Wednesday November 4th 2009

President Obama's Deep Love Of Peace?
Must Read - Two Quotes of the Day -- "November 04, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets." — *Voltaire*

Question: "How many countries do you have to be at war with to be disqualified from receiving the Nobel Peace Prize?"

Answer: "Five. Barack Obama has waged war against only Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. He's holding off on Iran until he actually gets the prize."

Hillary Clinton: A Very Ugly American
Must Read - A quote...."Having forced Pakistan to launch a civil war to protect American interests, the U.S. dispatches Hillary Clinton to rub salt in Pakistani wounds. The Anti-Diplomat lectures the locals on tax collection and helping the poor while her government daily violates the country's sovereignty. “Americans believe they are the only nation that deserves to have a sense of dignity – and so they relentlessly strip away the dignity of others.” -- also posted at OhBummer
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A court decision that reflects what type of country the U.S. is
Must Read - A quote...."It's not often that an appellate court decision reflects so vividly what a country has become, but such is the case with yesterday's ruling by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Arar v. Ashcroft (.pdf).  Maher Arar is both a Canadian and Syrian citizen of Syrian descent.  A telecommunications engineer and graduate of Montreal's McGill University, he has lived in Canada since he's 17 years old.  In 2002, he was returning home to Canada from vacation when, on a stopover at JFK Airport, he was (a) detained by U.S. officials, (b) accused of being a Terrorist, (c) held for two weeks incommunicado and without access to counsel while he was abusively interrogated, and then (d) was "rendered" -- despite his pleas that he would be tortured -- to Syria, to be interrogated and tortured.  He remained in Syria for the next 10 months under the most brutal and inhumane conditions imaginable, where he was repeatedly tortured.  Everyone acknowledges that Arar was never involved with Terrorism and was guilty of nothing.  I've appended to the end of this post the graphic description from a dissenting judge of what was done to Arar while in American custody and then in Syria." -- also posted at ICH & PJB

Italian court sentences 23 CIA agents over rendition flight
A quote...."November 04, 2009 "The Times" -- An Italian court sentenced 23 former CIA agents to up to eight years in prison today for their role in the abduction of an Egyptian terrorist suspect in the first trial over “extraordinary renditions”. -- The Americans were all tried in absentia, but the verdicts were nevertheless hailed by human rights campaigners as an important victory that could open the way to further prosecutions. Two lower-ranking agents of the Italian military agency SISMI were sentenced to three years each." -- also posted at ICH

Britain: Reports state CIA “extraordinary rendition” flights landed in UK
A quote...."A US registered plane named in a 2007 European Parliament report into alleged Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) “extraordinary rendition” flights was observed to land at Birmingham Airport in England on October 2 of this year."

Video: Former UK ambassador – CIA sent people to be ‘raped with broken bottles’
A quote...."I’m talking of people being raped with broken bottles,” he said at a lecture late last month that was re-broadcast by the Real News Network. “I’m talking of people having their children tortured in front of them until they sign a confession. I’m talking of people being boiled alive. And the intelligence from these torture sessions was being received by the CIA, and was being passed on.” -- also posted DProgram

FBI knew of CIA torture, considered prosecution
That's really nice, but folks, in law ENFORCEMENT, it really isn't the thought that counts! - mpg --A quote.... "Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents witnessed the torture of inmates at secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) overseas prisons in 2002, according to documents partially declassified in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the advocacy group Judicial Watch." -- also posted at Uruknet -- For more on the articles shown above see....Fun & Torture - It's a Pleasure.

Unanswered questions in FBI killing of Detroit Mosque leader
A quote...."The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) killing of a Detroit-area African-American Muslim religious leader, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, on October 27, raises a number of troubling questions."
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How Two Elections Changed America - posted at ConsortiumNews
Must Read - A quote...."Two clandestine operations during hard-fought presidential elections of the past half century shaped the modern American political era, but they remain little known to the general public and mostly ignored by historians. One unfolded in the weeks before Election 1968 and the other over a full year before Election 1980."

"'US officials offered me 500,000 dollars to set meeting with Taliban' US 'spending money to reach Taliban' --The US has already planned to allocate a specific budget from its annual 680 billion dollar defense bill to the Taliban 05 Nov 2009 Washington is ready to spend a huge sum of money to start talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan, a former Pakistani lawmaker says. Javed Ibrahim Paracha, a former member of Pakistan's National Assembly said that top US diplomats contacted him in 2005 and offered him a huge sum of money to broker the talks. "US officials had offered me 500,000 dollars in that meeting for mediating. I refused that offer and had asked US officials to first take permission from the government and corps commanders," The Daily Times quoted Paracha, as saying. Paracha is known for having contacts with the Taliban leadership." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

Iraqi colonel killed in Baghdad blast
A quote...."A senior Iraqi police officer has been killed after being hit by a bomb left outside the door of his house at Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad. -- The victim identified as the deputy head of Abu Ghraib police, Colonel Shalal al-Zubay, was struck by the bomb as he left home to go to work, Iraqi police reported on Wednesday, adding that his wife and his daughter were also killed in the incident." -- As said before, it appears to this website editor that many groups in the Middle East are beginning to employ the IRA's highly successful "Squad" tactics. - mpg

Five British soldiers shot dead by rogue [pissed-off] Afghan policeman named
A quote...."Five British soldiers have been shot dead after a rogue Afghan policeman turned a heavy machinegun against a British training team inside a checkpoint in Helmand Province."

Jeremy Scahill Takes On Max Boot Over Afghan Fiasco
Video - Good, spirited discussion, Scahill did great. - mpg
    
UNDER THE AFPAK VOLCANO, Part 1 -- Welcome to Pashtunistan
A quote...."PARIS - As Washington mashes up the "Taliban" - be they Afghan neo-Taliban or Pakistani Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) - in Empire of Chaos logic to justify perennial United States/North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops stationed in AfPak, an increasing number of Pashtuns living on both sides of the border have seized the opportunity and started to look to the Taliban as a convenient facilitator for the emergence of Pashtunistan."

Mottaki: Iran, Syria Favor Regional Stability
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki underlined that Iran and Syria favor regional stability and respect national sovereignty of the neighboring states."

Qatari Emir in One-Day Visit to Iran
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani arrived in the Iranian capital, where he is scheduled to meet high-ranking officials in Tehran during his one-day visit."

New row over Colombia-US accord
A quote...."Under the 10-year deal, the US military will not only have access to military bases, but also be able to use major international civilian airports.US personnel and defence contractors will also enjoy diplomatic immunity."

House Resolution Designates Venezuela a State Sponsor of Terrorism
Must Read - A quote...."At a time of growing US poverty, hunger, homelessness, and despair, imperial wars without end, and the Obama administration even worse than its predecessor....."
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No Sunset for Sweeping PATRIOT Act Powers?
A quote...."The USA PATRIOT Act, rushed into law by a panicky U.S. Congress in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, gave the government broad surveillance powers to spy on innocent citizens. But it also stipulated that three of its more controversial provisions should expire next month unless reapproved by lawmakers."

Why Does AIPAC Spy on Americans?
A quote...."According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Steven J. Rosen will be allowed to move ahead with his civil defamation lawsuit against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).  Rosen and fellow AIPAC employee Keith Weissman were indicted under the 1917 Espionage Act in 2005 along with Department of Defense Employee Col. Lawrence Franklin for passing classified national defense informaiton.  Franklin pled guilty, but Rosen and Weissman’s case never went to trial — US attorneys gave up (PDF) after the presiding judge made a successful prosecution  unlikely.  "

Government agrees to pay $3 million in CIA lawsuit
A quote...."(AP) – 17 hours ago -- WASHINGTON — The government has agreed to pay $3 million to a former agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration who sued CIA officers for illegal eavesdropping. -- The proposed settlement followed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in July that CIA officials committed fraud to protect a former covert agent against the eavesdropping allegations."

Top 10 Weirdest CIA Programs
A quote...."Over the years, the American Central Intelligence Agency has gained a reputation for being the most far-reaching, sophisticated, and effective government intelligence agency on the planet. At the same time, the CIA has also become known for its incredible paranoia and propensity to undertake costly, sometimes illegal, and often downright absurd projects in the name of gaining an edge on the competition. From spy cats to psychic hippies, the following are ten of the weirdest spy programs the government has proposed and funded over the years."

Maine voters latest to turn down gay [homo-sexual] marriage - The New Roman Empire ain't here....yet. - mpg
When are people gonna get it through their thick heads? There is no such thing as "gay" -- mpg -- A quote...."PORTLAND, Maine (Reuters) - Voters in Maine on Tuesday overturned a law allowing same-sex couples to wed, dealing a fresh setback to the U.S. gay marriage movement in a race that attracted national attention. --
The law was approved by Maine's Legislature in May but was not implemented after opponents gathered enough signatures to put the issue to a "people's veto."

Censorship Alert -- "Secret copyright treaty leaks. It's bad. Very bad. By Cory Doctorow 03 Nov 2009 The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama's administration refused to disclose due to "national security" concerns, has leaked. It's bad. It says that: *ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. *ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. *The whole world must adopt US-style "notice-and-takedown" rules that require ISPs to remove any material that is accused -- again, without evidence or trial -- of infringing copyright. This has proved a disaster in the US and other countries, where it provides an easy means of censoring material, just by accusing it of infringing copyright. *Mandatory prohibitions on breaking DRM, even if doing so for a lawful purpose... " -- Paragraph quoted from CLG -- also posted at BLN

Jon Stewart Eviscerates Fox News
Video - A quote...."Jon Stewart dedicated more than 11 minutes of Thursday night's show on what he calls the "hyperbolic" war between the White House and Fox News."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Kucinich: "Almost As Serious As Committing War Crimes Is Covering Up War Crimes"
Must View Video - Wow! - mpg -- (YuTb - 2m22s - 11/03/09) -- A quote...."Dennis Kucinich expresses his opposition to H.Res.867 which calls on the President and the Secretary of State to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the "Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict" (The Goldstone Report)."

Israel keeps up Palestinian evictions 04 Nov 09 - (YouTube - 2 min 41 sec - November 03, 2009)
Must View Video - A quote...."The United Nations, the United States and the European Union have all called on Israel to stop the illegal eviction of Palestinians and the demolition of their homes. -- Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, urged Israel to end its "provocative actions" in East Jerusalem, while calling for it to freeze all settlement activity in the occupied West Bank."

A Nation of Golems
Must Read - A quote...."How do our representatives become a Golem? By obedience to their master. That master is Israel through its Zionist government and its multiple lobbies in the U.S., by their use of extortion and threat, and by control of monetary resources. There is no need to recount how these charges are true; books have been written about it, most especially those by former Congressman Paul Findlay and the recent study by Mearsheimer and Walt, Grant Smith’s America’s Defense Line, John Hosteller on the Iraq war, Aaron David Miller on the peace process, and Stephen Sniegoski’s Transparent Cabal. -- A cursory review of the U.S. Knesset actions taken on behalf of Israel demonstrates conclusively the obedience “our” representatives pay to their owners: 2003, a resolution supporting force against Palestinians, 399-5; 2004, a resolution forbidding a return to the 1967 borders, 407-9; 2006, a resolution defending Israel’s illegal invasion and destruction of Lebanon, 410-8; 2009, a resolution defending Israel’s Christmas invasion of the defenseless people of Gaza, 390-5; and today, a resolution condemning the Goldstone Report issued by the UNHRC, 344-35" -- For more on this issue see....Judeo-Christian C/C & US

The Nature and Significance of NATO-US-Israeli War Crimes - AltVid#1 - AltVid#2 - AltVid#3
Must View Videos - (YouTube - aprox. 10 min each - November 03, 2009) -- A quote...."Speech by George Galloway MP at the War Crimes Conference & Exhibition that took place at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia on 28th October 2009."

They Didn't Even Read the Goldstone Report
A quote...."House of Representatives condemned the Goldstone report. See if your representative voted "yes" and is owned by AIPAC HERE so you can vote them out of office for working for a foreign country and putting Israel's illegal interests above America's. "

36 House members who probably won't be around in 2011
Related Article - Why? Because these brave souls had enough balls and a conscience to say NO to the US House white-washing of the Goldstone Report AKA as the Israeli War Crimes Committed against Gaza report.
They voted against H.R. 867, "Calling on the President and the Secretary of State to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the “Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict." -- Here is the list of those who will see a tremendous amount of AIPAC money pour into their opponent's campaign chest in the 2010 campaign. -- Just think, some of that money that MADOFF from your Wall Street bank account to Israel will be magically transported back to the USA and used to defeat these brave Americans who were uppity and thought that truth and justice were things to be desired."

Gaza Inscribes 'Goldstone' on National Scarf
A quote...."South African Judge Richard Goldstone's name may spark anger for some in Israel, but in Gaza the name is synonymous with heroism and to prove it, it is being sewn onto souvenir Palestinian headscarves in honor of his war inquiry into Israel's deadly assault of the strip."

Gazans not allowed to rebuild their lives
A quote...."Azzam Salim used to be one of the leading construction contractors in the central Gaza Strip. Today, however, he spends most of his days idly chatting with other unemployed friends near a bank that he helped build several years ago."

The Gaza Chronicles: Part 3 - Shattered Minds And The Children of Gaza
A quote...."Dr. Kanter cited studies that revealed 62 % of Gaza’s inhabitants reported having a family member injured or killed, 67% saw injured or dead strangers and 83% had witnessed shootings. In a study of high school aged children from southern refugee camps in Rafah and Kahn Younis, 69% of the children showed symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress (PTS), 40% showed signs of moderate or severe depression, and a whopping 95% exhibited severe anxiety. Seventy percent showed limited or no ability to cope with their trauma. All of this was before the last Israeli invasion."

Hamas: Obama’s administration gives Abbas hollow promises
Hah!  Join the club!  Wha'da'ya think "Hope" and "Change" are?? - mpg -- A quote...."GAZA, (PIC)-- Hamas Movement has accused Wednesday the administration of US president Barak Obama of encouraging the Israeli settlement activities, and of giving Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas “hollow” promises that aren’t implemented on the ground."

Q&A:  'This Calm Will Not Last'
Interview - Jon Elmer interviews Palestinian icon Leila Khaled -- A quote...."AMMAN, Nov 4 (IPS) - Leila Khaled became an instant icon of the Palestinian struggle in 1969, when at 24 she was an operative in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacking of a Boeing 707, the first in a series of high-profile actions intended to put the Palestinians on the political map." - also posted at UprootedPalestinians -- Hopefully the calm will last, the Palestinians are in absolutely no position to challenge Israel militarily.  They are of course allowed to defend themselves against attack, and should, but they should never copy the Israeli's criminal tactics of attacking civilians. - mpg

Palestinians will prosecute Israel in ICC
Action Alert - A quote...."The Palestinians have warned that they will seek justice for the case of Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip through the International Criminal Court."

Write the LA Times in support of Bil’in
Action Alert - A quote...."The LA Times has published a great article (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-nonviolence4-2009nov04,0,226753.story?page=1&track=rss) about Bil’in and the popular struggle in today’s edition (November 4th). -- As past experience teach us, an assault by Israel’s supporter is sure to follow immediately, and be directed at both the paper itself, its editors and the reporter."

New York Mets called on to cancel settlement fundraiser
Action Alert - A quote...."Eleven organizations from the US, Palestine and Israel have called on baseball's New York Mets to cancel a 21 November dinner at the Caesars Club at Citi Field for the Brooklyn-based Hebron Fund. The dinner is a fundraiser for Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank City of Hebron. In a letter sent to the Mets on 3 November, the groups said, "The New York Mets will be facilitating activities that directly violate international law and the Obama administration's call for a freeze in settlement construction, and that actively promote racial discrimination, and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homes in Hebron." Seven hundred Israeli settlers, living amidst 150,000 Palestinians in Hebron, are expanding their hold on the historic old city by driving out the Palestinian residents." -- also posted at AlethoNews & WarInIraq
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Zelaya Decries US Stance on Honduras Coup
A quote...."Tegucigalpa, Nov 4 (Prensa Latina) Honduras' constitutional President Manuel Zelaya warned that the United States intend to recognize the Honduran elections, without reversing the coup or solving the severe crisis his country is facing."
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Fannie, Freddie Single-Family Home Delinquencies Continue to Rise
A quote...."Delinquencies on single-family homes continued to rise at the two big government-sponsored mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, indicating that problems have yet to level off."

October CMBS Performance Worsens, Loan Backing Union Square W Hotel To Default Imminently
A quote...."It really is time for the our central planning banking system, aka the Fed, to start thinking about enforcing CRE bailout strategies. Aaron Bryson over at Lehman, pardon, Barclays, has released his monthly CMBS remittance report, and things are getting worse ever faster. In disclosure that is sure to keep the market rally going for month, BarCap looks hard for CMBS green shoots and finds only their (near) homophone equivalents:"

Four Reasons Hyperinflation Hasn’t Hit the US... Yet
Deflation is goinng to stay for quite a while folks, probably at least for the next ten years. - mpg - A quote...."Everything we know about classic economic theory suggests the US economy should be experiencing Zimbabwe-like hyperinflation right now, thanks to the nearly $2.2 trillion the US Federal Reserve has pumped into the system. -- But we’re not... yet."

Brazil fears a “bubble” pumped by exuberant investors; Real 19% too strong
A quote...."In terms of asset bubbles, stock market, etcetera, I think that might happen, but evidently it’s up to investors not to get too exuberant” Meirelles said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in London."

If Dems Don't Pass Health Insurance Reform This Year, What Do We Lose? And What Do We Gain?
Must Read - Regarding the health care issue -- A quote...."The version of health care reform championed by the White House and Congressional Democrats will force millions to buy crappy insurance from private providers with no interest in health care but plenty of interest in profits. Its pubic option is a cruel hoax that will not take effect till 2013 and even then will leave tens of millions uninsured. Now Democratic leaders in Congress say it might not pass this year anyway. Is that really so bad?"

Tuesday November 3rd 2009

The Inhuman Stain: Saying Yes to State Terror
Must Read - A quote...."I've been writing about the case of Maher Arar since December 2003. He is the innocent Canadian man who was seized by U.S officials on his way back to Canada and then, at the order of the Justice Department, "renditioned" to Syria, where it was known that the authorities would torture the alleged "terrorist." They did, brutally. He was finally released, and his innocence was confirmed by the Canadian government, which paid him some $9 million for its part in his ordeal. – The United States, on the other hand, made no apologies, no restitution; instead, the government has resolutely blocked any attempt by Arar to seek justice in American courts."

Tortured in far-off Countries: Obama Resuming G. W. Bush's "Extraordinary Renditions"
A quote...."Even though Barack Obama, the candidate, pledged to end “the practice of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries,” his FBI has been rendering kidnap victims to the U.S. The practice is still kidnapping, however; and it’s still illegal. -- Unlucky victim No. 1 was Raymond Azar, 45, flown from Afghanistan to Alexandria, Va., not to a foreign country. The construction manager for Sima International, a Lebanese outfit that did work for the U.S. military, Azar said he was tortured by his abductors. He might just as well have been flown to Egypt under the Bushies. -- Interestingly, Azar was never charged as a dangerous terrorist, only with conspiracy to commit bribery for wiring $106,000 in kickbacks to a U.S. employee’s bank account in hopes of getting $13 million in unpaid bills okayed."

Govt Lawyers Seek to Quash Rendition Lawsuit
A quote...." The long road to the proverbial day in court just got longer for five men who claim they were "disappeared" and tortured by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. -- The men, who say they were victims of the extraordinary rendition program conducted during the administration of president George W. Bush, have been trying since 2007 to get their cases heard on the merits."

Law Abandoned In Favor of Torture - The other Scott Horton on Holder's cover-ups
Audio Interview - -- A quote...."The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses Bush administration torture documents just released to the ACLU, the DOJ’s embarrassing 8-30 losing record in Guantanamo habeas hearings, how Gitmo was filled up courtesy of Pakistan’s bogus “terrorist” roundup after 9/11, Dick Cheney’s culpability in allowing Pakistan’s ISI to evacuate Taliban and al Qaeda leadership from Afghanistan, the Cheney family’s frantic pre-emptive defense against possible DOJ prosecution, the British High Court decision to disregard the CIA request for secrecy in the Binyam Mohamed torture case and the inspiration FOX’s 24 has been to torturers around the world." --  ||  MP3 here. (50m:58s)  ||

U.S. Settles Suit With Muslims In Post-9/11 Abuse - Sue them!  Sue them all, everyday, for the rest of their lives.
A quote...."The report said videotapes showed some detention center staff "misused strip searches and restraints to punish detainees and that officers improperly and illegally recorded detainees' meetings with their attorneys." -- The lawsuit said some of the plaintiffs, upon entering the jail, had their faces smashed into a wall where a blood-smeared American flag T-shirt was taped and told "welcome to America," according to the lawsuit. -- The U.S. government will pay $1.26 million to five Muslim men detained for months without charges after the September 11 attacks who sued for unlawful imprisonment and abuse, their lawyers said on Tuesday."

Libertarian 9/11 truth leader Jim Duensing shot in the back by cops…
A quote...."Jim Duensing, 2008 Congressional candidate and founder of the Libertarian 9/11 truth caucus Libertarians for Justice, is in critical condition after being repeatedly shot in the back and arm by a Las Vegas cop. Our prayers go out to Jim, who is recovering with his wife in the hospital and thankfully is expected to survive."

Detroit groups to protest FBI terrorism on Nov. 5 -- Feds change story about Imam’s assassination
Action Alert - A quote...."Funeral services for Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah were held Oct. 31 at the Muslim Center on Detroit’s west side. More than a thousand people attended the memorial from the Detroit area and around the United States. The Muslim leader had been gunned down by FBI agents on Oct. 28."

Resistance is NOT Futile — The Rise of “Resistance Journalism”
Action Alert - A quote...."Nearly every American has a camera.  The government now has us under constant surveillance by satellite, cameras in nearly all public places, and they even have suggested that cameras should be installed in homes “to protect the children.”  Fine, if we are going to be on camera 24/7, then so should they.  Everyone should be carrying their camera at all times — not to document our neighbors as TV has taught us to do, but to document authority.  When you are in front of a federal building, corporate headquarters, police department, or any place where you are now likely to be confronted by private or public security thugs; get it on camera (or preferably video).  Then, use it as evidence to file a law suit immediately for the violation of your civil rights.  Be sure to know your constitutional rights, quote them on camera, and ask the official why they are violating your rights under the Constitution." -- also posted at DProgram

Mueller on the Zazi Case: "This is It?"
Special Note  - Yeah....the "war on terror", all the "arrests", all the so-called "evidence", the "warnings", most of it was completely bogus crap." - mpg -- A quote...."Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001," notes the New York Timeit was all s with considerable understatement, "senior government officials have announced dozens of terrorism cases that on close examination seemed to diminish as legitimate threats."
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The American Way of Abandonment
Must Read - A quote....By Patrick J. Buchanan -- "In this world it is often dangerous to be an enemy of the United States, but to be a friend is fatal,” -- *Henry Kissinger*.

Taliban snubs 'puppet' Karzai's embrace
A quote...."We call on our Taliban brothers to come home and embrace their land," Karzai told a news conference a day after organizers declared him the winner of the country’s second presidential election. -- But his offer was slapped down by the Taliban. They accused Karzai of being in debt to Western powers who helped sweep him into office eight years ago and are still struggling to defeat the movement on the battlefield. -- The president has repeatedly appealed to the Taliban, offering an amnesty to its fugitive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, but has made little headway in dividing the shadowy movement’s ranks. -- "This is not the first time Karzai has made such statements," said Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi. -- "We do not attach any value to these offers of peace by Karzai as we know they are empty words."

What the Military Industrial Complex Does Not Want You to Know: The History of Iran - (YuTb 9m48s 11/01/09)
Video - A quote...."America will go to war with Iran and here is the History of the NWO thugs that have taken over America!"

Update on Iran Negotiations - Gareth Porter says US still playing with fire
Audio Interview - A quote...."Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for Inter Press Service, discusses Iran’s counter-proposal to the IAEA enrichment deal, the ambiguous meaning and political sensitivity of nuclear “breakout capability,” continued defense of the 2007 Iran NIE by U.S. intelligence agencies, a new generation of efficient uranium centrifuges intended for use at the Qom facility and how the ever-increasing sanctions imposed on Iran by Congress are tantamount to declaring war." --  ||  MP3 here. (27m:39s)  ||

Russia to launch Iran's Bushehr power plant
A quote...."TEHRAN, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) - Iran's ambassador to Moscow Seyed Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi said Tuesday that Russians will launch Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant soon, the semi-official Fars news agency reported."

Gunmen kill Saudi security officer near Yemen border
A quote...."RIYADH (Reuters) - Gunmen who infiltrated into Saudi Arabia from Yemen have killed a Saudi security officer and wounded 11 others, the official Saudi Press Agency said on Wednesday."

3 Yemeni Officials, Along With Guards, Killed in Ambush
Related Article - A quote...."BEIRUT, Lebanon — Gunmen ambushed a government motorcade in the eastern Yemeni province of Hadramawt on Tuesday, killing three top provincial officials and three guards in an attack that had all the hallmarks of Al Qaeda’s regional arm."

Top Yemeni security officers killed in ambush
Related Article - A quote...."SANAA, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Two top Yemeni security officers and four police escorts were killed when their car was ambushed on Tuesday by unidentified militants in the southeast of the country, where al-Qaida has been gaining strength."

Regarding the three articles shown above.  It actually appears to this website editor that the Yemeni Houthis are employing the IRA's highly successful "Squad" tactics. - mpg

Japan’s new government seeks to refashion US alliance
A quote...."In the lead-up to US President Barack Obama’s first visit to Japan on November 12-13, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has signalled that his government is seeking to readjust the country’s longstanding alliance with the US. He told the Diet or parliament last week that the partnership should be more equal, with Japan able to “actively propose roles and concrete actions” for the alliance to perform."

United Europe – Signed and sealed
Contains Video - A quote...."Czech president Vaclav Klaus, who is widely known as a Eurosceptic, has put his pen to the EU’s Lisbon Treaty agreement -- The document paves the way for the streamlining of the Union's decision making process. -- This removes the last hurdle to a united Europe and comes just hours after a court rejected a complaint about the agreement."

Venezuela announces military reinforcement on border with Colombia
A quote...."CARACAS, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan Vice President Ramon Carrizalez announced Tuesday that his country will increase its military presence on its border with Colombia, due to the incursion of Colombian paramilitaries into its territory."
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"Ukraine virus mystery deepens 03 Nov 2009 The mystery of the unidentified flu virus in the Ukraine, first reported by RNW on 29 October, has deepened... In August 2009, a man called Joseph Mosse, who claims to be a former microbiologist with the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, was arrested in Los Angeles, having made threats against the White House. Shortly after his arrest, there were reports that he had called into a radio show with a warning about a biological weapon being prepared in the Ukraine by a company called Baxter International. According to these reports, Mr Mosse said that the weapon would be spread via a flu vaccine. Credence is being given to these reports because Mr Mosse's qualifications as a microbiologist are confirmed by his research profile on this website. There is also a story doing the rounds that a light aircraft has been spotted spraying an unidentified substance over the capital, Kiev, but this has been denied by the country’s Office of Emergency Reponse. [See: Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor]  -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

One Flu Over the Ukraine's Nest
Special Note - Related Article - A quote...."So far, the worst of this outbreak is in Western Ukraine, in and around the city of Lviv, but a few hundred kilometers to the East, in the capital city of Kiev, nearly half the people now stalk the streets wearing surgical masks. It would be an understatement to say that the people of Ukraine are moving into full panic mode. I can see why. So should you. I will explain why in a moment."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

"A remarkable failure for a journalist"-2009 Courage in Journalism Award Acceptance Speech by Amira Hass -- Must Read - Quote of the Day...."Allow me to start with a correction. How impolite, you'd rightly think, but anyway, we Israelis are being forgiven for much worse than impoliteness. -- What is so  generously termed today by the International Women's Media Foundation as my lifetime achievement  needs to be corrected.  Because it is Failure.  Nothing more than a  failure.   A lifetime failure. -- Come to think of it, the lifetime part is just as questionable: after all, it is about a  third of my life, not more, that I have been engaged  in Journalism. -- Also, if the 'lifetime' part gives you the impression that I am soon going to retire  – then this impression has to be corrected as well. I am not planning to end soon what I am doing. -- What am I doing?   I am generally defined as a reporter on Palestinian issues.  But, in fact,  my reports are about the Israeli society and policies, about Domination and its intoxications.  My sources are not secret documents and leaked out minutes which were taken at meetings of  people with Power and in Power.  My sources are the open ways by which the subjugated are being dispossessed of their equal rights as human beings." -- *Amira Hass*, journalist
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An Individual Commitment
11-03-09 - revised 11-13-09
mpg

Israel Must be so Proud of America
Special Note - A quote...."Today America has done its masters bidding and voted to condemn the Goldstone Report, and in doing so sends a very CLEAR message to the Arab and Muslim world. That message says that equality under the law does not exist for you, legal avenues are shutdown for you, the law means nothing, it doesn't apply to you. And to think Obama wants to "extend the hand of friendship" to the Muslim world? When in fact his message has been heard loud and clear, choose violence and resistance over the law....THAT is America's message."

NOT TRUE, to all the people in the Middle East....do not choose violence (unless it's in self-defense) just make it clear to any and ALL self-respecting Muslims that if you do "business" with Israel or the US-NRE, you support apartheid, discrimination, concentration camps, torture, invasion, robbery and murder.

Just teach your children, your grand children and your great grandchildren and those of Africa, Latin and Central America all of Asia and Eurasia and even Europe....don't do "business" with Israel or the US-NRE.  Don't buy their products, don't accept their "aid", don't invite them or their "NGOs" into your countries or your homes, shun them, isolate them, don’t allow your leaders to do "business" with them....ever.

If you sell to them charge ten percent more than you would anyone else, or a hundred percent.  Trade with each other, invest in each other and remember there's Brazil, Russia, India, China and Japan to get your products from.  Even France and Germany are great places to obtain planes and heavy equipment if they would make a bettter effort to curb their neo-colonial ambitions.

Make a moral commitment, a solemn oath, a pledge to your faith, your family and your community.  Say to yourself  -- "this is something "I "as an individual CAN DO, this is something "I" have the POWER TO DO, this is something "I" can COMMIT TO for the rest of my life"....and than just do it.

It's that simple, it doesn't matter what other people do, it doesn't really matter if other people join you, YOU HAVE THE POWER -- YOU CAN DO THIS FOR YOURSELF!!  -- YOU can make this personal commitment....nobody can EVER force you to buy anything from these countries ever again if you don't want to....forever. – mpg
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Rights groups: UN General Assembly must adopt Goldstone recommendations
A quote...."On 4 November 2009, the Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (Goldstone Report) is scheduled to be tabled before the Plenary of the UN General Assembly in New York. Following the Report's endorsement at the Human Rights Council on 21 October 2009, it now falls to the General Assembly to ensure that the Report is endorsed and its recommendations acted upon."

Olive farmers suffer through ‘worst harvest in 40 years'
A quote...."Gaza City: As Abu Mohammad looks at what remains of his olive trees in the fields bordering Israel, he considers himself lucky when compared to his neighbours. -- While half of his land in Beit Hanoun was destroyed by Israeli forces in the last war, farmers next to him have nothing left." -- also posted at Uruknet

Tens of Jewish settlers break into, occupy home of 83-year-old Palestinian woman
Sixty settlers against an eighty three year old Palestinian woman.  Wow!  Who knew the Israelis were such a brave bunch of people! - mpg -- A quote...."OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Tens of armed Jewish settlers on Tuesday stormed and occupied the home of 83-year-old Rifka Al-Kurd in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in the heart of occupied Jerusalem. -- The PIC reporter said that about 60 settlers broke into the house under the threat of guns and with Israeli police protection and settled in it despite an Israeli court order banning them access into this part of the house." -- also posted at Uruknet

Demolishing homes and lives in East Jerusalem
A quote...."Editor’s note: If you want to know what municipal ethnic cleansing looks like, then look at what is happening in East Jerusalem.  The story below  is yet another uprooting  of Palestinian families living in a city where they have always lived.   This is all part of Israel’s plan to Judaise Jerusalem before there is any more talk of dividing the city between Israelis and Palestinians for a two-state solution.  It is not enough that Israel illegally occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and made life unbelievably miserable for the Palestinians in the city; since then, it has demolished over 24,000 Palestinian homes to move in Jewish settlers."

Fenced in but defiant in Israeli-occupied West Bank
A quote...."West Bank, November 3, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) - Sabri Mohammed Ghraieb has seen the olive groves that once fringed his West Bank home turn into a Jewish settlement and prison-like walls but still he refuses to leave. ImageFor a quarter of a century, the 73-year-old who goes by the nickname, Abu Samir, has stubbornly refused to abandon his home, despite Israel's efforts to make him leave."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

The Reinstatement of Zelaya -- The Little Coup That Couldn't
A quote...."On Oct. 29, Honduras' de facto regime finally agreed to allow Congress to vote on whether to "return executive power to its state prior to June 28"--a convoluted way of saying "reinstate President Manuel Zelaya." Conceding to international and national pressure, the Honduran coup appears to be facing its final days. -- June 28 was the date when the Armed Forces kidnapped the elected president, Manuel Zelaya, and forcibly exiled him to Costa Rica. If the agreement brokered this week holds, Honduran society will have turned the ugly precedent of a modern-day military coup d'etat into an example of the strength of nonviolent grassroots resistance."
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Geithner "Burned Billions," Shafted Taxpayers on CIT Loan, Prof. Bill Black Says
Must View Video - A quote...."Another one of the nation's largest lenders has filed for bankruptcy.  On the brink for months, CIT filed for Chapter 11 protection on Sunday. -- The prepackaged plan allows CIT to restructure its debt while trying to keep badly needed loans flowing to thousands of mid-sized and small businesses. The plan keeps CIT's operations alive and makes it possible for the company to exit bankruptcy by year's end."

Think about it this way folks....remember three to five years ago, when everybody was running around saying it's a darn shame the way these company executives keep deliberately skewing their quarterly numbers to attract investor's money to pump their company's stocks up and thereby inflate their year end compensation and bonus packages?

So what did we as a nation do after complaining for years about these fraudulent schemes?  We let a group of Bankster industry insiders, Geithner and Paulson along with our Representitutes in Washington DC give twenty four trillion TAXPAYER dollars in back-stops, guarantees and bail-outs to the Financial Sector so they could pump their stocks up in order to collect one hundred and forty BILLION dollars in total compensation and bonuses this year.

Stupid doesn't quite cover it. – mpg
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Goldman left foreign investors holding the subprime bag
A quote...." The Sept. 26, 2006, document offered sophisticated U.S. and European investors an opportunity to buy into a pool of supposedly high-grade bonds backed by residential, commercial and student loans. The transaction was registered through a shell company in the Cayman Islands. -- Few of the potential investors knew it, but the ratings of many of the mortgage securities hid their true risks and, in some cases, Goldman's descriptions exaggerated their quality. -- The Cayman offering — one of perhaps dozens made through the British territory — occurred as Goldman began to ditch the subprime mortgage business before the U.S. housing market collapsed under an avalanche of homeowner defaults." -- also posted at AlethoNews

White House Quietly Working To Weaken Investor Protection
A quote....""This has enormous significance to individual investors," former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt told the Huffington Post. "This is something the Republicans could never have accomplished, and what a bitter irony it is that the Democrats...are emasculating the best piece of legislation of the past 20 years." -- For more on the two articles shown above see....The Green Light 01-16-08 - mpg

RBS, Lloyds Get $51 Billion in Second Bank Bailout (Update6)
A quote...."Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc will receive 31.3 billion pounds ($51 billion) in a second bailout from the U.K. taxpayer as the two banks agreed to cap bonuses."

GE's $19 Billion (And Increasing) Toxic Asset Sink Hole
A quote...."One, and maybe the only, of the recent benefits of the FASB's meager attempts at providing balance sheet transparency has been the requirement for banks and financial companies to disclose the difference between the Fair Market Value and the Carrying (Book) value of their assets, especially as pertains to loans held on the balance sheet. And while even the FMV calculation leaves much to be desired, it does demonstrate which companies take abnormal liberties with their balance sheets, instead of performing needed asset write-downs as more and more loans turn toxic. A good example of just such optimism appears when one evaluates the disclosure by "banking" company General Electric."

Blackstone Top Ticks Market Again, As Second IPO Pulled
A quote...."The IPO window has closed. Just like in 2007, Blackstone once again times the exit opportunity perfectly (too bad you can't IPO twice), while firms like AEI and now Aviv REIT end up having to pull their initial public offerings. And this one happens to be the triple whammy of not just an IPO, and not just a REIT, but one lead managed by REIT reverse-interest expert (and short interest terminator) Bank of Countrywide Lynch. If Merrill was unable to find enough interest, then look out below."

What Is Money? -- Part 12: Why Central Banking Persists
A quote...."I have presented the basics of monetary theory, as developed by Austrian School economists. A distinct Austrian School theory of money goes back to Ludwig von Mises' book, The Theory of Money and Credit (1912). Mises amplified this theory over the years until its culmination in Human Action (1949). His disciple, Murray Rothbard, extended Mises' analysis in a series of books, most notably chapter 11 of Man, Economy, and State (1962), America's Great Depression (1963), What Has Government Done to Our Money? (1964), and The Mystery of Banking (1983)."

Monday November 2nd 2009

"Before no other country on the planet does the United States kneel and plead like this. In other trouble spots, America takes a different tone. It bombs in Afghanistan, invades Iraq and threatens sanctions against Iran and North Korea. Did anyone in Washington consider begging Saddam Hussein to withdraw from occupied territory in Kuwait?" -- *Gideon Levy*

Sunday November 1st 2009

The Truth About the Middle East is Buried Beneath the Headlines
Must Read - A quote...."Once government and editors and television management have decided on the "story", you can be sure that an Israeli "wall" will become a "security barrier" or a "fence", a pro-Western Arab dictator a "strongman" and "occupied" Israeli territory will become "disputed"; the unjustly treated will thus become generically violent, brutality softened and occupation legalised. Fred Halliday of the LSE is coming out next June with a book called Shocked and Awed about the artillery and minefields used in the battlefield of language. The "War on Terror" – yes, let's give this trash the capital letters it deserves, as in "South Sea Bubble" – has given us "Gitmo" and "extraordinary rendition" ("extraordinary" indeed!) and imported, as Halliday observes, perversions of imported words such as "jihad". -- But I think the problem goes further than this. It's not just a White House-State Department-Pentagon-CNN-Downing Street-Defence Ministry-BBC military-political-journalistic complex." -- also posted at PJB

Tortured Memories and the Culture of War
A quote...."For the last decade, we have lived through a historical period in which the United States relinquished its tenuous claim to democracy. The frames through which democracy apprehends the lives of others as human beings worthy of respect, dignity and human rights were sacrificed to a mode of politics and culture that simply became an extension of war, both at home and abroad. At home the punishing state increasingly replaced the welfare state, however ill-conceived, as more and more individuals and groups were now treated as disposable populations, undeserving of those safety nets and basic protections that provide the conditions for living with a sense of security and dignity. Under such conditions, basic social supports were replaced by an increase in the production of prisons, the expansion of the criminal justice system into everyday life, and the further erosion of crucial civil liberties." -- also posted at Uruknet

First they came for....
Full quote...."First they came for the 9/11 Truthers, and I did not speak out--because I believed the official story;
Then they came for the unemployed, and I did not speak out—because I had a job;
Then they came for those who had lost their homes, and I did not speak out-because I had my home;
Then they came for the working class poor, and I did not speak out—because I wasn't poor;
Then they came for the peaceful protesters, and I did not speak out--because I didn't protest;
Then they came for the middle class, and I did not speak out—because I was not part of the middle class;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me."
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Obama's latest use of "secrecy" to shield presidential lawbreaking
Special Note - A quote...."The Obama administration has, yet again, asserted the broadest and most radical version of the "state secrets" privilege -- which previously caused so much controversy and turmoil among loyal Democrats (when used by Bush/Cheney) -- to attempt to block courts from ruling on the legality of the government's domestic surveillance activities.  Obama did so again this past Friday -- just six weeks after the DOJ announced voluntary new internal guidelines which, it insisted, would prevent abuses of the state secrets privilege.  Instead -- as predicted -- the DOJ continues to embrace the very same "state secrets" theories of the Bush administration -- which Democrats generally and Barack Obama specifically once vehemently condemned -- and is doing so in order literally to shield the President from judicial review or accountability when he is accused of breaking the law." -- also posted at OhBummer & PJB

Obama Administration Invokes State Secrets Privilege…Again
A quote...."The Obama administration invoked the controversial "state secrets" privilege again on Friday, arguing that if U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker were to permit a legal case against the government to proceed, he would be putting national security at risk."

"Obama administration: Toss wiretap lawsuit 31 Oct 2009 Attorney General Eric Holder says a lawsuit in San Francisco over warrantless wiretapping threatens to expose ongoing intelligence work and must be thrown out. In making the argument, the Obama administration agreed with the Bush administration's position on the case but insists it came to the decision differently. Holder's effort to stop the lawsuit marks the first time the administration has tried to invoke the state secrets privilege under a new policy it launched last month designed to make such a legal argument more difficult. Under the state secrets privilege, the government can have a lawsuit dismissed if hearing the case would jeopardize national security. "The Obama administration has essentially adopted the position of the Bush administration in these cases, even though candidate Obama was incredibly critical of both the warrantless wiretapping program and the Bush administration's abuse of the state secrets privilege," said Kevin Bankston, a lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

Barack Obama Continues Bush Administration Policy Regarding Posse Comitatus
A quote...."It has been just over one year since the U.S. Army announced that the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team was being placed under the direct control of the US Army Northern Command (NORTHCOM), and was being indefinitely reassigned as an “on-call federal response force” for emergencies of all sorts, natural and man-made, including terrorist attacks, within NORTHCOM's area of responsibility — the United States, Mexico, and Canada." -- also posted at BLN

Obama Continuing Bush Renditions
A quote...."Even though Barack Obama, the candidate, pledged to end “the practice of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries,” his FBI has been rendering kidnap victims to the U.S. The practice is still kidnapping, however; and it’s still illegal."
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A Bad Precedent for the Parasitic Class
11-01-09
mpg

Has the Government Broken the Social Contract with the American People?
A quote...."In a provocative comment to an essay I wrote, Kevin de Bruxelles argues that the government has broken the social contract with the American people, and discusses the ultimate meaning of such a breach of contract:"

One should add as long as people have the right to freely garner, exercise and accurately count their votes AND the contract (the Constitution) remains unbroken, the "people" should generally remain law abiding and peaceful.  The Constitution of this country however, has without a doubt, been thoroughly broken, to quote what was written two days ago on this blog.....


The parasitic class however, are still being very cautious about actually enforcing their break with the constitution, (and for those in government, their break with their oath of office).  They're introducing the "concept" of these Constitutional violations to the American people while, for the moment, refraining from actually deploying these concepts on a mass scale.  As many commentators have repeatedly pointed out, "they want to condition" the American people to accept there newly imposed slave status before actually making them into slaves.

For example, they tortured Jose Padilla who they imprisoned and they also imprisoned John Walker Lindh, both were American citizens.  And they have assassinated many Americans overseas. In many cases with hardly any evidence of their supposed crimes.  On the other hand neither Jose Padilla nor John Walker Lindh were executed after they'd been arrested because actual evidence in a public trial is still needed to do so in this country.  Much more importantly to do so would have set a bad precedent for the parasites who occupy Washington DC.

After all, with anywhere from fifty to a hundred thousand Americans having been responsible at one point or another during the last thirty years in supplying over a hundred billion dollars to various "terrorist" groups throughout the Middle East, (and they're still supplying them to this day) and with several thousand of the parasitic class directly involved in staging the event called 9/11, (almost all of them by helping to cover it up) it would have set a very bad precedent for them to advocate executions at this particular point in time.

But that policy will eventually change. – mpg
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'Blackwater behind Peshawar blast'
A quote...."Pakistan's pro-Taliban militants blame private US security firm Blackwater for a Wednesday bomb blast in Peshawar which killed over 100 people. -- Hakimullah Mehsud, head of the Tehrik-e-Taliban, said Blackwater and some Pakistani agencies were involved in the bomb explosion at a crowded market in Peshawar."

US spy agencies' spending rises to $49.8 billion
Related Article - A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. spy agencies spent $49.8 billion in fiscal year 2009, $2 billion more than in 2008 and the second such multibillion-dollar increase in as many years." -- And with the Pentagon's "Black Budget" also at fifty billion, that leaves, excluding the additional tens of billions in "aid", billions for NGO's and the occasional lost palet of cash, about one hundred billion in slush funds to help support the US-NRE's never-ending "self-licking ice cream cone".  In other words the US-NRE's non-stop support of terror worldwide.

Islamabad: Americans Dressed as Afghans Caught With Illegal Weapons and Explosives
Related Article - A quote...."ISLAMABAD – FOUR American citizens were caught red-handed by Capital Police in the early hours of Tuesday for photographing sensitive buildings. All four were dressed in traditional Afghan outfits and were found to be in possession of illegal weapons and explosives."

Pakistan's growing anti-US anger
Related Article - A quote...."Recently, while Pakistan's government may have been saying the things that the White House wants to hear, the country's media and public have often been openly hostile towards the United States." -- also posted at Uruknet
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[Iranian] Speaker Reiterates US Involvement in [Jundallah] Terrorist Attack in Iran
Related Article - A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- Evidences show that the US was involved in recent terrorist attack in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan Balouchestan, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said."

'US using Jundallah in plot to destabilize Iran'
A quote...."The US is trying to destabilize Iran's borders by making use of the terrorist group Jundallah, a retired Pakistani general says. -- Jundallah, also known as the Rigi group because it is led by Abdolmalek Rigi, has claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack carried out on October 18 in the Iranian city of Pishin, near the border with Pakistan, which killed over 40 people, including several senior commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps." -- For more on the two articles shown above see....US Support of Terror - Jundallah

Lawmaker Highlights Role of Zionist Lobbies in US Policy Makings
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian legislator on Sunday said that ratification of a 55-milion-dollar budget for the Pentagon to launch soft war against Iran indicates the role of the Zionist lobbies in the US policy makings."
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Can Mrs. Clinton Control CIA In Afghanistan? - She has absolutely no intention of doing so. - mpg
A quote...."ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Two years ago, when isolated reports in the Pakistani media accused the United States of playing a double game in Afghanistan, most commentators dismissed them as conspiracy theories and kneejerk anti-Americanism. -- Today those reports dominate the mainstream Pakistani media.  The distrust is so serious that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had to turn her first official visit to Pakistan into a firefighting mission, kicking off a charm offensive to win over skeptic Pakistanis."

NATO forces turn to warlords
A quote...."WASHINGTON - The revelation by the New York Times on Wednesday that Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, has long been on the payroll of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is only the tip of a much bigger iceberg of heavy dependence by US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) counter-insurgency forces on Afghan warlords for security, according to a recently published report and investigations by Australian and Canadian journalists." -- also posted at Khilafah

We Entered Afghanistan Bearing Cash For Warlords, After All
(For the comments) -- A quote...."So about Ahmed Wali Karzai. Remember we got into Afghanistan in 2001 thanks to the derring-do of CIA operatives who politicked with Northern Alliance warlords thanks to bricks of cash. That got us into Kabul and into Kandahar. People wrote books that celebrated it. Woodward wrote overwrought accounts of it. No one found it objectionable."

CIA Agent Sees Dead People
From the History File -- Monday, 07 January 2008 13:32 -- A quote...."C.J. Chivers and David Rohde explained that 'American tactics and training became integral parts of the [al Qaeda] schools,' that instruction was standardized so 'courses taught in different languages and hundreds of miles apart . . . were identical,' They all have the same basic skills. . . and received funds from Gulf donors to cover costs" (never mentioning that the Gulf donors were matching US funds). -- Like Scheuer, the Times ignored the fact that al Qaida did not exist before 1999, according to experts like director of Congressional Task Force on Terrorism, Yossef Bodansky.:" -- also posted at Uruknet -- posted 01-07-08

The U.S. and Afghan Tragedy
From the History File -- February 18, 2009 -- A quote...."The United States sent more than $8 billion to Pakistani military dictator Zia al-Huq, who dramatically increased the size of the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) to help support Afghan mujahedeen in their battle against the Soviets and their puppet government. Their goal, according to the late Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was "to radicalize the influence of religious factions within Afghanistan." The ISI helped channel this American money, and billions more from oil-rich American allies, from the Gulf region to extremists within the Afghan resistance movement. ---  Extremist Education - The Reagan administration sensed the most hard-line elements of the resistance were less likely to reach negotiated settlements, but the goal was to cripple the Soviet Union, not free the Afghan people. Recognizing the historically strong role of Islam in Afghan society, they tried to exploit it to advance U.S. policy goals. Religious studies along militaristic lines were given more importance than conventional education in the school system for Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The number of religious schools (madrassas) educating Afghans rose from 2,500 in 1980 at the start of Afghan resistance to over 39,000. The United States encouraged the Saudis to recruit Wahhabist ideologues to come join the resistance and teach in refugee institutes." - bold by website editor - posted 02-19-09

CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR - make that Charlie Wilson's Whopper - (YouTube - 8 min 27 sec - Dec. 20, 2007)
Video - From the History File -- December 20, 2007 -- A quote...."In this short by documentary filmmaker, Melissa Roddy, she counters mis-information presented in the movie CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR. The film includes interviews with first-hand participants in events surrounding the 1980s war against the Soviet Union, including Senator Gordon Humphrey (R-NH, Ret.); former Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Edmund McWilliams; Prof. Tom Johnson of the U.S. Naval Post Graduate School and CIA Chief of Station to Pakistan Milt Bearden" -- posted 01-06-08

Afghanistan poll thrown into chaos as Karzai’s rival says: I won’t stand
A quote...."President Karzai’s opponent withdrew from Afghanistan’s presidential election yesterday, conceding defeat six days before a planned run-off but threatening to undermine the legitimacy of a new government."

Sacked UN official Peter Galbraith accuses Karzai of running second poll fraud
A quote...."The American who was sacked as the deputy head of the UN mission in Afghanistan after alleging a cover-up of election fraud accused President Karzai yesterday of masterminding another massive operation to steal next week’s run-off contest." -- also posted at AmericanEveryman

Report reveals Afghan election fraud
A quote...."ON ELECTION day, just 36 voters entered the polling booth, only a few kilometres from the sprawling fortified base that is home to close to 1000 Australian soldiers at Tarin Kowt, capital of Afghanistan's Oruzgan province. -- At the end of the day, the booth's votes were counted - all 2252 of them."
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"British nuclear expert's 17th floor UN death plunge 'was not suicide' --Under a year ago, an American died at the IAEA in strikingly similar circumstances, his body being found at the bottom of a stairwell. -- 01 Nov 2009 A British nuclear expert who fell from the 17th floor of a United Nations building did not commit suicide and may have been hurled to his death, says a doctor who carried out a second post-mortem examination. Timothy Hampton, a scientist involved in monitoring nuclear activity, was found dead last week at the bottom of a stairwell in Vienna. An initial autopsy concluded that there were ‘no suspicious circumstances’. But.. a doctor who undertook a second post-mortem examination on behalf of the family believes she has found evidence that Mr Hampton did not die by his own hands. Professor Kathrin Yen, of the Ludwig Institute in Graz, Austria, which specialises in traumatology research, said... one possible theory was that Mr Hampton was carried to the 17th floor from his workplace on the sixth floor and thrown to his death." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

250,000 displaced in Pakistan's Waziristan offensive
A quote...."Pakistan's military offensive against pro-Taliban militants in a northwestern tribal area has forced nearly 250,000 civilians to flee their homes." -- also posted at AlethoNews

OIC calls for UNSC emergency meeting on Al-Aqsa
A quote...."The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has called for an urgent meeting on Israel's frequent violations against the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the occupied East Jerusalem Al-Quds."

Israel derailing peace efforts, Jordan and Egypt say
A quote...."Israel is "derailing" peace efforts by building settlements and jeopardizing the identity of Jerusalem Al-Quds and holy places, the leaders of Jordan and Egyptian say."

Obama Quietly Backing Congressional Moves on Iran Sanctions
A quote...."Though officials in the Obama Administration have been publicly neutral about the new round of sanctions against Iran moving its may through the House and Senate, the administration is quietly supporting the efforts, despite the deleterious affect they may have on negotiations."

Réalité EU: Front group for the Washington based Israel Project? -- A Spinwatch Investigation:
A quote...."Spinwatch has uncovered evidence that an apparently London based organisation offering expertise on Iran to journalists and politicians is a covert propaganda operation run by a pro-Israel organisation in the United States."

Argentina: Disappearing Farmers, Disappearing Food
A quote...."Worldwide, industrial mono-culture farming has displaced traditional food production and farmers, wreaking havoc on food prices and food sovereignty. This is particularly true for the global south, where land has been concentrated for crops destined for biodiesel and animal feed. In response, peasants and small farmers organized actions in more than 53 countries on October 15 for International Food Day as an initiative of Via Campesina, one of the largest independent social movement organizations, representing nearly 150 million people globally." -- also posted at GlobalRsrch

Venezuela Busts Colombian Infiltration
A quote...."Caracas, Nov 1 (Prensa Latina) The recent murder of 10 people in the border with Colombia with the characteristics of a military operation keeps the Venezuelan bordering zone in tension affected by irregular groups'' action."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

1967 BORDERS? WHAT 1967 BORDERS!
Special Note - "Throw away those keys you ethnically cleansed Palestinians, remain in your tents all you displaced Palestinians, enjoy living for generations to come in your refugee camps all you uprooted Palestinians, and to all of you living in East Jerusalem, you will be leaving soon, so pack your bags. Such is the new message to Palestinians from the Obama Administration. -- Clinton praises her Masters:"

    “She said Israel has made "unprecedented" concessions on settlement building”

"The U-turn to the Dark Side is now complete. Obama sent his lackey Clinton to the Middle East for an “Arse Kissing Fest” with Netanyahu. Yes folks the Illegal, let me repeat that word “Illegal” settlements have become a “non issue” for America, they are off the table, wave bye, toodleooski, sayonara, see ya."

Waging War on Students
A quote...."If there's one thing the Israelis are good at it's making war on women and children. -- They killed 952 Palestinian children in their homeland between 2000 and the start of the Gaza blitzkrieg in December 2008 (according to B'Tselem statistics). They murdered at least 350 more during their Cast Lead onslaught and have kept Gaza under daily attack ever since. So the brave Israelis must have eliminated nearly 1400 youngsters by now. Would anyone care to guess how many they left bleeding, maimed and crippled?"

Israel’s Unspoken Nuclear Leverage
A quote...."Much is made of Israel’s political power in the west and particularly in the US. There have been private complaints about it for decades. Only recently has it become possible to speak about it in public. Still the iron fist inside the chain-mail glove is only for private discussion."

South Africans 'fought in Gaza war' - Alt - (YouTube - 3 min 43 sec - November 01, 2009)
Video - A quote...."Efforts to prosecute those who may have committed war crimes in Israel's war on Gaza have spread beyond the Middle East. -- Lawyers say the docket contains evidence that South Africans took part in the fighting. -- "We've identified about 75 South Africans who we believe served in the IDF at one point or the other," Boda says. -- "We believe that there is prima facae evidence against all of them. We have informants from South African police stations, whose identity we are currently protecting for their safety, who have pinpointed which of their fellow South African police force reservists went to Gaza to fight in the war. We have pictorial evidence as well."

Too Hot to Handle: The New Yorker Magazine Censors the Word ‘Censored’ in Report Criticizing Israel
Censorship Alert - A quote...."Censored NY Times Cartoon,” the true story behind how the New York Times reneged on running a cartoon critical of Israel, was scheduled to appear in the special November 2 cartoon edition of the New Yorker. Three days before the magazine went to press, the New Yorker staff–by order of the Editor–stated that the ad could not be published with the word “censored.” Ironically, this only validates the message of my original cartoon below. Was this censorship by the NY Times? You decide." -- also posted at AlethoNews

Youtube is covering up the Israeli Hatred for the world
Censorship Alert - A quote...."London, July 16, (Pal telegraph) - Youtube which is owned by google is again cooperating with the Israeli government by hiding an important video that exposes the mindset of the Israeli youth, not only those youth are racist but they are very ill-informed creatures."

Palestinian Child Prisoners - Video and UK Speaking Tour - Alt - (YouTube - 5 min 3 sec - Oct 30, 2009)
Video - Event Alert - [RAMALLAH, 31 October 2009] – On Monday, 2 November 2009, DCI-Palestine will accompany Mohammad and his mother Somaya on a four-day speaking tour of the UK to highlight the plight of Palestinian child prisoners." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Sussex Students Vote to Boycott Israel
Action Update - A quote...."Date 30/10/09 Sussex Students’ Union first in UK to boycott Israeli goods FOLLOWING a landmark referendum, students at Sussex University have voted to boycott Israeli goods. The decision will become part of the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, which calls upon Israel to respect international law and end the occupation of Palestine. The referendum received messages of support and thanks from Jewish and Israeli academics and non-governmental organizations that oppose Israel’s policy of occupation in Palestine. Author and scholar Norman G. Finkelstein described the referendum result as ‘a victory, not for Palestinians but for truth and justice’.
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

The Negotiation is in the Streets: A Day of Resistance and Repression
A quote...."Running away from tear gas clouds behind them several people carry a woman in shock around a corner to a water spigot someone has found. Her bright yellow shirt is soaked in a mix of sweat, tear gas and water. People gather around her wiping her down and washing out her eyes and their own. Suddenly we hear more shots and the footsteps of the elite cobra commando unit of the Honduran police. As we flee to the top of a hill we run into another human rights observer who reports that several people have been badly beaten and are in the hospital...."
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Ron Paul: Be Prepared for the Worst
Special Note - A quote...."A false recovery is under way. I am reminded of the outlook in 1930, when the experts were certain that the worst of the Depression was over and that recovery was just around the corner. The economy and stock market seemed to be recovering, and there was optimism that the recession, like many of those before it, would be over in a year or less. Instead, the interventionist policies of Hoover and Roosevelt caused the Depression to worsen, and the Dow Jones industrial average did not recover to 1929 levels until 1954. I fear that our stimulus and bailout programs have already done too much to prevent the economy from recovering in a natural manner and will result in yet another asset bubble."

Galbraith: Administration's Sole Goal is to Restore System of 5 or 10 Years Ago, But Confidence Won't be Restored Unless Fraud is Prosecuted -- A quote...."As I have repeatedly written, the largest U.S. banks have repeatedly gone bankrupt due to wild speculation which was blessed by the Fed, and then the government covered up their bankruptcy."

Congressman Watt Guts Bill to Audit the Fed
Contains Video - A quote...."Ron Paul tells Bloomberg that Congressman Watt has just more or less killed the bill to audit the fed:"

CIT files for 5th largest U.S. bankruptcy
A quote...."NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- CIT Group Inc., one of the nation's leading funders of small and medium-sized businesses, filed for the fifth largest bankruptcy by assets in U.S. history Sunday as part of a reorganization plan that has the support of an overwhelming majority of debtholders."

How Goldman secretly bet on the U.S. housing crash
A quote...."WASHINGTON — In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U.S. housing prices would send the value of those securities plummeting." -- also posted at OhBummer

Quotes from the great depression
A quote...."September 1929 -- "There is no cause to worry. The high tide of prosperity will continue." — *Andrew W. Mellon*, Secretary of the Treasury. -- and many more quotes. - mpg
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Kill the Bill - Alt - (YouTube - 34 sec - November 01, 2009)
Video - Special Note - Regarding the health care issue -- A quote...."You wouldn't solve homelessness by making everyone pay rent or face a fine. You don't solve health care problems by mandating everyone buy insurance and allowing the companies to raise rates by 25% "

Ron Paul’s Solution to the Healthcare Crisis in America? “Free Markets”…
Special Note - Regarding the health care issue -- A quote...."This is primarily why I don’t support either Ron Paul, or his publicist, Alex Jones… all they are doing is steering naturally occurring dissent in this country toward support of the very thing that has caused the problems in the first place; free-market neoliberal ideology. They are both a perfect example of “controlled opposition” whereas you hijack the dissent movement, and steer it back toward the very thing people are rebelling against. This Larry King interview was posted on Prison Planet. They posted the second half only, and not the first part that featured Micheal Moore talking about capitalism and the state the country is in." -- See also the articles and comments shown below....


For more on this issue see also....

Say 'Good-bye' to the Nice Health Care Reform, Kids
Obama Piddles Away the Public's Options
Obama's Corporate Health Care Scam
Don't Get Sick!
Death Bonds: Wall Street Teams Up With Insurance Companies to Kill People, Reap Profits
We're sick; the system's even sicker
Who's Blocking Health Care Reform Now? Blue Dogs? Senate Dems? House Progressives? Or the WH Itself?

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Saturday October 31st 2009

No posts. - mpg

Friday October 30th 2009

The Fruits of Intervention
Special Note - A quote...."by Patrick Buchanan -- If we had it to do over, would we send an army into Afghanistan to build a nation? -- Would we invade Iraq? -- While these two wars have cost 5,200 dead, a trillion dollars and a divided America facing an endless war, what have we won?" -- also posted at ICH & LewRockwell

Where Have all the Flowers Gone?
Special Note - A quote...."by Cindy Sheehan -- Watching Obama salute a coffin at Dover Air Force Base with all the pomp and circumstance of US Military worship filled me with disgust and sorrow. -- Disgust because the White House PR apparatus went into full swing to find a family that would allow their loved ones’ coffin to be photographed in a scene that reminded me of George Bush’s landing on the deck of the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier on May 2, 2003 wearing a pilot’s suit and a codpiece. -- Why did Obama do this? To soften the blow, of sending more troops, for a gullible public that wants to believe someone like Obama could give a crap about the cannon fodder he condemns to pointless death?"

America Is Repeating the Mistakes Which Led to the Fall of the Hapsburg Empire
A quote...."William R. Hawkins (formerly an economics professor at Appalachian State University, the University of North Carolina-Asheville, and Radford University) argues that America is repeating the mistakes which led to the fall of the Hapsburg empire:"

Kipling Haunts Obama’s Afghan War
Special Note -- Some quotes...."The White Man’s Burden, a phrase immortalized by English poet Rudyard Kipling as an excuse for European-American imperialism, was front and center Thursday morning at a RAND-sponsored discussion of Afghanistan in the Russell Senate Office Building. -- The agenda was top-heavy with RAND speakers, and the thinking was decidedly "inside the box" — so much so, that I found myself repeating a verse from Kipling, who recognized the dangers of imperialism, to remind me of the real world:"


"Exuding his customary confidence, Brzezinski first addressed — and ruled out — several "No’s," the things that the U.S. must not do: -- Brzezinski offered a much longer litany of "Yeses" — but his list was disappointingly bereft of new ideas. Indeed, it was notable only for his insistence that the U.S. ought to be more actively engaged in promoting a north-south pipeline through Afghanistan to the Indian Ocean. He said, for example, that India needs access to the resources of central Asia, an area especially rich in natural gas, as well as oil." - bold by website editor -- also posted at OpEdNews

For more on the "oil and gas" issue see....War Resource 9/11

For a slightly different interpretation of Kipling’s phrase "white man's burden" see...White Man's Burden - 12-20-06 - mpg
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Abdullah to Boycott Runoff as Talks Break Down
That's the "other" US-NRE lackey.  Abdullah is going to let the US-NRE kill more of his people, let its oil cartel run their pipes through Afghanistan and do it all for even less money than Karzai would....he's OUR man!  One little problem though, the farcical Afghan "election" kabuki play has turned into the two stooges without a script play.  Highly embarrassing to the DC-"Liberal"-Limousine-Beltway folk.  But don't worry, like Bush they'll just crank up the propaganda machine a little louder and the rest of Amerika will snooze a little longer. - mpg -- A quote...."Amid reports that the ongoing election talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and runoff opponent Abdullah Abdullah have broken down, it is widely expected that Abdullah will announce a boycott of the election, perhaps as soon as this weekend."

Bob Gates’ Bad Bet
Quote of the Day...."It’s worth mentioning that Gates is a bureaucratic twit who got where he’s gotten by accommodating up and down, knowing how to make both his seniors and subordinates happy and not knowing much of anything else.  Every time he makes a public announcement you get a good feel for who talked to him last, his boss or his underlings.  He is, for the most part, a stooge for his long war flag and general officers: David Petraeus, Ray Odierno, Mike Mullen and Stan McChrystal.  On occasion, he’ll take direction from above — when he absolutely has to.  He’s a wind-direction checker and a tealeaf reader who butters both sides of his bread." -- Ouch! - mpg 

Israel, US hold largest ever war games
War Alert - A quote...."Israel and the United States have launched a three-week joint air defense exercise, code-named Juniper Cobra 10, in the port city of Haifa. -- The military exercises which are described as the largest ever by the two allies are conducted under a media blackout in the West." -- also posted at DProgram

Lebanon warns UN: Israel planning to attack us
War Alert - A quote...."Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations has warned that Israel is exhibiting signs of an imminent attack on his country, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Hayyat reported on Friday."

IAEA says had ‘good trip’ to Iran enrichment site
A quote...."VIENNA (Reuters) – The head of the UN nuclear watchdog's mission to a newly disclosed plant in Iran said on Thursday the inspectors had a good trip but he declined to give any details."

Iran finds huge oil, gas reserves
A quote...."TEHRAN – Considerable oil and gas reserves have been found in Khorramabad block, western Iran, the data collected by the Norwegian energy group StatoilHydro shows."

Cut off, hemmed in and slowly running out of food
Special Note - An On The Ground Report From Northern Yemen. -- A quote...."Most days I wake to the sound of machine guns, rockets and the drone of fighter planes. I sleep lightly, and in my dreams I am half aware of the sounds of war around me that grow louder as dawn approaches. -- Unable to sleep, I rise early and set off for the office. This should be a simple journey but nothing is simple in Sa’ada any more. -- It takes an hour to reach Islamic Relief’s building and I am frequently stopped at security checkpoints. I am not always sure what armed group is in charge of the crossings, but the questions are always the same: what is your name? Where are you from? Where are you going?"

Nicolas Sarkozy deals blow to Tony Blair's EU presidency hopes
Hip Hip Hooray!! -- Now all the world needs to do is find some way of putting Blair in the poor house, or better yet, prison. (Both would be good) - mpg -- A quote...."Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, has dealt a heavy blow to Tony Blair’s hopes of becoming European Union president by withdrawing his support for the former premier’s candidacy."

Russia may attend next ASEAN summit
A quote...."MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Dmitry Kosyrev) - There was nothing strange or unusual in Russia's absence at the ASEAN summit held at the Thai seaside resort of Hua Hin on October 23-25. An ASEAN dialogue partner, Russia is free to attend or not attend the organization's summits."

Colombia, U.S. sign military bases agreement
A quote...."BOGOTA, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Colombia and the United States signed an agreement Friday to boost the United States' presence by up to 1,400 people across seven military bases in Colombia, a dea lthat has prompted objections from its neighbors."

Venezuela beefs up military presence in border area near Colombia
Related Article - A quote...."CARACAS, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Venezuelan government reinforced its military forces Friday in its northwestern border state of Tachira to strengthen the security in border areas."

Chavez: Chinese Military Planes will Arrive
Related Article - A quote...."Caracas, Oct 30 (Prensa Latina) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced the arrival of Chinese K-8 planes for training and combat by the end of 2009, as part of their fleet modernization with defensive purposes."

Brazil, Venezuela sign $13.5 bln refinery deal
A quote...."MOSCOW, October 31 (RIA Novosti) - Brazil and Venezuela have signed a long-delayed deal on a joint venture to build and run an oil refinery in Brazil, Venezuela's Universal newspaper said on Saturday."

Chile, Argentina sign treaty to promote co-op
A quote...."SANTIAGO, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and her Argentine counterpart Cristina Fernandez signed a treaty on Friday to promote integration and cooperation between the two countries."

Ecuador: Oil Giant Is Gone, Legal and Environmental Mess Remains
A quote...."(IPS) - The story began almost 40 years ago, but when filmmaker Joe Berlinger "saw villagers eating canned tuna fish because the fish in their rivers were too contaminated to eat, [he] knew [he] had to do something". -- The product of that realisation is the new documentary "Crude", the latest weapon in an escalating PR war taking place alongside the equally contentious legal war over whether Chevron should be held responsible for the 916 waste pits of crude oil that dot the Amazonian region of northern Ecuador – and the cancer and other health problems that have plagued the Lago Agrio region."

Nicaragua protesters chase off US ambassador
A quote...."Demonstrators hurling fireworks chased the U.S. ambassador from a university fair on Friday because of his criticism of a Supreme Court ruling letting President Daniel Ortega seek another term."
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Reaction to Coleen Rowley on Real News Network: Where’s Wilshire?
Must Read - A quote...."The Real News Network recently carried an interview of former FBI lawyer Coleen Rowley by Paul Jay (part 1, part 2 and part 3), dealing with what it called the “unanswered questions about the lead up to 9/11.” Rowley was stationed at the bureau’s Minneapolis office during the Zacarias Moussaoui case in August and September 2001, but later became a whistleblower and left the organisation. --- While many aspects of the interview are good and interesting, it leaves out what is probably the most important known fact about the Moussaoui case: the identity of the most senior FBI headquarters official fully involved in the case. --- The official, a CIA officer named Tom Wilshire who was on loan to the bureau, is ubiquitous in the intelligence failures before 9/11. He was involved not just in the Moussaoui case, but also in the deliberate withholding from the FBI of visa information about one of the hijackers, Khalid Almihdhar, in January 2000, the failure to notify the FBI of Alhazmi and Almihdhar’s entry into the US after he reviewed the Malaysia cables in May 2001, the preparations for the 11 June 2001 "shouting match" meeting between CIA officers and the bureau’s Cole investigators, and the failed hunt for Almihdhar in the weeks before the attacks." -- For more on this issue see....Reficultnias's 9/11 Central

Treason, Betrayal and Deceit: 9/11 and Beyond
Special Note - A quote...."The attacks on September 11, 2001 have been a defining moment for America. The political and psychological impact on Americans of a concerted and visible attack in America was enormous -- indeed, it is an interesting "coincidence" that the attacks occurred on the one day of the year whose mention reinforces a public sense here of danger and emergency: 9-1-1. -- A significant development in the 1990s was the formation of the neo-conservative think tank known as PNAC (Project for a New American Century)*, whose members prepared position papers for the Israeli government and for a future US Administration sharing their views." - *link added

On the Record: Former FBI Agent Coleen Rowley Calls for a New 9/11 Investigation
A quote...."....Attorney Rowley discusses the importance of uncovering the “full truth” about 9/11 to reverse the overreactive policies of the Bush administration: preemptive war, torture, government spying and secrecy, and curtailment of civil liberties. -- If we don’t demand accountability about how and why 9/11 happened, she explains, we set a dangerous precedent for this country, where torture becomes a loaded pistol left on the kitchen table for anyone to use down the road, and the people who authorized it are rewarded with promotions and lucrative careers."

The Details Behind NY's Denial of 9-11 Initiative
A quote...."NEW YORK, N.Y. – This AMERICAN FREE PRESS reporter’s September assignment to Manhattan for 9-11 coverage yielded a considerable array of information – including the 9-11 ballot initiative which has the goal of asking city voters to decide if they want a new investigation into the tragic 9-11-01 events; however, the proposal was seen by the city clerk’s office, the City Law Department and a state judge as having too many legal shortcomings to place it on the Nov. 3, 2009 ballot."

Sibel Edmonds and America's Secret War in Central Asia
A quote...."....Edmonds was not speaking in the American Conservative of an ‘inside job theory' about 9/11. The former FBI translator has always been clear she does not have all the answers to the tragic events that brought down the WorldTradeCenter. What Edmonds is doing with this statement is simply pushing the timeline out for when U.S. support for Islamic fundamentalists in Central Asia ceased: she is claiming this support did not actually end until September 11, 2001. Furthermore, Edmonds claims U.S. support for Islamic radicals was carried out with the help of Turkish paramilitary groups and that Turkish officials were aided the importation of al-Qaeda heroin into Europe and the United States. " -- Before anyone even thinks of scoffing at the drug connection, just remember the CIA's Air America's involvement with drugs during the Vietnam War and the Iran/Contra/Crack-Cocaine scandal during the Regan administration's involvement with Central America.  And also keep in mind many of the exact same people involved in the Iran/Contra scandal would have probably been involved with this new one. – mpg

Close Gitmo and give detainees their day in court - Amen! - mpg
A quote...."The legal axiom that "justice delayed is justice denied" applies with special force to Guantanamo. Whether they are dangerous terrorists or, like many of those already released, bystanders caught up in a post- 9/11 dragnet, these detainees have languished for years without adequate due process. Obama should abide by his deadline for closing Guantanamo and bring the same urgency to guaranteeing that the relocated detainees have their day in court." -- For more on why that WON'T happen see....9/11 - Iraq - Torture Fables

9yr-old boy tortured, says former Guantanamo detainee
A quote...."KUALA LUMPUR: A British Muslim detained for three years at the controversial Guantanamo Bay prison manned by the United States, revealed that the youngest detainee he knew of was a nine-year-old boy who was also tortured like the rest. -- Ruhal Ahmed’s story was among more accounts of atrocities committed against the detainees at Guantanamo, told before an open commission hearing which began Friday on the sidelines of an international conference to criminalise war."

"CREW Lawsuit Results In Release of Notes of Cheney's FBI Interview In Wilson Leak Case (CREW) 30 Oct 2009 Today, after successfully winning a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, under court order, CREW received documents related to former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney’s interview - PDF with the FBI in the investigation into the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s covert CIA identity. The transcript reveals that Mr. Cheney -- generally credited with razor sharp intellect and recall -- demonstrated an astonishing inability to recollect even simple facts much less the numerous conversations others have testified to regarding his involvement in the administration’s efforts to discredit former Ambassador Joe Wilson. The transcript does indicate however, that Mr. Cheney held Mr. Wilson in low regard and called the CIA’s decision to send Mr. Wilson to Niger "amateur-hour." [Leak investigation notes here - PDF and here - PDF.]" -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

22 Things Dick Cheney Can't Recall About the Plame Case
A quote...."Notes from former Vice President Dick Cheney's interview with the FBI about the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson's covert CIA identity were finally released on Friday afternoon after a lengthy legal battle. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sued the Justice Department last year to obtain the interview notes; a judge finally ordered their release on October 1. In the interview, Cheney demonstrated a behavior common among Bush administration officials under investigation: he couldn't remember much of anything. Here's a non-comprehensive list of 22 things Dick Cheney claimed he couldn't recall about the Plame case, in the order they appear in the FBI's notes:"

"Minot Air Force base commander fired 30 Oct 2009 The military says the commander at the Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota has been relieved of his command. The Air Force told The Associated Press on Friday it lost confidence in Col. Joel Westa's ability to command the base. Westa has been the base commander since October 2007. Westa was ousted a little more than two weeks after the base's missile wing commander was relieved of his duties following a series of mishaps including two crashes of vehicles carrying missile parts in a little more than a year. [See: Minot AFB Clandestine Nukes 'Oddities'.]" -- Paragraph quoted from CLG -- For more on this issue see also....US- False Flag Ops - Barksdale / Minot / B-52 "Loose Nukes" Incident
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Media Censorship Israel's Latest Plan
Special Note -- A quote...."The plot begins first in London England and will continue throughout the world, in each country, if it is successful in England:"


"Israel’s ambassador in London, Ron Prosor colludes with Jewish Lawyers to sue any and all news outlets that refer to Israelis as “War Criminals” or anything else deemed offensive by Zionists. In a recent meeting at his London home, the plot was discussed and agreed upon...."

Daily Show Under Fire for Covering Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Special Note - A quote...."Jon Stewart’s comedy news show The Daily Show is reportedly under fire from pro-Israeli groups for giving airtime to two pro-Palestinian figures on Wednesday night."

We Need More Erdogans
Special Note - A quote...."Turkey’s Ottoman Empire died an unwept death nearly a century ago. But the country continues to enjoy a unique eminence of leadership across the Middle East and in much of the Muslim world.  And Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly justified this love and respect for his country with his political courage and candor."

Did Richard Goldstone Hide More Sinister Crimes in Gaza? Part 2 – DIME and Uranium Weapons
A quote...."Goldstone brushed aside the use of White Phosphorus and Flechette weapons and only touched briefly on DIME weapons. He totally ignored weapons containing Uranium components such as the four weapons shown in this photograph. -- So let's look at DIME (Dense Inert Metal Explosive)* and how it works: -- DIME bombs produce an unusually powerful blast within a relatively small area, spraying a superheated "micro-shrapnel" of powdered Heavy Metal Tungsten Alloy (HMTA). Scientific studies have found that HMTA is chemically toxic, damages the immune system, rapidly causes cancer, and attacks DNA. It cuts through victims with ease and for those lucky enough to survive such an attack the outlook is fairly grim. The fragments from such a weapon once embedded in the flesh of its victim will lead to cancer and can result in death as early as three months." - *link added

Did Richard Goldstone Hide More Sinister Crimes in Gaza? Part 3: Members of Congress Reject Report
A quote...."Gaza, October 31, 2009, (Pal Telegraph) - Although we have seen some shortfalls in Goldstone's report we can now see the true face of some members of the US Congress as they again start to use their "Iron Fist" methods to stop this report moving forward."

WHO: “Israel Prevented Entry Of Medical Equipment Into Gaza”
A quote...."The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that Israel had prevented, for the fourth time, the transfer of medical supplies and equipment to the besieged Gaza Strip." -- also posted at AlethoNews

Israel curbing water by ~Latuff2
Cartoon - Click on the image to enlarge.

Homeless by Israeli policy
A quote...."SUR BAHER, occupied East Jerusalem (IPS) - "We knew something bad was about to happen when we saw the roadblocks being thrown up, and police everywhere. It soon came down the grapevine -- the Israelis were demolishing more houses." -- also posted at UprootedPalistinians

Bil’in demonstrates in solidarity with jailed activist: ‘We are all Adeeb Abu Rahmah’
A quote...."Adeeb Abu Rahmah was arrested on 10 July this year, and is still held in custody for taking part in organizing the village’s demonstrations. Demonstrators wore masks of his face and called for his release. -- Two protestors were injured today, while several suffered from tear gas inhalation during the weekly Friday demonstration in Bil’in."

PNA says no talks until Israel freezes settlement construction
A quote...."GAZA CITY, October 31 (RIA Novosti) - Palestinians will not resume peace talks with Israel until it freezes settlement construction on the West Bank, a Palestinian official said on Saturday ahead of a meeting with the top U.S. diplomat."

MIDEAST:  Palestinians File Lawsuits Over Gaza War
Action Update - Sue them! Sue them! Sue them!  There's nothing more important, more dear, more precious to an Israeli than his or her own money!   They certainly don't care about human life, but than they don't really consider non-Israelis to be human. - mpg -- A quote...."RAMALLAH, Oct 30 (IPS) - As the legal and moral implications of the UN Goldstone report on Israel's military assault on Gaza continue to mount, Gazans are taking matters into their own hands and preparing civil lawsuits."

Norway University might boycott Israel
Action Update -- Boycott, Divest, Sanction -- Because it's what must be done. - mpg -- A quote...."Haaretz daily reported on Friday that Norway's University of Trondheim may become the first university in the West to adopt an academic boycott of Israel, if a majority of its board votes in favor of the move at a meeting next month." - also posted at WarInIraq -- For more on what YOU can do to help the BDS campaign go to the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website. - mpg
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Zelaya Restitution, Result of Popular Struggle
A quote...."Tegucigalpa, Oct 30 (Prensa Latina) Restoration of constitutional order in Honduras and restitution of President Manuel Zelaya will be the result of the long people's anti-coup resistance, Presidential Spokesman Rasel Tome said on Friday."

Washington pushes through deal with Honduran coup regime
A quote...."Delegations representing ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and the regime that replaced him through the coup of June 28 signed an agreement Friday following the intervention in Tegucigalpa of a high-level delegation from the US State Department. -- There is no guarantee that the deal will restore Zelaya to office. If it does, it will be for no more than two months and only as a figurehead president in a government dominated by those who overthrew him."
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FDIC Failure Friday: The Lucky Number 9
Table - A quote...."Forget our babble. Here's the data. -- Won't you please give to UNICEF the FDIC fund this Halloween?"

Fannie Mae Seriously Delinquent Rate Hockeysticks to 4.45% From 1.57% In Prior Year
Chart - A quote...."The FNM "seriously delinquent" rate has gone parabolic, increasing by roughly 5% sequentially and just under 300% YoY. As mere text will simply not do this metric justice, please enjoy this chart of the dataset from Blytic. It tells you all you need to know about the Fed's containment of the housing problem."

US wages and salaries rise at record-low levels
A quote...."Employment costs in the US rose at the lowest annual amount in at least 27 years, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department. Stagnant wages and salaries are the outcome of government policies designed to lower the living standards of workers."

Jim Rogers, Marc Faber agree US dollar due for temporary rebound
Dollar (upside) Alert - A quote...."INTERNATIONAL. Investment gurus Jim Rogers and Marc Faber agree to various degrees on many issues but the one thing uniting them this week is the future direction of the US dollar. They see a correction looming in the US currency."

Democrats strip single-payer healthcare proposal from health overhaul
Regarding the Health Care Issue -- This was inevitable folks, in the future, as people are FORCED to fork over two, three, five thousand dollars of their money every year to some HMO or insurance company without receiving adequate care in return, either for their families or themselves, perhaps they’ll no longer vote for someone because of a  stupid slogan like "change" or "hope"....perhaps they'll actually go into the polls this coming November 2010 and vote for someone else besides a DemoRepub.  Than again, perhaps not.  People in this country really don’t take their politics very seriously, they never have....and this time they're going to pay for it out of their pockets and with their health.  Maybe that’ll teach them, but it probably won't.  Amerikan voters never ever blame themselves for their poor choices at the polls, they always blame someone else. - mpg

Thursday October 29th 2009

"Israeli settlers residing in illegal outposts in the heart of Hebron obstructed the work of Palestinian fire fighters on Wednesday night, as crews attempted to access a burning building owned by a Palestinian family."