"Those who would give up
Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, [or a
Wealthier
Life Style] deserve neither Liberty nor Safety [nor Wealth]." -- *Benjamin Franklin* -- mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Darkness
at Noon: Fatal Ignorance Puts Iraq on the Cross
Must Read - A
quote...."From the very beginning, the brutality, ruin and deceit of
the American aggression in Iraq has been compounded by an unshakeable
ignorance. This deadly cloud of unknowing has enveloped the entire
chain of command, from the witless president who didn't know the
difference between Sunni and Shia Islam to the troops on the ground who
believed – as they were no doubt drilled to believe – that the invasion
was "payback for 9/11," a righteous war of self-defense against a
terrorist nation that had attacked America."
A Very
Great Evil
A quote...."Led by rulers blind to justice and deaf to history,
arrogant and self-righteous, anxious for fame, indifferent to violence
and willfully ignorant, a selfish and malleable American people,
aroused by fear and steeped in obedience, sent their uniformed and
armed sons and daughters into a strange and ancient land to conquer and
root out its political leaders, defeat its forces, and remake that
distant and foreign nation in its own image. Unfamiliar names like
Mosul and Fallujah, crossed and re-crossed by the peoples of ancient
civilizations for thousands of years before Americans birthed a nation
and empire, became bloody headlines of mass destruction, death,
desolation, and disruption."
Dr.
Hamilton and Mr. Hyde
A quote...."Consortium News Editor’s Note: Whenever the Republicans
have a touchy national-security scandal to put to rest, their favorite
Democratic investigator is Lee Hamilton. Over the years, Hamilton has
developed a reputation as a very reasonable fellow who knows how far he
can go without ruffling too many important feathers."
Few Big
Lies: Not Handling Iraq Truth
A quote...."With the Iraq War entering its sixth year and the U.S.
death toll now surpassing 4,000, it has become fashionable – and rather
convenient – to claim that no one prior to the invasion five years ago
could have foreseen what a bloody disaster the war would turn out to
be."
What
can and cannot be spoken on television
Must View - Video - A
quote...."I'm going to re-post the segment I posted yesterday, from
Charlie Rose's fifth anniversary Iraq show, because I want to encourage
as many people as possible to watch it. If I could recommend one
article or segment for Americans to read or watch regarding the current
Iraq debate, it would be this interview -- the entire interview -- with
Sinan Antoon and Ali Fadhil, an Iraqi professor and journalist,
respectively, currently living in the U.S.:"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Frontline's Fall From Grace
03-26-08
mpg
Frontline:
Too Timid, Too Little, Too Late
A quote...."Frontline’s “Bush’s War” on PBS Monday and Tuesday evening
was a nicely put-together rehash of the top players’ trickery that led
to the attack on Iraq, together with the power-grabbing, back-stabbing,
and limitless incompetence of the occupation."
Frontline's
"Bush's War": A Total Failure, Propaganda, and White-Wash
A quote...."The recent PBS two-night offering of Frontline was utterly
depressing to watch. Not for its subject matter; but for the constant
reminders that PBS and Frontline, formerly the last bastion of free
speech on U.S. mainstream media, has sadly become just another
corporate and Bush regime mouthpiece. The documentary was little more
than a Bush propaganda piece that lied, dissembled, diverted, and
ignored its way through this crucial subject for the entire
excruciatingly painful four and half hours."
Regarding the two articles
shown above.
Frontline's "Bush's War" was a complete, total and unmitigated
disaster. The producers should hang their heads in shame and
seriously contemplate a life long career producing game shows or Fox's
faux-news. . . It was like watching a really bad episode of
survivor, (not that this editor ever would), with even less
style. A series of unconnected political machinations and what
appeared to be a set of random tactical decisions in Iraq.
Only one forty minute section was done with any competence or clarity
at all, and as such was a vivid demonstration of why the rest of the
show was basically incomprehensible. It was the section of the show
were the producers discussed how the "intel" on Iraq's alleged WMD's
was cooked, cherry-picked, distorted, created, manufactured, or as
Cheney would have it..."fixed around the policy", and they placed the
entire blame for the fiasco squarely on Cheney's shoulders, which would
have been impossible not to do since for the first time in this
nation's history, we had a sitting Vice President running over to the
CIA practically every day haranguing the employees to "find proof of
WMDs" and if they didn't, statements like "obviously it's there, why
can't you find it", "what's wrong with you", or "why are you so
incompetent", would be pelted on their collective heads. To
have someone like Cheney verbally pressure an employee like this day
after day after day.....might very well tend to distort that employee’s
judgment.
In this particular example the shows producers presented their viewers
with the Means (Cheney's intimidation of CIA employees), the Motive (he
wanted to start a war with Iraq) and the Opportunity (regular visits to
the CIA along with pressuring and manipulating people like Bush and
Condi (real easy) and Tenent and Powell (somewhat more of a
challenge). In other words the producers connected the
dots....what is also known as a plot.
But that was it. The rest of the show was like watching a bad
soap opera, a series of disconnected characters, without any past, any
motivation, or any clue. It's as if a cop walked into a bar after
a gunfight and didn't ask if the victims knew each other, were in
business together, what their prior history was with each other or the
shooters, did any of them own the bar, what weapons were used, any
prior criminal records, did the crime match any previous MOs, where did
the shooters get the weapons, was there any gain to anybody, were any
of the victims insured, etc. etc. etc.
Here are a few examples of what the producers managed to squeeze into
"Bush's War". They mentioned the escape from Tora Bora, and it was
totally vague, non-descriptive and didn't even display a map, nor did
they try to attribute a cause for the escape. They mentioned the
tunnels in Tora Bora, but they didn't mention those tunnels were built
by the Bin Laden Group (yes THAT bin Laden) with massive financial and
logistical support from the US's CIA, Saudi Royal Family, and
Pakistan's ISI.
They never mentioned the Kunduz airlift, an operation where the US
allowed the Pakistanis to fly thousands of Taliban and al Qaida out of
Afghanistan's city of Kunduz, which at that time had been totally
surrounded by the Northern Alliance. They NEVER EVER mentioned
PNAC or the DPG, and the fact that these documents have predicated
almost all of this administration’s actions up to the present moment.
They did mention that the US was trying to prevent Iraq's civil war, a
most curious statement since the US is currently supporting civil wars
in Gaza (Fatah against Hamas), Lebanon (various factions against
Hezbollah), Iran (PKK, MEK, Baluchistan separatists, Kurdistan
separatists, Iranian separatists against Iran) Iraq (SIIC - at various
times - against the Sunni insurgents and the Mahdi army), Pakistan
(elements of the Army and ISI against other elements of the Army, ISI,
the Pashtons and Taliban) and many other similar situations throughout
the world.
They never mentioned the OIL (they never do), more specifically
Cheney's energy task force, meetings held by Cheney with the major oil
executives and the maps divvying up Iraq PRIOR to 9/11, much less
before the start of the Iraq war.
They mentioned Zelikow, but they didn't mention he was Chairman of the
9/11 commission, was practically a life long bosom buddy of Condi and
that they even wrote a book together. Nor flying over a 120 Saudi Royal
and bin Laden family members out of the country within forty eight
hours after 9/11. Nor the various long term relationships that these
architects of the Iraq war had with each other, Big Oil, the Saudi
Royals, the bin Ladens, Pakistan’s ISI or the members of the Project
for a New American Century. Nor the vast profits after 9/11 these
people made from their investments in the defense and oil
industries. Nor the corruption in Iraq. Nor Cheney’s
connections to Halliburton or the fact that he personally shepherded
many of their no-bid contracts through the DOD. Nor did they mention US
cooperation with Iraqi death squads, the massive ongoing aerial
campaign, the complete destruction of Iraq's infrastructure, the
deliberate targeting of journalists in Iraq by American forces.
They even failed to mention the very first NSC meeting held by the Bush
administration on Jan 30th 2001, a meeting which had as its entire
topic of discussion, a preemptive strike against Baghdad, this meeting
mind you took place a full eight months PRIOR to the attack on 9/11.
This is only a partial list, possibly just two to three percent of the
total stories (or dots) they should have featured, and connected, but
didn't. The show was a pathetic disgrace and does not qualify as
a documentary or as journalism....or even as a good soap opera.
Now that's truly pitiful. – mpg
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Iraq,
then the world, Bush hoped
From the history file -
April 17, 2004 - A quote...."This week George Bush came closer to
telling the truth about the invasion of Iraq than at any time in his
presidency. -- It is extraordinary that, a year after invading a
foreign country unprovoked, the US leader had still not answered
straightforwardly the big question overhanging the whole enterprise -
why?"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Cheney's and
Maliki's new war in Iraq - Wednesday round-up - 4 articles - [Day 2]
Sadr
calls on Maliki to leave Basra
A quote...."Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has asked Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki to leave Basra, calling for negotiations in the southern port
city."
Iraqi
Army’s Assault on Militias in Basra Stalls
A quote...."BAGHDAD — An assault by thousands of Iraqi soldiers and
police officers to regain control of the southern port city of Basra
stalled Wednesday as Shiite militiamen in the Mahdi Army fought daylong
hit-and-run battles and refused to withdraw from the neighborhoods that
form their base of power there."
Why
did US green light Iraq gov attack in Basra?
Must View - Video - A
quote...."Pepe Escobar: The Battle of Basra rages on"
Inside
Story - Iraq's militias - 26 Mar 08 - Pt. 1
Inside Story -
Iraq's militias - 26 Mar 08 - Pt. 2
(YouTube - aprox. 9 to 12 min - Added: March 27, 2008)
Must View - Video
-
More on the recent battles.
- mpg
END -- Cheney's
and
Maliki's new war in Iraq - Wednesday round-up - [Day 2]
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Palestinians
rally in Gaza and Hebron calling for national reconcilliation
A quote...."Hebron – Gaza – Ma'an – Tens of thousands of Palestinians
staged rallies in Gaza City and the West Bank city of Hebron on
Wednesday calling for national reconciliation between bitter political
rivals Fatah and Hamas."
Iran
threatens legal action over UN sanctions
A quote...."Says Tehran - critics can't prove the nukes claims" -
As Cheney would say....So? - mpg
India
to sign oil, gas deals with Iran
A quote...."India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp hopes to sign deals with
Iran to develop huge oil and gas fields in Iran at a meeting planned
for next month."
China
Likely to Join Iran-Pakistan Gas Deal
A quote...." TEHRAN (FNA)- China is ready to join the Iran-Pakistan gas
pipeline if India drops out of the 7.4 billion dollar project,
Pakistani sources have said."
Letter
from Venezuela's Communications Minister to the Washington Post
A quote...."Over the past several years, we have informed you of our
concerns regarding the hostile, distorted and inaccurate coverage of
Venezuela in your newspaper, and particularly on the Editorial Page."
U.K.:
'Teachers to ban armed forces from clasrooms'
A quote...."Teachers vowed yesterday to stop military recruitment
campaigns in schools that promote pro-war "propaganda". -- The National
Union of Teachers voted to back staff who resist armed forces publicity
drives and urged "education for peace" to be embedded in the
curriculum."
Government-Funded
Investigators Accused Of WTC Cover-Up
A quote...."The American Society of Civil Engineers - an organization
that was funded by FEMA to investigate the collapse of the twin towers
on 9/11 - has been accused of engaging in a cover-up to protect the
government, with critics charging the organization falsified
conclusions that skyscrapers could not withstand getting hit by
airplanes."
Did
the Government Entrap the 9/11 Hijackers?
Special Note - A
quote...."We've all seen it on television. The defense attorney argues
his client was "entrapped". That is, that it wasn't the defendant's
idea to commit the crime, but that the police planted the idea and
urged him to do it."
Bush
to terrorism victims: go Cheney yourselves, again...
Special Note - A
quote...."My god this horror does not end, but at least the Bush
administration finally admits fully where its collective loyalties are
(emphasis mine):"
New
evidence suggests second shooter killed RFK
A quote...."Forty years after Democratic rising star Robert F. Kennedy
was killed at a Los Angeles hotel during his presidential run, new
evidence suggests the man serving a life sentence for his murder did
not fire the shots that killed the charismatic senator."
The
Shape of US Populism, Part 3
A quote...."The United States entered the 20th century with impressive
concrete achievements in political and economic reform derived from the
ideological ferment of the final two decades of the 19th century. Still
it has failed to this day to address, much less resolve, several of the
fundamental contradictions and problems that have plagued the young
nation from the very beginning."
An
Uncomfortable Spotlight in Davos
A quote...."The CEOs of three-quarters of the world's 100 largest
companies have just completed an uncomfortable weekend at the tiny
Swiss ski resort of Davos, while their companies' share prices
nosedived on global stock markets, amid concern that the U.S. economy
was staggering towards recession."
QinetiQ Goes
Kinetic: Top Rumsfeld Aide Wins Contracts From Spy Office He Set Up
A quote...."A Pentagon office that claims to monitor terrorist threats
to U.S. military bases in North America -- and was once reprimanded by
the U.S. Congress for spying on antiwar activists -- has just awarded a
multi-million dollar contract to a company that employs one of Donald
Rumsfeld’s former aides. That aide, Stephen Cambone, helped create the
very office that issued the contract."
Carlyle Group
May Buy Major CIA Contractor: Booz Allen Hamilton
A quote...."The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private
equity funds, may soon acquire the $2 billion government contracting
business of consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the biggest
suppliers of technology and personnel to the U.S. government’s spy
agencies. Carlyle manages more than $75 billion in assets and has
bought and sold a long string of military contractors since the early
1990s. But in recent years it has significantly reduced its investments
in that industry. If it goes ahead with the widely reported plan to buy
Booz Allen, it will re-emerge as the owner of one of America’s largest
private intelligence armies."
Ecuador's
Yasuni Park: Oil Exploration or Nature Protection?
A quote...."Manuela Omari Ima, a Waorani woman from the Ecuadorian
Amazon, was born in the Yasuni National Park, a 2.5 million acre
primary tropical rainforest at the intersection of the Andes, the
Amazon and the Equator. That intersection is also the heart of a
struggle between two plans: one for oil exploration and another that
would permanently protect one of the most biologically diverse regions
of the planet."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
The
Economy: US and the World
Must Read - A
quote...."But this time it is different. When a recession starts, the
government has a few tools at its disposal to deal with the economic
downturn: Interest rate, the budget and war. It reduces interest rates
to stimulate economic growth. It can also start large infrastructure
projects such road building, constructing bridges etc, to reduce
unemployment and stimulate the economy (deficit-spending). There is
another sure way of kick starting the economy and that is WAR. Wars are
good for businesses and reduce unemployment and stimulate (for US)
important parts of the economy. -- However, all three tools
have been already used prior to the recent recession. US has huge trade
deficit and is involved in two wars (Afghanistan and Iraq). It has also
reduced its tax revenues by giving huge tax-cuts to the rich. Large
trade deficit, low tax revenue, tremendous debt, wars and low interest
rates make it extremely difficult for the government to do much to help
the economy."
Bank
of England's Mervyn King refuses to follow US Fed rate cuts
A quote...."Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, has ruled
out following the US Federal Reserve in making "aggressive" cuts to
interest rates to stabilise the fragile economy."
New
home sales fall for fourth straight month; at 13-year low in February
A quote...."WASHINGTON: Sales of new homes fell in February for the
fourth straight month, pushing activity down to a 13-year low. While
the rate of decline has slowed, the worst slump in more than two
decades has not run its course, analysts said."
Demand
for durable goods falls 1.7% in Feb. - Machinery orders plunge record
13.3%; core cap goods down 2.6%
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Demand for machinery and other
capital goods sank in February, driving orders for durable goods down
1.7%, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. - The unexpected
decline in orders for big-ticket items marked the second straight
monthly drop, an indication that domestic demand is weakening faster
than exports can grow."
The
ongoing exclusion of war opponents from the Iraq debate
Must Read - A
quote...."Several
days ago, Charlie Rose broadcast a two-part show to survey the Iraq War
on its fifth anniversary. He interviewed four alleged American foreign
policy experts in order -- as he proudly announced at The Huffington
Post -- "to find out how both critics and supporters of the war effort
see the current situation" (h/t reader pj). -- The two alleged "war
critics" were the President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign
Relations, Lesley Gelb, and The New Yorker's George Packer. As Rose put
it: "To get the other side's perspective, I talked to Richard Perle and
Fred Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute." And therein one finds
a perfect expression of how limited, distorted and propagandistic the
debate over Iraq in the establishment press continues to be." --
And the spinning, shaping, framing and
outright lying continues unabated, some things just never change.
- mpg
So
Wrong for So Long: Greg Mitchell on How the Press, the Pundits—and the
President—Failed on Iraq
A quote...."As the Iraq war passes its fifth anniversary, we take a
look at the corporate media’s coverage of five years of war with Greg
Mitchell, editor of Editor & Publisher. He has just written a new
book chronicling the media’s failing on covering Iraq titled, So Wrong
for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits—and the President—Failed on
Iraq. [includes rush transcript] -- ||
Real Video Stream ||
Real Audio Stream ||
MP3 Download ||
More…
||
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Intense
Fighting Erupts In Iraq
A quote...."BAGHDAD, March 25 -- Fierce gun battles erupted between
Iraqi security forces and Shiite militias in Basra, Baghdad and other
cities Tuesday as the government, backed by U.S. and British
reconnaissance planes, launched an offensive aimed at breaking the
power of politically backed gunmen."
Iraqi
forces battle for control of oil city
Related article - A quote...."BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi security
forces battled fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in
Basra on Tuesday in a drive to win control of the southern oil city,
triggering a wave of violence in Baghdad and other cities."
The Shiite - Shiite "Awakenings"...or Chalabi's revenge ?
Related article - A quote...."I am worried about Auntie Sameera. She
lives in a neighborhood controlled by both Mahdi army led by king
driller Muqtada Al Sadr and the Badr thugs led by king killer
Al-Hakeem. She must be having a "ball." -- From what I've heard, seems
the campaign of "civil disobedience" led by Mahatma Al- Sadr with his
olive branch and a copy of the Koran has already led to several corpses
lying in the streets of Basrah, Kut, Nasseriyah, Hilla and Baghdad..."
Basra:
Shiite elites fight for dominance
Video - Related video - A
quote...."Pepe Escobar on fighting in Basra"
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
So?
…
A quote...."It would have to happen on Easter Sunday, wouldn’t it, that
the 4,000th American soldier would die in Iraq. Play me that crazy
preacher again, will you, about how maybe God, in all his infinite
wisdom, may not exactly be blessing America these days. Is anyone
surprised? 4,000 dead. Unofficial estimates are that there may be up to
100,000 wounded, injured, or mentally ruined by this war. And there
could be up to a million Iraqi dead. We will pay the consequences of
this for a long, long time. God will keep blessing America.
-- And where is Darth Vader in all this? A reporter from ABC News
this week told Dick Cheney, in regards to Iraq, “two-thirds of
Americans say it’s not worth fighting.” Cheney cut her off with a one
word answer: “So?” -- “So?” As in, “So what?” As in, “F***
you. I could care less.”
Iraq
war botched and illegal
A quote...."Sure, there's lots of criticism of the Bush administration
for poor war planning, and for squandering U.S. lives and "treasure."
-- All this is true, but it skirts a more fundamental problem – one
that was barely mentioned in all the fifth-year anniversary
commentaries last week – that the invasion was a war of aggression
carried out in defiance of international law. -- This is not a mere
technicality. According to the Nuremberg Tribunal, set up by the Allies
after World War II: "War is essentially an evil thing ... To initiate a
war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is
the supreme international crime."
Code Pink HQ's
AntiWar Protest Photos
See also....
Photos
of protest to the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.
Why
President McCain Will End the Iraq War - [Whether he wants to or not]
A quote...."John McCain has declared it will be "fine" for US troops to
stay in Iraq for a hundred years. The financial numbers, however,
indicate that this is strictly bluster. As President, he will either
pull out and call it a victory well before his first term ends – or
else preside over the bankruptcy of the United States of America."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
9/11
Truth vs The Power of Denial
Must Read - A quote...."
At your local Catholic school they teach the students that premarital
sex is wrong. So, as the school year progresses into spring, one young
female student (we'll call her Libby) starts to look like she's gaining
weight. People all start to notice Libby's belly, but nobody ever says
a word to Libby about it. After 8 months of school, the End of School
Dance takes place. Everybody's there... teachers, students, nuns,
priests and Libby. For 4 hours, everybody stares at Libby's belly when
she's not looking and they whisper as she walks by. When Libby
approaches a new set of her pals they all grow quiet. She says "Hello"
and the students all look her directly in the eyes...refusing to glance
down at her big belly, to acknowledge she's 2 weeks away from delivery.
They make small talk.They ask her if she'll see any concerts this
summer...they ask her how she did on the algebra final, they ask her
how her older brother is doing at college. But when Libby takes here
hand and strokes her belly, they all shift there eyes around the room
and start pretending that they are now suddenly into the song that's
playing. To publicly address Libby's condition is to acknowledge she's
had sex...and we all know that's wrong. -- 9/11 Truth is
thee pregnant girl at the dance. And, Americans just can't bring
themselves to acknowledge out loud, that their government has had sex."
The
Probable Cause to Charge Dick Cheney With Mass Murder, Terrorism, and
High Treason
Special Note - Related
article - A quote...."There is probable cause to indict Dick Cheney for
the crime of supervising the events of 911, a capital crime consisting
of high treason and mass murder. Both Bush and Condoleeza Rice would
state that they could not have foreseen the crashing of airliners into
buildings. In fact, just such a 'scenario' was the basis for security
when Bush attended the G8 Summit in Italy, July 23, 2001 [See: "Italy:
Bush Targeted at G8." New York Newsday 19 Sept 2001, unsigned;
"Extremists 'Planned Genoa Attack on Bush'", BBC News, 27 Sept 2001].
Secondly, Dick Cheney supervised precisely that scenario on the very
day that it happened in fact --a highly improbable coincidence' that
would repeat later in Britain on 7/7. Cheney supervised what are called
'exercises' within a bunker --the Presidential Emergency Operations
Center --located under the White House. There is damning testimony
against Cheney from former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta who
contradicts 9/11 Commission Report’s Account of Dick Cheney’s
timetable."
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
9/11 - From The History File...This article list was posted - 03-17-08
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
How To Destabalize Countries
Legally: Economic Hitman -
Part 1 - Part
II - Part
III - Part
IV - Part
V
Must View -
Video Interview - (YouTube - aprox
8-10 min each - Added: January 21, 2008) - Amy Goodman from
Democracy Now
interviews John Perkins about his new book - A quote...."Today, we
spend the hour with a man who claims to have worked deep inside the
forces driving corporate globalization. In his first book,
"Confessions
of an Economic Hit Man",* John Perkins told the story of his
work as a highly paid consultant hired to strong-arm leaders into
creating policy favorable to the US government and corporations, what
he calls the "corporatocracy." John Perkins says he helped the US cheat
poor countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by lending
them more money than they could possibly repay and then taking over
their economies. John Perkins has just come out with his second book on
this issue. It's called "
The
Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals and
the Truth about Global Corruption." * John Perkins joins us now in
the firehouse studio." -- *links added by website editor
========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==========
========== ====
Peru
Tribe Battles Oil Giant Over Pollution
A quote...."t is a familiar story. Big business moves into a pristine
wilderness and starts destroying the environment and by turn the
livelihoods of the indigenous people who live there. But in a reversal
of plot, there are now cases of people living traditional lifestyles
who are now invading the territory of the big companies and taking them
on at their own game."
The
Lost Continent
A quote...."If you think that the press in the United States gives very
little coverage to Latin America, you are not mistaken; a new study
reveals that the percentage of news from the region in the principal
North American media is pathetically low."
The
Coming War on Venezuela
A quote...."More than a year ago, I attended the official book release
for the Venezuelan edition of Eva Golinger's
"Bush
Versus Chávez",* published by Monte Avila, and the book had
previously been printed in Cuba by Editorial José Martí.
I recount this to make the following point: long before the publication
of Bush Versus Chávez in the current English-language edition,
the book was already a crucial contribution to international debates
regarding United States' efforts to destroy Venezuela's Bolivarian
Revolution." -- *link by website editor
Lebanon
to boycott Arab summit in Syria
A quote...."Despite calls by Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa
for the Lebanese to take part, the Lebanese cabinet decided on Tuesday
that the country, which is facing a protracted presidential crisis,
will boycott this week’s Arab summit in Damascus."
A
Conscientious Objection
A quote...."Those of us who oppose the war, who believe that all U.S.
troops should be withdrawn and the network of permanent bases in Iraq
dismantled, have only two options in the coming presidential
elections—Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney. A vote for any
of the Republican and Democratic candidates is a vote to perpetuate the
occupation of Iraq and a lengthy and futile war of attrition with the
Iraqi insurgency. You can sign on for the suicidal hundred-year war
with John McCain or for the nebulous open-ended war-lite with Hillary
Clinton or Barack Obama, or back those who reject the war."
AFRICOM
Faces Opposition in Africa, Expert Says
This quote is an absolute GEM!
- mpg - A quote...."Once the issue of AFRICOM has been properly
explained and people know it's
not about military bases,
the citizens support it.
It
is about working together to build infrastructure and cooperation for
security and there is no problem. We have worked with the United
States and will always continue to work with the United States," Sele
added." --
Here you see a fine
example of traditional good old fashioned American double talk.
"I'm not killing you"...."I'm terminating you with extreme
prejudice". "We're not building bases"...."we're working together
to build infrastructure and cooperation for security." One
wonders
if these guys can keep a straight face when they say
things like this. - mpg --
For
more on this issue see....Africa
- the Next Target 02-28-03 - mpg
When
America Can’t Handle the Truth
A quote...."The word, attributed to the late writer Saul Bellow, is
“angelization” — willfully putting someone beyond blame. Angelizing
America is the common tongue of all national politicians, the oath
candidates implicitly take when running for president. It’s what the
most sentimental people on Earth expect. It’s what enables a country
that committed its share of atrocities in the past and is committing
more than its share of moral degradations today to look itself in the
mirror and see something exceptional looking back, rather than just
another empire trampling down its march of folly, as the great
historian Barbara Tuchman called it. Angelizing America is the
unspoken, self-evident pledge of allegiance. Someone didn’t tell the
Obamas."
China
welcomes Iran's wish to become full member of Shanghai group
A quote...."China welcomes Iran's wish to become a full member of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which groups China, Russia and
Central Asian nations, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday.
-- But Tehran's wish to be upgraded from observer status still
requires discussion by the group, Qin Gang said at a regular press
conference."
Worried
Just a Bit? Bush
Launches Economic 'Shock and Awe' on Iran
A quote...."....financial analyst John McGlynn reveals that the
Administration has quietly launched a "shock and awe" attack on the
Iranian economy, using little-known – and little-understood – financial
weapons provided by the Patriot Act to begin "the complete financial
and economic destruction of Iran," as McGlynn puts it, with the
ultimate goal of turning the nation into "another Gaza or Iraq under
the economic sanctions of the 1990s, with devastating impact on the
economy and society." --
It's simple;
if everyone just did their steady, level, best and decoupled themselves
from the US economy....everyone could avoid all of this intimidation
and financial difficulty. Just trade with each other, set up your
own networks, and stay away from the US's financial
system....especially since it's currently going down the tubes and is
likely to suck everyone and everything who's connected with the system
down with it.
- mpg
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Beijing's
great global juggling act
Special Note - A
quote...."HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Corporate China may well be
looking to the famed acrobats in the State Circus, renowned for
delicately balancing vast numbers of spinning plates, with a new sense
of awe and understanding. -- It faces a task of equal challenge:
balancing risk and reward in investing abroad -- That point was
brought home sharply this month by troubles at onetime U.S. investment
powerhouse Bear Stearns Co. (BSC 10.74, -0.51, -4.5%) . The bank's
implosion may have
sent global stock markets reeling, but, for Chinese investors able to
pull back from the brink of a massive cross-investment deal, the
feeling is one of overwhelming relief.Citic Securities, China's largest
brokerage, was working with Bear Stearns to consummate the $1 billion
investment when news broke that the U.S. institution was teetering.
" --
For more on China's close
call, and an urgent warning to
all others, see....The
Green Light 01-16-08 - mpg
S&P/Case-Shiller
Home Price Index Falls Record 10.7% (Update2)
A quote...." March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Home prices in 20 U.S.
metropolitan areas fell in January by the most on record, a sign the
housing recession is deepening, a private survey showed today.
-- The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 10.7 percent
from January 2007, after a 9 percent year-on-year decrease through
December 2007. The gauge has fallen for 13 consecutive months."
Hoarding
by banks stokes fears on credit crisis
A quote...."Central banks’ efforts to ease strains in the money markets
are failing to stop financial institutions from hoarding cash, stoking
fears that the recent respite in equity markets may not signal the end
of the credit crisis."
Wall
Street May Face $460 Bln in Losses, Goldman Says (Update1)
A quote...."March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Wall Street banks, brokerages and
hedge funds may report $460 billion in credit losses from the collapse
of the subprime mortgage market,
or
almost four times the amount already disclosed, according to
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Profits will continue to wane, other analysts
said." bold by website editor --
It will be two trillion by the time it's
all said and done. - mpg
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Western
Antarctic ice chunk collapses
A quote...."WASHINGTON - A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the
size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion
of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday."
The
incredible shrinking sea ice - March 18, 2008
A quote...."The floating skin of ice atop the Arctic Ocean expands and
shrinks seasonally, with its minimum occurring at the end of the summer
in September and the maximum at the end of the winter in March - i.e.,
now."
Vast
oil potential in Arctic, new data says
Related Article - A quote..."Las Vegas-based Arctic Oil & Gas has
raised eyebrows around the world with its roll-of-the-dice bid to lock
up exclusive rights to extract oil and gas from rapidly melting areas
of the central Arctic Ocean, currently beyond the territorial control
of Canada, Russia and other polar nations. -- The company, which counts
retired B.C. senator Edward Lawson among its directors, has filed a
claim with the United Nations to act as the sole "development agent" of
Arctic seabed oil and gas. -- The firm acknowledges that
the Arctic's petroleum deposits are the "common heritage of mankind,"
but has argued that the polar region requires a private "lead manager"
to organize a multinational consortium of oil companies to extract
undersea resources responsibly and equitably."
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The
Autoimmune Epidemic: Bodies Gone Haywire in a World Out of Balance
A quote...."Scientists worldwide puzzle over an alarming and
unexplained rise in the rates of autoimmune disease. Yet the media
remain mute on this crisis."
GMO
and Morgellons Disease
Some quotes...."Well Monsanto, you let at least one study slip through.
With the help of a couple of search engines, I found an article by
Whitley Strieber published on October 12, 2007, titled “Skin Disease
May Be Linked to GM Food,” which concludes that the fibers taken from a
Morgellons sufferer contain the same substance that is “used
commercially to produce genetically-modified plants.” Here is the
article:" -- "The skin of Morgellons victims oozes mysterious strands
that have been identified as cellulose (which cannot be manufactured by
the human body)" --
Well humans USED
to not be able to manufacture cellulose....until now. - mpg
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032508-040108
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