Wednesday December 30th 2009

Welcome to Orwell’s World 2010
Must Read - A quote...."December 30, 2009 - "Information Clearing House" -- In Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell described a superstate called Oceania, whose language of war inverted lies that “passed into history and became truth. ‘Who controls the past’, ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past’.” -- Barack Obama is the leader of a contemporary Oceania. In two speeches at the close of the decade, the Nobel Peace Prize winner affirmed that peace was no longer peace, but rather a permanent war that “extends well beyond Afghanistan and Pakistan” to “disorderly regions and diffuse enemies”. He called this “global security” and invited our gratitude. To the people of Afghanistan, which America has invaded and occupied, he said wittily: “We have no interest in occupying your country.” -- also posted at DProgram

New Year's Resolution: Don't Apologize for Democrats
Must Read - A quote...."For the new year, let's resolve: Don't defend Democrats when they don't deserve defending. And that certainly includes President Obama. -- Let's further resolve: Put principles above party and never lose our voice on human rights and social justice. -- When we mute ourselves as a Democratic president pursues corporatist or militarist policies, we only encourage such policies. -- If it was wrong for Bush to bail out Wall Street with virtually no controls, then it's wrong for Obama. If indefinite "preventative detention" was wrong under Bush, then it's wrong under Obama. If military occupation and deepening troop deployments were wrong under Bush, then they're wrong under Obama." -- also posted at ICH

Paul Craig Roberts on Alex Jones Tv – The Tyranny of Good Intentions
Alt/Vid#1 - Alt/Vid#2 - Alt/Vid#3 - Alt/Vid#4 - (YouTube - aprox 10 min each - December 30, 2009)
Must View Videos - A quote...."Paul Craig Roberts, economist, syndicated columnist, and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration also makes an appearance. Alex also covers the latest on the highly suspicious botched underwear bombing with Mr. Roberts, and what the economic future may be for america in the next 2 to 3 years." - Paul Craig Roberts is author of The Tyranny of Good Intentions - GoglBkSrch

A Lawless Presidency
Must Read - A quote...."It is ironic that a president who owed his election to office to a U.S. Supreme Court decision – and a narrow one at that – spent so much of his eight years in office battling that same court, and the institutions which are the arbiters of international humanitarian law as well."

Have We Learned Anything from the Bush Years?
A quote...."Fear makes people stupid. -- It makes us unable to think straight. And it makes us give up our power to tough-talking authoritarians."

Fake Al Qaeda Actors EXPOSED! Adam Gadahn & Yousef al-Khattab - Alt - (AJ-YuTb 3m44s July 31, 2009)
AJ-Video - From the history file - July 31, 2009 - More about all that fake AIPAC/Mossad/CIA/US-NRE propaganda - mpg - posted by TheParadigmShift -- For more on this issue see....US Fake Intel / Propaganda - "al-Qaeda" Videos

Mumbai suspect is US double agent, India claims
Special Note - A quote...."According to Indian officials, Headley travelled to India again in March this year, with the knowledge of American agencies who did not inform their Indian counterparts. During the trip, Headley is alleged to have collected intelligence for future terrorist attacks on civilian and military targets, including India's National Defence College. -- Indian officials are desperate to question Headley but have been frustrated by American refusals to grant them access. A team of Indian investigators travelled to Washington shortly after Headley was arrested in October but soon returned after their American counterparts told them they would not be able to meet him." - also posted at WarInIraq -- For more on this issue see....Just Give it a Rest OK!! - 11-27-09 - mpg

Blackwater 'hired' Pak's intelligence, army officers: Khwaja
A quote...."LAHORE: Controversial US private security firm Blackwater, accused of carrying out secret operations in Pakistan, has hired services of army officers and former employees of intelligence agencies of this country for "handsome" salaries, a retired ISI official has claimed." - also posted at BLN

Foreign Troops on the Streets of America? - Alt - (AJ-YouTube - 7 min 17 sec - December 26, 2009)
Must View Video - A quote...."SCMLA's first mini-documentary! There are foreign troops on American soil, even now, as we speak. Watch and pass on the knowledge! "

Cindy Sheehan Awarded the 2009 Peace Prize for Extraordinary and Innovative Antiwar Activism
She should have received the Nobel Peace prize, NOT that war mongering, AIPAC butt-nuzzling, war-whore called Bombs Away O-Bomb-a. - mpg -- A quote...."The Board of Directors of the US Peace Memorial Foundation has voted unanimously to award Cindy Sheehan its 2009 Peace Prize for extraordinary and innovative antiwar activism. In addition to this high honor, she has been designated as a Founding Member of the US Peace Memorial Foundation. Her history of diverse and impressive activities that advocate against war and for peace is documented at www.USPeaceMemorial.org/registry."
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More on the US-NRE's attempted "lap-bomber" false-flag fiasco

Is the Detroit Nigerian "Terrorist" Another Patsy?
Must Read - A quote...."What does the hapless Nigerian mope yanked off a plane in Detroit Christmas Day for setting his lap on fire have in common with color-coded terror alerts, with the shoeless, homeless Miami Haitians convicted of trying to bring down the Sears Tower, or with the 2004 pre-election videos allegedly dropped by Osama Bin Laden? Easy. All have been useful in whipping up public fear of Muslim-inspired “terrorism” and each and every one plugs neatly and sweetly into the meta-narratives that justify increasing the power of US police and intelligence establishments and the further militarization of foreign policy."

The Northwest Flight 253 intelligence failure: Negligence or conspiracy?
Special Note - Quote of the Day....."Eight years after 9/11, with all of the still unanswered questions surrounding the attacks that were used to justify an explosion of American militarism, the attempt to gloss over an event that nearly cost the lives of 300 people with this hackneyed metaphor does not hold water. -- The general outlines of the Northwest bombing attempt and the 9/11 attacks are startlingly similar. One might even say that what is involved is a modus operandi. In both cases, those alleged to have carried out the actions had been the subject of US intelligence investigations and surveillance and had been allowed to enter the country and board flights under conditions that would normally have set off multiple security alarms. -- Both then and now, the government and the media expect the public to accept that all that was involved was mistakes."

'al Qaeda' of the Ozarks now accepting applications!
Satire - A quote...."'aL Qaeda' of the Ozarks, AKA AQO, is now accepting applications to join our 'Hillbilly Brigade!' -- You must be of semi-sound mind and body and willing to give all to overthrow the world's Great 'Satan.' -- Fluency in languages is desirable, but not necessary, as most of out other AQ success stories could only speak English or Yiddish. -- You must be willing to travel for training to either Langley, VA or Tel Aviv, Israel."

Yemen seizes 'Israel-linked' cell
Special Note - A quote...."Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said the security forces have arrested a group of alleged Islamist militants linked to Israeli intelligence. -- Mr Saleh did not say what evidence had been found to show the group's links with Israel, a regional enemy of Yemen."

Billions in Recent Yememi Investments and The Underwear Bomber’s Daddy. It’s a Small World Ain’t It?
Special Note - A quote...."Did Daddy Warbucks sell Little Orphan Umar to the CIA?  -- Why are we attacking the people of Yemen?  Because some kid is alleged to have sewn a big fire-cracker into his underwear then sat on it in a plane over Detroit?  Nope.  Not even close. If you want to know what this is all about, follow Daddy’s money all the way to the IMF and Jaiz Bank."

ABC’s “50 Grams of PETN” Video is Propaganda and I Have the Proof
Propaganda Alert - Contains Videos -- A quote...."ABC is lying to you.  Whether they know it or not, they are supposed to research what they put on tv prior to running with a story. They obviously haven’t done any research with their recent story about what the “underwear bomb” could have done to a plane.  What they have done is bowed to the military industrial complex and run a video based entirely on the misinformation they were given.  That isn’t journalism and you would think they would have learned their lesson after all the bullshit they ”reported” in the run-up to the Iraq war.  Simply put, 50gs of PETN would NOT do that to a plane and I have the video evidence to  prove it."

Exclusive: FBI Silent On Plane Bomber’s Accomplice
A quote...."Flight 253 eyewitness Kurt Haskell has astoundingly revealed how the FBI are deliberately hiding the existence of a second man who was arrested following the Christmas Day plane bombing incident after bomb-sniffing dogs detected a possible second explosive device in his luggage."

Al-Qaeda ‘groomed Abdulmutallab in London’
Contains Video - A quote...."Article Editor’s note: It is now firmly established that Brit intelligence creates and protects terrorists. -- The Christmas Day airline bomb plot suspect organised a conference under the banner “War on Terror Week” as he immersed himself in radical politics while a student in London, The Times has learnt."

Officials Admit Second Man Detained As More Witnesses Emerge
A quote...."U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have admitted that a second man possibly carrying explosives was detained after last week’s aborted plane bombing attack, contradicting initial statements by the FBI that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was the only person arrested or charged in relation to Friday’s foiled attack."

Report: Dutch police investigating report of accomplice in Northwest Flight 253 terror plot
A quote...."Update: Dutch counter-terrorism agency says Flight 253 suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had valid Nigerian passport, U.S. visa -- Reuters reports Dutch military police are investigating claims that an accomplice may have helped Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab board Northwest Flight 253 in Amsterdam on Christmas day without a passport, a story first told here on MLive.com."

For more on this sort of issue see....US-False Flag Ops - Detroit's "Lap-Bomber"
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Secret CIA Jails in Lithuania: Legacy of Nazi Collaborationism
A quote...."....the facts unearthed by the Lithuanian media prior to the parliamentary inquiry were quite serious. It appears that at least two secret jails concealed from the public and the human rights watchers were illegally operated in Lithuania in 2002-2005 by the CIA. -- One of the jails was sited in Rudnikai and disguised as a part of a special training center of the Public Security Service of the Ministry of Interior, the other - in Antaviliai, a village where residences are owned by influential politicians and businessmen. The distances between Vilnius and the jails were 40 and 20 km respectively, and the CIA operatives together with their Lithuanian partners mainly used the Antaviliai center, evidently to save time on commuting. The site used to be a riding complex which its former owners were - under pressure from the authorities - forced to sell to ELITE-LLC, a company created by the CIA with the help of its residents in Panama (Start Finance Group and INK Holding)."

Are America's Mercenary Armies Really Drug Cartels?
A quote...."(CINCINNATI, Ohio) - News out of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India reports massive corruption at the highest levels of government, corruption that could only be financed with drug money. In Afghanistan, the president's brother is known to be one of the biggest drug runners in the world. -- In Pakistan, President Zardani is found with 60 million in a Swiss Bank and his Interior Minister is suspected of ties to American groups involved in paramilitary operations, totally illegal that could involve nothing but drugs, there is no other possibility. -- Testimony in the US that our government has used "rendition" flights to transport massive amounts of narcotics to Western Europe and the United States has been taken in sworn deposition." -- also posted at Uruknet

9/11 was pretext for attacking Afghanistan
A quote...."Hats off to Tom Beattie (The Times, Dec. 27) for his comments on the illegal invasion of Afghanistan, in which Canada is unfortunately a major player. While I’m at it, hats off to The Times for printing his letter. -- I call it an illegal invasion, since the basis used to justify this invasion is connected to the biggest scam of the last century — 9/11. I knew from the time the second WTC tower was hit that it was an inside job. Anyone doing a few minutes worth of investigation will realize that the “official story” presented to the masses simply does not add up. For example, buildings do not collapse on themselves at “free-fall” speed, especially (in Building 7’s case) when they have not been hit with anything." - also posted at DProgram -- For more on this issue see....Reficultnias's 9/11 Central

Western troops accused of executing 10 Afghan civilians, including children
Special Note - A quote...."American-led troops were accused yesterday of dragging innocent children from their beds and shooting them during a night raid that left ten people dead. -- Afghan government investigators said that eight schoolchildren were killed, all but one of them from the same family. Locals said that some victims were handcuffed before being killed." - bold by website editor - also posted at DProgram

Afghan civilians 'shot dead' by foreign forces
Special Note - Related Article - A quote...."KABUL — Afghan government investigators on Wednesday accused foreign troops of dragging 10 people, including eight children, from their homes and shooting them dead. -- Anti-US protests erupted in at least two cities over the alleged killings as President Hamid Karzai's office published its report, likely to enflame tensions between the Afghan government and its Western military backers." - bold by website editor - also posted at Uruknet

Afghans rally against rising civilian killings
A quote...."Afghan students have rallied in Jalalabad and threatened to "take up guns instead of pens and fight occupation forces" if the Karzai regime fails to stop the indiscriminate killing of civilians by occupation troops. -- Hundreds of university students blocked main roads in the capital of eastern Nangarhar province to protest over the latest deaths - 10 civilians, mostly schoolchildren, who were apparently gunned down execution-style by US special forces in the Narang district of Kunar province on Saturday."

In Iran, demonstrators condemn Ashura defiling
A quote...."Days after deadly anti-government protests on Ashura, millions of demonstrators gathered across Iran on Wednesday to condemn what they described as defiling the religious ceremony of Ashura."

MKO admits involvement in Iran's protests
A quote...."The Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) has acknowledged that it played a role in Sunday's violent anti-government protests in Iran. -- MKO followers cooperated with the demonstrators and coordinated the protests, the organization's leader Maryam Rajavi told AFP in Paris on Tuesday." -- For more on this issue see....US Support of Terror - MEK-PKK-Others

Lebanon army opens fire on Israeli jets
A quote...."Lebanese anti-aircraft guns have opened fire on four Israeli fighter planes that were violating airspace over the southern part of the country. -- "The army's anti-aircraft guns fired in the direction of four Phantom-type enemy Israeli planes that had been overflying the southeastern Hasbaya region at low altitude since Tuesday morning," an army spokesman told AFP."

'Merkel acts against Germany's national interests'
A quote...."Iran's envoy to Germany says German businessmen believe that Chancellor Angela Merkel is moving against the country's national interests. -- "German businessmen have said in their meetings that the Merkel administration's polices toward Iran are against Germany's national interests," IRNA quoted Ambassador Ali-Reza Sheikh-Attar as saying on Wednesday." - also posted at WarInIraq

'Japan ready for nuclear cooperation with Iran'
A quote...."The Japanese ambassador to Iran has said Tokyo is ready to cooperate with Iran in the field of nuclear energy. -- During a meeting with MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi in Tehran on Tuesday, Ambassador Akio Shirota also called for the expansion of ties between Iran and Japan in various spheres, the Fars news agency reported." - also posted at WarInIraq

China mulls overseas naval base
A quote..."A senior Chinese naval official has called for a permanent overseas base to be set up to support the country's naval vessels while carrying out anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden." - China wants to protect it's oil supply. - mpg

Canada’s Conservatives shut down parliament, again
A quote...."To prevent further parliamentary hearings into Canadian complicity in torture in Afghanistan, the minority Conservative government has shut down the national parliament for the second time in a year."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

UN: Israel bombed Gaza 'back to the mud age'
A quote...."Bethlehem – Ma’an – The UN relief agency UNRWA said on Tuesday that Gaza had been “bombed back, not to the Stone Age, but to the mud age,” because the agency was reduced to building houses out of mud due to Israel’s ban on construction materials entering the Strip."

Egypt To Allow Convoy To Enter Gaza - Galloway Statement
Contains Video - Alt - A quote...."George Galloway gives a statement explaining a deal that has been reached between the Turkish side of the Viva Palestina Convoy the Egyptian Government allowing the convoy to proceed to Gaza. Aired on December 30, 2009 "

Egypt further encaging Gaza
Photo Journal - A quote...."As the one year anniversary of the 23-day Israeli massacre in Gaza passes, media attention is rightfully focused on the atrocities and war crimes committed by the Israeli military on the imprisoned population in Gaza. -- With two separate delegations intending to enter the Gaza Strip via its southern, Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing, Egypt now finds itself in the spotlight for have banned entry to one convoy, Viva Palestina's humanitarian aid convoy traveling from Jordan, and having threatened to arrest and deport international activists with another delegation, the Gaza Freedom March in Cairo."

A New Year and the Wounds are Still Open
Photo Journal - A quote...."Dec 30 (IPS) – For many survivors of the last Israeli war on Gaza, time has not healed their wounds, physical or emotional. -- Amal Samouni, 10, still suffers vision problems in her right eye. The shrapnel remaining in her head causes her constant pain and she is unable to concentrate at school." -- also posted at Uruknet

28 kilometers of distilled apartheid
A quote...."This highway has told the whole story. They pave a road, expropriate Palestinian land and the High Court of Justice approves the expropriation, in its words, “provided that it is done for the sake of the local population.”

The Entire World Demands: Freedom for Gaza!
A quote...."It is already possible to attribute one achievement to the Gaza Freedom March: the Gaza Strip and its 1.5 million inhabitants have come out of the forgotten world. Since the massacre committed by the Israeli military, one year ago, it is as if the land had swallowed up Gaza. No one spoke about the horrific blockade which transformed Gaza into the world’s largest prison, or the human suffering that bordered on a humanitarian crisis, or the lack of food, water and medicines, and principally about Gaza’s disconnect from the West Bank. From the moment that Israeli war planes stopped their bombings and the massive barrages of artillery stopped falling, Gaza ceased to interest the world, as if the blockade is normal for the women, men, children and elderly that populate the area. The initiative of our American friend, Professor Normal Finkelstein, to organize an international march to break the blockade, ignited the imagination of the solidarity movement throughout the world, and approximately 1,500 people from over 40 countries enlisted to the Gaza Freedom March."

Turkey's Welcome Voice of Support
Special Note - A quote...."Is Turkey's relationship with Israel going through a rocky patch or has it passed the point of no return? -- A week in politics is a long time, and all the rest of it, but it does seem that Turkish foreign policy has undergone a sea change since the election of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2002. Continuing difficulties in relationships with that amorphous package known as 'the west' is one reason. Excitement at the prospect of joining the EU has given way to cynicism. Angela Merkel is against accession, so is Sarkozy and so is the Pope (although he says different things at different times to different audiences). Criticism and often insults continue in the European Parliament and in European governments, no matter what Turkey does to try to meet European human rights standards. So it is probably fair to say that many if not most Turks are pretty fed up with the EU and as they have gained confidence in themselves and their country, many of them have concluded that, actually, we can do quite well without the EU." - also posted at AlethoNews

Blogging beneath the bombs: An interview with Sharyn Lock
Interview - A quote...."Israel has many weapons that it deploys against the Palestinian national movement and one of them is a powerful public relations machine. For years, it has allowed Israel to extend illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, demolish homes, erode the rights of Palestinians and imprison and torture them, all in the name of democracy and security. In the days leading up to last winter's attacks on Gaza, Israel's public relations machine was oiled up to give its version of events and without the watchful eye of journalists -- who were denied entry into the territory -- and it appeared likely to succeed. Yet Palestinians "citizen journalists" in Gaza and a few internationals living in the middle of the conflict decided to report a very different story than the carefully controlled Israeli narrative. Sharyn Lock was one of these voices."

EXCLUSIVE…Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters Speaks Out in Support of Gaza Freedom March, Blasts Israeli-Egyptian “Siege” of Gaza -- Interview - A quote...."In a Democracy Now! exclusive interview, British musician Roger Waters of the iconic rock band Pink Floyd speaks out about the Gaza Freedom March. “I actually would be very interested to hear what the President of the United States has to say about this nonviolent, democratic demonstration of ordinary people from forty-two countries all over the world,” says Waters. “They feel solidarity with their brothers and sisters, other human beings who are living in conditions that none of us would stand for, for a single second, in any of our countries.” [includes rush transcript]"  ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  || 

Israel declares war on international peace NGOs
A quote...."OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: One year after the devastating attack on Hamas in Gaza a new wave of reports castigating Israel for war crimes has emerged. Now, Israel is fighting back with a report on the reports, picking on international NGOs such as Amnesty, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Trocaire, Finn Church Aid, Diakonia and Cordaid." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Hebrew University bans student conference on anniversary of Gaza invasion
Censorship Alert - A quote..."A student group affiliated with the socialist ‘Hadash’ party in Israel had organized a conference commemorating and condemning the Israeli invasion of Gaza one year ago, but the Hebrew University administration banned the conference, saying that it violates the University’s principles."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Declaration of 8th General Assembly of COPINH - "Martyrs of the Resistance"
A quote...."To reaffirm our historic disposition to struggle against death, whether it is called capitalism, patriarchy or racism, as was taught to us by our Man of the Mountain and our people who through 500 years have defended its territories, its autonomies and its culture and has condemned militarization and invasive power. We will struggle against the projects of plunder and privatization of our knowledge, water, land, territory, forest, mineral and metallic resources, public services, cultural richness and life itself."

Honduras' Zelaya Calls for CentAm Unity
A quote...."Tegucigalpa, Dec 30 (Prensa Latina) Honduras' constitutional President Manuel Zelaya called upon Central American nations to act united and firmly to overthrow the dictatorship in his country, and avoid the return of coups in the region."
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Bankers Get $4 Trillion Gift From Barney Frank
Special Note - A quote...."I quickly discovered why members of Congress rarely read legislation like this. At 1,279 pages, the “Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” is a real slog. And yes, I plowed through all those pages. (Memo to Chairman Frank: “ystem” at line 14, page 258 is missing the first “s”.) -- The reading was especially painful since this reform sausage is stuffed with more gristle than meat. At least, that is, if you are a taxpayer hoping the bailout train is coming to a halt." - From Bloomberg - also posted at RogueGov

How Goldman Sachs Made Tens Of Billions Of Dollars From The Economic Collapse Of America In Four Easy Steps - A quote...."Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs has become perhaps the most prominent symbol for everything that is wrong with the U.S. financial system, but most Americans cannot even begin to explain what they do or how they have made tens of billions of dollars from the economic collapse of America.  The truth is that what Goldman Sachs did was fairly simple, and there may not have even been anything “illegal” about it (although they are now being investigated by the SEC among others)."

Millions more to lose homes - Gov’t continues to bail out bankers, not homeowners
Deflation Alert - A quote...."Testimony at a hearing on Dec. 8 by the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services documented how the foreclosure crisis is getting worse. -- Laurie Goodman, senior managing director at Amherst Securities, a leading broker/dealer specializing in trading mortgage-backed securities, testified that in the third quarter of 2009, 14.1 percent of borrowers — or 7.9 million homeowners — did not make their mortgage payments. She estimated that 7 million of these 7.9 million homeowners will lose their homes. (www.house.gov)"

GATA Sues Fed, Demands Disclosure Of Gold Market Intervention Records
Special Note - A quote...."Our friends at GATA have had enough of the Fed's, and other Central Banks' alleged (and with so much circumstantial evidence presented both at Zero Hedge and elsewhere, that in this case "alleged" is just a term only a lawyer could love) manipulation of gold prices, and have taken Bernanke's monetization, manipulation and money making unlimited liability company to task ("M4 ULLC"). We are overjoyed that yet another entity has followed in the footsteps of our dear late friend Mark Pittman in taking on the one organization that represents all that is irreconcilably broken with the current economic and financial system."

The Last Bailout Of 2009: US Takes Majority Ownership Of GMAC
A quote...."The federal government said Wednesday it will take majority control of the troubled auto lender GMAC, providing another $3.8 billion in aid to the company, which has been unable to raise from private investors the money it needs to staunch its losses."

Home prices flat in October, Case-Shiller finds
A quote...."WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The market value of U.S. homes in 20 major cities was flat in October and failed to keep pace with gains in spring and summer, according to a closely followed index released Tuesday."

First minimum wage drop in US in 72 years
Deflation Alert - A quote...."Minimum wage in Denver, Colorado, will decrease in the new year, marking the first such decrease in any state's minimum wage since 1938."

Britain: Record fall in pay levels
Deflation Alert - A quote...."The Office of National Statistics has recorded the largest fall in wages in the United Kingdom since it began collecting data in 1995." -- Sort'a hard to pay all those under water mortgages and consumer debts if your wages keep falling, don't you think folks? - mpg

Britain’s pension provision threatened with collapse
A quote...."The final salary “gold-plated” pension schemes of Britain’s top 200 companies are in deficit by more than £100 billion. The schemes include the pensions of some the country’s best known companies, such as British Airways, Shell and British Telecom."

"The Supreme Court acquiesced to the president's fervent request and, in a one-line ruling, let stand a lower court decision that declared torture an ordinary, expected consequence of military detention, while introducing a shocking new precedent for all future courts to follow: anyone who is arbitrarily declared a "suspected enemy combatant" by the president or his designated minions is no longer a "person."  They will simply cease to exist as a legal entity. They will have no inherent rights, no human rights, no legal standing whatsoever -- save whatever modicum of process the government arbitrarily deigns to grant them from time to time, with its ever-shifting tribunals and show trials."

"U.S. intelligence has concluded that the document published recently by the Times of London, which purportedly describes an Iranian plan to do experiments on what the newspaper described as a "neutron initiator" for an atomic weapon, is a fabrication."

Monday December 28th 2009

As US power dwindles, Middle East politics will continue to shift
Must Read - A quote...."I believe the Middle East is experiencing broad strategic political realignments, with insurgent forces gaining in strength, and entrenched forces entering a period of stagnation. Unsurprisingly, the regional flux is being driven by the decline of empire, and the attendant regional state opportunism. If current trends continue, the next decade will likely see a regionally diminished Egypt, an increasingly isolated Israel, and eventually less American interventionism and sponsorship. Concurrently, Syrian power and prestige will increase, Lebanon will consolidate Hezbollah’s moral authority, and Turkey will increasingly emphasize its Eastern and Islamic roots to enhance its regional role. What happens in Iran depends in large part on whether America and Israel attack, I believe. The assumption that the American empire is in decline is crucial to this analysis, so it’s worth spending time explaining its basis."

Fighting for the Family of Man
Contains Video - (previously posted) -- A quote...."December 28, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- The American people are slowly waking-up to what we are.  We are a Nation that has surrendered our right to determine our own destiny for the promise of a job, a nice home, or healthcare that we can afford.  We think that we are still the same people who volunteered to fight a war against an obvious evil because it was the right thing to do, but that is no longer who we are."

One Day We’ll All Be Terrorists - posted at Truth Dig
A quote...."This corruption of our legal system, if history is any guide, will not be reserved by the state for suspected terrorists, or even Muslim Americans. In the coming turmoil and economic collapse, it will be used to silence all who are branded as disruptive or subversive." - also posted at ICH & AmericanEveryman

Can We Rescue the Republic Before the Dark Politics Take Over? - posted at Alternet
A quote...."Those captivated by the cult of celebrity do not examine voting records or compare verbal claims with written and published facts and reports," Hedges writes. "The reality of their world is whatever the latest cable news show, political leader, advertiser, or loan officer says is reality. The illiterate, semiliterate, and those who live as though they are illiterate are effectively cut off from the past. They live in an eternal present. They do not understand the predatory loan deals that drive them into foreclosure and bankruptcy. They cannot decipher the fine print on credit card agreements that plunge them into unmanageable debt. They repeat thought-terminating clichés and slogans. They seek refuge in familiar brands and labels. ... Life is a state of permanent amnesia, a world in search of new forms of escapism and quick, sensual gratification."
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More on the US-NRE's attempted "lap-bomber" false-flag fiasco

The Lap Bomber Mystery
A quote...."It just wouldn’t be Christmas in the age of terror if we didn’t have a visitation, ostensibly from al-Qaeda, now would it? ‘Tis the season, and all that. Recall Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber," arrested on December 22, 2001, for trying to blow up American Airlines flight 63, coming into Miami from Paris. As in the current case involving one Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, the explosive used was PETN, also known as pentaerythritol: Reid, like Umar, was subdued by passengers and airline attendants, and, to add yet another touch of déjà vu, Reid’s stunt led to the imposition of the take-off-your-shoes rule at airport security, just as Umar’s midair antics have now inspired the Transportation Safety Authority to inaugurate a spate of new regulations: nothing in your lap, please, and no getting up from your seat for a solid hour before landing."

The Boogieman Comes to Detroit for Christmas
Just when an article comes out showing nearly ALL US intelligence agencies played for a bunch of fools about hidden messages, an 'al Qaeda' type sneaks onto an airliner and tries to ignite some firecrackers. -- The 'Cartoon News Network' and FUX have been running non-stop with this story for the last three days. -- The Swine Flu thingee didn't scare us enough and the ruse to use the climate as an excuse to throttle the world with one government kinda blew up, so it's back to the old 'al Qaeda' made me do it to put the cattle into the proper mindset: FEAR."

Did Northwest Atempted Bomber Mutallab Get On Plane Without Passport?
A quote...."(ChattahBox) — This could turn into a shocking security lapse if true.  A Michigan man Kurt Haskell, who flew on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit believes he witnessed alleged terrorist bomber, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, trying to board the plane earlier in the day without a passport.  Haskell said he was sitting with his wife playing cards directly in front of the check in counter in Amsterdam, when an Indian man in a nicely dressed suit around age 50 approached the counter with who he believes to be Mutallab.  He noted the two of them were an odd pair and the older Indian man said referring to Mutallab: -- This man needs to get on this flight and he has no passport.” The ticket agent said “you can’t board without a passport”. The Indian man then replied, “He is from Sudan, we do this all the time.”  The ticket agent then said “You will have to talk to my manager”, and sent the two down a hallway. Haskell said, I never saw the Indian man again as he wasn’t on the flight."

US investigates why jet bomb suspect still had visa
A quote...."The US homeland security secretary has demanded to know how the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a jet had a visa despite being on a watch list." -- also posted at WarInIraq

Terror suspect was on UK, US watch list
A quote...."The Nigerian terror suspect, who made a failed attempt to detonate a bomb on a plane on Christmas day, has been on UK and US terrorist watch lists." -- See also....

Flight 253 passenger: Sharp-dressed man aided terror suspect Umar Farouk - Alt - posted 12-27-09
Northwest Bomb Plot 'Oddities'  - posted 12-27-09
The FBI Says This “Ball-Bomber” is Proof that Obama Was Right to Kill Innocent Civilians.... - posted 12-26-09
Instant Karma: New US War Target Gets Its Own Terror Icon - posted 12-26-09
Al-Qaeda Wannabe Kept ‘Bomb’ on His Lap - posted 12-26-09
So Why Did President Obama Try to Kill a Witness in Yemen  - posted 12-26-09
Airline bomber was barred from Britain  - posted 12-26-09

For more on this sort of issue see....US-False Flag Ops - Detroit's "Lap-Bomber" - Updated!!
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FBI's polite NO for extradition of Headley to India
Special Note - Full quote...."New Delhi, Dec 27 (PTI) The FBI has politely turned down India's request for extradition of terror suspect David Headley to this country on the ground he will have to first undergo a sentence which could be imposed on him in the US for the offences committed if convicted. -- Indian officials were told there was no realistic possibility of the Pakistani-American being handed over since the sentence could range between 200 and 300 years of imprisonment. -- The US stand was conveyed to the Indian investigators by the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) officials during their regular interaction to discuss the case related to Headley, whose links with the banned Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) were being probed by the two countries, official sources said here today."

Headly, the CIA, Nariman House, False Flag Ops - Alt
Special Note - A quote...."It could be argued that the Mumbai attacks of 2008 were carried out by the CIA and its friends. -- Attacks of this kind are normally the work of the security services. (False flag operations from Amman to Zambia)

For more on this issue see....Just Give it a Rest OK!! - 11-27-09 - mpg
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Obama Continues to Privatize America's Imperial Wars - posted at BAR
Must Read - Contains Audio - A quote...."The Pentagon has methodically insulated its wars from most of U.S. civil society. “For the United States, war has devolved to a matter of contracts, a multi-trillion dollar cash cow for corporations, a self-perpetuating financial bubble that feeds the planet’s most dangerous and nonproductive, useless classes.” The mercenary is the ideal corporate warrior."

Joe Lieberman: How About Another War?
A quote...."Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, who began openly and aggressively angling for a war with Iraq just weeks after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, is using the thwarted Christmas Day attack on a Northwest Airlines flight as an excuse to open a new discussion about a new war." -- also posted at CommonDreams

Arab Dictatorships Take 4 of Top 5 Spots in Purchase of U.S. Weapons and Services
A quote...."Most of the leading buyers of American military hardware in 2008 had two characteristics in common: they speak Arabic and their governments are opposed to democracy and basic freedoms. Information compiled by the Congressional Research Service revealed that the biggest recipients of U.S. arms sales last year were (in order): the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq and Egypt. With the exception of the popularly-elected government in Baghdad, all of these American military partners are ruled by autocratic or theocratic regimes." -- also posted at BLN

Israeli Role in Desroying Iraq
Must Read - A quote...."This is a speech by Former Israeli Security Minister Avi Dechter on 4th, September 2008 at the Research Institute of the Israeli national Security." - also posted at Uruknet - For more on this issue see....It Will Happen Every Single Time - 01-01-08 - mpg

U.S. Intelligence Found Iran Nuke Document Was Forged
Must Read -- A quote...."WASHINGTON, Dec 28 (IPS) - U.S. intelligence has concluded that the document published recently by the Times of London, which purportedly describes an Iranian plan to do experiments on what the newspaper described as a "neutron initiator" for an atomic weapon, is a fabrication, according to a former Central Intelligence Agency official." - also posted at AftrDwngSt & CommonDreams - For more on this sort of issue see....US Fake Intel / Propaganda

Afghanistan's Karzai slams killing of 10 civilians
A quote...."ASADABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday condemned the killing of 10 civilians in an attack in the remote northeast on Saturday night and promised an investigation."

The massacre at Kunduz and the policy of targeted killings
A quote...."The massacre which took place at the beginning of September in Kunduz, Afghanistan, taking the lives of up to 142 people, continues to dominate the German media. But while considerable attention is given to what happened and the cover-up which followed, barely anything has been said about the political, historical and international implications of the bloodiest military strike ordered by a German commander since 1945." - also posted at Uruknet

US missiles mow down 13 in Pakistan
A quote...."US drone attacks continue to claim lives in the Pakistani border area of North Waziristan amid Washington's failure to push Islamabad into major offensives on the area. -- The surveillance aircraft on Saturday attacked the Saidgi village in the tribal area reportedly killing 13 people, AFP reported. The raid marked the third of such attacks over the past ten days." - From PressTV

Iran crackdown on protesters leaves 15 killed
A quote...."TEHRAN - Eight people were killed during anti-government protests in Tehran, the state-run English language Press TV said Monday quoting a senior security official. -- Iranian state television earlier gave a contradictory toll of at least 15 killed."

Russia Warns of Oil Cut-Off to Europe Over Dispute With Ukraine
A quote...."Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) — Russia warned it may cut off oil supplies to Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic because of a dispute with Ukraine over transit of the commodity, the Slovak government said. -- Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko notified the European Union of the possible stoppage, the Slovak government said in a statement today, citing an official letter it received from the European Commission, the EU’s executive body. -- Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico called an emergency meeting of the country’s Security Council to discuss the warning. He and Economy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek will speak in a press conference later today, the statement said." - From Bloomberg

Oil crisis: uprisings from Nigeria to Peru
A quote...."In the past few days, the wars over the world’s natural resources have been rekindled from the Amazon to the Niger Delta. -- This week, a landmark legal settlement brought a decisive, though partial, end to a bloody chapter in the history of Nigeria’s Ogoni people."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

A cold, lonely place called dishonour
Must Read - A quote...."On December 27 2008 Israel launched a murderous air assault against 1.5 million men, women and children in the most overcrowded piece of land on Earth - the Gaza Strip. -- Starved, besieged, yet unbowed, they could do nothing except endure as the bombs and missiles rained down, targeting hospitals, schools, civic buildings, homes, police stations and even UN compounds where people had sought sanctuary. -- Israel's bombs sought and found their victims, incinerating and blowing to smithereens young and old alike, while Tel Aviv attempted to convince the world that every effort was being made to avoid civilian casualties in what it described as a military operation to root out terrorism and provide security for its citizens. -- Yet as Albert Camus once warned, the welfare of the people has always been the alibi of tyrants." -- also posted at Uruknet

Palestinian Journalist Remembers Israel’s Assault on Gaza
A quote...."One year ago this weekend, Israel began its twenty-two-day assault on the Gaza Strip. Dubbed “Operation Cast Lead,” 1,400 Palestinians and thirteen Israelis were killed in what was Israel’s deadliest attack on Palestinians. We look back on Operation Cast Lead with Palestinian journalist Sami Abu Salem, who was in Gaza during the assault. [includes rush transcript]" --  ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download
  ||  More…  || 

“The world’s largest Open Air Prison:” Gaza’s Shrinking Borders
A quote...."Forty-two years of military occupation and sixteen years of the Oslo Process have made Gaza a smaller place. Already one of the most densely-populated strips of land in the world, its population has grown during this period from less than 360,000 in 1967 to 1.5 million today. Meanwhile, its borders have not only become more impermeable, but they have been progressively closing in on what some have called “the world’s largest open air prison.” -- also posted at BLN

Viva Palestina Heading to Syria
They have now decided after Turkish intervention with Egypt to travel to Syria in an attempt to enter as Egypt as supposedly "offered." We will see if Egypt keeps it's word, don't hold your breath on this one:

Israel Suffering Withdrawal Symptoms
Like a heroin addict, Israel, unable to quench their need for murder, the ZOF crossed the border into Palestine and committed crimes against the citizens. Destroying land, farms, and shooting and killing civilians. And...........no world power gives a sh-t."

The Occupied West Bank Latroun Villages
A quote...."On June 6, 1967, when Israeli forces invaded Gaza and the West Bank, on the second day of the so-called Six-Day War (June 5 - 10, 1967), they entered three Palestinian villages in the Latroun salient - Imwas, Yalo and Beit Nouba, forcibly expelling the residents, numbering over 10,000 at the time. By the next day, most were gone while Israel began razing village lands and erasing their memory in an area well-known for its water resources and fertility, located northwest of Jerusalem along the Green Line. One soldier at the time explained that they:"

Israeli tanks invade areas in northern and southern Gaza Strip
Related Article - A quote...."In two separate attacks, Israeli tanks invaded on Monday areas close to the northern and southern Gaza Israeli borders. - The first invasion took place on Monday morning when tanks and bulldozers rolled into farm lands near Khan Younis town southern Gaza. - Witnesses said that tanks opened fire at resident homes while bulldozers damaged crops. No injuires were reported." - also posted at Uruknet

[Press TV] Protests in Turkey, Commemorating 1st Anniversary of Gaza War - (YuTb - 2m24s - 12/28/09)
PTV-Video - Action Update - A quote...."Protests in Turkey commemorating the first anniversary of the 22 day Gaza War where the weak and cowardly Zionist Stormtroopers murdered over 1400 innocents, many of them women and children. The protests were also in solidarity with the Palestinians. Aired on 28th December 2009"

Portuguese activists fight state water company deal with Israel's Mekorot - posted at Electronic Intifada
Action Update - A quote...."In October, EPAL, Portugal's state water company, announced a deal with Mekorot, Israel's state water company. An intern who responded to the news by informing colleagues of Mekorot's role in Israel's discriminatory water policies and assistance in its violation of international law was immediately sacked. News of the firing has inspired Palestine solidarity activists to campaign to end the deal. Similarly, the EPAL workers' committee has denounced management's decision."
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More on the US-NRE's Honduran Coup....

Another young member of resistance Renán Fajardo Argueta found dead
A quote...."The Committee of Family Members of the Detained and Dsiappeared in Honduras, COFADEH, denounces the crime committed Teusday afternoon against the young man Edwin Renán Fajardo Argueta (22), an active member of the Resistance. His body was found this past December 23rd in the afternoon after a constant search by family members and friends worried about his absence as he was supposed to travel on Wednesday to Roatán, Islas de la Bahía, for Christmas with his family." -- For more on this issue see....Hideous Hillary's New Death Squads
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Compulsory Private Health Insurance: Just Another Bailout of the Financial Sector?
More on Obama's health non-care disaster. - mpg -- A quote...."Rather than focusing on making health care affordable, the bills focus on how to force people either to buy health insurance if they don’t have it, or to pay more for it if they do. If you don’t have insurance and don’t purchase it, you will be subject to a hefty fine. And if you do purchase it, premiums, co-pays, co-insurance payments and deductibles are liable to keep health care cripplingly expensive. Most of the people who don't have health care can't afford to pay the deductibles, so they will never use the plans they are forced to buy. " -- For more on this issue see....Double Indemnity - 12-21-09 - mpg
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Wall Street's 10 Greatest Lies of 2009 - posted at Alternet
A quote...."Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner patted himself on the back for making the "difficult and necessary” decisions of fronting Wall Street boatloads of money to cover its losses and capital crunch last fall. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (a Bush-Obama favorite) was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for saving the free world as we know it. And Congress is talking "sweeping reform" about a bill that leaves the banking landscape intact, save for some minor alterations. For starters, it doesn’t resurrect the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which separated risk-taking (once non-government-backed) investment banks from consumer oriented (government-supported) commercial banks. -- Meanwhile, Wall Street is restructuring (the financial equivalent of re-gifting) old toxic assets into new ones, finding fresh ways to profit from credit derivatives trading, and paying itself record bonuses -- on our dime. Despite recent TARP payback enthusiasm, the industry still floats on trillions of dollars of non-TARP subsidies and certain players wouldn’t even exist today without our help."

Feds probe banker Allen Stanford's ties to Congress
A quote...."The ties between indicted banker Allen Stanford and members of Congress -- including millions in contributions and weekends in five-star Caribbean resorts -- are now the subject of a sweeping federal investigation."

The Economic Crisis Ends; [not really] the Political Crisis Begins [for sure....]
A quote...."December 28, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- First  Iceland, then   Ireland, now  Greece.  Much of   Europe is mired in inescapable debt and bankrupt nations, the result of crashing banks, bank bailouts, and soaring unemployment.  The  U.S. and  U.K. watch from a distance, knowing their turn is next."

Home equity lines have dried up across U.S.
A quote...."At the peak of the housing boom in 2006, banks made $430 billion in home equity loans and lines of credit, according to the trade publication Inside Mortgage Finance. From 2002 to 2006, such lending was equal to 2.8 percent of the nation's economic activity, according to a study by finance professors Atif Mian and Amir Sufi of the University of Chicago. -- For the first nine months of 2009, only $40 billion in new home equity loans were made. The impact on the economy: close to zero."

Sunday December 27th 2009

Hackable Drones, Crumbling Empire
Must Read - Quote of the Day...."On the eve of the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, historian Chalmers Johnson observed in The Sorrows of Empire: "At this late date ... it is difficult to imagine how Congress, much like the Roman senate in the last days of the republic, could be brought back to life and cleansed of its endemic corruption." -- Drawing striking analogies between the fall of the Roman republic and America's decline as a global capitalist power, Johnson wrote: "Failing such a reform, Nemesis, the goddess of retribution and vengeance, the punisher of pride and hubris, waits impatiently for her meeting with us. -- Judging by the fragile state of American sociopolitical life, that meeting may not be as far off as most of us think." -- also posted at Uruknet

Flight 253 passenger: Sharp-dressed man aided terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab onto plane without passport (MLive.com exclusive) - Alt - Special Note - (The Detroit attempted plane bombing false flag episode) -- A quote...."A Michigan man who was aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 says he witnessed Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab trying to board the plane in Amsterdam without a passport. -- Kurt Haskell of Newport, Mich., who posted an earlier comment about his experience, talked exclusively with MLive.com and confirmed he was on the flight by sending a picture of his boarding pass. He and his wife, Lori, were returning from a safari in Uganda when they boarded the NWA flight on Friday."

Judge Napolitano – One Big Monster Government - Alt - (YouTube - 9 min 59 sec - December 27, 2009)
Video - This is Faux-News, this is the Glenn Beck show, these are the same identical people who helped get this nation into the fix it is in today....and yet....and yet....the video is pretty good.  It's simply amazing.  It has to be an accident, or much more likely Faux-News, one of the main purveyors of Neocon crap, one of the primary facilitators of the PNAC Protocols, the television network that has more garbage on it than the Staten Island dump and one which helped to make this nation into the sick and twisted version of the New Roman Empire it has become, has decided (solely for commercial reasons no doubt) to join the anti-big-government bandwagon. – mpg

Judge Napolitano: Why The Patriot Act is Unconstitutional - (YouTube - 5 min 52 sec - September 18, 2007)
Video - From the history file - September 18, 2007 - Related Video - A quote...."Judge Andrew Nepalitano speaks about why the Patriot Act is unconstitutional and why he endorses Ron Paul."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

Israel resembles a failed state
A quote...."One year has passed since the savage Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, but for the people there time might as well have stood still. -- Since Palestinians in Gaza buried their loved ones -- more than 1,400 persons, almost 400 of them children -- there has been little healing and virtually no reconstruction. -- According to international aid agencies, only 41 trucks of building supplies have been allowed into Gaza during the year." -- also posted at Uruknet

Gaza Lives On - Alt - (YouTube - 3 min 43 sec - December 22, 2009)
Video - A quote...."One year later, it is very important to remember what happened in Gaza. But it is more important to realize the aspirations of the Palestinian people in Gaza. They deserve our solidarity, respect and reverence. They deserve justice. It is the duty of every person to contribute to break the unprecedented siege and bringing the criminals behind this atrocity to justice." -- posted by neverbeforecampaign

The Children of Gaza share their experiences of "Cast Lead" - 27 Dec 09 - (YouTube - 2m22s - Dec 27, 2009)
Video - A quote...."The first Israeli airstrikes of "Operation Cast Lead" took the people of Gaza by surprise. School children were among those going about their ordinary lives on the day of the attack. Their world was flung quickly into chaos. Some of them told Al Jazeera their recollections of the horror."
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Last decade was the worst ever in the stock market
Market Tech Note -- A quote...."In nearly 200 years of recorded stock-market history, no calendar decade has seen such a dismal performance as the 2000s. -- Investors would have been better off investing in pretty much anything else, from bonds to gold or even just stuffing money under a mattress. Since the end of 1999, stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange have lost an average of 0.5% a year thanks to the twin bear markets this decade…."

States' jobless funds are being drained in recession
A quote...."The recession's jobless toll is draining unemployment-compensation funds so fast that according to federal projections, 40 state programs will go broke within two years and need $90 billion in loans to keep issuing the benefit checks." -- also posted at CommonDreams

Still Trying to Monopolize the Arabian Peninsula
Must Read - A lesson for the US-NRE's parasitic class, which of course they will utterly ignore. - mpg -- A quote...."When President Barack Obama personally issued the order for U.S. air strikes against Yemeni rebels, which killed numerous civilians, including women and children, it was not the first time a foreign power has tried to politically and militarily subdue and dominate the Arabian Peninsula. During the early 16th century, and fueled with dreams of expanding its Christian kingdom and amassing great power and riches, Portuguese naval commander Afonso de Albuquerque was determined to defeat the Muslim rulers who controlled the profitable Indian Ocean spice trade."
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Just a Reminder: Condi Rice (formerly of Chevron) had Afghanistan Invasion Plans Finalized 2 Days Before 9/11 -- Must Read - A quote...."Condi Rice (formerly of Chevron) had Afghanistan Invasion Plans Finalized 2 Days Before 9/11 and those plans just HAPPENED to include the “turn over bin Laden or we attack” ultimatum. The plans were used in the attack following Sept. 11th 2001."

9/11 Truth: the Challenge to the Peace Movement - Alt/Vid#1  - Alt/Vid#2  - Alt/Vid#3  - Alt/Vid#4
Must View Videos  - (YouTube - 10 min - December 06, 2009) -- A quote...."On September 13, 2009, Dr. Graeme MacQueen presented a speech titled, 9/11 Truth: the Challenge to the Peace Movement, at the conference, "We Demand Transparency! For Peace, Truth, and a New Economics." -- posted by UW911ResearchGroup

Cutter Charges Identified in the Critical Corners of WTC - Alt - (YouTube - 34 min 06 sec - Dec 25, 2009
Must View Video - A quote...."Small explosive ejections focused on a corner column of WTC1 (The North Tower of the World Trade Center) are evidence of cutter charges used to cut the corner columns. One of these occurs at the 98th floor at the onset of the demolition of the building. The other occurs lower in the building at the instant the column enters free fall." -- For more on the three articles shown above see....Reficultnias's 9/11 Central
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The Joys of Airstrikes and Anonymity
Must Read - A quote...."Each time the U.S. bombs a new location in the Muslim world, the same pattern emerges.  First, officials from the U.S. or allied governments run to their favorite media outlet to claim -- anonymously -- that some big, bad, notorious, "top" Al Qaeda leader "may have been" or "likely was" killed in the strike, and this constitutes a "stinging" or "devastating" blow against the Terrorist group.  These compliant media outlets then sensationalistically trumpet that claim as the dominant theme of their "reporting" on the attack, drowning out every other issue. "

The FBI Says This “Ball-Bomber” is Proof that Obama Was Right to Kill Innocent Civilians In Yemen
Special Note - A quote...."Right on time, right after the Peace Prize President’s attempt to assassinate Anwar al-Awlaki, the controversial cleric who communicated with Ft. Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, this new “terror” attack has connections not only to Yemen, but possibly right back to the same guy President Obama tried to kill.  And apparently, the “ball bomber” (as I like to call him) was “radicalized” … wait for it… via THE INTERNET…. guess we had better hurry up and let Joe Lieberman pass that “Homegrown Terrorist” bill of his."

Instant Karma: New US War Target Gets Its Own Terror Icon
Special Note - Wow, that didn't take long at all. Scant days after the American war machine took the cloaking device off its direct military involvement in Yemen, we have an alleged attempted terrorist attack by an alleged attempted terrorist who, just scant hours after his capture, has allegedly confessed to getting his alleged attempted terrorist material from ... wait for it ... Yemen! -- Yemen-trained terrorists on the loose in American airplanes! At Christmas! Great googily moogily! It's a good thing our boys are on the case over there right now, pounding the holy hell outta some of them Al Qaeder ragheads! And to think, a few pipsqueaky fifth columnists had been starting to wonder why we were killing dozens of innocent civilians on behalf of an authoritarian regime embroiled in a three-way civil war on the other side of the world."

Special Note - "CLG: Northwest Bomb Plot 'Oddities' By Lori Price, www.legitgov.org Updated: 27 Dec 2009 Bogosity reaches critical mass! In 2008, the ACLU estimated the 'No Fly List' to have grown to over 1,000,000 names --heck, even Cat Stevens and the late Senator Ted Kennedy was on it -- and continues to expand. And yet... suspected terrorist Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was curiously able to obtain military-grade high explosives -- 80 grams of PETN (gee, where'd he get that?), managed to escape airport security and set off his underwear bomb! In April 2009, American authorities reportedly refused an Air France flight from Paris to Mexico entry into US airspace because a left-wing journalist writing a book on the CIA was on board. Got it? Write a book critical of the CIA --you cannot fly. Carry explosives on board when the US is trolling for an excuse to invade and occupy Yemen for oil --you can!" -- Paragraph quoted from CLG

Al-Qaeda Wannabe Kept ‘Bomb’ on His Lap
A quote...."Details continue to trickle in about 23 year old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s would-be attack on a Detroit-bound airplane, Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam." -- Also posted at WarInIraq

So Why Did President Obama Try to Kill a Witness in Yemen
Special Note - A quote...."Up until now, there has only been speculation as to who was the real target in the most recent U.S. backed attack in Yemen that killed a reported 34 people.  But today it is being reported that the target was in fact, Anwar al-Awlaki, the controversial cleric who communicated with Ft. Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.  This most recent attack comes on the heels of another one, just a week ago, in which 17 women and 23 children were slaughtered in order to protect the investments of “U.S. assets” in Yemen (namely, Kuwait Energy and the IMF and World Bank).  As bad as that was, Obama’s killing of innocent civilians to protect pipelines and IMF’s investors, this most recent assassination attempt may be even more troubling."

Airline bomber was barred from Britain
A quote...."THE son of a prominent Nigerian banker, who allegedly attempted to blow up a transatlantic flight over America, was barred from returning to Britain earlier this year."

US bombs Sa'ada governor's house, Houthis say
A quote...."A US fighter jet has carried out multiple airstrikes on the home of a senior official in Yemen's northern rugged province of Sa'ada, Houthi fighters say. -- The Yemen-based Houthi fighters say the warplane struck the home owned by the governor of Sa'ada province, Hassan Mohammad Manna in five blitzes. There were no reports on possible casualties in the attacks."

Saudi bombers attack Yemen border
A quote...."Saudi warplanes reportedly mount a dozen air attacks on the Yemeni side of the common border, as Riyadh continues to reinforce Sana'a's anti-Shia campaign."

Americans to land only in Islamabad
Special Note - A quote...."Intelligence agencies have been reporting about increasing anger and agony against Americans among the general public, as the US nationals don’t abide by the laws. On many occasions, US nationals publicly didn’t abide the law of the state, as four times in Lahore and six times in Islamabad they were stopped on various police checkpoints and illegal weapons were recovered from them, but still they were allowed to move freely. This raised many questions about the integrity of Pakistan, and political parties, civil society and media were openly protesting against this discrimination." -- For more on this issue see....

US Security Firm Bribes Pakistani Officials, Top Interior Ministry Officer Arrested - posted 12-12-09
Pak Security Agencies catch US Consulate emp taking pictures of a sensitive checkpost bridge... - posted 12-12-09
Pakistan arrests 3 US embassy employees - posted 12-12-09
Blackwater behind Pakistan bombings: Ex-intel chief - posted 12-12-09

Iran Willing to Perform Nuclear Exchange in Turkey
A quote...."In yet another indication that the third party enrichment scheme isn’t quite dead, the Iranian government indicated today that it would be willing to transfer its nuclear material to Turkey and make the exchange there."
    
THE ROVING EYE -- China plays Pipelineistan
Oil & Gas Geo-Political Analysis -- A quote...."BEIJING - For all the rhapsodies on the advent of the New Silk Road, it may have come into effect for good last week, when China and Central Asia got together to open a crucial Pipelineistan node linking Turkmenistan to China's Xinjiang. -- By 2013, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong will be cruising to ever more dizzying heights courtesy of gas supplied by the 1,833-kilometer Central Asia Pipeline from Turkmenistan - operating at full capacity. The pipeline will even help China achieve its goals in terms of curbing carbon emissions."

China resets terms of engagement in Central Asia
Oil & Gas Geo-Political Analysis -- A quote....."Nursultan Nazarbayev has a way of drawing lines in the sand. The president of Kazakhstan recently told global oil and metal majors that new laws would allow only those foreign investors that cooperate with his industrialization program to tap his nation's mineral resources."
    
India keeping up with the neighbor
A quote...."BANGALORE - China and India engaged in a heated war of words in October and November, when India permitted the Dalai Lama to visit Tawang - territory in India's northeast over which China lays claim. A little over a month later, the two were coordinating their strategies at the Copenhagen climate summit, signaling there are areas where they can join together. -- Will conflict or cooperation define the Sino-Indian relationship in the coming decades?"

Chevron Using Six Public Relations Firms to Discredit Indigenous Groups In $27.3 Billion Environmental Case In Ecuador -- A quote...."Washington, DC – Chevron has retained at least twelve public relations firms and lobbyists to discredit claims of Amazon indigenous groups on the eve of an expected multi-billion dollar judgment against the oil giant in an environmental lawsuit in Ecuador, according to representatives of the tribes in the U.S." - also posted at DProgram

Israel summons envoys from all over the world
War Alert - They're gathering for the feast of the dead....other people's soon to be dead. - mpg -- A quote...."(PressTV) – Israel’s ambassadors and consuls generals from all over the world have been summoned to attend a conference to be held over global challenges facing Israel. -- The meeting to be attended in Jerusalem Al-Quds on December 27-31 is hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the ministry reported on its website." -- From Press TV
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

One Year On: Gaza Steadfast and Defiant amidst a World that has lost its Humanity
Must Read - Contains Photos - A quote...."Today we commemorate the first anniversary of one of the most horrific Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people and against humanity in general. On this day last year, the Zionist entity with all its advanced and sophisticated weapons, paid for by the US and the EU, launched a 23-day “war” on the unarmed and besieged civilian population of the Gaza Strip. -- While wars are fought between armies, Occupied Palestine has no army, not in the West Bank and not in Gaza. This “war” was more of an aggression, a slaughter, a series of massacres committed within the spam of 23 days, it was genocide." - also posted at Uruknet

Best of the Web: The Truth About the 2009 Gaza Massacre
Must View Video - A quote...."Eye opening montage of news clips and photos that tell the truth about the events in Gaza."

Video: Gaza 2009 – We Will Never Forget - Alt - (YouTube - 8 min 58 sec - January 24, 2009)
Must View Video - A quote...."Montage documenting the genocide commited by Isreal in "Operation Cast Lead"."-- For more on this issue see....Gaza Invasion of 12/27/08

Gaza 2009: Operation Cast Lead
Must View Video - From the history file - April 14, 2009 -- A quote...."Some things you may not know about the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the actions of the Israeli government. Please spread the link around- the truth can't be stopped."

Israel/Gaza: Operation ‘Cast Lead’ – 22 Days of Death and Destruction
Must Read - Just a few points, there are many more....mpg

• Some 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including some 300 children, and hundreds of other unarmed civilians, including more than 115 women and some 85 men aged over 50 during the 22-day Operation “Cast Lead”.
• Many Palestinian civilians were killed in attacks by high-precision weapons which are capable of pinpoint strikes and can hit within a meter of their targets and which have exceptionally good optics allowing those carrying out or directing the strikes to see the targets in detail.
• Many other Palestinian civilians were killed in indiscriminate and reckless attacks using imprecise weapons which should never be used in densely populated civilian areas. - From Amnesty International

Prepare for Outrage and Silence
A quote...."When is 3 worth more than 1400? On the Anniversary of the Gaza Genocide we should prepare for both outrage and silence from the United States Government and officials. The “silence” will pertain to the nearly 1000 civilians and over 300 children who were mass murdered by the 4th largest army in the world, using tanks, DIME missiles and White Phosphorous. Along with the additional 366 who have died over the course of this year due to the illegal siege."

U.S. shipped 989 munitions containers to Israel week before Gaza invasion
From the history file - April 11, 2009 -- A quote...."In the dying days of the Bush administration, and a week before Israel launched an aerial bombing campaign, followed by a land invasion of the Gaza Strip, the U.S. military shipped 989 containers of munitions to Israel. -- Each container was 20-feet long with a total estimated net weight of 14,000 tonnes. The shipment reportedly reached Israel last month at Ashod, 40 kiometres north of Gaza. The huge arsenal of munitions will replenish those expended in the Gaza War. -- According to Amnesty International in the UK, the shipment included white phosphorous." - bold by website editor

UN threatens sanctions on Israel
A quote...."Just days before the first anniversary of the Israeli Cast Lead military operation which cost the lives of 1,400 Palestinians, Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, has urged the Western powers to insist that Israel immediately end its blockade of the Gaza Strip, threatening to enforce economic sanctions." -- also posted at WarInIraq

‘Newsweek’ columnist endorses Goldstone Report
A quote...."I’m doing something good this Christmas; I’m reading the Goldstone Report. It’s amazing. I never did read it through. It’s the greatest work by a Jewish writer since Norman Mailer left town. No it’s not literary, but it’s a fervent effort to give dignity to the lives of Palestinian civilians gunned down in their homes because Israeli soldiers were pursuing a policy of frightening the population and "communicating" with bullets."

Viva Palestina Convoy Blocked from Entering Egypt - (PTV-YouTube - 2 min 59 sec - December 26, 2009)
PTV-Video - A quote...."The Viva Palestina aid convoy to Gaza which left London on December 6th has been blocked from entering Egypt, they are held at the Jordanian port of Aqaba. The convoy, which is made up of more than 200+ vehicles, planned to reach Rafah on December 27th."

Mubarak blows his big chance to behave decently
A quote...."Gee, thanks President Mubarak... Thanks for ruining Christmas for so many. -- But that’s par for the course in the cesspit of treachery that is the Middle East. -- The human tragedy of Gaza just gets worse and worse. Nobody seriously believed the Viva Palestina convoy would get through unmolested; and so it came to pass… It is stranded at Aqaba, and its precious cargo is spoiling in the heat, because Mubarak’s henchmen will not allow it to enter Egypt through the port of Nuweiba."

U.S. – Led World Community Fails, Palestinians on Brink of Explosion
Exactly what the Israelis and the US-NRE want!! - mpg -- A quote...."In the absence of all hope, we cry out our cry of hope,” Palestinian Christian leaders, representing churches and church-related organizations, meeting in Bethlehem on December 11, concluded in their 13-page document titled “Kairos Palestine – 2009: A Moment of Truth,” enlisting Christians worldwide in proactive efforts to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Their “cry” symbolizes the popular mood of their people as well as the political status quo."

Israel returns to Assassinations Policy
A quote...."Six Palestinians were killed in two separate incidents by the Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Bank. Three of the Palestinians were assassinated in  Israel returns to Assassinations Policy 122 320x240 one of the palestinian victims  Nablus at the West Bank. According to Israeli sources, Ghasan Abu Sharkh, Raed Sarkaji and Anan Suboh took part in the last attack which resulted in killing an Israeli settler in the West Bank." -- also posted at AlethoNews

Israeli Troops Kill 6 in West Bank, Gaza
A quote...."NABLUS, West Bank  - Israeli troops killed six Palestinians on Saturday in two separate operations, including a raid in the West Bank targeting members of president Mahmud Abbas' Fatah movement."
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Something's Not Right Here -- By Bill Moyers - Mat Taibbi - Robert Kuttner - Alt
Must View Video - More on Obama's health non-care disaster. - mpg -- A quote...."One year after the great collapse of our financial system, Wall Street is back on top while our politicians dither. As for health care reform, you're about to be forced to buy insurance from companies whose stock is soaring, and that's just dandy with the White House." -- ||   Transcript  ||  Mp3 Podcast  ||  Vodcast  ||

No Gain, Plenty of Pain, On Day One
Must Read - More on Obama's health non-care disaster. - mpg -- A uqote...."Obama's health care bill, the poisoned Kool-Aid making its way through the Senate, will not confer any of its supposed benefits on Americans until 2013. But they will find themselves chafing at its restrictions and paying its taxes immediately after the law takes effect."

For more on the two articles shown above see....Double Indemnity - 12-21-09 - mpg
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On Christmas Eve: Massive bailouts to Big Ins/Big Pharma by Senate AND to Freddie/Fannie by WH
A quote...."Many of us were unwilling witnesses to the giveaway to Big Health Insurance/Big Pharma, courtesy of the US Senate on Christmas Eve. -- But on the same day, the White House announced an unlimited credit line at the disposal of troubled Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. -- Some days are just spectacular for the chosen few, aren't they?"

Big Paydays For Fannie and Freddie Bosses
A quote...."Top executives at mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both of which have been under government control since last year, received millions of dollars in pay in 2009, according to documents filed by the companies Thursday." -- For more on this issue see....Having Fun With Your Tax Dollars

U.S. lifts $400 billion cap for Fannie, Freddie
A quote...."(MSNBC) – The government has handed its ATM card to beleaguered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. -- The Treasury Department said Thursday it removed the $400 billion financial cap on the money it will provide to keep the companies afloat. Already, taxpayers have shelled out $111 billion to the pair, and a senior Treasury official said losses are not expected to exceed the government’s estimate this summer of $170 billion over 10 years."

Are Hedge Funds Responsible For The Missing Half A Trillion In Treasury Purchases?
According to the analysis, it's unlikely, which makes it more likely that these purchases are coming from the Fed. - mpg -- A quote...."Eric Sprott's most recent report has generated serious ripples within financial circles due to his unique interpretation of some rather nebulous data in the latest December Treasury Bulletin. Sprott raises a major question mark as to the constituency of the "Other Investors" as defined on page 48, which in his calculations, has accounted for $510 billion of Treasuries in the first three quarters of 2009. Could this be a "phantom purchaser" that is the Federal Reserve in all but name? Or is it something far more innocuous?"

Congress raises debt ceiling to $12.4 trillion
From the history file - Dec 24 11:07 AM US/Eastern -- A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate voted Thursday to raise the ceiling on the government debt to $12.4 trillion, a massive increase over the current limit and a political problem that President Barack Obama has promised to address next year."

Japan unveils record $1 trillion budget
Japan is saying to dear old Ben Bernanke and ALL of Wall Street....what....you think we were just going to stand by and allow you to depreciate YOUR currency while causing our's to appreciate so YOU could spend your way to the New Roman Empire by destroying everyone's export capability?  (This website editor rarely uses profanity, however this would be one of the few exceptions) --  Japan to the Wall Street Cabal and Ben Bernanke....Fuck You! -- A quote...."Japan has unveiled a record 92.29 trillion yen ($1 trillion) annual budget designed to revive its recession-hit economy. - Japan's three-month-old cabinet approved the budget for the next financial year that begins in April amid growing worries about its mounting debt."

China Unveils World's Fastest Train Link
A quote...."China on Saturday unveiled what it billed as the fastest rail link in the world -- a train connecting the modern cities of Guangzhou and Wuhan at an average speed of 350 kilometres (217 miles) an hour. -- The super-high-speed train reduces the 1,069 kilometre journey to a three hour ride and cuts the previous journey time by more than seven and a half hours, the official Xinhua news agency said."

Friday December 25th 2009

No posts. - mpg

Thursday December 24th 2009

Barack Obama and Langston Hughes on “Grumblers” and “Merry Christmas”
Must Read - A quote...."Langston's Christmas poem draws our attention to a part of the world much in today's headlines....."


"Under our first black president, Afghanistan and Pakistan are part of a vast law-free zone in which daily shellings and air raids go unreported and unremarked except by the families of victims. Assassinations and kidnappings to fill America's world-wide network of secret prisons have replaced the open incarceration of real and suspected political foes. At least we knew Gandhi's name, what he was charged with, where he was locked up, what his sentence was, whether he got a day in court and whether his keepers mistreated him. We can't say that about hundreds or thousands of Obama's prisoners."

US vs. China: Watch the Power Game Play Out
Must Read Interview - Andy Muhkerjee interviews Mark Faber.

"Accountability for War Crimes is Imperative"
Must Read Interview - Mike Whitney interviews Cindy Sheehan.

Last Week: US Iraq Casualties Rise to 72,551
A quote...."US military occupation forces in Iraq under Commander-in-Chief Obama suffered three combat casualties in the week ending December 22, 2009 as the official total since the 2003 invasion rose to at least 72,551. The total includes 35,083 dead and wounded from what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes and more than 37,458 (as of Dec. 5, 2009) dead, injured and sick from "non-hostile" causes requiring medical evacuation."
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Welcome to Pashtunistan: the aim of America’s secret war?
Must Read - A quote...."Few people by now can be unaware of Blackwater, later known as Blackwater Worldwide and now as Xe. The private security agency formed in 1997 and based in North Carolina is owned by Erik Prince, a former member of the US Navy Seal special forces, and has long-standing links with both the CIA and the FBI." - also posted at ICH & Uruknet & AlethoNews - For more on this issue see....It Will Happen Every Single Time

Mr. 10%: Our Man in Islamabad
Must Read - A quote...."In my office hang photos of this writer with Pakistan's last four leaders. Two of them - Zia ul Haq and Benazir Bhutto - were murdered. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted in a military coup led by photo number four, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who was deposed last year by Pakistan's military." -- also posted at ICH

Russia, China urge diplomacy in Iran nuclear case
A quote...."Russia and China have called for a diplomatic solution to the impasse over Iran's nuclear energy program amid Western threats of more sanctions against Tehran." - also posted at AlethoNews

Opponents gunning for Gordon Brown as he escapes Iraq grilling before election
A quote...."Opposition parties reacted angrily after it emerged that Sir John Chilcot's committee would wait until after polling day to quiz Mr Brown, Foreign Secretary David Miliband and International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander. -- Sir John, a retired Whitehall mandarin, has insisted that the investigation should "remain firmly outside party politics"."

UK Army 'Waterboarded' Prisoners in 1970s
Full quote...."Evidence has emerged that the British army used waterboarding to interrogate Northern Ireland prisoners during troubled times back in the 1970s. -- The torture technique was allegedly used in at least one interrogation of a prisoner who was accused of killing a British soldier in 1973, a Tuesday report published in the Guardian said. -- The prisoner named Liam Holden was later convicted of murder, largely based on an unsigned confession. -- At the time the jury ignored his claim that the confession was forced under severe duress by British soldiers who had held him down, placed a towel over his face and poured water over his nose and mouth. -- After 17 years in jail, the Criminal Cases Review Commission is now reviewing Holden's case because of doubts about the "admissibility and reliability" of his confession. -- Waterboarding, which simulates drowning, is considered torture by agencies worldwide. -- CIA agents are known to have used it in interrogating the so-called 'war on terror' suspects."

Curacao Is U.S. Spy Base Against Venezuela
Special Note - A quote...."Dutch Socialist MP Harry van Bommel has claimed that US spy planes are using an airbase on the Netherlands Antilles island of Curaçao. -- Mr Van Bommel has asked Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen whether he is aware that a Boeing RC-135 aircraft has been making regular reconnaissance flights from the Caribbean island's Hato airport over the past few weeks."

'Ukraine facing problems with gas payment to Russia'
A quote...."Kiev is facing difficulties with gas payments to Moscow since mid-December when it cut back on its purchases, says Russia's gas giant Gazprom. -- "Ukraine is experiencing serious problems with payment," RIA Novosti quoted Gazprom head Alexei Miller as saying on Friday."

The Nation: Immigration Agents Holding US Residents in Unlisted, Unmarked Facilities
Police State Alert - A quote...."The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is holding an untold number of people in secretively maintained detention facilities all over the United States. That’s according to an explosive report that’s the cover story of the latest issue of The Nation magazine. They also report that ICE agents regularly impersonate civilians and rely on other illegal tricks to arrest longtime US residents who have no criminal history. We speak with the author of the two-part investigation, Jacqueline Stevens. [includes rush transcript]" -- ||  Real Video Stream  ||  Real Audio Stream  ||  MP3 Download  ||  More…  ||

Assad: Israel is main cause for peace deadlock
A quote...."Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says peace talks with Israel have reached a stalemate because Tel Aviv does not have an interest to achieve regional peace."
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More On The Palestinian Situation....

[Israeli] Settlers attempt to destroy Christmas tree following Palestinian celebration in Sheikh Jarrah
A quote...."On Wednesday 23 December at 11.30pm, as every other night, settlers began to circulate in the street between the occupied Gawi house and the half-occupied al-Kurd house in Sheikh Jarrah. After about an hour of general harassment of the Palestinian families living in the neighbourhood since 1956, the settlers increased their aggression and started throwing fruit at the people who sat in front of the Kurd family house to protect it from further invasions. Two settlers started making graffiti and sprayed over Palestinian flags painted on the wall of the al-Kurd backyard, while the rest pushed and cursed the Palestinians and internationals, who verbally tried to make them stop. A solidarity activist filming the episode was spray-painted in the face numerous times. Three border policemen stood next by and watched without interfering for the whole duration of the attack."

US campaign for academic boycott gaining strength
Boycott, Divest and Sanction - Bacause it's the only way to stop the carnage. - mpgA quote...."27 December 2009 marks the one-year anniversary of the beginning of "Operation Cast Lead," Israel's 22-day assault on the captive population of Gaza, which killed 1,400 people, one third of them children, and injured more than 5,300. During this war on an impoverished, mostly refugee population, Israel targeted civilians, using internationally-proscribed white phosphorous bombs, deprived them of power, water and other essentials, and sought to destroy the infrastructure of Palestinian civil society, including hospitals, administrative buildings and UN facilities. It targeted with peculiar consistency educational institutions of all kinds: the Islamic University of Gaza, the Ministry of Education, the American International School, at least ten UNRWA schools, one of which was sheltering internally displaced Palestinian civilians with nowhere to flee, and tens of other schools and educational facilities." -- For more on how to Boycott, Divest and Sanction the state of Israel see the upper-left-corner of the "Front Page" of this website. - mpg

Villages challenge occupation on human rights day
A quote...."Al-Tuwani is a Palestinian village in the south Hebron Hills of the occupied West Bank. The village, home to approximately 200 residents, is more than 1,000 years old. Al-Tuwani falls under Area C (which covers some 60 percent of the occupied West Bank), an outcome of the Oslo accords which means the Israeli army has full control over all security, planning and construction in the village. There is no running water and a diesel generator provides electricity for a few hours a day. Al-Tuwani's residents have faced repeated obstacles from the Israeli army to any type of development in the village, from halting construction of a medical clinic to confiscating electricity lines. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers in the nearby illegal settlements Ma'on and Havat Ma'on continually harass villagers and poison their livestock."

UN: Israel bans Palestinian building in 44% of West Bank
A quote...."Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli military rule has made Palestinian construction off limits in about 44% of the West Bank, according to a recent report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)."

Interview with Jamal Juma', Stop the Wall campaign leader arrested by Israel December 15
Interview - A quote...."Many Z Net readers are familiar with recent Palestinian nonviolent resistance against Israel's occupation -weekly village demonstrations in the village Bil'in against the segregation wall have gotten greatest coverage in the alternative and international media. (Israel's "segregation" or "apartheid" wall was ruled illegal in 2004 by the International Court of Justice, but Israel has pressed forward: the wall now undulates for 280 kilometers throughout the West Bank, stealing Palestinian land as it does, and annexing it, de facto, to Israel's West Bank settlements). Similar demonstrations are staged weekly in other West Bank villages (the Bethlehem region, and the region around the Palestinian city, Qalqilya, in the north)."

Galloway raps Egypt for stopping Gaza aid convoy
Action Update - As long as Israeli butt-kissing maggots like Mubarak are allowed to remain in power, so long shall there be no freedom for the Palistinians, much less the Egyptian people.  And any dream of Muslim solidarity, or a Middle Eastern common market like the EU will remain just that, a dream. - mpg
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Obama pay czar OKs $4 million raise for AIG executive
Awww look, The Obama administration gave Robert Benmosche a Christmas present....what did you get for Christmas folks? - mpg -- A quote...."As Wall Street prepares to announce some $30 billion in year-end bonuses—a near-record—it has been handed an additional bit of Christmas cheer from Kenneth Feinberg, the “special master for compensation” appointed by the Obama administration ostensibly to rein in bankers’ pay." - bold by website editor - also posted at Uruknet - For more on this issue see....Having Fun With Your Tax Dollars

Congress Raises Debt Ceiling to $12.4 Trillion
Related Article - A quote...."The Senate voted Thursday to raise the ceiling on the government debt to $12.4 trillion, a massive increase over the current limit and a political problem that President Barack Obama has promised to address next year."

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122409-123009 - links page

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