Tuesday January 27th 2009

No posts. - mpg

Monday January 26th 2009

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A Mortal Threat – Europe’s New Frankenstein Monster
01-26-09
mpg

Israeli Professor - 'We Could Destroy All European Capitals'
Must Read - Nuke Warning - A quote...."(IAP News) — An Israeli professor and military historian hinted that Israel could avenge the holocaust by annihilating millions of Germans and other Europeans. Speaking during an interview which was published in Jerusalem Friday, Professor Martin Van Crevel said Israel had the capability of hitting most European capitals with nuclear weapons. "We possess several hundred atomic warheads and rockets and can launch them at targets in all directions, perhaps even at Rome. Most European capitals are targets of our air force." -- Creveld, a professor of military history at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, pointed out that "collective deportation" was Israel's only meaningful strategy towards the Palestinian people. -- "The Palestinians should all be deported. The people who strive for this (the Israeli government) are waiting only for the right man and the right time. Two years ago, only 7 or 8 per cent of Israelis were of the opinion that this would be the best solution, two months ago it was 33 per cent, and now, according to a Gallup poll, the figure is 44 percent." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Well....it now appears Europe, which stood idly by while 1,400 Palestinian men, woman, and children where needlessly slaughtered, almost all of whom were completely innocent civilians, is now threatened with nuclear annihilation along with the potential holocaust of another people, a holocaust which would essentially take place under European auspices.  What can one say except you will usually reap what you sow.

Most of Israel’s population along with a good portion of the US-NRE’s should now be considered totally psychotic and extremely dangerous.  These two countries, with the full cooperation of the Saudi Royals (The three are aptly named “the true axis of evil” or the “unholy trinity”) have sponsored a series of patently obvious false flag operations that have already led to several wars and the deaths of millions.

They are also countries which to this day continue to support a plethora of Salafists, Wahabbists, and other radical Sunni “terrorist” groups throughout the Middle East and have done so for the last thirty years in an effort to distort and disrupt the formation of any nationalist aspirations, or national states, within the Middle East which could threaten Israeli or US-NRE hegemony over that oil rich region of the world.

Israel and the US-NRE also happen to be the only two countries who have for the last eight years cheerfully ran around all over the globe stating that as part of their war fighting doctrine it would be perfectly acceptable to use tactical or bunker busting nuclear warheads on countries WHO DO NOT POSSESS NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

These countries will not stop their aggressive behavior now, not after they’ve been so richly rewarded.  What was done to the Palestinian people is a stark reminder, and another in a long list of salutary examples, of what they intend to do to many other countries throughout the world. The international community's passivity during the last eight years, along with Europe's acquiescence regarding these various atrocities has only encouraged these two countries further in their plans of murder and mayhem, this is exactly what happens when you "feed" an aggressor’s ambitions, you only make them stronger, more vicious and decidedly much more lethal.

Europe's intentions to establish business relationships with countries in the Middle East will now be held under permanent threat in the future by Israel except for those of France and Britain, countries who still possess nuclear weapons and can still defend their national interests.

Europe and countries throughout the Middle East are now also under the permanent threat of nuclear attack if Israel’s territorial ambitions, business interests and planned ethnic cleansing, or even possible extermination, of the Palestinian people are not allowed to go forward without opposition or hindrance.

In  this website editor's considered opinion it is therefore essential that other countries in Europe and those throughout the Middle East acquire nuclear weapons as soon as possible to defend themselves and their civilian populations against this mortal threat which has been created in their midst, particular Germany, whose entire national state, and people, will now have to live with the prospect of nuclear annihilation for the foreseeable future. – mpg
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In America, Speaking the Truth Is a Career-ending Event
Must Read - A quote...."January 26, 2009 "Information Clearinghouse"-- - “The evidence is sitting on the table.  There is no avoiding the fact that this was torture.” -- These are the words of Manfred Nowak, the UN official appointed by the Commission on Human Rights to examine cases of torture.  Nowak has concluded that President Obama is legally obligated to prosecute former President George W. Bush and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. --  If President Obama’s bankster economic team finishes off what remains of the US economy, Obama, to deflect the public’s attention from his own failures and Americans’ growing hardships, might fulfill his responsibility to prosecute Bush and Rumsfeld.  But for now the interesting question is why did the US military succumb to illegal orders?" -- also posted at CounterPunch

Obama: Regime Rotation
Must Read - A quote...."January 26, 2009 "Information Clearinghouse" -- The arrival of the Obama administration will not fundamentally alter the course of military expansion accelerated during the Bush era. The origins of these policies do not lie uniquely in neoconservative ideology. While the election of President Obama may offer new opportunities for progressive forces to delimit the damage, their space for movement will ultimately be constrained by deep-seated structural pressures that will attempt to exploit Obama to rehabilitate American imperial hegemony, rather than transform it."

Bush, Obama and the American State
Must Read - A quote...."According to conventional wisdom, we have this month witnessed the pinnacle moment of American democracy. Inaugurations mark the peaceful transfer of power, and in the United States, the alleged apex of civilization, we are talking about the greatest amount of power ever held by one office."

First Blood: Pictures From Life's Other Side
Must Read - A quote...."Already, Gaza has faded from the front pages of the Western press. Already it is yesterday's news, yesterday's massacre, just another in a long, long, endless line of human debauchery. After all, the Western press, the Western establishments, indeed, Western popular opinion, have often countenanced -- even championed -- far worse atrocities. The establishments and power structures of most Arab nations are also hastening to forget, to downplay, to bury, once again, the suffering of the Palestinians, in the interests of political gamesmanship, both domestic and diplomatic.The reality of the actual human beings in Palestine who have been inflicted with horrific suffering matter no more than the reality of the human beings in Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Somalia, or Kurdistan, or Chechnya, or Colombia, or Sri Lanka, or Burma, or the Congo, or anywhere else on the far-flung earth where the machines of power wring the blood and terror that is their fuel from the flesh of men and women and children."

Legal Jeopardy For American Torturers Here and Abroad?
Must Read - A quote...."Remarkably, the confirmation of President Obama's Attorney General nominee, Eric Holder, is being held up by Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn, who apparently is unhappy that Holder might actually investigate and prosecute Bush Administration officials who engaged in torture. Aside from this repugnant new Republican embrace of torture (which might be a winning issue for the lunatic fringe of the party and a nice way to further marginalize the GOP), any effort to protect Bush officials from legal responsibility for war crimes, in the long run, will not work." -- also posted at ICH

The Torture Ban that Doesn't Ban Torture:
Must Read - A quote...."The Torture Ban that Doesn't Ban Torture: Obama's Rules Keep It Intact, and Could Even Accord With an Increase in US-Sponsored Torture Worldwide."

The Gaza Attack - 20 Articles - Monday - [ Day 31 ] ========== ========== ========== ====

With Gaza, Journalists Fail Again
Must Read - A quote...."Posted on Jan 26, 2009 -- The assault on Gaza exposed not only Israel’s callous disregard for international law but the gutlessness of the American press. There were no major newspapers, television networks or radio stations that challenged Israel’s fabricated version of events that led to the Gaza attack or the daily lies Israel used to justify the unjustifiable. Nearly all reporters were, as during the buildup to the Iraq war, pliant stenographers and echo chambers. If we as journalists have a product to sell, it is credibility. Take that credibility away and we become little more than propagandists and advertisers. By refusing to expose lies we destroy, in the end, ourselves." -- also posted at  CommonDreams  -- For more on this issue see....Judeo-Christian C/C & US - The Media

Three more headlines from hell
Must Read - (For the outrage) - A quote...."Jan 27, 2009, 00:30 -- This shocking piece appeared on January 18 on the Dubai-based Gulfnews.com: Children found with bullets lodged in their heads. The lead paragraphs read: “Cairo: Doctors operating the only brain-scanning machine at an Egyptian hospital near Gaza have been almost overwhelmed by the number of Palestinian children arriving with bullet wounds to the head. -- “On just one day last week, staff at the Al Arish hospital in Sinai were called to perform CAT scans on a nine year old, two 10 year olds and a 14 year old, each of whom had a bullet lodged in their brain after coming under fire during the Israeli ground assault on Gaza."

A Bibi-Barack Collision?
Must Read - A quote...."January 27, 2009 -- Where there is no solution, there is no problem," geostrategist James Burnham once wryly observed. -- Ex-Sen. George Mitchell, the latest U.S. negotiator to take up the Palestine portfolio, may discover what it was that Burnham meant. -- For Israel's three-week war on Gaza, where Palestinians died at a rate of 100 to one to Israelis, appears to have been, like Israel's wars in Lebanon, another Pyrrhic victory for the Jewish state."

Military Rabbi Urged Troops to Show No Mercy in Gaza
Special Note - A quote...."Posted January 26, 2009 -- Israeli human rights group Yesh Din is calling for the ouster of the military’s top rabbi, Brigadier General Avichai Rontzki over his messages to soldiers during the 22-day military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The primary concern was a booklet which, among other things, contained a rabbinical edict against showing mercy."

Israel's Netanyahu: Existing settlements will grow
Special Note - A quote...."Jan 26, 2009 09:43 EST -- Israel's Netanyahu says he'll let existing West Bank settlements grow, despite US opposition."

Turkey blasts Israel's truce violation
Special Note - A quote...."Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:39:32 GMT -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed Israel for 'failing to abide' by the Gaza cease-fire ahead of its war on the strip. -- "Hamas, without a doubt, erred by firing rockets at Israel, but we must consider that Hamas fully abided by the truce agreement with Israel for six months, even though Israel did not," Erdogan told Al-Hayat on Sunday."

Mubarak Risks Losing Lead Role in Gaza Talks as Criticism Rises - Mubarak may be going down. - mpg
Special Note - A quote...."Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) — Egypt’s efforts to broker a cease- fire between Israel and Gaza have brought it no peace at home. - Its restive population has taken to the streets by the thousands in protest, blaming President Hosni Mubarak for his inability — or unwillingness — to help Palestinians in the coastal enclave, more than 1,300 of whom died in the three-week conflict. Taxi drivers replace Arab pop with Palestinian martial music on their cassette radios, businessmen in central Cairo sport checkered Palestinian scarves and art galleries produce instant antiwar exhibits."

Photo Essay of Homeless Palestinians
Photo Gallery

"It's About Humanity" The BBC's Day of Shame
A quote...."The BBC finds itself in a serious controversy every few years, but this is the mother of all. The essence of the latest storm is this. A few days ago, the Disasters Emergency Committee of the United Kingdom, an umbrella group of thirteen leading charities, came out with a plan to launch a television appeal to raise funds for humanitarian relief in Gaza. The umbrella organization includes names like the British Red Cross, Save the Children, Care International and Oxfam. The BBC refused to broadcast their appeal."

Banned By The BBC -- Gaza Aid Appeal Video
Video - Related Article -A quote...."Jan 26, 2009 - Watch the Gaza aid appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee to be broadcast by ITV, Channel 4 and Five but rejected by the BBC and Sky. - Broadcast Jan 26, 2009 - Video may take a moment to load."

Israel Killed Everything But The Will To Resist
A quote...."26 January, 2009 -- Three weeks of Israeli terror caused about 1400 deaths, over 5500 injured (many seriously), vast destruction throughout Gaza, and Physicians for Human Rights warning that large numbers of wounded may die because hospitals are overloaded and lack basic supplies. Yet Palestinians endure. Their spirit is unbowed and unbroken. Hamas is more popular than ever, and world outrage sustains them."

Gaza tunnel network back to life
A quote...."January 27, 2009, 9:44 -- In southern Gaza merchants are busy rebuilding a complex network of underground tunnels used to bring in goods from neighbouring Egypt. Many of the passages were destroyed or badly damaged during the Israeli offensive."

Hamas offers one-year truce with Israel
A quote...."2009-01-26 20:46:31 -- GAZA, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Hamas movement has offered a one-year truce with Israel through indirect talks, sponsored by Egypt between the Islamic movement and Israel, a Hamas official said Monday."

Fatah, Hamas delegates meet in Egypt on Gaza truce, reconciliation
A quote...." 2009-01-26 22:49:37 -- CAIRO, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of rival Palestinian factions of Fatah and Hamas met on Monday under the mediation of Egypt officials on the fragile Gaza ceasefire and the internal Palestinian dialogue, reported the Egyptian MENA news agency."

Carter: No peace in ME without Hamas
A quote...."Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:25:22 GMT  -- Former US President Jimmy Carter says that the Hamas movement can be trusted and Mideast peace would be impossible without its involvement."

War Crimes Charges Filed Against 15 Israeli Officials
Special Note - A quote...."International attorneys have filed war crime charges against 15 Israeli political and military officials including Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni and Ehud Barak." -- Obviously international sanctions will have to be implemented against Israel until they're turned over to the Hauge for trial. - mpg

Names and Photos of Israeli War Criminals in Gaza
Special Note - A quote...."I have decided to publish some names and photos of the Israeli military personnel who participated in the so-called "Operation Cast Lead", the offensive launched by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on the Gaza Strip between 27 December and 18 January 2009. The names of these criminals called my attention since the first day of their criminal attack against the Palestinian civilians in Gaza. I consider each person who took part in this IOF and each one whose name appears in this report as a war criminal who should be requested by an international court of justice, just like all other war criminals who were persecuted before…"

Gaza war sending legal tsunami to Israel
A quote..."Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:22:58 GMT  -- Israeli concerns over legal actions against the army have prompted Defense Minister Ehud Barak to call for legal support for officers."

Israel war crimes case gains momentum
A quote...."Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:56:28 GMT  -- The case for Israeli war crimes in Gaza gathers momentum as a prominent UN official calls for legal action against the assault architects."

Norman Finkelstein Speaks in Edmonton - (YouTube - 1 hr 11 min 13 sec - January 23, 2009)
Must View Video - A quote...."Dr. Norman Finkelstein speaking at the University of Alberta on January 22, 2009. His talk dealt with Israel's responsibility in the situation in Gaza and the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Co-sponsored by the Palestine Solidarity Network, Canada Palestine Cultural Organization, Alberta Federation of Labour, U of A Muslim Students' Association, Canadian Arab News, and U of A Department of Political Science. "

End - The Gaza Attack - 20 Articles - Monday - [ Day 31 ] ========== ========== ========== ====

20 years of war in the Middle East have cost 12 trillion dollars
Special Note - Maybe the World should get together and demand that it all be paid back by Israel and the US-NRE....with interest. - mpg -- A quote...." Geneva (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Countries involved in Middle East conflicts have paid more than 12 trillion dollars since 1991. -- The estimate, the first of its kind, was revealed yesterday at the office of the United Nations in Geneva (Switzerland), in a report from the India-based Strategic Foresight Group, and also includes an evaluation of the lack of development and the effects on the standard of living in the countries affected. The highest costs are connected to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, in Lebanon, and the invasion of Iraq by the United States." -- also posted at BLN

Iraqi PM expects faster US withdrawal
A quote...."The Iraqi prime minister says he expects the U.S. to withdraw its troops faster than the three-year timeline laid down in the U.S.-Iraq security agreement."

Obama's Vietnam?
Must Read - A quote...."Jan. 26, 2009 | On Friday, President Barack Obama ordered an Air Force drone to bomb two separate Pakistani villages, killing what Pakistani officials said were 22 individuals, including between four and seven foreign fighters. Many of Obama's initiatives in his first few days in office -- preparing to depart Iraq, ending torture and closing Guantánamo -- were aimed at signaling a sharp turn away from Bush administration policies. In contrast, the headline about the strike in Waziristan could as easily have appeared in December with "President Bush" substituted for "President Obama." Pundits are already worrying that Obama may be falling into the Lyndon Johnson Vietnam trap, of escalating a predecessor's halfhearted war into a major quagmire. What does Obama's first military operation tell us about his administration's priorities?" -- also posted at LewRockwell
    
Russia stops US on road to Afghanistan
Special Note - A quote...."The shocking intelligence assessment shared by Moscow reveals that almost half of the US supplies passing through Pakistan is pilfered by motley groups of Taliban militants, petty traders and plain thieves. The US Army is getting burgled in broad daylight and can't do much about it. Almost 80% of all supplies for Afghanistan pass through Pakistan. The Peshawar bazaar is doing a roaring business hawking stolen US military ware, as in the 1980s during the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union. This volume of business will register a quantum jump following the doubling of the US troop level in Afghanistan to 60,000. Wars are essentially tragedies, but can be comical, too. -- Moscow disclaims transit route -- At any rate, within a day of Petraeus' remark, Moscow corrected him. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Maslov told Itar-Tass, “No official documents were submitted to Russia's permanent mission in NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] certifying that Russia had authorized the United States and NATO to transport military supplies across the country."

From Hospital, Afghans Rebut U.S. Account
A quote...."MEHTARLAM, Afghanistan — The American military declared the nighttime raid this month a success, saying it killed 32 people, all Taliban insurgents — the fruit of an emphasis on intelligence-driven use of Special Operations forces."

Somali insurgents advance after Ethiopians leave - Oh look, another one of Bush's successes. - mpg
A quote...."BAIDOA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Hardline Islamist insurgents captured Somalia's parliament and fought government troops in a central town after Ethiopia withdrew its last soldiers and left a security vacuum in the Horn of Africa nation, witnesses said."

Morales hails Bolivia referendum
A quote...."Evo Morales, Bolivia's president, has claimed victory after voters approved a new constitution granting more power to the country's indigenous majority, according to unofficial results."

A peek into China's military mind
Analysis - A quote...."China's latest national defense white paper shows a desire for further military modernization and a "leapfrog development" of technology, even as the armed forces remain underfunded and only at the beginning of a transformation. The paper also takes a swipe at United States "hegemonism and power politics", while laying the responsibility for trying to improve China-US relations at Washington's feet."
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Obama and 9/11: Part 1
Special Note - A quote...."According to polls, about four in 10 Americans are suspicious that the Bush administration was complicit in the 9/11 attacks -- either by deliberately ignoring intelligence that warned an attack was coming and allowing the terrorists to strike, to gain public support for the neoconservative foreign policy agenda of increasing American military power in the Middle East or by actively coordinating the attacks themselves, for the same reason. As Time magazine, in a rare acknowledgement of the 9/11 truth movement, said, “This is not a fringe phenomenon. It is a mainstream political reality.”"

Refuting Cheney’s Lies: The Stories of Six Prisoners Released from Guantánamo
A quote...."In the Bush administration’s “war on terror,” the gulf between rhetoric and reality was always pronounced, and never more so than when Vice President Dick Cheney spoke out. Cheney’s lies and distortions were on open display in the last month before his departure from the White House, as he sought to leave his legacy of fear burnished on the nation’s consciousness, and in a final fling he told Rush Limbaugh, in no uncertain terms, that when it came to Guantánamo, “now what’s left, that is the hardcore.”

Let the Subpoenas Come
DataBase - A quote...."Here's an updated chart of outstanding subpoenas from the last Congress. There's a new column on the right for actions taken in the new Congress. Thus far there's only one update, thanks to Conyers subpoenaing Rove."

"Hello, Kafka? 3rd Trial Looms for Alleged Sears Tower Plotters 26 Jan 2009 Federal prosecutors will try for a third time to persuade jurors that six men from an impoverished Miami neighborhood were a blossoming al-Qaida [al-CIAduh] cell bent on destroying Chicago's Sears Tower to help ignite a war against the United States. Prosecutors have indicated that they may change their approach for this week's trial after two juries didn't buy their case that the group's leader, 34-year-old Narseal Batiste, was trying to orchestrate a grandiose bloodbath." -- Paragraph posted at CLG

"Police state infrastructure is the only infrastructure we get. U.S. to Build $3.4 Billion Homeland Security Complex --14,000 Homeland Security employees to work in new headquarters 09 Jan 2009 After years of battling historic preservationists, the federal government won approval yesterday to build a massive headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security on a 176-acre hilltop site east of the Anacostia River. The $3.4 billion headquarters would be one of the largest construction projects in the Washington area since the Pentagon was built in the 1940s." -- Paragraph posted at CLG

Congress Seeks To Authorize & Legalize FEMA Camp Facilities
Police State Warning - A quote...."A new bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives called the National Emergency Centers Act or HR 645. This bill if passed into law will direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers otherwise known as FEMA camp facilities on military installations. This is an incredibly disturbing piece of legislation considering that the powers that be have already set in motion an agenda to setup a nationwide marital law apparatus through U.S. Northern Command and the Department of Homeland Security. Apparently, the fusion centers, militarized police, surveillance cameras and a domestic military command is not enough."

Oscar Grant punched in the face before being shot
A quote...."Moments before he was killed, Oscar Grant was punched in the face -- but not by the BART officer who shot him. -- A new cellphone video shows another BART officer punching Grant just before he was shot by BART Officer Johannes Mehserle, who was arrested on murder charges nearly two weeks ago." -- also posted at BLN
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Money and Our Future
Special Note -- A quote...."We are fortunate to be living in these times, for we are seeing the unfolding of events long explained and predicted by the Austrian tradition. -- Maybe that sounds implausible. What is fortunate about our times? The economy is tanking, stocks have been pummeled, unemployment is rising, and Washington is pursuing the worst combination of economic policies since Hoover and FDR. Nor does the new guy in charge seem to have a clue about the limits of what government can do."

Gold, Stocks, and Government: January, 2009
A quote...."Trade and business are collapsing. Unemployment is soaring. The boom is busting worldwide on a very large scale. This is evident now."

Flood of foreclosures: It's worse than you think
Special Note - A quote...."Banks are moving slowly to list repossessed homes for sale, which could mean that housing inventory is even more bloated than current statistics indicate."

Bloody Monday: 74,000 layoffs announced in one day
A quote...."On Monday, employers in the US and internationally announced tens of thousands of layoffs in an indication that the economic crisis is accelerating and spreading throughout the American and world economy—and far outpacing governmental measures to respond. Among the major layoffs:"

California unemployment rate jumps to 9.3 percent
A quote...."California's unemployment rate jumped to 9.3 percent in December, capping a tumultuous year of massive job losses and a housing slump that has struck most of the country."

Florida drowning in jobless claims
A quote...." In December alone, the department handled more than 157,000 applications, or almost triple the number from the same month in 2007. For all of 2008, the department handled 1.3 million applications, or almost twice as many as the previous year. -- And the problem continues to get worse. Last week alone the state handled 87,000 claims, or more than four times as many as in the same week of last year."

Credit crunch claims Icelandic Government after 'Household Revolution'
A quote...."The global economic crisis claimed its first government yesterday when Iceland’s ruling coalition collapsed amid a cacophony of popular protest. -- The Government of Geir Haarde, the Prime Minister, resigned en masse after days of mounting anger over the country’s financial meltdown."

Sunday January 25th 2009

No posts. - mpg

Saturday January 24th 2009

President orders air strikes on villages in tribal area - It's Official!!  The Neo-Roman Empire is to Continue. - mpg
A quote...."Barack Obama gave the go-ahead for his first military action yesterday, missile strikes against suspected militants in Pakistan which killed at least 18 people. - Four days after assuming the presidency, he was consulted by US commanders before they launched the two attacks. Although Obama has abandoned many of the "war on terror" policies of George Bush while he was president, he is not retreating from the hunt for Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders." -- How are all you Obamatroll Audio Visual Disassociative Disorder (AViDD “believer” type-1 syndrome) sufferers doing out there in La-La-Land?  It's only been four days so far, just think of what the future holds for you. Poor little deluded Obamatrolls -- You elected a man because of the color of his skin and NOT because of the content of his character.  - mpg

Obama's Message: The Wrong Side of History
A quote...."15:50 01/24/2009 -- Of all the beautiful phrases in Barack Obama's inauguration speech, these are the words that stuck in my mind: "You are on the wrong side of history."

Obama’s new foreign policy team prepares escalated bloodletting in Afghanistan and Pakistan
A quote...."In a series of meetings and public appearances Wednesday and Thursday, and with the first military strikes of his administration, President Barack Obama has given a clear signal that he plans intensified bloodshed in Afghanistan and Pakistan as the US escalates its military intervention in Central and South Asia." -- also posted at Uruknet

Obama’s Neocon -- The Curious Case of Richard Holbrooke
A quote...."In wee morning hours on Friday, January 23, a U.S. spy plane killed at least 15 in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border. It was Barack Obama’s first blood and the U.S.’s first violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty under the new administration. The attack was an early sign that the newly minted president may not be overhauling the War on Terror this week, or even next."

The American [New Roman Empire] Lunatic Asylum
A quote...."If America ever is going to stop making aggressive war, Americans will first have to get into contact with reality. That’s because U.S. administrations for the past century have periodically frightened the public out of their collective wits."

Dangerous Executive Orders
Special Note - A quote...."The Center for Constitutional Rights has expressed concern that President Obama's executive order banning torture may contain a loophole.  But no president has any right to declare torture legal or illegal, with or without loopholes.  And if we accept that presidents have such powers, even if our new president does good with them, then loopholes will be the least of our worries. -- Torture is, and has long been, illegal in every case, without exception.  It is banned by our Bill of Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 2340A.  Nothing any president can do can change this or unchange it, weaken it or strengthen it in any way." - bold by website editor

Obama boom for K Street
A quote...."K Street lobbyists expect a bonanza this year because of the aggressive agenda of President Obama and congressional Democrats. - “Big government is back,” said Mark Ruge, who heads the policy group at K&L Gates. “It’s going to be a very, very active Congress.” - i.e. Gobs of Big Money will be flowing through the streets. - mpg

The Gaza Attack - 18 Articles - Saturday - [ Day 29 ] ========== ========== ========== ====

Unseen Gaza
Must View Videos -- A quote...."Channel 4 Video Report - Broadcast - January 22, 2009 -- Is what has been presented on our screens and in our papers a true reflection of events on the ground in Gaza? And how do these reports differ to those aired in other countries? -- With reporters unable to enter Gaza, attempted media manipulation from both sides and strict regulations governing what images that can be shown on British TV, Jon Snow asks a range of journalists from at home and abroad about the challenges of getting the full story. -- Featuring images that haven't before been aired on mainstream television, Jon also examines the difference between the coverage at home and that in the US, Europe and the Middle East. He compares the coverage available on terrestrial channels with satellite TV and the internet and investigates the extent to which some British Muslims are by-passing the mainstream British media and looking elsewhere for their information. -- To what extent does the choice of news outlet affect opinion of the conflict?"

Scenes from Gaza - These are grim, not gruesome....check out the second photo, it's utterly heart wrenching.
Must View Photos - Palestinian Rawan Abu Taber, 4, wounded during the Israeli military operations, screams in pain as doctors change bandages to her severe burns, at the Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday Jan. 21, 2009. Doctors had to amputate her thumb because it kept on burning. [That's white phosphorous for you, she'll most likely die from the toxic effects of the phosphorous on her internal organs. - mpg ] A vast majority of over 4,000 Palestinians wounded in Israel's operations in the Gaza Strip are treated at Shifa, Gaza's largest hospital."- (AP)"

We Will Not Go Down (Song for Gaza) - (YouTube - animation - 3 min 10 sec - January 23, 2009)
Must Vew Propaganda - Ok! Ok! This is straight propaganda, however considering the subtle, and some not so subtle, propaganda constantly being pedaled by certain quarters, from Huntington's “Clash of Civilizations”, to that idiotic, totally ridiculous, celebration of Persian conquering homo-erotica, the "300", to even the "Lord of the Rings" and the "Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" (both of them this editor's favorite movies) with their "vicious conquering hordes from the East"  this website editor decided to post this because turn-about REALLY is fair play.  You gotta check out who plays the Lion and of course the rats (that was a bit much and will…ahem, get one particular minority in this conflict rather excited).  Great song too. - mpg

Gaza Slide Show - For the Record - 300 Photos - Grim and bloody - mpg
Special Note - Slide Show - Posted for the historical record. - mpg
Eyewitness in Gaza: Yesterday and Tomorrow
A quote...."15:21 01/24/2009 -- We're like trees, we have our roots and they allow us to grow, little by little, we grow up and then they cut us down. But, whatever they throw at us, whatever they do to us, we are still here and we will still be here" -- *Om Bassim*, Jabaliya Camp, January 2009.

Absolutely Not! Not in Their Name, Not in Ours
Special Note - A quote...."Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:09 UTC -- Ehud Barak, Tzipi Livni, Gabi Ashkenazi and Ehud Olmert--don't you dare show your faces at any memorial ceremony for the heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto, Lublin, Vilna or Kishinev. And you too, leaders of Peace Now, for whom peace means a pacification of the Palestinian resistance by any means, including the destruction of a people. Whenever I will be there, I shall personally do my best to expel each of you from these events, for your very presence would be an immense sacrilege." -- also posted at Creative-i

Gaza children go back to school bearing scars of war
A quote...."First Published 2009-01-24 -- Around 200 UN-run schools in Gaza open doors to some 200,000 Palestinian children."

Gaza worse than being depicted
A quote...."Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:33:09 GMT  -- Amnesty describes the situation in Gaza far worse than supposed, stressing the need for a probe into the violation of int'l law in the Gaza war."

Amnesty International: Israel must disclose all weapons used in Gaza
A quote...."23 January, 2009 -- London, Jan 23, IRNA — Amnesty International is calling on the Israeli regime to disclose all weapons and munitions that were used in its latest slaughter of more than 1,300 Palestinians in Gaza amid concern that they include new secret US bombs that cause horrific injuries."

Jewish Voices of Dissent on Gaza
A quote...."January 23, 2009 -- In a speech in the House of Commons on Jan. 15 MP Gerald Kaufman said, "My parents came to Britain as refugees from Poland. Most of their families were subsequently murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust. My grandmother was ill in bed when the Nazis came to her home in Staszow. A German soldier shot her dead in her bed." -- "My grandmother did not die to provide cover for Israeli soldiers murdering Palestinian grandmothers in Gaza. The current Israeli government ruthlessly and cynically exploits the continuing guilt among gentiles over the slaughter of Jews in the Holocaust as justification for the murder of Palestinians. The implication is that Jewish lives are precious, but the lives of Palestinians don't count." -- also posted at CommonDreams

International Law and Israel's War on Gaza
A quote...."01/24/09 - 02:26:33 pm -- When the Oslo Document was originally presented by the Israeli government to the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East Peace Negotiations in the Fall of 1992, it was rejected by the Delegation because it obviously constituted a bantustan. This document carried out Menachem Begin's disingenuous misinterpretation of the Camp David Accords--expressly rejected by U.S. President Jimmy Carter--that all they called for was autonomy for the people and not for the land too."

Mosques destroyed by Israeli strikes, Gazans pray outdoors
A quote...."January 23, 2009 -- IZBIT ABED RABBO, Gaza Strip — It was just after noon on Friday and time for the weekly communal prayer on a day when many Gazans needed divine guidance, but there was no place to pray."
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ACTION UPDATES......

More layoffs expected at Starbucks - Keep up the good work folks!!!  Boycott, Boycott, Boycott!! - mpg
Action Update - A quote...."January 24, 2009 at 12:00 AM -- Another big round of layoffs is expected at Starbucks, possibly 1,000 people — a third of its headquarters employees — and some district managers and field employees, according to an e-mail sent to a stock brokerage's customers Friday." -- For more on this issue see....BOYCOTT ISRAEL CAMPAIGN on the Front Page of this website top-left-corner. - mpg

BBC crisis over refusal to broadcast Gaza appeal
Action Update - A quote...."Saturday 24 January 2009 19.55 GMT  -- The BBC was in crisis tonight as politicians including government ministers, religious leaders and senior members of its own staff condemned the decision not to broadcast a charity appeal to help the stricken people of Gaza rebuild their homes."

BBC left isolated as rival channels back aid appeal
Action Update - A quote...."Sunday, 25 January 2009 -- The BBC was engaged in a war of words with ministers last night over its refusal to broadcast an urgent appeal for humanitarian aid to Gaza. Government figures, aid workers and BBC staff expressed outrage that the corporation has not backed down, as some of its rivals did yesterday, and broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal. The BBC said yesterday it was concerned that access to aid in Gaza might be problematic, and that it did not want to endanger the public's perception of the impartiality of its reporting."

Benn accuses BBC over Gaza appeal
Action Update - A quote...."21 hours ago [posted 6:07 pm PST 01-24-09] -- Veteran politician Tony Benn will accuse the BBC of a "betrayal" of its public service obligations following its decision not to broadcast a public appeal for funds for Gaza. He will address a pro-Palestine rally called by the Stop the War coalition outside Broadcasting House in central London."

Swedish NGOs urge government to support Gaza
Action Update - A quote...."First Published 2009-01-24 -- Five Swedish NGOs call on government to hold Israel responsible for damage done to besieged Gaza. "

Parisians march in support of Gaza
Action Update - A quote...."Sunday, January 25, 2009 -- 04:42 Mecca time, 01:42 GMT -- Thousands of demonstrators have marched in Paris for a fourth straight weekend to show their support for Palestinians, following Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip. The march towards the presidential Elysee Palace on Saturday drew some 20,000 people according to organisers and 9,500 according to police."

End - The Gaza Attack - 18 Articles - Saturday - [ Day 29 ] ========== ========== ========== ====
 
US-led forces kill 15 militants, Afghans say victims were civilians
A quote....""Coalition forces killed 15 armed militants and detained one suspected militant during an operation to disrupt the Taliban's terrorist network in Laghman province," a coalition press statement said. -- But local legislators put the number of dead at more than 20 and said they included women and children. -- The head of the provincial council, Emadudin Abdulrahimzay, said 21 people were killed and their bodies found at different locations. -- "They were all civilians, including two women and two children," he said."

Kabul's rift with the US widens
A quote...."NEW DELHI - The floodgates have opened in the simmering tussle between the international community represented in Afghanistan and the Kabul government headed by President Hamid Karzai. The rift may be reaching a point of no return. There may be no way out for either side unless better sense prevails very soon."

U.S. military raid kills Iraqi man, woman in their bed
A quote...."January 24, 2009 2:16 PM -- BAGHDAD - An Iraqi couple was killed in their bed Saturday morning as their daughter slept between them when U.S. forces raided their home. -- The U.S. military said that the raid, in the area of Hawija, just west of Kirkuk, was an Iraqi government-approved operation against a wanted man and that the killings were in self-defense. But the family described the slayings of a modest farmer and his wife and the wounding of their daughter by U.S. forces as the three slept." -- bold by website editor

Torture in Iraqi Prisons - APPEAL FOR INVESTIGATION
A quote...."Appeal To all human rights organizations, the international organization and the Red Crescent and Red Cross and any organization concerned with human rights. There is an urgent need to send a qualified investigation team to inspect Iraqi prisons and investigate the credible claims of severe torture and extra judicial killings taking place in the prisons of Iraq."

Iraq will reopen notorious Abu Ghraib prison next month but with new name
Now the Iraqis are TRULY learning how to be "American" where image trumps substance every single time.-- Wasn't it William Shakespeare who penned "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet...." or would in this case stink to high heaven because it's a noxious, reeking, pesthole of degradation, torture and death. -- Or should we all just decide this is some more of that fine good 'ol fashioned "American" "freedom and democracy" in action. -- Or how about we all just call it Obama's new "Change™"  program for Iraq.  Take your pick folks, you decide. – mpg -- A quote...."Iraq will reopen the notorious Abu Ghraib prison next month, but it's getting a facelift and a new name, a senior justice official said Saturday."

Turkey, Iraq, US to have joint command center in Arbil - Looks like the PKK is Persona non grata...for now. - mpg
A quote...."Turkey, Iraq and the United States have agreed to set up a joint command center in northern Iraq to gather intelligence to fight the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has bases in the region, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Friday."

Thousands attend funeral of drone victims
A quote...."PESHAWAR/MIRAMSHAH/WANA: Thousands of tribesmen on Saturday attended the funeral prayers of the victims of Friday’s drone attacks in the North and South Waziristan Agencies. They condemned the killings and asked US President Barack Obama to spend the money on the welfare of the tribal people instead of killing them with sophisticated weapons."

White House Press Secretary won't discuss alleged US strikes in Pakistan
A quote...."White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' second White House press briefing started with a series of questions on economics and the stimulus package, but it wasn't long before a reporter asked about alleged US missile strikes in Pakistan which reportedly killed 15 early Friday morning."

US drone attacks creating problems: ISPR spokesman
A quote...."LAHORE: ISPR spokesman Major General Athar Abbas has said the US drone attacks are creating problems for the Pakistani government and army, a private TV channel reported on Friday."
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Legacy Be Damned: Americans want Justice
Special Note - A quote...."The facts are well-known. More than 4,000 US men and women have died fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan for dubious aims and for reasons proved false. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi men, women and children – by some accounts more than a million - are dead as a result of the illegal and immoral invasion and occupation of their country. Untold thousands of Afghani men, women and children are dead as result of the invasion of that nation. Both of these countries are in shambles with millions of people reduced to the pitiable plight of internal and external refugees. -- Torture, extraordinary rendition, extra-judicial incarceration, illegal wire-tapping and surveillance of US citizens, and the loss of habeas corpus for US citizens; all were the official policy of the Bush administration. If this has all been the result of a few 'bad apples' then those 'bad apples' have included those at the 'top of the tree' by the tacit admission of Bush/Cheney themselves and the clearly stated admission of Susan Crawford, of the Guantanamo military commissions, and former NSA analyst, Russell Tice, amongst many others."

Norwegian Daily: Terrorists Working for Western Countries
Special Note - A quote...."It came to my attention that a senior correspondent, Kristin Aalen, working for a national Norwegian broadsheet - Stavanger Aftenbladet (Stavanger Evening News) - just recently printed a detailed article in the newspaper on Western covert operations sponsoring al-Qaeda after the Cold War... based almost entirely on my research in The War on Truth: 9/11, Disinformation and the Anatomy of Terrorism." -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror & Judeo-Christian C/C & US - Axis of Evil
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9/11 - From The History File...Atta and Alshehhi Seen Partying and Taking Flying Lessons in Philippines' - timeline
TIMELINE 9/11 KHALID SHAIKH MOHAMMED - timeline - database
Hijacker Oddities - database
Welcome to Terrorland: What was Mohamed Atta really doing in Florida? - interview
9/11 - ARE AMERICANS THE VICTIMS OF A HOAX?
WAS MOHAMED ATTA "CLOSE ASSOCIATE" IN FLORIDA A CIA PILOT?
Mohamed Atta's Best Friend “You can’t arrest me, I’m working for the CIA”
The Last Nail in the Coffin of the 9/11 Myth -- Mohamed Atta in Oklahoma City
False-Flag "Islamic Terror" : The New Blood Libel
9/11: Problems with Official Story: Things That Do Not Fit
For more on this issue see....9/11 - NORAD
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Merrill Lynch paid billions in bonuses before bailout
Special Note - A quote...."Merrill Lynch, the loss-making Wall Street bank, paid its staff billions of dollars in bonuses even as it prepared to be taken over by the US government-backed Bank of America. -- Merrill's move took as much as $4 billion out of the bank days before it became part of Bank of America, which last week said it would get $20 billion from the US Treasury." -- For more on this issue see....Having Fun With Your Tax Dollars

The World Won't Buy Unlimited U.S. Debt
Special Note - Unless the US-NRE holds a gun to their collective heads....Oh! So that's what all that military hardware is for, no wonder the US-NRE spent more on its military than the ENTIRE world combined last year - it explains a lot. – mpg -- A quote...."Barack Obama has spoken often of sacrifice. And as recently as a week ago, he said that to stave off the deepening recession Americans should be prepared to face "trillion dollar deficits for years to come." -- But apart from a stirring call for volunteerism in his inaugural address, the only specific sacrifices the president has outlined thus far include lower taxes, millions of federally funded jobs, expanded corporate bailouts, and direct stimulus checks to consumers. Could this be described as sacrificial?"

The rise and fall of Wall Street’s John Thain
A quote...."John Thain, the CEO of brokerage house Merrill Lynch, who guided his firm's absorption by Bank of America, was fired yesterday by BOA head Ken Lewis after it was learned that Merrill had brought $15.31 billion in fourth quarter losses onto the bank's balance sheet. Bank of America stock has lost 83 percent of its value since the Merrill acquisition was announced on September 21, and analysts believe that the banking giant is, for all intents and purposes, insolvent."

Financial crisis: just how big is Britain's toxic debt?
A quote...."An army of accountants is combing through the books, trying to establish just how much the toxic assets of the bailed-out banks are actually worth. At stake, says the Government, is the future of Britain's economy." - also posted at BLN -- For more on this issue see....1.3 Quadrillion and Counting 09-18-08 - mpg

JPMorgan chief says worst of the crisis still to come: FT
A quote...."LONDON - The chief executive of US bank JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, told the Financial Times on Thursday that the worst of the economic crisis still lay ahead as hard-hit consumers default on their loans."

Third U.S. Bank Failure Of 2009
Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- First Centennial Bank of Redlands, California, was seized by a state regulator, the third U.S. bank to fail this year, as the recession deepens and the slump in the housing industry sends home foreclosures to records.

Friday January 23rd 2009

What Was Said, and What Was Not
Special Note -- A quote...."January 22, 2009 "Information Clearinghouse"....I am loathe to micro-criticize this well-intentioned president, beginning literally with his first minutes in office. He deserves much better than that, and so do we. -- But, truth be told, we needed some Lincoln, some FDR, some Kennedy this week, and we didn't get it. -- Obama speaks in rather vague generalities that allow his audience to project onto him much of what they choose to. I assume that, smart as he is, he does this on purpose, since he can thus benefit from winning their support without leaving himself pinned to commitments he may wish to avoid at a later date. That's the mark of a skilled politician, but I don't mean that as a compliment. It's not the mark of a leader, it's not the mark of the bold, and it's not the mark of the moral." - underline by website editor -- This is a VERY important concept to keep in mind when examining Obama's past and current record in office.  Pay no intention to what he says, or what he promises, or what he intends to do, or even what he supposedly signs into law.  Only give him credit for what is DONE under his administration.  Almost everyone will be quite surprised, and very disappointed, at the differences between what is said and what eventually transpires during the next four years. - mpg

Questions remain over US renditions
Case in point....mpg -- A quote...."The Guantanamo Bay prison camp was ordered closed by the US president, in addition a review of the detainees' trials was ordered, along with the closure of CIA secret prisons and an end to harsh interrogations. But the orders appear to leave loopholes that could allow some controversial US practices to continue. Extraordinary renditions, where "terror" suspects are apprehended and transferred from countries by US intelligence services or their allies, without going through any legal process, could still be carried out."

Breakin The Rules Already; Obama Waives Lobbyist Restriction… For of All Things, A Defense Lobbyist… of course
Another case in point....mpg -- A quote...."WASHINGTON — President Obama’s choice to be the top deputy at the Pentagon hit a snag today over questions about his recent work as a lobbyist for Waltham-based Raytheon Co., which received more than $10 billion in weapons contracts last year from the very agency he would manage."

The Gaza Attack - 25 Articles - Friday - [ Day 28 ] ========== ========== ========== ====

Thus Sprach Barack: Pouring Acid on Gaza's Wounds
Must Read - A quote...."Fri Jan. 23 2009 -- Yesterday, we wrote [see article shown below] of our eager anticipation of Barack Obama's long-suppressed opinion on the mass slaughter in Gaza. As we all know, the most eloquent, forthright and morally concerned orator of the age kept a demure silence on this subject for weeks, because, he said, "we have only one president at a time," who alone should speak about foreign policy. Of course, that didn't keep the morally concerned orator from speaking freely on almost every other aspect of foreign policy -- Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, etc. But consistency, as they say, is the hobgoblin of small minds, and the brain of the new president -- who has set the world aflame with rhetoric that has never been heard in Washington before, soaring phrases of penetrating uniqueness about freedom, hope, peace, and the enduring greatness of the American people -- is famously large. -- Anyway, we have waited, and at last Obama has spoken. Here's what he had to say today, while welcoming Hillary Clinton to the State Department and appointing Establishment grandee George Mitchell as his special envoy to the Middle East:"

The One and Only: Waiting for Word From on High
Special Note - A quote...."Now that Barack Obama is finally the "only one president" that we have at a time, I'm sure we can  look forward to hearing what he really thinks about the mass slaughter of civilians in Gaza by the American-equipped Israeli war machine.  ---  This is commonly called a "challenge", or to put it another way, Chris Floyd has thrown down the gauntlet to good 'ol Barack to lead the way and set a moral example for "America" and the rest of the world. -- His challenge will go unanswered, his gauntlet will not be picked up.....Barack Bombs Away O-Bomb-a is a bought and paid for AIPAC lackey and stooge of the Banksters and War Mongers for the New Roman Empire.  Nothing will ever change that fact. – mpg -- posted 01-21-09
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An Eye For An Eyelash: The Gaza Massacre - Part 1
Missed this one. - mpg -- Some quotes...."Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:33 UTC -- On March 24, 1999, an emotional Tony Blair appealed to the House of Commons and to the people of Britain:"

"We must act to save thousands of innocent men, women and children from humanitarian catastrophe."

Blair described the emergency:

"Let me give the House an indication of the scale of what is happening: a quarter of a million Kosovars, more than 10 per cent of the population, are now homeless as a result of repression by Serb forces... Since last summer 2000 people have died." (Blair: 'We must act - to save thousands of innocent men, women and children,' The Guardian, March 23, 1999;)

"Not even Blair claimed all the killings had been on one side. George Robertson, the UK Defence Secretary at the time of the crisis, testified before the House of Commons that until mid-January 1999, "the Kosovo Liberation Army [KLA] was responsible for more deaths in Kosovo than the Serbian authorities had been". (Quoted, Noam Chomsky, Hegemony or Survival, Routledge, 2003, p.56)"

"The following day, NATO began its 78-day blitz of Serbia."
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Has Anything Changed Since Sabra and Chatila? - In Israel, Detachment From Reality is the Norm
Must Read - A quote...."January 23 / 25, 2009 -- ....on returning to Jerusalem 10 years after I was stationed here as The Independent's correspondent between 1995 and 1999 I find that Israel has changed significantly for the worse. There is far less dissent than there used to be and such dissent is more often treated as disloyalty. -- Israeli society was always introverted but these days it reminds me more than ever of the Unionists in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s or the Lebanese Christians in the 1970s. Like Israel, both were communities with a highly developed siege mentality which led them always to see themselves as victims even when they were killing other people. There were no regrets or even knowledge of what they inflicted on others and therefore any retaliation by the other side appeared as unprovoked aggression inspired by unreasoning hate."

Zionism is an Incurable Disease of the Mind
Must Read - A quote...."01/23/09 -- Permalink 09:45:21 am -- I lost my gloves one day in a coffee shop in Geneva, and I tell you, it’s difficult to ride without them when it’s really cold. So as I was paying for a new pair with a credit card, the salesman, whom I knew was from Israel, tried to start some small talk by asking me what my family name means. I told him that it relates to the city of Nablus where my family is originally from. -- Suddenly, the most bewildered look was plastered on his face. “Where is Nablus?” he asked, “I’ve never heard of it.” Then, after realizing that I knew he was bullshitting me, he pretended to remember, “Ah, Shkheim you mean?”With my insistence not to learn these ugly names that the deranged Zionists have dug up from oblivion to erase our identity, that name certainly didn’t ring a bell. But now it was my turn. Although I knew where he was from, I asked “And you’re… from?” As he smiled while reminding me, I replicated the same look on his face moments ago. “Israel? Where is that?” Then after a brief pause, “Ah, the land of Canaan you mean. Palestine”. You see if you want to get biblical on me, there is no such thing as Israel either, and I made that clear to this smartass."

The testing of a god, the sacrifice for a Union: Gaza’s tale - warning - contains some grim photos
Must Read -- Missed this one - mpg - A quote...."January 16, 2009 -- What amazes me first is I never thought I would see it so soon, the world seeing the Israeli military government for the mass murdering psychopaths that they are. And I don’t mean that as just a standard cry of frustration either. Basically what a psychopath is, is a person who will charm or cry victim their way into a person’s home while planning to cut them up at the first opportunity. -- They use their guilt tripping like it’s near world’s end. Whenever someone calls them out about their rampant criminality, they flip from wild aggressor to pained, exhausted victim, playing the right to survive, terrorism and Nazi/Holocaust cards. The Israeli government has actually surpassed Hitler’s vision in so many ways that I’m sure he’s rolling in his grave with jealousy even as I write this."

Saudi patience is running out
Special Note - A quote...."Published: January 22 2009 20:15 | Last updated: January 22 2009 20:15 -- By Turki al-Faisal  -- In my decades as a public servant, I have strongly promoted the Arab-Israeli peace process. During recent months, I argued that the peace plan proposed by Saudi Arabia could be implemented under an Obama administration if the Israelis and Palestinians both accepted difficult compromises. I told my audiences this was worth the energies of the incoming administration for, as the late Indian diplomat Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit said: “The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.” -- But after Israel launched its bloody attack on Gaza, these pleas for optimism and co-operation now seem a distant memory. In the past weeks, not only have the Israeli Defence Forces murdered more than 1,000 Palestinians, but they have come close to killing the prospect of peace itself. Unless the new US administration takes forceful steps to prevent any further suffering and slaughter of Palestinians, the peace process, the US-Saudi relationship and the stability of the region are at risk."

The self-defence defence
A quote...."January 23, 2009 -- Wartime in Israel is effectively a totalitarian blackout: objectors are denounced as traitors and suppressed or sidelined, while the media almost entirely ignores the consequences of Israeli military actions. This is partly down to self-censorship and partly down to the codes of a military censor."

'I Will Never Walk Again'
A quote...."14:28 01/23/2009 -- Guns might have gone silent, bodies buried, rubbles lifted, but Israel's 22-day onslaught is leaving many Gazans with life-long scars, both physical and psychological. -- "I will never walk again," Ruba Hamid, 8, said from her bed in Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. -- Her tears rolled down her cheeks as she watched on TV the many young children whose legs have been blown out in Israeli bombing."

Gaza: Damages beyond Destruction
A quote...."Jan 22, 2009 -- Massive, brutal and deliberate attack on the Palestinian Gaza Strip by the occupying power --Israel for complete 23 days (27 December 2008-18 January 2009) has caused a large scale destruction of their life, dignity, liberty, property, security, health and prosperity. They have been suffering from perpetual holocaust for main reason of being consistent in their legitimate demand for the end of their colonization by Israel and to create a viable independent Palestinian State in 22.5% of the total territory of pre-Israel Palestine agreed by both the parties in 1991 and 1993 which has also been endorsed by the UN Security Resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). Israel killed over 1300 people, over 400 children, over 150 women, old age, medics and journalists. There are over 5400 injured persons. What is more than painful is the use of the war weapons found at the upper shelf of Pentagon such as White Phosphorus, GBU 39, Apache helicopter, F-16s, cluster bombs, and depleted uranium."

Livni's Bombs Reasons for War?
A quote...."January 23 / 25, 2009 -- One problem emerged with Friedman’s logic: Hezbollah emerged far stronger from the 2006 Israeli invasion; Israel much weaker. -- Luckily, fanatic Arab militants seem to reject Friedman’s pedagogical method. Imagine, if they began to teach Jews around the world a similar lesson about the violent consequences that would result from supporting Israel! Imagine Friedman’s equivalent writing for the Nazi propaganda machine explaining how killing civilians in London, Leningrad or Warsaw would educate those supporting resistance to the folly of their loyalties!"

Photo Gallery: Gaza's Beit Lahia in Ruins
Photo Gallery - 01/23/2009 - High quality shots. - mpg

In Pictures: Gaza in ruins
Photo Gallery - January 23, 2009 at 12:43 pm - Some of these photos are pretty grim. - mpg

Some As-Safir Cartoons
Cartoons - Jan. 23rd 2009 -- Three great cartoons. - mpg

Israel 'admits' to using phosphorous shells in Gaza
A quote...."January 23, 2009, 21:15 -- The Israeli Ambassador to Russia admitted that Israel used white phosphorous but maintained that it was in accordance with international law. The UN and human rights groups have accused Israel of illegaly using the chemical, causing severe burns among civilians."

UN fears 'systematic war crimes' by Israel
A quote...."First Published 2009-01-23 -- UN Special Rapporteur on human rights says 'unlawful targets have been selected' by Israel. --  GENEVA - A UN human rights expert on Thursday said Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip during its recent offensive there raised "the spectre of systematic war crimes" and needed to be investigated. -- The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Territories, Richard Falk, said he had little doubt about the "unavoidably inhuman character of a large scale military operation of the sort that Israel has initiated... against an essentially defenceless population."

Rising anger over Gaza accelerates demands for war crimes tribunal
A quote...."Saturday 24th January, 2009 -- Calls are increasing from a number of quarters for an independent investigation into allegations that war crimes were committed during the just-ended Gaza War."

Fatah to take Israel to The Hague
A quote...."Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:59:24 GMT  --  Palestinian Fatah party [That's Israel's nominal ally] has ordered a specialized team to probe Israel's use of banned weapons during its 23-day offensive against Gaza." 

Israel braces for war crime charges
A quote...."Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:10:49 GMT  -- Israeli government sources revealed on Friday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had tasked an inter-ministerial team to clear Tel Aviv of possible war crimes charges relating to its three-week-long assault on Gaza. Israeli Justice Minister Daniel Friedman will spearhead the efforts to coordinate a legal defense for civilians and the military amid world condemnation of Tel Aviv's war on Gaza."

Israel forms war crime defence team
Related Article - A quote...."Saturday, January 24, 2009 -- 00:03 Mecca time, 21:03 GMT -- Daniel Friedman, the Israeli justice minister, has been appointed to lead a defence team should war crimes charges be brought following the 22-day war on Gaza. Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, confirmed to Al Jazeera on Friday that Friedman would lead an inter-ministerial team to co-ordinate a legal defence for civilians and the military."

IDF censor bans naming officers involved in Gaza op
What a bunch of cowardly little creeps the IDF is.  Murdering women and children while hiding their faces, one wonders why they just don't go around wearing white sheets. - mpg -- A quote...."Published on 01-23-2009 -- The Military Censor is applying strict restrictions preventing the media from identifying officers who participated in the Gaza Strip fighting and information about them that may be used in legal proceedings against them abroad. There is growing concern at the Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Justice that Israeli officers will be singled out in a massive wave of suits for alleged human rights violations." -- also posted at RougeGov

Gaza Recovery in Doubt as Israel Pressures Hamas
A quote...."Fri, 2009-01-23 18:22. -- Israel all but ruled out on Friday a full reopening of border crossings with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip any time soon, leaving a shaky ceasefire and post-war reconstruction in doubt." - bold by website editor -- For more on what to do about Israel see websites listed below....

Boycott Israel Campaign
Boycott Israeli Products
Boycott Israel Comp. List
Boycott Israeli Goods
Israeli Emb. & Comps. list
Boycott Aparthied Israel
Boycott Israel campaign
Boycott Israel campaign
Boycott Israel NOW

We're heading into a Great Depression folks.....if you want to punish these companies, NOW is the time to act !!! - mpg - posted 01-17-09

Israeli navy opens fire on Palestinian fishing boats
You see, the Israelis can't even let the Palestinians catch fish to feed their starving families, no of course not, the Palestinians have to be forced to beg the Israelis to let UN aid through Israel's own border blockade.  Must give the IDF a special thrill to starve them "little darkies" while keeping them from the chance to feed their own families with dignity. - mpg -- A quote...."Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:05:57 GMT - Gaza City /Tel Aviv - Israel Navy gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Gaza Thursday morning, causing no fatalities but sending the fishing vessels scurrying back to shore, Israeli military officials and Palestinians said. Palestinians said five people were injured by the Israeli gunfire."

Last Israeli soldier pulls out of Gaza
A quote...."Published: 1/21/2009 -- JERUSALEM – Israel has withdran all of its soldiers from Gaza on the fourth day of a ceasefire that ended a 22-day blitz on Hamas, leaving 1,300 Palestinians dead and a trail of devastation. -- "The last soldier left the Gaza Strip this morning," an army spokesman told AFP. "However the army remains deployed all around the Gaza Strip to meet any eventuality."

Israel's regional isolation - January 19, 2009
A quote...."Jan 19, 09 05:00 AM -- Despite Israel and Hamas’ separate announcements of a ceasefire in Gaza, prospects for a regional peace ensuring Israeli stability and security are likely to collapse, resulting in the escalation of anti-Israeli militancyIsraeli soldiers and Israel’s increasing isolation. -- Israel bypassed an Egyptian-French initiated ceasefire proposal, backed by Saudia Arabia, the EU, the U.S., and Russia, to announce a unilateral ceasefire on Saturday following its three-week offensive aimed at halting Hamas’ rocket attacks against southern Israel.  The ceasefire went into effect by midnight."

Italy's largest union: Prosecute Israeli war crimes, suspend EU Agreement
Action Update - A quote...."Saturday, January 17, 2009 -- For nearly two years the Gaza Strip has been subjected to what can only be described as a state of siege by Israel, with interruption of electricity, lack of heating, scarcity of drinking water, a healthcare emergency and no freedom of movement for persons or goods. UN Observers have repeatedly denounced the condition of the inhabitants of Gaza as inhumane, in violation of all International Conventions on Human Rights."

End - The Gaza Attack - 25 Articles - Friday - [ Day 28 ] ========== ========== ==========

Hillary, Tzipi to stop Iran enrichment
This from two women, one of which cheerfully helped slaughter fourteen hundred Palestinians, almost all of whom were innocent civilians, committing bona-fide war crimes every step of the way, the other cheering all the while from the sidelines.  And this is considered to be an "advancement" for US Iranian relations.  This country's foreign policy hasn't changed one bit and its elites are still as deluded as they have ever been. - mpg -- A quote...."US secretary of state and Israel's foreign minister have reportedly reached an agreement to work together in dealing with Iran's nuclear program." -- also posted at ICH

Chomsky: Holbrooke's record is tainted
A quote...."In an exclusive interview with Press TV, renowned American intellectual Noam Chomsky discusses the latest developments following President Barack Obama's inauguration. "

Rubaie: Iraq to Extradite MKO Terrorists
A quote...."20:53 | 2009-01-23 -- TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraq plans to extradite members of an anti-Iran terrorist group who have "Iranian blood on their hands," Iraq's national security adviser said Friday during a visit to Tehran."

INDIA/PAKISTAN: Civil Society Mounts Peace Offensive
A quote...."NEW DELHI, Jan 20, 2009 (IPS) - A visit to India by a delegation of civil society activists from Pakistan as part of a ‘peace offensive’ is expected to help keep the two South Asian neighbours from going to war over the Nov. 26-29 terror attacks on Mumbai city."

Energy War: NATO meddling in Sudan to block China - So PNAC continues - mpg
Special Note - A quote...."The US is slowly shifting its military needs towards Africa and Sudan in particular. While the Barack Obama administration will force the UN to declare a no-fly zone over Darfur, the US forces in so called peacekeeping missions will establish their bases in Darfur or Kenya and other surrounding nations in order to keep Sudan under its umbrella. -- The main objective of the mission in Darfur and the no-fly zone over the region will be to slowly strangulate Sudan's economy and render it impossible for the Chinese to exploit Sudan's oil. -- The no-fly Zone will be enforced by NATO forces that will be under US command."

U.S. Diplomat in Bolivia Walks Out on Morales Speech (Update1)
A quote...."Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The senior American diplomat in Bolivia walked out of a speech by President Evo Morales today after the Bolivian leader accused the U.S. Embassy in La Paz of trying to undermine his government."

Moscow worried by Georgian buildup near S. Ossetia
A quote...."MOSCOW January 23, 2009 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday Georgia's expanding military presence on the borders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia continued to be a matter forRussian army tanks grave concern."
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Something Bush and His Henchmen SHOULD Be Thinking About
Photo - mpg

Someone else is spying on YOU. And it isn’t the NSA. Fusion Centers.
Special Note - Police State Alert - Databases - Some quotes...."Ever hear of a Fusion Center? -- They are run by the Department of Homeland Security and are locally based across the country."  --  "....it is being alleged that something has gone wrong along the way.  Fusion centers have now come under the scrutinizing eye of the ACLU, and for good reasons. -- Who is spying in your neighborhood? -- These centers have been placed in our neighborhoods.  Our local fusion center is located on Bataan Boulevard in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  You can find the fusion center nearest you by clicking on this interactive map.  The ACLU has also set up a site that tracks camera surveillance." -- bold by website editor

Jules Boykoff: Obama must rein in 'terrorist' databases
Special Note - You know.....those dreaded, horrible, people like; Liberians, Quakers, Bicycle Lane Advocates and literally millions of other fellow Americans who have been placed on national "databases" to protect the rest of us in the awful event these denizens of darkness should ever appear under our collective beds or in our closets. – mpg -- A quote...."While the country's economic infrastructure gyrates, the infrastructure to squelch political dissent quietly thrives after years of post-9/11 behind-the-scenes buttressing." -- also posted at CommonDreams

Swiss nuclear smuggling suspect claims CIA link
A quote...."GENEVA (AP) — A Swiss man suspected of being involved in the world's biggest nuclear smuggling ring claims he supplied the CIA with information that led to the breakup of the black market nuclear network led by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan." -- For more on this issue see....US - Nukes for Everyone

Rob Kall Interviews Senator Bernie Sanders on Investigations of Financial Crisis, 911 and on Bottom-Up Bailout
Video - (YouTube - 4 min 35 sec - January 23, 2009) -- A quote...."at the 2009 progressive media summit meeting

"Rogue" Trader Highlights Possible 9/11 and 7/7 Insider Trading
A quote...."Best trading day in the history of Société Générale was September 11, 2001" -- "According to an article in The London Times today, Société Générale rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel profited enormously on the day of the 7/7 London bombings. He has also revealed how his company made huge profits on September 11th 2001, prompting some to return to questions over insider foreknowledge of both terrorist attacks."

Unanswered 9/11 Miracles about To Be Answered
A quote...."If one accepts the " Official Version " of the events that occurred on 9/11 or in the days leading up to it, one must conclude that a series of miracles indeed occurred ~ suggesting factitiously the hand of higher powers. -- Here they are once again  ( Courtesy of Alex James )" -- also posted at OpEdNews
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Changes Ahead You'd Better Believe In -- The Freefalling Economy
Must Read  - A quote...."No society in the world has been so fully under corporate sway as the United States. (This is the model our own elite so admire and lust for.) And corporate privileges have grown under every American administration. According to the Government Accountability Office, two-thirds of corporations in America paid no federal income taxes at all between 1998 and 2005. This includes a fourth of all large US companies. (That is, those with at least $ 250 million in assets or $50 million in receipts). And this, despite all these corporations collectively reporting trillions of dollars in sales. -- Indeed, corporate profits were on record highs. By 2006, they made up a historic 14.1 per cent of the nation's total income. Yet, as the New York Times says: "the percentage of these profits paid out in taxes is near its lowest since the 1930s."."

Freddie Mac to seek 30-35 billion dollar Treasury injection
Special Note - A quote...."US government-controlled mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said late Friday that it would ask the Treasury for an additional 30 to 35 billion dollars to prevent its collapse." - It ain't ever gonna stop folks, not for years, the housing market still has a long ways to go down just to reach the historic mean (and everyone knows it's going to go below that level) and the derivatives market, with who knows how many financial instruments already deeply in the red, is estimated between 1.3 and 1.5 Quadrillion Dollars! – mpg

The Next Bank Bailout
Special Note - A quote...."With financial stocks sliding as fears grow that more major banks may fail, it’s easy to overlook the problems at the Federal Home Loan Banks, a group of 12 regional institutions that play a crucial role in providing banks around the country with money for mortgage lending. -- But that would be a mistake. The banks served as a lender of last resort as the credit crunch tightened, propping up other banks that now have gone under. The crisis now facing them exemplifies the regulatory and other weaknesses in the financial system that have led to the worsening banking crisis, analysts say - sloppy accounting, a lack of transparency, lax oversight, and the trend toward “scheming” a way out of the credit crunch. Wall Street is nervous because it can’t determine the true extent of problems at the banks. And, once again, taxpayers may end up picking up the tab."

The U.S. and UK Are on the Brink of Debt Disaster
A quote...."Soft measures won't cut it: We need widespread corporate defaults, debt write-downs, and inflation to reduce the burden of what we all owe." -- Printing our way out of these messes is what got us here in the first place, starting wars is the second. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....Some Tentative Laws -- July 20th, 2008 - mpg

UK in recession after worst GDP drop in 30 years
A quote...."LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's economy shrank at its fastest pace in nearly three decades at the end of last year, sending the economy into recession for the first time since 1991 as the financial crisis hit even harder than expected."

Scale of the downturn [in Britain] sends sterling diving
A quote...."Pound hits 24-year low as worst economic showing since 1980 troubles investors / Banks under renewed pressure and Barclays' shares hit by nationalisation fear."

Iceland PM is first global political casualty of the crunch
A quote...."Iceland's embattled Prime Minister Geir Haarde may have become the first political casualty of the global credit crisis, announcing his resignation yesterday, and clearing the way for elections in May."
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Leaked Menu of George Will's Catered Dinner Party for Barack Obama (Satire)
Must Read - And now for some deliciously well prepared satire.  - mpg -- A quote...."Conversation at the recent dinner party thrown by conservative pundit George Will for Barack Obama may remain shrouded in secrecy. But one thing will not: the menu. And there was no shortage of food. An anonymous source leaked the detailed catered menu to The Wounded-Courier today. (Other conservative pundits in attendance included William Kristol, David Brooks, Charles Krauthammer, Larry Kudlow, Paul Gigot, Peggy Noonan, Michael Barone and Rich Lowry.) Here is what was served:"

We're Smarter Than We Realize
A quote...."all of us have latent super-abilities, is it possible to activate them permanently, or at least periodically, without compromising normal brain functioning? Probably, say the Australian scientists who used transcranial magnetic stimulation to temporarily switch off the frontal temporal lobe of volunteers." -- OR, we could all simply stop placing ourselves into a coma like state of suggestibility while ingesting the constant, relentless, mind-numbing garbage that spews forth from commercial TV and actually allow our brains to re-wire themselves naturally. – mpg

Thursday January 22nd 2009

The Liberals' Grand Bargain
Must Read - A quote...."In the age of Obama, we're going to have to get used to the new zeitgeist in Washington, and in the media: the perpetual high moral dudgeon of contemporary liberalism. While the Bush administration had its own style of moralizing – the rhetoric of "liberation," the idea that we were doing the people of Iraq a favor by invading and occupying their country – the Obama crowd is much more sophisticated than that, and, simultaneously, more vulgar. On the one hand, they are all up in arms about torture, and the lawless treatment of the Guantanamo inmates, and on the other hand the prospect of a much wider "war on terrorism" – extending not only into Afghanistan and Pakistan, but the ring of 'stans that encircle the new battlefield, – doesn't seem to bother them in the least."

Obama's orders leave torture, indefinite detention intact
Must Read - A quote...."On Thursday, President Barack Obama issued executive orders mandating the closure of the Guantánamo Bay prison camp in a year’s time, requiring that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and military personnel follow the Army Field Manual’s prohibitions on torture, and closing secret CIA prisons overseas. -- While the media is portraying these orders as a repudiation of the detention and interrogation policies of the Bush administration, they actually change little. They essentially represent a public relations effort to refurbish the image of the United States abroad after years of torture and extralegal detentions and shield high-ranking American officials from potential criminal prosecution."
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Come On Down For Your Freedom Medals
Must Read - A quote...."January 22, 2009 "Information Clearinghouse" -- On 13 January, George W. Bush presented “presidential freedom medals”, said to be America’s highest recognition of devotion to freedom and peace. Among the recipients were Tony Blair, who, with Bush, bears responsibility for the physical, social and cultural destruction of an entire nation; John Howard, the former prime minister of Australia and minor American vassal who led the most openly racist government in his country’s modern era; and Alvaro Uribe, the president of Colombia, whose government, according the latest study of that murderous state, is “responsible for than 90 per cent of all cases of torture”."

The Gaza Attack - 21 Articles - Thursday - [ Day 27 ] ========== ========== ========== ====

Change Gaza Can Believe In - Tearing Up Washington's Middle East Playbook
Must Read - A quote...."Residents of Gaza might have wondered what Obama would have done had he been unfortunate enough to be a resident of, say, Jabaliya refugee camp. What if, like the vast majority of Gazans, his grandfather had been driven from his home in what is now Israel, and barred by virtue of his ethnicity from ever returning? What if, like the majority of the residents of this refugee ghetto-by-the-sea, he had voted for Hamas, which had vowed to fight for his rights and was not corrupt like the Fatah strongmen with whom the Israelis and Americans liked to deal? -- And what if, as a result of that vote, he had found himself under an economic siege, whose explicit purpose was to inflict deprivation in order to force him to reverse his democratic choice? What might a Gazan Obama have made of the statement, soon after that election, by Dov Weissglass, a top aide to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, that Israel's blockade would put him and his family "on [a] diet"? -- "The Palestinians will get a lot thinner," Weissglass had chortled, "but [they] won't die."

Breaking Gaza's Will: Israel's Enduring Fantasy
Must Read - A quote...."14:51 01/22/2009 -- My three-year-old son Sammy walked into my room uninvited as I sorted through another batch of fresh photos from Gaza. -- I was looking for a specific image, one that would humanise Palestinians as living, breathing human beings, neither masked nor mutilated. But to no avail. -- All the photos I received spoke of the reality that is Gaza today - homes, schools and civilian infrastructure bombed beyond description. All the faces were either of dead or dying people."

Captive Nation -- How Gaza became a Palestinian prison - PDF
Must Read - A quote...."The only way to make sense of Israel’s senseless war in Gaza is through historical context. Establishing the state of Israel in May 1948 involved a monumental injustice to the Palestinians. British officials bitterly resented American partisanship on behalf of the infant state. On June 2, 1948, Sir John Troutbeck wrote to Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin that the Americans were responsible for the creation of a gangster state headed by “an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders.” I used to think that this judgment was too harsh, but Israel’s assault on Gaza and the Bush administration’s complicity have reopened the question."

Israel, scared of Iran, chastised by Hizbullah, that leaves the Palestinians
Must Read - A quote...."We’ve been here before. It’s a ritual. Every two or three years, our military mounts another bloody expedition. The enemy is always smaller, weaker; our military is always larger, technologically more sophisticated, prepared for full-scale war against a full-scale army. But Iran is too scary, and even the relatively small Hizbullah gave us a hard time. That leaves the Palestinians. -- Israel is engaged in a long war of annihilation against Palestinian society. The objective is to destroy the Palestinian nation and drive it back into pre-modern groupings based on the tribe, the clan and the enclave. This is the last phase of the Zionist colonial mission, culminating in inaccessible townships, camps, villages, districts, all of them to be walled or fenced off, and patrolled by a powerful army which, in the absence of a proper military objective, is really an over-equipped police force, with F16s, Apaches, tanks, artillery, commando units and hi-tech surveillance at its disposal." -- also posted at WarInIraq

POLITICS:  Hamas Fights on Uneven Battlefield
Special Note - A quote...."UNITED NATIONS, Jan 22 (IPS) - In the 1967 movie classic the "Battle of Algiers", which recreated Algeria's war of independence against France, a handcuffed and shackled insurgent leader, Ben M'Hidi, is brought before a group of highly-partisan French journalists for intense interrogation. -- One of the journalists asks M'Hidi: "Don't you think it is a bit cowardly to use women's handbags and baskets to carry explosive devices that kill so many innocent people [in cafes and night clubs]?" -- Responding with equal bluntness, the Algerian insurgent retorts: "And doesn't it seem to you even more cowardly to drop napalm bombs on unarmed villages on a thousand times more innocent victims?" -- "Of course, if we had your fighter planes, it would be a lot easier for us," he adds. "Give us your bombers, and you can have our handbags and baskets."

In spite of Israeli offensive, Gaza tunnels are back to work
A quote...."RAFAH, Gaza Strip, Jan. 22 2009 (Xinhua) -- Abu Ali, a 45-year-old owner of a tunnel which was dug under the border between Gaza Strip town of Rafah and Egypt, several months ago, said he was lucky to find his tunnel is still working, after intensive Israeli F-16 warplanes strikes on the border line during 22 days of Israeli military offensive on the enclave that ended on Sunday."

Robert Fisk: So far, Obama's missed the point on Gaza...
A quote...."Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- It would have helped if Obama had the courage to talk about what everyone in the Middle East was talking about. No, it wasn't the US withdrawal from Iraq. They knew about that. They expected the beginning of the end of Guantanamo and the probable appointment of George Mitchell as a Middle East envoy was the least that was expected. Of course, Obama did refer to "slaughtered innocents", but these were not quite the "slaughtered innocents" the Arabs had in mind." -- also posted at ICH & CommonDreams

Obama's New Middle East Policy: Israel’s Right to “Defend Itself”
A quote...."January 22, 2009 -- As articulated well by President Jimmy Carter, it is wrong to frame this conflict simply as “democratic Israel” facing “terrorist groups like Hamas” and it is wrong to continue to fund Israeli wars while claiming to be an “honest broker.”  It is analogous to describing the struggles in South Africa in the 1980s as “democratic South Africa” facing off against “terrorist groups like the ANC” (actually that was President Reagan’s framing in his first term in office as he supported Apartheid). Yes, some members of the ANC did use terror (including “necklacing” or burning their rivals alive) but that was miniscule compared to the state terrorism and apartheid they faced.  The US cannot be an honest broker so long as the US government continues to:...."

Sharpeville 1960, Gaza 2009
Special Note -- A quote...."22 January 2009 -- Where can I bring him a father from? Where can I bring him a mother from? You tell me!" -- These are the desperate words of Subhi Samuni to Al-Jazeera's Gaza correspondent. Subhi lost 17 members of his immediate family, including the parents of his seven-year-old grandson. Shockingly, even as I write this article, corpses of the Samuni family are still being retrieved from under the rubble -- 15 days after the Israeli occupation forces shelled the two houses. The Israeli army locked 120 members of the family in one house for 12 hours before they shelled it."

410 children killed by Israel by ~Latuff2
Cartoons - Click on the cartoon to make it larger. - mpg

Click on Image for more....Image, Image, Image

Welcome to the Jungle
A quote...."01/23/09 -- Permalink 02:16:17 am -- What does Israel want more than Palestinians Blood? -- After all the killing and destruction of its genocidal war on Gaza, blood-drenched Israel still wants to control the air that Gazans breathe; to control what they eat and drink; to control what materials they may use to rebuild with their flattened suburbs. -- With staggering irony, Israel is staking a claim on Gaza’s reconstruction, aiming to dictate where, when, and how it will be done – and by whom!"

Alarm Spreads Over Use of Lethal New Weapons
A quote...."January 22, 2009 -- GAZA CITY, Jan 22 (IPS) - Eighteen-year-old Mona Al-Ashkar says she did not immediately know the first explosion at the United Nations (UN) school in Beit Lahiya had blown her left leg off. There was smoke, then chaos, then the pain and disbelief set in once she realised it was gone - completely severed by the weapon that hit her."

Amnesty International Calls on Israel to Urgently Disclose Weapons and Munitions Used in Gaza
A quote...."Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009 -- (New York) -- Saying doctors are finding new and unexplained patterns of injury among the wounded in Gaza, Amnesty International today called on the Israeli authorities to urgently disclose all weapons and munitions their forces used during military operations to prevent the loss of more lives."

New evidence of Gaza child deaths
A quote...."Page last updated at 18:44 GMT, Thursday, 22 January 2009 -- Four-year-old Samar Abed Rabbu is a little girl with a captivating smile to melt the heart of the most hardened correspondent."

Gaza reopened to journalists
A quote...."January 23, 2009, 9:08 -- Israel has lifted its ban on the international media entering Gaza. The block was put in place in November, preventing reporters from going to the region during the three-week long offensive that claimed the lives of more than 1,200 Palestinians."

A 'Police State' Celebrates
A quote...."JERUSALEM - The Israeli government is stepping up efforts to suppress dissent and crush resistance in the streets. Police have been videotaping the demonstrations and subsequently arresting protesters in large numbers. -- According to Israeli police reports, at least 763 Israeli citizens, the majority of them Palestinian and 244 under 18 years old, have been arrested, imprisoned or detained for participating in such demonstrations. Most have been held and then released, but at least 30 of those arrested over the past three weeks are still being held in prison."

Waqf Minister: Israel used Gaza invasion as chance to confiscate West Bank lands
A quote...."Jan 21, 2009 -- Jerusalem – Ma’an – Land confiscations in the West Bank are continuing, said Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs Jamal Bawatneh, and soon there will be no land to hold a Palestinian state."

Report: Belgian court petitioned to arrest Livni upon arrival in Brussels
A quote...."Last update - 15:52 21/01/2009 -- European attorneys have reportedly petitioned a Belgian court to arrest Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni upon her arrival in Brussels later Wednesday, according to the Jawalan.com Web Site."

Rights activists issue ‘arrest warrants’ for Olmert, Livni and Barak
A quote...."22 January 2009 -- Anonymous self-described Israeli human rights activists have set up a Web site detailing the alleged war crimes committed by senior government officials and officers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Israeli Haaretz daily reported on Wednesday."

BBC scuppers TV fundraising appeal for Gaza victims; tomorrow's Gaza demonstration to start at BBC
A quote...."Times Online/Stop-the-war Coalition on: 23.01.2009 [00:32 ] -- A national appeal from the DEC would normally raise about £10 million" -- A nationwide appeal for money to help the Gaza relief effort has been denied free television airtime because the BBC fears that it would damage confidence in the corporation’s impartiality."

Protests over Gaza spread to eight [now 11] English universities (Update on Oxford Occupation by 100 students)
Action Update - A quote...."Thursday 22 January 2009 13.38 GMT -- As student protests over the bombing of Gaza spread to eight universities across England today, the director of the London School of Economics, Sir Howard Davies, issued a joint statement with student protesters saying he understood their concerns and backing a fundraising drive for scholarships for Palestinians."

End - The Gaza Attack - 21 Articles - Thursday - [ Day 27 ] ========== ========== ==========
    
Kabul's rift with the US widens
Special Note - A quote...."NEW DELHI - The floodgates have opened in the simmering tussle between the international community represented in Afghanistan and the Kabul government headed by President Hamid Karzai. The rift may be reaching a point of no return. There may be no way out for either side unless better sense prevails very soon. -- On Tuesday, Karzai utilized the opening of the Afghan parliament's winter session in Kabul to criticize the United States-led coalition for its conduct of the war, its manner of bypassing his government as if it was inconsequential as a source of Afghan authority, its patronage of "warlords", the corruption and waste in its aid programs and its condoning of drug trafficking."

The Kapisa Killings
A quote...."Jan 20, 2009 -- Bai Jan, a resident of Anzari Village told Pajhwok Afghan News the US-led soldiers blew up five houses of ordinary people at approximately 2:00am. -- KABUL: Locals and tribal elders Tuesday claimed the US-led coalition troops killed 25 civilians including five women; however coalition troops claim eliminating 18 militants during an operation in central Kapisa province."

US accused of killing 25 Afghan civilians in raid on militants
Related Article - A quote...."The US military is investigating claims that more than two dozen Afghan civilians were killed during an attack on militants. The issue has badly undermined support for the international coalition and President Hamid Karzai."

Anglo-American-Israeli axis wants to divide and conquer the Middle East and Central Asia
A quote...."The Centre for Research on Globalisation, a Canadian think tank specialising on geopolitical issues, in its December 7. 2008 report titled: “Creating an ‘Arc of Crisis’: The Destablisation of the Middle East and Central Asia, The Mumbai Attacks and the ‘Strategy of Tension’” says that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has “branches across much of India, Pakistan, and in Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, South East Asia, and the United Kingdom…The LeT also took part in the Bosnian campaign against the Serbs in the 1990s." -- also posted at BLN -- For more on this sort of issue see....It Will Happen Every Single Time - 01-01-08 - mpg

Freed by U.S., Saudi Becomes al Qaeda Chief
A quote...."The militant, Said Ali al-Shihri, is suspected of involvement in a deadly bombing of the United States Embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sana, in September. He was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007 and passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists before resurfacing with Al Qaeda in Yemen." -- For more on this see....US Support of Terror & Judeo-Christian C/C & US - Axis of Evil

EU lifts ban on MKO terrorists
The "Neo-Colonial Method" at work, it's where you support irredentist, separatist, or guerilla groups, usually called "freedom fighters” to disrupt nation states you don't like.  When other people who aren't in "your club" do it, such states and groups are called "terrorists", ESPECIALLY if these groups aren't trying to disrupt, but instead are simply trying to build their own nation states. - mpg -- A quote...."MKO Leader Maryam Rajavi's calls for her group to be removed from blacklists have fallen on deaf ears in Canada and in the United States. The EU, however, has long sought to legitimize the anti-Iran activities of the MKO. - The European Union has reportedly decided to remove the anti-Iran Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) from its terror blacklist. - "The deal has been done. MKO will be delisted," an EU diplomat said on conditions of anonymity on Thursday."

Arab World Seeks Common Market by 2020
They could have had it thirty years ago but the "Royals" in these countries were simply too busy kissing up to the US-NRE and Israel, not to mention still trying to exclude other Muslim nations from "their" little club. One truly wonders why they're still ruling over the citizens who live in these nations? - mpg -- A quote...."Leaders of the Arab world on Tuesday approved a declaration calling to accelerate a pan-Arab economic integration. The declaration included a call to launch a customs union by 2015 as a prelude to establishing an Arab common market in 2020."

Venezuela, Argentina sign raft of bilateral agreements
A quote...."BUENOS AIRES, January 23 (RIA Novosti) - The presidents of Venezuela and Argentina have signed a host of bilateral cooperation agreements in the energy, industrial, agricultural, and health spheres during an official visit, Argentine press reported."

PERU:  Furnaces Used to Remove Evidence of Dirty War Killings
A quote...."LIMA, Jan 22 (IPS) - The discovery of more and more bodies of victims of Peru’s dirty war on the grounds of the Los Cabitos military base, which served as a torture and extermination centre during the 1980-2000 armed conflict, have substantiated the accounts of political prisoners who managed to survive."

Russia to rebuild army by 2016
A quote...."MOSCOW. (Nikita Petrov for RIA Novosti) - The financial crisis has affected Russia's military reform plan. That became clear after Dmitry Medvedev signed a corresponding decree, now posted on his website. -- In contrast to Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov's order issued last year to finalize the army and navy reforms by 2012, the new presidential decree sets the date at January 1, 2016."

Lawyer and human rights activist Stanislav Markelov murdered in Moscow
Special Note - A quote...."On January 19, Stanislav Markelov was shot in the head and killed in central Moscow by a masked man using a silencer. The assassination took place in broad daylight not far from the Kremlin. The 34-year-old lawyer and human rights activist was president of the Institute for the Supremacy of Law. -- Anastasia Baburova, a 25-year-old student in the journalism department at Moscow State University and correspondent for the liberal opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta (New Gazette), tried to shield Markelov from the killer but was also shot in the head. Later that evening, she died in the hospital." -- Putin BETTER do something quick about Colonel Yuri Budanov, if you let guys like this run amok they'll literally destroy your military along with any sense of law and order in the society, he should also do something about him for the sake of simple common decency and justice. – mpg
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Cop pleads guilty in beating of man in wheelchair - This one speaks for itself - mpg
Contains Video - A quote...."A Chicago Police officer pleaded guilty today to a civil rights violation for beating a 60-year-old man who was handcuffed and shackled to a wheelchair."

NSA Linking Credit Cards & Financial Transactions with Warrantless Wiretaps on American Citizens
Video - Police State Update - Submitted by Chip on Fri, 2009-01-23 06:02.

Mystery Prison Buses in the Desert
Police State Update - A quote...."On a recent visit to Tucson, Arizona, where I was invited to give a presentation on monetary reform, I was disturbed by a story of strange goings on in the desert. A little over a year ago, it seems, a new industrial facility sprang up on the edge of town. It was in a remote industrial zone and appeared to be a bus depot. The new enterprise was surrounded by an imposing security fence and bore no outward signs identifying its services. However, it soon became apparent that the compound was in the business of outfitting a fleet of prison buses. Thirty or so secondhand city buses were being reconfigured with prison bars in the windows and a coat of fresh paint bearing the “Wackenhut G4S” logo on the side."
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Bring Back Capital!
Must Read - A quote...."A great deal of putative middle-class wealth has evaporated in the current financial crisis. Unless you cashed out and put the money in precious metals or in the mattress before the current financial crisis began, it is gone forever. As for what remains, we are in the process of being further subordinated to huge commercial interests, and are already locked in to a severely declining standard of living. It is increasingly unlikely that we are going to have a comfortable retirement with relative economic peace of mind. It is increasingly likely that many of us will be wards of the state, dependent upon social security and Medicare. Such as they will be, in a decade or so. -- In this article I want to explain, with reference to a few simple economic factors, how this happened and why our remaining wealth is neither going to be restored nor grow – unless and until certain fundamental changes are made."

Your Sacrifice is Demanded so that “The System” Does Not Fail
Must Read - A quote...."How many times, in word and in deed, have we been told this by the people that run this country on both sides of the artificial political divide? How many times, in word and in deed, have we been told that we must protect this corrupt economic engine of upward wealth redistribution at all costs? This is the driving force of the Clinton/Bush/Obama financial strategy. -- No matter what this system has already done to the citizens of this nation, no matter what this system has already done to the economic model world-wide, no matter what… “the system must not fail“.

Another Real Estate Crisis Is About To Hit
Must Read - A quote...."January 22, 2009 "Information Clearinghouse" --- For a picture of the US real estate crisis, imagine New Orleans wrecked by Hurricane Katrina, and before the waters even begin to recede, a second Katrina hits. -- The 1,120,000 lost US retail jobs in 2008 are a signal that the second stage of the real estate bust is about to hit the economy. This time it will be commercial real estate--shopping malls, strip malls, warehouses, and office buildings. As businesses close and rents decline, the ability to service the mortgages on the over-built commercial real estate disappears." -- also posted at OnlineJournal & CounterPunch

The Economic Pearl Harbor -- The Alarm Bells have been Sounded
A quote...."On January 18, 2009, the Associated Press reported that in an interview aired on “Dateline NBC” the Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Warren Buffett said that the “US is engaged in an economic Pearl Harbor.” -- A shiver ran down my spine!"

Housing starts plunge to another record low
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Closing out the third year of the housing bust, construction on new homes took another turn for the worse in December, falling more than 15% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 550,000, the lowest on record, the Commerce Department reported Thursday."

California's median home price falls 38 percent - Ouch!! - mpg
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO – The median home price in California plummeted 38 percent in December from a year earlier as low-cost foreclosures boosted sales but lowered property values, a real estate tracking firm said Wednesday."

Jobless claims surge to 26-year high
A quote...."The number of Americans filing unemployment insurance hits 589,000, the highest since November 1982."

Death agony of Thatcher deregulated finance model
A quote...."During the end of the 1970s into the 1980s British Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and the City of London financial interests who backed her, introduced wholesale measures of privatization, state budget cuts, moves against labor and deregulation of the financial markets."
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Despite billions, banks still teeter on the brink
A quote...."NEW YORK - Wall Street is losing faith in Washington's efforts to fix the financial crisis. As bank losses pile up and bank stocks plunge, investors have an urgent question for the new Obama administration: What's the plan?"

Second Danish bank bailout in four months
A quote...."A new rescue package for Denmark’s banks was agreed late Sunday night. Amounting to 100 billion Danish kroner (DKK)—or roughly €14 billion—it was the second bank bailout in four months."

German banks demand billions more from the government
A quote...."Just three months after the adoption of a €480 billion “rescue package” for German banks, pressure is growing on the federal government to make billions more available in order to shift the burden of the bank’s speculative losses onto the population as a whole."

Labour stakes its reputation on second gamble [To help British Banks]
A quote...."Privately, something close to desperation is starting to develop inside government. After watching the slide in bank shares on Friday, one cabinet minister did not altogether joke when he said: "The banks are f-cked, we're f-cked, the country's f-cked."

For more on the four articles shown above see....1.3 Quadrillion and Counting 09-18-08 - mpg
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Wednesday January 21st 2009

False Dawn -- Obama's election doesn't mean peace is breaking out all over – far from it
Must Read - A quote...."As a new administration takes power in Washington and the promise of "change" is in the air, we have to ask ourselves: when-oh-when is it coming? When will the dam break on the sclerotic foreign policy thinking of the past eight – heck, the past 50 – years? -- When the New Roman Empire collapses of its own dead weight. - mpg

The Clothes Wear A New Emperor
Must Read - A quote....""Jesus", I mutter under my breath, shaking my head while watching the public's eruptive reception for their new leader rolling down President Lane centered in the epitome of motorcade style; not even Hollywood can trump this well-rehearsed and synchronized, symbolic performance of imperial power transfer. From the other America far to the south, my Internet broadcast gets me close enough to taste the action emanating from up north. -- If nothing else, the 43rd Presidential Inauguration is a stark contrast to the rotten-tomato-chucking, hissing and booing of the 42nd's Second Act just a short four years ago…ah, how we're living better days already. Don't you just have the feeling now that everything is gonna be all right? And look, The Obamas and Bidens are actually walking joyously and interacting with their supporters instead of speeding through the hazards of an angry mob – it's all so Poetic."

The One and Only: Waiting for Word From on High
Special Note - A quote...."Now that Barack Obama is finally the "only one president" that we have at a time, I'm sure we can  look forward to hearing what he really thinks about the mass slaughter of civilians in Gaza by the American-equipped Israeli war machine. His prolonged, polite reticence on this burning subject (burning with white phosphorous seared into the flesh of children, that is) will surely now give way to eloquent condemnation of Israel's brutal and blatant display of state terror. And this scorching denunciation will no doubt be accompanied by appropriate government action: cutting off or curtailing aid to Israel, supporting UN sanctions against the rogue state, providing generous, no-strings reconstruction funds to restore what American-made weapons has destroyed, and so on. What better way to demonstrate the "renewal of America's moral standing in the world"? "

This is commonly called a "challenge", or to put it another way, Chris Floyd has thrown down the gauntlet to good 'ol Barack to lead the way and set a moral example for "America" and the rest of the world. -- His challenge will go unanswered, his gauntlet will not be picked up.....Barack Bombs Away O-Bomb-a is a bought and paid for AIPAC lackey and stooge of the Banksters and War Mongers for the New Roman Empire.  Nothing will ever change that fact. – mpg

For America or Israel?
A quote...."Jan 22, 2009, 00:34 -- After the massacre in Gaza temporarily subsided, an American holiday was celebrated just one day before a historically symbolic new president took power. Neither the massacre nor the holiday received proper attention, and the new president’s inauguration was as filled with emotional style as it was empty of material substance."

Mr. Obama, You Are an Authoritarian
A quote...."Mr. Obama, you can take your "hope 'n change" lie and peddle it in someone else's face. You are constructing a center-right government with a whole lot of right and not much of a center, just like I predicted you would. -- Congratulations. You suckered the Left, you suckered the progressives, you even suckered some conservatives. You suckered a damaged, hurting, wanting nation with your rhetoric. I would use harsh language to describe those who voted for you, but I just cannot bring myself to do that; not now, anyway. The American people were so desperate to escape the spiral of decay into which this country had been falling because of the Bush Administration that they simply could not see the awful maw of an imprudent choice standing before them in the fineries of salvation and rectitude you so masterfully wore."

The Gaza Attack - 16 Articles - Wednesday - [ Day 26 ] ========== ========== ========== ====

Robert Fisk: Posturing and laughter as victims rot
Must Read - A quote...."Tuesday, 20 January 2009 -- The front page of the Beirut daily As-Safir said it all yesterday. Across the top was a terrible photograph of the bloated body of a Palestinian man newly discovered in the ruins of his home while two male members of his family shrieked and roared their grief. Below, at half the size, was a photograph from Israel of Western leaders joking with Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister. Olmert was roaring with laughter. Silvio Berlusconi, arms on the back of Olmert's shoulders, was also joshing and roaring – with laughter, not grief – and on Olmert's right was Nicolas Sarkozy of France wearing his stupidest of smiles. Only Chancellor Merkel appeared to understand the moral collapse. No smiles from Germany." - bold by website editor - also posted at ICH & Dawn -- For more on this sort of issue see....Germany - You Are Free of Your Shame Now - 01-01-09 - mpg -- See also article shown below....

How the People of Gaza View “Change™”
A quote...."January 21, 2009  -- Two weeks after the Sabbath opening of the assault, with much of Gaza already pounded to rubble and the death toll approaching 1000, the UN Agency UNRWA, on which most Gazans depend for survival, announced that the Israeli military refused to allow aid shipments to Gaza, saying that the crossings were closed for the Sabbath. To honor the holy day, Palestinians at the edge of survival must be denied food and medicine, while hundreds can be slaughtered by US jet bombers and helicopters. -- The rigorous observance of the Sabbath in this dual fashion attracted little if any notice. That makes sense. In the annals of US-Israeli criminality, such cruelty and cynicism scarcely merit more than a footnote.  --  *Noam Chomsky*
 
How to Inflame the Entire Muslim World
A quote...."January 22, 2009 -- How will history describe the Israeli war against the Palestinians in Gaza? Another Holocaust, this time perpetrated by the descendants of the victims? An election ploy by ambitious Israeli politicians to win votes in the February 10 elections? A test range for new American weapons? An effort to lock the new Obama Administration into an anti-Iranian position? An attempt to establish its military "credibility" after its disastrous defeat in the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006? Perhaps all of these…and more. -- But one thing is certain. Israel has killed at least 100 Palestinians for each of its own claimed losses, a vast disproportion that has produced horror in much of the world, creating a new cause which has mobilized countless numbers of people – possibly as strong as the Vietnam war movement. It has made itself a pariah nation – save in the United States and a few other countries. Above all, it has enflamed the entire Muslim world."

How Will Obama & the World Respond to Israeli War Crimes?
Must View Photo Gallery

Embedded With Gaza Medics - WARNING - graphic images - (YuTb - 15 min 26 sec - Broadcast Jan 20th, 2009)
Video - A quote...."Broadcast January 20th, 2009 -- Radjaa Abou Dagga, followed a team of Palestinian medics during the Israeli assault: Video depicts the reality and horror of Israel's attack on the people of Gaza - Viewer Discretion Advised"

"Prima Facie Evidence of War Crimes" by Israel - (YouTube - 5 min 59 sec - Broadcast January 19, 2009)
Must View Video - A quote...."Broadcast Jan 20th, 2009 -- Channel Four News journalist Johnathan Miller travelled to Gaza where he interviewed civilians sheltering in a UN run school attacked by Israel using white phosphorus munitions. The attack - described as "Outrageous" by the UN Secretary General - was filmed by a school worker on his mobile phone. Donatella Rovera, an Amnesty International investigator said "We've seen Prima Facie that there have been war crimes"

Israel accused of executing parents in front of children in Gaza
Special Note - A quote...."One nine-year-old boy said his father had been shot dead in front of him despite surrendering to Israeli soldiers with his hands in the air. - Another youngster described witnessing the deaths of his mother, three brothers and uncle after the house they were in was shelled. - He said his mother and one of his siblings had been killed instantly, while the others bled to death over a period of days." -- also posted at Uruknet

Gaza 'looks like earthquake zone'
Contains Video -- A quote...."The worst-hit areas in the Gaza Strip after Israel's three-week offensive look as if they have been hit by a strong earthquake, aid agencies say."

VIDEO: A Real Discussion on TV Regarding U.S. Policy Towards Israel
Contains Video - A quote...."by Glenn Greenwald - Salon -- Perhaps it takes a highly-telegenic, American-born Jordanian monarch for American television networks to air a real debate on the one-sided U.S. support for Israel."

250 Gazans in Negev detention center; men are harshly beaten and interrogated
A quote...."Date: 20 / 01 / 2009  Time:  13:52 -- Bethlehem - Ma'an - At least 250 Gazans were detained by Israeli troops during the Gaza invasion, said member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Issa Karake on Tuesday. -- The men are being held in the Negev prison, living in tents and being constantly beaten and attacked, said Karake. Several need hospital treatment, which they are being denied and many are also being used by the Israeli intelligence units as information sources and are interrogated for hours.

War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza's Offshore Gas Fields
A quote...."The military invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli Forces bears a direct relation to the control and ownership of strategic offshore gas reserves. This is a war of conquest. Discovered in 2000, there are extensive gas reserves off the Gaza coastline. British Gas (BG Group) and its partner, the Athens based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC) owned by Lebanon's Sabbagh and Koury families, were granted oil and gas exploration rights in a 25 year agreement signed in November 1999 with the Palestinian Authority."

UNRWA Chief Appalled at Israeli Destruction in Gaza
A quote...."January 21, 2009 -- When Israel went on a military rampage during its 22-day air strikes and artillery attacks on Gaza, it largely singled out residential neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, and UN buildings on the pretext of targeting Hamas fighters. -- But John Ging, director of operations for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), based in Gaza, kept insisting there were no Hamas fighters anywhere in the vicinity of UN-run schools or warehouses."

Gaza war crimes by ~Latuff2
Cartoon - Click on the cartoon to make it larger. - mpg

Army: Gazans begin rebuilding Rafah tunnels
A quote...."Thu, 22 Jan 2009 02:00:52 GMT  --  People in Gaza have begun the reconstruction of cross border tunnels shortly after the conflict in the coastal area ended, Israeli officials say."

'Abbas spies passed intelligence to Israelis'
A quote...."22.01.2009 [05:57 ] -- Prominent Hamas figure Salah al-Bardaweel accuses Mahmoud Abbas of direct involvement in the Gaza war through his spies in the region. Bardaweel said Monday that Abbas, the acting Palestinian Authority Chief, played key role in the war and in assassinating Hamas' senior political leaders, through his spies in the costal strip."

DetainThis -- The Gaza Coup Continues
Special Note - A quote...."January 19th, 2009 -- Barely a day after the Terrorist State began a “unilateral” cessation of its latest convenient genocide in Gaza, acting Palestinian president, Fatah’s Mahmoud Abbas, suddenly — unilaterally — called for ”unity” with rival party Hamas. So, after years of colluding with the Terrorist State against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, effectively preventing Palestinian self-determination, and refusing to be part of a government that houses Hamas, the man known as Khanzir Abu Mazen is now claiming readiness and willingness to reconcile. This, coming hot on the heels of his second major collusion in the Israeli-U.S. attempt to overthrow the democratically elected majority party of the Palestinian Parliament." -- For more on this issue see....US Sponsored Civil Wars - Palestine

End - The Gaza Attack - 16 Articles - Wednesday - [ Day 26 ] ========== ========== ==========

Israeli High Court Overturns Ban on Arab Parties
A quote...."The Israeli High Court of Justice today overturned the Knesset(Israeli Parliament)’s attempt to ban the two Arab political parties with Knesset representation from contesting next month’s elections. The decision was unanimous in favor of lifting the ban on the United Arab List-Ta’al and 8-1 in favor of lifting the ban on Balad."

France unwilling to send more troops to Afghanistan
A quote...."PARIS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - France will reject any immediate request by U.S. President Barack Obama for reinforcements to Afghanistan because it has already deployed enough troops, French Defence Minister Herve Morin said on Wednesday."

Iraqi Official: US Support for MKO Terrorists Continued
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- US forces continue to protect members of the anti-Iran terrorist group, the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) when they are out of their headquarters, an Iraqi provincial official said Wednesday." -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror - MEK-PKK-Others

China approves universal health care plan
A quote...."China will spend 850 billion yuan ($124.26 billion) to offer health care to its 1.3 billion citizens. - At a meeting of the nation's State Council presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao, the expenditure, with aims to guarantee universal medical coverage to China's population by 2011, was approved, Xinhua reported Wednesday."

Potential consequences of sanctions against Georgia
A quote...."MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik) - Russia has imposed sanctions against Georgia. President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree banning supplies of military hardware and dual-purpose equipment to that country. -- The president also instructed his subordinates to draft measures to stop or restrict military-technical cooperation with the countries that are supplying Georgia with Soviet or Russian weapons. This deprives Georgia de jure of a possibility to buy military equipment in Russia. Decisions on cooperation with third countries will be made depending on their response to the new rules of the game."

Media spin: the deadliest weapon of all?
A quote...."On this page every Wednesday you will find an account of an armed conflict from the past – recent or distant – that went down in history not in the way it really happened but in the way it was portrayed by the media."
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Iraq War and Bush still popular in some foreign venues
Must Read - A quote...."As George Bush leave offices, there is a perception that both Bush and the Iraq War remain deeply unpopular throughout most of the world.  That may be true, but fairness compels one to note that there are foreign countries which continue to appreciate and admire both:"

Downvote Bots Fight Propaganda War
Special Note - A quote...."Government propagandists, their hired private contractors and useful idiots are creating "downvote bots" or scripts to bury stories which question the government. -- Anyone who has posted news items questioning the government's version of 9/11, the government's unquestioning support for Israel, or a host of other topics has probably noticed that all of their recent stories get downvoted virtually simultaneously, which defies the laws of probability. -- One free, simple scripting program to create automatic downvotes of certain topics or news posters is called "Greasemonkey", which is commonly used on large social news sites such as Reddit." -- For more on this issue see....US - Attempts to Control the Internet

Whistleblower: NSA spied on everyone, targeted journalists
Special Note - A quote...."Former National Security Agency analyst Russell Tice, who helped expose the NSA's warrantless wiretapping in December 2005, has now come forward with even more startling allegations. Tice told MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on Wednesday that the programs that spied on Americans were not only much broader than previously acknowledged but specifically targeted journalists." -- also posted at American Everyman

Cracks show in FBI agent's testimony on Khadr
Special Note -- An FBI agent's testimony that Omar Khadr said he saw Maher Arar in Afghanistan appeared significantly weaker yesterday than it did the day before - and, in the case of at least one key detail, at odds with reality. --  Robert Fuller, a prosecution witness in the Pentagon's Guantanamo Bay case against Mr. Khadr, testified on Monday that Mr. Khadr, during a 2002 interrogation at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, identified a photo of Mr. Arar and said he had seen him in a Kabul safe house run by an alleged terrorist. But defence lawyers yesterday produced a report written by Mr. Fuller in which he states that Mr. Khadr told him he saw Mr. Arar in Afghanistan in September or October of 2001. -- The problem is, Mr. Arar was in Canada in October, 2001, as the Arar commission's findings clearly show. U.S. authorities also know he was in California the previous month."

First the FBI “backed off” the bin Ladens prior to 9/11 when they were told to do so by the Bush Administration, then they flew over a hundred and eighty members of the bin Laden and Saudi Royal families out of the country days after 9/11, they said they interrogated them when it turns out they didn't, they spent four years in court refusing to divulge a written request with Osama bin Laden's signature asking the Bush administration to evacuate these family members in the first place.  They thoroughly mess up the Anthrax investigation, now finally we have this.  It makes one wonder who, exactly, the FBI is really working for.  The Mossad, the US-NRE MIOC elites, the Saudi Royals perhaps? -- For more on this issue see....The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg
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Tomgram: Greater Than the Great Depression?
Must Read - Take note of the author's rather pointed analysis of what this country's elites have done to the English langauge. - mpg -- A quote...."Now, whether Bush was the extraterrestrial and Dick Cheney the super (goof-it-up) robot, or vice-versa, is debatable, but whatever the case, let's celebrate the obvious: We're still here, more or less, and they're gone. Dick Cheney to fish and shoot. George W. to think big, big thoughts at his still-to-be-built library. Let's face it, on the day on which Barack Obama has taken the oath of office, that constitutes something of a small miracle. But a nagging question remains: just how small? -- Or rather, just how large is the disaster? If the Earth still stands, how wobbly is it?" -- also posted at CounterCurrents

Why Bailing Out Banks Doesn't Work
A quote...."The New York Times recently posed an excellent question: “Why save banks if they won’t lend?” (January 19, 2009) Before the first $350 billion “installment” of the bailout, we were told that the money was needed to “unfreeze” the credit markets, meaning that banks would again be willing to lend businesses the money they needed to continue doing business. Despite hugely popular opposition, the bailout proceeded, and absolutely nothing changed. The congressional “representatives” who passed the bailout bill acted shocked: instead of giving loans, the banks hoarded the money, bought other banks, and continued to pay the lavish salaries and bonuses to CEOs. Meanwhile, the economy continued to crumble. The politicians couldn’t possibly be surprised by the lack of lending since they obediently put no conditions on the banks upon receiving the money." -- "All this leads us to the current situation. Obama recently lobbied his colleagues in Congress to release the second $350 billion bailout installment to the banks. It took all of Obama’s persuasive powers to convince his fellow Democrats to follow suit since everybody was aware that the previous $350 billion served only the banks, and even Congressmen are not immune to the hot breath of hatred from their ”constituents."

Obama pick for treasury secretary tells Senate: Trillions for the banks, austerity for the people
A quote...."President Barack Obama's nominee for treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, testified Wednesday at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. Without providing specific details, Geithner said that he and the White House economic staff were working on a plan involving a handover to the banks of enormous sums, potentially trillions of dollars, in additional public funds."  ---  For more regarding the two articles shown above see....Judeo-Christian C/C & US - The Bailouts

THE FOLLY OF INTERVENTION, Part 1 -- The zero interest rate trap
A quote...."Ever since the Great Depression, the US government has tried to limit the leverage available to investors in the US stock market by maintaining margin requirements. But regulators, led by former chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, thought financial innovation would be hampered and financial activity driven to unregulated markets overseas if there were any attempts to impose limits on leverage in the unregulated credit and capital markets After all, innovation was viewed as the driving force in US prosperity. The global financial system embarked on a race to assume more risk under a mentality of "if I don't smoke, somebody else will". -- This brave new approach, which all five qualifying broker-dealers - Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley - voluntarily adopted, altered the way the SEC measured their capital. The five big firms led the charge for the net capital rule change to promote financial innovation, spearheaded by Goldman Sachs, then headed by Henry Paulson, who two years later, would leave Goldman to become the Treasury Secretary...."

GM loses to Toyota as top global automaker
A quote...."General Motors fell behind Toyota as the world's largest automaker, selling 8.35 million vehicles globally last year compared to the Japanese giant's 8.97 million, sales figures showed Wednesday."

[British] Unemployment nears 2 million mark
A quote...."LONDON (Reuters) - The number of Britons out of work and claiming benefit rose for an eleventh consecutive month in December while the total number out of work approached the two million mark, official data showed on Wednesday."

The Big Picture photography competition: round 34
Nice photo. - mpg

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012109-012709 - links page

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