava after a review of the August war with Russia, public television reported."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

2008 VoteWatch - Tuesday Round-Up - 5 Articles [Day 2] ========== ========== ======== =====

Is the Election About to Be Stolen in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Elsewhere?  ---  http://www.truthout.org/110308R
A quote...."Last Friday, a federal court judge in Cleveland, Ohio, ordered Michael Connell, an information-technology consultant to the McCain '08 campaign, to give a deposition in a court proceeding. Mr. Connell, whose firm, GovTech Solutions, built Ohio's 2004 election results computer network, was in a position to have knowledge about the alleged manipulation of electronic voting results in that presidential contest (a technique known as "flipping") in order to switch the winner in Ohio from Sen. John Kerry to President Bush. The deposition is scheduled to take place today, November 3, one day before the 2008 general election."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Here's What Vote Fraud Really Looks Like  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10811
A quotExtensive national media coverage of alleged voter registration fraud by ACORN has fanned fears of "voter fraud" by Democratic forces. Given this fact, it's more than a little remarkable that the media has not seen fit to present more balanced coverage. The media could easily do so by reporting, at the same level as ACORN, the far more serious, documented and provable story of election fraud by Young Political Majors, LLC (YPM)."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Hacking Democracy  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21145.htm
From the History File - Video -  May 26, 2007 -- A quote...."In Case You Missed It -- Must Watch Video -- On Tuesday, 40 percent of voters will cast ballots on electronic touch-screens. If you're not worried already about the dangers of paperless voting, this HBO documentary will blow your mind." -- Paragraph quoted from ICH  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

ES&S Opti-Scans Found Miscounting by 4% (8% margin-swing)
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/ES-S-Opti-Scans-Found-Misc-by-Kathy-Dopp-081104-985.html
A quote...."I do not have all the details, but this story needs immediate investigation before calling winners tomorrow in any state using ES&S M-100s to count its votes whenever the reported margin is closer than 8%. -- The paper ballot precinct-based optical scan voting system used in a large proportion of US jurisdictions is producing wildly inaccurate counts of ballots that are off by as much as 4% per precinct - thus altering the vote margin possibly by as much as 8% by shifting votes from one candidate to another."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

URGENT CALL TO PA CITIZENS AND JUDGES OF ELECTIONS
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/URGENT-CALL-TO-PA-CITIZENS-by-Mary-Ann-Gould-081104-7.html
A quote...."We in Pennsylvania will be voting on the highest number of paperless touchscreens in the country.  No way to prove the original intent of the voter, no way to do meaningful recounts.  This is what we must deal with for now  but there are steps within our control."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

END - 2008 VoteWatch - Tuesday Round-Up - 5 Articles [Day 2] ========== ========== ==========

Nearing Impact: A U.S. Debt Crash Course  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-2155-0-13-13--.html
Special Note - A quote...."Over the past decade or so, I have occasionally seen an article - or sometimes a chart - referencing the dollar amount of marginal or “extra” U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that is generated by adding each new dollar of government debt. In other words, with their unique brand of wisdom, the federal government tries to “buy growth with debt”. -- I admit, I haven’t thought much about this topic for a while because I hadn’t seen any good work presented on it until I spotted this article written on October 20th, 2008 by Karl Denninger."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Fitch predicts steepest GDP decline in leading countries  ---  http://www4.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=15087&formato=HTML
A quote...."In its latest Global Economic Outlook, Fitch Ratings predicts that the world’s major advanced economies - US, UK, Euro Zone and Japan - will experience in 2009 the steepest decline in GDP since World War II."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Goldman Sachs: Fund Loses $990m After 10 Months  ---  http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2008/11/04/goldman-sachs-fund-loses-990m-after-10-months/
A quote...."One of Goldman Sachs‘s flagship hedge funds, run by two of the Wall Street bank’s most talented traders, has lost close to $1bn since its launch in January in further evidence of the crisis facing the industry." -- bold by website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Ex-Im Bank chief who oversaw cartel loans now chief investment officer for bailout funds
  ---  http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2008/11/bailout-investments-put-in-hands-of-ex.html
A quote...."The Ex-Im Bank came onto my radar screen last year after a Dallas TV news reporter discovered they were giving loans to Mexican cartel subsidiaries which then defaulted. I haven't paid much attention to multinational banking institutions since I was an economics major in college, but when most of the agency's defaulted loans in one country went to drug-cartel affiliated figures, you don't need an accounting degree to know something's wrong. According to WFAA-TV:"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Over 1 Trillion Dollars Worth of Credit Default Swaps Against Governments
  ---  http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/11/over-1-trillion-dollars-worth-of-credit.html
Special Note - Financial Alert - A quote...."The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation made some information public today about Credit Default Swaps. - There are $33 trillion in CDS still outstanding, even after the Lehman CDS were settled. - Approximately 1.5 trillion of that is CDS concerning "Sovereign / State Bodies", in other words, countries. Some of the countries against which CDS bets are being made, and the amounts of CDS bets, include:...."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Factory orders tumble again  ---  http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4A34SL20081104?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Overall factory orders dropped 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted $432 billion, according to a Commerce Department report. Economists expected a more modest 0.8 percent fall and the sharp drop in orders follows a 4.3 percent plunge in August orders, which was originally reported as a 4 percent decline."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====
U.S. automobile sales plummet to 1983 levels
  ---  http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=b2d6e6b7-149f-47ca-b5b1-882b6530a27c
A quote...."U.S. auto sales plunged near 25-year lows in October, led by a 45 per cent drop at General Motors Corp., with no sign the industry's year-long slump has hit bottom and doubts persisting that all the major automakers can survive."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Consumer bankruptcies soar in October  ---  http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4A35KE20081104
A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - Personal bankruptcy filings soared 40 percent in October and are expected to keep climbing as home values sink and individual debts balloon, the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) said on Tuesday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

France threatens to seize banks, German bail-outs escalate
  ---  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/3374512/France-threatens-to-seize-banks-German-bail-outs-escalate.html
A quote...."The French state has threatened to seize control of the country's banks and fire top staff unless they do their part to stabilise the economy by stepping up lending to companies in need."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Boeing delays first 787 Dreamliner flight - Again!! How about we all just call it Boeing's new "virtual plane"?- mpg
  ---  http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Boeing_delays_first_787_Dreamliner__11042008.html
A quote...."Boeing said Tuesday it will delay the first flight of its 787 Dreamliner because of problems with the installation of fasteners on the passenger plane and a just-ended machinists strike." -- See also....Come Fly the Un-Friendly Skys
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-052207-053107#BOEING
and the articles shown below....
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Monday November 3rd 2008 - links page

Failed States: America and Iraq, Rotted by War Crime
  ---  http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/3/1639-failed-states-america-and-iraq-rotted-by-war-crime.html
Must Read - A quote...."And so the great historical presidential campaign of 2008 is finally at an end. By every reasonable and legitimate measure, Barack Obama will be the winner. But of course "reasonable and legitimate measures" mean little when dealing with deliberately fomented chaos and chicanery of the American electoral process, the laughingstock of the rest of the world, whose people stand in slackjawed amazement as they watch and wait -- in dreadful impotence -- to see which hegemon will emerge from the stormcloud of filth, lies, ambition and money that howls around the campaign trail. -- It has been, as usual, a bizarre, even lunatic experience, completely untethered from reality, obsessed with trivia, gossip and spin, and emptied, again deliberately, of anything resembling substance. Vague hope is offered by one side, vague, wiggly fear by the other. "Change" is the universal mantra, but both sides have fully and unashamedly embraced all the fundamental tenets and practices of the current power structure: militarism, corporatism, authoritarianism."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

No Currency Left to Buy the Big Lies  ---  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-cusack/no-currency-left-to-buy-t_b_140250.html
Must Read - A quote...."Neoconservatives will lie in the weeds and gather forces, the same players in a revolving door. They want back in and if history has proved anything, worshiping the markets is not enough. We must actually kill to feed them. A horrible cross-pollination of fundamentalism, dementia and market fever has turned America into a willing enabler of corporate cannibalism. Nothing else to call it when murder is seen as a legitimate extension of economic policy. Preemptive war is not only justified but openly referred to as a market opportunity. The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must. As we look out at the wreckage -- world economies collapsing, nationalized banks and a complete loss of trust -- we can see the hypocrisy as all are revealed as true socialists on the way down, crying in their scotch and Ambien as they run to the state for cover."  -- Also posted at ICH  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21142.htm
& CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/03-4
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Commentary: They’ve squandered lives, fortunes and our sacred honor  ---  http://www.mcclatchydc.com/256/story/55165.html
Must Read - A quote...." Here’s to the American people, the electorate, for finally coming to their senses and voting for something different, for someone different and for a chance to fix the multitude of man-made disasters that confront us. By their votes, the Republican revolution and all it's wrought — an economic meltdown, two endless wars, class warfare that’s enriched the very rich and beggared everyone else and a treasury bulging only with IOU's — will be crushed. That revolution began to take root with the criminality of Richard Nixon's administration, with its paranoid enemies list. It gathered steam in the time of Ronald Reagan and with Newt Gingrich’s seizure of Congress. To be sure, there have been pauses, first during Jimmy Carter's four years and then during Bill Clinton’s eight, in the GOP's rush to recover — with interest — the presidential power that Nixon lost to a second-rate burglary and assorted other dirty tricks. - bold/underline by website editor -- Also posted at CommonDreams   ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/03-1
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

"From Checks and Balances to Executive Despotism" by Bruce Fein - (Six Vids - aprox 10 min. each)  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/fein-fff.php
Must View Videos -  With a real nifty video auto-load feature. - mpg -- A quote...."On June 8, 2008, Bruce Fein delivered the following speech, "From Checks and Balances to Executive Despotism," to the second Future of Freedom Foundation conference, "Restoring the Republic," held in Reston, Virginia."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Only Nader Is Right on the Issues  ---  http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081103_only_nader_is_right_on_the_issues/
Must Read - A quote...." There is little disagreement among liberals and progressives about the Nader and Obama campaign issues. Nader would win among us in a landslide if this was based on issues. Sen. Barack Obama’s vote to renew the Patriot Act, his votes to continue to fund the Iraq war, his backing of the FISA Reform Act, his craven courting of the Israeli lobby, his support of the death penalty, his refusal to champion universal, single-payer not-for-profit health care for all Americans, his call to increase troop levels and expand the war in Afghanistan, his failure to call for a reduction in the bloated and wasteful defense spending and his lobbying for the huge taxpayer swindle known as the bailout are repugnant to most of us on the left. Nader stands on the other side of all those issues. - So if the argument is not about issues what is it about? " -- See also the other choices -- top left hand column. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

An Open Letter to Barack Obama - Between Hope and Reality  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21143.htm
A quote...."In your nearly two-year presidential campaign, the words "hope and change," "change and hope" have been your trademark declarations. Yet there is an asymmetry between those objectives and your political character that succumbs to contrary centers of power that want not "hope and change" but the continuation of the power-entrenched status quo. -- Far more than Senator McCain, you have received enormous, unprecedented contributions from corporate interests, Wall Street interests and, most interestingly, big corporate law firm attorneys. Never before has a Democratic nominee for President achieved this supremacy over his Republican counterpart. Why, apart from your unconditional vote for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, are these large corporate interests investing so much in Senator Obama?" -- *Ralph Nader* -- Also posted at CounterPunch  ---  http://counterpunch.org/nader11032008.html
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

The Limits of Change - What to expect from the Obama administration on the foreign policy front  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=13709
Related Article - A quote...."As I write this, we are 24 hours away from the end of this seemingly endless presidential campaign, and all the signs point to a victory – some would say an overwhelming victory – by Barack Obama. I won't make any predictions here, what with the Bradley Effect and other unknowns – including the possibility of a "hanging chad"-like situation – but, given the polls, it's incumbent on me to give my readers an indication of what to expect from an Obama administration in the foreign policy department, and this is undoubtedly reflected in the personnel he'll assemble on his foreign policy team."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

How Much Do the Differences Between Obama and Bush Really Matter?  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/180116
A quote...."Like a lot of people, I think it would be nice to have a president who can speak in complete sentences, has lived abroad, admits to having smoked pot, and is also African American. I recognize that these are just personal qualities that appeal to some, alarm or disgust others, and have at best symbolic bearing on the political substance of an Obama/Biden presidency. Like a lot of people, I can not even bear to look at or listen to Bush, with his sneering, sniggering, blue blooded swagger. But whether it's the egregious Bush/Cheney, the geriatric, belligerent, God-fearing McCain/ Pain, or the establishment-favorite Obama/Biden team in charge, I see that these people are largely figureheads at the prow of a lurching ship. Or to choose a more apt metaphor for this most expensive campaign in history, Obama/Biden are the label glued to a product called "America." [the New Roman Empire]
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Top Obama Adviser Has Long Ties to Neocons  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/orig/flynn.php?articleid=13710
Special Note - Related Article - A quote...."With the 2008 presidential campaign at its end, pundits have begun to discuss in earnest what expected winner Barack Obama's administration might look like. An important piece of evidence is Obama's campaign team, which largely escaped the harsh scrutiny that his opponent's lobbyist-laden team received." -- Also posted at WarInIraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/180081
& BLN  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-2134-0-15-15--.html
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Trying to find something positive in the US elections to no avail  ---  http://www.chycho.com/?q=node/1881
Contains Multiple Videos - A quote...."I have tried to find significant differences between the two presidential candidates in the United States, but the differences I have found are inconsequential relative to what is needed to bring about a real change, so the best I can do is  repost a previous article which outlines some of my main concerns."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Nowhere man: a farewell to Dubya, all-time loser in presidential history  ---  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/03/george-bush-legacy-dubya
A quote...."Forgotten but not gone" was the way in which the supremo of Boston politics, Billy Bulger, liked to dismiss the human irritants he had crushed beneath his trim boot. The same could now be said for the hapless 43rd President of the United States as the daylight draws mercifully in on his reign of misfortune and calamity. How is he bearing up, one wonders, as the candidate from his own party treats him as the carrier of some sort of infectious political disease? How telling was it that the most impassioned moment in John McCain's performance in the final debate was when he declared: "I am not George Bush."
Also posted at CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/03-3
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Foreclosed - The George W. Bush Story  ---  http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174997/the_end_of_a_subprime_administration
A quote...."They may have been the most disastrous dreamers, the most reckless gamblers, and the most vigorous imperial hucksters and grifters in our history. Selling was their passion. And they were classic American salesmen -- if you're talking about underwater land in Florida, or the Brooklyn Bridge, or three-card monte, or bizarre visions of Iraqi unmanned aerial vehicles armed with chemical and biological weaponry let loose over the U.S., or Saddam Hussein's mushroom clouds rising over American cities, or a full-scale reordering of the Middle East to our taste, or simply eternal global dominance."
Also posted at CommonDreams   ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/03
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Senior Corporate Executives Warned to Leave N.Y. on 9/11: Source
  ---  http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/articles/2008/11/03/senior_executives_warned_911.htm
Special Note - A quote...."Foreign Policy Journal has learned that senior executives of a major U.S. international corporation may have been warned to leave New York on September 11, 2001. -- According to an inside source, one of the senior executives of the corporation told him beforehand that “something big” was going to occur and so other corporate executives would be travelling out of New York."
Also posted at InfoWars  ---  http://www.prisonplanet.com/ex-cia-man-warned-top-executives-to-leave-new-york-on-911.html
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

On the Bus With Willie: ‘Hell yeah there’s a reason to investigate 9/11′  ---  http://www.jonesreport.com/article/10_08/29willie.html
Contains Vidoes - A quote...."Authorities would destroy evidence and cover-up truth only if it were concealing the real crime"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Scientists Slam FBI Anthrax Probe  ---  http://www.nypost.com/seven/11022008/news/nationalnews/scientist_slam_fbi_thrax_probe_in_bid_to_136476.htm
Special Note - A quote...."It was an open-and-shut case, the FBI said. -- But three months after agents pinned the post-9/11 anthrax mailings on Army scientist Bruce Ivins - who committed suicide as the FBI closed in on him - his former colleagues have approached a lawyer to sue the feds for fingering the wrong man, The Post has learned."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Mercenary Firm Offers to 'Detain Troublemakers' on Election Day (Updated)  ---  http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/11/spooky-defense.html
Special Note - A quote...."CIA-linked private military contractor Evergreen Defense & Security Services offered to post sentries at Oregon election offices on Tuesday, "detaining troublemakers" and making sure voters "do not get out of control."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Bush administration denies funding for FBI probe of mortgage mess Many more agents needed, official says
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/linkframe.php?linkid=74371
A quote...."The Bush administration is rejecting FBI pleas for more agents to investigate crimes that helped trigger the global financial meltdown, bureau sources said this week."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Judge tells White House to release wiretapping docs  ---  http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=440104
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration must give to a federal court documents related to government wiretapping of domestic communications without a warrant after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a recent court order."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Annals of Crony Capitalism: Nuke Detection Machines Fail, Again  ---  http://antifascist-calling.blogspot.com/2008/11/annals-of-crony-capitalism-nuke.html
A quote...."You've got to hand it to the Bush administration. No matter how pitifully their "homeland security" projects perform, money talks. - Back in June, I reported on one such pet project under development by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): the Advanced Spectroscopic Portal (ASP)."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

2008 VoteWatch - Monday Round-Up - 8 Articles [Day 1] ========== ========== ========== ====

McCain Rep Admits No Instances of Voter Fraud [regarding ACORN's registration forms]  ---  http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6609
Special Note - A quote...."A devastating article on Sunday destroys the GOP's claims of "voter fraud" as a member of McCain's own (amusingly named) "Honest and Open Election Committee" has admitted that Republicans are unable to cite a single "documented instance of voting fraud that resulted from a phony registration form."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Judge Refuses to Extend Voting Hours in Virginia   ---  http://www.wtvr.com/Global/story.asp?S=9285834
A quote...."03 Nov 2008 The Associated Press is reporting that a Judge has refused to order longer voting hours and reallocation of voting machines in Virginia. Last week the NAACP filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth and Governor Tim Kaine saying the state was not prepared for Tuesday's election. It said that there were not enough voting machines for areas that predominately served African-American voters. It also asked the governor to extend voting hours from 7pm to 10pm. The ruling from the judge today means that hours will remain the same and no additional machines will be added to five precincts named in the suit. -- Paragraph quoted from CLG  ---  http://www.legitgov.org/
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Voting Lines Stretch To Eight Hours  ---  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/03/voting-lines-stretch-to-e_n_140401.html
A quote...."Early voting has reached record numbers this year. Including absentee ballots, 27 million people have already voted. That's in spite of lines that stretch on for hours. -- "Six hours is ridiculous in terms of waiting in line," one Ohio voter told CNN. "I still haven't had an opportunity to vote," said a Florida reader after waiting in line for three hours. "It seems crazy."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Fulton, Clayton Election Boards Nix Longer Voting Hours  ---  http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=123103
A quote...."ATLANTA -- Fulton and Clayton County elections officials decided against asking for federal permission to extend voting hours on Election Day. - The counties considered whether to ask for expanded hours because of the heavy turnout in early and advance voting."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

FL GOP Promises No "Frivolous" Voter Challenges in Legal Truce with Dems - So they say. - mpg
  ---  http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/fl_gop_promises_no_frivolous_v.php
A quote...."Specters of the 2000 election have risen in Florida, with Democrats and Republicans engaging in legal wrangling just days before Election Day."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Steal Back Your Vote  ---  http://www.gregpalast.com/steal-back-your-vote/
A quote...."A lot of advice we're getting from our progressive friends is to take photos of your ballot and silly stuff like that. Well, that's all about how to complain after they steal it. I have a better idea: Win, don't whine. -- #1: Gang Vote -- #2: Tell Them to Take Their Provisional Ballot and ... -- #3: Get to Work"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

POLITICS-US:  Vote-Flipping Reported on E-Voting Machines  ---  http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44559
A quote...."CHARLESTON, West Virginia, Nov 3 (IPS) - Several U.S. citizens reported watching their votes flip on electronic voting machines in different states during the early voting period, highlighting the continued vulnerability of "e-voting" systems, which about 50 million U.S. citizens will use on Tuesday, despite problems since as early as 2004."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Poll Porn: The Final Numbers  ---  http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/18420
Final Poll Numbers - Special Note - A quote...."Of course, these numbers won't mean sh-t if you people don't get out there and work your asses off between now and tomorrow night. -- Leave it all out there on the field (or the court, or the diamond, or the road - whatever sports metaphor works best for you)." -- These numbers, along with the exit polls, should be used as a check against election fraud.  If these numbers, especially the exit polls, differ substantially from the actual vote count, it would mean without any shadow of a doubt that election fraud took place. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

END - 2008 VoteWatch - Monday Round-Up - 8 Articles [Day 1] ========== ========== ==========

Landslide UN vote in favour of Arms Trade Treaty  ---  http://www.gnn.tv/headlines/18695/Landslide_UN_vote_in_favour_of_Arms_Trade_Treaty
A quote...."Today 147 states at the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to move forward with work on an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The Control Arms campaign, which represents millions of campaigners around the world welcomed the vote but called for more urgency from states to advance the process quickly and ensure a strong Treaty with human rights and development at its heart." -- "Only Zimbabwe and the U.S. voted against treaty" - bold by website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

U.S. Is Funding Iranian Nuclear Program  ---  http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/11/us-is-funding-iranian-nuclear-program.html
A quote...."The U.S. is literally funding Iranian nuclear capabilities. -- As CNN reports, the U.S. state department has given millions of dollars to two Russian institutes which, in turn, are directly helping to ramp up Iran's nuke capacity at Bushehr and other facilities." -- For more on this issue see....US - Nukes for Everyone  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/nukesforeveryone-weblist-mpg-010608
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

A strike against 'Iranophobia'  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JK04Ak03.html
Special Note - A quote...."On the eve of the United States presidential elections, a landmark visit to Tehran by the head of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been widely regarded in the Persian Gulf region as a major diplomatic overture toward Tehran by the US-backed oil sheikdoms. -- Nearly one year after President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's landmark attendance at the GCC summit in Doha in December 2007, where he proposed a "new chapter of cooperation" between Iran and the GCC states - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - the latter have finally set aside their various misgivings and decided to take up Ahmadinejad's proposals on economic, political and security domains."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

The United States of ... Canada  ---  http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9932.shtml
A quote...."People around the world, including those in the Middle East, may have paid little attention to Canada's parliamentary elections on 14 October. This should come as no surprise, as Canadians themselves seemed more interested in the developments of the presidential race for the White House south of the border. Besides, the Canadian election brought little change to the makeup of parliament. The Conservatives maintained their lead and formed a minority government while the Liberals lost more seats. -- But preserving the status quo and the virtual absence of foreign policy as a topic of public debate in the run up to the vote reinforces the transformation in Canada's geopolitical role in relation to the Middle East. And this must be of extra concern today." -- For more on this issue see....White Man's Burden - 12-20-06 - mpg  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/whitemansburden-blog-mpg-122006.html
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Robert Fisk’s World: Arabs have to rely on Britain and Israel for their history
  ---  http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fiskrsquos-world-arabs-have-to-rely-on-britain-and-israel-for-their-history-981765.html
Special Note - It’s a truism "that it's the victors who write history", but as this article poignantly reveals, it's also true that whatever that history may be, whatever the facts turn out to be, it's essential that all peoples record them and make them publicly available -- else no one will ever know the whole truth and as the article points out if you don't record your own "history", it may be written for your....even by your mortal enemy. - mpg -- A quote...."There is no Public Record Office in the Arab World, no National Archive -- In Damascus, a massive statue of the late President Hafez al-Assad sits on a mighty iron chair outside the 22,000sq m Assad Library, a giant book open in his right hand. -- Behind him lie the archives of his dictatorship. But not a single state paper is open to the people of Syria. There are no archives from the foreign ministry or the interior ministry or the defence ministry. There is no 30-year rule – for none is necessary. The rule is for ever. There is no Public Record Office in the Arab world, no scholars waiting outside the National Archives."
Also posted at ICH  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21139.htm
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

US carries out more airstrikes in Pakistan  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2008/nov2008/paki-n03.shtml
A quote...."In open contempt of the repeated protests by the Pakistani government, the US military carried out another two air strikes on October 31 against houses inside Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Agencies (FATA), killing at least 27 people."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Pakistan warns Petraeus against missile strikes  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/180072
A quote...."AP foreign, Monday November 3 2008 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's defense minister warns the new head of U.S. Central Command that missile strikes on its territory only stir up more anti-U.S. feelings. -- American General David Petraeus is in Pakistan on his first international trip since taking over. -- The defense minister told Petraeus, Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher and others in their entourage that the missile strikes from drones "create outrage and uproar among the people."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Report: Turkey Promises to Play Role in Stopping US Attacks Into Pakistan
  ---  http://news.antiwar.com/2008/11/02/report-turkey-promises-to-play-role-in-stopping-us-attacks-into-pakistan/
Special Note - A quote...."Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Parvez Kayani is being rushed to Turkey this evening for a meeting with Turkish government officials hot on the heels of Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani’s talks with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. The meeting appears to be the first step toward Turkish involvement in pressing the United States to halt its air strikes against targets inside Pakistan." - bold by website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

More treachery at Guantanamo  ---  http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=5&article_id=97336
A quote...."For many of the prisoners at Guantanamo, the forthcoming US presidential election holds little promise of change. Although both Barack Obama and John McCain have pledged to close Guantanamo, the problem for at least 50 of the 261 prisoners still held at the prison is not that the US government is unwilling to release them, but that there is nowhere for them to go." -- Also posted at CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/03-6
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Taliban to US: There is nothing to talk about
  ---  http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/news/international/taliban-to-us-there-is-nothing-to-talk-about-.aspx
A quote...."New York, Nov. 3: Refusing any peace talk with America, a top-ranking Taliban commander has said that his group has waged war against the US-led forces to create an Islamic state in Afghanistan and to bring Shariat law back to the country, a media report said on Monday." -- On the other hand.... mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Pakistani Taliban Denies al-Qaeda Ties, Calls for Peace  ---  http://news.antiwar.com/2008/11/02/pakistani-taliban-denies-al-qaeda-ties-calls-for-peace/
Related Article - A quote...."Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Maulvi Omar denied today that his organization has any ties with al-Qaeda, and reiterated his call for peace talks, saying the TTP was sincere about peace with the government, and any attempt to resolve the issues by force would prove fruitless."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Feature: Iraqis say "Whoever next U.S. president would be, we want peace"  ---  http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/03/content_10296722.htm
A quote...."BAGHDAD, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- As final hours are coming for the Americans to decide who will be the next president, Iraqis said no matter whom the next U.S. president would be, they want the United States to pull out its troops and they want peace."
Also posted at WarInIraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/180030
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

MP: Ayatollah's SOFA conditions not met  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=74204&sectionid=351020201
A quote...."An Iraqi lawmaker says none of the conditions set by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani for signing the US-Iraq security pact have been met."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

US attack on Syria 'sign of despair'  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=74229&sectionid=351020101
A quote...."Iran's Manouchehr Mottaki says the recent US raid on Syria is an obvious manifestation of Washington's desperation rather than a show of might."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Iraq plans to cut Sunni fighters' salaries  ---  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-iraq-sons_slynov03,0,827146.story
A quote...."BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government plans to cut salaries for the estimated 100,000 members of the Awakening movement whose revolt against Al Qaeda in Iraq played a key role in bringing about the sharp fall in violence in Iraq. -- The move is certain to aggravate building tensions between the Sunni volunteer force and the Shiite-led government, which assumed responsibility for the Awakening movement from the U.S. military earlier this month." -- Keep in mind it was the US that started this program, it was the US, that until quite recently, was the one funding it, and as stated in the article the US will NOT be making up the short fall. This is not going to be good for anybody in Iraq. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

No US bases in northern Iraq without Baghdad nod: Talabani  ---  http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081103/wl_mideast_afp/iraqusmilitarykurdstalabani
A quote...."BAGHDAD (AFP) – Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has said that American troops can set up bases in northern Iraq's Kurdish region only if the Shiite-led government in Baghdad gives its approval."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Media Silent On Evidence Of Israeli Targeting Of Youngsters  ---  http://www.creative-i.info/?p=1899
A quote...."MEDIA LENS: Correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media -- On the afternoon of Thursday 28 February, 2008, a group of Palestinian boys were playing football on some open ground near their homes in the Gaza Strip. At around 3.20pm, an Israeli aircraft fired a missile at the boys, killing four of them instantly and seriously injuring another three. The four dead boys were Omar Hussein Dardouna, aged 14, Dardouna Deib Dardouna, aged 12, Mohammed Na’im Hammouda, aged 9, and Ali Munir Dardouna who was just 8."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Israeli industrial zones using West Bank as chemical dump  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m48504&s1=h1
A quote...."Hebron / PNN / Radio Dream – The Israeli administration has buried more than 50 percent, or three million tons, of its nuclear and chemical waste in the occupied West Bank."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Who Is Rashid Khalidi?  ---  http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_3953.shtml
A quote...."The Jews of Europe were jumping out of a burning building, and no one can blame them for doing so. But they landed on other people. They landed on the Palestinians, and for that the Jews have to right their wrong.” -- *Rashid Khalidi*
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

India: N[uke]. Deal with US No Hurdle for Importing Iranian Gas  ---  http://www.farsnews.com/English/newstext.php?nn=8708131523
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said in Tehran that India's nuclear deal with the United States will in no way adversely impact a project to import Iranian gas via Pakistan."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Venezuela Books 10.251B Barrels More in Oil Reserves
  ---  http://www.tbpetroleum.com.br/news/see/id/13719/titulo/venezuela-books-10251b-barrels-more-in-oil-reserves
Yes, but Iraq's crude is so much "sweeter", especially when you've added so much blood to it. - mpg -- A quote...."Venezuela said Wednesday it was adding 10.251 billion barrels of crude to its national reserves as part of an ongoing review of its hydrocarbon reserves. -- With this increase, the oil-rich country's total reserves now amount to 152.561 billion, making Venezuela the country with the second largest crude reserves, the Venezuelan oil ministry said in a statement." -- Also posted at WarInIraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/179968
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Gazprom to start exploratory gas drilling in Venezuela  ---  http://en.rian.ru/world/20081102/118098980.html
A quote...."MEXICO CITY, November 2 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian floating platform will start to drill deep test wells on November 7 to prospect natural gas fields in the Gulf of Venezuela, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Czech opposition demands top court examine U.S. missile deal  ---  http://en.rian.ru/world/20081103/118109939.html
A quote...."MOSCOW, November 3 (RIA Novosti) - The Czech opposition Social Democratic Party demanded on Monday that the Constitutional Court examine the legality of agreements signed with the United States on deploying an anti-missile radar in the country."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Fears of new war rise around separatist Abkhazia  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/180022
A quote...."The crackle of gunfire at night makes sleep all but impossible along Georgia's border with separatist Abkhazia, feeding the fears of so many here that the war they hoped was over may be erupting anew."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Russia decries Georgian military buildup  ---  http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/11/01/Russia_decries_Georgian_military_buildup/UPI-62961225584341/
South Osetia/Abkhazia War #II Warning - A quote...."MOSCOW, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Russia's permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Georgia has deployed troops along its border."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Medvedev to raise Caucasus crisis in state of nation address  ---  http://en.rian.ru/world/20081103/118108664.html
A quote...."MOSCOW, November 3 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will speak about the situation in the Caucasus in his state of the nation address next Wednesday."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Russians With Pumpkins Protest Many U.S. Plots
  ---  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/world/europe/03moscow.html?_r=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin
Special Note - A quote...."MOSCOW — Thousands of Russians from the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi gathered in front of the United States Embassy here on Sunday night carrying jack-o’-lanterns inked with the names of war victims and charging that the war in Georgia was part of an American plot to improve Senator John McCain’s electoral prospects."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Scared Ossetians flee Georgia  ---  http://www.russiatoday.com/ossetianwar/news/32806
A quote...."Ethnic Ossetians are leaving Georgia in search of somewhere to live in South Ossetia. Refugees claim they're being forced out of their homes and villages in Georgia, where most of them have spent all their lives."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Moscow Removes Ingushetia President  ---  http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20081102/wl_time/moscowremovesingushetiapresident  ---  Thank God. - mpg
A quote...."Spontaneous dancing broke out in the streets Thursday night in the tiny Russian republic of Ingushetia, which borders the troubled Chechnya region. The reason for the celebration was that Moscow had accepted the "voluntary resignation" of Ingush President Murat Zyazikov. No part of the Russian Caucasus today has a political situation hotter than Ingushetia's, and no leader in the volatile region has been less effective and more embattled than Zyazikov."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Russia, Libya sign civil nuclear deal as Kadhafi visits: Tripoli  ---  http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iP8B8z0rZn9fFoX6wOrd1iR180Kw
A quote...."MOSCOW (AFP) — Libya and Russia signed a civil nuclear cooperation deal Saturday, Tripoli's foreign minister said, as Moamer Kadhafi visited Moscow for talks he said could help restore "geopolitical equilibrium"."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Russia negotiates a naval base in Libya  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10784
A quote...."The Kommersant, a Russian business daily, reported last Friday that Libya is willing to host a Russian naval base as a means of security against any possible U.S. attack. The newspaper also cited that the Libyan leader was planning to raise the naval base issue during talks with the Russian leadership during his visit  on October 31st to November 2nd."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Russian navy to hold war games in Indian Ocean  ---  http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=144351
A quote...."MOSCOW: The Russian navy will hold war games in the Indian Ocean in a bid to boost its global presence, a navy spokesman said on Saturday, announcing Moscow’s latest move to flex its military muscle."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Thank You US Tax Payers Says AIG with Hunting Party
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/Thank-You-US-Tax-Payers-Sa-by-Martha-Rosenberg-081102-809.html
A quote...."Like Enron, no one had ever heard of insurance monolith AIG until it was making headlines by ruining the economy. Like Enron, AIG used off balance sheet sleight of hand to goose counterparty profits and disguise a house of cards. But unlike Enron, AIG principals didn't go to jail. They got $122 billion of US tax payer money because they were "too big to fail." -- And it didn't hurt that if AIG went down, they would have taken Goldman Sachs with them....for more on that issue see....AIG, Goldman Sachs, Paulson And Buffet  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-092408-093008#AIG
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Central Banking and Credit Quality  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff237.html
A quote...."There are many very serious economic negatives of a central bank that supporters of central banks ignore. Instead, they argue that the central bank is a good institution because it helps to remedy recessions. That argument is highly misleading. The central bank can and does stimulate economic activity at times, but in doing so, it creates booms, bubbles, inflation, mal-investment, and the subsequent depressions. It is as if a doctor gave amphetamines to a patient who wanted to stay awake for the next 72 hours. The patient goes hyperactive for a while before suddenly dropping dead. "
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

China, Russia, Belarus renounce the US Dollar?  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10793
Related Article - A quote...."Marinchenko is convinced of a beneficial impact. According to Marinchenko, once the ruble is recognized as a settlement unit, it will enjoy growing demand with Chinese companies and individuals. The Russian currency will consequently grow stronger and more influential globally. -- Russia will also become immune to many shocks from stock market meltdowns and won't have to fear future devaluation or revaluation of the ruble. It will happen because the role of the U.S. dollar, which has earned a reputation as an unstable and unreliable currency lately, will be much less important.
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Strong dollar, stamina in doubt  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/JK04Dj09.html
A quote...."The US dollar as measured against six major world currencies has appreciated about 19% during the past three months through end-October. In particular, the US dollar index stands at 85, up from a recent low of 71.3. This trend reversal takes the dollar's valuation back to levels not seen since October 2006 and represents nearly a 38.2% retracement from its index peak of 120 in January 2002; by any measure a significant move and one largely unexpected by the financial markets both in terms of its timing, speed and magnitude. -- What has caused this abrupt appreciation of the dollar during the past quarter and what can we expect over the next 12-24 months? There are both fundamental and technical reasons that have been US-dollar supportive in the past several months."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

The Shocks Continue : Currency Crisis and Emerging Market Collapses
  ---  http://www.sott.net/articles/show/168457-The-Shocks-Continue-Currency-Crisis-and-Emerging-Market-Collapses
A quote...."On both sides of the Atlantic there is incredulity at the gall of bankers. Goldman Sachs is reported to have set aside $7 billion for bonuses having received $6 billion from the federal government in bailout funds; while The Royal Bank of Scotland is scheduled to pay out a much more modest $2.9 billion equivalent. -- The age old argument that bonuses have to be paid to keep people from walking has of course been trotted out. In the current atmosphere, it might be said that bankers are lucky not to be walking the plank let alone getting a bonus. Indeed, in any just society many of them would be in jail already." - Amen to that. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

So Goes the Nation?  ---  http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/11/so-goes-nation.html
Full quote...."There's an old saying: "As GM goes, so goes the nation".
  ---  http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/gm-goes-so-goes-nation/story.aspx?guid=%7BAFC4DF26-21C6-40FE-AB92-EBE96B855878%7D  ---  Well, GM is in big trouble. Its sales are down 45%
  ---  http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/GM-US-October-light-vehicle/story.aspx?guid=%7BB3B3BAAA-9484-49FE-BC56-004FC59BA9F6%7D  ---  since last year. It has been shut out of the bond market for the fifth month straight. Indeed, GM may go belly up.
  ---  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=agqkU7To5lzM&refer=home  ---  The "Baltic Dry Index" is widely believed to be a proxy for the health of the overall economy. The Baltic Dry is down 90% since May.
  ---  http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/10/baltic-dry-index-continues-to-fall-now.html  ---  They said Lehman - like the U.S. itself - was "too big to fail".
  ---  http://www.google.com/search?q=lehman+too+big+to+fail&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a   ---  Lehman failed. -- As GM, the Baltic Dry Index and Lehman go . . . so goes the nation?"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

U.S. rejects GM's call for help in a merger -- Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. - mpg
  ---  http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/03/business/03gm.php
Related Article - A quote...."DETROIT: The Treasury Department has turned down a request by General Motors for up to $10 billion to help finance the automaker's possible merger with Chrysler, according to people close to the discussions."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Despite Taxpayer Bailout, Fed Says Banks Tighten Loan Standards Most on Record
  ---  http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/11/despite-taxpayer-bailout-fed-says-banks.html
A quote...."As you probably know, banks are spending taxpayer bailout money to pay executive bonuses, distribute dividends to shareholders, and - with the government's assistance - to buy out their competitors. -- You've probably also heard that the banks themselves admit they'll keep hoarding cash. -- Now, according to the Fed, even after being handed hundreds of billions in taxpayer loot, the banks have tightened loan standards the most on record."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Manufacturing activity at 26-year low  ---  http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/03/news/economy/ISM_October/
A quote...."NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A key index of the nation's manufacturing activity fell to a 26-year low, sliding into recession territory, according to a purchasing managers group."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Manufacturing screeching to a halt -- Commentary: Plunging demand for U.S. exports kicks out last support
  ---  http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/manufacturing-screeching-halt/story.aspx?guid=%7B5A621364-678F-444A-BCEA-2AEB827BD3F7%7D
Related Article - A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- In the clearest evidence yet that the economy has fallen into a deep recession, U.S. manufacturing firms are offering their grimmest views on the economy since the early 1980s. -- Not only is domestic demand still weakening significantly, but export growth has ground to a halt, according to the highly regarded Institute for Supply Management index released Monday. See full story." -- bold by website editor. -- The dollar is screaming upward (who knows why at this point) and everybody we could export to currently has their economies contracting due to their own recessions, so much for "exporting" our way out of our own. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Brown's £17,000 tax raid on EVERY private pension... as value of cushy public sector schemes soars to £1trillion
  ---  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1082511/Browns-17-000-tax-raid-EVERY-private-pension--value-cushy-public-sector-schemes-soars-1trillion.html
A quote...."Gordon Brown's tax raid on pension funds has snatched £17,000 from every worker's retirement pot, research says today. Yet the value of public sector schemes - funded by taxpayers - has soared to an astonishing £1trillion. Opposition MPs, business chiefs and campaigners demanded an investigation into the growing 'pensions apartheid'." -- Also posted at BLN  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-2131-0-13-13--.html
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Sunday November 2nd 2008 - links page

Saturday November 1st 2008  -links page

“…the realities of a New World Order.”: Joe Biden -- http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/the-realities-of-a-new-world-order%E2%80%9D-joe-biden/
Special Note - A quote...."(So you don’t think Obama and Biden are Globalists, huh? “…this is a new Democratic Party not the party of the 70s and 80s. This is a party that has adjusted to the realities of a new world order…I think there is going to be a collaborative effort to make the 21st century an American century.” -- *Joe Biden.*)" -- For more on this issue see....A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the New American Century - 10-31-08 - mpg  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/afunnythinghappenedonthewaytothenac-mpg-reficultnias-103108
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Barack Obama warned that terror attacks could soon test mettle
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/3363229/Barack-Obama-warned-that-terror-attacks-could-soon-test-mettle.html
False Flag Warning - A quote...."Barack Obama has been warned by intelligence officials that terrorists will attack US targets or a friendly state such as Britain or Israel to test his mettle if elected." -- For more on this issue see....They're Going to do "It" Again
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-102208-102808#DOITAGAIN
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Robert Gates shows nuclear impatience  ---  http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20081101/118086970.html
Special Note - A quote...."MOSCOW. (Nikita Petrov for RIA Novosti) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is all for a resumption of nuclear tests. In a key speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, he said the U.S. could not maintain deterrence, reduce arms or modernize them without tests." -- Trick or Treat!  There goes the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which will soon be going bye-bye under "Bombs Away O-bomb-a's" reign.  That didn't take very long did it folks?  He's not even elected yet and already everyone can see the signs of things to come. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

"IRAQ: Market in ruins after bulldozers move in  ---  http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/crushing-democracy-and-the-free-market-in-iraq/
The New Roman Empire, doing its "level" best, or as Thomas Friedman used to say...."it's a flat world" (and getting flatter all the time). - mpg -- A quote...."(Further expanding on the Israeli model of the Gazafication of Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi forces are now taking to using Caterpillar Bulldozers to level whatever pops-up in another person’s country that they don’t like. With unemployment somewhere around 40-50% in certain areas of Iraq, and the walls cutting off all trade and commerce that the US doesnt’ approve of and “tax”, people of Iraq have taken to setting up open air markets to buy and sell goods needed for everyday life. The working poor of Iraq depend on these markets just to get by. And so, of course, with the US military providing security, the Iraqi military is crushing these markets as quickly as they can. This is beyond fascism; it shows an underlying contempt, a hatred, for the people at large by the “elected” Iraqi government, as expressed in the following article."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Those Poor Starving Little Muslims
11-01-08
mpg

Millions of Afghans Face Starvation  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/179969
Some quotes...."With a combination of a summer drought, poor irrigation and rising global food prices, a famine is unveiling in Afghanistan with third of Afghans are suffering chronic food insecurity, a British think-tank warned on Friday, October 31. -- "While the eyes of the world have focused on violence which is increasingly terrorist in character, an estimated 8.4 million Afghans, perhaps a third of the nation, are now suffering from 'chronic and transitory food insecurity'," Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) analyst Paul Smyth said in a press briefing on its website." -- "British charity Oxfam warned earlier this year that around five million Afghans are facing food shortages. "

Isn't that nice, Oxfam is there to help "those poor starving little Muslims".  Here's a suggestion, why don't the Brits and the NRE stop bombing and killing everyone in sight?  How about that idea?

This whole thing is sort of like taking your SUV and repeatedly running over some poor pedestrian, again, and again, and again.  Than after exiting your vehicle and viewing the horrible carnage you've caused, you proceed to exclaim as loudly as you can to everyone who can hear you, "My goodness gracious how did this terrible tragedy happen".  You than pick up the poor pedestrian, stuff him into your trunk, take him to the local hospital - which you happen to own – very publicly pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for saving the "poor sod"....than you send him the bill for services rendered.

And when he can't pay up....you put him in jail.  This is what passes nowadays as help for the so-called third world.  It's not funny or amusing anymore, perhaps people in the "Anglo-American West" should just stop causing all the problems in the first place. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

British commander in Afghanistan quits - source  ---  http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=439268
A quote...." LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - A commander of Britain's elite special forces in Afghanistan has resigned, a defence source said on Saturday, declining to give further details. - Major Sebastian Morley, a reservist commander with the Special Air Service (SAS), blamed a chronic lack of investment in equipment for the deaths of some of his soldiers, according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper."

These types of Generals should just get a grip on themselves and stop being so overly concerned for their expendable personnel, why are they always complaining about the easily replaceable and ridiculously inexpensive biological portions of their nation's weapons systems.  The grunts in the field are simply "war products" on loan to the US's MIOC elites per agreement so this General's betters in the British establishment can get a bigger cut of any future Iraqi oil contracts.  The General should just change his perspective, look at the "big picture" and get on board the gravy train like so many of his American contemporaries have. - mpg  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/nytarticlethehiddenhand-weblist-mpg-042008
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Thirty Years Too Late: The Implosion of John McCain and the Demise of the Regressive Right  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/01-1
Great satire. - mpg  -- A quote...."There are lots of good explanations for why John McCain is rapidly swirling down the toilet bowl into the sewer of political ignominy, but my all-time favorite was just published in the New York Times Magazine this week."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Coming Soon: Congress Is Back With 'Stimulus-2'  ---  http://www.cnbc.com/id/27452818
Here's some more satire. - mpg -- A quote...."Washington, taking a page out of Hollywood, looks set to release Stimulus 2, the sequel. -- And unhappy, tapped-out taxpayers—aka voters—may get a sneak preview of the second fiscal package as soon as next week if lawmakers return to Washington for a lame-duck session under the eye of a newly elected President. -- Critics and supporters alike, however, should hope that the next fiscal stimulus package is more of a commercial success than its predecessor, lest another big-budget flop be tacked on to the ever-growing federal debt."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Nightmares of Financial Misery  ---  http://www.dailyreckoning.com/Writers/Mogambo/DREssays/MG103108.html
And more - mpg -- A quote...."10-31-2008 -- Almost a trillion dollars of new credit in 6 weeks! Gaaaahhhh! My hands now mysteriously clenched into Mogambo Fists Of Outrage (MFOO), I am forced to clutch a pencil between my teeth and try to laboriously calculate that if $1,803 billion in Federal Reserve credit is up $915 billion in 6 weeks, then the percentage change is, ummm, wait a minute, ummm, carry the one, ummmm, well, the percentage change is, ummm, well, who the hell cares what the damned stupid exact percentage is when you can just freaking LOOK at the problem to see that TFC has about doubled? Yow! A 100% gain! In 6 weeks!"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Dollar Bill On Floor Sends Wall Street Into Frenzy  ---  http://www.theonion.com/content/news/dollar_bill_on_floor_sends_wall
And even more. - mpg -- A quote...."NEW YORK—Wall Street investors experienced a sudden surge in optimism Tuesday when, after six tumultuous weeks that saw record drops in the Dow Jones industrial average, a $1 bill was spotted on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. -- The dollar bill was discovered in the northwest corner of the trading floor at approximately 12:05 p.m., and its condition was reported as "crinkled, but real." Word of the tangible denomination of U.S. currency spread quickly across the NYSE, sending traders into a frenzied rush of shouting, arm-flailing, hooting, hollering, and, according to eyewitnesses, at least one dog pile."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Friday October 31st 2008 - links page

Making Excuses for Obama: or The Mythology of Good Intentions  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=13698
Must Read - A quote...."Every time I write about Barack Obama I get a lot of letters, and the most typical goes something like this:"


"This is an amalgam, but true to the spirit of the many pro-Obama missives I've received. They express a sentiment that is very widespread, so much so that it doesn't seem to matter, much, what Obama says he's going to do, because, in any case, his fans and supporters will simply insist on projecting their own hopes, desires, and views onto him."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

The Greatest Story Ever Told 2  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Greatest-Story-Ever-To-by-Philip-Wood-081031-180.html
A quote...."On the face of it Barack Obama's Grand Infomercial was all about America's future under the guidance of Barack Obama.  It didn't overtly compare this to an America with McCain/Palin at the helm, and it certainly made no reference or comparison to Ralph Nader.  Yet in a very real sense, this one and a half million dollar political ad epitomizes the old saw that says you can't judge a book by its cover.  For anyone who bothers to peal back the wrapping and brush aside the glitter, the truth is there for everyone to see." - Trick or treat America....you're gonna be tricked. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Obama begins to “lower expectations” for a Democratic White House  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2008/nov2008/obam-n01.shtml
Just ten or twenty more shoes to go....than comes the boots, the hip-waders, NASA's space suits with boots attached, Paul Bunion’s boots, than the Jolly Green Giant's boots, Imelda Marcos's entire closet (all of them), etc. etc. etc.....mpg -- A quote...."Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has begun to back away from his promises of social change, even before balloting concludes on Election Day next Tuesday. The Democratic Party is favored to win the White House and increased majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate on November 4."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

"A Second 9/11": An Integral Part of US Military Doctrine  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10767
A quote...."For several years now, senior officials of the Bush administration including the President and the Vice President have intimated, in no certain terms, that there will be "a Second 9/11".
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

U.S. Government Anticipates Bin Laden Election Tape  ---  http://www.prisonplanet.com/us-government-anticipates-bin-laden-election-tape.html
A quote...."Seemingly desperate for Emmanuel Goldstein to remind Americans that they should still fear their own shadow, the corporate media is maniacally preempting the release of a Bin Laden tape before or after the election, despite there being no actual evidence that one is forthcoming." -- "If Bin Laden does pop up over he next few days, it will only be to John McCain’s benefit. Indeed, McCain’s own adviser Charlie Black let the cat out of the bag back in June when he said that a terror attack on American soil would be a “big advantage” to McCain’s election hopes." -- bold by website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Irony: Europeans trusted Bush and he spit in their soup  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/Irony-Europeans-trusted-B-by-Jane-Stillwater-081031-728.html
A quote...."Over here in Iran, I have gotten the chance to read more European papers and watch more European TV than I ever did back in the States -- and what I have discovered while reading up on the European POV is that Britain, Germany, France, etc. are currently in the midst of a terrible economic meltdown. -- While it makes me sad to see individual Europeans hurting so much, does that make me feel sorry for Europe as a whole? Not really. Why should I? European nations have chosen their fate willingly and have simply received the logical consequences of their folly -- they trusted George Bush and he spit in their soup." -- Editor's Note:  Obviously that's not totally fair, the French (at least until they elected Sarkozy) and in part the Germans, correctly and valiantly stood up to our Neo-Roman Elites' attempts to impose a murderous new world order and both them, especially the French, got pilloried for their efforts. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

58. America's Slow-Motion Fascist Coup
  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/podcast/?p=episode&name=2008-10-30_058_americas_slow_motion_fascist_coup.mp3
Interview - A quote...."Lew Rockwell interviews Naomi Wolf - More from Naomi Wolf: She wrote Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries.  ---  http://www.amazon.com/Give-Me-Liberty-Handbook-Revolutionaries/dp/1416590560/lewrockwell/  ---  Her numerous appearances are documented on YouTube."  ---  http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=naomi+wolf&search_type=&aq=-1&oq=
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the New American Century"
10-31-08
mpg

Intelligence chief sees growing potential for conflict  ---  http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE49U0TZ20081031
A quote....""Strategic rivalries are most likely to revolve around trade, demographics, access to natural resources, investments and technological innovation," McConnell said in a transcript of a speech provided by his office. -- If current trends persist, by 2025, China will be en route to becoming the world's largest economy, a major military power and likely the world's largest importer of natural resources, McConnell said. -- India and Russia would be close behind with more wealth and power, he said. -- Economic and population growth will put increasing pressure on a number of strategic resources, such as energy, food and water." - bold by website editor

Round One:  The scenario described above is exactly what our elites' oh-so-clever PNAC plan (or as they like to call it, "this thing of ours") was designed to prevent. The idea was they'd go blow up three thousand of their own citizens with the essential and greatly appreciated support of the Saudi Royals (after all what are "friends" for), the US (NRE) elites would than promptly size the oil resources and geo-strategic positions they needed throughout the Middle East necessary to control the world's emerging economies, (a.k.a. "shock & awe", the "cake walk", etc.) all the while cheerfully funding their plans of mayhem and murder with the biggest ponzi scheme the world has ever seen this side of Albania.  After which our wonderful glorious elites would get to sit down, relax, drink a couple of beers, smoke a few cigarettes, shoot the breeze, and live happily ever after....or not, as the case may be.

Otherwise known as "a funny thing happened on the way to the New American Century".

Round Two:  Our elites get rid of the peons and second raters in Repub part of the DemoRepub party, especially "those religious nut-jobs" (who were quite useful for a time and quite easy to fool, after all, who else would gladly sacrifice their puny little lives to enrich there betters) all the while letting their more money-oriented, more well-connected brethren carry off some of their not-so-well-deserved swag, booty and bling. Pretend that they NEVER EVER hired that moron Bush, (you have to feel sorry for our elites, it really is hard to get good help these days), his mechanical talking aide Cheney, the Neocons, et. al. to carry out that "thing of theirs". --  Sweep the whole, sorry, ugly, God awful mess into the national dust bin with the usual help of their boot-licking presstituting mass-faux-media whores, assisted as always by the ever faithful Demo faction lead by such stalwarts as Nancy Pelosi and various fellow travelers, along with most of the American population who just happen to have the memory retention of gnat.  --  Hire a more intelligent facilitator to carry out the remaining portion of that "thing of theirs" and fearlessly proceed onward with whatever new PNAC incarnation (PNAC 2.0 with the 9/11 deux upgrade option perhaps?) they've had their lackeys feverishly developing these last couple of years.  All the while hoping the idiotic Repub dead-ender die-hard faction of the DemoRepub party doesn’t do something precipitously stupid."

Round Three:  Can't predict the results yet but rest assured all you interested folks out there, this website editor will be delighted to diligently bring you all the upcoming hideously gory details as they develop from the world's greatest ring side seat. So keep your hats on and hang on for the ride of your lives (notice it's your lives and not your illustrious wealthy elites' lives) as the world's never ending story of "your money and your life" plays out. - mpg - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Why hasn't anyone been arrested?  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/Why-hasn-t-anyone-been-arr-by-Gene-Messick-081030-973.html
A quote...."Only about a month ago, most of us ordinary folks were shocked to learn that the greatest economic empire the World has ever known was basically rotten to it's core.  We're barely a month into the 2nd American Revolution.  Life as we knew it will never be the same."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

The Next New Deal?  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski216.html
Reagan presided over a fifty-year metastasization of the New Deal. But compared to the present day, government spending in the early 1980s was downright stingy. Thirty years of easy money, corporate capitalism and military adventurism doesn’t wear well on a country. -- The so-called Reagan revolution is proof that wanting smaller government isn’t the same as getting it. By the end of his presidency, every bad thing – that is to say everything – about our federal government had increased radically. Sheldon Richman summarized the Reagan legacy in 1988, and it’s worth re-reading today.  ---  http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=488  ---  Only a brave American, a suicidal Constitutionalist, or a sadistic Bolshevik would wish to honestly contemplate the frightening summary of government growth that will be written at the end of 2008. But perhaps the withering away of the state is still possible."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Paul: US election not democratic  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=73818&sectionid=3510203
A quote...."Congressman Ron Paul has criticized the election system in the US, saying that the system is not very democratic for third parties. In an exclusive interview with MSNBC, the former Libertarian Party's nominee for president in 1988 also said that he had no other way except becoming a Republican candidate in 2008."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

The Other Nominees  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Other-Nominees-by-Nida-Khan-081031-527.html
A quote...."Meet Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente, the presidential and vice presidential nominees for the Green Party of the United States. One would expect McKinney, former congresswoman representing the Fourth CD of Georgia, and Clemente, community organizer, journalist and political activist, to be propelled onto the national stage with the same vigor shown at least to the other third-party candidates.  After all, McKinney, who is African American, and Clemente, an Afro-Puerto Rican, are the first ever minority female ticket in U.S. history.  So why is it in a time of ‘firsts’ and an election termed the most ‘diverse and progressive’ have so few Americans even heard of McKinney, Clemente or their platform?" -- For more on this issue see....You Have a Choice Democracy or Empire - 07-24-08 - mpg  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/youhaveachoice-democracyorempire-blog-mpg-072408
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Justice Department Balks on Ohio Vote  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/Justice-Department-Balks-o-by-Jason-Leopold-081031-869.html
A quote...."Despite pressure from Ohio Republicans and President George W. Bush, the Justice Department has declined to intervene in a voter dispute in Ohio that could have purged at least 200,000 voters from registration rolls."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Colorado's Secretary of State Goes Rogue  ---  http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/colorados_secretary_of_state_g.php
A quote...."Despite just reaching a settlement with voter rights groups on Wednesday, Colorado's Secretary of State Mike Coffman has continued to purge voters from the roll, causing a judge to issue a cease and desist order." -- Maybe Coffman thinks he's Bush, the great decider. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

13 Election Protection Experts on How to Prevent E-Voting Problems
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/13-Election-Protection-Exp-by-Neoconvict-081028-743.html
Special Note -- A quote...."We assembled a panel of leading election integrity (EI) experts and asked their advice on myriad aspects of the e-voting problem. Their recommendations are wide-ranging and should hopefully serve as a wake-up call, since candidates' political futures, not to mention the future of the U.S. and the entire planet, could be decided on error-prone and worse, easily tamperable electronic voting systems."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Documents reveal how Ohio routed 2004 voting data through company that hosted external Bush Administration email accounts.
  ---  http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Documents_reveal_how_Ohio_routed_2004_1031.html
-- Special Note - A quote...."Newly obtained computer schematics provide further detail of how electronic voting data was routed during the 2004 election from Ohio’s Secretary of State’s office through a partisan Tennessee web hosting company."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Maliki: Don’t call it a ‘security pact’; it’s ‘an agreement to withdraw’ U.S. troops.  ---  http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/31/maliki-withdrawal-agreement/
A quote...."Today, the AP is reporting that according to a close aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi government “wants to eliminate any chance U.S. forces will stay” in Iraq “after 2011 under a proposed security pact.” But also yesterday, al-Maliki took issue with calling the agreement a “security pact”: "
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Iraqis lash out at security agreement with U.S.  ---  http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2008-10-31%5Ckurd.htm
A quote...."The U.S. has little favor among Iraqis due to the pain and hardships its invasion of their country has caused. -- Consequently, almost all Iraqis interviewed by this newspaper were adamantly against the signing of the proposed security agreement with the U.S. The few who wanted the pact to pass, asked the government for substantial revisions that will give U.S. troops none of the privileges they now enjoy."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Iraq MP: 420 secret detention centres in Iraq  ---  http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=28555
A quote...."GENEVA - An Iraqi parliamentarian on Thursday called on the United Nations to investigate what he said were over 400 secret detention centres in the country controlled by both the government and US-led foreign forces." -- bold by website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====
US's Syrian raid sets Iraq on fire  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JK01Ak05.html
A quote...."DAMASCUS - The United States raid on Syria on October 27, which led to the killing of eight civilians, sent shockwaves throughout Iraq, mainly enraging the Sunni community, former Ba'athists and tribal leaders who are pro-Syrian."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Memo from Islamabad - Out of Control  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/cloughley10312008.html
Special Note - A quote...."The United Nations Charter states, among other wise and widely forgotten strictures, that “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.” The meaning is clear, in that the signatories to the Charter agreed that territorial integrity was and is fundamental to sovereignty and national dignity. It is essential that a country be permitted to conduct its affairs without the fear of attack by powerful states having policies and intentions detrimental to humanitarian values and civilized conduct."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====
Strange Strike  ---  http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5636
A quote...."With one deadly strike, the Bush administration has offered a fitting epitaph to its "might makes right" policy towards Syria — and the rest of the Middle East." -- Also posted at CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/31-3
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Who Authorized the Syria Raid? (Updated)  ---  http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/10/who-authorized.html
A quote...."I've been trying to wrap my brain around the Syria raid earlier this week. But two articles are sticking in my craw. First, Eli Lake (late of the later New York Sun), reports in The New Republic that the attack into Syria was part of a blanket authorization of cross-border raids for both Iraq and Afghanistan, approved earlier this summer. So that brings us to the million dollar question: Who authorized the attack?"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Twin US Drone Strikes Kill 32 in Waziristan  ---  http://news.antiwar.com/2008/10/31/twin-us-drone-strikes-kill-32-in-waziristan/
A quote...."Pakistani Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani once again warned NATO that the unilateral air strikes into Pakistani territory were “counter-productive” today as the United States launched two drone strikes, in North and South Waziristan Agency, respectively, killing a total of 32 people." -- Just remember gentle reader, Pakistan is "our friend" and the US (NRE) is trying to "help" Paksitan.  Hopefully every single other country out there is watching this fiasco and begins to understand just what happens when you "do business" with the NRE's wealthy elites. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

UK opposes US incursions into Pakistan: Straw  ---  http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C11%5C01%5Cstory_1-11-2008_pg7_25
A quote...."ISLAMABAD: British Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw on Friday opposed repeated United States incursions into Pakistan’s territory, and urged Washington to respect the sovereignty and integrity of its vital allies."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

[Real] Friends can help Pakistan avoid IMF: Gilani  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/179873
A quote...."Friends can help Pakistan avoid IMF: Gilani

    * PM says no possibility of default, denies IMF has asked for cut in defence budget
    * Govt to seek deferral of oil dues from Saudi Arabia

ISTANBUL: Ruling out possibility of facing bankruptcy, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said he hopes Pakistan can avoid IMF assistance if it wins billions of dollars in aid from friendly governments to cope with a balance of payment crisis.
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

McCain, Obama Advisers Get Secret Afghan Briefing  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m48430&s1=h1
A quote...."The New York Times is reporting that the Bush Administration held a secret meeting two weeks ago to brief advisers from the campaigns of both Republican Presidential nominee John McCain and his Democratic Party counterpart Barack Obama on the ever-deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. Though the details of the meeting were not classified, the participants agreed not to discuss to content of the briefings or the discussions publicly."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Robert Fisk: Scandal of six held in Guantanamo even after Bush plot claim is dropped
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-scandal-of-six-held-in-guantanamo-even-after-bush-plot-claim-is-dropped-980264.html
A quote...."In the dying days of the Bush administration, yet another presidential claim in the "war on terror" has been proved false by the withdrawal of the main charge against six Algerians held without trial for nearly seven years at Guantanamo prison camp."
Also posted at CommonDreams  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/31
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Maguire: UN is responsible for every death resulting from the siege on Gaza  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m48426&s1=h1
A quote...."GAZA, (PIC)-- Nobel Peace Prize winner, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who arrived in Gaza on SS Dignity a couple of days ago, held the United Nations responsible for deaths resulting from the siege on Gaza which has been in place for almost two years."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Ecuador alleges 'clear' signs of CIA infiltration  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21127.htm
A quote...."QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — An Ecuadorean presidential commission has concluded that U.S. intelligence services infiltrated the Andean nation's military and police and supported a cross-border incursion by Colombian troops that killed a top rebel commander. -- Following the attack on a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia camp inside Ecuador on March 1, President Rafael Correa accused the CIA of infiltrating his nation's intelligence services and appointed a commission to investigate. -- The body alleged in its report, made public Thursday, that the CIA bought information from Ecuador's military and had prior knowledge of the raid, said Defense Minister Javier Ponce, who read highlights of the findings to reporters."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Venezuela Launches its First Satellite  ---  http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3911
A quote...."Mérida, October 29, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- Venezuela's Satellite Simon Bolivar, also known as Venesat-1, was launched Wednesday at 12:25 pm Venezuelan time, from Xichang, China. It will be used to improve telecommunications and facilitate social and education projects."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Over 360 Latin America Experts Call on Obama to Improve U.S.-Latin American Relations  ---  http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/3919
A quote...."WASHINGTON - October 28 - Anticipating a democratic victory in the November 4 presidential elections, 368 academics specializing in Latin America recently sent a letter urging Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama to become a partner, rather than an adversary, concerning changes already under way in Latin America."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

US, mute over world condemnation at Un [of the US's Cuba embargo]  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=73881&sectionid=3510203
A quote...."On Wednesday, rapturous applause filled the chamber of the UN General Assembly after the members voted against the US embargo imposed on Cuba. -- A total of 185 countries voted in favor of the anti-US resolution with a mere three UN member states (the United States, Israel and Palau) voting against the measure and two abstaining (Marshall Islands and Micronesia)."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Sergei Markedonov: Abkhazia as the Theatre of Georgia’s Terrorist Activities and Sabotage  ---  http://www.creative-i.info/?p=1827
A quote...."The renewed attempts to destabilise the situation in Abkhazia against the background of the unquiet life in South Ossetia and Georgia’s territory adjacent to it, need consideration and assessment of these new threats to the security of South Caucasian states recognised by Russia and to Russia itself as a guarantor of their statehood and the right of self-determination."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Czech politics takes a left turn  ---  http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20081031/118055063.html
A quote...."MOSCOW. (Alexander Mitrofanov for RIA Novosti) - The political color of the Czech Republic has changed overnight."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Russia-China: oil for loans - i.e. Russia is turning east, the EU should stop siding with the NRE against Russia.
  ---  http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20081030/118035651.html
A quote...."MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti economic commentator Oleg Mityayev) - On October 28, when China's Premier Wen Jiabao was visiting Moscow, he signed an agreement calling for the construction of an oil pipeline to China as part of the prospective Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Gaddafi in Russia to buy arms  ---  http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/32685
A quote...."The Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is in Moscow for the first time in 23 years. He’s holding talks with President Dmitry Medvedev on arms and energy. The Russian President says he expects the visit to be fruitful. Countries have been queuing up to sign lucrative deals with energy-rich Libya ever since the UN lifted sanctions against it."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Ukraine takes Russian channels off air  ---  http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/32725
A quote...."Three Russian TV channels have been banned from broadcasting in Ukraine. The country's authorities ordered local cable operators to take them off air. More than half of Ukraine's population speaks Russian regularly and one third say it's their native tongue."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Big Investors Betting on Deflation  ---  http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/10/big-investors-betting-on-deflation.html
Market Technical Note - Some quotes...."Mark Hulbert says  ---
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Is-gold-market-sensing-deflation/story.aspx?guid=%7B02F9D40F-80FA-41C3-A719-C9F059FEDA48%7D  ---  that investors in U.S. treasury bonds are betting on deflation:" -- "There are good arguments  ---  http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/petrov/2008/1024.html  ---   for stagflation - instead of deflation. But if the big boys are betting on deflation with their own money, that's important information."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Desperate Measures  ---  http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm
Charts - A quote...."The Fed’s action to either raise or lower rates has become a major focal point for the markets in recent years. It seems that the vast majority of the public believes that the Fed is actually controlling interest rates and as a result that they are controlling the credit and equity markets. For a week before the Fed meeting it seems that the entire global markets' focus was on “what the Fed is going to do.” Will they cut a quarter, will they cut a half or will they not cut at all? Then, after the meeting the talking heads and analysts sit around and try to analyze the meaning of their “Fed Speak.” This is a joke. I am about to show you the proof that the Fed follows the short-term credit market and that in reality they do not lead. The data simply does not support this widely held belief. I realize that this may come as a shock to you, but reality is what it is. The data speaks for itself."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

FDR Explains the Crisis - Why 2008 Feels Like 1932  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/martens10312008.html
A quote...."It is no coincidence that our problems today are a replay of those of 1932, albeit with a less rapid economic descent because of the safety nets like Social Security and bank deposit insurance put in place by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal programs of the 30s.  Each and every form of securities and bank fraud that led to the conditions of 1932 have been perpetrated again today.  The only differences are that this time the Wall Street leverage is larger and the fraud frequently began its life with a triple-A pedigree and a legal opinion from a top tier  law firm registered as a lobbyist with the U.S. government."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

The End of Prosperity - The Worst Is Yet to Come  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10771
A quote...."From too much of a good thing. From the 1980s and 1990s excesses. From the longest ever US bull market. Heavily manipulated to keep it levitating. From August 1982 to January 2000. An illusory reprieve from October 2002 to October 2007. Fluctuations aside, all lost in the past 12 months. The wages of sin are now due, and payment is being painfully extracted. From all nations globally. Affecting ordinary people the most who had nothing to do with creating booms and busts. They got little on the upside but are paying dearly for the down."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

History's biggest margin call  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/JJ28Dj02.html
A quote...."The entire world was seemingly positioned for a particular financial backdrop and received an altogether different one. Some years ago I wrote something to the effect that "financial crisis is like Christmas". After all, during the Alan Greenspan era at the Federal Reserve, periods of heightened financial and/or economic pressures were almost cause for celebration within the leveraged speculating community. Aggressive rate cuts and "easy money" were the trumpeted solution to any problem, which equated to easy financial fortunes for the savvy market operators. Over time this culture of leveraging, speculation and financial shenanigans fanned out across the globe - throughout finance, commerce and government endeavors."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

7.5 million homeowners 'underwater'  ---  http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/30/real_estate/underwater_borrowers/index.htm?cnn=yes
Special Note - Financial Warning -- A quote...."Nearly a fifth of U.S. borrowers owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth - and that number is growing." - bold/underline by website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

America heads towards recession - US consumer spending logs its sharpest downturn since the recession of 1980
  ---  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/america-heads-towards-.htmlssion-980390.html
Well....now we all know why don't we. - mpg -- A quote...."A slump in consumer spending caused the US economy to shrink in the third quarter of the year at the fastest pace it has contracted since the recession of 2001. -- The first estimate of GDP for the three months ended 30 September provided long-awaited confirmation that the slowdown has turned into an outright contraction, after two years of gathering storm clouds that first appeared over the US housing market."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

China And Russia Hint At Dropping US Dollar  ---  http://infowars.net/articles/october2008/311008dollar.htm
Special Note - A quote...."Reports from the Russian media suggest that the country is on the verge of an agreement with China to renounce the US dollar and stop using it in international settlements. "The recent meeting between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, created a financial sensation," reports RIA Novosti. - "Wen said that the two nations could withstand the global financial crisis if they joined forces; Putin urged him to go farther and stop using U.S. dollars in Russian-Chinese settlements." -- Editor's caution: This does not mean the dollar will go down, the reason being our elite's currently control over $1.3 quadrillion in derivatives, an amount of leverage that allows them to do pretty much whatever they want with the markets....for awhile anyway. - mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Euro fever sweeps through Scandinavia as currencies dive
  ---  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/euro-fever-sweeps-through-scandinavia-as-currencies-dive-981757.html
Special Note - A quote...."The Danish and Swedish governments have begun preparing the ground for referendums on joining the euro, as part of a huge political reversal across Europe's northern fringes in favour of the single currency. Although voters have overwhelming rejected the euro in the past, both countries are now pointing to the recent damage inflicted on their national currencies as evidence that staying out has left them dangerously over-exposed to market vagaries."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Joint SCO efforts urged to beat financial woes  ---  http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-10/31/content_7160421.htm
A quote...."ASTANA: Ensuring the security of China's economy would be the country's most important contribution toward global financial stability, Premier Wen Jiabao told prime ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Thursday. "It is necessary to have greater interaction between our financial and business communities," Wen said. "SCO members must work ... to enhance the coordination of monetary policies and improve financial controls to prevent and neutralize financial risks." Wen said China would consider issuing loans to members of the organization to ensure food security and support joint projects in the region."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Thursday October 30th 2008 - links page

This Is How The Bail Out Will Screw You - video - (YuTb - 5m 7s - 10-22-08) - posted 10-21-08
  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OTM8Y3a5zQ&feature=related
Wall Street banks in $70 billion staff payout - posted 10-17-08
  ---  http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/17/executivesalaries-banking
[British] Bankers' £16 billion bonus bonanza - posted 10-17-08
  ---  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bankers-16316bn-bonus-bonanza-965445.html
For insensitivity, Wachovia refuses to be outdone - posted 10-09-08
  ---  http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus9-2008oct09,1,1597017.column
First Bailout Results Known -- has received $8 MILLION from Wachovia Bank. - posted 10-09-08
  ---  http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2008/10/first_bailout_r.htm
AIG, Castigated for Resort Event, Plans Another One - posted 10-09-08
  ---  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aVXfypExIZ9M&refer=patrick.net
Lehman sought millions for execs while seeking aid - posted 10-06-08
  ---  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081006/ap_on_go_co/meltdown_lehman
AIG subsidiary parties in style in OC, two weeks after bailout - posted 10-03-08
  ---  http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2008/10/02/after-federal-bailout-aig-fetes-in-style-in-oc/
WaMu CEO could get $13.65 million for 18 days work - posted 10-02-08
  ---  http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE48P8LG20080926
Fury at $2.5bn Lehman bonus - posted 09-21-08
  ---  http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article4795072.ece

Wednesday October 29th 2008

Imagine what would happen if the nations of the world spent as much on development as on building machines of war. Imagine a world where every human being would live in freedom and dignity. Imagine a world in which we would shed the same tears when a child dies in Darfur or Vancouver. Imagine a world where we would settle our differences through diplomacy and dialogue and not through bombs or bullets. Imagine if the only nuclear weapons remaining were the relics in our museums. Imagine the legacy we could leave to our children. Imagine that such a world is within our grasp.  -- *Mohamed ElBaradei* (2005), Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency

"Credit-default swaps on [U.S.] Treasuries have risen nearly 40 percent since TARP was signed into law Oct. 3, and are now about the same as Mexican and Thai government debt before the credit markets began to seize up in June 2007."