Wednesday January 31st 2007

Tomgram: Chalmers Johnson, Nemesis on the Imperial Premises
Must Read - Some quotes...."As our occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq turned into major fiascoes, discrediting our military leadership, ruining our public finances, and bringing death and destruction to hundreds of thousands of civilians in those countries, I continued to ponder the issue of empire. In these years, it became ever clearer that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and their supporters were claiming, and actively assuming, powers specifically denied to a president by our Constitution. It became no less clear that Congress had almost completely abdicated its responsibilities to balance the power of the executive branch. Despite the Democratic sweep in the 2006 election, it remains to be seen whether these tendencies can, in the long run, be controlled, let alone reversed.."

And...."As a form of government, imperialism does not seek or require the consent of the governed. It is a pure form of tyranny. The American attempt to combine domestic democracy with such tyrannical control over foreigners is hopelessly contradictory and hypocritical. A country can be democratic or it can be imperialistic, but it cannot be both."
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The Danger of Bush's anti-Iran Fatwa
A quote...."The president's decision to use force against Iranian "agents" inside Iraq could snare innocent pilgrims, and raises the risk of open warfare."

Iran Blame Game Shifts into High Gear
A quote...."As expected, the attack Iran hype has slipped into overdrive."

Stepped up US preparations for war against Iran
A quote...."A relentless and unmistakable American buildup for war against Iran is currently underway. Military preparations are being accompanied by a daily barrage of propaganda against Tehran issuing from US sources and relayed uncritically via a compliant media. The chief accusation currently being levelled against the Iranian regime is that its agents are supporting and arming Shiite militias inside Iraq to attack US troops—a charge that has yet to be substantiated with concrete evidence."

DEBKAfile: An Iranian official postulates first US military action against Iran in two months
War Update - January 31, 2007, 11:59 AM (GMT+02:00)
A quote...."The first commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohsein Rezai, estimated in recent conversations with Western sources that the US would not start out with a large-scale attack but only pinpointed military raids against RG bases in Iran. The opposition Mujaheddin al Khalq [MEK] are reportedly being trained to take part in these operations, which would probably escalate as Iran began retaliating to the American strikes."
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U.K. study: Western boycott of Hamas pushing it closer to Iran
Of course.

US troops will stay in Iraq, and the war will get worse
A quote...."Bush and Baker agree that the country is much too important to American interests to be left to its own devices."

Shell Fourth-Quarter Profit Climbs on Higher Crude Oil Prices
And here are the "American interests", i.e. Bush's cronies. 

Bush’s new spy chief to enter an ethics thicket
A quote...."WASHINGTON - President Bush’s choice to be the nation’s new spy chief works as a $2 million-a-year private consultant with some of the same senior military and intelligence officials he would supervise as director of national intelligence. -  Retired Vice Adm. Mike McConnell could face an unusually daunting challenge avoiding ethical entanglements after a decade working with Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., a large defense and intelligence consulting company with sales of $3.7 billion worldwide, according to an extensive Associated Press review of McConnell’s finances and business deals."

My, my, the death business is really good business for some....what's that sound, can any of you hear it?  It's a whooshing sound - sort of like a revolving door.
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"Number one on the list of 41 is Robert Novak"
Otherwise known as a member in good standing of the 41 Gang. More media shenanigans - this time involving the outing of Valerie Plame. 
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Germans issue arrest warrants for 13 suspected CIA agents
A quote...."BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 13 suspected CIA agents over their alleged kidnapping three years ago of a German citizen, authorities said Wednesday.  -  The unidentified agents are being sought on suspicion of the wrongful imprisonment of Khaled al-Masri and causing him serious bodily harm, Munich prosecutor Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeld told The Associated Press. He said the warrants were issued in the last few days."

My goodness, people in Europe are actually enforcing THE LAW !

See also....Former CIA station chief has Italian villa seized -- By Colleen Barry - posted at BuzzFlash
        To all you CIA guys who rounded up innocent victims and rendered them for torture while living the high life in five star hotels....your ass-sets can be seized
        throughout the entire world under international law, you won't be able to set foot in Europe or have any investments there, every victim you abused is going to
        hire lawyers and sue you for every penny you own.  Have a nice life guys......posted 01-29-07

And ...Oregon Bar asks lawyer about mysterious jet owner
        To all the members of the CIA's renditions program, you might want to consider retaining some legal counsel; it's quite possible you're going to need
        it.......posted 01-20-07

And....The CIA in the Dock
        A quote...."A Milan prosecutor is making the CIA nervous. Despite the opposition of his own government he wants to indict 26 US agents and five Italian
        secret agents for the kidnapping of a terror suspect. Rome and Washington would prefer that the embarrassing trial would just go away."......posted 01-12-07

And....Italy to probe CIA rendition
        A quote...."Italian prosecutors have asked a judge to order CIA agents and Italian spies to stand trial on charges of kidnapping a terrorism suspect and flying
        him to Egypt, where he says he was tortured."......posted 12-06-06

And....Ban on CIA’s ‘Guantanamo Express’ from Irish airports
        Good for the Irish.......posted 12-01-06
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US plans to 'fight the net' revealed
A quote...."Perhaps the most startling aspect of the roadmap is its acknowledgement that information put out as part of the military's psychological operations, or Psyops, is finding its way * onto the computer and television screens of ordinary Americans.  -  "Information intended for foreign audiences, including public diplomacy and Psyops, is increasingly consumed by our domestic audience," it reads.  -  "Psyops messages will often be replayed by the news media for much larger audiences, including the American public," it goes on."

Well, what do you know, US government propaganda finding its way (maybe it got lost?) into our Nation's mass-infotainment systems.  Gee....one wonders how that could have possibly happened.

* Italics added by website author.
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Are You The Terrorist Next Door
A quote...."I was an ordinary American until November 27, 2006 when I became a terrorist or more accurately what I call a “stand-by terrorist.” Perhaps I cannot truly own this newfound nickname until the government decides to prosecute me for word crimes, if that day ever arrives. Until then, I just think of myself as being on stand-by, just as are most--if not all--Americans, whether they realize it or not."
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Pentagon, Wall Street Journal Attack Lawyers for Guantanamo Detainees, Raise Specter of Financial Penalties for Law Firms
Everyone who buys the Wall Street Journal should know that this is what you're paying for - a "newspaper" that spits on the US constitution.
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1-30-07: HAVA -- The road to Boondoggle was paved with good intentions
A quote....

"Question: What happens if you lobby a lawmaker for $4 billion in expenditures for touch-screen (DRE) voting machines and go back to that same lawmaker two years later asking to dump DREs?

Answer: You lose credibility. It might be hard to lobby for other things. It's politically embarrassing. And your members, or funders, might have a few questions to ask about the prudence of your lobbying expenditures."
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Impeachment by the People
A quote...."Courage is in short supply in Washington, D.C. The realities of the Iraq War cry out for the overthrow of a government that is criminally responsible for death, mutilation, torture, humiliation, chaos. But all we hear in the nation’s capital, which is the source of those catastrophes, is a whimper from the Democratic Party, muttering and nattering about “unity” and “bipartisanship,” in a situation that calls for bold action to immediately reverse the present course."

Columnist Molly Ivins dies
Mr Reficul couldn't claim this one, she's resting in peace now.

Tuesday January 30th 2007

US 'victory' against cult leader was 'massacre'
A quote...."There are growing suspicions in Iraq that the official story of the battle outside Najaf between a messianic Iraqi cult and the Iraqi security forces supported by the US, in which 263 people were killed and 210 wounded, is a fabrication. The heavy casualties may be evidence of an unpremeditated massacre."

The people gunned down in this incident weren't "al Qaeda" or Sunnis, or "insurgents", or "terrorists"....they were a Shia sect from the Hawatim tribe who got into an altercation with Iraqi Shia security forces who than called in American air support during which members of another tribe, the Khaza'il tried to intervene and stop the slaughter but came under fire themselves.

Probably what you heard from our faux-news infotainment ditto heads was another 250 "terrorists" were "defeated and killed".

Nothing but lies and propaganda to support this government's murderous policies, but it doesn't matter, they were just a bunch of "towel heads" anyway right?  This is the quality of American journalism today, just endless recitations of the same government garbage day after day after day for five straight years. – mpg
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"Building a Case for War" with Iran: Jafarzadeh and the Downing Street Dossier Redux
A quote...."Is it possible we are stupid enough to fall for it again?  -  "US officials in Baghdad and Washington are expected to unveil a secret intelligence 'dossier' this week detailing evidence of Iran's alleged complicity in attacks on American troops in Iraq. The move, uncomfortably echoing Downing Street's dossier debacle in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, is one more sign that the Bush administration is building a case for war," reports the Guardian."

What da’ya think?  After this war claims millions more lives you suppose the New York Times will print another mea culpa "about how they were fooled by our leaders lies in the run up to the war".

Or do you think this time they won't even bother? - mpg
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Israel to get smart bombs in kit form
War Update - A quote...."JERUSALEM: Israel is buying thousands of kits for advanced smart bombs from the US that the Jewish state first used during the Lebanon war.  -  According to the Jerusalem Post newspaper, the Israeli army will buy $US100 million ($129 million) worth of joint direct attack munitions - low-cost kits produced by Boeing that turn free-fall bombs into guided "smart" munitions."

US strike group transits Suez Canal
War Update - A quote...."A US Navy strike group led by the assault ship USS Bataan steamed through the Suez Canal on Tuesday on its way to join the buildup of American forces in the Middle East.  -  The seven-vessel Bataan group includes 2,200 US Marines and sailors, helicopters and Harrier fighter jets, the Navy said in Bahrain."

Iran, Saudi Hold Talks on Lebanon Crisis
A quote...."Regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia have stepped up efforts to mediate a settlement to the ongoing political crisis in Lebanon, Iranian media reported Thursday.  Iran, the main foreign backer of Hizbullah, held a series of contacts on Wednesday with Saudi Arabia, which supports Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government, state-run Iran television said"

Quick Israel, you and the Neocons in the Bush Cabal HAVE TO DO SOMETHING, blow something up, hire an ex-pat Iranian to assassinate one of the Saudi Royals and blame it on Iran, whip up some fake documents showing Iran's going to nuke Saudi Arabia, whip up some fake documents showing Saudi Arabia's going to nuke Iran, have that CIA stooge who works for Ahmadinejad get him to state he wants to convert the Saudi Royals into a bunch of Hari Krishna’s.  Something!  Anything!

For God's sake you're not going to take these prissy, sissy, mediation talks laying down are you?  Get your A-team in there, get the Mossad on board, bring in Karl Rove with his best smear tactics - otherwise you're whole scheme of Constructive Instability will fall apart and people might actually stop killing each other! - mpg

See also....Beastly Behavior
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A Powerful Iran not Tolerated by US
A quote...."Responding to an FNA question about the underlying cause of the United States' psychological war on Iran and Syria in the region, the 61-year-old Akhtari said, "The United States' main problem is that it cannot tolerate any powerful actor standing up to it."

"Americans imagined they could live happily ever after the decomposition of the former eastern block and the subsequent end of the cold war and no one would ever stand up to them," he said, adding, "But in the meantime they were witnessing the fast growth of Iran's Islamic Revolution and as they couldn't tolerate it, they started thinking of ways to confront this movement."
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Healthy Political Faith
A quote...."Americans have been conditioned like Pavlov's dog to fear a [constitutional] convention because of what might happen--that it would be some kind of Pandora's box."

See also....One Real Solution for Demorcracy 11-04-06
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New Iraq Commander Spoke Up for Judith Miller
Interesting tid bit.

The End of the School of the Americas?
A quote...."The annual protests against the School of the Americas—the U.S. Army’s training institute for Latin American military leaders—are unlike any in the United States. Choreographed by Catholic activists, they eschew the militant rhetoric, providing a moving experience for both religious and secular activists"

The quickest way for this school of torture to be closed down is for the governments of South and Central America to institute a policy of immediately firing any person who attends training there.
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War Criminals ‘R’ US
A quote...."Many years ago during boot camp I learned a series of General Orders. And while these are difficult to recall (and oddly enough even to find) any longer, one of the things I recall learning was an obligation to follow all lawful orders. Part of what we learned had to do with the military having made changes in training following the War Crimes at My Lai. My clear impression was that the Navy intended us to know our obligations under the Hague Conventions of 1889 and 1907, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Nuremberg Conventions. These Conventions have legal standing as US law due to their having been ratified by our Senate."
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FBI turns to broad new wiretap method
A quote...."The FBI appears to have adopted an invasive Internet surveillance technique that collects far more data on innocent Americans than previously has been disclosed."

"Instead of recording only what a particular suspect is doing, agents conducting investigations appear to be assembling the activities of thousands of Internet users at a time into massive databases, according to current and former officials. That database can subsequently be queried for names, e-mail addresses or keywords."
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Japan’s defence minister strikes an anti-US posture
A quote...."Just weeks after being installed as Japan’s first post-war defence minister, Fumio Kyuma has openly criticised the US over the war in Iraq. The comments are at odds with Japan’s previous wholehearted support for the Bush administration’s “war on terror” and the deployment of Japanese troops to Iraq—a move that was deeply unpopular."

And just a few weeks ago the US was encouraging Japan to begin a rearmament program, a program that potentially included nuclear weapons.....one can now envision them scrambling around in the White House with Cheney yelling "what da'ya mean they're not going to buy their weapons from us!"   "What da'ya mean they won't join us in the war on terror!".  "What da'ya mean they won't allow us to play Japan off against China!"

Poor Cheney, you almost feel sorry for the mass murdering mechanical freak....almost. - mpg
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Monday January 29th 2007

Former CIA station chief has Italian villa seized -- By Colleen Barry - posted at BuzzFlash
To all you CIA guys who rounded up innocent victims and rendered them for torture while living the high life in five star hotels....your ass-sets can be seized throughout the entire world under international law, you won't be able to set foot in Europe or have any investments there, every victim you abused is going to hire lawyers and sue you for every penny you own.  Have a nice life guys......

Bush's Four Anti-Terror Successes  - All Fictional
More made up terror plots.  See....The Uses of Fear
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Bolton: US has no interest in united Iraq
A quote...."Former US envoy to the United Nations John Bolton said in an interview published in France that the United States has "no strategic interest" in a united Iraq, according to an AP report."

For more on this see....False Flag Ops - Al-Askari Mosque Bombing & US support Death Sqds

See also....Constructive Instability &  Iraq Is Not In Civil War (Yet) & U.S. 2002 Pre-invasion Plan to Divide Iraq Into Three Separate States & Sadr Holds Out Against Plan to Divide Iraq (yeah that's right...the US's new public enemy is the one that wanted to hold Iraq together) &  Saudi prince blasts US plan to divide Iraq into Sunni, Shia states

See also....Nobel Lecture - H. Pinter

It has always been part of the plan.  What's happening in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and soon Iran is what the US does....it's all that the US does.  If you won't knuckle under, the US will break you.
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Iraq, Iran, and WMDs - Scott Ritter interviewed by Foaad Khosmood
A quote...."I’m also on the record as saying that the Bush administrations case that had been made was fundamentally flawed because the intelligence did not back up anything that Bush was saying, that it was purely speculative and this is the same argument that can be made against anyone who says “you know everybody believed it.”

"I can’t be accountable for what somebody believes. I can tell you what the Intelligence communities of the world were saying. And there was 100% agreement that Iraq had been fundamentally disarmed by 1998. There was not a single intelligence agency out there saying we have hard data that Saddam retains huge stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction or that he has reconstituted a meaningful WMD program. Not a single agency! And the reason is that because we had weapons inspectors in place and we could bring facts to table to show that Iraq did not had these weapons, that we had accounted for the vast majority of its weapons and there was no evidence of a reconstituted program."
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Drums of war and orchestrated hysteria about Iran
Two quotes quoted in the article....

    "Governments constantly choose between telling lies and fighting wars, with the end result always being the same.         One will always lead to the other." --Thomas Jefferson, (1743-1826), 3rd US President

    "The United States no longer bothers about low intensity conflict. It no longer sees any point in being reticent or even     devious. It puts its cards on the table without fear or favour. It quite simply doesn't give a damn about the United         Nations, international law or critical dissent, which it regards as impotent and irrelevant." --Harold Pinter, 2005             Nobel Laureate for Literature, acceptance speech
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Falling Dominos and Failing Presidencies
A quote...."There was a word missing from President Bush’s pathetic State of the Union Address. That word was 'domino.'"

In Veep's world, we're safer now than before Iraq
A quote...."The wacky, upside-down world of Dick Cheney keeps getting weirder.  -  Last week he went on CNN and defiantly declared that the situation in Iraq is not so terrible."

Robert Gates Shows His True Bush-Loyalist Colors
A quote...."For those who thought Robert Gates' appointment marked a turning point in the Bush Presidency, by now they must know it mattered not. Mister Gates is Mister Rumsfeld without a personality."
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An American shadow points to LBJ
A quote...."Last Tuesday, master CIA spy, Watergate mastermind, and Dealey Plaza attendee, E. Howard Hunt died at the age of 88. Anticipating the release of his final book in April, he pointed the finger of suspicion at the involvement of President Lyndon Johnson in the assassination of John F. Kennedy."

See also the videos from the History Channel - Episode 3 (also called part 9) - sgmt1-sgmt2-sgmt3-sgmt4-sgmt5
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Infowars Exclusive: 7/7 Bus Bomb Survivor Describes "Agents" At Scene In Immediate Aftermath
A quote...." Daniel Obachike, the man who was on the lower deck of the number thirty bus that exploded in Tavistock Square in London on 7/7/05, has exclusively provided Infowars with a preview of a new section of his soon to be published narrative, The 4th Bomb.
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Debating the Iraq "Surge" on PBS
A quote...."1/10/07--With public opinion running heavily against the White House's planned escalation of the Iraq War, one might think a debate on the issue on public television's flagship newscast might reflect public sentiment. But the discussion on the January 8 edition of the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer skewed in favor of supporters of the Iraq War, only allowing space for muted criticism of the White House's troop "surge.""

Ahhh...... our prestituting war pimping faux-news sycophants hard at work again.
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Confidence in Tony Blair slumps to all-time low
A quote...."Public confidence in Tony Blair's government has slumped to an all-time low as Labour battles with the crisis at the Home Office and Cabinet revolts over gay adoption, the latest YouGov poll for The Daily Telegraph shows today."

Number of vacant homes for sale surges 34%
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The number of vacant homes waiting to be sold surged 34% to 2.1 million at the end of 2006 compared with the end of 2005, by far the fastest increase ever recorded, the Census Bureau reported Monday."

Liberty Bound - Google video (Fr?) - 1hr 28min - posted at ICH
Must See Video. A quote...."In this documentary, Historian Howard Zinn and Michael  Parenti, explain how America is neither fully democratic nor entirely free of fascism. In recent years, however, the scale has shifted in favor of a fascist state, as our leaders deprive Americans of civil rights with Nazi-style textbook precision, in the interest of war and the elusive promise of security from fear"

Scott Ritter - "We're on the edge of the abyss...." - Audio
Must Listen. - Congress has completely abrogated it's responsibility to make war....and the Bush MIOC Cabal are going to war with Iran no MATTER WHAT IRAN DOES OR DOES NOT DO! - mpg

Why Fisk is wrong about Lebanon
A quote...."01/28/07 "ICHBlog" -- -- Robert Fisk is all wrong about Lebanon. The country is not on the brink of another “civil war”, but has been subsumed in an “imperial war” engineered in Tel Aviv and Washington. He’s also mistaken in thinking that the Paris 3 Conference is designed to “save” Lebanon from the mountain of debt which piled up after Israel’s destructive 34 day war. The real purpose of the $7.6 billion in loans is to shackle Lebanon to the international lending institutions that are demanding additional taxes on the poor, more privatization of state-run industries, and restructuring the economy to meet the requirements of the global banking elite."

George Galloway's speech to Parliament, January 2007
Must see video. A quote...."A powerful speech highlighting the appalling situation in Iraq, and the pathetic handling of it by the British government: Ill-equipped troops, brutal treatment of civilians, and support for death squads: Welcome to democracy, Bush & Blair style!"

See also....George Galloway MP’s official website | Video archive:
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Peace Train: Images from Iran
Must View Slides. While you view these slides, keep in your mind's eye the images now coming out of Iraq's capital Baghdad, and understand clearly and precisely that the current US and Israeli governments are going do to Tehran what they've already done to Baghdad....and it doesn't even matter if Iran stops the uranium enrichment  - or not....it really doesn't matter. – mpg
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Bush Administration Insider Says U.S. Government Behind 9/11 - YouTube video 9min -  Scholars for 9/11 Truth
A personal view from Dr Morgan Reynolds  -  A quote...."Dr. Morgan Reynolds, Ph.D, is professor emeritus at Texas A&M University and former director of the Criminal Justice Center at the National Center for Policy Analysis headquartered in Dallas, TX. He served as chief economist for the United States Department of Labor during 2001--2002, George W. Bush's first term. In 2005, he gained public attention as the first prominent government official to publicly claim that 9/11 was an "inside job," and is a member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth. This interview footage was recorded in June 2006 at the Chicago 9/11 Truth conference."

Fox News - 911 The Israeli Connection - YouTube video -19min
For the record & from the history file - A quote...."FOX News - 911 The Israeli Connection (Spy Scandal - 4 Part Series Dec. 2001)."

This is funny, our ally (Isreal) may have been involved with 9/11 (like our "friends" Saudi Arabia and Paksitan who were deeply involved) and might even have been data mining and spying on US phone calls.
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Davos Ponders a U.S.-Iran War
A quote...."Forum participants from the Middle East consider a U.S. attack likely, and worry about how another conflict would affect the region's development"

White House Plays By Its Own Rules Again
A quote...."We saw it with Yaser Hamdi and then Jose Padilla. We saw it with the military tribunals for Guantanamo Bay. And we are seeing it again with the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program.  -  Over the past few years, whenever the White House has seen or sensed trouble looming for its most controversial and tenuous positions in the legal war on terrorism, it has suddenly changed course, altered the playing field, or unilaterally declared itself beyond the purview of the prevailing rule of law. No legal defeats for this administration, no explicit concession of limits on its authority, just a series of tactical or strategic retreats that allow it to show to the world a visage of supreme executive branch power-- while at the same time allowing it at some future date to advance the same losing arguments. And all of it is done in secret, under the cloak of national security, so as to hide not just true secrets but embarrassing facts and legal opinions."

The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President (Paperback)
A quote...."How can you get over a man who lost a presidential election by more than 540,000 votes acting like a dictator for six years -- and doing everything in his power to build the institutional constructs of fascism?"

And another quote...."In a January 26, 2007, Associated Press article, Nino "The Fixer" Scalia is quoted as dismissing those who believe democracy was stolen. "It's water over the deck — get over it," Scalia said on January 23, 2007."
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One From the Spleen
A Quote...."He is blog proof.  -  He is ballot proof.  -  He has the flexibility of an I-beam combined with the IQ of a houseplant, and I am finding it increasingly difficult to keep shaking my tiny little fist, employing whatever is left of my wits and my wit to point out that not only is the emperor naked, but that his new clothes come with two pair of pants."

"Most recently, appearing on PBS (short for Presidential Bull Sh-t), when asked if he had been less than honest with the American people, Mr. Bush, obviously trying to be as helpful as possible, replied: "On what issue?"
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Pelosi, Karzai discuss troop increases
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan - The Afghan president told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) that his security forces need to be stronger as the two discussed possible U.S. troop increases * on Sunday, days after the Pentagon extended the tour of 3,200 soldiers, an Afghan official said."

There goes Pelosi again, getting out of wars by ESCALATING THEM.  See also....Mommy Pelosi and Daddy Bush

* italics added by website author
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Imperial presidency
A quote...."Presidential State of the Union addresses often strike me as embarrassing spectacles of imperial pomp and crass jingoism unworthy of the great American republic."

Somalia in danger of reverting to chaos, U.S. military says
Less than a month after the US starts bombing the heck out of Somalia, it looks like it's about decend into chaos....gee how surprising.

OK all you folks throughout the world the US has "done" Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip/West Bank (the last two through our enforcer Israel) and EVERYWHERE THIS COUNTRY HAS GONE it has brought death and destruction.

Any of you other countries want to do "business" with us, be "friends" with us....want the US to bring you some of that lovely "freedom and democracy"?
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Vice President is the talk of the town lately, and for good reason.
A quote...."The Vice President of the United States is the center of attention lately, and he doesn’t respond well to being in the limelight.  -  I have to say that I have been sidetracked this week from many of the issues I usually follow. There has, however, been a common thread running through many of them..it can be indentified by one word, that brings fear and loathing into the hearts and minds of many a liberal-minded person."

U.S. Military Spied on Hundreds of Antiwar Demos - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO - At least 186 antiwar protests in the United States have been monitored by the Pentagon's domestic surveillance program, according to documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which also found that the Defense Department collected more than 2,800 reports involving Americans in a single anti-terrorism database."

Am I reading this correctly..."At least 186 antiwar protests in the United States have been monitored by the Pentagon's domestic surveillance program?"

Scuse' me...when did the US get a "Pentagon domestic surveillance program"??  We're all now being monitored BY THE ARMY !?!?!?

To all you so called "conservatives" out there....I hope you burn in hell for what you've done to the US constitution. – mpg
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Secrecy Is at Issue in Suits Opposing Spy Program - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."The Bush administration has employed extraordinary secrecy in defending the National Security Agency’s highly classified domestic surveillance program from civil lawsuits. Plaintiffs and judges’ clerks cannot see its secret filings. Judges have to make appointments to review them and are not allowed to keep copies."

Rockefeller: Cheney applied 'constant' pressure to stall investigation on flawed Iraq intelligence - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney exerted "constant" pressure on the Republican former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee to stall an investigation into the Bush administration's use of flawed intelligence on Iraq, the panel's Democratic chairman charged Thursday."

Institute Says British People Ready To Forget Freedom
A quote...."The foremost social research institute in the United Kingdom has today revealed results of its annual 'Social Attitudes' survey that show an overwhelming majority of people in Britain are ready to accept ID cards, phone tapping, curfews, electronic tagging, the opening of private mail and extensions to detention without charge."

Dubya's half-billion tower of Babel: Bush's 'truest believers' plan mother of all presidential libraries and conservative think tanks  -  A quote...."After six years of incompetence and cronyism, a failed war against terrorism, the quagmire that is Iraq, wars against science, the environment, corporate regulation and the public's right-to-know, a chummy working relationship with the country's most reactionary conservative evangelical Christians, a politicized faith-based initiative, giveaways to the energy industry, tax relief for the wealthy, a culture of corruption culminating in the forced resignations and imprisonment of some of the administrations key soldiers, and an attack on fundamental democratic rights and values, the Bush Administration is hatching plans to celebrate itself with a $500 million library (the costliest presidential library ever) to be built after Bush's second term is over."

One In Three Texas Students Doesn't Graduate
A quote...."One out of three Texas students doesn't graduate, and more students drop out than finish high school in the state's largest cities, according to education experts."

Dubya's Texas "no child left behind program"
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No Substitute for Free and Unfettered News Gathering
A quote...."Say what you will about Sarah Olson, she got the story. On the ground and armed with only an audio tape recorder, reporter Olson did nothing more radical than dig deep – the first law of journalism. Her interview with Lt. Ehren Watada vividly painted the portrait of a young man in anguish – to serve or not to serve. As the after-hours boys in the Press Bar used to say, "It's a great story!"

Kristol-ball-oney
Now contrast the above article with this one, another example demonstrating that no faux-news presstitute who does his job badly goes unrewarded no matter how sore his ass is latter on.  (you know....from all that hard work he does)

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Saturday January 27th 2007

Bush Bamboozles Democrats Again
Must Read. A quote...."As Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates joins in baiting Iraq War critics for supposedly aiding the enemy, the Democrats have been taught once more the value of handing a bipartisan olive branch to George W. Bush.  -  In December 2006, ignoring warnings from former CIA officers who had worked with Gates, Senate Democrats embraced his nomination to replace Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. They fawned over Gates at a one-day hearing, spared the former CIA director any tough questions, and then unanimously endorsed him."

Impeachment: The Case in Favor
A quote...."Public anger at Bush has been mounting. On November 7 voters swept away Republican control of the House and Senate. The President's poll numbers continue to drop.  -   These facts should signal a propitious moment for impeachment proceedings to start. Yet House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has taken impeachment "off the table." (Impeachment proceedings must commence in the House of Representatives.) Her position doesn't mean impeachment is dead; it simply means a different route to it has to be pursued. Congressional investigations must start, and public pressure must build to make the House act.  -   This is no different from what took place during Watergate. In 1973 impeachment was not "on the table" for many months while President Nixon's cover-up unraveled, even though Democrats controlled the House and Senate. But when Nixon fired the special prosecutor to avoid making his White House tapes public, the American people were outraged and put impeachment on the table, demanding that Congress act. That can happen again."

And that's why we're going to have a "propitious" war with Iran in another month or two.  It's sort of hard to have impeachment proceedings when you've just started another war that's going to be ten times worse than the one in Iraq. - mpg

PS - We as a nation might even have a "propitious" event to start the war with Iran.......think about it.
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A Sorry State
Some quotes...."The president’s approval ratings are at their lowest point in the poll’s history—30 percent—and more than half the country (58 percent) say they wish the Bush presidency were simply over....","....Public fatigue over the war in the Iraq is not reflected solely in the president’s numbers, however. Congress is criticized by nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of Americans for not being assertive enough in challenging the Bush administration’s conduct of the war."

And so in less than ninety days the DemoRepub's honeymoon is over....and Nancy Pelosi could care less.

See also....Mommy Pelosi and Daddy Bush
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There's Not a Dime's Worth of Difference Between Hillary and Obama on Iraq
A quote...."Barack Obama will need another layer of Teflon if he intends to continue talking mush on Iraq withdrawal. Speaking on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, Rep. Maxine Waters warned that she and other leaders of the 75-member Out of Iraq Congressional Caucus will soon journey to early Democratic primary states to determine "who is nuancing and tip-toeing" around the issue. Asked directly if she were referring to frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Waters said "they both have to prove themselves." There isn't a dime's worth of difference between Senators Obama and Clinton on the war -- both harp on the Bush regime's "mistakes" and mishandling of the nearly four-year-long carnage, while twisting like contortionists on the question of when and how the U.S. will leave Iraq."
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Fox Guest Says the U.S. Should Destroy Venezuela's Economy
A quote...."Eagleburger said, "I think we have to push...anything we can do to make their economy more difficult for them at this moment [screw the poor citizenry] is a good thing [for U.S. corporations] but let's do it in ways that do not get us into direct conflict with Venezuela if we can get away with it."

See also....Confessions of an Economic Hit Man - Part I,  Part II,  Part III
See also....We'll Make Them an Offer They Can't Refuse 09-06-06
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CBS Refuses to Broadcast Iraq Footage
A quote...."Sometimes it's hard to swim in the mainstream.  -  [because of all the sewage? - mpg]  There has been much heated debate over the past few years over media coverage of the Iraq War. The Bush administration has repeatedly attacked the 'liberal bias' of the mainstream news industry, claiming that it doesn't report enough of the "good news" from Iraq and focuses instead on the sensational and violent."

It used to be "if it bleeds it leads", except of course if it would embarrass the wealthy elites of this country.  And so "our" (read the wealthy’s) "mainstream" press is still getting a lot of people killed. Ask yourself this question America, when this stuff starts to happen over here in this country, when it's the government or private "contractors" gunning down Americans or making them disappear....you think CBS will cover it? – mpg
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Patrick Leahy slams Gonzales over rendition, torture [VIDEO]
A quote...."This is what oversight looks like, courtesy of Senate Judiciary chair Patrick Leahy."

Just watch Gonzalez smirk as he gets grilled by Leahy...these guys really think it's funny, they really do!
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U.S. media jobs slashed 88 percent
A quote...."CHICAGO, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. media job cuts surged 88 percent in 2006 from the previous year, a downsizing trend expected to continue this year, a survey said Thursday.  -  The media industry slashed 17,809 jobs last year, a nearly two-fold increase from the 9,453 cuts in 2005, outplacement consultancy Challenger Gray & Christmas said.  -  The figure was the industry's largest annual job-cut total since 43,420 media job cuts accompanied the collapse of the technology bubble in 2001, the survey said."

Perhaps people aren't reading them because they're garbage eating sycophants....see Ex-Cheney Aide Details Media Tactics
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Another GOPer off to K Street
A quote...."Three makes a trend!  -  Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) -- who was defeated largely because of his ties to Jack Abramoff -- is heading to K Street, Roll Call reported Monday (sub. req.)  -  Put together with ex-Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), who's landed a lobbying gig with a lobbyist whose access to Burns when he was in office attracted the attention of the feds, and ex-Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), who's signalled an interest in lobbying, Pombo makes the third GOPer we know of who voters tossed out of office for his ties to K Street, and who's now off to lobby."

Goes to show, no bad deed goes unrewarded in Washington DC.
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The Daily Show on SoTU 2007 - video
Must View. A quote...."As always, The Daily Show has a hysterical take on Bush's State of the Union and the Democratic response."

Friday January 26th 2007

US elevates Pakistan to regional kingpin
A quote...."The hearings of the US congressional committees on intelligence in Washington in the past two successive weeks make it clear that the administration of President George W Bush has no intention of pressuring Pakistan over the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan. "

You can picture it a year from now, one of those slack jawed pundits on FOX News saying, "yeah the Taliban, al Qaeda and Osama are our friends.....dah, drool, drool, you know....to help us get Iran."

Has anyone out there considered that the members of the Bush family are God's joke on America? - mpg
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Lebanon: Shadow of civil war looms again
A quote...."The same politicians who toppled Karameh twice are the ones criticizing the measures of Hezbollah today, prime among them being Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, whose father spearheaded the demonstrations against both Khury and Chamoun in the 1950s"

More on the coming Sunni Shia divide.
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The Coming War Against Iran
War Update - A comprehensive list of the steps being taken for war with Iran.

The struggle against war requires a break with the Democrats.
A quote...."It is now nearly four years since massive protests against the looming war in Iraq brought tens of millions of people into the streets all across the world. It is high time for some hard but essential political lessons to be drawn.  -  Those demonstrations, despite their massive scale, failed to halt the US war of aggression against Iraq. Repeated demonstrations since have not diminished this crime."

Bush's War on the Republic
A quote...."From the beginning of the “war on terror,” George W. Bush has lied to the American people about the goals, motivation and even the identity of the enemy – a propaganda exercise that continued through his 2007 State of the Union Address and that is sounding the death knell for the Republic."

As God Is His Witness
A quote...."Bush is no devout evangelical. In fact, he may not be a Christian at all. "

Manipulating The Oil Reserve
A quote...."It turns out there is good reason to believe that record oil prices may be due to our own strategic oil reserve, which the Bush administration may have been manipulating to drive up prices for the benefit of its clients. This is something Congress must investigate, and here is some preliminary evidence."

The MSM in Davos: Fear and Resolve... With a Pinch of Loathing Thrown In
A quote...."Taking part in a number of Davos sessions on the state of the media (and sitting in on a number of others) is a bit like watching the characters in a slasher film: Who will be the next one to be gutted and left for dead by the crazed killer (in this case, the new media revolution)?"

Leaked Israeli Document Gives Frightening Glimpse Of Apartheid
A quote. - The Electronic Intifada - "President Jimmy Carter angered Israel and its friends by describing "the abominable oppression and persecution in the occupied Palestinian territories, with a rigid system of required passes and strict segregation between Palestine's citizens and Jewish settlers in the West Bank."

State of the Union 2007 - Bush Impression
Actually this was the real Bush speech along with the DemoRepub's response; the ones shown by the national faux-infotainment networks were just some clever CGI.

The BEAST 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2006
Must Read.  And some of them are REALLY loathsome. - Absolutely hilarious and deliciously rude. - This website is NOT responsible for any of the content in this article.....in fact the author of this website doesn't even know how this article got here.

Thursday January 25th 2007

Escalation of US Iran military planning part of six-year Administration push
Must Read. A quote...."The escalation of US military planning on Iran is only the latest chess move in a six-year push within the Bush Administration to attack Iran, a RAW STORY investigation has found."
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Middle East's cold war heats up
A quote...."TEHRAN - After several months of faint rumblings, a US-led, Middle East-wide alliance of conservative Sunni and secular Muslim states marshaled against Iran is starting to take shape, to the deepening discomfort of the Iranian theocracy. Leading countries in this alliance are Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan."

See also....The CONversation 09-04-06
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Interview With Hubert Védrine, Former French Foreign Minister
A quote...."Paris - To Védrine, the former French Foreign Minister, the "clash of civilizations" needs to be countered, not only through measures taken in the fields of "education, training, and youth, but also by addressing crucial political issues poisoning the relations between the West and Islam," notably the "pivotal Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East"

Obviously this guy doesn't own any shares in the MIOC (Military-Industrial-Oil-Complex) - mpg
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And Mahdi Army Makes Three Fronts in Iraq
A quote...."George W. Bush's State of the Union address appears to confirm other recent indications that the president is not merely sending more troops to Iraq to do more of the same, but has adopted a new strategy of fighting all three major Iraqi Arab political-military forces simultaneously."

U.S. plans to boost troops, aid for Afghanistan
A quote...."WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States said on Thursday it had extended the tours of 3,200 troops in Afghanistan and would ask Congress for $10.6 billion in fresh aid for the country to combat the renewed Taliban insurgency."

Think about it....the Neocons wanted a "Pearl Harbor style event" and they got it.  They also wanted a "long war", a "thirty years" war and they're going to get that too.  Isn't it nice to be a rich Neocon conservative and have all your dreams come true? - mpg
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Russia Gets its Warm-Water Port
A quote...."A number of simultaneous recent events and trends in the Balkans evidence a startling yet indisputable conclusion: that across the board, the Western influence that had for so long seemed so hegemonic is on the wane, or has at least encountered very serious stumbling blocks."

African Diaspora: Somalia and Ethiopia: a new front in the 'long war'
A quote...."To understand the current crisis in the Horn of Africa you have to look at the role of the US and its "war on terror" - or the "long war" as US rulers are coming to call it."
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Bill Moyers: Life on the Plantation [Transcript] --- Audio posted 01-17-07
Bill Moyers with an outstanding presentation A quote...."It has long been said (ostensibly by Benjamin Franklin, but we can't be sure) that "democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."   See also....Bill Moyers at NCMR 2007 -- PART 1 - YouTube video

Free papers or a free press
Related article  -  A quote...."THE press is in crisis; the worst crisis in its history. For the past three years newspapers and news magazines in France, including Le Monde diplomatique, and almost everywhere in the world have been steadily losing readers. Their delicate economic balance is upset, their survival threatened and, with it, the democratic right to express a range of opinions. What is to blame for this depressing state of the press?"
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Alternative finances
A quote...."The failure of the [Doha] round causes many people to ask: “What should we put in the place of Doha?” You could respond that this is like asking “What should we put in the place of cancer?”, the instinctive answer to which is “nothing”; however in the case of trade it would be unwise to answer so. The absence of cancer is to be desired but the absence of an international trade regime just leaves the field open to bilateral and multilateral deals which are always even more invasive and dangerous for weaker partners than is the WTO."

Daily Show SOTU Preview, with Jon Stewart - YouTube video
A tragic, tragic, video, regarding Bush's inability to master the English language.......followed by a heart rending depiction of American sacrifice.  It will honestly bring tears to your eyes. - mpg

Wednesday January 24th 2007

The state of the (dis)union
Must Read.  A quote...."Muqtada denied he was part of the Shi'ite lynch mob present at the hanging of Saddam Hussein: "The objective was to depict Muqtada as the real enemy of the Sunnis. And they succeeded." But who are "they"? The Maliki government? The Americans? Muqtada has been trying a rapprochement with moderate Sunnis for almost two years now....."

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Beastly Behavior
01-24-07
mpg

Opposition Demonstrations Turn Beirut into a Violent Sectarian Battleground
A quote...." So the worst nightmare years may have begun again. There were thousands of them - Christians fighting Christians north of Beirut, Sunni and Shia Muslims in the capital, a rain of stones, shrieks of hatred and occasionally even gunfire - that turned Lebanon into a sectarian battleground yesterday."

Lebanon opposition halts strike
A quote...."Lebanese opposition sources say they have called off the anti-government strike which brought much of the country to a standstill on Tuesday.'"

There go those disgusting Hezbollah "terrorists" again, trying to change Lebanese politics by what Samir Geagea described to al-Jazeera television as "....direct terrorism to paralyze the country."  They even (Gasp! Horror! Shock!) possibly contributed to the deaths of three people with their recent protests. THREE PEOPLE can you believe it!  What a bunch of barbarians!  Luckily realizing this could lead to even more horrendous bloodshed they called off their demonstrations for now.

Contrast this beastly behavior with the US's attempt to change Iraq's politics.  Unlike those callous Hezbollah thugs, the US instituted benign and wonderful policies of tender care for the Iraqi people. Although these policies have admittedly resulted in the deaths of over six hundred thousand Iraqis, the displacement of millions more, the wounding of hundreds of thousands and the almost complete destruction of the country’s infrastructure, everyone out there should understand we in the US truly and deeply care for the Iraqi people.  The Iraqis simply have to understand that unlike those ruthless Hezbollah killers the US intends to bring them "freedom and democracy"

Since our goals are so much more superior, as apposed to those cowardly Hezbollah monsters, the US will continue its attempts to change the politics of Iraq even if the US has to kill every one of you Iraqis to do so.  As Bush has already stated “I think the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of gratitude” and “That’s the problem here in America. They wonder whether or not there is a gratitude level that’s significant enough in Iraq.”

In any case the good news for the Lebanese is, if Israel can keep stirring up the pot in Lebanon and launch some more attacks the Lebanese themselves might be able to experience the same wonderful advantages America has brought to Iraq instead of the current political protests.  Isn’t that great news?  Something all Lebanese can look forward too.

Now that you Iraqis understand how much better the US's policies are for you as apposed to the horror which is occurring in Lebanon, it should become clear which path is preferable.

Follow the US's lead so you can enjoy our wonderful "freedom and democracy" even if that means many more of you have to die, and of course while you're busy dying, as a token of your gratitude give us all of your lovely oil and let us keep our bases in your country.

Or - be cast into utter darkness like the Shia in Lebanon will be if they get proportional representation.  Being forced to vote and have your votes actually counted.  Being forced to make the decisions for your own country in consultation with the other ethnic and religious groups.  Not living under the wonderful tutelage and care of the Western powers.  Experiencing the awful burden of not having a superior nation occupy your country, protect you and tell you what to do.

Shocking isn't it when the choices are presented so starkly?

So choose carefully, if you do not, the US might actually leave....and than where will you be?

end - mpg
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Bush's Impeachable Offenses, Part 1 - ILLEGAL WAR - posted at Guerrilla News Network
Good timeline regarding the Iraq set-up.

MI6 And The Media - Manipulators Of The Mind
More good data regarding the cooked intell about Iraq.

The articles shown above give an idea on just how the DemoRepubs are going to juice up the war against Iran.  Don't believe that?  They're already doing it, see....Don't You Love the Smell of Propaganda in the Morning?
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U.S. launches new air strike on Somalia: report
A quote...."MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship has launched a second air strike against suspected al Qaeda operatives in southern Somalia, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified U.S. officials."

Well....the US is now at war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and soon Iran and Syria. 
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Britain at odds with US over Iraq troop pullout
A quote...."Signs of tension between the US and Britain over London's plans to withdraw some of the 7,000 UK troops in southern Iraq from this spring emerged yesterday."

It's sort of funny, the British tell Tony Blair to withdraw and even though he's Bush's poodle, he obeys.  Whereas America tells Bush to withdraw in the most recently held election and Bush sends in another 20,000 troops.

Is that what one refers to as "American democracy?"
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Bush’s State of the Union speech highlights crisis of US ruling elite
A quote...."President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address was delivered Wednesday in an atmosphere of crisis and demoralization gripping not only his own Republican administration, but the entire American political establishment."

"The media made much of Bush having for the first time to address a Democratic-led Congress, but the prevailing mood was not so much political confrontation as general bewilderment and apprehension, with the two parties confronting a military and political debacle in Iraq in which they are both fully implicated."

"A president who, as multiple polls released this week have underscored, is the most despised occupant of the White House since Richard Nixon at the height of the Watergate crisis, was treated to repeated standing ovations led by the new “Madam Speaker” of the House of Representatives, Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi."

And so the DemoRepubs appluaded themselves with "repeated standing ovations" led by Nancy Pelosi.  They really are just spineless jelly fish.  See....Spineless Jelly Fish
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Blogging a Dead Horse; or The Ballad of Luther Baldwin
A quote...."It so happens that family business has taken me back to the Homeland where, for once, I am in a position to see the Dear Leader in action live. The newpapers and tube jibber-jabberers have been a-twitter all day about the SOTU by the POTUS. It has been a salutary shock for me to see how seriously the good gray geese in the media take the blood-soaked kabuki in the Beltway, especially tonight's tissue of lies and spin and desperate pitches for applause."

An Evening of Orwellian Sloganeering
A quote...."The Inner Party celebrated itself on January 23, 2007, with an orgy of delusion and propaganda.  It was televised for us, the proles, on at least eight networks.  -  The President’s speech began with a retro-change in the Party Line: moving from the neo-con/reformist, “Deficits don’t matter” to invoking the empty Reaganesque rhetoric of “we must balance the federal budget.” 

28% and Counting, the Disintegration of a President
A quote...."Having put behind the subjects he does not live for, Bush then moved into his bread and butter, the War on Terror/Iraq. He began without any shame, his staple, by invoking 911, linking that to terror, linking terror to Iraq, and voila! We must continue to fight in Iraq, because of 911. Like a master magician, he trumped up some alleged "terror plots" that were supposedly broken up, quoted bin Laden and Zarqawi for fear factor, and wrapped it up with his patented "ideological struggle of our time" nonsense. He even tried to attach the Sunnis to al Qaeda and the Shia to the Iranians, desperately trying to make the factions fighting the civil war in Iraq into terrorists. All of this of course failed on its face. America is well aware that this war is not about terror. There are less then 5% of the people fighting in Iraq that are linked to al Qaeda. So Bush dragged out his failed lies, his failed policies, and his failed war for another public flogging...."

Bush’s State of the Moron Address: He is Killing Us Softly With His Wrong, Killing Us Softly.
A quote...."With all due respect to Roberta Flack (who popularized the song "Killing Me Softly With His Song, Killing Me Softly"), the mainstream press is still caught up in a fictional narrative of an earnest cowpoke decisively leading America.  -  But journalists, who are supposed to get to the bottom of the truth, have spent years ice skating on the surface of the superficiality of fictions pedaled by Republicans. They have become Disneyised. They are reporters wandering down the make-believe Main Street inhabited by Mickey, Minnie and Goofie in a fantasy theme park in Orlando."
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The State Spies on the Union
A quote...."On the same day that the Department of Justice announced its decision not to reauthorize its unilateral, illegal wiretapping program, it notified the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that it would be submitting documents setting forth its arguments regarding the effect of this decision on the pending appeal. Clearly, the government lawyers intend to argue that the case is moot: There's nothing left to decide because we're not doing it anymore."

This all seems so familiar, what was that case called, oh that's right....Padilla's Lawyers Suggest Indictment Helps Government Avoid Court Fight
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Observations on Washington-style democracy
Related article.  A quote...."Political life in the US capital is increasingly an exercise in deceit and self-delusion. It does not take long for an objective observer to discern that behind the traditional forms of parliamentary democracy—congressional debates, floor votes, hearings, etc.—the machinery of a presidential dictatorship is being consolidated and already operating in key areas of policy, both foreign and domestic."
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Your Local Police Force Has Been Militarized - The Empire Turns Its Guns on the Citizenry
A quote...."In recent years American police forces have called out SWAT teams 40,000 or more times annually. Last year did you read in your newspaper or hear on TV news of 110 hostage or terrorist events each day? No. What then were the SWAT teams doing? They were serving routine warrants to people who posed no danger to the police or to the public."

Tuesday January 23rd 2007

Gangsters For Capitalism
Must Read. A complete and sweeping summation of why the US does what it does....for the money.

A quote....“The U.S. has routinely destroyed democracy throughout the globe while its leaders spout words about spreading democracy.”
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The Nuremberg Statute of 1945 and the “Nuremberg Principles”
A quote...."After the horrific events of World War II those responsible for the Nazi dictatorship on different levels were made accountable on the basis of the Nuremberg principles. Two points in particular were new:"

"First, it was stated in the Nuremberg Statute that the leaders, their advisors and helpers remain accountable for their crimes before mankind. Neither the sovereignty of the state they headed, nor their right to decide for themselves on how to run the state absolve them from this."

"Secondly, heads of state, their advisors and helpers were individually and personally made accountable for their particular contribution to a particular crime. They were not allowed to hide behind their functions within the state or their national law."
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Don't You Love the Smell of Propaganda in the Morning?
A quote...."Ah yes, someone loves the the smell of propaganda in the morning. Looks like a series of three strategically placed propaganda stories point towards good old-fashioned fear-mongering to boost Bush's all time low poll ratings in the latest Newsweek, CBS, and NBC/WSJ surveys just prior to Dear MisLeader's State of the Dis-Union speech. One of the suspected fake reports appears aimed at garnering support for the impending hostilities with Iran. The multi-pronged PSYOP also seems aimed at not only boosting said all-time low support, but perhaps also to lend credence to lies Bush may deliver in tonight's address..."

For more on this see...al-Zarqawi, Al Qaeda the Media and the U.S. & They Got That Horrible Monster 06-08-06
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Report: Little evidence for Iran-Iraq arms link
A quote...."A Los Angeles Times article on Tuesday reports that despite administration assertions that advanced weaponry is crossing into Iraq via its border with Iran, little evidence supports the claim."

Gee....this all sounds so familiar, where have we heard about non-existent weapons before?
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U.S.-Tailored Iraqi Oil Alarm For Producers, Consumers
A quote...." Iraqi and Iranian oil reserves are targeted per se, but clinching these assets out of national decision-making would also give Washington control over about 60 percent of the world's conventional oil reserves located in essentially five countries in the Arabian Gulf region (described officially by Iran as “Persian”). Iran's close proximity to these major oil resources and her balancing power in controlling access to them have made her the second major obstacle after Iraq that could block any U.S. strategic drive to gain control over them. In 2003, about 90% of oil exported from the Gulf transited by tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran."
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A Victim's Response to 9/11's Aftermath
Wherein a victim relates how he's been victimized twice, once by the "terrorists" and again by his government.

When this country finally develops the courage to stop hiding it's collective head in the sand, when this country finally dares to gaze upon the Gorgan and stare the monster down, to see the true horror of how this system really works, to defy our collective fear of being turned into stone, only than will we again become a free people.

If we as a Nation AGAIN deny our responsibilities, if we as a Nation AGAIN walk away from what must be done as we did when the elites in this country killed the Kennendys, Martin Luther King and staged the Gulf of Tonkin, we will have given up everything that our forefathers fought for.

We will have become a land of obedient sheep lining ourselves up for the next "sacrifice" by our wealthy elites. - mpg
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The Trial of Tony Blair: What would it take to put the prime minister in the dock?
A betrayal by him of the very elites who sponsored his murderous policies.

Libby: 'I will not be sacrificed so Karl Rove can be protected'
Stay away from the showers Libby, stay away from the showers....some of Karl's best buddies are there. 

Israeli billionaire Saban biggest donor to US politicians - posted at Info Clearing House
A quote...."Communications tycoon has donated at least USD 13 million to American politicians. As a close friend of the Clintons he contributed to the Democrats, but President Bush has not been deprived either"

Hillary ads an example of the failings of the progressive media
A quote...."These Hillary campaign ads are cropping up all over the progressive media websites.  -  The progressive media's blind support for Hillary Clinton is a telling failure. Nowhere is this emphasized more than on the website www.newshounds.us. News Hounds does a great job at debunking the daily spin from the FOX news channel. We are not attacking them, we post many of their reports, but maybe they should reconsider their support for Hillary when it is a known fact that one of her biggest financial backers is Fox owner Rupert Murdoch."
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Fox Noose wraps itself around Obama while Clinton wants a conv.with America and more troops to Afghanistan
A quote...."With the Chinese sending a missile into space to blow up one of their own old satellites, Sunnis in G.I. gear killing Americans in their safe zone, and someone using a Russian rocket to down a Blackhawk shortly after Americans blow up a couple of villages in Somalia its all way too much like bad reality teevee. If only it wasn't really happening in the real world, eh?"

Hoenlein: Delegitimization of Israel rising among US elite - posted at Info Clearing House
A quote...."In the coming years American Jewry will face the most significant delegitimization of Israel it has ever encountered, Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice-chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday."

China seeks new ways to spend $1 trillion
A quote...."SHANGHAI - China has finally decided to diversify disposal of its huge yet steadily growing foreign-exchange reserve by investing in overseas markets, a dramatic departure from its current practice of putting most of its eggs into one basket - US Treasury bonds."

OPEC Dumps $10.1 Billion of Treasuries as Oil Tumbles (Update2)
A quote...."Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- OPEC nations are unloading Treasuries at the fastest pace in more than three years as crude oil prices tumble, sending bond yields higher."

Website author note - NYMEX Crude Oil (Light) rose up $2.46 Jan. 23rd 2007
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Venezuela to begin imposing tax on idle lands in April
A quote...."CARACAS, Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez's administration plans to impose an extra tax starting in April on landholders who fail to obey a government plan for their land, Venezuela's tax agency said Tuesday."

Land redistribution and full or partial nationalization of key natural resources is almost always more effective at wealth generation than letting the elites establish a "plantation economy".  National risk distribution systems such as pensions and single payer health care plans are demonstrably more cost effective than private plans.  Cost overheads usually run two to three cents on the dollar for public plans versus twenty to twenty fives cents for private systems.

Full or partial nationalization of grid systems however (power and communications) can run the risk of "bloated bureaucracy syndrome."

Direct control is MUCH LESS preferable than setting up a "level socialist playing field", transparent to all, where the rules are decided by all, for the benefit of all, especially in regards to the financial system.

Financial records, oil royalties, fiscal and monetary policies should be completely transparent.  The Central Bank should be sufficiently independent to maintain the currency.  If you allow the private traders or bankers to manipulate or control your currency all your attempts to transform, reform or modify the economic system will fail. - mpg
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Monday January 22nd 2007

Russia’s Managed Democracy
Must Read.  A broad overview of the changes that have taken place in Russia and the possible future outcomes for that country.

Tomgram: Adam Hochschild, Over the Top in Iraq
A quote...."It's been a repetitive phenomenon of these last years -- when fears about disaster (or further disaster, or even the farthest reaches of disaster) in Iraq rise, so does the specter of Vietnam. Despite the obvious dissimilarities between the two situations, Vietnam has been the shadow war we're still fighting."
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Trained seals or leaders?
A quote...."If Democrats in Congress are not going to impeach George W. Bush, then the very least they can do is refrain from applauding him.  -  Don't ya think?"

A normal human being might, but we're talking about spineless jelly fish that VOLUNTARILY had their back bones removed so they could be stepped on and used like a welcome mat.

Everyone throughout America, just watch the DemoRepubs applaud that thing in the White House for what he's done to this Nation....and more importantly what he's going to continue to do to this Nation for the next two years. - mpg
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9/11 And American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out, A Review
A quote...."9/11 AND AMERICAN EMPIRE: Intellectuals Speak Out, Reviewed, By Carolyn Baker  -  'Surely there can be no higher duty for academics and other intellectuals at this time than to expose the big lie of 9/11, thereby undermining the primary pretext for the global domination project.'"

See also....9/11 The Myth and the Reality: Dr. David Ray Griffin - Google video 1 hour 38 min
See also....David Ray Griffin Reveals Major 9/11 Cover-up On C-SPAN and in Washington Post
See also....David Ray Griffin - 911 and the American Empire (2005) - Google video 1 hour 21 min
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Iranians did have links with Bin Ladens.
A quote...."According to our confidential sources, Reza Cyrus Pahlavi, the deposed Shah's oldest son and claimant to the Iranian throne, lived in Houston after the ouster of his father in 1979 and during the early 1980s. Pahlavi reportedly worked out of the Houston offices of James Bath & Associates, the authorized agents for Salem Bin Laden and Bin Laden family interests in the United States."

What about the Bio-Weapons Labs?
A quote...."According to the non-profit Sunshine Project of Austin, Texas, some 113 university, government, hospital and corporate laboratories engaged in research tied to germ warfare, have refused to disclose their operations to the public as required by law, a nonprofit watchdog agency says.  Despite this, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in Bethesda, Md., the government entity tasked with oversight of these laboratories, allows them to continue to operate instead of shutting them down."

Blackwater USA may start training Sudanese security forces
A quote...."NORFOLK, Virginia: A Southern Sudanese official said he expects a U.S. military training company to soon start working with security forces in the southern part of the country, The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reported Friday."

China's New Chip in Space War Poker
A quote...."On January 11, 2006, EST, China launched a medium-range missile from its Xichang Space Center, or near it, which shot up to a point near its Feng Yun 1C weather satellite -- in polar orbit since 1999 -- at an elevation of 864 km (537 miles), and destroyed it."

China Blows A Hole
A quote..."...in the US claim that there is no arms race in space with the successful destruction of one of its old and disused weather satellites orbiting 537 miles up in space by firing a ground-based missile at it on January 11, 2007"

Bush, Rove, the Federal Prosecutors and Political Terrorism
A quote...."To put this into full context we need to travel back in time - back to Karl Rove's Texas election scandals. Many of Rove's scandals centered round his relationship with an FBI agent by the name of Greg Rampton. Texas Democrats had begun to notice an election season pattern developing. It seemed that as elections approached in Texas, one Democrat or another suddenly became the focus of an FBI investigation. Strangely, the charges all stemmed from Rampton's office and always disappeared soon as the election concluded."

The Pentagon vs. Press Freedom
A quote...."We often hear that the Pentagon exists to defend our freedoms. But the Pentagon is moving against press freedom.  -  Not long ago, journalist Sarah Olson received a subpoena to testify next month in the court-martial of U.S. Army Lt. Ehren Watada, who now faces prosecution for speaking against the Iraq war and refusing to participate in it. Apparently, the commanders at the Pentagon are so eager to punish Watada that they've decided to go after reporters who have informed the public about his staments."

View of US's global role 'worse'
A quote...."The view of the US's role in the world has deteriorated both internationally and domestically, a BBC poll suggests."

Who cares what the 190 US colonies....whoops...many pardons.....what the 190 countries out there think, after all the US is doing the world a favor by occupying all those resource rich countries.
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Why Carter is "Good for the Jews" - Carter is my hero for speaking out, and we should listen to him.
A quote...."The paramount priority right now is not what the motives were in creating Israel, nor how the Holocaust figures in, nor any policies Israel has pursued in the past. All of that debate is beside the point right now. The paramount priority right now is to put a stop to the phased genocide taking place at this moment in the West Bank and Gaza. The eventual "cleansed" (of Palestinians) state that the Israeli army and successive governments of Israel are in the process of achieving for us will be an abomination to any morally normal person, but by then it will be too late. One thing for sure: a "Jewish" state it will not be. "You killed and then you inherited" is forbidden in Judaism. Go ask the ghost of Rabin."

An Answer To The Israel Lobby - Ponerology
A quote...."...Unfortunately, it has become a frequent phenomenon for...oppressive groups, or patho-political systems to invent ever-new moral criteria ("paramoralisms") ... Paramoralisms somehow cunningly evade the control of our common sense, sometimes leading to acceptance or approval of behavior that is openly pathological. ... Paramoralisitic statements and suggestions so often accompany various kinds of evil that they seem quite irreplaceable. Anything which threatens autocratic rule becomes (is labelled) deeply immoral. (pps 150, 205)"

Do new Ohio recount prosecutions indicate unraveling of 2004 election theft cover-up?
A quote..."Three criminal prosecutions in Ohio's biggest county have opened with strong indications that the cover-up of the theft of the 2004 presidential election is starting to unravel. Prosecutors say these cases involve "rigging" the recount in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), where tens of thousands of votes were shifted from John Kerry to George W. Bush, or else never counted."

No Escape from Accountability
A quote...." Commenting on the execution of Saddam Hussein, President Bush asserted that it was a warning that no man can escape accountability for his crimes.  -  There is no longer any confusion from any quarter that the 3,000 deaths and 20,000 gruesome American casualties, the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths, the atrocious, hellish daily existence of the Iraqi people, and the gluttonous economic waste of the invasion and occupation of Iraq are the direct results of the calculated actions of the president and his administration and the astonishing silence and acceptance of the Congress.

Groups seek records on warrantless mail surveillance that Bush authorized through 'signing statment'
A quote...."On Monday, two groups filed Freedom of Information Act requests seeking information regarding warrantless mail surveillance, which was authorized by President Bush through a "signing statement" that went largely unnoticed in December."

Isn't it a Federal crime to open someone else's mail.  Keep in mind they didn't get Al Capone for murder.....they got him for tax evasion.
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Bush the Empire Slayer
Must Read.  Hilariously acerbic, pointed and absolutely, totally, spot on.

Presidential IQs for Last 50 Years
A quote...."I guess I can never say again that IQ measurement is biased . . .A report published Monday, November 13, 2006, by the Lovenstein Institute of Scranton, Pennsylvania, detailed its findings of a four month study of the
intelligence quotient of President George W. Bush. Since 1973, The Lovenstein Institute has published its research to the educational community on each new president, which includes the famous "IQ" report among others."

ABC's of the Liberal Media
A quote...."Bush’s popularity has fallen to new lows, Democrats have control of Congress, and a strong majority opposes the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, but ABC has decided that the time is right to give America more conservative pundits and to attack a liberal online critic who raised questions about the network’s policy of broadcasting hate radio."

The All BS Channel....all the time.  They never give up.

See also....ABC and the "Great Game" 9/11 and the Swift-Boating of Truth 09-10-06
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The Mainstream Media's Take on Iraq: Right, Left... And Dead Wrong
Our illustrious "no longer main stream", faux-news, sycophants still getting it wrong after four long years....and they're getting a lot of people killed in the process.

A New Chance for Peace?
Regarding Jimmy Carter's new book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" - A quote...." I am concerned that public discussion of my book "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid" has been diverted from the book's basic proposals: that peace talks be resumed after six years of delay and that the tragic persecution of Palestinians be ended. Although most critics have not seriously disputed or even mentioned the facts and suggestions about these two issues, an apparently concerted campaign has been focused on the book's title, combined with allegations that I am anti-Israel. This is not good for any of us who are committed to Israel's status as a peaceful nation living in harmony with its neighbors."

Pentagon official witch-hunts Guantánamo detainees’ lawyers
A quote...."On January 13 the New York Times reported that the senior Pentagon official in charge of military detainees accused of terrorism, Charles D. Stimson, had publicly attacked lawyers representing prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, saying he was dismayed that attorneys at many of the nation’s top firms were representing “terrorists.” He encouraged the firms’ corporate clients to protest by taking their business elsewhere."

Chavez to U.S.: 'Go to hell, gringos!' - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."The National Assembly, controlled by the president's political allies, is expected to give final approval this week to what it calls the "enabling law," which would grant Chavez authority to pass a series of laws by decree during an 18-month period."

Chavez is doing what Bush succeeded in doing (with his signing statements) - Earth to Chavez, you have a National Legislature filled with your own supporters....why do you need an enabling decree?

Hopefully you're not going to go bananas like Bush?
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Insurgent TV channel turns into Iraq's newest cult hit
We have "24", they have "Insurgent TV".  Who says we're not bringing "American values" to Iraq.

See also....Fox Show "24": Torture on TV
See also....Neocon Gangster Rap
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Yeah, I'm Angry
As one of the commentators said...."Yeah I hear you brother"

Surge in Carbon Levels Raises Fears of Runaway Warming
A quote...."Carbon dioxide is accumulating in the atmosphere much faster than scientists expected, raising fears that humankind may have less time to tackle climate change than previously thought.  -  New figures from dozens of measuring stations across the world reveal that concentrations of CO2, the main greenhouse gas, rose at record levels during 2006 - the fourth year in the last five to show a sharp increase. Experts are puzzled because the spike, which follows decades of more modest annual rises, does not appear to match the pattern of steady increases in human emissions."

FBI details threat from gangs in military
A quote...."Members of the Hells Angels, including an Army lieutenant colonel from Illinois, have served the U.S. military in Iraq. Another Iraq war veteran, a Marine who belongs to the Maniac Latin Disciples street gang, is charged with shooting three teens in Aurora."

Just one suggestion to all you gang members out there, why don't you keep "it" out of your own neighborhoods.....away from your grandmothers, away from where your parent's homes are, away from where your kids go to school, and take "it" to where the money is....know what I mean?  You know, the people that hired you to be their contract killers for them.
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Saturday January 20th 2007

The Democrat's First 100 Deaths
Must Read - A quote...."If the end-game of neoconservatism is "global full spectrum military dominance by the United States" –and it is-, and possession and control of the "energy rich regions", do you really believe abortion and gay marriage were ever a "value"? It must be realized that this insidious quest to fundamentally destroy the United States' Constitution and Bill of Rights to enable PAX Americana is, and has always been a chipping away which takes place from the bowels of both political parties, and that when the torch is passed to a Democrat in 2008, America's murderous harvest of resources will continue.

What is needed then if there is to be any hope of stopping the Beast, is a coalition, the mutual interests of which has increasingly evidenced themselves over the last two years: A coalition between the (so-called anyway) "hard left" (Progressives), and what have come to be termed "Paleo-Conservatives"; both groups are appalled at the fundamental decimation of traditional American sovereignty, IE domestic manufacturing capability, jobs, secured borders, fair trade, and America's commitment to personal liberties, and foreign wars for profit. It is thus that Pat Buchanan and Ralph Nader, Chuck Hagel and Dennis Kucinich have a fundamental common interest that is shared by a majority of people in this country, yet totally unrepresented by design. The game of "majoring in minors" must be ended by such a coalition; divisive, manufactured social issues can wait, they must wait. This is serious.
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Bush’s War on Perception
Must Read.  A quote...."01/20/07 "ICHBlog" -- - We’ve heard a lot about the bombing of Samarra’s Golden Mosque lately. Bush has brought it up twice in the last week alone. It’s a critical part of the administration’s rationale for the occupation of Iraq, so we can expect to be reminded of it nearly as often as 9-11."
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How Congress Can Stop the Iran Attack
Must Read. A quote....01/20/07 "ICHBlog" President Bush is invoking his "commander in chief" authority to escalate the war in Iraq, and he will likely also invoke it to launch an aerial attack against Iran. Congress has long ago abdicated and delegated to the President its constitutional responsibility to initiate wars. Yet Congress still has one surefire way to influence events: it has the constitutional authority to make the "nuclear option" against Iran illegal. In so doing, it would stop the relentless drive to war against Iran dead in its tracks.

Moves Toward War with Iran: We Must Stop This
Related article - A quote...."American public opinion has turned strongly against the war in Iraq. After a strong anti-war vote in the November mid-term elections, politicians from both major parties are under pressure to oppose an aggressive foreign policy.  -  Yet, the world still stands on the brink. The United States and Israel may be about to start a wider war in the Middle East by attacking Iran, sparking more of the violence that CIA Director Michael Hayden called "almost satanic."

Harry Reid Lays Down The Law: No More War Without Congressional Approval
Related article - A quote...."In the single most important war and peace moment since George Bush assumed the Presidency, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told the National Press Club that the President must, have prior Congressional approval before taking our country to war again.  -  This is not negotiable. This is the law of the land."

The Pieces Are Being Put in Place
Related article - War Update - Final Moves - A quote...."The pieces are moving.  They’ll be in place by the end of February. The United States will be able to escalate military operations against Iran."

Neocons “Clearing a Path to the Targets” in Iran
Related article - War Update - Final Moves - A quote...."“The United States has signaled to Gulf Arab allies that an attack on Iran could take place in 2007,” reports the Middle East Newsline. “Diplomatic sources said the Bush administration has raised the prospect of a U.S. strike on Iran over the next few months. The sources said the discussions with Gulf Cooperation Council states have also been conducted by U.S. Central Command as well as the U.S. intelligence community.”

US Forces Order of Battle
Related data - War Update - Order of Battle - A quote...."On January 11, 2007, the Department of Defense announced, as part of President Bush's new strategy for Iraq, the following force adjustments which would result building the capacity available to commanders to 20 brigade or regimental combat teams:"

War with Iran is imminent - [ US Naval Deployments ]
Related data - War Update - Naval Deployments - A quote...."In addition to moving additional military forces into the region, President Bush is putting into place a new political and military command team, all in preparation for an expanded war in the Middle East."

See also....Report: Little evidence for Iran-Iraq arms link
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Sunni-Shiite talks begin with spat over Iran, Iraq
A quote...."DOHA (AFP) - A conference on inter-Islamic dialogue has got off to a heated start in Doha with a top Sunni cleric attacking Shiites and Iran over the continuing sectarian violence in war-torn Iraq."

NY Times' Frank Rich Sunday: Lying like it's 2003
A quote...."Those who forget history may be doomed to repeat it, but who could imagine we'd already be in danger of replaying that rotten year 2003?" writes New York Times columnist Frank Rich for Sunday editions. Excerpts follow."

See also....The Human Cockroach
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God Bless the Internet
A quote...."Imagine the internet didn't exist.  -  No email dialogues with like minded friends, no dem/progressive internet sites, no factual electronic news, etc. Frightening thought, isn't it, since all that would be left is the Judas media.  -  OK, then what? Well . . . Fox Snooze, "Clear" Channel, and general Rupert Murdoch trash. Sure, a few (a VERY few) heroes here and there, but basically a horizon to horizon desert of deception."

Colombian Government Is Ensnared in a Paramilitary Scandal
A quote...."BOGOTÁ, Colombia, Jan. 20 — The government of President Álvaro Uribe, the largest recipient of American aid outside the Middle East, has found itself ensnared in a widening scandal as revelations surface of a secret alliance between some of the president’s most prominent political supporters and paramilitary death squads."

A country that is the "largest recipient of American aid" AND a country where there has been revelations "of a secret alliance between some of the president’s most prominent political supporters and paramilitary death squads."

Why does this all sound SO FAMILIAR?  Wherever Americans and their money go, these problems always seem to crop up....maybe it's just one of those "coincidences" that just keep happening again and again and again and again and again..........

mpg
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Oregon Bar asks lawyer about mysterious jet owner
To all the members of the CIA's renditions program, you might want to consider retaining some legal counsel; it's quite possible you're going to need it.

Ecuador's Correa calls for socialist Latin America
A quote...."On January 15, Ecuador’s new president, Rafael Correa Delgado, was sworn in, promising to build “socialism of the 21st century” to overcome the poverty and instability of the small Andean country. "

Israel's Dark Future
Dark indeed.

CIA Helped Bush Senior In Oil Venture
More on Bush Sr. and Zapata Oil.

Ethical Capitalism: A Fragile Principle
More like a contradiction in terms.

Time Inc. Cutting Almost 300 Magazine Jobs to Focus More on Web Sites
It won't make a difference to Time if they and all the other infotainment, faux-news, mass media sycophants keep taking dictation from the elites of this country.  If they won't learn to tell the whole truth, no one will bother to read their stuff.

Obama, the next big bamboozler?
More regarding "Bombs away O'bomb-a"

Lying About Lying
Says it all.

NY court: FBI might have violated First Amendment in efforts to take down conspiracy film
A quote...."NEW YORK – An effort by the FBI and federal prosecutors to remove a short fictional film [ on Nov. 8, 1999 ] about a military takeover of New York City from the Internet may have violated the First Amendment, a federal appeals court said Friday."

Demand for petroleum drops for second year
A quote...."U.S. deliveries fell 1 percent; imports and production also decreased."

Friday January 19th 2007

The war in Iraq and American democracy
Must Read.  A quote...."The Bush administration’s decision to press ahead with the escalation of the war in Iraq, despite overwhelming public opposition and increasing criticism in Congress, demonstrates the extent to which the executive branch of the US government now functions as an unaccountable force, disregarding the checks and balances of the traditional constitutional structure and ignoring public opinion."
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Gonzales Questions Habeas Corpus
Must Read.  A quote...."In one of the most chilling public statements ever made by a U.S. Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales questioned whether the U.S. Constitution grants habeas corpus rights of a fair trial to every American."
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The rumor of the century
Must Read. What Ahmadinejad actually said.
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Rice’s Middle East tour: Arab regimes back US war drive in Iraq and Iran
Must Read.  A quote...."Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the Emirates have all signed up to the Bush administration’s escalation of its aggression against Iraq and its plans for a military attack on Iran."

See also....The CONversation 09-04-06
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Henry Kissinger: Iraq really is all about the oil, and we'll be there for a long, long time
Must Read.  A quote...."As we all know, Henry Kissinger has, “Jeff Gannon” style, been discreetly slipping into the Bush Bunker White House to give Inerrant Boy advice. So, it’s interesting that Henry the K just published an Op-Ed in the the United Arab Emirates Khaleej Times Online, and not in Pravda on the Potomac or Izvestia on the Hudson. (Readers? I’m Googling on this article, and can’t find it anywhere else.) I imagine that’s because Kissinger imagines that, when he makes a case for continuous war without end, the autocrats of the oil states in the Gulf are a more appropriate audience than the people who do the dying, the voting, and the paying: The American people. After all, Our Henry’s an Aristocrat like the rest of the Beltway Wienie Chompers. That said, Henry always has been a fine writer:"
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Rogers Says Oil Will Rise to $100 After `Correction' (Update6)
Related article....Oil will go up without a doubt.  And "peak oil" does exist but only in a constantly changing relationship with price.  The "peak" will be pushed further out as the rise in price makes it more economically feasible to extract the more expensive sources of oil, in addition to these market forces of supply, the market forces of demand could be seriously impacted by the upcoming US recession of 2007.

Along with these factors of course, one must also consider the international instabilities caused by the US's attempts to corner the worlds energy resources by staging such notorious false flag events as 9/11, along with it's repeated attempts to physically occupy countries who possess such energy resources.

Almost all of these factors however will tend to force the price of oil upwards over time.  -  mpg
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Britain: New crime bill flouts presumption of innocence
A quote...."This week the Home Office published its proposed Serious Crime bill. Under the guise of tackling “serious and organized crime,” the Blair government is to further erode the presumption of innocence, so that people who have not been charged—let alone convicted—of a criminal offence can be subject to draconian restrictions on their freedom of movement."

The Israel Lobby Trips and Tilts
A quote...."Suppose the movers and shakers in the Israel lobby here -- Abe Foxman, Alan Dershowitz and the rest of the crew -- had simply decided to leave Jimmy Carter’s Palestine Peace Not Apartheid alone. How long before the book would have been gathering dust on the remainder shelves? Suppose even that Dershowitz had rounded up his unacknowledged co-authors in all their tens of thousands and sallied forth to buy up every copy of Carter’s book and toss each one into the Charles River, would not that have been a more successful suppressor than the blitzkrieg strategy they did adopt? "

Shannon's Law: Slaughterhouse Five  -  Contemplating the fifth year of the war in Iraq.
A quote...."When President Lyndon Johnson’s public pronouncements about the Vietnam War began to obviously depart from reality, a 1965 story in the New York Herald Tribune coined the phrase “credibility gap.” This was years before the Tet offensive that laid bare the charade that was the American policy in Vietnam....." -  "But if Johnson suffered from a credibility gap, how to describe the current occupant of the White House with his grand credibility canyon?"

Those Ingrate Iraqis
A quote...."President Bush is right: Americans deserve gratitude for cutting Iraqis' energy consumption and tackling their overpopulation problem.  -  'How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!" complained Shakespeare's King Lear. But Lear didn't know from ingratitude. Think it stings to have a thankless child? Just try the sting of a thankless occupied nation!"

US Allies Arm and Train US Adversaries in Somalia
More "constant gardening", with the help of our Saudi "friends" no less. - mpg
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Space Arms Race Is Most Definitely On
A quote...."Last week, according to US officials, China managed to destroy one of its own ageing weather satellites using a medium-range ballistic missile. This has caused uproar amongst the neoconservative leadership in Washington, who are hell bent on dominating space for their own means and have previously stated that they fully intend to militarize and fight from and into space."

See also ....Reports of China's 'satellite killer' meet wall of silence
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Lost in space
Related article. A quote...."The US reprimand to China over its successful anti-satellite test has all the sincerity of King Herod * leading a Unicef fund-raiser. As inventors of the rocket, the Chinese have every bit as much tenure in orbit as the country that belatedly followed Sputnik into space.  -  Of course no sensible person can be happy at Beijing's action, not least if you look at the 900-plus missiles aimed at Taiwan. But [the] test was entirely legal...and it is so because the United States has consistently blocked any international convention to "limit its freedom of manoeuvre" in space.  -  Restated only last year, US military doctrine is that it should control beyond earth orbit, and make sure nobody else can challenge it, which is why it will not accept any treaty demilitarizing space."

* link added - mpg
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Surging and Purging
some quotes...."....Since the middle of last month, the Bush administration has pushed out at least four U.S. attorneys, and possibly as many as seven, without explanation.", "Won’t the administration have trouble getting its new appointees confirmed by the Senate? Well, it turns out that it won’t have to. - Arlen Specter, the Republican senator who headed the Judiciary Committee until Congress changed hands, made sure of that last year. Previously, new U.S. attorneys needed Senate confirmation within 120 days or federal district courts would name replacements. But as part of a conference committee reconciling House and Senate versions of the revised Patriot Act, Mr. Specter slipped in a clause eliminating that rule."

See also....Sen. Feinstein on U.S. Attorney Appointments - YouTube video
See also....WH Moved Swiftly to Replace US Attorneys
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Chalabi reaches out to Baathists as part of policy reversal
A quote...."BAGHDAD — Ahmad Chalabi, a perennial Iraqi insider and political survivor, held out an olive branch to his former enemies Wednesday by publicly welcoming onetime members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party back into public life.  -  Chalabi, who heads a commission charged with removing former ranking Baath Party members from public office, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference that the Iraqi government had changed course and was now trying to bring more Baathists back into government."

The human cockroach is back.  If you irradiated this guy with a million rads of radiation he'd simply use his new glow in the dark powers to find the hidden crevices of the society he inhabits to make more money.  If they placed him in a Survivor show with a hundred volunteers on a pacific atoll with no food.......he'd be the last man standing, after having eaten all the others.  He's the human equivalent of jello, impossible to nail down.  He makes the Terminator look like a wimp.  He doesn't talk out of both sides of his mouth because there are no sides but his.  If you ever shake his hand, be sure to count your fingers to make sure they're all still there.

He's probably the only guy in the world that might get the better of Mr. Reficul.

To the Iraqi people, if you let this guy within one hundred miles of your oil ministry, you can just go ahead and kiss all of your oil money good buy. - mpg
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Afghanistan war spending leaves Canada navy high and dry &  [ British ] Navy to cut its fleet by half
My goodness, carrying the water for the Bush regime and its vainglorious dreams of world wide conquest is becoming quite expensive is it not?   Perhaps the "white man's burden" is becoming a tad too burdensome?

Cruelty and xenophobia shame and stir the lucky country
A quote...."The Australian writer Donald Horne meant the title of his celebrated book, The Lucky Country, as irony. "Australia is a lucky country run by second-rate people who share its luck," he lamented in 1964, describing much of the Australian elite as unfailingly unoriginal, race-obsessed and in thrall to imperial power and its wars. From Britain's 19th century opium adventures to America's current travesty in Iraq, Australians have been sent to fight faraway people with whom they have no quarrel and who offer no threat of invasion. Growing up here, I was assured this was a "sacred tradition".

Regarding the two articles shown above, see also....White Man's Burden
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Edwards - Media Alert : Exchanges with the BBC and Channel 4
Several examples of just how hard it is, and also how satisfying it is, to pin the "mass media" down regarding the questionable assertions they include in their "news" reports. - mpg

Republicans Truly Despise Democracy and the American People
A quote...."November's election was about two major issues. The first being Bush's disastrous and delusion-based war in Iraq, and the second was government corruption. Assuming that is true, then the only explanation as to why the Bush administration and Republican Party ignore the election results is that they truly despise both our democracy and, too, the American people."
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UCLA Taser victim sues university
A quote...."The UCLA student who received a righteous tasering at the hands of the university's campus police officers has decided to sue for "unspecified monetary damages", Associated Press reports."

See also...Americans To Be Tortured For Refusing To Show ID?

This could....and should, be righteously expensive for UCLA. - mpg
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Two NASED approved voting machine test labs fail to gain a NIST recommendation to EAC
A quote...."Two of the three electronic voting machine test labs certified by the National Association of State Election Directors, Ciber and Wyle, have failed to gain a favorable recommendation from the National Institute of Standards and Technology for accreditation by the Election Assistance Commission."

Anti-First Amendment S.1 Passes Congress
A quote...."It was bad enough George Bush Senior found it necessary to blame bloggers for creating what he deems an “adversarial and ugly climate” (never mind his particular bit of ugliness in Iraq more than a decade ago, eventually resulting in the murder of more than a million people), last month we had the Manchurian candidate, John McCain, introducing legislation “that would fine blogs up to $300,000 for offensive statements, photos and videos posted by visitors on comment boards, effectively nixing the open exchange of ideas on the Internet, providing a lethal injection for unrestrained opinion, and acting as the latest attack tool to chill freedom of speech on the world wide web,” as Paul Joseph Watson writes for Prison Planet."

Thursday January 18th 2007

Sen. Feinstein on U.S. Attorney Appointments - YouTube video
Must View.  - WARNING - slow motion coup attempt in progress.
Surprise!  Bush was given the power to fire US Federal attorneys under the Patriot Act extension and replace them with "interim" appointments for an indefinite period WITHOUT Senate confirmation.  Around eight have been "resigned" in the last several months, many more will probably follow.

See also....WH Moved Swiftly to Replace US Attorneys
See also....Viral Neocons - 05-26-05

Barack Obama: The Mania and the Mirage
Must Read.  A quote...."“Mirage” is the best metaphor for Barack Obama. He shimmers on the horizon, a promise of…something. But as one draws closer, Obama dissipates into nothingness – which is his purpose."

No Honor among Murderers
Must Read. * A quote...."Between the two extremes--from America’s amorous embrace to the macabre dance at the gallows--Saddam traveled a fateful path. Why did the murderers kill one of their own…is then the question that needs answering. His rush to the scaffolds, therefore, is worth a study."

* Note : Saddam was hanged at Camp Justice, an Iraqi army base in a neighborhood in northeast Baghdad
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Patriot, loyalist or worse yet in assault of liberty
Related article.  A quote...."The recent passage of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 eliminated habeas corpus, a detainee's right to know the charges for his detainment and his right to defend himself against those charges in court. The act not only allows information coerced by means of torture to be incriminating, but it also retroactively changes the law so as to protect anyone in the Bush administration and under its command from prosecution for war crimes dating back to Sept. 11, 2001."
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Bloggers Who Criticize Government May Face Prison
A quote...."Bill would allow rounding up and imprisoning of non-registered political writers"

Americans embrace politics online
Related article  A quote...."Americans are increasingly using the internet as their primary source of political news, a study has found.
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The many trials of 9/11 widow Ellen Mariani  -  posted at Online Journal
A quote...." Traurig Greenberg works with 9-11 victims on planning their US government ‘hushmail/bribery estates.’ That is, to receive the money [on average about $1.6 million] the victim’s family must sign an agreement never to sue the government [or the airlines] for any reason. Victim-wife Ellen Mariani is currently being legally harassed for not signing and for holding the Bush government’s feet to the fire.”

To those "Americans" still in denial....everyone knows what really happened so you can all stop pretending now.
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Mr. Bush: Meet Walter Jones - George Bush has another war in mind
A quote...."America is four years into a bloody debacle in Iraq not merely because Bush and Cheney marched us in, or simply because neocon propagandists lied about Saddam's nuclear program and Wmds, and Iraqi ties to al-Qaida, anthrax attacks and 9-11.

We are there because a Democratic Senate voted to give Bush a blank check for war. Democrats in October 2002 wanted the war vote behind them so they could go home and campaign as pro-war patriots.

And because they did, 3,000 Americans are dead, 25,000 are wounded, perhaps 100,000 Iraqis have lost their lives, 1.6 million have fled, $400 billion has been lost and America stands on the precipice of the worst strategic defeat in her history. "
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Nothing but the oil truth
A quote...."The new American drafted law permits the Iraqi government to offer foreign companies concessions of up to 30 years under a system known as PSA [Production Sharing Agreement].  -  In other words, American and other Western oil companies are being allowed to exploit Iraq's current predicament and negotiate self serving one-sided oil PSA's that will commit Iraq for the next 30 years."

Who cares about the PSA’s?  This isn't some child's game, everyone through out the entire world knows those agreements aren't worth the paper they're written on, that the agreements were signed under an occupation and at the point of a gun.   The people of Iraq are not bound by them at all. The moment the US leaves Iraq the Iraqis can tear up the PSA's without a qualm and absolutely no one in the world could question their right to do so.

And if the US doesn't leave Iraq the PSA's will be the least of the Iraqis problems. - mpg
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Attack on Sadr will widen war in Iraq
A quote...."He has now become part of the White House’s demonology in Iraq. At one time the US believed that Saddam Hussain was responsible for all its problems in Iraq — problems that would be resolved once he was overthrown. Today Sadr, a 32-year-old cleric in his black robe with fierce, staring, dark eyes, is denounced as the fomenter of sectarian warfare."

Washington 'snubbed Iran offer'
A quote...."Iran offered the US a package of concessions in 2003, but it was rejected, a senior former US official has told the BBC's Newsnight programme.  -  Tehran proposed ending support for Lebanese and Palestinian militant groups and helping to stabilise Iraq following the US-led invasion."

Hopefully no one reading this is surprised.  Not after five years of the Neocon Bushists, not after sixty years of a consistent US policy all over the world to fund insurgents, "freedom fighters", death squads, minor and major wars every time the economy needs a boost.

One has to admire the US elites, in sixty years of sponsoring death and destruction world wide they have NEVER ONCE changed their policies, policies which have rewarded them quite handsomely time and time again. - mpg
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Rice criticises French plans for Iran overture
Related article.  A quote...."BERLIN (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice implicitly criticised French plans to send an envoy to Iran to discuss the situation in Lebanon and the Middle East."

Again to drive the point home....they will NEVER change their policies. - mpg
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Iran discovers new onshore oil field
A quote...."Iran has discovered a new onshore oil field with an estimated reserve of two billion barrels, state-run television reported Thursday."

What are the Iranians doing, did they get a case of the stupids or what?  Announcing this find while the US is running amok through out the Middle East is like slathering yourself with blood, tying a couple of steaks around your neck and running into a cage full of starving hyenas. - mpg
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Rattling the cage: The racism of Israeli youth
A quote...."Every year or two a new study about the attitudes of Israeli Jewish youth toward Arabs comes out, and the findings are always depressing. Consistently, a majority of Jewish teenagers in this country is found to view Arabs as dangerous, to dislike them, to consider them unworthy of equal rights as Israeli citizens, and to wish many of them, most of them or all of them, gone."

Carter Doesn't Tell the Half of It - How Israel Enforces "Demographic Separation"
Related article....Ethnic cleansing is soon to come.
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"We Have Tasted War"
One Iraqi family's tale.

US condemns China 'space weapon'
A quote...."The United States, Australia and Canada have criticised China over a weapons test it is said to have carried out in space last week."

White Man's Burden strikes again.  For years, literally years the White House and all the drooling Military-Industrial-Complex merchant of death profiteers were waxing poetically about the command of the high ground, full spectrum dominance, practically dancing in the corridors of congress, their minds filled with visions of the huge appropriations to be passed and their attendant profits from the arms program of the twenty first century - space weapons.

But let those little yellow slant eyed gooks launch just one tiny rocket and all hell breaks loose.

What a complete bunch of hypocrites, they're perfectly happy to have the Chinese launch a rocket; it'll help start another arms race.  They’re just ticked off the Chinese scored on their first try unlike the string of US failures which cost this nation tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars.

What a bunch of whiners.

See also  White Man's Burden
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Japan establishes first postwar defence ministry
A quote...."In a step towards the revival of Japanese militarism, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) government on January 9 set up the country’s first defence ministry since the end of World War II. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the new defence minister, Fumio Kyuma, attended the official ceremony to rename the previous defence agency headquarters as the new defence ministry."

Ah.. the war drums are beating incessantly now....can you not hear them yet?  You will, very soon you'll hear them loud and clear.
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Guess Who's Going to Dinner with Diebold, Sequoia, and Electronic ES&S?
A quote...."Guess Who's Going to Dinner with Diebold, Sequoia, and Electronic ES&S? The Groups Responsible for Insuring Electronic Votes Are Secure."

It's not dinner, it's a strategy session to make sure a slip-up like the 2006 elections never happens again.  In 2008 they plan to totally control the vote.
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Prosecutor says presidential recount rigged in Ohio county
A quote...."CLEVELAND - Three elections workers in the state's most populous county conspired to avoid a more thorough recount of ballots in the 2004 presidential election, a prosecutor told jurors during opening statements Thursday."

Lets face facts folks, we've got a guy in the White House who certainly didn't win the 2000 election, nor did he win in 2004.
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What Do Bush and Gonzales Take Us For, Idiots?
A quote...."In at least one area, President Bush is on the run.  -  Congress should run him to ground.  -  The issue, which should be of concern to Democrats, Republicans and independents alike, is illegal spying on Americans by the National Security Agency."

Patriots in Defense of the 'Enemy'
A quote...."Last week's attack by a top Defense Department official on lawyers representing Guantanamo detainees raises an issue Americans have visited many times before -- an issue that was familiar to our Founding Fathers."

US Official Terrorizes Atlanta Firms
Related article.  A quote...."In the classic "To Kill a Mockingbird," small-town attorney Atticus Finch risks his reputation, his business, his life and his family's safety when he agrees to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, on charges that he raped a white girl.  -  Charles "Cully" Stimson would probably have despised Atticus Finch.  -  Stimson, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, recently complained that major American law firms were daring to provide free, or pro bono, legal assistance to detainees at Guantanamo Bay who otherwise would not have access to legal help. In a particularly outrageous act, Stimson even insinuated that some of the firms might be taking pay for their work from terrorist groups."
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MSNBC: New Pentagon detainee manual could lead to executions based on 'hearsay evidence'
A quote...."We have learned that the Pentagon has just completed a manual for the coming detainee trials that would allow suspected terrorist to be imprisoned or executed using hearsay evidence or coerced testimony," said Nora O'Donnell, the chief Washington correspondent for NBC News' 24-hour cable news network. "In other words, could be put to death on hearsay evidence..."

So you torture the "suspects" for four or five horrible years till they finally crack and "confess" or "implicate" someone else.  It's been reported that the sick individuals conducting these torture sessions in Gitmo, Bagram air force base, Abu Ghraib (when it was still open) and all the other locations like to use an individual's worse fears against him, to use sexual humiliation and of course outright torture.

However it must be an extra special treat when US military interrogators get their victims to betray a close friend or a relative by falsely accusing them of something they didn't do.  It must give them an especially spicy thrill when they can do something like that to a person.

See  also ....1984 - Wikipedia.

Some quotes...."Winston and Julia are eventually, and unavoidably apprehended by the Thought Police in their supposed sanctuary, which actually contains a hidden telescreen, and are then interrogated separately in the Ministry of Love, where opponents of the regime are tortured and usually executed but sometimes released. O'Brien appears at the Ministry of Love, and reveals that he will help Winston "be cured" of his hatred for the Party, by subjecting Winston to numerous torture sessions. During one of these sessions, he explains to Winston the nature of the endless world war, and that the purpose of the torture is not to extract a fake confession, but to alter the way that Winston thinks."

"Near the end, Winston and Julia again meet, but their feelings for each other have been altered entirely due to their captivity and that they both have betrayed one another, though Winston and Juila agree to meet with each other again if at all possible. Winston has become an alcoholic and he knows that eventually he will be killed. The one thing Winston had held on to was his hatred of Big Brother, which he felt would be his victory over the party's otherwise absolute power. However, by the end of the novel, we see that the torture and 'reprogramming' have been successful, because Winston realizes that "He loved Big Brother."
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U.S. 'knew damn well' Arar would be tortured: senator
A quote...."After sitting through withering criticism in a Senate hearing, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has promised more information on the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian who ended up in a cell in Syria after U.S. officials grabbed him on a stopover in New York."

That's right our "enemy" Syria tortures people for us....are any of you out there confused yet?

Mysterious Prison Ailment Traced to U.S. Rice
An interesting example of how eating American food can get you killed.

For Colombia, Being a U.S. Ally Just Got Harder
A quote...."They must be very worried in Washington. President Hugo Chavez' announcement that he plans to "nationalize Venezuela's oil and electrical sectors" was followed by the visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinidjad to Caracas, in search of "allies against the United States," according to the Agence France Presse."

US housing bust getting worse, warns Goldman
A quote...."Americans have shown a complete lack of self-control. The personal savings rate is at its lowest point ever, and has actually been negative since April 2005."

"We believe that housing will soon become the proverbial 'straw that breaks the camel's back'," said David Kostin, the investment bank's US strategist"

"Shut Up & Sing" Dixie Chicks DVD (Advance Order, Shipping on or About February 20)
A quote....""On March 10, 2003, Natalie Maines fired a shot heard ’round the world. From a London stage, Ms. Maines, the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, declared, “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.” Her remark, uttered on the eve of the American invasion of Iraq, when President Bush’s popularity was near an all-time high, had instant, negative repercussions."

Wednesday January 17th 2007

Bill Moyers: "This is the moment freedom begins"
Must Listen.  A quote...."Big Media is Ravenous. It Never Gets Enough. Always Wants More. And it Will Stop at Nothing to Get It. These Conglomerates are an Empire, and they are Imperial."

Bill Moyers as you have NEVER heard him before.

Will The US Wage War Against Their Creditors Instead of Paying Their Debts?
Must Read.  A quote...."A nation can re-balance and then repay debts, it can default on the debt or it can go to war. The problem is that the US has all the strategic means with which to go to war, while any other smaller nation in a similar trade deficit and debt situation would find itself forced into the re-balance and repayment in lieu of simply defaulting on the debt."

Bush escalates war against Sunnis -- al-Sadr wins again!
Must Read.  A quote...."Like its predecessors, the new American campaign in Baghdad is billed as an effort to "restore security," targeting both Sunni resistance and Shiite militias. In reality, even George Bush is not reckless enough to open a second urban combat front against the Mehdi Army in Sadr City. Instead, the U.S. escalation plan perpetuates the failed policy of taking on the Sunnis first and leaving the Shiite opposition for later. This can only continue to strengthen Muqtada al-Sadr and Shiite opposition to the U.S. occupation."

See also....The Black Bull died today
See also....The Flipping of Iraq - Interruptus
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History is not preordained: a new cold war can be averted
A quote...."US military arrogance has led to a global crisis. But there is still time to change course and build a democratic world order"

A sensible set of rational proposals from Mikhail Gorbachev, who simply doesn't get the fact that most Americans are completely insane, see articles shown below.

Fox Show "24": Torture on TV
A quote...."The show's connection to the Bush White House and the conservative establishment became explicit last June, when Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff appeared alongside the show's producers and three cast members at an event sponsored by the Heritage Foundation to discuss "The public image of US terrorism policy." The discussion was moderated by Rush Limbaugh. The C-SPAN store sells a DVD of the event--price reduced from $60 to $29.95. Sunday night's two-hour premiere again argued not just that torture is necessary but that it works -- and it's also really exciting to watch.*  The show as usual made the "ticking time bomb" case for torture: we need to torture a suspect, or else thousands, or millions, will die in the next hour."

* Italics added by website author.

See also.... Neocon Gangster Rap
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GOP Sen. Hagel takes aim at Bush: 'This is not a monarchy'
Of course not, that implies noblesse oblige, divinely ordained right (given by and in compliance with God's law), and an attempt to comport oneself as a restrained conscientious ruler.

Instead what we have is a rapacious thugocracy, ruled by a swaggering, leering, brain dead, monkey who is a sociopath and an empty vessel of pure unadulterated evil.
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Military judge: objector can't raise questions about war legality
A quote...."An Army officer cannot try to justify his refusal to report for duty in Iraq by questioning the legality of the war because that is a political issue, a military judge has ruled."

So whether a war is legal or not is just a "political issue"?  What does that mean...the Nuremburg trials were just a farce, along with the UN, the War Powers Act and the Geneva Conventions?

Were do they find such fantastic legal minds?  In the yellow pages under "rent-a-jughead"?
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The concept embodied in the phrase every man’s home is his castle
A quote...."In July 25, 1973, Senator Sam Ervin, Democrat of North Carolina, returned to fundamentals and in the process summed up the legal argument against practically every action committed by the Nixon campaign in 1972. Here is part of Ervin’s statement, given during the televised Watergate committee hearings*:

“I do want to take this occasion to amplify the legal discussion and I want to mention a little of the Bible, a little of history and a little of law."

“The concept embodied in the phrase every man’s home is his castle represents the realization of one of the most ancient and universal hungers of the human heart. One of the prophets described the mountain of the Lord as being a place where every man might dwell under his own vine and fig tree with none to make him afraid."

“And then this morning, Senator Talmadge talked about one of the greatest statements ever made by any statesman, that was William Pitt the Elder, and before this country revolted against the King of England he said this:"

“’The poorest man in his cottage may bid defiance to all the forces of the crown. It may be frail, its roof may shake, the wind may blow through it, the storm may enter, the rain may enter, but the King of England cannot enter. All his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenements.’

“And yet we are told today, and yesterday, that what the King of England cannot do, the President of the United States can."
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“When will this Nightmare End?”
A quote...."Former Carter national security advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, summarized Bush’s plans for a “surge” of troops in Iraq saying:  -  “The commitment of 21,500 more troops is a POLITICAL GIMMICK of limited tactical significance and of no strategic benefit. It is insufficient to win the war militarily. It will engage US forces in bloody street fighting that will not resolve with finality the ongoing turmoil and the sectarian and ethnic strife, not to mention the anti-American insurgency.”

The Surge Pushers - The War and the New York Times
A quote...."The war in Iraq, one of the most disastrous military enterprises in the history of the Republic, has the New York Times' fingerprints all over it. The role the newspaper played in fomenting the 2003 attack is now one of the best known sagas in journalistic history, as embodied in the reports of Judy Miller, working in collusion with Iraqi exiles and US spooks to concoct Saddam's imaginary arsenal of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons."

Ptech owner's assets confiscated in Albania
A quote...."The Albanian government has seized the assets of a wealthy Saudi that, for several years, reportedly maintained simultaneous connections to both al-Qaeda and the U.S. government while serving the interests of the CIA."

See also....Vote for Us or there WILL be another Attack
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China’s defence report highlights growing dangers of war
A quote...."China’s military and strategic assessment, “National Defence in 2006”, published in late December, is a highly political document that reflects Beijing’s reaction to growing Great Power rivalry."

Apartheid – Israelis Adopt What South Africa Dropped
A quote...."Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories has many features of colonization. At the same time it has many of the worst characteristics of apartheid. The West Bank has been fragmented into three areas – north (Jenin and Nablus), center (Ramallah) and south (Hebron) – which increasingly resemble the Bantustans of South Africa."

Congress preparing to criminalize critics?
A quote....""In what sounds like a comedy sketch from Jon Stewart's Daily Show, but isn't, the U. S. Senate would impose criminal penalties, even jail time, on grassroots causes and citizens who criticize Congress," says Richard A. Viguerie, chairman of GrassrootsFreedom.com"

Hey all you so-called "conservatives" out there....are you GETTING SCARED YET?
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Blair Set To Radically Enhance British Police State
A quote...." A series of policy review documents have been published today by the Cabinet Office of the British Government that detail Tony Blair's desire to implement radical "crime tackling" measures that would not look out of place in the most hellish of dictatorship states on the face of the planet.  -  Blair has said that measures including microchipping the mentally ill and injecting sex offenders with hormones to negate their desires, so called "chemical castration", are aimed at ensuring that a "new New Labour" agenda will take the Government into the next election after he steps down."

Turn Over The Logs, Mr. Bush - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."All the forced secrecy surrounding the White House visitors log raises an inevitable question: What is the Bush administration hiding and why?"

IFJ Condemns Government Closure of Three Radio Stations, Al Jazeera
More American "freedom and democracy".

Spain seeks US soldiers' arrest
A quote...."Spain has issued an international arrest warrant for three US soldiers accused of causing the death of a TV cameraman during the Iraq war."

Bush Must Go  -  Only Impeachment Can Stop Him
Some quotes...."Americans don’t have much time to realize this and to act before it is too late....", "The “surge” gives Congress, the media, and the foreign policy establishment something to debate and oppose, while Bush sets his plans in motion to orchestrate a war with Iran. Suddenly, we are hearing Bush regime propaganda that there are Iranian networks operating within Iraq that are working with the Iraqi insurgency and killing US troops."

Iran president sends note to Saudi king - posted at BuzzFlash
Iranian counter moves to the Neocons divide and conquer efforts?

Russia completes delivery of missiles to Iran
Iran getting ready.

US lacks 'explosive' evidence against Iran
Sort of like that 'explosive' WMD evidence against Iraq.

Iran’s [alledged] IEDs: Made in America
Related article....More constant gardening.  You train them, you give them weapons and presto....right back at you.

Longer Afghan tours eyed for US forces
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan -- The top US commander in Afghanistan said yesterday he wants to extend the combat tours of 1,200 soldiers amid rising violence, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he was "strongly inclined" to recommend a troop increase to President Bush if commanders believe it is needed."

Democrat Agenda Omissions
A comprehensive summation of all the heinous acts and laws enacted by the RepubDemo party that the newly elected DemoRepub party isn't going to change.

Everthing you need to know about how the USA Patriot Act...
A quote...."This page contains the followign articles on The USA Patriot Act:
                  1) How the Patriot Act Compares to the Ermächtigungsgesetz (Enabling Act)
                  2) A 21st Century Comparison of The Enabling Act and The Patriot Act
                  3) Ten Key Dangers of the Patriot Act
                  4) Bill Moyer's NOW Comments on the Patriot Act
                  5) The USA Patriot Act, A Legal Analysis by Charles Doyle (link to PDA document)"
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Not Only the Worst President, but the Worst Possible President
A quote...."Back in the year 2000, when George W. Bush lost the popular vote and was shoe-horned into office by the Supreme Court in spite of clear conflicts of interest on the part of Scalia and Thomas, the psychology of Little George was known to only a few."

If Beal Street Could Talk – Part 2 Impeach Disney and General Electric
A quote...."By any serious standard of journalism, impeachment should be in the news right now.  This illustrates the worst problem with our media.  It's not how they cover stories.  It's how they do not cover stories.  -  A Newsweek poll a while back said that 51 percent of Americans want Bush impeached and 44 percent do not.  That's about double the support there was for impeaching Clinton when it was in the news every single day."

Bush's Canadian 'Clone' in Jeopardy
Another Neocon hopefully bites the dust.

Barack Obama and the Middle East
More regarding "Bombs-away O'bomb-a"

The tale of the archbishop and the spies has lessons for us all
A quote...."In recent years, the rightwing Catholic twins who run Poland have advanced two articles of political faith: first, that the strength and moral integrity of the Polish nation is built upon the rock of the Polish Catholic church; and, second, that the weakness and corruption of Polish public life results from the failure to cleanse it of former collaborators with the communist regime. So what happens when the new Archbishop of Warsaw turns out to have signed a secret agreement in the 1970s to spy for the communists?"

Neoconservatives are Lining Up the Scapegoats for Coming Iraq Failure
A quote...."Demagogues and fascists need scapegoats like peanut butter needs jelly, Bogie needed Bacall, Cheney's hunting friends need Kevlar vests, Limbaugh needs OxyContin, Bill O'Reilly needs phone-sex, and Ann Coulter needs improved transgender hormone therapy. Fortunately for the Nazi-like Neoconservative thugs running America's government, they've found yet another scapegoat. Actually, technically speaking - better make that scapegoats."

Tuesday January 16th 2007