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The Method to Bush’s Madness in Overthrowing Venezuela
Must Read - A quote...." 11/29/07 "ICH" -- -- Have George w. Bush and the entire U.S. Government gone insane, are they just totally incompetent or worse, is there a method to the madness which is just part of the most ingenious evil plan ever devised?

News Not Fit to Print: US Coup Planned for Venezuela? - The New York Times does it again. - mpg
Related article - A quote...."The New York Times had a news article about Venezuela in Thursday’s edition, but it was about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez saying he would cut diplomatic ties with neighboring Colombia. There wasn’t a word about a memo from a CIA operative in Caracas to CIA Director General Michael Hayden, uncovered yesterday, outlining a plan for interfering with a Venezuelan referendum set for Dec. 2, and laying out the steps for instigating and backing a coup."
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Impeachment Must Happen
Must Read - A quote...." 11/29/07 "ICH" -- -- Clearly the nation has turned against Vice President Cheney and President George W. Bush. Their approval ratings are the lowest of any elected leaders in American history. We are weary of war and bled white from profligate spending and larceny. Our civil rights have been severely restricted and crimes have been committed. A once peaceful world stands on the brink of turmoil."

Resurrecting the Star Chamber
A quote...."When the Founding Fathers looked for a model that reflected the abuses they objected to—in short what they intended to forbid by their new Constitution and Bill of Rights—they turned to an English institution, the Court of Star Chamber. It was a state security court with ancient roots which flourished under the Tudor and Stuart monarchs. The Star Chamber court operated in secrecy, was not bothered by the picky evidentiary rules that emerged in other courts, and did not believe that those appearing before it on state security charges had many rights—certainly not the right to counsel, nor even the right to conduct a defense. It relied very heavily on torture to extract the evidence it sought to convict, usually a confession—though rarely, of course, a confession with any validity, since the application of the rack would quickly get the subject to say whatever was desired, truthful or not."

“Thousands” Illegally Rendered By Bush Administration for Interrogation, Torture
A quote...."In violation of international and U.S. law, “thousands” of alleged terrorists have been victims of “extraordinary rendition” by the Bush Administration since 9/11, two legal scholars say. “Instead of working to bring those committing crimes against the United States to justice in U.S. courts, the Bush Administration seems intent on doing exactly the opposite---keeping such individuals away from U.S. courts, hidden in a web of secret prisons, underground interrogation cells, and in the hands of cooperative governments,” write Margaret Satterthwaite and Angela Fisher."

Karl Rove's Shameless, Remorseless, Soulless Attempt to Rewrite History
A quote...."I went on Countdown last night to talk about what Keith Olbermann called Karl Rove's "attack on history. During an interview with Charlie Rose, the erstwhile Boy Genius pulled out his bucket of whitewash and audaciously claimed that "one of the untold stories" about the war in Iraq is that the Bush administration had been "opposed' to Congress holding the vote authorizing the president to use military force in Iraq just a few weeks prior to the 2002 elections because "we thought it made it too political."

Naomi Wolf: America's Fascist Coup Owes Legacy To Bush's Nazi Grandfather
A quote...."Author Naomi Wolf, who made headlines earlier this year after she identified the ten steps to fascism that were being followed to a tee by the Bush administration, spoke publicly for the first time yesterday about the origins of what we see unfolding today, Prescott Bush's attempt to launch a Nazi coup in 1930's America."

McCain blames Rise of Hitler on Ron Paul - Not Invading and Occupying other Countries Branded 'Isolationism'
A quote...."In a new low of despicable looniness, at the Republican debate in St. Petersburg, John McCain equated those Americans who want to stop militarily occupying Iraq with Hitler-enablers. He actually said that, saying that it was 'isolationism' of a sort that allowed Hitler to come to power."

Ron Paul Storms Another Round Of Debate Polls
A quote...."Ron Paul convincingly won multiple post debate polls yesterday after putting in another solid performance despite more attempts to brand him an isolationist and a conspiracy theorist"

Arabs return from summit uneasy and skeptical - As well they should - mpg
A quote...."CAIRO -- This week's Middle East conference in Annapolis, Md., has highlighted Arab unease over the ability and will of a weak U.S. president to deliver peace. At the same time, it has stoked fears that Israel has scored a public relations coup while refusing to concede on such core issues as Palestinian refugees and the fate of Jerusalem."

Poll shows 73% of Poles favor quick pullout of Iraq
A quote...."WARSAW, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Seventy three percent of Poles is for as quickest as possible pullout of Poland's soldiers from Iraq, according to results of a poll conducted by the CBOS public opinion polling center, which are available on Thursday."

Russia’s Election Is for Parliament, but the Real Vote Is on Putin
A quote...."MOSCOW, Nov. 28 — His valor is extolled on billboards across the nation, and his daily feats dominate the television news. At a keynote election speech last week, his handlers even showcased a shimmying girl band singing an ode to that heartthrob in the Kremlin: “I want a man like Putin, full of strength!”

Putin should be careful, he wouldn't want to set-up a "cult of personality" even if it's a Russian tradition.  No doubt the actual elections and vote count will be fare.  But he and his party are starting to head down that slippery slope where they'll soon be denying voters access to voting booths, removing them from the voting rolls, or actually rigging the vote count by (God forbid) employing firms like Diebold, Sequoia Systems or ESS to manufactor or delete the votes as we've done here in the US.  No one wants to be that discredited (except for Bush and the Neocons of course) - mpg

Gorbachev endorses Putin in election....
A quote....“I would vote for him and I support him. Based on what I know, and comparing him with other candidates, I would prefer Putin,” Mr Gorbachev told The Times in an exclusive interview."

Bush administration forced to turn over spying documents by Friday
A quote...."A federal judge has ordered the Bush administration to divulge documents related to immunizing telecommunications companies from lawsuits, saying they illegally opened their networks to the National Security Agency."

For more on this see....The Last Bastion of Freedom is Falling - 05-30-06 - mpg
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A Diary Of The Onset Of The Greater Depression
A quote...."11/29/07 "ICH" -- -- For more years than I can count I've heard Danny Schechter's name bandied about in progressive circles, but for all his tireless activism, he did not fully capture my attention until I saw his stunning documentary "In Debt We Trust." By that time I had forsaken my myopic focus on imperialism, the Iraq War, the Democratic Party, and of course, Bush-bashing. It was becoming painfully and increasingly clear to me that history was repeating itself, and being an historian, I was well aware that it never does so in exactly the same manner but often with enough mirroring of earlier eras that it behooves human beings to sit up and pay attention."

As credit dries up in U.S., concerns mount about recession
A quote...."NEW YORK: Credit flowing to American companies is drying up at a pace not seen in decades, threatening the creation of new jobs and the expansion of businesses, while intensifying worries that the economy may be headed for recession."

Existing Home Sales Fall Again
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) — Hit by a severe credit crunch, existing home sales fell for the eighth straight month with median home prices dropping by a record amount."


Have They No Shame?
Must Read - A quote...."Every Saturday, the president of the United States gives a radio address to the nation. It is followed by the Democratic response, usually given by a senator or representative. This past Saturday the Democrats chose retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez to give their response, the same general accused in at least three lawsuits in the U.S. and Europe of authorizing torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of prisoners in Iraq. This, combined with the Democrats’ endorsement of Attorney General Michael Mukasey despite his unwillingness to label waterboarding as torture, indicates that the Democrats are increasingly aligned with President Bush’s torture policies."

For more on this see....Go Build Your Neo-Roman Empire - Just Leave Us Out Of It - 10-14-07 - mpg
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America Heads for the Trash Can of History
A quote...."11/28/07 "ICH" --- -- In new books writers as disparate as Naomi Wolf and Pat Buchanan conclude that America as we know her is disappearing. Both writers hope, but are not confident, that enough Americans will catch on in time to find the leadership to pull America back from the brink."

Zogby - Top 3 Dems All Lost Ground to Thompson - Say What!
A quote...."John Zogby is one of the most accurate pollsters in the history of modern politics. However, his headline below hides the real meaning of his poll comparing the 'big three" Democratic contenders in match ups against their Republican counterparts. The result are from May 17, July 14, and. 26, 2007."

The Algebra of Occupation
Must Read - A quote...."In 1805, the French army out maneuvered, outsmarted, and outfought the combined armies of Russia and Austria at Austerlitz. Three years later it would flounder against a rag-tag collection of Spanish guerrillas."

"In 1967, it took six days for the Israeli army to smash Egypt, Jordan, and Syria and seize the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula. In 2006, a Shiite militia fought the mightiest army in the Middle East to a bloody standstill in Lebanon."

"In 1991, it took four days of ground combat for the United States to crush Saddam Hussein’s army in the Gulf War. U.S. losses were 148 dead and 647 wounded. After more than five years of war in Iraq, U.S. losses are approaching 4,000, with over 50,000 wounded; 2007 is already the deadliest year of the war for the United States."
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Quiet Before a New Iraq Storm? - In the Fox's Lair
A quote...."One reason parts of Iraq have quieted down, at least for a while, has received widespread attention: the Sunni split from al-Qaeda. AI-Qaeda's own tactics alienated its base, which is usually a fatal political mistake, and for once we were wise enough not to get in the way of an enemy who was making a blunder. - But there has been little comment on an equally important reason for improved stability in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr's stand-down order to his Mahdi Army militia. Just as it seemed we were headed straight for a war with the Shiites, they sheered away. We now appear to be doing the same; at least the papers here no longer report daily raids and air strikes on Shiite areas. That too suggests we may have learned something."

Iraq politicians oppose US pact
Some quotes...."Iraqi opposition groups have criticised moves towards a long-term US-Iraqi pact following the expiry of the UN mandate governing foreign troops in Iraq."  --  "Sunni Arab and Shia politicians said it would lead to what they described as "US interference for years to come". -- "MPs from the Shia bloc loyal to the cleric Moqtada Sadr expressed deep reservations about the agreement." -- "The Sunni group the Association of Muslim Scholars said the Iraqi signatories of the declaration would be looked on a "collaborators with the occupier".

Posted at Informed Comment
A quote...."Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that the Sadr Movement and the Sunni Iraqi Accord Front both rejected the 'memorandum of understanding' between the US and Iraq signed by PM Nuri al-Maliki and US president George W. Bush two days ago. They complain that neither leader has the constitutional authority to make such an agreement without involvement of the legislature. They also complained that the document does not specify a timetable for withdrawal of US troops. One Sadrist called it a blueprint for a long-term civil Occupation of Iraq."  --  Juan Cole --

U.S. airstrike kills 22 Afghan workers & Iraq civilians die in US shooting [Four bank employees going to work]
From article one - a quote...."KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- A U.S. airstrike in eastern Afghanistan Wednesday killed 22 Afghan civilian road construction workers working on a U.S. military contract."

From article two - a quote...."Four bank employees have been killed as they travelled to work after American troops opened fired on their minibus at a roadblock in Baghdad, police and hospital officials say."

They just simply don't care, it's as simple as that.  To all the world's peoples - best you do business amongst yourselves rather than do "business" with America's elites, it's safer for all of you that way....much, much, safer. - mpg
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Bush's Mideast Peace Scam a Joke: Annapolis Talks Prompt Much Doubt and Jokes
A quote...."A day after their leaders announced a new push for peace, Israelis and Palestinians returned Wednesday to a familiar and deadly routine, deeply skeptical over the timetable set for the talks and whether an end to the conflict is achievable at all in the current political climate."

Bush Takes Israel’s Side at Annapolis
Related article -A quote...."A t Annapolis, Bush loaded the dice in favor of Israel. - “Terrorism is the enemy standing in the way” of a Palestinian state, he said. - He did not say, “Occupation is the enemy standing in the way.” - He put the onus on Mahmoud Abbas to “dismantle the infrastructure of terror,” something Abbas is not strong enough to do. He said Abbas offers Palestinians “a vision of peace, a homeland of their own, and a better life.” But he warned: “If responsible Palestinian cannot deliver on this hopeful vision, then the forces of extremism and terror will be strengthened, a generation of Palestinians could be lost to the extremists, and the Middle East will grow in despair.”  --  And it will all be their fault, Bush implied.  --  By contrast, Bush went easy on Israel."

Annapolis: US prepares Palestinian civil war and rallies Arab support against Iran
Related article - A quote...."There were times when the Annapolis summit looked like a poor production by an amateur dramatics society—fumbled handshakes, translations not working, President Bush mispronouncing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s name, and Abbas himself dragging along behind Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert like he had forgotten his stage directions. But these gaffes only underscored the fact that this entire production was mounted only in order to conceal the predatory ambitions of the United States in the Middle East."

For more on the "Palestinian civil war" (it should properly be called the American/Israeli civil war since throughout the Middle East - Lebanon, Iraq, Pakistan, and soon Iran - these two countries have been the main instigators of these so-called "civil wars") see....US Sponsored Civil Wars- Palestine

See also....The Uninvited Guest - Peace
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CIA Venezuela Destabilization Memo Surfaces
A quote...."On November 26, 2007 the Venezuelan government broadcast and circulated a confidential memo from the US embassy to the CIA which is devastatingly revealing of US clandestine operations and which will influence the referendum this Sunday, December 2, 2007."

What’s Really Happening In Venezuela?
Related Article - A quote...."For the U.S. mainstream media, Venezuela’s vote on constitutional reforms December 2 is simply the latest power grab in authoritarian President Hugo Chávez’s bid to crush dissent, make himself president for life and impose a state-controlled economy. - The view from the streets of the Caracas barrio of 23 de Enero, however, is very different."

America’s Gulag Goes Before the Court
A quote...."WASHINGTON—The last time anyone made headlines involving the American penal colony at Guantanamo Bay, it was Mitt Romney, eagerly promising to expand it. “My view is we ought to double Guantanamo!” he enthused during a Republican presidential debate in May."

U.S. Tells Iran: Become a Nuclear Power
Some quotes...."Top Democratic and Republican leaders absolutely believe that Iran is planning to develop nuclear weapons. And one of their seemingly strongest arguments involves a process of deduction. Since Iran has so much oil, they argue, why develop nuclear power?" -- "But U.S. leaders are engaging in a massive case of collective amnesia, or perhaps more accurately, intentional misdirection. In the 1970s the United States encouraged Iran to develop nuclear power precisely because Iran will eventually run out of oil."

Chinese warship docks in Tokyo
A quote...."TOKYO: A Chinese warship arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday for the first such port call since World War Two, in the latest sign of warming ties between the Asian neighbours and former foes."

Police say Paris rioters are armed as clashes escalate
A quote...."Officials in Paris last night warned that rioters in the suburb of Villiers-le-Bel were armed with hunting rifles and air rifles as clashes with police continued to escalate. - More than 70 police officers were injured on Monday night, three of them seriously, in clashes with rioters armed with molotov cocktails and firecrackers. One officer was shot in the shoulder with an air rifle"

Indian MPs slam government over U.S. nuclear deal
A quote...."NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian lawmakers opposed to a landmark nuclear energy deal with the United States slammed the government in parliament on Wednesday, saying it was misleading the country and compromising national interest."

Russia, Kazakhstan in focus at annual European security meeting
A quote...."The OSCE gathers in Madrid Thursday for its annual meeting which will focus on Kazakhstan's bid to chair the security watchdog and Russia's threat to pull out of a key arms control pact."

Civil Libertarians Warn of 'Patriot Act Lite'
A quote...."NEW YORK, 27 Nov (IPS) - Civil libertarians are worried that a little-known anti-terrorism bill now making its way through the U.S. Congress with virtually no debate could be planting the seeds of another USA Patriot Act, which was hurriedly enacted into law after the al Qaeda attacks of Sep. 11, 2001."

More on Jane Harmon's "Neo-Roman Security Act" - mpg

See also....The U.S. Congress Legislates Genocide Of The Mind
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Bad stenographers - posted at BuzzFlash
A quote...."Referring to our establishment press corps as "stenographers" has become somewhat of a cliche, though it still provokes righteous outrage from "journalists." ABC News' Martha Raddatz recently learned this when she used that term to describe what most White House correspondents actually are. - But in light of Time's "correction" to Joe Klein's factually false claims about the House Democrats' FISA bill, how can any rational person object? Here is one literal description of what a "stenographer" does, from an article entitled "How to be a Stenographer"

CheneyBush Burned Again: Too Near the Plame - posted at BuzzFlash
Must Read - Some quotes...."Bush and Cheney being fingered in the Plamegate scandal by former White House press secretary Scott McClellan is not news"  --  "No, the news now is that the political situation is far different than it was in 2005. Now, Bush and Cheney are much more politically vulnerable to impeachment and criminal prosecution. Also newsworthy is that the mainstream media this time around, at least currently, is mostly treating all this as a non-story, with barely a follow-up mention of McClellan's bombshell and its implications. And I've seen no story in the corporate media that mentions Bush's granting of clemency to Libby as a possible obstruction of justice by someone who stands to benefit by his aide's continued silence. - If a scandal falls in the forest, and nobody hears it, did it happen?"

Stopping the FCC from Consolidating Media Ownership
A quote...."The head of the Federal Communications Commission has circulated an ambitious plan to relax the decades-old media ownership rules, including repealing a rule that forbids a company to own both a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same city."

US withdraws subpoena seeking identity of 24,000 Amazon customers
A quote...."MADISON, Wisconsin: U.S. prosecutors have withdrawn a subpoena seeking the identities of thousands of people who bought used books through online retailer Amazon.com Inc., newly unsealed court records show."

Kucinich 9/11 Investigation - (YouTube - 1 min 24 sec - June 10, 2007)
A quote...."Kucinich describes his plans for congressional hearings in September regarding 9/11 "financial issues". Recorded at Sonoma County Fair Grounds in California, 6-10-07."

For more videos see....9/11 & It's Fallout - Videos
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Hillary Clinton Voted For Iraq War - And  DON'T YOU FORGET IT! - (You Tube - 3 min - 11-25-07)
A quote.... "Just a friendly reminder… Hillary Clinton is a Warmonger" - posted at InfoWars

A Dollar the Size of a Postage Stamp
A quote...."11/28/07 "ICH"----  Lately it seems as though everyone wants to take a poke at the dollar. Last week, it was the Brazilian supermodel who demanded euros for her jaunts on the catwalk instead of USD. The week before that, hip-hop impresario, Jay-Z, released a video dissin' the dollar and praising the euro as the 'baddest Dude in the 'hood'."

Impending Destruction of the US Economy
A quote...." 11/28/07 "ICH" -- --- Hubris and arrogance are too ensconced in Washington for policymakers to be aware of the economic policy trap in which they have placed the US economy.  If the subprime mortgage meltdown is half as bad as predicted, low US interest rates will be required in order to contain the crisis.  But if the dollar’s plight is half as bad as predicted, high US  interest rates will be required if foreigners are to continue to hold dollars and to finance US budget and trade deficits."

Supply of homes on market at 22-year high - Existing-home sales pace falls to 4.97 million for October, off 1.2%
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of existing homes fell for an eighth straight month in October even as more properties came on the U.S. housing market, driving the supply of homes up for sale to the highest level in 22 years, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday."


A Nation on the Edge of the Final Descent
(IV): A Country Ready to Follow Orders -- Even into Hell
Editor's note: Parts (I), (II) & (III) were posted 11-25-07
A quote...."....neither Kerry nor any other leading politician will ever provide an honest answer. If Kerry were to be honest, he might say something like this: "Certainly I wanted to be president. But if I called into question the election results in any fundamental way, it would raise still more questions. It might make people wonder about the integrity of elections altogether. It make cause people to question the legitimacy of our system of government itself. We can't have that. Sure, Democrats and Republicans disagree about some issues of policy, and sometimes those are important. But we agree on the basics: a corporatist, authoritarian government at home, and American world hegemony abroad. That system has worked just fine for me, and for all my friends. Hell, I'm incredibly wealthy and powerful. So I don't get to be president. But I still have a life that 99.9% of you can only dream about, and I like that just fine. I'm not about to mess with the system that gives me all that."

Bad, Worse, Worst and Beyond
Some quotes...."Once upon a time there was Bad, and there was Worse, and there was Worst, and that used to be it. Those were the only parameters necessary when the time came to assess the severity of a given situation and decide if the thing was merely wrong, actually dangerous, or just plan ridiculous"  --  "Worst was as terrible as it could get, or so it was believed, until now, until the creation of a new fourth category became unavoidably necessary. The bewildering and terrifying fact of the matter is Worst has been fully and completely trumped by the times, relegated to silver-medal status and the lower podium. The grim reality of this brave new deranged world is that the nation is now swarming with so many new and different horrors, which were upon us in one brief and ravaging eyeblink of time. It went beyond Worst just that fast. - As such, the new category is titled Beyond."

Welcome to the Jackboot State, Ann Arbor Division - The Ordeal of Catherine Wilkerson, M.D.
PG's post - A quote...."Welcome to the jackboot state, not to mention the jackboot campus, anno domini 2007. A doctor gives verbal advice to protect the life of an unconscious man and she duly gets hit with attempted felonies by vindictive campus cops, with the connivance of the University of Michigan. Jury selection for her trial starts on Monday in a county courthouse in Ann Arbor."
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Poll on 9-11 and Bush Administration foreknowledge
A quote...."No dispositive, smoking-gun evidence, but many reasons to believe that Bush Administration was fully aware that 9-11 was going to occur."

Alleged Trainer Of 9/11 Hijackers a CIA Informant
A quote...."However, when one considers what other experts have said about Sakka, it appears that his intentions towards "western agencies" are anything but deceptive - since Turkish intelligence analysts concluded that Sakka has been a CIA asset all along. - Prominent Turkish newspaper Zaman reported that Sakka was hired as a CIA informant in 2000, after receiving a large sum of money from the agency. This would explain why he was "captured" but then released on two separate occasions by the CIA during the course of 2000."
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9/11 - From The History File...Sept. 11's Smoking Gun: The Many Faces of Saeed Sheikh
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Saudis Pour Oil Money into Terror
A quote...."The news that Saudi Arabia is the nation providing the greatest number of foreign fighters in Iraq underscores the lies and duplicity at the foundation of President George W. Bush’s policies in the Middle East."
   
US wages covert war on Iraq-Iran border
A quote...."SIDIKAN and IRBIL, northern Iraq - The United States-led war in Iraq has hardly affected the residents of Sidikan, a small Kurdish town nestled in the mountains where the borders of Iraq, Iran and Turkey converge, but the surrounding area has fast become the frontline of another conflict."

For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror - MEK - PKK - Others
See also....The US's New Map of the Middle East
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The 'Triumphant' Neocons
A quote...."Citing signs of military progress in Iraq, America’s neoconservatives are reasserting their vision of the United States as an imperial power that can reshape the Muslim world in a way favorable to the interests of Washington and Tel Aviv."

See also....The Flipping of Iraq....Continues - (or how to divide and conquer....with style)
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Corporation Responsible For Interrogations At Abu Ghraib Will Be Tried By Jury For Torture
PG's post - A quote...."Major Case Against Private Military Contractor To Go Forward  --  WASHINGTON - November 6 - In a key victory in the war against torture, today a federal court ruled that the lawsuit against a private military contractor in Iraq should be heard by a jury of Americans. The action was filed in 2004 against CACI and Titan, both of which were named in the military investigation of the Abu Ghraib scandal. The Center for Constitutional Rights, Burke O’Neil LLC, and Akeel Valentine brought the suit as a class action on behalf of the hundreds of Iraqi torture victims. The same firms filed an action on October 11 against Blackwater USA for the killing of innocent bystanders at Noori Square in September."

Broken Peace Process
A quote...."There’s little reason to hope for a breakthrough at the Middle East peace summit in Annapolis, unless there is a fundamental shift in U.S. policy in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And there’s little evidence to suggest such a change is forthcoming."

Twenty Reasons against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran
Must read - PG's post - A quote...." Contrary to the myth created by the western media, it is the US and its European allies which are defying the international community, in that they have rejected negotiations without pre-conditions. They show their lack of good faith by demanding that Iran concede the main point of negotiations, namely, suspension of enrichment of uranium which is Iran 's legitimate right under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, before the negotiations actually start. - The Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) calls for immediate and direct negotiations between the US and Iran without any pre-conditions. - Here, we debunk the main unfounded accusations, lies and distortions by the US and Israel and their allies while highlighting the main reasons to oppose sanctions and military intervention against Iran ."

Iran claims missile can hit Israel and US bases
War Update - A quote...."Fears of a new Middle East arms race have deepened after Iran announced that it had developed a new long-range missile system capable of hitting Israel and American bases in the region. - The successful development of the Ashura missile, which has a range of 1,200 miles, was announced by Mostofa Mohammed Najjar, the Iranian defence minister."

Iran hints it could halt nuclear enrichment for a quid pro quo
PG's post - A quote...." But Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh said there was a "serious confidence gap" between his country and the United States and Western Europe and that he saw little point in trying to "build confidence" with an American administration that had none in his country. - "We don't trust the United States," he told McClatchy Newspapers after the IAEA Board of Governors finished its latest round of talks on Iran's nuclear program. "We could suspend nuclear enrichment. We did it before for two and half years. But it wasn't enough then, and wouldn't be enough now. We will not suspend enrichment again because there is no end to what the United States will demand."
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Taiwan ships 1 billion bullets to United States: report
PG's post - A quote...."TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan has shipped one billion rifle bullets to the United States for NT$560 million in a rare arms sale to the United States, it was reported yesterday."

Cluster Bombs in Iraq: The Deadly Footprint
PG's post - A quote...."In late April 2003, I was traveling back to the Iraqi capital of Baghdad from the northern city of Mosul where I had been making an assessment of humanitarian needs after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It was a bright spring day and under ordinary circumstances the drive would have been quite beautiful. The road took us through fertile farmland, vast wheat fields, and semi-arid regions where sheep grazed."

What I saw in Fallujah
PG's post - A quote...."Dahr Jamail set out to report the truth about the US invasion of Iraq and its terrible impact on daily life. Determined to remain independent of the army, he embedded himself instead with the Iraqi people"

See also....FLASHBACK: Fallujah - the hidden massacre - Photo gallery - warning -  graphic photos/video
See also....IRAQ:  Fallujah Now Under a Different Kind of Siege - both articles posted - 11-19-07

For more on this see....The Great Pretenders 09-22-07 - mpg
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Some more of PG's Sage Observations
For the more recent quotes click on....Sage Observations 11-27-07

"This is, in theory, still a free country, but our politically correct, censorious times are such that many of us tremble to give vent to perfectly acceptable views for fear of condemnation. Freedom of speech is thereby imperiled, big questions go undebated, and great lies become accepted, unequivocally as great truths."
-- *Simon Heffer* Source: Daily Mail, 7 June 2000

"It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin."
 -- *James Monroe* - 1758-1831), 5th US President Source: First Inaugural Address, 1817

"I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket."
-- *Major General Smedley Darling Butler* - (1981-1940) Major General USMC, "Old Gimlet Eye'' and "Hell Devil Darling", most highly decorated military men from the pre-World War II era. Source: from a speech in 1933

"Whenever a people... entrust the defence of their country to a regular, standing army, composed of mercenaries, the power of that country will remain under the direction of the most wealthy citizens."
 -- A Framer *Anonymous* 'framer' of the US Constitution  - Source: Independent Gazetteer, January 29, 1791

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.... O sir, we  should have fine times, indeed, if to punish tyrants, it were only sufficient to assemble the people!"
 -- *Patrick Henry* - (1736-1799) US Founding Father

"To die for an idea: it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it would be if men died for ideas that were true."
 -- *H. L. Mencken* (1880-1956) American Journalist, Editor, Essayist, Linguist, Lexicographer, and Critic

"They have always taught and trained you to believe it to be your patriotic duty to go to war and to have yourselves slaughtered at their command. But in all the history of the world you, the people, have never had a voice in declaring war, and strange as it certainly appears, no war by any nation in any age has ever been declared by the people."
 -- *Eugene Debs*  - Socialist candidate for president, June 16, 1918 - The speech led to Debs's being stripped of his citizenship and sent to jail for 10 years.
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In the Realm of the Dying Dollar
PG's post - A quote...."Great powers die slowly. It took years before the world realized that Great Britain was an imperial corpse, sapped of its strength by two world wars. The funeral finally occurred on Feb. 21, 1947, a freezing winter day in bomb-torn, bedraggled London, when the British wrote their own epitaph. That was the day that London cabled Washington: "His Majesty's Government, in view of their own situation, find it impossible to grant further financial assistance to Greece," amounting to a half billion dollars a year and a garrison of 40,000 troops. The British also announced the same day that they were withdrawing from Turkey. "The British are finished," remarked a stunned Dean Acheson, who was soon to be Harry Truman's secretary of State."

Search Google, Click to Massive Malware Attacks?
Web Technical Warning - A quote...."Large-scale, coordinated campaign to steer users toward malware-spewing Web sites from Google search results is under way, security researchers said Tuesday."
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Putin's Running of Russia "Unacceptable to the New York Times"
Anybody that can run their country well is unacceptable to our media elites....especially if they're not beholden to our financial elites. - mpg

Time magazine lavishly rewards journalistic malpractice
A quote...."I titled yesterday's post -- regarding the multiple false claims in Joe Klein's latest column -- "Time Magazine's FISA fiasco," because episodes of severe journalistic malfeasance are rarely about one reporter. They typically reflect on the media institution as a whole, and that is absolutely the case for Time Magazine and Klein's latest in a series of abject inaccuracies."

Why do ‘Liberal Media’ Go So Easy on Bush?
A quote...."We saw another example last week of the double standard that permeates so much of America’s media these days, the media that so many conservatives claim are “too liberal.” - A sneak peek at former White House press secretary Scott McClellan’s soon-to-be-published book reveals that virtually every bigwig in the Bush administration passed along lies about who was involved in outing CIA agent Valerie Plame — including the president himself."

The Media’s Plan to Ambush Ron Paul
Missed this one - mpg - PG's post - A quote...."11/07/07 "ICH" --- - First we stop the killing, and then we restore the Constitution. These are our two main priorities. And that’s why I’m voting for Ron Paul. He is the only candidate (with a chance to win) who’s promising to do either. And he’ll keep his word. That makes him the only truly American candidate running for president. "

A New Channel for Soft Money Appears in Race
PG's post - A quote...."Thanks to a recent decision by the Supreme Court, most of these groups, including the McCain-friendly foundation, will be able to operate with even less public disclosure than such entities did in 2004."

The best Democracy money can buy - mpg
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UPDATE 3-Venezuela wants move away from dollar oil prices
A quote...."CARACAS, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Venezuela on Tuesday called for oil to be priced and billed in currencies other than the weak U.S. dollar, which has eroded producer nations' purchasing power. - Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez also blamed the United States for record high oil prices, saying its political pressure on some oil-producing countries had helped push crude toward $100 a barrel."

America; Decending to 3rd World Status?
A quote...."Good Morning Middle America, welcome to your King of Simple News Network, where the news that concerns Middle America is reported daily while we still have a Middle America to report to. - This is one of those mornings that I wish I were blissfully ignorant. I find myself understanding far too much about America’s precarious condition."

U.S. Falls to No. 15 in Average Worker Income
PG's post - A quote....""Comparisons are odious," that is, hateful, according to a popular phrase about seven centuries old. Comparison, however, is one of the tasks assigned to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, an international body of 30 of the richest countries. It tries to compare its members' economic and social data, a difficult, perhaps even odious, job. - Sometime back it broadened statistically (for comparison purposes) the definition of the average workers in its member nations while trying to examine relative tax burdens. The result was "monumental," reckons Jacob Kirkegaard, an economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The OECD ranked the after-tax income of the average worker in the United States as 15th among its member nations. The richest middle class, if measured in terms of the purchasing power of their income, was Britain."

OH My!  Those Neo-Roman Empires can be sooooooooo expensive....can't they? - mpg
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'No regrets'
A quote...."Whether he will admit it or not, mortgage credit inflation was central to the Federal Reserve's post-tech bubble reflationary strategy. It really was a "Great Experiment" in inflationist monetary policy and, predictably, it failed miserably. The Fed and some notable Wall Street "strategists" feigned a system-wide "price level" that the Fed was obligated to adeptly manipulate to ensure that that evil "deflation" was not allowed to take root. What a crock. The risk was, then as it is now, US credit collapse - and certainly not a somewhat deflating price level. Accommodating history's most reckless credit expansion over the past six years then ensured that the risk of collapse grew significantly greater while countermeasures turned increasingly unavailing. "
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Home prices falling everywhere: S&P - Down 4.5% nationally over past year, Case-Shiller says
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. home prices were falling in every region of the country in September, according to a closely watched index of home prices released Tuesday. Home prices fell in September in all 20 major cities covered by the Case-Shiller price index, even in cities that had been holding up before the August freeze in mortgage markets, Standard & Poor's reported."

Editor's note: The above may be why the Dow went up 215 points on Tuesday.  The market makers think this sort of bad news assures another Fed rate cut.  They might be right, but there have been a few articles published that state Bernanke might be thinking of taking away the party's punch bowl. And on the day THAT happens, assuming it happens in the next year, it won't matter what the technical, fundamental or contrarian indicators point too...it will most assuredly be a really bad day for the market. - mpg

For more predictions on the Fed's potential rate cutting....see article shown below.

Signs Are Pointing South on Wall St.
A quote...."Wall Street is betting on a recession. - Investors in stocks and bonds are paying prices that indicate they believe a snowballing housing crisis and worsening credit crunch will soon tip the U.S. economy into a recession, analysts said. Many economists, including leaders of the Federal Reserve, don't think things will get that bad, but some say the risk of a serious downturn has risen in recent weeks. - Investors were so eager to buy ultra-safe government bonds yesterday that they were willing to accept sharply lower interest rates. The rate on the 10-year Treasury bond fell to 3.84 percent from 4 percent Friday. The low rates indicate investors expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates aggressively in the coming year to ease the pain of recession." - italics by websit author