Special Articles,  Longer Term Dynamics and Overviews - 2010 

Reload Page Return to Current Special Articles  

"An Acquired CIA Study Of The Internet, Made For The White House" [12/31/10] "The Internet, while impossible to control, is also an excellent recruiting ground for sympathetic or easily-convinced “bloggers” who will quickly disseminate official dissemination for pay or public acclaim. It is invaluable to distract the public from questioning various governmental actions, both domestic and foreign. For this reason, our organization, and others, have “disinformation” centers that prepare information of a sensational nature which is then released to paid sources who, in turn, disseminate it onto the Internet. The purpose of this is to create a cloaking movement that will point the curious into innocuous areas. As a case in point, it was imperative to prevent the public sector from looking too deeply into the origins of the 9/11 attacks. To prevent exposure of the actions of members of the top levels of government in this attack, many stories were released, over a long period, to the public through wholly-controlled sites. [...]"  Related:  "The Final Unveiling of the Control Grid: Cloud Computing" "Cloud computing is an internet-based computing model. This is in stark contrast to the traditional model for computing where almost all processes take place on the user’s system. The cloud, a euphemism for the internet, will provide all the software used by your computer. Users will no longer be the owners of software but rather tenants paying a subscription to use them. In addition, all processing and related data will take place in ‘the cloud’ and not on the users personal computer. Just like global warming, cloud computing is an attempt to create an entirely new market and subsequently a brand new revenue stream for multinational tech giants while allowing them to maintain complete control of their products. In the spirit of full spectrum domination ‘The Cloud’ also has many other lucrative uses in a ‘new world order’ .... We are moving in a dangerous direction. The current incarnation of the internet is far too open for our controller’s comfort. So a new internet is being rolled out; one that will control its users absolutely. All computing will be done offsite and instead of policing individual users, which often sounds illegal, government agencies can just surveil the ‘anonymous’ cloud. Of course, they already know exactly who you are and will soon be able to remotely kill your computer at will. [...]" 

"Peter Hoekstra and the CIA" [12/31/10] "On December 21, the Central Intelligence Agency gave its Agency Seal Medal to Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. Hoekstra has labored almost ceaselessly to assure that the CIA can break federal laws with impunity. ....Hoekstra has been one of the most vigilant defenders of federal agencies that have ravaged Americans’ rights. As former CIA agent Ray McGovern reported, it was Hoekstra who “blocked any attempt to hold [National Security Agency chief Keith] Alexander accountable for his lie” in 2005 congressional testimony regarding the Bush administration’s massive illegal wiretaps of Americans. Hoekstra’s shining moment on the Intelligence Committee occurred when he proudly announced in 2006 that the U.S. military really did find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.." [...]"   

"Democratic lawmaker: Citizens United puts US on path to fascism" [12/31/10] "The US Supreme Court's striking down of nearly a century's worth of campaign finance laws means the US government can now be "bought" and the country may be headed for fascism, says an outgoing Democratic House representative. In an interview this week, Rep. John Hall (D-NY), who lost his seat in the mid-term elections, told the New York Observer that he sees a threat to American democracy in the court's ruling.
"I learned when I was in social studies class in school that corporate ownership or corporate control of government is called fascism. So that's really the question -- is that the destination if this court decision goes unchecked?" The Citizens United decision upended decades of campaign finance regulation, allowing corporations, unions and other groups to spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns without having to identify themselves. In a decision split along ideological lines, the court ruled that restrictions on spending amounted to a violation of First Amendment rights. Others have challenged the notion that corporations and other organizations have the "personhood" needed to be granted constitutional rights. [...]"  Related: "Incipient Fascist State: America Has Gone Away – Paul Craig Roberts" | Flashback: "Fascist America: Are We There Yet?" 2009 "... In tracking the mileage on this trip to perdition, many of us relied on the work of historian Robert Paxton, who is probably the world's pre-eminent scholar on the subject of how countries turn fascist. In a 1998 paper published in The Journal of Modern History, Paxton argued that the best way to recognize emerging fascist movements isn't by their rhetoric, their politics, or their aesthetics. Rather, he said, mature democracies turn fascist by a recognizable process, a set of five stages that may be the most important family resemblance that links all the whole motley collection of 20th Century fascisms together. According to our reading of Paxton's stages, we weren't there yet. There were certain signs -- one in particular -- we were keeping an eye out for, and we just weren't seeing it. And now we are. In fact, if you know what you're looking for, it's suddenly everywhere. It's odd that I haven't been asked for quite a while; but if you asked me today, I'd tell you that if we're not there right now, we've certainly taken that last turn into the parking lot and are now looking for a space. Either way, our fascist American future now looms very large in the front windshield -- and those of us who value American democracy need to understand how we got here, what's changing now, and what's at stake in the very near future if these people are allowed to win -- or even hold their ground. .... According to Paxton, fascism unfolds in five stages. The first two are pretty solidly behind us -- and the third should be of particular interest to progressives right now. [...]"   "Fascist America II: The Last Turnoff" | "Fascist America III: Resistance for the Long Haul" | "The Five Stages of Fascism" Robert O. Paxton, Columbia U. PDF  

"China To Cut Rare Earth Exports By More Than 11 Percent" [12/30/10] " China said on Tuesday it will cut its export quotas for rare earth minerals by more than 11 percent in the first half of 2011, further shrinking supplies of metals needed to make a range of high-tech products. China produces about 97 percent of rare earth minerals, used worldwide in high-technology, clean energy and other products that exploit their special properties for magnetism, luminescence and strength. The rare earth issue could further strain U.S.-China ties, which have been battered this year by arguments over human rights, Tibet, Taiwan, the value of the Chinese currency and North Korean military attacks on South Korea. Chinese President Hu Jintao is due to visit the United States next month for talks with President Barack Obama that both sides hope can stabilise the vital relationship. Beijing says its curbs are for environmental reasons and to guarantee supplies to Chinese clean energy firms it is trying to promote internationally. But it has also said its dominance as a producer should give it more control over global prices. [...]"   Related: "China vows to curtail rampant corruption in government"  "China laid out its plans to crack down on lavish parties for government officials yesterday, in an attempt to stem growing public anger about the rampant corruption that is so severe it threatens single-party rule in the world's most populous nation. [...]"    

"NOLA lawyer prepares challenge to declaration of Gulf seafood’s safety" [12/30/10] "An environmental law firm in New Orleans said it was preparing to challenge the government’s public declaration that following the nation’s worst-ever oil disaster, seafood from the Gulf of Mexico remained safe to eat. [...]" Related:  "BP Gulf Oil Spill Letter to The World Press"  [10:46] "Henning Kemner asked me to mirror this for him. The following 4 videos to be uploaded soon will give the proof of the documentation he speaks of here. [...]"  Note:  Interesting video clip, from a Danish investigator in the US.

"US: No Way to Seal Afghan Border With Pakistan" [12/30/10] "Speaking to the media today, a top US military commander in charge of securing the vast, mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan admitted that there was literally no way for the US to actually accomplish this. The commander, Col. Viet Luong, insisted that it would require more resources than the force has at its disposal to secure the border and that it would require far more cooperation from the tribes inside Pakistan than they have ever been able to secure. [...]"  Note: Any idiot could have figured that out a decade ago ...  

Review: 2000-2010 in Seven Minutes [12/28/10] "NEWSWEEK rewinds the first 10 years of the new century."  Related:  " 21st Century Decade Retrospective" 

Commentary: "North American Integration Back on the Front Burner" [12/28/10] "In the last year, the bilateral process has been the primary means used to advance North American integration, which has drawn little attention. With the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) seemingly stalled after being exposed and discredited, the U.S. channeled trilateral negotiations to parallel bilateral discussions with both Canada and Mexico. Recent reports of a tentative Canada-U.S. security and trade agreement has once again highlighted the whole process of deep continental integration. The U.S. is formulating a strategy with the aim of implementing a North American security perimeter.  [...]"   Related:  "U.S. and Canada Planning North American Perimeter" [12/19/10] "The Conservative government is set to announce a landmark security and trade deal with the United States, designed to create a perimeter around North America and allow people and goods to flow more freely across the border. Sources suggested that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama will sign the broad-ranging agreement in Washington as early as next month. “It’s big on ideals but maybe not so great on details,” said one person familiar with the negotiations. “But it does use the word ‘perimeter’ many times…The question is, will it reduce the compliance burden at the Canada-U.S. border?” The New Border Vision is being billed as a 21st century border management system that will include new common consumer product regulations, a pre-clearance agreement for goods crossing the border to expedite waiting times and the use of advanced technology to utilize biometric data for travelers at airports and land crossings, according to people familiar with the plan. [...]"   

Real News Interview : "World Tired of Paying Bill for US Military" [12/28/10] [10:10]   "Michael Hudson is President of The Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends (ISLET), a Wall Street Financial Analyst, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and is the author of "Super-Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire" (1968 & 2003), "Trade, Development and Foreign Debt" (1992 & 2009) and of "The Myth of Aid" (1971).  ISLET engages in research regarding domestic and international finance, national income and balance-sheet accounting with regard to real estate, and the economic history of the ancient Near East. Michael acts as an economic advisor to governments worldwide including Iceland, Latvia and China on finance and tax law. Here Hudson talks with The Real News Networks' Paul Jay about the 800+ empire of military bases the U.S. has established around the globe, about how all of the money that the military spends abroad is spent on foreign economies and is then "siphon[ed] up into the central banks. And the central banks would have nothing to do with these dollars but to keep their currency stable by recycling the dollars into US Treasury bills." and about how "If it weren't for the military deficit, America would have had to finance its own domestic budget deficit. It's been foreigners that are financing the budget deficit." Hudson concludes here with the observation that "Now that foreigners are essentially saying, we don't want any more dollars, we're not going to fund your deficit, all of a sudden they think: who's going to fund the deficit if not foreign central banks? The answer is: American labor, the American middle class and working families are going to fund it, not the military." The rest of the world has had enough of financing it's own encirclement and subjugation by the U.S. military.  [...]"   

Commentary: "2011: A Brave New Dystopia" [12/28/10] "The two greatest visions of a future dystopia were George Orwell’s “1984” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.” The debate, between those who watched our descent towards corporate totalitarianism, was who was right. Would we be, as Orwell wrote, dominated by a repressive surveillance and security state that used crude and violent forms of control? Or would we be, as Huxley envisioned, entranced by entertainment and spectacle, captivated by technology and seduced by profligate consumption to embrace our own oppression? It turns out Orwell and Huxley were both right. Huxley saw the first stage of our enslavement. Orwell saw the second.  We have been gradually disempowered by a corporate state that, as Huxley foresaw, seduced and manipulated us through sensual gratification, cheap mass-produced goods, boundless credit, political theater and amusement. While we were entertained, the regulations that once kept predatory corporate power in check were dismantled, the laws that once protected us were rewritten and we were impoverished. Now that credit is drying up, good jobs for the working class are gone forever and mass-produced goods are unaffordable, we find ourselves transported from “Brave New World” to “1984.” The state, crippled by massive deficits, endless war and corporate malfeasance, is sliding toward bankruptcy. It is time for Big Brother to take over from Huxley’s feelies, the orgy-porgy and the centrifugal bumble-puppy. We are moving from a society where we are skillfully manipulated by lies and illusions to one where we are overtly controlled.  [...]"  Related: "2011: Prospects for Humanity?" Prof. Francis Boyle " ... Future, what future? I am extremely pessimistic. In my opinion the world is moving ineluctably towards a third world war—a strategic nuclear war. I do not believe that anything can be done to prevent it. The international system is simply too unstable to survive for long. The SALT II Treaty is important for the present, but over the long haul it cannot stop the momentum. Fortunately, I do not believe that I will live to see that day. But I am afraid you might. [...]"   

Commentary: "Beyond WikiLeaks: The Privatization of War" [12/27/10] "Private military and security companies (PMSC) are the modern reincarnation of a long lineage of private providers of physical force: corsairs, privateers and mercenaries. The United Nation Human Rights Council, under the Universal Periodic Review, started in Geneva on November 5, 2010 to review the human rights record of the United States. The following is an edited version of the presentation given by Jose L. Gomez del Prado in Geneva on November 3, 2010 at a parallel meeting at the UN Palais des Nations on that occasion. [...] Private military and security companies (PMSC) are the modern reincarnation of a long lineage of private providers of physical force: corsairs, privateers and mercenaries. Mercenaries, which had practically disappeared during the 19th and 20th centuries, reappeared in the 1960s during the decolonization period, operating mainly in Africa and Asia. Under the United Nations, a convention was adopted which outlaws and criminalizes their activities. Additionally, Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions also contains a definition of mercenary. These non-state entities of the 21st century operate in extremely blurred situations, where the frontiers are difficult to separate. The new security industry of private companies moves large quantities of weapons and military equipment. It provides services for military operations, recruiting former military as civilians to carry out passive or defensive security. However, these individuals cannot be considered civilians,[...]"  Related:  "U.S. Prepares For New Decade Of War In Asia" | Commentary: "Earth-The Insane Asylum" [10:54]  Note: Lower your volume before beginning.  

"Cables Portray Expanded Reach of Drug Agency" [12/27/10] "The Drug Enforcement Administration has been transformed into a global intelligence organization with a reach that extends far beyond narcotics, and an eavesdropping operation so expansive it has to fend off foreign politicians who want to use it against their political enemies, according to secret diplomatic cables. In far greater detail than previously seen, the cables, from the cache obtained by WikiLeaks and made available to some news organizations, offer glimpses of drug agents balancing diplomacy and law enforcement in places where it can be hard to tell the politicians from the traffickers, and where drug rings are themselves mini-states whose wealth and violence permit them to run roughshod over struggling governments. [...] 

Commentary: "Bottom of the 4th Inning of the Great Game: Afghanistan is now open for business" [12/27/10] "Afghans know why invaders throughout history sought control of Afghan real estate. Not only does Afghanistan contain some of the richest mineral deposits in the world, but it also sits astride the shortest trade routes between China and Europe as well as between Russia and India. In this age of globalizing free trade and an accelerating scramble for natural resources, Afghanistan sits at the epicentre of Eurasia. And as Zbigniew Brzezinski noted in 1997: “What happens with the distribution of power on the Eurasian landmass will be of decisive importance to America's global primacy and historical legacy.” [...]"   

"The Hidden Evil: The Psychopathic Influence in Our World"   [12/26/10] "Both the financial elite and their servants who maintain this system, appear to exhibit behavior that is consistent with symptoms associated with a medical disorder known as psychopathy.(*) Psychopaths, also called sociopaths, are categorized as those who exhibit superficial charm and intelligence, and are absent of delusions or nervousness. Their traits include: [...] Psychopathy is basically an emotional disorder. The book, The Psychopath, by James Blair, Karina Blair, and Derek Mitchell, states, "The crucial aspect of psychopathy is ... the emotional impairment." According to Dr. J. Reid Meloy's book, The Psychopathic Mind, although psychopaths don't feel emotion in a normal sense, they do experience boredom, envy, exhilaration, contempt, sadistic pleasure, anger, and hints of depression. Generally, those who believe it's caused by environmental factors use the term sociopath, and believers of the biological theory use the term psychopath. Psychopathy closely resembles Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD or APD) or Conduct Disorder (CD) as outlined in the DSM-IV. These disorders are detected using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revisited (PCL-R), the DSM-IV, and other diagnostics.  These character types, comprise about 4% of the population and span every level of society. Psychopaths can be found in every race, culture, profession and class. Because the term psychopath has been used to describe APD types and sociopaths, in this chapter I'll use it as a universal label for these three character types."     Note:  12 million psychopaths in the US alone, at this rate.   Related:  "Flashback:  "Twilight of the Psychopaths"  by Dr. Kevin Barrett   "Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.” – John Lennon, before his murder by CIA mind-control subject Mark David Chapman.  When Gandhi was asked his opinion of Western civilization he said it would be a good idea. But that oft-cited quote, is misleading, assuming as it does that civilization is an unmitigated blessing. Civilized people, we are told, live peacefully and cooperatively with their fellows, sharing the necessary labour in order to obtain the leisure to develop arts and sciences. And while that would be a good idea, it is not a good description of what has been going on in the so-called advanced cultures during the past 8,000 years. Civilization, as we know it, is largely the creation of psychopaths. All civilizations, our own included, have been based on slavery and “warfare.” Incidentally, the latter term is a euphemism for mass murder. The prevailing recipe for civilization is simple: [...] "The only conspiracy that matters is the conspiracy of the psychopaths against the rest of us."   "Psychopaths" and Google Trends: Awareness of Humanity's Intra-species Predator is Growing"  [5:40] "For some reason starting early 2009 a huge upsurge in interest concerning psychopaths began worldwide. Most of the searches took place in Southern Hemisphere countries; Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. Sweden was the highest non-English speaking nation on the list?  [...]"  

Commentary: "The Rise and Rise of Super Fascism" [12/25/10] "Mention fascism and most peoples’ minds turn to Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco’s Spain, Salazar’s Portugal, Japanese Fascism, Papadopoulos’ Greece and South Africa’s Apartheid regime. However, most people are blissfully unaware of a rising form of fascism, more virulent than all past fascist regimes combined. Its aim is to subjugate the entire planet and its resources to U.S. corporate interests.  It is true that German Fascism was evil; but it is also true that its evilness has been exploited, even exaggerated, by one powerful Zionist entity and its supporters to justify the persecution and dispossession of the Palestinian people. German Fascism has diversified and mutated into super fascism supported by regimes claiming to be “liberal democracies”.  The word Fascism originated from the Latin ‘Fasces’, means a bundle of sticks tied together to represent the ruling élite. At the heart of fascist ideology are corporatism, militarism, nationalism, racism and total control of citizens. Fascism is “a political system or regime with a tendency toward or actual exercise of Fascism” [Webster’s Dictionary]. Unfortunately, many opportunists and apologists for Israel-U.S. crimes use the word fascism as a name-calling, carelessly throwing it around to demonise others in order to mislead the public.  In his 2003 essay Fascism Anyone?, the British writer Laurence W. Britt identifies fourteen characteristics of fascism common to past fascist regimes. Are they common and shared by regimes today? The purpose of this essay is to seriously inform people of the growing danger of fascism today, using the fourteen characteristics as a matchup:  [...]"  

"African Farmers Displaced as Investors Move In" [12/25/10] "The half-dozen strangers who descended on this remote West African village brought its hand-to-mouth farmers alarming news: their humble fields, tilled from one generation to the next, were now controlled by Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, and the farmers would all have to leave. “They told us this would be the last rainy season for us to cultivate our fields; after that, they will level all the houses and take the land,” said Mama Keita, 73, the leader of this village veiled behind dense, thorny scrubland. “We were told that Qaddafi owns this land.” Across Africa and the developing world, a new global land rush is gobbling up large expanses of arable land. Despite their ageless traditions, stunned villagers are discovering that African governments typically own their land and have been leasing it, often at bargain prices, to private investors and foreign governments for decades to come. Organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank say the practice, if done equitably, could help feed the growing global population by introducing large-scale commercial farming to places without it. But others condemn the deals as neocolonial land grabs that destroy villages, uproot tens of thousands of farmers and create a volatile mass of landless poor. Making matters worse, they contend, much of the food is bound for wealthier nations.  [...]"  

'Turkey probes 90 US nukes at airbase' [12/25/10] "The report, called the "US nuclear weapons in Europe," indicates that Washington currently has 90 nuclear bombs of the "B 61" variety in Turkey, all on the Incirlik Air Force base, Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper reported on its website on Friday.  The account has been prepared by the US National Resources Defense Council and is based on figures provided last February by the US Air Force. It says 50 of the B-61 bombs are ready to be loaded onto American bomber planes while the remaining 40 will be loaded onto Turkish planes. According to the daily, Turkish MP Shukru Elekdag has questioned reasons behind keeping the bombs on Turkish soil even decades after the end of the Cold War. Elekdag has also noted that Turkey's consent to the deployment of the US nuclear bombs at Incirlik is an act which 'could not be easily explained to its Muslim and Arab neighbors.' Press reports have established that US currently has more than 100 nuclear bombs positioned in bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.  [...]"  Note: So, that's 190 US nuclear devices in four countries ... a bit of 'overkill' ... and this is allowed by the rest of the world. With another 200-400 devices in Israel ....

"WikiLeaks Reveals the Crimes of the Congressional-Big Agra Complex" [12/25/10] "Rodale News is running a fantastic article by Emily Main: “Wikileaks Memos Reveal U.S. Gov’t Pushing Gene-Altered Crops Worldwide.” According to the article, currently available documents “provide interesting insights into how aggressively the U.S. State Department is pushing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) abroad.” While most of the rest of the world is flat-out rejecting these manufactured toxins, the U.S. government, along with its corporate state giants (like Monsanto), has been trying to bully the EU, as well as other, smaller countries, into exporting the highly profitable GMOs. From the article, it is noted that one of the released cables (bold emphasis is mine): [...]"   

"Assange calls for criminal charges against ‘shock jock’ Fox hosts" [12/24/10] "WikiLeaks founder calls Bradley Manning 'political prisoner'; says Fox hosts, politicians committing 'terrorism'. Human rights organizations should be investigating the conditions under which Manning is held and, really, is there due process there?" Assange said. Of Huckabee's call to have Assange executed, and Palin's demand that he be hunted down like al Qaeda, Assange said: "If we are to have a civil society, you cannot have senior people making calls on national TV to go around the judiciary and illegally murder people. That is incitement to commit murder. That is an offense." He added: "When people call for illegal, deliberate assassination and kidnapping of others, they should be held to account. They should be charged for incitement to commit murder." [...]"  

Exposé: "Operators of the World’s Most Successful Atomic Smuggling Ring Worked for CIA" [12/24/10] "A seven-year effort by the Central Intelligence Agency to hide its relationship with a Swiss family who once acted as moles inside the world’s most successful atomic black market hit a turning point on   Thursday when a Swiss magistrate recommended charging the men with trafficking in technology and information for making nuclear arms. The prospect of a prosecution, and a public trial, threatens to expose some of the C.I.A.’s deepest secrets if defense lawyers try to protect their clients by revealing how they operated on the agency’s behalf. It could also tarnish what the Bush administration once hailed as a resounding victory in breaking up the nuclear arms network by laying bare how much of it remained intact. “It’s like a puzzle,” Andreas Müller, the Swiss magistrate, said at a news conference in Bern on Thursday. “If you put the puzzle together you get the whole picture.” The three men — Friedrich Tinner and his two sons, Urs and Marco — helped run the atomic smuggling ring of A. Q. Khan, an architect of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb program, officials in several countries have said. In return for millions of dollars, according to former Bush administration officials, the Tinners secretly worked for the C.I.A. as well, not only providing information about the Khan network’s manufacturing and sales efforts, which stretched from Iran to Libya to North Korea, but also helping the agency introduce flaws into the equipment sent to some of those countries. [...] Mr. Müller, the Swiss magistrate, investigated the Tinner case for nearly two years. He said Thursday that his 174-page report recommended that the three men face charges for “supporting the development of atomic weapons” in violation of Swiss law. They are accused of supplying Dr. Khan’s operation with technology used to make centrifuges, the machines that purify uranium into fuel for bombs and reactors. Dr. Khan then sold the centrifuges to Libya, Iran and North Korea and perhaps other countries.” [...]"

 Anomaly: "WikiLeaks to Release Israel Documents in Six Months " [12/24/10] "In an excusive interview with Al Jazeera, Assange said only a meagre number of files related to Israel had been published so far, because the newspapers in the West that were given exclusive rights to publish the secret documents were reluctant to publish many sensitive information about Israel. “There are 3,700 files related to Israel and the source of 2,700 files is Israel. In the next six months we intend to publish more files depending on our sources,” said Assange in the nearly one-hour interview telecast live from the UK. Asked if Israel had tried to contact him though mediators, Assange said, “No, no contacts with Israel but I am sure Mossad is following our activities closely like Australia, Sweden and the CIA. “The Guardian, El-Pais and Le Monde have published only two percent of the files related to Israel due to the sensitive relations between Germany, France and Israel. Even New York Times could not publish more due to the sensitivities related to the Jewish community in the US,” he added. Excerpts from the interview: [...]"   Related: Commentary: "Latest Wikileaks Psyop Maneuver: Providing Israel With Another Useful Existential Threat" "Julian Assange has stated on al Jazeera that he will release some 3,700 secret (and even “top-secret”) documents pertaining to Israel in 6 months. Why would he wait if he had “truth” that needed to be revealed to the world? What he is doing is providing an existential threat to the state of Israel; one that can and will be used by AIPAC to pressure members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to pass legislation effectively shutting down the open internet as we know it. [...]"   

"Obama Asked to Delay NUMEC Founder Award over Nuclear Weapons Material Diversions to Israel" [12/24/10] "The Obama administration has been asked to delay a 2010 National Medal of Technology and Innovation award to Zalman Shapiro over lingering questions about the theft and diversion of US weapons grade uranium to Israel. Shapiro, a talented inventor, was the former president of the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation. Shapiro and NUMEC were investigated over the diversion of weapons grade uranium to Israel from the plant at Apollo, Pennsylvania. A March/April 2010 Bulletin of Atomic Scientists analysis estimates that 741 pounds of highly enriched uranium suitable for weapons production disappeared from NUMEC while Shapiro was president and was likely diverted into the Israeli nuclear weapons program. [...]"  

World Politics: "Anti-terror Alliance Over if U.S. Troops Raid Across Border, Pakistan Warns" [12/23/10] " Pakistan warned the United States Tuesday that the counter-terrorism alliance between the two countries would be broken if Washington attempted to expand its ground war across the border from Afghanistan into Pakistani territory. The stark warning came after the US military reportedly pressed for permission to open a second front against militants by using special forces in cross-border raids into Pakistan. One officer said: “We’ve never been as close as we are now to getting the go-ahead.” American military officials told The New York Times that commanders had drawn up plans to attack Taliban and al Qaeda sanctuaries in Pakistan. They had concluded that Islamabad had no intention of dislodging the militants, who are concentrated in the lawless tribal area of North Waziristan. [...]"  Related:  "US plans to expand raids in Pakistan" "The main role in a secret war on Pakistan territory has belonged to the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA has operated the armed drones to hunt down insurgent leaders and also organized a number of secret missions carried out by Afghan operatives, known as Counterterrorism Pursuit Teams. While their missions have been reported as intelligence- gathering only operations, recent interviews have demonstrated that at least in one case the Afghan militia destroyed a militant weapons depot. This decision would open a new front in the war that is becoming more and more unpopular in America. It also could ruin relations with such an unreliable ally as Pakistan, especially considering the risk of civilian casualties.. .. US military leaders aim to receive approval for their plan to send American special forces across the Pakistani border. An anonymous senior American officer stated, "We've never been as close as we are now to getting the go-ahead to go across." [...]"  

  "More on Haiti’s Raging Cholera, Electoral Fraud and Deportation" [12/23/10] "Haitians remains plagued by a perfect storm combination of earthquake devastation, crushing poverty, raging cholera, electoral fraud, exploitation, persecution, Obama-ordered deportations, and world indifference to their plight, with few exceptions like Cuba and Venezuela.  Post-quake, their aid was some of the first to arrive. After cholera struck, Chavez sent a Ministry of Health team with medications, intravenous drips and rehydration tablets. He promised more as needed for "our Haitian brothers and sisters (exploited) by savage capitalism and imperialism." Since 1998, Cuba's had hundreds of doctors, nurses, and other medical specialists in Haiti to help. Post-quake, it sent more, and after cholera struck, more still with supplies to set up new facilities and deliver heroic services under the most adverse conditions, including in hard to reach rural areas.  [...]"  Related: "Angry Haitian mobs lynch 45 ‘witches’ over cholera outbreak" [12/23/10] "Angry Haitian mobs have lynched at least 45 people in recent weeks, accusing them of spreading a cholera outbreak that has killed over 2,500 people across the country, officials said Wednesday. The number included at least 14 suspected sorcerers previously known to have been lynched in the far southwestern region of Grand'Anse as local people feared they were spreading cholera with a magical substance. The area has been largely spared by the outbreak. [...]"  Note:  Another minionesque dynamic ... See the 'Haiti' link at the top of this panel for related items.

"Investigator: Billions in aid wasted in Afghanistan" [12/23/10] "Arnold Fields, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said the cost of U.S. assistance funding diverted or squandered since 2002 could reach "well into the millions, if not billions, of dollars." "There are no controls in place sufficient enough to ensure taxpayers' money is used for the (intended) purpose," said Fields, whose independent office was created in 2008 to energize oversight of what U.S. auditors have described as a giant, poorly coordinated aid effort that has sunk some $56 billion into Afghanistan since 2002. Of that sum, some $29 billion has gone to building up Afghanistan's nascent security forces, many of whose members cannot read and are just learning to shoot. [...]"  

"David Frost Interviews Julian Assange" [12/23/10] [24:01]  "WikiLeaks founder talks about secrets, leaks and why he will not go back to Sweden. [...]"   Related:  "Cenk Uyger interviews Julian Assange on Dylan Ratigan Show" [12/23/10] [15:16] 

"Leaks, leaked: Norway publication claims to have complete ‘cablegate’ archive" [12/23/10] "An editor with Aftenposten, a news service in Norway, told Dagens Naerings, the country's main business newspaper, that they'd come into possession of the complete archive, according to late-breaking reports Wednesday afternoon. "We're free to do what we want with these documents," Aftenposten editor Ole Erik Almlid was quoted as saying. "We're free to publish the documents or not publish the documents, we can publish on the internet or on paper. We are handling these documents just like all other journalistic material to which we have gained access." [...]"   

Legal Case:  "Stephen Baldwin Says Kevin Costner Soaked Him in $52M Deal with BP" [12/23/10] "Stephen Baldwin has sued Kevin Costner, claiming Costner and others tricked him into selling his shares in a company whose technology separates oil from water. Baldwin and a co-plaintiff claim that Costner and associates made a lucrative deal with BP after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, then bought out the plaintiffs' shares while keeping them in the dark about the $52 million sale to BP. [...]"  Note:  Costner is a sequential. Baldwin is not. The emotional depth of which each is capable is seen in their work and is reflected in their personalities.

UK Jewish MP: "Israel acting like Nazis in Gaza" [12/22/10] [5:40]   "Israel was born out of Jewish Terrorism" Tzipi Livnis Father was a Terrorist" Astonishing claims in the House of Parliament. SIR Gerald Kaufman, the veteran Labour MP, yesterday compared the actions of Israeli troops in Gaza to the Nazis who forced his family to flee Poland. [...]"   

"Breaking Apart the Official 9/11 Coincidence Theory" [12/22/10] Audio clip [120:20]  "This is a special 2 hour 20 minute episode of Media Roots Radio about the events of 9/11. In this edition, Abby and Robbie Martin introduce how their political awakenings were prompted by 9/11, and break apart the official government and corporate media narrative of the 9/11 attacks by discussing the foreknowledge, government complicity, and gross inconsistencies regarding every aspect of the events. The show then delves into the aftermath: the psychological manipulation of the American psyche and the significance that this event continues to have in our nation and world.  [...]"  See the new "9/11 Event" link at the top of this panel for related stories. 

Corbett Report:  "Sibel Edmonds Speaks Out on Whistleblower "Protections" [12/22/10] [10:54]  "FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds joins The Corbett Report to discuss the explosive information she uncovered while working in the FBI translation and how the safeguards that were supposed to be in place to help her blow the whistle were overseen by politicians who themselves had been corrupted. [...]"  Note: Part 2 [10:37]| Part 3 [9:15]| Part 4 [8:44]| Part 5 [9:37] 

Report: "The Hidden History of Corporations in the United States" [12/22/10] "When American colonists declared independence from England in 1776, they also freed themselves from control by English corporations that extracted their wealth and dominated trade. After fighting a revolution to end this exploitation, our country's founders retained a healthy fear of corporate power and wisely limited corporations exclusively to a business role. Corporations were forbidden from attempting to influence elections, public policy, and other realms of civic society..... [...]"  

Legal Case: "Government Changes Attorney Licensing Regulations In Response To Lawsuit Filed By CCR And ACLU" [12/20/10] "Attorneys are no longer required to seek permission from the government to provide uncompensated representation to individuals the government has placed on a list of designated terrorists, following a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in August. The groups filed the lawsuit against the Treasury Department and the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) after the government failed to grant them the license required by OFAC's regulations in order to challenge the Obama administration's targeted killing program. The lawsuit charged that the government could not constitutionally require uncompensated attorneys to obtain a license in order to challenge government conduct, or to represent a particular client in court. OFAC granted the groups a license one day after they filed the lawsuit. [...]"   

"Ombudsman finds G20 regulation of “dubious legality”; Citizens unfairly trapped by secret expansion of police powers" [12/20/10] "The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services quietly promoted the use of a likely illegal regulation to grant police “extravagant” powers on the eve of the G20 summit, Ontario Ombudsman André Marin says in his latest report, released today. [...]"  See the new "G20 Events" link at the top of this panel for more details and related stories. 

Investigations: "Top Secret America: Monitoring America"  By Dana Priest and William Arkin [12/20/10] "Nine years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the United States is assembling a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect information about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators. The system, by far the largest and most technologically sophisticated in the nation's history, collects, stores and analyzes information about thousands of U.S. citizens and residents, many of whom have not been accused of any wrongdoing.   [...]" 

"Amendment Would Enable States to Repeal Federal Law" [12/20/10] "The same people driving the lawsuits that seek to dismantle the Obama administration’s health care overhaul have set their sights on an even bigger target: a constitutional amendment that would allow a vote of the states to overturn any act of Congress. Under the proposed “repeal amendment,” any federal law or regulation could be repealed if the legislatures of two-thirds of the states voted to do so. The idea has been propelled by the wave of Republican victories in the midterm elections. First promoted by Virginia lawmakers and Tea Party groups, it has the support of legislative leaders in 12 states. It also won the backing of the incoming House majority leader, Representative Eric Cantor, when it was introduced this month in Congress. Like any constitutional amendment, it faces enormous hurdles: it must be approved by both chambers of Congress — requiring them to agree, in this case, to check their own power — and then by three-quarters of, or 38, state legislatures.  [...]"  

MSM:  "Congress should divest from defense stocks, Bush appointee says" [12/20/10] "Members of Congress ought to divest from companies that hold military contracts with the US government, a former Senate appointee that served in the Bush administration, said in a recently published report. "I am frankly surprised they are allowed to have these investments," Gordon R. England, a deputy defense secretary that served in the Pentagon from 2006-2009, told The Washington Post. Ethical standards between Congress and its staff and appointees to federal agencies differ, the later of which must sell off their assets in corporations that do business with the government before working for the state. The prohibition on staff and appointees is in place to prevent them and their family members from taking financial advantage of privileged information. However, Congress is privy to the same information, some of which contains classified plans on expensive weapon systems. [...]"   

Commentary: "Airline Security: A Waste of Money and Time" by Bruce Schneier [12/20/10] "A short history of airport security: We screen for guns and bombs, so the terrorists use box cutters. We confiscate box cutters and corkscrews, so they put explosives in their sneakers. We screen footwear, so they try to use liquids. We confiscate liquids, so they put PETN bombs in their underwear. We roll out full-body scanners, even though they wouldn't have caught the Underwear Bomber, so they put a bomb in a printer cartridge. We ban printer cartridges over 16 ounces -- the level of magical thinking here is amazing -- and they're going to do something else.  This is a stupid game, and we should stop playing it.  It's not even a fair game. It's not that the terrorist picks an attack and we pick a defense, and we see who wins. It's that we pick a defense, and then the terrorists look at our defense and pick an attack designed to get around it. Our security measures only work if we happen to guess the plot correctly. If we get it wrong, we've wasted our money. This isn't security; it's security theater.   [...]"    

Commentary:  "Study: Supreme Court becoming a tool for corporate interests" [12/20/10] "Those who have been arguing that the Supreme Court is growing more friendly to corporate interests while becoming less friendly to everyone else will now have statistical ammunition for their arguments. A study has found that the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has undergone a fundamental shift in its outlook, ruling in favor of businesses much more often than previous courts. According to the Northwestern University study, commissioned for the New York Times, the Roberts court has sided with business interests in 61 percent of relevant cases, compared to 46 percent in the last five years of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who passed away in 2005. And the study notes the Rehnquist court itself was considerably more pro- business than earlier courts.  [...]"

"DynCorp, Other Private Contractors In Afghanistan Behaving Badly" [12/20/10] "Documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act describe previously undisclosed offenses committed by more than 200 contract employees in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries between 2004 and 2008. They were working under a broad State Department security services contract shared by DynCorp of Falls Church, Va., Triple Canopy of Reston, Va., and the company formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide – Xe Services of Moyock, N.C. Most of the infractions, which include excessive drinking, drug use, sexual misconduct, and mishandling weapons, were violations of corporate and U.S. policies that probably went unnoticed by ordinary Afghans and Iraqis. But other offenses played out in public, undermining U.S. efforts in both countries and raising questions about how carefully job candidates are screened. [...]n Iraq, the departure of U.S. combat forces has left a security and logistics support vacuum to be filled by the private sector. In testimony to the independent Wartime Contracting Commission in June, a State Department official said as many as 7,000 security contractors – more than double the current number – will be needed to guard the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and other offices across Iraq."  Note:  The US chose to built a gargantuan embassy that needed protection, just to keep a foothold in Iraq ... when they really don't belong there at all.

Perspectives: "Manning within his Rights to Give Secrets to Wikileaks" [12/20/10] "Under ordinary circumstances, the release of information labeled "secret" violates U.S. law, as intelligence specialist Manning undoubtedly knew. But if the U.S. is an aggressor state, as Germany was when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, doesn't that change everything? [...]"   

Interview: "US empire could collapse at any time" [12/18/10] Pulitzer-winning journalist Chris Hedges interviewed by Raw Story. "America's military and economic empire could collapse at any time, but predicting the precise day, week or month of its potential demise is unattainable, according to a former New York Times war correspondent who spoke with Raw Story. "The when and how is very dangerous to predict because there's always some factor that blindsides you that you didn't expect," Pulitzer-winning journalist Chris Hedges said in an exclusive interview. "It doesn't look good. But exactly how it plays out and when it plays out, having covered disintegrating societies, it's impossible to tell." He explained that he learned this lesson as events unfolded around him in the fall of 1989. Then, members of the opposition to the Soviet Empire told him that they predicted travel across the Berlin Wall separating East from West Germany would open within the year. "Within a few hours, the wall didn't exist," he said. Hedges was one of roughly 135 activists who participated in an act of civil disobedience that resulted in their arrests outside the White House yesterday, even as Obama was unveiling a new report on progress of the war in Afghanistan.  [...]"  

"Tales From the Clink, With Julian Assange" [12/18/10] Video clip [6:11]  "Julian Assange, embattled WikiLeaks founder and international man of mystery, took a moment on Friday to check in with Matt Lauer on “Today” and dispense such enigmatic gems as this description of his recent legal battle: “It is not the beginning of the end; rather, it is merely the end of the beginning.”  [...]" Note: Two other video clips with Assange are on the same page.  See "Wikleaks" link at the top of this panel for related stories.   Related: "Julian Assange 1st Press Conference After Release On Bail" [12/18/10] [6:33]  The founder of the whistleblowing website Wikileaks released on bail by a British court says he will continue his work. An appeal by prosecutors to keep Julian Assange behind bars was rejected. But he'll have to stay in Britain under house arrest until a decision is made on whether he should be extradited to Sweden over sexual assault allegations. That case was dropped in August, but later reopened, in a move widely seen as politically motivated. 

Commentary: "TAPI Pipeline - The Real Reason for 4 More Years of War" [12/18/10] "As I have reported since shortly after 9/11, the real reason for the U.S. invasion and occupation of Afghanistan is to build and secure a 1,080-mile long gas pipeline designed to carry trillions of dollars of Israeli-owned gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India. In a 2009 article entitled "Why Afghanistan" I wrote about the role of Israeli intelligence in the TAPI gas pipeline project and its connection to 9/11: [...]"  

"Insider Reveals Diabolical Secrets Of The The Rand Corporation" [12/17/10] "Cuban-born journalist and author Alex Abella was allowed exclusive access inside the RAND Corporation to view their archives. What he discovered was a plot driven by mad scientists, behaviorists, and generals who were intent on starting world war three and fleecing the American people in the process. Once he was a skeptic on the subject of conspiracy theories and the new world order, but after his work with the RAND Corporation he is now convinced that this top secret think tank has been pulling the strings of American government for at least 60 years.  [...]   "  

"Kosovo Prime Minister Discovered to Be Head of Organ-Harvesting Mafia Ring" [12/17/10] [4:50]   "A damning report alleging Kosovo's Prime Minister was a mafia kingpin linked to organised crime and organ trafficking , has received the unanimous backing of The Council of Europe's Legal Affairs Committee. Western nations are also accused in the document of knowing about the alleged activities of Hashim Thaci. But it's only now that the EU-backed police force in Kosovo says it's ready to look into the claims. [...]"   Related: 'Israel involved in Kosovo organ trade'   "A European Union prosecutor who says Israel has been trading with an elaborate organ trafficking network in Kosovo has brought the case to Pristina District Court, a report says. [...]"  

"US spy agencies paint grim picture of Afghan war" [12/17/10] "Two reports produced by US intelligence agencies sharply contradict the American military's claims of success in the nine-year-old war in Afghanistan. [...]"  Related: "Red Cross says Afghan conditions worst in 30 years"  "Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since the Taliban were overthrown more than nine years ago, with record casualties on all sides of the conflict. Almost 700 foreign troops have died in 2010 alone, by far the bloodiest year of the war. The ICRC has also reported a spike this year in the number of patients with war wounds admitted at the main hospital it supports in southern Kandahar. More than 2,650 patients with weapons-related injuries were admitted to Mirwais Hospital in 2010 compared to 2,110 in 2009, the ICRC says. A further 1,000 war wounded were treated but not admitted at the hospital over the past two years. [...]"     

"U.S. Rethinks Strategy for the Unthinkable" [12/16/10] "Suppose the unthinkable happened, and terrorists struck New York or another big city with an atom bomb. What should people there do? The government has a surprising new message: Do not flee. Get inside any stable building and don’t come out till officials say it’s safe. The advice is based on recent scientific analyses showing that a nuclear attack is much more survivable if you immediately shield yourself from the lethal radiation that follows a blast, a simple tactic seen as saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Even staying in a car, the studies show, would reduce casualties by more than 50 percent; hunkering down in a basement would be better by far.  [...]"  

Commentary: "The Resurgence of Nationalism in the European Union" By Stefan Steinberg [12/16/10] "The latest stage of the European debt crisis has seen the emergence of the most serious divisions in the history of the European Union. Editorialists and economic commentators are publicly speculating about a collapse of the continent’s common currency, and only a few weeks ago German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that a failure of the euro would mean the end of the European Union itself. [...  

"Globalists Can Win Cyber War, But Not Information War" [12/16/10] "The establishment has been desperately trying to implement legal control over the Internet. They’re attacking freedom of speech and the open Internet from all angles; through government tools, corporate methods, and even the courts. All three of these methods are converging in the WikiLeaks case, but that’s not the only battle being waged in the so-called “all-out cyber war.” [...]  "   

Commentary: "19 Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind" [12/15/10] "The United States is rapidly becoming the very first "post-industrial" nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing. It was America that was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. It was America that showed the world how to mass produce everything from automobiles to televisions to airplanes. It was the great American manufacturing base that crushed Germany and Japan in World War II. But now we are witnessing the deindustrialization of America. Tens of thousands of factories have left the United States in the past decade alone. Millions upon millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost in the same time period. The United States has become a nation that consumes everything in sight and yet produces increasingly little. Do you know what our biggest export is today? Waste paper. Yes, trash is the number one thing that we ship out to the rest of the world as we voraciously blow our money on whatever the rest of the world wants to sell to us. The United States has become bloated and spoiled and our economy is now just a shadow of what it once was. Once upon a time America could literally outproduce the rest of the world combined. Today that is no longer true, but Americans sure do consume more than anyone else in the world. If the deindustrialization of America continues at this current pace, what possible kind of a future are we going to be leaving to our children? [...]"  

Commentary: "Western Civilization and Classical Economics: The Immorality of Austerity" [12/14/10] "When a civilization abandons its morality, no rationalization can be devised to justify its continued existence. It is likely that many reasons can be given for this abandonment in the Western world, although I am convinced that one predominates—the expansion of law. Law once governed various kinds of behavior. It has now encroached upon various kinds of speech and is even being applied to the realm of belief. When someone is accused of having done something wrong, the reply offered usually is something like, "What was done complied with all legal requirements." But "right" has never been defined as "conforms to law," because thoughtful people have long noticed that the law itself can be a great crime, and the worst criminals in a culture can be its lawgivers, as the people of Ireland, Portugal, France, Spain, Greece, and Great Britain are now finding out. Americans will soon find it out too. Numerous critics of classical economists over the past two centuries have argued that it is immoral when judged by any of the recognized moral codes. [...]"   

"EU to have its own WikiLeaks 'copycat'" [12/14/10] "A self-funded group of former European Union officials, activists and media-sector workers based in Belgium say they've set up an EU version of WikiLeaks. [...]"   

"U.S. Psychologically Profiling Latin American Leaders" [12/14/10] "So far, WikiLeaks cables have done much to illuminate the thinking of diplomats operating in Latin America and the dominant U.S. mindset which, fundamentally, hasn't changed much in a hundred years. Far from demonstrating any type of understanding or compassion toward Latin peoples, American diplomats continue to view the region's leaders as naïve vassals who need to be controlled in the event that they get out of line. [...] 

Commentary: "US Diplomats in the EU: Manipulating the Political Dwarves of Europe" [12/14/10] "European Union politicians like to see themselves as having global reach. But the US would beg to differ, according to American diplomatic cables from European capitals. Competition between Merkel, Sarkozy and others means it is easy for Washington to play EU leaders off against each other. [...]"  

"Russian firm buying U.S. uranium mine" [12/13/10] "A Russian company has won approval to take over a U.S. uranium operation, including a whole town in Utah, an executive says. [...]"

"Espionage Act ‘makes felons of us all,’ legal expert warns" [12/14/10] "The US Espionage Act could make "felons of us all," a legal expert warned Monday as the House Judiciary Committee announced plans to reexamine the "constitutional issues raised by WikiLeaks." Although many suspect that the Espionage Act could be used against Assange and WikiLeaks, some legal experts question if the century old legislation should, or even could, be used. "By its terms, it criminalizes not merely the disclosure of national defense information by organizations such as Wikileaks, but also the reporting on that information by countless news organizations," Benjamin Wittes, a senior fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution, wrote on his blog. "It also criminalizes all casual discussions of such disclosures by persons not authorized to receive them to other persons not authorized to receive them–in other words, all tweets sending around those countless news stories, all blogging on them, and all dinner party conversations about their contents." "Taken at its word, the Espionage Act makes felons of us all," he added.  The leaked US diplomatic cables may cause embarrassment for officials in the US and around the world, but the majority of them do not contain information directly "relating to the national defense," he added. "The universe of viable cases under the Espionage Act seems to me far narrower than those clamoring for a Wikileaks prosecution probably imagine," Wittes wrote. [...]"  See: 'Wikileaks' link at the top of this panel for related stories. Related: "Espionage Act: How the Government Can Engage in Serious Aggression Against the People of the U.S."  

"US ends ban on deportations to Haiti despite cholera outbreak" [12/14/10] "In spite of flaring violence and a massive, ever-growing cholera outbreak, the United States has lifted a ban on deporting Haitians, drawing criticism from human rights groups. Deportations had been stayed since shortly after the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake in which an estimated 300,000 died and as many as 1 million were left homeless. [...]"  See: 'Haiti' link at the top of this panel for related stories.

Commentary: "Bush v. Gore's Dark American Decade" [12/13/10] "Ten years ago, the United States stood at a crossroads though the dimness of the future made it hard for many to see which path led toward a brighter day and which headed toward disaster. But then, a partisan Republican majority of the U.S. Supreme Court made the choice for the nation. At 10 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2000, the Supreme Court issued one of its most controversial rulings ever, telling Florida that its recount of the presidential election must include all legally cast ballots but giving the state the absurdly short time of two hours to complete the process.  Everyone immediately understood what the five partisan Republicans – William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy – had done: they had awarded the presidency to George W. Bush.  ...]"  

"National electronic ID cards planned for Afghanistan" [12/13/10] " War-torn Afghanistan lacks basic national infrastructure, yet on Sunday the government unveiled plans for a $100 million electronic identification system with cards to be issued to all Afghans within five years.  A chip in the wallet-size identification cards will hold a drivers' license, vehicle registration, signature and voting registration and would aid fairer, more transparent and efficient future elections, the Ministry of Communications said.  After three decades of conflict, Afghanistan is struggling to rebuild its economy and crumbling infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water access. A September parliamentary election was tainted by widespread allegations of fraud, including reports of fake voter identification cards and repeat voting.  [...]" 

Documentary:  "WikiRebels - Part 1" [12/12/10] [14:53] Part 2 [14:30]| Part 3 [15:01]| Part 4 [13:05]   "Swedish docufilm on WikiLeaks chronicles a new form of global resistance.Finally, in response to globalized eco-destruction, globalized wars, and globalized banking that robs national and personal wealth, we now have globalized resistance so profound, so effective, that global elites are waging a massive censorship campaign to silence the group, WikiLeaks, and smear its figurehead, Julian Assange. Sweden’s public service television, SVT, is about to broadcast a deeply-moving, one-hour documentary chronicling the history of WikiLeaks, after having followed the crew for six months. Though the film arrives in the midst of questionable rape charges, with Assange currently in custody, the story has timely relevance with global interest in him and his website.  

 Commentary: "Leaks and Leakers" [12/12/10] " I have seen the light. As a former intelligence officer, I was initially appalled at the leak of a quarter of a million classified documents by someone who had responsibility for protecting them. I was highly skeptical of the entire WikiLeaks and Bradley Manning saga but following the leaks has convinced me that there is a lot of material that deserves a public airing to demonstrate to the American people how Washington is pursuing a senseless policy almost everywhere in the world. I have been particularly mortified in reading the accounts of meetings of US Ambassadors and Undersecretaries of State with their foreign counterparts, encounters revealing an unbelievable arrogance derived from the Bush Administration dictum "you are either with us or against us." Persian King of Kings Darius addressing his satraps could not do it any better.   [...]" 

Commentary: "Tax Exempt Foundations and Think Tanks: The Process of Invisible Power" [12/12/10] "The hidden influence of tax-exempt foundations and think tanks in the halls of power has dramatically impacted our society, and in turn the world. The Rockefeller dynasty paved the way for eugenics in 20th Century America and heavily influenced the education system. Now Bill Gates’ various philanthropic institutions are impacting the globe, with a new initiative promising to make the next several years the “Decade of vaccines“. These institutions are impacting the globe to such an extent that some have suggested that the large foundations are monopolizing development. The United States has seen a shift of power to individuals who have been called “action intellectuals”. Who’s agenda are they serving? We didn’t elect these individuals, but large foundations are functioning like national governments. The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense has picked up on this trend in its Strategic Trends program. The MoD’s Global Strategic Trends – Out to 2040 document foresees “…the emergence of a global elite, a powerful network of individuals and institutions that sits above the level of individual states and influences the global agenda…”  Our health, society and future are all impacted by these elites. Who are they? What agenda are they pursuing? A look back… [...]"    

"Washington's Geopolitical Nightmare: China and Russia boost economic cooperation" [12/12/10] "Whatever internal factional battles might be going on inside Kremlin walls between Medvedev and Putin, there are clear signs of late that both Beijing and Moscow are moving decisively after long hesitation to strengthen strategic economic cooperation in the face of the obvious disintegration of America as the sole Superpower. If the recent trend is deepened it will create Washington's worst geopolitical nightmare: a unified Eurasia landmass capable of challenging America's global economic hegemony. [...]"   

"4 Scenarios for the Coming Collapse of the American Empire" [12/12/10] "A soft landing for America 40 years from now? Don’t bet on it. The demise of the United States as the global superpower could come far more quickly than anyone imagines. If Washington is dreaming of "2040" or " 2050" as the end of the " American Century', a more realistic assessment of domestic and global trends suggests that in "2025", just 15 years from now, it could all be over except for the shouting. Despite the aura of omnipotence most empires project, a look at their history should remind us that they are fragile organisms. So delicate is their ecology of power that, when things start to go truly bad, empires regularly unravel with unholy speed: just a year for Portugal, two years for the Soviet Union, eight years for France, 11 years for the Ottomans, 17 years for Great Britain, and, in all likelihood, 22 years for the United States, counting from the crucial year 2003. [...] By "2020", according to current plans, the Pentagon will throw a military Hail Mary pass for a dying empire. It will launch a lethal triple canopy of advanced aerospace robotics that represents Washington's last best hope of retaining global power despite its waning economic influence. By that year, however, China's global network of communications satellites, backed by the world's most powerful supercomputers, will also be fully operational, providing Beijing with an independent platform for the weaponization of space and a powerful communications system for missile- or cyber-strikes into every quadrant of the globe.  [...]"    Note: I guess the point of having this treatise about four scenarios for US decline in "2020",  is to show that according to this projection, the dynamic of the US system still has enough 'spunk' in it to last until endgame is over ... within the next year or so ... the treatise (this article) shows what 'would' come about were there enough time.

Analysis: " Former CIA intelligence analyst: ‘The Fourth Estate is dead’ " [12/11/10] "Traditional lines of communication between the people and the press have fallen into such disrepair in America that a whole new approach is necessary to challenge the military-industrial-governmental complex, according to a former CIA analyst sympathetic to WikiLeaks. "The Fourth Estate is dead," Ray McGovern, of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, told Raw Story in an exclusive interview. "The Fourth Estate in his country has been captured by government and corporations, the military-industrial complex, the intelligence apparatus. Captive! So, there is no Fourth Estate." McGovern explained that the term the "Fourth Estate," known today as the news media in the US, was first coined by 18th century British statesman Edmund Burke. Burke is said to have pointed to the balcony in Parliament and lauded the print media of his day for being the safeguards of democracy. "That was very powerful back then," McGovern said. "And just a century later you get Tom Paine, James Madison. You know what Thomas Jefferson said? He said if we have to make a choice between having a government and having a press, I’ll go for the press every time. He understood that any government without a free press with resort to despotism." [...]"  

"WikiLeaks dissidents to launch rival Open Leaks project" [12/11/10] "Former WikiLeaks supporters at odds with founder Julian Assange will shortly launch OpenLeaks, a rival project aiming to get secret documents directly to media, one of them said Friday.  "I can confirm that we will be operating under the name 'OpenLeaks'," former Icelandic WikiLeaks member Herbert Snorrason told AFP.  Unlike WikiLeaks, OpenLeaks will not publish leaked documents directly online but instead make leaks available to partner media. "This is not a single website that would gather material and publish it but rather a system provider to which people can upload information anonymously," Snorrason said. The domain name openleaks.org on Friday redirected to a blank page with a circular arrow logo and the mention "Coming soon!". "OpenLeaks is a technology project that is aiming to be a service provider for third parties that want to be able to accept material from anonymous sources," Daniel Domscheit-Berg, WikiLeaks' former spokesman in Germany, added in a Swedish public television (SVT) documentary obtained by AFP. "We will be partnering up with organisations that will have a receiving 'drop box' on their sites operated by them. We will not be receiving nor distributing information directly," Snorrason, a 25 year old history student, said. The Icelander, who quit WikiLeaks after a public feud with Assange, had already in November told AFP about a rival project. [...]"  

"US State Department ‘cleared’ the release of Wikileaks documents published so far" [12/10/10] "Despite public perceptions, Wikileaks does not make the material it receives available directly to the public. It sends the documents to newspapers, which decide what news is fit to print. As of this writing, Dec 2, 2010, four days after the New York Times and other newspapers began publishing scores of articles; Wikileaks has only posted 623 of the 250,000 documents they claim to have released to their website. (2) Neither the New York Times, the Guardian or the other newspapers apparently in possession of these materials have published them either. Worse, these 623 ‘leaks’ were apparently cleared by the State Department itself. According to noted American civil rights attorney Michael Ratner, “In the recent disclosure, Wikileaks has only posted cables that were reviewed by the news organisations and in some cases redacted. The news organisations showed them to the Pentagon and agreed to some of the government’s suggested redactions.” (3) [...]"    

MSM: "FAA Aircraft Information Missing For 119,000 Planes" [12/10/10] "The Federal Aviation Administration is missing key information on who owns one-third of the 357,000 private and commercial aircraft in the U.S. – a gap the agency fears could be exploited by terrorists and drug traffickers.  The records are in such disarray that the FAA says it is worried that criminals could buy planes without the government's knowledge, or use the registration numbers of other aircraft to evade new computer systems designed to track suspicious flights. It has ordered all aircraft owners to re-register their planes in an effort to clean up its files.  About 119,000 of the aircraft on the U.S. registry have "questionable registration" because of missing forms, invalid addresses, unreported sales or other paperwork problems, according to the FAA. In many cases, the FAA cannot say who owns a plane or even whether it is still flying or has been junked. Already there have been cases of drug traffickers using phony U.S. registration numbers, as well as instances of mistaken identity in which police raided the wrong plane because of faulty record-keeping.  Next year, the FAA will begin canceling the registration certificates of all 357,000 aircraft and require owners to register anew, a move that is causing grumbling among airlines, banks and leasing companies. Notices went out to the first batch of aircraft owners last month.  "We have identified some potential risk areas, but I think we're trying to eliminate as much risk as possible through the re-registration process," said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown. [...]" 

Commentary: "Revisiting Conflicts of Interest: Revoking the Corporate Charters of State Agencies" [12/10/10] "One issue seemingly untouched by the all the legal eagles out there who claim to be defending independent and family ranchers and farmers is, the conflict of interest with intent to benefit between the state corporations (in every state) operating as “Departments of Agriculture” and private and individual farmers and ranchers who are being prosecuted and persecuted as these state owned corporations are empowered to make their own laws to benefit their own interests and to enforce those laws with full knowledge that constitutional rights and protections have been fraudulently eliminated for the sovereign individuals. The intent to benefit needs to be examined in depth. Who will benefit and who has benefited should be paramount in revoking the corporate charters of autonomous corporations operating under the guise of "state agencies." We are forced to fund through taxation, these private corporations which operate fraudulently as state agencies. In addition, as corporations these fraudulent state agencies may conduct business for profit with other corporations to the detriment of the people. As corporations they have only one duty: to make a profit; even if it means destroying you and your livelihood to do it. In researching for a remedy, I came across this Tort action. While it may not be the answer, it should provide a foundation for suing state and agencies, agents and operatives. It could also be extended to sue your legislature for failing to honor their oaths of office and defend your constitution and rights. After all, none of this happened with out their knowledge and consent. But then, your state government is a corporation too, so go figure. [...]"   

"Dutch teen arrested in ‘Operation Payback’ was running chat room" [12/10/10] "A Dutch teenager arrested Thursday morning for participating in cyber attacks against the websites of companies who dropped their support of WikiLeaks could face up to six years in prison if convicted, according to a spokesman for the Netherlands' prosecution service. The 16-year-old has a confessed to participating in a wide-spread cyber attack dubbed "Operation Payback [...]"     Related: "Dutch Police Nab 16-Year-Old in Hacking Attacks"  "The first suspected hacker arrested in the coordinated cyberattacks on MasterCard and Visa is 16 years old. Dutch police say the teen has admitted taking part in so-called Operation Payback, in which hackers worldwide wreaked havoc on the websites of perceived enemies of WikiLeaks. Sarah Palin's website and PayPal also got hit. The unidentified teen is due in court tomorrow, reports the Wall Street Journal. See AP for the latest on the cyberbattles. [...]"    

Trends: World 'is becoming more corrupt' [12/10/10] "People around the world believe they are living in more corrupt societies than three years ago, a poll by Transparency International suggests. The world is a more corrupt place now than it was three years ago, a poll suggests.  Some 56% of people interviewed by Transparency International said their country had become more corrupt. In Afghanistan, Nigeria, Iraq and India more than 50% of people said they had paid a bribe in the past year - many of them paying off the police. Meanwhile, a BBC poll suggests that corruption is the world's most talked about problem. About one in five of those polled by the BBC said they had discussed issues relating to corruption with others in the last month, making it the most talked about concern ahead of climate change, poverty, unemployment and rising food and energy costs. In the Transparency International survey, political parties were regarded as the most corrupt institutions with 80% of people regarding them as corrupt. Political parties also topped the list in Transparency's 2004 barometer, with 71%. Religious bodies experienced a sharp rise in people regarding them as corrupt - 28% in 2004 increased to 53% by 2010. Some 50% of people believed their government was ineffective at tackling the problem of corruption. [...] 'Worrying' trend: Transparency flagged up bribery as the major problem highlighted by the survey, with one in four of those polled saying they had paid a bribe in the past year.  [...] "  Note: Interesting article and statistics.   Related: "88% of Israelis say political parties are corrupt" 

Commentary: "The Decline and Fall of the American Empire" Alfred McCoy [12/09/10] "A soft landing for America 40 years from now? Don’t bet on it. The demise of the United States as the global superpower could come far more quickly than anyone imagines. If Washington is dreaming of 2040 or 2050 as the end of the American Century, a more realistic assessment of domestic and global trends suggests that in 2025, just 15 years from now, it could all be over except for the shouting. Despite the aura of omnipotence most empires project, a look at their history should remind us that they are fragile organisms. So delicate is their ecology of power that, when things start to go truly bad, empires regularly unravel with unholy speed: just a year for Portugal, two years for the Soviet Union, eight years for France, 11 years for the Ottomans, 17 years for Great Britain, and, in all likelihood, 22 years for the United States, counting from the crucial year 2003. [...]"  

"New 9/11 photos prove WTC exploded from inside" [12/09/10] [5:50]  "New picture releases are shedding light on September 11th, some say they prove that the assault on America proves a homegrown attack. The new photos are provided by US national institute of standards and technology. There are over 2,000 new photos that have been made public.  [...] New picture releases are shedding light on September 11th, some say they prove that the assault on America proves a homegrown attack. The new photos are provided by US national institute of standards and technology. There are over 2,000 new photos that have been made public. Manny Badillo says that you see an explosion from the inside, not what it has seemed to be, he says there has never been a building taken down by a plane."  Related: "2010 NIST 9/11 Footage Leaks Ignored"  "While everyone is focusing on WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, another important information dump is getting largely ignored since September 1, 2010 when James Gourley of the International Center For 9/11 Studies obtained nearly 5 terrabytes of videos and reports concerning the attacks on the WTC and Pentagon buildings. Although some of the tapes have had some audio/video manipulation, it is clear why NIST did not want to release any of this material for the past 9 years. The 9/11 coverup demands that no evidence of explosions or bombs be included in the official story, and some of these videos have even been kept hidden simply for including the WORDS “bomb” or “explosion” in their contents. [...]"  See: '911' link at the top of this panel for related stories.

"Europeans Accused of "Paranoia" Over Fears of U.S. Economic Espionage, Documents Reveal" [12/09/10] "Confidential State Department documents released by the whistleblowing web site WikiLeaks, revealed that a European Parliamentary vote earlier this year that suspended participation in a U.S. government program that secretly monitored international bank transactions, surprised and angered the Obama administration. In a stunning rebuke of U.S. policies the February 2010 memo, "Chancellor Merkel Angered by Lack of German MEP Support for TFTP," 10BERLIN180 provided new evidence that the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (also known as Swift) is viewed skeptically by the European public and their representatives. Distrust of the Swift program runs deep and its "War on Terror" pedigree is considered little more than a pretext for American spies to carry out economic espionage on behalf of U.S. multinationals. [...]"  Related:  "Former FBI agent warns of government spying abuse" "Surveillance policies now used by the FBI and other domestic intelligence agencies are "totally un-American and against the values Americans hold dear," Michael German, a former undercover agent, told a forum sponsored by the Cleveland Council on American Islamic Relations here Saturday. Speaking to 150 at the Islamic Center of Cleveland, German said current guidelines allow federal agencies to spy, obtain private records and recruit informants against virtually all Americans even when "there is no factual basis to suspect they are engaged in illegal activity." German, who resigned in protest at these abuses after 16 years with the FBI, joined the American Civil Liberties Union in 2006 and serves as its national security policy counsel. [...]"    

"Hackers Attack Those Seen as WikiLeaks Enemies" [12/09/10] "It's not a secret: the Internet was always going to radically change the world of information. That's nothing new. What is new, is that the struggle over who controls and possesses information isn't going to be fought solely in the courts or in the legislatures or the media. It's going to be fought out as well on the Internet itself and the weapons are going to be computers. The present battle, fought between Wikileaks and its allies, on one side, and its well organized adversaries, including financial organizations and governments, on the other, may eventually bring information democracy, in the form of unprecedented and simple access to all kinds of information, even classified or secret information, to anyone with a modem. Or at the other pole, it may eventually bring unprecedented censorship through even tighter control of information to the Internet and harsh penalties for publication of various kinds of information. [...]"    Related: "As cyber war heats up, 'hacktivists' post MasterCard numbers online" "Operation Payback, the hacktivist group taking revenge on groups and individuals seen as enemies of WikiLeaks, has published a list of what it says are 10,000 MasterCard credit card numbers. The anonymous hackers earlier in the day attacked the websites of both MasterCard and Visa, in retaliation for the companies' freezing of WikiLeaks' account. "To the people of the industrial world, dismiss your MasterCard now!" the group declared on a Twitter account that has since been taken down. The list includes what appear to be card numbers, as well as expiry dates. However, the names of the card-holders are not included. The numbers were posted to a file-sharing site that has evidently since taken them down. Raw Story has obtained a copy of the list, but has decided not to publish it for privacy reasons.   The security breach could pose a serious public relations problem for the credit card company, which may find itself defending its customer privacy practices and the security of its computer networks. News reports earlier Wednesday indicated that it took all of a minute to shut down MasterCard's website once hackers launched an attack. Operation Payback's Twitter account was shut down Wednesday. Speculation abounds on the Internet that the publishing of the credit card numbers may have prompted the shut-down. [...]"   

US Politics:  "Meese: Southern Poverty Law Center ‘Despicable’ for Naming Conservative Organizations ‘Hate Groups’" [12/08/10] "Former Attorney General Edwin Meese says it is “despicable” for the Southern Poverty Law Center to classify the Family Research Council and a dozen other top conservative organizations as “hate groups” similar to the Ku Klux Klan. “I think it’s ridiculous,” Meese told CNSNews.com about the list published by the SPLC. “I know about seven or eight of those groups. I know the people very well. I know the groups very well, I’ve worked with them over the years, and I think it actually undermines the credibility of the Southern Poverty Law Center to make such a statement.” Last week, the Southern Policy Law Center announced that it was going to classify the Family Research Council and 12 other organizations as “hate groups” because of their positions on homosexuality. [...]"  Related: "It’s Official, Southern Poverty Law Center Is Now Part of DHS - Alex Jones Tv" [12/08/10] [14:56]  "Southern Poverty Law Center is Now Officially Part of DHS. The CEO of SPLC now sits on the DHS “Working Group on Countering Violent Extremism” along with the leaders of other So-called Non Government Organizations (but can we really call them such now that they are part of the government?)  [...]" "SPLC, DHS, Community Officials Team Up to Attack Patriot Groups" "Stewart Rhodes writes today on the Oath Keepers website that the Southern Poverty Law Center is now officially part of the Department of Homeland Security. Rhodes sources a DHS document, entitled “Countering Violent Extremism Working Group,” that lists Richard Cohen as a member of the DHS created group. Cohen is president and CEO of the ' Southern Poverty Law Center'. In addition to Cohen, a number of law enforcement officials are members of the DHS group, including Austin Chief of Police Art Acevedo. [...]" 

Commentary: "WikiLeaks, Amazon, Paypal, and Mastercard: Putting their conduct into context" by Jacob G. Hornberger  [12/08/10] "... Every businessman, especially those who run big companies, knows that at any given time he can be found in violation of some regulatory or tax law. Why do you think there are millions of economic regulations? Why do you think the income tax code is so complicated? It’s that way because then they’re able to go after businessmen whenever they want to.  The rationale for the statist society was best summed up by Dr. Floyd Ferris, the slimy bureaucrat from the State Science Institute, who said to Hank Rearden in Atlas Shrugged: “Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?” said Dr. Ferris. “We want them broken. You’d better get it straight that it’s not a bunch of boy scouts you’re up against — then you’ll know that this is not the age for beautiful gestures. We’re after power and we mean it. You fellows were pikers, but we know the real trick, and you’d better get wise to it. There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted — and you create a nation of law-breakers — and then you cash in on guilt. Now that’s the system, Mr. Rearden, that’s the game, and once you understand it, you’ll be much easier to deal with.”  [...]" 

"Poll: Afghans Losing Faith in US, Increasingly Back Insurgents" [12/07/10] "A new poll conducted by a myriad of international media outlets, including ABC News, BBC, ARD and the Washington Post showed huge pessimism amongst Afghans, a strong trends moving against support for the US occupation forces and in favor of supporting the insurgency. The poll shows confidence in the NATO occupation eventually being successful down to only 36 percent, from 48 percent last year, and only 43 percent view the US favorably, the lowest in six years. [...]"  Note: This dynamic was entirely predictable from the very beginning, nine years ago.   Related: Documentary: "Exit Afghanistan" [12/07/10] Video clip [47:52]  "AVPRO, Tegenlicht documentary by Mariusz Pilis and Olaf Oudheusden in which warlords and diplomats question what the West actually wants in Afghanistan. How justified and necessary is the current foreign military presence in Afghanistan?  The Western allied forces have been fighting in Afghanistan for more than eight years, and although they have established a legal government in Kabul, security, peace and development for the Afghan people are still far out of reach.  Backlight examines the justification and necessity of a foreign military presence in Afghanistan and addresses the most important question; What does the West want to accomplish in this country with its tormented history?  Exit Afghanistan features stories of ordinary Afghans, interviews with Taliban leaders and warlords and intertwines these with comments from Richard Holbrooke, Lakhdar Brahimi and Ahmed Rashid. Renowned Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk provides a historical perspective. [...]"   

"Wikileaks founder Julian Assange arrested in London" [12/07/10] "The 39-year-old Australian, who was the subject of a European arrest warrant, denies allegations he sexually assaulted two women in Sweden. Mr Assange is due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court later. A Wikileaks spokesman said Mr Assange's arrest was an attack on media freedom but it would not stop the release of more secret files. Kristinn Hrafnsson told Reuters on Tuesday: "Wikileaks is operational. We are continuing on the same track as laid out before. "Any development with regards to Julian Assange will not change the plans we have with regards to the releases today and in the coming days."  [...]"     Related:  "Wikileaks' Assange refused bail" |  Video clip  [3:51] 12/07/10] "Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s arrest over the dubious rape and molestation claims of two Swedish women is likely a political stunt, after it was revealed that one of the women has connections to the CIA and is a militant feminist who published a guide on how to get revenge on men and make them “suffer”.. [...]" 

Internet Wars: " Swiss bank that froze Assange's bank account taken offline by hackers; " [12/07/10] "www.postfinance.ch taken offline by hacking group Anon_Operation as retribution for the freezing of Assange's bank account.  [...]"  Related: "Anonymous attacks PayPal in 'Operation Avenge Assange'"  "PayPal hit by DDoS attack after spurning Wikileaks [...]"   "Operation: Payback broadens to “Operation Avenge Assange” " [...]"  Note:  See "Operation Payback" twitter  "Operation: Payback Yielded 37 Days of Total Downtime"  "After two months of constant attacks against various media authorities around the world, the United States Pirate Party has stepped in to ask the attackers to stop and focus their time on productive (and legal) ways to protest for copyright reform. The chats between the Pirate Party and the Operation:Payback organizers began after the group started to indicate that they would like to end the DDoS attacks in favor for a legal grassroots campaign to help inform the public about copyright reform. Steve Ragan from The Tech Herald and myself reached out to the Pirate Party U.S. and Canada to start a Q&A dialog between the Operation:Payback organizers and the representatives from the Pirate Party. You can read the full unedited interview. 2 Month Recap of Operation: Payback ... [...]"   See "Wiki" Big News link at the top of this panel for more related stories, including "Revealed: Assange ‘rape’ accuser linked to notorious CIA operative" 

"Judge: French web host need not shut down WikiLeaks site" [12/07/10] "A French judge declined to force web provider OVH to shut down the WikiLeaks site, OVH said on Monday, after the government called for the whistleblower website to be kicked out of France... [...]"   

"Murray Rothbard: “The Ethics of Liberty” (1982):" [12/06/10] (with respect to the Wikileaks type of dynamic) "In some areas, a radical distinction between private persons and government officials is acknowledged in existing law and opinion. Thus, a private individual’s ‘right to privacy’ or right to keep silent does not and should not apply to government officials, whose records and operations should be open to public knowledge and evaluation. There are two democratic arguments for denying the right to privacy to government officials, which, while not strictly libertarian, are valuable as far as they go: namely (1) that in a democracy, the public can only decide on public issues and vote for public officials if they have complete knowledge of government operations; and (2) that since the taxpayers pay the bill for government, they should have the right to know what government is doing. The libertarian argument would add that, since government is an aggressor organization against the rights and persons of its citizens, then full disclosure of its operations is at least one right that its subjects might wrest from the State, and which they may be able to use to resist or whittle down State power.” [...]"  

"Intelligence-related developments taking place outside the now-familiar WikiLeaks context"  [12/06/10] "Take for instance the recent arrest of what appears to be a Polish spy in Limassol, Cyprus. The unidentified man, who was reportedly detained in the vicinity of a Greek-Cypriot military base on the island, was carrying “a camera containing photos of National Guard posts, a laptop, two mobile phones, five memory cars, a GPS system and three pairs of binoculars”. Another interesting development concerns the arrest on espionage charges of Katia Zatuliveter, a Russian citizen who works as an assistant to British Member of Parliament Mike Hancock. Zatuliveter is expected to be deported on the basis of evidence gathered by MI5, Britain’s counterintelligence service, which has apparently been monitoring her for several months. Interestingly, Mr. Hancock, who is a member of the British House of Commons’ Defence Select Committee, is standing by his assistant. Meanwhile, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in London has refused comment. Last, though certainly not least, British intelligence commentator Gordon Thomas has penned an interesting article on last week’s bomb attacks that targeted two Iranian nuclear scientists in Tehran. The author of Secret Wars alleges that employees of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad “exchanged high-fives at their work stations” at the news of the two near-simultaneous attacks, which killed Majid Shahriari and injured Fereydoon Abbasi Davan. Thomas also cites “insiders” in claiming that several Mossad employees sent each other the message: “The Chief’s Last Hit” —an apparent reference to Meir Dagan, who is preparing to step down after eight years as the agency’s Director. These developments may not be as newsworthy as the stream of WikiLeaks disclosures, but they are most certainly worth a look.  [...]"  

"Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell: WikiLeaks Head a "High-Tech Terrorist" [12/06/10] " Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is calling the founder of the online site WikiLeaks a "high-tech terrorist" for releasing classified material from the U.S. government. McConnell said that the online release of secret diplomat exchanges has done "enormous damage" to the country and to its relationship with its allies. McConnell told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he hopes WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be prosecuted for the disclosures. And he says that if it's found that Assange hasn't violated the law, then the law should be changed. Of Assange, McConnell says, "I think the man is a high-tech terrorist."  [...]"  Note: McConnell is a stupid sequential and a dangerous individual.   Related: Republican Congressman Ron Paul: ‘What we need is more WikiLeaks’ [12/06/10] "What we need is more WikiLeaks about the Federal Reserve," he said. "Can you imagine what it'd be like if we had every conversation in the last 10 years with our Federal Reserve people, the Federal Reserve chairman, with all the central bankers of the world and every agreement or quid-pro-quo they have? It would be massive. People would be so outraged." [...]"  Video clip  [6:16]   

US Considered Prosecuting President Karzai's Brother [12/05/10] "Despite widespread allegations about his involvement in Afghanistan's drug trade and other illicit activities, the US government has never taken steps to prosecute Ahmed Wali Karzai, the younger half-brother of the Afghan President—though a leaked diplomatic cable suggests American officials may have come very close.  This revelation was contained in one of a series of Afghanistan-related communiqués released by WikiLeaks on Thursday. The document in question is a confidential summary of a February 4, 2010, meeting of an interagency group known as the Nexus-Corruption Leadership Board. The board—which was co-chaired by Kabul embassy official Earl Anthony Wayne and Major General Michael Flynn, then the top military intelligence official in Afghanistan—had convened to review potential anti-corruption measures. Specifically discussed were "possible courses of action ('COAs') that U.S. military and Embassy personnel may employ against criminal and corrupt Afghan officials in an effort to change their behavior." During the meeting, board members agreed to "apply a set of minimum COAs against high-profile corrupt officials to signal a change in U.S. policy on corruption" and to "begin a series of high-level demarches to persuade the Karzai government to follow through on promises to tackle corruption." [...]"  Related:  "US Considered Arresting Noted CIA Asset Ahmed Wali Karzai For Drug Running" "... When he’s not making millions off the opium trade, Karzai makes his money from the CIA as admitted by The New York Times. The CIA pays Karzai for a variety of things including the recruitment of paramilitary forces and allowing the U.S. to rent a large compound in an area he controls. Mr. Karzai is also paid for allowing the C.I.A. and American Special Operations troops to rent a large compound outside the city — the former home of Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban’s founder. The same compound is also the base of the Kandahar Strike Force. “He’s our landlord,” a senior American official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Former and current American officials admitted that Karzai was on the CIA payroll for the last eight years and has supporters at HIGH levels within the American government. As the head of the Kandahar Provincial Council, Karzai is able to head a vast drug running network that would literally be impossible for intelligence agencies to be unaware of. Add in a huge private security force/CIA backing and Karzai can essentially do whatever he pleases. With so much proof one has to wonder if Karzai is the point man in a major CIA/Mossad drug running operation? Most of us remember when Geraldo Rivera happily announced that the troops ARE guarding opium and that it was actually a good thing. The idea that we have to guard these plants or make the situation worse is absolutely absurd. Afghan production of Opium has skyrocketed since the U.S. invasion. In 2007, Afghanistan accounted for 92% of the worlds opium! That’s right, a nation occupied by the U.S. military is feeding the whole worlds heroin addiction. As globalism continues to suck the life out of Afghanistan, the need to grow opium will continue. Not only will the intelligence agencies continue to need opium in order to fund their illegal black projects, locals will have no choice but to get into the highly lucrative drug trade. [...]" Video clip  [6:36]   Video clip  [4:22] 

"US contractor bought Afghan policemen drugs, little boys, cable reveals" [12/05/10] "The Afghanistan interior minister was so concerned about an incident where DynCorp, a US contractor charged with training Afghan police, bought drugs and paid for young “dancing boys” that he asked the US embassy to work to “quash” the story, a secret US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks indicates. In Afghan society, “dancing boys” are little boys dressed as girls, commonly abused and kept by some men as possessions. [...]"     

"Dem congressman: Afghanistan conflict 'not a winnable war'" [12/05/10] "After being challenged by Matthews, Moran explained that he didn't think there was a military solution in Afghanistan given widespread government corruption in that country, which Moran claimed is only exacerbated by the billions of U.S dollars pouring in. "I'm saying that we can't win it militarily," Moran said. "We can't capture or kill or convert enough young people in the Afghan population from siding with the Taliban because we're backing a government that is inherently corrupt, that doesn't relate to the people, that doesn't deserve the people's respect and is unsustainable." [...]"    Related:  "UN Appeals For $678 Million In Humanitarian Aid For Afghanistan" [12/05/10] "The United Nations today launched a $678 million humanitarian aid appeal for Afghanistan, where more than 7 million people are living in fear of starvation. [...]"  Note: And the people will continue to starve, while the brigands make off with the cash.

"UK seen as paranoid by US" [12/04/10] "Newly released files by Wikileaks highlight what is described as the UK's "paranoia" about its so-called special relationship with the US. In one cable, a senior US diplomat describes "excessive UK speculation" after Barack Obama became president. "This over-reading would often be humorous, if it were not so corrosive," says the cable, as reported in the Guardian. [...]"  Video clip included.

Commentary: "WikiLeaks and the Myth of Journalistic Objectivity" [12/04/10] "There is a very simple reason WikiLeaks has sent a furious storm of outrage across the globe and it has very little to do with diplomatic impropriety. It is this: The public is uninformed because of inadequate journalism. Consumers of information have little more to digest than Kim Kardashian's latest paramour or the size of Mark Zuckerberg's jet. Very few publishers or broadcasters post reporters to foreign datelines and give them time to develop relationships that lead to information. Consequently, journalism is atrophying from the extremities inward and the small heart it has will soon become even more endangered. So, long live WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. And if Pfc. Bradley Manning is the leaker, he deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Good government, if such a thing exists, is the product of transparency. Americans have very little idea of the back-stories that lead to the events they see on the nightly news or read about on the net.  [...]"      

"Counterspies hunt Russian mole inside National Security Agency" [12/03/10] "The National Security Agency (NSA) is conducting a counterintelligence probe at its Fort Meade, Md., headquarters in a top-secret hunt for a Russian agent, according to a former intelligence official close to the agency. The former official said the probe grew out of the case of 10 Russian "illegals," or deep-cover spies, who were uncovered last summer and sent back to Moscow after the defection of Col. Alexander Poteyev, a former SVR foreign intelligence officer who reportedly fled to the U.S. shortly before Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited here in June. Col. Poteyev is believed to be the source who disclosed the U.S.-based agent network. NSA counterintelligence officials suspect that members of the illegals network were used by Russia's SVR spy agency to communicate with one or more agents inside the agency, which conducts electronic intelligence gathering and code-breaking. One sign that the probe is fairly advanced is that FBI counterintelligence agents are involved in the search. [...]"   

"FBI agent: Russian was mega-spammer" [12/03/10] "Oleg Nikolaenko of Moscow is scheduled to appear in federal court in Milwaukee Friday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Thursday. He was arrested Nov. 4 and indicted Nov. 16 on charges of violating the CAN-SPAM Act.  FBI Special Agent Brett Banner, in an affidavit filed with the court, said Nikolaenko used malicious software to take over computers, merging them into a "botnet" so large one expert called it Mega-D. Those computers allegedly sent out 10 billion pieces of spam a day.  Nikolaenko became a target with the arrest of a man selling counterfeit Rolodex watches online, Banner said. The man, who said he had paid $2 million for spam e-mails advertising his wares, provided information that eventually led to Nikolaenko. At one point, Nikolaenko was responsible for about one-third of the spam e-mail being sent globally, Banner said, although work by Internet security firms subsequently cut that down to 12 percent. [...]" 

"Putin's Russia 'virtual mafia state'" [12/02/10] "Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told United States officials to keep their noses out of Russian affairs in a combative response to criticisms of the way his country was run revealed by leaked diplomatic cables. His appearance on the US talk show Larry King Live came even before new cables were published yesterday that suggested Russia under Putin was a "virtual mafia state". The new WikiLeaks cables detailed a political system that incorporated money laundering, arms trafficking and which had fostered close links between organised crime and the security services. The Guardian newspaper reported that bribery alone totalled an estimated US$300 billion ($397 billion) a year. It said allegations in the cables included Russian spies using mafia bosses for arms trafficking; police and spy agencies operating a protection racket for crime networks; bribery being a parallel tax system to enrich police, officials and Federal Security Services; and Putin compiling "illicit proceeds". The claims come chiefly from Spanish prosecutor Jose Gonzalez who, the Guardian reported, has spent years investigating Russian organised crime in Spain. At a January briefing for US officials,  [...]"  Related: "Russia 'Uses Mafia To Do Its Dirty Work'" [12/02/10] "Russia's government has been accused of turning the country into a "mafia state" and using organised criminals to carry out its dirty work in cables written by US diplomats and published by WikiLeaks. The latest secret documents in a series of 250,000 being published by the whistleblowing website reveal top US officials have voiced deep disquiet about the attitude of Russian premier Vladimir Putin and his colleagues to the rule of law. A Spanish prosecutor who spent ten years examining corruption in Russia concluded: "The government of Russia's strategy is to use organised crime groups to do whatever (it) cannot acceptably do as a government." [...]"  Note:   Video clip included. 

Propaganda: "Putin: Obama 'fulfilled his promise'" [12/02/10] "Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says U.S. President Obama has "fulfilled his promise" to American voters. [...]"  Note: Putin is delusional and living in his own world, and thinks that what he says reflects what actually happens, and that everyone on the planet is stupid.

Commentary: "WikiLeaks II – A Government Caught Up in Mendacity and Lies"  Paul Craig Roberts [12/02/10] "The reaction to WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange tells us all we need to know about the total corruption of our “modern” world, which in fact is a throwback to the Dark Ages. Some member of the United States government released to WikiLeaks the documents that are now controversial. The documents are controversial, because they are official US documents and show all too clearly that the US government is a duplicitous entity whose raison d’être is to control every other government. The media, not merely in the US but also throughout the English speaking world and Europe, has shown its hostility to WikiLeaks. The reason is obvious. WikiLeaks reveals truth, while the media covers up for the US government and its puppet states. Why would anyone with a lick of sense read the media when they can read original material from WikiLeaks? The average American reporter and editor must be very angry that his/her own cowardice is so clearly exposed by Julian Assange. The American media is a whore, whereas the courageous blood of warriors runs through WikiLeaks’ veins. Just as American politicians want Bradley Manning executed because he revealed crimes of the US government, they want Julian Assange executed. In the past few days the more notorious of the dumbshits that sit in the US Congress have denounced Assange as a “traitor to America.” What total ignorance. Assange is an Australian, not an American citizen. To be a traitor to America, one has to be of the nationality. An Australian cannot be a traitor to America any more than an American can be a traitor to Australia. But don’t expect the morons who represent the lobbyists to know this much. Mike Huckabee, the redneck Baptist preacher who was governor of Arkansas and, to America’s already overwhelming shame, was third runner up to the Republican presidential nomination, has called for Assange’s execution. So here we have a “man of God” calling for the US government to murder an Australian citizen. And Americans wonder why the rest of the world hates their guts. The material leaked from the US government to WikiLeaks shows that the US government is an extremely disreputable gang of gangsters. The US government was  [...]" 

"Britain proposes changes to universal jurisdiction law" [12/02/10] "Britain's government has proposed a bill to tighten a law that allows private groups and activists to obtain an arrest warrant for visiting foreign officials associated with war crimes, officials said Wednesday. The bill aims to prevent activists from abusing the law, which is based on the principle of "universal jurisdiction" and allows British courts to prosecute foreigners for crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world. Foreign Secretary William Hague has promised for months to change the law after pro-Palestinian activists in Britain repeatedly used the law to seek the arrest of Israeli officials planning to visit Britain, causing tension between the UK and Israel. The British Ministry of Justice said that the new bill would require the approval of the government's chief prosecutor to obtain an arrest warrant. Currently anyone can apply to a judge for a warrant. [...]"   

"Wikileaks Claims 200 U.S. Nukes Hidden In Europe" [12/02/10] "THE US has deployed 200 tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, mostly in Belgium, Holland, Germany and Turkey, the WikiLeaks’ files claim.  The four nations were long suspected of hosting warheads but Nato and the governments involved have refused to confirm reports. Nato yesterday condemned releasing nuclear secrets as “illegal and dangerous”.  A cable issued by WikiLeaks tells of discussions last year in which US Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon talks to Germany’s foreign policy adviser Christoph Heusgen about weapons in the four countries.  Another leaked cable details a January 2009 meeting between US and Dutch embassy officials and Prince Turki Al-Kabeer, an official in the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during which Iran’s nuclear programme was discussed.  [...]"  See "Wiki" link at the top of this panel for more related stories and an expanded look at the latest in this dynamic and its curious connections.

Commentary:  "Who Precisely Is Attacking The World?"  Paul Craig Roberts [12/01/10] "The stuck pigs are squealing. To shift the onus from the US State Department, Hillary Clinton paints Wikileaks’ release of the “diplomatic cables” as an “attack on the international community.” To reveal truth is equivalent in the eyes of the US government to an attack on the world.  It is Wikileaks’ fault that all those US diplomats wrote a quarter of a million undiplomatic messages about America’s allies, a.k.a., puppet states. It is also Wikileaks’ fault that a member of the US government could no longer stomach the cynical ways in which the US government manipulates foreign governments to serve, not their own people, but American interests, and delivered the incriminating evidence to Wikileaks.  The US government actually thinks that it was Wikileaks patriotic duty to return the evidence and to identify the leaker. After all, we mustn’t let the rest of the world find out what we are up to. They might stop believing our lies.   The influential German magazine, Der Spiegel, writes: “It is nothing short of a political meltdown for US foreign policy.”   This might be more a hope than a reality. The “Soviet threat” during the second half of the 20th century enabled US governments to create institutions that subordinated the interests of other countries to those of the US government. After decades of following US leadership, European “leaders” know no other way to act. Finding out that the boss badmouths and deceives them is unlikely to light a spirit of independence. At least not until America’s economic collapse becomes more noticeable. The question is: how much will the press tell us about the documents? Spiegel itself has said that the magazine is permitting the US government to censure, at least in part, what it prints about the leaked material. Most likely, this means the public will not learn the content of the 4,330 documents that “are so explosive that they are labelled ‘NOFORN,’” meaning that foreigners, including presidents, prime ministers, and security services that share information with the CIA, are not permitted to read the documents. Possibly, also, the content of the 16,652 cables classified as “secret” will not be revealed to the public. [...]"    

"Afghan president Hamid Karzai pardoned cops dealing heroin, cable reveals" [12/01/10] "Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered the release of numerous dangerous criminals and drug traffickers detained by US-led coalition forces, leaked American diplomatic cables revealed Tuesday. American officials said they repeatedly rebuked the president and Afghan attorney general Muhammad Ishaq Alko for authorising the release of detainees over a three-year period.  [...]" 

Global Research: "Encircling Russia, Targeting China, NATO'S True Role in US Grand Strategy" [11/30/10] "In its “global web of specialized institutions”, which of course includes NATO, the United States exercises power through “continuous bargaining, dialogue, diffusion, and quest for formal consensus, even though that power originates ultimately from a single source, namely, Washington, D.C.” The description perfectly fits the Lisbon “Strategic Concept” conference. Last week, NATO’s Danish secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, announced that “we are pretty close to a consensus”. And this consensus, according to the New York Times, “will probably follow President Barack Obama’s own formulation: to work toward a non-nuclear world while maintaining a nuclear deterrent”. [...]"   

"North Korea Deploys Missiles, Targets Fighter Jets" [11/29/10] [1:00] "North Korea upped the ante on Sunday as South Korea and the United States conduct military exercises described as a show of force in response to North Korea’s artillery bombing of South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island last week.  [...]"  See "Korea" link at the top of this panel for more related stories on this dangerous WAR blossoming into reality .... a real distraction for whatever else will be going on, politically.   

Commentary: "6 Reasons To Start World War III If One Is A Globalist and a Sociopath" [11/28/10] "The average person can barely imagine why World War III would be anything but a civilization-ending event. And, yet, we have heard Neocons ramping up rhetoric that suggests a new world war would be a viable option to correct a dying dollar and economy. Or, perhaps it is simply a sound investment if you are a Globalist. RAND Corporation documents point to a desire for total war abroad and at home. The recent reactivation of North and South Korea tensions could be a potential catalyst in an East-West World War scenario possibly involving nukes. However, the next World War doesn't necessarily need to be a conflagration; it could be a steady, slow, coldly calculated design to plunge the globe into austerity and totalitarian control through regulations such as those proposed by Codex Alimentarius and Agenda 21. So, if one puts on the thinking cap of a sociopath, one might find the following 6 reasons are perfect to start World War III, by nukes or by stealth, and further the agenda of world governance. [...]"   

Global Research: "The "‘War on Terror" is a Fraud" [11/27/10] "The US is today, albeit temporarily, the world’s foremost power. It is a country whose people are blessed with wonderful qualities of the head and heart. They are honest, hardworking problem solvers, large-hearted, decent and deeply innocent. The emergence of the US as a power with the greatest ever reaches in human history is the result of a conscious and sustained effort on the part of Washington to make America a great power. Central to this nation-building process was the key emphasis on cultivating and creating knowledge of nature, and of the high-level of integrity and commitment of the average American. However, the evolution of the US Public State, as a genuine democracy with the ability to unify mankind on a broad basis, has been derailed consistently, and perhaps irreversibly, by corporate cliques that have taken the US on the path of global conquest and exploitation of the poor but resource-rich countries. This path will eventually lead to USA’s defeat, beginning in Central Asia, and its rapid and bloody decline in a decade or two, unless, of course, the Americans can bring to book those criminal cabals which currently control, chain and exploit this great nation. The corporations operate secretly, illegally and without regard for the deeper interests of the people or of humanity. Thus, the exploited countries see the US as a power of unprecedented and unmatched ruthlessness. The US is not only the greatest scientific force in history, but it is also the greatest subversive power ever to afflict this globe. [...]"   See Battle for Control of Society" link on Society and Living panel for more on the US domestic 'war on terror'.

 Commentary: "America the Material" [11/26/10] "Berman pulls no punches in laying bare the truths about who we are, not just as a nation, but also as individuals wrapped up in the destructive pursuit of material excess. In the unswerving style of his other writings, he rips apart the national illusion of greatness.  [...]"   

"Russia opens key plant to destroy chemical weapons" [11/26/10] "Russia will miss a 2012 deadline for destroying all of its chemical weapons, officials said Friday as they inaugurated a major new plant to dispose of them. The facility at Pochep, in the western Bryansk region, is the latest of several plants built in Russia in recent years to dismantle its Cold War-era chemical weapons arsenals — the world's largest. As a signatory of the international Chemical Weapons Convention, the country already has destroyed about half of its chemical weapons, according to Russian officials. [...]"   

Commentary: "U.S. and Britain in Partnership to Standardize Domination" [11/25/10] "It is an unfortunate reality that whatever policies are implemented in the UK are eventually implemented here in the United States. It was only a short time before Britain’s increased domestic surveillance, horrid healthcare system, and curtailment of free speech reached the shores of America. Of course, the United States serves as a breeding ground for the exportation of its own brand of tyranny – i.e. militarized police forces etc.– to England. A more informed observer might view this trade-off of oppression as a more organized attempt at the implementation of a standardized system of domination . . . and this observer would be correct. But, regardless, it is true that even a casual observer can view the domestic policies of the country across the Atlantic as indications of what is coming to their own.  [...]"   

Commentary: "Cooking the History Books: The Thanksgiving Massacre" [11/25/10] "Thanksgiving is a holiday where families gather to share stories, football games are watched on television and a big feast is served. It is also the time of the month when people talk about Native Americans. But does one ever wonder why we celebrate this national holiday? Why does everyone give thanks?  History is never simple. The standard history of Thanksgiving tells us that the “Pilgrims and Indians” feasted for three days, right? Most Americans believe that there was some magnificent bountiful harvest. In the Thanksgiving story, are the “Indians” even acknowledged by a tribe? No, because everyone assumes “Indians” are the same. So, who were these Indians in 1621?  In 1620, Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower naming the land Plymouth Rock. One fact that is always hidden is that the village was already named Patuxet and the Wampanoag Indians lived there for thousands of years. To many Americans, Plymouth Rock is a symbol. Sad but true many people assume, “It is the rock on which our nation began.” In 1621, Pilgrims did have a feast but it was not repeated years thereafter. So, it wasn’t the beginning of a Thanksgiving tradition nor did Pilgrims call it a Thanksgiving feast. Pilgrims perceived Indians in relation to the Devil and the only reason why they were invited to that feast was for the purpose of negotiating a treaty that would secure the lands for the Pilgrims. The reason why we have so many myths about Thanksgiving is that it is an invented tradition. It is based more on fiction than fact. [...]"  Related:  Commentary: "Native Blood: The Myth of Thanksgiving" [11/17/10] "It is a deep thing that people still celebrate the survival of the early colonists at Plymouth — by giving thanks to the Christian God who supposedly protected and championed the European invasion. The real meaning of all that, then and now, needs to be continually excavated. The myths and lies that surround the past are constantly draped over the horrors and tortures of our present. Every schoolchild in the U.S. has been taught that the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony invited the local Indians to a major harvest feast after surviving their first bitter year in New England. But the real history of Thanksgiving is a story of the murder of indigenous people and the theft of their land by European colonialists–and of the ruthless ways of capitalism. This piece is intended to be shared at this holiday time. Pass it on. Serve a little truth with the usual stuffing. [...]"   

Flashback:  "Fascism, Genocide, and Extinction: An Indictment Against Civilization"  Sean Swain [11/25/10] "Just as human activity has taken the world to the brink of ecological destruction, Al Gore has emerged as the ecosystem's ostensible messiah, mobilizing millions to change their habits of consumption. Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" has made it fashionable to "go green," to "save the planet." His analysis, however, seems somewhat mitigated compared to the more urgent descriptions of others who contend that this generation "is on the verge of the most profound catastrophe the human species has ever faced. Death threats to the living earth are coming from all sides. Water, sunlight, air and soil are threatened" (Koetke 155). With "every organism on the planet" threatened (Koetke 155), the intentions of Al Gore and his millions of "go green" proselytes - who want only to scale back consumption - are called into question; is their conservation message truly designed to save the planet, or merely postpone the inevitable through a drink-slower-party-longer approach to global warming, then they in no way save the environment; they save civilization. In other words, scaled-back consumption will still destroy the environment - it will simply take longer before the destruction causes civilization to sputter out. So, the question arises: What if it is civilization itself - the very thing Gore and friends are saving - that is the cause of ecological catastrophe? "For the first time in more than three billion years of life, a living system is relentlessly creating the means not of self-preservation, but self-destruction" (Schmookler 175); that "living system is civilization. In the proper historical context, civilization is revealed to be a fascist system of control, a ten thousand-year genocide against sustainable ways of life that pushes humanity toward extinction.  It is necessary, then, to define civilization. The word itself is derived from civis, for a town or city, which would suggest sedentary life, but it also implies "writing, division of labor, agriculture, organized warfare, growth of population, and social stratification" (Heinberg, Was 118). Encyclopedia Britanica's "History of Agriculture" provides interesting insight:  Nineteenth-century scholars hypothesized four stages in human development: (1) a savage stage in which all people were hunter-gatherers, (2) a herdsman or nomadic stage during which man domesticated some animals, (3) a farming stage, and (4) civilization. Researchers have since attempted to determine when and where man first changed from hunter-gatherer to pastoralist or agriculturalist.  Curiously, while this entry does not define what civilization is, it certainly reveals what it is not: It is not "savage," "nomadic," nor simply, subsistence "farming," but is the transcendence of all of those. Civilization, then, by this view, is the culmination of an evolution, the final stage toward which all other stages of human society were invariably progressing. Civilization is humankind's final destination. Yet, strangely, none of the 'inferior" stages of social evolution ever threatened to murder all life on the planet. Savages, nomads, nor subsistence farmers had to confront the problem of self-made planetary ecocide. Only the absolute pinnacle of human social evolution, so superior and rational, can potentially kill everything that lives by conducting business as usual. [...]"  

Alex Jones: "Ron Paul: Korea Conflict May Be Orchestrated Crisis To Boost Dollar" [11/24/10] [2:58]  "Congressman Ron Paul speculated on the Alex Jones Show today that the war footing between North and South Korea could be an orchestrated crisis to boost the dollar and reverse the US economy, paralleling the RAND Corporation's call two years ago for the United States to become embroiled in a major war as a means of preventing a double dip recession. [...]"  Related:  "South Korea admits firing first shells in row with North Korea " [11/24/10] [1:45]  "South Korea has admitted it fired artillery shells that triggered an early morning clash with North Korea. However it says it was part of a military drill and denied it was directed at the North. Earlier Seoul blamed the North for what it called an unprovoked shelling of its island. Pyongyang claimed the South had violated its maritime border during the military drills. Seoul has since threatened its neighbor with what it called ‘enormous retaliation’. Russia’s foreign ministry said the clashes were unacceptable and called on both sides to show restraint. [...]"  See the "Korea" link at the top for more on this growing conflict. 

Commentary:  "Afghanistan War, Nightmare without End for Troops, Innocent Civilians and US Taxpayers " Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich [11/24/10] "“The war in Afghanistan is taking place in a netherworld where facts and common sense have no place. Elections are fake. Our deadline to withdraw is a fake. Now, we learn that a fake Taliban leader has been leading us to believe that NATO was facilitating high-level talks between Taliban leadership and the corrupt Afghan central government we’re propping up. It was truly amazing that our government said we were negotiating with high-level Taliban leadership while at the same time we were stepping up air strikes to wipe them out. “Evidence abounds that the Karzai regime in Kabul is among the most corrupt in the world. President Karzai rules through crony capitalism. He works to protect his cronies rather than the Afghan people. Our tax dollars are going to the Karzai family and its supporters to buy villas in Dubai. We know that our tax dollars fund both sides of the conflict. We know that our ‘allies’ pay the enemy not to attack our troops and that they also may be bribing insurgents to attack our troops. We also know that U.S. tax dollars fund Afghan warlords. NATO officials have become so skilled in self-deception that a senior NATO official recently claimed that Kabul is safer for children than most western cities. Meanwhile those who continue to advocate for the war apply the dark arts of public relations to manufacture support for a war which is neither winnable, nor moral nor sane. It is time for Congress to start asking General Petraeus some direct questions. [...]"   

"Iran’s Parliament Schemes to Impeach Ahmadinejad" [11/23/10]  Note:  A serious rift has divided the Iranian government in a manner that could be tricky to resolve, as it puts the country’s parliament on one side and its president on the other. On Monday, the news broke in local papers that Iran’s parliament had been working on a plan to eject President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office but was stopped by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who represents the biggest obstacle in the assembly’s apparently ongoing impeachment effort.

Exposé:  "Chemtrail Base Whistleblower Comes Forward" [11/23/10] "In early 2010 Shepard Ambellas host of The Intel Hub Radio Show got an exclusive interview with a former secret chemtrail base facility worker. The information was mind blowing. The aerosol from “chemtrails” does not derive from the jet fuel or engine exhaust like originally thought by most researchers, but rather from independent sprayer tanks. [...]"   Related:  Flashback: "Evergreen Air and a Secret Chemtrail Facility"  "On Feb 18, 2010 NotForSale from the Intel Hub interviewed a whistleblower employed as a private contractor at an Evergreen Air facility. The information he provided was mind blowing. Never before had a whistleblower came forward about this top secret facility located in the Arizona desert north of Tucson. In the interview the whistleblower described how the facility is heavily secured by well armed personnel.  [...]"   

UK: "Government loses bid to keep 7/7 evidence secret" [11/22/10] "Justice Heather Hallett, who is overseeing the inquests into the deaths of the 52 people killed in the suicide attacks, ruled earlier this month that she could not hear evidence detailing sensitive intelligence material in closed session. She concluded that even if the public could be excluded, "interested parties," such as relatives of the victims, could not. [...]"   

"US clutching at straws in Afghanistan" [11/22/10] "In an incredible twist of events that would qualify as a script for a spy thriller, the Americans are publicly claiming credit for "succeeding" in convincing the Taliban, especially some members of the Quetta Shura, to negotiate a peaceful end to the war in Afghanistan. Incredible because had the US wanted, this deal was on the table as far back as September/October 2001 before a single shot was fired or a single person killed in Afghanistan. Taliban leader Mulla Muhammad Omar had offered to hand over Osama bin Laden to the US if Washington provided proof of his involvement in the 9/11 attacks. He also offered to meet American officials to discuss the issue. In his customary arrogance, then US President George Bush had declared: "We will see you in Kabul." A few weeks later the bombing started. Just before the US attack, a Western reporter had asked Mulla Omar about his fate. "Afghanistan is a vast country," he replied. "We will fight them in the mountains, the valleys and villages until we have driven them out of Afghanistan like all previous invaders." At the time, Mulla Omar’s statement was greeted with great derision. Nine years and tens of thousands of deaths later, it is the Americans that are begging the Taliban for talks. On October 18, the Americans held a briefing in Rome titled "Transition in Afghanistan" at which in addition to NATO members and representatives of 10 Muslim countries, a senior official of Iran’s foreign ministry was also invited. Muhammad Ali Ganezadeh attended the briefing presented by General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Afghanistan. For months, the Ameri-cans have been saying they want to engage the Iranians to find a safe exit from Afghanistan. Iran has very specific concerns relating to Afghanistan. Its long porous border is used for illegal immigration as well as drug smuggling. The US withdrawal plan is predicated on training enough Afghan soldiers and policemen to take over security responsibilities. This is a tall order and may never be realized but given the intensity of resistance and rising US- NATO casualties, there is no escaping the hard reality of fleeing the Hindu Kush mountains, exactly as Mulla Omar had predicted nine years earlier. The Americans have been talking up another strategy: [...]"  

"Interrogators Ask U.S. to Drop 'Abusive' Techniques" [11/21/10] "More than a dozen expert interrogators have written an open letter urging defense chief Robert Gates to scrap a section of the Army Field Manual because it endorses methods they consider "abusive" and "counterproductive," reports Harper's. "The use of sensory deprivation techniques, extreme isolation and stress positions is likely to lead to false information, facilitate enemy recruitment, and further erode the reputation of the United States,” they write of the manual's Appendix M.  A key problem is that the appendix seems to confuse the more brutal "isolation"—this calls for trying to break detainees by, for example, forcing them to wear black goggles for 12-hour stretches—with the more humane "separation." The latter simply involves keeping detainees in separate quarters so they're comfortable giving up information. Grouping it with the other methods in Appendix M limits its use. The short recommendation: Scrap Appendix M but keep "separation." [...]"   

Commentary: "The Mysterious Laptop Documents: "Evidence" of Iran Nuclear Weapons Program May Be Fraudulent" [11/20/10] "Since 2007, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - with the support of the United States, Israel and European allies UK, France and Germany - has been demanding that Iran explain a set of purported internal documents portraying a covert Iranian military program of research and development of nuclear weapons. The "laptop documents," supposedly obtained from a stolen Iranian computer by an unknown source and given to US intelligence in 2004, include a series of drawings of a missile re-entry vehicle that appears to be an effort to accommodate a nuclear weapon, as well as reports on high explosives testing for what appeared to be a detonator for a nuclear weapon. In one report after another, the IAEA has suggested that Iran has failed to cooperate with its inquiry into that alleged research, and that the agency, therefore, cannot verify that it has not diverted nuclear material to military purposes. That issue remains central to US policy toward Iran. The Obama administration says there can be no diplomatic negotiations with Iran unless Iran satisfies the IAEA fully in regard to the allegations derived from the documents that it had covert nuclear weapons program. That position is based on the premise that the intelligence documents that Iran has been asked to explain are genuine. The evidence now available, however, indicates that they are fabrications. [...]"   

"Cholera strain may last years in Haiti" [11/20/10] "Not only do Haitians have little or no immunity to fight a disease that has been absent from Haiti for at least 50 years, "this strain of cholera seems to be more virulent than normal strains", US official Thomas Adams told reporters.  Manoj Menon, the Center for Disease Control liaison for the US cholera response, said health officials could not rule out rumours that poor sanitation at a UN peacekeeping compound caused the outbreak. With more than 1100 Haitians now dead and more than 18,000 taken ill, it is difficult to know how many more people will die from or contract the disease, Menon added. "We will likely never know where this came from," he said, pointing out the difficulties in pinpointing the source of the disease. [...]"  Note: Again, they figure that if they encourage all the minions to die, they can march in later and get the oil, gold and mineral wealth. See the "Haiti" link at the top of this panel for other interesting related stories ... did you know the UN is asking to get paid for each person who gets cholera (a preventable disease). 

"U.S. measures its rare earths reserves" [11/20/10] "The United States has 13 million tons of valuable and vital rare earth elements, but extracting them could take years, a report on the country's supply says. [...]"   Note:  So it's not like the resources haven't been there ... the US is too lazy to mine it's own resources. 

Internet: "FBI pressuring Google, Facebook to allow ‘back doors’ for wiretapping" [11/19/10] "FBI Director Robert Mueller traveled to Silicon Valley this week to convince major Internet players to build "back doors" into their software that will allow law enforcement to wiretap data on their networks, says a news report. It's part of an effort to expand the FBI's wiretapping powers to include the latest communications technologies, including social networking sites, voice-over-Internet (VoIP) telephone services and BlackBerries. But privacy and civil rights advocates are raising the alarm about the proposal, saying that the proposed wiretapping tools could just as easily be used by hackers to steal personal information, or by oppressive governments to track political dissidents. The New York Times reported Wednesday that Mueller is on a lobbying trip in Silicon Valley to sell tech companies on the idea. Mr. Mueller and the F.B.I.’s general counsel, Valerie Caproni, were scheduled to meet with senior managers of several major companies, including Google and Facebook, according to several people familiar with the discussions. How Mr. Mueller’s proposal was received was not clear. [...] The Obama administration plans to introduce the new law -- an update to the 1994 Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act -- next year."   

Internet: "US Senate Committee Approves Internet "Blacklist" Bill" [11/19/10] "It seems the lame duck Congressional session is becoming anything but unproductive. Yesterday, we saw the cloture of the Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510), and today the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act was unanimously approved by the US Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday with a 19-0 vote. The COICA has been overwhelmingly viewed as a corporate hijacking of the internet by mega-media cartels. Indeed, it is the end of the free internet as we now it. [...] The bill is proposed as a piracy protection bill where according to AP: " The US Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill on Thursday that would give US law enforcement more tools to crack down on websites abroad engaged in piracy of movies, television shows and music. Clearly this was funded by media cartels, but this has a lot more to do with internet censorship as it does about copyright infringement. " 

US Politics: "Republican blocks Obama's nuclear treaty with Russia" [11/18/10] "An agreement between the United States and Russia to slash their nuclear arsenals was in danger of collapse after an influential Republican  senator said yesterday that it should not be voted on this year. With a terse statement, Senator Jon Kyl dealt a major setback to President Barack  Obama's efforts to improve ties with Russia and to his broader strategy for reducing nuclear arms worldwide. The treaty, known as New Start, had  been seen as one of Obama's top foreign policy accomplishments. Without the support of Kyl, the leading Republican voice on the treaty, Democrats have little hope of securing at least eight Republican votes - the minimum they would need for ratification in the current Senate. Kyl's  position, unless reversed, would delay the vote until the newly elected Senate, with an expanded Republican minority, has been sworn in in  January. Vice-President Joe Biden warned that failure to approve the treaty this year would endanger national security. He said the treaty would renew US authority that expired last year to inspect Russia's nuclear arsenal.  [...]" 

Propaganda/False Flag: "Germany raises security level in response to planned terror attacks" [11/18/10] "Terrorist attacks are being planned in Germany, including one this month, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Wednesday, speaking of a "new security situation" in the country. "From today, there will be a visible police presence. I thought it should be explained to citizens," said De Maiziere at a hastily called news conference in Berlin. "There will also be a variety of measures that will not be visible. There is reason for concern, but no reason for hysteria," he added. Evidence of a potential attack toward the end of the month came from a "foreign partner," he said. "According to information from a foreign partner which came to us after the Yemen incident, we suspect a planned attack is due to be put into action at the end of November," De Maiziere said. [...]"  

Commentary: "Globalism, Think Tanks, and "The New World Order" [11/17/10] "If there is anyone out there who still reads Newsweek you might be particularly interested in picking up a copy of the October 4, 2010 edition. While the cover story focuses on Sarah Palin and Republican women, one of the more interesting features stories is written by Joel Kotkin entitled, "The New World Order." In this article, Kotkin argues that “Tribal Ties – Race, Ethnicity, and Religion – Are Becoming More Important Than Borders.” The first page of the article, contains a color-coded map denoting new regions of the world not defined by contemporary governmental borders but those designated by region, race, and culture. The rest of the article is devoted to a breakdown of the reasoning behind the new borders of which there are 19 new regional governments, 4 city states (London, Paris, Singapore, and Tel Aviv) and 6 Stand-Alone countries (Brazil, France, Greater India, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland.) Although attacked as a conspiracy theory for years in the mainstream media, Newsweek’s article places the United States in league with Canada as part of the “North American Alliance,” suggesting that “The U.S. and Canada are joined at the hip in terms of their economies, demographics, and culture.” Mexico, however, is not included in this new version of the North American Union as it is lumped in to the “Liberalistas” region alongside Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Peru. Laughably, the author claims that these states are “standard-bearers of democracy and capitalism in Latin America” and that their economies are “trying to join the ranks of the fast-growing economies.” Of course, anyone with any sense of what goes on beyond their own borders (however temporary they may be) knows that Mexico is not a standard-bearer of anything beyond absolute chaos and poverty. Not surprisingly, Joel Kotkin, the writer of "The New World Order," is an adjunct fellow at the Legatum Institute, an international think-tank that “researches and advocates for an expansive understanding of global prosperity.”(Legatum) It’s website states: [...]" 

 Commentary: The Great “Depression”  Historical Analysis [11/16/10] "The One-handed Economist took a new position in its letter of Sept. 17, 2010 shifting its commodity holdings from gold to silver. Another change of position is in a special bulletin issued Nov. 10, 2010. However, since this is so recent, in order to learn the contents a subscriber must cross my palm with silver. (See below.) Today I would like to continue my discussion of the (so-called) Great Depression as this is the giant lie which is behind most of the other economic lies which have deceived so many people and cost them so much money. What is a depression? It is a period in a country’s economic history where the large majority of the people become poorer. It is alleged that such a period occurred in the early 1930s. I have pointed out previously that Economic Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, reports that during this period Americans shifted from margarine to butter. They increased their per capita meat consumption (from 129 lb to 144 lb.). And they gave (substantially) more to charity. Further, real wages rose during this period, and the savings of the average American increased in value (buying power) by 30%. This does not sound like getting poorer to me. [...]"  

"Cash-hungry US war industry stays armed as schools & clinics close" [11/16/10] [3:52]  "With the US debt exceeding 13 trillion dollars, Republicans were elected in mid-term elections on a promise to reduce the budget with "across the board" spending cuts. Let, they explicitly exempt the defence budget, promising to fund America's wars whatever the costs may be. [...]"  "Sundown Around the Corner for the United States as Military Refuses To Cut Spending" [11/15/10] [4:51]  "The military industrial complex continues to rev its engine even as the US economy continues to struggle. Pro-defense Republicans are already shouting to use their party's newfound legislative power to boost the Pentagon budget. Paul Craig Roberts points out that the government only cares about the military industrial complex and lacks compassion for its people.  Related: "The US$200-Trillion Debt Which Cannot Be Named" "The scary real U.S. government debt ... Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff says U.S. government debt is not $13.5-trillion (U.S.), which is 60 percent of current gross domestic product, as global investors and American taxpayers think, but rather 14-fold higher: $200-trillion – 840 per cent of current GDP. "Let's get real," Prof. Kotlikoff says. "The U.S. is bankrupt." Writing in the September issue of Finance and Development, a journal of the International Monetary Fund, Prof. Kotlikoff says the IMF itself has quietly confirmed that the U.S. is in terrible fiscal trouble – far worse than the Washington-based lender of last resort has previously acknowledged. "The U.S. fiscal gap is huge," the IMF asserted in a June report. "Closing the fiscal gap requires a permanent annual fiscal adjustment equal to about 14 percent of U.S. GDP." This sum is equal to all current U.S. federal taxes combined. The consequences of the IMF's fiscal fix, a doubling of federal taxes in perpetuity, would be appalling – and possibly worse than appalling. – Globe and Mail (Canada) [...] Free-Market Analysis: These numbers cited by Laurence Kotlikoff have been all over the Internet for a while now but have not been much reported by the mainstream press. No surprise there, but we are a bit shocked that the Globe and Mail chose to pick them up. Was it a slow news day? The story itself has been around since August. Because the Globe and Mail has covered it, so shall we. Here is our question: Given these numbers, how can banks and institutions purchase US fixed income securities, let alone the dollar? What sense does it make? These large institutions, with fiduciary responsibility, are basically buying a bankrupt product. And it is not just the US. The entire Western world (maybe with the exception of Germany) is pretty much either flat broke or worse than broke. [...] "   Note:   The "Military- Security Complex" must feed itself. The citizens of the G8 are expendable. 

Commentary: "When Fascism Masquerades as Populism" [11/16/10] "With its reliance on corporate money and financial contributions by the wealthy, the U.S. electoral system provides movement in only one direction: to the right. Traditional liberals lack the financial wherewithal to compete against free market fundamentalists. Corporations do not fund candidates who would regulate them and hold them accountable to the people. The electoral system is useless as a tool for the expression of traditional liberalism or progressive reform. Capitalism does not empower people; it gives primacy to capital. Like the corporation, money is a legal fiction that allows bankers and financial institutions to create phantom wealth from nothing. It gives rise to privatized banking cartels and to the Federal Reserve which controls the money supply and loans it at interest to the government and to people. In effect, this gives bankers control of the government and our cultural institutions. Free market fundamentalism was elevated to the status of religion decades ago by Milton Friedman and his disciples at the Chicago School of Economics. Its adherents regard the market as a holy oracle that takes precedence over man and nature, the diviner of social and economic status, a force more primal than the laws that govern the motion of planetary bodies and the formation of distant nebulae.  But like the phantom wealth it engenders, the existence of free markets is utter fiction. Not only are the precepts of market fundamentalism contradicted by nature; they are restrained by her. With a hunger for god-like power, capitalism and free market fundamentalism are, in fact, puny forces that are dwarfed by those of nature to which they will ultimately succumb.  Due in part to its infatuation with a particularly virulent form of capitalism, the U.S. has been descending toward fascism for decades. The persistent stream of neoconservative statesmen, stateswomen, and corporatists are the product of a corporate-funded counter-revolution that gained ascendancy during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, if not before. The counter-revolution is undoing all of the social and economic gains won through popular struggle and resistance. [...]" Related: "Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism" [11/15/10] "Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each: [...]"   

"Europe Map Video Shows Changing Borders, '10 Centuries In 5 Minutes' " [11/15/10] [5:22]  "While most European borders may seem permanent and fixed, a new video illustrates their fluidity over the last 1,000 years. The clip, "10 Centuries In 5 Minutes," is set to contemplative music and shows the advances of invaders, the collapse of empires, and the rise of new nations. Uploaded on October 26, the morphing political map has already amassed more than 324,750 views. [...]"  Note:  Full screen mode would be best.

Commentary:  "Bush's 'Decision Points': A Terrifying Journey Into the Authoritarian Mind" [11/15/10] "... This would be less grim to talk about if Bush weren't still with us. But he is, in every way that matters. The Bush Doctrine lives. No leading American politician can disavow the two key aspects of the Bush Doctrine: that we cannot distinguish terrorists from the countries where they live, and that we must act preemptively against gathering threats before they materialize (propositions contradicting international law). Bush's memoir is arguably the most important book of the year because it reveals -- far better than do books by Charlie Savage, Isikoff and Corn, or Bob Woodward -- how he fundamentally reconceptualized the functions of the presidency, the balance of power among the branches of government, and the expectations and obligations of citizens, with lasting effects. [...] "Reviews in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and New York Times treat Bush respectfully -- much as a Machiavellian prince would desire to be treated after going into retirement; too often reviewers play Bush's game by humanizing him, or treating him with humor, or safely relegating him to history. But Bush truly was a transformative president, among the rare few, and we deceive ourselves -- as many in the commentariat continue to do, as with Maureen Dowd's light-hearted mockery of him -- if we consider him an anomaly, a rare eruption of a virus that won't repeat itself. [...]"  

"Petraeus gives Karzai warning" [11/15/10] "In what may be one of the most significant breaches between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Obama administration, Gen. David Petraeus personally warned Afghan officials over the weekend the U.S.-Afghan partnership could be "untenable" if Karzai wants U.S. troops out of Afghanistan prematurely. A senior coalition military official confirmed details of what Petraeus said, but asked not to be identified so he could speak more candidly. [...]Karzai is under increasing pressure from inside his own government to more quickly demonstrate independence from the United States and distance himself from controversial military night raids and the increasing number of air and ground attacks conducted by coalition forces. For his part, Petraeus has made clear he plans to continue the stepped-up attacks, which he feels are paying off in reducing the strength and capability of the Taliban. The coalition calculates there has been a six-fold increase in activities by special operations forces in the last 18 months, mostly directed against insurgents."  

"Petraeus, Karzai Spar Over U.S. War Plans" [11/15/10] "Gen. David H. Petraeus, the coalition military commander in Afghanistan, warned Afghan officials Sunday that President Hamid Karzai's latest public criticism of U.S. strategy threatens to seriously undermine progress in the war and risks making Petraeus's own position "untenable," according to Afghan and U.S. officials.  [...]"   

"Gen. Petraeus stunned at Karzai’s suggestion that US scale back military operations" [11/15/10] "US war commander General David Petraeus expressed "astonishment and disappointment" over Afghan President Hamid Karzai's recent call for a scale back of US military operations, a report said Monday. Petraeus warned Afghan officials that Karzai's weekend comments -- in which he demanded dramatic reductions in operations such as night raids in local communities -- [...]"    Related: "Gen. Petraeus orders 1,000 Strikes in October" [11/10/10]   

"Karzai wants US to 'cut back' Afghan military operations" [11/14/10] "Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants the U.S. military to scale back the visibility and intensity of its operations in Afghanistan and end night raids that he said incited people to join the Taliban insurgency, The Washington Post reported Saturday. "The time has come to reduce military operations," Karzai told the Post in an interview. "The time has come to reduce the presence of, you know, boots in Afghanistan ... to reduce the intrusiveness into the daily Afghan life." The Post said his comments put him at odds with U.S. General David Petraeus, who has made "capture-and-kill" missions a central part of counterinsurgency strategy. In the past three months, such night raids of Afghan homes by U.S. Special Operations forces had killed or captured 368 insurgency leaders, the Post said. Karzai was quoted as saying his comments were not meant as criticism of Washington, adding that candor could improve what he termed a "grudging" relationship between the two countries. A senior Afghan official was quoted by the newspaper as saying that Karzai had repeatedly criticized the night raids in meetings with Petraeus and was seeking veto power over the operations. [...]"   Note: This indicates a fragmentation of the situation. Look for Karzai to either change his mind or be killed. Afghanistan, like other wars, is also a weapons testing area used by the military industrial complex. Related:   "Timetable Abandoned: U.S. And NATO To Wage Endless War In Afghanistan" [11/14/10] "... On October 25 Edmund Whiteside, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Council Secretary, spoke at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and according to the local press said, "Expect the war in Afghanistan — the longest military engagement in both Canadian and American history — to continue for a 'very long' time." In his exact words, “Afghanistan will be a very long military venture.” [...]"  BUT, what's this:?  "Its over: US NATO formally announcing ‘transition’ to Afghan withdrawal" [11/14/10] "he Obama administration and its NATO allies will declare late this week that the war in Afghanistan has made sufficient progress to begin turning security control over to its government by spring, months before the administration’s July deadline to start withdrawing U.S. troops, according to U.S. and European officials. Even as it announces the “transition” process, which will not immediately include troop withdrawals, NATO will also state its intention to keep combat troops in Afghanistan until '2014', a date originally set by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.[...]" "Lindsey Graham: 2014 is real date for Afghanistan withdrawal", BUT ... "Graham: U.S. needs permanent Afghan bases" "Sen. Lindsey Graham called Sunday for U.S. bases to be in Afghanistan "in perpetuity." [...]"  Note:  So Karzai will either have to change his mind or be killed.   

"China To Be World’s Biggest Economy Within Two Years" [11/14/10] "Here’s a finding that will have any red-blooded American spluttering into his cornflakes. According to the Conference Board, a highly respected economic research association, China will overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy by 2012, or within two years. OK, so in dollar terms, that’s obviously not going to be the case. It will be a lot longer than two years before China overtakes the US on that measure. But in terms of purchasing power parity, according to the Conference Board’s latest world economic outlook, China is already nearly there, and by 2020 will have reached a size of output which is nearly half as big again as the US. [...]"  Related:  "US diplomatic offensive tightens strategic encirclement of China" [11/14/10] "At the heart of the US geo-strategic campaign is a provocative drive to contain China by preventing it from controlling the South China Sea and connecting waterways to the Indian Ocean. [...]"  Note: The policies of Zbigniew Brzezinski are manifesting nicely. "Chinese President Hu visits France"  "The French government provided full military honors to President Hu Jintao of China during the latter’s recent visit, while the two countries signed major business and industrial contract [...]"  "US asks China to raise Yuan by January" [11/14/10]

Media drops story of 'apparent' missile launch [11/14/10] "Only days after the a Los Angeles television station reported an unexplained missile launch off of the coast of California, the American media has completely dropped coverage of the event. [...]"  Note:  See "China Fired Missile Seen In Southern California" [11/12/10]  below.

Historical Research:  Nazis Were Given ‘Safe Haven’ in U.S., Report Says  New York Times [11/14/10]  "A secret history of the United States government’s Nazi-hunting operation concludes that American intelligence officials created a “safe haven” in the United States for Nazis and their collaborators after World War II, and it details decades of clashes, often hidden, with other nations over war criminals here and abroad.  The 600-page report, which the Justice Department has tried to keep secret for four years, provides new evidence about more than two dozen of the most notorious Nazi cases of the last three decades. It describes the government’s posthumous pursuit of Dr. Josef Mengele, the so-called Angel of Death at Auschwitz, part of whose scalp was kept in a Justice Department official’s drawer; the vigilante killing of a former Waffen SS soldier in New Jersey; and the government’s mistaken identification of the Treblinka concentration camp guard known as Ivan the Terrible. [...]"  Note: Better late than never for the New York Times. This dynamic has been simplistically portrayed in America as 'the Germans vs. Jews". The headline SHOULD read: "Zionist Nazis Given Safe Haven in US".   Dr. Josef Mengele was Jewish, as was his assistant, Berthold Epstein, who was among the Jews who came from Czechoslovakia. Today, in Czechoslovakia, only Ashkenazi Jews remain. A large part of what happening in WW2 is that the Ashkenazi Zionist Jews in Germany used the war as a way to genetically purify what they viewed as their 'race' by destroying other factions of the Jewish world at the time ... Jews in the Slavic countries, etc, that they abhorred. More than 150,000 Nazis were Jewish. World War II was just a slice of what had been in progress for a while. See this: The Zionist Role in the Jewish 'Holocaust' [09/28/10]

"U.S. to store another $400m worth of emergency military equipment in Israel" [11/13/10] "The U.S. government is to move an additional $400 million worth of military equipment to emergency storage in Israel over the next two years. The equipment, which includes so-called smart bombs, will stand at Israel's disposal in an emergency. The U.S. Congress approved the hike last month, which will bring the value of American military equipment stockpiled in Israel to $1.2 billion by 2012. [...]"    

"China Fired Missile Seen In Southern California" [11/12/10] "China flexed its military muscle Monday evening in the skies west of Los Angeles when a Chinese Navy Jin class ballistic missile nuclear submarine, deployed secretly from its underground home base on the south coast of Hainan island, launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from international waters off the southern California coast. WMR’s intelligence sources in Asia, including Japan, say the belief by the military commands in Asia and the intelligence services is that the Chinese decided to demonstrate to the United States its capabilities on the eve of the G-20 Summit in Seoul and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Tokyo, where President Obama is scheduled to attend during his ten-day trip to Asia. The reported Chinese missile test off Los Angeles came as a double blow to Obama. The day after the missile firing, China’s leading credit rating agency, Dagong Global Credit Rating, downgraded sovereign debt rating of the United States to A-plus from AA. The missile demonstration coupled with the downgrading of the United States financial grade represents a military and financial show of force by Beijing to Washington. The Pentagon spin machine, backed by the media reporters who regularly cover the Defense Department, as well as officials of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and the U.S. Northern Command, is now spinning various conspiracy theories, including describing the missile plume videotaped by KCBS news helicopter cameraman Gil Leyvas at around 5:00 pm Pacific Standard Time, during the height of evening rush hour, as the condensation trail from a jet aircraft. Other Pentagon-inspired cover stories are that the missile was actually an amateur rocket or an optical illusion. [...]"    Related:  "U.S. pledges to send super carrier to Yellow Sea for joint drills: Pentagon"   "The United States has reiterated its pledge to send a super carrier to the Yellow Sea for joint naval drills with South Korea without specifying the timing, despite China's objections. "The only thing I'd answer is those are international waters and they aren't owned by China," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a media roundtable in Melbourn, Australia, Monday, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon, Tuesday. "They aren't owned by Korea. They're international waters in which we have and many other countries have sailed forever. My expectation is we'll continue to do that." [...]"  "Chinese Missiles Could Close U.S. Bases in Attack, Report Says"  "The Chinese military’s non-nuclear missiles have “the capability to attack” and close down five of six major U.S. Air Force bases in South Korea and Japan, an unpublished government report says. China’s improved inventory of short- and medium-range missiles provides a “dramatic increase” in its ability to “inhibit” U.S. military operations in the western Pacific, according to excerpts from the draft of the 2010 annual report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission scheduled for release on Nov. 17. China’s current force “may be sufficient” to destroy runways, parked aircraft, fuel and maintenance facilities at Osan and Kunsan air bases in South Korea, and Kadena, Misawa and Yokota bases in Japan, the report says. The facilities are within 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) of China. [...]"  "Anomalous 'Mystery missile' launches in US" [11/09/10] "Pentagon officials are at a loss to explain a reported missile launch off the coast of California on Monday, but say "it is not a threat." [...]"  Related: "Mystery Missile" Launched Over Pacific  "When asked, however, what he thought it might be, the former ambassador said it could possibly have been a missile test timed as a demonstration of American military might as President Obama tours Asia. "It could be a test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile from a submarine … to demonstrate, mainly to Asia, that we can do that," speculated Ellsworth ...  He doesn't believe an ICBM has previously been tested by the U.S. over the Pacific. Officially, at least, the projectile remains a mystery missile. [...]"   Note: Well, if they claim they don't know what it was, they're just admitting incompetence ... but since they know enough to say it's not a threat, they must be liars and incompetent. 

US demand raises hackles [11/12/10] "Who is running the show? Who seems to think they should be in charge of negotiations for a nine-nation Pacific Rim free-trade pact despite being a member for only a year?  The United States has raised hackles among other, more longstanding members of the Trans Pacific Partnership by imposing rules on media coverage of tomorrow's meeting of the TPP which is being held on the fringe of this year's Asia-Pacific leaders' summit in the Japanese port city of Yokohama. The US has demanded that visual coverage of leaders arriving for the talks be restricted to one photographer per member country, leaving TV out in the cold. Those of suspicious disposition doubt this ban will apply to American broadcasters. Prime Minister John Key said he was disappointed by the restriction. Officials were last night trying to find a satisfactory solution. [...]"  Note:  The US is a trading partner only ... it is NOT an Asian-Pacific country, and cannot ever be placed in charge. The desire to manipulate the summit was the only reason the US maneuvered its way into being invited as a member of the free trade pact.

"Postal Service posts $8.5 billion loss" [11/12/10] "The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service delivered more bad news Friday, announcing it lost $8.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended in September. Without congressional action to change its obligations, officials said, the Postal Service likely will go broke at the end of fiscal 2011. Letter carriers delivered 170.6 billion pieces of mail in fiscal 2010, a drop of 6 billion pieces from the previous year, with a significant drop in first-class mail deliveries, officials said. Financial losses also came from about $5.4 billion in obligations to pre-fund future retiree health benefits and about $2.5 billion paid to the federal government's workers' compensation insurance fund. [...]"   

"Transocean Engineer Snubs Federal Agency Investigating Gulf Disaster" [11/12/10] "Transocean, the company from which BP leased the sunken Gulf oil rig, has refused to comply with a subpoena from federal investigators, according to The Hill. [...]"   

Commentary: "America’s Devolution Into Dictatorship" Paul Craig Roberts [11/12/10] "The United States Department of Justice (sic) routinely charges and convicts innocents with bogus and concocted crimes that are not even on the statutes book. The distinguished defense attorney and civil libertarian, Harvey A. Silverglate, published a book last year, “Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent,” which conclusively proves that today in “freedom and democracy” America we have punishment without crime.  This same Justice (sic) Department, which routinely frames and railroads the innocent, argued in Federal Court on November 8 that the US government, if approved by the president, could murder anyone it wishes, citizens or noncitizens, at will. All that is required is that the government declare, without evidence, charges, trial, jury conviction or any of the due process required by the US Constitution, that the government suspects the murdered person or persons to be a “threat.” The US Justice (sic) Department even told US Federal District Court Judge John Bates that the US judiciary, formerly a co-equal branch of government, has absolutely no legal authority whatsoever to stick its nose into President “Change” Obama’s decision to assassinate Americans. The unaccountability of the president’s decision to murder people is, the US Justice (sic) Department declared, one of “the very core powers of the president as commander in chief.” The argument by the Justice (sic) Department that the executive branch has unreviewable authority to kill Americans, whom the executive branch has unilaterally, without presenting evidence, determined to pose a threat, was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center For Constitutional Rights. The outcome of the case will  [...]"  

Commentary:  Arabian Sea: Center Of West's 21st Century War [11/12/10]  "A quarter of the world’s nuclear aircraft carriers will soon be in the Arabian Sea. The Nimitz class nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the region on October 17 to join the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, which in turn had arrived there on June 18 as part of a regular rotation. The Charles de Gaulle, flagship of the French navy, the country’s only aircraft carrier and the sole non-American nuclear carrier, will soon join its two U.S. counterparts. The U.S. possesses half the world’s twenty-two aircraft carriers, all eleven supercarriers (those displacing over 70,000 tons) and eleven of twelve nuclear carriers. Regarding the unscheduled deployment of a second American aircraft carrier to the region, a CBS News report stated: "Air strikes in Afghanistan are up 50 per cent and now Defense Secretary Gates has ordered a second aircraft carrier, the USS Lincoln, into the fight. "Two carriers operating off the coast of Pakistan means about 120 aircraft available for missions over Afghanistan. And that’s not counting U.S. Air Force missions flown out of Bagram and Kandahar."  The countries bordering the Arabian Sea are Somalia, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Iran, Pakistan, India and the island nation of Maldives [...]" Note: Straddled by the Islamic arch - which stretches from Somalia to Indonesia, passing through the countries of the Gulf and Central Asia - the Arabian Sea region has become the world’s new strategic centre of gravity. It is currently the theater of the largest expansion of arms deals and the most alarming escalation of naval and military operations. Rick Rozoff provides the full picture.

"US-Backed Death Squad Files Surface – As Obama Lands in Indonesia" [11/11/10] "Secret documents have leaked from inside Kopassus, Indonesia’s red berets, which say that Indonesia’s US-backed security forces engage in “murder [and] abduction” and show that Kopassus targets churches in West Papua and defines civilian dissidents as the “enemy.”  The documents include a Kopassus enemies list headed by Papua’s top Baptist minister and describe a covert network of surveillance, infiltration and disruption of Papuan institutions The disclosure comes as US President Barack Obama is touching down in Indonesia. His administration recently announced the restoration of US aid to Kopassus. Kopassus is the most notorious unit of Indonesia’s armed forces, TNI, which along with POLRI, the national police, have killed civilians by the hundreds of thousands. The leaked cache of secret Kopassus documents includes operational, intelligence and field reports as well as personnel records which list the names and details of Kopassus “agents.” The documents are classified “SECRET” (“RAHASIA”) and include extensive background reports on Kopassus civilian targets – reports that are apparently of uneven accuracy. The authenticity of the documents has been verified by Kopassus personnel who have seen them and by external evidence regarding the authors and the internal characteristics of the documents. Some of the Kopassus documents will be released in the days to come, in part via my website. Those being released with this article concern West Papua, where tens of thousands of civilians have been murdered and where Kopassus is most active. Jakarta has attempted to largely seal off Papua to visits by non-approved outsiders. When the US restored Kopassus aid last July the rationale was fighting terrorism, but the documents show that Kopassus in fact systematically targets civilians. [...]"   

"Fight against African kleptocrats to go global after milestone ruling in France" [11/11/10] "Anti-corruption campaigners have called on Western governments to follow France's lead in allowing an investigation into the assets of three African leaders accused of looting their countries to fund lavish purchases in the rich world. Huguette Labelle, the head of global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, said the high court decision in Paris to allow a judicial inquiry into the French assets of the leaders of Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of Congo, and the former leader of Gabon, was a "milestone" and a "deterrent" against future theft.  She called on the G20 club of rich nations meeting today in South Korea to act on its commitment to combat money laundering and back the "French model" which allows European courts to go after assets bought with the proceeds of corruption. "This is going to be a very important case for the anti-corruption movement worldwide," said Ms Labelle, speaking from Thailand. "People in these countries know their money is being stolen and this can help to create a new sense that something can be done about it." A 2007 investigation into the French holdings of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of Congo, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea and Omar Bongo, Gabon's then-president, uncovered assets worth tens of millions of pounds. These "ill-gotten gains", as they came to be known, included hundreds of bank accounts; a fleet of Ferraris and Bugattis worth more than €3m and, in the case of Mr Bongo, who died last year, nearly 40 properties in Paris' exclusive 16th district. In each case the value of the assets bore no relation to the declared income of the individuals. [...]"  

Commentary: "Drive-by shootings, Metro bombings in DC and parcel bombs on planes but spies in training go unnoticed"– Wayne Madsen [11/11/10] "While the political power duopoly of the “homeland security” and fake news industries are concentrating on a series of drive-by shootings of Marine Corps targets in the Washington, DC area and an FBI-concocted terrorist bombing plot directed against busy Washington Metro train stations, followed by a cargo plane package bomb plot directed by “Al Qaeda” from Yemen, no mention is made of continuing aggressive field training of Israeli intelligence agents being employed in shopping malls across the country, some near America’s biggest military bases.  WMR previously reported that Israeli kiosk vendors had disappeared from some malls, however, in one large mall near two large American military commands — the US Special Operations Command and the US Central Command, both locate3d at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, young Israeli men and women, veterans of the Israeli Defense Force, take up position at two separate Dead Sea Skin care product kiosk locations at Brandon Westfield Mall, outside Tampa, to engage shoppers, many of them active duty and reserve military, in conversation.  WMR has previously reported on military members being quizzed by Israelis at a Norfolk, Virginia mall on their ship assignments and ship deployment schedules. The large presence of Israelis at a Tampa mall, close to two commands with important Middle East assignments, should raise questions among America’s counter-intelligence agencies. But it does not for one simple reason: FBI sources have told WMR on background that for any FBI or other law enforcement agent to begin an investigation of Israeli espionage activities in the United States would be an instant career killer. While Arabs, Muslims, Russians, Chinese, and Cubans are all fair game for counter-intelligence sleuths, Israelis are not targeted in counter-espionage operations because the Israeli Lobby and its influential Jewish supporters in the United States will not tolerate espionage charges being brought against Israeli nationals working illegally in the United States.  Also one must consider the fact that the Israeli mall vendors are operating with the blessing of the shopping mall owners, most of whom are Jewish and strong supporters of Israel. Westfield Malls, such as the one that hosts Israeli kiosks in Brandon, are operated by Westfield Group, owned by former Israeli Haganah paramilitary commando Frank Lowy. Most of the top 25 mall owners in the United States are also strong supporters of Israeli causes. [...]" 

Interview with Arundhati Roy on What's Really Happening in India, Pakistan  Amy Goodman [11/10/10] [11:59]   "Amy Goodman: We move now to Arundhati Roy. Maoist rebels in India called for a strike Monday to protest President Obama’s visit. The Indian media reports, according to the police, Maoists blew up a new school building this morning and killed four people in the eastern Indian states or Orissa and Bihar. Well, last month, I had the chance to sit down with author Arundhati Roy in London about the Maoists in India. But first I began by asking her for her assessment of President Obama.  ARUNDHATI ROY:* Well, I think the big lesson today is that—look at the richest country in the world, America, having attacked and made war on the poorest countries but not being able to win those wars. You know, they have not been able to win. And here’s the lesson. You know, you couldn’t win Vietnam, you couldn’t win Afghanistan, couldn’t win Iraq, cannot win Kashmir. You know, there has to be—Obama, I mean, he’s involved in all these war crimes. It’s not as though—you know, he has expanded the war in Afghanistan, moved it into Pakistan. You know, Pakistan is a country that is in such a lot of trouble because of this. You know, right when 9/11 happened, I remember writing saying you forced them to raise the Taliban in their midst, and now you want them to garret the pit that they grew in their own backyard. It’s going to lead to civil war. You know, you didn’t need to be a genius to figure that out. And that has happened, you know? America has interfered with Pakistan from the beginning, and Pakistan now paying a terrible price for that. I mean, I don’t know if it had a choice, when—you know, when America wants to interfere, it doesn’t give anyone a choice. So it’s destroyed Afghanistan, it’s destroyed Pakistan, it’s destroyed Iraq. And it will destroy India, if—because India doesn’t have the spine. The Indian government is just willingly allowing this to happen, the U.S. to dictate everything. So, today, Obama, I mean, whatever he’s doing in America is a separate thing. But certainly outside, he’s no less of—I mean, his foreign policy is not all that different from George Bush, you know? And if they start a war in Iran, they won’t win it. You know, I mean, it’s not possible. These wars cannot be won. So it’s about time somebody realized that and decided to change the way the world thinks about war and thinks about weapons and thinks about putting soldiers on the ground. [...]  Well, you know, this was—I’ve written a lot in this piece about what happens when a government, you know, institutes a constitution or its—a democracy only functions with a constitution as its legal and moral base. So, when that government is vandalizing the constitution, and in fact, whether it’s the Maoists or whether it’s any of the other resistance movements, if you listen to what they’re saying right now, they’re only people demanding their constitutional rights. So the government is vandalizing the constitution. The “terrorists,” in quote-unquote, are demanding their constitutional rights. So I said, look, if the government is not going to respect the constitution, then maybe we should change the constitution, whose preamble, the Indian constitution, says we are a secular, democratic, socialist republic. So change it and say we are a corporate, Hindu, satellite state."  Note:  Interesting interview. Transcript here.  

  Commentary: "The Legacy Of Friedrich Von Hayek: Fascism Didn't Die With Hitler" [11/10/10] "...The radical alternatives that von Hayek posed—strict monetarism, near-total deregulation, and Pan-European federalism—were all expressions of the same feudalist outlook that produced Hitler's National Socialism and the thousands of other varieties of Conservative Revolutionism after World War I. [...]"   

Commentary: "Moderation Is Dead: America Buys Two Years of Total Ideological War in Washington" [11/09/10] "Congratulations, America. You did the exact opposite of what Guest Columnist Russell King strongly urged you not to do last Tuesday. Now, for the next two years, you're going to have to suffer the consequences. For months, you've told pollsters that you were sick and tired of the partisan wrangling in Washington. Yet when you went to the polls -- in both the primaries and in last week's general election -- you elected what is destined to be the most ideologically polarized Congress in American history since the Civil War, the 150th anniversary of which, ironically, is next year. [...]"  Note:  There are NO realistic or rational thought patterns in Washington D.C. All of them lead toward war, death and chaos. Pity if an asteroid hit Congress in mid-session.  

Judge gags "Ground Zero" lawyers as deadline looms [11/09/10] "The judge overseeing the Ground Zero lawsuits yesterday imposed a gag order on all sides -- just hours before the deadline for striking a potentially $800 million-plus deal. Manhattan federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein said the "huge influx" of last-minute claims had "taxed the capacity to process" them. He ordered no public discussion, "to avoid confusion and speculation." The order reiterated last night's 11:59 p.m. cut-off for plaintiffs to "opt in" to the pending settlement. At least 95 percent of the 10,000-plus sickened 9/11 recovery workers who sued have to accept the deal for it to take effect. Hellerstein gave the plaintiffs' lawyers until 3 p.m. Thursday to submit their claims to a private firm hired to handle the potential payouts. Then all sides must file a joint report "concerning the satisfaction of the opt-in threshold . . .as soon as reasonably possible." After that, the results will be made public. Prior to the imposition of the gag order, lead plaintiff lawyer Paul Napoli said he expected "99 to 100 percent" of those eligible to take the deal. But a source familiar with the process was skeptical of that figure, saying he suspected the reason for the extra time was that "they don't have the 95 percent. Lawyers for the plaintiffs sent out an e-mail yesterday reminding their clients about the deadline and saying they were "very optimistic" about exceeding 95 percent. [...]"  

Infowars: Webster Tarpley: "The Next Decade" [11/08/10] 4 Video clips "Author Webster Tarpley goes into detail on a whole host of historical, financial and geopolitical issues in a bid to outline the major crises, revolutions and wars that will would hit the globe over the next decade and shape the future of our world. [...] Moving on to how these elitists use the financial system to further their aims, Tarpley explains how the move towards a global currency and worldwide financial regulations is being advanced by the IMF, but how nations are now rejecting this “Washington Consensus,” and instead adopting the “Beijing Consensus,” which allows them to retain control over their own national sovereignty. Tarpley says that the dollar as the world reserve currency is toast and that it is set to be replaced by a synthetic imperialist global currency called the Bancor. Tarpley warns that the IMF dictatorship is now in the final stages of asset stripping the United States. Tarpley begins by discussing how the Neo-Malthusian ecological extremists in the Obama regime have a shared hatred for science, technology and industry and how they really are contemplating and initiating genocidal measures to thin the human surplus because of their deep-seated ideological impulse, shared by oligarchies throughout the ages, which is to suppress the progress and development of any societal underclass. Tarpley explains how throughout history elites have always claimed that the planet was overpopulated in a bid to justify their wars and brutality, and that this is no different today, with people like Prince Philip expressing their desire to come back as a virus in order to kill masses of humans."  Note:  Fortunately, things aren't going to be going on much longer on this planet, in terms of a viable civilization, or anything else. Yeah, it WOULD be very much more messed up after 2012 ... we may not be there that long.

BP report finds Alaska pipelines in decay [11/08/10] "Severe corrosion is rotting BP's pipelines in Alaska, an internal company report says. The document, obtained by ProPublica, shows that as of Oct. 1, at least 148 BP pipelines on the Arctic North Slope got an "F-rank" from the company. BP workers said that means inspections have found more than 80 percent of the pipe wall is corroded and could rupture. Most of those lines carry toxic or flammable substances, and many of the metal walls of the worst pipes are worn to within a few thousandths of an inch of bursting, risking explosions or spills. Oil workers also say the fire- and gas-warning systems are weak, turbines that pump oil and gas through the system are aging, and some oil and waste holding tanks are near failure. BP Alaska spokesman Steve Rinehart told ProPublica the company has "an aggressive and comprehensive pipeline inspection and maintenance program." Photographs taken by employees in the Prudhoe Bay drilling field this summer show sagging and rusted pipelines. [...]"    See the "Oil & Gas" link at the top of this panel for back stories in this dynamic. Related:  "The Video NOAA and The FDA Are Afraid You’ll Watch. Lab Finds 193 ppm Oil in Gulf Shrimp" [11/08/10] "Despite repeated statements from the EPA and NOAA assuring residents that thorough Gulf of Mexico seafood testing has revealed levels safe for human consumption, public skepticism has continued to deter many locals from their usual seafood medley. Independent scientists have expressed concern over the published methods and protocols used by federal agencies to open sensitive fishing grounds & determine seafood safety. Invertebrates, such as shrimp, crab, & oysters, are of particular concern due to their feeding habits, relatively stationary lifestyle, and inability to process highly toxic compounds found in crude oil called Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH). Unfortunately, their concerns have proven valid. [...]"  Note:  Video clip  [5:15] 

Legal Case: GMAC Sued In Federal Court - 42 USC 1983  PDF [11/08/10] "The “technical” problems and other issues seen in foreclosure courtrooms across this country are merely symptoms of much larger issues that impact our broader economy and in fact our national security and the economic survival of this country. For too long, the real people in this world have operated under the apparently false assumptions that the leaders of business and finance were operating the larger economic machine with accuracy and fairness. Other even more naive folks operated under the assumption that our elected and appointed leaders were exercising some sort of oversight, supervision or regulation of the financial markets and industry. [...]"   

 Israel: 'Only credible military threat will stop Iran nuclear race' [11/08/10] "PM Netanyahu tells US VP Biden: “The only way to ensure that Iran is not armed with nuclear weapons is to create a credible threat of military action against it, unless it stops its race to obtain nuclear weapons." Only a credible military threat can halt Teheran’s nuclear program, Israel stressed to the United States Sunday afternoon. “The only way to ensure that Iran is not armed with nuclear weapons is to create a credible threat of military action against it, unless it stops its race to obtain nuclear weapons,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told US Vice President Joe Biden, according to diplomatic officials. [...]"    Related:  "Sen. Lindsey Graham addresses AIPAC:  sees 'confrontation' with China, war with Iran" [11/07/10] "... The South Carolina Republican saw the United States going to war with the Islamic republic "not to just neutralize their nuclear program, but to sink their navy, destroy their air force and deliver a decisive blow to the Revolutionary Guard, in other words neuter that regime. [...]" Note: Sociopathic little schmuck.   Related: Press TV: "AIPAC controls Washington - Obama must start a World War" [11/04/10] [6:00] 

World Politics: "US drones deployed in Yemen"  Australian News [11/08/10] "The United States has deployed Predator drones to hunt for al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen for the first time in years but has not fired missiles because it lacks solid intelligence on the insurgents' whereabouts, senior US officials said. The use of the drones is part of a campaign against an al-Qaeda branch that has claimed responsibility for near-miss attacks on US targets that could have had catastrophic results. The plots included the recent discovery of parcels packed with explosives on cargo planes. US officials said the Predators have been patrolling the skies over Yemen for several months in search of leaders and operatives of the group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP. [...]"  Note:  It's collective punishment for this: Related:  Exposé:  Yemen: "Al-Qaeda, Western-made group" [11/07/10] "Yemeni Prime Minister Ali Mujawar has sharply criticized the West for linking al-Qaeda to his country, accusing Western powers of having helped create the terrorist group. “Al-Qaeda is mainly a Western-made group,” Yemen’s Saba news agency quoted Mujawar as telling ambassadors of Asian and African countries to Yemen on Saturday. The militant group “was not created in Yemen at all as it is being alleged by those who propagate this perception internationally about Yemen,” he added. Mujawar’s comments hinted at America’s funding of fighters in Afghanistan who were resisting Soviet occupation back in the 1980s. The United States has stepped up pressure on Sana’a for what it calls "al-Qaeda’s use of Yemeni soil as a safe haven for terrorist operations against Washington". The US and its European allies have announced a decision to crack down on the US-termed "al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)" after Washington said it had " foiled an alleged plot to send bombs in freight packages to Chicago." [...]"  Note:  Another in a long line of admissions that the US/UK/IS continues to blow smoke up the worlds butt in a fog of self-created delusion, led by a psychologically messed up narcissist in D.C.  See the "Yemen" link at the top of this panel for related stories. 

 Interview: Arms Trafficking, Stolen Missiles, Soviet Submarines, Nuclear Detonations and 9/11: Interview with Dimitri Khalezov in Bangkok [11/07/10] "Dimitri Khalezov is a former Soviet commissioned officer of the “military unit 46179”, otherwise known as “the Special Control Service” of the 12th Chief Directorate of the Defense Ministry of the Soviet Union. He has agreed to this exclusive interview and it is our pleasure to be able to offer readers of www.danielestulin.com another quality first. Dimitri is a crucial piece of the puzzle in the case of Victor Bout. It is safe to say that had it not been for Dimitri´s dedication to helping Mr. Bout, his incorruptibility and brilliance, Victor, might very well have found himself today behind bars in some high-profile American prison. Dimitri is the first man to see Mr. Bout after his world famous arrest in Bangkok and he is the man who has given more headaches to the United States government than anyone else in the world. Furthermore, Dimitri Khalezov is the first person in the world to have uncovered the true reasons for the United States government’s dogged pursuit of Victor Bout. Mr. Bout´s arrest is directly linked to 9/11, and Mr. Khalezov, because of his unique vantage point as a former member of the Soviet “atomic” and later “nuclear” intelligence says that he knew about the in-built so-called “emergency nuclear demolitions scheme” of the Twin Towers as long back as early 1980´s, while serving in the Soviet Special Control Service. [...]"  

Legal Case: EPIC v. DHS (Suspension of Body Scanner Program) [11/07/10] "EPIC [Electronic Privacy Information Center] has filed the opening brief in EPIC v. DHS, No, 10-1157, a case that challenges the unilateral decision of the TSA to make body scanners the primary screening technique in U.S. airports. Three frequent air travelers are joining EPIC in the lawsuit: security expert Bruce Schneier, human rights activist Chip Pitts, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations legal counsel Nadhira Al-Khalili. The Petitioners have brought claims under the Administrative Procedure Act, the Privacy Act, the Video Voyeurism Prevention Act, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Fourth Amendment. The Petitioners are seeking the suspension of the body scanner program. In its brief, EPIC argues that the Department of Homeland Security "has initiated the most sweeping, the most invasive, and the most unaccountable suspicionless search of American travelers in history." EPIC further argues that the Transportation Security Administration "must comply with relevant law, and it must not be permitted to engage in such a fundamental change in agency practice without providing the public the opportunity to express its views [...]"   

  LaRouche: "After Tuesday: Last Chance To Avoid a Global New Dark Age" [11/07/10] MP3 Download, Video Streaming (Windows Media Player) 

UK's Great Austerity Sell Off of State-Owned Assets Begins [11/07/10] "The great austerity auction of state-owned assets has commenced after a pair of Canadian pension funds splashed out £2.1bn to acquire High Speed One, the UK's high-speed rail link. High Speed One was put on the block in June and was seen as one of the most attractive assets likely to be sold by the Coalition as it seeks to reduce Britain's national debt of £952bn. Other assets earmarked for potential privatisation are the Dartford Crossing, the Tote, the state's 49pc holding in National Air Traffic Services – to which the Government has appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch to advise on its strategic options – and Royal Mail. Under Friday's rail agreement, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Borealis, the infrastructure arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, will receive the track access charges paid by the train operators that use the high-speed line – Eurostar and Southeastern Trains. They will also have the right to sell further access to the track and the stations. High Speed One is generating annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £135m. [...]"    

"Wikileaks: Julian Assange Interview" [11/06/10] [22:59]  "On this episode of The Listening Post we analyse the media players in the US Midterm elections - old and new, mainstream and alternative, news and non-news. Plus our interview with Julian Assange, the Wikileaks editor-in-chief. [...]" Related:  "Norwegian US spy ring that may have monitored WikiLeaks event in Oslo at Grand Hotel, busted"  "TV 2 revealed Wednesday night that the United States in the deepest secrecy has built up an intelligence group to systematically monitor the Norwegians . TV 2 has identified seven of the total of 15-20 people who have worked for the Americans. But Thursday was TV 2 handed over a list of four additional names from a secret source. [...]" Report: Ex-WikiLeaks staffers to launch rival whistleblower site [11/05/10] "A group of former WikiLeaks staffers are planning on launching their own site for leaked documents, according to a published report. Daniel Domscheit-Berg, an important member of WikiLeaks who quit in September after disagreements with the site's founder Julian Assange, is reportedly planning to create his own whistleblower site along with other former members of  [...]    See the "Wikileaks" link at the top of this panel for related stories.  

Commentary: Mid-term Election Accelerates Federal Deconstruction [11/05/10] "The mid-term election of 2010 has already been labeled a political earthquake. It was more like a shift of tectonic plates than a mere earthquake, and its results may be felt for decades. The landmark election signaled the beginning of deconstruction at the federal level in the United States. The Young Guns of the Republican Party (Representatives McCarthy, Cantor and Ryan) will lead a freshman class of 65 new members of Congress on a budget crusade to rein in government spending. Their first act will be to return federal spending to 2008 levels. [...]"  

"Homeland Security To “Regionalize” Emergency Supplies Over Next 90 Days" [11/05/10] "...A phone interview with Sharon Bylier of The Dept of Homeland Security, revealed that H.S. is stepping up regionalizing disaster supplies. Simply put, they are taking emergency items that are currently centralized in Washington, D.C., and distributing them nationally. Sort of like a mobilization of suppies. Their plan is to complete the supply of fifteen H.S. warehouses around the country in the next three months. Ms. Bylier is quoted as saying “we have worked hard the last six months to meet our local objectives.” She continued “the goals of Homeland Security are in sight.” It’s difficult to know if this is a good or bad omen. No comment was offered as to why this program has been given so much urgency at this time. It’s nice to know we’re ready. But ready for What? [...]"  Related: "Be Prepared to Be Without The System - Make It A Policy" [11/05/10] "You should be prepared to go from seven to thirty days without services or help from the outside world. That’s something that every American is expected to do. [...]"     

Huge expansion of Kabul embassy not done till "2014" [11/05/10] "The Obama Administration announced this week it has awarded $511 million contract to massively expand the U.S. embassy in Kabul. Notably, the job won't be done until 'June 2014', which is about three years later than 'July 2011', Obama's promised deadline for the beginning of a U.S. withdrawal. 'June 2014' will be a year and a half into Obama's second term, or the first term of his successor. Now, the embassy is a State Department installation, not a military one. But it's still a sign that the United States will be in Afghanistan for a very long time. (It is the biggest embassy in the world.) [...]"  Related: US to spend 500 million dollars on embassy in Afghanistan  "The United States is bolstering its presence in Afghanistan with a 500 million dollar expansion of its Kabul embassy and the construction of two consulates, it announced Wednesday. Washington's Kabul embassy is already its biggest in the world, with about 1,100 employees, projected to rise to 1,200 by the end of the year, officials said. The embassy expansion contract was worth 511 million dollars and had been awarded under US law to an American company, Caddell Construction Inc., ambassador Karl Eikenberry said. Another two contracts, worth 20 million dollars each, have been awarded for the construction of consulates in Herat, the main city in western Afghanistan, and Mazar-I-Sharif in the north, he said. [...]"  Note: How about canceling the contract and giving the $500 million to help people somewhere in the United States? Too simple for die-hard, jingoistic sequentials with wind-up keys in their backs, and similarly endowed Congress members, too.

Press TV: "AIPAC controls Washington - Obama must start a World War" [11/04/10] [6:00]  "Press TV's Waqar Rizvi talks to former senate candidate Mark Dankof  [...]" Related:   Rizvi talks to Dankof on Truth about 9/11 [8:38] " 

Exposé: House of Lords: UK Financial Structure Has Laundered "Terrorist Money" and Who Is Trying to Buy The British Government? Lord James Speech on Foundation X - House of Lords - Nov. 1, 2010 [11/03/10] Video clip  [9:44]  [...]"  Note: Who 'Foundation X' may be, one can only wonder.  Updated on 11/4/10 with video clip of actual speech recorded in the House of Lords. More

Former NASA Director Says World Trade Center Towers Were Felled by Controlled Demolition [11/03/10] "On October 21st at the University of San Diego, Mr. Dwain Deets, former Director of NASA Aerospace Projects, gave a multimedia presentation on behalf of nearly one thousand architects and engineers who cite evidence of explosive demolition in all three World Trade Center skyscrapers on 9/11 and are calling for a new, independent investigation into their destruction. These architects and engineers are listed on their website at ae911Truth.org. Mr. Deets was an engineering executive with NASA Dryden Flight Research Center for more than 37 years and formerly served as Director, Research Engineering Division at Dryden. He received the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award in the federal government’s Senior Executive Service (1988). In 1986, Deets was awarded the Wright Brothers Lectureship in Aeronautics, a distinguished speaking engagement sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). [...]"  

Commentary: World Bank Quietly Funding Massive Corporate Water Grab [11/03/10] "Billions have been spent allowing corporations to profit from public water sources even though water privatization has been an epic failure in Latin America, Southeast Asia, North America, Africa and everywhere else it's been tried. But don't tell that to controversial loan-sharks at the World Bank. Last month, its private-sector funding arm International Finance Corporation (IFC) quietly dropped a cool 100 million euros ($139 million US) on Veolia Voda, the Eastern European subsidiary of Veolia, the world's largest private water corporation. Its latest target? Privatization of Eastern Europe's water resources. [...]"  

World Politics: PressTV - Brazil election and decline of US power in Latin America [11/03/10] "The election of Ms. Dilma Rousseff as Brazil's president will launch a new era in the decline of the impact of US presence in geostrategic Latin America. In the election run-off, 62-year-old Dilma Rousseff from the Brazilian Labor Party defeated her rival Jose Serra from the Social Democrat Party with 56 percent of the vote. This election proved Latin American countries that for decades were under the influence of the colonizing policies of the US are now moving toward complete national independence and avoidance of following US policies. The rough history of the Latin American continent is replete with freedom movements mostly with anti-colonizing and independence-seeking natures. The coup against the elected government of former Chilean President Dr. Salvadore Allende orchestrated by the country's US-backed army can be considered as a symbol of US intervention to avoid seeing elected governments on this continent. The coup that was staged following efforts by Salvadore Allende to nationalize Chilean natural resources and cut US hands off from such resources made Latin American nations more determined to resist the neo-colonizers of America. The aftermath of the events of the recent decade in Latin America proved that the continent no more tends to act as the US backyard. [...]"    

 Trends: U.K., France to pool defense assets, share costs [11/02/10] "French President Nicolas Sarkozy (left) and British Prime Minister David Cameron pose for photographers ahead of an Anglo-French summit at Lancaster House in London on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010.  [...]"   

Seeing Red: US slams China in major smear campaign [11/02/10] [3:49]  "China's emergence as a major economic superpower has raised concern among policymakers in Washington. They fear Beijing's rise could result in a U.S. fall. But the trade wars between the two have some experts saying that America is out to bankrupt China's rising economy. [...]"  

U.S. And NATO Drag Asia Into Afghan Quagmire [11/01/10] "On October 7 the American and North Atlantic Treaty Organization war in Afghanistan entered its tenth year and in slightly over two months will be in its eleventh calendar year. There are currently more than 150,000 foreign troops in the nation and the number is steadily rising. As examples, this February Germany raised its troop numbers in Afghanistan from 4,500 to a post-World War Two overseas high of 5,350. Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa recently pledged 1,200 more troops for the war, bringing the nation’s total to 4,000, during a meeting with commander of all U.S. and NATO forces General David Petraeus. This month Italy also announced it was sending three new military helicopters to the war theater and La Russa stated that he was considering authorizing bombings by Italian fighter jets in Afghanistan. [...]"   

Commentary: "The Police State Is Doomed" by Gary North [11/01/10] "I am perceived by many readers as a pessimist. I am not a pessimist. I am an optimist beyond your wildest imagination. I am an eschatological postmillennialist. There are not many of us. I am also a believer in the free market social order – not just in its superiority in theory, but in its inevitable triumph in history. I believe that Leonard E. Read's book title is correct: Then Truth Will Out. I am not an optimist with respect to the pathway between here and there. Big Brother lurks in the state-maintained shrubbery of the pathway. When a pride of lions is waiting patiently in the tall grass for zebras, some zebras are going to get eaten. When we think "bureaucrats," we should think "lions." We are zebras. There will be losses. But the lions are getting old. They don't run as fast these days. Zebras are multiplying. Think "China." Think "Russia." Then think back to Mao and Stalin. If those two concentration camps could collapse without armed resistance or a lost war, don't tell me about the inevitability of tyranny.  Lincoln Steffens visited the Soviet Union in 1921 and returned to say, "I have been over into the future, and it works." No, it didn't. Neither do the mini-despotisms of the various Keynesian utopias. Their employees will not receive those pensions after all. Our thinking regarding the modern police states has been shaped by literary masterpieces. The most famous ones are 1984, written by an anti-Communist socialist, and Animal Farm, also written by him, and Brave New World, written by the socialist's French instructor at Eton: Aldous Huxley. There is a far better novel about the police state: That Hideous Strength: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups. It was published in 1945. C. S. Lewis wrote it. I commend it to you. I re-read it every few years – one of two novels I re-read. (The other is Good Omens.) I first read it in the spring of 1964, beginning about four months after the deaths of Lewis, Huxley, and Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Lewis saw where we were headed in 1945. He also saw how it would end: the scattering of the empire-builders. The positive utopias of the good society in literature were utopias of centrally planned states. No one has written them in a century. The dystopias are also centrally planned states. They reflect modern men's declining faith in the healing powers of science as implemented by the state. The power of science is seen as unstoppable.  In the hands of bureaucrats, [...]"   

Commentary: "The Insane Prelude to the Corporate Takeover of the Planet" [11/01/10] "The planning for the days of the Unites States asserting itself comfortably as the lone global power, influencing trade, resources, and living conditions all over the world, is anything but recent history. Still, you often read words implying that the U.S. began its serious role as the Predator of other nations’ resources, altering their way of life and taking over the running of their economies, after the end of the old colonialist era. The arrogant U.S. takeover of nations became institutionalized with the PNAC(2) conspiracy, which made their openly imperial ambitions known to the whole world.  The underground mafia that began its devilish scheming during the reign of the Hollywood actor president with the friendly people’s smile, was doing its secret planning for the century to come. The man with the smile was the label man who was covering up the cold calculations of the think tank that was going to twist the world into obedience, with money or with bombs. What the U.S. couldn’t buy up or steer into their own galaxy, they figured they could always get at with military might. The Project for A New American Century was certainly a clear signal to the world that ‘Here we come – throw away your hand plows. We are bringing you the real tools to dig up the goods and to teach you how to live the good life.’ That was the open message. What it actually stood for was just plain greed and determination to own the world. Nothing less.  After this presumptuous beginning of taking over the world had gotten under way – in modern times taking a good head start during the Reagan era – living conditions in the countries concerned just went down and down. Human rights as well as justice and equality in general deteriorated badly. However, conscientious planning by the U.S. imperialists began long before the era we usually call the neoliberal era. While the focus is now on trade and multi-national corporatism, it was, in the previous decades, rather on geopolitical domination. [...]"   

Commentary: "Election 2010: If You Take It Seriously, You Are Too Crazy To Vote"  Gordon Duff [10/31/10] "America is now approaching the worst election in its history and it doesn’t even involve a presidency. Campaign ads are ridden with lies, smears and the clear signs of a social meltdown. When the Supreme Court opened the door to allowing laundered drug money to buy American elections, I knew it was coming. Yes, any drug baron with an account in the Cayman Islands and a lawyer in Delaware can buy a seat in congress, can and are. Organized crime has now replaced phony religion as the primary political force in the United States.  What is the election really about? Drug money, pure and simple, not “corporate” but “crime,” has bought race after race in the current election. If our Tea Party/Republican alliance gets in, the borders will open, Wall Street will start the mortgage games again, gas will hit $6 bucks, a new terrorist attack, a 9/11 will mysteriously occur, we will reinstate the draft and invade Iran. This is what it is about, pure and simple. America is being played. If “they” pull it off, it will be proof that America is clearly too stupid to survive.  [...]  What are the real issues? 1. Stop the wars, all of them, bring all our troops home to defend our own borders, end of story. 2. Jail our financial criminals, all of them and everyone in government who helped them. Secure our future by enforcing our laws. 3. End all foreign influence in government, Israel, China and the corporations that claim to be American but are owned by foreigners that hate our guts. 4. Restore democracy by getting rid of the Supreme Court justices that think they can make up any law they want and spit on the constitution. Scalia, Roberts and Thomas have enough dirt on them to be impeached in a New York minute. Then, let the American people decide who replaces them, not Israel, not Wall Street and certainly not a pack of thieving lawyers and politicians. 5. Immediately disband the CIA and Homeland Security. These two groups exist with no purpose other than to perpetuate threats against America. They are the disease, not the problem. The CIA proved, back in 2003, that they are liars and cheats. Nothing has changed since. These groups hate democracy, hate freedom, eat money and do nothing but find new enemies for America, proven over and over enemies that wouldn’t exist without them. 6. Immediate term limits for congress, end the current seniority/committee system and flush Washington clean of lobbyists. A criminal conspiracy is running America, at least it can be a smaller and more efficient one! 7. Restore respect for “right and wrong,” real morality which is based on accepting fact, honoring truth, honesty, hard work and decency. For decades, petty conspirators, just like the ones we see on TV every day, have taken control, not just of the secret world of spies and wars but our news, what our children are taught in school and, shamefully, what most of us have come to accept as “real.” [...]"  Note: Yeah, if things on this planet were different and 'real' could be taken as the basis for the evolution of a society, minus the sequential predispositions and the sequentials themselves, it would matter, but then again, it wouldn't be as 'exciting' or 'interesting' for us.

Commentary: Missing Nukes from the US Air Force: "Treason of the Highest Order" [10/30/10] "On October 27, 2010, a computer failure emerged at the FE Warren Air force Base in Wyoming. “Mr President we’ve lost control of FIFTY nuclear warheads” “Pentagon chiefs were stunned to discover that a U.S. air force base had lost control of 50 nuclear, inter- continental missiles. A power failure meant that one-ninth of America’s nuclear arsenal went offline for three-quarters of an hour, it emerged yesterday. Minuteman missile: Computer breakdown meant the U.S. Air Force lost control for 45 minutes. As multiple error codes appeared on the computer control system at FE Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, the Minuteman III missiles went into ‘LF Down’ status, which meant that officers were unable to communicate with them. [...] This is not the first time there is a “glitch” in the control over America’s nuclear arsenal. Invariably, these failures are not reported. A far more serious incident emerged in August 2007. As documented by CRG Research Associate Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, several nuclear warheads actually disappeared. In total there were six W80-1 nuclear warheads armed on AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missiles (ACMs) that were “lost.”"  Note:  Look on the Sequential Adventurism panel for the story about  Air Force personnel testifying about UFO's flying over nuke bases and neutralizing the weapons. Is there a relationship with this?  

 Commentary: Robert Reich (Halliburton and the Upcoming Election) [10/30/10] "Next Tuesday Americans will be deciding whether to hand over even more of our government to corporations that have been plundering America – such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, Wellpoint insurance, Massey Energy, and Halliburton, the giant oil services company. Not every large corporation is irresponsible, of course, but plunderers that get away with it gain a competitive advantage over the more responsible, and thereby lead a race to the bottom. Case in point:  [...]"    

Commentary: The US Federal Reserve is fuelling the catastrophe of fast rising raw material prices [10/29/10] "The answer to this question, according to a recent OECD and UN Food and Agriculture Organisation report is a definitive no; global agricultural production is on track to satisfy the expected long-term increase in demand, the OECD reckons. Yet it's little thanks to public policy, which in combination with the current craze among financial speculators for commodities, seems hell bent on driving up prices to what for millions of the world's poor may be starvation levels. There are two main ways in which policymakers are insidiously interfering with the usual rules of supply and demand for raw materials, and myriad different smaller ones. We'll leave aside the smaller ones, such as China's attempt to leverage its monopoly of rare earth metals for geo-political purposes, and concentrate instead on the two biggies. One is the policy of ultra-cheap money in advanced economies to fight the economic crisis; and the other, more commodity-specific one, is massive public subsidy for the production of bio-fuels. Food is being elbowed out by pursuit of "clean fuel". As long as the US Federal Reserve remains accommodative, commodity prices are likely to keep rising. We are not yet back to anything like the extremes seen in the bubble of 2007/8. Oil prices at $140 a barrel, it will be recalled, were what helped tip the world economy into recession. Yet by long-run historic standards, both food and mineral prices are still exceptionally elevated and going higher. The underlying reasons are well known. Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation in the developing world has created a "super-cycle" that won't ease until these countries bump up against the limits of their growth potential. Most would agree there's some way to go. Into this already troubling mis-match between growing demand and finite supply stumbles the US Fed with a loose money policy of unprecedented proportions. [...]"   

Investigations: Federal Inspectors Clueless About Cementing, Oil Spill Panel Finds [10/29/10] "Yesterday the government's oil spill panel released a letter alleging that Halliburton knew of potential flaws in its cement prior to the Deepwater Horizon blowout. That same spill commission, in a little-noticed report by the New Orleans Times-Picayune, had earlier this week criticized government inspectors for their lack of knowledge about how to safely cement an offshore well. "When we asked about cementing and centralizers, they said very freely, 'We don't know about that stuff; we have to trust the companies,'" the commission’s co-chairman, William Reilly, told the Times-Picayune. "All they get is on-the-job training. It really is fairly startling, considering how sophisticated the industry has become.” [...]"  Related: Halliburton failed critical test not done on cement before blowout   "Halliburton Co. acknowledged that it skipped a critical test on the final formulation of cement used to seal BP's oil well before it blew out catastrophically in the Gulf of Mexico. The company, which was BP's cementing contractor, came under increased scrutiny when investigators from the president's oil spill commission revealed Thursday that tests performed by the company before the deadly blowout showed the cement to be unstable. Halliburton in a statement issued late Thursday night said it did not conduct a stability test on the final mix of cement after a last-minute change by BP added more of a certain ingredient. Earlier statements by the company had said tests showed the cement to be stable. The cement mix's failure to prevent oil and gas from entering the well has been identified by BP and others as one of the causes of the accident, the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. BP and Halliburton decided to use a foam slurry created by injecting nitrogen into cement to secure the bottom of the well, a decision outside experts have criticized. [...]"  

Leaked Memo Depicts Bare-Bones Regulatory Environment for NY Gas Drilling [10/28/10] "The leaked memo (PDF) that led to the dismissal of New York's top environmental official last week depicts a severely understaffed agency that has struggled to adequately perform its duties over the past two years and is ill-equipped to supervise natural gas drilling. "All of the meat has been snipped free of the bones, and some of the bones have disappeared," wrote Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis in the memo. "Many of our programs are hanging by a thread."  The Albany Times Union reported on the internal memo last Tuesday. Grannis was dismissed by Gov. David Paterson two days later. In the aftermath, environmental groups are rallying behind Grannis, and gas drilling companies are calling for a better-financed DEC that can more effectively regulate drilling in the Marcellus Shale. The memo, which responded to a request from the governor's budget division that the DEC cut 209 people from its staff by the end of the year, described an agency that is "in the weakest position it has been since it was created 40 years ago." "The public would be shocked to learn how thin we are in many areas," Grannis wrote. "The risks to human health ... have already increased with respect to enforcement activities related to pollution sources. ... We are now responding to and cleaning up fewer petroleum spills." [...]"  Related: Tapping natural gas could unleash uranium  " Plans to tap one of the largest sources of natural gas in the United States could release naturally trapped uranium into the environment, researchers say. [...]"   

9/11 Cover up? Standard Controlled Demolition or Possible Micro Nukes? [10/27/10] "On 9/11 there is no doubt that multiple bombs were detonated in the WTC complex. This fact can not be disputed and is clearly documented by thousands of videos and backed up by many eye witness testimonies. Micro nukes or suitcase nukes have been around since the 1950′s. Multiple test have been conducted with micro nukes by our government within the United States. As a result, fully detailed plans to demo large buildings have been drawn up.  A man by the name of Dr. Ed Ward has documented the use of micro-nukes on the World Trade Center complex attack that took place in September of 2001. [...]"  See the "9/11" link at the top of this panel for the rest of this story and videos, as well as related stories.

Australia: Victorian government covers up desalination plant costs [10/27/10] "The multi-billion-dollar desalination project—the largest in the southern hemisphere— involves the transfer of vast sums of money to the private sector. With the Victorian state election looming on November 27, the Labor government of Premier John Brumby is deliberately hiding the huge costs and potential social impact of its private public partnership (PPP) deal with the AquaSure consortium for a water desalination plant now under construction near the town of Wonthaggi. The Brumby government claims that the $5.1 billion plant—the largest in the southern hemisphere—will help make Victoria “drought proof”. The PPP deal, however, has little to do with providing adequate water supplies to local consumers. Instead, it involves the transfer of large sums of money to the private sector. AquaSure, comprising Suez Environment, Macquarie Capital and Thiess Degremont, will reap the profits from the project. Once completed, the facility will become an integral part of the privatisation of Victoria’s water system, supplying water via a series of existing and proposed pipelines to the highest regional bidders in a future water market. With the cost of the plant blowing out, and growing concerns over environmental damage, high-running costs and predicted water price hikes, Brumby and his ministers are determined to prevent public scrutiny of the deal. [...]" Related:  Small Australian towns face devastation under river “rescue plan” "Small farmers and business owners reliant on irrigation from the Murray-Darling river system have reacted angrily to a government report recommending major cuts to water allocation. [...]"  

"Karzai: Blackwater behind terrorism" [10/26/10] "Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said US private security firms, including Xe Services LLC, formerly known as Blackwater, are being behind terrorism in the country. At a press conference in Kabul, Karzai said that US security companies have been behind explosions that have claimed the lives of women and children. The Afghan president added that they have caused "blasts and terrorism" in different parts of Afghanistan over the past months. The Afghan president said his administration cannot even distinguish between the bomb blasts carried out by US security firms and those of the Taliban militants. "In fact we don't yet know how many of these blasts are by Taliban and how many are carried out by them (US security companies)." [...]"  Note: At some point, the 'Afghaniscam' will collapse. It would be interesting to observe.   Related:  "US government wary about Iranian payments to Karzai aides"  Note:  Now, that's a real piece of bullshit propaganda, considering all that has gone on between the US and Karzai, what with the poppy harvests ... Billions of dollars given to the Afghan 'government'.

Report:  ‘People Now Dropping Dead’ In the Gulf [10/25/10] [9:28]   "Reports are circulating of deaths, along with people finding VOC’s in their blood stream along with high levels of other toxins. The reports also include dizziness and typical symptoms from chemical exposure. Unfortunately the regions economy was devastated along with the local fishing industry. People have been loosing their medical insurance and more as they are overwhelmed with financial and toxic doom. Groups such as Project Gulf Impact and even some law firms are extending a helping hand to people in need. One of the most unreported cases of murder, corruption and poisoning is taking place and being carried out right here on American soil before our very own eyes as the sleeping masses escape reality due to corporate media control. [...]" See the "Oil & Gas" link at the top of this panel for related stories.

Ernst Zundel interviewed by Jeff Rense [10/25/10] [9:57]  " First Radio Interview Since His Release From Prison [...]" Note: Part 2 [9:56]|Part 3 [9:59]|Part 4 [9:31]

LaRouche: "Obama's Genocide Strikes Haiti; U.S. May be Next" [10/24/10] "As a deadly cholera epidemic, Haiti's first in a century, raged ever-closer to the unsanitary and filthy "temporary" camps of 1.3 million earthquake refugees in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince, Lyndon LaRouche said today that, "I warned that this Administration's policy towards Haiti would lead precisely towards this sort of outbreak, and it has now done that. [...]"   

Global Research: "Globalization and Militarization: The Root Causes of the Worldwide War against Humanity" [10/23/10] "The following text was first presented to the International Physicians for prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) Conference, Delhi, March 10, 2008. “There will be no peace. At any given moment for the rest of our lives ; there will be multiple conflicts in mutating forms around the globe…violent conflicts will dominate the headlines……” A ‘perpetual war for perpetual peace’ …’ Wolfowitz and Perle in the preamble of the draft of the ‘Project for the New American Century’ in the heady days in 1992,when the Soviet Union had been subverted at its very top. The ‘ New World Order’ demands the control and seizure of oil and mineral resources and markets of every country by military force or through proxy governments and comprador elites, camouflaged as ‘ Globalisation’; preceded by subversion of targeted countries. Hence the new colonial project is unprecedented on a historical scale within countries and societies,and overseas. The leader of one of the earliest movements to understand this militarized ‘New World Order’, Subcomandante Marcos the leader of the Zaptista movement in Mexico, declared in relation to NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement that neoliberal globalisation was a “ world war waged by financial power (oligarchies) against humanity” and the expression of the worldwide crisis of capitalism and not its success. On 19 October 2001, US Vice President Cheney, stated that the “New war may never end. At least not in our life time. The way I think of it, it’s a new normalcy”.  [...]"   

 Analysis:  “150,000 troops eliminate mere 0.2 per cent of drug production in Afghanistan” [10/23/10] "Afghans are practically left to deal with drug problem on their own, says Russia’s drug control chief, Viktor Ivanov. It should be noted that the entire volume of illicit drug production in Afghanistan is estimated at $65 billion. So we can see that the Taliban's share in the entire output is only 0.2 per cent. Thus obviously it’s not the main producer. However, the international security forces say that they will eliminate only those drug production sites and facilities which are related to the Taliban. In other words, all the 150,000 military personnel will be employed in eliminating a mere 0.2 per cent of the total illicit drug production. And it's suggested that the remaining 99.8 per cent is to be taken care of by the Afghan authorities. [...]"    

Commentary: Six Months Later, an Oil Disaster Spreads Across the Gulf [10/23/10] "For six months, I have lived and worked near ground zero of the worst oil disaster in US history. I've traveled on boats hunting thick, reddish peanut butter-colored crude that slowly washed towards the coastal marshes of southern Louisiana. I watched tough, resourceful people of the bayou weep at the sight of the oily tide invading precious fishing grounds. [...]"  See the "Oil&Gas" link at the top of this panel for related stories.

Australia: "Herald Sun Poll: 65% Agree that the Official 9/11 Story does not Stand up to Scientific Scrutiny" [10/23/10] "A Herald sun poll is showing that over 65% of respondents agree with Union leader Kevin Bracken's view that the official explanation of 9/11 does not stand up to scientific scrutiny. Radio host John Faine previously attacked Bracken's views on air over two days, describing him as a nutter and an extremist, and stating that his views were "offensive". In Parliament on Wednesday Australian PM Julia Gillard stated that Bracken's views were "stupid and wrong". [...]"  See the "9/11" link at the top of this panel for related stories.

"A cholera outbreak brought to Haiti by relief workers or UN Troops" [10/22/10] "The Al Jazeera news article republished below, reports 135 people have died and 1,500 have been hospitalized due to the outbreak of a "deadly disease" suspected to be cholera. It is yet another tragedy resulting from 10 months of massive failures by the international response to Haiti's January earthquake.... [...]"   See the "Haiti" link at the top of this panel for related stories.

Commentary: "Neo-Luddism – a sane voice in a world gone mad?" [10/22/10] "The Luddite movement of the early 1800s was a rebellion against technological and social change against a backdrop of extreme hardship caused by the Napoleonic wars, although the acts of destruction strongly associated with Luddism began in the previous century.  At the dawn of the industrial revolution the textile industry was huge in England and had been so since the time of the Tudors so the effects of change were widely felt. It was a time of higher taxation to support war against France and so the introduction of automatic looms, which hugely affected skilled weavers, particularly in northern England, was extremely unpopular to say the least. Mechanization allowed mill owners to employ less people and also replace skilled workers with lower paid unskilled workers.  This led to mass rebellion in 1811-1812, which had to be put down by the British Army and resulted in large-scale executions and forced emigrations to the penal colonies in Australasia. There have been various uprisings of the last two hundred years but none so serious or so seriously dealt with as the Luddites (named after Ned Ludd). Even now ‘Luddite’ is a term still in common usage despite their desperate failure and two centuries having passed.  However, we now find ourselves in a situation not so different from the predicament of the Luddites – the poor continue to be pressurized to pay for a seemingly endless ‘War on Terror’ coupled with the grave errors of the world financial industry. As taxation and cost of living takes it toll on ordinary people we, like the Luddites, are not well equipped to cope with the effects of both Globalization and increasing automation taking jobs away. I [...]"  Note: Sequential predispositions for technological control of others and global control can be annoying and problematic.

  "The Secrets of Scientology" [10/22/10] 4 Video clips  "This is a very disturbing video documentary for the BBC programme Panorama, by reporter John Sweeney. BBC reporter John Sweeney’s last investigation into the Church of Scientology resulted in an explosive confrontation with church officials. This time, in a Panorama Special, one of those officials has turned whistle blower to help him reveal the dark secrets of the church, which boasts Hollywood A-listers Tom Cruise and John Travolta among its devotees. There were no histrionics from John Sweeney this time but a second look at Scientology underlined the insidious aspects of the controversial organization. As Sweeney delved into L Ron Hubbard’s mysterious pseudo religion and found himself hounded and harassed, the group’s continued denial that it is a cult seemed laughable. This is a so-called church, yet so much of its treatment of non-believers smacks of paranoia, notably the revelation that Sweeney’s 2007 ‘exploding tomato’ impression was encouraged. Flashbacks to his previous investigation were overused and there was no scene capable of reaching the infamy of his red-faced screaming fit. But with former ‘church’ spokesman Mike Rinder at Sweeney’s side, the lengths to which the religion of the stars will go to discredit its critics – including dividing families – became horribly clear. [...]"  Note: Scientology's premises focus on sequential matters ... past lives ... problems from the past lives ... becoming 'clear' ...

"'Al-Qaeda' Is A Front Group For The US Military-Industrial Complex" [10/22/10] "American-born Al-Qaeda terror leader Anwar Al-Awlaki, who met with Pentagon officials months after 9/11, is by no means the only patsy handler the Central Intelligence Agency has used over the years to oversee false flag attacks in America and around the world. In fact, just about every major terror attack has been run by an operative with direct ties to the US military-industrial complex. As we reported this morning, Awlaki, the man who helped plot the aborted Christmas Day bombing, the Fort Hood shooting, the Times Square bombing attempt, and who also preached to the alleged September 11 hijackers, dined at the Pentagon just months after 9/11 documents obtained by Fox News show. Awlaki is just the latest in a long list of Al-Qaeda double agents whose activity proves that the terror organization is little more than a front for the Pentagon and the US war machine. Let’s take a look at just a handful of dozens of examples of terror masterminds working for intelligence agencies. [...]"   

Justices Scalia And Thomas's Attendance At Koch Event Sparks Judicial Ethics Debate [10/21/10] "Reports that two Supreme Court Justices have attended seminars sponsored by the energy giant and conservative bankroller Koch Industries has sparked a mild debate over judicial ethics. On Tuesday evening, the New York Times reported that an upcoming meeting in Palm Springs of "a secretive network of Republican donors" that was being organized by Koch Industries, "the longtime underwriter of libertarian causes." Buried in the third to last graph was a note that previous guests at such meetings included Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, two of the more conservative members of the bench. It's not rare for a Justice to attend a seminar sponsored by a group with judicial or political interests. Members of the court, for instances, often speak at academic institutions or think tanks. Virtually all companies, meanwhile, are affected by the judicial branch. So long as Scalia and Thomas did not participate in overt partisan activities, there would be no apparent conflict of interest.  [...]"  Related: US Politics: Secretive Republican Donors Are Planning Ahead [10/20/10] "Koch Industries, the longtime underwriter of libertarian causes from the Cato Institute in Washington to the ballot initiative that would suspend California’s landmark law capping greenhouse gases, is planning a confidential meeting at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa to, as an invitation says, “develop strategies to counter the most severe threats facing our free society and outline a vision of how we can foster a renewal of American free enterprise and prosperity.” The invitation, sent to potential new participants, offers a rare peek at the Koch network of the ultrawealthy and the politically well-connected, its far-reaching agenda to enlist ordinary Americans to its cause, and its desire for the utmost secrecy. Koch Industries, a Wichita-based energy and manufacturing conglomerate run by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, operates a foundation that finances political advocacy groups, but tax law protects those groups from having to disclose much about what they do and who contributes.  [...]  Charles Koch, whose wealth Forbes magazine calculates at about $21.5 billion, argues in his letter that “prosperity is under attack by the current administration and many of our elected officials.” He repeatedly warns about the “internal assault” and “unrelenting attacks” on freedom and prosperity. A brochure with the invitation underscores that to the Koch network, “freedom” means freedom from taxes and government regulation. Mr. Koch warns of policies that “threaten to erode our economic freedom and transfer vast sums of money to the state.” The Kochs insist on strict confidentiality surrounding the California meetings, which are entitled “Understanding and Addressing Threats to American Free Enterprise and Prosperity.” The letter advises participants that it is closed to the public, including the news media, and admonishes them not to post updates or information about the meeting on the Web, blogs, social media or traditional media, and to “be mindful of the security and confidentiality of your meeting notes and materials. [...] " 

Sarkozy and Merkel: "We need a new EU treaty" [10/20/10] "Following a meeting in France, the French President threw his weight behind calls from the German Chancellor for changes to the Lisbon Treaty in order to prevent future government debt crises threatening the euro zone. The move is a serious setback for David Cameron because he has opposed any fresh EU institutional changes and recently renewed his "referendum lock" pledge to hold a popular vote on any future treaty that passes new powers to Brussels. In a joint statement with Chancellor Merkel, President Sarkozy proposed revisions to the EU treaty in order to bring in tough sanctions against countries that threatened the euro's stability by running high levels of government debt and to set up permanent EU bail-out fund. "Germany and France together will put forward a revision to the treaties so that political sanctions can be made and for support mechanisms to be made ongoing in order to ensure the financial stability of the euro zone," he said. [...]"   

UK: "Trades Hall president Kevin Bracken calls 9/11 'conspiracy'" [10/20/10] "The president of the Victorian Trades Hall has sparked outrage after controversially claiming the September 11 2001 World Trade Centre attacks were a conspiracy, not the result of terrorist activity. Kevin Bracken, who is also the secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia, sparked a flood of angry calls after calling into ABC talk-back host Jon Faine's program this morning. "I believe the official story is a conspiracy theory that doesn't stand up to scientific scrutiny," Mr Bracken said.  "In my mind the buildings were imploded." [...]"  Related:  "Australian PM blasts 'stupid' 9/11 conspiracy comment"  "Prime Minister Julia Gillard has lambasted as "stupid" comments from the president of the Victorian Trades Hall Council that the September 11 attacks were an "inside job". President of the Victorian Trades Hall Council Kevin Bracken told ABC Radio the 2001 attacks on the United States were not properly understood. "In my mind the buildings were imploded," Mr Bracken said today. "Aviation fuel doesn't get hot enough to melt steel and no high rise steel frame building before or after September 11 has ever collapsed due to fire." [...]"  Australian prime minister commits to Afghanistan war for next ten years   "Opening a parliamentary debate yesterday, Julia Gillard declared that Australian forces, working with their US and NATO allies, would maintain operations in Afghanistan for at least the next decade. [...]"  Note: Stupid sequentials, like robots with "wind-up keys" in their backs, compulsively doing the same shit, over and over again.

Update: China denies cuts in rare earth exports [10/20/10] "China denied on Wednesday that it has made further cuts to export quotas of rare earth minerals.  [...]"Related:  China Said to Widen Embargo of Minerals  "China, which has been blocking shipments of crucial minerals to Japan for the last month, has now quietly halted some shipments of those materials to the United States and Europe, three industry officials said this week. The Chinese action, involving rare earth minerals that are crucial to manufacturing many advanced products, seems certain to further intensify already rising trade and currency tensions with the West. Until recently, China typically sought quick and quiet accommodations on trade issues. But the interruption in rare earth supplies is the latest sign from Beijing that Chinese leaders are willing to use their growing economic muscle. “The embargo is expanding” beyond Japan, said one of the three rare earth industry officials, all of whom insisted on anonymity for fear of business retaliation by Chinese authorities. They said Chinese customs officials imposed the broader restrictions on Monday morning, hours after a top Chinese official summoned international news media Sunday night to denounce United States trade actions. [...]"   China reins in rare earth exports  [10/20/10]  "China could cut rare earth exports by up to 30 per cent next year, state media said on Tuesday, in a move that will heighten global concerns about the country’s monopoly over the critical minerals. ...  [...]"  Note:  China Rare Earth Holdings Limited ("CRE") (formerly known as Yixing Xinwei Holdings Limited) is one of the leading and well-respected rare earth and refractory products manufacturers in the Peoples' Republic of China ("PRC"). The Group has been listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited since 15 October 1999. It is the first Chinese private enterprise which engages in the manufacture of rare earth and refractory products listing outside the Chinese mainland.  China Halts Shipments to U.S. of Tech-Crucial Minerals 

Yemen reports oil reserves of 11.9B barrels [10/19/10] "Yemen's oil reserves are estimated at 11.9 billion barrels of oil, a government agency said Tuesday.   [...]"  Note: So that's one of the main reasons this tiny country is in play. Notice how UPI publishes this story with 'reserves' spelled wrong in the title. Sloppy work.

9/11 Flight Paths & Stewart Air Base [10/18/10] "What happened at 8:36am on 9/11/01?  American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were the two airplanes that hit the World Trade Center Towers, on September 11th, 2001. The 9/11 Commission Report published the flight paths of both airplanes. The flight paths originate from Boston, and cross paths once before their paths meet again in New York City. When comparing the flight paths, it shows the unique location both planes passed on their way to New York City... Directly From USA Today: The two hijacked jets that demolished the World Trade Center nearly crashed into each other while heading to their target, according to a Federal Aviation Administration employee at a regional control center. “The two aircraft got too close to each other down by Stewart” International Airport in New Windsor, N.Y., about 55 miles north of New York City, the employee told The Telegraph of Nashua. [...]"   See: "9/11" link at the top of this panel for related articles.

 Commentary: "The State Versus the Internet" by Paul Rosenberg [10/18/10] "The power of the state has always rested on two pillars: Force and legitimacy. The Internet subverts them both. As for force, think about encrypted commerce, as for legitimacy (the more important part), think about the following: * It used to be that 98% of all news came out of two zip codes in Manhattan, produced by a more or less homogenous group of people. Now, it comes from everywhere. “Guys in pajamas” brought down the mighty Dan Rather. * When I began to wander among liberty people, not too many decades ago, the people who “got it” were mostly hyper-studious types in the largest American cities. Now they are found almost everywhere.  * Events are recorded and can be verified across the globe in moments. The life-span of bad information is collapsing, and plenty of what used to be easy manipulation with it.  * People are able to test their wild ideas in anonymous public conversations, shielded from shame. As a result, those ideas are improved, very many of which would never have been exposed without a protected place to speak from. * Collective identities and animosities (“those people are monsters; we must fight!”) are collapsing as separated groups of people get to know each other via world-wide, nearly-free communication. ....  This is all the result of the Internet, and all of it undermines the sanctity and urgency of the state. And since the operators of states are not stupid, they understand the threat and are moving aggressively to conquer the Internet. The First Steps: ... [...]" Flashback: Australian Government To Force Internet Users To Install State-Approved Software June 2010.

Concepts and Practices: List of cognitive biases [10/18/10] "Bias is a term used to describe a tendency or preference towards a particular perspective, ideology or result, when the tendency interferes with the ability to be impartial, unprejudiced, or objective. In other words, bias is generally seen as a 'one-sided' perspective. The term biased refers to a person or group who is judged to exhibit bias. It is used to describe an attitude, judgment, or behavior that is influenced by a prejudice. Bias can be unconscious or conscious in awareness. Having a bias is part of a normal development. Labeling someone as biased in some regard implies they need a greater or more flexible perspective in that area, or that they need to consider more deeply the context. [...]. In psychology, cognitive bias is bias based on factors related to the brain as an information processor. One type of cognitive bias is confirmation bias, the tendency to interpret new information in such a way that confirms one's prior beliefs, even to the extreme of denial, ignoring information that conflicts with one's prior beliefs. The fundamental attribution error, also known as "correspondence bias", is one example of such bias, in which people tend to explain others' behavior in terms of personality, whereas they tend to explain their own behavior in terms of the situation  [...].. A cognitive bias is a pattern of deviation in judgment that occurs in particular situations (see also cognitive distortion and the lists of thinking- related topics) [...] Cognitive biases are instances of evolved mental behavior. Some are presumably adaptive, for example, because they lead to more effective actions or enable faster decisions. Others presumably result from a lack of appropriate mental mechanisms, or from the misapplication of a mechanism that is adaptive under different circumstances. [...]"  Note:  Decision-making and behavioral biases, Biases in probability and belief, Social biases, Memory errors, Common theoretical causes of some cognitive biases, and more.   Biases are studied for how they affect belief formation, business decisions, and scientific research.

Alex Jones Special Interviews:  Paul Craig Roberts: "Decline of The American Empire" [10/17/10] [14:40]  Note: Speaks about police preparing for "shootout" with Americans. The bit about the shootout begins at 9:07 on the video. Part 2 [14:28]| Part 3 [4:24]| 

RSA-Animate Mini-Lectures:  "The Secret Powers of Time"  [10/17/10] [10:09] "Professor Philip Zimbardo conveys how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health and well-being. Time influences who we are as a person, how we view relationships and how we act in the world.  Some cultures on the planet focus on the past, present or future ... it makes for an interesting mix.  Note:  Always thought-provoking and interesting, relative to the major cultural realities on Earth.

Historical Research: "The 1930's Morgan Fascist Coup Plot and How FDR Defeated It" [10/16/10] "Some 12 years ago, this news service published a report on the 1930s fascist coup plot against the Franklin D. Roosevelt government, led by a Morgan-centered cabal of powerful financial interests; the coup would have replaced FDR with a puppet government whose policies would be controlled by a cabal of wealthy financial plutocrats. As the report made clear, the intention of the conspirators was to use the anarchy and chaos produced by the coup, to eliminate for all time the threat to their power represented by the U.S. Presidency and U.S. Constitution. Today, we are faced with the same intention by the heirs of that cabal of fascist bankers, who now control most of the Executive branch of the U.S. government and who have, through their agents such as Felix Rohatyn, attempted to emasculate the Democratic opposition. They now seek to impose a fascist government that Democratic leader Lyndon LaRouche has warned would be "Schacht without Hitler" - a brutal austerity government without the overt "messy" characteristics of the Hitler regime.[1] In the intervening dozen years, our research has more accurately located the Morgan coup plot as part of the broader push for a fascist world order, as promoted by the Nazi-supporting, Synarchist networks of this cabal. The destruction of the U.S. constitutional system was a critical feature of this push for fascism. Their efforts came close to succeeding and might have, had it not been for the courage of America's then-most decorated officer, Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Smedley Darlington Butler, and the extraordinary political leadership of FDR himself. While Butler exposed the plot, FDR and his allies waged war against the power of the private investment banks that sponsored fascism at home and abroad, seeking to curb their power, and placing the sovereign power of the U.S. government and Constitution over them. In asserting that all economic policy must serve the constitutionally mandated principle of the General Welfare, FDR put the nation on a pathway out of the chaos and pessimism that served as the breeding grounds for fascist coup plotters. while laying the economic and moral foundation for the direct military battle with the bankers' fascist golem in Europe in World War II. [...]"    

Online Book: "Capitalism, Bane To Freedom & Security" [10/16/10] PDF 1994 "There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing economic basis of a society than to debauch (corrupt) its government's legal tender currency with a "bank-money substitute", reconditely injected into circulation by means of checks. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of creeping socio-economic destruction, and does it in manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose. [...]"    

Haitians Protest UN ‘Occupation’ [10/15/10] "A crowd of about 100 protesters has blocked the entrance to the UN military headquarters in Haiti, spraying anti-UN slogans on vehicles and carrying banners saying “Down with the occupation!” while news comes that UN peacekeeping forces will remain in the beleaguered country for an additional year. Protesters loudly criticized the UN peacekeeping operation, as well as the administration of Haitian president Rene Preval, for its failure to protect ordinary persons. Additionally, critics have been egged on by an Associated Press investigation that determined that none of the $1.15 billion in reconstruction funding promised by the US has arrived. [...]"   

Backdoor Draft Winding Down -- For Now [10/14/10] "Over the nine years and counting that the United States has been at war, about 145,000 members of the military have had their service extended against their will. About 4,000 are still serving involuntarily, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon's "stop-loss" authority lets the armed services extend the enlistment of service members beyond their contractually agreed-to separation date during wartime. Its use became common after former president George W. Bush dramatically over-extended the nation's armed forces by choosing to invade Iraq when he wasn't even done in Afghanistan yet. Stop loss is now winding down. Of the three services, only the Army is still using it and the last soldiers held back against their will are scheduled to finally go home in March 2011. The Pentagon now uses the Deployment Extension Incentive Pay program to encourages soldiers to voluntarily extend their deployments. But there's no telling when stop loss might get used again -- and at least one member of Congress, Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), wants to make sure that if there is a next time, it only happens with explicit congressional authorization. [...]"  

Commentary: "Pipelineistan’s New Silk Road" [10/13/10] "Future historians may well agree that the 21st century Silk Road first opened for business on Dec. 14, 2009. That was the day a crucial stretch of pipeline officially went into operation linking the fabulously energy-rich state of Turkmenistan (via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) to Xinjiang province in China’s far west.  Meanwhile, in the New Great Game in Eurasia, China had the good sense not to send a soldier anywhere or get bogged down in an infinite quagmire in Afghanistan. Instead, the Chinese simply made a direct commercial deal with Turkmenistan and, profiting from that country’s disagreements with Moscow, built itself a pipeline which will provide much of the natural gas it needs. [...]"  

Nine Months After the Quake – a Million Haitians Slowly Dying [10/13/10] "Haiti looks like the quake could have been last month. I visited Port-au-Prince shortly after the quake and much of the destruction then looks the same nine months later. The Associated Press reports only 2 percent of the rubble has been removed and only 13,000 temporary shelters have been constructed. Not a single cent of the US aid pledged for rebuilding has arrived in Haiti. In the last few days the US pledged it would put up 10 percent of the billion dollars in reconstruction aid promised. Only 15 percent of the aid pledged by countries and organizations around the world has reached the country so far. With other human rights advocates from CCR, MADRE, CUNY Law School, BAI and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, I am huddled under faded, gray tarps stamped US Aid. Blue tarps are staked into the ground as walls. This is not even the hot season. but the weather reports the heat index is 115. [...]"  Note:  All the 'hoopla' back then ... was all a scam.   Related:  Life in Devastated Haiti – Stephen Lendman See the "Haiti" link at the top of this panel for related stories. 

Commentary: "Uganda, America’s ' Pit Bull', Wants to Lead a Larger War in Somalia" [10/13/10] "Museveni is making big war talk in Somalia to call attention to his ongoing service to U.S. policy in Africa. He is telling the top gangsters in Washington that the hit man still has value; that the hired killer deserves his proper respect. [...]"  

 Interview: Dr. Doug Rokke Returns: Depleted Uranium and The Globalist Depopulation Agenda [10/12/10]  [14:58]    "Dr. Doug Rokke, a Depleted Uranium expert and a member of the 3rd U.S. Army Medical Command's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical teaching, medical response, and special operations team, also returns to the show. Alex covers the latest news and takes your calls.  [...]"  Note:  Video has been advanced to the start of the interview.   Note: Part 2 [14:58]  Part 3 [14:19]| Part 4 [14:57]| Part 5 [11:40] 

Commentary:  "Global Grandiosity: America's 21st Century World Architecture" [10/12/10] "Hubris, currently incarnated by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, is a malady which has run through the U.S. ruling class for decades. Rick Rozoff points out that ordinary citizens exhibiting analagous symptoms would normally be committed to a mental institution. However, when they take hold of players wielding absolute power on the global stage, their megalomanic delusions and mounting disconnect with reality pose an absolute threat to the entire world. The proverb "pride goes before a fall" is thought to sum up the modern definition of hubris. [...]"  

Opium Fields Surround Main Australian Base in Afghanistan [10/12/10] "More than half the fields surrounding the main Australian base in Afghanistan are being used to grow opium poppies, as coalition forces struggle to wean locals off the lucrative crop. Locals question why troops and police have failed to crack down on the semi-open sale of the poppies, according to the report of a respected non-governmental organisation.  While the allied forces in Oruzgan province have had some success in convincing locals to grow wheat, fruit and saffron, opium poppies are still the province’s biggest cash crop. ”Locals find it hard to comprehend why military forces or Afghan National Police have not intervened into poppy cultivation or sale so close to the district centre of Tarin Kowt, and blame it on corruption,” The Liaison Office says in its report, which analyses the four years of Dutch control of the province. ”There are indeed allegations that several pro-government strongmen, and not just the insurgency, are involved in the drug trade. ”Furthermore, the fact that there are semi-open poppy bazaars in both Deh Rawud and Tarin Kowt adds to the perception of impunity.” [...]"  

"The coming wars in Somalia and Yemen" [10/11/10] "Somalia and Yemen, the first a failed state and other on its way, will be the next battlegrounds in the struggle against terrorism, Western analysts warn. [...]"  Note: Got to give Africa Command something to do.   Related:  Report: 29 countries’ hunger levels “alarming” [10/11/10] "Twenty-nine countries show alarming levels of hunger and more than a billion people were hungry in 2009, according to a new report on global hunger. World leaders are far from a 1990 goal of halving the number of hungry people by 2015, according to the annual Global Hunger Index published by the International Food Policy Research Institute and other aid groups. [...]"  Note:  The 10 countries with the worst levels of hunger -- all "extremely alarming" or "alarming" -- starting with the worst off, were Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Eritrea, Chad, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Comoros, Madagascar, and the Central African Republic.

"China’s Growing Independence and the New World Order" [10/11/10] "The largest hydrocarbon reserves are in Saudi Arabia, a U.S. dependency ever since the U.S. displaced Britain there in a mini-war conducted during World War II. The U.S. remains by far the largest investor in Saudi Arabia and its major trading partner, and Saudi Arabia helps support the U.S. economy via investments. However, more than half of Saudi oil exports now go to Asia, and its plans for growth face east. The same may be turn out to be true of Iraq, the country with the second-largest reserves, if it can rebuild from the massive destruction of the murderous U.S.-U.K. sanctions and the invasion. And U.S. policies are driving Iran, the third major producer, in the same direction. China is now the largest importer of Middle Eastern oil and the largest exporter to the region, replacing the United States. Trade relations are growing fast, doubling in the past five years. The implications for world order are significant, as is the quiet rise of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which includes much of Asia but has banned the U.S.—potentially “a new energy cartel involving both producers and consumers,” observes economist Stephen King, author of Losing Control: The Emerging Threats to Western Prosperity. [...]"  

 Trends: China oil firm buys Texas assets [10/11/10] "Chinese oil company CNOOC agrees to pay $1.08bn (£677m) for a 33% stake in a South Texas shale oil and gas field. [...]"   

The Battle With Mental Illness:  Avigdor Lieberman - A Profile In Ultranationalist Extremism [10/11/10] "Israeli Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Lieberman represents the worst of Israel's lunatic fringe, sort of a combination Dick Cheney/John McCain/Joe Lieberman, too extremist to be entrusted with power, but he's got it.  On March 18, 2008 in the London Independent, Robert Fisk headlined, "Why Avigdor Lieberman is the worst thing that could happen to the Middle East," saying:  "....Israelis have exalted a man....who out-Sharons even Ariel Sharon. A few Palestinians (said) the West will see the 'true face' of Israel. (He's) talked of drowning Palestinians in the Dead Sea or executing Israeli Palestinians who talked to Hamas. (His) incendiary language (promotes) executions....drownings....hell and loyalty oaths," perfect for the role he's assumed, allied with Israel's most extremist ever Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who also out-Sharons Sharon, no easy feat by any means. [...] His extremism promotes "hatred for Arabs, hatred of democracy and the rule of law, and the stink of nationalism, racism and bloodthirstiness. (He's) the voice of the mob, and the mob craves hatred, vengeance and bloodshed." He's a malignancy on the body politic, a "cancerous growth (throughout) society, (a dangerous, embarrassing) abomination," one step removed from being Prime Minister.  ... Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, describes him as "outrageous, abominable, hate-filled, (and) brimming with incitement that, if left unchecked, could lead Israel to the gates of hell.  ... An unnamed Meretz party member said "If you liked Mussolini, if you were missing Stalin, you'll love Lieberman." ........   Born Evet Lvovich Lieberman in Moldova (a former Soviet Republic) in 1958, he studied at a local agricultural institute, worked as a nightclub bouncer, and later as a Baku, Azerbaijan broadcaster, before moving to Israel with his parents in 1978. He got a Hebrew University social science degree, served as an IDF corporal, then began a political career. In the 1980s, he helped found the Zionist Forum for Soviet Jewry, and was also a member of the Board of the Jerusalem Economic Corporation and Secretary of the Jerusalem branch of Israel's "national workers union," the Histadrut Ovdim Le'umit. From 1993 - 1997, [...] "  

Israel Invokes a Loyalty Oath for Non-Jews [10/10/10] "The Israeli cabinet today approved a bill requiring new non-Jewish citizens to swear an oath of allegiance to Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state”, in a move that has brought accusations of discrimination against Israel’s Arab minority. One dissenting cabinet minister referred to a “whiff of fascism”. The bill, originally promoted by the rightwing foreign minister (and former nightclub bouncer), Avigdor Lieberman, who has made the issue of loyalty a hallmark of his political career, was passed by a big majority despite the opposition of Labour party members. The loyalty oath will be required of non-Jews seeking to become Israeli citizens, mainly affecting Palestinians from the West Bank who marry Palestinian citizens of Israel. [...]"  Note:  "Not Jewish in Israel? Repeat after me: Because I’m not Jewish, and because the Israeli government thinks non-Jews are potential threats to its security, I do solemnly swear my allegiance to Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state.” Israel’s cabinet easily passed a controversial bill to require non-Jewish citizens to swear an oath to the “Jewish and democratic” state." Related: Tibi: Israel is democratic for Jews but Jewish for Arabs  "MKs from both sides of the political spectrum responded on Sunday to the cabinet's approval of changes to the Citizenship Law requiring a loyalty oath of new citizens. MK Ahmed Tibi accused the government of having "turned into the stooge of Israel Beiteinu and its fascist doctrine. "There is no country in the world that forces its citizens or those naturalizing to swear their loyalty to ideology or a sectarian obligation," the UAL-Ta'al MK continued. "Israel is proving that it is not egalitarian and is in fact democratic for Jews and Jewish for Arabs." [...]"  Note: What a sociopathic freak.  See "Israel" link at the top of this panel for related stories and background.

"October 7, 1940: The Day That Should Have Lived in Infamy" [10/10/10] "Over the years there were rumors that “FDR allowed the Pearl Harbor attack to happen” but these were cast aside as crackpot conspiracy theories, backed by zero evidence. But such dismissals didn’t work when Robert Stinnett published his book “Day Of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor” in 1999. Stinnett, a decorated WWII veteran and author, requested files about the attack, and the events preceding it, through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). He discovered that FDR not only knew about the attack in advance, but that his administration did everything it could to cause a Japanese attack on America. One of the most important pieces of information that Stinnett came across was the McCollum memo, which outlined eight points that the FDR administration could do to instigate a dramatic response by the Japanese without the Congress, or the American people getting too suspicious, like cutting off economic ties with Japan, refusing it oil, establishing relations with Japan’s main enemy, China, and other provocations. Stinnett’s book is centered on the new historical evidence that he gathered, which is rigorously documented. [...]"  Note:  The 'other 9/11'

Interview: "9/11 Report Is A Cover Up From Start To Finish" [10/10/10]  Video clip [14:50]  Note: Judge Andrew Napalitano interviews Lt. Col Anthony Shaeffer, author of "Operation Dark Heart".  Note:  Keep in mind that this dynamic sort of supports the government conspiracy theory of 9/11 ... in that it doesn't go into the 9/11 event and who did it ....  it only focuses on Bin Laden dynamics and torture. Of course, they're not going to tell the actual truth on commercial networks. So, they inadvertently become part of the very coverup they are (partially) investigating. So, this interview is also a distraction from the truth about 9/11.

Commentary: "A Long History of America's Dark Side" [10/09/10] "Many Americans view their country and its soldiers as the “good guys” spreading “democracy” and “liberty” around the world. When the United States inflicts unnecessary death and destruction, it’s viewed as a mistake or an aberration. In the following article – cobbled together from previous stories published at Consortiumnews.com – Peter Dale Scott and Robert Parry examine the long history of these acts of brutality, a record that suggests they are neither a “mistake” nor an “aberration” but rather conscious counterinsurgency doctrine on the "dark side": There is a dark -- seldom acknowledged -- thread that runs through U.S. military doctrine, dating back to the early days of the Republic. [...]"   

"America's Third World Economy"  Paul Craig Roberts [10/09/10] "For a number of years I reported on the monthly nonfarm payroll jobs data. The data did not support the praises economists were singing to the "New Economy." The "New Economy" consisted, allegedly, of financial services, innovation, and high-tech services. This economy was taking the place of the old "dirty fingernail" economy of industry and manufacturing. Education would retrain the workforce, and we would move on to a higher level of prosperity. Time after time I reported that there was no sign of the "New Economy" jobs, but that the old economy jobs were disappearing. The only net new jobs were in lowly paid domestic services such as waitresses and bartenders, retail clerks, health care and social assistance (mainly ambulatory health care services), and, before the bubble burst, construction. The facts, issued monthly by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, had no impact on the "New Economy" propaganda. Economists continued to wax eloquently about how globalism was a boon for our future. The millions of unemployed today are blamed on the popped real estate bubble and the subprime derivative financial crisis. However, the US economy has been losing jobs for a decade. As manufacturing, information technology, software engineering, research, development, and tradable professional services have been moved offshore, the American middle class has shriveled. The ladders of upward mobility that made American an "opportunity society" have been dismantled.  [...]"  Related: A Plague Upon The World: The USA is a "Failed State" [06/02/10] | "Death By Globalism—Economists Haven’t A Clue"  [09/01/10]  

"Birth of the National Security State" – Philip Giraldi [10/08/10] "It is not far fetched to speculate that the United States has, over the past ten years, been sliding into a form of authoritarianism that retains only some aspects of the constitution and a limited rule of law. America’s president can, for example, commit soldiers to combat overseas without a constitutionally mandated declaration of war by congress while it is quite possible to be detained by the authorities and locked up without any prospect of trial or opportunity to defend oneself. The government even believes it can kill American citizens based only on suspicion. I prefer to think of this transformation as the National Security State because it rests on a popular consensus that liberties must be sacrificed in exchange for greater public safety from various threats, international terrorism being the most prominent. It might just as well be called the National Warfare State as it also requires constant conflict to justify its existence. Three elements are necessary for the creation of a National Security State. First, there must be a narrative that can be sold to the public justifying the transformation. Second, a system of laws and regulations must be created that enable the state to act with impunity and also to protect the government from challenges to its authority. Third, technology must be harnessed to enable the state to surreptitiously monitor and control the activities of its citizens. All of these elements have fallen into place over the past decade. A recent example of abuse of authority by the government demonstrates how several of the key elements can come together. On September 24th, the Obama Administration declared that it would ask a federal court to block a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in opposition to the government’s contention that it has the authority to assassinate American citizens overseas if they are suspected of involvement with a terrorist group. The White House has invoked the state secrets privilege, contending that vital national interests would be betrayed if the case were to proceed and further that the president has the authority to target anyone for death in time of war. The state secrets privilege is the ultimate weapon to avoid exposure of government wrongdoing. It has been used frequently by the Obama administration in spite of Obama-the-candidate’s pledge that he would run an open and accountable government. The ACLU case focused on the one US citizen known to be on the administration’s assassination list,  [...]" 

US mine safety agency did not enforce regulations, audit shows [10/07/10] "An audit of the federal agency in charge of overseeing safety at US coal mines found it failed for over 30 years to enforce regulations at mines with a pattern of serious safety violations. [...]"  Related: Why managers are to work in China's mines  "New regulations come into force in China that require managers of mines to accompany workers down the shafts, in an effort to improve safety [...]"   Note:  Good idea.

How to Slash the State: 14 ways to dismantle a monstrous government, one program at a time [10/07/10] "Like sequels to Saw, the government just keeps coming, growing larger, more expensive, and more appalling each year. In times of economic distress, even at the increasing risk of default, the size, scope, and cost of federal, state, and local governments continue to balloon, swallowing everything in their path. For 10 solid years, and especially since September 2008, spending has boomed, the Federal Register has exploded, and Congress altered American life at an accelerating pace.  Yet loud critics of big government—especially but not only Republican politicians—are often reduced to an awkward stammer when put on the spot by the all-important question, “So what would you cut?” Well, stammer no more.  Consider the following a Halloween-themed cheat sheet for explaining who, what, where, when, and why whole swaths of government need to be cut or euthanized outright, so that taxpayer money is spent more productively, the remaining government services perform better, and the United States can finally begin its long slow climb toward solvency.  We’ve asked analysts from the nation’s capital and around the world to offer tips and tricks for fighting off the cold, cold monster that is the state. The suggestions below are intended not as a last word but as a starting point: As in any good slasher movie, the savvy viewer will soon see potential victims everywhere.  [...]"  

The Video the US Military Doesn't Want You to See [10/07/10] [9:53]  "The real face of war is unknown to people, because the media is not showing the real facts. The war is nothing but a bussines, where young men are sent to die, for some to get richer and richer. These are the horrors of the war. [...]"    

Globalist Mockingbird Media Attacks RT, Press TV as “Enemies” [10/07/10] " [2:36] "Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, Walter Isaacson (Jewish) - the organization overseeing U.S. media directed at foreign audiences - says his organization needs to fight its enemies. Among those are Iran's Press TV, China's CCTV and RT. Political commentator Peter Lavelle says the chairman's statement puts him beyond real journalism [...]"  Note:  Walter Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American writer and biographer. He is the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. He has been the Chairman and CEO of CNN and the Managing Editor of TIME. He was appointed by President Obama to be the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which runs Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and the other international broadcasts of the U.S. government. 

The Prison Industry in The United States: Big Business or A New Form of Slavery [10/06/10] "Human rights organizations, as well as political and social ones, are condemning what they are calling a new form of inhumane exploitation in the United States, where they say a prison population of up to 2 million - mostly Black and Hispanic - are working for various industries for a pittance. For the tycoons who have invested in the prison industry, it has been like finding a pot of gold.  "Today, a new set of markedly racist laws is imposing slave labor and sweatshops on the criminal justice system, now known as the prison industry complex," comments the Left Business Observer. Who is investing? At least 37 states have legalized the contracting of prison labor by private corporations that mount their operations inside state prisons. The list of such companies contains the cream of U.S. corporate society: IBM, Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft, AT&T, Wireless, Texas Instrument, Dell, Compaq, Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, Nortel, Lucent Technologies, 3Com, Intel, Northern Telecom, TWA, Nordstrom's, Revlon, Macy's, Pierre Cardin, Target Stores, and many more. All of these businesses are excited about the economic boom generation by prison labor. Just between 1980 and 1994, [...]"     Related: CCA: Private Prison Complex "CCA founded the private corrections management industry more than 25 years ago, establishing industry standards for future-focused, forward-thinking correctional solutions. A commitment to innovation, efficiency, cost effectiveness and achievement has made the company the private corrections management provider of choice for federal, state and local agencies since 1983.  As a full-service corrections management provider, CCA specializes in the design, construction, expansion and management of prisons, jails and detention facilities, as well as inmate transportation services through its subsidiary company TransCor America. The company is the fifth-largest corrections system in the nation, behind only the federal government and three states. CCA houses approximately 75,000 offenders and detainees in more than 60 facilities, 44 of which are company-owned, with a total bed capacity of more than 80,000. CCA currently partners with all three federal corrections agencies (The Federal Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Marshals Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement), nearly half of all states and more than a dozen local municipalities. ”  [...]" | Factories with Fences - The History of UNICOR: Federal Prison Industries, Inc.  "Prison industries work programs have grown from deep-seeded roots which have withstood the challenges of time. [...]"     

Prison Planet: People Of The Lie: The Psychopathology Of The “Public Servant” And The Sociopathology Of The State  [10/05/10] "As the recent Pentagon scandal makes all too clear, truth is treason in the empire of lies. Which is why attempting to shoot the messenger – by imprisoning the whistleblower and/or slandering the publisher – makes perfect sense for an arm – indeed, the very arms – of the United States government. As the recent Pentagon scandal makes all too clear, truth is treason in the empire of lies. Which is why attempting to shoot the messenger – by imprisoning the whistleblower and/or slandering the publisher – makes perfect sense for an arm – indeed, the very arms – of the United States government. So if we are to understand its logic (as all of its actions, however insane, are perfectly logical to it), we must understand the pathology that lies at its core. For unless and until we do, we cannot understand why government per se – i.e., the state, defined as “a monopoly on the use of force within its borders” – does what it does; why its functionaries lie so shamelessly on its behalf; and, most importantly, why its presumed masters – We the People – put up with it.  We begin by amending Friedrich Nietzsche’s blunt statement – “Everything the State says is a lie, and everything it has it has stolen” – with a simple substitution of one word with another – i.e., “Everything the State says is a lie because everything it has it has stolen.” Being no less blunt, let us examine this statement to determine its verity.  First of all, every thief is by definition a liar, since thievery – the dishonest taking of property belonging to another person – is itself a lie. It follows, then, that if one steals for a living, one also lies for a living, the question being why the state is not condemned by the general public for this reason, given that it has nothing beyond that which extracts from society under threat of fines and/or imprisonment. The answer is that a particular lie has been told, so well and for so long, that for all practical purposes the question is not even asked. Yes, the application of the lie is questioned – is such-and-such amount in such-and-such form appropriate – but the fact, the existence, of the lie is not questioned, no further proof needed than that it stands side-by-side with death as one of the two certainties of life. [...]"   

Russian expedition aims to claim arctic [10/04/10] "An icebreaker is heading for the North Pole to stake Russia's claim to the arctic, a polar explorer said Sunday. Explorer Artur Chilingarov told RIA-Novosti President Dmitry Medvedev rescued the expedition with essential funding after scientists appealed to him when its fate was in doubt. The nuclear-powered Rossiya set out from Murmansk Saturday on a 25-day journey to the pole. The icebreaker will deliver the SP-38 polar station with 15 explorers to a drifting ice floe for a yearlong stay. The ship's lease costs 2.4 million rubles a day. The expedition is meant to provide "scientific substantiation" for Russia's claim to arctic territories, rich in undersea oil and gas, said Chilingarov. He led a Russian expedition that planted a flag on a contested portion of the arctic seafloor in 2007. "It is not easy to prove that the arctic shelf belongs to Russia," he said. "An attempt was made but only science can prove that it does." The Rossiya is carrying equipment that can "see through" sediment and rock and will be delivered to the polar station "to help substantiate our claims to the Arctic Ocean and the Lomonosov Ridge," Chilingarov said. [...]"  

Afghanistan bans 8 private security firms [10/04/10] "Afghanistan said on Sunday it had begun disbanding private security companies and confiscating their weapons, starting with a group of eight Afghan and foreign firms.  Karzai has been critical of the firms, saying they had been responsible for horrific accidents. Many Afghans see them as operating with impunity, and they have been accused of a series of killings, crimes and scandals but have rarely been convicted. On Sunday, Karzai’s spokesman Waheed Omer said the government had begun shutting down eight Afghan and foreign companies. “The minister of interior today, in the national security meeting, announced the disbandment of eight private security firms. The process of dissolving and disbanding ... is very well under way,” Omer told a news conference. Omer said only operations involving the training of Afghan security forces or protecting the premises of international organisations would be allowed to continue after announcing the names of some of the first batch of firms affected. The companies compete for contracts worth billions of dollars and employ up to 40,000 armed guards, mostly Afghans but including many foreigners. Some train Afghan security forces and are also used to guard convoys, embassies and other mainly Western interests. “We would like to be able at some point to provide security for embassies and international organisations and we would like to be in a position where we would no longer need security companies to train our national security forces,” Omer said. [...]"  

CIA hired Karzai’s brother before 9/11, Woodward says [10/04/10] "Ahmed Wali Karzai, the half-brother of Afghanistan’s president and boss of the strategically important Kandahar province, has been on the CIA payroll for over a decade, Bob Woodward writes in his new book, “Obama’s Wars.” By the fall of 2008, Woodward says, “Ahmed Wali Karzai had been on the CIA payroll for years, beginning before 9/11. He had belonged to the CIA’s small network of paid agents and informants inside Afghanistan. In addition, the CIA paid him money through his half-brother, the president.” Hamid Karzai was plucked from obscurity and installed as president after U.S.-backed Afghan forces chased the Taliban from power following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. There have been many accounts of his brother’s relationship with the CIA over the years, leaving the impression that he is a CIA “agent,” i.e., a controlled asset of the spy agency. [...]"   

Commentary: "The Altars of Fear: Wrong Turns on a Long, Dark Road" [10/03/10] "All across Europe, thousands of people have been taking to the streets in angry protests against the “austerity measures” being imposed upon them by their governments. A general strike in Spain. Mass protests in Greece, Ireland, Portugal, France, Lithuania, Belgium and several other nations. Legislators in Iceland had to literally run and hide from their own citizens at the opening of the nation’s parliament this week. Why, ask the outraged crowds, should our lives be degraded in order to pay for the crimes and follies of the financial elite –- who are richer, more powerful and more arrogant than ever today, despite having plunged the world into economic catastrophe? The Europeans, forever cast in American myth as fey, feckless, wine-sipping weaklings, have roused themselves to such an extent that the UN is now warning of years of "social unrest" due to the policies of the austerity zealots -- policies which are greatly exacerbating unemployment (with all the inevitable knock-on effects throughout the economy), while severely corroding the physical and social infrastructure of whole nations. Although the European public might be compelled to submit in the end -- by brute force, if necessary, as governments call out club-wielding cops to put down dissent -- at least they are not going quietly. The same can't be said for the big, bold, burly American public, who for years have meekly submitted to the ever-accelerating deterioration of their lives and communities with nary a peep of protest. Trillions of their dollars are spent on murderous, pointless, wasteful rampages of war-profiteering in foreign lands, on obscene handouts and "guarantees" for the silk-suited scamsters of Wall Street, and on the monstrous expansion of a covert security apparatus that is seeking to invade and control every aspect of their lives -- but the American people say nothing and do nothing. But perhaps we are being unfair in such a harsh judgment. After all, it [...]"  

Fears of Chinese land grab as Bejing's billions buy up resources [10/03/10] "China is pouring another $7bn (£4.4bn) into Brazil's oil industry, reigniting fears of a global "land grab" of natural resources. State-owned Sinopec clinched the deal with Spain's Repsol yesterday to buy 40 per cent of its Brazilian business, giving China's largest oil company access to Repsol Brasil's estimated reserves of 1.2 billion barrels of oil and gas. The whopping price tag for Repsol Brasil – which values the company at nearly twice previous estimates – is a sign of China's willingness to pay whatever it takes to lock in its future energy supplies and avoid social unrest. It will give the company enough cash to develop all its current oil projects, including two fields in the Santos Basin. The Repsol deal is not China's first in Brazil. In February last year, Sinopec stumped up a $10bn loan to Petrobras, the state-owned oil company, in return for guaranteed supplies of 10,000 barrels of oil every day for the next 10 years. It also follows a slew of similar deals across the world. While much of the developed world is baulking at its debts in the aftermath of the financial crisis, China has continued a global spending spree of unprecedented proportions, snapping up everything from oil and gas reserves to mining concessions to agricultural land, with vast reserves of US dollars. This year alone, Chinese companies have laid out billions of dollars buying up [...]"   

Lecture:   Harley Schlanger: "On the Tragic Principle" [10/03/10] Video clip [54:38]  "Harley Schlanger discusses the principle of tragedy in Classical drama and society from Homer and Aeschylus to today's collapsing culture. [...]"  

Observations: "Stepped-Up Integration Of Anglo-American Military Industrial Complex" [10/03/10] "On 29 September 2010, the U.S. Senate ratified new military treaties with the United Kingdom and Austrailia, said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, in a statement. Hereafter, trade of defense hardware between the three countries will be unrestricted. These treaties, which complement that of 1949, eliminate formalities currently in force and solidifies the integration of the Anglo-American military industrial complex." 

 Commentary: "Second Decade of the New American Century: Clock Work Orange Meets American Psycho" [10/02/10] "The United States will protect its people and advance our prosperity irrespective of the actions of any other nation…” President Barak Obama in National Security Strategy of the United States, 2010. The American Empire is not in decline. It is rebooting for a new era of dominance. The American Empire’s success depends on successfully converting the national American psyche into a sociopathic national consciousness (SNC). Once completed, America’s empire will be as successful as it is ruthless. This conversion process is ad hoc and always the consequence of an “outside” event or “crisis” and the fear it engenders. The sociopath, as individual or collective, is opportunistic and reaps advantage from uncertainty. Sociopaths are in abundance at every level of American society. For example, the response to 911 was mostly ill-conceived as the world now knows. But the fallout from that, though, is irreversible: state secrets, wire tapping, torture, leaders inciting fear in American society, terrorists around every corner threatening life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, fusion centers, laws conceived for punishing terrorists used on common criminals/vandals, war as meaningless, etc. Now more war is needed and so it’s cyberwar, helicopter gunships into Pakistan and Yemen, and that pesky homegrown terrorist problem (antiwar activists). There is no end game for this state of affairs just as there is no stopping the conversion of America to a totally sociopathic empire. [...]"  Related:  "In Struggle with the American Mind" 

Propaganda: "UK: Bin Laden 'linked to Europe plot'" [10/02/10] "US officials reportedly believe al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama Bin Laden, were involved in a recent terror plot against European cities. [...]"  Related: Bullshit, of course. SEE BELOW: Propaganda: "Official: Terror plot included possible attacks in 5 European countries" [09/30/10]  and related stories which admit that all this is crap.

Robert Gates: 'We're Not Ever Leaving' Afghanistan [10/01/10] "In a shocking indication of a split between the White House and the Pentagon over the war in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes that the U.S. military will never leave the war-torn country. During a dinner hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for Afghan President Hamid Karzai in May, Gates reminded the group that he still feels guilty for his role in the first President Bush's decision to pull out of Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, according to Bob Woodward's new book, "Obama's Wars." And to express his commitment to not letting down the country again, he emphasized:  "We're not leaving Afghanistan prematurely," Gates finally said. "In fact, we're not ever leaving at all." Woodward notes that the group was shocked by the blunt comment: "At least one stunned participant put down his fork. Another wrote it down, verbatim, in his notes." [...]"   Related:  "Gates says too few in US bear the burdens of war" "Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that most Americans have grown too detached from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and see military service as "something for other people to do. In a speech Wednesday at Duke University, Gates said this disconnect has imposed a heavy burden on a small segment of society and wildly driven up the costs of maintaining an all-volunteer force."  [...]"  Note: Well, the greatest burden of war is how screwed up the country is, and that is something everyone HAS to bear. Gates is a sociopath. People are 'detached' from the war because successive administrations have kept the public at arms length.

Commentary:Orwellian DoubleThink: Tyranny is Safety [10/01/10] "One is never safe living under a tyrannical form of government. If we have learned anything from George Orwell's work, it is to recognize the DoubleThink that tyrannical minds employ in order to make us believe that we would somehow be safer living in a world of total control, as opposed to complete freedom. The Orwellian world is one where a government bureaucracy legislates more and more centralized power, as their agents descend on every facet of our lives to enforce constant penalties meted out at their discretion. The main strategy is to be sure citizens are always in violation of something.  Just this past month a wave of freedom-smashing legislation has washed over the planet, led by the United States. It seems that every new bill which has been introduced is an abject assault on freedom, yet always contains a reference to keeping us safe.  [...]"    Related:  Orwellian DoubleThink: Collapse is Recovery [09/22/10] "When the National Bureau of Economic Research announced, after much deliberation apparently, that the economic recession ended in June, 2009, it was as if the news were broadcast from some other planet. It is Orwellian DoubleThink at its finest, where a compartmentalized think-tank uses some off-world calculus to come up with a conclusion that flies right in the face of observable reality and real-world experience here on Earth. Here are just a few of the key stories of the week for those who prefer real analysis to pure propaganda: [...]"   Orwellian DoubleThink: "Illness is Health" [09/16/10] "The primary duty of the regulatory agencies responsible for ensuring public health in our Orwellian world apparently is to guarantee that we are laced with toxic contaminants and additives. Whether it is physical or mental health, it has become clear that federal agencies, and even our local municipalities, are coordinating an overall health agenda that favors corporate interests, while corrupting the promotion of true health and well-being. Here are three primary examples that highlight the lengths to which our "protectors" will go to convince us to listen to their upside-down worldview, instead of reason and logic: [...]"  Orwellian DoubleThink: War is Peace [09/08/10] "No need to modernize the phrasing of this most obviously relevant Orwellian slogan. Obama, our Nobel Prince of Peace, continues the endless wars, warrant-less and evidence-less detentions, and illegal torture. The public is kept in an increasing state of fear of a manufactured bogeyman that assumes the faces of individual leaders as needed (and their countries), but ultimately is defined as a War on Terror, thus a war without end.  The perpetual nature of war was at the heart of what Orwell was illustrating when he wrote, "A peace that was truly permanent would be the same as a permanent war." We are now living in a situation, similar to 1984, where our society believes that the only way to everlasting peace is through everlasting war. This mentality leads to a fundamental internal restructuring of society, as the actions we have condoned overseas have reworked America to resemble a battlefield landscape at home. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard, "I'd rather fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here," I'd be as wealthy as the marketing propagandists who sold us this slogan. But when asked, Who are we fighting again? the stuttering ensues. In this Orwellian world, we are not meant to know exactly who or what we are fighting, which is why we have been sold on an intangible idea called Terror, or "those who hate our freedoms." Without a clear enemy, there can be no clear defeat of that enemy, and so there can be no victory -- only an ever-changing script dictated by the whims and business plans of the script makers. It is a script which is increasingly being written to include American citizens. [...]"  | Orwellian DoubleThink: "Rights are Privileges"  DT Series 2 "Rights are Privileges (Freedom is Slavery): The primary duty of all public officials is to protect the citizen's rights as defined in the Constitution, where they shall not make or enforce any laws that violate those rights. In fact, the "checks and balances" were put in place to assure that rights of citizens are not being trampled by one branch of the government. After 9-11, President Bush and other public officials proclaimed that their most important job was protecting the safety of the American people, which basically put an end to our rights coming first. If the corporate- government fear campaign fails to scare the rights away from citizens, they try to convince the public that rights are now privileges and charge a fee or a tax for the "right" to engage in a certain activity.   [...]" Orwellian DoubleThink: "Welfare is Employment" 

"100 Reasons to Reinvestigate 9/11" [10/01/10]  [14:29] Note:  You can turn the volume off.

Commentary: "How Israel Controls Your Media" [09/30/10] [6:32]  "Professor Robert Jensen, from the Journalism Dept of the University of Texas at Austin, and others, discuss how Israel controls US Media. [...]"  Note:  Good clip. 

Propaganda: "Official: Terror plot included possible attacks in 5 European countries" [09/30/10] "Intelligence experts warned Wednesday that the massive terror plot involving simultaneous assault-style attacks in London, Paris, and Germany represents a serious escalation in al-Qaida's war with the West, and poses a clear and present danger to the United States.... Investigators believe al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden signed off on a European attack plan, a separate law enforcement source said. But U.S. and international officials say they have seen no sign of an imminent attack. U.S. officials said the alleged plot has no U.S. component -- at least none that has been found. One official stressed that the plot is serious and credible but that the intelligence available lacked specificity: no who, where or how. [...]" "ABC News: Terror Level Raised Over Threats"    Note:  Of course, this is all bullshit constructed by the US, UK and Germany to continue their 'war on terror, to wit:  BBC Now Admits ' Al Qaeda' Never Existed [10:12]  A number of interesting links are also on the right side of the page. | 9/11 ANALYSIS: The Propaganda Preparation for 9/11: Creating the Osama bin Laden “Legend” [09/11/10] "This incisive and carefully researched article was first published more than eight years ago by Global Research (revised 19 September 2002). [...]"  Many outstanding NEW 9/11 related articles. See the '9/11' link at the top of this panel. Check frequently.

Democracy Now: FBI Raids and the Criminalization of Dissent   Amy Goodman [09/29/10]  "Early in the morning on Friday, Sept. 24, FBI agents in Chicago and Minnesota’s Twin Cities kicked in the doors of anti-war activists, brandishing guns, spending hours rifling through their homes. The FBI took away computers, photos, notebooks and other personal property. Residents were issued subpoenas to appear before a grand jury in Chicago. It was just the latest in the ongoing crackdown on dissent in the U.S., targeting peace organizers as supporters of “foreign terrorist organizations.” Coleen Rowley knows about the FBI. She was a career special agent with the FBI who blew the whistle on the bureau’s failures in the lead-up to the 9/11 attacks. Time magazine named her Person of the Year in 2002. A few days after the raids in her hometown of Minneapolis, she told me, “This is not the first time that you’ve seen this Orwellian turn of the war on terror onto domestic peace groups and social justice groups ... we had that begin very quickly after 9/11, and there were Office of Legal Counsel opinions that said the First Amendment no longer controls the war on terror.” [...]"   

Report: Hyde Amendment not enforced [09/29/10] "A law intended to deter misconduct by U.S. prosecutors and compensate innocent victims hasn't been doing what it's supposed to do, an investigation revealed. USA Today uncovered 201 cases since the Hyde Amendment was passed in 1997 in which federal judges found Justice Department prosecutors violated laws or ethics rules. In an article published Tuesday, the newspaper said it was able to find only 13 instances where the government reimbursed innocent defendants for their legal bills. The law requires the Justice Department to repay the legal bills of defendants who win their cases and prove that federal prosecutors committed misconduct or other transgressions. One case involved an Army officer cleared by the Army of accusations he conspired to steal military supplies. Justice Department lawyers prosecuted him anyway and lost the case. Fighting the charges cost the man his life savings and he never received compensation from the government, USA Today said.[...]" 

Historical Research: The Zionist Role in the Jewish 'Holocaust' [09/28/10] "It is a historical fact that in 1941 and again in 1942, the German Gestapo offered all European Jews transit to Spain, if they would relinquish all their property in Germany and Occupied France; on condition that:  a) None of the deportees travel from Spain to Palestine; and b) All the deportees be transported from Spain to the USA or British colonies, and there to remain; with entry visas to be arranged by the Jews living there; and  c) $1000.00 ransom for each family to be furnished by the Agency, payable upon the arrival of the family at the Spanish border at the rate of 1000 families daily. The Jewish leaders in Switzerland and Turkey received this offer with the clear understanding that the exclusion of Palestine as a destination for the deportees was based on an agreement between the Gestapo and the Mufti.  The answer of the Zionist leaders was negative, with the following comments:  a) ONLY Palestine would be considered as a destination for the deportees. b) The European Jews must accede to suffering and death greater in measure than the other nations, in order that the victorious allies agree to a "Jewish State" at the end of the war.  c) No ransom will be paid. This response to the Gestapo's offer was made with the full knowledge that the alternative to this offer was internment camps. These Jew leaders betrayed their own flesh and blood. Zionism was never an option for Jewish salvation. Quite the opposite, it was a formula for human beings to be used as pawns for the power trip of several desperadoes. A betrayal beyond description. In 1944, at the time of the Hungarian deportations, a similar offer was made, whereby all Hungarian Jewry could be saved. The same Jewish hierarchy again refused this offer. The British government granted visas to 300 rabbis and their families to the Colony of Mauritius, with passage for the evacuees through Turkey. The "Jewish Agency" leaders sabotaged this plan with the observation that the plan was disloyal to Palestine, and the 300 rabbis and their families should be killed. On December 17, 1942 both houses of the British Parliament declared its readiness to find temporary refuge for endangered persons. The British Parliament proposed to evacuate 500,000 Jews from Europe, and resettle them in British colonies, as a part of diplomatic negotiations with Germany. This motion received within two weeks a total of 277 Parliamentary signatures. On Jan. 27, when the next steps were being pursued by over 100 M.P.'s and Lords, a Jewish spokesman announced that the Jews would oppose the motion because Palestine was omitted. [...]"  Note: Much interesting background information. 

Reaping terror’s reward: get in there first – that’s the secret [09/28/10] "Stuart Littlewood looks at how modern terrorism was in fact pioneered by the Zionists and how Israeli and the US behaviours fit the US definition of terrorism like a glove. [...] If it wasn’t for the “war on terror” America and Israel wouldn’t be enjoying such military fun and games and reaping such fat rewards. Whole new industries are flourishing thanks to the considerable effort they’ve devoted to sowing the seeds of terror. The Institute of Terrorism Research and Response (ITRR), for example, is an American-Israeli corporation "created to help organizations succeed and prosper in a world threatened by terrorism”. Its partners include The Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute – "your gateway to business in Israel". Their global intelligence division even maintains a presence in London where, they claim, "our intelligence-gathering and analysis, research, training and consulting services reduce your vulnerability to global and regional forms of terrorist threats and mass-casualty events". It’s just a coincidence, of course, that Britain's most important security bodies – the Intelligence and Security Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Defence Committee – are all headed by senior Israel flag-wavers with access to highly classified material.  ITRR recently staged a Mass Casualty and Terrorism Workshop in Jerusalem attended by students from Philadelphia University. Topics included mass casualty management, security and counter-terrorism, forensic medicine as it relates to terrorism and visits to suicide bomber sites. "These site visits include actual video footage of the events... One student was amazed with the resiliency of the Israeli people and how quickly they are able to return a site 'back to normal'."  Just across the border in Gaza is the mother of all mass-casualty sites far more serious than anything Israel has had to cope with, although it caused it. A visit there would have opened students’ eyes to how the Palestinians are never given the chance to return to 'normal' after Israel’s endless terror onslaughts, ro bbed as they are of medical essentials and reconstruction materials. I bet ITRR’s workshop didn’t cover that. “First used by Zionists”   The other day I was sent a list of Zionist “firsts” pulled together in a handy aide-memoire. Let's call them claims for the time being. I’ve seen evidence for some, but others are new to me. A friend who watches things closely says the listing has been posted in forums repeatedly, with requests for any corrections. [...]"  Related: Israel War Crimes 2008-2010 [5:32] 

U.S. is seeking to expand wiretaps on the Internet [09/27/10] "Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations of the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is "going dark" as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone. Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications -- including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking websites like Facebook and software that allows direct "peer to peer" messaging like Skype -- to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages. The legislation, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering technological innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally. James Dempsey, vice president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an Internet policy group, said the proposal had "huge implications" and challenged "fundamental elements of the Internet revolution" -- including its decentralized design. "They are really asking for the authority to redesign services that take advantage of the unique, and now pervasive, architecture of the Internet," he said. "They basically want to turn back the clock and make Internet services function the way that the telephone system used to function." But law enforcement officials contend that imposing such a mandate is reasonable and necessary to prevent the erosion of their investigative powers.  [...] The FBI's operational technologies division spent $9.75 million last year helping communication companies -- including some subject to the 1994 law that had difficulties -- do so. And its 2010 budget included $9 million for a "Going Dark Program" to bolster its electronic surveillance capabilities. "  

Probe focuses on brother of Afghan leader [09/27/10] "An Afghan corruption probe by federal prosecutors in New York is focusing on the eldest brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, U.S. officials say. [...]"  

More Questions About BP’s Limited Investigation Into Gulf Disaster [09/27/10] "BP investigators, faced with questions about their report on the causes of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, acknowledged on Sunday before a panel of engineering experts that its report had limitations. "It is clear that you could go further into the analysis," the report's chief investigator, Mark Bly, who was head of BP's safety and operations. "This does not represent a complete penetration into potentially deeper issues.” Bly called his team’s report “a good foundation for further work.” Here’s what The Washington Post noted about how the report was produced: [...]"  Note:  What everyone is NOT looking at is that oil rigs are MEANT to survive fire and not sink. Why demolition teams went out to the rig before the explosion is unknown. The rig was purposely flooded and sunk, when the 5 foot hatches were opened on the pontoons, and fire boats directed tens of thousands of gallons of water into the hatches on all 4 pontoon areas ... which sunk the rig when they filled up with water. This was to hide the fact that underwater demolition charges were used, as well. As with 9/11 this event has a lot more to it than people are indicating.  See "Oil and Gas" link at the top of the panel for related stories.

Afghanistan: Wealth, Corruption and Criminality Amidst Mass Poverty The Collapse of Public Health and Sanitation Prof. Marc W. Herold [09/26/10] "Afghanistan might be characterized as having a paucity of toilets and an excess of corruption. These two aspects capture the post-Taliban essence of the country. The “achievements” of Hamid Karzai the de facto mayor of Kabul, the United States and NATO in Afghanistan after more than eight years of U.S. occupation and approximately $25 billion in disbursed (2001-9) non-military aid,[4] include Afghanistan being ranked as the worst place in the world for sanitation (per UNICEF data) and in 2009 posting 179th (out of 180 countries) in Transparency International’s corruption-perceptions index. The latter figure for 2005 showed Afghanistan ranking 117th out of 159 countries [...]"  Note:  Uruknet stories take a little longer to load, because of where the server is, in Asia, but are always worth the wait.

America Will Collapse: Interview With Dmitry Orlov [09/26/10] [11:36]  "America must work on starting a new economy and not restarting the old one or it will resemble the former Soviet Union, says author and blogger Dmitry Orlov. [...]"   Related: Flashback: Dare to Prepare: Collapse of Civilization Now Guaranteed "It has been written" as the saying goes. For many generations there have been small groups of people who have researched and protested the criminal nature of our rulers who cast their disease on civilization. These activists screamed truth to the masses about humanity's hidden slavery, yet few listened.  However, the injustices have now become too extreme, too obvious, that the truth has risen to near critical mass with the independent-minded population. And indeed many more sheep, who unknowingly fund their own prison, are waking up by the minute.  But can this mass awakening prevent our civilization from collapsing during this detonation period? Sorry folks, the answer is no. Because even if "The Resistance" is successful in swiftly overtaking the controls of government and overturns the Federal Reserve, the dominoes set in motion by the corporate rulers are still likely to fall as they still control the food, the oil, and the heavy weapons. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve will fight it out to the death, and they have the power to simply shut everything down with a flick of the switch. [...]"    

 Analysis: Democracy: the cleverest tool for oppression in the history of the world  [09/26/10] "Thomas Jefferson’s legacy is much admired in the US and beyond, and for good reason. Without his contributions it’s hard to imagine how the American system of “democracy” would have evolved. I’ve always admired him a great deal, too, although for somewhat different reasons than most.  [...]" 

Global Research: "BP: The Unfinished Crimes and Plunder of Anglo-American Imperialism" [09/26/10] "In the light of British Petroleum’s grotesque crime, as yet unfinished, against humanity in the Gulf of Mexico, it is well to recall briefly BP’s no less hideous crime perpetrated in its earlier incarnation as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) and, later, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). At the turn of the 20th century, William D’Arcy, financial tycoon and politician, pursuing the advice of his financial associate and empire builder Cecil Rhodes, frantically began his quest for oil in the Persian Gulf. Little did they realize that one of the most dazzling El Dorados in the long and tortured history of British imperialism would soon be born. Geopolitically it would have reverberations well beyond the Persian Gulf region. It was one of the most decisive steps in the march of imperial globalization, accelerating the concentration of capital and the imperialist rivalries that are its normal concomitant. [...]"   Note:  Very detailed and interesting article.

Army Reveals Afghan Biometric ID Plan; Millions Scanned, Carded by May [09/26/10] "Scanning prisoners’ irises is just Step 1. In Afghanistan, local and NATO forces are amassing biometric dossiers on hundreds of thousands of cops, crooks, soldiers, insurgents and ordinary citizens. And now, with NATO’s backing, the Kabul government is putting together a plan to issue biometrically backed identification cards to 1.65 million Afghans. The system allows the Afghans to thoroughly screen applicants and recruits for any potential negative past history or criminal linkages, while at the same time it provides an additional measure of security at checkpoints and major facilities to prevent possible entrance and access by malign actors in Afghanistan,”  [...]"   

9/11: Pentagon 'Aircraft Hijack' Impossible [09/25/10] "Newly decoded data provided by an independent researcher and computer programmer from Australia exposes alarming evidence that the reported hijacking aboard American Airlines Flight 77 was impossible to have existed. A data parameter labeled "FLT DECK DOOR", cross checks with previously decoded data obtained by Pilots For 9/11 Truth from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) through the Freedom Of Information Act.  On the morning of September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 departed Dulles International Airport bound for Los Angeles at 8:20 am Eastern Time. According to reports and data, a hijacking took place between 08:50:54 and 08:54:11[1] in which the hijackers allegedly crashed the aircraft into the Pentagon at 09:37:45. Reported by CNN, according to Ted Olson, wife Barbara Olson had called him from the reported flight stating, "...all passengers and flight personnel, including the pilots, were herded to the back of the plane by armed hijackers..."[2]. However, according to Flight Data provided by the NTSB, the Flight Deck Door was never opened in flight. How were the hijackers able to gain access to the cockpit, remove the pilots, and navigate the aircraft to the Pentagon if the Flight Deck Door remained closed?[3] [...]"  Note: It's also the case that no cellphone call was possible from an aircraft, so the whole Olson thing, and all the rest of the 'calls' were lies.  The 'actual' flight 77 was shot down by Cheney's order, and a cruise missile or the equivalent was shot at the ground in Pennsylvania to create a crater ... in the only 'aircraft accident' that had no parts anywhere. The actual wreck of the flight, with the murdered Olsen and other passengers on board, was some miles away, and was sequestered and disposed of. See the "9/11' link at the top of this panel for related stories.

Blackwater in Iraq: Lots of Steroids, Black Market Weapons and Ammo and “Large Amounts of Cocaine and Blocks of Hashish” [09/25/10] "A Texas businessman who has worked extensively in Iraq claims that Blackwater paid him to purchase steroids and other drugs for its operatives in Baghdad, as well as more than 100 AK47s and massive amounts of ammunition on Baghdad's black market. Howard Lowry, who worked in Iraq from 2003-2009, also claims that he personally attended Blackwater parties where company personnel had large amounts of cocaine and blocks of hashish and would run around naked. At some of these parties, Lowry alleges, Blackwater operatives would randomly fire automatic weapons from their balconies into buildings full of Iraqi civilians. Lowry described the events as a "frat party gone wild" where "drug use was rampant." Lowry says he was told by Blackwater personnel that some of the men using the steroids he purchased were on the security detail of L. Paul Bremer, the original head of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Lowry also claims that Blackwater's owner, Erik Prince, tried to enlist his help to win contracts for Blackwater with the Iraqi government using an off-shore security company, Greystone, which Prince owns. The purpose, Lowry says, was to conceal Greystone's relationship to Blackwater. Lowry made his statements in a deposition on September 10 as part of a whistleblower lawsuit brought by [...]"   

Global Research: America Threatens Russia: U.S. Consolidates New Military Outposts In Eastern Europe [09/24/10] "With NATO as intermediary, facilitator and Trojan horse, the Pentagon has established itself - with bases, troops and missiles - along the entire length of Eastern Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean. [...]"    

Commentary: American public opinion and the special relationship with Israel [09/24/10] "The Chicago Council on Global Affairs has just released a major study of how the American public thinks about foreign policy. It is based on a survey of 2500 Americans, who were asked a wide variety of questions, some of which have bearing on Israel. Their answers make clear that most Americans are not deeply committed to Israel in any meaningful way. There is no love affair between the American people and Israel. This is not to say that they are hostile to Israel, because they are not. But there is no evidence to support the claim that Americans feel a bond with Israel that is so strong that it leaves their leaders with little choice but to forge a special relationship with Israel. If anything the evidence indicates that if the American people had their way, the United States would treat Israel like a normal country, much the way it treats other democracies like Britain, Germany, India, and Japan. [...]"  Note:  Since Chicago has the Cap and Trade market, and the US government, what else would the mob(s), the CIA and the Mossad like? What's left?

Manufacturing’s decline threatens national security, House panel hears [09/24/10] "US can't produce enough ammo to supply police, troops: expert The hollowing-out of the US's industrial base means the country is risking its national security by being dependent on foreign contractors, experts told a congressional panel Wednesday. The House National Security Oversight Subcommittee heard from a number of economists and labor leaders who argued that the long, slow erosion of American manufacturing has led to the US losing its edge in numerous industries that are vital to national security. [...]"  Note: They should have thought about that before they decided, using Alan Greenspan, to convert the US from a manufacturing economy to a financial economy, and ship all the jobs overseas. They decided to let the national infrastructure fall apart, too, on purpose. Now, they're having some insight? Too late. 

"Interpol: Teamwork urged to head off radicalization of world's youth" [09/24/10] "International police networks are needed to thwart the radicalization of the world's youth, the head of Interpol said Tuesday in Paris. The advent of the Internet has made the process of radicalization easier to achieve and the process of combating it that much more difficult, because many of the behaviors associated with it are not in and of themselves criminal," Noble said in an Interpol release. "The threat is global; it is virtual; and it is on our doorsteps."   [...]"  Note: Let me get this straight. They fuck up the world so that few youth will ever find work or be able to have meaningful lives, inducing them to question the status quo and who caused this situation, and that's a problem for them, so that people who wanted lives are declared 'dangerous'.

Switzerland: "Women hail feminine cabinet majority" [09/24/10] "After the “extraordinary” election of a first female majority in the Swiss cabinet, women’s rights campaigners hope it will resonate in areas where inequality remains. Parliament’s choice on Wednesday of 50-year-old consumer advocate and Social Democrat Simonetta Sommaruga as the fourth woman in the seven-seat cabinet tipped the gender balance... [...]" 

Video Proof of the 9/11 Conspiracy, The Kurt Sonnenfeld Story [09/24/10] "Kurt Sonnenfeld, currently a political refugee in Buenos Aires Argentina, has stated that he has evidence that proves 9/11 was “An Inside Job.” The release of the many pictures has been assembled by AboveTopSecret – these videos are presented in this article to disseminate this vital information to the general public. Those viewers who are scientific minded and would like to analyze these videos are encouraged to make their discoveries public as well.  Hopefully in the near future, Kurt Sonnenfeld will be able to release all of his footage to the public. This footage is clearly being suppressed due to the high probability that it will implicate rogue elements of our government in one of the largest terror attacks in history.  According to Wikipedia, Kurt Sonnenfeld was a videographer for FEMA prior to 2002 and was one of four FEMA photographers who were given exclusive access to Ground Zero following the September 11 Attacks in New York in 2001. In addition to the photographs and video he took on behalf of FEMA, he is reputed and claims to have taken additional video footage as well as numerous photographs, some of them since published. He claims that these recorded images will provide evidence about the nature of the Collapse of the World Trade Center when scrutinized by “experts.” As of August, 2010, he is seeking such experts to review his footage. [...]" Videos: Part 1 [14:11] Part 2 [14:17] Part 3 [10:55] Part 4 [1:51]   

Analysis: Deadly conflict inside Iraqi spy service goes unmentioned [09/23/10] "Amidst the chaos of post-Ba’athist Iraqi politics, a deadly sectarian conflict is raging within Iraq’s powerful spy agency. Employees inside Iraq’s National Intelligence Service (INIS) are split along religious sectarian lines, with Sunni and Shiite officers battling for control of the organization. The warring factions are directly affiliated with opposing political parties, and represent various political interests. Shiite officers are seen as aligned with Tehran, whereas Sunnis are close to Washington and –ironically– to the remnants of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath party. The conflict has resulted in the assassination of several INIS officers, mostly by their colleagues in the Service, according to two anonymous Iraqi security officials, who spoke to The National, an English-language newspaper published in the United Arab Emirates. One of them, a brigadier-general with recent experience in intelligence work in Baghdad, told the paper that Shiite INIS officers are beeing killed by professionally trained assassins using “plastic explosives, sticky bombs and silenced pistols”. These killings, said the brigadier-general, are conveniently reported as random terrorist attacks against Iraqi government employees. Another intelligence source told The National that the killings are targeted and involve the use of inside information, including pen-register data of cell phones belonging to spies targeted for assassination. He added that the assassins are former members of Saddam Hussein’s Mukhabarat (Iraqi Intelligence Service), who have been rehired and trained by American forces in recent years, in an effort to curtail Shiite influence inside Iraq.  [...]"  

US official: CIA runs elite well-paid Afghan fighting force [09/23/10] "The CIA has trained and bankrolled a well-paid force of elite Afghan paramilitaries for nearly eight years to hunt al-Qaida and the Taliban for the CIA, according to current and former U.S. officials.  Modeled after U.S. special forces, the Counterterrorist Pursuit Team was set up in the months following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2002 to penetrate territory controlled by the Taliban and al-Qaida and target militants for interrogations by CIA officials. The 3,000-strong Afghan teams are used for surveillance and long-range reconnaissance missions and some have trained at CIA facilities in the United States. The force has operated in Kabul and some of Afghanistan's most violence-wracked provinces including Kandahar, Khost, Paktia and Paktika, according to a security professional familiar with the program. The security official and former intelligence officials spoke about the Afghan force on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive information. The secret Afghan force has emerged as a new component of ramped-up American counter-terror operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan and against al-Qaida and allies over the mountainous border in Pakistan. The U.S. military, including special operations forces, has been working with the CIA in an intensified crackdown against militants on both sides of the border. [...]" 

 Commentary: "State Secrets vs. the Rule of Law" [09/23/10] "The inherent tension between the state secrets privilege and the rule of law reached the breaking point last week when an appeals court dismissed the claims of several persons who said they were illegally transported and tortured through a CIA “extraordinary rendition” program. They would not be permitted to litigate their case, the court decided, because to do so would place “state secrets” at risk. “This case presents a painful conflict between human rights and national security,” the 9th circuit court of appeals noted in its September 8 opinion (pdf) in Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, and by a 6-5 majority the judges determined that security considerations would take precedence. “We have thoroughly and critically reviewed the government’s public and classified declarations and are convinced that at least some of the matters it seeks to protect from disclosure in this litigation are valid state secrets, ‘which, in the interest of national security, should not be divulged’,” according to the majority opinion. At the same time, the majority acknowledged, “Denial of a judicial forum based on the state secrets doctrine poses concerns at both individual and structural levels. For the individual plaintiffs in this action, our decision forecloses at least one set of judicial remedies, and deprives them of the opportunity to prove their alleged mistreatment and obtain damages. At a structural level, [...]"  

Study: Foreclosure, Debt Causes More Denials of Security Clearances [09/23/10] "More government workers and contractors are being denied security clearances or having their clearances revoked due to their financial debt, according to a study by security clearance lawyer Sheldon Cohen  . Since the collapse of the housing market in 2008, debt resulting from job losses and home foreclosures have had a devastating effect on people holding national security clearances. That, more than any other factor today, is causing the revocation or denial of security clearances, resulting in the loss of good paying jobs, and putting skilled workers further and further behind in their effort to dig out of debt. [...] An estimated 3 million government workers and 1.5 million contractors have some level of security clearance, CBS News reported. The Washington Post, in a recent investigation of the U.S. national security system, estimated that about 854,000 people hold top-secret clearance."  

The New Nobility: Russia’s Security State [09/23/10] "The Soviet police state tried to control every citizen in the country. The new, more sophisticated Russian [security] system is far more selective than its Soviet-era counterpart; it targets only those individuals who have political ambitions or strong public views.” That’s what Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan discover in “The New Nobility,” their impressive new book on the resurgence of Russia’s security services in the post-Cold War era.  Soldatov and Borogan, Russian journalists who have produced some of the boldest reporting on the subject over the past decade, are also the creators and editors of Agentura.ru, a pioneering web site devoted to public interest research on Russian intelligence policy and related matters.  In “The New Nobility,” they present many of the decisive episodes in the recent history of the FSB, the primary Russian security service, from the 2002 Moscow theater siege, to the 2004 Beslan school massacre, the war in Chechnya, and more. Overall they present a picture of a security service of increasing power and influence, uneven competence — but virtually no accountability to parliament or the public. [...]"  

Entrapment likely issue in Chicago bomb plot AP Sept 22 [09/23/10] "As prosecutors take up the challenge of trying to convict a man arrested in an alleged bomb plot in Chicago, they may have to show the suspect wasn't egged on by an informant or undercover FBI agents into a crime he didn't initially intend to commit. Sami Samir Hassoun, 22, was arrested Sunday after he placed a backpack authorities say he thought contained a bomb near Chicago's Wrigley Field. The fake but ominous-looking device — a paint can fitted with blasting caps and a timer — was given to him by an FBI undercover agent. Hassoun's attorney, Myron Auerbach, said Tuesday he needed to study the case further before deciding on a defense strategy. But he left open the possibility of citing entrapment. "My client didn't bring anything of his own making to the incident. Things were given to him," he said... [...]"   Related:  See below.

Chicago: Homeland Security "Theater" in Chicago [09/23/10] "The diabolical nature of the State is sometimes revealed in small but crucial details. The criminal complaint against alleged would-be bomber Sami Samir Hassoun offers a very good example: The Lebanese expatriate, who is a legal resident of the United States, is accused of “attempting, without lawful authority, to use a weapon of mass destruction against people and property in a manner that would have affected interstate and foreign commerce….” (Emphasis added.) That formulation implies that the government whose agents carefully lured and entrapped Hassoun has the “lawful authority” to use a weapon of mass destruction against domestic targets. This is worth keeping in mind as we examine behavior of the Regime’s secret police in this manufactured “terrorist” incident.  Hassoun’s arrest triggered the predictable headlines and commentary describing yet another daring interdiction of a Jihadist plot by the Homeland’s valiant defenders, oh may they be praised forever. In fact, the criminal complaint specifies — albeit in footnotes — that Hassoun was not motivated by Islam or any other religion, and that he wasn’t interested in killing or harming anybody until long after he fell under the influence of a paid federal provocateur and two FBI agents posing as terrorist financiers. Rather than advancing the “Islamist agenda,” Hassoun — who wanted to bring down Mayor Daley’s administration — allegedly suggested that Muslims could make useful scapegoats. [...]"    Related:  Secret Police Stage More ‘Terrorism’ [09/22/10] "The FBI found another poor, lonely, easily persuaded schnook and talked him into “bombing” Wrigley Field in Chicago. The FBI even supplied the fake bomb. But here is what I want to know about all such state entrapments: how can he be charged with seeking to use a “weapon of mass destruction” when it was only make-believe? Oh well, in the world champion jailer—the US—such questions are unpatriotic. [...]"   

EU passes natural gas security measures [09/23/10] "European member states are called on to design preventative plans to ensure future natural gas supplies, the European Parliament announced. [...]" 

U.S. Expanding Bases In Afghanistan For Permanent Presence [09/23/10] "Of late, the United States planned to expand the Bagram, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Shairf air bases in Afghanistan with an allocation of 300 million US dollars. The expansion of U.S. military bases in Afghanistan is obviously running counter to the commitment to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2011; the United States is aiming to build permanent military bases in the "post-antiterrorism era" and to consolidate its global military network and to guard against the possible future global volatile situations.  [...]"  

Russia leads charge in Arctic race [09/23/10] "An international meeting to try to prevent the Arctic becoming the next battleground over mineral wealth is taking place in Moscow [...]"  Note: Now that the Arctic is getting warmer, temporarily, they want to mine minerals. Meanwhile the Antarctic grows colder and more expansive.

The Orwellian Concept of Pre-Crime: Five Surprising Facts About Spying In America [09/23/10] "Here are 5 surprising facts about spying in America.We understand if some of this sounds far-fetched. But take a look for yourself, and see if you can disprove these claims.  [...]"     

Analysis:  “Manufacturing Dissent”: the Anti-globalization Movement is Funded by the Corporate Elites [09/22/10] "Under the New World Order, the ritual of inviting “civil society” leaders into the inner circles of power –while simultaneously repressing the rank and file– serves several important functions. First, it says to the World that the critics of globalization “must make concessions” to earn the right to mingle. Second, it conveys the illusion that while the global elites should –under what is euphemistically called democracy– be subject to criticism, they nonetheless rule legitimately. And third, it says “there is no alternative” to globalization: fundamental change is not possible and the most we can hope is to engage with these rulers in an ineffective “give and take”.   While the “Globalizers” may adopt a few progressive phrases to demonstrate they have good intentions, their fundamental goals are not challenged. And what this “civil society mingling” does is to reinforce the clutch of the corporate establishment while weakening and dividing the protest movement. An understanding of this process of co-optation is important, because tens of thousands of the most principled young people in Seattle, Prague and Quebec City [1999-2001] are involved in the anti-globalization protests because they reject the notion that money is everything, because they reject the impoverishment of millions and the destruction of fragile Earth so that a few may get richer.  [...] Under contemporary capitalism, the illusion of democracy must prevail. It is in the interest of the corporate elites to accept dissent and protest as a feature of the system inasmuch as they do not threaten the established social order. The purpose is not to repress dissent, but, on the contrary, to shape and mould the protest movement, to set the outer limits of dissent. To maintain their legitimacy, the economic elites favor limited and controlled forms of opposition, with a view to preventing the development of radical forms of protest, which might shake the very foundations and institutions of global capitalism. In other words, “manufacturing dissent” acts as a “safety valve”, which protects and sustains the New World Order. To be effective, however, the process of “manufacturing dissent” must be carefully regulated and monitored by those who are the object of the protest movement.[...]"    Note:  An interesting article, worth reading.

‘FBI falsified post-9/11 events’ [09/22/10] "The US Justice Department has accused the FBI of providing misleading statements on terrorism in the wake of the September 11 incident. The FBI gave false information to Congress and the public to justify surveillance of an anti-war rally in Pittsburgh in 2002, US media quoted a report by the Justice Department on Monday. Inspector General Glenn Fine said the FBI had no reason to expect that anyone of interest in a terrorism investigation would be present at event sponsored a nonviolent anti-war and anti-discrimination group. The surveillance was “an ill-conceived project on a slow work day,” AP quoted Fine as saying. “We determined this version of events was not true,” added the official. The report says that the FBI used scant evidence to place members of the environmental group Greenpeace on a federal terrorism watch list. The Justice Department has called on the FBI to review its policies, especially in domestic terrorism cases. [...]"   

New Research Study Links Political Connections to Corporate Corruption [09/22/10] "While most citizens recognize that corruption is "bad," the average citizen is unaware of the benefits enjoyed by politically connected firms, or how common government favors are worldwide. In the United States, many citizens were outraged at the provision and size of bailouts for "too big to fail" banks. A new study from the journal Financial Management claims that not only does corruption exist in the corporate world, but that political connections are extremely important for corporate success. [...]" 

Global ‘internet treaty’ proposed [09/21/10] "The proposal was presented at the Internet Governance Forum in Lithuania last week, and outlined 12 “principles of internet governance”, including a commitment from countries to sustain the technological foundations that underpin the web’s infrastructure. The draft law has been likened to the Space Treaty, signed in 1967, which stated that space exploration should be carried out for the benefit of all nations, and guaranteed “free access to all areas of celestial bodies”. Under the proposed terms of the law, there would be cross-border co-operation between countries to identify and address security vulnerability and protect the network from possible cyber attacks or cyber terrorism. It would also uphold rights to freedom of expression and association, and the principle of net neutrality, in which all internet traffic is treated equally across the network. [...]"   Related: US lawmakers seek power to ‘shut down’ Web sites in other countries  "A bill introduced in the US Senate on Monday would give US law enforcement authorities more tools to crack down on websites engaged in piracy of movies, television shows and music. The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act has received support from both parties and was introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, [...]"  

Documentary: Afghanistan: Drugs, Guns and Money [09/20/10] Video clip [52:03] "Narrated by Colin Friels and produced by Chris Hilton, Afghanistan: Drugs, Guns and Money asks these difficult questions by following the journey of this years opium crops, tracing the drug trafficking routes heading north from Afghanistan through the nations of the Old Silk Road on its way to Europe.  The film examines who are the winners and losers as the crop finds its way to market. The awesome beauty of the landscape provides a powerful backdrop for the treachery uncovered each step of the way. Like a cancer, the heroin trade has spread its tentacles through almost every level of society. In Afghanistan there is mass local addiction, local HIV epidemics, an unending cycle of violence and crime, and the corruption of state institutions. With the war on terror raging, the war on drugs has slipped down the priority list of the current US administration. But, in the crucial frontline states of Central Asia, these two wars are inextricably linked… a fact all too often ignored. The business is booming. Afghanistan and its near neighbors still supply around 80 per cent of the heroin sold in Western Europe. Yesterday’s drug lords are today’s cabinet ministers. How much of a problem is it for America (and the West) that many of its newest allies are implicated in one of the most lucrative drug routes in the world? [...]" 

Thousands Of Dead Fish Wash Up On New Jersey Beaches (again) [09/20/10] [0:24]  Note:  Dispersants have made the trip into the Atlantic Ocean.  See links on page to OTHER videos on fish kills happening off coastal areas. See "Oil and Gas" link at the top of this panel for related stories.

Exposé: U.S. Contractor Accused Of Fraud Still Winning Big Projects In Afghanistan [09/20/10] "On July 31, 2006, an employee of the Louis Berger Group, a contractor handling some of the most important U.S. rebuilding projects in Afghanistan, handed federal investigators explosive evidence that the company was intentionally and systematically overbilling American taxpayers. Neither the whistleblower's computer disk full of incriminating documents nor a trail of allegations of waste, fraud and shoddy construction, however, prevented Louis Berger from continuing to reap hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts. [...]"

Report: "Partners in Crime: The U.S. Secret State and Mexico’s “War on Drugs” – Tom Burghardt [09/20/10] "For decades, investigative journalists, researchers and analysts have noted the symbiotic relationships forged amongst international drug syndicates, neofascists and U.S. intelligence agencies, documenting the long and bloody history of U.S. complicity in the global drugs trade.  While the United States has pumped billions of dollars into failed drug eradication schemes in target countries through ill-conceived programs such as Plan Colombia and the Mérida Initiative, in the bizarro world of the “War on Drugs,” corporate interests and geopolitics always trump law enforcement efforts to fight organized crime, particularly when the criminals are partners in crimes perpetrated by the secret state.  Since 2006, when Mexican President Felipe Calderón turned the Army loose, allegedly to “dismantle” the drug cartels slowly transforming Mexico into a killing field some 28,000 people, primarily along Mexico’s northern border with the U.S., have lost their lives. Countless others have been wounded, forced to flee or simply “disappeared.”  Writing in The Guardian, journalist Simon Jenkins tells us that “cocaine supplies routed through Mexico have made that country the drugs equivalent of a Gulf oil state.”  “Rather than try to stem its own voracious appetite for drugs,” Jenkins writes, “rich America shifts guilt on to poor supplier countries. Never was the law of economics–demand always evokes supply–so traduced as in Washington’s drugs policy. America spends $40bn a year on narcotics policy, imprisoning a staggering 1.5m of its citizens under it.”  Judging the results, one might even think the drug war solely exists as the principle means through which wealthy elites organize crime. [...]"  Note: Tom Burghardt is a researcher and activist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to publishing in Covert Action Quarterly and Global Research, his articles can be read on Dissident Voice, The Intelligence Daily, Pacific Free Press, Uncommon Thought Journal, and the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks. He is the editor of Police State America: U.S. Military “Civil Disturbance” Planning, distributed by AK Press and has contributed to the new book from Global Research, The Global Economic Crisis: The Great Depression of the XXI Century. 

Analysis:  "Imperialism and Imperial Barbarism" – James Petras [09/20/10] "Imperialism, its character, means and ends has changed over time and place. Historically, western imperialism, has taken the form of tributary, mercantile, industrial, financial and in the contemporary period, a unique ‘militarist-barbaric’ form of empire building. Within each ‘period’, elements of past and future forms of imperial domination and exploitation ‘co-exist’ with the dominant mode. For example , in the ancient Greek and Roman empires, commercial and trade privileges complemented the extraction of tributary payments. Mercantile imperialism, was preceded and accompanied initially by the plunder of wealth and the extraction of tribute, sometimes referred to as “primitive accumulation”, where political and military power decimated the local population and forcibly removed and transferred wealth to the imperial capitals. As imperial commercial ascendancy was consolidated, manufacturing capital increasingly emerged as a co-participant; backed by imperial state policies manufacturing products destroyed local national manufacturers gaining control over local markets. Modern industrial driven imperialism, combined production and commerce, both complemented and supported by financial capital and its auxiliaries, insurance, transport and other sources of “invisible earnings”. [...] 

Historical Research: Mao Zedong ‘Killed 45 Million In Four Years’, The Greatest Mass Murderer In World History [09/20/10] "Mao’s Great Leap Forward ‘killed 45 million in four years’ Mao Zedong presided over a regime responsible for the deaths of up to 45 million people Mao Zedong, founder of the People’s Republic of China, qualifies as the greatest mass murderer in world history, an expert who had unprecedented access  [...]"   

Life in Devastated Haiti [09/20/10] "Nine months after the January 12 earthquake, Haitians still have little relief. Over one and a half million left homeless continue struggling to survive, despite billions in aid raised or pledged. It’s for development, predatory NGOs, not them. That’s the problem, and they suffering as a result, little media attention paid to their plight. [...]"   See "Haiti" link at the top of this panel for related items.

Commentary:  Government Complicit in Covert Spraying of the Gulf [09/19/10] "Today on The Intel Hub, award winning journalist Dahr Jamail reported some starling information on the situation in the gulf. The Gulf of Mexico has been poisoned beyond relief yet BP has continued to spray toxic dispersant. How is this happening in America? Agencies within the government have seemingly merged with the private sector, essentially creating a fascist American dictatorship. Armed with a clever name, BP has set up an operation that enables them to find oil throughout the gulf and immediately disperse it. The Vessel of Opportunity Program has tasked BP workers with finding the oil, punching the coordinates into their GPS, and relaying it to command [...]"  Note:  Video clip  [13:52] Listen to full interview with Dahr Jamail (MP3 Audio)

Report: "Burning Money to Turn Coal into Gas" [09/18/10] "North Dakota is all about energy production. The landscape in the Peace Garden State is thick with rocking oil derricks and its byways are clotted with oil tanker trucks. When one drives in at night from the west, Highway 83 just south of Minot is bordered with wind turbines whose string of eerie red airplane-warning lights look like a picket line of giant alien sentries 20 miles out. The hydroelectric Garrison Dam blocking the Missouri river is a graceful feat of engineering and the countryside is dotted with electric power generation plants rising on the prairies from the middle of vast open pit coal mines. But for me, the most interesting feature of North Dakota’s energy landscape is the Great Plains Synfuels plant located near the town of Beulah, just south of Lake Sakakawea. “If you want to see what $4 billion can build in the middle of the prairie,” says Basin Electric communications director Darrell Hill, “it’s the Great Plains and the Antelope Valley electric station next door to it.” And the two are indeed an impressive sight. From a distance the gigantic coal gasfication plant with its enormous smokestacks billowing white clouds is an easy stand-in for William Blake’s “dark satanic mills.” That is until you learn that the Great Plains billows are essentially steam. [...]"  See "Oil and Gas" link at the top of this panel for related items.

Commentary: Real Versus Fake Crises: Concealing The Risk of An All Out Nuclear War [09/18/10] "We have reached a turning point in our history. The US and its allies are preparing to launch a nuclear war with devastating consequences.  During the Cold War, the concept of "mutual assured destruction" (MAD) was put forth. An understanding of the consequences of nuclear war largely contributed to avoiding the outbreak of war between the US and the Soviet Union. Today, in the post-Cold war era, no such understanding prevails.  The spectre of a nuclear holocaust, which haunted the world for half a century has been relegated to the status of "collateral damage". This military adventure in the real sense of the word threatens the future of humanity. While one can conceptualize the loss of life and destruction resulting from present-day wars including Iraq and Afghanistan, it is impossible to assess or fully comprehend the devastation which would result from a Third World War, using "new technologies" and advanced weapons systems, until it actually occurs and becomes a reality.  [...]"  

CIA planned to use UFOs as psych warfare against the population [09/18/10] "It is recommended that: a. The Director of Central Intelligence advise the National Security Council of the security implications inherent in the flying saucer problem. b. CIA, under its assigned responsibilities, and in cooperation with the psychological strategy board, immediately investigate possible offensive or defensive utilization of the phenomena for psychological warfare purposes both for and against the United States."  [...]" 

U.N. Security Council Summit to Boost Global Involvement [09/18/10] "With as little public notice as possible, the United Nations Security Council plans to hold a summit meeting next week to significantly boost its role as a global military and police force, social development agency and international arbitrator, all rolled into one. Even though President Barack Obama is slated to address the U.N. twice next week— on Wednesday, during another summit meeting on the U.N.’s anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Thursday, during the annual General Assembly session—appearing at the Security Council summit does not show up yet on his schedule. In response to questions about the session from Fox News, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Ban ki-Moon, who will address the meeting, said only “I’ve asked for assistance on this.” An official of the U.S. Mission to the U.N. told Fox News that “there will be more details shortly about some meetings including the Security Council summit.” [...]"    

Congressman: BP "Openly Blackmailing the American Government" [09/17/10] "BP wants the federal government to meet its demand for continued access to oil and gas leases in the United States. If the oil giant can't keep drilling here, its promise to compensate victims of the Deepwater Horizon disaster might go unfulfilled—or so the company claims. But the idea that BP has to keep drilling in the Gulf in order to compensate victims is simply not true. According to its last quarterly report, BP's assets and investments are valued at approximately $248.6 billion. The company has plenty of money. Unfortunately, the US government set up the oil spill compensation fund with BP's Gulf subsidiary, which in practice makes the $20 billion fund reliant on keeping those operations profitable. BP is now using this to strong-arm the government—but only because the administration let it. [...]"   

Exposé: Blackwater conducting false flag terrorist attacks in Pakistan later blamed on “Pakistani Taliban.” [09/16/10] "Only recently did the US State Department designate the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, a terrorist group. The group is said by the State Department to be an off-shoot of the Afghan Taliban, which had links to “Al Qaeda” before the 9/11 attacks on the United States. TTP’s leader is Hakimullah Mehsud, said to be 30-years old and operating from Pakistan’s remote tribal region with an accomplice named Wali Ur Rehman. In essence, this new team of Mehsud and Rehman appears to be the designated replacement for Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri as the new leaders of the so-called “Global Jihad” against the West. However, it is Xe cells operating in Karachi, Peshawar, Islamabad and other cities and towns that have, according to our source who witnessed the U.S.-led false flag terrorist operations in Pakistan. Bombings of civilians is the favored false flag event for the Xe team and are being carried out under the orders of the CIA... ...The ultimate goal is to destabilize Pakistan to the point where it has no choice but to allow the Western powers to secure its nuclear weapons and remove them from the country in a manner similar to the procurement by the West of South Africa’s nuclear weapons prior to the stepping down of the white minority government in the early 1990s. WMR has been informed that any American, whether or not he or she holds a security clearance, is subject to U.S. national security prohibitions from discussing the U.S.- sponsored terrorist attacks in Pakistan. In one case, a threat was made against an individual who personally witnessed the Xe/CIA terrorist operations but is now threatened, along with family members. [...]"  

9th Circuit Does 180 on Seizure Limits [09/16/10] "An 11-judge panel for the 9th Circuit on Monday overturned its own prior ruling that placed major stipulations on the government's search and seizure powers of computer hard drives. The 9-2 ruling voided guidelines that were designed to protect Fourth Amendment privacy rights during court-authorized computer searches. The panel overturned the prior decision at the request of Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, responding to complaints that prosecutions had become too difficult. The case originated in 2004 with an investigation by federal prosecutors into a California Major League Baseball steroid ring that led to the copying of directory spreadsheets that had the results of drug tests for every player who had been tested. In its original ruling, the panel prohibited the government from copying entire hard drives and allowed the confiscation of only specific data described in a search warrant. If that wasn't possible, the government had to enlist the help of a third party who, under the court's supervision, would sift through the files to find specific information. If the government refused to consent to the rules, the requested search warrant would be denied. The government argued that the evidence qualified as a "plain sight" finding, similar to finding drugs or firearms on a table during a raid. The new ruling does not allow the government to use evidence that stretches beyond the scope of a warrant, but the ruling opens up the previously narrowed guidelines to which the Obama administration objected [...]" Case File PDF 

Historical Research: "Why Lincoln Imprisoned and Deported a Democratic Congressman" [09/16/10] "One of the most tyrannical acts of any government official in all of American history is Lincoln’s imprisonment and deportation of Congressman Clement L. Vallandigham (D-Ohio) without any due process for merely opposing the administration’s policies, as he was elected to do by the people of his Dayton, Ohio congressional district. Some insight into why King Lincoln behaved in such a Stalinist manner is gained by reading this 1862 speech by Congressman Vallandigham in opposition to the Lincoln administration’s Legal Tender Act. In the speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives he predicted that the Act, by flooding the country with paper money backed by nothing, would lead to:  “ . . . high prices, extravagant speculation, enormous sudden fortunes, immense fictitious wealth, general insanity. These belong to all inordinate and excessive paper issues.” In a passage that sounds like an exposition of the Austrian School of Economics’ business cycle theory Vallandigham said: “What is to be the result of this? The collapse follows the inflation, and is terrible and disastrous just in proportion as the bubble has been magnificent.” “The object of all this . . . is to subjugate the States and the people perpetually to the Federal government” and to aggrandize the political posture of “Abraham Lincoln . . . now President and Caesar of the American Republic.” And every word of it was true. That’s why he had to be deported.  [...]"   

Lecture: "The Fed and the Power Elite" Murray N. Rothbard [09/16/10] Video clip [66:06] "Lecture by Murray N. Rothbard presented at the Ludwig von Mises Institute's "Money and the Federal Reserve" summit held at Jekyll Island, Georgia; May 8-10, 1992. Murray N. Rothbard (1926-1995) was America's greatest radical libertarian author -- writing authoritatively about ethics, philosophy, economics, American history, and the history of ideas. He presented the most fundamental challenge to the legitimacy of government, and he refined thinking about the self-ownership and non-coercion principles. [...]"  

Haiti's Disaster Capitalists Swoop In [09/15/10] "Refugee evictions, private land grabs, disaster capitalism—you can't tell the story of Haiti without all this. Eight months after the earthquake, many of the 1.7 million Haitians living under tattered tarps in squalid squatter camps around Port-au-Prince are being forced to abandon the tent cities they've set up on privately owned land. Meanwhile, businesses—eager to slurp up the spoils of disaster—are swooping in to score major paydays by moving the refugees to new camps, some set to operate as industrial work zones. And there's no one stopping it.  In March, Haitian landowners and police authorities began kicking displaced Haitians out of their makeshift cities at the behest of the owners of the land on which the camps sat. International Action Ties, a grassroots community development agency working in Haiti, says authorities are regularly flushing out the camps. The International Organization for Migration, which heads up the international aid response to the quake, has been unable to prevent expulsions and has been relegated to playing mediator between landowners and camp occupants. A recent IAT report provides a vivid blow-by-blow of expulsions by Haitian police in the communes of Delmas and Cité Soleil: bulldozers demolishing flimsy shelters, policemen swinging batons and shooting their guns in the air, and several cases of sexual assault. IAT skewers the Haitian government and UN system, and blasts the aid community for not defending the refugees (for more, read this report from July).  And there's a twist: It's not even clear these landowners officially own the property that the displaced people are being expelled from. Murky titling laws have plagued Haiti since its early days, clouding landowners' claims with ambiguity and contributing to the country's current catastrophe.  Post-colonial Haiti's first ruler, Jean-Jacques Dessaline,  [...]"  Note: See "Haiti" link at the top of this panel for related stories.

British Troops' Afghan Heroin Smuggling Under Spotlight [09/15/10] "After years of what was evident to the EIR, British troops' role in the smuggling of heroin from southern Afghanistan could no longer be kept under wraps. The British Defense Ministry on Sept. 12 confirmed there were allegations that soldiers were using military planes to smuggle drugs out of Afghanistan, but called them "unsubstantiated." However, they said they said they are investigating and taking precautions. British troops moved into the southern province of Helmand in 2005 at the time the opium explosion in that province began. It was during the British troops' presence in the province that the Taliban took overall control there. Under the watchful eyes of some 9,000 British troops, opium production in Helmand rose from 1,500 tons to 4,200 tons. Last year, Britain's Sunday Times reported one drug dealer telling the newspaper that members of the military were the second largest buyers of heroin after foreign drug lords. The newspaper was told: "The soldiers whose term of duty is about to finish, they give an order to our boss. They are carrying these drugs in the military airlines and they can't be reached because they are military. They can take it to the U.S.A. or England." A team of detectives from Britain's Ministry of Defence's special investigations branch is believed to be heading the investigation into the claims. Throughout this period when the British troops were smuggling drugs, London kept attacking Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother as the main drug lord in the area, with the aim to create an anti-Karzai lobby among policymakers and legislators in Washington. [...]"  Related:  US Lets Corrupt Afghan Officials Off the Hook [09/14/10] "The Obama administration intends to dial back its attempts to clean up Hamid Karzai’s government, sources tell the Washington Post. Senior administration officials say they’ve generally agreed that instead of prosecuting allegedly corrupt Afghan officials, they should work out backroom compromises that won’t embarrass Karzai. “The current approach is not tenable,” says one administration official. “What will we get out of it? We'll arrest a few mid-level Afghans, but we'll lose our ability to operate there.”  Karzai has pushed back against US efforts to curb corruption, particularly in the wake of the arrest of one of his palace aides. “We need to convince him we’re not on a witch hunt,” says the US official. But many in the military and State Department think corruption is driving Afghans into the Taliban’s arms. “The Afghans want to see their leaders held to account,” said one US official. “They don’t want these cases swept under the rug.” [...]"  Note: Especially an Afghan rug. | UK:  Probe into Afghanistan troops' heroin trafficking claims [09/12/10] | British & Canadian Military Running Heroin Smuggling Operation Claims British Newspaper 

"Dizzy With Success": The Accelerating Degeneration of Life in America's Afghanistan [09/15/10] "Dizzy With Success." That was the phrase used by Stalin to describe the "few excesses" that had taken place in the "historic drive to collectivization," i.e., the Bolshevik war on the rural poor that had led to massive famine and the deaths and uprooting of millions of people. The campaign had left such a swathe of ruin that some of those who saw its effects went mad, or turned dissident, or subsided into horrified, soul-drained silence. [...]"   Petraeus foresees long haul in Afghanistan  "The U.S. war in Afghanistan is nine years old but the top U.S. commander there says it may be another decade before the insurgency is fully quashed. [...]"  Note: As a sequential incarnation, this individual will have to reincarnate on a different world to continue his habits, because this civilization is nearly over. Petraeus behaves like a wind-up psychopath ... despicable individual presence.

Md. judge: Military contractors can be sued [09/15/10] "Md. judge says soldiers' lawsuit over burn pits against military contractors can continue. A federal judge says military contractors can be sued by soldiers and others who allege they were harmed by improper waste disposal while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus ruled last week in Maryland that military contractors  [...]"   

Updated: Calif. pipeline was OK'd for replacement [09/15/10] "The natural gas pipeline that exploded in California had been approved for replacement three years ago but the work never got done, documents show. The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday state regulators had given Pacific Gas and Electric Co. clearance in 2007 to spend $5 million to upgrade the 62-year-old section of pipeline near San Bruno. The work was scheduled to be done last year but the project languished and the newspaper said documents submitted by PG&E to the California Utility Commission reveal the utility sought another $5 million this year to get the job done by 2013. "There's no excuse for deferring maintenance of potentially compromised pipelines that run under customers' homes, businesses and schools," Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network, which released the documents, said. The Times said neither PG&E nor the commission responded to requests for an immediate comment on the rate increase request documents. [...]"  Related: Fatal Pipeline Accident Turns Attention to Nation’s Aging Pipelines [09/14/10] "Following last week’s pipeline explosion in California that killed at least four people and destroyed 58 houses in suburban San Bruno, regulators have been searching for clues about what caused the blast. A piece in the Associated Press, meanwhile, suggests that thousands of pipelines like the one in San Bruno are aging and nearing their life expectancy:   Experts say the California disaster epitomizes the risks that communities face with old gas lines. The pipe was more than 50 years old — right around the life expectancy for steel pipes. It was part of a transmission line that in one section had an "unacceptably high" risk of failure. And it was in a densely populated area.  … Thousands of pipelines nationwide fit the same bill, and they frequently experience mishaps. Federal officials have recorded 2,840 significant gas pipeline accidents since 1990, more than a third causing deaths and significant injuries. More than 60 percent of the nation’s gas pipelines are 40 years or older, AP reports. And age isn’t the only issue. Older pipelines are often configured in such a way that they’re unable to accommodate the latest pipeline safety technology.  Both The Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times have reported, for instance, that the pipeline itself was unusually built. The Times noted that the ruptured San Bruno pipeline, which was installed in 1956 by Pacific Gas & Electric Co., was so old and oddly configured that it could not accommodate a new pipeline-testing device known as a “pig,” which is considered to be “superior to other forms of testing.” [...]"  Note: Deliberately decreasing the chance of finding problems saves money on repairs, but endangers the public - typical perspective for these losers.  Related: Aging gas pipe at risk of explosion nationwide 

Allegation – Americans Flooded Out Millions in Pakistan to Protect U.S. Drone Military Base [09/14/10]  Video clip [9:49]  "Feryal Ali Gauhar served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund and is the only UN Goodwill Ambassador who quit over the invasion of Iraq.  Gauhar is a Pakistani actress, filmmaker, writer and human rights activist. Her most recent book is set in Afghanistan. It’s called No Space for Further Burials. Gauhar told Democracy Now today:  Feryal Ali Gauhar: I just happened to stumble across a contractor … the contractor who built the base, who inadvertently, actually, spoke about it…. So, he actually mentioned to me that the River Indus, which is one of the largest rivers in the world, carrying now a volume of water which has not been known in contemporary history, was breached on the left bank deliberately in order to protect the base, which is on the right bank. And the breaching caused, consequentially, the inundation of an entire district, which resulted in the displacement of millions, not thousands, but millions, because we have 170 million people in the country, and this particular district is one of the most densely populated. So, yes, there is a connect between, you know, what is considered to be a natural disaster, but then the management of that disaster is not natural at all.   Amy Goodman: And this is a base that is used, run by US military, to run its drone attacks?   Feryal Ali Gauhar: Oh, absolutely. In fact, it is a base where non-US military personnel are not allowed. In fact, the person I was talking who was there, who built the base, actually said to me that one of the reasons why non-US military personnel are not allowed is not just for security of the US military personnel, but because they do not wish to share the technology. They are—you know, we’ve had a long historical and political tie with the People’s Republic of China. And so, there is this fear that was expressed while the contractor was working on the base that the drone technology, you know, should remain specifically in the hands of the US military, and it should not be replicated by any other nation. So there is that protection of the technology itself. It’s not just the protection of the personnel. [...]" Note: Even if Gauhar’s allegation is true, she is not alleging that Americans caused all of Pakistan’s flooding. Specifically, the flooding started in the Northwest part of Pakistan, and then spread to the middle and finally the southern-most province of Sindh. The incident which Gauhar addressed took place in Sindh. Related:  Pakistan's Predicament: An Environmental and Humanitarian Crisis Coupled with a Staggering Foreign Debt | IMF demands blood from flood-ravaged Pakistan 

"National Security Used As Pretext to Confiscate Samples and Notes On Dispersant, Homeland Security Works For BP" [09/14/10] "I’m an adjunct professor here at A&M, and we were also in the Gulf, but got thrown out. We were testing a theory that the chemical composition of the dispersant they were using was causing the oil to sink. And we’d been there for approximately three days, and federal agents flat told us to get out. And it wasn’t Fish and Wildlife officers. These were Homeland Security officers, and we were told that it was in the interest of national security. [...]"  See "Oil and Gas" link above for more related stories.  

Israeli art student activity reported at federal officials’ homes [09/14/10] "On the eve of the 9/11 anniversary and in an eerie repeat of Israeli “art student” activity a year and a half prior to the 9/11 attack at the offices and homes of federal government, U.S. military, and even federal judges, WMR has been informed of an increase in similar renewed activity at the homes of current and former federal officials.   In the most recent incident, federal officials of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) report Israeli “art students” visiting their homes in Brea, California, in Orange County. Similar to the art student activity in late 2000 and early 2001, one Israeli, accompanied by one or two others, including a driver, canvassed the neighborhood offering Israeli paintings door-to-door. The TSA individuals in the area are not airport screeners but more senior officials of the aviation security agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security. In 2000 and 2001, it was the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that initiated an investigation of the activity as an intelligence operation by Israel but the investigation was eventually halted a few months prior to 9/11 on the orders of Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI director Louis Freeh. After 9/11 and the revelation of the Israeli operation in the media, FBI director Robert Mueller continued the “hands-off” approach to the Israeli activity.   WMR has also been alerted by a former member of Congress to a new twist in Israeli activity in the Atlanta area. Foreign individuals meeting the description of Israelis have visited the homes and made phone calls to the family and a friend of the former member, asking if they would consider hosting a foreign exchange student at their residences. There are reports that these foreign exchange student canvassers travel in groups and drive into neighborhoods in a similar fashion to the Israeli art student vendors.   After reports that some Israeli mall kiosk vendors selling Dead Sea skin care products had vanished from certain malls around the country, WMR has received a report of Israelis working at the Coronado Mall in Albuquerque, New Mexico engaging in aggressive sales tactics.  WMR has previously reported on Israeli kiosk vendors asking probing questions of military members at malls in Norfolk, Virginia; Columbia, Maryland; and at Pentagon City in Arlington, Virginia. Albuquerque is the home of Kirtland Air Force Base, which hosts the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center and its subordinate wings, the 498th Nuclear Systems Wing and the 377th Air Base Wing. Kirtland is also the home of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Albuquerque office, the Air Force Safety Center, the Air Force Inspection Agency, the Air Force Operational Test and evaluation Center. [...]"  Related: Unusual Volume of Call Contracts Traded, Suspicion Rises  

The West has made even more mistakes in Afghanistan than us, says Russian envoy to Kabul [09/14/10] "Andrey Avetisyan, a veteran Kabul diplomat, said talk of a handover to the Afghans was currently unrealistic because the coalition had failed to build the nation's forces or economy.  The rampant corruption riddling the administration was the West's fault for ploughing huge sums into badly-coordinated, opaque aid projects he said. Mr Avetisyan, who began his career in Kabul in the 1980s and speaks Dari and Pashtu, said the West had not learned from Soviet mistakes. "They are repeating all of them and they are making new ones," he told The Sunday Telegraph. "For the last eight years, there have been no big projects, not infrastructure projects," he went on. "A school here, a hospital there. When it is built people start asking 'Well where are the teachers and the doctors?' because no one thought about it before." The Afghan government was crippled by a shortage of able, trained civil servants. The new army was being trained "almost on the battlefield". [...]"  

Commentary: ‘Lèse Majesté’ [09/13/10] "In the Roman empire, it was treason to insult or make fun of the emperor, to “injure his majesty.” This is true in all unfree countries, to protect the state and its head, and as the American empire becomes ever more authoritarian, here too. Not that this is anything new in the US context. John Adams’s Sedition Act of 1798, under which Americans were fined and jailed, was of this ancient and evil tradition, as was the Apostle Woodrow’s Sedition Act of 1918, which was never repealed. Recently, an English teenager sent an insulting email to Obama, and the praetorian guards, FBI division, have banned the kid for life from ever visiting the Homeland, by mere edict. There is a lesson here: Never send a message to any part of the imperial regime. It will only be added to your NSA dossier, and has no chance of doing any good. Withdraw your consent. At the very least, don’t participate in the civic hoax. [...]"  Related:  Commentary: Ending Tyranny Without Violence

"America as a Country vs. America as a State" [09/13/10] "The history of America as a country is quite different from that of America as a state. In one case it is the drama of the pioneering conquest of the land, of the growth of wealth and the ways in which it was used, of the enterprise of education, and the carrying out of spiritual ideals, of the struggle of economic classes. But as a state, its history is that of playing a part in the world, making war, obstructing international trade, preventing itself from being split into pieces, punishing those citizens whom society agrees are offensive, and collecting money to pay for it all.”   Some other wise words from Bourne: “The government, with no mandate from the people, without consultation of the people, conducts all the negotiations, the backing and filling, the menaces and explanations, which slowly bring it into collision with some other government, and gently and irresistibly slides the country into war.”  “Criticism of the state, objections to war, lukewarm opinions concerning the necessity or the beauty of conscription, are made subject to ferocious penalties, far exceeding in severity those affixed to actual . . . crimes.”  “The state in wartime creates a “regression into infantile attitudes.”  “The state is a jealous god and will brook no rivals. Its sovereignty must pervade every one, and all feeling must be run into the stereotyped forms of romantic patriotic militarism which is the traditional expression of the state herd-feeling.”   “War is a vast complex of life-destroying and life-crippling forces . . . this means not only the actual and potential destruction of an enemy, but of the nation at home as well.” “There is no case known in modern times of the people being consulted in the initiation of a war.” We’ll be discussing such things in detail in my Mises Academy online course on “The Political Economy of War,” beginning on September 21. [...]"  Related: "War is the Health of the State"  

"Why The Facts of 9/11, and the 9/11 Wars, Are Suppressed" [09/13/10] Understanding the ruling group-mind be­hind the war without end Video clip [51:16] Note: Prof. John McMurtry, Guelph University Lecture, Ontario Canada. Related:  The Underlying Politics of 9/11 [09/13/10] Video clip [18:34]   

AIPAC still not regulated as a political committee [09/13/10] "When a federal judge deploys an exclamation point in an opinion, you know something unusual is going on. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon tried to dispense of a case entitled Akins v. Federal Election Commission. The excruciatingly long-running case really involves, though, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AKA AIPAC. A number of former ambassadors, congressmen and government officials critical of the pro-Israel lobbying group sued the Federal Election Commission after the FEC declined to regulate AIPAC as a political commitee. The date of that original lawsuit? 1992. In the meantime, three of the original plaintiffs have died and the case has had a tortured path up and down the appellate path. On Wednesday, for reasons that may or may not be worth exploring, Judge Leon dismissed the case with these heart-felt words: "This never ending legal saga has spanned almost twenty years, multiple administrative complaints, and the careers of numerous Judges and Justices. To say the least, the time to complete the judicial review of these FEC decisions is long overdue. While time will tell what role, if any, this Opinion will have played in this interminable legal drama, I certainly trust that I will be the last District Judge that has to wrestle with this seemingly inexhaustible Hydra." Oh, and the exclamation comes when Judge Leon exclaims, "Unfortunately, this appellate odyssey had only just begun!" [...]" 

UK Documentary:  Film: "9/11 Truth – The Elephant In The Room" [09/11/10]  Video clip [90:00] "The Elephant in the Room is a documentary following British filmmaker Dean Puckett through his journey into the 9/11 Truth Movement: a global movement of ‘conspiracy theorists’ who believe that the official explanation about what happened on 9/11 is totally or partially inaccurate. The filmmakers travel from middle England, across Europe and to New York for the six year anniversary of the attacks, where the film takes one final twist as we are introduced to the 9/11 first responders who are suffering from various grave health difficulties due to the toxic dust that they breathed in trying to help their country during the weeks after this tragic event. Told with a personal hands on approach that avoids advancing any one position, the film asks the question: are these crazy conspiracy theorists? Or is 9/11 Truth a credible political movement?  [...]"  See "9/11" link at top of this panel for related stories.

Interview: Kurt Sonnenfeld: A witness for the persecution Thierry Meyssan [09/11/10] "Kurt Sonnenfeld's case is outstanding for at least two reasons. He is in possession of official documentation that contradicts the U.S. Government's account of the 9/11/01 events. He is a high-profile U.S. citizen forced to seek refugee status because of his government's dogged persecution. Any relation between these two facts is not purely coincidental. Voltaire Network's second exclusive interview of Kurt Sonnenfeld, conducted in Buenos Aires, is presented below. [...]"  

Wikileaks Next Dump Concerns Iraq Bloodbath... [09/11/10] "...As we reported when stories on WikiLeaks' Afghan holdings first appeared, the site's stash of Iraq documents is believed to be about three times as large as its Afghanistan collection... ...the Iraq material portrays U.S. forces being involved in a "bloodbath," but some of the most disturbing material relates to the abusive treatment of detainees, not by Americans but by Iraqi security forces... [...]"   

Supreme Court: Corporations Can Buy Judges [09/11/10] "You've heard that a recent Supreme Court decision said that corporations can give unlimited funds to politicians. But did you realize that it said that corporations can give unlimited money to judges?  As William K. Black - professor of economics and law, and the senior regulator during the S & L crisis - pointed out last week:  The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision allows businesses to make unlimited political contributions to judges and politicians. When judges are elected, the need for these contributions inherently turns judges into politicians. [...]"   

Canada involving Israel in the Americas, Despite Blatant Human Rights Violations [09/11/10] "The department of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday that the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas), Peter Kent, will be visiting Israel from August 31 to September 08 to launch Canada-Israel discussions on the Americas. Kent is set to meet with President Shimon Peres, Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Daniel Ayalon, during his trip. He will also visit the West Bank, where he will meet Riad Malki, the Palestinian Authority's Minister of Foreign Affairs.  On the eve of discussions, Kent stated, "As vibrant democratic states, Canada and Israel are natural allies. This affinity, based on our shared values, such as respect for human rights and the rule of law, extends to our respective engagement in the Americas."  The Minister's statement is puzzling given Israel's documented history of human rights violations and concomitant breach of international law. Under stated Canadian policy regarding the Middle East, Canada has officially recognized many of Israel's violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Israel's military occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, the ongoing expansion of colonies (a.k.a. settlements) in the occupied territories, and Israel's construction of a wall on Palestinian land. [...]"  

Hamilton and Kean Call for "Domestic Terrorism Agency" [09/11/10] "The federal government needs an agency specifically charged with identifying radicalization or working to prevent terrorist recruitment of U.S. citizens and residents, according to a report issued by Tom Kean, Lee Hamilton, and the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Security Preparedness Group. Kean and Hamilton led the effort to blame cave-dwelling Muslims for the attacks of September 11, 2001. [...]"  Note: Right. Lee Hamilton was on the 9/11 Commission. Here's a quote from Hamilton: " 9/11 Commission co-chair Lee Hamilton says “I don’t believe for a minute we got everything right”, that the Commission was set up to fail, that people should keep asking questions about 9/11, and that the 9/11 debate should continue"  Source  Isn't the Department of Homeland Security" enough? They already fill the function of "keeping an eye on 'domestic' matters", along with those freaks at the Southern Poverty Law Center, the biggest hate mongers around, who exist just to fuck with people. Hamilton and Kean are traitorous sequentials who ought to be hung along with the rest of them.

   America’s Grand Strategy: Militarizing Space [09/11/10] "... First revealed in the 1998 US Space Command document, Vision for 2020, it was later released in 2000 as DOD Joint Vision 2020 calling for “full spectrum dominance” over all land, surface and sub-surface sea, air, space, electromagnetic spectrum and information systems with enough overwhelming power to wage and win global wars against any adversary, including with nuclear weapons preemptively, ultimately from space, America wanting unchallenged control. The Pentagon’s Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) plans an array of sophisticated weapons to achieve it, some operational, others being tested, and new ones under development for its Operations Plan (OPLAN) 8010-08 Strategic Deterrence and Global Strike use, the US Strategic Command’s (STRATCOM) Strategic War Plan. [...]"  Related: Documentary: "Standing Army" LINK FIXED  [5:28]  "The US has encircled the world with a web of 718 military bases in 130 countries, with over 250,000 people. It's one of the most powerful forces at play in the world, yet one of the less talked-about. Why do countries like Germany, Italy, Japan still host hundreds of US military bases and thousands US soldiers? what stance has president Obama taken on this subject? This documentary answers these and other questions both through the words of experts Noam Chomsky, Gore Vidal, Chalmers Johnson and through those directly affected by US bases in Italy, Japan and the Indian Ocean. [...] " Note:  Part 2 [7:09]  | The Military’s Media Megaphone and the U.S. Global Military Presence

Mossad Link To 1st WTC Bombing Raises Eyebrows [09/10/10] "Here are the facts about the Mossad connection to the first attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) revealed by investigative reporter Robert I. Friedman in the Aug. 3, 1993 article in The Village Voice, an independent left-wing New York weekly that has occasionally dared to raise criticisms of Israel. [...]"  

Karzai seeks to limit role of U.S. corruption investigators [09/10/10] "Afghan President Hamid Karzai intends to impose rules restricting international involvement in anti-corruption investigations, a move that U.S. officials fear will hobble efforts to address the endemic graft that threatens support for his administration in Afghanistan and the United States. Karzai wants to circumscribe the role of American and other foreign law enforcement specialists in two key anti-corruption organizations that have been set up in the Interior Ministry by not allowing them to have direct involvement in investigations. "The management will be Afghan, and the decision makers will be Afghan, and the investigators will be Afghan," Mohammad Umer Daudzai, Karzai's chief of staff, said in a telephone interview Wednesday. Foreign advisers, most of whom work for the U.S. Justice Department, will be limited to "training and coaching, but not decision making," he said. [...]"  Karzai: " Burning Koran an 'insult'" "The planned burning of copies of the Koran by an American church is an insult to Islam, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in a statement. [...]"  Note:  It's probably the case that Karzai's corruption, and that of his drug-dealing brother, and their murderous activities, are also "an 'insult to Islam and the Koran", as well. How many Afghani's have died horribly due to Karazi's complicity with the West ... it's a case of the 'pot calling the kettle black'.

China requires ID to buy cell phone numbers [09/10/10] "China wants people who buy new cell phone numbers to register their personal details, joining many European and Asian countries in curbing the anonymous use of mobile technology.  Most countries that have such rules say they prevent the use of unregistered phones in terror attacks or drug crimes. In China, authorities say they have their sights on rampant junk messages - but some believe the government will use the new tool for monitoring its citizens. The regulation was "the latest campaign by the government to curb the global scourge of spam, pornographic messages and fraud on cellular phones," the China Daily newspaper said. The rules that started last week apply to everyone, including foreigners on short visits. Similar rules have been implemented in several Asian, European and Latin American countries, often after phones were used to detonate bombs, organize terrorist attacks or conduct criminal activities. Federal legislation has been introduced in the United States, where prepaid phones have long been used by drug dealers. In many places, however, the rules are easily skirted with fake IDs or false names. [...] But human rights advocates say China might be looking for a way to track people who spontaneously join protests. Users could previously buy low-cost mobile phone SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards anonymously with cash at convenience stores and newspaper stands and use them right away.  "I think the government has an eye on Iran where protests were fueled by text messages and Twitter and they are doing this for social stability reasons," said Wang Songlian, research coordinator with the Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders. She added that the new requirement fits a pattern of tightening government control over new communication technologies. [...] "    

The Death of the US Legal System?  [09/09/10] [7:44] "The Supreme Court is supposed to be above the fray of politics, but unfortunately, that's just not the reality these days. It turns out justices are more likely than their predecessors to hire clerks who worked for judges appointed by a president of their ideology. These clerks have a lot more influence than you may think, and that's where it gets scary. Radio Host Thom Hartmann explains how with more 'corporate persons' pouring more money, courts are becoming extensions of businesses which isn't good for our democracy. [...]"   

Book: Solving 9-11: The Deception that Changed the World [09/08/10] PDF "For a more in depth look at the Israeli 9-11 attack it is recommended that you read Christopher Bollyn's book, released to the public."  265 pages  Related: "Israel did 9/11 - All The Proof In The World"

CIA spies consider Mossad ‘most unfriendly’ agency [09/08/10] "This blog frequently considers the issue of US-Israeli intelligence relations, said to be undergoing a turbulent period in recent times. Indeed, the change of guard at the White House, the rearrangement of Washington’s policy priorities following the economic crash, as well as the dramatic rightwing shift in Israeli politics have rapidly altered the political playing field between the two nations. To this extent, it is worth noting that Meir Dagan, director of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, told a Knesset committee last July that “Israel is gradually turning from an asset to the United States to a burden”. How is this evident in intelligence relations between Washington and Tel Aviv? The Washington Post’s security correspondent Jeff Stein may be able to help fill in the picture. He wrote a few days ago that an internal poll, which was recently administered to CIA operatives, found that Israeli intelligence agencies are considered the world’s least friendly and most uncooperative with their US counterparts. The survey, which was administered primarily to personnel within the Agency’s National Clandestine Service (which handles actual spies on the ground), also revealed that Israeli spy services are the world’s third most aggressive in their operations on American soil. In fact, the only intelligence agencies considered more aggressive than Israel’s in the survey were those of China and Russia. Stein spoke with retired CIA and FBI officials, who told him that Israeli agencies are indeed “all over the place” in the US, and that they have been “called on the carpet [by FBI counterintelligence] more than any other country by probably a factor of three times as often”. The Washington Post correspondent attempted to contact a spokesperson at Israel’s embassy in Washington DC, but it appears that nobody could be “immediately reached for comment”. [...]"   

Commentary: Is Israel Running The Pakistani Taliban? [09/07/10] "Four dead Israelis in Hebron was a clue. The 43 dead in Quetta is another. The imaginary Amsterdam hijackers were meant to be one also. More will come with each day, more clues, more planted news stories, more staging, more preparing the minds to expect what so many of us know is coming. [...]"  Related:  Pakistan Taliban threaten attacks on US and Europe "A senior commander in the Pakistan Taliban last night announced it was planning terror strikes against targets in the US and Europe similar to the Times Square bomb plot. [...]"  Recent Suicide Bombing in Pakistan leaves a trail to Tel Aviv?  "This story was supposed to be about the recent suicide bombings in Pakistan and the Pakistani Taliban announcement that it is planning terror strikes against targets in the US and Europe similar to the Times Square bomb plot. But I found this story from a Left Wing blogger to be a much bigger threat to America. [...]" "Israel To Use Iranian And Pakistani Dupes In Dirty Nuke Ploy" [08/03/10] "This week, the last piece fell into place. The National Research Council, part of the National Academy of Science, heavy on politics and light on science, announced that America was no longer able to track nukes threatening our shores. Their report titled Nuclear Forensics: A Capability at Risk, released last week, outlines the details of a secret study requested by the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense and Energy, specifically the National Nuclear Security Administration. The gist of the story is easy, if a nuke goes off in America, dirty nuke in Times Square, one in a container at a port, anywhere, America won’t be able to tell who made it. Not a word of the report is true. It is wild speculation and disinformation written in broad language with no hard science, written for a reason. [...]"  Note:  Who knows.

"Secret Service tossed non-essentials from White House bunker on 9/11" [09/07/10] "... In a heated exchange, Dr Rice had to argue with the US president, who was in Florida, telling him not to return to the White House because it was a potential terrorist target.  She told the British Channel 4 documentary: ''The president got on the phone and he said: 'I'm coming back.' ''I said: 'You cannot come back here. The United States of America is under attack, you have to go to safety. We don't know what is going on here.' ''He said: 'I'm coming back.' I said: 'You can't.' ''I said to him in a raised voice, and I had never raised my voice to the president before, I said: 'You cannot come back here.' I hung up. [...]"  Note: Bush wanted to come back because he KNEW there was no attack on the US ... that it was an attack on US buildings by the Mossad ... Rice was not brought into the loop. 

Commentary: "The Imperial Anatomy of Al-Qaeda: The CIA’s Drug-Running Terrorists and the “Arc of Crisis” By Andrew Marshall [09/07/10] Part I "As the 9th anniversary of 9/11 nears, and the war on terror continues to be waged and grows in ferocity and geography, it seems all the more imperative to return to the events of that fateful September morning and re-examine the reasons for war and the nature of the stated culprit, Al-Qaeda. The events of 9/11 pervade the American and indeed the world imagination as an historical myth.  [...]  

911 In Wonderland [09/07/10] "There is no doubt that in many movies and TV shows that the number 911 seemed to show up on many various clocks, digital screens, and other symbols. It also seemed to have abruptly stopped right after September 11th, 2001.    Was this the subconscious of various directors pulling those numbers from areas of the brain that we don't understand yet, or, is it some form of "Hidden in plain sight" communication between those "In-The-Know".   There are also many other instances I have noticed that are not in this video series although the video itself is pretty extensive. I actually just noticed an instance in Predator 2 about an hour ago that is not in this series.   Some of the instances seem to be defying extraordinary odds.  In the Movie "Hackers" in a scene they look at a computer monitor and on the screen it has the number 911 and 3 of the 911 flight numbers and even the fourth flight 175 which is backwards as 571. What are the odds of a movie showing 2 towers with the words "Crash and Burn" on them and also showing a 911 and all 4 flight numbers on the same screen?  How about the fact that Neo's passport in "The Matrix" expires on September 11th, 2001. What are the odds of that? When Neo walks in to meet the Oracle notice the fridge magnets say 911. When Neo dies and Trinity brings him back to life she looks at the computer screen and it says "Probe 911" and it has 93, 11, and 571 again which is flight 175 backwards.  When Goldblum opens his laptop in "Independence Day" the time left until the aliens attack is 09:11:01. What are the astronomical odds of that?  In the movie "Godzilla" the computer screen shows 911, 11, 175, 93, the word "Target" and 2 towers all at the same time on the same screen. Also in the movie a guy looks at his watch and the hands are on the 9 and 11. Furthermore, right at the same exact moment the reporter says the words "What some city officials are calling the worst act of destruction since the World Trade Center bombing" the time clock on the screen reads 17:39:11 How about those odds?  Maybe some of these directors and producers need to start playing the lottery. The creator of The X-Files even admits in this series that they hide and implant secret information into video and a big-wig at Fox admits the whole system is "Set up to screw with you". [...]"  Note:  911 In Movies and Media Before September 11th- Part 1  [10:29] | 911 In Movies and Media Before September 11th- Part 2  [10:55] | More Subliminal Messages Exposed [09/07/10] [15:00]

China, US meet amid tension over trade, military [09/06/10] "Senior U.S. and Chinese officials met Monday to steady relations upset by disputes over currency, trade and military affairs despite calls for a tougher line on Chinese economic policies that some say are contributing to American unemployment.  With congressional elections in two months, President Barack Obama is under pressure to kick-start the economy and many lawmakers say he should start by addressing China's lopsided trade surplus and currency policies. Meanwhile, China's nationalistic state media have criticized U.S.-South Korea military exercises in the Yellow Sea and U.S. government statements on South China Sea territorial disputes, saying they represent threats to China's security. Chinese officials tried to set a positive tone, emphasizing the need for cooperative relations, at the start of their meetings with National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers and Deputy National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon.  [...]"  

9/11: Fresh Kills - The Dust of the Dead [09/06/10] "The operation at Fresh Kills had three objectives: to find human remains, personal effects, and any evidence of the terrorist attack such as a highjacker’s box cutter, cell phones from the planes, and the black boxes.  For almost a year, the recovery team at the Fresh Kills facility sifted, sorted, and searched through 1.8 million tons of World Trade Center material. The staff never recovered a black box from the jets, a box cutter, or anything relating to the "hijackers." [...]"  Note: Because the aircraft that hit the twin towers were remote controlled by Israeli technology under a CIA/ Mossad operation ... the 'muslim' aspect was not actually involved in anything in New York or Washington.  Related:  Shaped Charges and the World Trade Center Collapses   

Guantanamo Guards Tortured 90-Year-Old Blind Man, Book Alleges [09/06/10] "Although U.S. officials have attributed the torture of Muslim prisoners in American custody to a handful of maverick guards or limited to a few "high-value detainees," such criminal acts were widely perpetrated, likely involving large numbers of military personnel, a book by a survivor suggests.  According to Murat Kurnaz, a Turkish citizen raised in Germany and defamed as "the German Taliban," torture at the several prisons in which he was held was frequent, commonplace, and committed by many guards. In his book, Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo, he writes that his beatings began in 2001 on the flight from Pakistan (where he was pulled off a public bus and sold by Pakistani police for $3,000) to his first imprisonment in Afghanistan. Kurnaz wrote: [...]"  Related: Murders at Guantanamo: The Cover-Up Continues [06/13/10] "Sometimes the truth is so sickening that no one in a position of authority — senior government officials, lawmakers, the mainstream media — wants to go anywhere near it.  This appears to be the case with the deaths of three men at Guantánamo on June 9, 2006. According to the official version of events, Salah Ahmed al-Salami (also identified as Ali Abdullah Ahmed), a 37-year old Yemeni, Mani Shaman al-Utaybi, a 30-year old Saudi, and Yasser Talal al-Zahrani, a Saudi who was just 17 when he was seized in Afghanistan, died by hanging themselves, in what Guantánamo’s then-Commander, Rear Adm. Harry Harris, described as an act of “asymmetric warfare.”   [...]" Paper trail points to Blair: Former PM 'sanctioned the abuse of UK citizens' "Tony Blair was accused of ordering Jack Straw to 'violate the law' as the row over Britain colluding in torture took a new twist. Previously secret documents exposed their alleged roles in sanctioning British citizens being sent to Guantanamo Bay, where they were abused. For the first time, the former Prime Minister's office is implicated in a series of explosive classified files which Labour ministers battled to suppress but which have been released on the orders of the High Court. They cast a new light on Britain's dirty secret and lay bare the extent to which the Labour government allegedly turned a blind eye to the abduction and torturing of its own citizens. [...]" 

Commentary: Assange/CIA: "A Gift of Coincidence" [09/06/10] "Put on your tinfoil hat for a moment and try out this scenario... [...]"  Note:  This blog has an interesting hypothesis about the recent scandal. 

U.S. and Israel spying behind BlackBerry woe: Dubai police [09/06/10] "The Unites States is the primary beneficiary of having no controls over the BlackBerry, as it has an interest to spy on the UAE," Dhahi Khalfan Tamim said in remarks carried by the website of the daily al-Khaleej on Friday. "The West has accused us of curbing the liberties of BlackBerry users, while America, Israel, Britain and other countries are allowed access to all transferred data," Tamim added. [...]"   Note:  See 'Israel" link at the top of this panel for related news. 

Pentagon Bulks Up Yemen’s Arsenal as Shadow War Grows [09/05/10] "Yemen is the new Pakistan — well, at least it is to many in the Pentagon, the White House, and the intelligence community. U.S. spies think al-Qaeda’s Yemeni affiliate is the most likely terrorist network to attack us, And just like last year’s $400 million U.S. “counterinsurgency fund” for Pakistan tried to get the Pakistani military al-Qaeda-specific weapons, the Pentagon’s already given Yemen $155 million dollars’ worth of copters, Humvees, radios and transport planes to contain the evolving terrorist threat. Look for all that to expand.  Note:  See 'Yemen" link at the top of this panel for related news. 

Documentary: "Dead In The Water - The Sinking of the USS Liberty" [09/05/10] " Video [60:00] "During the Six-Day War, Israel attacked and nearly sank the USS Liberty belonging to its closest ally, the USA. Thirty-four American servicemen were killed in the two-hour assault by Israeli warplanes and torpedo boats. Israel claimed that the whole affair had been a tragic accident based on mistaken identification of the ship. The American government accepted the explanation. For more than 30 years many people have disbelieved the official explanation but have been unable to rebut it convincingly. Now, Dead in the Water uses startling new evidence to reveal the truth behind the seemingly inexplicable attack. The film combines dramatic reconstruction of the events, with new access to former officers in the US and Israeli armed forces and intelligence services who have decided to give their own version of events. Interviews include President Lyndon Johnson's Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara, former head of the Israeli navy Admiral Shlomo Errell and members of the USS Liberty crew. [...]" Related: Flashback (May 2010): BBC Correspondent: "Mossad did 9/11 and Iran doesn't want Nukes" [10:27]   "Former Senior BBC Mideast Correspondent Alan Hart said on air that Israeli Mossad did 9/11 and much more in his revealing interview with Kevin Barrett. Alan explains the take over of America by zionists and exposes the failed false flag attack of the USS Liberty by Israel using Napalm.  [...]"   

CIA money behind Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) [09/04/10] "How amazing would it be if you could walk into McDonalds or Taco Bell and order that mid-morning double cheeseburger and 32 oz Mountain Dew from your mobile device? Just imagine… as you approach the restaurant, a menu pops up on your screen, the phone makes suggestions and helps you super-size your order, before you even set foot in the restaurant!  This advertiser’s wet dream is about to become reality, thanks to WPS (Wi-Fi Positioning System) infrastructure pioneered by CIA front company Skyhook (formerly Quarterscope) and currently being implemented by several other intelligence-connected companies, including Google, Apple, and Navizon (which is supplying data to Microsoft). WPS geolocates wireless network devices using a database of known wireless access points, such as in coffee shops. Since at least 2004, WPS companies like Skyhook and Google have been war-driving for access point data. [...]"   Note:  Unfortunately for them .... no one would be able to afford to buy much, by the time this would become ubiquitous.

Corbett Report: 9/11 Truth is Still the Issue  [09/04/10] 6 Video clips "On this 144th episode of The Corbett Report podcast we take a moment on the brink of the 9th anniversary of 9/11 to ponder the state of 9/11 Truth. What have we learned, what have we gained, and what have we left to achieve? Join us for this special edition of the podcast where we talk to Richard Gage, Kevin Ryan, Bob Bowman, Luke Rudkowski, Anthony Flammia and others about one of the key issues of our time. [...]"   

9/11 Research: A Look Into Stratesec [09/04/10] "World Trade Center (WTC) security company Stratesec has been a topic of considerable discussion among independent 9/11 investigators. One point of discussion has been the possible familial relationship between Stratesec’s CEO, Wirt Dexter Walker III, and its director Marvin Bush, whose brother was President of the United States on 9/11. Although Wirt and Marvin are distant relatives, these ties are inconsequential relative to each man’s family connections to old drug money, deep state operatives, and the wealthy, powerful people who have controlled such money and operatives over the last two centuries.  [...]"

U.S. Gets Cold Feet in Arctic Drilling [09/04/10] "Following all the hullabaloo of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the government’s lackluster performance in responding to that crisis, U.S. regulatory agencies have gotten some proverbial cold feet in allowing offshore drilling in the Arctic. While not an outright ban or a principled stand against dangerous drilling practices, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar did say that new exploratory offshore oil and gas drilling could continue after reports around the Deepwater Horizon oil spill have concluded. [...]"  

Blackwater Won Contracts Via Dozens Of Dummy Corporations [09/04/10] "Blackwater Worldwide created a web of more than 30 shell companies or subsidiaries in part to obtain millions of dollars in American government contracts after the security company came under intense criticism for reckless conduct in Iraq, according to Congressional investigators and former Blackwater officials. While it is not clear how many of those businesses won contracts, at least three had deals with the United States military or the Central Intelligence Agency, according to former government and company officials. Since 2001, the intelligence agency has awarded up to $600 million in classified contracts to Blackwater and its affiliates, according to a United States government official.  The Senate Armed Services Committee this week released a chart that identified 31 affiliates of Blackwater, now known as Xe Services. The network was disclosed as part of a committee’s investigation into government contracting. The investigation revealed the lengths to which Blackwater went to continue winning contracts after Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in September 2007. That episode and other reports of abuses led to criminal and Congressional investigations, and cost the company its lucrative security contract with the State Department in Iraq. The network of companies — which includes several businesses located in offshore tax havens — allowed Blackwater to obscure its involvement in government work from contracting officials or the public, and to assure a low profile for any of its classified activities, said former Blackwater officials, who, like the government officials, spoke only on condition of anonymity.  [...]"  

33 Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out To Be True, What Every Person Should Know... [09/04/10] " Conspiracy theory is a term that originally was a neutral descriptor for any claim of civil, criminal or political conspiracy. However, it has come almost exclusively to refer to any fringe theory which explains a historical or current event as the result of a secret plot by conspirators of almost superhuman power and cunning. To conspire means "to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act or to use such means to accomplish a lawful end. "The term "conspiracy theory" is frequently used by scholars and in popular culture to identify secret military, banking, or political actions aimed at stealing power, money, or freedom, from "the people". To many, conspiracy theories are just human nature. Not all people in this world are honest, hard working and forthcoming about their intentions. Certainly we can all agree on this. So how did the term “conspiracy theory” get grouped in with fiction, fantasy and folklore? Maybe that’s a conspiracy, just kidding. Or am I?  [...]"  

Turkey's Silent Crisis [09/04/10] "Turkey is in the grip of a summer of senseless violence. A little over a week before the attacks in Batman, on July 25, a clash erupted in the western town of Inegol when an ordinary quarrel between a Turk and a Kurd quickly spread after assuming a racial undertone. Just a few days later, four police officers were murdered in the southern province of Hatay. This was a mirror image of the Batman event; it appears as if rogue elements in the security forces had set up an ambush to blame the other side. This killing, however, was followed by intense interethnic clashes as local Turks took to the streets to exact revenge on their Kurdish neighbors. [...]"    

"Schwarzenegger's California: Into the Abyss" [09/03/10] "While the Summer Shields' Congressional campaign in San Francisco is spearheading the building of a juggernaut behind Lyndon LaRouche's revolutionary conception of NAWAPA as the TVA of the 21st Century, the state of California is plunging into the abyss. The regular legislative session ended Tuesday with no budget, two months after one was due, and there is little prospect for agreement. [...]"  

Book Review: "The Politics of Genocide" [09/03/10] "In 1895 novelist Anatole France – who in the same decade took up cudgels in defense of persecuted Armenians in the Ottoman Empire while also entering the lists on behalf of Alfred Dreyfus – wrote an essay in which he maintained that words are like coins. When freshly minted the images and inscriptions on them are clear. But by dint of constant circulation they become effaced until the outlines are blurred and the words unintelligible.   As Edward S. Herman and David Peterson write in The Politics of Genocide, “During the past several decades, the word ‘genocide’ has increased in frequency of use and recklessness of application, so much so that the crime of the twentieth century for which the word was originally coined often appears debased. Unchanged, however, is the huge political bias in its usage….” With their painstaking efforts to compile information and analyze the self-serving misuse of this term by the government, media and establishment academic figures of the United States and its allies, the authors have performed a valuable service to the cause of truth and of peace.  The fact that combating “genocide” has replaced confronting communism in some notably left and liberal circles as a major intellectual and moral legitimation for an enduringly aggressive and interventionist U.S. foreign policy is not fortuitous. It has been adopted to further American and allied interests in Europe and Africa in particular but with international application. Nowhere is this more explicit than in the U.S.-based Genocide Prevention Task Force’s 2008 report Preventing Genocide, where the “Save Darfur” activism of the last decade is singled out as a model for how to “build a permanent constituency for the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities.” [...]"   

 Commentary: The American Nightmare Pravda [09/03/10] "There once was the “American Dream.” To be sure, first this dream was American in the true sense of the word, pertaining to the entire continent from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Before long, however, the adjective “American” was hijacked and applied with appalling single-mindedness to the US exclusively. This operation has been so successful that today to most people in the world, “American” is synonymous with “US”. Yet one ought to remember that once the American Dream could be chased not only in the US, but in Canada, Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela Argentina and Uruguay as well. Since the mid-1800s the latter, like the US, have also attracted millions upon millions of Europeans in search of a better, freer and more comfortable life. Until quite recently, many of them were indeed rewarded for their efforts. Their labor has forever transformed the face of the New World. The golden years for the “American Dream” (referring to the US exclusively) began after the end of World War II and lasted for about a half century. Its definitive end came when the New York Twin Towers collapsed. In hindsight, the signs of decay in the US were visible before 9/11, but since then the American Dream is being shattered in ever smaller pieces, with ever diminishing chances of being put together again. True to the cherished European myths about the New World, everything in the Americas seems beyond the scale of what Europeans are accustomed to:  [...]"  

KBR Only Contractor Granted Legal Immunity From Harming Soldiers And Civilians [09/03/10] "A Pentagon deal to grant one of America's largest military contractors immunity from harming soldiers and civilians in Iraq was a unique arrangement, according to Army Secretary John McHugh. As previously reported in Huffington Post and the Oregonian, taxpayers may be on the hook to compensate more than 150 military veterans who claim that a Halliburton subsidiary knowingly exposed them to cancer-causing chemicals in Iraq. [...]"  

WikiLeaks CIA Red Cell Memo: Orwellian Mindset exposed  [09/03/10] "The CIA Red Cell memorandum released by WikiLeaks speaks volumes about the doublethink, paranoia, deception, and delusion of the CIA itself.  [...]" 

Flashback:  World Bank Threatened “Drastic Steps Necessary” if Nations Refuse Population Reduction Implementation [09/03/10] "It’s the eugenicist in the Discover Channel building multiplied by a million. Not simply a lone eco-terrorist saying “parasitic human infants” must die, but one of the largest international financial institutions demanding it. To make the contrast even more remarkable, James J. Lee scared the living daylights out of some Discovery Channel employees, the IMF & World Bank take hostage entire nations. In its 1984 World Development Report, the World Bank threatens nations who are slow in implementing the Bank’s “population policies” with “drastic steps, less compatible with individual choice and freedom.”  The report, literally saturated with dehumanizing proposals, is devoted entirely to the World Bank’s long-term strategies in regards to population control:  “(…) economic policy and performance in the next decade will matter for population growth in the developing countries for several decades beyond; population policy and change in the rest of this century will set the terms for the whole of development strategy in the next.” To illustrate how serious the World Bank is in achieving the overall strategy objectives on population control, the report does not shy away from outright threats: “Population policy has a long lead time; other development policies must adapt in the meantime. Inaction today forecloses options tomorrow, in overall development strategy and in future population policy. Worst of all, inaction today could mean that more drastic steps, less compatible with individual choice and freedom, will seem necessary tomorrow to slow population growth.” [...]"  Related: World Bank Population-Reduction Lending Schemes Already Underway

Oil sheen spreading from NEW Gulf platform explosion [09/02/10] "A mile-long oil sheen spread Thursday from an offshore petroleum platform burning in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana, west of the site of BP's massive spill.  Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Coklough said the sheen, about 100 feet wide, was spotted near the platform owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy Inc. He said Mariner had deployed three firefighting vessels to the site and one already was in place fighting the blaze. The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the explosion and fire, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the site around 9 a.m. CDT. All 13 people aboard the rig were rescued as they floated in the nearby water in survival outfits called Gumby suits. The platform is in about 340 feet of water and about 100 miles south of Vermilion Bay on the central Louisiana coast.  [...]"   

Taliban operate ‘very extensive’ spy network in British Afghan bases [09/01/10] "The former head of British troops in Afghanistan has warned that the Taliban are gathering intelligence from a “very, very extensive network of intelligence” operating inside British military bases in the Central Asian country. Colonel Richard J. Kemp, who was Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan in 2003, said the spy network includes “sources in many places” throughout the country, such as NATO military bases and Afghan security forces outposts. He also told Britain’s Daily Telegraph that the network is so effective that it tends to possess more information about the itineraries of foreign officials visiting Afghanistan than Western diplomats, NATO or Afghan military commanders realize. Colonel Kemp was speaking in light of an extensive review of security protocols, ordered by the British government, after it became known that the Taliban were planning to kill British Prime Minister David Cameron during his ‘surprise visit’ to Afghanistan last June. Specifically, on June 10, the British leader’s party was being transported through Afghanistan’s Helmand province, in two Chinook helicopters, on their way to British-operated Patrol Base Shahzad, in Lashkar Gar. But in late afternoon, British intelligence officials aborted the trip, on fears that the Taliban were aware of Mr. Cameron’s precise itinerary. According to intelligence reports, Taliban operatives even knew which of the two Chinooks carried the British Prime Minister. No attack took place, and Mr. Cameron was only told that the mission was aborted once the two helicopters reached their alternative destination. [...]"  

 Commentary: "Death By Globalism: Economists Haven't a Clue"  Paul Craig Roberts [09/01/10] " [...]"  Note:  Dr. Paul Craig Roberts is the father of Reaganomics and the former head of policy at the Department of Treasury. He is a columnist and was previously an editor for the Wall Street Journal. His latest book, “How the Economy Was Lost: The War of the Worlds,” details why America is disintegrating.

Analysis:  The State and Local Bases of Zionist Power in America  James Petras [09/01/10] "Any serious effort to understand the extraordinary influence of the Zionist power configuration over US foreign policy must examine the presence of key operatives in strategic positions in the government andlocal Zionist organizations affiliated with mainstream Jewish organizations and religious orders. There are at least 52 major American Jewish organizations actively engaged in promoting Israel’s foreign policy, economic and technological agenda in the US (see the appendix). The grassroots membership ranges from several hundred thousand militants in the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) to one hundred thousand wealthy contributors, activists and power brokers in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In addition scores of propaganda mills, dubbed think tanks, have been established by million dollar grants from billionaire Zionists including the Brookings Institute (Haim Saban) and the Hudson Institute among others. Scores of Zionist funded political action committees (PAC) have intervened in all national and regional elections, controlling nominations and influencing election outcomes. [...]"  Related: Israel and the Rise of 'Ultra-Semitism' "Something resembling genocide is gaining currency among elements of the Israeli government and public. [...]"   

Commentary: Excuse to Expand the War?: US adds Pakistani Taliban to ' terrorism blacklist' [09/01/10] "The Obama administration on Wednesday added the Pakistani Taliban to its international terrorism blacklist, targeting the group blamed for the failed car bombing in New York's Times Square and its leaders with financial and travel sanctions. [...]"   

Predator drones to patrol entire US-Mexico border from Sept 1 [08/31/10] "A US Predator unmanned drone armed with a missile is seen on the tarmac. The United States beginning Wednesday will add a third Predator drone to patrol its border with Mexico, allowing authorities for the first time to monitor the entire stretch of land separating the two neighbors using the unmanned aircraft. The latest drone joins two others in covering the 2,000-mile (3,200 kilometer) frontier which runs across the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, the US Department of Homeland Security said. [...]" 

Commentary: Mossad pretends to be U.S. Intelligence [08/31/10] "Among nations considered to be friendly to Washington, Israel leads all others in its active espionage directed against American companies and the Defense Department. It also dominates two commercial sectors that enable it to extend its reach inside America’s domestic infrastructure: airline and telecommunications security. Israel is believed to have the ability to monitor nearly all phone records originating in the United States, while numerous Israeli air-travel security companies are known to act as the local Mossad stations. As tensions with Iran increase, sources in the counterintelligence community report that Israeli agents have become more aggressive in targeting Muslims living in the United States as well as in operating against critics. There have been a number of cases reported to the FBI about Mossad officers who have approached leaders in Arab-American communities and have falsely represented themselves as “U.S. intelligence.” Because few Muslims would assist an Israeli, this is done to increase the likelihood that the target will cooperate. It’s referred to as a “false flag” operation. [...]"    See "Israel" link at the top of this panel for related stories.  

 Commentary: The All-Seeing Eye of the State: Scanners Leave No Place to Hide [08/31/10] ""The only person who is still a private individual in Germany is somebody who is asleep." ~ Robert Ley, a member of the Nazi hierarchy.   As the surveillance state expands around us, entangling us in a web from which there is no escape, what we used to call "privacy" is fast becoming a thing of the past. In fact, the very latest governmental assaults on our privacy rights take the form of two portable high-tech scanners that are little more than thinly disguised data collection systems aimed at turning unsuspecting Americans into permanent suspects. The first device, a license-plate recognition scanner that can sweep a parking lot full of cars in under a minute, uses infrared cameras mounted on police cars to constantly scan nearby license plates and check them against police databases. "Police like the devices for their speed and efficiency but mostly for their ability to record thousands of plates and their locations each day," writes journalist Christine Vendel. "The information is loaded wirelessly into a police database and archived for possible searches later." With such a tool at its disposal, the government can retroactively pinpoint exactly where you were on any given day. And if you had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, the burden of proving your innocence will rest with you.  [...]"  

German oil deal may lead to arctic [08/31/10] "Russian oil company Rosneft is in talks to acquire a stake in a BP joint venture that could result in deals to drill for oil in the arctic, sources said.  [...]"   

Israelis Carelessly Bombed Own Country With Radioactive Uranium Aerosols with 100 GBU-28's in 2006 [08/31/10] "The US Military long ago figured out the optimum explosive package to guarantee creation of highly effective radioactive, poisonous uranium aerosols from the GBU-28’s uranium ballast.  Sub-nanometer length ceramicized particles go right through clothing and skin, even a full MOPP suit offers no protection to the wearer. This puts all soldiers and civilians in the area in the “Throw Away” column. Anyone in the Target Area will get Zapped, it is just a matter of time. The combination of small size, electrical charge, radioactive emissions and Brownian Motion conspire to keep the invisible, odorless, tasteless metal particles mobilized in the lower atmosphere for a long time [...] The short, intense bombing event occurred in the last days of the Lebanon Israeli War. The bombing was concentrated just north of the shared Israeli Lebanese border. Both sides of the border are rural farming areas, both sides were subject to poison gas in the form of about 400,000 lbs, or 184,818 kg, of radioactive aerosols in two days. The contaminated fruits and vegetables were ultimately sold and presumably consumed in the European Union, Israel and Lebanon, as well as other participating trading partner countries. Shortly before the bombing, Israeli Jews were removed from the area. After the bombing anti-Zionist Jews were moved in to work the radiologically contaminated Israeli farms by the Israeli Defense Forces. As one person commented, “Y’know, the Orthodox guys with long sideburns that nobody likes.” Weaponized uranium ions attack a Human population’s reproductive capacity at the cellular level, their brains and bones. The IDF bombed Southern Lebanon at the Israel/Lebanon border. Then they moved in famously anti-Zionist Jews to the newly radioactive and invisibly contaminated part of Northern Israel. [...] "  

Commentary: DNA & Mitochondrial Time Bombs  Uranium, Mercury, Cancer & Diabetes [08/31/10] "Diabetes and cancer, which are both are expanding dramatically in the world today, can in great part be traced to the increasing radiation, heavy metals and chemicals to which we are all being exposed. Every physician knows that radiation can lead to cancer but few are aware of the connection between heavy metals, general chemical exposures, and cancer. Fewer still understand the connection between toxic exposure and diabetes. See my book New Paradigms in Diabetic Care for a look at how toxicities run head-on into nutritional deficiencies to create diabetic conditions. Making a connection between radiation and diabetes may seem ludicrous to physicians who recommend and administer dangerous radioactive CAT and PET scans because they are in full denial that they are using tests that cause cancer to diagnose and treat it. Modern medicine is at the head of the line in terms of actively downplaying the rising dangers of both radioactivity and mercury because it’s an industry whose paradigm includes exposing patients directly to these dangerous substances. One in ten Chinese adults already has the disease and another 16 percent are on the verge of developing it, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The rate of increase is much faster than we’ve seen in Europe and in the U.S. and tracks the most rapid increase in air and water pollution ever seen on earth. China is home to the most diabetics in the world as it is home to the worst pollution. “Depleted (DU) uranium is highly toxic to humans, both chemically as a heavy metal and radiological as an alpha particle emitter,” writes Dr. Rosalie Bertell, Canadian Epidemiologist.[2] A new study, conducted by biochemist Dr. Diane Stearns at Northern Arizona University confirms that, separate from any radiation risks, cells exposed to uranium will bond with the metal chemically.[3] Uranium and phosphate have a strong chemical affinity for each other and the DNA and mitochondria are loaded with phosphate so uranium is a DNA and mitochondria deep-penetration bomb. The uranium is attacking on fundamental cellular levels while mercury offers a knockout punch by attacking the sulfur bonds so essential for insulin’s proper function. [...]" 

Deepwater Horizon fears resurface as rigs probe for oil under Arctic ice [08/30/10] "In a few days' time, officials at the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum in Greenland will reveal the winners of a new round of licences to drill for oil and gas in its waters. The announcement promises to be explosive.  Among those waiting are most of the world's leading oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Shell and Norway's StatOil. Watching with equal attention will be the planet's leading green groups, who they have pledged to block every effort to drill in the Arctic.  "The Arctic is the last pristine refuge in the northern hemisphere and it is simply not acceptable for oil companies to come here to drill and risk triggering a disaster that would dwarf the Deepwater Horizon spill," said Ben Ayliffe, senior energy campaigner at Greenpeace. Its ship, the Esperanza, is currently trying to disrupt drilling in the Davis Strait off the Greenland mainland. "We are going to make a real fight of this,"he said. Last week the future of drilling in the Arctic hit the headlines when it emerged that BP, in the wake of the disastrous oil spill off America's Gulf Coast, would not be bidding for contracts in the region. But the other oil giants will. And it is not hard to understand why. Last year, the US Geological Survey estimated that there were more than 90bn barrels of oil beneath the Arctic seabed – an estimated 13% of the world's undiscovered reserves – with the waters around Greenland, as well as the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, pinpointed as the most promising zones. Only a handful of test wells have been sunk so far, and no oil has yet been discovered. Oil companies are confident of success, however, while environmentalists are grimly resigned to the idea of wells being sunk. Greenland, Beaufort and Chukchi are all likely to become sites of future drilling – and of major battles with ecologists. [...]"   See "Oil & Gas" link at the top of this panel for related stories. 

Pakistan flood: US rains down death as villagers starve [08/30/10] "The flooding crisis in Pakistan continues to grow as thousands flee the historic city of Thatta in Sind after the Indus River broke a levee and flooded new areas. Around 175,000 people, almost three quarters of the city’s population, are thought to have fled their homes overnight, said government official, Manzoor Sheikh.  A US drone fired four missiles on two vehicles in the Shaidano Dand area of Kurram on Friday night.  At least six people are reported dead, but the toll is expected to rise as more villagers trapped under the rubble of a building are discovered. According to local residents, the drones were still carrying out aerial flights over the area after the initial attack, creating panic among people. Since August 2008, over 1,000 have died in raids by US drones which have frequently targeted South and North Waziristan—areas which have been heavily affected by the recent floods. If the Nato forces in neighbouring Afghanistan were to divert even a fraction of their efforts towards humanitarian relief many thousands of lives could be saved. But it seems that the ‘war on terror’ is far too important for that. [...]  

Karzai fires top graft-fighting prosecutor [08/29/10] "Afghan President Hamid Karzai has fired a top prosecutor who was determined to root out corruption, the ousted official said. [...]"  Note:  Karzai has become expendable. Mark my words .. he will be killed.

"Endless War, Humanitarian Crisis, and Perpetual Resistance: U.S. Foreign Policy in the 21st Century" [08/29/10] Note: There's no more time left for such stupidity. 

Colonel Kicked Out of Afghanistan for Anti-PowerPoint Rant [08/29/10] ".. The colonel’s rant called into question whether ISAF’s revamped command structure, charged with coordinating the day-by-day war effort, was much more than a briefing factory. Or, as Sellin put it, “endless tinkering with PowerPoint slides to conform with the idiosyncrasies of cognitively challenged generals in order to spoon-feed them information.” [...]   Note: It's anti-stupid, not anti-PowerPoint.

Commentary: Corporate Meteors Strike US Gulf (They Got the Whole World In Their Hands) [08/29/10] "Perhaps the British Petroleum/Nalco event was the wakeup call we needed in order to look more closely at untouchable corporations that began running the whole world 100 years ago. This is a paper about corporate communism, which is otherwise known as “monopolies” that are now rampant in the US. Monopolies always engage in conspiracy, and their first goal is to conspire to eliminate their competition and choices, establish control over prices and the masses by an elite few. The April 20, 2010, BP oil catastrophe in America’s Gulf can be described as a monumental corporate conspiracy. BP was permitted by cronies to dig a hole to China off Louisiana’s shores without safety measures or concern for the Gulf’s marine ecosystem. Rather than immediately corking its gusher, BP quickly tapped a relatively unheard of company named Nalco on the shoulder for millions of gallons of its toxic Corexit dispersant. BP began adding Corexit to the oil-ravaged Gulf on April 23, and thumbed its nose at the US government when it suggested that something less toxic and more effective than Corexit be used. [...]" 

9/11/01: Controlled Demolition [08/28/10] [14:58] "This video is conclusive proof that WTC Towers 1,2 & Building 7 were brought down with explosives. Besides the numerous eyewitness accounts you can actually hear the explosions in some of the clips. Show it to everyone you know. I purposely put in clips of other known and accepted controlled demolitions so people who have never seen one or who may not fully understand how one works could see for themselves. I then play real, unaltered clips recorded on 9/11 itself along with the eyewitness accounts from the day itself. The 9/11 commission report can’t stand up to this evidence at all, and neither can any so called 9/11 debunker. [...]"   See "9/11" link at the top of this panel for related stories.  

Alabama Charges BP, Transocean For BP Gulf Oil Spill Cover-up and Using Dangerous Toxic Dispersants [08/28/10] " Alabama’s attorney general is suing BP and others over the Gulf oil spill saying the oil giant has broken too many promises.  Attorney General Troy King filed two lawsuits in federal court in Montgomery late Thursday afternoon. One suit is against BP, the other against Transocean. In a statement released Friday, King said “their history of saying one thing and doing another, and now, new information that they have been secretly working to gain a legal advantage, can only further damage our people.” The lawsuit claims “defendants were slow and incompetent, if not dishonest, in their announcements and warnings to the state of Alabama and its citizens and businesses,” referring to the drastic difference in the initial oil flow estimate of 1,000 barrels per day and the latest estimate of as much as 60,000 barrels per day.  The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified money damages plus punitive damages, also references BP’s choice of a “highly toxic chemical used to disperse oil in the ocean.” The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, causing nearly 200 million gallons of oil to gush into the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days before the well was capped last month. A spokesman for BP declined to comment to the Associated Press. King filed the lawsuit against the wishes of Gov. Bob Riley, who says the state should pursue an out-of-court settlement first. Here are some highlights of the charges filed against BP and Transocean by the State of Alabama [...]" See "Oil & Gas" link at the top of this panel for related stories.   

Commentary: Obama to escalate slaughter in Yemen [08/28/10] "Yemen, like Afghanistan and Iraq before it, is being targeted not to eradicate terrorism—the killing of civilians with cruise missiles and drone attacks will only produce more recruits for terrorist attacks—but because of its strategic location, bordering Saudi Arabia, the number-one oil exporter, and the vital Bab al-Mandab strait, through which three million barrels of oil pass daily. [...]"  See "Yemen" link at the top of this panel for related stories.   

Sotomayor Says Court May Rule to Limit First Amendment in Response to Wikileaks [08/28/10] "On Thursday, talking to students at the University of Denver, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the Wikileaks case will result in the Court likely weighing the First Amendment against national security. She made the comment in response to a question posed by a student.  “That was not the beginning of that question, but an issue that keeps arising from generation to generation, of how far we will permit government restriction on freedom of speech in favor of protection of the country,” Sotomayor said. “There’s no black-and-white line.” According to Sotomayor, the balance between national security and free speech is “a constant struggle in this society, between our security needs and our first amendment rights, and one that has existed throughout our history.” Following the release of over 90,000 documents by Wikileaks in July, the Pentagon found no evidence that the disclosure harmed U.S. national security or endangered American troops in the field. The Pentagon review team consists of military intelligence analysts, lawyers and others working for the Joint Chiefs of Staffs and other elements of the Defense Department. [...   See "Wikileaks" link at the top of this panel for related stories.   

Trends: Floods, Drought Will Prevent Gains in China's Grain Production This Year [08/28/10] "Natural disasters may block any increase in China’s grain production this year as the worst floods in a decade ruin crops.  Flooding cut harvests of early rice in the major growing areas of southern China, Xinhua News Agency cited Vice Agriculture Minister Chen Xiaohua as saying yesterday during a government inquiry on grain safety. Crops in low-lying areas of the country’s fertile northeast were also damaged, he said. China’s corn imports in July surged after traders bought the most overseas grain in more than 10 years to replenish shrinking domestic supplies. Early rice production this year fell 6.1 percent to 31.3 million tons, the National Bureau of Statistics said on its website yesterday. The world’s most- populous country grows almost a third of the globe’s rice and cotton, and produces about half its pork.  “This year’s weather will not reduce the output,” Chen Shuwei, a manager at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant Co. said in a telephone interview. “China will not have a shortage in the next one or two years.” Low temperatures due to floods delayed the ripening of winter wheat by five to seven days, and spring sowing in the northeast by seven to 10 days, the minister said. Lower rice output won’t stop overall summer grain production from equaling the levels of previous years, making it China’s seventh year of bumper harvests, Xinhua quoted the government’s Chen as saying.  [...]"  See "China" link at the top of this panel for related stories. 

Commentary: Privatizing the Occupation: The Mercenaries and the NGOs [08/27/10] "Market extremists argue that the private sector can do almost everything better than governments. The most extreme do not concede the qualifier “almost” and argue that even the police and army should be privatized. The growth of private security companies (PSC) is generally seen as a result of the success of extreme market arguments. Less commented upon is a parallel growth of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in healthcare, education and social services development, especially in the Third World, that was once provided by public institutions. Interestingly, at least one insider has linked the two. An advisor to ArmorGroup and former NGO employee, James Fennell, explains these organizations similar historical trajectory: “The increasing role of commercial security companies may be viewed in a similar vein to the increased policy and technical input of NGOs over the past two decades to the provision of official relief and development assistance to Southern nations.” [...]"  

World Politics: Speech by Nicolas Sarkozy at the annual Ambassadors of France' Conference [08/27/10] "Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. President of the Senate, Mr. President of the National Assembly, Mr. Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Ministers, Parliamentarians, Ambassadors, There are moments in history when fate wavers between the best and the worst possible outcome. Moments when all that has been achieved could be lost or, conversely, lead to lasting progress. We are at one of these moments now. This is the case for the international community's actions in the crescent of crisis that stretches from the borders of Pakistan to the far reaches of the Sahel, encompassing Iran and the Middle East. It is the case in Europe, where the Treaty of Lisbon and the decisions taken to deal with the financial crisis are opening up prospects still to be developed if we are to make the European Union a global player. It is also the case for the global economy, which has not yet resumed the path of solid and sustainable growth, while the G20 must prove that it has the determination to [...]"  Related:  France to push ahead with expulsion of Gypsies, dismantling camps, despite criticism - Race and Ethnicity [08/27/10] "President Nicolas Sarkozy's expulsion of the Roma (Gypsies) from France is a flashback to 1940 when the Nazis did the same thing. Sarkozy's just doing it in planes instead of cattle cars. How can this be when there is free movement across borders in Europe? His move to... [...]"   

 Trends: Gates Foundation Invests in Monsanto [08/27/10] "... When the economic power of Gates is coupled with the irresponsibility of Monsanto, the outlook for African smallholders is not very promising,” said Mayet. Monsanto’s aggressive patenting practices have also monopolized control over seed in ways that deny farmers control over their own harvest, going so far as to sue—and bankrupt—farmers for “patent infringement.” [...]"  

Scores of Karzai administration officials on CIA’s pay roll: US official [08/27/10] "A day after it was revealed that a close aide of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzazi, Mohammed Zia Salehi, is on the pay roll of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a US official has claimed that several members of the Karzai administration are actually being paid by the intelligence agency to maintain a source of information.  A day after it was revealed that a close aide of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzazi, Mohammed Zia Salehi, is on the pay roll of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a US official has claimed that several members of the Karzai administration are actually being paid by the intelligence agency to maintain a source of information.  The U.S. official, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, said a significant number of officials in the Karzai administration are on the payroll of the CIA. “They’ll pay whoever they think can help them. That has been the CIA attitude since 2001,” The Washington Post quoted the American official, as saying. A former CIA official, while supporting the agency’s move of bribing Afghan officials, said it was necessary because “the head of state is not going to tell you everything”. He also underlined the fact that Karzai often seems unaware of moves that members of his own government make. However, the CIA has strongly rebutted the claims of offering money to Afghan officials describing such remarks as an attempt to malign its image. “This anonymous source appears driven by ignorance, malice or both,” Paul Gimigliano, the CIA spokesman said.  “This agency plays an essential role in promoting American goals in Afghanistan, including security and stability. Speculation about who may help us achieve that is both dangerous and counterproductive,” Gimigliano added.  According to reports, prominent Afghans who American officials disclosed are on the CIA’s payroll include Karzai’s half brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, suspected by investigators of playing a role in the country’s booming opium trade.  The revelation has raised new questions about how the US can root out corruption in the Afghan government when US operations in the country require support from some of the same politicians and leaders accused of graft. (ANI) [...]"  Related: Key Karzai Aide in Corruption Inquiry Is Linked to C.I.A. [08/26/10] "The aide to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the center of a politically sensitive corruption investigation is being paid by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Afghan and American officials... [...]"   MSM: Karzai: Private contractors ‘looting and stealing,’ working with terrorists [08/23/10] "Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday defended his decision to ban private security contractors from operating in public in Afghanistan, saying many of the organizations tasked with providing security are engaging in terrorist activities, working with "Mafia-like" organizations and "looting and stealing from the Afghan people."  [...]"  Blackwater Founder Moves to Abu Dhabi

Cultural Studies:  Textbook Doublethink:  SPLC’s Latest Effort Attacks Constitutionalists [08/27/10] "The Southern Poverty Law Center’s latest Associated Press release entitled, Baffling beliefs mark Sovereign Citizen theories, is the organization’s most recent effort to marginalize large blocks of the population it deems to be a domestic threat. Closer examination of this, as well as other documents, reveals a systematic pattern of media manipulation and disinformation aimed squarely at the American people.  In the latest release the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) identifies, “the number of people who now consider themselves sovereign citizens, Americans above the law who adhere only to the Constitution and follow a revised history of the United States”. For any students of critical thinking, the SPLC is employing a 20th century propaganda technique know as doublespeak. Here the SPLC attempts to construct the doublethink idea that such Americans who adhere only to the Constitution are “above the law”. Next it offers out proponents of sound money by railing against them, “The gold standard and bankruptcy: Belief that the country went bankrupt in 1933 when it suspended the gold standard and no longer had collateral to back its loans.” By spinning the conversation in one direction, the SPLC uses what is actual fact in the US and what few economists and historians will argue- that the country is bankrupt and has no real collateral for its loans, but then proceeds to paint this real-and-present economic reality as a ‘conspiracy theory’ propagated by so-called extremists.   [...]"  Related: How the Commerce Clause Made Congress All-Powerful [08/27/10]  Video clip [10:06]  "The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to "regulate commerce . . . among the several States," and for more than 100 years federal lawmakers invoked it for a very narrow purpose—to prevent states from imposing trade barriers on each other. But today members of Congress act as if it gives them the authority to do just about anything—including forcing you to eat your vegetables. During her Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Elena Kagan seemed to accept that the Commerce Clause could, in theory, give Congress the power to dictate what Americans eat. And what about ObamaCare's "individual mandate," which forces Americans to purchase health insurance? ObamaCare opponents are lining up to challenge its constitutionality, but supporters say it's justified—you guessed it—under the Commerce Clause. How did a clause intended as a restriction on states wind up giving Congress a green light to regulate noncommercial, local, and purely private behavior? How will ObamaCare stand up against the legal challenges brought by the states? Legal titans John Eastman (Chapman University Law Professor) and Erwin Chemerinsky (Founding Dean, University of California, Irvine School of Law) slug it out to to determine whether or not Congress has been abusing the commerce clause. [...]"    

Senate To Sneak Through Internet Kill Switch Bill [08/27/10] "The Senate is attempting to sneak through the infamous Internet kill switch cybersecurity bill by attaching it to another piece of legislation that is almost guaranteed to pass – the defense authorization bill – in an underhanded ploy to avoid the difficult task of passing cybersecurity on its own.  “It’s hard to get a measure like cybersecurity legislation passed on its own,” Democratic Senator Thomas Carper, who is co-chair of a Senate subcommittee with cybersecurity oversight, told Government Information Security. Senators argue that they will be able to attach the Internet kill switch bill to the Defense Authorization Act because cybersecurity is a component of national security. However, the primary justifications behind treating “cybersecurity” as a national security matter are completely overblown and erroneous.  Proponents of cybersecurity have constantly argued that government needs to have more power over the Internet because cyber-terrorists could hack in and dismantle the entire U.S. power grid, large industrial plants, and the national water supply. This is a complete misnomer because, as a recent Wired News article highlighted, power grid and drinking water systems, “Are rarely connected directly to the public internet. And that makes gaining access to grid-controlling networks a challenge for all but the most dedicated, motivated and skilled — nation-states, in other words.”    As we documented in our piece on the issue, the threat from cyber-terrorists to the U.S. power grid or water supply is minimal. The perpetrators of an attack on such infrastructure would have to have direct physical access to the systems that operate these plants to cause any damage. Any perceived threat from the public Internet to these systems is therefore completely contrived and strips bare the real agenda behind cybersecurity – to enable the government to regulate free speech on the Internet.  This was revealed when Senator Lieberman told CNN’s Candy Crowley that the real motivation behind cybersecurity was to mimic the Communist Chinese system of Internet policing.  “Right now China, the government, can disconnect parts of its Internet in case of war and we need to have that here too,” said Lieberman.  As we have documented, the Communist Chinese government does not disconnect parts of the Internet because of genuine security concerns, it habitually does so only to oppress and silence victims of government abuse and atrocities, and to strangle dissent against the state.  The decision to try and sneak through the Internet kill switch bill as part of another package of legislation is undoubtedly a reaction to increasing awareness about how the terms of the bill would completely undermine the foundations of the Internet as an outlet of truly unregulated free speech. [...]"   

Joint Special Operations Command Hiring Interrogators and Covert Operatives for ‘Special Access Programs’ [08/26/10] "The US military's most elite counter-terrorism force, the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), prides itself on the secrecy of its operations. JSOC runs classified, compartmentalized task forces in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, the Horn of Africa and elsewhere around the world. It has operated secret prisons and detention sites globally and is the premiere organization tasked with killing or capturing individuals deemed by the president to be threats to the national security of the United States. It maintains a "hit list" of people targeted for kill or capture, including Anwar al-Awlaki, a US citizen living in Yemen. While there has been an up-tick in media focus on the possibility of a widening CIA role in Yemen, JSOC has been operating in Yemen for years, where its operatives have carried out a variety of operations, including unilateral direct actions—in other words, they have bumped people off. That has become abundantly clear is that the Obama administration has taken the Bush-era doctrine of the world as a battlefield and run with it. US special forces are now operating in seventy-five countries across the globe—up from sixty under Bush—and special operations sources say Obama is a major fan of the work of JSOC and other special operations forces. [...]"  Note: See the link at the top of this panel marked "Yemen" for related news. Yemen isn't going away as a focal point.

 Commentary: Dog Days: The War Party Never Takes Summer Vacation [08/26/10] "In these, the dog days of summer, normal people everywhere are on vacation. They go to a resort: swimming, boating, family photos on the beach – these are the woof and warp of American life. Standing outside – and, in their estimation, above – that life, with its prosaic concerns, the War Party never takes a vacation. They’re always plotting and planning their next move. Undeterred by the complete failure of the Iraq invasion – described by the late Gen. William E. Odom as the biggest military disaster in the annals of America’s wars – the cultists of the war god are bound and determined to continue their bloody wilding of the Middle East. The shrill insistence of the campaign to drag us into war with Iran on Israel’s behalf has gone up a few notches, with a Democratic-controlled sanctions-happy Congress joining the chorus, which includes the Republican party (minus Ron Paul).  The US military is staunchly opposed, but President Obama – and/or his more cynical advisers – may welcome the opportunity to change the subject, from unemployment numbers to casualty counts. Remember what Rahm Emanuel said about how every crisis is an opportunity: in the event of war, the oil shock that will pummel the US economy could give him the excuse he needs to not only ram through his energy policy, but also increase government intervention in every sector of the economy. [...]"    

US Drone Strike Destroys House Full of Children in Pakistan [08/25/10] "The Obama Administration’s policy of escalating drone strikes took another hit today, after the explosion from a drone attack against the house of “suspected militants” in North Waziristan also destroyed a neighboring house full of women and children. The combined toll from the blast was 20 people killed, with at least four women and three children among the slain. At least 13 other civilians were also reported wounded, including a number of other children... [...]"  Note:  Notice that the CIA is still adamantly pursuing this drone war, despite the fact that 20 million have been displaced by floods, etc. Really sadistic people. 

MSM: "Petraeus: Iran assisting Taliban" [08/25/10] "Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said Wednesday Iran is providing a "modicum" of assistance to the Taliban. [...]"  Note:  He's such a scumbag piece of work, a liar and a scoundrel, Petraeus. Nothing he says can be considered credible at all ... ever.

Trends:  US fires on civilian Bagram protest [08/25/10] "US troops fired on thousands of Afghan civilians as they protested outside the massive US military base at Bagram on Monday. A provincial police official said that at least one civilian was killed in the incident, but Nato asserted that no civilians had been killed or injured. The Western military alliance claimed that soldiers had only fired "warning shots" to disperse residents after they surrounded a military patrol and attacked vehicles outside the sprawling facility with rocks and iron bars. But Parwan province deputy police chief General Faqir Ahmad was adamant that one civilian had been killed - although he said he could not be sure who fired the fatal bullet. Gen Ahmad said that the Nato shooting had served to enrage the crowd, which he put at about 2,000 people. [...]" 

Cultural Studies:  "When They Were Out to Get Us" [08/25/10] "The 1970s—with its flared jeans and dodgy haircuts, pallid disco music, absurdist trends (pet rocks!), and Khomeinist revolution—what a miserable, squalid decade it was. The idealism and irrational optimism of the 1960s, when throngs of teenagers declared the end of bourgeois society, gave way to Cambodia, Watergate, Jonestown, and the Symbionese Liberation Army. Civil rights marchers and peaceniks made way for black power and Black September. In Strange Days Indeed, British journalist Francis Wheen stylishly chronicles what he calls the "Them decade," when the grand conspiracy theory was ascendant in the West, having infected the thinking of an astonishing number of clever people—prime ministers, presidents, journalists, and movie directors—as well as the hoi polloi. When something went wrong—a leader deposed, a president shot—it was invariably blamed on the machinations of government, business, and intelligence community conspirators. It was Them. Ordinary people saw a government agent behind every rock. British Prime Minister Harold Wilson was convinced that his intelligence service was fomenting a coup. Richard Nixon distrusted all but his closest aides. There was something of a hangover in all of this, a predictable backlash from the mainstreaming of political radicalism of the late 1960s. Looking back on 1973, Wheen observes that in Britain "it seems incredible that the National Theater should stage an earnest three-hour Trotskyist seminar, led by no less a figure than Laurence Olivier," that supposedly portended a working-class revolution.  In the United States, most every conspiracy theory that involved the White House, Langley, the entire rotten government, was given a hearing (and sometimes confirmed as fact) in Congress. Public revelation of the CIA's involvement in assassination plots in the Third World, its role in fomenting coups across the globe, and its production of exploding cigars meant for Fidel Castro were treasonous, said singer Bing Crosby. To others, the exposes merely confirmed what they had long suspected: Their government could never be trusted. [...]"   

 Commentary: Mossad in America Philip Giraldi [08/25/10] "Israeli government claims that it does not spy on the United States are intended for the media and popular consumption. The reality is that Israel’s intelligence agencies target the United States intensively, particularly in pursuit of military and dual-use civilian technology...Israeli government claims that it does not spy on the United States are intended for the media and popular consumption. The reality is that Israel’s intelligence agencies target the United States intensively, particularly in pursuit of military and dual-use civilian technology. Among nations considered to be friendly to Washington, Israel leads all others in its active espionage directed against American companies and the Defense Department. It also dominates two commercial sectors that enable it to extend its reach inside America’s domestic infrastructure: airline and telecommunications security. Israel is believed to have the ability to monitor nearly all phone records originating in the United States, while numerous Israeli air-travel security companies are known to act as the local Mossad stations.   As tensions with Iran increase, sources in the counterintelligence community report that Israeli agents have become more aggressive in targeting Muslims living in the United States as well as in operating against critics. There have been a number of cases reported to the FBI about Mossad officers who have approached leaders in Arab-American communities and have falsely represented themselves as “U.S. intelligence.” Because few Muslims would assist an Israeli, this is done to increase the likelihood that the target will cooperate. It’s referred to as a “false flag” operation. Mossad officers sought to recruit Arab-Americans as sources willing to inform on their associates and neighbors. The approaches, which took place in New York and New Jersey, were reportedly handled clumsily, making the targets of the operation suspicious. These Arab-Americans turned down the requests for cooperation, and some of the contacts were eventually reported to the FBI, which has determined that at least two of the Mossad officers are, ironically, Israeli Arabs operating out of Israel’s mission to the United Nations in New York under cover as consular assistants. In another bizarre case,  [...]"  Note: Philip Giraldi, a former CIA Officer, is the Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest. His “Deep Background” column appears every month exclusively in The American Conservative.

Investigations: Guilt by Complication [08/25/10] "In a November 2008 telephone conversation that was recorded by the FBI, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich daydreamed about what he could get for appointing Barack Obama's preferred choice to fill the president-elect's Senate seat. "Cabinet's out of the question," he said, "but Health and Human Services…I'd take that in a second. That'll never happen." On another occasion, Blagojevich wondered about a position with the Red Cross, only to have his chief of staff throw cold water on the idea by noting that Obama had no authority over the organization.  Given details like these, it's not surprising that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald failed to convict Blagojevich of illegally plotting to sell Obama's Senate seat—the most sensational accusation against him and, aside from a tangential charge of lying to the FBI, the one on which the jurors came closest to agreement. With a case based on ambiguous conversations and testimony from former cronies looking for lenience, Fitzgerald did what federal prosecutors often do: He piled on the charges, accusing Blagojevich of 24 separate but largely redundant counts in the hope that some of them would stick. In a salutary rebuke to overzealous prosecutors, the case collapsed under the weight of its confounding complexity.  The essence of Blagojevich's alleged crimes is straightforward: He was accused of using his position for personal advantage by trading official actions for campaign contributions and other things of value. Given these allegations, the bribery charges (two of the 24) make sense.  But because the feds swooped in to abort what Fitzgerald described as "a political corruption crime spree" that "would make Lincoln roll over in his grave," most of Blagojevich's talk never turned into action. His revenge fantasy of pressuring the Chicago Tribune into firing an editor who had said mean things about him, for example, did not go anywhere. Such fizzled schemes became "attempted extortion" (four counts), "conspiracy to commit extortion" (two counts), and "conspiracy to commit bribery" (two counts). In case jurors saw bluster (or "political horse trading,"as Blagojevich claims) where prosecutors saw conspiracy, Fitzgerald also charged the former governor with depriving his constituents of their "intangible right of honest services." When Blagojevich was arrested and indicted, the definition of this crime was so fuzzy that no one really knew what it meant. [...]"   

 Commentary: None Dare Call it Tyranny [08/24/10] "If you want to know what tyranny is like, look around.  The national government — specifically the executive branch — can do pretty much what it wants. It could bomb Iran tomorrow without a declaration of war from Congress. It can — and does — conduct secret wars and covert operations against countries that have done nothing to us. Of course, they are secret only to the ignorant taxpayers who must finance them and perhaps suffer when the provoked retaliation occurs. It can have men behind PlayStation consoles in Nevada fire Hellfire missiles from aerial drones on people in Pakistan, Yemen, and elsewhere.  This tyrannical government can send any foreigner picked up anywhere in the world to third countries known for torturing prisoners. It can hold people accused of nothing indefinitely in prisons in Cuba and Afghanistan and torture them into making false confessions. It can conduct a war crimes trial in a military kangaroo court for a man, Omar Khadr, held captive for eight years after he was picked up at the age of 15 during a U.S. assault on villagers near Kabul. His torture-induced “confessions” will be admissible. All this is in violation of commitments under the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict not to treat children in war as though they were adults.   It can assassinate even American citizens abroad without a scent of due process. It is a government that can write its own warrants without judicial review — and call them national security letters — in order to conduct fishing expeditions in anyone’s electronic records. But that isn’t enough power for the present Progressive administration, which wants the freedom to examine our browser histories and email correspondents’ names. The Bill of Rights, like the Geneva Convention, has become “quaint” and obsolete.  Like any self-respecting tyranny, it tries to keep the truth from its subjects. Comforting words camouflage the 50,000 armed and combat-ready troops that will remain in Iraq after “withdrawal.” Their “primary” mission is to train an army whose own general says won’t be ready for years. This gross deception follows on the heralded “surge,” which supposedly turned things around in Iraq. What “worked,” however, was not U.S. military prowess or Gen. David Petraeus’s brilliance, but the spreading of American taxpayers’ cash to buy off Sunni insurgents and the denouement of ethnic cleansing in Baghdad. [...]"  Note: Good piece, and worth reading. 

Four Day 9/11 Truth Conference and Charity Event in New York City [08/24/10] 9/9/2010 - 9/12/2010 "This year in NYC, whistle blowers from all levels of government agencies, politicians, filmmakers, activists & journalists will unite with hundreds of others to raise awareness to the plight of the 9/11 First Responders by holding a Charity conference over the course of 4 day. The events of 9/11 changed all of our lives. From foreign and domestic policy to new security measures, America has not been the same since that fateful day. “Our Lives Post 9/11” is a four day conference where people will come together to share ideas, raise money and awareness and work toward a better future. “Our Lives Post 9/11” will feature a lineup of speakers spanning from government officials, whistle blowers, political scholars, 9/11 family members, and more to discuss the criminal negligence of the American Government leading up to and following 9/11. Speakers include Ray McGovern -former CIA analyst, George Galloway – British politician, Richard Gage – AE 9/11 Truth, Cindy Sheehan – Peace Activist, Cynthia McKinney – former U.S. Congresswoman, Annie Machon – former MI5 agent, Mike Gravel – former U.S Senator, and so many more! Events start at 4pm on Thursday 9/9/2010 and continue through Sunday 9/12/2010. [...]"  

Book: Hitler's Jewish Soldiers [08/24/10] "On the murderous road to "racial purity" Hitler encountered unexpected detours, largely due to his own crazed views and inconsistent policies regarding Jewish identity. After centuries of Jewish assimilation and intermarriage in German society, he discovered that eliminating Jews from the rest of the population was more difficult than he'd anticipated. As Bryan Mark Rigg shows in this provocative new study, nowhere was that heinous process more fraught with contradiction and confusion than in the German military.  Contrary to conventional views, Rigg reveals that a startlingly large number of German military men were classified by the Nazis as Jews or "partial-Jews" (Mischlinge), in the wake of racial laws first enacted in the mid-1930s. Rigg demonstrates that the actual number was much higher than previously thought--perhaps as many as 150,000 men, including decorated veterans and high-ranking officers, even generals and admirals.  As Rigg fully documents for the first time, a great many of these men did not even consider themselves Jewish and had embraced the military as a way of life and as devoted patriots eager to serve a revived German nation. In turn, they had been embraced by the Wehrmacht, which prior to Hitler had given little thought to the "race" of these men but which was now forced to look deeply into the ancestry of its soldiers. The process of investigation and removal, however, was marred by a highly inconsistent application of Nazi law. Numerous "exemptions" were made in order to allow a soldier to stay within the ranks or to spare a soldier's parent, spouse, or other relative from incarceration or far worse. (Hitler's own signature can be found on many of these "exemption" orders.) But as the war dragged on, Nazi politics came to trump military logic, even in the face of the Wehrmacht's growing manpower needs, closing legal loopholes and making it virtually impossible for these soldiers to escape the fate of millions of other victims of the Third Reich.  Based on a deep and wide-ranging research in archival and secondary sources, as well as extensive interviews with more than four hundred Mischlinge and their relatives, Rigg's study breaks truly new ground in a crowded field and shows from yet another angle the extremely flawed, dishonest, demeaning, and tragic essence of Hitler's rule. [...]"  Related: Hitler Was Genetically Jewish, DNA Test Reveals   "Adolf Hitler probably never had a bar mitzvah or anything, but a series of new DNA tests indicate that he had Jewish and even African ancestors. A journalist and a historian tracked down 39 relatives of the Fuhrer and performed DNA tests on them. They found a common chromosome among them, E1b1b1, that is rare in Western Europe, but common in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, and among Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, the Daily Telegraph reports.   “One can from this postulate that Hitler was related to people whom he despised,” the journalist, Belgian Jean-Paul Mulders, wrote in a Belgian magazine. “This is a surprising result,” agreed a genetic specialist. “Hitler’s concern over his descent was not unjustified. He was apparently not ‘pure’ or ‘Aryan.” Historians have suggested that Hitler might have Jewish roots in the past; his father is thought to have been the illegitimate son of a maid and a young Jewish man. [...]"    

U.S. "Marshals Military Might" To " Challenge Asian Century" [08/23/10] "The first decade of what more than a generation ago was predicted to be the Asian Century is drawing to a close, marking ten years since the end of the American Century. ... The Asia-Europe-Africa grouping contains the overwhelming majority of the human race, perhaps as many as 5.6 billion of the world’s 6.8 billion inhabitants. The entire Western Hemisphere, by contrast, has a population under one billion and Oceania’s numbers are negligible. But for 500 years a small number of nations in the global West and North, a limited contingent of countries that collectively calls itself the North Atlantic community, has dominated most of the world. [...]"  

Ponerology: Why the Corrupt Few Wreak So Much Death, Destruction, and Suffering on the Rest of Us [08/23/10] "Perhaps the most important question of our time why, throughout human history, have despicable characters repeatedly risen to the pinnacles of power. The 20th Century alone witnessed an estimated 140 million war deaths and another 16 million from genocide. Mass starvation kills millions in an era when there is plenty enough food to feed the world. And not coincidentally, in the world today 40% of the world's wealth is held in the hands of 1% of its inhabitants, while the bottom 50% owns only 1% of the world's wealth. That means that the top 1% owns 40 times more than half the world's population. There are of course numerous reasons for this sorry state of affairs. But certainly the tremendous wealth and power disparity in the world, along with the abuse of that power by so many who have the most of it explains a great deal. Why have so many despicable characters throughout history acquired the ability to inflict so much suffering on the rest of humanity? I have read two books in particular that provide much insight into this issue: The Authoritarians by Bob Altemeyer (This link is to a free electronic version of Altemeyer's whole book); and, Political Ponerology - A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes by Andrew M. Lobaczewski. Both books talk about much the same process, but Altemeyer approaches it from the individual psychological perspective, whereas Lobaczewski approaches it more from the societal level.  [...]"     

Greg Palast Confronts The Generalissimo of Globalization [08/23/10] [9:08] "Investigative journalist Greg Palast travels to Geneva to ask some hard questions about the WTO's latest attempts to win a losing game [...]"  Related: Globalized Business Cares Little About Left or Right

 Commentary: The State's 'Inception' Fails  Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.[08/23/10] "Two years ago, the economy was seriously dragged down amidst an amazing banking crisis that spread throughout the world. The illusion created by loose credit – that housing could go up in price forever and we could enjoy permanent prosperity due to monetary expansion – was shattered by events. Reality had dawned. We found ourselves in the midst of an economic depression. At that point in policy, we were at a fork in the road. The wise direction was to let the depression happen. Let the bad investments wash out of the system. Let housing prices fall. Let banks go broke. Let wages fall and permit the market to reallocate all resources from bubble projects to projects that make economic sense. That was the direction chosen by the Reagan administration in 1981, and by the Harding administration in 1921. The result in both cases was a short downturn followed by recovery.  The Bush administration, in a policy later followed by the Obama administration, instead attempted a tactic of dream incubation as portrayed in the recent film Inception. The idea was to inject artificial stimulus into the macroeconomic environment. There were random spending programs, massive buyouts of bad debt using phony money, gargantuan tax tricks, incentive programs for throwing good money after bad, and hiring strategies to weave illusions about how all is well. [...]"   

America’s "DNA Profile" Has Been All Over Afghanistan Since 1973 [08/22/10] "In the two years since the publication of our book Invisible History: Afghanistan’s Untold Story we have had the chance to address dozens of forums and radio audiences around the United States about Afghanistan. It has been an illuminating exercise, not so much in terms of what Americans understand about the Afghanistan/Pakistan region (which unfortunately isn’t very much) but by the way it reveals how Americans are struggling to catch up with a world that seems to have left them behind. A morning-drive-time radio talk show host in Chicago wanted to know whether a nuclear bomb dropped on the Hindu Kush wouldn’t solve the problem. When we replied that using a nuclear weapon to kill a few thousand suspected terrorists would kill millions of innocent people, he responded abruptly before cutting us off: The Japanese got the message when we dropped it on them.  Most people are confused about the America they find themselves in, in the 21st century. They wonder where “their” America went. According to the popular mythology, the U.S. started the decade as the world’s lone hyper-power, beholden to none. It ends the first decade of the new millennium as a debt-hobbled-capitalist shell, beholden to a rising communist China and a host of oil-rich medieval Middle-East Sheikdoms. Americans are frustrated and resentful, denying any responsibility for the ongoing Afghan fiasco while expressing anger and often disbelief that our leadership has refused to learn the lessons of Vietnam and taken us on yet another mindless ride into a hopeless quagmire. [...]"  

Investigations: "Obama Appoints a Not-Too-Long-Ago-Hatched Neocon Larva" [08/22/10] "Matthew Bryza: Azerbaijan Ambassadorship & a Tangled Web of Conflicts "  During his four-year stint as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs he has focused on the South Caucasus, and during that period Georgia’s war budget has ballooned from $30 million a year when U.S.-educated Mikheil Saakashvili took power after the nation’s “Rose Revolution” in 2004 to $1 billion last year, a more than thirty fold increase. In the same year, 2008, Azerbaijan’s military spending had grown from $163 million the preceding year to $1,850,000,000, more than a 1000% increase. Much of the money expended for both unprecedented build-ups came from revenues derived from oil sales and transit fees connected with the BTC pipeline Bryza was instrumental in setting up. [...]" 

Investigations: Another ‘Viable’ Candidate Bites the Dust … [08/22/10] "Maksim Bakiyev: A Groomed Puppet Who Never Came to Be King. "Kyrgyzstan’s Wanted Fugitive: Maksim Bakiyev. The story is more or less the same – the one that has been repeating itself for many decades. The one based on a script written by the very same conductors who wrote the ones before, and who will probably be writing the ones to come (yes, they’re blessed with longevity; a curse for the rest of us). The location – always a resource rich country or one strategically crucial to resource rich countries. A viable candidate (sometimes candidates) chosen based on the exact same set of criteria – such as degree of corruptibility, and degree of atrocity or criminal tendencies. The grooming and training locations also are the same: the United States of America or the proxy brother, The United Kingdom. The supporting actors are a combination of old timers, think World Bank or IMF, and newer ones with even fancier names, such as XYZ Democratization and Development Fund, posing as well-intentioned NGOs. Okay, enough with the details, since we are very familiar with this repeating script and its consistent execution – collectively known and referred to as United States Foreign Policy. The Bakiyev ‘Groom & Plant’ script, like almost all its predecessors, contains the same good ole classical elements: strategically important Central Asian nation, vital US fuel supply artery to keep the war machines humming and destroying in Afghanistan, major artery for transportation of heroin, puppet NATO partnership & the same-o-same-o big bad Russians to compete with, dozens of US NGO’s planted to serve you-know -who’s interests (here is a hint: not the people of Kyrgyzstan nor the American people), a staged and orchestrated revolution by our State Department – named after a innocently beautiful flower – to overthrow the guy who was closer to China & Russia, planting a new corrupt despot clan all carrying the same last name-Bakiyev. [...]"  

Blackwater Settles for $42 Million [08/21/10] "That’s the amount that the company formerly known as Blackwater (now renamed Xe Services) has agreed to pay to avoid criminal charges for the hundreds of export violations it incurred as a leading private contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it’s not the end of Blackwater’s legal troubles. Five former executives have been indicted on weapons and obstruction charges, and there’s a probe into allegations that Blackwater tried to bribe Iraqi government officials. The violations included illegal weapons exports to Afghanistan, making unauthorized proposals to train troops in south Sudan and providing sniper training for Taiwanese police officers, according to company and government officials familiar with the deal. The settlement, which has not yet been publicly announced, follows lengthy talks between Blackwater, now called Xe Services, and the State Department that dealt with the violations as an administrative matter, allowing the firm to avoid criminal charges. A company spokeswoman confirmed Friday that a settlement had been reached. The State Department spokesman, Philip J. Crowley, said he could not immediately comment. ... By paying fines rather than facing criminal charges on the export violations, Blackwater will be able to continue to obtain government contracts. While the company lost its largest federal contract last year to provide diplomatic security for United States Embassy personnel in Baghdad, where the Iraqi government was incensed by killings of Iraqis in one highly publicized case, it still has contracts to provide security for the State Department and the C.I.A. in Afghanistan. [...]"   

Pakistan:  Minister tasked with saving US airbase at the cost of the displacement of thousands [08/21/10] "It has been reported earlier that the US Air Force has denied the relief agencies use of the Shahbaz airbase for the distribution of aid and assistance. Soldiers of the Pakistan army, a federal minister and the administration of Sindh province are blamed for the incident involving Shahbaz Airbase at Jacobabad district in Sindh province in which it has been reported that flood waters were diverted in order to save the airbase. The diversion of the floodwaters is blamed for inundating hundreds of houses and the displacement of 800,000 people. [...]"    

The Phases of an Empire [08/20/10]   "The analysis below explains why all empires and "Imperial Style" governments have failed throughout history, and why our Empire-USA faces the same fate. The only question is whether the people and government of the USA have the wisdom and will to engage in a "Managed Decline" by terminating the empire and imperial conduct on their own schedule, rather than by chaotic crash of the US Dollar, economy, and lifestyle. * An Empire is a nation that: 1) Owns colonies, and/or 2) Controls, or has great influence over, other nations. Empires require economic and military strength to start and maintain, and this is expensive.  * All Empires fail, and for the same reasons: 1) Expense of military abroad, and subsidies at home. 2) Decline in domestic productivity (spoiled, parasitic citizens). 3) Corruption (illegal conduct) and decadence (unethical and immoral conduct) by leaders and citizens. * Empire-USA: Our deal to other nations is: we will be the world’s policeman and protect you, but you must accept our fake money and "influence." The USA is far into Phase 3-Failure. Look around you for the symptoms shown in Part B-3 and Part C below. Phase 1 -- Growth  * Land: Gain territory by "discovery" (too bad for the natives), or conquest. * Strength: Start growth of economic and military strength. Sound currency (precious metal, or convertible paper and convertible base-metal coins). * Government: Local and central government acts as a servant to protect the rights of citizens. No entangling alliances with other nations. New land is governed as a colony or part of homeland nation (becoming a sovereign republic may require a revolution). The army consists of volunteers protecting their homes and families, with no professional or standing army. * Ethics: Most government people and citizens are hard working and honest. Government is a servant.[...]"    

CIA forms new center to combat nukes, WMDs (But Not Itself) [08/19/10] "The CIA is opening a counterproliferation center to combat the spread of dangerous weapons and technology, a move that comes as Iran is on the verge of fueling up a new nuclear power plant. CIA Director Leon Panetta said Wednesday that the new unit would place CIA operators side by side with the agency’s analysts to brainstorm plans to “confront the threat of weapons of mass destruction – nuclear, chemical and biological.” The center would formalize the collaboration between the agency’s analysts and operators, a close working relationship that CIA spokesman George Little said already has yielded intelligence successes. [...]"  Note: It's amazing how these people can turn the word 'intelligence' into an oxymoron, and a national policy into a double entendre, since the US has done so much to have weapons proliferate in the first place.

Seafloor covered in oil 40 miles south of Panama City, Florida - Heading East [08/19/10] [5:34]  "CNN, August 17, 2010 at 6:05 a.m. EDT"     Note: See "Oil and Gas" link above for related stories.  

Shots fired in Pakistan road protest [08/19/10] "One of the main roads linking the north-west of Pakistan to the rest of the country has been reopened after it was blocked for hours by protesters. [...]"   

(Predictably) Iran Sanctions Leave China, Russia as Winners in Trade [08/19/10] "Sanctions punishing Iran for its nuclear program are deepening the country’s ties with China and handing Russia opportunities to sell more gasoline while hurting suppliers in Europe and India. [...]"  Note:  It's a 'duh' thing, evidently beyond the capability of the US to understand.

U.S., S. Korea war games set in Yellow Sea [08/19/10] "The US and South Korea said they will hold more naval exercises in the Yellow Sea in early September. [...]"   

Colombia Court Halts US Military Base Deal [08/18/10] "Colombia’s Constitutional Court has announced that it is suspending a deal to provide US troops with increased access to the nation’s military bases as part of “anti-drug” operations, insisting that such a deal could not be done unilaterally by the president. Instead, President Juan Manuel Santos must seek congressional approval for the deal, and even then the court will almost certainly be challenged on the constitutionality of the deal. The court declined to even consider that aspect yet, insisting that it couldn’t do so until the deal was legally made in the first place. [...]"   

Soldiers Expose Deployment of Unprepared Troops  [08/17/10] "Army Reserve members facing imminent deployment to Afghanistan are publicly charging that their company is not properly trained or mentally fit for battle. Several members of the Indiana-based 656th Transportation Company, which is due to activate August 22nd, are requesting a Congressional inquiry into the unit’s lack of readiness. Alejandro Villatoro, a sergeant in the company, is amongst those coming forward. Sergeant Villatoro says, “The main reason I am doing this is that I want people to know the lack of training and education our soldiers been receiving, and the focus on the mission is just not adequate to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. All I am asking is more time to reevaluate the training and mental health of these soldiers before sending them into war.” At risk to themselves, these soldiers are going public with firsthand experiences of failures in military training, mental healthcare, and leadership, which many veterans charge are problems endemic to the military. This comes as the Afghanistan War falls under increased scrutiny in the wake of the Wikileaked “War Logs” information. [...]"  Note: The article does a good job describing how the people in charge of the military operate like a bunch of grade school kids who only understand and spout vacuous rhetoric and have NO adult thought processes going on in their empty heads. They now hold the reins of something they have NO ability to understand, let alone run right. The article states that at this point, soldiers are either going over to the middle east just for the "experience" and/or they just need a paying job. Those who run the military now have NO idea what they're doing; they have NO concept that they, themselves, are nothing more than useful idiots to further the war for profit (basically they're buffoons); and they have turned the war theater into a VERY twisted, macabre comedy of errors.  Related: "None Dare Call It Tyranny" " ... Like any self-respecting tyranny, it tries to keep the truth from its subjects. Comforting words camouflage the 50,000 armed and combat-ready troops that will remain in Iraq after “withdrawal.” Their “primary” mission is to train an army whose own general says won’t be ready for years. .... Now we are being softened up for the next war, against Iran.  [...]"  Petraeus beats the drums for endless war in Afghanistan  "In a series of media interviews this weekend, the new US commander in Afghanistan indicated that he is not compelled to withdraw any US troops in July 2011, the deadline set by Obama last December. [...]" | Karzai issues security ultimatum  "Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai gives private security companies four months to end their operations in the country. [...]"   

MSM: Scientists say up to 79% of oil remains in Gulf [08/17/10] "Permanent seal of well delayed amid new reports that 79% of the oil remains the Gulf A group of scientists have found that up to 79% of the oil in the Gulf of Mexico may still remain, contradicting earlier findings by a U.S. government study that found nearly 75% of the oil had dissipated.  [...]"  Related: Much Oil Remains in Gulf, Researchers Estimate Note: See "Oil and Gas" link at the top of this panel for related stories.   

Ban Ki-moon’s Top Advisor: " Scientific Elite Should Spearhead Global Population Control" [08/17/10] "Randomly pick a globalist scholar, one that is celebrated by academia and government alike, and you’ll find a can of worms under the crust, to be sure.  ... professor of health policy and management and director of the Columbia University based Earth Institute, Mr. Jeffrey Sachs,  stressed urgent need for population reduction. The person in charge of transcribing the discussion, made the following note: “(…) the fertility reduction and stabilization of population is crucial. He (Sachs) concluded by urging for the adoption of a globally agreed action plan at next year’s Summit to achieve the MDGs by 2015, ... In a September 2009 UN press release, Sachs not only lamented human activity on the planet, but argued for scientists and engineers to take the steering-wheel in this process: [...]"    

Commentary: Pentagon Holding U.S. Hostage to Endless Wars [08/16/10] "Besides holding Afghanistan and Iraq hostage, the Pentagon today is holding American civilization itself hostage to its imperial designs. That's because war beggars civilized life and ceaseless war beggars civilization unceasingly. As the great political commentator Walter Lippman put it during the Viet Nam War, "All the plans of the Great Society here at home, all the plans for the rebuilding of backward countries in other continents will all be put on the shelf, because war interrupts everything." In the American Warfare State that prevails today most of every tax dollar collected goes to wage war and the Pentagon spends more for war than all 50 states combined spend for peace. No better example exists than the protest of 750 scientists at the National Institutes of Health who said their basic infectious disease research had been subverted by spending on bioterror research. War interrupts everything: rebuilding our cities, public schools and community colleges, water-works and sewerage systems, housing, mass transit, hospitals, new business start-ups, parks and playgrounds,and the funding of the fine arts. Lippman went on to give advice that nearly every occupant of the White House has since disregarded: "We are not the policeman of mankind. We are not able to run the world, and we shouldn't pretend that we can. Let us tend to our own business, which is great enough as it is. It is very great. We have neglected our own affairs. Our education is inadequate, our cities are badly built, our social arrangements are unsatisfactory. We can't wait another generation." [...]"   Related: Pentagon: "China Targets U.S. Troops with Arms Buildup"  "China is aggressively building up military forces capable of striking U.S. forces in the western Pacific and elsewhere as part of what the Pentagon calls an array of high-tech "anti-access" missiles, submarines and warplanes in its latest annual report. [...]"  Note: The Pentagon will no longer exist in just a little while from now ... stupid, immature buffoons.

Israel’s Pre-Election Attempt To Deflect A New 9/11 Investigation By Gordon Duff [08/15/10] "This whole 'Ground Zero Mosque controversy' is a massive CointelPro operation. Muslims did not carry out or plan the 9/11 attacks. From all indications, rogue elements of the CIA and Mossad, possibly with the help of the Vatican, used Muslims as the scapegoat in one of the largest terror attacks in American history.  ....  The idea that Israel is financing the “Ground Zero Mosque” controversy when Mossad agents were arrested, dancing in the streets on 9/11, is an obscenity. Let’s get some facts straight. Since 2001 a lot has happened, none of it reported widely in the press. It has been categorically proven that the supposed hijackers could never have flown any of the planes on 9/11. Start with a reality check. This is why “9/11″, as people are still being misinformed, simply never happened: [...]"  Related: "Ground Zero Mosque Has Become An Israeli Psychotic Issue" | U.S. media blames the Muslims for 9/11 [08/14/10] [6:23] MSM: 'Cornyn: ' NYC mosque will be an election issue' Note: Layer upon layer of bullshit, promoted as 'news' by "Raw Story". "Huffington Post" and other MSM propaganda outlets are peddling the same contrived story.

World Politics: A campaign for war with Iran begins [08/14/10] "Obama administration officials, as well as U.S. lawmakers and European diplomats, passionately made the argument this spring that tough sanctions on Iran were necessary to avoid war. But contrary to their predictions, the drumbeat for war -- particularly from Israel – has only increased since the U.N. Security Council adopted a new resolution against Tehran in June. The latest in this crescendo of voices is Jeffrey Goldberg’s article in the Atlantic, "Point of No Return." As the title suggests, it essentially makes the case (though in an uncharacteristically subtle manner by neoconservative standards) that there are no choices left -- war is a fait accompli, and the only question is whether it will be initiated by Israel or by the United States. "If the Israelis reach the firm conclusion that Obama will not, under any circumstances, launch a strike on Iran, then the countdown will begin for a unilateral Israeli attack," Goldberg writes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Goldberg’s description, is a man whose back is against the wall. He cannot accommodate the Obama administration on the Palestinian issue because that would upset his 100-year-old father, and he cannot afford to have faith in Obama’s strategy to prevent a nuclear Iran through peaceful means because the threat from Iran is "existential." Goldberg interviewed roughly 40 former and current Israeli officials for his piece. Although his access to Israeli officials certainly doesn't seem to be lacking, the same cannot be said about his treatment of the assumptions behind the Israeli talking points. The most critical assumption that Israeli officials have presented publicly for the past 18 years -- long before the firebrand Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stepped on the scene -- is that the Iranian government is irrational and that Iran constitutes an existential threat to Israel. [...] These departing points in the Israeli analysis eliminate all options on Iran with the exception of preventive military action. An adversary who isn’t rational cannot be deterred or contained, because such an actor -- by definition -- does not make decisions based on a cost-benefit analysis. In addition, if the foe is presented as an existential threat, then preventive action is the sole rational response. These Israeli assumptions short-cut the entire policy process and skip all the steps that normally are taken before a state determines that force is necessary. But if judged by its actions rather than its rhetoric, a very different image emerges -- one that shows an astute Israeli appreciation for the complexity of Iran's security calculations and decision-making processes, and a recognition that conventional arguments are insufficient to convince Washington to view Iran from an Israeli lens. Goldberg mentions in his article that the Jewish people and the Iranians have a long and common history. It is a history that has been overwhelmingly positive until recently. Iran is still home to the largest population of Jews in the Middle East outside of Israel itself, and the Jewish community’s impact on Iranian culture, politics and society runs deep. [...] "   

Commentary: "Israel ’s War with Iran and The Zionist Power Configuration in America" by Prof. James Petras [08/14/10] "..Zionists and their allies in Congress authored, implemented and enforced sanctions against Iran , which hinder the ambitions of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies. Israeli war exercises and public declarations threatening a massive air assault on Iran has pushed petroleum prices to world records. This spring 2008, the most powerful pro-Israel Jewish Lobby in the US , AIPAC held their annual conference and secured the support and commitment of both major US Presidential candidates and the majority of US members of Congress for an Israeli initiative to impose extreme economic sanctions on Iran with threats of a US/Israeli military attack. In early summer 2008, the AIPAC operatives, who wrote this US Congressional resolution, successfully rounded up Congressional leaders’ support of an air and naval blockade of all critical imports into Iran – a blatant act of war. [...]"    

Canada: Court ruling finds that Taser stun guns can kill [08/14/10] "The British Columbia Supreme Court handed down a ruling Tuesday vindicating the findings of a provincial public inquiry that tasers can cause serious injury or death. Last year, retired justice Thomas Braidwood issued the first part of a report on the police killing of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski that set out 19 recommendations for the use of stun guns by police. Dziekanski died shortly after four Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers fired five Taser shots into the hapless immigrant who had become lost and disoriented after arriving at the Vancouver International Airport in October 2007. Braidwood’s findings had been challenged by Taser International. The company is the leading manufacturer of “electrical control devices” (stun guns) in the world. Its weapons are used by most of the police forces in Canada and the United States. Over the course of the Braidwood Inquiry, Taser submitted 174 documents and sent to the stand numerous company-supplied “expert” witnesses, including its cofounder, to argue that its product does not pose a serious health risk when deployed against the human body. But when Braidwood ruled that Taser’s studies and statistics did not support its claim that its stun gun does not affect the heart and ruled, instead, that a shock from a Taser weapon has the capacity to kill its victim by causing heart arrhythmia—especially if it is fired multiple times—company lawyers went into overdrive in an attempt to quash the findings. Appealing to the British Columbia Supreme Court, company attorneys brashly argued that Braidwood, by failing to directly refer in his report to all 174 documents filed by Taser, had failed to properly weigh all the evidence. They further argued that Braidwood had ridden roughshod over the company when he did not release his findings directly to Taser International prior to making his report public. Company lawyers also insisted that the judge erred by not granting Taser official standing at the inquiry into the Dziekanski killing. Finally, they complained that due to the Inquiry’s findings the company has suffered an “economic backlash” that has led to the loss of important contract opportunities in the international marketplace, including a multimillion-dollar deal in South Africa. This was not the first time that Taser has deployed considerable legal resources in order to overturn or prevent findings against its lethal product. Since 2002 when Taser launched its more powerful 26-watt model, there have been at least 400 deaths worldwide attributed to the deployment of the stun gun. [...] The proliferation of stun gun use throughout the United States and Canada, without due regard for the safety of the devices, represents an attack on the democratic rights of the population. Amnesty International has called for a moratorium on taser usage until more is learned about its lethality, and the United Nations has condemned the devices as “a form of torture that can kill.” Contrary to police claims, the weapon is generally not used in lieu of deadly force. Instead, it is used to inflict pain and undeserved punishment, as in the case of Robert Dziekanski and hundreds of others who have met their death at the hands of the police."

Commentary: "The Corpo-Obama-Geithner-Petraeus State" [08/14/10] "... The government, as Alterman convincingly describes it, is not only expensive, "bloated" and all the rest. It has become a handmaid to corporate power—a hiring hall from which compliant officials are selected for vastly more lucrative private-sector jobs, as well as an emergency cash reserve for companies that fall on hard times. No wonder so many Americans unthinkingly conflate "big government" and "big corporations." This is not the kind of government that hires unemployed people to paint murals on post office walls. And, as everyone knows, when the bank decides to repossess your home, it's a public employee who will kick in the door. All that should be enough to sour liberals' trust in government as a tool for progressive social change. But the situation is much worse than Alterman acknowledges..." [...]"  

 Commentary: The Unstoppable Force of Irresistible Change  [08/12/10] " .... You can see the reality of what Lao Tzu had to say about the latter days of any culture or system of government where evil and venal men and women mine the wreckage for personal profit. It’s the accepted thing to lie and conspire while presented oneself as a patriot and defender of the land and the people they are looting. Speeches are filled with flowery words that mean nothing. Honor is an empty suit that parades around as a mockery of itself while ignorant people applaud and wonder at the mysterious presence and power of those who give the appearance of possessing virtues, which would instantly compromise all of their selfish actions. It doesn’t matter anymore what you are, it only matters how you make yourself appear to be. All of these seemingly, intelligent people dance around each other like courtiers at the palace of a corrupt monarch. The trivia of important lives has replaced the substance of what everyone once expected. [...] Systems without a basic integrity cannot hold themselves together, whether they are political, religious or commercial enterprises. It’s all falling apart and can only be held together by force and false information. ....This world is not what it appears to be and it is just what it appears to be but only within the context of the illusion that pervades the minds of the sleepwalking dead. [...] "  Note: Not a great writer, but some good points here and there.

Commentary: Another Nuremberg in the Making: Intelligence Agencies Employ Physicians to Torture Detainees [08/12/10] "A series of recent revelations have scratched the surface of just how deranged the actions of America's intelligence agencies have become. Using legalese and secret directives, U.S. intelligence agencies have attempted to argue that certain human beings are . . . not human.  Americans seem largely unaware that their country, founded upon principles of due process and individual rights, now appears to have been overthrown by this Gestapo-like faction of government that uses trained physicians to carry out torture in the supposed defense of its nation. Although what has been uncovered does not yet approach the scale of Nazi Germany or the Soviet Gulags, the methods are similar. State-sanctioned torture is a hallmark of tyranny, and inevitably leads to the collapse of the country that legitimizes it. [...]"  Related: CIA hid terrorism prisoners from US Supreme Court  "The Central Intelligence Agency purposefully concealed at least four terrorism detainees from the US legal system, including the Supreme Court, according to an exclusive report by the Associated Press. The news agency has revealed that the CIA secretly transported the four to Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp on Cuba in 2003, two years before it publicly admitted their capture. It then secretly transferred them again to other sites in its black site prison network in various countries around the world, just three months before their prolonged stay at Guantánamo would entitle them to legal representation.  [...]" 

The Hidden Tragedy of the CIA’s Experiments on Children [08/12/10] "Bobby is seven years old, but this is not the first time he has been subjected to electroshock. It’s his third time. In all, over the next year, Bobby will experience eight electroshock sessions. Placed on the examining table, he is held down by two male attendants while the physician places a solution on his temples. Bobby struggles with the two men holding him down, but his efforts are useless. He cries out and tries to pull away. One of the attendants tries to force a thick wedge of rubber into his mouth. He turns his head sharply away and cries out, “Let me go, please. I don’t want to be here. Please, let me go.” Bobby’s physician looks irritated and she tells him, “Come on now, Bobby, try to act like a big boy and be still and relax.” Bobby turns his head away from the woman and opens his mouth for the wedge that will prevent him from biting through his tongue. He begins to cry silently, his small shoulders shaking and he stiffens his body against what he knows is coming. [...]"  

Update:  BP, CIA conspiracy theory suggested behind Simmons unexpected death [08/12/10] "Oil industry icon Matt Simmons became a household name during the BP oil spill crisis, partly because of his criticism of BP and their handling the worst oil spill in US history. Simmons, 67, was found dead in his home in Maine on August 8, 2010. The medical examiner’s office is unclear about whether he had drowned in his tub after suffering a heart attack, or died from a heart attack while drowning. Before his unexpected death, Simmons had become a whistle blower against BP and the US government. He used his oil industry and government connections to reveal information about the BP oil spill disaster that he claimed were deliberately hidden from the public. The confusion surrounding the exact cause of his recent death has sparked reports that he was assassinated by either the CIA or BP...]"    Note: See "Oil and Gas" link above for background on Simmons death and related stories.  

US military judge: Confessions obtained by threatening the subject with rape are admissible in court [08/12/10] "In one of the first military commissions held under the Obama administration, a US military judge has ruled that confessions obtained by threatening the subject with rape are admissible in court. The case involves Omar Ahmed Khadr, a citizen of Canada who was apprehended in Afghanistan when he was 15 years old and has remained [ [...]" 

 Commentary: Cybersecurity Lie Exposed: Power Plants Are Not Connected To The Internet [08/11/10] "Senator Joe Lieberman’s draconian Internet takeover legislation, the 197-page Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, is being promoted as a vital tool to protect vulnerable infrastructure hubs from terrorist attacks, but as a recent Wall Street Journal report makes clear, large industrial power and water plants are not even connected to the public Internet. Lieberman has been busy over the last several months pushing the cybersecurity agenda, with a bill that would hand President Obama the power to shut down parts of the world wide web for at least four months with no congressional oversight in the event of a cyber attack on critical infrastructure systems in the U.S. However, the primary purpose of cybersecurity and Lieberman’s legislation is to combat a problem that doesn’t exist. As a recent Wired News article highlighted, power grid and drinking water systems, “Are rarely connected directly to the public internet. And that makes gaining access to grid-controlling networks a challenge for all but the most dedicated, motivated and skilled — nation-states, in other words.” The article explains that it would take a gargantuan national effort on behalf of a nation state, utilizing a plethora of national resources, to even begin to attempt taking down complex power and water systems. This isn’t merely a case of a rag-tag terrorist group hacking into a website via their laptop [...]"  

Iran steps in as U.S. steps out of Lebanon [08/11/10] "Iran is ready to provide military assistance to Lebanon, an Iranian commander said Tuesday as a U.S. lawmaker revokes military aid to Beirut. [...]"   

Calls to End the False Security of Nuclear Weapons [08/11/10] "Norman Solomon, author, and founder of the Institute for Public Accuracy, takes the stage. "The nuclear age was born in deception of the facts, of the human realities of these weapons... and in silence, avoidance, and through psychic numbing. These weapons are lied about constantly, by our leaders, by our news media, and by ourselves." Indeed, in 1979 Solomon researched the first official United States document that listed atomic targets. Titled "Announced United States Nuclear Tests," at the top of that list is Trinity at New Mexico's Alamogordo Test Range; second is Hiroshima; third is Nagasaki. [...]"   

German ex-spies to be fined for advertising skills online [08/11/10] "At least a dozen German former intelligence officers are to face disciplinary action after they were found advertising their past spy careers on a job-seekers’ professional networking Web site. The German government authorized the country’s leading external intelligence agency, the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), to initiate an internal investigation, after German tabloid newspaper Bild drew attention to the online revelations in a leading article. The newspaper listed 12 former BND officers who advertised their past intelligence careers on their publicly listed résumés on Xing.com, a German-language website that serves as Germany’s version of LinkedIn.com. German federal legislation expressly forbids BND personnel from ever publicly revealing their professional ties with the spy agency, even after dismissal, resignation or retirement. A German government representative, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said the office of Germany’s Chancellor has requested that the BND imposes disciplinary action, including lawsuits, against the twelve former spies named by Bild, as well against any others who may have disclosed their BND ties. A detailed report on the Deutsche Welle last January said the BND continues to struggle immensely with bureaucratic inefficiency and substandard human and financial resources, and has yet to hammer out its new mission in the post-Cold-War environment. [...]"  

Afghanistan to Expel U.S. Security Firms [08/11/10] "Afghan President Hamid Karzai is set to call on Washington and its allies to shut down their private security companies in the violence-stricken country. President Karzai will announce the details of his demand late Saturday during a press conference in Kabul, a Press TV correspondent reported. Informed sources in the presidential office said the Afghan leader was set to impose a ban on Western-backed security firms and announce his new policy on the fight against corruption. President Karzai had earlier accused foreign security contractors in the country of operating as militias, saying that these firms are only worsening the security situation in Afghanistan. The demand would be made as Kabul has confirmed the presence of 52 foreign private security companies, including notorious American security firm Xe Services LLC -- formerly known as Blackwater -- in Afghanistan. [...]"   

Commentary: Death by Government: The Missing Chapter  by Thomas J. DiLorenzo [08/09/10] "Over the past decade a number of researchers have attempted to document the extent to which various governments during the twentieth century committed acts of mass murder against their own citizens. The millions of deaths catalogued by such researchers as R.J. Rummel, author of Power Kills and Death by Government, and by the authors of The Black Book of Communism, are not deaths caused by foreign armies, but by all those unfortunate souls’ own governments.  The reason for all the killing, whether it is called genocide or "democide," to use Rummel’s term, was to eliminate all opposition to the ruling regime and its ideology. In Russia, the kulaks "who resisted collectivization [of land] were shot, and the others deported," according to The Black Book of Communism (p. 9). When the rural population of the Ukraine resisted, Stalin created a famine that killed 6 million in a few months. "Virtually identical crimes" were committed "by the regimes of Mao Zedong, Kim Il Sung, and Pol Pot," according to The Black Book (p. 10).  In Power Kills, R. J. Rummel writes that "democidal" regimes tend to become even more vicious toward their own people when their political power "is conjoined with an absolutist ideology" (p. 93). And, "when the rulers of such regimes find for whatever reason that the continued existence of a social group is incompatible with their beliefs or goals, totalitarian power enables them to destroy that group" (p. 93). "War or rebellion" have often provided "an excuse and cover for a regime to eliminate those social groups it finds objectionable."  Armed with this understanding, the authors of The Black Book present the following statistics regarding how various communist governments killed their own citizens by the millions (p. 4): [...]"  Related: Deaths by Government: Another Missing Chapter by Walter Block

Murder of Aid Workers in Afghanistan A Convenient War Psyops? [08/09/10] "The tragic murder of 10 medical workers in northern Afghanistan could very well have been done by thugs and thieves or is there a military/CIA/Mossad psyops at work? But on the other hand, when this incident is looked at through the concept of 'war by deception,' it's not too far-fetched to speculate that the intelligence agencies and their paid proxies working in the area may have actually committed the war crime. Killing western civilians doing humanitarian work is a deceitful way to stir public opinion for a war going downhill fast in the minds of many Americans. [...]"    

The Pentagon's Hypocrisy On Iraqi Civilian Deaths [08/09/10] "Eager to declare the war in Iraq a "success," the Pentagon has been inconvenienced by Iraqi government figures that show violent deaths in Iraq are up sharply. In response, the Pentagon has bizarrely begun disputing the Iraqi government figures as unreliable. The whole thing stinks of hypocrisy. After all, throughout this whole 7-year fiasco of a war, the Pentagon's stock, glib answer to the whole question of Iraqi civilian deaths has always been the same: "We don't do body counts." (since they made that mistake in Vietnam and got caught lying about it) [...]"   

 Commentary: FDA: “Dispersants do NOT cause public health concerns” [08/09/10] "The Food and Drug Administrations claim that dispersants do not pose a public health concern is absolutely criminal! The Use of Corexit9500 has already sickened thousands of people and has possibly caused some sort of acid rain. Dead plants have been filmed throughout the region. Keath Ladner, the owner of Gulf Shores Sea Products in Bay St. Louis, Miss went on record with some startling information. Apparently, Keath found a 2 mile wide patch of DEAD fish! How can anyone possibly believe that this is over? [...]"  Note: See "Oil and Gas" link above for related stories.  

Exposé: 'Death Gyre' in the Gulf [08/08/10] "Firsthand accounts and leaked photos of a secret BP processing facility -- possibly for dead animals -- point to a massive cover-up in the Gulf. An exclusive report. June 10th was a strange day. In a surprising move, the Coast Guard instituted a dramatic expansion of the "no-fly" zone over the Gulf, preventing major media outlets like the New York Times and even scientists with top government clearance from accessing the area. This caused a wave of journalistic uproar and bewilderment on the part of researchers like Edward E. Clark of the Wildlife Center (above) who had been invited to study the impacts just prior to the media blackout. More distressing than the media blackout itself was a lingering question in my mind ... what on earth could be so BAD that the U.S. government would risk losing credibility in the minds of journalists, the scientific community and the general public to ensure concealment? Was the sea floor cracking? Was a giant cloud of benzene going to wipe out the Eastern Seaboard? Had Godzilla emerged from the sea to wreak havoc upon us all? One thing was clear ... we weren't getting the story. All manner of apocalyptic scenarios were running through my head that morning when by chance I received a very strange message that pointed to a less fantastic but equally horrific explanation. It was a text message that had been sent on a borrowed phone to a man's wife (according to the person who forwarded it to me) a man who had just returned from what many are now calling the "Death Gyre." The message was e-mailed to a family friend who posted it on Facebook and it has since been recirculated. Here's the text (you will notice a few colloquialisms that are specific to Bayou talk) so read through the lines, and forgive the misspellings:  [...]"  Note:  See "Oil and Gas" link at the top of this panel for related stories.

The British Ministry of Defense unable to account for more than £6 billion of equipment [08/08/10] "The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) has been unable to account for more than £6 billion of equipment, the government's spending watchdog says. The National Audit Office (NAO), the Whitehall's spending watchdog, refused on Monday to sign off the MoD's accounts for the fourth consecutive year in a row. The head of the NAO, Amyas Morse, said that the MoD is grappling with "systematic and deep-rooted" problems within its asset management system. He said that efforts to track down the lost equipment shed light on more difficulties; hence the problems have turned out to be more extensive than what was previously thought. The NAO found that the MoD was unable to account for the whereabouts of £5.5 billion of spares and other stocks, £752 million in military equipment including firearms and 5,961 Bowman radios worth £184 million.  [...]"   

10 Medical Aid Workers Slain in Afghanistan [08/07/10] "Their aid group, the International Assistance Mission, said they were eye doctors, nurses and technicians, hiking into one of the toughest areas of the country to provide services. But the Taliban, who claimed responsibility, accused them of being spies and christian missionaries. “All indications are this is probably our team,” Dirk Frans, I.A.M.’s executive director, said from Kabul on Saturday. “They were on an optometric expedition, running an eye camp.” Both Mr. Frans and the police stressed, however, that no positive identification of the victims had yet been made. Their bodies were being brought out by road, a day’s journey to the district seat. The 12-member medical team included six Americans, a Briton and a German, along with four Afghans, Mr. Frans said.   [...]"   

Former Interpol Chief convicted for corruption [08/07/10] "On 3 August 2010, Jackie Selebi was handed down a 15-year sentence by a Johannesburg Court on charges of corruption. Evidence was provided that the defendant had received huge bribes from a mafia chief and had fabricated false evidence. His lawyer immediately lodged an appeal hoping for a suspended sentence. The defendant was released on bail and walked out laughing. Meanwhile, the police unit involved in the investigation was dissolved. Mr. Selebi was a top member of the ANC leadership, the Ambassador of South Africa to the United Nations (2000-09), Interpol President (2004-08), Chair of the Anti-Landmine Conference and Chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights. Jackie Selebi inflates the list of bandits who served as Interpol presidents. The names include Austrian SS Otto Steinhäusl (1938-40), and perpetrators of crimes against humanity Reinhard Heydrich (1940-42) and Ernst Kaltenbrunner [...]"  

Another Nuremberg in the Making: Intelligence Agencies Employ Physicians to Torture Detainees [08/07/10] "A series of recent revelations have scratched the surface of just how deranged the actions of America's intelligence agencies have become. Using legalese and secret directives, U.S. intelligence agencies have attempted to argue that certain human beings are . . . not human.  Americans seem largely unaware that their country, founded upon principles of due process and individual rights, which now appears to have been overthrown by this Gestapo-like faction of government that uses trained physicians to carry out torture in the supposed defense of its nation. Although what has been uncovered does not yet approach the scale of Nazi Germany or the Soviet Gulags, the methods are similar. State-sanctioned torture is a hallmark of tyranny, and inevitably leads to the collapse of the country that legitimizes it. An AP exclusive report released today revealed that detainees in the War on Terror were whisked away from Gitmo before the American judicial system could account for them. The AP article states: [...]"  

Exposé:  Maxine Waters Fought To Investigate Crack Cocaine, Money Laundering; Porter Goss Covered It Up [08/07/10] "Well-placed intelligence sources in Washington have pointed to a bitter conflict between Porter Goss, head of the unconstitutional Office of Congressional Ethics, and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, that goes back to 1997-1999, when Goss blocked the efforts of Waters and others to expose the Bush family/Iran Contra cocaine trafficking which had created a hellish epidemic in South Central Los Angeles—Waters' district—as well as in other parts of the country. As head of the House Intelligence Committee, Goss covered up the substantial evidence of the Bush/Ollie North/Iran Contra cocaine running operations. Who is Goss to sit in judgment against members of Congress for the racist Barack Obama? In the aftermath of the 1998 release of the CIA Inspector General's reports following the 1996 expose of the crack cocaine stories by now-deceased journalist Gary Webb, Waters demanded a full, open investigation by the House Select Committee on Intelligence, which Goss chaired—courtesy of Newt Gingrich. Since 1996, Waters had vigorously pursued the investigation of the Gary Webb revelations which appeared in the San Jose Mercury News. Waters held a "hearing"/town meeting about the charges at the September 1996 annual conference of the Congressional Black Caucus; she conducted an in-depth investigation of the charges, including using her "own money" for a trip that took her down to Nicaragua to interview CIA assets and cocaine traffickers who were named in both the Webb series, and/or official reports. On March 16, 1998, Waters, along with her Congressional colleague, Rep. Juanita M. McDonald, testified at a hastily-called hearing before the House Intelligence Committee,  [...]"   

 Concepts and Practices: "The Jeffersonian Position" Lew Rockwell [08/07/10] "From Thomas Jefferson: Writings (Library of America, 1984), pp. 1056-1057 is a January 26, 1799 letter from Jefferson to Edbridge Gerry (inventor of “gerrymandering”) explaining his political philosophy: [...]"  

'Unprecedented Carrier-Killing' Chinese Missile Could Shift Pacific Power Balance  [08/06/10] "U.S. naval planners are scrambling to deal with what analysts say is a game-changing weapon being developed by China – an unprecedented carrier-killing missile called the Dong Feng 21D that could be launched from land with enough accuracy to penetrate the defenses of even the most advanced moving aircraft carrier at a distance of more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles). [...]"   

New York Senate Passes Temporary Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing [08/06/10] "In a predawn vote Wednesday, New York State's senate passed a bill that reaches beyond the debate over the environmental safety of drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale and would effectively ban almost all gas and oil drilling in the state until next spring. The bill circumvents an environmental review by the state's regulatory agency that could be finished this year. The bill prohibits the underground process of hydraulic fracturing, which breaks up buried rock and releases gas trapped inside.  Its author, State Senator Antoine Thompson, told ProPublica the moratorium is aimed at pausing the kind of high-volume hydraulic fracturing used in horizontally-drilled wells in the Marcellus Shale until legislators can reach an informed decision about its risks. But the language in the final bill as it is posted on the state's website does not differentiate between the different ways hydraulic fracturing can be used. It appears to be a blanket prohibition that would also stop hydraulic fracturing in New York's many vertical oil and gas wells and would apply to drilling in geologic formations outside the Marcellus. The Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York, an industry trade group, has pushed hard against the measure, describing it as "unnecessary" and driven by "a calculated campaign of misinformation and ignorance." An IOGA spokesman told ProPublica the bill was technically flawed and would affect hydraulically fractured wells beyond the intent of the law. It would have the unintended consequence of preventing drilling that is currently allowed, he said. [...]"    

The U.S. Government Is “The Largest Criminal Organization In The World” [08/06/10] [5:30]  " [...]"  Note:  Mike Gogulski’s site 

Study: CIA doctors ‘gave green light to torture’ [08/05/10] "A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that physicians with the CIA's Office of Medical Services (OMS) played an even greater role in facilitating the torture of detainees than was previously recognized. "The duplicity in this affair is amazingly circular.," Horton writes. "The Justice Department’s torture lawyers relied on the CIA’s torture doctors for the conclusion that specific techniques did not produce 'severe pain' that ran afoul of the criminal law prohibition on torture; the CIA doctors relied on the Justice Department lawyers for the same conclusion. It looks like a compact, and an alert prosecutor would no doubt call it a joint criminal enterprise. ... It’s hard to see at this point whose behavior was the more ethically odious, though evidence suggests that both engaged in professional misconduct so egregious as to warrant formal disciplinary proceedings." "The torture doctors expect to have their identities protected, and thus to escape the natural consequences of their gross professional misconduct," Horton concludes. "This helps us understand why senior figures in the intelligence community are today ferociously pressuring the Justice Department to criminalize anyone who attempts to discover the identities of those involved. They assert that those identified would be terrorist targets. In fact, those who are unmasked face likely professional ethics proceedings, as well as the long-term risk of criminal prosecution, particularly if they ever venture beyond the borders of the United States." [...]"   

German high court rules: Parliament cannot challenge domestic use of the military [08/05/10] "A recent decision by Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court strengthens the powers of the government over parliament and undermines the limitations preventing the deployment of troops against the German population. [...]"   

Ecuador pledges no oil drilling in Amazon reserve, for a while  [08/05/10] "Ecuador has agreed to refrain from drilling for oil in a pristine Amazon rainforest reserve in return for up to $3.6bn (£2.26bn) in payments from rich countries. Under a pioneering agreement signed with the United Nations, the oilfields under the Yasuni reserve will remain untapped for at least a decade.... The Ecuadorean government says keeping the oil in the ground will prevent more than 400 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere. "This is Ecuador's contribution towards combating climate change," Ecuador's Heritage Minister, Maria Espinoza, said. Under a pioneering agreement signed with the United Nations, the oilfields under the Yasuni reserve will remain untapped for at least a decade. The money is about half of what Ecuador would make by selling the oil. [...]"   See 'Oil & Gas' link at the top of this panel for related stories.

Karzai butts into corruption probe [08/05/10] "A decision by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to review a U.S.-backed anti-corruption probe is a blow to the reconstruction effort, U.S. officials said. [...]"   

 Trends: Bulgaria to cut military procurement [08/05/10] "Bulgaria has become the latest in a series of European countries that plans to cancel the delivery of already ordered military equipment. [...]"  Note: Yes, war is getting old, for some. Priorities can change.

UK: The US isn't leaving Iraq, it's just re-branding the occupation [08/05/10] "For most people in Britain and the US, Iraq is already history. Afghanistan has long since taken the lion's share of media attention, as the death toll of Nato troops rises inexorably. Controversy about Iraq is now almost entirely focused on the original decision to invade: what's happening there in 2010 barely registers. That will have been reinforced by Barack Obama's declaration this week that US combat troops are to be withdrawn from Iraq at the end of the month "as promised and on schedule". For much of the British and American press, this was the real thing: headlines hailed the "end" of the war and reported "US troops to leave Iraq". Nothing could be further from the truth. The US isn't withdrawing from Iraq at all – it's rebranding the occupation. Just as George Bush's war on terror was retitled "overseas contingency operations" when Obama became president, US "combat operations" will be rebadged from next month as "stability operations". But as Major General Stephen Lanza, the US military spokesman in Iraq, told the New York Times: "In practical terms, nothing will change". After this month's withdrawal, there will still be 50,000 US troops in 94 military bases, "advising" and training the Iraqi army, "providing security" and carrying out "counter-terrorism" missions. In US military speak, that covers pretty well everything they might want to do.  [...]"  Note:  Of course. They weren't going to build the whole Green Zone compound and massive US Embassy and walk away. 

Suspicion Growing About Possible Link between outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Israel [08/05/10] "Amid the growing outrage over an Israeli attack on civilian ships in international waters that killed nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists and wounded dozens last week, there is deepening suspicion about the possible Israeli involvement in the killing of seven soldiers in a terrorist rocket attack on a naval base in Iskenderun, in the southern province of Hatay. [...]"    

“Iran has obtained S-300 air defense systems” [08/04/10] "Tehran has obtained four S-300 surface-to-air missiles, the Iranian news agency Fars has said. Two missiles were purchased from Belarus and two others from another unspecified source, it added. According to Fars, the semiofficial news agency, Tehran’s possession of the missiles was revealed last year by Al-Menar TV. Iranian government officials never denied the report. S-300s can track targets and fire at aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missile warheads 120 kilometers away, and are able to simultaneously engage up to 100 targets. Israel fears the possible delivery of the systems to Iran would change “the balance of forces” in the region. Analysts say Tehran may use the S-300 in case of a military strike against the country. Russia has been delaying the delivery of the S-300 surface-to-air missile to Iran since 2007, when the two countries concluded a contract. In June this year, Moscow said the new UN Security sanctions against Iran would block the delivery. [...]"  Note: If this is true, it changes things for Iran ... and anyone who attacks it.   

Israeli provocation on Lebanese border could trigger new war [08/04/10] "Border clashes between Israeli and Lebanese troops have left three Lebanese soldiers and a journalist dead. Lebanon’s Hezbollah TV, Al Manar, reports one high-ranking Israeli officer has been killed but this has not been confirmed by the Lebanese army or UN troops stationed in southern Lebanon. As the photo above makes clear, this was a blatant act of provocation by Israeli forces — no one accidentally strayed over the border. This is more like kids tossing matches to find out whether a brush fire will start. [...]"    

New Evidence About Prisoners Held in Secret CIA Prisons in Poland and Romania [08/04/10] "On Friday, the Polish Border Guard Office released a number of documents to the Warsaw-based Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, which, for the first time, provide details of the number of prisoners transferred by the CIA to a secret prison in Poland between December 5, 2002, and September 22, 2003, and, in one case, the number of prisoners who were subsequently transferred to a secret CIA prison in Romania. The documents (available here and here) provide important information about the secret prison at Szymany, in northeastern Poland, and also add to what is known about the program in Romania, which has received far less scrutiny.  The existence of the prisons was first revealed in The Washington Post on November 2, 2005, although the Post refrained from “publishing the names of the Eastern European countries involved in the covert program, at the request of senior U.S. officials.” However, on November 6, 2005, Human Rights Watch identified the countries as Poland and Romania, and stated that it had seen “flight records showing that a Boeing 737, registration number N313P – a plane that the CIA used to move several prisoners to and from Europe, Afghanistan, and the Middle East in 2003 and 2004 – landed in Poland and Romania on direct flights from Afghanistan on two occasions in 2003 and 2004.”  Although the Polish and Romanian governments denied the claims, Swiss Sen. Dick Marty, a rapporteur for the Council of Europe, concluded in a report in June 2007, based on two years’ research and interviews with over 30 current and former members of the intelligence services in the United States and Europe, that he had enough “evidence to state that secret detention facilities run by the CIA did exist in Europe from 2003 to 2005, in particular in Poland and Romania.” Marty also identified both sites, noting that the flights to Romania flew into the Mihail Kogalniceanu military airfield, and also explained how the flights were disguised using fake flight plans ... [...]"    

Commentary: Shifting US War Strategy Smacks of Desperation [08/04/10] "The first decision made by Gen. David Petraeus as commandant of international forces in Afghanistan has been to abandon the policy he himself drafted in order to "win the war" and " rebuild Afghan stability and government."  [...]"   Note: They really should leave, soon.

India opens innovative water plant [08/03/10] "An Indian company says it has begun operating an advanced desalination plant to provide some of the cheapest drinking water in the country.  The Chennai Water Desalination Co. said its plant in Madras that began operating this weekend will supply around 260 gallons of water for just a little more than $1 and could be a "template" for other coastal Indian cities, the BBC reported. By filtering seawater under high pressure, a company spokesman said, the plant will provide 26 million gallons of water to the city a day. By comparison, the government-run water board supplies about 170 million gallons of water to the city's seven million residents. The $140 million plant is a joint venture between companies from India and Spain, the BBC said. The government-run Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board says it will buy the purified water for the next 25 years. "The water is purified and demineralized. This takes away salt, lime and other particles. The purified water meets the government standards. It tastes just like ordinary water and above all it is cheap," water board Managing Director Shiv Das Meena said. [...]"  Note:  Apparently, Pakistan is TOO STUPID to do this ... awash with US billions for the 'war on terror', they'd rather let their people die from drought ... 

As casualties in Afghanistan rise, Army suicides, drug use set new records [08/02/10] "As US military fatalities in Afghanistan hit a new high in July, the US Army issued a report exposing record suicides, drug use and other signs of deep demoralization among its ranks after a decade of colonial-style wars. [...]"     

Greek truck drivers defy government [08/02/10] "Greek truck drivers decided on Friday to continue their five-day national strike, despite a series of punitive measures by the social democratic government of Prime Minister George Papandreou aiming to break their action. [...]"  

Commentary: Assembling Evidence Of Likely 3rd World War [08/01/10] "In no particular order, these are the salient points that are converging, rapidly, screaming out our inexorable collision with National disaster: A likely scenario, considering the above evidence, is that the US will have one or more cities attacked–probably with nukes or some other WMD. Massive retaliation by US/Israeli forces…The next, most opportune time for any air assault is 10 August-a new moon. It should be considered, also, that the US/Israel may simply strike Iran around that date, whether we have been attacked yet or not-but, the System is, definitely, preparing for mass-casualty events and radiological casualties, [...]"  

Formation Of Al Qaida: US-Israel Collaboration [08/01/10] "Press clips gathered by the CIA and discovered in the National Archives’ stored CIA files point to an agency keenly interested in any leaks about the highly-classified CIA-Mossad program to establish Osama Bin Laden and the most radical elements of the Afghan Mujahidin as the primary leaders of the anti-Soviet rebels in the 1980s. WMR has pored through the CIA files and a complicated picture emerges of America’s and Israel’s top intelligence agencies, in cahoots with Saudi Arabia, establishing financial links and carve out intelligence programs to provide manpower and financial support to Bin Laden and his allies in Afghanistan. It was these very elements that later created the so-called “Al Qaeda,” which the late British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook described as nothing more than a “database” of CIA front organizations, financial supporters, and field operatives. However, one component omitted by Cook in the Al Qaeda construct is the Israeli participation. Thanks largely to the CIA station chief in Riyadh in 1986-87, millions of dollars from the Saudi government, particularly then-deputy Prime Minister Prince Abdullah, now King Abdullah, and wealthy Saudi businessmen were funneled to the most radical leader of the Afghan rebels, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, for whom militant southern Philippines Muslim rebels named their organization, the Abu Sayyaf group. [...]"  

Afghan War Diary, 2004-2010 [08/01/10] "WikiLeaks has released a document set called the Afghan War Diary, an extraordinary compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. The reports, while written by soldiers and intelligence officers, and mainly describing lethal military actions involving the United States military, also include intelligence information, reports of meetings with political figures, and related details.  [...]"

 

Nuclear Forensics Skill Is Declining Allowed to Decline in United States [07/30/10] "The nation’s ability to identify the source of a nuclear weapon used in a terrorist attack is fragile and eroding, according to a report released Thursday by the National Research Council. Such highly specialized detective work, known as nuclear attribution, seeks to study clues from fallout and radioactive debris as a way to throw light on the identity of the attacker and the maker of the weapon. In recent years, federal officials have sought to improve such analytic skills, arguing that nuclear terrorism is a grave, long-term threat to the nation. The major goals of the federal efforts are to clarify options for retaliation and to deter terrorists by letting them know that nuclear devices have fingerprints that atomic specialists can find and trace. [...]"  Note:  They want nothing in the future traceable to the UK, US, Australia, Israel, Russia or France, who initiate and perpetuate world strife and state terrorism, often on their own populations (see 9/11,7/7, etc.)

Russia: Medvedev widens powers of KGB successor agency [07/30/10] "Russia has broadened the authority of the Federal Security Service, the KGB's main successor agency, giving it Soviet-style repressive powers in a move critics say could be used to stifle protests and intimidate government opponents. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a law Thursday allowing the agency, known by its initials FSB, to issue warnings or detain people suspected of preparing to commit crimes against Russia's security - which could include participating in anti-government rallies. Perpetrators face fines or up to 15 days detention. Like many past restrictions, the law was described as part of an effort to combat extremism. The bill, submitted to Russian lawmakers in April, followed twin subway bombings in Moscow that killed 40 people and reflected the Kremlin's dissatisfaction with critical media coverage of its anti-terrorism efforts. A senior lawmaker said the law protects people from abuse by law enforcement officers. [...]"    

Document Reveals Military Was Concerned About Gulf War Vets' Exposure to Depleted Uranium [07/30/10] "For years, the government has denied that depleted uranium (DU), a radioactive toxic waste left over from nuclear fission and added to munitions used in the Persian Gulf and Iraq wars, poisoned Iraqi civilians and veterans. But a little-known 1993 Defense Department document written by then-Brigadier Gen. Eric Shinseki, now the secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), shows that the Pentagon was concerned about DU contamination and the agency had ordered medical testing on all personnel that were exposed to the toxic substance. The VA, however, never conducted the medical tests, which may have deprived hundreds of thousands of veterans from receiving medical care to treat cancer and other diseases that result from exposure to DU. The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center recently reported that ten years of data confirm that service members tend to have higher rates of certain cancers compared to civilians, according to the Army Times. While researchers suspected that service members are diagnosed with cancer more often and at a younger age because they have guaranteed access to health care and mandatory exams, the data does not explain the disparities in diagnosis among branches of the military. For example, the rate of lung cancer among sailors is twice that of other branches, while Marines have much lower cancer rates across the board. [...]"   

Pelosi Blocks Authorization for Independent Oil Spill Investigation [07/30/10] "The latest version of the CLEAR Act is slated for a floor vote in the House this week as Democrats look for ways to use the Gulf oil spill as a means to pass elements of their unpopular energy agenda. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stripped out authorization for an independent investigation into the Gulf disaster. The Natural Resources Committee unanimously passed the amendment in committee markup July 14 offered by Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) that would establish a bipartisan, independent, National Commission on Outer Continental Shelf Oil Spill Prevention. Unlike the commission set up by President Obama -- packed only with environmental activists and no petroleum engineers -- the commission unanimously approved by the Natural Resources committee would be comprised of technical experts to study the actual events leading up to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Not a single member of the committee voiced opposition at the bill’s markup. The Senate has also approved an independent commission. [...]"  Note:  May she drop dead.

Document leak part of U.S. plot, says Pakistani ex-General [07/29/10] "From the deluge of leaked military documents published Sunday, a former Pakistani spy chief emerged as a chilling personification of his nation’s alleged duplicity in the Afghan war — an erstwhile U.S. ally turned Taliban tutor.  Now planted squarely in the cross hairs, retired Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul seems little short of delighted. In an interview Tuesday, Gul dismissed the accusations against him as “fiction” and described the documents’ release as the start of a White House plot. It will end, he posited, with an early U.S. pullout from Afghanistan — thus proving Gul, an unabashed advocate of the Afghan insurgency, right. President Obama “is a very good chess player. . . . He says, ‘I don’t want to carry the historic blame of having orchestrated the defeat of America, their humiliation in Afghanistan,’ ” said Gul, 74, adding that the plot incorporates a troop surge that Obama knows will fail. “It doesn’t sell to a professional man like me.” [...]"  See 'Wikileaks' link at the top of this panel for related stories.    

Afghanistan questions U.S. silence over 'Pakistan's role' [07/29/10] ".At a news conference later on Tuesday, council head Rangeen Dadfar Spanta was more specific, questioning the billions of dollars in cash aid and military assistance Washington has given to Pakistan over the years. "It is really not justifiable for the Afghan people that how come you give to one country $11 billion or more as help for reconstruction or strengthen its security or defensive forces, but from other side the very forces train terrorism," he said... [...]"  

Fallen Soldiers' Families Denied Cash as Insurers Profit [07/29/10] U.S. Big Business Makes Profit On Dead Soldiers. "The package arrived at Cindy Lohman’s home in Great Mills, Maryland, just two weeks after she learned that her son, Ryan, a 24-year-old Army sergeant, had been killed by a bomb in Afghanistan. It was a thick, 9-inch-by- 12-inch envelope from Prudential Financial Inc., which handles life insurance for the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Inside was a letter from Prudential about Ryan’s $400,000 policy. And there was something else, which looked like a checkbook. The letter told Lohman that the full amount of her payout would be placed in a convenient interest-bearing account, allowing her time to decide how to use the benefit. “You can hold the money in the account for safekeeping for as long as you like,” the letter said. In tiny print, in a disclaimer that Lohman says she didn’t notice, Prudential disclosed that what it called its Alliance Account was not guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its September issue. Lohman, 52, left the money untouched for six months after her son’s August 2008 death. “It’s like you’re paying me off because my child was killed,” she says. “It was a consolation prize that I didn’t want.” As time went on, she says, she tried to use one of the “checks” to buy a bed, and the salesman rejected it. That happened again this year, she says, when she went to a Target store to purchase a camera on Armed Forces Day, May 15.  [...]  I’m shocked,” says Lohman, breaking into tears as she learns how the Alliance Account works. “It’s a betrayal. It saddens me as an American that a company would stoop so low as to make a profit on the death of a soldier. Is there anything lower than that?” Millions of bereaved Americans have unwittingly been placed in the same position by their insurance companies. The practice of issuing what they call “checkbooks” to survivors, instead of paying them lump sums, extends well beyond the military. Touching Americans In the past decade, these so-called retained-asset accounts have become standard operating procedure in an industry that touches virtually every American: There are more than 300 million active life insurance policies in the U.S., and the industry holds $4.6 trillion in assets, according to the American Council of Life Insurers. Insurance companies tell survivors that their money is put in a secure account. Neither Prudential nor MetLife Inc., the largest life insurer in the U.S., segregates death benefits into a separate fund. Newark, New Jersey-based Prudential, the second-largest life insurer, holds payouts in its own general account, according to regulatory filings.   [...]"

Audit: US cannot account for $8.7B in Iraqi funds [07/29/10] "A U.S. audit has found that the Pentagon cannot account for over 95 percent of $9.1 billion in Iraq reconstruction money, spotlighting Iraqi complaints that there is little to show for the massive funds pumped into their cash-strapped, war-ravaged nation. The $8.7 billion in question was Iraqi money managed by the Pentagon, not part of the $53 billion that Congress has allocated for rebuilding. It's cash that Iraq, which relies on volatile oil revenues to fuel its spending, can ill afford to lose [...]"  

 Commentary: Queen Elizabeth Fronts for Rothschilds ("Crown") [07/29/10] "It is accurate to posit that Australia, New Zealand and Canada are not independent, sovereign countries. However, these nations are not owned and run by the UK; they are owned and run by the House of Windsor Crown Temple syndicate within the City of London Corporation. The head signatory of the Crown Temple syndicate is Elizabeth Windsor (Queen Elizabeth II of England). It should not be forgotten that the most powerful financial syndicate in the Western World is that of the European Rothschilds. The Rothschilds, because of their power base inside the City of London Corporation, have a controlling membership of the London Crown Temple syndicate, and they also have executive control of the Vatican and the Mafia though the P2 Masonic Lodge in Italy. [...]"   

United States Industry Sinking Fast [07/28/10] "But while most economists expected this morning’s report on durable goods orders to show a healthy increase, they posted their largest decline since August of 2009. [...]"  Note: How they could they have possibly expected to see a 'healthy increase' with the whole manufacturing infrastructure of the county largely shut down and absent? They have to be delusional. Production and "creation" has been routed overseas for the sake of cheap labor ... Again, time after time, things don't 'go' as they 'expect' ... one would think that they'd realize at some point, after years go by, that they really have no basis to expect anything other than the unexpected, which is what they get, but they pretend that they have things 'under control' and 'understand' how things work, and state that they are 'surprised' at this or that .... which of course means they are NOT 'experts' in anything except bullshitting people ... they have no credibility. The country was like this 20 years ago ... they didn't do anything about it. Talk about new heights for criminal negligence and dereliction of duty and constitutional responsibility.

Ahmadinejad: US, ‘Zionists’ to start new Mideast wars [07/28/10] "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the United States is planning to launch two wars in the Middle East in order to pressure Tehran, English-language Press TV reported on Tuesday. “We have precise information that the Americans have devised a plot … they plan to attack at least two countries in the region within the next three months,” he said in remarks Press TV posted on its website from an interview with him late Monday. Ahmadinejad said the United States was seeking to achieve two main objectives from these wars. [...]"    

U.S. withdraws ‘pain ray’ from Afghan war zone [07/26/10] "A ‘pain ray’ that blasts the enemy with unbearable heat waves has been pulled out of Afghanistan by the US military. The Active Denial System (ADS), which cost about £42million to develop, was on the brink of being deployed to disperse members of the Taliban as they attacked US forces. The weapon, which causes immense pain to subjects but no lasting physical damage, was pulled from the war zone last week but US army chiefs in Afghanistan have stayed silent about the reason for the U-turn. [...]"   

Bush-era CIA director: Attack on Iran ‘seems inexorable’ [07/26/10] "According to Michael Hayden, a CIA boss under George W. Bush, Iran’s not having a nuke is just as dangerous as it having one. Hayden predicted Iran plans to “get itself to that step right below a nuclear weapon, that permanent breakout stage, so the needle isn’t quite in the red for the international community.” Hayden said that reaching even that level would be “as destabilizing to the region as actually having a weapon” and it will result in an attack by the U.S., Israel, or both. Killing Iranians now “seems inexorable” and may not be the worst of all possible outcomes,” according to Hayden. Meanwhile, Iran’s leadership remains steeped in denial. Iran’s ISNA news agency quoted an aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday saying that Israel and the United States would never strike Iran, saying that “both the U.S. and Zionist regime face internal problems and they know that we make many troubles for them if they attack Iranian territory.”[...] But how do you build a security structure that guards you against American citizens who are beginning to change in their thinking up to a point where they become a threat to the security of other Americans? That’s a devil of a problem.""  Note: Hayden is a twisted, psychopathic, power and control freak ... a sequentially reincarnating asshole, here wreaking havoc on this world.   Video clip included. [1:18]  The video is from CNN's State of the Union, broadcast July 25, 2010.

UK: KGB Man: MI5 Told Me David Kelly Had Been "Exterminated" [07/26/10] "The mystery over the death of David Kelly took a further twist last night after a former KGB officer said he had evidence that the scientist did not commit suicide. Boris Karpichkov, who worked as a Russian spy for 15 years before fleeing to Britain, has sent a dossier to Attorney General Dominic Grieve in which he claims to relay information from an ‘MI5 agent’ that Dr Kelly had been ‘exterminated’. His move comes amid increasing calls from within the Coalition Government for a full, independent investigation into Dr Kelly’s death.  Mr Grieve has indicated that he is ‘concerned’ by the growing scepticism among experts about the official version of events. Dr Kelly was found dead in woods near his Oxfordshire home in July 2003, after the Government exposed him as the source of a BBC report questioning Tony Blair’s case for war in Iraq.  There was no full coroner’s inquest – instead, Lord Hutton chaired a public inquiry which concluded Dr Kelly died from loss of blood after slashing his left wrist with a blunt garden pruning knife. [...]" Related: UK diplomat: ‘Deep state’ bureaucracy blocking Iraq inquiry  "Former KGB spy claims evidence that whistleblower David Kelly didn't commit suicide. Britain's public inquiry into the country's instrumental role in the Iraq invasion is being thwarted by "deep state" bureaucrats who are intimidating witnesses and withholding documents, says a former Iraq expert for the UK government. In a column in the Sunday Observer, Carne Ross asserted that he was cajoled by government operatives to not mention certain documents that suggest the British government lied to lawmakers about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. He also said he had heard "from secondary sources" that other witnesses were similarly intimidated. Ross, who served as the UK's expert on Iraq at the UN from 1997 to 2002, said he had planned to testify in front of the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war that the British government hadn't looked for alternatives to military action in the run-up to the war. But government administrators told him the documents he wanted to back this up "could not be found." "This is simply not plausible," Ross wrote. [...]"    

UK Confirms Use of Depleted Uranium in Iraq [07/26/10] [1:01]  " My grandfather, U.S. Army Col. Edwin Joseph McAllister, was born in Battle Creek in 1895. He does not know that his first grandchild is an international expert on depleted uranium. I have worked in two U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories, and in 1991 I became a whistleblower at the Livermore lab. Depleted uranium is very, very, very nasty stuff: Depleted uranium (DU) weaponry meets the definition of weapon of mass destruction in two out of three categories under U.S. Federal Code Title 50 Chapter 40 Section 2302. DU weaponry violates all international treaties and agreements, Hague and Geneva war conventions, the 1925 Geneva gas protocol, U.S. laws and U.S. military law. Since 1991, the U.S. has released the radioactive atomicity equivalent of at least 400,000 Nagasaki bombs into the global atmosphere. That is 10 times the amount released during atmospheric testing which was the equivalent of 40,000 Hiroshima bombs. The U.S. has permanently contaminated the global atmosphere with radioactive pollution having a half-life of 2.5 billion years. The U.S. has illegally conducted four nuclear wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and twice in Iraq since 1991, calling DU "conventional" weapons when in fact they are nuclear weapons. DU on the battlefield has three effects on living systems: it is a heavy metal "chemical" poison, a "radioactive" poison and has a "particulate" effect due to the very tiny size of the particles that are 0.1 microns and smaller. Cancer starts with one alpha particle under the right conditions. One gram of DU is the size of a period in this sentence and releases 12,000 alpha particles per second. [...]"  Related: U.S. War Crimes: Cancer Rate in Fallujah Worse than Hiroshima [07/24/10] "According to the authors of a new study, “Cancer, Infant Mortality and Birth Sex-Ratio in Fallujah, Iraq 2005–2009,” the people of Fallujah are experiencing higher rates of cancer, leukemia, infant mortality, and sexual mutations than those recorded among survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the years after those Japanese cities were incinerated by US atomic bomb strikes in 1945... [...]" Latest documents advocating the ban of depleted uranium  "According to the UK Uranium Weapons Network, now submitting its evidence to the Iraq War Inquiry, “The UK Uranium Weapons Network, (UWN) announced today that it has submitted its report on British military use of depleted uranium (DU) ammunition in the 2003 Iraq War to the Chilcot Inquiry. At least two Iraqi cities are known to be suffering from public health crises. Fallujah has seen a 15 fold increase in serious birth defects, whilst Basra has experienced a rise in cancers since DU was used in urban combat. The World Health Organisation is currently investigating the causes of the Fallujah birth defects and ICBUW is still waiting for confirmation from the US that depleted uranium was used there. UWN is campaigning for the UK government to adopt a precautionary approach to the use of DU in conventional weaponry and for greater transparency over where DU has been used to allow decontamination, monitoring and risk awareness programs to be put in place. [...]"  Governments have often initially denied using DU because of public health concerns. It is now clear that DU was used on a large scale by the US and the UK in the Gulf War in 1991, then in Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo, and again in the war in Iraq by the US and the UK in 2003. It is suspected that the US also used DU in Afghanistan in 2001, although both the US and UK governments have denied using it there. However, leaked transport documents suggest that US forces in Afghanistan have DU weapons. The continued use of A10 ‘Warthog’ aircraft in support of NATO ground troops indicates that DU may be being used there.   Flashback - "Poison Dust" Depleted Uranium Story   Video clip [30:48]  Depleted Uranium is a Weapon of Mass Destruction | UK: Gordon Brown paid for Depleted Uranium Weapons [4:07] 

Top U.K. Spy Agency Aids in Controversial U.S. ‘Targeted Killings’ [07/25/10] "A top British spy agency uses its technology to pinpoint the hiding places of al Qaeda and Taliban chiefs for controversial “targeted killings” by U.S. drones, it was revealed Sunday. GCHQ, the top secret U.K. communications agency, has used telephone intercepts to provide the Americans with “locational intelligence” on leading militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, an official briefed on its operations said. Insiders say GCHQ can provide more extensive and precise technical coverage in the region than its American sister organization, the National Security Agency, because Britain has a better network of intercept stations in Asia. Drone attacks have succeeded in disrupting al Qaeda activities. However, hundreds of civilians have been killed, and a prominent human rights lawyer investigating the attacks for the United Nations has challenged their legality. [...]"   

11 steps necessary to create a “terrorist state” using Yemen as a case study [07/25/10] "Tim Coles takes us through 11 steps necessary to create a “terrorist state”. Using Yemen as a case study, he argues that these steps precisely match US and British policies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran as well as Yemen to grow “very poisonous seeds”, some which have ripened while others are ripening. [...]"     

Gov Jindal declares State of Emergency: Oil could “enter coastal homes”, evacuation orders expected today [07/24/10] " There's a potential for winds and waves to drive oil inland," Jindal said. With 427 miles of coast already affected, "we don't need additional oil in our marshes." [...]"   

LaRouchePAC Friday Morning Report [07/23/10]  Video clip [6:31]  "Though the British oligarchy and their puppet Obama are insane, that doesn't mean the rest of the world is. [...]"  Note:  Always interesting commentary.

Documentary: Gasland [07/23/10] Autoplay 11 Video clips  "The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of "fracking" or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a "Saudia Arabia of natural gas" just beneath us. But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND. Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown." [...]"   Note:  Thanks to Dick Cheney, oil and gas companies are EXEMPT from environmental pollution.  This documentary is interesting in light of what's happening in the Gulf.

"Obama Is Preparing to Bomb Iran"  Webster G. Tarpley [07/23/10] " ... It is genuinely appalling to realize that we are now back to something resembling the desperate situation of 2002, with Iran as the target this time around. One rule of thumb which many learned during the Bush-Cheney years is that the attack is likely to start during the dark of the moon. This suggests a possible timetable built around August 10, September 8, or October 7 of this year, or perhaps some time later. It may come as an October surprise, as de Borchgrave seems to suggest. We are back once again to the classic predicament of persons of good will in recent decades: get active or get radioactive. So it’s time to get active. [...]"    Note:  Very comprehensive article.

NSA Has Gotten So Big, Area Around It Has 112 Acres Of Parking Spaces [07/23/10] "From the road, it's impossible to tell how large the NSA has become, even though its buildings occupy 6.3 million square feet - about the size of the Pentagon - and are surrounded by 112 acres of parking spaces. As massive as that might seem, documents indicate that the NSA is only going to get bigger: 10,000 more workers over the next 15 years; $2 billion to pay for just the first phase of expansion; an overall increase in size that will bring its building space throughout the Fort Meade cluster to nearly 14 million square feet. [...]"  

Ocean Energy Institute Founder Says New Hurricane Will Require Gulf Evacuation "The U.S. National Hurricane Center has warned that a weather system near Cuba, centered between islands of Acklins and Great Inagua, may move into the Gulf of Mexico this weekend, reports Bloomberg this morning. “I am still worried about how it will move the oil slick into the coastal areas of Louisiana and Mississippi,” meteorologist Jim Rouiller said.  In response to the approach of the tropical cyclone, BP workers in the Gulf of Mexico have stopped drilling a relief well and are preparing to evacuate, reports the BBC. On Wednesday, National Incident Commander Thad Allen said a tropical storm in the area could push back the timetable 10 to 14 days. Matthew Simmons, founder of the Ocean Energy Institute, told Bloomberg on Wednesday that a leak near the Deepwater Horizon site may require an evacuation of the Gulf coast if a hurricane strikes the area. “Some five to ten miles away is what the NOAA research vessels have proved is a deep oil leak that is growing by the day and it is very toxic oil and its gases are very lethal and basically if we have a hurricane now we need to evacuate the Gulf coast,” Simmons said. Simmons also said BP has covered up the severity of the oil gusher and if they had told the truth “they would all go to jail.” [...]"  Spill site tropical storm warning  "BP workers prepare to evacuate the oil spill site  [...]"  See Oil & Gas link at the top of this panel for related stories. 

 Commentary: Matt Simmons: "Unfortunately, we now have killed the Gulf of Mexico" [07/22/10] [7:02]  "Matthew Simmons, founder of the Ocean Energy Institute, talks with Bloomberg's Mark Crumpton, Lizzie O'Leary and Julie Hyman about BP Plc's oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. [...]"   

Commentary: Homeland Security for Whom? [07/22/10] "The Washington Post has published a splashy exposé about the mammoth "homeland security" intelligence empire that now burdens the United States, financially and ideologically. As usual, however, there is no real historical context. And that lack of context is part of the story – not just the current dimensions of the empire. I wrote the following article for Penthouse in the summer of 2003. It was reprinted by CounterPunch later that summer. At the time I said: "This homeland security boondoggle is the biggest reorganization of the U.S. government in 50 years. It might even bankrupt the country and, perhaps intentionally, throw it into a Depression. That remains to be seen. What is certain is that at a cost of $50 billion in taxpayer's money, the homeland security infrastructure will provide Bush with 170,000 political cadres, and the internal security he needs to assure the continuity of his political power indefinitely. Except for providing Bush with political internal security, there is no need for the Department of Homeland Security; it is a Trojan Horse through which Bush will unleash his ideological storm troopers and exploit his ill-gotten power to achieve permanent political dominance."  I put the blame on "Bush" at the time (and the numbers have varied) but it's really the national security state that's to blame for the near Depression the homeland security state (financially and ideologically) has caused. And of course the Washington Post is part of the national security state – that secret group of people who control America through secret deals – the type of secret deals that enable Washington Post reporters' access to anonymous CIA officers. Don't forget – there is always a quid pro quo for that type of access, even in today's exposé. And it is that national security state in its entirety that provides "their" empire with built-in security. Political Internal Security. As pundits rush to comment on this "revelation," don't forget that it was utterly predictable. And you know what that means.... [...]"    

Report: Tab for 'War on terrorism' tops $1 trillion [07/21/10] "The United States has spent more than $1 trillion on wars since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, a recently released Congressional report says. Adjusting for inflation, the outlays for conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere around the world make the "war on terrorism" second only to World War II. The report "Cost of Major U.S. Wars" by the Congressional Research Service attempts to compare war costs over a more than 230-year period -- from the American Revolution to the current day -- noting the difficulties associated with such a task. Since the the 9/11 terror attacks, the United States has spent an estimated $1.15 trillion. World War II cost $4.1 trillion when converted to current dollars, although the tab in the 1940s was $296 billion. Comparisons of costs of wars over a 230-year period, however, are inherently problematic, the report says. "One problem is how to separate costs of military operations from costs of forces in peacetime. In recent years, the DOD (Department of Defense) has tried to identify the additional 'incremental' expenses of engaging in military operations, over and above the costs of maintaining standing military forces." "Figures are problematic, as well, because of difficulties in comparing prices from one vastly different era to another," according to the report. "Perhaps a more significant problem is that wars appear more expensive over time as the sophistication and cost of technology advances, both for military and for civilian activities." The costs associated with the "war on terrorism" could still go much higher. A Congressional Budget Office estimate from 2007 said the cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq could total $2.4 trillion by 2017, more than double the current amount.  [...]"   

US officials push back at ‘troubling’ spy agency report [07/21/10] "US officials pushed back Monday at a lengthy Washington Post report critical of the bloated and sometimes inefficient US intelligence network, which one called a "roadmap" for US foes. The second segment of the three-part Post series on the intelligence bureaucracy comes out Tuesday, the same day that President Barack Obama's nominee to head US intelligence efforts, retired air force general James Clapper, heads to Capitol Hill for a confirmation hearing. The US intelligence network is so unwieldy and secretive that even principal actors within it are unable to grasp its size or scope, according to the newspaper's two-year probe. "There has been so much growth since 9/11 that getting your arms around that -- not just for the DNI [director of national intelligence], but for any individual, for the director of the CIA, for the secretary of defense -- is a challenge," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Post. Homeland security and intelligence programs take place in some 10,000 locations across the country, while the various agencies produce 50,000 intelligence reports each year, a volume so large "many are routinely ignored," according to the Post. [...]"   

America’s Defense Associations: Key Elements in US Security & War Machinery [07/21/10] "With the Washington Post’s series on Top Secret America (a Pulitzer Prize for summarizing what everyone already knew) hitting the streets, it’s appropriate to take a quick look at a few of the national security non-profits that operate betwixt and between the public and private sectors, many holding their own classified briefings and conferences. These Washington, DC defense associations operate in similar fashion to the many Think Tanks in the area who are also non-profits. Unlike the Think Tanks though, they have local chapters nationwide housed near many military and defense contracting facilities, as well as major research universities. This potentially provides the defense association’s membership with influence right down to the state and local levels. Through feast and famine their rallying cry never changes: there’s never enough money to meet strategic, operational and tactical objectives or the strategic, operational and tactical requirements are wrong. It’s always about avoiding the next “train wreck.” Defense non-profits like the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) also represent the non-military interests of members such as Boeing—at once a defense contractor and commercial airline manufacturer. In fact, James Albaugh, dual hat XVP of Boeing and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, sits on the Aerospace Industries Association’s Board of Governors and the Executive Committee. The defense associations, like the heavyweight corporations they speak for, maintain Boards of Directors/Trustees who are nearly always only six degrees of separation apart. For example, you’ll just as easily find a member of Northrop Grumman Corporation on the AIA roster as you will on that of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). Defense association presidents and officers are generally paid very well for networking, sitting on this and that board of directors or trustees, and representing their member’s interests. The individuals that run these associations are nearly all spun out of the revolving door of the federal government whether they were employed in a civilian, military or paramilitary capacity. In addition to compensation packages they receive from their own associations (they all “serve at the discretion of the Board of Directors/Trustees” and have their salaries approved by them), they receive retirement packages for their years employed by the federal government and rank/grade achieved. That includes health care, social security and other perks (commissary shopping, for example) that fall mostly to former employees of one of the military branches. [...]"   

Democracy Now:  Washington Post Investigation Reveals Massive, Unmanageable, Outsourced US Intelligence System [07/21/10] "  Video clip [9:36]  "Tim Shorrock Asks Why It Took the Washington Post So Long to Investigate the US Intelligence System"With all due respect to the Washington Post—and Dana Priest and Bill Arkin are very good reporters—we have to ask, why did it take them seven years to do this story?" says Tim Shorrock, an investigative journalist and author of Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing. "Anyone who’s been covering intelligence or national security in Washington knows that intelligence has been privatized to an incredible extent."  Article includes 'rush transcript'.

"Top Secret America: A Washington Post Investigation" [07/20/10]   Top Secret America  is a project nearly two years in the making that describes the huge national security buildup in the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The articles in this series and an online database depict the scope and complexity of the government's national security program through interactive maps and other graphics. Every data point on the Web site is substantiated by at least two public records. Because of the nature of this project, we allowed government officials to see the Web site several months ago and asked them to tell us of any specific concerns. They offered none at that time. As the project evolved, we shared the Web site's revised capabilities. Again, we asked for specific concerns. One government body objected to certain data points on the site and explained why; we removed those items. Another agency objected that the entire Web site could pose a national security risk but declined to offer specific comments. Our maps (at Washington Post) show the headquarters buildings of the largest government agencies involved in top-secret work. A user can also see the cities and towns where the government conducts top-secret work in the United States, but not the specific locations, companies or agencies involved. [...]"  Related:  Washington reacts to 'Top Secret America' revelations  "Acting Director of National Intelligence, David C. Gompert, issued a statement Monday morning reacting to The Washington Post series "Top Secret America," by Dana Priest and William Arkin. [...]"  DC’s spy establishment in panic mode over Washington Post exposé "Washington's "intelligence" establishment appears to be in panic mode over an upcoming Washington Post series about runaway growth in defense and intelligence spending. A State Department email has accused the Post of planning to make public "top secret" information about defense and intelligence contractors working for the US, despite an admission in the same email that the Post's information came from "open sources." The series, by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Dana Priest, will include a TV partnership with PBS's Frontline and is expected to consist of three articles and an online database of military and intelligence contractors and their projects.  [...]"   US intelligence spending completely out of control, Washington Post reveals  | A Hidden World, Growing Beyond Control: The Paranoid US Government "The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work. These are some of the findings of a two-year investigation by The Washington Post that discovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America hidden from public view and lacking in thorough oversight. After nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe is so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine.  Report finds DHS contracts over budget, behind schedule  "The Homeland Security Department's key acquisition programs are experiencing major cost growth and unexpected scheduling delays, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office. The report, which House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., released on Wednesday, provides a snapshot of DHS' most complex acquisitions. The findings were not encouraging. GAO examined 15 of the department's largest and most critical acquisition programs. The contracts were split across six DHS components and had a combined $100 billion in total life-cycle costs and roughly $38 billion in direct procurement costs. Investigators found 12 of the programs reported cost overruns and almost all experienced schedule delays from the initial contractor estimates. Eight of the programs reported delays of one year or more. [...]"   

President of the Council on Foreign Relations on Afghanistan: ‘It’s not worth it’ [07/19/10] "The president of the Council of Foreign Relations is telling President Barack Obama that he needs to drastically scale down his ambitions in Afghanistan.  In an article published in the most recent edition of Newsweek, Richard Haass called Afghanistan "very much Barack Obama's war of choice." Haass seemed to be echoing the words of RNC Chairman Michael Steele when he said Afghanistan was a "war of Obama's choosing."  GOP chairman Michael Steele was blasted by fellow Republicans recently for describing Afghanistan as “a war of Obama’s choosing,” and suggesting that the United States would fail there as had many other outside powers. Some critics berated Steele for his pessimism, others for getting his facts wrong, given that President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan soon after 9/11. But Steele’s critics are the ones who are wrong: the RNC chair was more correct than not on the substance of his statement, if not the politics.  "The war in Afghanistan that the Bush administration fought was quite narrow and quite modest," Haass told CNN's Kiran Chetry Monday.  "The Obama administration came in, tripled U.S. force levels and they are doing something very ambitious. They want to build a strong Afghanistan state, a large police, a large national military, and not only are they targeting terrorists, of which Leon Panetta, the head of the CIA, said there is only between 50 and 100, but they are going after the Taliban," said Haass. [...]"  

China on track to aim 2,000 missiles at Taiwan — report [07/19/10] "China will have 2,000 missiles aimed at its rival Taiwan by the end of the year, several hundred more than the current number, despite fast-warming trade ties between the two sides, an island defense study said. Beijing's preparations setting Taiwan further back in the military power balance against its political adversary could destroy 90 percent of the island's infrastructure, the report published in the defense ministry's naval studies periodical said. The increase from today's estimate of 1,000 to 1,400 missiles could raise tensions after two years of upbeat dialogue between the rivals that has cleared the way for direct civilian flights and a free trade-style deal in June. "Even though we've signed the trade deal, there won't be any progress on military issues," Hsu Yung-ming, political science professor at Soochow University. China claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan and has not renounced the use of force to bring the island into its fold. [...]"    See "China" stories link at the top of this panel for related stories.

How the allure and trappings of consumption led the middle class into a modern form of debt servitude [07/19/10] "Ludwig the II of Bavaria is rarely discussed in history class but most would recognize many of his castles especially the one that is replicated in Disneyland (Neuschwanstein Castle). Ludwig spent money he didn’t have to indulge in his eccentric desire to build opulent castles. Even wealthy royalty can put their balance sheet into jeopardy if they indulge every whim and wish. The banking sector for the last decade has allowed many Americans to satisfy nearly every consumer desire they had. Boats, cars, vacations, clothing, recliners, Jacuzzis, or anything else you can imagine. Some took this to the extreme and created a massive market that demanded bigger and more extravagant homes even though average Americans were not getting wealthier or earning more money. How this was accomplished was by allowing massive amounts of debt to accumulate until a crisis imploded the economy. The credit bubble bursting has forced many into a new life of austerity. No more Sleeping Beauty castles. [...]"   

Commentary: The Rot from Within: Character Disorders of the Republic Robert Logan[07/18/10] "In reading a number of books on the destructive manipulative behavior of people with personality disorders I became increasingly struck by how the behavior of our politicians and our nation, especially with respect to foreign policy, was so precisely described. The lesson from this study is not just sobering, but taken alongside the invincible tide of history – the collapse of every empire – the prognosis for our nation is bleak. The most important book for me was titled In Sheep’s Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People by Dr. George Simon. The title and tactics identified within it accurately describes not only our national leaders, but our national character. Our nation has not just one, but multiple destructive personality disorders.  I do not mean this in the metaphorical sense, but in the direct clinical sense. Dr. Simon indicates that in a repressive Victorian society individual citizens suffer more neurotic kinds of disorders because they have natural human sexual desires that are relentlessly suppressed and vilified, resulting in anguish over reconciling natural human urges with extreme social sanctions against them. [...]"  

The “Berlin Club”: Germany plans to put Europe on rations [07/18/10] "A plan currently being drawn up in Berlin will treat bankrupt nation states in the same way as defunct companies—restructured, stripped down and forced to hand over effective control of their budget... [...]"   

 Commentary: BP, Obama and the Economics of Disaster [07/18/10] "The unceasing dribble of bad news from the Gulf of Mexico has been running before our eyes for weeks now: dead plankton; hypoxic zones looming and worsening, the product of massive methane releases into the Gulf waters; withered marsh grass; dolphin carcasses. This ruin is plenty bad on its own terms. No one wants to live in a filthy post-industrial wasteland. You don't need to read metaphysical or transcendentalist philosophy to understand that clean, sparkling, azure seas rife with life are preferable to seawater lacquered with oil and peppered with Styrofoam and the rotting corpses of sea mammals. Everyone - almost everyone - knows this instinctively. But a healthy ecology does a lot more than make the world aesthetically enchanting. When marsh grasses absorb the tidal swell from hurricanes, they prevent coastal communities from being destroyed. Marsh plants also absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, as does plankton. When those marsh grasses and plankton are damaged or destroyed, there will be more atmospheric CO2, and human beings will feel the effects of that CO2. Hurricane storm surges will hammer coastal cities previously protected by vegetative buffers much harder, and in a warming world, the largest storms will come far more frequently. This destruction will cost money to fix - money that would not have been spent if the oil had never been spilled in the first place. The Mississippi Delta provides climate stability, food, furs, habitat, natural waste treatment and hurricane protection for its inhabitants. More than 90 percent of these benefits come from coastal wetlands, which can include both freshwater and saltwater marshes, tidal bays, estuaries and cypress swamps, and their value adds up to a ridiculously large sum. [...]"    

Dov Zakheim retires from Booz Allen Hamilton [07/18/10] "For those of you who don't know who Dov Zakheim is, let me refresh your memory. The ordained rabbi served as comptroller of the Pentagon from May 4, 2001, to March 10, 2004, when he resigned to go to Booz Allen Hamilton, a leading consulting firm. I documented his days before, during and after his Pentagon stint, during which a total of $3.2 trillion went missing from Pentagon coffers, in an article for Online Journal, Following Dov Zakheim and Pentagon trillions to 9-11 and Israel, which you should all read in full. In fact, the second loss of $2.3 trillion was announced on September 10, 2001, by Donald Rumsfeld and the story was buried the next day under the rubble of 9/11. News of the dual Israel-US citizen/rabbi's retirement came to me from a reader in an email that contained Mr. Zakheim's retirement announcement above the original invitation from his sec EA (Executive Assistant).  [...]"   

US & British Intel Agencies Working On Fake Video To Prompt War With Iran [07/18/10] [0:45] 

Planned Economy or Planned Destruction Note:  A cartoon from 1934 which curiously depicts what's happening in the US today, again, to a great extent.

U.S. agency investigating alleged Israeli attempt to buy goods illicitly  [07/17/10] "An U.S. watchdog agency, the Bureau of Industry and Security, is investigating a firm there and its Belgian affiliate for attempting to purchase products requiring special export licenses for Israel and other countries. The firm, Teleogy, has admitted to being involved in such activities, but official Israeli sources refused to comment on the matter. The probe, which began this spring, was reported Wednesday by the non-governmental Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, headed by David Albright, one of the world's leading experts on nuclear arms and inspection regimes.  [...]"  

Commentary: America's Ruling Class -- And the Perils of Revolution [07/17/10] "Never has there been so little diversity within America's upper crust. Always, in America as elsewhere, some people have been wealthier and more powerful than others. But until our own time America's upper crust was a mixture of people who had gained prominence in a variety of ways, who drew their money and status from different sources and were not predictably of one mind on any given matter. The Boston Brahmins, the New York financiers, the land barons of California, Texas, and Florida, the industrialists of Pittsburgh, the Southern aristocracy, and the hardscrabble politicians who made it big in Chicago or Memphis had little contact with one another. Few had much contact with government, and "bureaucrat" was a dirty word for all. So was "social engineering." Nor had the schools and universities that formed yesterday's upper crust imposed a single orthodoxy about the origins of man, about American history, and about how America should be governed. All that has changed. Today's ruling class, from Boston to San Diego, was formed by an educational system that exposed them to the same ideas and gave them remarkably uniform guidance, as well as tastes and habits. These amount to a social canon of judgments about good and evil, complete with secular sacred history, sins (against minorities and the environment), and saints. Using the right words and avoiding the wrong ones when referring to such matters -- speaking the "in" language -- serves as a badge of identity. Regardless of what business or profession they are in, their road up included government channels and government money because, as government has grown, its boundary with the rest of American life has become indistinct. Many began their careers in government and leveraged their way into the private sector. Some, e.g., Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, never held a non- government job. Hence whether formally in government, out of it, or halfway, America's ruling class speaks the language and has the tastes, habits, and tools of bureaucrats. It rules uneasily over the majority of Americans not oriented to government.... [...]"   

'Ten big media lies' about Israel [07/17/10] "Michel Collon, a Belgian journalist and author, in his book "Israel, let's talk about it," has slammed European media over decades of "lying" to people in order to support Israel. Collon, in his book, has recounted "10 big lies" spread by Western media in order to "justify the existence and actions of Israel", which are concisely presented below:  [...]"   

China Buys Unprecedented Amounts of Uranium for Nuclear Power [07/16/10] "China is currently buying "unprecedented" amounts of uranium to ensure supplies for its fast-expanding nuclear power sector, the China Daily reported from Beijing. China now has 13 nuclear plants under construction and, as Xu Yuming, executive director of the China Nuclear Energy Association, announced in Beijing July 6, is planning to build at least 60 new reactors by 2020. [...]"    See China link at the top of this panel for related stories. Related:  Uranium is Heating Up   "Uranium prices appear to be bottoming, as China buys major supplies from Cameco (NYSE:CCJ). On June 24, China agreed to buy more than 10,000 tons of uranium oxide - yellowcake - over 10 years from Cameco. According to Thomas Neff, a physicist and uranium industry analyst at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, China is buying unprecedented amounts of uranium. Based on public information, China may purchase about 5,000 metric tonnes of yellowcake this year. That's more than twice as much as China consumes. Clearly, China is building up stockpiles for its long list of new reactors. According to the China Nuclear Energy Association, China plans to build at least 60 new reactors by 2020. The average 1,000- megawatt reactor costs about $3 billion. Loading a new reactor requires about 400 tonnes of uranium to start. Take 60 reactors, times 400 tonnes each. That's 24,000 tonnes of uranium (over 52 million pounds) - about all of the world's current output for one year. [...]"  Note:  Interesting, just after the mining companies tossed out the last major government official in the Australia government, replacing Rudd with a red-haired female sequential ...

 Commentary: Unusual Number of Put Options For Energy Companies [07/16/10] "Unusual volume of put contracts was traded today. There were 713 puts contracts versus the ten day average volume of 55. On the calls side, 27 calls contracts were traded. Today's traded Put/Call ratio is 26.41. There were 26.41 puts traded for each call contract. Put/Call ratio is often used to measure investment sentiment, the ratio serves as a predictor of investor behavior. Unusual options volume provides reliable clues that the stock is expected to make a move. [...]"  Note:  "The massive volume of put options placed on Airline stocks shortly before 9/11 is one of the smoking guns for prior knowledge of the attacks. In fact, any investigator into the biggest crime in modern history would use that evidence as Exhibit A to prosecute the perpetrators. Interestingly, our government thought the evidence is better served as destroyed to cover the attacker's tracks. Similar numbers of put options are now being placed against energy companies. Can we expect a major energy catastrophe in the near future that someone has prior knowledge of?"

Press TV- The Autograph-Thomas Woods- 07 -14- 2010(Part1)  [07/16/10] [9:56]  "An exclusive interview with Thomas Woods, Historian and Author. [...]"  Note:  Part 2  [9:06]  | Part3  [7:19] 

Thousands of Laptops Stolen During Nine-Hour Heist from Government Contractor [07/14/10] "Thousands of laptops have been stolen from the Florida office of a private contractor for the U.S. military’s Special Operations Command. Surveillance cameras caught up to seven people loading the computers into two trucks for nine hours. U.S. Special Operations Command coordinates the activities of elite units from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. A spokeswoman said Tuesday that none of the stolen laptops contained military information or software. The Virginia-based company iGov was awarded a $450 million contract earlier this year to supply mobile technology services linking special operations troops worldwide. A company executive says iGov is cooperating with authorities and the March 6 break-in at its Tampa facility remains under investigation. [...]"   

National interest has gone missing in USA and Israel [07/14/10] "Lawrence Davidson argues that the power of Zionist lobbies in the United States and real-estate ideologues in Israel mean that war and expansionism will always take precedence over the national interest in both countries. "The explanation given here helps us to understand why [Syrian President] Bashar Asad can knock at Israel’s locked door and no one in that country will bother to open it. It also helps us understand why Obama and Clinton turned their backs on the Turkish and Brazilian efforts to negotiate a deal with Iran. Both are reacting to the power and influence of domestic special interests. Compared to these interests, the "national interest" does not stand a chance." [...]"   Related: UK:  Robert Peston on bank taxes [07/14/10] "A warning came from a Treasury minister who said Britain's banks needed to show that they were working in the interests of the whole economy and not just for themselves. [...]"   

Historian warns of sudden collapse of American ‘empire’ [07/13/10] "Harvard professor and prolific author Niall Ferguson opened the 2010 Aspen Ideas Festival Monday with a stark warning about the increasing prospect of the American “empire” suddenly collapsing due to the country’s rising debt level. “I think this is a problem that is going to go live really soon,” Ferguson said. “In that sense, I mean within the next two years. Because the whole thing, fiscally and other ways, is very near the edge of chaos. And we’ve seen already in Greece what happens when the bond market loses faith in your fiscal policy.” [...]"  Note: Notice how it seems like there still is some viability left in the system, perhaps enough where it will still be tolerable until the endgame is over ... the planetary entity can leave any time, and when it does, everyone on the planet just drops dead, because the hearts stop beating ... plants whither ... some of the atmosphere, which has biologically energetic aspects to it, will leak off into space ... 

Trends: End Of The Cheap 'Made-In-China' Era Sends Companies Scrambling For Options [07/13/10] "Many companies are striving to stay profitable by shifting factories to cheaper areas farther inland or to other developing countries, and a few are even resuming production in the West. "China is going to go through a very dramatic period. The big companies are starting to exit. We all see the writing on the wall," said Rick Goodwin, a China trade veteran of 22 years, whose company links foreign buyers with Chinese suppliers. [...]"   

 Analysis:  The Two Sides of the Same Coin: Global Capitalism and U.S. Militarism by Benjamin Woods [07/12/10] "The Washington Post published a provocative article on June 4th 2010 entitled “U.S. ‘secret war’ expands globally as Special Operations forces take larger role.” The article shows that the Obama administration has continued the militaristic policies of the Bush administration by swelling the number of special operations troops in 75 countries compared to 60 at the beginning of last year. This illustrates that Black faces in high places (neocolonialism) doesn’t necessarily mean a change in policy. Therefore, its important to remember that the primary problem is not US militarism but imperialism and capitalism. As the global economic situation worsens and the US is bogged down in wars, breaks in the system will occur which allow social movements to arise. To counter this trend, the United States, the military arm of transnational capital, will display more military aggression. Of course, the president is simply continuing the expansionary and imperialistic policies of the white settler regime in North America that started with the theft of First Nation (Native American) lands and enslavement of African people. In 2008, the US navy reactivated the Fourth fleet. The Fourth fleet was established during World War II to combat the German Navy in Latin American waters. Following the end of the war, the fleet was deactivated. Although the US military contends the Fourth fleet’s reactivation is not a fundamental change in policy, governments in the region assert its purpose is to stop the rise of social movements in Latin America. These fears are a product of the US Monroe doctrine beginning in the 1820s that stated the entire Western Hemisphere is the United States ‘sphere of influence.’ In keeping with the Monroe Doctrine, the US has overthrown virtually every government in Latin America  [...]"  Note: Interesting article. Just some thoughts: Once certain factors in a society become 'institutionalized' it becomes a self-destructive path for that society. The type of world that this process yields is NO LONGER a world which has enough viable experiences for individuals with higher selves in simultaneous mode. To come into a society like this immediately induces a desire to leave ... it's like stepping on a hot rock. Astrological and other factors from 2012 on would make this civilization no longer a practical source for experiences for individuals. I don't see things continuing very much longer ... it is inconceivable to me that it will even reach much into 2012 .... if even that far. Actually, the 'end' for the civilization can come at any time, now. Because the current dynamic is one where the Planetary Entity also leaves, it's departure will mean every living thing instantly dies, no matter where you are. So much for all those underground cities, shelters and 'seed banks'. Ha! They have no idea what's coming. The 'sequentials' have to be literally 'thrust away' from this planet, because they're so entrenched. In the end, ALL individuals  move on to discuss experiences and have new ones, with no experiences lost, so it doesn't matter about now, really. Trust yourself. That's all anyone can do. You may be surprised on how well you've done, in terms of 'handling' things as they unfold. There is no reason to assume otherwise. Everything is going to work out very well, in the end. For many, this is the second 'simultaneous' planet, so it's not like this is a new experiential framework. So, try to remain in observational mode and let's see how this unfolds, here.  

Exposé: Organ-Harvesting in Chinese Concentration Camps [07/12/10]  See "China" stories link above for this and related stories.

"The Anatomy of the State" by Murray N. Rothbard [07/12/10] "The State is almost universally considered an institution of social service. Some theorists venerate the State as the apotheosis of society; others regard it as an amiable, though often inefficient, organization for achieving social ends; but almost all regard it as a necessary means for achieving the goals of mankind, a means to be ranged against the "private sector" and often winning in this competition of resources. With the rise of democracy, the identification of the State with society has been redoubled, until it is common to hear sentiments expressed which violate virtually every tenet of reason and common sense such as, "we are the government." The useful collective term "we" has enabled an ideological camouflage to be thrown over the reality of political life. If "we are the government," then anything a government does to an individual is not only just and untyrannical but also "voluntary" on the part of the individual concerned. If the government has incurred a huge public debt which must be paid by taxing one group for the benefit of another, this reality of burden is obscured by saying that "we owe it to ourselves"; if the government conscripts a man, or throws him into jail for dissident opinion, then he is "doing it to himself" and, therefore, nothing untoward has occurred. Under this reasoning, any Jews murdered by the Nazi government were not murdered; instead, they must have "committed suicide," since they were the government (which was democratically chosen), and, therefore, anything the government did to them was voluntary on their part. One would not think it necessary to belabor this point, and yet the overwhelming bulk of the people hold this fallacy to a greater or lesser degree. We must, therefore, emphasize that "we" are not the government; the government is not "us." The government does not in any accurate sense "represent" the majority of the people.  But, even if it did, even if 70 percent of the people decided to murder the remaining 30 percent, this would still be murder and would not be voluntary suicide on the part of the slaughtered minority. ] No organicist metaphor, no irrelevant bromide that "we are all part of one another," must be permitted to obscure this basic fact. If, then, the State is not "us," if it is not "the human family" getting together to decide mutual problems, if it is not a lodge meeting or country club, what is it?  [...]"    Related: Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature and Other Essays

US banks' role in Mexican drug trade [07/12/10] "Just before sunset on April 10, 2006, a DC-9 jet landed at the international airport in the port city of Ciudad del Carmen, 500 miles east of Mexico City. As soldiers on the ground approached the plane, the crew tried to shoo them away, saying there was a dangerous oil leak. So the troops grew suspicious and searched the jet.  They found 128 black suitcases, packed with 5.7 tons of cocaine, valued at $100 million. The stash was supposed to have been delivered from Caracas to drug traffickers in Toluca, near Mexico City, prosecutors later found. Law enforcement officials also discovered something else. The smugglers had bought the DC-9 with laundered funds they transferred through two of the biggest banks in the United States: Wachovia Corp. and Bank of America Corp. This was no isolated incident.  [...]"  Related: Mexican Cartels Dig In in Atlanta [07/12/10] [2:59]  " CBS video report from October of 2009. 

Was the Social Security Money “Borrowed” or “Stolen”? [07/12/10] "In December, the Obama deficit-reduction commission will make recommendations for budget cuts that will then be voted on, with an up or down vote, by the lame-duck Congress. Already, there is much speculation that Social Security will be one of the big targets. The rationale for cutting Social Security seems to be that, during such difficult economic times, everything should be a candidate for the chopping block, and that the public should support such cuts out of a sense of patriotism.  The flaw in this argument is that Social Security has not contributed a dime to the budget deficits or the soaring national debt. Social Security is funded exclusively by payroll taxes (also known as FICA taxes), paid into the fund by working Americans. In 1983, the payroll tax was increased substantially in response to the recommendations, the previous year, of the Greenspan Commission on Social Security Reform. The 1983 payroll tax hike has generated more than $2.5 trillion that is supposed to be in the trust fund. If the trust fund actually held this amount in real assets, full Social Security benefits could be paid until at least 2037 without any changes. Unfortunately, none of the surplus revenue was saved or invested in anything. It was all spent by the government on wars and other government programs without making any provisions for repaying the money. [...]"  

An Historic Failure of Government And Industry, A Tragic Violation Of The Public Trust And Social Contract [07/12/10] "For all of us who live on and near the Gulf Coast of Mexico, we exist in a state that alternates between exasperation and incredulity, between anger and grief, between shock and awe at what this oil spill has come to represent. Where do we start? How do we begin to express our collective disillusionment with so many instances of betrayal and letdown? As well as the relentless falling short of what used to be considered reasonable expectations of government and corporate social responsibility. [...]"   

John Mearsheimer on Israel’s Nukes, Espionage and its Impact on the U.S. [07/11/10] "On July 7, 2010, at “The Spy Museum,” in Washington, D.C., the IRmep sponsored a panel discussion. It was titled: “Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal: Espionage, Opacity and Future.” One of the panelists was Professor John J. Mearsheimer, the co-author of “The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Professor Mearsheimer said: “There is no accountability for Israel on any issue!” He referenced Israel’s attack on the USS Liberty, the killing of peace and justice activist Rachel Corrie, the Goldstone report and Israel’s recent assault on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. He sees the internet as a game-changer in Middle East politics; He also mentions the historical opposition within the US national security establishment to Israel acquiring nuclear weapons which is not deemed in the US national interest. “Things are really bad now”, he concludes, “but I’m sad to say they’re only going to get worse” [...]"   

Corbett Report: Sunday Update [07/11/10] [7:28]  " Internet Strikes Back, LeBron Who?, Israeli Nukes [...]"  Related: See below.

International Experts Find that Pending Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement Threatens Public Interests "This statement reflects the conclusions reached at a meeting of over 90 academics, practitioners and public interest organizations from six continents gathered at American University Washington College of Law, June 16-18, 2010. The meeting, convened by American University's Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, was called to analyze the official text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), released for the first time in April, 2010. Negotiating parties released the text only after public criticism of the unusually closed process and widespread disquiet over the negotiations' presumed substance. (See Wellington Declaration, EU Resolution on Transparency and State of Play of the ACTA Negotiations).  [...]"   

Threatening World Order: US and Israel Quietly Announce Plans to Reconstitute Their Nuclear Stockpiles [07/11/10] "The Obama and Netanyahu governments are seeking to obscure their contempt for nuclear abolition by calling for "nonproliferation" in the Middle East, while Israel simultaneously boycotts New-York-based discussions (at the 2010 NPT conference) of the need for a "nuclear free" Middle East.(2) "Nonproliferation," within this context, can be understood to apply only to other countries such as Iran, which has long been a target for US and Israeli military planners. The Obama and Netanyahu governments recently announced that they will oppose efforts at singling Israel out in any "nuclear weapons free" Middle East discussion. The problem with this announcement is that Israel is the only country in the Middle East to currently have nuclear weapons. In light of this fact, any attempts to shield Israel from being "singled out" will inevitably prevent progress in moving toward nuclear disarmament in the region. [...]" 

Netanyahu: "Only US military threats can stop Iran from making nukes" [07/11/10] Note:  What can stop Israel from blackmailing the whole planet with their nuclear arsenal? An asteroid on Tel Aviv?

Classified CIA Transcript Counters Bin Laden Terror Role [07/11/10] "Doubt Thrown on Proof Bin Laden a Terrorist Leader at all. Two weeks ago, CIA Director Leon Panetta told the press the CIA had not been able to positively confirm any specific information on Osama bin Laden since "late 2000." Interviews with high ranking military and intelligence officials, some at the highest levels, have confirmed that all evidence lends toward Osama bin Laden's death in December 2001. Yet transcripts of translated audio and video tapes, albeit widely disputed, are continually released by a news agency tied to Israeli intelligence services. [...]"   

"Iran: Fuel rods ready in August 2010" [07/11/10] "Iran will complete the production of fuel rods for the Tehran Research Reactor by August next year, says the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). [...]"  Note:  Getting targets ready in time and space ... remember they're conflicting/cooperating members of the same 'club' ... it's all a dog and pony show, from beginning to end.

 Commentary: "Far from uniform" [07/11/10] "In both the US and UK, civilian leaders have the upper hand over the military - but the two countries have very different attitudes to veterans reaching the top, says David Cannadine in his Point of View column. [...]"  

Analysis:  Do the States Have the Power of Nullification? [07/11/10] "In a recently published book, Nullification, author Tom Woods maintains that states have a power to nullify laws that exceed the powers of Congress to enact. This claim has a long history, some of it distinguished–as in the case of Wisconsin’s resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850–some of it not. But is the claim warranted? Last week, I was on Freedom Watch, Judge Andrew Napolitano’s new show on Fox Business Channel to discuss the matter. Judge Napolitano blurbed Woods’s book and the segment was devoted largely to him making his case. I got to make 2 statements to the contrary. (Interestingly, Monica Crowley, a conservative commentator billed by the intro as a nullification supporter, only maintained that states absolutely could challenge some unconstitutional laws in court–something no one denies. She either did not understand the nullification position or was diplomatically ducking the question.)  While there are some interesting structural arguments to be made on behalf of a power of nullification, of course it is not recognized by the text. And my doubts that it was thought by the founders to be a power reserved to the states is fueled by James Madison’s famed Report of 1800 in which he defended the Virginia Resolution objecting to the constitutionality of the Aliens and Sedition Act. I include a lengthy excerpt from Madison’s report in my casebook, including this telling passage near the end. (So readers have the full context, I include the paragraphs in full while putting in bold the more crucial language): [...]"   

Look Out Below: The Baltic Dry Index Is in Freefall [07/10/10] "The short term prediction appears to be PAIN, as shipping rates plummet. Apparently not as much to ship as the global economy heads for a wicked "double dip"... [...]"  Note:  Where is the BDI now?  Go to this link. Where it says  "Symbol" enter $BDI and click on "Update".

Torture Complicity Under the Spotlight in Europe (Part One): The UK [07/10/10] "Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when the United States — the post-World War II driver of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions, prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment — went off the rails and introduced a horrendous global program of rendition, torture, arbitrary detention and prisons beyond the law, other countries who were drawn into the “War on Terror” have striven to keep their own involvement quiet, and for good reason. Although the Bush administration was drunk on unfettered executive power, and was largely encouraged and supported by members of Congress, elsewhere these supposedly “robust” responses to terrorism were conducted with far more subterfuge, as the governments in question recognized that they were crimes, and, at worst, crimes against humanity. [...]"  Note:   (Part Two): Germany and France " ... German complicity in the dubious practices of the “War on Terror” has long been apparent, primarily through the involvement of the intelligence services, the security services and/or law enforcement personnel in the detention in Afghanistan and Guantánamo of the Bremen-born German resident Murat Kurnaz, the kidnap in Macedonia and imprisonment in CIA “black sites” in Afghanistan of German citizen Khaled El-Masri, and the detention and torture of German citizen Muhammad Haydar Zammar, seized in Morocco in October 2001 and then transferred to Syria, where he was reportedly “interrogated by a group of German intelligence and law enforcement personnel while he was detained in the notorious Palestine Branch (Far’Falestin prison) in Damascus.”  These cases have received widespread coverage over the last few years, and one notable organization that has maintained a focus on the Germen government’s activities is the United Nations, which, in a major report on secret detention, published in February this year, included Germany as one of at least 40 countries who were “complicit in the secret detention” of prisoners seized in the “War on Terror. [...]”

The Vanishing American Consumer and the Coming Trade War Robert Reich, Former Secretary of Labor [07/10/10] "Obama has vowed to double U.S. exports within the next five years. That's because exports are critical for rebooting the American economy. It's clear American consumers can't get the economy going on their own. They can't restart the jobs machine. They've run out of money and credit.  It's not just that one out of four Americans is unemployed or underemployed (working part-time, overqualified, or at a lower wage than before). More significantly, the Great Recession burst the housing bubble that had let American consumers turn their homes into ATMs. Now the cash machines are closed. So the administration figures foreign consumers will have to fill the gap. [...]"   

World military spending exceeds $1.5 trillion, continuing upward trend despite economic conditions [07/10/10] "The highest military spender is the US accounting for just under half of the world’s spending, more than the rest of the G7 (most economically advanced countries) combined, and more than all its potential enemies, combined. [...]"  Related:   Defense Spending up 70% in Real Inflated Adjusted Terms Since 2001 [07/09/10] "In February the Pentagon requested $708.2 billion for fiscal year 2011 -- which would make the coming year's defense budget, adjusted for inflation, the biggest since World War II. As one analysis of the budget points out, that would mean that total defense spending -- including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- has grown 70 percent in real terms since 2001. Defense spending now accounts for some 20 percent of federal discretionary spending. That's even more than Social Security. [...]"  Note: Social priorities ... the heart of any civilization, are being run over by the psychopathic sequentials running the military/ industrial/ intelligence/ congressional complex. These people are completely INSANE, on an infinite war, death and profit binge ... reincarnated sequentials doing their thing ... destroying another world. Obama's warfare-welfare state, and so much more than that would come, given the time. 

Global Governance and World Order Studies Lew Rockwell [07/09/10] "I want to call to the special attention of LRC readers three exceptional articles by Andrew Gavin Marshall on “The Technological Revolution and the Future of Freedom,” here, here, and here. This series of excellent essays combine a remarkable synthesis of background historical research with original insights and dire warnings of future consequences if past and present trends continue unabated.  [...]"   

Is Yemen the Next Afghanistan? [07/09/10] "Yemen's once-obscure vital statistics were flashing across TV screens everywhere: it is the Arab world's poorest country, with a fast-growing and deeply conservative Muslim population of 23 million. It is running out of oil and may soon be the first country in the world to run out of water. The central government is weak and corrupt, hemmed in by rebellions and powerful tribes. Many fear that Al Qaeda is gaining a sanctuary in the remote provinces east of Sana, similar to the one it already has in Afghanistan and Pakistan. [...]"  See Yemen link at the top of this panel for related stories.  

Israeli Psychotherapist: 'They made us do it...' - The Disordered Psychology of Israel [07/09/10] "...  Israel certainly behaves like a person with a personality disorder. It's emotionally unstable, it's harmful to others, it's leaving scorched earth all around it and it has a deep-seated victim complex. It is pathologically self-centered and utterly incapable of taking responsibility or feeling empathy or sympathy towards anyone other than itself. When confronted with its deeds and asked to take responsibility Israel responds defensively and usually blames the victim. It presents the occupied Palestinians as perpetrators and itself as the real victim, behaving as if everyone is being unfair to it. This is the basis for Israel's ludicrous claim that its elite commando unit was acting in self-defence against the civilians on the flotilla.  It is common for people with a personality disorder to isolate their victims and actively block any attempt by the victim to seek outside help. They are often vicious towards anyone who tries to help. They often twist the story and accuse the helper of having a hidden, sick or twisted 'agenda'.  [...] In fact, applying individual psychological dynamics to countries is a valid and important practice, as Dr. Lobaczewski shows in Political Ponerology. If psychopaths are the ones making policy, and influencing a country's opinions and way of thinking, an entire culture can internalize pathological thinking and behaviors."  See Israel link at the top of this panel for related stories.   

Aussie Internet Filter Delayed, Mate [07/09/10] "The implementation of a national Internet filter in Australia, hilariously dubbed the “Clean Feed,” has been postponed as “sections of the community” continue to criticize the extent to which the filter would block content.  [...]"  Related: Australia: ISP filtering legislation on the way [07/08/10] "The federal government hopes to introduce legislation to enable its controversial internet filter by the end of the year. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the legislation would be this year "sooner rather than later''. Timing for the web filter legislation, which has earned the ire of ISPs and internet freedom advocates, depends on the date for the looming federal election and whether Labor wins office. Political commentators have earmarked August to October as possible election dates. The polls are likely to occur before the Victorian election in late November. Since the plan was mooted in 2007, Senator Conroy has changed his mind several times on how the filtering scheme would eventually work. The latest measure is to create a list of web pages comprising refused classification-rated content and force internet service providers to automatically block them. Legislation will be introduced to require all ISPs to filter the RC content list. [...] "If you're thinking 'does that mean December?' - no, I wouldn't think it would be December, but there could be intervening events that I am not in control of,'' Senator Conroy told reporters in Sydney today.  The policy would be implemented 12 months from the passage of legislation. RC broadly consists of illegal content but Google and various internet experts believe the list could potentially contain legitimate material. Labor Senator Kate Lundy's suggestion for an opt-in approach has been rejected. US Ambassador to Australia Jeff Bleich has urged the government to ditch the plan, saying child pornographers can be captured and prosecuted without using mandatory internet filters."  

Exposé:  BP Dumping Oil Waste in Mississippi Landfills, Over County Objections [07/08/10] [2:13] "Pecan Grove, Harrison County, Mississippi: Harrison County Supervisor Connie Rocko: Despite literally MILLIONS of ideas being floated by private citizens, non-profit groups, and foreign countries on how to clean up and contain the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, BP decided they would rather fill American landfills with their mess. BP refuses to even consider ideas on how to handle the situation, many of which have been proven to be effective and successful. Harrison County leaders do not approve but BP is still dumping in local landfills and local residents and officials are preparing subpoenas... demanding BP appear before their Harrison County Board of Supervisors.  [...]"  See Oil/Gas/Coal link at the top of this panel for related stories. 

Global military expenditure stands at over $1.5 trillion, and has been rising in recent years. [07/08/10] "The USA with its massive spending budget, is the principal determinant of the current world trend, and its military expenditure now accounts for just under half of the world total, at 46.5% of the world total; [...]"  Note:  All these resources spent on death, making some people very wealthy.  Even in the largely sequential galaxy, no world like this one ever remained stable long enough to move into space, so civilizations like this one (only partially sequentialized and lacking homogenous cooperation) die off ... Related:  Weapons Budget Grows Amid Obama Cuts  "The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is likely to increase spending on weapon systems through 2016, and the Pentagon’s rate of weapons spending should be larger than the overall DOD budget, Pentagon Comptroller Rober Hale said in a story by Tony Capaccio published in today’s editions of Business Week. [...]"  Note: The actual state of the people in the country is not relevant. This Jingoistic fiasco will soon be brought to a halt forcibly by other events. The Pentagon and DOD are doing what not even a dog will do - shitting in it's own bed, metaphorically. Insane and out of control psychopaths.

 Analysis:  "Why the Taliban is winning in Afghanistan" [07/07/10] "As Washington and London struggle to prop up a puppet government over which Hamid Karzai has no control, they risk repeating the blood-soaked 19th-century history of Britain’s imperial defeat.  [...]"  Note:  "William Dalrymple is one of the knowledgeable and experienced observers of Central Asia and India in the West. His insights are always valuable, and usually prescient, especially on the greatly variegated complexities -- social, economic, cultural, political, historical -- of the volatile region, where the American imperial impulse is now coming to grief in arrogance and ignorance ... as so many others have done before it.  In a New Statesman article rich with historical detail and direct reportage from the frontlines of "Af-Pak" front of the bipartisan Terror War, Dalrymple brings fresh confirmation of what everyone but the moronic masters of war along the Potomac knows: the war in Afghanistan is lost, and all the vaunted "surges" of the drone-firing Peace Laureate and his various COIN-operated commanders are only prolonging the pointless agony -- and building up a tsunami of horrific blowback. Here are some extensive excerpts -- but they are only a few highlights. The whole piece well repays a full reading."   Related:  Newsweek editor asks: ‘Why are we fighting a major war in Afghanistan?’   "Since the resignation of General Stanley McChrystal as the commander of US forces in Afghanistan and CIA Director Leon Panetta's admission a week ago that there may be no more than fifty to a hundred al-Qaeda members in that nation, there have been increasing signs of a loss of support for the Afghan War.  Fareed Zararia, the editor of Newsweek's international editions and CNN host, criticized the war in his strongest terms yet on his CNN program Sunday. "If Al Qaeda is down to a hundred men there at the most," Zakaria asked, "why are we fighting a major war?" Noting that there were more than a hundred deaths among NATO soldiers last month and that the war is estimated to cost the US more than $100 billion this year alone, Zararia wondered again,"Why are we fighting this major war against the Taliban? ... If al-Qaeda itself is so weak, why are we fighting against its allies so ferociously?" "The whole enterprise in Afghanistan feels disproportionate," Zakaria remarked, "a very expensive solution to what is turning out to be a small but real problem. " [...]" US-led forces kill 6 Afghan soldiers as Afghan soldiers were launching an ambush against 'militants' "Six Afghan soldiers have been killed when their post was "mistakenly" attacked by a US-led aircraft in central Afghanistan, police sources say.  [...]"  Note: Should read US Troops kill Afghans to protect Taliban.  Related: Afghan War: Petraeus Expands U.S. Military Presence Throughout Eurasia

Commentary: Duel of the Machiavellians: Obama vs. Petraeus [07/07/10] "While Obama is often portrayed as a political neophyte finding himself confronting situations that are way over his head, his choice of General David H. Petraeus to replace General Stanley A. McChrystal was in some ways a masterful political stroke, though it does not seem to have achieved all that might have been intended.  Obama’s move has nothing to do with any effort to maintain a “winning” strategy in Afghanistan. No realistic person could even conceive of how the US could “win” in Afghanistan. In fact, it would not seem that the central purpose of Obama’s escalation of the US war in Afghanistan in 2009 had to do with “winning,” either, since unlike his political predecessor, Obama actually gives the appearance of knowing what is going on. Rather, Obama’s purpose is fundamentally a political one: preventing, or at least limiting, political damage from the war in Afghanistan. [...]"  

Commentary: The Crash of the U.S. Economy [07/06/10] "It’s official. Mark your calendars. The crash of the U.S. economy has begun. It was announced the morning of Wednesday, June 13, 2007, by economic writers Steven Pearlstein and Robert Samuelson in the pages of the Washington Post, one of the foremost house organs of the U.S. monetary elite. Pearlstein’s column was titled, “The Takeover Boom, About to Go Bust” and concerned the extraordinary amount of debt vs. operating profits of companies currently subject to leveraged buyouts. In language remarkably alarmist for the usually ultra-bland pages of the Post, Pearlstein wrote, “It is impossible to predict when the magic moment will be reached and everyone finally realizes that the prices being paid for these companies, and the debt taken on to support the acquisitions, are unsustainable. When that happens, it won't be pretty. Across the board, stock prices and company valuations will fall. Banks will announce painful write-offs, some hedge funds will close their doors, and private-equity funds will report disappointing returns. Some companies will be forced into bankruptcy or restructuring.” [...] What is likely to happen? I’d suggest four possible scenarios:  [...] " 

 Analysis: Mexico’s July 4 Election – Has the Narco State Arrived? [07/06/10] "Nearly 50 candidates and public figures have been assassinated in the run up to Mexico’s 2010 state elections. Former presidential candidate Diego Fernández de Cevallos, major leader of the ruling PAN party, was kidnapped on May 16 and has not been heard from since. Three days ago, Rodolfo Torre, the odds on winner for governor in the state of Tamaulipas, was murdered in a highway ambush. Torre’s murder represents the highest ranking politician of the 50 assassinations this election cycle. The political murders by the drug cartels are not focused on one party. The Los Angeles Times suggested that the goal may be to create chaos and elevate the drug cartel control over the entire Mexican political system. The Mexican drug cartels also sent a message to the United States in March when a U.S. Consulate worker in Ciudad Jaurez (across from El Paso, Texas) was gunned down. The leader of a cross border gang was just arrested. Authorities suspect the hit was motivated by unequal distribution of U.S. visas to a rival gang. The bottom line nature of the assault by drug lords may quickly create an environment where investment in Mexico drops quickly and significantly. [...]"   

US to blame Iran for Afghanistan failure [07/06/10] "US and British intelligence services are working on a fake video clip aimed at diverting blame for failures in Afghanistan to Iran, an informed US military source says. [...]"  

Commentary: The Tragedy of Empire: BP Can Bring Obama and London Down [07/05/10] "A senior U.S. intelligence source confirmed today that the miserable failure of President Obama, in dealing with the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, has crystalized the view, among a vast majority of Americans, and among many leading Democratic Party officials as well, that Obama is a loser, incapable of managing this crisis, or any other crisis of similar magnitude. A poll conducted several days ago revealed that 60 percent of Americans believe that Obama has totally failed to manage the Gulf spill. [...]"    

 Commentary: Did the US drop tactical nuclear weapons on Iraq/Afghanistan? – You bet  [07/05/10] "You may find this story hard to believe and at the same time challenge as to why anyone would use such weapons having no regard for other humans that live on this planet. We hear almost weekly about the push by President Obama to fulfill the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by reducing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) but is there any truth behind this PR exercise or is it a case of business as usual?  I am sure you all believe that the last use of nuclear weapons was in Japan during WW2 but I have to tell you that this is far from the truth. In actual fact the US, UK, NATO and Israel have been using WMD’s on an almost daily basis since the conflict in the Balkans in the 1990’s. In actual fact it started well before this when the Israelis went to war with Egypt……this was the first time WMD’s had been used on mass with weapons purchased from the US and with US technicians acting in an advisory role. We have discussed the use of depleted uranium weapons many times before but maybe no one has truly grasped how serious these actions have been and the greater implications on the rest of the world and our environment. [...] Security for the nuclear weapons is provided by a Marine Corps security detachment assigned to  each aircraft carrier. Aircraft carriers are thought routinely to carry about 100 nuclear weapons when forward deployed. As of mid-1990, seven aircraft carriers are located in the Atlantic and five are in the Pacific. Pacific based aircraft carriers are home ported in Yokosuka, Japan."    

U.S. govt. poisoned its own citizens during Prohibition [07/05/10] "In a dark but little-known chapter of U.S. history, the federal government ordered the poisoning of alcohol supplies to deter and punish those who sought to flout Prohibition-era bans. [...]"  

Exposé: Israel’s attack on Egypt in June ’67 was not ‘preemptive’ [07/04/10] "It is often claimed that Israel’s attack on Egypt that began the June 1967 “Six Day War” was a “preemptive” one. Implicit in that description is the notion that Israel was under imminent threat of an attack from Egypt. Yet this historical interpretation of the war is not sustained by the documentary record. The President of Egypt, then known as the United Arab Republic (UAR), Gamal Abdel Nasser, later conveyed to U.S. President Lyndon Johnson that his troop buildup in the Sinai Peninsula prior to the war had been to defend against a feared Israeli attack. [...]"  

'300 Russian spies operating in UK' [07/04/10] "Amid the ongoing investigations regarding an alleged Russian spy ring operation in the United States, sources says as many as 300 Russian spies may be operating in the United Kingdom. [...]" 

 Commentary: The Torturers and Their Victims: Cowardice, American-Style [07/04/10] "Too little has been written about the cowardice of CIA and Pentagon torturers and even less about the stoic courage of their victims. Irrespective of what they might have done, there can be no question that those suffering illegal and criminal tortures are, in fact, more courageous than their tormentors. After all, how much courage does it take to pummel a man tied to a chair or chained to a wall? CIA interrogators don’t have even the "sporting" attitude of the schoolyard bully who attacks a weaker child. That might be called a "fair fight" as the weaker could put up a defense. But those five-man teams that torture the defenseless, by definition, have got to be the most cowardly thugs on the planet. Somehow, this perspective has eluded the "24" fiction writers at Fox television network who extol U.S. torturer Jack Bauer the way Goebbels once extolled the SS. It has also eluded President Barack Obama, a former employee of a CIA-front organization, who lavishly praised the CIA in a speech at its Langley, Va., headquarters last year. [...]"   

China: Strike erupts in Japanese-owned electronics plant [07/04/10] "China’s strike wave has extended to the Mitsumi Electric plant in northern Tianjin city, adding to nervousness in international financial circles. [...]"   See China link above for related stories. 

The Truth About 'Democracy' [07/04/10] "President Roosevelt sought to have the U. S. Army Training Manual No. 2000-25 (1928-1932), confiscated and destroyed. His reasoning for this was the "New Deal" which allowed for the Bank Holiday in March 1933. It also was an attempt to remove the truth about our type or form of government from future generations. He was a SOCIALIST. His agenda was SOCIALISM backed by 300 families of the Federal Reserve Bank and the World Bank. He did not count on some of these manuals surviving. One such manual was found in the attic of a house in Phoenix, AZ in 1990. [...] The United States Army training manual number 2000-25, dated November 20, 1928 states in defining a Democracy:  'A government of the masses. Authority derived through mass meetings or any other form of direct expression. Results in mobocracy. Attitude towards property is communistic; negative property rights. Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, whether it is based upon deliberation of the governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse without restraint; or regard to consequences. It results in demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy.' [...]  This same 1928 Army training manual had the following to say about a Republic: 'Authority is derived through the election by the people of public officials best fitted to represent them. Attitude toward property is respect for laws and individual rights and economic procedure. Attitude toward law is the administration of justice in accord with fixed principles and established evidence, with a strict regard to consequences. Avoids the dangerous extreme of tyranny or mobocracy. Results in statesmanship, liberty, reason, justice, contentment, and progress. It is the 'standard form' of government.' [...]"  Related: Republic vs. Democracy | Democracy: Never Mentioned in America's Founding Documents | The Hypocrisy of Democracy |  Democracy, the Worst Form of Government Ever Tried  |  More on the Republic vs. Democracy Debate   Note:  The problem is that the 'safeguards' that retard a slide into tyranny, such as checks and balances, ethical behavior, etc., fade away once corruption and deceit set things awry -- and it ALWAYS happens, over time.

Quotes From Lincoln That We Never Hear  [07/04/10] "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing Government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it." [...]  "Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most sacred right—a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world. Nor is this right confined to cases in which the whole people of an existing government may choose to exercise it. Any portion of such people that can, may revolutionize, and make their own, of so much territory as they inhabit. "  

Exposé:  Connecting the Dots: Israel's Vengeance, Loose Nukes, Gulf Ecocide [07/03/10] "Israel's self-fulfilling prophecy moved one step closer to its tragic conclusion last month as its façade of normalcy slipped and the world glimpsed the true nature of the Zionist project in the Middle East. The massacre of innocents aboard the Mavi Marmara has galvanised global citizens to end the Siege of Gaza once and for all. But Israel's lunacy is altogether more dangerous following the UN's official acknowledgment that Israel is armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons. Its willingness to use them "by way of deception" strengthens the likelihood of a false-flag nuclear attack being carried out to avenge humanity's non-existent "victimisation" of the "Light unto the Nations."  We will examine the latest ridiculous case of "homegrown terrorism" in the US which took place on the eve of momentous discussions on nuclear disarmament in New York City, as well as the framing of North Korea for the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan. Was Israel involved in both events? The hysteria these two attacks generated as well as their timing certainly indicates that somebody is blowing smoke to distract people from moves on the grand chessboard. The clownish Times Square car bomb was not the real terrorist act in New York last month. Financial terrorists held the US government hostage until it reversed its decision to break up organised crime on Wall Street. Is the eurozone debt crisis similarly contrived?  [...]"  Note: Well written article. Includes comprehensive details about the Gaza Flotilla event.   See Gaza link above for related stories. 

Commentary: The Heart of the Declaration of Independence [07/03/10] "Though you never hear it quoted:  " But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." Does this mean that we should use violent means? Of course not. Indeed, the new government established in war soon became its own tyranny. For moral and practical reasons, we must adhere to peaceful means only. We can bring down even absolute despotism by withholding our consent. [...]"  Related:  Ending Tyranny Without Violence  by Murray N. Rothbard  "Étienne de La Boétie has been best remembered as the great and close friend of the eminent essayist Michel de Montaigne, in one of history's most notable friendships. But he would be better remembered, as some historians have come to recognize, as one of the seminal political philosophers, not only as a founder of modern political philosophy in France but also for the timeless relevance of many of his theoretical insights.  [...] The first striking thing about the Discourse is the form: La Boétie's method was speculative, abstract, deductive. This contrasts with the rather narrowly legal and historical argument of the Huguenot monarchomach writers (those sectarian writers who argued for the right of subjects to resist unjust rulers) of the 1570's and 1580's, whom La Boétie resembled in his opposition to tyranny. While the Huguenot monarchomachs, best exemplified by François Hotman's Franco-Gallia (1573), concentrated on grounding their arguments on real or presumed historical precedents in French laws and institutions, La Boétie's only historical examples were numerous illustrations of his general principles from classical antiquity, the very remoteness of which added to the timeless quality of his discourse. The later Huguenot arguments against tyranny tended to be specific and concrete, rooted in actual French institutions, and therefore their conclusions and implications were limited to promoting the specific liberties against the State of various privileged orders in French society. In contrast, the very abstraction and universality of La Boétie's thought led inexorably to radical and sweeping conclusions on the nature of tyranny, the liberty of the people, and what needed to be done to overthrow the former and secure the latter. [...] "  Note: Good essay. 

Investigations: Unions – The Demise Of America [07/03/10] "The truth about unions has been hidden from the general public and union workers alike. The real truth on how unions work and operate is stunning to say the least. Electrical unions such as the I.B.E.W. or “International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers” are sinister to their roots, with most having mafia or organized crime ties.  During the early 1900′s crime syndicates or mobsters would control local shop owners, usually through threats of physical violence. They would tell such business owners that they would offer them protection for a percentage of their revenue that would be due daily, weekly or monthly. If the shop owner or businessman did not pay there would be dire consequences.  As times progressed, the organized crime syndicates got even more powerful, thus enabling them to pay off law enforcement and judges throughout their respective communities. Laws were enacted that would grant so called unions the right to assemble in the work place. They used the excuse that the unions would bring fairness and better wages.  Unfortunately, this was nothing more than a gateway that legally allowed the organized crime syndicates (unions) to infiltrate and control corporations and business owners. Essentially it is a form of corporate espionage that was admitted into law by paid off judges and officials. Let’s take a look at the Local I.B.E.W. 640 in Phoenix Arizona. Keep in mind Arizona is a right to work state where unions are not publicly prevalent yet they are engaged in a criminal act that runs hand and hand with the U.S. Dept. of Labor. This criminal operation is know by the union higher ups as “Project C.O.M.E.T.” [...]"  

American Psychosis [07/03/10] "What happens to a society that cannot distinguish between reality and illusion?  The United States, locked in the kind of twilight disconnect that grips dying empires, is a country entranced by illusions. It spends its emotional and intellectual energy on the trivial and the absurd. It is captivated by the hollow stagecraft of celebrity culture as the walls crumble. This celebrity culture giddily licenses a dark voyeurism into other people's humiliation, pain, weakness and betrayal. Day after day, one lurid saga after another, whether it is Michael Jackson, Britney Spears or John Edwards, enthralls the country ... despite bank collapses, wars, mounting poverty or the criminality of its financial class. The virtues that sustain a nation-state and build community, from honesty to self-sacrifice to transparency to sharing, are ridiculed each night on television as rubes stupid enough to cling to this antiquated behavior are voted off reality shows. Fellow competitors for prize money and a chance for fleeting fame, cheered on by millions of viewers, elect to "disappear" the unwanted. In the final credits of the reality show America's Next Top Model, a picture of the woman expelled during the episode vanishes from the group portrait on the screen. Those cast aside become, at least to the television audience, nonpersons. Celebrities that can no longer generate publicity, good or bad, vanish. Life, these shows persistently teach, is a brutal world of unadulterated competition and a constant quest for notoriety and attention. Our culture of flagrant self-exaltation, hardwired in the American character, permits the humiliation of all those who oppose us. We believe, after all, that because we have the capacity to wage war we have a right to wage war. Those who lose deserve to be erased. Those who fail, those who are deemed ugly, ignorant or poor, should be belittled and mocked. Human beings are used and discarded like Styrofoam boxes that held junk food. And the numbers of superfluous human beings are swelling the unemployment offices, the prisons and the soup kitchens. [...]"  

 Commentary: The Spy Scare [07/02/10] "We’re in the midst of a spy scare, one of those periodic bouts of paranoia that spreads, like a virus, from Washington on outward. This time, it’s alleged Russian spies, but the scare is already becoming a generalized fear, permeating official Washington and the "mainstream" media like a poisonous fog. Check out Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Michigan), a member of the House intelligence committee, Fran Townsend, CNN’s "national security correspondent," and CNN anchor Suzanne Malveaux in the "Situation Room," bloviating oh-so-knowledgably about this latest "threat": [...] If Hoekstra and Townsend are so worried about the alleged danger posed by Russian and Chinese espionage, then surely the considerable Mossad presence ought to concern them as well: after all, when Jonathan Pollard stole priceless secrets from the US on behalf of Tel Aviv, the Israelis traded the information to the Soviets in exchange for the release of tens of thousands of Russian Jews to be sent directly to Israel. According to a 1996 report by the Office of Naval Investigations, the Israelis sold stolen US military technology to the Chinese, and this came out in 2000, again, when Tel Aviv tried to sell China the ultra-secret Phalcon early warning detection system, created in the US. [...] "   

11,000 NATO containers go missing [07/02/10] "Reports say more than 11,000 containers bound for the US-led forces in Afghanistan have mysteriously gone missing over the past two years in Pakistan. [...]"  Note: That it had happened for one year, and nothing was done, and it went on to a second year, would seem to indicate that these were intentional shipments to arm dissident factions.

 Commentary:  Goldman Sachs: The Pirates of Poison in the Gulf [07/02/10] "The Hydra-like creature, Goldman Sachs, has surfaced from the Gulf oil volcano. Illinois-based Nalco Corporation is responsible for the Corexit 9500 chemical dispersant highlighted by experts as being 4 times more toxic than the oil that is flowing into the Gulf. Scientists in congressional hearings added that the dispersant is more toxic than other similar dispersant on the market. Naturally, whenever a major disaster takes place — especially when major, society-altering solutions are being offered — one needs to follow the trail of money and power to see who benefits. Sure enough, a casual search of Nalco’s Web site reveals their company history; it leads right to the doorstep of Goldman Sachs. Nalco seems to have started in 1928 Chicago and became immediately involved in both the oil industry and water treatment facilities. 1982 seems to have been a massive turning point for the company as their Web site states, “ORS-419 is used in the tires of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The Nalco product is the only non-silicone product of its type on the market approved by the space shuttle tire’s manufacturer.” Thereafter, things really seem to have taken off as shown here: [...]"  Note:  Excellent resource with respect to Corexit and the company that makes it.  " See Oil/Gas/Coal link at the top of this panel for related stories. 

Australia mining tax consensus likely [07/02/10]  "The Australian government is close to reaching a compromise on the controversial resources super-profits mining tax.Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, when sworn in last Thursday, said she aimed to reach a consensus on the bill, which would tax mining profits at 40 percent after reaching a certain level, beginning in 2012. Introduced by Gillard's ousted predecessor Kevin Rudd in May, the bill has been fiercely opposed by the resources industry. [...]"   

US to cut Afghanistan aid [07/01/10] "US lawmakers have voted to cut almost four billion dollars in aid to the Afghan government, after allegations of corruption. [...]   

New Study Documents Media's Servitude To Government [07/01/10] "A newly released study from students at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government provides the latest evidence of how thoroughly devoted the American establishment media is to amplifying and serving (rather than checking) government officials. This new study examines how waterboarding has been discussed by America's four largest newspapers over the past 100 years, and finds that the technique, almost invariably, was unequivocally referred to as "torture" -- until the U.S. Government began openly using it and insisting that it was not torture, at which time these newspapers obediently ceased describing it that way: [...]"   

Commentary: The Chinese Aren’t Coming [07/01/10] "On Tuesday, the Cold War finally ended with a historic trade agreement between China and Taiwan that will dramatically integrate the mainland’s economy with that of its claimed breakaway province. Peace has descended on the most contentious point of conflict between East and West for the past six decades—but don’t expect the folks at the Pentagon or their military contractors to celebrate. The remaining raison d’être for much of their $700 billion budget has suddenly collapsed, and with it the claim on huge profits and high-flying careers.  [...]  When Sen. Joe Lieberman makes his annual case for those $2.5 billion submarines produced in his home state of Connecticut, his central argument has been that the Chinese are building equally sophisticated weapons that threaten us. “If we do not move to produce two submarines a year as soon as possible, we are in serious danger of falling behind China,” he thundered during one Senate debate. Obviously, it’s harder to make the case that submarines are needed to capture al-Qaida terrorists holed up in some landlocked nation’s mountain caves. So too with the ever more advanced arsenal designed to penetrate enemy defenses not even built when those Cold War adversaries still operated.  “The Chinese are coming” became the last refuge of war-profiteering scoundrels once the Russians started cutting back dramatically, but this alarm was never plausible. The authoritative quadrennial Defense Department reports have always made clear that China has at most threatened to become a regional power with Taiwan as its focus. Yet that pathetic excuse for the U.S. spending as much on its military as do the rest of the world nations combined seemed plausible to most in Congress who voted for massive military appropriations even as our government had to borrow money from the Chinese to cover our deficits. [...]" 

?