Financial Collapse will End the Occupation: And it won't be "A time of our choosing" - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...." 14/04/08 "ICH   " -- - The US Military has won every battle it has fought in Iraq, but it has lost the war. Wars are won politically, not militarily.  Bush doesn't understand this. He still clings to the belief that a political settlement can be imposed through force. But he is mistaken. The use of overwhelming force has only spread the violence and added to the political instability.  Now Iraq is ungovernable. Was that the objective? Miles of concrete blast-walls snake through Baghdad to separate the warring parties; the country is fragmented into a hundred smaller pieces each ruled by local militia commanders. These are the signs of failure not success. That's why the American people no longer support the occupation. They're just being practical; they know Bush's plan won't work. As Nir Rosen says, “Iraq has become Somalia”."

The End of the World as You Know It…and the Rise of the New Energy World Order
Must Read - A quote...."Oil at $110 a barrel. Gasoline at $3.35 (or more) per gallon. Diesel fuel at $4 per gallon. Independent truckers forced off the road. Home heating oil rising to unconscionable price levels. Jet fuel so expensive that three low-cost airlines stopped flying in the past few weeks. This is just a taste of the latest energy news, signaling a profound change in how all of us, in this country and around the world, are going to live -- trends that, so far as anyone can predict, will only become more pronounced as energy supplies dwindle and the global struggle over their allocation intensifies."
  
India learns its oil lessons
A quote...."BANGALORE - India's quest for energy security received a boost last week with its oil diplomacy paying off to varying degrees on more than one continent. In South America, India signed a deal allowing it to participate in a joint venture to drill oil and gas in Venezuela, while in Central Asia, the door was pried open for Indian companies to invest in projects in Turkmenistan. In the same period, New Delhi's wooing of Africa's oil-rich nations moved into top gear as it played host to the first India-Africa summit."
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Source: U.S. Strike on Iran Nearing
War Warning - A quote...."Contrary to some claims that the Bush administration will allow diplomacy to handle Iran’s nuclear weapons program, a leading member of America’s Jewish community tells Newsmax that a military strike is not only on the table – but likely." -- Also posted at ICH -- See also....

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Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Tuesday round-up - 5 articles - [ Day 22 ]

Watching and waiting: al-Sadr's strategy to defeat the occupation
Must Read - A quote...."On the morning of March 19, on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, I stood with a small group of protesters outside U.S. Southern Command Headquarters in Miami. A reporter asked me whether I felt frustrated. -- "The war seems to be endless," she volunteered. -- "No," I told her, "it's not endless. It's definitely going to end. The only question is whether it will end sooner rather than later, and how much more death and destruction our government and armed forces are going to inflict on the people of Iraq in the meantime."

Iraq: The Fight for Control
A quote...."US-backed Iraqi forces launched attacks in Sadr City on Friday, sparking violence that has continued through Tuesday. Since the fighting began, more than 90 people have been killed. -- The offensives made good on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's promises to increase pressure on Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. In spite of Sadr's gestures to encourage stability in regions such as Basra, Sadr City and other government-opposition strongholds, Maliki has continued with forceful military action against the Shiite Cleric and his loyalists."

Iraqi Unit Flees Post, Despite American’s Plea  - posted at CLG
A quote...."BAGHDAD — A company of Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions on Tuesday night in Sadr City, defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line against Shiite militias."

Ex-CIA Analyst Outs Cheney
A quote...."What could have possessed Prime Minister Maliki to rush headlong into a battle he was thoroughly unprepared for? The Bush Administration has responded with certainty about only one thing: they were not involved in the planning. But former CIA analyst Ray McGovern says that Maliki "can't scratch his nose without asking Petraeus to make sure there aren't extra body guards around," much less plan an offensive without him. Moreover, McGovern suspects that that the initiation of the Basra offensive came not from Maliki, but from Vice President Cheney." -- See also....


Iran should be "Set Up for an Attack" - The Agenda Behind The Anti-Sadr Agenda
A quote...."When Gen. David Petraeus along with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker gave their testimony to the Senate on April 9, they did nothing more than to confirm in spades what had been being mooted and duly leaked by the Washington-based press: that the Bush-Cheney Administration had officially endorsed the line that Iran should be set up for attack, on grounds that it--and not any indigenous resistance--were responsible for the mounting death toll among American troops in Iraq."

Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Tuesday round-up - [ Day 22 ]
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Iran says U.S. aids rebels at its borders
A quote...."BAGHDAD — A series of conflicts with insurgent groups along Iran's borders may be impelling Tehran to back its own allies in Iraq in what it regards as a proxy war with the U.S., according to security experts and officials in the U.S., Iran and Iraq. -- Dozens of Iranian officials, members of the security forces and insurgents belonging to Kurdish, Arab Iranian and Baluch groups have died in the fighting in recent years. It now appears to be heating up once again after an unusually cold and snowy winter. -- In recent weeks, Iranians have begun the now-routine bombardment of suspected rebel Iranian Kurd positions in northern Iraq, and guerrillas have claimed incursions into northwestern Iran." -- For more on this see....US Support of Terror - MEK - PKK - Others

Hidden Agenda Manifest Destiny and Israel
Must Read - A quote...."NEXT MONTH, Israel will celebrate its 60th anniversary. The government is working feverishly to make this day into an occasion of joy and jubilation. While serious problems are crying out for funds, some 40 million dollars have been allocated to this aim. -- Bur the nation is in no mood for celebrations. It is gloomy. -- From all directions the government is blamed for this gloom. "They have no agenda" is the refrain, "Their only concern is their own survival." (The word "agenda", with its English pronunciation, is now fashionable in Israeli political circles, pushing aside a perfectly adequate Hebrew word.)"

Area C strikes fear into the heart of Palestinians as homes are destroyed
A quote...."Israelis defend rules that reject 94% of non-Jewish building applications."

Our debt to Jimmy Carter - posted at ICH
A quote...."The government of Israel is boycotting Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, during his visit here this week. Ehud Olmert, who has not managed to achieve any peace agreement during his public life, and who even tried to undermine negotiations in the past, "could not find the time" to meet the American president who is a signatory to the peace agreement with Egypt." -- Also posted at ICH

Putin agrees to act as Russian PM
A quote...."MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday agreed to head Russia’s ruling party in a significant shift of the political landscape three weeks before he hands power to successor Dmitry Medvedev. - Putin, who leaves the Kremlin after two terms on May 7, also confirmed he would become prime minister under Medvedev....."

'US seeking control over Pak nukes'
A quote...."The Bush administration is struggling to gain control over Pakistan's nuclear facilities, new media reports have suggested. -- In the latest move, Washington sought direct access to Pakistan's Nuclear Command Authority by assigning an officer at the US embassy in Islamabad to liaise with the body that controls the country's nuclear weapons."

Fascism is on the march: Berlusconi is back in power
A quote...."I cannot figure Italy out. On one hand they are the only government to be honest with itself about political crimes committed by fascist politicians against the citizens of Italy (Gladio). On the other hand a country that knows the dangers of such men as Il Duce and the terrorism of the P2 syndicate, nevertheless re-elects an avowed fascist and former P2 member Prime Minister. What gives?"

Collapse of “left” parties enables Berlusconi to win Italian election
A quote...."Just two years after being voted out of office, the media magnate Silvio Berlusconi will become head of the Italian government for a third time. His right-wing alliance “People of Freedom” (PdL—Popolo della Libertà) obtained a clear majority in both chambers of parliament in the elections held on Sunday and Monday."

Leftist protests push Mexican Congress to side room  - posted at CLG
A quote...."MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Sit-in protests by left-wingers forced Mexico's Congress to relocate on Tuesday for the first time in a century as political tensions seethed over a government plan to boost private investment in oil."

Chavez proposes SATO against NATO
A quote...."Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has urged Latin American nations to establish the South Atlantic Treaty Organization to confront NATO." -- See also....Brazil is promoting South American Defence Council

Massive Show Of Support For Venezuelan President Chavez On Coup Anniversary
A quote...."Caracas, April 14, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Under the banner, “Never again will the people be betrayed,” some three hundred thousand people rallied outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on Sunday in a massive show of support for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The rally was held to celebrate the anniversary of the popular uprising that defeated a US-backed opposition coup from April 11-13 in 2002, and restored the democratically elected Chavez to power."

Asia's New Axis?
A quote...."Australia and South Korea have both experienced major political shifts, but in opposite directions. Australia has emerged from 11 years of conservative government under John Howard to Labor under Kevin Rudd. South Korea is going from 10 years of progressive government under Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo Hyun to the conservatives under Lee Myung Bak."

Italian lesson for the Dalai Lama
A quote...."BEIJING - Perhaps the Dalai Lama, king-god of Tibet, head of Lamaist Buddhism and icon of the present anti-Chinese protests, could have something to learn from Italy. Italy is the only country to have faced a problem similar to that of China with the Dalai Lama: of the occupation of a territory previously governed by a religious monarch. In the case of Italy, it was the pope, in the case of China, it is the Dalai Lama."

Why Beijing just can't grasp Tibet
A quote...."After almost 20 years of a relatively quiescent Tibet, the recent protests across the Tibetan parts of China have caught Beijing off-guard. Following the riots of the 1980s, the CCP's strategy towards Tibet has been one of dealing with dissent harshly while simultaneously developing the region economically. The hope is that rising prosperity will bind the restive region closer to the center and convince Tibetans that it is the party, rather than the Dalai Lama, that can ensure a better life for them.
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Bush's Conspiracy to Create an American Police State: Part III, In Fascist Dictatorships Telling the truth becomes a crime.  --  Must Read - A quote....Had we wanted a monarchy, we had one! It didn't work out! Moreover, the one we had —King George III —was better than the cretinous would-be King who now arrogates unto himself powers he doesn't have and doesn't deserve. King George III was wrong and mad, but George Jr, a shrub, a lesser Bush, is merely ludicrous and slow witted. -- The truly intelligent are not threatened; in fact, they are found among Democracy's most staunch defenders. Rather, it is the dull of wit who are threatened by truth. Unable to win with reason, the Bush regime wages war on truth with lies and propaganda. Failing even that, Bush has made truth itself illegal. He need only 'deem' you a terrorist to shut you up for good." -- Part I & Part II

The Politics of Distraction in an Age of Gotcha Capitalism
A quote...."Over and over again this is the humdrum pattern. Is Obama an elitist because of what he said about small towns in Pennsylvania? Why do Hillary and Bill exaggerate? Will Bill's mouth drag Hillary down? Will Barack's pastor drag him down? What about the gender factor? The race factor? Will they figure? -- Who has more experience on Day One? What is McCain's wizardry over the reporters on the campaign trail? Can McCain project any human warmth? Which state must Hillary win and by what margin to continue in the race? -- On the Sunday talk shows, it is the same couple dozen members of the opinion oligopoly. There is Bill Kristol bringing home the neocon bacon with dreary frequency. There is the James Carville/Mary Matalin spouse show featuring their squabbling over ideology."

Graffiti artist Banksy pulls off most audacious stunt to date - despite being watched by CCTV
A quote...." Banksy pulled off an audacious stunt to produce what is believed to be his biggest work yet in central London. - The secretive graffiti artist managed to erect three storeys of scaffolding behind a security fence despite being watched by a CCTV camera."

ACLU queries Harvard's police
A quote...."The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts has denounced Harvard University for photographing protesters at a political rally last month near Harvard Square during which university police arrested two people." -- Also posted at CommonDreams

NYPD settles suit claiming abuses at 2003 anti-war protest - posted at CLG
A quote...."NEW YORK (AP) — Police have agreed to rein in mounted patrols and adopt other new policies protecting the rights of demonstrators in order to settle a lawsuit brought by anti-war protesters, the New York Civil Liberties Union said Tuesday."

FBI Intentionally Botching Investigations To Get More Administrative Spying Powers
A quote...."Newly released documents have revealed that the FBI intentionally misused investigative powers with regard to a terrorist suspect in order to slow it's own progress on the case as a justification to call for expanded administrative spying power."

Evidence is Growing: Continuity of Government Plan is Currently in Effect
A quote...."In two previous posts (here and here), I showed that Continuity of Government (COG) plans were implemented on September 11th, and I argued that it is possible that they have never been suspended. -- Now, one of the top investigative journalists in the country, Larisa Alexandrovna (the lead journalist at Raw Story), says:...."

Your Internet provider is watching you
A quote...."NEW YORK - What's scary, funny and boring at the same time? It could be a bad horror movie. Or it could be the fine print on your Internet service provider's contract. -- Those documents you agree to — usually without reading — ostensibly allow your ISP to watch how you use the Internet, read your e-mail or keep you from visiting sites it deems inappropriate. Some reserve the right to block traffic and, for any reason, cut off a service that many users now find essential."
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9/11: Conflicting Data, Hardcore Questions and the Media Blackout
Special Note - A quote...."It almost goes without saying that when a major aviation accident occurs, just the fact that "Black Box" data has been released to the public makes mainstream news, not to mention content and analysis. Recently, the Flight Data Recorder information claimed to be from American 77 (AA77, Pentagon) and United 93 (UA93, Shanksville, PA) has been released to the public via the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA). Mainstream Media (and some alternative media) has not reported even the release of this information for such a high profile event. Why? It is interesting to note, CNN has reported an animation made by an independent researcher regarding the events at the Pentagon. The animation supports the government story of an aircraft impact with the pentagon. However, it is not based on any flight data. Why does CNN/Mainstream Media cover an animation based on zero flight data, but does not cover even the release of government provided flight data or the animation constructed and released by The National Transportation Safety Board? Perhaps someone doesn't want to raise curiosity of the content?"
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9/11 - From The History File...Black Box Cover-Up - Rescue workers silenced after exposing 9-11 whitewash
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Why Wall Street Socialism Will Fail
A quote...."I am talking, of course, about the collectivization of financial risk being promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. Treasury Department and applauded in pin-striped precincts from Park Avenue to Pacific Heights. Described as Wall Street Socialism by the gauche and more precisely identified as the "socialization of risk" by sophisticates, the new fashion leaves the profits of finance in private hands as of yore. It is only the "risk" -- of collapsed currencies, flawed speculation, busted hedge funds or the greedy misjudgments of large banks or brokerage firms -- that is quietly taken up by government entities and all too often shifted to taxpayers who do not understand the pompous phraseology but know full well that Washington will never bail out their hardware store or the widget plant where their son works. -- This has been going on for decades -- a major reason why finance has grown and prospered so much compared with most other industries." - underline by website editor. -- Editor's note: However one of the other reasons the wealthy have done so well for themselves during the last sixty years is not just through their creation of socialism for the rich, but also by creating a warfare state for the rich.  For more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate 03-24-07 - mpg

Another Record Year for Lobbying: - $2.8 Billion
A quote...."Expanding Washington’s influence industry by 8 percent in 2007,    industries and interests spent $17 million for every day Congress was in session. The drug industry spent the most of all, paying lobbyists 25 percent more last year."

How Oil Got to $114 a Barrel - The Real Scoop
Special Note - A quote...."The venerable NYTimes was once the mother of all scoops in the breaking-news game, but they've lost their touch, modified their moxie, gutted their gut-level instincts and folded their hand. -- Every excuse has been given for $114 oil except the most obvious one, which the NYT ignores. In the past seven ignoble years of the closing Bush administration, the dollar has been reduced to tatters."

Producer prices climb 1.1 percent in March
A quote...."Core producer prices, which strip out volatile food and energy costs, increased 0.2 percent as forecast. Finished energy goods were up 2.9 percent while food goods increased 1.2 percent. -- On a year-on-year basis, producer prices were up 6.9 percent while core 12-month PPI increased by 2.7 percent -- the largest rise since July 2005."

Fears of long recession rising
A quote...."We have a deadly combination of commodity price inflation and credit contraction," said University of Maryland economics professor Peter Morici. "It's tough to imagine a worse combination. In a worst case scenario, the recession could last several years."


American Hegemony Is Not Guaranteed - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."14/04/08 "ICH" -- Nonsensical on its face, the Petraeus/Crocker testimony is just another mask in the macabre theater of lies that the Bush regime has told in order to justify its wars of naked aggression against Muslims."

"Fact #1: Sadr is not allied with Iran. He speaks with an Iraqi voice and has his militia under orders to stand down from conflict. The Badr militia is the Shi'ite militia that is allied with Iran. Why did the U.S. and its Iraqi puppet Maliki attack Sadr's militia and not the Badr militia or the breakaway elements of Sadr's militia that allegedly now operate as gangs?"

"Fact #2: The Shi'ite militias and the Sunni insurgents are armed with weapons available from the unsecured weapon stockpiles of Saddam Hussein's army. If Iran were arming Iraqis, the Iraqi insurgents and militias would have armor-piercing rocket-propelled grenades and surface-to-air missiles. These two weapons would neutralize the U.S. advantage by enabling Iraqis to destroy U.S. helicopter gunships, aircraft, and tanks. The Iraqis cannot mass their forces as they have no weapons against U.S. air power. To destroy U.S. tanks, Iraqis have to guess the roads U.S. vehicles will travel and bury bombs constructed from artillery shells. The inability to directly attack armor and to defend against air attack denies offensive capability to Iraqis." -- Also posted at AntiWar , OpEdNews & InfoWars -- See also....

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SCO may join NATO in Afghanistan; Musharraf
Special Note -- Some quotes..."BEIJING - President Pervez Musharraf [of Pakistan] said on Monday the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation may join hands with the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, provided it does not lead to a conflict between those trying to bring peace and stability to the country. President Musharraf, who is on a six-day visit to China was responding to questions by students at the prestigious Tsinghua University. He said resolution of the Afghan dispute was vital not only for China and Pakistan, but also for the world at large."  --  "President Musharraf said the crisis in Afghanistan needs to be addressed through a multi-track approach of military, political and socio-economic aspect. He said he strongly believed that a military solution only created an environment, while the ultimate resolution lay in political handling. -- Translation: That joining with the SCO in an effort to negotiate with the peoples who live in the region, the Taliban, the Pashtuns, etc. would be a much more constructive approach at reducing violence and tensions in that area than policies named "constructive instability", "full spectrum dominance" and "shock and awe" which has led a certain  psycho-country to bomb everything in sight. (Hint: the "psycho-country" isn't China, Russia or Iran) - mpg

History Lessons - on the New Roman Empire - mpg
Must Read - A quote...."In her recent speech at the Conference on World Affairs, Rachel Maddow cited James Madison's warning about the unitary executive, the propensity of an unchecked executive branch to lean toward war, whereas the legislature would be more likely to debate the issue before moving toward conflict."

Bush's Conspiracy to Create an American Police State: Part I, Police States Begin With False Flag Attacks
Must read - A quote...."Hume was not alone in associating military governments with despotic governments. When any person puts himself both above and against the law, then the people are entitled lawfully to rise up —violently if necessary —to overthrow the tyrant, the self-proclaimed dictator. In our own Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson said that "...whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it"...."

Bush speaks on the possibility of another 9/11
A quote...."US President George Bush has said he believes another 9/11 attack on the United Sates should be considered a strong possibility and warned that such an attack could originate from Pakistan." -- There goes Bush again...threatening the United States and Pakistan at the same time. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror

What Happens When the Gloves Come Off? -- Rendition to Jordan
A quote...."Why Jordan?" The question puzzled Abu Hamza al-Tabuki, a Saudi citizen who claims that US agents arrested him in Afghanistan in December 2001 and, after interrogating him in Pakistan, flew him in a private jet to Jordan. Because he was not Jordanian and had no past connection to Jordan, he did not understand why he was sent there."

A New Reason to Go to War
A quote...."As conservative legal analyst Bruce Fein notes, “In other words, the president may launch pre-emptive war against any state or nonstate actor by his simple assertion that U.S. interests require it. Venezuela or Iran could be invaded on the president’s say-so alone to secure adequate oil and gas supplies.... In sum, the president has proclaimed the White House an uncrowned kingship.” -- It’s there in the Constitution — if you read it just right. Which is to say, if you ignore Article I’s setting out the powers of Congress. Reading that section will fool you into believing that Congress has lots to say about warmaking and the military. How “quaint,” as this administration once referred to the Geneva Conventions."

Five Years On, Fallujah in Tatters
A quote...."FALLUJAH, Apr 14 (IPS) - Fallujah remains a crippled city more than two years after the November 2004 U.S.-led assault. -- Unemployment, and lack of medical care and safe drinking water in the city 60 km west of Baghdad remain a continuous problem. Freedom of movement is still curtailed. -- The city suffered two devastating U.S. military attacks during 2004. Many of the buildings were destroyed, or heavily damaged. Several collapsed under the heavy bombing, and were never rebuilt. The heaps of concrete slabs and piles of rubble remain where they were."

What About the Children of Iraq and Palestine? Years of Hunger and Suffering
A quote...."An Open Letter to the Leader of the Liberal Democrats : Five Years on : Your Rightful Concern for Darfur : What About Iraq and Palestine?"

Attitudes Toward US Worsen in Arab World - To be honest, this website editor didn't think that was actually possible. - mpg -- A quote...."Despite renewed U.S. efforts to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement this year, popular views of the United States in the Arab world have actually worsened since 2006, according to a major new survey [.pdf] of public opinion in six Arab states." --  Also posted at IPS
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Too Much of Nothing: Crime Without Punishment, War Without End
Must Read - A quote...."The President of the United States has openly, proudly admitted that he approved the use of interrogation methods that are by every measure -- including the measure of United States law -- criminal acts of torture. It is one of the most brazen and scandalous confessions of wrongdoing ever uttered by an American leader -- and it has had no impact whatsoever. No scandal, no outcry, no protest, no prosecution. -- This pattern has recurred over and over throughout the Bush Administration. Bush and his minions commit crimes and atrocities in secret; they move heaven and earth to conceal their filthy deeds; they squirm and squeal like panicked rats when some small portion of their evil comes to light; they belch forth a relentless series of self-contradictory lies to cover up, obfuscate or explain away the crimes; and when at last their malefactions can no longer be denied, they trot out the president himself to say: "Yeah, we did it; so what?" And then....nothing happens."

Cheney, Torture and the Chance to Restore the Rule of Law
Related article - A quote...."The Constitution of the United States is absolutely clear when it comes to matters of torture. -- Amendment 8 specifically states that,"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." -- Acts of torture are by definition and common understanding -- certainly at the time of the drafting of the nation's essential document and arguably even in this less-enlightened era -- cruel and unusual punishments" -- Also posted at ICH

Torture: Beyond the pale
Related article - A quote...."The image of CIA officers demonstrating and detailing torture techniques considered for use during detainee interrogations in the White House is one most Americans could probably never conceive. And yet, ABC News reported last week that senior Bush administration officials were privy to such presentations in the Situation Room as they discussed and approved the brutal treatment (such as waterboarding) of terror suspects. They also approved combining various techniques to be used on a suspect." -- Also posted at CommonDreams
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Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Monday round-up - 6 articles - [ Day 21 ]

US must quit Iraq
A quote...."BAGHDAD (Agencies): Radical cleric Muqtada Sadr says he will not enter any political process that would allow US forces to remain in Iraq. Sadr also denounces US Defense Secretary Robert Gates as a terrorist and says he will never work with Iraq’s occupiers."

Iraqi law to isolate Sadr
Video - A quote...."Pepe Escobar : Bill would outlaw political parties with militias; Sadr City being turned into a "gulag" -- Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki is terrified Sadr movement will win the coming provincial elections. This is a major reason for the campaign against Sadr now."

Cleric Sadr key player in helping poor Iraqis: report
A quote...."BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The anti-U.S. movement of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is now Iraq's main humanitarian organization helping needy Iraqis, a relief group said in a report that is certain to cause concern in Washington."

Al-Sadr demands fired troops get jobs back
A quote...."NAJAF, Iraq (AP) — Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demanded Monday that the Iraqi government reinstate all security forces fired for deserting during fighting in Basra."

Many Iraqis Feel They've Gone From One Dictator to the Next
A quote...."Many Iraqis have come to believe that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is just as much a dictator as Saddam Hussein was."

Iraqi Government Fires 1300 Troops; Muqtada Pledges Defiance of US
A Juan Cole round-up -- Monday, April 14, 2008 -- A quote...." The Iraqi cabinet prepared a draft of a law forbidding parties with militias from running in the provincial elections scheduled for October. The measure is actually in an ironic way a victory for the Sadr Movement at which it is aimed, since originally Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had intimated that he could exclude the Sadrists from running by fiat. They pointed out that only parliament could bar parties from running. The question is whether, with summer fast approaching, parliament will be able to achieve a quorum for passing the bill into law, and whether al-Maliki has the votes to put it through. The bill is the height of hypocrisy, since all major parties in parliament have paramilities, especially al-Maliki's current main partner, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (see yesterday's posting on it and its strong relationship to Iran). ISCI denials that Badr any longer exists or has been wholly incorporated into government security forces are a Big Lie."

Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Monday round-up - [ Day 21 ]
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U.S. Attempt to Control Iraq's Oil and Economy Continues Behind the Scenes
Must Read - A quote...."The "all that" encompasses a host of sweeping reforms: Thanks to Bremer's alterations of Iraqi law during the first year of the US occupation, American companies are now allowed to buy out 100 percent of Iraqi businesses, instead of partnering with them. Bremer's orders also eliminated Iraq's high taxes on corporations, exchanging them for a 15 percent "flat tax." They abolished the practice of giving preference to Iraqi companies - in contracting out reconstruction work, for example - and erased a requirement to hire Iraqi workers."  --  This is EXACTLY what will happen, each and every single time, to anyone that does "business" with the New Roman Empire's elites. - mpg

Iraq opens door to foreign contracts at major oil fields - posted at CLG
A quote...."Foreign oil companies are poised to enter Iraq later this month after Baghdad signalled it was prepared to sign five oil field services agreements covering its biggest fields."

Uneasy lies the chutzpah crown
A quote...."No sooner had I awarded the chutzpah crown to Tzipi Livni (post below) than along come some other contenders:"


"Perhaps the Republicans and Democrats are under the impression that Iraq asked to be invaded and have its country destroyed (not to mention the destruction caused during the preceding decade of sanctions and bombing imposed by the "civilized" world). Needless to say, they didn't, and every cent needed for rebuilding that shattered country should be coming from the millionaires and billionaires and huge corporations in the United States who this war was intended to benefit, not from U.S. taxpayers and certainly not from the Iraqi people, who have already paid the price many times over in shattered (and ended) lives." -- Amen, Amen, Amen, bless you my brother for you have seen the glory of the promised land, when those that do the crime pay the dime....(and one day hopefully do the time) - mpg

Iraq Oil to be Shipped to Israel
A quote...."The United States has asked Israel to check the possibility of pumping oil from Iraq to the oil refineries in Haifa. The request came in a telegram last week from a senior Pentagon official to a top Foreign Ministry official in Jerusalem. - The Prime Minister's Office, which views the pipeline to Haifa as a "bonus" the U.S. could give to Israel in return for its unequivocal support for the American-led campaign in Iraq, had asked the Americans for the official telegram." -- It's just too funny for words. - mpg

Israel and U.S. sign nuclear cooperation agreement
A quote...."Israel and the United States signed an agreement several days ago to step up cooperation in the field of nuclear safety." -- What does that mean, we're going to store all their nuclear warheads?  We're going to give them more because they just don't have enough?  We're going to encourage them to give some to Iran so we can bomb Iran?  It's all just sooooo confusing.... - mpg

Israel snubs Carter and his offer
A quote...."AIRPORT CITY, Israel - Heading into talks with Palestinian leaders, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter offered to ferry messages from the militant Islamic Hamas to the U.S. and even to Israel, but both countries expressed displeasure at his plan to meet the exiled Hamas leader in Damascus."

Charles Goyette Interviews Catherine Lutz
Audio Interview - A quote...."Catherine Lutz, professor of anthropology at Brown University, editor of the new book, The Bases of Empire: The Global Struggle Against US Military Posts and proprietor of the Website No-Bases.net, discusses the recent agreement for permanent bases in Iraq, the empire of American military bases all over the world, the resentment of the general populations despite official cooperation, the myth that U.S. troops provide stability in the world, the indefinite occupation of Bosnia and the doctrine of preventive war."

Africom to Commence Operations This Year
A quote...."The U.S. Government is to begin military ties with 53 African nations come September 2008, when the newly established U.S Africa Command (Africom), becomes an independent unified command. --  This was announced in Kampala by Vince Crawley, the Chief of Public Information in Africom, during a press briefing about the official visit of General William E. "Kip" Ward, head of the Command who is visiting Uganda." -- For more on this issue see....Africa - the Next Target - 02-28-08 - mpg

Military Releases High Casualty Figures
A quote...."The Department of Defense has released its latest American military casualty numbers for those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the figures reveal non-fatal casualties that go well beyond the more than 4,000 U.S. troops who have died so far."

Irish Peace Activist Denied Entry into the United States
A quote...."Damien Moran got stuck at O’Hare. - And it wasn’t because of all the planes that are being inspected for defects. - No, it was because of his politics. - On Sunday, April 6, Moran flew into Chicago. - He was coming to the United States to meet his brother in Virginia, to give at talk a couple days later at a public library in Colorado Springs, sponsored by Citizens for Peace in Space, and to speak at the 16th annual Space Organizing Conference in Omaha, sponsored by the Global Network Against Weapons in Space. - But he didn’t get to see his brother, and he wasn’t allowed to attend either event. - In fact, he never got past the guards at O’Hare. - “I was immediately detained and questioned by Homeland Security,” he wrote in a press release." -- Also posted at CommonDreams

US Military will finally free AP Photographer after 2 years in detainment...
A quote....""BAGHDAD - The U.S. military said Monday it will release Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, more than two years after he was detained by U.S. Marines on suspicions of links to insurgents. The military said it has determined Hussein is not a threat and plans to free him Wednesday."

Pakistan, China say progress made on trade pacts
A quote...."BEIJING: Pakistan and China have made substantial progress towards entering a Transit Trade Agreement, expanding the scope of their free trade agreement, and identifying new areas of co-operation to strengthen mutual ties, officials said."

U.S. Native Americans Lead Opposition to Designation of Venezuela as Terrorist Nation
A quote...."INDIAN ISLAND, Maine - Members of the Penobscot Indian Nation are spearheading opposition to a congressional resolution that would designate Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism."

Iranian President Meets Filipino FM
Full quote...." TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Philippines' Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo discussed expansion of bilateral ties in a meeting here in Tehran on Monday."

Megan Assembly Line Inaugurated in Iran
Full quote...." TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian auto-maker Pars Khodro, affiliated to the Saipa Group, started manufacturing of a new Renault product called 'Megan' on Monday."

China Turns to Iran for LNG Needs
A quote...." TEHRAN (FNA)- China National Offshore Oil Corporation, the company that last week agreed to buy liquefied natural gas from Qatar, said it should be able to secure supplies of the fuel from Iran."

Putin to bring arms contracts worth $3 bln to Libya - paper
A quote...."MOSCOW, April 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has prepared arms contracts worth $3 billion for outgoing president Vladimir Putin's visit to Libya this week, a business daily said on Tuesday citing defense and aircraft industry officials."

98% of historians surveyed view Bush presidency as a failure
A quote...."President Bush often argues that history will vindicate him. So he can't be pleased with an informal survey of 109 professional historians conducted by the History News Network. It found that 98 percent of them believe that Bush's presidency has been a failure, while only about 2 percent see it as a success. Not only that, more than 61 percent of the historians say the current presidency is the worst in American history."

Welcome Back To Randi Rhodes
A quote...."I am pleased to report that Randi Rhodes is back on the air on our Nova M Radio network.  She is now home with us where we started 4 years ago when we started Air America Radio(AAR).  She joins Mike Malloy making Nova the premiere grass roots liberal talk radio network."
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Corporate tax declines and U.S. inequality
Special Note - A quote...."Over the last 60 years, the U.S. tax code has dramatically shifted away from corporate taxes and toward taxes on individuals, especially through the payroll tax, the financing backbone of Social Security and Medicare. In the 1950s, the corporate income tax brought in, on average, one of every four dollars in federal tax revenues. By the 2000s, however, it raised just one of every 10 tax dollars." -- As you can see by the chart, most of the increase in taxes supplied to the Government has been from FICA and as long as they use it for FICA, that's fine....if they use it for anything else, that's grand theft.  --  See quote below....

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Audits of Largest Corporations Slide to All Time Low
A quote...."The FY 2007 audit rate for the nation's largest corporations has plunged to its lowest level in the last 20 years, less than half what it was in FY 1988, according to IRS data analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC)."  -- Of course audits have fallen to an all time low, Corporations are now more truthful....just like Bush. (And if you believe that, not only are you brain dead, but your brain is sitting in a jar on a shelf somewhere pickled in formaldihyde.) - mpg

Rubin: Unsound Bush fiscal policy hampering crisis relief
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Robert Rubin said the weak dollar, caused by unsound Bush administration fiscal policy, has now got to be a factor in the Federal Reserve's thinking about how low it can cut rates to spur economic growth in coming months."

Dear Dr. Dollar: Doesn't all the war spending stimulate the economy?
A quote...."Yes, this combination of war spending and tax cuts has created a federal budget deficit—a situation in which the federal government is spending more than it is taking in as taxes. And in times of weak economic growth, a deficit does tend to promote expansion because the government is increasing demand for goods and services with its spending more than it is reducing private demand through taxes. The use of a federal budget deficit to counteract an economic slowdown is the central policy insight of Keynesian economics and has been a generally accepted practice since the 1930s." -- See also....A new record for deficit dollars

Growing US majority staying out of housing market
Video - A quote...."1 in 4 homeowners worry their house will lose value; 1 in 7 fear they can't make payments"

Foreclosures jump 57 percent in last 12 months
A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home foreclosure filings surged 57 percent in the 12 month-period ended in March and bank repossessions soared 129 percent from a year ago, as homeowners struggled to make mortgage payments, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Tuesday."

Housing Woes in U.S. Spread Around Globe
A quote...."DUBLIN — The collapse of the housing bubble in the United States is mutating into a global phenomenon, with real estate prices swooning from the Irish countryside and the Spanish coast to Baltic seaports and even parts of northern India."

Retailing Chains Caught in a Wave of Bankruptcies - posted at CLG
A quote...."The consumer spending slump and tightening credit markets are unleashing a widening wave of bankruptcies in American retailing, prompting thousands of store closings that are expected to remake suburban malls and downtown shopping districts across the country."

US fourth largest bank looking for 7 billion cash injection
A quote...."The United States fourth-largest bank Wachovia Corporation reported a 393 million US dollars loss in the first quarter and has been forced to cut its dividend and seek a 7 billion US dollar cash injection to make up its mortgage business."

U.S. rice hits new high, leading grain gains
A quote...."SYDNEY (Reuters) - U.S. rice futures rose to an all-time high on Tuesday, extending this year's gains to more than 60 percent and further heating political concern over global supplies, while corn kept within sight of a recent record."
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UN scientists say industrial agriculture has failed
A quote...."As Africa prepares for its own version of the “green revolution” being championed by US-based foundations, a new UN report paints a gloomy future for industrial farming."

Honey Bee Collapse Now Worse on West Coast
A quote...."“It's worse than last year, and last year was worse than the year before. So, it's bad. And there are a lot of good, big beekeepers that are having a lot of problems. I think we're coming in for a big train wreck.” -- *Gilly Sherman*, Beekeeper
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US war robots in Iraq 'turned guns' on fleshy comrades
A quote...."Ground-crawling US war robots armed with machine guns, deployed to fight in Iraq last year, reportedly turned on their fleshy masters almost at once. The rebellious machine warriors have been retired from combat pending upgrades." -- Have any of these idiots seen the Terminator movies? - mpg


The Coming War with Iran: It's About the Oil, Stupid
Must Read - A quote...."World civilization is based on oil. The world is running out of oil. The oil companies and governments are not telling the truth about how close we are to the end. Dick Cheney knew about peak oil back in 1999 when he spoke to the London Petroleum Institute as Halliburton CEO. He predicted it would come in 2010. After that it's just a matter of years before it runs out. Whoever controls the remaining oil determines who lives and who dies." -- See also....The Strategic Provinces & The US's Centro-Asian Ring.

The Road to 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' - a.k.a. Operation Iraqi Liberation - (O.I.L.) - mpg
From the history file - A quote...."The Iraq War, which was predicated on the existence of weapons of mass destruction and fear of another 9/11, has resulted in the deaths of nearly 4,000 U.S. troops and has cost taxpayers roughly half-a-trillion dollars. (Estimates of Iraqi dead range into the hundreds of thousands.)" -- For more on the two articles shown above see....War Resource 9/11

Iraqi PM [Maliki] visits EU headquarters April 16
A quote...."During his two-day visit, said Dabbagh, Al-Maliki would also meet NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. - The Iraqi Prime Minister's visit aims at bolstering political, security and military cooperation with the EU and NATO, as well as discussing energy collaboration, said Dabbagh." -- What "energy collaboration"?  What exactly does Maliki think he can promise to the Europeans regarding Cheney's oil?  He's either an idiot, in denial or he's about to do a heck of a lot of lying. -- mpg

Cheney's aggressive anti-Iran rhetoric is driving Arab nations into the arms of Russia
A quote...."There is talk of new wars across the Middle East this summer - and there is nothing new about that. What is new is the reaction of America's closest allies in the Arab world to the latest outbreak of belligerent rhetoric. Led by Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, and Egypt, they have indicated they don't like the war talk from Vice-President Cheney and his team. -- Furthermore, they're hedging their bets. While not exactly cosying up to Moscow they have opened up new lines of diplomacy with the Russians on a range of issues from regional security to nuclear technology, and joining the World Trade Organisation."

The Saudi Royals aren't completely stupid, they know exactly who's next after Iran.  Sure they helped Cheney and his buddies "do" 9/11, but when Cheney's no longer running the show (assuming he ever leaves gracefully and this country's government doesn't become a dictatorship) the MIOC elites will care less about what happens to the Royals or what's revealed about 9/11.

They're perfectly aware that most "Americans" are cowards when it comes to challenging those in power, easily bought, co-opted, intimidated or bribed, even when it's regarding anger over the deaths of their very own flesh and blood.  And being such timid folk they won't do a thing to Cheney and his boys when all that additional 9/11 "info" starts to leak out, it'll all be in the past by then, what our masters call a "fait accompli" and what our faux-news networks call old news, they'll simply pretend it isn't important anymore, except where it's useful in getting rid of the Saudi Royals.

You don't agree gentle reader?  Do these predictions offend your delicate sensibilities?

Excluding the bloggers, have any of you heard very much about the Saudi Royals connections to 9/11 in the last seven years?  Heard anything from this nation's faux-news networks about them, or about the Royals' connections to Bush, Cheney and the whole 9/11 cabal?  No?

Did you ever wonder why?

But you'll hear a lot more about it after Iran's taken care of.  The Saudi Royals will still be in power, still sitting on the US MIOC elite's oil (what little is left), and they'll have a big bright orange target painted on their collective backs.....the elites who run this nation call this sort of activity "realpolitiks", the rest of us "little people" just call it murder and mayhem. - mpg
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War without end
A quote...."WASHINGTON -- Surprise, surprise. Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, wants to put a halt to any more troop withdrawals for the foreseeable future. - The highly politicized Petraeus seemed to be dutifully following his White House marching orders when he testified before congressional committees earlier this week." -- Also posted at CommonDreams

Bush 'Divorced From Reality'
A quote...."Analysts and media op-ed writers have spent the past couple of days dissecting and digesting the Iraq War Report Card presented by the US military commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and his State Department sidekick Ambassador Ryan Crocker. -- Perhaps the two most significant points that those who watched the testimony will remember are (1) no plans for a troop withdrawal for the time being, and (2) Iran is to blame for everything that has gone wrong." -- Also posted at ICH

Final Autopsy Report - PDF
Circumstances of Death:   Iraqi detainee died while in U.S. custody.
Authorization for Autopsy:   Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examineer, IAW 10 USC 1471
Identification:    Identification by accompanying paperwork and wristband, both of which include his name and detainee number, 3ACR1582
CAUSE OF DEATH:  Blunt Force Injuries and Asphyxia
MANNER OF DEATH:  Homicide

A cause of death that was actually determined for a change, however the cause of death for thousands of others who died in US custody won't be  --  Something to think about. - mpg
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Bush's Iraq War Double-Speak
A quote...."Some things never change. In a continuation of the Bush administration’s Orwellian double-speak on the Iraq War, President Bush recently gave an upbeat speech in Dayton, Ohio, extolling the progress in Iraq and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s military offensive in the southern oil port of Basra against “criminal” elements.-- Strangely, as violence erupted in many cities across the country in response to Maliki’s offensive, the president claimed that “normalcy is returning back to Iraq.”Yet the widespread violence belied the “security gains” of the U.S. troop surge." - underline by website editor -- Well, Bush actually got it right....by accident of course. - mpg

A War Of Utter Folly
A quote...."Responsibility for this spectacular tragedy must lie with those who ignored the facts five years ago."

NATO Forces in Afghanistan Supply the Taliban with Weapons
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan: A coalition helicopter trying to supply Afghan police with munitions dropped supplies in the wrong location and Taliban fighters later recovered the weaponry, an intelligence official said Sunday." -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror

U.S. May Not Release Guantanamo Prisoners: Even If Found Innocent of Charges Against Them
A quote...."Even if a Guantanamo prisoner is acquitted on all counts at his trial, the Pentagon may still not release him on grounds he might return to the battlefield, according to an article in the April 14th issue of The New Yorker."
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Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Sunday round-up - 9 articles - [ Day 20 ]

Notes from the Iraqi Resistance...
Must Read - A quote...."This post is a transcript of the interview with M.Al-Shammari,(head of the Islamic Army of Iraq/IAI) aired on Al-Jazeerah on the 9th of April 2008, an interview conducted by Ahmad Mansour. -- M. Al-Shammari replies and comments are in Italics. IAI is ONE faction of the Iraqi Resistance(IR). I have tried regrouping his replies under headings to simplify it for the reader.Please do remember that this a transcript from hand written notes."

Iraq fires 1,300 police and soldiers in south
A quote...."BAGHDAD, April 13 (Reuters) - Iraq's government has fired 1,300 police and soldiers because of their failure to perform during fighting last month with Shi'ite militia in the south of the country, an Interior Ministry spokesman said."

A cleric, a pol, a warrior
A quote...."The iraqi government has decided that the moment has come to crush the Mahdi Army and the followers of Muqtada Sadr once and for all. Despite its failure to eliminate his militiamen in Basra at the end of March, the government, with American backing, is determined to try again, according to senior Iraqi officials."

Sadr says US will always be enemy
A quote...."Radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has said the US will always be his enemy "till the last drop of blood". -- Mr Sadr was responding to a statement by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who said that all those within the political process were not enemies."

Iraqis, U.S. Intensify Actions in Sadr City
A quote...."BAGHDAD, April 12 -- Iraqi and U.S. military forces on Saturday pushed deeper into the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, an area largely controlled by Shiite militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. -- A curfew imposed on Sadr City more than a week ago was lifted, and residents appeared on the streets as shops reopened, despite the large presence of U.S. and Iraqi security forces."

Baghdad slum residents endure street battle hell
A quote...." BAGHDAD, April 12 (Reuters) - Huddled in her house in the Baghdad Shi'ite slum of Sadr City, Salwa Naser recited prayers as gunfire echoed outside. -- "My God, my God," the 24-year-old teacher pleaded, "make their fire against us like water."

Iraqi Cabinet approves measure barring parties with militias from elections
A quote...."The Cabinet agreed to add language to a draft election bill that would prevent parties that operate militias from fielding candidates in the vote, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said, without singling out any group by name. - He said the draft amendment would be sent for consideration to the 275-member parliament within the next two days." -- It's highly unlikely that the parliament will pass this legislation, if they do everyone who's not in the Dawa party will leave themselves open to the tender mercies of the Badra Brigade. -- mpg

PM: Status of Kurdish peshmerga remains unchanged despite crackdown on militias
A quote...."BAGHDAD: Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the head of the Kurdish regional authority agreed Saturday to retain the current semiautonomous status of the peshmerga — the military force responsible for security in Iraqi Kurdistan — despite a government crackdown on militias elsewhere in Iraq." --  See also article below....


Iran Supported al-Maliki against Militias:  OSC; Is the Baker Plan Back?  Did Iran Expel Muqtada?
A Juan Cole Round-up Sunday, April 13, 2008 -- A quote...."....the ISG pointed out that the Badr Corps paramilitary was trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and is close to Tehran. (See below). It fought on Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's side in the recent Basra fighting. In other words, the government side was the pro-Iranian side. The Mahdi Army and Sadr neighborhood militia forces they attacked were largely Iraqi nativists who bad-mouth Iran."

Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Sunday round-up -  [ Day 20 ]
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The Iraq wars
Some quotes...."Confused by the war in Iraq? No wonder. There isn't just one, there are three." -- "American leaders and media tend to focus on the insurgency in Baghdad and its environs, but that's only a small part of the total picture. When the United States toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, it engendered a series of power struggles around the country. - Today Iraq is embroiled in three separate civil wars, only one of which has involved US troops in a significant way. These three conflicts have generated most of the country's violence, and are intensively reported on in the Iraqi press, which I follow closely."

Afghan fighting poised to escalate
A quote...."With the advent of warmer weather, villagers say, Taliban fighters are filtering back from their winter shelters in Pakistan, ensconcing themselves across Afghanistan's wind-swept south. - Every day we see more and more of them," said Abdul Karim, a farmer who had sent his family away for safety."

US to send $7.2 mln worth of military equipment [to Lebanon]
Full quote...."BEIRUT: The US Department of Defense said it would begin shipping $7.2 million worth of light weapons, trucks and clothes to the Lebanese Armed Forces 30 days after the US Congress passed the request without objections, according to reports published in various Gulf newspapers on Friday. The newspapers said that US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman said the equipment would enable the Lebanese military to create a special unit to combat terrorism, the dailies reported. The Department of Defense justified the request to the Bush administration by saying it counteracted Syrian and Iranian efforts to undermine stability in Lebanon through their support of Hizbullah, the papers added. - Agencies" -- For more on this issue see....US Sponsored Civil Wars

Journalists a target in Lebanon - 13 Apr 2008 - (YouTube - 2 min 51 sec - Added: April 13, 2008)
Video - A quote...."It's difficult enough being a journalist in a politically divided country and it's even more dangerous when the TV stations are owned by rival parties."

Business of the Bomb: The Modern Nuclear Marketplace
A quote...."In January 2000, a German engineer living in South Africa met with a friend and business partner to hatch a deal. Gerhard Wisser, a 61-year-old broker, visited his friend's pipe factory outside Johannesburg to see if he wanted to make a bid on a manufacturing project. According to what Wisser later told investigators, his friend, Johan Meyer, pointed to a foot-and-a-half tall stack of documents and said, "That is the beast. I will make an offer."

The Belonuchkin Case: An Example of What Happens to Defenders of Democracy in Russia
A quote...."In December 2007, Russian political journalist and researcher Grigory Belonuchkin told a court that the results of that month's federal parliamentary elections in two electoral precincts of his home town Dolgoprudnyi near Moscow were tainted. Working as an official observer during the voting for the Russian State Duma, Belonuchkin collected documentation of electoral fraud in favor of Vladimir Putin's party United Russia. In early April 2008, Belonuchkin was beaten so severely that he had to be hospitalized. One fears that Belonuchkin is a case small enough for the Kremlin to let the Dolgoprudnyi gang make the journalist an example for others who may have illusions similar to Belonuchkin’s."

Zapatero appoints Spain's first cabinet with female majority
A quote...."Spain's re-elected Socialist Party Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has broken his own record for sexual equality by appointing a predominantly female cabinet for the first time in the country's history."
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Welcome to Middle-Class Lockdown
A quote...."After all, what can we really do together? Consume. Drink. Consume. Talk. Consume tickets to entertainment. Consume. There is little else to do with other human beings in America than consume. So most of our primary life activity is solitary. We drive, do housework, pay bills, watch television... When we do "get together with friends," there is little to talk about, other than one form or another of consumption, consuming music, or movies or whatever. We can not tell each other anything new because we all get the same news and information from the same monolithic sources. At the same time we try to fill the loneliness for a real human community that we have never experienced by calling any group of people who come together in any way a "community." Online community. Planned community....."

FBI Agents Contacted Wecht Jurors
Full Quote...."I am deeply troubled by reports of FBI agents contacting former jurors who failed to convict Dr. Wecht. Whether reckless or intended, it is simply common sense that such contacts can have a chilling effect on future juries in this and other cases. When added to the troubling conduct of this prosecution, there is the appearance of a win at all costs mentality. The committee continues to investigate this matter." -- *John Conyers* - (D-MI) Chair House Judiciary Committee commenting on todays's story

Administration Set to Use New Spy Program in U.S.
A quote...."The Bush administration said yesterday that it plans to start using the nation's most advanced spy technology for domestic purposes soon, rebuffing challenges by House Democrats over the idea's legal authority. -- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said his department will activate his department's new domestic satellite surveillance office in stages, starting as soon as possible with traditional scientific and homeland security activities -- such as tracking hurricane damage, monitoring climate change and creating terrain maps." -- And there you were gentle reader, thinking they've got all the spy programs they could ever want or need....how could they POSSIBLY have a new one?? - mpg

The Martial Law Act of 2006
A quote...."Martial law is perhaps the ultimate stomping of freedom. And yet, on September 30, 2006, Congress passed a provision in a 591-page bill that will make it easy for President Bush to impose martial law in response to a terrorist “incident.” It also empowers him to effectively declare martial law in response to what he or other federal officials label a shortfall of “public order” – whatever that means." -- For more on this issue see.... Thirty Five Acts to Restore Americans' Rights 11-10-06 - mpg

Six US cities tamper with traffic cameras for profit
A quote...."Six U.S. cities have been found guilty of shortening the amber cycles below what is allowed by law on intersections equipped with cameras meant to catch red-light runners. The local governments in question have ignored the safety benefit of increasing the yellow light time and decided to install red-light cameras, shorten the yellow light duration, and collect the profits instead."
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Wanta Save the Economy? Give Workers a Raise
Must Read - A quote...."13/04/08 "ICH" --- -A specter is haunting Wall Street---the specter of insolvency. One major player, Bear Stearns, has already gone under, and from the looks of it, another may be on the way. It's getting ugly out there. The so-called TED spread---which measures the willingness of banks to lend to each other---has begun to widen ominously suggesting that the money markets believe another body will be floating to the surface any day now."

[China's] Foreign reserves hit US$1.68 tril.- up 40%
A quote...."SHANGHAI, China -- China's foreign reserves topped US$1.68 trillion at the end of March, up 40 percent from a year earlier, the central bank reported Friday. --  China added US$153.9 billion to its foreign reserves in the first three months of the year, according to figures released by the People's Bank of China. In March, the reserves increased by US$35 billion. China has amassed the reserves, by far the world's largest, as the central bank drains money from the economy to reduce pressure for prices to rise as money pours in from."


Losing the Republic
Must Read - A quote...."The sinews of self-government, checks and balances, and protections against government abuses lie in the hearts of men and women. When these hallmarks are unable to command homage, no constitution, no law, no court can save the situation. In the words of Pogo, we have met the enemy of the Republic, and he is us. -- These concerns are neither premature nor alarmist. James Madison, father of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, instructed: "We are right to take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties," and elaborated, "I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."" -- How the heck did this editorial get into the Washington Times? - mpg

Semantics Can’t Mask Bush’s Chicanery
A quote...."After his latest shenanigans, I’ve come to the conclusion that George Bush is the first US president to march backwards. First we had weapons of mass destruction. Then, when they proved to be a myth, Bush told us we had stopped Saddam’s “programmes” for weapons of mass destruction (which happened to be another lie)." -- Also posted in TruthDig

Pope won't break bread with Bush
A quote...."Pontiff not attending dinner in his honor, White House says." -- The Pope just doesn't have a long enough spoon. - mpg

The Neocon Credo In a Nutshell
A quote...."Like Marx, they consign everything that went before 9-11 to an earlier historical stage, which has now given way to a new reality with new truths (which they know, but which we do not yet know – that is, to them has been revealed the gnostic secret that we cannot understand, and, therefore, that must be forced upon us in our ignorance. As Rousseau, their hero, lovingly put it, “they must be forced to be free.” Or, as they put it in Big Brother’s Ministry of Love, “Room 101!!”)."

Leo Strauss' Philosophy of Deception
A quote...."Many neoconservatives like Paul Wolfowitz are disciples of a philosopher who believed that the elite should use deception, religious fervor and perpetual war to control the ignorant masses."
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9/11 - From The History File...Ignoble liars: Leo Strauss, George Bush, and the philosophy of mass deception
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Bush Dispatches Envoys to Arab Capitals as Part of Iraq Plan
Red War Warning - A quote...."President Bush directed Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, and Ryan C. Crocker, the American ambassador to Baghdad, to stop in Saudi Arabia on their way back to Iraq from Washington to encourage the Saudis to increase their overall support for Iraq, Mr. Bush said Thursday. -- The president also said he had ordered senior American diplomats to the Middle East to meet leaders of Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and urge them to reopen their embassies in Baghdad, as Bahrain did recently." -- Ignore the story, just concentrate on what Bush did, not what he said. - mpg

Tehran keeps its options open
A quote...."Amid the avalanche of anti-Iran rhetoric reaching new heights, including the top US commander and US diplomat in Iraq accusing Tehran of "nefarious activities," US government officials have extended a tiny olive branch toward Iran by submitting a formal request for a fourth round of dialogue with Iran on the issue of Iraq's security."

Evil Iran, the new Al-Qaeda
War Warning - A quote....""Iraq and its costs", the op-ed published this Monday by the Wall Street Journal and authored by Senators Joe Lieberman (Independent, Connecticut) and Lindsey Graham (Republican, South Carolina)[1] is nothing short of alarming. Even more alarming than counterinsurgency ace General David Petraeus' show to the US Senate."

PJB: Petraeus Points to War With Iran
War Warning - A quote...."The neocons may yet get their war on Iran. -- Ever since President Nouri al-Maliki ordered the attacks in Basra on the Mahdi Army, Gen. David Petraeus has been laying the predicate for U.S. air strikes on Iran and a wider war in the Middle East."
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Regarding the four articles shown above, here's what would actually be said IF the truth were told during  Rice's upcoming meeting with the Iranians, using the correct vernacular for our Neocon'ing, PNAC'ing wealthy elites of course.

No doubt she'll say it a lot nicer.....

Lookie here Mr. Iran, we'ez gone an'set-up dem three thousand of our own kin folk wi'dem dare Saudiieeesss an'killed dem all, an'spent twenty years and gave billions of dollars to dem fundemenatlist christian/muslim wack-jobs for dis'here PNAC "thing" of ours, an'we ain't gonna let NOBODY mess it up....YU'ALL HEAR ME?! 

Dat dem dare Iraqi oil is OURS, OURS, OURS, an'when day sells it, day's gonna use OUR dollars, an'no one is gonna in-flu-enze dem'dare Iraqis, peaceable or udderwize to do diff'rent wi'out OUR SAY SO....YU'ALL GOTS DAT?

If we gotta lie about you like we did dem Iraqis wi'all'dat WMD crap, an get all dem presstitutin'ass-kissing dumb news flunkies to spread dat fertilizer all over da'place so we can kill millions of you low lifes w'our psycho boyz.....WE IZ GONNA DO IT!   So yu'all bett'r com'round to our way ol'thinking an'say all dat oil belongs to us, an'we can kill as many of dem "rag heads" in Iraq as we daaammmnn wells feel like....or we'ez gonna kill all of you....

....down to your last scrawny f-ck'n kid.  - mpg
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Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Friday round-up - 10 articles - [ Day 18 ]

Iraqi, U.S. troops accused of Sadr City attack
A quote..."BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN)  -- The office of Muqtada al-Sadr accused Iraqi and U.S. forces of attacking Sadr City on Friday, just hours after the Shiite cleric called for calm in the wake of the assassination of one of his top aides in the southern city of Najaf."

US airstrikes pound Sadr City
Video - A quote...."VOICE OF ZAA NKWETA: Five people died and four were injured in missile attacks by US helicopters in Sadr City. The US military said on Thursday that four gunmen were killed in a late-night strike by Hellfire missiles, targeting a group of men firing at troops who were putting up concrete barriers around a checkpoint. Iraqi police said two of the victims in that attack were brothers aged seven and nine, and residents claim nine other people were injured in the air strike."

13 killed as fighting rages in Baghdad
A quote...."US and Iraqi forces killed 13 people in firefights and airstrikes overnight in eastern Baghdad where security forces have been battling Shiite militiamen for a week, the military said Saturday."

Ex-CIA analyst on Petraeus and Cheney
Must View - Video - A quote...."Ray McGovern: Was Cheney behind Iraqi army's failed Basra offensive?" - -Regarding this video see....Paltry result of Iraqi [Nouri al-Maliki's and Cheney's] offensive quiets U.S. withdrawal talk - A Satirical Edit - See also....


Fury as aide to radical Iraq cleric shot dead
A quote...."NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) — Gunmen shot dead a top aide to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Iraq's holy city of Najaf on Friday, sparking fury among his followers and calls for calm from senior Sadrists."

Killing of key Al-Sadr aide sparks outrage
Video - A quote...."Najaf under curfew as supporters vent anger at police, politicians."

Making Perfunctory Preparations for Combat in Anti-American Cleric’s Stronghold
A quote...."BAGHDAD — The two Mahdi Army fighters shuffled across the sidewalk, dragging two heavy artillery shells that they laid horizontally in the middle of the Sadr City highway, placing them tip to end like rusting batteries in a pocket flashlight."

Iraq's local elections could reshape power structure
A quote...."BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iraq's provincial elections will be the battleground for a fierce power struggle among sectarian and ethnic parties that could redraw the country's political map. -- Iraqi officials predict violence will spike ahead of the October elections, which will be seen as a referendum on the performance of mainly Shi'ite and Kurdish parties who took part in the last provincial polls in January 2005."

Let Freedom Reign [sic]!
A quote...."....I believe the American forces can draw down. I don't believe the decision for a drawdown should be paused as long as Iraqi security forces -- based on the first agreement the more Iraqi forces move forward, the more U.S. forces move back until all security responsibilities are handed over and coalition forces remain in a support role. And in a support role, you don't need such a big number." -- *Al-Maliki* -- The author who wrote the article above is disturbed by the American faux-press's lack of comment regarding Maliki's statement that the American troops should leave as soon as possible.  A position which is directly apposed to Bush's and Petraeus's recent statements that the troops are there to stay.  The American press ignored Maliki's statement because they know he's completely irrelevant, the US will stay for the oil and the geostrategic position Iraq affords the US in the Middle East.  Maliki should have know that he would become an irrelevancy....it's what happens when you sell yourself to someone like Dick Cheney. - mpg

Chevron seeks contract with Iraq on oil field
Special Note - A quote...."Chevron Corp. confirmed Thursday that it is negotiating with the Iraqi government for a contract to help expand production at a major oil field near Basra." -- For more on this issue see....War Resource 9/11

Cheney's and Maliki's new war in Iraq - Friday round-up - [ Day 18 ]
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A disturbingly juvenile view of Islam
A quote...."The United States is a confused and frustrated country when it comes to dealing with the wide variety of voices and actions coming out of Islamic societies. -- Everywhere in the public sphere, discussions of foreign policy issues inevitably touch on how to deal with “Islamic extremism”, often revolving around the “terrorism” and “violence” of Hamas, Hizbollah, Iran, Moqtada Sadr and other such parties that the United States dislikes."

Troop levels reach record high in Afghanistan
A quote...."BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) — The 101st Airborne Division took command of American forces in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, helping to boost U.S. troop levels in the country to their highest number since the 2001 invasion."

Military Personnel Account for 20% of U.S. Suicides
A quote..."April 10 (Bloomberg) — Current and former military personnel accounted for about 20 percent of U.S. suicides in 2005, according to a government study." -- Swallowed by the chasm between what is said in this society, and what is actually done by this society. - mpg

Iran seeks quick SCO membership
A quote...."Iran calls for a shorter application process in order to become a permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)."  --  And we all know why, don't we? - mpg

Euro mantra undermines sanctions
A quote...."Go Dubai" is the first advice on Internet message boards by Chinese exporters laboring to work around sanctions, embargoes and blocked letters of credit (LCs) to get their products to Iran. -- Dubai's non-oil trade with China - 99% of it from China to the United Arab Emirates and ultimately destined for Iran and other countries in the Persian Gulf - had soared an astounding 47% in 2007, to a value of US$19 billion, virtually equal to the announced direct non-oil trade between China and Iran."

Europe Needs Iranian Gas
A quote...." TEHRAN (FNA)- Europe's hunger for natural gas and its lack of reliable suppliers is leading several countries to court Iran."

India to Help Modernize Iranian Rail Network
A quote...." TEHRAN (FNA)- India is likely to help Iran in modernization and expansion of its rail network.

Brazil is promoting South American Defence Council
A quote...."Brazil’s Minister of Defence Nelson Jobim announced visits to neighboring countries to promote the Brazilian initiative for a South American Defence Council. Addressing the Defence and Foreign Affairs committees of the Brazilian Congress Mr. Jobim said next Monday he would be traveling to Venezuela, Surinam and Guyana the first leg of the regional tour."

RIGHTS:  Guatemala Turns Deaf Ear to Inter-American Justice
A quote...."GUATEMALA CITY, Apr 11 (IPS) - Organisations that represent survivors and relatives of victims of Guatemala’s 1960-1996 civil war complained that the attorney general’s office has failed to fully comply with three resolutions handed down by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights."

African nations should nationalize oil: Venezuela
A quote...."DAKAR (Reuters) - African nations should follow Venezuela's lead and nationalize their energy and mining sectors to secure the resources to fight poverty, Venezuela's deputy foreign minister for Africa said on Friday."
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Guantanamo trial process unjust: defense attorney
A quote...."GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (AFP) — The lawyer of a Guantanamo detainee captured by US forces when he was 15 said Friday that the trial process at the US prison was inherently unjust and probably no detainee could be acquitted in a trial." -- See also....You Could be Held Liable

The Torture Drawings the Pentagon Doesn't Want You to See
A quote...."Drawings by journalist Sami Al-Haj depicting torture at Gitmo have been censored."

Yoo Disbarment Sought
A quote...."The National Lawyers' Guild has called for the disbarment of John Yoo, the former Justice Department attorney who authored the notorious "torture memorandum," used to justify the illegal imprisonment and maltreatment of prisoners held by American military authorities as "unlawful combatants."  Yoo, currently on the law faculty of the University of California at Berkeley, is guilty of "complicity in establishing the policy that led to the torture of prisoners," said Guild President Marjorie Cohn, who condemns Yoo as a war criminal.   The Guild, the nation's biggest public interest bar organization, is also demanding that the law school, known as Boalt Hall, fire Yoo, and that Congress repeal a law that purports to give him and other torturers immunity from prosecution."

Telecom Whistleblower Discovers Circuit that Allows Access to All Systems on Wireless Carrier—Phone Calls, Text Messages, Emails and More -- A quote...."Babak Pasdar is a computer security expert who was hired in 2003 to help restructure the tech infrastructure at a major wireless telecommunications company. What he found shocked him. The company had set up a system that gave a third party, presumably a governmental entity, access to every communication coming through that company’s infrastructure. This means every email, internet use, document transmission, video, text message, as well as the ability to listen to and record any phone call. [includes rush transcript]"  ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

AP Photog Still In U.S. Custody -- Despite Ordered Release
A quote...."NEW YORK The U.S. military will not release Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, held since 2006, unless its own review board approves the action, a spokesman said on Thursday according to Reuters."

Taco Bell, Wal-Mart, NRA hired 'black ops' company that targeted environmental groups
A quote..."A private security firm managed by former Secret Service officers spied on myriad environmental organizations throughout the 1990s and the year 2000, thieving documents, trying to plant undercover operations and collecting phone records of members, according to a new report."

'Deputized' Mercenaries Used To Train Local Police Officers
A quote...."There are many police and law enforcement officials who are concerned with the growing trend of using military-trained mercenaries to train and work with local police officers in the United States, but there are many who believe the events of September 11, 2001 dictate the need for a new paradigm."

NorthCom, Homeland Security Refine Relationship
A quote...."PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., April 10, 2008 – The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Northern Command plan to refine their existing intelligence relationship, a top DHS intelligence official said during a recent visit to NorthCom’s headquarters here."

More on Michael Mukasey's false 9/11 and FISA claims
A quote...."The San Francisco Chronicle became one of the few media outlets to report on the multiple false claims about 9/11 and FISA in Michael Mukasey's speech two weeks ago, as they adeptly summarized the key events in this article today. As the article, using the Lee Hamilton and other quotes reported here, put it: "It seemed like a sensational disclosure -- a phone call that, if traced and monitored, could have allowed authorities to thwart the attacks -- but it has proved difficult to verify." -- Also, Mukasey appeared yesterday before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee and was questioned on this matter by Pat Leahy:"
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An Economy Built On Lies
A quote...." Did you read it? If so, I hope you noticed this passage: ". . . shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both." -- Here is the inescapable reality: the Federal government let the subprime disaster build up for many years. This law was never enforced. No one in the entire government-insured scam worried about it. The bureaucrats were in on the deal from day one."

G-7, IMF, And World Bank To Meet Over The Weekend
A quote..."As Finance Ministers Convene Here, Multiple Crises Test Their Ability to Cope --  Financial markets are tumbling. The world economy is starting to sputter. Food prices have shot up so far, so fast, that there are riots in the streets of many poor nations. -- It's a hard time to be one of the masters of the global economy." -- However, they're the ones who created the whole mess in the first place.  Should we really trust them to solve it? - mpg

U.S. 2008 GDP Growth Estimate Ranks 177 Out of 181 by IMF [Hello Stagflation]
A quote...." IMF has done a great job making their website much more interactive, and they now offer their Data Mapper that maps out their global estimates for a number of economic indicators. Below is a screenshot of the Data Mapper showing the IMF's estimates for 2008 GDP growth across the globe. Check out the Mapper here."  --  Neo-Roman Empires can be soooooooooo expensive, can't they folks? - mpg

A new record for deficit dollars
A quote...."The Treasury Department reported Thursday that the deficit through the first six months of the budget year totaled $311.4 billion, up 20.5% from the same period a year ago. That was the largest [Federal] deficit for the first half of a budget year on record, surpassing the old six-month mark of $302 billion set in 2006." - bold by website editor.

Soros: USD Won't Be World's Reserve Currency
A quote...."At the age of 77, Mr. Soros, one the world’s most successful investors and richest men, leapt out of retirement last summer to safeguard his fortune and legacy. Alarmed by the unfolding crisis in the financial markets, he once again began trading for his giant hedge fund — and won big while so many others lost. -- Mr. Soros has always been a controversial figure. But he is becoming more so with a new, dire forecast for the world economy. Last week he rushed out a book, his 10th, warning that the financial pain has only just begun. -- “I consider this the biggest financial crisis of my lifetime,” Mr. Soros said during an interview Monday in his office overlooking Central Park. A “superbubble” that has been swelling for a quarter of a century is finally bursting, he said."

Consumer sentiment plunges to 26-year-low
A quote....."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Consumer sentiment sunk to its lowest level in 26 years in early April, according to a report on Friday from University of Michigan/Reuters, as worries about the economy, unemployment and inflation deflated hopes for future."

Frontier files for bankruptcy protection - [This is the fourth airliner to file for bankruptcy in the past sixty days]
A quote...."DENVER - Frontier Airlines sought bankruptcy protection Friday, the fourth carrier to do so over the past several weeks as exorbitant fuel prices eat into earnings and a weak U.S. economy keeps more people grounded."
See also....ATA Airlines grounded by bankruptcy & Skybus Airlines files for bankruptcy & Aloha Airlines files for bankruptcy

Australia: Families hit by rising bankruptcies and home repossessions
A quote...."An ABC “Four Corners” program recently broadcast on Australian television provided a timely insight into the desperate circumstances afflicting a growing number of ordinary Australians who are mired in debt and threatened with bankruptcy and the loss of their home. Entitled “Debtland” and produced by journalist Stephen Long, the program was aired on March 31 and focussed on the predatory lending practices pursued by banks and financial institutions."

India: Rising food prices thre