Tuesday June 30th 2009

Monday June 29th 2009

More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

A Few Thoughts on the Coup in Honduras
Special Note - A quote...."It is impossible to imagine that the US was not aware that the coup was in the works. At minimum, the US could have flexed its tremendous economic muscle before the coup and told the military coup plotters to stand down." -- also posted at ICH

Two Military Battalions Turn Against Honduras Coup Regime
Breaking News - Posted on June 29, 2009 -- A quote...."Community Radio “Es Lo de Menos” was the first to report that the Fourth Infantry Battalion has rebelled from the military coup regime in Honduras. The radio station adds that “it seems” (“al parecer,” in the original Spanish) that the Tenth Infantry Battalion has also broken from the coup."

Gabriela Gurvich, “Honduras: Dawn of General Strike”
A quote...."here was a curfew until 6 AM.  The city is militarized.  Hondurans remain in the streets, demanding the return of their president, Manuel Zelaya, keeping a vigil all night. -- This Monday morning began in Honduras with people demanding the return of democracy, ready for struggle.  There was a curfew until 6 AM.  The city is militarized, but Hondurans remain in the streets, demanding the return of their president, Manuel Zelaya."

Chaos erupts after Honduras coup
A quote...."TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – Shots were fired near the presidential palace in Honduras where protests erupted after the army ousted and exiled leftist President Manuel Zelaya on Sunday in Central America's first military coup since the Cold War."

Honduran president vows to return
A quote...."The Honduran president ousted by a military coup and forced into exile has said he will return home on Thursday. -- Speaking in the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, late on Monday, Manuel Zelaya said: "I go to Tegucigalpa on Thursday. I'm the elected president, I will fulfil my four-year term."

“Zelaya may be returned soon”
Contains Video - A quote...."If the major protests following the coup of Honduras President Manuel Zelaya continue, the country’s government will have to return him, says Mark Weisbrot, co-director at the Centre for Economic and Policy Research."

Coup in Honduras: Military Ousts President Manuel Zelaya, Supporters Defy Curfew and Take to the Streets
A quote...."In the first military coup in Central America in a quarter of a century, the Honduran military has ousted the democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya. Former Parliamentary speaker Roberto Micheletti, who was sworn in as Zelaya’s replacement on Sunday, has imposed a two-day nationwide curfew. But hundreds of Zelaya supporters remain on the streets, and shots were fired at protesters near the presidential palace early Monday morning. We go to Honduras to speak with Honduran medical doctor and award-winning human rights activist, Dr. Juan Almendares, and NYU professor of Latin American history, Greg Grandin. [includes rush transcript]"  --  ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

Claim: Leftist leader assassinated in Honduras
A quote...."The leader of Honduras’ only major left-leaning party has been killed by the country’s military, says a report in the NarcoNews blog."

Obama's Real Message to Latin America? - The Coup in Honduras
Special Note - A quote...."Whatever goodwill existed last week [between the US and Venezula] however could now be undone by turbulent political events in Honduras.  Following the military coup d’etat there on Sunday, Chávez accused the U.S. of helping to orchestrate the overthrow of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.  “Behind these soldiers are the Honduran bourgeois, the rich who converted Honduras into a Banana Republic, into a political and military base for North American imperialism,” Chávez thundered.  The Venezuelan leader urged the Honduran military to return Zelaya to power and even threatened military action against the coup regime if Venezuela’s ambassador was killed or local troops entered the Venezuelan Embassy." -- also posted at ICH & OhBummer

Coup d'Etat Underway in Honduras: OBAMA’S FIRST COUP D’ETAT
A quote...."[Note: As of 11:15am, Caracas time, President Zelaya is speaking live on Telesur from San Jose, Costa Rica. He has verified the soldiers entered his residence in the early morning hours, firing guns and threatening to kill him and his family if he resisted the coup. He was forced to go with the soldiers who took him to the air base and flew him to Costa Rica. He has requested the U.S. Government make a public statement condemning the coup, otherwise, it will indicate their compliance.]"

The Honduran coup: another US destabilization operation
A quote...."While publicly opposing the military coup that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Sunday, the Obama administration on Monday indicated that it will not cut off aid to the Central American country or demand Zelaya’s reinstatement."

Chavez threatens to invade as Honduran army stages coup
A quote...."In the first successful military coup in Central America since the end of the Cold War, the army sent masked soldiers into the presidential palace before dawn. The President, who was in dispute with his military about a planned constitutional referendum, was then escorted to a military plane which took him into exile. -- Mr Chavez went on state television later in the day claiming that the coup leaders had taken away the Cuban ambassador to Honduras and left the Venezuelan ambassador by the road in the capital, Tegucigalpa, after beating him. He said that if troops enter his embassy "that military junta would be entering a de facto state of war," and "we would have to act militarily". -- also posted at ICH

Zelaya in Nicaragua
A quote...."The vice-minister of security of Costa Rica, Jose Towers, confirmed that the government of Venezuela has sent an airplane that has landed in Costa Rica, to take Zelaya to Nicaragua this afternoon. There he will participate in an emergency meeting of ALBA in Managua."

UN General Assembly president slams Honduras coup
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS: The president of the UN General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, has strongly condemned the army coup that deposed President."

Brazil's Lula calls for Zelaya return in Honduras
A quote...."Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned on Monday the military coup in Honduras and said Brazil would only recognize a government headed by deposed leader Manuel Zelaya."

Pathetic Progressives Ignore Coup
A quote...."I have never been so ashamed to have at one time considered myself in league with some of these so-called “progressive” websites or the people that frequent them."
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More On The Iranian Election....

Evidence of Revision: BBC Caught In Mass Public Deception With Iran Propaganda
Special Note - A quote...."The BBC has again been caught engaging in mass public deception by using photographs of pro-Ahmadinejad rallies in Iran and claiming they represent anti-government protests in favor of Hossein Mousavi. "

Police, Basij 'imposters' arrested in Iran
Special Note - A quote...."Iranian police officials have reportedly arrested the armed imposters who posed as security forces during post-election violence in the country. -- Iran's Basij commander, Hossein Taeb, said Monday that the imposters had worn police and Basij uniforms to infiltrate the rallies and create havoc. -- Taeb added that the recent anti-government riots have killed eight members of the Basij and wounded 300 others."

Secret camera leads to arrest of 9 in British embassy in Iran
Special Note - A quote...."The government of Iran arrested 9 members of the British Embassy accusing them of taking part in anti-goverment demonstrations after they were filmed by a secret camera that had been placed, unbeknownst to embassy members, inside the British embassy" -- see also....Five British embassy staff freed

CIA has Distributed 400 Million Dollars Inside Iran to Evoke a Revolution
Special Note - A quote...."Former Pakistani Army General Mirza Aslam Beig claims the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has distributed 400 million dollars inside Iran to evoke a revolution."

Sickening Hypocrisy: the CIA's Dirty War in Iran
Special Note - A quote...."Having won the presidential election by a landslide, Ahmadinejad and his backers within the Iranian regime should be basking in the glory of an overwhelming mandate from the Iranian people. Instead they face unrelenting pressure from within and without as they confront their deadliest crisis yet. The US and British media is presently falling over itself to broadcast images of an Iranian protestor shot dead in broad daylight, while repeatedly decrying "election fraud" in Iran."

Beware the Dreaded Iranian Curse
Special Note - A quote...."WASHINGTON – We keep making the mistake of dealing with each new foreign crisis as a distinct and unique event, rather than as part of a historical-political continuum. Here is a sad example: -- In 1982, my old friend and Georgetown University Foreign Service School classmate, Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, was executed in Tehran after mounting a failed attempt to overthrow Iran’s Islamic Republic."

Ahmadinejad votes [go] up after partial re-count
Ha! It was only twelve votes, but it's still funny. - mpg -- A quote...."A random re-count of 10 percent of votes cast in Iran's June 12 elections results in a slight increase of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's votes in some cities. -- After ballot boxes were randomly chosen and re-counted in the presence of the Guardian Council, interior ministry and district governor representatives, Ahmadinejad's votes increased in the province of Kerman, Fars news reported on Monday." -- For more on this issue see....It's The Votes That Count - 06-28-09 - mpg
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After Iran election, Israel beefs up air force
War Alert - A quote...."The Israeli Air Force has launched an upgrade of its F-15 fleet, equipping the jets with complex systems that would enable them to carry out long-distance attacks. - Both the Israeli F-15s and F-15Is -- another version of the F-15 developed by an American manufacturer for the IAF -- are currently being equipped with two advanced weapons systems."

US soldiers leaving Iraq's cities -- For the moment. - mpg
A quote...."US troops are withdrawing from towns and cities in Iraq, six years after the invasion, having formally handed over security duties to new Iraqi forces."

American forces quit Baghdad as gleeful Iraqis cheer
A quote...."BAGHDAD: US troops pulled out of Baghdad Monday, triggering jubilation among Iraqis hopeful that foreign military occupation is ending six years after the invasion to oust Saddam Hussein. " -- Dream on. - mpg

Iraq's VP Hashemi to boycott oil tenders
A quote...."There are many existing reservations over this vital issue concerning Iraq's oil resources," Hashemi said in a letter, posted on his website, to Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani. -- he urged the minister to "hold off on awarding bids to the winning companies and give parliament enough time to study these bids," said the letter, released by Hashemi's office."

The scramble for Iraq's 'sweet oil'
A quote...."With proven oil reserves of around 112 billion barrels and up to another 150 billion barrels of probable reserves, Iraq is the greatest untapped prize for international oil companies. -- To put that in context, if Iraq does turn out to have around 300 billion barrels of oil, it will rival the world's biggest producer Saudi Arabia - which has around 160 billion barrels of proven reserves."

Report: Pakistan's Ideological Blowback
A quote...."If the bucolic Swat valley, tucked into the Himalayas less than 100 miles from the capital city of Islamabad, is a bellwether for Pakistan's war against the Pakistani Taliban,1 the war is going badly."

Afghan Leader Says Guards Working for U.S. Killed Police Chief
A quote...."KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- President Hamid Karzai accused Afghan guards working for U.S. coalition forces of killing a provincial police chief and at least four other security officers during a gunbattle outside a government office Monday. -- In a harshly worded statement, Karzai demanded that coalition forces hand over the private security guards involved. But the governor of Kandahar later said 41 guards connected to the incident had been disarmed and arrested by Afghan authorities." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Egypt arrests Brotherhood leaders
A quote...."Egyptian authorities have detained seven members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest Islamic opposition group. -- The arrests on Monday, which included three senior leaders, were part of a security crackdown on the organisation, Abdel Moneim Abdel-Maksoud, the group's lawyer, said." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Russian Troops Mass Near Georgia For War Games
A quote...."Russia on Monday started its biggest military exercises in the Caucasus since its war with neighbouring Georgia last year, mobilising thousands of troops in a clear warning to its foes."

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa on Global Capitalism, Why He Won’t Renew the US Base in Manta, Chevron in the Amazon, Obama’s War in Afghanistan, and More -- A quote...."In a national broadcast exclusive, we speak with the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa. He was in New York attending the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development. In a wide-ranging interview, we speak with President Correa about global capitalism, his decision not to renew the license for the US military base in Manta, the $12 billion lawsuit against Chevron brought by thousands of Amazon residents for toxic oil pollution, Ecuador’s relationship with Colombia, and his advice to President Obama: “To learn more and come to better understand the region, and that [Obama] not let himself be taken along by the power of certain media outlets that are compromised with certain ideological fundaments, and that the heroes aren’t necessarily heroes, and the villains aren’t necessarily villains.” [includes rush transcript] -- ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

Versailles Treaty 90 years on: international law still ignored
Contains Video - A quote...."Even though it has been 90 years since the Treaty of Versailles, a peace deal signed at the end of WWI which ended the conflict between Germany and the Allied Powers, its legacy is still being felt today."
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Red Cross: Israel trapping 1.5m Gazans in despair
A quote...."The Red Cross released a damning report Monday on the effects of the Israel-led blockade on the Gaza Strip, describing the 2-year-old measure as having trapped the coastal territory's 1.5 million residents "in despair."

URGENT ALERT - Israeli Navy surrounding SPIRIT and threatening to open fire
Action Alert -- A quote...."Monday, 29 June 2009 23:57 Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 June 2009 00:07 Written by Free Gaza Team -- At 1:40 am, the Israeli Navy surrounded the SPIRIT while in international waters off the coast of Israel as it is on its way to the Gaza Strip. We got a call from the boat saying that they were being threatened, told to turn back or they would be fired on. -- Huwaida Arraf, one of the delegation leaders, was on the phone with the Israeli gunboats, and we could hear her saying, "You Cannot Open Fire on Unarmed Civilians" several times. At this writing, they are surrounded by several ships shining bright lights into the SPIRIT."

Israeli soldiers poisoned well in West Bank village, say local officials
A quote...."Jenin – Ma’an – Israeli soldiers poured dirt, stones and toxic chemicals in the only well in the hamlet of Khirbat Makehl near the village of Ya’bad in the northern West Bank overnight on Saturday, according to Palestinians in the community." -- also posted at AtheoNews & WarInIraq

UN rights mission hears of Gaza children's suffering
A quote...."GAZA CITY (AFP) -- A UN human rights mission listened to testimony about the suffering of children in the Gaza Strip on Monday before wrapping up two days of public hearings into alleged Israeli war crimes."

Israeli settlers attack two Nablus villages
A quote...."Nablus – Ma’an – Two Palestinians were injured on Monday evening when crowds of Israeli settlers attacked villages of Asira Al-Qibliya and Far’ata southwest of Nablus."

Casualties rising in Gaza's "buffer zone"
A quote...."There was an explosion, maybe 20 meters away. Then another immediately after.  I realized I had been hit," said Saleh Ahmad al-Medani, pulling aside the collar of his T-shirt to show one of three places where he was punctured by the metal darts known as "flechettes." The razor-like flechettes are dart-shaped bits of metal packed by the thousands into a single shell that are approximately two inches long."

Pro-Israel Lobby Alarmed by Growth of Boycott, Divestment Movement
A quote...."The movement to call Israel to account for its crimes against the Palestinian people is growing. It is "invading the mainstream discourse, becoming part of the constant and unrelenting drumbeat against Israel." It could eventually threaten the existence of the Jewish state by undermining the support it receives from its strongest backer, the U. S. government. That was the message of alarm delivered by the Executive Director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Howard Kohr, to the AIPAC Policy Conference on May 3.[1]"

AIPAC In Panic Mode ROFL
Action Alert - A quote...."Awe, poor little Israel, according to the Zionist Entity AIPAC controlling American Politicians and American Foreign Policy, it would appear they are starting to enter the "OMG Panic Mode" due to the ongoing (and very excellent) boycott and divestment campaign against the Rogue Statelet referred to as "Israel" check this out for a refreshing burst of "Feel Good" -- For more on how to boycott Israel see the websites listed in the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of Reficultnias
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Waking Up Is Hard to Do - posted at Consortium News
A quote...."....we are easy to control as a mass of isolated individuals, which is held together by norms and regulations, bureaucracies, military, and police, and concepts such as the nation state, the church and the corporation. -- If we are to stay in this model of society, I fear we will live in perpetual war until we destroy ourselves by not paying attention to the fact that something is drastically wrong." -- also posted at OnlineJournal

Exclusive: Top CIA lawyers to face legal complaints over roles in interrogation program
A quote...."A grassroots coalition will file complaints today with the Washington, D.C. bar against two Central Intelligence Agency lawyers for their involvement in authorizing the use of controversial interrogation techniques against detainees in US custody. -- Velvet Revolution, a coalition of over 150 grassroots groups, will register complaints against CIA lawyers Jonathan M. Fredman and John A. Rizzo."

Obama Administration Shuts Down 9/11 Families Lawsuit - Of course he did, the Saudi Royals are his "friends" too.
A quote...."The Obama administration has effectively ended the efforts of families of victims of the September 11th attacks to bring lawsuits against members of the Saudi Royal family for financial links to the conspiracy. -- The Supreme Court today ruled that it will not allow any lawsuits to go ahead, just a few weeks after the government filed a court brief asking that the case be quashed.

US: The Eavesdropping Continues
A quote...."Once again, the country is learning about how the federal government has been exceeding its legal authority and violating Americans' most basic rights in the name of fighting terrorism. -- In a disturbing article in The Times on Wednesday, James Risen and Eric Lichtblau said that Congressional investigations suggest that the National Security Agency continues to routinely collect Americans' telephone calls and e-mail messages - perhaps by the millions." -- also posted at OhBummer

H.R. 675: Building Obama’s Civilian National Security Force
A quote...."In January, without any recognizable corporate media coverage, Rep. Bob Filner, a California Democrat, introduced H.R. 675. The bill would amend title 10 of the United States Code and extend to civilian employees of the Department of Defense the authority to execute warrants, make arrests, and carry firearms. The bill was referred to the Armed Services Committee on January 26, 2009." -- also posted at GlobRsrch

Cheney's Top Torture Lawyers Now Work for Obama
Special Note - A quote...."We've heard of John Yoo and Alberto Gonzales, and maybe even Jay Bybee. Some of us recall John Ashcroft, Michael Mukasey, and even David Addington. William Haynes, Stephen Bradbury, and Douglas Feith occasionally make the news. If I had any say about it all 40 of these facilitators of torture would be universally known -- plus the eight more that readers of this article will call to my attention and angrily accuse me of trying to cover for by only being aware of 40. I would also make universally known the fact that two of the worst now work for President Barack Obama.

Establishment view of Obama's civil liberties record
A quote...."One of the most cherished weapons for dismissing political arguments without having to engage them is to claim they come from "the Far Left" or are confined to "liberal ideologues."  For years, that was what was said about withdrawing from Iraq even as majorities of Americans supported that position, and it is how the political and media establishment now demonize the call for investigations into Bush/Cheney crimes, despite large percentages and diverse ideological support for those views .  Exactly the same tactic is used to dismiss those who criticize Obama for adopting Bush policies in the areas of civil liberties and secrecy:  only people from the Far Left fringe or civil liberties extremists would equate Obama and Bush when it comes to such matters."

The Cheating of Don Siegelman, Part I -- Part II -- Part III
A quote...."We recently introduced our series of posts about the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and its unlawful ruling on the Don Siegelman case. Now it's time to dive into the details. Here is part 1 of "The Cheating of Don Siegelman."
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Where the Money Isn't Going
A quote...."Wherever I heard that hackneyed phrase, "If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging," it applies more today than anytime I can remember. What I don't understand is, when our government has spent billions on bank bailouts (not a good idea) on bailing out the stupidity of the automobile executives (a better idea because it saves jobs for working people), why are members of Congress and the drug and insurance lobbies feeding this fairy tale that we cannot afford single payer health care." -- also posted at CounterPunch

Worldwide Depression: Review of Global Markets
A quote...."As you have already seen this is a worldwide depression and no one will escape. Europe’s economy is already in a shambles as is the US economy. Inflation will rage all over the world, because every nation has created massive amounts of money and credit as demanded by US and British elitists. They have all overmedicated the patient. As the Broadway hit play of many years ago told us, we are going to have to go through a “Period of Adjustment.” Some nations will get off easier than others. There will be no decoupling and many nations could have revolutions."

Debasing the Currency is Leading to Financial Collapse . . . Just As It Has for Thousands of Years
A quote...."In a fascinating 22-page study of money and currency, Christopher Weber shows that every government - from Athens, to pre-collapse Rome, to the Islamic countries in the Middle Ages - which stuck to the Greek standard of coins has been stable and prosperous."

Dollar Falls Most in Month as China Urges New Reserve Currency
A quote...."June 27 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar declined the most against the euro in a month and dropped versus the yen after China repeated its call for a new global currency."

Sunday June 28th 2009

"In a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy."

Saturday June 27th 2009

Will the 'Dollar Wars' Kill What's Left of the American Dream?
Must Read - A quote...."Here's a terrible joke: An elderly man walks into a bar and says, "I got good news and I got bad news." -- "What's the good news?" the bartender asks. -- "I stayed out of the stock market, so my retirement dollars are safe." -- "What's the bad news?" -- "They're dollars." -- OK, I said it was a terrible joke. But that may be what the dollar is becoming, now that the critical mass of wartime spending, rampant consumption, hyper-real finance  and environmental collapse has hit the fan." - also posted at ICH

ECONOMY:  "Patching Up Bretton Woods Makes No Sense
Related Article - A quote...."UNITED NATIONS, Jun 26 (IPS) - The world community must take immediate action to overhaul the current global financial system – that's what a vast majority of political leaders and policymakers from the developing world who are attending a three-day U.N. conference on the global economic crisis are saying."

Deadly Reasons to Oust Incumbents in 2010
Must Read - A quote...."June 26, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- -There may be many reasons to vote against an incumbent, but surely, failing to prevent thousands of avoidable, unnecessary deaths must be the strongest reason. -- As a result of two recent Congressional votes, more Americans, Iraqis, Afghanis, and Pakistanis will continue to die or suffer unnecessarily, most of which could have been avoided if our members of Congress did their sworn duty instead of betraying us as well as the civilians in those three victimized countries."

"Soooee, sooeee, calling all porkers"
Related Article - A quote...."Congress just gave itself nearly 4 BILLION for EXPENSES -- How sweet it is! -- How would you like a job with a six figure salary and the ability to vote yourself an additional healthy chunk of taxpayer money to be used for "expenses?" -- Need millions and millions each year to run your household? -- Then become a member of the Congressional royalty and you too can wallow in the pork of nearly FOUR BILLION dollars to be used for "expenses." - bold by website editor - also posted at ICH

A Withdrawal in Name Only - No surprise of course. - mpg
A quote...."On November 17, 2008, when Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker signed an agreement for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, citizens from both countries applauded. While many were disappointed about the lengthy timeline for the withdrawal of the troops, it appeared that a roadmap was set to end the war and occupation. However, the first step — withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009 — is full of loopholes, and tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers will remain in the cities after the "deadline" passes."

Afghan leader criticises US ambassador
A quote...."KABUL (AFP) – President Hamid Karzai criticised Saturday the US ambassador's presence at a meeting calling for a decentralisation of his government, adding he would fight such moves "tooth and nail"."

US gives up on eradicating Afghanistan’s opium
A quote...."Since the United States invaded Afghanistan, the country’s number one cash crop, opium, has repeatedly broken production records. By some estimates, the occupied territory now supplies some 90 percent of the world’s poppies."

Release of "Holy Grail" Torture Document Delayed
A quote...."If the arc of the Obama administration truly bends toward transparency, it seems that we've still got a ways to bend."

The Emperor's Seven Signing Statements
A quote...."Lawless detention is the least of it. State secrets and warrantless spying scrape the surface. Drone attacks and ongoing torture begin to touch it. But central to the power of an emperor, and the catastrophes that come from the existence of an emperor, is the elimination of any other force within the government. Signing statements eliminate congress. Not that congress objects. Asking congress to reclaim its power produces nervous giggles." -- also posted at OpEdNews

"Obama issues signing statement on $106B war bill 26 Jun 2009 President Obama signed the $106 billion war-spending bill into law Friday, but not without taking a page from his predecessor and ignoring a few elements in the legislation. Obama included a five-paragraph signing statement with the bill, including a final paragraph that outlined his objections to at least four areas of the bill. President [sic] George W. Bush was heavily criticized for his use of signing statements, declaring he'd ignore some elements of legislation by invoking presidential prerogative." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

"Secret US-equipped 'Dirty Brigade' in Iraq forefront 26 Jun 2009 Iraqi security services employ an elite, American-trained force [death squad] with a reputation that leads many Iraqis to call it "the dirty brigade." Its real name is the Counter Terrorism Bureau. The elite units, armed with high-tech U.S.-made equipment, often pair up with American special forces to go after Iraq's foes. Formed soon after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the force became known as the "Dirty Brigade" because it was secretive and until recently operated outside the Iraqi chain of command, reporting directly to its U.S. handlers. The little-known group was rumored to be used against the government's opponents in the political mainstream_ a charge denied by the Iraqis and the Americans. The group is reported to have doubled in size to about 9,000 members and now reports directly to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

Africom to Continue Under Obama - Of course it will, the New Roman Empire must expand.  It's that simple. - mpg
A quote...."With the Obama administration set to oversee significant increases in US security assistance programmes for African countries, Daniel Volman examines the US government's plans for its military operations on the African continent over the coming financial year. Stressing that the US president is essentially continuing the policies outlined under his predecessor George W. Bush, the author considers the proposed funding increases for initiatives like the Foreign Military Financing programme and the International Military Education and Training (IMET) programme. Pointing out that the administration is yet to offer any public explanation of its policy, Volman concludes that it would be a mistake to assume that there will be no US military action if the situation in Somalia deteriorates." -- also posted at BLN & OhBummer & DProgram

Leaders of Pakistan and India Meet in Russia, Discuss Relations
A quote...."YEKATERINBURG (Russia), June 16 — The eight-month long Pakistan-India stalled peace process got a fresh lease of life as President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met here on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)."

Hezbollah keeps its eye on the ball
Must Read - A quote...."DAMASCUS - Many years ago, French president Charles de Gaulle
said, "France has no friends; only interests." These words came to mind as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah recently met with anti-Syrian Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a man who has loudly been critical of Hezbollah, for the first time in three years. "

Israeli Army amasses troops, military hardware along Lebanese border
War Alert - A quote...."BEIRUT: The Israeli Army stepped up its presence along the border with Lebanon deploying armored tanks and setting up fortifications as it intensified airspace violations in the area, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported Thursday. In "unusual military activity," the Israeli Army deployed Merkava tanks and soldier carriers, among other armored vehicles, along the barb-wired fence separating Shebaa Farms from liberated Lebanese territories, the NNA said. "
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On The Iranian Election....

Iran and public opinion
Must Read - A quote...."The political, intellectual and social essence of these letters is revealed in its contemptuous reference to the World Socialist Web Site’s “tired blather about US imperialism.” For our angry critic, the role of American imperialism is an insignificant factor in developments in Iran, of interest only to those “stuck in a time warp.” --
In other words, “imperialism” belongs to the past. There is no reason to talk about it when examining contemporary events. Our critic does not tell us why this is so. The fact that the United States is presently waging war in three countries (Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan) that border Iran is dismissed as of no importance. Nor does it matter that Iran bestrides the strategically critical Persian Gulf and possesses immense reserves of oil and natural gas. We must also assume that the WSWS’s references to the CIA-sponsored 1953 coup against the Mossadeq regime and the subsequent quarter century of military dictatorship is also irrelevant “blather”—though we suspect that it remains very much on the minds of millions of Iranians who have not forgotten the Shah’s reign."

US misunderstanding on Iran lingers
Special Note - A quote...."WASHINGTON - After 30 years of enmity closed off most lines of communication, the recent crisis in Iran has suddenly engendered a boom of American interest in the Islamic Republic. -- But much of the attention in Washington and elsewhere in the US is often misplaced, misguided, or completely detached from the realities currently embroiling Iran in its most significant crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution."

US Likely Source of Interference in Iran's Election
Analysis - A quote...."A recent article called “Ahmadinejad Won, Get Over It” by Flynt and Hillary Leverett is not the only source with serious credentials offering reasonable, non-sensational explanations for events around Iran’s presidential election." -- also posted at PalestineChron

Analyses of All Alleged Rigging Proofs in Election
Analysis - Charts - A quote...."Different elements raised DOUBTS about the recent Elections of Iran (2009). Let us analyze them one by one."

Check out this debate and make up your own mind
Contains Video - The "theocracy of the Mullahs". This is how the Western corporate press like to refer to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Well, judge for yourself and check out this special report about the fraud allegations in Iran and ask yourself the simple question: does this sound like the TV of a fanatical dictatorial state?"

Iran deadlock drags on as Mousavi rejects part recount
Special Note - A quote...."TEHRAN (AFP) – Political deadlock continued in Iran as opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi on Saturday rejected a panel set up to hold a partial recount of votes in the disputed presidential election."

Iran's Rezai ready to serve on vote review panel
A quote...."TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) – Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mohsen Rezai said on Saturday he was prepared to join a panel on post-election complaints if the other losers do as well, the ILNA news agency reported."

Expediency Council urges restraint in vote probe
A quote...."Iran's Expediency Council has called on all defeated candidates in the disputed presidential election to pursue their complaints through the legal system."

Arrest of entire Iranian newspaper staff condemned
A quote...."Press freedom campaigning body Reporters Without Borders has condemned the arrest of the entire staff of Iranian presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi's newspaper, Kalemeh Sabz, as pressure on domestic journalists reporting the ongoing protests has intensified this week."

Mousavi's Web Site Closed; Manages to send Message to Iranians Abroad
A quote...."Kalemeh, the web site of opposition leader Mir Hosain Mousavi, has been closed down, as the regime tightens the screws in its crackdown on protests against what reformists see as the stealing of the Iranian election."

For news-thirsty Iranians: Human Rights Software
A quote...."New program helps Iranians to beat censorship, dissidents connect."

Quiet crackdown drains force from Iran dissidents
A quote...."EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media."

Mousavi Agrees to Seek Rally Permits; 9 am Bazaar Gatherings called in Iran
A quote...."AP is reporting that opposition leader Mir-Hosein Mousavi has agreed to the Interior Ministry's demand that he apply for a permit one week in advance for any demonstrations, and will cease calling for unlicensed rallies. This is an about-face on Saturday from his stance just 24 hours earlier, when he said that the election theft attempt would be crushed. Mousavi did complain that rallies for his rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are allowed without all this rigamarole, implying that the Interior Ministry is treating him and his followers unfairly. D'oh."

U.S. Dollars Support Iranian "Dissidents" - Also known as the US-NRE's sure-fire, political-kiss-of-death. - mpg
A quote...."June 26, 2009 "USA TODAY" -- WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is moving forward with plans to fund groups that support Iranian dissidents, records and interviews show, continuing a program that became controversial when it was expanded by President "

US denied Iran official visa for UN meeting
A quote...."UNITED NATIONS - Tehran’s U.N. envoy on Friday accused the United States of denying Iran’s first vice president and members of his delegation visas to attend a three-day U.N. conference on the global financial crisis. -- “I am indeed delivering this speech on behalf of Dr. (Parviz) Davoudi, first vice president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who along with members of the Iranian delegation was not able to participate in the conference,” Iranian U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee told the U.N. General Assembly."
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Author Naomi Klein Calls for Boycott of Israel
Special Note - A quote...."June 26, 2009 "AFP" -- BILIN , West Bank - Bestselling author Naomi Klein on Friday took her call for a boycott of Israel to the occupied West Bank village of Bilin, where she witnessed Israeli forces clashing with protesters. -- "It's a boycott of Israeli institutions, it's a boycott of the Israeli economy," the Canadian writer told journalists as she joined a weekly demonstration against Israel's controversial separation wall." -- For more on how to boycott Israel, see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website. - also posted at AmericanEveryman

Cynthia McKinney Rejoins Voyage to Defy US-Israeli Blockade of Gaza - `Sink Us or Arrest Us!
A quote...."When the Free Gaza Movement attempted to send a boatload of supplies to Gaza last December, the Israeli Navy rammed the vessel, the Dignity, almost sinking it. This week, activists will send two boats on the voyage from Cyprus to Gaza, carrying cement, toys and 38 passengers, among them former U.S. Rep. Cynthia Mckinney, who was also aboard the Dignity. Ms. McKinney sent a letter to President Obama, filling him in on the Gaza mission."

Israeli Occupation Forces Attack & Arrest Activists in the West Bank
Contains Video - A quote...."IDF Clash with Israelis in the Village of Safa 27 June 2009: "West Bank village of Safa. Several people were injured, one with a broken leg, and 30 Israelis arrested Israeli soldiers blocked peace activists accompanying Palestinians to agricultural fields. For more info ibnezra.wordpress.com"

PCDP: 98% of Palestinian prisoners in IOA jails subjected to torture
A quote...."GAZA, (PIC)-- The Palestinian center for the defense of prisoners (PCDP) has charged that Israel was among the few countries in the world to exercise excruciating torture in its prisons in a bid to extract confessions from detainees."

Israeli ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children - a report
A quote...."DCI-Palestine* released a report which documents the widespread ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children at the hands of the Israeli army and police force - Palestinian Child Prisoners: The systematic and institutionalized ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities."

Hamas leader Mash'al: Obama changed US rhetoric only
A quote...."In a televised speech on Thursday in response to Obama’s 4 June address in Cairo, Mesh’al criticized Obama, saying he had changed US rhetoric toward the Palestinians, but not the situation on the ground. -- “What Obama said wasn’t new and wasn’t enough,” said Mash’al, speaking from Damascus where he resides in exile."

G-8, Middle East Quartet Calls for a Complete Settlement Freeze
A quote...."The G-8 and the Middle East Quartet both called on Israel to freeze all settlement construction as a step towards resumption of peace talks."

Mideast quartet urges Israel to halt settlements
A quote...."Quartet calls on Israeli government to open border crossings as first step to advance peace."

Maximizing Rights: The One State Solution to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
Israel has to retreat to the 1967 borders, or it's a one state solution with the right of return...which means the end of the "Jewish" state.  It's that simple, they have very little time left to make up their minds. - mpg -- A quote...."In April George Bisharat wrote an article for the San Francisco Chronicle titled Changing the Rules of War giving a legal perspective on Israeli conduct in Gaza.  He stated that “what is less appreciated is how Israel is … brutalizing international law, in ways that may long outlast the demolition of Gaza.”  I’m sure if you read it in April, you’d remember it, and if you haven’t read it, I can’t recommend it more highly."
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Obama contemplates Executive Order for detention without charges
Special Note - A quote...."When Obama first unveiled his "preventive detention" policy, many defenders praised him (and claimed he was different than Bush) because of his vow that -- as he put it -- "my Administration will work with Congress to develop an appropriate legal regime."  But now, relying exclusively on three Obama officials speaking behind a veil of anonymity, Peter Finn and Dafner Linza of The Washington Post and ProPublica report that the White House is "crafting language for an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely."  TPM calls this "the latest installment in the Obama administration's tendency to mimic the Bushies on war on terror tactics."

Thought Crime Bills Threaten Talk Radio
A quote...."HR 1966 has cleared the House and now faces the Senate as S.909, the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (officially, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act). The bill is expected to sail through the Senate as it did in the House. It will provide federal assistance to the states, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for “other purposes.” It creates special protective status based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability."

NSA’s cyber-security grab is a major expansion of web surveillance
A quote...."(WMR) -- With Time magazine reporting that President Obama has narrowed his top choice for the White House “cyber security czar” position to former Virginia Republican Representative Tom Davis, a leading backer of the Bush administration’s surveillance powers over the Internet, comes word from WMR’s sources that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been given a green light by the Obama White House to embark on a major effort to establish total surveillance over the Internet."

Homeland Security and US Army Plan Invasion of States
A quote...."The Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security recently hosted a teleconference for law enforcement agencies and associations such as the National Association of Chiefs of Police to discuss the Obama Administration’s interest in using the military during “emergencies.”
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The Collapse Of The Non-Backstopped Agency Market
Financial Alert - Charts - A quote...."Complete collapse in foreign interest for GSE debt: North American holdings of the latter have increased from 50% to 80% of total notional in one year!"

Just Stop The Madness Already
Financial Alert - A quote...."California lost more than Michael Jackson on Thursday. - They also lost their credit rating as Fitch dropped them to A-minus and even that rating was immediately placed on negative credit watch. California faces a $24 billion-plus budget deficit for the fiscal year that begins Wednesday, rapidly declining sales tax revenues and an impotent legislature that can’t agree on solutions. Faced with the prospect of running out of cash, State Controller John Chiang said Wednesday the state will begin to issue IOUs for all general fund payments other than those categories protected by the state constitution, federal law and court decisions."

Four banks fail, bringing 2009 tally to 44
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Four banks in Georgia, Minnesota and California were closed by regulators Friday, as the ongoing credit crisis continued to claim victims."

Japan's core consumer price fall raises more deflation fear
A quote...."TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Japan's core consumer price index fell 1.1% in May from the same month a year earlier, according to government data released Friday, indicating risks that the nation might be slipping back into deflation."

New Zealand economy contracts in record-long recession
A quote...."LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- New Zealand's economy suffered another contraction in the first quarter -- a record fifth-straight decline -- as the nation sunk further into its longest-ever recession, according to data released Friday."

Friday June 26th 2009

Thursday June 25th 2009

It's All Good, Again: 'Uptick' in the American-Made Tides of Violence in Iraq
Must Read -- A quote...."From the very beginning of the abomination that is the American war in Iraq, imperial courtiers have pushed the same line: every act of mass slaughter in the occupied land was actually an encouraging development -- a sign that the insurgents were "getting desperate," that "dead-enders" were launching last-gasp efforts, unable to derail the bounty of liberty and peace that America's paternal goodness had bestowed upon the Iraqi people. -- This has held true from the first suicide attacks following George W. Bush's declaration of "Mission Accomplished" in the spring of 2003 and all through the mounting violence that has claimed more than a million innocent lives. The only exception was during the height of the genocidal fury of 2006, when the forces unleashed and empowered and assisted by the American occupiers carried out a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against fierce resistance. The American elite suffered a slight wobble at that point, putting together a conclave of worthies in the "Iraq Study Group" to suggest ways to tamp down the raging PR disaster. (And that's all there was to the ISG plan; they were never going to pull out of Iraq.) The whole episode could be seen as yet another sorry chapter in the saga of the ghoulish, goonish family that somehow came to hold sway in American affairs for almost three decades, with Daddy Bush's factotums guiding the ISG, while Junior Bush brushed them off and consulted his own little circle of militarist agitators to find a way to continue the war but get it off the front pages."

Terrorists "Made in Miami, USA"
A quote...."The permanent anti-terror campaign launched after the 9/11 attacks in no way disturbs the terrorists in Miami. It seems that US ultra-right circles still believe those hirelings could help them in their fight against "alien" regimes in Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Paraguay, Nicaragua and Salvador. -- -It was exactly in Miami where the cream of the CIA, the FBI, the State Department and the Cuban mafia plotted John Kennedy's assassination. The incumbent US President Barack Obama has been more than once criticized by the Miami extremists for not implementing a hard-line policy towards Cuba. So, who could guarantee security to Mr. Obama then?"

Paramilitary Thug With Long History With Top U.S. Democrats Arrested for 'War Crimes'
A quote...."Agim Ceku commanded “ethnic cleansing” operations in Yugoslavia in the 1990s, then headed an organization labeled “terrorist” by a senior US official. But top Dems made him their man in Kosovo." -- also posted at Uruknet & CommonDreams

FBI Ignored Evidence of bin Laden Role in Khobar Attack
A quote...."When the bomb exploded at Khobar Towers on Jun. 25, 1996, Scott Erskine, the agent in charge of the Riyadh bombing investigation, was about to return to the United States after another frustrating meeting in which Saudi officials were not forthcoming about whom they were going to prosecute. When FBI Director Louis Freeh visited Khobar a few days after the bombing, he was told not to expect any more information on the Riyadh bombing. -- Instead of insisting that the Clinton administration put more pressure on the Saudis to cooperate on the possibility of links between the two bombings, Freeh quietly decided to drop the investigation of the Riyadh bombing entirely. The case was put on "inactive" status, according to two former FBI officials, meaning that no more actions were to be taken, even though it had not been formally closed."

Obama administration seeks to quash suit by 9/11 families
A quote...."The administration is taking extraordinary measures to kill the suit and suppress the evidence of Saudi support for Al Qaeda and complicity in the 9/11 attacks. Last month, the Justice Department sided in court with the Saudi monarchy in seeking to halt further legal action. Moreover, it had copies of American intelligence documents on Saudi finances that had been leaked to lawyers for the families destroyed, and is now seeking to prevent a judge from even looking at the material."

The Best President Money Could Buy
Must Read - A quote...."Today America is facing the same perilous patterns that the Roman Empire encountered over 1500 years ago. These patterns are characterized by prevalent corruption on every level of government, waging unnecessary expensive wars, inability to resolve conflicts in strategic areas within the empire, erosion of morality, control of the public, eradication of individual liberty, lavish borrowing and spending, hyperinflation, war mongering, and a wavering of the currency. Money and power are the ultimate goals that every man attempts to achieve in the hope of satisfying their egos. This pathological narcissism that infests most of our leaders has been the only driving force in their alleged passion for public service. -- President Barack Obama, allegedly the new face of change, had often proclaimed during his presidential campaign that he would not be bought or influenced by special interest groups, because he wanted to be a president of the people, for the people, and by the people. This rhetoric has rallied the populace who then enthusiastically rushed to send him contributions of $5 and $10 or more. His supporters also believed that he would finally bring back hope, freedom, prosperity, peace, love, and end the extensive depravity and abuses practiced by his predecessor. Sadly, the people were deceived once again."

Bilderberg 2009 Intel Already Proving Accurate
Veteran Bilderberg researchers Jim Tucker and Daniel Estulin hit the mark once again as insider info becomes reality. -- Observers of the annual elitist confab known as Bilderberg have long known that plans discussed at the conference quickly become reality. In 2002, Bilderberg researcher Jim Tucker correctly predicted that the Iraq war would start in March 2003 (not late 2002, as many were predicting at the time). In 2006, Daniel Estulin correctly forecast the popping of the housing bubble and subsequent economic crash, a possibility that most talking heads in the corporate media were laughing at at the time. In 2008, Tucker forecast a dramatic drop in oil prices while most analysts were fretting about the possibility of $200 a barrel oil. Tucker and Estulin have proven so stunningly accurate in their predictions not because they have a crystal ball, but because they have sources inside the Bilderberg Group and other organizations where financial oligarchs and their political puppets make decisions about our geopolitical future." -- also posted at PrisonPlanet

Triple Cross or Inside Job?
Must Read - A quote...."In his just-released book, Triple Cross, former ABC News investigative reporter Peter Lance says (as summarized by Raw Story): -- Ali Mohamed ... was something of an al Qaeda super-spy who managed to work with terrorists, the Green Berets, the CIA and become an FBI informant, even while ensuring Osama bin Laden’s safe passage around the middle east. For years, Triple Cross alleges, the FBI and specifically [prosecutor Patrick] Fitzgerald, knew about him but allowed Mohamed’s activities to continue unchecked." -- also posted at BLN

FBI report: Saddam Hussein 'would have sought security agreement' with US --Iraq leader 'would have cut a deal' with Bush 24 Jun 2009 Saddam Hussein feared Iran's arsenal more than a U.S. attack, and even considered asking ex-President [sic] George W. Bush "to protect" Iraq from its neighbor, once secret FBI files show... Asked how he would have faced "fanatic" Iranian ayatollahs if Iraq had been proven toothless by UN weapons inspectors in 2003, Iraq's ex-president said he would have cut a deal with Bush. "Hussein replied Iraq would have been extremely vulnerable to attack from Iran and would have sought a security agreement with the U.S. to protect it from threats in the region," according to a 2004 FBI report among the declassified files. Without Bush's help, "Iraq would have done what was necessary," he told FBI Agent George Piro in his Baghdad International Airport cell. [Right, but there was the matter of the *oil.* See: Iraqi officials plan welcome-back party for Big Oil 25 Jun 2009.] -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

US Officials Leaked False Story Blaming Iran for Khobar Attack
A quote...."In March 1997, FBI Director Louis Freeh got what he calls in his memoirs "the first truly big break in the case": the arrest in Canada of one of the Saudi Hezbollah members the Saudis accused of being the driver of the getaway car at Khobar Towers." -- also posted at RogueGov
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On The Iranian Election....

You Provide the Tweets, We'll Provide the Info War -- The Iranian Protests and the Mainstream Media
Must Read - A quote...."We can all remember a moment when we gazed up at the sky and used our imagination to make familiar shapes out of the clouds. In folk wisdom, seers practice aeromancy, a form of divination that involves observing atmospheric phenomena and nephomancy, the divination by studying clouds). -- What we are witnessing in the Iranian situation resembles this practice, only now the clouds are made of information. This infosphere is not the same as the old chestnut, the “fog of war.” It’s more like what I call the fog-machine of war, and its analysts are performing infomancy." -- also posted at WarInIraq & CounterPunch

Crunching the numbers
Must Read - Election Analysis -- Some quotes...."Just as the fight to overturn the results of the Iranian elections was fading, it received a new lease of life via the publication of a British study that casts doubt on the official results that saw President Mahmud Ahmadinejad re-elected. The study appears to have its own problems, though." -- "The Ansari study appears to want by the sheer force of its charts and figures to establish beyond doubt the fact of an election fraud, even though after two weeks the disgruntled candidates have failed to provide any tangible evidence. This despite the fact that the leading losing candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, had some 40,676 observers at the ballot boxes, and none has provided a formal complaint." -- bold by website editor

Iran, the media and the World Socialist Web Site
Special Note - A quote...."Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play,” Joseph Goebbels once declared. In the case of the American media, it is hardly necessary for the government to play. The keyboard plays itself. -- This is certainly true of the media’s treatment of the recent elections in Iran. -- No sooner was the election over than the media settled on the desired interpretation of events: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was carrying out a “coup d’etat” through a “rigged” election. The opposition candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, enjoyed overwhelming support and was leading a “green revolution” for freedom and democracy."

Rallies Fade, Behind the Scenes Struggle Endures in Iran
A quote...."While the massive protests seen last week in Iran have subsided, the enduring split among the nation’s clergy appears to be playing out in behind the scenes struggles for power punctuated by the occasional public proclamation."

Misreading the Protests in Tehran
A quote...." After 30 years of enmity that closed off most lines of communication, the recent crisis in Iran has suddenly engendered a boom of U.S. interest in the Islamic Republic. -- But much of the attention in Washington and elsewhere in the U.S. is often misplaced, misguided, or completely detached from the realities currently embroiling Iran in its most significant crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution."

Ayatollah Makarem urges lasting solution to Iran unrest
A quote...."Senior cleric Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi has called for Iran's presidential election dispute to be settled through "national conciliation". -- "Extremely bitter events have occurred in the days following the magnificent 10th [presidential] election, and certain adventurists took advantage of the disputes between the honorable candidates," Grand Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi said in a statement published on his website on Thursday."

'Rafsanjani, Mousavi vow support to end unrest'
A quote...."Head of Iran's Expediency Council, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will support efforts to end the post-election tension in the country, an Iranian lawmaker says."

Mousavi: Gov't misrepresented state of affairs
A quote...."Defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi says the Iranian government has been distorting the facts about the state of affairs in the country. -- In a statement posted on his official website, Kalemeh, Mousavi took a shot at Iranian state media for portraying him as the figure responsible for the latest "violence and bloodshed" in the country."

Mousavi disowns Wednesday gatherings
A quote...."Mir-Hossein Mousavi's website claims that the gathering outside Iran's Parliament (Majlis) building is not called by the defeated presidential contender."

Solidarity with the Iranian Protesters - "You Will Not Get Past Us"
Special Note - A quote...."In Isfahan, Iran, an 80 year old woman stood defiantly in her doorway.  Twenty baton-wielding Basij men arrived on motorcycles and threatened to enter her house in pursuit of a group of young demonstrators. Instead of running with fear or turning her back on the demonstrators, this woman looked the pursuers straight in the eye and said “You will not get past me.”

Ahmadinejad Slams Obama; 70 Professors Arrested; Wednesday Protest Violently Attacked
A quote...."Mohsen Rezaie, one of four candidates for president in the recent elections, has withdrawn his objections to the vote tally, which alleged that Rezaie got less than a million votes and that incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gained almost 63%. Rezaie, a former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is, like Ahmadinejad, a hard liner. But he had joined his two reformist rivals in questioning the official vote tallies. He said he was withdrawing his complaint because "political, social and security situation has entered a sensitive and decisive phase, which is more important than the election . . . I feel it is my duty... taking into account my pledge as a soldier of the revolution, the leader and the people, to inform you that I renounce following up on my complaints."
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Obama’s Emerging Legacy: Wars, Bankers and For-Profit Healthcare
Special Note -- A quote...."The first Black president has racked up some impressive victories. Barack Obama has quarantined single-payer healthcare advocates, crushed dissent against the war in Congress, and transferred more money to the finance capital class than at any time in planetary history. Not bad for just five months in office. “At some point in the near future Barack Obama will become inextricably associated in the public mind with Big Capital – and deservedly so.” - also posted at Creative-i

America's "Bases of Empire"
Special Note - A quote...."When our descendants look back on the end of the 20th century and the beginning of this one, they will be puzzled. The end of the Cold War relieved Americans of almost all international anxieties." As the world's sole remaining superpower, "We did not rise to the occasion." -- "We are engaged in a war, a global war on terror, a long war, we are told....How can a war with no defined ends beyond the avoidance of retreat ever reach a convenient stopping point? How can we win (any war let alone the hearts and minds of millions) with an enemy so ill-understood that we must invent a nonexistent ideology" for justification."

U.S. foreign policy veteran Ross moves to White House
A quote...."After only a few months as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's "Iran czar," Ross is moving to the White House, raising speculation about tensions within President Barack Obama's foreign policy team."

US reneges on Iraq withdrawal promises - Hah! No surprise to anybody one hopes? - mpg
A quote...."The United States retracts its initial promise of commitment to withdrawing its troops from Iraqi cities by the end of the month of June. -- On Wednesday, a spokesman for the US military in Iraq, Brigadier General Steve Lanza, said a number of the country's troops are to remain in the urban areas after the June 30 deadline, Reuters reported."

US behind recent blasts in Iraq, says Sadr
A quote...."Senior Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has accused “the occupier forces” of being behind the recent escalated violence in the war-torn country."

House passes $44B Homeland Security spending bill
A quote...."Associated Press Writer -- WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House passed a $44 billion spending bill Wednesday that awards the Homeland Security Department a 7 percent budget increase, with money for more border patrol agents and for anti-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia"

Britain considered Japan chemical attack: records
A quote...."LONDON (AFP) – Britain considered attacking Tokyo with chemical weapons almost a year before the US bombardments that ended World War II in Asia, declassified records revealed on Friday."

'If I didn't confess to 7/7 bombings MI5 officers would rape my wife,' claims torture victim
A quote...."A British man spoke publicly for the first time yesterday to accuse MI5 officers of forcing him to confess to masterminding the July 7 bombings. - Jamil Rahman claims UK security officers were behind his arrest in 2005 in Bangladesh. - He says he was beaten repeatedly by local officials who also threatened to rape him and his wife. - Mr Rahman, who is suing the Home Office, said a pair of MI5 officers who attended his torture and interrogation would leave the room while he was beaten. - He claims when he told the pair he had been tortured they merely answered: 'They haven't done a very good job on you.'"

Nobody Expects the Spanish Prosecution
Interview -- A quote...."Will former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other senior Bush administration officials end up in jail for crafting the policies that led to the torture of prisoners at Guantánamo? As of yet, no government prosecutor is targeting them in the United States. But thousands of miles away, Spanish attorney Gonzalo Boyé is chasing after Gonzales and five other lawyers, and he has a chance—perhaps not a large one—of convincing his country's legal system to charge these former Bush aides with human rights violations." -- also posted at CommonDreams

Russia annuls Politkovskaya verdicts: court
A quote....."MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia's supreme court on Thursday ordered a new trial of the suspects in the the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya after annulling acquittals decided in February. -- "The supreme court has annulled the innocent verdict in the case of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya. The case will be examined again with new jurors," supreme court spokesman Pavel Odintsov told AFP."
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Prisoner club: Israel uses electric shock torture against children
A quote...."RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The Palestinian prisoner club accused the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) of committing new crimes of corporal torture against children through giving them electric shocks and beating them severely. -- The club said that Palestinian child Hamza Al-Za’aol, who was kidnapped on the fourth of May on a charge of throwing stones, told club lawyers that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) used electric shocks against him in Etzion prison while another child detained on the same day called Ismail Al-Za’aol said he was severely beaten especially in his broken leg. -- The club revealed that the number of children kidnapped during the first quarter of 2009 rose to 443 prisoners after kidnapping 14 minors this year." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Free Gaza will continue despite warnings from Israel, Cyprus, USA
A quote...."Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Free Gaza movement, after being denied permits to sail from the port of Larnica at Cyprus, will deliver a waiver, signed by all going to Gaza Friday, absolving Cyprus of “all responsibility for our safety.” -- The Cypriot authorities reportedly denied the crews of the Free Gaza’s two boats permission to sail out of concern for their safety, worried that the crew would be harmed at sea. “Though we understand and appreciate their concerns,” Free Gaza organizer Greta Berlin wrote in a statement, “we will not back down to Israel’s threats and intimidation.”

Let's get a move on
A quote...."Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council Aziz Duweik, just released from an Israeli detention centre, has called for "immediate reconciliation" between Fatah and Hamas, saying the rift between the two factions was inflicting incalculable damage on the Palestinian national cause. Khaled Amayreh talked to Duweik in Ramallah "
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Bank Rescue Costs EU States $5.3 Trillion, More Than German GDP
Just peanuts, US-NRR pledges will be north of $17 Trillion in just a couple of months. - mpg -- A quote...."European governments have approved $5.3 trillion of aid, more than the annual gross domestic product of Germany, to support banks during the credit crunch, according to a European Union document. -- The U.K. pledged 781.2 billion euros ($1.1 trillion) to restore confidence in its lenders, the most of any of the 27 EU members, according to a May 26 document prepared by officials from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and member states and obtained by Bloomberg News. Denmark, where 13 of the country’s 140 banks were bailed out by the central bank or bought by rivals last year, committed 593.9 billion euros." -- bold by website editor

Fitch downgrades California’s general obligation debt
A quote...."CHICAGO, June 25 (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings on Thursday downgraded the rating on California’s general obligation debt and said it may lower the rating again, citing the state’s continued fiscal and economic stress."

U.S. Economy: Jobless Claims Rise by 15,000 Last Week (Update1)
A quote...."Initial jobless claims rose by 15,000 to 627,000 in the week ended June 20, from a revised 612,000 the week before, the Labor Department said today in Washington. A report from the Commerce Department showed gross domestic product shrank at a 5.5 percent annual pace in the first three months of the year."

Boeing Loses Qantas Order for 15 Dreamliners as Travel Wanes
A quote...."June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. lost half of a 30-plane order for its 787 Dreamliner from Qantas Airways Ltd., formerly the model’s biggest airline customer, amid slumping demand for international travel."

Boeing delays 787 again as structure fix looms
A quote...."SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Boeing Co. shares fell almost 7% Tuesday after the aerospace giant again postponed the maiden flight of its 787 Dreamliner, a critical program launch that has already been delayed two years."

Pssssssst! You want to know why they call it the "Dreamliner"?  Because it really is just a dream.  - mpg -- For more on this issue see articles shown below


Japanese exports drop 41 per cent [year over year], trade surplus down in May
A quote...."Tokyo - Japan exported 40.9 per cent less in May 2009 than it did in the same month last year, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday, as the country's economy was slow to emerge from its worst recession since the end of World War II."

Wednesday June 24th 2009