The Truth is Out There
A quote...."When Cynthia McKinney speaks the words of Martin Luther King Jr, they resound through the church with some of King’s cadence. “A time comes,” declares the former US congresswoman from Georgia, “when silence is betrayal.” The congregation answers with whoops and calls of “That’s right!” King was talking about America’s war in Vietnam. More than 40 years later, before the packed pews of the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, McKinney is speaking of the American government’s war on its own people. The shock and awe phase of this conflict, we had been told earlier, began on September 11 2001, when the Bush administration launched attacks on New York and Washington, or at least waved them through."

Bush Political Prisoner Gets Her Day in Court
Special Note - A quote...."A year after her last letter to Card, Lindauer contacted staff for Senator John McCain and Senator Trent Lott offering to testify before the committees investigating intelligence activities prior to the Iraq invasion. At that point, the government turned her file over to a grand jury. Lindauer notes, "They failed to tell the grand jury that I'd been working for them for nine years." -- For more on this issue see....Fake Intel / Propaganda - Intell Process

WPost's Enduring Bush Cover-up - posted at ConsortiumNews
A quote...."In a kind of Watergate in reverse, the Washington Post has rallied once again to defend George W. Bush’s honesty, with the paper’s editorial-page editor swatting away the latest swarm of evidence showing how the President took the nation to war in Iraq via a series of lies."

NYT circulates fear-mongering claims on FISA debate
A quote...."The New York Times' Eric Lichtblau has a long, prominent article today on the pending debate over FISA and telecom amnesty -- headlined: "Return to Old Spy Rules Is Seen as Deadline Nears" -- that features (and endorses) virtually every blatant falsehood that has distorted these spying issues from the beginning, and which is built on every shoddy journalistic practice that has made clear debate over these issues almost impossible. The article strongly suggests that a so-called "compromise" is imminent, a "compromise" which will deliver to the President virtually everything he seeks in the way of new warrantless eavesdropping powers and telecom amnesty."

Wyo. Guard team heading to Denver for convention
False Flag Alert - A quote...."CHEYENNE -- Amid the thousands of spectators, delegates and Secret Service, a select group of Wyoming National Guard soldiers and airmen will be present during the Democratic National Convention in Denver from Aug. 25-28."

Likud MK: Israel will no longer fund terror against its own citizens
A quote...."The bill, initiated by Justice Minster Daniel Friedmann, attempts to circumvent a High Court of Justice ruling to the contrary. The High Court has already anulled the first "Intifada Law" which aimed to similarly exempt the state from responsibility. - The law, if approved in the second and third readings, would make it impossible for Palestinians living in what is termed enemy territory to sue the state for damages incurred during Israel Defense Forces operations." -- For more on this sort of issue see....Rule Thirteen - Go After the Money 05-14-08 - mpg

On “farewell tour” of Europe: Bush steps up threats against Iran
A quote...."The meeting came on the first day of George W. Bush’s final tour of the European continent as US President. The six-day, six-nation visit is expected to yield little else in terms of substantive agreements. With barely seven months left in the White House, most European governments see Bush as a lame duck whose departure cannot come soon enough."

EU to freeze Iranian bank assets if nuclear enrichment continues
A quote...."European Union member states have agreed to intensify financial sanctions against Iran, going beyond existing UN measures aimed at containing Tehran's nuclear programme, it emerged last night. Diplomats said the agreement was reached last week and would be announced today in a joint communique at the US-EU summit in Slovenia."

Iran pulls assets out of European banks
A quote...."Iran has withdrawn a huge sum of its foreign exchange reserves from European banks and has deposited some of it into Asian banks."

Iran to Start Development of Arash Oil, Gas Field
A quote...." TEHRAN (FNA)- Manager of the National Iranian Oil Co. Seifollah Jashnsaz said that NIOC will start development work on the offshore Arash oil and gas field."

Pervez Musharraf: The fall of a dictator
Video - A quote...."The fall of a dictator is always a great pleasure to watch. Nominally, of course, Pervez Musharraf continues to be the president of Pakistan. After some nine years of great power, though, the sun seems to be setting for the general. Asif Zardari, self-appointed chairman of the party that heads the government in Parliament, calls Musharraf a relic of the past. His party's spokesman refers to Musharraf now as a de facto president and a one-man demolition squad who demolished the Constitution, the judiciary, and the Parliament."

Pakistan at the mercy of marching lawyers
A quote...."KARACHI - Pakistan is engulfed in its own version of the Long March, and just as that pivotal event changed the face of China in the mid-1930s, Pakistan's political landscape could be significantly altered, as could that of its neighbor Afghanistan. -- Thousands of black-suited lawyers gathered in Karachi on Monday for the beginning of a country-wide protest that is scheduled to finish outside parliament in the capital Islamabad on Thursday."

No In NOvember!!!
A quote...."The world has given us the benefit of the doubt for a long time, hoping that we as a people were not as corrupt as our government. But I chat with activists all over the world online every day and they're wondering why we continue to vote in rigged elections where peace candidates cannot win, and the candidates who win cannot be held accountable. If we oppose crimes against humanity, they want to know why we keep delegating our power to those who do not." -- Editor's Note:  This editor agrees with the sentiments, but not the prescription, it's your right to vote - just vote right....how about the phrase "Anybody but a DemoRepub"?? - mpg
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Stimulus" Spending: Making The Dead Parrot Twitch
A quote...."Last week, published comments by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert regarding the likelihood of war between the U.S. and Iran caused the price of oil to surge to roughly $138 a barrel -- and the Dow to shed nearly 400 points. -- Delphic utterances delivered today by Federal Reserve commissary Ben Bernanke, and Timothy Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York prompted a mild market rally and lent some transient luster to the ever-depreciating greenback."

Swiss banks eager to attract Muslim investors
Video - A quote...."Islamic Banking is well on it's way to becoming the world's fastest growing financial sector. -- The Islamic banking sector is now thought to be worth up to 800 billion dollars and it's growing by around 20 percent each year on the back of soaring oil prices."

Most World Stock Markets to End 2008 in Red
A quote...."LONDON—Global stock markets will not be able to overcome a lethal mix of rising inflation and a spill-out from the global credit crisis this year, with most indexes likely to end 2008 with annual losses, a Reuters poll showed." -- See....Standard Disclaimer and the Ten Year Cycle

The U.S. Has No Remaining Grain Reserves
A quote...."According to the May 1, 2008 CCC inventory report there are o­nly 24.1 million bushels of wheat in inventory, so after this sale there will be o­nly 2.7 million bushels of wheat left the entire CCC inventory,”

Trade deficit hits $60.9b in April - Oil is crucial factor, as both imports and exports set records
A quote...."WASHINGTON - The US trade deficit widened in April as the surge in oil prices propelled imports to a record, overshadowing the biggest gain in exports in four years."

Brazil GDP expands 5.8% in first quarter; overheat concern
A quote...."Brazil's Gross Domestic Product, GDP, expanded 5.8% in the first quarter compared to the same period a year ago, and 0.7% over the previous quarter, according to the latest release from the Brazilian Statistics and Geography Institute, IBGE."

Japan's economy surges ahead in first quarter
A quote...."It was the third straight positive quarter for the world's second-largest economy, which is gradually recovering from a series of slumps since the 1990s. Growth was also much faster than the initial estimate of 3.3 percent."


Pentagon blocked Cheney's attack on Iran
Special Note - A quote...."WASHINGTON - Pentagon officials firmly opposed a proposal by Vice President Dick Cheney last summer for airstrikes against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) bases by insisting that the administration would have to make clear decisions about how far the United States would go in escalating the conflict with Iran, according to a former George W Bush administration official." -- bold by website editor -- For more on this issue see....False Flag Ops - Barksdale

The 911 stink that won't go away
A quote...."Considering the extensive body of verifiable evidence that sharply contradicts the official version of the 911 attacks, if you were one person in a group that is preparing to address a large audience of fence-sitters, what single aspect of the crime would you find most compelling and choose to explore?"

Senator Karen Johnson Blasts Congress for Failure to Defend U.S.
A quote...." In a formal Floor speech in the Arizona Senate tomorrow (Tuesday, June 10), Senator Karen S. Johnson plans to blast Congress for their failure to defend U.S. citizens who were killed on September 11, 2001, and their failure to properly investigate those attacks. -- “It has been nearly seven years,” says Johnson, “and we are faced with new evidence that turns the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission upside down. We are fighting a war because of 9/11 – and we still don’t really know what happened. We have spent billions of dollars on the war, with an additional $340 million per day. Thousands of U.S. servicemen and women have lost their lives, not to mention the lives of innocent Iraqi and Afghan civilians.”
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9/11 - From The History File...Dick Cheney commanded NORAD - (YouTube - 3 min 34 sec - December 26, 2006)
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Guantánamo Bay: Interrogators told to destroy torture notes, US lawyer claims
A quote...."Interrogators at Guantánamo Bay were told to destroy their notes to stop them potentially being used to highlight the mistreatment of detainees, according to a US military lawyer." -- Also posted at CommonDreams -- The destruction of the notes may not have been due solely to the US military's cover-up of torture, they may have done it to cover-up other things.  For more on this issue see....The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg

Kucinich presents Bush impeachment articles
Video - A quote...."An Ohio Democratic lawmaker and former presidential candidate has presented articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush to Congress. - Thirty-five articles were presented by Rep. Dennis Kucinich to the House of Representatives late Monday evening, airing live on C-SPAN."

Castrated U.S. Media Remains Obediently Silent On Bilderberg
A quote...."The mainstream American corporate press has once again proven itself to be no better than the state controlled media in places like Communist China or Zimbabwe, by steadfastly refusing to print even a mention of over a hundred global power brokers meeting in secret to discuss the future of the planet."

Bilderbergers Leave Confab To Initiate Fresh Orders
Special Note - A quote...."For all those who still deny Bilderberg is a major player in terms of international policy making, this provides another example of the influence and sway the elite group has on the rest of the political and corporate world -- Despite this weekend gathering of so many heads of global finance, as well as David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger, the secretary general of NATO, CEO's of the world's biggest corporations, U.S. politicians and European royalty, the corporate media has stayed completely silent, a factor that cannot fail to worry even the most staunch naysayers."

Records Could Shed Light on Iraq Group
Some auotes...."There is an important line in last week's Senate intelligence committee report on the Bush administration's prewar exaggerations of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. It says that the panel did not review "less formal communications between intelligence agencies and other parts of the Executive Branch." -- "One obvious target for such an expanded inquiry would have been the records of the White House Iraq Group (WHIG), a group set up in August 2002 by then-White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr."
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Some Call It 'Counterinsurgency' - It sounds better than 'brutal military occupation'
Must Read - A quote...."It is widely reported that the US military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, continuing on for over five years, have been "counterinsurgencies" (COIN) led in Iraq by the expert on COIN General David Petraeus. Petraeus has been highly praised for his COIN abilities and soon will be able to expand his influence to Afghanistan, the almost-seven-year quagmire."

U.S. seeking 58 bases in Iraq, Shiite lawmakers say
A quote...." BAGHDAD -Iraqi lawmakers say the United States is demanding 58 bases as part of a proposed "status of forces" agreement that will allow U.S. troops to remain in the country indefinitely. -- Leading members of the two ruling Shiite parties said in a series of interviews the Iraqi government rejected this proposal along with another U.S. demand that would have effectively handed over to the United States the power to determine if a hostile act from another country is aggression against Iraq. Lawmakers said they fear this power would drag Iraq into a war between the United States and Iran."

Iraqi MPs against US bases
Video - A quote...."Nadim al-Jaberi is a senior member and former secretary-general of Fadhila, a Shiite party that controls the Basra provincial government. The group, which holds 15 seats in parliament, withdrew last year from talks to join al-Maliki's cabinet after complaining of US interference. - Khalaf al-Ilyan is one of the three leaders of the Iraq Accordance Front, parliament's largest Sunni Arab bloc with 44 of the House's 275 seats. Last year, he played a prominent role in the Sunni decision to walk out of the Cabinet in protest of al-Maliki's policies."

Iraq Tells US It Wants Troops Back in Barracks
A quote...."American troops in Iraq would be confined to their bases and private security guards subject to local law if Iraq gets its way in negotiations with the US over the future status of American forces. -- According to a senior Iraqi official, the negotiations between the two allies became so fraught recently that President Bush intervened personally to defuse the situation. On Thursday he telephoned Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, to assure him that Washington was not seeking to undermine Iraq’s sovereignty and that America would reconsider any contentious part of the agreement." -- And Maliki believed him?  What an idiot! - mpg

Iraq seeks to allay Iran's concern over U.S. bases
A quote...."TEHRAN, June 8 (Reuters) - Iraq's prime minister used a visit to Tehran on Sunday to soothe Iranian concerns that negotiations between Baghdad and Washington on a new military agreement will lead to permanent U.S. bases across its border."
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The Iran Trap
Must Read - A quote...."The failure by Barack Obama to chart another course in the Middle East, to defy the Israel lobby and to denounce the Bush administration’s inexorable march toward a conflict with Iran is a failure to challenge the collective insanity that has gripped the political leadership in the United States and Israel.  -- Obama, in a miscalculation that will have grave consequences, has given his blessing to the widening circle of violence and abuse of the Palestinians by Israel and, most dangerously, to those in the Bush White House and Jerusalem now plotting a war against Iran. He illustrates how the lust for power is morally corrosive. And while he may win the White House, by the time he takes power he will be trapped in George Bush’s alternative reality."

Obama, Israel and AIPAC
A quote...."After months of a tough and bitter race, a merciless struggle, Barack Obama has defeated his formidable opponent, Hillary Clinton. He has wrought a miracle: for the first time in history a black person has become a credible candidate for the presidency of the most powerful country in the world. -- And what was the first thing he did after his astounding victory? He ran to the conference of the Israel lobby, AIPAC, and made a speech that broke all records for obsequiousness and fawning."

New forces fraying U.S.-Saudi oil ties
A quote...."In the 1980s, the U.S.-Saudi bond that kept oil prices low was credited with helping weaken the Soviet Union during the waning days of the Cold War. And it helped keep markets stable after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. -- But the Saudi government has been dismayed by the consequences of the war in Iraq and by what it sees as a weak Bush administration commitment to the Palestinians."

U.S. quits as observer at UN Human Rights Council under war-crimes accusations
A quote...."The White House quietly pulled out of the UN Human Rights Council as the Bush Administration came under fire by the House of Representatives for possible war crimes violations. Separately, Guantanamo Bay prosecutors prepare for their own war-crimes tribunals and secret negotiations continue over the role of the U.S. in Iraq."

Broken Engagement: Rare Honesty from Bush Gang
A quote...."Human Rights Watch has issued a denunciation of the Bush Administration for its disengagement from the UN's Human Rights Council. As HRW puts it:"

Supporting Palestinian Farmers: Olive Oil Until They're Free
A quote...."Mahmud was a tall, strong young man. His black hair and thick eyebrows hinted at a shy nature, but he was a born leader. His popularity reigned among the families of Jenin’s refugee camp, the West Bank, and the surrounding Arab countries. Mahmud feared nothing but submission to Israeli occupation. Working to end this occupation, which encapsulated his every breath on Earth, was how he spent his waking hours."

U.S., German lawyers seek extraditions of CIA agents
A quote...."BERLIN (AP) — A group of German and American civil rights attorneys on Monday sued the German government to demand that it pursue the extradition of 13 CIA agents sought in the alleged kidnapping of a German citizen." -- For more on this issue see....Fun & Torture - It's a Pleasure.

[UK] ‘Big Brother’ database for phones and e-mails
A quote...."A massive government database holding details of every phone call, e-mail and time spent on the internet by the public is being planned as part of the fight against crime and terrorism. Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies would hand over the records to the Home Office under plans put forward by officials."

Abramoff Had Closer Ties to Bush
A quote...."Imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff was photographed with President George W. Bush at least five times and had hundreds of lobbying contacts with White House staff, a House committee’s draft report says. -- Hundreds of pages of documents, released Monday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, show that Abramoff regularly communicated with former White House political adviser Karl Rove and his deputies regarding the administration’s domestic agenda."

Warning to Sen. Vitter: DC Madam Case Not Over? - link posted at CLG
A quote...."Maybe Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) isn't completely off the hook when it comes to the late "D.C. Madam," Deborah Jean Palfrey. And other Washington Johns who used the late Palfrey's escort service and whose names remained below the radar screen may want to find a nice hiding place."

Cindy Sheehan Salutes Ron Paul and Exposes Obama - (YouTube - 1 min 43 sec - Added:  April 06, 2008)
Video - A quote...."Cindy Sheehan at the libertarian church in San Francisco March 16, 08. talks about Obama, the war and her son."

Ron Paul: Nancy Pelosi pulled Iran bill on orders of Israel - (YouTube - 58 sec - Added:  June 08, 2008)
Video - A quote...."In a speech given on 06 June 2008, in Reston, Virginia, at the Hyatt Regency, Reston, to the Future of Freedom Foundation, 'restoring the republic 2008: foreign policy and civil liberties' conference, congressman Ron Paul, tells how speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi, 'deliberately' pulled a supplemental bill requiring congressional approval for attacking iran on orders of israel and AIPAC."
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Potential Future Hyperinflation
A quote...."Walter "John" Williams thinks out of the box. He makes disquieting reading, but you won't find him in the mainstream. At least not often. He runs a "Shadow Government Statistics" site with an electronic by-subscription newsletter. Anyone can access some of his data and occasional special reports. They can also assess his reasoning. In his judgment, government data are manipulated, corrupted and unreliable. He's not alone thinking that." -- Also posted at GlobalResearch

Mortgages With No Money Down Still Available
A quote...."Despite the bursting of the housing bubble, it's still possible to buy homes with no money down. In fact, it's possible to borrow up to 105 percent of the purchase price, leaving the buyer with more debt than the house is worth."

More losses and fresh funding for US banking system
A quote...."United States investment bank Lehman Brothers is raising 6 billion US dollars to boost its finances after predicting a loss of 2.8 billion in the second quarter of 2008."

Credit Default Swaps the next crisis -- subprime is just a ‘Vorspeise'
A quote...."The next phase of the unravelling crisis in the US-centered “revolution in finance” is emerging in the market for arcane instruments known as Credit Default Swaps or CDS. Wall Street bankers always have to have a short name for these things." -- Also posted at GlobalResearch


No posts - mpg


U.S. Calls a Straw Poll in Iraq: It May Not Like the Result
Must Read - A quote...."In the TV gameshow bubble that substitutes for foreign policy discussion on the U.S. presidential campaign trial, there’s a lot of talk these days about how the U.S. is “winning” in Iraq. The evidence to back this claim is a comparative lull in the death rate in recent months, and the fact that Iraqi government forces are taking more casualties than the Americans. Those proclaiming “victory,” of course, are invariably the same crowd that enthusiastically backed the invasion of Iraq in the first place, and their desire for vindication for their part in authoring what all serious analysts agree has been the most catastrophic strategic blunder in America’s history is all too understandable."

Cheney blocked talks with Iran
Video - Must view - Special Note - A quote...."Colin Powell's former Chief of Staff Larry Wilkerson on how Cheney turned down talks with Iran -- Wilkerson says what Dr. Rice has been saying is fairly consistent with what the administration‘s position has been and that is, that Iran must stop enrichment before talks can happen. I think that’s absurd. Setting such conditions is a route to no talks at all, which is why Cheney advocates such a policy. Iran made a serious approach in 2003 to talk, Cheney made the State department turn it down. The plan was for regime change throughout the Middle East." -- Also posted at ICH -- For more regarding "regime change" throughout the Middle East see....The Plan -- according to U.S. General Wesley Clark (Ret.)- YouTube - 1.37 min
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U.N. experts rap U.S. "cruelty" to child prisoners
A quote...."GENEVA, June 6 (Reuters) - United Nations experts on child rights criticised the United States on Friday over detention of juveniles at Guantanamo, in Afghanistan and Iraq, and voiced concern that some may have suffered cruel treatment."

Iraqi Officials Oppose US-Iraq Treaty
Special Note - A quote...."At an extraordinary hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday, members of the Iraqi parliament hand-delivered a letter to members of Congress that rejected the idea of a US-Iraq agreement unless the United States agrees to a specific timetable to get out of Iraq. The letter was signed by a majority of the 270-member parliament, reflecting a broad consensus among Iraqi factions. Said the letter:


Iraq says it wants to restrict movement of US troops
A quote...."BAGHDAD, June 6 (Reuters) - Iraq said on Friday it would not grant U.S. troops freedom of movement for military operations in a new agreement being negotiated on extending the presence of American troops on its soil."

Iraqis protest US security deal
A quote...."Thousands of Iraqis have taken to the streets in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, denouncing a proposed deal that would keep US troops in Iraq beyond 2008. -- Protesters set fire to a US flag and to an effigy of George Bush, the US president, following Friday prayers."

Iraqi Parliamentarian: 70 Percent Of Iraqis Want Withdrawal, Huge U.S. Embassy Not A ‘Positive Signal’
A quote...."Today, the House held a hearing featuring two members of the Iraqi Parliament in order “to hear their assessment of the proposed U.S.-Iraq Security Agreement,” an agreement proposed by the Bush administration permitting combat forces in Iraq for an unspecified period of time. Iraq is currently seeing “growing and widespread protests…over the scope of the agreement.” -- Also posted at InfoWars

Mahdi Army Using 'Flying IEDs' in Baghdad
New Tactics Alert - A quote...."Based on the images of the launchers used in the April 28 attacks see slideshow, the IRAM looks to be a large canister, perhaps a propane or fuel tank, filled with explosives and propelled by 107mm rocket booster. These types of improvised weapons — essentially flying IEDs — would have a short range and would be highly inaccurate. -- So, in a sense, what we're looking at is a remote controlled, improvised multiple-mortar system. Kinda like an insurgent version of the Non-line of sight Launch System, or NLOS-LS..."

Bush, Like Bin Laden, on the Sidelines
A quote...."By measure of each man’s negligible influence over events in the Middle East — despite florid denunciations of all compromise and accomodation with those each brands as evil — President George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden appear to have more in common than either would care to admit. And not just because Bush and Bin Laden are on the same page regarding the influence of Iran." -- For more on this issue see....Al Qaeda - Always There for the US Elites - 03-09-08 - mpg
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Obama Capitulates......to the Israel lobby
Special Note - War Alert - A quote...."Don't look to Barack Obama for deliverance from this looming conflict. In his speech to AIPAC, he clearly signed on to the Lobby's latest project, departing from his prepared text to declare:


"Everything" includes murdering tens of thousands of Iranians, mostly civilians – driving the price of oil up above $300 a barrel and destroying the US economy – and involving us in a war that will make the Iraq conflict look like a Sunday school picnic. And for what?

Arabs shocked by Obama speech
A quote...."Barack Obama said he spoke as a "true friend" of Israel [EPA] - Arab leaders have reacted with anger and disbelief to an intensely pro-Israeli speech delivered by Barack Obama, the US Democratic presumptive presidential nominee. - Obama told the influential annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Council (Aipac): "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided." - His comments appalled Palestinians who see occupied East Jerusalem as part of a future Palestinian state." -- See also....Degrees of Significance: The Nomination of Barack Obama

The US vs. Obama, McCain, and AIPAC
Related Article - A quote...."Some one million Arab and Muslim Americans, including some in my own family, voted for Obama in the primaries. I was not one of them and I will likely vote for a third party candidate in November."
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Only 7 percent support taking military action against Iran.
A quote...."According to a new poll from Public Agenda, nearly 50 percent of those who follow the situation in Iran say “the one” best way to deal with Iran is through using diplomacy “to establish better relations.” Only five percent favor threatening military action, down from nine percent in fall 2007. Seven percent support taking military action:" -- Also posted at InfoWars

Olmert raises spectre of [another] full-scale Gaza operation
A quote...."TEL AVIV (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday raised the spectre of a full-scale military operation in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip despite [because of] Egyptian attempts to mediate a truce."

MIDEAST:  Palestinian Rivals Step Towards Reducing Rift
Related article - A quote...."As the Israeli military invasions and attacks continue unabated in the occupied Gaza strip, movement towards a so-called Palestinian national unity government seem possible, according to local politicians."

US Air Force purge: Growing tensions within a militarized state
A quote...."The sudden sacking of both the senior civilian and military commanders of the US Air Force Thursday is symptomatic of the growing tensions within an American government dominated by militarism and torn by divisions over what strategy Washington should pursue to defend its global interests."

Regional US military headquarters in Africa put on a slow track
A quote...."Controversy surrounding the US military's new Africa Command has forced the Pentagon to put plans for establishing a headquarters in the continent on a slow track, US defense officials have said." -- Another useless, dangerous boondoogle that's going to get a lot of people killed. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....Africa - the Next Target - 02-28-08 - mpg

Criticism rages with accused 9/11 conspirators in court
A quote...."GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (AFP) — The appearance before a military judge of accused 9/11 conspirators has done little to quiet critics of the tribunal system conceived by the US government to try suspected terrorists."

French army falling apart, documents show
A quote...."Most of France's tanks, helicopters and jet fighters are unusable and its defence apparatus is on the verge of "falling apart", it has emerged."

Colombia, Ecuador to restore diplomatic relations
A quote...."Colombia and Ecuador are restoring diplomatic ties at the charge d'affaires level following mediation by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Colombia's presidential spokesman said Friday."

A Whole School of Trout in the Milk: What We Already Know About Iraq From the People Who Launched the War -- Must Read - A quote...."Anyhow, all the true believers watching Fox will continue to truly believe. As the mayhem of the Bush years dwindles into numbed, robotic destruction and the tragedy of once noble national aspirations not only ruined but now also forgotten, it becomes ever more painfully obvious why these folks cannot let go, no matter how compelling nor how broad the growing mountain of evidence."

The War, the Truth, and the New York Times
Must Read - A quote...."So finally the truth is acknowledged by the mother of all main stream media, the New York Times. -- The June 6 editorial, 'The Truth About the War’ of the media giant begins with these words, "It took just a few months after the United States’ invasion of Iraq for the world to find out that Saddam Hussein had long abandoned his nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs. He was not training terrorists or colluding with Al Qaeda. The only real threat he posed was to his own countrymen." That it took more than five years for the leading light of a servile American media to finally find it out, is a fact glossed over most shamelessly."

The Future of Media Doesn't Belong to Murdoch; It Belongs to Us
A quote...."More and more reporters, including major tv correspondents like Jessica Yellin and Chris Matthews have recently admitted that their bosses were pro-war and that it slanted their coverage. - These Johnny-come-lately confessions confirm what's been obvious to everyone in this room for years: The corporate media is not a watchdog protecting us from the powerful, it is a lapdog begging for scraps. - But for us here today, being right is no consolation in the face of the damage done by the media's love affair with the White House. - Government and corporate propaganda have laid waste to journalistic integrity." -- Also posted at CommonDreams

Time for Congress to Stand Up in Its Own Defense: Impeach Bush and Cheney Now!
A quote...." The last couple of weeks have brought confirmation—as if it were needed—even in the corporate media, that President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and the gang of thugs and sycophants around them in the White House, engaged in a massive conspiracy to lie the country into a war in Iraq."

Blackwater's Private Spies
A quote...."This past September, the secretive mercenary company Blackwater USA found its name splashed across front pages throughout the world after the company's shooters gunned down seventeen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square. But by early 2008, Blackwater had largely receded from the headlines save for the occasional blip on the media radar sparked by Congressman Henry Waxman's ongoing investigations into its activities." -- Also posted at CommonDreams

Machiavelli Was Right
A quote...." Do you really believe that the men who had just fought a long and bloody war against the British and were writing what we call the Bill of Rights had this conversation: - "Well, let's see. We've guaranteed freedom of assembly, of religion, of speech and of the press. Oh, my gosh, we've forgotten the duck hunters. They'll raise heck if we leave them out, so we'd better write an amendment for them." - The Second Amendment has nothing whatsoever to do with hunting. It states: "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Q&A:  'Unlike the Wolf, Sheep Are Afraid of Freedom'
A quote...."BEIJING, Jun 6 (IPS) - The censored world of Chinese contemporary writing is an unlikely place for the rise of literary mystery. But ‘Wolf Totem’, which has sold millions of copies in China and won the inaugural Man Asian Literary Prize last fall, is the ultimate whodunit."
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Jobless spike deepens economic pain
A quote...."NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A spike in the unemployment rate - the biggest in more than two decades - raised new concerns Friday that a weak labor outlook, high oil prices and continuing woes in the housing and credit markets are leading the U.S. economy into a painful recession. -- The government said Friday that the unemployment rate soared to 5.5% in May from 5% in April - much higher than economists had forecast."

Jobless rate soars to 5.5% in May
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. unemployment rate jumped by half a percentage point in May -- to 5.5%, the highest since October 2004 -- on the biggest increase in seasonally adjusted unemployment in 33 years, government data showed Friday." - bold by website editor

Despite Interest Rate Cuts, Foreclosures Hit Record High
A quote...."Even though lower interest rates have made many adjustable-rate mortgages more affordable, foreclosures continue to reach new heights as more than 1 million homeowners face losing their home, according to industry figures released yesterday. -- That's because what began as a mortgage crisis focused largely on subprime borrowers has spread and is being fed by the slowing economy it helped create."

Americans $1.7 trillion poorer
A quote...."NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Americans saw their net worth decline by $1.7 trillion in the first quarter - the biggest drop since 2002 - as declines in home values and the stock market ravaged their holdings. -- Meanwhile, the amount of equity people have in their homes fell to 46.2%, the lowest level on record."

Oil rises more than $8 to new record high
War Warning - A quote...."NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices shot up nearly $10 to a new record above $137 a barrel Friday after a Morgan Stanley analyst predicted prices could hit $150 by the Fourth of July. The meteoric surge builds on a huge gain the previous day and sets the stage for the biggest two-day gain in the history of the New York Mercantile Exchange." -- Editor's caution : obviously these guys have a vested interest in driving up oil prices, just remember the old Wall Street adage...."pigs get slaughtered."  But on the other hand this market action could be due not just to yesterdays public comments from Israel about attacking Iran, but more importantly, private assurances that they will.  If so this sort of market action constitutes a War Warning. - mpg

Fed's Bullard: Inflation expectations likely to worsen
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The inflation outlook is likely to be a more pressing concern for the Fed in the second half of the year as the U.S. economy gains steam and financial market turmoil wanes, said James Bullard, the newest president of a regional Federal Reserve bank, at a Friday event."

Has the Government Looted the Gold at Fort Knox?
A quote...."A group called the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee claims that the U.S. government has defrauded the American people out of the nation's wealth. Specifically, the group claims that the U.S. has secretly sold, leased or otherwise frittered away half of its entire gold reserves to pay for past military adventures abroad and other ill-conceived actions. Furthermore, the group claims that the government has intentionally covered up this loss of gold reserves through accounting fraud."

The Derivatives Market is Unwinding!
A quote...."A couple of months ago, a financial analyst who sells derivatives told me that fears about a meltdown in the derivatives market were unfounded. -- Yesterday, he told me - with a very worried look - "THE DERIVATIVES MARKET IS UNWINDING!" -- Editor's note: of course the derivatives market is unwinding, most of the market is based on bogus securities....however the Fed which is currently loaning out seventy five BILLION dollars a week to the banks in exchange for these bogus securities will simply loan out a hundred and seventy five billion a week, or two hundred and seventy five billion a week to prevent a collapse.  There really is no limit for "Helicopter Bernanke".  Of course in the end it's just going to make everything much, much, worse.- mpg

“Many airlines will not survive” oil crisis warns IATA
A quote...."The leaders of the world’s airlines unanimously agreed to a resolution calling for governments, airports and labour to take immediate action to help the industry survive the growing financial crisis."


Degrees of Significance: The Nomination of Barack Obama
Must Read - A quote...."At the very least -- until the novelty wears off (and novelty wears off very, very quickly in America)-- if Obama wins the presidency, there will be some aesthetic relief in seeing a different kind of face on the tee-vee mouthing various pieties, refusing to take any options off the table, etc., in place of the long procession of pasty white males of Northern European descent. -- As for the substantial significance of Obama's nomination win, there is none. The only thing that really matters is what the human being named Barack Obama will do with power (if he gets it), and not his skin color. Or to put it another way: What difference did Colin Powell's status as a non-white person in the highest cabinet office make when the question of aggressive war was on the line? None. He was later replaced not only by another non-white person, but by a non-white female, Condi Rice. What difference did Rice's ethnicity and gender make to her collusion with the Bush faction's brutal policies of aggressive war, torture, rendition, state terror, etc.? None."
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Engaging Syria: Losing Ground
A quote...."Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to engage Syria has been met with much scepticism in Israel and the Arab world. There, media discussions of Olmert's intentions fall between the following parameters: breaking the Iran-Syria-Hizbullah alliance, isolating the Palestinian opposition headquartered in Damascus, and diverting attention from heated corruption scandals dogging him at home. -- As outspoken as hawks (both in Israel and the US) might be about the "need" for another war, many know by now that a full-scale invasion of Iran would be political, if not also military suicide. Iran has a stable and popular government with ample resources and many years of mental and physical preparations for a military showdown. It also has plenty of options for retaliation and great influence among Iraqi militias that would, on a whim, turn their weapons on US occupation forces."

Five Years on, Saddam's Successor Resurfaces Heading Iraq Resistance, Al-Baath
A quote...."For the first time since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in April 2003, the deputy of Saddam Hussein, the late President of Iraq, Izzat Ibrahim Addouri has resurfaced, despite a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, in a lengthy interview with Abdel-Azim Manaf, the editor-in-chief of the Egyptian newspaper Al-Mawqif Al-Arabi, not a mainstream, on May 26 to lay out the strategy and tactics of the Iraqi resistance led by the former ruling party, Al-Baath. Addouri's resurface and the resistance strategy he has laid out represent a direct challenge to the U.S. occupying power."

IAEA on Iran's Nuclear Program: Reality vs. US media myth
A quote...."When the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sent its follow-up report on the implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement in Iran to the United Nations Security Council on May 26, the response from the U.S. media was pretty much along predictable lines."

Boeing Subsidiary Scot Free, Hayden, Bradbury On The Hot Seat
A quote...."As the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency acknowledged it had erroneously denied using British territory to transport victims of “extraordinary rendition,” a federal court earlier this year bowed to pressure from the Bush administration to dismiss a case against a Boeing subsidiary being sued for providing the aircraft that carried the suspected terrorists." -- For more on this issue see....Come Fly the Un-Friendly Boeing Skys

The torturous truth about Guantanamo’s 9/11 hearing
A quote...."So, here we have Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in his first public showing since his 2003 capture, a man who has to confessed to everything but the torching of the Reichstag now telling an American judge he doesn’t want his American legal team, that is, his Pentagon-appointed legal team. “I want to represent myself,” he said. How can that be?" -- For more on this issue see....The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg

Beautiful Lies
A quote...."Within hours of Pat Tillman's death, the Army went into information-lockdown mode, cutting off phone and Internet connections at a base in Afghanistan, posting guards on a wounded platoon mate, and ordering a sergeant to burn Tillman's uniform." -- For more on this issue see....Fake Intel / Propaganda - Pat Tillman

Senate Hits Bush, Cheney on Iraq Intel
Special Note - A quote...."President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney knowingly lied to Congress and the public about the threat that Iraq posed to the United States in the months leading up to the March 2003 invasion, according to a long-awaited report from the Senate Intelligence Committee. -- Separately, a second report said former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld set up an intelligence office within the Defense Department known as the Office of Special Plans "without the knowledge of the Intelligence Community or the State Department" to promote alleged links between Iraq and al-Qaeda and cooked intelligence about Iraq's weapons cache. -- The Office of Special Plans was headed by Douglas Feith, former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and a chief architect of the Iraq War." -- For more on this issue see....Fake Intel / Propaganda - Rumsfeld's Office of Special Plans

Video shows bystanders ignoring hit-and-run victim
A quote...."HARTFORD, Conn. - A 78-year-old man is tossed like a rag doll by a hit-and-run driver and lies motionless on a busy city street as car after car goes by. Pedestrians gawk but appear to do nothing. One driver stops briefly but then pulls back into traffic. A man on a scooter slowly circles the victim before zipping away." -- What the heck!  This is a capitalist society, "dog eat dog", "survival of the fittest" you know?  The pitiless system where only money and profit count.  For God's sake people, this country allowed it's rich and powerful to set up and murder three thousand of their fellow citizens so they could go kill a million other people to steal their oil....what the hell did you expect.  We're all fellow capitalists now.  Here's the fun part, this is only the beginning of this society's decent into darkness.  Welcome to the New Roman Empire. - mpg

House Democrats cut unemployment extension to fund wars
A quote...."Seeking to find a way to win over fiscally conservative "Blue Dog" members of their own caucus, House Democrats are planning to ax a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits to find a way to pay for the Iraq war."

US issues threat to Iraq's $50bn foreign reserves in military deal
Must Read - A quote...."The US is holding hostage some $50bn (£25bn) of Iraq's money in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to pressure the Iraqi government into signing an agreement seen by many Iraqis as prolonging the US occupation indefinitely, according to information leaked to The Independent." -- “You don't'a do business wi'us, we break'a your face, we break'a your kids, we break'a your whole Goddamn country....and we take'a all your money too.  You unnerstanz us?!?!” ---  If it hasn't already become abundantly clear yet to everyone out there, this is what will happen EVERY SINGLE TIME you do "business" with American banks, American corporations or its Neo-Roman Elites...every single time. - mpg

textPowerful Iraqi cleric flirting with Shiite militant message
A quote...."BAGHDAD - Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible — a potentially significant shift by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad. -- The edicts, or fatwas, by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani suggest he seeks to sharpen his long-held opposition to American troops and counter the populist appeal of his main rivals, firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia."

Hamas 'will win Palestinian polls'
A quote...."Hamas says it retains the support of the Palestinian people despite facing an Israeli blockade on Gaza and an international boycott. -- "If elections were to occur tomorrow, we would win," Mahmoud Zahar, the co-founder of Hamas, the largest Palestinian Islamist resistance movement, told journalists."
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To fight future cyberbattles, Air Force recruiting part-time geeks
A quote...."The Air National Guard is drawing from Microsoft, Cisco, and other high-tech firms. -- The Air Force’s new emphasis on cyberwarfare is raising questions abroad. What happens if the US moves from defensive measures – protecting the Pentagon’s website from hackers, for example – to offensive operations aimed at foreign websites? -- The Air Force is already hinting that it may engage in offensive actions. -- “The pervasive nature of pro-jihad Web sites represents a tangible and highly visible example of how our adversaries use elements of cyberspace against us,” wrote Wynne in his recent article. “We cannot allow our adversaries to operate freely there.”

Attention Geeks and Hackers - Uncle Sam's Cyber Force Wants You!
A quote...."Recently, while I was on a visit to Salon.com, my computer screen momentarily went black. A glitch? A power surge? No, it was a pop-up ad for the U.S. Air Force, warning me that an enemy cyber-attack could come at any moment -- with dire consequences for my ability to connect to the Internet. It was an Outer Limits moment. Remember that eerie sci-fi show from the early 1960s? The one that began in a blur with the message, "There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission…." It felt a little like that."

For more on the two articles shown above see....Attempts to Control the Internet
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A paralyzing rise in money supply
Some quotes...."Money of Zero Maturity (MZM) is considered to be a reasonable proxy for watching the movement of M3, which is the broadest measure of the money supply, which is important because inflation in the money supply means that inflation in consumer prices is coming. -- Now that we have the academic stuff out of the way, the truly horrifying part of it all is when Mr Hamilton says, "Absolute annual MZM growth peaked at a staggering 16.7% in March 2008", and that "Bernanke's Fed has been ramping money-supply growth so fast that actual MZM is starting to look parabolic even on a short-term chart. In just over two years under him, MZM has ballooned 25.1% unchecked!"  --  "He goes on to say that these rates of growth in the money supply "defy the imagination. At 12% growth compounded annually, it only takes six years for something to double. At 16%, this drops to well under five years."

Crude Oil Rises More Than $5 After Dollar Drops Against Euro
A quote...."June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose more than $5 a barrel as the dollar dropped against the euro on statements that the European Central Bank may boost interest rates to cut inflation." -- Keep in mind regarding the dollar, the Fed is hinting at raising rates....but it's mostly talk and no action will be taken till after the elections.  Than they'll hand Obama (assuming he's still around and he's been elected) the empty bag, looted safe, bare cupboard, filled with worthless pieces of paper and IOUs that was once called the US economy. - mpg