MPG'S DAILY RAPSHEET AND BLOTTER  ON THE "GREAT GAME"  - links page

@ www.reficultnias.org
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Editor's note : From now on each daily blog will have several items culled from the past called  "9/11 - From The History File" : It's for those who didn't know, and also for those who forgot....or are trying to forget.

Editor's note - War Update, War Alert, War Warning, Red War Warning and War Imminent - refer to articles regarding the upcoming war with Iran.  In the order they appear as shown above, they  represent less serious to more serious possible threats of war. - mpg
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I felt a new terror on Basra's streets  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m39249&s1=h1
Must Read - A quote...."Islamic militias are waging a brutal campaign for control in Iraq’s second city as British troops give way to local forces - There are two photographs in every police file. One is a long shot of a woman’s discarded body, the other a close-up of her last expression. - All the women fell foul of the unwritten rules of the new Basra – they dressed wrongly, they left the home to work, or perhaps they were merely rumoured to have a boyfriend."

Can Liberty be Bought and Sold? - A People's Penny for the Magna Carta  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/linebaugh12152007.html
A quote...."Magna Carta is up for sale next week at Sotheby's and this last week it was up for grabs in the U.S. Supreme Court."

U.S. boosts presence along Iranian border  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/150904
War Update - A quote...."PATROL BASE SHOCKER, Iraq — Behind a maze of concrete blast walls rising from a desolate desert landscape that was once the scene of pitched battles between the armies of Iran and Iraq, a new American base is springing to life."

The US is getting ready to go after Iran's oil fields two to three years from now per Robert Gates'
Slow Play Option.  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/theslowplayoption-blog-mpg-121107 ---  A plan which has the full support of this country's elites including the leading contenders for President. - mpg
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Strangling Gaza  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/12/14/5844/
A quote...."It could, rightfully, be a cause of shame to the world. But the world, besieged by violence and injustice, hardly notices it. The people of Gaza, 1.4 million of them, are slowly and purposely being deprived of basic foods and medicines by the so called civilized countries in the West and there is hardly a protest. And all this happens because the people in Gaza want to be free and independent. Never mind that in the process children and innocent civilians are killed or families dispossessed."

IAEA in full control of Iran's nuclear program - foreign ministry  ---  http://en.rian.ru/world/20071215/92607045.html
A quote...."MOSCOW, December 15 (RIA Novosti) - UN nuclear watchdog is fully controlling Iran's controversial nuclear program, a Russian deputy foreign minister said Saturday."

Pervez Musharraf lifts state of emergency in Pakistan  ---  http://en.rian.ru/world/20071215/92604741.html
A quote...."ISLAMABAD, December 15 (RIA Novosti) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has lifted the state of emergency in the country and restored the Constitution in full, local television said Saturday."

Hamas rally draws tens of thousands  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m39241&s1=h1
A quote...."Hamas has marked 20 years since it was founded with a huge rally in Gaza City, attended by what was estimated to be a crowd of between 150,000 and 300,000 supporters."

Indian Foreign Secretary begins Iran visit to mend fences  ---  http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/159303.html
A quote...." New Delhi, Dec 15 - Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon Saturday began his two-day visit to Iran, during which he will try to bridge the drift in ties with special emphasis on ramping up energy ties. - Menon, who left for Tehran in the morning, is likely to call on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and discuss with them a wide array of bilateral, regional and global issues."

Rumble in the Jungle: The AFRICOM Boondoggle  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/orig/werther.php?articleid=12056
Special Note - A quote..."The government's assaults on our common sense, our wallets, and our dignity are becoming so numerous that one is hard pressed to keep up. The media pivot like a herd of wildebeests from one scandal to the other – from illegal wiretapping, to torture, to mercenaries, to saber rattling in the Persian Gulf, to $4 billion lost at Homeland Security, to $9 billion stolen in Iraq."

To everyone reading this blog who cares about Africa.  The US is now going to "help" Africa, and by now we ALL know what that means.  Everyone should give a prayer for what will in the next ten years, be the world's biggest charnel house.  It'll make the Middle East look like a peaceful oasis by comparison.- mpg
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The War Against Ourselves  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mumia_ab_071212_the_war_against_ours.htm
A quote..."We often think, when we dare to do so, of the Iraq War as a war over there, against 'those'  people - folks other than Us.  --  Depending on our political perspective, it is either a good war, or an evil war.  But, no matter our political, ideological perspective, time will determine whether it isn't a war against us all, as well.  --  That's because for those tens of thousands  who survive, who are neither killed nor maimed, they will return to the U.S., with their minds twisted by an orgy of violence that will not easily be left 'over there.'"

Former US interrogator recounts torture cases in Afghanistan and Iraq  ---  http://www.juancole.com/2007/12/former-us-interrogator-recounts-torture.html
Related article - A quote...."The USG Open Source Center translates an interview in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo with Damien Corsetti, a former private in the US army who served as an interrogator and was charged with crimes. He says he witnessed torture but did not commit it himself. He also says that most of the individuals he interrogated had nothing to do with al-Qaeda or the Taliban. Many of the practices Corsetti says he witnessed are already illegal."
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Cleric Scorns US Allegations about Human Rights  ---  http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8609230331
A quote...." TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Tehran's interim Friday Prayers leader Ahmad Khatami blasted the US for removing proofs and evidence on interrogation and torture of Guantanamo inmates, describing the move as a big scandal for an administration which claims to be the forerunner of human rights. Americans themselves issue orders for making the arrests and then they torture the inmates and film the scenes, and when all the people are informed of these catastrophes, they issue an order for the destruction of the proofs and removal of all traces of the crime and yet they claim that they are defenders of human rights," Ayatollah Khatami said during his address to a large congregation of worshippers on Tehran University Campus here today. "

Russia warns of US missile shield retaliation  ---  http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22932206-1702,00.html
A quote...."THE planned deployment of US interceptor missiles in Poland could trigger a missile strike by Russia if those missiles are ever used, the Russian army's chief of staff has warned."

Argentina and Chile working on the Trans-Andean Railway  ---  http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=12154&formato=HTML
A quote...."The governments of Argentina and Chile received this week the economic offers from the parties interested in building the Trans-Andean Railway, a project that will require an investment of 3 billion US dollars."

Venezuela and Brazil link trade  ---  http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=12158&formato=HTML
A quote...."Brazil and Venezuela have pledged closer trade and energy ties, including building a new oil refinery in Brazil."
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Surprise! Mukasey Covers Up Torture  ---  http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/121507.html
Special Note: - A quote...."Last month, Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California joined Republicans to ensure Michael Mukasey’s confirmation as Attorney General, even though he refused to acknowledge that the simulated drowning of waterboarding was torture."

Bush to judiciary: Fu*k off - posted at BuzzFlash  ---  http://www.buzzflash.com/
  ---  http://www.lastchancedemocracycafe.com/?p=1149
A quote...."This should be interesting.  I actually find myself optimistic about how the federal courts will respond to a Bush, Inc. outrage.  As regular café visitors know, I almost never feel that way.  The federal judiciary isn’t just stuffed to the bursting point with right wing ideologues: it’s stuffed to the bursting point with right wing ideologues who think like political operatives.  --  Yet, in the case of the Bush Administration’s wrongdoing in ignoring the orders of at least two federal courts to not destroy evidence of “enhanced” interrogation techniques (a.k.a. torture), I find myself surprisingly hopeful.  Contrary to my usual skepticism, I doubt the courts will buy into the administration’s disingenuous loophole that, “hey, these guys weren’t even covered by the courts’ orders because they weren’t in Cuba, we had them hidden somewhere else.”   Why do I feel that way?"

Bush Secret Shredding Soars - posted at BuzzFlash  ---  http://www.buzzflash.com/
  ---  http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2007/12/bush-secret-shredding-soars.php
Bush's shreeding spree shown as a nifty little bar chart. - mpg

Harry Reid's FISA games  ---  http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/12/14/reid/index.html
A quote...."The Senate is going to take up debate today on the new FISA bill -- including the provisions for telecom amnesty and presidential surveillance powers -- and Harry Reid is apparently bringing the bill to the floor (a) in precisely the way designed to help the administration's goal of ensuring there is telecom amnesty and fewer surveillance oversight protections and (b) contrary to the way his office has been assuring everyone concerned that it would be done."

Activists see Senate Dems backing down to Bush, ready to give immunity to phone companies
  ---  http://rawstory.com/news/2007/President_unlikely_to_see_wiretap_bill_1213.html
A quote...."As lawmakers hurry to clear their legislative plates before rushing home for Christmas dinner, it appears all-but-certain that Congress will not finish work to update a foreign spy law before the new year."

Who to Despise More - Bush or the Cowardly Democratic Congress  ---  http://www.progressivedailybeacon.com/more.php?page=opinion&id=1767
A quote..."It is hard to decide anymore. Who to despise more, a President and his people that are hell-bent on remaking the United States of America into a plutocratic Nazi-like fascist State, sans the Jews in the ovens, or the feckless and pathetic Democrats in Congress? It has truly become impossible to choose between the two."

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales no longer ABA 'Lawyer of the Year'
  ---  http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Former_Justice_Department_head_Alberto_Gonzales_1215.html
A quote...."On Friday, Editor and Publisher of the American Bar Association Journal Edward Adams released a statement saying that fallen Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, previously named "Lawyer of the Year," will now be known as "Newsmaker of the Year."

Actually it should be "______________ of the year".  This website editor leaves it up to the reader to fill in the blank.
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AMERICA IS IRONY DEFICIENT  ---  http://muckrakerreport.com/id563.html
A quote...."December 15, 2007 -- While a few die-hard ostriches (the new symbol of the Republican Party) mumble with mouths full of sand how well things are going, the rest of the nation knows we’ve lost quite a bit since George W. Bush lost the presidential election in 2000."

30,000 People Join Congressman Wexler's Call for Hearings in Just 24 Hours  ---  http://www.wexlerforcongress.com/news.asp?ItemID=218
A quote...."Blockbuster First Day for WexlerWantsHearings.com   ---  http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com/  ---  (WASHINGTON, DC) December 15th, 2007. In only the first 24 hours, more than 30,000 people have signed up online to join Congressman Robert Wexler's (D-FL) call for impeachment hearings for Vice President Richard Cheney. On Friday, December 14, Wexler launched

Democratic Debate; "Unbelievable" is the Operative Word:  ---  http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com/
A quote...."Watching the Democratic debate yesterday answered a question that I have long pondered; is it possible for the mentally incompetent to run for president? The answer is; no question about it."

The Weak, Spineless, Hapless, Gutless Ones  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_kevin_go_071213_the_weak_2c_spineless_2c.htm
A quote...."The Democrats have been in control of Congress for almost year. Yet, I cannot think of one thing they’ve done that makes me happy they gained control in the midterm elections in November. I am not even willing to subscribe to the idea that Republicans would be worse because I do not believe that to be true anymore. The illusion that they are better than Republicans on all counts is an illusion the Democratic Leadership and the DNC creates because it’s the only way they can get votes."

Report Says That the Rich Are Getting Richer Faster, Much Faster  ---  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/business/15rich.html
Some quotes...."The total 2005 income of the three million individual Americans at the top was roughly equal to that of the bottom 166 million Americans, analysis of the report showed."  --  "Earlier reports, based on tax returns, showed that in 2005 the top 10 percent, top 1 percent and fractions of the top 1 percent enjoyed their greatest share of income since 1928 and 1929."  --  "On average, incomes for the top 1 percent of households rose by $465,700 each, or 42.6 percent after adjusting for inflation. The incomes of the poorest fifth rose by $200, or 1.3 percent, and the middle fifth increased by $2,400 or 4.3 percent."

Iran Oil Bourse to start work soon: official  ---  http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=159023
War Update - A quote...."Mehdi Karbassian talking to PIN quoted Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari as saying that his talks with Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Davud Danesh-Ja’fari on the running of the Oil Bourse would be finalized soon. "

Russia may dump weakening US dollar in its energy deals  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=5008
A quote...."It seems that the rejection of the US dollar has become a fashion trend in modern-day business relations. Several major oil and gas exporters have recently announced their plans to use a different currency in their deals with other countries. The heads of Iran, Venezuela and Ecuador expressed such an opinion at the OPEC summit in November. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad particularly stated that Iran needs to replace the dollar because of its ongoing setback. His Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, expanded on the idea and put forward a suggestion to change the dollar for the basket of currencies (apart from the dollar it includes the euro, the British pound, the Japanese yen, the Chinese yuan and the Venezuelan bolivar) to recalculated world prices on oil. Ahmadinejad continued with an idea to set up the OPEC Oil Exchange and the OPEC Bank. "

Double Digit Inflation is Here  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_michael__071215_double_digit_inflati.htm
Must read - A quote...."I won’t make you wait: it’s 3.2%.  For one month.  On an annualized basis, that is (without compounding) 38.4%.  It is the highest increase in 34 years, and if you remember the inflation that we endured in the mid 1970s, you know that this does not bode well for next year’s consumer prices."

Editor's note: This makes it much less likely that a war with Iran will be started immeadiatly. - mpg

For more on this see....Standard Disclaimer  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/disclaimer-blog-mpg-070207
See also....The Slow Play Option - 12-11-07 - mpg  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/theslowplayoption-blog-mpg-121107
See also....The Scourge of the Wealthy - Deflation / The Balm of the Wealthy - War 09-30-06 - mpg
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/scorge&balm-essay-mpg-093006
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Good Times, Bad Times 2: Insiders and the Hysteroidal Cycle
  ---  http://www.sott.net/articles/show/145209-Good-Times-Bad-Times-2-Insiders-and-the-Hysteroidal-Cycle
Must Read - A quote...."The insiders are also aware of the hysteroidal cycle. They are aware that certain shocks can serve to awaken people from their slumber, can provoke individuals onto the path for answers. To counter the positive aspect of bad times or periods of shocks, they have done vast research into how, when, and for how long shocks need to be administered in order to keep people submissive."

The Unholy Trinity - Death Squads, Disappearances, and Torture -- from Latin America to Iraq
  ---  http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174873/greg_grandin_on_the_torturable_and_the_untorturable
Must Read - A quote...."The world is made up, as Captain Segura in Graham Greene's 1958 novel Our Man in Havana put it, of two classes: the torturable and the untorturable. "There are people," Segura explained, "who expect to be tortured and others who would be outraged by the idea."

The GOP's Iran option is off the table  ---  http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/12/11/iran_08/
A quote...."Dec. 11, 2007 | The conclusions of the latest National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iran's lack of a nuclear weapons program will have a profound impact on the 2008 presidential campaign. The report may well prove a key element in throwing the election to the Democrats. Republicans have used the alleged nuclear threat posed by Iran to scare the American public and to turn attention away from Iraq, economic troubles and Republican scandals. But the NIE findings have pulled the rug out from under the Grand Old Party."

Bush's Nuclear-Boogeyman Scam - [Is the Iran option really Off the Table? - mpg]  ---  http://www.crisispapers.org/essays7w/scam.htm
A quote...." We now know that Cheney and his neo-con forces inside the Administration had prevented the NIE from surfacing for a long time. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Seymour Hersh told Wolf Blitzer on CNN that Cheney had "kept his foot on the neck of that report" for more than a year.  -  Much of the early history of this attack-Iran plan was reported brilliantly by Hersh in The New Yorker. Here are the money quotes from a
Raw Story summary:"  ---  http://rawstory.com/news/2007/CNN_Seymour_Hersh_vindicated_by_new_1205.html

Giuliani, Reagan, and Kissing up to Ayatollahs with fancy Cakes  ---  http://www.juancole.com/2007/12/giuliani-reagan-and-kissing-up-to.html
A quote...."I just saw this campaign ad for Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign. He says that Iran held US embassy hostages for 444 days. Then they were released within one hour. That was the hour after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as president, succeeding Jimmy Carter. Giuliani goes on to tell us that this incident shows how you deal with "Islamic terrorists." You get tough on them and don't back down. - The problem with this assertion is that it is not true, and indeed the opposite is true."

America's Judicial Coup  ---  http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/121107a.html
A quote...." While accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, Al Gore noted the painful moment seven years ago when five Republicans on the U.S. Supreme Court handed the presidency to George W. Bush. Given the importance of that moment in Gore's life -- and in the life of the American Republic -- we are presenting this excerpt from Neck Deep. December 12, 2007"
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The Slow Play Option
12-11-07
mpg

Moscow Urges Dialogue as West Pushes for Sanctions against Iran  ---  http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8609170431
A quote...." TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Russia yesterday called for more negotiations with Iran as US vowed to pursue sanctions against the Islamic republic."

This whole thing is so ridiculous.  It's all just a replay of Iraq.  First comes the sanctions to weaken the "victim", than comes the bombings, finally the invasion....at least of the small part of Iran near Iraq that contains most of the oil.  This entire strategy has already been mapped out and agreed to by Hillary and Obama and will occur when this country enters into a recession - the standard
 "let's start a war every ten years to boost the economy option" --- http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/cachedfiles/fedfundschart-photopg-cached-032407
or as stated differently in a quote attributed to Michael Ledeen  --  "Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business."

This is the "slow play option", which appears to be backed by Robert Gates and most of the elites in this country.

Cheney's brain child, the "fast play option" (see...
False Flag Ops - Barksdale / B-52 Loose Nukes Incident) http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/falseflagops-weblist-mpg-082006#BARKSDALE
was stopped, probably because a large segment of the elites in this country deemed the whole operation to be to risky.  The elites want Bush and Cheney out, they're tired of their ineptitude, they don't trust them (specifically Cheney) and they don't want to be living in a dictatorship with these jokers at the helm.  After all they have standards to uphold.

Now let’s be clear about this.  Our elites and roughly twenty to thirty percent of this nation's population don't mind destroying the US constitution, putting this nation deeply into debt, murdering millions of foreigners, or thousands of Americans for that matter (a.k.a. 9/11) in an effort to get some booty and bling....They're perfectly happy to be Neo-Romans living in the Neo-Roman Empire.  What they insist on however is a little more competence and success shown for all the efforts put forth so far. They're tired of the Neocon clowns in the White House.

So what's going to happen next?  Despite the NIE report, a brave but foolish attempt by law abiding elements within this country to halt this nation's slide toward militarism, there will be a continuous drumbeat of anti-Iranian propaganda with maybe a fake agreement or conciliatory gesture thrown in until a "new" report. or bit of intell   ---  http://www.atlargely.com/2007/12/terrorist-group.html  ---  is unearthed "proving" the evil, nefarious "towel heads" have "lied" to us and/or Iraq starts to go bad again (because of the same) until the war aims of the Neocons are achieved.  The only question is will they need another false flag event to start it?

It's all so completely boring and predictable.

To all the other countries out there, the US is going to attack one or more of you every ten years or so when it needs some resources and/or a boost for its economy.  So you might as well just get used to it.

Maybe you should all draw straws....this way you'll at least know who's next. – mpg
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Terrorist groups says Iran NIE wrong...  ---  http://www.atlargely.com/2007/12/terrorist-group.html
A quote...."You could not make this stuff up even if you tried. Under the direction of new owner Rupert Murdoch, the Wall Street Journal is becoming the paper version of Faux News. Here is their latest nonsense on the Iran NIE:"

So what do we call it...."Curve Ball Lite", "Curve Ball Deux", or "Dumber and Dumberer"? - mpg
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Iraq rejects permanent U.S. bases: adviser
  ---  http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-
  ---  12-11T141744Z_01_L08647786_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-BASES.xml
A quote..."BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq will never allow the United States to have permanent military bases on its soil, the government's national security adviser said."

Pakistan warns of strong response to nukes grab  ---  http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Pakistan_warns_of_strong_response_t_12112007.html
A quote...."Pakistan's military vowed a strong response to any international attempt to seize its atomic arsenal as the army successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile on Tuesday."

Western Propaganda Against Pakistani Nuclear Assets  ---  http://www.watchingamerica.com/dailyjang000002.shtml
A quote...."First and foremost, Pakistan is a free and independent country.  Pakistan has its own defense force with a minimal reliance on foreign military assistance.  In achieving its nuclear capability, Pakistan overcame all obstacles and hardships in its way to achieve this ‘capability and power’.  Its assets are safe like those of any other country because of a comprehensive and organized command and control system.  Therefore, any concern of a second or third country about Pakistan’s nuclear assets is illegitimate and unreasonable."

Gadhafi rewarded with arms deal  ---  http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071211/FOREIGN/112110041/1003
Bush's new "French poodle"   ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/thesarkozyfile-weblist-mpg-103007  ---  ....Sarkozy, got quite a reward for backing the Neocons....fourteen billion dollars worth. - mpg

Iran's president renews call for TV debate with Bush  ---  http://en.rian.ru/world/20071211/91902846.html
A quote...."TEHRAN, December 11 (RIA Novosti) - Iran's president reiterated on Tuesday his offer to hold a live television debate with his U.S. counterpart to discuss their contrasting approaches to world issues."

Israel world's fourth largest arms exporter  ---  http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22903518-5005961,00.html
A quote...."ISRAEL has become the world's fourth largest weapons exporter, shipping out arms worth more than $US4 billion ($4.58 billion) so far this year, the defence ministry says."

Greece buys Russian infantry fighting vehicles  ---  http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20071210/91684719.html
A quote...."MOSCOW. (Military commentator Nikita Petrov for RIA Novosti) - The Athens authorities have decided to buy 415 BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles from Russia."

Polish government formally proposes troops withdrawal from Iraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/150391
A quote...."Poland, a staunch U.S. ally, contributed troops to the 2003 war in Iraq and still has some 900 personnel with an international force based in the southeastern province of Quadisiyah. That mission, which focuses on training Iraqi troops, is authorized until the end of 2007."

Russia poised to walk away from CFE arms treaty  ---  http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Russia_poised_to_walk_away_from_CFE_12112007.html
A quote...."Russia was set to suspend compliance overnight Tuesday with a key Cold War treaty that sets limits on troops and weaponry across Europe, a move starkly underlining growing East-West tensions. - A foreign ministry spokesman confirmed to AFP that Russia's moratorium on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty would take effect at midnight, in accordance with a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin last month."

Ten Reasons Why “Save Darfur” is a PR Scam to Justify the Next US Oil and Resource Wars in Africa
  ---  http://www.bestcyrano.org/THOMASPAINE/?p=491#more-491
A quote...."The star-studded hue and cry to “Save Darfur” and “stop the genocide” has gained enormous traction in U.S. media along with bipartisan support in Congress and the White House. But the Congo, with ten to twenty times as many African dead over the same period is not called a “genocide” and passes almost unnoticed. Sudan sits atop lakes of oil. It has large supplies of uranium, and other minerals, significant water resources, and a strategic location near still more African oil and resources. The unasked question is whether the nation’s Republican and Democratic foreign policy elite are using claims of genocide, and appeals for “humanitarian intervention” to grease the way for the next oil and resource wars on the African continent."
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NBC Refunds Advertisers As Ratings Plunge  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=4982
A quote...."CBS, ABC and Fox also are doling out make-goods [additional ad space for free], primarily for the first quarter. They have blamed softness on a new ratings formula, but media agencies disagree. None of the networks would comment."

Couldn't happen to a more rotten bunch of faux-info-crap peddlers.  It appears people have finally had enough of their garbage. – mpg
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Kucinich Says He's Preparing 50-Page Bush Articles of Impeachment  ---  http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/29305
A quote...."On the way over here, I was reading a 50-page document that relates to Articles of Impeachment for the President of the United States," Kucinich said to a standing ovation. "And I want you to know that I'm actually preparing this document for submission to the House."

The Hypocritical Dems  ---  http://national.teambio.org/2007/12/11/the-hypocritical-dems/
A quote...."As much as I hate to say this, Democrats are every bit as hypocritical as their Republican bottom-feedi ng cohorts. After being elected on a promise to clean the swill from the halls of government, all they’ve done is take out big mops and liberally spread it farther."

Hillary Clinton on International Law - posted at FPIF  ---  http://www.fpif.org/
  ---  http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4803
A quote...."Perhaps the most terrible legacy of the administration of President George W. Bush has been its utter disregard for such basic international legal norms as the ban against aggressive war, respect for the UN Charter, and acceptance of international judicial review. Furthermore, under Bush’s leadership, the United States has cultivated a disrespect for basic human rights, a disdain for reputable international human rights monitoring groups, and a lack of concern for international humanitarian law.  --  Ironically, the current front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president shares much of President Bush’s dangerous attitudes toward international law and human rights."

For more on this see....You Can STILL Vote to Stop the Madness 10-07-07 - mpg
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/stopthemadness-blog-mpg-100707
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Once Upon a Time  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/12/11/5762/
A quote...."Once upon a time in a land called California, there was born a beautiful baby named Casey."

Spy Court Won't Release US Wiretap Documents  ---  http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121107S.shtml
A quote...."Washington - The nation's spy court said Tuesday that it will not make public its documents regarding the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program.  -  The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, in a rare public opinion, said the public has no right to view the documents because they deal with the clandestine workings of national security agencies."

Appeals Court Says Some Patriot Act Provisions Unconstitutional  ---  http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121107B.shtml
A quote...."A federal appeals court ruled Monday that some portions of the U.S. Patriot Act that govern dealings with foreign terrorist organizations are unconstitutional because the language is too vague to be understood by a person of ordinary intelligence"

Well that was the whole point!  The language was designed so that anyone could be arrested for any reason.  Dang those Judges are stupid. – mpg
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US stocks plunge on Federal Reserve rate cut announcement  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/fed-d12.shtml
A quote...."US stocks plummeted Tuesday after the Federal Reserve Board announced a quarter-point cut in short-term interest rates and indicated in an accompanying statement that it remained concerned over the potential for an inflationary surge."

Fed Cuts Key Interest Rate By Quarter Point; Stocks Fall - [Dow down 294] - posted at BuzzFlash  ---  http://www.buzzflash.com/
  ---  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/11/AR2007121100128.html
For more on this see....

It wasn't that bad a day for the market, they got at least half of what they wanted.  They're such greedy little whining piglets. - mpg
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U.S. home foreclosures soar to record high  ---  http://www.thought-criminal.org/article/node/1048
A quote...."Home foreclosures in the United States soared to an all-time high in the third quarter, while homeowners with spotty credit who have subprime adjustable-rate loans were especially hard hit amid the housing industry meltdown."

The Mirage of the Mortgage Fix  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/mortgage-fix-mirage.html
A quote...."Joy, joy, the Fed has cut rates again. - Picture the Joker from the movie Batman throwing money from his float on the parade and you can see where this is going. Or imagine the alchemist of medieval lore, attempting to conjure up wealth from chemical mixtures. - The sea of inflationary credit is the core problem behind the falling dollar, the subprime crisis, the housing meltdown, not to mention the rise in the national debt and a thousand other problems."

It all starts with love of Empire, particular the sick, twisted, psychotic, Neo-Roman Empire we have now.

You can have a nation state with a functioning economy where people have decent wages and can afford to buy their homes - or - you can have a Neo-Roman Empire pumped up with cheap credit and a rotted out economy that's going to come crashing to the ground.

You had two choices America, many of you choose to be Neo-Romans.  You made the wrong choice. - mpg
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Morgan Stanley issues full US recession alert
  ---  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml;jsessionid=OVEHPHGIHW
  ---  D1XQFIQMGCFFWAVCBQUIV0?xml=/money/2007/12/10/bcnusa110.xml
War Warning - A quote...."Morgan Stanley has issued a full recession alert for the US economy, warning of a sharp slowdown in business investment and a "perfect storm" for consumers as the housing slump spreads."

Why is this a war warning?  See....Standard Disclaimer  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/disclaimer-blog-mpg-070207