Tuesday July 28th 2009

No posts. - mpg

Monday July 27th 2009

Iran: Whose side are you on?
Must Read - A quote...."I have been reading, with much despair and a deal of consternation, the torrent of ‘analysis’ coming out of ‘left’ field about which, if any, side to support in the ongoing struggles in Iran and, at the end of the day, a good deal more is revealed about the ‘left’ in the West than the situation in Iran."

Cranks, Kleptocrats and Killers: The "Good War" on the Ground
A quote...."While dozens of innocent people continue to die each week in the political and sectarian violence unleashed in Iraq by America's invasion and continuing occupation, the main attention of the bipartisan Terror Warriors in Washington – and their sycophantic outriders in the corporate media – continues to be what they call, in the imperial jargonizing that lumps the vast complexities of myriad human communities into reductive, thought-killing soundbites, the "Af-Pak" front." -- also posted at Uruknet

US Blackwater-Xe mercenaries spreads fear in Pakistani town (Feature)
A quote...."Peshawar - Fear is spreading across University Town, an upmarket residential area in Pakistan's north-western city of Peshawar, due to the overt presence of the controversial US private security contractor Blackwater. --    Sporting the customary dark glasses and carrying assault rifles, the mercenaries zoom around the neighbourhood in their black-coloured armoured Chevy Suburbans, and shout at motorists when occasionally stranded in a traffic jam. --    The residents are mainly concerned about Blackwater's reputation as a ruthless, unbridled private army whose employees face multiple charges of murder, child prostitution and weapons smuggling in Iraq."
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Reviewing F. William Engdahl's "Full Spectrum Dominance: Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order:" Part II -- Book Review - Must Read - A quote...."For over 30 years, F. William Engdahl has been a leading researcher, economist, and analyst of the New World Order with extensive writing to his credit on energy, politics, and economics. His newest book is titled "Full Strectrum Dominance: Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order." [GoglBkSrch]* -- Part I was reviewed earlier.* Part II continues the story of America's quest for global dominance and why its own internal rot may defeat it." -- *links added

Romulus, Remus, Stimulus: A Brief History of Monetary Madness
Must Read - A quote...."Those whom the gods would destroy are first granted stimulus. When a man wins the lottery, for example, it has a stimulating effect on everyone around him. He usually spends the money quickly – often even before he gets it. But no matter how much he wins, he is usually broke within a few years…often, even broker than he was before he bought the winning ticket."

Middle East Show of Farce
Special Note - This was fun! - mpg -- A quote...."A July 17 article at the Guardian leads with “In preparation for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, two Israeli missile-class warships have sailed through the Suez Canal 10 days after a submarine capable of launching a nuclear missile strike.” The fifth paragraph begins, “The deployment into the Red Sea, confirmed by Israeli officials, according to the Associated Press yesterday, was a clear signal that Israel was able to put its strike force within range of Iran at short notice.” This is utter bosh."

I Shouldn't Read the News. I Really Shouldn't.
Special Note - And so was this! - mpg -- A quote...."I love it. The following is an account of Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talking to Albert Jazeera: “When asked why the United States was not in FATA despite having the knowledge that Al Qaeda was present there, he [Admiral Mullen] said, ‘Because FATA is in Pakistan and Pakistan is a sovereign country and we don’t go into sovereign countries.’” Hahn? The hell we don’t. What was this buoyant cannibal thinking? The US loves to go into sovereign countries. It hardly does anything else. I suppose Iraq wasn’t sovereign. It isn’t now, but it was. How about Panama, Laos, Cambodia? We gave Pakistan, until recently sovereign, the choice of inviting us to kill its people with drones, or else be bombed into the Stone Age. Recently we have bombed Somalia, technically sovereign."

Bill Kristol condemns lying for political ends: Seriously
Special Note - A quote...."(updated below - Update II) -- On Fox News yesterday, NPR's Juan Williams -- who, just by the way, dutifully spouts GOP talking points more reliably than any Fox commentator other than Karl Rove -- condemned President Obama for telling "lies" about the Gates controversy.  That prompted this observation from Bill Kristol, in which he head-pattingly quoted Williams:" -- For more on this issue see....US Fake Intel / Propaganda - Leo Strauss
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Armageddon at the Top of the World: Not!
Must Read - A quote...."Despite being among the poorest people in the world, the inhabitants of the craggy northwest of what is now Pakistan have managed to throw a series of frights into distant Western capitals for more than a century. That's certainly one for the record books. -- And it hasn't ended yet. Not by a long shot. Not with the headlines in the U.S. papers about the depredations of the Pakistani Taliban, not with the CIA's drone aircraft striking gatherings in Waziristan and elsewhere near the Afghan border. This spring, for instance, one counter-terrorism analyst stridently (and wholly implausibly) warned that "in one to six months" we could "see the collapse of the Pakistani state," at the hands of the bloodthirsty Taliban, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the situation in Pakistan a "mortal danger" to global security." -- also posted at AntiWar & LewRockwell

Britain ends major operation in Afghanistan
A quote...."LONDON, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Britain has ended its first-stage major operation, dubbed Panther's Claw, in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defense said Monday. -- But the British commanders remained cautiously optimistic about the future, saying it is a long way to go to improve security ahead of the presidential elections in Afghanistan next month."

Taliban issues code of conduct
Special Note - The Taliban, if they're planning on being more effective, are going to have to distance themselves from all those US-NRE and Saudi Royal sponsored radical agent provocateurs out there. It appears that's exactly what they're doing. - mpg -- A quote...."The Taliban in Afghanistan has issued a book laying down a code of conduct for its fighters. Al Jazeera has obtained a copy of the book, which further indicates that Mullah Omar, the movement's leader, wants to centralise its operations. The book, with 13 chapters and 67 articles, lays out what one of the most secretive organisations in the world today, can and cannot do. It talks of limiting suicide attacks, avoiding civilian casualties and winning the battle for the hearts and minds of the local civilian population."

Afghanistan and Taliban Reach Election Truce in District
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan government said Monday that it had arranged a truce with a group of Taliban in a district in northern Afghanistan in order to allow elections to go ahead on Aug. 20 and allow development projects to proceed in the area."

Elections Shake Kurdistan
A quote...."The surprisingly strong showing by a reformist party in Kurdistan elections is shaking the power structure in what has long been the most stable part of Iraq. -- The "Goran" party – which translates as "change" – did particularly well here in Sulaimaniyah, in eastern Kurdistan. This region has long been the stronghold of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani. The electoral setback to his party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), is reported to be so severe he is considering resignation, according to al-Sharqiya, a television news channel."

One of the "Iraqi disappeared" reappears, telling of his captivity - and torture
A quote...."Long-time readers of the site will remember many posts about Iraqi Gen. Amer al-Saadi, the truth-teller to Colin Powell's lies who surrendered voluntarily to the U.S. in 2003 and, as far as I can determine, is still imprisoned somewhere in Iraq, never charged, never tried. -- It turns out Gen. al-Saadi had a co-worker, Major General Hussam Mohammed Amin, who was also responsible for informing the world about the state of Iraq's non-existent WMDs. Michael Bronner at Huffington Post has now written the tale of Amin, who surrendered to the Amerians shortly after al-Saadi, prompted by the same misguided faith that, once the U.S. and the world realized that he and al-Saadi had been telling the truth all along, they would be set free and treated as the honest men that they are." -- also posted at Uruknet

U.S. fall deadline for Iran not coincidental
War Warning - A quote...."JERUSALEM, July 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has given Iran a deadline until fall to respond positively to the request of U.S. President Barack Obama to enter negotiations over its nuclear program." -- For more on this issue see....The First "Red War Warning" in a Year - 07-18-09 - mpg

Police foil bomb plot in northeast Iran
A quote...."Iranian police forces have reportedly thwarted a bomb plot in the holy city of Mashhad in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi. - The bomb, planted in a drug store, was defused by local law enforcement officers on Sunday just before it was to go off, Mehr News Agency reported."

In Iran, Leader orders closure of post-vote prison
A quote...."Amid reports of the mistreatment of detainees who protested against the result of the presidential vote, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution orders officials to shut down a "non-standard" prison." -- also posted at AtheoNews

Tensions Rise in Latin America over US Military Plan to Use Three Bases in Colombia -- A quote...."The Colombian government has agreed to grant US forces the use of three Colombian military bases for South American anti-drug operations. The move has heightened tensions between Colombia, the largest recipient of US military aid in the Americas, and its neighbors, particularly Venezuela and Ecuador. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned that the US Army could “invade” his country from Colombia. [includes rush transcript] -- ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 
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Australian government boosts terror laws, while modifying “lexicon”
A quote...."While expanding the former Howard government’s “anti-terrorism” laws—which the Labor Party helped introduce between 2002 and 2006—the Rudd Labor government has moved to abandon the term “war on terrorism”. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is anxious to distance his government from the now largely discredited terminology that was used to justify the unprecedented police-state measures." -- also posted at AxisOfLogic & AtheoNews -- For more on this issue see....White Man's Burden - 12-20-06 - mpg

Judge Slams Govt Over Afghan Detainee
A quote...."A federal judge last week excoriated U.S. government lawyers for advocating the continued detention of a detainee at Guantanamo Bay after his "confession" was ruled inadmissible because it was extracted through torture. -- Calling the case "an outrage," U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle urged the lawyers to "let him out. Send him back to Afghanistan."

Castle Doctrine Dies In Texas
Special Note - A quote...."So much for English common law and Sir Edward Coke’s dictum that a man’s home is his refuge and castle. “For a man’s house is his castle, et domus sua cuique est tutissimum refugium [and each man's home is his safest refuge],” Coke wrote in 1628." -- also posted at DProgram

The Washington Post endorses Abu Ghraib scapegoating for torture
Special Note - A quote...."The Washington Post Editorial Page -- keeper of all establishment Washington wisdom -- today advocates that low-level CIA interrogators who went beyond John Yoo's torture guidelines, and only them, be criminally investigated and prosecuted by the Justice Department:" -- also posted at CommonDreams

Legal experts raise questions about Rove testimony deal
A quote...."A deal brokered by the Obama White House to obtain Karl Rove’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee contains a number of unusual provisions, prominent legal scholars say."

Was Delta 1989 Part of a Live-Fly Hijacking Exercise on 9/11?
Special Note - It has been widely reported that on September 11, 2001, four passenger aircraft were hijacked, and three of them subsequently hit their intended targets in New York and Washington. Less well known is that, during the two hours over which the 9/11 attacks occurred, air traffic controllers and military personnel had to devote significant time to a fifth plane that was incorrectly reported as hijacked. This aircraft was, in the words of one military official, "the first red herring of the day." [1]" -- For more on this issue see....9/11 - NORAD

9/11 Families, First Responders and Survivors to Take New York City to Court over NYC Can Petition.
And the Cover-Up Continues -- A quote...."SEVENTY THOUSAND New Yorkers signed the NYC CAN petition, raising their voices in support of NYC CAN’s demand for accountability. They have chosen to place the decision to create a new 9/11 investigation – a REAL 9/11 investigation – exactly where it belongs: before the voters of New York City this November. The voices of SEVENTY THOUSAND Americans who believe in democracy and believe that government exists to serve the people – and not the other way around – have been GAGGED by ONE so-called “PUBLIC SERVANT” – The New York City Clerk – who denied the petition and the voice of the people. -- Welcome to America. Democracy denied."

"Yes We Can...."
A quote...."Keep illegally spying on people, using the same tactics developed by GW Bush and Cheney.
Keep the illegal and immoral wars against Iraq and Afghanistan going and start another against Pakistan.
Keep assassinating people around the world who stand in our way of global conquest.
Keep shoveling tons of money to our buddies on Wall Street.
Keep silent about the trillions of dollars the Federal Reserve is giving away to its friends. -- and much, much more. mpg

Happiness Consultants Won’t Stop a Depression
Must Read  - If you want to know why Californians, along with much of this nation's population, always have an insipid, stupid, insincere, smile plastered on their faces when they say "have a nice day", and why they are so patently WEIRD, just read this article.  It makes the Stepford Wives look normal by comparison; in fact, it will send chills up and down your spine. – mpg -- A quote...."Anthony Vasquez, a student at the University of California, Berkeley, worked at FedEx Kinkos for about two years. His store’s slogan was: “Yes we can.” “It meant that if a customer asked us to do a job for them, no matter what it was, we were to say ‘Yes we can!’ ” he said. Posters of the slogan were posted on telephones and in the backroom. Corporate auditors enforced the slogan by “Yes we can” call audits. Employees would be punished as a group for failures, and individuals could be fired." -- also posted at CommonDreams & DandelionSalad
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

 West Bank Settlers Top 300,000 as Growth Continues - 11 New Outposts Set Up in Past Two Days
Thank you Saudi Royals & Egypt's Mubarak, you've done a magnificent job. - mpg -- A quote...."According to the Israeli military, the population of settlers in the West Bank passed 300,000 for the first time this year, and sits at 304,569 as of the end of June, an increase of 2.3% in the past six months. Usually growth rates are even higher in the second half of the year. The number does not include some 200,000 more settlers living in East Jerusalem."

On the Right of Resistance
Quote of the Day -- "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." -- *Desmond Tutu*

Israel Becomes America~And Does Not Like It
Special Note - Oh boy, this was a really fun read! - mpg -- There I was feeling all mopish. I mean it's hard to keep a Positive Mental Attitude over the Palestinian situation when you check the news everyday, only to find the Evil Rogue State has done yet another outrageous act against Palestine and Peace. Yet, as I perused the various news articles, my mood deepened........AND THEN I caught site of a headline that deserved investigation. Yes, could it be? Oh, this is too good to be true my little self said. Dare I click on that link, only to be dejected once again should it only be a mere "tease?" I held my breath and clicked. Eureka!! I hit Gold...Israel is having a shrieking meltdown as is evident in a report from the J-Post below.
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

National Exclusive…Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, Wife of Ousted Honduran President, Calls on US to Aid Her Husband’s Return Home: “We Want Justice, We Want Peace, We Demand the Return to Democracy” -- A quote...."After a failed attempt to return to Honduras over the weekend, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has complained that US condemnation of the coup against him is waning. Zelaya had tried to cross back into Honduras from Nicaragua on Friday but stayed for less than an hour. We speak with the wife of the ousted Honduran president, First Lady Xiomara Castro de Zelaya. She’s spent the past day trying to get to the border with Nicaragua, and she joins us now from the town of Jacaleapa. [includes rush transcript]" -- ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

Obama and Clinton Nix Change in Honduras
A quote...."The situation in Honduras and Central America is growing increasingly tumultuous with each passing day as deposed President Manuel Zelaya confronts the de facto regime of Roberto Micheletti with thousands of partisans mobilizing in the border areas. While Honduran army officers in Washington and the capital of Tegucigalpa issue statements indicating they may accept Zelaya’s return—if the civilian coup leaders concur--military and police units continue to fire on and even murder demonstrators. It is impossible to predict the outcome of this confrontation. But one thing is increasing clear--the growing conflict represents a failure of the Obama administration to reshape US policy towards Latin America in spite of its early rhetoric directed at the leaders of the region."

Zelaya Rules out Talks in USA
A quote...."Ocotal, Nicaragua, Jul 27 (Prensa Latina) Honduran President Manuel Zelaya ruled out on Monday to travel to Washington to meet with US State Secretary Hillary Clinton, after demanding a firm stance by the United States against the coup leaders."
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Banks Still Not Lending
Deflation Alert - A quote...."The Wall Street Journal writes today:  --  Lending continues to slow as bankers and borrowers refrain from taking risks, in a bearish sign for the economy. The total amount of loans held by 15 large U.S. banks shrank by 2.8% in the second quarter, and more than half of the loan volume in April and May came from refinancing mortgages and renewing credit to businesses, not new loans, an analysis by The Wall Street Journal shows."

U.S. new home sales rise sharply in June -- Some good news though. - mpg
A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of new single-family homes in the United States rose more than expected in June, while the inventory of homes for sale fell to a more than 11-year low, government data showed on Monday."   However...."Despite the encouraging data, the median sale price for a new home fell to $206,200, down 5.8 percent from the previous month, and down 12 percent from a year ago." -- bold by website editor

Credit card crisis to grip Britain, IMF warns
A quote...."Britain’s credit card debt crisis will get significantly worse in the coming months with a wave of consumer payment defaults, the International Monetary Fund has warned. "

British economic collapse rivals Great Depression
Chart - A quote...."Economic output shrank by 5.6pc in the 12 months to the middle of the year, according to official figures which shattered hopes that the recovery has already begun."  -- also posted at RogueGov

Tuesday July 29th 2008

PJB: Obama’s War?
Must Read - A quote...."“We have to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in,” says Barack Obama of the U.S. war in Iraq. Wise counsel. - But is Barack taking his own advice? For he pledges to shift two U.S. combat brigades, 10,000 troops, out of Iraq and into Afghanistan, raising American forces in that country from 33,000 to 43,000. - Why does Barack think a surge of 10,000 troops will succeed in winning a war in which we have failed to prevail after seven years of fighting? How many more troops is he prepared to commit? Is the Obama commitment open-ended?"

War Without End, Amen: Into the Afghan Abyss with Obama
Chris Floyd's take on PJB's article - mpg -- A quote...."I have disagreed vehemently with Patrick Buchanan on almost every issue over the years, but he is right on the money when he says that Barack Obama's Afghanistan strategy is an eerie replication of Lyndon Johnson's Vietnam strategy, and will almost certainly have the same result: years and years of death and ruin, ending in defeat. Buchanan charts it out:" -- Also posted at BaltChron

Death To Afghanistan
A quote...."America is going to do for the people of Afghanistan what it has already done for the people of Iraq. The United States, claiming to save them from evildoers, will kill many thousands more Afghans than it already has. Iraq is a political loser for Republican candidate John McCain, but the system demands constant feeding of the insatiable military industrial complex. Afghanistan fits the bill perfectly."

Winter Soldiering Against the State
A quote...."In Minnesota a few weeks ago, I observed a mini-Winter Soldier event. A panel of five members of Iraq Veterans Against the War talked about their experiences in Iraq to a small audience of other veterans, peace activists, anarchists and collectivists, parents and grandparents, children and grandchildren."

The Battle of Kabul and the retreat to Gandamak
A quote...."In the first half of the century France as the British bogeyman gave way to Russia, leading finally to the Crimean War in 1854. In 1839 the obsession in British India was that the Russians, extending the Tsar’s empire east into Asia, would invade India through Afghanistan. -- This widely held obsession led Lord Auckland, the British governor general in India, to enter into the First Afghan War, one of Britain’s most ill-advised and disastrous wars."
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Pakistani PM: No unilateral US attacks
A quote...."After meeting with Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, Pakistan's prime minister rebuffed demands for unilateral U.S. action should terrorist leaders be found hiding in Pakistan, an approach Obama has suggested he would approve of as president."

Bush Dissenter: 'Don't Start a War With Iran'
A quote...."In a roundtable Tuesday, Adm. William "Fox" Fallon, the former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East ousted for dissenting from the Bush administration's bellicose posture toward Iran, gave a rare public elaboration of his view of multilateral cooperation for security in the region."

Gravel: Take Bush to The Hague
A quote...."Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:48:20  -- Former Democratic candidate Mike Gravel says President George W. Bush should be taken to The Hague for war crimes rather than being impeached."

Bush’s Legacy of Torture
A quote...."It is not difficult to avoid violating federal laws and international agreements that prohibit torture. Just don’t torture people, period. The idea that there exists some acceptable middle ground—a kind of “torture lite”—is a hideous affront to this nation’s honor and values. This, perhaps above all, is how George Bush should be remembered: as the president who embraced torture."

Hamdan's admissions thrown out at Guantanamo terrorism trial
Some quotes...."July 29, 2008 | 6:37 PM ET  -- A military judge penalized U.S. prosecutors Tuesday by blocking their use of a May 2003 interrogation as they finished presenting evidence against Salim Hamdan, the first suspect to be tried on terrorism charges at Guantanamo Bay." -- "Only one detainee at the U.S. naval base has ever been convicted of an offence. Australian David Hicks pleaded guilty in 2007 to providing support for terrorism and was sent back to his home country to serve the remaining nine months of a seven-year sentence." -- bold by website editor -- For more on this isue see....The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg

[British] Security services are accused of role in detainee's torture
A quote...."Tuesday July 29 2008 -- The security and intelligence agencies were "mixed up in wrongdoing" in cooperating with the US in the unlawful treatment of a UK resident now held in Guantánamo Bay, the high court heard yesterday."

Top Advisor to U.S. Military Confirms The War on Terror Is a Hoax: "There is No Battlefield Solution to Terrorism"
A quote...."A leading advisor to the U.S. military, the Rand Corporation, just released a new study called "How Terrorist Groups End: Lessons for Countering al Qa'ida". -- The report confirms what we have been saying for years: the war on terror is a hoax which is actually weakening national security (see this, this and this)."
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Perle Linked to Kurdish Oil Plan
Special Note - A quote...."July 29, 2008 -- Influential former Pentagon official Richard Perle has been exploring going into the oil business in Iraq and Kazakhstan, according to people with knowledge of the matter and documents outlining possible deals. -- Mr. Perle, [one of the original PNAC'ers] one of a group of security experts who began pushing the case for toppling Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein about a decade ago, has been discussing a possible deal with officials of northern Iraq’s Kurdistan regional government, including its Washington envoy, according to these people and the documents. -- It would involve a tract called K18, near the Kurdish city of Erbil, according to documents describing the plan." -- Also posted at TruthOut

9/11 Truth: The Warnings - (YouTube - 4 min 51 sec - Added:  July 29, 2008)
Video - A quote...."Decide for yourself whether or not this information is important with regards to the 9/11 attacks. I think it is." -- *Gold9472*

The 9/11 Timeline
A quote...."[TBR News July 29, 2008] Editor’s note: A thick growth of rumor now effectively masks any factual study of the 9/11 terror attacks. This lengthy report was compiled from many reliable period  news sources and is presented here as a matter of general information."

The Mistake Department
A quote...."July 26, 2008 at 21:11:02 -- After airplanes flew into the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon, The Los Angeles Times reported that 15 of the 19 alleged hijackers got their U.S. visas from the American Consulate General at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a consulate where I had served as chief of the Visa Section.  What The Los Angeles Times did not report was what I had told their Washington, D.C. bureau after reading the story: (1) that the Jeddah Consulate was not a State Department post but an intelligence services operation; (2) that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) routinely demanded (and got) visas for sleazy characters with no ties to either their home country or Saudi Arabia; (3) that these vile people were terrorists recruited by U.S. intelligence officers along with Osama bin Laden, then a CIA asset. "

Unusual US military activity in Irish Airspace
False Flag Alert - A quote...."29.07.2008 [12:00 ] -- Is something going down somewhere sometime soon? -- Shannon airport and Irish airspace are being used on a daily basis by US warplanes, with the permission of the Irish Government, in contravention of international laws on neutrality, in spite of the Irish Governments claims that Ireland is still a neutral state."

Air Force brigadier general dies of gunshot wound
Special Note - A quote...."28 Jul 2008 -- An Air Force brigadier general died of a gunshot wound that likely was self-inflicted [!?!], a spokesman said Monday. Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Tinsley, the commander at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, suffered a gunshot wound to his chest late Sunday night and was pronounced dead within a half hour, said Col. Richard Walberg, who assumed command at Elmendorf after Tinsley's death. "To the best information, it's possible it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound," Walberg said at a news conference. The weapon was likely a handgun. His previous 22-month assignment was executive officer to the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. T. Michael "Buzz" Mosely, who in June resigned under pressure in an agency shake-up. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates ousted both Mosely, the Air Force military chief, and Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne, the agency's civilian head, holding them accountable for failing to fully correct an erosion of nuclear-related performance standards. One concern was a cross-country flight in August 2007 of a B-52 carrying armed nuclear weapons. [See: Minot AFB Clandestine Nukes 'Oddities' --Updated!] -- paragraph posted at CLG -- For more on this issue see also....False Flag Ops - Barksdale

Aide to U.S. Senator Jim Webb found dead from apparent gunshot wound
A quote...."Tuesday, July 29, 2008 -- Authorities in Botetourt County this morning discovered the body of a well-known Democratic operative and U.S. Senate aide along U.S. 220, dead from an apparent gunshot wound."

Superbomb Mystery: The Herrhausen Assassination
A quote...."July 29, 2008 | 8:05:00 PM -- What's the connection between the murder of a German banker 20 years ago and the insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan? - It's all to do with terrorist technology and explosively formed penetrators (aka, "superbombs"), the insurgent's deadliest weapon against armored vehicles. --  For more on this issue see....Fake Intel / Propaganda - IED's & EFP's

The GOP and Israelis running honey traps?
A quote...." Jul 29, 2008, 00:14 -- (WMR) -- Longtime GOP dirty tricks operative Roger Stone allegedly had a “piece of the action” in Emperors Club VIP, the New York and New Jersey escort service that was patronized by former New York Democratic Governor Eliot Spitzer, according to a longtime U.S. intelligence source in the nation’s capital with whom WMR spoke."

America, who are you going to vote for? Kang or Kodos?
A quote...."Does everyone remember the  ‘Citizen Kang’ segment from The Simpsons? -- I sure hope everyone does, because the 2008 elections are not as much about the  proliferation of war  as they are about the  enslavement of Americans within a fascist state. -- As Karl Schwarz put it in a recent article, “McCain is Bush Lite; Obama is Bush Dark. The RNC is the War Party; the DNC is the War Party. The math is not hard.”

Statesville suspect dies after Taser hits in jail - Welcome to New Baghdad Amerika, ain't you just loving it? - mpg
A quote...."A Statesville man died after being shocked multiple times by Tasers at the Iredell County jail over the weekend, sources say. - Anthony Davidson, 29, was unresponsive when he was taken to Iredell Memorial Hospital Saturday afternoon. He was put on life support and died late Sunday night, police said."
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Mexican voters oppose Calderon's plan for oil industry
Special Note - A quote...."In the capital, more than 80% issue a resounding 'no' to the proposal to allow private firms a greater role. In the nine states that also voted, more than 90% give the plan a thumbs down."

Italy deploys troops to fight crime - Hip Hip Hooray!!  El Duce is back in black and raring to go!!  - mpg
A quote...."ROME - The Italian government launched on Tuesday a scheme that will deploy 3,000 troops in major Italian cities to help patrol the streets, local media reported. -- Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni and Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa unveiled the six-month pilot scheme, which will start on Monday."

Political Violence Increases in El Salvador
A quote...."As student groups prepare to commemorate the anniversary of an infamous massacre of students by government forces on July 30, 1975, political violence continues in El Salvador 33 years later. In the last two years, social organizations, human rights monitors, community groups and the Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN) political party have publically denounced the alarming increase in politically-motivated assassinations of their members and leadership."
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ABC: Without ‘creative White House accounting,’ Bush’s deficit is actually $600 billion.
Video - A quote...."Yesterday, the White House “increased its estimate for next year’s deficit to nearly $490 billion, a record figure that will saddle the next president with deepening budget problems in his first year in office.” But, on ABC News’s Good Morning America today, Claire Shipman reported that the deficit is actually much higher because “creative White House accounting” didn’t include the war, the unemployment costs, Medicare fees, or the housing bill in its calculations. If those numbers are included, it brings “the grand total to about $600 billion.” -- bold by website editor

Massive US deficit spells austerity policy for next administration.
A quote...."The Bush administration this week predicted that the US budget deficit will hit a record $482 billion in 2009. This means that the next president, whether Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain, will follow a policy of unprecedented austerity, including gutting entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Social Security."

Sucking Up to the Bankers: A Bipartisan Lovefest
A quote...."This is a time to condemn the bankers, not to embrace them. They are the scoundrels who got us into the biggest economic mess since the Great Depression, lining their own pockets while destroying the life savings of those who trusted them. Yet both of our leading presidential candidates are scrambling to enlist not only the big-dollar contributions but, more frighteningly, the “expertise” of the very folks who advocated the financial industry deregulations at the heart of this meltdown."

America's house price time bomb
Some quotes...."Faced with seemingly never-ending falls in the value of their properties, some American home-owners are taking radical action; they are choosing to walk away from homes and their mortgages." -- "The trend of people now positively choosing to walk away because it makes financial sense to do so is a worrying new development.  "The dangers are extraordinary," Professor Wachter says.  "If all that is needed is that the house value is less than the mortgage value, there is a large number of homeowners in the United States who are in that situation".

Home prices down 15.8% in past year, S&P says
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities have fallen a record 15.8% in the past year, as prices dropped in all areas tracked by the Case-Shiller home price index, Standard & Poor's reported Tuesday."

Russia cuts exposure to US mortgage lenders
A quote...."Russia has approximately halved to less than $50 billion its exposure to U.S. mortgage lenders Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a senior central bank official told Reuters on Monday. "It's now less than $50 billion," central bank first deputy chairman Alexei Ulyukayev said, when asked about Russia's investments in the agencies." -- The Russians are finally beginning to understand what capitalism is all about....trying as hard as you can to keep your profits from getting ripped off by the "other" guy. - mpg

Merrill Lynch forced to take emergency action ahead of writedown
A quote...."Merrill Lynch sought to bolster its balance sheet and reduce its risk last night when it announced moves to raise $8.5 billion (£4.27 billion) and the sale of $11.1 billion worth of high-risk mortgage-backed securities. -- The group said it would record a $4.4 billion writedown in its third-quarter from the sale of the securities, known as collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), or pools of mortgage bonds, in a disposal that represented the majority of Merrill’s remaining CDO portfolio."

Merrill Lynch Dumping CDO's Once Worth $30.6 Billion for 22 Cents on the Dollar
Special Note - A quote...."It looks like the race is on to try to mark this crap down to the point where some hedge fund buys it for pennies on the dollar. - This race started when National Australia Bank bank tapped the mat and wrote off 90% of its U.S. AAA rated debt. - When that happened, all the firms must have known that the game was up. - Events could move very quickly now."

Gulf between rich and poor wider than Victorian times, say Tories
A quote...."The gulf between rich and poor in Britain's inner cities is wider now than at any point since Victorian times, the Tories will say today." -- Also posted at BLN

TRADE:  Doha Round Crumbles to Dust
A quote...."GENEVA, Jul 29 (IPS) - The Doha Round of multilateral trade talks was brought crashing down late Tuesday by the same discrepancies between rich and poor countries that have marked the nearly seven years of negotiations from the start."

Monday July 28th 2008

The Cost of Empire - Boom and Bust
Must Read - A quote...."In classic economic terms, an economy ought to create enough surplus wealth to grow without resorting to excess borrowing–we ought to be able to live on what we earn. But since 1983, we have been unable to do that. So what differentiates the American economy from the rest of the developed world since 1983? The only rational answer is in the chart below which demonstrates how far beyond any possible rival our military budgets have travelled. The fact that the DOD’s own inventory of worldwide bases - [PDF] is more than 189 pages long cannot lead one to any other conclusion than the American taxpayer is supporting the infrastructure of empire."

The Military-Industrial Complex - It's Much Later Than You Think
Must Read - A quote...."Most Americans have a rough idea what the term "military-industrial complex" means when they come across it in a newspaper or hear a politician mention it. President Dwight D. Eisenhower introduced the idea to the public in his farewell address of January 17, 1961. "Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime," he said, "or indeed by the fighting men of World War II and Korea… We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions… We must not fail to comprehend its grave implications… We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex." -- See video - (YouTube - 2 min 30 sec - August 04, 2006) - mpg -- Also posted at CommonDreams & TruthDig & AsiaTimes & GlobRsch & WarInIraq

US deficit zooming to half-trillion as Bush leaves
A quote...."A $482 billion deficit would easily surpass the record deficit of $413 billion set in 2004. The White House in February had forecast that next year's deficit would be $407 billion."

Just remember folks, inflation is a LOT higher than what they've been reporting, which makes the real GDP a LOT lower or even negative for many quarters, which makes the Ratio of the Federal Deficit to the real GDP much worse than what they've been saying.  And that means all the dollars they're spending for Empire and their various wars are what's holding up the economy.....for now.

It won't last though, they need bigger and bigger doses of easy money relative to the real economy i.e. "the real GDP/Deficit* ratio” and just like the old Soviet Union right before it collapsed, their bogus numbers are going to surprise everybody to the downside in a severely negative way.  Just think about it this way folks....do any of you actually  believe inflation has been 2% to 3% for the last several years?  Really???  You're joking right?

If they lied about WMD's, 9/11, their spying programs, their torturing of POW's, their various wars, their support of terror groups  -- the Taliban, al Qaeda, PKK, MEK, Baluchistan separatists, Kurdistan separatists, Iranian separatists, Jihaddists, Mujahedeen, Wahhabists, the SCIRI death squads, the Sunni guerilla groups and other assorted "freedom fighters", "bad boys", "militias" or "friends"  --  and their ceaseless acts of illegal political hanky-panky....all of that, do you gentle reader really think they wouldn't lie about this nation's financials?

Think about it. – mpg

For more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate 03-24-07 - mpg

* Admittedly you could factor inflation into the deficit (thereby reducing it) and the ratio balances again (apples to apples, oranges to oranges)....but there's something wrong with that approach, this editor just hasn't figured out what yet.
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Obama backs long-term US military presence in Iraq
A quote...."Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama reiterated his support for an open-ended US military presence in Iraq over the weekend, further narrowing his professed differences with the Bush administration and Republican presidential candidate John McCain."

Pull the Plug
A quote...."....including small countries in military alliances is worthless posturing. All you do is allow the little country to get you into trouble by its bad behavior. The little country is confident that its big ally will rescue it if it goes too far in antagonizing its larger neighbors. It's like a spoiled brat with a bodyguard. Sixty years after its founding, Israel is still at war with most of its neighbors precisely because it has no incentive to make a sensible peace. Why should it? It has its American attack dog. The only peace treaties it has signed are with Egypt and Jordan, both of which the U.S. bribed to make peace. Bribe or not, in both cases it's a cold peace." - mpg

The Bush Administration's Secret Biowarfare Agenda
A quote...."When it comes to observing US and international laws, treaties and norms, the Bush administration is a serial offender. Since 2001, it's:" -- See list.
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SAS agents wanted for questioning in connection with recent bombings: Where are these terrorists and what have they been up to? -- A quote...."In 2003  two SAS soldiers were freed from a jail in Basra by the British military after they were arrested by the Iraqi police for failing to “stop at an Iraqi police roadblock and subsequently open(ing) fire on the Iraqi police, killing one and wounding another.” The SAS agents did this while dressed in traditional Arab clothing. “In pursuit, the police surround(ed) and detain the drivers and (found) the vehicle packed with explosives.”

Bodyguard of Lies: The Truth Behind the 'Surge's' Smokescreen
A quote...."For months, we have heard glowing reports about the success of the "surge" in Iraq. This "success" has quickly become conventional wisdom, and can be referred to without controversy in any news piece about Iraq, even if it is not the main point of the story. It goes without saying that America's bipartisan foreign policy establishment -- including the Terror War Democrat and Terror War Republican candidates for president -- has avidly embraced these reports, which now define the terms of the debate on what the United States should do next in Iraq."

Iraq: Poised to Explode - Maybe, maybe not, but pressures are building. - mpg
A quote..."While everyone's looking at Iraq's effect on American politics -- and whether or not John McCain and Barack Obama are converging on a policy that combines a flexible timetable with a vague, and long-lasting, residual force -- let's take a look instead at Iraqi politics. The picture isn't pretty." -- Also posted at CommonDreams

US admits soldiers killed innocent Iraqis
A quote...."BAGHDAD — The U.S. military admitted Sunday that American soldiers killed innocent civilians after opening fire on a car last month on the heavily secured Baghdad airport road. -- The statement _ which called the man and two women killed "law abiding citizens of Iraq" _ reversed earlier military claims that they were suspected militants who shot at a parked American convoy."

Pakistan will retaliate if allied forces attacked: President Musharraf
A quote...."ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf Saturday said he is concerned over the Nato forces attack in Pakistani tribal areas and warned a U-S think-tank that no such attacks will be tolerated in future, and Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate."

Mossad creating trouble, claims Pak
A quote..."LAHORE: Indian and Israeli intelligence agencies have ganged up to stir trouble in Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, Pakistan's intelligence agencies have alleged. -- The agencies, in a report to the government quoted by Online news agency, have asked it to take "ample measures" to combat terrorism allegedly linked to Indian diplomatic missions in Afghanistan and Indian and Israeli spy outfits."

Pak journalist in US jail on terrorism charges
A quote...."WASHINGTON: Nayyar Zaidi, the well-known US-based Pakistani-American journalist, who has been a citizen of the United States for more than 30 years has been in US custody for the last four months on what are said to be terrorism-related charges. -- According to one report, Zaidi is being held on the charge of “obstruction of justice”, a very serious offence. He is also said to be awaiting a trial."

Why Are Neocons Attacking Turkey?
A quote...."Although Turkey’s enhanced ties with Iran and Syria have caused concern in certain quarters of Washington, this change – stemming from a transparent diversification of the Turkish policy – has not distanced Turkey from the West and Israel. However, Turkey’s clear lack of interest in isolating Iran has prompted neoconservative hardliners, led by former assistant secretary of defense Richard Perle, to undertake a smear campaign against the ruling AKP." -- underline by website editor. -- Ahhhh!  The good'ol "lets start as many wars as possible and see just how many people we can kill" PNAC'ers are back.  Just when things were getting better, they turn up like a bad penny. - mpg

"Shanghai Six" and the Collective Security Organization are to React to American Missile Defence Plans
A quote...."Russia is member of the post-Soviet Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which brings it  together with Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,  Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Armenia.  -- Together with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,  the CSTO is considering a joint response to American  plans for missile defences in Eastern and Central  Europe."

Snub for Iran eases nuclear crisis
A quote...."A window of opportunity for Iran to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) seemed to have opened when on July 18 the Russian news agency quoted a source in the Foreign Ministry in Moscow hinting at such a prospect. It happened two days after Washington let it be known that a shift in its Iran policy was under way."

Officials: US talks to Iran to legitimize attack
War Alert - A quote...."Recent talks the United States held with Iran are aimed at creating legitimacy for a potential attack against Iranian nuclear facilities, defense officials speculated on Sunday as Defense Minister Ehud Barak headed to Washington for talks with senior administration officials."

Gates: War with Iran would be 'disastrous'
War Status - Unknown - The man cannot be trusted under any conceivable conditions, the possible reasons for his statements are not apparent at this time and cannot be known or analyzed by this website editor.  It is posted for the reader’s speculation only. - mpg -- A quote...."A war with Iran would be "disastrous on a number of levels," according to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates."

Palestine: The facts on the ground
Must View - Video - A quote...."Very few people know the facts on the ground in Palestine as well as Mustafa Barghouti. Barghouti, born in Jerusalem and a resident of Ramallah, is a member of Parliament and the leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, a democratic, reformist alternative to the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. The Real News spoke to Mustafa Barghouti in Washington about the facts on the ground in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

Russia’s new Great Game
A quote...."Employing strategies redolent of a new Great Game, Russia has stepped up its diplomatic and trade activities in the Middle East and North Africa in a bid to enhance its geopolitical clout and gain access to, and at least partial control over, the region’s oil and gas reserves. - Among the former global superpower’s tactics: linking arms deals and debt-forgiveness to energy deals."

Brown hit by call for resignation and bad poll ratings
A quote...."Gordon Brown's standing was further undermined today as a Labour MP urged him to resign, new poll figures cast doubt on his performance, and Harriet Harman said voters had "not seen the best" of him since he became prime minister." -- Good riddance! - mpg
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Journalist detained for reporting
A quote...."It is becoming less unusual to hear of American journalists abroad who are detained, kidnapped or even killed in the line of duty. But for local journalists across Africa, Asia and the Mideast, kidnapping, detentions and threats to their families are disturbingly familiar." -- For more regarding the two articles shown above see....US - Killing the Messenger -- Also posted at CommonDreams

The agency name that dare not be spoken
A quote...."The name of the Central Intelligence Agency cannot be spoken in the war crimes trial here. - No records of the agency's interrogations of Salim Ahmed Hamdan can be subpoenaed, and no agent can be called to testify about what he or she learned from Osama bin Laden's former driver." -- It's pathetic, it's sick, these guys are acting like little snot nosed babies in some twisted version of 1984, or some Kafkaesque nightmare or a Star Chamber horror show.  Guess those lawsuits in Europe have them wetting their pants. Christ what a bunch of whining little cry babies, all they can do is torture people when they're chained or tied up and then try to hide their faces and names in shame.  What a bunch of cowardly gang-banging putrid little punks. - mpg -- For more on this issue see.... Fun & Torture - It's a Pleasure - 02-03-07 - mpg

Lawyer asks Taoiseach for information on CIA flights
A quote...."THE LAWYER representing a British resident detained in Guantánamo Bay has written to Taoiseach Brian Cowen seeking information on CIA flights involved in his client's "extraordinary rendition" which landed in Shannon in 2002 and 2004."

Why Did They Do It? -- Torture, Political Manipulation and the American Psychological Association
Because they're all good little Nazis? - mpg -- A quote...."The regressive effects of current forms of political manipulation that I describe in my new book, State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind (Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press, June, 2008) have not only affected American politics. They have also taken their toll on psychologists’ national organization, the American Psychological Association. Many APA members were shocked last year when APA twice refused to take an unequivocal stance against psychologists’ participation in the Bush detention centers.  The fact that other health care organizations, typically more conservative than APA on humanitarian issues, were very outspoken about the issue made it all the more puzzling."

Rights Group Wants US Officials Probed for Ordering Torture
A quote...."Washington - A Nobel-prize-winning rights group said US officials committed war crimes by ordering what the group says was torture of detainees, and called for them to be probed and prosecuted."
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STRATCOM Cancels Controversial Preemption Strike Plan
A quote...."The U.S. military has canceled a controversial war plan designed to strike adversaries promptly - even preemptively - with conventional and nuclear weapons. The strike plan was known as Concept Plan (CONPLAN) 8022 and first entered into effect in the summer of 2004 to provide the president with a prompt, global strike capability against time-urgent and mobile targets."

Elmendorf general dies of gunshot on base
Some quotes...."The commander of the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base died...." -- "The Air Force is investigating and can't say whether the shot that killed Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Tinsley was accidental or a suicide, Col. Richard Walberg said in a press conference. -- Tinsley did not leave a suicide note."

Can The Bush Family Wealth Be Seized Under The Trading With the Enemies Act?
A quote...."GW Bush is fond of destroying the law by ignoring Ex-Post Facto defenses. So, I say turn the tables on him by prosecuting Prescott Bush, post-mortem and retroactively confiscate all Bush family wealth which was owed entirely to its investment base in the hand of the Bush Cabal in the era 1932-1942-1951 wherein the Bush friends and family broke the Trading With The Enemies Act and were never prosecuted for that and the attempt on the life of FDR in 1932-1933 allegedly by Prescott Bush."

Verizon Refuses Phone Records Query
A quote...."(AP) Now that Congress has given immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the government spy on Americans in suspected terrorism cases, a Maine legislator is asking Verizon anew if it turned over any customer records to the federal government." -- For more on this issue see....Attempts to Control the Internet
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A Shock to the Collective Psyche - Bad News and Bank Runs
A quote...."The Bush administration is going to be mailing out more "stimulus" checks in the very near future. There's just no way around it. The Fed is in a pickle and can't lower interest rates for fear that food and energy prices will shoot into the stratosphere. At the same time, the economy is shrinking faster than anyone thought possible with no sign of a rebound. That leaves stimulus checks as the only way to "prime the pump" and keep consumer spending chugging along. Otherwise business activity will slow to a crawl and the economy will tank. There's no other choice." -- Also posted at BLN

The Big Bailout: America as a Full-Spectrum Kleptocracy
A quote...."Its name somewhat anachronistically means "assembly of old men." George Washington famously – and, it must now be admitted, with excessive optimism – characterized it as an institutional saucer intended to cool legislation passed in the intemperate heat of the moment. Its members demand, with entirely unwarranted self-approval, to be called, collectively, the World's Greatest Deliberative Body. -- Sober observers understand it to be the most corrupt legislative assembly in human history. To those characterizations of the United States Senate we must now add another, perhaps the final one: Gravedigger of the republic."

Towards a populist economics
A quote...."As book titles go, The Shock Doctrine is arguably the most evocative in recent years. Naomi Klein’s reflection on the predatory behavior of the Neanderthal economics preached by the late Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago is certainly timely as we enter a period of economic shock and awe. As conditions worsen, we may become suggestible in our distress and willing to adopt solutions proposed by those who have dropped the economic bombs in the first place."

IMF warns credit crunch is extending to the whole world
A quote...."The global credit crunch shows no signs of abating, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In its latest global financial stability report the IMF says that falling house prices and slowing economic growth are hitting credit."

U.S. banks sharply reduce business loans
A quote...."Banks struggling to recover from multibillion-dollar losses on real estate are curtailing loans to American businesses, depriving even healthy companies of money for expansion and hiring."

NY Governor Warns Of Worst Economy In Decades
A quote...."Gov. Paterson, convinced the state faces its worst fiscal crisis since the mid-1970s, will deliver the grim news in an unprecedented special address to New Yorkers as soon as tomorrow night, The Post has learned."

Price Increase Plagues Discount Shoppers
A quote...."There may be nowhere left to hide from rising prices. In today's tough economy, food and commodity prices, which have long been directly affecting consumers, have begun to take a toll on big discount chains."

The Shipping News By S. Artesian
A quote...."In dollar terms spot market daily rentals for Capesize (the largest) dry bulk carriers are at $156,000 or 500% above the January 2006 mark. Panamax (of a beam, length, and draft not exceeding the capacity of the Panama Canal lock system) rates nearing $71,000 per day, stand 400% above the January 2006 price."

Speculators Trying to Buy Control of Food Supply
A quote...."According to the New York Times, Financial Times, and others, hedge funds and other investors are buying up farms, farmland, fertilizer, grain elevators, shipping equipment and other necessities for producing food."

US: Ford posts record quarterly loss - More on Ford's record loss. - mpg
A quote...."Ford, the second largest US carmaker, reported an $8.7 billion loss for the second quarter of 2008, the largest one quarter deficit in the company’s history. The loss comes amidst a collapse in demand for large trucks and sport utility vehicle—on which the company has been heavily dependent—due to surging gas prices."

Sunday July 27th 2008

No posts. - mpg

Saturday July 26th 2008

Obama: The real power behind the throne-to-be
A quote...."It is hard to sort through the hype and heat of Obamania, but one thing is clear: who’s pulling the strings, argues Eric Walberg"

Quagmire Exchange
A quote...."If Barack Obama's idea of ending the occupation in Iraq is to transfer most of the troops to Afghanistan, he won't have accomplished much. He's right that we should not be in Iraq, but we also shouldn't be in Afghanistan." -- Editor's note:  Two quick points about this article, One: Osama's been dead for years and Two: We didn't let the Taliban "escape", we helped the Pakies fly out thousands of Taliban and al-Qaeda during the Kunduz air lift.  -- mpg -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror
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9/11 - From The History File...911- Government Prior Knowledge
250+ 9/11 'Smoking Guns' Found in the Mainstream Media
Profile: Abdallah Tabarak
Al Qaeda Detainee's Mysterious Release
U.S. released bin Laden's chief bodyguard
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Sheep and Lambs
A quote...."Alternet has published an article entitled, "America's Middle Class Can't Take Much More Punishment," adapted from a story by Matt Talibani at RollingStone.com. The article provides anecdotal evidence of the strain bearing down on middle class Americans laboring in an increasingly adverse economy plagued by inflation, job worries, declining median income, more and more people slipping into poverty, and a general sense of what might be characterized as despair.  --  In comments on the article at BlondeSense, I submitted a counter-point to the current concern about the disappearing middle class and the wellspring from which comes its constituents' misery. Below, in edited and expanded form, is that response."

Political Parties, Corporations - And The Truth
Some quotes...."The Republicans are offering up Senator John McCain for the presidency. By all that has been said so far, he earnestly expects to “win” in Iraq without even proposing what the definition of “winning” is. He has said that he will follow the economic policies of George W. Bush. That means more “hands-off” behavior when it comes to regulating certain business practices that are hurting the economy." -- "The Democrats are offering up Senator Barack Obama. This is a junior Senator with no executive experience. The Democratic presumptive nominee has already committed another two Army Divisions to the war in Afghanistan while leaving a “residual force” in Iraq, thus continuing this premise of the GWOT. He has not committed to lowering the defense budget. He has reneged on his opposition to strike immunity from prosecution for illegal electronic eavesdropping on American citizens by the telecoms. He has not come forward in opposition to the Patriot Act and the other draconian acts committed by the Bush Administration. He has pandered to AIPAC by threatening Iran with attack and supporting Jerusalem as the Israeli Capitol under Israeli control. He has threatened to invade Pakistan to fight the Taliban thereby increasing the scope of the war.
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The S(pl)urge: Of Course It’s Working
Special Note - A quote...." All you need to know about the “surge” is that it should have been called the “splurge.” Sure, we sent 30,000 extra troops to Iraq, but during the first six months of the operation, violence went up, not down. As Retired Army Colonel Douglas McGregor put it, “Up until that point, the surge was simply providing more targets for the insurgents to shoot at.” -- Under extreme pressure to produce results and fill less body bags, General Petraeus cut deals with armies of enemy combatants. These deals, now part of what is referred to as the Concerned Local Citizens program, simply pay insurgents to become temporary allies of the U. S. military. Approximately 70,000 former enemy combatants are now paid to play nice and all it costs us is $700,000 a day. -- That’s right. For $255 million a year, 70,000 IED-planting, sniper-firing, roadside-booby-trapping insurgents will be our friends and the death toll will drop and we can pat ourselves on the back because the “surge” is working or at least paying off in better press."

Maliki the Thug
Special Note - A quote...."The current Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, is in the news lately over his endorsement of Barack Obama's plan for withdrawing troops on a sixteen-month timetable, but yesterday in Washington it was a former Iraqi prime minister, Iyad Allawi, who was making news. And it wasn't good news for Maliki."

No assault on Falluja, says general
A quote...."An Iraqi army general denied reports that U.S. and Iraqi troops were planning to attack Falluja. However, Lt. Gen. Tareq Yousif said the troops were already involved in two major offensives, one in the southern city of Basra and the other in the Province of Babel of which the southern city of Hilla is the capital. Yousif’s remarks come following reports of an upsurge in violence in Falluja and the possible loss of the city once again to Iraqi resistance groups and al-Qaeda. Yousif said there would not be “a major military offensive” on Falluja." -- For now. - mpg

[British] MPs cast doubt on Iraq torture denials
A quote...."Ministers and senior military officers are today challenged over discrepancies in evidence they gave to a parliamentary committee on the use of torture techniques by British troops in Iraq. -- Evidence given to MPs by the former armed forces minister, Adam Ingram, and Lieutenant General Robin Brims, former commander of UK forces in Iraq, failed to address concerns over whether the Ministry of Defence gave soldiers permission to abuse detainees in Iraq."
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Stigmatizing War - Banning cluster bombs is just a start
A quote...."The moral center of humanity slowly asserts itself. Only the most powerful are too afraid to join. -- You may have missed the news: At the end of May, 111 nations, including, at the last minute, Great Britain, showing the world the power of an unleashed conscience, agreed to an international ban on cluster bombs, surely one of the cruelest and, given the nature of war today, most unnecessary weapons in modern arsenals."

Partnership with the US
A quote ...."There is no relief in stating the obvious: Pakistan is adrift by design. Designs are both Divine and human; this one has been conceived by human beings. What is obvious, moreover, is the chilling consistency in the execution of this design. Like all designs made for a grand reconstruction of a polity, this one has a lot of money behind it. It has been bankrolled by those for whom millions, even billions, of dollars are not a big price for such reconstruction of Pakistani society because of ideological commitments."

NATO forces kill 4 civilians in shooting in Afghanistan
A quote...." KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO forces killed four civilians and wounded three others when they fired at a vehicle that did not stop at a checkpoint in Afghanistan's volatile south, the alliance said."

Argentine Ex-Army Chief Gets Life Sentence in ‘Dirty War’ Crimes
A quote...."RIO DE JANEIRO — A court in Argentina sentenced a notorious former military leader to life in prison for atrocities committed in 1977 at a clandestine torture center used by the military dictatorship where only 17 of more than 2,200 political prisoners survived." -- Hope the little shrub is paying attention, sure the Demos and that sniveling, boot licking, little coward Nancy Pelosi aren't going to go after him.  But everybody else will.  He's not going to be able to set foot anywhere else in the world.  Now if we could only get him to leave the US and arrange for his "rendition".....hmmmmmm?  - mpg

Turkey to mediate Iran-West talks
A quote...."MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov) - On his way back from the inconclusive Geneva talks between Tehran and the Iran Six over the disputed Iranian nuclear program, Tehran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili stopped in Ankara and held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babajan."

Report: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran now has 6,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium
A quote...."President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday that Iran now possesses 6,000 centrifuges, a significant increase in the number of uranium-enriching machines in its nuclear program, the semi-official Fars news agency reported."

Local election loss bitter blow to Brown
A quote..."GLASGOW (Reuters) - Labour lost one of its safest parliamentary seats on Friday, deepening doubts in its own ranks about Prime Minister Gordon Brown's ability to win the next election. Defeat left Brown facing a bleak weekend as the party's main policy-making forum met to try to work out how to win back voters disillusioned by a string of political gaffes, rising inflation and a slowing economy." -- Along with not leaving Iraq as most of the voters in Britain wanted him too. (Got the hint Nancy??) - mpg

Irish strongly oppose second vote on key EU treaty: poll
A quote...."Nearly three-quarters of Irish voters are against holding a second referendum on the EU's key reform treaty, according to an opinion poll out Sunday."
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The Endless Smearing of Joe Wilson
A quote...."Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee reminded everyone that rules barred personal attacks on George W. Bush during Friday’s hearing on his presidential abuses, but they didn’t feel obliged to forego the lashing of a favorite whipping boy, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson."

Kucinich gets his day
Video - A quote...."Since June 9, 2008, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich has pushed for impeachment proceedings against President Bush. Last week, in an effort to placate Kucinich, the House Judiciary Committee finally agreed to hold a hearing July 25, 2008. The night before the hearing, Kucinich sat down with ANP in an exclusive one-on-one interview."

Back to the Future: Speaker Christine Pelosi names David Addington Co-Chair, Office of Congressional Ethics.
A quote...."Addington, who was instrumental in formulating the Bush administration’s strategy for The War on Terror, survived an effort to impeach Mr. Bush for programs that Mr. Addington largely crafted -- torture, illegal wiretapping and the illegal invasion of Iraq -- when Christine Pelosi’s mother famously took impeachment “off of the table”." -- Naked uncaring dereliction of duty along with a complete disregard for the constitution of the United States seems to run in the Pelosi family, as it has for the last eighty years in the Bush family.  Aren't family dynasties wonderful?  Welcome to the New Roman Empire folks, it will only get worse from here on out if you keep electing these people.  --  For more on this issue see....Mommy Pelosi and Daddy Bush - 11-18-06 - mpg  - note, this was written on 11-18-06 - mpg

4,000 US Combat Deaths, and Just a Handful of Images
A quote...."Baghdad - The case of a freelance photographer in Iraq who was barred from covering the Marines after he posted photos on the Internet of several of them dead has underscored what some journalists say is a growing effort by the American military to control graphic images from the war. Zoriah Miller, the photographer who took images of marines killed in a June 26 suicide attack and posted them on his Web site, was subsequently forbidden to work in Marine Corps-controlled areas of the country." -- For more on this issue see....Fake Intel / Propaganda

McClellan: Fox News Commentators Use The ‘Talking Points’ That The White House Sends Them
Special Note - A quote...."On MSNBC’s Hardball last night, host Chris Matthews asked former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan if he saw “FOX television as a tool” to get the White House’s “message out” while he was in the Bush administration. “Certainly there were commentators and other, pundits at FOX News, that were useful to the White House,” replied McClellan, adding that they were given “talking points.” -- The Neocons presstitutes hard at work, they have not one shred of pride or dignity....whores one and all. - mpg

Suicide or Murder? Three Years After the Death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson in Iraq, Her Parents Continue Their Call for a Congressional Investigation -- A quote...."Three years ago, on July 19, 2005, Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson was found dead in Balad, Iraq. Her body was found in a tent belonging to the private military contractor KBR. She had abrasions all over her body, a broken nose, a black eye, burned hands, loose teeth, acid burns on her genitals, and a bullet hole in her head. The Army labeled Johnson’s death a suicide. But her parents never believed that story. They think she was raped and murdered and are now demanding a full congressional investigation into their daughter’s death. [includes rush transcript]" -- ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  ||

Death by Taser: Police Accused of Cover-Up in Death of African American Man Shocked Nine Times While in Handcuffs -- A quote...."Police in the city of Winnfield, Louisiana are being accused of covering up the death of twenty-one-year-old Baron Pikes. He died in police custody on January 21 after being shot nine times with a taser gun while in handcuffs. The city police chief initially claimed that Pikes was high on crack cocaine and PCP at the time of his death. But the coroner recently ruled Pikes’ death to be a homicide, after an autopsy determined there were no drugs in his system. The coroner also determined that the police shot Pikes twice after he lost consciousness. We speak with Chicago Tribune reporter Howard Witt, who broke the story nationally; Kayshon Collins, Baron Pikes’ stepmother; and Winnfield Police Lieutenant Charles Curry. [includes rush transcript] -- ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  ||

Missouri Police taser injured boy 19 times
Must Read - (for outrage!!!) Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse - it did, maybe the cops thugs are having a contest on who can taser a person the most.  You can see them in your minds eye with score sheets on their precinct walls...soon it will be a hundred jolts a person, welcome to New Baghdad folks. - mpg -- KY 3 News' Sara Sheffield reports on an injured teen from Ozark, Missouri who was tasered up to 19 times by police. -- Passing motorists called Ozark police out of concern for the teen as he walked along the busy overpass. When the police arrived, the young man was lying on the shoulder of the highway directly underneath the 30 foot high overpass with a broken back and foot. -- Doctors believe 16-year-old Mace Hutchinson broke his back and heel after falling, as his injuries are consistent with such a fall. The boy's family does not understand why police would have tasered the the teen 19 times after he was so seriously injured."

Main Core: New Evidence Reveals Top Secret Government Database Used in Bush Spy Program
A quote...."Salon.com has published new details about a top secret government database that might be at the heart of the Bush administration’s domestic spying operations. The database is known as “Main Core.” It reportedly collects and stores vast amounts of personal and financial data about millions of Americans. Some former US officials believe that “Main Core” may have been used by the National Security Agency to determine who to spy on in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. We speak with author and investigative journalist, Tim Shorrock. [includes rush transcript]" -- ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 
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Seven short videos and an article on the economy and our fiat currencies
A quote...."I came across the following article by  Darryl Robert Schoon entitled “A Golden Parachute With a Silver Lining”, which I thought was well worth the read, even though I do not agree with everything that is presented in the piece."

Nov 2006 Peter Schiff Mortgage Bankers Speech- (YouTube - aprox 10 min each - Added:  July 22, 2008)
Part - 1 of 8 - 2 of 8 - 3 of 8 - 4 of 8 - 5 of 8 - 6 of 8 - 7 of 8 - 8 of 8
Videos - Must View - Just put it on and listen.....he called it all in Nov. 2006. - mpg -- A quote...."In [Nov] 2006 Peter Schiff tells over 1000 mortgage brokers they are about to be out of jobs. Watch how he completely nails the coming real estate/mortgage debacle before anyone else even realized it was coming."

Delusions of Debt – The Ron Paul Solution
A quote...."Make no mistake. Our country is in the midst of a financial crisis of epic proportions. We are in a long national emergency. In the last 6 months, we have been on the brink of financial collapse twice. "

How Wall Street Wrecked Your Retirement
A quote...."There are no happy days for the millions of Americans who have been trying to put away some money for their retirement in tax-sheltered entities like IRAs, Roth Accounts and 401(k)s. For them, the market's downward slope has been harrowing and frightening. When will the steady erosion of their savings end? And when it does, what will be left of their future financial security?" -- Slim to none...savers, hah!  The only financial lifeform in Amerika more disgusting than a saver....is an employee. - mpg

U.S. regulators close two more banks, 7th this year
A quote...."WASHINGTON -- First National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, both owned by an Arizona-based company, were closed by U.S. regulators and their deposits and assets are being acquired by Mutual of Omaha Bank."

Feds Seize Two More Banks
Related Article - A quote...."CARSON CITY, Nev. — The 28 branches of 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, operating in Nevada, Arizona and California, were closed Friday by federal regulators. - The banks, owned by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based First National Bank Holding Co., were scheduled to reopen on Monday as Mutual of Omaha Bank branches, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said. - The FDIC said the takeover of the failed banks was the least costly resolution and all depositors _ including those with funds in excess of FDIC insurance limits _ will switch to Mutual of Omaha with "the full amount of their deposits."

The global economy is at the point of maximum danger
A quote...."It feels like the summer of 1931. The world's two biggest financial institutions have had a heart attack. The global currency system is breaking down. The policy doctrines that got us into this mess are bankrupt. No world leader seems able to discern the problem, let alone forge a solution."

China Surpasses U.S. in Number of Internet Users - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."SHANGHAI — China said the number of Internet users in the country reached about 253 million last month, putting it ahead of the United States as the world’s biggest Internet market."

Friday July 25th 2008

PJB: Honorable Exit From Empire
Must Read - A quote...."As any military historian will testify, among the most difficult of maneuvers is the strategic retreat. Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow, Lee’s retreat to Appomattox and MacArthur’s retreat from the Yalu come to mind. The British Empire abandoned India in 1947 — and a Muslim-Hindu bloodbath ensued." -- Also posted at ICH
 & LewRockwell & DissentMag
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A Vision Of The Future
A quote...."Washington, DC - January 19, 2009 -- President George W. Bush pardoned Vice President Dick Cheney this evening for "any and all crimes he may have committed in office," before resigning the presidency this evening at 11 pm EST. -- After taking the oath of office, smirking only slightly at the phrase "defend the Constitution," President Cheney immediately pardoned former President Bush, then issued additional pardons to Scooter Libby, every other political appointee of the previous eight years, all defense contractors who have served in Iraq, and any executives who supervised them." -- Yeah, they'll do it that way just in case the Demos change their minds about the "Deal".  You know....the deal where the Neocons graciously agree to go without nuking an American city or releasing a biological plague, declaring martial law or seizing dictatorial control of the country so long as the Demos lick their boots and don't prosecute them.  You heard about it right gentle reader?  The “gentleman’s agreement” arranged by their wealthy MIOC masters for our nation’s regular decadal transfer of power?   - mpg

The parade of "shrill, unserious extremists" on display at today's impeachment hearings
A quote...."Former Reagan DOJ official, constitutional lawyer, and hard-core conservative Bruce Fein was one of the first prominent Americans to call for George Bush's impeachment in the wake of the illegal NSA spying scandal. Back in late 2005 and 2006, when even safe-seat Democrats like Chuck Schumer were petrified even of uttering the words "broke the law" when speaking of the Bush administration -- let alone taking meaningful action to investigate and putting a stop to the lawbreaking" -- Also posted at ICH

Excerpts from the July 2008 Torture Hearings -- ||  Podcast  ||  Transcript  ||
Bill Moyers Journal - Interview with Jane Mayer - Must View -- ||  Podcast  ||  Transcript  ||
Videos - A quote...."Bill Moyers Journal goes inside last week's hearings on torture in Congress and gets perspective from journalist Jane Mayer on the debate over whether the U.S. sanctioned torture to prosecute the war on terror. Mayer's recent book, The Dark Side:* the inside story of how the war on terror turned into a war on American ideals, documents the war on terror and the struggle over whether the president should have limitless power to wage it." -- *link added

The Torturing Company We Keep
A quote...."At one point during the five and a half years John McCain spent as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, he was tortured and beaten so badly he tried to kill himself. -- After four days of this brutality, he gave in and agreed to make a false confession, telling lies to end the unbearable pain." -- bold by website editor -- Also posted at TruthOut -- For more on this sort of issue see....The Convenient Silence of Guantanamo Bay - 05-31-08 - mpg

Mukasey to Congress: Defy the Rule of Law
A quote...."Along with other past and present administration officials, Attorney General Michael Mukasey supports lawlessness and police state justice. Weeks after the Supreme Court's landmark (June 12) Boumediene ruling, he addressed the conservative, pro-war American Enterprise Institute (on July 21) and asked Congress to overrule the High Court - for the third time."

Bugliosi to Congress: "The Bush administration has gotten away with thousands and THOUSANDS of murders!"
Video - A quote...."Offering the committee incriminating, documentary evidence to substantiate his charges, Bugliosi urged the committee to make a 'criminal referral' to the Justice Department to begin a criminal investigation of Bush and members of his administration to determine whether first degree murder charges should be brought against 'certain members of this administration'.Clearly --Bugliosi thinks the evidence supports not just an 'indictment' but a conviction."

Guantanamo testimony: U.S. let bin Laden's top bodyguard go
A quote...."24 Jul 2008 Soon after Osama bin Laden's driver got here in 2002, he told interrogators the identity of the al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] chief's most senior bodyguard -- then a fellow prison camp prisoner. But, inexplicably, the U.S. let the bodyguard go. This startling information was revealed in the fourth day of the war crimes trial of Salim Hamdan, facing conspiracy and material support for terror charges as an alleged member of bin Laden's inner circle. Michael St. Ours, an agent with the Naval Criminal Intelligence Service, NCIS, provided the first tidbit. [Well, actually, it's not 'inexplicable,' when you ponder the evidence that CLG has presented for nearly 7 years: *9/11 was an inside job.* And make no mistake about it: Bush's bioterror team is dying to get the pandemic party started. An avian flu outbreak is the biggest wet dream this administration has ever had. The Bush regime achieves its political goals with martial law and quarantines (think Blackwater on steroids), mandatory vaccines (liability by the pharmaceutical companies has already been waived--just like Bush's spying telecoms), detention centers (already built by KBR), end of 'entitlement' programs (they'd be completely mismanaged and, ergo, 'overwhelmed'), and the privatization of every service--right down to the body bags and corpse removal. The puzzle pieces are on the table, ready for assemblage. --Lori Price] -- Paragraph posted at CLG
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Angry Bloggers On Left And Right Unite Over FISA
Action Alert - A quote...."Morning Edition, July 25, 2008 · Bloggers across the political spectrum have been raising money in recent weeks in an effort to punish certain members of Congress for supporting a government surveillance bill backed by the White House."

The Impeachment Hearing That Wasn't
A quote...."Though the name of the hearing -- Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations -- didn't include the hot-button word, impeachment was on the minds of judiciary committee members and witnesses Friday."

Rove Threatened GOP IT Guru If He Does Not 'Take the Fall' for Election Fraud in Ohio, Says Attorney
A quote...."Karl Rove has threatened a GOP high-tech guru and his wife, if he does not "'take the fall' for election fraud in Ohio," according to a letter sent this morning to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, by Ohio election attorney Cliff Arnebeck. -- The email, posted in full below, details threats against Mike Connell of the Republican firm New Media Communications...."
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Is Obama the 'Antiwar Candidate'? -- Two words of advice for the antiwar voter: Caveat emptor
A quote...."Now that Barack Obama has pulled the rug out from under John McCain's "victory or death" campaign theme, with the invaluable assistance of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, he's preparing the way for a surge of his own: an Afghan surge, to be precise. Averring that we need to put more troops in Afghanistan, whose U.S.-supported "president" functions as little more than the mayor of Kabul, Obama is posing earnestly next to as many uniforms as he can, hoping to establish his credentials as a plausible wartime president."
Obama's pro-Israel stance no surprise to Arabs
A quote...."BEIRUT, July 24 (Reuters) - Barack Obama has convinced Arabs and Iranians he will put Israel's interests first if he becomes U.S. president, after a Middle East tour that ended on Thursday. -- When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many in the region believe, Obama would display the same bias in favour of the Jewish state that they now expect from any White House occupant — even one with a Muslim name and African roots."
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US attempts to retain funded militias in Iraq - Give us more money or else. - mpg
A quote...."BAQOUBA, Iraq: The Iraqi officer leading a US-financed anti-jihadist group is in no mood for small talk - either the military gives him more money or he will pack his bags and rejoin the ranks of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. "I'll go back to Al-Qaeda [in Iraq] if you stop backing the Sahwa [Awakening] groups," Colonel Satar tells US Lieutenant Matthew McKernon, as he tries to secure more funding for his men to help battle the anti-US insurgents."

Who will determine Iraq's future/ - (3-5)
Where is Muqtada al Sadr? - (2-5)
Iraq events moving out of US control? - (1-5)
Videos - A quote from part 3-5...."Sabah al-Nasseri: "He [Obama] did not talk about the occupation. He never mentioned a word about the occupation, so as if things in Iraq will be determined in Washington and not on the ground by the Iraqi people themselves. So my argument is that Obama will not withdraw the troops, US troops. He will move few brigades, probably, from Iraq to Afghanistan, but the majority of the US troops and the private security firms or military firms, companies, will stay in Iraq."

Americans Say No to War with Iran: Will Washington Listen?
Action Alert - A quote...."Two weeks ago, I was alarmed to learn that congressional Democrats were sponsoring Resolution 362, which encourages what amounts to an act of war against Iran. - Today, there are more than 230 co-sponsors of the House resolution, but there is also growing mobilization to stop passage of Res. 362."

If Iran is Attacking It Might Really be Israel
A quote...."The Benny Morris op-ed in the NYT last Friday should provide convincing evidence that Israel really really really wants an attack against Iran sooner rather than later.  Morris is close to the Israeli government and his case that Iran must be bombed soon and with maximum conventional weaponry to avoid using nukes later was clearly intended to push the United States to do the attacking.  The likelihood that Dick Cheney is almost certainly supportive of a US pre-emptive strike and might well be pulling strings behind the scenes, possibly without the knowledge of the Great Decider, makes the next several months particularly significant if a war is to be avoided." -- Also posted at ICH

Are You Ready to Face the Facts About Israel?
A quote...."25/07/08 "ICH" -- - I had given up on finding an American with a moral conscience and the courage to go with it and was on the verge of retiring my keyboard when I met the Rev. Thomas L. Are. -- Rev. Are is a Presbyterian pastor who used to tell his Atlanta, Georgia, congregation: "I am a Zionist." Like most Americans, Rev. Are had been seduced by Israeli propaganda and helped to spread the propaganda among his congregation. -- Around 1990 Rev. Are had an awakening for which he credits the Christian Canon of St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem and author Marc Ellis, co-editor of the book, Beyond Occupation."

Pakistan draws a bead on Baitullah
A quote...."KARACHI - He is reclusive like Taliban leader Mullah Omar and popular like al-Qaeda's Osama bin Laden, and he pledges his allegiance to both."

Taliban winning the war of words
A quote...."The media battle in Afghanistan between Taliban-led anti-government militants and pro-government forces has claimed a victim, that of credibility. All the same, a new report shows, the Taliban are winning the propaganda battle hands down, with dire ramifications for the embattled government of President Hamid Karzai."

Report: Taliban using sophisticated media network
A quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have created a sophisticated media network to undermine support for the Afghan government, sending threats by text message and spreading the militia's views through songs available as ring tones, according to a report released Thursday."

Privatization of Mexican Oil Will Advance SPP Objectives
A quote...."Mexican President Felipe Calderon has proposed sweeping reforms to its state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX). He denies that his reforms constitute privatization and claims they will serve to make PEMEX stronger. Many view his proposals as a threat to Mexican sovereignty and nothing more then an energy grab."

Britain: Labour faces wipe-out after defeat in Glasgow East
A quote...."Labour’s defeat by the Scottish National Party in the Glasgow East by-election is a devastating blow to the party and leaves Prime Minister Gordon Brown one of the walking dead."

Follow That Story! -- Whatever happened to the Yushchenko "poisoning" investigation?
A quote...."One thing I hate about the Fourth Estate, and our culture in general, is the very short attention span that traps us in the present. No one remembers anything. Everything is now, now, now. There is no follow-up: stories aren't developed so much as they are announced, and then shoved down the Memory Hole. The result is that the general public, as well as the media, is suffering from a collective form of Alzheimer's. Ah, but here at Antiwar.com we live by a different standard, one that recalls the old-fashioned reportorial style of the sixties and seventies, long before the conflation of news and what passes for entertainment these days."

Venezuela Bridges Diplomatic Fissures, Polishes Alliances in European Tour
A quote...."Mérida, July 25, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- Rounding off a diplomatic tour of Europe that began with Tuesday’s controversial visit in Russia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez mended relations with the Spanish government, set up a bi-national commerce commission with Portugal, and eliminated visa requirements to facilitate bilateral accords with Belarus this week."

Venezuela Strengthens Alliance with Russia to Promote “Polycentrism”
A quote...."Mérida, July 22, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela met for the first time with Russian President Dimitri Medvedev on Tuesday, to strengthen bilateral relations and discuss economic and military cooperation, which could expand the relationship between Russia and Latin America as a whole."
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U.S. Foreclosures Double as House Prices Decline (Update2)
A quote...."July 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. foreclosure filings more than doubled in the second quarter from a year earlier as falling home prices left borrowers owing more on mortgages than their properties were worth." -- Also posted at BLN

Mortgage rates spike - Inflation fears send 30-year rate up sharply; ARMs jump even more
Special Note - Financial Warning - A quote...."CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Mortgage rates spiked this week on inflation fears, with the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan soaring more than a quarter percentage point to a national average 6.63%, its highest level in nearly a year, Freddie Mac said Thursday."

Durable goods orders spring upside surprise
A quote....""Overall, then, not a bad report, but with orders ex-defense falling at a 4.0% annualized rate in the second quarter, it's pretty clear manufacturing is hardly thriving," Shepherdson said." -- bold/underline by website editor -- It was Military Hardare that produced the "good" numbers....not the American consumer.  - mpg  --  For more on the two articles shown above see....Obama, the Yang to Bush's Yin - 06-20-08 - mpg

New-home sales fell 0.6% in June
A quote...."Sales of new homes fell in June for the seventh time in the past eight months, more proof that the worst housing slump in decades is getting deeper. -- The Commerce Department reported Friday that sales of new single-family homes dropped by 0.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 530,000 units following an even bigger 1.7 percent fall in May."

Thursday July 24th 2008
  
A Turkish theater for World War III*
Must Read - Geo-Political Warning - Prediction - A quote...."Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf is on record stating his ambitions to make his country a modern and secular state modeled on the Turkish republic under Kemal Ataturk. Ironically, even as that goal appears mind bogglingly unachievable for Pakistan, recent events will conspire to push Turkey in the direction of Pakistan; into becoming a breeding ground for a new class of Islamic militants. The transition of Turkey into a new front for Saudi interests will follow typical ideological, strategic and political trends." -- For more on this entire issue see....US Support of Terror

Rolling the Dice Once Again - in Iran
Must Read - A quote...."So, what do the Lords of Capital see, when they survey “their” world? They see the final failure of their grand scheme to shift the centers of global production to the South and East while somehow preserving the supremacy of the de-industrializing West – an impossibility. As arch-speculator George Soros keenly understands, power must “shift in favor of the developing world, particularly China” – an unacceptable outcome to the Lords of Capital. They therefore require a military alternative to the laws of political economy and civilized relations among nations. Their continued existence depends on their capability and willingness to smash and rearrange the planetary reality whenever imperialism’s illogical and wildly contradictory arrangements are threatened. Raw military power – a global coercive regime – must be deployed to counter the elemental logic of political economy (and history) with the logic of terror."

7/20/2008: 7/7 Mastermind Allegedly Worked for British Intelligence, Deena Burnett - Additions as of July 20, 2008
Special Note - A quote...."Most of the new entries in the 9/11 Timeline this week are about the 7/7 London bombings, and in particular the alleged mastermind, Haroon Rashid Aswat. Aswat recruited militant fighters in London in the late 1990s, when his activities were known to British intelligence. He also attempted to set up terrorist training camps in the US, but the Justice Department blocked his indictment on these charges in 2002."

Author: Officials against torture memo feared wiretaps, physical danger
A quote...."According to Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals, two top lawyers in the Justice Department who attempted to push back against the authorization of torture by Vice President Cheney's staff became so paranoid that they worried they were being wiretapped and even feared they might be in physical danger."

The Real Reason that the U.S. Tortures People
A quote...."Well, listen to the testimony to Congress by a representative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:....
"Governments that use torture intend to intimidate their citizens in order to maintain control; those who are tortured become examples of the consequences of dissent."

In May 2006 the United States and Israel officially declared that World War III had already started
A quote...."There is some disagreement as to the exact date of the beginning of  World War III. -- “The beginnings of wars are often hard to identify. Which act lit the spark on the tinderbox? Which straw was the final one? Like peak oil itself, the beginnings of war are often visible only in retrospect.”

The Pornography of Power: Lust for Empire Has Weakened America
Interview -  Emily Wilson of Alternet interviews Robert Scheer  -- A quote...."Veteran journalist Robert Scheer on the media's complicity in war, the rise of the neocons and how even Nixon got some things right."
      
Defeating the military-industrial complex
A quote...."Whoever wins the American presidency in November will come up hard against what former president Dwight Eisenhower described as the “military-industrial complex”. -- After the military build up of the Bush administration, which now makes the US armed forces greater in size than all the other militaries of the world added together, the vested interests in the military-industrial complex have never been so formidable."

The Pentagon and Oil
A quote...."The U.S. military is the single largest consumer of energy in the world. The American GI is the most energy-consuming soldier ever seen on the field of war. In 2005, The U.S. Navy was the largest diesel fuel user in the world." -- Also posted at Uruknet
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Obama, the Prince of Bait-and-Switch
A quote...."On 12 July, The Times of London devoted two pages to Afghanistan. It was mostly a complaint about the heat. The reporter, Magnus Linklater, described in detail his discomfort and how he had needed to be sprayed with iced water. He also described the "high drama" and "meticulously practiced routine" of evacuating another overheated journalist. For his US Marine rescuers, wrote Linklater, "saving a life took precedence over [their] security." Alongside this was a report whose final paragraph offered the only mention that "47 civilians, most of them women and children, were killed when a US aircraft bombed a wedding party in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday." -- Also posted at LewRockwell & InfoWars & CommonDreams

Obama promotes wider war in Afghanistan: Another presidential race between pro-war candidates
A quote...."It is clear that the presidential campaign of Barack Obama has become the political vehicle for a significant shift in the focus of US military aggression from Iraq to Afghanistan and Central Asia." --  Also posted at  CounterCurrents

Obama (and Big Media) Turn Blind Eye to Israeli Apartheid
A quote...."Israel is now an apartheid state, according to the publisher of Ha'aretz, that country's largest circulation daily newspaper.  The occasion was the recent renewal of Israeli citizenship  laws which refuse to recognize marriages and families among most of the Arabs living in that country.   How can Barack Obama, himself the son of an American mixed marriage remain an apparently uncritical supporter of Israeli apartheid, and why does corporate media continue to pursue a longstanding "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward the odious policies of racial and ethnic discrimination in Israel?"
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Former "Bush Puppet" Iraqi PM Calls for US Withdrawal
A quote...."Dr. Ayad Allawi, the former interim Iraqi prime minister previously referred to even by US Congress members as a "Bush puppet," voiced his strong support for a US withdrawal timeline during a Wednesday Congressional hearing."

Son of Iraq journalist shot dead by US forces
A quote...."KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) - The son of a journalist at a popular weekly newspaper in northern Iraq was allegedly shot dead by US troops when his car appeared to veer wildly, local police said on Thursday." -- a.k.a. he was DWI....no, not that DWI, he was Driving While Iraqi. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....US - Killing the Messenger

Iraq: Alarm at forced transfer of Basra union activists
Special Note - A quote...."Eight Iraqi trade union leaders have been forcibly transferred from Basra to Baghdad, where their lives are said to be at risk for opposing a planned law in which control over oil exploration and production would be placed in foreign hands. -- The men, members of the Iraq Federation of Oil Unions, IFOU, have been moved to the capital apparently on the personal orders of Hussain al-Shahristani, the Iraqi oil minister, under anti-union legislation left over from Saddam Hussein's rule."

Previously secret torture memo released
A quote...."WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration told the CIA in 2002 that its interrogators working abroad would not violate U.S. prohibitions against torture unless they "have the specific intent to inflict severe pain or suffering," according to a previously secret Justice Department memo released Thursday." -- bold by website editor -- Must be "one of them there unintentional accidents" when they break someone’s bones or hang them by the shackles....heh?  It's all just more of that sickeningly implausible "plausible deniability" from the Bush thugs.  They’ve created a nation of congenital, serial, liars, a land cursed by a gang of morally deformed cretins incapable of ever telling, or even knowing, the truth again. -- mpg -- For more on this issue see the article below....

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - (YouTube - 55 min 24 sec - Added:  Sept. 30, 2007)  From the history file -- Must View - A quote...."“My book is now being criticized for drawing too many connections….but of course (pause) my friend Shamus Mill who is the op-ed editor at the Guardian….he calls it the “cock-up theory of history".  I didn’t realize there was a cock-up theory of history.  But the theory is that everything happens just because of some big “cock-up”  Some big mess-up, it’s a series of mistakes…..and if you actually say that there are motives and interests behind it [i.e. follow the money] you are a conspiracy theorist.” -- *Naomi Klein*, speech given September 27, 2007 at Town Hall Seattle. -- posted 07-10-08

Iraqi army prepares assault in Diyala as election law vetoed
A quote...."BAGHDAD — Iraqi army troops headed Wednesday into Diyala, one of Iraq's last remaining restive provinces, in preparation for the next major government offensive, as Iraqi president Jalal Talabani vetoed a long-awaited elections bill, casting into doubt provincial elections widely viewed as critical for national reconciliation." -- More of that there Neo-Roman "freedom and democracy" one would guess. - mpg

A Social History of the Surge
Special Note - Analysis - A quote...."The problem with this debate is that it has few Iraqis in it. - It is also open to charges of logical fallacy. The only evidence presented for the thesis that the "surge" "worked" is that Iraqi deaths from political violence have declined in recent months from all-time highs in the second half of 2006 and the first half of 2007."
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Israel reneges on settlement pledge
A quote...."An Israeli ministerial committee has approved construction of new homes in a West Bank settlement despite a pledge to the US to stop building on the site, Israeli media reported today."

In Palestine, Even Camera Lies
A quote...."As I lead a delegation of UK students around the West Bank, I thought about how the trip was to benefit the Palestinian people. When they spend money, they help the Palestinian economy, their solidarity helps boost morale and when they record incidents of abuse they help give legitimacy to Palestinian claims of oppression." -- Also posted at Uruknet

Palestinians allege settlers attacked village
A quote...."NABLUS, West Bank - More than 20 Jewish settlers attacked a Palestinian village in the West Bank on Thursday, smashing cars and windows and cutting electricity wires, Palestinian police said."

ISRAEL-OPT: Nearly half of Gazans unemployed - UNRWA report 
A quote...."JERUSALEM, 24 July 2008 (IRIN) - In the Gaza Strip at the end of 2007, over half the population was living below the official poverty line, and unemployment, in real adjusted terms, stood at an "unprecedented high" of about 45 percent, a new UN study released on 24 July said."

Regarding the article shown above ....

"Would not the Warsaw Ghetto by any other name be as vile and bitter as that which the Israeli people have now constructed on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea?"

"The lost tribe of Israel, savaged for their separateness by the very Europeans who now cynically support these barbaric policies, in an effort to pay homage to those so brutally mistreated and to help prevent any such acts in the future, once solemnly promised to themselves and to the rest of the world.... "never again"

"A promise they could not keep." - mpg - posted 10-15-2007
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Unsolicited advice for Bush on Iran
A quote...."WASHINGTON - Two of Washington's most prominent foreign policy graybeards praised Saturday's direct participation in multinational talks with Iran by a senior US diplomat, but called on the administration of President George W Bush to drop his demands that Tehran freeze its uranium enrichment program as a precondition for broader negotiations. --  See also the related article....Ex-US advisors: Iran attack 'disaster' - posted 07-23-08

Key Benazir Bhutto Assassination Witness Shot Dead
A quote...."Khalid Shahenshah, who was the former Pakistan prime minister's security chief at the time of her assassination, was killed in a drive-by shooting as he left his house in the southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday, police said." -- Also posted at BLN - (includes a video)

Russia says opposes deadlines for Iran response
A quote...." MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it opposed any artificial deadlines being issued to Iran to force it to respond to incentives from world powers on suspending its nuclear activities. - But it also warned Tehran against dragging out the process."

On the prowl
A quote...."Arab and African leaders view with alarm Western attempts to fashion their African Karadzic, says Gamal Nkrumah."

Bush administration is stacking the UN with neocon ideologues
A quote...."(WMR) -- The Bush administration has been packing the United Nations Secretariat and other specialized UN agencies with its favorite neocon ideological soul mates. Even as its former unconfirmed ambassador to the UN John Bolton was trying to tear down the UN system put into place during and following World War II by Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, with the assistance of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Bolton and the neocons, including Israeli UN ambassador Dan Gillerman, an ardent Israeli expansionist and war hawk, were busy infiltrating their allies into the top levels of the United Nations."

US corporations increasingly take regulatory lead from Brussels, not Washington
A quote...."EUOBSERVER / INTERVIEW - Power is notoriously difficult to locate, quantify and date. It cannot so easily be measured as GDP or milk production or barrels of oil that remain under the ground or the effect on an economy due to sick-days taken the fortnight after an new edition of Grand Theft Auto is released."
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Why Bush Impeachment Is Necessary
A quote...." 24/07/08 "ICH" -- - On Friday, July 25, 2008, the House Judiciary committee will finally hold a hearing about George W. Bush's excessive abuses and unconstitutional expansion of his executive powers. But Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, a Democrat heeding the proclamation of Speaker Nancy Pelosi that impeachment is "off the table", has already declared that this hearing will not lead to impeachment. Conyers, Pelosi, and all members of Congress who oppose the impeachment of George W. Bush are betraying the oath they all swore when they took office and should be condemned for this betrayal."

Cindy Sheehan is Putting Impeachment on the Table
A quote...."Does anyone seriously doubt that one of the reasons why a House Judiciary Committee hearing will at least discuss the "I" word on Friday is Cindy Sheehan's independent challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi?" -- Also posted at CommonDreams

Torture As Official US Policy
A quote...."Unless exposed, denounced and stopped, torture's heading to mainland America and maybe a neighborhood near you." -- And to drive that point home see article below....

Louisiana, US: Death of man tased nine times by police ruled homicide
A quote...."A Louisiana coroner has ruled the January 2008 death of 21-year-old Baron Pikes at the hands of police was a homicide. Pikes, a sawmill worker from Winnfield, Louisiana, was killed while in police custody on January 17 after being shot nine times with a Taser gun."

NZ students offer cash for "arrest" of U.S.'s Rice
A quote...WELLINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - A group of New Zealand students has come up with a novel way of protesting against a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, offering a cash reward for her "arrest" over U.S. actions in Iraq. -- The Auckland University Students' Association has offered NZ$5,000 ($3,700) for any student making a citizen's arrest of Rice during her 36-hour stay that starts later on Friday. ."
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You Have a Choice - Democracy or Empire
July 24th 2008
mpg

Economic Model Predicts an Obama Landslide - posted at BuzzFlash
Special Note - Prediction - A quote...."The Presidential election model relies upon four political factors—candidate of the incumbent party, approval rating of the incumbent candidate (if running), party, and incumbent party's term in office—and three economic factors—real income growth, the unemployment rate, and the change in energy prices. Together, these seven factors predict the share of the two-party popular vote garnered by the incumbent party."

Editor's caution:  This model is probably correct....but only as long as true Americans continue to participate in the lie that there's any difference between the two factions that make up the duopoly party called the DemoRepubs.

You have a choice America, vote for 'Bombs away O-Bomb-a' or 'Mad Dog McCain' and you vote for the New Roman Empire and all that that implies.  Endless taxes, endless wars, endless cruelty and death along with the complete destruction of this Nation's constitution and bill of rights. Dozens of "terror" groups supported by the Empire running rampage across the world. Roman Senators cavorting at places like Bohemian Grove, while their "sponsors" would be getting chummy with each other at their annual get togethers in Bilderberg and Davos.  "Delicious" videos from hundreds of prisons like Abu Ghraib and other scenic sites of homo-sadistic violence worldwide.  Imperial viceroys and proconsuls running around the world dispensing death to millions, and a vast voracious Military Industry Complex of mayhem and murder bestride it all.

Or

You could actually vote for someone else.....you could go to your voting booth this November and CHOOSE a different candidate (for now).  You could CHOOSE to vote to remain an American. You could CHOOSE to vote for the United States, a Law abiding Nation among equals.  A nation which supports the rule of law and international institutions, a Nation State - not an Empire - which maintains a sound currency, supports a vigorous well-controlled and well-regulated free market, and one that will continue to abide by ideas and covenants such as the constitution, magna-carta, habeas corpus, bill of rights, and the Geneva conventions.

The choice is yours.  You have very little time left. – mpg
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Ron Paul on the Housing Bill - "The Mother of All Bailouts"
Must View - A quote...."Ron Paul talks about the bailout out of the housing industry and how it really just destroys the dollar and adds enormously to the debt. - Also, slipped into the bill, was the stipulation that ALL credit card transactions must now be reported to the IRS."  --  Also check out the comments at ICH

FDIC Faces Mortgage Mess After Running Failed Bank - posted at BuzzFlash
Related Article - A quote.... Federal officials heap much of the blame for the subprime mortgage mess on lenders, claiming they recklessly made too many high-cost home loans to borrowers who couldn't afford them. - It turns out that the U.S. government itself was one of the lenders giving out high-interest, subprime mortgages, some of them predatory, according to government documents filed in federal court."

Ford posts $8.7 billion second-quarter loss on truck slump
A quote...."DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) posted a record $8.7 billion quarterly loss on Thursday as it wrote down the value of slumping truck and SUV operations and revamped plans in a bid to break its reliance on the gas-guzzlers that have been its franchise vehicles for a decade."

The slump persists: Home sales tumble across US
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) - Sales of existing homes fell more sharply than expected in June as the housing industry continued to be bruised by the worst slump in more than two decades. -- The National Association of Realtors reported that sales dropped by 2.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.86 million units. That was more than double the decline that had been expected and left sales 15.5 percent below where they were a year ago."

Fed sees prices rising even as economy slows
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The dilemma facing Federal Reserve policy-makers went on vivid display Wednesday as the central bank's latest snapshot of the economy showed price pressures intensifying even as growth has slowed over the past month."

[British] Economy heads for recession as growth slumps
A quote...."After years of boom, official figures on the economy published today will show that growth has slumped to nearly zero, leaving the nation already in, or close to, recession."

Wednesday July 23rd 2008

Democracy and deference
A quote...."I blame my parents, which is trite but traditional. Six years after stepping onto the troubled shore of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s America they had a son and promptly began to fill his head with nonsense. In America, they taught me, talent and hard work were all; allegiance was automatically owed to no one; respect had to be earned. In America, the president worked for us, and knew it, and the house we allowed him to live in for a time—that great white outie of the Republic—was known as The People’s House. Would that I had been suckled by wolves." -- Also posted at ICH

Life In the Post Political Age
A quote...."Every now and then I am fortunate enough to communicate with someone who has near complete insight into our political process, why things happen and where it seems likely to be headed. Recently I received this analysis from a high powered political consultant whose name is withheld for obvious reasons. He/she has to live and work in the political world and for either party. In any case, I found it breathtaking in its fundamental analysis and its clarity -- clarity being no easy thing to accomplish is the swamp of media-consumerism-politics. Here it is:" -- *Joe Bageant*

Obama on the Brink
A quote...."Barack Obama is betraying his promise of change and is in danger of becoming just another political hack. --
Yes, just like former maverick John McCain, who has refashioned himself as a mindless rubber stamp for the most inane policies of the miserably failed Bush administration. Both candidates are embracing, rather than challenging, the fundamental irrationality of Bush’s “war on terror,” which substitutes hysteria for rational analysis in appraising the dangers the country faces." -- Also posted at CommonDreams & ICH

Obama is saying the wrong things about Afghanistan
A quote...."July 23, 2008 | Barack Obama's Afghanistan and Iraq policies are mirror images of each other. Obama wants to send 10,000 extra U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but wants to withdraw all American soldiers and Marines from Iraq on a short timetable. In contrast to the kid gloves with which he treated the Iraqi government, Obama repeated his threat to hit at al-Qaida in neighboring Pakistan unilaterally, drawing howls of outrage from Islamabad." -- Also posted at CommonDreams
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Another US led massacre of civilians planned for Fallujah: Documenting American War Crimes
A quote...."Every time I read a story published in Western mainstream media about what transpired in Fallujah in 2004 during two US assaults on the city I feel sick. -- The evidence proving that the United States committed war crimes, slaughtering innocent men, women and children is irrefutable. The US military’s use of chemical weapons is irrefutable. The destruction of a city amounting to collective punishment is irrefutable. All of this occurred because four Blackwater mercenaries were killed by Iraqis who were trying to protect their city from what we now know as “America's Private Army"  New Roman Empire mercenaries."

The Iraq war debate
Video - A quote...."In the third and final part of his interview to Pepe Escobar, investigative historian and military policy analyst Gareth Porter discusses the absence of a true, national debate about the invasion and occupation of Iraq;"

IRAQ: Most NGOs Losing Face
A quote...."BAGHDAD, Jul 23 (IPS) - Welcomed at first after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, most NGOs have run into scepticism and mistrust. Few remain to help."
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VIDEO: Zbigniew's Prediction of Iraqs Failure To Trigger War With Iran
From the history file, his remarks are still valid. -- mpg -- Video - Special Note - A quote...."PBS News Hour February 1, 2007. Former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski warned terrorist attack may occur IN THE UNITED STATES, by someone."

Miliband: EU would not support Iran war
A quote...."British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says the EU will not support a military strike on Iran over the country's nuclear program."

Ex-US advisors: Iran attack 'disaster'
A quote...."Two former senior White House security advisors have warned that a military attack against Iran would be a catastrophe for the US."

Why Israel Can't Attack Iran
A quote...."Israelis like to claim that they will be the main victim of Iranian nuclear development. They hark back to the scuds of Saddam Hussein, which fell on Tel Aviv in the first Gulf War when they had no direct part in the conflict. So too, this time—Israelis say—they will be in the crosshairs, and this justifies pre-emptive action. -- Yet three major obstacles impede an Israeli attack."
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New York Times boosts Pentagon push for wider bombing in Afghanistan
A quote...."A lengthy front-page article in Wednesday’s New York Times cites US military officials to make the case for wider latitude in conducting bombing raids against targets in Afghanistan. The article by reporter Thom Shanker carries a headline reflecting the complaints of the Pentagon: “Civilian Risks Curbing Strikes in Afghan War.” -- Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan....one truly wonders where the New York Times would draw the line at bombing, besides the US and Israel of course. - mpg

New York Times 2Q profit drops 82 percent
On a lighter note..... A quote...."NEW YORK (Associated Press) - New York Times Co. says its second-quarter earnings fell 82 percent from the year-ago quarter boosted by a one-time gain. Meanwhile, print advertising revenue continued to shrink."

An Air Force in Free Fall
Special Note - A quote...." The epitome of the Air Force’s self-image is the F-22 fighter. At $355 million for each of the 184 purchased, it is history’s most expensive fighter aircraft, but it is yet to fly its first sortie in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it likely never will. As an air-to-air fighter, it is irrelevant to those conflicts. "

The speech Gordon Brown should have made to the Israeli parliament
A quote...."I apologize most sincerely to the world, and especially to Arab friends, for our prime minister's crass speech to the Knesset. -- Britain, like the US, has an uncanny knack of producing one silly leader after another from a limitless supply that thrust themselves on an unsuspecting public in order to perpetuate the Great Betrayal and the Nakba (catastrophe). Brown is the latest high-flier from our political swamp. Judging by his performance so far, we Britons are destined to live our lives in a state of perpetual and excruciating embarrassment."

MIDEAST:  Roadblocks Cripple West Bank Economy
A quote...."HEBRON, West Bank, Jul 22 (IPS) - The Israeli military has erected three additional roadblocks, further blocking vehicular access on the road between the south Hebron village of At-Tuwani and the commercial hub of Yatta in the southern West Bank."

Ecuador’s president now in neocon crosshairs
A quote...."(WMR) -- Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has now found himself, like his ally Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, in the neocon crosshairs for ordering Ecuador’s Deposit Guarantee Agency (AGD) to seize control of some 200 companies belonging to fugitive Ecuadorian banker brothers William and Roberto Isaias.

EU may require visas from US citizens'
A quote...."The EU has warned the US of retaliatory measures if citizens of the 27-nation bloc are not granted visa-free entry within five months."

Russia’s Medvedev makes bold proposal for a new security agenda - posted at OnlineJournal
And he will be utterly ignored by the US elites. - mpg -- A quote...."Perhaps the most unsettling aspect of the current US presidential campaign, aside from the studied avoidance of any serious proposals to address the worst economic depression since the 1930s, is the fact that both major party candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, have to date been stone silent on the most pressing issue of future war or peace, namely the steps taken by the Bush-Cheney administration to encircle Russia with a new Iron Curtain of NATO member states, including strenuous efforts to push Ukraine and Georgia into NATO, and to establish an advanced nuclear missile defense system which, from a standpoint of military strategy, far from defense, puts the world on a hair-trigger to nuclear holocaust in a few years."
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Gitmo ‘Justice’ for US Citizens? - See also Video
A quote...." 23/07/08 "ICH" -- - A conservative-dominated U.S. Appeals Court has opened the door for President George W. Bush or a successor to throw American citizens - as well as non-citizens - into a legal black hole by designating them “enemy combatants,” even if they have engaged in no violent act and are living on U.S. soil."

How Scores of Black Men Were Tortured Into Giving False Confessions by Chicago Police
"Gitmo ‘Justice’ for US Citizens?" - Already been there, done that, for some Americans. - mpg -- A quote...."More than 20 years after being tortured into giving confessions by Chicago police officers, dozens of black men remain behind bars."

Conyers Tries To Kill Impeachment Hearings Before They Start
A quote...."John Conyers is now taking the position that no one at Friday's impeachment hearing can accuse Bush or Cheney of any crime, or any impeachable offense, or dishonorable conduct, or even lying. -- Moreover, Conyers is now saying that he will shut the hearing down if anyone does accuse the boys of crimes, impeachable offenses, or otherwise being naughty."

Ralph Nader Writes to John Conyers Re Being Uninvited for Friday
Related Article - A quote...."Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader today sent the following letter to U.S. House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers on the hearings about presidential misconduct scheduled for Friday, July 25."

Los Angeles Electoral Crisis Looms
A quote...."Recent events during and after the February 2008 California Primary indicate that Los Angeles is in the midst of an electoral crisis. And a crisis for Los Angeles -- the largest election district in America -- is a crisis for California."

Exposing Bush's historic abuse of power
Special Note - A quote...."A prime area of inquiry for a sweeping new investigation would be the Bush administration's alleged use of a top-secret database to guide its domestic surveillance. Dating back to the 1980s and known to government insiders as "Main Core," the database reportedly collects and stores -- without warrants or court orders -- the names and detailed data of Americans considered to be threats to national security." - bold by website editor

Half a Million Plastic Coffins?
Special Note - A quote...."Yep, these are cheap plastic coffins. Hundreds of thousands of them. Don’t believe it?
Why coffins? Why in the middle of Georgia? -- Well, apparently the Government is expecting a half million people to die relatively soon, and the Atlanta Airport is a major airline traffic hub, probably the biggest in the country, which means Georgia is a prime base to conduct military operations and coordination. It is also the home of the CDC, the Center for Disease Control. I don’t want to alarm anyone, but usually you don’t buy 500,000 plastic coffins "just in case something happens," you buy them because you know something is going to happen. These air tight seal containers would be perfect to bury victims of plague or biological warfare in, wouldn’t they?"

Navy Prosecutor In Gitmo Case: "If they hadn't shot down the fourth plane it would've hit the dome"
Special Note - A quote...."Though the trial the man, dubbed "Osama bin Laden's driver", is primarily functioning as a show piece for the Bush administration's "war on terror", some interesting information emerged from the Guantanamo Bay naval base yesterday in the form of a direct admission from a US prosecutor that the fourth plane was "shot down". -- bold by website editor -- And why wasn't this bit of news included in the 9/11 report.....along with the other ten thousand items they deliberately left out?  The term accessory after the fact, obstruction of justice and treason keep coming to mind for some reason. - mpg
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9/11 - From The History File - Previously posted May 18th 2008
FBI Says Barbara Olsen Did Not Call Ted Olsen. Bush Solicitor General LIED !!
Ted Olson's Report of Phone Calls from Barbara Olson on 9/11: Three Official Denials
Could Barbara Olson Have Made Those Calls?
Barbara Olson’s Alleged Call from AA 77:
The Mother of All Lies About 9/11 - Barbara Olson's "Phone Call" From Flight 77
Fictoid #9: Plastic Knives and Box Cutters
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Stop War on Iran Rallies Aug. 1-3
Action Alert - A quote...."The Stop War on Iran Campaign has designated the weekend August 1-3 for nation-wide anti-war demonstrations.  According to the Campaign, there have already been local actions in more than 50 cities. -- For more info goto....http://www.stopwaroniran.org

2008 Bohemian Grove Guest List Obtained By 9/11 Truth Activists
Special Note - Lots of Tales from the New Roman Empire in this piece, it's truly sad that "Americans" actually vote for these people....really, truly, sad. - mpg -- A quote...."An official guest list for Bohemian Grove's 2008 midsummer encampment along with a map of the Grove's facilities has been obtained by a San Francisco based action group who held protests and information drives outside the entrance to the elite summer retreat."
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The Death of the Globalization Consensus
Special Note - A quote...."CAMBRIDGE – The world economy has seen globalization collapse once already. The gold standard era – with its free capital mobility and open trade – came to an abrupt end in 1914 and could not be resuscitated after World War I. Are we about to witness a similar global economic breakdown?"

Debt capitalism self-destructs
Some quotes...."In a period of less than a year, what had been described by US authorities as a temporary financial problem related to the bursting the housing bubble has turned into a fully fledged crisis at the very core of free-market capitalism. " -- "The message is that somehow, if easy money in the form of debt is made endlessly available, the economy will recover from this credit crunch, notwithstanding that excessive debt has been the cause of the problem; or bad loans can be made good by Congress giving the US Treasury authority to buy up bad loans with unlimited amounts of taxpayer money."

Super Losses, Super Layoffs, Super Bailouts
A quote...."The stock markets, the bond markets, the derivative markets and the entire financial system would collapse if people knew the real truth about the balance sheets, income statements and debt-to-equity ratios of virtually all the major commercial and investment banking fraudsters of Wall Street.  So the devastating truth will be withheld most likely until the final quarter which ends in December, because a good portion of the earnings results for the third quarter are going to be announced prior to the US general elections which would normally be held in early November, barring some false-flag attack."

THE JOURNAL travels to ground zero of the mortgage meltdown
Video - A quote...."Cleveland, Ohio. Correspondent Rick Karr takes viewers to Slavic Village, one of the hardest hit neighborhoods in the nation when it comes to the spate of foreclosures caused by the subprime mortgage crisis." -- || Transcript  ||  Podcaast  ||

Visualizing Dow 6,000
Highly unlikely, the Fed will never allow it to go down that far, they'll keep pumping money into the economy 'till a cup of coffee costs a hundred bucks before something like that happens. - mpg -- A quote...."Last Wednesday, at an improvised press conference, George Bush gave what may have been the most comical performance of his eight year presidency. Looking like the skipper on the flight-deck of the Hindenburg, Bush tried his best to reassure the public that "all's well" with the economy and that everyone's deposits were perfectly safe in the rapidly disintegrating US banking system." -- Also posted at ICH & OnlineJournal & InfoWars

Governor plans to slash state workers' pay
A quote...."Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans next week to slash the pay of more than 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum of $6.55 per hour to help ease the state's budget crisis, according to a draft executive order obtained by The Chronicle on Wednesday. -- bold by website editor

Richest Americans See Their Income Share Grow
A quote...."In a new sign of increasing inequality in the U.S., the richest 1% of Americans in 2006 garnered the highest share of the nation's adjusted gross income for two decades, and possibly the highest since 1929, according to Internal Revenue Service data." -- bold by website editor

California foreclosures up 261% from '07 levels
A quote...."Breaking: DataQuick reports today that foreclosures in California soared 33% from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2008, and are running 261% ahead of year-ago levels."

Brazil raises basic interest rate 75 basis points to 13%
A quote...."Brazil's central bank raised interest rates by 75 basis points to 13% on Wednesday, lifting borrowing costs for the third time in four months in a bid to prevent resurgent inflation from undermining economic growth."

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072308-072908 - links page

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