Thursday June 7th 2007

Democrats And Republicans: Two Peas In A Pod?
Must Read - A quote...."Success or failure in the war cannot be judged by the number of people killed, by the level of sectarian violence, by the increase or decrease of troop levels, or how long the US must remain in Iraq. It can be judged by one thing, in the long run, and that is-- did we get control of the oil or not."

"If we leave behind a democratic and prosperous Iraq with a free and happy people whose oil, however, remains owned and controlled by the Iraqi people themselves, then we have lost the war and all our sacrifice of troops and treasure will have been in vain."

"On the other hand, if we leave behind a destroyed wasteland with five times as many troops lost as we have lost to date, if we have to maintain garrisoned outposts, and most of the Iraqi people have fled or been killed, but the oil is now controlled by our big oil companies, then we shall [have] won a glorious victory."

Oil strikers surrounded by Iraqi troops, PM issued arrest warrants for the union leaders
Related articles - A quote...."WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) — On the third day of an oil strike in southern Iraq, the Iraqi military has surrounded oil workers and the prime minister has issued arrest warrants for the union leaders, sparking an outcry from supporters and international unions.
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Putin Calls Bush’s Bluff
Must Read - A quote...."For all the media claims that Putin and Bush smoothed things over by talking nicely at the G-8 summit, what in fact transpired was that Putin, with a very polite and gracious smile, put Bush on the spot, by proposing that the U.S. sight its interceptor system in Azerbaijan. After all, the former southern Soviet Republic is far closer to Iran, and better able to offer the protective shield to Europe, as well.  -  Bush was taken aback. He had told the Russians to be more helpful; to “participate” in the U.S. plan. And that’s exactly what Putin was doing. But, of course, sighting the missile interceptors on Russia’s southern front would make them entirely useless against Russian missiles fired westward. So what Putin has done is called the U.S. bluff on the real intention of the shield it plans to put in Poland and the Czech Republic."

Surprise, surprise.  Putin is beginning to learn from "our" elites how to "play the great game".  You see he's trying to be "helpful" to them by offering them a base in Azerbaijan.

That faint sound you're hearing emanating from the nether regions of the White House is Rove & Co. gnashing their collective teeth.  The poor little Rovian babies were so set on tarring Putin as the "uncooperative" always saying "nyet" overbearing, unpolished Russian at the G8 summit that they never saw this one coming.

Poor little rich kids, they made Bush look stupid......which come to think of it is pretty easy to do.

Putin however is one smart cookie. - mpg
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Lesson for the Next U.S. Leader: No One Likes a Bully
A quote...."Not being content with having set the Middle East ablaze, U.S. President George W. Bush now appears intent on rekindling the Cold War. American plans for a missile defense shield over Europe was a Cold War idea intended for Cold War purposes. Is it any wonder that Russia should so fiercely oppose it?  -  Once again this U.S. administration has misread the international mood. Surprising, considering that a Russia-expert is in charge of the State Department. Nevertheless, misread and miscalculate is what Washington has contrived to do, and now Bush is forced to act contritely even as Russia's President Vladimir Putin is bullish."

By the way that so-called "Russia-expert" is none other than "Calamity Condi", which should surprise no one. - mpg
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A Republican State Party Chairman Wishes More Terrorist Attacks on U.S. to Prove George W. Bush "Right"
A quote....

"At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001], and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country,"    -    Dennis Milligan - Chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party

Don't worry Dennis....Bush and the Neocons are well aware that another "New Pearl Harbor" event is in the works  right now.  -  mpg

See also....PNAC and the NEOCONs: wanted a new Pearl Harbor - (Google - 3 min 31 sec - added Feb 25, 2006)
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9/11 - From The History File...White House Accused Of Halting 911 Commission
The 9/11 Commission
Family members demand answers from 9/11 commission
White House Stalling 9-11 Commission, Wants Control of Chair
The 9/11 Commission Avoids the Hard Questions
Articles & Essays: Bush Obstructs Investigation Into 9-11 Attack
Bush Opposes 9/11 Query Panel
Reluctant Witnesses
Kissinger resigns as head of 9/11 commission
Is the 9/11 commission too soft?

Barry Zwicker: NORAD on 9/11: what was the U.S. military doing that day?
(YouTube - 11 min 42 sec - Added:  February 24, 2006)
FBI: high level 9/11 questions: blocking or ignoring the warnings
(YouTube - 4 min 11 sec - Added:  Feb. 24, 2006)
Barry Zwicker: historical precedents: numerous documented
(YouTube - 7 min 45 sec - Added:  February 24, 2006)
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The Real Reason for Bush’s Invasion of Iraq Is a National Security Secret
A quote...."American soldiers have been fighting and dying in Iraq since 2003, and Americans do not know why.  -  All the reasons President Bush gave us for his war are false. Bush said he invaded Iraq "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people."  -  We now know that these were false claims. Disinformation about Iraq was produced by a special unit within the Pentagon run by Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and Feith. The unit operated outside the normal intelligence channels of the CIA and DIA. Its purpose was to create false intelligence to enable Bush to initiate war with Iraq."

In Iraq's four-year looting frenzy, the allies have become the vandals
A quote...."Yesterday Hussaini reported to the British Museum on his struggles to protect his work in a state of anarchy. It was a heart breaking presentation. Under Saddam you were likely to be tortured and shot if you let someone steal an antiquity; in today's Iraq you are likely to be tortured and shot if you don't. The tragic fate of the national museum in Baghdad in April 2003 was as if federal troops had invaded New York city, sacked the police and told the criminal community that the Metropolitan was at their disposal. The local tank commander was told specifically not to protect the museum for a full two weeks after the invasion. Even the Nazis protected the Louvre."

For more on this see....The Method - 05-07-07 - mpg
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CIA running black propaganda operation against Iran, Syria and Lebanon, officials say
A quote...."The Central Intelligence Agency has received approval at least twice in the last several years to conduct an “information war” against several countries in the Middle East, including Iran, Lebanon and Syria, according to current and former intelligence officials.  -  In addition, the Bush Administration has been running operations out of the Defense Department that are not subject to Congressional oversight, intelligence sources say. These programs appear murkier, and have included support for an alleged terrorist group in Iran."

For more on this see....Fake Intel
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Secret CIA prisons confirmed by Polish and Romanian officials
A quote...."The CIA operated secret prisons in Europe where terrorism suspects could be interrogated and were allegedly tortured, an official inquiry will conclude tomorrow."
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CIA-assisted plot to overthrow Laos government foiled; former Air America/CIA asset Vang Pao arrested

A quote...."Vang Pao, prominent Laotian exile leader and legendary CIA asset during the CIA’s clandestine Indochinese wars of the 1960s and 1970s was among 10 men arrested Monday, and accused of plotting a catastrophic military strike against the Laotian government using mercenary forces.  -  According to US attorney Bob Twiss, the ten individuals are the plot leaders, but “thousands of co-conspirators remain at large, many in other countries.”

More on the CIA / Laos coup plot. -  mpg

See also....10 men accused of plotting coup in Laos
See also....CIA-assisted plot to overthrow Laos foiled  -  Former Air America/CIA asset Vang Pao arrested
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Habeas Corpus
A Right That Cannot be Given or taken Away
06-07-07
mpg

Senate Judiciary Committee Votes to Restore Habeas
A quote...."The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act, legislation that would allow prisoners to ask a judge to review the legality of their detentions through a writ of habeas corpus. The right of habeas corpus has existed for centuries to protect individuals from wrongful detentions by the executive, but has been trampled by the Bush administration under the leadership of Alberto Gonzales and Donald Rumsfeld."

A) Bush will just veto it anyway even if it passes both houses and - B) NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO - NOR CAN THEY - TAKE HABEAS CORPUS AWAY FROM ANYBODY !   If the authorities can't "produce the body" i.e. show the evidence (in a court of law) for why they've arrested or incarcerated someone....everything they say or do from that point on is pure fiction, a lie, a fable, a fantasy, not supported by the facts.

Whatever they say is a complete figment of their fevered imaginations.

As such everything done without Habeas Corpus is in fact, null and void.  The authorities by negating Habeas Corpus are stating that they have no proof to support their actions and accusations and that they are willfully going to refuse to provide any.  All actions they take against any individual from that moment on should be considered a crime…all their actions have to be treated as unlawful incarceration, assault, battery and murder.

For the authorities to say "we're taking away Habeas Corpus" is the exact equivalent of them saying "we're about to take actions which will not be supported by any evidence or facts, nor any moral or legal code.  We intend to become criminals with NO justification for what we're about to do."

The "Senate" or "Government" CANNOT "give" these rights back to a person...nor can they "take them away" in the first place,  for they are inherent in natural law.  Either the authorities provide evidence for their actions or they don't.  Either they are engaging in lawful conduct or they are not.  Either this natural right has been codified by a law abiding society….or it has not.

All the Senate Judiciary Committee has done by their approval of this piece of legislation is state they want the Armed Forces and the Executive Branch of the United States to cease engaging in unlawful and criminal behavior....that's all - mpg
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Priests Face Prison for Exposing Torture in Arizona
A quote...."Two Roman Catholic priests, Jesuit Fr. Steve Kelly and Franciscan Fr. Louie Vitale, are willing to go to prison to expose the fact that young soldiers at Fort Huachuca are being trained to torture. Further, one of those young soldiers has already committed suicide after going into the prisoners' cages as an interrogator in northern Iraq  -  At the time of their arrest, Kelly, 58, and Vitale, 74, sought to deliver a letter to the military commander at Fort Huachuca. When they were halted, they knelt in prayer and were arrested."

Chiquita Named in Colombian Murder Suit
A quote...."Family members of people killed by militant groups in Colombia sued Chiquita Brands International on Thursday, accusing the banana company of sponsoring terrorism.  -  The lawsuit, filed anonymously by family members of 144 victims, follows the company's admission in March that for years it paid Colombian terrorists to protect its most profitable banana-growing operation."

The Lesser of Two Evils Rarely Is
A quote...."In 2008, Americans will go to the polls, hold their noses with one hand and with their other hand either punch holes in cards or tap computer screens. They will vote for the lesser of two evils. This unhappy condition is the outcome of decades of campaign reform laws passed by incumbent politicians who wrote the reform laws so that they could remain incumbent, which they generally did. This is the politics of political action committees, huge bankrolls for media ad purchases, and spinmeisters.  -  Only a terminally naïve voter expects to see much good come out of a Presidential election. He hopes only that the worst outcome will not result.  -  Hope springs eternal. That’s the problem with hope. It keeps springing because it rarely comes true."

Pakistan’s US-backed dictator lashes out
A quote...."An air of violence and desperation surrounds Pakistan’s US-backed military regime.  -  Having failed to intimidate the populace by orchestrating violent attacks in Karachi on the weekend of May 12-13 that left more than 40 people dead, the regime of General Pervez Musharraf has lashed out with new repressive measures and threats. These include “preventative arrests” and a raft of regulations aimed at intimidating the press and silencing dissent."

Turkish Force of 250,000 Set for Kurds
A quote...." WASHINGTON — American diplomats are quietly urging the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq to take steps that would help ease the alarm over the Turkish troops amassed on Iraq's border."

Fatah seeks weapons deal with Israel
A quote...."Security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are seeking Israeli permission to import anti-tank missiles, grenades and other weapons to shore them up in their battle against Hamas, Israeli and Palestinian security officials said yesterday."

Putin's popularity
A quote...."Russian president, Vladimir Putin's threat to point his military's nuclear missiles at European cities if US president, George Bush, extends the present California-Alaska anti-missile defence line to Poland and the Czech Republic, is the latest example of the Kremlin's growing confidence."
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Morgan Stanley issues triple sell warning on equities
War Alert - Morgan Stanley has advised clients to slash exposure to the stock market after its three key warning indicators began flashing a "Full House" sell signal for the first time since the dotcom bust.  -  Morgan Stanley has advised clients to slash exposure to the stock market after its three key warning indicators began flashing a sell signal  -  Teun Draaisma, chief of European equities strategist for the US investment bank, said the triple warning was a "very powerful" signal that had been triggered just five times since 1980."

Why is this a War Alert?  See....Effective Fed Funds Rate 03-24-07 - mpg

Website author's standard disclaimer - this is NOT to be taken as a market recommendation, just an observation.  Keep in mind the US economy is roughly 13 to 15 trillion dollars in GDP per year while the world's derivatives market is now anywhere between 300 to 500 trillion dollars in notational value, possibly even more. Most of it controlled by the centralized financial institutions and elites that currently run our government.  With such vast leverage they could mask, manipulate, or resist market forces for years. Also keep in mind "Helicopter Bernanke" can always drop the interest rates, although this may negatively affect the dollars value - the powers that be really don't seem to care anymore. -  However it does appear that they are running out of maneuvering room at the end of this abbreviated ten year cycle of military Keynesianism, with the resultant increased strains on the US's financial system.  As such, a sudden "shift" or "adjustment" could occur at any time as this shortened "ten year cycle" winds down to its inevitable close. – mpg
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Argentina: 13 years of pension “reform” boosts profits, impoverishes older workers
A quote...."At the beginning of the 1990s, following the dictates of the international financial agencies, principally the World Bank and the IMF, some Latin American countries began an overhaul of their social security systems for retired workers. The principal justification for these social security “reforms” was the growth of public deficits, which left governments incapable of expanding their investments in basic infrastructure.  -  In Argentina, this reform was carried out in 1994 by then-President Carlos Menem. The result, while pleasing the mandarins of the IMF, was a disaster for the Argentine population."
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Wednesday June 6th 2007

The Thirteen Stars and Stripes: An Expatriate's Alarm
Must Read - A quote...."06/06/07 "ICH" -- - I grew up scorning politics, ignoring their local, state and federal manifestations for years. The assassinations of JFK, MLK and RFK jolted me, but I was too young to respond in any practical way, though I remember vividly being plunged into a transient despair about our country which was accompanied by a fear of traveling over bridges. The Vietnam War, which I was very fortunate enough to elude solely by dint of age, was an abstraction despite my knowing several neighbors who served there. It was, surprisingly enough perhaps, only through psychoanalysis that awareness of the importance of political man began to dawn and a portal into the machinations of state opened. Nonetheless I considered my fibers to be imbued with the spirit of the principles upon which America was founded and declared and which set us apart from all of history. "

Why Being “Worst President Ever” Is Not Enough
A quote...."At this point many readers will recoil at the suggestion that the United States can be compared in any way to Nazi Germany. This attitude cannot possibly be healthy for the United States. It suggests that as long as we stay beneath the threshold of the freight cars and the gas chambers then we can safely ignore all similarities. Only by continuing to compare and evaluate our actions against the Nazi’s can we insure that we do not degrade ourselves to their moral level." - bold/italics by website author.

Thirty nine people said to have 'disappeared' in US custody
A quote...."WASHINGTON, June 6 — Six human rights groups on Wednesday released a list of 39 people they believe have been secretly imprisoned by the United States and whose whereabouts are unknown, calling on the Bush administration to abandon such detentions." - bold/italics by website author.

It’s Time to Shut down the U.N.
Must Read - A quote...." 06/06/07 "ICH" -- -- We should all be grateful that the United Nations has decided to investigate the assassination of Rafik Hariri. The decision moves the UN one step closer to its final destruction, which would be the best possible outcome.  -  The United Nations is a fraud. It’s little more than a rubber stamp for US-Israeli aggression. No one is fooled by the UN’s “democratic” pretensions or the Secretary-General’s lofty-sounding rhetoric. The UN serves the exclusive interests of western, white elites. Period. It is basically an annex of the US federal government---another inconsequential bureau whose main purpose is to lend international legitimacy to America's war-mongering."

If You Think Bush Is Evil Now, Wait Until He Nukes Iran
A quote...." 06/06/07 "ICH  " -- -- The war in Iraq is lost. This fact is widely recognized by American military officers and has been recently expressed forcefully by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of US forces in Iraq during the first year of the attempted occupation. Winning is no longer an option. Our best hope, Gen. Sanchez says, is “to stave off defeat,” and that requires more intelligence and leadership than Gen. Sanchez sees in the entirety of our national political leadership: “I am absolutely convinced that America has a crisis in leadership at this time.”

Libertarian Conference on War and Liberty - Shaming the Official Antiwar Movement
A quote...."Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties," was the title of a three-day conference hosted last weekend by the Future of Freedom Foundation (www.fff.org), a Libertarian outfit in northern Virginia. It was remarkable in many respects. There seemed to be more attendants from "red" states than blue, and the critique of the war was unsparing."

Some democracy, America
A quote...."it is now plain for all to see that misrepresentative government and corporatism has oppressed American citizenry to the extent that their democracy has become nothing more than a corporate theocracy, a fascist feudal state in which “the serfs” serve the corporate state as voiceless workers, voracious consumers, submissive citizens and pliant subjects."

Republican presidential candidates back nuclear strike against Iran
A quote...."Nine of ten candidates for the Republican presidential nomination explicitly or tacitly supported a US attack on Iran using nuclear weapons, in response to a question at Tuesday night’s nationally televised debate in New Hampshire.  -  Despite the extraordinary character of these declarations—giving support to the first use of nuclear weapons in war since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 62 years ago—there was virtually no US press coverage of these remarks and no commentary on their significance."

Iraqi Troops Face Off Against Striking Oil Workers
A quote...."On the third day of an oil strike in southern Iraq, the Iraqi military has surrounded oil workers and the prime minister issued arrest warrants for the union leaders, sparking an outcry from supporters and international unions.  -  "This will not stop us because we are defending people's rights," said Hassan Jumaa Awad, president of IFOU. As of Wednesday morning, when United Press International spoke to Awad via mobile phone in Basra at the site of one of the strikes, no arrests had been made, "but regardless, the arrest warrant is still active." He said the "Iraqi Security Forces," who were present at the strike scenes, told him of the warrants and said they would be making any arrests."

Rebellion in the British Army
A quote...."An experienced British officer serving in Iraq has written to the BBC describing the invasion as "illegal, immoral, and unwinnable," which, he says, is "the overwhelming feeling of many of my peers." In a letter to the BBC's Newsnight and MediaLens.org he accuses the media's "embedded coverage with the U.S. Army" of failing to question "the intentions and continuing effects of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation." He says most British soldiers regard their tours as "loathsome," during which they "reluctantly [provide] target practice for insurgents, senselessly hemorrhaging casualties and squandering soldiers' lives, as part of Bush's vain attempt to delay the inevitable Anglo-U.S. rout until after the next U.S. election." He appeals to journalists not to swallow "the official line/White House propaganda."

US missiles hit Russia where it hurts
A quote...."One does not need the clairvoyant gnome Oskar Matzerath in Guenter Grass's allegorical novel The Tin Drum to scream and tell us in a voice that can break thick glass jars that looking from Germany's Baltic resort of Heiligendamm, where the annual Group of Eight summit commenced on Wednesday, that the horizons to the east of the Vistula are getting very dark, heavy with storm clouds. "

See also....US Missiles in Europe: Beyond Deterrence to First-Strike Threat
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CIA-assisted plot to overthrow Laos foiled  -  Former Air America/CIA asset Vang Pao arrested
A quote...."Vang Pao, prominent Laotian exile leader and legendary CIA asset during the CIA’s clandestine Indochinese wars of the 1960s and 1970s was among 10 men arrested on June 4, 2007, and accused of plotting a catastrophic military strike against the Laotian government using mercenary forces. According to US attorney Bob Twiss, the ten individuals are the plot leaders, but “thousands of co-conspirators remain at large, many in other countries.”

 The Unholy Desire of Christians to Legitimize Killing in War
A quote...."It is bad enough to hear the Bush Administration, the neocons, the Randians, most Republicans in Congress, the right-wing talk show hosts, and some assorted libertarians still defend the war in Iraq, but it is even worse when Christians do the same.  -  Never at any time in history have so many conservative, evangelical Christians held such unholy opinions.  -  The adoration that many of these Christians have toward President Bush is unholy. The association of many of these Christians with the Republican Party is unholy. The alliance between evangelical Christianity and the military is unholy. The idolatry that many of these Christians manifest toward the state is unholy. But what continues to amaze me the most is the unholy desire on the part of many of these Christians to legitimize killing in war."

With an Empire to Build, Who Needs an Iraqi Parliament?
A quote...."Over the last few weeks, Iraq coverage in the U.S. media has focused on funding. On May 1, Bush vetoed the Iraq spending supplemental because it would necessitate an “artificial withdrawal.” Then last week, Democrats, while simultaneously declaring victory, caved in to Bush’s aggression and provided more war-funding than he requested. Congress’ lone requirement was mandating benchmarks for the Iraqi government, however, the funds will be available regardless of Iraqi governmental performance. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continued the anti-war rhetoric, saying “I think the president’s policy is going to unravel now,” but the words seem empty."

Second female Afghan journalist killed in five days
A quote...."A prominent female Afghan journalist has been gunned down inside her home near Kabul, the second such slaying in five days. - Unidentified gunmen fired seven bullets into Zakia Zaki, head of a local radio station, as she slept with her eight-month old son last night. She died instantly."

Iraqi group says reaches ceasefire with al Qaeda
A quote...."DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iraqi militant group said on Wednesday it has reached a ceasefire deal with Iraq's wing of al Qaeda to end clashes between the two Sunni insurgent groups waging a violent campaign against U.S.-led forces in Iraq."

Another Middle East war erupts Wednesday as 50,000 Turkish troops launch operation against Kurdish PKK bases, several thousand crossing into N. Iraq - A quote...."The official Turkish news agency Cihan reports the force, backed by armored vehicles and combat aircraft, is targeting rebel strongholds in 11 provinces in southeastern Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan Wednesday, June 6.  -  White House officials speaking from the G8 summit in Germany said there was “no new activity” from Turkish troops in northern Iraq. Military HQ in Ankara declined to confirm or deny that Turkish troops had entered Iraq.  -  DEBKAfile’s military sources report that this is only the first wave of Turkish invaders, with more to come. A Turkish force of 90,000 troops has been massed at the sourthern town of Sirank opposite the meeting point of the Turkish, Iraqi and Syrian borders, drawing a warning to Ankara from US defense secretary Robert Gates to stay out of Iraq."
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The Eighth Front
A quote...."A hot eighth front may have just opened up in the kaleidoscopic Iraq War, which appears to be gradually fulfilling its potential for unravelling the entire Middle East as it was constituted by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 in the aftermath of WW I."


Mind you that's just the Iraq war, there's also the DemoRepubs and Israel inspired civil war in Gaza and the West Bank between the Palestinian’s Fatah and Hamas factions.  The DemoRepubs and Saudi Royal's support for Fatah al Islam, which is causing such a ruckus in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon, The DemoRepubs support of the PKK (which got the Turks so upset), MEK and the Jundullah guerilla groups against Iran. The DemoRepubs support of Somalia warlords in that country’s civil war. Not to mention their ongoing encouragement of the Saudi Royals to continue their financing of al Qaeda affiliated Whahabist/Sunni groups. In addition the US is currently supporting the present occupation of Afghanistan, a possible Israel attack against Syria, Pakistan's ongoing crackdown against the Taliban and the ethnic Pushtons in that country which is threatening to tear Pakistan apart.....and of course the DemoRepubs are contemplating a nuclear strike against Iran.


The DemoRepub's PNAC plan of "constructive instability" is still on track. - mpg
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Oil rises on report of Turkish troops in Iraq
A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose above $71 a barrel on Wednesday after news Turkish troops conducted operations in northern Iraq rekindled concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East."

Brothers in Arms: Bandar Bush Took a Billion in Bribes to Push UK Weapons Deal
A quote...."So says the Guardian, which has had a sneak peek at the evidence compiled by Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in its lengthy investigation of vast corruption in a decades-long arms deal between Saudi Arabia and the Anglo-American arms merchant, BAE, Tony Blair's favorite war profiteer. The SFO's probe was preemptorily quashed by Blair's ever quiescent attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, last December. Now the Guardian has learned that BAE paid a quarterly bribe to Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud-- long-time ambassador to the United States, and so intimate with America's ruling family that the president nicknamed him "Bandar Bush." BAE was plying Prince Bush with $30 million every quarter -- for ten years. Nice work if you can get it."

Official: Cheney Urged Wiretaps
A quote...."Vice President Cheney told Justice Department officials that he disagreed with their objections to a secret surveillance program during a high-level White House meeting in March 2004, a former senior Justice official told senators yesterday.  -  The meeting came one day before White House officials tried to get approval for the same program from then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, who lay recovering from surgery in a hospital, according to former deputy attorney general James B. Comey."

Last Plamegate Worry for Bush-Cheney
A quote..."It’s a well-worn talking point for George W. Bush’s supporters to say there was no underlying crime beneath former White House aide I. Lewis Libby’s conviction for obstructing justice, a debatable point itself. But the evidence is clear there was a larger cover-up conspiracy – and it could still unravel."
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"....Nothing Lasts Forever 9/11"
Part 1 - (YouTube - 7 min 22 sec - Added:  May 08, 2007)
Part 2 - (YouTube - 9 min 59 sec - Added:  May 08, 2007)
Part 3 - (YouTube - 9 min 59 sec - Added:  May 08, 2007)
Part 4 - (YouTube - 9 min 54 sec - Added:  May 08, 2007)
A quote...."911 iraq oil petrodollar euro war lies iran 9/11 funny explosions bombs demolition 911 conspiracy truth twin towers muslim christian religion war terror middle east Israel Palestine Islam West"

Editors Note : The "physical theories" are not discussed on this website, but items will be posted regarding them.

See also....9/11 & It's Fallout - Videos
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Criminal Indictments Sought Against Police, Giuliani Staffers Who Had Reporter Arrested For Asking Question
A quote...."Matt Lepacek, the reporter who was kicked out of the CNN press room and arrested after asking Rudy Giuliani's staff a question, has now been released on bail. Criminal indictments are now being pursued against the police involved as well as Giuliani's staffers for their flagrant abuse of the First Amendment, assault and wrongful arrest."

The State shall not participate in the implementation of the federal REAL ID Act
A quote...."The State shall not participate in the implementation of the federal REAL ID Act  -  June 6, 2007 – South Carolina is on the verge of passing one of the nation’s most aggressive opposition laws to the federal REAL ID Act.  S 449 passed the South Carolina Senate earlier this legislative session.  It went to the South Carolina House of Representatives where it passed last week...." 

Woman Arrested For Staring At Police Dog
A quote...."CHELSEA – A woman facing jail time for "staring" at a police dog had charges against her dropped Monday after an Orange County prosecutor viewed videotape of the alleged crime.  -  Jayna Hutchinson, now of Lebanon, N.H., was scheduled for a jury trial this week on a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals.  -  A Vermont State Police sergeant said Hutchinson was intoxicated and stared at his police dog in a "taunting/harassing manner" last July while officers were in the process of investigating a reported melee outside a West Fairlee establishment."

This country really is going to the dogs. - mpg
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The Petro Dollar,Iraq,Oil and Bush - (YouTube - 9 min 52 sec - Added:  May 27, 2007) - posted at ICH
Must View - A quote...."Hussein was selling Iraq's oil in EUROS,the U.S. invaded to take control of the oil to sell in U.S. Dollars"

Syria Dumps US Dollar Peg As Global Confidence In Greenback Falls
A quote...."Why is the dollar falling? You could write a whole book about that. In fact, my colleagues Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin did! They called it “Empire of Debt,” and showed how the US government, through the management of its currency and its balance sheet, has completely undermined global confidence in the dollar."

See also....Oman opts out of single Gulf currency
See also....Kuwait drops dollar peg in blow to Gulf currency union
See also....Iran planning to stop using U.S. dollar to price oil, central bank governor says
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An Open Letter to Libertarian Activists
Must Read - A quote...."Dear Libertarians,"

"I sincerely appreciate the passion and sincerity you exhibit in your endeavors, and that is why I’d like to bring up a few points to your attention. These comments originate in my recent exposure to a very large number of posts commenting primarily on an article on the Thomas Paine’s Corner blog of Cyrano’s Journal, Annals of Stupidity: The Demise of Alexander Cockburn, by Gerald Rellick."
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Global warming 'is three times faster than worst predictions'
A quote...." Global warming is accelerating three times more quickly than feared, a series of startling, authoritative studies has revealed.  -  They have found that emissions of carbon dioxide have been rising at thrice the rate in the 1990s. The Arctic ice cap is melting three times as fast - and the seas are rising twice as rapidly - as had been predicted."

Tuesday June 5th 2007

Apartheid by any other name is still: Apartheid
Must Read - A quote...."An apartheid society is much more than just a ‘settler colony’. It involves specific forms of oppression that actively strip the original inhabitants of any rights at all, whereas civilian members of the invader caste are given all kinds of sumptuous privileges." [1]

Boycotting Israeli Apartheid Back on the Agenda
A quote...."The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) salutes the historic decision by the University and College Union (UCU) Congress today to support motions that endorse the logic of academic boycott against Israel, in response to the complicity of the Israeli academy in perpetuating Israel’s illegal military occupation and apartheid system."

Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth about Global Corruption
Must Hear - Interview with John Perkins - Audio & Transcript - "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 U.S. government and corporations -- what he calls the “corporatocracy.”

Toll hits 108 in deadliest internal strife in Lebanon since civil war
A quote...."BEIRUT (AFP) - One hundred and eight people have been killed in 16 days of fighting between the army and Islamist extremists in Lebanon, military and hospital sources said Monday."
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U.S. doubles air attacks in Iraq
A quote...."BAGHDAD -- Four years into the war that opened with "shock and awe," U.S. warplanes have again stepped up attacks in Iraq, dropping bombs at more than twice the rate of a year ago.  -  The airpower escalation parallels a nearly four-month-old security crackdown that is bringing 30,000 additional U.S. troops into Baghdad and its surroundings - an urban campaign aimed at restoring order to an area riven with sectarian violence."

See also.......The Air War in Iraq Uncovered
An Increasingly Aerial Occupation
The Secret Air War Over Iraq
Bombs Over Cambodia: New Light on US Air War
Hidden in Plane Sight: U.S. Media Dodging Air War in Iraq
US forces step up Iraq airstrikes
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Number of Iraqi displaced tops 4.2 million; shanty towns mushroom
A quote...."GENEVA, June 5 (UNHCR) – The situation in Iraq continues to worsen, with more than 2 million Iraqis now believed to be displaced inside the country and another 2.2 million sheltering in neighbouring states. Calls for increased international support for governments in the region have so far brought few results, and access to social services for Iraqis remains limited. Most of the burden is being carried by Jordan and Syria."

Regarding the two articles shown above, see....The Method - 05-07-07 - mpg
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Iraq: Yes, Rambo, you get to win this time
A quote...."If there's one group that knew a thing or two about the acquisition and maintenance of political power, it would have been Ingsoc, the dictatorial power elite (its name a bastardization of "English socialism") from George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. "Who controls the past," Ingsoc told its cadres, "controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past."  -  What this meant was that, if you had a governing elite or ideology  -  that felt it lacked the requisite historical legitimacy to rule, all you had to do was go back and change the historical record to one that better suited the elite's current needs.

Congressman Kucinich to Receive Statement By Oil Workers Union on U.S. Govmnt's Role in Privatizing Iraqi Oil
A quote...."Two top leaders in Iraq's labor movement, Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, President of the Electrical Utility Workers Union and Faleh Abood Umara, General Secretary of the Iraq Federation of Oil Unions, will begin a 12-city U.S. tour, which concludes in Atlanta on June 29. They will describe the likely consequences if the occupation continues, what might occur if it ends and prospects for a stable, democratic, non-sectarian future for Iraq."

Tomgram: Robert Dreyfuss, The Pentagon's Blank Check
A quote....".....since September 12th, 2001, defense spending has simply exploded. For 2008, the Bush administration is requesting a staggering $650 billion, compared to the already staggering $400 billion the Pentagon collected in 2001. Even subtracting the costs of the ongoing "Global War on Terrorism" -- which is what the White House likes to call its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- for FY 2008, the Pentagon will still spend $510 billion. In other words, even without the President's two wars, defense spending will have nearly doubled since the mid-1990s."

The Power Crisis Mythology
A quote...."Spectrolab, Inc., a subsidiary of Boeing, has developed a solar cell technology that has a conversion efficiency of 40.7%. They accomplished this with a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  -  The annual budget of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory: $210 million  -  The cost of America’s war in Iraq per day: $300 million  -  The U.S. spends more on the war in Iraq in one day (about $300 million) than it does on the ANNUAL BUDGET for the primary government laboratory that is tasked with renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. As absurd as that is, a recipient of a grant from this lab has developed a 40% efficient solar cell."

Internet Doomsday Creeps Closer
A quote...."Recent proposals in the U.S. Congress are taking a huge swipe at freedom in America once again by aiming to impose multiple different forms of crippling taxation and restriction on users of the internet.

See also....The Last Bastion of Freedom is Falling - 05-29-06 - mpg
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U.S. and Venezuela Clash at OAS Meeting
Must Read - Some quotes...."In her speech on Monday at the 37th General Assembly of the Organization of Americas States, Rice requested that General Secretary of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza, travel to Venezuela to make a report about Chavez’s decision to not renew the broadcast license of RCTV"  -  "Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro responded to Rice's statement declaring that "the intervention of the United States representative constitutes an unacceptable intervention in the internal affairs of a democratic, sovereign republic." - "Maduro also made reference to the violation of human rights that takes place in the military base of Guantanamo, Cuba. "How many prisoners do you have in the Guantanamo prison, we ask the government of the United States. How many are there? Who are they? Do they have the right to a trial? Where did you kidnap them from? Do they have due process? Men and women, without a face, without a name, kidnapped,"

Rice actually got up and WALKED OUT OF THE MEETING, in an obvious display of petulant, childish, immaturity.  Obviously she can dish it out but the poor thing can't take it when it's dished right back.

It's a national disgrace that this Neocon sycophant is Secretary of State to this nation.  No doubt when describing the incident to the press she'll use her well founded penchant for mendacity and suggest she was late for a meeting or some other inanity.

It really is a crying shame this incompetent woman is our nation's representative to the international community. - mpg
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Venezuela keeps regional rights seat in blow to U.S.
A quote...."PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Venezuela held onto its seat on a Pan-American human rights commission on Tuesday in a blow to U.S. diplomacy a day after the countries traded barbs over media freedom and the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay."
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The JFK “plot”: another grossly inflated threat
Must Read - A quote...."The weekend’s news in the US was dominated by screaming headlines and sensationalist broadcast coverage of an alleged plot in New York to blow up John F. Kennedy International Airport’s jet fuel tanks and supply lines. The attack would have been, according to many accounts, “more devastating than September 11.”

For more on this see article below - posted 06-02-07

Feds arrest 3 in alleged JFK airport terror plot
OH MY GAWD !!! - The terrorists are out to get us all, admittedly "the plot never got past the planning stages" and "officials told NBC News the alleged conspirators never acquired explosives, never had a definitive plan, and no attack was ever imminent. In fact, two federal officials described the group as long on anger but short on everything else. authorities said." and "the alleged mastermind of the plot, looked for others to work with him and that one of the first people he turned to, unbeknownst to him, was an FBI informant. So, officials say, the FBI has been aware of the plot since its earliest stages." just like all them other plots. (except for 9/11 of course).

Imagine that of all the people in the world, "one of the first people he [the mastermind] turned to" was an FBI informant.  Can you believe that, the way it keeps happening over and over and over again?  How these plots seem to start just as an FBI informant is there "to turn to".

WOW ain't those FBI guys really, prescient - to see the future through their magical crystal ball and be there BEFORE THE PLOTS ARE EVEN HATCHED!!

Dang they’re so smart! - mpg

For more on this see....The Uses of Fear - 11-11-06 - mpg
And....[JFK] - Terror plot suspect worked for the CIA's airline
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9/11 - From The History File...The failure of government
Bin Laden underwent treatment in July at Dubai American Hospital: reports
The Role of Pakistan's Military Intelligence (ISI) in the September 11 Attacks
The 9/11 Commission Report: A 571-Page Lie
NORAD exercise had jet crashing into building
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Tomgram: De la Vega, Has Libby Learned Nothing?
A quote...."If the memorandum filed by defense attorneys in anticipation of former top White House adviser I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's June 5th sentencing is any indication, it appears that Libby -- one of the highest White House officials ever convicted of a felony -- has learned precisely nothing from his trial and conviction on charges of false statements, obstruction of justice, and perjury."

Bear Baiting
A quote...."Who lost Russia? This may be one of the questions of the decade if relations continue their downhill slide.  -  Today, as Condoleeza Rice flies to Moscow for talks with President Putin, a Washington Times story, datelined Tiblisi, begins, “Emboldened by its growing alliance with the United States, Georgia is increasing pressure on two separatist territories that have bedeviled it since it gained independence from the Soviet Union.”

The Russian Bear Awakes
Related article - A quote...."PARIS – As Washington and Moscow exchange increasingly angry accusations and rebukes these recent weeks, it is hard to avoid a sense of Cold War déjà vu."

Responding to China’s Charm Offensive
Some quotes...."In a short period of time, Beijing has proven that it can shift its foreign policy quickly and woo the world, often focusing on countries America has alienated."   -  "China also, however, may not be able to build its soft power indefinitely. As we have seen, greater familiarity with China will expose many countries to the People’s Republic’s flaws."

China unveils climate change plan
A quote...."China's new national plan on climate change offered few new targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but outlined how it intended to meet the goals it has already set, analysts say.  -  This includes the use of more wind, nuclear and hydro power as well as making coal-fired plants more efficient, the document outlined.  -  But it also stressed that the country's first priority remained "sustainable development and poverty eradication."

Airbus head sees brighter skies ahead
A quote...."Struggling European aircraft maker Airbus is now looking at brighter skies thanks to rapid strides in the application of a restructuring plan and a possible new order for its A350, the head of the company said."

International Monetary Fund offers advice on Swiss financial stability
There can be only one thought when reading this headline.....After two hundred years of being Europe's bankers Switzerland is about to commit monetary and financial suicide. - mpg

Huge algae blooms turn Hong Kong's sea red
A quote...."Huge blooms of algae turned some of the sea around Hong Kong red on Tuesday, forcing the authorities to shut beaches and warn against swimming."

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Monday June 4th 2007

Connect The Dots Of Those - Who Are Connected
Must Read - A quote...."Start connecting the dots at the very beginning.

On the 27th of February 1933, the Reichstag (German parliament) caught fire. Hitler described the fire as a "beacon from heaven". History shows that it removed many obstacles to the Nazi power grab and led directly to the rise of Hitler and the brutal killing spree that followed. Communists were blamed, and many were rounded up and imprisoned, but evidence shows the Nazi’s were responsible for the fire. "You are now witnessing the beginning of a great epoch in German history...This fire is the beginning," Hitler told a news reporter at the scene. What followed was death, destruction, and horror. The Bush family is all too well acquainted with that part of history as Prescott Bush (GW’s grandfather) was instrumental in bringing Hitler to power. One former US Nazi war crimes prosecutor insisted that Prescott Bush should have been prosecuted for, "giving aid and comfort to the enemy."
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Bush's "Magic" Economic Formula: The Rich Get Richer; Regular People Lose Ground
Must Read - A quote...."The economy keeps growing, as does the enormous largesse of the wealthy, while the average person makes less than they did when Bush took Office. This is Bush's magic economic formula."

'Entire U.S. Political Class' Now Tarred With Iraq
Must Read - A quote...."During the month that ended yesterday, the United States armed forces lost 123 soldiers in Iraq. That figure means that May 2007 has been - after April 2004 (with 137 dead) - the deadliest period for the occupiers in the 50 and a half months since President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of that unfortunate Arab country.  But unlike that black April - when the invaders took the rebel city of Fallujah by blood and fire and leveled it - there has been no offensive in the last 30 days on a scale that explain this rate of over four deaths per day among the occupying troops - losses that now come to 3,474 for the United States, 147 for England and 127 for the lesser contingents that have gone along with the aggression, all for a grand total of 3,743 fallen invaders."

Back to the Future - For the War Party, it's always 1940
Must Read - A quote...."To listen to the public spokesmen of the War Party, one would think that the 9/11 attacks tore a hole in the space-time continuum and landed us in an alternate universe, a world where World War II never ended – where Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain, and, most of all, Adolf Hitler, seem not to have died – where the atmosphere of crisis, of intellectual conformity, and of outright panic that suffuses the air in wartime has been lovingly recreated, like a remake of an old war movie."

Tyranny and Cowardice
A quote...."America is ruled by a president who absolutely refuses to bend to the will of the people and a congress that unashamedly ignores the citizenry's demands.  -  In the instances of Executive and Congressional and, too, as it relates to both parties; all discard the needs and wishes of the people in order to serve only corporate interests."

The Evils of Lesser Evil Voting
A quote...."Condemn progressives for voting enthusiastically for Democrats and the inevitable response is something like “just imagine how much worse voting for Republicans would be.” Similarly, many true conservatives and Libertarians see voting for Republicans as a necessary evil. With many progressives regretting giving Democrats a majority in Congress and many conservatives regretting putting George W. Bush in the White House, it is timely to refute lesser evil logic."

US is building bases in Iraq
A quote...."There are people in Washington ... who never intend to withdraw military forces from Iraq and they're looking for ten, 20, 50 years into the future ... the reason that we went into Iraq was to establish a permanent military base in the Gulf region, and I have never heard any of our leaders say that they would commit themselves to the Iraqi people that ten years from now there will be no military bases of the United States in Iraq."

Former US president Jimmy Carter - February 3, 2006:
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War threat looms over Syria
War Alert - A quote...."As the 40th anniversary of the June 67’ war approaches, Israel is once again mobilising troops in the north near the ceasefire lines with Syria.  -  There are rumours that this time Israel may launch an war with Syria in this summer. These rumours began to spread soon after Israel’s disastrous July-August 2006 war with Hizbollah in Lebanon. Soon after that conflict, Damascus once again proposed negotiations with Israel over the Golan Heights, occupied by the Jewish state in June, 1967.

See also - War Alert - Commanders in Iraq See 'Surge' Into '08 - A quote...."As the initial U.S. troop
buildup in Baghdad nears its June completion, Odierno and other commanders offered details of how they will execute the military's new Iraq strategy, how they expect insurgents and militias to react, and political factors that will bear upon their success.

See also - War Alert - Bush: Tough, 'bloody' summer in Iraq - A quote...."President Bush, predicting tough fighting
and casualties in the months ahead in Iraq and possibly a “bloody’’ August, today praised Democratic congressional leaders for moving forward with a $100-billion-plus war-spending that forgoes the timelines for U.S. troop withdrawals that Democrats want.

Editor's note : All three of these articles taken together constitutes a War Warning, Bush's phrase a "bloody summer" is probably a heads-up to the MIOC cognoscenti (the thug elites who run this country) of possible simultaneous strikes - Israel attacks Syria, Bush attacks Iran, the "surged" troops in Baghdad go after Sadra City.

Watch the oil contracts, put positions and short positions on the market.  Pay close attention to large corporate insiders selling into the recent flurry of corporate buy backs.  Also watch the naval force deployments and the positioning of US aircraft at the overseas bases surrounding Iran. - mpg
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Meanwhile, Back in the Bahamas….
A quote...."For those of you interested in last week’s off-the-record meeting sponsored by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) on “Confronting the Iranian Threat: The Way Forward” in the Bahamas, we have a bit more information, specifically, a list of the intended participants and the program, and another on selected readings that the participants were encouraged to review before the meeting itself. These documents were prepared roughly a week before the actual get-together. It should be stressed that not everyone cited in the first document actually attended. Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad’s office told me Monday that he did not attend. In addition, Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment, who is listed on the program as one of the speakers on the subject of “Prospects for Reform or Revolution,” never accepted the invitation."

Gore on Bush Propaganda  -  US Bombs Shiite Sadr City
A quote...."It is no surprise that Al Gore is attacking Bush in his new book, of course. Nor is it a surprise that Gore accuses Bush of ignoring all reasonable evidence in both making the decision to invade Iraq and in deciding to do nothing about global warming.  -  What is important about what Gore is saying is his focus on how the pollution of America's information environment by 1) corporate media consolidation (all television news is brought to Americans by five private corporations, the CEOs of which all vote Republican) and 2) government propaganda (i.e. lies purveyed to Americans using the money and resources of Americans)."

Report: U.S. Drive in Baghdad Falters
A quote...."BAGHDAD (AP) - U.S.-led forces have control of fewer than one-third of Baghdad's neighborhoods despite thousands of extra troops nearly four months into a security crackdown, a newspaper reported Monday - an assessment that came as the U.S. casualty toll soared."

Iraq Is Korea?
A quote...."It's no news that George W. Bush and his handlers don't know much about history, but their latest stab at pretending otherwise is among their most ludicrous.  -  At a press conference on Wednesday, White House spokesman Tony Snow said that President Bush thinks Iraq will develop along the lines of "a Korean model," and defined that to mean a situation in which the United States "provides a security presence," and serves as a "force of stability," for "a long time."

This is just more reassurance to the MIOC cognoscenti that Bush intends to stay in Iraq until every last drop of oil is extracted from that devastated country. - mpg
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An Interview with Moqtada al-Sadr
A quote...."Moqtada al-Sadr, the man Washington blames for its failure to gain control in Iraq, has rejected a call to open direct talks with the US military and has accused the Americans of plotting to assassinate him.
In an exclusive interview the Shia cleric says: "The Americans have tried to kill me in the past, but have failed... It is certain that the Americans still want me dead and are still trying to assassinate me.  -  "I am an Iraqi, I am a Muslim, I am free and I reject all forms of occupation. I want to help the Iraqi people. This is everything the Americans hate."
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[JFK] - Terror plot suspect worked for the CIA's airline
Must Read - A quote...."It's an incomplete story -- indeed, we have, at present, only about 50 pieces of a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle. Perhaps some of you can help find missing parts of the picture.  -  In a previous post, I argued that the "terrorist ring" led by Russell DeFreitas -- the man who had targeted JFK airport, where he once worked -- was actually a drug smuggling ring. Now we have a Newsday piece on the bomb plot which functions as a sort of palimpsest: The surface text shows hints of a more important tale which lies beneath."

Assault on Liberty: Bush's Latest Rash of Terror Scare 'em Plots
Related article - A quote...."Hence, the administration has been on somewhat of a roll in terms of revealing a spate of rather benign so-called domestic terror plots. The most recent, a supposed plot to blow up the gas line feeding JFK Airport in New York was, as they say, like all the others, "only in the planning stages." In other words the four suspects might have maybe, could've had thoughts about trying to do something relating to gas and New York.... What's more, also like all previous plots, those involved had no money or skill with which to carryout the plot. Oh, again, like all other plots, experts said it wouldn't have worked. There are too many emergency features that would prevent a chain reaction from taking place along a gas line."
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Gulagian's Island: The Deadly Farce of Bush's Gitmo Tribunals
A quote...."Ladies and gentlemen, we give you George W. Bush: the only man in the world who could screw up a kangaroo court. (Judge dismisses charges against detainee.)   -  The Bush Regime has invented so many new categories of bogeymen for its gulag that they've taken a pratfall on their own bullshit. Their case against the "boy terrorist," Omar Khadr -- who was just 15 years old when he was captured in Afghanistan -- collapsed within minutes today after a military judge said that Khadr's earlier classification as an "enemy combatant" (one of Bush's first attempts to put his captives beyond the rule of law) meant that he could not now be tried as an "alien unlawful enemy combatant" -- the latest designation hoked up by the Bushists in the tyrannical "Military Commissions Act" rubberstamped by Congress last year.  -  There is much bleak comedy in this episode, to see the Gulagians tangled up in the hypocritical hyperlegality behind which they've tried to cloak their thuggish proclivity for authoritarian rule."
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What If Our Mercenaries Turn On Us?
Must Read - A quote...."Armed units from the private security firm Blackwater USA opened fire in Baghdad streets twice in two days last week. It triggered a standoff between the security contractors and Iraqi forces, a reminder that the war in Iraq may be remembered mostly in our history books for empowering and building America’s first modern mercenary army.There are an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 armed security contractors working in Iraq, although there are no official figures and some estimates run much higher. Security contractors are not counted as part of the coalition forces. When the number of private mercenary fighters is added to other civilian military “contractors” who carry out logistical support activities such as food preparation, the number rises to about 126,000."

Johann Hari: Iraq's mercenaries - with a licence to kill
Related article - A quote...."Iraq is rapidly vanishing into the mists of uncollectable, unknowable news, with information travelling only as far as an Iraqi scream can be heard. But sometimes, if you peer closely, you can glimpse reality. Last week, Shia militiamen seized four "security contractors" working for the Canadian company Gardaworld. Buried in the story of this small horror is the bigger tale of a vast shift in how Western wars will be fought in the 21st century if the American right has its way - and one of the great lost scandals of this war."

Mercenary firms fear bloodbath in Iraq
Related article - A quote...."MERCENARY chiefs are urgently reviewing rules dictating when they can use force in Iraq, amid growing fears that another confrontation between private security operators and police could explode into a bloodbath.  -  Days after four British bodyguards and their client were snatched by bogus police from the streets of Baghdad, the bosses of private security firms have admitted there is now a "serious risk" of shoot-outs between "mercenary" officials and Iraqi security forces."
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Putin turns up heat on BP over gas field
A quote...." BP's new chief executive, Tony Hayward, is facing his biggest challenge since taking over from Lord Browne as he attempts to prevent a Russian hijack of one of the world's biggest gas fields.  -  President Vladimir Putin cranked up the tension yesterday when he warned BP and its partners in the $20bn (£10bn) Kovykta gas field that he was running out of patience over their refusal to meet production targets - with the implied threat that they would lose their licence to operate the fields."

For more on what BP is probably trying to do see the article shown below. -  mpg - posted 05-25-07

U.S. Working To Sabotage Iran Nuke Program
A quote...."CBS News has learned that Iran is continuing to make progress on its expanded efforts to enrich uranium — in spite of covert efforts by U.S. and other allied intelligence agencies to actively sabotage the country's nuclear program.  -  "Industrial sabotage is a way to stop the program, without military action, without fingerprints on the operation, and really, it is ideal, if it works," says Mark Fitzpatrick, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Non-Proliferation and now Senior Fellow in Non-Proliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies."

It isn't just Iran and it isn't just nuclear reactors.  Many countries have encountered "difficulties" with industries they've set up to compete with the US elites [or the British elites] on an economic basis.

What happens is they suddenly discover formally friendly banks no longer want to do business with them. Get to watch as unknown rivals enter from left field devastating their markets with mysterious sources of financing.  Witness contracts signed by them in good faith, which they thought were iron clad, suddenly being declared null and void. Be surprised by having union relations, which untill recently were quite amicable, abruptly no longer being so.  Suddenly finding themselves under attack by “terrorists”, or experiencing unfortunate “accidents”, or being subject to many of the other tactics and techniques our elites use to disrupt nascent "competitors" or “nation states” who won’t toe the line or pay the vig to them.

This is the way the US elites do business.  This is the way their corporations do business. This is America's [or Britain’s] klepto-crony-capitalism in action at its very finest. They will cheat you any chance they can get.

As would happen if you did business with any organized crime syndicate this is what you can expect if you deal with them. No relationship, contract or agreement entered into with them is what it seems, everything comes with strings attached, a threat, or even death....everything – mpg

See also....Confessions of an Economic Hit Man  -  Part IPart IIPart III
See also....We'll Make Them an Offer They Can't Refuse 09-06-06 - mpg
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Turkish threat echoes across Iraq
A quote...."DAMASCUS - Beleaguered Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who could be days away from losing US support and with it his job, is seeking renewed Kurdish support, even expressing his full backing for the Kurds in a potentially disastrous confrontation with Turkey.  -  This move could strengthen his position in internal Iraqi politics, but it looks like political suicide on the regional level, as in addition to Turkey, Iran and Syria, key players in resolving Iraq's problems, have Kurdish concerns."

The US continues to support the PKK...why?  Because the US wants to destabilize Iran, but the policy is also destabilizing Turkey, which is going to invade and destabilize Iraq.  This is also known as the "Bushist's Circular Jerk" policy - mpg

Turkish forces shell northern Iraq - Iraqi leader
Related article - A quote...."ARBIL, Iraq June 3 (Reuters) - Iraq said Turkish forces shelled a mountain stronghold of Turkish Kurd rebels in the north of the country on Sunday, a day after it urged Turkey to use diplomacy to resolve rising tensions in the region.  -  While residents say Turkey shells the area almost daily, the latest attack came days after Turkey moved tanks to its border and speculation mounted that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government is planning a military incursion."

Seven Turks killed in rebel raid
Related article - A quote...."Kurdish separatist rebels killed at least seven Turkish soldiers when they opened fire on a military outpost in eastern Turkey, officials say.  -  A rebel also died in Monday's attack in Pulumur, a town in the Tunceli area, the Turkish security sources said."
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Deadly fighting grips second Lebanon camp
Some quotes...."Two Lebanese soldiers killed in continued clashes as fighting extends to other Palestinian refugee camp". - "The fighting has added to concerns that the violence could spread to more of Lebanon's 12 refugee camps, which hold more than 200,000 Palestinians mostly in conditions of abject poverty."

Ahhhh, Mr. Reficul is so proud of Bush.  Soon the ENTIRE Middle East will be engulfed in terror and fear....Bush has done well. - mpg
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Vt. Secession Movement Gains Traction
A quote...."MONTPELIER, Vt. — At Riverwalk Records, the all-vinyl music store just down the street from the state Capitol, the black "US Out of Vt.!" T-shirts are among the hottest sellers.  -  But to some people in Vermont, the idea is bigger than a $20 novelty. They want Vermont to secede from the United States _ peacefully, of course.  -  Disillusioned by what they call an empire about to fall, a small cadre of writers and academics hopes to put the question before citizens in March. Eventually, they want to persuade state lawmakers to declare independence, returning Vermont to the status it held from 1777 to 1791."

Libya hosts regional summit to reach Africa peace
A quote...."SIRTE, Libya - African leaders sought to reconcile differences between neighbours Chad and Sudan over Darfur and boost Somalia's embattled transitional government at a regional summit in Libya on Sunday."

Iran and Egypt point to a new order
A quote....""The decision to restore relations has been taken, and in the coming days, Inshallah  [God willing], we will see the resumption of our relations." That was Iranian vice president Mohammad Ali Abtahi in January 2004 telling the Arab press that "official declarations" regarding the resumption of diplomatic ties between Iran and Egypt were imminent. Three and a half years later, we are still waiting. "

Missed opportunity turns ugly
A quote...."Since marching unexpectedly on to the world stage in 2000, Vladimir Putin has by turns baffled, encouraged and outraged Russia's international interlocutors. But in one key respect, the former KGB officer with a smile like broken ice has been remarkably consistent. After the humiliations of the Yeltsin years, he set out to re-establish Russia as a force to be reckoned with. And now he has achieved it."

146 German police officers injured in violent G8 protests
A quote...."ROSTOCK, Germany (AP) -- Masked demonstrators showered police with grapefruit-sized rocks and beer bottles, then were driven back with water cannon and tear gas during a protest march Saturday against the upcoming Group of Eight summit in Germany.  -  The clashes left smoke from burning cars and the sting of tear gas drifting through the harborfront area in the north German port of Rostock. Some 146 police were hurt, 25 of them seriously."

Chavez Dismisses International Disapproval of Venezuela’s Media Policy
A quote...."Caracas, June 4, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)— As several hundred thousand Chavez supporters rallied in Venezuela’s largest avenue on Saturday, President Chavez rejected all international interference with his decision not to renew a television station’s broadcast license. Referring to the Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci, Chavez also spoke at length about how private media maintains a cultural hegemony that must be broken.  -  “Go to hell, representatives of the global oligarchy, we are a free country!” said Chavez to wild applause, once marchers reached the Avenida Bolivar in the center of Caracas. The demonstration converged on the avenue from two starting points, one in the east of the city and the other towards the city’s south. Unofficial estimates of the number of demonstrators ranged from 300,000 to 500,000."

Why Pick On Israel? Because Its Actions Are Wrong
A quote...."The University and College Union annual congress last week voted by a two-thirds majority to organise a campus tour for Palestinian academic trade unionists to explain why they had called for an academic and cultural boycott of Israel, and to encourage UCU members to consider the moral implications of links with Israeli universities. Not surprisingly, this overwhelming vote met with a roar of hostility from what we have learned to call the Israel lobby."

France urges talks to allay Russian concerns on U.S. shield
A quote...."PARIS, June 4 (RIA Novosti) - France's Foreign Ministry called Monday for in-depth consultations with Russia to dispel concerns over the planned deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in Central and Eastern Europe."

'Shin Bet involved in 1976 hijacking'  & More Government Sponsored Terror Declassified
A quote....article #2 - "Newly declassified British intelligence documents have revealed that British diplomats believed that the hijacking of an Israel-bound plane in 1976 by a Palestinian resistance group was aided and abetted by Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency, in order to criminalize the Palestine Liberation Organization and provide justification for continued Israeli military occupation of Palestinian land."

Deconstructing Fatah al-Islam an Easy Task, Thanks to DEBKAfile
A quote...."DEBKAfile, the Mossad front, makes life so much easier. For instance, in regard to Fatah al-Islam, the bank robbing contract Sunni terrorist group put together by the neocons and Saudi prince Bandar in Lebanon to confront the Shi’a Hezbollah and currently holed up in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, DEBKAfile tells us...."

Former White House Communications Deputy Tim Griffin Resigns after Evidence Ties Him to Alleged Voter Suppression - A quote...."Big media is ignoring the story that former White House Deputy Communications Director — and former RNC Research Director — Tim Griffin resigned as the U.S. Attorney in Arkansas last week after evidence revealed he was directly involved in alleged voter suppression in the 2004 elections."

This wild west capitalism is born of servility to the City
A quote...."Private equity executives are "paying less tax than a cleaning lady". This is not some trade union malcontent talking, but Nicolas Ferguson, chairman of SVG Capital, which built Permira, Europe's biggest private equity fund. Private equity owners pay only 10%, sometimes much less. When even a chief protagonist starts to question their tax breaks, no wonder it hits the front page of the Financial Times. Until now private equity corsairs have vigorously denied they get any special treatment, but their avoidance of just about every personal and corporate tax is their greatest financial skill, accounting for much of their phenomenal wealth."

CANNIBALS ON THE RIGHT: REPUBLICANS EATING THEIR OWN
A quote...."With utmost appreciation to talk radio host, the glamouriscious Stephanie Miller and her mooks for creating the most apropos description from their own Republicans Eating Their Own segment, this past week Republicans not only ate their own, but before they even digested a good portion of George Bush, one of the administration’s favorite right-sided carnivores actually praised...wait for it...wait for it...Hillary Clinton."

Sunday June 3rd 2007

No posts - mpg

Saturday June 2nd 2007

Robert Fisk: In the shadow of the Second World War
Must Read - A quote...."I am outraged by the way in which the midgets Blair and Bush try to dress up in the waistcoats of Churchill and Roosevelt. I look at Blair poncing about in Basra and remember that Josif Broz Tito, the only man to liberate his country from Nazi tyranny from within an occupied nation, was the only Allied leader to be wounded in action during the war. What wounds has Blair sustained?"
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The Hariri Case & Double Standards
Must Read - A quote...." As this crime drama unfolds, the two great defenders of international law and world peace are George W. Bush and Tony Blair. Their determination secured U.N. approval for a special tribunal to identify and punish the conspirators behind the Feb. 14, 2005, bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others.  -  Yet, as worthy as it would be to find and punish Hariri’s assassins, the larger message from the U.N.’s tribunal is that the one truly enduring and overriding precept of international relations is that might makes right."

Isn't it interesting that the van used to assassinate Prime Minister Rafik Hariri came from the UAE....it would really be nice to know who it was shipped too.

It looks like the "US will finally get to align Iraq with the rest of the Middle East's geopolitical map, broadly speaking the US, Saudi Arabia, al-Qaeda and its conservative Sunni/Wahhabist Arab allies against Iran, Hezbollah and its Shia allies."  Quoted from.  "The Litvinenko Assassination & the Flipping of Iraq - 11-24-06 -  mpg"

See also.......1985 Beirut car bombing - Wikipedia
Car bombs with wings
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Feds arrest 3 in alleged JFK airport terror plot
OH MY GAWD !!! - The terrorists are out to get us all, admittedly "the plot never got past the planning stages"
and "officials told NBC News the alleged conspirators never acquired explosives, never had a definitive plan, and no attack was ever imminent. In fact, two federal officials described the group as long on anger but short on everything else. authorities said." and "the alleged mastermind of the plot, looked for others to work with him and that one of the first people he turned to, unbeknownst to him, was an FBI informant. So, officials say, the FBI has been aware of the plot since its earliest stages." just like all them other plots. (except for 9/11 of course).

Imagine that of all the people in the world, "one of the first people he [the mastermind] turned to" was an FBI informant.  Can you believe that, the way it keeps happening over and over and over again?  How these plots seem to start just as an FBI informant is there "to turn to".

WOW ain't those FBI guys really, prescient - to see the future through their magical crystal ball and be there BEFORE THE PLOTS ARE EVEN HATCHED!!

Dang they’re so smart! - mpg

For more on this see....The Uses of Fear - 11-11-06 - mpg
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General Says Bosses Knew U.S. Marines Killed 24 Civilians in Iraqi Town
A quote...." 06/02/07 "   New York Times " --- - CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., June 1 — The general who was in charge of the Marine division in Iraq when infantrymen in the division killed 24 civilians in Haditha in late 2005, said Friday that all his superiors, including Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top commander in Iraq, knew of the event within hours."

ABC Leaks Plans to Extend ‘Surge,’ Then Pulls the Story
A quote...."“ABC News Learns of Plans to Keep Troops in Iraq Beyond 2009,” was the top story posted on Saturday morning’s edition of Antiwar.com. Then the story disappeared."

Fear and luxury lure foreign legions - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."They are members of a hidden army who inhabit a curious in-between world. Tough, heavily armed private security guards who love the adrenalin buzz rub along with high-flying businesspeople and contractors. Blue collar workers trying to make a quick buck or do their bit for the cause are thrown together with poorly paid cooks, cleaners and laundry workers from across the globe."

Judge Halts Award Of Iraq Contract - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."The contract, worth about $475 million, calls for a private company to provide intelligence services to the U.S. Army and security for the Army Corps of Engineers on reconstruction work in Iraq. The case, which is being heard by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, puts on trial one of the most controversial and least understood aspects of the Iraq war: the outsourcing of military security to an estimated 20,000 armed contractors who operate with little oversight."

Afghan civilians' killed by Nato
A quote...."At least 15 civilians have been killed in an offensive by Nato and Afghan forces in the southern Helmand province, according to local police.  -  The Afghan government earlier said a large number of Taleban fighters died in Thursday's raid in Sangin district.  -  But the district police chief, Gholam Wali Jan, told the BBC that half of the 30 people killed were civilians."

Does it make a difference, does anybody care?  They're "towel heads" after all, sitting on OUR oil or pipeline routes, who gives a flying fart?  This is America isn't that right, and everyone knows there's only one thing that matters in this country and it ain't human beings, or laws, or facts, or morality or anything unimportant like that. - mpg
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US-India nuclear deal talks fail
A quote...."The US and India have failed to resolve differences over a proposed landmark deal on nuclear co-operation after three days of negotiations in Delhi."

US Attorney Resigns -  Following [Congressman John] Conyers’ Request for BBC Documents
A quote...."Tim Griffin, formerly right hand man to Karl Rove, resigned Thursday as US Attorney for Arkansas hours after BBC Television ‘Newsnight’ reported that Congressman John Conyers requested the network’s evidence on Griffin’s involvement palastconyerswsubtitle.jpgin ‘caging voters.’ Greg Palast, reporting for BBC Newsnight, obtained a series of confidential emails from the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign. In these emails, Griffin, then the GOP Deputy Communications Director, transmitted so-called ‘caging lists’ of voters to state party leaders."

Greg Palast's recent story on how the White House has been "caging votes" has already produced a casualty….good for him, good for the voters in this country, and good for justice.. - mpg
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Key Aide To Bush Will Resign Next Month - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."White House counselor Dan Bartlett, one of President Bush's closest and most trusted aides, said yesterday that he will resign his post in July, leaving a void in an administration that has seen a string of departures as it struggles with sagging public approval ratings."

My goodness, they're dropping like flies over there. - mpg
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Resentment starts to grow over Zoellick
A quote...."Robert Zoellick’s honeymoon was interrupted yesterday, one day after his nomination as president of the World Bank, after a former chief economist of the group branded him a protectionist, spearheading what appeared to be the start of a backlash."

Again it's the same tired old people out to "do it" to everyone they can.  Zoellick is just part of the cancer, it doesn’t matter if the Europeans block his appointment or not.  If you're not America or one of the countries in Europe, doing business with the World Bank or the I.M.F. is simply suicidal.  -  mpg
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Exclusive: Putin threatens to target Europe with missiles
A quote...."In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to target Europe with missiles, including potentially nuclear weapons, in a dramatic escalation of his Cold War-style showdown with the United States."

It is Easy to See the Speck in the Other's Eye
What's good for the right wing "goose" is never good for the left wing "gander". - mpg
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Violent Crime Up For Second Year
A quote...."The number of violent crimes in the United States rose for a second straight year in 2006, marking the first sustained increase in homicides, robberies and other serious offenses since the early 1990s, according to an FBI report to be released Monday."

A quote from......... Fruits from the Poisonous Tree  12-08-06 - mpg
"Remember what happened during the late sixties and early seventies as the Vietnam War was winding down to its ignoble close?  Remember the breakdown in this country's social fabric, the rising crime rates, the drug use, the many neighborhoods laid to waste?"

"This country will now reap this poisonous harvest, these bitter fruits once again for many years to come."

"And the wealthy elites of this country caused all this.  They knowingly, with malice aforethought, went and did the exact same identically stupid thing again; they started an illegal, immoral, vicious, murderous, senseless war so they and their buddies could make some money."
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VICTORY! Buffalo Advocates Stop the Slaughter!!!
A quote...." We have great news to report: YOU STOPPED THE PLANNED SLAUGHTER OF THE BUFFALO!!!!  -  This afternoon, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and Yellowstone National Park held a joint press conference in Helena, Montana, to announce that they WILL NOT SLAUGHTER any wild buffalo that remain in Montana come Monday! All those buffalo babies, their moms, and their families will live on!"

Now all we have to do is stop the slaughter in Iraq.  It's like this nation is taking small baby steps.  First you stop senselessly killing animals, than you stop senselessly killing people.  See....its real simple when you think about it. - mpg

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Friday June 1st 2007

What Erasmus Knew (And We Didn’t)
Must Read - A quote...."Stripped of their Christian shell, many of the outcomes Erasmus predicted would flow from war on the Turks five hundred years ago have come to fruition since 9/11. Whatever our intentions in going to war with Iraq, pure and honorable they were not. We were lied to. The WMD’s were non-existent, while the talk about bringing democracy to Iraq, from which it would spread like wild fire to the entire Middle East, was a smokescreen behind which to pursue hegemonic policies in a strategic and an oil-rich part of the world. Occupation of Arab lands, construction of bases throughout the Middle East, and blind support of Israel — all have provoked hatred and inspired calls for revenge. These are errors that are crying out for correction."

Cowering In The Suburbs of Berlin
A quote...."The mind fairly reels looking for historical analogies in which defeat has been so flagrantly rescued from the jaws of victory. Indeed, you pretty much have to make one up. Keith Olbermann sees this as a Munich moment, with the Democrats playing the role of the ill-fated Neville Chamberlain. Much as I applaud his work as nearly the only voice of sanity on television, I think Olbermann is unintentionally too generous this time out. He has the right analogue, but the wrong analogy. For Chamberlain, however foolish he was later proven to be, at least thought he was getting something very big - nothing less than “peace for our time” - in exchange for those slices of Czechoslovakia he gave to Hitler (even if, of course, they weren’t his to give away). And so did a lot of other people. At the time, Chamberlain was a hero."

"But the Democrats don’t even rise up to Chamberlain’s ultimate historical fate, that of being a naive appeaser who profoundly and tragically misunderstood his adversary. For they understand George Bush all too well. And what did they bring home in exchange for continuing to fund a war whose nature they equally well understand? The answer is nothing, save for their own humiliation. This was a total capitulation. It is as if Chamberlain had gone to Munich and given away not just the Sudetenland, but all of Europe."

AND Hitler promised Chamberlain he'd start a war in the bargain. - mpg
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Bill Maher: Americans Have Made Sacrifices - posted at ICH - (YouTube - Added:  March 18, 2007 - 3min 52sec)
A quote...."Bill Maher dispels the notion that Americans have not made sacrifices for the "war on terror."

As May death toll of US soldiers hits 124  -  Bush administration calls for permanent US military presence in Iraq
A quote...."Bush administration officials said this week that US military presence in Iraq could last decades, drawing an analogy with South Korea, where US troops have been stationed for more than half a century. Comments by the White House, the defense secretary and the chief US military commander in Iraq were made as the death toll of US soldiers reached 124 in May—the third highest monthly total since the war began in March 2003."

Welcome to the summer of hate
A quote...."PARIS - Forty years ago, the world seemed to be singing in tune. On June 1, 1967, in London, The Beatles released their eighth and arguably most influential album, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It marked the beginning of the Summer of Love - which, apart from Jimi Hendrix mesmerizing flower-power children in Monterey, California, also had room for the escalation of the Vietnam War and Israel's lightning victory in the Six-Day War.  -  Today, we have the sublime Patti Smith singing covers of Hendrix and The Beatles, Iraq instead of Vietnam, and Israel - along with elements in the administration of US President George W Bush - mulling an attack on Iran. Call it the summer of hate."

News agency AP says cameraman killed in Iraq
A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Iraqi cameraman working for the Associated Press was shot and killed in Baghdad on Thursday, the U.S. news organization said.  -  Saif M. Fakhry, 26, was shot twice while walking to a mosque near his home on his day off, the agency said in a statement, adding that he was the fifth Associated Press (AP) employee to die violently during the Iraq war."

IAEA chief warns of "crazies" seeking Iran war
A quote...."LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - The United Nations nuclear watchdog chief warned on Friday against the "new crazies" advocating military action to halt Iran's nuclear programme and said he did not want to see another war like that in Iraq.  -  "I wake every morning and see 100 Iraqis, innocent civilians, are dying," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director Mohamed ElBaradei said in an interview for BBC Radio."

Iran says dead rebels had U.S.-made arms -media
A quote...."TEHRAN, May 31 (Reuters) - Rebels killed in clashes with Iranian forces this week had recently infiltrated border areas of the Islamic Republic carrying U.S.-made arms, an Iranian commander was quoted as saying on Thursday.  -  Ten rebels and seven Iranian border guards were killed in clashes in a northwestern area close to Turkey, according to Iranian media reports on Wednesday and Thursday."

Dead Guantanamo prisoner had U.S. military training
A quote...."MIAMI (Reuters) - The Guantanamo prisoner who died in his cell this week was a Saudi army veteran who trained with U.S. soldiers before going to fight for the Taliban in Afghanistan, military records show.  -  The man, described by the U.S. military on Thursday as a mid-level al Qaeda operative, apparently committed suicide on Wednesday at the prison camp for foreign terrorism suspects at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."

Ahhhh - Another "terrorist" who had US training, is there any other kind....don't they all?

Isn't it de rigor that any self respecting "terrorist" get some sort of US training, be funded by the CIA or have relationships with the Pentagon? - mpg
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Madrid Bombings Redux - What Really Happened
A quote...."For its cold-blooded professionalism, the Madrid bombings of March 11th 2004 bore all the hallmarks of an Israeli Mossad false flag operation. Yet the most interesting aspects of this particular "Islamic terror" attack is that it was one of the rare instances when the plan went totally awry in terms of the hoped for outcome."
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9/11 - From The History File...9/11 WAR GAMES
Magical Thinking > Cheney, The OODA Loop, and 9/11
NORAD 9/11
War on Terror
NORAD Tapes Only Intensify Implausibility Of 9/11 Official Story
NORAD exercise had jet crashing into building
The Total Failure of the Kean Commission
The Truth About 9/11
9/11 was an Inside Job and a “Psy-Op”
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Real ID dropouts leave security holes
A quote...."Defying Uncle Sam, four states have passed laws refusing to comply with federal rules to make state-issued driver's licenses more secure, casting further doubt on the future of the 2005 Real ID Act."

Russia announces large joint military exercise with China, Shanghai Six
A quote...."NARO-FOMINSK (Moscow Region), June 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will hold a counterterrorism military exercise with China and other members of the "Shanghai Six" in August, the Ground Forces commander said Friday."

Icy G8 Meeting for US, Russia
A quote...."Compared to a decade or so ago, the belief in the messianic power of democracy and markets has reached a new low. Why another face-off between Washington and Moscow isn't as impossible as you might think."

Iran, Syria agree need to restore regional stability
A quote...."DAMASCUS (AP) -- Iran's foreign minister and Syrian President Bashar Assad discussed Thursday topics ranging from Iraq and Lebanon to the Palestinian territories, with both agreeing on the need to restore regional stability, Syria's official news agency reported."

Talibanization of Pakistan
A quote...."The reason for the security problems of Pakistan and its rapid descent into Talibanization lies principally in the Legal Framework Order of 2002. A shortsighted compendium of laws aimed to turn Pakistan into a security state under the domination of the military and institutionalized through the National Security Council. This was “gifted” to Pakistan by Gen. Musharraf to entrench the military permanently in the corridors of power."

Gee....this approach to tearing up your nation's constitution, so you can selfishly enhance your own political power sounds so familiar. - mpg
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Venezuelan Civil Society Groups Accuse U.S. of Fomenting Destabilization
A quote...."Caracas, May 31, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)— Organizations, journalists, students, activists and intellectuals in Venezuela accused the national and international media of waging a campaign against Venezuela and of supporting destabilization plans that have been carried out in the country in the past few days. According to declarations made by various groups and individuals, the RCTV protests and media coverage of them have a hidden agenda directed by the United States and their Venezuelan allies to destabilize the country."

The corporate takeover of U.S. intelligence
A quote...."More than five years into the global "war on terror," spying has become one of the fastest-growing private industries in the United States. The federal government relies more than ever on outsourcing for some of its most sensitive work, though it has kept details about its use of private contractors a closely guarded secret. Intelligence experts, and even the government itself, have warned of a critical lack of oversight for the booming intelligence business."

Bilderberg Club - the Mother of all Secret Societies
A quote...."In 1954, the most powerful men in the world met for the first time under the auspices of the Dutch royal crown and the Rockefeller family in the luxurious Hotel Bilderberg of the small Dutch town of Oosterbeek. For an entire weekend, they debated the future of the world. When it was over, they decided to meet once every year to exchange ideas and analyze international affairs. They named themselves the Bilderberg Club. Since then, they have gathered yearly in a luxurious hotel somewhere in the world to decide the future of humanity. Among the select members of this club are Bill Clinton, Paul Wolfowitz, Henry Kissinger, David Rockefeller, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Toni Blair and many other heads of government, businessmen, politicians, bankers and journalists from all over the world."

'High priests of globalization' in Istanbul
Related artilce - A quote...."Some call it "the multinational government", some call it the "elite club which shapes world policies" while others say it essentially "fixes" the world's fate. It literally breeds conspiracy theories all around the world with its secrecy, while participants say it is only a private gathering that should be respected. "

Blair is no Democrat
A quote...."Blair's profound anti-democratic tendencies are no secret, particularly given his increasingly open campaign to overturn centuries of our legal tradition and profoundly tilt the legal system against the accused. But a small exchange in the Scottish Parliament yesterday, between Alex Salmond, Scottish First Minister, and Annabel Goldie, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, illustrated just how undemocratic Blair's instincts are."

Rep. John Conyers Backs Impeachment
A quote...."Advocates for impeachment can take some measure of encouragement not just from the 85 cities and towns and 14 state Democratic parties that have passed impeachment resolutions, or the 11 state legislatures that have introduced them (Maine was #11 on Tuesday), but also from comments made Tuesday evening in Detroit by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers."

Rove Linked to the Politically Motivated Prosecution of Alabama's Ex-Governor
A quote...."Now Karl Rove, the President's top political strategist, has been implicated in a case of using federal attorneys for the politically motivated prosecution of Alabama's former Democratic governor, Don Siegelman,. A longtime Republican lawyer in Alabama swears she heard a top G.O.P. operative in the state say that Rove "had spoken with the Department of Justice" about "pursuing" Siegelman, with help from two of Alabama's U.S. attorneys."

Debating Barack Obama’s cash flow
A quote...."A recent editorial in The Chicago Sun-Times, published on May 14, attempted to defile an essay I wrote about Barack Obama’s fundraising channels and his ties to corporate America. The Sun-Times piece, written by former Clinton White House counsel Abner J. Mikva, challenged my claim that Barack isn’t taking on the pay-to-play politics we are all so used to in Washington. Instead Mikva asserted that the ethically minded Obama is “incorruptible.”

Toyota bests Ford again as number 2 in US
A quote...."Japanese automaker Toyota pushed further into the US market in May as strong sales growth reported Friday helped it seize the number two spot from rival Ford Motor Co. for the fifth time."
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Money Is Flooding the World Markets
A quote...."Central banks live by a simple financial principle: Whenever economic activity stagnates or declines, they quickly lower their interest rates and expand their credits. But when business seems to improve, they hesitate and vacillate in removing the rate cuts. The consequence is a permanent addition to liquidity. According to calculations of the German central bank, between the end of 1997 and September 2006 the stock of world money nearly doubled, but nominal economic production rose only by some 60 percent. Such an imbalance is bound to either cause consumer prices to rise or create price bubbles in stock, loan, or real estate markets. When they finally burst they are likely to inflict many personal losses and force businesses to repair and readjust."

Kuwait split raises questions over longevity of the dollar
Related article - A quote...."When the Roman emperor Constantine struck off a new gold coin, he expected it to give good, durable service. And the extra-durable solidus did - about 700 years' worth. Modern monetary systems have a somewhat shorter shelf life.  -  That the current monetary system may not last for the ages was underscored the other day by Kuwait's decision to uncouple its dinar from the US dollar. For years, the two had been lashed together as a preliminary to the projected creation of a common Persian Gulf currency."

It's a wacky system.  The deeper in debt the US goes, and the more money the US prints, the more inflation other countries have.  Go figure. - mpg
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The House of Cards Collapsed in 1929
A quote...."…..that quaint period, the thirties, when the huge middle class of America was matriculating in a school for the blind. Their eyes had failed them, or they had failed their eyes, and so they were having their fingers pressed forcibly down on the fiery Braille alphabet of a dissolving economy."

The Slow Slide To Barbarity
A quote...."July 4, 2020. U.S. Border Security officials announced that a record 193 IFs (Immigrant Invading Forces) were eliminated in the American Militarized Security Zone yesterday as a result of illegal attempts to invade the homeland.  -  In response to the latest deaths—the highest fatality count since last week's record-setting 177—a press release from Border Security (BS), a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, states: "The high number of aliens whose attempts to invade U.S. territory were thwarted reflects the continued success of the combined technological and military measures to secure the border. While the division laments the loss of life, Americans can sleep soundly knowing that the sacrifice of our troops has once again protected them from hostile threats to the American way of life."

NOT SATIRE -  U.N. Team Still Looking for Iraq's Arsenal
A quote...."Though Work Is Seen as Irrelevant, Security Council Can't Agree to End It - UNITED NATIONS -- More than four years after the fall of Baghdad, the United Nations is spending millions of dollars in Iraqi oil money to continue the hunt for Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction." - bold/italics by website author.

Sort of sounds exactly like the occupation of Iraq and the DemoRepubs cowardice in failing to end it....don't it? - mpg
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The Myth of Moral Superiority
Good cartoon.  Check out the comments! - mpg

Last Newspaper Reporter Fired - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."A DAY IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE — In what Wall Street cheered as a long overdue and welcome cost-cutting measure, the very last newspaper reporter in America was fired yesterday, capping years of newsroom cuts and officially eliminating basic newsgathering as a journalistic function."

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