MPG'S DAILY RAPSHEET AND BLOTTER  ON THE "GREAT GAME"  - links page

@ www.reficultnias.org
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Editor's note : From now on each daily blog will have several items culled from the past called  "9/11 - From The History File" : It's for those who didn't know, and also for those who forgot....or are trying to forget.

Editor's note - War Update, War Alert, War Warning, Red War Warning and War Imminent - refer to articles regarding the upcoming war with Iran.  In the order they appear as shown above, they  represent less serious to more serious possible threats of war. - mpg
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Monday January 14th 2008 - links page

Less Than Human  ---  http://harpers.org/archive/2008/01/hbc-90002135
Must Read - A quote...."Around the world, Guantánamo is viewed as a stain on the honor and reputation of the United States. It stands as visual evidence of a decision by the United States to repudiate its human rights commitments and the human rights standards that every modern American administration up to the arrival of George W. Bush had championed. Britain’s Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, the senior law officer in the English-speaking world, called the existence of Guantánamo a “shocking affront to the principles of democracy.” And he and others have pointed to the opinions handed down in American courts that sustain and nurture Guantánamo as evidence of the corruption and collapse of the integrity and independence of American courts. This criticism is painful for American lawyers. Doubly painful because of its certain truth."
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The Subhuman Stain: Federal Court Upholds Torture and Tyranny
  ---  http://www.chris-floyd.com/Articles/Articles/The_Subhuman_Stain%3A_Federal_Court_Upholds_Torture_and_Tyranny/#jc_writeComment
A comment regarding the article shown above - a quote...."Last week, a federal appeals court upheld George W. Bush's outrageous claims of dictatorial powers, ruling that he and his designated minions can torture captives -- seized and held outside any legal process -- as they see fit. What's more, the judges -- all of them appointed by one of the Bushes who have stained the Oval Office with their bloodstained filth -- further ruled that these captives are "non-persons" in the eyes of the law: subhumans, without rights, without redress -- no matter what was done to them, no matter if they were innocent.
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Legal mist stokes US-Iran tensions in strait  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JA15Ak02.html
A quote...."Given that the approximately three-kilometer-wide inbound traffic lane in the Strait of Hormuz is within Iran's territorial water, the US Navy's invocation of "transit passage" harking back to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, (UNCLOS) is hardly surprising. [1] "  --  "Although the US has yet to ratify the UNCLOS, it has been a strong advocate of its provisions regarding navigational rights, thus explaining the US officers' availing themselves of "international law". [2]"

Oh Ho! Look at this.  The US elites who have basically spat upon or broken every single international treaty this nation ever entered into and who have also willingly violated their oath of office by eviscerating this nation's constitution, are now claiming rights under a treaty they haven't even ratified yet.

They are just disgusting, degenerate morons. – mpg
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Gulf Arabs know better than to follow Bush's path to confrontation with Iran - posted at Info Clearing House  --  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
  ---  http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&article_id=87998&categ_id=17
A quote...."US President George W. Bush used his speech in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to reiterate many of the same accusations about Iran that we have heard him throw around since his first weeks in office seven years ago."
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Arab press Reactions to Bush Visit - 'An Absurd, Sadistic Image' - posted at Info Clearing House  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
  ---  http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,528561,00.html
A quote...."Papers in the Middle East are sharply critical of Bush's current Middle East visit, saying the United States is obsessed with Iran and that he is backpedaling on the positions he staked out at Annapolis."
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Illusions of peace  ---  http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/879/op4.htm
A quote...."Almost to the last one, all US presidential candidates agree on one thing: the need for change. In the run-up for the August primaries and the November elections, many names will pop up and disappear as the American people ponder their options. The next president may be an African American, Barack Obama, or a woman, Hillary Clinton. But on both sides of the Democratic-Republican divide, Americans are visibly disenchanted with the policies of the Bush administration. The Democrats say the Bush administration undermined US international standing, wrecked the economy, and boosted joblessness. The Republicans are all working hard to disassociate themselves from Bush's legacy."
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Bush Disowns U.S. Intel, Tells Israelis Iran NIE ‘Doesn’t Reflect My Own Views’  ---  http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/13/bush-israelis-nie/
A quote...."Just days after the NIE was released, Bush quickly announced he would
make the first visit to Israel   ---  http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=67493&v=4028320021  ---  of his presidency to mend differences over Iran.  --  In private meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this week, Newsweek reports that President Bush
disowned the U.S. intelligence community’s   ---  http://www.newsweek.com/id/91673  ---  judgments:"

King George ignores the NIE just like he ignores this nation's laws by the use of his "signing statements". - mpg
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Muqtada al-Sadr Denounces Bush  ---  http://www.juancole.com/2008/01/muqtada-al-sadr-denounces-bush.html
A quote...."We wonder, will visit by the leader of evil (Bush) to the Middle East be a lever lifting the sufferings of others. No and a thousand no[s]. It came to impose US domination and hegemony on the rest of the states so that their fate will be the same as the fate of others before them. - While we denounce and condemn this visit, which will only spread corruption and wars, we tell him: You brought us wars, and the bringer of war cannot bring peace and the bearer of corruption cannot spread wellbeing. Go away with your freedom and spread it among your own people, who suffer from your suppression. Spread peace among your own people who suffer from fear and hatred of others due to you. Get out of our land and it will be safe."  --  *Muqtada al-Sadr*
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Who's Left In The Coalition? - posted at BuzzFlash  ---  http://www.buzzflash.com/
  ---  http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2008/edition_01-13-2008/Intelligence_Report#governmentwatch
Full quote...."When the U.S. invaded Iraq in the spring of 2003, we had 47,200 combat troops from three nations with us. In March 2004, there were 24,000 troops from 33 countries. Today, the number of foreign troops has dropped below 12,000, according to the Brookings Institution’s Iraq Index. That includes 4500 British troops, 2000 from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia and 1200 from South Korea. Other coalition members, such as Spain, Italy and Japan, left Iraq months or years ago. By this summer, the numbers could diminish by an additional 50%. Britain and South Korea are halving their forces, and Georgia is pulling out 1700 troops. The new prime ministers of Australia and Poland also have promised to remove all of their soldiers—600 and 900, respectively—which would leave the foreign troop strength under 6000. (Right now, the U.S. has about 160,000 troops there.) Says Brookings’ Michael O’Hanlon: “The military mission in Iraq is increasingly just a U.S.-Iraqi enterprise.” He adds that we can expect less help as time passes, “even given improvements on the ground and a new President.”
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Oil for Iraqi citizens  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7790
A quote...."Precedent exists in international law that could explode the US occupation of Iraq, its genocidal strategy, and be a step towards healing the wounds of the Iraqi nation.  --  Some 4.7 million Iraqi citizens -- one fifth of the population -- have been forcibly displaced, within and outside their country, by the US occupation and the policies of the sectarian governments it installed since the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. It is a human catastrophe, a national tragedy, and a destabilising factor for the region. This exodus has been labelled "the fastest growing humanitarian crisis on the planet", unprecedented in size since the 1948 Nakba that uprooted at least one million Palestinians from their land."
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The End of the Road for George W. Bush  ---  http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080113_the_end_of_the_road_for_george_w_bush/
A quote...."The Gilbert and Sullivan charade of statesmanship played out by George W. Bush and his enabler, Condoleezza Rice, as they wander the Middle East is a fitting end to seven years of misrule.  Despots stripped of power are transformed from monsters into buffoons.  And this is the metamorphosis that is eating away at the Bush presidency. "
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Bush branded 'unwelcome murderer'  ---  http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23048268-5005961,00.html
A quote...."US President George W. Bush, due to visit Egypt on Wednesday as part of his Middle East tour, was branded a murderer not welcome in the country by the main opposition party." - “We say to Bush Junior - whose hands are not just bloodstained but soaked in our blood - that neither you or your American administration assistants are welcome in our land or under our skies,” the Muslim Brotherhood said."
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B'Tselem: Does Diskin view kids as terrorists? -- http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3493794,00.html
A quote...."The human rights organizations in Israel and the Gaza Strip were angered by data presented Sunday by Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin during Sunday's cabinet meeting, according to which Israel had killed 1,000 terrorists in the past two years. - The B'Tselem organization expressed its surprise over Diskin's remarks, saying that according to its figures, 816 Palestinians were killed by the IDF in that same period, including 150 minors, 48 of them under the age of 14. - Security sources later corrected Diskin's remarks, saying that 810 terrorists were identified among the casualties, which included civilians."
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Layla Anwar – An Arab Woman Blues: Indicting The Reader  ---  http://www.countercurrents.org/ghista140108.htm
Site Review - A quote...."Layla Anwar is the pseudonym for an Iraqi blogger, in her early to mid-forties, who appears to be writing directly from Baghdad, right in the line of fire, so to speak. She comes from a secular, upper-middle class, Sunni background and remains loyal to Saddam Hussein. Unlike the blogger Baghdad Burning, Layla does not write for the American left. Rather, she writes to all Americans, including the American left, and condemns us all along with the Bush-Cheney regime. She indicts every single American for being a part of the destruction and devastation of her motherland. She writes to the enemy."
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Italian judge seeks trial of 140 over Operation Condor repression  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2008/jan2008/cond-j15.shtml
A quote...."An Italian judge has issued orders for the preventive arrest pending deportation of at least 140 former officials of military dictatorships that ruled seven Latin American countries between the 1960s and 1980s. They are charged with responsibility for the deaths of 25 Italian citizens, who were among the tens of thousands of opponents of these regimes murdered, tortured and illegally imprisoned under a US-backed campaign of repression known as Operation Condor."
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Poland toughens stance on US missile shield  ---  http://euobserver.com/9/25421
A quote...." US ambitions to place a missile defence shield in Central Europe are running into trouble, as Polish prime minister Donald Tusk says his country will not rush into a decision."
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Peru en route to become regional natural gas power  ---  http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=12419&formato=HTML
A quote...."Spain's Repsol announced the discovery of a new gas deposit at block 57 in Peru's Cuzco department that holds 56.6 billion cubic meters. The discovery was made at exploratory well Kinteroni X1 where initial production tests have reached 1Mm3/d of gas and 198m3 of associated liquid hydrocarbons."
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President Putin's visit to Bulgaria to bring pipeline deal, NPP contract  ---  http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080114/96630501.html
A quote...."MOSCOW, January 14 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian president's visit to Bulgaria this week will bring a package of deals, including on an ambitious oil pipeline project and a nuclear power plant, the foreign minister said on Monday."
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European press: It wasn't a miracle - Hillary won via a rigged vote  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7794
A quote...."The mainstream Italian media are reporting both the rigging of the New Hampshire primary for Senator Hillary Clinton and the official demands for a swift, accurate and impartial recount. In an article written by Marcello Foa, one of Europe's most respected journalists, it appears that vote tallies for all Democratic candidates as well as Republicans were reduced by Diebold vote-counting machines."
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We Deserve What We Get  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/153357
A quote...."This column is not about Hillary vs. Obama vs. Edwards. The truth is if I had the choice I'd vote for Dennis Kucinich because he's against the war, for the impeachment of war criminals in government, smart on the environment and the economy, and he has a sense of humor about UFOS. He's not afraid to joke about 'em for fear he'll be labeled a nutcase — as indeed he was.  --  But I don't have that option. Kucinich represents my views, but he only got 1% in New Hampshire. Too bad.  --  I want to talk not about candidates but about our media turning every presidential election into a high school popularity contest. And we let them get away with it. And we don't stop Rupert Murdoch, Clear Channel, Disney, GE, Sumner Redstone and a few others from owning all the media all the time."
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[1] - Organs to be taken without consent  ---  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/13/norgans113.xml
A quote...."Gordon Brown has thrown his weight behind a move to allow hospitals to take organs from dead patients without explicit consent."  -- But how did they get to be  "dead" -  that's the question.  You were warned gentle readers, you knew what the rich were going to do....you were told this was coming. - mpg

"We are the wealthiest one percent. Do you not know you are a commodity? You are a product? You function only to provide a service; you exist only to be a worker unit, a sex unit, a killer unit, a consumer unit, even an organ donation unit?  One of the more profitable trades from the former Yugoslavian republic while it broke apart was the export of human organs to the United States.  It was only fitting that those with less money should serve us so. We deeply regret that the Iraqis bury their dead so quickly, we could have become a much closer people if this weren’t their custom. Such a sad waste of a good resource is anathema to us. Would it not be more fitting if, as we killed them for their oil, we used their very organs to prolong our lives?"  --  The Wealthiest One Percent - The Spirit of Liberal Capitalism - 12-05-05 - mpg
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/thewealthiestonepercent-essay-mpg-121505
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[2] - Southern California plant turning treated sewage into drinking water - posted at BuzzFlash  ---  http://www.buzzflash.com/
  ---  http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/13/southern_california_plant_turning_treated_sewage_into_drinking_water/
A quote...."LOS ANGELES - As a hedge against water shortages and population growth, Orange County, Calif., has begun operating the world's largest, most modern reclamation plant - a facility that can turn 70 million gallons of treated sewage into drinking water every day."

No doubt the sewage water will be taken from the rich neighborhoods and the "treated" water will be pumped into the poor neighborhoods water supply.  Just you wait and see.  The "government" will be charging people more for "none-sewage" water. - mpg

"We are the wealthiest one percent.  Can you not taste us? Can you not smell us?  We contaminate your food and drink with our drugs, chemicals and pollutants.  We fill the air with our poisons.  We cover the ground with toxic wastes and fill the rivers with toxic sludge. Does it not taste good?"  --  The Wealthiest One Percent - The Spirit of Liberal Capitalism - 12-05-05 - mpg
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/thewealthiestonepercent-essay-mpg-121505
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[3] - Kids hitting puberty at three  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=5273
A quote...."Shocked doctors blame hormones in food and water for some toddlers showing signs of breast growth, The Sun reports. - Other pre-school youngsters even experience periods that normally start in their teens – and have temper tantrums just like adolescents. - The phenomenon is feared to have become more common since the 1990s – with doctors having to give increasing numbers of tots jabs to keep puberty at bay."

"For we are the wealthiest one percent.  Can you not feel us? For we are there, in your heads like a snake slithering through your sub-conscious while you sleep, our soft dry serrations imprinting on your minds.  We’re in your very thoughts; we’re there when you wake up and when you go to sleep. We’re physically present in the very air you breathe and the water you drink containing the poisons we have released to enrich ourselves.  In the very food your children eat contaminated by the drugs and toxins we foist upon their soft vulnerable bodies. Like a narcotic fume you inhale us while you watch our mass media, our advertisings, and our literature. Are you not pleased with the world we have created for you. For we care not either way."  --  The Wealthiest One Percent - The Spirit of Liberal Capitalism - 12-05-05 - mpg  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/thewealthiestonepercent-essay-mpg-121505
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Escalating Ice Loss Found in Antarctica  ---  http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/linkframe.php?linkid=49639
A quote...."Climatic changes appear to be destabilizing vast ice sheets of western Antarctica that had previously seemed relatively protected from global warming, researchers reported yesterday, raising the prospect of faster sea-level rise than current estimates."
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Sunday January 13th 2008 - links page

Why is Iran Still in the Cross-Hairs? - Clues from the Project of a New American Century
  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7783
Must Read - A quote...."[T]here are still quite a few neoconservatives who want to go after Iran under these unbelievable conditions." 3 - The question is, why? One popular theory holds that the push for war is all about oil; but many countries have oil, and we don't normally invade them to get their assets. Why go to war for Iran's oil when we can just buy it?"
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The grave Iranian threat to world peace  ---  http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/01/11/warmongering/index.html
A quote...."In other news, Bush yesterday, while in Israel, threatened Iran again.   ---  http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/news-bush-mideast.html?hp
Also yesterday, we dropped 40,000 more pounds of bombs   ---  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/world/middleeast/11iraq.html
on Iraq in a ten-minute time-frame. In some circles, it's a cause for celebration and vindication that the completely optional war we started
 "only" resulted   ---  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/09/AR2008010902793.html
in the violent deaths of 150,000 Iraqi innocent civilians (through mid-2006), with the
overall number   ---  http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_01/012875.php
of "excess deaths" at 400,000, and the displacement   ---  http://www.juancole.com/2008/01/9-us-troops-killed-250000-civilians.html
of 4 million human beings.
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Why does't Bush just change his citizenship?  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_w__chris_080113_why_does_t_bush_just.htm
A quote...."Two countries come to mind:  --  (1.)  Well, since he's obscenely joined at the hip with Osama bin laden, why doesn't he just convert to Saudi Arabia?  Remember, Osama rescued Bush with a last minute photo op during the 2004 presidential election (if you can call that criminal theft an "election").  Also, we should never forget that Bush whisked members of the bin laden family out of the country a matter of HOURS after 9/11
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/flights911-weblist-mpg-081906  ---  kinda sounds like he knew "something" in advance, doesn't it? And more generally, since the Bush Royal Family is indistinguishable from the Saudi Royal Family, perhaps the Saudi's would make Bush an honorary prince if he made his traitorous allegiance to Saudi Arabia known to the American public."  --  link added by website author.
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Member of Japanese Diet Doubts Official 9/11 Fairy Tale  ---  http://www.truthnews.us/?p=1644
A quote...."Don’t expect the New York Times or CNN to report on Fujita Yukihisa’s grilling of Japanese PM Fukuda over the official 9/11 fairy tale."
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Bush Insists Iran Biggest Terror Sponsor  ---  http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8U55T7O0&show_article=1
A quote...."Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terror," Bush said in a speech about democracy that he delivered about midway through his eight-day Mideast trip, which began with a renewed push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace pact—an accord he said whose "time has come."

For more on who supports terror see....US Support of Terror
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ussupportofterror-weblist-mpg-090306
Regarding the Palestinians and the Lebanese see....US Sponsored Civil Wars
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/ussponsoredcivilwars-weblist-mpg-101107
See also....It Will Happen Every Single Time
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-122407-010108#EVERY_TIME
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Unraveling the Myth of Al Qaida  ---  http://dailyscare.com/2797/unraveling-the-myth-of-al-qaida
Must Read - A quote...."The myth of "al Qaida" is built on an expansive foundation of many half-truths and hidden facts. It is a CIA creation. It was shaped by the agency to serve as a substitute "enemy" for America, replacing the Soviets whom the Islamist forces had driven from Afghanistan. Unknown American officials, at an indeterminate point in time, made the decision to fabricate the tale of a mythical worldwide network of Islamic terrorists from the exploits of the Afghan Mujahedeen. The CIA already had their own network of Islamic militant "freedom fighters," all that was needed were a few scattered terrorist attacks against US targets and a credible heroic figurehead, to serve as the "great leader."
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Inadequate Deception: The Impossible Plots Of The Terror War --  http://winterpatriot.blogspot.com/2008/01/inadequate-deception-impossible-plots.html
A quote...."Suppose you were running a counter-terrorism unit. What would you need? A huge budget -- obviously! But what else? You'd need lots of good people, and you'd need good ways to train them, and good ways to test them. You'd also need to make sure that they passed their tests."
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Toward Militarism, War, Empire, Caskets, and Bankruptcy  ---  http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2008-01-11.asp
A quote...."The incident in the Gulf of Tonkin — excuse me, Gulf of Hormuz — this past week confirms how easy it is for an American ruler to send the entire nation into war, especially given that he is now permitted to ignore the constitutional provision requiring a congressional declaration of war."
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The War in Iraq – 1,760 Days and Counting  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/higgs/higgs71.html
Must Read - A quote...."It is difficult enough to absorb the reality that the United States has now been at war against the Iraqis for almost five years. An engagement sold to the public as a "cakewalk" and represented just six weeks after it began as a "mission accomplished" has now (as I write) continued for 1,760 days. Compare this duration with the time the United States was formally engaged in World War I (589 days) or World War II (1,365 days). In the 1940s, the U.S. forces (with important allies, to be sure) defeated two major economic and military powers in a globe-circling war in less time than the U.S. forces have been engaged in Iraq."
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New Iraqi Law on Baath Worries Ex-Baathists  ---  http://www.juancole.com/2008/01/so-big-political-news-today-is-that.html
A quote...."If the new law was good for ex-Baathists, then the ex-Baathists in parliament will have voted for it and praised it, right? And likely the Sadrists (hard line anti-Baath Shiites) and Kurds would be a little upset. - Instead, parliament's version of this law was spearheaded by Sadrists, and the ex-Baathists in parliament criticized it. - Somehow that little drawback suggests to me that the law is not actually, as written, likely to be good for sectarian reconciliation."
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20 Thousand Detainees in Bucca, US Report Says  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/153293
Full quote...."An American report said that American occupation forces are detaining twenty thousand Iraqis in Bucca Prison, southern Iraq, for security reasons.  --  The report was made public upon handing the prison's responsibilities from Navy Captain Craig Roul to Navy Captain Bruce Derinski.  --  The report say that during Captain Roul's command of the prison, the detention witnessed an expansion at the cost of 370 million US Dollars, erecting 37 observation towers and light weapons armory."
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Shiite, Sunni political blocs sign pact to maintain Iraq's unity  ---  http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/13/content_7414950.htm
A quote...."BAGHDAD, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Some of Iraq's Shiite and Sunni parliamentary blocs signed on Sunday an understanding aimed at protecting the country's unity and stressing central control over oil reserves.  --  "These are political blocs which oppose the oil wealth be out of the control of the central government and have their own point of view toward the future of Kirkuk," Salih al-Mutlak, head of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front, told Xinhua." ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ====

Naser Pediatric Hospital, Gaza City, besieged  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m40088&s1=h1
A quote...."As happened on my last 2 visits to hospitals here I was near tears going thru the hospital with my guide, Ibrahim, especially with the children. Looking into the eyes of a girl about 2 yrs old, on a ventilator, her mouth chapped, a bulge in her chest from her blood disease, her helpless condition, all that specificity embedded in the larger context of siege-induced health desperation, nearly rendered me incapable of photographing."
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Report: Israel plotting to assassinate Hamas' top leaders  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m40084&s1=h1
A quote...."Bethlehem – Ma'an – The London-based Al-Hayat newspaper quoted an anonymous Palestinian official saying that a European country had told Hamas leaders that Israel decided to assassinate Hamas' three top leaders, Isma'il Haniyeh, Khalid Mash'al and Mahmoud Az-Zahhar."
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Unusual Pair Takes Over in Guatemala  ---  http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jbDxDtTYPnPE86bTH2P0_aJ2iylgD8U54NEO0
A quote...."GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala's new president, Alvaro Colom received training as a Mayan priest. His vice president is a heart surgeon.  --  As the two men prepare to take office on Monday, Guatemalans are hoping for some healing.  --  After a 36-year civil war, and still plagued by poverty, corruption and street gangs, "Guatemala is sick, very sick, in intensive care," says Vice President Rafael Espada, who gave up a decades-long medical career in Texas to return to Guatemala last year as Colom's running mate."
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Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles
  ---  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/us/13vets.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1200301648-p6CrO1l5pfFLZXPHq3ZOpQ
A quote...."Late one night in the summer of 2005, Matthew Sepi, a 20-year-old Iraq combat veteran, headed out to a 7-Eleven in the seedy Las Vegas neighborhood where he had settled after leaving the Army."
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Brian Haw violently assaulted then arrested at Downing Street on Saturday (Updated to include video of demonstration)
  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/153283
A quote...."Apologies for reposting - original article wouldn't update."
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>>>  Police State  <<<

VIDEO: This is What A Police State Looks Like  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=5266
Must View - A quote...."In Portland, the cops get up close and personal for the crime of exercising the First Amendment."

Videos
See also....Miami Police Shot Protester, then laugh about it. - (YouTube - 2 min 35 sec -  Added:  August 18, 2006)
  ---  http://youtube.com/watch?v=G63FEamhpA0&feature=related
See also....Union Leader stops provocateurs - Police caught - (YouTube - 5 min 23 sec - August 20, 2007)
  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow
See also....5-1-07 LAPD Assaults Immigration Reform Demonstration - (AOL - 3 min 3 sec -  May 1, 2007)
  ---  http://video.aol.com/video-detail/5-1-07-lapd-assaults-immigration-reform-demonstr/1591188054

Articles
See also....Canadian Police Caught Attempting To Stage Riots
  ---  http://prisonplanet.com/articles/august2007/240807_stage_riots.htm
See also....Police action on journalists at melee is assailed
  ---  http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=21849
See also....Neo-Nazi rally was organized by FBI informant
  ---  http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=20317
See also....NYC City Police Spied Broadly Before GOP Convention
  ---  http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/03/25/80/
See also....Police Log Confirms FBI Role in Arrests
  ---  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/02/AR2007040201568.html
See also....Four students arrested for heckling FBI director
  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=3049
See also....Unreported News: Tacoma Police Aggressively Attack Peace Demonstrators
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_kevin_ze_070418_unreported_news_3a_tac.htm
See also....Secret papers detail NYC intelligence gathering on RNC protesters
  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=3257
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States within the USA need to rebel  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19063.htm
Must read - A quote...." In view of yesterday’s declaration by the Media that ‘all States will comply with the National ID Act by this coming May, or their citizens will be refused permission to fly—The governor’s of the States within the United States need to rebel, as a body, against this completely unwarranted ORDER from the White House via Michael Chertoff, whose own US citizenship is in doubt. (2) - bold/italics/underline by website author

For more on this issue see.... Thirty Five Acts to Restore Americans' Rights 11-10-06 - mpg
  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/seventeenacts-blog-mpg-111006
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U.S. corporate elite fear candidate Edwards  ---  http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7217369
A quote...." WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Ask corporate lobbyists which presidential contender is most feared by their clients and the answer is almost always the same -- Democrat John Edwards. The former North Carolina senator's chosen profession alone raises the hackles of business people. Before entering politics, he made a fortune as a trial lawyer.  --  In litigious America, trial lawyers bring lawsuits against companies on behalf of aggrieved individuals and sometimes win multimillion-dollar settlements. Edwards won several.
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Import Prices Spur US Stagflation Fear  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=5267
A quote...."Import prices rose at their fastest pace in at least 25 years in 2007, underlining the threat of stagflation as the US enters a period of slower economic growth, according to figures from the commerce department. - The data come as other figures showed the US trade deficit widening in November, suggesting even weaker growth in the final quarter of the year."
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[British] Profit warnings surged to 107 in final quarter of 2007  ---  http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article3336173.ece
A quote...."The number of profit warnings issued by UK businesses in 2007 reached the highest level since 2001, and a last-quarter surge in bad news has triggered fears that 2008 could prove to be even worse."
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Soaring commodities pulverized inflation targets in Latam  ---  http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=12406&formato=HTML
A quote...."Peru, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay are the Latinamerican countries expected to have the best economic performance in the region during 2008, according to the latest edition of World Economic Prospects from the World Bank."
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Saturday January 12th 2008 - links page

"Visions of Omnipotence" - 60 Years of Empire  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/landau01122008.html
A quote...."Look at 2008 symbolically! Some 60 years ago, the United States emerged as the world power. Henry Luce formally announced the arrival of "The American Century" even before the country entered World War II. Luce thought the United States should become the world's missionary, spreading Christian values and democracy. US history had woven together a people with noble purpose, Luce argued, and had "the most exciting flag of all the world and of all history," blowing toward the "triumphal purpose of freedom."
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US Seen in Middle East Policy Retreat  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/ips/morrowomrani.php?articleid=12197
A quote...."CAIRO - Recent months have witnessed several notable political reorientations in the Middle East, involving Iran, the Gulf states, Egypt and Lebanon. Several experts say the changes reflect a shift in Washington's regional strategy following recent US policy setbacks.  --  "US policies in the region are either in retreat or undergoing reexamination," Ayman Abelaziz Salaama, international law professor at Cairo University told IPS. "Washington's project for a new Middle East – launched in 2001 with the aim of redrawing the region to suit US interests – has failed."
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Not really, it's just a temporary pause while the MIOC / PNAC'ing elites (sans Cheney et. al.) continue the
The Slow Play Option - 12-11-07 - mpg  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/theslowplayoption-blog-mpg-121107
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Bush Promised Israel that He Would Nuke Iran  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_len_hart_080112_bush_promised_israel.htm
War Warning - A quote...."Whether or not Bush manages to plunge the world into a new dark age may depend upon which version of the recent US/Iran confrontation is believed. So far, Bush's utter lack of credibility may be working to our advantage. One dares not think of the consequences to world peace if Bush had embarked upon this tour of the middle east with a shred of credibility, a modicum of political capital among every Middle Eastern capital but Jerusalem."
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Welcome to the Monkey House...  ---  http://www.atlargely.com/2008/01/welcome-to-the.html
A quote...."What century are we living in? Can someone explain to me how the US Navy quite literally almost declared war on Iran on the basis of a radio transmission from a phantom voice known as the "Filipino Monkey" (not my term by the way) radio transmission? Read the latest news about the near-war incident in the Strait of Hormuz:"

For more on this issue see....Why do you even bother?  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mpgrapsheet-blogpg-mpg-012707#WHY_BOTHER
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Pakistan president tells US to stay out  ---  http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=1727
A quote...."Musharraf warned in an interview published Friday that Pakistan would resist any unilateral military action by the United States against militants sheltering in its lawless, tribal regions close to the Afghan border. - "I challenge anybody coming into our mountains," he told Singapore's The Straits Times in the interview notable for its unusually strident language. "They would regret that day."

For more on this issue see....
It Will Happen Every Single Time  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-122407-010108#EVERY_TIME
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Some Substance, Please  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/bock/?articleid=12199
A quote...."I started this from an airport, on my way to New Hampshire to join the horde of media covering the primaries there. Having spent almost a week of being unremittingly busy as an anonymous (except perhaps to Register readers and others who checked out my blogging) member of the horde of media (that herd of independent minds) covering the primary election there, I feel even more strongly. We as Americans deserve a lot more than we are getting from our candidates when it comes to evidence of specific thought about what the country should do in the wake of the war in Iraq. To my way of thinking both friend and foe of that war, at least among the candidates, has been unhelpfully vague on the subject."
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9/11 Truth and Reconciliation  ---  http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=5583
A quote...."What's the end goal of the fight for 9/11 truth and justice? Is it to see the perpetrators impeached and tried for their crimes, and then sentenced to life in jail? Or executed?  --  I think that's aiming too low. That's not going far enough.  --  Why? Because the gentlemen who carried out 9/11 will likely be replaced by some other corrupt, ruthless folks. Meet the new boss ... same as the old boss."
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CIA Hid Other Tapes From 9/11 Commission  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_jimd3100_080111_cia_hid_other_tapes_.htm
A quote...."We know now that the CIA kept from the 9/11 Commission tapes of al Qaeda suspects in violation of law. But why isn't mainstream media (MSM) reporting about other tapes U.S. Intelligence kept from the 9/11 Commission?"
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Japanese question their Prime Minister about 9/11 Truth  ---  http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=21901.msg84079#msg84079
A quote...." This series of videos in Japanese show politicians in Japan questioning their own prime minister for over 30 minutes concerning what really happened on 9/11."

Regrettably the videos have not been translated or subtitled....anybody care to try? - mpg
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How the New England Journal of Medicine Undercounted Iraqi Civilian Deaths  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/andrew01122008.html
Must Read - A quote...."Almost five years into the destruction of Iraq, the orthodox rule of thumb for assessing statistical tabulations of the civilian death toll is becoming clear: any figure will do so long as it is substantially lower than that computed by the Johns Hopkins researchers in their 2004 and 2006 studies. Their findings, based on the most orthodox sampling methodology and published in the Lancet after extensive peer review, estimated the post-invasion death toll by 2006 at about 655,000. Predictably, this shocking assessment drew howls of ignorant abuse from self-interested parties, including George Bush ("not credible") and Tony Blair."
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Saudi cannot be launchpad for Iran attack: report  ---  http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080112094103.yqknjdsz&show_article=1
A quote...."A leading Saudi newspaper on Saturday ruled out any attempt by the United States to use the oil-rich Gulf kingdom as a launchpad for a possible war on Iran over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme."
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Iranian exports to Germany rose 50% in 2007  ---  http://www.ameinfo.com/143519.html
A quote...."Iranian exports to Germany were up 50 per cent in 2007 to reach 580m euros, the business daily Handelsblatt reported. It cited the German Office for Foreign Trade as saying that although German exports to Iran dropped for the second consecutive year, imports from Iran have risen almost 50 per cent over the past year. Meanwhile German exports to Iran fell 15 per cent last year to around 3.5bn euros."
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Iraq parliament passes law to rehire Baathists
  ---  http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1218093220080112?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
A quote...."BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament passed a law on Saturday to ease restrictions on mostly Sunni Arab members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party returning to public life, one of the main political benchmarks set by the United States.  --  Washington has been pressing Iraq's Shi'ite Islamist-led government to pass the law in an effort to draw the minority Sunni Arab community that held sway under Saddam closer into the political process."
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So, how ARE things in Iraq?  ---  http://electroniciraq.net/news/war-every-day-blog/So_how_are_things_in_Iraq-3276.shtml
A quote...." Iraqis are returning to Baghdad from abroad, but the flow is still only a trickle. And the differences in numbers being reported by aid groups and the US and Iraqi governments underscore the political value these numbers hold for proponents of the "Surge". But what even this debate misses is the difference between reducing the number of violent deaths for now, and laying the foundations for a future of peace for Iraq."
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Greens highlight Iraq destruction  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m40059&s1=h1
A quote...."BAHRAIN'S environmentalists staged a vigil yesterday in protest at the mass destruction in Iraq.  -- 
The war in Iraq is having an irreversible impact on the country's people and the environment, said Environmental Friends Society (EFS) president Khawla Al Muhannadi."
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RIGHTS-LATIN AMERICA:  ‘Operation Condor’ Was No Mystery to Washington  ---  http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40770
A quote...."LIMA, Jan 12 (IPS) - The intelligence services of Peru and Argentina kept Washington informed in real time about a 1980 joint clandestine operation in which four alleged members of Argentina’s Montoneros guerrilla movement were "disappeared," according to documents declassified in the United States."
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Brian Haw violently assaulted then arrested at Downing Street on Saturday  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/153236
A quote...."During the freedom to protest assembly this afternoon, brian haw (who was peacefully filming events in whitehall) was violently attacked by a territorial support group policeman who lashed out at him, smashing his camera into his face and causing a deep cut. police then arrested brian for an unspecified public order offence and further assaulted him in a police van."
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Experts Question Clinton's New Hampshire Primary Win  ---  http://www.alternet.org/story/73551/
A quote...."Election integrity activists parsing the precinct-level results from New Hampshire's Democratic Primary say their early analyses have found anomalies suggesting vote totals may have been altered to deliver a Hillary Clinton victory."
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Recount - Is Dennis Kucinich walking into a trap?  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_bev_harr_080111_recount___is_dennis_.htm
Special Note: A quote...."The election integrity community is abuzz with news that candidate Dennis Kucinich will ask for a recount in New Hampshire, and Ron Paul fans have been pushing him to recount as well. Careful."
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Jane Smiley: Bill Kristol in the NY Times Means I'm Done With the Paper  ---  http://www.alternet.org/stories/72747/
A quote...."Given my attachment to the Times over the years, I have to say that I even forgave them for Judith Miller, difficult as that was. But after the advent of Bill Kristol on the editorial page next week, that's it for the Times and me."
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FCC Ok's Clear Channel Buyout  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=5260
A quote...."Mitt Romney & Bain Capital's deal will make largest US radio broadcaster private. The Federal Communications Commission has signed off on the $19.5 billion deal that will take the nation's largest radio broadcaster private, an agency official said Thursday."
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Bernanke Finds his Voice  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19058.htm
War Warning - A quote...." 12/01/08 "ICH" --- On Thursday, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke gave the keynote address on the state of the economy and financial markets at a luncheon in Washington, DC. The tone of the speech was decidedly somber and could have easily been accompanied by a funereal dirge and 8 black-suited pall bearers. Bernanke avoided the opaque, hieroglyphic-filled language of his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, and gave a clear presentation of the facts. Unfortunately, the facts are bleak. The economy is in very bad shape."
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Banks Plead They Can’t Follow Rules  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=5255
A quote...."As the mortgage mess grows, we are learning more and more about just how sloppy things were in the mortgage-issuing business as loans were churned out, carved into securities and sold off. - Judges have blocked some foreclosures with rulings that purchasers of mortgages could not prove that they owned them. The buyers of the mortgages complain that it is unfair to ask them to have complied with detailed rules."

For more on this issue see article shown below....
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The Financial Tsunami: Sub-Prime Mortgage Debt is but the Tip of the Iceberg
  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7413
Must Read - A quote...."A US Federal Judge, C.A. Boyko in Federal District Court in Cleveland Ohio ruled to dismiss a claim by Deutsche Bank National Trust Company. DB’s US subsidiary was seeking to take possession of 14 homes from Cleveland residents living in them, in order to claim the assets."

"Here comes the hair in the soup. The Judge asked DB to show documents proving legal title to the 14 homes. DB could not. All DB attorneys could show was a document showing only an “intent to convey the rights in the mortgages.” They could not produce the actual mortgage, the heart of Western property rights since the Magna Charta if not longer." - bold/italics by website author

This website editor naively assumed that the bundled mortgages could eventually be traced to, or related to, or correlated with, their underlying physical assets (the houses and properties).  If this ruling is correct and the CDO's and CMO's cannot be matched with the underlying assets than every single bank and institutional investor has an immediate and extremely serious problem.

At best these "fantasy" securities will involve years of litigation to determine their true value, at worst all of them are already effectively worthless. - mpg - posted 11-23-2007
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A technological revolution for $2,500  ---  http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20080111/96244165.html
More on the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car. - mpg
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ISS orbit raised to host spacecraft  ---  http://en.rian.ru/world/20080112/96349711.html
A quote...."MOSCOW, January 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Mission Control said on Saturday it had successfully adjusted the International Space Station's orbit in preparation for the docking of a Russian cargo spacecraft and a U.S. space shuttle."
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Snow Day in the Sands of Baghdad  ---  http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8U3S3681&show_article=1
A quote...."     BAGHDAD (AP) - The flakes melted quickly. But the smiles, wonder and excited story- swapping went on throughout the day: It snowed in Baghdad."
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Friday January 11th 2008 - links page

Dead Souls: The Pentagon Plan to Create Remorseless "Warfighters"
  ---  http://www.chris-floyd.com/Articles/Articles/Dead_Souls%3A_The_Pentagon_Plan_to_Create_Remorseless_%22Warfighters%22/
Must Read - A quote...."Penny Coleman at Alternet.com gives us a look at a new program designed to dull the moral sensibilities of American soldiers in combat on the imperial frontiers: Pentagon, Big Pharma: Drug Troops to Numb Them to Horrors of War."
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The U.S. military inflicts more damage on its own credibility  ---  http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/01/10/iran/index.html
A quote...."It seems increasingly clear that the U.S. military's initial claims about its interaction with those five Iranian speed boats in the Strait of Hormuz was exaggerated in significant ways, approaching Jessica Lynch/Pat Tillman/  ---  http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/04/25/tillman_lynch/
Iraq-is-going-great   ---  http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/07/19/petraeus/  ---  territory. It's impossible to resolve all of the conflicting details of each side's self-serving version, but the most inflammatory facts which the Navy originally asserted, and which the American news media uncritically regurgitated, are quite dubious, if not demonstrably false."
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Pre-Iraq Invasion All Over Again: Pentagon Admits Iran Didn't Threaten US Ships -- WaPo Reports it On Page A13
  ---  http://www.progressivedailybeacon.com/morenews.php?id=3863
"The Pentagon's audiotape of the warning was released Tuesday, with the videotape, in an abridged four-minute package of the incident, which U.S. officials said lasted between 20 and 30 minutes. - italics by website author

That's right, the Pentagon not only added what appears to be contrived audio to their tape, but they edited their tape from twenty minutes plus down to four minutes....possibly to fit in with this nation's faux-news network feeds? - mpg

For more on this see....Fake Intel  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/fakeintell-weblist-mpg-090206
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Iranian Video - (YouTube - 5 min 10 sec -  Added:  January 10, 2008)  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kMcouG7aUg
Video - A quote...." Please see the link for second by second translation to English [at]
 http://iranusandme.blogspot.com/"  ---  http://iranusandme.blogspot.com/

"....the US got caught (again).  It appears the Iranians brought along their own cameras.  Note to all Muslims in the world, if you're located in any country which has US forces operating in it.....either carry a video camera at all times or have one of those cell phones with a good video capability."

"It's for your own protection but please also note, make sure US forces do not see it in your possession." --  *MPG*  --  posted 01-09-2008
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US Video of Iran Speedboats Doctored; Iranians Charge Fabrication  ---  http://www.juancole.com/2008/01/us-video-of-iran-speedboats-flawed.html
A quote...."The Bush administration's assertion that 5 small Iranian boats confronted big, well-armed US ships in the Straits of Hormuz and threatened to blow up the American vessels is looking more and more like a serious error if not a Republican Party fabrication."
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Showdown in the Strait of Hormuz: Strait Facts  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7778
A quote...."Iran's release of the video taken on the morning of Sunday January 6th in the Strait of Hormuz, clearly debunks Pentagon's hype of depicting a routine patrolling operation by the Iranian Navy as an act of unfathomable aggression against the United States."
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US War Plans and the "Strait of Hormuz Incident": Just Who Threatens Whom?  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7776
A quote...."Instigated by the Pentagon, a bungled media disinformation campaign directed against Iran has unfolded. -
Five Iranian patrol boats, visibly with no military capabilities, have been accused of threatening three US war ships in the Strait of Hormuz. According to a Pentagon spokesman: "
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Official Version Of Naval Incident Starts To Unravel  ---  http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40747
A quote...."WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (IPS) - Despite the official and media portrayal of the incident in the Strait of Hormuz early Monday morning as a serious threat to U.S. ships from Iranian speedboats that nearly resulted in a "battle at sea", new information over the past three days suggests that the incident did not involve such a threat and that no U.S. commander was on the verge of firing at the Iranian boats."
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Iran Attacks US Fifth Fleet! American Casualties Reported!!!  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig8/weden3.html
A quote...."You hear that, Mabel? Come, watch!" Hank calls from the sofa. "Five of them Iranian swift boats like they used to blow up the Cole just attacked the Fifth Fleet! Don’t say how many killed. Just – ‘We’ve suffered casualties!’ Those damn Arab-Iranian-al-Qaeda-speedboat-sand-devils! Get in here, Mabel! Watch!"
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Iran, Again - The War Party is pushing us into attacking  ---  http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=12189
A quote...."As much as I hate to say it, the video released by the state-controlled media of the tyrannical Iranian regime is more coherent, and far more credible than Washington's cock-and-bull   ---  http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40747
story. And that's truly a very sad state of affairs. But remember   ---  http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2004/01/12_405.html
who put out all that ersatz "intelligence"   ---  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDQ/is_2003_Feb_10/ai_97399951/print
about Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction."   ---  http://tinyurl.com/2s2kuh
To those who reflexively take Washington's word over Tehran, I have three words to say:
Niger uranium forgeries."   ---  http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2006/07/yellowcake200607?printable=true&currentPage=all
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Bush's Tour .. between Supporting Peace and Controlling Iran  ---  http://www.watchingamerica.com/akhbarelyom000002.shtml
A quote...."The concern is that all of the talk about moving the peace process is just a smokescreen for the visit’s main objective, which is to mobilize countries of the area in the Gulf region against the 'Iranian threat' in preparation for setting policies or taking escalatory steps against Iran."

And suddenly "fortuitously" we have this incident while Bush is visiting the Gulf States to drum up support for action against Iran.  A mysterious unidentified voice threatens US vessels entering the Gulf which the US Navy includes in the release of its doctored video.

A Special Note: to the IDIOTS in the US Navy.  For "plausible deniability" to be maintained, i.e. -- "hells bells folks we had no idea when we started this war that the whole thing was a mistake" -- the arranged incident has to be PLAUSIBLE.....as in BELIEVABLE!

You guys, this government and the mass-media of this country are simply an embarrassment to the entire planet.

Why do you even bother? – mpg
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Pakistan takes a step backwards [actually a step fowards - mpg]  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JA12Df01.html
A quote...."KARACHI - At a time when Pakistan's national decision-making institutions are suspicious of international plans to make the country's nuclear program controversial, there is serious consideration for repositioning the country's foreign policy as neutral in the United States-led "war on terror".  --  This would mean non-interference in the restive tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan. These are virtually autonomous areas where Taliban and al-Qaeda militants have established bases and vital supply lines into Afghanistan.  --  Such a move would have devastating effects on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) efforts to control the ever-growing insurgency in Afghanistan."

For more on this see....It Will Happen Every Single Time -- http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-122407-010108#EVERY_TIME
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Shots at Benazir fired from a .30 gun: report  ---  http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/12/stories/2008011256631500.htm
A quote...."ISLAMABAD: Forensic investigations into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto have confirmed that shots were fired at her from a .30 bore pistol, one of two firearms recovered from the site of the attack on her in Rawalpindi."

"Gee, from these articles one would guess some of Pakistan's authorities bizarrely decided to copy what the Neocons' progenitors (the MIOC elites) committed in Texas more then four decades ago, for some reason they went with an exact replay of the JFK assassination, from having Bhutto ride in the open, to
messing up her autopsy   ---  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/31/AR2007123102493_pf.html
(i.e. not having one....  ---  http://www.juancole.com/2008/01/musharrafs-watergate-physicians-coerced.html
well at least they didn't lose her brain),
 to canceling some of her security detail,   ---  http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Police_abandoned_security_posts_before_Bhutto_1228.html
to having multiple shooters....  ---  http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/12/stories/2008011256631500.htm
it's hilarious, the whole thing is truly hilarious."

"Why is it that nobody learns from the MIOC elites' mistakes?" -- *MPG*  --  quote posted 12-28-07 - links added later

See also....Watch The New Video Footage of Bhutto's Death  -  Pakistan's Zapruder film. - mpg
  ---  http://www.channel4.com/player/v2/player.jsp?showId=10619
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Blair accused of taking blood money  ---  http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=5244
A quote...."Tony Blair has taken a lucrative job with a U.S. bank which is profiting from the Iraq war. - JPMorgan is expected to pay him £1million a year as a part-time adviser. - It is the first of a series of posts that could see the former prime minister rake in a staggering £40million."

Who says crime doesn't pay? - mpg
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The air war in Iraq  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m40030&s1=h1
A quote...."American aircraft dropped 49,000 pounds of bombs on the lush farm region of Arab Jabour, said military spokeswoman Maj. Alayne Conway, who called it "one of the largest airstrikes since the onset of the war."
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The Winning Ticket: Hillary and Diebold in 2008  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19050.htm
A quote...."11/01/08 "ICH" -- -- Something doesn't ring true about Hillary's “upset” victory in the New Hampshire primary. It just doesn't pass the smell test. All the exit polls showed Clinton trailing Obama by significant margins. In fact, in the Gallup Poll taken just days before the election, "Crocodile tears" Hillary was down by a whopping 13 points. Her “turnaround” was not only unexpected, but downright shocking. The results for the rest of the candidates--excluding Clinton and Obama---were all within the margin of error. Clinton was the only anomaly. Surprise, surprise."
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Did Hillary Really Win New Hampshire? - More Questions About Diebold Voting Machines  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff01112008.html
A quote...."Could someone have messed with the vote in New Hampshire? - That is what some people are wondering, after looking closely at the totals in the votes for surprise Democratic primary victor Hillary Clinton, and for Barack Obama, who placed instead of winning as all the polls had predicted he would. And thanks to candidate Dennis Kucinich, we are likely to find out. Kucinich today filed a request, and a required $2000 fee, to order up a manual recount of the machine ballots cast in the state."
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Repress U - How to Build a Homeland Security Campus in Seven Steps
  ---  http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174879/gould_wartofsky_seven_steps_to_a_homeland_security_campus
A quote...."Free speech zones. Taser guns. Hidden cameras. Data mining. A new security curriculum. Private security contractors… Welcome to the new homeland security campus - From Harvard to UCLA, the ivory tower is fast becoming the latest watchtower in Fortress America. The terror warriors, having turned their attention to "violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism" -- as it was recently dubbed in a House of Representatives bill of the same name -- have set out to reconquer that traditional hotbed of radicalization, the university."
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"You Can't Do Anything Unless You Try!"  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19049.htm
A quote...." 11/01/08 "ICH" -- -- In the many, (too many) gang interviews that are currently called debates by the mainstream media, the question is asked at each gathering, "What will you do on your first day in office?' The candidates of both parties will harrangue and equivocate, one after another, but not one will reply with the answer that would gladden the heart of a real progressive, Constitution-loving citizen of the United States. Can't you just imagine the roar of approval if any one of the prospective Presidents would give the following answer?"
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Chavez to Slow Socialism Drive  ---  http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i7EbR41gGVYppKaBPAobaH0KkvPwD8U0U3LO0
A quote...."CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez is putting the brakes on his drive for revolutionary change in Venezuela, shifting away from radical socialist reforms in favor of a pragmatic focus on everyday problems from soaring crime to trash-strewn streets."
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"Suitcase Scandal" is Another U.S. Foreign Policy Blunder  ---  http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/3053
A quote...."The now infamous "suitcase scandal" has deeply alienated the new Argentine government and is likely to further sully Washington's reputation in Latin America."
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Can The World Afford The Tata Nano?  ---  http://www.countercurrents.org/bucombe110108.htm
Special Tech Note - A quote...."It's either the start of a people's revolution or the trigger for social and environmental headaches across the globe. The Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, was unveiled with great fanfare in the Indian capital yesterday amid bright lights and blaring music."

Well, we in the United States certainly can't criticize the Indians for producing and marketing affordable compact cars while the US public has bought and is still buying all those humongous gas guzzling SUV's.- mpg
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US Federal Reserve chairman warns of recession danger, promises more rate cuts  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2008/jan2008/econ-j12.shtml
War Warning - A quote...."US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Wednesday that the US economy is slowing dramatically and broadly hinted that the Fed would aggressively cut interest rates in response, perhaps before its next scheduled policy meeting at the end of January."
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Central Banks Dance in Denial on Stagflation:  ---  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aDp8nnhLXdpg&refer=home
A quote...."Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- There's inflation and there's deflation. Both are bad, especially in excess, though stagflation -- defined as no or slow economic growth combined with a rising inflation rate -- holds a special place in the darker recesses of the dismal science's pantheon, not the least because of the dilemma it poses for central banks."
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FINANCE:  Watchdog Faults IMF Loan Conditions  ---  http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40686
A quote...."The findings seem bound to fuel criticism that the IMF has arrogated unto itself the power to set terms beyond its formal mandate. In particular, evaluators are urging the fund to ease or jettison demands that borrowers transfer public services and enterprises to private owners. - Requiring governments to sell off utilities, health and educational institutions, or national industries is a contentious business. In some borrowing countries, security forces have clashed with citizens concerned about job losses and price hikes for basic goods and services."
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Thursday January 10th 2008 - links page

The Destabilization of Pakistan  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7705
Missed this one - A quote...."There are indications that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto was anticipated by US officials: 

"It has been known for months that the Bush-Cheney administration and its allies have been maneuvering to strengthen their political control of Pakistan, paving the way for the expansion and deepening of the “war on terrorism” across the region. 

Various American destabilization plans, known for months by officials and analysts, proposed the toppling of Pakistan's military...  The assassination of Bhutto appears to have been anticipated. There were even reports of “chatter” among US officials about the possible assassinations of either Pervez Musharraf or Benazir Bhutto, well before the actual attempts took place.
(Larry Chin, Global Research, 29 December 2007)  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7699
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The Ties That Strangle  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/paul/?articleid=12180
A quote...."Musharraf, unfortunately, appears to have learned how to work our system, much in the way a career welfare recipient has learned to do the same. The perpetual welfare recipient promises to look for a job. Musharraf has promised to look for Bin Laden. Both are terrible investments of American taxpayer dollars, however with Musharraf, its been an astonishing $10 billion loss over the last few years. But it is even worse than that. With his recent actions declaring martial law, and dismissing the justices of the supreme court, he is to the rest of the world, and to Pakistanis, a wildly unpopular, power hungry, brutal military dictator. The perception by most is that we are propping him up while simultaneously urging Ms. Bhutto back into Pakistan as a lamb to the slaughter."
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Bush, accessory after the facts  ---  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/942964.html
Must Read - A quote...."The Migron outpost, which was established on privately owned Palestinian land, and whose dismantlement the United States has been demanding with fake determination, is already an established locale: It is seven years old, with well-tended gardens, swings, a nursery, a kindergarten, infrastructure in which NIS 4 million of state funds have been invested and inhabitants who look not like "hilltop youth" but like ordinary citizens, the sort who work for their living in Jerusalem and come home every night and never even dream that anyone might dare to evacuate them some day."
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Bush's Mideast Pipe Dream  ---  http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,527899,00.html
A quote...."The American president came to the Middle East in an attempt to deliver peace. Instead, George W. Bush's visit to the Holy Land has only deepened the divide between the Israelis and Palestinians."
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Iraqi Deaths Due to U.S. Invasion  ---  http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html
From the History File - Just a reminder - A quote...."The number is shocking and sobering.  --  It is at least 10 times greater than most estimates cited in the US media, yet it is based on a scientific study of violent Iraqi deaths caused by the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003.  --  That study, published in prestigious medical journal The Lancet, estimated that over 600,000 Iraqis had been killed as a result of the invasion as of July 2006. Iraqis have continued to be killed since then. The graphic above provides a rough daily update of this number based on a rate of increase derived from the Iraq Body Count. (See the complete explanation.)"
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Co-Author of Medical Study Estimating 650,000 Iraqi Deaths Defends Research in the Face of WH Dismissal
  ---  http://www.democracynow.org/2006/10/12/co_author_of_medical_study_estimating
From the History File - Just a reminder - October 12 2006 - A quote...."The White House is dismissing the findings of a medical study that says 650,000 people have died in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion. The study was conducted by American and Iraqi researchers and published in the prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet. We’re joined by the report’s co-author, epidemiologist Les Roberts. [includes rush transcript]
Real Video Stream  ||  ---  http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2006/oct/video/dnB20061012a.rm&proto=rtsp&start=10:05
Real Audio Stream  ||  ---  http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2006/oct/audio/dn20061012.ra&proto=rtsp&start=10:05
MP3 Download   ||  ---  http://www.archive.org/download/dn2006-1012/dn2006-1012-1_64kb.mp3
More...  ||  ---  http://www.democracynow.org/2006/10/12/stream
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Les Roberts on new Iraq mortality study - by The New England Journal of Medicine.
  ---  http://psychoanalystsopposewar.org/blog/2008/01/10/les-roberts-on-new-iraq-mortality-study/
Les Roberts, a co-author of the two Lancet surveys, has offered his response  --  A quote....

"I think that this new article in the NEJM is a good addition to the discussion. It is good for Iraqis, it is good for science, it is good for promoting peace."

"1) There is far more in common in the results than appears at first glance."

"The NEJM article found a doubling of mortality after the invasion, we found a 2.4 fold increase. They found a CMR of 3/1000/yr. before and 6 after but thought they were missing almost 1/2 the deaths. We found a CMR of 5 before and 13 after….thus we actually agree roughly on the number of excess deaths. The big difference is that we found almost all the increase from violence, they found 1/3 the increase from violence......"           --   *Les Roberts*
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Children as "Collateral Damage" of the War in Iraq  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/153050
A quote....Question :  "Western journalist: What do you think of Western civilization?"
       Answer :  "Yes, that would be a good idea."  --  *Mahatma Gandhi*
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No Escape from War and Unemployment  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19038.htm
A quote...."10/01/08 "ICH" -- -   New Hampshire voters have chosen warmonger clones of Bush/Cheney for their party’s presidential candidates.  The only candidates not in Israel’s pocket are Kucinich, Paul, and Gravel, who have no chance for their party’s nomination."
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U.S.: Voices on Recording May Not Have Been From Iranian Speedboats  ---  http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4115702&page=1
A quote...."Just two days after the U.S. Navy released the eerie video of Iranian speedboats swarming around American warships, which featured a chilling threat in English, the Navy is saying that the voice on the tape could have come from the shore or from another ship."

Savor it folks, it's a miracle!  1) This is probably the first time US military forces have EVER corrected themselves without being prompted. 2) The correction is actually being reported by one of the members of the mass-media.  3) It happened in less than two days.

Goes to show you miracles do happen from time to time. Don't expect anymore of them.  – mpg
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Iran: U.S. faked video of Gulf incident  ---  http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-01-09-iran-us_N.htm
A quote...."TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran accused the United States on Wednesday of fabricating video and audio released by the Pentagon showing Iranian boats confronting U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf."
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Iran releases footage of PG naval check  ---  http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=38190&sectionid=351020101
A quote...."Iran releases the video of Sunday's maritime identification check in the Persian Gulf waters involving Iranian boats and US warships."
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Iran airs own video of US ship incident  ---  http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080110/wl_mideast_afp/iranusmilitary_080110084026
A quote...."TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian state television on Thursday aired a video taken by Iranian forces of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz with US warships, in a bid to counter footage issued by the Pentagon."

Awww....dang it!  It wasn't a miracle, the US got caught (again).  It appears the Iranians brought along their own cameras.  Note to all Muslims in the world, if you're located in any country which has US forces operating in it.....either carry a video camera at all times or have one of those cell phones with a good video capability.

It's for your own protection but please also note, make sure US forces do not see it in your possession.  -  mpg
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Iran, Italy sign oil exploration deal  ---  http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=90284
A quote...."TEHRAN: Iran and Italy’s Edison International signed on Wednesday a 107-million-dollar (73-million-euro) contract for exploration in Gulf waters, the student ISNA news agency reported. - The contract comes despite US pressure on European and Asian firms to cut down their business with Iran in order to step up pressure against the Islamic republic in the crisis over its nuclear programme."
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Private U.S. Intelligence Agency Stratfor Says Russia Is Now More Powerful Than It Has Ever Been -- http://www.thought-criminal.org/article/node/1144
A quote...." A private U.S. intelligence agency, Stratfor, said Russia is now more powerful than it has been since the fall of Communism. - "Russia enters 2008 in the strongest geopolitical position it has known since the Cold War's end," Stratfor said in a report entitled Annual Forecast 2008: Beyond the Jihadist War - Former Soviet Union, published on January 8."

Not really, Russia has fundamental and growing weaknesses.  As they've done before they're diverting scarce resources to their military industrial complex which should instead be used to create and nourish a growing high-tech industrial base.   Why not build a national fiber optic phone system, a Russian equivalent of Silicon Valley, a civilian aircraft industry?  Why not follow Japan's model and shelter your growing industrial base from competitors to finally emerge as an industrial powerhouse as Japan did?  Why not follow China's model of a state sponsored free market while at the same time reducing the inevitable social inequalities by establishing support systems that work....such as a single payer national health plan?

It's your well trained, educated and healthy workforce which supports your economy and industrial base.  It's your economy and your industrial base that supports your military infrastructure.  It's your military infrastructure that supports one aspect of your foreign policy. – mpg
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Bulgaria will not send troops to Afghanistan provinces- PM
  ---  http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/bulgaria-will-not-send-troops-to-afghanistan-provinces--pm/id_26973/catid_68
A quote...."At this stage Bulgaria would refrain from taking part in missions in the provinces of Afghanistan, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said. - These missions required “more serious financial engagement and efforts of civilian experts” and Bulgaria was not prepared for them, he said as quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA.
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From Op-Ed News dot Com - Some articles regarding the New Hampshire "vote"  - mpg
New Hampshire Exit Polls Indicate Obama Winner
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_allen_l__080110_new_hampshire_exit_p.htm
Obama-Clinton: remarkable opscan v. handcount results
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_bruce_o__080110_obama_clinton_3a_remar.htm
Sign Up to Take Back Our Elections - the "I Count" Corps.
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_andi_nov_080110_sign_up_to_take_back.htm
Do New Hampshire Vote Count Questions Harbinger Super Tuesday Vote Theft Disaster?
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rob_kall_080110_do_new_hampshire_vot.htm
"Hey Ron Paul, I'm in your primary stealing your v0tez "
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_amydemic_080110__22hey_ron_paul_2c_i_m_i.htm
Inherent Uncertainty and NH's Primary Results
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rady_ana_080109_inherent_uncertainty.htm
Criminal record of Kenneth Hajjar- New England voting machine firm exec
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_bev_harr_080109_criminal_record_of_k.htm
There's a History of Suspected Vote Fraud In NH - Forget 'Official Recounts', Do Citizen Audits
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_lynn_lan_080110_there_s_a_history_of.htm
How John Edwards Can (Still) Win the New Hampshire Primary
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_emily_le_080110_how_john_edwards_can.htm
Alarms Should Go Off Whenever the Discrepancies Between the "Official" Results and the Polls Can't Be Explained
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_andi_nov_080110_alarms_should_go_off.htm
Kucinich Asks for New Hampshire Recount in the Interest of Election Integrity
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_business_080110_kucinich_asks_for_ne.htm
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7 Point Swing for Clinton Over Obama in NH's Diebold Precincts  ---  http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5540
A quote...."It's been an exhausting day, as a few folks in the world are finally beginning to open their eyes, and realize that not counting ballots, and trusting instead, in error-prone, hackable machines for "faith-based results" doesn't make a lot of sense. Particularly in an election for which nobody --- and I mean nobody --- has come up with a legitimate explanation for the surprising results. Oh, there's been plenty of speculation, but no actual facts. So why it's so difficult for folks to realize that the biggest unknown here --- what the ballots actually said on them --- has gone wholly unexamined in 80% of NH, continues to elude me."
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Media Struggles To Whitewash Clinton Vote Fraud Suspicions  ---  http://prisonplanet.com/articles/january2008/011008_clinton_fraud.htm
A quote...."The media has gone into overdrive trying to whitewash Hillary Clinton's inexplicable defeat of Barack Obama in the New Hampshire primary and sideline questions about vote fraud, with the latest excuse being that Clinton's name appeared above Obama's on the ballot paper."
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2008 presidential charade promises deepening of government criminality and expansion of war
  ---  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7766
A quote...."Every election in modern US history has been a criminal manipulation, choreographed and rigged by political elites and performed by hand-picked elite puppets, each backed by their teams of corrupt war criminals, intelligence/security “advisors” and think tank assets. The 2008 affair will be no different."
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CITGO, Venezuela Distribute Oil To U.S. Services  ---  http://wcbstv.com/local/joe.kennedy.citgo.2.624860.html
A quote...."Provides 112 Million Gallons Of Fuel To Social Services In 23 States"
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Recession or Depression?  ---  http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/keynes-default.html
A quote...."If the actual unemployment rate is low, why this wave of pessimism? All data in the postwar period of American economic history consistently show that an increase in the rate has coincided with the onset of recession. The parallel between the two is the most consistent feature of the business cycle. See the NBER list: 2001, 1990–91, 1981–82, 1980, 1973–75, 1970, 1960–61, 1957–58, 1953–54, and so on. In each case, unemployment begins to rise at the onset." - italics/underline by website author.
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China, the United States and the Depreciation of the Dollar  ---  http://www.watchingamerica.com/lajornada000085.shtml
A quote...."Several clouds overshadow the global economic landscape. But there seems to be a consensus on the most menacing: the imbalance between countries with high levels of savings and strong surpluses in their external accounts (such as China and Japan), on the one hand, and nations with a very low level of savings and significant external deficit (such as the United States) on the other. This imbalance has the potential to explode behind a global financial crisis with unforeseeable consequences."
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The Deflation Time-bomb  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19039.htm
A quote...."10/01/08 "ICH" -- -- We are to about see how much George Bush really believes the “supply side” mumbo-jumbo he's been spouting for the last 7 years. Last week's Labor Department report confirmed that unemployment is on the rise (5%) and that corrective action will be required to avoid a long and painful recession. There's a good chance that the Chameleon in Chief will jettison his “trickle down” doctrine for more conventional Keynesian remedies like slashing interest rates, government programs, and tax relief to middle and low income people. On Monday Bush announced that his team of economic advisors was patching together an “Economic Stimulus Package” that will be unveiled later this month in the State of the Union Speech. The goal is to rev-up sagging consumer spending and slow down business contraction."
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AT&T and Other ISPs May Be Getting Ready to Filter  ---  http://infowars.net/articles/january2008/100108Filter.htm
A quote...."For the past fifteen years, Internet service providers have acted - to use an old cliche - as wide-open information super-highways, letting data flow uninterrupted and unimpeded between users and the Internet."
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For more on this issue see....
The Last Bastion of Freedom is Falling - 05-30-06 - mpg  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/lastbastionoffreedom-essay-mpg-053006
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Wiretaps Are Cut Over Unpaid Bills  ---  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011001879.html
From the funny files - A quote...."Telecommunications companies have repeatedly cut off FBI access to wiretaps of alleged terrorists and criminal suspects because the bureau did not pay its phone bills, according to the results of an audit released yesterday."
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Wednesday January 9th 2008 - links page

Bush's last throw against Iran  ---  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JA10Ak03.html
Must Read - A quote...."Playing around with the Persians can be risky - especially when the endgame nears. US President George W Bush is learning this civilizational truth. He could have learned from the Jimmy Carter administration. The similarity is striking. A beleaguered White House increasingly looks irrelevant while the alienated country keenly searches for an idea of leadership that can offer a clean break with the past. That was also how the Carter administration looked 30 years ago."
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'A Heartbeat Away' From War - With Iran and Pakistan  ---  http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=12176
A quote...."As the American people amuse themselves with the illusion that they have any say in the way they are presently governed, our rulers are moving toward war. Two recent incidents underscore the imminence of this prospect."
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It's a Fake  ---  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hooman-majd/its-a-fake_b_80682.html
A quote...."The Pentagon's version of the encounter in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday morning, involving U.S. Navy warships and Iranian Revolutionary Guard patrol boats is, at the very least highly suspicious. On Tuesday, the Navy released video footage and an audiotape to back its claims that the Iranian boats acted in a threatening and provocative manner, but neither the video nor the audio are particularly convincing as proof that Iran had hostile intentions."
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Tree of Smoke: Lies and Blood from Tonkin to the Tigris
  ---  http://www.chris-floyd.com/Articles/Articles/Tree_of_Smoke%3A_Lies_and_Blood_from_Tonkin_to_the_Tigris/
A quote...."Think anybody in the presidential media pack will ask the newly triumphant, straight-shootin' John McCain what he thinks of the lastest confirmation of the fact that the war in which he was captured and tortured years ago was launched under precisely the same kind of knowingly false, manufactured pretext as the present war he supports so fervently? (From AFP:
 Report reveals Vietnam War hoaxes, faked attacks.)"  ---  http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j-5IKhFZ-bFe_Nc957JypHhNTMxQ

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Only Telling Half the Story?  ---  http://firedoglake.com/2008/01/06/only-telling-half-the-story/
Must Read - A quote...."Yesterday there were a flurry of reports about an Iraqi soldier shooting and killing two US soldiers during a joint mission. Reported as the first time this has happened, the reports in the American press may tell only half the story.  --  The rather startled reports repeated assertions that the attack was for "reasons unknown." Iraqi reports say the US soldiers were kicking a pregnant Iraqi woman when shot. Here’s what we’ve been able to learn so far."
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For more on this issue see....Iraqi soldier shot dead two U.S. servicemen
  ---  http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2008-01-
  ---  05T164622Z_01_L05246230_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-USA-SOLDIERS.xml
See also....Report: U.S. soldiers killed by Iraqi beat pregnant woman
  ---  http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/06/content_7374949.htm
See also....AMSI statement: Caesar is a role model
  ---  http://www.uruknet.info/?colonna=m&p=39854&l=e&size=1&hd=0
See also....Iraq: Killer Of U.S. Soldiers Becomes A Hero
  ---  http://www.countercurrents.org/jamail070108.htm
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Freedom of Speech and H.R. 1955 pt. 1 - (YouTube - 9 min 44 sec -  Added:  January 07, 2008)
  ---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wJsovPRTEM
Must View - A quote....Though the authors of H.R. 1955 would likely deny that the bill could be used to crack down on free speech and legitimate political opposition, the talking heads on the main stream networks have made it very clear that they would like this kind of legislation to do just tha
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Two jailed for leaking Blair-Bush memo  ---  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1774373.ece
A quote...."A judge imposed two indefinite contempt of court orders on newspapers yesterday, preventing them from reporting aspects of an Official Secrets Act trial that dealt with the unauthorised disclosure of a secret document about Iraq."

For more on this see....US - Killing the Messenger  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/uskillingthemessenger-weblist-mpg-112907
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Some Free Speech On Mayor's Words  ---  http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E0D91E3DF934A25750C0A962958260
A quote...."Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do."  --  *Rudolph W. Giuliani*, March 16th 1994
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The Bomb in the Shadows: Proliferation, Corruption and the Way of the World
  ---  http://www.chris-floyd.com/Articles/Articles/The_Bomb_in_the_Shadows%3A_Proliferation%2C_Corruption_and_the_Way_of_the_World/
A quote...."This week, the Sunday Times   ---  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3137695.ece  ---  lifted the lid on one of the most important stories of the last quarter-century: how American officials sold nuclear arms technology to illegal proliferators -- including ideological allies of al Qaeda -- in return for bribes and other inducements. This widespread corruption has been protected from exposure by the highest levels of the U.S. government, which has gone to enormous lengths to protect the truth from coming out. The entire planet has been put at grave risk by the greed -- and geopolitical gamesmanship -- that lies behind this criminal enterprise, which actually is even more extensive, and goes back further in time, than the newspaper's remarkable revelations."
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Worldwide Coverage of the Sibel Edmonds Bombshell!  ---  http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5527
Some quotes...."Good news! The bombshell report   ---  http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5518  ---  on the front page of London's
 Sunday Times   ---  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3137695.ece  ---  on charges made by former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, has finally led to press coverage by the mainstream media!  --  From one side of the globe to the other, as expected, the explosive whistleblower allegations concerning highly-placed, well-known U.S. officials in the Departments of State and Defense involved in an illicit, for-profit scheme to develop and protect a network of spies, who then stole and sold American nuclear secrets to the international black markets via Turkey, Israel and Pakistan, is now worldwide news!  -- That, even though the Times only covered "about 20%" of the story she has to tell, according to Edmonds, with whom we spoke late last night."

Here in the United States, the mainstream media coverage included: ______________________

That's right. Nobody. None of them. Zilch. Not a one.
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Physicians for Human Rights in Israel Have Entered Gaza to Bring the World's Attention to the Ongoing Denial of Medical Care to Gazans 
  ---  http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m39959&s1=h1
A quote...."Physicians for Human Rights-Israel delegation and emergency convoy of medical supplies enter Gaza , while Israeli High Court of Justice denies 8 life-threatening cases access to medical care."
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IRAQ:  Fuel Crisis Freezes Life  ---  http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40730
A quote...."BAQUBA, Jan 9 (IPS) - It's turning out to be about the hardest winter Abu Muslih has known. Too often it's a choice between buying food and medicines, and buying kerosene to keep his children warm."
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Russia launches full-scale production of new-generation warplane  ---  http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080109/95829755.html
A quote...."MOSCOW, January 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has started full-scale production of the Su-34 Fullback fighter bomber at a Siberian aircraft plant, plane maker Sukhoi said on Wednesday."
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Six US soldiers die in booby-trapped house in Iraq  ---  http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL973178.htm
Special Note - A quote...."BAGHDAD, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Six U.S. soldiers were killed in a house rigged with explosives on Wednesday in Diyala province, where U.S. and Iraqi forces have launched a major operation against al Qaeda, the U.S. military said."

The insurgents have added a new tactic to their arsenal.  From now on every house US soldiers enter may very well be their last.  This will enormously complicate search and destroy operations in urban areas. - mpg
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Georgian human rights chief says presidential election rigged  ---  http://en.rian.ru/world/20080109/95875169.html
A quote...."TBILISI, January 9 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia's human rights commissioner said on Wednesday that Saturday's presidential polls, at which Mikheil Saakashvili was re-elected, were marred by large-scale ballot fraud."
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The [Russian] economy needs restructuring. But how?  ---  http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20080108/94770668.html
A quote...."....what the country really needs is a joint effort from government and business in sectors where this country already has competitive advantages, like high-tech. Such re-orientation will naturally be a long, difficult and costly process. Of course, this might explain why so few policymakers are prepared to support it."
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Here's some fun Mug-Shots  ---  http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f333/GreyHawk121/bushmugshot.gif
Enjoy. - mpg
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America Is Uniting - Against Fox News  ---  http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/node/446
A quote...."Any fair-minded observer of American media is well aware of the intrinsic bias of Fox News. It is a bias that is recognized by journalists and scholars, analysts and amateurs. Even Fox no longer tries to pawn the euphemistic "fair and balanced" nonsense off on their viewers. They now cast themselves as "the most powerful name in news."
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An awful embarrassment for Fox News  ---  http://muckrakerreport.com/id577.html
A quote...."January 8, 2008 – It looks like the Fox News plan to squelch Ron Paul’s message of authentic, constitutional liberty and freedom has backfired.  CNN is congratulated for giving Ron Paul the time today to discuss the Fox News censorship, which he does very elegantly in the video below."
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New Hampshire Election Fraud  ---  http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ron_corv_080109_new_hampshire_electi.htm
A quote...."I knew it, I knew it, I knew it................I knew it HAD to be election fraud.........let the election season fraud begin. New Hampshire Election Fraud: Hillary LOST the paper ballot count but WON the optical scan ballot count. Obama WON the paper ballot count but LOST the optical scan ballot count."
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Ron Paul Votes Not Counted In New Hampshire District  ---  http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2008/010908_not_counted.htm
A quote...."Major allegations of vote fraud in New Hampshire are circulating after Hillary Clinton reversed a mammoth pre-polling deficit to defeat Barack Obama with the aid of Diebold electronic voting machines, while confirmed votes for Ron Paul in the Sutton district were not even counted."
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France is healthcare leader, US comes dead last: study  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19036.htm
Some quotes...."WASHINGTON (AFP) — France is tops, and the United States dead last, in providing timely and effective healthcare to its citizens, according to a survey Tuesday of preventable deaths in 19 industrialized countries. -  The study by the Commonwealth Fund and published in the January/February issue of the journal Health Affairs measured developed countries' effectiveness at providing timely and effective healthcare."  --  "It is startling to see the US falling even farther behind on this crucial indicator of health system performance," said Commonwealth Fund Senior Vice President Cathy Schoen, who noted that "other countries are reducing these preventable deaths more rapidly, yet spending far less." -- bold/italics by website author.
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Goldman Sachs sees recession in 2008
  ---  http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN0956579820080109?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews
War Warning - A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs on Wednesday said it expects the U.S. economy to drop into recession this year, prompting the Federal Reserve to slash benchmark lending rates to 2.5 percent by the third quarter."
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Tuesday January 8th 2008 - links page

Bush convenes Plunge Protection Team
  ---  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/money/2008/01/07/ccview107.xml
Must Read - War Warning - A quote...."Bears beware. The New Deal of 2008 is in the works. The US Treasury is about to shower households with rebate cheques to head off a full-blown slump, and save the Bush presidency. On Friday, Mr Bush convened the so-called Plunge Protection Team for its first known meeting in the Oval Office. The black arts unit - officially the President's Working Group on Financial Markets - was created after the 1987 crash."

Why is the article shown above a War Warning?  See....
Standard Disclaimer  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/blotterminiblogs/disclaimer-blog-mpg-070207
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Bush Calls Iran's Confrontation With U.S. Ships in Persian Gulf a 'Provocative Act'
  ---  http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/Bush_chastises_Iran_on_Gulf_interce_01082008.html
War Warning - A quote...."It is a dangerous situation," he said in a White House news conference. "They should not have done it, pure and simple. . . . I don't know what their thinking was, but I'm telling you what my thinking was. I think it was a provocative act."
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Report reveals Vietnam War hoaxes, faked attacks  ---  http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j-5IKhFZ-bFe_Nc957JypHhNTMxQ
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AFP) — North Vietnamese made hoax calls to get the US military to bomb its own units during the Vietnam War, according to declassified information that also confirmed US officials faked an incident to escalate the war."
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An Ominous Non-Event - The Gulf of Tonkin and the Strait of Hormuz  ---  http://www.counterpunch.org/fantina01082008.html
A quote...."As the U.S. government continues to demonstrate its inability to learn from history, an alarming report from the Strait of Hormuz was broadcast to the world on January 7. The Associated Press reported the following: "In what U.S. officials called a serious provocation, Iranian boats harassed and provoked three U.S. Navy ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, threatening to explode the American vessels." These Iranian ships are believed to part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's navy, the organization that the U.S. Congress officially decreed a 'terrorist' organization."
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"Super-Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire".   ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19018.htm
Must Listen - From the History File - Missed this one - A quote...."Interview with financial economist and historian, Dr. Michael Hudson. Liquidity crisis in the banking system; wiping out of credit; demise of the dollar; stock volatility; hedge funds; sub- prime lending, real estate tax versus labor tax, etc. Dr. Hudson has been appointed Chief Economic Advisor for the Kucinich for President campaign, and is writing a new tax policy for the United States. He is President of The Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trend, a Wall Street Financial Analyst, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and author of "Super-Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire". Visit his website at  www.michael-hudson.com."
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America's inflated asset prices must fall  ---  http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto010720081324550910
A quote...."The US has been the main culprit behind the destabilising global imbalances of recent years. America's massive current account deficit absorbs about 75 per cent of the world's surplus saving. Most believe that a weaker US dollar is the best cure for these imbalances. Yet a broad measure of the US dollar has dropped 23 per cent since February 2002 in real terms, with only minimal impact on America's gaping external imbalance. Dollar bears argue that more currency depreciation is needed. Protectionists insist that China - which has the largest bilateral trade imbalance with the US - should bear a disproportionate share of the next downleg in the US dollar.
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This System’s Achilles’ Heel  ---  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19030.htm
A quote...." 08/01/08 "ICH" -- -- The American electorate again slogged through the political muck to try to be heard in 2006. Their effort turned out to be an exercise in complete futility or the nation’s symbol of anti-war motherhood Cindy Sheehan would not be challenging the nation’s first female House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2008. The experience, frustrating as it was, will open more minds to the real source of our oppression and the true telling of our nation’s history. The fact is that the story of the United States of America is bound up in the birth and rise of capitalism, and the nation’s present descent into dictatorship is part of the same economic system’s decline and inevitable death."

From a Socialist’s perspective.  Although the solutions described above may or may not work, the description of "Capitalism" (which is NOT a free market system by the way) along with its corrupt and murderous demise is bang on. - mpg
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9/11 and the incompetence excuse: Could a bunch of sociopathic screw-ups really pull off the crime of the century?
  ---  http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2818.shtml
Must Read - A quote...."Many who deny government complicity in 9/11/01 maintain that some of the best evidence against official involvement in the crime of the century lies in the Bush administration's unbroken record of sheer incompetence, an argument bolstered by the perception that key members of the administration, notably The Commander Guy, spent that entire day running around like headless chickens."
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9/11 Contradictions: Bush in the Classroom by David Ray Griffin  ---  http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20080108140129235
A quote...."The official story of 9/11 is riddled with internal contradictions. One of these contradictions involves the question of how long President Bush remained in classroom in Sarasota, Florida, on the morning of 9/11."
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Meet The Carlyle Group  ---  http://www.hereinreality.com/carlyle.html
A quote...."How will President George W. Bush personally make millions (if not billions) from the War on Terror and Iraq?  The old fashioned way.  He'll inherit it. Meet The Carlyle Group Former World Leaders and Washington Insiders Making Billions in the War on Terrorism"
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Always a War for Oil  ---  http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/linkframe.php?linkid=49065
A quote...."The 2003 Iraq War was war over oil . At the time our greatly esteemed prime minister for a soundbite called such explanations a "conspiracy theory"

See also....War Resource 9/11  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/weblists/priorwarresource911-weblist-mpg-091106
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Declaring Forever War  ---  http://buchanan.org/blog/?p=908
A quote...."I [PJB] was so appalled by the mayor’s simplistic message that terrorists were attacking us because they “oppose our freedom and … want to impose their ideology on us” that I ignored protocol and challenged him during the Q&A. To the accompaniment of hisses from the rabidly pro-Rudy students, I reminded the mayor that Islamic fundamentalists in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and elsewhere in the Middle East have taken our side against al-Qaeda at various times. Like the students, Hizzonor was not amused, and I got five minutes of unvarnished Rudy chiding me for just not getting it."
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Advocating for a Revolution in News  ---  http://www.atlargely.com/2008/01/advocating-for.html
A quote...."Another year. Another annual Doctors Without Borders "Top Ten Underreported Humanitarian Stories." -
Coverage of such stories by alternative media sources and independent journalists is often labeled "advocacy journalism” by the mainstream media. But if mainstream outlets were doing their job, it might just be called "news."
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OSC: Pakistani Papers React to NYT Story on Expansion of CIA Activities
  ---  http://www.juancole.com/2008/01/osc-pakistani-papers-react-to-nyt-story.html
A quote...."The USG Open Source Center provides translated excerpts from Pakistani editorials reacting to Sunday's New York Times story on discussions by VP Dick Cheney with others in the administration about widening the role in Pakistan of the Central Intelligence Agency and giving it permission to carry out paramilitary strikes in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) where al-Qaeda leaders are suspected of having taken refuge. The Pakistani editors generally went ballistic about the idea of the American role expanding inside Pakistan.
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The west has not just repressed democracy. It has aided terror  ---  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2237569,00.html
A quote...."Pakistan has as many paradigms as pundits. What is clear, however, is that meddling will only ever foment disorder  - The Pakistani senator gazed at the headline in despair. It read: "US weighs new covert push in Pakistan". Washington was authorising "enhanced CIA activity" in the country while US Democratic candidates declared they were all ready "to launch unilateral military strikes in [Pakistan] if they detected an imminent threat". Hillary Clinton wanted "joint US-UK oversight" of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. In a country where anti-Americanism is almost a religion, said the senator, this is "an answer to a Taliban prayer".
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The Battle for Pakistan  ---  http://www.watchingamerica.com/diariocolatino000006.shtml
A quote...."Pakistan is a country on the edge of the precipice, a delicate situation if you have in mind the capacity of a radicalization of Pakistani society to destabilize this region of the Asian continent, without forgetting the nuclear capacity that Islamabad has. Confrontations and violence occur throughout all provinces and the levels increase daily."
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For more on the three articles shown above see....
It Will Happen Every Single Time  ---  http://www.reficultnias.org/mikesfiles/rapsheetarch/mpgrap-122407-010108#EVERY_TIME
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Those who talk democracy should listen to Iraq's people  ---  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2237451,00.html
A quote...."The surge has only bought time for the US in Iraq. There will be no reconciliation without complete withdrawal  - Who would have believed it? When George Bush arrives in Jerusalem today to salvage something from the wreckage of his attempt to impose a new pax Americana on the Middle East, there will at least be one ray of sunshine in an otherwise grim presidential vista."
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Witness: Marines fired on harmless civilians  ---  http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/29938
A quote...."CAMP LEJEUNE — After they were attacked by a car bomb, a Marine Special Operations unit drove down an Afghan highway for several miles shooting at — and apparently killing — motorists who posed them no threat, said the first witness today in an unusual hearing into the incident."
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U.S. Attack in Iraq Is No Surprise to Many Insurgents  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/152852
A quote...."The militants may have been tipped by leaks or by the visible movements of troops and machinery that precede any operation. - American commanders say it is essential to hobble the extremists to sustain recent security gains and ultimately pacify Iraq."
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Poland signals a shift on U.S. missile shield  ---  http://www.thought-criminal.org/article/node/1138
A quote...."Signaling a tougher position in negotiations with the United States on a European anti-ballistic missile shield, Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski says the new Warsaw government is not prepared to accept U.S. plans to deploy part of the shield in Poland until all costs and risks are considered."
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Russian Su-33 warplanes exercise in Mediterranean  ---  http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/152812
A quote...."MOSCOW, January 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Navy carrier Su-33 aircraft and combat helicopters have launched a training exercise over the Mediterranean, an aide to the Russian Navy commander said on Tuesday."
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PERU:  Operation Condor Tentacles Stretched Even Farther  ---  http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40714
A quote...."LIMA, Jan 8 (IPS) - Legal investigations in Italy and declassified U.S. government documents prove that Peru was also involved in Operation Condor, created by the military regimes ruling South America in the 1970s and 1980s to cooperate in the elimination of dissidents."
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White House Must Answer Questions About Missing White House E-mails, Magistrate Judge Rules
  ---  http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/linkframe.php?linkid=49125
A quote...."Washington DC, January 8, 2008 -In an Order issued today, Magistrate Judge Facciola of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the White House to answer questions about over 5 million missing e-mails generated between 2003-2005. Noting that the need for information on the missing e-mails is “time-sensitive” because of the risk that stored copies of the e-mails “are increasingly likely to be deleted or overridden with the passage of time,” the Court demanded answers in a sworn declaration by January 13, 2008 about the location of the missing e-mails."
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Congratulations to Hillary ... America's Slow Death  ---  http://www.progressivedailybeacon.com/more.php?page=opinion&id=1794
Some quotes...."Someday someone will be able to explain how it is that Hillary Clinton can undo the damage that she helped create. This is trite, as it is oh-so fitting in this particular circumstance, but it is true: The Democrats have voted for more of the same ... expecting somehow a different outcome, which is, of course, the very definition of insanity."  --  "Sour grapes? You bet! Watching my country die a slow and voluntary death is painful and heart wrenching. Let me ask the Clinton voters this: First, when do you think she'll end the Iraq War? Second, do you really believe that she will do ANYTHING to expunge Mister Bush's unconstitutional assumption of executive power? Not likely ... but you all know the answers to both those questions, right? You just don't care ... because it's all about Hillary, right?"
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There is absolutely no reason to consider any of the Republican caucus results to be credible.
  ---  http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-auth.cgi?file=/1954/71128.html
A quote...."
- The delay in results is a red flag.
- The vote totals going down during the count is a red flag.
- The failure to release county results in live time, as promised in a Republican Party press     release on Jan. 2, is a red flag.
- The failure to release precinct totals at all is a corrupt procedure. Note that the day before the caucuses, after much pressure, the Republicans did (belatedly) promise to release the precinct results on election night. They didn't.
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Ron Paul Supporters Claim Hand in News Corp 'Rout'  ---  http://seekingalpha.com/article/59228-ron-paul-supporters-claim-hand-in-news-corp-rout
A quote...."The granite state‘s GOP has just pulled the plug on its sponsorship of the forum - in protest of Fox News’ refusal to (a) let Ron Paul participate in the five-candidate roundtable discussion, and (b) give an explanation of their reason to the New Hampshire GOP - or to even return its leaders’ numerous phone calls."

Hip Hip Hooray!! - mpg
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Why Barack Should De-Escalate On Pakistan  ---  http://www.countercurrents.org/hayden080108.htm
A quote...."As predicted, Barack Obama's advocacy of unilateral military intervention in Pakistan if there is "actionable intelligence" against al-Qaeda is giving legitimacy to the Bush administration's gathering plan for an escalation."
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Bill Moyers Journal . Video on Dennis Kucinich  ---  http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/linkframe.php?linkid=48980
Video - A quote...."One of three videos by Moyers on Jan 4. The interview of Kucinich was good professional coverage of the congressman. One interesting aspect was conversation on communications as a profession. "
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2008 New Hampshire State Primary Results  ---  http://www.politico.com/nhprimaries/nhmap-popup.html
Updated continously - mpg
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Australian shopping centre investment trust, Centro, faces collapse  ---  http://wsws.org/articles/2008/jan2008/cent-j09.shtml
A quote...."The US subprime crisis has claimed another Australian corporate victim—Centro, the country’s second biggest property investment trust, which went into a precipitous decline just days before Christmas. Centro is now the largest local company to be hit by the escalating US credit squeeze; it follows last year’s collapse of the RAMS Home Loans Group and Basis Capital, a local investment fund, which ran hedge funds linked to US mortgages."
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The inflation data no one understands: Argentina’s 8.5%  ---  http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=12356&formato=HTML
A quote...."However the 8.5% figure is far distant from private estimates who agree that inflation in 2007 was in the range of 17% (optimists) and 22% (the more pessimistic)."
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Reducing Inflation is Top Priority for Venezuelan Government  ---  http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3045
A quote...."Caracas, January 7, 2008(venezuelanalysis.com) - Venezuela's newly named Finance Minister, Rafael Isea,said yesterday that reducing inflation from 22.5% in 2007 to 11% in 2008 "hasbecame our primary objective." This reduction is to be carried out withoutcompromising social wellbeing, said Isea."
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Drought turns fertile heart into a dustbowl  ---  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3129020.ece
A quote...."The plains west of Sydney, almost as large as Great Britain, have fed Australia for decades. In good years more than 40 per cent of the country’s rural income came from the Murray-Darling basin. It was home to half the nation’s sheep, 60 per cent of its fruit and three-quarters of irrigated land."
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