Wednesday November 18th 2009

No posts. - mpg

Tuesday November 17th 2009

The acceleration of Japan’s economy to the fastest growth pace in more than two years masked a slide in prices of goods and services that threatens to temper the nation’s recovery...

Monday November 16th 2009

Editorial: The CIA-ISI connection
A quote...."A report in The Los Angeles Times* says the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has funnelled hundreds of millions of dollars to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan since 9/11, accounting for as much as one-third of the latter’s annual budget. In addition, the ISI collected tens of millions of dollars through a classified CIA programme that pays for the capture or killing of wanted militants. This stream of payments is a clandestine counterpart to the rewards publicly offered by the US State Department." - *link added

US unveils 'Guantanamo's evil twin' extended Bagram prison --'The Bagram prison resembled a concentration camp 16 Nov 2009 Journalists have been allowed to inspect refurbished facilities at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, the largest US military hub in the region and home to a controversial prison. Al Jazeera's correspondent James Bays, who was among those who inspected the facilities on Sunday, said Bagram, unlike its Guantanamo counterpart, was clearly not going to be shut down soon. "The new prison wing cost some $60 million [for KBR] to build ..." Bays said. "But we were not shown the detainees. Human-rights lawyers say that, while the environment for the prisoners may be changing, their legal situation is not ... not having been charged. Nor has any civilian lawyer ever been allowed inside." Omar Dighayes, a former detainee at Bagram and Guantanamo Bay, said the Bagram prison resembled a concentration camp. "People were beaten, dragged, tortured in it," he told Al Jazeera. -- Paragraph posted at CLG

Unlike the United States, the UK Is Investigating the War Lies: Check Out This Lineup!
A quote...."[Names like Meyer and Manning wil be familiar to readers of the Downing Street Memos, but where's Dearlove?] -- MI6 chiefs to give evidence to Iraq inquiry -- guardian.co.uk -- Past and present heads of the Secret Intelligence Service to be questioned by Sir John Chilcot's investigation into war -- Past and present chiefs of MI6 are to be among the first witnesses to give evidence to the official inquiry into the Iraq war, it was disclosed today." -- Oh look, unlike the US-NRE, the Brits are still attempting to comply with all those "quaint", old fashioned,  notions like the Magna Carta, Habeas Corpus, the Geneva Conventions, UN Resolutions and the Nuremberg Statutes. - mpg

President Obama: Don’t Lecture China on Censorship
A quote...."President Obama, in his visit to China, held a “town meeting” with Chinese students in which he praised openness and lectured them on the value of freedom of information, saying that he is a “supporter of non-censorship” and that open access to information was a “source of strength. -- And yet America is hardly free of censorship. Heck, the president himself has gone to court to prevent the release of photographs of US troops torturing captives in Iraq, Afghanistan and at Guantanamo. Talk about censorship! But it goes way beyond just such crude, totalitarian style control over information.” -- also posted at OhBummer & Uruknet & TCBH

Public call to leak photographic evidence of torture in Iraq and Afghanistan
A quote...."The U.S. has blocked the release of photos showing clear evidence that the United States is responsible for torture in Iraq and Afghanistan. We think someone with access to the photos should simply leak them on the web, saving tax payers a load of cash and letting people know just what it is our twin occupations are really about. We are calling on anyone who has access to the images to leak them and anyone else to copy this message and post it in order to increase the chance of it reaching anyone who might have access." -- also posted at Uruknet

A Tale of Two Stories: The European BioWar outbreak and the censoring of it by the mainstream news media
Special Note - A quote...."The biggest story on the Planet today is the outbreak of a very serious Advanced Biological War virus in Europe. The second biggest story on the Planet is the suppression of this story for almost two weeks by the corporate owned mainstream news media."

Millions Hit by "Plague Worse Than Swine Flu'
A quote...."A cocktail of three flu viruses are reported to have mutated into a single pneumonic plague, which it is believed may be far more dangerous than swine flu. The death toll has reached 189 and more than 1 million people have been infected, most of them in the nine regions of Western Ukraine."
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Iraqi Kurds to boycott national elections - That's the US-NRE's erstwhile allies. - mpg
A quote...."BAGHDAD, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq decided Tuesday to boycott the country's January national elections, protesting the process of the parliamentary seats allocation for the provinces, Iraqi official television reported."

Iraqi lawmaker accuses Gulf states of financing Baathists
A quote...." Baghdad - An Iraqi lawmaker and former security advisor to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has accused Gulf states of financing Baathist insurgents, in an interview with Baghdad's al-Sabah newspaper Monday. -- 'Some officials in Gulf countries provide funds to these movements,' Mowaffaq Al-Rubaie said. 'We will disclose their names if they do not stop.'" -- also posted at WarInIraq

A Short Note on the Iraqi Resistance
A quote...."We don't believe in the political and election process under Occupation. For us this is like Kiosk politics alluding to a vendor's mentality. -- Now, there are some who are marketing themselves as the Resistance and have joined the political process time and time again (referring to Muqtada Al Sadr and the Sadrists.) They are no Resistance. -- The truth is that we are all alone, all by ourselves, with no outside support, no external funding, nor external arming, and there is a huge blackout on us. -- Many attempts and ploys have been made to discredit us. The Sahwa, the Al-Qaeda and others...but we resisted those as well... -- In the very complex context we find ourselves in, we are doing what we can, the best we can...we have not stopped and we will not stop until Iraq is Free.

"Editor's Note: Regarding the two articles shown above.  While cogitating on all the items posted on this website during the last several years, it appears to this website editor that it's unlikely the "dead enders", former Bathist, former Iraqi military and other Sunni insurgent groups received very much funding from the Gulf States, at least during the heaviest fighting up through the end of 2006. The one or two percent (that's US-NRE figures) of the insurgency who were identified as al Qaeda members probably got the bulk of the "donations".  It wouldn't surprise this website editor of course to discover the Saudi Royals and other Gulf States may have recently decided to give a little more aid to the insurgents to help act as a counter weight to Iran's influence and keep their "hand in".  But no one should ever forget that the US-NRE itself paid over eighty thousand insurgents (the Awakening Councils) ten dollars each, per day, for several years, ostensibly to encourage them to attack "al Qaeda" forces but in actuality so they wouldn't attack US-NRE forces....one of the main reasons for the "Surge’s" success.  Of course after the "success" was achieved they were discarded, the usual fate of any ally of the US-NRE.  – mpg

We're Funding Both Sides of the War in Vietghanistan - Alt - (YouTube - 10 min 58 sec - November 15, 2009)
Video - Special Note - Related Article -- A quote...."Dylan Ratigan talks to Jeremy Scahill, Jeffrey Addicott and Kendall Coffey about the corruption in the Hamid Karzai government in Afghanistan and the neighborhood protection and extortion racket that our government is funding both sides. Then Rachel Maddow discusses with Seymour Hersh the breaking news that President Barack Obama is not satisfied with the plans he received regarding Afghanistan from his advisers because he wants to include withdrawal in those plans. Finally followed by Rachel Maddow discussing the book LESSONS IN DISASTER with author Gordon Goldstein comparing the parallels between JFK/LBJ vs Obama and how they handled Viet Nam vs Afghanistan."

US behind Saudi bombing of Shiite Yemenis: Iran - link posted at ICH
A quote...."TEHRAN - Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, on Sunday accused Tehran’s arch-foe Washington of masterminding Saudi Arabia’s bombing of Shiite Yemeni rebels, parliament’s website reported. -- “The deplorable events in the Islamic nation of Yemen which have intensified over the past two weeks and the Saudi interference in Yemen through repeated bombings by warplanes is astonishing,” Larijani was quoted as telling deputies."

Yemen says Iran funding rebels - Alt - (YouTube - 2 min 56 sec - November 16, 2009) - link posted at ICH
Contains Video - A quote...."Yemen has repeated its accusation that Iran is funding Houthi rebel fighters in their war against government forces in the north of the country. - General Yahya Salih, Yemen's counter-terrorism chief, told Al Jazeera on Sunday that it would be impossible for the group to be able to wage its campaign without foreign support. - "The Houthis cannot fund and fight this war with pomegranates and grapes or drugs," he said. - "No doubt there is Iranian support, especially when you consider that the Yemeni state is spending billions of riyals."

Pakistan Taliban Airs Video Denial - [of Recent Major Bombings] - Alt - (AJ YuTb - 1 min 47 sec - Nov 16, 2009)
AJ Video - A quote...."Attacks that have continued across Pakistani towns and cities are being blamed on Tehreek e-Taliban, Pakistan's Taliban. -- However, the group has issued its first video statement denying involvement in targeting civilians and has blamed external forces for at least two recent blasts. -- Azam Tariq, a spokesman of the Tehreek e-Taliban, posted the video statement on YouTube on Monday. -- The message refers to a bombing at the Islamic University in Islamabad, which the spokesman said was orchestrated to prepare the ground for a military operation in South Waziristan, a stronghold for Pakistan's Taliban fighters. -- He also said his group had no role in the bomb blast in a Peshawar market that killed at least 100 people as well as an attack in Charsada, a town located in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province." -- also posted at Uruknet

Wave of bombings hits Pakistan’s north west
A quote...."Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban, is carrying out an intense campaign of almost daily suicide bombings and assassinations in retaliation for the military offensive against its strongholds in the tribal agency of South Waziristan."

UN nuclear chief in secret talks with Iran over deal to end sanctions
A quote...."United Nations and Iranian officials have been secretly negotiating a deal to persuade world powers to lift sanctions and allow Tehran to retain the bulk of its nuclear programme in return for co-operation with UN inspectors." -- also posted at Uruknet

AWARD FOR BEST LIAR GOES TO ISRAEL
Special Note - A quote...."Well now, don’t Israeli schools teach their children not to become liars? Evidently not, they skipped right over the lessons on compassion, understanding, sympathy, empathy, fairness, and not to steal from others. But most of all not to be liars. Israel excels at lying; in fact, if they were ever confronted with the truth they would have real problems recognizing it as is evident in my post below."

Israel gaffe reveals 'Iran ship photos' were forged - link posted at ICH
Related Article - A quote...."After Israel released photos it said proved that a huge shipment of weapons for Hezbollah came from Tehran, Iranian news agencies publish evidence showing that the photos are forged."

Ogaden: Seven Ethiopian towns taken - link posted at ICH
A quote...."Ethnic Ogaden fighters in Ethiopia have launched an offensive in the southeastern Somali region and claim to have recaptured seven towns from government forces. -- In a statement released early on Saturday, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said its attacks were launched across a broad front and had begun on November 10."

The Arab Street - Cairo - Alt - (YouTube - 12 min 46 sec - November 16, 2009)
Must View Video - A quote...."The Arab Street takes viewers to the beating heart of some of the world's most vibrant cities. In this episode we visit the Egyptian capital, Cairo. -- As well as giving a taste of the street life, colour and culture of Cairo, The Arab Street hears from Egyptians as they share their views on their own country and the wider Arab world. -- From Egypt's economy and the country's political future to Barack Obama, the US president, Israel's war on Gaza and the niqaab (face covering) issue, residents of Cairo tackle the topics that really matter to them."

Russia-Lebanon deal on MiG-29 to enter final phase soon
A quote...."BEIRUT, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Russia's plan to supply Lebanon with 10 MiG-29 fighter jets will enter its final phase soon, the Beirut-based Al-Markazia news agency reported on Monday. -- The news agency reported that a Russian military group of experts will be visiting Lebanon in the next few days, on a mission that consists of exploring the capabilities of Lebanese airports to maintain the MiGs."

Bangladesh celebrates harvest season
Photo Gallery - A quote...."Bangladeshi women participate in an event marking the Nabannon festival in Dhaka on November 15, 2009."

Free The Forgotten Bird Of Paradise
Special Note - A quote...."November 16, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- When General Suharto, the west’s man, seized power in Indonesia in the mid-1960s, he offered “a gleam of light in Asia”, rejoiced Time magazine. That he had killed up to a million “communists” was of no account in the acquisition of what Richard Nixon called “the richest hoard of natural resources, the greatest prize in South-east Asia”. -- In November 1967, the booty was handed out at an extraordinary conference in a lakeside hotel in Geneva. The participants included the most powerful capitalists in the world, the likes of David Rockefeller, and senior executives of the major oil companies and banks, General Motors, British American Tobacco, Imperial Chemical Industries, American Express, Siemens, Goodyear, US Steel." -- also posted at DProgram
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11-16-09 - revised 11-18-09
mpg

Manufacturing a Terror Threat in Latin America
A quote...."Despite Iran not having any military presence in the region, Norman A. Bailey, former head of intelligence for Cuba and Venezuela under the Bush Administration, told members of Congress that, “It is becoming increasingly clear that one of the principal motivations of all this activity [by Iran] is to be able to retaliate against the United States if it is attacked.” 

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War threat between Venezuela and Colombia increases
Related Article - A quote...."The threat of a war between Venezuela and Colombia increased over the weekend after both countries deployed more troops along their border and President Hugo Chavez branded his Colombian counterpart a "mafioso"." -- also posted at DProgram

Bolivia re-invents democratic socialism with Indigenous people in the lead - Article also posted at ICH
Special Note - (What a government can do, if it actually serves "the people", instead of the other way around) -- A quote...."On December 6, Bolivia will hold a general election where Evo Morales, the first Indigenous President in South America will no doubt be re-elected.  His party, the MAS,  has recently released an election programme that Susan Harvie has kindly summarized and translated.  Bolivia is reinventing democractic socialism.
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Walls of Shame
Must Read - A quote...."Occupational governments, who erect such walls, claim that walls are needed to ensure security. One should notice that these walls are built to divide countries and cities into halves, to separate members of same family in order to disintegrate their social structure, to separate people from their farmland in order to destroy their economy, and to separate people, who had shared same culture and history for thousands of years, in order to destroy a nation."

Humanity targeted in Gaza
A quote...."There was a time, not so long ago in fact, when opposing armies would line up across from each other with nothing but green fields between them and take turns exchanging fire. While these tactics were very efficient at killing soldiers on both sides, civilians were rarely ever hurt. -- Somewhere along the line this all changed. Whether it was because of industrialization, urbanization or adaptations in military strategy, one stark and indisputable fact remains: at the beginning of the twentieth century the ratio of civilian to military deaths in wars was one to eight and by the end of it inverted to eight to one."

Human rights center condemns Israel’s “illegal combatant” law
A quote...."GAZA, (PIC)-- The Mizan center for human rights has strongly condemned Monday the Israeli “illegal combatant” law that allows the IOA to arrest and detain any Palestinian citizen indefinitely even without being charged, urging the international body to reject that law." - bold by website editor - Sounds familiar doesn't it folks?  We give Israel billions of dollars a year in aid, and they give to our legal system the equivalent of a venereal disease.  How nice of them. - mpg

'Israel using Palestinians as guinea pigs'  -- This is a warcrime. - mpg
A quote...."The Sawasya Center for Human Rights has stated that the Israel is using Palestinians held in its detention centers as guinea pigs to test the effectiveness of new drugs manufactured by its health industry."

Gideon Levy on Israel's addiction to the occupation - Alt - (RN-YouTube - 7 min 19 sec - November 16, 2009
RN-Video - Special Note - A quote...."Levy: Israel is in a 'coma' and needs outside help to get over its addiction to the occupation"

Israel Threatens to Annex More Palestinian Land
A quote...."Israel has threatened to annex more land in the occupied West Bank, should Palestinians declare statehood without concluding a peace agreement. -- "If the Palestinians take such a unilateral line, Israel should also consider ... passing a law to annex some of the settlements," Environment Minister Gilad Erdan, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Israel Radio on Monday." -- You have to understand folks, to the Jews of Israel their "laws" have just as much force and weight, if not more, than the ENTIRE international community's many laws regarding the settling of international borders and recognition of national states.  If it hasn't become abundantly clear to everyone yet, it should be apparent by now....we are ALL Palestinians to the Israelis. – mpg

What's next?
A quote...."Whatever lies ahead after Abbas's notification of not seeking the Palestinian presidency again, the status quo ante is over for good, writes Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

U.S. Stomps on Honduran Democracy, Militarizes Colombia
Contains Audio - Quote of the Day...."When it comes to Latin America, there is a difference between the Obama and Bush administrations. Bush huffed and puff and blustered while committing aggression against Latin neighbors; Obama smiles and mouths words of peace, and then commits much the same crimes. He is preparing Latin America as the next theater of war."

Grandmother of the Resistance: "Only the people can save the people"
A quote...."We are here with the famous grandmother of the resistance. Tell us your name and a little about the struggle of the Honduran people."
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ABC News Exclusive: Obama Admin Slashed 60,000 Jobs From Recent Stimulus Report
A quote...."The Obama administration, under fire for inflating job growth from the $787 billion stimulus plan, slashed over 60,000 jobs from its most recent report on the program because the reporting outlets had submitted “unrealistic data,” according to a document obtained by ABC News."

The worst is yet to come: Unemployed Americans should hunker down for more job losses
A quote...."While losing 200,000 jobs per month is better than the 700,000 jobs lost in January, current job losses still average more than the per month rate of 150,000 during the last recession. -- Also, remember: The last recession ended in November 2001, but job losses continued for more than a year and half until June of 2003; ditto for the 1990-91 recession. -- So we can expect that job losses will continue until the end of 2010 at the earliest. In other words, if you are unemployed and looking for work and just waiting for the economy to turn the corner, you had better hunker down. All the economic numbers suggest this will take a while. The jobs just are not coming back."

Dollar falls, sending gold to record high
A quote...."LONDON (AFP) – The dollar fell on Monday as China accused the United States of increasing protectionism and following unexpectedly strong Japanese economic growth figures, pushing gold prices to a record high point."

Sunday November 15th 2009

Obama’s Betrayals
Must Read - A quote...."After President Obama announced he would fight the release of photographs showing American soldiers abusing “war on terror” detainees, Richard Haass, president of the quintessentially mainstream Council on Foreign Relations, said that Obama had learned the difference between campaigning and governing. [i.e. the difference between what he promised, and what the parasitic class will allow - mpg] He wasn’t being sarcastic."

Twenty Years From Now, You Will Lie To Your Children - posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."November 15, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- Take a look at a video of George W. Bush speaking to the nation five or six years ago. -- Like a pop single from 1962 (or 2002, for that matter), it didn’t age very well. -- It’s astonishing that this transparently frightened man was the leader of the free world for eight years, and was given so much license to commit so much destruction. -- But, then, nothing seems to define our era quite so much as license. -- We give ourselves license to incur fantastic levels of national debt, and hand the bill to the next generation. -- We give ourselves license to invade other countries on the most patently bogus of pretexts, bringing disaster upon them and us. -- Or at least some of us, that is, because we also give ourselves license to allow a tiny fraction of the population to carry the entire national security burden for all the rest of us. -- We give ourselves license to spend half again as much as any other country in the world on healthcare, only to be ranked 37th ‘best’ by the World Health Organization, just so we don’t have to do the simple work of writing corporate predators out of the parasitic cash cow booty feeding troughs in which they’re entrenched."  - also posted at CommonDreams - Regarding the reference to SNL's video -- here it is.
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Order Out of Chaos: CIA, Blackwater Responsible for Bombings, Assassinations in Pakistan
Must Read - Contains Video - A quote...."Newspapers in Pakistan have accused the United States of using Blackwater and other agencies to conduct bombings and targeted assassinations in the country, according to MEMRI translations. MEMRI is a neocon propaganda outfit with connections to Israeli intelligence. -- “Evidence of the private U.S. security firm Blackwater’s involvement in the targeted killings of high-ranking Pakistani military officials has been found,” reports Haftroza Al-Qalam, a Pakistan weekly published in Urdu, one of the two official languages of Pakistan. “According to a report in the Urdu-language magazine Haftroza Al-Qalam, the recent killings of Pakistani military officials represent an old method used by Blackwater in Iraq and South American countries.” -- also posted at DProgram

"War ALWAYS Causes Recession" - Usually after about ten years. - mpg
Must Read - A quote...."PhD economist Marc Faber predicts that the U.S. will launch a war to distract people from the bad economy. -- China's largest media outlet - Sohu.com - wrote in October 2008 that the Rand corporation, a leading U.S. military advisor, lobbied the Pentagon for a war to be started with a major foreign power in an attempt to stimulate the American economy:"

Hayek: “Emergencies Have Always Been the Pretext on Which the Safeguards of Individual Liberty Have Eroded”
A few quotes on this issue from Austrian economist Friedrich von Hayek, Rahm Emanuel, author of the "Shock Doctrine" Naomi Klein and Pulitzer prize winning journalist David Cay Johnston. - mpg - also posted at DProgram

The Truth About the Anthrax Attacks and its Cover-Up - Article also posted at ICH
Must Read - A quote...."November 15, 2009 "Truth Jihad" -- On September 16 and 17, 2008, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees respectively, conducted “Amerithrax oversight” hearings consisting of questioning FBI Director Robert Mueller. Despite widespread concern about the integrity of Amerithrax, the colloquy during these hearings was largely feeble. Congressman Nadler did manage to ask the $64,000 question. Salon.com journalist Glen Greenwald recounted this as follows:" - also posted at Uruknet -- For more on this issue see....US-False Flag Ops - Bruce Ivins

The media's silly Fort Hood coverage
A quote...."The conventional narrative of the Fort Hood shootings, one week later, has been distinguished by the reporting of unconfirmed -- and sometimes incorrect -- details and the drawing of dubious conclusions. The only thing that suggests the current story will withstand the test of time better than the initial Pat Tillman myth (that he died in combat, rather than by friendly fire), or the overheated tale of heroism by Jessica Lynch in 2003 (which Lynch herself protested), is that two basic facts seem clear: The shootings certainly happened, and given the number of eyewitnesses, it's almost certain that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan did it."

How ABC News' Brian Ross Cooked His 'Hasan Contacted Al Qaeda' Scoop
Prestitute Alert - Related Article - A quote...."ABC News' Brian Ross has a breathtaking record of recklessly inaccurate, overhyped stories that don't live up to the headline. His scoop yesterday about Nidal Malik Hasan's "attempt to reach out to al Qaeda" was one of them. -- Ross' report yesterday that Hasan had attempted to "make contact with people associated with al Qaeda" took over the internet yesterday and sparked a furious round of speculation that Hasan's attack was part of an Islamic terrorist plot." -- also posted at AlethoNews -- For more on this issue see....US Fake Intel / Propaganda - Brian Ross - For a contrast to ABC's prestitute shown above, watch the video shown below. - mpg

An NBC Journalist Told Truth, So They Destroyed Her - (YT YouTube - 6 min 14 sec - November 13, 2009)
YT Video -- Related Video - (Young Turks) -- A quote...."Links to Ashleigh Banfield's speech here: http://www.theyoungturks.co...

Camp Lejeune whistle-blower fired
A quote...."A psychiatrist who tried to prevent Fort Hood-style violence among Marines about to "lose it" instead loses his job"

Gates bars abuse photos’ release
A quote...."Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates ruled on Friday that 44 photos that reportedly show abuse of detainees by the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan cannot be released publicly.  The Obama Administration notified the Supreme Court on Friday evening of this action by the Pentagon leader, and urged the Court to set aside a lower court ruling directing release of those photos.  The new brief was filed in Defense Department v. American Civil Liberties Union (09-160)." -- also posted at OhBummer & WarInIraq

"Obama administration 'revives discredited military commissions by trying a child soldier' Khadr to stand trial at military tribunal -- U.S., Canada embracing Bush-era disdain for justice in trying to find a forum to guarantee conviction, critics say 14 Nov 2009 Omar Khadr's fate remains in the legal twilight of widely denounced military tribunals, despite President Barack Obama's promise to end the makeshift Bush-era system for putting terrorists on trial and to shutter the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison camp. Instead, the Obama administration has tinkered with, but not scrapped, military commissions and intends to put a child soldier on trial, the first time it has been done at a war crimes tribunal since the Second World War. The Harper government applauded the decision, even as it fought in Canada's Supreme Court to overturn an order to bring Mr. Khadr home. He has been imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay for nearly eight years. Mr. Khadr, who has been in prison - including years in solitary - since 2002 may still be years away from having his case heard. "Any trial before the revised system of military commissions will carry the stigma of Guantanamo," said Human Rights Watch in a statement that accused the Obama administration of reviving the "discredited military commissions by trying a child soldier." -- Paragraph posted at CLG

"Britain's Abu Ghraib: Did Britain collude with US in abuse [and torture] of Iraqis? 14 Nov 2009 Claims that British soldiers recreated the torture conditions of Abu Ghraib to commit the sexual and physical abuse of Iraqi civilians are being investigated by the Ministry of Defence. In one case, British soldiers are accused of piling bodies of Iraqi prisoners on top of each other and subjecting them to electric shocks, an echo of the abuse at the notorious US detention centre at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison. One claimants says he as raped by two British soldiers, and others say they were stripped naked, abused and photographed... "They made him strip naked and started messing with his penis and taking photos. On one occasion I refused to pick a fight, then a soldier kicked me hard on my back, which made me fall on the floor. He started hitting me with a baton on my knees. Then he used an electric baton on different parts of my body." -- Paragraph posted at CLG -- Must be the New Roman Empire's influence on Britain's slimiest, although rumor tells it, many of them....ah hem.....started out that way. – mpg

Ministry of Defense investigating fresh Iraq abuse claims - More US-NRE influence. - mpg
A quote...."Some 33 allegations of abuse involving British soldiers who served in Iraq are being investigated, the Ministry of Defense said today. " -- For more on the articles shown above see....US - Torture & Sex Perv.

Dozens of Gitmo Detainees Finally Get Day in Court
A quote...."In courtrooms barred to the public, dozens of terror suspects are pleading for their freedom from the Guantanamo Bay prison, sometimes even testifying on their own behalf by video from the U.S. naval base in Cuba. --
Complying with a Supreme Court ruling last year, 15 federal judges in the U.S. courthouse here are giving detainees their day in court after years behind bars half a world away from their homelands."

Legal Case Filed Against 4 US Presidents & 4 UK Prime Ministers for War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity & Genocide in Iraq -- A quote...."For Justice For Iraq: Legal Case Filed Against Four US Presidents and Four UK Prime Ministers for War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide in Iraq | Press Release."
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Afghan exit plan for NZ troops - link posted at ICH
A quote...."The Government is working on an exit plan to pull all New Zealand troops out of Afghanistan. -- Defence minister Wayne Mapp has admitted that plan includes an acceptance the Taliban will have to be included in any meaningful new government in the country once the Western soldiers leave."

German foreign minister calls for Afghan withdrawal plan
A quote...."Berlin - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called Sunday for preliminary work over the next four years towards laying down a plan to withdraw German troops from Afghanistan. -- Speaking on ZDF television, he said, 'In the life of this parliament, we have to get sufficiently far with the concept of self- sustained security that a perspective for withdrawal comes into view.'"

Report: Missing Iran general abducted by Mossad, being held in Israel - link posted at ICH
A quote...."A former Iranian defense official who disappeared in 2006 was kidnapped by forces collaborating with the Mossad and is currently being held in an Israeli prison, an investigative news website in Iran claimed on Sunday in a report picked up by Army Radio. -- Ali-Reza Asgari, a onetime commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, went missing in Turkey in 2006."

Veto-wielding China says 'no' to Iran sanctions
Special Note - A quote...."As US President Barack Obama plans to pay his first official visit to Beijing, China signals its opposition to new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. -- The Chinese government believes that negotiation sides should make efforts to settle issues regarding Iran's nuclear case through "political and diplomatic" talks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told IRNA on Saturday. -- He added that a diplomatic and permanent solution to Iran's nuclear issue will help bring about peace and stability to the Middle East. -- As a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, said the spokesman." - bold by website editor - also posted at AlethoNews -- Yeah, it's totally mind blowing isn't it folks?  There really is another country out there which thinks the terms of a signed treaty should actually be honored, despite what the US-NRE and Israel think about the issue.  No doubt the AIPAC/Israeli/Obama combo will go totally berserk and unleash ALL kinds of vitriol against China.  But that's just the way it is.  Every country out there should understand no treaty, contract, promise, affirmation, oath, agreement or bond will ever be honored by the US-NRE or Israel if they think it's in their interest not to do so.  It's just a fact of life.  Any documents signed by these two miscreants aren't worth the paper they're printed on.

In warning to Russia, Iran says it can build S-300
A quote...."With the delivery of an advanced air defense system to Iran long overdue by Russia, Tehran says it is capable of mass-producing replicas of the controversial Russian-made missile in the near future." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Taliban record American defeat in Nuristan - Alt - (YouTube - 3 min 9 sec - November 12, 2009)
Video - It was one of the deadliest attacks of the war for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The target: a remote U.S. outpost in Wanat, Nuristan. The date: July 13, 2008. ABC News has obtained a view of the battle unseen until now: the attack, filmed by the Taliban as they assaulted the base. The exclusive video of the attack was obtained via the NEFA Foundation. -- The video begins by showing Taliban fighters walking on a mountain path. They appear relaxed and comfortable, walking through the area armed but unchallenged. They are heard chatting calmly on their radios."

Yemen conflict widens, causing growing concerns
A quote...."Humanitarian agencies voice deep concern over a worsening crisis in Saudi Arabia's southwest and in northern Yemen where Riyadh has been bombing villages."

US says no military cooperation deal with Yemen
At least publicly.  Perhaps the Obama administration is getting a little sensitive to the public's reluctance (finally) for getting involved in another endless conflict.  No doubt the US-NRE is privately sending billions worth of armaments along with assorted advisors, CIA spooks, torturers, contract killers, specialists and other purveyors of mayhem and murder to "help" the Yemeni "government" kill more of its own people. - mpg -- A quote...."WASHINGTON (AFP) – The Pentagon said on Friday the United States had not signed a military cooperation deal with Yemen, refuting a report from Sanaa's official news agency. -- "There were no agreements signed," spokesman Bryan Whitman told AFP."

15-fold rise in birth defects in Fallujah
A quote...."There has been a 15-fold rise in birth defects and early childhood cancers in the war-ravaged enclave of Fallujah, the site of two major battles after the Iraq invasion, doctors say."

Russia, Slovenia sign final agreement on South Stream pipeline
A quote...."NOVO-OGARYOVO (Moscow Region), November 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Saturday has signed a final agreement with all respective partners on building and utilizing the South Stream gas pipeline. -- The intergovernmental document between Russia and Slovenia was earlier signed by the energy ministers of both countries. -- "South Stream will become an all-European large energy project and we signed today the final agreement with all of the necessary European partners for us to be able to complete this project," Putin told journalists at his Moscow suburban residence." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Obama vs Hatoyama: The making of an unequal, unconstitutional, illegal, colonial and deceitful US-Japan agreement.
A quote...."Elections at the end of August gave Japan a new government, headed by Hatoyama Yukio. In electing him and his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the Japanese people, like the American people less than a year earlier, were opting for change – a new relationship with both Asia and the US, including a much more equal one with the latter. Remarkably, however, what followed on the part of the Obama administration has been a campaign of unrelenting pressure to block any such change. -- The Obama administration has targeted in particular the Hatoyama desire to re-negotiate the relationship with the United States so as to make it equal instead of dependent."

Pro-Israel lobby group bankrolling [British] Tories, film claims
Special Note - A quote...."Pro-Israeli organisations in Britain look set to see their influence increase if the Conservatives win the next election, a film scrutinising the activities of a powerful but little-known lobby warns today. -- At least half of the shadow cabinet are members of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), according to a Dispatches programme being screened on Channel 4. The programme-makers describe the CFI as "beyond doubt the most well- connected and probably the best funded of all Westminster lobbying groups". -- also posted at Uruknet

The Israel lobby and the Jewish kings
Special Note - Quote of the Day (in bold/underline)...."When people ask why Obama has capitulated to the prime minister of a tiny state– Bibi Netanyahu– various theories are offered about Health care first, or the economy, or Afghanistan, or oil. Few say directly: Netanyahu feels invulnerable because of the Israel lobby in the U.S. As readers of this site know, I am a bull on this issue: I think the lobby has a tremendous amount of power. And all efforts to poohpooh its influence strike me as foolish until such time as the media address it openly and vigorously, as they do, say, the gun lobby. Once there’s information and sunshine, we can argue about its magnitude. -- The difficulty is that you cannot be plain about this matter without addressing the idea of Jewish influence. Israelis are often more plain about this. Anshel Pfeffer wrote in Haaretz the other day, "the most significant joint endeavor of America’s Jews [is] six decades of unswerving support for the Israeli government of the day." I.e., a hammerlock on U.S. policy." - also posted at OhBummer -- For more on this issue see....Judeo-Christian C/C & US
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

The Weakness of the Goldstone Report
Must Read - A quote...."Richard Goldstone has said repeatedly since the report came out, and he made it clear in the report itself, that he and his staff did not even consider the causes of the recent attacks in Gaza. In fact, the first 20 minutes of his speech in this video deals primarily with him saying over and over again that Israel has a right and even a “responsibility” to defend its citizens against attacks, and for that reason, his investigation didn’t delve into the CAUSE  of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead. -- It’s a good thing too. Because had he and his staff looked into it, they would have found that Hamas had been honoring the cease-fire agreement they had with Israel right up until Israel, under the cover of the presidential elections of this country on Nov. 4th 2008, openly violated the cease-fire agreement and provocatively attacked Hamas members, killing 6 of them.  The US media completely ignored this unprovoked attack."

A Thorn In The World’s Side - Article also posted at ICH
Must Read - Some quotes...."An Israeli professor who quietly left a prestigious British university told me: “My academic and social life there was intolerable. Colleagues stayed away from me as if I was a leper. I was not invited to meetings, which were shifted from university buildings to private residences in order to keep me out. The fact I openly expressed leftist views was to no avail. My objection to the occupation and endorsement of a return to the 1967 borders made no difference. In practice, I became ostracized.”  -- "We are in the midst of a freefall on the foreign affairs front. The cold peace with three Muslim states – Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey – has turned into a cold war. Israelis are unwelcome guests in these and many other states, where in the past we were embraced.  Meanwhile, Israel failed in its efforts to isolate Ahmadinejad’s Iran and disqualify it as a member of the family of nations. Ahmadinejad is having a grand time." -- "The intimate dialogue that in the past characterized the relationship between the US president and Israel’s prime minister is paralyzed. The pipeline of dialogue is clogged. India and China, the two emerging powers, voted in favor of adopting the Goldstone Report at the UN’s human rights commission. Ever since then, it has been etched on Israel’s forehead as a Sign of Cain." - bold by website editor - also posted at DProgram -- It is NOT the fact that India and China actually honored their commitments to the Geneva Conventions and the UN charter by endorsing the Goldstone Report that "etched" the mark of Cain upon Israel's collective forehead, it is in fact Israel’s own immoral and criminal ACTIONS which "etched” that particular brand of shame upon its collective forehead. - mpg -- For more on this issue see....Gaza Invasion of 12/27/08

Norwegian doctor: Israel terrorist state
A quote...."LONDON, (PIC)-- Dr. Mads Gilbert has accused Israel of being a "terrorist state" led by losers, whose natural place is in prison after standing trial at the international court of justice for their crimes against the Palestinian people."

Palestinian farmers denied access to water in disputed West Bank - Alt - (YouTube - 2 min 46 sec - Nov. 14, 2009)
Video - A quote...."Israel dubs Palestinian farmers trying in vain to irrigate their lands "water pirates". -- Palestinian farmers in the West Bank, or "water pirates" as Israeli occupation forces prefer to call them, are siphoning off drinking water pipes in an effort to secure water to irrigate their farmland."

Settlers cut olive trees south of Nablus
A quote...."A group of 25 settlers from Yitzhar settlement, south of Nablus, cut down 97 olive trees in the village of Burin this morning. The attack comes on the heels of a similar attack made 5 weeks ago, and a continued campaign of intimidation and harrassment of Burin’s residents from nearby settlements Yitzhar and Bracha."

Fragmenting Palestinian land
A quote...."Twenty-one-year-old Palestinian student Berlanty Azzam was seized by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the West Bank last month. Bound and blindfolded, she was forcibly deported to the Gaza Strip. Berlanty was in her final semester at Bethlehem University in the West Bank, and was returning from a job interview in Ramallah." -- also posted at IMEU

Eighteen demonstrators arrested after a gate in the Wall was breached in Deir alGhussoun
A quote...."Eighteen demonstrators were arrested today in the West Bank village of Deir alGhussoun, north of Tulkarem, after Israel’s Separation Wall was breached by Palestinian, Israeli and international activists. The protesters intended to march to village’s lands that were left isolated behind the Wall, and managed to break open one of the barrier’s gates."

Palestinian People Will Not Live As Slaves Under Occupation
A quote...."During a conference held at Wattan Media Center, MP Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, exposed the current political situation in the Palestinian territory. “What we see today” declared Dr Barghouti in the opening of his speech “is a deep and concerning political crisis whose origins reside in Israeli policies - international and humanitarian law violations and the ongoing occupation on Palestinian people and their land”."

Palestinians to ask UN to endorse independent state
Related Article - A quote...."GAZA STRIP, November 16 (RIA Novosti) - The Palestinian authorities are preparing to ask the UN Security Council to endorse the independent Palestinian state, the chief Palestinian negotiator has said. -- "Under the initiative of the head of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization seeks to enlist support of Arab states, Europe, Russia, China and other international groups, in order to have an opportunity to apply to the UN Security Council a resolution for the recognition of the independence of the Palestinian state in its June 1967 borders," Saeb Erekat told journalists." - bold by website editor -- also posted at Uruknet

Israeli PM threatens unilateral moves as Palestinians seek UN recognition of statehood
Related Article - They even threaten just like Nazi thugs - mpg - A quote...."JERUSALEM, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned that his country would respond with its own unilateral moves to any unilateral steps by the Palestinians, reported local daily Ha'aretz." -- also posted at Uruknet

Hamas: Israel fabricating pretext for new Gaza war - link posted at ICH
Related Article - A quote...."Hamas on Saturday accused Israel of fabricating a pretext for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, after Israel said the Islamist militant group had test-fired a rocket that could reach Tel Aviv. -- "These claims are part of the Israeli lies to justify a new aggression on the Gaza Strip," said Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas' spokesman in Gaza, in a statement."

Dublin: Hundreds Attend Rally Against Israeli Apartheid in Palestine
Action Update - Photo Gallery - A quote...."Today Saturday 14th November 2009 hundreds of Palestinians and solidarity activists rallied in Dublin to protest against Israel’s apartheid practices in Palestine. The rally - part of an international week of global mobilisation against the walls of apartheid in Palestine from November 9th to 16th 2009, called by the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign – was compèred by Freda Hughes (IPSC PRO), Caoimhe Butterly (renowned Irish human rights activist), Ger Cassidy (Viva Palestina), Sameh Habeeb (Gazan Journalist and human rights activist), John Hurson (Where Do the Children Play?), Pete St. John-Jones (International Solidarity Activist in Bil’in)." -- also posted at Uruknet

"My film makes you part of Gaza's reality"
Interview - Electronic Intifada interviews director Alberto Arce regarding his new film "To Shoot an Elephant" -- A quote...."Directed by Alberto Arce and Mohammed Rjuailah, To Shoot an Elephant is a documentary film that offers an eyewitness account from the Gaza Strip during Israel's assault last winter. During the attacks, when the Israeli military banned foreign journalists from entering the Strip, Arce managed to stay inside Gaza and filmed how medical teams and hospitals were targeted by Israeli forces while performing their duties." -- also posted at Uruknet
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SNL uses Biden to mock Obama for caving on health care
Contains Video - Regarding the Health Care Rip-Off -- A quote...."Vice President Joe Biden, played by Jason Sudeikis, told the Saturday Night Live audience he was going to solve one of three major problems while his boss is gone. President Barack Obama embarked on an nine-day trip to Asia Thursday, "so for the next week, Joe's running things." -- He said he is not worried about the economy or unemployment. "The stimulus is working. Right now there are thousands of new jobs being created every day across America," he said. -- "Foreclosure lawyers and repo men, temps and bankruptcy specialists, don't tell me no one is hiring...."
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Job Losses Demystified
A quote...." If Obama really wants to know what's behind entrenched joblessness, he should start by looking at the man in the mirror. -- Obama is pursuing, with unprecedented vigor, the same policies that have for decades undermined our industrial base and yoked us to an unsustainable consumer/credit driven economy. This doubling down on Washington's past failures is destroying jobs at an alarming rate. Today we learned that the September trade deficit surged by 18.2%, the largest gain in ten years. Much of the deficit resulted from Americans spending Cash-for-Clunkers stimulus money on imported cars – or “American” cars loaded to the sunroof with imported parts. In exchange for more domestic debt, we have succeeded only in creating foreign jobs."

Junk In, Investment Grade Out: FAQs About Credit Rating Agencies
Satire - A quote...."The Senate Banking Committee, led by Senator Chris Dudd, is proposing a bill that would establish a new Office of Credit Rating Agencies at the SEC to implement new internal controls for credit ratings agencies (CRAs) to follow, improve transparency of the rating process, and impose penalties on agencies for poor performance and regulatory violations.  Sounds like they mean business this time, but don’t worry — as the Atlantic points out, the proposed reforms probably only mean business as usual. -- The last time the SEC was put in charge of administering regulatory changes that were force-fed to the CRA industry — under the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006 — Chairman Christopher “Never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity to do my job” Cox, had the good sense not to go overboard.  Or even onboard. "

Former Vice President of Dallas Fed: Tarp Didn’t Restore Health of Banking System
A quote...."Newsweek has a one year retrospective on the Tarp bailouts which contains the following important quotes:"

22 Percent of Florida Mortgages Non-Current
A quote...."A staggering 22 percent of all mortgages in the state of Florida are non-current, according to a new report from Lender Processing Services. -- By non-current, they mean loans that are either delinquent or in some stage of foreclosure; perhaps more troubling is the fact that 10.4 percent of home loans in Florida are in foreclosure." -- also posted at DProgram

Would Our Government Really Start a War to Try to Stimulate the Economy? It already has, several times in fact.
A quote...."I've written two essays attempting to disprove "military Keynesianism" - the idea that military spending is the best stimulus. See this and this. -- In response, a reader challenged me to prove that anyone would advocate military spending or war as a fiscal stimulus." -- For more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate & Total Nonfarm Payrolls

A financial system which has almost exclusively benefited the wealthy
A quote...."The second stimulus package has been a failure. The third package, as we predicted last January, will go to debate early next year. Our guess is a congressional package of $400 to $800 billion and a bank lending increase of some 14%. That is the amount they cut lending over the past year. More money will be thrown at the system. It won’t work, and in 2010, we should see official inflation back at 5% and unofficial inflation at more than 14%. The housing credit will be extended, as will unemployment benefits and seniors will get another $250 check. Yes, we will also get another clunker Car program. This should send the economy sideways into mid-2011 or perhaps to 2012. Unemployment will reach a real U6 figure of 23% by the end of the year. Give or take two points unemployment should stay at this level for about two years. In 2011 inflation will pass 30%. We will have a better figure later. In other words, a delaying action, but no real recovery."

Investors Cut Back US Stocks, Seeking Bigger Growth Abroad
A quote...."Even as the US market continues to rally, many institutional investors are trimming their US holdings and putting more money in foreign stocks—especially those in emerging markets."

Saturday November 14th 2009

No posts. - mpg

Friday November 13th 2009

Beloved Enemy: Paying for the Privilege of Perpetual War
Must Read - A quote...."Our American militarists love war so much that they even bankroll the enemy, just to keep the blood money flowing. This odd but absolutely crucial characteristic of the Never-Ending Terror War was borne out again in a remarkable story in the Guardian (with an expanded version in The Nation)." -- also posted at Uruknet

Morality vs. Material Interests - Myths of Our Time
Must Read - A quote...."By invading Iraq the US started a civil war between Sunni and Shi’ite. In Pakistan the US has started a civil war between the religious tribal population and the secular US puppet state. In Palestine the US started a civil war between Fatah and Hamas. -- One continuously reads from those Americans opposed to America’s wars of aggression that the wars are possible because they don’t affect Americans, just those few who sign up for the voluntary military. Thus, there are insufficient material interests at stake to stop the war. This is a common explanation for the weakness of the antiwar movement. -- One could argue instead that it is the triumph of Karl Marx’s materialist thinking that has made moral protests impotent. What is morality? You can’t weigh it, define it, measure it. It can be dismissed as the whining of material interests. In contrast, material interests, such as lives, limbs, and bank accounts are real. -- For whatever the reason, morality has shown itself to be an impotent force in 21st century America."    

Fort Hood & the Perversion of Language:  “The Shooter Was a Soldier”
Must Read - Quote of the Day...."November 13, 2009 -- Information Clearing House...."


"This quote is from Sean Penn speaking last August in Denver, CO at a rally to open the presidential debates to “third parties” and independent candidates.  This excerpt was part of Penn’s attempt at foreshadowing how violence could become the last line of defense against a corrupt government and debased political process that is devoid of substantive democratic debate and participation."
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Systemic Success: Blood Money and Black Gold in Iraq
Special Note - A quote...."The New York Times is shocked -- shocked! -- to find personal enrichment of American elites at the heart of the rape and gutting of Iraq. Who could possibly have ever foreseen such a scenario as the Times revealed on Thursday, describing how "influential American adviser" Peter Galbraith helped "ram through" highly controversial provisions in the constitution that the occupying force and its collaborators imposed – provisions that could put more than $100 million in Galbraith's pocket. -- Of course, Galbraith's war-profiteering machinations are hardly unique; the roll call of "advisers" and officials and other insiders feasting on Iraqi corpseflesh is longer than the Mississippi, and considerably more muddy. Just this week, the Financial Times noted that another gaggle of occupation geese, "including Zalmay Khalilzad, former US ambassador to Baghdad, and Jay Garner," the first appointed satrap of the conquered land, are now cashing in on their blood-soaked connections in Iraq." -- also posted at Uruknet

Rebuilding Its Economy, Iraq Shuns U.S. Businesses
Special Note - Related Article - A quote...."BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Baghdad Trade Fair ended Tuesday, six years and a trillion dollars after the American invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and one country was conspicuously absent. -- At a recent trade fair in Baghdad, companies from several nations were on hand to promote goods and services, but companies from the United States were notably absent. Above, a corporate booth at the fair’s Iranian pavilion. -- That would be the country that spent a trillion dollars [actually, after it's all said and done, it'll be more like three trillion dollars.] — on the invasion and occupation, but also on training and equipping Iraqi security forces, and on ambitious reconstruction projects in every province aimed at rebuilding the country and restarting the economy. -- Yet when the post-Saddam Iraqi government swept out its old commercial fairgrounds and invited companies from around the world, the United States was not much in evidence among the 32 nations represented. Of the 396 companies that exhibited their wares, “there are two or three American participants, but I can’t remember their names,” said Hashem Mohammed Haten, director general of Iraq’s state fair company."

It's obvious the New York Times believes it's OK to invade someone's home under false pretenses, maim, torture, and murder members of the family, totally trash and gut the place, squat there and attempt to steal their valuables, (a crime in progress) hire corrupt cronies to charge outrageous sums of money for doing almost nothing, and than complain bitterly that the homeowners (the few that are left alive) for some reason are reluctant to do any more "business" with the rest of the home wrecking thugs' corrupt friends and carpet baggers.  As they would probably say....


For more on this sort of issue see....An Individual Commitment - 11-03-09 - mpg & We'll make them an offer they can't refuse. - 09-06-06 - mpg
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Taliban Establish Rival Government in Nuristan - After US Pullout, Taliban Appoints Officials - posted at AntiWar
A quote...."In a sign that the Taliban’s de facto control over the Nuristan Province is becoming more and more formal, one of the commanders of the group’s forces in the province says the Taliban is setting up a rival government. -- According to Dost Mohammed, the commander in question, the group has established its own judiciary and is appointing administrative officials, and it setting about to provide basic needs to the remote province’s residents." -- Sigh!!  There go those pesky natives again, thinking it's actually their country!!  Can you believe it, just how rude can people get? When will all those natives out there learn the countries they reside in aren't theirs anymore, that ALL of them now belong to the New Roman Empire. Gee whiz, just how many more countries are we going to have to bomb and invade to make that point clear? - mpg
 
Taliban torch 8 NATO trucks, kill driver in Bolan, Khuzdar
A quote...."QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen on Friday killed a truck driver and torched eight oil tankers in two separate attacks on NATO supplies in Balochistan’s Bolan and Khuzdar districts. According to the details, both the attacks were carried out in the early hours of Friday."

Bomb targets Peshawar spy agency
A quote...."A car bomb explosion has killed at least ten people and badly damaged a building belonging to Pakistan's national intelligence agency, in the Pakistani city of Peshawar."

Eight killed, 22 injured in Bannu police station attack
A quote...."PESHAWAR: At least eight people – including seven security officials – were killed and 22 injured in a suicide attack at a police station in Bannu on Friday. The bomber struck 25 minutes after the suicide attack on the ISI building in Peshawar. A police official told Daily Times that a suicide attacker rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the Bakkakhel Police Station on Miranshah Road – killing seven security personnel, two FC troops and a pedestrian."

In Pakistan, 15 arrested over Iran consulate case
A quote...."Pakistan's intelligence agencies have arrested 15 suspects for their alleged involvement in the assassination of a local official at Iran's consulate in Peshawar."

Iran's Top General Raps Russia Over S-300
A quote...."TEHRAN (FNA)- A top Iranian commander has criticized Russia for its procrastination over delivery to Iran of the sophisticated anti-aircraft system known as S-300."

Iran takes OIC to task for inaction on Yemen
A quote...."A senior Iranian cleric has taken the Organization of the Islamic Conference to task for its inaction over the ongoing crisis in northern Yemen. -- Delivering an address as Tehran's interim Friday Prayers leader, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said "certain Islamic countries have formed an alliance with the Yemeni government to crack down on the Shia population of Saada Province."

"U.S. Moves to Seize 4 Mosques and Skyscraper 'Tied to Iran' --The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres in Virginia; and a 36-story glass office tower in New York. 12 Nov 2009 Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled [?!?] by the Iranian government. In what could prove to be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets. [Maybe other nations will return the favor and start seizing US assets, since the US is a key backer and perpetuator of international terrorism.]" -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

War of intelligence between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies - Alt - (YouTube - 2 min 26 sec - Nov. 13, 2009)
Video - A quote...."War of intelligence between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies."

Hizbullah 'knows everything' about Israel's border force
Related Article - A quote...."BEIRUT: One day after Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel it would be defeated if it launched another war, an Israeli newspaper on Thursday published excerpts from an alleged Hizbullah document suggesting the group knows everything about Israel’s military activity along the Lebanese border."

Syria dismisses Israeli offer for peace talks as mere word games
A quote...."Netanyahu told Sarkozy he was ready to start peace negotiations with Assad unconditionally, but the Syrian leader said the offer could not be taken at face value. -- “Syria does not have any conditions. Syria has rights and Syria will never give up these rights,” he said at the Elysee Palace following his meeting. -- “All this word play from the Israelis is meant to do away demands and rights,” he added. “This can only accentuate instability in the region.” -- Syria has demanded that Israel withdraw fully from the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that it captured from Syria in a 1967 war."

Protests greet Obama in Japan
A quote...."TOKYO (Agencies) - Visiting US President Barack Obama faced a mass protest in central Tokyo on Friday as activists demanded the withdrawal of the 47,000 US troops still based in Japan. -- Demonstrators marched on the US Embassy, where survivors of the US atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki delivered a letter urging Obama to do more to cut Washington’s enormous nuclear weapons stockpile. They demanded that the US bases in Japan must go."

Remember Daniel Pearl?
A quote...."Daniel Pearl was an American Jewish journalist, who was assassinated by the Afghans in 2002. I looked his name up on the Internet, and after 55 references to him, I quit. Why do I bring this up? I do it because at that time, I remember hearing about Daniel Pearl 24/7 on more than one "mainstream" station. There are biographies of Daniel Pearl. There are celebrations of Daniel Pearl. There are endless stories about Daniel Pearl's assassination. There is a Daniel Pearl Foundation. Etc. etc. etc. -- Now, here is some information that was never presented on "mainstream" media. According to Palestine Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow by Dr. Tareq M. Suwaidan there were 9 Palestinian journalists killed in the Intifada between 29 September 2000 to 30 December 2003 by the IDF. That is 9 journalists killed by the Israelis and not a word mentioned."
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Boehner: 9/11 Show Trial an “Irresponsible Decision”
Special Note - A quote...."Fox News tells us the “new” Republican party will save us from the “socialist” excesses of the Obama administration and the Democrats. Republicans are re-thinking their political strategy, we are assured, and embracing constitutional principles. Sarah Palin, the former statist governor of Alaska, is now cast as a Libertarian. Bilderberg attendee Rick Perry is portrayed as a principled constitutionalist. Glenn Beck uses his blackboard to instruct the Republicans on how to reaffirm the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." - also posted at OhBummer -- For more on this issue see....Reficultnias's 9/11 Central

Detainees to get the "state-always-wins" system of "justice"
Special Note - A quote...."Obama's announcement to try 9/11 defendants would be commendable if it applied to all, rather than some, detainees." - also posted at CommonDreams -- We'll see just how much of their so-called evidence remains secret, and whether the defendants will really have the right to examine the evidence, the witnesses, the transcripts and recordings that were made during their so-called "interrogations" (torture) along with any prior and subsequent investigations (cover-ups) and do all the things that need to be done to shed the bright light of PUBLIC disclosure and discovery on these issues.  Including any ties these defendants may have had to the CIA, Pakistan's ISI, Israel's Mossad, the Saudi Royals, and the Bush administration.  This website editor has absolutely no doubt that the faithless, oath breaking, craven members of the Obama administration will do their utmost level best to prevent any disclosure on ALL of these issues.  They simply can't afford not to. - mpg -- For more on this issue see.....9/11-Iraq-Torture Fables

Officials: Top White House lawyer to be pushed out
A quote...."Tokyo (CNN) – In the first major shakeup among President Barack Obama's senior staff, White House Counsel Greg Craig is being pushed out in favor of veteran Democratic lawyer Bob Bauer because of a dispute over plans to close the U.S. military prison in Cuba, CNN has learned. -- Democratic officials said Craig was ousted because of frustration among senior White House aides over his handling of the plans to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. As the White House's top lawyer, Craig was pivotal in advising Obama to sign an executive order during his first week in office promising to shut the prison by the end of January 2010. -- In a politically embarrassing move that has frustrated some of the president's liberal supporters, White House aides have since backed off that deadline, citing complex legal issues surrounding what to do with the approximately 200 terror suspects still detained at Guantanamo."  ---  HAAAAAAAA!!! Haaaaaaaaaaa, Haaaaaaa!!!  Oh MAN those ObamaTrolls are so S-T-U-P-I-D!  Non-stop torture, a world-wide gulag archipelago, illegal wiretaps, executive privilege(s), a growing police state, renditions, twenty four TRILLION dollars to Obama's Bankster friends on Wall Street (to start with), TRILLIONS more to the Empire's Military, the WORST health care plan ever conceived on the PLANET, a crashing economy, three, going on four, possibly even five, ENDLESS, murderous, illegal, occupations, a president who spends at least HALF of his and this nation's time publicly kissing AIPAC's butt and NOW THIS!!  He couldn't even keep this one, tiny, totally symbolic promise to close just ONE out of the hundreds of off-shore prisons the Empire is currently running.  It's pathetic, it's disgusting, it's disgraceful, how the heck do all those ObamaTrolls out there look at themselves in the mirror every morning? – mpg

The Blackwater plot deepens
A quote...."The mercenary firm Blackwater has become a symbol of the utter lawlessness and criminality that permeates the privatised wing of the US war machine. The company's operatives have shot dead scores of Iraqi and Afghan civilians, while former employees allege in sworn statements that Blackwater's owner Erik Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe", and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life". Five Blackwater employees will stand trial in federal court in the US on charges that they slaughtered 14 innocent Iraqis, while a sixth Blackwater operative has already pleaded guilty. The company faces allegations of illicit weapons-smuggling and tax evasion, and is being sued for war crimes. The private army is under fire. And yet, despite all the action, none of the legal bullets has – to date – landed a serious blow." -- also posted at Uruknet

Scahill: Obama may be afraid of Blackwater
Related Article -- A quote...."Despite news reports that the security contractor formerly known as Blackwater has seen its contracts dry up and its influence wane, the company continues to do brisk business in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and the Obama administration may be too afraid of the firm to do anything about it, says investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill."

The October Surprise Crystal Balls - posted at Consortium News
A quote...."In fall 1980, as President Jimmy Carter struggled to free 52 American hostages in Iran and as American voters focused on a crossroads election, key supporters of Republican candidate Ronald Reagan were confident not only of Reagan’s victory but that the hostages wouldn’t be released until after Reagan was sworn in."

Department of Justice Threatens the Internet - Secret State Demands News Organization's Web Logs, Gets Slapped Down -- A small but important victory for "the people" - mpg -- Police State & Press Censorship Alert -- A quote...."Undeterred by the quickly broken promises of the Obama regime to "restore the rule of law," like their Bushist predecessors, Obama's Justice Department is the golden shield that hides from public view the high crimes and misdemeanors of America's corporatist police state. -- Readers of Antifascist Calling are urged to read EFF's well-written analysis. It meticulously dissects the lawless behavior of administration attorneys who, without skipping a beat, attempted to brow-beat a news organization into submission, thus preventing them from doing what they do best: informing the public, not as court stenographers but, as the heroic Israeli journalist Amira Hass has averred by "monitoring the centers of power."

ACTA – Internet Users Guilty Until Proven Innocent - Alt - (YouTube - 3 min 38 sec - November 12, 2009)
RT-Video - Censorship Alert - A quote...."(RussiaToday) – Restrictions being negotiated almost entirely in secret could place restrictions on internet service providers even leading to the cancellation of Internet privileges for repeat offenders. Dina Gusovsky talks to Shelly Roche of the Ladies of Liberty Alliance about the potential restrictions and what they mean for ordinary Internet users."

U.S.:  Army Sends Infant to Protective Services, Mom to Afghanistan
A quote...."VENTURA, California, Nov 13 (IPS) - U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, is being threatened with a military court-martial if she does not agree to deploy to Afghanistan, despite having been told she would be granted extra time to find someone to care for her 11-month-old son while she is overseas." -- also posted at ICH

Bush torture ‘architect’ sits on court that will rule on another torture ‘architect’
A quote...."John Yoo, the former Bush administration lawyer who gained notoriety for penning a number of the so-called "torture memos" justifying the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" on terrorism suspects, has filed an appeal of a lawsuit against him with a court on whose bench sits another torture "architect" from the Bush administration." -- also posted at Uruknet

Protest condemns FBI killing of Muslim leader
A quote...."A demonstration was held outside the McNamara Federal Building in downtown Detroit on Nov. 5 in response to the recent murder by FBI agents of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah. Over 250 people gathered for a rally and speak-out demanding an independent investigation into the Islamic leader’s killing, and the release of 11 people being held in connection with the case. Abdullah, 53, was shot 18 times by FBI agents on Oct. 28 after he and several followers were lured to a warehouse in nearby Dearborn."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory No. 44/'09 / 05-11 Nov '09
Keep in mind folks, this really is just ONE WEEK'S worth of humiliation and oppression. - mpg -- A quote...."

• 6 Palestinian civilians were wounded by Israeli forces in the West Bank.
• 5 of these civilians were wounded when Israeli forces used force against peaceful demonstrations organized to protest the construction of the Annexation Wall in the West Bank.
• Israeli forces conducted 28 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and one into the Gaza Strip.
• Israeli forces arrested 40 Palestinian civilians, including 12 children.
• Israeli naval troops continued to attack Palestinian fishermen and boats in the Gaza Strip.
• Israel has continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
• Israeli troops positioned at military checkpoints and border crossings in the West Bank arrested 8 Palestinian civilians.
• Israel has continued measures aimed at creating a Jewish majority in Jerusalem.
• Israeli forces issued evacuation and demolition orders against 15 houses in the Silwan quarter.
• Israel has continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
• Two Palestinian children were injured as a result of attacks by settlers.

Jewish settlers destroy over 80 olive trees south of Nablus
A quote...."NABLUS, (PIC)-- A number of Jewish settlers on Thursday attacked and destroyed olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers in the village of Burin to the south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus." -- also posted at AlethoNews

Israel 'personally attacking human rights group' after Gaza war criticism
A quote...."America's leading human rights organisation has accused Israel and its supporters of an "organised campaign" of false allegations and misinformation, including "extremely personal attacks" on its staff, in an attempt to discredit the group over its reports of war crimes in Gaza." -- also posted at Uruknet

Israel is a Serial Killer Looking for the Next Victim - In Israel: War is Life~Life is War
Special Note - A quote...."I came across this article from Haaretz. The overall jist of the article is all about how Israel must investigate itself in order to disprove the Goldstone Report. But, what I found to be quite stunning within the article, actually had nothing at all to do with what the article was really about, e.g. the Goldstone Report. -- No, for Israel it is not the Goldstone report, the UN, Iran, Hamas, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria or the never ending list of nations and people Israel doesn't like. No, the problem exists with Israel. And it can be seen clearly within sections of the aforementioned article which I have posted below. That "problem" is the fact, the very sad fact, that for Israel "War is Life, and Life is War." It is what they do, it is all they do, jump from war with one, to preparing for war with another. Israel does not know how to be anything but an armed aggressor,a serial killer, continually looking for its next victim. Existing in a perpetual state of "impending war." Note the ease and "manner of factness" the writer of the article talks about the "Next War" as if it is always inevitable? There can be no other way, there must always be another war. The serial killer is never satisfied, on to the next victim:"

Haniyeh: We do not want violence with Israel
A quote...."Gaza – Ma’an – De facto Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh told a delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross that Gaza is "not looking for more violence," but that he was sure Israel has "plans to target the Gaza Strip once again.” -- also posted at AlethoNews

And, now, who will accept responsibility for the failure?
A quote...."Finally, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has admitted, belatedly, of course,  that 18 years of talks and negotiations with Israel have availed to nothing. --  In an interview with the pro-Fatah news agency, Maan,  on Wednesday, 11 November, the prominent PA negotiator Sa’eb Ureikat  was quoted as saying  that all negotiations with Israel since the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991 produced a zero result."

A glimmer of hope
Some quotes...."The Obama Administration proved twice recently that it intends to continue to consider Israel above the law. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton caused consternation amongst the US's allies in the Palestinian Authority and across the region by declaring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's intention to "restrict" settlement activity in the West Bank "unprecedented." Netanyahu's restriction restricts very little. Three thousand housing units that are already approved will be built." -- "But there is a glimmer of hope that the people of Gaza will see justice. The massacre brought about sweeping change, across the world, in perceptions of Israel. Citizen-led mobilizations in the past few months have showed that where governments have failed, ordinary citizens can, perhaps, make a difference. Even in the US, where public support for Israel has been consistently high, a discourse supporting justice for Palestinians is now voiced in mainstream media." 
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Honduran Elections: Unviable, Illegal
A quote...."Tegucigalpa, Nov 13 (Prensa Latina) San Pedro Sula's Mayor Rodolfo Padilla joined the list of Honduran candidates refusing to participate in the elections, due to illegitimacy of that process under the coup regime."
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Thank You Congressman Stupak! -- Health Care Reform: DOA
Regarding the Health Care Rip-Off -- A quote...."I never thought I'd find myself thanking the women-loathing, Christian fundamentalist-pandering Democrats in Congress for anything, but here it is: Thank you Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Mich), for your outrageous amendment to the House version of the health insurance reform legislation in Congress, which bars any insurance company in the proposed health insurance exchange from offering a health insurance plan that includes abortion coverage." -- also posted at OhBummer
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Federal deficit sets October record of $176.4B - posted at AntiWar
Dang! Those Neo-Roman Empires are just so darned expensive! - mpg -- A quote...."The Treasury Department said Thursday that the deficit for October totaled $176.4 billion, even higher than the $150 billion imbalance that economists expected. -- The deficit for the 2009 budget year, which ended on Sept. 30, set an all-time record in dollar terms of $1.42 trillion. That was $958 billion above the 2008 deficit, the previous record holder. -- October was the 13th straight month to show a monthly deficit — another record. It was the fifth-largest monthly deficit ever."

Confirmed: Defense Spending Creates Fewer Jobs Than Other Types of Spending
Charts - A quote...."Yesterday, I pointed out that a study by one of the leading economic modeling companies shows that military spending increases unemployment and decreases economic growth. -- I have located a paper - PDF by economist Robert Pollin published in 2007 by The Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst - entitled "The U.S. Employment Effects of Military and Domestic Spending Priorities" - which concludes...." -- For more on this issue see....Effective Fed Funds Rate & Total Nonfarm Payrolls

U.S. Foreclosure Filings Surpass 300,000 for 8th Straight Month
A quote..."Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. foreclosure filings surpassed 300,000 for an eighth straight month as unemployment made it tougher for homeowners to pay their bills, RealtyTrac Inc. said. -- A total of 332,292 properties received a default or auction notice or were seized by banks in October, up 19 percent from a year earlier, Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac said today. One in every 385 households received a filing. The tally fell 3 percent from September, the third consecutive monthly decline." -- From Bloomberg

Is a Bailout for the FHA in the Works?
A quote...."Americans now own Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the combined $5.2 trillion, heavily politicized housing finance companies nationalized in the fall of 2008, bringing to taxpayers large sums of subprime, no doc, alt-A loans and securitizations that no one wants, backed by abandoned houses."

Trade gap widens sharply in September - Percentage increase biggest since Feb '99
A quote...."The nation's trade deficit expanded 18.2% in September to $36.5 billion from $30.8 billion in August, the Commerce Department said. -- The one-month worsening in the deficit is the biggest since February 1999. This is the largest trade gap since January."

Max Keiser – America Will Never Pay China Back - Alt - (RT YouTube - 4 min 57 sec - November 13, 2009)
Must View Video - Related Video - A quote...."America will never payback China. China is dependent on US dollar and is seeking to minimize their exposure. The US dollar is in reality, Buffett's toilet paper. Ahh Maxie baby....tell it like it is!"

Gerald Celente – American public losing everything to fascist oligarchs - AltVid#1 - AltVid#2 - AltVid#3 - AltVid#4 -- Must View Videos - From the History File - August 15, 2009 -- (YouTube - aprox. 10m each - 08/15/09) -- This is Gerald Celente in the RAW and REALLY ANGRY about what's been going on in this country. -- Particularly about one ethno-religious group on Wall Street which "made-off" with hundreds of billions of dollars, whereas he feels if any other ethnic group (it appears he's speaking from personal experience here) had attempted the same sort of "scam", "rip-off" or "ponzi-scheme" they would have been thrown in jail and locked-up forever.  This is a bit on the raw side, (he's really pissed-off in this interview) but he's probably saying what a LOT of other people on Wall Street are thinking, but are too scared to say.  It's good, and it's personal and he's gonna get criticized for it for sure....mpg -- A quote...."Gerald Celente is one of the world’s best trend forecasters. In the following 4-part radio interview, Celente blasts current political and economic “leadership” as beholden to large corporate and financial interests. As I’ve documented, professionals who work with economics are using unprecedented harsh language in attempt to get Americans’ attention to the loss of trillions of our collective dollars. His comments include (paraphrased):"

U.S. Treasury Confident Congress Will Increase Debt Ceiling
A quote...."The Obama administration is confident Congress will raise the country’s debt limit by year end to avert a showdown similar to the one that shuttered parts of the government in 1995, administration officials said. -- The White House wants an increase of at least $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, according to a person familiar with the deliberations between lawmakers and the administration. Record budget deficits are pushing the national debt closer to the $12.1 trillion statutory limit." - bold by ebsite editor -- From Bloomberg

Investors buy more gold as dollar resumes decline
A quote...."Gold more than recovered its losses from the previous day, when it broke an eight-day streak of gains due to a slightly stronger dollar. The December futures contract gained $10.10 to settle at $1,116.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, prices rose 2 percent."

Chart of the Day: The Dow priced in gold
Chart - A quote...."Gold’s recent behavior strikes me as similar to oil circa July ‘08. With it leaping to another new high today — $1,119 — I thought I’d offer the following chart for reader comments:"

US monetary system: Robber Baron-era design makes US debt peons forever. You knew that, right?
A quote...."As I’ve previously written, the interest payment on the national debt is now ~$450 billion every year, there is no plan to ever repay the debt (we only pay the interest), and our monetary system only and always creates money as debt: condemning us to perpetually increasing debt for ourselves and our posterity." -- also posted at DProgram

South Korean Economy Grew at an 11% Annual Rate in Q2
A quote...."Former international merchant banker and Money Morning contributing author Martin Hutchinson notes that South Korea...."

Senator Dorgan: "We Essentially Have Had Modern-Day Bank Robbers ... and There's Been No Accountability ... There's No Question the System Is Rigged" -- A quote...."Senator Byron Dorgan has some harsh words for the too big to fails...."

Thursday November 12th 2009